godftd by a Spell
ClIAPTHR XV.
Mr. Montgomery waa particularly fond
of telling stories of hit own adventure.
He was never known, however, at such
times to glvo any cine to hl family or
connections. All the stories vera con
fined to hla vagabond days. IIo never
allowed any person to Interrupt hla nar
ratives liy remarks; any audi must bo
reserved until they were conclude.!.
"Of all the vagaliond specs 1 ever
launched Into, none ever brought me In
so much cash aa the mesmerism dodge,
he began.
I started at those words, and from
that moment became au eater and at-
tenure listener.
"When I first started In It. I tkouzht
It mi all humbug. I cot hold of a ahnrp,
clover girl, who pretended to mesmerize
the arcompllcea I carried about with me.
Well, one line morning, thin girl bolted
oil with oue of the accomplices, and I
was left In the lurch, with my hills out,
announcing a performance for the u-xt
night I walked gloomily about the
town. Turning down a back street, 1
went Into a public house. There m
or.br one other person In the room besides
myself a sottish looking fellow, who
bore upon'mETthe unmistakable marka
of a followtr of St. Crispin. He waa in
clloed to be talkative. At first I waa
too moody to bestow upon ulm any reply.
ltiit he waa not to beanubbed; and, at
last, the low cnnnlng, and coarse, hu
morons shrewdness of his remarks, be
gan to amuse me. He invited me home
to dinner with him. I accepted his In
vitation. "lie lived In a nualld court, a hid-
eoua looking place, and the home he led
me Into was In keeping with Its sur
roundings. I begsn to wish myself out
of the adventure; with all my lore of
vagabondism, this waa a little beyond
me. Crouching over a handful of tire
was a girl about thirteen or fourteen
years of age, with Sery red hair and a
pal?, sullen face, every bone of her thin.
angular body ahowlng through the rag
ged, scanty clothing that barely covered
lire. She rose from her seat with a
scowling look of disdain, which changed
to one of astonishment at the sight of
a well-dressed stranger. She fixed her
rjes upon me with an Inquiring stare.
There was something in those eyes that
strangely affected me.
"Her father ordered her about with
threats, and would have used blows, I
lx-lieve. had I not been there. The girl
regarded him much in the manner of a
raged tigress, who would like to fasten
upon her keeper, but dare not. I kept
watching her as she moved about, and
suddenly a strange idea struck me. Could
1 get this girl to play the clairvoyant the
next night? I at once put It to her
father. Seising upon the dilemma in
which I waa placed, and which I had
somewhat incautiously laid bare to him.
he tried to drive an extortionate bargain.
While we were speaking, the girl stop
ped her work, and leaning over the back
of a chair facing us, listened eagerly to
my proposition.
"Do you think you can do it?" I said,
turning to her.
"I can do anything that yon show me
and teach me," ahe answered confidently.
"The night came, and when she was
clean, her hair dressed and ahe was
clothed In toe black velvet dress that I
carried about with me, she had a for
more aybllllne appearance than her pred
ecessor. I had drilled her well Into her
task, at which I found her wonderfully
apt; and, although I anticipated a few
blunders, I had every hope of success.
"Although she had never faced an au
dience before, and we had a large one
that night, she was as fearless and self
possessed as though she had been uted
to It for years.
"One of the principal points of the
performance was to select a man from
the crowd, bring him on to the platform,
put him into a mesmeric sleep, and then
cause him to answer any questions that
the clairvoyant might choose to put to
him; added to which, he waa made to
promise to do certain things when he
awoke. Hitherto we had used an ac
complice for the purpose. Whether she
was confused by the sight of so many
faces, or deceived by a resemblance, I
do not know; bnt what was my dismay
to see her select an entire stranger for
the experiment! In sheer desperation, I
tried to cover the blunder by saying tl.at
the party selected was not a fit sub
ject, from a certain similarity In the
color of the balr and eyes to those of
the girl. The audience grew suspicious,
and Insisted that there should be no
change.
"With the perspiration starting j-ptn
every pore, I waited for wliatjl fytnijy
believed would be an Ignominious ex'fUIj.
lire. Conceive ray astonishment, th'enV.
when, after being submitted to the mes
meric Influence of her eyes for three
minutes, I saw him grow rigid. Ills eyes
fixed, and his whole body drawn Irresist
ibly towards her. Just as I had so often
keen feigned by my assistants. Not only
that, but he answered every question put
to him, some of a very awkward nature,
with the air of a man Irresistibly com
pelled against his will. She then de
sired that as soon as she should take the
Influence oft him, he. should go to the
chandelier In the middle of the room,
and burn his hat. And ho did do it; and
I had to buy lilra a new one; but what
did I care for that? I had discovered
a fortune!
At Inst, I was half-Inclined to believe
that she had planted some friend of her
own to humbug me, and raise the terms;
but I was soon convinced that such sus
picions were groundless; and, indeed,
from the first, the whole thing was too
real to be doubted.
Everywhere our success waa enormous
crowded houses, no more accomplices,
all genuine, except the clairvoyance. In
which there was still a good deal of
humbug; but that humbug she and I
could manage together without other as
sistance than that of a pianist
Never was such a change seen as I
wrought In lens than a week In both
father and daughter. A good suit of
clothes-gave blm quite an air of respec
tability, and tnken away from old asso
ciations, he bocame comparatively re
formed In his habits. Iu the girl, the
change was still more remarkable. No
one could possibly have recognised In
the neatly dressed, scrupulously clean
Slgpora 7.enobla the ragged, slovenly Ju
dith Stokes of a few days back. For my
part, I stood In awo of those terrible
eyes, and she grew aa proud aud haugh
ty as a duchess.
"For two years wo traveled the coun
try pretty comfortably together, and dur
ing all that time Judith scarcely ever
made a failure. In the meantime, old
Stokes was growing discontented h
considered that he waa too much kept
In the background. The strangest thlug
of all was that he took to religious
books, and to attending the meeting
house. Ity and by he used to dlsap
lar regularly every Sunday for the
whole day. At last I discovered his se
cret. He would go a few miles away
from the town where we were exhibit
lag, and do a little open-air preaching
to the rustics. Things were becoming
very unsatisfactory; even the girl seem
ed getting weary of her work, and I was
beginning to think that It would be bet
ter to tum the whole affair up and start
something else, than to put up with the
airs of people whom I had picked out
of the gutter, when my thought was an
ticipated sooner than I counted upon.
"We were exhibiting at Spalding one
night to a very bad honse. and Just aa
Judith waa In the middle of her perform
ance a young fellow was upon the plat
form, answering questions In the mes
meric sleep two or three swells strolled
luto the front seats. They were highly
amused at the manner In which the fel
low seemed compelled to answer all klnda
of absurd questions; evidently regarding
the whole thing, however, as a sell. As
soon as the yokel was dismissed, ono
of the part;-. In spite of the remon
strances of his companions, rose from hla
scat, and bounding upon the platform,
expressed a wish to be mesmerised. The
event caused a great commotion In the
room, as he and his companions were
known to be gentlemen of position. At
tho first glance Judith could perceive
that he waa one of those strouz-wllled
beings over whom she could exercise no
influence. She declined. He Insisted,
and declared tho whole thing was a
swindle. The people began to hiss, not
blm, but us.
'I cannot mesmerize yon. hut I ran
your friend there,' said Judith, point
Ing to the dark-eyed, weak-looking young
man who had accompanied him.
lie objected: but his companion cried
out. Mint you shall. Jack. No, hang It!
rair play ror .euoblal We have called
her an Impostor, and we will give her a
chance.'
lie Jumped down oil the platform.
and whispered to 'Jack,' aa he called
him, but not In so low a tone but what
I could catch the words. 'Go-up don't
bo a fool; she can no more mesmerize
you than she can me. It la only a put
off, thinking tho challenge won't be ac
cepted.
"ery reluctantly the young man
mounted the platform and took the chair
Indicated by Zcnobla, very much to the
delight of his friends, who clapped their
hands, shouted 'Bravo!' and laughed up
roariously.
"Judith, who alwaya bad the temper
of a Bend, was boiling with passion at
the ridicule cast upon her; but her rage
waa manifested by no word or sign, only
by her livid face, and by those awful
eyes, that looked for all the world like
some brilliant m,tslllc surface, upon
which a strong light was shining. She
cast one disdainful glance round the
room, which bad the effect of partly sub
duing the uproar, and set herself to her
task.
"In two minutes he waa as rigid as a
corpse and as helpless aa a child. The
expression of her eyea was something
fearful; the whole audience. Including
eien his companions, were hushed li to
sileuce: even I shuddered as I looked at
her. She used her power mercilessly,
asking him questions of the most sacred
nature, to all of which he replied undls
gulsedly. The moment her eyes were
off him, the young fellow fell down In
strong convulsions.
There wss an awful consternation In
the room. People rushed upon the plat
form to tender their assistance, Judith
stood aloof, leaning upon the piano,
gloating malignantly over her work.
Well, as Boon as he recovered, they put
him Into a cab and sent him home, one of
his companions accompanying. Hut the
challenger, who had caused the commo
tion, remained behind until nil the peo
ple were dispersed, and then walked
heme to our hotel with us. He not only
confessed that no blame could Ik; attach
ed to the young lady for what had oc
curred, but very handsomely npologleil
for his rudeness In doubting her power.
"i'He came Into our private room and
su iibed with us. He was remarkably
curious about mesmerism, and asked us
an infinity of questions concerning Its
powers and effects. It struck me that
e had some motive underneath these In
terrogations beyond mere Idle curiosity,
for he seemed to ponder over our an
swers and revolve them In his mind.
Well, of course the sensation In the
town was something marvelous. For a
week we turned crowds away from the
doors nightly. Strange to say, the young
man who had caused the sensation came
every night, and persisted In desiring
to be again mesmerized, although he
still looked shaken and polo from the ef
fects of the first experiment This, how
ever, I would not permit Judith seemed
to have acquired some strange fasci
nation over him; he followed her like
a shadow, Ilut she would scarcely deign
to look upon him; she seemed always to
feel a great contempt for those who wero
amenable to the mesmeric Influence. To
our other friend, her behavior was very
different He came pretty often to the
hotel, and I frequently found them In
private confab together. I could not un
derstand what a handsome swell like
that could una to aamire in uony, red-
haired Judith.
"Well, the last night came. I had left
the hotel about S o'clock In the after
noon to walk round the town with our
bill poster. When the time came to
open the doors, the checkers came to me
to say that Mr. Btokee, who was money
taker, had not arrived, I knocked at
Judith's dressing room door, Slio was
not there. In an Instant It darted upon
my mind that I waa sold that they
had boltedl
"1 went off to the hotel. My suapl
clona were verified. They had left, bag
and baggage, Immediately after I bad
gone out I went to the station, it ml
found they had Imokrd for Potcrlwrouxli
but there all traces ceased, ami from
that time to tills I have never heard of
thtm. It will be warm for them It eier
I do, for they completely broke in up
after saving them from starvation
too
"Mr. IJodwell that was the swell's
name ami his friends disappeared at
the same time. Then I discovered that
they were strangers In tho town had
only come down for the shooting season,
The onlr person who could have six en
mo any Information the landlord of the
hotel where they put up had received
his csutlou, and pretended to know
nothing.
"Hut the strangest bit of the whole
story Is yet to come. This very night,
Just aa I waa going dowu to the prompt
wing, during the third act or the play,
I saw a swell talking to Miss (llbsou.
In the third entrance. Ills faro struck
me In an Instant as being familiar; but
the moment I heard his voice all doubts
vsnlshed. It's some years since we met,
and ho was not more than two or three
awl tweuty at the time; but I recognised
Mr. Hodwell In a moment. We had a
little private chat together, and lie slip-
red a couple of sovereigns luto my hand;
but I coulilu t get anything out of mm
about the Stokescs. He pretended to
know nothing of their disappearance that
night, and never to have seen them since.
which I know to be a He. However, 1
feel a little curious to know who my
gentlemen himself may be. so I set
young Jack llrindle, the call boy, to
watch him, and I warrant he won't lose
sight of him."
CIIAPTKIt XVI.
It may be Imagined with what breath
less Interest I listened to Mr. Mont
gomery's story, for It Is almost needless
to remsrk that lu Judith Stokes and her
father I recognized the ltev. Mr. I'orter
and hli daughter. The events related
could not have occurred very loug before
I was scut aa a little child to Taber
nacle House. Ilut this early connection
of Judith with Mr. Itodwell waa some
what puzzling, for I had never seen
him come to the house farther back than
about eighteen months before I left It.
Once, while the narration waa proceed
Ing. I debated within myself whether I
should Inform Mr. Montgomery of the
Identity of "Hill" Stokea with my late
master; bnt for various and obvious rea
sons I decided In the negative.
Hut another was not so reticent At
the mention of the red hair and the
strange eyea of the girl. I saw Joslah'a
face assume an expresslou of more live
ly Interest, which gradually Increased as
the narrator proceeded to describe Mr.
Stokes' love of open air preaching. He
dared not hazard a remark until the
story was ended, aa Mr. Montgomery's
wrath waa a thing not to be dlsrcgaid
ed. Hut tho Instant the last words wire
spoken, Juslah burst out:
"I'll forfeit my life, Professor, If I
don't know where to lay my hands upon
him this moment!"
"What! 11111 Stokes and his, daugh
ter?" "The very same. Is he a msn with
stubby black hair, a large mouth, noao
twisted on oue side, and crooked legs?"
"That'a the man."
"Then It Is no other than Old Snnflles
that Silas has just bolted from. I rec
ognized him In a minute didn't jou.
Silas r
I waa now compelled to confess that
I did; but much against my will, as I
foresaw that this discovery would bring
to light all that I so ardently desired to
keep concesled.
(To be continued.)
NO MORE LIGHTNING RODS.
Ont of I'liror, Though Still Credited
with Slight Value.
Lightning rods have fuller) Into deep
disfavor almost every where nowa
days, but they are valued lenst by the
hasty pcoplo who once valued them
most, nnd those who really know tliu
most about them still credit them with
n mensurable, though, small, amount of
protcctlvo power If properly con
structed and maintained, as they hard
ly ever nre. For those who consider
even a slight diminution of the danger
of lighting worth securing nt some ex
pense In money nnd n good deal of
care, the wenther bureau offers Infor-
mntlon nnd ndvlce prepared for it by
Professor W. S. Franklin, of Lehigh
University.
The first desideratum Is what tho
electricians call n "good ground"
Hint Is, close and permanent connec
tion with a large mnss of high elec
trical conductivity, like damp noil or
nu extensive system of metallic pipes,
Tho lightning rod Itself should be n
wide band, n thln-wulled tube or n wire
cable, rather than a solid wire, for so
1 the conductivity of n given amount
of metal largely Increased. And of
extreme Importance Is It that the
course of the rod to the ground Hliould
be us short and straight ns possible
If tho pathway provided for the
bolt" be, devious tho Impatient mes
senger frota or to tho clouds will
not follow It, no matter how much Is
spent for glass or other Insulators,
while If the path be straight the Insu
lators are needless for any charge, tho
rod can carry.
What happens when n rood light-
nine rod Is put to test Is thus described
by n man who went through the expe
rience nt a mountain hotel In this
State; "I was standing on the piazza
when tho most tremendous shock or
concussion concelrablo took place. I
bad a sudden sun dazzle In the eyes, a
bitter taato In tho mouth, a violent
singing in the ears, a pungent, sul
phurous odor In the noso and a sovero
headache. Then I learned that the
houso bad been struck by lightning;
that Is to say, that the conductors had
functioned effectively and nad safely
conducted the electricity Into the lake,
Instead of the discharge falling upon
the hotel and wrecking It" Now York
Times.
'some more adventures
Or HOME-AGAIN
HIRAM.
-Cincinnati Tost
OLD 8 ALTS AT MOURINQ&
BntiK Harbor a Hmall Portion of th
1118 World.
There was a moment of solemn si
leuco In which all three of the old rap-
tains drew out tbclr red bandanas
and generously mopped their brows.
My guide essayed to speak, but tho
little man Interrupted blm aud tot
tcred over to an Immense chest of
drawers which served as a dresser and
closet combined, says a writer In tho
Oreat Itound World.
IIo took from tho chest a manuscript
written In a feeble, wavering band,
and lingered tho pages nervously, as
If they were great treasures. "This Is
what I would like to say to the world,"
he said, with pathetic earnestness.
"After shipping llfty -two years In all
capacities as Is iKisslblo to tho sen.
and nfter being tossed over the great
salt mountains of tho briny deep. I
have nt last cast anchor In peaceful
Snug Harbor and moored my craft In
the peace-giving shadows of tho ver
dant trees on Its beautiful grounds."
"Ain't that fine!" gasped llio en
thusiastic old crony, whoso eyes wero
brimming with tenderness. "He's boon
a lecturer In Ida time." Tho threo
bandanas ngnlu did xcrrlcn on tha
three brows, like topsails In n stiff
brcezo of emotion. "And say," con
tinued tho ox-lecturer, In a relieved
tone, "you might sny that I'm think
ing of getting married again." Two
of the topsails Happed on their quiver
ing masts and wero drawn down with
a Jerk.
"No, no!" said tho sympathetic old
roommate, "I wouldn't put that In.
That wouldn't do. Offer tho gentlemen
tho candy," ho Hiiggested, with tho
tnio spirit of finesse. Tho ex-lccturer
acted on bis sailing master's ndvlce,
explaining. "Wo old snugs must havo
our luxuries."
Tho room was scrupulously clean. A
"spread" of tho old-fashioned "sham"
variety over red musllu covered tho
bed. There wero tidies und family
photographs and a conspicuous print of
George, Washington on tho chest of
drawers. I bad wanted simply to see
the manner of rooms In which they
lived; but, at the prospect of getting
Into print tho "captains" opened up
the floodgates of their energetic old
lives wherein yet surged tho restless
ness that had driven them all over
the world. Snug Harbor was ovldcntly
but a small pattern of tho big world,
with prides, Jealousies, ambitions aud
strifes.
Softening It
IJoothlct What do you mean by
saying I'm tho worst nctor you ever
saw? Coolly Well, Fvs no doubt It
did seem rather harsh; but, then, you
know, Uicro nro no many actors I have
never seen! Boston Transcript i
Hotnethlna New In Hulkles,
Tho training and breeding of rnco
horses has Increased to n very largo
extent In this country In recent years,
which has resulted In tho production
of some very fast rnco horses nnd also
tho breaking of world's records. Tho
imtvKn on tiir ho list's nxcx.
sulky has been used to n large extent
In these races. As at present con
structed, It Is exceedingly frail nnd
weighs so little that the horse finds
uo difficulty In pulling It after blm.
A now Idea In sulkies Is shown In
tho picture. Tho harness, with the
rider's saddle, Is put over tho horso's
back, directly In back of the front
t ., ... 'T-!. I t - o . I ...
Just outside tho forelegs, an
arched frame connecting the driv
er's seat rigidly with the wheels. Nec
essary harness Is provided to secure
tho vehicle to a fixed position to tho
body of the horse, cushioning devices
being placed In position to lessen any
Jar that might bo caused by tho mo
tion of the horse. Tills Improved
sulky would he of no appreciable
weight to the horse, nnd when tried at
aomo future race, as It surely will
be, mora racing records should bo
broken.
fleorgo W. 8t Clair, Lexington, Ky
la the patentee.
Hoi for llotillnst Need.
Tho Introduction of un to date ag
ricultural machinery has done away
with planting seeds by hand, except
by the small farmer, who cannot sf-
SEED CAX DC OABIIKD.
ford and has no usa for such devices.
He still has to plant bis seeds by
hand, usually using a box or bag for
holding the seeds. A New Jersey man
has Invented a new arrangement for
this purpose. This seed box comprizes
MEMORIAL TO EIIIAN ALLEN.
The plcturo represents the memo
rial tower which the Vermont Sons oj
the American Itevolutlon wliuerect
to tho famous Green Mountain Stato
patriot, Ethan Allen. It will bo In tho
form of a square modified (iothlc
structure with an overhanging crene
lated battlement. The material em
ployed In the construction will be Ver
mont marble, and It will bo located at
Durllngton, where Allen died In 1780,
having been a resident of the town for
two years. Although a blusterer and
given to strong expressions, tho old
hero of Ttconderogn was as full of ac
tion as he was of expletives, and ho
displayed great ability both In war
nd In politics,
Ho toyed tha Theater.
Few men of any rank or time havo
ever dorived so much unaffected pleas
tiro from the theater as George III,
In fact, In the word of a contempor
ary, It was "ns good as a play to hear
the royal laughter and nota tha genu
Ino enjoyment of his majeaty," "Ho Is
sold," Thackeray wroto, "not to hnvo
u red for Hhauspeure or tragedy much.
Farces aud pantomimes wero Ills Joy,
and especially when the clown swal
n roceptnetn with nn open top, and l
made of soino rigid niatorlni. Tho half
die Is arranged In tho center on tin
upper edgo of tho seed box. A simp
Is suspended over tho shoulder, which
fastens to a loop secured to tho Inner
upper edgo of the box midway of lis
length. Tho shape of tho box Is mnrtn
to conform to tho curvo of the body
at tho hips, so that It ran bo readily
carried. Knough seeds can b carried
lu this receptacle to cover n couplo
of acres of ground, thn seeds being
at all times within easy reach.
Tho patentee Is lllclinrd llassett.
Dover, N. J.
tluurd for Keys.
Some peoplo nro particularly care
ful In locking up tho house at night,
while others nro Just as careless. Kx
perU'tired thieves nnd burglars know
all the trlckr of thn trade, and If they
cannot get In a houso una way they
can another, and unless thn house Is
extraordinarily well protected they
will find some way of breaking In.
Sometimes they will saw tho lock
completely nut of the door, but tha
easiest nnd most common way Is thn
use of tho skeleton key. Of course.
rntvxnTs Tunnina or xxr.
this Is only for use on doors having
no other fastening but the door lock.
liven If the door Is locked by a key
on the Inside which some peoplo
think ample protection tho key can
bo pushed through and tho door
opened by means of the skeleton key.
In the Illustration will bo found a key
guard to Imi fitted to a door which
will effectually prevent entrance by
n skeleton key, A bracket having a
longitudinal slot Is attached to tho
frame of tho dooj lu alignment with
tho keyhole, l'lvotally connected to
tho bracket Is a guard formed of it
strip of melal bent at tho center, with
a slot Into which thn key In tho door
fits. Connected with this guard Is n
spring-actuated lever having a finger
which projects through tho slots of
tho guard. When tho door has been
locked by the key the guard Is turned
and tho head of the key Inserted In
tho slot The spring Is then released,
tho finger on the lever projecting
through tho guard and the head of
tho key. Tho key cannot be turned
nor moved until released by some on
on the Inside. This attachment, though
small, also has tho advantage that It
can bo easily and quickly slipped Into
place.'
Tho patentee Is Allen Morrell. of
Cripple Creek, Colo.
lowed a carrot or a string of sausage
ho would laugh so outrageously that
tho lovoly princess by his stds would
havo to say, 'My gracious, monarch,
do compose yourself!' And ho contin
ued to laugh nnd at tho very smallest
farces as long as his poor wits wero
left lilni."
So frequent were Oeorge's visits to
the theater that "his face was tho
most familiar In London to playgoers,
who took no more notlco of his pres
ence than If he had been n simple citi
zen, except when his boisterous laugh
ter drew attention to him nnd started
others laughing out of Irresistible In
fcctlon." Aa fnmlllnr a spectacle na
that of his mnjesty purple nnd rolling
with laughter was to sea htm sleeping
as peacefully as a child between tho
acts.
So partial was ho to actors that ho
permitted and even smiled at liberties
which ho would have resented In any
ono elso. On ono occasion, when Par
sons was playing In "Tho Siege of
Calais," tho actor walkoil toward tho
box In which Ooorgo was sitting ami
addressed him In the words of hla
part; "And tho king wero her and
did not ndmlro my scaffold I would
say; 'Hang him! II has no taste,' "
a pleco of Impudence which threw hla
majesty Into a lit of laughter. Lon
don Tlt-HIts.
The Irfioomollva as Coal Rater.
Tho total con! production of tho
United Btates Is now at tho rnto of
1,000,000 tons per day, and the con
sumption of coal by railroads Is equal
to 40 per cent of this, or 400,000 ton
per day, Tho fuel bill of a railroad
contributes about 10 per cent of thn
total expense of operation and 00 to
40 per cent of tho total cost of run
ning tho locomotives. A locomotlvo
will consume on nn average of 13,000
worth of coal per annum, und for a
road having an equlpmont of 1,000
locomotives the coal bill Is approxi
mately 19,000,000. Hallway Age.
For tho Serious Moment,
"I bear ho rcfusod to take chloro
form when ho was operated on."
"Yes; ho said ho'd rather take It
when ho paid his bill,"
Men who nro subleet In linv fever
should steer clear of grass widows.