AIl-
1
I The Firm of
Girdlestone
B Y
A. CONAN DOYLE
CIIAPTEK V. (Continued.)
"Now supposing." continued the senior
partner, with a smile on his thin lips,
"tliat such a report got about. Suppose,
too, that we were at this time, when the
market was in a depressed condition, to
invest several thousand pounds in them.
If these rumors of an alleged discovery
turned out to be entirely unfounded, of
course the value of the stones which we
held would go up once more, and we
illicit very well sell out for double or
treble the sum that we invested. Don't
you see the sequence of events?"
"There seems to nie to be rather too
ri uch of the suppose in it," remarked Ezra.
"I low do we know that such rumors will
pet abo".t; and if they do, how do w
know that they will proe to be un
founded?" "ilow are we to know?" the merchant
cried, wriggling his long lank body with
amusement. "Why, my lad, if we spread
the rumor ourselves we shall have pre.ty
gcod reason to beUeve that they are un
founded. Eh, Ezra! lla! ha! You sv
there are some brains in the old man
yet."
Ezra looked at his father in consid
erable surprise and some admiration.
"Why," he exclaimed, "it's dishonest. I'm
not sure that it's not actionable."
"Dishonest! Pooh!" The merchant
snapped his fingers. "It's finesse, my boy,
commercial finesse. Who's to trace it.
I should like to know. I haven't worked
out all the details I want your op
eration over that but here's a uiKh
sketch of my plan. We send a man we
can depend upon to some distant part
of the world, Chimborazo. for example,
or the Ural Mountains. It doesn't mat
ter where, as long as it is out of the
way. On arriving at this place our :tgnt
starts a report that he has discovered a
diamond mine. We should even go the
length, if he considers it necessary, of
hiding a few rough stones in the earth,
which he can dig up to give color to his
story. Of course the local press would
be full of this. He might present one
of the diamonds to the editor of the near
est paper. In coune of time a pretty
colored description of the new diamond
fields would find its way to London and
thence to the Cape. I'll answer for it
that the immediate effect is a great drop
in the price of stones. We should have a
second agent at the Cape diamond fields,
and he would lay our money out by buy
ing in all that he could while the panic
lasted. Then, the original scare having
proved to be all a mistake, the prices
naturally go up once more, and we get a
long figure for all that we hold. Thai's
what I mean by 'making a corner In dia
monds.' There Is no room in it for any
miscalculation."
"It sounds very nice," his son remark
ed, thoughtfully. "I'm not so sure ajout
its working, though."
"It must work well. As far as human
calculation can go there is no possibility
of failure. Besides, my boy, never lose
sight of the fact that we shall be specu
lating with other people's money. We
ourselves have nothing to lose, absolutely
nothing."
"I am not likely to lose sight of it,"
said Ezra angrily, his mind coming bicl:
to his grievance.
"I reckon that we can raise from forty
to fifty thousand pounds without much
d.fficulty. My name is, as you know,
as good as that of any firm in the city.
For nearly forty years it has been above
stain or suspicion. If we carry on ojr
plans at once, and lay this money out
judiciously, all may come right."
"It's Hobson's choice," the young man
remarked. "We must try some bold
stroke of the sort. Have you chosen the
right sort of men for agents? You should
have men of some standing to set such
reports going. They would have more
weight then."
John Girdlestone shook his had de
apondingly. "How am I to get a man of
any standing to do such a piece of busi
ness?" he said.
"Nothing easier," answered Ezra with
a cynical laugh. "I could pick out a
score of impecunious fellows from the
clubs who would be only too glad to earn
hundred or two in any way you can
mention. I shall go myself to the dia
mond fields. As to our other agent, I
have the very man. Major Tobias Clutter
buck. He is a shrewd, clever fl!ow. and
he's always liard up. His social rank
-would be a great help to our plan. I'll
answer for his jumping at the idea."
"Sound him on the subject, then."
"I will."
"I am glad," said the old merchant,
"that you and I have had this conversa
tion. Ezra. The fact of my having specu
late without your knowledge, and de
ceived you by a false ledger, has often
weighed heavily upon my conscience, I as
sure you. It is a relief to me to have
told you all."
"Drop the subject, then," Ezra said,
curtly. "I must put up with it, for I
have no redress. The thing is done and
notbinf can undo it. but I consider that
you have willfully wasted the money."
"Believe me, I have tried to act for the
lxnt. The good name of our firm Is ev
erything to me. I have spent my whole
life in building it up, and if the day
should come when it must go, I truat
that I may have gone myself. There is
nothing which I would not do to pre
serve it."
"I see they want our premiums," Ezra
aid. glancing at the open letter upon th
table. "How is it that none of thoso
phips fi down? That would give us help."
"Hush! bush!" John Girdlestone cried.
Imploringly. "Speak in a whisper whei
you talk of such things."
can't understand you." said Ezra.
tulaxtl. l"eu persistently over-insure
' vour Wns, year after year. Look at th
U'opnrd ; it Ms put at more than twice
.vhat she was worth as new. And the
'thick Eagle, I dare say. Is about the
'tme. Yet you never have an accident
rt-ith them, while your two new uninsured
Uppers rc.n each other down."
"Well, what more oau I do?" replied
"he merchant. "They Hn thoroughly rot
en, I have doue nothing for them for
years. Sooner or Inter tiny must go. I
ar.not do any more."
"I'd make 'em go down quick enough."
muttered Ezra with an oath. "Why don't
vou make old Migss bore a hole in them,
r put a light to a barrel of pra.'Iin?
The thing's done every day. What's the
iso of being milk-and-watery about it?"
"No. no, Ezra !" cried his father. "Not
that, not that. It's one thing lotting
matters take their course, and it is an
.thfr thing giving positive orders to seuc
le a ship. Besides, it would put us in
Mipgs' power. It would be too dnngjr
ous." "Please yourself," said Ezra with a
sneer. "You've got us into the mess and
you must take us out again. If the worst
cornea to the worst I'll tell you what I'll
do. I'll marry Kate Harston, wash my
hands of the firm, leave you to settle mat
ters w.th the creditors, and retire with
the forty thousand pounds." with which
throat the junior partner took up his hat
ind swognered out of the office.
After his departure John Girdleston?
sjent an hour in anxious thought, arrang
ing the details of the scheme which he
had just submitted to his son. As he sat
lis eye chnueed to fall upon the two let
tors lying on his desk, and it struck him
hat they had better be attended to. It
did not suit his plans to fall back upon
his credit just yet. It has been already
diown that he was a man 'of ready re
source, lie rang the bell and summoned
his senior clerk.
"Good morning, John," he said affa
bly. "Good morning, Mr. Girdlestone, good
morning, sir," said wizened little John
(iilray, rubbing his thin yellow hands to
gether, as a sign of his gratification.
"I hear, John, that you have come into
a legacy lately," Mr. Girdlestone said.
"Yes, sir. Fifteen hundred pounds,
sir."
"What have you done with the money,
John?"
"Banked It, sir, in the United Metro
politan." "In the United Metropolitan. John?
Let me see. Their present rate of inter
est is four and a half?"
"Four, sir," said John.
"Four! Dear me, John, that is poor
intehest, very poor indeed. It is most
fortunate that I made these inquiries. I
was on the point of drawing fourteen
hundred pounds from one of my corre
spondents as a temporary convenience.
For this I should pay him five per cent.
I have no objection, John, as you are an
old servant of the" firm, to giving you fhe
preference in this matter. I cannot take
more than fourteen hundred but I shall
bo happy to accommodate you up to that
sum at the rate named."
John Gilray was overwhelmed by this
thoughtful and considerate act. "It is
really too generous and kind, sir," he
said. "I don't know how to thank you."
"Don't mention it, John," the senior
partner said grandly. "The firm is always
glad to advance the interests of its em
ployes in any reasonable manner. Have
you your chink book with you? Fill ;t
up for fourteen hundred. No more, John,
1 cannot oblige you by taking any more."
John Girdlestone's private residence in
Eccleston square was a large and sub
stantial house in a district which th':
wave of fashion had parsed over in i'.s
westward course. The building was stern
and lmrd, and massive in its exteriDil ap
pearance, but the interior was luxury ic
self, for the old merchant had a due ap
preciation of the good things of this
world Indeed there was an oriental
and almost barbarous splendor ibout 'he
great rooms, where the richest furniture
war interspersed with skins from the Ga
boon, hand-worked ivory from Old Cala
bar, and the thousand other strangi val
uables which were presented by his agents
tD the African trader.
After the death of his friend, Girdli
stone had been as good as his word. Hi
had taken Kate Harston away from the
desolate house at Fulham and brought her
to live with him. From the garrets of
that palatial edifice to the cellars she was
at liberty to roam where she would, and
do what she chose. No cares or responsi
bilities were imposed upon her. The do
mestic affairs were superintended by .1
stern housekeeper, who arranged every
detail of housekeeping. The young girl
had apparently only to exist and to be
happy.
John Girdlestone had been by no means
overjoyed upon the return of the Dims-
dales from Edinburgh to learn that his
ward had been thrown into the company
of her young cousin. He received her
coldly, and forbade her to visit Phillimore
Gardens for some time to come. He even
took the precaution of telling off a confi
dential footman to walk behind her on
all occasions, and to act either as an -s
cort or as a sentry.
It chanced, however, that one day, a
few weeks after her return, Kate found
an opportunity of recovering her freedom.
The footman had been dispatched upon
some other duty. So she bethought her
self that a book was to be bought, and
some lace to be matched, and several oth
er Important feminine duties to be ful
filled. It happened, however, that as she
walked sedately down Warwick str-et
her eyes fell upon a very tall and square
shouldered young man, who was lounging
in her direction, tapping his stick listless
ly against the railings, as Is the habit
of idle men. At this Kate forgot in-on-tinently
all about the book and the lace,
while the tall youth ceased to tap th
railings, and came striding towards her
with long springy footsteps and a smiling
face.
"Why, Cousin Tom, who would have
thought of meeting you here?" she ex
claimed, when the first greetings had bwn
exchanged. "It is a most surprising
thing." It is possible that the incldeut
would not have struck her as so very as
tonishing after all, had she known that
Tom had sjent six hours a day for the
last fortnight in bloc kading the entrances
to Eccleston square.
"Most remarkable !" said the young
hypocrite. "You see I haven't anything
to do yet, so I walk about Ixmdon a good
deal. It was a lucky chance that sent
me in this direction."
"And how is the doctor?" Kate asked
ag trly. "And Mrs. Dimsdale, how i
I she? Toa must give my love to tneoi
both.
"How is it that you have never been
to see us?" Tom asked reproachfully.
"Mr. Girdleotone thinks that I ha,
been too idle lately, and that I should
stay at home. I am afraid it will be
some little time before I can steal aw.iy
to Kensington." . .
Tom consigned her guardian under his
breath to a region warmer even thau the
e !,., ...,i.,,., ....,.; ,i
M ' 111 III UlUb (l UIK MIIIU O llllllUriV'ill
speculations. "Which way are you go-
ingV" he ask.1.
"I was going to Victoria street to
change my book, and then to ' For J
street."
"What a strange thing!" the young man
exclaimed, " was going in that direction
too." It seemed tlie more strange as ha
was walking in the opposite direction
when she met him. Neither seemed In
clined to make any comment upon, the
fact. i
la -iv u.-n1be1 nn. thronrltrtcr fhnlr. vhv
among the vehicles, Tom took his com-1 Healers and Cookers.
panion's hand In his. and they exchanged The cheapest mid most economical
one firm grip, which each felt to be of the heater ever used was one of my own
nature of a pledge. How sunny and construction. I made a frame of 2x8
bright the dull brick-lined streets seemed Inch pine seven feet long and twenty
to those two young people that after- seven inches wide. I put a bottom on
noon. They were both looking, into a
future which seemed to be one long vist.1
of happiness. So light-hearted were thsa
tun tiMoria that it naa wc until fliwO
found themselves in Warwick street once tove-plpe fitting. I spiked the frnnw
more that they came down from the together and covered the corners with
clouds, and realized that there were soum heavy tins to prevent any leaking. The
commonplace details which must be d'etdt bottom was nailed on with two rows
with in one way or another. j of eight-penny nails.
"Of course, I may tell my own people, j made a fireplace on the ground of
dearest, about our engagement?" Tom gtone nnj bhl0 clay two fe(t wide by
, v ,'t!iree feet long and eighteen Inches
, I wonder what your mother will say d,rt mo foot
answered Kate laughing merrily. Sli8 , , , , . , . ... ,,
will be awfully astonished." , hIh nntl thrw fwt wlde nt ,e fPnd
"How about Girdlestone?" asked Ton. of the fireplace for a flu", put stone
The thought of the guardian had nevjr on the earth the length of the galvan
occurred to either of them before. They Ized Iron, placed the tank on the foun
stared at each other and Kate's face fts- d.itlon and banked It up with dirt. In
sumed such an expression of dismay tint cutting a hole for the stovepipe I turn
her companion burst out laughing i tKj up 8trlis of the galvanized Iron for
"Don't be frightened, darling," he sa'd ft colIar t'ucn drove an lr0I1 rod nto
"If you like I'll go in and beard the litm
in his den. There Is no time like the pres
ent." "No, no, dear Tom," she cried eager'y.
"You must not do that." It was impossi
ble for her to tell him how especiaHy
Girdlestone had cantioned her against
him, but she felt that it would never do j
to allow the two to meet. "We must
conceal our engagement from Mr. Gird!
atone."
"Conceal our engagement !"
"Yes, Tom. He has warned mo 8'.
often against anything of the sort, that
really I don't know what he would do
if he knew about it. He would certain
ly make It very uncomfortable for me to -
live with him. Remember I am nearly the ground, put on two lengths or
twenty now, so in a little more than a stovepipe and wired It fast to the rod.
year I shall be entirely free. That is not piece of sheet iron was set up be
very long." i fore the fireplace to control the draft
"I don't know about that," Tom sail, and keep the Are.
doubtfully. "However, if you will b This heater was located near the
more comfortable, of course, that settles windmil! and storage tank and I could
the question. It seems rather hard, though, 1u tt from either. I could heat the
that we should have to conceal it, simply
in order to pacify this old bear."
"It's only for a time, Tom; and yoi.
may tell them at home by all means. No.v,
good-by, dear, they will see you froa'
the windows if you come nearer
"Good-bv, my darling." They shooh
hands and parted, he hurrying away with
the glad tidings to Phillimore Gardens,
she tripping back to her captivity with
the lightest heart that she had felt for a
weary time Passers-by glared back at
the bright little ace under the bright : ht-
tie bonnet, and Ezra Girdlestone looking
down at her from the drawing room win-
dow. bethought him that if the diamond
speculation should fail it would be no
t,.r,Wn;- tn turn to bis father's ward.
(To be continued.)
Pnper with final Opinions,
The oddest newspaper In the world
ls one named the Wochenblatt, which
Is published In Gruningen, a small town
of some 1,200 Inhabitants in the can-
ton of Zurich, In Switzerland. It la
the only newspaper In the place and la
at one and the same time the organ of
the Liberal Conservatives and of the
Social Democrats. Pages 1 and 2 be
long to the Liberals and pages 3 and 4
to the Socialists, and the two parties
abuse one another heartily In Its pagea
C harge it in the Bill. I
"Doctor," said a shrewd-looking man,
"how many feet of gas does it take to
kill a man?"
"That's a queer question," replied
the dtx-tor. "Why do you wish to
novv?"
"One of the guests In my hotel used
enough of lt to kill himself, and I wan
to send In a proper bill to his execu-
torS-" ixmdon Tlt-Uits.
lllniliio Women SmuKifled In.
One hundred Hindoo laborers In the
frontier towns of British Columbia
have been discovered to be women
dressed In men's clothing. They are
expert woodcutters and the tlinekeej.
era say that the women are more pain
taking arid Industrious than their hu
bands.
HruH.i Hint. I
"Yes," boasted Mrs. Newcoln. "when
my husband returned from Europe be
weighed Just fifty iouiids more than
when he started." I
"Gracious!" exclaimed Mrs. De Style,
with a vawn. "Did the customs olflceri
forget to se:irch him?"
What it l.rnda To. I
Wife (reading i A scientist claims
that cryptococcus7.anthogeniacus causes
yellow fever.
Husband Indeed! I always Imag-
lned it was something of that kind thai
caused lockjaw.
HI. One Vcrrt. J
Singleton-1 K you believe It posslbh, '
for a man to keep secrets from LU
u,fp?
Wedderly-Yes. I puess so. Anyway,
I never let my wife know what I reallj
think of her.
slew Train in orope.
In the matter of train seed Austria,
Italy and Spain are at the bottom of
tb 11
hi Z.SltZ- . , . I
-
y
('
this of No. IS galvanized iron, letting
It project one-half Inch In each side
and fourteen Inches at one end for n
WATEIt TANK AND COOXEB.
water quickly with cornstalks, straw,
cobs, brush or trash. I boiled pump
kins and small potatoes for fattening
the pigs, and cooked ground feed by
pouring scalding water on the meal In
barrels ana covering witn out manueis
or carpets. One light fire would take
the chill from Ice water for the milch
,,ows, j regretted that I did not make
lt of t wel ve-Iiich plank, as that would
fa lnereaspd ltg capacity one-third
furn,ghed warni water for all my
6t'rk;
I lo" constant use for this small
tank the year round, continues the
. writer In Farm and Home. I cut off
the projecting part of sheet Iron where
the stovepipe fitted on and left it on
' the foundation, while I moved the tank
about and used
It for various pur
poses. For n time I used It in a sheep
pasture, then to mix mortar In while
i,uii(lin?, then as a pond for little
ducks, as 1 could easily tip It over
and put in fresh water with a hose
every day.
Shredded Corn.
When corn is husked and the stover
shredded at a very slight increase In
cost lver that of husking by hand, the
practice must commend Itself to every
farmer on account of the greater con-
venience with which the material may
be handled and fed, and the ability to
preserve the material from damage by
rains, etc., says Director II. J. Waters,
Missouri experiment station. Not only
so, but the greatest single objection to
the present method of handling stover
Is the difficulty of getting It out of the
field during the winter and early spring
monu.s wnuoui iujuij w inv aim
the growing wheat crop, wiiicn is orten
sown in the corn In autumn.
Moreover, shredding undoubtedly re-
Heves the fanner of one of the most
disagreeable tasks an the farm the
handling of the coarse stalks In bad
weather, and relief from the necessity
of digging this material out of the snow
in winter. i.tKewise, it niso niaices it
possible to feed the material under a
shed or In the barn, using the portion
refused by stock for bedding, and still
j;ave the manure In a condition to be
tiandied easily by a manure spreader.
Stahllnif Horaea.
We can learn from the Japanese a
thing or two about stabling horses. In
that country horses are backed Into
their stalls; then a door Is closed at
the head, which has a grain and hay
rack conveniently constructed, to which
the nag Is secured. When needed, the
door is swung back and the horse led
forth. No one gets kicked, no refuse
matter is visible to the visitor, and it
pecnis to be a sensible way to construct
PH for lorSe-
n.laf.H EMInt.te.
A flrn? ,ntaln8 0,272.040 square
Inches of surface, and an Inch of rain
njpan9 tm.refone, the samtr number of
cub)c ;nrhe9 of water. A galIon mn
taJns 77.27 cubic Inches of water, and
an Inch of rainfall means 22,022 gallons
of water to the acre, and, as a gallon
of water weighs ten pounds, the raln-
fall of an ucre Is 220.220 pounds.
Iff" .ifil
Speck In Dntter.
The white specks In butter may be
caused by one or two things. Some
times when the cream Is set In shallow
pans or If the cow does not give very
rich milk and the scum of cream Is
thin, little particles of cream on the
top of the scum will dry and do not
churn Into the butter, but will remain
in their hard state and either show
specks in the butter or come to the top
of the water In washing. The trouble
can be hindered by straining the cream
before churning.
The other way Is caused from leav
ing the cream stand too long before
churning. If a little of the milk Is
skimmed off each time with the cream,
this will, of course, settle to the bot
tom. There It gets overripe and forms
a curd that will be so hard that lt will
not break up In the churning, but
makes white specks In the butter.
This can be hindered by a closer skim
ming and by not allowing the cream
to stand as long before churning.
Straining the cream Is also beneficial
In this case.
Study Mailer of Feeila.
When grain Is high In price, the
raiser of stocks needs to study the mat
ter of feed more than at any other time.
It does not pay to give foods that
merely fill up, and that Is what the
temptation Is In times when prices are
inflated for the most valuable feeds,
The man that understands the con
stitution of feeds will generally find he
can bent the high prices by raising
some kind of a crop that will give him
a big supply of cheap feed. Thus, the
man that has a good blue grass pasture
can conserve it, fertilize It and make
it produce a very large amount of nu
tritious feed that will, for some of his
stock, make it possible to greatly cut
down on the grain ration, though this
cannot be cut out entirely. The men
that have leen feeding com extensively
to steers will have to balance that corn
with clover, alfalfa, soy beans or some
thing else to decrease the amount of
corn used, for protein In corn conies
very high, on account of the large
amount of starch that has to be paid
for to get a little protein.
Fertilizing the Orchard.
Experience everywhere teaches tha.
an orchard will live longer, bear better
and be more profitable for being well
cultivated and enriched. The experi
ment stations have tried both methods
and have collected opinions from the
best fruit growers in their sections,
and the verdict in almost every case la
that cultivation is necessary for
healthy trees and first-class fruit.
Potash is the chief fertilizer to be
applied to fruit trees, particularly af
ter they come into bearing. Potash may
Ik had in wood ashes and muriate of
potash. It Is most commonly used In
the latter form. An unusual applica
tion of potash should be made uion
bearing orchards, 5()0 pounds to the
acre.
Good Manner Arrangement.
The sketch shows my hay and gralu
rack for cows, which is a great help
when these two feeds are given at the
same time, writes a farmer In Farm
and Home. The hay Is put In space a.
SECTION OF COW STALL.
and then the gralu is poured In at b,
and the cow eats It at c. The part
of the rack holding the hay may be
made of slats and will thus be easier
to keep clean. Both of these rncks
are kept in place by 2x3 strips run
ning lengthwise of the manger. Many
dairymen are using this device and
And 'it all right.
The Rdoeated Farmer.
A farmer needs more education than
either a physician or a lawyer, for he
has need in his business of a knowl
edge more or less complete of all the
natural sciences, and his is the only
occupation that deals with the sciences.
That education drives the young man
from the farm proves nothing except
that all men cannot be fanners, for we
must have all the trades and profes
sions filled. But agriculture Is more
Important than all other callings com
bined, for the farmer feeds and clothes
the world. Therefore the letter the
farmer knows his business the better
will the world be clothed and fed.
Farm Notes.
Cream kept too long may become
bitter and be full of white flakes.
Oats are good for laying hens. Do
not be afraid they will eat too many of
them.
Sheep are a persistent agency of im
provement to the land on the farms
where they are kept
Success In livestock raising depends
on producing a better strain of animals
with each breeding.
The price of a bone grinder Is not
great but It Is sometimes unhandy or
Impossible to get a good supply of
bones. It Is a good scheme to make ar
rangements with a butcher for bones
befor buying the grinder
SWASTIKA.
Fnsafonuble Ornament Wna Object
I of Worship Muny Cenlnrlea Airo.
I What Is the swastika? This little
article of adornment Is just now hav
ing remarkable vogue as an ornament
for woman's dress.
As brooch, belt
buckle, stick pin,
collar fastener, or
hat pin, this up
right cross, with
each of Its four
arms bent to a
right angle at the
SWASTIKA.
end, meets the eye everywhere.
Nearly every woman who buys onb
knows that It is In some sense a "good
luck pin," but how it came to be con
sidered such and where the peculiar
and curiously attractive symbol origi
nated is kuown to comparatively few
persons.
! The swastika Is one of the great re
ligious symbols of the world. It has
been recognized as a religious emblem
by more people, very likely, than has
the cross Itself. As such symbol lt Is
i very many hundreds of years older
; than the Christian era, In fact, lt Is
perhaps, the very earliest of religious
signs or characters. It has been re
' vered all over Europe and Asia, and
long before the dawn of Christianity
jDur pajjiin ancestors looked up to it,
as the tiinblem of what they worship
ed. It Is one of the oldest things in
history, and there Is scarcely a land
in whose ruined temples It Is not
found
"Swastika," the name given it by
the Brahmins and Buddhists of India,
I Is a Sanscrit word signifying "of good
fortune." In the Pall tongue lt Is
i"suti," which means "It is well," or
"so be It," which Is much the same
meaning as the Sanscrit word, iiie
Japanese call lt "manjl" and the Chi
nese call It "manjl" and the Chinese
know lt as "ouan" or "wan." The
j French call It "le crolx pattee," the
footed cross, whllo the ancient Eng
lish name is "fly-fot," meaning either
four-footed or many-footed.
The most puzzling and most Inter
pstlng thing about the swastika Is that
It Is found In nearly all parts of the
, world, In this country as well as In
i Europe and Asia, wherever archaeolo
gists dig up the burled cities of the
remote past. Drawn, painted, cut,
woven, scratched or otherwise design
ed, not only upon burial urn and sacri
ficial stone, but also upon utensils and
objects of everyday use, the curious
symbol appears. ,
It has been found among relics thai
mark the bronze age In Europe and
some antiquarians believe they have
discovered the fact jf its existence In
the so-called relished stone age of
man.
Prof. Sehlleman found it at Illssar
11k in the buried cities that underlay
the ancient Troy, of which Homer
sang, which Indicates Its existence at
a period from 3,K)0 to 3,500 years ago.
Those who look upon the region to
he northwest of India as the primal
home of the blonde races of the world
also consider that ancient land as be
ing th birthplace of the swastika. It.
P. Greg, an eminent English authority,
argues that "It was a much-used anI
favorite religious symbol among the
earlier Aryan races, and was Intended
by them, In the first Instance, to rep
resent In a cruciform shape an Ideo
graph or symbol suggested by the fork
ed lightning." Our primal white for
bears worshiped Dyausoltar (Jupiter),
the sky father, and the jagged light
ning was the natural emblem of this
awful power.
With the successive emigrations of
the Aryans from nortfiern India nil
over Europe, the swastika spread and,
adopted as a symbol of Buddha In the
seventh century before Christ, It was
later carried into China and Japan.
The Arabs and Jews knew lt not, nor
did the ancient Egyptians, but they
were not of Aryan blood.
Thus the hammer of Thor, the Scan
dinavian deity for whom Thursday is
named, was this very same swnstlka
which the maiden of to-day Is using to
ornament a summer shirt waist. It
was with his mighty hammer, Mloll
ner, that Thor Is fabled to have crush
ed the head of the MIdgard serpent,
destroyed the giants, restored to life
the dead goats which drew his car and
consecrated the pyre of Bladur, the
beautiful.
Old Time Flig(lntr.
An act of the time of Queen Eliza
beth ordained that vagrants were to lie
"stripped from the middle upward ami
whi pi ted till the Inidy Is bloody." Four
pence each was the recognized charge
made by the "whipman" for every
male and female vagrant who passed
through his hands, but on special occa
sions this sum was exceeded. Says the
constable's account of Great Staughton,
Huntingdonshire: "May, 10!)1 Paid In
charges taking up a distracted woman,
watching her and whipping her next
day, 8 shillings 0 pence." After whljn
plng iH'ople according to the statute
the authorities sometimes gave them s
letter recommending constables and
others "to lie as charitable as the law
oermits."
Coally Monotony In Dreaa.
Our clothes are all alike, and ths
monotony has led to unlimited extrava
gances. What has not been done fo
make the eternal pinafore frock look
original? New elaborations are Invent
ed dally, each one more expensive than
the last, but noliody is deceived. It is
still the old pinafore, only a little mad
der, a little dearer, every day. London.
Graphic.
When a man falls to attract atten
tion In any other way he can be exact