S-:" TRUE DEMOCRAT.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT
BT. FRANGISVILLE, LOUISIANA
'Postmaster-General Wilson said in
ialast annual report that rural free
delivery is as yet an experiment, the
iesults being incomplete and its suo*
@esB not assured.
~ With reference to Rudyard Kipling
WV. D. Howells says: "His is the
lustiest voice now lifted in the world
--the clearest, the bravest, with the
fewest false notes in it."
%'With pride in her every look, a
fossil (Oregon) woman who had shot
a coyote which her" husband had
missed, after discovering it trying to
steal his turkeys, carried the scalp to
the newspaper office and applied it on
her husband's subscription.
' A New Orleans belle, having tired
of scalps, is gathering whiskers of ad
mirers who are induced to shave clean
to please her. She has all colors,
shades, lengths and degrees, from
grave to gray, from gay to dobonnair
'--and scraggly snow-covered whiskers
of ancient beaus, the lion-tawny Van.
dykes of middle-aged men, the curling
mustaches of early manhood, and the
downy fuzz of devoted or callow youth
--all jumbled together heartlessly and
remorselessly into a strange, soft,
multichromatio medley upon which
mademoiselle reclines her pretty
head with a languorous faith in the
effectiveness of her patent method for
dreaming dreams of her faithful and
hairless band of gallants.
A prominent religious journal in
A pgland, the British Weekly, has been
making an extended inquiry into
church attendance in the principal
cities of Great Britain, with results
which do not confirm the prophecies
of the decadence of the religious
world. Reports were gathered from a
large number of points in England,
S3cotland, Wales and Ireland, which,
while somewhat vague, as from the
nature of the subject they must be, yet
show pretty clearly that in England
there is no decided difference; in
Scotland, a decline; in Wales and Ire
land a probable increase, but not very
great. Upon the whole, the church
going of the present decade seems to
compare favorably with that of former
decades, and to keep pace with the
growing population.
SHarper's Weekly says: One of the
reeent suggestions of scientific writers
is that physically the Americans are
slowly developing likenesses to the
Indians, The tendency of xeversion
to the type indigenous to the soil is
matter of discussion among the
learned, and American anthropologists
have been slow to concede that we are
growing like the red men. Parisian
savants, however, taking unprejudiced
views, are more favorable to the
theory, and assume to have found
anthropological statistics that support
it. It is matter of common observa
tion that American deseondants of
inatives of other continents who come
here are modified physically as well as
intellectually by their environment,
but the changes from various inter
marriages and from differences of food
and manner of life are so rapid, com
pared with the gradual changes that
come from soil and climate, that these
4atter are apt to be overlooked.
Our submarine torpedo boat, which
is one of the scientific miracles of the
present day, is a monument to the
prophetic pen of Jules Vexne, the cele
brated novelist, maintains the Atlanta
Constitution. Although it is not to
Mr. Verne that the credit of the tor
pedo boat is given, it was neverthe
Jess in the mind of the brilliant
Frenahmen that the idea was first con
4ed. Withthe discerning eye of a
prophet 1A Verno clearly foresaw
that nsuch a boat would be forthcoming
in the near future, and he made it the
featureo of his marvelous story enti
tled "Twenty Thonusanl Leagues
Under the Sea." In the mcchanisn of
Cartain Nemo's submarine vessel, as
portrayed by the French writer, the
present torpedo boat was not only
foreshadowed in its general features
but in several of its minor details.
While the creation of Mr. Verne was
purely the conception of a novelist, it
had the effect of stimulatin:g scientifico
investigation to a remarkable extent.
On both sides of the Atlantic the vol.
urme created a profound sensation,
and more than one scientifico thinker
applied himself to the task of making
the'author's dream a reality. After
years of patient toil these re
searches have borne tangible fruit'in
the submarine boat which is now en
'gaged in protecting our Americesa
co s t
TEMPTATION.
Bin is a gaudy insect on the wing-
A bright dream held to thrill a sense
acute
And in the bloom we do not feel the sting
Revealed at lost in bitter, withered fruit.
'Tis nobler to withstand the sudden blast,
Then let it blow thee wheresoe'er it will;
And strength is added unto what thou hast
In toiling up, not sliding down, the hill
--It. N. Saunders,in the Nation's Magazine.
DARKIE'S CRIMIE,
surgery, sir, and
says she must see
you at once."
I looked up from
my paper at the
speaker - M a r y,
the housemaid.
with a weary sigh.
The life of a dec-'
tor is not, to use a
*r time-worn, and
perhaps vulgar,
Ill 9p aDhorism, " all
beer and skitles,"
and certainly mine
on that day had
not been. Sickness was very preva
lent in Colbourne, and the ills of
4000 inhabitants were in the hands of
two doctors. Besides, there had been
an outbreak of small-pox among the
navvies engaged in cutting a new rail
way to join the Colbourne terminus,
and of late we had had our hands
full.
"Did the person send in her name?"
I enquired.
'No, sir ; she said I was to look sharp
and ask you to come at once-she re
peated 'at once,' sir; and, oh, there
was an awful look in her eyes."
I rose and went to the surgery, and
there found a young woman. She did
not reply to my greeting, but at once
plunged into the object of her misgion.
Her husband, Bill Crossland, had met
with an accident on a cutting of the
new railway, and had been brought
home on a stretcher in a "bad way."
"I will be with your husband in a
few mimutes," I replied, seeing that
the nat re of the case demanded my
instant attention.
The woman left me, and procuring
what I thought neccessary, I hurried
to the squalid 3 ard in which Bill Cross
land lived. Colbourne, like many
other small towns, had slums almost
as bad as some of those which we are
told exist in the East End of Lon
don, where fevers and other pesti
lences thrive like weeds in an ill kept
garden. The houses in this yard
were rickety, and some of them filthy
and abominable.
I found the injured man lying on a
sofa, which had been improvised into
a bed. An old woman was attending
to his wants, and by the fireplaceo an
elderly man-a navvy, stood. As I
approached the bed, he left the house.
My patient was a strong, lusty-looking
fellow, with an almost black complex
ion, crisp black hair and mustache.
I speedily examined hisinjuries, and
found them of a serious nature. His
ribs had been severely crushed, and a
portion of one had penetrated a lung.
But be bore up with wonderful cour
age, and scarcely emitted a groan
when I handled him. Having done
everything possible for his comfort.
I prepared to leave the house, at the
same time beckoning to his wife to
follow me, with the idea of warning
her of the danger her husband was in.
The injured man noticed the motion,
and called me.
"Doctor," he said faintly, "therh's
one thing I want to know. Now tell
me--am I done for?"
The question was so pointedly put
that it quiet upset my equilibrium,
I began to hesitate in my evasive an.
swer to him, but he quickly stopped
me.
"Look here, doctor," he said, in a
most determined tone, "I'm a-going to
hear the truth from you afore you go.
I'll have it out o' you, or 1'11 limb it
out, I will!" and his black eyes
gleamed like burning coals.
Again I remonstrated with him, but
he would not heed me, and at last his
Wife interfered.
"You can tell Bill anythin', sir,"
she said. "Let him know if he's got
to pass in his checks, and maybe he'll
prepare for it. It's none too good a
life he's lived," and she jerked her
thumb over her shoulder at the recum
bent figure.
"Well, then," I replied, "I may as
welli be frank. The fact is, I enter
tain very little hope of your husband's
recovery."
"Yo hcar that, Bill? Doctor says
yer to pass in yer checks, so just yer
git reddy and do it !"
I was amazed at her cold-blooded
tone.
"I know'd it, lass! I know'd it l"
Bill replied. "Doctor I" I turned to
the bed. "Sit down. Martha, bring
the doctor a chair," and the old wo
man placed one close to the bed for me.
When I had seated myself--for I
thought it best to humor him-he
looked round the room and said:
"Now, I'm a-goin' to make a con.
fession. Don't any of yer git inter
ruptin', 'cause I can't speak so well."
He paused, and then went on:
"Breath seems terrible short!'
Then, turning his head to me, he Le
marked: "Yer remember that 'ere
accident to Jem Barker nigh on a
twelvemonth sin' ?"
' I nodded, for I recollected it per
fectly. Oue of the drivers in the tun
nel just outside the, town had slipped
and falleh on a rail in the dark. A
load of earth had passed over his body,
breaking his back, and death had re
sulted almost instantly. He was
found shortly afterward, and the
cIoroner 's jury returned a verdict of
"accidental death."
"Well," the injured man pursued,
"that 'ere accident wor no accident!
it wor summat else. I had better tell
ye that Jem Barker and I wor mates;
he wor called 'Guzzler,' 'Gnnue he
could swaller so much drink-like
soap suds down a sough, as the sayin'
is. I wor called 'Darkie,' 'cause-well,
ye can see why if ye look at my
physog. 1 could do a fairish drop 'o
liquor at times, but the wust of it wor
that we" both wor fond o' the same gell,
that's Liz o'er yonder ;" and he nodded
in the direction ofhis wife, who was
seated on a box which stood beneath a
window. Her eyes were fixed on the
speaker.
"Liz !" he suddenly exclaimed and
with somewhat more energy than he
had displayed in his narrative, for his
breath had failed him several times,
"Liz, Liz! don't look at me like that i!
I canna bear it! I canna l" and he
broke off into a long groan.
His wife dropped her eyes, but still
sat like a statue, with her hands
clasped in her lap. The injured man
struggled for breath, and then went
on:
"I know'd Liz wor fond o' Jem,
'cause he wor fair and handsome, but
I loved her the bestest. Ay, though
we be navvies, doctor, we can love
only some people thinks as how we
just pair off' like ! But they're wrong.
Well, to be geottin' on wi' my story.
Liz 'ere had no eyes for me when Jem
wor about, and I got jealous. All the
old friendship 'tween me and Jetn wor
gone on my side, and I began to hate
'im. The crisis came one night when
I meets Liz a-comin' from the tunnel,
which wor then bein' bored. I wor on
day duty, and Jem wor workin' at
nights, 'cause then we worked day and
night in shifts. She had ta'en him
down some supper, and I could see how
things wor goin'. So I up and tells
her of me love, and axes her to
marry me, Liz treated me bet
ter 'an I thowt she would have;
she just says, 'Bill, 1 don't
dislike ye, but I like Jem better, and
I've promised 'im.' I wor furious
thee'st remember it, I dessay, Liz
but she jurit turns on 'er heel and
walks off, sayin' as when the drink wor
in the wit wor out! I had had drink,
thee know'st. I went down to the
tunnel and meets Jem a-comin' out wi'
a truck o' muck-we call earth muck,
thee know'st. I didna let him see that
I wor angry, so I just jokes wi' him
like. As I wor goin' through the tun
nel a thowt struck me; if I wor just to
come up behind Jem, and gi'e 'im a
push in front of the truck, it would
perhaps lame 'im, and then perhaps
Liz would na be bothered wi' a lame
chap. I left the tunnel and went
ome, but I didna sleep that 'ere night.
Next day I took Jem's place driving,
and 'twere then I worked out my
plans. Thee know'st there be timbers,
called side trees, on each side to sup
port the roof o' the tunnel 'til the
brickies take the work in hand, and I
thowt as how, if I wor to hide in one
of them just in the darkest place, and
when Jem comes on just put out my
'and and gie him a push, it would do
all I wanted, I shanna forget that 'ere
day! The idea growed on me, and
when I left work, I made up my mind
to do it. So I walks down about 9
o'clock the same night, and just as I
reached the open cutting, I heerd Jem
wish Liz good night. I wor fair mad
wi' jealousy. I had murder in my
'art. Keepin' out o' sight o' Liz, I'
creeps down just in time to see Jem
take the horses back into the tunnel
to bring a load o' muck up. . creeps
down in the darkest part, and past
the shed where Bob Dalton wor pump
in' air into the tunnel, wi'out bein'
seen. I know'd every inch o' the
place, and I 'ad made up my mind wheer
to hide. I soon sound it, 'cause I 'ad
put a big stone theer. Besides, I 'ad
picked out a spot which wor always
wet, 'cause of a spring which we had
tapped above, which wor always run
nin'. Then it strikes me as how, if I
wor to put the stone in Jem's path, he
might stumble o'er it; so I puts it
theer. I 'adna long to wait afore em
comes down the tunnel, which wor a
bit on the incline.
"My 'art begiha to thump until I
wor afraid Jem might 'ear it, but just
then he comes up to wheer I had put
the stone. He stumbled o'er it, and
the horse swerved a little, but he
nearly recovered hisself, and so Iputs
out my hand and gently pushes 'im.
HIe falls down on the line, and the
truck goes o'er 'im, 'cause I heerd 'im
groan. I slipped behind the truck,
and out again into the cutting wi'out
bein' seed, and bunked otT back to the
town. I wor scared! Next mornin'I
heerd as how Jem 'ad met wi' a acci
dent, and that he had stumbled o'er a
stone, supposed to have tumblled from
a truck afore his, and the truck 'ad
broke his back. 1 wor a bit sorry at
fust, and then I begins to be afraid
they might trace it to me. But Isaid
newt to nobody, and the inquest said
as how 'twere a accident, and I didna
trouble myself. Then Liz and I wor
spliced, and though we havena pulled
together both the same way, yet I
would 's done anythin' for her! Thee
know'st it, dosatna, Liz?"
The woman looked up. Her face
was pale in the extreme; her black
eyes blazed, and her fingers twitched.
She rose and approached the bedside.
"Murderer !"she hissed between her
clenched teeth.
"Liz ! Liz !" the man's voice broke
in imploring sobs. "Forgive me!
Forgive me! Doctor," and he turned
with apiteous look to me, "ax her to
forgive me."
The won an, was standing with her
hands clenched, and her ,eyes gleam
ing-a statue of Fury. - I then no
ticed, for the first time, that she was a
remarkably handsome woman, though
rather coarse. I went round the bed
to her.
"Mrs. Crossland," I said quietly,
"your husband may not live through
out the night, Do not let him go
from this world to the next, whatever
it may have in store for him, without
your forgiveness. Don't you remem
ber the old prayer, 'Father, forgive
as ')ur trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us' ?"
The fury gradually died out of the
wnoman's face, her hands unclenohed
and tears welled into her eyes. Her
bosom heaved as if suppressed sobs
were almost bursting it; then, as
though the effort were too much, she
dropped on her knees beside the bed
and sobbed aloud.
Crossland was fast sinking; his
breath came in difficult gasps, and his
dark visage grew almost ashy pale.
"Liz ! Liz!" he murmured faintly,
"do you forgive me?"
Still the woman sobbed on. Her
grief was poignant-was it for the sin
fulness of her husband or for the mem
ory of her past love? 1 asked myself.
At last the paroxysm of tears spent it
self and the woman became calmer,
though she still knelt with her face
hidden in her hands, 'I bent over her
and whispered:
"Mrs. Crossland, one word to make
him happy. He's dying! Remember
the. prayer, 'Forgive us our tres
passes-'"
She raised her head. There was a
new light shining on the tear-stained
face..
"Yes," she returned, "we should
forgive. Year ago, when I went to a
Sunday-school, I was told that! But
'tis hard, air-so hard--'cause I lcved
Jem so, and 'im I didna care-"
"Hush !" I raised a warning finger.
"His life is ebbing away. Come, Mrs.
Crossland."
"Liz I"
The name came very faintly. Cross
land's hand strayed over the coverlet,
and I took hers and placed it within
his. She rose, and bending over the
murderer pressed a long kiss upon his
forehead. He opened his eyes and
met hers, and there he read his for
giveness. A smile of peoe and con
tentment illuminated his features; he
slowly closed his eyes and sighed, and
on that sigh the stained soul of Darkie
Crossland floated over the border to
thaF land from which no traveler re.
turns. -Household Words.
A Washington Story.
It is one of the stock Washington
stories, but it is many moons since it
has been in print. It is "vouched
for" as a perfectly true episode in the
career of Mr. Stratford Canning, Min
ister to our country in the '20s. He
was the' famous Prime Minister Can
ning's cousin, and afterwards won the
title of Viscount Stratford do rled
clyffe. On a raging, pouring January
night the British Minister was about
stepping into his carriage for a state
dinner at the White House when the
axletree snapped like a match. There
was no time to lose, and away trotted
the e'oachman with the horses to the
nearest livery stable with orders to
return at once with any kind of a ve
hicle. The stableman had sent out
everything he had on wheels-car
riages being in demand that night
except his hearse. It did not take
long for the coachman to make up his
mind, so the horses were clapped to
the hearse, and in five minutes it
dashed up to the Minister's door.
There he stood, watch in hand, wait
ing in agony for the vehicle, and when
the hearse rattled up, in he stepped,
with 1 sigh of relief, and lying down
flat on his back was bowled along at a
slashing gait to the White House.
When the hearse rolled up to the
'loor, naturally it. made a sensation,
which was increased when a live man
crawled out of'it. the climax came
when the dinner was over, when the
departing gueste were assembled in
the White House lobby. The car
riages were called in a stentorian
voice. "The Secretary of State's car
riage! The Secretary~of War's car
riage! The Attorney-General's car
riage! The British Minister's hearse !"
And up rumbled the hearse, and in
climbed the Minister, and off fared
the equipage, the Minister lying on
his back with British calmness.--Il
lustrated Americman.
Horrible Exhibition of' T'u raish Brutality
From "A Bystander's Notes of a
Massacre," by Yvan Troshine, in Scrib
ner's, we quote as follows:
"One horrible occurrence took
place while I was crossing the bridge
about half past twelve on Thursday.
An old gentleman, an Armenian,
stood at the ticket office of the steam
boat company, buying his ticket to go
to the upper Bosphorus. A police
man came up and rather roughly
searched his person. -he old gentle
man naturally remonstrated with some
warmth. The policeman instantly
knocked him down. The poor old
man picked himself up, and the po
liceman knocked him down again.
Upon this a Turkish army offioer came
out of a cffee shop, and rebuked the
policeman for his brutality to an old
man. To justify himself the police
man declared that the old man had
cartridges in his pocket. Then some
one yelled ,"Kill the Giaour !"' In a
moment a crowd of ruffians sprang
forward from, no one knows what
lurking places and in less time than
it takes to teil it they had beatedn o'nt
the old man's brains on the
planks in front of the steamer wharf.
Two small Armenian boys stood by,
paralyzed with terror at this sudden
exhib:tion of passions of which they
had no idea. One of the bludgeon
men noticed .them and shouted out,
'These also are Armenians!' In a mo
ment more the crying, pleading boys
had been beaten to death before the
eyes of the officers and of the horror
stricken passengers who were waiting
for the steamer. But neither officers,
nor police, nor passengers, had aught
to say to the murderers."
A Babbit Pest.
The rabbit, introduced into Aus
tralia, has now overrun that continent
to such an extent as to demand speoial
legislation for its suppression. Some
2000 men are employed in New South
Wales alone in the destruction of tlis
rodent. Since 1870 Victoria has voted
conisiderably over $500,000 for the de
atruction of the rabbit.
A revival is noted in the phosphatt
industry at Fort Ogden, Fl .
VANILLA BEAN.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE MOST
VALUABLE FRUIT GROWN.
flow .lt is Cultivated in Mexlco-
Rapid Growth of the Pods
Curipg, Drying and Send
ing to :Market.
VT ANILLA as a flavoring for ice
creams and other delicacies,
from once being considered a
luxury, has now come to be so
generally used that it is considered a
necessity, and it would be very hard
to find a substitute for it. Commer
cial extract of vanilla is obtained from
the vanilla bean, which is a native of
Mexico, and is probaoly the most val
unable fruit grown, the best quality of
Mexican beans often being worth
nearly their weight in silver.
The vanilla plant is a climbing vine,
with a stem about as thick as an ordi
nary lead pencil, co.vered with dark
green, spear shaped leaves. These
vines throw out. small aerial roots
which attach themselves to the bark
of a neighboring tree and, appear to
obtain some nourishment from the sap
of the tree. In ther :wild state the
vines entirely cover the branches of a
tree, and running from it into adjoin
ing trees, form festoons and arbors so
thick as to exclude the rays of the
sun and make progress through the
forest almost impossible. For a great
many years no attempt whatever was
made to cultivate the plants, but as
the supply decreased from year to
year and the demand increased some
steps had to be taken to procure a
more adequate supply.
The vanilla vines blossom profusely
during March and April. The flower
is yellow and has a very agreeable
sweet smell. By far the greater num
ber of blossoms wither and fall off,
and the ones producing beans are a
very small percentage of the total
number. The beans grow very rapidly
for the first two months, and by the
first of July have attained their full
size, and from that time on grow but
little, if any. The beans, or. pods, are
from six to twelve inches long, and
about half inch in diameter, and when
ripe are about the color of a banana,
and have very much the same appear
ance, except that they are a little less
in diameter and somewhat longer.
Each vine yields about 100 beans, and
some vines have a single branch that
Lear twelve or fifteen pods..
From the first of July, when the
bean is a dark-green color, it grows
but little in size, turning gradually
a yellow color, until the last of I)ecem
ber or first of January, when it is fully
ripe and ready for gathering. The
pods are filled with minute black seeds
and a small quantity of pulp, and
when prepared for market become re
duced to about one-fourth their origi
nal thickness, are black in color, and
emit a very sweet, agreeable perfume.
Although the beans do not become
thoroughly ripened until the first of
January, there is such a demand for
them that the growers begin to gather
the crop in November. Beans gathered
before they are ripe cannot be as
readily cured, and the growers do not
get so much for them. They are obh
liged to begin picking them before
they are ripe, however, as it they do
not some one else would save the
owners the trouble of gathering them,
and they would thus be deprived of
the results of much hard labor and
care,
One of the greatest expenses the
growers are put to is in properly
guarding their plantations, that their
crop, in whole or in part, may not be
stolen by the natives. It is impossilfle
to make these people understand that
the beans are not growing Wild, and
the property of any one who is willing
to gather them.
The curing of the beans is a slow,
tedious process, and one requiring a
great amount of care and attention.
For the most part the growers do not
cure their own beans, but sell them in
miscellaneous lots to enrers, who em
ploy experts for that purpose. The
total time consumed by the curing
process is about file months. The
beans as soon as gathered are spread
out in the sun on black blankets, and
allowed to remain until they are quite
hot to the touch. They are then
gathered up and placed in a sweating
box, which is simply a wooden box
large enough to hold all the beans.
This box is well warmed in the sun,
and its whole interior is then lined
with blankets that have been out in
the san.
After the heans are in the box the
ends of the blankets are folded over
them, and other warmed blankets are
placed over and around the bo;. The
whole is then allowed to remain for
thirty-six hours, by which time the
ripest of the vanilla will begin to turn
black, and the box will have lost most
of its heat. The beans now have to be
spread out in the sun again, after
which they are agaiu snoated, and
this process continued four or five
times, until the beans are the 'proper
color.
As the ripe beans turn black the
quiekest, after each sweating the
wh:ole lot has to be gone over, and the
ones which tire black enough picked
out and placed by themselves. Great
care must be exercised in this process,
as, if they are very little oversweated,
it is sufficient to reduce the weight
about one ponund per thousand beans,
which would be a great loss, and, as
the bean loses part of its color when
overdried, there is a further loss of
about $1 per pound on account of poor
color.
As soon as the beans have been suffi
ciently sweated and are of the proper
color they are spread-out on drying
racks, being carefully gone over from
day to day, and any that show signs
of moisture or mold are taken ontand
put in the sun .until the . mold dis
appears, when they are again placed
on the racks.e Whi
dryness, which the aop
perience can judge very,
the febling of the bean h
from the racks and ef
into bunches of fifty, all
one bunch being of theca
The bunches are then
and placed in tin boxes,, eA
ing forty bunches. It isa
ter to tie the vanilla, batn
every one who knows hoWe
that the bunches presenta
pearance and keep their ships
frequent handlings, to
bunches must necessarily bed
Al4 the pods of irregulars
in the center of the buah
the outside they will soil it
ance. The bunches must bi
some thickness all the waydo'
tops rounde]d, and outside
The vanilla bunches must fit
the tin boxes, as if they a
the box and rub against eaic
they will be damaged.
After the vanilla is all in
boxes it is carefully weighe;
in wooden' boxes, made of je'
cedar, four or five tins in
according to the size. Th
are then covered with a fibe
made by the Mexicans, and
are ready for shipment. Two
eases are strapped on the
mule or burro, which are thm
for the coast in strings of Ai
animals; thence the vanilla
to Europe or the United
steamer, reaching itsdestinai
the middle of June or first o
The price the beans bring
entirely on their length and
varies from $8 to $15 perponu
bunch of fifty beans weiglii
pound to a pound andahelf,
containing forty bunche
therefore in the neighborhood
-Chicago Record.
Strangely Warnedi
The following remarkable
rence, an absolute fact, is re
a lady visiting friends in
it was told by her cousin ini
Northwestern India. It took~
the house of the sister of the'
Of its absolute accuracy th
no question. The two sisal
are connected with famiilieso
and with officers of the Brit
in India. The Hartford Tis
the story as the lady here-res1
She is a devout member of the
pal Church and is incapable
representing in the slightest
lar.
Her cousin, in whose houase
currence took place, was e
lighted table engaged in'
when, thinking it about timete
and happening to lift her ei
her book, she was astonishedI
seated in a chair beside her,i
tween herself and the doorer,
bathroom, a man, a stranger
who calmly regarded her. 1t4
great a surprise for her top'
demand who was thus int
bidden upon her privy i
was wanted. She remained?if
ment in silent astonishment.::i
Then it gradually dawnad i
her that the figure was pro
that of a person of real fl
blood, but a visitor from theii
world of life, She reme
iig once, as a child, een'
figure, under ciroumtan
seemed to preclude the id
was any person still in the"4
in later years, in revolving,
cumstances, she had remem
the apparation had after ali
fided away iuto invisibility<
ing that this new visitorls
a person of flesh and bloiodI
silently gazing at the silesti
while the intruder, whoevir
ever he was, sat also in ailenie
regarding her. Just hotwl
state of things lasted the 1i.ai
accurately know, but it was
not very long when:the
stranger began to vanish Rti
nor and thinner personsa:l
until in a moment or two he
ished quite away.
It was the lady's hour fo1
ing bath, but she thought
first let out her two pet:
their continement in anothi
They came barking furiously.
ning directly toward theib
There, through the openo
lady was horrified to see on
monstrous cobra-the snak
bite is certain and speed
Springing forwar, to save/
she quickly shut the door/b
instantaneously as to prevent
ing the reptile turning tad
down through a hole in'
where the drain pipes of h
washbowl weni, a hole which
carelessly left larger than
sary.
,Lf she had gone directly ld
room as she would have done 
thie intervention of her
vieitant, her life would and
have been sacrificed in the a4L,
Eleplhantjne Nurses t
The women of Siam
children to the care of elep
and it is said the trust I1
trayed. The elephant, not
eeptible to the charms of
tering policeman nor these
of its friends pnd relationf,
quently able to devotel i
tention to its charge.
play about the huge.feet 9
phante, who are 'very car,
hurt the little creatures.
ger threatens the sagaoi
curls the child gently
trunk and swings it up O1t
way upon its own ack.;
Electric TowboaU:
It is stated that electri0:
are about to be placed _Q9o
Spree, near Berlin, where
tance of eight miles the
barges cannot use saik. 0
large number of low .brd
trolley system will be IuS'