Topics of ;
I the Times !
"Offensive partisanship" on llio part
of a postmaster I measured not by
IU activity but by It illrcctlon.
It seems n pity tlint Elijah Dowlo
and King Solomon could not meet,
riioy would linvo some very Interesting
remlnlsccnco.
It lm been found Hint the Sierra Ne
vada mountains nro n,000,onO yonrs
old. Afl fnr as enn bo learned tlicy
sro atlll In first-class repair, too.
In tho death of fourteen persons
through the collnpse of n new building
New York 1ms shown tlint Chicago is
not nlono ns n violator of building
laws.
A Texas mnn who wns expelled from
rhurrh thrashed two prenchcrs. It Is
at diaicult to tako religion from n
Texns man ns It Is to get him to
take It.
"Arc wo n elvlllied peoplo?" asks
tho Knnsns City .Journal. Speaking
for tho country generally, wo nro, but
there nro times when we don't seem to
stny put, ns It were.
Venezuela, too, Is kicking nbout the
decision of The Itnguo arbitration tri
bunal. However, It wns not expected
Venezuela would bo pleased with any
sort of decision which Involved the
payment of money by tlint government
Speaking of heart failure, n story
comes of n boy who suffered from It
and died while ho wns undergoing a
perfectly Just nnd well-merited spank
ing nt the hands of n parent, Every
boy should cut out this dcplorablo
story of parental atrocity nnd paste it
on tho visor of his little cap.
Tho commissary general of the nrmy,
having thoroughly investigated the
subject, approves of hash as proper
food for tho soldiers. This Judgment
Is justified by that of mankind gener
ally, more unjustly and more unrea
sonably abused than good, sound hash.
It deserves to be eliminated from the
list of bywords and decorated with the
blue ribbon.
And now nnother backset is given to
matrimony during tho leap year of
1004. Tho London Lancet Is urging
that young men undergo an Intellectual
test before being allowed to marry.
How many young men would present
themselves for examination, nnd how
many could stand tho tcstl Tho girls
ire inquiring whether they will hnvo
to tako the first on tho eligible list and
then the next, and what they will do
when the eligible list is exhausted.
The Hawaiian national hymn lsmak
Its progress round the world, nnd soon
It will bp Ilka tho British Empire, on
which tho sun never sets. It was in
troduced a few years ngo at Yale Uni
versity, where It Is known as the
"Boola" song. A Yale graduate took
It to Japan, and taught It to tho Jap
anese soldiers, who liked It, and may
even now bo trying to "boo" the Rus
sian bear with It Another Yale man
set patriotic words to It, and tho Mace
donians use it as a war-song, to arouse
enthusiasm In their fight against the
Turk.
Jane Austen wrote to her sister la
1814, "I have determined to trim my
lilac sarsenet with black satin ribbon,
Just a8 my China crapo Is, sixpenny
width at the bottom, threo-penny or
fourpenny at top. Blbbon trimmings
are all tho fashion at Bath. With this
addition It will bo a very useful gown,
happy to go anywhere." Emerson
guotcs, "with admiring submission,"
tho expcrlenco of the lady who do
clared that "the sense of being perfect
ly well-dressed gives a feeling of in
ward tranquillity which religion is
powerless to bestow." So tho clever
woman and the philosopher pay their
trlbuto to the spell of dress. Any wom
an who has qualms of conscience at
the amount of time and thought she
must give to her clothes may gather
cheer from the Innocent pleasure so
genuine a nature as Miss Austen's
found In the simple task of making a
gown "happy to go anywhere" Tho
woman who has compassed the art of
making that kind of a gown has done
herself a largo service and the world
no small ono. Wo should havo "ad
mired" to sea Miss Austen attired in
tho lilac sarsenet with the black satin
ribbon. We may bo euro that not only
was the gown happy to go anywhere,
but that the wenrer was happy In it,
and that the company was happy to
have her. A gentle word, n charitablo
act, a dlincult sacrifice aro each moro
easy in a well-fitting and becoming
dress. Terhaps It my bo n sign of our
servitude to earth that this should bo
so: but whllo wo live hero wo aro
bound to look facts In the face, nnd
cherish tho Ideal of tho "happy"
gown.
A Boston expert has been making
exhaustive researches into tho homo
life of hundreds of families In all parts
of the country. Ho wanted to know
how tho average family spent their
Income. Ho found folks who ate them'
selves Into poverty; othors who starv.
ed in order to dress; people who wast
ed hard-earned dollars, and ono fact
that seems bigger than all tho rest Ac
cording to his figures tho n vera go fam
lly of moderate means pays from 0
to 23 per cent of their gros.i Income
to tho landlord. In other words, the
brondwlnner works nearly or qulto
onofourth of his time for the privilege
of a roof to cover his head. It is a
wonder that inoro young married men
do not buy homes. They can do It if
they will. It only takes a utile pluck,
n Httlo daring and somo self-denial.
Modern methods of easy payments
have actually inndo it possible to pay
for n homo ns you now pay rent. A
homo Is nn anchor. A rontca apart
metit enn never bo anything moro than
n tmnnorarr claco of nbodo. Tho ques
tion of moving comes up often, Tho
man who owns n homo wants ro ira
tirovo It. Ho has llowors nnd vines
nnd a well-kept lawn. Tho sense of
possession and ownership uiukes his
client stick out n bit. llo U nn nctunl '
pnrt of the city In which ho lives, nnd
ho nnd his wlfo and children nro nn
Interested in making It tho city beau
tiful. There Is another side to It. Tho
purchase of n home Is nlmost all profit 'I
Tho bond of tho fnnilly saves money
becnuso he must save money or loe J.
his home. Ho npplles dollars to the
nortgago that would othcrwlso hnvo
been frittered away In a manner that
even ho couldn't accouat for. Money
melts moro enstly than mow In July.
He makes payments by cutting down
nn tiviif-tAft ult-nt-a tlinfltftr ttckpfa.
.1-1.. i - 1 ..t., . n-i,nM i.
moro economy in tho house, for often,
the wifo saves better than tho man.
..i r... - i..- .,.,
husband and wife closer together. That
i. t-t !,., nMZn. f.M.
lowing tiio same idea nnd arc ImbiuM ut opens the way fori ri vigorous pros
with the nm. ambition there hns to be ccutlon of tho great mar ;
... ... . Prise. "No single groat mnterlnl work
a community of Interest and sympathy.
If you will talk this over with your
wlfo she will say: "That Is Just what
I havo been saying for years, wo
enn own a home If wo will make up
our minds to do It." And she is right
"Cotton Is king" wns once n familiar
saying; but In the realm of business
which the great whlto staple was sup
posed to govern there rose a rhnl
claimant, a pretender it may bo, but
at any rate a strong one, and then it
was proclaimed that "Iron Is king.
.v wrltor in n New lork newspaper, in
revtowlng tho business situation and
presenting somo figures of tho Interna
tlonal commerce of the I'nltcd States,
declares that neither cotton nor Iron
Is king, but that tho real, the great
monarch. Is agriculture. The annual re
port of Secretary Wilson shows how
true this Is. It Is only casually that
tho Secretary calls attention to the fact
that the people of the United States-
eighty millions of them not only sus
tained themselves last year, but con-
trlbntcd food and the raw materials f t
manufactures by which many other
millions of peoplo In foreign countries
wcro sustained, no quickly passes to
a consideration of tho so-called "bal
ance of trade." This, as ho shows, ex
hibits a peculiarity which "seems to
have escaped the attention of the pub
lic," namely, that It is always a farm
er's balance of trade. During the year
1003 the Imports of the United States,
other than of agricultural products,
exceeded the exports by flfty-slx mill
ion dollars. That Is, there was a bal
ance of trade unfavorable to the Unl- -
ted States to that amount But when material Interests, but standing mouu
the traffic In agricultural products is oients to its constructive ability."
included, how different is tho story: as early as 1S27 tho uso of tho Isth
Instead of n balance of flfty-slx mill- mus for commercial transit was dls
ions against the United States, tho llg- cussed and steps taken to secure that
ures becomo three hundred and sixty-
seven millions In favor. As If these
figures were not Impressive enough.
Secretary Wilson goes on to give thoso
for the last fourteen years, In lump
sums. Were agricultural proaucts
omitted, tho nation during that time
trmii.i hnvo hnd an unfavorable bal-
anco of eight hundred and sixty-five
millions. Tho farmers not only wiped
that out but brought In a surplus of
nearly four billion dollars. "These fig-
- ..... ...
ures," Secretary wnson aaus, --leraeiy
express tho Immense national reserve-
t ,,n f.-.n ntthn
country. It Is the farmers who havo Several years were spent In explora
pald the foreign bondholders." on. and reports were made which
' nwiiFor.ni1 'hit n nilirr n IMn t- noil If
FLYING REPTILES OF OLD.
Of Great Size, Ther Were Onco More fan isthmus to Join the two oceans by
Common Thnn lllrcl.. cann, A elabornt0 report was the
Wo aro apt to think of reptiles as rcsult Qf InvcstlKatlon by Xnpo.
creeping and crawling things, forget- (e(jn 0areI,a wbo roc0mmendod tho
ting that there was a time when flying jongu,,,, ot n canal, but nothing
reptiles wcro more common than birds. was donc
Theso reptiles, the pterodactyls, or fly-, enetU of U0 Cona,
Ing dragons, not only flew, but somo , Events that occurred about the raid
of them reached a size much greater i8 oI tije iast century made It clear to
than that of any bird, for the largest ,agncioUs statesmen that n maritime
birds do not fly. The South American connection between tho two oceans at
condor sometimes measures as much ns
ten and one-half feet from tip to tip very highest Importance to tho United
of outstretched wings, nnd it is qulto states. Tho dispute with Great Britain
possible that tho finest examples of aa to tho boundary lino west of the
the albatross may measure a Uttlo Kooky Mountains was settled by the
more. But the great pterodactyls treaty of 1840, and Oregan became an
which flew about the sea that In the organized territory in IBM. By tho
days of old reached from the Gulf of treaty of Guadalupc-HIdalgo, In IS IS,
Mexico to tho Itocky Mountains, meas- following tho war with Mexico, Callfor
ured as much as twenty feet, tho nla was ceded to tho United States,
width of an averago city lot across rbo discovery of gold In that State
tbclr wings. Induced many thousands of people of
Most of us have seen an eagle flying, this country to seek the mining regions,
and we can appreciate the slzo of this and to avoid tho hardships of travel
ancient dragon by remembering that It across tho plains, linos of steamships
was nearly three times the slzo of an wero established between New York
eagle. It was not, however, throe and San Juan del Norte and San Fran
times as heavy, for the body of this Cisco and Panama. This stream of
strnngo reptile was so small and Its travel led to tho construction of a rail
skeleton 60 wonderfully light that the road across tho Isthmus, and was tho
entire animal Is thought to bavo weigh- means of attracting general attention
ed not more than twenty-flve pounds, 'o the value and Importance of com
or only about as much as a largo con- munlcation by that route, and gave
dor. Ono of tho largest bones of the fre8U Interest to the question of con
whig, two feet long and two Inches tructlng a canal. The matter was
through, was, as Prof. Wllllston tells tlkcn "P 'ir Congress and a report
us, no thicker than a sheet of blotUng maJe- ln 1810. by a commlttco recom
paper, nnd tho great head, with a beak mending surveys from points on the
oi cr three feet long, was equally light Qu'f ' MoxIco t0,tl10 rf,c flc 1Or0a"'
This great toothless beak Is believed . 1,0 hln,s cflmo 'm ""f Investiga
te havo been used for snapping up Ion 'n 1,10 promotlnB a canal,
fishes; and we can Imagine this huge b,ut b 8Bl,d tImttl10 co"rtr"e'
creature sailing swiftly over the sea. "on of the railroad was tho result. On
now and then swooping down to pick ,ho completion of tho road approprla
up a fish as deftly, for nil it size, ns Uowwero mndo by Congress for carry
a reil swallow Ing the malls across tho Isthmus. Varl
jii n 4.. i. ous efforts followed to secure conccs-
IIUl UI1UL U1U Wl MllMUSlUUlU UJJ1 13
the animal's name do with his wings
and beak when ho made an occasional
visit to the land? One would think
they must havo been very much ln his
wny, and that tho animal was as awk
ward on the shore as he was graceful
ln the air. And bow did he start to
fly? With such enormous wings, we
think Ornlthostoma must havo dwelt
on cliffs about the sea and launched off
them ns the gnnnets do from Bird
Rock. This great flying reptile lived
some six million years ago; the sea
over which It flew long ago disap
peared, and the mud Into which Its
bones sank becamo chalk, and from
tho formation of theso great chalk
beds the time at which Ornlthostoma
existed Is called the Cretaceous Po
rted. -St. Nicholas.
Far-seeing Providence.
Jaggles The liking for terrapin Is
snld to bo an acquired taste.
Waggles That's nnother of tho
wlso provisions of nature. Terrapin
now cost tlOO a dozen. Town Topics.
The averago man either boasts of his
good health or howls about his aches
and pallia.
Most books appearing now are writ
ten to please tho peoplo, and not the
writer of tho books.
4.h--M--H--M--H
THE PANAMA CANAL
4-H-M"HH"H"H
iT
HE treaty between the new He
lmut to of rnnamn and the I'nltcd
States and the enactment of the
legislation by tho Intter neee
saw to commence tho work of construe
"on terminated all contention over the
relative value of routes, concision..
policies, etc., which havo stood In the
way of the construction of nn Ionian
canal for nt least twenty-live years.
Prise. "No single groat
which remains to bo undertaken on
this continent." snld President ltoose
velt In n message to Congress, "Is of
such consequence to the American peo
plo as the building of n canal acro
tho Isthmus connecting North and
South America. It is emphnt
Ically n work which It Is for the inter
est of the entire country to begin and
complete as soon ns possible. It Is our
of those great works which only n nn
,, lmiwtie with orosneets of
iucwsSi Iui which when done are no'
ouy permanent assets In the nation'-.
WEST END OF
end. In that year President Bolivar
gavo a commission to J. A. Lloyd to
survey tho Isthmus of Panama In order
to ascertain the most eligible line of
communication across It whether by
roau or can.ii. .uiuiu ramo ui
commission beyond making surveys
and formulating a report in wmcn a
new line of travel across the Isthmus
was recommended. In 1S3S the Itopuu-
"c or woiomoia mane n grunt iu u
French company authorizing tho con-
,,niAMnn nt ni n ifil n mlTrt.1 rnftll mil.
roads nnd canals across the Isthmus.
with tho Pacific terminus at Panama.
was decided to mako further Investi
gation, with a view of cutting through
isthmus of Panama was of the
slons from Now Granada and N'lenra
gua for citizens of the United States
to construct a canal, somo of which banco their ability to competo with Eu
wero successful, but none of which no- rope ln Western South America and
nouTE of ran
-j Most Stupendous Engineer
t Inj? Enterprise ol Modern
j; Times Will Rcolutlonlio
X tli World's Sea Koutcs
History ol (he Undertaking.
4-j.M-M-;--l--!---l--l-l--l-l-l
compllshed anything practical. In 1S7S
tho Colomblnn Uovi-rument inndo a
concession to a provisional company
formed In France, for a period of nine
ty-nlno years, for tho construction of
n canal across Its territory, and thW
concession was subsequently trans
ferred to tho Panama Canal Company,
which undertook tho work of construe
tton, but failed and went Into llqutda
tlon. Ferdinand de I.essops was prosl
dent of this company. Following the
failure of Do I.osseps, n new orgnul
intlon was perfected, nnd tho work of
construction was continued merely to
preserve tho concession. In the hope
that tho property nnd concession
would bo purchased by the United
States. Tho price at which tho prop
erty wns offered was so largo that the
Walker Commission, which had Inves
tigated the general question, recom
mended tho Nicaragua route; but sub
sequently tho Panama Company of
ferod the entire property for $10,000,-
hh and tho property wns taken by the
I'nltcd States at those figures. It Is
iTUEBRA CI T.
estimated that tho .'.nplt'tlun of the
canal will cost $141,000,000, and If tho
money to bo paid tho Panama Com
patty and the Uepubllc of Panama be
added. It will bo seen that the cost of
this work to complete will bo at least
J 200,000.1 mo, and may reach $2J3,00O,
000. The total length of tho canal will
bo 40.0!) miles. This Includes seven
miles of free sailing on Lake Boklo.
Tho length of tho Nicaragua Canal Is
1S3.C0 miles. Including forty-two miles
of freo sailing on Lake Nicaragua.
Thus It will be seen that there Is In
favor of tho Panama routo 100 miles
of cannl navigation. It Is estimated
that a vessel would bo three times
longer In going through a canal by
Nicaragua than by the Panama route.
Aside from tho value of the canal to
tho United States, from a military
point of view, It will provo of great
HOW THE PANAMA
valuo to tho industrial and commer
cial interests of every section of the
country. Tho expense nnd delay now
Incurred In commercial Intercourse be
tween tho Atlantic nnd Pacific sections
of the United States and In tho trade
between tho Pacific States with Europo
Impose a serious limitation upon tho
progress of our Industries. Cheaper
and moro expeditious nccoss to tho
Pacific markets will benefit not only
tho Northeastern States by furnishing
cheaper raw materials and lnrger mar
kets for their Industrial products, and
tho Southern States by Increasing their
exports of cotton and Its manufactures,
forest products, iron and steel manu
factures, but also tho Central West
which Is now manufacturing exten
sively for tho foreign and domestic
trade. Tho canal will benefit all thoso
sections by furnishing n larger busi
ness with tho Pacific coast, and on
aamjc panaiia avatehway
ATLANTIC v OCEAN "1 jlnASRBKSP
I : ; TST ; ,"
'
pinu ot. run favvmv nut way.
the Orient. It will plneo Fiii-ope ami
Ity In distance for the triule of the Far
East and Australia, the advantages at
present being greatly In favor of Eu
rope.
Tho report of the Wnlkor Coimuls
slon points out tlint the cannl will hnvo
an especially direct nnd Important i-f
feet upon tho market for American
ami. Vessels engaged In our own or
European commerce through the caual
wtll find It to their advantage to pur
chase American fuel on our Atlantic
or llulf seaboards, or In West Indian
and Central American stations. The
larger commerce which tho canal wtll
cause to move across tho North Pacific
may Increase the demnnd for the prod
uct of tho Puget Sound mines. The
low cost nt which coal can bo placed
nt tidewater on the Oulf and Atlantic
seaboards, and the fact that there win
ho a considerable movement of vessuU
In ballast or with part cargoes west
ward through the canal, makes It prob
ablo that tho coal required for Indus
trlnl purposes on the west coast of
South and Central America, and foi
commercial uses lu those regions, nii-l
to some extent In tho coaling ntntlons
of tho Pacific, will bo supplied fr.- u
the mines lu tho southern nnd eastei n
wtlons of tho United Stntes. Tho do
mauds nt home for the coal of all th-'
mining centers of tho Flitted Htnti-
will bo enlarged by tho caual In pr..
portion to Its effect upon the develop
inent of American Industries.
The effect of tho canal upon tho rail
roads ln the eastern and southern so.
tlous of tho United States will bo fa
vornble. The lines In tho central Wosi
will feel the competition In rates somo
what moro than will tho Eastern and
Southern roads, but tho only business
tlint enn be diverted from them Is tho
low-class transcontinental trntllc, and
this will be fully compensated for by
tho larger traffic duo to tho canal's cf
feet upon the development ami dlversl
llcallon of tho manufacturing and oth
er Industries of tho section they serve.
Tho railways connecting the Missis
sippi Valley with the Pacific ports nn
tho roads with which tho canal's com
petition wtll bo strongest, and tho rates
on a large sharo of their through busi
ness will bo regulated by tho water
route.
It Is calculated that tho cannl will
be completed In ten years, or In the
CANAL WILL CHANQE THE WOItl.D'S SEA HOUTES.
year 1014. From an examination of
statistics of vessel movements between
the Atlantic and Pacific if is estimated
that nearly 0,000,000 net tons will pass
through the cannl ln 1000 and about
7,000,000 net tons In 1014. Assuming
that tho rnto of Incrcaso In traffic dur
ing tho first ten years of operntlon
would bo H2V4 per cent, the tonnago
that would pass through tho canal In
1021 would bo raised to approximately
10,600,000 net tons. At tho rato of $1
per net ton of register, tho Incomo
from tho canal would bo In 11)14 about
$7,000,000 nnd In 1024 nbout $10,r,00,
000. Tho annual cost of operntlon, It Is
estimated, will bo 12,000,000. Tho ex
tent to which the cnnnl will be used
will depend largely on the rnto of tolls
chnrged. Light charges' will glvo the
Panama Canal a largo part of the trado
that now goes by tho Suez Cnnal from
tho Atlantic ports to the Philippine
and tho East. Tho tolls by tho Suez
routo are moro than $2 per ton. Tho
linking: tub Atlantic and
Sues tolls lire lei led by n eoriiunillim,
of revenue ln lining I he i-linigi'S for
the uso of nil Isthmian ennui owned
anil operated by the United States llnv
eminent, the principle of maximum
reveuuo could not bo wisely followi-il.
The revenue producing function of the
canal will bo minor as compnred with
Its services In promoting the Industrial
and commercial progress and general
welfare of tho United States. The ex
action of tolls tlint would much restrict
tho benefits derlvahlo from tho canal
would not bo to tho advantage of tho
peoplo of this country.
llegnrdlng the relative advantages tn
bo derived by Europe and tho United
States, the report of the iniiimlssloii
Aim
siljs "As mi-. I Willi I ill. -i.e. Ill"
1 lilted Hint, s will it. i' u fioiu the
canal greater !. u.-nii. Iilli .oniincr
daily and Imlnslrlnll) I lie l onimeri-r
of Europe with I lie I-.iclfic const ot
North. Central and South Amorlea. un
der existing conditions, Is about ns
largo as the total volume of the present
traffic of the United States that may bo
considered tributary to tho canal, but
this fact does not Indicate the relative
advantages which the caual will pos
sess for tho trade of Europe and that
of the United Slates. As soon as It has
been opened, our trndo with tho west
coast of South America will Increase
moro rapidly, as will also tho volume
of our trade with the Orient An Isth
mian canal will strengthen the unity of
the nntlonnl and political interest of
the United States, dovrlnp Its Pacific
territory and promote tho commerce
and Industries of tho entlro country.
Tho boueflts which Europo will derive
from the canal will be commercial. In
addition to this, ours will bo political
and Industrial."
Approval.
"Aro you fond of golf?"
"Yes, Indeed," answered Mrs. Cum
rox. "I regnrd the game ns n very
clover way ot enabling people to walk
without being suspected of trying to
save the cost of a carriage." Washing,
ton Stnr.
Itroati ami llloo.
Only one-third of tho world's popu
Intlon uso bread ns n dally article of
food. Nearly ono-hnlf of tho peoplo
of tho world subsist chiefly on rlco.
pacific oceans.
i wiiii i i ii i ii 1 1 hi i i i -'' r
I ii i . it -ii. mi
IIRAl. HOUSEWIVES.
f-lM"l"l"l"l"l"l"l l"t""l'-l"l"l"l'-t-
Dorothea von Hehlcgel, the clever
alfo of a great husband and Hut
laughter of a great iiian, was oflen
urged to lay down her knitting needled
mid lake tip her pen. Hhu replied,
Tbeie are far too many IhhiUh In tho
lun-ld and fur too few stocking.", Mvh.
Louise J. Mlln, III "Wooing and Wed
iliug of Many CIIiiion." say that till
remark Illustrate tho point of view of
iiiiiny (Jei'iiinn women.
Willi most (Ionium women house
keeping l both a science nnd nn art.
I In- woman who l dally and hourly
engaged In scleiicn and lilt Is but '
u 111111111 of stagnant mentality. Her
kiti hen Is her laboratory. Her Ititoli
iiinm Is her ntlldlo.
The averago Herman housewife docs
n much work ns any, but sho make
fur less fun about It than most. Klin
due no dirty work. There Is novor
any dirty work for her to do, for dirt
I only mutter out of pluco. Tho good
Herman housekeeper never displace
anything, neu-r allow anything I"
misplace Itself. It I n lino lesson In
good breeding to see a Herman woman
mako a cako or brow n cup.
lu tho rnrly soenllea. In Chicago, I
know a Herman family. From tho
baking of their bread In Ibr swing of
their bread baked, from tho dining
room to the kitchen whs an easy step
for tho child stranger within those
simple Herman gales. And I had my
first nnd greatest lesson In rlcganro
nnd the grand manner when 1 watched
Fran von Itlltccplcklo peaches.
It wa a sermon on high thinking
and right llWng. Shu was so cool, so
dainty, so unflushcd, so self possessed,
hi i cheery, but so dignified, so ru-ry-thing
that 1 had supposed II Impossi
ble to be tn a kitchen. Although I was
,nilr liule i-lrl. 1 realized that tilt
Islmplo Hprmnii housewife had III both
her iiitiul and her manner many lino
nnd high trails, which were often sad
ly lacking lu thu mother of other
of my playmate. Most of them were
women of lavish wraith, but not one uf
ilieui could ever hope to wear her dia
monds with half tho distinction Willi
vitu.'li this Herman woman wore her
spoil,' cooking apron.
HCLD AN EXCELLENT HAND.
Hut llir III. I Cnr.l 1'lnjcr Tliiiiintit II
oiil.ln'l Count In Hi (luiur.
Things had progressed to n point
wtiere the young man had been prnctl
rally received Into the family circle.
While lie hadn't yet mustered up suf
Hi lent courage to ask the old limit's
oiisent. It mus etliletit that he would
In time.
Thu It happened that the old man,
who liked nothing better than a good
gauir of whist or ruchro or hearts, In
vited him to a little gamo ono evening,
mid, of course, he didn't frel that It
would bo policy to refuse.
'You and mother," said the old mint,
referring to bis wife, "can play ngnlnst
Hlndys and me. Tlint will bo fair. It
joii and Hlady sat opposlto each
other you would probably persist III
looking Into eaeli other' eyes, to the
groat detriment of tho game."
Naturally the young woman nnd tho
young man blushed, but they said
nothing, and the game began.
it wasn't much of a game. While
the young woman wasn't sitting oppo
site the young mnn, she was sitting
next tn him, and every row minute
nun or the other of them forgot In
play when It wa hi or her turn.
Then, too, there wero frequent In
quiries an to who took the Inst trick
and what wn trump and, altogether,
llio old man felt a good ileal like swear
ing on ono or two occasions.
Finally ho tiiaile up hi mind that
pntleiice bad censed to bo a virtue.
Tho gamo had comn to a standstill
whllo tho young people exchanged con
fidences In n whisper. It wa notice
able that each had one hand under tho
table.
"Young mnn," said tho old man,
shandy, "I should Infer from tho wny
you nro plnylng tlint you haven't
much of a hand,"
"On tho contrary, sir," protested the
young man, "I think 1 havo a good n
liand ns I ever held,"
"Well, supposo you drop It for a few
minutes and try lo play the cards Hint
nro on llio table," suggested thu gen
tleman dryly.
He did. Ills missing hand appeared
aboro the table almost Instantly, nnd
so did hers, nnd they both blushed.
Now York Press.
Alter War, Mnln Children.
Statistics of population seem to
show that after long iimsi-vcro war,
tn which ninny men nro killed nnd the
mnlo part of a country's population I
greatly decreased, Iboro I for several
years a preponderating birth of mnlo
children until tho normal proportion
hotween the sexes Is restored. This
seem to hnvo been noted after tho
thirty year' war In Germany, after
tho Napoleonic war In Franco nud
even In more recent times after tho
siege of Purls.
(Julio lllglit.
Little Marlon's musU' teaclier, whllo
endeavoring to make plain to her the
different lioto-valueH, usvd nn apple as
nn Illustration. Cutting it In two, Ma
rlon niiuounced, "Thoso pieces nro
IiuIvch." On bisecting tho halves, sho
replied, "Qunrlers," but when It ciiiuo
to dividing one quarter, to bring out
tho Idea of eighths, ner was tho wlso
response, "That's n bile," Woman's
Homo Companion.
Absent,
"Your now minister is qulto tiro
somo, isn't ho? Doesn't his prcuchlug
bother youi"
"Well, not nt Wednesday night
prayer meeting."
"Oinclousl You must be pious, I
only go to church on Sunday,"
"That's all I do." Philadelphia
Press.
That I the Wny of It
"Judging from tho price of eggs, ov
ery hon must think she Is laying gold
en ones," said Snooper.
"And I am ono of tho geeso that buys
tho golden eggs," answered Swayback,
Detroit Free Press,
Wo aro ln favor of a Ileal Ileformi
engaging paid pall bearers. Friends do
not like to servo, and If they consent
tt Is unwillingly,