I !
'1
THB CONSPIRATORS'1
r.
rr- ISN'T that I begrudge Tim
I Wton bis honor o' being pre-
ident of our school class, but I
do think h might have gotten It hon
estly, an', not by mean trickery.
You see, teacher told us how the big
boys and (Iris have their presidents an'
other 'portant positions In school; so
we thought we'd have a president, too.
Tim Watson Is the biggest boy. He
ad do trouble frlghtenin' all the Uttle
haps to vote for him; but most of the
girlawer for me. Election was to be
next morning 'fore school time.
'Course. I was mighty anxious, an' X
schemed nest I knew bow. X got a
pretty good plan, too; an' If somebody
who pretended to be pJy friend hadn't
tattled to him. I'd 'a' been president
bow. I d like, to ketch, that fellow!
We had to walk 'most a mils to school.
It'd been snowing and there was lots on
the ground. My Idea was to hide our
fellows In the bushes, and, when the Ut
tle fellows came along, to, "jnake them
prls'ners. Then one of us was to watch
'em while the rest of the fellows ran to
the schoolhOuse snd voted for me. In
that way I'd have what teacher calls
the "majority." -
Well, sir, we hid among those bushes '
till we were almost frozen. After a
while Tim an' some of his big friends
passed as well as lots of the girls.
Indeed, so many girls went by that
BilfMenks whispers to me:
"Gee! I never knew there was so many
girls. Funny. I don't seem to know all
of them, neither."
But itcwas so cold that all were muf
ILLICENT was a Uttle girl who
always looked on the dark kid
things. She was constantly
on the lookout for trouble, and expected
the most disagreeable things to hap
pen. It seemed to afford her a melan
choly pleasure to be able to say "I told
you so" when her worst fears were
realized. ' and the weather proved
stormy, or the baby refused to sleep
When every well-behaved baby should.
or the dinner burned to a crisp, or some -such
catastrophe occurred. Even when
the sun shono and things were running
smoothly, she hovered round with dis
mal forebodings, furnishing more than
the necessary shadows to the brightness
of the day. For some shadow is needed
to teach us to appreciate the sun.
"Dear, dear," sighed her mother;
Millicent I wish you would pay a visit
to the Kfhg of Sunshine, and Come back
with a whole bundle of sunbeams to
make up for the shadows you carry with
you always."
Is there such a person T" asked Mil
licent eagerly.
Certainly there is! But I cannot telt
you how to reach his kingdom. Those,
rrtio do find It are ever after the hap
piest of mortals."
Millicent pondered over her mother's
words all day. When evening cams and .
she lay down to sleep she fixed her
eyes upon the moon, sailing through
an unclouded sky, and her last waking
thought was wish that she might find
the kingdom .of sunshine. f
The next thing she was conscious of
was being lifted upon a moon-ray, and
carried up up. np, until she was laid
on a cloud, luminous with moonlight
' "You wish to find the Sunshine King
dom T" whispered a tiny star to her.
(Ml'llcent had heard of singing stars,
but never before of a talkative one).
"Follow me!" .
She was earned in tne wane or toe
gfee Kingdom 2r?umftiiie
mem rmrnom
HE'B Just the terse tor utue men;
, They say he hasn't got a trick.
j r
-
Ha'a economical to keep:
He really doesn't eat a heap.
0uch gentle, ways I He must hav been
J
fled up, so we 'spected nothing. That
is, until the school bell rang, and we
had to hustle to school or be late.
Then we found that Tim had already
been-'lected president! And that he had
made the little fellows put on their sis
ters' dresses and coats, so that we had
been fooled at our own gamel
Now. I. for one, don't think Tim Wat
son did right Do you? . An' I thmk
I've got better right to be president
A Speedy Trip
t f fB:E Bere, James," ssJd Mr? Blank,
calling his" office bo, . 'If Mr.
- Burns should happen to call
while I'm out, be sure to tell him that
I've sailed for Fngland."
Hardly had the employer disappeared
When Mr. Brrns entered.
"Mr. Blank has gone to England, sir,"
volunteered the office boy, when he had
assured himself of the Identity of his
visitor. "Sailed this morning, sir," he
sdded.
"When will he return?" Impatiently
queried 'Mr. Burns.
James looked reflectively at the oppo
site wall and dug ia hands into his
trousers pockets for inspiration. At
last came this highly Intelligent re
sponse: "Don't think he'll be back till
after lunch."
Possibly Will Be.
A schoolboy essay read like this:
"America Is a foreign country. Amer
ica has much coal beds. When it Is all
used we shall have to use our brains for
fuel, and It will be scarce.'
twlnkler. quite out of the land of moon
shine. -Into a land of purple night the
realm of shadows, through which many
must pass before they can reach the
sun.
"We are traveling toward the eaBt,
twinkled her guide. "We will soon be
greeted by pawn. You will know her
by her rosy draperies."
So, on and on. until a crimson light
OA,
'
THE SUN GOD IN HIS BLAZING
CHARIOT
glowed through the gray and kissed Mll
licent's cheek.
"I will stop here," said the star. "I
am the morning star and must go on
duty at once."
Conducted By Dawn, the little girl
passed on tf the region of the sun.
So glowing 'and gorgeous It was that
she was dazzled. The Sun King sat in
a golden chariot drawn by fiery steeds.
He reined them In at her approach.
"What would you with me, child?"
he asked in golden accents. "Speak
quickly! The hours are such fleet-footed
damsels that they will soon outrun
me. I am in contlnffal chase of them!"
"If you please, O Sun King. I would
like a bundle of sunbeams to keep with
me always, so as to be able to drive
away the shadows!"
"And is your heart large enough to
contain them? It is only there that they
Venr nicely, broken to.
Whv tthm an auto whlcsM hv.
He doesn't even blink an eye.
He'd never run away,' of course-.
' ' Elsie Psxrlsh.
i t I T URRAH. it's comet I can see jt
in mumsy xacej-
Sid. " ' ;'.,. ., .
. "Hurfshl .Hurrah!" echoed Bess And
Marian and BUIIeboy. ;
Mother smiled at thfv enthusiasm.
Tea,- It's come',' .ald she, producing'
the .etter Just received from daddy, .
1 "and he wishes us to Join him Just as
soon as possible," ,
"Goin' to see daddy!'" piped BIMebby,
while the rest all liughed Joyously. -
You see, hje Burtons had decided to
build a home in Switserland in which
they planned to spend the -greater part
of each year 'But it Is no easy matter
to purchase the right sort of ground,
so Daddy Burton had , been spending
seme time In Switserland during his ne
gotiations. Then, too, be wished to
personally superintend the building of
their little cKnlet.y for, although the
builders knew perfectly well how to lay
out the "house' to best advantage in
order that certain parts would receive,
the sunlight and others the cooling
breezes In summer there were certain
modifications especially desired. Now,
however, the dwelling was completed,
and Le wished his family to take pos
session at the earliest possible moment
The reunion was a happy one. There
wa no one like daddy, you know, and
they had missed him sadly during his
"WITH BELLS HUNO ROUND THEIR
NECKS"
absence. ' So you may Imagine how de
lighted they were to see him again and
to Inspect their quaint little home.
"Looks Just like the Swiss cottage
we've .n among the toys in America,"
commented Bess, after a thorough ex
amination of the chalet
"Yes," replied Marjjan, "but I never
will consent to remain. The child that
cannot carry sunshine in ber heart will
never be able to drive away the shad
ows. It is not necessary to come to
the Sunshine Kingdom for them. They
play about the earth many days of the
- year. Children should catch them and
store them up for use on cloudy days.
They who luok on the bright side of
tbipgs and make the best of every
hardship are able to spread more real
siinBhlne than I have ever done. Go
home, my child, and see that your heart
is so filled With cheerfulness that It
will overflow and spread to those around
you. This is the kind of sunshine that
knows no shade."
It may have been all a dream, but
Millicent profited sovwell by the lesson
the Sun Kin taught her that today
she is known both far and near by the
name of "Little Sunbeam."
"N AMY SMITH.
" Singing Kettle.
The Japanese, who know so well
how V add little unexpected attrac
tl0IWvryday life, manufacture.
In reat variety of formsk iron tea
kettles which break into song when
the water boils. The song may not be
a very perfect melody, but it is per
haps as agreeable as the notes pro
duced by some of the insects which
the Japanese also treasure for their
music.
The harmonious sounds of ths tea
kettles are produced by steam bubbles
f1?Pin from ,b"eth thin sheets of
fif,WBed ,cloe "aether nearly at
b,OhU0,m 01 ' kettles. To pro
duce the best efiects some skill is re
quired In regulating the lire The
character of the ni.rT,i. ai .1.wVi.
form of the k.rtfeTrirr Z"."1
kettle, have been used tnZVR,
c Apprenticeship.
I "Yes," said Mr. Pater m
cealed pride, "my youngest boy mikes
iZZllftSV rejnk" time! taiy
recently he asked me what it meant
it meant the binding of jone person 'ti
another by agreement and that Ton.
person so, bound 'had to teachtn!
other all he could of his trade or pro!
fesslon, while the other had to witch
and learn how things were done, and
had to make himself useful to eve??
way possible." "very
"wVat, h y to that?" asked
one of the audience.
"Why, after a few minutes the,
Mn.'cl l00ked m "d
aid: rrhen I suppose you're appren
ticed to mother, aren't you. dad?"'
A 3-Tear-Old. ColoneL
It Is a wonder that the poor little
grand duke who is the heir to the
dignity or czar Is not already over
whelmed by his titles. He Is nearly
3 years old. He Is hetman of all the
Cossacks, chief of the regiment of the
Guard of Finland, colonel of the Fifty-first
Regiment of Infantry of ZiU
ovsk. of the Twelfth Regiment of In
fantry of eastern Siberia, of the Corp
of Cadet of Tashkend, and captain of
the Fourth Battery of Horse ArtUlerr.
Notwithtsanding these dignities, it Is
said that his greatest Joy in ilfe Is a
gollywog dressed In blue and red. for
possession of which he 'occasionally
fights with his youngest sister, Prin
cess Anastasla, who is years old. -
Mother I am sorry ' to hear ' that -Tommy
Smith tied a kettle to a poor
dujf'a tail, -Yeu wouldn't da suck a
thing, would you?
Bobby No, Indeed, mother.
Mother Why didn't you stop him.
Bobby?
Bobby I couldn't mother; X was
holding the dog. , .
'....." . :
i - fi. . . , - .... ..4 .., . ' .
THE PROCESSION STARTS
even dreamed of having It In such a
glorious place Why, looking up through
your big dormer window that gseat
mountain seems as though it were about
to fall ot. u&. How much snow It car
ries on Its summ'.t!"
"Big moutiln has white cap," gurgled
Bllileboy, more excited than any one
else.
At luncheon Sid told of his rather dis
couraging experiences in attempting to
make the natives understand him.
"I tried both French and German a
the village, but they didn't seem
know either language. However, I came
to the conclusion that it wasn't alto
gether their fault when I spoke what I
thought was pretty good French to a
Frenchman at the hotel. He listened to
me for a while ss tnough puzzled, and
then ssked me If I wouldn't mind using
French, as that wu the only language
be understood."
When the laughs had died away. Bid
went on" to tell offa celebration which
was to be held at the village on the
morrcw.
"Yes, It's what they call the Chal
andra Mars, a celebration held always
on the first day of March to welcome
the retain of spring," explained Mr.
Burton.
Shortly before daybreak next morn
ing thy werw awakened by the mu
sical tinkling of bells In the distance.
At breakfast Mr. Burton observed
that early In the day all the boys of the
village go about tne streets ringing
large bells hung about their necks.
"In a little while," said he, "they will
gather about the fountain in the publlo
square, after which' they wilt have their
procession"
"Oh, can't we go and see it?" pleaded
Marian.
"Yes, I mean to take you," replied
Mr. Burton.
Breakfast was disposed of hastily, and
soon I hey wero in the village. The pro
cession was an Interesting one. It rep
resented the return of the cattle to the
summer grazing grounds. First came
one of the largest of the boys, who was
dressed In black knee-breeches, white
stockings, old-fashioned wooden shoes
and a lcr.g nightcap. He carried a milk
pall on his arm, and was supposed to be
the owner of the herd. The others fol
lowed in single file, each personating a
cow. At the end of the line another
Urge boy, dressed In rough clothing and
wearing a broad-brimmed hat In his
hand he carried a stall. This boy is
the herdnman, whose duty it is to se
that none of the cows drop out of line
(the cows always march in single file)
or stray from their accustomed pas
tures. Singing a "yodle-song," this procession
THE dearest of all the dear places to
' me
A
Is my little window seat:
Though comfy. and bright is the gay.
nursery,
heaped up with toy, nice a
Just
- ' y
injurs .'iSw.'
you u ever see.
I'm sure that most cheerless and dis
mal 'twould be
Without any .window seat
Great tale about fairies I carry to
:' ' read
In my little window seat;
Thi window to Fairyland seems
straight to lead.
And, seeking for "princesses." one
does not need
Look .far from my window seat .
wended Its way from house to house,
where gifts of fruit and nuts were col
lected. Mr. Burton Informed the others
that with these gifts the boys woitod
give a feaflt that afternoon to all the
villagers and that the day would end
in muslo and sorg.
- A few days later BUIIeboy burst Into
the house, clutching In each chubby fist
a bunch of scarlet poppies.
"Oh, mumsy," cried he, announcing
an Important discovery, "there's noth
ing but grass."
"You're an observing Uttle BHReboy,'
laughed mother; "but, as a matter of
fact, that' Ir all they do raise here.
They have no grains of any kind, or
even timothy. Grass and clover they
have, and (that is all."
Sid visited th neighboring town quite
1
DECKING THEIR HEADS WITH
WREATHS
frequently now, and had already made
quite a number of friends. Today he
asked his father If ne could not attend
the national athletio carnival, which he
had heard would take place within the
next few months. '
Mr. Burton pi omlsed to go with him,
and then gave a very Interesting talk
on athletics and sports In Switzerland.
Besides shooting, .he Swiss have very
few of the sports with which we are
acquainted. But nearly every Swiss,
man and boy, engage in gymnastics
wrestling, running and the like. The In
struction is almost entirely under the
control of the government, and there are
branch cluts of gymnasts in nearly
every town. There are a great many
contests and reurJbcs which are more
or less local, and once a year a great
national assemblage, when winners In
special events are presented gifts by
the "crowned maidens."
A tiny brown cottage I seei through
the glass, 7 '; -. ,., ;
From my little window seat;
Sometimes I pretend 'tis a witch who
lives there.
Of whom all good lassie and lad
should beware.
Or the home of the big, middle-sisen
and wee bear:
But I'm safe in my window seat.
The nicest of all the nice place to
dream . -
I my little window seat;
For there, in the light of the straying
sunbeam. . -A
monarch I am. and my kingdom a
- -deem v
My own-Ingest own window seat
What Interested Marian and , BUIIeboy
most wss ths oiportunltys of ( enjoying
every klpd of ; weatherr When It was
sunirrer down on a level wltlr the chalet
all you had to do to' get fine ride on
your sled was to-trttdge.upl the moun
tain side for a distance, where there
, wss any amount of snow. They en
Joyed tlismserves Immensely.
Amid such surroundings as these It
did hot , take long : for the weeks, and
then the months, to slip by. Soon came
, autumn, and, with Its ending-the festi
val of the Aupentladung, when the re
turn of the cattle fiora -the mountains
was celebrated,. Here In eastern Swltz
erand( In the lofty valleys of Engadlne,
all the original customs had survived.
''As we saw the spring festival we
certainly shan't miss seeing this," said
Mr. Burton.
Sid climbed all the way up the moun
tain to where, in tiny .chalets, dairymen
and omen had been making butter and
cheese during the summer month. The
men and women sow " packed these
products In large baskets, ' which they
leaded upon their shoulders and car
ried to the base of the mountain.' Here
the butter and cheese were packed In
wagons. The cows, who had been feed
ing on the tender grass high up the
mountain all summer, were bow driven
down. Then the long train ot cattle
and wagons began its march toward
the village. '
In the meantime, their' friends at home
prepared to welcome them. A delega
tion, led by a company of children, set
out to greet the returning train. The
boys and girls were arrayed In their
very best garments and carried wreaths
of flowers, while the polder member of
the party bore hnnners and various de
vices mad of colored paper,
When they met the train, the children
stood on both s'-ues of the road and
sang their song of welcome. Then they
decorated the head of the cattle with
wreaths, and packed themselves upon
the great plies of cheese with which
tt)e wagons were laden
Sid wu shouting end waving his flag
with the best of them as the procession
entered the village. His sisters and
brother cheered him from the roadside.
All the villagers' united In song.
Finally a stop was made and tb
cheese and butter were removed from
the wagons and stored. Later IB- the
day here was a grand f rollo on a grassy
plot near the town, where games Were
played and songs were sung.
Tired, but thoroughly' pleased with all
they had seen, the Burtons entered their
chalet that evening And as Bess and
Marian began to sing softly the first
line of the festival song. "Hurrah for
the Alps.' the irrepressible Sid threw
up his hat and shouted :
"Hurrah for the Alps and Switzer
land." Even Mr. Burton Joined In the hur
rahs that followed, while Mrs. Burton
whispered to herself "and hurrah tor
such a happy little home."
Only One for Him
A'
S the train stopped at a small sta
tion, the traveler leaned out of
the window and called to a small
boy standing on the platform:
"My boy, won't you please buy a bun
from the shop yonder, and while you're
about it you 'might as well get one for
yourself tor your" trouble." 1
Very soon the lad reappeared munch
. Ing a bun. Handing the traveler his
change be said:
"Very sorry, sir, but there was only
one left"
A Pertinent Question.
A little boy went to the dentist' to
have some of his "first" teeth ex
tracted. After they were out the lit
tle fellow felt very unhappy about
his loss, when the dentist, to comfort
him, said:
"Oh, never mind about that; they'll
.come in again!"
"In time for dinner?" asked the llt-
tie boy. his faee clearing.
Full of Glory.
William Dean Howells, the popular
writer, says that when his talented
daughter, Mildred, was a child 'she'
looked up suddenly from her break
fast one bright morning, and said:
"Father, I am full of glory."
"What do you mean?" asked her
father.
"Why," said the little girl, "a sun
beam just got on my spoon, and I
have swallowed it"
Fitting Punishment.
Toby-Boohoo! Boohoo! I got whip
ped for doln' nothin'
Tony Honest, what did yuh do,
Toby?
Toby-Nothln'. I tell you. I've Just
got the whooping cough anV when I
asked pa to buy me a flute and let me
take lessons he looked more 'noyed than
he did when I used to cough, an sailed
right into ma
H
E COULDN'T help being funny-
Pierre couldn't and If I was a
funny as Pierre I'd run off to a
circus and be a clown, too.
But that wasn't the first time Pierre
ran away. Once he told Jimmy and me
all about how he followed his uncle on
board ship, 'fore the vessel sailed from
France, and 'how Pierre's uncle decided
at last to keep htm. Pierre's uncle, you
know., I chef at our hotel, so that's
how we came to know them both.
Jimmy and I knew-oh. a long while
now very funny Pierre was, 'cause one
time when we gave a little entertain
ment he came dressed in a clown's suit ,
and danced queer dances and sang all
sorts of funny songs. So we weren't
surprised a bit when Pierre ran away.
He'd always said he wa tired of help
in' his uncle in tha kitchen-chat's what
Pierre did. you knpw-and soon he wa
going away somewhere.
It did surprise us a whole lot though,
when in the very next circus we went -to
see whom should we find but Plerrel
He csme over to the rope and actually
spoke to Jimmy and me. Yesser. he
did! Jimmy and I felt prouder than
anything. ' ,
Soon as Jimmy and I get to be a big
as Pierre en' be fOmoat a n we're
goin' to Join a circus, too, without watt- H '
in' to grow a funny a Pierre. t Most ,
likely verd have to wait ' a hundred
year to be that funny. , ' "
Jones
S Iy a mite of a kitten
when she first came to usa can'
Blng little Utl of fur. which no
one would ever have taken, at first
g'anee, for a real, live pussy c(. f '
But Tabby had i come to Uy. and
soon,, by her mischievous pranks, she
iiiuv sne villi inueeu- a rest
pussy-and a. lively one, too U S 4
Polly and Tabby were enemies from
the' very beginning of their ' acquaint
ance. Undoubtedly it" was mostly Jeal
ousy on part of the parrot f. for Polly,
who for a long time had been the only
tiiet of the household, did not take kind
ly to the idea of sharing our favor
with Tatoy. But if PoUy showed her
ill will by teasing the cat Tabby was
not a whit behind In taking every op-,
portunity to pay the parrot back In the
same coin. . . . ' .
One morning the two were quite peae3-.
able. This in Itself was remarkable.
TABBY IS ASHAMED
and a warning that something especJaUJI
annoying would soon happen.
Sure enough, early In the afternoon
we were startled to hear from the di
rection of the pantry a succession ol
shrieks from Polly, and then the words,,
many times repeated:
"Tabby Jones, - stop thatl Tabb)
Jones, stop thatl" i - .
Hurrying to the scene of disturbance
we were surprised to find Tabby In the
act of pilfering from the pantry, while '
Polly sat on the window ledge scolding?
at the toD of her voice.
It wks hard to tell if pus were more
ashamed of being caught than ah was)
angry at Polly's betrayal.
Needless to say, each became still
more distrustful of the other after thai
day. -. ,. -.,
, Net Ball ,
THIS is one of the very newest
games. A popularity greater even
than that ot "dlabulo" 1 pre
dicted for it
Net ball resembles In some slight de
gree both diabolo and tennis. - Each
player (there are usually two In a game
Is provided, with a little net fastened be
twten two sticks. When the sticks are
held wide apart the net Is extended, and
presents a surface similar to that of
lawn-tennis racquet When the net I
held loose -it forms a pocket In which
the ball may be deftly caught -
Two balls (a lawn-tennis ball may well
be used) are continually kept in motion,
being tossed between the two players. -Whenever
a player falls to 'Teturn'"
within proper bounds, or misses a ball
thrown to him. it counts a point for hi
adversary. - v .
While It is easy to catch the ball in
TOSSING THS BALL ,
the net it is rather difficult to make the
right sort of "return," This latter Is),
done by tossing the net forward and at
the same time Jerking the sticks as far
apart as possible. When you become
very skilful you may use your net Just
as a tennis racquet is used,? not era
ploying the "pocket' at sit This, oil
course, gives you a great advantage over
an adversary who has to catch it each
time In the pocket before returning.
Net ball was born-in England, and I
already becoming quite the vogue In '
France. ' ' '
rV
4 :
J' . . - a .-, i i -T.r-..'-.