Thomas County cat., 1890-10-30
An Old Writer.

IT too inquirillg disposition. Boston
Herald.
An Old Writer.
Probably the oldest living authoress
n this country is Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes
Smith, who was very prominent before
the war, not only as writer but as a
lecturer. Although she is still con-
tributOr to one of the literary weeklies,
both in prose and verse, her name is
rarely seen elsewhere, and the general
Impression doubtless is that she has
passed away. The standards of criti-
tism are so different now from what
they were thirty years since that her
wOrk-pOems, novels, tragedies and
miscellanies not be ranked
nearly so high as formerly.
Born at what is now Cumberland,
Me- her maiden name was Prince
she was married at Ii to Seba Smith,
author of the once famous Mai. Jack
downing letters. She became widow
some twenty years ago and has been
living most of the time since at tho
small town of Hollywood, n. c., near
the coast, where at 81 she is in excellent,
vigorous health. She was one of early
advocates of wOman's rights, speaking
on the subject in all the large-- cities
and contributing various articles to the
magazines of the day woman and
:Ier Needs published forty years ago
attracted much attention and elected
warm commentator. Mrs. Smith haj
witnessed extraordinary changes in the
republic and has survived nearly all OF
her contemporaries, many OF whom oc
cupied exalted positions in her youth
and have now passed into oblivion
Exchange.
The Bogus Coffee Industry.
One of the rising industries of Phila-
phia is the bogus coffee industry. An
unterprising protected manufacturer of
that city has discovered process by
which an excellent imitation of the
coffee berry can be made for flour
The flour is reduced to dough, the dough
IS run through a machine which molds
it into coffee grains and the grains are
baked until they assume coffee color
In it's circular to the trade" this en-
terprising firm assures the dealer that
he "can safely mix fifteen per cent of
the substitute with genuine coffee"
that he can largely increase his profits
and his transactions with the firm will
be treated with the ''StricteSt conf
dence." With the proper amount of
protection here is an industry that
might be developed into large proper
:iOns. At present, on the ground that
it is not grown in this country. coffee
is free, but if Mckinley sees that
bogus coffee industry can be estab
lished with protective traiff he will
undoubtedly revise his bill and put a
duty on foreign coffee Chicago Her
aid.
AbO:lt WOmen's Feet and Shoes.
The shoe dealer does not exist who
does not know the woman with a num-
ber five foot who wears a number
three shoe" She is the bane of clerks
who are green in the shoe business, but
the old hands know her well. She is
sharp, ana the dealer who tries to palm
off shoe with the size altered to suit
her demands must needs be cautious
and thorough in his work. She has
,Scaught on" to the fact that the size is
marked on the lining as well as on the
sole, and after satisfying herself that
the shoe fits perfectly she scrutinizes
the soul and the lining most carefully
TO assure herself that the inscriptions
talesman is not palming off shoes of a
larger size. A western dealer has most
thoroughly overcome this little diff
Guilty by. an ingenious method. He
Etipulates that all goods bought shall be
without size marks on the sole. The
mark inside is erased or blotted out
pnd size sign placed on the sole with
pen and ink. This is perfectly intelli-
Eible to the salesman, but is passed over
by the customer as cost mark anG
never questioned. San Francisco Ar.
.onaut-
+; A fire company at Winsted, Conn,
being unable to get any but small
stream from the hose, made an exami
hation and found about eight inches Of
pm cells tail sticking out of the nozzle
pf thd hose pipe. The pipe was un
"a firemen fished . live eel out Of til
pipe that weighed nearly three pounda