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f I NUMBER THIRTEEN. (Uy Janice do Dnun.) rn in a privuio uiiiiuk- room 01 one 01 uni cago'a palnco - like hotels thcie was as sembled, not many years ago, a re markable gathering of legal talent; such nn assemblage as can I'aroly bo furnished ex Qt In this Western orU 'V If ours. They had been brought togther upon Invltntlon of Judge John Townscnd to telebrato his ro-clectlon ns Judgo for !ho supreme court of Illinois; nnd wish ing to mako It n mcmorablo occasion ho had not only entertained them roy illy through tho day nnd with boxes for the opera In the evening, but n nldnlght banquet had been arr.ingd In their honor. Judge Townscnd seated his guests nt a round tablo, tho appointments of which were dainty and elegant In the extreme; raro china, cut glasB and sil ver, choice fruits and fragrant llowers adorned tho board, tho whole softened and mellowed by electric lights In rich glas3 bulbs which studded the celling; In the distant corners electric fans gen'-' stirred the perfumed nlr, and ikllled waiters In pure white suits glided noiselessly over the Persian rugs politely anticipating tho wants of each guest. As Judge Townscnd took his position and glanced nround nt the Intelligent mil refined faces of his coterie of friends, his heart swelled with prldo; every man present was a Judgo nnd rcvcral had attained to higher honors. Ono was an associate Justice of tho United States supremo court. Ono erved his country as secretary of Btate; several of them were Judges of the supremo courts, nnd all were men of marked ability, a group which any man mlgnt bo proud to call friends. The banquet continued until the tuinll hours, and wit nnd humor Hashed from tho brains of theso elo quent warriors of the bench all tho more cnjoyablo becauso entirely Im promptu. Tho Hon. U. S. Justlco had the repu tation of being a famous story teller, and during n lull In the conversation was urged by his friend, Judge D , lo glvo one of his characteristic west ern sketches, to which he responded with his usual bon-homlo, calling forth a rousing encore. As he rose to bow In response to the encore, ho paused a moment before re reatlng himself and, railing his hand to request silence, said, In a humorous ly impresslvo manner: "Fellow Judges ad friends, our es teemed host hns put up n Job on us wo shall ono of us bo a spook before the end of tho year there are thirteen at this tablo. Wo call upon Judge Townscnd to explain himself nnd tell us how he dares defy tho laws of super stition nnd thus publicly declare hU unbelief In spooks and their visita tions." A chorus of voices arose for an ex planation from their -host, nnd Judgo Townsend, rising to his feet, glanced round the tablo at tho smiling faces of his guests, then bowing to his accuser, tald, In reply: "Your honor, In giving my invita tions I have evidently forgotten to In clude myself, therefore- I am number thirteen; but In response to tho accu sation which you have seen fit to make against mo I will rolato a few Incidents In my own life history, which, I trust, will sufficiently explain my present In difference to all danger of ghostly visi tations. "I have a friend who is more to mo even than n brother; we were born In tho tamo town, tho estates of our fath ers Joined, nnd not a day of our boy hood was passed thst wo 'Mil not seo each other; between us existed tho most perfect harmony of mind, al though we differed widely In person. Horace was dark, strong, powerfully built, full ef life and vigor, while I was blonde, delicate, by no means physical ly strong nnd somewhat timid. "I owa my present physical strength to Horace, for ho encouraged mo in athletic sports and laughed mo out of my timidity, and when wo went away to collego together, I was almost If not qulto his peer. "I will pass over our collego life by simply saying that, ns usual, wo aided nnd assisted each other nnd graduated in the same class. "Together wo discussed almost every theme which was presented for argu ment, and among other things tho su pernatural was often touched upon by (IS. "One dny Horace astonished mo by asserting that ho believed In somo rare Instances God In his goodness and mercy allowed tho souls of his earthly children who were to be taken away suddenly, with somo duty unperformed or some warning unsaid, to wander at will over tho earth and finish that work before they wero translated to heaven, whence he thought thcro was no return. , "I pooh-hoocd at him, as I always did when our conversation touched upon tho powers of the soul, but Hor ace was In earnest and said to me, very Impressively: 'John, I fully bellovo If I knew I must die and earnestly prayed I' to sec you once more I ghoula be grant ci permission to annihilate spneo nnd be vlslblo to you, at least.' " 'Don't talk to mo about dying, when both of us aro about as healthy speci mens of young manhood ns there ere to bo found,' I replied, nnd the con versation was dropped, never to bs re called to my mind until long years afterwards. "About that time our paths in life diverged. I took up the Btudy of law, Horace that of medicine. Ho spent sev eral years In tho northern part of tho stato studying practical surgery with an experienced old surgeon who ex celled In certain branches of their pro fession. Horace himself became an ex pert, and was afterwards made surgeon general of Illinois. "I married and settled down, but Horaco romnlncd a bachelor; peoplo called him n woman hater, hut I know better, and that 'tho man did not live who had n tenderer, truer regard for woman than my friend. "I suspected there had been some sad romance in his life, but on that BUbJcct and that only was he reticent with me. "Horaco wns often our guest, and when ho camo we strolled off together or shut ourselves up In the llbrnry, un til my wife would be almost Jealous of this monopoly of my time. "On the occasion of ono of his visits Horace again alluded to his old theories nbout tho powers of the soul, nnd stat ed that his profession gave him chancos for closely observing tho dying; that he had seen them grow calm und re main apparently oblivious to every thing around them for n long time, then suddenly awnko to consciousness of their suffering, but ready nnd willing to go, ns If all their earthly desires had been fulfilled. 'My experlcnco Is,' ho ndded, 'that Christian souls aro nl lowcd this great privilege in answer to devout prayer.' " 'For goodness sake, Horace,' I ex claimed, 'don't tell me you are becom ing n spiritualist.' " 'Not n bit of It, John,' ho answered. 'So-called spiritualism Is disgusting to mo, but I do believe that our souls, while still on earth, are sometimes iil lowed to go where they wish and I may yet bo allowed to convlnco you that my theory Is true.' " 'You nro getting morbid, Horaco. and I don't wonder, as you are so much alone. I don't know of any ono who needs .a w'lfc more than you do; why In heaven's name don't you marry?' I replied. Ho grew serious In an In stant, and changed the subject. This visit from him was at Christmas time. KuZJ vo-r vij WrCnv''. I DISCOVERED HORACE, nnd before ho left wo nrranged a vaca tion trip to California for tho next summer. "Letters passed between us frequent ly the next six months; wo wero to meet In Denver the following July and proced from there together. "My wlfo and I reached Denver at the appointed time, und remained two days; still no sign of Horace. We were reluctant to go on without him, so de termlred to do a little sight-seeing, and went on to Colorado Springs, leav ing word for him to follow. "Wo Joined a party for a trip to Pike's Peak, and arrived at tho Cliff house, where we were to dine. After dinner I left my wife with a party of ladles and strolled off nlono to revel in the grandour of the scene. "I wandered far enough to be out of tho sound of their voices, then button ing my overcoat about me, for it was piercingly cold at that altitude and dif ficult to walk more than a fow stops without gasping for breath In the rarl flcd nlr; yet I enjoyed the grand soli tude and wnB filled with a sense of be ing alone with God on this mountain top. I seated myself on a boulder, clasping my hands about my knees and sat gazing at tho clouds below, tinted In every Imaginable huo by the sun's rays and looking liko a wall of pearl and Jasper shutting off tho world from view. "How long I sat there I do not know. Suddenly I became conscious that I was not alone, and looking around to seo who was the Intruder I discovered Horace sitting on a boulder near me. I could seo him more plainly than I can seo any of you, for tho searching light of the sun was pouring down upon us. And there he sat looking lovingly Into my face, as he always did when we met, the same.dcar old chum as of old. "I was eo surprised hy his sudden ap pearance that for a minute or two I ouly sat and gazed at him, my hands still clasped about my kuees. Ho did not move or speak, hut looked ctcadlly Into my face, nnd to break th silence I finally said, reaching out my hand; " 'Horncc, old boy, how glad I am to seo you; I feared something had hap pened and that you could not come.' He smiled then raising his right hand pointed with his Index finger upward; nnd faded entirely from my view. "At that moment my wlfo nppcarcd, accompanied by a guide. She was pant ing for breath and evidently excited by my long absence, nnd I rose quietly and followed her. As soon nn I could speak I asked her If she had scon Hor ace, nnd noting her look of surprise ndded, 'Ho was sitting hero on the rocks with mo not ten minutes ago, 1 thought perhaps ho had been up at the llOUEC.' " 'Horace isn't here; nro you going crazy, John 7' alio asked. In evident alarm. " 'No, I'm not crazy, nnd Horncc was certainly here. If 1 don't find him don nt the Springs on our return. I shall know something has happened to him,' I replied. "Horaco wns not nt the Springs, neither wns thero a letter or telegram. "Leaving my wlfo to contlnuo her Journey with n party of friends, I took the first train which would carry mo towards tho city where Horace was located as a physician. Of course, my wlfo protested nnd wns anxious nbout me, but g"o I would, and did. "When I reached C I repaired at once to the homo of my friend, confi dently expecting to see crape on the door, but that badge of death being ab sent I felt greatly relieved. "I was met In tho drawing-room by the housekeeper, who explained that the doctor had been called away cast very suddenly; bIic had heard him speak of Bending a telegram followed by n letter to mo nt Denver. It was ovl- dent Horace had not received my mes sages telling him to follow us to Colo rado Springs. "I returned nt once to Denver, where I found his letter awaiting mo, nnd na near as I can remember It read bb fol lows: "'Dear Old Chum: I Intended to be with you long ngo, but was detained by sovero sickness among my patients, and have now received news which obliges mo to go east at once. I may ns well confess the ono secret of my life which I havo kept even from you, my trusted friend. I loved Eleanor M , tho daughter of tho old surgeon with whom I spent several years; before 1 was awaro of It my heart had gone out to her beyond recall; then, and not un til then, did I learn she was botrothed to her cousin; sho mnrrlcd him, nnd her life has been a hell on earth, for ho was a dissipated scoundrel. Her own fortune was soon swallowed up, but Eleanor fought bravely against ndver slty and managed to care for hersell and children. I havo not seen her for ten yenrs, but unknown to her have been able to aid her In various ways. Now comes news through my agent ol tho death of her miserable husband In an Inebriate asylum, and I hasten to her assistance with hopo rising phentx. like in my heart; bid me God-speed, my moro than brother. " 'Ever yours, " 'HORACE.' "I laid down the letter and mused, Tho secret revealed therein did not surprise me greatly; I had susplcloned something of the kind long before; Horaco wns Just tho man to keep on loving a woman all his life, nnd I wni rejoiced at the prospect of his being rewarded nt last; but how In hcaven'i namo could I explain that phenomenon on tho mountain? It was so real that I trembled with superstitious awe when I recalled It, but Instead of hav ing been a subject of telepathy, as 1 had firmly belloved, litre was positive proof that no vision had appeared to mo. The moro Itrled to arguo It out with myself tho more puzzled I be came, and I finally decided It must hav been a hallucination causd by tho rarl fled air acting upon my overtaxed brain. "I should never have known to tin contrary had not Horace confessed tc mo the first tlmo we met afterwardi that ho was really on the Buminlt ol Pike's Peak in person that eventful afternoon. Ho found out his trip easl could bo made as quickly via Denver nnd longing to see me, followed on tc tho Springs, nnd took the next trait to ours up the mountain. A guide tok him where I was, and ho quietly took a seat beside mo on tho rocks. Notlnt my look of astonishment and remem bering my scorn of things supernatural he decided to test me, so, without speaking a word, ho roso slowly and pointing upward, disappeared round t point of rocks ns suddenly as he had come, never dreaming but I woul guess the ruso he had employed against mo when I should receive his lettei awaiting me at Denver. "You may bo Interested In knowlnj that Horace Is now residing In Chlcagt and married to the woman of hh choice. "And now, gentlemen, with your per mission wo will drink n bumper to thi dccllno of superstition nnd tho trlumpl of common sense in this good land u ours." All arose In response and drank t( tho toast, then Joined In giving thrct cheers in honor of their esteemed host Judge No. 13 MADE FLAGS FOR FOUR WARS. Mr. Corkln Helped l'mlilim n Hauler for tli llr of 1HI. It l altogether probable that Mr J. A C, Corkln, who lives on the shorus of Lake Chnmphilii, Is the only woman who can truly say that she has made American flags for four wars In which her country has been engaged. Mr. Corkln can boast of having helped fashion the star-spangled banner to encourage the boys to victory In 1812, In the Mexican wnr, In the rebellion nnd In tho present conflict with Spain. ; ftira. torum wns torn in isui, unu when n mere slip of n girl watch! from the top of her fnther's barn the ; famous buttle In which Ethan Allmi ' squared nccounts villi the Ilrltlsh . forces and American grit won the day. Tho Hag carried by Allen's bluccnats was made by the women of the coun tryside, nnd Mrs. Corkln's tiny fingers helped rcw tho banner which led the boys to the fray. Tho Hereon part of tho strugglo took place only n short distance from her home near Plalts btirg, and a big cannon ball snllcd Into tho yard and the grass nnd dirt It plowed up were thrown on tho stable roof where Rhe and her sister wero slt- ting terrifying thorn so that they wore ; BiHii io niuo away in uio nnme conn'- i until the last echoes of the battle died away. Again In 1818, while tho war with Mexico wns In progress, Mrs. Corkln nlded In making Hags for the United States troops, nnd during tho civil wnr helped supply two regiments with full stands of colors. When In fayetto visited the battlefields of tho two great wars for American Indepen dence ho was tho guest of Mrs. Corkln a mother, nnd partook of dinner at their house on tho night of the battle at Rouse's Point. The place takes Its name from Col. Roii3C, who was Uio first man to settlo In that territory. Though 91 years of age, the old lady Is still hnlo and hearty, nnd en route on a visit to Michigan she stopped In Cincinnati to visit her son. It wns here that sho went to work on her fourth batch of (lags. Her son has a largo embroidery store nnd he retelvod a rush order for some handsome ban ners. When Grandma Corkln heard of It sho tendered her services and mndo a record as a veteran maker of Hags. AVALANCHE ON MOUNT RANIER Millions nf Ton of Ituck, Know mill I to Criinli Into 11 Cinder. New York Sun: Tacoma, Wash. An Immense avalanche came tearing nnd roaring down the side of Mount Ranlcr Friday evening about 7 o'clock. It struck the base of the mountain with u report like that of n tremendous clap of thunder, and It was heard distinctly In Tacoma, sixty miles away. Peoplo hero thought an earthquake had occurred. This afternoon Alexander Driver nnd Peter Smith nrrlvcd from Mount Hauler with tho news that tho supposed earth quake wns an avalanche, which camo down the backbone of a "cleaver," lying between two branches of Mowltch glacier. Tho top of this cleaver has an elevation of 10,000 feet. It extends several thousand feet down the moun tain side, terminating whero tho two glacial branches como together. The avalancho started near the top of this cleaver and swept over the rocky sur face to tho Mowltch claclcr nroner. Down this It sped to whero tho glacier terminates with precipitous Icy walls, over which It leaped Into the great chasm below. A largo part of this glacier was carried down with It. Driver says that millions of tons of rock nnd Ice and snow tumbled down. The settlers watched Mount Ranlor to seo if there was to be an eruption. A great snow field which existed the day before, where tho avalanche started, was seen to havo fallen down, and the Indented patch of tho avalanche and tho broken glacier wero plainly visible. Salletl with n Cro Fin on Iter Itenl. From the Hlddeford Journal: Dur ing the yachting season last year It was noticed that the Syndicate, a boat owned by four yachtsmen, was always a tall ender, but the cause of the back wardness was not apparent. It wns laid tn the build of the boat or the bad seamanship of her skippers, but It now j appears that the trouble was elsewhere. The secret has Just leaked out. The owners of another boat at tho opening of the season hit upon a simple device for ridding themselves of tho Syndi cate's rivalry. They pulled tho craft upon tho shore and nailed a board across her keel. This had the effect of making the Syndicate very stiff, and there was little danger of her tipping over, but the effect on her speed was equally marked, and, as lias been said, she usually managed to get distanced In a race, Ullssfully Ignorant of tho handicap they were carrying tho own ers of the crnft continued to sail her In this condition nil summer and at tho closo of the season tho board waB removed in tho same surreptitious manner. Duitlrit It !. Dustless roads are made possible hv a now material, composed of a fino earthy or mineral matter charged with heavy oil, plsced In tho leveled beds ct ordinary roads. Some Fa-ds and Opinions j FRAUDULENT 0LAIM3 OF WIDOWS, flic Commissioner nt Pensions In his innual report urges tho repeal of the let of 1SS3 which swept away all limi tations ns to widows' claims undor the sonernl law. Slnco 1S88 thoro has boon . l stream of claims filed by women who profess to bo tho widows of soldlars wlio died from dlsenBO or woro killed n Uio Civil wnr. In all theso cases, when nllowed, nrreaniges for n third of n century nro paid, snys ChlcaRi) Tribune. So. thouch the iionslnn Itself may bo small tho total amount of money Involved Is Inrgo nnd hruco the temptation to set up fraudulent claims Is great. Thero has boon many such claims, nnd their Investigation hits taken up tlmo to tho prcjudlco of moro meritorious applications. Tho Grand Army of the Republic has found fnult with tho pension bureau on ncsount of Its alleged dllntorincns. Naturally It makes slower progress when It lma to denl with so many of thoso ventrabla sMme, whero the government stnnd an oxcciicnt chance nf helntr dafrnudad unless n thorough Inquiry Into (heir merits Is mndo. Usually when Bitot an Inquiry Ib got on fuut the partlaq Interested nnd tholr friends, proelalm loudly that tho "spies" of the burtni) nro persecuting tho "poor wliloyV Thcro In no good reason why objoo-i tlon should bo made to tho repeal ol n lnw which In In the deliberate opln lou of the commissioner of pensions after yovornl yenrs' experience of (q workings "n standing Invitation la file, fraudulent clnlniB." Surely during thq Inst thirteen yearn nil the women whu havo rightful clnlms running hack to tho tlmo of tho war or noon ofler Its closo havo made their claims and hsd thorn allowed. NEED OF MORE SMALL BILLS. Unltod States Treasurer Roberts Ik going to ask Congress to allow him to increase tho proportion of bills ol small denominations Issued yearly, It permission Is grantod htm moro than $140,000,000 of treasury nnd nntlonal bank notes of denominations of $30 nnd upwards will bo reissued In smnll er bills. Thero were outstanding on Sept. 30 last 11 bills to tho amount ol $07,679,000; $2 bills to tbo amount ol $12,801,000, nnd $5 bills to tho amount of 1310,570,000. These nro no smnll fig ures. If they wero to bo compared with thoso of ten years ago thoy would fiocm enormous. Rapidly aa these small bills circulate lives ns well at ones aro small bills nowadays there are not enough of thorn in circulation to meet the demands of n community which is nctlvoly engaged In making Rmall payments for goods or for serv ices. This pressure for bills of low denominations Is only ono of tho evi dences of tho gonernl woll-bolng of tho people. Tho retail business of the country must bo enormous nt this time. The wholesale business Is done so largely with checks that thero will b no scarcity of large bills ovon nftei such bills to tho amount of f 140.000.00C havo boon brokon up Into small change. Congress certainly should glv tho treasurer tho authority ho askB foi and should do so speedily. Exchange, PITTSBURG'S GOOD FORTUNE. Pittsburg is again in luck at the gen erous hands of Mr. Cnrncgle. Tho Car ncglo Instltuto nnd Its branches have already had the stimulus of $3,870,000 from him and tho proposed technical school was prosented n yenr ngo with J2.000.000 for Its endowmcnL Now, In accordance with Mr. Carnoglo's plntiH, tho Instltuto Is to bo enlnrged by the erection of now buildings nnd n great mechanical building for tho Bchool li to be conetruccd as soon as tho proper site has been selected. It has been In timated recently in Eastern papers that Mr. Carnegie has already donated 33,000,000 for theso purposes, but thl Is probably a mistake, as Mr. Carnegie not only has mndo no public statement, but ha declined to talk of his plana with outsiders. It Is conceded that ho will donato several millions for the building nnd endowment of tho tech nical school, but how largo a sum It will be will depend upon tho roports of experts, which aro now In readiness. Tho trustees think it will require nu outlay of 15,000,000 for buildings nnd grounds, nnd 25,000,000 for endow ments. If Mr. Carnogte coincides with their views he will be making more rapid progress In giving away his for tnno dining his lifetime-. Tho purpoto of the new school will bo "tho training and education of apprentices and stu dents in all trades." Chicago Journal. Ten Years' I'rojrresi. The net result In respect of speed Is hat whllo ten years ago the highest sustained ocean speed was 20.7 knots, It Is now 23.51 knots; the highest speed for largo warships was 22 knots, and Is now 23 knots on a trial of double tho duration of those of ten yenrs ago; the muxlmuin speed attained by any craft was 25 knots, as compared with 3C.G81 knots now; whllo the number of ships aver 20 knots was eight In 1891, and in Qfty-olgla iiuw, London Enulntorlns