? A SOLDIER IN LUZON. A: A o. n fl ip of hi narrow tent hangs a strip if lb mi luight skies, ,..! :!ir.i' by a luy'riml points of light. II h in hi tired ryes; v wvl from' a dream of u sum--Uy. and. now. with a throb ,.f r He r , lo hoij on Lis yuuug rish: r.rm. and fcuiuinona the dream ki- :iu. A pi' harjej by shadows au j -ion i 'e goldi n West; i l shine, jk W'li '" Hi.-ViV'tl'ng leaves u't-rhend, tr, ti'iitrl hushes i:s uim; A -P ,,f 1 BU'' nills 'U gown, a cadet ir .1 coat of gray But ui s'.im little hand he clasps iu his U a half of the world away' Thro' :he vibrant hush of the starry night t . ). . (;.. . ..: . I'i:ti:s i in tin- in a tiviii.- come. AtiJ wrier the dr.-nst of his khaki blouse lie heart of the In J heats time. In a i.i:i I where an endless summer ! nnis. ne urea ins oi a juiie gone !')- As J wandering wind steals into his rent, and carries away a nich! NaT; 'ii il Magazine. EUAD Iwvn for some little time en pised, through a medical agency, tu doing locum tencns work in dif ferent pans of England, when I re ceived a summons by telegram to go and take temporary charge of n prac tice in the suburbs of Bradford. The address was that of a Dr. Wolford. who had died suddenly two days before, but hejotid this I had no information. I was met at the Bradford M Miami sta tion by m surly 1. Hiking individual, who. wtyiiii; that his name was Susdeu, und that he was the late Dr. Wolford's dis penser, at once suggested that we blinidd go and have a drink. 1 looked sharply at the man. and what I saw prompted me to decline, on the plea that I must look after my luggage. I have tunned the habit ta dangerous one, by the wuyi of judging by first im pressions, and already 1 knew that I should dislike this man. I concealed this ftvling, however, and during the drive from the station endeavored to leant something about the manner of lr. Wolford's death; but us I received mily monosyllabic replies from my com panion. I soon pave up the attempt at conversation. un our arrival ut the house I was at ouce shown into the dining room, where Mrs. Wolford was waiting to receive ine. "Oh. Ir. Meldrum," she cried, as she eatne forward to greet me, "you can't think how -.'lad 1 am to see you. I've heeu counting the hours till you could he here." The warmth of this welcome rather surprised me, but I murmured some sun.i'.ih- reply, and expressed my ro-gr-t !ur the sail occurrence which had made my presence necessary. At the iiii'Mi-iii nf her husband's name. Mrs. Woill.M's eves tilled Willi li-irs 'es." she said simply; "it was sud den, ;n,, verv. verv cruel" then with u sudden, keen glance up into mv fa'-, file added: "Are vim clever I ir Meldrum ? clever iu your profession. I menu; because there is a problem in this house t0 ue Suived that will need clever man. Oh, Dr. Meldrum. 1 won der whether you know what it is to be without a friend whom you can trust:" At this point she showed sisrus of breaking down altogether, but with a strong effort restrained herself. "lou wonder why I ask you these questions?" she went on. "You think ue li) steriiral but I'm not, doctor." "No," said I. though in tioint of fact I (lid think so. "I recognize that you are anxious that your husband's prac tice should be iu competent hands, and from what 1 huve seeu of the dis penser ' Sue interrupted mew ith a gesture, "lis not that" she said, imnatientlv: and then, niter a slight ionise. "Mr. Meldrum. I'm Hfraid:" "Afraid?" said I. "Of what?" "Afraid for my boy's life and my own." ILe terror iu her voice as shp said tlae words was very real. is your sou ill?" I asked. Will you come and see him now? There is jjst time before din ner." 1 expressed my readiness, and went Ist..;rs to the Uoy'a bedroom. On the j u.' Irs. Wolford explained that this a her only child. 10 veara old: und added tearfullv. tint if . . - At , V- -- V l (V "e I i i too. as well a tier hiishund lould die. We found tlie hov lwj,inK quieUjr; wltbo'U waking him yk his temperature, but found no 'HU.eation of feverishuess, and this, as 1 pointed out to his mother, wns in a ''"Id, a fairly conclusive proof, that at f'-jxeiu there was uoi uiuch the mutter. "Tliunk lieuveo for that!" she said, eurjn-stJjr. "What do you fear?" said L 1 here was a sound of some one open ln' and shutting the door of the room "ext to the one in which we were. T he 1 footstep came along the passage and ! !' used at our door. Instead of answer- me. Mri. Wolford. who seemed lo '"' listening Intently, wrote with her j liti.'eron the counterpane the one word, 11 'I. su.N. 1 lo-u we heard the footsteps pass on, ar"l go down stairs. '"ine." said Mrs. Wolford. after a R, i-'lit pause, "when you have washed w win to down to dinner, l'ou must ' I" hungry, and I just now heard Mr. j Ki'gd(!ii leave his room, so he'll be wait- j l'ii' for jis." ! After my experience In the cab, 1 onite expe1ed that the conversation at uwiier would be mostly between Mrs. M'uirord and myself; but .iu this I was , j wrong, for Sngdon. who In the presence U!" ,!iy soenitM quite to have throw n oT the eccentric nioroseness of manner whi. , I had put down to semi Intoxication, talked continuously and well, and .mv,1 himself an excevding ; ly Interesting and well informal M. panion-so long, that is, as Mrs. ol ; ford remained with us. As s.xmi. how ; over, as she had left the room his be j Jun ior underweut a i-omplete change. ! i e be anie sullen at once and did not : trouble to observe even the ordiuarv ! courtesi of the dinner table for my "Client. On incident 1 mention, because of Its Hearing on the tragedy which n-eunl later. There was a big Persian cat In the room, which Sngden seemed to tane a strange delight In teasing to a Iint of fury. Finally, in its strug gles to get away from his rough han dling, the cat scratched his left thumb, deeply enough to draw a good deal of Mood, and got a savage slap for doing It and the dispenser got up and left me. slamming the door behind him as he went. - Hardly had he left the room when Mrs. Wolford returned, and in a low, frighteued voice asked me to come at once and see her son. "Certainly." said I; "but what Is the matter?" "He's in a fit of some sort. And, oh, Dr. Meldrum. I'm afraid horribly afraid of tbat sinister man." His nurse was standing by the bed side as we entered the boy's bedroom, holding his hand and trying to keep him covered by the liedciotbes. which In his convulsive movements he con tinually threw oT. At our approach she made way for us. and went over to the fireplace. The first glance I took at my little patient told me that It was no trivial child's ailment that I had to u cat. uie muscles ot his face were drawn and set and his limbs were stretched out straight and rigid. I had hardly time to note these symptoms, however, before the paroxysm passed, and the boy lay panting and exhausted, and almost immediately dropped into a sound sleep. "Send that woman away," I whis pered to Mrs. Wolford. "You can go to your supper, Jane," said the lady, "Dr. Meldrum and I will stay with Master Roland." "Now," said 1, when the nurse had gone, "how many of these attacks has he had?" "Three, to-day. The first came on about 11 o'clock, just after he had had his lunch." "What did he have?" "Some strawberries, which I bought for him myself." "No one could have tampered with them. I suppose?" "tjuite impossible." said Mrs. Wol ford. decidedly. "I brought them straight up to this room, and he ate them about half an hour afterwards. I did not have occasion to leave the room iu the Interval, so that the fruit was in my sight the whole time until he had it." "Strange:" said I. "What else has he had?" "Nothing that I have not prepared for him with my own hands." replied Mrs. Wolford. emphatically; and then, with n little cry, "Haven't I told you that I too. supected poison? Doctor, what is the poison?" "Strychnine." I answered; "at least, I think so, but the symptoms are not ab solutely characteristic. He has not had enough, fortunately, to be fatal, pro vided we can prevent him having any more. But tell me what made you suspect poison?" "Because," said Mrs. Wolford, "his father had a similar attack, though a much milder one, the night before he died." "But," said I, incredulously, "I wag told that your husband died of heart disease." "Yes: he died of heart disease the doctors say so; but how am I to be sure that they are right? He was found dead in his study chair. No one saw him die; and there will be no In quest." "But about your boy," said I; "why do you suspect Mr. Sugden of wishing him harm?" At this question Mrs. Wolford. strangely enough, seemed to become confused. She hesitated, began sen tences which she did not finish, and then, in a sort of defiant rush, gave me three or four very feminine and, to my mind, absolutely unconvincing rea sons for thinking as she di 1. I was puzzled by this peculiar change in her manner. I said nothing, however, and a movement on the part of our patient put an end to what threatened to be come an awkward silence. The boy was awake, and complained of thirst. His mother ran to a cupboard, and, opening It with a key which she took from ber pocket., brought out a plate of calves'-foot jelly. "I made this myself, doctor," she declared, "aDd have kept It locked up, so It will be safe to give him It." "There's a wasp having some of it niummie," sail the boy, and I was pleased to notice that the painful symptoms which had shown them selves before were now gone. The muscles of his face were still slightly drawn, but that was all. Mrs. Wol ford took a spoon and knocked the wasp, together with the part of the I jelly which It had attacked, into the tire,. and then fed the boy with the re tnai. iter. After he had had it he went to rfieep at once. Presently Mrs. Wolford went away to prepare some more ood to be ready for him when he should wake again, anl I meanwhile undertook to stay with lil in. I was niuilug over the diffi culties of this peculiar case, when I suddenly became aware of a buzzing sound In the room, which I presently traced to another wasp which had somehow found its way in. Now. I have an intense dislike to ! wasps, so w-hen after a few circuits of j the room the Insect foutid the remains j of the jelly on the plate by the boy's bedside, and settled down to enjoy this, i I killed it with a flick of my handker I chief. Hardly, however, hal I done so when agaiu I heard a buzzing, and it seemed to me that this time the sound came from behind a wardrobe In one corner; It was not continuous, but was Intermittently sandwiched In between intervals of silence, as though another wasp were Imprisoned there, and were making spasmodic efforts to get out. I went to reconnoiter. and presently the yellow insect crawled out, and, escap ing the blow which I aimed at it, started In Its turn to perform the Irrl tatiugly sonorous voyage of discovery round the room. Then a strange thought struck, nie: Why should there be this succession of wasps coming thus mysteriously In to a bedroom, long after the hour when these insects. In the ordinary course of things, would lie abroad? And why? I looked at the jelly. The third wasp had already settled upon It. Ureat heavens! was this the clue for which I had been seeking? I examined the wardrobe again. It concealed a door which communicate.! with the next room Mr. Sugden'sl My suspicions were being rapidly con firmed. With a feeling almost of elation I took an empty tumbler and carefully Inverted It over the jelly dish. Impris oned the busily feeding wasp. And iben I rang the bell. Mrs. Wolford answered the summons herself. I showed her the wasp, and explaining that I had forme.l a some what strange notion about It, asked her to stay with ltonald while I went to my room to test my theory. Ten minutes later I was in Sugden's room. 1 went iu without knocking, and taking no notice of his presence, walk ed straight up to the door of communi cation between his room and Ronald's, and examined it. Fixed in a corner of one of the panels, I found a funnel shaped piece of tin. My hypothesis was almost proved now. for this plain ly was the path by which the wasps had entered, and the analysis I had hurriedly made of the fragments of jelly told me only too clearly the mur derous errand on which they had been sent A low, chuckling laugh behind me caused me to turn sharply round, and a cold shiver ran down my spine at what 1 saw. Sugden was covering me with a revolver, and the gleaming bar rel was within six inches of my face! "So, Dr. Meldrum," he began slowly, watching me the while with an evil, cat-like alertness, "you have been spy ing upon me? No, I wouldn't try a rush. If I were you; you might get hurt. This revolver is really loaded." He spoke quietly, but there was a gleam in his eyes which I knew and feared, for I had seen It once before iu a time of danger shining In the glances of a homicidal maniac. "I must congratulate you. Dr. Mel drum," he went on, "upon your acu ineu, for I see you have suspected my little winged messengers of death. What, by the way, is the death which they carry? Did you find out? Strych nia? no. Dr. Meldrum, not that. It was something much more deaily than strychnia, though its effects are, I grant you, similar. What do you think of ptomaines the poison that Is bred of putrefaction? More artistic than jour strychnia. I think, and Infinitely more deadly; for I've improved on the book methods of preparation, I may tell you, and this little four-ounce jar (which contains merely a scientifically prepared putrefaction of a rabbit's bralnl will kill you if you so much as dip a scratched finger Into It" He had laid down the revolver while he spoke, and 1 thought I saw my chance. With a quick movement I tried to grab It hut he was quicker; anil al most before I had risen from my chair, the revolver was in his hand, and he had me covered again. But he had not expected that I would make the at tempt, and the start which ne gave caused him to spill his horrible liquid, which trickled slowly over his left hand, and fell In big, oily drops upon the floor. "Too bad of you, Dr. Meldrum," he said, with mock chagrin, "to make me spill my elixir of death; before It has finished Its work, tool Ah, well. It has not been altogether wasted, since one victim has fallen already by Its means. You doubt me? I assure you I speak the truth the late Dr. Wolford Is my witness." "You sneering fiend," I cried. In an access of hysterical fury, "you lie! He died of heart disease." "And shall I tell you Why he died?" went on the maniac, with rising ex citement "I loved the woman he mar ried; loved her for years; loved her long before he ever met her. She knew this, and she scorned me. "And now. Dr. Meldrum, you have thought good to come In my way! Well, I have five shots in this pistol one for you, one for the lxy, one for the moth er, the fourth for myself, and a fifth In reserve. In case any of the others should chance to miss. Khali I use them now? No, I'm In a quixotic mood to nigh I'll take you on level terms!" With a wild laugh, he fired the five shots Into the grate, and then, throw ing the pistol to the floor, sprang tiger like at my throat. He was a stronger man than I, and he bore me down; but. la a moment, even In the very act of his rush, an agony of terror seized him. His grasp on my throat relaxed, he gave a wil 1 shriek of torment, and then his muscles quivered and stiff ened, and his body bent backwards like a bow. His own vile drug, stealing Into his blood through the opening door left by the scratch of a tormented cat upon his thumb, hud seized him In IU cruel grip; and before the servants, alarmed by the wound of the shots, bad time to reach the room, he was lying befor me dea 1, sl.iln by the veuoui of his own brewing. Waverley. DOWNED BY BULLHEADS. How a Hiiddinu Plutonian V to Private Life. "1 went into the legislature a dozen years ago by a rousing majority." said a western Michigan man the other evening in a Detroit hotel, "and all my political ambitions were aroused. saw a Tutted States seiiatorship. If not the presidency, ahead of me. an. I I went around stepping high. If any body had told me that 1 would be drowned In a mudhole I should have had him locked up as a lunatic. It came to pass, though. They had the fish question up before the House and the bills made it unlawful to llsh iu inland lakes during certain months of the year. Among the lakes in my dis trict was a mudhole affair covering about two acres and full of bullheads. Three different fauns touched this oiid and the fishing had always been free to other farmers. "While the bill was hanging fire sev eral farmers wrote me to have the ,.,... rrin,.ieti ironi uie operations or me law. uiu i couttiu t see it their way. . i cine to get on my peuesiai to wrestle with bullheads and frog ponds. .i iiiciiiueu wmi me otners when the bill passed and I heard no more about it until till' session was over. iiien an oni tanner came to see ui one uay ana sata: jeuge. is it true that you are golu to run lor (lie senate? " 'I expect to.' I replied. " 'Wall, I wouldu't If 1 was you. You beat us out of two months' Hshln' for bullheads every year and we are goin' to down you. Bullheads Is mighty good eatin' after you've been on salt pork for six months.' I tried to laugh it off. but when he got reauy to go lie added: ' e Bin t much on the declaration of ludepend- ence down our way. jedge. but when it comes to bullheads we are ready to shed our last drop of blood." "I got the nomination and planned the campaign," said the erstwhile poli tician, according to the Detroit Free Press, "but It wasn't long before 1 dis covered that my old farmer had given me a pointer. Nothing I could say would appease the wrath of the bull headers and they gained such strength that when the polls were closed I was a beaten man by over 4M votes. It knocked the political ambition out of me and I have never recovered from the blow. I pass that mudhole occa sionally iu my drives and see old Josh sitting on a log and fishing away, and It cuts me up to think that while I was hunting for whales I was downed by bullheads." REFORMING MEN'S DRESS. Lord Kouuld Gower Dccrlua Silk Hutu, Frock Coats, and Troimerx. Does the present day wearing ap parel represent the maximum of com fort and warmth with the minimum of weight? In addition, is It the most be coming we can wear? To these questions Ixrd Ronald Sutherland Gower gave the writer an empathatic negative. "I have no wish to design a dress which shall be beautiful at the expense of utjllty, nor do I wish only one class of society to benefit" said Lord Oower. "With slight modifications the pro. posed reformed dress could be worn by all classes. It is only a question of material, not of cut. "To begin at the top: The silk hat must go. 1 feel especially strongly about this article of headdress. It Is heavy, hideous, and unhealthy, and should le discarded In favor of a Hum burg, for instance, or a soft felt hut, something between a cavalier's and a New South Wales lancer's in shape." "They say that the silk hat is the only one that can be worn with the frock coat." "Granted; but why retain the frock coaot? It suits very few men, and its u,,ll, . .1 Il.. i .w..u UUB oi.n .. e shoulders. Let the man who would ! dress sensibly dispense with talis und wear a rather short coat not too ab breviatedin which 1 am sure he will look well and feel comfortable. "My most radical recommendations apply to the nether garments. The un graceful trousers should be replaced with with close-fitting knee-breeches, coming Ixdow the knee and fastening with three buttons, and silk stockings and neat-buckled or laced shoes would complete a serviceable costume. "As for the ladles, I cannot criticise their toilet. They always look charm ing." Lord Ronald frankly admitted that he had not the courage to adopt bis re formed costume at once. However. die has not worn a silk hat for years, rhe last occasion being a royal garden party. I don't think the present period Is tll iKrlteut In tl.o l,lul,.r f ,..- " , . i . . i ... rlous one with all ra roads. It never dress. he admitted, "but that s not . . .. "iver i -ii. il,.,. . was a trivial question. Kven in ihe saying a great deal. In 1K40, In my' , . ... , , , , "cu lo ,ue 'idays of wastefulness when wood wus opinion, the high-water mark of down right ugliness was reached; but we are nearly as bud to-day." "The only way to get a sensible style of dressing generally adopted," con-1 eluded Lord Ronald. "Is to wear It in one's own home and among one's In timate friends. Then a body of us may visit a theater In reformed attire; but It will n-ed a lot of couruge." -Ixmdoii Mail. The -truly good young man doesn't accumulate a lot of letters and photo- graphs for the purpose of making bonfire the night before his wedding. Iu some homes the management Is so poor thut the house should be kuown as a soup kitchen. KEVEXHE OF LOVERS. RIDICULOUS ESCAPADES OF RE JECTED YOUNG MEN. Foiilixh Frt-ak of oiilh in Old Kn-laiid-One lliHii.ioiiiit. tMiiior Went to the p.apriiAe .f " llurj iiiji " Ilia Kiuiu ee' A licet ions. Whether the Jilted lover feels that he has been made to look so verv foolish I ,'thut it really does not matter how much mote foolish he shows himself to be, it is impossible to say; but the fact re mains that when he attempts "to get his own back," to use u vulgar phrase, he generally descends to a degree of ridiculousness ditlicult to exceed. Some of his foolish freaks are recounted bv Tit-ltits. One salad youth recently star th-d and annoyed his erstwhile 'sweet heart and got himself into trouble with the law by chartering a small, but uiur dciously inclined brass hand to play the "Dend March" Iu "Saul" under the lady's window. This individual Is not alone Iu the glory of his ridiculousness Indeed he was only modestly following in l lie footsteps of another young man who had been similarly rejected. The latter young man took revenge upon his j rejecier by giving her "constancy stately funeral, very much to the amusement of the good folks residing In his town. He caused a death notice to tie Inserted iu the proper columns of 1 nil the local newspapers announcing t lint the love and constancy of the yuxmg .Mly had succumbed to an attack of another young man on a certain date, Then he actually went to the expense of "burying" his ex-llancoo's affections, At noon one day a hand of some eight or ten Instruments drew up In front of the young lady's house, und was promptly followed by n closed hearse and a single coach. Alighting quickly from the coach the young man of mls- applied originality ran quickly up the steps of the lady's house, and lininedl- j ntel.y returned, pretending to bear some heavy object reverentially on the palms ot his hands. This Imaginary some thing was run Into the hearse and the funeral cortege started to wend Its way slowly through the streets towards the cemetery, led by the band playing the "Dead March," and with the addle headed young man as sole mourner, Needless to say, the procession caused a good deal of sensation In the town, and by the time It had walked around the boundary wall of the cemetery It was the chief topic of local chatter, and every one knew what was the meaning or it. A Tew duys later there was very nearly a genuine funeral, for the young lady's new lover met the old lover in the street, with a decided advantage In favor of the former. A black eye and a badly swollen mouth, to say nothing of a bump on the buck of his head, caused by contact with the curb, must have Impressed the young mini that he had gone to the expense of a funeral for nothing A provincial tradesman may be said to owe the nourishing condition of his buslines to having been Jilted by his heart's choice, and taking revenge iu a manner which made him the talk of his town, not a large one, by the way, After on engagac meiit lasting the bet ter part of two years the young woman Jilted her lover for a handsomer and more pros)Mrous tradesman from a neigiiDoring town. Hardly were the words of rejection cold on her lips than He set to the work of taking satisfac tion for the affront. He shut up his shop ond announced his deutii as hav ing taken place on account of Miss 's heartless conduct to hlui. He had cards printed repeating the sad an nouncement, and these he sent round to all the young woman's friends and his customers, and he advertised In the local paper that his funeral would take plat e on a certain date. On the day an pointed, however, hu plucarded his shop witn a highly colored notice to the ef feet that "the cause of all his troubles" had proved to be unworthy to die for, anu that he had consequently decided ii. .....i i. i ... in ii i e miu lesoioe HIS IIUSHICSS Oil Molldliv nevt " Uv iLIh lima --. .-j r.uilUimr ll)e anW was known to the whole .own l,,i.wlil.i ', nntj4 uin-iieu oil ine nil-important Monday there crowd of customers waiting. wus a WASTE COAL ON RAILROADS. It Ja a Uiu Problem for the Trans portation Com pun Ir. Excepting wages paid to locomotive men, the largest single expense In the operation of the Wlscousln Central railway Is tor locomotive fuel, which costs the company half a million dol lar yearly. In other words, the com pany pays $500,0110 a year for the heat to make the steam to run Its locomo tives. This fact, among; others, ha h j the company to Issue a set of spe cial Instructions to engineer and fire men on economy in fuel. The action Is a forerunner of similar proceedings by other Chicago roads. The question of fuel (juantlty, char- a'tui ami hum. In I ....,. ... I .. '" ""'"" IIIOKI SB- consumed, the muster mechanics hud much to trouble them. But Ihe sub ject has become In more than u Joking sense a "burning" question and radical reforms are now In progress on West ern rouds. A fireman Is now warned that he can do nothing that will so effectually make steam, save coal and lighten bis labor as to keep bis bed of tire iu such condition that the air has alwuys easy BCCeM iiir"uK It to the fresh coal he l,ul" on tlH ,lre About &m cubic feet of air must puss through the engine fire to give the best results from i ho burning of each pound of coul put upon It. Shovels such as locomotives are gen erally provided with hold, wbeu ordi narily full, rotirteen pounds of coat Wheu an engine Is In need of a ;are.' sometime four shovelful will be scat tered over the surface of the fire. Four shuvelsfuls of coal weigh lifly six pounds, and this quantity placed on ihe lire lasts about three minutes when the engine is iu action. In order to properly consume this amount of coal bi.iHm cubic feet of air, or eight Isix cars full, must pass through the lire in thnv minutes to burn the coal so that it will produce the greatest amount of heat. The old theory of engine firing pre sumed that the iiremau had a grcHt deal of time to sit upou his cab seat, let a silk handkerchief flutter from lii throat and w ink at every pretty farm er's daughter he saw. This Is the new rule: "It is doubtful If climbing upon the seatlKix for a short sitting after each 'tire' is really us restful as some nre meii Imsglne. Kvldeutly a man dmw a great deal of extra work when. In climbing up and down off the scutbox, be lifts and lowers his body two or three feet '.IHl or IIini times a day." The "popping" of an engine, u Mound extremely offensive to people when the machine Is iu a city. Is the blowing off of surplus steam through the sufety valve. The sound generally Indicates that a poor engineer und an Incompe tent tl renin u are In charge of the en gine. It has been found that the waste . of steam usually when ou englno "pops" or blows off surplus steam Is equal to the loss or about eight pounds of coal half a shovelful, or at the rate of a shovelful a minute. Safety valves usually remain opeu about half a min ute, wheu they are raised by surplus pressure, ami the loss of heut in the escaping steam equals every second that derived from the buriilug a quar ter of a pound of coal. In u little book Issued by the Wis consin t'entiul to Its llremeu and en gine men engineers are particularly In structed as to the cause of boiler explo sions, llotli wrought Iron and steel boiler plates rapidly weaken when heated hotter than about -tlx) degrees. This Is the temperature of steam at LM3 pounds pressure. It Is kuowu that there I no weakening of the strength of the boiler plutes ut this tempera ture; the weukeulng U-glns after the sheet Is heu till over 400 degree. Wheu 1,000 degrees hot the strength Is reduced 80 per cent, or four-fifths. Wuter covering completely the heating surfuce of u boiler prevents overheat ing, says the liluck Diamond. Hut with a hot lite and a bare crown sheet probably ten or twenty seconds would give time to heat thu metal to a tem perature ut which its strength would be weakened enough to give wuy be neath the heavy pressure, upon It, for with 150 pounds working pressure there is over teu tons of pressure ou cuch square foot of the crown sheet Most explosions occur this wuy. LEVELING TENDENCIES. Ms in hern of the Iviitfllsh ArUlocrucj Huve Gone into Trutlu. Americans cannot lay claim to being; the only people who now take the sen sible view that no tint ii Is degraded by engaging In a lawful business. Kng land Is coining round to the same wuy of thinking. It Is the aristocrats uow who serve many of the retull buyers) with groceries, vegetables, coul and. other necessaries of life. Lord lluiniHlcu Is said to supply the best cream cheese, und his carts, tilled with ull th'j fresh dairy produce of hht furin iu Sussex, go dully ou their Wut End routes. Lord Londonderry will deliver half a ton of coul with promptness. A grand son of Wlllluui IV, prefers a more retir ing method of meeting the demands of his customers. Through the medium of the post he sends out his puckets of ten ull over the country. Among the smaller shop owners who belong to the old urlstocrutlc famllle of England I Lord Harrington, who opened a shop a few years ugo on hU London property, thut he might sell fruit and vegetables grown ut HIvuMoh Custle. T he lute IaiiiI Wlnchllseu wan the pioneer of the fresh vegetable cru sade which started the shop In I.ong n ere, where all kinds of Hrltish furin produce may lie bought ut the lowest prices. Lord I'ortscouth has gone Into thu mineral water trade, a bottling estab lishment for which he has started. The restaurant business seems in high fa vor. Mr. Algy Iturke wus one of the first of the "upper teu" to put his ener- gli-s Into the management of a restau rant He succeeded In making fashion able the restaurant known us Willi' Rooms. Two other young men of gentle birth have gone Into the hotel husluesM. These are the half brother of I,ord Tre vor and Mr. Mostyu, of the family of Lord Vuux of llurrowden. They have opened a hotel at a new watering place. Although the Interest In millinery shops owned und managed by society women has somewhat abated, this field of trade has found new workers. A man well known In society Is the latest mill iner. He has taken a shop In Itond street, a short distance from one over the door of which is painted "The Countess of Warwick," and under tba name of CumHIe he successfully carried on his business. Youth' Coiiipuuloti. Number of III Kays. Itetween lil and 30 a uiuu Is III five and a hulf days a year on an average und hetweeu 80 ami 10 seven duys. In the next ten years he loses eleven day annually, ami between TiO and 00 tweu- ty days. New iork Herald. Nine people out of ten, when they cannot think of anything else for a ('hristmus present, buy two handker chiefs. Lver notice how. In winter, you be come sick for a bruss buudl