\T X iVIrten.
TIjfT , > . . ,
I
Copyright , ISO I , by the Author.
Wo were Jlnlng together Brown , Stark-
feather , ( ho American , tvhoso name I can
not recall , nod myself. Starkweather had
Just returned from a. trip to the Rocky moun
tain * , and he .had made the acquaintance of
the American on hoard tlio Atlantic steamer.
According lo Starkweather the American was
the very beat of good company , and lie had
Invited us to meet him , assuring ua wo should
nass a most delightful evening. We were not
told whether the man was a millionaire , a
humorist or n buffalo hunter , Into which
tbrco classes , at I li.ivo been Riven to under
stand , the entire poptatlon of the American
Ktnlos Is divided ; and , as ho never spoke
during th& whole of the dinner , .except to
auk for or lo decline some article of food or
drink , I did not find him a particularly en
tertaining person ; but when we had arrived
at cigars the American gave n sigh ot .re-
llcf , tilted back his chair on Its rear legs ,
anil looked about him with a contented ex
pression , and a. general air of having laid
oBlda business and prepared himself for
pleasure. .
"Wo were speaking of the mysterious dis
appearance of u man who , according to the
newspapers , had left hU house In Bloomsbury
square a fortnight , ago to post a letter , tell
ing his wife .that howould return In five
minutes , but Who had never since been
heard of.
' "There is something In these disappear
ances that t cannot understand , " said Drown.
"Every now and then some man , who has
not the slightest reason for committing sui
cide * or for running away , walks out of his
front door and disappears utterly and tor-
over. Say that of these men a certain per
centage does commit suicide , or does run
away , and that of the rest another percentage
Is knocked on the head nnd dropped Into the
* -Thames , there will still remain a large num
ber of disappearances to which we can attach
no explanation. Take this Dloomsburyman ,
for example. I know a man who knew him
Intimately , and he tells mo that a better man
never lived. He had not an enem ; * In the
world , and he was devotedly attached to his
wife nnd children. Ho had a comfortable In
come and did not owe a penny. He was an
oxccpUojiaJly' ' hard-headed , clear-brained man ,
and the hypothesis that ha suddenly went
mad Is but'ir | hti question. So is the theory
that ha was1 murdered at 7 o'clock on a sum
mer oveninjr between Dloomsbury squa.ro and
the corner of Southampton row. And . this
Is only one of half a dozen similar cases'that '
have come to my own knowledge. "
Starkweather nnd I agreed that the subject
was a mysterious one , and that there muat
be some explanation of these disappearances
Which no one * had -yet thought of. It was
then that the American suddenly broke si
lence , and began a monologue which .lasted .
for the rest of I ho evening.
"Gentlemen , " ho began , "wo have Just
Kuch disappearances In the states. Of course
when a cashier or a broker disappears we
nil know that his ttmo for closing up his
business affairs and taking his .securities
across the border Into Canada has come ; but
good , quiet , honest people , Just such men as
your friend there has been describing , dis
appear with us more often. I reckon , than
they do with you. I have lost two Intimate
friends In that way , and It naturally made
me think a good deal about the thing. That's
the way I came to find out -the truth nbout
It , though I have neverjet told a living soul ,
knowing that there U nothing so credulous
as a human being , and Hint If 1 told what I
knew nine people out of ten would think
I -wastfl lunatic or a liar. But over this side ,
I 'find that people 'believe ' twice aa .easy as
they do with us. Just think for a minute
how all yoiir Englishmen believe in jour
, llul there , 1 guess we don't want to
talk politics tonight. However , I'm going to
tejtl you what I know nbout mysterious dis
appearances b"caUso I calculate that you'll
to likely to believe It , nnd because. I'm going
to Paris tomorrow , and ns I don't -expect to
coma back to London again , It won't so much
matter whether you bellevo It or not. "
Ho paused for .n moment and drew three
or four times nt his cigar. Wo begged him
by all means lo Rt > on w.ltli his story , and as
I was feeling a little drowsy , .nnd the man's
volco was soothing In. Its monotonous Inllec-
tlan. I rather thoughf'that ' If his story did
provo tiresome I could sleep through at
least a part of It.
"I was living In Chicago , gentlemen , " re
sumed the American , "when the first ef my
frauds disappeared. Howas a real es-
tuto agent and was making money hand
aver fist , with nothing on the face of the
earth to worry him having been .happily
divorced only that very -year , lie hnd bsen
spending the evening at : ny house , and about
10 o'clock ho started for his lodgings , which
were in the next street , not 100 yards away.
Ilo had a sore threat at the time , and ho
said ns ha loft me that ho should slop In at
the druggist's on hs : way home and get
eame niedlalno. Ho tdld so , as I afterwards
found out on " .inquiring of the druggist , but
fr-ni the moment that be left the druggist's
shop no man ever heard or saw him again , and
no man over f und the least trace of him of
any sort , size or description.
"That was , say , Ion years ngo. Two
ycara later another friend who had been
married only s's weeks und was the happi
est man a over stnlck , disappeared. His
wife vv. sn't. 'feeling very well one Sunday
evening , and t\a \ Insisted upon going for the
doctor. It1 tvhs about 8 o'clo-ck In the even
ing , and U 5\pas n bright , moonlight night.
The doctor's office was In the same street ,
nbout three blocks away , and the street was
always fail of ipeoplo nt that hour. But
frmn the time , my friend shut his front do r
behind hint he vanished completely , He
never went to tha doctor's ofllce , so far as
M we could find-out , and the only trace of him
that was ever .found waa the evidence of a
boy In a druggist's shop that was about half
\vay between my filend'a h use ind the doc
tor's office. 'The boy rather thought that' '
a wan answering to tha description of the I
missing man had ccmo into the shop at 8 |
o'clock and .bought an ounca , of chloride of
potash , but as he didn't ' "know my friend he '
could not , of course , be sure that Itwas
he * I'rom that day to thlh nothing was
over heart ! -m ; .Julius nickok. which was
the naiiio of my missing friend , and his es
tate lisa been settled by the lawyers and
his AVlfo baa buen .married at least once
Btnco thtii.
"I got tin to a way of .thinking over the
disappearance fit , these two men nnd trying
to invent joiuo theory that would account
fur It. 1 Invented half a. dozen theories ,
but every one of them broke down. I was
absolutely certain that the men had neither
ran away her 'Committed ' suicide , 3or I knew .
enough about both 6f them to know that , 1
this was -filmply Impossible. Tliou , again ,
the chnncet "wereat Jcast a tnlllkn to ono
that they hail not ben murdered. No man
can be killed early In the evening In a
crowded street without attracting the at
tention of somebody. Even a policeman
wauld notice a thing like that. My friends
had not been enticed -.Into sdniedurk alley
ana ( hue jrturdcred , for they were -not the
1:1 ml of men to hav < 3 that fianio played en
them. You ml u hi Just as well try to on-
tlcu a cat lu walk Into the river. Then ,
too , If they had been murdered what had
become of tliolr bodies ? A human body ,
gentlemen , U a mighty awkward thing to
l\ \ dliposo of surreptitiously , as you must know
It yu over tried It , Well , tire more 1
thought Of ( he nutter the rnoro certain I
was th.it the misting men had not been
made awiiy with , and not run away of
thi-lr own nocnrd , nor committed suicide.
Then what bad become ; of them anil dozens
of other mon who had disappeared In sim
ilar circumstances ? There didn't scorn to
b any nniwcr to this question , nnd that
naernvatcil . The thing beat me , and I
liiUo lo lie Jieitun. Out one duy I was
rending In a ne\vtpaper lof n new sort of
Eiyipowdcr , and the whole Jhlnc was clear I
to mo at once. That Is to ? y , I knew I
hail a claw , and when you Imvo the clew
to anythliiR you can consider that you hma
got tlm tMtiR , Unit Is , nf curse , unless you
ore detective.
'
'I went arimnd to the university to a
friend of mlnu who waa n professor of chem
istry , nml I aia 'IirlnchrrhoTf , toll me If
Dhtorudo of pot-uh ; ii an pxploslvf V
" .Veil ! I should mil to' ! * J > y * he , or
words o that effect. * ll' one of the most
> Bd wbca It la
with certain other Ingredient" tome of '
which -iro as common as' pork H beats
dynamlto clean out of ilglit > Why , sir , I
can maks an explosive out of chlorate of
notash that would blow the whole city of
Chicago lo Paradise , and you could carry
enough to do the deed In your trousers
pocket. '
' 'Tell me one more thing , ' says I. 'Is
there any explosive which will do a lot of
work with a very little nortse ? '
" 'Now I sec what you are driving at , '
said Ilrlnckerholf. 'You ere wanting to
Invent a nolceless powder and nro thinking
of chlorate of potash. It won't do , my
friend. You can managi chlorate of potash
at aa to glvo you a tremendous explosive
force with next to no nolso , but you can
n.ever harness It so as to use "It In firearms ,
Other man have tried It before you ever
thought of It , but they have nil failed.
Try something that Is slower than chlorate
of potash If jou want tq succeed in any
thing except blowing your own head off. '
"f had learned all I "wanted to learn of
Urlnckerhoff. and I knew now for certain
that I was on the right track. I wondered
that the tdea had not come to me before.
You remember that the .first ot my friends
who disappeared had been last seen at a
druggist's where lie had gone to get some
medicine for & sore throat , and that there
vvtis some reason to suppose that the second
man Who dlsappjnred had bought chlorate of
potash at another drimgUt's. Looking at
thesa facts In the lltlif ; of what Urlncker-
hoff had said , I felt' reasonably sure that In
bath pases chlorate of potash was at 'tho
bottom of the mysterious disappearance of
my two friends , and I set to work to try to
prove It.
"I bought a couple ot ounces of chlorate
of potash , and that evening I gave a good
big dosa of the drug to my landlady's cat ,
putting it In the center of a meat pill. The
cat boiled -without the least suspicion , and
I watched patiently to see If the beast would
disappear. She did nothing of tha kind , but
after about half an hour she curled up on
the floor and went Into convulsions ; and ,
after freelnc her ml ml as to the trick that
she found I had played on her , she dlod
without showing the slightest Inclination In
explode. However , that didn't shako my
faith Inthe theory. Brlnckcrhoft .had said
that when chlorate of potash was combined
with some other substance , the name of
which ho would not give me , Us explosive
powers were enormously Increased. What
was that other substance ? It seemed to me
that this question could not bo a very diffi
cult one. The two men who had disappeared
must have had this substance somewhere
about them , and It must have come In actual
contact with the drug. That thousands of
people take chlorate of potash , or carry It
in their pockets , and don't disappear , must
mean that they don't happen to have the
other mysterious substance about them. It
was then a substance which my two friends
had with them , but which the average man
does not have. It tnust have bean carried
loosely In the pocket , orelse It could not
have como in contact with the chlorate of
potash. What could this substance be ?
"Well , I worked over that problem for
weeks , and could not comn to any conclusion.
I mixed chlorate of potash with every sort
of thmjj that 1 could ilmaglnc a sane man
might possibly have Jn Ills coat pocket , but I
could not produce the terrible explosive
that nrinckerhoft had spckcn of. It was not
phosphorus , nor sulphur , or anything else
that Is used in making matches. It was not
tobacco , nor sugar , nor coffee , nor tea , nor
gum , nor flour , nor anything eh that I
could think ot. I was beginning to get a
llICIo dlsheartenod when one dayrhad _ _ to go
tu a dentist to have a tooth flHtTFFnnd then
I made my discovery. The dentlst.iwas ono
ot those men who think that thqy con dis
tract your attention from dental 'Operations
by perpetually talking to you. The theory
is that the BUTTerlng you lundergo In your
car makes you forget the suffering you
undergo In your teeth. This particular
dentist meandered along , tolling mo all about
the weather and tli politics of America and
Europe , and the progress of astronomical
discovert and thd last new novel that ho
read , and gradually ho worked round to my
two tclends who had disappeared , and re
marked how singular It waa that they had
both been under his hands within a neek before -
fore they disappeared.
This naturally Interested me moro than I
cared to say , and t asked him M'hnt he had
done for my friends. Jle said ImShad filled
two teeth for one , and seven faF'.Jjle other.
'Filled them ivlth gold , I suppose/ said I ,
though I didn't suppose anything of the
kind. 'Not all of them , ' said tha dentist.
There were Severn ! cavities that were too
large for gold filling ? , und In them I used
a cement. '
" 'What Is your cement made of ? ' I asked
In a careless sort of wny.
" 'Well , that Is a trade secret , ' he replied.
To tell the truth. I don't precisely know
what all .the ingredients are myself. I'll
show It to you. ' So saying , he opened a
drawer , nnd taking out what looked llko a
thick sheet of glue , lie laid It on the table
beside me. 'That Is U , ' he said , 'though of
course U has to be softened before being
used. "
"Just then the dentist excused hlmsslt
for a moment , and went Into the other office
to speak with n newly arrived patient , and I
Improved tha opportunity by stealing a bit
ot tbo-cement. You see 1 did It In the cauat
of science , and everybody knows that a mnn
has a. right to do anything In the cause of
science , from vivisecting a dog to writing
books on political economy.
"When I got home I mndo a powder of
that cement , and I mixejl avery little ot It
with n very llttlo chlorate of potash. Then
I looked around for something to try It on.
My landlady was out of cats just then and
tl.oro was tie available dog to be had , However -
over , I thought J knew whern I could
barrow a cat , so I took a small covered
battle t nnd a bit of dried herring and I
went to a , nolghbor's , whcro I had seen half
a dozen cats in the front yard , and I didn't
have much trouble In stealing one in the
Interests of science , you understand.
"I took the cat to my room , and when
sha had agreed to overlook my conduct In
putting her Into a basket .1 gave It a meat
pill , compounJctl of chlorate of potash and
tha cement I had borrowed of. the dentist.
She swallowed tt and asked for more , but
didn't get It. Then I hung a string "from
tha corner ot the tabla and advised her to
piny with it , which she accordingly Old.
You know how excited a young cat will get
over a string. "Well , that cat got so excited
after a llttlo while that she took to throwing
herself around on the floor and against the
let of the table In a mighty reckless way ,
considering she wns making n delicate
chemical experiment. Suddenly 3 heard a
little faint puff , asyou might say , for you
could hardly call It a report , much less
an explosion , nnd , gentlomcn , as true as I
am sitting here , tluao wasn't so much as a
hair of that cat to bo secn . And. what's
more , nobody over found the least trace ot
that nnlmal , not even so much as a particle
ot dust or soot. I needn't eay that the
doors and windows of the room wera locked ,
and that nothing Is moro certain than that
tha cat wasn't In hiding under the furniture ,
No , air ; that cat had disappeared the name as
my two friends had disappeared , and I had
solved the mystery of their disappearance ,
"Why haven't I published this discovery ?
lUcause It would do more harm than good ,
Urlnckorhoff was right In trying to keep me
in the dark as to the wny of making such a
tremendous : and silent explosive. If I had
published my facts anybody could have made
that explosive , and by this tlmo the an-
aichlsts would have blown nliu people- out
ot ten Into the other world. 1 wouldn't tell
what I know even now wcra It not that the
cement ot which I speak has .gono out of
use , and there probably Isn't a dentist living
who knows how It is made. All I know of
the matter Is that If you. havfr ever had a
tooth filled with cement of uny kind you
had better keep clear of chlorate of potash.
You might make the cjmbtnatlin'byncclilflnt ,
just aa my friend did , nnd-.then . we nbould
hear of another mysterious , jllsrippenraiic ? ,
Vojy likely you dun't itKogtthor. believe
what I've been telling you , 'but you can't
deny that It does explain how p-jopla
mysteriously disappear and tint there Isn't
any other explanation thtft meets'the caie.
That U sufficient reason for believing the
theory , aa every tcluntlflc ms.iiwill tell you.
If you disbelieve .It you might Just at well
disbelieve the theory of gravitation. You
can't provs the existence of gravitation as a
universal law , bul you believe U btcnusi It
explains All the facts , and It Is the only
thccrj : which floes jtsplftlfl tUem. "
PRINCESS BORU.
Once in. a while the fishermen on the nest
coast ot Ireland ? rub their eyes with amaze
ment when they look out first thing ot a
morning , and they ask themselves It It's
really true they nro awake , and well they
may , So would any one who , coming out
for a sup of the morning nlr whlld breakfast
was. being got. Raw right before him In the
sea an island that wasn't there the night
before. And no common Island either , mind
you ; but ono all covered -with trees and
towns , and rivers running down the hill
sides Into the sea , and folks going to market
and mon plowing in the fields , all as natural
ns life , and fit to deceive priest or parson ,
though when you take a boat and row out
to It the nearer you get the less you see it ,
and when you are right on the plucj where
It stood you don't see It at all. And uhcn
the suti comes up high It vanishes clean
auay , Mlilch sama Is all the doings of
Princess Pcpgy Horn , who was a chip of. the
old block and her father's own child.
It came about In this way :
The king of the Island ot Dallyloo ivnnt.-Vl
a wife , which was a want he was often wantIng -
Ing , for ha-was. short tempered even for a
king , and any troubles at home he was
likely to settle by cutting off his wife's Itead ,
as the shortest way out of It , Of course
this saved words , but In the long run tt took
moro tlmo than arguing it straight out -would
have dona , because , by the time the king
had been a widower nmo times the girls on
the mainland began to grow mortal shy
and nothing would tempt them to KO to be
queen on the Island of Dallyloo owing to un-
hoalthlness.
So when King Dennis had asked every
likely lass on the coast and Kol a refusal he
notit Inland and requested King Urlan Doru
to send him his daughter to b ijuoen of
Ilallyloo , for It was well known Jn all Ire
land that Princess Peggy was as fine a girl
as you'd see In a month of Sundays , barring
her red hair and a tow freckles , and had an
arm on her llko a blacksmith.
King Brian was pleased enough , for he
was a widower himself , and there was a
pretty widow whose fnrm lay Just beyond
the village that he'd have liked right well
to have brought up to the castle ns queen
t coed -wife aho ntsdo him. Never hnd
there been such management In the castle
slncd the king came to the throne ; not a
bit of waste anywhere , and nil the rents
paid up to the very day1. Hut by reason of
her temper being a. llttlo soured by her
separation from Jim , Quren Peggy was pretty
short with the king and ho began to think
he'd rather have less Rood management nnd
moro humbleness In his wife , and one flay
when slio'il given him a good tongue-lashlng
bo en run up behind her with hi * sword draft n ,
meaning to cut off her head and niako him
self a widower for the tenth time. Queen
I'PRgy , ns It chanced , had a pan In her Imnd
nnd lucky for her she kept all her tins llkn
mirrors , so that she saw what he tvould be at
reflected In tha tin , and turning quick ,
knocked the sword out of his hand and
boxed his ears with thd pan until ho Legged
her pardon. Nevertheless , seeing Mhat was
en King Dennis' mind , Queen Peggy de
cided her health was in need of a change to
the mainland.
Now at the bottom of the well In the court
3'ard of tha cattle ns fastened the chain
that held the Island foil to the b.tl of the
ocean , nnd one dark'night Queen Peggy tied ,
a i ope round her -.Milst , and with a hummer. . '
and n chisel stuck .In her belt let herself/ / ,
down to the bottom ot the well and cut the"
chain. Then she came up nnd went qule'ly
to bed , When King Uetinls got up In the'
mnrnlng he stov that the Island hod changed
Usplace , , ,
"Had luck to It..says he , "the'chain Is
broke and 'tis I must go down In the well
and fix It , " but as chanca would have It , the
bottom dropped clcairtxit of the ixell so that
King Dennis went right through into the
ocean and os drowned.
Queen Peggy was. leaning over the curb
and saw It happen , but she said nothing to
anybody , only seeing elio was a widow she'd
no longer any call to stay In Ballyloo nnd
took n boat nnd rowed to the mainland and
went'home , and nil In good time , aa It hap
pened , for Castle Iloru was at sixes and
sevens , and matters badly In need of atten
tion. The widow Clancy , who was to have
been married that very morning to King
Lirlan , had run oft in a jaunting car before
daybreak with the king ot Atheuroy , nho was
a young fellow near her own ago , and Queen
Peggy had all she could do to quiet her
father. Uy the tlmo this was done and
things put to rights she happened to so In
the pantry the preparations for n grand
supper that was to have been given to all
the neighbors In honor of tha new bride.
"It's n pity , " saya she , "that good food
DOXED HIS
If he'd not been afraid ot the two women
quarrclint ; , for the widow had nvl1l of her
own. and Princess Peggy's hair 'was ' not
pink for no reason. Bo he thought this a
good chnnco to get hia daughter wtll qu t
of the place , and Ballyloo wai too far for
vlslllng. I3ut Princess Peggy had her eye
set on Paddy Doolnn's eldest boy , Jim , who
would have a good bit of money some day ,
beside being the finest lad this side of Done
gal , not to mention that she had I.er sus
picions of the widow , and her tdea was that
.she nnd Jim cre to live at the ca&tle , and
when K'ng Url.tn grew too old to rule Jim
uas to save him the trouble of It.
So "thank you , kindly , " Bays she to the
prime minister of Dallyloo , "but I think I
can never bo more than a sister to King
Dennis , and I should recommend your ask
ing Instead tha little widow Clancy who
lives on the farm the other slilc of the vil
lage. 'I Hi ? sure she'd jump at the chance ,
and the Doolans would be glad ot an op
portunity to take up that farm. "
Now , it Princess Peggy had left out the remarks -
marks about the little widow , everything
would have been all right , and nothing mare
would have happened of nny Importance ,
but when "King Brian heard" that , he made
up hU mind that the time had come when
either he or Jim Dnolan was to wear the
crown , and that the matter mlctit as well
b& settled then as later.
"Sister , Indeed ! " says lit , "wife you
mean. "
"Sister , " says Princess Peggy.
"Wife , " says he.
"Sister , " says Princess Peggy ,
"llore , " says the king to tha prime min
ister of Dallyloo , "we'll'have no more words
In the matter. Take her to Ballyloo , and
may a father's blc-slng go with her. She'll
make your muster a seed wife. I'm sure. "
But when the prime minister tried to
take him at his word Princess Peggy ran
nway and locked herself Into the tower
and rrefuaeil to came out.
"Ah. well , " says King Brian , "never
try to balk a woman of her will. "Since she
wishes to stay In the tower , stay she thall
until she makes up her mind to come out , "
"SURE. IT'S BTAUVINQ I AM. "
and ha sent down to the village for his
army , who surrounded the tower and let
no one pass In or out. On the second day
Princess Peggy put her head through the
window , and says the , "I want something
to cat. "
"Do you. Indeed ? " says King Brian , "veil ,
n good appetite- l > a fine Uilng , and they say
that no finer potatoes and buttermilk are
found in nil Ireland than In Ilallyloo. "
On the third day Princess Peggy calls down
from the window : "Sure , It's starving I
am. "
" .And thnf a pity , too , " says Itlng Brian ,
who was always a civil cpokcn man , "for
there's slathers of good meat and drink to be
tad In the Island of llallyloo. "
On the fourth day the | irluc. s came down
and knocked at the door nf tbe tower.
"Sister or "IfcJ" says Klnc JJr'nn ' through
( he keyhole.
"Wife , " says Princess Peggy an-1 came out
and had a good meal and went off to
JDeaiiU iU jiulet ju .xou , clewi.\ id
EAItS.
_
should be wasted.'e'll have the wedding
In spite of little Clancy. do down to 'the-
Daolan farm ; " says she , "and tell Old Paddy
that he may go over to the Clancy place
and take possession. And if Jim lu at 'home
tell him to step up | to the castle a incment ,
as I'm wishing to see him. "
It was a grand wpddlng , and It's not often
that either Jim or ( King Brian ever gainsay
Princess Peg y.
Aa for the Island of Ballyoo , it drifts
about as the wind takisr'it , and same tli In Its-
It's enchanted , but -.the people there are ,
fairly content , heeinp-jliat until King Dennis , '
comes back from thd * bottom of the well , ,
they've no rents to pay ; I E. 11 , W.
'That government is < .best which governs
the least " When little Johnny read this he
said : "I'll have to show that to dad. "
Tommy ( studying * Iris" lesson ) I say , pa ,
whore docs the Merflmuc rls > e , and Into what
sea does It empty 7 Pa1 ! don't know , my
son. Tommy You rtoit'.t know , -eh ? And to
morrow the teacher will lick me on account
of your Ignorance. j
Tommy Say , Paw. Sir. Flgg Now , what
is the matter ? "Whan the Fourth of July
falls on Sunday , does U fall hard enough to
break the Sabbath ? "
Dottle Mamma , I guess my dolly's mamma
must have been a very impious lady. Mamma
( Why so. Dottle ? Dottle Why , she's made
her so her knees won't bund. I have to put
her on her stunimlck to say her prayers.
"Tommy Wing's momma is uwful good
and kind to him. " Mumma AVhat has she
done that is so thoughtful ? "Let him Imvo
measles Just the Tory day school begun. "
! A dignified little mamma , who sometimes
Indulges In acrobatic feats In the privacy
ot her bedroom for the entertainment ot
her 0-yoar-old daughter , took the iclilld itQ ito
an amateur circus , where the society people
were acting for the benefit of a fresh nlr
fund , One of the performances consisted
of a double tomerset whloh elicited great
applause , and when the applause bad died
away the voice of the child could be heard ,
distinctly over half the lent : "Mamma ,
that man does that 'most as well as you
do It. " .
_ _
TO , IA'"tinrA
r. Maljello Pe.itee In the Mlcr.
Dlvlncst Woman , hhall 1 dure In humble
rhyme to praise thee ,
Can words depict thy modern charm of
manful coat and hat ?
Thy muscle and thy Intellect ! the ardors
thut upraise tlieel
Thy newness duy by day ! thy mission !
but I may not speak of thut.
Reformer lion-henrted ,
With fashion hast thou jmrted.
Thy unkempt locks 'lie limply on thy tilcar
anil classic heat ) ;
In hygienic clothing , , ' f\ (
A waist and heels Ueep-loithlnfr. \
Thy unstnyeil figure freely flounders , -knlck- ' |
crbockered.
With journalistic Intellect und mind Inqulr-
1 Ing. fearless . > >
Of man or devil , heav'n or hell , or even
Mrs. Orundy :
To church thou dost but seldom go , rtfr
lov'Bt the Abbey peerless ; si
Soul-anchored at the Ethical I see thee < |
olt on Sunday.
Or In occult meditation ,
, Deep In lore of liaHtern nation ,
Tliou follovvest the astral track of a
or u Stem ! ;
Intellectual gyrations.
Mazes of relncurnaUans
Close wreath their mystic tpella around I
thy unbewildeml head ,
In fiction , though we seek thee not , full I
many u lime we've found tlitc.
Witli chapters of opinions , but a saving
levi ! of dies * .
Thy heart Is all plntonlc , though thy suit
ors Hock around thee ,
. /k.nd the KIUVQ u d simple-minded Is
made graver by ibv "Yes. "
ltut-lf man'.ljrufs It well-o
To wed on JMW Yellow.
Or dream Sui > erlluouB"Uroman Js to wealth
nnd title blind ; < > <
Should lie fnncynn Marcella ,
With licr vlew.a fjnd lauds nt'Mcllor ,
I would trust lie iuar. be happy I would
pray she may bu Kind.
O woman of the period , thy uccornpllbh-
menta ur It'Klox !
To lecture or to irUlr.t-dnncc , tj frivol or
to fight , , u f ,
To pioneer , to educate , to nurse the lep
rous recion , "
Thesa thy pastimes but a irruver ,
sweeter task Is'Uhy Oellght :
To tproclnlnt atu'muinKutvatlon ' ,
Through Woman's meditation ;
To enow Uartli'a lilplii-at proercfei through
41ic Woman-Bouljs found :
Man an Intellect mattilul , ,
Thou as | > lil ( nil i-thcrcnl
rt.li ! 'tis Woman - Woman-Woman that
jnulce * .the .world , eo .round.
CAPTAIN JACK IN LUNNUN'Kt '
TLe Pee * . Scout Kindly Sccolvod by the
British and Fiorob Press ,
HE RtC.TES SOME WILD WEST STORIES |
Audiences Charmed br III * Vtrar * nml Itu-
imtnllo Adventures Illn Soriutm "Itjr
1'oiiy lllll , thu Mountain Itunltxor '
( it dud , " \V i n Stunner.
'Way back In the "O's the name of Cap
tain Jack Crawford became famous through
out the west. Jn those days the Black Hills
gold fever was at Us hel&ht. Thousands ol
seekers were pouring Into the hills.
nearest railroad point then was nt Sid- '
this state , whence stage.coaches and ,
' .Supply trains took the lung , wearisome trail |
to the hills. Captain Jnck was er.gagcd by
The lice as a special correspondent , and his
patters telling ot the new lildur.ido were
copied far and wide. It wns his first news-
pnpcr work. Then It was learned that ho
possessed some literary talent , which In
.c.ucceedlng yrars he culthatcd , until now ho
enjoys a reputation that has spread ills fame
throughout America.
Qaptaln Jnck vlxllcd London and Paris re
cently , where he was accorded a hospitable
reception by the press. Mr. George II ,
Sims , the noted Ungllsh author , devotes over
u column In the Referee to Captain Jack's
visit to London. Among other pleasant
things. Mr. Sims says :
Tliero strode Into my room , out of the
mist and the rain of the park , Captain Jnck
Crawford , the fiimous poet scout of America ,
the Ideal frontiersman , with long hair hangIng -
Ing over his shoulders , tall , lithe , and sun
burnt , with eagle eyes nnd shading brov.a ;
nml he sat himself down In my study , and ,
shahliii : the rain from his leonlno locks , ex
claimed , "I like this it does mo good. "
"Like what ? " I asked. "The weather , " he
replied. And then he told me bow for five
long years In Mexico they had not n drop of
rain , only the eternal , scorching , blinding
sunshine , nnd how 70 per cent of the cattle
died , and the fish lay in the dry bed of the
liver mid fanned themselves with their tails ,
und tlie families crawled nbout with their
blistered and cracking : and he called
the ceaseless downpour of Thursday "Just n
drenm. " nndwished he could tnKo n slock of
our special lumnicr weather back to New
Mexico with him.
Gupta In Jack Crawford was for many jcars
the chief of scouts of the American army ,
nnd lie has written some of ths dnlntlest
little poems In the American language.
The captain's frontier rcmliiUcences are
not nil of them of scenes of slnnchlor unit
violence. Mntiy of them nre sv.cet and
pathetic , and open to the wenry teller in
ilrcary .city pent n world of fresh romance.
'lo tell them as the raptaln tells them would
bo Impossible in cold print. They want the
"cow talk , " the vernacular of the plains ,
with Its odd Imagery nnd tits quulnt nnd
startling turns < cf thought. Peihnps the
quaintest nml most oilglnul Item In the cap
tain's ' collection are the Cowboy tcrmons.
These cermoiiB ate attributed to Pony lllll , n
cowhov who wna converted by n Methodist
preacher , now the bishop of New Mexico ,
who wat 1-nown in HIP old davs ns "thc
Mountain Howitzer of God , " nnd who mixed
with the roughs and tha gamblers , and took
thejii their own way , with the result that at
the chapel collections the plate wus fre
quently filled with "chips. " These chips nro
coloVed tokens used at the gambling houses.
A blue chip J given for $1 n red chip foi
r > 0 cer.tti , and n white chip for Zo cents. The
rirsun niter his termon would walk lo thr
gambling houses , cash the chips , and put the
dollars to the credit of the chapel fund.
Pony Hill's sermons are delightful , and
must be Intensely appreciated by cowboy
utidlnncps. From one of them on the
Prodigal Son , Captain Jock quoted exclusively
for my edification. Pony , when ho beglnc
"to jeik liln jaw on pious talk , " staggers
tht1 legurtlr parsons who drop In to heal
him , at first , but many of them have taken
him by the hund and reco nlzd the good
ho is deliu ; . Ilo reads the stoty of "The
Prod. " that Is cowboy for tlio Prodigal
Son first from the bible and then he trans-
lutes It. He describes the good time tin
Prod , hnd nt llr t , and then his career
down to the tlmo when lie came to be
. "herding hogs on a Jonah much and afoot
and elttin * on a fence El/.In up the la ]
out ; " the Hmewhen , penniless and hungry
"ho'il be ilail to sit down nnd work the
husks with the hcgs 1C he'd been built for
chewin' that kind o' truck ; " and 'he ' flgurer
out the J'rod.'s thoughts when ho makes
up his mind "to glvo the hog rnnr-li tin
.shako und let out far tlio home corral. " Ii.
cowboy vernacular he describe * the meeting
of father and ton , and the killing of the
fatted cnlf , and he gives a glowing descrip
tion of the grc-headed father's gilpt over the
repentant "Prod. . " anil tells how "such a
night wns put In as a mnn ot the counlty
never saw afore. " Without the accent and
the gentle , homely , pathetic passages , this
looks in print like n vulgarisation of thr
great blblo atory ; but benr It With the real
western accent and the quaint locution , and
you will understand how the "Cowboy ser
mons" have gripped not only tlio rowbo/s.
but thousands of cultured Americans. The
moral of the sermon Is excellent. Backsliders -
sliders are urged to "start for the home
ranch at once , and never look back on the
trail. "
Captain Crawford , who is stuvlng at the '
Metropoto , Is only in London for a few rtayn
Ibis' lime , but next year , If he maUes n stay
among us , J nin sure that lie will meet with
a hearty welcome. 1 have known him fern
n good many years ns n writer nf charming
verse , and across the broad Atlantic we have
many n time exchanged fraternal greetings.
He has nil the originality nnd qualntnoss of
the best American .story-tollers , and he takes
tha TJngllsh listener Into a bright , clear
atmosphere which IB n tonic to the jailed
nerves. Nym Crinkle wrote ot him in the
New York World : "The world'longs for
a fresh Individuality nnd fresh , strong
character. I never was so ( .truck by this
ns When 1 sat Iho other night In n crowded
house and listened to the .celebrated Captain
Jnck Crawford while he held his audience
spellbound for two hours by Hie simple
narrative of his life. " And ho must have held
me spellbound , Cor It v. us ! > o'clock In the
afternoon when ho came Into my study just
to bring me a message from my friend
Robert P. Porter , of censua fame , and I
shouldn't like to tell you what tlmo It was
.when I let him out of my front floor Into the
1night , with his long hair waving in the
fbreeze - , and then went up to bed reviling the
'fate ' which had made me a melanchalj
London scribbler instead of a poet tcout ,
with a ranch InNew Mexico nnd a glorious
record of gallant deeds on the frontier ot
4he wild west.
The Westminster News , London , devotes
'over a column to Captain Jack's address at
'St ' , John's Mission bnll , Horseferry road ,
to a largo audience , which. It Is said , gave
repealed expressions ot high appreciation.
The Westminster Dudget gave the captain
a Cull page Interview , with an excellent half
tone portrait. In conclusion the reporter
quotes a verse from "Sunshine. " a poem
ot which the poet scout Is especially proud :
I never IIKi-a to aw n man a-ruatlln' with the
iluinpn
Cause In Ilio Runicot Wo he doern't always
c.itch ttic ti limps ;
Hut 1 rim atvMijs cutton to n free iiml ca y
cuts
As taki > bin ilnxe anJV Ih.inKs tlio Lord It
lun't nny wuaa.
There nln't no u * o' klrkln * iiml zvvcarln' nt
juur luck.
Ter enn't correct the trouble more'n you can
ilruwn n iluel : .
lUmemlxT , when ItenPMh the load your auf-
ft-r'ii' ' liea.il In Ixiwcd ,
That ( IntI 'Ml njirlukle sunshine In Ilio trail of
rvi-ry cloud.
When Captain Jaok reached London Mr.
Jnmes Gordon Dennett .sent a representa
tive of the Paris edition of the New York
Jlerahl to Interview him. 'She captain was
Introduced to tbe Herald's Parisian readers
thus :
A tall , etrongly bu.lt , good looking man ,
whose fair mustache and Imperial , as well
us the fair hair , were slightly streaked with
gray. Mood on the steps of Iho Hotel Metro-
pole look In K out at the gloomy , misty
weather with a .smile that ibeemM to bring
-a gllinpte ot sunshine Into his Immediate
ne ghborhood. Ilia tharp peering eyes tet
-networks of minute wrinkle > could only
belong to n tailor or a plulntmnn , and when ,
as he lifted uj > his broad brimmed sombrero
ta AoknatvUdaa aa Jutxgductlaa. His Ions ,
gray-Ureaked hair which had Wn twlntpd I
underneath fell over hli shoulders. It wasj |
not dlfflrult lo definitely place him in the
Utter category.
laCi As a milter of fact. U was Capl/iln "Jnck"
Crawford , the poet scout , w-ho Is not ( he I
only ono of a fe-.v long-haired gentry from
the plains who do not give the effete dweller
In the c M Iho impression that hair nnd
lint nre only part of n masquerading cos
tume. ' I think It Is the nbsolule honesty
nnd , simplicity of the man , as nell as n
subtle sense -of refinement , despite the un
couth accent" which he somewhat unneces
sarily nftects , lhat dlspoeo one In hU favor.
It Is at least , certain that since Colonel Cody
bode and shot his tvny Into Kngllsh favor
no one has created BO favorable an Impres
sion In so short a tlmo among the English
people he has met.
Jack wntci The lice that he eipects to
visit Omaha during ( he coming
The annual 'conference of Catholic nrchJl'
bishops will bo .held in Philadelphia the
present { ) week , beginning Wednesday.
The Haptlsls of New York , New Jersey
and Connecticut mnlntnln .1 home Cor worn- ,
out UaptUt ministers at West Tarms , N , Y.
The Protestant Kplscopal Society oC Reformation
mation has been started In N'ew York City
with the n von oil purpose of opposing ad
vanced rllu.illstlc practice ! ,
Hov. Fnther Jnmes A. McPnul , Uio
tins Just been .appointed bishop of the llcmati
Catholic diocese of Trenton , X. J. , began Ufa
as a clerk. In n grocery Elorc.
Solomon Schlmlli-r , Iho nell known rabbi
of Itoston , has left the ministry nnd removed
to Cambridge , uhere he will devote himself
to literary \\ork. He announces that ho has
completed a scijuel to "Looking Hackward. "
Illshop IIuiBt ot the Methodist Episcopal
church has come back from nurope with the
opinion that "Die so-called liberal theology
of Germany U on the wane , the tide of edu
cation being toward the evangelical stan
dard. "
India has now seventy-two Christian En
deavor societies ; Japan , fifty-nine ; the West
Indies , forty-four ; Turkey , thirty-eight ;
Chlnn. twenty-three , ami Madagascar , thirty.
In missionary lands there ore In nil 2,710
societies.
Among other "Maxims for Preachers , " con-
tnhicd In a scries published by a Jewish
rnbbl , arc these : "If you have nothing to
sny , say nothing. Whrn you nr done , stop. "
An application of thcso rules would nip
many a eermon In the bud.
N. P. Stanton ha. ? devised n scheme for
the rebuilding of the Brooklyn tnbctnacle , by
the ISSHO of twenty-year nonlnterest bearIng -
Ing bonds of the denomination of $1 , $20
nnd $100 , on which ho is confident $300,000
could bo easily t/htaltiod.
day , In the Methodist church of Galena , III. ,
pew No. CJhlcli General Grant used to
occupy , was draped with the stars and
stripes. Illshop Vincent , who wns then pas
tor of the , .church . , presided over the con
ference.
The Hoard of Home Missions of the Presby
terian church reports receipts from April I to
August 31 , of J242.150 , against $159,998 Cor
Ilia corresponding period of last year. The
( tain Ij divide.l an follows : Woman's exccu-
tlvp committee , $22,259 , legacies , $59,996 ; mls-
e < Mlaneou3 , $4ITS. In the church collections
there has been n loss of $ l,27ti , leaving a net
gnln of $82,152.
A new cellbito order of laymen In the
Protestant KpUcopal church wus Instituted
In New Yoik last week by Ulshop Potter.
The order \\lll be culled the Community of
the Hrothers of the Church , founded by
Itusscll Whllcoiuh. lately a student In the
Cisnerul Theological seminary. Work umong
the poor will be tlio main purpose of the
IJroLlicrs of the Churrh. Their work will
be largely among the children In the Sunday
schools. This will
be Riippllmcnted by a
systematic attempt to elevate the character
othe young men In tha district by means
ot reading rooms , lectures , entertainments
and reUfdaus mcetlrjrs. The tirothers of
the Church ' will be distinguished by a plain
habit , the'prevailing color of which Is brown ,
consisting of n long cossack , with a black
cross on the breast , and bound ul thu ualst
by a black girdle. The postulant takes the
vows for five years. The order has no en
dowment and will live on gifts of the oli-v-
liable.
Jntroduction oftho _ vertical system
of handwriting In the Chicago public schools |
an Important and Interesting Innovation
and the result will bo closely watched.
Prot. Ernst Curtlus , the fnmous Greek
scholar , who Is now SO years of nge , lias In
bl.s possession * n note , written lo him In his
boyhoodby , , his teacher , censuring him lor
being baekwanl in Greek.
The Columbia college library continues to
prow rapidly , as many as 15,000 bound vol
umes having been added during the past
yea" , making the increase in the last five
years 81,003 , nn 1 the total number of vol
umes now In the library over 180,000.
The Orrlngton Lunt library building of
the Northwestern university of Kvatiston ,
111 , , wns thrown open the other day. It Is
named after Orrlngton Lunt of that town
who gave * most of tlio $160,000 that it cost
to build It. Mr. Lunt , who was born in ' I
Maine seventy-Line years ago , went to Chi-
C.AKO In 1812 , and has ever since taken n
'iromltient part In the eoclal nnd religious
lire of the city.
Many of the mo&t distinguished electricians
In Iho country will render servlca In tljo Na
tional School of Electricity , which has been i I
organised ami U to bo established In this |
city. Mr. ntllson Tins been chosen ns
dean of 'the ' faculty , among the member ! ! of f ' {
which are Vjuallfled electricians like Tejla ,
Ilarrctt , Carhart , Herdmnn , Anthony and 1 |
olhors.
The two rival California Institutions of
learning , that -Is the University of California
and Stanfoid university , gecm resolved to
continue the 'practice of getting Ihnir foot
ball coachers from the masters of that
t.clmico In the cast. This year the former
has engaged GUI , captain ot the Yale team .
of IS90 , nnd called by Walter Camp the '
greatest tackle Yale ever had. The salary
for the reason h about $1,000.
Prof , Todd of Aniherst college , who has
for many years been an enthusiastic student
uf eclipses and of the sun's corona during the
ecllpte , Is perfecting plans for his expedition
to Japan In lS9 ( ! , " whore a very Important
eclipse will occur nbout 3 p. m. , August 9 ,
continuing two minute * and forty second * .
lie lias collected nil the acientlfic dat.i In
connection with the eclipse , nnd as soon as
money for Hie expedition Is forthcoming he
will begin the construction of the special
apparatus for the observation.
A Codicil to Hie will ot Iho lute Prof. Joslah
P. Cooke , for 'more than forty year * pro
fessor at chcmUlry at Harvard college , cuts
off from the college a reversionary Interest
in the professor's estate , vulurd nt $3UO.000 ,
one iliair uf which , and possibly more , would
have gone to the'University Timd. The Inter
esting significance In the codicil lies In the
date October 30 , ISOS--for It wns Immedi ' : I
ately after the dismissal , on the score of hard I
times nnd the .necessity for economy , of Dr.
Oliver W. Eluntlngton , Prof , Cooke'a ncphow
and assistant In the laboratory and lecture
room. Dr. Iluntlngton wni treated by Prof.
Cooke as a Eon , ami It Is said that the action
of the university was a severe blow to the
old professor , who was a man ot ( supersensitive -
sensitive nature.
A Very Titlimlilo Slcillclno.
There is no medicine FO often needed In
every home and so admirably adapted to the
put poles for which tt Is Intended as Cham-
herlaln's Pain Dalin. Mindly n week passes
but fome member of the family has need of
U. A toothache or headache mny be cnr.-il
by it , A touch of rheumutlrm or neuralgia
quieted. Ttie revere pain of a burn or scuM
promptly relieved and ithe nero healed In
much Iras .time . than -when mxllclnu lias to
be sent far. A. .iprnln mny l > e promptly
treated before inflammation rets In , which :
Insures a cure In about onn-thlrd ot Iho time
otherwise [ required. Cuts and bruin : * should
receive Immediate itrcntrnont before the parts
become nwollen , which can only bo done when
I'ali Halm Is It'pt ' at hand. A Bora throat
may be cured bcforu It becomes iterlnus , atA
lame back relieved and several days uf valu
able time saved or a p.iln In the sldo or chixt
cured willful paying n doclor'n bill. Procure
a CO-ccnt bottle at nuuo and you will never
regret It. Fpr sale by
Slgnorina Tercslni Librioln , upon whom
the University of llomu riccnlly conferred
tli ? degree uf doctor ot lawn. Is only 18 years
old She Is dullmtt , ulmotit fragile , In np-
sarnnce , but hat mndo herself noted for her
ondcrful powers of ottorvatlon uud the logic
C -her riuinnlna.
CONSTANT CRY FOR REFORM
Ens ( BEIII Ho id Ivor tinea the Atnericis
ftopuMo Wns Founded ,
IT IS BY N3 MEANS AN EVIL OMEN
P.i-Sriiutor limey I . I >
* UTTO Sen * In It m
I'niiiiiirniliililo Slrifo for I MI prominent
thut Augur * VTrll fur tlio
AnirrlCHti
( Cbpyrlfltitnl. )
The cry for Kovcrnment reform Is
everywhere In the Inml nnd has been to
heard from the brglntilng of the government.
The constitution under which wo llvo was
ndopted only on condition that it should li
reformed. And wo Imvo benn nt work ever
s in co In the endeavor to niako over not only
our organic law , but nil government Institu
tions which have opi'iing up under It. It .is
not enough that there Is nn cjillro clumgo of
admlnlstrntlon rndlcnl In character every
four jcnrs. Nor does It suincc that every
year , or at most once In every two j-cnM , tha , .
legislatures ot forty-four stntes spand thre 1 |
or four months Ju undoing jyhat their pr de-
cessors have done , And In nmemlliiK old Iruvi
or mnklng now one * . This restless ami In-
ccsjnnt cry for change Is by no means con
fined to administrative detail umlir nn estab
lished system , but ilncludra earnest effort nt
organic reformation.
An outside listener would como to the con
clusion that nearly everything was going
wrong with us nml Hint & i ; ncral upturning
and rGorgalznttan wns Imminent nnd In
dispensable. Not the least notlcenhlo In
these movements is the singular fact ( hat
these forces nre oflin working In opppjItB
directions , even when made up of the same
liillvldnals. In that way nttompttng to walk
In opposite directions at the same time.
Thus tha necessity ot clothing ono man
nlone , with all executive iwver tnd art-
mliiistrntlvo responsibility , la ndvocnted liy
the same people who. nt the Bamo time ,
urge the adoption of a referendum that
will throw responsibility for legislation off
the shoulders of legislators , where It now
rests , nnd put ll upon 'ho muUIUitllnoun
voter , to be scattereil nnd lost altogether.
The snme reformers , who nro Insisting on
n seven years' presidential tenure , and Ineligibility -
eligibility to rc-clcctlon , In order lo shltild
that o Ulcer from any time-serving bias ot
popular Itilliicnc thess reformers are In ths
same breath demanding the ( lection of Unl'eJ '
States senators directly , by the people. In
order Hint they , while In DHlc-s. tuny bo In
clos r touch with tha popular ( Will of each . _
hour aa It pulses. o. itoo , 'political sentl- it
mcnt Is divided between h fllfei 'tenure for "
officials , based upon merit , ulonC ( nnd that . .
to be determined by a tribunal.'outside tha 'J
olllclal responsible for the tervlce.on the
one hand and n partisan tenure on th
other , tu be d tcrmlned by tests set up from
time to time by those -whom the people place
In rower. Some of us nro for and some
ngalnst government by commission , lu
derogation of the authority of a. single execu
tive ; some likewise condemn , while others
commend , legislation by committees Instead
of by the whole baly of the 1 iglslature. _
Thcro are- these who would pu\ the liberty "yt
of debate in the keeping of one man ; others . 'I
woul.l lodge It In the custody of a eommltt
of three , nml others still would put It In 119
man's keeping and tinder no limitation.
Hnrilly two ot us agree upon the terms upon
uhlch the elective franchise shnll bo rxcr-
cised by HIUED who , Jn thccry , ll-vo'cnd'r lawa
of their own mnklng.
NOT AN EVIL OMCN.
This widespread propag.indlsm ofn9w Ul as
of government nnd uppar nt dissatisfaction (
with existing conditions , fundamental as well
n-3 ndminlbtratlvc , Is 'by no means nn evil
omen. Any foreigner Inferring from this
universal debate am one us over questions
touching t , the chnracUr of our Institution !
that there. Is nny radical defect In the prin
ciples tt upon which they rest , would fall al
together t to understnml the character of our
pcolo or the truq Inwnrdncss ct tills constant
disagreement over the merits of our fi < > " . . : . -
mcnt i ; , The American people have a e-'n'ns ' jl
for fi f Kovernment mnklng nnd this i vermin- j |
fc Ing i challenge of the op rations they hnvi put
over themselves Is evidence that the goilusi
which constructed It without model anc In
ilollanco ot nil governmcntnl dogma ti n
tolerated among men Is still quick and alirl ,
with vigor unlmpalrcil , nnd with via an
brcadenod and clarified by a hundred ye rs
ot constant search for defects nnd strife tir
Improvements.
These strcgglcs to achieve government ! !
reform should b ; encouraged , not stilled , an'l
this not because thin or Hint scheme ot re.
form meets our approval , nnd notwithstand
ing the et"Js sought , through ninny of thera
may In our onln on .be unwl.c and unlschlev-
ous. They are to be encouraged , because
they keep alive nnd stimulate nn Interest in
governmental affairs essential to * vitality.
There cannot bo Indifference where there 'Is '
dissatisfaction , ami slugmillon ls fatal lo life.
Thro can be no mprovement so long ns. thera
Is content , and thrro can be no discovery ex-
cent by an open , searching eye. This uni
versal outer ) for universal reform is thero-
lure evidence of universal interest In the af-
fairs of a government In which all are Jn
theory , ns they should be In fact , rcspon-
t.ble. and Itn \ n most healthy and es ent al
condition ot the pub le mind. Lst. therefore ,
the ieaich lor detects go on , and lot every
one be put up to tiy his lintid at reconslruu-
Hun or amendment of the system of govern-
mcnt under which we live. If ha prove to
bu crazy or n crank he can d mo 'harm un
less YO try to Bti'p on him , the. cure , t way
In rucuro for ihlm a following. If he ba a
mere doctrinaire practical appllcnt on alone
will euro him , and whether the disease or
the euro will hurt moro Is often a problem
of no little difficulty. i
Doctilnalres are generally hanlilcss , even
when the emu of practical application Is Irn-
pcstlble , .ami perhaps less .so there than in
any other case , bccuuso there are Instance *
where absurdity neutralizes dangerous gases.
U Is only where the dividing line between I
absutdlly and practicability Is shadowy or
uncertain that nny dllllculty in treatment
can arise. Ilo la hardly ever so absurd tir
transcendental an expounder whose lesson
docs not yield at least u kernel worth exam
ining. If you cannot follow him all the wsjr
you will , by listening , aee all the clearer
how far he Is a safe Kuldo , und will thereby
bo the better cblB to hold to the safb path
of practicability with a stiody step.
The Importer of reforms In government ( U
tlio most unsafe of alt the many types of Ihl *
rare of men , and his treatment present *
moro dllllculllc.i than that of any othe * . lie
comes to you lu to many attractive colur *
and with inch speckus arguments drawn no
loni ; a distance from their home that you
cannot trace their origin or Inquire Into their
character. They are , therefore , to be taken
at the r valuation obroad like other Imports.
Ik'itdea , the Importer of political principles
nud machinery rokcmbles .In other rcipeats
besides valuation the Impcrtor ill "goods ,
wnres nnd merchandise , " All lorta of men
are engaged In bwlnuRi tlio nihilist , the an-
arct.lut , the socialist nnd tha 'ngrnflan , at
well ns the earnest and honest student at
civicnnd the goods of ( licse men bear no
label. They nra like ready-made clolhlue
admitted free of duty btfcnuso they have l > ten
already worn , and for ( hat reason It U In-
slBtcl Hint they shall bo1 put on linJ worn
Just ns they nre , whether they lit ua or not.
They were excellent and closi'-flttlng vrhoro
they wcro found , and adapted to the cllm.ila
ot the country nnd the hiildls of ( he pcojflo
who had vr rn them , and the tame fUnes * In
claimed for them hero regardless of differ *
onccs cf fccplc , of their civilization and .of
those Institutions of government which ara
their leKltlmnte outgrowth.
It is thcso differences vvhlcli constitute ( ha
chief obstacle In the nay of ( he tntrodnction
Into our cjslein of the many new and start
ling Innovations brought hero from abroad
by Kcrlous and rurncU students of the natura
of government * , and which have In recent
years occupied so much of public altenllon.
Home ot them nro already on trial , some are
titlll delayed by public hesitancy , and other *
nro walling Impatiently for their turn , The
llrlllsh civil service , . system and the Aus
tralian ballot Imvo aluudy effected a landing ,
and are undergoing adaptation to our cy lera.
The .Norwegian Jlqiiur law , Hie Torrcni law
of conveyance ( Imported frcm n llrillsh
Ince ) , thn SV.-ISH icfcrendiim , the n
method of making cabinet clllcers lcrltl. ; lore ,
and other like propositions cif fonli.n iKlgtn
arc finding abiu adsvculcx umona us , The
progress ot foreign government * ulenn their
own line : , leeuis jiirt at thl luno toiRas /
the attention of Hio ctmlcnt of clvlcn far
mere than Hist rf our ) ; ovi > rnment along ths
lines of UK own development or In the Ira-
provi-ment cf Ho uui methods of tlmlnl tr -
tlon IlKNliV J , .
, -Maw.