... Interesting Facts . .. .Wr A bicycle that in five minutes can be taken apart and packed in a bag 24in. by 16ib. has beel invented by a Frenchman. Brain workers, according to statistics which have been ?? recently, are long-lived. ?? hun- dred and thirty-eminent; men and women of the pre- sent century were taken, and their duration. of life gives au average of about 68 years andt eight months. ...

... READINGS FROM CURRENT LITERATU RE. OTIIUSE, A British scientist recently in America asked one of the curators at the Smiithsoniall Institution to initiato lim into the American jole, of which he had heard so 2mulch. WVll, replied the professor, to take a vely crudle example, it is said that Chicago girl's have suclh largo feet that they have to go back to the fork ill the nearest cross ...

... t9 . Ji7~r-y £;. i.. I By our Spc'ai Geonesponetnd4 N N ' -- of The Mlanohester Philharmonic Society, under te ni direction of Mr. G. W. Lane, gave a very excellent performance of Elijah on Saturday last, and, to judge by the immense and enthusiastie audience that filled the Fr*e-trade Hall, the popularity of Mendel-l ssohn's Oratorio is no whit diminished. Doubtless the appearance of 'Mr. ...

... A STORY FOR THE TIMES, [corynlunw.) BY MORICE GERARD CHA-PTEt XV. BARBASRA LIGOSTFOOT. It was five oclock in the afternoon. Bar- trt Lightfoot had given her father a cup of tea ana settled him dowan on a sofa in the library t, hlave a rest. They went throngh the same jrvriitafmno day after day. Sir Hickmlan wa3 ?? a COmlMete invalid now, more mental t1aiL3 phllySkidl. He had just sufficient ...

... ODD ThOUGHTS. I The DEATP BROTEHER BOEB. Lre, Speak gently to 3our brother Boer, de He is your fellow-man, eCIs, Who even when the war is o'er le- Will trick you if he can. ler- Dear brother Borr. 'TiEa true lo looted house and farmn, vay Forced men to fight for him; lair Filled quiet people with alarm, of 'Twas but his playful whim. rnd Dear brother Boer. MY quite forgets those days oP yore, ...

... TEE STAGE. it is nlow fourleen yents, since ithe tinst plain(.Ote of 'I'Alone in London, and: the undoulhvd su,,~ chlic'h ba, attended the rbvivhl of thuil IlPltaIOnICJT~ a striking. test~imonial to it., merit. It i;fil 3 thrilling- situations which are, purkelY melodraeawric, but at the eardn' time thle pieiie aboundsA with (Aaxlpl. oif clever chacscterisatioil. to which hi tlii. rc.,% ...

... THE CHILDREN'S HOU. I CONDUCTED BY: One day, in ., hive of bees, a baly bee was bhon. It was only one of many other little bees, and was, of course, only larva at first, but it was taken great care cf by the working bees, who gave it plenty of pollen, whieh is bee-bread, and saw to its comfort and well- being in every way. So that it passed through its larva, or caterpillar stage, without any ...

... 8, ?? e, as ?? - I >. . e -P., I ; ' ' volb, - h ;? I THREE GOOD STORIES. Sir Albert Rollit is a versatile speaker, but be has never been looked upon as an after-dinner orator. Sir Albert apparently, however,has qualifications in this direction. The member fbr South Islington at- tended the Stanley Cycle Show luncheon the other day, and, in proposing success to the ex-hibition, told several ...

... CREAM OF CURRENT LITERATURE.I A WORD TO MOOSCO. The English an] the Americans know how to handle their ships, And incidentally their guns, while the French do not. A French ironclad battered away at Orote for four hours, and only added to the hilarity of nations. The Camperdown (of the British Navy), four miles away, fired four sbots from a big gun, and the Cretan fort difeolved in dust. Of ...

... [COrYlut(;T. ] THlE MYSTERY OF CROMFORD COURT. Otl CRIME BY SUGGESTION. BY LADY JOIDNSON, Author of A Chiance Delay,' W W- ithin a Year, etc., ctc. N' my return frcm ihs Con- til hct, a few years ago, I reeived a pressing invi- talion from mv o ld fricild, .ell Lcacester, to join thiir shooting party on I;, f i rf iS ltcie ll)t'. I'ii ,l- iv ils~ler nroad, and about nine s ?? ,, ;e. Vcra ...

... ?? ODD TIIOUGHTS. 1 1 _ _ _ THE LAND OF NO FIGHT. We were for 'peace at any price, Loudly denouncing war, Anxious to give the world advice, And make our will its law. But men despised us, then we thought WVe'd leave this fighting land. So far away possessions bought, Where peaceful rule we planned. One law we made, that none should fight, However good his cause, It would be wrong to gain tho ...

... A MARVEL OJt PHE PARIS EXHIBITION -i - __ ?? . . -- Monsieur Ponsin's luminots palace is to be one of theo greatest marvels of the Paris Exhibition of 1900, and the plans are now in course of execution near the IC!ffel Towver. AL. Ponsin's erpation is expected to produce the effect of a fairy palece, built in the airfa la Arabian Nights, striking the beholder withL a selise of its ...