••• • :•• ,. V/ - --•-••X"': v; H --v YORK'S dog bythe more comforting title of shelter for homeless animal* It la the temporary abiding piace, Alwjr, of the smaller animals that oneeserved M household pets, but have at length 1M$home and friends became ao longer amiable and pretty, and hare brutally turned Into the street, or they hare wandered away and tell where they belong. Dogs, and goats make up the endless Wpession of unfortunates to a shelter '> ,<. 'over whose door, In spite of Its benefi- $ *" / cent purpose, might in truth be wrlt- a,l- ;"'i ten tBe Inscription, "Abandon hope s%>:wi» enter here." Very few of the poor v • \ > brtttes that find their way to this tezn- ̂ porary home ever come out alive; In u u'-i fact, !t 1s for the purpose primarily of f-'^r humanely ending their existence In a |jp' world which cannot or wUl not be p-V;good to them. vi This shelter for homeless animals to not a municipal institution. It was it-*• brought into existence and is controll- ed and supported by the American So- |X\„. *} ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to •/" Animals. This society is supported, In ; /turn, by popular subscription and by ^;,'v the income from legacies. But It has S,; , the sanction of the municipal govern went and is authorized to exercise cer- >»!• MAIN COItUIDOK. pv: & . t • v *{ . '4;. ,v' i - KV • ,ij V jf , . S-r-'-i, fc-V; ... r 0P'.- '• ' f r t- .K- ' mi' tain authority, such asthe collection of homeless and diseased animals and to make arrests of persons who are guilty of cruelty to animals. So far as the work of the soellty re lates to the shelter it employs three wagons in Manhattan borough, three In Brooklyn and one in Richmond, or Staten Island. These go out daily with driver and catcher and scour the streets in every direction. They may go in answer to specific calls from householders who wish to be rid of their former pets, but otherwise they go up one street and down another, In this part of the city to-day and that to morrow, always on the lookout for a Itray dog or cat or goat. If one of these is found without master or col lar it somehow rims its hapless neck Into the noose which the catcher han dles so deftly and Is landed In the wagon. These seven wagons turn In from 225 to 250 small animals dally. At the shelters, of which there la one in each of the boroughs of Man hattan, Brooklyn and Richmond, they are put into clean and roomy cages, given good, square meals to eat, nice beds of straw or sawdust to deep on. and, best of all to most of them, kind words make the world a paradise. All are kept in the cages for forty-eight hours, except those that are hopelessly afflicted with disease or injury, so that owners may have opportunity to re deem them. Any properly identified dog is delivered back to the owned on payment of $3, the fee for a license, If It wears no collar to lhc^cate that it had no license. Dogs with license tags attached, if any such are brought in, and cats are returned to the owners without charge. It is possible, too, for anyone in need of a household pet to secure a dog or cat which is perfectly healthy If assurance can be given that the animal will be given a good home and good treatment, and on payment of the $3 license fee in the case of the dog. Thia money la turned over to the city. All small animals that are gathered in as described are put to death at the end of forty-eight hours uuless re claimed or given new homes. The method is a speedy and painless one- asphyxiation by ordinary illuminating gas. In each of the shelters in the sev eral boroughs of the city there is an Iron box. whose dimensions are some thing like 10 feet in length, 6 in width and 4 in height. Access to It Is had through a door, which is one entire end of the box, hung on hinges at the top. In the top of the box are Win dows of glass, through which can be seen everything that takes place with in. An iron pipe 3 or 4 inches in di ameter, connected with the street yas mains, admits the deadly vapor tn so great a volume and so quickly that the box full or dogs or cats, when the time of taking off comes round, soon con tains only their corpses. The dead bodies are turned over to the board of health, which transports them to Barren Island. Here, skins, bones, hair, claws and fat are reconverted to new uses, for the wastes of * great city are all put to some use. A Year's Work. V According to one of the recent re ports of the society whloh has this work in charge 21,741 dogs were re ceived in one year. Of this number 8,192 were returned to their owners and 397 were placed In desirable homes. Of cats, 24,140 were received. Twenty-four were returned to their owners and eighty were placed In good homes. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was organiesd and incorporated April 10, 18G6, and was the first society organ ised in America for the protection of animals. Its founder and first presi dent was Henry Bergh. Among the original charter mem berg of the so ciety were many of the most eminent citizens of the city and State of New York. The purpoeeof the sssoriaWoo, as set forth la Its tton. was "to pro- United States, to enfetce aft WW* mb --Mifcfc*. t&eNKtfer for the Dtntopetton cif the street a«4 conviction of all foead violating each laws." matter <jf fact, the -fcw. kind then to tie books of the that which l "act for State; aM to ti me •amorniB have befell pa.de to It so that now there isbardly a phase of cruelty wWcfc tt» foclety has not the legal power to prevent within the boundaries of the State of New York. The legal definition of the word "animal" now Includes every living creature except members of the human race, and the words "torture" and "cruelty" Include every act, omission or neglect whereby unjustifiable physical pain, suffering or death la caused or permitted. * THE WHISTLE SPLITTERS. Yon Will Find Them in Nearly-Every Large Hive of Industry. There is an old joke about the labor er who leaves his pick in the air and hurries off to dinner when the 12 o'clock whistle blows. He does not care about the pick, it .will come down all right, but he does not want the "boss" to have a minute of his time that is not paid for. His noon hour Is 60 full minutes, and they begin as soon as the whistle lets out Its first toot and lasts until it has exhausted itself at 1 o'clock. This man always has the privilege of working with a pick If the "boss" needs a man very much. In factories about towns there are al ways a few employes who come to be known as "whistle splitters." Their splitting begins in the morning when they cross the threshold on a run just as the sound of the whistle dies out In a sob. At noon they are out of the door simultaneously with the first blow ing of the whistle, and at night they "splitting thb whistl have their coats and dinner buckets all ready to be grasped as soon as the whistie stjyts to blow. These men see their fellows become foremen or get better positions elsewhere while they stay at the same old wages year by year, because they are too mean to give the "boss" two minutes more of their valuable time than he has paid for. Every one In the shop knows the "whistle splitter." ' BUBBLES THAT WILL ENfHJUE. T1i«m Made by a New Process Will Keep for Several Oars. Nearly all the boys and girls like to blow soap bubbles, but the trouble with these pretty many-colored globes is that they burst so easily. This need not be the case if they are blown with the mixture the recipe for which Is given here: Cut into very thin shav ings one-fourth of an ounce of castile soap; dissolve this In ten ounces of water, which la kept warm (not hot), and when this soap mixture is coot alter it; put this into a stxteen-ounce bottle (a full pint bottle holds sixteen ounces), and add glycerin to it until the bottle Is full; put the glycerin in, a very little at a time, corking up the bottle and shaking it as hard as you can after every few drops of glycerin. When the bottle has been filled and thoroughly mixed by shaking as above directed cork it up and set away where It will not be disturbed for a few daya In a short time the mixture will be come muddy-looking, but after a few daya a white layer will be found float ing on the top, while the rest of It will be clear. This clear part must be drawn out without stirring up the top layer and this can be done by the uae of a siphon. A siphon may be made from any piece of small tubing. The tube must first be filled with water and if it la a small tube It may be pinched near the middle and the water win not run out even when the ends hang down. Lower one end of the tube to the bottom of the bottle and let the other end hang down outside. Be very sure that the outside end hangs lower than the bottom of the bottle. If you have managed this right, first the water that was in the tube and then the mixture will begin to run out of the tube and will not stop until the bottle Is emptied. Let the water run out of the tube first, then as soon as the mix ture begins to come out catch it in an other bottle. As soon as the white layer on the top of the mlntumcomes down to the bottom of the bottle take toe • tube out, aa yon only - want tbm iUaaa and beautiful bubbles may b» hWWai. with this glycerin mixture and if are allowed to rest oa a Iyam te^hlng rtng orsoft wool f*Wlll keep their shape for hours. Ifa glass shade is puma over As babble it win keep forvthree or days<--Boston Hwld, '; A Ciea* K%IMM When I first eam« ___ of West Virginia after tbf «•*! inteAsts of an eastern dompany l boarded at * little tavern in ttNt comity town pesskhld ever t»y a VNMtaan of forty, who, as I had under stood, was a widow. She waa keen witted and more entertaining than the average mountain woman, and I rather enjoyed talking to her. One evening, after I hadbeen her guest about three weeks, I found myself alone with her on the porch of the house, and we chat ted along very pleasantly about men and women and life generally. "Ain't you married?" she asked. In re sponse to something I had said leading up to such a question. "Oh. no," I laughed; "I'm an unhap py old bachelor." "Well, you oughter be ashamed nV yerself," she said, with spirit. "I am," I assented. "But how Is a man to be otherwise when the women won't do their share?" "But they will, If they ever ...get tie chance," she contended. "It's easy enough for you to say that," I said, "because you felt that way toward your bwband when he asked you." "My husband!" she almost shouted. "I hain't got no husband, and never did have." ""Why--why," I stammered* "1 under stood you were a widow.** • *•' "Well, I ain't." "Do yon mean^to tell me looking a woman as you are Is an old maid yet?" She hesitated a moment before an swering. "In course I am," she aaid, and her, voice softened "but I hain't no objec tions to beln' a married woman." Goodness knows how I got out of it and still remained a "atar boarder;'* but I did, and I didn't alt out on that porch any more In the evening, either., Some Useful Animals. The machinist employs a dog on his lathe; he takes a hog cut, If the tool1 will stand it, and the castings are made from pigs of iron. . , A mechanic puts his work upon a. horse or buck, and punches or bends It by a convenient bear. Hoisting Is done by a crab, and a convenient cat" Is a part of the outfit of a shop crane, and a kit of tools Is ever on hand. A crow helps to straighten work, a^"i jack to lift it; a mule pulley aids in driving machinery that a donkey-en-? gine turns. A fish connects parts end to end, or strengthens a broken beam; shells are used all over; a worm does powerful but quiet work. A cock shuts off the water, one kind of ram lifts it and another does heavy work. A printing press has a fly, the first locomotives had a grasshopper valve motion and drive and butterfly valves are common. Herring bone gears are used by the best builders; turtles fit printing press cylinders and fly wheels are running all over the world. In drilling, even, an old man Is called Into service, and doctors prevent faulty lathe work. MOUSE 48 BARRED. liag the Demo-Pop Donkey. Silver nl Free Trade," His "iPatli Is ̂ OtatMj*!"' *y. Ike Solid Wall of e.batMttai rroaperlt^ •resslve prosperity with people ate newa- . imitated after two _ years restoiHNd protection. Is that f^^Wfllfltpmns of the New . With Its chajr- |tad sagacity the ve to matters of it, has gathered la varloua busi oeaifw's eome vary significant facts t|» abtioraiai Activity whtek pre vails aaoag rattMade of the United :|mes. •'Me-rae needs to be told that iSImmb fbVgreat intend transportation Jfpttms are rushed with business and alialning to increase their facilities to meet an Increased demand, everybody else mu»t be extremely busy. Railroad bwiness Is a sure Index of general bus iness. From Chicago the report Is that ev ery railroad enterfig the city to-day needs more ears than it has or can get to meet the demands of shippers. This condition is not due to any great end andden increase in any particular traf- fte, bot la doe to the steady growth 0f all kinds of traffic. From all lndlca- the year 1889 will eclipse all for- years In the volume of business done by the railroads. Last year was one of prosperity for the railroads, the lnerftase In traffic aa compared with that of several yean previous being considered Almost phenomenal; but there Is almeat as gr«at an tnereaae In existed the Iftkugnratloa vep Cleveland in an4 ̂ months after the enactment of th« all- deatroylng Wilson-Gorman tariff law. Ten billions of dollars would not suf fice to measure the Increase in Individ ual, corporate and national wealth which has taken place since the resto ration of protection as the American policy. Probably twenty billions would fall below the mark. Verily, It Is true, In the euphemistic phraseology of the cartoon which ap pears on this page that William Jen nings Bryan, bestriding the Free Silver ana Fipe-Trade ass of his party, finds his progress to the White Itouse barred by a iolld wall of prosperity and Is "Up Against the Real Thing Now."-- American Economist. F*'r;̂ •- - > . . Why Tm» TlUNtff ̂ The Republican party gave the coun try a protective tariff. Now watch the ever-Increasing exports: In 1896, $807,000,000; In 1896, $882,000,000; tn 1897, $1,000,000,000; In 1888, $1,231,- 000,000; and when the present fiscal year Is completed on the 30th of June Inst, look out for a larger figure even than the last one. And yet Demo cratic free-traders predicted -- they wouldn't have It any other way--that Republican protection would destroy our foreign commerce by killing off our exports. What prophets!--and why should the country further trust them? --Mansfield (Ohio) News, fn Bryan's State. A dispatch from Omaha say*». ;'.̂ The industrial situation through this part of the Missouri valley Is Indicative of the general prosperity that appears to prevail throughout the entire West. Or dinarily July witnesses very little busi ness in the commercial world among Mis souri river jobbers, but this month is aa UP AGAINST THB REAL THINd NOW. Rir, number oC an- 'Wiaa- - *•* **** * wag£f)hg. Tears ag* before the raiutas of tt>e wetffber had brought m, fo«r Masons Into discredit, wager- Ing tfcartf aao* Would be foand en the on Chnltinas morrftng was vfO popular. Stven now, when the weather behaves with a rahBtte indif ference to the time of year, wagets are Istill made as to Its raining forty <tay» if St Swtthla's be wet One enthuslatic supporter ef this hoary legend a few years since wa gered all he possessed en one wet an niversary that there wookf be rain ev ery day during the prescribed period. It did rain twenty-two days, but the twenty-third ruined him. A weB-tinmn Ih îhi||H|I wbo lays himself out for what he flUls "fancy wagering" has staled that ne amount of money which was wagaMd on the late William E. Gladstone reaching the age of 90 was simply enormona. He also says that being a believer In the unexpected happening In politics, he accepted at the time of the home rale spilt in the Liberal party three wagen of £3,000 to £1,000 each that Mr. Chamberlain would one day be prime minister of England. The stakes are deposited lu a bank under a deed which provides for the drawing of In terest until 1904, the date when the wager expires. During the building of the Tower bridge one of the workmen wagered to cook a big pudding ten feet under the surface of the Thames. Needless to say, so Impossible a feat led to a deal of money being laid that he couldn't On the appointed day the pudding was tied In a sack and sunk to the required depth, the assembled crowd being greatly amused with the careful manner In Which the perform er handled the sack. At the end of three hours the pudding was drawn to the surface and was found to be thor oughly cooked, the only fault being that it was a little too well done. The sack was half full of lime.---London Halt 'I ffi'i.11, 4 ANOTHER CAR COUPLER. this One la Released from the Top or f ide of the C*r. A New Vork correspondent contrib utes a plan which has for its basis t he Janney, or "M. C. B." coupler. Upon the original plan of Janney a number of minor impnwmeuts have been made in mere detail^and it is possible that still further on#e can be made. In a Janney coupler the prlnolpal moving part is a huge hook, called the "knuckle." This Is open when the care are uncoupled, and when they come together It swings around and engages the corresponding hook In the •-New York Tribune. She Smuggled the Coffee. A woman who has just returned from the continent brought home with her some pounds of delicious coffee, which she came across In Paris, the like of which she had never drunk before. On the way over she made un her mind that she wouldn't pay duty^m it, for she felt that no really patriotic En glish woman can conscientiously pay a tax on coffee, so she made herself a petticoat, and Into the lining tfce-eof she quilted the coffee. Wheu the steamer left Calais she put on the gar ment To wear it was martyrdom. It seemed to weigh a ton, but she passed the customs house officers successfully, and In a congratulatory mood g<.*t into the train for Victoria. Her husbaarl met her at the station. He marked her paje, worn look. As they stepped into a cab she told him the story. "I wasn't going to let them get the better of me," she said proudly. "Wasn't It a lovely Idea?" Her husband fell back on the seat and roared. "LovelyP' he said. "Lovely! I should say It was. Why. my dear, then* isn't any duty on coffee."--Pearson's Weak ly. • Just Where People Hug Gut. "I was traveling through a thinly settled district In the South soma time ago." «aid a drummer, "and had occa sion to stop at a small town off tUe line of the road. The only vehicle I could get at the station was a ramshackle bngy driven by an old darky, aad as we snailed up the road I amused my self by pumping him about peopi# and things. Finally it occurred to me to get some pointers on the best place to lodge. 'Look here, uncle,' I said, *where do folks generally hang out here? The old man gave a sudden start and glhred at me with evident apprehen sion. 'Well, boss,' he replied in a hoarse whisper, 'they mos' gener'ly hange out on that thar big cbes'nut tree yonder, second lim' frum th' bottom.'" > rait for CbiUlrea. A great many people are afraid to give young children the frnlt they need lest It should Induce lnteafctnaJ troubles. But In the season of fruit that which Is well ripened is far more healthful than the pieces of cake or pie that are substituted for It Well- ripened fruit never Injures children past the age when they are weaned, If given with the skin and seeds removed. It is the indigestible skin of fruits that Injures the intestines. Oblige the child to chew its food, giving a piece of bread and butter or a piece of whole some cake and requiring the rtnpfl to take an alternate mouthful of one of these with Its fruit No Patents lor Inventions. Swltserland Is said to be the ©ni* civilised country In the world which grants no patents for Inventions. earnings so far this year over those of the corresponding period of last year as was the case of 1698 over 1897. All ;the railroads which build their own freight cars have kept full forces at work in the shops, but they could not turn out cars fast enough to supply the demand, and orders were placed with car manufacturing companies which will keep most of them busy for the *e- maiuuer of tat JTCMi 1 A. UV/t iuugci l Here la & curiously Suggestive fact stated by an official of one of the big Western railways: Afore pianos were shipped over our road from Chicago to the West and Bouthwest tn the last three months than the entire numbt^ in the years from 1898 to 1897. This is good proof of the pros perity of the farmer, for a piano is a luxury , in which he does not indulge as Boon as he gets a few hundred dollars ahead. Our traffic in farming machinery was never so large as it has been this' year and our crop reports made it cer tain that the investments in machinery were well made. When the farmers bay pianos they are "on Easy street" No doubt of that, Another railroad manager said: "If we could borrow or hire from 5,000 to 10,000 box cars we could find Immedi ate use for all of them." At Detroit an official declared that In twenty years his road has "never seen a condition like the present Ordinarily at this time of the year we are not bur dened with a surplus of business and rather have difficulty in finding a place to store our empty freight cars than to employ all our energies to find cars esvugu to %&cgf the business offered to us. We are certainly behind on a vis ible supplyof cars requisite to carry the freight which we can get without any solicitation." Baltimore reports a scarcity of cars with which to remove the tremendous business, present and prospective. At Buffalo the freight traffic is far in ex cess of the supply of cars. Thousands of extra cars could be used, but they are not to be found. At Philadelphia a trunk line official testifies to a great Increase on all the lines of his road. Speaking of the lines east of Pittsburg, he said: I am convinced that the present pros perity is lasting for the reason that the increase of business Is not confined to a particular locality. It Is generaL For instance, on all the stations of oar road there is a substantial betterment. Some of the offices report an increase of 7 per cent, others 13 per cent, many from 00 to 75 per cent some 100 per cent and one as high as 216 per cent. While, as these reports show, our busi ness is much in excess of that of last year, we have not experienced any great difficulty in getting cars to handle the freight thus far, but there will be a scarcity of cars in the later part of Sep tember or October. How serious It will be I have no means of telling at this time. As a matter of fact we have very largely Increased our equipment this year, and, of course, that has aided us' in handling the increased business, but in some kinds of cars there has already been a scarcity. It is now but twenty-nine months .since William McKinley took bis seat as President of the United States; only exception. Wholesalers generally have scarcely had time to invoice their stocks and ascertain the extent of business for the first six months of the year. This is the situation In Mr, Bryan's own State, and in the ot&er States near by. It makes an effective con trast to the situation which existed In that region during the years when the policy of free trade, so vigorously sup ported by Sfir. Bryan, both in and out of Congress, was In force and the Wilson law was exerting its blighting influence upon the industries of the oountry. It is pretty safe to say that the btieinees men of Nebraska and of other Missouri River Valley States will not have any use for Mr. Bryan or for any other free-trader in 1900. v, The Keal Mottwr. If we mistake not the first'appear ance of trusts, the modern trust In this country, came by way of Great Britain the lovely free-trade country. We believe it was the Britons who organized great moneyed syndicates to buy our breweries, railroads and warehouses with a view to oontrolllng them. Those syndicates were pecu liarly monopolistic and arbitrary and it Is due the American people to say that they revolted against the intrusion and in most instances the syndicates turned out deficits instead of divi dends, and few if any of them are now doing business in this country. The general public having knowledge of these facts, have small patience to read academic discussion? of the charge made by the preposterous Havemeyer. They are content with observing that he might as truthfully have charged that the war of the revo lution, or the policy of expansion, or the defeat of Jerry Simpson Is the "mother of trusts," as to bleat that the tariff Is the maternal source of all the evils which follow In t&e wake of trusts.--Detroit Journal. Havsmeyer's Antnras. The Democratic press is trying to make some capital out of the state ment made by Sugar King Havexueyer, that "the tariff is the mother &t trusts." The facts are Mr. H. is sour because he did not succeed In securing a higher tariff on sugar, so that his trust could not be Interfered with. The policy of the Republican tariff is to give con sumers the commodities of life at the lowest possible price consistent with the demands of revenues and, the pro tection of American labor. No one, Democrat or Republican, will have any sympathy with Mr. H. when the ani mus of his expression Is undeptoo4>^ Waterloo (Ind.) Press. They Prefer Prosperity. Prosperity Is made by the tariff and the trusts are encouraged by prosper ity. Therefore it may be urged that the tariff Is the mother, or rather the grandmother, of the trusts. .;vBut the people perfer prosperity, even if a few trusts are formed, thafc free trade and adversity, as was the case under fhe Wilson law. The trusts are not a dtop In the boekeLr-Tacoma (Wasb.> Ledger. other coupler. In order to release the knuckle a number of methods have been devised. Our correspondent puts a coll spring In back of the Inner arm of the knuckle, which tends to throw the thing around into position which will release the other car whenever the knuckle itself is unlocked. In or der to render the knuckle free to swing, the unlocking apparatus Inside the drawhead Is connected both with a ver tical rod running to the top of the car and to a crank which reaches out to the side of the car. Thus it Is possible to open the coupler either from the ground or from the top of the train. She Liked Sailing. The following true tale, from the February Llpplncott, Is a most curious example of living well on nothing a year without breaking the laws of the land: About twenty years ago a steam- packet company of Liverpool wished to buy a piece of land which was own ed by a "stay-at-home spinster," as her neighbors described her. She sold her land at a very low price, but In sisted upon a clause being Inserted In the agreement giving her the right, at any time during her life, to travel with a companion In any of the company's vessels. When the agreement was closed, she sold her furniture and went on board the first outgoing ship belonging to the packet company. For years this shrewd spinster lived nearly all the time up on sne ship or uiiuiher, frequently ac companied by a companion, according to agreement. This was always a per son who otherwise would have been a regular passenger, but who put-chased her ticket at a redueed rate by paying the spinster instead of the packet com pany. The company offered her more than twice the value of the land If she would give up the privilege, but this she would not do. Her reply was, "You got the land cheap, and I like sailing, so we ought both to be satis fied." Sheep Pest red by Pit's. Sheep are naturally cold-loving ani mals. Occasionally they shiver when penned up wet in a high wind, but it is the beat which really makes them miserable, and flies, which are worse to them even than the heat If they were left untended in many parts of the country, however plentiful and ^ood their food, they would soon die mt If only from this plague, against which they seem quite unable to pro tect themselves. Child Waa Cured. In some parts'of Italy bleeding ta still considered a sovereign cure for all kinds of sickness. A story is told of a mother who protested against the bleeding of her sick child. The doctor assured her that one more application of the cups would insure recovery, but when he came the next morning he found the child dead. "Madam," said the doctor, "be comforted by knowing that your ehlUI 4M enred." IAB COUPLER. *•«< AtHMrt flfteen years agn," a western editor of promtnenai sn afteraooa paper in a. Texas MiH and I made It hot for those who needed warming. Among these was one Ma jor Hlppin, a pompons politician, a trickster, and a man who, though smooth of address, had been known to kill a man when he ha*, frtm bftndy. The major had not made any threats against me, but be was looking for me to have a talk with me, and I knew there would be trouble, so I kept oat of his way, even not being at home when he called at my office once or twice. As he lived In a neighboring: town some twenty-five miles* qp the railroad, I was not always on the look out and could have watched hi* move ments better If he had been right with me. One day about 1 o'clock the tele phone bell rang, and I responded. " 'Hello, is that the Times office 1* some one inquired, and before I an swered I was sure it was Hippin «peak ing, though I had never talked to hhn more than once or twice in my life. " 'Yes,' I said, 'It's the Times ofiee. Who wants the Times? "There was a slight shuffling at the other end and the same person said: " This Is Tom Jackson, barkeeper at tbs Jug. I want to see Mr. Blank.' " 'Well, what is it? I'm Mr. Blank.' " 'Major Hlppin will call at your office at 2 o'clock and wants to see you alone on special business of Importance. He's over at the Jug now. Can he see you there? A "I Was sure now that It was Hlppin who was talking, and lhat he was look ing for trouble, because I bad had a tip earlier in the day that he was ugly and was bound to see1 me and I de termined at once to make a good strong ' - Tl play right straight at him. " 'Oh, It's you. Is It, Tom?' I said In ,.*f3 a confidential tone. 'Well, yon go f v» back and tell the major I'll be at the office when he comes, and be sure to be there promptly. Tell him that, but . don't tell him that Ink Face Dick and •* Hank Colvln--two of our price despeft- ^ adoes and good friends of mine---wUl ; vi be in the next room loaded for the ma- jor. Keep that dead and watch for1 sport I don't know what will happen, , A but It won't take long, for we have ijr ordered an ambulance to call at 2:15, . ^ and have notified the coroner, so as to be ready for any emergency. Don't ' . |f give It away, or Dick and Hank will 1 take It out on me If Hlppin falls to . show up. They will go out after him ^ If he doesnt come around and I am go- Ing to hold the paper back an hour for ^ a sensational story, with Hank and Dick and the major as the chief actors, Now, Tom, I am trusting you with a . great secret, and you mustn't lay down ;|| on me. All you've got to do is to tell ^ Hippin to come around at 2 o'clock sfl sharp. See?' " 'All right, Mr. Blank,' came the an swer in a muffled tone, and I was shot off .in a second afterward with a dull thud. There was a train at 2 o'clock for the major's town, and he took it. I know he did, for I was nea* there tol take it myself If he didn't for I knew that the climax had been reached and something was going to happen." r\ Jewels Live. ' d ^3 Real jewels, scientists now assert f possess organic life. It has long been known that opals and pearls grow did! when worn by invalids, and Utterly rubles and the turquoise are found to share the same sensibility. Pearls are n*'~ more indicative of the condition of the . wearer than any other gem. Though ' ̂ this delicate stone lives longer than a ")k^t flower, It seems to have a form of life, * ^ which, like that of the flower, loses color and brilliancy, and actually dies. Nor Is this property unfounded In rea- s • son. Science has latterly learned much concerning gems and their Influ«nce In the propagation of health and disease. " Those invisible emanations which sur- , round the person wearing gems pene- i;:- trate the interstices of the jewel and actually Increase or decrease its brill- iancy. The inference is a true one that rings and pins should be ia)d aside ; % by the Invalid. Even in good health , •' it is better to give them a rest To Inclose them in their cases and put ' ̂ them away is to insure an access of • v ; ̂ luster. Even clothing should also be * treated to rest. It freshens up wonder- - & fully the frock or wrap to shake -md brush the garment and hang It In a \.|f dark closet. r- .r". Ajtainst His Principles. There are some towns'the attract*##7 ness of which is so difficult to see with an untrained eye that they are general ly described by stray visitors as "good places to get away from." It was in a town of this sort in the far West that a forlorn-looking man entered the dreary dining room of the untidy hotel one afternoon and seated himself at one of the tables. "What will you have, sir?" Inquired the waiter after some moments had passed. "What have you that's fit to eatT* asked the stranger, dismally. » "I can give you a first-rate reed bird on toast" began the waiter. "Stop!" commanded the stranger, with the first sign of animatlon^he had displayed. "Has a reed blrd/wlngs?" "Yes, sir," responded the astonished waiter. "And can It Ayr* persisted the <Bs> mal man. "Why, of course,** said the waiter, who began to think his customer was a lunatic. "Then I don't want any of it," ex claimed the man. "Anything that had wings and could fly away from this place, and didn't why No, r thank you--none of that for me," Rice-Throwing Usngerons. An example of the dangerous natopf of the practice of throwing rice at wed dings occurred at Charing, near Ash- ford, in Kent, immediately after the marriage of Canon Carter, of C&atct- bury Cathedral, and Miss Sayer, of Prett Place. Just as the couple were leaving the bride's house for their hon eymoon, a shower of rice struck the horses, some of It entering the ears. This caused them to bolt, with the re sult that the carriage was overturned. Both of its occupants were severely shaken and bruised, and the shock sust ained by the lady was such ifeat the honeymoon tot* had to be ttmpocaiVp ^"4'i i ••'v