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T IT K TV i? a r Am i t
i U r r'.' -
C.PE GIIlABnEAr, MSIRI.
THE FIRST. REP LEAF.
JJTit H that which th eyejercelYes :
VlQWine mbnB the thick green leaves?
Is It an oriole perched to rest,
Or tanager, with his vivid vest?
r a lonely grosbeak, left behind.
Forgotten by all his gorgeous kind?
Alas, for summer and woe for me
Tis the first red leaf on the dogwood tree!
Ah, why, for the grass is not yet sere;
TNo blight betokens the falling year;
-A late rose reigns on her thorny throne.
Ml the fairer because alone,
And nods and smiles in the sunny noon.
As sweet and perfect as those of June;
Why hint at winter and storm to be,
O first red leaf on the dogwood tree?
One orphaned lily leans pale and tall,
Last of its line, by the llchened wall.
The salvia tosses its brilliant plume.
The bright nasturtiums are yet in bloom.
And dahlias, crimson and gold and white.
Waste their beauty, awake all night.
Yet here, with Its sorrowful prophecy.
Is the first red leaf on the dogwood tree!
The knapweed swings by the meadow path
"Where mowers gather the aftermath;
The first pale aster has but begun
To hint that the torrid days are done,
The fringy sprays of the golden-rod
Are spreading their spendthrift wealth
abroad,
And, while they charm us, we need not see
The first red leaf on the dogwood tree!
Elizabeth Akera. In Youth's Companion.
A DOG CATCflEH CAUGHT. 1
T T IS hardly to be doubted that the
I most heartily despised set of per-
sons on the face of the earth are the dog
catchers.
The oldest man now living cannot re-
member the day when he heard a kind
ly word uttered in behalf of thesnarers
of vagabond canines. It is an article
of faith in some localities and among
certain people that Ishmael owed his
unpopularity and utter isolation to the
presumed fact that he was unwise
enough to hire out as a garnerer of sur
plus dogs.
UUBlr UlW IUC VUlCtlgU UUg IOH III 1 O
T iL. : .1 .
are experiencing their regular fall car
nival of assault and battery, and the
people whose pets they lure or drag
away are offering up their ancient and
time-honored testimony, which is to the
effect that most wire wielders are
thieves who go on private property to
steal good and valuable dogs, while ut
terly ignoring the measley curs which
are alleged to throng the streets with
out hindrance.
( It is the same story which is told of
dog catchers in all worlds and at all
times. And, unfortunately, in many
cases, it turns out to be the truth, for
the men on the big wagon have a shrewd
Sdea of the great profit arising out of
the harvesting of high-class dogs and
holding them for ransom. There was a
man of that kind once in Council
Bluffs, la., but he was discouraged out
of the business. His name was Whim-
pie, and he has reduced the dog traf
fic to a science. He paid very little at
tention to the untagged vagrants of the
anine species, but give him a good
chance at some good man's St. Bernard
or foxhound and he would climb elec
tric light towers and get his wire noose
over the head of the quarry. He was
clever about it, too, and although the
owners of good dogs hired detectives
to watch him, with a hope of getting
a criminal case against him, he always
succeeded in eluding the (harp eyes of
the sleuths, and would, indeed, by care
ful maneuvering, even while closely
pursued, slip around into a back yard,
loose a fine hunting spaniel from his
kennel and entice it out into the alley,
where, with the support and backing
of the law, he would clap his noose over
the beast's head. Valuable dogs had
the fondest passion for losing their
tags about 15 minutes before Whim-
pie's arrival in the neighborhood. The
explanation of the phenomenon was
never clearly given, but at any rate
Whimple succeeded in finding more
.good dogs without their passports than
any other dog catcher who ever lived in
that city. And, once caught, it cost
-quite a neat bit of money to ransom
such a victim.
Bill Boyer, a printer and a statesman,
was a dog fancier who for six weary
years suffered at Whimple's hands. He
whipped the man thrice, but as the dog
-catcher was always able to make a fair
showing that he had been inside the
lines of the law the fines imposed upon
Boyer amounted to more than the
bribes which he was obliged to pay
Whimple for the release of his impound
ed pets. Boyer at last worked the thing
down to a system. One year he would
whip Whimple and pay a fine of $22.30
and the next he would civel the dog
catcher the amount of his claim for the
catching of his dogs usually about
$20. The former course cost more, but
Boyer calculated that he got at least
$3.40 worth of satisfaction out of break
ing Whimple's visage. The printing
man would regularly pay the city for
his dog licenses, but as regularly the
tags would disappear in some myste
rious manner, and Whimple would get
action.
Boyer at last decided to take ex
treme measures in the matter of Whim
ple and his dogs. One of the finest
pointers sickened and died one day,
and instead, of giving it the usual re
spectful and sorrowful burial Boyer
-' sent the body over the river to a tax
- idennist and had it stuffed in a most
artful way.
"Make it lying down," he said to Col
bert, the taxidermist; "lying down,
with its neaa standing up in the. air.
And so it was fashioned.
"Now, then," said Bill, "I want you
to fairly line that dog's hair with little,
fine wires. Make it so that there'll be
a metallic surface to meet anything
that conies in contact with the coat."
Which was also arranged.
...Boyer, took, his prepared dog home,
and, waiting f or The opening of the dog
catching season, he 6et about perfect
ing his plans. By the time Whin-jle was
due to go on his rounds all was ready,
and Boyer took hit dog out and set it
down on i rubber mat on the front
porch. This was at night, and early the
next morning the despised.:. Whimple,
sneaking along in Boyer's neighborhood
for he always made for the home of
the dog fancier on the first day of hia
resumption of business caught sight
of the spaniel in the early morning semi
light. "That's Dodger," he murmured to
himself. "Boyer'll pay ten dollars out
of hand to get him back once I catch
him." And he looked carefully about
to see if he was observed.
"I'll get him quick an' take the tag
off him before he can give a j'elp," said
Whimple, softly, "an' then I'll be ready
to swear he was runnin' around out
here, barkin' at me as I was goin' by."
Whimple, as has been said, saw the
dog. But, alas, there was an invisible
thing of which he took no cognizance.
And that invisible thing was the heavy
copper wire which ran from the trolley
line over to Boyer's house and down
alongside the porch, whereon Dodger
lay waiting for the door to open. And
if the man iad seen it, do you think he
would have stopped to calculate that
the dog was loaded with enough elec
tricity to keep 16 trains busily plying
between Omaha and Council Bluffs
that the beast's life and vitality came
not from a collection of sesamoids and
temporals and livers and lights, but
from a lot of 20-ton wheels in a power
house two miles away? Hardly.
Certainly he thought nothing of the
kind. But standing on the well-watered
lawn of Bill Boyer and oh, how care
fully the man of types and stump
speeches had sprinkled that lawn on
the night before! he poised his wire
noose for action, and leaning over the
rail slipped it about the dog's uplifted
head and gave a quick jerk, the purpose
of which was to choke his prey into im
mediate silence.
The school books used to say that if
a man lived on the planet Neptune he
would be able to jump over the Wash
ington monument, or thereabouts.
For a moment Whimple seemed to be
lieve that his home was in "eptune,
and that he wanted to get back there
right away. He gave one leap aloft and
turned a few dozen times like a sort of
a "day-fireworks" brand of pinwheel.
He alighted on the back of his neck
when he came down, but being a
courageous sort of villain in some
ways, and believing that the dog was
stronger than he ever calculated upon, he
hung grimly to the wire and abused the
beast's character while volts and am
peres and time cards and bell punches
and other things connected with the
street car service of Council Bluffs shot
through him. But even as he talked in
a strange language he continued in mo
tion. "You cussed fool of a bum printer's
deg!" he shouted, as the stuffed and
electrified one jounced over against him.
"Let go o my leg! Oh, thunder and
lightning!" as an especially heavy jolt
struck him and sent him about 42 feet
upward. "Quit bitin' me! Get out!
Letgo! If I kick you once you'll "
To do him justice, Whimple was a
game dog catcher, but at last which is
to say after about nine seconds even
he had to give in.
"Help! Help!" he cried. "This dog
is eatin' me alive! Hel-l-l-Ip!"
"Let go your wire, you fool!" called
William Boyer from his front window,
for even he felt merciful at last.
Whimple loosened his grip on the wire
and the dog rolled in one direction and
he himself collapsed against a fence
post on the other side of the lo.
The many and intererting things
which Boyer said to Whimple when he
came out upon the lawnare not matters
of history. It was plain enough, even
to the dog thief, that at last he had
been caught in flagrant trespass, and
his defiance was gone. He begged Boyer
to tie him together and send him home
in some kind of cart so that he could
die peaceably.
"Your dog like to killed me, he said.
T never seen such a savage t brute."
Which remark gave Boy eran idea, and he
declared, wifh great pathos that
Whimple had murdered his best pet.
and figured up its worth, which was.
strange to say, just equal to the ran
soms he bad himself paid in the past.
And he compelled Whimple to pay him
the amount that day.
That made Whimple and Boyer
square, but the street railway people
wondered for three weeks why the cars
had all stopped for ten inexplicable sec
onds that busy morning. Chicago Bee
ord.
At a German picnic in Emporia,
Kan., the chief refreshment was beer,
382 gallons of which were consumed.
The partakers of this exhilarating bev
erage were extremely jolly until they
learned that the treasurer had skipped
with the entire receipts of the picnic
$175.
HE'S A GREAT MAN.-"
The Cold Csmralnlone .f the Klon
dike Wields Mighty. Power.
- In the rush of news about the won
derful gold discoveries 'in the Klondike
there has been .mention made .once in
awhile about the'"goH commissioner,
'but as yet the public is riot aware how
important personage be is. It is indeed
a hard matter for people in the United
States to think of dispute's involving
large, wealth being settled promptly,
and tfi'aV settlement putting an end to
all quibbling, i According to reports
from the Klondike the gold commis
sioner wields a power that is fairly as
tonishing, in that he listens to cases
involving ownership to gold claims and
renders his decisions promptly. If there
hasnotbeensome bigmistakein reports
his decision is final, and the adjustment
that he announces becomes the law that
all interested parties must abide by.
A case in direct line is that of Hon
Crawford, formerly clerk of the mu
nicipal court in this city. A year ago
Michael Kelly, a well-known Seattle pi
oneer, went to the Klondike with his
son. Father and son located several
claims on different creeks, with the un
derstanding that they would share the
proceeds equally. The elder Kelly de
cided to return to Seattle last spring
and left his son on the claim last lo
cated. It was what is now known as
No. 50, below Discovery, on Bonanza
creek. At that time the Klondike was
not known to be a bed of glittering
gold.
Kelly was anxious to return to the
gold fields, but desired to raise money
in order to leave his family in comfort
able circumstances. He met Bon
Crawford and proposed to sell him a
half interest in his claims for $1,000.
Crawford hustled around, mortgaged
his property, disposed of his jewelry
and by taking some friends in with him
got enough money to pay Kelly the
$1,000. Crawford went to the Klon
dike last spring, and to his dismay
found that young Kelly, not knowing
what his father had done, had sold the
Bonanza claim to an English syndicate
for $10,000.
When the elder Kelly found out what
had taken place he said that Crawford
had made his purchase in good faith
and that his rights must be protected.
The affair was referred to the gold
commissioner, who decided that Craw
ford and his associates were to have
half of the claim, but that they must
pay to the English syndicate $1,500 out
of the first clean-up, while the Kellys
should return to the English syndicate
$5,000, or half the original purchase
price paid by them to young Kelly.
This decision was accepted by all par
ties without a murmur, and that is how
a tangle was settled in a day that would
have been a source of endless litigation
In the United States.
Miners say that Crawford's claim is
worth between $100,000 and $300,000.
Seattle (Wash.) Times.
THE SOUTH AND HER SLAVES.
Wbnt She Did for Them The Women
Were Heroines.
Rev. Edward L. Pell, of this city, is
collecting material for a history of the
efforts made by the south for the moral
elevation of the negro before the war.
The facts of suoh a history, while not
easily available, are more abundant
than is generally supposed. Not only
did the churches of the south spend
large sums of money in missionary
work among the blacks, but it was not
uncommon for persons who owned a
large body of slaves to have a place of
worship for them and to have a preacher
employed for their especial ministry.
Moreover, every white church had its
contingent of colored members, who
had a voice in the management of
church affairs, and so sacred was this
tie that many of the colored people con
tinued their membership iu the white
churches even after they were emanci
pated. The efforts of individual lay
men, as, for example Stonewall Jack
son, in the Sunday school for slaves at
Lexington, would make another long
and touching chapter.
All this is nothing, however, as com
pared with the work done for the negro
by the women of the south. The idea
that the southern women were made
heroines by the late war is far from the
fact. They were heroines from the be
ginning and they had been in training
from the time that the slaves came into
our possession. Instead of the many
public charities in which they nre en
gaged to-day, they devoted their time to
the instruction of the slaves and the
amelioration of their condition. Seek
any old negro and ask him where he got
his religious instruction and he will
almost invariably tell you that he owes
it to "ole miss," who had him at the
"gre't house" on Sunday morning and
read to him and his companions selec
tions from the Scriptures and expound
ed their meaning. Richmond News.
The Maid and Handkerchief.
A touching and poetical custom pre
vails in the Welsch-TyroL When t
young maiden is about to be married,
immediately before she steps across th
threshold of her old home, on her waj
to the church, her mother solemnly
gives her a new pocket handkerchief
The bride holds it in her hand through
out the marriage ceremony, usint it
to wipe away her tears. So soon as the
marriage festivities are ended the
young wife lays the handkerchief aside
in her linen closet, and there it remain
as long as she lives. Nothing would in
duce a Tyrolese wife to use this sacred
handkerchief. It may be half a cen
tury, or longer, before it is taken from
its place to fulfil the second and last
part of its mission. When the wife
dies, perhaps as a gray old grandmother,
the loving hands of the next of kin
place the bridal handkerchief over the
face of the dead and it is buried with
her in the grave. London News.
A Sad Affair.
"Ndbody could ever tell the Hudson
twins from each other until they fell
in love with the same girl."
"And then?"
"Oh, then there was a serious differ
ence between them." Harlem Life.
!TW:SMAlX.POX ROCKTrrr
.a Relic ( the Days When Inacolatlam
Waa Practiced In the Satmef State.
A party of bicyclists from this place,
under the leadership of Charles T. Hunt
er, while making a run to Hartford
through Fannin gt on this week, un
earthed a curiosity in. the shape of a
huge flat rock or ledge in the woods,
covered with names, ages and dates.
None of the dates was later than 1794.
The rock is part of the trap formation
which crops out of the little mountain
to the southeast of Farmington. on the
old road running to New Britain. Upon
returning Mr. Hunter made, inquiries
and obtained from an old resident of
Southington what is probably the story
of the rock.
It appears from the Southington man's
story that a smallpox inoculation hos
pital, owned jointly by the adjoining
towns of Southington and Farmington,
stood in the wilderness near the sculp
tured rock for three years after 1792.
The rock was the meeting place for the
hospital attendants and the messengers
from the two towns. At that time and
for years after, until it was forgotten,
the lodge was known as the smallpox
hospital rock.
Smallpox was held in dread by the
old residents of Connecticut, and un
til Jenner's discovery of vaccination
came into general use inoculation was
practiced. Hundreds of people were
inoculated at Southington-Farmington
hospital and the names carved on the
sculptured reck are those of some of
them. There are thought to be hun
dreds of these inscriptions, as the sur
face of the rock has been uncovered
for a small area only. The dates run
from 1792 to 1794. A bit of an old Farm
inton letter found by Mr. Hunter throws
further light on the old pesthouse times.
It says under date of 1794:
"The younft girls here are all in the
pesthouse. I have been up to see them.
They are as thick as toads after rain.
Nancy Hooker and Fanny Cowles have
it the hardest, but they will do well, I
believe."
A story is told of a bride from New
Britain, who was sent during her honey
moon to this old pesthouse to have
smallpox "according to orders." She
was Mary, the daughter of Col. Gad
Stanley, a soldier of the revolution, and
had just been married to Oliver Dewey.
The young couple had planned a wed
ding trip to North Carolina, which was
a long journey for those days. It oc
curred to the bride's father that she
might be exposed to the smallpox while
traveling, and he insisted upon her go
ing to the pesthouse on the mountain
to take the disease in its mildest form.
The bride wept and entreated not to
be separated from her husband, and
the latter expostulated, but to no avail.
The old soldier was determined. To
the pesthouse she went and after a
stay of several weeks passed through
the disease In safety. Then she went
on her wedding journey. N. Y. Sun.
CLEANING THE TREASURY.
Work Is Done Dally by a Small Arm)
of Charwomen.
There are something like 1 miles
of corridors in the great treasury build
ing at Washington, with hundreds upon
hundreds of rooms, large and small.
It requires a small army to keep these
corridors and rooms clean and in or
der. Floors must be scrubbed, carpets
swept, baseboards and windows cleaned
and the debris of a busy day removed.
This work is done by women, who re
ceive a compensation of $20 a month.
The duties are laborious, back-breaking,
joint-cracking and conducive to
rheumatism, yet there is actually as
keen and spirited demand for places on
the charwomen list by people in that
class as there is for clerical positions by
people of another class.
It is an interesting sight to watch
these scores of charwomen when they
report for duty in the afternoon, just
before the close of office hours. Ac
commodations are provided for them
upon a long line of wooden benches
in the basement of the building. They
gather half an hour before the re
quired time, and find opportunity
thereby for gossip. At least that is
supposed to be the reason why they
some before their time. Their case is
unique in this respect. They are the
only employes of the government in
Washington who are anxious to get to
their offices before the time for go
ing to work. Their labors are finished
in two or three hours.
The greater number of these women
are past middle life, most of them are
fat and the majority have an accent.
The little stipend of $20 a month is
the principal support of a family in
many cases, and when the poor crea
tures are discharged it means a great
deal to them. It is often said that it
is harder for an official to discharge a
charwoman than to dispense with the
services of a $1,200 clerk, for in the
one case, while he has to stand off a
congressman or a politician, in the oth
er he has to meet the weeping and wail
ing of a poverty-stricken woman, who
possesses a wealth of tear-bedewed
pleadings that would move a heart ol
stone to pity. N. Y. Press.
Paving? Stones of Grass.
Paving blocks made of meadow grasi
are now manufactured. Their inventoi
was a clergyman, and the meadow
grass, impregnated with oil, tar and
resin, is pressed into blocks and finally
bound with iron straps. The advan
tages claimed for these blocks are thai
they are noiseless and elastic, resist thr
wear well and are impervious to heat
and cold. Chicago Chronicle.
Xo Dancer.
Mrs. Grady (who hates to say any
thing, but ) Mrs. Kelly, the way your
daughters bang thot pianney av yours
(ram morning till night is something
outrageous!
Mrs. Kelly Itesht aisy. Mrs. Grady!
reshtaisy! Ut's an old wan, and thej
can't hur-r-rt it anny! Puck.
Every girl knows at least a score
of men, either of whom she could have
married had she been asked. Chica
go News.
T AT; fcONESOMEHUR
Am Agemt Flasra a Train Jast to Hava
Some Company. , ;
Not long ago a new station agent was
appointed at one of the small suburban
towns. The said town has tolerably fair
street car accommodations. Hence the
local trains on the railroad do not stop
except upun signal. The agent, who is
not very bright, was fully instructed
in his duties and given to understand
that whenever he had a passenger he
was to flag the train. '
He attended to the duties of hie office
in a proper way, but he seemed to have
an impression that everything was not
right, inasmuch as he was doing no pas
senger business for the road. He had
been in office three days and not a pas
senger showed up to gladden his weary
heart.
On the evening of the third day he
came to the conclusion that something
must be done to make bis job secure.
In .his opinion, it would not do to have
trains whistling by and he standing all
the day idle. He would break the
monotony of the situation at all costs.
As a local drew near, about the hour
of dusk, he took his position on the plat
form with a red lantern in his hand.
He waved it vigorously, and the train
came to a standstill. The conductor
alighted and looked up and down the
platform, but no passenger was in sight.
There was no one but the agent, and
he looked supremely happy, as the pas
senger train had stopped.
"Where's your passengers?" asked
the conductor.
"There ain't none," said the agent.
"What did you signal for?"
"I just thought maybe you had some
one to get off. Anyhow, it's so dern
lonesome here that if this corporation
don't stop all trains at this station reg
ularly I'm goin to throw up the job.
I'd sooner be in a lighthouse. That
would be lively. Ye kin go on now."
Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune.
AND SHE NEVER KNEW.
A Horrid Man Wanted the Girls t
Tell Her.
There had been several good speakers
before Miss Susan Bloomfield- pulled
down her vest, ran a finger around the
edge of her collar, and advanced to the
edge of the platform. She was a large
woman, with moles upon her chin and
cheeks and a complexion like a piece of
breakfast bacon; but she had a convinc
ing way of shaking the index finger
of her right hand, and she was frequent
ly applauded by her enthusiastic sis
ters. After she had dwelt at length upon
the injustice of depriving women of the
privilege of suffrage and had held man
up as an inferior animal, whose speedy
extermination was all that could pos
sibly save the world from going to de
struction, she exclaimed: -
"And now they want to tell us what
we must wear! (Laughter.) They seek
to measure our skirts for us and to dic
tate the style of our sleeves! (Groans.)
Shall we submit tamely to this oppres
sion? (Cries of "No, no!") Shall we
permit these bipeds, who, according to
one of their own number, have de
scended from monkeys (hilarious
shouts) to foist their ideas of beauty
upon us? And this brings me to the
main point of my argument. What
makes woman beautiful? That is the
question what make her lovely?
What "
But at this point a meek -looking man
who had been listening1 quietly to the
roasting of his brothers arose and said:
"Girls, if any of you know, don't keep
it back. Tell her. Don't let her go away
from here without knowing, if you can
help it."
He then grabbed his hat and ran, and
the meeting broke up in wild confusion.
Cleveland Leader.
In mark and White.
Black and white combinations are
immensely fashionable, and all black
toilets have a distinction that makes the
fact that they are smart more than ever
acceptable. One that I remember as be
ing worn one afternoon on the golf
links was of black crepe de chine, the
whole gown covered with broad bands
of rich black guipure lace, set in both
directions, leaving, in this way, but
small squares of the original crepe
foundation. The black lace was en
hanced by wonderfully interwoven
threads of silver, the underskirt being
of black crepe on a soft silk foundation,
so that the frock was mysteriously
cringing and noiseless. The skii
trailed a bit over the grass, and the
pouchy bodice was brightened by a
Blender vest of heavy silver and jet em
broidery on white satin, a black lisse
bow flaring out under the chin, and
guipure epaulets broadening the shoul
ders, which, with the arms, were loosely
defined by the smooth sleeves of unlined
black lace, silver embroidered. A bit of
black satin encircled the waist, and a
hat of black satin straw was heavy with
drooping black plumes. St- Louis Re
public. Staffed Tomatoes.
Stuffed tomatoes are excellent. Se
lect as many large, firm, ripe tomatoes as
there are persons to be served, and cut
them in halves. Heat a little butter in
porcelain-line saucepan and lay the
tomatoes in it with the flesh side down.
Let them fry two or three minutes.
Make a stuffing of one email shallot,
chopped fine (a small white onion will
do); one clove of garlic no more also
minced; the yolks of two hard-boiled
eggs, a tablespoonful of equal parts
of chopped chives, parsley and two salt
anchovies, freshened and chopped fine.
Mix all these ingredients thoroughly to
gether, stirring in a tablespoonful of
butter; season with a little pepper and
salt if necessary. Lay the halves of
fried tomato on a buttered tin, flesh or
cooked side up, and cover each one of
them with one-sixth of the amount of
stuffing prepared. Dredge a few fine
bread crumbs and sprinkle a few drops
sf melted butter over each, and put them
in a hot oven to bake ten or fifteen min
utes. Place them on a dry, hot platter
tnd serve. N. Y. Tribune. "
HUMOROUS.
- "What are all those ribbons hang
tog Jttvthe chandelier.? "Those an
not ribbons; they are neckties I've
palled off different men when I was
learning to ride a wheeL" -Chicago Rec
ord.. ,c . -. ".
tiPergnson Tt says here' that no
foreigner is allowed to be 48 hours on
Turkish territory without a pass."
Nixon "It must be tough on- the rail
roads that have to issue them. Boston
Transcript.
Mr. Dunham "I have called, sir, to
tell yon that your daughter, Miss Fan
nie, and I love each other very dearly.
I want to ask yon for her." Old Mill
ynns "Well, youH have to wait awhile.
There's no vacancy in the store now
that I could put you into." Cleveland
Leader.
Baggies -"Wot yer doin. Weary,
wid de telleracope?" Weary "Lookin
fer work." Baggies- "Lookin fer
work? Wot fer?" Weary "So's I
kin avoid it. -I wuz jest sizin' up da
houses 'round here ter see ef I cant
strike one dat keeps a gaserline can in
stid uv a wood pile." Judge.
"Fwat's this I hear about yon soak
in a Chinyman wid a brick?" asked
Mr. Hogan. "Niver let me hear av th
like again. Always br-reak a brick in
two and soak your man twice. You
young Americans are much too waste
ful." Indianapolis Journal.
Visitor "What ! He is three months
old and you haven't named him yet?
Mrs. Wheeler "No! You see, it's this
way: I want to name him after my bi
cycle, and John insists on naming him
after his, I guess we will have to com
promise and name him after the wheel
mother rides." Puck.
""Yesterday," said Jabson, "I re
fused a supplicant woman a request for
a small sum of money, and in conse
quence of my act I passed a sleepless
night. The tones of her voice were
ringing in my ears the whole time.
"Your softness of heart does you cred
it," said Mabson; "who was the wom
an?" "My wife." Detroit Free Press
POPE LEO XIII.'S BIRTHDAY.
Carplneto In the Apennines, the Pe
cl Palace and the Pone's Bedroom.
Count Ludovico Pecci, nephew of Leo
XIII., and his wife. Donna Vittoria, have
given, in honor of the pope's name day.
a great reception at Carpineto, the
birthplace of the Pontiff, where they
live. Carpineto is a mountain village
with about 5,000 inhabitants, and is pic
turesquely situated on the top of a
peak of the Lepini mountains. Being
surrounded by points much higher, and
snow-capped at some seasons, it is real
ly very beautiful. It is far from rail
ways. One has to drive five hours in
the diligence in order to reach it, and
It has thus kept much of its primitive
character. The inhabitants are veryj
poor, mostly shepherds. The warned,
starting early in the morning, some
times go 15 miles to gather wood. When
they are employed in cultivating the
land they do not earn more than four
or five pence a day. (
The present village was, in the middle
ages, a rather important town. It was,
with its surroundings, a duchy, first un
der the Caetani, to which family be
longed Boniface VIII., who had his ears
boxed by a Sciarra-Colonna at Anagni,
and later under the Aidobrandini, to
which belonged Clement VHL For two
centuries, however, the most important
family there has been that of the Pecci,
although they originally came from
Siena. The Peoci own the only building
which can be called a palace, and half of
the environs. From their palace, which
is built on the highest ground the out
look is grand toward the mountains
and picturesque looking down over the
roofs of the medieval town. The in
terior is much more sumptuous than
one would expect in that half-wild dis
trict. There are vast anterooms and
magnificent halls, hung with tapestry
and large family portraits.
The portrait of the pope's mother rep
resents her as handsome and dignified, '
and that of his father, in his uniform,
of colonel (he served under Napoleon
I.) as a good-looking man, in whose fea
tures can be found traces resembling
his celebrated son. Leo is also there.
The likeness is an exceedingly good one
more than can he said of his brother.
Cardinal Giuseppe Pecci, who died in
1890 at the age of 83, a rigid Jesuit, who
had a rooted objection to posing in any
form for his picture. Among the por
traits there of persons not belonging to
the family, is one of Duke Loubat, an
American! ennobled by Leo XIII., who
has erected three or four statues of the
pope in different churches.
The room occupied by the present
Pontiff when he resided in Carpineto is
still called "Camera di Monsignore,"
and has not been disturbed. It is very
modestly furnished, having a little iron
bed with curtains, a small writing desk
near a window, a picture of the Madon
na, a portrait of the Blessed Margaret
Pecci, an ancestress of his, and a few
chairs. Pall Mall Gazette.
Where Mastaehea Are Barred.
Time was in England when the em
ployes of banks might not wear beards
or mustaches. This restriction has in
almost every instance long been re
moved. One exception still remains.
The historic house of Coutts, where
royalty keeps its private accounts, de
clines to alter the rule of a bygone age.
and visitors to its ancient walls will
note that its employes present a re
markably trim and smart appearance.
The younger clerks yearning for those
hirsute adornments so dear to budding
adolescence have recently memorialized
the partners on this subject, but. alast
without success. Detroit Free Press.
A Good Guess.
"I'm opposed to horse racing. I
think the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals should step in and
put a stop to it."
"Well, old man. I'm sorry for you.
That's all I can say."
"Sorry forme? What yen mean?
"Oh. of course you had your money
on the wrong horse." Ct f cjand,
deader.
