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J. WW SLYKE. Etftter n* PutXichw. HcHENBY, ILLINOIS. IiTHRARTjLH Poous, of the Chicago Public Library, whose "Index to Peri- odical Literature" has made his name familiar in every oountry where the Bngliah language la spoken, began the the preparation of tike work when he o a ri^. GoUc 1848. OTTO SCHKEIBEB, a soldier of XING William, in a duel so astounded his ad­ versary by not bleeding that the latter became an easy victim. Since then Otto has been a sort of pincushion <when his comrades wanted some fnn iwith knives, daggers, and such. "When Otto's time in the army is up, this Woodless miracle will exhibit himself. IK the cities of Worcester and Fall River, Mass., and the town of Somer­ set, the Swedish population is rapidly becoming an important element. The Immigrants are mostly young girls,who seek employment as house-servants. Unlike other foreigners, they inter­ marry with the natives. There are al­ ready two weekly papers in the Swed­ ish language published in Worcester, oand in Fall River there are regular Lutheran Swedish religious services. 7 THE independent State of Congo, an African Government, theoretically free, " but governed by the European powers, 'with King Leopold, of Belgium, as President, has just had its first money coined. The coinage is that of France, being in francs--amounting to 80,000 Jfrancs in all, of which 4,000 are five franc pieces, the rest two and one franc and fifty centime pieces and copper. Stanley, the explorer, is one of the Council of Administration of the Congo Government. BOSE HARTWICK THOEPE is recently described thus: In person Mrs. Thorpe is very tall, straight, and slender, of a decided brunette type, and while the pallor of her complexion betrays deli­ cate health, increased probably by literary toil, the bright glance of her large dark eyes expresses a high de­ gree of intellectual activity. Her manners are suave and genial in a very marked degree, and not even the oft- repeated infliction of the too inquisi­ tive interviewer affects the equanimity of her temper. TOM PARBATT ran into Lou Coulter during a game of ball in Portland, Oregon, and smashed his nose. Coul­ ter suffered for several days and then went with his club out of town. At Seattle he and Timmons, the pitcher, slept together, and the latter, while dreaming of pitching, threw out one arm and struck Coulter a very hard blow on the sore nose. Coulter was rendered unconscious and remained so for several hours. He will have to have an operation performed on the Unfortunate organ. "A TOTING lady of Austin, Nev.," says the Reveille, "wlio has much time to .spare and who is very skillful with the needle and excels in all fancy crochet 'work, has made a unique dress. The material is common spool thread, white, and the entire dress is hand-crocheted work, beautifully flowered and strongly made, and about 10,000 yards of thread were used in its construction. The sleeves are crocheted in the proper shape and are ftystened in by a lock- crocheted stitch. It is a very beautiful dress, and the young lady tells us that it took her three months to complete it." • • SO-CALLED easy-chairs in drawing- room cars have given inventors a great deal of work. They have tried to make a chair which will fit every per­ son's back and failed. They always will, for no two persons use tlieir backs .in the same way, and there is a wide variation in backs. Some persons are uneasy unless the bearing comes on their shoulder-blades, others are still more so when it does. Some wish to have the small of the back supported, others watjt every square inch of their backs pressed on. The only way to do it is to have a lot of cbairs in the bag- gage-car, take a templet of every man's back when he comes in, and pick out one that fits him; then there will be no more growling. A SINGULAR accident occurred as her majesty was making the journey from Balmoral to Windsor. The signalman at Hincaster Junction, about five miles from Kendal, had his lamp lit, and all appeared right until a few minutes be­ fore the approach of the royal train. As the train got near the junction the down distant signal, which was to guide the driver of the royal train, was in darkness, and for the purpose of in suring safety the train was brought to a standstill. On making an^inspection of the signal lamp it was found to con • tain a grand swarm of bees, the great number having had the effect of put­ ting out the lamp, which the signalman was unable to light again. The bees had evidently been attracted bj the light. PATRICK K. FAHEY, a contractor, went into the Wilmington Star office to get the "name of the fellow who wrote that piece." Failing to get the name, although offered every oppor tunity to correct the misstatement charged, he quickly jumped from the , chair on which he sat, seized it by the baok, and brought it down upon the head of Jerome B. Bell, the editor, with w^om he had been talking, while that gentleman's back was turned. Bell was knocked to the floor with a long and deep gash on his forehead, but, quickly jumping to his feet, hit Fahey, who still had the chair up­ raised, a stinging blow in the eye, which landed him in a corner. Bell seized Fahey's collar with his left hand and while the blood oovered his head pro- to crush taller thaa BelL and Fahey was kept crouched in the corner nilil a poboe ofBoer came and took him away. Later he was held for trial on a charge of ae- sault with intent to Ml. ONE of the most singular incidents connected with the burning of the Opera Comique, says a Paris letter, was the wonderful escape from death of one of the chorus-singers. On the f*u t> f«i ho rw.•<<•*> y,-r» j-.fxuv iu his dressing-room on the fourth floor to save his small possessions, and on ar­ riving there, overcome with heat and smoke, he had fallen on the floor in a swoon. There he lay in a state of utter insensibility for over two hours. His dressing-room was fortunately situated in an angle of the building which the flames did not reach, the state of syn­ cope in which he was had suspended respiration, and so, unharmed by the fire or by the poisonous smoke and gases evolved from the burning scenery, he remained there in safety while death and destruction were riot­ ing around him. It was long past 11 o'clock when he came to his senses and realized the horror and danger of his position. He made his escape by a staircase leading to the Bue de Mari- vaux, and on finding himself in safety he once more became unconscious and was taken to a pharmacy, from whence he was transferred to a hospital A few days ago he was discharged, cured, after suffering severely from his long sojourn in the pestilential atmosphere of the burning building. He can now boast of being the only person who re­ mained for two hours in the Opera Comique after the fire broke out, and who then escaped not only alive, but comparatively unhurt. MUCH complaint has been made in consequence of the introduction of a new ticket system on overland roads to California, says a San Francisco journal. The trouble all arises from the fact that the ticket given at the Missouri Biver by the overland agents contains what is called a "punch photograph" of the holder. This is supposed to be a complete description of the passenger. Along the margin of the ticket is printed, in a straight column, the fol­ lowing words in small, black type: Male--Female. Slim--Medium--Stout. Y oung--Middle-aged--Elderly. Eye. Light--Dark. Hair. Light--Dark. Beard. Mustache -- Chin -- Side-- None. The passenger is photographed on the ticket bearing his signature by punching out all the words that are not descriptive of him. If for a male, the word "female" is out out by the punch; if he is slim, the words "medium" and "stout" are punched; if his eyes are light, the word "dark" is stricken out ; and if ha wears no beard, the word "none" is left standing; while "mus­ tache," "chin," and "side" are punched. Now, it is readily seen how a train agent passing hurriedly through a crowded oar is likely to- make errors in describing his passengers on tickets, and so far from being a photograph of the holder, the marginal sketch often becomes a rank carricature. Even when the punch-marks faithfully por­ tray the features and figure, the female passenger cannot always preserve good temper on looking at the picture drawn for her. A well-developed lady of un­ certain age is not likely to consider it a compliment to be labeled in cold type as "stout" and "elderly." " CROOKS." •omaaNe M>il Dispelled by an Kipwi- Criminal. CURIOUS FACTS. A BOY at San Diego, CaL, is so electric that by rubbing his hands over a box or book and then waving his hand he oan lift the object from the table. AN old law is still extant in Virginia which imposes a fine of fifty pounds of tobacco on a man who absents himself from church for one month without valid excuse. FRUIT growers in the strawberry belt of Illinois now furnish free chewing gum to the girls who pick the berries, the object being to preserve the berries for future consumption. QUICK upon the heels of the report of the death in Brooklyn of Henry Chatfield, caused by an orange seed lodging in an intestine, comes a report of like nature from Norwich, Ct. There Miss Marion Elsie Blackman, a teacher in the free academy, died a few days ago from the same cause. AN old negro at Weldon, N. C., at a reoent lecture, said: "When I see a man going home with a gallon of whisky and half a pound of meat, dat'a temperance lecture enough for me, and I sees it every day. I know that ebery- thing in his home is on the same scale --gallon of misery to every half-pound of comfort." . THE total number of persons killed by wild animals and venomous snakes in the ten divisions of Bengal during the official year 1885-86 was the highest in the last five years, and amounted to 11,823. As is usual, nine-tenths of these deaths wcra caused by snakes. But of 12,223 buffaloes, oxen, horses, and ponies destroyed in this manner only 311 were killed 1 y snakes. These annual returns do not take account of sheep, goats, pigs, and monkeys, the destruction of wnich is very large. The hyena is credited with the destruction of 773 head of cattle. IN the northern parts of Scotland and in the Faroe Islands, extraordinary meetings of crows are occasionally known to occur. They collect in great numberB, as if they had been all sum­ moned for the occatiou; a few of the flock sit with drooping heads, and others seem as grave a3 judges, while others again are exceedingly .fictive and noisy; in the course of about an hour they disperse, and it is not uncommon, after they have flown away, to find one or two left dead on the spot. These meetings will sometimes continue for a day or two before tha object, whatever it may be, is completed. Crows con­ tinue" to arrive from all quarters during the session. As soon as they have all arrived a very general noise ensues, and shortly after the whole fall upon one or two individuals and put them to death; when this execution has been performed they quietly disperse. As soon as they thing they know that sort of to be honest v ^Philadelphia Timea.j v I witf looking over the crirnfeai list the other day of the convicted pro- fess'onals confined in New York State. They were numerous enough, bat their crimes were contemptibly small. To make your Vidocq, jou must have first your great criminal and his great crime. The American Vidocq makes himself, with these two essentials left out; and having opportunity to talk with one of Mir- . «m•./>.'(» tiimiw-'lo, hn c-Xtv- firmed my belief in the visionary char­ acter of these shrewd and clever rascals with no greater effort than revealing his own stupidity. I hunted up an­ other, a professional who has repeated his offenses sufficiently to entitle him to any other distinction than that of an honest man. I would mention that he wears stripes now, except that it might draw from the value of his statements in the minds of some who are too ecBily prejudiced. Anyway he is a better authority than the police, whose vanity in their own' capacity may be a proper pride, but leads to some mighty tall lying. "The fact is that professional thieves, and rogues are not numerous in any locality, and if crime were the sole Bource of support for the few hundreds who are so classed, most of them would be hungry many times every year. Men who steal whenever they get a chance have always some other occupa­ tion, and it is a fact that the legitimate one is more profitable than the illegiti­ mate one in nine cases out of ten." Thus began my informant, whose name you may look for a little further on. { "But in this city there is a vast army of professional criminals," I said, "men who are classified and whose industries have special forms, implying cunning and originality." "My dear sir, you have been reading the newspapers or talking to detectives. There isn't a dozen. If really clever men--if men with a modicum of brains that belong to clever people--were to devote their talents to roguery society couldn't exist. The methods employed by thieves, for example, to attain their ends look very cunning and well planned to one to whom they are first revealed. But take any one of them and examine it and you will see how flimsy it is. A sneak thief wants to , get into the till of a corner grocery. His accomplice comes with a tape line and begins to measure the sidewalk in front of the door, or to measure the wall, or comes in a wagon and begins to throw out a lot of boxes. The grocer steps out to inquire; is held in conversation, asked to hold the end of the measure or pass back the boxes; the sneak is in and away, and the trick is off. A saloon-keeper is known to keep a pocketbook stuffed with money in the inner pocket of his vest. The pickpocket knows it is a difficult place to touch. Two accomplices come iu when he is alone, both of them laugh­ ing heartily--one with a tape measure. 'Well, that was a dead loss ior me,' says one. 'Set 'em up.' They laugh, ask the saloon-keeper to drink, and explain that they were betting on the neighbor. The saloon-keeper becomes interested; the more so as rounds are being called, and then the loser wants to get even. A bottle of wine is staked and the victim asked to measure, the new bet being on his girth. Objection is taken to the vest; off it comes, and the sneak thief --a third party--soon has the leather." "Now, that's artful, certainly," said L "No such a thing; it is most trans­ parent and simple. It couldn't succeed were it not that the victim is a fool. But these are exceptional cases of such good planning as crooks can do. But, after all, suppose a man of brains-- real brains, such as you know plenty of --were to devote himself to the plan­ ning of ways to get other people's money without an equivalent, And went at it with the energy that men give to the practice of their profession or to the pursuits of commerce, where would such schemes as this be? Nowhere, You hear of a great burglary. The newspapers which report it dwell upon the fact that it has been carefully planned and that the house had been 1dotted, for a diagram which the ruscaki lad left in their flight was found. What's to hinder any man from learn­ ing every room and every door in New York City? There's the builder's plans, the insurance companies' plots, and the Building Department's open files. A little watching and a good deal of guessing make3 up the rest of the burglar's knowledge. Of course his 'tools are of the finest workman­ ship.' Bats! The chances are ten to one that they consist of a bar of iron, which being carried by a burglar is called a 'jimmy;' a dark lantern, a copper hammer, a chisel, and a flask of powder and a handkerchief with holes in it to see through for a mask." "But there are cases where men have gone further than make a few hasty preparations; have hirod adjoining stores and tunnelled and burrowed into banks and vaults with infinite patience and labor." "Bah! How many? You say ten and I say one. Whatever you say I will allow 10 per cent. But can you recall any?" "Well, the Covington, Ky., bank." "That's one. You can't go on." "You say there are no good abilnies in crooked work. How about forgers ?" "Now, there you strike upon the clever lot. At least they were, for they are nearly all in prison now. But let me tell you that professional forgers are very few -- fewer than counterfeiters, in fact, who are prac­ tically exterminated, not because of the cleverness of the police, but be­ cause the mechanical work of making notes and bonds requires such an ex­ pensive plant, the founding of which attracts attention to itself. There are a few professional gangs of forgers, say half a dozen, in the history of the United States in a quarter of a century. The last one was the one you named. It was composed practically of three men--a 'scratelier,' one who does the writing, you know; an organizer, who plans and directs; and a third who covers up the tracks and helps the fel­ low who lays the 'paper down* to get away. The organizer in the gang I speak of was Fisher, a calm-faced, gentlemanly young fellow of good ad­ dress and some superficial knowledge. Don't let anybody deceive you into thinking that any 'crook' is a polished gentleman, learned in the philosophies, conversant with the arts, and founded in literature. Why, there's Hungry Joe, the famous--well, notorious, then --bunko steerer. Why, he is an utter vulgarian; can't speak two sentences of grammatical English; nouns and verbs nearly always at war, and the objective pronoun in the nominative case in­ variably. He leads your cultured Oscar Wilde and your learned Charles Francis Adams up to the dealer like an unsuspecting lamb to a butcher's hloek. e Clead Change* Things. • bad drouth prevailed in south­ eastern Dakota a number of years ago. It was feared that the few settlers in that region at that time would lose all their crops. Elder Blodgett, who had charge of a church and also a livery stable at a small Missouri River town, held a special meeting one Sunday afternoon to pray for rain. People came from miles around. Before the nervines bepan two men prot into an ijliC * v.UiG' house in which the meeting was to be held concerning the relative merits of different kinds of beaver traps. The discussion grew warm and one of them said: "Mebby you think I dont know noth­ ing 'bout traps?" "You don't talk 'sif ye was over­ stocked." "1 know a thunderin' sight more'n you do "bout 'em!" "Yfer a sight better liar nor I am, too!" "rilshowyer They both stood up and went at it when the Elder came rushing out and said: „ "Here, no fightin' no fightin! We're gathered here on a sacred and a solemn mission; the whole country is dryin' up an' it's goin' to take earnest prayer to get rain. D'ye think it will do any good with this kind o' work goin' on ? Come on in an' services will now be­ gin." They all went in and a yery earnest meeting was held. Everybody prayed, Elder Blodgett half a dozen times. After a final appeal they filed out, and, as they did so, the Elder spied a dark rain-cloud low down On the south­ western horizon. "There's a cloud comin'!" he shouted. "That's so," yelled the others, "we're all right now!" "You bet we are," replied the Elder, I knowed earnest prayer would fetch it Now where's them men that wanted to fight? Here, peel off yer coats an' go at it!" "But we've concluded not to," re­ plied one. "Concluded not to! Well that's a thunderin' pretty note! An' after he called ye a liar, too! Thai won't do-- you fellers have got 'o fight, so gimme ycfur coat. Form a ring here, brethren! Now pitch in, no pullin'Jiair, an' hurry up 'fore that rain gets here an' sp'iles the fun!"--Dakota BelL Christenings in Transylvania. Two godfathers and two godmothers are generally appointed at Saxon peas­ ant christenings, and it is customary that one couple should be old and the other young; but in no case should a husband and wife figure as godparents at the same baptism, but each one of the quartet must belong to a different family. This is a general custom but in some districts the rule demands two godfathers and one godmother for a boy, two godmothers and one godfather for a girl. If the parents have lost other children before, then the infant should not be carried out by the door in going to church, but handed out by the window, and brought back in the same way. It should be carried by the broadest streets, never by narrow lanes, else it will learn thieving. The godparents must not look round on their way to church; and the first person met by the christening procession will decide the sex of the next child to be born, a boy if it be a man. If two children are baptized out of the same water, one of them will soon die; and if Beveral boys are christened successively in the same church, there will be war in the land as soon as they are grown up. Many girls denote fruitful vintage for the country when they have attained a marriageable age. If the child sleeps during the baptis­ mal ceremony, then it will be pious and good-tempered; but if it cries, it will be bad-tempered or unlucky; there­ fore, the first question asked by the parents on the return home from church is generally, "Was it a quiet baptism?" and if such had not been the case, the sponsors are apt to conceal the truth. In some places the christening proces­ sion returning to the house of the parents finds the door closed. After knocking for some time in vain, a voice from within summons the godfather to name seven bald men out of the parish. When this has been answered, a further question is asked as to the gospel read in church; and only on receiving, "Let the children come to me," is the door flung open, saying: "Comein, you have barkened attentively to the words of the Lord."--Popular Science Monthly. Sweet Lemons and Blood Oranges. Strolling about the neighborhood of the Quincy Market my attention was attracted by the sign, "Blood Oranges, $7.50 a Box," which decorated the ex­ terior of an importer's shop. I had always supposed the blood orange was a freak of nature, to be found semi- occasionally, like a yellow firecracker in a pack of the Golden Dragons brand; but this, it seems, was a mistake, for the dealer assured me that the ruddy fruit was a distinct variety. "It is artificially produced," he said, "by grafting an ordinary orange tree with the pomegranate. The result is an orange like any other, 60 far as flavor is concerned, but with red juice that is visible through the skin. It brings a slightly higher price, because it is regarded as a curiosity. The peo­ ple of Sicily cultivate it mostly. Yes, there are one or two queer kind of oranges I know of. The pine-apple orange, which has something of the pine-apple flavor, is finding its way into the market. Theil there is the 'navel' orange, grown extensively in Southern California. It is considered particu­ larly fine, and sells at corresponding prices. The most curious thing about it is the astonishingly accurate imita­ tion of the human umbilicus which ornaments the extremity farthest from the stem. It is from this peculiarity that the variety takes its name. These navel oranges, by the way, are of the feminine'gender, and have no seeds at all. "I had a few sweet lemons in stock the other day," added the dealer. "They are quite a rarity. People in this part of the world have poor taste in trop­ ical fruit, anyway. They will always pay more for a red banana than for a yellow one, though the former is con­ sidered an inferior fruit where both are grown. The lime, too, is far more prized in tropical countries than the lemon, but Northerners think it is only good for pickling."--Boston correspon­ dence Iowa State Register. A CALIFORNIA paper states that a petrified tooth of a shark was picked out of solid rock at a depth of thirteen feet while digging a well at Nipomo a short time ago. The tooth has retained its enamel and is highly polished. - j •• In former years it was no easy- task far ajmmgmamed oouple to "go to housekeeping," and it required no small expenditure of cash. A range or cook- ing stove, a coffee and spice mill, a mortar, a cake-board and rolling-pin, a tray and chopping knife, not to mention a large number of pots, kettles, frying- pans and bowls, and a large stock of raw materals in the line of provisions, were required. Then considerable skill was necessary to use all these instru­ ments for preparing food for the table, ^ FVLO.F PJR J}1 possessed by the young wile. \L'ho oon- sequence was that most persons who embarked on the sea of matrimony sailed directly to a boarding-house and set up their household divinities in a back chamber, where they remained till the land-lady levied on them for an overdue bill for meals and lodgings. But modern invention has rendered housekeeping very easy. A couple may now set up for themselves with very few utensils, scarcely any provi­ sions, and next to no knowledge of oook- ery. A gas or oil stove takes the plaoe of a costly and cumbrous cooking range. Coffee is bonght not only parched but ground. Spices and pepper come all prepared for use. Every kind of bread, cake, and pastry can be purchased at a slight advance on the cost of the ma­ terials they contain. If one wishes the sport of making them, self-raising flour may be had in any grocery. Fruit of all kinds all ready for the table can be pur­ chased about as cheaply as that which must be prepared. Not only lobsters and other shell fish, but salmon, may be bought cooked and ready to be served at a price but little above what the crude articles cost; and cooked corned beef, tongue, pigs' feet, and ham have long been on the market. There are also canned soups, that only need to be diluted, mince'meat, all ready to put between piecrusts, and roast meats and fowls of all descriptions. Some grocers keep mush prepared for frying. Boston baked beans, put up in cans, have had a great run during the past|few years. English plum puddings are also on the market. Cans of cooked green oorn, beans, peas, tomatoes, cauliflower, and asparagus, with Sara­ toga fried potatoes, are to be found on the shelves of any grocery, while laun­ dries do the washing and ironing. It is no longer liecesssary to be a cook, or to have a cook, to keep house. It requires scarcely any cooking utensils to provide a warm meal. A can opener, a frying pan and a coffee-pot are the principal requisites. Even the last is not absolutely necessary, since a mix­ ture of prepared coffee, sugar, and cream may readily be obtained. It is even practical now for the novice to dis­ pense with a cook-book, as the label on every can tells how to treat the con­ tents. Surely, ladies need no longer complain that the labors of housekeep­ ing keep them from cultivating their minds.--American Cultivator, The Gold Cam Sir John Fortescue, Chief Justice of the King's bench in the time of Henry the Fourth, represents the power of healing as having been possessed by the Kings of England from time immemo­ rial ; but it was not until the reign of Henry the Seventh, who introduced the practice of presenting a small piece of gold to the sufferer, that a special Latin service was drawn up for the occasion. Nor lias the exercise of this power been claimed for Kings alone; for though it was at one time imagined that Queens, not being anointed in the hands, were incapable of exhorting it, numerous cases of cure by Elizabeth are recorded, and the healing virtue W«B found in no degree impaired even sub­ sequent to the thunders of Papal excom­ munication. Her Majesty, however, is said to have been so tired of touching those who were desirous of being cured of the evil, that during one of her pro­ gresses in Gloucestershire, Bha warned the crowds who were pressing about her that God alone could relieve them of their complaints. By proclamation, dated March the 25th, 1010, it ajipears that the King, through fear of contagion would not permit patients to approach him during the summer months, and it was announced that no application would be received from any one who did not bring a certificate, signed by the vicar and churchwardens of the parish, to the fact that he had never been pre­ viously touched. The necessity for this regulation arose, no doubt, from the greed of supposed patients who had attempted to receive the piece of gold on more than one occasion.--All the Year Round. A Strange Mommy's Heed. A few days ago a well-known dealer in stamps and curios received from Ecuador the head of a South American Indians, which, from fill that can be learned, is any­ where from 300 to 400 years old The curious part of this cranium is the method which was used in its preserva­ tion. It had been cleanly severed from the body, and by means of a slit made in the back of the neck all the facial and cranium bones were removed. By what process is unknown. This done, the back of the neck is sewn up, the stitohes being visible to the eye, a num­ ber of pieces of string run through the lips, and a stout piece of twine passed through the head. In some mysterious way the head was then compressed until it was no larger than any ordinary wax doll's head. The supposition is that then, by means of the cord through the top of the skull, the head was hung up in a vault or some other such place. At present there are only two of these curiosities in this country. The natives, by whom they are looked upon as a kind of god, are reluctant, to part with them. The features of this one, which the IVorhl reporter examined closely, are well preserved and show no signs of decay. There is a luxurant growth of long black hair on the head. The gentlemen in whose possession it is said that he understood that this method was used only in the oases of chiefs or other notables. --New York World. Do. PETER WOOD, of London, sug­ gested twenty years ago the use of calcined oyster shells to arrest the growth of cancerous tumors, about half a teaspoonful oace or twice a day in a little warm water. He again reports that his experience with it has been in several instances satisfactory, bat in­ sists that no benefit from it should be expected in less than three months. "what HANGED, BUT NOT DEAD. A Strange Story of How a Texas liar- v « Gallowi. [Fort Worth (Texas': special.) Campbell Langley, father of the ones notorious and not yet forgotten Bill Lang- ley, removed to Bell County, Texas, from near Lexington, Lee County, Texas, twelve years ago. During his residence in Lee and Bell counties he has been known t\ VC'MM"-fit* iv.) HiCV i.TMt hit i'iii zen. Campell Langley to-day tola a story to some of the leading citizens which, but for his well-known Christian character, would be put down as wildest fiction. He says that his son, Bill Langley, who was publicly hanged twelve years p.go in Gid- dings. Lee County, by Sheriff J im Brown, in the presence of several thousand people, was not hurt at all, but was allowed to es­ cape. The father says when the Supreme Court and the Governor refused to intervene in Bill's behalf a rich uncle in California came to the rescue with $4,000, with which he worked upon the sympathy of the sheriff charged with the execution of the sentence; that the friends of Bill were permitted to arrange things so that when the drop fell the weight or the body fell upon the iron hoop supported by an appropriate body harness in such a way that he escaped physically unhurt. When he h&d drawn his legs up and down two or three times the attending physicians pronounced him dead, and he was turned over to his friends for interment. The coffin, which was actually buried, contained nothing but stones. While the last sad rites wer » being pronounced, Bill Langley was well on his way out of the country. He has been living since his supposed execution in Nicaragua, where he has become a leading citizen and one of the largest land and cattle herders in Cen­ tral America. Those who know Campbell Langley do not hesitate to believe his story, which he now makes public only because Sheriff Brown, who officiated at the sup­ posed execution, died in Lee County last week. "JOHNNY, " inquired his aunt, do you like best of all?" "Candy,"re­ plied Johnny. "And what after that?" inquired his aunt. "More candy," re­ plied Johnny, after a moment's delib­ eration.--FltUlmr.gh Dispatch. A PRINTER up in Canada is said to be 103 years old. He has made so many typographi -al errors during his career that he is afraid to die.--Soynerville Journal. BIGHTS OF BALL-PL ITERS. A Movement to Prevent the Buying and Selling of Them. [Boston dispatch.] Now that all other labor troubles are set­ tled, or in process of settlement, the base­ ball players are coming forward and de­ manding that their claims be satisfied. With them it is not a question of pay or hours of vork, but simply an abolishment or amendment of the present methods by which they are bought and sold as com­ pletely as were ever black slaves before the emancipation proclamation. There is at present a base-ball union, called the Brotherhood of League Bnse-Ball Flayers, of which Ward, of New York, is Presi­ dent, and before next week is out the brotherhood will have informed the League managers fully of what it intends to de­ mand, and the presumption is that most of its demands will be satisfied. There is AS yet no talk of strikes or lockouts, and it is hoped that the settlement will be an amic- ab fe one, for it is felt on all sides that if the brotherhood should take the bit in its teeth the disruption of the National League would he the result. The brotherhood is weaker in Chicago than other cities, only Williamson, Pfetfer and Flint being members, but the Chicago club has to stand or fall with the League, and if it is broken in New York, Detroit, Boston and Philadelphia President Spald­ ing will find his occupation gone. Just as surely, also, if it comes to a fight, the sym­ pathy of the public will be with the ball­ players. THE NEW JUL* MA&S1CR& 'viij Celebration of the Twenty-fifth Antnr- •ary of the Battle. I New tTlm (Minn.) telegram.] Tuesday was the twenty-fil th anniversary of the battle of New Tim, and the city gave a right royal welcome to the surviving de fenders who, a quarter of a century age, risked their lives in her defense. It was at a time when the draffs upon Minnesota for the oivil war had taken away many of her able-bodied citizens, leaving comparatively few to defend the firesides. The Indians seized this opportunity, and then followed the great Sioux massacre, the most san- RU nary conflict of which was fhe battle of New Ulm. l>nt Colonel Charles Flandrau, now of St. Paul, and a few well-armed men came from St. Peter and the town was saved. Numbers of the old defenders were at New l]lm from Mankato, St. Paul, Le Sueur, St. Peter, and other cities. All the streets weie gayly decorated. gjjsen STATS more. --Gears* Tan Kirk, of Chssiifafg^te elepeft with Dair, *ged 16 jias». --A four-months-old child was fcHlNk a rat at Decatur and died from lbs sOseta. --Mrs. John Herbert, a cataleptic af seven months' standing at Jolist, is near* eringl --Hog ebolsra is reported la Wetfcsn* field Township and other plaoea hi Hensy •iVuxiy.. --Mrs. Asenath Miller, of flfc Chailaa, was 100 yean old last week. She waa toot in Brimfield. --Samuel Black, one of the oldest set­ tlers in the vicinity of Jacksonville, died, aged 89 years. --The wooden culverts in Pontiac Town­ ship, Livingston County, aiM^eing re­ placed with sewer tile. S --The 10-year-old son of MrTlieiphboMb , a farmer near Danville, was kicked andt!fc> stantly killed by a oolt --John Hellan, a retired merchant of - Elgin, died aged 68 years. He had Bred in Elgin forty-two years. --Jacksonville scientists are proposing to shoot off a canon so the concussion will cause the fall of a good shower of rain. --The dwelling of Thomas Hayes at Aurora was recently burned by an ineest- diary fixe. Loss, $1,600; insurance, $800. --N. W. Jones, the founder of Griggs- ville, and his wife recently celebrated the sixty-fourth anniversary of their wedding. --Jesse McGrue, who was found dead near Clinton, Aug. 4, and who was thought to have committed suicide, it is now said was murdered. --A man of 70 years, supposed to be 8. B. Gifford, committed suicide by rough on rsts at Linooln. Poverty is the supposed cause. Burglars entered the Church of the Redeemer at Elgin, stole the contents of the alms box and the serrioe, and dbraak the communion wine. ^ --Tne City Council of Decatur has passed an ordinance requiring saloon-keepers to remove all screens and curtains from ha> tween the bar and the public streets. --H. W. Beatley, of Chicago, who waa tried recently in the Circuit Court in Salem, charged with embezzlement, was sentenced to the penitentiary for two years. --Clinton is making arrangements for a good fair this fall. They have added fif­ teen acres to the old grounds, and art building a new amphitheater and aM otherwise improving their grounds. --Jake Smallwood, alias Jackson, a no­ torious habitual criminal of Quincy, haa been placed in Joliet Prison for three yeara on a chargo of embezzlement committed at Virginia. Jake served a previous term of one year from Quincy, and also two years at the Jefferson City Prison in Mis­ souri. --Dr. J. F. Reid, Assistant State Vet­ erinarian, who went to Effingham Cotmty to look after a lot of native cattle reported diseased with Texas fever, found that two steers had died. They caught the disease by eating straw and stuff that fell out of the stock-cars along the railway track in which Texas cattle were shipped. -Mr. F. M. Doan, of Jacksonville, A Woman Office-holder. Hiss Minna B. Pollock is the first lady ever appointed Commissioner of Deeds in New York City. She is the daughter of Julius L. Pollock, of Hamburg, Germany, and Mrs. Elliot Haswell Pollock, of Glas­ gow, Sootland. Miss Pollock was born at Manchester, England, and was soon taken by her parents to Hamburg, and three years thereafter to New York City. She received her education at Glasgow and in England, completing it in Vienna, Austria. She is a lady of wide travel and experi­ ence. Immigrants Swindled by College Cur- > reney. {Cincinnati special.] Complaint having been made that im­ migrants at Castle Garden were swindled by paper resembling United States money, but called college currency, steps were taken to find out its origin. It was found in Jacob H. Long's printing office at Hamilton, Ohio, and quite a number of plates were seized, and Mr. Long warned to print no more of It. The imitation of the United States currency was close, es­ pecially the back of the note. The currency was not issued to deceive, but for use in business colleges, but swindlers found it convenient to use on strangers, and as the statutes forbid the making of any imitation of United States currency for any purpose the plates are contraband. Enormous Salmon-Canning in Alaska. [Ban Francisco dispatch.] Advices received here state that the run of salmon at Karluk Cannery, on Kodiak Island, Alaska, has been extraordinary. The fish came along in vast numbers dur­ ing the middle of June, and by July 12 the employes had caught and canned enough to fill "o0,000 cases. The company expec s to put up at least 70,000 cases this season. Their entire catch has already been dis­ posed of. On Cook's Inlet the cannery hands are working night and day, while at the Nushejekar River establishment a sim­ ilar condition of affairs exists. The large Alaska pack of this season will in great part compensate for the small amount put up bv the Columbia River and other can- cleaned out hia^ond last week and found oatfish, perch, iand many other small fish in great numbers, but not one of the Ger­ man carp with which he stocked the pond a few years ago. Some of these had found their way to a neighboring pond, but moat of them have been caught by trespassers. --The Prohibitionists, assisted by the Holiness Association, will held mute camp meeting in Oakland two weeks, commenc­ ing Sept. 6. Great preparations are being made for it, as many thousands of people are expeoted to attend daily. Railroads will run special excursion trains to the eity on both Sundays during the meeting. --The contract for the new penitentiary school buildings at Joliet, provided for by the last General Assembly, has been awarded to E. R. Brainard ft Co., and work will begin at onoe. The price is $14,000. There will be one building at the end of each wing, so the men can march from the wings into the school rooms and be instructed. The building will be ready by winter. --G. B. Clark, a wealthy farmer near Oakland, hauled his wife out of bed and beat her. Leaving her insensible, he went into the kitchen after an ax to kill her. The woman recovered consciousness and fled to a neighbor's house. Clark charges his wife with faithlessness. He has been arrested for attempting to murder his wife and will ba tried. Owing to the wealth of the parties the case causes excitement. --The Board created by an act of the last General Assembly to act as Trustees of the Lincoln homestead in Springfield, composed of the State officers, met and or­ ganized by eleoting the Governor Presi­ dent and the State Auditor Secretary. The premises were visited and it was decided to put the home in as near as possible the con­ dition it was when Lincoln lived therein. The selection of custodian was, after much discussion, postponed. The understand­ ing when the bill was passed waa that the present occupant of the home was to be the custodian, and he claims to have had an understanding with the committee that he was to receive a salary of $1,800 per an­ num. This would only leave $200 of the appropriation for repairs, and right then and there was a hitch in the proceedings. --At Enfield, recently, two serious acci­ dents occurred where the Eighty-seventh Illinois Regiment and soldiers of White and Hamilton Counties were holding their reunion. During a sham battle a cannon waa prematurely discharged and the right arm of James Brockett, of Carmi, waa blown off at the elbow. At a sham fort a few rods away, almost at the same time, another and larger cannon was prematurely dicharged and the thumb of Robert John­ son, of Enfield, blown off. Gabe Sullen- ger, of Mc Leansboro, had both arms blown off--the left one nearly at the shoulder and the right one at the wrist and the elbow broken. He was also badly burned about the face and body. His recovery is slsnost impossible. Irwin Reeder, of McLeans* boro, had his clothes blown from his bocty, his face and bodly badly burned, and the flesh lacerated. William Daniels, of Car- mi, had both hands badly hart; ff manual Berry, of Carmi, was knocked down and hadlx iniaxad^ ':>Wi •Mis-Mi-••