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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1903)
GAZETTE . - . .V.- SEMI-WEEKLY. COBVALIilS, BENTON COUNTY, OREGON, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1903. VOL. IV. NO. 28. I The Contrabandist; fas IFOne Life's Secret iEi CHAPTER IX. (Continued.) ' Helen Montauban did cot answer. Bat, at that moment. Lord Egerton directed towards her a glance, sorrowful and un quiet, and to Louis, who bent over her, that touched. her, in .the midst of her happiness, almost to tears, it told so elo quently of his true feelings, which he had been trying to hide ever since the arrival of Louis. It warned her that she was not yet forgotten that he foved her yet that he would have 'given worlds for the place occupied by another near her, and' which he was not allowed to secure. The following morning, Louis, entering the library during his uncle's absence, found Rose reading in a great armchair by herself. She rose, with a slight blnsh, as he entered, and after exchanging a few words with himi was about to leave the apartment. "Nay, Rose do not go away quite yet," he said, in a gentle tone. "I have some thing I would say to you. Will you not wait one moment?" "If you please, monsieur," she answer ed. ' "In a little town, not many leagues from here, I met a friend of yours, or one who professed to be so. I am not ' quite sure that he is not an impostor but no matter. His name wast Robin." - "Ah Robin T' she repeated, in a sub dued tone of mingled sadness and tender . ness. ;, 1 - , . "You know him, then, dear Rose?" said 'Louis. "But listen, dear cousin. This young gardener declared to me that you i ' GASPARDE'S DESPPERATE THREAT. were betrothed to him! He had been in my employ. I had discharged him be cause he no longer wished to remain with me. But he returned, after a long ab- - aence. He wished to become the possess or of a certain sum, he said, in order that he might purchase a small farm, and set tle down; and in questioning further, I gained this information. Was not such . an assertion ridiculous, dear Rose?" With an earnest, unquiet glance, he watched her countenance. It was cover ed with a deep blush. Tears were in her eyes. - "It is true!" she said, in a low and sad .voice. He looked at her a moment in silence. "Rose, is this possible?" he asked, at length, with an accent of subdued aston ishment. - "I have said it," returned the young girl, inexpressibly pained by his man ner. "But, Rose, think' a moment a gar dener! You, so young, so beautiful, the adopted child of a nobleman of most princely wealth! But forgive me for give me, dear child! I would not offend or hurt- you. I am surprised hurried away, by this unexpected announcement this confirmation of a most unpleasant (act. Rose, does my uncle know of this?" "Alas, no!" answered the weeping girl. "Nor Helen?" "No!" . . "My poor Rose! Ah, they take so much pride in you we are all so proud of you! We love you, my child. We would give you a higher lot than this a station more worthy of, you. - What will they say? Think, dear Rose what a terrible blow to them!" ' "I know it," she said, in a troubled .voice "I know it! I should have told them when they wished to take me. I should have known that . I should only work evil by coming hither. I should have remained in the lowly home they took me from. Ah, I shall repay with in gratitude their kindness to me the love they feel for me!" , - Shd leaned forward upon the table, and laid her face in her hands. "But, dear Rose, reflect; there is time yet," he urged, (With a tone of earnest ness and affection. "You would degrade yeurself, dear Rose, were yeu to wed him. You would not render him happy, for he could not understand yen. You aic tvum um uuucivkdiiu ;vu iva would both be miserable, and you will 1 braak our hearts. Rose!" She raised, her head; and checking her tears, looked at Louis mournfully. "Monsieur, I cannot break his heart!" she said, gently. "He loves me he trusts in me. I will not break my promise; I cannot do it. I will make Robin happy." "Rose! and you will love him still?" He listened, breathlessly, I shall love him and serve him till Ihlieved you I forgave you. -. You do not die, monsieur." She said it with mournful calmness. She bent and touched her lips to his hand. Then, turning, she left the room, without once looking back. CHAPTER X. The next day a domestic came to the door of the chamber, and gave to Rose a note which she stated had been deliver ed to Jean Morel, one of her fellow-servants, who had entrusted it to her for mademoiselle. "Who gave it to Jean, my good girl?" asked Rose, thoughtfully. "A rough-looking fellow, mademoiselle, he told me. He came up to the chateau a few minutes ago. But Jean did not know who he was. He has never seen him before." She went away; and, wonderingly, Rose unfolded the paper. Inside was written merely the words: "Come down to the cottage, dear Rose, a few mo ments. I will meet you there. I must speak with you directly. Hugh La monte." "He has returned, then?" said Rose, to herself; "and he is waiting for me! Yes yes! I will go this moment. I will ask him to stay at home and take me back, and then I will tell them. They will be glad, perhaps, to have me go, when they learn that I have taken my destiny into my own hands." Throwing a handkerchief over her head, and wrapping a light mantle about her, she fastened the door of her apart ment, and without saying a word to any one concerning her intention or allowing herself to be seen, she silently and secret ly left the chateau by a side door, and going round the descent to the valley by a little-frequented path, was soon on the path leading to her former home. Rose looked to see her father at the door; but he was not there, and conclud ing that she should find him within, she hastened forward, and had almost reach ed the door, when Gasparde appeared on the threshold. "Good morning, my fair cousin!" he said, in answer to her brief and some what surprised greeting. "May I ask whom you seek ?" "My father, Gasparde. He is bye is he not?" "He is ready to see you, . If you will enter," answered Gasparde, stepping aside for her to pass in. Rose was about to do so, when some thing in the glance or manner of this man struck her unpleasantly. She hesi tated paused. "If he is within," she said, "why does he not come to meet me when he hears my voice?" . "You must come in. Rose, before you can see him," he returned. "Come en ter! What are you afraid eft? Come ,, in. "But I will not come in till I have seen him. He must come to the door. Will you ask him to do so? Father!" she called. There was utter silence. "I do not believe he is here. You are, deceiving me, Gasparde!" she cried. A horrible fear a suspicion of treachery, filled her mind; she trembled and turned deadly pale. Gasparde smiled. It was the smile of an incarnate fiend. His hand was laid upon her arm. . ' "Ah! you begin to suspect, my pretty one!" he said. . - - "Let me go, Gasparde!" she cried, af frightedly. "I am faint," murmured she, to herself, "and there is no help near. O, pity pity 1" - ' . "Nay don't be in a hurry, my sweet Rose; you see I am not," he said, still holding her arm. "Yes you are right; your father is not here, nor will he be. I sent for you to come. I waited for you. And now it is your tura ta bc. ton know how scornful you were' one. You - would not listen to my prayers. Times are changed now. I have trapped you cleverly; you shall not escape, I promise you!" "O, have mercy, Gasparde f she plead ed. . - - - -, . "Go on, my dear! I like to hear you. Ah, this is charming!" "Gasparde, you told me once yon were sorry for persecuting me so, and I be- mean to keep me here; yon will let me go; yon are only jesting," ne prayed her agony. - But he scowled at her with a glower ing expression. "You are mistaken entirely, my dear. What! let my 'prize go the moment I get it into my hands? No no! I mean to take good care of you, my fair Rose. I mean you shall marry me shortly, wheth er you will or not. You cannot say nay, if you would. How does that suit you?" . But his words fell on ears that heard them not. A mist floated before the eyes of Rose; a rushing sound, as of swelling waters, was about her, and she fell sense less to the earth. At that moment a man sprang hastily through the bushes. It was Jacques Le roux. He gased, first at the prostrate figure of Rose, and then at Gasparde. "Well, what now?" asked the ruffian, angrily. "So you have got her? Poor Rose! It shall not be it must not be! Leave her!" he said, excitedly. "Little Rose, I will save you!" ' "Ah!" shouted Gasparde, in a tone of rage; "out of the way! Do you dare at tempt mutiny? Touch her, and you die!" And drawing from his belt a brace of heavy pistols, he presented them, -with an oath, at Jacques. The action was so sudden that the man started back. Gasparde took the moment to blow a call upon a silver whistle hang ing at his breast. Almost instantly half a dozen brigands surrounded him. "Seize that fellow!" uttered their lead er, sternly, "and take him to the cave. Bind him hand and foot, in one of the cells, and put a guard over him.. I will teach you," he added, threateningly, "what it is to meddle with my concerns!" The men lost no time in executing their orders. Jacques, knowing it was useless to resist, submitted. He was bound and led through the winding paths of the ad joining grove, and onward to the forest beyond; while Gasparde followed, bear ing in his arms the form of the insensible Rose. On and on they went, through the lonely depths of the forest, till they reach ed a place where the ground rose in an abrupt swell; and now pressing over steep banks and ledges of bare rock, they stopped at length before the entrance to the cave of which Gasparde had spoken. It was the haunt of the robbers. Lights were brought.- The broad and gloomy cave into which they descended was illumined on every side. Striking across it, the party entered a long, nar row passage cut in. the solid rock, and which was also lighted. ; ' " By this time Rose was fully aroused. Memory and consciousness were invested with their full power. She recognized. with a cry of terror, the ruffian who bore her. A cold dew, like that of death, rath ered upon her brow as she beheld the rocky walls of that dreadful pasaag. ' Gasparde demon release me!" ; she uttered, with mad fear. "Hold your tongue, my beauty! I mean to keep you safe. - Go in there and keep yourself quiet!" he cried. And unlocking as he spoke a heavy. spike-studded iron door in the rocky wall. he threw it open and attempted to thrust her Into th ol it Tled." Bat- iih resisted. - "You shall not put me in there I will not enter! she cried. Spite of her struggles, he forced her in, while the men bore Jacques farther along the passage to another cell. "You won't? But I say you shall!" "Now, Mademoiselle Rose, - you will stay here," said Gasparde, "untill I choose to release you, and that time will be fixed according to your own conduct. If you are Savage, perhaps I may keep you here threemontha or a year or two years, it doesn't matter much which. But if you make up your mind to treat me a little more favorably, why, a priest shall be ready at the earliest hour you name. You see the terms are fair. I will give you till .to-morrow to make up your mind about it." And he released her arm. "I will never marry you! and yon shall not keep me here! What place is this?' were her indignant words. "You are under ground, as perhaps you know already. And as for talking so bravely about having your own way, why, I think I shall be likely to have a few words to say on that score. You see there are thick walls here, while there are perhaps from twenty to thirty men just at the mouth of the cave ready at my bidding to bring you back, even if yon should escape. "Twenty or thirty men-rseady at your bidding'" cried Rose, trembling with an ger and fear. "Wretch! who what are you?" He laughed lightly. "Easier asked than answered, my pret ty maid," he said. "The question is, will you marry me or not?" "No never!" was her answer; "and less now than before; for now I begin to recognize you fully. Now I recognize your terrible trade. Robber murderer brigand! No! I will either go forth from this dungeon free, or die by my own hand in my captivity! (To be continued.) Criminal Bric-a-Brac in Paris. Relics of great crimes in Paris are not placed in a government museum, nor are they retained within the archives of the perfecture de police; they are ex hibited for a few days and are then knocked down to the . highest bidder. Many Parisians, and foreigners, too, re siding in Paris, have large collections of this bric-a-brac de crime. The gov ernment shop in the rue de Ecoles, where the gruesome objects axe ex posed for sale occasionally, has a curi ous lot or two to offer any would-be purchaser. - Up to the present, how ever, pieces of human anatomy have not figured In the catalogue, but there was recently offered for sale a gentle man's ear In an excellent state of pres ervation, as the auctioneer remarked, owing to its having been kept in spirits of wine. The ear belonged to one named M. Deloyer, and was bittern off by an adversary in the course of a street row. Deloyer recovered from the effects of the Jajory. The article' was finally knocked down for 6 franca. A heavily muffled man In the audience was supposed to have been the arigtnaJ possessor of the ear. He continually managed to raise the bid at a doubtful moment, "but he was not able to buy in the article, which finally went to a M. Lafage. - V . -..- i- Sheep growers find that the finer the wool the poorer is the skin for tanning purposes. H audi in a Corn Crop. - In sections where the corn crop la likely- to be short it must be handled carefully to get txe beat results from it If the corn Is fed and one has a silo the corn should be cut as soon as it begins to dent and put Into the silo. If without' the silo then the plan should be to allow the .corn to stand as long as it is possible to do so without danger of frost. When' it is cut It should be carefully shocked and fed in any way that is the most econ omical. While the writer does not like the plan of feeding it to, cattle in open yards or fields with nogs to fol low, the plan is one of economy, and, perhaps, ought to . be . followed this year by those who have done it here tofore, if possible to shred the corn it should be done, for in this way the cattle will consume ,; the , bulk of it. Keep In mind the lesson which the short corn crop teaches, jthe value of the silo and plan for one another year. . , ",' . Apple for Export. Growers of high-grade; apples should look; Into the prospects t the foreign markets. Correspondents in the large cities who ship apples to Europe ad vise us that the demand is promising and that prices will rule .quite high. They say, however, that only the fin est fruit should be sent,, then it must be properly wrapped in ; white or manila tissue paper, and advocate the use of the box, rather than the bar rel. Prices are such on the. other side that more fruit will be sold If packed in boxes than If packed in barrels. Crisp apples are those preferred, and such varieties " as Wealthy," Snow, Gravenstein and - Alexander are al ways, salable. Growers, are : advised to communicate with 'some reliable commission man and get in touch with those who export apples, but only if the quality is high, for it will not pay to export poor rrult. Set Out Forest Trees. In a recent address Secretary " Wil son, of the United States Department of , Agriculture, spoke as follows: "I anvsorry to. aay. it, Imft it via -a- facrJ that unless something is done right away there will be very few tracts of timber left in the country within fifteen years. It may be a little longer, but not much." Later in his remarks he also said: "The only remedy lies in educating the farmer up to the necessity of planting trees, and in the government also planting." This is certainly a startling condi tion of affairs and one which should" make every farmer, with land to spare, more than willing to set out forest trees If hot for his own profit, for the benefit and protection of his children and his children's children. The department at . Washington will be glad to co-operate with any farmer who is interested. Write the secretary of agriculture. A Vast Oklahoma Farm. The Oklahomans claim to have the largest farm in the southwest It is tne iui rancn in tne onca reserva tion, and is so big that It is necessary to plant several varieties of wheat in it, one of which ripens several days later than the. other, in order that all of. them may be harvested at their prime. " On this farm the wheat fields are of 1,000 acres each, the cattle pastures are 1,000 to 1,500 acres each and pasture 6,000 head annually, the corn rows are one and a half miles long, requiring 500 mules and 300 men to handle the crop, and it takes 30 self-binders three weeks to cut the wheat crop and a dozen or more steam threshers 40 days to thresh it There are 50,000 acres in the ranch. Wheat Chafl No better use can be made of wheat chaff than to use it as litter. In which the hens can scratch and exercise. It should be stored away in a dry place for winter. If a gill of millet seed be scattered ' in the : chaff the hens will work and . hunt for the small seeds Industriously until every one is found, and as the seeds are so very small, the hens will be more earnest and diligent, the seeds . also being somewhat of a luxury. The chaff will also assist in keeping the floor, dry, thus adding to the warmth and com fort of the poultry-house ' during periods of cold or damp weather. Potato Rot and Time of Digrjcinar. The question of how soon blighted potatoes should be dug has been fre quently asked the authors, and a se ries of investigations has been under taken at the Termont station to ascer tain the proper time of digging. -The size of the plats and the extent of the experiment are considered too limited to admit of generalizations, .but it ap pears that there was usually a greater loss from the earlier digging. So far as the investigations go, they seem to show that where there is danger of po tato rot it is best to delay the digging for ten days or more after the tops have died. Exchange. Don't Bay Patent Lima, v Reports from various sections tell of men who are offering a so-called high- grade lime which they claim contains manurial value, usually sulphate of lime. The product may bear out the claims made for it, although it should be rememberM that sulphate of lime is the same as gypsum), which may be bought for about one-half the price asked for the new (?) product. If lime is needed on the farm, buy un- slaked lime and use it properly. If fertilizers are needed, buy fertilisers. but don't believe that any process ap- plied to lime will make It a valuable fertilizer. A Good Dairr Cow. A good dairy cow should have greal i uepiu oi ciiest ana aiso lair wiain vl floor of chest She should have a large, capacious barrel that is cap able of utilizing generous quantities of food, and her udder should be of good size and well balanced as re gards to size and portion of quarters. It should extend well forward on the abdomen. The teats should set well apart and be of such size as to be conveniently grasped by the milker. The milk veins should be large, crook ed and branching, and the holes, or milk wells, where the veins pass into tha Tinlv ihnnM t lon Tina nrMorl , Itself should be free from coarseness and not appear to be full of meaty tissue when handled after milking. Her skin should be soft and yellow, and the hair should be soft and silky. She should have a mild eye, a pointed head and a . dishing forehead. Win chester (Ind.) Herald. Haadlina Beea. Where there are many bees flying, it Is always best, to be on the safe side, and wear a veil, but gloves are un necessary and cumbersome. A bee hive should not be pulled apart every few days for mere curiosity, but may be examined occasionally to ascertain the needs of the bees and their condi tion. Bees should always be handled very gently; they dislike quick, Jerky movements. In early spring or au tumn, when the days are cool, it is prudent not to open the hives until near mid-day, when the field bees will then be out gathering honey. On cloudy or rainy days, it. Is best not to open hives, for the field bees are then at home, and are cross, being deprived of the privilege of gathering the honey. Massachusetts Ploughman. Poultry Notes. Use carbolic acid occasionalljr to de stroy lice. Give poultry a variety of both dry and cooked food. Scatter the food so that the fowls will not eat too fast Filth, the accumulation of dropping, is a prolific cause of disease. Clover helps to keep the hens in good laying condition. Mix all soft foods given fowls with milk instead of water. When hens lay thin shelled eggs It 6hows they need lime. Ground bone is one of the best ways of supplying lime to poultry. Secure good ventilation without ex posure to drafts immediately upon the fowl's. a. taDie rowi snouid be rat, as a preponderance of fat indicates excel lent condition and health. One advantage with ducks Is that they grow so rapidly that money can Jbe made quickly. The object of caponizing is to Im prove the quality and increase the weight of the fowls. Old newspapers can often be used to good advantage in making the poul try house warm. Sifted coal ashes and dry wood dust makes one of the best mixtures for the dust baths. Lice do not attack fowls that are in a good condition as soon as they do those in an impoverished state. Farm Notes. Hard coal ashes make a good mulch for current bushes." " Strong lye made of hard-wood ashes will cure ivy poisoning. Better if put on hot. , . Keep the colts growing. If the pas ture gets poor, give them bran and oats in the field. . . Those who contemplate putting out an orchard next spring should manure the ground this fall. All wire fences are made visible to stock by attaching scrap tin to the top wire. A good use for waste pro duct -Pack the grapes for keeping in well t i J a rr i . . ua.ii.eu. sawuusi. -lo aeep mem a short time, lay them on a sheft in a dry, cool place. Some townsfolk slur people by call ing them "old farmer" or "hayseed." This Infers ignorance when farmers are not ignorant nor uninformed. It takes the smartest kind of people now-a-days to become farmers. The farm er not Jbeing accustomed to town ways sometimes appears green when in town, but the city man is far more verdant when he is in the country. Better butter can be made on the farm than at the creamery if the same care is given. " The managers of creameries secure, the best assistance to be had,, and they aim to put good butter on the market The advantages possessed by the farmer who makes dairy butter are that he can feed his cows on the best foods, use more care and work with cleaner surroundings. A large proportion of creamery butter is not uniform,, as 'the milk comes from many sources, but dairy butter is injured in the churning and manipu lation of the product by inexperienced persona ' r I 1 ! t"l t I 11111 HH I I1 'I MMMMHMIIH HHMHtMMHIIMtll)IMIH The Cam in Man. ,r of Ter" chuVy'ler. in. m scarlet hoae; a. pir of ttttle stubby boots I With rather doubtful toes; A little kilt, a little coat. e .eTin state Cut as a mother can The future's "coming , man." His eyes, perchance, will read the stars. And search their unknown ways-? Perchance the human heart and soul Will open to their gaze; Perchance their keen and flashing (lanes Will be a nation's light Those eyes that' now are wistful bant On some "big fellow's" kit. That brow where mighty thought will dwell In solemn, secret state; Where fierce ambition's restless strength Shall WT with future fate; trri . .!AA u-u - New treasures shall outpour1 Ti knit now with a troubled doubt. Are two, or three cents, more? Those Hps that in the coming years Will plead, or pray, or teach; Whose whispered words on lightning flash Prom world to world may reach; That, sternly grave, may speak com mand, t Or, smiling, win control Are coaxing now for gingerbread With all a baby's soul! Those hands those little, busy hands So sticky, small and brown; Those hands whose only mission seems x To pull all order down Who know what hidden strength may lie ' ' Within their future grasp, Though now 'tis but a taffy-tlck In sturdy bold they clasp? Ah, blessings on those little hands Whose work is yet undone! And blessings on those little feet . Whose race is yet unrun! And blessings on the little brain That has not learned to plan! Whate'er tiie Future holds in store, God bless the "coming man!" A Croaa-Cnt Road. Grandma had just finished writing a letter. It was an Important busi ness letter, and she wanted it mailed at once. "You will have to take it down to pa pa's store,' she said toNeahv "Put on your coat and cap, while I direct the envelope." Neale was only six years old, and he had but vary lately been trusted to go alone to his father's store. "He f v a 5pnuh n- And A ba was reaay in a minute. "Hadn't he bet ter go down across the lot?" asked Ne&le'a mother. "It Is quicker, and then he will avoid And a JttutM umbc-M f)jf I'm . n American for tH 1Ut Aid I veat Ihem To Vpek swell1 Ibose rough boys on Carter" street." "Yes," grandma agreed, "that will be oest. I will telephone to papa that you are coming, and we win watch at the window until you have reached the corner of Carter street- He had never been this way but once before, and when he reached the cor ner he could not tell which road to take. Neale's mother, at the window, saw him hesitate, and then turn In the wrong direcUon. He was .coming straight round to ward home! She threw on a wrap ad hurried down to tbe : corner. There she met the little boy, who was becoming some what bewildered on finding him self so near home. She set him right, saw that the let ter was safe In his pocket, and then ran back. In a little while papa telephoned up to the house - that NeaJe had arrived at the store, but that he had no letter. "Dear me!" said Mrs. Coxe. " I ought to have carried the letter my self. Neale is so careless! We cannot trust him." He must learn," said grandma. "I don't see horn he cauld have lost It out of his pocket." I'll go over the route," and Mrs. Ooxe hurried away. ' She reached the store, however, with out finding the missing letter. Did you come straight down Car ter street to Bank, and down Bank to the store?" mamma asked. No; I crawled through the fence on Carter street," Neale admitted, "and came up through the lot, and in at the back door." ... . "What ddd you go that way for?" his father inquired. There were some boys playing ball. and I wanted to see 'em." The father and mother hastened out into the big open lot; and looked 'and looked a long while before the letter came to light. Then It was Neale him self WhO fOtind It a Too tX Q- 1hmk that if nwjT -Oh, here it is!" he cried. "Now I I 1 II Mill H IHH. Little Stories and I Incidents that Will Interest and Enter tain Young Readers remember I The boys asked me what was In my pocket, and I told 'em a letter, and I took it out, so's they could see It I must have dropped It!" The next time grandma had a let ter to mail she entrusted it to Neale's care, just aa before. He walked straight down the street without stop ping to see the boys, and In at the front door of the store, exactly as he waa told to do. Youth's Companion. Coalda't Claim tha Hoaor. One day my Uncle Ben met a five-year-old boy on the street and said to him: "How do you do, sir. Whose boy are your "I am Hiram Davis boy," he an swered. "Are you the oldest of the family?" asked Uncle Ben. "Oh no," promptly replied the boy. "My father is older than I am." A Picture with Action In It. One day when baby was looking at pictures she came across one of a bear climbing a tree, and she called every one to come and look at It Anna, an older sister, was deeply Interested In a book and did not leave it to go to seethe picture of the bear, so the baby called to her, Imperatively: "Com quick, Anna, before the bear climbs down." A Natural Dad action. Waiting up one morning feeling ill. Lois said: "Oh mamma, I've had such a mlz zable night!" "Why, Lois, have you been awake?' "No, but I am so 111 this morning, just think how I must have felt all night.'" MAY TRAVEL THROUGH AIR. Oroat Advaaca In Airship Construe tioa Xa Predicted. Wireless telegraphy has not yet reached the acme of perfection, al though messages are readily sent and received by this wonderful system. And yet the world already takes the invention of wireless telegraphy as a matter of course. In this age of great achievement and discovery it seems as If nothing isrtoar BtuDeodous, says. the Aeronautical-world,' for man-to un dertake, and .that" failure' to "evolve something usefaj as well as wonderful is the exception, not the rule.: Some . things that have been attempted have not been brought to perfection yet, but there is nothing discouraging in this. Obstacles serve only to spur human genius to renewed action and greater exertion. We travel by land and sea at a rate of speed that 100 years ago ' would have been called the result of witchcraft. We do not travel through the air with equal facility at present, but we may do so within a few years, as the efforts of men of brains along this line are certain to gain the mas tery of the air as they have of the land and sea. Those who scoff at the student of aerial navigation and scout the idea of success attending the efforts of the men who seek to discover the secret of flying may live to see the heavens dotted with air Bhlps sailing as placid ly through the air as vessels now nav igate the seas. In the opinion of the United States Commissioner of Pat ents the dirigible balloon or the aero plane will be successfully evolved dur ing the year 1904. This prediction may be based on. false premises, but there can be no gainsaying the fact that great strides in the direction of aerial navigation will be made during the- present year. The spirit of Inventors will be quick- ened by the offers of 'a large reward by the St. Louis exposition manage ment for the most succeesfal exhibi tion of a flying machine. There will be many competitors for this prize, and Yankee ingenuity will vie with foreign in an effort to produce an airship that will not only travel at a good rate of speed with the wind, but be perfectly controllable. aally Convicted. It is always amusing to hear a man, who knows "all about it" explain to a woman, who doesn't, what it, all means. This Is the reason why when, at a ball game a few days ago, a man began to tell a woman who was with him, what positions the different men held, what they were there for, and ' other details regarding the game. The two were evidently acquainted with some of the players and the positions they were occupying. "You see the man back of the bat,'' he said. "Well, that s Dick." The -woman looked in the direction Indicated, but she didn't recognize tha catcher. "I think you're mistaken," she ven tured timidly. "That doesn't look Ilka Richard," "But It's him," persisted the man.' "Only you don't recognize . the face because of that chest protector he's got on." And the woman, of course, was con vinced. When a woman relates how. much fruit she has put up, It is proper for other women to scream, and ask why she put up so much. , It is every man's secret fear that he will become delirious some day, and his wife will be his nurse
