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BITUMINOUS COAL REGIONS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. •which, in spite of comminuted, com­ pound fractures, dislocations, and such other evils as attend a hunting, man who "comes a cropper," compelled him to placte laite arms around her, and raise 'her head uriffr, her sweet red lips were available ifor kissing purposes, * * * * • ... "My Dear Robert: I was married to your uncle Richard yesterday, and we leave here, for th£ south of France to­ morrow. I did not find what you rep­ resented; in fact, quite the contrary. When I tell you that I have persuaded your ®uncle to increase your allowance I feel sure that you will not regret my signing myself your affectionate aunt, "CICELY MAINWARING." "By Jove!" exclaimed Bob, as he tore the above letter into little pieces, "it's wonderful what a woman can do."-- Chicago Tribune. IilvaniaA I DO believe that my uncle is the most selfish man who ever lived!'* exclaimed Bob Curzon. 'What has he done now, dear?" in- iLBSTHAK fOT&NS PER 3Q-MiLe. REPUBLICAN CLUBS MEET, quired Cicely, who was not unaccus­ tomed to hear condemnatory remarks respecting that gentleman* "Why, in the first place, darling, as you are only too well aware," replied Bob, "he refused his consent to our be­ ing married, on the score of my youth." "Well, dear Bob, Le may have been right there," said Cicely, soothingly. "Twenty is a little young to get mar- Tied,, isn't.it?" - "•Not a bit," answered Bob, impa­ tiently. \ "If a man doesn't know his own mifid at 20 he never *Will." "But you may see some girl whom you will prefer to me," suggested Cicely.: . "Somebody who is better look­ ing, or moro accomplished." "What nonsense!" exclaimed the young man, irritably. "Do you think I'm a boy, to change my mind every five minutes?" "O, no, dear," replied Cicely, caress­ ingly, "but such things have happened, you know, and though it would break my heart to lose you, I would rather you found out you didn't love me be­ fore we "vere married than after­ wards." "But 1 do love you, my own little sweetheart, and always shall, ana we'll get married in spite o: all the old can­ tankerous uncles in Christendom." And asBob spoke he placed his arm around her and drew the young girl's bead down on his broad breast. Robert Curzon was a student in St. George's Hospital, and Cicely was a nurse probationer at the samt?* estab­ lishment, aged respectively 20 and 19. They had fallen in love with one an­ other £ome six months previously, and Bob had at once written home to his uncle, Major Mainwaring, who stopd in loco parentis to him, as he was an or­ phan. There was very little opportunity for making love in the hospital, but the young people were in the habit of meet­ ing in the park whenever circum­ stances permitted, and it was on a se­ cluded seat that the conversation we have recorded took place. After a short interval, devoted to •what the novelists of a previous gen­ eration were in the habit of calling "tender passages," Cicely drew herself gently away from her lover's embrace, and putting her hat as straight as the absence of a looking-glass would per­ mit, inquired: "What is this fresh news from your ogre of an uncle, dear?" "Why, 1 heard the other day," re­ sponded Bob, "that he was dangerously 111, had a fall while hunting, and so I thought it would be a splendid oppor­ tunity while he was weak and ill to get his consent to our being married; an dhere is the communication whicn I received this morning in reply." , And pulling a letter out of his pocket, Bob extracted the contents from the envelope, and read the following gij epistle: \ • "Honored Sir--I has been derected by youre uncle, Major Mainwaring, to 1 . tmswer your letter He tells me to '-•» ' gay as how he can't write himself, but (he will se you, something as I don't lite to put on paper, first, afore he lets you marry afore youre twenty-five. He also ses as how you bein mixed up in It like, ort to no Were to get him a good nerse, and your to send him down can manege him. I also sends cheq as de- sTre3,,and remain, youre obedent ser­ vant, JABEZ BUNGER." "He's the old man's valet and facto­ tum," explained Bob, as he finished reading the letter. "And now, don't you think that it is the most selfish lot­ tery you've ever heard?" "Well, dear, I think you ought to make allowances " "Look uere, Cicely," interrupted Boo, know this man, and you don't. I'm the son of his favorite sister, and the only relation he has in the world; he's an old man, who can't expect to live much longer, who's had lots of fun in 'his day; been in the army in India, and a., that sort of thing, you know, and . he--er--er--behaves in this sort of way. I consicrer th. . it's disgraceful. you really think it will be of any use?" "I shouldn't have si. jgested it unless 1 did." > i "I must say that I think: it will be labor in vain; but still, if you wish to t-- your hand at diplomacy, I suppose I must consent." " "There's a sensible darling!" cried Cicely, putting her arms round his neek^ and kissing him. <kAnd now I will show you what a. woman can do." * * • ' . •'>... * Major Mainwaring was what is known as a confirmed bachelor. When Jabez introduced the young nurse, who had come to him on the recommenda­ tion of his nephew, his first, muttered remark was: "I hope to ^goodness she won't start tidying things up." > .<•'-• -. v, Only one who, has been left to the tender mercies of a soldier servant for nearly a week can imagine the differ­ ence which a-couple,of days made, not only in the Major's room, but in the Major, and nobody was more surprised than that gentleman himself when he found how mucin "the woman's trick*," as he somewhat contemptuously ex­ pressed it, added to his comfort. Cicely had her surprise also, for in­ stead of a worn-out, decrepit old man, such as she had expected to find her lover's uncle, she discovered that he was a handsome man in the prime of life, and though he was evidently suf­ fering intense pain from his fractures and contusions, yet he bore it nearly as uncomplainingly as a woman would have done. The weeks slowly glided away, and the Major gradually grew stronger. One morning he said in an apologetic voice: "1 am going to ask you to to do me a favor, Cicely." "Certainly, Major," responded Cicely, with the sunny smile that made her invaluable as a nurse. "What is it'."' "Why, I want you to write a letter for me to a scapegrace nephew of mine. The truth is, this fellow has been trad­ ing on the fact that he is my only liv­ ing relative ever since he knew the value of the relationship, and at last I think the time has arrived when I ought to put down my foot." "What has he done, then?" inquired Cicely, endeavoring to conceal the agi­ tation which she felt. "The young vagabond is a medical student at St. George's; but. of course, you are aware of that, as he sent you down here--the only good turn he has even done me in his life, by-the-bye-- and I have always made him a gener­ ous allowance. In addition to this, I have paid his debts twice. And now he writes to say that unless he has a certain sum by to-morrow morning to pay his 'debts of honor,' as he terms them, he will be ruined for life. Now, I have made up my mind not to let him have any more money beyond his in­ come, and I want you to write and tell him that as he has broken his word of honor, when he promised me on the last occasion not to gamble again, I must decline to have anything to do with his debts of honor." Cicely took down the address and made notes of what she had to write; but, strange to say, almost immediate­ ly afterwards she met with an acci­ dent and ran a pin into her thumb in such a way as to prevent her holding a pen, and the communication had to be written by Jabez after all. A few days after this Cicely had been reading to him, when the Major, after a short interval of silence, ex­ claimed: "The doctor says, I may get up to­ morrow, Cicely,> and that has made me think." "What have you been thinking about?" demurely asked the pretty nurse. > "I have been wondering what on earth I shall do when you leave me and go back to town." "Just what you did before1 T caiiiet I suppose," replied the young lad£,,; in­ tently regarding the binding of the book she was holding in her lap. "No, I can never do that," said the Major. "When I was a young man, Cicely, I was very ,fond of a girl; in fact, we were going to be married, but the week' before she was to have bc- Frrst Sapphire Found in Idaho. An Idaho miner brought a stone to the Miner's bureau which was pro­ nounced a sapphire of the purest wtfter and the largest ever sfcen. The gem was nearly a cube, l>eihg about .one and one-half inches thick, oae and one- half inches wide, and two inches long. It was much water worn, showing plainly the pebbly conformation grad­ ually assumed by gems found in the beds of mountain torrents, the edges being very much rounded. This is the first sapphire of any size discovered in Idaho, They are frequently found In Montana, and some fine stones have come from there. The owner of this stone is operating placer mines in Idaho, and the stone was found in the tailings and preserved on account of its bright blue color. News of the find reached .New; York and an agent of Tiffany after examining the stone, of­ fered $3,500 for it. The owner decided tha>t If it was worth that in the rough it was probably worth much more, and is now on his way to London, where he expects to realize its full value. The stone is almost perfect, the only blemish being a fracture oax one side extending less than one-eighth of an inch into the stone. Mr. Taylor, who has a long experience In handling gems, says that in his opinion It is the largest known sapphire in the world, the weight being 208 carats. Sap­ phires are valuable according toc their purity, perfectly clear gems bringing high prices, the price, like that of diamonds, being increased per carat in proportion to the weight of the stone.-- Denver Republican. A Tough Job. It took three hours to kill a vicious elephant in the vicinity of Liverpool, recently, and in assisting to bring about this result a medical gentleman almost succeeded in compassing his own destruction. "Charles II." was the name of the elephant. Two Liver­ pool physicians were appointed ex­ ecutioners. They fed the beast on aconite concealed In carrots and ar­ senic sprinkled on buns, which it swal­ lowed pleasantly and asked for more. Then one medical gentleman conceived the idea of loading a syringe with prustic acid, inducing the elephant to open its mouth, and squirting the poi­ son down its throat. Cliarjes II. con­ sidered this great sport, but the doc­ tor who was operating the syringe, by reason of his Interest in the experi­ ment n.omentarily forgot the deadly properties of prussic acid, inhaled the fum^s, and fell unconscious. The other physician saved his colleague's life with great difficulty, the elephant looking on with deep sympathy. How­ ever. after Charles II. had taken enough poison to kill two thousand men, according to the doctors, and three hours had passed since the first dose, he suddenly toppled over and expired quietly. Like the other Charles II., he had been an uncon­ scionable time dying. I-v' ^as turn; why can't he let i come my wife she: rah- away with a me have mine?" , "Bob, I've got an idea," exclaimed Cicely, suddenly turning round and taking his hand in hers as she spoke. t'Let us have it, my dear," answered Bob, in thai patronizing manner which /very young men are fond of assuming ' in their dealings with the opposite sex. '\t may suggest something, don't you know." "My idea. Bob, is this: Your uncle wants a nurse; let me go down and at­ tend him, and when I've restored him to health and he is completely conval­ escent, I can tell him who I am." "What would be the good of that?" „ asked Bob. "Why, of course, dear, he would be ,x> qjiiteful that he would at once give his Consent to our being married." "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Bob. "O, you little goose! you don't know my Uncle Richard." o "You are unkind. Bob," said Cicely, crawing herself away from him. "Don't be cross, little one, I couldn't * -lp laughing, 'pon my word, I could­ n't." "But I've read of such tilings, Bob." "Oh, yes, I dare say, in novels." • % "\v sll, iney do take place in real . life." "Sometimes, p'r'aps, but " "Don't you think I'm a good enough nurse, then?" V "My dear Cicely, you are the best nurse in the hospital--for a probation- r " Interrupted Bob, perceiving that^ :che conversation was taking a wrong turn. "Every one acknowledges that." . "Then why won't you let me go down anj. see what I can do?" "Well, my dear, I don't mind, of course." replied Bob, slowly, "but do v V/WM >%: r. •r} •' . • • ".. • Only Six Survivors. Of the crowd of members of Parlia­ ment who, on Nov. 20, 1837, thronged the bar of the House of Lords to catch a glimpse of the girl Queen opening her first Parliament, only six are living at this day. This fact, standing alone, marks the unparalleled length of Queen v ictoria's reign. The half dozen sur­ vivors are Mr. Leader, who represented Victoria in the first Parliament of Vic­ toria; Mr. Hurst, who represented Hor- sLam; Wentworth Fitzwilliam, of Mal- ton, now Earl Fitzwilliam; Sir Thomas Acland, of West Sumerset, whose fam­ ily is still represented in the House of Commons of to-day by the ex-vice pres­ ident of the council; Mr. Vlllieri, now, as then, representing Wolverhampton, and Mr. Gladstone, the rarest relic of a turbulent political past, and now in re­ tirement from public life. Of her first ministers not one is alive. friend of mine, a lieutenant in the same regiment as myself. Since then I have had a somewhat ftad opinion of wom­ en, and you must acknowledge with reason, but you have altered all that,, Cicely." * ' "How--er--in what way, Major Main­ waring?" faltered Cicely,' growing rap­ idly "red as a rose." "Why, I c,an see that though there are bad women in the world, there are also good ones, and the man who man­ ages to get hold of a good one for his wife, cannot obtain a greater treasure, and I'm going to,ask^ou if you will be my treasure?" „• "But, Major Mainwaring, I am only a nurse--a hospital nurse--what will your friends say 'iV # "My dearest girl, ypp hav^ saved my life, and in my opinioh you'possess all the graces and virtues that a woman ought to have. If I many a girl, I do it to consult my;own Happiness, not that of my friends. I know I am twice y o u r a g e , b u t i n s p i t e o f t h a t , l a m a young man still; now say, dear, will you marry me?" "Are you sure you love me?" asked Cicely, in a low voice. "That you are not asking me to be your wife out of gratitude?" "Cicely!" cried the Major;. "I cannot take you in my arms, as you well know, or I shall upset this compound fracture, but eome'here! come here at once, and look in my eyes. Now do |ou think I love you, and will you be my wife?" Cicely beheld such a" fire of love in those honest brown eyes that she felt compelled to hide her own, but as she endeavored to conceal her blushing face, he heard her whisper something Tenth Annual Meeting: ofl^tbe League Held in l>etrolt. • The tenth auuual convention of the Na­ tional League of Republican Clubs open­ ed its session Tuesday morning in the Au­ ditorium at Detroit. The building was brilliantly decorated with bunting and portraits of McKinley, Harrison, Lincoln and Washington. The seats in the hall were divided into sectious for the different States. Ohio, Missouri, Vermont, Wyom­ ing, New Hampshire, California, Michi­ gan, New York, Wisconsin, Maryland and Florida occupiefi the central section; Indiana, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Kan­ sas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and Connecticut were grouped on the left, and Illinois, Iowa, North and South Da­ kota, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Minnesota, Kentucky, Texas, Lou­ isiana, Tennessee, 'East and West Vir­ ginia and Alabama on the right. There were fully 1,500 delegates pres­ ent, and twice as many spectators, which included the Tippecanoe Club of Cleve­ land and the McKinley Club of Dayton, Ohio. President Woodmansee called the con­ vention to order at 10:30 o'clock. In his annual address he upheld a protective tar­ iff, the gold standard, the unfurling of the American flag over Hawaii, and the Cuban strife for independence. He re­ ferred to the fact that the league was free from debt and on a splendid basis. Gov. Pingree of Michigan and Col. Duffield of Detroit clashed in their speeches of welcome. Gov. Pingree made a speech, giving corporations a rap, and suggested that the convention do some­ thing to help the coal miners on strike. Col. Duffield, who followed, said that men who tried to foment strife between cap­ ital and labor were dangerous. The speech of welcome delivered by President Dingley in behalf of the Michi­ gan State League introduced to the con­ vention the sou of the framer of the new tariff bill. Appointment of committees, reports of officers end routine work occupied the morning session. The afternoon was de­ voted largely to State caucuses. At the mass meeting Tuesday night the speakers were Charles Emory Smith of Philadelphia, Webster Davis of Kansas City, Mo., John R. Tanner of Illinois, ex- United States Senator Brown of Utah and George Barnes of Oklahoma. gun, the xoofless reconcentrados are re­ ported dying daily, in this little Santa Clara outpost, their bodies being removed .by night and burned on the village out­ skirts. In the Santa Clara village of Jicoteau hunger is so great among the floating re- concentrado population that mothers are being accused of strangling their half- grown children to hush their cries for bread find stop their sufferings. At Viegas de Palma 1,000 reconcentra­ dos are huddled in the local plaza, under a tropical sun, without any shelter what­ ever, the women and children sleeping upon the bare ground and exposed to drenching rains. Each day a dead cart passes and Jtakes eight to ten victims of smallpox, fever or starvation away to the cemetery. , BIMETALLIC MISSION A FAILURE Americans Said to Have Made Little Headway in Unrope. -f'A dispatch to the New York World from London says that the. bimetallic commission is one of absolute failure. The general impression among those in a po­ sition to know is that the reports of suc­ cess in France have been circulated in order to xeconcile the American public to the expenditure of large sums of money without result. The principal Paris newspapers have referred to the commission in terms which, while conforming to the rules of artificial Gallic courtesy, have been not far from ridicule. Le Temps calls at­ tention to the fact that while France ob­ jects to spending the money necessary to improve her navy, the United States has money enough to spend uselessly on a commission intrusted with an impossible mission and costing the taxpayers $500,- 000. M. Hanotaux himself is authority for the statement that the mission absolutely failed and could not be accomplished by anyone. He speaks highly of the mem­ bers of the commission personally, but re­ fuses to take the bimetallic scheme seri­ ously. He smiles at the statement that France would stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States in efforts to bring about international bimetallism. NOTED BALL PLAYER. Frogs as Soldiers. Don't Imagine these frogs dressed up in red coats, with swords and pistols, but simply as an army going out to fight. "The frog plays the part of a soldier in Iceland," says a traveler from that country, "but, of course, it had to be taken there, as Iceland had neither rep­ tiles nor toads. The frogs fight the mosquitoes. In some parts of Iceland, especially round the larger lakes, the mosquitoes and flies have become so much of a plague that people living around myvath (mosquito water) are obliged, while working in the fields, to protect their hands ana faces by gloves, veils, or masks." An English physician devised the clever plan of importing the frogs. As soon as these little croakers got into the country, the mosquitoes began to di­ minish. Lamp Chimneys. A German firm makes a lamp In which there Is a bulb at the upper In­ stead of the lower part, and in which the upper rim is cut obliquely. This It is said, makes it much safer to blow a lamp out, and the flame is taller and steadier, so that the light Is Improved The greater safety In blowing out will of course depend upon the blower blowing from the high part of the slanting top. To Keep Moths Away, Try putting tansy leaves in the win­ ter blankets when packing them away. In former generations moth balls were not known, but tansy leaves were free ly sprinkled among the furs, 1>lankets and woolen clothing put out of harm' way during the summer months, and .such things always came out fresh and sweet la the falL--New York Sun. A PLAGUE OF HEAT. Recent Torrid Spell Has Been as Bad as a Visitation of Cholera. The heated term through which the country has just passed has been as de­ structive of life as a visitation of the cholera or yellow fever might have been. The features which have made it excep­ tional are the large extent of country affected, its long continuance without in­ terruption and the fact that the nights have been almost as hot as the days. Al­ most every summer the temperature gets up into the nineties in some localities, and may remain there for two or three days with partial relief at night. In the re­ cent case the whole Mississippi valley was affected and the high temperature continued without interruption for more than a week, and with very little relief at night. These conditions combined to in­ crease the number of fatalities. Of these there have been several hundred reported in the news columns. Cincinnati alone reports sixty deaths from sunstroke dur­ ing seven days. But probably not more than i0 per cent of the cases get into the newspapers. The reports come only fronn the cities and towns where there is tele­ graphic communication and a news re-' porter. There are hundreds of small; towns and villages which have made no reports, and the rural districts have not been heard from at all. Throughout a large extent of country harvesting has been going on, and while farmers, as a class, are not as liable to be prostrated by heat as dwellers in cities, many of them must have succumbed to jthe torrid heat of the last week. The population of the farming districts greatly outnumbers, in the aggregate, that of the cities and towns, and must have furnished its pro­ portion of fatalities. To all these must be added the deaths of very aged persons and of infants, which, though reported under other causes, were due as directly to the heat as if'they had occurred from Sunstroke. So it is evident the total num­ ber of deaths attributable directly to the heat must have amounted to many thou sands. It was a veritable plague of heat. Fred Pfeffer Leaves the Chicago Team for All '1 ime. In the lelease of Fred Pfeffer the Chi­ cago ball team loses one of its most note­ worthy characters and one of the best players v. ho ever wore a Chicago uniform. During the days when the game was young r.nd the Chicagos had things their own way, Pfeffer was one of the members of the famous 'Stonewall Infield," and TURKEY'S CRUELTY IS MERCY Compared to the Savage Sway of Butcher Weyler in Cuba. Revolution within revolution has brok­ en out in unfortunate Cuba. In Matanzas a few days since over 2,000 reconcentra­ dos, or people who had been forced by Weyler to abandon their homes in the country and live in*fortified towns, where they are dying of starvation and disease, paraded the streets demanding bread Many houses were looted before the au tliorities could quell the unfortunate peo­ ple. From various parts of the island horri ble reports of the sufferings of the people are being received. At the town of Guines, in Havana province, over 1,500 deaths have occurred within six weeks and nine-tenths of the victims were re concentrados, native Cubans, driven in from their estates by Weyler's bands to starve by degrees within Spanish lines. From Madruga upward of 100 deaths per week are reported among local recon centrados. Whole families have sue Cumbed, one by one, to starvation or epi dernic disease. A newspaper says that in the neighbor ing Santa Clara town of Zulueta, among the local reconcentrados starving in the streets, there are hundreds of native Cu ban women and children in a perfectly nude state. The rainy season having be- FRED PFEFFER. with the exception of Anson he is the last of 4ihe ineiv forming that combination to serve oil the tqam. It is not known . heather ,he, wjill .seek another position in lie,Nationji" dne of'the leaders ljil JJeague or not. ie leaders in the Brotherhood movement and felt over its failure., /• Pfeffer was Brotherhood much disappointed DECIDE TO TRY PRAYER. THOUGHT THE BEAR A CALF, AdTentnre that Might Have Had. a Very Unpleasant Kndinsr. "W^en I was at college,'? said our host of the evening, "I thought I knew everything, but time changed my florid opinion of myself, and it does me good to recall some of the occasions when I was tumbled down without much cere­ mony from my high altitude. "One of those was when I was spending my vacation at "home with a college mate who was as premature as myself. We were in. that dreadful ini­ tiatory state when we addressed each other in the dead languages and made life a burden to everybody by the long words of our colloquies. "My father generously placed a cou­ ple of horses at our disposal, perhaps in the hope that we would break our foolish ngeks, and one evening when we mounted after sunset for our even­ ing ride, he asked us to look up a stray calf which had escaped from a pasture near the house. , " 'It's a black critter,' said my fath­ er, 'and as frisky as. they make 'em. You can jest run him in an' hot give him time to get the turn on you, an' I'll bo down to. open an' shet the gate.' "We had our ride, and we found the calf, By that time it was dark--not Egyptian darkness, but the dusk, of a starlit-summer sky. The calf was browsing on the edge of a lonely piece of woods and at first paid no attention, to our attempts to start it "homeward. Our horses shied at the animal, and it was rall we could do to manage them. My friend suggested that one of us dis­ mount and drive the 'bovine.' " 'Excuse me,' I answered, 'I never had any love for farm amusements,/of which driving unwieldy calves is the least enticing. If we can't drive Mr." Calf with our present force we'll leave him in the lurch. I am strongly inclin­ ed to do that as it is.' "'Don't be disagreeable, Tom,' said my friend, 'it's the first favor the gov­ ernor has asked of us. Let him see that we mean well.' "With that he whipped up his horse and I followed suit; so the calf had to move on or biet^ian oyer, and snorting indignantly he trotted on ahead, but with so many diversions after sweet spots of clover and other delicacies that we thought we had an all-night job. "At last we sighted the gate, and as we reached It We closed up on the calf in such a way that we run him through it and past the old man before he had a chance for one of his clumsy double and twisted jumps in another and op­ posite direction. "But what was our surprise to see the governor take to his heels with the agility of a boy and go sprinting up the lane to the house like a prize run­ ner, getting inside of the porch and pulling the door closed after him. " 'Who is going to put the calf in the pasture?' I shouted after him. " 'Calf!' he roared out of the porch window, 'calf, you infern-il fool--that's a big bleck bear, and he'll chew you into sausage meat if you stay out there!' "It was a fact, and the bear story getting out, we college boys got such a roasting that we shortened our va­ cation and went back to the halls of learning, where they didn't know any better than we the difference between a bear and a calf."--Chicago Times- Herald. Members of the W. C. T U. Mnst Raise $250,000 by January. The efficacy of prayer is to be tried by the Woman's Christian Temperance Un­ ion in the matter of raising the $250,000 necessary to clear the Woman's Temple in Chicago from debt. Should the debt not be paid before Jan­ uary next the building, it is said, will pass into the hands of Marshall Field. The amount owed is about $300,000, and of this Mr. Field has promised to give $50,- 000 if payment is made before the first of the year. Prayer meetings have bpen called. • Sparks from the Wires.. Charles E. Davis, a laborer of Deo Moines, was drowned in the Raccoon riv­ er. It is thought to be purely accidental. The Bank of Spain at Madrid has greatly inflated its note circulation, which is now said to equal 1,900,000,000 pesetas. Nicaragua objects to Costa Rica's re­ cent decree allowing free imports, and war is threatened between the two coun­ tries. W" • A dispatch to the London Times from the Cape says that the native outbreak in Gliazilaud is assuming alarming propor­ tions. The police of Russia are endeavoring to break up a sect who regard suicide by starvation as the highest form of religious devotion. The Portuguese Government denies the existence of any syndicate of Boers and Germans formed for the purchase of Del- agoa Bay. A number of cities contested at Minne­ apolis for the next national meeting of the Elks. New Orleans won, with Louis­ ville second. Swindlers are going through the hlack belt imposing on ignorant negroes by in­ forming them that Congress has passed a law pensioning all ex-slaves and collect* ing fees for their enrollment. " The " Gharni" of Serpents. Any popular so-called prejudice, if long continued, probably is founded up- cn some matter of fact, although this may not have been demonstrated, writes Dr. Henry Lee, in the London Lancet. That some animals have the power of paralyzing others which they prey upon is a matter of direct observa­ tion. A rabbit will remain perfectly motionless in the presence of a stoat and without moving will allow a hole to be made through the skull at the back of the head. We may suppose that the power of feeling, as of motion, is for the time gone. Dr. Livingstone felt no pain when seized by a tiger. I have seen a mouse remain perfectly motionless under the gaze of a cat. When excited the cat's pupils become dilated. On one occasion in the even­ ing I saw a cat in an excited state re­ tire to a shady place where it could no longer be seen, but presently I saw two mall red globes fixed upon me. I once saw the same, less defined, in the eyes of a kitten, but it is very difficult to get their eyes fixed when near. A general officer who lias seen long service in India informed me that on one occasion a serpent had got into a house and taken refuge in a cellar. Be­ ing a soldier it was suggested that he was the proper person to dislodge the intruder. He took a spear and looked through a hole in the wall of the cellar, but saw no serpent. Presently two small red globes were fixed upon him. These he supposed to lie the serpent's eyes and thrust his spear, as he thought, between them. The spear caught the serpent just behind the head and killed it. If You Lilce to Be Popular. Don't find fault. Don't contradict people, even if you're sure you are right. Don't be inquisitive about the affairs of even your most intimate friend. Don't underrate anything becau.j you don't possess it„ Don't believe that everybody etse in the world is happier than you. Don't conclude that you have never had any opportunities in your life. Don't believe all the evil you hear. Don't repeat gossip, even if it does in. terest. a crowd. Don't go untidy on the plea that ev erybody knows you. Dont be rude to your inferiors in so- cial position. Don't over or under dress. Doii't express a positive opinion un­ less you perfectly understand what you are talking about. Don't jeer at anybody's religious be­ lief. '. Canadians to Invade Africa. It is said that a Canadian bicycle maker is figuring with a team of men to go over to Africa next winter. South Africa has no proi'^ssibnafs, but lias a number of racetracks that are said to be good. This team would be well re ceived, so it is reported, and would be given the best of everything, includ ipg large purses for the races. A car load of potatoes shipped from the Mansfield, Pa., station a few days ago netted th« farmers 12 cents bushel. 'Twas Always So. Stop, busy life! I do not wish to toil, I do not wish for time in which to think; I want to dream--afar from all turmoil, To dream and from cave founts to drii'k. Twas always so; when just in youth's • first morn, I craved not riches nor a place of fame; No pulse was ever in my full heart born, By any promise of a storied name. A rose-girt cloud against a purple sky, A far blue haze above a verdured hill, A humming bee, a bending iiiy nigh, The low-toned cadence of a sleepy rill. * • • •- '< -s '• , "•. •, A hand in mine, a gentle voice to say Some kindly word, mayhap a word o? , .praise, .•... ^.:.K . '• Were more to me than all-the world's - • wide way, . , •• < • ."-V Than all the pleasure of its changing: maze. .J.'f;"" " '&•' :r ': *Twas always so, when met a joyous throng, •/' • ; .-.••if/! • My thoughts went wandering to the sunlit sea; V;;:: When music swelled I heard above the song A wild bird trilling in a leaf-hung tree. Twas always so; I took my burdens up And shirked no duty which my hands did find; And yet--and yet, the meager bite or sup, Allays no hunger of the heart or mind. Stop, busy life! your wheels no lorger , turn With sordid grind--O give me leave to As some tired child, whose feet with travel burn, Let nature hold me to her tender breast --Rosa Pearle. The Long, Hard Hill. They were standing in the sunlight Of the summer time of life; She was still without a husband, He was waiting for a wife. And her cheeks were rich and rosy And her lips wfcre luscious red, So he pressed her dimpled fingers As he looked at her and Baid, As they stood there in the heather Whera the road had crossed the rill: May we not fare together Up thi3 long, hard hill?" Now her hand began to tremble And her eyes were rull of tears As she trained them on the road that Wound away among the years; But 8h<i had no voice «o answer Him; she oould not understand. For the future lay before her Like a far-off fairy land. There was sunlight on the heather, There was music in the rill, And they went away together Up the long, hard hill. Oftentimes the way was sunny, Other times 'twas fuil of lures, But the love that had come to them Was the true love that endures. Though the bonny brow is wrinkled, Though the raven lock be gray,. Yet the road might have been rougher Had she gone the ether way. Now the frost is on the heather And the snow is on the rill, And they're coasting down the short Sld« Of the long, hard hill. --Cy Warman, in New York Sun. Love's Passing. Underneath the hawthorn tree, With its boughs all pink with dawn, Aloft in its nest, from a lark's brows breast, -v ..... We learned that love was born. •- Underneath the white birch tree, When the spring felt, new and strange, Green leaves quivering, sunlight shiver­ ing. , .^y 'y • We guessed that hearts would change v & Underneath the apple tree, Love's pale petals softly flying, Our eyes were wet as i hey sadly met, For we knew that love lay dying. Underneath the maple tree, With the sunset caught in a whirl of leaves, , - i V • * " > Came the cry of a thrush through the evening hush - ^ •: Mourning for love mid the sheaves. ' •' V i Vs I - • : a v ' r>" INT • Underneath the willow tree, That trails its boughs in the sighing stream, I sit here alone and the branches moan Of a love that's flbwn like a dream. --Boston Transcript. "All Masks Off." "The twelve of life's deep midnight" ring* For us the fatal hour. Yes; we must hear the word it brings From the Almighty pow'r, "All masks off." For good or bad, or right or wrong, We Keep our masks in place, Till we are forced among the throng His trumpet call to face, " "All masks off." We sing, we dance, we love, we hate. We realize no fear Of failure of our joys; too late Perchance, O God, we hear, "All masks off." We sin, repent, relapse, amend, In anguish look above; - ; v £ But he who made us is our friend. Our Lord, and speaks in love, v "All masks off." Still, "as ye sow, so shall ye reap," Ah! God grant we'll rejoice R In record clear, when, stern and deep, We hear Jehovah's voice, 1 "All masks off." Sobn and Smiles and Faith. '• I sob--and feel that life's, deep sorrow Is more than I can bear; I fear and falter lest to-morrow Holds more than just my.share. I smile--and think that life's dark meanr ing - Seen.s not so dark to-day; I hope, and hasten to the gleaning Of flowers on my way. I trust--and know that life's great trials Are great because I doubt; I feel and find that they are dials TO point God's wisdom out. '-New York Tribune.