&
i A Dead Past
IJr Dy MRS. LOVCTT CAMCRON
$$;lV-VVit
GIIAPTKU I.
On the deck of n Kre.it Eastern bound
teaincr crowd hurrying hither ami
thither, bale of luggage lumbering up
the way, sailors ami railway porter
tumbling over each other, the officer of
the ship shouting forth distracted order,
passenger, men, women and little chil
dren standing together in group striving
to hear e.ich other' trembllne word of
farewell, and over all the screech of the
steam from tho two great smoking fun
nel overhead.
Ten minute moro and the shore bell
will be rung and the farewells will all
bare to pome to an end. and the India
.bound ship will have started on her way.
They chmg round each other, these
poor unfortunates who were parting
somo for years, and some forever re
peating the last fond word, the last
cares over and over again. gaalug Into
each other's eye despairingly a though
they would fain carry away every line of
tho dear face from which they were so
noon to bo severed.
Such n couple stood thu together, a
little remote from the buy scene, near
the bulwark of the ship. The crowded
quay wa above them, yet because every
body wa so full of hurry and excite
ment, so wrapped up either with the
bnsinc or the Rrlef which specially en
grossed them, these two people stood
virtually alone a man and a woman,
both young and both tall; they clasped
each other's hands with a straining de
apalr. and looked with a speechless ag
ony Into each other's face.
Hrlan Desmond was eight and twenty
then, he had health and brain and good
looks, and the vigor of a hearty vitality
wa In his strong, young limb, but a
be held ltosamoud Mario's hand tightly
clasped within hi own and looked his
last Into her beautiful eye, he said to
himself that life was at an end for him.
"It I better." she said, brokenly, "far
better that I should go away; try to
look at It In the right light, Hrlan. What
pood could I be to you at home; and you
will get used to It In time; there are
many other things for you to live for."
"I have nothing to live for nothing,"
bo said, gloomily; "without you life I
nn absolute blank."
The tears streamed over her faco a
she strove to answer htm. "And yet I
should be nn ever present sorrow to you
were I to remain. Consider. Ilrlan, how
desperate, how hopeless t our condition;
how much more terrible to bear were we
to meet constantly than when a whole
hemisphere stretched between us!
"Aht you might have waited you
might have waited," he groaned.
"What wa there to wait for? Would
your uncle and his sons have died so that
we might be happy? Would any one
have given you an appointment? Was
there any chance that even a beggarly
clerkship would tumble Into your arms?
And had we not already waited for this
for years; hoping against hope, striving
against certainty, leaving no stone un
turned so that we might find only a mis
erable .'jundred a year to depend upon?"
"So you married old Samuel Karle In
stead!" he said bitterly.
"I have married a worthy, kind-hearted
man, who Is good to me, and who
has placed me above want why go over
the old ground again? In these last
few moments, Ilrlan, spare me the re
proaches which, perlyips, I may deserve,
but which are certainly unavailing now."
"Darling darling!" he cried, with a
passionate despair, "mine always and
ever, In heart aud soul, -wherever you
may be."
She did not check him. This was no
moment for the exhibition of a sham
prudery which she did not feel. She
was putting a whole universe between
them, so that she might be as true to
the man sho had married as to the man
whom she loved; and she would not In
this moment of a farewell, that was m
nit human probability eternal, cavil at
the strong expression of a love which
bad never been hidden between them.
Her tears flowed fast, raining down
thickly upon the clenched hands which
grasped her own.
"You know," she cried, suddenly
throwing back her head "you know that
to my dying day I shall love you the
same, but you you must be happy, Ilrl
an. not now, I know, but after a bit, time
will reconcile you to life, and you will
marry,"
"I shall never marry," he answered
resolutely, "never as lung as I live,
ltosamoud, I swear to you that never
wilt I make any other woman wife but
you. I can always wait; how can one
tell what changes life may not bring?
Ten, twenty, fifty years! what U time
to such a love as mine ill It not last
forever, shall anything ever change or
dim Its fervor? Can I not always watt
wait on aud hope?"
And so Brian, as he swore, believed
In his own oaths, and Itosaipond believ
ed In them too. Then glancing beyond
the strong young form of the man she
loved, Mrs. Karle's eyes rested suddenly
upon auotlier figure that came clamber
ing up the companion stair on to the
deck, a short, fat, little old gentleman,
with gray whiskers, who emerged pant
Ingly from the lower regions, looking
hither and thither as he came up as
though In search of some one.
She neither moved farmer from Des
mond, nor did sho withdraw her hands
from his only she tightened her hold for
ono Instant upon ills lingers, and a swift
warning glance shot from her eyes Into
his. Itrlan's back was turned to tin
newcomer, but he understood. He gent
ly dropped ono of ltosaiuoud's hands,
itnd, retaining tho other still In his grasp,
turned round and met Samuel Karle as
he came toward them.
"Ah, Desmond! not gone on shore yet?
You are determined to Bee the last of
us, then?"
"I was wishing your wife," the
words came out with an effort, "another
fc'ood-by."
"And we are both of us crying over
It," Bald Mrs. Karle, smiling through
her tears; "such old friendi as Hrian and
I uro, Sam, It seems Quito terrible to us
to part." , ,
"Ah, no doubt, no doubt, my dear!
These partings are very trying, and old
playmate, such a you two are, must no
doubt feel It so;" he looked kindly and
sympathetically from ono to tho other.
Something In his benign face touched
KosMiioml strangely, sho twined her
hand through her husband's arm, a
though to gather strength from contact
with him. Hrlan Desmond turned very
white and fell back a step. And then
the shore bell rang.
The Orlana steamed rapidly toward
the sea. Hut still ltosamoud stood, mo
ttonles and tearless, gailng back upon
the swiftly vanishing shore, while still
that other figure wa left, solitary now,
long after all others had turned away.
Hrian Desmond stood on alone until hi
eyes could no longer discern even the
distant ship that bore away tho woman
who was hut to him forever.
OHAPTKU II.
"Salmon trout, roast chicken, pea
and Htatoo. Now I wonder how a
cherry tart would do, or would It be
too frivolous. Daddy?"
The voice seemed to come from the
floor, somewhere down by tho white mus
lin window curtain.
I'rof. Laybouroe, who wa engrossed
In the minute examination of the me
chanism of a grasshopper's thigh through
hi famous microscope, raised hi vener
able head for one moment a the small
childish voice struck upon hi ear.
"What Is my Kitten chattering about
down there?" he said, making a pencil
note upon the manuscript by hi side.
"I was only wondering If old men liked
cherry tart, Daddy?"
"Whenever they can get It, I should
say, Kitten! Apropos of what Is that
wise remark, and what old man are you
proposing to regale In so succulent a
fashion?"
"What old man? Oh. daddy! I do be
llevo you have beetle on the brain to
such an extent that ou are losing your
memory. Havo you forgotten that this
I the day that your friend, Mr. Des
mond, Is coming to stay with you?"
"Aud you call nlm an 'oM man, Kit
ten? Why. he I ilte a lad."
"You said he wa thirty-eight. Dad
dy," replied the small voice reproachful
ly. "I call that quite old. Why, he I
twenty-two years older than I am, old
enough to be my father why, it's near
ly forty," In a voice of horror.
The professor laughed. "You must
consider me a sort of Methuselah, a fos
sil of pre-Adamlte date, then. Do you
know that I am over sixty. Kitten?"
"Ah, but you are my Daddy," she an
swered, with indescribable tenderness In
her voice.
"Pray, what have you got upon your
mind. Mis Laybourne?" Inquired her
father, with a smile In answer to his
daughter's last observation.
"Your dinner, Mr. Professor. I have
noticed, daddy, that although you are
a very great man, your Intellect Is often
more sluggish than mine. Now give me
a man about to arrive by the ! o'clock
train on a certain day, my mind Instantly
fixes Itself upon ono Idea, and that Idea
Is naturally dinner; your brain seems
to le brought far more slowly and with
Inconceivable dlfllculty to this point." -
"Not at all, Kitten." answered the pro
feasor, taking up a letter which lay upon
the table; "since I have heard this morn
ing from Hrlan Desmond that he will
not arrive till 10 o'clock to-night, my
intellect naturally bounded beyond the
dinner hour at once, and fixed Itself
upon"
"Supper!" Interrupted Kitten, triumph
antly. "Aud what are we to have for supper,
then?"
"Why, the same thing as dinner, to
I sure; salmon trout cold, chickens
cold, salad instead of peas, and cherry
tart cold, too; that Is to Vay, If you
think he will eat cherry tart," she added,
with a curiously childish anxiety.
"Hut you will have to go to bed, Kit
ten; little girls can't sit up to late sup
pers. Hesldes, Desmond Is coming to
see me upon business, so we shall do
Just as well without you to-night."
Kitten laughed. She did not often
laugh. "Her fun was more often ex
pressed In a certain demure dryness pe
culiar to herself laughter was not, per
haps. Indigenous to the soil of the pro
fessor's household; but when at rare
Intervals Kitten laughed, her laugh was
very sweet to hear. It was never loud
or noisy, It could hardly even be called
hearty, and yet It was pleasant to llten
to, like the rippling note of a caged
bird that warbles a response to some
Inner gush of feeling of its own.
She fluttered away out of the room.
iter thoughts liaek again with the cherry
tart ami the supper, and the professor
was left alone.
Hut he did not go back to his micro
scope. He leaned his pale face, lined
and scored like an ancient parchment
with study and thought, upon his hand
and sighed.
"What Is to become of her?" he said
aloud. "Strange creature, half mine,
half her mother's, Inheriting something
from each, and from both the fatal deli
cacy of constitution that was common
to us both; who Is to earn for her when
I am gone? Into whose hands am I to
leave my frail treasure, with her wild,
untrained mind and her shrewd, sensitive
soul? Will Desmond help me, I wonder,
for the sake of the service I once ren
dered to his father? Ah, we shall see,
we shall see. I cuu leave my manu
scripts and collections to my country,
but to whom shall I leave my child,
sweeter legacy thuii nny other?"
The remains of tho cold supper, which
had caused so many anxious thoughts to
the young housekeeper, lay still upon
the table; ample Justlco had been done
to It by the lute-arriving guest. A lamp
with a wide red silk shade lighted the
room with a warm radiance, some rose
in glass bowls decorated tho simple feast,
while a dish of crimson currants, piled
up high In an, antique Chelsea dish, add
ed yet another touch of feminine taste
to tho repast.
"The old boy has a good housekeeper,"
said Ilrlan Desmond to himself, as ho
leaned back In his chair.
U was a little at a loss, certaluly, to
understand exactly why the sage had
asked him t cotno and slay with him.
Hrlan had no scientific tastes, and ho
knew nothing whatever about beetles
and grub aud winged creatures of tho
air. Ho was not even a clever man,
according to tho modem Idea of clever
ness, lie was neither an author nor an
artist. Mr. Desmond was simply a mod
erately well-educated gentleman of ex
pensive taste and luxurious habits,
which an acquisition of most unexpected
wealth had, within tho last few years,
enabled him to gratify. Ho could not,
therefore, conceive why the professor,
who was an old man, and In his way a
great man, had chosen to seek hi socie
ty In so marked a manner on the present
occasion.
While he was pondering upon this sub
ject, Mr. l.aybonrue Interrupted hi med
itation by the following word!
"Now, I daresay, my dear Desmond,
that you are at thl very momeut won
dering why I have Invited you to come
down all thl wny to spend a few days
with me. 1 take It very kindly of you
1 lead a life of retirement and study. I
have no Inducement to offer to n man
of your age and tastes, and yet you have
done mo tho honor to leave your l.oii'
don friends and your London gaieties to
como down aud ej an old Diogenes In
his tub."
"The honor, Professor. I all for me,"
replied Desmond, "that a man with so
world-wide a reputation as yours should
seek tho society of nn Insignificant per
son like myself "
"Walt, wait, my friend," Interrupted
the old man, with hi gentle smile, "if
you had studied animal life as much as
I have, you would know that there is no
effect which ha not a cause.
"Perhaps you have heard, Desmond,
that I wa once married," he said quiet
ly, not looking at his guest. "My wife
died In chltd-hlrth."
"Yes?" Desmond looked up with In
terest. For a few second Mr. Laylniurne wa
silent, then looking up aud meeting hi
guest's eyes, he continued: "My little
girt i n great source of anxtety to me.
She Inherit her mother's tendency to
consumption, and, I fear, my own un
sound constitution, Desmond, I have an
origins! disease of the heart."
"I am deeply distressed; are you
sure?"
"There Is, unfortunately, no doubt
whatever about It. I have been aware
of It for some year aud I tiave the first
medical opinion to confirm what had
long been my own conviction. I inn In
no appreciable danger, I may live years
and die of something else, again I may
drop down dead this very night; what I
want to know I," he n.bled, with, a sud
deu break In hi voice, "what I to In
come of my little girl In that case?"
Hrlan was uncertain how to answer;
ho balanced hi knife more anxiously
than ever and murmured something
alMiut female relative.
"She has none, not one, either on her
mother's side or my own: all are dead. I
have followers and worshipers by the
score; these go for nothing; ami I have
also a number of professional acquaint
ances, but where among them all shall I
find a man fit to take charge of a child
a woman child?" For half a moment he
paused, thru said again, very earnestly:
"Hrlan Desmond, will you take the
charge of my orphan child?"
Hrlan looked startled.
"I? I am not lit. .My life Is a wan
dering one. I am hero to-day, gone to
morrow. Sometimes I travel in wild
countries, sometime I spend months In
the racket of a London season; do you
Indeed think such a man as I am can bo
fit for the charge of a child?"
The professor sighed deeply. "Then
you decline." he said, sadly.
"No, no, do not think that. Hut your
proposition Is so strange, so unexpect
ed: give me but a moment to think. Ah!
ye. I have a cousin, a sweet, good
woman with children of her own; your
little girl could be left with her and
I could see after her occasionally; that
would be a happy home for her; I am
sure she would take her gladly. Mr.
I.aybourne, do not be uneasy about your
child's future, I wilt do what you ask of
me."
(To b eontlined.t
Cruelty of Hoienuo.
MIhs Kstcllo Keel, superintendent of
Indian schools, was talking about
cruelty:
"Cruelty," she snld, "Is lack of Imag
ination. It Isn't true that only sav
ages nre cruel. All people without de
veloped minds, minds capable of sym
imtliv. nre cruel. Children, till they
have learned to think, are Invariably
cruel."
Miss Itcel smiled.
"Let me tell you about n llttlo boy,"
she slid. "To this llttlo boy there
wero given two Image, of phstcr,
coated on the outside with pink sugar.
He wanted to mt the linages, but ho
wus warned on no nccount to do so.
"'They nrt' poison,' lie wits told. 'If
you oat thorn, It will kill you.'
"However, the llttlo I toy was dubi
ous. He had been eheHtcd lief ire this
by grown-up people, liny after day
lie nuked If ho might not Ml tho
Images. Finally lie had n young friend,
Itlchnrd, Howe, to spend tho day with
him, and that night It wim discovered
that ono of tho linage had disap
peared. "His mother, nearly frantic, rushed
to lilin.
" 'Harold.' she said, 'whero is Uiat
pink Imago?'
"Harold frowned, na ho answered
defiantly:
'"I gave It to Itlchnnl, and If Iio'h
alive to-morrow I'm going to rat tho
other ono myself.' "
It All Depends.
"Don't you think," wild ho, "Hint
singleness of purpose. -Is an admirable
trait in n innnV"
"It is," alio nnmvertil frankly, "tin
less It tends to iiinko a confirmed bach
olor'of him."
Wages In Russian factories nro 2
cents nn hour and upward. Thoro nru
thousands who work for u cent an
hour, and tens of thousands who do
not receive !!0 centa n day for 10, 11
and moro hours work.
All other kpowledgo Is hurtful to
him who hits not honesty and good na
ture, Montaigne.
BRITAIN TO HAVE
MIGHTIEST BATTLESHIP
II. M. S. Dromlnought, 18,000 Tout, In I'lnnnoil to Do tho Inrnont
nml llenvlost MnnofVr Allont.
t4i444''-'
The British are nbout to begin tho
construction of tho largest, hcnvlcst,
most powerful nml most costlv battle
ship ever built, and Intend to havo
the pennant Hying from iter mast with
in sixteen mouths nfier the date on
which the first keel plates nrn laid.
Thl Invincible and Invulnerable wnr
vessel I to bo named Dreadnought,
and tho British mliitlrnlty litis designed
her to be capable of equaling tier
name. She will mount more lieny
gnu lliau any two battleships now
titltmt; will be able to withstand nn
attack from n submarine, mid If shit
happens to touch off n (touting mliio
will lie nble to continue nlloat until
a jvort Is reached. In addition to theso
enviable virtue, the Dreadnought will
nlo have groat speed, and. If she
wnnta to "turn tnll" her engines, de
veloping n speed of 21 knots nu hour,
will enable her to outdistance nny too
pressing foe. Kvcn If overtaken, tho
very thick armor plating will enable
her to stand unusual punishment, anil
for dealing with torpedo boats she will
have n small battery of one (suindcr
nml six-pounders. Sho will also bo
armed with torpedo tubes, but will m
unique In having "no secondary bat
tery. No details of the armor to be placed
nn tho Dreadnought hato been given,
but It Is known that sho will lt the
most completely armored ship nlloat.
Her armor alone will weigh about ,
000 tons. In gunixjwer tho Dread
nought Is designed to be tho most for
midable warship ever seen. No bat
tleship In tho world to-dny carries
moro than four 12-Inch guns, but tho
Drendnougli will mount no fewer than
ten, or two nml a half times as many
as nny ship nlloat. This enormous bat
tery of 12-tiicli rifle wilt have a com
bined muzzlo energy of -tSO.000 foot-
tons. Knell of these big guns will
throw it shell weighing KM ounds, the
combined battery being able to throw
over four tons of projectile nt ono
discharge. Tho Dreadnought will bo
nble to throw this Immense wolght of
metal n distance of five or six miles,
nt which range tho shells would pierce
Uio armor of practically nny battleship
nlloat.
I'rourcsa In IluttlraliliM,
There has been n wonderful ad
vaneo In tho development of battle
ships within tho Inst ten years. In
1M)5 Great Britain had twenty three
armored ships, each of more than 10,
000 tons. To-dny, If Ihero are Includ
ed the ships being built, she lias sixty.
In 180.1 tho heaviest British battle
ship was tho Hoyal Sovereign, of II,
200 tons. There wero eight ships of
Tho hay fever scrum or pollniitluo
of Dr. Duiilmr of Hamburg Is shown
to have proven very effective. Having
first proven that hay fever Is due to
tho pollen poison from grasses, co
reals and other plnnta, tho Investigator
sought n, preventive by repented vac
cination of anlmnls with thu poison of
pollen. Tho antitoxin thus produced
In tho blood serum neutralize thn
poisonous effect of pollon In tho eyes
and nose, Tho serum Is not Injected
under the skin, like othors, but simply
.applied to nose nnd eyes.
I Tho precision of modern observa
tions brings to light nnoxpecteu nicta.
At tho Purls Observutory Jenn Maa
cart has noticed that tho surface of n
thin layer of mercury la not piano, but
undulated llko water disturbed by tho
plunge, of n atone, and linn also detect
ed another movement Hint proves to
bo a truo tide, duo to tho huh and
moon. Tho meaaurementa hnvo been
inadu repeatedly during tho month
with tho sir microscopes of tho Instru
ment. Tho tidal motion Is alight, but
greater than tho posslblo errora,
Tho "nuxetophouo" la nu attachment
for reinforcing tho aounds given forth
, by phonographs and gramophoncb, in
vented by Mr. 0. A. Parsons, tho In
ventor of tho stenm turbine, nnd Mr.
Horaco Short, A email valve of p-
I cullar construction controls tha ad
hsiiii j pn sjiiMiiiisaSjssgg ii i ' m
I Dopulj?ionco I
HsjaavHavaaaaaBaasaaa)
.t;
this type, nml they wero regarded im game seeks nn agent nud gives him
the finest nlloat, I what sum ho wishes, from ft cents up,
Franco at Hint time had fourteen 'nt the same time Indicating what char
battleships, each of over 10.000 tons' m-ier he chooses. This character Is
displacement, the largest being tho marked off on Hie agent's ticket nud
llouvet, of I'J.'.'tffl tons. There are I tho fortune-seeker receive a slip nc
now twenty-six battleships, each of guowledgtng Ids tiet or stnke. Should
more than 10,000 tons. In tho French M, particular character prove at tint
navy, the heaviest being tint Demo-1 iniwlng to ie the winning number tho
erntle class, now building, ships of 1 1.- ImpUv nlaver wins thirty time Ilia
IBM tons. Jtnly. In IHliA. had ten lint-1
ttoshlps ranking nbovo the IO.immi ton
class, tint heaviest being the I.opnnto,
n lB.tsM-tou ship, built In 1M!I, nud so
henvlly nriued and armored that sho
almost found It dllllcult to get out of
her own way. She Is now mnkiil na
a secotid-elna battleship; but she I '
not considered HI to stand even in
that Hue. Tho Italia, sister 'ship to
the lpauto, wns built In 1KSO. and
was for many years tho largest bat
tleship afloat. She represent an early
nttempt to build n monster battle
ship, but. apart from atxe. slut baa
never been considered at nil formida
ble. Itnly now ha fourteen battle
ships, each over 10.000 tons. Hut heavi
est being the Begins Mnrgherlta, 1.1,
121 tons.
In 1805 tho United States and Oer
many were equal as to battleships of
over 10.000 tons. Kach had four; tho
United State had tho heaviest ship
In the Iowa, of 11,3-10 tons. Ocrumny's
four wero uniformly 10.300 tons, Sow
Ocrmany has eighteen heavy bhtyte.
ships, and six building. Tho UultA)
States has twelve, with thirteen build
ing and two projected. Tho heaviest
(lerman battleships today are her 12,-007-tnu
class; Hut heaviest In tho Uni
ted State I the Connecticut class,
H1.000 tons.
Tho wars of tho United Stntc with
Spain nnd Japan with Russia have not
been without their lessons to the nnval
powers, and tho tendency I to build
larger nnd heavier battleships, so that
they may carry more tremendous bat
teries, Tho determination to build
these enormous snips was arrived at
only after considerable discussion. It
wm thmiL-lit bv some nnval construe-
tn Hint moro units, each of consht -
erable power, went to be desired nbovo
... . - . .... . .
n few naitiesmps oi ino niiri
power, i
It was thought that tho Dreadnought
would bo the last word In warship
construction for many years, but now
Ifnppoar that Japan Is to build three
battleships of 10.000 tons each. Oer
many Is reported to bo considering n
20,000ton wnrshlp, nud Franco next
year Is to lay down oun of 2O.&00 tons.
Perhaps the contest will end In uni
versal peace, for there Is a limit lo
battleship construction, nud if It Is
tint reached In thn Dreadnought, It at
least must be near.
mission Into the trumpet of com
pressed nlr supplied from n pump or
bellows, Tho action of Hut nppanitus
Is compared In Hut Scientific American
to that of an air relay, whereby nut
only nro greater power mil volume Im
parted to the sounds, but lue, full
ness nud richness of tone are height
ened. It Is snld that on it culm day
thu nuxetophouo can be heard distinct
ly nt n distance of two or three miles,
nnd that In speech every word may
bo clearly distinguished as much as
MX) yards nwny.
genVrau; electric whoHicr on W
TCHAmilifkilM linaa luiMnivil lists lntliH
back of a petted cat, or on n rubbed
glnss or gutta-percha rod, or nt tho j
lingers' end
ullled 1.1 feet over a dry
,.ru. M nf.,.., 1,. ,i,.n
orously aliulll
carpet. Sparks can often bo drawn
fwtnl Iftltf Itint'lhff li.1l t imindlii.
I iiii nninij hiwi 1115 I'viin wm Mini, 111 1-
ery, and In weaving nnd spinning
processes tho libers some
ctlmcN iiccum-
ulato troubleaomn electric charges,
A method known aa thu Clinpiiinii proc
ess lms been devised for neutralizing
tho static electricity generated in cot
ton nnd paper mills, printing press
room nnd other place. It conslsta can nag, iiiin isn ... ...... ..... am
of a transformer stepping up nn ultor- Mnmpti. A collec Ion of foreign Btnmprt
nntlng current to 10,000 or 20,000 volts waa pnatcd on tho back of tho bodice
nnd an Inductor composed of lino Htcel " the form of n shield, tho contor of
wires encased In hard rubner, nnd up! which waa made up of n portrait of
ranged with lta points placed nbovo tho bravo Sir (leorgo Summers, out
tho woh or other object In which tho from old rovenuo Mumps. A larga
atntlc electricity la to bo neutralised, hat covered with red and bluo stumps.
Charges nnssliiff from tho points pro-.wim worn with tho costume; n mask;,
duco tho desired effect. nnd very pretty fan woro covered on.
A small boy'N Idea of tho board of
health ! lx meals dally.
1 OMINEQG QAMKOF OHE.FA.
Is Vary Similar to American Method
' of Poller Piajlng.
It Is n ctii'luu tiling that hero In n
community where tint (.'liluean gam
bling Kiimo nf chofit Iiim nourished
for utility years comparatively few out
lido of tliONti who nrn devotees at tho
ilulne of the goddess of chitnco Imvo
liven tint faintest Idea of limv the, giium
Is played,
Clm-fit In n very simple, game, Indeed,
aud In Ha very simplicity lies the diffi
culty which tho authorities here, na
elsewhere, find In suppression. It,
needs no apparatus or "layout" im do
roulelte, faro and other gam f
chance. It does not even need n pack
nf cards or n supply of chips,
Simply Judged as a gambling gnma
and conceding for tint moment that It
la plnycd on tint square, che fn tin Hi
nllurouienta, for It I on that basis n
game which every player has an equal
chance and the bank simply collects n
percentage of Hut money slaked. Un
fortunately for tho plnyera, however,
thorn Is not the slightest reason for
doubting that the game its ordinarily
conducted Is as crooked us Hut tradi
tional dog's hind leg.
There are thirty six characters on
n che fa ticket, each representing some
familiar object. The lion, tiger, moon,
mouth. slhcr money, gold money, box,
centipede, dog. rat nre among these,
but many of Hut characters represent
things which nre not generally dis
cussed In polite society.
A nerson who wishes to play tint
n nwtutit of his stake Thus If lie stake
r, cents lie wins l W or If he plunge
heavily with, say n dollar he wins HHi.
Hut he does not get nil that he wins.
There, I tho ngent to be considered
and he collect 10 per cent of tint
amount of the winning, mi that tho
H1 w((, wo, jW, Would receive only
fl" from the bands or tlie agent.
It I one of Hie odd traits In the Chi
nese character that made che fa so
lopulnr wltli them. 'Ihey nre devoted
hollctcr In dreams If n Chliiniuan
dreams of a rut, for Instance, he will
lose no time In seeking a che-fa agent
and Iwcklng the rat to win nnd no
number of recurrent losses seems to
upset the Chinese faith In the heaven
sent sign for success, Of course, It Is
apparent that If a man played on ev
ery one of the thirty live characters ho
would In all probability win,, but Ida
win would bo n loss, for ho would only
receive thirty times the amount of thn
IIK )ut u,,, winning character
less tho agent's commission of 10 per
cent.
Such Is the game of chc-fa. Barring
only tho dream ortlnu of It, It doe
not seem to (misscss any particular al
lurements, and to some people eteu thn
chance of belting that their dreams
will come true does not seem attract
ive. Possibly the average American
doe not have the name kind of dream
',, ,j(M tti- inlhleyed chink. That enn
l0N- ) Imagined from n casual
glimpse at a ( liluese iiuml and a re
flection of the possibilities of what
even n simple Welsh rarebit can ac-
louipllsh. Hawaiian Slur.
Alliterative Itomnmto
Blanche's beloved, Bertram, beheld
1 Beatrice
Blanche, being blonde, bashful.
I. (., ulil.it, l.iuitmi.k lit.livli.ti Imtinl t.M.
n " "
I ..1. 1.. I(..nlpl.tj. Il.uilpl,,. Inline tilir luitit
n,,i, a.......... v .,..t ., ........
brilliant, brunette.
Beatrice beguiled Bertram,
Bertram, bewlfdereil, bewitched, be
deviled, by baneful Beatrice, behaved
badly by Blanche, becoming Beatrlco'a
beau.
Blanche bore banishment bravely.
Bertram bought baubles, bedecking
Beatrice barbnrlcully.
Bertram became bankrupt, beggar
ed. Beatrice basely betrayed Bertram.
Heiietoleut beings befriended Bert
ram. Bertram besought Blanche.
Bertram brought Blanche hack.
Blanche bade bygones bo bygone.
Betrothal.
Bertram, bridegroom; Blancho,
bride.
Bridesmaid. Boatman. Blossoms.
Bishop. Bells. Bolsterousiiess,
Banquet. Bull. Bridal tour.
Beatitude. Boundless bliss.
Bouncing babies. Puck.
Po-tago Hlniup Cosilliue.
Over no.000 postage stamps wero
used In the making of n dress for an
T??n. .Il. ST. V
ball nt Bermuda u short tlmo ngo.
Years had been spent In collecting tha
,"" ,' rp""'wh l,,J W,,H .,"' "'
muslin, Tho lady appealed to her
, friends to help her, nnd tho dress wn
I . . . ..1 ,,- II
" "'J, "' "" " ""
"""" '
was an eagle iniuio entirely wiiii
brown Columbian stamps. Suspended,
from the tnlons waa a globe iiimlo of
very old blue revenue stumps. On
either aide of thn globe waa an Amort-
tiroiy wiiii puiK.
1,1 fo Im mostly devoted to attomnta
to obtain tho uuitttnluublo.
n.
V