* * * * * The words “Almighty Dollar” have been generally adopted since Irving first used them in his “Creole Village,” and the use of “lynching” to represent mob law and the action of mobs has become common since a Virginia farmer by that name instituted the first vigilance committee in America. Where does Ermine Come From? The ermine fur, with which we are all familiar, is furnished by the stoat, a small animal of the weasel tribe. It is found over both temperate Europe and North America, but is common only in the north. Because of that change which occurs in the color of its fur at different seasons--by far most marked in the Arctic regions--it is not generally known that the ermine and stoat are the same. In winter, in cold countries or severe seasons, the fur changes from a reddish-brown to a yellowish-white, or almost pure white, under which shade the animal is recognized as the ermine. In both states the tip of the tail is black. [Illustration: ERMINE (_Mustela Erminea_)] Like many other species of this genus, the ermine has the faculty of ejecting a fluid of a musky odor. Its fur is short, soft and silky; the best skins being brought from Russia, Sweden and Norway and Hudson Bay territories. Its fur was formerly one of the insignia of royalty, and is still used by judges. When used as linings of cloaks the black tuft from the tail is sewed to the skin at irregular distances. What is the Principle of “Foreign Exchange”? Exchange, in commerce, is a transaction by which the debts of people residing at a distance are canceled by a draft or bill of exchange, without transfer of any actual money. A merchant in New York who owes $1,000 worth of goods in London, gives a bill or order for that amount which can be negotiated through banking agencies or otherwise against similar debts owing by other parties in London who have payments to make in New York. This obviates the expense and risk of transmitting money. The process of liquidating obligations between different nations is carried on in the same way by an exchange of foreign bills. When all the accounts of one country correspond in value with those of another, the exchange between the countries will be at par, that is, the sum for which the bill is drawn in the one country will be the exact value of it in the other. Exchange is said to be at par when, for instance, a bill drawn in New York for the payment of $1,000 in London can be purchased there for $1,000. If it can be purchased for less, exchange is under par and is against London. If the purchaser is obliged to give more, exchange is above par and in favor of London.