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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance, 1906-10-04, Page 3re -114444e $ ere•..-e-fs•+-•e•++ •e•r•oe•M • ! ! Oddities in Old Jaj pan, t Jinrikish a Man Who Palls Dead Sooner Than Give Up Task„ 4, ••++.a++++t•Hr++*+4 af++t*$,4+$-$-++$-+9*44-$$-44+��►+$t•t-t.. This Japanese question is a kite with many tails. One authority assures me that the Jape are so crooked they can't lie straight in bed, while another affirms with equal emphasis that they aro just itga, aching to do right and be good. If one turns to books the contradictions mul- tiply. One writer is positive that Japan- ese ambition is a menace to Yankee in- terests in the Orient, while another le equally certain that their one aim in life is to preserve friondsbip with the .Am- ericans. There seems to be a wire crossed somewhere. Inasmuch as. I have just arrived in Japan, and this is my first. tune here, I shall carefully reconnoitre before I join the multitude which is so freely de- livering itself of opinions and prophe- cies. Japan's exact status as a power, the scope of its future influence and the significance of the whole situation, deserve more than passing consideration. Leaving these points for future discus- sion, let's take a day off and look around, concerning ourselves merely with surface indications, The Fast Express of Japan. The jiurikisl►a is the fast express of Japan. Of course you know that a jin- rikisha is a funny little two -wheeled cart which is pulled by a man. It seems like a dirty trick for a man to beat a horse out of leis job, but there is ni) scruple about that sort of thing Here. How can a self-respecting horse hope to earn an honest living in a country where a coolie will work all day for the price of a peck of oats? The jinrikisha man places the shafts on the ground and you climb in. His bare legs aro knotted with muscles and he can run mile after mile with mechani- cal ease. Ile always runs. If you want hint to walk he demands more pay, His wage by the hour is ten cents, No wonder the poor horse can't snake/its feed! While the jinrikisha mon seem to easily stand their exertion, the strain upon them is great, and their average life, after they begin work, is said to be seven years. It is not unusual for one of the door souls to run until he falls dead in his tracks. You can see something of the spirit that took Port Arthur in the jinfikisha man who will die rather than quit the task he has undertaken. Under the Cherry , Blossoms. The cheery blossoms o are out,so we will go to the park and have a look at the flowering trees, whose fame has spread to every land. The appearance of the delicate blossoms is such an extent that the newspapers issue bulletins and all classes eagerly await their opening. The cherry blossom season is a festival period in Japan. The people are ardent lovers of flowers. They inherit their pas- sion for color from generations of ances- tors who worshipped trees and plants. The beggar in his tatters and the Prince in his silks are equally susceptible to the charm of the wide -spreading cherry when it unfolds its mass of brilliant bloom. Old men croon under its shadow and write odes to its loveliness. The kimono girl—the same coy, slant -eyed creature you have always known in book and picture—is never so happy and pistur- esque as when she takes her tea under its leafy bower, or clanks along on her wooden clogs beneath the awning made by the entwining of its branches. The omnipresent Jap baby, fat, toddling and good-natured, is: ever ready for his romp in the cherry grove. It is here that he shows off to the best advantage with his gay finery and his shaven crown. The babies are almost as numerous as the blossoms and they go well together. The flaming lanes of the park fairly swarm with happy people. It is a pretty spectacle to see youth and old age en- joying together their myth and rapture undetr the canopy. of the cherry boughs, Ono writer aptly says that Czars and Kaisers may well envy this oriental ruler whose subjects gather by thousands, not to throw bombs and riot for bread, or clamor for the division of property, but to fall in love with flowers and write poems in their praise. At the Temple Shrine. Rising above the clouds of pink blas- sonrs is the outline of an oil temple. The stone steps leading to it resound with the clatter of ivany elogs as the pilgrims ascend to offer their devotions. The mellow tones of a monster bell is booming its summons for the faithful to come to prayer. Although wo aro heretics wo will follow the worshipers .and see what it is they do to appease the wrath of their gods and how they petition them, for favor. What a motley crowd it is that passes around us. In it the gentlefolks and commoners, maids and merchants, tooth - lose hags and toddling babes. On its fringes the artful fakir plies voca- tion, and the begging leper exhibits his ugly ulcers in a disgusting plea for alms. Inasmuch as each worshipper tosses a coin in the cash box, it is evident that all is expected to pay their way. The cash box hes slits across the top, and although the bottom is out of sight, the, constant jinggle of falling money indi- cates that business is good. Sometimes $1,000 is collected in one of these boxes in a day. After he has made his donation the worshipper claps his hands to attract the attention of the particular god he wants to petition, then bows his head as he murmurs his supplication. Some pray briefly, and others at great length. I suppose the time it takes to ask depends altogether upon what one wants. One fellow merely ducks his head and makes off at once—he got his money's worth in a hurry; while another settles down to it in earnest and wrestles with the spirit in a trate fashion. If he gets all he asks for it will take the god the most oft the afternoon to fill his order. All the worshippers seem to be devout. Both the barefooted coolie and the gentleman in frock cont and high hat go at it like they thought there was something in it. There is a whole lot in having faith in anything no matter whother it amounts to much or not. It would take a book as big as the Bible to record the names of ail the queer articles that can be bought for a few cents each, A glass .bowl containing two gold fish is offered for 3 cents; here is a dwarf tree in a pot so tiny that it will go into your Yes to k t d tl pee ,- an ►el'e are wooden chop -sticks that you may be se have never been used because they are still joined together at the end like n clothespin.. That's a point to remember whenever you buy chopsticks. No mat- ter if you purchase only two articles. at 4 cents each the merchant invariably uses his sliding buttons to fix the sum total. Like the Chinaman, the Japan takes no ahances on mental ariticmet in solving even the smallest sum. '11 characters of the Japanese language a the same as the Chinese, but they a pronounced differently, consequently ti Jat> and the Ohink can write to oac other and get along all right, but they [Fan never ,have the satisfaction of talk ing things over in an understanding way. DId you ever see so many babies in all your life? I thought all the toddlers in Yokohama were at the cherry grove. We left acres and acres of solemn tots playing there in the gravel, but the streets fairly teem with them. Each one is a counterpart of his mother in his tiny kimono and miniature clogs. They are all very much alike, even to the universal cold in the head. An offi- cial nose -wiper would be the busiiist person in Japan at this time of the year. The reason that colds are so general is because there are no stoves in the houses. Babies not old enough to walk are carried on their mothers' backs in the same faabion the Indian squaws car- ry their Pappooses, with the exception that they are never strapped to boards. Some Pointers on Dress, There are a few points about the Jap- anese women's ;tress which aro well to know so that one may distinguish them in the streets. A woman wearing a red petticoat under her kimono is singl3, and one displaying a white undergar- ment is married. Occasionally you meet one whose teeth aro painted black. Thai means that she is happily married and desires to disfigure herself so that other men will not be attracted to her. It is an old custom and is not practised to a great extent now. A woman with her hair out short is a widow who is so grieved at the loss of her companion hat she has resolved never to marry again, and her abbreviated tsesses is an advertisement of .that fact. Here comes, a Japanese couple who are just home from America, Look at their clothes! The woman is stiff and unnatural. She will soon forsake this foreign finery and return to her graceful kimono. Theyall want tot European dress, but the most of therm eventually abandon it for their native attire, which is really more suited to them. The man is a crass between a pug and a .dude. His trousers need pressing so badly that, there appears to be a growth of knots on his legs. • Ile ought to have a colar and a haircut, and even at that be would be only a fair imitation of a cheap sport. An Extravagance of Energy. There are so many distinct types on every hand that when I attempt to see' them all I feel like the fellow in the Gibson .picture who became a blur from trying to look at tyro girls at the same time. A Japanes newsboy is an ani- mated - jumping -jack. In .our country small boys carry large papers, but here the rule is reversed, and big ones make heavy work of delivering ho.nd-bills. One of these bare -legged carriers is weighted down with sleigh -bells to proclaim his coming, and- he prances like a circus horse. He is a good example of perpetuai motion as he bounds from one side of the street to the other, bobbing and jumping as he pauses before each door to tuck his bulletin between the shut- ters. He ;wastes almost as much energy as the coolies who push burdens on carts. These brethren to the oxen cheat dis- maly as the strain at their work. The ones who pull gurut a monotonous cho- rus every time they step, and the ones who push answer them in unison. They waste a lot of precious breath in this manner, but have become so accustomed to it that they think they cannot make .in effort unless they voice their exer- tion. It ho,s been explained that this chant- ing is an expression of sympathy be - .•ween the toilers, but it may be with risk When them like it is with the I W u c r?at resorts to this system it is to make sure that Mike is not shirking, but is do- ing his best to earn his salary. ` The strength of these men who do the work of beasts of burden is almost in- ,;redible. They carry blocks of building stone that one of our laborers wouldn't even attempt to turn over. The loads are generally balanced on poles in Ohl - nese fashion, and as one of them comes toward you with his peculiar shuffle you recognise at once that lie is a good road- ster, but to save your life you can't tell whether he is a pacer or a trotter. "Good Night in Fair Japan." BABILS Will BURNING SKIN. Mothers rind Zam-Buk a Boon. When a belly is constantly crying because of skin trouble, which creeds re most pity .-- child or mother? Many a mother is worn out with nursing, and many a child suffers agony which could be avoided by application of a little gam-Ituk, Iter eczema, eruptions, chafed shin anti the many "outbreaks" to , wliich children aro liable, Zeal -Buts is unequalled. Mrs. Rlliff of St. John's West Weiland County, says: eso ,,, , ./a -Ilri e . m k ei nl claim tai does all o e a m •) d u ie l for it. My baby had a kind of rash• --- re rquite a lot of small spots and pimples r'0 on the bead. I applied 'Gama lluk and ie was delighted with the meat. It healed h the sores and in a short time removed all trace of the eruption. I have recom- mended it to several neighbors, who are much pleased with it, lam-Bulc is suitable alike for adults' and for the delicate sldns of young infants. It is pure —there's the point. - Contnins no animal fat, no mineral coloring matter, but is made from vegetable essences. Zam-Buk cures also ringworm, ulcers, abscesses, barber's rash, eealp sores, piles, chapped hands, cold sores, chil- blains, cuts, burns and bruises. All. druggists at 50e a box, or post free from the Zam-Buk Company, Toronto, upon receipt of price. Flirting With the Gods. The Japanese manner of offering prayer resembles a game of chance. One way to test your strength with the god is to buy prayer paper, chew it into a wad, then throw it against the wire screen. If the wad sticks you have made good with the deity, but if it falls off you are to consider yourself refused. Another way to get a forcast on your prospects is to pitch a pebble onto a table. If it rolls off there is nothing do- ing, but if it remains the god will think it over and let you know later, The an- cients used to count much on what they called a pitching game. They had a platform in one place where jealous hus- bands used to throw their wives over a precipice onto the rocks. All those who survived the ordeal were considered above suspicion, while those who por- ter of trial finally become unpopular be- cause the supply of wives threatened to give out. The Japanes lover has an odd way of securing a tip on the stability of hie sweetheart's affection. When the Orien- tal swain decides to test the sincerity of his lady love, he buys a prayer book and then attempts• to tie it into a knot, using only the thumb and little finger of his right hand. If ho succeeds he has a fighting chance to win her, but if he fails by touching the sacred paper with his palm or fingers, it is hopeless with him and he might as well look elsewhere for steady company. This plan will "not do for doubtful beaux in America because we do not happen to have the sort of god that makes a specialty of such nat- ters. Caught on the Fly. We will leave the temple and go for a ride through the streets. It is a holiday and bazaars line the way on either side. ST 9 EN! AND CONSIDER THE ALL-IMPORTANT FACT That in addressing Mrs. Pinkham yon are confiding your private ills to a woman —a woman whose experience with wo- men's diseases covers twenty -flue years. The present Mrs. Pinkham is the daughter-in-law of Lydia E. Pinkham, and for many years under her direction, and since her decease, her advice has been freely given to sick women, Many womensuffer in esfte neo and drift along from bad to worse, knowing full well that they ought to have immediate assistance, but a natural modesty impels them to shrink from exposing themselves to the questions and probably examinations of oven their family physician. It is unnecessary. Without money or price you can consult a woman whose knowledge from actual experience is great. Mrs. Pinlcham's Standing Invitation: Women suffering from any form of female weak• nese are invited to promptly communicate with Mrs. Pinkham at Lynn, Mass. All letters are received, opened, read and answered by women only. A woman can freely talk of her private illness to a woman ; thus has been established the eternal eonfldence between Mrs. Pinkham and the women of America which has never been broken. Out of the vast volume of experience which she has to draw from, it is more than possible that she bas gained the very knowledge that will help your case. She asks nothing in return except your good -will, and, her advice has relieved thousands. Surely any woman, rich or poor, is very foolish if she does my testimonial, that others nayknow their not take advantage of this generous offer value and what you have done for mc. of assistance. ---Lydia E. Pinkham Medi- cine Co., Lynn, Mass. Following we publish two letters front a woman who accepted this invitation. Note the result. First letter. ]Gear Mrs. Pinkham :- - "For eight years I bayou something terrible every month. The pains are ex - eructating and I can hardly stand them. My doctor says I have a severe female trouble and I must go through an oper- ation if' want to get well. I d0 not want to submit to it it I can possibly help it. Please tell me what to do. I hope you can relieve me."---IMfii..afery Minnick 59th and E. Capitol Sea, 'Washington, P. C. Second letter Dear Mrs. Pinkli,Marn. c— "Afterfoolloealee enrefnlly your advfee, Ind `utnnaoqxot0if etnPori,XsnrMioua o Mad 31 "As you know, I wrote you that my doctor said I must havo an operation or I could not live, I then wrote you, telling you my ailments. I followed your advice and am entirely well. 1 can walk miles without an ache or a pain and I owe guy life to you and to Lydia E. pains Veg- etable Compound. I wish every suffering woman world read this testimonial an realise the value of writing to you and your remedy," ---Mrs. Nary .Dinnmick, 59th and E. Capitol Streets, Washington, D.C. When a medicine has been successful in restoring to health so many. women whose testimonyis so unquestionable, you cane of well say,without � e tout trying it, "I do not believe it will help me." If you are ill, don't hesitate to get a bottle of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com- Lpound at once, and write Mrd. Pinkham, ynn Mast, for special advice—it is fres and itiUraye helpful. The jinrikisha gives you the backache if you are not used to it. The proper thing to Jo is to lie back and ►hake your- self at home, but the amateur doesn't feel like getting to familiar with it on short acquaintance. He feels like the old lady who took her first ride in a sleeper she )roped there would be no ac- cident, but she felt that it was said to sit up and be ready in case anythitg did happen.. The rikisha man is dripping wet with tweet. It seems like cruelty to animate ale to keep him going longer, and, besides, it is getting late. The lofty cone of olcl Fuji is fading into mist. The sampan sails flap idly as the boatmen cal to each other across the water. Lights flare out along the bund and begin to sparkle on the gray waste of roofs in the lower town. Tho air rings with the eternal clatter of wooden clogs. At in- tervals the deep muffled sound waves from the temple bell roll ni upon your senses, You )near the blind massage man's shrill whistle and' the metallic clank of the fire watchman's stick. The servant bows low as he brings your candle, and with regret you say your first good -night in fair Japan, i rederic J. Haskin. MOP View of Things. In their efforts to teach children, par - nets aro often surprised by the original views which the youngsters take and by their presentation of views which, while they' correct and discriminating so far as they gomay. be but partial, are at least It occurred to a father who noticed a Carpenter hammering upon the roof of a distant house that he would give hie little son (8 years old) a lesson in phys- ics by calling attention to the fact that the blows of the hammer could be seen before the sound made by them could bo heard, and explaining that the differ- ence in time between the seeing of the blows and the hearing of the noise was due to the fact that light travels mueh faster than sound. Ire sought to introduce the subject by asking the_ boy if he Understood why, it was that he could see the. hammer fall before he could hear the noise of tho stroke. Ile was astounded to re= eeive the reply: "Yes; it is because my eyes aro nearer to the hammer than my ears."— St. Nicholas. the upper air currents in the trade wind region of the North Atlantic the re- sults of their observations were await- ed with groat interest. The trade winds are the most important of what may bo called the "permanent" winds of the i globe. 'thus in the North Atlantic the northeast trades are in summer found in full force about the Canary Islands, and serve until within about 12 degrees of the equator. In winter the belt tshifts DOROTHY DIX • Commiserates With Disappointed and Henpecked Husbands. rather further south but at U. ` p must be wormwood and gall, and bitter- ness unspeakable. Cer i to nl e th u brdenaft y he unhappy marriage is heavier on tba man than kba woman for the woman, amidst her die - appointments, generally, gets support out of it„ while the man gets. nothing --put l the privilege of paying for his mistakes. And it is curiously ordered in ills world that we pay higber for our tmfa- takes than we do for our crines. Dorothy DM to stay and make the best of it and in +" e time we get acclimated and accustomed i 1TAf,lAA WEI.Lh, to prevailing oonditiona and finally to feel that the move was a good one and one that ultimately redounds to our prosperity and well being. But there is no denying that not one man or woman in ten thousand realizes the ideal in matrimony. Few, few are the. brides that materi- alize into the kind of wives that a gran had visions of through the haze of his after dinner cigars. Few, few are the husbands who come up to the dream of the god -like being with whom a girl has pictured herself walking through life, l'ew, few are the marriages that bring to either husband or wife the hap- piness and the comfort and peace that they expected. . On which one of the pair does this dis- alusionment fall heavier. Who suffers more disappointment in finding out that the jewel is paste the gold brick brass, ` and that the marriage tie, instead of be- ing a rose -hung garland, is a yoke that galls at every step? It is the custom to say that under sueh conditions the woman is the vic- tim. There's no denying a woman suffers more in her emotions than a man does, because she has more time to sit with her finger on her pulse, counting her heart throbs. She also says more about her suffer- ings, hence she gets the bulk of the sym- It does not follow, though, that the man who makes a mistake in choosing a wife does not have his life just as much blighted as does any woman who picks out a misfit husband. Between the drunkard's wife and the husband of a nagger there is small choice in misery—with the advantage, if any, in the lady's favor; for it is a physi- cal impossibility for a man to be ineb- riated all the time while the shrewish tongue is the one example of perpetual motion in the world. When a woman marries she expects the man who has taken her away from home and cut her off from a career to make good by making her happy. She expects him,naturally, to exhibit all the elementary virtues of fidelity and sob- riety and industry and in addition she looks forward to his surrounding her with a halo of delicate attentions and never-ending love making and flattery. When he doesn't do this she beats up- on her breast and wails out that she is the most miserable of her sex, and that marriage is a failure and there is no doubt it is to a degree. It's hard to have anticipated living in a fairy dale of bliss whore one did noth- ing but feed on sugar plums and read poetry among the roses, in a Paris neg- ligee that cost $250, and to find out that real married life means getting up in the morning and getting a man's break- fast and patching his trousers, and have him knock your faults and be as silent as the sphinx about your good qualities. Oh, it's hard. Nobody can deny it. The majority of wives spend their lives in working for a man who, so far as they can see, ceased to love them on their wedding day, and who never even says "thank you" for any ffort that they make. That they get their board and clothes doesn't suffice. Any able-bodied woman can support herself in these days, and you can's blame the wife who gets noth- ingbut the hard facts and ' iisrb' - it P itis s of matrimony without any of the tenderness that would gild them so she wouldn't see them for thinking that she has the heavy end of the load. But how about her husband. Or some other woman's husband? All the disappointmnet is not femin- ine. Men have their ideals, too, and per- haps women fail to make good on men's expectations of the perfect wife just as often as men fall short of the feminine ideal of the perfect husband. A man looks forward to matrimony as a calm haven into, wliich he can put for rest and shelter from the storms of business and politics. He dreams of be- ing a king, over one heart at least and being looked up to, petted and adored and quoted and admired. His ideal of a home is a place where ! his word is law, where good dinners ap- pear upon the table as by magic and where a neat, cheerful, smiling wife is al- ways waiting at the door to give hien a kiss of welcome. How many nnen get wives like that? How many men slip a pass -key into a door that opens on that sort of an earth- ly paradise? About one in a thousand; and don't you suppose that the other 900 men who come to ill -kept houses and solvently, complaining, fretting wives, feel that the man who has brought this burden of misery on himself needs a keeper? The most abjectly pitiful sight on earth is a henpecked man, and yet his name is Legion. We all know hint and we know the man who has to go outside of his house for all his amusement, and who would not dare to play cards, or bring a bottle of beer home, or speak to a pretty girl, if there was tho slightest danger of his wife finding it out. Probably no one, except the man who has been through it, knows the misery of the husband whose wife flouts his opinion and treats hint as if he were about four years old, and not bright fur his age, at that. How sore his vanity must be, how hurt his self-esteem, how humiliated he is in his own sight. And the realization that he !must spend his days toiling and slaving to support i a sea- getting married le very much like em - sons a wind from the northeast is steady Waling to a strange,new country. Most and strong from at least 2,, d tl t,Y the tyrant whose foot is nom his mock agrees nor i latitude for fully 1,000 rnfles eouthwuu•d, of ris when we first arrive find so many the expedition o 0 f Rte 'c• P hand de Bort t appears to have differed in its methods from that of the Prince of ]Monaco in the mere general use of "balloons son- des," which rose to great heights, and by their line of drift indicated the direc- tion of the atmospheric eurrent at dif- ferent altitudes. Rites also were used, but in the trade wiud region no great height can be reacbed by their agency. The northwesterly current was found to be drier and more rapid than the main northeasterly current and there was always a quick rise of temperature as soon as the level of the anti -trade was reached. This phenomenon of "tem- perature inversion" is one of the most ntereating to be met with in atmoi- plmrie exploration. To give a single ex- ample. On one occasion, with a temper- ature of 70 degrees just above the sea, the air, at an elevation of 3,500 feet, was found to have a temperature as sigh as 80 degrees F. For our knowledge of the upper currents outside the region explored by Retch and de Bort we are still chiefly indebted to the studies of d the direction of movement of the sir us clouds. For example, the Island of Maur- itius, in the Southern Indian Ocean, lice right in the track of the southeast trades, That island has long been the scene of great scientific activity, and there observations of the upper clouds show, as we should expect, the existence of a steady upper current from the northwest. Our terrestrial atmosphere is never at rest, and the problem of the general atmospheric circulation is a complex one, and one that has been the object of much acute theoretical analy- sis.—The Edinburgh Scotsman. e.a, HIGH ABOVE LEVEL OF SEA. Second Highest Point in World is Attaine by Colorado Railroad. The completion and opening for traffic of a railroad 14,000 feet above the sea level is an event of moment in that kind of building and the one first finished leading from the Colorado and Southern lino to the summit of Mount McClennan an Gray's Peak, is the second in the world to reacr that altitude. The other is in Peru, leading through the passes of the Andes. Both lines carry the locomotive, with its proud and conquer- ing plume and its piercing note of tri- umph, half as high as the ,highest peaks in -the world with something to spare No longer need it be said that "mount- ains interposed make enemies of na- tions," though it may havo been true en- ough when the poet wrote it. Cured Through 'There are high mountain passes yet the Rich, Red Blood left in the world for the railway to Dr. Williams' Pink Pills Actual) i cleave through, though it may be doubt- ed Y ed if many of them will ever much ex- ceed those named in altitude. The Him- alayas, their peaks upholding the roof of the world, are yet to be gridironed. So are the Tilton Shan ranges and in gen- eral the whole mountain system of China; our intercontinental lines, going ion apace and soon to join their links, sometime will in the nature of things have some pretty high places to cover, but if they climb anywhere so lofty as the one just finished and its Peruvian predecessor it will be time to fire off cannon and hold celebrations of exulta- tion over the performance. It is only the rail which has permitted the wonders of the world to be reaehed and we have only begin to penetrate in- to their walled -in dominions. The train which spins over the torrent of Zambesi's fall across its high and slender steel arch reveals one of the most majestic views ever presented to mankind, but there are many more yet to be found and link- ed into the chain binding the accessible together which is reticulated with mesh- es growing atelier and smaller all over the world. It will indeed be like braid- ing a new world into the pattern of the old, to the enrichment of its embroidery beyond all the dreams which fancy can feign or the most glowing imagination picture.—New York Times. BLOOD TROUBLES difficulties ad objections and drawbacks for which wo were not prepared, that we world gladly turn and flee back to the state of single blessedness if we could. "Glory tickets," as our colored friends call marriage licenses, aro not sold with a return trip attachment, however. We aro there, and there we have go SECRETS IN THE AIR. "Fascinating" Movements of Our Ter- restrial Atmosphere. Among the most fascinating and elu- sive of scientific studies is that of the movement of our terrestrial atmosphere. Ever since men began to go down to the sea in ships the needs of the navigator must have led him to note for his own future guidance and for the benefit of other adventures, the general direction of the wind at various seasons in different t seas. Gr•aduaIly as the world widened the prevailing winds of the glebe became ac- curately known, and the common' know- ledge systematized, so that now for pro- bably every part of the ocean outside the polar circles there are official and published records of the winds that may be looked for at any season of the year. Then, too, the etudent of physical geo- graphy has noted how large a part the prevailing winds of any region play in determining the climatic oharacteriatios of different countries. Thus, in the Bri- tish Isles by far the most frequent winds are from a southwestern quarter, and these, blowing from off the warm waters of the Atlantic, give to our islands a temperate climate out of all proportion to their latitude. In recent years, how- ever, science has not been content with studying only what are, after all, move- ments merely in the lower serata of the great ocean of air on the floor of which we live and. move, but has sought to penetrate the mysteries of the upper air and to find out its secrets. Both Rotch and de Bort have devoted considerable private resources and tal- ents of no mean order to meterorologi- cal research, and when in the summer of 1905 these two scientists united in a joint expedition for the exploration of • SOLITAIRES AND THREE -STONES OLITAiRE and Three - Stone Diamond Rings are the most favored of all finger adornments — especially as engagement tokens. in both styles Diamond Hall has particularly attract- ive values at $25100, $50.00 and $100 00. These would cost you considerably more were we not Canada's largest import . Ing gem•dealers. D,vl es a'Sesta) card and are will send yes free of charge our large Was. noted catalogue. RBuk .Ont Make. j 1 Thousands of women suffer from , headaches, backaches, dizziness, lan- guor r and nervousness. Few realize that their misery all comes from the bad state of their blood. They take one thing for their head and an- other for their stomach, a third for their nerves. And yet all the while it is simply their blood that is the cause of all their trouble. Dr. Wil- liams' Pink Pills euro all these and other blood troubles because ,they . actyually make new, rich; red blood. ' Dfrs. J. H. McArthur, St. Thomas, Ont., says: "Dr. Williams' Pink Pills have done me a world of good. For about eighteen months I was a con- stant sufferer. I was terribly run down and the least exertion left me fagged out. I slept badly at night and this further weakened me, and finally I had to give up housekeeping and go boarding as 1 was quite unable to do any house, work. I took doctor's medicine but it was of little or no benefit. One day a neighbor told me how much benefit she had derived from Dr. Williams' Pink Pills and advised me to try them. I sent and got three boxes, and by the time I had used them I could feel a change for the better. Then I got four boxes more and before they were all gone my health was fully restored. To see mo now one would not think I had ever been sick for a day and I can hon- estly say I owe my renewed health to Dr. Williams' Pink Pills." • Dr. Williams' Pink Pills are the great- est cure there is for the weakness and backaches and sideaches of anaemia; all the distress of indigestion; all the pains and aches of rheumatism, sciatica and neuralgia, and the weakness and ill health that follows any disturbance of regularity in the blood supply. Soda by all medicine dealers or by mail at 50e a box or six boxes for $2.50 from The Dr. Williams' Medicine Co., Brockville, Ont. -Bret Badger. He bathes. He loves to dig. ' -• He is of value to the farmer. In northern winters he is semi -torpid. His burrowing benefits the soil. He eats field mice and ground squir- rels. The dug -out of the pioneer may have been patterned after that of the badger. Wisconsin is the Badger State. Itis home is in the open fields and prairies. Except at night, he spends most of his time underground. His large, short, strong feet, legs and claws make him a powerful digger. If birds elude him, he contents himself with eating their eggs; also toads, snakes and lizards. His color is indicated by the old say- ing, "As gray as a badger." He's tawny also. As a fur -bearer he ranks between the skunk and the beaver. This squat, compact animal is about two feet in length, very small minded, and has a tooth for smaller animals. He takes his name from the badge -like marking of sharply contrasting stripes of white and dark brown on his face. So many residences does he dig and then abandon that the fox, ferret, coyote and other often take possession of them. At the Zoological Garden these little animals don't attract as much attention as the more showy of the animal king- dom. Conundrums. Why is a man walking against the wind like a dressmaker finishing a skirt? Both are "facing" it. 'When is a lady's jacket like a China - mamas, queue? When braided. When is a door lake girl's hair? When banged When is a dollar like the holy days? When lent. When are navy beans like drunkards? When soaked. What is it that never freezes? Boiling water. Itow many straws go to make a goose's neat? Not one, for ataaws, not having feet, cannot go anywhere. Who killed the fourth part of all the people in the world? Cain, when he killed Abel, any should a housekeeper never put the letter M into lier refrigerator? Bceauaae it will chane ice into mice. Whyisbread like 1 1 c the stun? Decase it rises from the yeast. Weiat is the cheapest feature of the face? Nostrils, two for a cent (emit). Whet is the smallest room in the worid? Muiiibsootn. Their Beautiful and Artistic Berms lir Venice and Tuscany. TheItalian ofthe d It 1 an Middle Agee was not content with an elementary bole in the ground fenced about with rough i Atone. On the contrary, the some sense of artistic fitness which caused the Eris- •tocrat to employ great sculptors of the epoch to design the wrought iron and. 'bronze standard bearers and lanterns on his palace prevailed even in civic taste, and the fifteenth and sixteenth century wells existing in out of the way .corn- ers of Italy are marvels of grace and good workmanship. In the ducal palace courtyard in Venice there are two bronze well curbs quite worthy of the I great edifice which surrounds them. Pon- derous, massive, yet delicately chiselled and inodelled, their dark gleaming sides form a striking contrast to the ,sunlit Giant's Staircase and the marble arches near by. Nor do they exist to delight the • eye only. Great dents in the copper lin- ing show where countless kettles have been lowered into the cool green depths, and ropes have scored half a hundred smooth channels in the solid metal, The square of San Giovanni e Paolo contains a scarred marble well head carved with tiny boys struggling under the weight of huge garlands of fruit and flowers. Nearly 400 years the iron grat- ing has resisted alike incautious baby fingers and prowling eats apd the key has been handed down for generations in a nearbyfaintly. nm y. Not twenty yards away flows a canal of sluggish sea water, yet I the well water, although brackish and flat istill used sed for cooking and wash- ing. Ono of the best examples of private wells in Venice is that standing a step beyond the archway leading from the Grand Canal in the Ca' d'Oro—the Gol- 1 den House. The sloping sides and the sculpture in heavy relief give it the ap-pearance of a capital of some immense i column. The curiously twisted beading around the edge is characteristic of the architecture of the period. The most striking point of difference between the wells of Veneto and Tus- cany consists in the upright columns and cross beam, from which a wheel is sus- pended in the latter. The Venetian drew his water by force of bent back and of straining muscles, while the lazier Tus- can resorted to mechanical aids, at the same time beautifying his well archi- tecturally. A contrast to the simple utilitarian curb •is the fantastic fountain in the Bevilacqua palace in Bologna. High up on a slender marble shaft sits a quaint, a sedate lion, gazing steadfastly into the pool below him,. A stream of water fore. ed through his jaws falls accurately back into the depths from which it came. A special significance is attached to this fountain on account of the family name which is equivalent to the English "Drinkwater." Griffins, lions, dragons and curious mythological creatures were often called upon to do menial duties in heraldic ar- chitecture, like the patient, hopeless dra- gon in the castle of Vincigilata near Florence which grips the great iron wheel in its claws, considerably • aided, be it said in parenthesis, in this task, by a stout bar. In tineiron gardens of the monastic orders, also, we find some n fh telov' loveliest ex- amples of wells; some austerely simple and elegant in form; others surcharged with rococo ornamentation softened by clinging green moss and smoothed by the hand of time into a gentle charm of line and form which perhaps it did not possess when fresh from the •chisel of its maker. Did not the great Michael An- gelo willingly condescend to design, the well of the Florentine Certosa, with its formal approach of closely clipped box hedges, where the white robed friars ga- ther around it to this day? •.♦ Preferred It as God Made It. Andrew Carnegie once delivered a lit- tle homily to the pupils of a public school in Washington, says Harper's Weekly, wherein he endeavored to de- monstrate that the judgment of men is apt to be warped by sentiment and feel. ing. "In Scotland," asserted Mr. Carnegie, "the people abominated hymns simply be. cause the Episcopalians used them. The Presbyterians sang only the Psalms of David. The Episcopalians used stain- edI g ass in their church windows, and for that reason the Scotch looked upon stained glass as something of unholy ori- gin." Continuing, Mr, Carnegie told a story of a Presbyterian minister who had been bold enough to introduce this hated in, novation . He was showing it in tri• umph to one of his parishioners, and ask- ed her how she liked it. "Ay, it is handsome," said she, sadly, `nut I prefer the gless jist as God made it!" •r0. Railroad Man's Prayer. The following is the text of a railroad man's prayer pasted on the fireman's side of the switch engine in Spokane: ":pow that I have flagged Thee, lift up ny feet from the rough road of life and plant them safely on the deck of the train of salvation. Let me use the safetly lamp of prudence, make all the couplings With the link of ;love, and let my hand lamp be the Bible, to keep all the switches closed which Lead off the main line into the sidings with blind ends. have every sema- phore block along the line show the . white light of hope, that I may make the Wu x•fl J,ife wjthont stopping, (live ire the Ten Commandments as a working card, and when I have fin. !shed the run on scheduled time and pulled into the terminal, may Thou, Superintendent of tre Universe, say: 'Well, done, good and faithful servant; carne into the general office to sign the pay -roll and receive your cheque for eter• nal happiness: "—Milwaukee Sentinel. So Ile Bang Off. (October Smart Set.) Nml you didn't propose to herr* "Why?". "I was leading up to it, but sadd�so�ly noted that her voice hada bort of p`,, ous•engagement ring."