The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

__._....._ ....._ __...,___.._.__..._..___.-~._ lacunae: AT HOME. HOUSEEEEPING THAT IS DONE BY PUSHING BUTTONS. â€"â€" A New Yorker's Amazing Combination of Electrical Devices to Do the Work 0! Servantsâ€"Elevators, Doors. and Light Tani A“ In Response to Distant llnnds. The nearest approach to the fairy- lsnd at the fable exists in New York city. It is the home of the President of one of the large exchanges. In this house it is almost. impomible to do a stroke of work or perform a series of concerted actions. Everything is done for you. apparently by magic, though really by electricity. It is probably the most elaborate electrically equipped residence in the world. Everything is done by the current. and it is necessary only to reach out your finger to have it done. It would seem as if the family of the owner must die of lassitude and the servants grow so lazy as never to be fit for work. Most of the servants are figurchsads anyhow; they have so little to do. The occupants of the house seldom or never walk up stairs. An electric elevator carries them from floor to floor and~ even up to the private roof garden fitted out with electrical de- vices. No attendant is required to work this elevator. It is the perfection of automatic action. A single push button on each landing controls it. No matter if the car is above or below your floor, a. pressure of the button will call it to you. This is, of course, posâ€" sible because of the A U'I‘OMATIC ACTION of the pole-changers and switches which are placed at every floor and are work- ed by the car itself. Once a certain push button has been pressed, the car , past under the control of the person i who pressed the button, and no mat- ter how much the other buttons are pressed they will not act until the first one is released. This is done by means of a commutator which throws all of the other buttons out of circuit; for if two poisons on different floors should; attempt to work the car at one and the same time it might prove fatal to huâ€"i man life. The car door also is auto- matic, and the car cannot be moved uuiil the door is shut and locked. This tlezator is lighted by tiny but brilliant electric lamps. and there is a flexible; tul‘c lclephone in the car which ena-§ llws one. to speak to any part of the: house. ‘ , Such a thing as the ordinary opening , anl shutting of a door never occurs; in this house. Near every door there: is a pith button. Press this and the' door slides into the wall'or vice verso... 'l he prrsutre of another button locks or ; unlocks the door. Sometimes it. is noti u-cosctt'y to be near the door in orderi to (llll'll or close it. Hanging down be- side the beds are what is known in elec- i lrical circles as “flexible"â€"bifurcated_ cords with wooden knobs or handles on _ lll.‘ ends. In each handle are four but- , tons. marked successively Asleep,f Awake, Shut and Locked. The pres-1 sure of the first two buttons sends a‘. signal to various parts of the house that the master or mistress is asleep or; awake. The bedroom is approached by f u. long hall or entry way. Lying in; bed the occupant. of the house can shut and lock or unlock and open the door at the end of the fifty foot passage by merely pressing the proper buttons. Hanging near the. bed is another flex- iblc button which means all kinds of qualified summons to the house ser- vants. There is no such thing as groping in the dark in this house. Every room can be lighted before entering by PRESSING A BUTTON In the. hall approaching it. Further- more, you can light at. will one or a} dozen or every light in the room and; there is also one switch which enables{ every lamp in the house to be lighted at 3 once. Dark closets are unknown in‘, the house. The very act of opening aE closet door automatically turns on the! current and the interior is lighted up. 3 All of-tho table lamps are electric and. in several cases they are marble statues holding incandescent. lamps. smallfi patterns, as it were, of Edison's famous ! statue of the Triumph of Electric L' ht. : The roof of the house with its e ecâ€"; trically lighted garden presents a benu- ‘ tiful sight. from a distance, just as the 2 distance is beautiful when viewed from; the roof. Here the family passes itsl evenings when home in the summer; time. In the kitchen all the cooking: is done by the current, and so much; of It is done according to new methods; that the cook would be practicallv use-E less in an old-fashioned kitchen. \thn. a chicken has been prepared and pIacâ€"' ed in an electric oven it is only newsâ€"1 sary to press a button and watch the? clock. As the heat is obtained froml over-charged wirm it is distributedf evenly all around the bird. Busting is,I therefore. not necessary, and the cx-l partness of cooking becomes a more question of time allowance. A leg of lamb. for instance, will require iust one hour and ten minutes to cook. .cft, l mo. which is worked in its turn by a gas engine. This entails no trouble, however, Leeann: the switches on III! elaborate switchboard are worked auto- matically by a side current from the cells. A colored man servant keeps his eye on the machinery. and an expert- enced electrical man pays the house a visit at intervals of one or two months. This in a measure proves the feasibil- ity of electric lighting for country resâ€" idences. In fact. everything seems to be done at a touch of a. button in this house, and the inhabitants have become thorâ€" oughly used to it. The owner has tried to enjoy some of the delights of ordin- ary activity by becoming a photograph fiend, but here the modern destiny of the mansion has pursued him, and his private studio is "electric." Arc con- centrating lumps enable the owner to take ictures day and night, and there. are e ectric developing proceses on which he experiments. He has even had wires run underground from his cellar plant to the houses of his busi- ness partners and for his father-inâ€"Iaw on the next street. He supplies them with lighting current. It is not ap- parent that there are any electric hair curlers or electric cigar lighters in the house, but there is no reason why they should not have been concealed in some out of the way corner. In short,_if there is a. genius of domestic electric- ity abroad it would probably select this house for its residence. _â€"__..â€"â€"â€"â€"- LONDON BARGES. Scenes In the Quiet Beaches of the Thames. In the weird light of the smoky evening half a dozen barges, some al- ready under jury masts, are making their way on the top of the flood into London. They form a long perspec- tive as they approach the Tower Bridge and are lost sight of in the yellow'mist of the setting sun. They are loaded dowu to their hatches, and some of them have sailed far up the coast, per- Interest!" Imps in half a. gale of wind, to demsit I their cargoes in the quiet reaches of the dreamy Upper Thames. Others hailed from the Medwayâ€""the other river,” as they call it on the Thamesâ€" and those who know Rochester and Strood Bridge will be familiar enough With the sight of them here. On Mon- day morningâ€"time, to the bargemen, always waiting upon tideâ€"the Medway fleets gets under way. It is worth seeing this on a bright morning, when the Wind is fairteach vessel beating up out of 1ts own river, and coming about into ‘the Thames, adds something to the interest of the scene. - Standing on the Essex side, one can on a clear day see some way up the Medway, now thick with sail, and fol- low the fleet along the Isle of Grain opposite, and far-up the Thames beyond the long, low line of Canvey. disap- pearing at last as it bears northward up the Lower Hope. Thus toward even- ing, in company with their various seaâ€" goxng companions, these Medway craft enter the gloom and haze of London, each one as much at home in this crowd- ed thoroughfare as in the Iowa reach- es or along the coast north and south of the Thames estuary. .‘ 4 Here, while some taken in hand y the free waterman, "sweep" up on the floodtide, their long oars or "sweeps" servmg to help their dangerous passage under the arches of the bridges, others are. taken in tow by one of the tugsâ€"- the Vixen, the Scorcher or the Storm King, perhapsâ€"and soon a long, black string of deeply laden hulks, often lash;- ed together two by two, go steaming past the Nine Elms, Chelsea and Ham- mersmtth to find a. peaceful berth posâ€" sibly behind the eyots of Isleworth Richmond, until once more they are freighted outward to their own river or to face the, open sea. _. AN HOUR’S STROLL. .‘ “'ould You Believe That You Can “'ulk 85,253 Miles on "our? Have you ever thought of the dis- tance you travel while you are out on ' an hour's stroll? Possibly you walk. three miles within the hour, but that does not by any means represent the distance you travel. The earth turns on its axis every 24 hours. For the sake of round figures we will call the arth's circumference 24,000 miles, and so you must have traveled during the hour's stroll 1,000 miles in the axial turn of the earth. But this is not all. The earth makes a journey around the sun every year, and a long but rapid trip it is. The dis- tan‘e of our planet front the sun we XVIII. put at 92,000,000 miles. This is the radius of the earth's orbitâ€"half the diameter of the circle, as we call it. The whole diameter is therefore 184,- 000,020 miles, and the circumference beâ€" ing the diameter multiplied by 3.14m, is about 578,000,001). This amazing distance. the earth traâ€" vels_tn Il‘s yearly journey, and divid- ing it by 305 we find the daily speed ulmut 1,586,000. Then. to get the dis- tance you rode around the sun during your hour's walk, divide again by 24, and the result; is about 00,000 miles. But this is not the end of your hour's trip. The sun, with its entire brood of planets, is moving in space at the rate of 160,000,000 miles in a year. This is at the rate of a little more than 438, 000 miles a day, or 18,250 miles an in the. oven three minutes. longer than » hour, this and it would be ever done. It is not ncccsmry to look in the meantime. The dining room of this houso is ex- quisito in tone. the li his shedding a cutie. radiance down rain the ceiling. t is said that the owner even contem- plated an electric table which would sink out of sight and its place be tak- en by another after each course had been eaten. much after the Roman fnshitm of table removal. The nearest approach in this case. however, is an menarchemnvarrsn, large enough to carry a whole dinner course. It is but one remove from the other idea. The dining table abounds in call bells. The master of the house mu give a private signal through the floor by annals of a foot push button. The current used in this lant is all generated on the premises. ’I‘he house is not situated along the line of a street current. The owner had therefore to Install his own plant. Storage batteries supply the current to the house. The cells themselves are stored by a dyna- So, adding your three miles of leg travel (0 the hour's axial movement: of the earth, this to the earth's orbital journey, and that, again. to the earth's excummn with the sun. and you find you have traveled, in the hour, 85,253 miles. " â€"-â€"â€"â€".â€"â€"â€"â€" NOVEL LABOR INSURANCE. Insurance against non-employment is an accomplished fact in Cologne. \V’ork- ingmen who have resided two years in that city and are over 18 years old can join the acciety. The dues are Go per week. If no employment. can be pro- cured for a member during the dull sea- son. ! ~. per day are aid to him if mar- ried. 38c if single. "be city has start- ed a uamnty fund for the society. with $6,000, to which 814,500 have been added bysubscription among employers. The society hopes to enroll eno h members to meet all liabilities like y to occur. YocNo " Forks. ' On a. stool before the dresser, Looking wondrous sweet and wise, Baby hlay is busyâ€"bless her! Helping mamma make her pies. all. she was anything but beloved in the hen house. She was very Iordly among the. other hens, and ordered them aiout in a more forcible than agreeable manner. One day, in return for her interference. she received a vic- ious peck in the eye from some offend- ed hen. For weeks afterwards we nursed hcr carefully and she finally re- covered, but she ever afterwards lived the. life of a one~oyed hen. Her adventures were too _numerous _to relate. Once after she had been mim- lng nearly a week. she was found wedged in between a barrel and the side of the hen house. She was too weak to stand when we first took her out, but after a day or two she was as live- ly as before. She fell into the cistern. and when in all haste we wont to her rescue we found her floating about on the surface of the water just. as uncon- scious as if on the softest nest we could have prepared for her. One cold winter morning we found our poor old Perl. dead in the wood- house. She had died of cold and of old age. We buried her in the garden. and we all missed her when she no long- er responded to our call with her culiar chirrup. She was nearly twe ve years old. Children, this is no fair tale. It is true in every detail. and could tell Sleeves rolled to the dimpled elbows, Smooch of flour on her nose. Clothes-pin serves her for a roller. This is how her wee pie grows: First she rolls and rolls and rolls it, Dropping flour here and there. Then quite carefully she folds it Till her apple she can pare. Now she's ready for the fillingâ€" Sugar, apple. much of spice, Mamma thinks it's somewhat mussy, Baby thinks it very nice. W en 'tis baked, she roudly shows it, “'hile we wonder w 0 will get May's first pie. and when we ask her, "’Tis for papa," says our pet. Papa. views it o'er with wonder, This queer pie beside his plate, Kisses May and kindly tells her. "It shall be my paperweight." MfléfifiEUEfi . ..._ _.._.â€".__._.â€"â€".-_ M_. V.- THEY CARRY BACILLI INTO T33 BLOOD OF HUMANS. Then the Poison Microbes Breed Death- OLD PERT. .â€" BY AUNT HE'I‘TIE. When I was a. small girl, perhaps seven years old, I lived with my par- ents on a. large farm. We were a mile or more from neighbors, and. as I had no brothers or sisters, I was obliged to make playfellows of the dumb crea- tures about me, and many lessons I learned from them, but my favorite pet .'was a hen, and this was the way it came about. One morning there came up to our kitchen door a. proud old mother hen with ten downy little chicks eagerly 'tumbling after her. I was delighted with the dainty little creatures, and obtained permission to care for them. The old mother hen we put in a. c00p, but the chickens ran at large, and } they grew and thrived on their diet of : meal dough as only chickens know how. But the prosperity of the little fam- ily did not endure many weeks. ' One morning as I called them to their breakfast, one of my favorites did not: respond, and my search revealed her doubled up with her head under hen 'wing, in a very sad condition. \Vheth- er she had been seized by a. rat, or in what way the accident occurred we never knew, but the skin was torn from the back of her head down to the wings and to the crop on either side. Tak- ing up the poor trembling little thing I ran to mother, and she. disliking to lose one of her fine Hambung brood, resolved to save the chicken if possible. She cut a. piece of cloth the size of the lwound. and spreading one side with‘ 5 salve. applied it to the quivering flesh. Telling me to watch it carefully that: the other chickens might not annoy it. ' she gave it to me, and I put it in the coop with its mother. To our surprise it lived. The cloth on its back not. being so elastic as the skin would have been, it could not get its-head down to eat the dough like the. others, so I fed it from my hand. The weeks came and went; still that plaster adhered to the injured parts, until one morning when [it came for its breakfast the plaster was gone, and in Its place was new skin with black and white feathers just pricking through. By fall there was not a handsomer pullet on the farm than our little crimle of the spring before. I named her retty. and the name was most appropriate, but too much pettâ€" ing and Indulgence had much the mme ef set on my hen that they often do upon children. She was very proud and selfish. When the corn or dough was placed in the dish and the hens "gathered around to eat, Pretty would march straight into the middle of the ' largest. dish, pick out what best suited her taste. and woe to any hen who dared allow her head to get in the way. According to the genera advice of the family. I changed her 1 name from she ever afterwards bore. During the following winter I long- ed for someone to share with me the upleasures of coasting. I first tried the cut, but she very emphatically re- fused the invitation. and I had a. bad- lly scratched hand into the bargain. I ,next endeavored to persuade the dog, ' but after being forcibly held upon the lsled during the first trip. he resolute- ly refused to try the second, and when I attempted to ur e the matter, a row of glistening w ite teeth and a I determined growl settled that question. .As a last resort concluded to try Pert. Going to the hen house, I took: her from the perch: then tucking her under my arm. and with sled rope in my hand. I started for the top of the hill. Arrived there, I placed her up- on the rope in front. She looked calm- ly about her over the white snow, then up at me. Finally smoothing down her rumpled feathers. she settled down as contentedly as one could wish. I seat- ed myself behind her. gave the sled a gentle push and away we sped down the hill. At first she seemed some- what surprised at the sudden turn af- fairs had taken. looked around at me and chirrupcd inquiringly, but did not offer to stir off the sled. Before we reached the foot of the hill she was talking away to me in her hen-lan- guage. which. according to my interpreâ€" tation. meant that this was precisely what she had long desired. and was grateful for her p ensure. So delighted was I with my new playmate, the trip was repeated again and again, for as she remained upon the sled after I got off I could draw her about as much as I pleased. AS a matter of fact this was not the last of our good times together. but thro b all that winter and in those that ollowed, until school and study took the place of outâ€"of-door play. Pert was my companion on such coasting ex- peditions. and they really did seem to afford her as much pleasure as they did me. I could draw the sled Into the midst of the flock. place her upon it and away we would . On our re- turn she alwu. waited or me to take her off the 31 Although a great favorite with us i | l iPretty to Port, and that was the title you much more about our interesting pet, but let this little story of what one poor hen can become through love and kindness teach you to be kind to all dumb creatures. Their mute appre- ctation and loving, confiding trust will more than repay you. THE SALT TAX. It Is the Only Direct Revenue Paid By East Indians. Since its discontinuance in France ini 1789, the salt tax has ceased to be anl excise or internal tax in European countries, with the exception of Italy, and which finds its warrant and justi- fication at lthe present time in India. In the fact, that, apart from the land tax, there is no other method so prac- tical and economic of compelling the masses of the people to directly contri- bute anything for the support of the Government, inasmtlch as the consump- tion of salt is a. necessity for every- individual. A very large proportion of the salt required for Indian con- sumption is importedâ€"chiefly from Englandâ€"and the total amount on! which the taxes are collected is about ‘ 500,000 tons, or 3.000.000 barrels The: rate of tax'is two and a. half silvcrl rupees (nominally 8) per maund of 82:: 28 pounds. Previous to 1879-80 the, Government maintained, at great exâ€"g pense and popular annoyance, a customs ; ine 2,500 miles in length, to keep salt 3 produced tn the states under native; rule from entering into British terri- tory Without; the payment. of a. heavy duty: This barbarous system, necessitating; the constant employment of a large; force ohnative constables, known .as'; chuprassres, invested with inquisitorial; powers, was abolished at the time above i named,. by entering into treaties with; the native states possessing salt. sources, ; 1n Virtue of which British officials are , permrtted to supervise their salt works 3 and tax their product before it left them. But this could only be accom- leSh8_d by paying the states concerned a satisfactory compensation for this concess‘ton. _'I‘he receipts of the im- perial (Indian) revenue from the salt tax from 1804 were 8,228,000 Rx.,(tens of rupees) or nominally about $41,000-i 000. The present average annual con-l sumptton of tax-paid salt. by the people 3 of India has been officially estimated' at about 10 3-4 pound per head, and; the averago'annual burden of the tax, on each Indian family of five persons at one rupee and a quarter, or 5d. (ten cents) ; and tn considering this tax, it IS deatrable to bear in mind that there 18 no direct taxation in India either. on 199an or sugar, so that the salt tax IS the only direct tax that the In- dian peasant need pay, unless he in- dulges in alcohol or narcoticsâ€" the land assessment being regarded as in the nature of rent. ‘ RAILROAD llIAN’S PRAYER. Oh, Lord, now that I have flagged thee, lift my feet off the rough road of life and plant them safely on the deck of the train to salvation; let me use the safety lamp known as Proviâ€" dence. make all the couplings in the train with the strong link of thy love and let my hand lamp be the Bible. Heavenly Father, keep all the switches closed that lead off on the siding, es- pecially _those with a blind end. 0 0rd, if it be thy pleasure, have every semaphore block zllong the line show the white light of hope. that I may make the run of my life without stop-l ping, and Lord, give us the Ten Com- mandments as a schedule and when Ii have finished my run and have, on sche- l dule tune, pulled into the, dark staliuni of Death. may thou. the Sitpmintendcntl of film Universe, say “'Illl a stnile.l “\\ ell donc, thou good and faithful ser-' vant. come and sign the pay-roll and receive your check for eternal happi- new." HOW ELEC'I‘RICITY KILLS. Experiments have been make by a French scientist: upon dogs in order to determine the cause of death in electric shock. The conclusion reached is that for a given animal in normal condition as. to health a definite amount of elec- trical energy will produce fatal results. It is thought that. the action of the electrical disa-lt-glrge is In contract the arteries and increase the pressure of the blood, and that death is due to in- ability .on the part of the heart to sustain the increased pressure of the blood so produced. Postmortem ex- aminations seem to show that the pass- age of the current does not cause any anatomical disintegration. COFFEE A BRAIN S'I‘IMULAN'I‘. Good coffee, by means of its marvel- ously stimulating influence on the brain. is the antidote of alcohol. At Rio Janeiro, where the population num- bers 850.030. drunkenness is almost unâ€" known, and coffee is largely used. Emi- grants. who frequently take with them a. love of alcohol. end by pmferring the coffee Wthh the Brazilians know so well how to prepare. Recent important Discovery by a. tier- mnn Scientist. Prof. Kratzjan, of Berlin. has Just discovered a covert method by which bacilli are introduced into the human anatomy. where they do irreparable damage. They are carried into the blood on the tiny bills of mosquitoes. and there propagate their species inâ€" numerably and in many casts kill the poor victim. At first sight this ap‘ pears incredible. but only so on‘uccounl: of the meagerness of our knowledge of the lmcillus and the great family of the bacteria. ~ ’ Only recently have we been permitted to know anything worth knowing about the great army of microbes offensively arrayed against the inhabitants or earth. and as yet our information as to their life powers and facilities for mis- chief are very limited. but. whatever order we can bring out of this chaos should be sought and found with as much certainty and alacrity as are pos4 sible. \VIth Prof. Kratzjan, it is time to believe that there is danger to delay. ‘ It is found that when all forms of bacteria that have as yet been seen are carefully mustered, they fall into one of three classes, spheroidal. rod-like and s iral. Additional subdivisions of these 0 asses have been made and generic and specific names attached to MANY HUNDREDS OF FORMS. But these need not. be specially enumz- erated. How they look and what. they do is of more importance than the names scientists have attached to them. Through the ordinary microsco the bacteria look like little bal and straight or spiral rods. but we find when we ulse the most. powerful lenses that they consist of a minute mass of granular proto lasm, surrounded by a thin, structure ess membrane. When they are given food enough. and placed under favorable conditions for growth, they may be seen to div1de across the midd e, each portion soon beâ€" coming larger. and again dividing. so it has been calculated that a sin- gle germ, il’ kept under favorable con- ditions. might at the end of two days have added to the number of the world’s living beings the enormous sum of 283,0U0,000,000 new individual bacteria i This is Prof. Kratzjan’s esti- mate. and he is of the opinion that if this sort; of thing were to go on for ‘ust one season unhindered there would very little room left on the earth’ surface for .any other form of life, an all the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen now avai able for the purposes of human vitality would be used up. In the stuff whidh makes life there would be a corner, and even the great master of the planet, man, would be forced to the wall and constrained to become the victim of his insatiable fel- low worlder, the bacterium. BUT NATURE PROVIDES. Fortunately this sort of thing does not go on. The food grows scanty, or. the temperature becomes hot. and thd sun is a sore enemy of the growing bacterium, or. as it grows and feeds. the germ gives off various chemical substances which often potson itself. So the proportion is preservad by such ' a fine balance of the natural forces that; the bacteria in the long run are held closely within bounds the world over.- till they get. into the fat. pastures of- the htunan blood, where they carry the havoc of disease in more forms than are embraced in the nomenclature of the schools, and finally viliate the whole volume of that upon which they feed. A SPORTING FAMILY. A Traveller's Rcccpllon at n “’eatcn ('ublu. A man who was making a tour of the wth on horseback rode up to a cabin one afternoon, seeking refresh- ment for himself and horse. A boy 01 about 14 (mane out to the cabin in re sponse to the traveller's call. “1101101” he said. “Your father at home i" asked the sltran‘ger. . “Naw; he's went over to Sagctown to a slugging match‘.” "Is your mother at home 7" "Now; she’s went. down to Paw-paw Town to a pigeon shooters’ match." “\Vell, is lIu-rc any one here who could get me up a dinner f" "Naw; I dunno as “111‘ is. Sister Lib has jcss went to tlu- baseball game down to the cross roads 1111' Sister Lou- isy has went off with her beau to the boss race over at lr'mrvy Mills. Brother Jim's wont to a rooster fight over at Ili Simpson's, and Dan's gone to a (law light. If gran' ma’am was here she’ jerk a chicken an' fry it for you.” "Where is your grandmother 9" "Ill'l‘ and gran' dad's wont to a shoot- in' ntzttch.” “Well. you’re ralhvr a smart looking boy; couldn't you got me up something? I'm most starved." “Sorry. mister. but I rccly ain't time. I'm jest off to a mr-wl race nn' I've got. ten cents up on Bill Jimson'a old white mcwl an' I want to be thar to sec 'im win. Got to to right. off. Good-bye . A LOAD RESIOVE I). Carma-43:13.2 old man, you are look- ing a hundred p»r cunt. butter than you were t’l ytfilI' fig”. ‘ [Linenâ€"Yrs, [was worrying about my debts lhcn. ’ All paid up now, eh? No. They havcgruwn so thatI know there in no uric in trying to pay. 1“ is a great load off my mind. {viiâ€"Lisa. He led her into the lmechen grove where they had carved their initials on a tree years before. The letters had grown together and formed a knot. Shall we not follow their example? be asked in anxious tone. She blushed and answered: I will knotâ€"if you will.