LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY.
Great Lincoln riled a martyr, with a ballet
In his brain;
the good he wrought for Freedom's cause
wiped out a damning stain;
Mighty hoots In armed rebellion had yielded
on tbe held, -After
four years' -valiant fighting for the
blot upon their shield. .
the manacles of slavery were forever cast
away.
And four million former chattels were re
joicing on tbat day;
The cruel war was over; there was happi
ness at hand,
When a dastard shot a pistol that resounded
through the land.
Four hundred thousand loyal lives were
sacrificed In strife.
So plve the starry banner a triumphant
lease of life; . . . -
The soldier boys were eonilug borne, gild
that the fray was o'er,
And loud paens to the victors. Spring's
fragrant zephyrs bore; .
When the ruler of this nation, the grandest
man of all.
Was called from his h'.jth station to repose
beneath a pall;
The gloom that then spread o'er the land
caused grief most hard to bear.
And In the loss each family were conscious
of a share. "
His monument may crumble, as they tell
us It has done,
But his name Is on the tongues of men who
know the fame be wod;
And as his virtues come to light their lus
ter floods the earth,
To teach our youths to honor hi in on tbe
day be had his binh.
Bo February twelfth will mark a date each
future year.
That calendars will bear lu red to show
whom we revere;
For the name of Lincoln rails to mind a
man of humble birth.
Whose fame is now exalted In tbe highest
niche on earth. .
John Mct'omb. ,
A KNIGHT OF
ST. VALENTINE,
T was to be a val
entine party. That
was what the girls
decided after talk
ing it all over half
a dozen times,
viewing all ' the
schemes suggested
from every possi
"ble light and re
jecting ali except
the one Mabel
H u r t 1 n e had
made, that It
chouid be a valen
tine party. Margaret had said she was
dying for a sleighride, not just a poky
old ride in a cutter big enough for two;
but a good eld-fashioned big straw ride,
with lots of buffalo robes and all the girls
and all the fellows in the crowd. But the
sleighride was outvoted by those who
feared the chill winds would make their
noses red and blow their hair about un
til they would not appear to advantage
In the eyes of those for whose benefit the
hair was curled and the noses discreetly
touched up at times. - - .
Hinda could see nothing but a musicalc.
Some of the boys could play guitars and
mandolins and the piano, she insisted, and
everybody thought he could sing and that
would make it nice. She even volunteer
ed to arrange the program of mandolin
music and get copies of the "rag time"
coon melodies to help out those whose
knowledge of the fascinating jingles was
confined to enthusiastic bursts in the
chorus. But the musicalc idea had few
friends. It was too much trouble and the
girls who could ,not play mandolins or
pose prettily with guitars hung from their
shoulders on pale blue ribbons could not
ee where they would come In except in
the chorus, and they each wanted to star,
10 the musicale was not a go.
Marjle thought it would be lovely to just
meet at somebody's house and not have
any old set program, but let things take
their own course and sing and dance and
talk and perhaps eat after awhile. But
somebody suggested this might get poky
in a short time, and when Mabel Hurvlne
came to the rescue with the valentine par
ty suggestion it was pounced upon with
delight and she was voted a wonder at
concocting schemes to help distressed
maidens out of difficulties.
"But what do you do at a valentine par
ty?" asked Aileen. "I never went to one
since the days when we used to have a
valentine box in school and the boys used
to send the teacher horrible caricatures
and some of the boys used to send some
of the girls pretty little cards " .
"Oh, well, never mind telling us about
your childhood days," said Kathryn. "We
want to hear about this party we are go
ing to have. Mabel is sponsor for it and
she will have to tell about it."
"Why, it's the easiest thing in the
world," said Miss Hurvine, who was
small and dark and whose eyes twinkled
behind pince nez glasses. "AH you have
to do is to invite a crowd of fellows and
girls who know each other pretty well."
"That Is easy for a starter," said Mar
iie, "for, positively, I don't think any
crowd of girls knows as many boys as wc
Jo." -
"Speak for yourself, please," said Aileen
with a toss of her head, but before the
controversy progressed further ., Mabel
went on with her explanation of the plan
Df entrapping unwary young men on St.
Valentine's evening.
"Well, you get the crowd together at
somebody's house and then you have a
small brother or somebody, a sister if
you're- about half out of brothers, dressed
for a cupid,"
"I hope he will be more thoroughly
dressed than the conventional cupid," sug
gested Kathryn, "or the party is likely to
break up right there."
"Don't be a goose," said Mabel sternly.
"e wears a cute white dress and gauze
lgs- "
"td carries a mandolin strapped over
ulder," suggested Hinda,.
"Not for a minute," said Mabel decid
edly. "I do wish you girls wouldn't be
silly or I'll never get through with this,
lie has a cute little wagon filled with
pieces of white paper cut in heart shapes
and to each one is attached a pencil."
"So we can write borne for money," cut
in Marjie.
Miss Hurvine silenced her with a look
of disdain and went on:
"He goes around the room with the
wagon and each one takes one of the lit
tle hearts and pencils, and then they are
called upon to write a verse or a valentine
to someone in the party. When they all
get through the cupid goes around again
,
"And collects the garbage," said Kath
ryn, who had remained a silent listener
up to this point.
"Let her tell it," said Aileen, "it's a
good storyi She's -all right. Let her
tell it."
"I won't tell you girls another thing and
I won't have anything to do with the par
ty if you don't behave yourselves, now,"
said Mabel, "Well, the verses are all
piled up on a table and somebody reads
them out to the crowd, and everyone has
a chance to guess who wrote each one and
to whom it was written. Of course if the
verses sort of describe some peculiarity
of the person addressed it would help
some." ,
"Oh, that would be lovely," said Aileen;
"I can see my finish when they get at my
peculiarities. If anybody writes anything
mean about me I won't play."
And so it was decided that it should be
a Valentine party and that everybody
should come and that the boys should not
know anything about the scheme until
they had reached the house, lest they
might come "loaded" with verses culled
from handy volumes of quotations.
Mabel Hurvine's home was ablaze with
lights on the night of St. Valentine's day.
The parlor was hung with smilax. and
ferns, and from the chandelier dangled a
mighty heart pierced by a cruel arrow.
Everything was ready for the Valentine
party, and half the guests had arrived.
Marjie was gayly singing "I Don't Care
if You Never XJpme Back," while a solemn
young man played rag time on the piano.
Half a dozen other girls w-re sweetly tell
ing fibs to as many young men who hung
over their chairs or sat beside them and
seemed to be drinking it all in. . The little
rapid, proud of his importance, and im
mensely concerned over the success of his
gauze wings, was waiting in an Inner room
for his part in the game, when Lottie
Meredith tripped gajly up the steps aud
kissed Mabel Hurvine, who met her in the
hall. -
"Wait a minute before ycu go la," whis
pered Mabel. , "Tom is here."
All the dancing light died out of Lottie
Meredith's eyes in an Instant. Her cheeks
turned deathly white a moment, and then
flushed red as peonies.
"Tom?" she gasped. "Tom ? You don't
mean Tom Prince?-'
Mabel shook her head solemnly la af
firmation and took both Lottie's hands in
hers. .
"Yes, he came about twenty minutes
ago. I was o.s much thuuderstruck as
you."
"But, Mabel," whispered Lottie, drag
ging Miss Hurvine into a bedroom, where
they could not be overheard, "where did
he come from? What on earth Is he doiug
here? Oh, tell nie what to do, dear. I
can't face him before all this crowd."
"I don't know anything about It, Lot
tie," said Mabel slowly, "except he said
be pot to town to-day. and one of tbe boys
told him there was a party here and all
the old crowd would be here to-night, and
he said he made bold enough to come up.
Of course I told him I was glad to see
him. What else could I do?'
From the parlor came the gay tinkle of
the piano and a full, deep voice was sing
ing "O Promise Me." The chatter of
many tongueR and light laughter floated
on the air with the singer's voice and came
to the two solemn girls huddled there in
the bedroom.
"That's him singing," whispered Lot
tie. "I'd know his voice anywhere and
that was his song always, you know."
For a few minutes they stood there si
lently listening to the jollity in the par
lors. Their hearts beat so loudly that they
"WILT. YOU TRY-MB
heard the quickened pulsations as they
stood in the darkness with clasped hands
Then Miss Hurvine said:
"I must go back, dear. They will miss
me. Stay here until you are feeling bet
ter, and then go right out as if you did
not know he was here." And then she
blipped out and joined tho merry crowd in
the parlor.
Five minutes later Lottie Meredith
walked out of tho room with her head
erect and a forced smile upon her lips.
Carelessly she strolled into the room
where the piano was sounding and let hor
eyes rest for only an instant upon the fig
ure of Tom Prince, tall and haudsome as
ever, leaning over Kathryn, who was try
ing an accompaniment to a song under
his direction. He looked up and their eyes
met. Lottie tried to return his gaze cold
ly, as if she had never before looked upon
him, but she felt her strength of will
leaving her, she felt the hot blood mount
to her cheek, her breath came quickly for
an instant and she looked away to where
Will Barnes was telling fairy tales to
Margaret. Prince had not changed conn
tenance when he looked upon Lottie. It
was not the gaze of a stranger nor was
there a smile of recognition in it. To an
observer it would seem almost like the
curious look of, A man who thought he
recognized a face and was striving to re
cull it to memory. ;
Now, all you people quit singing and
talking and we'll see what cupid has
brought us, said Mabel Hurvine briskly.
Tom Prince stooped over Kathryn at
the piano and said, loud enough for Lot
tie Meredith to hear:
"I trust he will bring me something
moro acceptable Aan the Dead sea fruit
with which in the past he has flaunted
me." ..
Kathryn looked up and smiled brightly.
The words fell meaningless upon her ears,
but Lottie heard and knew.
The door of the parlor was thrown open
and cupid walked in with his freight of
white hearts and tiny pencils and with
gay badinage the plan of writing the val
entines was explained by Mabel. A si
lence followed for a few minutes, brows
were knitted in deep thought and the
merry revelers strove to make rhymes and
invent clever lines to carry on the enter
tainment. There were sly looks and side
remarks from those who wished to let the
objects of their devotion know that they
inspired the muse. There was laughing
protest from the girls that some of the
boys were "peeking" to see what was be
ing written. And at last Miss Hurvine
said time was up, cupid made his rounds
again and the white papers fluttered into
the little wagon, each bearing its tender
or humorous mesage. Quickly they were
heaped upon the table and the boys and
girls settled into their seats, when Barnes
was called upon to read them. r , -
"Here's one that ought to get at least
second money," said Barnes, picking up
a heart at random and reading:
My valentine, with storm and shine,
Is like a changeful April morning;
'Tls strange, but still I never will
lie fouud her frown .or sunshine scorning.
"Are they all as bad as that?" queried
Marjie fro niher perch on the arm of a
big easy chair, where she sat leaning
against Margaret.
"Wait till I read - some more,", said
Barnes. "That one was just picked .up
at random."
"But who Is it for?" asked Aileen.
"You can have it if you want it," said
Kathryn, "I don't see anyone breaking
any records trying to beat you to It." ,
Barnes had selected another heart from
the pile before him and his face sobered
a trifle as he glanced through the verse
before reading it. .Then he said:
"Hold on. This one is all right. "I
guess it's on the square, too."
O foolish heart that' quakes with fear
Aud strives to burst with agony -Kor
sundered ties, ohl ecstasy!
Be brave, be patient; she Is near.
Throb not so dolefully and slow,
() heart of mine, so 'ong bowed down,
No longer may you wear the crown
Of thorns for days of long ago.
At Inst thy penitence Is o'er:
At last thy heritage Is won,
O heartl thy sorrowing is done
And Joy Is thine forevermore.
For a moment there was silence when
Barnes had concluded the verse. The
smiles had faded from the lips of every
one in the room and glances of surprise
were turned from one to another. Tom
Prince stood with his arm Testing upon
the piano and his head in bis hand, look
ing steadfastly at Lottie Meredith. And
she knew.- She did not dare look across
the room at the steady blue, eyes which
she knew were fixed upon her.' She would
not trust herself to return that gaze, for
her heart. was beating madly, although
her face was pale. . --
"Well,' we'll all have to give that one
up," said Marjie. "Anyone who had that
written at her ought to be "picking out the
bridesmaids.", .
The laugh relieved the strained situa
tion and Barnes caught up a jocular verse
and raLtled it off glibly. There was some
light comment from somebody and Lottie
Slipped out into the hallway. She was not
missed and no one noticed when Tom
Prince stepped leisurely to the door of the
parlor and followed. He found her there,
with wide, frightened eyes which would
ONCF, MOKE, DEAR?"
I dure to look at him now that they were
alone. -. - -
"Lottie,'.' he said sin-.ply. " -"Oh.
Tom," nhe whispered, her eyes fill
ing with tears, "did you mean it? Did
you really mean it?"
"Will you try me ouce more, dear, and
see?" he asked. , .
And as she slipped into his arms with
happy little sigh It piano sounded once
more from the parlor, the laughter and
the chatter of voices arose and floated by
them unheeded on the sight air.
His Sentiment und Autograph.
. Abraham" Lincoln once received a letter
asking for a "sentiment" and his auto
graph. He replied:
Dear Mnrtnm: When you ask from
stranger that which Is of Interest only to
yourself, always inclose a stamp. There's
your sentiment, and here's my autograph.
- A. LINCOLN.
Good manners and good morals ar
sworn frlc-ads and fast allies. TartoL
HUNTING RABBITS.
Sport Abounds When Snow Is Light
and Air Is Keen. ,
A rabbit bunt Is a thing of yells and
shouts and baying of hounds and wild
excitement. About five bounds and a
cur dog, four boys and a man and a
light snow on the ground, are the 'usual
outfit. On the "crick" there are a. lot
of brush piles scattered about and Is
any amount of cover and . brush and
hiding places for the game. The hounds
are put In and In about five minutes
there Is a grand hullabaloo and a deep
bay from one of the old hounds, fol
lowed by the excited "yap" of the cur
dog, and the game Is afoot; Very much
afoot, for he Is covering the ground
with long leaps and endeavoring to put
as much space as possible between him
and his pursuers. It Is not a very long
chase. . The rabbit turns, dodges and
finally nears where the man with the
shotgun Is standing. There Is a sharp
"bang" as the right-hand barrel Is dis
charged and the rabbit keels over and
Is grabbed by one of the boys Just be
fore the foremost hound reaches the
spot. - ; .' ' :
The forces now begin offensive opera
tions. The cur dog Is sent Into the
brush heaps and the boys climb up on
top of the brush and thrash around,
stamping on tbe limbs and making as
much noise as possible. The cur
squeezes around In the 'maze of brush
and pretty soon the rabbits begin to
move. The first gun Is fired by the
boy with the musket, who has stayed
with the dogs. It Is an awful roar and
It misses the rabbit. But an officious
hound who happens to be close by
grabs the rabbit and the boy slides to
the ground and snatches It from the
hound. Then he "hollers" triumphant
ly, "I got him!"
Then he gets on another pile of brush
and starts to . tramp around again.
Meantime the hounds are nervously
trying to make themselves small
enough to get under the brush piles,
but with poor success. It Is the cur
dog's inning and he Is making the most
of It. His eyes are snapping with ex
citement and he is full of nervous ener
gy. Every hair on his back bristles
with eagerness and his chief ambition
Is to catch Just one rabbit all by him
self. There are hurried slides under
the brush, quick plunges and muffled
barks, and the rabbits dodge the cur
dog and dart out from under the brush
heaps, only to be met by the accommo
dating hounds or a blast from a mus
ket, and If they escape all these there
Is still the gantlet of the outer guard to
pass. The hounds are jumping around
among the brush piles, and whenever
they nip a rabbit as It Is driven out by
the cur there is a squeal and a muffled
growl from the hound and then a yell
from the nearest boy. But the hounds
do not worry the rabbit after he Is
dead; they drop blm and wait until he
Is transferred to somebody's pocket. .
After the clearing has been thorough
ly 'overhauled there Is a counting up to
see the result, 'and late In the after
noon the party will be seen traveling
slowly home, all of them, dogs, boys
and man, thoroughly tired out. ; But
over their shoulders and In their, pock
ets are rabbits, as many as they can
carry, and they are all serenely satis
fled with the hunt. The boy whose
musket went off accidentally does not
say anything about It, for fear It might
be urged against his carrying a gun at
future hunts.
- Rabbits adapt their habits to the lo
cality In which they are raised, and this
action on their part makes hunting
them a question of geography, to a cer-
HUNTING
tain extent. In some portions of the
country, where the ground is hilly, high
and comparatively free from under
brush, rabbits can only be successfully
hunted with ferrets. They feed mostly
at night and lie in holes in the daytime,
and the hunter who traverses such a
country with the best of rabbit dogs
Will have his labor for his pains.
Neither with beagle nor greyhound will
he be able to get a sight of a rabbit,
unless he accidentally runs across a
stray one, and that particular "bunny"
will "hole up" as soon as the dogs get
on his trail.
The only way to get rabbits in that
kind of a country is to go after them
with a ferret. The ferret Is kept in a
box until the grounds are reached and
the hunters begin operations. It fakes
at least two persons to hunt rabbits
with a ferret, if the thing Is done prop
erly. One man to handle and "groom"
the ferret, and the other to shoot the
rabbits. A dog is sometimes taken
along, but a dog is a nuisance under
such circumstances. . ' ;
When a hole Is found, the box or bag
is opened and the ferret is coaxed out.
He comes creeping from his hiding
place, and apparently very reluctantly.
When he is urged to go down and inter
view the lodgers he goes most unwill
ingly. After a wait of perhaps three
or four minutes the tip of bis nose ap-
HON. NELSON DINOLEY.
The death of Nelson Dingley, Jr., father of the present tariff law, ex-Governor
of Maine and Congressman since 1881, removes a prominent man from the political
life of the nation. Nelson Dingley, Jr., was born in Durham, Me., in 1832. At an
early age he began school teaching, meantime preparing himself for college. In
1851 he entered Waterville Collegef subsequently becoming a student at Dart
mouth, from -which he graduated in 1855. . He then studied law, but instead of
taking up the active practice of his profession he entered journalism, becoming
the owner and editor of the Lewiston Journal. In 1861, '62, '63 he represented
Auburn in the State Legislature, being Speaker in 1863. In that year he removed
-to Lewiston and was again sent to the Legislature. In 1864 he was again Speaker
of that body and declined the honor in two subsequent years. In 1873 Mr. Ding
ley was elected Governor and was re-elected the following year. In 1881 he was
sent to Congress to fill the vacancy .created by the resignation of ; William P.
Frye and he had been continuously in that body since that time. He was a most
influential member in the lower house, being latterly chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee and floor leader of the Republicans. His tariff bill, to which
as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee he gave his name, lent him addi
tional fame. ,' '- . -
pears at the other entrance to the bur
row, and then a diplomatic dalliance
commences with a view to getting the
brute back Into the box again. Some
times he can be Induced to get back to
bis quarters without much trouble, but
at other times he gets crafty, and the
hunters will sit around for half an hour
or so trying to coax him to leave the
hole. There are ferrets that will some
times go down In a hole, grab a rabbit,
gorge themselves with the prey,, and
then deliberately He down and go to
sleep, some six or eight feet below the
surface. , ', . . ;
" If there Is a rabbit In the hole when
a ferret Is put in, the rabbit bolts out
of the place In a hurry. He is in deadly
fear of this creeping, rat-like little
beast, and he comes out with a bound,
and then the man with the gun usually
bowls him over. Sometimes there are
two or three rabbits in one hole, and
the hunter may get rattled, and score
clean misses. But the rabbits only
scurry off to some other burrow, there
to be routed out again and shot at. The
rabbit gets out of the hole so quickly
that it Is almost impossible to see him
come. He is in the air the first you see
of him, and he is away in an Instant.
RABBITS.
Some stretches of country are rid
dled with these holes, and Cf teen or
twenty rabbits may be gotten in a day.
Ti e rabbits In this kind of ground are
swift of foot, and usually in the fall
and winter very fat. There is a great
deal of uncertainty about this kind of
hunting, for sometimes there have been
other hunters there before, and every
hole drawn is a blank. It is splendid
exercise, though; the climbing up and
down the steep hillsides and walking
through the woods in crisp weather
brings many sets of muscles into play,
and the air is chuck full of ozone.
Queer Names for Women.
The wives of -some of the Indian
braves have names as odd and often as
droll as their husbands. They seem to
have cognomens of their own, too, and
not to take those of their spouses only.
Some of the actual names given In a
census of the family of the scouts at
ono place include Mrs. Short Nose, who
was before her marriage Miss Piping
Woman; Mrs. Big Head, formerly Miss
Short Face; Mrs. Nibbs, formerly Miss
Young Bear; Mrs. White Crow, form
erly Miss Crook Pipe; Mrs. Howling
Water, formerly Miss Crow Woman;
also Mrs. Sweet Water Miss Walk
High, daughter of Mr. White Calf, and
Miss Osage, daughter of Mr. Hard
Cas.
CORN WILL BE KING.
Western Cereal Has First Place at the
Paris Kxpoaltion. -
Corn will be king at the Paris expo
sition of 1900. The residents of the
corn-growing section of this country
have declared it; Ferdinand W. Peck,
COB3 r AI.ACB AT THE EXPOSITION.
United States Commissioner General of
the Paris exposition, has approved of
it,- and the visitors to the great fair will
do the rest. The old world is to be
given a good Idea at the Paris exhibi
tion of what American corn Is. A corn
palace will be built showing a tremend
ous ear of corn rising tower fashion
from its front, and in this palace it is
proposed to have a corn kitchen and
restaurant, In which corn bread, corn
pudding, corn fritters, corn dodgers,,
johnny cake, succotash and all other
forms of this vegetable will be served.
Unexpected Honors.
-A new version of an eld story is told
In Judge. The young man who had
returned from the war was the young
est of the family, . When he got home
his father handed him the paper the
first thing in the morning, his mother
helped him first at the breakfast table,
his brother offered him a cigar, and h!s
sister asked him' if her playing on the
piano annoyed him-. . In the evening
he was telling of the hard times he had
been through. ;
"But I don't mind," he said; . "it's
worth it." ' ' s " . -
, "You mean the experience was inter
esting?" said his mother.
: "Not exactly that. You remember
when Aunt Jane, or Uncle Jeff, or the
minister, or my cousin from St. Louis
came to town how anxious you all were
to entertain them?"
: "Yes." ."'' 1
"Well, ever since I was a little boy, I
have been jealous of those people. I've
resented the way I had to stand around
and not speak until I was spoken to,
and let my favorite piece of chicken go
to some one else. - I tell you war issa
fearful thing; but, on the other' hand,
It's worth a good deal to come back
and be treated like company in your
own home."
'A Real Success.
"That motor you are Interested in
never worked, did it?" '".
"Of course it worked," was the indig
nant reply. "It never pulled any cars
or moved any machinery. ' But it made
money for Its owners, and that's more
than most inventions do."
After looking at her troubles up one
way and down the other, a woman de
cides there is no other thing to do but
put them on her shoulders, and trudge
along. A man, however, will put them
in a bucket and kick them over. Which;
is the better way? -