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C’URRENT NOTES On the thronged and narrow side- walks of a great city men and women intent on a definitepnrpose. bet- ter progress than does the purposeiess pilgrim who has'an entire road to him- self. Hour after hour the city's dense stream rushes onward. one portion go- ing in one direction and the portion 'by its side going in the opposite direc- tion. There would be stoppage and confusion were it not for one thing the generally understood law of the road. Every man and woman keeps to the right, and, although he may be constantly brushing clothes with his neighbors going in the other direction. his progress is not hindered. But when some perm. through ignorance or care- leasneas gets on the wrong side of the walk. then there is interruption and vemtion. ” Keep to the right," says the philosopher to the young man and young woman who is forming life‘s practices. Learn the law of life's road and. heed it. Have Some definite mission and object of your Own. and pursue them. You are not called to be a general adjuster of the affairs of the universe; your place is not in your neighbor’s path. Half the world is disturbing itself. and everybody else, in a wrong fashion, about the af- fairs of the other half. By idleness. by carelessness. by gossip, by slander, by meddling. by trifâ€" by trifling of every sort. you are get- ting into the other man's way. Keep to the right. You. do not belong on the world's highway unless you are there for a purpose. Attend to it, and let your neighbor do the same. “To every man his work." An English paper notes the fact that one of the first successes gained by the Germans in their competition with the Lancashirc manufacturers of cotton fa- brics was in Russia. For many years the Englishmen sent large numbers of turkey-red handkerchiefs to Muscovy. where they were mostly used for cover- ,ings for the head. In shape the pieces rwere oblong. The wearers preferred ’the square shape and the Britishers were notified to that effect, but. took no notice f the hint. as they did not care to incur the expense necessary to alter their ma.- ehlnery. So they lost the market. One unfortunate day, for them. a German traveler found his way into Russia and began to ask questions about the head.- ‘gear of the women. He found they were well content with the color and texture, but complained that the Eng- tlish would not make the kerchiefs of _the more desired pattern. He inform- ed German manufacturers of the fact, and "before long the demand for tur- key-reds fell off in Manchester. though worn as much as ever in the land of the Czar." The Russians now are said to be making these things for themâ€" selves: England has suffered greatly in a loss of its market for cotton velvets. . and for a like reasonâ€"unwillingness to cater to the preferences of its custom- iars. Its people had the industry in their own hands, and exported great quantities to France and Germany, but the dyeing was not perfect, the orig- inal tint being apt. to turn to a russet brown. and complaints about this did not receive respectful attention. The Germans saw their opportunity, pro- duced a blue-black dye greatly superior to the English, and captured the mar- ket, a fact which helped to build up the now flourishing town of Crefeld. The English now have dyes at least equal to any used on the continent, but have not regained the trade, prohibitive duties standing in the way. They are, however. wakening up under a sense of these and other reverses. and it is probable will not repeat the folly. ____...______ AMONG TOWERING WAVES. Thrilling Experience of the Steamer Born on Its Northern Journey. The British steamer Beta, from Port Au Prince. which was reported lost, arrived at Halifax the other day. Capt. Hopkins says that in all his experience he never encountered such weather. They had to battle with hurricanes and heavy seas throughout the voyage. The vessel was under water u to the rails almost all of the outwar and inward . Two days after leaving Halifax. wh le making good headws in the lgvy seas, Capt. Hopkins. w 0 was on t bridge. saw a tremendous sen com- ing toward him. and realizing that it Would likely break over the ship. he trie dto secure a place of safety. but did not have time to do so. and as the wave reached him he rabbed the hand rails and ducked his end. The wave toward above them as it struck the Ihip and then broke right over the vessel, tons of water falling on the deck. The deckhouse was stove in and the cabin flooded. The ventilators were washed away and the iron rails were twisted like pipe stems. The door of \ wheelhouse wm smashed in and the at the wheel was knocked down :21 gr: ed under the gear. He had a r . ape. C‘agt. Hopkins narrowly escaped t whet-u; h ‘ wave struck him lifted l iiy d carried him etely over the of the bridge ud‘l‘anded him under one of the boats. e g the rail with his arm. A w m more and he would have carried overboard. His leg was y cut. -wwâ€"wâ€"Vmâ€" For the Good of the Community. You. sir. our town has turned out some Infit men in its day. deed! Ya. air. it turned me out. STURIES Bl woman. WAR EXPERIENCES OF THE BRITISH COMMANDER-lN-CHIEF. â€"â€" The Courage or a War Correspondentâ€" Charies Gordon in the Crimeaâ€"u An- ccdole at Henry )1. Stanley. But let us now recur to the charm of intercourse with Lord Wolseley, and to the happy and kindly qualities which endear him to his friends. He is at his best when speaking of his war experi- ences. whether inthe New World or in the Old. No one has ever given more graphic sketches of Lee and of Stone- wall Jackson than Lord \Volseley can give, as the French say, between the pear and the cheese, and his stories of the Crimea. of the Indian mutiny. of wars China and Africa. are hardly to. be equalled. Let us take a Crimean story first, promising solely that mem- ory. however vivid, is nota phonograph. and in this instance it is careless of incidental details, which add little but local color to the picture. The tale was elicited by a question as to who-- ther Lord \Volseley knew Charles Gor- don in the Crimea. and what he thought of him. "Oh, yes. I knew Gordonâ€"knew him very well. we were subalterns together; young fellows, just beginning life. full of spirits and go. In spite of all the hardships, the road before us seemed bright, interminable, always leading up- ward. Gerald Graham, Gordon. and I were often together in the advanced works in front of the Redan. life had already come to lock on Graham's cour- age as something almost supernatural. You know his heightâ€"well on t06 feet 6inches, I should say. \Vell, he used to standup in the trenches and pay no more attention to the Russian fire than if the bullets had been snowballs. and when he was relieved in the evening, in- stead of crawling along the trench unâ€" der cover. he used to step. out. of it on to the open ground and make a bee line for his quarters. At first the Russianl; were too astonished at this piece of check to take any steps to put an end to it, but as it was repeated again and again. their sharpshooters grew more numer- ous, full at last. A PERFECT MOB of them used to wait. for Graham’s a - pearance, and then let fly. But e walked away, with his back to them, evening after evening, as cool as a on- cumber, and was never touched. Again and again we remonstrated with him, told him he had no business to make a cook‘shy of himself, but nothing we could say altered his resolution. 'He'd be hung,’ he said, ‘ before he'd take the trouble to crawl a quarter of a mile out of his way to lived the Russian fire â€"-let them shoot and be damn’d to them.”’ " And you," we asked, interrupting the narrator; ” how used you to go to your tent?” “0h,” he went. on,_ modestly, with a gleam of humor in his eyes. "I crawled along the trench in the mud and slush till I was well. beyond gunshot. I sup- posemy disposition was calculating and ambitious. I did not see what could be taken by getting a bullet in the back for no reason.” d"And Gordon t "â€"again we interrupt- e . "That’s the curious part of it," was the reply. _" One evening Charley Gor- don would link arms with Graham, and walk away as its hailstorm of bullets had no power to hurt him. and the very next evening -he would crawl alon the trench after me as if _he would 1' e to hide in the slush.” The second story is concerned with the man who will probably be found to have won enduring reputation, though not ex- actly the fame of the heroic defender of Khartoum. ' “\Var correspondents!” exclaimed Lord \Volseley. “Some of them are DESPERATELY BRAVE, while others are anything but heroes. The majority, I think, do their duty well. even when it leads them into tight places. By-the-way, talking of tight places and war correspondents. I remember an incident that may inter- est you. It was at the beginning of the 'Ashanti campaign. just after our landing. A square~built little man came up to me and said. speaking slowly and Wit? an unmistakable American ac- cen :â€" " 'General. allow me to introduce myâ€" self. I am the correspondent of the New York Herald. Iâ€"â€"' _"Too busy to attend to him I cut him short with. 'that can I do for you. srr?’ . " He replied imperturbably. with the same exasperating slowness, ' Well, Gen- eral,l want, to be as near you as I can if there is any fightin’ to be secn.’ "'Capt. So-and-So has charge of all the arrangements concerning corre- spondents,’ rejoined. curtly; ' you had better see him.’ And with this I turn- ed on my heel. and went about my busi- ness. :fl saw no more of my correspondent thh the aggravating coolness and slow- ness of speech for manya day. I did not even know whether he was accompany- ing the column or not. ” Personally speaking. I was only in danger once during the whole expedi- tion. It was shortly before we entered Coomnssie. I had pressed forward with the advanced troops. hoping to break the bust effort at resistance and have done with the affair, when the enemy, utiliz- ing the heavy covert. came down and fairly surrounded us. For a few minutes the posulon was critical. and every man had to fight. for the enemy’s fire was poured mat CLOSE QUARTERS. They_ pressed open us from all sides, dodging; from tree to tree. and continu- ally c ging closer. hoping to get hand to hand. In the hottest of it my at- tention was caught by a man in civilâ€" ian's clothes. who was some fifteen or twenty yards in front. of me. and who was congletely surrounded by the sav- ages. c seemed to pay no attention to the danger he was in. but? kneeling on one knee. took aim. and fired again and again. and I seemed to see that every time he fired _a black man fall. I was fascinated by his danger and cool- ness. As our mam body came up. and were “driven back. ' . I went seethatnoharmcameto notes hment the ca. forward my civilian friend. who rose I reached him. To my asto it was the co ndent of the New York Herald. and he began again in the same slow. calm way:â€" ucweu‘ ___â€",, . . " Again I intermpted him. ‘ You were lucky to escape. Didn't you see that you were surroundediH _ ' "'Well, General.’ he began again. I guemI was too much occupied With the niggers in front to pay much attention to those behind.’ _ "That was evidently thesimgle truth. Whatever men may say in t e future about Henry M. Stanley. _no one that has seen him in danger .Wlll deny that his courage is of the first quality. I took a liking to him on the spot, and we beanie great friends; nor has any- thing occurred since to alter my opinion of him.”-â€"Saturday Renew. GRAINS OF GOLD. I All grand thoughts come from the heart.-â€"Vauvenargues. Nature is but a name for an effect whose cause is Godâ€"Cowper. Poetry is itself a thing of God. He made‘his prophets poetsâ€"Bailey. All power, even the most despotic, rests ultimately on opinion.â€"Hume. Spiritual force is stronger than maâ€" terial; thoughts rule the worldâ€"Emer- son. The genuis, wit and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbsâ€"Bacon. In these times we fight for ideas.and newspapers are our fortressesâ€"Heine. Some to the fascination of a name surrender judgment hoodwinked.â€"-Cow- per. False praise can please and calumny affright. none but the vicious and the hypocriteâ€"Horace. No man who.has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether and irreclaimably depravedâ€"Carlyle. There are not unfrequently substan- tial reasons underneath for customs that appear to us absurdâ€"C. Bronte. It is _easy to learn something about everything. but difficult to learn every- thing about anything.â€"Emmons. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself; nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principlesâ€"Emer- son. It'is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as posâ€" ableâ€"Johnson. Those whose whole minds feed upon piness in proportion as their stores inâ€" creaseâ€"Burton. Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, w atever be the attitude of the body the soul is on its kneesâ€"Hugo. is the offspring of fear, of lazmess and impatience; it argues a defect of spirit and resolution, and of- ten of honesty, too.-â€"-Collier. Trust God for great things; with your five loaves and two fishes he will show you a way to feed thousands.â€" Horace Bushnell. No earnest thinker will borrow from - others that which he has not already, more or less. thought out for himself. Charles Kingsley. .o- MARRIED EIGHTY YEARS. Perhaps the oldest Married Pair In the United States. There is living within three miles of St. Paul. Minn., probably the oldest married couple in the United States. Their names are Darwin, and they were born in Montreal, Canada, and are French. Louis Darwin was born on Sept. 24. 1788, and is therefore over 107 years old. His wife was born on March 17, 1794, and was 101 on-her last birthâ€" day. ‘This aged couple were married in 1815. and have passed their eightieth anniversary. ' They have lived near St. Paul for the past forty-two years, and he has been engaged extensively in the lum- ber and logging business, also in farm- ing. They have reared a family of ‘seven sons and five daughters, only five of them being alive now'. The oldest daughter lives here and has a- large faimly, she being married when she was 11 years of age. They have the fourth generation from the parent tree. The old gentleman was one of the liveliest among the “boys” on the river forty years ago, and could dance all around the youn fellowsat that time. He was note for his politeness, which at times was somewhat ridiculous. as was the case when his wife was very sick. The attending physician going to see her met the husband comin to the city. " Good morning, Mr. Darwm." said he; “how is your wife this morning?” Politely raising his hat he said: “ She is very much worse, thank you. doctor.” The old couple have been very rugged and hearty, and have livedrin a cottage by themselves for several years. and all last summer were able to be about the farm. but they are both very sick at present. ‘and there seems little hope of their recovery. After fourscore years of married life, the' are disposed to say that so far as hey are concerned they think that marriage is not a fail- ure. As It Struck Him. Little Johnny saw a small tufi en- gaged in towing a large ship. and card the tug whistle loudly. Opapal he exclaimed. That big lxxit's got the little one by the tail, and it's squealingl Inseparable. Oh, she said. as she was seeing him out. the front door_. would you mindl giving me the bow in your hat? I am makin a collection. . The man goes with the bet, he said. l and she seconded the motion. 1 A Strong Reality. I don't see anythingsmart in those ggkes about women giving their bus-l nds a box of cigars at Christmas, re- marked Mrs. Stimson in a discontented! voice. . â€" Nor. I. my dear. responded Stimson. If they're anythin like the cigars you gave me last Chris mas. I'm sure they're no joke. riches recede in general from real hap- l l l l l Christmases STRINGLED BY A TREE. HORRIBLE SNAKE-LIKE COILS‘OF A TREE IN IADAGASCAR. The Narlves Dance .Wildly About ltâ€"‘l'hey Give It a Woman “film and Watch ller Death Struggles in Its Embraceâ€"Prunin- fal Orgies or the Savages. Far in the interior of Madagascar dwells the remnant of the tribe of the Mkodes, a diminutive race of primitive people. These aboriginals never exceed 4 feet 8 inches in height. always go per- fectly naked, and have no other religion than the worship of the serpent-tree. Near where the Mkodes live in caverns the serpent-tree, hidden in what ap- pears to be impenetrable forest. awaits its victims. \Vhen these superstitious little folk wish to banish some evil or court some favor they assemble here. dancing and singing around their verd- ant object of worship. The trunk of' this tree resembles a pineapple in shape, is about eight feet. high, black and hard as iron. From the top of the cone eight leaves hang to the ground. These are about twelve feet long. three feet wide. very thick and end in sharp points. Stout thorns cover the inner side. The top of the cone is white, round and from afar looks like a. small dinner-plate turned down on a larger one. This larger "plate" contains a clear, viscous liquid, known to possess exceed- ingly intoxicating and soporific proper- ties. Just below it extends six green and hairy Shoots. about eight feet long and sharp-pointed. Above these, from between the two "plates," six white, plum-like tendrils rise vertically about six feet. They are in constant motion, shooting and twisting around with be- wrldering rapidity. The faint hissing noise thereby roduced strengthens the illusion that t ese tendrils are snakes performing A HIDEOUS DANCE. \Vilder and wilder grows the dance of the natives around the tree; wilder and wilder sounds the chant. Finally the savages. with a rush. surround one of the females, and at the point of their wicked javelins forces her to mount to the top of the tree. There she sits terrorâ€"stricken. The mob yells. “Drink! Drink!" In desperation the unfortunate victim at last scoops up some of the fatal liquid with the hollow of her band, drinks it, and jumps to her feet, shouting and gesiiculating wildly among the vicious shaky tendrils. One of the tendrils coils around her neckâ€"others wind around her arms and legs. The woman gives vent to horri- ble shrieks and more dcmoniacai laugh- ter. While her stru glee already grow fainter and fainter, t e horizontal hairy shoots suddenly rise one by one, like great green snakes. and twine them- selves with relentless force around her. It is a vivid interpretation of Laocoon's fate, without the eauty of that hero’s death. The woman struggles no longer. Now. almost incredible. the eight monster leaves raise their tips from the ground; they rise higher and higher, until they inclose the victim as in a case of iron; they press closer and closer. untilâ€"oh. horror! the ser cutâ€"tree's store of lethe, mingled with be blood of the human sacrifice, oozes through the interstices. lVith a yell of mad deli ht the sav- ages rush to the tree and up up every drop of the horrid fluid. The god is appeased. After hideous orgies the par- ticipants sink down one by one in con- vulsions and delirium to long insensi- bility, while the grim black tree con- fiinues to hold its victim in tight em- race. All Must be Friends Today. Farewell,~ farewell, to the grand old year; He came and he passed away, Like the song of a bird or a fleecy cloud, On the brow of a summer day. His form was bent and his eye was dim, His locks were as white as snow, Andwe laid him to sleep with the antâ€" umn leaves And the hopes of the long ago; And over him sang the moaning winds, A requiem soft and low. ‘ All hail, all bail, to the queen of morn, And her steeds as fleet as air, That speed their flight o'er the moun- tain height. - And this is the news they bear: Awake. awake. for the night is gone From the deep blue sky so clear; Awake, .and haste with a welcome smile. And a son for the glad new year. Awake, awa e. and the youth behold. Who comes in his bright array. And these are his words to the young and old. That all must be friends to-day. Then come with joy. and with social mirth. Let the moments glide away; Bring flowers, bring flowers, for the golden hours. For all must be friends lo-day. A silver chime from the bell of time Takes up the tuneful lay; Let all be glad. and not one be sad, For this is the New Year day. How to Have Two Birthdays in One Year. As we sailed due west over the Pacific one hour was lost in each thousand miles of progress, writes a traveler, and when we reached the halfâ€"way point around the world from Green- wich (180 degrees) aDday was dropped in midoccan. In passmg from Nov. 2, to Nov. 4. or from Saturday to Monday. was quite a new experience. An officer on board tells me that he spent two last year while coming from Japan to San Francisco. and a fellow passenger had the unique ex- perience of havmg two birthdays dur~ mg his voyage in the same direction. ._.__.___...â€"â€"â€"_. Knows a Good Thing When She Doesn’t See It. My wife has good literary taste, said the editor. How is that? . Since I stop carrying coin in my vest pocket. 8 0 calls it the exchange corner. ARMENIAN MASSACRE!»- ' m The l‘orelgl once u London infirm or line Awful Lou of Life in Asia Min. . Consular reports and other informa- tion received at the British Foreign Office. confirm the worst fears of the destruction of the Armenians within the area from Tnebizond southward to Van. and from Alexandretta north-westward to Ksra-lllssar. Whole Christian towns and villages have been pillaged and burned and their inhabitants massacred. Those who have been left alone have been forced to abandon their faith and turn Mohammedans. Accurate details concerning the condition of affairs in the districts beyond the immadiate spheres of the consulates remain want- ing. but there is no reason to doubt the reports derived from fugitive survivors and the better sort of Turks who have not shared in the outrages. that a sim- ilar condition of affairs exists in those places. The correspondent of the “Speaker.” the paper which first gave publicity to the Armenian outrages. in now known to have close relations with the consulates in Constantinople and from information derived from them he estimates that not less than five hun- dred thousand persons have either been killed or are now dying of starvation beyond the chance of timely relief. He says that after the soldiers had sacked the Armenian towns and villages the Kurds completed the plunder. 'lho lat- for mixed what grain they could not carry off with dung, and sethu'e to the houses, leaving the people With no food and their homes heaps of smoulderin ruins. The ambassadors have admse the Porto to permit the Red Cross so- cieties to undertake the relief of the distressed ople, but the presence of hundreds 0 Red Cross agents would re- veal horrors that the Ports must conâ€" ceal. This fact debars the possibility of the government giving its assent to the p an. TURKISH INACTIVITY AT HADJlN. The representative of the United Press in Constantinople has received a letter from the Had 'iu mission. which begins with the wor s: “We are alive, praise the Lord." The letter refers to the prominent part that Ciroussians have taken in the atrocities around Hadgin and says that ten thousand Circassmns and Turks were actively employed in sacking the Christian Villages. The governor did nothing to protect the Christians, and even refused them per- mission to defend themselves. He did, however, promise the aid of regular Turkish troops, who, the writer states, were of the same feather as_those anâ€" aged in the murders and pillugc._ .ln ghe face of these statements the official Turkish statements. repeatedly com- municated to the press, that order has- been restored everywhere _become worthless. If the Foreign Office pub- lished all its information, says the "Speaker," Lord Salisbury would not dare to appear in public. e would be mobbed in the streets. THE HINTERLAND 0F ONTARIO. Vast lint-xplored Region Which In ltlch- ‘VIIII Minerals and Tanber. 0f Ontario's area estimated at 200,000 quare miles, 100,000 square miles are in an unknown region, only the edges of which have been explored. This is the territory known as the Hinterland of Ontario. It lies between Lake Huron and Superior to the south and the Albany River and James Bay to the north. In this vast area is the Height of Land, which separates waters flowing to Hud- son's Bay from the streams emptying in- to the St. Lawrence and the lakes. North of the Height is what is called the Hudson's Bay slope. consisting of about 80,000 square miles. This slope may be described as an unknown land. The Height of Land is not a ridge of bills. but isalevcl plateau some 1,200 or 1,300 feet above the sea. "l‘hc scenery,’ says a surveyor's report, ‘though diver- sified by hundreds of rivers and streams. thousands of lakes, and innumerable crags and hills of rock, is certainly lacking in that nobility and lax‘gcncss of View which only the presence of lofty mountains can bcsiuw.‘ Of the rivors flowing north from this slope the Albany is the most important, be- ing about 475 miles ion, and navi- gable duri _ the season o high water for 250 mics. 0f Line. short. slope south of the Height. of Land, in which are situated the settlements of North Bay, Sturgeon Falls and Sudbury, there is definite and general know- ledge but the whole territory sloping north remains unexplored. ’l‘hc Hinterland is Ontario's reserve. Much valuable timber in this 1'0.ng is destroyed by fires that sweep south of the watershed. i’ine. spruce, tamarac, poplar and cedar are varieties of wood existing in abundance south of the Hudson‘s Bay slope. [lore too are val- uable minerals but the treasures bid- (len in the region north of the plateau and the resources of the high piano list-if, await the searching of some intrepid explorer. This your further investi- gations are to be made in Labrador and tho. Hinterland. Meanwhile no mivcn- turous spirit need resign itself to ob- scure inactivity. nor ambitious travel- or sigh because there are not. new coun- tries to traverse. The Hinterland will reward the eager distun‘oxcr; and, when he has exhausted that. tt-rritory, Labrador. Newfoundland, the north- east territory and regions of the North- Wcst rennin unsurveycd. v-" Different Views. Do you ever go to church? asked a city missionary of a woman who had ap- plied to him for assistance. No. I don't, was the reply. The fact is, I aim. fit. things in wear. My hus- band's been out 0' work so long l’ve run out 0' things; and. anyhow, run and my husband have such diff'ronl. views. I‘d have to go alone if I went at all. What are your views? Well. l'm a Methodist. and my bus- band. he's one 0‘ those here Knights 0' Pythias. Victoria's Aversion to Tobacco. Queen Victoria has developed such a. strong aversion to tobmxfo that strict orders have been issued to pro- hibit smokin at Windsor Castle, at Belmont an at Osborne. Formerly the Queen enjoyed the odor of a cigar. .,_, , ............- . .-