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THE DEMOCRAT. It. II. ADAMS, Publisher. CAFE GIRARDEAU. - MISSOURI HELEN. Do you know since first I met you, Helen dear, Fve been powerless to forget you Want you near? That I cannot live without you? There's a certain charm about you, Causins me to never doubt you, "Which Is queer. Since so many girls have told me They'd be true. And as regularly sold me Not like you. Who've beon faithful to me ever. Never sought our love to sever. But with every fond endeavor. Dearer grew. Many times and oft, I've held you On my knee. Yet I never have compelled you There to be: Though I often used to kiss you. And when far away would miss you; I am certain that in this you Will agree That you sanctioned such caresses As were those. Yet their naughtiness no less is, I suppose. If Dame ltunior would but drop her Bly remarks but I can stop hi-r. You're my daughter: so it's proper Now she knows. Good Housekeeping. A REMARKABLE STORY. "Yes, I had some strange cases dur ing the twenty years that I was in prac tice, but they were not as numerous as those I meet with now, in these ilavs of hypnotism, trance and clairvoyance,' said old Dr. Lacroix, w ith his fine smile, which was such an irresistible mix ture 01 lionhomiiiie and. sarcasm. overspreading' his ruddy, hand some countenance. "A great many Btrange things fall occasional!- tin der the, observation of an old man who for years has been a wanderer: an old idler who for his sins inherited one evil day just enough of the goods of this world to turn him from an ener getic, hard-working physician into a useless memlierof society, with a patho logical interest in hi? fellow beings and the queer positions in which he finds men placed on the ehessloard of life But in all the neurotic phenomena of which we have been speaking one has always to take account of the cases in which the subject has surrendered him self or herself voluntarily to the same, or, indeed, possibly, induced them." The, old doctor paused and looked c round at his audience of ladies with twinkling eves. "Cases of deliberate you understand me deliberate trance, have not been unknown." "Oh, ves hysterical women." said -one pretty girl. "Hysterical women and women not hysterical," rejoined the doctor. "Some ten years ago I happened to find my self in a little German university town These are dull little towns, but I like them. They have their charms. Hiked this one csjiecially because I had nade the acquaintanceship of some of the students and quickly fraternized with them. They doubtless looked upon me ns an old duffer whom one might as well humor. And I liked their youth, their reckless exhuberanee, their unspent brain and strength. Naturally it was the medical student upon whom I ex pended my warmest sympathy and in terest. "There was especially a certain young countryman of ours for whom I had conceived a very kindly finding. He was n pattern young man. lie was exceed ingly poor in the lucre of this world, and he spent far more of his time than proper in duels, and adventures of a more tender c haracter. He had, when lie chose to settle to his work, a rapidity of mental processes which outran the efforts of the plodders in no time. But, 'hang it, sir, I used to say to him, 'when 4)re you going to settle down for good? When will you lx-come serious? He had. side by side with his frivolities, a vocation for his profession which had caused me to prophesy more than once that when he had done sowing his wild oats there was the making of something' tolerably remarkable in him. " 'I'm serious now, he said to me one day. He had, in fact, entered with a graver countenance than usual. 'I've come across a very interesting case. I want you to help investigate it. Half the professors in the town are talking about it. " 'You don't mean that trance case at the Archduke hotel T " 'That very same. "He assured me that I need have no scruples aboutaccompanying him. " 'The young lady's father De vereux is their name is so frantic with anxiety that he is quite willing anyone belonging to the profession should see and prescribe for his daughter. Xoex planation of her extraordinary condi tion can be found. The trance states continue to Tuanifest themselves every day at the same time. Old Devereux Mr. Devereux has very Ihtle confi dence in the German physicians. He would only be too glad to have an Eng lish M. D., even though not a practicing one, to take an interest in his daughter's case. I've been admitted, and I'm sure he will lie equally civil to you." Mr. Devereux, upon our reaching the .Archduke hotel, did indeed welcome us with a cordiality which was effusive. He had, in greeting us, the manner of a man shipwrecked on the planet of Mars who had suddenly fallen in with two familiar beings from mother earth. I had a suspicion that, had our meetiug been under circumstances less product ive of hnxicty for him, he might have fiomcw hat tempered his welcome. He was ratherobviously the man of money whom sudden gains have inflated beyond his normal size. His early advantages had also, rather obviously, been rudiment ary; nor had there been any apparent later effort to remedy such deficiencies. Presumably, however, Mr. Devereux had no consciousness of any shortcom ings in this direction. His large coun tenance, now overspread by a sickly pal lor, must usually be capable, I felt, of exuding a sense of immense prosperity and importance. "Even in the brief conversation I had with him with regard to the mysterious pathological condition of Miss Estelle Devereux, a conversation durinVvhich the worthy man's parental frflg'uish transpired plainly, he managed, inci dentally, to allude to his courier, his daughter's maid, his private equipage with which h journeyed, his suites of apartments, vhieh were those usually preserved at the Archduke for travelers of royal lineage alone. "Miss Devereux was in an adjoinirg room, and presently we were hurried in to her unconscious presence. The room, which was large, was filled with knots of men, young, old and middle aged professors, doctors, students. Miss Devereux's maid, a very demure young woman, with lowered eyes, sat by the lounge, where, outstretched, lay Miss Devereux's inanimate form. "One may be a doctor as much as one likes, "n.it it is an incontestable, if repre hensible, fact that one remains a man for all that. I will confess that the first thing that struck me was the young ianj s neauty. Jn a loose morning roue of very jioetic. and exquisite effect, she was from her fair head to hersmall slip per, visible beyond the hem of her dress, certainly a most charming and attract ive vision. I don t want to do mv profession an injustice, but I must say I susiwet that every man present felt the power of her lieauty. Even to old Schultze. the great authority on hypnotism (who had married his housekeeper suddenly one morning because, as he said, he mus have some one to see that he did not for get his nightcap, without which he al ways took cold, and he had no time to look for a wife), was quite aware of this fact. As for Il.i.kins, he was so ever come that he actually dropped his stTck "The maid got up and bent over her young mistress, smoothing something alxuit her pillow. "'It is the most astonishing thing. gentlemen, said old Devereux to us in a hoarse whisper, 'but just about this time she is gifted with the most extraor dinary clairvovi.nce. We had almost what you might call a "see-ants" h recently. You can ask her whatever you like and she can answer it. "Haskins nudged me. Ask her something. "I approached the conch. Miss Devereux lay rigid, her eyes closed, yet there was a faint, warm flush on her lovely face. I bent slightly over her with some questions, 1 scarcely remem ber what, but her lips legan to move before 1 had fairly liegun. " 'I see a man, she answered, 'two men. One is quite young, very tall with blonde hair. The other is older, with gray hair. They come in together. I see them coming. They pass overth bridge. They stop on the way. They are going into a shop. I don't know- just w hat kind of a shop. I can't see, It looks as though there were a great many little wooden boxes, with no covers, under a glass case. The two gentl'-men are buying something. can't tell; I can't see." The voice died away in a sigh. "I stood dumb. I remembered that Haskins on the way had complained of being out of cigars and that he had, after passing the bridge, gone into a shop and bought some. "The auditors looked at us though for confirmation. Haskins and I nod rten. Uiu rHMiuiize grumbled some thing about 'very unusual case' in his beard. One or two of the professors came forward. One felt Miss Devereux's pulse. 'Jiather weak, but normal. "'Weak, sir: weak! cried old Devereux in his sick room whisper. 'It's a wonder she has any pulse at ail Eats nothing absolutely nothing! Hasn't for a week, gentlemen.' Schultze shook his head, came near er, seized the girl s delicate wrist in his grimy paw and rai.,ed her arm. The arm participated in the rigidity of the entire lnidy. "'Curious! Curious! 'And yet the case presents features unlike any of the authenticated cases on record,' said Dr. Hohu to Dr. Bahu. "Haskins, the next day, came for nie as he had done before, and, as befort, Miss Estelle Devereux gave us an ac count of the way we had taken to reach her, with various other details as to now 1 had employed my time durin the morning which only Haskins, who had dropped in upon her foronly a little while, could have known. This state of affairs continued for upward of a fortnight. Miss Estelle Devereux's trances occurred at the same hour every day and lasted for the same length of time, and were always accompanied by most curious exhibi tions of clairvoyance and clairaudi- ence, of which she had never given evi dence at any other period of her life. Mr. Devereux still asserted that she ate next to nothing, and the statement was verified by the attendants of the Arch duke hotel. "The wise heads of the university town for once were at a loss, and shook their unkempt masses in vain before the puzzle. "Old Schultz at last suggested thai the test of hot irons be appiled the next day to the soles of the subject's feet, "I happened to be in her room and very near her lounge at the time. Ths maid sat at the foot, and Haskins was not far off. At mention of the hot irons it seemed to me that I saw something like the shadow of a tremor flutter though the patient's eyelids. The maid stirred, and Haskins took a step for ward. As I turned I met his eyes. Miss Devereux lay like a waxen image, mo tionless as before. Drs. Schultze, Hohn, Bahn and all the rest had been too deep in their disputations to notice anything whatever. "When we got out into the street I faced Haskins with the question: Has it ever occurred to you that this charming young lady we have just left might be shamming?" "Ladies, that was a most titraordi-; nary glance the rascal turned upon me. - " 'Well, of course, cases of hysterical women having resources to such pieces of imposture to gain certain ends are common enough. Hut what could Mis Devereux have to gain? quoth he. "Ah, that is the inteiesting qoint, and one I firmly lielieve you to know a very great deal about. "'I?' His eyes daneed. " 'Yes, you.' " 'Oh. come, doctor! "His manner confirmed the fantastic suspicion which had grafted itself upon me. " 'Look here, young man, I ex claimed, thoroughly aroused, "what game are you playing?' "lie broke into a laugh. " 'Great heavens, doctor, don't scream so! If you'll only keep still a moment I'll tell you. Hut you must give mo your word first that you will not re peat "'I shall promise nothing of thj sort! I cried. 'What preposterous piee of imposture and tomfoolery is this? I vi-ih to know. I w ill be party to no such scandal. "We had reached my own door, and Haskins, hastily slipping his arm through mine, dragged me w ithin. " 'Now, I'll tell you, he exclaimed, breathlessly, and half laughing still, 'I'll count on your silence in spite of your threats. Miss Devereux " "What do you know of Miss Deve reux?' " 'Don't interrupt me at every step! he shouted. 'I'm in love with her madly, passionately and have been, ever since she first came here with that old idiot of a father of hers threo months ago. I love her and she she loves me! I am not going to tell you how we met first. It would take too long. Hut Es Miss Devereux knew very well that, she could never get her father's consent to our marriage. I should not wonder if the old duffer thinks he w ill be able to buy up soma grand duke for her. Pshaw! Well, the long and the short of the matter is that Es Miss Devereux hit upon this plan. Oh. she's a witch. I can tell you! When the game has been played lon: enough I step in and cure her. Don't you see? (Jreat gratitude on the part of the old men, paternal benediction, etc., etc. See." "'I see that you are a pair of dis graceful young ' "'Oh. no, doctor! Xow, now. come!" he laughed. 'You know- you'll stand by us. " 'And you and that preciously de mure little maid were in collusion as to the clairvoyance, the continued fasting and all the rest of it ? " 'Yes, yes! Come, Acknowledge tho scheme was original at least! Hut it has been played long enough. It must stop now. To-morrow I shall come forward with a claim of having found a clew to Miss Devereux's strange affec tion. Her amelioration will lie miracu lously rapid. I shall have established a reputation for the greatest future eminence in my future father-in-law's sight, and' he broke into stentorian laughter afresh and threw his arm about my shoulder 'you, doctor, will dance at our wedding!' "What shall I tell you further, ladies? I kept their secret after all. Miss Devereux grew steadily better, thanks to young Dr. Haskins medicines, and now they have, those two, lieen mar ried nearly two years." ISoston Trav eler. TO MEASURE A CORAL REEF. The Object of nn Expedition That Lately Left AuHtralia. An attempt is now being made, un der the auspices of the Royal society, to ascertain the actual thickness of a coral reef. An expedition has started from Sydney, in her majesty's ship !Vn i guin, in order to make a deep boring at Funafuti, one of the Ellice islands. The idea was started five or six years oiro by Prof. Sollas, of Dublin, and after discussion at meetings of the British association, was brought before the government grant committee of tha l'o3-a! society last year, by whom it was referred to the council of that society. This body made application to the ad miralty, who permitted her majesty ship Penguin, now engaged in survey ing in those seas, to convey the mem bers of the expedition and their ap paratus thither from Sydney, and to as sist them during the progress of the work. The government of Xew South Wales, on being approached by Prof. Stuart, of the University of Sydney.and other men of science in that place, have lent to the, expedition all the "plant" necessary for boring and their own skilled workmen, contributing to the payment of their wages and in every way cordially co operating. A sum of over 900 has been furnished by the Royal society, from the government grant and other sources. Prof. Sollas, with the other members of the expedition, is now on his way on board the Penguin to Funa futi. It is intended to make a boring into the atoll to a depth of not less than 1.000 feet, and to collect all the informa tion possible about the growth and history of a coral reef. On this subject the examination, if no ill-fortune await the expedition, can hardly fail to throw much light, and to help in clearing up controversy which has now been waged for some time as to whether Darwin was right or wrong in attrib uting atolls and barrier reefs to thfl subsidence of an area on which cora was growing. London Standard. him a sum of money to provide the nec essary materials for a bath, and on his next visit to the institution found it full of veterans ncraping themselves with potsherds. "Scrape away, gentlemen. but you shall not scrape an acquain tance with me," was Hadrian's com ment as he went out. -"To scrape an acquaintance was originated by Emperor Hadrian. Onco when visiting the public bath he found an old veteran scraping' himself with a piece of broken crockery, in lien of an iron oi copper scraper. Hadrian gar ST. PETER'S EVE. Fop Leo Goes to Pray at the Tomb of the Chief Apostle. From time immemorial the well con taining the marble staircase which leads down to the tomb of St. Peter lias been called the "Confession." The word, I believe, is properly applied to the altar-rail, from the ancient prac tice of repeating there the General Con fession immediately after receiving the communion, a custom now somewhat modified. But I may be wrong in giv ing this derivation. Indeed, a mar ble balustrade follows the horseshoe shape of the well, and upon it are placed 03 gilded lamps, which burn perpetual ly. There is said to be no special sig nificance in the number, and they pro duce ery little effect by daylight. But on the eve of St. Peter's day, and perhaps at some other seasons, the pope has been known to come down to the church by the secret staircase leading into the Chapel of the Sacrament, to pray at the apostle's tomb. On such occasions a few great candlesticks with wax torches are placed on the floor of the ohnrch, two and two, between the chapel and the confession. The pope, attended only by a few chamberlains und noble guards, and dressed in the customary white rassock, passes swift ly along in the dim light and descends the steps of the gilded gate beneath the high altar. A marble pope kneels there too, Pius L, of the Braschi family his stone draperies less white than Pope Leo's cassock, his marble face scarcely whiter than the living pontiffs alabaster features. Those are sights which few are priv ileged to see. There is a sort of cen tralization of mystery, if one may couple such words, in the private, pil grimage of the head of the church to the tomb of the chief apostle, by night, on the eve of the day which tradition has kept as the anniversary of St. Pe ter s martyrdom from the earliest. times. The whole Catholic world, if it might, would follow Lf-o XIII. down those marble steps, and 200,000,000 voices would repeat the prayer he says alone. Many and solemn scenes have been acted out by night in the vast gloom of the enormous church, and if events do not actually leave an essence of them selves in places, as some have believed, yet the knowledge that they have hap- eiie(l where we stand and recall then has a mysterious power to thrill the heart. Martin Crawford, in Century. INFLUENCE OF GLASS ON WINE A. Singular and Almost Incredible Story About Itottlfa. Probably 9'J persons out of every 1'0, taken at random, would ridicule the idea that tho quality of the glass of which a bottle may be made can have nnj influence on tin taste or keeping qualities of its contents. And yet that it does do so we have the best of evi dence. We are not alluding to the in fluence of light shining through flasks and its action on (he substance con tained, but the direct chemical reaction occurring within the glass and the ma terial within the flask. Very recently the following case oc curred in France: A wealthy retired merchant bought a lot of very costly and rats win-; in casks, samples of the wine from each cask being given him by the w ine merchant. The w ine was de livered, and I he new owner proceeded to have it racked off and bottled. Some time afterwards some of the wine was brought to the table, and on tasting it the host detected a strange, unpleasant taste, which was also noticed by the guests. A fresh bottle was found to be similarly affected, and bottle after bot tle was opened with the same result. An examination of the stock in the cel lar developed the fact that every bottle of the recent purchase was siioiled. A suit was brought against the wine mer chant, who declared that he had deliv ered the article exactly according to the samples furnished. On examining these latter they were found in excel lent condition. It is unnecessary to go into details, but during the course of the action of the law some of the bottles were produced in court, when it was found that the glass had become opaque. The bottles were handed over to a chemist, along with one of the lot purchased for bot tling thss wine, which had never been used. This is what the chemist found in the glass of the unused bottle: Silicic acid 52.4, potash and soda 4.4, lime 32.1, argillaceous matter, iron, etc., 11.1. In the examination of the bottles that had been used, while the silicic acid and argillaceous material remained con stant, or nearly so, the lime, potash and soda were very much diminished, and it was made evident that they had passed into the solution, forming comounds with the acid ingredients of the wine, decomposing the latter and rendering U unfit to drink. National Druggist. Photographing Thought. Thought has been photographed by Dr. Baraduc, a Roumanian; at least that is w hat he tells the Paris Academie de Medicine, backing up his assertion by many photographs. These are said to be rather cloudy, though a few are distinct, representing persons and things. The method employed is for the person .vhose thought is to be photographed to enter a dark room, place his hand on a photographic plate, and think intently on the object to be reproduced. Dr. Baraduc asserts that it is possible to produce a photographic image at a great distance, and instances the case of Dr. Istrate and Mr. Hasdeu, Dr. Istrate, before going to Canipiua, ISO miles from Bucharest, told his friend, Mr. Hasdeu, that he would ap pear on one of his photographic plates in Bucharest. On a specified night Mr. Hasdeu went to bed at Bucharest with a photographic plate at his feet and an other at his head, while Dr. Istrate went to bed at Campina, willing with all his might that his image should appear on his friend's plate. Persons who have seeen the plate say that there is on it a luminous spot in the middle of which a man's profile can be made out- -Chicago Inter Ocean, SCHOOL AND CHURCH. School directors In the district of fniverne, Ia have ordered a cyclone rave dug at each of the schoolhouses in the district. It is said that there are only two ords in the English language that con tain all the vowels in theirorder. They are "abstemious" and "facetious." The archbishop of London esti mates the contribution of churchmen to religious objects during the last 25 years as amounting to about $400,000, 000. Over $103,000,000 has been spent on elementary education. Some idea of the amazing growth of our universities is furnished by the statement that nearly 1,200 students have presented themselves for this year's examination for admission to Yale alone; the prosperity of Y'ale is no exception to the .general rule. Prince Xikita, of Montenegro, has sanctioned the building of a Roman Catholic church at Cettinje, and will himself supply the greater part of the n.oney needed. The church will be for nlxut 150 Albanians, Turks and Aus trians who reside in the town, as no Montenegrin is a Catholic. The Presbyterian church has made wonderful progress in every Christian country in the world during the cen tury that is nearly gone. The United States 100 years ago Presbyterianism held the eighth place among the evan gelical denominations. To-day it is the fourth largest body in this country. Father Mortara, a regular canon of St. Augustine, who has just been ap pointed to the charge of the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard, is said to be the Edgar Mortara whose kidnaping in 1S5S by the archbishop of Bologna set all Europe in a ferment. The child of Jew ish parents, he was alleged to have been baptized by a maid servant, and the Church of Rome claimed him. Neither Lord John Russell, nor the archbishop of Canterbury, nor Sir Moses Monte fiore, who went to Italy for the pur pose, succeeded in obtaining his re lease. CLEVER SAYINGS OF COL. NORTH He Wanted Some Xew Words for Hla ocabalary. The late Col. Xorth, the nitrate king, had a ready, if somewhat rough, style of wit pecliar to himself. The trap in which he was seated being on one occa sion blocked in a crowded thorough fare in immediate juxtaposition to a costermongcr's cart laden with vege tables, the coachman, finding that the horse was about to help himself to the cabbages, would have backed the ani mal out of harm's way. "Let him graze," said the colonel; "I want to hear the man swear!" The costermonger, turning his head around at this moment, the colonel's wish was promptly gratified by nn exceptionally choice and extensive selection of ex pletives. "Bravo!" said Xorth. as he threw the man a coin that would have more than bought the whole cargo of vegetables. "I thought I was pretty well educated in your line myself, but hang me if you haven't taught me four new adjectives." Xorth, although fond of pictures.hated w hat one calls "doing galleries." Once, being pressed to go and see a picture after Rubens, he quickly replied "After Rubens Why, surely, Rubens was the brute they were after last year when you -iragged me in here. Haven't tney caught the old cuss yet?" The coionel loved children, but was not wildly kern on kissing babies miscel laneously. Once, being implored by a handsome lady to kiss an exception ally unwholesome-looking infant, of which the mother stated herself to be the living image, "Well, here goes for the image," said Xorth, and he forth- vith imprinted a sounding kiss on the ?air mother's cheek. London World. Has Lomlon Reached Fall Growth? The result of the recent census shows that during the last live years the popu lation has increased somew hat less rap idly than it did in the previous ten. 1 vil-lS'Jl. The nuniberof people turned out to lie some 15,000 below the estimate formed on the basis of 1891. The dif ference if. small, but important, as it shows that the previous fall in the rate of increase is maintained. The popula tion is growing at a less and less rapid pace. At the beginning oi the century it used to increase by more than 20 per cent, in the ten vears between succes sive censuses; in 1881-1391 that rate had fallen to 10.4 per cent., the lowest on record; and now it is still less. The movement is not part of a general de cline; it is peculiar to London, and heems to indicate that the huge over growth of the metropolis has begun to cure itself. Xo town can go on growing indefinitely, and even London mon strous as it is has not fulfilled the ex pectations of earlier statisticians. For the four years 1871-74 the average birth rate was 35.2; for the four years 1801-94 it was only 30.9. There has been n gradual and almost continuous fall from year to year, which has not been coun terbalanced by the simultaneous but slighter fall in the death rate from 22.7 tc 19.9. Fewer people die in proportion t, the population, but still fewer ar orn. This is explained by the increas ing disinclination to marry. The mar riage rates for the two periods con trasted are 19.6 and 17.3 respectively. St. James Gazette. A Rich Legacy. Jim Webster Hain't 6eed ver in a coon's age. Heard bofe yer fodder and yer mudder died. Am dat so? Sam .Tohnsing (on the wagon) Data de fac. Dev's bofe dead. What- did yer git from 'em? Labe yer muct legacies?" "Lemme see. From my fodder I got a misery in de chest, an from my mud der his heah lubly shaped mouf wha'a talkin ter yer." Texas Sifter. In Danger. Jasper I wonder why Jones whistle co much. Jumpuppe Probably to keep up his courage. A man wnc wnisties as badly as he does is inconstant danger of death, Truth. HUMOROUS, "When rm a man" began Bobbie. "What will you do?" asked his mother. "111 name my boy after popper, and my! how I'll spank hinil" Harper's Bazar. ' -y "What would you say," she asked her dearest friend, "if I told you I was engaged to the .count?" "I'm sure I don't know," replied the dearest friend absent-mindedly, "because I never did think much of his taste." Chicago Post. Solicitude. "William," sin said, "will you do something that is for your own good ?" "What is it?" "I want yon to give up smoking. You are simply ruining your health and my lace cur tains." Washington Star. Wraggles "Well, Adam was a lucky man." Barker "In what particular way?" Wraggles "He didn't have to pranee aronnd the garden like a blamed idiot holding Eve on a hundred-dollar bike." Cleveland Plain Dealer. Young Medical Student (to charity patient) "I I think you must have a a some kind of a a fever; but our class has only gone as far as convuls ions. I'll come in again in a week, when we get to fevers." Tit-Bits. "That's a curious typographical error," said Mrs. Partridge. "The titlj of this new book is printed The Viking Age. " "yVell, why not?" asked Part ridge. "What ought it to be?" "Why Biking, oughtn't it?" Tit-Bits. Tramp "Want your grans cut, mum?" Lady "Xo; no one cuts their grass at this time of year." Tramp "Well, I'll contrack for next year." Lady "Mercy! I may be dead by that time," Tramp "I'll contrack to see that your grave is kept green." X. Y. Herald. WONDERS OF BIRD MIGRATION. Some Fly During the Day and Other at . Night. The manner of travel differs greatly among the birds. Xearly everybody has seen or heard the flocks of wild geese passing over in the night, mak ing tremendous leaps, so to speal", across the country on their way south. That the shore birds bound to Pata gonia travel in like fashion has already been told. Probably the great majority of birds travel south in great flocks at tremendous height from the earth. They are thus able in pleasant weather at least to see the landscape and so di rect their woy unvaryingly. In storms and fogs they lose their way, become confused, plunge about among the trea tops, fly through the streets of cities and dash themselves to death against the windows of lighthouses. To my mind this gathering of timid birds like the thrush birds that live the sum mer through close to the ground ami are never seen 100 feet above the soil the gathering, I say, of birds like these in great flocks that go careening high in air for vast distances over the land by night is the greatest marvel of mi gration. It seems a matter of course that swallows should do so, for they ore tireless. On the other hand there are birds that are seen by day in "a ceaseless tide of migration." "They pass leisurely from tree to tree, gleaning as they go," says one observer writing on the char acteristics of warblers. It is worth not ing that the birds who migrate in this fashion are peculiar in their habits as workers they never waste any time in play. The robins, the orioles, the bobo links make a picnic excursion of their annual flight, but the plodders of the feathered race must needs carry their knitting to camp meeting. It has been supposed that the birds who migrate by night do so to escape the attacks of predatory birds, but these plodding migrants are quite as subject to at tacks as any. Besides, on the clear nights when the night flyers go they nre certainly subject to attacks from owls. There are so many things we do not know about the habits of birds that it seems worth while to call atten tion to points that may be disputed In the hope that some who seek knowl edge out of pure love of it may turn their attention to this most interesting part of life in nature. Colette Smiley, in Chautauquau. Wonderful eons. Astronomers are not yet all agreed aa to the causes of the variations of color and brilliancy which are exhibited by many stars. In the constellation Ce pheus, in the northern sky, there is a star named Delta Cephei, which in the course of about three days alternately gains and loses a large part of its light. The spectroscope has proved that Delta Cephei consists of two stars revolving around one another in a very elliptical orbit, although they never get far enough apart to be separately visible from the earth. Even when viewed with a telescope their light is blended into a single star disk, although if we could go near enough to them we should find that they are, in reality, millions of miles apart. When brightest, the united light of the twin stars is two or three times greater than when faintest. Ona of the explanations recently offered by astronomers to account for these changes is that one of the stars compos ing Delta Cephei has a very thick at mospheric veil, consisting of clouds oi condensed metallic vapors, and thai when the stars draw near one another in their orbital motion the increase of heat dissipates the obscuring veil, and permits the star to which it belongs to hine with a splendor that it cannotob tain when its rays are interrupted by its envelope of clouds. It is hard to be lieve that the inhabited worlds could ex ist in the neighborhood of such a pall of suns as that. Youth's Companion. Water from Solid Rock. A most interesting fact has been dis covered by a Swedish scientist. It ia that water can be found by boring into granite and other crystalline rocks to a depth of 100 to 700 feet. A well waa sunk in the Island of Akro, eff the Swed ish coast, not long ago, and at a depth of 110 feet fresh water was tapped, pro viding an apparently inexhaustible una piy. Cnicatfo mount. V