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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1903-8-13, Page 2tiKeK4SIct"K 4E Ee+l1 Ca 44�E 1 .t,4m•1 4r+ 10.04•ES CSat#it CoeaM !elbow; yet Joe conte see nothing', and a cold perspiration broke out on DUTY OR, TIIE AlrA A.t:d-1.LYIAIN'S SONS, hint. r • ""ticizl av 1 could only see it!" he gasped, J ust as he said this ho chid see it, fora turn of his lantern revealed the fact that a dein of water Sell regu- larly. from otic of filo burnod booms upon a large shoot of paper which had been torn from the passage well. This, resting on the irregular rub- bish, formed a sort of drum, which gave forth a hollow sound. "Ali, then, but ye aro a goose, Joe Cornier, me boy!" said the fireman, as he turned away with an amiable smile and resumed his seat after re- placing the door, About this time the wind began to rise, and came in irregular gusts. At each gust the door was 'blown from the wall an tuck or so, and fell back with a noise that invariably awoke! Joo with a start. Ho looked round each time quickly but as the door remained quiet ho did not discover the cause of Ids alarm, After it had done this several times Joe became sS to speak, desperately courageous. "tlit out wid ye!" he -crick angrily on being startled again, "wasn't the last wan . all a sham? an' sure yo're the saner, Go 'long in pace --an' good -night!" As he said this the over -taxed man fell asleep; at the same moment a heave. gust of wind drove the door in altogether, and dashed it down on his head. Fortunately, being seine - what charred, the panel that struck his helmet was driven out, so that Joe camp by no greater damage than the fright, which caused his heart to bound into his: throat, for he really believed that the ghost had got hint at last! Relieving himself of the door, which ho laid on the floor lest it should ou d PlaY him the same prank over again, Joo Corney once more settled himself in the easy -chair and resolved to give his mind to medita- tion. Just then the City clocks peal- ed forth the hour of four- o'clock. This is perhaps the quietest hour of the twenty-four in London. Be- fore this most of the latest revelers have gone hone, and few of the early risers are moving. There was one active mind at work that hour, however, namely, that of Gorman, who, after recovering from the blow given him by Dale, went to his own home our the banks of ' the Thames, in the =aristocratic lo- cality of London Bridge. Gorman owned a small boat, and did various kinds of business with it. But Gorman's occupations were numerous and not definite. He was every -thing by turns, and nothing long. When visible to the outward eye (and that wasn't often), his chief occupations were loafing about and drinking. On the present oc- casion he drank a good deal more than usual, and lay down to sleep, Crowing vengeance against firemen in general, and Dale in particular, Two or three hours later he awoke, and leaving his house crossed London Bridge, and wended his way back to the scene of the fire without any definite intention, but with "savage desires in his breast. He reached it just at that point where Joe Corney pad seated himself to meditate, as above described. Joe's powers of meditation were not great at. any time. At that particular time they were exerted in vain, for his head began to sway backward and forward and to either side, despite his best efforts to the contrary. Waiting in the shadow of a door-• way until the policeman should pass out of sight and hearing, and cau- tiously stepping over the debris that encumbered the threshold of the burnt house, Gorman peeped into the room, where the light told him that some ono kept watch. Great was his satisfaction and grim his smile when he saw that a. stalwart fireman sat there apparently asleep. Being only able to see his back, he could not mia.ko certain who it was, but from the bulk of the man and breadth of the shoulders he conclud- ed that mit was Dale. Anyhow ft was one of his enemies, and that was sufficient, for Gorman's nature was of that brutal kind that he would risk his life any day in order to gratify his vengeance, and it signifi- edjittle to him which of his enemies fell in his way, so long as it was one of them. Taking up abrick from the floor, he raised himself to his full height, and dashed it down on the head of the sleeping man. Just at that mo- ment Corney's nodding head chanced to fall forward, and the brick only bit the comb of his helmet, knocking it over his eyes. Next moment he was grappling with Gorman. As on peevious occasions, Joe's heart had leaped to his throat, and, that the ghost was upon him "at' last" he had no manner of doubt; but. no sooner did he feel the human arm' of Gorman and behold his face than his native courage returned with a bound. He gave his antagonist a squeeze that nearly crushed his ribs together, and at the same time hurl- ed hint against the opposite wall. But Gormizn was powerful and sav- age. I -Ie recovered himself and sprang like a tiger on Joe, who re- ceived him in a warm embrace with an Irish yell! . Tho struggle of the two strong men was for a few moments terrible but not doubtful, for Joe's muscles had been brought into splendid train- ing at the gymnastics. Ile soon forced Gorman down on one knee; but at the same moment a mass of brickwork which had been in a top- pling condition, and was probably shaken down by the violence of their movements, fell on the floor above, broke through it, and struck both men to the ground. Joe lay stunned and motionless for a few r:econds, for a beam had hit him on the head; but Gorman Iea.ped up and made off a moment or two before thb entrance of the policeman, who had run back to the house on hearing Joe's war -hoop, It is needless to add that Joo spent the remainder of his vigil that night in an extremely wakeful con- dition, and that he gave a most graphic account of his adventure with the ghosts' on his return to the station! Mae ten CAritimeenei' 'AleeSeifer: fee ,e•'ze•raile-4 45eitele F:gQcv411•.4'01c'sr , <e? <eSO1i: egt?A keit OiIAPTER XIV. The policeman's voice, although When we said that the firemen re- gruff 'was good-humored and hearty; turned to their respective stations, but Ile was evidently a strict dis- it must not bo supposed that the ciplinarian, for he uttexeel no other house which had been burnt was left word, and paesed on, in forlorn wretchedness. No: one of "Foix, I'ni gott:in' .tails," re- the firemen remained to watch over marked Joe to himself,- With a loud it, and guard against the upstart.irtg yawn. "I'll go and rest a bit." of any sneaking spark that might So saying, he ,re-entered the ruin, have managed to conceal itself. and "with the aid of the lantern Tho man selected for this duty Was sought about for the least uneomfor- Joe Corney. Unfortunately for 'Joe, table apartment on the ground floor. this was the only part of a fire- ITo selected .one which was compare - /elates duty that he did not relish, i ely weather tight.. That is to Joe Corney was. both by nature say, only one of the windows had and education, very superstitious. He believed implicitly in ghosts and knew an innumerable host of per- sons, male and female, who had seen people who said they had seen ghosts.. He was too honest to say ho had ever seen a ghost himself; but he had been • `very near seem' wan two or three. times," and he lived in perpetual expectation and dread of meeting one face to face be- fore lie died. Joe was as brave as a lion, end faced danger, and some- times even what appeared to be cer- been dashed out-, and the ceiling was entire, with the exception of a hole about four feet wide, through which the charred beams above could be seen depicted against the black sky. There was about an inch of water on the floor; but this was a small mat- ter, for Joe's boots were thick and strong. The door too. had been burst off its hinges, and lay on the floor; but Joe could raise this, and place it in its original position. The room had been a parlor, and there were several clnzxxaged prints fain death, with as muchunflinchinghanging* on the - walls, besides a courage as the bravest of his coin- quantity of detached paper hanging rales. Once, in particular, he had walked a ed with the branch in his hands, along the burning roof of a tottering warehouse, near the docks, in order to gain a point from which he could play on the flames so as to prevent then spreading to the next ware- house, arthouse, and so check a fire which .might have easily become one of the "groat fres of London." Joe was therefore a man who could not be easily frightened. vet Joe from thorax. Most of the furniture had been removed r o rd at the commence- articles of the fire; but a fesv broken articles remained and one big old easy • chair whir had r.a .d either been forgotten, or deemed unworthy of re- moval, be- the men of tho Salvage Corps. Joe wheeled the chair to the fire- plaee-not that there was any fire in it; on the contrary, it was choked up with fallen bricks and mortar, trrmbleti in his shoos when 1.� had and the hearth was flooded with wa- the most disi'ant a ospect of meet- ! ser, but, elas Joe remarked an'to him - the self, "it frit more homelike soci- ing with a ghost! I able to sit wid wan's feet on the There was no help for it, however. ' ender!" Ile had b being been appointed to _w� ch the Having erected the door in front of t vi, _heriih its own door -wry, Joe leaned his eel a sienna �t'trse of duty, he set 1 prrventer against the wall, placed himself doggedly to wale the most i his lantern c;ati the chinurev-piece, and of his circumstances, ; rat down to meditate He eau not It was post one o'clock when the meditated long, when the steady fire was extinguished. A. few night- , draught of air from the window at birds and late revelers still hung' his back began to tell upon him. about it, as if in the hope that it , eOch! but it's a cow]d wind," said would burst forth again, and afford , he. "I'll try the othat side. There's thein fresh excitement; but before nothin' like facin' wan's inhales." two o'clock, every one had gone ! Acting on this idea• he changed his away, and Joe was left alone with . position, turning his face to the win - his "proventer" and lantern, Even dow and his back to the door. the policeman on the beat appeared ; "Well," he remarked on sitting to avoid him; for. although he pass-; down again, "there's about as much ed the ruin at regular intervals in . draught from the, door; but, sure, his rounds, he did not stop at it he- ye've improved yer sitiation, Cor- yond a few moments, to see that the ney,—for haven't yo the illigant pros-, fireman's lantern was burning and all • pert of over the way through the! right. ! window?" "Corney, me lad," said Joe to r Not long after this, Joe's mind be - himself, "it's bad luck has befallen !came much affected with glxostl ye this night; but face yer luck likemeunories. This condition was ag- a man now, and shame it." g'raveted by an intense desire to sleep Encouraging himself thus, ee grasp- for >the poor reran had been hard; ed his preventer, and pulled about ' worked that day, and stood much fn e debris in various places of which; need of respose, Ile frequently fell he had some suspicion: but the en- asleep, and frequently awoke. On gines had done their work so of ectu_ falling asleep his helmet performed ally that not a spark remained. ; extremely undignified gyrations. On Then Joe walked up and down, and awakening, he always started, open - in and out for an hour; studied she: ed his eyes very wide, looked round half -consumed pictucos that still' inquiringly, then seethed, and re - hung on the walls of one of the low-; surneci a more easy position. But, er rooms, which had not been coin -awake or asleep, his thoughts ran pletely destroyed; leer alined on the always in the ame channel. dire confusion and ruin that could; During ono of those waking Ivo - be accomplished in so short a space mer_ts, Joe heard a sound which of time; reflected on the probable - rooted him to his seat with horror; condition of the unfortunates who and would doubtless -have caused his Med been burnt out; on the niutabil- hair to stand on end, if the helmet ity of human affairs in general, and would have allowed it. The sound wondered what his "owid mother" was simple enough in itself, however: would think of him, if she saw him in his forlorn situation. This latter thought caused his mind to revert to ghosts; but he was comforted by hearing the slow distant foot -fall of the policeman. On it came, not unlike the supposed step of an unearthly visitant, until the guardian of the night stood revealed before him on the other side of the road. "It's a cowld night intirely," cl'icd Corney. ' "It is," responded the policeman. "How goes the inimy?" inquired the fireman. "Just gone three," replied the other. being slight, slow, and regular, and was only horrible in Joe's mind, be- cause of his being utterly unable to account for it, or to conceive what it could be. Whatever the sound was, it banish- ed sleep from his eyes for at least a quarter of an hom-. At last, unable to stand the strain of uncertainty, he arose, drew his hatchet, took down his lantern, and, coughing loudly and sternly,—as though to say: ITave a care, I'm coming!" •e moved the door, and went cautious- ly into the passage, where the sound appeared to come from. It did not cease on his appearing; but went on slowly and steadily and louder than before. It appeared to bo at his ver Itchi 5 urnm cz a Antl all th3 Torturing and. ©isfigur ing Itching Skin Diseases are Ccmpelikd to Yield to Yield to the Extraordinary Antizentio, Soothing, Healing influence of N. CHASES. OINTMENT. 'nth the single exception of itch- ing piles there is no form of itching skin disease so extremely painful and distressing as eczema; or salt rheum, as it is sometimes called. A little poison from a sock or other gar- ment is sualicient to give this dis- aase a beginning, and its fires burn and rage with such fury as to al- atost drive one crazy. Only persons who have experienced the frightful Itching, burning, stinging sensations of eczema can realize the miseries tvhfah it brings and the 'disarlipoint- miont which comes with trying in vain to find a euro. 'IMI:r, G. H. McConnell, Engineer in Pr leury's Foundry, Aurora, Ont., states; "I believe that Dr, Chase's Ointment is worth its weight in gold. For about thfrty years I was troub- led with eczema and could not oh - tale any cure. I way so unfortunate as to have blood poised, and this E1evolpped into eczema, the most dreadful of skin deseafie r f"I was so bad that I would got up at night and scratch myself until the flesh was raw and flatxring. Tho torture I endured is almost beyond description, and now I cannot say anything too good for Dr. Chase's Ointment. It has cured me, and I recomsfiond it because I knot* there is nothing so good for itching skin." There is enough evidence In these offices to convince the most skeptical and prejudiced that Dr. Chase's Oint- ment is a posits ve and thorough euro for eczema. Allen the disease be- comes chronic and set it is some- times necessary to use ten sr a doz- en boxes, but euro is certain if the treatment is regular and persistent, There is no experimenting when you use Dr. Chase's Ointment. It has been tested and proven in thousands of eases of the most severe form. You can depend on it absolutely. Sixty cents a. box, at all dealers, or Ed/nal/son, Bates & Co., 'liorvtito, -s'M:ii:•a•ti:•o•j�+.,�;.a."-i;•w:%�';�'r••i3t•�•31:•o'?n's' FOR FARMERS , e,asortabie and Profitable ' flints for the Busy Tillers 341 of the Soil. MIL/ICING ON `11FIrii FAita'L, There are dairymen who are strong- ly opposed to the idea of compelling the women folks to do any of the milking. They claim, in the first place, that the task is too heavy, while in the second place, it is not a duty that is at all suited to the tastes of a woman. However, the quostion is one that may easily be debated pro and con. We have many times neon this task preferred to that of staying • indoors, it being chosen merely because -it xneant it di- version from the ordinary routine of housework: under such circumstanc- es we do not believe that there could be raised. any reasonable objection to women performing this labor, Where it is necessary for every member of the family to work hard the year round there is generally little quib- bling over the character of the work that anyone is called upon to per- foem, and under such circumstances it frequently happens that women would rather do the milking than not, because ' the time required 'to perform 'xn this labor! effects that much saving of the men's time who can use it to advantage in the field or in caring for farm animals. Where dairying is made a special- ty, as, for example, where upward of ten cows are kept, we believe that the division of labor on the farm should be such that women should Inot be obliged to do any of the milking. We base this opinion on the fact that, if the cows have been properly selected and aro fed well, they will pay a good profit to their owner even though ono has to )lire help to do the feeding and xiiilking. If enough caws are not on hand to justify hiring the extra help for milking and caring for the dairy products it will usually pay to make a little extra. investment, so that maximum profits will be derived from the outlay for labor. We hope sincerely that the day is past when it is considered necessary for women to grind away from daylight to dark, Let them manage as best they may, the forenoon on. the aver- age farm is pretty much occupied, and this being the case, we fully be- lieve that they have the right to a 1 greater portion of the afternoon and • evening to devote it to reading, soci- al 'duties or some form of diversion that will enable them to keepin ltouc . h with the outside affairs of the world. To grind away laboriously from daylight to dark during the en- tire year means a stunting of the intellect, and surely no man would wish his wife or his daughter to be- come merely a machine fit only for the daily tasks 'that require physical exertion. Whether woman should be obliged to do 'the milking or not is a subject that no doubt comes very closely home to many of our read- ers, and we shall be pleased to have those who are interested in it give an expression of their opinion through; these columns. • 1tSARE •l+ AETitTNG PROFITABLE:a Much has been said and written upon how to make farming pro- fitable, the work pay, and above all, the home happy. In reflecting over this matter' there seems to come to us a 'few principles which if applied are sure to bring the results expect- ed in making farming profitable. First, by developing the mind. This does not mean the acquiring of a vast amount of knowledge. A man may have his head filled with know- ledge and still prove a dismal fail- ure. Facts obtained in every day work should be compared, their re- lation sought out, thus developing a process of true reasoning, out of which come hidden truths which tend to enliven the minds to active pow- ers, of practical reasoning, and to serve as stepping stones to the at- tainment of real culture. You may sow the best of seed on uncultivated ground and reap most unsatisfactory results. Likewise the accumulation of knowledge without the cultivation of the . reasoning powers will surely leave an almost barren field. The successful farmer should be 'the slave of no man's opinion, neither should he despise the logical conse- quences of science surrounding hint on every hand. He should not for- get that true science is always 'true and aim to shun so-called science tthicir has no sound foundation and leads ono astray from the path of truth. Bear in mind that good com- mon sense will often get at the root of matters, as well as much of the teachings of the day. Bring a culti- vated mind to bear on the every day work on the farm. The celebrated painter, Turner, was once asked to explain how he mixed his colors in order to give them their lasting ef- fect. B'e replied: "I mix them with brains." Thoughtful even know that brains as well as brawn are required to make farming a successful pro- fession. Secondly. Be thorough in all work, haphazard methods aro too often found running on the farm. Let whatever is done be done well, Get the hest of everything within your reach that will help to make your work more successful, the best stock, the hest seed, the best machinery, Think nothing too small for attena. tion. The waste on many farms is enormous. F onces, gates and general conditions about the premises, by be- ing neglected, become' the source of much loss, The old adage, "A •stitch in time saves nine," is as true to -day as It ever was. A little thing attended. to in the nick of time, and not put off until the morrow, re- turns many fold in the end. Third. Be honest and truthful, no one can earned to be otherwise. ]Mian is said to haver been made upright but oftentimes by the practice of de- ception ho becomes fearfully tivisted, a crookednces that is hard to rile - pose of. Llve so that mon will take your word, as quickly as they will !tour bond, Ll% INNK TRENCHANT P,DITLOSOPHY, Dinky Donuthin T tell you whiskey is handy when you sue the crampe. Busting T awkins•—Yes, and cramps is handy when- you've got whiskey. ICEEP IMPLEMENTS BRIGHT. Tho good book says the merciful m•au regardeth the life of his beast. NotabX,y is the decree in this regard apparent in the use of implements on the faun. Imagine the difference in the draft in drawing a plow all clay through a soil in which the plow will not clean and driving the same through the sail in which it dogs clean. The difference in many in- stances is fully 50 per cent. Now if the man who drives the plow has allowed it to rust, and if this con- dition is responsible for the extra weight put upon the horses. Of course it happens in some instances tbat the condition of the land in such that no plow will clean. 'When it is so the responsibility does not rest where it did in the other in- stances. The same principle is illustrated in the 'use of almost any implement that is used in tilling the soil. Earth will clog upon the tenth of a spring - tooth harrow under certain condi- tions. When it does the harrow draws heavily. The same is true of a common harrow- or of a disc har- row. When the harrow or tool works thus, it is a good plan to keep in the field a spade or shovel or Little trowel to aid in closeting the implement. This can be done at the turning place, and while the horses are get- ting their breath. An active man who is intent on doing good work will not grudge the labor of thus cleaning his implement frequently. It will add immensely to the ease with which the work will be done and also to the effectiveness of the work. Even a weeder may be made to run much easier ty occasionally taking the math off the rim of the wheels when it adheres to the same. • MI A. Cil CHAFES IN HEAVY SEAS. Basil Lubbock Tells of His Exper- ience in, the Cape Seas. Cape Horn has always been the terror of sailors. Mr, Basil Lub- bock, who wont round tho Horn in a "wind -jammer" and put his ex- periences into a. book, tells how , it feels to bo luiockcd about in the cape seas. During the gale of which he writes the decks were full of water, some big seas were coming aboard, and the men had a difficult job clew- ing upthemizzen upper topsail, which had come in as soon as tho topgallantsails were fast, Then came the terrific business of squaring in the yards, ono of the most danger- ous angerous of all jobs when a heavy sea is running. Many a ship has lost - a whole watch over the side while the men wore at work on the braces. I was about fifth on the rope, with old Wilson singing out on one side of me and Higgins on the other, says Mr, Lubbock. We had heardly taken two pulls at the brace when a huge sea broke aboard right over our heads, and both watches were swept oil their foot in every direc- tion. Wilson, Higgins and I received the full force of it. For one tiny mo- ment of time I saw the great hiss- ing mass as it reared its foaming top higher and higher above us, and then crash! it toppled its whole weight upon us. Knocked down and overwhelmed by the monster, I hung to the brace with all my strength. Under water, with my heels above my head, I saw dimly the tound bundles washing near me which I knew wore Wilson and Higgins. • • Over and over the sea rolled me, and hurled me with terrible force against the main -hatch, and three times m'y poor lance carne, against the ring -bolt. CATARRH CUR ter tore it from my grasp, and I hung to the brace until the wa- m,sw away I wont, first my head up, then my feet, a plaything to the whim of the water. . It washed me round the hatch, bumped me against the fife -rail, and rolled me into the scuppers. I got entangled and' disentangled with other human bundles, and never for a second could I got my head above water. At last the water began to run off, and I found myself sitting up with my head out. t lay to the star- board of the main -hatch. Close to me in the scuppers, lay throe men in a tangled mass. Mixed up in the fife -rail were two More. Another lay gasping on. his back under the break of the poop. Above tho gale I heard the mate's voice, "Mainbrace, ,there! Up you' get!" I picked myself up, dazed" and half - drowned. Tho captain, who was on the poop, seeing the whole of his ship's crow washing about the decks, dashed down to the deck up to his waist in water, went to the head of the brace, arid cheering us on and hauling to his own singing out. soon got us going again. No one was lost. Such is Provi- dence! We ought to, have been kill- ed; we ought to have been washed overboard; but at sea Providence has constantly to intervene, or no sailor would live long. "Papa, what are the 'dogs of war'?" "Bulldogs, Johnny." is sent direot to the diseased parts by tho Improved Blower. Heals the ulcers, clears tII al; pssages, stops droppings !n the throat and ppermanently cures Catarrh andHayFevet: Browne free. All dealers, or Dr. A. W. Chase itedloine Co., Toronto and Buffalo, t: KEEP YOUR IIAIR ON. "There seem to be fewer bald-hea:d- ed men than there were years ago," says a hair specialist. "Time was when four out of five men more.than forty-five `years old were bald-headed or fast approaching that stage. Now -a -days the average. has fallen nearer to two than to three. "What's the cause? I suppose there aro many reasons, but one certainly is to be found in the general increase of outdoor exorcise. Nervous dis- orders result in the falling out of the , hair, and impaired digestion brings on nervous disorder. Exercise, as is well known, stimulates digestion, and there, above all else, is the se- cret of, preserving the hair. Keep your digestion in good condition, and your nerves will not trouble you. All the scalp diseases in the catalogue are not responsible for as many bald -heads as indigestion." • A German finished his first English letter with •4I beg to am," and an- other exclaimed, "Ach, mine front, how did you vasn't?" /1112703.3.7. qua Jim Dumps asserted, "Too much meat In summer causes too much heat. ' What shall we eat all summer long That, without meat, shall keep us strong, And in the best of summer trim ? Why, ' Force,' of course," laughed "Sunny • Jim." The steady -to -Servo Cordal to strength of Arent without the heiii. • E,roludos Chaos crit! Steaks. "'.Force' is a regular breakfast food in my family to the exclusion of steaks or chops, the old standard. A. Gild rasa. ON --121 A THIEF TO CATCH A THIEF SOME STRANGE OFFERS. MADE TO CRIMINALS. Unique Plain to Advertise Safes -- Publishers' Offer to a Criminal. Believing in the old principle of setting a thief to catchi a thief, the directors of one of the largest banks in Chicago recently made a proposal to a well-known forger and coiner which is probably without precedent. After he had served five years' penal servitude for his misdeeds he was offered a situation, in the banking house, his duties to consist of exam- ining bank -notes, cheques, and let- tere of credit, in order to detect those that were false. The ex -con- vict immediately accepted this situ- ation, and now earns a comfortable livelihood in a place which in form er days lie did his utmost to rob. With a view to advertising the merits of their manufactures an en- terprising London firm. of safe -mak- ers resorted to a unique plan •a short time ago. They offered a notorious time -expired burglar $250 if, in the presence of witnesses, he would dem- onstrate his ' safe -breaking capabili- ties on one of their patent burglar- proof safes. Ile agreed to this curie ous proposal, and on the day ap- pointed attacked the locked safe with his various tools, a number of news- paper men, as well as the managers of the firm, being interested specta- tors. After working at the safe for nearly three hours, and resorting to. all the tricks of the safe -breaking profession, the burglar failed to open the safe and was obliged to CONFESS. HIbISh.LI` 33LATl3N. Needless to say, his feat was boom- ed very largely, and proved a sensa- tional advertisement for the firm which conceived this unique idea. About three years ago an Ameri- can firm of publishers made a re- markable offer to a criminal lying under sentence of death for robbery and murder. Providing he would furnish an autobiography of -himself, including all the most interesting features of his career, they offered him a largo sum of money, which, it was explained, could bo settled on his wife or other relative. But the criminal a treated the offer with lescorndge, , and refused to enlighten the world regarding that part of his life of which the police had no know - A certain showman in Illinois owes• no small amount of his success in the particular business in which he is engaged to the kindness of a con- vict who some time ago was execut- ed for a series of cold-blooded mur- ders. While the criminal, was await- ing execution this showman conceiv- ed the idea of obtaining a phono- graphic record of the murder's voice, and for this purpose sought an in- terview, and, strange though it may seem, the showman's request was granted by tho authorities. Ac- cordingly, two days beforo the exe- cution the showman drove up with his phonograph, and having been in- troduced to the prisoner a record of his voice was duly taken. the con- demned pian exhibiting a keen inter- est in the proceedings. This phono- graphic record, of course, proved an exceedingly valuable addition to the showman's properties, thousands of people paying to hear the tones of the notorious fnurder's voice. Such'is the curious fascination of crime to persons of a certain class many notorious criminals have re- ceived OFFERS OF MARRIAGli], unknown sympathizers and • ad- mirers. from Tile unfortunate Mrs: May - brick, for instance, has received from time to time various offers on the subject of matrimony. One eccen- tric individual wanted to know if she would marry him providing' he obtained her release, while another offered to wait until Mrs. Maybrick was released, no matter how long e. that might.be. Neill Cream, Deeming, Fauntleroy, and many others of the most notori- ous criminals of modern times might have been married over and over again if justice had not substituted the halter for the altar. Apart from such cases, however, it occasionally happens that an offer of marriage is made to a criminal who, more sinned against than sinning, ex- cites the genuine sympathy and in- terest of some member of the pub- lic. Last year, for instance, a poor young woman was charged with the murder of her child under particul- ' arty sad conditions, as well as with attempting to commit suicide. IIor • case aroused the deepest sympathy, and the surrounding circumstances being taken into consideration, she was leniently dealt. with and only sentenced to a few months' impris- onment. 1Vhilo undergoing her sen- tence the chaplain received a letter from • n. man in which the writer of- fered to marry the young woman on her release. [Te was a total strang- er to hor, but explained that her sad case appealed to him so strongly that he .wished to offer her a home in which she might final somo happi- ness and comfort. Tho proposal Was communicated to the young wo man, with the result that on her re- lease slie was met by the writer of the letter, whose wife she became a few days later. --London Tit -Bits. Brown had a habit of keeping late hours, and although his better half made it uncomfortable for him at times she failed to cure hien of his nocturnal horecomings. At last she hit upon a plan to frighten him, and so when lie came in one night at his usual hour he saw a white shrouded figure gliding towards hinz�" along the passage in the moonlight. "W11 wh••-iv--•what's that ?" 'gespecl Brown. "I am the family ghost," separich.ral VO leo replied. Brown heaved a sigh of relief. "Great Scot I" he said. "Prow you fright- ened me 1 I thotig7,t it was the nxlssus. Then the storm broke. .