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THE STOHV OF A RAZOR. Ti ^ OFXG Mr. Johnson bad already several razors when be bought a set of seven, each marked with a day of the week and arranged In order in a case. Bis beard was not heavy--in­ deed, his mustache was pale and wispy-- tMrtremenly neat, and he in- shaving himself. He argued II vats necessary to have many t1» have one always ready. There » lite razors that his father had before him, they were of French ^ a bundle with several extreme- Is blades: there was a fat razor of school days that was inelud- a strap of a sled for a banjo; there of English and American young Mr. Johnson's favor- white-handled, and It was to! the apple of his eye. Mortimer and lady," and the routine of daily life began in the flat in which young Mr. Johnson Tiad reigned. Sunday came, and Mr. Mortimer dressed leisurely. After he had had his bath he strolled about in the bath­ robe. Me gin need at the newspaper, he cleaned a 'pipe, and then proceeded to bring odt fresh underclothes and linen. Lucy in morning gown following him from room to room. Mn Mortimer was putting on a boot. "Hullo!" he ex­ claimed; "I forgot to trim my corn!" He west into the bath-room, took the white-handled razor, and, stooping over, began operations. Lucy laughed and kept saying; "Look out, dear; don't cut yourself." And when he had pared almost t6 -this quick*, she said: "If I were you I'd keep that old razor for your corn. Perhaps you might sell the others. You'll never need them. I don't .see how a woman can marry a man without a, beard--he Isn't a man." And she cuddjed against Ills breast and Johnson married when he was kissed him bftow the right ear. A dis­ ss* years oid a pretty girl of 20. JSaepd, and played waltzes on the •l wd she was sweet and amiable. I T©<trx« MB. JOHNSON creet maid coughed near the door and said: "Breakfast is served."--Boston Journal. LAST UONdON:'"CHARLEY.* Who Still 6«k* His Round* and Call* the Flying Hours. An incident which has just occurred has brought to the minds of a Holborn police inspector and a few other Lon­ doners one of those amazing incon­ gruities of which London life can fur- uish so many examples. Who would suppose that In the heart of London, within sound of the under­ ground railway, and within sight of the motor car, a genuine "Charley" still goes Ws rounds and calls " the hours in a u?hd voice the long night through? This comedy--if you like to call it so --takes place with unfailing regularity in Ely place, Holborn. No spot could be more appropriate for the perpetua­ tion of such a custom than this ancient precinct, where John of Gaunt, "time- lioaored Lancaster," drew his last breath, and where, if we are to believe Sliakspeare, "good strawberries" Ri­ pened in the garden of the bishop of Ely, whose chapel still lifts its ancient, Xthough much hidden. Walls in Ely place. " * , After ;thereversion of the property"1 happv, especially Sunday to the crown in 1762 various arrange- when Mr. Johnson did notj ments were made whereby Ely place the house. They breakfasted late, remained a private precinct under the it was one of the wife's amuse-1 government of commissioners. These tot* watch her husband shaving at' commissioners still exercise their rule, tefE&FE. Those days he chose his > which is fortified by sets of p&riia- •hfllt haudled razor. She would laugh at Mm when his face was covered with hfhv; she would keep saying, "Don't sat jwrself, dear," and when his chin sat checks appeared, smooth and •Msfeg. she would throw her arms ahSHt him. and cuddle against his fcresst. sad say, "I never could love ]N M jr©« had a beard,'* and then she kiss him in the neck. And Mr. holding the razor in the air his head, would smile compla- fkey were happy in this foolish fash- •i isr a year or so. Omt naming Mr. Johnson did not bouse, although the day was y; not Sunday. He did not himself; in fact, he had not Mmaelf for two or three days. Kit week a barber came and his favorite razor, and Mr. and smooth for I his At first Mrs. Johnson insisted that md'8 things should remain he left them. And so in the the straps and the hones and and the soaps were ready tb Ik ssed, and- the razors; were in tnfter,. The white-handled lone was •earesi the glass, and the others ac­ knowledged its claim. Mrs. Johnson would look at these and tears would come to her For the first month she kissed white-handled razor daily. Her Maria, who had come to live •Sth Iter -"until 1 die," said Lucy, "for tie now 1 shall follow Harry soon"--dis- •miragwi ber in "such nonsense." And fortuity Mrs. Johnson began to find fib si mi in life. One night wlien Mr. Mscthser called she was persuaded to a waltz, and she even sang a pret- hf entitled, "Love for Eternity." r ! *" MK t CUT YOUBSKI.F. DKAIi.' ment, a^d, their watchmen have legal power to arrest misdemeanants within Ely place and hale them to the nearest police station. The night watchman lit Ely plaice is required to cry the hours from 11 p. m. to 5 a. in. Nor may his duty be per­ functorily discharged. Four times along tj^length pf Ely place must his cry of "parst eleven," or "parst twelve," etc., be heard. No policeman enters Ely place night Or day unless specially summoned. Nor Is the "Charley" Who keeps watch and ward there within closed gates at night a guardian of mere' empty offices. Adjoining the place, and out by the aforesaid, commissioners, are the Ely- mews dwellings. Here sixteen fam­ ilies are resident, and this little hive of humanity, as well as caretakersf%f Ely place proper, are under the "Charley's" direct protection, and have their slumbers punctuated by his me­ lodious cries. An Elepb^rt's Teeth. • Whtfe?er has lo&ed Hiside an ele­ phant's mouth has seen a strange sight. Elephants have no front teeth, and they never eat meat or any food that requires tearing apart. Eight teeth are all they'have, two above and two below on each side, huge yellow molars as wide as a man's hand, and about two inches thick. Over these hay or fodder is sif ted by the queerest, ugliest tongue that Is llteralty hung at both ends, having no power or movement except in the middle, where it shifts back and-firth from side to side, arch­ ing up against ihe toof of the big mouth like an Ihimense Wrinkled pink serpent'. There is nothing stranger than the working of an elephant'* tong-ie.^ un­ less it be the working of his breathing apparatus when he sleep*. Elephants, like human beings, have two sets of teeth--the milk teeth, which are small­ er than the permanent molars, fall out when the animals are about fourteen years old, Thpse baby teeth, which are nevertheless enormous, are occasional­ ly picked up by , circus men among the fodder and preserved as curiosities. A STRANGE DINNER PARTY* : f: ̂ 4 Host toaliaaM • Dinner Party WWl» , Hi* House Burns. There Is a familiar saying that a lady should be mistress of herself, although china fall, but to be master of himself and his dinner-table while his house is in flames Is a degree of self-control granted to few. Grace Ellery Chan- ning, in her book, "The Sisters of a Saint," tells of a certain gentleman of colonial , times who appears to have been endowed with even that measure of Puritan self-repression. The Royal Commissioners, then in Boston, were bidden to a dinner on Christmas eve at the stately Bristol residence of John Wentworth, a man of great natural parts and of a noble and lofty bearing. The table, set forth with old {date and damask, was loaded with good cheer of all kinds. The host gave the customUry signal for the din­ ner to be served in the words: "Friends, you see your dinner!" As the visitors' lips opened to malte the response demanded by etiquette, "a servant rushed in with the announce­ ment that the house was on flre. Stern­ ly bidding the startled guests to sit down, John Wentworth commanded the servants to take out the tables and set them upon the lawn; then the chairs were also removed. "The air will be keen outside. Bring hither the wraps," said John Went­ worth. But the flames bad already con­ sumed them. "Bring whatever you can find, then!" and the slaves returned with their arms heaped with curtains and table-cloths, and these strange wraps were hastily donned by the com­ pany. "To the tables," commanded Went­ worth, and at thte word the panic-strick­ en guests trooped forth from the now blazing house and seated themselves about the table upon the wintry lawn. The host repeated the greeting. "And a very good dinner we see!" was the tremulous response. In vain the guests essayed nervously to eat and drink; fitful attempts at gayety died away in the ever-Increas­ ing roar of flames; but Wentworth kept up an easy flow of conversation, press­ ing upon his guests the various dainties with all the concern of a man who bad naught weightier upon his mind. Now and again the sound of a falling beam would be echoed by a falling glass from some shaking hand. As the last glass shivered to the ground it was answered by a dull crash; the last wall of the house sank and fell. "Wentworth did not turn his head. Mr. Mortimer's calls were frequent. * lb was a thick-Bet fellow, with a bushy beard. His vitality in a room litlsc pictures on the wall; chairs were uneasy until he had a wise choice. He was prosper- i iMSfaess and fond of farce-com- Wben he was dressed for a call w ^ f • Shu-- be smelled of musk. Mrs. became accustomed to him, at the end of a year and a half she v ;V" 'wVn Mortimer. r wedding was quiet, and even the was comparatively quiet, a journey; New York and A 7 The Oldest Postal System. We find the first recorded postal sys­ tem in the Persian empire, under Cy­ rus the Elder, but it is clear that Rome, of all the ancient States, possessed the best organized system of transmitting letters through Its numerous provinces All the great Roman roads houses were erected at a distance of five or six miles from each other. At each of these sta tions forty horses were constantly kept and by the help of the relays It was easy to travel one hundred miles In a day. These services were Intended for the State only, It being Imperative t* secure the rapid Interchange of official communications. In the time of Julius Caesar the sys­ tem was so well organized that of two letters the great soldier wrote from Britain to Cicero at Rome the one reached its destination in twenty-six and the other in twenty-eight days. Private citizens had to trust to the ser­ vices of slaves, and it is not till the end of the third century that we hear of the establishment Of a/postal sys­ tem for private persons by /the emperor Diocletian, but how long \tiils system remained history does not sky»_ thousand feet down the mountain side, terminating where two glacial branch­ es come together. The avalanche start­ ed near the top of this cleaver and swept the rocky surface to Mowltch Glacier proper. Down this It sped to where the glacier terminates with pre­ cipitous icy walls, over which It leaped into a great chasm below. A large part of this glacier was carried down with it. Driver says millions of tons of rock, lee and snow tumbled down. Settlers about the mountain thought a terrific earthquake had occurred when they heard the report and felt the Jar which followed. Some watch­ ed Mount Ranier to see If there was to be an eruption. But the great snow fleM which had existed where the ava­ lanche started had fallen down, and the path of the avalanche and" broken glacier was plainly seem. BEWARE THE THIN BANANA. Information that Every Lover of Tftfs Fruit Should Have. When you are buying bananas never buy the long thin ones unless you want fruit which will pucker your mouth. No matter how well ripened these thin bananas may appear to be, they will always be found both sour and acrid. This is because the bunch which con­ tained tjiem was picked too soon. The banana grows fastest at first Jn length. When it has reached Its full develop­ ment in that direction, It suddenly be­ gins to swell, and in a few days will double in girth. It is at the end of this time that it begins to ripen naturally, and the effort of the banana Importer Is to have the fruit gathered at the last possible moment, and yet before the ripening has progressed even enough to tinge the bright green of the fruit with yellow. A difference of twenty-four hours on the trees at this time will muke a difference In the weight of the fruit of, perhaps, 25 per cent., and all the difference in its final flavor, between a puckery sour *and the sweetness and smoothness which are characteristic of the ripe fruit. To get the bananas to our market in good condition requires fast steamers, which must be provided with ventilation and other means of keeping the fruit from ^ripening too fast In the hold. Much of the finest fruit does ripen in the few days of passage, and this is sold to hucksters for street sale.--New York Sun. TREATY OBLIGATIONS There are 110 mountains in Colorado whose peaks are over 1,200 feet above the ocean level. A scientist looking for microbes says there are absolutely none on the Swiss mountains at an altitude of 2,000 feet. It has been calculated that ordinary gunpowder on exploding expands about 9,000 times, that is, fills a space this much larger as a gas than when In a solid form. In the American Museum of Natural History, In Central Park, New York, the skeleton of an ancient American rhinoceros, found in an old river bed in Phillips County, Kansas, has been mounted. It measures 10 fe§t 2*!nches In length, and 4 feet 1 inch in height. The rare element, gallium, which was discovered In 1875, in rock from the Pyrenees Mountains, and which takes its name from Gallia, the old Roman appellation for France, has re­ cently been added to the list of sub­ stances occurring in the sun. Prof. Hartley and Mr. Ramage, of Dublin, have recognized its spectral lines in sunlight. According to the results of an inquiry among the beekeepers of Germany, hu­ man beings may acqtilre immunity from the effects of bee stings simply by being stung a sufficient number or times. In some cases thirty stings suf­ fice to impart the desirable immunity; In other cases as many a# 100 stings must be endured before the victim ceases to suffer serious inconvenience from the attack of bees. Occasionally a person is found who is naturally im­ mune to the effects of bee stings, while others are not able to acquire Immunity by aqy amount of heroic experience. The experiments to be tried with liquefied air in the treatment of yellow fever will be observed with deep inter­ est by the scientific world. The yellow fever bacillus succumbs to cold weath er. It will not survive the freezing point, and when the South is scourged with the disease the prayer is for a frost. By the use of liquefied air the temperature may be reduced to any de­ gree desired, even to 200 or 300 b^low zero. The cost of the operation Is not excessive, and the machinery is not complicated. All that would be needed, aside from the apparatus, would be well insulated room to. keep the heat out. The recent gift to , the Peabody Mu­ seum of American Archaeofogy and Ethnology of the famous "Calaveras skull." reawakens Interest in that re markable relic of antique man. The skull was found in 1866, imbedded in gold-bearing gravel in Calaveras Coun ty, California, at a depth of 127 feet Above it were four beds of lava that had flowed from a now extinct volcanic vent. The late Prof. J. D. Whitney (whose sister, Miss Maria Whitney made the gift to the museum) was con vinced of the genuineness o£ the discov ery. The owner of the skull Is sup posed to have lived in the Pliocene epoch, a period so remote that the most ancient dates of history seem quite re cent in comparison. Traveler from frontier district, strik­ ing hotel where advanced fashions have obtained, observes with an ex­ pression of pleased surprise the finger- bowl set before him at the close of his Avalanche'* Roar Heard Slaty Milr*. An Immense avalanche camc tear lug and roaring down the side of Mount Ranier, near Tacoma, Wash., recently, It struck the base of the mountain with a report like that of a tremendous clap of thunder, being heard distinctly in Tacoma, sixty miles away. People there thought an earthquaake bad oc curred. The supposed earthquake was au avalanche, which came down the back bone of a "cleaver" lying between the two branches of Mowltch Glacier. The hsfels «tttertained "Mr. | meal, •'What's that fqr, waiter?" "To wash' ypur hands, sir." "I wish I'd a-knpjy'jl it "forfl bgjginjnj dinner."-- . top of this "cleaver" bas an elevation of ' te® thousand feet. It extends several THEY ARE NO BAR TO EFFECTIVE MARINE PROTECTION. We Have Hk Agreement with Aay Na­ tion Which Cannot Itaslly Be Abro- Bated in the Interest of a Restored Merchant Marine. To yleldis to submit; to submit l« jo become subordinate; to become subor­ dinate Is to generate a nerveless na­ tionless courage. Such seem to be some of the sequences of the war of 1812, or the peace treaty and conventions fol­ lowing. England forced that war, that she might destroy our shipping power. We made our fight for "free trade and sailors' rights," and our battles won merited better reward than failure to secure their object, and to lose our ship Protection besides. England got her desire shaped for accomplishment, not by whipping our armies, or by captur­ ing our ships and seamen, but by bold and diplomatic fencing with our yield­ ing and submissive government. Our shipping power being now reduced to zero, British statesmen patronize and flatter us. Our legislators are present­ ed with a rattle; our press Is given & straw. All at once commercial conven­ tions become sacred things. Our flow­ ing courage drips front our finger ends, and the prospect of shipping restora­ tion melts away. When the i>eaee treaty of 1814 came to be considered the battle of Waterloo had been fought and Napoleon made a prisoner of war. Great Britain, flushed with victory, would hot agree to any stipulation respecting the Impressment Aug. 0,1827, the time wa« "further In­ definitely" extended by its first article "from the da^e of the expiration of the said ten years;" bui Artlcl# IL fallow­ ing reads thus: ; A k , It shall be competent, however, to either of the contracting parties, in case, either should think fit, at any time after the said ten years--that is, after the 20th of Octo­ ber, 1828--on giving due notice of twelve months ,to the other contracting party, to annul and abrogate this "convention;" and it shall, in such case, be accordingly entirely annulled and abrogated, after the expiration of the said term of notice. Thus the "convention" might have been annulled and abrogated by either pArty on the 20th of October, 1829, or at any time since, in conformity with Its own provisions. It has been in force over sixty-nine years at least against the interest of the United States, and for the last tlilrty-seven years to the lingering sufferance of the country. Why should we longer submit to the winner of an unjust contest? If she Insists we shall, are we to be her sub­ ordinate forever? A wrong Impression Is abroad that a return to the early ship protection of discriminating duties involves a viola­ tion of a treaty with Great Britain. There is nothing of the kind involved. Our agreement of July 3,1815, was not a treaty in the proper sense, but a "con­ vention" with a time limit, fixed. This, distinction is Important. We have dis­ charged every obligation to the full. It is otir right under the convention itself to cease its observance. Noah Web­ ster thus defines a convention: 5^ An agreement or contract less for­ mal than, or preliminary to, a treaty; an informal contract as between commanders of armies in respect to suspension of hos­ tilities, or between States; also a formal ABSENT FROM THE FEAST Delicious Papaws. Real lovers of that peculiar fruit. tbe papaw, which grows so luxuriantly along the river bottoms of the great Middle West, do not hesitate to pro­ nounce it the most delicious and alto­ gether satisfying edible that nature turns out. It has been happily de­ scribed as a "natural custard," Its rich, golden-yellow pulp admirably carrying out the simile. Many persons cannot eat It at all, and many others have to acquire a liking for It. A man from the far Northeast, who was visiting a cousin in Ohio in early October, was shown one day a fine, large specimen of the fruit. What is that?" be asked. Break it open and see," was the reply. He broke it In two, Inspected it, and smelt of it. "Well?" he said. "Taste it" - He did so. "Faugh!" he exclaimed. "What kind of game are you trying to play on me?!' I am merely giving you a chance to eat the most toothsome dainty that grows In the world," rejoined the cousin. The next day the visitor tried again to eat a papaw.' He could toleraite it, but that was all. You'll be eating them by tbie hatful before you go back East," said the cousin. * * As having some bearing on the out­ come of this prediction it only remains to be recorded that when the visitor returned home, a week or two later, he took along with him a half bushel of papaws, carefully selected and packed In a box, and that, on his arrival at the ancestral mansion, he Is said to have placed alongside the framed motto In the family sitting-room, "What Is Home Without a Mother?" a similar, but smaller one: "What Is Home Without a Papaw?" * Two Epigrams. Two old English epigrams were re­ printed In a London paper of compara­ tively recent date, for the amusement of the readers. The first referred to a worthy but tedious sergeant, given to making long speeches. He had a rubicund countenance, and in the full-dress costume of the court of his day was a notable figure. One day when he was .especially long-winded, an acquaintance wrote these lines: The sergeant pleads with face on fire, And all the court may rue it; His purple garments come from Tyre; His arguments go to it. The other epigram was written at the time when a certain Dr. Reed was al­ lowed to ventilate the Houses of Par­ liament by a system of alternate blasts of cold and hot air. He was supported by Sir Robert Peel in this enterprise. Some wag wrote to the London Times: Peel's patronage of Doctor Reed Is very natural indeed; For no one need be told The worthy, scientific man Is acting on the premier's plan Of blowing hot and cold. The First Typewriter. The first typewriter was a machine with raised letters, invented by Henry Mill of England, in 1714, for the use of the Mind; but beyond marking the era of mechanical writing machines it was of no value, and for nearly 140 years no step forward was made. Nearly all the Improvements, and certainly the credit for the general Introduction of the type­ writer, belongs to America. To-day there Is one firm In this country which manufactures more than fifty styles of machines, In all languages and even In business ciphers. In these last the key­ board is lettered as usual, but tbe char­ acters are printed In cipher. 4. ) SROSff/f/ m Slightly Inconsistent, Some of the cheap novel writers are In a hurry lo get their pay, otherwise they would revise their work, and not allow such startling statements as tbe following to appear in type: "I grew up to manhood without ever knowing what the love of a parent really was, as my mother died when my eldest brother was born.' ' A great many of the men who claim to be self-made were evidently Inter' rupted before thsjob was completed*- of seamen, nor to any definition of neu­ tral rights as to blockades, but Insisted that the treaty should be followed by a commercial convention that should es­ tablish a policy of "maritime reciproci­ ty"--an "open door" to freighting-- under which the present state of our marine might be brought about. We had to treat with our enemy or fight him single-handed--so we treated. To enable the Executive to meet in "con­ vention" our exacting friend, of the "firm and universal peace" just rati­ fied, Congress passed the first act for stripping off our ship Protection, March 3, 1815, as follows: That so much of the several acts im­ posing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels, and on goods, wares, merchan­ dise imported into the United States, as imposes a discriminating duty on tonnage between foreign vessels and vessels of the United States, and between goods import­ ed into the United States in foreign ves­ sels and vessels of the United States, be, and the same are hereby repealed; such repeal to take effect in favor of foreign nations whenever the President of the United States shall be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation, so far as they oper­ ate to the disadvantage of the United States, have been abolished. T*ust for the Public Rye. The assumption that any discriminat­ ing duties of foreign nations "operated to the disadvantage of the United States" was false and absurd. Besides, the British system of ship protection consisted for the most part of prohibi­ tions, afe already shown. Several of these It was not expected they would give up, nor <}1<1 they. We had no pro­ hibitions, but were to give up all our system; tbe British only part of theirs. We have had historians * whose ac­ count of our submission to fate veils the truth. The experience of twenty- six years had proved that our discrim­ inative duties were highly protective, much more than offsetting those of oth­ er nations; and especially effective in securing to our vessels cargoes in for­ eign ports for carriage homeward. On this security of employment abroad rested the whole advantage of our ship Protection. This It was that Great Britain wanted removed. Only the pro- hibitions of foreign nations obstructed our navigation. These the act of 1815 did not touch. The only gain from the convention of Jnly 3, 1815, at London, was the continuance of the peace pro­ vided for by the treaty of Dec. 24,1814, at Ghent. That Is to say, our ship Pro­ tection as against the British was cast away as the price of pacification. The 'convention" of 1815 provided as fol­ lows: * Article I. Freedom of commerce and navigation, as to "the territories of the United States of America, and all the territories of his Britannic majesty in Eu­ rope," but not elsewhere. < Article II. No discriminating duties on imports, exports or vessels; equality of duties and drawbacks, and reciprocity in freighting; but intercourse with the West Indies unsettled; prohibition in force there. Article IH. American vessels to be ad­ mitted "at the principal settlements of the British dominions in the East Indies," but cargoes must be carried to the United States--not elsewhere--and in time of war prohibited articles not to be carried at all. The coasting trade in the Indies reserved. Article IV. The "convention" to be binding for four years from signature. More "Conventione." There was a second "convention" at London, Oct. 20, 1818, respecting fish­ eries, boundary, etc., that by its fourth article extended the time of the reci­ procity convention for ten /ears; and tr a third "coav«ptlon'V * J*odo«i, agreement between governments or sover­ eign powers; afj a postal convention be­ tween two governments. . Whether called a treaty or conven­ tion, wc have no agreement for perpet­ ual arrangements as to commerce and navigation with an^jgation \vhatsoever; but with all nations th^re Is a time limit fixed, with aWulmettt an{l abrogation provided for on one year's notice. If we submit forever to arrangements that have proved ruinous and degrading, we have only ourselves and our Govern­ ment to blame. The men of 1815-27 tided over a diffi­ culty. We should have the manliness, with ten times the population, wealth and power, to resume our right and perform our duty. IV is a remark of Jefferson that, "All experience 'hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." This Is all there Is in the talk about "treaty" hindrance to the proper pro­ tection of American shipping. j, Rise in Farm Lands. Those Northwestern Iowa farmers who are refusing $45 an acre spot cash for their lands have not apparently caught on to the great depreciation of property that the political doctors tell us about. The tenant farmers who are anxious to rent land at rates that pay an adequate remuneration on these high values are evidently insensible to the fact that producers no longer have a chance in the land owing to the In­ iquitous Industrial and commercial sys­ tem under which the people are suffer­ ing. These things are happening every day in this region. Lands h«fre are rel­ atively cheaper than they are further east. The upward movement, whose progress was checked by the late panic and depression, has been resumed and will go on until a fair level is reached. Men are seeking the lands for Invest­ ment. Tenants are after them for oc­ cupancy. Tbe result Is a steady appre­ ciation which gives the lie to the lugu­ brious wail lugs of the dolorous doctors. The towns are taking the cue from the general agricultural prosperity and en­ hancing values and improvements are the order of the day. There is no ques­ tion that the outlook is bright for the farmers of the country, as well as for all other classes, and In this part of tbe country the feeling and all the develop­ ments of the situation are especially en­ couraging.--Sioux City Journal. The Laugh Is on Them. > One thing, which Is moving protec­ tionists to mirth just now is tbe spec­ tacle of two or three of the fiercest free trade newspapers In Massachu­ setts setting forth unanswerable dem­ onstrations that the foreign commerce of Great Britain Is and long has been at a standstill, and that the scepter of _ mercantile supremacy Is swiftly pass­ ing over to the United States. This I* a monumental truth which has been proclaimed in the Boston Journal's ed­ itorial columns time and time again for these half-dozen years--and it never failed to turn these same free trade newspapers purple in the face with fnry. They have published reams of "copy," endeavoring to refute exactly what they now assert as an original discovery in their new-born yzeal against "imperialism," It strikes us that tbe Journal rather has the laugh on its headlong contemporaries.--Bos­ ton Journal. Salt Is not salt at all, and has long been wholly excluded from the class of bodies denomln«ted salts. SPEAKER SHERMAN. fibttS of the Diatlnltttisbfna Cha . letice of the Man from Macom Macomb has been the home of f/*W' rence Y.> Sherman since 1882, and his re­ cent election to the Speakership of the Illinois House of Representatives has re­ called many of the experiences he has gone through in McDonough County and makes seasonable a recital of some of the distinguishing characteristics of the man. In Macomb he first attempted to practice his profession of the law, and his early struggles to gain a foothold in his chosen vocation were many. At one time he drove a team about the streets at $1.25 per day to obtain means of support when clients didn't comc to him as plentifully as they have of late years. Speaker Sherman is pronounced in all his ways. He is never "on the fence" in any ques­ tion that comes up. He has an opinion-- the chances are that it Is a decided one-- and he gives it out straight. Among the incidents of his professional career in Macomb is the following, 4fehich cansed some amusement at the time: Sev­ eral years ago Mr. Sherman was city at­ torney. At the behest .of the worshipful council he drew up ap ordinance imposing a fine upon any peddler who tried to sell his wares within the corporate limits. Notwithstanding Sherman's earnest as­ surance that the law was unconstit' n- al, it was passed, approved and pub- tri. r 1 '»it"< " - • V f.. l#S| . . . . V - * . / SPEAKER L. Y. SHBBMA«, And the next itinerant vender who came along was hauled up before the authori­ ties and mulcted $3 and costs. As Mr. Sherman'« time as city attorney had ex­ pired by that time, the peddler hired him to defend him. When the case was de­ cided against him Sherman proposed to appeal the matter to the Supreme Court of the State.and prove that the law was "no good." And he did it. L. Y. Sherman is happiest when Ita a lawsuit that engages his powers to the utmost. In sifting the testimony, verify­ ing his law points and weighing the testi­ mony of both sides, he finds occupation that is congenial to his fine legal mind. His anxiety to take hold of a case does not, however, lead him to encourage a, would-be client to retain the firm In a hopeless or doubtful suit. It is a common occurrence for him to dissuade such a per­ son from going to law to right his alleged grievance. When engaged on a difficult case Mr. Sherman becomes completely ab­ sorbed in his work, and it is no uncommon thing for him to forget to go home to his meals for a day at a time. As is pretty well known in Springfield by this time, the new Speaker has a de­ cided objection to posing before a camera. Before his elevation to the Speakership he had not had a photograph taken for fourteen years. Speaker Sherman is ope . of the most genial of men, and enjoys the 4 society of his friends as well as anybody. 1 He is a rare band at telling a story, and has the faculty of selecting the exact words that place the narrative in the most side-splitting light. His laugh is vocifer­ ous and is decidedly infectio'us, Lot him fill up his cob pipe, get among a number of his chums, and there are sure to be amusing anecdotes in abundance. The action of Mr. Sherman in being the first man to enroll his name in a volunteer company that was organized in Macomb for the Spanish war was characteristic of the man. He wanted to go, and if the ser­ vice of the boys had been accepted he would have gone to the front with them. He declined the captaincy, although the other aspirants told him they would with­ draw in his favor. The reason he assign­ ed was his unfamiliarity with military tactics. He is absolutely fearless in ex­ pressing his convictions and in carrying " out any line of 'action he has determined upon. Speaker Sherman has an elegant home, and during the short two years of his married life enjoyed himself more there than he ever hopes .to do again, no matter the success he achieves. Mrs. Sherman was a woman of culture 'and of rare sweetness of character.,. Bqt for her un­ timely death the Speaker would never have entered politics. To use a familiar expression, there is no more style about the new Speaker of the House than there is about a stone jug. He is a little careless about his per­ sonal appearance. He is too much of a thinker to care to be a dude. Speaker Sherman is a great reader, and his reading covers a vast range of sub- ; jects. He is especially fond of history and of all the standard authors on consti­ tutional law. Burke and Webster are prime favorites with him,, his library is the cream of the best literature, espe­ cially on solid subjects. He keeps up with contemporaneous literature, rending constantly the best magazines and news­ papers. No subject is ever "dry" to him, unless it is a trashy novel. He is too busy to waste any time on the garbage of liter­ ature. When in Chicago it has been a source of much pleasure to Speaker Sher­ man to haunt the places where books are wont to be congregated--the book stores and the second-hand stalls. While prowl- . ^ ing about among them he has secured ^ many a rare volume for his library< • •. State Items of Intereat. Judge Andrew Hinds died suddenly at ..Q Lena. Judge Hinds was 76 years old. Kdwardsville Lodge, I. -O. O. F., cele- brated its semi-centennial jubilee recently. >, L. C. Garwood, one of Champaign's wealthiest and oldest business men, is dead of the grip. He had been in the jewelry business there since 1865. The store of J. Blackadore, dealer in S baggies and harness at Canton, was clos- , ed on an execution for $4,710. The total liabilities are about $10,500 and the as- \ sets $12,000. The adjutant general has announced the following appointments: Benjamin F. Patrick, to be adjutant First infantry, to rauk as captain; Eugene R. Cox, to be inspector of rifle practice First infantry, 4'» to rank as captain. Dr. J. A. Egan of tbe State Board of Health states that smallpox has been en­ tirely stamped out in the State. There * have been in all fifteen cases at Beggs- , ,,« vllle, Bethel and Media, and none of t h e m h a s t e r m i n a t e d f a t a l l y . • , , , At Paris, fire destroyed a building own- *• ed by J. Sholem & Sons and valued at h V ' $3,000. It was occupied by H. B. Ohair ,y '> as a saloon and billiard hall. The loss on the building is covered by insurance. Mr. \ Ohair's loss is $1,500. The Hannah build- ' ingjjdjeming was v it;:; -J,...' ,f-' •