A BALLADE OP WHITE FINGERS.
Her fingers stray along the frets,
Her fingers wander o'er the strings;
A little while my heart forgets
Its griefs and cares and petty stings.
The air is filled with rustling wings,
Forgot are folly, wrong and sin?
And earth seems made for happier
things
She plays upon her mandolin!
Her fingers fly along the" frets.
Her fingers dance along the strings.
Courage, my sonl! Though strife besets.
Stand firm, whatever fortune brings.
Heir to the ages, peer of kings!
High over the turmoil, dust and din.
The clarion call of Honor rings
She plays upon her mandolin!
Her fingers dream along the frets,
They linger lightly o'er the strings;
What spell is woven In the nets
Of meshed melody she flings!
A burning tear unbidden springs;
Old hopes, loves, dreams all
within
That dying music's whisperings
She plays upon her mandolin! :
dwell
Prince, at the gate of Paradise
I fear I scarce would enter in.
If still without, with luring eyes.
She played upon her mandolin!
New Orleans Times-Democrat.
Duke's Mission.
Hi
t AKRT was lying under the apple
tree by the brook, Duke by his
side.
"You see," Harry said, running his
hand ever the shaggy head, "you and
I, old boy, have got to patch this thing
up. But how," meditatively, "that's
what I want to know. She won't let
me say anything. Every time I do she
gets mad or cries. - Dorothy won't speak
to Jack, and couldn't if she would, for
he won't come near enough to give her
a chance. You and I don't have any
more drives or picnics or nice long
tramps In the woods. Taken altogether.
things are dead slow In this old place
In the country. First thing we know
he'll go back to town, and then It's all
off. I wish you could help me."
Duke wagged his tall sympatheti
cally. "Here comes Dorothy now, old boy."
And Harry waved his hand to the slen
der little figure In the pink muslin gown
coming across the meadow.
"Harry," said his sister, as she came
up and sat down beside him. "I think
you are the laziest boy I ever saw. You
and Duke have done nothing but lie
around all day lately. Why don't you
go somewhere such lovely days?"
"What's the use?" he answered, as he
rose and lazily stretched himself.
"There's no one to go -with or no one
to lend a fellow his dogcart,- and one
thing and another. - - -
"Say, sis," he said persuasively, "why
don't you and jack make up?. I'm miss
ing heaps of good times."
I'll t l. tit it i
aaiij . uittuauj; jLruruiuy Bum,
"ffcin't Tnn pvpr na lnti tr a a vnn lt-vo man.
tlon Jack Thurston's name to me again
' or I'll see that you never come with
me-again to Aunt Nettle's for the sum-
' mer." . -
"Don't care if I don't," he answered
crossly, "I'm going to write borne for
them to send for me, anyway, if some
thing don't turn up pretty soon. Come
on, Duke," and he was off.
But Duke did not move, but lay look
ing at Dorothy, then rose and stood
thoughtfully gazing after Harry's. re
treating form.
Dorothy leaned back against the tree
and let her thoughts have full sway,
-uarry was ngnt," she thought, "we
have all missed heaps of good times the
past four weeks."
And It was all her fault, all her un
governable temper, she thought, and
now she might never see Jack again,
Since their quarrel she had only seen
him once. He had changed his. board
ing place and was living at the other
end of the town. There was a pretty
girl staying there, too. The day she
saw him they were driving together,
laughing and talking with each other.
He seemed happy enough even If she
was miserable. Suppose he had fallen
in love with her!
At the thought she buried her face in
her hands and sobbed bitterly.
A cold nose was placed In her band,
and looking up she saw Duke's big,
brown, sympathetic eyes fixed on her.
"You are sorry, boy, aren't you?" she
said, "but you can't help me. I want to
tell Jack I am sorry, but he won't give
me a chance, for he won't come near
me, and perhaps It's too late, anyway;
be may not love me any more. Oh! I
am so miserable!" and the sobs broke
out afresh.
Finally she ceased crying .and fell
- asleep from sheer exhaustion, her head
leaning against the tree trunk and her
hands loosely clasped together. Duke
stood and looked at her for a few min
utes, then lay down close beside her.
Suddenly he pricked up his ears, then
was off to where In the distance, he
could see a figure coming through the
trees that bordered the meadow. With a
rush he was upon him, licking his hands
; and with low barks telling him how
glad he was to see him.
"Duke, old fellow," -said Jack, "I
haven't seen you In a long" time," and
. lie stroked the shaggy head. . Then he
stopped amazed, for Duke bad his teeth
In his coat and was pulling him in no
'. gentle manner toward the lower end of
the meadow. .
"What Is it, boy?" he said, as he was
pulled along in spite of himself, then
- stopped suddenly, as Duke loosed his
.bold, and there In front of him was
Dorothy fast asleep.
He knelt down beside her. "Dorothy,"
he said softly, taking her hands In his,
"wake up, dear-. It Is Jack." She -woke
as she felt his kisses on her lips, and
seeing his face above her, nestled back
with a contented sigh In his arms.
"I am sorry, Jack, and wanted to tell
you so, but you " but he stopped her.
"There, dear, say no more about It.
We nave Dotn Deen naugaty " with a
happy laugh, "but now we will be
good." - , "
"And you don't love that pretty girl
you took driving?" : : -.
"I love only one pretty girl," he an
swered, "and that is Dorothy Graham."
There was silence for a minute, then
. sue saia: - how am yon Know I was
here, Jack?" '
- "Duke told me. good fellow," turning
Never dry your prints by artificial
heat as it hardly ever leads to success.
In taking groups do not place the Bit
ters all in a row as It gives them a very
formal look.
If yon are starting In photography do
not buy a so-called complete outfit, but
purchase the articles separately from
a regular dealer.'
Oxalic acid has been found by repeat
ed experiments to be the best as a pre
servative in the hypo solution. Two
ounces to a gallon of water Is a good
proportion.
f you hale a fixed focus camera
dust the lens frequently with a soft
camels hair brush and occasionally re
move the front board and thoroughly
dust the shutter, etc.
A developing solution will keep much
better If kept In small bottles that only
just-contains It. A large one that al
lows an air space between the solution
and the top of the bottle spoils the solu
tion. -
A good method to bring out detail In
the less exposed parts of the negative
is to breathe on these parts. The heat
of the breath apparently raises the ac
tivity of the developer on these places.
Try this little dodge and you will be
astonished with the results obtained.
The average amateur photographer
of to-day Is a very different type of per
son from his prototype of ten years
ago. In the twentieth century there
are very few amateurs who have not an
object of some kind In photography, un
less they belong to that nondescript
class who take up one hobby after an
other, dropping their latest, as soon as
the next new fad appears upon the hori
zon. This latter class is beyond re
demption. Some are photographers be
cause they have an artistic tempera
ment, are admirers of nature, and in
view of the want of the necessary skill
to use the brush or pencil, embrace
to pat him. but Duke was nowhere to be
seen. But coming toward them at break
neck speed was Harry . . -,
He precipitated himself Into Jack's
arms. "Say, Isn't this bully?" he said.
"I was sitting on the fence by the barn,
wishing I was home, when Duke came
up and commenced to pull me toward
the meadow. ; Then I saw your hat and
I knew everything was all right, and
here I am " and as a shaggy head
was put-against his face, "here's Duke."
- Duke stood and gazed on them all
with smiling benevolence and wagged
his tail. .-.' .-.... - :
"Dear Duke,", said Dorothy softly,
and Jack answered her with a happy
smile. ' I ..
- "Say, Jack," said Harry; a little later,
as he started for the house with the dog.
"I think I deserve a ride and Duke a
collar. Course Duke did the work, but
he wouldn't known about the trouble if
I hadn't told him." - " - '
FOOTBALL STAR MARRIES. U:
New Jersey society was greatly Inter
ested In the wedding of Miss Elizabeth
Sill to William Heath Bannard. Every
Princeton man who has watched
"Billy" Bannard, the best halfback who
ever wore the Tiger stripes of old Nas
sau, make his twenty-five yards around
the end toward the Yale goal line will
congratulate him upon winning one of
MBS. ELIZABETH BANWARD.
the prettiest of the younger society set
of New Jersey.
She. is a graduate of the' Woman's
College of Baltimore and a member of
(be Gamma Phi Beta, a leading wom
an's college fraternity. The bride IS
tall and graceful, with chestnut hair
and dark eyes. Her college popularity
followed her when she came home from
Baltimore and made her debut two sea
sons ago. : I"'
FINEST LAND OUT OF DOORS.'
Millions of Acres of Canadian Terri
tory So Described by Travelers.
L. A. Hamilton and Land Commis
sioner Griffln have arrived in Winnipeg
after a three weeks' -drive through 500
miles of what Mr. Hamilton says an
American would call "the finest .block
of land that lies out of doors." This
land comprises "bout 25,000,000 acres
and was covered by two men from We
tasktwin through Battleford east north
to the Vermilion Lakes, across into the
Blackfoot Hills, then to the Saskatche
wan River, from, there, south to the
Trapping Lake district and east again
to Saskatoon. v ..
"The object of our Journey," said Mr.
tnaimr
ofoqraphi)
photography as a means of recording
choicest subjects.
Here Is a tip on focusing. This is not
needed for hand camera users, - al
though ' they may want to nse the
ground glass now and then, and It Is a
good thing to remember. To get the
best definition and depth of focus try
the following: Focus, without a stop
between the nearest and most remote
points In the picture, which . usually
comes between the center and right or
left edge of the ground glass. Do not
focus at the center, but to one side of
it, and the result will be much more
satisfactory. After getting the focus
put iu .the diaphragm. For large heads
be sure the focus Is well divided to get
a uniform definition.- The small the
stop the more the definition and depth,
but this Is at the expense of what they
call the "artistic effect." Keep this in
mind. Focus with the lense wide open,
and put In the diaphragm after you
have the picture where you want it.
It Is an excellent Idea to frequently
clean your lense. . It may not look as
though It needed it, but at the same
time Its best capabilities may be Im
paired by dust If you wear glasses
you know it Is a good thing to rub
them often. But do not rub your lense
too hard. It may in time disturb its
correction that Is very delicate. Some
say bid linen Is good, others recommend
a specially prepared chamois skin, and
still others think the only thing really
proper to use Is jeweler's tissue. A
camel's hair brush is all right to re
move the dust, and fine linen to polish
the glass is found by manufacturers to
be first-class. But be very careful not
to touch the lense with - the - fingers.
There Is a natural oil In the skin ta
smear the glass, and It is almost Impos
sible to restorelt its original clearness.
I. have seen curious examiners W a
camera, rub a finger around the lense
to clean off what they thought might
be a bit of dust Men have been killed
for less offense, and the owner of a fine
lense could well claim justifiable homi
cide for slaughtering on the spot any
one who would do such a thing.
Hamilton, speaking to a Free Press re
porter, "was to note the resources and
progress of this district for intending
settlers. Mr. Griffin had not been over
this ground before and It was to him a
trip of great value on this account
What we saw confirms fbe view I have
taken that here lies one of the richest
tracts of land In the world. - We. found
that settlers have pushed their way In
and are located not only on. land all
along the railway, but 10 miles on each
side of it The soil in all parts we saw
Is of the richest, and timber and water
plentiful, except an eastern tract lying
south of Eagle Hills, where timber is
scarce. In the Battleford . district ly
mg 120 miles from the railway, we
found excellent fields of grain being
grown, but in the majority of the farth
est districts cattle raising is the chief
industry. Settlers are pushing their
way out from Calgary and Edmonton
east as far as the Buck Lakes, 100
miles from the railway."
' Game throughout this district, Mr.
Hamilton states, was very plentiful-Tin
1 art, too plentiful. "We were told
that the prairie chickens were so thick,"
said Mr. Hamilton, "that disease
among them had developed and they
were dying off In thousands. This
am xoia, occurs : about every seven
years, when the ravages of the disease
are much more destructive than that
wrought by the hunters after feathered
game. There Is no scarcity of fresh
meats, however, and in many of the
farming districts or ranching properties
the owner has his own game preserves,
-un mis tract or zo.oou.ooo acres
there is : no reason," concluded Mr,
Hamilton, according to the Winnipeg
Free Press, "why 500,000,000 bushels
of wheat could not be raised and this
will be the case some day not far dis
tant."- - '-.'-..i
" The Missing Link. "
In the jungles of Southeastern Asia
and the Islands, near by, which have
long been known to science as the cra
dle of the human race, and which are
still Inhabited by the. very lowest or
ders of human beings, the pithecan
thropus lived with the elephant tapir,
rhinoceros, lion, hippopotamus,- gigan
tic pangolin, hyena, and other animals,
remains of which were found round
about him. It has been computed that
this ancestor lived somewhere; about
the beginning of our last glacial epoch,
some 270,000 years ago. In other words,
about 17,000 generations have been
bora and have died between him and
ourselves.' It will assist our under
standing of what this relationship real
ly means to know that nearly 250 gen
erations carry us back ; beyond the
dawn of history, 5,000 years ago. Mc
Clure's Magazine.
Turned the Tables.
A lecturer was once descanting on the
superiority of nature over art, when an
irreverent listener In the audience fired
that old question at him: v;h t --
"How would you look, sir, without
your wig?" - - y .-. '-i .. ,
"Young man," Instantly replied the
lecturer, pointing his finger - at him,
"you have furnished me an apt Illustra
tion for my argument My baldness
can be traced to the artificial habits of
our modern civilization, while the wig
I am wearing here he raised his voice
till the "windows shook "is made of
natural hair!" . j. .-. -.
The audience testified its appreciation
of the point by loud applause, and the
speaker was not interrupted again. I .v
- Nothing makes a woman quite so mad
as to be told that some other woman is
sorry for her husband.
FRONTIER LIFE,
Vaactaattoa Which Wild Bea-Ioaa Hare
: - for Borne Hen.
It was Bearing midnight when we en
tered Phoenix, Aria. Price directed the
way to a corral where be was known,
and where we left the animals feasting
on fresh alfalfa, while we fared forth to
i his friends. It was precisely as
though Price bad Invited me around to
his club. He led the way to a saloon
and as we entered It I saw at once Its
typical character. At the left of the en
trance was a bar, gorgeous with mir
rors and cut glass, while down the deep
recesses of the room were faro and rou
lette tables and tables for poker. The
groups about them were formed of
cow punchers" and prospectors and
'Greasers" and Chinamen, and even
Indians, all mingling and Intermingling
with a freedom that suggested that in
gambling there Is a touch of nature
that makes the whole world kin.
But more Immediately interesting to
us was a group which stood beside the
bar. It was made jip, as I found, of
politicians, high In Territorial office, all
of whom knew Price and hailed him
cordially while asking after bis luck.
For some time we stood talking with
them; then one of their number, him
self not a politician, but a business
man, proposed our joining him at sup
per. We accepted, I the more delight
fully, because he, of all the group, had
most attracted me. Tall and very hand
some, he had the bearing of a gentle
man, and what he told me of himself
confirmed my own Impression of a
richly varied past Far into the night
we talked, and I could well believe him
when he said that the fascination of the
life which he had led on the frontier
had so far grown upon him that, while
he was glad to get back at times to his
former home in New York, he could no
longer remain contented there, hearing.
as he always did after a few months at
most, the call back to the wild freedom
of the plains. It was under the spell
of what he said, enforced by my little
experience as a "burro puncher," that
I went to sleep that night on a bed of
alfalfa In the corral, and when I waken
ed In the morning and found letters
urging my return to the East I was con
scious of an Indifference to the idea
which was wholly new to my experi
ence. Scribner's.
. At the Table. .
The years have sped since first I led -
You to the table, dear, - - -And
you sat over there alone
And I sat smiling here. - ' '
A year or two flew past and you
No longer sat alone; . ...
A little one was in your arms,
? Your darling and my own.
And then another year or so, .
And some one else was there, -And
Willie sat near me, you know,
While Trottle claimed your care.
The years have sped since first I led
You to the table dear, -:
And you looked queenly at the foot ' -
And Welt kiiigV here. .
To-day as I look down at you,
On either side I see
A row of hungry little ones . :
All gazing up at me.
We've added leaves, one after one.
And yon are far away
Aye, thrice as far, my dear, as on
That happy, happy day. .
But though we sit so far apart
You there and I up here
Two rows of hearts from my fond heart
.Stretch down to you, my dear.
Thank God for every extra leaf
The table holds today.
And may we never know the grief
Of putting one away.
Chicago Record-Herald.
He Didn't Mean It. -
He lost his little brother's ball, 1
And said he-"didn't mean it";
He broke his little sister's doll,
' Of course, he "didn't mean it";
He pushed his playmate from the fence.
They -found a hopeless cripple there,
But everyone with common sense
That ever heard of that-affair
-Was sure he "didn't mean -it"
He broke a girl's poor, trusting heart
Of course, he didn t mean It ; -He
played a reckless, wretched part, .
But then he "didn't mean it"; - j
He looked through prison bars, one day.
- Upon his mother, bent with shame
She filled an early grave, but they, -
Of course, knew he was not to blame-
He said he "didn't mean it." .
Chicago Record-Herald.
Count Tolstoi's Father. . y
In a recent article Count : Tolstoi
draws a portrait of bis father. He was
a large and handsome man, who al
ways wore clothes of a fashion differ
ent from that of others. He had a great
contempt for the younger generation.
His greatest passion was gambling. He
won millions and lost them again. Mor
al principles he seemed to have none.
He had his sentimental v moods, and
when he read aloud from a book his
voice would tremble and his eyes
moisten at a pathetic passage. He was
fond of ordinary music romances, gyp
sy melodies, operatic tunes but frank
ly confessed that Beethoven put him to
sleep."-. -- - .
Princess Charles' Collection.
;- Princess Charles of Denmark is verj
fond of collecting all sorts of quaint
and beautiful curios, and her treasures
of this sort are numerous. Among them
is a' wonderful . belt of flexible silver.
which she had studded with the splen
did unset rubles and sapphires which
she received as a wedding present from
her grandmother. Queen Victoria. The
Princess is particularly fond of Ivory.
and she possesses a number of the hunt
ing trophies of her father and uncles, in
the shape of elephants' tusks and ti
gers' claws, while Prince George In his
middy days added to her collection the
teeth of a shark he had helped to kill.
A Novel Garden.
In the center of Liverpool there Is
one j large roof -gardenr . It forms the
hobby of a lady who has at present in
successful cultivation currants, goose
berries, and a fine show of outdoor
flowers, besides - exotics In a green
house. The-" earn was taken up to the
tiles by means of a lift and the garden
is efficiently drained and free from de-spoilers.-
' ". - -- ." -
If a man does one bad act and it is
found out it caste a shadow over a
dozen former good ones. -
Another year has slipped away
- Into the dim beyond.
And once again ThankiglTlng day
Is here, with memories fond;
What dinners at my call have II
What headaches in their wake!
Bot, ah! I long for pumpkin pie
Like mother used to make.
Now .will the lordly turkey fall
To grace the festal board.
And In the glided banquet hall,
Where sparkling wine is poured, .
I may, with boon companions nigh.
Thanksgiving dinner take
Butlhere I'll find no pumpkin pie .
Like mother used to make.
What boots it that the city's beat
Is waiting at my hand?
That I, forsooth, may be the guest
At dinners swell and grand?
Alas! no epicure am I
The whole thing I would shake
To get one piece of pumpkin pie
. Like mother used to make.
Not Dives' feast could tempt me now
This bleak Thanksgiving day,
I'll dine alone, with thoughts of how
The years have passed away
Since first I watched with eager eye
To see her fix and bake
That matchless, peerless pumpkin pie
My mother used to make.
Chicago Post, j
A Tramp's ThantsgiTing.
-y ; . BY WELDON J. COBB . ;
CjO HANKSGIVING cheer was -la the
Mfair; it spoke in the crisp activity
v Of the village butcher, grocer and
baker, in the appetizing odors of home
kitchens, in the eager faces of school
children, elated and excited over "no
studies for the rest of the week!"
Hobo Bill, gentleman of -leisure, came
down the winding country road with an
eagle eye for the occasion. His rollick
ing glance took in the pretty town calcu-
latingly, .and settled upon its most pre
tentious mansion with conviction and
hope..
"Day before Thanksgiving," he solilo
quized. "Most likely to have the fullest
pantry in the biggest house.- Here goes!"
Bill observed a path cutting across a
yard. It was somewhat overgrown, but
he kept on, to come not to a gate, but
a solid board fence. He clambered to its
top, to be halted by a sharp mandate:
"Hey! get down there!"
Bill, astride the fence, confronted a
fine-looking but angry-eyed old gentleman.
"All right," he said.
"And stay down!"
"Yes, sir."
"What you after, anyway V
"Well, sir," answered Bill, "I was aim
ing for your kitchen and grub."
"Don't bother mer gruffly growjed the
other. "Try the house there. They raise
tramps there."
Bill took this auspiciously, viewing a
neat cottage near at hand. '.The same
blockaded path ran to its rear door.
"Wonder what: kind of a raise I kin
expect?" murmured Bill. "Hard-hearted
old nob, that! Ah! there's the lady.
She's all right! I'll tackle her.".
- BUI affected his most prim demeanor,
approaching a . sweet-faced, - motherly
woman. ..
"Lady," he said, "might I Intrude so
fur as to Inquire if there was any chanct
of getting a bite to eat "
"Certainly; come in,. air."
"Hey?" .'
Bill stared. With a welcome smile the
lady opened the door and - graciously
waved him to a chair. BUI doRad his hat,
an! hid Ms ragged shoes and gave Ida
wiry hair a smoothing toss.
She folded a snowy tablecloth over one
end of the table. She set out a delicate
china plate, a silver fork and a napkin.
"Ginger!" gasped Bill, "when I tell this
to the gang, they'll say I dreamed it!"
And then the gentleman In Bill came
to the surface. He could see, through aa
open doorway, the pantry, and what It
held, one piece of pie, one piece, of cake.
"All she's got and she's getting it for
mer breathed the spying Bill. "Mebbe
her to-morrow's feast Nixy!" aspirated
Bill, his heart swelling up, and he felt
more of a man than ever.
'Lady," he said, as she set the food
Deiore aim and be was as solemn as ,
an owl "the last thing my doctor says
to me afore I took this here tower for
me healt', was to avoid rich vittais. I'm
obliged, but "
There's plain bread and batter, sir,
then?" suggested Mrs. Daintry, with an
amused smile. - - I
"I've I've got a toothache! Thankee,
ma'am, but I've mistook my capacity, 1
and " I
Bill bolted. The widow stood looking
curiously after him till his tattered figure I
disappeared beyond the fence. I
"Perhaps perhaps," she murmured
sadly, "my boy is like that to-day!"
At 9 o'clock that night Mrs. Daintry
heard a noise at the. rear of the bouse.
She went to the kitchen door. A man
was prying up the pantry window. It
was her tramp visitor of the afternoon.
"Have you come to rob?" exclaimed
she.
"No, ma'am, I have not!" promptly re
sponded Hobo Bill. "I came to bring
you a present for your kindness to me
this p. m. I saw you had no tur
key for Thanksgiving, ma'am, so I've
brought you one."
- And, sure enough. Hobo Bill swung his
left hand around, holding as plump a fowl
as ever graced a king s larder.
Mrs. Daintry was speechless. This
was more singular t'jan the man's - be
havior of the afternoon.
"I was trying to sneak It into yer pan
try as a surprise, ma'am," suggested Bill,
persuasively.
"But I cannot accept It!" declared the
widow; "that is, without paying for it,
and I have not the money to do that"
"Madam," said Bill, with dignity; "this
is a gift"
"But how did you, a poor man, get It 7
"Worked for it marm," lied Bill, nn
blushingly; "cut two cords of wood for a
farmer. Had no money; paid me In
turks. Four of 'em. Gave the rest away.
This is the last. There you are! . Good
evening, marm."
Hobo Bill flashed away like a spirit,
leaving the astonished widow lost in mora
consternation and bewilderment than
ever.
Mrs. Daintry thought a good deal over
her strange gift Thanksgiving morning.
She finally concluded she had better cook
the turkey, hoping her erratic benefac
tor would be along during the day to par
take of it
She tried to be cheerful and thankful
but many a tear tell by the time the
turkey was cooked.
There came a tap at the rear door about
1 o'clock. The cook from the big house
stood on the step. ,
"Oh, Mrs. Daintry, excuse me, ma'am,"
she said, "but could you loan me a little
cinnamon. They've run out and "
She stared at the handsomely browned
fowl, done to a turn, for she knew the
widow's hard-scraping experience of the
last year or two.
"Certainly," assented Mrs. Daintry, al
ways accommodating, although she had
no reason to favor the bie house, or any
- "What a nice turkey you've got" pur
sued the cook. - "We have none to-day."
"Indeed?" observed Mrs. Daintry. In
surprise.
"Yes, ma'am It was stolen." , ' ,
"Stolen!" echoed the .widow," with a
start - -And
then she guessed all, as the cook
went on to tell how the discovery of the
THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE
theft had come too late that morning to
admit of securing another fowl. '
Mrs. Daintry acted a just and honest
part she insisted that the cook transfer
the roasted fowl to the table of the big
house.
Then she sat down to her humble meal,
smiling, despite herself, at the quaint
happenings of this queer Thanksgiving
day. . ' .
There came a knock at' the door about
two hours later1 the front door this time.
Mrs. Daintry drew back with a tremor
as she answered the summons; her visitor
was the iron-gray, stern-souled old own
er of the great house adjoining.
"Eunice," he said, extending his hand,
"I want you to-come home with me."
"Brother !" panted the widow. -
"Yes, Eunice,, haven't we had enough
of animosities for the past two years, you
and ir : '
" -"Edward, I have cherished none."' "'
"Then, my ridiculous temper Is to
blame," said Mr. Aylmer in a rapid,
shamefaced way. "When I heard the
story of that turkey when I once more
sat down to a meal remindful' of the old
days ah, sister! - yon were always the
cook of cooks'." he said, trying to pass off
a really serious occasion with a smile,
"I say', let it all end! I've been thinking
it over. I was in the wrong? I was too
harsh to you. .Your boy misbehaved, and
I chided. You clung to him, and I put
up that fence, and shut you out of sight
and heart, and forgive' me, Eunice!
Come over to the old home, and give It
a rightful mistress!"
"And If Wilbur should ever
" "BepentantT "Reformed? I'll go back
on my word and try him once more,"
promised the old squire, but with a
wince.
"'Sense both but here's where I had
better come in!" spoke the voice of Hobo
Bill.
Both turned. - The door had been left
open. There stood the cause of this
strange reunion.
"Who is this?" demanded the squire,
brusquely. -
"Well, gent" answered the tramp.
"I'm the feller wot stole yer turk to
give it to a more worthy cause, see? If s
come out all right so I takes back me
first bad opinion of you, but lemrae say
something. I came down here, squire.
and you. lady, as a spy on the. prom
ised land."
"What's he talking about?" muttered
the squire.
"The best pal I ever had, squire, is a
pard lying sick in the hospital in the
city, longing fer home and mother!"
Mrs. Daintry clasped her hands, and
ottered a qnick moan.
"It is my son my Wilbur!" she breath
ed.
' "Yes, ma'am; that's right" nodded
Hobo Bill.' "Squire, the boy's not my
sort He ran wild, but now he's eatia'
the huskiest sort of husks! He's brave,
he's true to a friend, he's got over drink
ing. I came spying the land for him.
Squire, what do you say?"
"Brother!"
"Yes, let him come back," said the
squire in a broken tone.
Hobo Bill asked a chance to work out
the good dinner they gave him the squire
set him at knocking down the fence that
had been a barrier between brother and
sister for two years.
The next mornong Hobo Bill proudly
left supplied with money to send back
the prodigal son from the city.
"And when he comes," murmured the
fond, longing mother, "we'll keep a sec
ond Thanksgiving day!"
SAUCE FOR THE TURKEY.
How Cranberries Are Raised and Pre
pared for Market,
Turkey and cranberry sauce! By force
of long association and the eternal fitness
of things, the two go naturally together.
What is one without the other, or
Thanksgiving day without both? And so
to make the 2,000,000 turkeys required
for the national feast more palatable
500,000 barrels of cranberries are raised
on the marshes of Cape Cod .and New
Jersey. To be sure not all of these are
eaten on Thanksgiving day, but a fairly
large proportion of them are, and it is
the almost universal use of the tart little
berry on Thanksgiving that has led to the
present wonderful extension of the busi
ness. The business of raising cranberries
is a peculiar one in all its aspects. It re
quires a special kind of ground, consid
erable capital and a vast deal of labor,
and It is a special trade, more or less Ir
regular in its returns, like all of its kind.
It is the chief industry of two sections of
this country, where nearly all the cran
berries used in America and Europe are
raised, and which it has transformed
from waste bog lands into rich farming
communities.'
The land on which cranberries will
flourish Is seldom fit for anything else.
In the state In which it is usually found
it requires about $300 per acre to make
it fit so that the transformation of a
swamp into productive cranberry bog
makes it a very valuable piece of prop
erty. The first requirement is a peat bot
tom. This is dressed by spreading over
it a coating of seashore sand, into which
the slips are stuck and left to grow at
their own sweet will. In connection with
the bog there should be an irrigating"
ditch or a reservoir, from which it can be
flooded at any time. It requires several
years to determine the worth of a marsh
for producing cranberries, and the slow
ness of returns, together with the amount
of capital required, has brought all tha
largest marshes into the control of stock
companies. -
It requires hand labor" throughout to
raise cranberries. The chief expense, once
WOODS.
the crop is - started, is in the picking,
which is largely performed by - women
and children, who receive from one to one
and a half cents per quart for the work,
and are able to earn from 75 cents to $1
i per day through the season.
I , As fast as the berries are gathered by
the pickers they are measured out by the
"boss," and unless they are to go at once
I to market are packed a,way in boxes for
storage. This packing is done in what
is called "chaff," the moss and leaves
I picked up in the field, in boxes with siat
- ted sides to allow a free circulation of
the air. - In this way the berry "s wests"
Wlinoui decaying, aim win Keep lux a
long time. When the berries are to be
' marketed they are screened. The screen
is like an old-fashioned fanning mill and
serves the double purpose- of removing
the chaff and sorting the berries.
England takes thousands of barrels of
American cranberries every year, and the
West has become a great market for
them on account of the scarcity of other
small fruits. At present more cranber
ries are sold in Chicago than in New
York or any other Eastern city. Cran
berries are not injured by freezing, and
so it is an easy matter to ship them in
cold weather. They are often sent as
far as . Manitoba in ordinary open box
cars.
A Thanksgiving; Cinch.
She (after "yes" has been said) What
did you wish when you pulled the wish
bone, with me? '
' He I wished that yon would accept
me. Ana youi
She Oh, I wished that yon would pro
pose. New York Wesla, -