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swatted tilt she 1 200 pound, a wiggled she' An' speakin' more tanzy: "I intemi] that I didn't •eemed so n ii t ABEL, HULDY, AND 'd'.kTHE RAM. NCE I was pass­ ing .through the little town of Greenville, in the Penns-yl v a n i a hemlock belt," said John Gil­ bert, the travel­ ing grocery man "and stopped :it tne tavern there. The only man I saw at first was a jolly looking, red-faced little old man, on whom care or sorrow seemed to have never laid a linger. "'Fine day,' I,said, getting off my buckboard. " 'P'tic'lar fine an' cheerful,' the little old man said. 'I hain't see a cheer- fuller day in forty years an' better.' "Then he went down the road whist­ ling. I --as gazing after him yet when some one said: "'It's a,leetle queer-that Uncle Abel went aWay without waitiu' to see whether you wa'n't going to buy sura­ min an' ast him in; but he's feelin' overpowerin' glib to-day, an' mebbe thought nothin' could make him feel eny better.' "This speaker, as I saw when I turned to look, was a tall and slim and lanky, and was whittling a stick. He bad come from the barn, and, as I found was the landlord. I walked in.« ""Yes,' said the lanny man, 'Uncle Abel is feelin* overpowerin' glib to-day. You wouldn t take him to be a lone an' lorn widderer, which the pardner of his bosom was only laid away viste'- dr.\ now, would you V I ha J to admit that the old gentle­ man was a trifle chipper and cheerful for owe so recently bereaved. "'Yes,' the landlord went on, 'Aunt Huldy's left Uncle Abel at last. It was sort of an accident like, though. I don't think she ever would a-thouglit o' doin' of it, 'cause Uncle Abel was four that Aunt Huldy had handled, an' she had wore black bombazine fer three on 'em, an' it was jest as good as ever, that black bombazine was, an' there ain't no kind o' doubt that she iiad a stiff idee o' wearin' it for Uncle Abel, an' mebbe fer somebody that had the courage to be No. 5. You see. Uncle Abel is the harmlessest man that ever sot rounu, an' Aunt Iluldy's disposition T 53 sot sumpin' like a cross-cut saw, in' when she got to movin' she was a ripper. How would some fresh tansy schunched in a glass and moistened with about three fingers o' J'maky rum strike you?' "I was willing to risk it, and the lanky but garrulous landlord scrunch­ ed the tansy and moistened it per recipe. "'Yes, sir,' ho went on, having scrunched and moistened for himself also, and taken pay for both. 'Aunt Huldy was a ripper when she got to movin'. and the trouble was she was movin most </ the time. I've knowod Uncle Abel to roost in an apple tree on his clear in' all night, waitin' for Aunt Huldy to quiet down, an' I've lieerd lum say, more'n wunst, that it was a good tiling he'd been kicked in the bead by a mule wunst and got over it, or ha d be afeared o' the conseqences if Aunt Huldy got to movin'. " 'Aunt Huldy she was tremendous sot ag'in Uncle Abel gain' fishiu'. an' Uncle Abel he'd rut her go fishiu' than to the circus. Last week he couldn't hold out no longer, and he went over to Ben Runnels' pond to troll for pick- erT The fact is, though, that the pond ain't Ben Runnels, 'cause there aiu't no setcli person as Ben Runnels, nor hain't ben this twenty year an' better, aa' when there was a Ben Runnels he didn't own the pond. The last day there ever was a Ben Runnels lie went tishin' on that .pond. If the fishiu' hadn't ben so uncommon good that day lien mowt be with us yit. Ben had half a pint o' fish worms with him in an old tomattus can, an' half a galtyn o' worm o' the still in a jug. This was for exhilaratin' purposes. Ben alluz exhilarated arter ketch in' a fish, but the fish bit so fast that day that they kep' Ben busier than usual exhilar­ atin', so that when folks went to see wnat was the reason Ben didn't git home that day, an' found the boat up- sot an' Ben an' the jug tioatin' in the pond, there was loss than two little Jiggers of exhilaration left in the jug, but there was more than five gallon o' water in Ben. It wasn't drowndin' that killed Ben, some folks thought. They said it was the sudden washin' of all thv exhilaration outen him by so much water gittin' inter him that done it, Ben not bein' used to setcli overpower­ in' disapp'intment. An' that's the way Ben got the title to that pond, an' it's ben called Ben Runnels' pond ever sence. ^ " 'Well, there's where Uncle Abel went lisliin', spite o' Aunt Huldy's waruin s. an' when lie sot back I don't E'pose that Aunt Huldy ever moved so rippin' in her life. All that Uncle Abel has ever said about it is that she jest him over, an' then sot on him she peeled what Uncle Abel says : .ust a ben more'n a bushel o' taters. Aunt Htildy weighed in the vicinity o' an' every time Uncle Abel she'd scrunch down on him. o' scrunchin', there's a lot shell I- ' the lanu'iord to say care for any more, and lie so much disappointed and re­ mained silent so long that I began to think: that I wasn't going to Hear the cud of his'story, but by and by lie started in again. " 'Yes, sir, she .'scrunched down on liini hard, Aunt Huldy did. She scrunched down so fur arter awhile that Uncle Abel says he got his eyes --oh the shinin' shore, an' was liopin' that Aunt Huldy would give him an­ other twist so's lie could get his feet on it; but she wan't through with him yit, an' didn't let him pass over. There's where Aunt Huldy made her mistake. She ought to scrunched Uncle Abel all the way over, an' then she could a took out that black bombazine ag'in an' hooked it on for her fourth, an' lien a-lookin' out fer her fifth now. But she didn't do it, an' there's where she made her mistake. " 'This here last lively movin' of Aunt Huldy's must a kind o' sot Uncle Abel to thiukin'. Joe Bevan, up yon: dor apiece, had an ol' cliurnin' ram that somehow or other was dead sot agin women folks, an' none of 'em cared to go nigh him, 'cause he'd pitch at 'em, an' Joe kep' the ugly ol' chap tied up. But the ram was mild enough to men folks. T'other day Aunt Huldy says that it beat all how it was that she couldn't have a piece o' rope to make a pull-to for the gate, and that if she had a man worth a pinch o' salt that she'd a had the rope long 'fore that. This was the fust that Uncle Abel knowed that Aunt Huldy wanted a piece o' rope, an' that very day he was goin' by Joe Bevan's -place, an' lie see a piece o' rope at the side o' the road, hj picked it.up and went home with it. Wrappin' it round a post, he went in the hou^e. Hully," says lie, "I've brung home a piece o' rope." "'"You have, hay?"' Aunt Huldy snapped out. "It's a good thing, an' it'll come in handy fer you to hang yourself with!" ' ' " 'So Aunt Huldy goes to see the rope. "' "Ding your pictur!" she hollers back to Uncle Abel. "An' you've got that rantankerous yam o' Joe Bevan's tied to the end of it; too!" Why, so he is!" says Uncle Abel. " 'Aunt Huldy grabbed the ax and IIIOA ed on the ram. The ram seen Aunt Huldy comin', an' went to meet her. He met lier ^so suddint that she curled up like a ship-knee, kicked a little, an' never got up from where she landed. Uncle Abel says that Aunt Huldy pass­ ed away a good deal peacefuller than he thought^t was in her natur' to, an' he's a lone,1 lorn widderer, an' has the bombazine dress to sell. I wish he'd a staid here awhile. Then I'd a had some one to jine me in a scrunch. If you don't keer to jine, you mowt leave one for Uncle Abel.' "I paid for a 'scrunch' for Uncle Abel to enjoy when he came in, and drove -on my way, and who should 1 meet but Uncle Abel again. " 'Hullo!' he shouted, and I stopped. " 'He told ye 'bout me an' Aunt Huldy, an' the rantankerous rani, o' course?' said Uncle Abel, grinning. " 'Yes,' I said. " 'He's been licked like tarnation throe times in loss'n a year for tellin' that,' said Uncle Abel, 'but seems like he can't help it. lie didn't mean no harm by it. He'll tell it to you ag'in if you come along this way to-morrow. I wa'n't never married in my life, an' there ain't no Anut Huldy, nor no ram, nor never was!' "I couldn't help but grin with Uncle Abel, and said: " 'Well' I paid for a rum and tansy up there for you, anyhow.' "'Course you did!' said Uncle Abel. 'That's part of it. I hain't took a drink in more'n forty year! Think you'll go back an' lick liim? He'll sorf o' 'spect it.' "But I said I'd lot it go, and drove on, leaving Uncle Abel in the road grin ning after me."--New York Sun. ALASKA. Interest in. Our Far-OfF Country Is Growing Rapidly. The "Civil and Judicial District" oi Alaska has of late begun to attract some serious attention from the people of the United States. Nine out of ten of us probably speak of it as a Terri­ tory; but such It has never become. Gold, and a disputed boundary line, will always suffice to draw attention to any'particular part, of the earth's sur­ face. Venezuela and Soutli Africa are cases in point. In the case of Alaska, as in many other bouudary disputes, the trouble can be traced to a deficien- cy of geographical knowledge on the part of the makers of a treaty. When the convention of 1S25 was rat­ ified by England and Russia, it was thought that a mountain range ran parallel to the coast of what is now southeastern Alaska. The summit of that range was made part of the boun­ dary between the Russian province and British America. But though there are plenty of mountains, there is no coastal range. It, was further provided that wherever the summit of this mythical range should lie more than ten marine leagues from the coast, the line should run parallel to the windings of the i coast, but not more than ten marine leagues therefrom. ' 3 / xTo(tliis clause some uncertainty lias been attached by the raising of the question, What is the coast? Is it the coast of the mainland or the seaward edge, of the adjacent islands? Other difficulties lie in. determining "the true "Portland Channel," through which the southeastern boundary of Alaska runs; and in determining the one hundred and forty-first meridian of west longi­ tude, which'is the northernmost part of the eastern boundary. None of these. questions were ever pressed while Alaska was a Russian province. Until quite recent years they never caused any controversy be­ tween England and America. It is the growing sense of the importance of Alaska, particularly of its mines, that makes them practical questions. It would, perhaps, never have been neces­ sary to determine the one hundred and forty-first meridian, if the discovery had not been made that it runs close to, or through, some promising deposits of old. Of these deposits the latest report of the United States Geological Survey declares that they form a belt three hundred miles long, entering the dis­ trict near Forty-mile Creek and extend­ ing westward across the Yukon Valley. In southeastern Alaska, the narrow coast belt whose width is stfll to be finally determined, there are .gold de­ posits which are already being mined successfully. There are also important fishing and canning industries. The experience of the year past Is enough to assure us that the boundary question will be peaceably settled In the end, whether the present plan of a commission is successful or uot. But Alaska has other difficulties. It has been asking for better land laws and for a representative in Congress. The settlers--numbering now between thir­ ty and forty thousand--are anxious to be recognized, not as adventurers, but as an orderly community. A government official was recently indicted for indicating in an official re­ port, that there was a state of" lawless­ ness among them. The pioneers in the westward march of the American peo­ ple have always been quick to develop i healthy pride in the regions they have settled.--Youth's Companiou. LOTS OF MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB. HAT PLUMES. T; Increased His Class. This could only happen in Scotland, where a way has been discovered by a Glasgow minister to compel even the worldly passions of men to make for righteousness. He noticed that the young women who came to Bible class at his house' each had a young man waiting for her. So one evening what did this canny Scotsman do, when the class was in progress, but make an ex­ cuse to leave the room and step out­ side, where, as he expected, he found a small crowd of waiting swains. With mu«li politeness lie pointed out his un­ willingness to keep them from their sweethearts and invited them to come inside and see them. It is needless to add this Glasgow minister has a mixed Bible class now on hife hands. And it is doing well.-- Boston Herald. Close Calculations. Natural witticisms are always repeat­ ing themselves. Frances Power Cobbe says that she heard two Irishmen in London talking about the distance to Hanipstead Heath. At length they met a stranger, and one asked: "Can you tell me how far it is to Hanipstead Heath?" "Ten miles," was the reply. The Irishman turned to his friend. "Five miles apiece!" said he. "We can easily do that." It was a little American girl who made a similar calculation. She and her sister were one morning so long in dressing that their mother came up to investigate. "What have you been doing?" she called. "I heard you up half an hour ago." "Oh, we don't know! Everything is wrong side out," answered Elsie, de­ spairingly. "Well, how much longer will it take you?" persisted the mother. •'"Five minutes," called Maud, the du­ tiful. "I want ten," put in Elsie, "so that makes fifteen." Servants of a Itoyal Household. There are fifteen hundred people upon Emperor's William's list of em­ ployes, ihcluding three hundred and fifty female servants, who are engaged in looking after the twenty-two royal palaces and castles that belong to the crown. Most of the palaces and castles are in a state of decay. The Emperor himself seldom uses more than three or four of them. The rest are occu­ pied by his relatives and dependents, who number a hundred or more, and are nearly all supported from the royal purse. His private fortune is estimated at twenty-five million dollars, the greater part of which is represented in landed estates. Ambiguous. A noted evangelist is fond of tolling of his experiences in preaching to the negroes in the South. At the close of one of his meetings a very large old colored woman came up to him and shook his hand warmly while she said: "God bless y<5u, Brudder Jones! You's evahbody's preacher, an' evahbody loves ter heali you preach, an' evah niggah love to heali you; an', Brudder Jones, you preaches mo' like a niggah than any white man that evah lived; an', Brudder Jones, you've got a white skin, but t'ank de Lawd, you've got a black heart!"--The Outlook. HERE are plumes and plumes on the new hats, and they droop in a most picturesque manner. There are gray plumes on dark-blue velvet liats, white plumes on delicate gray hats, and black plumes on all sorts and kinds and conditions of liats. It looks as if the ostriches would not have a feather to their backs this winter. But they will be kept in countenance by an army of wingless birds. All the hats which do not have plumes have^ wings or an occasional whole bird- some as big as lions. The few remain­ ing liats, plumeless and wingless, are decked in plaid ribbons. But plaid hat trlnihiings„are doubtful. In bright color tliey cheapen almost everything on which'they appear. Care of the Skin in Winter. 'Thoughtless women, to prevent chap­ ping, put cold cream on their faces ev­ ery night, not knowing that in so doing they make rt impossible to have a clear complexion. . If the skin lias been made 'hard and rough by frost aiid wind, the cream may be applied a night or two, but if used too often it will produce an oily complexion and cause the pores to enlarge. - If .the skin needs a tonic, cocoa butter or cocoauut oil thoroughly rubbed in at night" after the face has been washed with warm water will be found very beneficial, but either of' these must not be used too often, lest they be sure to produce a crop of fine hair which so much annoys sensitive women. A great enemy to a delicate complex­ ion is a rich, heavy lunch taken in the middle of the day by one who cannot take a nap after, h«t is compelled to resume labor as soon as the noon recess Is ended. It is the wisest plan to oat at midday foods that are very nourish­ ing without being trying to the diges­ tive organs, such as a cup of chocolate and a roll, a good oyster stew, coffee and other light but refreshing food. Spices, condiments, pickles, liquors and sweets are hostile to a clear skin^ as they cause great thirst, and that is sure to upset digestion and bring on erup­ tive disorders of the skin. Queen Must Not Ride a Wheel. It is awfully nice to be a Queen, and then sometimes It isn't. Q"ueen Wil- helmina, of Holland, is young and beautiful, but her privy council re­ fuses to let her marry the man of her choice. She could stand this disap­ pointment, but another and greater grief came afterward. She bought a bicycle and learned to ride. The privy council heard of it and straightway held a meeting. They considered the matter seriously and at length, and finally concluded that "such recrea­ tion was incompatible with the dignity of the throne." Her majesty was re­ quested to give up the wheel and of course she had to do it. How many American girls want'to bo queens? to hope for Is that her wealth or her poverty may be made less obtrusive and less a significant part of her al­ ways attractive personality.--Ladies' Home Journal. Woman Colonel Married. Col. Nellie Ely of Nashville, Tenn., was recently married to T. Leigh Thompson of Marshall County, Ten­ nessee. Miss Nellie Ely is a member of the military staff of the Governor of Braye Cuban Girl. One of the bravest of the heroines of the Cuban war is Rosa Masso, the beau­ tiful 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy planter. The Spaniards burned the plantation and killed her father and brother. She escaped and joined the R.OSA- MASSO. insurgents, sometimes nursing the sick and at other times acting as scout. The story of her many narrow escapes has been printed in the newspapers. She ly frogs' legs as Nev? Paris?" replied the Commis- years ago, the French known as frog eaters," s to-day should more ed 'frog eating people' Parisians. I seldom on the menus in the Paris, while in New t them at nearly every and restaurant. This Many Peaks So Ru^Kcd that No One Ha» Yet Dared to Climb Them. The terrible Jungfran of Switzerland •Is but 14,000 feet high, yet travelers from all over the world journey to In- terlaken to climb it or say they have sat in the hotel and wished that they might climb it. Mont Blanc, In the same delightful little European repub­ lic, is forever quilted with snow, and for this reason is one of the most se­ ductive features of travel to the neigh­ borhood of Geneva. The Clior health resort, on the east side of the Swiss re­ public, is visited by thousands of in­ valids because it is one of the loftiest and noblest of European sanitariums. Then why should not every Ameri­ can who has money to spare -and the 'desire to make a journey out into Col­ orado, strap a pair of mountain boots on his legs, put a spike on an ash staff and attempt to climb Mount Blanca, in the southern part of this state. Mount Blanca is over 14,400 feet high. Or if he does not desire, to take the risks of this perilous ascent why should not he come up into the northern part of this state, place his field glasses in his hands and gaze on the glacier and the perpetual banks of snow that cover Mt. Hallett? Or if tourists be pos­ sessed of reverence and piety, why may they not locate in Central Colorado and fix their eyes upon the great white cross that indents the. Mount of the. Holy Cross at an elevation of 14,170 feet? : If it is the duplicate of Ch.ot- that tourists seek, Manitou, in-this State, rests at the foot of 14,00U-foot Pike's Peak for them, and is itself 0,300 feet above the sea, while being endowed with health-giving waters the equal of Carlsbad. There are 110 mountains in Colorado whose peaks are over 1,200 feet above the ocean level. Forty of these .ire higher than 14,000 feet and more than half that number are so remote ami rugged that no one has yet dared to at­ tempt to climb them- They are as TOSS Wevler's "How long (jcun^luo as those of Switzerland and as of these?'" ' saidfearful as tlie A11)S in the warning they response to an offer to 111011 anc* w°men who are so pends entirely l^ardy as to defy them by starting up- it not a mecli01 their ascent. Some of them are finishing off Gfmnssecl wi^h snow, others have glaciers to life as thisover their approaches, and others are the bust of a merely masses of jagged rocks. rosy neck an< Not even Coloradoans have sought framed by clusta,s 5"et to surmount them4 and the pro- these one musf ,!<ission of "guide" is still open to who- as well as draw('ve1' may care to enter it. Railroads begin in the sjreach within close enough range to pro- tes '1 -ssfcL1;?!!1 made deliciously fragrant by the many sachets now fancied, and the use of scented woods, sandal wood being In high favor, and cedar which gives a de­ licious odor. Toilet waters are used in the batli by those who can afford thorn, and they are both stimulating and refreshing. But no amount of scent or of sachet powder can conceal the lack of frequent bathing, neither can any amount of perfumes produce so dainty a scent as that which comes from absolute cleanliness. MISS NKI.I.IE EI.V. To Provide Domestics. The Housewifery Club, of New York, is intended to facilitate domestic work. It provides its members wjtli maids having satisfactory references, and stimulates tile servant by payinf her a prize at the end of a certain time If her w o r k ,%^-bt^iysa t is fa c t or y. Perhaps some' children are naughty because they have1!;sard that tiie good die young. VV;v ' Methuselah completed nine centuries aud he never even.saw a<a<bicycle. Tennessee and the only woman colonel iu America except Col. Butt, a Georgia woman on Governor Atkinson's staff. Col. Ely looks very well in her full- dress uniform of white duck with heavy gold embossed epaulets, - visored cap, belt of silk and a small, dainty sword, but she wore a bridal veil and orange blossoms at her wedding. Girla Brighter than Hoys. Out of 222 pupils in the grammar schools of Chicago who attain a cer­ tain percentage of efficiency only 25 were boys; This would indicate, says a medical journal, that girls are about ten times as bright a* boys. It is hard to understand these things and straighten up the rules of heredity. It is, we believe, the accepted rule that boys "take after" their mothers and the girls after their fathers. If they, the women, are the smarter, the boys, "taking after their mothers," should also be the smarter. If the men are the smarter, then the girls, "taking after their fathers," should be smart­ er. It is a difficult riddle to unravel. Simple aud to the Point. The Cherokee form of marriage is perhaps the simplest and most expres­ sive of any. The man and woman merely join hands over a running stream, emblematic of the wish that their future lives, hopes and aspira­ tions should flow on in the same chan­ nel. Good Reason. "And why did she choose him anion2 so many admirers?" "The others did ni>t propose."-- Brooklyn Life. The Gum Habit. <• The chewing gum habit has been taken up in England by many young women--students, actresses and others --who have become inveterate chew- ers. A few days ago an inquest was held at Lincoln on a child, 8 years of ago, who died from the effects of eat­ ing a pellet of the substance. The symptoms preceding death were those of gastritis, and at the postmortem examination it was found that the mucous membrane of the stomach was inflamed and that there was much local peritonitis. The coroner pointed out that the distribution of such dan­ gerous stuff to young children was a very Improper proceeding, and the jury, in indorsing his remarks, added that in its opinion the sale should be absolutely prohibited. For Rough Hands. A lotion of one-fourth ounce liquor ammoniac, one-fourth ounce tincture of opium, one-fourth ounce spirits turpen­ tine, six drachms of olive oil, put to­ gether in a bottle and shaken well be­ fore using. After washing and drying the hands, in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, pour a teaspoonful of the liniment into one hand, rub as though washing them. One great cause of chapped hands is careless drying af­ ter washing them. A Calling Hint. If a lady driving with friends stops to pay visits 011 route she will not take lior friend into the house where she goes to call uuloss she is a young lady not paying calls on her own responsi­ bility or unless there is some special reason for making her and the hostess acquainted. Husbands do not often accompany their wives in calling, though there is 110 reason why they should not do so if they feel inclined. mountain climbing of Colorado is yet awaiting its pioneers. Did the Color­ adoans or people of other States fully realize the intoxication as well as the health-giving powers of mountain climbing, Rocky Mountain climbing would be one of the most popular recre­ ations of America. Only one mountain climbing club is known to exist in Colorado. There is room for a dozen more. There should be one in every city. By the evidences such clubs might offer of their thrilling experiences and of their unexampled pastimes, the fame of the Rockies 11s a place of pleasure and adventure might be widely advertised, and Colorado thus be pushed T01'ward to the place it must eventually occupy as the Ameri­ can substitute for Switzerland.--Den­ ver Times. The American Girl 111 Fiction. The American girl, whatever she may be or do, always has her wits about her; she is "smart." While her father de­ lights in managing factories, stock op­ erations or railroads, she delights in managing men. And in every kind of fiction which she dominates the men seem to be uniformly glad to be man­ aged by her. Often in Action she has been lacking in certain graces--chiefly the supreme grace of tact. But there nre signs that our novelists have discov­ ered that the American girl possesses this grace also, and so it happens that to-day she trails through fiction not only with fine clothes, and a beautiful face, and generous deeds, and witty, if impertinent, remarks--but there is de­ veloping around her a gracious man­ ner, an unconscious simplicity that shows itself in consideration for the weakness of others--in addition td that keen knowledge of their foibles which was always hers. What we have yet Face Veil's Injurious. It has been discovered that all kinds of face veils produce weak sight, head­ ache, vertigo or nausea. The dotted veils are the worst and those with a double thread mesh are more injurious than the single thread. In veils with­ out dots or figures, the vision is made defective in direct proportion to the number of meshes to the inch. Feminettes. A woman loves but once; that is, the same mail. Ladies light with pretty words that are full of lisits. Women never play in a game unless there is another game under it. Little children' and women have 110 little troubles--they are all big ones. Women go to prayer meeting to lay out a week's work for their hired man, the Lord. The equality of the sexes will be firmly established whenever the news­ papers print a description of the bride­ groom's trousseau. Gospel will be a pretty word in a woman's mouth when women can dis­ tinguish between a poor memory and a clear conscience. . Some persons have minds, and some a thing to guess with; but it is only a- handsome woman who can make shift without either. Femininity may be defined as the art with which a woman graciously per­ mits a hapless man to apologize to her for some offense of here against him. Ay lien a woman lias once fairly sat on a man, forever afterward the entire masculine race takes on the appear­ ance of groveling upholstery. World's Largest Fruit Farms. The largest fruit farm in the world is in Jamaica. The largest fruit plan­ tations in that island are owned and operated by an American company, the area of whoso fruit farm is 44,000 acres. They own 28,000.acres, aud the other 10,000 acres are hold by them un­ der lease. Their principal crops are bananas and cocoa nuts, and last year they shipped three million bunches of bananas and five million cocoa nuts, besides other fruits, to America and elsewhere, employing twelve steamers belonging to the company. Near Olden, 011 the Ozark Mountains, in southern Missouri, there is one of the largest and finest fruit farms in the world. It consists of 2,200 acres of land, owned by a syndicate formed of members of the Missouri Horticultural Society, and 011 which are planted 01,000 i>eacli, 23.000 apples and 2,000 pear trees, with forty acres in small fruits. There is an orchard at Barbara. In California, be­ longing to Edward Cooper, which has an area of 1.700 acres, and contains 10,000 olive trees, 3,000 English walnut trees, 4,.">00 Japanese persimmon trees, 10,000 almond trees, and about 4,000 nut and other various fruit trees. At Toddington, near Winclicombe, in Gloucestershire, Lord Sudoley has an orchard of 500 acres iu extent, which yields its owner an annual profit of £10,000. In Jersey and Guernsey are many fine orchards; 0110 in the former island being said to contain 00,000 pear trees. A Noted Bridge lor Suicides. The most noted bridge iu the world for suicides is said to be that spanning an abyss iu the park of the But'tes- Cliaumont at Paris, which, owing to its reputation in this respect, has got the title of the "Accursed Bridge." From the day the bridge was finished up to the present time there has been 110 diminution in the numbers of those who in the course of each year cast themselves from its parapets. For nearly a score of years from 100 to 150 people have annually committed sui- side in this way. The rocks that pierce the shallow waters at the bottom of the gorge are sharp, and the co\eted death is certain, once they are over. A sort of terrible fascination seems to hang "about the bridge, or about one particular spot about half way across it--a fascination which is said to af­ fect, more or less, nearly every one who pauses there and looks down­ ward. Four of the watchmen, station­ ed there to prevent would-be suicides, have themselves yielded to the fatal fascination of this suicides' bridge. Some Jewel Gleams. Gems set iu platinum form jewels produced to appeal to high-class trade. The fashion is increasing in finger. Irings with cabocliou stones in close set­ tings. A feature oi' the times is the increas­ ed displacement of the baser metals, with silver, in the arts. Diamond brooches wrought in Per­ sian patterns are new and effective. History repeats ltself--with the ex­ ception of. your own private history, Which Is repeated by your neighbors. RECENT INVENTIONS. Hats and coats can be left on a new hook without danger of theft, a sliding bolt being fitted with a lock and key, ' by which the, garments are clamped tightly and cannot be released until the owner inserts the key to draw the bolt. Housekeepers will appreciate a new self-sprinkling broom, which has a small circular water reservoir, which slides over the handle and is connected with two finely perforated tubes, which slowly discharge water into the broom. Street lamps can be mounted 011 a new telescopic post to make them easy 4 to reach for trimming and filling, a set- screw engaging the central shaft to hold it in position with pulleys and weights set in the post to counterbal­ ance the lamp. Checks can be indelibly marked to prevent raising by a new protector which has number dies to mutilate or break the fiber of the paper, which at the-same time forces ink into the mu­ tilations so it cannot be erased without destroying the fiber. To open the shell of an., egg without spilling the contents a new appliance is composed of two flat plates fastened together at one side with round aper­ tures for the top of the she'l and a slot between the plates for the passage of a knife. To convert an ordinary bathtub into- , a vapor or medicated bath a flexible cover is placed over the edges with an aperture for the neck, and the medi­ cinal ingredients are placed in a perme­ able bag suspended from the under side of the cover. A West Virginian has invented a spring stirrup for horseback riding, which will remove the jar as the ani­ mal strikes the ground, a coiled spring «j being used to attach the stirrup to the j saddle, with a leather casing to keep the spring from chafing. To Preserve the Florida Alligator. It is alleged that the alligator is dis­ appearing. Somebody who claims to have kept count says that since 1S80, 2,300,000 have beou killed in Florida. They used to be numerous along all the prominent streams, but now they are found iu numbers only in the ever­ glades and swamps. The Florida "people «re being aroused to acti<?n. The dis­ appearance of the alligator removes a picturesque element of the scenerj that is supposed to have attracted many vis­ itors. It is proposed to repopulate the rivers by artificial propagation. Pro­ fessional hunters would have to be em­ ployed to gather the eggs and deposit them wherever it is thought that alli­ gators would look well grinning at peo­ ple passing in steamboats. The alliga­ tor is six inches long when hatched. The Midnight Serenade. Jack--I've discovered a new method of firing china. Ella--What is it? Jack--Use dishes to break up cat con­ certs. When a man speculates on a large scale he always lias something on which to weigh the consequences. The absence of soft water is no ex­ cuse for hard drinliilig. Some, early writings by Thomas Car- lyle, never before published in book form, will soon appear. They date from 1S20 to 1823. The title of Sarah Grand's new novel is "The Beth Book," being the story of Elizabeth, a child who develops into a woman of genius. Alphonse Daiidet lias decided' to keep back a realistic novel drawn from life, which he has just finished, until the original of the hero dies. The translations from Maurus Jokai ' are to be continued and the English publishers propose," in fact, to bring out all his best known works. The next tale in the series will be "The Lion'of ^ Janiiia; or, the Last of the Janissaries." Mrs. John Maxwell, or, to give her a > name by which she is known among a large class of readers, "Miss Braddon," is said to put her novels en paper at the rate of 1,500 words an hour. Her latest book is "When the World Was Younger." .... . . , / - • ' ' . v . ; ' James Jeffrey Roche, editor of the Boston Pilot, has completeed the man­ uscript of a story entitled "Her Majesty the King: A Romance of the Harem." . Oliver Herford is illustrating it and it will probably be" published before the end of the year. Pierre Loti lias just finished a prose- drama, "Judith Renaudin," which has occupied him for several mouths. It is in four acts and six scenes and the ac­ tion takes place at the time of the revo­ cation of the edict of Nantes. It has not yet been decided where and how the work will first be produced. Two papers on "Unusual Uses of Photography," that will interest both amateurs and professionals, appear in Scribner's. The first one, oh "Aerial Photography," gives a number of views taken from balloons and kites, and de­ scribes the newest methods for send­ ing up a camera on a kite string. The other paper deals with "Night Photog­ raphy," and is accompanied by soma very remarkable actual night pictures. ^ Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Canadian Premier, lias undertaken a work of the highest literary interest. He has ar­ ranged to write, iu collaboration with Beckles Willson, a history of the Hud­ son Bay Company, based in a large measure upon the archives of the com­ pany. The Hudson Bay Company stands in somewhat the same relation to the early history of British America as the East India Company stood td that of British India. The publication of a new edition of the Spectator, by Messrs. Dent of Lon» don, and Charles Scribner's Sons of New York, assures at last an adequate a«id appropriate edition of Steele and Addison's classic. This edition will be exquisitely printed, and will, in spell* iug and general appearance, reproduco the Spectator of Addison's day, follow­ ing, as it does, the first collected edi' tion. It will be in eight small volume^ of just the right size to hold.