HEARD BY AN OLD MAN. "V
Here in my easy chair I sit,
An old, old man before the fire, '
Deaf to all sounds of every day
And dead to every past desire.
Perhaps the failing outward sense
Quickens the spirit's inner ear,
For sitting here before the fire
You'd scarce believe the sounds I hear.
All this long afternoon I heard
The brook in the old orchard sing
Just -as .it used to, on the farm,
When first the grass grew green in
spring.
Y.ou know ' that gurgling, gladsome
noise '
Thi voipa of wntpr wild witli elea
When it has burst its icy bond
. And finds itself alert and free.
The birds, too, in the beech-tree grove,
I hear them, as in days of $'or
. When I went forth at break of day,
Call through the sunrise hush once
more.
And that one bird that nested high
I thought she had a silver throat
A trickle of clear melody,
. It thrills me oft, her slender note.
My mother's voice, too oh, so plain
It calls across the fading light:
"Come, children, time to leave your play;
Come in the house, 'tis almost night!"
metimes when you have left the room.
And I alone am sitting here,
I speak the answer right out loud,
"Yes, yes, I'm coming, mother dear!"
Then there's one song comes back to me,
Your mother sang it, my dear wife,
i. slender girl dressed all in white,
First time I saw her .in my life.
She used to carol like a bird
'Tis an old-fashioned song, I know,
But day by day I hear her still
Singing, "John Anderson, my Jo."
I sometimes think that when I go
To join her in the angel throng
Tier voice, above the heav'nly hymn
Will rise once more in that loved song.
An old, old man and common speech
Rut seldom achPH mv dulled ear:
Yet 'sitting here before the fire
Yon'ri scarce hpHpvA the sounds I hear.
Youth's Companion.
RS. MASON Is what we call in
in our village "a character,"
and as such I dearly love a
, chat with her when she Is In the hu-
ternoon I called to remind her of the
annual rummage sale. She Is a regu
lar purchaser, "but priding herself on
not feel at all called upon to approve
in the abstract of Institutions In whose
benefits she is quite ready to partici
pate. .
"Roomage sales? I don't hold with
em! I call it a-nisultin' of the Al
mighty, the gentry offering Him their
cast-off clothes and What not!" she
said tartly. "Teck my word for 't,
the gentry gets their fun out o' them
sales same as bazars, and times they
gets the best bargains, too."
"I don't see how that can be," I said;
"the gentry don't buy at rummage
sales."
"Don't they?" she chuckled. "Much
you know about it. The best bargain
ever I seed was got at a rummage
sale. Sit 'ee down, and donnut fidget
wi' yer chair, and I'll tell 'ee how It
cum about. Twas worth half-a-sov-erelgp
to me. '. '
"I was a slip of a girl, in service at
Squoire Hargreaves, at the hall. Well,
they had a guverness there for the
children; a tall, handsome lass she was,
e nmnil ad If fihA wen fl dnhp --"
"Her father had been what" they call
a millionaire, but he lost all his money,
and the daughter, -who had been to
college and was a great schollard, went
out to help earn a living for the family.
Before that she'd been engaged to be
married, but It was broken off when her
father lost his money. ' J
"WelL one day I was cleaning the
outside windows of the schoolroom
when Mrs. Hargreaves comes In, and,
'Miss Alwyn,' says she, 1 want you to
help the vicar's daughter, Miss Rogers,
at the roomage sale.' So Miss Alwyn
said she would.
"On the days of the sale, Mary, the
housemaid, told me she'd asked Miss
"Alwvn for anv of her old thlnes to send
to the parish ball. Miss Alwyn Just
looked up,- and said:
"'Very weiL Mary, you can take
what's hanging on the end peg In my
room; I' have nothing else I could
spare."
"There was a pink frock as fitted
Mary and a lavender muslin gown. '
" 'Mary,' I said, there's a mistake.
Miss Alwyh's always kept that put by
so careful Jn her drawer, with sprigs
of rosemary between; she don't mean
that.' " .:
"But Mary wouldn't listen. She'd set
her heart on the lavender gown and
took It down to the parish hall herself,
for we two servants had a holiday for
the afternoon.
"Mary took the dresses to 'Miss Rog
ers stall and got : them priced. She
bought the pink one, but the lavender
was too'dear. 'I can't think,' says Miss
Rogers, 'how anyone comes to send it.
It's quite a Parisian creation.'
"There was a Mr. Bartram as was
staying with the vicar standing by, and
he laughed. 'Let's see the creation,' he
said; and then he: looked startled.
'Where did that come from?' he says,
shortlike; and Miss Rogers said, 'from
Mrs. Hargreaves.' 'Hargreaves! I don't
know such a name! But it is it must
be the same gown!' he muttered. Then
I knew that he was Miss Alwyn's for
mer young gentleman and what Mary
had done. .
"Mr. Bartram tried to turn off all the
seriousness of the joke. 'Look here!' he
says, 'that's too smarta gown for your
village folk. In the Interests of paro
chial morality, I want to' buy ItH " -
"So he paid the price and went off
without seeing the other stalls. J
"Presently Miss Rogers, as was keep
ing the stall, wanted to go away for
something ' and. asked me to keep an
eye on things. Miss Alwan had sold
her lot, and came round to see how we
was gettin on.
- "In a moment she catches sight of
th gown, and 'Oh T she 1 cries, 'My
HERR JAtf KUBELIK AND
COUNTESS
. - ' ; . - -
Kubelik's romantic engagement to the Hungarian countess, who Ir de-'
clared to be the most beautiful woman of her country, continues to form
the subject of -articles In European newspapers, and periodicals; and many
stories are told of the Intense devotion of the couple to each other.
lavender dress! How came that here?
I must have it back; there has been a
mistake!' So I told Mary, miss,' says
I; 'but now it's sold.' 'Sold!' she cries,
with her face as white as my aprxm.
.'.No matter, I will buy It again. How
much was given?' Two sovereigns;
says I. She seemed a bit set back at
that, but she pulled out: her purse.
'Fortunately I have as much,' she said.
'Make it right for me, Betty.' And not
staying for a 'By. your leave!' she
catches up the gown and offs with It
hanging over her arm. I ran after her
to wrap it up, but, lor' bless you! Bhe
never took no heed. So I came back to
the stalL Mr. Bartram had returned.
'I've come for my bargain,' says he,
smiling it. 'Oh, sir,' says I. 'Miss Rog
ers left me In charge of her stall and
I've sold Itr 'Sold It?' said he. 'But it
was sold! I bought It! 'I'm very sorry,
sir,' says I; 'but the young lady as Is
governess at Mrs, Hargreaves took It
and left this for you,' and r showed him
the money. 'But I don't understand.
Why Is she so anxious for it? he says.
'Well, you see, 'twas her dress, and
only sent by mistake,' I answered back.
'Her dress Mrs. Hargreaves' gover
ness! vvnat is ner namer ne asKs.
Miss Clarice Alwyn,' says I. - And I
could have laughed out loud, for with
that he was off and away down the
lane and all the folks looking after
him. " ; '
"They were leaning on the stile lead
lug to 'squire's fields, and the gown had
fallen between them. As I came near
I heard him say, 'And you wrote the
letter because your father lost his
money? 'Of course. I did. How could
I keep you bound to a beggar? she
made answer. 'And I thought it was
because you didn't love met be cried.
Oh, Robert, how could you!' she said.
And with that they looked up and saw
me. I dropped a curtesy. Miss Alwyn
blushed. 'Flease'm, . youe dropped
your frock,' says I, demure-like. And
at that Mr. Bartram laughs quit
hearty. 'Betty,' says he, 1 see you'v
grassed the story. Here's half a sover
eign. Run along, and tell Mrs. Har
DIVORCED BARONESS
: " frnM - if
mWi'V I -
Baroness. Wolfbauer,. a granddaughter of the famous Bishop Ames, of
the Methodist Church, and .daughter of a United States army captain, com
mitted suicide by shooting In a hotel In Jersey . City, N. J. ; The baroness,
who was also known as -Irs. Louise Ames Van Weik-Wolfbauer,-was re
cently divorced from Baron. Wolfbauer, an Austrian, In South Dakota, Baron
Wolfbauer Is In the sugar business in Cuba, with omces in New Tork.' Her
first husband was Otto Van Weik, now a postofflce Inspector, from whom
she also was divorced. ,
HIS FIANCEE
MARIANNE CSAKY SZELL
I
m ffM
greaves Miss Alwyn's found a bargain
at the rummage sale, and won't be baok
to tea.' " New York Daily News.
, Creating a Waterfall.
When the waters of the Niagara
River were made t6 flow ovec turbines
to give electric power and light to the
city of Buffalo it was considered a
great revolutionary feat of engineer
ing. But at Niagara the dam and the
fall were there from the beginning.
The power was ready to the rough
it had only to be applied to the ma
chinery. When, however, it was pro
posed to utilize the speed and force of
the Hudson River and to ' turn them
into the power that lights towns, runs
street railways and vitalizes factory
plants the problem was a . different
one." The river was there, but the fall
had to be created, and to do this it
would be necessary to build one of
the largest dams ever- constructed, a
walL.ln fact,. 1,400 feet long and. 154
feet high, at certain points. No such
barrier, great or small, had ever been
placed across a river of a volume and
flow equal to that of the Hudson just
above Glens Falls, N. -Y., yet this has
now been successfully accomplished.
Leslie's Monthly.
Exchange of Compliments.
The village sexton. In addition to be
ing a gravedigger, acted as a stonecut
ter, house repairer and furniture mov
er. ' '"'''
' The local doctor, having obtained a
more lucrative appointment In anoth
er county, employed the sexton to as
sist In his removal.
When it came to . settling up - ac
counts the doctor deducted an old
contra account due by the sexton. He
wrote at the same time, objecting to
the charge made for removing his fur
niture: - .
"If this was steady, It would pay
much better than gravedlgging.'
The sexton replied:
"Indadc, Ol wud be glad to 'are a
steady job; gravedigglng U very slack
since you left." Spare Moments.
WHO KILLED HERSELF.
"WHITE COAL OF FRANCE,
Glacial Streams of the Alpine Besrlon
" Put' to Work.
; There has been quite a great deal of
activity In the past few years in .the
development of the1 glacial streams- of
Alpine France, says the Philadelphia
Record, and the torrents" which until
recently flowed aimlessly through that
country have In many cases been put
to useful labor and the engineers have
designs on a number of others. One
of the chief spirits in this movement
to utilize "the mountain "streams is M.
Merges, a well-known engineer, and he
has estimated the hydraulic forces of
France at 10,000,000 horse power. This
is more than Sufficient to" drive: all the
industries' of . the .country. According
to his figures(the 25,000' miles of rail
roads in France' -'maker '-use of 4,000,000
horse powefr and the other industries of
the country require 2,500,000. making
a total of 6,500,000 horse power. ;
In most cases the', method of making
use of the wafer has" been t&" divert"" It:
and conduct it to "a "point where it c&u
economically be availed of. Large pipes
of metal bring? the j-water from . vast
heights. A section 'of one , of these
great conduits is a . few inches less
than eleven feet in diameter, or about
the same size as-the tunnel under the
Thames at London, : but the latter ia
less than 100 feet In length, while, those
In the mountains of France are in some
Instances' of great length. The one
spoken of, which is laid near Grenoble,
which is the "white-coal capital," is
over 15,000 feet . long. A -"-little ever
8,000 feet of this is of steel and the
rest Is of wired cement.
At. La,ncey, a few miles northeast of
Grenoble, the water which gives pow
er to mills of various kinds and to the
electrical plant which lights the" valley
of the Graisivairdan and maintains
Its several tramway systems is brought
byxthree successive faHs, whose total
Is 6,560 feet.
Light Is furnished to the houses' and
farms of the vicinity at a Very moder
ate cost. For example:
Per year.
First lamp, ten candlepower. . . .?4.S2
Second lamp, ten candlepower. , 2.8&
Three . lamps, five candlepower -.. -each.
2.89
Total for five lamps, 35 can- '
dlepower ...$10.G1
- An average of $2.12 per lamp per
year. . , - . -
In 1863 it was deemed a bold
achievement to bring water: from a
height of 260 feet, as at Uriagef but
now M. Berges has succeeded in canal
izing a fall of 1,640 feet and another
of 1,804 feet. At Epierre (Sa volet M.
Joya used a fall of 1,935 feet and at
Chapareillan (twenty-five miles from
Genobie) another of 2,040 feet
The eel has two separate hearts. One
beats sixty, the other 160 times a min
ute. ; : -' ','' -
A large numbr of swans from Russia
and North Germany wintered on the
Swiss lakes.
The boa and python have the largest
number of ribs of any animals, the
number being 320 pairs.
Near. Tiverton Devonshire, there is
to be. seen a blackbird with a white
head and a speckled back.
A, curious butterfly exists in India.
The male has the' left '" wing yellow
and the right one red; the female has
these colors reversed.
The house fly is very rapid in flight,
Its wings making 800 beats a second. In
which time it-goes twenty-five feet.
When alarmed the rate is increased to
that of fifty feet a second.
It has often been stated that sixty
miles an hour was the utmost rate at
which a swallow could fly. Recent ex
.periments upon- Oompetgne" and Ant
werp proved that a swallow In a hurry
can cover 128 miles In an hour.
When feeding, the stride of an os
trich Is from twenty to twenty-two.
inches; when walking, but not feeding,
twenty-six Inches, and when terrified
eleven, and a half to fourteen feet, or at
the rat of about twenty-! ve miles an
hour.
Originally the common or domestic
goat was a native of the highlands of
Asia. Naturalists generally regard it
as having descended from an animal
found in the Caucasus Mountains and
the hill country of Persia, called In the
Persian language,the .pesang.
New kinds of living burtrflles can be
produced from existing forms by great
ly Increasing or decreasing the temper
ature of the place where the butterflies
are kept A. difference In coloring and
even In form has thus been obtained
by Prof. Fischer in recent experiments.
if
On the Way Borne.
A wind Is a wind, . from . whatever
quarter it may clow. . So the jght the
hotel-keeper in the Scottish Highlands,
of whom a tourist asked: .
"Is this a good place, do you think,
for a person with weak lungs?"
"Nane better, sir, nane better," was
the encouraging reply.
"I have been advised to settle In a
place where there is a south .wind.
Does It blow much here?"
"Oh, aye," was the answer. . "If s
aye the south wind that blaws here.
"But It's blowing from the - north
now!" ' . ' - '- '
"Oh, aye, sir. it's a' - one. ' It's the
south wind a' the same, sir," on its road
baek again." r -
-' ' ; A Mere Myth. : "!
"Welcome," cried a voice, as Char
on's boat grounded on the "trans
Stygian beach. " - "' '.....' ' - " ". '
; "Who are you?" inquired the newly
arrived shade. 'I can't see you at all."
"No wonder," replied the voice. "I
never had even a ghost of a chance to
exist I'm : the man -under the ' bed
that the old maids are still looking
for." Philadelphia Press. 1. ;
' If a girl has a long head, she will
postpone the marriage' Indefinitely
rather than go to live with his folks. ,
If you like any one, his mistakes are
almost as easy to. excuse as your own;
OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
Science and Disease.
THE warfare. of science with disease Is one of those
ever-old and ever-new contests which have a fasclna-
I tlon for many, minds1."' While the training of special
ists has doubtless "done much to effect cures in lndl-
vidual cases, arid'while the, experiments of investiga
tors - have certainly enlarged the boundaries " of - human
knowledge respecting disease neither of
contributed so much toward the control
more important maladies that annually
as the gradual spread of elementary knowledge respecting
disease among increasing numbers of the earth's Inhabit
ants.' The immortal Jenrier has for more than a century
had the credit of discovering the efficacy of vaccination
and so of "saving the lives of millions; yet It is probably
true that he gained his knowledge of cow-pox, the method
of disseminating it among- human beings, and the protec
tion it afforded against .smallpox from
folk of Gloucestershire, who had Ions
world owes him a debt of gratitude
the information-!he had gained, but
covery or-generalization, in science. Pasteur worked out
from many contributing sources a consistent theory of germ
diseases, and following his reasoning
perfected. the antl-toxlri treatment of
the greatest contribution of pure science to the specific
treatment of disease. In the case of typhoid. fever, while
science has 'done much in investigating the causes of its
epidemics, only the gradual education of the public to the
protection of its food and water supplies can ever put an
end to its ravages. Fortunately, the public is growing more
and more alive to the importance of auch protection, and
the death rate from typhus is , decreasing. Only the co
operation of large numbers of widely scattered people can
destroy the malaria-burdened, mosquito;
yellow fever intelligent action by a single local health
board, like that of Havana, will suffice practically to con
quer the disease. "Tuberculosis, again, is clearly prevent
able by the spread of knowledge that consumptive sputum
must be disinfected; and the end of cholera Infantum waits
on the growth of the simple practice of sterilizing milk for
lnfaats. - - . - - ,.
In all these various directions while science has been
the pioneer it remains for the slow spread of. elementary
knowledge among the people to work the cure. Current
Literature. .' . (
A Disappearing Race.
TWO decades ago the native population of the Esqui
maux lands, Labrador, Greenland and Alaska, was
80,000. To-day the population of these countries Is
only 15,000 a decrease of 50 per cent At this rate
the Esquimaux will soon have vanished off the face
of the earth. : There is something about this evanescence
of race as a totality which is more than dramatic it I
tragic. This In spite of the fact that the Eskimos are only
one of the inferior df visions of the great human family.
The disappearance of a distinct subdivision of humanity
as a whole shows how dubious is the
when the question Is considered with regard to the destiny
of human beings in their relation to the great march of
historic progress. One naturally thinks of the disappear
ance, of the Indians in the United States as a parallel.
But great asls the decline of their branch of the human
commonwealth within recent years, it cannot relatively
equal the losses sustained by the Esquimaux. Buffalo En
How the New Law Hits Bankrupts. '
MEASURE of great Importance to business men
and lawyers and, Indeed, to the whole com
munityIs the bill which was signed by he
President recently, and by which "the bank
A
ruptcy ,.law of 1898 was materially amended. We
observe. In the first place, that by the new law pre
ferred creditors of a person who soon afterward becomes
a bankrupt are not debarred from having
ed upon by afallure to surrender the amount received. In
pursuance of a' decision of the United States Supreme
THE MORALS OF MANNERS.
"Now, Aunt . Margaret, It is a rainy
afternoon, and 1 want to have it 'out
with you about my bkd manners, as
you call them. I'v been here Just a
week, and you'have spoken to me seven
times about my behavior. Here's the
list as nearly as Lean remember it
"You told me 1 mustn't whisper in
church, even about something In the
ermon. That was the first day I was
here, and it wasn't a very good begin
ning, was rt? - - -
"Monday I talked too loudly on the
street Wednesday I. was scolded for
eating a chocolate bonbon in a street
car, though I was dreadfully hungry.
Then I didn't pat on my gloves to go
over to Hattle's, and, I didn't look up
from my, book or rise when you and
grandma came into the room. You ob
jected to me fixing my hair at the con
cert last night and this morning you
criticised my eating my 'cream toast
with a spoon instead of a fork.
"Now It seems to me, Aunt Margaret,
that If I am to "put my mind on all
tjiese trifles I shall think about myself
from morning till night, and presently
be the most self-conscious prig In the
world: That would be worse than these
lapses from your oode - of manners.
Don't you really think so?" :
That 'was Helen's case, and. it was
not such a bad one. Her pretty face
looked very grave oyer It Let us try
to deal with her trouble as the wise
Aunt Margaret dealt with It l
To think of one's behavior all the
time is a little like thinking of one's
clothes or one's eyes or one's clever
ness. But , underneath most of these
apparently arbitrary rules lies the gen
eral law that no one shall do anything
in the public eye to attract attention to
herself. Loud talking, eating, toilet
making are non-social acts; that is,
they; Ignore the claim of soolety that
no one person shall do what would be
painful and confusing if all did It at the
same time. . ";
. Again, the mark of respect for ' age
and positionhas a moral reason for its
existence. The quick perception of the
fitness of things is the mark of true
breeding.
Whatever the conventional demand Is
and It is substantially the same the
world ovei-it is based on a sense of
proportion, on an . unselfish wish to
make life easy and pleasant for others,
and on a just feeling of one's own place
in the general order of v the world.
Gloves, forks, chairs, voice, gesture, are
all to serve one-end the art of gentle
living. '.--':;'-:- '. .. , '
To think about thatCart not about
one's self for one year or five years Is
the time spent. If one may acquire it so
that at the end of the time it "comes as
natural as life.":;
these factors have
of tne hair-aozen
slay their thousands
the simple dairj
observed It The
for spreading abroad
hardly for a true dls
Behring and Roux
diphtheria, probably
but In the case of
tenure of the earth
an Incident, of a
other claims pass
FAVORITE MODELS IN MILLINERY.
TEN DOLLARS FOR A SLAVE.
Owner -Was Glad to Tak tho Money
; Kventnally.
They had been speaking of the far
back days, the days when the men
of the old regime used to put negroes
upon the block and sell them, the
mellow antebellum days before the
proclamation bad been Issued giving
the negro his freedom..
. "That reminds me of one of the
most Interesting slave . sales I ever
made," said an old auctioneer, who
lives down in the old quarter, accord
ing to the New Orleans Times-Democrat
"and it may be Interesting to
state right here that the sale was
made, just before the war between the
States. I was conducting an auction
business In the neighborhood of the
old Cabildo.
"One day a friend of mine who was
a very large slave owner came to me
arid said he bad an old negro woman
that he wantedto get rid of. He said
she was not worth' much, and he was
willing - to take almost ., anything for
her. 'She Is too old to work,' said the
owner, 'but she makes about 60 cents
every day by picking up coffee on the
river front, which means $15 a month.
But just give her away if you want
to,' he said, as he left me, and as a
matter of oourse I thought he meant
what he said. -o- - ' '
"A few days later I put the old wom
an up and sold her under the ham
mer, and she brought the sum of $10.
The owner came around. 'WelL I
guess you sold the old woman for a
song,' he said, as he brushed iato the
office; 'a couple of hundred was all
she was wbrth. I began to feel heavy
In the throat, for I knew he would
have a fit when I told him I had been
able to get only f 10 for her. But I
had to tell him. Just the same, and he
did have a fit He refused to take the
Court, a preferred- creditor may now retain the amount
paid, provided, of course, the payment was no.t fraudulent,
while at the same time, as regards-debts unpaid, he will
share the rights of other creditors. Another Important
amendment provides that the appointment of a receiver
for "an Insolvent corporation shall be deemed an act of
bankruptcy entitling the .creditors to choose their own trus
tee. Among the objections to a discharge which are. in
cluded in the new law. is the giving of a false mercantile
statement or the proof that a voluntary bankrupt has
sought to go through bankruptcy more than once in six
years. The bill Just enacted also adds to the list of debts
from which, a bankrupt cannot be relieved by a discharge
in bankruptcy. Among these additions are debts to the
wife and children, and alimony; also any sum due under a
judicial decision to 4' seduced woman dr for the support of
an Illegitimate child. We note, finally, that the list of cor
porations permitted to go Into voluntary bankruptcy will
hereafter Include mining corporations, and that the fees
of referees and trustees are to be Increased on an average of
about 50 per cent of the fees hitherto allowed by law.
Harper's Weekly. -
- New Tendency In Immigration.
IN alluding to the fact that during the six months endV
ing with the close of 1902, 323,641 aliens entered the
United States, Commissioner Sargent, of the Immigra
tion Bureau, points out that the great bulk of this army
of newcomers promptly sought employment in the towns
and cities, especially in the East, instead of spreading
throughout the country and assisting to populate the farm
ing regions of the West
The change that has come about in this respect Is
marked. Formerly the majority of our immigrants came
from Great Britain, Germany and Scandinavia. Those
from the last two territorial divisions of Europe made
their way in great numbers to the West and Northwest
where, their energy and Industry made them valuable fac
tors In building up the prosperity of the agricultural Com
monwealths which play such important parts in feeding
the ntrtlon and producing the surplus food products which
tho United States send abroad to furnish means of subsist
ence for the masses of the Old World.
This general distribution of the immigrants was whole-,
some on every, account, since It tended to equalize the
national population. Now, however, the people who come
to our shores are chieily from Russia and the south of
Europe, and their tendency to stay in the cities Increases
the congestion in industrial centers, while It leaves a
marked scarcity of labor on the farms of the West, where,
during most of the year, the demand for workers at good
wages is keen and constant
How this trend toward concentration Is to be overcome
is not apparent But it Is rmnlf est that It is a much less
healthful development than the former practlve. It is far
better that the immigrants who are now arriving In such
multitudes should be distributed widely over areas where
the population is comparatively scarce than that they should
herd together on the Atlantic slope in 'colonies" which
tend to make the' progress of Americanization slower and
more difficult Philadelphia Bulletin.
The Increase of Crime.
THE statistics of erime as set forth in a report made
to Congress by Dr. Arthur MacDonald indicate that
for thirty years past crime has been increasing in the
world. In spite of the progress of education and the
labors of philanthropy, mental and nervous diseases,
suicide, insanity, juvenile crime, and pauperism are at
nnMunt Inpronainc fflnter thiin tha nnmilntlnn ' TVila In
crease, due apparently to concentration of population and
increased strain on the mental apparatus of mankind, does
not necessarily Imply that the world Is growing worse, but
merely that It Is changing. "An increase of crime may be
development that in the long run will be
salutary. Dr. MacDonald's report accompanies a bill to
provide a laboratory for the study of the criminal, pauper,
and defective classes, in the hope of discovering the microbe
of crime and eliminating it. Harper's Weekly.
money, and told me rather curtly I
could keep .it I did keep it
"More than six years rolled around
before I saw my friend again. In
the meantime the war broke on the
country and the South wakened from
the bloody orgy poor in purse and
broken Ih spirit One day a worn and
haggard man walked into my office.
I scarcely knew' him even after he had
reached out to offer me his hand. But
in a few moments I recognized him,
and he began te tell me about the
hardships of the war. He was penni
less, and did not hesitate to say so.
'By the way, old man, I owe you $10,
x Bam w uiiu iu m xxieuuxjr vvajr, cluu
I'll pay it now If you don't mind.'
"He took the $10 and was apparently
glad to get It All of which goes to
show that you can't always tell just
how the dice will roll out of the box."
PUh JEtfected by Volcanoes.
The stories of dead fish thrown out
by volcanoes have" been revived by
the recent West India catastrophes.
In particular, great quantities of them
are reported to have ueen cast into the
sea from the Island of St Vincent' It
is pointed out by a ( French expert, M.
Girardin, that these fish are simply the
denizens of the lakes formed in the
craters during their long period of in
activity. .A crater first becomes
clogged, then fills with water, and the
water is In time peopled with fish that
find access te It through subterranean
channels. When volcanic activity Is
resumed, the first" thing that occurs Is
an explosion that blows the lake
water, fish, and all into the air,-and
distributes It " over the neighboring
land and water surface. "K
' When people meet you, after an ab
sence of several year, they don't look
more closely at a borrowed book that
has just been returned, for signs of .
age,"." '