Evening Star Newspaper, September 21, 1895, Page 16

16 —— MAKING OF PAPER Tateresting Processes as Witnessed by a Visitor. AN EVERY-DAY ARTICLE OF USE Evolution of a Sheet of Paper From a Soiled Rag. USE OF WOOD PULP Written Exciusively for The Evening Star. HE METHODS EM- I ployed in the manu- facture of articles in such common use as paper are very apt to be overlooked by the majority of people or accepted without question as an uncx- olained process whereby an indis- pensable article is made and placed upon the market. The man- ufacture of paper is one of the most !mportant industries in the United States, and the method fellowed is one of interest. It was a most prosaic and unromantic re- gion of worn-out, discarded stuff into which I stepped on my first trip, when the “rag room” was thrown open for inspection, clut- tered with all sorts of material—waste from mills and factories, w:th everything that had The First Dusting. been swept up with It, pieces of bobbins and quilts, iron, wood and rubbish in general in the most chaotic confusion. The first thing to be done with this mass was to submit it to a tearing and whirling Process in a revolving machine called a “duster,” where an immense cylinder set with spikes like harrow teeth gave the in- congruous bulk a vigorous.shaking up, dur- ing which the wood and metal, with occa- sional buttons, came rattling out on the floor like a small hail storm, while the rags were thrown over into a room beyond, where they were gathered up and carried into the sorting room. Here, with their heads tied up in ker- chiefs, were a score of women and girls— standing at wooden sinks—each one sur- rounded by a number of barrels into which she sorted the stuff, chips into one, old Paper into another, and so on. After this sorting is over, the rags are thrown into a cutter, an oddly constructed machine with sharp teeth set in rows to catch and cut the bits of stuff that are fed into it. Another machine cuts them still finer, and then they are passed through a second “duster,” which sets the dust flying again. Next comes the prepa- ration for cleansing with Ime water. Thq rags are pitched and crammed down a tunnel in the floor, which proved, on ex- amination, to be an immense iron cylinder like a gigantic barrel—more than the height of a man in diameter—and three times that lergth. There were pended near the ceiling, called “rotary bleachers," which hold a ton each, and every night at 5 o'clock are filled with rags, the lime water put in, and the whole left to boil all night. When, the rags are dcne, workmen come with long-handled im- plements and hook them out, and moun- tains of sopping, cooked rags loom up in the cave-like piace. The bleaching room came next in order, end up to it the lime-cleaned rags are con- veyed In little cara, the full ones going up through the trapdoor by a broad band, and the empty ones coming down by a narrow one. Several tanks—huge enough to he bath tubs for the Titans—were ready to receive them, and men stood waiting with horrible- looking torgs to clutch and toss them in. In each vat is a washing engine, which keeps a stream of clean water running continuously through, while the foul water goes pouring out through a great pipe. A screen of fine wire keeps the stock from washing away, and far in is machinery that grirds the rags, and sets of zigzag knives, which tear them without hurting the fiber, and there they are ground, dis- membered and tormented for five or more hours, according to the degree of dirt and oiliness when they are put in. Then the water is let off, a curlous Ittle trap wh'ch catches the buttons that haye managed to accompany the rags so far on thcir way to being paper, is opened, the buttons scraped two of them sus- The Thrasher. down toward their final place of deposit in the river, and the chloride of lime and alum are next in order. fter the bleaching powders are In, the whole mass begins to churn into foam, and ig kept in this condition for an hour, the alum shining like a silver crust on top of the drifts. The alr is full of the keen steam f it, making one’s nose tingle and convey- 3 the sense of a grand, purifying day. y this time, between lime water, chlo- Fide of lime and alum, with sometimes oll ef vitriel, besides perpetual water and THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. ceaseless rinsings, the paper pulp is white as snow. Odor or color could never sur- vive such heroic treatment, and there has been nothing but winnowing, grinding, pounding and squeezing from first to last. But through it all the fiber has remained intact. As it comes out of the bleaching In the Bleaching Room. tubs and is niled in snowy heans on the litle cars, it looks like cotton batting wrung into bits. The pulp looks pure white, but if it was | given no tint the paper would naturally be \ of a yellowish cast. So it is blued very much as a lawndress blues her clothes. They use for this process ultramarine, and occasionally something which gives a red- dish cast. In other mills various kinds of dye are used. But before the tinting there must ke a final thorough rinsing to re- move the chloride and alum, which would otherwise “ the color.” So in a final set of tubs the much vexed and beaten pulp is put through another running wa- ter course of treatment, then a man dishes in the blue fluid, and its lovely whiteness is gone. There also comes in another element in this last room before the pulp begins to teke the form of paper. The mill I visited was manufacturing almost exclusively Peper jo be used for newspapers. For this more or less wood pulp is used, and it is in this room that it is incorporated with the rag pulp. The woods used are spruce and poplar, the first being the stronger and the latter the whiter of the two. It is Prepared in mills devoted especially to that branch of paper manufacture, and brought in large sheets ready for use. A Iran tears one of these sheets into frag- ments and throws them into the tub of pulp. The suction draws them swiftly within the power of the machine, which gcon reduces them to a mush and mixes them thoroughly with the other, the com- bination of the two presenting the appear- ance of a munificent dessert of floating island—pale gold tinted islands on a frothy white sea. a And now the protracted ordeal is nearly at an erd, and the thin mush—which is a great deal of water thickened with what is to be paper—is conveyed to another long room by means of a complex arrangement of bunds and wheels, of whirling, sliding things, the very sight of which dazes the senses of one who does not understand Shaving Blocks. their workings. Here the pulp is shaken as in a sieve, strained as in an endless milk strainer, and then pressed and compelled into a narrow passageway, where absorp- tion takes place. It seems to be going over a dam and along a glassy-looking roadway like a fiume; now you see it plainly, the next instant it disappears; then it looks substanceless, and before one knows how it can have happened it is going first over one hot cylinder and then over another, and if one follows on he will scon come to an endless web of paper being wound smok- ing hot on a huge roller. Finally it is reeled and measured off, sheathed in strong coverings, labeled and expressed to newspaper and printing es- tablishments. Not less interesting was the pulp mill, where the wood. pulp is prepared. The place, with its piles of logs, and spout high in air, down which they were slid to the dumping ground, suggested a saw mill. In the interior logs of spruce—fresh enough from the forest to be full of the fragrant rosin—vwere ready in four-foot piles. These were swiftly sawed into short pieces by two men, one who fed and one who held the wood against the dazzling, whirling steel. At another machine the bark was taken off, and a third—the guillotine—came down with terrible certainty and cleft it in_ billets as the operator presented it. These were thrown into machines con- taining grindstones of tremendous power, Cutting Wood Pulp. and when next I saw it what had but a moment before been a segment of a tree had been transformed into cream-colored pulp. Then it was put through another marvelously constructed machine, and, lo! thick blankets a yard square, exquisite in a and ready to be, carried to the paper mill. ——— Two Kansas Beverages. From the Kansas City Journal. If an Abilene paper correctly reports the testimony given last week in a whisky trial before District Judge- Humphrey a new drink has been born in Kansas. A wit- ness upon the stand gave testimony as contained in the following cross-examina- tion: “What did you drink?” was asked. “Hop tea.” “What was it like?” “Hop tea.” “Did you ever drink beer?” “No, sir.” “Don’t know what it is Hke?” “No, sir.” “Have you drank anything that resem- went on the county attorney, at is pilliwink like?” “It is like hop tea,’’ was the answer. And ail the attorney could further get out of that witness was the statement that pilliwink tasted like hop tea and hop tea tasted like pilliwink. ee Only His Autograph. From the Boston Traveler. “Charles Henderson was smart.” “How?” “Why, just before his rich uncle died he called the young fellow to him and told him he had decided to leave him nothing but his autograph.” “Yes?” “And Charlie said, ‘All right,’ and then drew up a check for $100,000, and told the old man to pat the autograph on it. It pleased the old man so much that he it $200,000.’ NOVELTIES IN GLASS Slippers aud Spun Cloth, Billiard Tables and Coffins, INGENIOUS AND NOVEL USES Mouse Traps of Glass and Houses Built of Glass Bricks. FISH BAIT AND PEARLS Written for The Evening Star. Tr Is AN IN- ventor who is known at the patent office as the glass man. During the last few years he has ob- tained patents for a surprising number of “devices in glass. Among these is a glass coffin, which is guatanteed proof against decay and rats. So long as no deliberate attempt is made to smash it, it ought to last for- ever. Another contrivance is a staircase made wholly of glass, steps, landings and newel post being all of that material. Yet another is a glass barrel. But perhaps the most remarkable invention of the glass man is a billiard table of glass. The day may yet arrive when people will live in glass houses. A patent has been s cured by another inventor for glass bricks of a peculiar pattern. ‘ihe material of which they are composed being a first-rate non-conductor, these bricks will keep the cold out of a dwelling built of them, while admitting the light. It is claimed that they will exclude noise, being hollow. Further- more, the inmates of a glass house need rot be afraid of being under too close Qh- servation by neighbors, inasmuch as it is not requisite that the bricks shall be trans- parent. They may be of opaque ground glass, or of any color that may be suitable for decorative effect. Thus before many years have passed it will be considered the height of luxury, perhaps, to occupy a dwelling of - glass. Glass bricks, of course, are expensive. People who live in glass houses will be able to afford to wear clothes of glass. That sounds lke nonsense, but the fact is that beautiful and most delicate fabrics are made out of spun glass. Nearly twenty years ago there was shown at the centen- nial exposition in Philadelphia a bonnet composed entirely of glass. It was a love of a bonnet. The flowers on it were glass, and so were the ribbons, which looked like the finest satin. The patentee of this pro- cess describes it as suitable for the manu- facture of neckties, shawls, table covers, ete. Woven on a Loom. In fabrics of this kind a very fine quality of glass 1s used. It {s spun in threads of exceeding delicacy, and of these several colors may be produced at the same time. They fre woven in a loom of ordinary pat- tern. Anybody may observe that a thin sheet of glass is somewhat elastic. The threads employed in weaving are of such fineness as to be perfectly pliable, and not at all brittle. With a gown of glass would naturally go a pair of glass slippers. Not like Cinderella’ hh, no! Cinderella did not wear glass slippers. Her slippers in the original French story were of “vair,” which means fur. Vair and “verre,” mean- ing glass, are pronounced exactly alike. Hence the corruption. A Pittsburg man named Smith has in- vented a process for making glass slippers in-molds. They would not do very well for dancing. ‘There is no reason why a glass gown should not be woven of iridescent glass, so that the wearer would look like an animated rainbow on a ball room floor— one dazzling shimmer of ever-changing hues. Until recently the manufacture of iridescent glass was set down in the list of the lost arts. But in 1878 it was redis- covered, and now it is a common commer- cial article. It is made by exposing the melted glass to the vapors of salts of sodium. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city are exhibited great numbers of bottles, plates and other arti- cles of glass which were made and used long before Christ was born. They were dug up in Cyprus and elsewhere. Many of them have a beautiful iridescence, but it is the result of decay. Glass will rot like anything else, and decay has split the structure of this ancient glass into laminae or flakes, which interrupt the light so as to produce brilliant red, green, purple and other rainbuw colors. |. Even Worms for Bait. The window blinds of the glass house of the future will be of glass, of course. That is another patent, and the inventor sug- gests that such blinds may be made of whatever colors are desired. Baby in the nursery perhaps will play with glass build- ing biecks, and at a suitable age he will receive a Christmas gift of a pair of roller skates with glass rollers. Both of these ideas hdve been patented. When he ts old encugh to go fishing he will not dig worms in the garden, but wtil be provided with artificial bait in the shape of a hollow min- now of glass, coated on the inside partly with a solution of gold or silver, and partly with a luminous paint. The originator of this minnow says that it is a brilliant ob- ject in the water, and calculated to compel the attention of any fish that has a par- ticle of appetite. Glass bedsteads may be proof against light- ning and bugs, but it is hardly to te ex- pected that glass houses should be free from mice. The inmates could hardly do better than to employ glass traps for the capture of such vermin. The great advan- tage of the glass mcuse trap, according to the statement of the inventor, Is that “if one mouse has entered the trap he may be seen by others who chance to go that way, and they will be inclined to join the one in- side, especially when they observe that he is nibbling a choice morsel.” Up to date the glass mouse trap has not made itself popular, notwithstanding the important ar- guments in its favor, and of most of the other devices described it is unfortunately true that they have not proved profitable to the persons who contrived them. This remark, however, by no means applies to the glass lemon squeezer, which ts already @ familiar household utensil. The inventor of Fane said to have sold his rights for Bottles and Pitchers. The most meritorious inventions do not always obtain adoption. For example, sev- eral good processes for making glass bot- ties by machine have been patented. But they are not used to any great extent, be- cause the trade of the bottle makers is con- servative. Glass pitchers, handle and all in one plece, aré now being produced in molds by pressure. The upper part having been formed in the mold, the lower part of the pitcher is distended to the requisite Globular shape by forcing compressed alr lowaward through the neck. The art of making pressed glass is an American invention. Many centuries ogo buttons and such little things of glass were produced by means of primitive pinch- molds. But now this branch of maaufac- ture has been brought to such perfection that cups, bowls and other articles of pressed glass closely imitate the costly cut glass. The process is very simple. A measured quantity of melted glass being placed in the bottom of the mold, down comes a plunger, which forces the vitreous fluid into all parts of the mold. When cold the “cast” thus obtained is taken out of the mold. The latter, of course, may be of any shape desircd and of as elaborate a pattern. One of the most remarkable inventions in glass, by the way, was that of a Venetian named Joquin, in i656, He noticed that the scales of a fish called the bleak gave milky hue to water, and that glass bea dipped into such water looked like pearls when dried. Bubsequently the idea was conceived of making hollow keads of glass and lining them with the peculiar gub- stance from the scales of the fish, and it is in this way that the so-called Roman pearls are now manufactured. It ts to this substance that the iridescence of the scales of many species of fishes is due. Making of Mirrors. Te the Venetians also must be attrib- uted the earliest mappfacture of mirrorg 0u @ commercial scajp,;poon after the be- ginning of the sixteenth century. Before that time small conde mirrors of glass were produced in many. by blowing glass globes into which a melted mixture of tin, antimony art™resin was passed through a tute. Tisoglobe thus coated was subsequently gqgt into lens-shaped Pieces. = In the manufacturg’ ‘pf the early Vene- tian mirrors a sheet ‘Gf tinfoll was laid upon a flat surfacd4 and mercury was poured over it. Theme sheet of glass was slid carefully over the;qnercury and heavy Welghts were placed upon it for the pur- Pose of squeezing out al} but a thin film of the quicksilver. ‘The,fin.and mercury hav- ing combined the mitror with a few finish- ing touches was reajy;for use. This pro- cess continued to be employed up to about sixty years ago, when jt was superseded by Baron Liebig’s invention. Mercury is no longer employed, its use being attended by danger to health. In old times the teeth of the workmen vsed to: fall out, and they suffered from a variety of dis- tressing disorders, Now a solution of pure silver is used instead, the metal being de- posited on the glass by chemical means. But the greatest achievement of glass mdking up to date is the production of lenses for a big telescope, such as that of the Lick: observatory in California. The most important difficulty is to get a piece of clear giass that ir large enough for the ptrpose. The ingredients ere melted in an earthen pét and the mixture is then per- mitted to cool slowly. After being melted and cooled again it is poured out and pressed-into the shape of a disk. All over the surface of the disk are found impuri- ties, which must be removed by cutting off portions of the substance. Many more meltings and removals of impurities fol- low, until the mass is as free as possible from bubbles and other blemishes. The rovgh disks for the crown and tlint lenses of the Lick telescope cost $5,000 each. They were ground to approximate shape with emery, polished with rouge, and the final toucheg were ended by rubbing with the bare hand, Various substitutes for glass have been patented. One of those most widely used comes in sheets of a tough gelatine sum, in which ts imbedded a network of galva- nized iron wire. This material is used largely in Europe, being sold in rolls like oflcloth, at 10 cents a square foot. It is lighter than glass, pliant and practically indestructible. 1ts' employment is chiefly for skylights and conservatories. The most important objection to it is that it is in- flammable. In Germany and elsewhere in Europe tough manilla paper is utilized to a great extent as a substitute for glass by florists and market gardeners. It is stretched on sashes, the surface being paint- ed with boiled linseed ofl. This makes it trenslucent and impervious to water. It is Light, durable, admits. enough of the sun’s rays for growing plants, and costs only 3% cents a square yard. Glassmaking {s very ancient, dating back a long time beyond the Christian era. The origin of it is unknown, though various apocryphal stories are current respecting {ts discovery. For modern civilization to get along without it would be almost as difficult as to dispense with paper, which rivals glass in respect to the number of patents granted for its varied uses. RENE BACHE. ——- CARRIED OFF BY A CROCODILE. A Woman is Seized and Killed, but a Lucky Shot Recovers Her Body. From the Blackburn Times. A correspondent at Madras gives a graphic account of an adventure with a crocodile. He says: As we were procecd- ing in our cutter up’the Jumbo canal (Oris- sa) on the 17th ultinfo' wé-recelved the news of a won:an having'beeh’ taken by a mug- ger, and on ccming’to the spot we tied up and waited, m the!hopé that the reptile would come to the’ surface with its prey fu order to make a meat, as they are un- able to feed under Water. Presently there was a subdued cry of, “Mugger hoi, Sahib!” ficm one of the woatmen, and the mi added that it had the woman's body in its mcuth. We saw part of its head and back above water, and also the arm,of its vic- tim protruding as it-swam along, evidently looking for a place to land. Our excite- ment was intense ag we earefully followed {ts course and hoped for a chance of a shet. The crocodile,made far the opposite Lank, but instead of going ashore it lay on the Jong gresses agd reeds in about tour feet of water, with the body in front of it. After waiting for some lime to see if the reptile would land, ahd as it se2med to have no intention. of doing so, H— deter- mined to try and get a shot at it. He crossed the canal some distance down in a small boat, and crept stealthily along un- der cover of the canal bund as near as he dare without disturbing the mugger, as their sense of hearing is very keen. Peering over the top of the bund, he could see its eyes and the frontal bone above water, and at this he fired. There was a tremendous commotion, and the crccodile relinquished its prey and sank, coming to the surface again almost im- mediately. It was difficult to say whether the monster had been hit, althoush the commotion and the fact of its having come up again at orce for air led one to think that {t had. Unfortunately, it rose between H— and the cutter, so that it was im- porsible to fire again. The men then pro- ceeded to search for the body of the weman, and succeeded in landing it. The corpse was that of a woman about thirty years of age. She had not been long dead, for the blood was oozing from a wound in her temples and the limbs were still limp. The mugger had evidently dragged her away by the arm, for that limb was fear- fully shattered and all but torn off. Other- wise the body was untouched. The face tore a terribly agonized expression, the teeth clenched ard the features set in a lock of absolute horror. Unluckily, were pressed for time, and so couid not wait to see the result of the shot or get a chance of following it up with any more. ——_—_+e+____ BROKEN HEARTS IN FRANCE. Held of Less Account by the Law Than Broken Legs. From the London Daily News, In to instance does the profound dif- ference of national character in England and Frarce appear more striking (says our Paris correspondent) than in the views held on both sides of the channel regari- ing breach of promise. Of course, engage- ments are broken off in France as well as in Englaid, but it is only in England that heavier damages are awarded for a broken heart than for a broken leg. The offense is all but unknown in the French law courts, whether it is that Frenchmen are less inclined to it, or that the French girl dislikes bringing her sentimental troa- bles into court. To show English readers how incredibly prejudiced French persons of both sexes are upon this subject, it is enough to say that a young lady who at- tempted to turn her wourded feelings into cash would be regarded as only a degree less mean than the faithless man. The very small number of suits for breach of promise have always been sup- ported by a plea that the lady was put to expense, and there must be besides evi- dence of an intent, to deceive. Damages in any case are very smal] beside the royal amounts awarded by Erglish juries. On Saturday, however, an action for breaca of promise a eases ‘Was brought into the third Paris lice court. The lady and her father, as nearest, friend, produced a bill showing that they were £50 out of pocket for the broken engagement. They might have had this, bot, badly advised, they put on another item of £350 for the moral prejudice. The French judge did not understand this, and he dismissed the case. so Worse and More of It. From an Exchange. No limit kas ever been found to the uses of a small hoy’s pocket. One day at school a little girl put: up her hand to attract attention. \ “Teacher, Johnny’ got a caterpillar!” Johnny was, of course, called to the desk, made to surrender the cherished pos- session, and sent to his seat with a repri- mand. In about two minutes the same small hand waved in the air again and the same small voice complained: eS Johnny's got another cater- arl” A second surrender of the caterpillar and ®@ second admonition followed. Hardly had silence once more settled over the room when a frantic waving of the same hand was followed by a perfect shriek of dismay: “Teacher, Johnny’s got a whole pocket- ful of caterpillars!” This time the teacher’s dismay equaled her pupil's, and Johnny was promptly sent heme with his brood of strange pets, When the hair has fallen out, leaving he head bald, if the scalp Is noz shiny, there isa chance of regaining the hair by using Hall's Hair Renewer. STORIES. OF STATESMEN Gabe Bouck and the Detested Pensio Senator Edmunds’ Impossible—An Art Note. While Gabe Bouck was a member of Congress from the Oshkosh district in Wis- consin a pension bill.was before the House during one of its sessions that caused him considerable vexation of spirit and tribula- tion, for, while his personal convictions were directly opposed to it, his personal interests were strong enough to whip him into line, and when the bill came up for final disposition Gabe voted with the ma- jority and the bill was passed. Gabe was peculiar, both in dress and looks. His coat was always a blue swallow tail, with brass buttons, and his eyes focused at a joint about three inches from the center of is nose. But that didn’t prevent his car- rying a very big heart, and he always had scores of friends. One day when the bill was up for consideration, the late Gen- eral Denver was upon the floor of the House as an ex-member from Ohio, and while passing around in the rear of the seats on the republican side he met the democratic Gabe, who was walking back and forth gesticulating excitedly, and bringing his clenched right fist dcwn into the hollow of his left hand to the accom- paniment of expletives that would hardly look well in print. “What's the matter, Gabe; what's all this excitement about?” questioned the gereral, as Gabe let out an exceedingly Jagged cuss word. “Tréuble?” snorted Gabe, excitedly; “trouble enough! That pension bill is up and all these cowardly nincompoops are going to vote for it. It's sure to pass, sure to pass,” and the irate statesman cavorted around like a wild bull that had unexpectedly run afoul a red flag. “But why don't you get the floor and speak against it—try to stop it?” said the general, tryirg to soothe the excited Con- gressman. “Try to stop it?” said Gabe, “try to stop it? Why, I’m one of the cowardly nincom- poops myself!” And the bili ‘passed. oe And that calls to mind a story of Bouck that was current on the streets during his public Hfe here. He was very popular among soclety ladies, and his bright wit- ticisms made him a general favorite at re- ceptions and banquets. One day while rid- ing toward the Capitol in an F street car he bat opposite several ladies near the cen- ter. One of the ladies noticed that Gabe was smiling sweetly and indulging in a sly wink occasionally, so she crowded up closer to her neighbor and motlored him to sit beside her. As Gabe seated himself in the vacant place she said: “Mr. Bouck, what's the use of sitting over there smiling and winking at me when you can sit close beside me and whisper?” “I beg your pardon, maiam,” said Gabe; “I was smiling and winking at that little colored girl up in the further corner.” The misfit eyes had caused her to mis- calculate. eo 8 8 Senator Edmunds was once standing with a visiting English statesman on the high steps at the west front of the Capitol, look- ing down Pennsylvania avenue toward the Treasury Department. The stranger had seen much to interest and amuse him in Washington. “You have a wonderful country and a wonderful people here, Mr. Senator. Noth- ing can be impossible with such go-ahead inhabitants.” 2 “Oh, yes,” said the Senator; “some things are impossible here. It is impossible to march a brass band down that avenue and have a crowd of colored people go in the opposite direction at the same time.” ° A Congressman from the far west, walk- ing along F street one day, saw in a show window a little statuette in Wlay of a rag- ged, bare-footed urchin who had stubbed his toe, and had the injured foot up on his knee caressing it. On the margin of the base were inscribed the words, “By gosh!” “By Josh,” mused the statesman, thought- fully. “I wonder what the sculptor’s other name Is.” SS TWO MOTHERS. Bereavement Brings Truth Home to the Tormented Woman. From the Chicago Tribune. When the well-to-do boarder’s little boy died she called in the woman who swept ard scrubbed kalls, attended to the fur- mace and did scullery work in general about the place, and showed her the little fellow as he lay in his flower-decked coffin, £0 sweet end pretty in his last peaceful sleep. - The scrubwomen had a boy of her own, just a few days younger than the dead child, and when the well-to-do boarder’s message came she hastily wiped the suds from her erms and grabbed up her baby and took him in with her. ‘The tw> women stood over the tiny cas- ket for a time in silence. At last the moth- er’s self-control gave way and she bowed her head over the boy and bathed the little cold face with tears that blinded her aching eyes and scalded her thin, careworn cheeks. The scrubwoman set her baby on the floor and folded her arms stoically. + “Don’t, ma'am,” she said without a quaver in her coarse, strofig voice. “You ought to give thanks with all your soul. I wish to God it was my boy lying there in- stead of yours.” The boarder laid her hand over the wo- man’s mouth and interrupted the impas- sioned speech. “Don't say that,” she cried. realize the meaning of your words. might come true. Your boy might die.” The scrubwoman smiled. “There's no such good luck as that,” she said bitterly. “It’s always such as yours that goes and such as mine that stays. He's never been well, and he never will be well. He's a torment to himself and to me and to everybody about the place. It's a continual scratching to keep bk. dy and soul together, and if I should die what would become of him then? It ain't that I'm un- naturally hardhearted, but pinching and scraping alorg makes brutes of anybody. Anyway, he'd be better off.’ “You'll be sorry some day,” the other re- plied, turning again to her own little one. The boarder moved away, and it was three years before the two women met again. A few days ago the well-to-do wo- man was going through a locality the ins and outs of which had not been familiar to her for many months, and among the scrubwomen on the steps of a large build- ing she raw her former charwoman of the boarding house. “How is Freddy?” she asked, the first greeting over. The woman's lips trembled. “Freddy's dead,” she said, putting down her brush and di 1 her eyes on the cor- ner of her apron. The boarder grasped her hand in ready sympathy. “I'm so sorry,” she said simply. “It just happened last week,” the scrub- woman went on between sobs. “I've re- membered a thousand times what you sald about being scrry. It was all true. There's not an hour that I don’t want him with me again. ff I only hadn’t said it! My poor little boy!” —— +00 Oare for the Baby. “You don't It From Life. Wife—“John, why don’t you go to sleep?” “I'm afraid it might wake up ‘Thoroughbreds. From Truth. ‘Tim McCarthy—“Say, Cull, wot kind of er dawg {is dat dawg o” yourn, are he a t’ouroughbreed?” Cully McCa ou bet he are—he’s a Irish setter—he’s allus settin’ around when methink to do. What kind is ‘Mine mus’ be a fox hound; he’s so dern foxy, whenever I go to shoot at any- think he runs behint of a tree.” Definition of the’ SMELLED THE GAS BY TELEPHONE. A Pestiverous Crank Was Switched Off by a Weary Clerk. A majcrity of the cranky people who visit Washington make the White Hcuse their objective pcint, but occasionally some will wander intc the departments to unfold their grievances. Not long ago a good spec- imen of the genus made his appearance at the Post Office Department, and as he wanted to see “cne of the judges” a bright messenger steered him into the room and up to the desk of one of the cold clerks in the fourth assistant’s office, whose gray hairs and dignified appearance helped to carry out. the decepticn. The viritor, so a Star reporter is informed, was evidently an old soldier, as his complaint was in refer- ence to the management of one of the sol- diers’ homes. After listening to his dis- jointed utterances for a moment, the clerk Wheeled around in his cnair-and said: “My friend, I am tot the proper person to come to with stch a complaint. I am——" “Yes, you are,” interrupted the crank. “The man out in the hall told me you were continued with a long string of grievances, until the clerk, who was quite busy, stop- ped him with the remark: “I can give you no relief for your trou- bles, you should go to the War Depart- ment,” and corcluding ‘hat his trouble- some visitur was a crink of the first wa- ter, he continved: “Come around here and sit down, and I'll connect you by telephone with the Secretary of War. That will cave you the trouble of going up to his office through the hot sun and waiting a long time for an audicnce.” The clerk seated the crank at g little ta- ble behind the high-backed desk, then go- ing around beside tis own chair he uncou- pled from the gas jet the long tube which led to the drop light on his desk. Putting the tubing over the high back he placed the end in the hands of the complainant and remarked: “Tacre you sre. That puts you in direct connection with the Secretary himself. Talk to him all you want to.” And he did talk to the Secretary for a full hour, to the great amusement of the clerks in the room. Finally, after he had relieved himself of a big batch of complaints, he laid down the “telephone” with a sigh of satisfaction, snd, as he took his hat to go, said to the clerk: “Some one ought to notify the War De- partment that ther? is a big leakage of gas somewhere up there. ———.__. The End of a Summer Romance— Which Was to Blame? From the Boston Home Journal. ‘They met ct the seashore, he and she, Miss Bailey and Mr. Blenk. He, one of those desirable, fascinating fellows of summer, and she a real sum- mer girl. His entire time and attention was given to her and to ro one else. It is not strange that when his short vacation was ended he had won her heart. Girls’ hearts are easily won where men are few. Did he promise to write her upon his immediate return to the city ard see her when she also returred? Aye, faithfully, and so they parted, he Lreiuctantly (?) returning-to the city ‘and she remaining desolate and unhappy at the shore. Every few days he wrote her tender, sympathetic epistles, each telling of his loneliness, his k ve, etc. The time was now at hand. She would test his devotion and weigh its worth. She would write him a letter and pretend she had met his wife. What a good joke it would be, and how he would feel! What 1n apologizing letter he would write! What fun! So, in a cool, dignified manner she penned the following: Dear Mr. Blank: I received your last mes ertay: ‘end am shocked at your con- uct. There was a large hop given here last night, the largest one of the season. A great many strangers came down, and among them, your wife! I_was introduced to her by Mrs, Some- body, and when I heard her name I was pained, indeed. I cannot comprehend how -you could ever treat such a dear, sweet, lovable little woman in the way you have. Men should treat their wives honorably and justly, “and forsaking all others, keep her unto him.” If I have been rash, pardon me, but my moral views are high, I assure you, and I could not let such conduct pass un- noticed. If there has been any* mistake, forget it. Let me know what the real truth fs, for I am deeply shocked and grieved. Allow me to remain, Sincerely, ELIZABETH ETHELBERT BAILEY. Mr. John Y. Blank. The reply came: Dear Miss Bailey: I am grieved that you should have been so pained. Your discover- les are, indeed, very startling, as much so to me as yourself. I appreciate your high moral views and agree with you “thar a mar should treat his wife honor- ably and justly, and, forsaking all others, keep her unto him.” I thank you for your many kind suggestions. With such discov- eries as you have made, the law in such @ case would prevent my doing otherwise than allowing you to remain Elizabeth Ethelbert Bailey. I am, dear Miss Bailey, your obedient servant, JOHN YEOMANS POTTES BLANK. Miss Elizabeth Ethelbert Bailey. The note fell from her hands. She was bewildered and surprised, shocked at the consequences. Was it true that he was married? Did he believe that she had met his wife? That was a question. He did not say that he was married, nor that he was not. There was nothing more to be said, so the ac- quaintance closed. A mistake was made. Which made it, he or she? —+e0_ A CHINESE VENTRILOQUIST. The Wonderful Miusion Created by His Art. From the Philrdelphia Times. A isn who witnessed the performance, gives the following description of what a ventriloquist in China did: The ventriloquist was seated behind a screen, where there were only a chair, a table, a fan and a ruler. With the ruler he rapped on the table to enforce silence, and when everybody had ceased speaking there was suddenly heard the barking of a dog. Then we heard the movements of a wonian. She had been waked by the dog, and was shaking her husband. We were just expecting to hear the man and wife talking together, when a child began to cry. ‘fo pacify it the mother gave it food; we could hear it drinking and cry- ing at the same time. The mother spoke to it soothingly, and then rose to change its clothes. : Meanwhile another child had been waken- ed and was beginning to make a noise. The father scolded it, while the baby continued crying. By and by the whole family went back to bed and fell asleep. The patter of ® mouse was heard. It climbed up some vase and upset it. We heard the clatter of the vase as it fell. The woman coughed in her sleep. Then erles of “Fire! fire!’ were heard. The mouse had upset the lamp; bed curtains were on fire. The husband and wife waked up, shouted and screamed, the children cried, thousands of people came running and shouting. Children cried, dogs barked, the walls came crashing down, squibs and crackers exploded. The fire brigade came racing up. Water was pumped up in torrents, and hissed in the flames. The representation was so true to life that } every one rose to his feet and was starting away, when a second blow of the ruler on the table commanded silence. We rushed | behind the screen, but there was nothinz there except the ventriloquist, his table, his chair and his ruler. ———— Size of Families, From Harper's Magazine. It was Mr. Grant Allen who set forth some years ago in one of the magazines that the obligations of a married woman to society were not to be settled on a basis of fewer than five children, that being the number which Mr. Allen found necessary if the population of the country is to be properly kept up. Edward von Hartmann, the German metaphysician and essayist, takes a much more comprehensive view of woman's duties. Eleven children apiece is yon Hartmann’s assignment to German wo- mankind—two before the twentieth year, five in the twenties, three in the thirties and one in the forties. It is astonishing how much learning it is possible for a Ger- man professor to secrete without acquiring with it any considerable admixture of sense. No wonder metaphysics should be reported to be growing unpopular among German students, just the bne to fix things for me,” and he! —=—=—=——————=SSs, ARE YOU A BICYCLIST?, If So, Are You Certain It Agrees” With You? WHAT PHYSICIANS SAY Some Good Advice to All Riders of the Wheel Who May Be in Danger Without Knowing “Next to my. friends I love my bicycle!” - She was an enthusiastic young womrn who ute tered these words and she evidently meant them, There is so much exhilaration and pleasure in rid- ing a Dieycle that it is mo wonder it is so popular, But like every good thing it has Its drawbacks, People who huve ridden a bicycle for any length of time are almost alwa: pain in the back. It is a fact which adwits of no dispute that the vibration of the wheel causes, in Dearly every case, urinary difficulties. serious at the beginning, but they are Hable to become so if they continue. ‘There is mo more serious trouble in the world than Kidney trouble, Whether in nen or women, and there is not! more certain than that it must be checked in time, or broken health, shattered strength and untimely, dezth arc sure 10 follow. Any man, woman or child can ride a bicycle without uny danger from these troubles if the kidveys and urinary organs are only kept regu- lated. But, re in the great dim- culty. of course, ther reat Eveiy physician knows that It ts difpcult to regulate these delicate organs, and all physi- cinus admit that there is absolutely but cne remedy for these troubles. That remedy is Warner's Safe Cure. ‘This great discovery is acknowledged to be the only cure for these difficulties, Iweause It stimulates gently the * and all adjacent causes them to continue in wiect health. ‘There need be no fear of backache, pe- culiar pains, depressed feelings, or any of the thovsand things which indicate “kiducy difculty, where this great Safe Cure is used coatinnously and in time. So that bieycle riders nced not fear, but can ride to their hearts’ content, providing only they are carefal, providing only they watch for the approach of the ‘frst symptoms of kidney difficulty, ard providing only they ck them in time. THE CAPE PETREL. A Bird Theat is Mct Far Out at Sea a is Always a Welcome Sight. From Good Words. From the deck of a cape steamer, far out on the wastes of ocean, one of the first birds that obtrudes itself upon the notice of the passengers is the cape petrel (Pro- is), known generally as the although the reason why it is called a pigeon is not very clear, as it has nothing to do with the family of the Columbidae. It affords infinite diversion to~the passengers of the ocean-going steamers, who, tired of looking at the end- less expanse of blue, welcome this little companion of their solitudes. When the southeast “trades” are piping merrily among the shrouds, and the “white horses” in their thousands are falling and curling over a bright and sunlit sea, the cape petrel seems thoroughly at home in the moving and coruscating scene. For in the latitude of the southeast “trades,” though the wind blows a half gale or even @ full gale, the skies continue clear and blue, and the deep cerulea; hues of the heavens are reflected upon the bosom of the ocean. Then is the sailor's heart glad within him, especially if he is on board of a sailing ship, for the same swift breeze, scarcely varying a point, will carry him quickly on the right tack, end for days, it may be, hardly a block need be shifted. With such bright skies above him, so that he may read the heavens when he likes, and a free course before him, the mariner welcomes the little cape pigeon as a petrel of good omen,and gladly throws overboard bits of refuse and provender, which the bird quickly snatches at as his reward. Sometimes one is caught with hook and line, and on deck it presents a sad and pitiable spectacle, as it cannot rise and can only run along the deck in helpless fashion with outstretched wings, vomiting large quantities of reddish-colored oil. This, it is said, 1t does out of self-defense. Its length is about fifteen inches, and it can easily be recognized by its black head and speckled chin. ENOCH UP A TREE. A Nebrraka Woman Who Has No Like ing for Romantic Outcomes. From the Nebraska State Journal. A paper in western Nebraska contains the outline of a story that should be slung into undying verse by a poet as good as the author of ‘Enoch Arden.” Some years ago in the town where the paper is publish- ed there lived a man who had a wife and daughter. He seemed prosperous, and his credit was good for anything he desired. One fine starlight night he disappeared, taking with bim nearly everything that wasn’t nailed down. He had made about every man in town a creditor, and when he went away the people betook themselves into outer darkness for a while and walled and gnashed their teeth. The wife and daughter were treated the same as the rest. They found themselves destitute. The fend in human form who had so long officiated as husband and her had left them not a dollar. The lady and her daughter were, of course, looked coldly upon for awhile, as people believed them to be in collusion with the departed. But they were not depressed by this. They went mantully to -work like little heroines in a play; the mother did sewing and the daughter did whatever she could get to do. They prospered, as they deserved to prosper: The older heroine in time established a millinery store, which captured all the trade, while the younger became principal of the schools. They had money in the bank, and could eat ice crear whenever they wanted to. The other day a seedy tramp called at the back door of the lady’s residence and asked for a drink and something to eat. The good woman looked at him intently and recognized her husbard. And now the really beautiful part of this story comes in. Did_ the lady kill the fatted calf for the prodigal and bid him welcome and forget the past? Not to any great extent. She called the family dog, a large crea- ture, with a penchant for human remaine, and no man ever climbed a tree quicker than did the erring husband. SS Speedy Justice in Oklahoma. From the Chicago Tribune. “Whenever a man is shot by an officer of the law in our country he is immediately described by the newspapers as a member of one of the several bands of desperadoes supposed to infest that section,” said Charles B. Adams of Guthrie, Oklahoma, Mr. Adams was clerk of the federal court from the opening of the country until last July, and Is returning home from a trip to Washington on business connected with that office. “As a matter of fact, criminals sre apprehended, convicted and punished in Oklahoma much quicker in propor- tien to the population than in the older communities. Owing to the scat tered and light settlement of the coun- try it is easy to apprehend a criminal, and the border lawlessness that marks the opening of a new country is followed by a strong determination to suppress and era icate such a condition. There is no seni ment among those drawn together to try a criminal, and frequently a verdict is set aside, owing to its severity.” SWIFT SPECIFIC 00., : S res = eer er —— Mr. A. HL Cransby of 158 Kerr street, Memphis, Tenn., writes that bis wife bad cancer which had saten two large holes In her breast, and which the best physictans of the surrounding country treated, and Provouneed incurable. Her grand- motier and aunt had died of Canes ard when told this, the most eminent specialists of New York, under whoee treatment abe was placed, declarcé he- ease was hopeless, All trent ment having failed, she was given up to die SSS reeous- mended, and, astonishing as it may seem. a few bottles cured ber sound and well. ‘ Our treatise on this disease will be sont free to any address,