THE BEAUTIFUL YET. TO-BE.
Sometimes, in hours of solitude,
The soul cun bear a soug
From choristers whose eyes have viewed
A world devoid of wrong.
And in the silence of the night,
In dreams we seem to see
The dawn of right and glorious light -
Of the beautiful yet-to-be.
It baffles the soul with heavenly bliss,
Unmixed with earthly ill,
And gently as a mother's kiss
It soothes its pain until
Beyond the gloom of present days
AVe fancy we can see
The peaceful haze and pleasant ways
Of the beautiful yet-to-be.
We see a world where virtue thrives;
We hear the grand refrain
From the harmony of happy lives, '-
And catch the sweeter strain
Of the melody of honest worth, . , ,
The music of innocent glee
And childish mirth that will gladden the
earth
, In the beautiful yet-to-be. " '
Where youth and maid will be free to woo
And win the crown of life,
And whisper the secret, ever new.
Yet older than human life,
Mid singing birds and fragrant flowers,
While love's young dream is free
From hostile powers in lovely bowers
Of the beautiful yet-to-be.
Chicago Chronicle.
t The First Premium.
rc 'M real sorry, Miss
Phelps, that you
must leave this
week.".
"I am sorrv. too.
tjji But I have had a
beautiful long sum
mer, and It Is near
ly over now. An
other week would
only make me re
gret going more." - -
"Maybe that's so, but next week'U be
our county fair, and I'd like you to see
It. Have you ever been to one?" '
I admitted that my education In that
respect had been neglected. . For It was
I who had spent the summer among the
. Jersey bills, and the fund of good
stories with which my hostess was sup
plied had often entertained me. Hop
ing for one now I asked, "What are
they like, Mrs. Conover?"
"Well, I suppose 'agricultural exhibi
tions' is the real name for 'em, but we
don't often say It. They generally last
three or four days. And the farmers
take their best bred stock, and their
biggest fruits and vegetables. Then
their wives send bread, and preserves,
and jellies; and In the fancy tent they
have patchwork quilts, and embroider
ies and oil paintings. And the best of
. every class gets a premium.
"Money?" I queried.
"Yes, five dollars or so, but the honor
Is really more than the money."
"Will you send anything?" was my
next question.
"No, I never did but once, and such a
time as I had then! Shall I tell you
about It?"
"Yes, please, I wish you would."
"Well, It was three years ago, the first
year Jlmmie come to us. You know
we never had any children and Ezry
was bound to adopt a boy. So he got
Jlmmie out of the orphan asylum down
to Elizabeth." , .
"Did you send him to the fair?" I
asked. Mrs. Conover sometimes needed
to be brought back to the main track In
her story-telling. Now a shadow cross
ed her placid face as she answered.
"Yes, Jimmie went that year and ev
ery year since." But I'll go on with my
story. I was lookln over the premium
list when Ezry brought It home and I
asked him If he wouldn't enter that Al
derney heifer. She's the cow we call
'Daisy' now, and she was so pretty and
tame. But he said no, she wasn't regls
tered, and her keep would cost more
than the premium. And I felt real sor
ry, for I did want one of them first
premium cards. We was the only one
tf the neighbors that hadn't one.
"Then I saw they'd added a new de
partment and would give five dollars
for the best cake, and I made up my
mind I'd have that. And whun T tnhl
Ezry he said, 'Go ahead, mother. If
anybody In this county can make better
cake than yours I've never et It."'
"I think Mr. Conover was right," I
Interrupted.
A pleased look passed over the face of
the story teller as she continued, "A lit
tle while before him and me had been
over to Mahaly Stiles?' to stay all night.
And on the supper table they had some
thin' that looked for all the world like
a water melon, but when you came to
eat it was cake. So I told Ezry I was
going to send for Mahaly's receipt, and
make that. He said It was too late, for
ihat was Wednesday, and the fair open
ed the next Tuesday. But I told him
If it went out the next morning I could
get an answer Friday or Saturday at
the latest, and I'd bake my cake Mon
day after I did the washing.
"So'i wrote the letter and sent Jlm
mie off to mall. It, and Friday night
looked for the answer. But Jimmie
came home empty handed. . Saturday
afternoon I drove old Billy Into the vil
lage for the things. I got almonds, and
red sugar, and green sugar. On the way
home I stopped to the postoffice. Susan
Snell, the. same as has it now, had It
.f... -
"And she said there was nothing she
could give me. I was awful disap
pointed, but I thought the letter would
come Monday mornlnV So I got up at
4 o'clock so as to get my washin out.
But Jimmie didn't bring it up from that
mail either. ' y. .
"It was strange," I commented, as
Mrs. Conover paused to take another
pair of socks from the pile she was
.darning, R . . ,
s. ....
"Are you getting tired? Weli;'ll be
through soon."
"Not at all. riease go on."
"That night after supper, Jimmie
came iu with a dirty postal card in his
hand screamin' 'auntie, I've got it. I've
got it.'
"We had him say 'auntie' and 'uncle'
because, as I told Ezry, if God had ever
meant us to be called father and mother
he'd have given us some children of out
own. ; , - -
"I asked Jimmie what he'd got and
he said the letter. He said he thought
I felt so bad that he run over to the
postofflce himself after supper and Su-
san Snell gave him this. I had my sus
picions right away, and I said to him,
'How did it get so dirty?' 'I don't know
it was that way when Miss Sncll gav
It to me.'
" 'Don't tell me a He, Jimmie,' said I,
and he snys, 'Why, no, auntie, I never
do.' So I didn't say uo more, but sent
him to bed. , . . .
"Anyway, I had my receipt and early
next mornln' I had the cake in baking.
It was a good deal of trouble to mak
You put white batter first, then pink,
and almouds in that, that hadn't been
blanched, to Imitate the seeds. When
It was baked I Iced It with green lclns
for the rind. A little before nine I told
Ezry to hitch up, and Jimmie, who was
hanging around, says, 'Auntie, shan't 1
go put on my Sunday clothes?' 'No, I
can't have any little boys with me, whe
don't tell the truth, said I. 'Oh, I did
tell the truth, and can't'l go to the fairl
All the boys are goin' and I've saved
my money ever so long for a ride on the
razzle-dazzle, and the merry-go-round
Willie Hudson and I was goin' togeth
er.' 'You deceived me about that pos
tal,' said I. 'If you'd owned up yon
forgot It, I'd forgiven you, though that
was bad enough. But lying I won't
tolerate In anybody. ... There's som
boiled, ham and biscuit In the pantry,
you can get for your dinner. And I
want you to learn the fifth chapter of
Acts by heart.' Then we rode away,
but I couldn't seem to forget his face."
"You were strict with him,", I ven
tured. ..
"Yes, but Miss Thelps, I never could
bear deceit. Well, when we got to the
fair, It was half past ten, and the entry
books had closed at ten. . And the man
said his orders was so strict he couldn't
admit my cake. ; So my day was spoiled
you can guess. But I told Ezry we
might as well see what was there. The
pumpkins was bigger than ever; there
was quilts with nine thousand nine
hundred and ninety-nine pieces In 'em;
the band played its loudest; and the
girls and their beaux were goin' round
together as happy as could be."
"Didn't you look at the cakes?"
"Yes, we looked at the cakes," an
swered Mrs. Conover dryly. "And whe
do you s'pose got the first premium?"
"I haven't the slightest Idea." .
"Why, Susan Snell! and for water
melon cake! 1 She was standing there,
but she didn't see me, and when some
body congratulated her she said, 'yes,
it's somethln' new. The receipt come
from Mrs. Stiles over at Stllesville!'
That was too much for me. I grabbed
HAD TUB CAKE BAKING EARLY NEXT
MOUSING.
Ezry's arm, and got out of there. 'That
poor boy,' said I. 'Let's get home as
fast as we can.' Of course Ezry had to
laugh at me, though he told me the
postmasters had a right to look at pos
tal cards to see there wasn't anything
objectionable on them, seen as duns fei
money, etc., but I guess he didn't ex
cuse Susan Snell any more than I did
We made old Billy go his best, and
when we got here found that dear child
asleep, with his head laid on the Bible,
open to the fifth chapter of Acts, and
big tear drops dried on his face. I woke
him up In a hurry and told him he
should go to the fair next day, and that
I was sorry I'd misjudged him. And
he jest put both arms around my neck,
and said, 'Oh, auntie, I'm so glad I can
go, but I'm gladder yet that you know
I told the truth, for I promised mamma
most the last thing that I'd always bt
true, and I always mean to be.'
"Well, that taught me two things If 1
didn't get the first premium," said Mrs.
Conover, as she rose to leave me. "One
is that there Is more than one kind ol
stealin', and the other that we are jesi
as bound to respect the rights and feel-
ln's of children as if they was growl
folks." Ohio Farmer.
The "Orphin's" Question. .
The following colloquy Is reported be
tween the late Mr. Spurgeon and a boy
i nis orpnanage: .
"Mls'r Spudgln, s'poslng there was
an orphin 'sylum an' a hunnered or-
phins In It, an' all the orphins had un
cles an' auntses to bring 'em cakes an'
armies, 'cent one orphin wot hadn't no
one, oughtln somebody give that orphin
sixpence? ,.
"I think so, Bob," replied Mr. Spur
geon. "But why?" ' ,
"'Cause I'm him," said Bob. .
The story goes that the "orphin" had
the sixpence. Spare Moments.
The record for fading rapidly hai
been broken by the shirt waist Here
tofore, It was carried by the girl wh(
married, and went to live in her bus
band's family. -
RUSSIA'S BIG KOAD.
3REAT TRANS-SIBERIAN
WAY SYSTEM.
RAIL-
When the Czar's Stupendnous Project
la Completed Our Pacific Coast May
Become More Important than the
Atlantic r
The Russian minister of railroads is
luoted In recent St Petersburg dis
patches as saying that there Is no
longer doubt that the trans-Siberian
road will be finished next year and
that when it Is completed it will be pos
siblo to make the trip around the world
iu thirty-three days. In this same dis
patch Bremen is taken for the Euro
pean starting point, for the reason that
It is reached by steamer ; from New
York; thence the route indicated Is
from Bremen to St Petersburg in one
and a half days; St Petersburg to Vla
dlvostock, ten days; Vladlvostock to
Ban Francisco by steamer, four and
ne-half days; San Francisco to Chi
;ago, three and one-half days; Chicago
to New York, one day; New York to
Bremen, seven days. - -
Should this longest railroad In the
73 r: .ctan
i T, V
GREAT RAILWAY SYSTEM
world be completed next year It will
have been nine years in course of con
struction. The preliminary plan of its
construction was outlined by the late
Emperor Alexander III. of Russia in
his rescript addressed in May, 1891, to
the Czarowitz. Surveys were made for
portions of this continuous trans-Siberian
road In 1887-88. Designed to be
gin at Cbelablnsk, near the boundary
between European and Asiatic Russia,
It was to end in Vladlvostock on the
Pacific ocean and together with the
system of Russian railroads, was des
tined for connecting the Baltic Sea with
the Pacific. For the sake of facility of
construction" it was divided Into seven
lines under the following names, re
spectively: The Western Siberian Rail
road, S85 miles; the Central Siberian,
1,149 miles; the Baikal Loop Line, 195
miles; the Trans-Baikal Railroad, 089
miles; - the Amoor, 1,111 miles; the
North Oussouri. 227 . miles, and the
South Oussouri. 252 miles. So that the
total length of tho railroad In Asiatic
Russia was designed to be 4,507 miles,
and the total distance from St. Peters
burg to Vladlvostock, or from the Bal-
BAIT. WAY ACROSS THE STEPPES.
tic Sea to the Pacific, was estimated at
6,232 miles. This gigantic work , has
been prosecuted with marvelous vigor
and steadiness and a year ago was de
clared to be nearlng completion.
Chances in the Line.
Changes have been necessitated In
the line by recent events in China
originally only one port on the Pacific
was thought of, Vladlvostock, and that
was to be reached, first by a northerly
and then by a southerly bend entirely
through Russian territory. - But owin;,
to Interests obtained by Russia In Man
churia it was deemed Inexpedient to
follow the line as it was originally sur
veyed, and accordingly a new line di
rect from Irkutsk southwest to Vladl
vostock was adopted. Still more recent
events In China have caused another
change in the main line to be made, and
In consequence not Vladlvostock but
Port Arthur will be- the terminus- on
the Pacific. So that the trans-Siberian
Railroad divides into three prongs as
near approach Is made to the Pacific.
One prong goes straight on to Vladl
vostock, another strikes down through
Manchuria arid a third bears In a south
erly direction down to Port Arthur.
Either of these latter is a shorter cut
to the sea by several hundred miles, tho
Port Arthur route being the shortest
of the three. Vladlvostock Is not to be
abandoned; it will have its railroad and
be made in consequence a commercial
place of Importance, but it has the dis
advantage of being during one -half the
year under snow and Ice. Port Arthur
is open the year found. But this latter
port Is In China and before Russia de
cided to extend its trans-Siberian Rail
road thither Russia must have come to
a satisfactory understanding with
China. Within tho, present year, then,
St Petersburg will be . connected by
rail not only with Vladlvostock, but
with Port Arthur, and probably within
next year by branch roads with Can
ton and Pekin. ; V
It is estimated that after the road is
repaired after the first few years of
traffic the journey from St Petersburg
to Pekin will be made in five days.
From London the most Important har
bor on the Japan Sea will be seventeen
it
and a half days. It Is now possible by
tho "North Express" to go from Lon
don to St Petersburg In two days and
four hours. It will therefore be possible
to reach Pekln from London in seven or
eight days. But this in the future.
While the road Is uewand stiff thespeed
at which the trains will run will not
be greater than twenty miles an hour,
but even so It will be possible to go
from London to Japan in sixteen days
and to China in seventeen days. The
shortest cut at present from London
to those countries Is across the At
lantic, across the United States or
Canada and across the Pacific,
and with the best of luck it ' takes
from thirty to thirty-five days to make
It At first thought this promised short
ening of the time would seem to bode
anything but good to the transconti
nental traffic of the United States and
Canada which has been heretofore af
forded by England In her commerce
with Asiatic countries. But the Intense
rivalry existing between England and
Russia Is to be taken Into account The
trans-Siberian road will not be extens
ively patronized by England it will be
supported by Russian traffic and, In a
degree, by German. Time, It is- true.
Is a valuable element in commerce, but
It will be lost sight oi by the English
while pushing their own Interests In
-
THAT RUSSIA IS BUILDING.
opposition to those of their most dan
gerous rival. England, at any ,rate
until the Nicaraguan canal Is construct
ed, will continue to support tho Cana
dian Pacific Railroad by her shipments,
and at the same time and from the
same source the transcontinental Hues
within the United States will have
each a share of benefits.
Conrse of Empire Turned Back.
It Is for other reasons not to be feared
that the course of commerce of em
pirewill be changed, turned back on
itself, and made to move toward tho
east It has ever been Westward go
ing, and there Is every reason to be
lieve that it will continue In that direc
tion. Civilization, so far as we know,
began In the Euphrates valley, moved
to the Nile valley, and theu to the east
end of the Mediterranean. Rome took
It up and spread It entirely around the
Mediterranean, and afterward it drift
ed out Into tho Atlantic. There was
never any change or shadow of turn
ing In the course civilization wont '
pursue !u its march over the worlu.
Meanwhile eastern trade was had by
the advancing nations first Venice
possessed It, then Spain and Portugal,
and next Holland and England. Venice
ceased as a world, power, and her suc
cessors to the trade of the Orient,
while continuing In the rich traffic,
looked ever out toward the west At
length nations surrendered that trade
to commercial companies, and them
selves sought more and more to dis
cover and occupy new lands in the dis
tant west Exactly three centuries
ago England Incorporated the East In
dia company, when England was en
gaged in making conquests on the
American continent. "Westward the
course of empire takes Its way." It
was pursuing that course when it left
the Atlantic States of this republic and
made Its way over the Alleghenies and
into the Mississippi valley. Again it
was pursuing that course when, in
1849-50, the Pacific coast was reached,
and the Intermediate country began to
be occupied by Intelligent people. Our
interest in "empire" Is, or was until
recently, limited to these United
States. How far that Interest may ex
tend and how permanently nobody
just now can say. But It Is absolutely
certain that the part the United States
are to have In the trade and commerce
of th beyond of all tho Asiatic coun
triesIs to be immense and soon to be
realized. The completion of the trans
Siberian railroad is an event of the
greatest significance to this country.
It means, first that Siberia, a country
as large ns all North America and
abont as diversified as respects cli-mate-iand
soil and general fertility as
largo portions of North America, will
be filled up with industrious people,
and that before the twentieth century
Is half out all Asia will be teeming
with new life and sharing modern
prosperity. Secondly, it means that
the United States will then exchange
products on a large scale with Siberia,
China and every other country In that
quarter of the globe. Then the Pacific
Ocean will be white with steam and
sail, as the Atlantic now Is and our
Pacific States will be populated per
haps not less densely than Japan. The
civilization on the Pacific coast will be
the best on this continent, and the
splendor of its trading and commercial
achievements will eclipse anything that
has been known In the past on the east
ern side of this continent. Only the
United States hesitates to face about
and face the Pacific and the Orient.
It Is Already Profitable.
Such sections of the Siberian railroad
as are being operated are reported to
be earning operating expenses.- The
first, or western, section earned ex
penses the first year, which was 1894.
. ; in m
' m ii
It carried of first, second, third and
fourth class passengers 152,315. It
brought 189,606 settlers into the coun
try, besides 33,000 workmen and 2,258
convicts.. In 1890 the connecting, or
Omsk-Obi, section carried into the
country 37,500 passengers of the differ
ent classes and 116,020 settlers. In
1896 on the third section, the Chela
binsk,, were carried 23,768 passengers
and 3,072 settlers. That was thought
to be a good beginning, but It Is stated
that since 1896, the road having been
enormously extended and old stations
Improved and new stations established,
the passenger business has largely in
creased. Official tables are not at hand,
but It is believed that during the last
two years not less than 350,000 emi
grants have arrived In Siberia. From
all accounts the most of them are con
tented and doing fairly well. The total
receipts last year for transportation of
passengers and freights were upward
of $3,500,000. These figures will se.rve
to change the Ideas many hold of that
country. Siberia has ever been re
garded as a frozen waste, uninhabited
except by exiles and quite uninhabit
able. A country that can furnish such
an amount of business to a new rail
road Is plainly something very different
from that ' :
When the road Is completed the pas
senger business will be largely in
creased, for the way passenger traffic
will Increase, and It Is certain , that
thousands every year will prefer to go
all-rail around the ; world, especially
as that way It is cheaper and quicker.
Tickets from Warsaw to, Vladlvostock
cost 120 rubles, or $82,40. From Lon
don to Vladlvostock the cost of a ticket
Is $119, first-class; a second-class ticket
Is considerably cheaper. A Chicago
person knowing the fare to. New York
and London can easily calculate the
cost of transportation from his city
through Europe to Vladlvostock. The
price of a first-class ticket by the Suez
canal to Japan Is $428. Add tho price
of sleeping berth, twelve nights, by the
Siberian route, and still there Is a sav
ing of $190. It Is estimated that 100,
000 first-class passengers will use the
new route annually. Expectations
equally high are entertalued of the
freight traffic. Goods going over tho
road to the east and those coming west
will be those that can pay the highest
rates, such as furs, gold, silver, plat
inum and tea. As the estimated cost
of building and equipping tho road is
$160,000,000, the highest earnings ..it
may be capable of will be needed to
pay a profit on the Investment. But
as the road is owned by the Russian
Government and as above all things a
military road, pecuniary profits are
not what are mainly sought
Many Branch Roads.
From almost the first the activity
of the Russians in Siberia has not been
confined to building the main line.
Branch roads were early contemplated
aud some-of them are completed. The
Russian railroad from Ekatrlnburg to
the, navigable part of the .Dwina is
nearly completed and the products of
Siberia will thus have an'-Important
outlet to the White Sea, and hand
AROUND THE WORLD
in hand with the building of the main
Siberian water ways connecting with
the railroad Is progressing, and surveys
are preparing for the "building of
branch roads to all the more Important
towns of the various provinces and to
the mining districts. Few of these
branches will be built however, until
the trunk line is completed, for most
of the energy and money will be de
voted to the main road until the great
project is an accomplished fact.
An enormous part of the country that
is tributary to the Siberian Railroad is
amply blessed by nature and is capa
ble of supporting an enormous popu
lation, . This road will be the main fac
tor in the next century In the develop
meut of an Important fraction of the
earth's surface. We have only to
glance over the list of the projected
lines connecting the Siberian road with
China to get an Idea of the immense in
fluence which Russia Is certain to wield
over all the Interests of Eastern Asia.
WINDOW-GAZERS EARN MONEY.
New Method Employed by Merchants
to Attract Attention.
"Modern conditions, needs and com
petition develop many queer pursuits,"
said the State street merchant ; "The
business of carrying signs about the
street 'sandwiching' it is called-ls a
century old. ' Merchants used to ad
vertise their goods, you know, by hlr-
lng a man to go about ringing a bell
and crying the wares -of his patron.
That is one of the street noises we have
lost. 1 sometimes think it would be a
good scheme to revive it. It would pay
while its novelty lasts. The queerest
profession of all professions, I think, Is
the professional window gazer. All
pursuits are "professions' these days,
as you ore aware. We haven't any
'trades' left. Nevej- heard of a window
gazer? . - i
"There are many In Chicago, and al
though they don't get rich they are paid
enough to keep body and soul together.
A window gazer, as the name Implies,
Is a man or woman who makes a living
by gazing into a window. You know
that if you stand in State street look
fixedly at the twelfth story of a build
ing across the way, you will have a
sidewalk blocking crowd about you iu
no time at all. Well, that is what tho
window gazer does. He strolls casual
ly along until opposite his employer's
window. Then he stops and gazes with
nn appearance of deepest Interest. In
five minutes a crowd is gazing with
him. As individuals of this crowd get
enough and move on others will take
their places for possibly half ah hour.
From a near-by street corner the orig
inator of the audience is looking on.
When the crowd has melted uway to
tally he gathers another by the same
simple method. He works from 10 in
the morning until 9 at night, and he is
paid $2 a day. . This may seem a large
sum for such work, but it Is not when
the character of the window gazer Is
taken into consideration. He must be
a gentleman In appearance. To dress
well Is a desideratum with him. You
will perceive that a man fitted out like
a tramp might look into a window for
an hour without exciting any attention
or Inducing anyone to stop and look
with him. The nearer a window gazer
can approach to the ensemble of a man
of leisure and wealth out for a stroll
the more valuable his services are. Tho
same things hold good of women gaz
ers. They are generally placed in front
of the displays In the finer myilnery
shops of the department stores. You
can spot one at any time by taking the
trouble to hang about any establish
ment of this character and keeping
your eyes open." Chicago Chronicle.
Siberian Gentleman's Life.
"For five months of the year the Sibe
rian man of fashion lives In the open
air, either at the mining camp or In the
hunting field," says Thomas G. Allen,
Jr., in Ladles' Home Journal. 'He is
an early bird under all circumstances,,
and invariab'-y rises between 7 and 8
o'clock, although he may have had but
a couple of hours' rest Nearly every
meal is succeeded by a nap. However,
dressing operations do not take very
long, for when be retires the Siberian
only divests himself of his coat and
boots. Shiits are unknown In Siberia,
and in many houses beds, also. The
samovar is set on the dining-room table
at 8 a. m., together with eggs, black
and. white bread,; sardines, jam and
cakes, etc. Breakfast : is eaten, and
washed down by five or six glasses of
IN THIRTY-THREE DAYS.
tea stired up with sugar, cream and
sometimes jam. At 1 o'clock dinner Is
served, and at 5 in the afternoon an
other small meal, much like that of the
morning, is taken. A meat supper fol
lows at 9 o'clock. ! - v ' :
Naming ttio Child. .
"Among the plantation negroes In the
old times," writes a correspondent,
"the naming of a child was a matter of
great moment' Since they all had the
same surname, the distinction had to
be made in some other way. And since
there were 100 orimore to be named,
the Bible, classics, literature and his
tory were culled from very freely by
the master or some other member of
the family to assist the parents in this
matter. Among the various names I
recall this was the most original one:
Elijah the Prophet Lucius K. Tolk
Mars Abberth L . The later name
was a compliment to one of the young
masters, and not to have given the
title would have been an act of dis
courtesy. The name, however, . was
abbreviated to 'Prop,' and he was so
called."-New York Tribune. .
Some men consider that they are not
dressed up unless they have a white
handkerchief showing in their upper
coat pockets. , ;.' " '
If a man avoids ' -nping acquaint
ances he mi' - . ' scrapes ao
quamtauc , .a to.
-: "Y: 'i ' LJ