The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1894-12-29
In area the Russian empire is the

both the Chinese empire the Brit
ish. 1t is q doubtful question which Of
the two that outrank 1t is first in num-
beers, but both are near 400, DOC, 900, and
are consequently far ahead of the do
minions of the czar. Russia contains,
however, the greatest mass Of white
population gathered under one flag
anywhere. China is the only power
which has us many people of one race
who arc not held under military rule.
Therefore the Russian empire is in
many respects easily The first in the
world. 1t is far more compact than
the much more extensive possessions
of England. 1t is more closely knit.
more natural, and more homogeneous.
That it will long ou!last tho enormous
aggregation of widely separated coun-
tries which are now under the British
flag admits of little doubt. IT is likely
to pass China in population. and it al
ready far exceeds that country Empower
and urea.
The death OF Mr.. Walters. the Balti-
moro art collector, reveals the fuct
that the famous peuchblow vaat, is not
in his collection. This is the vase that
Mrs. Morgan picked up in China, and
which was sold some years ago aor
SIS, 00o. 1t was said at the time that
Mr.. Walters bought it. but he denied
1t, and the denial seems to be now CON-
frmed. For some weeks there was u
fierce wal in the papers as to the value
of the vase, the Now York Sun chnm-
pioning it as a piece of exquisite
beauty, though to the ordinary eye it
wa wholly disappointing. Now the
mystery Of the vase is as great as ever.
Where is it? a small piece of pottery
worth $4,000 Toes not vanish from
sight every day in the week.
Nearly NIL legal papers nre now type
written, though documents are en-
countered now AMI then which have
been laboriously written out by the
hand of n of the counsel. The men
who still cling to the habit of writing
their W legal papers are usually old
lawyers, often of good practice, who
cannot accommodate themselves to the
new order of things. Young lawyers,
no matter how small their practice,
manage in one way or another to OBJ
tain the services of n stenographer.
Some of the older men find it prac-
tically impossible to work with u
stenographer or typewriter at hand.
- .--
Irvineton, n little village of Pennsyl-
vania. is notable as having been foun
ded by a son of General Callend<
Irvine on the site of the cabin whs e
the general used to live, and w re
Co%rnplantcr. or Handsome Lake The
Indian chief and prophet, was a fire.,
qucnt guest. The tradition il that
once when General Irvine was IN dan.
ger of being assnssinated by hostile
Indians, Cornplanter sent as his gcsee
.rusty man who stayed with the gen.
cal until the danger was past. Corn
elantcr sent the guard ostensibfy rs Il
:uest, and the general did not learn the
real object of tho visit until long
after.
a lew industry has sprung up among
sawnbrokers and diamo<t dealers.
Pretentious people in New York and
sther large cities who IRE DESTROYS of
soaring diamonds, and yet tdo not like
20 buy them outright, now rent them
sor the season. They either give the
snll value of the gems or give sufficient
oond, n then pay s per cent per
month for rental. In this way a wo-
man can wear S5,0 o worth of dia-
monds during Il season of three months
by paying $50 ront. This may or may
not be economy. bat it is done to an
Increasing eXtant.
In the hea,t of a largo pine tree, 81
feet in diarn.ter, james Miller of Ma
rinette, VS., found a knife that was
about n fest long and III inches wide.
The aga of the tree is estimated by
good judges to be over 200 years, and
the knife was buried i'll it when the
tree was in its infancy, for it is right
near the heart and only about six feet
from the base.
Russia has produced this year, ac-
cording to the estimate of the minister
of agriculture. 272, 900, 900 bushels of
wheat, us compared with 1896, 600, 900
last year. Her rye crop is 792. 900, 900
bushels, US against 752, 900, 900 u year
ago, The barley yield is l76, 900, 600
and h a of oats 6722, 000, 600. There is
no famine In the cars empire this
year.
Wien an American meets IN uc-
qnintance utter dark, no matter what
the hour, he says: "Good evening"
and when they separate he says Good
night" But in Canada one often hears
tho latter phrase in salutation as well
ms in good by. To un American it
seems odd when. on seeing a friend,
the latter advances with: Good night,
Sir. How are your
Very few of the famous singers of
tho world have dicd rich, although
many made fortunes. Albani
was a notable exception. So was Mile.
Satilini. Malibran died too Young to
acquire much wealth. Henrietta Som
tag was ruined by the courts OF 1913
and forced to return to the stage. So.
phia Cruvelli was wealthy. Davinia
Fenton, the original Polly in 1.-THE
Beggars' Opera" died duchess OF Boil
ton, and Kitty Stephens became count
css Of Essex.
A pleasant instance OF the contempt
In which. authors are held by business
men is told by the writer Of q book. An
edition de luxe was on the market at IS
n copy, and the bookseller was CON-
planning because he had ito pay 81 In
stcad of 80 US he had hoped. 1T dcea
seem hard" said the author meelsly,
"eut do you know how much | get?
? publishers pay me only so cents 9.
aopy." Tho bookseller stared ut him