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t â- 'â- if'"' THE VERY LATEST FROM ALL THE WORLD OVER. 4»t9re«tliiB Itami Abaut Onr Own Country, Orcat Britain, the Unlttd States, aad All Part* of the Qlobc, Coadenicd and Aasortid lor Baay Raadlng. CANADA. A plot to rcleaao two prifoo«is KtrnitiQg trial in Hamilton Jail wa« frustrated on Friday. Uannah Hatlom, aged ai)Out 23 years, .was murdrj-ed hall a mile from Uol- laiiil, Man., on h«r way home alwut 10 o'clock at night. A petition is beiog exl«nsively signed •eking Rev. C. H. Shutt, accused of tampering uitb the mails in St. Catb- ariijea, to resign his rectorHhip. Ottawa AVomeji's Council is working to bborten the houns of litbor for wo- men and children. Some startling ex- amples of imderpaid garment work were diar-iuised. Reprencntatioiui are being made to the ttominion Goveriunent to secure the re- moval of the quaxskntine regulations ogaiost Ameficaji and flnglLsh st«ck im- ported into this ooimtry for breeding purimuefi. Cu|>tain Gamble Geddea, who occupied the iiusltion of aide-deH;amp and private â- ecrt'tary to Mr. J. Beverley Robinson during the latter's tenure of office as Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, died on I''riday at hia residence in Toronto. It lA undravlood in St. John, N. B., that the Allan Steamship Company will bave the Parisian ready on the 18th inet., presumably tinditr some arrange- njfjit with the Imperial Government, to carry the Eighth Hussars to London. 'I'he Executive of the Hamilton Coun- cil at Women has fArwarded to the Pron' inciii,! Hoard of Health a memorial BUgg<«ting the appointment of dental ln.s[)c<:U»r8 to visit the schools and public institutions and examine chil- dren's teeth. At a meeting of the Montreal Board ol Trad« it was dmuded to hold a Can- adiiiu Inteornationa: Exhibition in that city. A oommitte«) was ap|M>intpd to wait on the Dominion Goverhment to ask for a subsidy of ||2!)0,(HI0 to carry out the propased exhioition. 1'be Canadian Pacific has notified the Ch/iirman of the Transcontinental Pas- senger Association that it intends to withdraw all of its intermediate busi- ne.<iH from under the asstKriation agree- ment, as the Great Northern Hallway busine.ss of the same class U exempt. A deputation from the Doiiiinion Trarles Con^Tess ^vuited on the (!ov- emiiient at Ottawa to auk Teco,fnition of the eij{ht-hour dav. The scheme will be tne<t in the Printinif Bureau and Public Works Departmt^nt, and the Ministers all exprested themselves a« » illing to grant tne deputation's re- quest. .Mr. \\ . MiuMlonald, the millionaire to- bacco manufju^turor, ban intimated bis intention of dimaling a further sum of $l.')ll.('00 tj)wax<lf> the emiowment fund of the en,jrineeiriiig .an<l jihysics buildings in connrct ion with Aiitiill t'liiversity. He. ha.s ,ius>. given half a million dollars to the I'niversity. At the nnnual meeting nf the Cana^ riian P.-uifie Ilailway in Mtmtreal the reiKfrt took a ho|>eful view of the out- look for thi« yenj. Sir William Van- Hcrriie aiinoiuiiwl the agrnriuonl with the Grand Trunk for running powers over the line lietween Toronto and Hamilton, and the old Inturd of direc- tur.H Wiis re-electfld. GREAT BRITAIN. The new firat-<'l«ss armored hattle- sliip Mars was launched at Birken- hea<l. The British ModicAl .Tournal defendi Dr. Plajfair, the defendant in the re- cent fani 'IS slander suit. Anthony Hojh' Ilawkitu, who elimln- ate^l his last name, when he took to literature, will visit the United States next winter. An e/lucational bill has been intro- duced in the liu|>erial rajjiament pro- viiling for the support of voluntary Bi^booui. The week of June 15 has been chos- en for the convention of Chajnlwrs of CVuBmeroe of the British Kmpire, which will fake place in London. The 'I'ivoli, London, Music ball has Ultiinlu<;<ul a novelty in the Bh:i|ie rrt a religious Kong, entitled Jerusalem, wbirii is sung nightly with great fer- vou r. Mr. Josftfih Chainlierlain is a>nsider- ing the si^gcstions an<l pn>p(isalfl of the l>>rajnion Government regarding temlers for a fast Atlantic steamship BiTvice. The. exports from Sheffield to the Unil4vl Statjee for the first three niontlis of the present year amount to i;i(iti,»44 OS com|ian«l with £112,002 for the same period of the previous year. Til" Duke and Ducbfws of Marllxir- ougli arTive<l at Blenheim palace, cm Wednefulay, ha.ving returned from their honeymoon Journey. They were giv<^n an enthusiastic reception. Mj. Long told Dr. Montague that he was not able to bold out any hoiie that the nritlsh Governtrie.nt would lie nlile to inoflify the cattle bill, but. would lie com|M'.ll<«l to consult the interests of the farmers. Owing to the gnivity of the sittiiition In Pouth Africa, the Impnrinl Gov- prnme.nt arc taking steps to desjiatoh five thoiiwaiid tnxips to the Cajxi of Good Hope as soon <is possible, in onlier to U' ready for eincrgt-ncies. Th<> Grand Trunk Railway's half- yearly r«'(*>rt shov/3 ine.raisod earn- InRS, but the working; eI|)♦•nw^3 have so largel; incre.'U««l that Ihn net de- ficit is i'83,151. The Grand Trunk of CBjiJids eameil profits of £58,771, but the llnit«l Stales lines lost heavily. Mr. Wni. Weeks, of Cloverton. Chiji- p<>nh<un, Kngland, one of the British tenant farmers who visited Canada in lt"J3. has despab^hed a party of forty nieii and Ixiya who are due at Winnipeg in a fow days, for all but one of whom pla<!»'M have be*n secured in advance on [arms in Mnnitolm and FJast^rn Assini- boia. IINITI'IO STATES. â- 'Hriik" I'omeroy, the western editor, (s at the [H>iD,t of death. Mrs. Mitry b. I>e<i8e announces that â- he intends to begin a trip around the world next year. Hishop Potter of New York, has been invited by the authorities of Cambridge Cniversity to !«â-  a select preacher to the I'uiversity during the month of May. Wesley Bt-lliN, 12 years old, of Kgvpt Mills, N.Y., dra<gK«d his little slater from a furnac4i while she was ablaze, and saved her life by plunging her into a creek. (iiminander Booth -Tucker, recently appoiu;«l to take charge of the ilalva- tKju Army in the United States, has arrived at New York on the sleamer Ma.j«sLic. By a vote of seventy-one to eleven, the Methodist EpisiMjpal Conference, held on Friday at CbeaUir, Pa., decided to fa- vour the admission of women as lay- delegatea to the General Conference. Col. William Ludlow, military attache of the United States Embassy in Ixin- don. has been inspecting the principal canals of Eurojie. He says he thor- oughly believes in the feaaibillty of the Nicoraguan canal. The United States Secretory of War has sent to the House of Represent- a^ves the i "port of the survey for a canal oonnecting Lake Superior with the MisHissippi river. The cost of such a canal would range from seven to thirty million dollars. Congressman Mahany recently intro- duced a bill into the Uniteil Sutes House erf Representatives appropriating two million dollars to be expended by the Government in widening the locks of the Erie canal, to permit the passage of torpedo l>oats to the great lakes. Thomas Whaxton, Sunday editor of the Philadelphia Times, fell from a four -story window of the house in which he lived eairlv ua Friday morn- ing, and was instantly killed. It is gen- erally .believed that he committed sui- cide. Some time ago it was announced that the Prince of Wales hod become an hon- orary member of the Thirteen Club of New York. Surprise was felt at this, as the club is opeixlv in favour of the Cuban insurgents. It now turns out that tl» Prince of Wales declined the honour, and that a forged letter was read to the club. The trade situation in the United States remains practically imnhanged, though the winter weather has modi- fied somewhat, and an increased move- ment is naturally expeoted. but so far anticipations in this direction are not as yet realized; the cuief leason given is the lateness of the season, and one serious feature of the situation is that a large numlier of wage-earners are still uneinployeil. Prices in iron and steel ore exjiected to lie sustained by the "gigantic combine" jiLst effected, one of the proposals of the organization being, of courtte, to limit production. Hut to find any positive eticouragement at the presimt moment in the trade out- look generally, the scrutiny has to be very minute. GENERAL. Priij<'ie Fer'linand of Bulgaria is vis- iting ill Constantinople. The Chin<^s<- Government has decided j to enter the postal union. A commercial treaty has been rati- ' fied lietween Germany and Japan. | The telegraph line lietween Koroako | and Mural Wells, in Egypt, has been | cat. I The rainy teaann lias put a tenv- I porury check on hostilities in Abj-ft- j sinia. ] Three <luels were fought in Berlin laAl week, one of which resulted fat- ally. Latest despatches from South AtricA tend to bilay the anxiety as to the I complications in the Transvaal. { King Menelik and all of his chiefs exivpt the Rus of Tigre have retreated fmm luLssala, their provisions having given out. The French Senate has again voted no confidence in the Cabinet, but the Ministers do not seem to pay any aU tentiun to it. I Sir Hurcules Robinson, Governor of j Cape Colony, has declined Presiilent I Kruger's offer of assistnjoee in quelling , the uprising in Matabcleland. I'n'sident liruger has assured the Bri- tish Agent at Pn^toria that no obstox les I will l» placed in the waj of Iniitghexs I desiring to be enrolled for service in Rhodesui. I In consiH|U> noe of the decision of a {Kirtion of the Vienna fire brigade to go out on strike, all the firemen have j (men retired from duty, and soldiers . have been substituted for them. I There ore ligns at the different 1 French dockyards and arsenals ot pre- ' [Kiral ion.-* for grave events. Stores and I ammunition are lieing overliaulnd, and I the fleet is lieing strenKthenod. I The Empomr.of Austria kept Ash Wedmwday with mediaeval devoutness. I As he knelt Ixiforo the high altax dur- ; ing the penitential offit«B the court ', chaplain slrcwtwl ashes on his head. I Th<i new Chinese Anglo-tiemian loan of £16,000,000 was cloae<l six hours be- ' fore the time advert ise<l for the oes- ' sation of bids. The loan was over- I BubscriUwl in fxuidou alone. 1 Fifteen soldiers who weje working at a fire in Lille, Franco, on Sunday, went txi a druggist's shop luid drank some [Kiison, which they mistook for gin. Six of them died as a result of the draught. , The St. l'et<;rsburg p<apers vie with each other in heaping abusi> ujion Eng- land. The Novoe Vremya says :â€" "Eng- ! land's option has lieen one of mystifica- tion and deception, practised ujion the powers who joined hier." I A despatch from Buchontst say a it is ' announced that a military convention has been concluded between Rusain and Bulgaria, liy which in tlie event of war Bulgaria cedes two Black Sea (lorts to Russia, Russia to mainUvin Prince Fer- dinand on the Bulgarian throne. Many of the leading iiten of France have liooome toetotnllers. The reason for this is they claim tbey cannot at- tain the success in business they desire and drink. Among them are President Faure and his Cabinet, Alphonse Daud- et and other writers. I By the d«ath in Pa.Tis of thn Duo de I Vicenoe at the age of 81 the dukedoinj becomes extinct, (ind with it the family of l)e CnulainCT)urt in the male line. The deceased was the son of Naitoleon's Aral>a8sa<ior at the Court of Russia from 1807 to the lieglnning of the French in- vasiim. Poi>o I,eo Xni. has purchased the Pa- lazzo Altem|iO in Rome and presented it t.o the Queen Regent of Siwiin. The palnc^t was formerly a monastery, and was rebuilt and decorated by Cardinal Marco Altemiio. Recently the Queen Regent of Siinin expre.ssed a strong de- sire to own a palate in Rav?t«. The Madrid Literal published an ar- ticle recently, ascrilied to Senor VaW era, formerly Spanish Minister at W.-ishinirl on, which reeorainends that .''pain should form an alliance with Great Britain, France and Holland, to protest against the interference of the IJnited States in the colonial affairs of Eiiro{iean powers. SINGERS IN PARLIAMENT. More Nnolral TaUnt Ameag .Wrmliers I'ban nigbl ix itnpiioiird. The Commons is neted rather for its disorder than its harmonics. But al- though the Parliament orchestra as a whole would be eminently unsuitable for an orchestral concert, yet a num- ber of individual musicians might be selected from among them who, as solo performers, could be relied uixin to pro- vide an excellent entertainment. Fore- most among musicians in the Commons must be mentioned J. W. Sidebotham, who has taken the degrees of liachel- or of music, and can discourse as learn- edly on the musical art as on the po- litical situation. Then comes C. Stu- art-Wortley, who, although be is wont to speak with great modesty of hi5 musical achievements, has written two excellent songs, "Why Does Azure Deck the Skyf" and "The Gypsy's Dirge." Arthur Balfour, too, is a ctU- tured musician, who delights not only In listening to the best performers, but in playing the pianoforte for his own pleasure. It does not appear that Mr. Gladstone, with all his marvellous ver- satility, ever came forward as an in- strumentalist. But in Ihe bygone days the eminent statesman delighted in singing, acd it is on record that his favorite song is "My Pretty Jane," a ballad that is not so familiar to-day as it was a geneiatioo or two ago. Sir Richard Webster is well known as a memljer of A CHURCH CHOIR and he has appeared on the platform at concerts with great success. i^ir Richard inclines toward sacred and seri- ous :'3U8ic; Sir Edward Clarke, if re- port be true, leans towards the humor- ous, and can render a ooster ditty with marvellous effect. The Laiior members are specially strong in musical talent. John Burns, when a roBy-<:lieeked youngster sang in a aurplioetl choir; and Keir Bardie is not only a performer on the meiod- eon. but can put pathos and force into a Scotch ballad. His fa.orite soag is "Mary of Argyll," and his rendering of it has frexjuently evoked the plaml- its of his admirers. And specially pro- minent, of course, is AVilliam Abraham, familiar to the Welsh* peoiile and to the Ccnnmon.s as "Malion." Mabun can, by singing "The Men of HarltMh" or "Land of My Fathrm." rouse a Welsh audience to the wildest pitch of enthus- iasm. The honorable meml>er has, it is true, never raised his voice in song within the Uotise, itself, but he is able to boast thnt he has sung at the re- quest of a Speaker. It arose in this way. In the short ParlUiment of 1885 Mr. Peel invited all i the labor members then in the House to a special dinner. After the repast an adjournment was made to the lib- rary, and here, at Mr. Heel's request, Malion favored the company with a vo- cal selection. No one was uiorv delight- ed than the then Speaker, who beat time on his knees as the singer proceed- ed. There is on excellent story told ot Mabon's exchange of compliments with Mme. Patti. At a c<mcert in Wales. MJalion and the great prima donna were among the uoriuriners. The concert over, JIme. I'latti stepped up to the M. P. and olsorved, with a pleasant smile, "You sing really well, Mir. Abraham." "Yes, madam," responded Malion, gal- lantly, "and BO do you." THK IRISH PARTY can lionst of a number of vocalists. The veteran T. D. Sullivan has written the words of man/ an Irish ditty and has sung them with gnvat effect at num- erous political and festive gatherings. Tim Heal^. too, is much given to ren- dering Irish ballads, "Mary Donnelly," being his favorit«-. song. Mr. Heuly {•lays his own accoin|ianuuent; while his irotlier Tom, who sits for North ' Wex- ford, is an accomplished pianist. Dr. Tanner can sing a good song, and so can Tom Condon and P.-. Fox. The Scotch luemlierB do not appear to lie so musical as their brethren from Wales and Ireland. It is true that Parliamentary caricaturists not in- frequently depict one or the other of the representatives of Scotland play- ing a solo on the Ingpipee, but it is doubtful wliether in reality any Scotch memlier of parliament is in the hatiit of performiug on an instnmient that is rvgarded by the unappreclative South- ron as a fearsome anil unholy invention. There is one memlier who proliably owes his seat in the Commons to thu sweet singing of his wife; and, indeed, music at political meetings, is becom- ing quite in vogue. C^>t. Grioe-Hut- chinson, 'Mir. Newdieate, and R. J. Price, who are now M.P.'s, sang to the electors at the general election, and who know bow many votes, which oth- erwise would have gone to their oppon- <vnts, were captured by their musical efforts? Mir. Price, lie it said, used to render "Catching the Siwaker'a Eye," with great gusto. He has since had plenty of opportunities of catching the august optic of that august personage. If the practice of having musical elec- tion m»«tinKS grows, there ought to lie a great field among Parliamentary can- didates for Utuchors of instrumental music and voice production. GOOD RULE. Scotland Yard, London, has Issued on order to the police force to the effect that if a constable sees a dninken man approaching a public house he is to piv.vent his ontranoo,an<l if a dnmk- en man does get Inside a public hotise the [H>1 iceman is to call the landlordVi attention to his condition. HAPPINESS NOT FAME. Willeyâ€" I tell you, it's better in the end to be honest. Did you ever know a rogue who wasn't unhappy 1 Sballey â€" No ; but, them, one would hardly expect a rogue to be happy when he is known. It's the rogues who are not known that are happy. THE E&YPTIAN SOUDAN. THE REGION THAT BRITAIN WILL CONQUER FOR CIVILIZATION. A Bol But miBKalarlr Ferllle Oenatrr- Pnlllli-:il Motlrr* Behind (he Preseat MoTrnirat â€" Bei-llue of tlie Makdl'a Risplrc -Tke land and It* Inhablfaata. An inspection of tiiose maps of Af- rica which have been published in the last few years shows the existence of anew power in the heart of the Dark Continent. The former charts repre- ' sented the Egyptian dominions as ex- ! tending from the mouth of the Nile along .the whole course of that river, with a groat province called Equatoria ' in the lake region. In the later maps I Egypt terminates on the south not far from Dongola, while up the stream from that point lies a vast region, with indeterminate boundaries, marked "Em- pire of the Mahdi." With the disaster to Hicks Pasha's army and the unfor- tunate termination of Gordon's axpedi- tion to Ktiartoum, the Anglo-Egyptian control of all the Egyptian pos- sessions up the Nile vanished, and from that time to the present no at- tempt has been made to reclaim this region to civilization. Now, however, it is evident that the time L9 de<;med propitious for a for\vard movement, having for its purpose the reconquest of the Egyptian Soudan, and , the expedition that last week left Cairo I for Dongola is probably the foreninner â-  of a more imposing force that will probably be needed ere the comiuest is made complete. The men engaged in this enterprise do not anticipate so easy ! an undertaking as that of conquering Ashontee, when the whole opposing force of blacks were put to rout with Roman candles and sky rockets, for the troops of the Mahdi are HARD FIGHTERS, I are well armed, and have proved their j steadiness in more than one severe ac- I tion, but that the conquest will ulti- mately be effected, no one can doubt who looks over the map of Africa and sees the spheres of influence exercised by the great European nations on that contin- ent. Immedlttely south of the vast Sahar- an Desert with its shifting sands and sparse population lies Soudan, " Land of the Blacks," a region that stretches clear across the continent. It has never been fully explored, but the accounts brought back by travellers who have penetrated it here and there show it to be a country of marvelous possibil- ities. So for as climate Is concerned, it is one of the hottest regions on the globe, there being many places where ; the mean annual temperature exceeds I 85 deifrees, but it differs from the Sa- ' hora m an abundance of rainfall, and ' consequently in fertility also. The en- ; tire region comprises on area of 1,500,- ; 000 sqi>j.r« miles, ami of this great do- main iroiu a fourth to a third is for- I est. No one yet knows how great are the resources of this country, nor how- vast the value of the exports that will flow from it, when onoe it has been owned to oommercu, but as its popula- I tion is estimated at from 10,000,000 to 30,000,000, it wiU, no doubt, prove a val- ; uable acquisition to the civilized States that in future will control it. I At present it is divided among over a hundred native African or Arab rulers, often at war with each otherâ€" some semi-civilized, some decidedly barbar- ous, others entirely savage, but most of the States having a population of suf- ficient intelligence to appreciate the benefits that would arise to them from closer association with the whites. The expedition that has just now started from Cairo is one move in a game for I supremacy between the French and I English. The former have long been aspiring to large possessions in Africa, and when the Dark Continent was di- vided among the great powers of Eu- rope, France managed to add to Algeria the Western Sahara, excluding Morocco ; and tlie laud of the Moors, so as to unite I the Senegambian coast with Algeria. In addition to this, the French secured it ! large section of country north of the j Congo, and immediately be^an the task of extending the French influence in- to the interior. It is said that this work lias been attended with such suc- cess that the sphere of French influ- ' ence now extends far to the west of Lake j Tchad, even itito Darfo<ir, and therefore I c<HuprUes two-thirds of ! THE WHOLE SOUDAN. The olije<'t of the French Government i is to ojuiuire a belt of country stretch- ' ing entirely across the continent, but in the Nile valley the opposition of the English is instantly encountered. I Forced out of the Upper Nile Valley I and the Egyptian Soudan by the growth i of the M;vhdi's power, the English have : never relinquished their nominal claim I to the country, and the British East i Africsan Company actually ot:eupie.s an ( enormous area of land on "the east coast, extending inward to Lake Victoria Ny- '< anza and northward to the boundaries of the Mahdi'a domain. The reconquest of the Egyptian Soudan would unite I Egypt with tho possessions of the Brit- ish East African Company and give Eng- land control ot the entire Nile Valley, I with acctiss to the ocean on the east. A most effeotual bar would thus be placed to the growth of the Freni'h iu- fluencc toward the east, and England would become the dominant power, not only in Egypt and Egyptian Soudan, but also in the whole lake region of Central Africa, it is not, therefore, to bo wondered at that not only the French, but other powers interested in Africa, should look with Impatience on this fresh agKroasion on the part of Great Britain, foe if this plan be carrie<l out, theo-o will be little to prevent that power frrtn establishing a solid line of colonies from uuiih to south tbroi'jgh the heart pf the continent, uniting Cape Colony with Egypt, and thus enabling a traveller to pass from Cape Coast Cas- tle to Alexandria vrithunt even .stepping off British soil. It is a gre.at plan, but then the English WO people who make 1 great plans, and edrry them out with as much audacity as they make them. It is quite evident that the British Gov- ernment is not going into this Soudan ! enterprise merely for the fun of tJiie I thing, and it ia quite possible that in the crosiderations wbieh bave inpeMa* it to undertake the rexonqueat, tile ej[- teavou of French influcnca as f&r aa Dajloor, vrhich Is next door to the Egyp- tian Soudan, has had a prominent part. For if the French should gain control of the Jpper Nile, it is not impossible that tbey might l>e able to destroy the value of tie lower river, for ail Egypt is de- penilant for its existence, to say nothing 1 of its pro«perity, on the annual over- flows at that river, and French engiiv- e«ring skill might find means to divert the course of the stream and thus RUIN THE LAND of t!ie Phaorahs. All these things are possibilities that were probably taken mio the account when the enterprist was nnder (x>nsidrration, and un^ues- tionablv had a share in determining the cou.-se that has been resolved upon by the British Government. Aside from the political aspects of the ease, itowever, the Egyptian Soudan i* well worth conquering for its own sake. The opponents of the British Govern- ment's policy have loudly proclaimed the worthlesaness of the region, and de- clared that the whole coimtry is not worth the blood that was shed for it during the campaigns already made there, but this is merely the talk of an opposition party which considers itself under obligations to object to whatever the Government proposes.no matter how- obvious may be its expediency. During tl>e Egvptiiin occupation of the region, the exports from the Soudan down the NUe and by means of caravans to Cairo amounted to about |9.000,000 a year. besides as much more that went abroad through the Red Sea ports and from the Somali coast. A district that can export J18.000.000 worth of goods every year js certainly woi^h havmg, for • country from which this amount of sur- plus wealth can be annually spared for export, under so bad a Government as that of Egypt, would certainly prove et alm"L incalcuable wealth If its own af- fairs were properly administered and the people given an equitable system ot taxation. The Egyptian domain com- prises Kordofan, Nubia, Senaar, Taka and some provinces still further southi. an area estimated at a little less than 1,000,000 square miles, with an tmknows population. The country is as different from Egypt proper as can be easily conceivable. In- stead of the arid siuids and brazen skies, from whi*"- rain never falls, there are forests and swamps, long stretches ot what we call prairie land, and frequent plateaus, considerably elevated above th» river, which furnish EXCELLENT PASTURAGE for wild antelope and the flocks an& herds of the inhabitants. Here and there ore arid spots, even along the river bank, where the shadoof, oi curious mechanical contrivance which ans^ver the farmers instead of a pump, is put into practical operation, in order to secure for the growing crops the amount of water necessary to ihe^ proper growth, but as a rule the rain- fall is sufficient for all purposes, and little artificial irrigation Is practiced. The soil is so fertile that anything which can be raised In a tropical or sub-tropical climate will grow with lux- uriance in the Egyptian Soudan. It ia the native home of the swe«t potato, the yam and the watermelon, and in the hot stmshine ot the L^pper ISile Val- ley, and in the clearings made by the natives in the great forests ot Equa- toria, these vegetables girow to a sine and with an abimdanc« unknown in other parts of the world. A traveler In that re;;ion some years .ago said that all the tables of Europe could be supplied with fruits and vegetables from the Egyptiiin Soudan, and when this region is pierced by railroads, the time may come when' oranges, bananas cod pineapples, figs, dates and mebms. from tin- heart of Africa, luav !«â-  .si^en on the tables of Paris and London. That day IB yet far away, however, the ex- ports of tho region being at present limited to such articles as will bear the long, hot journey to the marketa of Cali-o or the Hed Sea coast. Os- trich feathers have for many years formed the greater part, in value, of the Soudan exports, while wax. coffee, a large variety of gum, and aa enor- mous quantity of fine skins and hides made up the remainder. It Is plain that under proper conditions the region can be made enormously productive, aiMl those conditions will be attained when^ the land has been reconquereil for civ- ilization by the Anglo-Egyptian troopa. SIMPLE AM) PRETTY. This quilt design illustrates the at- tractiveness of a dainty, simple pat tern. In the original block the mateiv ials ere white and pink figured muslin. REASON FOR PRIDE. The Marquis of Lorne and Prinoees lA>u'ise have just celebrated their twen- ty-fifth wedding anniversary, and how- ever the marquis may be looked dpwn upon by his royal relatives in his coun- try of pedigree is considered superior to that of the Hanoverians. A travel- er who told one of the Duke of Argvll'a teiuunts thut the duke's son was to mairy a princess was met with the aa- tonishing reply: "Roh, sir, bat it's )t prou<l woimin your queen will be tti« day when Iw^r daughter marriea the sod of MacCallton Moorel" LCiCOMO nVES IN THE WORLD. One hundred and nine thouMind lo- comotives are at present running ou the earth. Europe h,ia 63,000, America. 40,000; Asia, 3.300; Au-stralia, 2;00fl: and Africa 700. In Euro|>e, Great Britain and Ireland take pi-emier positions with 17,000 engines, Germany has 16,- 000, France, 11,000; Au.stria-H\uigary. the second largest continental coun- try, has &,OIX).