Various

“ This has given great offence to the German-speaking part of the population; they cannot see why they should be forced to learn Hungarian, and the Hungarians insist that no officials can properly govern a people unless they can speak their language.
These two questions have set Hungary and Austria at variance with each other, and it is feared that Hungary may not be satisfied until she has severed herself from Austria, and once more become an independent kingdom. ”

“ Abdication should be an act of free will on the part of the person who resigns.
Queen Liliuokalani claims that she is still the rightful Queen of Hawaii, because, though she signed an act of abdication, she says, she did not do it of her own free will, but was forced to sign by the present government of the islands.
As to the story of Queen Victoria's abdicating: she is now seventy-eight years old, and she may well be wearied with the cares of government, but she cannot abdicate unless Parliament is willing that she shall do so. ”

“ Hungary will not listen to any arguments on the subject, and threatens to separate herself from Austria.
These two countries are governed by one sovereign, and, like Sweden and Norway, or the various States of our own country, have each their own local government, but are united on all matters of foreign affairs, national defences, tariff, etc.
The Hungarians and Austrians are, however, people of very different races, and, in spite of the years they have been joined under one federal government, they have never grown to like each other. ”

“ Our sewing-machines do so much of the work for us nowadays that one quite resents the idea, after a garment is otherwise completed, of sitting patiently down to make button-holes, just as our grandmothers used to do, and their grandmothers before them. ”

“ The success of the strikers will cause a slight increase in the price of ready-made clothes, but few are likely to begrudge this when they realize what an increase of comfort it means to the poor workers.
Austria and Hungary are not getting along as well as they might.
There are two reasons for this unfriendly feeling.
One is that Austria has asked Hungary to pay a larger proportion of the common expenses of the two countries. It was arranged that Hungary should pay thirty per cent. ”

“ It is not expected that the new treaty will be sent to the Senate before December.
The terms of peace between Turkey and Greece have not yet been agreed upon, nor has the amount of money which Greece must pay been finally decided.
It is rumored that it will be about twenty-three million dollars, which is the largest sum that Greece is able to pay. It is also reported that Turkey is now willing to give up Thessaly without further trouble.
This may be true, but Turkey is posting guns on the mountains that mark the frontier between Greece and Turkey, and is despatching additional troops there. ”

“ In the State of Kansas, tornadoes are more dreaded than fires, and the Kansas children are taught a tornado drill as our Eastern children are taught a fire drill.
According to the statements we receive, the citizens take to the prairies the moment a tornado strikes a Kansas town. As the children cannot run as fast as the grown-ups, they have often been caught and injured by the terrible storms before they could escape. ”

“ There are several new kinds of tires suggested, and one seems to be quite a good idea. It is to be composed of a series of inflated balls, with an outer rim to protect them from the stones, nails, etc., which are the nightmare of the bicycle-rider. In this way, should an accident happen to one ball, the others need not be in any way injured, and the horror of a punctured tire would be greatly lessened.
Sewing-Machine that will Cut and Make Button-Holes.—Here is an invention that will delight the girls. ”

“ Gomez is reported to have said that Cuba does not want the United States to go to war with Spain for her sake. All she asks is that she shall be granted belligerent rights, and be allowed to buy and ship her supplies without interference. ”

“ Some one has come to the help of busy workers with a machine that has a double action. It not only sews button-holes but cuts them. It is provided with an appliance which stops the sewing while the hole is being cut, and again stops the cutting movement to give place to the sewing.
This ought to be a great and successful invention.
Silk Made from Wood-fibre.—A new process of making silk has just been put on the market, and if it is as successful as is claimed for it, silk may soon be as cheap as cotton. ”

“ The Irish had long been complaining that their rents were too heavy, and that their landlords did nothing for them in return for the money collected. There was a good deal of truth in these complaints; the landlords hardly ever went near their estates, and seemed to care only for the money they got from the tenants. The whole conduct of affairs was left in the hands of the agents, who were obliged to grind the money out of the tenants to supply the wants of their masters. ”

“ Every one has some sort of an atlas, doubtless, but an old atlas is no better than an old directory; countries do not move away, as do people, but they do change and our knowledge of them increases, and this atlas, made in 1897 from new plates, is perfect and up to date and covers every point on
The Great Round World.
Those not subscribers should secure the subscription of a friend and remit $5 to cover it and their own. A copy of the atlas will be sent to either address. ”

“ Sherman, however, states that while he was opposed to such a step at one time, the trouble between Hawaii and Japan has caused him to change his mind, and he now thinks annexation will be most desirable for all parties concerned.
The ex-Queen of the Sandwich Islands, Liliuokalani, has also sent in her protest against the Treaty. She objects because "her people," as she calls the Hawaiians, have not been consulted, and also because no provision has been made for her. ”

“ Parnell's advice, the laborers refused to work for him, and the tenants refused to have any dealings with him.
It was harvest-time, but the crops were left rotting in the fields, because no one would lend a hand to gather them. The farm servants left the farm, and there was no one to feed the cattle or milk the cows. The country people round would sell neither food, clothes, nor medicines to any of the family.
The peasants cut Captain Boycott off from the rest of the world, and kept him thus isolated until the Government had to interfere. ”

“ To prevent such accidents in the future, some one decided to build tornado caves under the schoolhouses. These caves are large enough to shelter all the children while the blow lasts, and the scholars are regularly drilled in the methods of reaching these caves quickly and in good order. ”

“ All new subscribers will be furnished with a card entitling them to enter the competition.
In making the selection of important events, remember that wars and political events are not necessarily the most important. If, for instance, the air-ship had turned out to be a genuine and successful thing, it would have been most important as affecting the history of the world. ”

“ England has, in the past, had many troubles brought upon her by unwise, weak, or wicked kings, and when James II. fled to France the English people felt they had had enough ill treatment at the hands of kings, and determined to take away absolute power from future kings. ”

“ There had been a long period of bad harvests followed by a famine, and the tenants could not pay their rents. They begged that their back rent might be forgiven them, and their future rents lowered.
All over Ireland similar demands were being made. Irish agitators, as they were called, were holding meetings all over the country, advising the peasants to make these demands. Among the men who addressed the people were Charles Stewart Parnell, John Dillon, and Michael Davitt, all members of Parliament. ”

“ The Uruguayan rebels, on their part, have defeated the Government troops at Rivera, inflicting heavy loss on them.
There is a movement on foot to erect a monument to the memory of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the well-known authoress, who died on March 5, 1897, at the age of eighty-five.
Mrs. Stowe did much for the advancement of American letters. Before she wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin," story-writing was in its infancy in America. It is hard for young people to realize how the times have changed with the coming of the many magazines and papers that we have to-day. ”

“ An announcement has also been made that the Sultan has formed twenty more cavalry regiments, and has raised the number of soldiers to be recruited for the Turkish army to seven hundred thousand, which gives him an immense number of fighting men at his command. ”