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s Hnttie Fur roan was a great favorite with the jroutlemen, and her partiality for the sterner sex was as great as theirs for her. She was engaged to young Dr. Hartley, but he had one year more at the university before his studies were completed, and his linn- arouse this worthy functionary and hejd a, hurried consultation with him;' thon lie drove on. Ilattie's parents were somewhat sur­ prised at being disturbed in their slum­ ber. but not so much surprised-as when, after a short conference between the cee seemed nowise inclined to Mourn i young doctor and his fiancee, who had bis absence. There were admirers in needed no waiving, j®ey weie sum- plenty ready to take his place; and she never lacked an escort to any of the neighborhood festivities, where she was always the life and mischief of the party. ; Then she vrayld write a full history each affair to-her absent lover, ne\ ei forgetting to tolT him how much she bad enjoyed herself, how agreeable Mr. So-nnd So had been, what pretty speeches Mr. Sucli-a-one bad. made when she accepted his escort foi the next dance at the ball, and lies suih a-n elegant waltzer, you know, slie added, tantaliziiigly. The young doc­ tor's blood fairly boiled when he lead these missives and imagined some other mail's arms where he considered none but his had any right to be. Yet he dared not protest. He ventured once to assort his rights, on his last va­ cation home, and bis ring had been of­ fered him with such promptness that it fairly took his breath away. ,"I don't want it. 1 won't take it," he gasped. •".Just aV you like," r-plied Hattie, coldly. "I thought you were tired of me. If you are, just take back your old ring. Fred Fox offered me a nicer one last week." "Oh, llattie!" was all the Doctor could say. His grieved tone and white face touched the girl's heart, and she burst out with: "Oh. Frank! I didn't mean It. I'd rather have your ugly old ring than all the other rings in the world, and I'd rather have you than all"--here she threw her arms around his ueCk Impulsively, hid her face on his shoul­ der and burst into tears. Then, of course, he begged lior par­ don and called himself a brute, and she forgave him, and when he went away flirted more than ever. She was usually -very prompt in ful­ filling their compact of writing week­ ly letters to each other, but on two oc­ casions the weeks had made a month before the longed-for letter-came t-O-tiie- nbsent lover, and then she made no ex­ cuse but that she had been having so much fun she had quite forgotten to •write. The young doctot' really believed she •only meant to tease him, yet he felt in­ dignant and mutually vowed that if She reins were ever in his hands she •should repent her seeming heartless- -ness. It is a wonder the poor fellow •could study at all. but he did at last -graduate with honor. Hattie seemed proud as he of the hard-earned diploma, and the young couple spent a delightful fortnight mak­ ing plans for the future and trying to decide upon the most desirable location for a young physician to gain a lucra­ tive practice and a home for his bonnie bride. He was far too manly to ask Hattie to link her fate with his until lie j could offer her a home that would in | some degree approach the comfortable j one she would leave, even if her par­ ents had been willing for such a pro­ ceeding. While still undecided^a position was offered his as physician and surgeon with an exploring and surveying party that were making :x tour to the far Northwest. There was _ money in it and the needed practice without fear of competition or failure. It seemed the chance of a lifetime and had been tendered liim through the influence of inoned to give their consent to an im­ mediate marriage. They could think of no valid objection if the young folks wished it, and. an hour later Justice Evans pronounced the couple man and •wife. It was then 3 o'clock and the young husband had only tithe to leave his, wife in her.parents' care again, bkj her another loving farewell and hasten to reach the, train that was to bear him so faraway front liis native Pennsylvania village and her .whom he had loved since his earliest recollection. ! His three years' trip was one of min­ gled hardship, excitement and pleas­ ure; in all a very enjoyable one to Dr. Hartley. A part of every Sabbath day was spent in writing long, loving let­ ters to Hattie. And although he often longed for a sight of the dear face he felt no anxiety on her account, know­ ing that when he did return she would be watching for him. For the young wife the time did not pass so pleasantly. Poor girl! Her "fun"' -was spoiled. She could not ac­ cept other escorts now, and as she had' no brother to act as such she was forced to remain at home, and there she moped and pined for Frank until her parents bitterly repenaed the hasty step they had allowed her to take. And it is doubtful if in that first long, lonely year she did not herself regret it, but I* so none were the wiser, least of all the absent husband. She had never really meant to grieve her faithful lover as she had in that last year, and now that she realized what heartache meant she would not have him suffer as she did, and so she exerted herself to write cheerful, con­ tented letters. Frank almost believed she did not miss him and wished t<hnt she might feel just a little of what he had once on account of her thoughtless flirting, yet he was too honorable to give her any reason for distrust and too true lor deception of any kind. --Home did not-seem--home to Hattie !• est one of the university professors, yet | , It would involve a three years' sepata any more. She herself was so changed that unconsciously her parents' de­ meanor changed toward her. Genewus checks from Frank much more than supplied her wants, and wait she did not positively need / was carefully hoarded to furnish the lovely home that seemed yet so far away, and many hours were passed in^making pretty trifles for the same purpose. Much of her time was spent at Frank's home. His-mother was dead, but with ids father, aunt and cousin she seemed best content. One day a gossipy neighbor bantered her about her strange widowhood and remarked that likely Dr. Hartley was having a line time playing agreeable to other ladies, for of course no one • -- . . . would suppose him to be a married man. The shot struck home, for only j tii.'it very week he had mentioned in } his letter a lady that reminded him of ! her. To be sure, how did she know in what manner he was spending his time. And could she blame him if he did sometimes forget his loyalty to her? And then she thought with shame of her own promiscuous flirting of the past. That night she bunted up the piece of paper that was legal evidence that the twain was one. In that last year that little paper was one of ber..ficgat- comforts, and thankful^sbe "Was Ing of naught but Ylie dreaded messen­ ger boy with the yellow envelope. "Who's there?" demanded the old gentleman, wakening from ids slumber by a secoud rap.^. Her hand was *>n the lcnob when an eager, living voice from the outside ex­ claimed: "Frank Hartley. Is Hattie here?" ' The door opened, and after three long, weary years of waiting husband and wife were reunited. It needed the clasp of loving arms to assure Hattie that she had not slept her last sleep and waked in heaven.-- Philadelphia Times: WHEN THE WIFE'S AWAY. Hubby Is Most Likely to> Ilave Several Good Times. The wife takes the children and goes out of town with a certain amount of trepidation these days, for hubby re­ mains behind and there's no knowing what a man will do, says the New York Recorder. "Oh, don't fret," he says, "I'll be all right. I'll dine at my-club and Norah can-get me my breakfast as usual." "But you must remeuiber and tell her what to get, for she has-no ideas of her own," says wifey, "and you mustn't forget to give her the money to buy the food with." * "Oh,."how fussy you women are!" lie says, Impatiently, "as if I needed prompting about a thing like that!" All the same he forgets all about it and is disgusted to lind tea and toast for the third day's breakfast and he with an appetite like a wolf's, which he has been out two-thirds of the night acquiring. "How's this, Norah? No fruit or meat?" "Shure, an' I had no money to get 'em wid!" "Why didn't you ask me for some?" "Arrah! an' was it home at all. at all, yez was yisterday? I sot up till wan- this mawnin'." "Hem! Never mind about that. Here's $5. Now lay in a good stock." A few nights after he remains out all night at a poker game and sneaks home, feeling ghastly in the bright sun­ shine, at 7 a. m. Of course, Norah is out on the walk sweeping it off and she gives him an awful look--a look that seeems to say: "Ah, sure, if the missis could only know! But I'll not tell her. Faith, I'd not be after break in' her harrut!" "I've--I've been out to get an extra paper," he says, weakly. "I guess I was up before you were." Then lie goes to his room to find that Norah has been there before him, for the door is wide open and he left it shut and locked the night before. It is not surprising that he writes to his wife in this strain: "Norah has been most inattentive in your absence and I have given her a month's wages and let her go. It's just as well; for, really, in lots of little ways -she was objectionable.--I hope you are having a good jtime. I'm worn to death with business. Will be down Satur- day night." tion from Hattie, and what assurance had he that some of those other fellows would not win her from him? Even ;f. they did not he felt as if he never could endure three such years of tor­ ture as that last one at tlie university had been. Still be could not refuse, especially when her parents urged him so strongly to a hat she was bound to Dr. Hartley, for that same contract made him hers. "He's mine. He will be true to me. He will come back," she often sobbed to herself in the wee small hours when haunting thoughts would not let her sleep. And thus that last summer ap­ proached its zenith. If Frank had dreamed of the torture she was under­ going he would never have planned the CAMERA OBSCURA IN WAR. Projcct„for Its. .Use as a Measure of Detecting the Enemy. < The latest adjunct to the coast de­ fenses is a modernized form of the old camera obScura. Army officers are now considering its feasibility and an effort is being made to secure the adoption of the system by the War Department at Washington. The particular use and value of ibis system, as explained by E. Stiles Yin- ten, is that it shows the defenders of a fort the movements of the ships of the enemy and at the same time d,oc:s away with the necessity of anyone ex» p tdng himself to a hostile fire. iiy an arrangement of lenses and small mirrors an image of the harbor >s thrown upon a whitened table ,in 3 da i ll chamber, well protected by bomb-prool shields. Seated about the table, secure from any chance shots, those who are .directing operations from the fort can distinctly see each movement of the ships of the enemy as they niove.;about the harbor. It ic. a fact recognized by all military authorities that in the event of war the United States would be obliged to depend largely upon torpedoes for its coast defenses', but it is also acknowledged that unless, the movements of the hos­ tile ships can be watched and the tor­ pedoes exploded at the proper time there is a large element of. chance in their'offectivChess. It is to overcome this difficulty that, the system of mirrors and lenses and a dark chambejr has been devised. Wires connect the torpedo in the harbor with a battery Sud keyboard within the fort, and, the position of all torpedoes being known to the defenders and accurately marked upon the table, it only remains to watch tile instant that the image of a vessel comes over the marked spot and then the pressure of a key trans­ mits the current which explodes tile submarine mine. Another advantage claimed by army officers for this plan is that it allows the use of the port by friendly ships, without danger to themselves, as is not the case where torpedoes which are ex­ ploded by contact are placed in the har­ bor channels. With hundreds of tor- peodes lying about just below the sur­ face,,of the water a friendly ship was in much danger of being blown to pieces. Wiih a system which shows the movement of every ship in the harbor, and with torpedoes which can be set off a: will, this danger is practically done away with. Friendly ships can pass directly over the mines or torpe­ does with no danger to themselves, and the mines or torpedoes cannot ex­ plode until someone within the fort t,ends the current through the wires. It is also claimed that the exact range of a given point in the harbor being known, guns can be trained on ships ly­ ing within that range and fired without the gunners in any way exposing them- solveq TO opposing- fire, the nim being Hattie seemed v-ry sorry to have him I li ,t!o revenge that was so foreign to his go and promised very faithfully to be true to her troth. "But you can't expect nie to be an old woman, Frank," &iie said. "Why, If I couldn't have any fun for three years I'd be wrinkled ami gray-haired •when you came ba/'k, and then you wouldn't want me. at all." -sFrank laughed and said he'd"run the risk, and if she'd only wait for him 'twas all he'd ask, but it was with aching* heart he kissed her a last fare- Well, and a torturing fertr of what that long three years might bring forth. It was twelve miles from the pretty little village, where their childhood •days had been spent,-to the nearest rail­ way station, and be arrived there at 11 o'clock one beautiful June night. He found t hat schedules had been changed and that he could make better time in reaching his party to wait for the morning express. He felt aggravated to think of waiting six long hours that he might have been spending with Hat­ tie, who he knew was almost crying her pretty eyes, out over his departure. The more he thought of i^ the more tortur­ ing it became arid with a sudden re­ solve he bought his ticket, checked his baggage, visited the nearest livery barn and in fifteen minutes a horse and buggy was making the"best possible time over the home road. He could hardly tell just when the momentous thought did occur to him, but as lie I'ode along, dwelling upon Hattle's earnest assurance that she would marry him "this minute," if he could only take her along, a possibility flashed across his mind that made him urge the horse to Still greater speed. He could not take her with him, but---- His heart seemed, lighter already and the horse fairly Sew along the smooth turnpike. Within a mile of Mr. Fur- tnan's there lived a justice Of the peace. pt. Hartley paused long enough to nature. He wrote that he hoped to be home to celebrate their anniversary, but the party was unavoidably detain­ ed, and he yielded to the impulse to re­ pay her for her old tormenting tricks and "forgot to .write." Her letters of late had been brief and unsatisfac­ tory, but little he imagined that it was because the poor girl could not write cheerfully and would not write .any other way. She seemed to care so lit­ tle that he thought a little anxiety would make his welcome the warmer. The wedding day was a fair counter­ part of.that other one, and Hattie was feverish with alternating hope and fear. She started with every sound and listened at every footfall, but the day and ni^ht came and went and no Frank come. Worse yet, the Week? went by and did not bring the missive that never before had failed hdr. An­ other week went by and still no tidings. Poor Hattie was almost wild with de spair. She Was fully convinced that some terrible accident had happened on the homeward journey, apd she was indeed a widow. "But he's mine--he's mine," she moaned, clasping that piece of precious paper to her heart. She was at "rank' father's. The other inmates of the house were sound asleep that lovely July night,j.but poor heart-broken Hat tie sat bjvher bedside, with her face buried in'tlie pretty covers--some of her own handiwork--brooding over her desolate life and wondering how many years she would have to live be for death would reunite them. And, won dering. she fell asleep only to dream of an ominous yellow envelope being placed in her hand. It was a telegram and her "nervous fingers refused to open it, for she knew but too well what it contained. A sharp rap at the door roused her from lief half stupor, and instinctively she rose and started t<S open it. think Imports Most Japan Teas. Chicago is the largest importing cen­ ter of Japan tea in the United States. p to this year the record was held by New York. The annual report of Appraiser Iloyne shows that Chicago has mu ahead of New York. There were last year, ending with June 30, 5,353 packages of teas invoiced at the port of Chicago, weighing 31.145,595 pounds, or ir>,573 tons. In addition to the direct importation then? passed through the Chicago otttce over 2.000,UUO •pounds of teas imported at other places and sent to Chicago for examination and classification. The four merchan­ dise examiners report 20,324 cases ex amiued, and 2,133 seized and detained for explanations. 'There were S44 cases of cigars imported and 12,(385 bales of ^obaeeo. There was a heavy increase of Havana tobacco, owing to the de­ lation of Cuban warehouses on ac­ count of the insurrection. There were 781 bales of Sumatra wrappers import­ ed by Chicago dealers. During the year 015 protests against classifications were made by importers, and 000 of them an- swered. -- Chieago Tribuno. Furniture ol" Com pressed Paper. Just at present an experiment is be­ ing made at building all the furniture of unpretentious form of compressed paper. This does for the living rooms what aluminum has done for the kitch­ en; literally decreases the weight to a point where a child is able to move the largest piece. It is not proposed in this process to detract in the least from beauty of shape or grace and elaborate­ ness of ornamentation, but to lessen the price as well as tiie weight. The irst products in the way of furniture were finished in enamel paint, and a double colonial bed of paper, with all ts clothing, its pillows and mattresses, was lifted about by a 10-year-old girl. But will this new material wear?" is the query sure to be asked by house­ keepers, who are hopefully testing the new pressed pptper and aluminum batli- ubs and finding them much to their lik- ng.--Illustrated American. taken by the same system of mirrors, show the position of the ship. It is also proposed to send torpedoes from llie shore, direct them under ships and then explode them, the operators all the time remaining safe and secure from danger within the bomb-proof dark chambers. A few years ago any such scheme would have been impossible because of the fact that it is ouly recently that torpedoes whose movements could be directed from the shore or the ship which sent them out have been invent­ ed.--Galveston News. "Dpllj " Madison. Mr. James Gr Blaine, that keen obser­ ver of men and things, familiar with all the traditions of Washington, compar­ ing the influence of the different ladles of the White House, unhesitatingly awards the palm to Mrs. Madison. Yet she never mingled in political- affairs. It was solely by the influence of 4a gen­ tle, womanly nature that it was said of her, "Mrs. Madison saved the ad­ ministration of her husband." The fol­ lowing episodes, trifling though they seem, are significant. We quote from Mrs. Maud Wilder Goodwin's pleasant "Life of Dolly Madison:" William C. Preston, in his unpubl'sh- ed journal, describes his going, as a youth, to the White House, to pay his respects to the President and Mrs. Mad­ ison. She advanced straight towara me, and extending her left hand, said, "Are you, William Campbell Preston, the sou of my old friend and most beloved kins­ woman, Sally Campbell? Sit down, my son, for you are my son. and I am the first person who .ever saw you in this world." • Turning then with a..graciousness that charmed the young man, she intro­ duced him to the circle of young girls about her, giving some specal clew to each, and ending with, "Your kinswom­ an, Sally Coles." At another-of her levees, her atten­ tion was drawn to a rustic visitor, a youth who was eviden)y suffering all the torments of embarrassment. He had at last ventured.to lielp himself to a cup of coffee, when Mrs. Madison walked up and addressed him. In the surprise of the moment, the lad dropped the saucer, and strove to crowd the cup into his pocket. His tactful hostess took no notice of the accident, except to observe that im such a crowd no one could avoid being jostled, and straightway turned the conversation to the boy's family, and ended by sending her regards to his excellent mother, and bidding the ser­ vant bring another cup of coffee. Two old ladies from the country once arrived at the White House while the family were still at breakfast. To the surprise of the rural visitors, the wom­ an they had come to see appeared in a stuff dress of dark gray, protected by a large housewifely white apron, and with a linen kerchief pinned about her neck. Her simplicity of manner and attire completely swept away their awe. and before departing one of them found courage to ask: "Perhaps you wouldn't mind if I kissed you--just to tell the folks about." MUSIC PLAYED AT A CIRCUS. Different Animals, iicqiiire Airs Suit­ able to llicir -Motions. Consumptive musicians have no place SHE WAS EXPANSIVE. Sositno. Among Mrs. Strong's recollections of Stevenson, in Scribner's Magazine, are certain stories of Sosimo, the native who took such good care of liini and ruled his affairs with so firm a hand. Stevenson had a topaz stud that was somewhat difficult to put into his shirt, so he gave it to Mrs. Strong, who laid it away in her trinket box. When first Violet Perfume. Millions of violets, "sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes," nestle at Grass* and Nice under the gray shadow of the orange groves, yet the 200,000 pounds of this flower sacrificed every year to the flower press are not sufficient for the toilet. The perfumer is glad to fall back on the intense odor of "C;nssie, sweet to smell," for, sickly as its scent is when used alone, it gives the indis­ pensable note to many bouquets, and is longer available than the violet, the blossoms of Acacia Famesiaua being successive, while those of its better- known floral ally are quickly over. There cannot lie a greater contrast than that existing between the lowly' tufts of the Parma violet and the tree fifteen feet high, with its stem thick as a man's wrist, and its branches six feet long. Yet the blossoms have the same characteristic odor. Cassie. too, the flower farmer'sjatest crop, forms a fit­ ting introduction to the violet harvest, occurring as the former does iu Novem­ ber and December, while the purple shadow of the latter is not seen under the olives until tlie beginning of Feb­ ruary. Both odors are obtained by the haraeteristic enfleurage system; pure, lodorqus lard being placed on sheets f glass and covered with flower petals. Forty or fifty of the trays are then piled n one another, till the lard is charged with their perfume, the flowers beim hanged from thirty to forty times be ore. the pomade is considered suffi- ientlv scented. she wanted to wear it she was dis­ mayed to find it gone. Sosimo had missed the stud, discovered it in her box, and carried it back to Louis' room. "I kept up the fight," she says, "for some time, trying to secrete it from Sos-. imo by putting it in out-of-the-way places, but it was invariably found in Louis' room, wherever I had hidden It. When Sosimo came up from the ship by which he and his master had taken a trip to a neighboring island, he put Louis' valise down on the veranda, and carefully abstracted from his mouth t lie precious stud he had carried there for safety. I gave up then, and the stud became Louis' own. "One day I went into Louis' room, and found him and Sosimo very busy cleaning up and sorting papers. " 'Did you tell Sosimo to do this?' I asked. " 'No,' said Louis, with his arms full of books. 'He told me!'" Another day the cook was away, and Louis, who was busy writing, took his meals in his room. Knowing that there was no one to cook liis lunch, he told Sosimo to bring him scftne bread and lieese. To his surprise, he was served with an excellent meal--an omelette, a (Mid salad and perfect coffee. "Who cooked this?" asked Louis, in Samoan. "I did," said Sosimo. "Well," said Louis, "great is your wisdom." Sosimo bowed and corrected liim: "Great is my love!" More Pie for the Money. A French journal tells a story of a lady who with a maid went to purchase a still-life picture for her dining-room. She selected a canvas on which were painted a bunch of flowers, a pie cut two and a half penny roll, and was paying 500 francs for it when the maid approached to whisper in her ear: Madam," said the servant, "you are making a bad bargain: I saw a picture very much like this sold the other day lor 400, francs," "And was it ag good as this?" "Yes, madam.,, it was, better; there was a good deal more pie in it." Take the First Rank. A certain Alabama register in chan eery takes first rank as a lover of ab stract justice. Recently in stating an account as master when the evidence showed that a large quantity of corn bargained to plaintiff had been lost by the defendant's agent, whose duty i was tc deliver it to plaintiff, the Regis ter announced his decision as follows "While, perhaps, tlie law and the evidence are on the side of the plaintiff, I think it would be unjust that the de­ fendant should lose all this corn. !, therefore, charge the plaintiff with the corn." • " Wouldn't yoiyather take a whipping than go to a party'.' And why do you , feel so badly when you are not invited? Oldest Musical Instruments. Of all tlie numerous instruments em­ ployed in our time the oldest and most widely known are the drum,, harp, and lagpipe. The first of these, simple as ts construction is, lias literally played in important'part in music. It orig­ inated in the North of Asia, and was for more than 2,000 years the only in strument known to the rude and roviiu Tartars. Couple of Seats Too Crowding When She Was Fully Rigged. \ , , , „ He looked troubled as he pushed two in a circus :jrass band, lhe player ofJ/matinee tickets through the box office an instrument who would travel around Wjn(jow ami asked- the country in the uniform of the Grfijat-./ „Can you gIve me twQ morg est Si.ow on Earth must have leather lungs and a good constitution, as vvell as musical ability, for it is music that makes the circus go, and. as the circus is going pretty much all the time, so must it be with the music. There is all the difference in the world between circus music and a sym­ phony concert, but the leader of a cir­ cus band has to be just as-much of an artist in his way as the leader of a sym­ phony orchestra. Carl Clair, ar^pom- poser of many songs that Have met with popular favor, has for a long time had charge of the military band that travels With the Barnum & Bailey show. "The music has to be arranged with special care to each act," said Mr. Clair, speaking of his work. All the trained; animals are particularly sensitive to music, and so accustomed have they be­ come to the correct pauses and drum signa ls .that if there should be any delay in giving them-the animals would sim­ ply wait for .them. Take, for instance, the* entrance of the great herd of ele­ phants. It is preceded: by a blare of music from the band. If tlie music was omitted th->. keepers would have to drive the beasts in with their prods. "We have to change the musical pro­ gram in the main several times a sea­ son, for the reason that performers be­ come tiredvof the same old tunes and get listless., I make it my business to pick up all the popular airs of the season and arrange them for the band before'we start our. Lively dance mu­ sic, particularly polkas, are needed all through the'show. " "'We have to do more than double the work of an ordinary'band. We have, when on the road, to. play for the parade in the morning; then we play continuously during both afternoon and evening performances. I select young men for the band, as they do not feel the strain so much as old men, and are quicker in making the many changes in uniform required of them. 'Aerial performers are very captious nbotr. the music we furnish them. They nearly all want a slow, dreamy waltz while flying through the air. They want pauses made clear and distinct, as it Is largely from them that they take their cues while making their midair leaps. I know many of them who will stop in the middle of their act if there is any hitch in the music. Heavy grand marches played as slow as dirges, are what the elephants want while they are performing, as such music suits their slow movements. There are no animals so susceptible to music, however, as horses. Marches and dance music, played slowly and with an exaggerated staccato, are es- sojrtktl-to-thoir acts, pa rtlciilarly iii_tlial thrilling act when fifty-one horses per­ form in concentric circles. Iu this act the animals seem to know just the pre­ cise moment when to move, start or stop by the strains, from the band. So i is with the ring horses which the questrians ride. When the music stops they instantly come to a halt."--Boston Journal. next to those?' The ticket seller hastily looked through a bundle of tickets that he took from one of the little pigeon holes in front of him and shook his head. "I can give you two seats just in front of them," he said. Won't do," replied the man in front of the window. "Can you take these back and give me four in the row just ahead?" No; there are only two left there," answered the ticket seller. I don't see how I am going to ar­ range it," said the man who wanted the tickets, thoughtfully. "I must have three seats together." \ "Three!" exclaimed the ticket seller. 'I thought you wanted four together." "I do," returned the other, "but that isn't absolutely necessary. If I can get three together I can sit somewhere else m y s e l f . " V : ^ , v - "I should think it would be pleasanter to divide the party evenly," suggested the man in the box office. "It would," admitted the man outside of it, "but it can't be done. You evi­ dently don't understand the case. You see, I bought these tickets with the in­ tention'of taking a young-lady to the matinee, and it never occurred .to me that I would need more than two seats." Overlooked the '^Clnfperon, l Sup­ pose?" ' s "Chaperon nothing. When I pay for a chaperon there'll be skating in Au­ gust. I overlooked the fashions--that's what I overlooked. I saw her last night in the gown she expects to wear, and now 1 am trying to buy a seat for each of the .sleeves. That's why I mus$-have at leagt three seats in a row. * if you can give them to me, trot them out; if you can't, say so. and I'll send Word to her that I'm sick and give my tickets to some one else."--Chicago Post.- ' A Brilliant Flight. rho illumination in tlie lighthouse a Cape de Heve, three miles from Havre, is equal in powev to 213,000,000 candles. It is the lutfst'"brilliant artificial ilg'at in the world,'And iu clear weather can be seen at a distance of 144 miles. Unlucky Proverb. Temple, the body-coachman of Er­ nest, King of Hanover, is the hero of a number of anecdotes which are told by his Majesty's chaplain in a volume of ••Reminiscences." One of the most amusing relates to a transaction be­ tween Temple and the chaplain. Temple lost his wife. Of course I, as chaplain, had to perform the funeral ceremony. A few days afterward old Temple, in <^cp mourning, called upon me. He wawrery much upset, and evi­ dently had something on liis mind which he found difficulty in expressing, for he stood a few moments in silence, and then turned his hat round and round, looked mournfully into it, brush­ ed It with his hand, and at last got out, through stammering: "Ive called, sir--I've Called, sir--as I wish to ask--and don't like to put it off --what I've got to pay you for that 'ere job?" "Oh," I said, "nothing, of course. 1 have nb fees, Temple; but I remember now I am in your debt, and I must ask you what 1 am to pay for the two pots of ointment you made for my horse's cracked feet?' "Bless you, sir. don't mention it!" raid Temple. "Nothing, sir. nothing; •one good turn deserves another' all the world over!" Rapid Writing. A rapid writer can write thirty words -,n one minute. To do tills lie must draw- bis pen through the space,of a rod, 16% feet. In forty minutes his pen travels a l'urlong, and in live and a half'hours a futt mile.' A Monopoly. At Redditcli, England, 20,000 people make more than 100,000,000 needles a year, and they are made and exported so cheaply that England has no rival and practically monopolizes the trade. Love for the Lord seems to be the only kind that .doesn't keep people awake ulghts, and cause them to grow thin. Drawn Through Diamonds. The finest wire in the country is made at Taunton, Mass. This metal cobweb of minute diameter is exactly the l-500th part of an inch in thickness-- much finer than human hair. Ordinary wire, even though of small diameter, is„drawn through holes in steel plates, but, on account of the wear, such plates cannot be used in making the hair" wire. The Taunton factory mentioned uses drilled diamonds for that purpose. As soon as a girl learns enough about the piano to play with her hands crossed' she "composes" a piece. Some -aen would swell "up and burst If they didn't get married, and have Uie conceit taken out of them. Embarrassing Admirers. It is'the duty of a lawyer to do his best for a Client, but if that client is really guilty, as is often the case, and the lawyer's ability is so vastly great­ er than his opponent's as to turn bis best into something very poor, a very grave moral question is created. 1 ' Daniel D'Couneli, who was a great advocate as well as a statesman, was aware of the danger to society wiiic.'i a successful defender of criminals might create. In illustration of it he related an incident from his own ex­ perience. He had. at a certain assize, defended, and secured the acquittal of a man ac­ cused of theft. At the very next as size the same man was again up for theft, and once more engaged O'Conuell to defend him. Again the man was ac­ quitted. This time tlie prisoner, overwhelm­ ingly grateful, went up to the advocate seized liim by the hand, and. in the fullness of his heart, exclaimed: "And may the Lord save ye to de fend me always. Mr. O'Conuell!" It does not appear that Mr. O'Conuell ever defended him again. This man's embarrassing gratitude was not unlike, iu its effect, that which Kir Charles Gavan Duffy--former pre­ mier of the Australian colony of Yic- toria--was once made the object of, in the course of a political tour. A man oil a public occasion, presented himself to him who had been appointed to some petty government office after a cam paignin which there bad been question able- electoral practices. "I suppose." said Sir Charles to the man. "that you are one of my support ers." • .."Three of them," answered the man with a wink. in A Deadly Ititte. Italy has a new magazine rifle, which holds only six cartridges, but can bo filled and discharged in fifteen seconds The bullet has an outside covering of German silver with a case of lead hardened by antimony, and will through a brick wall three feet thick at a range of a quarter of a mile. Tlie bore is 0.250 inches and the trajectory is so fiart«»hat the rifle can bo fired u to a range of 050 yards without usiu the.folding sight, which is set. for as long a range as 2,200 yards. Electricity in India. The temples 5f India are to be light­ ed with electricity, the example having been set by the great shrine of Siva, at Kocliicaddie, near Mutwal. in Ceylon, end is to be speedily followed by the equally vast and ancient foundation of the Natukotta, in the same island. In no long time others will adopt the same improvement, till all the holy places of the peninsula are so equipped that by pressing the button they can be in­ stantly illuminated like tlie modern hotel or theater. To Rebuild Turkish Mosques. The engineers of the Prefecture of Constantinople have drawn up plans for the rebuilding of eighteen mosques, medressehs, 'and schools in tlie city which were destroyed by the earth­ quake of 1804. : A good husband should be as patient as a successful retail grocer. Their Luck Was Bad. Two men we're talking about luck at the corner of Baltimore and South streets last night. Neither of them had had a recent visitation of Dame Fortune, and in consequence both were loud in their denunciations of that fickle lady. "I haven't had a goud thing for three years," said one of them in a tone of deep disgust. "I have tried my best to overcome the hoodoo, but somehow I can't do it. I've tried every sort of mascot, but I can't get out of the rut. For two years I have carried a rabbit's foot, but it seems to have come from a Jonah rabbit and not one of the reg­ ular kind. Darn this luck, anyhow." The other man sympathized deeply, and told his own troubles in the same disgruntled style. He, too, had a mas- cot In the shape of a Chinese coin. "They are all a snare and a delu­ sion," he said, and his face looked more woebegone than ever. "Darn this luck, anyhow." "Mascots are not what they are cracked up to be," assented the other. "I'm almost tempted to believ,e in Jo­ nahs as the harbingers of good fortune. I'm going to get rid of'this rabbit's foot at any rate." "I am right with you," said the other. "Dam this luck, anyhow." The rabbit's foot and the coin appear­ ed from their pockets, and with a more hopeful manner than they had yet shown the two charms were tossed to­ gether in the middle of the streets, near the tracks of the City Passenger Railway. Then the two "hoodooed" men went down the street arm in ar>~ "Darn this luck, anyhow." was tne last thing heard as they disappeared in a doorway.--Baltimore Sun. The Ex'olution of Lir.neliness.^ On a trip through Logan County, W. Va., five years ago, I sold a moun­ taineer his opening stock of goods for a country store," said Louis E. Raw- lings. "He was very sanguine of suc­ cess, and would have bought more than he did had I encouraged him. "It so happened that I did not make another trip through that section un­ til a few days ago, and drove several miles out of my way to the man's store. There w*ere very l'ewigoods left in the place, and the merchant looked rather gloomy. After exchanging the usual salutations, I said: "Your stock is pretty low?' " 'Yaas.' " 'You'll want some more goods, won't you?' " 'Naw\' " 'Why not?' " 'Ain't got no money to pay with. But that ain't the real reason. There ain't no one to sell 'em to.' " 'The people all moved away?' " 'Yaas,' " 'How did that come?' " 'Waal, I sol' 'em goods an' kep' takin' mor'gages, until I own the lan' clar to next sto' on each side o' me. Goods all gone, people all gone, money all gone. I kain't sell the lan'i and hyar I be, plum 'lone.' "--Washington Star. " W Ancient Journalism. At a recent congress of journalists held at Heidelberg, fac similes of the first newspaper ever printed were dis­ tributed to the members. - It is a sheet published at Strasburg in 1009 by Jo- • hann Carolus. fn^a letter from Ven­ ice, dated Sept. 4, in the first number, Galileo's discovery of the telescope is announced: "The Government has ad­ ded 100 crowns to the pension of Mas­ ter Galileo Galilei, of Florence, Profes­ sor at Padua, because lie has invented an instrument which enables one to see distant places as If they were quite near.'2 >1 His Criticism. Robert Louis Stevenson once took an eccentric acquaintance of his to hear Sir Charles Halle play the piano at St. JameS* Hall, London. Sir.Charles, was a musician of the most correct and se­ vere British type, thoug!i a'CJeruian by birth. After the eoneert was o\;er they walked as far as the Marble Arch-- neither having spoken. Arrived there, the friend stopped and delivered him­ self thus: "The manner of the elderly statesman at the piano^was somewhat aUstere a«d chilling." And .tluStr t,hey walked on. The devil is not so pop.uiar now as he formerly was; people that the devil ask3 too much Interest.