?
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