The Abbeville press and banner. [volume], December 11, 1901, Image 6

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THEAY5T
i
" pjQrenccB>
Author of*u "The Mou?><
ICopjTiFbt, lf?f. ly
CHAPTER XV.
Continued.
There was an adjournment for lun
cheon at this point, and afterwan
came the supreme sensation of th<
day?the appearance of Nell Claris a:
a witness.
Tongues had been busy with he
name since the crowd filed out of th
rnurt. No one could doubt the ininor
of the questions the coroner had put ti
Miss Bostal. It was plain that Nell
the only person, except Clifford. wb?
was known to have had any cause o
Ill-will toward the deceased man. nov
lay under the suspicion of being con
cerned in his death.
Perhaps the girl herself, when shi
came from the magistrate's room int<
the court, was the only person presen
. who did not realize the position ii
which she stood. For she alone ha<
Deen absent when the searching qijf?s
tions were being put to her friend.
Nell made a bad impression from th
very first. She was wrapped up to theyes
in a long, squirrel-lined cloak an<
a boa of brown fur. and she wore i
loffffl Vi o f Ttrhinh hoi no/1 in hirio crpi
the outline of her i.ace from the crow*
in the court behind her. But from th<
glimpse which could be caught of he
features as she moved hurriedly int<
the place pointed out to her, it was evi
dent that her far-famed beauty wa;
for a time under eclipse, for her com
plexion was blurred with crying an<
her blue eyes looked sunken and color
less.
All that seemed to concern her wai
to hide as much of her face as sh<
could, and to give her answers so tha
they should be heard by as few per
eons as possible. Throughout th<
whole of her evidence she had to b<
admonished to "speak up," and to an
swer at once and straightforwardly
instead of taking time to think out he
replies, as she showed a strong dispo
sition to do.
Altogether she was a bad witness
I,,* oil V f\
UCV.1UCU1J IUC nviot Ul IUVU1 ?**? *w
even nervous Mrs. Mann gave so mucl
trouble. If there had been no breatl
of suspicion of the girl before shi
stood in the witness's place, her man
ner and her answers would have beei
sufficient to arouse the feeling in al
those who heard and saw her give evi
dence.
"You are the niece of Mr. Georg<
Claris, I believe? And you were pres
ent when the quarrel took place be
twegn the deceased and Mr. Cllffon
King?"
"There was no quarrel. Jem Stick
els attacked him. He struck Mr
iving "Willi ms linue mrougu iuc ?vju
daw. He stabbed him."
"And Mr. King struck him back?"
"No. Yes. At least he caught hole
of him and flung him away."
"Flung him to the ground, in fact?"
"I don't know whether he meant t<
do that."
"But, as a matter of fact, the de
ceased did fall to the ground, and laj
there, stunued."
"He struck his head against th<
ledge of the window."
"Yes. Do you know the reason -whj
the deceased attacked Mr. King?"
Nell made no answer.
' '. "I am sorry to have to press for ai
answer. Remember, there is nothins
whatever discreditable to a lady ir
being the object of jealousy betweei
two hot-blooded young men. I believi
1 it is an undouotea iact tnat jem suck
els, the deceased, was jealous of Mr
King, and that it was the sight of Mr
King and you together which pro
yoked him to attack a rival whom h<
regarded, rightly or wrongly, as mon
favored than himself."
Nell blundered into a hasty, incohe
rent answer:
"No. It was not that. He didn't
, He couldn't. It was not that he wai
jealous. I always hated Jem Stick
els, and he knew it. How could he b<
jealous when I detested him?"
And for the first and last time in th<
course of her evidence Nell's voice Avas
loud enough to be heard throughou
the court as she uttered this terriblj
damaging speech."
When she had spoken and stood star
ing at the coroner with wide-opei
eyes a great wave of horror passet
over the court, and the jury to a mai
felt sorry for her. They had all knowi
this dissipated fisherman, they all fel
the gulf of repugnance that must hav<
existed between this refined younj
girl and him. And, while the couclu
Bion was forced in upon their mindi
that she had taken violent means t(
rid herself of him and his persecution
they felt that they would have givei
a great deal to have been able to husl
the matter up.
For while the loathing she so franlil;
expressed gave a reason and almos
an excuse for her crime, on the othe
hand her fearless avowal of feelinj
now, when It was so greatly to her in
terest to hide it, seemed to show tha
she was in a state of mind in whicl
she could nardly be considered respon
Bible for her actions.
Meanwhile, however, the inquiry hai
to go on.
"Well, then," pursued the coroner
getting away from the fatal subjec
and speaking with extra dryness t<
hide lus own sympathy, "you went t<
Colonel Bostal's house, and you ani
Miss Bostal went together to see Jen
Stiekels at his lodging to ask how h
was?"
But here again Nell blundered pas
the opportunity thus given her fo
clearing her own character.
"I didn't want to go. Miss Theodorj
made me go," said she.
"Well, you went, at any rate, ani
you saw him, and spoke to him."
"No: I didn't speak to him."
"Well, you saw him, didn't you?"
"No; I wouldn't look at him.
beard him: that was all."
"You heard him tell Miss Bostal tha
be was going to Stroan?"
Here a frightened look pas?eu sud
denly across the girl's facc, causiDj
' ? V * ' . .
8g)S.
Y' 1"' ' ?*
w'eu'dcn,
^ oa thi Marsh*" ereSsbert
Bonner's Sons. I
I the jurymen, one and ail, to look at
I her more attentively than before.
"Yes."
j The answer was a whisper.
a "And. of course, you didn't notice
" whether he seemed in his usual health
or not?" !
"I didn't notice."
"Of course not. Then you went back
to Colonel Bostal's house with Miss
- Bostal?"
J "Yes." '
IITN'J i.!?. XT- _ X! .1 -111
3 JL?ia you iioucr me iiujc ui au; vuu
f you tell us what time it was r'o you
~ reached the house?"
"No."
"You can't give aDy idea?''
"No "
B I
r. "Not even within an hour?" i
' ?<> " !
1 r'And when you got to the- bouse i
I what did'you do?"
I. "I cried."
"Where? In the kitchen?"
p "Yes. I think so. I hardly rememe
ber-"
3 "Miss Bostal left yon to go upstairs
i and mend her dress. Do you rememi
ber that?"
3 "No. Oh, yes, I think I do."
e "Now I don't want to worry you, but
r I want you to think before you answer
5 me. When Miss Bo'stal left you to go
upstairs, what did you do?"
3 "I?I?I went into the kitchen."
"Andyou cried there?"
1 "Yes."
"And can you tell us about how long
you sat there crying?
3 "No."
s "Presently you made the tea. didn't
t you?"
A pause.
2 The coroner went on:
g "Try to recollect. It only happened
_ last night, you know. Miss Bostal
says you brought in the tea, brought
r it into the dining-room. Don't you
? remember doing that?"
"Oh, oh, yes!"
i "And did you then look at the clock?
t Do you remember?"
3 "No, I don't remember."
j "You found Miss Bostal in the dina
ing-room. What was she doing?"
."She was lighting the Are."
iixra *-?/i ttaii?V?n/l waii hoon in thp
its. AUU J VU UUVI JVU MVVM
2 kitchen all the time after she left you
. until you took the tea into the diningroom
?"'
a "Yes."
"You had not been outside the house
. for a moment?"
j This question Nell answered proinotly:
"Oh, no!"
"You are sure of that?*"
" "Quite sure."
"Have you, gentlemen, an., questions
to ask this witness?" went on the
j coroner, turning to the jury.
A stout man with gray whiskers
leaned forward in his seat,
j "I should like to ask Miss Claris."
he said, "whether the deceased had
. not used certain threats towards her?
T He is known to have said that he had
used threats."
i The coroner looked ns if he was uncertain
whether he should allow this
T question, but Nell answered by a,
movement of her head in assent.
"He did use threats to you?" perx
sisted the juryman.
r "Yes, but "
"He threatened to tell the police
x who it was that committed the rob;
beries at your uncle's house?"
[ Nell turned very white, and threw a:
the persistent juryman a frightened
[ glance.
"Yes. He said that he knew."
; "And he threatened to give informa;
ilon?"
"I don't think," interrupted the coro.
ner, "that you ought to put it like that.
Threaten is hardly the word. He snid
. he would give information, did he
3 not?"
"Yes," said Nell, almost inaudibly.
; "Are you engaged to Mr. King?"
asked he.
i "Really, gentlemen, we must keep to
3 the point," protested the coroner. But
t Nell answered this question in a loud7
or voice.
"I am not engaged to him," she said,
. firmly.
i "That will do, I think," said the cor1
oner, who saw that there was a strong
i tendency on the part of the jury fo sati
isfy their curiosity on points quite
t outside the subject of Inquiry,
a And Nell was allowed to retire from
; her prominent position. Miss Bostal
. was waiting for her, and with a gentle
s hand she dragged the girl into a seat
3 beside her. where little could be seen
, of her now flushed and frightened
i face.
i "There is now only one more witness,"
went on the coroner addressing
f the jury. "It is the second medical
t man who helped at the post-mortem."
r "Is not Mr. King to be called?"
; asked one of the jurymen.
t4T-T*i Jo intnMn oH/.uw1 T hnvo n
t doctor's certificate to that effect. But
li i after the evidence which has been
i- given I think his presence was hardly
material.
1 "Now. I think it very material," objected
a juryman. "He was known to
have quarreled with the deceased?"
t "It can be proved that he was in bed
o at the time oi' his death." answered
? the coroner. "He was so much in3
Jured that he was watched from the
ii moment he fell down, fainting, af'er
e flinging the deceased off "
"Well, but I submit that we ought lo
t J have proof of this in evidence. When
r | a man is found dead, with a bullet in
j bis head
a. He stopped short, his attention ar- |
rested, like that of every other person j
i) in the court, by a cry. a movement, ou j
the part of Nell Claris. Springing j
upon her feet she gave a moan, a gasp
and then looking round her with one j
I quick, frightened stare, sank down in j
j her scat.
t i There was a buzz of whispering, j
i which was checked by Uip loud cry of j
1* "Silence!"' as the secoud due*.or was i
S I called aud sworn. Ills evidence was \
J
only an echo of his colleague, and was
hardly listened to by the crowd in the
court, who were occupied with a
stronger situation.
The coroner's address to the jury
was a very short one. and indicated
more doubt in the miud of the coroner
than existed in the minds of his hearers.
When the jury had retired the murmurs
rose higher and higher, nud thft
excited discnssion of the probable 7'tdiet,
although repressed a little by Ills
presence of Nell, who sat like a statue
by Miss Bostal's side, had grown into
a loud roar before the jury returned
into court.
When they took their seats the roar
of the crowd had suddenly gi**en plan*
to a hush, in which the voice of the
coroner asking if they had agreed upon
a verdict was distinctly heard.
In a few minutes the news had
spread from the court to th" crowd in
the market place outside that the verdict
was: "Wilful murder by scm'.' p. -
son or persons unknown."
CHAPTER XVI.
When Miss Bostal, at the end of t. >
proceedings, turned to Nell and lold
her to get up and come home, sb?
found that the girl had fainted.
George Claris:, who had not been
near his niece during tbe inquest, but
-had stood in a corner bj himself with
folded arms watching the proceedings
with a heavy frown, came forward
sullenly at Miss Bostal's imperious gesture.
"Look, look. Mr. Claris", don't yon
see the poor child has fainted';" cv.iod
she. astonished at his apathy.
"Yes, I see," replied he, shortly. with
a cool nod.
"Poor little thing! The horror has
been too much for her! Poor J:itJe
thing!"' went on the lady, as she quickly
unfastened Nell's cloak and loosened
the front of her gown. "A gla.s3 of
water, some one, please. And don't
crowd around her; let her have a.'l ibe
air we can."
When the girJ came to herself, as
she did in a very few miniitese, Ihnnks
to the ministrations of Miss Bostal,
she was led away to tht dog cart,
which was waiting outside.
"Take great care of her." said Miss
Bostal, solicitously, as Nell was hoisted
in, very pale and lifeless and miser
able. "And if you will take ray advice,
you will send her off to her aunt in
London by the first train to-morrow
morning."
George Claris, who had remained
taciturn, sullen, and on the whole rather
neglectful of his niece, frowned as
he threw a quick glance at her.
"Oh, she's all right," he said, with
gruffuess most unusual with him in
speaking of his darling Nell. "She only
wants the fresh air to bring her to.
How are you going to get back. Miss
Bostal? Can't I give you a lift? We
will make room for you."
He looked up at Nell, expecting her
to echo his words, and to make room
for her friend; but the girl never
moved.
Her uncle looked angry, but Miss
Theodora smiled indulgently.
"Leave her alone," she whispered.
"She's not herself yet. This wretched
business has been too much for her."
"Why should it be too much for her
more than for anybodoy else?" asked
the innkeeper, fiercely.
Nell turned Willi a start, and her'
eyes were full of horror as she met
those of her uncle. Miss Theodora
pulled him impatiently by the arm.
"Men have no sympathy," she said
reproachfully. "My father is just the
same. You don't make any allowance
for a woman's nerves. And yet. if we
don't have nerves, you complain that
we are mannish and unlovable. Oh,
Mr. Claris, I didn't think it of you! I
didn't, indeed. I've often thought that
your gentleness to Nell was a pattern
to be copied by other men iu their
treatment of ladies.''
The excitement of the day had tendered
Miss Bostal much more loquacious
and condescending' than was
usual with her. Her father, who had
not been in court, came up at this moment.
and, with a nod to George Claris
and a cold salutation to Nell, drew
Miss Theodora away.
The old gentleman looked cold and
was decidedly cross.
"Come away! Conic along!" said he.
"Mrs. Landsdowne will give us a lift
on her way home. I don't know what
you want to go hanging about the
place for a minute longer than you
need. I should think you were glad
to get this gruesome affair done with.
Come along!"
And Miss Theodora dutifully allowed
him to lead her away.
To be Continued,
Known by Your Shoes.
If you go regularly to the same bootblack
lie not only knows you by your
shoes, but he knows every pair of
shoes that he has ever seen on j'our
feet.
"These are better shoes than the button
ones you wore last fall," said one
of the Italian footwear shiners, who
presumed on a long business acquaintance.
He told the truth and set me to
thinking.
"Do ycu remember those shoes?" I
asked.
"Oh, yes. I put a button on them
the first time you wore them, and that
was right after yon stopped wearing
the light tan ones that you had for
three summers/'
"Do you notice and remember all
sueli things':"
"Yes. We used to.en!) you 'Old
Tans' when we spoke oi' you. You see,
we talk about our customers sometimes.
and always know them best l>y
their shoes. That man who just went
out is "Old Congress Gaiteis.' We
don't mean anything wrung by suel?
names; it is only our way. We have
very few customers who wear congress
gaiters, and he is the only one
who comes every day. Most of {lien:
are old men, for you see they can put
the gaiters on easier than other shoes
That gentleman always wears thein
and he makes a pair last liim uine
months."?New York Herald.
ThcFastcst Ocean Steamers.
The fastest passenger steamer in the
world is the Dentscuianu, avikcu nas
made HS4 miles a day. with a consumption
of 570 .ons of coal, almost a too
a mile.
Berlin ifc to knvo a school for coachmen,
in which drivers are to be taught
how to yet along in the crowded city
streets.
V
^DG%a5055tjDlMCOGX-Dl3030G0303a^OUJuyuu
i The Pigeon=Post at
j|| By Adrlen De J;
IN France, during the siege of Paris,
at a time when the German
armies were surrounding the capital
and cutting off the Parisian
population from all communication
with the outside world, Monsieur
Rampont, the then Postmaster-General,
conceived the idea of intrusting
to pigeons the transmission of news,
thus giving the inhabitants a knowledge
of what was going on in the provinces.
In this way those members of
U'EGC-BRE.D
lOHjA tMJI ntfco*
| lli^x a veter/sn carrier
bird ?
the Government who had remained
in Paris were put in touch with their
colleagues of the National Defense
who were at Tours. In order to attain
this subject a certain number of
pigeons were conveyed by balloon from
Paris to Tours, whence they were set
free, bearing messages photographically
reduced to microscopic dimensions
on very light collodion films. In
those days the despatch was rolled up
and inclosed in a quill attached to the
tail of the pigeon. By these means over
150,000 official and, at the lowest,
1,000,000 private messages entered
Paris.
The great French shipping company
known as the Compagnie Transatlantique
deserves the credit of making
the first attempts to establish what
may truly be styled the seapost.
On March 26,' 1898, the steamship
La Champagne took aboard, for the
first time, eighty pigeons. Three
batches of birds were set free at a
6hort distance from the seaboard, and
this in most stormy weather. The
older birds safely reached their cote,
while the younger ones, unable to withstand
a pelting rain-fall, dropped into
the sea ill sight of those aboard.
On the following day, and under
Ilk infavorable wenther conditions,
L; 'bampa&ne, Laving covered 3G0
miles, rescued the crew of tlie doomed
Bothnia. Seven pigeons were sent
. l
THIS STRIP OF BAMBOO, CONTAINING
THE MESSAGE, IS FASTENED BOUND
THE PIGEON'S LEG.
- " ?' ' ~t?ii ? !
lorm, eacxi oeanug u simnm ui-a.janu.
They took their flight r.t noon, and it
was calculated that they should either
reach land or some ship's matt. One
of the birds dropped on the deck of the
Chatterton, in the Eay of Biscay; the
Chatterton cabled to Paris end to New
York the- loss of the Bothnia. A second
bird was picked up by a freight
steamer, which thereupon shaped its
course for the locality of the disaster
came across tho derelict, and towed it
into an Irish port. A week later a
third pigeon, wounded, end minus its
despatch, reached its cote. The four
others were never heard of again.
The pigeons employed by the Compagnie
Transatlautique are selected
with the most rigirous care. The head
must be big and round; the bill relatively
short and surmounted with a
fleshy, heart-shaped excrcscence; the
+>10 hrooat rrmst
c,yco ouiuu www
bunch out; the legs be short; and the
wings must meet on a narrow and
powerful tail.
In addition to being endowed with
an extraordinary instinct for shaping
Its course, a good carrier pigeon must
possess great rapidity of flight and
tremendous staying power. The firstnamed
quality?the "homing instinct,'
which is innate?is not susceptible of
any improvement. The two others
ii'
I.
A DRAGOON SCOUT-HE CARR
PIGEON ME
may be secured by means of progressive
and regular training. A pigeon's
education begins when it is but three
or four months old. It is conveyed a
mile distant from its cote aud then set
Sea and in War. ?
assaud, of Paris. ^ ^ '' ||jj
free. The' experiment is renewed daily,
the distance on each occasion being
imperceptibly increased. The bird's
education cannot be considered complete,
however, until it has attained
the age of three years.
On land the pigeon is able to cover
long distances, such as those between
T?r?non nml RriiKHPls or New York and
Chicago. Its ratio of flight, under normal
atmospheric conditions, is never
less than 31.15850 miles an hour, and
never exceeds 49.85300 miles on a
long distance.
The pigeons ~.re brought aboard the
Transatlantique steamers in wicker
cages having a drinking trough. As
soon as the French coast is out of
sight passengers desirous of sending
a dispatch are notified to prepare It.
In pursuance of this object the passenger
is handed a small rectangular card
on which ho is to write as legibty as
possible what he wishes to communicate,
plus the name end address of the
receiver;tbe card is then handed to the
clerk Intrusted with the transmission
of the message. The clerk put3 the
different messages into a group,photographs
then on a plaque to which adheres
a film, reducing the writing in
the course of the operation to such a
degreo that it cannot be deciphered
except i^itli the aid of a magnifying
rrlnea Tho nr.mf is flPVPlnnPfl. thf>
t"- ?* Mr
film detached and carefully rolled, and
then placed in a small bamboo tube,
hermetically sealed, end weighing
hardly cue and one-ba!f grarnmo. To
this tube is attached a light kid band,
provided with an automatic button
such .as is sometimes used to fasten
gloves.
As scon-at "ie tubes are ready the
pigeons are taken out of the baskets
containing them. These birds are en-"
tremely delicate?the slightest crushing
injures them and renders them un
THIS PIGEON IS WBABINO THE CHINESE
WEISTLE WHICH PROTECTS IT
AGAINST THE ENEMY'S TBAINED
HAWKS.
flt to do what is expected of them. The
clerk attaches each tube to the leg of
a pigeon by buttoning the kid band
above described. A pigeon is able to
carry a weight of fifteen grammes
without its detracting from the-rapidity
of its flight.
The loosings take placc in the morning,
or, if the skies are too overcast,
at latest before 2 p. m. Immediately
upon being loosened the pigeons circ'c
a few times about the ship, after
which they head straight for France,
in the direction of liennes. On arrival
at the horns station the tubes are
taken off, the lilms extracted from
then, and the photographic dispatches
enlarged to their original size. The
proofs thus obtained are pasted on a
glazed card ornamented with a pretjy
allegorical' design.
It has often been asked what constitutes
the marvellous faculty of shaping
its course by the carrier pigeon.
Neither sea nor mountains nor forests
interfere with this faculty. The bird
steers its course as if guided by a conpass.
As t'.e pigeon flies at an altitude
of not more than 1G0 yards to 180
yards it is not aided by its vision, for
in that case, given the rotundity of
the world, it would have to soar to an
altitude of 707G yards. Now, according
to aeronauts who have experimented
in the natter, the bird at that
altitude quickly drops to a much lower
one. Are they then guided by magnteic
currents? Are they endowed
with a sixth sense? The matter remains
a mystery.
It is impossible for the pigeon carried
away by a steamship to note the
course followed by means of one of
his five senses, since, during his journey
by ruil from Rennes to Havre, as
well as during the ose by sea, he has
been altogether cut off from ine cuter
world. And yet the bird possesses so
accurate a knowledge of the road It
has traveled that it makes for its
cote without the slightest hesitancy
and at a very normal rapidity of flight I
The carrier pigeon was of necessity
?
IES ON HIS BACK A SUPPLY OF
SSENGERS.
to be made use of for national defense.
During a campaign the success of operations
depends at most times on the '
rapidity with which the commanderin-chief
is informed of the enemy's j
movements. To this end use 1b made
of cavalry patrols and of the field telegraph
and telephone. But to Insure
the safe arrival of Information none
of these means is so reliable as the
carrier pigeon. Scouts are liable to
be made prisoners or killed, telegraph
or telephone wires may work faultily
or be destroyed. These mishaps are
avoided by the use of the carrier pigeon.
In wcr time the role of cavalry consists
more especially in seeing and in
reporting what it has seen. It Is often
an easy matter to see, but to report
oftentimes attended by difficulties.
Herein lies the value of the carrier
pigeon. Troops on the march are accompanied
by portable cotes. They
consist of huge wirs cages provided
with lateral shutters; the cage is transported
on a two-horse four-wheeled
wagon. When it is found expedient
to reconnoitre the position of the enemy
or surprise its movements a few
pigeons are taken cut oZ ths portable
cote and placed In a wicker cago la
_
I
,
I
1 :
TTO CF THE PIGEON-CAGE W
AE
shape like an infantry soldier's haver?
? ??<>? <> i" oi?A AW Vlft Al?
SUCK; llim CttgV IB Birtipptu vu iuc unu
of a dragoon. Dragoons are preferred
for this service, for they do not carry
any carbinc slung about them, so that
the cage Is more easily attached to
tteir back. The dragoons gallop off
in the direction ordered, and before
coming in touch with the enemy they
commit to a very tfcin sheet of paper
the result of their observations. The
.sheet is then inserted in a tube, and a
little while after" loosing the pigeon
the officer at headquarters is in a position
to read the dispatch.
In order to fight the carrier pigeons,
to stop then in their flight ana intercept
the Information borne by them,
the Cermans have trained hawks to
hunt down these winged messengers.
The undertaking was at first attended
with difficulties, for, independently of
the necessity of establishing on a large
scale a system of falconry, the same
dispatch might be intrusted to several
pigeons, and hence it wouid be sufficient
for a single one to escape from
the talons of the birds of prey to ren.der
useless'all efforts made to capture
the dispatch. Moreover, the pigeons
are protected from tho assault of the
I
A CASE FOB A CAP.BIEH-PIGEON.
h-.wk by means of a little Aeolian or
Chinese-whistle affixed to its tail. This
whistle sounds as the bird flies through
the air, and frightens away the timid
hawk.
In Germany much importance Is attached
to the r.se of carrier pigeons in
time of war, and in the German Army
* ? greatest oare is devoted tj the
training of the birds, the officers and
men being given instruction in the art
of handling them. In France the
scouts ere provided with a pigeon
apiece, which they carry in a little Iron
case fastened to the walstbelt. The
holder has a hinged lid, which is
opened when the bird is to be released,
and the head piece can be unfastened
when the bird Is fed.
In France carrier pigeons are like
horses?liable to be requisitioned in
time cf war. Every year owners of
carrier pigeons ere compelled to state
at the Mayor's office the number of
birds they own; while foreigners are
no longer permitted to breed carrier
pigeons in the country.
There are at present in Paris some
700 owners of carrier pigeons, possessing
14,000 pigeons, 7500 of which are
subjected to a regular course of training.
The total number of carrier pigeons
in France is 600,000.
The pricD of a pigeon varies according
to its pedigree, age and degree of
training. Some few years ago, at a
sale in England, seventy pigeons
fetched $3449. One of the birds, a
cross between the Antwerp and Brus|
sels breed, brought $243.?The Wide
j We'd Magazine.
Boy Murderer In Prlaon For Lift,
| Suiith Jones, aged thirteen, was reI
ceived at the Indiana Northern Prison,
Laporte, October 24. to seiwe a
life sentence for murder. Warden
Shideler says Joues is the youngest
convict received in the history of the
prison, and it is said that no other
penal institution in the United States
- f ~ fi
Has so young a prisoner convicieu vl
first degree murder. Joues killed a
man twelve years his senior. The latter
is alleged to have taunted Jones,
and the boy retaliated by drawing a
knife and stabbing bis victim to dea?.
?Cincinnati Enquirer.
Aerolite Burns ? Barn.
It is reported from Kieff that a large
aerolite fell In the village of Wisienkl,
a few miles from Kieff, the noise of its
fall being heard for a distance of
fifteen miles.
According to a Warsaw dispatch (October
18) in the London Express, the
aerolite crashed through a barn, setting
it on fire, and within half an
hour fourteen peasants' houses were
in flames. A boy, three years old. was
burned to a cinder in one of the dwell
I ings.
THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG. I
A Selection Made From the Thirty ThoJ
and Design* Submitted. 1
The judges appointed by the Govern?
pent of the Australian CommonFealtM
have made their selection from tba
I
thirty thousand designs submitted il
the recent competition open to Ana
trallan artists and others. The fla|
decided upon has the Union Jack il
the top left hand1 corner, wit*' a-^alj
? ' i "? i' ilTM' '
: |-;'i
' r
silk
; ill
AGONS USED IN TKB FBSKG3
pointed star Immediately beneath ttfl
emblematic o f the six federate?
States, while the other hall of the flsfl
is devoted to depicting the Southern
Cross. The Government and official
color is to be blue, while the mercoM
tile marine of the new commonwealth
will fly the flag with a red ground.'Th?
approved design was submitted bs
several competitors.?New York TrM
To Ward Off Avalanches. , M
Avalanches are so common ih STrttjH
erland that devices are/now belx?
made to control them. The SwisB
form earthworks or intrenchment?
which are pointed in suck a fafcbioJB
+>ia4- nvolnniihaa fnmlnfi? in Contact wltfl
them are split and so driven aflide; I
An earthwork of this kind has been
built near the church at OberwalJ
in Wallis. It was first hollow withraB
but received so many shocks frozfl
avalanches that the people of tfefl
Oberwald recently made % it massivB
and solid. /
Primitive though this methcd ofl
guarding against huge masses of cpcfl
is, the Swiss maintain that it is prow
ing of admirable service, and
to the attention which Dr. Stelter hafl
now drawn to the subject, it is thotijcM
likely that many new earthworks wiflj
be erected in Switzerland durlng>th?
summer. At first sight it may seen
incredible that a comparatively smafl
mass of earth and stone should havH
the power of opposing any resistu^lfl
to an avalanche, but experience s'jowB
that it has, and the reason evident*
is because it in properly couatruoteS
and is placed in the very spot whe;S
the impact of an avalanche is likeifl
to do it the least injury.
Happy ConrM of Bowlder. I
Cne of the greatest cr.riosities in t!?B
neighborhood of New York is now.fl
be seen at the fcot of the Palisade*
Between two frame houses built tlxejfl
is a giant bowlder twenty-five feH
wide, which fell from a great helgnfl
at the top of the Palisades, and sweljfl
ing down the front of the cliffs, nnj
rooted big trees, tore up tons'of Icci9
stone and cut a wide swath -the el
tire distance. Finally, after zig^afl
ging from one side to the other* 9
rolled in between two frame housfl
and stoDDed there. 9
The people irers asleep In tlie book
when the rock started. They had bar
ly time to make their escape whea
made its appearance f.t their froi
door. They are now thanking the:
lucky stars that the enormous stci
did not hit one of the buildings.?Ne
York Herald.
Worth It.
The cost of living, we are told, h!
reached the highest point for a decad
Well, and is not life worth more tha
it ever was before? It certainly Is 1
those of us who are alive.?Bosto
Transcript.
Arc Limit For Railroad Employe*.
A compulsory scheme of reiiremei
at the age of sixty-five of all respone
ble officials and statlonmasters In tl
service of the North British Rallwa
Company is shortly to be inaugurate