A WEA1 rfR SONG.
Don't worry 'bout the weather; if the
breeze is blowin' cold,
The world will yet have blossoms jest
all your arms can hold!
An you'll wonder at your grievin' when
the blue sky is unrolled
Don't worry 'bout the deather. Oh, my
dearie!
Don't worry 'bout the weather; there
must still be sun an' rain
To freshen up the flowers when they
want to bloom again!
The lesson o' the love o' God to all the
world is plain
Don't worry 'bout the deather. Oh, my
dearie!
Atlanta Constitution.
tpttttj fho o-rpnt hattlfl of Shiloh
UY hart vwn fontrht and won. for
mauv weeks that shattered
wreck of what was once John Fairfax
lingered on the very threshold of death
in a Southern hospital.
A bullet Nhad plowed its way through
scalp and skull, and for a time the is
sue was uncertain; but finally the skill
and care of surgeons and nurse won
the day, and he who had once been
John Fairfax arose and went forth into
a world of strangers.
He knew no one. His own name
was gone from him. The past was
sealed. He knew that he must have
had a name and a home, and friends;
but when he tried to recall them his
mind saw only a blank wall.
John Fairfax; known as John Doe,
of Nowhere, the name by which a mer
ry clerk had entered him on the hos
pital records, carried musket and knap
sack no longer. Physically he was In
capable of that, or at least the army
surgeons so considered him, and he
was told that he might go home.
"Home?" said he, simply. "My home
is with the army. I don't remember
ever being anywhere else than here,
BIGGEST CROPS If HISTORY.
"--"tfl
DEATH OF CHARLEY OBEY.
and here I'll stay. If I can't handle
a gun let me drive one of the wagons,
or cook for the soldiers, or do any-
thing to help along. I've got to stay
with the boys. I wouldn't know where
to go if you turned me away." And so,
not being able to get rid of him, John
Doe was allowed to remain with the
army.
He had been reported missing, and
his name had been dropped from the
muster roll of the Pennsylvania regi
ment to which he belonged when he
went Into the fight at Shiloh, and he
was now assigned to a regiment from
another State.
The mind "of John Doe was of such
recent birth, so untrained in the ways
of the world that its owner soon be
came the standing butt and jest of the
camp. Subjected to constant ridicule,
sent on all sorts of "foolish and impos
sible errands, tormented" and abused by
the rough and unthinking, John Doe
submitted to it all with a patient for
bearance that was pathetic to witness.
During -the final day of the terrible
battle of the Wilderness a soldier,
whose canteen he had just filled with
water, dropped dead in the act of rais
ing it to his lips. The victim was Char-
ley Grey, a young soldier who often
had befriended poor, stricken John
Doe when others were trying to tor
ment him.
And during the rest of the battle
John Doe loaded and fired in frenzied
haste; sprang from tree to tree as the
. line advanced or retreated; and fought
like a hero till the sun went down.
Then throwing aside his musket, he
flung himself exhausted on the ground,
all the wrath and fire of battle gone
from him, and slept soundly till morn
ing. Then he quietly resumed his place
-as cook, water carrier and servitor In
general to Company H, of the th
Massachusetts infantry.
Cook and water carrier he remained
to tlie end, and when Appomattox
came and the cannon ceased the'.r
growling, John Doe was swept north
ward with the returning wave of soldiers.-
-
And by some strange irony of fate
he was left stranded in a Pennsylvania
village scarcely a score of miles dis
tant from the home from which he had
gone forth to do battle for his country.
His ,once dark hair and beard were
now a silvery white, and that and the
hardships through which he had pass
ed had made so great an alteration In
his appearance that even if anyone
who had known him as John Fairfax
had met him there was small probabil
ity of his being recognized.
And here, within a few hours of the
wife and daughter who mourned him
as dead, the ex-water carrier and hero
of Company H lived and toiled for 15
years, a cheerless, lonely man, v with
great, strange, Indefinable longing for
something, he scarcely knew what.
At last John Doe, no longer able to
work, friendless and forlorn, went
forth into the highways a homeless
tramp, clad in the tattered overcoat
from the uniform of the country he
had helped to save.
And in his wanderings he came to a
little-white, cottage. As he stood gaz
t ing at Its inviting porch a sudden faint
ness came over him,' and he reeled and
fell, striking his head heavily against
the gatepost.
When he recovered by his side stood
1901
"WHEAT
748,000,000
BUSHELS
Ton 2.
670.ooim
WHtAT
T6t
1,522,000,005
BUSHELS
1902
CORN
2,523,000,000
73?00ft000
1902
OATS
965,000.009
BU5HU
OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
ft
cor tow
901
EXPORTS
6,638.813
BALES
I0O2
-EXPOTVTS
0.761,486.
BALES
: i "if-
BY
NORTHERN J! JLLS
062.44? BALES
.264,406
BALES
1902
166ZOZ BALES
iSf2.8&
f"
RECORD COTTON AND GRAIN CROPS. ., ,
cr CCORDING to figures compiled by Uncle Sam farmers in the United
States have taken from the soil the past year crops having a value of
42 $2,557,895,416. The crops are the largest ever garnered in the history
of this country, according to the experts, and their value is unprecedented
In the annals of trade. To the tillers of the soil the year 1902 will go down
in history as the most prosperous in their lives. It Is said to be a fair esti
mate that the farm value of wheat, for which the farmers have disposed of
half their holdings, is 65 cents a bushel. Oats have netted the farmer about
27 cents, and the balance, it is estimated, will be sold at that figure.' Corn
will net the farmer at his nearest market town about 30 cents a bushel, and
so on throughout the entire list The basis on which the government esti
mates the value of the crop is not the current market quotations in Chicago,
but the farm value or prices at which the producer sells his goods.
Final returns to the statistician of the Department of Agriculture from
the regular and special correspondents, supplemented by reports of special
field agents, show the acreage, production and value of the principal farm
crops of the United States in 1902 to have been as follows:
The Snobs of Washington.
RS. ROOSEVELT'S effective rebuke to a part of
Washington's onlcial society for snubbing one of
her guests, who had been a saleswoman before be
coming the wife of an Influential government offi
cial. Is disquieting chiefly -because it proves that
there are almost as many snobs in the national capital as
there are in New York, Chicago or Boston. It is generally
conceded that the relation of the snobs to the population
varies directly with the youth and size of the city. Of
Washington we have long thought better 'things. Washing
ton is in old city and a democratic one. It Is at Washing
ton that there assemble the men who have made themselves,
whose mental superiority over their fellow-men has been
recognized by their fellow-citizens In being sent to the na
tion's capital to represent. them and to shape the nation's
destinies. Most of those men have started the destiny
shaping by selling papers or splitting fence-rails. We have
rather plumed ourselves with the Idea that the prime quali
fications of Washington society were mental capacity and
a clean record. We have never permitted ourselves to think
that a man who has sufficiently won the confidence of his
community or district to be chosen-a government servant
would go t6 Washington to suffer humiliation because his
wife had once been forced to earn an honorable living with
her own hands. To an American it is not a pretty conceit
It might be embarrassing to those same ladies who have
seen fit to appoint themselves arbiter elegantlum if a gen
eral Investigation of social qualifications were made. The
husbands of a great many of these ladies have not always
been so prominent. In fact, many of those marriages were
contracted when the husbands had no such lofty ambi
tions, and the idea of securing a helpmate to decorate a
Washington home was not seriously -considered. That is
quite right. It is the natural safeguard against fallacious
aristocracy. But it is an essential consideration for those
wives .of Congressmen and Senators who feel themselves
qualified to suggest etiquette and social distinctions to Mrs.
Theodore Roosevelt. Detroit Journal. ,
A'
Crops.
Corn
Winter wheat
Spring wheat
Oats
Acreage.
84,043,613
28,581,426
17,620,898
28,653,144
Barley . 4,661,063
Rye . 1,978,548
Buckwheat 804,989
Potatoes ,2,965,587
Hay 39,825,227
Tobacco 1,030,734
Flaxseed 3,739,700
Production.
.2,523,638,312 bushels
411,788,666 bushels
258,274,342 bushels
987,842,712 bushels
134,957,023 bushels '
- 33,630,592 bushels
14,529,770 bushels
284,632,787 bushels
59,857,576 tons
821,823,963 pounds
134,954,023 bushels
Total value
2
N
Farm value,
Dec. 1,1902.
$1,017,017,349
266,727,475
155,496,642
303,584,852
61,898,634
17,080,793
8,654,704
134,111,436
842,036,364
80,472,506
61,898,634
.$2,557,893,418
a blue-eyed girl artlessly prattling to
him. . -
"Poor soldier man, did It hurt you
to fall that way? I'm so sorry, 'cause
I love the brave soldiers. My grandpa
was a soldier, but grandma says he
. . . .
"What Is your grandma's name, little
one?" .
"Mary Fairfax, and mamma's name
is Etta Fairfax Field, and mine is Ma
rietta Field. Isn't that a lovely name?"
. - How to Became Rich.
N analysis of the large fortunes which on account
of death have changed hands during the year shows
that no fewer than 206 of these estates were valued
at over 100,000 each. Among them there figure the
2,900,000 of Earl Fitzwilliam; the 2,800,000 of Mr.
Vagliano, whose great lawsuit with the Bank of England
remains one of the most famous of financial cases; and the
2,000,000 of Mr. Sutton, of the well-known firm of car
riers. A .further analysis of these two hundred odd fortunes
discloses this instructive fact that the great majority of
them have been created during the life of their owners, and
created not by speculation nor by any sudden chance of
fortune, but by deliberate and unremitting hard work. It
is clear that "Dogged does it" in the small and exclusive
world, of money just as in the ordinary world at large.
But still more instructive is this further fact which is
revealed by our analysis that these men, who have worked
so hard and succeeded so signally, have also lived a long
life. Of the great fortunes of the year amounting to some
58,000,000 in all the average age of their owners at death
Is proved to have been seventy-three years, and no fewer
than 25 per cent of them had passed the age of four-score.
' The moral is obvious. By dint of sheer industry, shrewd
ly applied, It Is not only possible for a man to amass great
wealth; but the activity and self-control which such an aim
demands of the ablest of us react so favorably on the health
or both body and mind that they also assure the happy gift
of a long life. London Daily Mail. ; '
Dp Not Talk Too Much.
L.UNTNESS of speech, directness of action, strict in
sistence on one's rights and disdain of diplomatic,
roundabout methods of dealing with men and af
fairs are meritorious in a way, but the shortest road
Is not always the easiest nd a little diplomacy will
save much trouble in many cases. One can "be diplomatic,
too, without lying or doing anything that need worry the"
strictest conscience.
The first and hardest rule of diplomacy in large affairs
B'
THE HOMELESS VETEKAN.
went to war and never came back. 1
wish he'd come, 'cause grandma is so
lonesome and always cries when she
tells me about him."
The homeless veteran struggled to
his knees and gave one eager, Inquir
ing look at the- form and features of
the pretty little one before him.
"Yes, it is," said John Fairfax (John
Doe no longer), rising to his feet and'and small, in public and private life, is Do not talk too
taking her by the hand. "Come on, 1 much. Some instinct in the majority of people impels them
deary; let us go and find grandma and ! tQ tell all they know, and, sometimes, a little more. Pit a
mamma, and, tell them that grandpa talker against a man that can keep his own counsel in any
has eot home at' last!" Utica Globe. . .-.,,.! j ,.
affair of business or intrigue, and it is strange if the talker
does not get the worst of the matter. He puts his oppo-
HIS TEST OF THE ARTIST.
. Sumptuously Entertained.
To find a parallel for the recent
sumptuous entertainment of the Ger-
man Emperor by the Earl of Lonsdale Wonld.Be Porcha9er Made Snsse3-
and of King Edward by other British tiona ConcerninK a Faiutin.
peers and commoners one must go There Is perhaps a . lesson of some
back to the palmy days of the French sort for artists in tne story told
monarchy. To entertain a queen for a K t. i.rt..np nnd
week the Comte D'Artois rebuilt, Teuu L,ri. nntpr. of the davs when he
nent In possession of all he knows and gets nothing In ex
change. The talker proceeds In the dark while the silent
man finds his way made clear. The talker is forever mak
ing trouble for himself and others. He cannot keep a secret
and he seldom can tell the exact truth.
But the habit of keeping one's counsel is sometimes
carried to ridiculous extremes. There are men so reticent
that they will not tell anything at all and will give an
evasive reply if one asks them the time of day. Men of
this class think themselves sly, whereas in reality they are
mere fools. There is a time to speak as well as a time to
hold one's peace. San Francisco Bulletin.
OLI
I FAVORITES
c
Courtesy in Business.
OURTESY in business has been called the "oil on
the wheels of worldly progress" and "an air cushion
with apparently nothing in It, that yet eases the
heavy Jolts of tr.ade." But It Is more than these. It
is a positive virtue the most democratic of all vir
tuesIn that It recognizes all Individualities and pays all
just claims. By Its consummate considerateness it in
fringes upon no one's rights and lessens no one's advan
tage. It is often a form of self-suppression In action as well as
an expression of universal and individual sympathy. It
loosens the burdens of life, soothes anger, and often coun
teracts and does away with misunderstandings. Courtesy
Is the outward expression of the most essential sentiments
of the inner, truer man. When these outward expressions
cease the inner sentiments themselves are weakened and
lose their delicacy and energy, and so we may say that the
foundations-of courtesy are based upon the universal needs
of humanity itself. New York Daily News.
f
The Span of Life.
T seems that we were all wrong about the hurtful and
life-shortening effect of American "hustle." Our na
tional motto may be said to have been "A short life, but
a strenuous one." We were willing, as a people, to have
the span shortened a little if only we could have some
thing worth while, something active and effective, going on
all the time. But it seems, according to the latest bulletin
of the Census Bureau, that the fast life is also "ihe long
one. Our "median, age" that is, the age which is such that
half the population Is under it and half over It Is more
than seven years greater than it was .a century ago, and
increases from decade to decade. We are surpassing easy
going foreign countries in this respect; we are surpassing
even the loose-jointed. Indolent, beautifully relaxed, never
worrying African in our midst; for whereas the median age
of our American whites is 23.4 years, that of the devil-may-care
colored person is but 18.3. Lately much confu
sion has arisen in the minds of many Americans over the
statement that by certain eminent neurologists that It is
next to impossible for a man to "overwork," provided his
bodily functions are kept in good order by temperate and
wholesome living. Other physicians, to be sure, tell us
that hurry and worry spell death. We had accepted the
latter judgment, with the qualifying reflection that no mat
ter what science tells us, It always seems to have "an
other think coming." This census bulletin which links the
long life with the fast one appears to be the other "think."
Harper's Weekly. -
Seven Times One.
There's no dew left on the daisies and
clover,
There's no rain left in heaven;
I've said my "seven times" over and
over
Seven times one are seven.
I am old so old I can write a letter;
My birthdav leasona
The lambs play always they know no
Dener;
They are only one times one. .
0 Moon! In the night I have seen you
ailing,
And shining- so round and low.
You are bright! ah, bright! ; but your
light Is failing;
Yen are nothing now but a bow.
You Moon! have you done something
wrong in heaven,
That God has hidden your face?
1 hope, If you have, you will soon be
forgiven,
And shine again in your place.
O velvet Bee! you're a dusty fellow
You've powdered your legs with gold.
O brave marsh Mary-buds, rich and yel
low, Give me your money to hold!
O Columbine! open your folded wrapper,
Where two twin turtle-doves dwell! .
O Cuckoo-pint! tell me the purple clap
per That hangs in your clear green bell!
And show me your nest, with the younir
ones in it
I will not steal them away;
I am old! you may trust me, linnet,
linnet
. I am seven times one to-day.
Jean Ingelow.
r
High Prices.
T is significant that In some quarters there are begin
ning to be arguments made to show that high prices,
being a sign of public prosperity, are good for the peo
ple. If this remark were so amended as to read that
high prices are good for some of the people, it would be
correct. They are undoubtedly good for a considerable por
tion of the people. Included in those are the people in
active business who find themselves selling goods on a ris
ing market, a rising market generally Implying abundant
sales and orders for goods to be made. Rich people who
own property also find It Increased In value. There are
others, however, who are less fortunate. They are the men
and women of fixed incomes, who are compelled to pay
increased prices" for what they purchase without addition
to their money resources for purchasing. There is a much
larger class in those whose fixed income comes from their
labor. These are worse off, as they find the cost of what
they ent and consume in the other necessaries of life as
beef and coal and milk and butter, for instance increased
'without a corresponding addition to their wages. There
can be no equable increase in prices unless the prices paid
for labor are a part of it. Boston Herald.
ranged and refurnished his castle from
threshold to turret, , employing 900
workmen day and night. The Marshal
De Soubise received Louis XV. as his
guest for a day and night at a cost of
$400,000. "I hear," said his Majesty to
the Marshal, who owed millions, "that
was just starting. It was at a time
when things were not prospering as
he could have wished when, in fact,
the artist was pretty hard up that a
man wearing a great fur-lined over
coat knocked at the door of his studio.
The stranger was evidently " a West-
you are in debt." "I will inquire of my ' erner and a man o wealth'
stewara ana inrorm your Majesty," re
plied the host, hiding a yawn behind
his hand. - -
They Kun.
Teacher And what Is the color of
the ocean? - 'v
Tommy Blue.
Teacher Can you give a reason for
i 4 i
this?" -j a suggestion i
Tomm v r truess it's 'cause the blue- "Certainly," said
Aoh tliat'a In it nln't fast fnnv " ahead.
Philadelphia Press.
"Mr. Kost," he said, "I have seen
pictures of yours at different exhibi
tions, and I think "I would like to own
one." - ,
Then he nodded approvingly at a
landscape on the . easel, "and said:
"That is exceedingly nice. But," he
added after a pause, "might I make
Mr. Kost.
'Go
THE LARGEST GUN IN THE WORLD.
HE illustration shows the largest gun in the world, and the most grati
II fying thing in connection with this weapon is that it is the property
of "your Uncle Sam." It was built at Jhe Watervliet arsenal, near
Troy, N. Y., and as the railroads refused to transport it because of its 130
tons of weight, it was.brought down the Hudson to the proving grounds at
Sandy Hook on a specially constructed car, which was mounted on a double
boat. This gun, which was four years in building, cost $150,000 and has a
range of twenty-one miles. Standing on its breech beside an ordinary three
story building, there would be enough of It projecting above to make a very
respectable chimney, especially since the bore of the gun Is. so large that a
man may easily crawl inside it. More than a thousand pounds of powder
are used to expel the projectile, which weighs 2,370 pounds.
"Well," said the would-be purchaser,
"I think the sky might be changed
with advantage," and he started in to
explain the alteration which he
thought would improve the painting.
Mr. Kost did not agree with him,
but as he wished to sell the picture
he said he would consider the matter.
And the 6tranger went away, prom
ising to -call in a few days. . x
Mr.' Kost went to work to change
the sky, against his own judgment, to
suit the stranger. He ended by chang
ing the entire picture to suit the sky.
In fact, from a landscape, it grew
into a marine. The stranger never
turned, up, and the artist cursed his
folly in having acted contrary to com
mon sense to please an Ignorant per
son, and so spoiled one of his best
efforts, the result of several months of
work. - '
About a year later a knock took Mr.
Kost to his door again, and there stood
the stranger In the fur-lined overcoat.
Being asked In, he took a seat before
the easel and nodded approvingly at
a picture that happened to be there.
"I like that like It very much," he
said thoughtfully. Then, after a pause;
"but may I make a suggestion?"
Mr. Kost was not so angry with the
man as annoyed at the -recollection of
his own foolishness. He looked square
ly at his visitor. . " "
"Go to the devil with your sugges
tion," he replied. r
"What's that?'? exclaimed the stranger..,-...
. ,
Mr. Kost repeated his invitation.
For a moment the other colored. Then
he smiled quietly. "Well, Mr. Kost,"
ho replied, "I may take that trip some
day; but not just yet. In the mean
time, 1 think I will buy that picture
of yours."
After a pause he continued. "1
would hare bought the painting yon
showed me last year, Mr. Kost, but
when I buy a picture I want it to be
one with which the artist is perfectly
satisfied, which he considers a sample
of his best work. When you consent
ed to change the other picture, I con
eluded that you were not sure of it
yourself. But I guess if you think
enough of this one, to ask a man to
go to the devil because, he wished to
make a suggestion concerning it, it is
the stuff I want." -
And the picture was sold according
ly. New York Tribune.
WALKING THROUGH FIRE.
Lava Streams in the Crater of Kilanca'
in Hawaii.
Compared with the volcanoes in the
Hawaiian Islands, those In the West
Indies are larger, and exhibit the phe
nomena of nature on a grander scale.
The cone of Kilauea, in Hawaii, holds
a lake of melted rock, the outlets of
which are rivers of lava which gleam
like molten silver. In "Fire Mountains"
Miss C. F. Gordon-Cumming describes
her descent Into the outer crater.
We took a circuitous route to avoid
the fiery breath of the sulphur cracks.
SQme of the cones are dome-shaped;
others are more open, like witches' cal
drons, and curiosity compelled me to
snatch a glimpse of the fiery broth
within, although I knew that such
stolen peeps were dangerous, as at any
moment the wrathful spirits uight
drive away the intruder with a shower
of molten rock.
So numerous were the streams which
intersected the bed of the crater on
this side that it was necessary for the
guide to keep ceaseless watch to guard
against the possibility of our retreat
being cut off.
We took our stand on an elevated
hummock of lava, and were thus raised
to the level of the lake, which had very
capriciously selected the highest por
tion of the crater, so that all the rivers
flowed d.own over the steep bank.
Dr. Coan told me he had seen lava
flowing at the rate of forty miles an
hour, rushing downhill through forests
on Its seaward way. I confess I watch
ed this small, comparatively safe river
with some trepidation.
So rapidly does lava cool that when
we had gained sufficient, confidence to
follow our experienced guide, we were
able to walk across many of the
streams which only a few hours before
iiad been liquid fire. We were walking
on a cool crust. As the streams of red'
fluid rock met the air they seemed to
become coated over with a thin, gleani
ng, silvery film, like that which forms
n nioltn metal. It was gruesome to
;hink what would befall us if the thin
rust gave way beneath us. But I re
jected that for love of wife and child
;ur guide doubtless counted his own
life precious, and so would not lead us
into real danger.
It is strange how quickly one gets
accustomed to new circumstances.
When luncheon time came It seemed
most natural to sit on the brink of a
(ire river, on a hummock of lava, and
enjoy our sandwiches while we watch
ed the heaving, rushing lava roll and
break into half -cooled cakes, to be swal
lowed and melted afresh "In the fire
streatia which flowed within ten feet
of us.
Nearer Home.
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o'er and o'er;
I'm nearer my home to-day
Than I ever have been before;
Nearer my Father's house,
Where the many mansions be
Nearer the great white throne.
Nearer the crystal sea;
Nearer the bound of life,
Where we lay our burdens down;
Nearer leaving the cross,
Nearer gaining the crown!
But lying darkly between,
Winding down through the night.
Is the silent, unknown stream,
That leads us at hrngth to the light
Closer and closer my steps
Come to the dread abysm; .
Closer Death to my lips
Presses the awful chrism.
O, if my mortal feet
Have almost gained the brink;
If it be I am nearer home
Even to-day than I think;
Father, perfect my trust;
Let my spirit feel in death
That her feet are firmly set
On the rock of a living faith!
Phoebe Cary.
TWO SECRETS.
Just a Girl.
Many a throne has had to fall
' For a girl.
Just a girl;
Many a king has had to crawl
For a girl,
just a girl.
When the-hero goes to war
He may battle for the right,
But 'tis likelier by far
That he sallies forth to fight
For a girl.
Just a girl.
When the doctor turns to sayi
. - "It's a girl,
s Just a girl'
Papa murmurs with dismay u
"What! A girL
Just tt girl?"
Ah, but why the sadness there? '
Why the bitterness displayed?
Some day some strong man will swear
That the great round world was mad
For that girl.
Just that girl.
Why did Adam take the bite?
For a girl,
Just a girl.
Why was Troy swept out of sight J
For a girl,
'. Just a girl. 7
O would heaven still be bright,
And would any good man car
To achieve it, if he might :
Never claim forever there, -.,
. Just a girl,
( Glorious girl?
Chicago Record-Herald.
We heard a long time ago that the
devil invented the fiddle, but we heard
to-day that he also Invented the pump.
You can interest any man by saying
to him, "You work too hard."
Heartbreaking Little Story , of Two
Devoted Old Feople.
"How's business, Ebeu?"y
The old man was washing at the
sink after his day's work.
"Fine, Marthy, fine!"
"Does the store look just the same,
with the red geranium in the window ?
Land, how I'd like to see it with the
sun shining in! How does it look,
Eben?"
Eben did not answer for a moment;
when he did his voice shook a bit. ,
"The store's never been the same
since you left, Marthy."
A faint little flush came into Mar
tha's 'withered cheek. Is a wife ever
too old to be moved by her husband's
'Battery?
For years Eben and Martha had
kept a tiny notion store; then Martha
fell sick and was taken to the hospital.
That was months ago. She was out
now, but she would never be strong
never be partner in their happy little
trade again.
"I can't get over a hankering for a
sight of the store," thought Martha
one forenoon. "If I take it real careful
1 can get down there; 'tisn't so far.
Eben'll scold, but he'll be tickled most
ao death."
It took a long time for her to drag
herself owntown, but at last she stood
at the head of the little street whero
the store was. All of a sudden she
stopped. Ahead, on the pavement,
stood Eben. A tray buns from his
' neck on which were arranged a few
cards of collar studs, some papers of
pins, and shoelaces. Two or three
holders were in his shaking old hand,
and as he stood he called his wares.
Martha clutched at the wall of the
building. She looked over the way at
the little store. Its windows were fill
ed with fruit, and an Italian name flut
tered on the awning. Then Martha un
derstood. The store had gone to pay
h a-rnonsAfl. She turned and hurried
away as fast as her trembling limbs
would take her.
"It will hurt him so to have me find
out!" she thought, " and the tears
trickled down her face.
"He's kept a secret from me, and I'll
keep one from him," she said to her
self. "He sha'n't know that I know."
That night when Eben came in, chill
ed and weary, Martha asked, cheerful
ly, the old question :
"How's business?"
"BStter'n ever, Marthy!" answered
Eben. Youth's Companion.
Ethics of a Kiss.
A kiss is a peculiar proposition. Of
no use to one, yet absolute bliss to two.
The small boy gets It for nothing, the
young man has to sfeal it and the old
man has to buy It. The baby's right,
the lover's-privilege,' the hypocrite's
mask. To a young girl, faith; to a
married woman, hope, and to an old
maid, charity. Baltimore American.
Official Responsibility in China.
Chinese officials are held to be gullfy
before the Son of Heaven for floods,
drouths, famines, fires and other nat
ural calamities.
A loafer is never able to realize that
busy man has anything to do.