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HIS WORD OF HO NOR. HE was only a boy. not yet six­teen, but they were going to shoot him. nevertheless. The band of insurgents to which he belonged had been routed by the Army •f Versailles, and, taken red-handed with some ten of his comrades, he had Ikeen conducted to the Mairie of the Eleventh Arrondissement. Struck by his youthful appearance, and also astonished at the boy's cool- Bess in this hour of extreme peril, the •omnandant had ordered that the fatal nerdict should, so far as he was con­ cerned, be suspended for the moment, and that he should be kept a prisoner until his companions had met their fate at the neighboring barricade. Apparently quite calm and resigned. Ills great eyes and his face--the pale fc.ee of a Parisian child--showed neith­ er emotion nor anxiety. He seemed to watch all that was passing around him as though they held no concern for him. He heard the sinister report of the fusillade which hurled his companions llito eternity without moving a muscle; his calm, fixed gaze seemed to be look­ ing into the great "Afterwards" which was soon to become the "Present" to Una also. Perhaps he was thinking of kte happy careless childhood--he had hardly outgrown it; perhaps of his re­ lations and their sorrow when they feeard of the chain of fatality which fcad made him fatherless and had toss­ ed him into1 the seething turmoil of civ­ il war, and now demanded his life at the hands oT fellow-countrymen; and, perhaps, he wondered why such things were. At the time war was declared he was living happily with his father and mother, honest working folk who had apprenticed him to a printer; politics merer troubled that little household. It was not long, however, before the Vtnssians had slain the head of the 'HgEATH SK8MS BETTER LIFE." family. The privations of the siege, the long and weary waiting at the butch­ ers' and bakers' shops when the scanty dole of food was distributed in the rig- •rs of that terrible winter, had stretch- ad his mother on the bed of suffering, where she lay slowly dying. One day when he had gone with oth­ ers to dig for potatoes in the frost- Bound plain of St. Denis a Prussian Bullet broke his shoulder, and after­ wards, driven partly by hunger, partly By fear of his companions' threats, he Bad enrolled himself in the Army of the Commune. Like many another, fear and-, fear only had led him into and kept him in the ranks; he had no heart for a war of brothers, and now that his life was about to pay the penalty he was glad that he could lay no man's death to his charge. He was innocent •f that, at any rate. The things he had seen and suffered during the few last months had given I him a dread of life. He hated to think •f,-leaving his mother in this terrible world--his mother whom he loved so dearly, who had always been so inex­ pressibly goqjd to him; but he comfort­ ed himself with the thought that before long slie would come, too--she could not have much more suffering to undergo, she was so weak when he last saw her, four days ago. "Kiss me again, dear--again," she had aaid, "for I feel that I may never see you more." "Ah," he thought, sadly, "if they Would only trust him--would give him •nly«ne hour of liberty--how he would Bun taber and then come back and-give Himself up to the hands that hungered for bis life. He would give his word, and he would keep it. Why not? Save his mother--and she, too, was uyiiig-- he had uo one to regret. To see Hier again, to kins her dear lips once more, console, eucourage her, and leave her hopeful--th«4 he could face death bravely." He was in ttie midst of these sad re­ flections when the commandant, fol­ lowed by several officers, approached him. "Now. my lint* fellow, you and I have a score to settle; you know what awaits you?" "Yes, moD commandant, and I am »eady." "Really? So ready as all that? You . are not afraid of fleath?" _ r "Less than ol' life. I have sefrn so much the last six months--such awful i things--death seems better than such a We." wager you would not. hesH«4e if I you your choice. If I said: 'Put . your best foot foremost and show me how soon you can lev out of sight-.' you j Would soon l>e off. I B warrant."' I , "Try me, rnon commandant, try me! , „.JPut me to the proof ; It's worth a trial. S Hue more or less «f<5r your men to 'l&oot, what does it matter? One hour freedom only, not more; you shall iglpe whether I will ke«p my w ord, and • j Whether I am Olraid to die." '7V "Oh! da! you're no fool, but you must luke me for one. Once free and far 'Away, and then come back to be shot Jftst as you would keep an ordinary r.p- Jlioiotnient? You will hardly get me io •wallow that, my boy!" l.fry "^Jsten, sir, I beg of you. Perhaps , ̂ you have a good mother; you Iwe Tier. ' Your mother, more tliau aCght else in * '•<%t,"<V the wh^le world. If, like me. you were just going to die, your last thoughts would be of her. And you would bless the map who gave the opportunity of seeing lier once more, for the last time. Mon commandant, do for me what you would pray others to do for you. Hire meone hour's liberty, and 1 will give you my word of honor to return and give myself up. Is life itself worth a prom­ ise broken?" While he was speaking the command­ ant was pacing to and fro, tugging vic­ iously at his mustache, and evidently struggling hard to appear unmoved. " 'My word,' he murmured. "This urehiu talks of 'my word' as though he were a Knight of the Round Table!" He stopped abruptly in front of his prisoner and asked, in a severe tone, "Your namei?" "Victor Oury." "Age?" "Sixteen on the loth of July next." "Where does your mother live ?" I "At Belleville." j 'ifWhat made you to leave her to fol­ low the Communed" "For the thirty sous chiefly; one must eat! Then the neighbors and my com­ rades threatened to shoot me if I did not march with them. They said I was tall enough to .carry a musket. My mother was afraid of them, and wept and prayed." "You have ad fathelr. tben?" "He was Jellied." "And where?" . £1 "At Bourget, fight Jngfor his coun­ try." ' ' ' The commandant turned toward his staff as though he would consult them at a glance. All seemed to Interest and pity. "Well, then, it Is understood," the of­ ficer said, gravely, after a moment's reflection. "You can go and see your mother. You have given me your word of honor to come back in an hour. C'est bien. I shall know then whether you are a man of character or simply a cowardly boy. I give you until even­ ing. If 3*0u are not here at 8 o'clock I shall say that you are a braggart, and care more for life than honor. Allons! Quick march!" "I thank yo«i< mon commandant. At eight I will be here." "You are sure?"- . "Certain.'* "We shall see when the time comes." The boy would have thrown his arms about the officer in his wild joy and gratitude, but the latter repelled -him gently. "No,- not now," he said. "This even­ ing, if you return, I will embrace you-- in front of the firing party," he added, grimly. "Off with you!" Victor ran like a hare. The officers smiled as they watched him disappear. Twenty minutes later he knocked at his mother's door, and the neighbor who was tending her opened it to him. She starts and exclaimed when she saw him, for like every one else, she believed him dead. He would have rushed to his mother's room, but the woman stopped him. "Go iti quietly," she said, in a low voice; "she is asleep. i>he has been very ill since ypu went away, but she is a lit­ tle better now. The doctor said yes­ terday that if she coukl sleep she would soon get stronger; she must not be awakened. Poor thing! she will be glad to see you, for she has asked for you so often. When she was not calling you she tfas praying the bo& Dieu to preserve yMi and to restore peace in the land. Hel^s! one would say He had abandoned-IK. the bon Dieu, and let men do jdst'as they like. It is awful!" But. Victor, impatient, thought he heard his name caLktl In a faint voice. He moved on tip-toe to\Yard his moth­ er's bed. He had not been deceived--the sick woman's eyes were opened \yide. "Victor! my boy!" she cried, in her thin, weak voice. Without a word he lay down beside her, and her arms closed round him hungrily. And now the boy who had faced death so impassively could do naught but sob. , X9W, in his mother's arms, he^ became a Once more, timid, de­ spairing. The sick woman, who seemed to gain strength from ijisj presence, sought in vain to console him.. « "Why do you flistr^S yourself so, my tan violent, and sooa nothing eotdd be heard in the little room but the regular breathing of the mother and child. Ashamed of his weakness, the boy forced himself into self-control, and when he raised his head from the pil­ low, once more. believing himself stronger than love of life, his mother, yielding to the reaction which her sud­ den joy had caused, was, sleeping peacefully. The sight restored his energies. A kind Providence, he thought, had wish­ ed to spare him a scene which his strength and1 courage could not have borne, and he resolved to go at once, Lightly he kissed his mother's fore­ head, and gazed at her earnestly for a few moments. She seemeQ to smile, lie thought; then he went out hurriedly and returned to his post as quickly as . me had come, not seeing a soul he met nor daring to look behind him. "What! so soon?" the commandant cried, astonished. He had hoped, like the good-hearted man he was, that the boy would not return. "But I had promised!" "Doubtless, but why be in such a hurry? You might have stayed with your mother some fime longer, and still have kept your word." "Poor mother! After a scene of tears which seemed to take all my courage- tears of joy for her, of despair for me-- she fell asleep so calmly, so happily, that I dare not wait for her to wake. She fell asleep with her arms around me, thinking I should never leave her again; how could I have told her the truth? Who knows whether I should have had the courage to leave her after doing so ? And what would you have thought of me if I had not come back? "So I kissed her, and slipped away like a thief while she was sleeping, arid here I am. Pray God may be good to her as she has been to me. Mon com­ mandant, I have one more thing to ask --to finish quickly." The officer looked at the boy with mingled pity and admiration. His own eyes were full of tears. "You are quite resigned, then; death does not frighten you?" he asked. Victor answered him with a gesture, "And if I pardoiied you?" "You would save my mother's life, too, an<i I would revere you as a sec­ ond father." "Allons! you are a plucky lad, and CHILD ONCE MORE.' t \ > S> .V'CW.' mmw HE • Fl.fcW KOilK. you have not deserved to suffer as you have done. You shall go. Embrace me first--bien! Now go, and go quickly. Join your mother, and love her al­ ways." As he spoke the last few words, the officer took the boy by the shoulders and pushed him awiay gently. "It really would have been a pity," he said, half apologetically, to his staff, as he turned toward them. Victor did not run--he flew home. His mother was still sleeping. He would dearly have liked to cover her with Kisses, but^ he did not dare to wake her, although her sleep seemed troubled. He lay down again beside her. Suddenly she sat up, crying: "Mercy! Victor! My child! Oh! Mercy! Ah! you are here; it is really you?" she add­ ed, waking. Her thin, weak hands wandered all over him; she pressed him close to her and rained kisses on his face. Then she was shaken by convulsive sobs, which Victor could not calm. - "Oh! my boy! my boy!" she moaned, 'I dreamt they were going to shoot youJ"--Strand Magazine. the Manila dandy. His Costume May Be startling to Un­ accustomed Eyes. ' The costume of the Manila dandy con­ sists of a pair of white cotton trousers and a shirt. The latter may be more or less of the cut familiar to us, when made- of white calico, but the front is elaborately embroidered, tucked or frill: ed, and the center of the back falls in full kilts, nnconfined by the trousers. "Camisa fuera" (shirt outside) is the local term for this native costume, which greatly scandalized an elderly English lady on her arrival in the Phil­ ippines. "Emily, my dear, don't look!" she exclaimed to her daughter in a hor­ rified whisper, when the costume first met her shocked gaze. "Don't look! The servant has forgotten to dress himself!' The "shirt outside" takes rather the form of a blouse and, consequently, strikes a European less oddly when made of pina gauze, of the prettily striped silk gauze, or of hempen tissue (abaca), all of which are of nativ^ man­ ufacture. With these the native pure and simple wears a black mushroom- shaped, sun-proof and water-proof hat, often inlaid around the brim with silver in pretty patterns, called a salacote. This headgear of his forefathers is dis­ carded by the native in European em­ ploy for a common white straw hat, as he discards slippers for patent leather boots. The children, boys and girlsv are, on gala days, made up Into quaint little miniatures of their elders, though or­ dinarily their costumes are either of the simplest kind, or conspicuous by their absence.--The Independent. „ A Big Tree. Jay, Me., claims pne of the biggest trees in Maine. It stands on the bank of the Androscoggin, on the lawn of the late Dudley Bean, says the Boston Record. The circumference four feet from the ground is twenty-three feet, diameter seven feet. About six feet from the ground there are seven branches radiating from its trunk which are from eighteen Inches to twenty-four Inches in diameter. The branches spread over a space of ground 270 feet in circumference or ninety feet in diameter. Where the branches leave the trunk of the tree, about seven feet from the ground, there has been erected a band stand, which seats twenty-five persons. A cooler place on hot days cannot be found. A Boston gentleman was riding by recently and the tree attracted his attention. He examined and measured it and was as­ tonished at its dimensions. He went away with the remark that if the tree was on his lawn $10,000 wouldn't buy it. It was set out forty-two years agd by Lafayette Bean on the day of his departure for California, whence he never returned. The Dialect Novelist. He wachelt and bachelt He schughelt and sauchelt, With many a hech and a hotch, He seartit and rakit His memory, and serapit A story he said was "braid Scotch." He rowled and he sowled, In a style ould and bould, With lots of begorrah and wail; He bejabbered and gabbered And paper he glabbered, When he wrote his miscalled Irish tale. He hum'd and he begum'd. He Bwowed, swaned and vumed, And begoshed about keows and barn; He chawed and he hawed A s his poor pen he pawed, While writing a fake Yankee yar^ lie 'am'd and he begged. As he 'ammered and dregged His h's and i's in the strife, Between 'aIf and 'alf coster And unabridged Webster In a novel of English life. --Waterbury Globe. the The Town of " to." One of the most popular legends in Brittany is that relating to an imagin­ ary town called Is, tf*hicli is supposed to have been swallowed up by the sea at some unknown time. According to them the tips of spires of the churches may be seen in the hollow of the waves wlieri the sea is rough, while during a calm the music of their bells ringing out the hymn appropriate to the day rises above the waters. I often fancy t.hat I have at the bottom of my heart a city of Is. with its bells calling to prayer a recalcitrant congregation. At times I halt to listen to these gentle vibrations, which seem as if they come from immeasurable depths like \0ice9 from another world. Since old age be­ gan to steal upon me I have loved, more especially during the repose which summer brings with it, to gather up these distant echoes of a vanished Atlantis.--Ernest Renan. child, my best beloved?" «he asked "You shall never leave me again. We will throw that hateful uniform away: 1 never want to set; it more. I will make haste and get well; 1 feel so much stronger since you came. Soon you will go to work again, and you will grow up and marry some good girl. The past will only look like a bad dream then, and we will forget it completely; com­ pletely. dear." l'oor soul;: how should she know that her picture of a bright future only deepened her boy's anguish? She was silent, telling herself that the best way to dry tears is to let them flow freely. She klsseU him and let big weary„ heivcl fall back on the pillow, and then she gave herself up to dreams of happier j days in stofr; for both of tlieni. Vaine of* Change. <>ne of the best prescriptions that can issue from a physician is a change, a specialistj'riend of mine tells me. The effects of mingling with new people who have new methods of thought la very salutary, he says. * Always to see the same people do the same thing, feel the same way, produces a staguant condition of the mind and heart that is very distressing to behold. There arc thousands of invalids who might be greatly benefited by getting away from home, if,only.for a short time, to min­ gle with strangers and be touched with the magnetism of the great world as it courses in its accustomed rounds. And there are mental and moral invalids who..need the same change to get their heart aiid mind enlarged and 4et In a little more of the great light of life. The Lord's Itinerary. A good story is told by the Jewish Messenger of a number of boys who were playing 011 a Saturday in front of an Episcopal church. The rector sud deuly or.me out of his parsonage and told the "boys to be quiet in front of the Lord's house. , "That is all right, mister," said the boya. "The Lord is not here to-day. He is down the street at the Jewish syua j gogue." * When a boy picks a green peach, he j squeezes it until it is so soft and ripe Victor's sob* grew less frequent and j his mother will not object if he eats It F*ood, Work and Sleep. What a great mistake it is to contend that time taken from toil for sleep and recreation Is time lost! There is no greater fallacy, for sleep and recreation form, .as it were, the cement put in to fill up the joints in order to keep out tlie weather and preserve the edifice. A man does not necessarily require rich­ es, honors or office--although the ma­ jority of us naturally have an ambition to attain one of these desiderata--but he does need food, work and sleep. It follows, therefore, that he should use every means to promote life, and among these there are three things to be kept in mind. When a man denies uimself sleef), food, and the exercise work gives both to brain and body, lie k» robbing his life of its full term. Let him be cheerful also, for the body is flke an engine--it will run well and long if it is well oiled. Contentment and cheerfulness are the oil which keeps the nerves from wearing out A FEW " BULLS." frorned Animal*, bn t QacwForm* of Speech. A "buir' in speech, is definedfas a grotesque blunder; an apparent con- gruity, but a real incongruity, of ideas. The Irish are credited with a peculiar talent for making "bulls;" why they have it, we do not know, except that it is a species of Wit ^ Here are some ex­ amples: Patrick, w£en he first landed fn America, happened to see a locomotive go flashing by. He started back and yelled to his friehd: "Will ye look at that! Ov«all the'wonders I iver seen it bates thim all. Sure it's a stameboat searchin' for watlier." Another Irishman sftid: "I aaw Pat Ryan the other side of the way. I thought It was Pat and Pat thought it was me, and whin I came up, begorra, it was neither of us." Another excused himself from going to church by saying he had such an ex­ cellent telescope that with It he could bring the church so near he could hear the organ playing. It wad Pat who observed, after watching two men shoot at an eagle and kill It, that they might hate saved the powder and shot, as the fall alone would have killed the bird. Another Irishman assigned as a rea­ son for not putting out a fire in his kitchen wtoh a kettle of boiling water that was near that ltN^vas hot water; and It was Pat's reply to a man who boasted that he had the smallest horse in the country, "By me faith, I have wan*as little as two of it." Another one is told of a horse. Pat said he could leap over a ditch at least thirty feet wide; but as P&t describes it, he did it in "two jumps." And it was Pat again who, telling a story as original, and being informed by one of his auditors that he had read it in the translation of a Latin work, cried out: "Confound those ancients! They are always stealing one's good thoughts." ' How Does It Seem to ITon? It seems to me I'd like to go Where bells don't ring, nor whistles blow, Nor clocks don't strike, nor gongs don't j so.und, Anq I'd have stillness all around-- Not real still stillness, but just the trees' Low whisperings, or the hum of bees, Or brooks' faint babbling over stones In strangely, softly tangled tones. Or maybe a cricket or katydid, Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid, Or just some suc^ sweet sounds as these To fill a tired heart with ease. If 'tweren't for sight and sound and smell, I'd like a city pretty well; But when it comes to getting rest I like the country lots'* the best. Sometimes it seems to me I must Just quit the city's din and dust, And get out where the sky is blue. And say, now, how does it seem to you? --Eugene Field. Mark Twain's Arabic. The London Saturday Review says that When he was in Egypt, Mark T\yain hired two Arab guides to take him to the pyramids. He was familiar enough with Arabic, he thought, to un­ derstand and be understood with per­ fect ease. To his consternation he found thait he could not comprehend a word that either of tbe guides uttered. At the pyramids he met a friend, to1 whom he made known his dilemma. It was very mysterious, Twain thought. "Why, the explanation Is simple enough," said the friend. "Please en­ lighten me, then," said Twain. "Why, you should have hired younger men. These old fellows have lost their teeth, and, of course, they don't speak Arabic. They speak gum-Arabic." ^ Their Rccreation. Ideas of enjoyment differ. An enter­ prising foreign publication has been unearthing the especial enjoyments of noted people and tluds that Zaugwill, the author, finds relief in metaphysics, horseback riding and swimming. His brother, "Z. Z.," rejoices in study and travel, the latter to such an extent that lie never has a permanent address. The Princess of Wales, Princess Charles of Denmark and the Duchess of Fife are expert salmon fishers. Lady Katheriue Scott, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, is also de­ voted to salmon fishing. The noted beauty. Lady Londonderry, sails and steers a boat to perfection. Lady Lon­ donderry lias a small yacht called the Motuenda-*-the word being the first ode of her family motto. Origin of Shrugging Shonldera. Shrugging the shoulders in cold weather is probably the survival of an old instinct, which prompts animals to put the skin of the back on the stretch and so erect the hairy covering of that part. The hair is now reduced to a mere downy covering, but the old in­ stinct still remains, in common with others, -the rule apparently being that all instincts which are harmless to their possessors afte constant, in spite of any change of structure. All animals with long hair or feathers erect their coats in cold weather, for the warmth of such covering depends on its thickness and the amount of air it contains, father than on its bulk. ^ The L^tus in America. For several years a patch of genuine Nile lotus flowers lias flourished with­ out care on the banks of the Raisin River, near Monroe, Michigan. These perfumed water blossoms, supposed to be exotic, have thriven through all the sudden changes of the American cli­ mate, but no one knows how they g*t to the Raisin River. The flowef. is about eight inches in diameter, and of a rich creamy color, with a dainty cen­ ter of golden yellow. Leprosy Prevalent in France. At the international congress of lep­ rosy. at Berlin, the startling fact was elicited that the disease is very prev­ alent in France, especially in the north­ ern district thereof, and that it is on the increase. The discovery and the data furnished by the French medical authorities ^ contributed in no small measure to the resolution voted by the congress to the effect that leprosy is contagious. PYTWAWS m CAMP. She Was the Sinner. A mother noticed that her little boy had shut and fastened the door on a very wet day and was compelling his little sister to stay out in"the ran, says the Cambridge Tribune. "Why. Iveslie," said she. "open the door and let Dolly in out of the rain." "I can't, mamma," was the answer. "We're playing Noah's ark, and Dolly Is the sinner." Why He Resigned. After the perspiring salesman had thrown upon the counter and unrolled the one hundred and twenty-sixth bolt of fabrlet Mrs. Remnants turned to her friend Mrs. Bargains and said: "Well, don't you think we'd better be going." "No, I think not," replied she. "We have still thirty minutes before the matinee begins, and this is so amusing for baby."--New York Journal. ,, "Historical." A little girl who had heard her family talkiug alwnit hysterics was present when a story was told at which her mother laughed immoderately. The child seemed much impressed, and look- iii£ mrxionsiy irt her mother she said gravely: "Mamma, ain't you afraid if yon laugh so much you will get histori­ cal?" Uncle Sam at £ant ia t rn . Spike--When the United States sent troops to Santiago what was Sh-after? Spoke--Oh. I don't know. But I know what she did--she Tor-al the brflnd off that bottle.--Louisville Dispatch. The Shah's Costly Pipe. The pipe smoked by the Shah of Per­ sia, on state occasions, is set with dia­ monds, emeralds and rubies. It Is said to have cost £80,000. Every Grand Lodge In the World Offi­ cially Kepreaented at Indianapolis. The biennial meeting of the supreme lodge, Knights of Pythias, began Tuesday morning in Indianapolis, with every part of the world, where there is a grand lodge, represented. The national encampment of the Uniform Rank was formally open­ ed Tuesday afternoon and nearly 13,000 uniformed men were iy camp. The su­ preme temple, Rathbone Sisters, opened Wednesday morning, with an attendant-^ greater than ever before. The imperial palace, Knights of Khorassan, began Monday morning and lasted four days. The supreme lodge, Pythian Sisterhood, opened Tuesday morning. People flocked in from all parts 0* the country, the trains were loaded with passengers and all of the sixteen roads entering the city had numerous extra and special trains. At 3 o'clock Monday afternoon it was estimated that there were 35,000 stran­ gers in the city and mqjf than half as many more came Tuesday. The streets were thronged with men in uniform. Camp Colgrove, with its 5,000 tents, was a great attraction. A reception was given at the Denison by the grand lodge offi­ cers, which w^p open to all knights and their ladies. Tuesday afternoon the big parade took place. The liberal prizes offered to companies and to lodges caused a large attendance of subordinate lodges as well as of mem­ bers. of the Uniform Rank, and the en­ campment ranks among the largest in the history of the order. The representation in camp by States is in part as follows: Indfena ........2,250 West Virginia .. 500 Kansas 200 Connecticut 200 Iowa. 125 Minnesota 300 Kentucky , t; . . 400 New Hampshire. 150 Illinois ,v2,000 Massachusetts .. 300 Missouri 200 Michigan .... 500 Tennessee 100 Ohio ....... .2,500 Wisconsin ..... 150 New York ...... 100 Virginia ....... 300 Florida ......... 100 Pennsylvania .. 1,000 Arkansas ....... 100 Washlngt'n.D.p. 75 WHERE OUR MONEY GOE& Statement of the Appropriations of Last Session ofJTongreao. The volume of appropriations, new of­ fices, etc., required by law to be prepared at the end of each se'ssion of Congress un­ der the direction of the committees on ap­ propriations of the Senate and House of Representatives has been completed for the second session of the LVth Congress. A summary of the appropriations shows the grand total to be $893,231,(115. The! details by bills are as follows: ' Agriculture, $3,509,202 Army 28.193,302: Diplomatic 1,752,208' District of Columbia^ 6,426,880| Fortifications Indian Legislative Military acai Naval Pension .... PostofBce .. Sundry civil Deficiencies, rmy 9,877,404, .. 7,t>73,854 21,025,840 458,689 56,098,783 141,233,830 99,222,800 48,490,212; Including various war appropriations for fiscal year 1898 and continuing to Dec. 31 next 349.772,389 Miscellaneous appropriations.... 6,560,311 Permanent appropriations 117,836,220 Grand total of appropriations. .$893,231,615 Of this amount $361,859,927.26 is to meet expenses on account of the war with Spain. In addition to the specific appro­ priations made contracts are authorized to be entered into for the construction of new battleships and other naval vessels, five new dry docks and various other pub­ lic works, requiring futuft? appropriations by Congress to the amount of $24,173,656. A comparison of the total appropriations, for 1899, excluding the war appropria­ tions for 1898, shows an increase for 1899 of $2,636,608. TRADE WITH CHINA INpREASING: Cheapness of American Goods Makes Them Popular. The success of the United States in the invasion of the markets of China is illus­ trated by figures just prepared by the bureau of statistics showing that our ex­ ports to that market <0 late have increas­ ed much more rapidly than those of other, countries, and that the heavy falling off in imports of certain lines of goods into China in the last year has not been so seri-i ously felt by the United States as by oth­ er nations with which we come in compe­ tition. | The steady gain which the United States is making in its effort to obtain a share Of the market Which China affords is shown by the following comparison of our imports' into China and Hong Kong, from 1890 tc\ 1807, inclusive, with those of Great Britain during the same period: United United States. Kingdom. 1890 $7,385,362 £9,137,194 1891 18,469,705 8,987,921 1892 10,557,546 7,r>81,906i 1893 8,117.059 6,446,943 1894 10,071,273 6.-'<^.810 1895 7,856,880 7,160,645 1896 11.613,134 8,539,390 1897 17,984,472 7,117,716i HAWAII NOW IN THE UNION. An Old Clock. The Cathedral of Rouen boasts a clock which has kept time for 500 years. Ceremonies Attending Formal An* nexation Took Place Aug. 12. The Hawaiian Islands were formally1 gathered into the American Union on. Aug. 12, at 11:52 a. m., when the native flag descended from the"flagstaffs on alK the Government buildings and the Stars and Stripes took its place. ' The military and naval display was ex» (•client. As soon as President Dole an^ his cabinet came from the executive build­ ing to the platform the justices of the Su­ preme Court followed, and then Admiral; J. N. Miller and United States Ministeri Harold Sewall came dow.i the steps, fol-j lowed by Capts. C. H. Wadleigh of the Philadelphia and S. M. Book of the Mo-; hican and their staff otlicers and Col. Bar­ ber of the First New York regiment. The ceremonies opened with prayer. United States Minister Sewall then arose and, addressing President Dole, who had arisen, presented him with a certified copy of the joint resolution of Congress annex­ ing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. Presideiit Dole answered ft* knowledging the making of a treaty of po­ litical union and formally yielded to Min­ ister Sewall as the representative of the Government of the United States the sov­ ereignly and public property of the Ha­ waiian, Islands. Minister Sewall then read a proclama­ tion saying that President McKiuley di­ rected that the civil, judicial and military powers of the Government should con­ tinue to be exercised by the oflieers of the republic of Hawaii. All such otlicers, he said, would be required to take an oath of allegiance to the United •'tates and re­ new their bonds to .the United States Gov­ ernment. , A ball at the executive building, at which 2.000 guests were present, was the' culmination of the day's festivities, which followed the ceremony of the ilag rais- ingi Told in a Few LlnM, This year is the centenary of the battle of the Nile and of Napoleon's landing ia Egypt. Hay is so plentiful this year in some parts of Connecticut that it is pffered for sale at $1 a ton. Two thousand makers of children's clothing w<?n their strike and returned to work in New York. A "sjrikihg outline of the features of Georgo Washington lias appeared on a knot on a tree in Portland, Me. Ituth Haney, a milliner, poisoned her­ self because a friend "dared" her to do so in a New York hotel, and ma/ die. ^ 8IQ CONCERNS UNITS, . Illiiolt Steel and Minnesota jlna Companies Consolidate, , As the result of meetings that have been • in progress in New Yfirk City for several ' days, the consolidation of the Minnesota Iron Company and the Illinois Steel Com- '! pany was definitely agreed upon. Con­ ference committees of five directors from each company werfe appointed Wednes­ day, and following the meeting in joint session, at which they failed to reach a final understanding as to the basis for | consolidation, the matter was referred to a smaller committee. This committee was made up of President D. H. Bacon of the Minnesota Iron Company, W. L. Brown of the Illinois Steel Company and H. H. ; Rogers,- who is largely interested in both i: companies. He was on the smaller com­ mittee in the character of arbiter. As a result it was decided that the new corporation shall be organized, and that 45 per cent of the capital stock of this new company shall go to the stockholders of the Illinois Steel Company and 55 per cent to the stockholders of the Minnesota company. The stock of the old companies j will be surrendered. This basis of con- v solidation was formally agreed to by the representatives of both companies. The details of the-incorporation have not yet • been decided on, and may not .lie for -smbv- " eral days. The capital stock of the Dew ' concern is $29,500,000. Roswell P. Flow- ' er, H. P. Rogers, P. M. Flagier, H. P. Porter and Marshall Field of Chicago are ' among those interested in the consolidated CODCeras-- • MISERY ON BOAHDii^ 7-C - •":< -M7 V Transport Mobile Kcachcs Montauk Ppint in an Appalling Condition. Another horror ship came to Montauk Point Friday. Loaded to her decks with sick and well soldiers, the big transport Mobile steamed into Fort Pond bay at sunrise, and when Dr. Magruder, the health officer, boarded her he found there an appalling condition of affairs. As transports go nowadays, the Mobile was in good condition. She had plenty of army rations aboard, and enough in the way of physicians and medicines to care for all that needed attention. The ship itself was in fair sanitary condition, but she was so overcrowded that the sick had scarcely breathing room. Ten men died during the voyage, and the sick grew worse instead of better as the ship ap­ proached home. The men, well and sick, were literaljy starving. They had not been able to retain on their stomachs the tainted meat, beans and hard tack which compose what are known as army rations, and there was absolutely nothing in the way of delicacies on the transport for them. Of the 1,600 men who were cram­ med into the Mobile and sent on the jour­ ney home 300 are seriously ill. OFFICIAI.8 IN MADRID ANGHT. Jandenes to Be Conrt-Martialed for Purrenderins: Manila. A dispatch from Madrid says Govern­ ment officials are very angry over the sur­ render of Manila. Urgent instructions, were sent through Hong Kong some days ago not to surrender. It was insisted that Gen. Augusti and Gen. Jaudenes should have held out in order to give time for the signing of the protocol. The Govern­ ment attaches the highest importance to averting the fall of the city before the sus­ pension of hostilities and so strengthening^ the position of Spain in negotiating the peace treaty. 8AYS CITY ONLY lb LOST. 8pain Holds that Surrender Does Not Include the' Philiplflnea. The Madrid Government has resolved to insist thatjthe capitulation of Manila after the signing of the protocol shall have no effect in the peace negotiations unfav­ orable to Spain. In any event, the Gov­ ernment holds that the capitulation, hay­ ing been signed by the commander of the town, does not entail the surrender of the whole of the Philippines. All the indica­ tions are that the peace negotiations will be prolonged. ' !• hot Seventeen Times. ,,-i. At El Caney battle one man with- sev­ enteen bullet holes in him was buried by his comrades, who placed a box board at his head with this inscription: "Corp^ Mc­ Carthy, shot through the body seventeen times leading a charge at the battle of Santiago, July 1, 1898. May his soul rest in peace!" Cortes Meets in September. A dispatch from Madrid says it is Offi­ cially announced that the Cortes will as­ semble in September for .the purpose of providing the necessary authorization of the Chambers to the signing of articles of peace on the part of Spain. The* Fell Over a Precipice. McComb's battery returned to Ponce, Porto Rico, from Gen. Henry's command. Heavy rains had fallen, rendering the mountain trail impassable. One gun and six horses of the battery fell over a preci­ pice and the horses were killed. Telegraphic Brevities. Mrs. Ballington Booth of the American Salvation army has sailed for England. England is getting ready to mobilize her iieet and be prepared to fight Russia and perhaps France. Scores of hogs are dying near Belle- fontaine, Ohio, from a disease which farmers say is typhoid fever. A swindler, with bogus cheeks, ft buy­ ing horses of farmers in Cumberland County, Pa., for the Government. The citizens of Irene, Tex., and resi­ dents of that vicinity have organized a horse thief protective association. The Texas State Horticultural Society enumerates and names H9 varieties of plums raised in the Lone Star State. California is preparing to establish an experiments-station'and school of instruc­ tion in the grafting and planting of vines., Gov. Barnes of Oklahoma-spent a short time in the guard house at Fort Reno the other day for failing to give the counter­ sign. Gold has been found between London and Manchester, on the line between Clay and Laurel Counties, Ivy. A sample |ms been forwarded to New York for analy­ sis. Late advices from Sitka, Alaska, state that large and extensive coal deposits haye been discovered at Whale Bay, on Buranoff Islands, about forty miles from : •' • # ~ On the body of Candido D. Perez, one of the victims of the Bourgogne disaster picked up off Sable "Island recently, was found a draft for 215,000 francs, about $43,000. An amusing incident in connection with the anarchist scare in Madrid was fur­ nished by the bull fighter, Cacheta, who followed the prime minister's carriage in a cab, and shadowed Sagnata all day, glaring fiercely at all the passers-by for the purpose of preventing any attempts at assassination.' Prof1. Fred Deutsch of Denton, Tex. who for the past fourteen years has been studying for the Catholic priesthood, part of which time was spent in Europe, has formally renounced his views, and has been baptized into the Ge»man Baptist Church,-with his wife and sister. Prof. Deutsch had taken six of the seven ordi­ nations prior to becoming a priest.