Thomas County cat., 1890-08-07
An Old Writer.

IT a too inquiring disposition Boston
Herald.
|; An Old Writer.
| Probably the Oldest living authOress
in this country is Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes
Smith, who was very prominent before
the war, not only as a writer but as a
lecturer. Although she is still a 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-
cism are so different now from what
they were thirty years since that her
work-poems, novels, tragedies and
miscellanies would not be ranked
nearly so high as formerly.
Born at what is now Cumberland,
Me- her maiden name was Prince
she was married at IL to Seba Smith,
author of the once famous Mai. Jack
Downing letters. She became a 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 larger 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 cOmmendati0n. Mrs. Smith ha,
witnessed extraordinary changes in tho
republic and has survived nearly all OF
her contemporaries, many OF whom oc
cupied exalted positions in her you'll,
| 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
.nterprising 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 machine which molds
it into coffee grains and the grains are
baked until they assume coffee color.
In its 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 al industry that
might be developed into large proper
tions. 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 a protective traiff he will
undoubtedly revise his bill and put a
duty on foreign Chicago Her
aid.
About WOmen's Feet and Shoes.
The shoe dealer does not exist who
does not know the woman with num-
Der five foot who wears number
three Shoe" She is the bahe of clerks
who are green in the shoe business, but
the old hands know her well. She is
sharp, ano 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
caught 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 |
10 assure herself that the unscrupul0us |
'alesman is not palming off shoes of q |
larger size. A western dealer has most
thoroughly overcome this little diff |
Guilty by an ingenious method. He
stipulates that all goods bought shall be i
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-
gible to the salesman, but is passed over /
by the customer as a cost mark AND
never questioned. San Francisco Ar. I
sonaut.
I; A fire company at Winsted, Conn,
being unable to get any but small
Ctream from the hose, made an exami
nation and found about eight inches Of
lm cells tail sticking ont Of the nozzk
pr thd hose pipe. The pipe was nm
Screwed from the hose and tho Ast0niGh-
ID fremen fished q live eel ont Of the
pipe that weighed nearly three pounds !