I The Firm of I
Hostone
BY
A. CONAN DOYLE
f TTTTTT"rtl
CHAPTER XIII. ( Con t inn off. 1
"1 am sorry to be late, mother," the lad
r.id, kissing the old lady. "1 have I'een
down nt the docks all day, and have been
busy and worried."
Mrs. Dimsdale was sitting in her chair
beside the fire knitting when hor son came
in At the sound of his voice sho glanced
anxiously up at his face, with nil her
motherly instincts on the alert.
"What- is it, my boy?" she said. "You
don't look yourself. Something has gone
v rong w ith you. Surely you're not keep
ing anything secret from your old moth
er." "Don't be so foolish ns th.-.f, my boy,"
said the doctor earnestly, "if you have
an. tiling on your mind, oat with it.
There's nothing so far wrong but that it
mn be set right, I'll lxl bound."
Thus pressed, their son told them all
that had happened, the rumor which he
had heard from Von Baumser at the Cock
and Cowslip, and the subsequent visit to
Eeeieston square. "I can hardly realize
It all yet," he said in conclusion. "My
head seems to be in a whirl, and I can't
reason about it."
The old couple listened very attentively
to his narrative, and were silent some lit
tle time after he had finished. His mother
first broke the silence. "I was always
sure." she said, "That we were wrong to
top our correspondence at the request of
Mr. Girdlestone."
"It's easy enough to say that now,"
aid Tom ruefully. "At the time it seem
ed as if we had no alternative."
"There's no use crying over spilt milk,"
remarked the old physician, who had been
very grave during his son's narrative.
"We must set to work and get things
right again. There is one thing very cer
tain, Tom, and that is that Kate Harston
Is a girl who never did or could do a
dishonorable thing. If she said that she
would wait for you, my boy, you may feel
perfectly safe; and if you doubt her for
one moment you ought to be deuced well
ashamed of yourself."
"Well said, governor!" cried Tom. with
ber.ming face. "Now that is exactly my
own fueling, hut there is so much to be
explained. Why have they left London,
and where have they gone to?"
"No duubt that old Hcoundrel Girdle
tone thought that your patience would
soon come to an end, so he got the start
of you by carrying the girl off into the
country."
"And if he has done this, what can I
do?"
"Nothing. It is entirely within his
right to do it."
"And have her stowed away in some
little cottage in the country, with that
brute Ezra Girdlestone hanging round her
all the time. It is the thought of that j
that drives me wild."
"You trust in her, my boy," said the
old doctor. "We'll try our best in the
Tneantime to find out where she has gone
to. If she in unhappy or needs a friend
you may be sure that she will write to
your mother."
"Yes, there is always that hope," ex
claimed Tom, in a more cheerful voice.
"To-morrow I may learn something at the
office."
"Don't make the mistake of quarreling
with the Girdlestones. After all they are
within their rights in doing what they
appear to have done."
"They may be within their legal rights,"
Tom cried indignantly, "but the old man
made a delilerale compact with me, which
be has broken."
"Never mind. Don't give them an ad
vantage by losing your temper." The doc
tor chatted away over the matter for
bo me time, and his words, together with
those of his mother, cheered the young
fellow's heart. Nevertheless, after they
had retired to their rooms. Dr. Dimsdale
continued to be very thoughtful and very
grave. "I don't like it," he said, more
than once. "I don't like the idea of the
poor girl being left entirely in the hands
f that pair of beauties."
CHAPTER XIV.
John Girdlestone and his ward were at
Waterloo station. He gave orders to the
guard that the luggage should be stamped,
tut took care that she should not hear
the name of their destination. Hurrying
her rapidly down the platform amid the
confused heaps of luggage and currents
of eager passengers, he pushed her into a
first-class carriage, and sprang after her
just as the bell rang and the wheels be
an to revolve.
They were alone. Kate crouched up
Into the corner among the cushions and
wrapped her rug round her, for it was
bitterly cold. The merchant pulled a note
book from his pocket, and proceeded by
the light of the lamp above him to add
up columns of figures. He sat very up
right in bis seat, and appeared to be as
absorbed in his work as though he were
among his papers In Fenchurch street. lie
neither glanced at his companion nor
made any inquiry as to her comfort.
As fbe sat opposite to him she could
not keep her eyes from his hard, angular
face, every rugged feature of which was
exaggerated by the flickering yellow light
shove him. Those deep-set eyes and sunk
en cheeks had been familiar to her for
years. How was it that they now, for
the first time, struck her as being terri
ble? Was it that new expression which
had appeared upon them, that hard, inex
orable set alwut the mouth, which gave
a more sinister chara'-ter to his whole
face? As Fbe gazed at him an ineTable
loatbinp and dread rose in her soul, and
he could Lave shrieked out of pure ter
ror. She p'Jt her hand uo to her throat
with a gasp to keep down the sudden in
clination to cry out. As she did bo her
guardian (lanced over the top of the note
hook with his piercing light grey eyes.
"Don't get hysterical!" he cried. "You
have given us trouble enough without
that."
"Oh, why are you so harsh?" she cried,
throwing out her nrms towards him in
eloquent entreaty, while the tears coursed
down her cheeks. "What have I done
that is so dreadful? I could not love
your son, and I do love another. I am so
grieved to have offended you. Yon used
to be kind and like a father to me."
"And a nice return you have made me.
I have to blame myself to some extent for
having allowed you to go on that most
pernicious trip to Scotland, where you
were thrown into the company of this
young adventurer by his scheming old
father."
"You mny say what you like of me,"
she said bitterly. "I suppose that is one
of your privileges as my guardian, You
have no right, however, to speak evil of
my friends."'
"You are becoming impertinent," he
nnywered, and resumed his calculations
in his note book. Kate cowered back into
her corner again, while the train thun
dered and screeched and rattled through
the darkness. Looking through the steamy
window nothing was to be seen save the
twinkle here and there of the lights of
the scattered country cottages. Occasion
ally a red signal lamp would glare down
upon her like the bloodshot eye of some
demon who presided over this kingdom of
iron and steam. Far behind a lurid trail
of smoke marked the way that they had
come. To Kate's mind it was all as weird
and gloomy and cheerless even as the
thoughts within her.
And they were gloomy enough. Where
w as she going? I low long was she going
for? What was she to do when there?
On all those points she was absolutely
ignorant. What was the object of this
sudden flight from London? Her guardian
could have separated her from the Dims-
clitics in many less elaborate ways than
this. Could it be that he intended some
s stem of pressure and terrorism by which
she should be forced to accept Ezra as a
suitor? She clenched her little white
teeth as she thought of it. and registered
a vow that nothing in this world would
ever bring her to give in upon that point
There was only one bright spot .in her
outlook. When she reached her destina
tion she would at once write to Mrs.
Dimsdale, tell her where she was, and
ask her frankly for an explanation of
their sudden silence. How much wiser if
she had done so before. Only a foolish
pride had withheld her from it.
The train had already stopped at one
large junction. Looking out through the
window she saw by the lamps that it
was Guildford. After another intermin
able interval of clattering and tossing and
piungicg through the darkness, they came
to a second station of importance, Peters
field. "We are nearing our destination,"
Girdlestone remarked, shutting up his
book.
This proved to be a small wayside sta
tion, illuminated by a single lamp, which
gave no information as to the name. They
were the only passengers who alighted,
and the train rolled on for Portsmouth,
leaving them with their trunks upon the
dark and narrow platform. It was a dark
night with a bitter wind which carried
with it a suspicion of dampness, which
might have been rain, or might have been
the drift of the neighboring ocean. Kate
was numb with the cold, and even her
gaunt companion stamped his feet and
shivered as he looked about him.
"I telegraphed for a trap," said he to
the guard. "Is there not one waiting?"
"Yes, sir, if you be Mister Girdlestone.
Here, Carker, here's your gentleman."
At this summons a rough-looking ostler
emerged into the circle of light thrown
by the single lamp, and touching his hat,
announced in a surly voice that he was
the individual hi question. The guard
and he then proceeded to drag the trunks
to the vehicle. It was a small wagonette,
with a high seat for the driver in front.
Where to, sir?" asked the driver, when
the travelers had taken their seats.
'To Hampton Priory. Do you know
where that is?"
Better'n two mile from here, and close
to the railway line," said the man. "There
hain't been no one livin' there for two
year at the least."
"We are expected and all will be ready
for us," saiil Girdlestone. "Go as fast
a3 you can, for we are cold." The driver
cracked his whip, and the horse started
at a brisk trot down the dark country
road.
Looking round her Kate saw that they
were passing through a large country vil
lage, consisting of a broad main street,
with a few insignificant offshoots branch
ing away on either side. A church stood
tin one side, and on the other the village
inn. The door was open and the light
shining through the red curtains of the
bar parlor looked warm and cosy. The
murmur of cheerful voices sounded from
within. Kate as she looked across felt
doubly cheerless and lonely by the con
trast. (Jirdlestone looked, too, but with
different emotions.
The road was lined on either side by
high hedges, which threw a dense shadow
over everything. The feeble lamps of the
wjtgonette bored two little yellow tunnels
of light on either side. The man let the
reins lie loose upon the horse's back, and
the animal picked out the roadway for
itself. As they swung round from the
narrow lane on to a broader road Kate
broke out into a little cry of pleasure.
"There's the sea," she exclaimed joy
fully. The moon had broken from behind
the clouds, and glittered on the vast sil
very expanse.
"Yes, that's the sea," the driver said,
"and them lights down yonder is at Lea
Claxton, where the fisher folk live ; and
over there," pointing with his whip to a
long dark shadow on the waters, "is the
"Oilywoite."
"The what?"
"The Isle of Wight, he means," said
Girdlestone.
The driver looked at him reproachfully.
"Of course," said he, "if you Lunnon
folks knows more about it than we who
are born and bred in the place, it's no
matter o' use our try-in to teach you."
With this sarcastic comment he withdrew
h'to himself, and refused to utter an
other word until the end of their jour
ney.
It was not long before this was attain
ed. Passing down a deeply rutted lane
they came to a high stone wall which ex
tended for a couple of hundred yards. It
had a crumbling, decaying appearance, as
far as could If judged in the uncertain
light. This wall was broken by a single
Iron gate, flanked by two high pillars
each of which was surmounted by some
weather-beaten heraldic device. Passing
through they turned up a winding avenue,
with lines of trees on either side, which
shot their branches so thickly above them
that they might have been driving through
seine somber tunnel. .This avenue termin
ated in an open space, in the midst of
which towered a great irregular white
washed building, which was the old Pri
ory All below it was swathed In dark
ness, but the upper windows caught the
glint of the moon, and emitted a pallid
and sickly glimmer. The whole effect was
so weird and gloomy that Kate felt her
heart sink within her. The wagonette
pulled up In front of the door, and Gir
dlestone assisted her to alight.
There had been no light or any symp
toms of welcome, but as they pulled down
the trunks the door opened 'and a little
old woman appeared with a candle in her
hand, which she carefully shaded from the
wind while she peered out into the dark'
ness.
"Is that Mr. Girdlestone?" she cried.
"Of course it is," the merchant said im
patiently. "Did I not telegraph and tel)
you that I was coming?"
'ies, yes," she answered, hobbling for
ward with the light. "And this is the
young lady? Come in, my dear; come in.
Y e have not got things very smart yet,
but they will soon come right."
She led the way through a lofty hall
into a large sitting room, which, no doubt,
had been the moukish refectory in bygone
days. It looked very bleak and cold now,
although a small fire sputtered and spar
kled in the corner of the great iron grate.
there was a pan upon the fire, and the
deal table in the center of the room was
aid out roughly as for a meal. The can
dle, which the old woman had carried in,
was the only light, though the flickering
lire cast strange fantastic shadows in the
further corners and among the great oak
en rafters which former the ceiling.
"t ome up to the fire, my dear," said the
old woman. "Take off your cloak and
warm yourself." She held her own shriv
eled arms towards the blaze, as though
het short exposure to the night air had
chilled her. Glancing at her, Kate saw
that her face was sharp-featured and cun
ning, with a loose lower Up which exposed
a line of yellow teeth, and a chin which
bristled with a tuft of long grey hairs.
From without there came the crunching
of gravel as the wagonette turned and rat
tled down the avenue. Kate listened to
the sound of the wheels until they died
away in the distance. They seemed some
how to be the last link which bound her
to the human race. Her heart failed her
completely, and she burst into tears.
What's the matter then?" the old
woman asked, looking np at her. "What
are ye crying about?"
"Oh, I am so miserable and so lonely,"
she cried. "What have I done that I
should be so unhappy? Why should I be
taken to this horrible, horrible place?"
What's the matter with the place?'-
asked her withered companion, "I don't
see nought amiss with it. Here's Mr.
Girdlestone a-comin'. He don't grumble
at the place, I warrant."
The merchant was not in the best ot
tempers, for he had had an altercation
with the driver about the fare, and was
cold into the bargain. "At it again," he
said roughly, as he entered. "It is I who
ought to weep, 1 think, who have been
put to all this trouble and inconvenience
by your disobedience and weakness of
mind." '
Kate did not answer, bat sat upon a
coarse neat cnair oesiae tne nre, ana
buried her face in her hands. All manner
of vague fears and fancies filled her mind.
What was Tom doing now? How quickly
h would fly to her rescue did he but
know how strangely she was situated. She
determined that her very first action next
morning should be to write to Mrs. Dims
dale, and to tell her. not only where she
was, but all that had occurred. The re-
D ne-tt- IAII tVinf cVl A M-ktl 111 Af f V I O nYllfA V AW
lirLUUU in ext. one u'umi u' iin.T v ur'i r vi uri i
I
heart, and she managed to eat a little of
th. ..inner which the old woman had now
placed upon the table. It was a rough
stew of some sort, but the long journey
had given an edge to their appetites, and
the merchant, though usually epicurean in
his tastes, ate a hearty meal.
(To be continued.)
A Nice Calculation.
A Flemish gentleman conceived the
Idea that he would only live a certain
time, so he made a nice calculation of
his fortune, which he so apportioned
as to last just the same period as he
guessed his life would extend to.
Strangely enough, his calculations
came correct to the letter, for he died
punctually at the time he had previ
ously reckoned. He had so far ex
hausted his estate that after his debts
had leen discharged a solitary pair of
slippers represented the entire proper
ty he left His relatives buried him,
and a representation of the slippers
was carved on the tornb. To-day In a
churchyard at Amsterdam his grave
may Ik seen, the only Inscription on
the stono being two Flemish words,
"Effen Nyt" (I. e.. "Exactly").
As It Seemed to Illm.
"Some people." remarked the demor
alizer, "never seem to be around when
wanted."
"Well," rejoined the morallzer, "It
Is better to be absent when wanted
than to be present when you are not
wanted"
Cupid's Patient.
"Dear me!" exclaimed the young
lady in the big furniture store. "What
a queer looking sofa! Why, It has such
short legs!"
"Yes, miss," replied the polite sales
man, "that Is a courtship sofa. Little
brothers can't squeeze under It."
Long Kearh.
Gunner Many of our singers go over
to Europe to reach the high C's.
Guyer Well, what do the European
singers come over liere for?
Gunner Oh, they crme over here to
reach the X's and Vs.
Willing to Flope.
Said She If we appear together
to
much people will talk about us.
Said He Well, suppose we disap
pear together.
The Influence of Feed.
Linseed meal has a tendency to make
a soft butter, provided the meal Is fed
In large amounts. If fed In only me
dium Amounts, the butter fats are nor-
mnl. It Is a valuable Ulilk-stlinulating
food and can be sed to prevent the
formation of excessively hard fats In
winter. The only disadvantage to the
general use Is the price. Half or three-
quarters of a pound of linseed or oil
meal in a rntlon per day will exert a
very favorable Influence upon the quall-
y of the butter.
Corn meal, when fed In large
amounts with coarse fodders, has a
tendency to produce a firm butter.
When mixed with other grains, a bet
ter quality of butter Is produced than
If the corn were, fed alone. Gluten
meal, a by-product obtained In the
manufacture of corn starch nnd glu
cose, produces a softer butter thnn corn
mcnl. The gluten, It Is to bo observed,
contains more of the vital nutrient.
protein. Professor Harry Snyder, Uni
versity of Minnesota.
Keeping Gate from Sagarins;.
Most farm gates are heavy, nnd af
ter a little time they sag. When they
get this way It takes a strong man
to open and shut one. Here Is a
remedy. Get a wheel, either big or
little, from an old piece of machinery.
and bolt It to the front end of the gate
GOOD U6 FOB AH OLD PLOW WHEEL.
In such a way that the gate will be
held level. Now the smallest child can
open the gate for you. Try It, for It
Is a, saver saves your patience, your
back, and the gate. N. W. S., in Form
and Home.
Hoblns Killed for Food In the Sonth,
A million robins were killed In Louis
iana during the winter of 1907-8, the
offenders being men and boys who shot
them for food. While they are pro
tected as song birds In Northern States,
it Is a common Southern practice to
shoot them for the table, and in some
States the hunters kill them in great
numbers at their roosting places. A
government expert suggests that the
eastward movement of the boll weevil
has been facilitated by the killing of
the robins. If that Is shown to be so,
the cotton growers will not receive
much sympathy from the members of
the Audubon societies. Leslie's Week
ly-
Transplanting Trees,
In Revue Universelle, according to
. , M , , . . .
m n sv ji y rm srr rmv rttt trr r niM"A Id
" ' ,' , I I
practical article of general Interest
oa transplanting plants In full foliage
at nignt. me results or some expen
ments by Rouault would make unneces
sary the customary transplanting of de
ciduous trees in the fall or winter. He
has found that trees may be trans
planted In full foliage In May or June,
with little or no Injury, providing the
process Is carried on at night. This
has been demonstrated to the entire
satisfaction of some of the most prom
inent horticulturists of France.
Brewery Stock Feed.
Dried brewers' grains rank close to
bran In feeding value, containing a
little more protein and fat, but not
aulte so much carbohydrates. It Is
claimed that In 100 pounds of this feed
there are 15.7 pounds of protein, 38.3
pounds of carbohydrates and 5.1 pounds
of fat Malt sprouts and dried brew
ers' grains are valuable cow feeds, es
pecially the latter. Sprouts are rich
est In protein, but not much relished
by cows and should be fed only In lim
ited quantities. Wet brewers' grains
are apt to Injure the quality of the
milk.
Population and Food.
The statistician In the Department
of Agriculture of the United States es
timates that in 1931 the population of
the country will be 130,000,000. To sup
ply the requirements of this number of
people will necessitate the production
of 700,000,000 bushels of wheat, 1,250,-
000,000 bushels of oats, 3,450,000,000
bushels of corn, !00,000,000 tons of hay ;
and cotton, tobacco, fruits and vegeta-
bles In proportion.
Thls will necessi-
tate bringing under cultivation an addi
tional 150,000,000 acres of land, and It
Is estimated that we have only 108,000,-
000 acres available for cultivation.
Insert with Springboard Nose.
Among the curious Insects of the
Malay Peninsula is one called the lan
tern fly, which Is remarkable for Its
sudden leaps, made without the aid of
Its wings. It was only after the first
specimens of this queer insect were
i carried to London for examination, that
It was discovered that a curious projec
tion on the front of its head, a kind
of nose with a crease in It, was the
leaning organ. When bent back under
the abdomen and suddenly released It
ent the Insect flying.
Odd in Weather Forecasting;.
People have learned by experience to
make allowance for error In the pre
dictions of the Weather Bureau, but
Prof. Schuster thinks that the allow
ances should be officially stated. As
tronomers, It appears, are In the habit
of giving the value of the "probnblo
error" when publishing their observa
tions. But, although meteorology lends
Itself more readily thnn any other
science to the evolution of deviations
from the mean result, the weather fore
casters have not adopted the custom
of stating the probable error. Prof.
Schuster looks forward to the time
when weather forecasts will be accom
panied by a statement of the odds that
the prediction will be fulfilled. Then,
perhaps, we shall read In the weather
column not simply, "rain to-morrow,"
but "3 to 1" or "0 to 1 for rain to-morrow."
A Good Whitewash.
Here Is a well recommended white
wash: For 10 gallons use do pounds of
common lime slaked with boiling water;
5 pounds of clean wood ashes ; 10
pounds of melted beef tallow; 2
pounds of common salt and one-half
pound of glue, dissolved. Add any dry
mineral paint to color, such as burnt
umber, yellow ochre or mineral red.
Mix all while hot and appply while
warm, keeping it well stirred.
The Sheep Pen.
As a rule there Is very little mois
ture In the sheep pen from the ani
mals themselves. Sheepmen say that
by heavy bedding, particularly at the
beginning of the eeason, the straw will
absorb all the urine from the sheep
without there being any softness or
rotting of the straw, and the pens are
often not cleaned more than once In
season without Injury to the stock.
Sprytnr Fruit Tree.
All fruit trees should be sprayed
J while dormant, with lime, sulphur and
salt, as a preventive of San Jose scale,
to destroy the fungi. It is also claim
ed that this preparation Is a. good fer
tilizer, and will help to keep the trees
healthy. Quite a number of Insects at
tack only dead or decaying trees, and
these form a breeding place for many
other varieties of Insect pests.
Digested Fertilisers.
Manure Is simply materials that have
been softened and decomposed (digest
ed) within the body of an animal. To
apply such raw materials as bran and
linseed meal directly to the soli would
be of no advantage, notwithstanding
that they are excellent fertilizers, their
value being increased by feeding to
stock.
To Prevent Runaways.
An Iron weight with a strap attached
to It should always be carried In the
farm wagon. The moment the horse
is stopped nnd the driver Is to leave
the team, the weight should be dropped
to the ground and the strap fastened to
the horse. This will make It safer
than to allow the team to stand un
hitched.
Demand for If ome-Iladlab..
Annually 75,000 barrels, or 7,500,000
pounds, of horse-radish are shipped
from St. Louis to the Atlantic coast,
to the Pacific coast, to the lakes and
to the gulf.
Farm News and Notes.
Uncle Sam received $11,500,000 last
year for public lands of all kinds.
A gardener at Tacoma, Wash., last
season marketed $750 worth of celery
from one acre of ground.
The explosion of a cream separatoi
nearly killed Earl Adams and his moth
er, living near Trempeleau, Minn.
Emperor William of Germany sent
fifteen coach and cavalry horses to the
International show. They were among
the most beautiful animals ever seen
in this country.
Wyoming Is sending a large number
of Vier tough little bronchos to Alaska,
as It has been found that they stand
the rigorous climate up there better
than any other breed.
Night riders In Tennessee who were
arrested for burning tobacco sheds and
shooting nt farmers were set free be
cause a Jury could not be found In
the county to try them.
The government reports that 2,(500,-
000 cattle died In the United States
last year, over half of these succumb
ing from exposure. The total losses
from all causes is estimated at $24,000,-
000.
Farming In New Mexico has been
given a great Impetus during the past
few years by the work of the farmers'
Institutes nnd many unproductive val
leys have been turned Into rich grain
and fruit fields.
One of the sights at the Internation
al Stock Show was a pure white Gallo
way, sired by Scottish Standard, a
thoroughbred Galloway bull out of a
pure bred white Galloway cow. This Is
a freak, btit may produce a new type
of Galloway.
Self-PreserTatlon.
"The man who can be coerced into
paying hush money is either a coward
or a criminal."
"I don't class myself with either an)
I pay hush money."
What for?"
"If I didn't my wife wouia ta A
me from one pay day till the nexL"-
Houston Post.
GREATEST PORT IN FRANCE.
Commerce of ParW Has Annually
llei'n Growing In Importance.
Purls will soon be the greatest port
In France. Work which was begun thirty-seven
years ago Is now nearing com
pletion nnd when this Is done ths guy
J capital will have many miles of
I wharves cupnble of landing thousands
of tons of merchandise dally. Although
the port Is mostly concerned with in
ternal trallle, the Seine nt Paris is also
deep enough to receive ships coming
direct from London. Her commerce of
this nature has annuully been growing
tn importance,
i Shortly after the war of 1870 tho
Paris Municipal Council decided to es
tablish wharves along the river banks
so that boat traffic could be more rap
Idly developed. A vast plan of im
provement was then laid out. The river
was dredged. Locks were established
both above and below th city, so as
to maintain the river at a nenrly con
stant level. Then a series of docks
was established, some of which were
large enough to take Channel stewmera
of moderate tonnage. Such steamers
are now a familiar sight at the Port St
Nichols, just opposite the Louvre.
The chief feature of the shipping
which has Paris as Its home port la
stone, plaster nnd other building ma
terial. Huge quantities of cereals and
wine nre also handled. Among tha
things which Paris ships to the prov
inces by way of the Seine Is refuso de
rived from old buildings which hava
been torn down, and such unattractive
material as chemical manures and so
forth.
During the year 1000 almost 13,000,
000 tons were shipped from Paris. Last
year's record surpassed this by another
half million. When the present Im
provements are completed it Is believed
that the annual tonnage will be almost
doubled. Prnctlcally all the ground re
moved In excavating for the city's new
underground railroad was carried away
by Seine boats. All the material used
In Its construction came by the same
"oute.
The only port which at present sur
passes Paris In annual tonnage Is Mar
seilles, and within the next few months
even Marseilles will have to take sec
ond place.
Humane Work That Is Praeflea.1.
Other tender-hearted women have at
tempted to lighten the burden of
draught horses with varying degrees of
success, but It has remained for Mrs.
Theodore Thomas, wife of the great
orchestra leader, to hit on a practical
remedy for the evil. She is taking
steps to submit to the city council of
Chicago a mammoth petition for an or
dinance regulating the tonnage a horse
may be required to draw. It is her
DOPe tnat tne ful1 IpSnl penalty may ba
! attached to the measure, and that It
will be enforced. She realizes that.
while a good many owners of horses
might be Influenced by arguments
based on sentiment, there are hundreds
who can be reached only through their
pockets. If she can make it expenslvo
for an owner to overload a wagon, she
thinks she will be able to save the
four-footed animals many a weary
task.
Mrs. Thomas does not content herself
with having her petition signed by
leading citizens. She goes every day
among the teamsters themselves nnd.
by simple reasoning. Induces them to
add their names to the plea. Her ar
gument Is that it Is to the teamster's
Interest to see that his horse Is not
overtasked, because he then will be
able to do his own work much more
quickly and so, In time, command high
er wages. Many hundreds of teamsters
have given their signatures to tho
earnest woman, and she expects to
have the names of a fair proportion of
the owners on the sheet before sho
takes It to the council.
An Old-Faahloned Tanner.
A Pleasure Foregone.
"Have you studied political econo
my?" "No, sir." answered Senator Sor
ghum. "I'd like to, but I'm afraid my
constituents would think I was amu
Ing myself reading books Instead of hus
tling for pensions nnd appropriations. "
Washington Star.
Helpful Hint.
"What would tie a good motto for a
young author?" asked the youth with
dreams.
I "First, be sure yon typewrite and
I then go ahead," replied the reader from
Punk ton s publishing house. Kansas
Olty Times.
One thing may be said to the credit
of the parrot: He never makes any
thing worse in repeating It