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- u‘l .. NH ’ _. . __ __ __ ___.____.___ _________________,_______.___â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€" PUNKIN HOLLER LIFE. Joe Higgins flail Too Much to Remember. \Vell, well, 1’s jist a-saying to Tildy last night at abody never knows what a-goin’ a-happen ’em. Pore Joe ‘. pore Joe I I mind jist as well as if it had been yisterday the last time I seen him. I took my sewin’ an’ went over to stay all day’th Alice Ann â€"you know Joe an’ me’s second cousins. I haint no hand to go to folk’s houses an’_ then go ’way an’ commence talking about ’em, specially ’bout a neighbour, but I jist can’t help but say ’at Joe Higgins was the worst slave fur his family ’at I ever seen or ’at ever anybody seen. I never’s there in my life when Joe’s there ’at wasn’t : “ Pa, do this,” or “ Pa, do that.” A-pon my word I don’t see how he put up with it as long as he did. I declare to goodness I don’t. Thinks I many a time when I’d be over there’, thinks I : ” Alice Ann Higgins, you’re a killin’ your man by inches an’ don’t re’lize it an’ never will re’lize it I reckon till he’s dead an’ gone.” V7ell, as I’s a sayin’, the last time 1’s there peared to me like the man hadn’t been in the house a minute till they had twenty things fur him to do. I hadn’t more an’ tuck my things off till he come in a lookin’ awful broke down an’ out o’ heart,I thought, fur Joe wasn’t overly stout at best. He brightened up a bit when he seen me, an’ asked just like he allus does how I’s a com- in’ on, an’ if Tildy an’ the youngens wuz as well as common. Joe wuz never much of a talker, but a body could allus tell whether he’s glad to seen em’ or not, fur he had sich kind ways about him. Alice Ann was in the kitchen a gettin’ dinner, an’ I jist com- _menced askin’_hnn how he’s gittin’ along in the grocery store, when she hollers in : “ Pa, you’ll haf to go back up to the store an’ git me some sody, I’m plum out.” “ All right, ma,” says he’ a-pickin’ up his hat ’thout a word when there set Billie a-read- in’ some sort of a red-backed book an’ Mabeline a-curlin’ her bangs. One 0’ ’em could o’ gone jist as easy as not but they never ofl'ered to move. Thinks I, “ I’ll bet a hundred dollars if you’s my youngens you’d not set around an' make a pack-horse out 0’ your pap.” I’ll tell you right now, youngens haint much to blame, fur it’s jist owin’ mostly to the way they’re been raised how they turn out, but as 1’s 8. goin’ a say Joe hadn’t more’n got back till Alice A nn commenced again. “ Pa, this here coffee-mill won’t work and I can’t get along till it’s fixed. I wish you’d see what ails the pump, too, while you’re about it, fur I’m obleged to draw water half the time. You’ll hav to git me a bucket full now, fur Billie can’t pack it without spillin’ it all over everything.” ,_ An’ if you’ll b’lieve me, just as Joe came' in with a bucket full she spilt some bilin’ gravy on her arm, an’ if she didn’t pitch on to him fur that I hain’t here. “ Yes, that’s jist the way,” say she, as mad as a hornet, “ this plaged old cook stove’s enough to egg a body’s life out. There hain’t another woman in a hundred ’d put up with it, not one, an’ I hain’t a-goin’ to put up with it much longer myself, I kin tell .you.” “ Why, ma,” says Joe, alookin’ nervous, “ I’ve been tryin’ to get you to buy an- other’n fur I don’t know how long,” “ 0, yes,” says she, “‘we’ve got so much money to buy ’em with, hain’t we. That’s just like a man. You know very well I thought we-didn’thave the money to spare. Here’s Mabeliue a~needin’ a new dress an’ shoes an’ a summer hat an’ goodness knows what, so I’d like to know where the stove’s a-comin’ from. I wish I’ ever see the time when I could have things like other folks ’s got ’em,” says she a-comin’ over to me to tie her arm up. “ O, I think you’re agittin’ along real well, Alice Ann,” says I, feelin’ that sorry fur Joe I could a-cried. “ 0, yes,” says she, a-drawin’ her face down like lots 0’ wimmin folks does some times a-tryin’ to look awful pious when the old feller’s jist rampant inside of’em. “ 0, yes,” she says, “we git along well enough, but nobody knows how I work an" save an’ worry to keep things up an’ the children a-lookin’ decent.” I didn’t say nothin’, but I’s a doing a site 0’ thinkin,’ an’ I ’low Joe wuz too. We set down to table then, an’ 0’ course Joe had to hold the baby till Alice Ann poured out the cofi‘ee an’ he shuck the fly brush the whole livin’ time we’s a-eatin’, and got up hisself to cut some more bread ; when Alice Ann passed the chicken she give me an’ herself an’ the youngens all the good pieces an’ left the neck an’ back fur Joe. I seen he hardly tetched it an’ I declare if it wasn’t jist that 0’ way ’th ever blessed thing about the house. The youngeus first, Alice Ann next, and then pore J 06 got the leavin’s, if there wuz any. I like to see a woman see after her chil- dren an’ do fur ’em,but I think her man orter be first ever time. A-pon my word I don’t b’lieve Joe Higgins’ had a decent dud to his back fur years. Ever cent they could make an’ scrape went to them youngeus. Mabeline must have this an’ that an’ to- gether, an’ Alice Ann ’d a-moved heavin an’ earth to 9. got ’em fur her. I told Tildy many a time it wuz a hurnin' shame the ways things wuz a goin’ on there, an’ that I wouldn’t be s’prised if Joe Higgins’d loose his mind. An’ I reckon he has, pore silly feller, er he wouldn’t a gone au’ done this. I had a good notion, to talk to Alice Ann that day an’ I wish I had now; pore soul, I feel sorry fur her, an’ I feel sorry fur Joe, too ; I feel sorry fur all 0’ ’em. That day I’s there Alice Ann follered him to the door an’ told him a whole string 0’ stud an’ things to do. “Now, Joe,” says she, “whatever you do, don’t forgit Mabel- ine’s shoes, an’ stop in at the milliner’s store an’ see if her hat’s done; she wants to go to meetin’ to-night; an’ do think to bring me some sugar an’ coffee an’ canned fruit an’ bakin’powders from the store, fur I’m lookin’ fur Aunt Mollie over to-morry. “Well, ma,” says Joe, lookin’ bewildered an’ gettin’ out his led pencil,“I better write ’em down.” “0 my mercy,” says Alice Ann, “can’t you rec’lect that? Don’t forgit the baby’s paragoric now, whatever you do fur I don’t want to be kept awake to-night with a squallin’ young ’en agin’,” says she, a-callin’ after him when he‘d got plum out o’ the gate. “Well, well,” thinks I, “Sal- lie Bouders, its jist as well you hain’t never got married.” Gittin" married hain’t allus what its cracked up to be ’3 my ’pinion. Well, the very next thing I heard wuz ’at Joe Higgins had run off with Pollie Peper- son, au’ I haiu’t a-sidin’ in with folks in glneral that does that a’ way, an’ I hain’t sidiu’ in ’th Joe Higgins, but I say now an’ I said then that he's most driv to do some- thin’ out o’ the way. marrien’s a failure anyway, pore feller. I reckon he ’lowsl cacao WITH AMANIAG. Fearful Two Days‘ ltidc ofa Plaster-er. John Lawson, of Pittsburg, Pa., was resâ€" cued from a two day s’ confinement in a box car with a maniac at the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne tracks by the Chicago police the other afternoon. . \Ved‘nesday evening John Armstrong, a plasterer, 28 years old, American, and with a brother and sister reelding at 2014 Catherine street. Philadelphia, set out from Pittsburg in company w ith Lawson, a fellow artisan, to visit the world’s fair city. They had some money between them which they used to purchase food and drink to sustain them on their long journey. They took into the box car of a freight train made up for the west in Pittsburg yards a great lot of dried beef, some herrings, a bag of crack- ers, and, last but not least, three quart bot- tles of whisky. Before the train pulled out one of the railway employee locked and seal~ ed the car door. ‘ Armstrong became badly frightened and to' keep his courage up began to make fre- quent visits to the whiskey bottle. After a heavy meal on crackers and dried beef he began to complain of thirst. “ \Vhen he first began to beg for water,” said Lawson, “ I tried to persuade him to leave the whiskey alone. I was thirsty my- self, but I kept quiet and tried not to think of it. All afternoon Armstrong kept drink- ing and about dark he had almost finished the second bottle. He was lying on the floor then and I thought he was drunk and would go to sleep. I had resolved to beat on the door when the train stopped until one of the trainmen would come and let us out. I would have given ten years of my life for a drink of water just then. SUDDEN’ INSANITY DEVELOPED. “ Suddenly my partner started up with a terrible scream, such a howl, like anger and fear, and hate, and pain, all tumbled to- gether in one expression, and then he fell down on his knees and began working his hands back and forth as though he were row- ing a boat. . “ ‘John,’ I said, ‘you’re dreaming ; wake pp,’ and, going over to him, I began to shake 11m, “ He must have known me for a minute, for he called me by name once and began begging for water. He said there was a forge fire in his head and some one was melt- , ing a big bar of iron in it. “ ‘ Just give me that cup full of water,’ he said. ‘ I’ll show him that he can’t heat nothin’.’ ” I told him there wasn’t any water, but when he kept on weeping and begging I got the last bottle of whisky andgave it to him I wish I hadn’t done it. I don’t know why I did do it, but I thought maybe it would make him drunk and he would keep quiet, for I was beginning to get afraid. “ When John got hold of the bottle he drank like a famished wolf. He was half sitting up when I gave him the bottle, but in a minute he fell forward on his face and the bottle was smashed to pieces in the fall. The train slowed up and I began to beat on the door and yell, but no one came. Maybe it was five minutes and maybe it was that many hours. I don’t know. It seemed a. long While after Armstrong had rolled over when he began to snarl and make noises like a dog. Then he got up and began tear- ing around the car. I took hold of him and he threw me against the door as though I had weighed but a dozen pounds. After a while he began laughing, and lay down and began to kick as though he were swimming. Then he got up and began to put on his clothes, part of which he had taken off whcnvhe made his first dive to the floor. DAYS or SUSPENSE. “ It was just such things as that all the while, all night, all day, and all the next night. It seemed we must have been weeks in that car and I expected he would kill me every minute. “ We came to Chicago to get work. Both of us are plasterer-s by trade. I generally make a good living. I met Armstrong at Pittsburg while at work there. Armstrong was all right when we left, although we had both drank a little the day before. I yelled myself hoarse the first night or may- be would could have got out. As it was no one heard me until the train stopped there in the yards.” A Young; Murderer Beprieved- ’ Mrs. Shaw, mother of Arthur Shaw, the boy condemned to death for the murder of a widow of Halifax in May last, received the following letter from her son. The lad wrote from the Armley Goal, sayingâ€"“I am quite happy and contented, but I have a hope to get pardoned by the Home Secre- tary. You know while there is life there is hope. I am paying strict attention to the chaplain’s advice, and I have felt a lot happier since you can come and see me any day. But you must not walk it. If you cannot get the money write instead. I might get pardoned yet. You can write up to the Home Secretary, Home Office, London, and plead for me. It will doa lot of good. Ask him to have mercy on me. I am only very young yet. You must state my case to him, and you might be able to save me yet. Do not forget, it is my only hope. You know I have not written 11 myself yet, but I will do, and I hope if do get pardoned you will always write to me. Will you please write by return, and let me know if you will write up to the Home Office ; it will cheer me up more still. I forgive you with all my heart any wrong you have done me. Dear mother, I am prepara ed for the worst, if it comes. I am quite safe, I am sure, and if we never meet on earth I hope to meet in Heaven. What made me do it God only knows. But if I do get off I shall still keep the chaplain’s words.” The Home Secretary has reprieved the prisoner on account of his youth. A Blind Mathematician. An extraordinary instance of success, in spite of being sorely handicapped in the race, has, says the Sketch, lately occurred at Berlin. At the university in the Prus- sian capital a student named Max Meyer, of the age of 27, propounded with such brilliancy and intellectual power his thesis on the differential calculus that the exam- iners hailed his prowuss with acclamation, and at once proclaimed that he was deserv- ing of a special degree as doctor. The point of the story lies in the fact that Max Meyer is blind, and has learned to read by touch alone. Perhaps the most notable parallel to his case is that of the late Prof. Henry Fawcett. ____.__â€"_â€"â€"-.â€"â€"_.‘-..._ The best marksman are usually those. with gray or blue eyes. , the Canadian Pacific and THE GREAT WEST. llarvellous Growth of our New Provinces in a. Decade. The attractions of a new country are al- ways supposed to be exaggerated and its progress magnified,but there can be no ques- tion of the position which Manitoba oc~ cupics at the present time.’ During 1892 20,000 new settlers arrived in the Province, besides 18,000 in the neighboring North- West Territories; while 150,000 acres of land were broken up and prepared for crops in addition to the area already under cul- tivation. A general view of the condition of affairs can be obtained at a glance from the following table prepared by Mr. A. J. McMillan for the Manitoba Government, and just issued by it as an official publica- tion. 1888. 1891. Popu‘ation of Province . . . . 108,6;3 154,442 Number of Public Schools. 4 612 " Post Offices . â€"â€" 600 Miles of Railway about . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998 1,422 Number of Acres of Land under Crop . . . . . . . . . . 623,000 1,335,000 Number of Acres of Land under Wheat .... 380,231 I 916,661 Number of Acres of Land under Oats . . . . . . . . . . 159,150 305,611 Number of Acres of Land under Barley . . . . . . . . . 69,305 871,828 Twelve years ago there were 100 schools in Manitoba and only 275 miles of railway. The population has largely increased since the Census" year and is now probably 185,- 000. To the farmer, or the man who wishes to become a farmer, in Manitoba or in the North-west Territories, general conditions are steadily improving. This was clearly shown in an able paper read by Mr. J. C. Sinclair before the Farmers’ Institute of Brandon on April 5. Speaking from the standpoint of personal experience, he ob- served that in 1882 the farmer paid $100 or $500 for a team of horses which he could now get for $200 or $300; paid 500. to 75c. for seed oats and 75c.'to 81 for seed wheat, where to-day he could cbtain them at his own door for 25c. to 50c. a bushel. \Vhere he had given $200 to $350 for a binder, it could now be bought for $150 to $175. Clothing and groceries were corresponding- ly cheaper. Where the farmer of 1882 had to team wheat 50 miles, the distance now rarely exceeds ‘ive or ten miles, while lum- ber waggons, buckboards, ploughs, etc., were now easily obtainable and at cheap rates. But if the condition "of the farmer has improved, and no one can fail to a. preciate the prosperity which a glance at t ose gol- den fields of grain on a summer’s day .in Manitoba must surely indicate, so have the position and prospects of the cities and growing commercial centres of the Prairie Province. Mr. McMillan gives a glimpse of \Vinnipeg’s progress in the following table ; 1883. 1892. Value of City Property..$l,200,000 82i0,300,000 Volume of Commercial Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000,001 40,000,000 Bank Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000,000 40,000,000 Post Office Collection and Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900,000 8,000,000 Value of Public Improve- ments . . . . . . . . . . .. H0000 2,000,000 Population . . . . . . 6,178 30,070 Number of Buildings .. 1,00.) 6,000 Number of Business Houses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CS 400 Number of Factories... 16 45 The growth of Brandon and Portage la Prairie has been very similar, while hun- dreds of little towns are dotting the whole Province, and are especially numerous along its branch lines. So it is also in the Territories, where Qu’- Appellc, Medicine Hat, Virden, Moosomin, Regina, Calgary and many other places are rapidly rising into, or have already attain- ed, importance and prosperity. And this growth must inevitably continue until in a not distant future the Great West of Can- ada supplies the world with its surplus cereals, and replaces the United States in the markets of Great Britain. firs IN DANA-17A.- A Valuable Lesson for American Girls to Study. Much comment has been made of late, says the Philadelphia Enquirer, about the freshness and brightness of Canadian ma- trons. The climate, their rather regular, simple habits and various other reasons have been given for this; but one of the best explanations was recently voiced by a woman, an able physician, who has had an extended practice among the better class of women in Canada. She says that these people eat enough pickles, preserves, sweets and rich food to entirely destroy the digestion of the aver- age American. Their habits are simple in a way. Their diet is in many respects atrocious, gauged by hygienic rules. The secret of their health and strength, especial- ly among the matrons and younger elderly women, according to this statement, is that when Canadian girls marry they accept the responsibilities that come with their new condition, not only without protest, but with a certain degree of willingness. They rarely war against nature, but take excel- lent care of themselves, and, as a conse- quence, have better health and better times than many of their American sisters. Be- ing guestioned as to the truth of this, a Cana ian woman, somewhat noted for her freshness and youthful appearance, al- though the mother of a large family of rol- licking youngsters, said : “ When Canadiaurgirls marry they take it for granted that if they are to have fami- lies the wisest thing for them to do is to make the best of it, take good care of them- selves, and try to make their children and their homes happy. When the children are grown or partly so, the mother has an idea that she has earned a little recreation and pleasure. The older ones are taught to care for the younger ; and in all well-regulated Canadian households things would goon - almost the same if the mother were away for a third of the year. The older girls and boys are taught to take responsibilities, look after the younger ones, attend to household affairs and know what is needed and how and v: here best to supply the lack. Instead of postponing the raising of their children or avoiding it by all sorts of in- jurious methods,these sensible,clear-headei women feel a. pride in having brought up an interesting family ; then taking the leisure and time that, in their early married life, circumstances deprived them of. The Can- adian matron, with grown children, shines in society, and is getting her reward for duty well performed when she was younger. Her children take subordinate positions, and are kept in training for the same career that she has so ably followed.” American girls might learn some valu- able lessons not only in happiness, but in health from their sisters across the border. ety. of cat which has no tail. at any Iowa River, less than a mile from Decorah. a shower of live fishes fell from the clouds. They ranged from one to three inches in cow which for some days declined to chew her end. He examined her tongue, and found a needle lodged in it. rest from Coughlin, and he has been declared heir to an estate in England valued at $3,000,000. “there is more money in larceny than in literature.” and Dimmet, Texas, gives pasture to about 1,500,000 sheep. It contains over 400,- 000 acres and is considered the largest in marine engineering, is 88 miles long, and reduces the distance from Europe to ludia from 11,379 miles to 7,628 miles. kind at present is estimated at 3,000. ITEMS OF INTEREST. There are 6,000 intoxicants. One-tenth of the world is still unex- plored. It has been estimated» that it would take a man 3,000 years to read all the standard works. In Italian cities the cleaning of streets is sold to the highest bidder at a public auction. The first post office opened its doors in Paris in 1462; in England 'in' 1581; in America in 1710. It takes eight times the strength to go upstairs that is required for the same dis- tance on the level, The pressure of the atmosphere on the man of average stature is abou 2 fifteen tons yet it is not felt. The Manx cat is not the only tailless vari- In the :Crimea is found another kind Elections in France are always held on Sundays, in order to suit the convenience of workingmen and peasants. In the Wine districts of France, Spain and Italy grapes are still trodden with the bare feet, the idea prevailing that this makes wine better. The flying foxes of Australia are multi- plying so rapidly that it is feared they will soon become as great a pest as the rabbits. An ice cave, in which icicles can be seen time of the year, is in a bluff of the During a rain-storm in Millersburg, Ky” length. James Dewey, of Hillside, Mich., has a. 5. Troy policeman is about to take a long police duty. His name is P. H. A Fitchburg (Wis.) reporter tried to vary his occupation by "\gaging in theft. He is now in jail, but coolly declares A sheep ranch in the counties of Webb the world. The Suez Canal, the greatest work of The number of languages spoken by man- The Bible has been translated into 200 only, but these 200 are spoken by about two-thirds of the whole population of the globe. A scientist who has investigated the mat- ter states that the men who are employed in the Paris sewers are as healthy as the average person, and no other 800 men in that city are so free from zymotic diseases. Bald-heads are rare, in China. A Mon- golian genius, years ago, discovered a method of sticking in hairs in the bald spots, and his secret was soon learned by his imi- tative countrymen. A young lady in Pottsville, Pa., was so delighted at receiving her engagement ring that she rapturously kissed it. Her egstacy suddenly ceased when she accidentally swal- lowed it. A cane with a concealed “ clip ” at the end is the latest implement of a thief’s out- fit. The clip is operate] by a spring in the handle, and the tool is used by shop lifters to clutch things apparently beyond their reach. The income of the Chinese physician, Li- Po Tai, who died recently in San Francisco, where he had long resided, was over $40,- 000a year. He had many white patients. His speciality was asthma, and to this malady he succumbed. Mrs. Lovejoy Aldrich,of Seattle, Washing- ton, is the widow of two soldiers. Her first husband was in the Revolutionary war, and the other in the war of 1812. She is the only person known to the Pension Office who stands in this position. In an advertisement of a railroad com- pany, summoning the owners of unclaimed freight to remove their merchandise, the letter “'1 ” was dropped from the word “ lawful ” in the notice, which ended thus, “ and pay the awful charges on the same.” We are accustomed to think of metals as incombustible ; but the contrary is the case. With the exception of the so-called noble metalsâ€"gold, silver, platinum and a few othersâ€"all metals burn, or absorb oxygen when heated sufficiently in the air. The royal crown of Great Britain is com- posed almost eutirely of diamonds, pearls and mines, weighs thirty-nine ounces and five pennyweights, Troy, and is valued at $1,200,000. When the Kohinoor was first brought to Europe it weighed 186 carats, but by cutting has been reduced to 102. Of the $12,000,000,000 of life insurance written in the world, 85,500,000,000 is placed in the United States. Between the years of 1880 and 1890 there was $2,500, 000,000 new life insurance written in that country, and but $1,000,000,000 in the whole British Empire. There is a marked difference between a fort and a fortress, according to the defini- tions rendered by a little schoolgirl in Washington. “ strong place where they put men in,” and a fortress a “ similar place where they put women in.” A medical gentleman in Kansas has suc- ceeded in an agricultural experiment which will interest all classes. He has crossed the tomato with the potato, and he has produc- ed a vegetable which possesses some of the qualities of both articles. He calls it the “potomato” John Young was serving a term of seven yearsiin the prison at Carthage, N. C., for stealing a hog. A few days ago he made an attempt to escape, and was fatally shot. The next day the pardon arrived from the Gov- ernor. “Why didn’t it come yesterday?” said the dying man. Au earnest hand-clasp caused the death of Dennis U’Leary, of Bristol, Pa. He was walking in a Boston park, Where he met a robust friend. The latter squeezed his hand so forcibly that the nails entered O’Leary’s palm causing a slight wound from which a few drops of blood issued. Blood-poisoning resulted and in a few days O'Leary was a corpse- She defined a fort to be a WATER A8 A DEADENBB. 01‘ PAUL As an Anaesthetic it Is Declared Prefer- able to Cocaine or Chloroform. A discovery in the domain of anaesthetics is being a good deal talked about in medical circles in Vienna, which, if it bears. the severe tests which it is proposed to apply to it, will prove an inestimable boon to suf- faring humanity. Neither of the two agencies heretofore employed by surgeons to deaden or minimize physical pain during serious operations, chloroform and cocaine,’ is wholly free from danger. Chloroform can not be administered to persons suffering from heart disease, poverty of blood, etc., and cocaine injections under the skin have more than once had exceedingly deleterious effects. ' The new discovery, which is credited to Dr. K. L. Schleisch, determines the fact that absolute local immunity from pain, even during protracted operations, can be obtained without resorting to general nar- cosis of the patient, so that a sufferer may remain perfectly conscious during the am- putation of his hand or foot without under- going the torture usually associated with such operations, or exposing himself to danger of syncope ever present in the operating room. It appears that subcutane- ous injections of a solution of salt, and even of simple cold distilled water, will produce exactly the same localanaesthetic effects as cocaine. The explanation of the phenomenon is simple. Local insensibility to pain is caus- ed in the case of cocaine by purely chemical changes ; while cold water acts mechanical- lyâ€"by means of high pressure and low temperature. Under the influence of high pressure and sudden lowering of tempera- ture the blood and lymph are driven from the region operated upon; to places where the pressure is less. The tissue is thus de- prived of its supply of blood and temporary paralysis of the nerves results. It is stated on the authority of one of the first physicians of Europe that the impor- tance of this discovery is all the more un- doubted seeing that' if, in a given case, cold water should fail to produce the need- ful degree _ of insensibility, a weak and absolutely harmless solution of cocaine would prove certainly efficacious. -â€"[Chicago Times. ’ Additions to the British Navy- The Admiralty have now definitely de- cided to strengthen the British Navy fleet reserve. W.thin the next twelve months a large number of new ships are to be con- structed, and passed into the reserve as ready for sea. Foremost amongst these are five, first-class battleships of the Royal Sovereign type, and representing the largest class of vessel in the world. Their names are the Empress of India, Bepulse, Ramil- lies, Resolution, and Royal Oak, each hav- ing a displacement of 14,150 tons, with engines of 13,000 horse-power, and a speed of 17.5 knots, with an armament consisting of four 13.5 breechloading guns, ten Gin and twenty-eight smaller quick-firing guns, and a number of machine guns and torpedo tubes. There will also be two first-class battleships, the Centurion and Barfleur, each having a displacement of 10,500 tons, ' with engines capable of developing 13,000 horse-power, and giving a speed of 18.25 knots ; besides six first-class protected cruisers â€"the Crescent, Endymion. St. George, Gibraltar, Grafton, and Theseus, of 12,200 horse-power each,“ giving a speed of over 19 knots; three second-class pro- tected cruisersâ€"the Astrze, Bonaventure, and Cambrianâ€"of 9000 horse-power each, and a speed of 19.5 knots ; and ten first-class torpedo gunboatsâ€"the Antelope, Dryad, Hazard, Hebe, Leda, Onyx, Renard, Speedy, J asenr, and Niger. The Speedy will have engines capable of developing 4500 horse power, and giving a speed of 20.25 knots ; The engines of the others will develop 3500 horse-power, and give a speed of 19.25 knots. All the cruisers and gunboats, like the battleships, will be powerfully armed with modern weapons. _ How to Treat Beggars- Professional mendicity is on the decrease in Belgium. In 1892 the number of vaga- bonds arrested was 2000 less than in 1891. This is-au effect of the new law, which makes vagabondage no longer a crime but a contravention. ,It is not punished by pris- on and involves no disgrace. The vaga- bond is sent to the agricultural colony at Wortel, near Antwerp, where-he Works, and it is the business of the committee to find him a place. If they fail to do so at the end of a year, he is free to go or stay. Whilst there he is paid at the rate of from 12 to 48 centimes a day, part of which is held as deferred pay to be given to him when he leaves. There is another colony at Merxplas for professional beggars, for whom prison and a judicial record have no terrors. There is no more prison for them, but the magistrate has power to send them to Merxplas for from two to five years, where they are remunerated like those at Wortel, but where they have to face the terror of work. Half of the inmates at Merxplas do not know how to use their fingers honestly when they arrive, but all are taught before they leave, and some have become clever workmen. The two colonies shelter 4200 men. There is a kindred estab- lishment at Burges for women, sheltering about 900. The Price of a Negro. In Alabama the market price of a convict ed negro is eight cents a pound. The young murderer, who was hanged at Centre on Friday, put himself up at auction the day before. and several doctors made bids. It being his wish to be weighed like a hog and sold by the pound, the prison authorities made no objection. The opening bid was six cents a pound “ spot cash.” This was raised to seven and a half, then to seven and three-quarters, and finally to eight, atwhich he knocked himself down. He then went to the scales,and tipped the beam at 1561bs., which, at eight cents, brought his value up to 12'48dols. The money was paid on the spot, the purchaser taking a receipt and an order for the body. The money was spend in the course of the next twelve hours on drink and good things to eat, and the fellow had a ” rousing time.” The price of bacon was quoted on the same day at 10;,- cents a pound. â€"â€"-New York Tribune. The length of the largest tiger skin after drying is said to be thirteen feet six inches, but it must be noted that skins expand con- siderably in the curing- U