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One thing that causes extra work for the letter sorters is the peculiar adâ€" dresses on many letters and packages. Aside from the thousands of missives sent to Santa Claus, there are those with some such address as "Care of Lieutenant Peary, North Pole." Puzâ€" zle addresses are not uncommon, and, â€"although postoffice people enjoy them ordinarily, they do not at Christmas time. A frequent form of address is a drawing of a plum pudding, with the name, street and city written in minute characters on a leaf of a sprig of holly at the top. ,, The greatest center of postal activity the world is probably New York ty. It is by far the largest mail disâ€" buting or shipping point on the conâ€" nent, receiving postal mattér from oreign countries, from the north, south and west. It also has an immense forâ€" eign population that sends home vast numbers of money orders and registerâ€" ed letters. In the midst of the Christmas rush an average of 6,000 registered parcels and 60,000 letters an hour are received at the foreign mail station in New York. Recentiy one ship sailed for Europe with 3,000 sacks of ordinary mail matter and almost 73,000 rogisterâ€" ed packages, while another tessel carâ€" ried away balft a million dollars in money orders. D. W. DuWw. _ BANTA MAKES THE POSTMAXN‘S BACK ACHE ticularly careful that the regulations of the department are not being vioâ€" lated. Many articles of merchandige are prohibited transmission, in â€" the mails. Violations are frequent beâ€" €eause of ignorance. But if the carriers are worked bard, how. about the postoffice clerks? Beâ€" sides the increased amount of matter they have to handle, they must be parâ€" Whether in the heart of the city or on a rural delivery route the carrier is loaded down with giftsâ€"remembrances of loving friends or heart echoes of scattered families. The letters he must deliver are easily three times as many as in ordinary seasons, but his greatest burden is the packagesâ€"inâ€" numerable, back breaking packages. With every hamlet, town and city sending out and. receiving its quota, millions of letiers and packagesâ€"some byâ€" special delivery, many registered and others with ordinary postageâ€" travel from and to all parts of the naâ€" tion, arrive from foreign shores or pass out to them. There are about $0,000,â€" ©00 persons in this Country. A maâ€" jority of them both send and receive Christmas mail, from one to. several «ozen pieces each. This gives a faint idea of the extent of the work that falls upon the postal authorities. IS sleigh and reindeer reâ€"enforeâ€" â€" ed by fast trains and occan liners, Santa Claus is deliverâ€" x ing a much larger number of presents every.year. ‘The United States postal authorities‘ say the Christmas mail this season will far exceed in volâ€" ume thatâ€"of last winter. ‘And then it was tremendous. Senta‘s Chrisomas Mail _ â€"on the outside, igoffensive nm-.\ guile less dovility; on Athe inside, nmwrder, Yot to regaro Micawbet‘s sleopy eyes, hbis inc@Fensive demeanar and his playiul disposition owe could\ not susâ€" pect him of harboring such sefiments. You would not imagine that under that fNuffy and amiable exterior ewuld be rolled up so much Aoise and dopravity After that, for ‘the most part, he lived in a back alley. He slept in a barrel by day and went on voyages of exploration and discovery by night. He did not find much but tribulation and scrapsâ€"scraps that. were eatable and scraps with otlml-t felines. Someâ€" times, whenâ€"driven by|bunger, he venâ€" tured out by. day. bccnslomlly he caught sight of a mouse, a bird or a ehipmunk. Then, motionless and alert, be would watch it for what seemed ages. The patience ‘of.a cat is a thing that should be fimmortalized on a monument. . While} on these daily outings be had to jurap sideways and .straight up to get oug of the way of playful brickbats andj clods burled in his direction. He becetme as expert in‘ dodging missiles as m millfonaire in evading a court summjons. Only Miâ€" cawber knew nothing ; about‘ millionâ€" aires. _He belonged,to*the hoi polloi. Mostof the time he livexI the strenuous life. He became expertIin war through many trouncings.. He Aearned to lick everything he could not make lave to. He had no morals to speak of andâ€"was never troubled by coumsciance or aftruâ€" ism. When living the simple flife he was mild and meek looking and had a voice as gentle and pleadiag as that of a book agent. But when«on the warâ€" path he was a eyclone wad emitte1l yells that would wake up the block. He was a bad man/from thesmountains . and was yearning‘to make,the world acquainted with the fact. Through loug practice;Mica wher had developed a voice tkat ram all the ganiut of ‘hideousness. It scooted through all the souiles of disvord and embrzcod all the aortaves af in irmony. It was not musical, but pene trating. It was chaotic, Aeriminal and Massault provoking. _ It ‘expressed all fiat is fiendish and malevolent. It ha®@ in It the despair and <error of a lost\soul, the wail of a de€feated deman. It§was a scandal, an omtrage and an infam‘y. TV â€" steam sirenmgot all its shiging â€"scar* of disholiâ€"m, allfits crescondo of cussed» ness, all Its swi#tchbacks andl shoot the chutes of the inferualismt of sound from the felinve roice. too many of them, especiallygat night. Micawber belongedl to thiso‘overplus. The cat‘s voice when tunedgup is not exactly like the music of tie spheres, but attracts more«ittention. . When exâ€" cited by wrath feline langutrge has a diabolic quality that soundslike blasâ€" phomy. â€" So Goos the languatge of the man who is stitred out of\ his rest thereby. If some Garner could disâ€" cover just what feline smallit: tik means he would doubtless bring to our notice an otiginal and. delicious irray of swear words that would fenrich the langnage. Now, there are«auts and catts, as you doubtless know. Siometimes{there are __ _ Micawber had had a hard life. What between the world, the fiesh and the small boy be was up against it most of the time. As a kitten be had been reared in comparative luxury, but that time now seemed to him, when he thought of it at all, like a dim, sweet dream. Mostly he did not think of.it, being too busy .with everyday affairs, such as fighting, dodging stones and looking for provender. The family where he had lived in his happy youth had moved away, forgetting to take him along. ‘The nextoccupants of the house did not want him, so he. was thrown out on the coM world.. He did not leave voluntarily, but after being chased ‘out, kicked out, locked out and doused with bot water a sufficient numâ€" ber ‘of times he finally took the hint that his company was not desired. He did not so much mind the indignities, but rude, physical assawit pained and surprised him. ere are some things that even a cat fil not stand. DO not know his name. Perhapg it was Tom. Most cats of his perâ€" suasion are called Tom, It is a sort of noncommittal name and is no burden to the cat. Mark Twain says he once killed a promising bunch of cats by overloading them with names. He.called them Zoroaster, Sour Mash, Apollinaris and Blatherâ€" skite. I once knew a cattnamed Plupey Shute, but he was fairly husky and did not seem to mind it. We might comâ€" promise by calling this especial feline Micawber. He was always looking for something. Mostly it was for someâ€" thing to eat, and when it wasn‘t that it was for trouble. * 4 M Atement. . Onoe naven of refuge api Tearn to tipp fâ€" Iniman deling vee P pocat.. Te M ben w het Itis life ut of t « Mi nd vice, the hesatin tih a dou! »lzebub. /1 debris th ut of t Micawber, ch alive, »I in that ser and th e betrayal of childlthe usted and in retuen In hirr a larse section of 1 destriction. . Ont of he had neeu hit by a at seemed anlloc upwe That Mar vell utho wihin OM ninee," he hac (n artion of the spirl is a eat: ‘That was W mud ruprword ifi nod down un ditures, frag and @mashed imprisoned it darkness fo: red an notiot In, ta a * f T jncip . d CHRONICLEâ€"TRLEGRAPH, DECQ, 20TH, 1906 d bland P id had earthâ€" hot thit rovre terâ€" hy OX Ir {7 eats feel same «delicacy about rpt dgto socicty with most of clothes fippest off. .. \ater in hi« careor be was taken n Jarg> and‘ matronly: womsa in amiahic disposition and a douâ€" u. UMore he regrined his faith mankind ami ceasod for a time a danvluz posstmisto â€" Having ita A i WaC Qv c wounded f(?('!]- ; fur grow back reaily to miaks e ly compiny. delicacy about with imost of day hed home fopmer w told in# 1 ; Cue winter‘s day he especially felt ; the need of a new life. Perhaps it was I bedguse be was cold; also hungry, It 1 seciged to him that he was always hunâ€" 1 gry.‘.He was a bundle of appetite, an i::nim\tei; void, an intarnate longing. This ‘particular day, which was to h)ro\'c red letter one in his career, he iwuudezcdâ€"fax" from his usual baunts. Finally \espying a slightly open door, | his old domestic habits got the best of speons for ; of hor latge h windorh ; fol eg with a hb lis own. He _ ing theâ€"neighborbhood. He had a perâ€" ‘ernial anpetite that never was uppesasâ€" ed, a eraving that never was diled. ; Micawber was a ban@dsome cat and { valiant: withal, and amoug the noudeâ€" ; script felines of all colors and no color , to spenk of he shone resplerdent in a | tabby coat, striped like a tiger. He had | now ~reached an age when any well ‘ vegulated cat should have settled down !anl become a respected citizen. Perâ€" ; baps it was a sense of his unregenerate | corulition that caused him to cast about for another home. During bis wanderâ€" l ings be stopped at a barn and a farmer fgm';- him milk fresh from the cow. There were three dogs on the place. ancd Micawber did not stay. ‘Tom: on the block. Nor did he forget l tie trick. . Finaily the ramily discovâ€" ; ered him at it, and neighbors came to ! see, his cleverness. If this caused him any pride, however, he never showed it. Cats are not afflicted withâ€"swettet~ head, even though they have no ethics : worth mentioning. I3 11 it th h n When the family whom Micawber had honored with his presence moved away to a distant city it was with sincere regret that they were forced to leave him behind: As the house stood vacant for a time be again became a wanderer on the face of the earth, a tramp, a stray, a vagabond. So once mwere he began carousing and disturbâ€" ing theâ€"neizshborbood. He hal a perâ€" 19 at feawher, y l Venturing on his bunger driven way, | + amdenly became rigid In every | uh. . Te know that odor. What cat [ ws not? < It was a imouse. But ; lhre? 1 + was there. But the best laid plans ‘t only of mice and men, but aiso of is, go oft astray. There was certainâ€" railk here, but in suth peculiasr guise «t his feline brain éould not make + hear thout ‘s. he #pipsg MHDORJH v th buit ofie ain his instinct directed him to spot. It was on a table in the en and with a bound he was \__Yes, hoere was the holeâ€"two of ar fact. Placing bis nose down of ottle.] (} «2t In a ball and romped his way into arts of the childron. MHe was not ut sentiment, and, hihgry as he he would stop .to mnf\e friends. ‘z on to the table whore the eat was seated, he, progecded to advances. _ But never a word ho othor cat He advanged closâ€" t the hiticadid not even coigh lee him. This was rank disconr nud be went away in dissust. d cats wore also a new thing to PAGB NINE. hre y Whow 4 here, but : s feline Db The nursi his exper ball and r ts of the cl sentiment â€" would st« If reiit: ttenhood iys. n ilat on ib 21 Christmas helping of He was forthwith adopted «lovo to an old and ro hn movre BW 18C ~<onat called Micawber, nove u;?vroprlalo. if more _ nomo‘of Tabby. Of his Lly .s and adventures ho «T as be purted ont his ratitude at his new found sing bo\uf wrience. I "I catigut a small i lofore, be sat vit for that monise ove the mistress ol were 1 which tawing nothâ€" [ c and that igf‘ ViHRY spark that mounts the chimneg 2 Is a fairy of the fite, > l barcing. up to watch for Santa, ! Sailing higher, highet, highet, Tiil, qmid the stais that twinkle, F. On the sky pathway they pause, 1 Gaze and biink, l Nod and win‘, ‘ Walting for old Santa Clans. Al.l. the coals that > On the beasthâ€"or And the embers thirs : Are but eager ege: For KAss Kring‘s, who With bis pack of of ussi TKIERE 4s music in the chimneyâ€" On the hearth a genial glow. KNow the house is making ready For old Santa Claus, 1 know,â€" And the ture the chimney ‘s singing Is a merm roundelag : M ~Joy and cheerâ€" Christmas ‘s here, And old Santa‘s on the wayg.‘ As lilile Princoss Alix, daughter el the date Grand «Duke Louis IV. of Hesse and "sweet Princess Alics," Queen Victoria‘s favorite danughtier, she was taught many of the crafts that it is ceemed proper: in Germany for all elildren to know, Aud it is because of that ability, her deep devotion to he? ©=ildren and the inherent desire of the Commans‘ "to make things" that the ccarina plans. and executes littie sarâ€" prises for the five imperial vounsastore TOY CHALET MADE FOR THE CZAROWITZ BY TLE CZARINA, The model is exquisitely. carred in whitewood and has cightyâ€"four sepâ€" arate parts. These are so inade that the .miniature hons> cein beâ€" pulled down. by the czarowitz, who is now more than two yoear, old, without beâ€" ing damaged. ‘The czarina is an exâ€" The original is the czar‘s favorite exutrer house, in which he frequently has his luncheon served when he deâ€" sires to escape from the aimost qpâ€" prossive splendor of ‘the imperial dinâ€" inx roomsâ€"splendor that takes away the imperial appetite. P‘robably her most notable effort as a wobdcarver is an exact model of a chalet in the imperial pleasure grounds counected with the Tsarskoeâ€"Selo palâ€" fco. duekesses, ~‘The ezarina‘s life is a busy. one, fillsd with court â€"and other public duties, social entertainments of a personal naiure rud many acts. of ebarity, while she spends some thme in painting, woocearving, drawing and literary work. Also she devotes many hours to making Christmas presents for ner childrenâ€"â€"an occupftion which to her is indeed a labor of love: . Gaz> ME chon enk Cr and th addi t woudcarver. | This ability t of her German blood and Hu Ne embers thire asscmbled Are but eager cges that walt inss Kring‘s, who is coming With his pack of sweets and toys, Sledge and decet, Bilnging cheer â€" inlliton ghuils and boys. L022 _ ARTHUR J. BURDICEK. A Royal Xm&s ]PH“@&S@EB& _ Maker HRISTMAS LVE NE homemade Christmas presâ€" enc crize bas invaded Russia, amd the ezarina has caught it. Sh¢ has plerty of Clristmas and spencs it liberally, but in a miÂ¥kes with her own bands uat wiil especiaily please <the itz and the four little grand per in Germany fo nc, And it is becat or _deep devotion to he inherent desire of make . things" that and executes littie five imperial youns glow and sparkle in the grate al youngsters A. J. HETT, is a re environ r all c of + cheg C the the Noglected caluiony soon expires. Show that you are hurt and you give It the appearance of truth.â€"Tacitug. More Than Likely. ' Romantic He (with his arm around her waist)â€"Ail this seems so familiar to me, darlingâ€"the quict night, the whispered word, the tender look. I wonuder if it is a memory of some preâ€" vious cexistence? â€" Practical Kheâ€"â€"No, Wuilliam; it is more likely a memory of some previous sweethoart.â€"leferce. Sweet She turne Disgusted "One of them aecosted mie one mornâ€" inz as I came out of the Corcle Mediâ€" terrance, a fashionable French club. "**Monsieur; he said, ‘one little sou, for the Jove of heaven, My poor wife is starving.* "‘Why, look here,‘ said I, ‘only last work I gave you some money to bury your wile, aud now you tell me that she is starving. How can that be? " ‘But, mousieur; said the beggar, ‘I bave a new wife now.‘" Scrining a winter he spentâ€"at Nice. "But the Nice bezzars!" he said, laughing. "The splendid. gun drenchâ€" ed Promenadé des Anslais, with Its ivory white villas on on¢ side and the blue Mediterrancean on the other, is alâ€" ways bauuted with these beggars. Short Mourning. A well known yachtsman was deâ€" scribing a winter he spentâ€"at Nice. in beauty aud inspiration, are grouped, the tombs succeed each other without mutch order. > There is a single monus ment crected by the state to the solâ€" diers killed in the siege of Paris. Tiero the tomb of Heloise and Abeâ€" lard is visited continually by large numâ€" bers of pilgrims, and there is never ant end to the sentiment around. the Gothic monument rising from the bright bued geraniums amd roses. ‘.\'otwithstandlng the jron railing, many a lover carries from the hallowed spot a petal blown across by the obliging brecze. Except for one section, where a considerable number of artists and authors, brothers The white mausoleums among the green trees remind the visitor of an oriental city, but it is esttmated that in twenty years there will not be spacd enough far one lone dead man. A cal culation has been made which would point to the fact that the sum of $30, 000,000 is represented in these last sleeping places of man. Even though the French may not always be grateful during the life of their illustrious chilâ€" dren, there is a mighty attempt after death to prove appreciation. Among the famous men who are today lying calm and beloved in Pereâ€"laâ€"Chaise are Rossini,. Bellini, Chopin, members of the famous Carnot family, Moliere, La Fontaine, Delacroix and Balzae. + XIV. it was known at Mont Louis. At last, May 21, 1804, the oficial opening of the new necropolis tooz place. Famous Resting Place of the Great Denad of France. In the center of the most populous and hardest working part of Paris lies Pereâ€"laâ€"Chaise, the city of the dead. All fetes of the faubourg beat against the walls of this spot, which has its own fete twice a year. Within less than a century this cemetery Las become the abode of at least 800,0C00 dead. It formerly formed a part of the domzins of the bishopric of Paris under the name Champ Leveque. Under Louls The botanical name of the rose of Jericho is anastatica, from anastasis, resurrection. » ‘There sre other species of resurrection plants, but they are not so attractive as their Dead sea relative. which, although : it hbas very little benuty. bas an honored place among flowers because of the many fancies and associations.it calls up and its pes cl:liardm'a-h-;nu\-:-t.â€"l:x(-h::nge. â€" The dry ball whon unfolding drops its seed, and from these it may be culâ€" tivated as an annual. To resurrect these dry balls it is simply necessary to keep them standing in glasses of waâ€" ter, immersed about halfway to the top of their branches. ‘The expansion is â€" merely a mechanical, spongelike process, * The desert winds snap of its dry stom and whirl the scemingly doad litte ball away over sandy plains, like & featherweight. After it chances to reach some damp place.‘in about ten days, the moisture has wrought a miraâ€" ele, for the once dead is alive again, green and growing. The old time pilsrims, who brought back this plaut with them from the Holy Land, told wonderful talss of it: power to bloom out on Christmas day and gave it â€"the rame of resurrection flower. Another old legend names it St. Mary‘s rose, becanse it is said that when Joseph and Mary were fleeing from Egypt one of these flowers grew from every spot where they haited to It Is the Original of All the Resurrec» tiom Plants. Several varieties of the so called resurrection plant* bave appeared among the novelties offered by florists, but the original is the rose of Jericho. Alonztholhuuolthenudun.nr enough away to be out of n':h of the death dealing vapors and‘‘the sailt spray, grows this rose, a little plant famed in manry a legendary | story, which, when ripened, rolls up its sprays and branches into a curious little brown bail. THE ROSE OF JERICHO. aid, she tasted of life‘s bittert » drink her portion .vp. I her little head aside, with the taste, and died. PEREâ€"LAâ€"CHAISE. voy hor languid cye v or two and sigh. d into qur world