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TEST PROMISSD TO MARRi jruml to-the alIesaltona that had promise. Instances Where Juriors Have Compelled Them to Pay Damages. When worsted in tl e court of love It is seldom Indeed that a rejected Buitor ventures to seek redress in a court of law, and still more seldom does he succeed In recovering damages from the fair rejector for her breach of promise. The only satisfaction he usually gets is that which he can derive from having to pay his own and the fickle damsel's costs. But even in thi* happy land of gallant "good men and true" a lady sometimes find* herself mulcted for her inconstancy, though been pnit forward. The result was that the action t ■ 'Msmissed wit: holding th a herself i: y man who was openly c itowing his attentions oi n while engaged to mar --London Tit-Bits. may bo taken for granted that there is an utter absi nee of h-.oything that the jury can construe THE BIGBESTFLASHLIBHT EQUAL IN POWER TO 30,000,000 CANDLES. Situated on the Island of Heligoland, and Can be Seen 40 Miles Away. It is some consolation to find that there is one "biggest thing" in the do -- world which the possess, and that Is the biggest flashlight. Germany is pardonably proud of being able to lay claim to this honor, and the fact that it has H«nee the result of a breach of been erected on an island which so prondsa action tried at the Binning- recently belonged to Great Britain-ham Assizes a few months ago creat- j Heligoland, in tho North Sea--gives ed no email amount of 'sensation to it an added interest for English when it became known. The fact readers. that the plaintiff, one Nestorious. The history of this great light, which flashed" its beams across the ago, is worth telling. In 1895 Jerman Imperial Government i number of experts to France • It© study the principles of French j flashlight building, for which the Re-" has been famous almost since itroduction of light-houses, in that a light of exceptional study divinity and medicine. Fate * power and bril iancy might be erect-ordained, however, that there heed on their newly acquired island. Karens, was a native of Persia, and ' that he was of the impressionable i age of twenty-seven, while the lady j i who rejected him was only a few 11 years less than double that age, in- t vested the case with more than or- i i dinary interest. It appeared from the evidence that publii the jilted one was a Christian, and the ii ) Edinburgh should meet his divinity son of the defendant, single lady of ho i CONSIDERABLE MEANS. She soon obtained such an a! dency over him that at her request I based t he discontinued lecturing, which was his livelihood, and received money Rebubl from her. The lady wrote several j tions t amusing letters, in one of which she curacy referred to her prospective marriage, lese experts, among whom numbered the greatest savants in Germany, received every assistance from the courteous French scientists, who explained that tho principles of their fam CHINESE FIRS FIGHTERS, novel METHODS OF EXTINGUISHING FLAMES. Milk Was Used With Effect-^Cbop-ped Straw Is Very Efficacious. Although Western wit cannot lay claim to such originality as a few weeks since prompted a Chines mob, on the occasion of a serious outbreak of fire, to advance upon the conflagration with aggressive shouts, minatory thumping of drums, and truculent waving of flags, with the evident intent of terrorizing the fiery foe into subjection, it can at least boast some original, and assuredly more efficacious, methods of fighting the flames. Walking through Judd Street, Eus-ton Road, London, a month or so since, a passer-by noticed smoke issuing from a dairy. With commendable promptitude he smashed in the i finding ■ater , eflect- s of milk ( ■ h.rr ith i of Fresnel These the ig prisms, built for many genera.-arveHous skill' and ac flashlights have comf On her behalf it was stated that the plaintiff had refused to become a British subject, and she objected to go to Persia and have to put up with the status of Persian women. But the British jury Asiatic ' damages. to be regarded a FINEST IN THE WORLD. The Germans learned all there learn, but, curiously enough, v need that i he Fresnel lenses. On the Fatherland they • work experimenting the solatium of $250 Promptly with glas„ ------ uccessful was a breach'ed by ane °' their it brought a few years -Schuckert-by which they an American lady in obtain results superior eve s of Maine. She was French system, prominent statesman, I Their experiments were dence of the ! with interest by all -- ally Still of promise i ago against the law cou the niece of and according jilted plaintiff, a Mr. Melcher, not only paid court, but ad proposed to him. Consequ„... when she heartlessly threw him over and bestowed her hand and heart on another he determined to vindicate his wounded feelings in a court of law. The amount claimed by him was $25,000, but the damages awarded by the jury did not ex-' iv uremoei ceed $2,000, although on the whole much sli this sum must be considered very i approbat Satisfactory from his point of view. V Very disastrous, indeed, was the result which attended a breach of promise suit against a lady that was tried before Mr. Justice Wills at Manchester Assizes. The parties supply gave PERSONAL AND GENERAL. Notes of Interest About Almost Evry thing. The number of Roman Catholics Great Britain is officially reported bo, 1,933,000. Recent excavations at Orosovar, Hungary, have revealed graves tabling the skeletons of old Roman The investment of American capital in Mexican railroads, mines, £ J plantations is said to amount over $500,000,000. The University of Heidelberg has conferred the honorary degree of doctor of sciences on Professor Pickering, the Harvard astronomer. H. R. H. tho Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, it is said, is of such a retiring disposition that she is referred to by the rest of the family as "Her Royal Shyness." George Meredith, the English novelist, whose home is at Boxhill, Surrey, is now in his seventy-fifth year. His recreations are walking and read-j ing French literature. An old yew tree twenty-seven feet in cricuinference. stands in the Sil-verton church yard, Devon, England. It is said to havo been planted at the time of the Norman Conquest. Tho Russian Government is trying several engines | to establish the sal canning industry on the Siberian coast in opposition to the Canadian and American establi In Ireland there has been a great decrease in the number of prisoners sent to penal servitude during ent years. In 1892 there were 471 while in 1902 there were only At Cracow, Poland, 500 Jewish Rabbis havo taken a solemn oath that in their religion there such thing as the blood ritual which is believed to be one of the ies by the peasants of Russia and central Europe. A Swiss workman, living near chatel, is said to have risen i sleep and walked a quarter of a mile before waking. He put his foot into a pool of water by the roadside and tho shock roused him from his nambulistic dream. People with large appetites come the chief nations of the world and the nature of the food eaten has a striking relation to national character, according to a London journal. People who eat the most work while, however, the water ! the most, and so can accomplish the and matters began ! most, ous aspect, when it I Djelal Bey, who hi that a number of late Hassan Pasha a gall, counter. onths back a ground fire broke out ■lorhocd ■: civ, the spo' 'ere unable to cope with the that sprang aloft from the in the pavement. Water apparently had no effect, and a loud explosion, followed immediately by he upheaval of the paving-flags, threatened wholesale disaster, when firemen, abandoning the hose, had RECOURSE TO SAND, with which they succeeded in extinguishing the conflagration. Under certain conditions chopped raw forms a very effective fire-extinguisher, and German fire-brigade inspectors strongly recommend it in the case of burning fats and oil. Indeed, on the occasion of a large oil warehouse catching fire it proved singularly efficacious, and, when other means failed, danger was averted by its prompt use. Last August a fire broke out on a France. An alarm was at once sounded, and a battery of artillery soon arrived on the spot to second the efforts cf the farm hands. After sne I Europe, who ; 3ver, that, great though thi nents of German savants had hi he scientific world, they hoc ainty undertaken an impossible n trying to improve on the F system, of building flashlights. vere carried on for several yea ° I was rememben e barrels of cider were stored near at ter of marine, is c . Ihand. With these the struggle con-; member of the pal dfj tinned, the supply fortunately prov-; pletely ignorant ol i cope with the confla- j and held in "! gration. i the v During the cold weather tor of 1890 a Lynn constable, chan ing to pass a certain chop, notice that a beam was on fire. He a once blew his whistle, and half-; dozen policemen were soon oi what could they <|o 3 succeeded the Turkish scribed t :e 'gang, naval matters, ideration either (ha tempts they w of I » able to pre "reflector i reflect c ith erected Schuckert glass they obtained results more power and searching then were ever dn.-a of by the builders of the Fren flashlights. THE NEW FLASHLIGHT has an illuminating power equal 30,000,000 candles, which in norn had met at the BotRnical Gardens Old Trafford, and decided on A SECRET MARRIAGE. Before it could take place, howev the fair lady changed her mind, a refused to marry until the young : weather is clearly man was in a better position. This t of twenty-five miles out at se did not quite fit in with his plans ! flashes themselves, which lai so he commenced proceedings against! longer than one-tenth of a her to recover damages for herj have been observed by people breach of promise. On behalf of the ' it young lady a sum of $100 was paid i t: into court in satisfaction of his ers on tne ngntnouse at Amrur claim, which, needless to say, was j which is perhaps a trifle farther < far in excess of this modest sum. j then Busum, have also seen ti But, after hearing the evidence of j flashes, which they were able 1 if the frost all the was frozen. Happy thought! Use I o1 snow. And this they did, snow-jcc bailing the fire until it was extin-j fa guished. A SIMILAR EPISODE |a, occurred a year later at the village v of Georgetown, Penn., when by reason i of the frost's freezing all the water,1"1 a Maying house threatened to spread 0 wholesale destruction. A crowd of ■ oc some two hundred, however, that IOI were assembled on the spot com- j ^ menced a bombardment of snowballs, jit which were delivered with such un- 'io erring aim and rapidity that the > ™. official or diplomatic Constantinople." The famous bird of paradise, whose beautiful feathers are so highly prized, has a very small habitat. The varieties of this beautiful bird are confined to the island of New Guinea and the neighboring coast of Australia, although tht here the V ' their en to bo equally en Patriarch i 11 have no occa nrical gift as it as been proachc x pope in tht vas Pius IX. who, on one when the appointed preach appear ascended the pulpi Busum, dies. ,. both the plantlff and the defendant, the jury not only returned a verdict, in favor of the latter but ordered that the $100 she had paid into court - should be handed back to count as they regularly appeared and disappeared. The accuracy of the mechanism which operates the flash ight perfect that it is said flashes the time betwt not be found to haloment they proceeded to rain erfect fusillade of mineial-v iphons and bottles upon the fil ntil they were got under. inconsiderable 1 ro-i GREAT ELECTRIC CRANE. °al The great German naval harbor of a | Kiel now contains the largest electric ter'cmne in existence. It is so placed ies ! that two of the largest vessels may ! lio on each side of it for the purpose 0{ ; of unloading or exchanging cargoes. in The crane can lift fifty tons at a i j second, flash follow : i twelfth part of a mi i fact, and om A short time before a Liverpool jury expressed a wish to deal the plaintiff in a breach of ; action against a lady in a stil___ drastic fashion. His counsel intended that the case should be fully gone into, but before the trial had J safed, that the blush-' been in progress many minutes the I the arc becomes red foreman of the jury intimated that any great distance, he and his colleagues had heard i color the farther the 1 enough of it. The cost of the Heli; They forthwith proceeded to find a light has run into n verdict for the comely defendant, one of dollars, and, taki of the jurymen remarking that he ' eration the expensi e would have beon only too glad if he had had the power to mulct the rash plantiff in damages, by way of penalty for his temerity in bringing such a ridiculous claim into court. The result was that the ill-starred young man had to pay his own costs and those of the YOUNG LADY AS WELL. I Qhim •An extraordinary breach of prom- 1 Ise action against a French damsel ing a heavy load c came before tiie Civil Tribunal of the think nothing of i Seine towards the end of the year tions the case of ci 1896. Some time before, the son after going twenty of a prosperous business man be- out food and havij engaged to the charming burden housand J months bat igh t of any thousand; STRONG COOLIES. e on fire. | Cabby (politely : "Beg pardon, sir; M ainable ' please don't smoke in the keb, sir; ice, wine ladies do complain o' tho baeca un-ce utiliz- ; common. Better let me smoke it for :t, too, you outside, sir." efficacy J Blnks : ..j hear that Jawklns call. uao es ^ cci yOU a fool at tne cluh tho othe). How could you stand that?" GROWTH OP THE BEARD. IJi, riirln' "That's right. I ! -- you made scientist i him apologize?" Jinks: "Er--well line in --the fact is, when he called mo a tions, a : fool I called him another, and im-average mediately I found myself sitting-on :r week. ! the floor. So nobody, can say that tan who I stood it." quipped { "Yes-" He had been waiting for h. I that one little word, and his heart ' beat fast as he heard her say it. young'"Yes-" He had longed to take is first j her in his arms, but she spoke as iect the: there was more that she wished 3 judge; i say, and so he hesitated. She c rat you i tinned : "Yes--jterday I promised r client be another's." He strode away in x-enee." the gloaming. daughter of a wealthy Par Everything went smoothly for a time, the date of the wedding was fixed, and a very happy future seemed in store for the young couple. Then came to the prospective bride's father a bombshell in the shape of an anonymous letter, alleging that the intended bridegroom was carrying on an intrigue with another damsel, who was in his father's employ. This was followed by an epistle from the girl herself, who, fearful of losing her lover, took the extreme step of writing to ask that the match with the other young lady-should be broken off. The suitor denied that there was any truth in the allegations in the letters, but, notwithstanding, the engagement was terminated, wheron the disappointed young man took proceedings for breach of promise. When th* case came before the court It was teu*'* that there was every i lef stakes may have theis Jones looked in the directory ant then called up a number. Presently came through tho receiver a soft femine "Halloa," and asked: "Who is that?" "This is Mrs. Jones.' "Have you any idea whore your husband is?" He couldn't under stand why she "rang off" so sharply, until he looked in the book again and discovered that he had called up the residence of a widow 1 ' "MISSED THSE CONNECTION" --Johnny, what's wrong Johnny--The whole thing's D01AN LIMBS LAMBEY IMMENSE NUMBER op PIECES WHICH THEY CARRY. Small Army oi Men and Women Employed on Shore Looking After It. Yes, said the laundry steward on board one of the biggest Atlantic liners to the writer recently, we carry a good number of piece's of linen for each voyage, 50,000 perhaps, all told, which include such trifles as 10,000 sheets, the same number of serviettes, 5,000 pillow-slips, 10,000 bedroom towels, 1,000 table-cloths and 1,000 counterpanes. Then there are innumerable dusters, glass-cloths, etc.. which bring tho numbei up to 50,000 at least. Yeu-see, or a full trip we generally count or having from nine hundred to a thousand souls on board, not counting the steerage passengers, and as linen has to be changed every we have to take a fair amour the voyage. The articles, too, are of the finest quality and cost a pretty sum. I don't suppose anywhere, not even ir the most famous English, Continental, and American hotels, would you find more valuable linen, viettes alone, which are made in the most celebrated French and English looms, cost as much as $5 apieci you may be sure the company does not like to lose many, though number that disappear during voyage is astonishing. I reckon the serviettes arc the most costly articles in a ship's laundry-chest and, in consequence, I look after them pretty keenly. When the table stewards come for their day's supplies! they have to sign for the number they receive, which has the effect of making them rather more careful. IT IS A CURIOUS FACT that, among the first-class passengers especially, the habit of annex-irviette, as a souvenir I sup-extraordinarily common. The table stewards have told me that thoy almost invariably see ladies on the last day of the voyage openly "pping serviettes into their pockets, and when their attention has been delicately drawn to their fits of ab-itraction they have smiled pleasantly, and explained that they were under tho impression that it was their own property they were putting away. The stewards are not called upon to stand the racket of losses and neither are the passengers, the lost articles being charged to the general profit and account of the ship, have two rooms in which we keep .the linen, one for the soiled articles and one for the clean. Of as the voyage becomes full. The table and bedroom stewards visit my department .every morning between the hours of ten and twelve, hen they bring the soiled linen, hich is checked and then placed in mvas bags. They then receive a fresh supply, which is also checked, d for which I now insist on receiving a receipt. soon as all the day's returns been received the linen is carried to the drying-room, which is heated by steam, and the towels, serviettes, sheets, etc., are spread d thoroughly dried. After that the articles are once more counted and placed in bundles of 00 pieces in the bags again and ;ored away uirt.il we reach port, when they are handed over to the laundry-men, who are usually wait-n the dock to receive them. AS YOU MAY BELIEVE 50,000 articles look a good deal in bulk, and more than one van is re-o carry it away. In fact a small army of men and women is employed on shore looking after a ship's laundry, and the weekly washing biil is a'pretty stiff ono. I can tell you. Yes, the steerage passengers, or the third-class, as they prefer to be called, have their linen department, just the same as the saloon passengers, but with one exception--it does include bed-linen. Each bunk, however, is furnished with a good stout mattress,, covered with a plain hich is renewed every voyage, a blanket, or two if they - want them, and a pillow. As soon as port is reached the mattrcss-covers, the pillow-cases, and tho blankets are handed over to the laundry-men, have strict orders to boil and fumigate them. Table linen is now supplied to third-class passengers, though not serviettes, and the cloths are changed three times during the trip. Formerly, and not so very long ago either, the third-class passengers did not have table-cloths, eating their meals off the bare table. But we are improving, and the man who, through being hard up or any other cause, is obliged to travel third-class on one of our vessels has a pretty comfortable time of it, for besides excellent food he can count on cleanliness as perfect as that ia the saloon cabins. paper who interviewed Count Tolstoi at his home, asked him about the Doukhobors who come to Canada. He writes : "He told me that they were getting on very well, but that no more were going out to Canada, as the members of the sect remaining in Russia have abandoned tho uncompromising standpoint of their Canadian co-religionists and have consented to serve in tho army." inister gas before ex-tooth ?" asked the .," answered the fair I'd rather yoi light." Watkins : "Bui give a single ret join our little party. "I haven't got a single rei I've got the best kind of one.". Watkins : "What Feckhara •, "A ivwrriage a Lve failed t declining t Peckham SAILORS SHAM SHIPWMl TAKE PLACE A DAY OR TW«| BEFORE LEAVING PORT. Jack Knows What He WiUV Do I| the Ship Meets With Accident. Before every big steamer puts ouj to sea a sham shipwreck takes plac« on board. There is nothing spectacular about it, for the affair ia strictly private. By permission of the captain of a big liner, however,, the writer, was informed that if he liked to hido himself behind one ol the boats, he might watch one ot these proceedings undisturbed. These sham wrecks take place at> ways a day or two before leaving port, and while at sea they are alstt held once a week. The sight of th« men nimbly rushing to their postjj, and under perfect control, makes one feel very confident of safety at se* should trouble arise. At a given signal, from nil sorts of unseen ra« cesses about fifty men suddenly appear. They line up on deck, the captain, officers, and some of the directors standing amidships. Tha deck hands are on one side of them all in a row, and as spotless a» can be, the the cooks and stewards on the other. On the other side ot the ship assemble all the engine-room hands--electricians, greasers, stokera The captain, officers, and directors then walk down, and make remarks about the appearance of the crew. On the Peninsular and Oriental ships the deck hands and firemen are mostly Lascars. At "muster" these natives are magnificent in their spotless white clothes, with decorations, of various kinds. A SHAM FIRE usually takes place first. Everybody knows exactly where to go directly the fire bell sounds. In a few seconds the crew have suddenly bolted in different directions, and before one could .realize it, one batch of men have connected hoses, and are pointing them at some given spot, another lot are working the three band pumps for all thoy are worth, twelve men to each pump, with six standing by to relieve them. A real fire is usually located at! once. It will be almost certainly in a store-room, or passenger's cabin-- rarely, if ever, in the engine-rooms. Another detachment, under tha second officer, will have rushed to the boats. No boat will be lowered until the captain orders. When ha does, everything will be done like clockwork. Each man knows his coil of rope, and his place of handling it. Eleven deck hands sit in the boat, with their oars upright, waiting for the signal to lower. All this is done exactly as it would be in the event of accident at sea. Certain other detachments of men1 are put on "watertight doors." In event of collision, these are instantly closed directly the smash takes place. This renders it almost impossible to sink a largo ship. If two sections, even, were.ab.SQlulclx^^, flooded, by closing tfle^'nlmSfBmr^"^' doors, the entire ship would be out of danger of sinking. But it is not only to save life that the ship's crew concerns itself. Other officers have quite distinct duties. The third officer, for instance, must' direct his attention solely to SAVING THE MAILS, and seeing that the powder magazine is free from danger. The purser-- or business manager of the ship-- must keep his eye to business, even in calamity. He has to see that his staff render help wherever wanted. of their tasks will be to keep the passengers off the spirits. It Is torious that many people's first instinct In shipwreck is to intoxicate themselves. The doctor's task is diplomatic. While the captain is directing on the bridge, he has to keep the passengers calm. The chief engineer is for the being "out of work," as all hands are on deck, so it Is his duty to co-operate with the chief officer in carrying out the captain's orders. The stewards each have their work. Two of them, and the storekeepers, have as their sole duty the provis*-ioning of the boats--particularly *fth water. Another curious sight before a ship sails takes place in the saloon. Half , dozen gentlemen are tasting all oris of dishes laid in front of them iv the cook. They are the ship's food critics. The chef must show by specimens of work that he is competent. The caterer, too, must be there to hear opinions from the directors on his wares. If a pastry is heavy or badly cooked, there will be severe censures. Even eggs are opened for inspection before starting. --Pearson's Weekly. GRIM INVENTION. A German professor has invented a process of silver-plating dead bodies i the; images of the individuals as they were when in life. Gold-plate can be used if the relatives can afford it. But as the expense of silver-plating a body is $12,500, there are probably few relatives who would deem themselves justified in squandering the deceased's estate on such a memorial. > you.' D'Auber : " I would novel lette : "By Jove, old had one ! I'd give it i "Is Buixkins as good as his word?" asked one business man. "I think eplied the other. "His word d for anything." "Can you tell me what sort of weather we may expect next month?" wrote a subscriber to the editor of a country paper, and the editor replied as follows :--"It is my belief that the weati*r next month he is. Th* Inquirer wondered for :■ the editor was driving happened to think of •tifiFat'j." j tha required »m