THE RETURN.
O the littlo old town that I loft one day,
Because it was quiet, still
lias the name that it bad when I went
uway,
And stands on the same old hill;
But the ones that were dear iu the little
old town,
With its one wide street running up and
down,
Have ceased to sit on the porches where
The roses were trained to climb;
They have ecuscd to sew and to whittle
there,
As they did in the dear old time.
The little old church with its wooden
sheds
Still stands as It stood of yore;
But the ones who knelt and who bowed
their heads
Arc worshiping there no m6re!
And the little old school where I carved
my name
On the home-made desk stands just th'e
same
But the boys who ore batting the ball
to-day
And the little inuids, fair and free,
Are not the children who used to play
On the common there with me!
The little old house, so dear, so dear,
Stands just where it used to stand;
But not for many and many a year
Has the latch obeyed her hand
The hand in which my hand was laid
When my first few faltering steps were
made
And In the little old parlor there,
O'erlooking the little lawn,
Another sits in her easy chair
And hears the clock tick on.
O the little old town that I left one day,
Because it was quiet, still
Flas the name that it had when I went
Away,
And stands on the same old hill;
But the friends that I've traveled "back
home" to see
Are gone or else are but strangers to me,
And over the doors of the little old stores
Are names that I never knew,
And the dream that was dear of the "old
k home" here
Can never, alas! come true.
'Mcago Tlmes-IIerald.
8
LBONITA.
in
So
S Gitano Whiked through the
lowland grove 'to meet Leouita
at the creek lie iondered why
tdie had grown ho different; why she
no longer would play the games that
for years they had played together;
why Bhe now went round by the bridge
and would not let lihu assist her nciss
Hie stream.
. Whcti lie reached the open he saw
lier Htunding by the road lit the top of
the hill. A horseman who had spoken
with her rode away, smiling over his
shoulder. Something tightened In Gl
tauo's breast. With Arm steps he
came to the hill top.
"Who was he. Nitu?"
"Who but the Corregidor," she an
swered archly.
"What said he?"
"More than ever nuother hath said,
Gitano."
"What then?"
! Leouita turned her face away.
"lie said that mine is the beauty of
the night."
Gltnno's eyes flashed at the receding
horseman.
"Why of the night?" lie asked.
"Because," she faltered, "because
so said the Corregidor my brow Is the
moon-touched snow upon the moun
tain, and my eyes are the glluting
stars."
"Said lie that? What more?"
"That my hair Is the midnight cloud;
that my lips "
She turned a pebble with her dainty
toe.
"That my Hps " Glfnno prompted.
"Are the dew-bright berries of holly
awaiting the kiss of dawn so said he,
the Corregidor."
At the bend of the road the rider
looked back and raised his glistening
sombrero. liPonltu waved her supple
baud and smiled. But when she turn
ed again to her companion the smile
departed from her lips, for the sad
ness of bis eyes rebuked her heart.
The next day and the next the rider
rnmo, but I.eonlta was ever away with
!Itniio In the lowland grove.
Then, as the third day closed, her
father said to her:
"'Nita, thou art too much with Gi
tano. Let him go his way. Thou art
no longer a child."
"But. my father, I am happy with
Gitano."
"So much the worse. Bide thee nt
home. The Corregidor will come
again."
"The Corregidor?"
"Ay, 'Nlta; he hath seen thy beau
ty." "What dost thou mean, my father?"
"(inly that thy place is here. Let
Gitano go his way."
Another day the rider came, and
and when lie went away Leonlta's
face was In her hands.
"Silly child:" her father said. "Thou
wilt be the Corregldora a great lady,
and ride In thy coach. Is this thy
gratitude for a father's loving care?'
Gitano came at sundown to learn
why Leouita had not kept their dally
tryst. Her father sat with them and
told Gitano nil that the Corregidor
had smiled upin her beauty and beg.
fed Ler for his bride; that the father's
promise had been given; that the not
ary was to come nest morning to seal
the troth, and that until then Leouita
was to remain within.
Gitano heard as in a dream. The
words seemed to come over some vast
distance even from some lightless
world whose fires had nickered out
ages and ages ago. But as her father
spoke Leouita weaved a message of
the thread upon her lap and trembled
with excited joy to see Gitano read it.
The moon was low, when a call as of
a nightbird fell softly through Leonl
ta's lattice.
"Gitano!"
" 'Nlta!"
Cheek to cheek, they whispered from
their hearts, and in the meeting of
their His were sealed pathetic vows
of love beyond this life.
Then through the somber avenue of
silence they came again to view the
gloomy present.
"And spoke he only of the beauty of
thy face?" Gitano asked.
"Only of that," she answered.
"I would thou hadst no beauty,
then."
Before they parted at the lattice
Leouita begged one last memento of
his honest love. A lush young vine
grew In the withered gumtree at the
bottom of the gorge.
"Bring me a sprig of that, Gitano,
for remembrance."
And when she took it from hi in she
bade him haste to bathe his hands in
milk. Then Gitano knew the cruel
nature of the vine.
"No, no! Not that!" he cried.
But the lattice window closed.
In the morning light the father look
ed on Leonlta's face and horror paled
his own.
'"Nlta!" he gasped, "la it thee my
child?"
"Ay, my father; thy child."
He swayed and closed his eyes.
"Say not so," he moaned. "It can
not be! My Nina was so beautiful
oh, so beautiful!" .
In overwhelming grief he sank upon
the floor and rocked feebly and bent
his breast.
"O santo DIos! What curse is this?"
Then came another awful thought.
"The Corregidor will never take her
now!" he cried.
"Why, my father? Doth he love me
for my face alone?"
But the father only wailed as oue
gone mnd:
"The Corregidor! The Corregidor!
lie will not have her now!"
Then came the rider with the Jiotary
"She was so much a child," the fa
ther sobbed. "She played with young
Gitano In the grove. She did not know
the devll-vlne would eat her beauty.
A And yet it hath but spoiled her face
ami not touched her beauteous heart."
"Kustlco," said the great Corregi
dor, vu,,,,, hast uiy earnest sympathy
Here lst, pure of gold."
And wii!Y hi notary he rode away.
v lien ..tano with his scalded hands
smoothed Leoi,ltu's hair his tears e
pre ,od his hear.
Still thou ni t Wnutiful." he sal'
"Nay, sweet Gitalin even thou canst
not say that."
"Hush, my 'Nlta! Thine is the beau
ty of the day. Thy h" art-love Is the
glad, warm sunshine and thy glorious
soul the rainbow of piLinlsi
Chicago Tlmes-HeraldJ,,
se to me."
THE JUDGE'S TURKISH BATH.
It Wan Very Vigorous, atid He Found
OutWhs-.
The Judge had never tafcen a Turkish
bath, but he was not feeling his best
that morning, and It suddenly occurred
to him to test Its vivifying effects, so
enthusiastically descanted upon by his
young friends.
It seemed to othe Judge that the rub
ber was terribly rough, but fearing to
expose his Inexperience and subje. t
himself to ridicule by objecting to the
regular treatment, he patiently endured
being punched, pummeled, slapped,
spanked, whacked and poked until he
could not stand the torture a moment
longer.
"Is It qul-to neces-sary-to make
mi' bla-ack and blue all or
ver?" panted the Judge, as Irregularly
as the rubber dug his fists In more or
less vigorously.
"Never you mind; I'm flxln' yon," re
sponded the rubber, redoubling his as
saults and grinning diabolically at
least, so It seemed to the Judge.
"Who (slap, groan i are (thud, groan)
you?" gasped the Judge, a horrible sus
picion dawning In his mind. "Your
(whack, groanl face (thump, groanl
does (whack, groanl look (slap, g.-oan)
fa thud, groan ) miliar" (swish,
groan).
"Oh, you remember me, do you?'
growled the rubber sarcastically.
"Well, lash yer old hide, mebbe you'd
like to send me up for six months again
for prU.-ughtlnT'-IIarper's Magazine.
8pred of Carrier I'lceon.
The average speed of a carrier pigeon
lu calm weather Is List yards a min
ute. With a strong wind lu the direc
tion of flight some pigeons have made
1.1KS0 yards a minute.
l.arirctt Publto Debt.
The public debt of Fiance Is the larg
est In the world, and amouuts to
l,iiOO.OOO,liOO.
Contrary to the general rule the
street-car company finds Its hanger
ou a source of revcuue.
EUROPE'S EMIGRANTS.
When Successful Here They Qnlcklj
Itecome Americana.
I have remarked, for my part, say
a writer In the Iter lie Bieue. that the
j Americanization of the European emi
grant Is the result of success; the man
I who succeeds becomes American with
a facility truly prodigious, but he who
' fails remains European.
Thus It is that a certain part of Chi
cago constitutes a veritable interna
tional sink where the French, the
Swedes, the Germans, the Slavs, the
Italians, dwell In groups, retaining in
their misery the distinctive marks of
their nationality, the language and the
habits of their races.
On the other hand, the Americaniza
tion of the others is perhaps not sc
complete at bottom as it is in appear
ance. The future alone can tell. It re
I mains true, none the less, that In a sin
gle generation Europe seems to have
lost all Influence over the sons of thost'.
who have abandoned her to fix them
selves In the new world, and who have
been able to make any position for
themselves there, however modest.
There Is in the air they breathe, In the
life they live, something which takes
their youth, their enthusiasm, and Inoc
ulates It In some way with all the her
editary American possessions and
Ideas. The fact Is very curious, and
certainly, to this degree. It Is unique.
How could It fail to act powerfully on
the Imagination of a peop'e already
given to believe Itself placed above a I)
others?
IN MEMORY OF "BILL" ANTHONY
New York Man Will Erect a Monu
ment on the Hero's Grave.
C. M. Travis, of Nyack, has a contract
to build a monument over the grave o!
"Bill' Anthony, the hero of the Maine,
in Everegreen cemetery. The monu-
MONUMENT TO "BILL" ANTHONY.
ment Is to be built and erected at tho
expense of a wealthy New York gentle
man whose name Is withheld.
The monument will be four feet hlgb
and three feet wide. It will be of gran
ite, with rough rock face work. There
will be carved on It two sprays of oak
leaves and an anchor. On a raised
p.mel will be this Inscription: "Sir, I
have to rejHirt that the ship Is blown
up and Is sinking;" also the hero's
unm'e, date of birth and date of death.
It will le finished lu February. New
York World.
The Bit r Bit.
One day a detective was In an auc
tion room where "fake" Jewelry was
being sold. A lot of watches were of
feredcheap, worthless affairs, but got.
up to iook nue solid gold. They were
knocked down for two dollars and fif
teen cents apiece, and the detective
noted that they were bought by a con
fidence man who had given the police
a lot of trouble. Two mouths later the
detective met him and asked what he
had done with the watches. The scoun
drel explained his scheme. He had
hired a room, put In a desk and a few
chairs, and made himself up to look
like an old man. Then he Inserted an
advertisement In various papers, some
thing like this: "Found A solid gold
watch Elgin works. Apply," etc.
Nearly every smart thief in town an
swered the advertisement, claimed the
watch and paid ten dollars for "costs."
In two days he disused of his entire
stock lu this way, and about one hun
dred smart thieves were fuming over
their loss.
CARICATURE OF KIPLINQ.
Consumptive Convict.
It is said by an Alabama newspaper
that one-half of the pardons Issued In
that State are based on the fact that
the convict Is suffering from cousump-lou.
,
i
' i
i
5HORTER EUROPEAN MAIL 1 IME. !
rhe Scheme Includes Kailway to Ltouia
burg, C 1!., and a Fast Fleet.
A scheme which postoflico and rail-
, way authorities have had under consid
' eratlon for some years Is said to have
been revived, whereby a fast mail ser
vice Is to be Inaugurated between Lu-
isburg, Boston and New York, shorten
ing the time between Liverpool and
New York City by about forty-eight
hours.
In connection with the railroad proj
ect a fleet of ocean greyhounds, equal
ing In speed such ships as the Oceaule
and the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Is
to be put Into service between the Nova
Scotia ports and Liverpool. The dis
tance from Loulsburg to Liverpool is
given as 2,240 miles. Steamers of the
speed of the vessels mentioned could
cover the route In about four days and
the railroad run to New Yor via Mon:
treal would be covered in about forty
hours, while Boston could be reached
in about twenty-four hours, or five days
from Liverpool. If mail can be landed
in Boston In five days from Liverpool it
follows that passengers will be attract
ed by this route.
The best, time from Liverpool to Hot
ton now is seven days. Boston receives
most of her European mall via New
York and most of It is dispatched that
way. The consequent rehandling of
mail at New York causes a delay of
twelve hours or more, considerable time
to those anxious to bear from friends or
' a
HOW TO SAVE TWO DAYS ON EUROPEAN M
shape their business by EuropeaaJjJaantYhlfown money. His face
' . " I was a Picture of conflicting emotion
The scheme referreil-o eomnrehends
the building p-t-Tguty-slx miles of rail
road frow'Louisburg to IJawkesbury,
N. 10m this point an excellent rail-
Xroad connection may be made to United
Mates points. Loulsburg is the most
easterly port In Nova Scotia, and Is a
well-sheltered harbor, which does not
freeze In winter time.
The distances from Loulsburg to New
York via the Montreal route over the
Canadian l'aclflc, as figured by an olH
clal of that road, are as follows:
Loulsburg to Ilawkesbury, 8(5 miles.
Hawkesbury to St. John, 338 miles.
St. John to Montreal, 4S1 miles.
Montreal to New York, 385 miles.
Adding the ocean distance from Liv
erpool to Loulsburg gives a total of
3,530 miles.
The distances via Boston to New
York are reckoned as follows:
Loulsburg to Hawkesbury, 80 miles.
Ilawkesbury to St. John, 338 miles.
St. John to Boston, 448 miles.
Boston to New York, 233 miles.
Adding to this the ocean distance of
2.240 miles makes a total of 3,345 miles,
aud almost 200 miles In favor of the
Boston route.
SMOKED WITH GEN. LUDLOW.
The General Furnished the Clitara and
the Spaniard the Linbt.
"Good afternoon, Zheneral Ludlow,"
and the American military commander
of the city of Havana lifted his eyes
from a document he was examining
and greeted bis visitor. The latter was
au oily, smooth-tongued, plausible
Spaniard, by name , well, 1 have
forgotten it, If ever I did know, it, but
Campos will answer the purpose. Be
fore the stranger sat down he extended
his right hand to the Geueral, saying
nt the same time, "1 am so phs-e-ezed
to see you, Zheneral."
While his well-lubricated tongue nnd
right palm were thus engaged momen
tarily, Campos' left was playing Its
little part The Spaniard had cunning
ly reached over Ludlow's desk with
that member, and as be took his seat
and It was withdrawn thj officer's
sharp, quick eye noted that a fifty-dollar
bill was lying under his nose. He
divined instnutly the purpose cf Cam
pos' visit, and almost as quickly made
up his mind w hat to do. Without ap
pearing to have seeu the currency smug
gling so close In his Inside pocket that
It might have Jumped Into it. he as
sumed a pleasant, debonalre manner,
and Inquired: "Well, seuor, what can
I do for you to day?"
Campos already was beginning to
think he had won his game. Ills eyes
sparkled, his face lit up with a happy
smile, and In his most courteous tone
he said:
"Veil. Zheneral, I votild like to get
(a franchise a conzeshon, ton know."
"Oh, yes," replied Ludlow, aopareut-
ly entering into the spirit of the othT.
"and, of course, you expect to pay for
it?"
"Yes, yes," returned Campos with nil
eagerness he could not conceal, "i ll)
pay for It zomething." and ihen In
fixed his eyes on the fifty-dollar bill
lying on'the desk; He looked at it so i
steadfastly that Ludlow scarcely I
could restrain a smile, and for fear of '
embarrassing the visitor he, too. look
ed down, and for the first time appear
ed to see It. Then, as though on jtlin
Impulse of the moment, aud In. order.
to show Campos that he understood
and was appreciative, he Inquired; .
"Do you smoke, senor?" -; .
"Yes,. Zheneral," Campos answered,
thinking, too, that things were ooming
his way In great .shape, "I smoke z'oiiie '
-time'' . .-.'' :.:' ".: ' fo-i-
"Have a cigar,". and Ludlow handed
over a. box of fine Ha vanas. "These are t.
said to be excellent."' "" ' ' . , " "
Campos took oue; so dld'LudlowCThe 'v
American then picked up the .fty. jand.,
as he rolled It Idly Into. a. Jong,., thin ...
taper, he remarked: "Senoi. I "Hit ,
these, and like all kinds b'f i-Awnc-y.
Have a light."
Ludlow struck a match,., and as .
Cnnipos made ready to receive it the
officer lit the fifty-dollar ' paper 'and '
handed It to his caller. "Yes, I like this
paper money." coutinued the,. Anierl-.
can, nonchalantly. "It mates' stich'cou- ''
veinent cigar 1'ghters."' :
Campos' hand trembled as he lit, his v
Proposeo Railroad
aud passion. It was crav and ereen
and red and white. Ills lips twitched,
and he was dumb when Ludlow, uow
excelling the Castilian at his own pol
ished politeness, lemarked: "111 take
a light if you are through with It." and
then he, too, lit a cigar with the price
of a suit of clothes.
"Now, what kind of a franchise do
you want?" he went on. but Campos
begged to be excused for the while,
pleading an Important engagement
elsewhere. Probably It was with a
near-by cistern where he could soak
his head, but he did not say so. Campos
had tried Spanish methods on an Amer
ican officer an officer who belongs to
the engineer corps of the United States
army, and Is the personification of in
tegrity. Real Caae oT "She" in Atrlo.
Everybody has read Itlder Haggard's
famous novel "She." The main figure
of the story certainly lived and died In
the Transvaal, according to an English
writer, and not so many years ago,
either. "She" was really Majaji. Only
a few years ago there was n native dis
turbance up north, beyond the Zout
pnusberg range of mountains, In what
was known as Majajl's country. Com
mandant Henuing Pretorlus, an old
Boer, and a descendant of President
Pretorlus,-after whom Pretoria was
called, went up to quell the uprising.
The natives have a legendary Queen
Majaji, who has really been dead for
years and years, but they pretend, and
partially believe themselves, that she Is
still alive, and dwelling In a cave In the
mountains, whence she reigns over
them, and Issues her behests through
the medicine (mount!) men.
Pretorlus demanded to see their
queen. The luduna (chief) of the na
tives replied: "Show us your govern
ment aud we will show, you Majaji."
The natives speak of her with awe,
r.nd refer to "the-wIshes-of-She-ln-a-cave."
Arctic Explorer n BonCac.
Dr. Nanseu has settled down as a
Norwegian squire and sportsman; and
Is now a member of the great land
owulng class. Ills possessions, which
cost a considerable sum. lie on the bor
ders of Telemarken, to the south of
Lynkopf, one of the highest summits
of that district. He has become owner
of n large hotel, which was built somo
years ago for summer tourists, but will
now serve as his private residence.
He ffas also acquired a uumberof sur
rounding farms and fields.
If two brothers who don't snenk to
each other are members of the same j
same church, do they refer U p-ju
other ns "Brother" In church'taJiirr
A boy's first lesson at school Is that
his slate and lead pencil are not good
to cat