Rhondda Leader Maesteg Garw and Ogmore Telegraph

THE ENCHANTED ROCK. The "Enchanted Rock," in the San Saba: Valley, Texas, rises 200ft. from the plain, and can be seen for a distance of several miles. In the moonlight it presents a striking resemblance to an immense castle with many windows bril- liantly lighted, this effect being caused by the reflection of the moon's rays from numerous polished surfaces of quartz and pyrites of copper. The Comanches believe it to be one of the abodes of the Great Spirit, and regard it witht much reverence. «

FACTS IN BRIEF. At the present day about 96 per cent. of all vessels built are of steel. Several women in Holland earn a livelihood as practising chemists. In France, typhoid fever patients are given five to six quarts of water a day. Petitions addressed to the House of Commons must be written, not printed. Three hundred years ago, anyone absent from church on Sunday was fined one shilling. At the bottom of the deep seas the water is only a few degrees above freezing point. The Hawaiian alphabet has twelve letters, while the Tartarian is made up of 202 characters. In Denmark an old maids' insurance company pays regular weekly benefits to spinsters of forty years and upwards. At Corunna, Spain, is the oldest lighthouse in the world. It was built nearly 1,800 years ago.

THE SUNDAY CORNER. 4 L When that which is perfect is come, then thaA which is in part shall be done away." But when will the perfect come ? Is anything perfect in this world? Paul recognised the imperfection and fragmentariness of the things men boast of most. "We know in part." What a little fragment of the sum total of knowledge does any man, even the wisest, possess Even if one could acquire the whole htiman knowledge, he would have only a small part of the knowledge of Him Who knows all. As to the higher gifts, they are usually even more limited. To every man m given a measure of the Spirit. But there is me grace that is not given in part. It is hole and perfect where it is found at all. What grace is love. Love may be faint or Intense, but it does not grow by parts as knowledge does. 1.0" is the perfection of faith. It is faith losing itself in that in which it confides. No faith can ever be perfect unless its object :iš perfect, nor can love make a perfect union unless its object is perfect. But when faith in God opens the heart to receive God's love, then that which is perfect is come. Know- ledge gains a little here and a little there, and it strives in vain to build its fragments together into a perfect whole but love gives all and receives all. Out of the fragmentary things of life it makes a perfect whole; and ite work will not be done "till we all come to a perfect man, to the measure of the statue pf the fullness of Christ." < Think of God not as One before Whom we shall stand, but as One before Whom we do stand day and night. < We can only give what we have. Happi- ness, grief, gaiety, sadness, are by nature contagious. Bring your health and your strength to the weak and sickly, and so you will be of use to them. Give them, not your weakness, but your energy—so you will revive and lift them up. » • • We cannot keep any more religion than we use. or Conduct will never be right while convic- tions are wrong. • Blessings on the man who smiles! Not the man who smiles for effect, nor the one who smiles when the world smiles, but the man ,whose smile is born of an inner radiance, the man who smiles when the clouds lower, jwhen fortune frowns, when the tides are ad- verse. Such a man not only makes a new world for himself, but he multiplies himself an hundredfold in the strength and courage of other men. » S Some folks are sure they are going to heaven because no one can live with them here. If we make this world our goal and this life our only existence, then we are but little better than the brutes of the field. The only difference would be our intellect, and this would be a restriction on its power. Our in- tellect aspires to something more than the life it sees around it. Man has a soul as well 41.8 a body, and it craves to behold its Maker. "It longs for happiness, and earth cannot sup- ply it; it sighs for the eternal good, and hence it is immortal; it is of a spirit nature like to God who made it, and its life is always united with Him, save when it is dead in sin. Christ our Lord liberated man from sin, and He bade man no longer to yield to its baneful influence, no longer to give way to its allurements, but told man to deny him- ■seM, take up his cross, and follow Him. This is the life the soul would always lead if left to itself; but it has the body and sinful nature to contend against. Man has his pas- sions to resist, he has the temptations and snares of Satan, and the world and its many •ovii wctvs co meet. Still, victory will ever be iiis if he only keep united with God through HIS all-powerful grace. < The Christian who winks at sin will soon ►lose his sight. ..1E..1& w It is not the rare gifts, the possession of the ■Jew; it is not great wealth, great learning, great geinus, or great power; it is not these things that make the possessor happy. It is ,li,ealth, it is friendship, it is love at home; it is the voices of children; it is sunshine. It i6 the blessings that are commonest, act those that are rarest; it is the gifts that God has Scattered everywhere. s A man's honesty in forgiving the strong is Srevealed by his attitude towards the weak. » Salvation that saves from sin is an inesti- mable treasure. It is more precious than anabies, or the combined value of the jewels <of the earth. It has Christ for its author and finisher. Its object is the redemption of the tBoul. The fruits are peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The life of the individual re- deemed by Christ shares in the benefits of this wonderful redemption. It changes and turns the current of affection Godward and prossward. It revolutionises the life. It gives to the believer new views of life, of its jvalue, possibilities, purpose, object, and re- sults. It gives him new views of God's Word, the works of the Creator, and of the glory of salvation itself. Make another chapter to the Acts of the (Apostles by being an apostle yourself. « All men have their frailties, and whoever looks for a friend without imperfection will never find what he seeks. We love ourselves notwithstanding our faults, and we ought to love our friends in like manner. < < Putting out the eyes cannot blind the man jtyho has a seeing soul. • All are artists; a good or bad picture each Of us is painting-the picture of life. Too often, alas, men make inferior things the most conspicuous objects on the canvas of their daily history, bestowing rich colours and careful handicraft upon trifles. But the Saviour should be the grand centre of our £ ouls, and onould have our chief and first attention. He only is ready for greater blessings who is grateful for those received. « Life is fraught with sacred obligations and responsibilities. It is really sublime to live, if the life flows in the God-appointed chan- nels. It is only when the individual rises fcbove the world din and views life and its (tremendous realities as Christ viewed them, and then with might and main seek to draft all the energies of his being into service, to reach the goal of a life given wholly to God, and in self-sacrificing labour for humanity, that life really becomes sublime. There is so much to be done in this world to elevate man- kind, that one is almo-st startled at the im- mensity of it. But, on the other hand, when the fact is taken into account that God is un- ceasingly active in bringing about the better- ment of the world, and that He co-operates ,with every truly consecrated life, hope springs up within the breast, faith and joy are kindled, and courage is inspired, that the seemingly herculean task can be accom- plished. But in this work each life must per- form its part, however small, and the great call to each is to do with our might what the hand finds to do," putting all faith in the ,wisdom and power of God Who will finish His final purpose in His own good time. 5JttSB

WISE AND OTHERWISE. "How can I dodge my creditors?"—"Don't try. Buy an automobile and let 'em dodge you." "That country editor thinks I'm a humor- ist."—"Why?"—"I tried to sell him a cash register." Wife: What would you like for your birth- day, Robert? "-Robert: "Nothing, thank you. I cannot afford it." So you think he's really in love, eh? "— No doubt. about it. Why, he thinks I'm at- tractive in auto goggles." Proud Mother: This boy do grow more like 'is father every day."—Neighbour: Do 'e, pore dear? And 'ave you tried everything? Teacher: "Tommie, from what direction do most of our rains come? "-T<)mmie: "Most of our rains come straight down, but some of them come sideways." Lady Tourist (to cottager's wife): "Are these three nice little boys all your own, Mrs. Mac- farlane? Yes, mum; but him in the middle's a lassie." Facetious Old Lady (to tramp): You remind me of a piece of flannel."—Tramp: I do—eh? And why so, missus?"—Facetious Old Lady: You shrink from washing." Dodd: "The motor is a great institution. Todd: "For instance?"—Dodd: "You can sit up in it as you pass a friend, and crawl under it when a creditor comes in sight." Dowager: So you're commencing a practice here. You're rather young, aren't you?"— Young Medico: Oh-er-well, I only expect to start on children first, you know." Goodfellow: I'm sorry t. say my wife has an aggravating habit of interrupting me in the middle of a sentence. "-Bin ns: Humph! You are fortunate to be able to get so far." The Bachelor: There is a woman's business college over in our building.—The Maid: "In- deed And what business are they familiar with?"—The Bachelor: "Everybody's." Mrs. Newly wed: Cook has burnt the bacon, dear; she is so young and inexperienced. Won't you be satisfied with a kiss for breakfast? "— Mr. Newlywed: "All right, call her in." Cobwigger: "I hear the storm blew your tent down? "—Circus Fakir: Worse than that. The rain gave the sword-swallower a sore throat and washed all the designs off the tattooed man." My hair is falling out, old chap a solicitor confided to a medical friend. Can you recom- mend something to keep it in? Certainly! was the agreeable reply. A cardboard box Willie: "Father is the captain of our ship at home, and mother's the first mate."—Sunday School Teacher: "What are you?"—Willie: "I guess I'm the compass; they're always boxing me." Miss Plane: The very day I first met him, something told me he would eventually fall in love with me."—Miss Spitz: "Indeed? The something wasn't your mirror, dear, was it? The Boy: "Ma, is anything lost if yer know where it is?"—Ma: "Of course it ain't."— The Boy: "'Cos I've dropped that half-crown you gave me to buy some flour with down a drain." "Love your neighbour as yourself," said the minister, with great earnestness.—" Thomas," whispered the lady who lived next door to a pretty young widow, come away; this is no place for you." Passenger Agent: Here are some postcard views along our line of rail. Would you like them? "—Patron: No, thank you. I rode over the line one day last week, and have views of my own on it." Teacher: "Give me an example of what is meant by masterly inactivity.' "-Boy with the Prognathous Face: "A baseball pitcher de- layin'. the game so it'll have to be called on ac- count o' darkness. Myrtle: What! Allowed George to kiss you? Why, I thought you saii you wouldn't be kissed by the best man on earth?"—Marion: "That wasn't on earth, my dear. We were both sitting in this hammock." Father: "And how are you getting on at school, Johnny?"—Johnny: "Oh, I have learnt to say Thank you and If you please' in French."—Father: That's more than you ever learnt in English." Minister (consoling Donald): Now just look at Job and the affliction that he had, and yet he was patient; just take a lesson from him."— Donald: "It's all right enough, but Job never had a fit like this." "I suppose you find that a baby brightens up the house?" said a bachelor to a friend who had ranged himself among the Benedicks.— Yes," was the semi-sad reply, we burn twice the gas we used to! Bystander: How did you happen to run into that man? "—Chauffeur: Perfectly ridiculous Why, we were only going about sixty mlies an hour, and that chump didn't know enough to get out of the wav." What on earth are you trying to do? I was reading about cooking by electricity, so I hung the chops on the electric bell, and I've been pushing the button for half an hour, but it doesn't seem to work." Mr. Bunsby: If that young man's coming hero to see you every day in the week you had better give him a hint to come after supper. Miss Bunsby: I don't think it's necessary, pa. That's what he comes after." Mrs. Pat: "I say, Pat, did yez git th' job from Mr. Eidleman?" Pat: "Oi did thot." Mrs. Pat: An' I'm glad ov thot. He's a foine man to work for. Ye can't do too much for him." Pat: Besorra, I don't intind to! I suppose you don't object to children? said the lady who was seeking apartments at the sea- side.—"Oh dear no.; I have nine of my own, madam," answered the landlady.—" Oh! um—er —I will send you a letter if I decide to take the rooms." Mrs. Parvenoo: "This, Major, is by an old master."—The Major: "Really! I shouldn't have thought so."—Mrs. Parvenoo: "Oh, yes. Why, the man I bought it of gave me a written guarantee that the artist was over seventy when he did it." That last speaker," said the first guest at the banquet, "was quite entertaining."— Yes," replied the other; and he's a self-made man, too."—" I thought his delivery rather slow, though."—" That's natural. He began life as a messenger-boy. Old Lady (who sleeps badly): Now, Mary, if I should want to light my candle, are the matches there?"—Mary: "Yes. ma'am, there's wan."—Old Lady One Why, if it misses fire or won't light "—Mary: "Oh, never a fear of it, ma'am. Sure, I tried it! Thank you," she said, as he finally gave her his seat; the car bumps so, it is almost impos- sible to stand on -your feet."—" That was be- cause. I kept pullin' 'em out of your way, ma'am," he replied; "but you did manage to land on my pet corn a couple o' times." She was not quite the charmer she imagined herself, and her pride received quite a knock out the other night. The man I marry," she said, must be one who always thinks before he speaks." Then," replied the young gentle- man at whom the shaft had been aimed. I fear he'll never ask you." Gunner: Why the deuce does Bilkins look so blue these days? "—Guyer Why, he loved and lost."—Gunner: "H'm! That must be tough. Girl went back on him, eh?"—Guyer: "No, accepted him. They are married."—Gunner: "But I thought you said he lost?"—Guyer: Yc- lost his freedom." Really," said the stylish lady enthusiastically to her friend, it is quite worth while going to the zco, if only to see the wonderful supply of rhododendrons." Is it? replied her friend languidly. I like to look at the great, big, clumsy beasts, too, but it always smells so un- pleasantly round the cages." Would you mind if I went into the smoking- car?" asked the bridegroom, in a tender voice. What! to smoke, sweetheart? questioned the bride. Oh dear no," replied the young hus- band. I want to experience the agony of be- ing away from you, so that the joy of my return will be all the more intensified." He was a newly-appointed school manager, with an exaggerated sense of his own import- ance. He went religiously through all the class- rooms and registers, but found nothing to criti- cise. At last he saw two teachers chatting and laughing together. Gentlemen, gentlemen," he exclaimed, pouncing upon them, this is not a playhouse; it is a workhouse." "Amelia," said a stern father, holcling a letter his daughter had accidentally dropped, I found this communication on the stairs. Who wrote and sent it? It's—it's from Mr. John- son," answered the girl, with embarrassment. Indeed, miss! And what are all these things at the foot? Oh, those er—are stars, fatheff. Mr. Johnson is teaching me astronomy."

WORDS OF WISDOM, Memory is the synthesis of life. Justice is truth in action.—JOUBERT. We become good by doing good things. Throw no stones, and guard your bones. Avoid a quarrel as you would a pest house. All men think all men mortal but themselves. Suspicions which may be unjust need not be eta ted. Habits are like ropes of steel, they are so hard i\o break. No amount of good advce ever made a bad egg fresh. True knowledge consists in knowing things, not words. The giving of advice is the cheapest form of philanthropy. Life is hostile to those who do not follow the highways of life. The lack of a sense of humour is a thing few of us can forgive. Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty. In the battle of. life it is safer to be thick- headed than thin-skinned. Hope softens sorrows, brightens plain sur- roundings, and eases a hard lot. One of the sublimest things in the world is plain truth.-BULWER LYTTON. Hope for the best, get ready for the worst, and take what God sends. As troubled water may be calmed with oil, so may anger be calmed with kind words. Take care to get what you like, or you WJ.11 end by liking what you get.-G. B. SHAW. Circumstances aloiie cannot make character, but character alone can make circumstances. Innocence is better than repentance, an un- sullied life better than pardon.—THOMAS BINNEY. Zeal which begins in hypocrisy must end in treachery; at first ;t deceives, at last it betrays. -JUNIUS. Sincerity, a deep, great, genuine sincerity, is the first characteristic of all men in any way heroic.—CARLYLE. He who is always giving advice can never be popular, but he may feel a satisfaction in hav- ing done his duty. Many men who are considered too deep to be understood are simply entangled in the mazy web of nothingness. He is a wise man who knows how to accept good advice and how far to accept it and apply it to his own needs. The man or woman who stands by and lets opportunities for doing good pass unseized is a poor sort of citizen. The gayest castles in the air are better for comfort and use than the dungeons in air that are daily dug by discontented people.-EMERSON. A firm faith is the best divinity; a good life is the best philosophy; a clear conscience is the best law; honesty is the best policy; and tem- perance the best physic. It is a secret known to' few, yet of no small use in the conduct of life, that when you fall in- to a man's conversation the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater in- clination to hear you or that you should hear him.—ADDISON. Guard within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness. Know how to replace to your heart, by the happiness of those you love, the happi- ness that may be wanting in yourself.—F. w. FABER. LIFE'S PROBLEMS. Everyone should learn to do his own thinking and settle his own problems. This does not mean a hasty jumping to conclusions, nor an obstinate holding fast to any course once entered upon without regard to later light—that is simply folly. Nor does it mean disregard of the views of others whose knowledge and experience give them a right to advise. In the building of opinions and plans, as in the building of a house, the best available material should be sought and used; but it is the owner of the house or of the plan, the one who is to meet the cost, who should decide its final shaping. There are ques- tions, difficulties, problem, that affect the indi- vidual as they affect no one else, and each soul should be its own last court of appeal. Matters of conscience, matters of duty, and moet matters of expediency, so^ far as they relate only to self, are for self's solving. are for self's solving. ONE THING AT A TIME. With a few exceptions (so few, indeed, that they need scarcely be taken into a practical esti- mate) any person may learn anything upon which he sets his heart. To ensure success, he has simply so- to discipline his mind as to check its vagrancies, to cure it of its constant prone- ness to be doing two or more things at a time, and compel it to direct its combined energies., simultaneously to a single object, and thus to do one thing at once. This I consider as one of the most difficult, but one of the most useful, lessons that a young man can learn.-DR. O. GREGORY. TWO WAYS. Wouldst thou be wretched? 'Tis an easy way; Think but of self, and self alone, all day; Think of thy pain, thy grief, thy loss, thy care- All thou hast to do, or feel, or bear. Think of thy good, thy pleasure, or thy gain, Think of thyself—'twill not be vain. Wouldst thou be happy? Take an easy way; Think of those 'round thee—live for them all day. Think of their pain, their loss, their grief, their care; All that they have to do, or feel, or bear. Think of their pleasure, their good, their gain; Think of those 'round thee—it will not be vain. A GÕOD BUSINESS CREED. To do the right thing at the right time, in the right way; to do some things better than they were ever done before; to eliminate errors; to know both sides of the question; to be cour- teous to be an example; to work for love of the work to anticipate requirements to develop re- sources to recognise no impediments; to master circumstances; to act from reason rather than from rule; to be satisfied with nothing that can be improved. WET BLANKETS. Wet-blanket humanity is a kind of which the world is not very greatly in need. The supply in this case seems always greater than the de- mand. To be able to quench enthusiasm, dis- courage enterprise, and generally defeat reform is surely a most undesirable accomplishment. And yet this seems to be the peculiar virtue of a class which is represented in nearly every com- munity. Wet blankets were meant to extin- guish fires, and these do it most effectually. It may be that occasionally they are really useful in discouraging some hare brained experiment that deserved to be extinguished, but to offset this they have also been successful in checking a dozen different schemes that promised to be helpful to men. A HAPPY CHILDHOOD. One of the best preparations for a valuable life is the vivid recollection of a happy child- hood. Those who can look back amid the toils nd cares of maturity to a youth full of sunshine and joy have within them, not only a fund of pleasant memories, but a safeguard against de- pression and despair. Whatever their present trials, they can never be utterly despondent or lose their faith in happiness while its memory is fresh within them. THE BEST BOOKS. Read the best books. It will be time enough to read the third or fourth rate books when you have mastered all the first rate. Read above you. We should choose OUT booksae we do our lovers-not so far above us as to be beyond our reach, but far enough to inspire and elevate us. Why should we read the poetasters and neglect the poets? Why fill our time with the shallow compilers, and let go the great chroniclers of great events? Why be compelled to remain ig- norant of the immortal classioe, because we have wasted our precious moments on the silly story-teller of a day? We need to know what De Quincev finely calls the "literature of power"—whose dynamic energy may pass into our spiritual being like iron into the blood. Ephemeral things may be lightly touched, on, passed by.—L. MOSS.

THE ADVANTAGES OF SILENCE. A very clever woman—clever because she knew how to hold her tongue-was once heard telling a friend, in confidence, when asked why she had not taken part in a conversation of the previous evening, in which nearly everyone had joined, that she had kept quiet because she was ignorant of the subject under discussion. Whenevq§ I am not thoroughly informed on a subject, and I feel incapable of talking intelli- gently, why, I just hold my tongue. I believe I have the reputation of being a. good talker, but if I talked about what I did not understand I should soon lose it." But, then, one appears so stupid to sit still and say nothing when every- one else is talking," was the reply. "I do not mind that in the least," she answered I am willing to run the risk." This establishes an ex- cellent precedent in the art of conversation. If O'u nln one finds oneself suddenly and without warning surrounded by a lot of people who know it all," it ie far better to keep silent than to launch forth into the discussion of an unexplored sub- ject. TO FRESHEN ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. It is not generally known that artificial flowers which have become crushed and soiled looking will look almost like new if held over the steam of a kettle for a few minutes. LITTLE LOVE HINTS. If nobody loves you, be sure that it is your own fault. Look into your character, to find out what it is that forbids others to fall in love with you. A woman's love is stronger than that of a man, but even a woman expects some return for her love, or it will grow very bitter. Love is a paradise on earth, but, like all earthly paradises, it should be treated as one possibly lost, not an immortal one. Let no one shut the door if love should come to call. Cupid has a nasty knack of not return- ing if once turned rudely away. Love, when forced, must soon become utter hatred. HOW TO IMITATE GROUND GLASS. If you wish to 6hut off any view, you can do it cheaply in the following manner: Dissolve in a little hot water as much Epsom salts as the water will absorb, and paint this over the inside of the glass. You will then have a fair imita- tion of ground glass. HINTS FOR MARRIED FOLKS. 1. Marriages are made of constant self-sacri- ficee on both sides-at least, the ideal mar- riages are. 2. Most people miss happiness in marriage by ignoring the fact that its rule is to give and take. They expect to do all the receiving and none of the giving. 3. If a man makes up his mind to regard hia wife as a weaker vessel," let him take greater care of her lest she should break. There are some people who stretch their man- ners to such a degree while in the society of others that when they are at home they are bound to go to the opposite extremes in order to case themselves. 5. Most men foolishly think that the marriage certificate is a kind of fully paid up policy of happiness, and in the courtship days all the pre- miums were settled in lover-like attentions, con- siderations, courtesy, and chivalry. 6. Continued courtship preserves the sweet- heart in the wife and the lover in the husband. Both must be willing parties. As it takes two to make a quarrel, so it takes two to make a courtship—especially after marriage 7. When a husband neglects his shaving be- cause there is nobody there to see," and the wife thinks nothing of passing the day in a morning- wrapper when she has no visitors, then take it for granted that their mutual love has flown out of the window. TEN GOOD RULES. The following ten rules, says a French medical authority, must be observed by all who want good health: I.-Rise early, retire early, and fill your day with work. 2.—Water and bread maintain life; pure air and sunshine are indispensable to health. 3.—Frugality and sobriety form the best elixir of longevity. 4.-Cleanliness prevents rust; the best cared- for machines last the longest. 5. Enough sleep repairs waste and strengthens; too much sleep softens and en- feebles. 6-—To be sensibly dressed is to give freedom to one's movements and enough warmth to be protected from sudden changes of temperature. 7-—A clean and cheerful house makes a happy home. S.-The mind is refreshed and invigorated by distractions and amusement, but abuse of them leads to dissipation, and dissipation to vice. g.-Cheerfulness makes love of life, and love of life is half of health. On the contrary, Bad- ness and discouragement hasten old age. 10.—Do you gain your living by your intel- lect? Then do not allow your arms and legs to grow stiff. Do you earn your bread by your pickaxe? Do not forget to cultivate your mind and to enlarge your thought. TO FRESHEN STALE BREAD. Dip the loaf into cold water or milk. See that the oven is very hot, and place the loaf in it for a few minutes. This will renew it and make it perfectly fresh, and at the same time far more wholesome and appetising than new bread.

I AMERICAN HUMOUR. HELPING THE ENGINEER. The brakeman was a novice, and on his firat run there was a very eteep-grade mount. The engineer always had more or less trouble to get up this grade, but this time he came near stick- ing. He almost lost his head. Eventually, how- ever, he reached the top. At the station, looking out of his cab, the engi- neer saw the new brakeman, and said with a sigh of relief: I tell you what, my lad, we had a job to get up here, didn't we? We certainly did," said the new brakeman, "and if I hadn't put the brake on we'd have slipped back." NOTHING WAS RIGHT. Mr. Mayburn, of the State Insane Institute in Ogdensburg, was witness of a funny incident when in charge of affairs at the asylum in Utica, N.Y. He was escorting a party of friends through the building, accompanied by a patient who was rated as almost cured. The tour occupied con- siderable time, though no one realised it until a big clock in one of the corridors was reached. Good gracious exclaimed one of the visi- tors, is that clock right? "Of course not," replied the patient. "It wouldn't be here if it were. This is an insane as,ylum.X,ew York Times. ON CHOOSING A CLAIRVOYANT. One cannot be too careful in choosing a clair- voyant. When one wants to peer into the future, a clear vision is required. Tradition, sup- ported strongly by popular practice, says the best results are.to be expected from the most disreputable-looking objects of human derelic- tion; hence, gipsies. A gipsy (usually of the feminine gender) accomplishes her proper attributes by living along the roadside, avoid- ing laundries, sleeping in a covered waggon with seventeen children and about the same number of dogs. But it is not necessary to be a gippy. One can accomplish the greasy complexion in other ways, and the garb may be procured at slight -expense from a costumer or from the wardrobe woman in almost any musical comedy. It is customary for clairvoyants to claim to be the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, but it is not necessary to produce genealogical proof in support of the claim. Beyond that, it is only necessary for a clair- voyant to be vague and to place her predictions far enough in the future to enable her to get out of town in the interim. The profession of a clairvoyant is easy, be- cause any person who will go to clairvoyants is credulous enough to believe anything that they tell, even when their words do not mean any- thing. SHE WAS TOO QUICK FOR THEM. There were three at the little table in the cafe, a lady and two men, says the Cleveland Phin Dealer. Suddenly the electric lights went out, and the lady quickly and noiselessly drew Lack. An instant later there was the. smack of a compound kiss. As the electric lights went up, each man was seen to be smiling complaisantly. I thought I heard a kiss," said the lady, but nobody kissed me;" Then the men suddenly glared at each other, and flushed and looked painfully sheepish. NATURE FAKERS' FANCIES. The cassowary is a bird That's hard to capture, very, Folks hunting for her plumes have made The cassowary wary. --Kansas City Times. But once a cassowary strolled Too near an alligator, And with one wriggle, snap, and gulp The alligator ate her. --Chicago Tribune. The dromedary roamed about, Or toiled to fetch and carry Until some Yankee fitted out A dromedary dairy. —Indianapolis News. But dromedaries oft are shy. And this one loathed a spider— She ran away when one came by Because the spider eyed her. --Cleveland Leader. Behemoth and some dynamite Got in a serious fuss; The detonation left the hip- Popotamus a muss. Monmouth (Ill.) Atlas. An anaconda told a hen That of her he was fonder Than all things else. But she soon found The anaconda'd conned her. -Middletown (Conn.) News. THE OFFICE BOY. The office boy is an institution peculiar to modern times. His duty is to fall in love with the typewriter, put the ink in the mucilage bottles, put the wrong letters in different enve- lopes, deliver packages and important documents an hour or so after they are expected and pro- mised, be late in the morning, say fresh things to people who come in on business, and whistle between times. On summer afternoons, anyone who wishes to make a close study of the office boy will find him at any baseball game. The next morning he always comes down with crape on his arm. Office boys are of two kinds; those who even- tually become heads of the firm, and those who roll their own cigarettes. An office boy is born, not made.-New York Life. RELICS. Three pieces of yarn made from the fleece of Mary's little lamb have just been sold at auction, bringing 6dol., 7'75dol., and 4'50dol., re- spectively. Even considering what the tariff is doing to the price of yarn, these figures must be regarded as tributes to the personal qualities of the lam £ However, there are other relics fully as authentic. Bids may be sent in for: One crumpled horn, once worn by a cow of achievement. Also, for the horn of the little Boy Blue, with a phonographic record of the note it didn't blow, owing to the inopportune nap the lad took, while devastation ravished the corn. The shoe in which the elderly female once lived. Jack's beanpole, now well seasoned. Rind from tfie bacon made of the pig stolen by the piper's son. The penny for lack of which Simple Simon failed to acquire the wares of the pieman. A number of others that appeal to sentiment and are as deserving as Mary's pet.-Phila- delphia Ledger. THE WAGES OF GLUTTONY. Frederick Fudgington was a lad woefully fond of food. Frederick had the pernicious habitude of feeding his face to the point of repletion. At last, it is well to state, he met with a punish- ment which he richly deserved. Hence, if you know any little boys who place their whole happiness in the practice of gluttony, you may tell them the story of Frederick Fudgington. Quite unlike Frederick was his brother Philip, a dyspeptic lad of many admirable qualities. Philip did not gorge himself, though you put the most poignanfsaucee and every nicety in his way. While dining he would pause now and then in a genteel manner to wipe his fingers on the tablecloth, or to peel a potato instead of devour- ing it skin and all. And such was his self-denial that he would always set aside a portion of his barley gruel to give to the robin redbreasts lest they should perish of hunger. Careless of this lofty example, Frederick .the Hearty Feeder was rambling through th(¥ forest one summer's day when he behold a fine and luscious peach ripening in the sun. It was a very rare and prized peach belonging to Farmer Nixon, in fact the only one he had. Frederick had been admonished not to touch it, but alas, he minded himself not of good counsel at that moment. "Now I will feast," he cried, "and Philip shall have not even the core." When it is known that not many moments before he had supped bountifully upon a roast leg of mutton and fried onions and porridge and beans and buns, we may well marvel how he could conjure up such an appetite. Nevertheless, after first plucking the peach because it was downy, he fell to Greedy Frederick ate every morsel. That night Frederick awoke sensible of a heavy weight in his breast. Mr. Fudgington thought it was Frederick's conscience troubling him, but Dr. Brown, who was fetched, declared it was the etone in his stomach. — Brooklyn Citizen.

f DANGEROUS FISH. Fish is a dangerous food when kept for a long period. Cold storage fish, when the process of thawmg-out begins, often become absolutely poisonous. In Germany it is impossible to buy a dead fish of any kind, excepting such fish as have been cured by salting or smoking. There fresh fish are sold only in their live state, and the purchaser makes his selection from the fish as they swim about in tanks, or fish boxes, as they are called. «

SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT TREES. The elder is believed to be the tree on which Judas hanged himself, though in Buckingham- shire, says a writer in Farm and Home, I heard an old peasant woman declare that it was of this wood the Cross was made. Take notice, ma'am," she said, "and you'll find as lightning never touches the elder." While on this topic, the Wild Arum is said by the people of Ches- hire to have been growing beneath the Cross, and to have received on it splashes of blood, hence villagers reverently regard the dark lines and blots on the surface of its leaves. The Scot- tish believe that the birch was used for rods for scourging, and that from that time the tree was cursed, the dwarf birch being, of course, the species meant. The flowers of the wild apple and the hawthorn are both regarded with super- stitious awe in Buckinghamshire. A death is predicted in a house where they are allowed to stay. In Oxon and Northamptonshire a tree that bears blossom after the fruit is formed is also said to shew an approaching death. «

MEN AND LACE. It is curious to know that lace, now almost the unique possession of women, owes its de- velopment, if not its actual existence, to men, says the Scotsman. When lace was being slowly evolved from drawn-work, the Popes and great prelates of the Church used it on their altar vestments and robes, fostered and encouraged its production, and paid large sums for it. Later, lace became an absolute essential of masculine attire in ruffs in collars, in sashes, in garters, and even as a decoration at the shoe-top. Under the Stuarts the collection of laces became a pa&- eion of the court, and noblemen were as fre- quently known for their possession of rare lace as for collections of valuable paintings or gems. 1 0

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ELEMENTS. In the course of his presidential addre&s before the Chemical Society in London, Sir William Ramsay said that his subject was the hypothesis that the genuine difference between elements was due to their gain or loss of electrons. The question was whether, to take a concrete ex- ample, an atom of sodium by losing or gaining electrons remained an atom of sodium, or whether the loss or gain of electrons did not cause it to change into some other element or elements. Having stated some theoretical argu- ments in favour of the possibility of transforma- tion, he went on o describe some experiments bearing on the question. He mentioned the transformation of radium emanation into helium, which had been amply established. .0

10 BALLOONING ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. Professor Henry H. Clayton, who for sixteen years has occupied the position of meteorologist at the Blue Hill Observatory, expects to cross the Atlantic in the near future in a balloon. He believes there are upper air currents flowing constantly eastward, which would make it pos- sible to do this in three or four days. He ex- pects to use a very large balloon, of about 230,000 cubic feet capacity. He is at present in San Francisco, from which point he intends to make a preliminary test flight across the conti- r 1 nent. Professor Clayton's project is similar to that proposed lately by Joseph Bruckner, who expects to perform the same feat in an airship by making use of trade winds which blow to the eastward during a certain part of the year.

VULTURES AND THEIR FOOD SUPPLY. Vultures are, of course, enormous eaters, and devour in a state of Nature much more than an eagle will do at a sitting. "H.A.B. writing in Country Life, says: I have seen the carcase of a full grown eland, weighing probably fully 1,0001b., picked clean by vultures in the course of an African winter's day. How many vultures were collected at the feast I cannot say with certainty. Probably 150 would be well beyond the mark. These foul birds gorge until they are literally full to the mouth and can take in no more. But vultures, on the other hand, must be often compelled to go for long periods without food, and when they get the chance have to make the most of it.

POULTRY PICKING BY MACHINERY. A machine for picking poultry has recently been invented which possesses many admirable features, chief of which is that it does not re- quire an operator to hold the fowl against the pickers. The fowls are attached to a belt which travels through the machine, and the picking is done automatically. The endless belt on which the fowls are hung passes upward through, the picking chamber. Within the latter are two types of pickers. The lower pickers consist of a tubular member with a picking comb, flexibly connected with a tubular spindle which passes through a frame arranged within the picking chamber. The picker may be moved out of its normal position in any direction required by the passage of the fowl through the ohamber. The feathers and down on the fowl are grasped be- tween the folds of a bellows and pulled off as the fowl is fed upward by the belt. Suction through a slot serves to hold the feathers fast to the pickers and causes them to be torn from the fowl. Immediately thereafter a supply of com- pressed air passes through the picker, causing it to release the feathers, which are then blown out of the top of the chamber by means of a continuous draft of compressed air. «

THE VOICE OF A FLY. If one had asked not long ago whether inaecfe could talk, science would have answered the question in the emphatic negative. So much new knowledge has been obtained upon the sub- ject recently that the opinion of those who know most about it is that insects not only do possess means whereby they are able to communicate ideas to one another, but that many of them have actual voices, with which they express various emotions, such as love, fear, anger, and joy-and that in still other cases, it is possible that whole chains of ideas may be so expressed. Most astonishing are some of these newest dis- coveries. For instance, it has just been proven that the house fly possesses a voice. Everyone, of course, is familiar with the buzz of this in- sect, but no one has probably noticed that on occasions it utters a peculiar little squeak or squeal, which is evidently a manifestation of ex- citement or alarm. If you pursue a fly on the window pane and try to catch him, he is likely to emit this squealing sound—which, however, is audible only to the keenest human ears. This, then, is a voice—something quite different from the fly's buzz, which is made by the rapid flap- ping of its wings. It comes from two littlg throats, one under each wing.