THE LATE LADY CURZON.
Prisoners and Captives
By H. S.
CHAPTER XXIV.
There are many people who go through
life without ever knowing what it is to
fight a gale of wind.
There is a breath of heaven of which
the sole message is death. It is a wind
with no fine-sounding name, for it be
longs to the north, where men endure
things and have no thought of naming
them. It blows for sis months of the
year. It veers from south-southwest to
northwest-by-north, and it Is born upon
the gray icefields round the pole. For
many hundred miles it raves across the
frozen ocean, gathering deathly coldness
at every league. On its shoulders it car
ries tons of snow, and then striking land,
It rages and tears, howls, moans and
creams across northern Europe into far
frozen Asia. In passing it clothes all
Russia in white, and still has plenty to
spar for bleak Siberia, northern China
tnd Japan.
A few northern races manage to lire
n in such numbers as to save" extermina
tion, and that is all. More than a third
of them are partially or wholly blind.
Their existence is a constant and unequal
struggle against this same wind and its
pitiless auxiliaries snow and frost. The
earth yields no Increase here. A little
sparse vegetation, sufficient only to nour
ish miserable reindeer and a few horses;
a scattering of pine trees, and that is all.
Although no sanctifying spirit can be
said to walk upon the waters, the sea
alone sustains life, for men, dogs and
reindoor eat fish, not dried but frozen,
when they can get it.
It was across this country, and in face
of this wind, that a party of men and
women made, their way in the late sum
mer several years ago. By late summer
one means the first fortnight in July in
these high latitudes. These travelers
were twenty-one in number sixteen men
and five women. One woman carried a
baby a jail bird born in prison un
baptized. It did not count, not even as
half a person, to any one except Its
mother. Men and women were dressed
alike in good fur clothing, baggy trousers
tucked into felt boots, long blouse-like fur
coats, and caps with earflaps tied down.
Boots, trousers, coats and even caps bore
signs of damage by water. When north
ern Siberia is not frozen up it is in a
state of flood, and traveling, except by
water, is almost impossible. These peo
ple had come many miles by this compar
atively easy method at imminent risk,
for they had traveled north on the bosom
of the flood. Since then they have liter
ally burned their vessels in order to cut
off pursuit.
The men dragged light sledges, three
to a sledge, , and four resting, '.fhe wom
en carried various more precious burdens
delicate instruments, such as com-passes-.-and
aneroids. Beneath the fur
caps throbbed some singular brains, from
under the draggled brims looked out some
strange faces. There was a doctor among
them, two army officers, a judge and oth
ers who had not been allowed time to be
come anything, for they were exiled while
students.
The) whole party pressed forward in si
lence with tight-locked lips and half-clos-ed
eyes, for the rushing wind carried a
fine blinding snow before it. Only one
.person spoke at times. It was the woman
who carried the baby, and she interlard
ed her inconsequent remarks with
snatches of song and bursts of peculiar
cacklirtg laughter. Suddenly she sat
down on a boulder.
"I will sit here," she said, "in the
warm sun."
1 The whole party stopped, and one of
the women answered:
"Come, Anna," she said, "we cannot
wait here." Still speaking, she took her
arm and urged her to rise.
"But," protested she who had been ad
dressed as Anna, "where is the picnic to
be?" A
"The picnic, Anna Pavloski," said a
small, squarely built man, coming for
ward and speaking in a wonderfully deep
and harmonious tone of voice, "is to be
held further on. You must come at
once.''
"I think," she said gently, "that I will
wait here for my husband. I expect him
home from the office. He will bring the
newspaper."
They were all grouped round the wom
an now except one man, and he stood
apart with his back turned toward them.
He had been dragging the foremost sledge,
and the broad band of the trace was still
across his shoulders. He had been lead
ing the way, and seemed in some subtle
manner to be recognized as chief and
pioneer.
Again the woman who had first spoken
persuaded; again the broad-shouldered
man spoke in his commanding gentleness.
It was, however, of no avail. Then after
a few moments of painful hesitation, he
left the group and went to where the
loader stood alone.
"Pavloski," he said.
"Yes, doctor." He never turned his
head,-but stood rigid and stern, looking
straight before him, scowling with eyes
from which the horror now would never
fade, into the gray, hopeless distance. No
marble statue could reproduce the strong,
cold despair that breathed In every limb
and feature.
"Something," said the doctor, "must be
done. We are behind our time already."
"I suppose It is my duty to stay with
you?" said Pavloski. "I cannot leave
the narty? 1 cannot stay oemna'
The little man made no answer. His
silence was more eloquent than any
words could have been. A dramatic
nalnter could scarcely have found a sad
der picture than these two friends who
dared not to meet each other's eyes. .And
yet, In nioowut, U wu rendered Inn
MERRIMAN
nitely sadder by the advent of a third
person.
Swathed as she was In furs, it was
difficult to distinguish that this was a
woman at all, and yet to a close observer
her movements, the manner in which she
set her feet upon the ground, the sugges
tion of graceful curves in limb and form,
betrayed that she was indeed a young
girl. Her face confirmed it gay blue
eyes and a rosebud mouth, round cheeks
delicately tinted despite the wild wind,
and little wisps of golden hair straggling
out beneath the ear-flaps, and gleaming
against the dusky face.
"I," said this little woman, "will stay
with her. Sergius, I will try and take
her back. We will give ourselves up. It
does not matter. Now that Hans Is dead,
I have, nothing to live for. I have no
husband."
The little doctor winced. He was not
a nihilist at all, and never had been ; but
in personal appearance he had resembled
one. There was something horribly Teal
in the words that came from the girl's
rosy lips. Sergius Pavloski shook his
head and moved a step or two toward
the group half bidden by a fine driving
snow.
"No," he answered. "We arranged it
before leaving London. There is on'y
one thing to be done."
The doctor and the girl exchanged a
look of horror, and hesitated to 'follow
him. '
"It was agreed," he continued, m.v
ehanieally, "that the lives of all were
never to be endangered for the sake of
one. ' Tyars said that."
Slowly the two followed him. As they
approached the group some of these step
ped silently back, some walked away a
few paces and stood apart with averted
faces.
"Can you tell me," said the woman,
looking up suddenly and leaving the
baby's face and throat fully exposed to
the cruel wind, "whether I can find a
lodging near here?"
She addressed Pavloski, who was stand
ing in front of her. He made no answer,
but presently turned away with a con
vulsive movement of lips and throat, as if
he were swallowing with an effort. Then
he raised his voice and, addressing his
companions generally, he said, with the
assurance of a man placed in a position
to exact obedience :
"Will you all go on? Keep the same
direction, north-by-west according to the
compass. I shall catch you up before
evening." "
He stood quite still, like a man hewn
out of stone upright, emotionless and
quite determined awaiting-the fulfill
ment of his commands. All around him
his companions waited. It almost seem
ed as if they expected the Almighty to
interfere. Even to those who have tasted
the bitterest cup that life has ever brew
ed, this seemed too cruel to be true too
horrid,! And the wind blew all around
them, tearing, raging on. . '-
At last one man had the courage to do
it. It was he who had spoken to Pav
loski, the man whom they called doctor.
He went toward one of the sledges and
proceeded to disentangle the traces thrown
carelessly down when a halt had been
called. The men stepped silently forward
and drew the cords across their shoulders.
The women moved away first, stepping
softly on the silent snow, and like phan
toms vanishing in the mist and windy tur
moil. The men followed, dragging their
noiseless sledges. The doctor stayed be
hind for a moment. When the others
were out of earshot he went toward Pav
loski and laid his mlttened hand upon his
arm.
"Sergius," he said, with painful hesi
tation, "let me do it I am a doctor it
will be easier." . "
Pavloski turned and looked at the
speaker in a stupid, bewildered way, as
if the language used were unknown to
him. Then he smiled suddenly, in a sick
ening way ; it was like a cynical smile
upon the face of the dead. '
Go !" he said, pointing to windward,
where their companions had disappeared.
Go with them. Let each one of us do
his duty. It will be a consolation, what
ever the end may be."
The doctor was bound in honor to obey
this man in all and through all. He
obeyed now, and left Sergius Pavloski
alone with his mad wife and his helpless
babe. As he moved away he heard the
woman prattling of the sun and the birds
and the flowers.
He turned his face resolutely north
ward and pressed forward into the icy
wind, but a muffled, gurgling shriek broke
down his strong resolution. Without
stopping, he glanced back over his shoul'
der with a gasp of horror. Sergius Pav
loski was kneeling with his back to the
north ; but he was not kneeling on the
snow, for the doctor saw two fur-clad
arms waving convulsively, and between
the soles of Pavloski's great snow boots
he caught sight of two other feet drawn
up In agony.
"Oh, God! exclaimed the man, aloud,
"forgive him!"
Aud with bloodshot eyes and haggard
lips he stumbled on, not heeding where
he set his feet. He fell, and rose again,
scarce knowing what he did. Despite the
freezing wind, the perspiratlou ran down
his face, blinding him. It froze and hung
there in little icicles on his mustache and
beard.
And in the agony of his strong mind
his brain lost ail power of concentration,
His lips continued to frame those four
words over and over again until they be
came bereft of all meaning and lapsed
Into a mere 'rhythmic refrain,, keeping
time with the swing of his sturdy legs.
(To be continued.)
iVmerteno Girl Who' W" He Kirs
l.adjr of India.
The death recently at her beautiful
home In England of Lndy Curzon, of
Kedlestcm, brought grief to three na
tions. England, where she had en
deared herself by her charming simplic
ity and womanly sweetness, and India,
where for so many years she reigned as
the wife of the viceroy, unite with the
United States in mourning the demise
of an American girl whose elevation to
British aristocratic and ofi'.elnl circles
bad not causal her to forget the repub
lic In which she was born and for
which she retained the deepest affec
tion. Lady Curzon's health failed while In
India, but It was supposed that ber re
turn to England would speedily restore
her strength and activity. The ex
treme heat, however, increased the gen
eral debility from which she suffered
and death resulted from heart fail
ure. Mary Victoria Leiter was born In
Chicago, daughter of Levi Z. Leiter, a
millionaire .business man. Some yean
ago the family moved to Washington
and resided in a magnificent home, en
tertaining largely and with a lavlsh
ness such as only great wealth per
mits. While on a visit to England Miss
Leiter met Lord George Nathaniel Cur
eon, since made Baron Kedleston, and
his lordship followed her to Washing
ton. The wedding took place In April,
1895, one of the guests being Mrs. Cleve
land, of whom the bride was a close
personal friend.
The beautiful American girl was wel
comed to the most exclusive inner cir
cles of English society and at once set
herself the task of mastering British
politics In order to be an aid to her
able and ambitious husband.' In 1898
Lord Curzon was made viceroy of In
dia, retaining the office until August
10 of last year. , His success and popu
larity as viceroy, was largely attributed
to the good Judgment, graciousness and
womanly worth of his American wife.
Her court at Bombay, Calcutta, and
Simla was among the most magnificent
In the world and the Indian potentates
accepted her social sway as they would
that of the Empress of the empire. It
Is no exaggeration to say that no En
glish-speaking woman ever equaled her
In the Influence she wielded In India or
In the affection which the millions of
that continental peninsula showered
upon her.
At one time there was talk that Lord
Curzon would be made governor gen
eral of Canada, In which case an Amer
ican girl would have been the lady of
Rldeau Hall.
Lady Curzon was left $3,000,000 In
lier own right on the death of her fath
er. An equally liberal provision was
made for her sister, the Countess of
Suffolk and Berkshire. She leaves three
children, the youngest, but a few months
old. 't1 '
Words Used bat Rarely.
A philologist was talking about
words. "There are over 225,000. words
In the English language," he said, "but
we only use a few thousand of them.
The extra ones are no use to us. Any
man could sit down with a dictionary
and write In good English a story that
no one In the world would understand.
Here, for Instance ; can you make head
or tall of this?"
And the philologist pattered off glib
ly :
"I will againbuy the atabaL You are
asweyed. Yet this Is no blushet's bob
ance nor am I a cudden, either. Though
the atabal is dern, still will I againbuy
it" .
Then he translated : ; ' . '
"I will recover the drum. Ydu are
amazed? Yet this Is no young girl's
boasting nor am I a fool, either. Though
the dram la hidden, still will I recover
It Louisville Courier-Journal.
A Strong 'Line.
Judge With what Instrument or ar
ticle did your wife Inflict those wounds
on your face and head?
Micky Wld a motty, yer honor.
Judge A what?
Micky A motty wan av thlm
frames wld "God Bliss Our Home" In
it Judge.
When aboy likes to go swimming
and hunting, his mother's reason, tor
worry last all the year 'round.
LADY CURZON,
Tlio Dink Cultivator.
Disks us farm tools are growing more
popular all the time. They 'are used at
all stages of farm worki from plowing
to final cultivation. A man of long ex
perience says of them:
The main points In favor of the disk
are that It will work closer to young
corn without covering it, will work
ground without Injury that Is too wet
to be plowed with u shovel plow, will
not throw up clods, but . leaves the
ground always In a fine tilth, can be
set to ruu varying depths, shallow next
to the corn und deeper In the middle
of the row, which Is the proper way
when making the last two cultivations.
However, the disk will not plow deep In
very hard ground or turn the soil In
such a way as to kill large weeds, yet
if the weeds are taken In hand before
they become too large the disk Is satis
factory In this as well.
When corn is checked It is not prac
ticable to plow across the tteid with the
disk. If the disk Is run across the
rows, It will be very inconvenient, us
the gungs nre more nearly, rigid and
ennnot be po easily adapted to the In
equality of the ground.
For burring uwny the young corn,
cutting the dirt awuy from it, und for
giving the last cultivation, laying by,
I consider the disk vastly superior to
the shovel, but where land has been
severely packed, as by hard rains, noth
ing, in my opinion, will take the place
'of a four-shovel cultivator of the twist
ed pattern, und they should not be less
than five inches wide.
FatteuluK ('I for Poultry.
In the fattening of poultry for mar
ket it is always a good plan to confine
the birds to quite small quarters In or
der that the food given them may ac
complish the best iwsslble result. The
fattening coop should be where It Is
light and dry and the birds must be
kept comfortable at all times. More
than all, tlie coop or coops must be kept
clean, else the fowls are likely to be
come sick and. will not lu.such condi
tion take on flesh. Where there are
tt number of fowls to fatten coops are
"arranged on a wide shelf which forms
the bottom, then when it is to be
cleaned simply lift it up and set in an
other place, . leaving the shelf free to
!clean thoroughly,; Any box oC kJJglit
material will do fpr the fattening oop
with wire netting to within six inches
of the bottom. Across this space a bar
may be placed with just enough space
between It and the wire netting so that
the hen can get her bead out to feed.
;A narrow trough should be kept In
'front of the coop and be filled with a
variety of grain In mixture so that the
fowl may help Itself when It desires.
These coops are very inexpensive, easy
THE FATTENING COOP.
to make anij will prove very economi
cal. The Illustration shows the Idea
very plainly; Indianapolis News.
' When to Dock I.ambx.
The docking of lambs should take
place when they nre 2 or 3 days old.
Of course, It may be done later, but the
injury resulting Is less at the uge
named than ' later. When docking is
deferred until the lambs are several
weeks old bleeding Is usually profuse.
It. some, instances' It will cause the
death of the lambs unless it Is stayed.
The flow of blood may be checked by
tying a cord tightly around the adher
ing portion of the tall, and better still
by searing the wound with a hot iron.
Farm Note.
A man mokes a mistake when he de
pends on a scrub bull to head his herd
of cows. ' .
If you want to make the strawstack
benefit the cow, put some of it under
her for bedding.
A man is quite liable to make a mis
take when he attempts to grow three
crops of corn in rotation. This Is tak
ing a stop backward.
With the hay loader and the horse
hay fork hay ought to go Into the barn
rapidly. When hay is cured it cannot
be put away too fast.
At a recent public sale of mule teams
and other farm stock In Hancock coun
ty, Indiana, the mules averaged $208 a
span. This was the averago price set
by the buyers themselves, the teams be
ing placed In the ring to sell for just
what they would bring.
There Is more clean corn ground this
year than usual. The cultivator can
not do its best work when rains are
plentiful mid abundant.
Federal and Utah state sheep Inspec
tion officials have decided to make dip
ping compulsory in the state In orfler
to eradicate the scab.
It is claimed that although the con
ditions of food and climate In Japan
Offers ,no siylous obstacles 4 to sheep
farming, there wee In 1001 only 2,545
sheep In that country.
Value of h Hutter Cow.
The value of a cow considered as an
Investment was lately figured out by IF.
P. Guerler, the Illinois expert. Start
ing with apooreow, oiie that produced
200 pounds of butter a year, he reckons
the food cost at $39 and the labor at
$12.50, while the butter Is worth only
$35, or less than the market value of
the food consumed. The fancy butter
cow produces 400 pounds of butter per
year, and on the same basis of reck
oning nets her owner interest on $400,
besides paying for the food and labor.
The price of butter In both cases is
reckoned at 20 cents. The fancy cow
consumed somewhat more food than
the other, but the difference was more
than offset by the increased amount of
sklmmllk. According to Mr. Guerler,
the fancy cow Is better worth $100 than
the ordinary cow taken as a gift.
For Illnxlnu lloM'K.
Make a box I! feet long, 4 Mi feet high,
18 inches wide and put a floor in it.
Put u door in one end and a stanchion
In the other, end with loose bolts, so
yoii can adjust It easily to suit the size
BOX AND STANCHION FOR HINGING.
of the hog. The stanchion Is the same
as for cows, except the one you move
should not have a bolt through it, but
a notch cut in lower end to catch over
bolt When you are 'through ringing,
loosen stanchion.. The hog; will always
step lmck, then lift ' one the loose
stanchion so lie can go through. Sim
ply catch the hog In stanchion to hold
lilm and then use the tongs. Have a
narrow shoot at rear end of box so you
can drive hogs Into It easily. Farm
and Home.
if .
Toinatoea and Nitrate.
One hundred pounds to the acre of
nitrate o soda applied to the tomato
crop whed the fruit Is beginning to set
will largely increase the yield and has
ten the ttme of rliiening. Spread the
nitrate broadcast or between the rows
Just before a shower, and then cultivate
it Into the soil. One quarter of an
ounce to a plant Is about right in small
gardens. ' -Experiments at the New Jer
sey station have shown that nitrate
applied aoout the middle of June had
a much greater effect on the crop than
the same (mount applied earlier in the
season. . dressing of 100 pounds iter
acre Increased the crop one-third above
that of a 'plot not so treated.. Nitrate
of soda is a very quick working ferti
lizer. It produces rank, dark green fo
liage, which obstinately resists the at
tacks of Insects and of mildew. We
have found nitrate excellent also to
produce early asparagus, but care must
be taken not to apply too much.
Method for Testing Eaftt.
A simple method for testing eggs,
which conies from Germany, is based
uiK)u the fact that the air chamber in
the flat end of an egg Increases with
age. If the egg Is placed In a solution
of common salt It will show an increas
ing inclination to float with the long
axis vertical. By watching this tend
ency the age of the egg can be deter
mined almost to a day. A fresh egg
lies in a horizontal position at the bot
tom of the vessel ; an egg from three to
five days old shows an elevation at the
flat end, so that its long axis forms an
angle of 20 degrees, and on egg a
month old flouts vertically upon the
pointed end.
Waate Land In Corn Field.
Most corn growers plant more acres
to corn than they harvest. Investiga
tion has shown that there are twenty
five acres and often a much larger area
of Idle land In every corn field of 100
ncres. This Idle land results from the
failure of seed here and there through
out the field to grow. It is cultivated
just the same as If It were properly en
gaged. The farmer, therefore, wastes
labor and loses t the , use of the land.
here a large acreage of com is growjfc
the aggregate loss Is - afl important
Item.