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'i, - ntE VERY LATES r FROM ALU THE WORLD OVER. WarcsUnc Itemi About Oar Own Conntry, Oreat BrlUln. the United State*, and All Parta of the Ukibe, Coadenicd and - AMortad tor £a*y TTaillng CANADA. City taxes in arrears to date amounit to 170,647. Cihalham wi'l sink a civic test well (or gas at a cost uf 9^,UU0. Mr. O'Brien, Prineipa; of ths Uamil- tou. College of Music, is dead. Mr. A. J. i'oran has lieen appointed » Coanty Judge at Ituss.and. Diyhriheria is spreading in Montreal mdin portions ot Qael.ec Province. A tig departmental store is talked of in L.uadoa. There is a serious outbreak of dipb- tberia throughout the Province ci Quelx>c. Kic^ston e'.ectors wili vote on a by- law to purchase the Jiidland Central Fair groaods lor 917,UtJU. Ths Court of Rev.aiou has reduced the BfijsessintQt of: Uctawa by ^;^,ai;a, maUiug the final revLsiou amount to |21,9(H,V3J. A shipment of six thousand dollars' worLh oi carriages is to be made from Ottawa to Soum Ajrua in a lew aays. John Bottrell waa givm three years in Kin^^sLon at Btraticrd for stealing a pair oi boots. But he has a history. Hamilton Aldermen are discussing the oppo.ncment of a pur^hasmg agent to bu> suppUes for cv^ry dcpariment 01 the City. Mr. Greenway ia exiiected in Ottawa shortly to iniervLew Mr. Laurier with regard to promociag Icelandic immi- jratioin to JVlanitoba.- An luiJiUtwn man was run over by *w "â- '*'" *' Loudon and so baaly injured Lhal recogiiuion of Ih.? countenance ia uupoesible. Th.8 sheriff has been out in ehargo of Umtonburg, a suburb of Ottawa, lor the sum o'f Six Lhouujia dollars, owing to the Alotsons Bank. Some b.OOO walcr servii-es have been cut off Lu Montreal for non-payment, ind the Bjard of U.ali,h tears aa epi- "lemic in consequence. Frank McLaugni'.n, St. Catharines, [vas knocked uown by a runaway horse, whicn fell on huu. The youmj man died m a few hours. . Mr. Alex. Bell, Manager ol * Scot- tish-tanaa.au Loan and Investment company, of Montreal, has disappear- ed, leaving a number of clients out of pocket. Commander Spain, of the Canadian iiahery protection fleet, has returned to Uttawa. Ue repaits that the stones ol destitution in Labrador are fully borne out by what he saw. Mrs. Martin, an old lady of 72 years, of llumiltoa, wandered away from h-nn- and was found near the (jay half buried m mud. biiu wa.s out all nM{ht and died from exposure. Mr. t'isher, the Uominion Minister of Agricultuie, will start for Wasaugton in a few days to secure from th»! Amer- ican authorities the lemoval of the ninety days' quarantine regulations. The parents of the late wife of J. Kegiuaid llooper, for whose murder he Is suffering iue 101411 isonment, have pe- titioned for his re.ease. being convinced that he did not murder tneir dau«h- UNn-iEiD 6T.VTE& It is claimed in Chicago that a veg- etable pow(i«"r has Ixen discovered which mixed with water, develops a very high electrical jKwver.- The citizens of Lawrence, Mass., have de<-ided to ask the next Legislature to pass a bill maki>lx the playing of foot- ball a misdemeanor.! Priisideut and Mrs. Cleveland enter- tained at lunoiieon on Wednesday Dr. Jcihn Watson, known in the literary wcrld OS "Uwi Maclaren," and Mrs. Wat son. Edward \V. Curry, of Ues Moines, Idwa, died oil Wedn-'silay of lilood poisoning, the r, dult of injuries he re- ceived at ha iniiia.iaa into the ^ks' Lodge a few we.vka ago. Judge laoac Park.T, the well known jurist, iS dyiiig at Fort Sott, Ark. Ue ha.-j prdiably paisod tbvi deaih sentencu on mere mea Ctian any other judge in the United S.ates., In hia last Xhanij-i^iving day proola- inatioa President Clev-'liud mentioned rhe named of Christ, and fcr this de- purtnra from pr.tiedent flabbi Machcl, ot Cleveland, Ohio, is taking htm to task. GENli3iAL. Mrs. Scott Siddons, the actress, died m Paris. T'weniy-five persons were kiiUed in a mine expi.osion in \V'estphalia. The next session of .'-he Pau-Aineric- an Modicai. Ci,ub will I>h ii-.-ld at Car- cas, VeaezueJa. Piacardu have l:eesi posted in Canea itaciting the MuEsu.mans toahoi^- war against the L'liruitiana. It has teen decided at Madrid to sCad ten thousand troops to the Phiu- ^ippiine Islands at once. The Spajiish Government loan of two hundred and fifty mi'i.Lon pesetas has been great.iy ovar-subscrilied. ITje Metropo'.itain and a'.J of the lead- ing newsiMipers at Moscow have open- ed suLscription lists for the relief of the famine sufferers in India. Dervishes have raided the country in the vicinity of Tokar, killing live men and iooting a numUir of cattle. Troops have lieen desputchiid in pursuit of the raiders. By a clever ruBe a maA disguised as a postman on Tu&'sclay secured a bag of reg stered ieilcrs, of 'ho value ot forty-two thousand francs, from a mail- cart VA Pa.i'is, and decamped. Mexicajn tolmccu promisi-.s to take the pace of Havana toliacco in the mark- ets of the- wor'jJ, and already great tracts of couintry are iieing operated as tobacco plantations. The Hegeot and the Queen of Hol- oaid wi.l spend th? winter in Ituly, where Queeo Wi.heljuina will be be- trothed to am Italian captain of royal liiood who has won the Queen's affec- tion. mm THR BLOOD TAX, QUEER CUSTOM SURVIVING IN THE NARVARRE3E PYRENEES. (tpnnlMnlH iind FrenebmrB Abide by an A«r««mrat Nadu Mix llnuilred Â¥riir« Affoâ€" The Latter Hay Vnurly Irlbute «f Bullorkii 10 Bay l>euc« on Ihe Froatifr. There is a vague tradition that .some time in the thirteenth century, in'the h'gh pasture lands of Arias, in the Pj- reneiis, some shepherds of. the valley of Ronc4il. in Navarre, were munlered by shepherds of the valley of Bar.'.ton. in Bearn. One is shown on an upland lawn on French soil .si ones that are said to cover the graves of the victims. ter By the accidental explosion of LW pounds of uyaauuie at Kound Hill mine, British Columbia, Charles Ber- ger and Ch;is ALller were blown to atcnis and th«! mine was badly dam- aged. '' Letters have been received in Mon- treal iroui a number of those who leu some monibti ago to settle in Bra- »il. 'the Caiiaoiaiis there are suffer- ing great hardships. Aid. Scrugg.e was appointed City rreasuier 01 Gue ph, ami the Counc.l passed a strong reso.ution in favor of more adequaic punshment of the late detauliing Treasurer Harvey. The Montreal Ladies' Benevolent So- ciei.v b^is r..-ceivi'd an auun.vmous gift of f'.O.IHJU, the annual income therefrom to be UAid tor the mauiieiiaiice of the inmates of the ladies' benevolent insti- tution. While in Ntova i^cotia. Dr. Borden visKed fort Anne, one of the oldest sta- tions in the Uominion. It is in an ex- treiinely dilajiilaleil condition, and the Minister is inciiued to do all he can towards having it retiaired. The Government proposes to arrange for an extensive service of refriger- ator cars weekly on railways Cor the airriage of perishable food products a Great Britain. Plans for the cars are now I.e.ng considered. Sir Richard Cartwright issued yes- terday his first quarterly report as Minister of Tiade and Commerce. T'he leading Canadian i'xp<.>rt8 to Great Britain during the past nine months show a considerable increase over the corresponding period of last year. GREAT BRITAIN. HELEN KELLER'S SUCCESS. The pathetic story of Helen Keller, the marvelous blind and deaf girl, of whom the whole world has heard, has acquired new interest by news of her success in passing with high credit the seven preliminary examinations of Har- vard University, entiUlu her to enter Radcliffe College. Helen Keller is but 16 years old, yet her mental develop- ment, in face of appalling physical de- ficiencies, is one of the marvels of the age. Because of her misfortunes and I be remarkable faciility with which she has acquired knowledge by peculiar methods, her name is known through- out the world, and everywiiere there has been awakened the livliest interest and sympathy. In London an insti- tute for the education of blind mutes has been named after her, and if her life is sparvd the future has great tri- umphs tn store for this marvelous in- tellectual child of misforiuue, Helen Keller has bad a wonderful though sad career. She was born and spent her early childhood at her father's home, in Xuscumliia, Ala. Shu was bom bimd, deaf and, as her parents soon dis- covered, mute. She had none of the senses, except that of touch. She had not even the sense of taste. Up to 'her seventh year her inind was a blank. Her famiily could only commu- nicate witJi her by means o£ the crud- est signs. Therefore all that she has accomplished is the work of a little more than eight years. To Miss Sulli- van, her inie.ligent and faithful teach- er, IS uue much of the credit of unlocl^ ing the mysteries ot this child's wonder- ful mentality Dr. Nansen has received fifty thous- and doClars from, a firm of London pub- (lishers for his ctjming Ixiok. Admira'^ Sir George Richards, K.C.B.. conservatoi- of the Mersey, is dead. He was seventy-six years of age. The persoual estate of the late Geo. DuMaurier amounted to i;47,000. The Hitmilton district fruit-growers' present to the Queen ha« arrived in Liwidon. Mr. Barney Barnato, the South Af- rican diamond mildionaire. denies any Intention of sending agents to th« British Columbia gold field. The RritiKh National Union of Con- servative Association has adopted re- soliitions favoring a comme>rcial feder- ation lictween Great Britain and her co!.>uies, the re.striction of the immi- fT.itiou ofpauvier aliens and the crea- l<in of a national reiserve ot breart- ptuff^, 'The British -steamer Ueniu oas ar- rived at Liverpoi>l from the west coast of Africa and rrtporls that she was not allowetl by the Liberian authorities to communicate with Cape Palmas. A.s- tbft Benin approached that p.:aoe she was flared upon by theGuronamab. thu soIh Te.<ciril comprising the navy of -Li- beria. With but one sense to aid her â€" that of touch â€" one cah form an Looa of iho tremcuuous obstaclt^ the teacher had to overcome, Mi-ss Sullivan began by a code of signs impressed up- on the palm of the chUd's UJJids, and, after muih puticuce, succeeded in cou- veyuig the lirst glooms of imderstaud- iug to the virgm brain. The next task was to teach uer to speak, aad this, too was soon accomplished, ihauks to the chJd's eagerness to learn. The method â- of teaihuig her to utter words was to have her place the tips of her fingers upon her teacher's lips, and thus by the sense of touch convey to her the idea of soimd. She was also taught the raised alphabet, and thus in a short time was able to read. Miss Ketler con now converse with any one. Her utterance is a little imperfect, as is to beexpccted of one who knows not the sound of her own voice, but she has no difficulty in muk>- ing herself understood. The only way, however, by which she can receive oral communications is by the sense of touch. Let her place her finger tips upon the throat or lips of any one speaking, and there is instantly conveyed to her brain understanding of what is said. Miss Kel- ler has been uu inmate of the Wiight- UumastoD School for the oral instruc- tion of the deaf for more than a year, and it is here that she has made bet moat rapid progress. She has rapidly acquired knowledge of French, Germian and history, and already she has writ- ten much! ut these two languages, and her own as weLL She has a very strong poetic temperament, and her diary, which she has been keeping for two years, abounds with beauiiful thoughts, most beautifully expressed. What fate may have in store for this strangely gifted child no one can pre- dict, but her future will be compassion- ately regarded with the keeiiosi. iuter- \ est by aU of civilized human kind. and the srtory lives on in a chanson still sung in the canton of the Baret- onais. In consequence of this massa- cre, the Bai-etonais were condemned in perpetuity to the payment of a tax to the Roricalaia. and this they accepted apparently as an alternative, or pos- sibly as an end to a vendetta. The tax has been paid during the last six or seven hundred years. The extraor- d-nary thing is that it survived the revolution. The scene of the transaction â€" for, as will appear, it is more a mere ceremony â€"is the Pierre de St. Martin, a fron- tier stone remote from roads and vil- lages under the Pic d'.<Vrlas. In the In the afternoon we were ascending the mountains by way of the iounense forest of Isseaux, of which the tim- ber went in former days to the build- ing of the French navy. There was a dense misc. and it was not without difficulty that, on emerging from the forest, we made at 7 o'clock the ca- bane, where we were to pass the nighi. It was a strange "interior." More than twelve (rf us slept in the little hut, round a wood fire, unassisted liy a chimney, aft«r a supper of boiled goat's milk into which we had broken our course bread. In ihe ascending reek the nineteenth century was felt to waver, to recede, to disapiiear ! E.\- oepting our four or five shepherd hosts we were all on the same errand, spots and Baretonais bound for the Pierre de St. Martin. One incident only dis- turbed the night. The huge Pyreneau wolf-hound's deep i.ay gave WARNlNi; Of A BEAR in the neighborhoo<l, and one of the shepherds went out and fired a gim to alarm the intruder. In addition to this big game we had come upon fre- quent tracks of wild boar, the turf torn up by h.s tusks, liut otherwise there were fe ws'gns ol animal life m t he for- est. Up at daybreak we iound the mist cleared by a 8:»uili wind, a glorious morning "flattering the mountain tops," out leaving the valleys thick Wiih clouds, which lay lielow us in ev- ery direcitunâ€" lakes and seas of cloud cut Ol which the summits aptieared as is.ands or reefs. The remainder of our journey lay lirst in the fonwt through a singular deiile, the Ijarricade de tjuil- I'.nge. separ;iung the liiurnaise and Uas.|ue couur.es, a rugged ascending way, strewn with stones, between rock wa Is. Danicsque in its features, where one expeeied 10 see. and did see, snakis ; then over a tare mounta.uous region, where 11)1' rcrlcs were in lorm like huge . ab.esâ€" whence, indeed, the name oi a neighboring height, the lio Table des Irois Roisâ€" liil linally the verge was reache<l and wo looked over the gray sterile mountains ot Navarre, llii'ij- slopes scarcely clothed with dwarf pines, in the striking contrast to ihe iith.ck beech forests on the French side. W» p:issed here a cross to Ihe memory of five SpauLib contra! andisis who perlshe.l in an .\pril avalanche noi '1 ng ago; the names of tour are given, the lifih unknown, with ihe striking au.l suggresiive conunentary. "De Pro- â-  undis." The rendezvous was reached at 8 o'clock, and by 9 a company of about 150 bad .issembled, iiicluiliug the S^vus-Pre.'et of the Uassi'S-Pyrenees, who attended, however, merely as a spectator, the cure of one ot the Bare- tonais vilage.s and bis vicaire. and some gardes des uicnt agues, and douanii-rs. the Spaniards were the last to appear, heralding their approach liy niiLsket shols, and on their arrival the business of the day legan. THK TWO PEOPLES drew up in line on either side of the I rentier stone in their respective ter- ritories. Imnieiliately opposite the stone was the Alcade ot Isaba, wearing a bliick coot eilged with crimson, with a hood and long false sleeves, and round hs neck a large white pleated collar, Ihe wh de costume dating from ItiOO. lie carried a biack baton tipped wi'h silverâ€" the waud of his office as Chief Justice of the court. He was attend- ed by a nolary and supported by the Alcades-, of Urzainqui, Garde, and Us- larrozâ€" the other villages of the Ron- cal concemeilâ€" habited in long, full- skirled, black, eighteenth century ccl- larless coat.s. long waislcoals, and the usual brual violet waistbands, knee breeches, and black stockings of Ih" Navarre.sp. A nunjlier of their folliiw- ers were armed and stixxl to attention with their guns loaded. .-V herald liy the .Kiile of the President carried a javelin, to which was attiwhed a crlm- si>m SI reamerâ€" a sign of just revenge. t>n the other .-iide it must lie confes.sed that the French presented a less im- posing appearance. T'hey wore their blue bloii.ses and Bearnaize caps, and here and t here were some in the red- striped waistcoats said to be peculiar to the Baratona's. Tht; maires of Ar- ette, Lanne, Aramits, and Issor were to be distinguished only by their tri- color scarfs, which they wore round their waists over there blouses. (U was noticeable, by the wa:^, that the national colors were not displayed on the Spanish side.) The French herald carried a javelin liearing a while streamerâ€" sign of the pacific intentions ot those for whom he acted, all of whom were unarmed. The order of proceedings is flxetl by a document bearing the d;i(i' of LS?,"). The President, the Alcail" ui Isii'ii, siieaking in Spanish, de^iiiaiicle.! of the Kreiioh if Ihey desired pi-.ioe. 't'he maires replied "Yes" in I hf .same lan- guage. Their herald then advanced and laid bis javelin on the top of the stone. in line with the frontier. The Spanish herald then drove his lanl^e into French soli cl<M<! to the stone, the two lanui-s thus forming a cross. One of the French maires then placed his right hand on the .section of the cross on the stone, then an Alcade his hand on the Krenchmun's. and so on in order, the Alca-ie of Isal a'.s hand l>eing the la-st. Then on the pile of hands the latter resied the laton of justice, and all took THE OATH OF PEACE. The President then cried three times. "Paz davans" ("Peace henceforth"), and at th s signal the .*^aniards disihargeil their piece.3 over the heads 01 the Freni-hnion, and consequently in the direeiion of Kranw-. Then followed I'unpot ilu sang. Originally the pay- ment was three while mareji, but these being diffii-iilt to priwure, the Bareton- ais were allowed i« sulistilule three heifers of a particu'ar color and breed. Six or seven of these creatures had leen brought. The Spanish veterin- ary having taken the oath by placing h s right thumb on the top of his baton that he would deal fairly, proceeded to examine the auimals. One of the three first offered was rejected, and ths gave rise to a very likelv dispute before the Alcatle. who, it may be ob- served, with his shaven face, serious judicial air, and per-'eci self-cr.inmand, acted his part to iierfentiun. Unmoved, apparently, by the display ol feeling on lx)tb sides, be listened to all, spoke little, but apparently to the point, and succeeded finally in quelling the '''^"u^" ''^^ affair of the animals (wh-ch were valued at alxmt £Geach) having been settled, and an accjiint of It drawn up by the notary, it was ask- ed if the compact between the two vat- â- eys bad Ijeen observed during t he past year, and if any one wished to speak. No one replying, the alcaile then presented his baton to the two Span- ish and to the two French gardes de montagnes, who, placing their ri?ht thumbs on it, swore as representatives to o'lserve the convention. The notary then obtained the signatures of thi- Alcades and maires to his pr<K'es-verbaI f<>r lodgment among the archives of the Roncalais. This closed the proceedings, and the assembly broke up. "NEW WOMAN" OF GERMANY. The "new woman" of Germany is a very harmless being, familiar to us now tor years, at any rate. It she aspires no higher than the young lady whose do- ings arc immortalized by the Jewish Chronicle, A Berlin corre«pondent ot this paper writes: "On my way from the Lelpziger Strasse to the exhibition. whi'.Bt sitting on the top ot a tramcar, \ young lady of some seventeen sum- mers, with a fine, intelligent, and on- mi^akably Jewish face, came on and sat herself Ixrside me. The maiden blushed as maiden never blushed be- fore, and my curiosity was aroused to its highest iwint when I noticed every person In tlie car stare at her with a smile of approliotion. Nay, more, on the route people stopped and looked at her. Men raised their hats and women waved their handkercbiets. Indeed, children looked thi'oiigh the windows and kept their eyes fixed on the top of my tram till they could see it no more. What could all this mean f That the young Jewess at my aide was 'the wo- miui of the hour,' a person whom Ber- lin was idolizing, some public lienefac- tress, to whom the denizens ot the capi- tal were giving evidence ot their thor- ough appreciation and heartfelt grati- tude, wa i patent to ol'l who had eyes to see. VIi I, then, was her heroic deed? Why Ji I'Very jiei-son in the c^ir say most cordially, 'Icb graluliere Ihnen, b'raitleim,' when the lady was about to descends "The solution ot the mystery was as sijigular as it was amusing. It had, by the vigorous laws and cu.stonis ot the Teutons, been denied uutK the morn- ing in question to the fair sex to ascend the steps of ;kn omnibus or tramcar thi'oughout the length and breadth ot Germiuiy. But at length the ladies had their wayâ€" xs i.idies always willâ€" and the great privilege was reserved for me to sit lieside the youiuK Jewesx whose name ought to lie handed down to pos- terity as most probably the first female in Germany who wuij bold enough to ascend the steps of a tramcar." ITEUrS OF INTEREST. A Vew Parasrapltit II hirk Hii> br » ijmd >rry Kendnbli . The Japanes)!, uj) to Ig'ili, wen- * aiv oina.ed on the lip of Lh.' uc*;!. Three copies of the Bii>le, wri'l.1.1 .n leaves of the fan palm, are in Ihi' I'l V- ish Museum. A codfish recently caught off Flam- borough Head, Engiiind, bad iiisinu of it lifiy-nine fish-hooks. Queen Victoria fre'immtly exain- ines Uer wi.l. It is engrissdU on vej- lum, quarto size, and is I.eautifiiJi.r oound. Women comprise two-thir:la of the church mem.ers oi iat< Lniiod Status, 1-Ul only one-thirteenib 01 the criin- ina.s. Counting all classes uf reserves. 4i«r- many can m tweniy-four hours raise an army of four- millions of disciplined men. One of the most prominent duLie.s of a German sjldier is to take care ol' his feel, so ihat they will alwaj-s be in .od condition. Some of ihe edibiy oysters of Port Linco.n, South Australia, are as big aa a dinner-plate. One of them, tried. Is enougn for a m<!al. W'hiie digging near a blasi^ed tree, uu ols farm, in Leech Gr;*.-e, Texas. Samp- son ijilder <ound an ii-oii pot which con- tained 95,550 in gold. The baya bird of India catches big fire-flies and fastens them to the side ol Its nest with wet clay. At night he nes: looks Uke a sireut-lamp. The residence of J . S. Miller, of Lin- ueu. Wash., took fire during the absence of himself and wife, and six ot their children perished in the flames. The grands >n of Queen Victoria rules Germany, her granddaughter is Km- press o. itasB.a, .i.1,1 aao.her gniiid- daughter is Crown Princess of Rouman- la. A floating island in the Sabine River, fifty acres in extent, and covered witb waier hyaciuLhs, floated for a week tip and down the stream, near Orange. Texas. CARMLKSS BACKS. It \a curious how many people dress tbemseltvos as if they were paper dolls. They have everything well arranged aad becomingly put on in front, while the buck seems quite a seooudiiry con- sideration. Yet a neat looking back, with hair, iieck-ribbun, waistband bows, etc., ail accurately and methodically place<i. Is most attractive. It seems bard to realize, in looking at one's re- flection in a mirror, that the reverse of the picture is quite as much, it not more, seen by the people in general, and that a well-dro»sed woman should scan her back carefully by the aid ot a handglass before leaving her room. Uair particularly should be especially studied at the Ikick as at the front, In Lagcs. on the western coast of Africa, when a king is about to be piaced tm the throne, he must first take an oath thai dur.iig his reign he will not drink intoxicanis. Two mischievous boys in Haskell, Me., touched a match to a squirrel's tail to see if it would burn, 'fhe animal ran ider 3 house, and the blazing tail set it on fire. Ida P. HoIIingworth, of Anderson, Ind., aged eleven, was rebuked for tru- ancy, and oecome so mortified that she took rat poison. A physician and a sto- mach-pump saved her life. Some regard for deiiency is displayed by the proprietor of a restaurant " in Asburn, Ore. A sign on the wall read« thus, "Gentlemen are requested not to swear when ladies are present." The motormen of Philadelnhia have many friends in that city. A petition signed by several citizens requests that the motormen lie protected fnim the weather by an inctosure fronted witb glass. A couple in Knnsan City gut along ainlcalily until they secured a tandem. No wlhere is trouble between husband and wife. When ibcy are intent u|>on a ride, she wants to go in one directum, and he in another. A meek bust and in Uaw8<^.«ville, Ga., sought legal separation from his wife on the ground that she bad "whipped him in the presence of company." Ho could endure the whipping in private: but the worm turned when she Ibrasbexi him in puldic. The servant girls in Decatur. 111., have fonued a union to regulate wages. One of Ihe laws is that when a girl ia employe<l in a family whioh Ls increased by the addition of a "little stranger." the wages of 1 be mrvauL must lie ad- vanced one dollar a month. A wife in Florence, Mo., having tail- ed in her many efforts to reform hen toper husband, tried one more met hod. She threatened to gel drunk every time be did. She did so on one i>cca.-!ion, and he was so disgusted at t he sight of her that he has not touched liquor since. Mrs. Rinda Ritchie, of Knott Coun- ty, Ky., was laid out for dead, and her biwly prepared for the grave. She an^sa in her coi'tln. and soon became well. She predicted that her death would occur on a certain date, thiiiy days later, and her prediction proved true, A Parisian storekeeper wrote thus to one of his patrons: "1 am able to offer you cloth Ike the im-losed sample, at nine francs the metre. In case 1 do not hear from you, I shall conclude that ycm wish to pay only eight francs. In order to lose no time, I accept the last mentioned price." THE SULTAN S TROUBLES. Tbrer lainnlex »r HI* Harem imve Naa- asrd 10 KkciiiM'. The SuKan ha.-3 had an annoying do- mestic uijscn to add to his troubles. It has been rumoxed fur weeks iwit that with the additional re;u»n tor care in sometbiiig seriou.s had iKcurr«l in bis that to very few women Is it given tu po8.sess ,% pretty uapo of the neck, with tile hair growing ti<lily about it. "It is the only place where Nature shows herself a bit ot a slovenâ€" she's apt to leave it unfinished," said an artist cri- ; , • ., .. , tic. speaking of this particular spot. So ' solving the exajiimalion ot a it is well to lot jutlicious art supple- ' nu»u''er of haieiu officials, ment Nature at this point, and to en deayor to make it attractive. Majesty's haivm, for ihe chief eiuiucb had frequent audiences with the Sul- tan, and Izzei IJ 7 was known to have l)<eu holdijiga secret inquiry in- largo U is now learned, on what wt'nis to be reliable authority, that the trouble had its origin in the eternal Anueuiau ditfi- cnilty. The Sultan had in his hareni three young Armenian women, and wbeji the news oif the lust mas.sacre in the streets of the capital penclrateid wit bin the harvju Ihe Turkish and Cir- NEVERS.VAV PARLIAMENT. It is a curious circumsiance that Quocii Victoria ihas never seen her "faithXu'l Couimuns" in session. She is denied a si>ectu(>le that may lie wit- nessed by tihe humblest of her subjects. ' <«lssu»a womeii malt ivated" the "ArnTen- It caji hardly be said with trtUb in ' 'atis so biuially that they resolved up- tlhese times "that the presence of the "* the desiKTate expedient of fleeing . • .]>, tj . t r> '• from the harem. An esiam- ot that .Miri sovereign m tihe House of Commons ; j^ y,r^m|,y unprewd,MUed, but the wouW uuluea<e debate. Neither does ; young womtm maiiag»-d to get out, Ihe other old constitutional theory that ' and not a tra<;e ha-s since U'en found llhe presence of the Muvereign would be of them. 'IVo old harem slaves, "ooth a violation of the trcedoiu and the se- , Armenians, confe.s.sed under torture to crecy of the debates bold good in these days of verbatim newspaiier Parlia- mentary reports. Her Maj>'sly coU'ld in- deed l)t> an unolwerved si)e<'tator ot Ihe House of Coniuionis a.t work if "hv'. .sat behind the grill o£ the ladies' gallery, l>ut this would not be consistent witb tho dignity of Victoria, and the fact aiding the fiigiiiv>t*, but were unable to say where i bt^y took refuge. The. slaves were quietly killed, luid thii.sune undoubtedly await.s the fugitives If capiured. The impression prevails in Constantinople1.bat they found an a«sy- luin in one of the emlM».s»ir-s, and tie Sultan is .satisfied hiiiisi-lf th.it thb is remains that she has never been in the the only possible explanation uf .he House uf Ceuuuotuv failure of hbs agents tu find theui.