Newspaper Page Text
THE DEMOCRAT.
B. H. ADAMS, Publisher.
Cape nrnAnnmn.
MISSOURI
PADDY'S PROBATION.
BT WILLIAM LINDSEY.
Patrick O'Malley is to-day as much n
fixture of the cinder-path aa one of th
posts at the finish. And yet, strange a3
it may seem, he attained his present
Honorable position only after a long
and trying probation.
He won his spure by enduring pa
tiently and successfully such tests and
"trials as would have discouraged many
a brave knight of old. In fact, had
Paddy lived in the days when a stout
'heart and a strong arm were the two
best cards in the game of life, he would
have been the king of Ireland at least.
Pat put in his first appearance early
In the spring of 18S , the year the
track was rebuilt. He was just over,
and well I remember how he looked in
his moleskin trousers and rough coat,
with the queer hat on his head, and
the odd little neckcloth tied tight
-around his neck. He stood close to six
feet, was well put together; his hair
was carroty, his face red and freckled,
and his eyes were small, and blue, and
bright. He was engaged as a day
laborer, wheeling dirt, shoveling, rak
ing, and I know not whatelse; but busy
.he was from seven o'clock in the morn
ing until six at night. He did the work
' -of two men, for he had not learned, like
the others, the knack of loafing grace
fully. Indeed, I think Paddy would have
been contented to have continued as he
was to the age of "0, for the pay seemed
fabulous to him, and he was living in a
-.shower of luxuries, with meat every
' -day, and a palatial room, eight by ten,
in which to spend his nights and Sun
days. But unfortunately the labor of track
snaking would not last forever; one-by
one the men were discharged, until by
-the first of May there were only a half
dozen left, Paddy among them, and
they were expecting to be paid off in a
couple of weeks, or sooner.
Now there was something about the
atmosphere of the college grounds, and
particularly the cinder-path, that
suited Paddy's constitution wonderful
ly, and when it reached his ears that
one man would probably be retained
for regular work until winter, and per
haps a Fnug berth in the gymnasium
might follow, he made up his mind to
have that job.
I am not sure that he marie a vow, as
-would a knight of the fourteenth
-century; but he did the same thing in
his own way, and resolved, come what
might, if mortal man might compass
it, no labor or trial would he avoid, no
care would he neglect, until "that job"
was his.
He began by ingratiating himself
with every man who wore a running-
shoe not u. difficult task, for they all
.liked him, and found in his words and
acts a never-failing sourc of amuse.
ment. n- had also that rare taot which
makes at Irish gentleman the most
fascinating on earth. With Paddy it
showed itself in a never-failing good
nature, a ready hand, and a wonderful
faculty for remembering names and
faces.
The boys soon found out which way
his ambition pointed, that he was en
tirely devoted to it, and a gay Lie they
led him forthwith.
It was on a Saturday night, when I
had nearly made up my mind to give
him a trial, that Paddy had hisexperi
ence with the "irhostly hurdler," his
lastandcrowningtest a testthat made
nothing of all that had preceded, and
that tried Paddy's soul almost to the
limits of its endurance. Indeed, the
rough horse play and physical trials
through which Paddy went I more
than half believe he enjoyed as well as
the boys, and he probably blundered
into trails which he clearly saw, and
did not care to avoid, if they gave any
body any satisfaction.
But with all rat's courage he was ns
arrant a coward as ever breathed when
-the powers of the unknown world were
arraved airainst him. He believed most
firmly in banshees, spooks, goblins.
and little people. Xow he was to be
assailed where his soul was weakest.
I was at work in my little office'at th
gymnasium, making out some physical
development charts a tedious task
which I did not enjoy, and was anxious
to finish. The clock had struck nine,
ten, and eleven since I had taken my
seat at the desk, and the minute-hand
was swinging round the track to 1:
'like a tired runner on his last lap. The
charts showed the usual small percent
acre of well-developed bodies, some with
no development at all, and the larger
part entirely out of proportion. In som
cases the unbalanced proportions ap
proached deformities, as in the chart of
a freshman by the name of .Mason. 111s
height was but a little over six feet, yet
his leg measurement was astonishing,
bettering any record in my book by
nearly two inches. This extraordinary
length of leg was of course taken from
the bodv, which was like that of a boy
of 12, and upon his first appearance on
the track he was given the very ap
propriate alias of "Two Pieces." He
certainly had appeared when running
as if there was not much more in the
game than an unattached pair of legs,
nd with one more would have been the
complete picture of the well-known
heraldic device appropriated by the
Isle of Man.
"Two Pieces, like many another
-freshman, had suffered an extremely
dangerous attack of athletic fever,
choosing the high hurdles for his
special efforts. But although he could
-almost step them in his stride, without
any lift at all, he was so deathly slow
Between, that he did poorly enough.
It so happened that Mason's was the
last card, and I finished it only a few
xmnutes before midnight.
t this hour ail was Silent but the
ticking of the clock and the snapping of
the wood fire in the grate. I was just
preparing to take my departure when
suddenly the oppressive silence of the
midnight was broken by the most hor
rible yell that ever assailed my ears. It
fairly eurdled my blood, so full of the
agony of fear was it, and I sat still and
held my breath until a second and a
third, not less hideous, reached my
ears, and then I gathered myself to
gether, rushed to the window and threw
np the curtain.
By this time all was silent again, and I
half wondered if I had only imagined
the cry. I looked out over the field and
track, seeing nothing but the shifting
shadows, more bewildering than abso
lute darkness, which a half moon throws
through broken clouds. . It was a par
ticularly ghastly light; there was not
a thing stirring, not even the wind, un
til suddenly the bending figure of a man
at extreme speed emerged from the
gloom, sprang up the steps at a singls
leap, and a second later the huge door
beneath my feet was shaken in a furious
fashion.
I confess to a feeling of relief as I
thought of its two-inch oak plank, nail
studded and heavy hinged, and knew
that the assailant, whoever he was.
could not gain entrance with anything
less than an old-fashioned battering-
ram. I was also a bit startled, for I
could not at all make out what the
trouble was. The door-shaking con
tinuing, accompanied by the kicks of a
heavy foot and a series of jells, I seized
the heavy poker from the hearth and
hurried downstairs.
When I reached the door I hesitated a
moment, wonderine if the man was
mad, and then tried to turn the key with
my left hand, holding the poker firmly
in my ritrlit. In this I was unsuccess
ful, so tightly was the door pressed by
the frightened man outside. I shifted
the poker to my left hand, and put my
shoulder against the door; there was a
sharp click of the opening lock, and the
next second I was hurled like a bolt
from a catapult by the heavy door.
As I landed on my back, "Paddy the
Leaper" appeared with the suddenness
of a "Jack-in-the-box." He slammed
the door after him, threw the bolt with
a single motion, and, slapping himself
on tu: floor, pressed his uroau oac-K
against, the door as if he feared the fast
enings would not hold.
I came to myself first, and was begin
ning to ask the crazy bog-trotter what
was the matter with him, when he sud
denly found tongue, and broke in with
a husky: "the saints sav;? us: jiovviy
hiven hilp us! Fur the luve av uod.
MistliT Brown, git up an' put y.r fut
r.sr'in the dure."
I slung the poker into the pit of his f
stomach, got on my feet and gave him a
clip on the head with the flat of my
hand that would have felled a man with
an averacre thickness of skull. Th?
blow from the poker resulted only in a
grunt, and while that of my hand re
lieved my feelings a bit.it seemed to help
Paddy's addled brains not at all. He
caught me by the leg, pulled me down,
and sat me up against the door by his
side as if I had been a wax doll, saying
in a maundering and contented fashion:
"Faith, thin, Misther Browa, 'tis now
we have it, an' safe we are."
"Safe, are we? I'm safe enough; but
as for you, you howling idiot, if you lay
your hand on me again, you'll wish you
had stayed outside."
Suddenly he looked up to me arrrl
asked in a lor.d whisper: "For the luve
of hivrn, Mif.thcr Brown, tell me what
was it?"
"Vh?t was it?" answered I. "What
was w:iat?"
"Si'j-e it was," said he; and at this re
markablcdialogueseemed perfectly sat
isfied, began to croon and rock uga'ii,
and lapsed into a state of "innocuous
desuetude," as before.
Deciding, at last, that the time for
heroic measures had arrived, I took
hold of Paddy's collar with both my
hands, shook him violently for a few sec
onds, and then began to bang his head
against the door. It did not take many
raps against the hard oak to bring into
the vacint face a hint of reason, and, at
last, w ith a good blow of my fist, which
bowled him over, I told him either to tell
me at once what the trouble was, or I
w ould open the door and throw him out.
The last threat was enough, and he
raised himself to the perpendicular
again, lifted his hands with a gesture,
half resistance and half petition, saying
in an appealing fashion: "Sure, you'd
not hev the black heart to do it; an 'tis
God's truth I'll tell."
He told his story as follows, in a
hoarse whisper, growing a little louder
toward the end of the tale: " 'Tis guilty
av nothin' I am at all; 'twas walkin'
home I was, all innocent an' aisy loike,
afther a bit av a picnic at Larry Costi
gan's, the same thot lives forninst the
junk shop by the river. I lift the
street, tuk a cut acroost the tennis
courts to save me toime (fer late it was,
an Mrs. Dooley, me boardin' misthress,
locks the dure at 12), an' was a follerin'
the track along the stritch, whin on the
suddint I heard futstips behindt, an'
whin I turned me head I saw (howly
hiven guard her own) a big, white spook
a-follerin' in me track."
At this Paddy went back to his croon
ing and crossing again, and I was
obliged to administer another blow,
and take a step toward the
door, with a significant glance at the
lock, to bring him back to a state of rel
ative r?nity. He gathered his senses
together, and with a mighty gulp went
on with his story.
" 'Twas in a long white robe it was,
an' afther me it came; not a-ffyin, nor
o-glidin loike, nor runinn' flat at all,
but (an" 'tis the truth I'm tellin'), but
a-hurdliu' loike, though nothin' was it
jumpin," but impty wind alone. Ivery
time it lept, me brith left me, an I was
that gone, I cud not move me fut, though
plain I saw it coinin' on me. Bight for
ninst me was it, an' another sthride an'
the spook wud hev had me in his grip,
whin me brith came ag'in, I guv a shout,
an lit out, with the spook afther. Fer
awhile he hild his own, but I drew ahid,
fer he was a-hurdlin' all the toime to me
a-runnin' flat, an' neither spook nor divH
can give such odds to a good man loike
Patrick O'Malley."
This last sentence was given with a
toss of the head and an emphasis that
showed Paddy in something like his
usual form, and I saw he was gradually
getting back his heart again. Paddy s
temporary forgetfulness of his ambition
was the best indication of his intense
fear, for not once before had he left it
out of his mind since he started on bis
"quest."
I slipped to the door, saying soothing
ly as I unlocked it: "Well, Paddy, it must
be the boys, and we'll go out and catch
them at their tricks."
"Sure we will that," he said, rather
doubtfully.
When the door shut after us, for a few
moments I could see nothing; but when
my eyes became accustomed to the dark
ness, we started across the field to the
other side of the track, where was the
straightaway over which Paddy had
seen the spook "a-hurdlin'."
When we reached it, for a few seconds
we could see nothing unusual, but a lit
tle later we suddenly couid discover at
the same time a white figure near the
finish came toward us where we stood,
perhaps 30 yards from the start.
Xow, 1 will confess I was a bit sur
prised and startled, for I thought that
the only ghost was probably in Paddy's
brain. When I saw the tall, white fig
ure loom up in the darkness, I did feel
a little queer, and remembered some
blood-curdling stories with which a lazy
nurse once kept me in bounds when I
was a little lad of seven summers.
I could see the ghost plainly enough
as it came toward us in the gloom, fol
lowing along the other side of the track,
walking as a hurdler would when the
sticks were up and he was going to the
start. I quieted Paddy as best I could,
and kept a good grip on his arm. The
moon just now coming out of the clouds,
we could see the tall, white figure plain
ly, the white robe ghastly in the light.
He was quiet but a few seconds, and
Paddy gave my arm a grip when the
ghostly hurdler got on the maik, set
himself for the start, put out a long
spectral arm, and then suddenly, as if at
the sound of the pistol, he was off.
Three strides he took, then up he came,
lifting in the air as over an imaginary
hurdle, and as he rose I could hear
Paddy's breath as if drawn by a suc-tion-pu
nip.
The spook landed with a great flutter,
the white robe making a tremendous
t flapping, and the steps sounding crunch,
crunch, crunch on the cinders. Al
though there was not the sign of a stick
up, he hurdled sure enough, and so
i naturally that I strained my eyes to
discovered something more than the
impty wind." As he approached the
second imaginary hurdle the moon came
out clear, and I could see him tuck a
bare foot under him, rise. clumsily, and
come down with an amazing display of
skeleton legs. A great noise he made,
and it reassured me. I was sure one of
the boys was acting the role, and dis
covered something strangely familiar
in the peculiar gait of the ghostly hur
dler. . -
As it came close to us, Paddy began to
tremble, and was gathering himself to
break away and run, when a sudden
fancy took me, and I said: "Tackle the
ghest, Paddy, and the job is yours," at
the same time letting go my hold on his
nrm.
He hesitated but a second, just long
enough to realize what I had said, and
then he was at the spook like a flash,
and of all the "mix-ups" I ever saw, that
which followed.was the worst.
You have seen a Tunch and Judy
show, and remember the wonderful
struggle between Punch and the devil?
Weli, that between Paddy and the
"ghost hurdler" was just such another,
l'irrt Paddy's black coat was upper
most, and then the spook's white robe;
ar.d which would have stayed there I
cannot tell, for I pulled them apart be
fore either had won out. When they
got on their feet, and I gave a good look
at th -m, I gave a shout, for they were
elligies sure enough.
On one side w as Paddy, a ragged piece
of whit" cloth in his right hand, his left
clinched and held in, front of him, in
case th';re should be a renewal of hostil
ities. Ilis coat was 'split open in the
back, also one knee of his trousers, and
his cheek was scratched as if a giant
tomcat had clawed him.
On the other side of me, and'facing
Paddy, v. ith a look of inquiry on his pale
face, was, of all men, "Two Pieces" him
self. His nose was bleeding freely,
where Fat's big fist had got in a blow,
and he was clad only in his night-shirt,
most of which had been torn oft in the
struggle.
After recriminations, explanations
and apologies, I foundthaf'Two Pieces"
had undoubtedly been so excited by his
dreams of success on the cinder-path
that they had brought back an
attack of sleep-walking to which
he had been addicted when a
boy. He remembered nothing be
tween his going to bed and the waking
up in a life and death struggle with
Paddy, and we got him back into his
room not much worse for wear. After
we had tucked him safely in bed. we
started back across the field to the gym
nasium, for Mrs. Dooley's door was now
bolted beyond a doubt.
I opened the door against which
Paddy had leaned a short half-hour be
fore; we crossed the vestibule where I
had heard his startling story, and under
the stairs I pointed out an old tumbling
mattress, which would make a comfcrt
able'resting place for the night.
I then took slowly from my ring the
key to the outside door, and handed it
to Paddy without a word.
He knew well what it meant, and his
face flushed red with pleasure. No
knight of old after his vigil at arms re
ceived his goiden spurs with greater
pride. He stumbled over a few words of
thanks, and I left him to the contem
plation of his success, alone with his
glory.
The days of his probation were past.
"That job" was his at last. From Cin
der Path Tales.
SUICIDE IN JAPAN.
ttwftd Conditions ttecm to Strength)
th Impulses of Despair.
An interesting essay on the preva
lence of suicide in Japan has been writ
ten by Mr. Saito Kokufu, a native sta
tistical. The statistics extend over ten
years and show that suicide has beep on
the increase in Japan both actually and
in proportion to the total number of
deaths. In 1SS5 and 1SS6 the number
in proportion to the population reached
its highest. Mr. Saito observes that
during these years there was a great
rise in the price of the necessaries of
life.
In the case of Japanese women the
age at which suicide is most frequent is
about 20; the corresponding period
with men is 25. Comparatively few
women commit suicide after the 25th
year, but men are not safe until they
are past 40. The women after marriage
usually take life as they find it and sub
mit with stoicism to its conditions. The
suicides of men r.re due to the worries
and reverses of business and are often
the result of cool and deliberate choice
between two evils. Female suicides
are rather more than half those of males
but with a distinct tendency to increase.
From January to May are the worst
months for suicides. The number
mounts rapidly month by month from
January to May and keeps high until
July and it falls to its lowest in Novem
ber. The suicides of December and
January are attributed partly to pe
cuniary troubles at the close of the
year, when all accounts are supposed to
be closed and all liabilities met. A rise
in July is attributed to financial
troubles at the half year.
In recent years the use of the sword
by suicides is decreasing greatly; hang
ing is the method most frequently em
ployed, nearly three-fourths of the male
suicides and nearly half the females
having terminated their lives in this
way, but among women drowning U
more common even than hanging.
Firearms and poison are very rarely
used, probably because they are not
readily obtainable, while a Japanese of
either sex always has a long girdle and
always has water sufficient to cause
drowning at hand in the deep welis in
every village and adjacent to almost
every house.
The figures show that the number of
suicides varies year by year with thf
price of rice; it rises when th price ol
rice is high and falls when rice is cheap.
It is also evident that the great centers
of commerce and industry have a
greater proportion than country dis
tricts. Mr. Saito has endeavored to tabulate
the causes of Japanese suicides and
from the figures for four years which he
gives it appears that abo'lt half the
total number are due to mental derange
ment, aliout a quarter to "general re
verses of fortune and the difficulty -of
making a living," an eighth of the whole
are attributed to physical suffering and
the remainder to love, romance, shame,
bereavement, domestic quarrels, etc.
No attempt is made in the statistics
to distinguish between educated and
uneducated persons who commit sui
cide. It seems, however, that the view
of the educated Japanese is that he has
a right to commit suicide if he thinks
his life has been a failure or that it has
become an intolerable burden to him.
London Times.
LED BY A STICK.
A Cnrlou Eiplanatlon of What Induced
Nansen to Seek the l'ole.
It is not generally known that among
the facts wnich induced Dr. NansCn to
undertake his expedition to the north
pole was the discovery of a little piece of
wood called tne "throwing-stickv
Prof. J. Murdoch explains what a
"throwing-stiek" is, and how it led Dr.
Xansen to believe that there was a
steady current flowing across the pole.
He defined a "throwing-stiek" to be a
contrivance for casting a javelin or har
poon, which is employed by various
savage races, such as the Australians,
some South American tribes, and es
pecially by the Eskimos.
The patterns of different countries
differ from one another, so that a con
noisseur can say whether a particular
"stick" belongs to Greenland, or Hud
son bay, or Alaska. In 1SS6 a curator of
a Norwegian scientific society found a
"throwing-stiek" among driftwood at
Codthaab. Greenland, different from
those used in Greenland, but similar tc
those used in Alaska, and practically
identical with implements employed
by natives living near Behring strait.
The discoverer. Dr. King, set himself
the work of finding out how it reached
Godthaab. It was evident that it had
cot drifted by way of the northwest
passage, for that way is barred by such
a network of islands that tha stick
would undoubtedly have stranded long
before it reached Greenland.
The only reasonable explanation he
could give was that the stick must have
drifted with the current that sets north
through Behring strait into the Arctic
ocean. On the north of the strait the
current moves steadily westward.
There the stick must have met the
current that sweeps down between
Iceland and Greenland, and then turned
northward again around Cape Farewell.
This theory appealed to Dr. Xansen, and
ultimately led him to form his ad
venturous plan of trusting his little
vessel to the current which he believed
would carry him over the pole. N. Y.
World.
Thought Be Bad.
"I believe," said the pastor, solicitous
ly, as he took the depraved urchin by
the hand, "that the devil has hold of
you."
"I shouldn't be a durned bit sur
prised," said the urchin, eying the
minister iUspiciously. Washington
Times.
Not a Successful Experiment.
Wiggles Well, did you make him
take his words back, as you said you
were going to do?
Waggles Yes, he took them back,
but he used them over again more em
phatically than be did before.-Somer-ville
Journal.
DESSERTS MADE WITH PEAR&
War of Preparing Them for Use la
Winter.
For a compote of pears use firm fruit,
not too ripe. Wash the pears, cut it em
into halves lengthwise and carefnily
take out the core. Make a sirup in ihe
proportion of two cups of sugar to one
cup of water. When the sirup is boiling
put in the pieces of pears and cook them
until tender. Take them out with a
skimmer and arrange them in a pyra
mid form, the stem end up, on a pret
ty dish. Slice an unpeeled lemon very
thin end put it into the sirup. Let the
sirup cook until it will be thick when
cold, put the lemon slices over the fruit,
and pour the sirup over the whole by
the spoonfuls when a little cold, so
that it will not all run to the bottom
of the dish. Place the compote where it
will become perfectly cold before serv
ing. An excellent way to serve pears in a
pudding is thus: Wash and remove the
cores and stems. Put them on a plate,
place them in a steamer and cover them
until they are tender, but not soft
enough to lose their shape. Carefully
lift the pears out and fill the space left
by the core with small bits of preserved
ginger and sirup. Arrange the fruit
on a plate that can be put into the oven.
Sift some powdered sugar over them
and squeeze a little lemon juice over
the whole. Cover the fruit with a thick
meringue. Put the plate into a moder
ate oven and let it remain until the
meringue is a delicate brown. This is
a very palatable and wholesome des
sert. Pears may be made ir.to a pudding
with tapioca like peaches or apples,
and with equally good results. Soak
one cupful of tapioca till it swi-i.s.
In the morning add three-quarters of
a cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, the grat
ed yellow rind of a lemon, and half the
juice. Peel and cut in halves ripe pears
and take out the cores. Half fill a bk
ingdish with the pears; pour the soaked
iapioca mixture over them and bake
until the pears are done. Serve this
pudding partly cold with sweetened
cream. If lemon flavoring is not de
sired some pieces of cinnamon may
be stuck in the tapioca; remove them
before sending the dish to the table.
A delicious sweetmeat to serve with
Ice creams, blnne mange, or custards
is gingered pears. A hard and not too
ripe pear is best to use for this sweet,
Teel the fruit and cut it into very thin
slices, lengthwise, around the core. For
eight jKunds of sliced fruit put into a
porcelain kettle ihe juice from live
lemons, one cup of water, eight pounds
of granulated sugar and half a pound
of ginger root scraped and cut into thin
slices. Let the sugar all dissolve be
fore adding the fruit. Cut the lemon
rinds into long, thin straws and add
to the preserves. Let them cook slow ly
uncovered an hour or longer if the fruit
requires it.
The French process of candying penrs
involves a little work, but repays for
ilio trnnlile. and such oears are an ex-
L eeedingly delicious afteidinnct sweet.
Chpose small pears, peeif hem, and it-nve
the stems .on. . Pint, them intd "boiling
water and cook until the fruit is just
tender. Put into a saucepan two
pounds of sugar and iy2 pints of wa
ter. Set the pan over the fire, and when
the sugar is dissolved, let it boil with
out stirring until when tested in Ice
wntjr it forms a suffar ball when roiled
between the fingers. Put the pears ii.to
the sirup, having just as mucn iruu
as the sirup will cover. Take the pan
from the fire and keep in a warm but
not hot oven half a day. Do this for
three days, taking the fruit out each
1 imp and Vieatinir the sirup to boiling be
fore putting it into the oven. After i tie
third time make n fresh sirup like the
first, and, when it is boiled to the rght
consistency, put in the pears, and te
the pan to one side until the fruit be
come? a little cool. Wet in cold water.
bricht shallow tins and put in ihe pe:irs
leaving a space between them. Keep
them in a moderate temperature until
they harden and dry; then put tiein
away in boxes or jars. sprinKiing con
t;rnrs' snjrar between the layers;
or oiled paper may be used in place of
the sugar. X. l. nun.
TOLD BY YOUR TONGUE.
Although It Is Silent It Speak Volnmea
to the Doctor.
Doctors do not trust to the iongue
so much as they used to, but the num
ber of things they learn from it is sur
prisiner. The "strawberry tongue,
which is a tongue covered with thin
fur through which a lot of little red dots
are peepinc, is an almost certain sign
of scarlet fever. When it is red, dry,
narrow and pointed probably you have
severe dyspepsia, f f it is very pale you
have most likely lost blood or are suner-
ing from poverty of blood or some
wasting disease. If there is a thin white
coating you have slight indigestion or
are feverish. If the coating is yellow
probably your liver is out of order.
But smokers always have a coated
tnncrne and people who keep their
mouths open a great deal have yellowish
tonsues caused by the dust ol the at
mosphere. When a person swallows an
acid poison the tongue shows what
kind of acid it was, carbolic acid
leaving it white, sulphuric acid black
ening it, nitric acid staining it yellow.
Caustic potash produces a grayish stain.
and lunar caustic a pearl gray mark.
The tongue may be coated from severe
pain, worry, anger, fear or overwork.
without indicating bad health. A trem
bling tongue shows strong emotion,
lead-poisoning, debility, or too free a
use of intoxicating liquors. A rcal'y
healthy tongue ought to be a rosy red,
moist and constantly changing form.
Xervous people put out their tongues
quickly and draw them in fast. Phleg
matic people put theirs out in a leisure
ly manner. Old people generally have
coated tongues, whether well or ill,
and very foolish people have large, flab
by tongues too big for their moutiis.
St. Louis Bepnblic.
It is said that the Japanese Isa
guage contains 47 chaxactera.
SCHOOL AND CHURCH.'
T-nthp Onic-lev. of Bochester. Is)
spoken of as a possible successor tf
the late ttisnop ityan Ottoman vnuuuuvs
of Buffalo.
All over the country the vertical
ii.,tni nf hajidwritinir is arrowing in
favor, and it is announced in Michigan
V.O mnr schools throughout the state
are to teach it this year than have taught
it in any year before.
Pnm Leo XIII- it is known, has a
Tery nervous temperament, and thisi
added to his incessant work and exer
tions, renders him liable to frequent in
somnia. He has not siep laieiy
more than two hours a night.
T-milv H. Bourne has donated,
$10,000 to the town of Bourne, Mass
for the purpose of buiwing a jjonujr
j u,;nr-rnrm in memory of her
father, the late Hon. Jonathan Bourne,
in honor of whom the town was nan.
m,, - vrV university has been
reorganized and C. D. Ashley was made
. ... . . -r, 1 .In
dean in the place ol tne late ur.
Abbott. Dean Ashley was born in Bos
ton July 4, 1851. He was graduated at
Phillips Andover acaoemy
Yale university, in the class of 1873.
The largest library in the world is
the National library of France, founded;
by Louis XIV., which now contains
1,400,000 books, 300,000 pamphlets, 175,
000 manuscripts, 300,000 maps and
charts, 150,000 coins and medals, 1,300,
000 engravings, and 100.000 portrait.
Women interfered with the removal
of the parish priest at Santa Marina
in the Abuzzi recently, so that the car
bineers had to charge them. One tvom-
...
an was killed, several others wounaea,
but "finally the priest was literally
dragged from their midst" and escorted
to his new parish.
BIG SPRINGS.
Fennnylvanla Has One Whose Flow la
880,000 Gallons a Minute.
Pennsylvania possesses a number ol
remarkable springs. The big springs
of Bellefonte, the "Beautiful Fount,"
from which the town derives its name,
and which pours forth 2S0.000 gallons
per minute, has had its story repeatedly
. . ... . . . i i : : A
tola. iii t almost wuuiu me
Bellefonte is another spring, never
mentioned, almost unknown, because
of its rival in the borough, which for
purity and outpour is as large as the
one in the town. A pure crystal stream
of water two feet deep and ten feet
wide gushes forth the year round, and!
the temperature varies but two de
grees, being that much warmer in the
winter than in the summer. Then there
is the spring at Axe Mann, another very-
large one: but among the marvelous
Fprings in this section is the famous
rock spring. There the water gushe
forth from a cave in the rock iully ten
feet high and 2 feet wide, with a clear
ness that rivals even the crystal. No
rain has ever been severe enough to
even make the water of a murky color.
From out of the depths of the cavern
ous rock come various specimens f
the finest 'fish, among them being the
delicious .mountain trout, and, though ;
they can be seen coming out, no one ha
ever been able to see a single fish swim
into the cave. Whether they are bred!
underground, or where they come
from, is a mystery that has never been
fathomed.
Another remarkable spring is in
Huntington county, near the old fur
nace by that name. There the cavern
which is the outlet of the spring is of
such dimensions that a team of horses
can be driven into it for a considerable
distance. Ten rods from its source the
spring gives a stream oi sumcieni
power to run a large grist mill, and it
was never known to be too low for this
use. Then there is the "Blue Spring
in Bald Eagle valley, named so because
when looked into the water seems as
blue as indigo. This is because of its
great depth, a matter which to this day
is an unsettled question. This spring.
which in appearance is like a well about
four feet in diameter, has been sounded
to a depth of several hundred feet with
out finding any bottom. The water is
near enough to the top so that a man
can lie down and drink from the spring,
Pittsburgh Dispatch.
Diffusion of Powerful Odors,
It is said that a grain of musk is ca
pable of perfuming for several years a
chamber would contain 2.985,934 cubic
without sustaining any sensible dimi
nution of its volume or weight. Such a
chamber would contain 2,965,984 cubic
inches of space, each cubic inch con
taining 1.000 cubic tenths of inches,
making in all 3,000,000,000 tenths of
inches. Now, it is probable, indeed, al
most certain, that each cubic tenth or
an inch of the air of each room contains
one or more particles of the musk, and
thatthisair has been changed during the
series of years an inconceivable number
of times. This being the case, it is only
natural that the imagination should re
coil before attempting to compute the
number of particles which must have
composed that single grain of perfume!
Numerous as they must have been,
taken all together, they have no appre
ciable weight or magnitude. True it
is that th". human mind cannot con
ceive of such "infinitesimal littleness.'
Verily, Horatio, there are more won
ders in the world than were evei
dreamed of in your philosophy. St.
Louis Kepublic.
That Wan Different.
Maid Shall mndame wear her new
gown to-night?
Madame No, T guess not. This is
the night my husband comes in from
town, is it not?
Maid Yes, madame; with a gentle
man friend.
Madame On second thoughts. Ce
leste, I think I will wear the new dress.
X. Y. Truth.
Impudence,
Laura You remember Chollie Boggs,
don't you?
Flora I rather think I do. He is the
impudent wretch who began whist'ing
the koochee-koochee the time I got that
bug; down my back at the picnic Chu
cinnati Enquirer.
