cyclists were riding in the town of Westfield, N.J., one Sunday, and came into collision, one of their wheels being wrecked.

The man whose wheel was damaged claimed that the accident was due to the other's carelessness, and sued for twenty-five dollars to cover repairs to his machine.

When the case came into court, and the judge heard that the affair had occurred on Sunday, he dismissed the complaint.

He stated that bicycling on Sunday was an illegal practice, and that no one could come before a court and ask for protection from an accident that had happened to him when he was engaged in an occupation that was against the law.

This decision will be a great surprise to a good many young folks, who have hitherto regarded Sunday as their best day to go a-wheeling.

We told you about Mr. Andrée, who made an effort last year to reach the North Pole by balloon, and who intended to repeat the experiment this year from Spitzbergen. The news has just reached us that he has made his start.

On the 15th of July, the wind being in a favorable direction, Mr. Andrée determined to begin his dangerous voyage.

Being anxious to get away before the wind should change or die out, the preparations were hurried forward, and in three hours and a half after he decided to make his attempt, all was in readiness.

Accompanying the daring explorer were two other venturesome men, Mr. Strindberg and Mr. Fraenkel.

Stepping into the car, they gave the word to have the balloon cut loose. They rose rapidly till they were about six hundred feet in the air, but at this altitude a cross-current struck them, and they were driven earthward again until they almost touched a projecting rock.

It was feared that the attempt had failed, but the three men in the car set to work vigorously throwing out some of the sand-bags that had been put in the car for ballast, to steady it, and the balloon soon rose again and continued on her course.

The weather was clear, and the Eagle, as the balloon was called, was visible for an hour. It appeared to be moving at the rate of twenty-two miles an hour, and to be taking the exact direction that Mr. Andrée had wished that it should.

The adventurers expected to reach the Pole in two or three days, but had prepared themselves for a trip of as many months.

Nothing has as yet been heard or seen of the balloon. Russian steamers have been sent along the coast of Siberia in search of it, and it is hoped that some news may be gleaned through the circulars that the Czar caused to be sent among all the peoples around the Polar regions, asking them to watch for the balloon, and report it as soon as seen (see page 860).

A good deal of excitement was caused by the capture of a carrier-pigeon in Norway.

Stamped on the bird's wings was "North Pole, 142 W. 47.62."

It was thought at first that it was one of the birds which had been taken by Andrée on his expedition, and that the North Pole had been discovered.

It was found, however, that Andrée's birds were all marked "Andrée, A.D. 1897," and after a few days of excitement and wonder, it came out that the bird belonged to a German pigeon-flying society, and that it had been released in Heligoland.

Carrier-pigeons are a particular breed of pigeon which have the wonderful quality of flying home no matter how far away they are carried.

Societies have been formed to fly these wonderful birds, and they have been taken hundreds of miles away, over seas, to test this strange quality.

The result has always been the same: the moment they are released they circle round and round for a time, as if trying to make out their bearings, and then fly off straight for home.

This attribute has made them of great value to man in many ways.

In times of war, messages have been sent by their aid.

A man has made his way out of a besieged city, taking one of the birds with him, and by its aid has been able to send word back that he has reached his friends and will bring the needed help.

The Emperor of Germany has just got himself into trouble over carrier-pigeons.

Wishing to see for how long a distance they could be relied on in case of war, he sent a messenger over to England, who carried with him a great number of these clever birds.

They were all marked so that they could be recognized, and on the shores of Dover, England, they were set free. Six hours after they had all found their way back to Düsseldorf, Germany.

The despatching of these birds attracted the attention of the English people about Dover, and when it was discovered that they were the property of the Emperor of Germany there was a good deal of talk over it.

The English people are always afraid that some foreign nation is going to try and invade their country, and imagining there was some deep and dark foreign plot underlying the pigeon-flying, they demanded of the authorities if the German Emperor had obtained permission to fly his birds.

When it was found that permission had neither been asked nor accorded, the fear of a plot grew so strong that the matter was finally carried to the House of Commons, and an explanation demanded.

The Under Secretary of War stated that the subject was already under consideration.

A rock covered with curious characters has recently been discovered in Mexico, in the mountains of the Magdalena district, state of Sonora.

The characters appeared to resemble the Chinese so closely that a well-educated Chinaman was asked to go to see the rock and give his opinion about it.

He had no sooner looked at it than he declared it to be a veritable Chinese inscription. He made a copy of it, and has already translated enough to show that the writing was cut in the stone about two thousand years ago.

There are ten lines of characters on the parts of the rock exposed to view.

The Chinaman who translated the inscription said it was an account of a Chinese settlement that had once been established in the place where the stone was found. He said that in the history of China there was a record of an expedition which had been sent to that portion of the western coast which is now Mexico.

If this is true, the Continent of North America was discovered by the Chinese centuries before the time of Columbus.

Evidence is coming to light in various parts of the globe of the tremendous journeys that were undertaken by the Chinese in the early days of civilization.

It has lately been discovered that they at one time formed colonies in the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

In Australia evidences have also been discovered of Chinese habitation.

It has been reported that King Menelik of Abyssinia has appointed a Russian General to be the Governor-General of those provinces of Abyssinia which lie in and around the equator.

The appointment of a foreigner to such a post shows very distinctly that the Negus is really anxious to shed the light of civilization upon his people.

M. de Leontieff, the Russian appointed by King Menelik, has already made two visits to Abyssinia, and is therefore well known to the King. He was at one time the bearer of rich presents from the Czar to the Negus.

The position which M. de Leontieff will hold under Menelik is similar to that held by General Gordon in Egypt. Gordon found many opportunities to improve the condition of the people under his authority, and as M. de Leontieff is a very intelligent man, he will undoubtedly do all in his power to help King Menelik to develop his country.          G.H. Rosenfeld.