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PALMERANDBUCKNEI? A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR OUR RURAL FRIENDS. BLUE AND bRAY PUT FORTH AT INDIANAPOLIS. Suggestions for Brigliteninf; Farm Jiife--How to Secure Regular Salting of Cattle--Thorough Cultivatiori "Will Kill Canada Thistles. Anti-Silver Democrats Adopt a Plat­ form and Name Ca'ndidateafor Presi­ dent and Vice-President--Chosen on First Ballot. tjOING TO THE CIRCUS Onetime Lou and I were hoeing pot a. •m*. when we saw a man in blue uni­ form comiug down the road. Lou' was my older brother, a ud he didn't like to fcoe potatoes any better than 1 did, but Str eould disseuible better. Twice that hot August morning in 1804 he had left me tread the wine press alone--I re- garil that simile as a heap pleasauter than is the fact--while he pretended to 'ffcK something on the shady side of the Bnrn. He explained each time when lie canre back that he much regretted the necessity of leaving this nice, easy wvti ia the potato field for such un- jplcswsnt tasks at the barn, and I grew quite sorry for him. I offered to go wint time in his place, but he was the raost self-abnegating fellow you ever u?*w„ and insisted on fhis systematic 'mairtyrdom. . Wlien the man in.'the blue uniform eaiuedown the road we stopped hoeing Swig enough to look at huh and wonder whs* 'fee Was. We ha<l stopped several times before, but that was not to won­ der- who the travelers were. We knew win* ibcy were We own knew where they were going. We knew they were aelghbors going to the circus at the «sw«ity seat--the circus that had been advertised with tremendous posters and intemperate print for just four weeks. We knew in a general way people did go to such places, but we thought about it as almost as distant as tlie battles with which the uniform­ ed man was associated. A circus was act for us. We must hoe potatoes. The man in blue uniform turned in at o«r house and sat there in the shade of the locust trees while mother rinsed the atilk pails and set them in the sun. Presently he came out in the field and sheok hands with us. We remembered ftha as a hired man who had formerly worked for us--an excellent fellow, as yoa shall see. lie was something far removed from potato hoeing. He had seen t»lg battles, and we believed we Mad found his portrait in a colored print of the times, which showed a col­ umn of even-stepping heroes rushing to conflict as to a carnival. We were a BStUe embarrassed in his presence, and scarcely asked him about the weapons •lieWielded and the foemen he had slain. 4>Hrlibrarycontained some hooks which treated of conflict in those rarer times when men went single-handed into the tsinks of an enemy and swept down swaths of weaklings--those rarer times before a ritie bullet made one man as that at the last something might hap­ pen to disappoint me was dispelled when wecame to the courthouse square, for there, just beyond the temple of jus­ tice, in the vacant lots, was spread the mighty tent. Sure those vacant lots had been doubled in size1 since last saw them, for no common space eould entertain an establishment so vast as this. Why, there were walls of canvas on the right hand and on the left hand of the mammoth tent, and there were successions of smaller tents that stretched'away into bewildering vistas, and before them all everywhere, tugged the great advertisements, wonderful in picture, exotic in text. There was a noise, a bustle, a hurry, a nervous ten­ sion, unknown in the town. No man hfld more time than sufficed for the scantiest of greetings, unless accosted by a soldier, in which case he would talk interminably, or a sharper, in which case he would invest disastrous­ ly. The only calm, contained men were those law-defiors who looked with such honest faces'into the wavering eyes of honest men and beguiled them to tlieir ruin. For there were three-card games and "chuck-a-luek," popular among the Soldiers, and wheels of fortune and straight faro. Only the most beggarly pretense of secreting all this crime was made. The "short change" man, who flourished in one plaee and disappeared to rise in another, was on the ground and was remembered. There were as­ sistant marshals with large stare, and they walked in and out of all tents at will. But they saw nothing less than quarreling men, and roused to activity only to prevent lighting. •Tust before noon the parade started. We watched the wonderful aggregation of marvels form into line. To youths bred in an environment where some of the odor of sanctity might reach them nlng, perspiring, but happy crowd. The> meh were vociferous, the women broad­ ly smiling. Girls giggled* and blftshed when the clown tossed kiSses at thera and their escorts ,bought what they called, refreshments and' tried with prodigality to purchase popularity. There was bareback riding--and, be­ ing old, I wlll'say these later days have taught us nothing in that. There was the leaping through "balloons," which seems to have come with the first cir­ cus, land a trapeze performance which was doubtless good. There was trick riding and performers on a horizontal, bar. And then there was a bout at box- ing.' Nothing could have been more timely. No doubt amusement purveyors are the same yesterday,; to-day and forever, and even before rural audiences, which they hold in contempt, delight in mak­ ing applause. Well, this sparring ex­ hibition was no "frost." Very likely flint undertone conibativeness,. which, appealed to by drum and fife, set a na­ tion at war. was just sufficiently assert­ ive to respond to this matching of man against man. For there was nothing of the hippodrome- about the affair. The men were fearfully, exhaustively in earnest. But to me, who got even in War time my first sight of human blood drawn in anger, there was something so horrible, so heart-sickening, so impos­ sible, that I appealed with tears to the man at my right to stop them. He was a powerful fellow, but he laughed aft me. ; • • Tlib circus was almost over when loud voices to-the right announced the beginning of a quarrel. There were at least ten years, beginning in 1801, when circus men counted themselves fortu­ nate if they got out of a town without a battle. They hired canvas,men who were as good at fighting as at work. The whole corps of workers was organ­ ized and constantly prepared. And the towns in which they showed were sure to have "hard men." Fighting was the order of the day. The circus simply provided the occasion. Sitting up there in our lofty place, we could hear that premonitory speech in an ominous lull of other sounds, could feel, as sentient humans always do, the athering of human muscle and the hardening of human hearts. And then we could see a little rush, for the words had ceased, and the fight was on. I don't remember the "Hey, Rube!" ex­ clamation, which later years have told me is the showman's slogan; but I know that a great wave of horror rolled it seemed most shocking that so'tnuch profanity was needed in assembling a great moral aggregation. Furthermore, there was a quality about that profan­ ity I have never known equaled. It was intense, incisive, terse, emphatic, sul­ phurous, full of murder and flashing with the lightnings of blasphemy. I have ridden behind "mule whackers" on the plains and have spent vacations where the voice of the first mate of a river packet could assail my ears. But I have found no man whose profanity matched the splendid wickedness of the circus employe in the old days of wagon transportation. -good as another. - , John asked us how the cattle were getting along, and something about the neighborhood gossips, and then march­ ed away very straight, as if he were voder the eye of A driilinaster. Another neighbor came along and John signaled him. "I guess I'll go to th" circus, too," he mid to us. laughingly, over his shoul­ der. Oh! soldiers could do anything. This proved !t. Men who could suddenly think of something desirable, something wonderful, and who could instantly de­ cide they wanted it and so have it-- these were the favored among men. As to the circus! Why, I would have Siren anything--everything, discounted hope and bonded the future for the ^laia privilege of "going to the show." Ton eannot know the heart hunger felt /orthe circus by a country Iwy in war time. It was an expected, an illimit­ able, an inexhaustible case of wonders. John ""hm to the fence, placed his Stands on the top rail and vaulted over, as became a soldier home on furlough, wlule the people iu the wagon--they were dressed in the very flower of gaQa attire--pushed forward to shake hands with him. Then they called across to « "Ain't yoa going to the circus?" and so went on. Fate was a despot. We did not question the decree, though we ooold very freely understand the charm tiiat was crouched in that one phrase-- "Going to the circus!" We had hoed out the tow when moth­ er called to us, and we went to the house. It was not nearly noon, but there was a luncheon of bread and but- •ter, of uiilk and of warm currant pie the little table in the vine-shaded porch. Tlie spread astonished us. Moth­ er was getting at her spinning wheel. "Do you want to go to the circus?" tthv asked. Of course that meant permission. No mother can taunt her child. John had said he would pay for our tickets if she would let us go. He.wanted to do that much for the sake of old times, he fltaidL And, dressed in the. Imst those irying war times afforded, we started «n foot for the county seat. My people were church members, "and we knew About miracles. But no *uh waiting the will of Joshua was «rer more miraculous than this instant- change in our condition. But an hour ago lioeiug potatoes; now going to the zirrvsl 3 had never seen a lion nor an ele­ phant nor any of the curious beasts from foreign lands. I knew their pres­ ence in the garden of Eden and in the ark. I knew that African travelers had S»ond them. But that was far away. At the end of these little miles, just be­ yond these business buildings, already to sight, I should find "wild beasts of the field," and should "drink my fill of amrvelg. The season \yas right.' Harvest was ***r, corn needwi ao more plowing. There was a midsummer lull in all ac- Even in a time when few men wieroziiaed at. home, and when women and boys did much of the farm work, there was still time and inclination to Tislt "the Show." The proportion of men in blue jiuil'orm was greater than ft had ever b&en. The army pervaded orcrythi^ig. Men home on furlough ware guests of honor and were feted loyally--they, too, had money and «oald reciprocate, were that permitted. They were sought, continually. And ISiey tojd when the war would cease. The circus was there. All lurking fear .The parade was a thing to marvel at. In the front was a carriage resplendent above above anything in the town and bearing the dusty human who was yet more than mortal, for he owned "the show." Then came the band in a golden char­ iot that quite satisfied me. If anything in my reading equaled that I could not recall it. How many there were in the band, what they played, or whether they played well, these things did not impress me. For behind them came the elephant. He walked alone, stately-- or sore-footed, and how was 1 to know? He swung like the rocking of a hay­ stack in a storm and his driver prodded him. Then came the cars. Upon the sides of each were painted such pictures as must have whetted the curiosity of tlie unlearned. But two were opened. In one was "the massive and blood- sweating behemoth of holy writ"--a hippopotamus! In the other a man sat in safety with unchained lions on his every hand: What more there was in the parade, how many ladies in remarkable skirts and gentlemen in the armor of knights, show many clowns and how many cages, I do not know. But it was a magificent spectacle. ' It wound about those streets that had always .before been common­ place, and it grew more wonderful as it advanced. I know, for I fqllowed it. And then it vanished ijnto tbespread­ ing walls of the canvas city and was lost. The beauty and the loveliness would have vanished from the earth but for the glare and flare and marvel of that circus day. John was in the line before the ticket wagon, but his progress was slow for a time, and again he was pulled from his place to give a frantic greeting to some­ one whose spn or brother or father was in the serviced That was why soldiers came home on furlough--to tell when the war would end and to talk hope­ fully to the friends of the boys at the front. But finally he stood at the wonderful door of the ticket wagon, where mofley was leaping-from the hand of the coun­ tryman in exchange for pleasure. In­ stantly he was away again. The fat, hot man that sold tickets cared nothing for the blue uniform. He saw nothing that interested him beyond the bills laid down. And these he whisked from sight half savagely. Our tickets were in our hands. " We had passed the insolent, broad-jawed fellow at the gangway of ropes, and Stood in the most amazing place in the world. To the left were rows of, won­ derful cages--now opened--and in each was a marvel of animal life. I never had seen them, but somewhat of natu-' ral history had been opened to me in books, and I could call them by name. A man may live a thousand years and win great honors, but he will never feel so keen a joy as thrills irLthe boy of 10 when he stands in the center of an un­ expected circus and menagerie. I sought the elephant In vain, because my little eyes had not been adjusted to the huge dimensions of the pachy­ derm. And I was touched by his trunk before I gave him recognition. And in the midst of that wonder, but" half filled with the charms of the animal portion. I was dragged: away to the smaller etertainment. of the ring. The old circus was near at hand, and a single ring embraced the limit of its possibles. There was the band above the place of entrance, and on each shle of it were the higher-priced seats. Our tickets called for but common sittings and we found place in a. coatless, fan- over the hearts of those who did not love a fight, and the soul of slaughter leaped up in those who scented battle afar off, and hastened to join in it. Who began it, what it was about, how many were hurt, and who finally triumphed are matters of small con­ cern. I have an idea none of flie~com- batants is still living, so it does not matter. But I do know the seats were overturned, law officers were defied, bleeding men surged across the ring chasing other bleeding men before them, and were chased back in turn. And at last it. was all over. Someone said the combatants had transferred the field of their activities "up town," and we avoided that quarter on our way home. There were many neighbors from be­ yond our farm, but the battle separ­ ated us from them, and we walked back to the farm. Just as we came to our meadow gate the first wagon of that show came along, driving already for the next town, thirty miles away. The driver was asleep, his horses taking the way of their own free will. A man ahead on horseback seemed, although half a mile away, to mark out the line of march. The great golden chariot, housed in dull trappings to keep off the dust and the rain and the sun, rolled heavily past, and the gaudy men who rode so proudly by day slept in it mis­ erably by night and blessed their stars they could find the solace of even so meager a repose.--Chicago Chronicle. To Make Life Brjcltt^. We want to see mbrtv't%p.uty- and greater abundance in fruits about the fa rra house. We waut to see more con­ tentment and pleasure there. We urge the cultivation of flowers for the pleas­ ure it affords, and the raising of more fruits and better^gardens for the in­ creased vigor and health such things impart. We have a vineyard that begins to ripen its fruit about the first of August, when then; is a certain amount of lau- guor and listlessness in the atmosphere, a time when fevers are apt to take root in the systen), and when every one feels more or less run down. But since our vineyard has been bearing, and we can go to it of an early moirni before break­ fast, and eat the fresh, sweet, ripe grapes, there comes a revived feeling, breakfast tastes better, and the system is toned up for the day. If is one of the wise provisions of nature to ripen grapes just at the time of the year when they are best suited to the health and appetite. We urge the planting of vineyards and other small fruits. A fruit garden is of greater necessity, in so far as the health and happiness of the family are concerned, than the porn field. The peasants of Spain, it is said, eat fruit more than anything else, yet they are noted for their strength and vigor. Fresh fruit is filled with the very es­ sence of the life-giving principle. It is nature'sistorehouse of the most beauti­ ful and pleasant elements of the soil and the air. such as are bound to im­ part renewed strength to the consumer. It is beauty and vitality combined and condensed. How much more of happiness and pleasure there is sure to be in the home that is surrounded .by beautiful-flowers, and fresh, sweet fruits! How superior in every respect is such a home in which to raise otir children, compared to the barren home of the thoughtless and shiftless, that give no heed to the condition for the butcher, and topping off the last few weeks with a clea^r corn diet. Mauy farmers prefer that pork for their owa use shall not be thus topped off. It is sweeter but less firm in. texture, containing more < nioisture. This, however, only means that the pig killed after being fed so "as to waste iu cooking is by that fact shown to be in healthy qonditiou. All animals in perfect health are composed largely of watek This is evaporated when inter­ nal fevers evaporate the internal mois­ ture, and the meat is then said to be firm, solid and will waste little in cook­ ing. Whenever pork of this kind is not wanted, it should be fattened with boil­ ed vegetables or fruit mixed with wheat middlings and bran to make the right proportion of nitrogeneous matter. We have often more than half fattened hogs on boiled pumpkins and windfall apples, and never had pork that tasted better than that thus fattened. Even before we know^that it was unwhole­ some, we never much liked the pork fattened on coru alone.--American Cul­ tivator. better and more elevated system of liv­ ing: that comes of cultivating nature in her higher branches. Think this mat­ ter over.--Column's Rural World. Comradeship Among Workers The Century, in an editorial reeogniz- g "The Workingman's Support of In­ ternational Arbitration," says: The demand for arbitration has been made with most emphasis where the workingmen are most thoroughly uni­ ted for other purposes. In England, where trades unions are at their best, the peace movement among working- men is strongest; and in our own East­ ern States it is very strong. "The strength of the demand itself grows in proportion as the contest over wages, for .which trades unions are primarily formed, becomes active. There is clearly a connection between these phenomena. This connection it finds in what is described by the words "sol­ idarity of labor"--the creation of com­ radeship among the workers - of all countries. The injury of war to the la­ boring man, and his recognition of that fact, both come in for consideration. It Takes Nine Tailors to Make a Man Curran, the famous orator and wit, never hesitated to sacrifice his friends for the sake of a joke. On one occasion the Merchant Tailors' Guild of Dublin gave a banquet, to which he was in­ vited; in fact, lie was the guest of honor, tie kept his hosts amused all evening. There were just eighteen of his enter­ tainers, and when Curran took his leave he waited till he reached the door, then with a smile and a bow said: "And now, gentlemen, I have the honor of sayi.ig good-night to both of you." He made his escape before the eighteen tailors realized the joke and then it was too late to catch him. Salt Boxes for Cnttle. In order to secure a regular salting with a large herd of cattle it is neces­ sary to have salt continually before them for use at their leisure. Many farmers use rock salt, scattering it about over the pasture, but even with this there is waste in wet weather, and some danger that cattle will lick out large lumps in such a way as to make a cavity, which sometimes will fill with water and become brine," and loo much of this will produce more or less disor­ der. Where barrel salt is used there is much waste in wet times from melting. The "Denver Field and Farm" sug­ gests a salt box for icattle where barrel salt is used that seems to meet the case, as follows: "In salt boxes for cattle in pasture the writer likes the kind resembling in appearance an ordinary school desk. It Is entirely home-made, and the stock will soon learn to lift the lid and help themselves. In order to teach them how it is done cut a semi-circular open­ ing in the top part of the front side, just below the lid, and fill with salt so as it can be licked without raising the lid. They will come and taste the salt and keep helping themselves right along, lifting the lid to get to it. The lid protects the salt from rains and saves from waste and from getting packed in a hard lump. Fasten the box at the height that will be convenient for the stock, making fast to a post or a tree." A box of this kind is easily made and is worth trying. Aalies for Sandy Roil. 1 Almost all sandy soils lack potash. Even when it is present, unless there is also some vegetable matter in the soil to furnish carbonic acid gas, the potash forms a union with the sand, and thenceforward can only be releas­ ed as it is some way made soluble. The benefit from applications of potash to sandy soil is direct. They supply the kind of plant food in which it. is defi­ cient. But the use of potash in the form of ashes is not restricted to sandy soils. Most heavy soils have more or less potash in insoluble form. As the caustic potash in the ash changes It makes the potash and phosphate in the soil near it soluble also, and thus pot­ ash will sometimes oblige the soil to supply to the plauts the phosphates they require to make a grain crop. But in such cases the potash does not take the place of the mineral. It slmplv enables the plant to get phosphate that was in the soil but not in soluble form. Mexican Sheep. The old Mexican sheep are the direct descendants of the original Spanish Merijio brought over two hundred years ago by Spaniards to Old Mexico. They have been bred with scarcely any out- cross, and are a very distinctly marked breed. They have long legs, a long, thin body, not. very deep; small, rather long neck, and a long, thin head, carried high. The Wool is fine and thin. To the eye tlieV'appear almost worthless as mutton, a'hd. Of still less value for Wool.- Their good points are that they are hardy,.excellent travelers, will keep in. good condition on the poorest and driest of ranges, nre fairly prolific, and chn be herded in bunches of almost any size. They fatten easily, though never getting plump and fat like the Northern sheep. When they reach t'lie Chicago market, if in good condition, they out­ sell all other sheep, for tlie.v shriuk rery little in dressing, the "meat has an excellent fiavjftyaTrd the hide is so thiu, firm and soft as to command the high­ est price. First Experiment Station. The first agricultural experiment sta­ tion established under Government aus­ pices was organized at the little Ger­ man village ofl^oecllern, near Leipsic, in 1851, undex; tlie influeii('c of the Leip­ sic Univers/fy.:: Liebig in Germany, Boussingault ini France, and Lawes and Gilbert in England had all been experimenting alaiig the lines of agrl- culture and:hdrtlCultu|-e for years, but the action of the Saxon agriculturists i i 18f>l marks the beginning of the ex­ periment station proper. Peaches on Pluin Stock. .... The peach can be and frequently is budded on the plum. It makes a good combination where the trees are plant­ ed on heavy soils, the plum stock doing much better on these than the peach. It does not make the peach any more hardy, as even in the coldest winters the peach tree escapes, while its buds are destroyed when the -thermometer- runs down to 10 or 12 degrees below zero, and with a sharp wind at 8 de­ grees below if the ground it not covered with snow. The Dairy. A gallon of milk weighs eleven pounds., When the cows have been long in milk, the churning becomes more diffi­ cult. Divide the pasture into two or more lots and you will gain in food and milk. The rate of consumption of cheese in America is about three pounds per capita per annum. A good dairy cow should be trained to stand quiet in milking, so that the mUker can readily use both hands. It is less work to wash the butter­ milk out of the butter when iu a gran­ ular form, and it can be done more ef­ fectively. Once in a full year should be consid­ ered often enough for a milker to bear a calf and for younger cows once in fourteen to sixteen months. Ilowhaveyougotthebest results from your milk--sending to the factory, making butter at home or peddling to local customers? Let one person do the milking, if pos­ sible. Cows get used to a milker, and almost invariably "hold up" their milk when a new milker comes. Too fre­ quent changing of milkers has ruined many a cow. Don't hire at any price a man who has a bad temper; he will ruin your cows. Don't hire oue who is not a good milk­ er; he will diy, off your cows. Don't em­ ploy a man o^boy who is not willing to learn t6' caVry bUwbur instructions. Telephone Wires and Lightning. Telephone wires seem to have an important influence in preventing lightning from striking, according to the investigations of the German Tele­ graph Department. Three hundred and forty towns with telephone systems and 560 towns without them were under ob­ servation. In the former the lightning struck three times for every hour of storm; in the latter five times. More­ over, the violence of the lightning .was much less in the former cases. Cost of Kansas Grain. In Kansas thrashing an acre of wheat ,'r estimated to cost $1.18, while the housing after the thrashing is complet­ ed, costs 30 cents. In an argument the average man does not listen to what the other fellow is saying, but spends the time formu­ lating a reply. y Time sets everything finally right, but the trouble is that our time here u» so limited. Killing Thistles with Hoed Crops. One year's thorough cultivation will entirely eradicate hot merely Canada thistle, but all kinds of perennial weeds. But the cultivation must not let up even for a single week. If any sprout reaches the surface and gets to the daylight, it reinvigorates the root, and such half cultivation may be kept up for years without greatly lessening the pest. Wherever attempts are made to kill thistles by growing a crop of corn or potatoes on the land, the month of August will be found a very critic,il time. It will be necessary to examine the hills closely so that no shoot creeps in with the corn or potato crop in the hills: The cultivator alone cannot be depended upqtf to do this work.. Hand labor, either literacy with the thumb find finger or with the hoe, will be nec- pssary several times in August and Sep­ tember, if the work of destroying the thistles is to be completed. A little salt applied to the latest appearing shoots will set them to rotting, and that is better than cutting them off at the surface of the ground. Kni'ly Fattening of Fork. » Corn is not so exclusively the feed of hogs at any age as it used to be. Instead of growing pigs on their swill with pasture, and thus stunting their early growth, it is the practice of the best farmers to begin the high feeding from birth, keeping the pig always la Odds and Knds. A person broken out with prickly beat will find great relief if the parts affected are dusted over several times a day with rye flour. If hot meats and soups covered before they are perfectly col'tr^ltey will surely spoil; the hot air must have a place to escape or the meatgwill be af­ fected. ||jj| *•„ A common cause of failure in mak­ ing fnnfw bread andJSrplls is mixing the dohgli too stiff; feshould be soft to ber easily worked, without.being in t h e l e a s t s t i c k y . " t . v , ' r Bread that has been cut in slices and become stale may be freshened by lay­ ing the sliest together and folding a damp napkin around them; put the napkin in a paper bag and place the bag in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. The most wholesome way of cooking a potato, say| the New York Sun, is to bake it A small piece of the skin should be cut from the ends before put­ ting the potatoes in to bake. If a baked potato stands after it is cooked it is likely to become soggy. To avoid this, when the potato is done fold it in a nap­ kin and roll the potato between the palms of the hands until it cracks open. Treated in that way, the potato will al­ ways be mealy. For a sprain use hot fomentations or a very hot bandage, and rest the hurt limb until it is knit together well. In jill cases of sprqf^is and broken bones file patient should be kept perfectly quiet- until a physician arrives. Burns are painful and hard to heal if not well cared for. If the skin is off, creosote is a good remedy. Do not remove any dressing until a skin is formed under it. If nothing else is available, flour or cornstarch are good, as they keep the 1 air from the skin and allow it to heal* Palmer for PresUle'ut. John M. Palmer, United States SeuUtor from Illinois, was nominated for Presi­ dent of the United States by the anti-sil­ ver Democrats at Indianapolis, and Geh. S. B. Buckner, of Kentucky, was nom­ inated for Vice President. The nomina­ tion of Senator Palmer, who received 757^4 votes on the only ballot cast, was made unanimous on the motion of Gen. E. S. Bragg, of Wisconsin, his only com­ petitor, who received 124% votes. Gen. Buckner was nominated for Vice Presi­ dent by acclamation, fqr no other candi­ dal was placed before the convention. The nominating and seconding speeches we're numerous, and enthusiasm ran high from the moment the reading clerk began to call the roll of the ^States, until the Chairman duly announegjj that the con­ vention was at an end. Chairman Ctiffer.v called the convention to order at 11:38 Thursday morning. The Platform Committee was not ready to report, so the crowd called on Col. W. C. P. Breckinridge for a speech. He was es­ corted forward amid mingled.,hisses-and cheers, ijnd made a brief address. Mr. Ochs, of Pennsylvania, offered a resolu­ tion that the national convention express- GEi'i JOHN M. PALMEE. es grief at the untimely death of William E. Russell. It was parried by a rising vote. T. De Witt Warner of New York, Lehman of Missouri, Byuum of Indiana, an.l Eckels of Illinois addressed the con­ vention. A motion to take a recess at 1:4.") was voted down. Senator Vilas then appeared and read the report of the Resolutions Committee. The platform declares that the convention met that Democrats may unite to avert disaster from the country and ruin for their party; that, the Chicago platform at­ tacks sound financial policy and that del­ egates to that convention abandoned for Republican allies the Democratic cause of tariff reform to court the favor of pro­ tectionists; that delegates to the Indian­ apolis convention cannot support candi­ dates of the Chicago convention nor be bound by its acts; liberal policy toward American shipping is demanded: and an economical administration of government; international arbitration, and a liberal pension policy are favored; all efforts to touch the Suprem'e Court are condemned, an 1 the gold standard is approved. The platform expresses opposition to free and unlimited coinage of silver and compul­ sory purchase of bullion; denounces the present system of paper currency as a constant source of injury, and demands currency reform, and commends the fidel­ ity, patriotism and courage of Cleveland's administration. The platform was adopted unanimous­ ly. A motion to take a recess was cried down. Breckinridge of Kentucky moved to nominate a candidate on the platform. The motion carried, and a roll call was ordered. Carroll of Kentucky, withdrew Watterson's name, and a telegram was re­ ceived from President Cleveland announ­ cing his positive declination. Palmer's Name Presented. Palmer's name was presented by the Michigan delegation, as he had refused to allow the Illinois delegates to put him in nomination. His name was greeted with an outburst of cheers that caused him to retire to a lobby in confusion. John E. Hartridge of Louisiana, after regretting the refusal of President. Cleveland to al­ low his nam6 to be presented, seconded (Jen. Palmer's nomination. Georgia did the same. Then the States, one after another, fell into line. Senator Palmer was nominated on the first ballot, and the choice was at once made unanimous on motion of (Jen. Bragg. The nomination of the Vice President was then taken up, and the Chairman in­ structed the reading clerk to cull the roll. That young man took in the situation and promptly called out "Kentucky." This raised a cheer for (Jen. Buckner, and his name rose from all parts of the hall. Win. B. Browden made the nominating speech, an 1 the instant he closed his address a del­ egate sprang up and. moved to nominate Gen. Buckher by acclamation. It received a dozen se'e^nds ajid was carried with V. great roar. 'Afte/ passingpt" resolution giving the committee the usual' authority and another thanking tiie temporary com­ mitteemen for the work they did and an­ other thanking the people of Indianapolis for entertaining the convention so hand­ somely, a North Caroliniadelegate asking Chairman Caffer.v if he remembered the remark made by the Governor of North Carolina to the Governor or South Caro­ lina. This hint produced a motion to ad­ journ, and the motion was carried forth­ with at 4:15 o'clock. Telegraphic Brevities. Norman Allen, known as the "cattle king" of Florida, was ambushed and killed. Police detectives have arrested two young men who are suspected of robbing the branch t of the American National Bank in the Livestock Exchange Build­ ing in Kansas City, Mo. A car. on the Frederick and Middleton Electric Railway jumped the track near Frederick, Md., with 110 people on board. Fortunately no one was killed, but sev­ eral were badly though not fatally hurt. Lightning struck the house of Richard Tunney at Cadillac, Mich., instantly kill­ ing two children and wrecking the house. The children, a boy and girl aged 7 and 10, were sleeping near a chimney. IL H. Jewell, of Mount Hope, Kan., committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun. He placed the muzzle of the gun against his abdomen, leaned over it and pulled the trigger with a .stick. He leaves a widow and three children. A State warrant has been issued for tho arrest of "Paddy" Purtell. the pugilist who vanquished Jimmy Ryan, of Cincin­ nati. He is charged with abandonment of his wife and" baby, who are hi desti­ tute circumstances in Kansas City, Mo. CHINESE EDUCATION. The Standard Has Changed but Little in Iwo Thousand Years. They have no conception of learning as understood in the West--of mathe­ matics, chemistry, geology or kindred sciences, and of universal history. In­ deed, they have a very imperfect knowl­ edge of geographj7. Their curriculum of study embraces the Chinese classics and philosophy (a voluminous compila­ tion, especially holding in eminence the teachings of Confucius), the theory of government, and Chinese poetry anil history. It is the standard fixed two thousand years ago, and has undergone little change in the succeeding cen­ turies. One of our diplomatic representatives tells of a conversation had with one of the most distinguished scholars and highest officers in the empire, in which they canvassed their respective sys­ tems of education; and be reports that nis Chinese friend had never heard of Homer, Virgil or Shakspeare; knew something of Alexander (having crossed the Indus, had a vague knowledge of Caesar and Napoleon,'but none what­ ever of Hannibal, Peter the Great, Wel­ lington or other modern, soldiers; aud lie was ignorant of astronomy, mathe­ matics or the modern sciences., When the American minister expressed sur­ prise at these defects in Chinese educa­ tion, the mandarin replied: "That is vour civilization, aud you learn It; we have ours, and we learn it. For^cen­ turies we r,'Jive gone on satisied* to know what, w .know. Why should we care to know what you know?'" -- Yet it must be conceded that Chinese scholars and officials are usually men of decided intellectual ability, and they cannot be set down a&'uneducated be­ cause they have not J^pwed the cur­ riculum of study marked^but by Euro­ pean civilization. It is $ source of nat­ ural pride that they possess a Ma­ ture and philosophy older than any sim­ ilar learning of the West, and which even at this day are not obsolete, but exercises an elevating moral and intel­ lectual influence' on a vast multitude of the human family. But no one of his race more than LI Hung <!hang recognizes the defects of the national system of education. Largely through his influence, the Em­ peror has established at Peking a col­ lege with a full faculty of foreign pro­ fessors for the instruction of chosen Chinese youths in the European lan­ guages and modern sciences, with a view to training them for the diplomat­ ic service. So he has also established at Tientsin, for the last twenty-five years his vice-regal residence, schools for military, naval and medical educa­ tion, manned by European Instructors; and his example has been followed by other vlceioys.--Century. A FEAST OF LANTERNS. Unique Festival on a Sacred Island in Japan. One drowsy noon the town crier came to the door, clapped two pieces of wood together, and in a long chant besought all people of Miyajima to come to the temple for "speak meeting" at two o'clock that day and for the five suc­ ceeding days, to hear read the official news from the array, in Corea. We sent our agent to listen for us, and our er­ ratic aud only Inudzuka returned breathless, to tell, in excited Japanese, English and jargon, of the victory of the Heijo. We had intended to make a farewell offering to the. temple to se­ cure an illumination as a fitting close to our stay in Arcadia, and here was nn opportunity. In the shortest time Jnudzua was speeding back to the tem­ ple to beseech the high priest to have the thousand oil saucers of the lanterns filled at once, the illumination to begin at dusk, without waiting for the mid­ night high tide. The priests shook their heads ju such an irregularity, such a disergard of an­ cient customs on short notice. "But this is an American matsuri, and in honor pf the Heijo! How can you say you have any custom for such an illu­ mination? And when did you,ever il­ luminate at any tide for a battle won in Corea?" And the high priest said, "SUrely, surely! Yes; for Beikoku (America) and the Heijo we can do It." And the circle of eagle-eyed, excited priests sprang delightedly to begin preparations. „. •.T; . Our joyous sendo was at the temple steps with the sampan as usual before the sunset hour, ami he had not pushed off until lie let us know Jhat the-village was agog at the double, news of victory ahd the honorable illumination. We could see the lay brothers all along shore filling the oil saucers, laying wicks, and pasting fresli papers on the tall stone lamps; and when we sculled back, long after sunset, lights had be­ gun to twinkle under the temple eaves. A lantern came forth and went bobbing along the water-line, stopped aj mo­ ment, and, a second light shone: forth, then a third and a fourth, and so on along shore, as the lamplighter went his way. Soon the whole curving bay from headland to headland was outlined In living lights that gleamed double and wavered in long reflections toward us; and the temple was a great set piece of glowing cave, with the in a uy- jeweled pyramids of votive candles. The spec­ tacle lasted in full splendor for more than an hour, the villagers flocking along shore', trooping through the tem­ ple galleries, and drifting about in boats to watch the splendid spectacle. Then lights dropped out here and there, and the glow of the rising moon made the firmament pale; but even when the shore liue was lost in darkness, Itsuku- shima's inner shrine by the sea was still aglow with vdtive lights. The next morning the village officers called "to thank your spirit" in celebrat­ ing Japan's -victories;-the-high priest sent sacred gift papers filled with rice, and asked for the honorable names in full, that they might be written among the temple's contributors; and when we went to the village tjvery one bowed and made pretty speeches about the American matsuri. Weeks later a Tokio artist wrote in his quaint little idiom that he had heard of my "favorably presenting a great deal of money to the temple, praying for the war, and light­ ed the thousand lamps of Miyajima for the war. 1 seen it in our Japanese news­ papers." Surely never did one obtain so much pleasure and glory by an ex­ penditure of four yen (two dollars in United States gold).--Century.