SHOULD think people
would know enough to
stay at home on Thanks
giving! Any one of
sense would know fpjn
illes like to be alone one
day In the year." Eliza
beth threw down the let
ter she had been reading
"Why. Elisabeth, what's this all
about?" asked her husband.
"I suppose you won't think It Is any
thing, but It Just spoils our day to
gether. We weren't going to have
any one here tomorrow except the
family, and now Gertrude Allison has
written that she will b out In the
afternoon."
"Elizabeth, you ain't going back
on your old school friends that way,
are you? She won't be here for din
ner, so I don't see why you should
object to her coming for a little while,
even If It Is Thanksgiving."
"0, Tom, I didn't think you would
lose all your sentiment so soon. You
6eem to have forgotten altogether
that this Is our first Thanksgiving In
our new home." And Elliabeth pet
tishly wiped away a few tears.
"Here comes Don. Perhaps he can
suggest a way out of your troubles."
said her husband with evident relief.
"Hello, sis, what's the matter? You
iook as black as a thunder cloud. I
see, had a quarrel with Tom. and the
first year, too. You ought to be
ashamed of yourself, Mr. Leonard."
"Don't be silly, Don," his sister
pouted. "I suppose you will disagree
with me Just as Tom did. Here's a
letter from Gertrude saying she will
be here on Thanksgiving."
"Well, sister mine, may I ask the
cause of your displeasure r
"The cause! That's Just like a man.
Can't you see, either, that we want to
be alone on that day?"
"Poor Betsy! Shall I telegraph,
'Only the family wanted. Others will
please stay at home and T "
"Do stop your nonsense, Don. I
suppose I am foolish, but I thought
we'd have such a good time together."
Elizabeth sighed.
About an hour before dinner time
the telephone rang and was answered
by Elizabeth.
"Hello! Who Is It? 0, Gertrude!
Well, well, old girl, are you actually
there? Glad? I guess I am. Just
wait until I get you at arms' length.
Coming out to dinner? Oh," that's
lovely. And stay all night, can't you?
Good! You needn't think I'll let you
go tomorrow. You've got to give me
a week at least. Won't wo have a
dinner," Elisabeth added tn a tone
that left no room for comments. And
Don obeyed, speechless for once.
Dinner was ready, but there was no
sign of Gertrude.
"Let's sit down and eat," suggested
Don
"Yes, very likely!" his sister re
torted, appealing to the little family
gathering.
The bell rang. "There she Is now,
sis," said Don. "Go and give her a
sister's welcome."
"1 can't understand It," said Eliza
I beth, as she returned In a few mm
I utes with an open letter in her band.
"Can't understand what?" she was
; asked
"Why, here's a special delivery from
j Gertrude saying she will not be in the
I city until tomorrow. What does It
I mean? She Just telephoned me an
hour ago that she would be here to
i dinner."
Don threw up both hands and
laughed.
"Ha! Ha! Betsy, Betsy! I'll bet on
Betsy every time!" He threw him
self on the lounge and smothered his
face In the pillows.
"Stop rolling round that way and
tell me what the matter is!" Elisabeth
commanded.
"You're a great girl! But then
women are all alike."
"Tell me this Instant what you
mean."
Don rose from the couch, and drop
ping upon one knee before the offend
ed mistress of the house he said:
SCIENCE IN FENCE POSTS FINNS ARE ALL SINQERS
good time talking aver old times?
But you must stay. Don't be a min
ute late. Goodby."
"Oh, for heaven's sake, what'U 1
dor asked Elisabeth, as she hung up
(he receiver with a nervous bang and
faced her husband.
"Where am I going to put her, Td
like to know. There's nothing to do
but make Don give up his room and
go to the hotel. And. oh ril have to
clean that room at once! It's the
worst looking place I ever saw."
Half an hour later as Don mounted
the stairs be was surprised to find his
special sanctum undergoing an un
usual process.
"Impossible!" he exclaimed.
"Don't you dare to come in here!"
his Bister commanded.
"Certainly not if you don't wish."
"Go down and tell Nora to put on an
extra nlate. Gertrude Is coming to
Games for Thanksgiving
Here are two Thanksgiving games
that have come down to us from the
oM days, but they are Just as full of
fun as ever, and may be played by
both young and old.
The first la "not cockles." Any
number of persons may take part In
it the more the merrier. Let one of
the party put a pillow on a sofa or
chair and kneel In front of It, with
his face burled In the pillow so that
he cannot see.
While thus kneeling he puts one
of his hands on his back, palm up
ward, and each member of the party
cornea up In turn, and slaps his band,
not too hard, but Just hard enough
to make It Interesting. Then the
kneeler has to guess who It is that
is slapping, and when he guesses cor
rect ly the slapper takes his place, and
so the game goes on.
The other game, says the People's
Home Journal, Is called "the pass
port." Seat the company In the form
of a bellow square, leaving one per
son out The party may occupy chairs
In the middle of the room, or around
"Sister, mine, forgive me if you can,
DUt i couiau i reisiBi me icuiutuuu.
Uet up; uet up, i say: do you
mean to tell me that you played that
trick on me?"
"Betsy, you made such a fuss about
Gertrude's coming that I thought I'd
like to Bee how you would act If the
lady herself should happen to an
nounce such a mad possibility, so I
went to the corner telephone and
found out!"
"Donald Warner, you are a mean
thing the meanest thing on earth!"
His sister dropped Into a chair and
covered her face with her bands.
"Poor dear, it was a shame a
base trick!" Don admitted contritely
as he patted her head and deferred to
the faces of the smiling group. ''But
Just think, sister, my room Is cleaned."
he whispered tor her ear alone.
Gallant? ,
"Now, Mr. Blunt," says one of the
ladies of uncertain age but positive
looks, "I know Just what you are think
ing of as you sit here between us.
You are thinking 'How happy could I
be with either were t'other dear
charmer away.' Truly, now, aren't
you ?"
"Honestly, I am not," declares the
brutal man.
New England Parmer Has Bright
Idea About Cutting Tops of
Posts.
"I had to take a little railway Jour
ney up Into New England the other
day," said the man who pnee lived In
the country, "and as usual I wanted
to stop the train along the road and
get out and find somebody that could
answer a few questions.
"I always want to do that, but of
course I never can. so there are many
things about which I am forced to
keep on wondering. This time it's
about fence posts. I saw something
new to me In that line, and It struck
me that at least one farmer was ap
plying a bit of science to his Job.
The fence posts were nothing un
common. Looked as if they might
have been out and set a good while
ago around Just an ordinary hillside
pasture Of teen or twenty miles the
other sids of Now Haven. They were
pretty gray and weather worn and
that mads the contrast to their fresh
ly sawed tops the more conspicuous.
"These tops had been so recently
out that they were still quite bright
and yellow. And to my surprise I no
Uoed that Instead of being cut
straight across the post, making a
flat top, they had been sawed at an
angle, so that the top of each poet
was like one side of a roof.
"Now that's sensible, Isn't it? A
flat topped post doesn't shed water.
Moisture Just stays there and slowly
Ta rirrarn nn th wrvoH until the
whole thing gets rotten. This farmer
was clever enough to cut his posts so
they would shed water and last I
don't know, maybe twice as long.
"But maybe It wasn't the farmer
who had the happy thought. Maybe
you oan buy scientifically sawed fence
posts at the lumber yards now. Or
maybe some city man who doesn't
oexe a hang for rural tradition has
bought the place and has gone around
and sawed off the tops of all the old
posts.
"Or maybe one of these women you
read about in who are making a liv
ing and $149.80 profit In the first year,
with hopes of Increasing it to at least
$300 In the second, out of some old
down-trodden, squeezed out, used up
relic of two centuries of New Eng
land farming Is responsible for those
watershed posts, I wonder."
When Pew of Them Get Together
They Burst Into Song As by
Spontaneous Combustion.
Sometimes, when a brass band
plays "My Country Tis of Thee," or
on an excursion steamer after It gets
dark and he Is pretty well satisfied
no one will recognise him, the Amer
ican will Indulge in what he thinks is
singing, but the average citizen would
blush himself to death If asked to
burst Into song In cold blood In a
public place.
It Is no uncommon thing to see a
whole tableful of diners In the mag
nificent hotel at Helalngfors, the cap
ital of Finland, suddenly put down
knives and glasses and burst into a
perfectly balanced four part song.
They doubtless are happy in their
singing, but certainly they sound In
finitely sad, the songs being almost
Invariably the moaning folk songs of
the saddest of all lands the most
perfect music of melancholy.
Practically every person In Finland,
from the greatest noble to the most
humble peasant, from the woman of
fashion to she who labors In the
fields, belongs to a ,gTeat singing so
ciety, for such the entire nation is.
It is no uncommon thing for 6,000
trained singers to gather to serenade
some loved or admired public man,
and once In Helslngfors 10,000 voices,
thoroughly organised Into four parts,
Joined In singing the national anthem
as a farewell to an exiled patriot.
The cltv of TTleaborsr Is near the
I arctic circle, and far from a railway.
and there may be heard a chorus of
2,000 school children with perfectly
blended voices. Every village has Its
church choir, consisting of fifty or a
hundred males, who sing nothing but
Lutheran hymns. Even the compa
nies of Finnish guards of the Russian
army automatically organise them
selves Into choruses and sing their
national songs, despite the opposi
tion of the Russian officers.
When a few Finns get together thsy
burst Into song as by spontaneous
combustion. If alone, they sing In
dividually. The farmer sings as he
plows, the housewife as she cooks.
If a Finn Is doing nothing else, h
Jnst sings.
ALL PLAY WITH SNAKES
WHIPFEN FAMILY KEEP8 WHOLE
ROOMFUL OF REPTILES.
Lost Its Charms.
"Hello," we say to our fries.
"Aren't you living in Bllnkvllle aay
more ?"
"No. I led the reform movement
there and put the lid on."
"Ah, made you unpopular?"
"No. Made the town to slow to ap
peal to me."
Just So.
"Every man has his prioe," re
marked the morallzer.
"Perhaps he has," rejoined the de
moralizer, "but It isn't every man who
has his market"
Written Statement.
His Sister-And did she say she
loved you in so many words?
Her Brother That's what. Her
words filled twenty-seven pages.
a table, but they must be arranged in
the form of a square.
Then give them a sheet and direct
them to hold It up in stich a way that
It will be close under their chins and
be stretched out as a level between
them. In the middle of the sheet put
a fluffy white feather, to represent
the "passport" a snowflake and the
players around the sheet, who repre
sent the winds, begin to blow It about
In every direction.
One player stands outside the
square and tries to catch the feather,
either on one of the players or in
front of one of them. He takes ad
vantage of the laughter of the player,
who cannot blow the feather away,
and having thus caught It It becomes
his "passport" to the player's place,
who then. In his turn, tries his hand
at feather catching.
If the feather Is blown off the sheet
It much be placed back In the middle
His Favorite.
"I hear the champion prize fighter Is
a great lover of dogs. What Is hlo
favorite?"
' "Naturally, It Is a pug."
Coloring Woods.
.The use of colored woods In the
construction of furniture has long
been known, the material being stained
after the necessary seasoning process.
Within the last few years, however, a
method of Austrian origin has been
employed whereby the wood Is colored
when In a green state.
By means of heavy pressure In a
closed vessel the sap Is driven out of
the wood and Is replaced by the col
oring fluid, which may consist of a
solution of the more permanent aniline
dyes. The best kinds of wood for
treatment are found to be birch, beach,
alder, plana, elm and lime; oak, fir
and pine being unsuitable because they
do not stain uniformly.
The colored wood la used for fnrnV
tors making and for the manufacture
of doors and window frames. It can
also be empsored tor outdoor pap
poses, tn which esse no painting la
tuoiasarr, although a coating of var
ssk would seam to be necessity. For
the fitting of ships, railway cars and
similar purposes this stained wood ap
pears to be em (neatly fitted. Harper's
Weekly.
Doctor Wiley's Absentmlndedn
Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, the pure food
expert, Is one of the most absent mind
ed men In the world. The doctor takes
his lunch In the cafe of the National
Press club In Washington, and when
he lunches he misses no bets, over
looks no food. He has a fine appetite
a remarkable appetite, considering
all the unpleasant and terrifying
things he knows about foodstuffs. One
afternoon he finished his meal, walked
Into the cloakroom and put on his hat
As he was going out he was accosted
by a friend, who Invited him to lunch
with him. Doctor Wiley hesitated. 'To
tell you the truth," he said' whimsical
ly, "1 dont know whether I've Just had
lunch or not" He thought deeply for
several moments. "Just to make sure,
he concluded seriously, "Til go in and
have another." And be ate as much
the second time as he had the first
Goose and Golden Egg.
The old family physician being away
on a much-needed vacation, his prac
tise was intrusted to bis son, a recent
medical graduate. When the old man
returned the youngster told htm,
among other things, that he had cared
Miss Ferguson, an aged and wealthy
spinster, of her chronic indigestion,
"My son," said the old doctor, Tn
proud of you; but Miss Ferguson's In
digestion la what put you through col
lege." Argonaut
Not What He Thought
Bl&pkler (who has Just come from
Pittsburg) Yes, I saw your friend
Doollttle, but I should never hare
known him from your description yon
told me his hair was as white as
Vattlers I meant Plttaburz snow.
A White Chamois.
For the last two years glimpses of a
perfectly white chamois, a very rare
animal, were obtained at long and Ir
regular Intervals In the mountains
above the Weistanen valley, in the
Canton of St Gall, and the authorities
Issued orders to kill it tn order not
to lose the rare animal
Every effort on the part of the
chamolB hunters, both professional
and amateur, was unsuccessful on ac
count of the shyness of the white
chamois, which, however, succumbed
to the hunter's bullet the other day. It
is a perfect specimen, and the body
will be stuffed and placed In the mu
seum at St Gall.
The hunt was difficult and long, for
against the snow the white chamois
could not be seen, and the cunning
animal seemed to be aware of this
tact for It rarely left the snow Une.
Only one other specimen of a whits
chszoots, killed some six years ago, ex
ists to Switzerland. Geneva eorre
poadence Pall Mail Qaeette.
Everybody, From Father Down to the
Baby, Seems to Enjoy Society ofv
the Wlgglers Washerwoman Is
ths One Who Gets Scared.
New Rochelle, N. Y. Most parents
are content to see their children have
the usual quota of toys for amusement,
and a dog and cat for companions, but
the four Whlffen youngsters Edwin,
eight years old. Eva six, Helen four,
and Robert two children of Edwin
Whlffen of New Rochelle find their
greatest delight in playing with snakes.
In the "snake room" on the third floor
of their home at 39 Birch street are
SO reptiles. The collection embraces
two dozen garter snakes, one green,
two klngone black racer and two
rallk. But in the good snake season
the children have had as many as 200
at a time.
There are Rex, the king snake;
Black Joe, a racer, and Matilda an?
3enevieve of the garter tribe. Daily
there Is a visit to the snake chamber
and a half hour of playing, the chil
li en, of course, suggesting the games
and the makes shaking their heads In
approval! Dally after dinner Rex or
Regina is brought down to the dining
room and curls himself before the
grate fire.
Black Joe Is so thoroughly domesti
cated mat when whistled for he comes
to his master, colls on the boy's shoul-
, -tui ...... eaui uuui nits iianu. He ocu
, las been trained to perform a real ser
! pentlne dance.
Baby Robert's favorite diversion is
j to creep quietly up to Rex as the snake
lies snoozing on the parlor rug and
push him with one foot. Rex never
resents that
Mrs. Whlffen does not love to see
the household pets crawling over the
furniture, but as the children enjoy
their society she makes no objection.
The one person afraid is? the laundress.
She Insists on shaking out the family
garments before shf consigns them to
the tub. One day soon after she began
to work for the Whiffens she started
to soap what she took to be a stock
ing. It wiggled undsr her hand and
she nearly fainted. She has been care
ful since.
t-dwin often takes a couple of his
pets to school in a satchel and the
j teachers and many of the pupils have
; become accustomed to handling them.
Whlffen, who is an Instructor In pub
jllc school No. 46, Manhattan, twice a
I ?ear brings down a few of the pets
jaad gives his pupils a ltsture on
, snakes. He and Edwin, Jr., are the
i family snake collectors. They find
j their prizes In woods and fields around
I New Rochelle.
Pert of ths Garmv
The best kind of wtt Is not the broad
Joke or quip, but the remark which
summarises the truth of a situation In
S striking and. If possible, humorous
taahton. President Lowell of Harvard
is credited with a reply which meets
these conditions. It was at a dinner In
England where John Burns, the labor
leader, was present
Mr. Burns was talking about some
bygone custom of government
"That Is as obsolete," he said, "as
the Constitution of the United States.
Am I not right, Mr. Lowell?"
"I am reminded," returned the bther,
"of a remark which I overheard at a
tennis tournament Two old ladies
were watching the game. One of them
said. 'How much easier It would be
for the players if that net were not In
the way!' The constitution Is our
net" Youth's Companion
SHOOTS SISTER AS IN SHOW
As "Good Indian" He Fired Bullet In
to Girl's Head as a "Bad Indian"
Lass May Recover.
Chicago. Two Chicago children
twins watched a moving picture In
which a "good Indian" shot and killed
a '"bad Indian." A few hours later
the children tried to duplicate the act
In ths picture at their home. Fifteen
minutes later an ambulance took Net
tle Johnstone, 18 years old, to the hos
pital with a bullet In her head. Wil
liam Johnstone, her brother, had shot
her in play.
Tht children bad been spending the
day with their grandmother, who took
them to the picture show. When the
children returned horn William pro
posed they play Indians, and Nettle
thought that was a fine idea.
The children were in the midst of
their exciting game, in which William
was the "good Indian" and Nettie the
"bad Indian." William had found an
old rifle in a closet and was armed
with this weapon, which he did not
know was loaded, when his sister
I marched down the room. William
! took aim and shot
There was a loud report, and Nettlle
! shrieked and fell, bleeding from a
wound in her head. It was found that
the wound was a serious one, but not
necessarily fatal, and it is beHeved
the girl may recover.
A Genius.
"That is a pretty though odd dress
your little girl Is wearing."
-Do you like itr
"Indeed I do; who made it?"
"That is my wife's discarded peach
basket hat She cut boles through it
for the head and arms and it was
all made."
A Mere Supposition.
"Okn you imagine the predloament
of a man who is called to a real festi
val and cant come?
"Tea. in a way. I guess there's
rKhtrig worse, unless it Is the chagrin
of ft woman who buys a bobble skirt
that doesn't really hobble."
Pine Football.
Those ancient gladiatorial combats
must have been something fierce."
"Oh, I dont know. No system.
Now, if they had formed the gladiators
into elevens, there might hare been
snappy work."
Rabbit on an Engine Pilot.
Bangor, Pa. A Bangor clergyman,
who was scouring the fields for game
near North Bangor, saw a rabbit
perched on the pilot of a freight lo
comotive, but as he was drawing near
to shoot Lester Marsh, fireman on the
engine, threw a lump of coal and
killed the rabbit
The railroad men recalled that
hounds were running near the railroad
at Portland, and thought the rabbit
Jumped on the pilot there, and rode
with them to North Bangor, five miles
Woman Lives 18 Years as Monk.
St. Petersburg, Russia. At the
Solovetskl monastery, known through
out Russia for the extreme piety and
austerity of its brotherhood, a woman
has Just been arrested, who for 18
years has passed as a monk. She had
conformed to all the rigorous rules
and regulations of the Institution, and
was regarded as one of the most ex
tmplary of Its members.