AFTER THE CALL. Blic counts her conquests all as naught Before tills crowning one The love tliat seemed to conic unsought , Like eplendors of the sun ; And every word Le spoke to-night Is pravcn on her brain In letters of auroral Jiglit , Forever to remain. She lays her lips upon the hands Ills fervent lips have kissed ; And o'er her clear eyes she stands There comes a Lappy mist What was her charm In form or face O'er others at the ball That he should do her such a tjrace As choose her inld them all ? SLe casts her shining silks aside , And robes her for her rest ; Her only dream till morning tide , "He loves me loves me best. " O virgin faith I O face so sweet ? 0 heart that pulses true ! Will any man's heart ever beat As loyally for you ? * He leaves the ball , but not for rest , And not for faithful dream ; Life needs , it seems , another zest Where Lais reigns supreme. Fill higher the beaker with champagne , And crown the board with flpw'rs ; A husband may not know again Such gay bohemian hours. Not his the love that lives for aye , . ot his the loyal troth ; His passion lasts a summer day , He swears a traitor's oath. So take the mortal mid the strife Of hymeneal plans , That Jovis is all a woman's life , And only half a man' . * . 1L Savile Clarice. COOTSTOFS COURTSHIP. A Brief In 'JL'liree Sheets. BY FAJfXIE AYMAll MATTHEWS. John Gordon Anneslcy , Earl of Con iston , sat in the cabin of the Brighton boat , reading his evening paper. He liad just folded and put in his pocket a long letter from his friend and partner , ' S'ir Campbell Frazier , in which that gentleman announced that affairs at the Ranch of San Rosalie were going on perfectly , but that he must beg his "dear old Jack" to put off his sailing date a fortnight , as he now found that he could not be in New York possibly before the close of the month ( Octo ber ) or later. Couiston was in the midst of a frown over the piece of intelligence as he glanced over the paper. He hated America and the Americans ; he longed to put the sea between himself and this displeasing nation ; he yearned for "shooting" and the Highlands ; he I scorned the gayeties of all the Ameri can watering places , and stopped at thePavilion _ solely , as he openly avow ed , because Brighton was an English name for a place , and for the other reason that here he was within an hour of Pier J58 , North River , and could step on board a Guion boat at almost a mo ment's warning. Coniston , therefore , chafed under the infiictio'n of an additional fortnight in the laud of his loathing. Albait the Ranch of San Rosalie was adding a con siderable number of thousands to his income , he still just at this particular moment wished it at the bottom of the Red Sea. Perhaps , too , he mingled with the aillictions of the exile some memories of Lady Cicely Howard , and the strange penchant he had had for her during the last London season. However this may be , Coniston's va cant eyes atthis juncture took in a very neat little figure as it advanced in the cabin ; it was followed by another a plump middle-aged lady's figure , much burdened with shawls and wraps , and evidently in deadly peril of a draught , for before seating itself , both the neat little figure and the plump duenna ex amined carefully the fastenings of all adjacent windows. "This one seems tightly closed , Aunt Dorinda , " the girl said , in her clear , light voice. "Horrible American tone , calculated to lacerate a fog ! " mentally comment ed his lordship. "No , Polly , no ; I am sure " "Polly ! ye gods ! " soliloquized the carl. "Suggestive solely of comic opera , milkmaids and parrots. And she has short hair ! he never could abide a short haired woman. And she was small. Small women had always , from youth up , constituted his pet aver sion ! Dressed in brown ; brown as a color was distressing , in fact it was no color at all ! " Coniston had all his na tion's prejudice in favor of brilliant hues. She is alert , bright , vivacious ; all that a woman should not be ; what a contrast to Cicely , who was the perfec tion of languor dreaminess and re pose ! and yet Cicely was sometimes rather of a bore. He wondered if this young person was a bore ? Now that he inspected her , he observed , that she had a certain reticence of face and manner that was wholly un-American. She had seen him looking at her , of course. By Jove ! where was his paper ? on the floor ! and yet for some inscrutable rea son she did not return his gaze square ly out of those large eyes of hers. It was strange ! It struck Coniston as a remarkable fact , worth recording , that he had encountered one American girl ivho declined to reciprocate the delicate attentions of his eyes. Why ! there came Bradford ! such a capital fellow for an American. Bradford knew her. She smiled at Bradford and allowed him to sit beside her , and gave him her wrap to hold. To be sure , Coniston remembered that he had always thought Bradford very much of a cad , and not a nice fel low by anv means. And Bradford held her wrap , and they all went off the boat together in the friendliest sort of fashion , with the ruaid trotting after them with the satchels and dogs. No , he had always had a special aver sion ior that Bradford ! And as for small women , with .short hair , dressed in brown well , his disgust for them jvas not to be measured by any lan guage. Nevertheless , as Coniston wilily ar gued with himself , "a man must fill up his time ; " so , in an off-hand way he just intimated to Bradford that he didn't care if the opportunity offered if he did introduce him to Mrs. Wad dle and her niece Miss Grey. Bradford was apparently magnani mous ; besides , he had never presented an Earl to Miss Grey before and he did the deed with satisfaction to himself at least. Miss Grey bowed slowly to Coniston , and then she turned her attention to a group of lady friends sitting near , leav ing Conistou to the agreeable know ledge that he was at liberty to salute her the next time he met her on tho piazza or the corridor. It didn't satisfy him. He went off and smoked a cigar , and conjured up Cicely in the fragrance of the Havana. Even Cicely did not seem to be as complete a boon as he had fancied she ought to be. For five days he wandered up and down , and round and round the hotel , "lounging , " he called it ; but the more correct term to describe these pere grinations would be politely chasing Polly Grey. Finally he beheld her alone. Neither aunt nor Bradford nor friends Heaven be praised ! were anywhere about. He drew near the big rocker , where she sat with a book in her lap ; and sud denly Coniston remembered that ho should have to say something beyond "good-morning , " and for the first time in he wonder forty-one years actually ed what it should be. She spared him the attempt , howev er , and glancing up. said : "Ah ! good morning ; you have been up in town , I suppose , ever since the day Mr. Bradford presented you ? " "Up in town ! " This was too much , when he had followed her like a de tective the entire time. Coniston looked feebly at her , and " then he laughed , and his"fair face Hush ed as he ventured to sit down on the piazza step at her feet. Polly glanced down inquiringly with steady , demure eyes. eyes."No , " he cried. "Miss Gray , I've " been most of the time about "a yard and a quarter away from you ; but you never seemed to see me ! " "How ' strange ! " Polly says , wonder- ingly. "Most people would have seen you. now , wouldn't they ? " "Women always have before , " he assents , with a sigh. "Then you must have rejoiced in a change , didn't you ? Variety is so pleasant to an appetite jaded by same ness ! " "No , " he answers ; I didn't enjoy it at all. I'll tell you , " he says , looking up at her with wide , clear eyes ; "to be frank , I hate American women , and you're the only one who ever inspired me with the slightest " Collision stops short ; there is some thing in his listeners face that marks an unerring period in his reck less speech. "Well ? " she asks , sweetly and clear " ' the ? " ly , slightest The English language is Coniston's native tongue , but it fails him now ; he feels the warm blood suffusing his face and his mind runs after an elusive woman. "Ah , I see ; there are some things so much better implied than expressd. But I am so matter-of-fact that I must translate your mute eloquence , Lord Coniston " At this instant Coniston is lost in calculating how many minutes he can stnnd this present temperature of his head and face "into words , or a word curiosity , eh ? Come , be twice frank is it not so ? " "You may christen it curiosity , and call it so , pro tern. , if you choose , Miss Gray , but " The earl again falters. "Oh ! " cries the girl , with a little im patient wave of her Hand , and throw ing back her pretty blonde head ; "how 1 abhor Englishmen ! They are so ii terror of even their minor emotions. A Frenchman , a German , an Italian , any other nationality in the world is ready , eager to put his flirtatious propensities into the most delicious language ; but an Englishman ! " she shudders "he stops to wonder what he is about to feel , and lo ! the emotion vanishes ! ha ! ha ! ha ! " Miss Grey laughs a long , musical , ringing laugh. Coniston looks at her , and he won ders if he has ever really seen her until this morning ? She looks like the brightest part of the sunshine as she sits there in it , mocking him. "Perhaps we do avoid putting what you call our 'flirtatious propensities' into words ; but if you will permit me to say so , an Englishman is only too ready to speak out that which he really feels' ! " "Do they ever 'feel' anything outside the hunting field and the House of Com mons ? " she asks , provokingly. He smiles as he looks at her. "I will tell you some day. " Not long after Coniston rides with Miss Grey a long afternoon ride on the road by the bay , and through the woods and past the farms busy with their autumn fruit gathering. They chat of commonplace things the flowers , the birds , the clouds , the blue'of sea and sky , and they come home soberly enough , too soberly , he thinks. There is a ball that night , "the last o'f the season. " Coniston is not a danc ing man , so he has the satisfaction of watching Miss Grey floating about the ball rooiii in the arms of other men principally Bradford. He smokes ci ' gars ; he e'ven goes so far as to drink brandy , and invoke the image of the reposeful Cicely all have little effect. . He stalks out on the piazza , brilliant with lanterns , and then saunters to the other end where it is comparatively dark. Polly sits there , and Bradford Bradford ! is bending over her ; he even has her hand ; and now he goes in and leaves her. Coniston is a madman as he rushes into the other man's place and leans tremblingly over her chair. She is quiet , silent. "It is 1" he whispers , brokenly. "I know , " she replies , softly. "Oh , child ! " cries he , "you must lis ten to me ; I am a good-for-nothing sort of a fellow ; I have had no religion , no anything , until I have known you , and now you are my shrine. It seems to meat your feet 1 sliouldlay rare spices , perfumes , flowers , jewels and all 1 dnrc lay there to-night is a human heart a human life , Pollyhe savs , lovyly , stooping his "blonde head to hers. "Wi'll you ha\e me ? " He sees herlface as she upturns it in the flare of tho last lantern ; it is as he 'has never seen it pale , stricken , awful , calm. "Well ! " she says at last , with that clear , bright voice of hers , a trifle hard , a trifle matter-of-fact. "Oh , I love you , mv soul ! my queen ! I love you and need you , " cries he , overcome by the sight of her pallor. "I know , " she answers , quietly , "I appreciate , value your love ; I would not have if ; otherwise ; I should have been disappointed always if you had not loved me. Ah ! " burying her white face in her hands , "I revel in it ! " And he had once thought this woman cold , superficial , unlikable. "My darling ! " Coniston says , reach ing out his hands for hers. "But , " whispers the girl , drawing away into her silken wrap , "I I am engaged to be married to Eugene Brad ford. I have been for two years ! " Sir Campbell Frazier had arrived from the West. The Arizona sailed on Tuesday , and both he and the Earl of Coniston were booked on her passenger list. list.It It was Monday night "midsummer como again , " people said , lounging about the piazzas of the bighotel warm , sultry , with great banks of blue3 black clouds hovering above the golden rim of the west. Bradford was up in town , detained by " business , as Coniston had discovered" Miss Grey was sitting at the corner of the piazza. Ho went up to her for the first time since the night of the ball. "May I sit down ? " She looks up asscntingly. I am going to-morrow in the Ari zona. " "I know , " she answers , whitening. lie wonders why , and. Heaven help him ! he gets up and goes away , when he would rather far have taken the frail , vivacious , alert little woman to his heart. Presently he saunters back. "Would you take a ride with me to night ? You know we shall never on earth see each other again. Would you ? " Here eyes flash , her lips quiver ; she turns the ring on her finger back and forth. "Yes , " she says , quietly , "I will. I will get on my habit and be down presently. " They ride off off into the green and silent country lanes where the dew damps the air , and where the scent of the homestead flower gardens mingles with the breath of the sea as it comes to them. They do not talk very much , nor yet ride very fast. The twilight is gather ing and the horses have their way. Suddenly it grows dark the blue- black clouds have swept over all tho brightness . of the heavens and hidden tho harvest moon from sight. A flash an instantaneous report , and Polly sees her lover stagger in his seat ; his left arm falls powerless , struck forover useless at his side. She has her horse beside him in an instant ; she comes close to his side , while the great rain drops fall plash ing down upon them. She takes up the stricken arm in her soft hands , and presses her young lips upon it. 'Polly ! " cries Coniston , wildly. "Do you love Bradford ? " "Oh , no ! " she says. "Will you marry "me ? " "Yes , " she whispered. Now to-night this very hour ? " "Yes , this very hour if vou wish it. h ! " cries the girl , wildly , "Jack , I'll be so good to you. I must be , don't you see ? This this ! " She touches his arm as he tries to guide his horse and hold her to him , both. "lie doesn't need me like that ! and you do ; and it is my fault I ought not to have come out to-night with vou ! " -Thank God you didf" "And , " she says , slowly , as they turn their t horses' he'ads "besides , I--I love you ; is it not strange ? " "Very. And you will not regret rning a fellow as as helpless as I am , Polly ? " No , " she answers , thoughtfully , and looking at her by the lightning's * frequent flash , he sees the strength , and warmth , and tenderness , and love , that he has need of. "Polly , " Coniston says , through the pelting rain , as they ride back to Brighton , "it seems to me as if my whole life had been an interrogation point , and as if you were the blessed answer to it. " And so it fell out that the reverend v pastor of St. Mary's was called upon iio to marry two drenched people that iie November night , and that the Earl of e Coniston put off his sailing date an iiP other month. Leslie's Weekly. P 1 flis Reasons. ? "That is a good cigar you are srnokp ing , " said a lady to a gentleman. s 'It is , indeed , " replied the gentlek man as he puffed huge volumes of it in f the lady's face. "Foreign or domestic ? " asked the r lady. c A domestic cigar , madam. I never cs smoke anything but "domestics. " "And why not ? " qttizically replied the lady. "Oh , I am a married man. " Nation al Weekly. Certainly Not Uncle Jake : Peter , I hears you pays your 'specs to my darter. Now ef you . means bizness , wot is your bizncss ? r Peter : 1'se keepin' books for Dobt son & Co. r Uncle Jake : Urn ! Ah ! Does you c keep 'em in single or double entry , PeI ter ? r Peter : Ain't no sich fool chile as r dat. I puts 'em in de safe down cellah ' t ebry night. Tiuk I'd keep walybles in f de entry ? Tid-Bits. Reached His Destination. "Well , have you arrived at a conclu sion yet , " said an irritated creditor to a man on whom he called to collect a bill. bill."I "I have , " replied the debtor. "Well , what is it. " "Having arrived at a conclusion , I intend to just stop there. " National Wceklij. PRIVATE RETREATS IN DEMAND. Places AVliere tlio A'lctlms of Opium and. Alcoliol Arc Cured. The alarming increase in nervous and mental disorders , consequent upon the liabitual use of stimulants and narcot ics has resulted in a corresponding in crease of private "retreats" within the last year , says The New York Mail and Express. Though given the less offen sive title of "retreats" and "homes , " these places are really nothing moro nor less than madhouses , where pa tients are placed under medical surveil lance. The } ' llourish in the rural dis tricts , but pay better when near to some metropolis. New Jersey has' many of these homes , where the unfortunates from New York , Pennsylvania , Dela ware , and Maryland lind refuge. Con necticut and Rhode Island offer like ac commodations to New England patrons , while Nebraska is the favored state for victims of diseased minds in the west. The south is as yet comparatively un provided in this particular , though it is a noticeable fact that this section of the country sends as many patients to the New Jersey institutions as any other. Although all classes of patients are ad mitted to these "reformatories , " the majority of them are treated for chronic alcoholism. Opium and morphine eat ers come next on the list , while the "hopelessly insane" receive no treat ment at all. The young man about town , who has indulged his appetite to excess , "goes to Europe for his health. " Europe in his case , however , is often times a retreat , where lie remains with his tongue hanging out of his mouth in anxiety for one drop of whisky until it is time for him to return from his trip abroad. This usually takes about six weeks. ' 'There are as many ways of treat ing confirmed drunkards and opium- eaters as there are physicians to treat them , " said a physician to a reporter. "If a little judgment is used the } ' can be cured , and that , too , quite thorough ly. They imagine that they must ha is their favorite stimulant , and if possi ble they will get it. Some physicians use the padded cell. The poor inebriate is brought in suffering witli the delir ium tremens. After large doses of bromide of potassium have been forced down the poor fellow's throat he is thrown into the padded cell , where he moans and groans , for days sometimes , in despair. Oftentimes the poor wretch beats his head against his cell walls in his frenzy. Such treatment is positive ly cruel , and the patien's many times are seriously injured. Yhe theory of 'stop a man's whisk'and he won't get drunk' may be very go d : is a theory , but it does not stand n practical test. To suddenly stop any tiling to which the system has been long accustomed is a serious thing. The most judicious and humane plan is to gradually decrease the amount of a patient's stimulant un til he can do without it altogether. This accomplished , the treatment proper be gins. The drunkard is not cured when he finds he can exist comfortably with out his glass. Neither is he ready to be discharged. Unless his impover ished system be built up , six months after he leaves the institution he will be as bad as before he entered. He re quires tonics until his system rallies from the shock caused by the poison of the alcohol. Morphine patients should be fed on the drug regularly. The doses should be decreased daily. This can be done by substituting some in- ocuous white substance , so as to keep up the size of the dose in appearance , until finally the patient , instead of taking morphine , is taking regular doses of some effective tonic , and he is soon in a condition to leave the institu tion. "Women addicted to the opium hab it are the hardest class of patients to treat. They are naturally more deli cately organized than men , and it re quires a much longer time to cure them. LJnlike the men , however , a woman once cured seldom has a relapse , " A Gallic Genius. The laws regulating the transmission of mail between countries embraced in the postal union have heretofore ex cluded packages exceeding eighteen inches , or forty-five centimeters , in length , but will hereafter admit pack ages of about twenty-seven inches , or seventy centimeters , in length. The way the change came about is explained in a circular just received at the post- office from the superintendent of for eign mails. A French publisher , wish ing to send to his subscribers fashion , plates , about seventy centimeters in length , was told thattliey could not be received in the foreign mail. Sc'ek- ing to keep his engagements with his patrons , however , he cast about for some way to relieve his difficulty , and knowing that packages not exceeding forty-five centimeters , or eighteen inches , in length would be received , hit.upon the following expedient : By making a paper box in the shape of 11 cube , having each of the lines"of its squares just forty-five centimeters in length he could place his fashion plate roll within the box , the roll being placed diagonally touching the bottom and top of the box. A great number of paper boxes eighteen inches square threatening to cram the French mail- bags to bursting , the government de termined to take the seventy-centime- ters-long rolls instead of the boxes , ask- , the other countries in the union to receive these rolls , until an interna- tional congress can change the laws relating to the length of parcels. The j change contemplated , and which the c United States foreign mail office has j now sanctioned , permits the mailing of ] rolls that can be contained in cubes , I , the sides of which do not exceed fortyt j five centimeters or eighteen inches in length. St. Louis Republican. The Dude and the Umbrella. "It looks like wain , old felJaw. 3 guess we'd bettaw have a hansom. " "What do you want a hansom for ? It's only half a dozen blocks , and you've got your umbrella. " "Yaas , deahboy. But it's my walk " ing umbwellaw. "i eawn't use ft faw a wain umbwellaw. I could nevaw wap it up again , don't you know. " Town \ J Topics. I ' A FEATUfiti ur WASHINGTON. me KH * Business Done by thoSccond- IlnndUoolc Stores of tlic Capital The second-hand book stores of Wash ington are a curious feature of tho city , writes Carp in the Cclvelaml Leader. There are a number of them , some of which do a business of tens of thou sands of dollars yearly. Smaller ones you will find in out-of-the-way places scattered here and there , and in any one of these you may buy many valu able and rare books. One near the treasury has the rooms of a four-story brick building lined with books. En tering its ground floor is like going into a large public library , where the books are classified by subjects , and where you can find almost anything you want. You may ask for a set of the congres sional debates ; from the beginning of the government until to-day , and it will be furnished you. It will comprise sev eral hundred volumes , and its price will b i 8300. You take your purchase to your home and look over it , and your mind goes back to the times of the past as you read the curious mar- g.nal notes which you may find in some of the volumes , and look at the various autographs inscribed on the fly-leaves of others' . These books have been gath ered from all quarters of the country. One volume may have belonged to An- ilrew Jackson , and you see his dashing autograph on the title-page. Another nay have come from Stephen A. Doug- Iris' library , and in many cases you will lind books from the collections of Car- coll , of Carroll ton , and other men whose autographs have now a mercan tile vine. The state department paid $22.50 at a book auction , not long ago , for an Almanac , and it would have readily given $100 for it. It was one that Jef- 'erson had used , and it con- 'ained ' many notes in Jefiers'on's hand writing upon its pages. This almanac was a part of a Virginia collection made by Mr. Shouey , one ot the stenograph y's of the senate , and the second-hand 'jook man of whom Shouey bought the silmanac said he sold it to him for SI. This man has a shop near the posloflice lepartment , and while 1 was buying a ' ) ook of him yesterday I talked with 'lim about his trade. Said he : "Secv ond-hand book-selling is a curious busis ness , and to the careful dealer there is uoney in it. Books fluctuate in value -.ccording to the demands of the times , and one to-day which will not bring 10 rents may to-morrow be worth as many dollars. Anything rare conies high , .nd the springing tip of interest in the old congressional questions brings the 'iterature of the times when they were formerly discussed into the market. Just bet ore the Garlield campaign bc- iran a book collector named Parish , had a room full of Credit Mobilier reports which he was thinking of selling to the waste-paper man. Garfield was nom inated. The question was brought nto the canvass , and he sold them for ? e\eral dollars apiece. Just now all reports and speeches relating to the sil ver question are of value , and some old reports which we invoiced at nothing bring several dollars a copy. "Here , for instance , is a valuable book , " continued the antiquarian as he picked up a volume of about one hun- Ired pages bound in leather. "It is worth ยง 50 at auction , and it is a gov ernment document too. It i. a report ) ii the Alaskan islands , by Henry W. Elliott , and it contains many fine sketches. Only .seventy-live of these books were printed , and it is almost uipossible to procure them. " "What class of people collect books ? " ( asked , "and what are their hobbies ? " "They are inostlv scholars and rcad- ' ) ? . though , indeed now and then yon will find some ignorant fellowlio tares for the binding more than the on tents , and not a few people buy Monks for the pictures that are in them rather than the reading. There are I Qiany picture collectors in Washing- 1 On , and in some cases I lind that it I iiays better to tear a book to pieces and sell its engravings by the piece. Pco- plu who would not give me 50 cents for he volume will pay 5 cents apiece for he twenty or more engravings which it contains. A great many men buy old magazines for the pictures , and I have a largo sale of Harper's and Scribncr's on this account. They take the full- page pictures from these magazines iind cut oft' the white margin to where the engraving begins. They then mount this engraving upon cardboard as carefully as the mounting of a pho- ograph , and at a very small expense choice collectons of procure engrav ings. The world has never surpassed If . he magazine illustration of to-day , and you may find genius lurking in many si of the pictures of an out-of-the-way ped nodical. w "Many men collect books on special \ \ subjects. There are a number of epi cures in Washington , who want every- : hing we can find on wines and gas tronomy. The man to whom I sold Jefferson's almanac took , for one year , in even thing on Virginia , and at another " ; ime he made a specialty of whist colH lections , and bought every book relatlc ing t to whist or whist player ? . Old di Bounty histories sell well here at Washc mgton , and state historical collections a bring more than when they were first | d printed. All branches of Americana i ly ; : -ll well , and , indeed , if yon keep any j H kind of book for a number of years you I st arc sure to find a buyer in the end. " in Speakinir of second-hand booktores Washington has many book auctions j si every winter , and a very valuable colw lection is to be sold during the present ; in season , in the shape of the books of the diy late ex-Gov. Thomas Bartley of Ohio. y Bartlev was a great collector , and had sc scai a library of choice volumes running into an the thousands. Such book auctions are aiP always held in the evening , and you g may "find supreme court judges , sena He tors , congressmen , and litterateurs trw mixed up in the crowds which attend w them. The books are sold by cata a ; logue , and each man has a catalogue in bi his hand as the sale goes on. The bid til ding is always spirited , and standard ofw works bring "their full value. There w are a number of collectors who send to oi such auctions orders for books , giving is the limit of their bids , and in certain in cases the auctioneer is authorized to st bid certain books off to them at any 8C price. Justice Bradley buys books at these auctions. Justice Woods is often attendant upon them , and the auction eer has sometimes orders from the his- ? torian Bancroft. ' TWO WICKED GIRLS. ii i i Tliey Came > 'cnr Cheating a Conduc- ; tor Out of Half u "Week's Salary. ( A reporter was walking up Myrtle avenue , Brooklyn , the other aftrenoon , savs The Sfeur York Sun , when ho no'ticed near Adams street two good looking and stylis& dressed young women tripping along .toward him. One of the girls had some'tyjing in her hand , which they both lookeCUt with undisguised joyfulness while the cnat- ted animatedly over it. As the refy " cr and the girls passed each other of the girls exclaimed : "Ain't it just too lovely for anything ! We can go to a matinee and have money left. " * ' The speaker's companion uttered a joyful little squeak and was about to re ply when the reporter saw a man in street-car conductor's garb dashing wildly up the street. His car stood a quarter of a block away , on one side of Myrtle avenue. He was panting asth- matically and his arms sawed tho air like blades of a windmill. He rushed by the reporter , and with two terrible oounds placed himself in front of the chattering "young ladies. He stuck out one of his horny hands oi * toil and mopped his forehead with tho other. "Gimme four dollars and ninety cents ! " he exclaimed , as loudly as his waning breath would let him. The chattering of the two girls ceased. The girl that had in her hand the some thing which seemed to have causedi all their animation emptied the con tents of that hand into the conductor's1 without a word. The conductor shot/ back toward his car like a stone out of a catapult. The attitudes of th re- , treating young ladies , who never turned \ to look after the flying conductor plainV. . ly indicated that gloom and disap- V pointinent had taken the place of cheer- \ fulness and joy in their hearts. The sudden and singular proceeding ; puzzled the reporter and he dashed after the conductor. The latter had reached his car. As the reporter " boarded it two young ladies left "it and went up Myrtle avenue , diseussing something with as much animation as the other couple had had before the conductor swooped down on them in that unceremonious way. Tho other passengers in the car were giving audible signs of amusement. The con- duclorts face was red and he was pant ing from the chase. "What's up , anyhow ? " asked the reporter of the conductor. The conductor didn't look pleased. "It's a dead sure fact , " said he , finally , , "that there ain't nobody a living that Jj can ride two blocks in a street car in - S\ \ this town without losin' all the honesty they ever had. Now just look at them ' / f two girls you seen me tackle up the- . . ' street yonder. Nice girls , they are , ' " ' and I'll bet their families are way up. Well , them two girls and them two you seen get oft' just now all got on this car together up Adams street four or liv blocks. Two of 'cm sot down in that seat yonder , and t'other two drop ped into the seat over toward the end there. When I went for my fares one of the girls give m.j a liver , and says for me to take out for two. I told her I'd give her change in a minute , and went in. My ear got pretty near down to the av'noo 'fore 1 got the $4.90 counted out , and then I skims my eye over the car , picks out the girl that give me the fiver , and went and tumbled the change into her hand. I remem ber , now. that she looked up kind o' skeert , but as quick as a flash she shet her linger * on the boodle and said 'Thank you. ' just as sweetand innocent as a 2-year-old. Then she says 'Stop here , please , ' and I yanked , , . the car to a stand-still. The girl that / & changed the bill for got out with her friend , and they wont oft'up the street. , ( ] started the . and the car. other two v < girls motioned for me to stop on the far side of the av'noo. 'We want to get out here , " says they , 'Won't you please give the change for the $5 ? ' I had to grab the brake to keep from fallin' oft' backward , for it struck me all of a sud den that I had dumped that .94 90 into the wrong girl's hand. I slung mv eye oft" to the left and saw the two innocent creatnrs trottin' : long like a couple o' peacocks. 'Here's a half a week's sal ary out o' my pocket. ' says Iunless I " can overhaul them dear "girls and re cover them skids. ' So I jerks the rope , springs for terry firmer , and puts on a full head o"steam arter the charmers. they'd a had half a block more of a start they'd 'a scooped me , for I'm a strugglewith the azmy ; but I run Am down , and they handed'over the plunder without a mtirmer or ever turnin' a hair. " President Tyler's Son. One of the most striking figures seen Washington is the son 01 ex-Presi dent ' Tyler. He is now an old man. He is bent with weight of years1. His ] | ( long , white , patriarchal beard sweeps - { ' down from his venerable face , . nearly " * -1 , . covering his broad breast. He wears ' i soft hat slouched well down over his 'i deeply-set < eyes , and is dressed general- i1 in a careless suit of badiv cut"black. . / if He is rarely notice I , and walks tho Ii ) \ street to most people unknown. Yet f his day he was one of the "reat f ) beans of Wa-hington. He was'con sidered one of the handsomest men who ever graced the society of Wash- ( ington. When his father was presi- / ' dent he was the leader amoii"the i r young < men who went in Washfngton J society. He was tall then , stra ght as arrow , and with a most magnificent \ ' persence ! , if one can judge from the * J glowing tales of his contemporaries. ' used to wear a long , shaggy coat { trimmed with Astrakhan fur , which was a rarity. When he walked the avenue swinging his cane , twirlinohis brown mustache , with his fur coat thrown baek , he was hailed as the hero his time. Women bowed down and \ worshiped before him , and the number his conquests was legion. To-dav he a poor , broken old man who walks , insignificant and unknown , about the streets where he once reigned as a social king. Sew York World.