]The Plunderersj!
♦ BY C. J. CUTLIFFE HYNE. ♦ i
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Of all the quintet the man at the j
tiller was the only one who showed
signs of energy, and hi* energy had
sulphurous anger mixed with It. Ho;
was a bowed, shambling creature, with j
one eye red and the other missing, with |
long, hairy, npe-Uke arms, with an iin
pediment of speech which threw him [
Into paroxysms of temper every second
time he opened his Ups Once or twice
when his malady stuck hira voiceless In
the middle of a sentence the other white
man laughed, and then when his tongue
•erved him again he would -break off
from the text and rap out a stream of
poisonous cursings.
At last ho climaxed these by the only
-vituperation which no American can
Ustern to unmoved, and the man on the
:oarh roof dropped his Indolence like
S flash and waa on him before he could
resist. The aggressor waa lusty, and
he shook the steersman as a big dog
shakes a rat. with ponderous wrenches,
and because the sloop carried a strong
weather helm when the tiller was let
go she ran up Into the wind, with her
canvas slatting wildly.
“Ton snake mouthed Httln skunk,
Su'd say that to me. would you? 1
aught I learned you once how far
you might go. Toja’ve had one eye
rouged for this gams losa’n a month
back, and If you (ling your twisted
stuttering tongue at me any more, by
.gum, I'll pocket the other.”
The blacks on the forodeek chuckled
-and spluttered, but the Big man hove
«n Iron bucket at them, with the curt
command. “Quit that yehawtn!" which
they did with a yell and a sudden veil
ing of Ivory. Then with an Indolent
■prawllng of arms and legs he gained
fcla basking place again on the top of
the cabin roof, and once more the
steersman got the sloop under com
m.
The next three boards were made In
silence, save for the creaking of the
gear when she went about, and then
the one eyed man broke out again.
"You're sure It wasn't a government
bo-o-o-at. Hank7"
"Government be sugared! She wasn’t
the right build to start with. Besides,
If the government knew this channel at
til, you bet it’d be said so In all the
papers. And she did knew It, or she
wouldn't have gnno busing past at bIx
knots without a leadsman. Seems to mo
some one's spilt, and she’s some darned
Britisher come to cut out our game
for themselves."
"You tire me. Flume hunting's II
tegaJ by these bub-bub blessed bird
taws, and so's selling whisky to Injuns.
As It Is. we’ve trouble enough to sneak
In and out of the 'Glades in this sus
sus-sus-s-s-sllp of a sloop, so how In
hades d'you expect they’d do in a 1,000
Ion"— Here the rnan’e Infirmity
blocked hla speech for a full minute.
He snarled out, “Oh. I've no use for a
’blank putty hear like yen.”
Hank laughed and put tobacco Into
dlls mouth. "Go ft,” he said, “Go It,
sight closa to the end If you like, but
bring up short of that, or Lit gouge
you, sure's desUh."
The steersman grinned a spasm of
fury. He longed much to use again
the unpardonable phrase, but be fore
'bora. He felt that his friend would be
as good aa hla word. So be ceased from
speech altogether, and a negro on the
i foredeck enlivened the silence with the
Jordan hymn, giving full value to every
(possible shake and turn.
, A porpoise surged past them making
vfor the open after a day’s fresh water
(fishing, and onco or twice an alligator’s
eyebrows and snout showed like knots
of blackwood floating np against the
current, for this was territory where
the skin hunter’s rifle had not scared
'.hem altogether into night work. The
reloop's pace up stream was small; and
fit was not till just befuro night fall
‘that she rounded a cape where high
"black pines stood up Uk» soldleva on
;parade around the water's edge and
■saw the steamer. 81m was grounded
•jn a sandbank athwart the s’.ream and
’lay with a two foot list away from the
current. Not until they were close
aboard of her could these on the sloop
-sco the gold lettering on her counter.
“B-b-both lifeboats gjsoe. Say, that’s
iTtimr
"Port Edes or London," Hank road.
'•’Port Edes? I seem to know that
■name. Hullo, Nutt! What’s wrong
i now ? You look as though rd said your
> rich uncle had gone dead.”
'The one eyed man’s face was Tit up
••with on unholy Joy. “Don't you know?”
' he stuttered out. Thp Ms was In alt
'the pipers. That strum heart was bring
ing out £600,000 1m sovsnlgua Her
:port was Nsw Orleans, and she’s got
'here. By gum, I suppose they think
‘they’re going to steal It all by thcm
tpslves."
•"Who’s they?” inquired the other.
'T gurss we shall know that soon.”
-returned the one eyed man grimly."HI.
you niggers there forward! I s'pose
you got razors Md Muir.sthnur In yer
pants?”
"Say,” drawled hts frtend, "you’d
snob be better go slow. BUly NuU. That
steamer doee look asleep, but' If you
start making yourself ugly too soon
somebody may wake up and pull off
guns at us.”
"Shoot or no shoot." retorted the man
at the tiller. ’Tm going to have some of
their plunder before a dozen hours are
over, or else be a deader. Tve never had
a chance like this In all my Mfe before,
and I'll never geg-geg-get another."
’’You bet not." ugreed the other.
"Tlor’ll I. That’a why I’ll stand In with
you over this deal down to the last
rhtp. I reckon," he added In a lower
Voice, "we can count well on the niggers
too. They're not exactly a camp meet
ing crowd. They're tonghs that a rac
ket like this’ll suit as nat'ra! as chicken
stealing."
CHAPTER XIV.
RESULTS IN LONDON.
"How awfully ghastly!" said Amy
Rivera "Yes," said Fairfax. "Those
anarchist people ought to be ohot down
Uks dangerous wlM beasts whenever
they open their mouths. Think of It!
Not only a Ana ship hut £600,000 In
specie blotted out of existence by this
murderous bomk. It will corns fear
fully heavy on some of tbs under
writers. There wlU be s Mack pay day
St Lloyd’s when they settle up ever this.
You never saw such excitement as
there Is In the city. Papers were sell
ing at half a crown apleoa"
"And Is It certain that pose Mr. Cam
bel Is drownedf"
’Tm afraid practtemOy an. The two
lifeboats were picked up next morning
.and their crews taken late Mobile.
When they came to count heads, it was
found that the captain. Gambol and one
of the engine ream hands were missing.
In the hurry to escape they seem to
have got Into neither lifeboat. The
telegram says that ns other boat would
have lived a minute la the sea that was
running at the time, even If one had
been lowered, and the mate, who writes,
does not think that this was even at
tempted, because the Port Edes sank
before they had driven out of sight.
We h id a private cablegram at the of
fice before 1 left, arc! that told how
othir si r:v rs crossing that part of the
if he ’ ' -on the lookout, but up to
the:. . ..jo lunch, as a scrap of
wreckage had been sighted. So I fear
it la past ft doubt that she sank like a
stone In deep water and took those
poor fellows down with her."
"It is horribly sad, especially when
one remembers what I heard this
morning. Hamilton, the girl Mr. Gam
bol went wild about six years ago, is
out in Florida this minute and free.
Duvernay, the man she married, died
six months ago of malarial fever. You
know, Mr. Gambol w'as engaged to her
just after he left Cambridge and went
as an attache and was desperately
fond of her, as I imagined he could be,
and when her people forced her Into
marrying the other fellow he threw up
his post and wandered into all the most
out of the way corners of the earth to
try to forget things. What makes me
so interested is this: I've Just, found out
that she was a Miss Mabel Kildare be
fore she was married, and when I was
a child I used to know her sister Elsie
very well Indeed. In fact, I believe wo
were some sort of cousins, and for half
a year we had the same governess to
gether and were as Intimate as two
children could be. Then her sister mar
ried Mr. Duvernay, who had a colonial
appointment, and Elsie went with them
abroad, and we dropped completely out
of touch with one another. Strange,
Isn’t It, that I should hear of her again
the same day that brings news of poor 1
Mr. Gambol's death?’’
"It’s a small world this,” said Fair
fax sententlously, "and coincidences are
the commonest things in It. I sup
pose In a novel the pair of them ought
to have come together and forgiven the
past and married and settled down in
a villa residence, with ivy and clematis
attachment, and lived happily ever af
terward. Unfortunately real life is
balder and far less romantic.”
"You seem out of spirits," said his j
fiancee, linking her fingers over his
arm. .
"I suppose I am. To begin with this
Port Edos business isn’t calculated to i
enliven one, and then on the top of that
[’ve had another taste of your blessed
guardian’s business methods which i
have nearly sickened me out of the of
fice altogether. You know about this
Brothers Steamship company which he
Is trying to float? Well, we bad a 1
preliminary meeting today—quite 1,000 i
people, and all, comparatively speaking, ■
poor. They were for the most part
the gang he preaches to on Sunday,, :
with a sprinkling of skippers out or :
work and other seafaring folk who had (
saved a trifle of money ;
"Sht-if commenced the business with
prayer, which !» right enough at its
proper time, but struck me as being
partlcularily out of place there. The '
ludlencc. however, groaned approval,
ind their confidence In the man seemed
to be strengthened. He followed this
up with a clever speech about the pro
fits to be made out of the modern sea
parrying trade and enlarged upon the
notorious fact that the losses of the
business largely arose from the lack
if Interest on the part of shipmasters <
tnd the officers. This last, he said,
would be entirely removed in the
Brothers Steamship company, because
by the article of association no man
would hold a responsible position on
iny one of their vessels who was not
in actual shareholder of the company.
And then he pointed out that there was
an 8 per cent, dividend guaranteed on
preference stock and a certain 15 per
pent, or 18 per cent, on the ordinary
ind wound up with another dose of
•ant. The company, he said, would
tot be alone content with earning In
pome for its bondholders. It would
lave as its equal object the spreading
if the gospel and t e civilization of
England to the uttermost parts of the '
Slobe. '
“Then the meeting cheered and
amended and wrote out an application
for 19,000 £5 shares then and there in
:he room on forms which were handed
round, and when it dispersed Mr. .
rheodore Shelf and I drove back to the
iffleea.
“‘Look here,’ I said to him, ‘you've
put me down on the directorate of thiB !
thing, with a salary of £1,000 a year. I
want to resign.'
“‘What on earth for?'
'“Oh, shall we say I haven't suffi
dent money loose to take up enough
shares ?'
mui ne saia quickly, you needn't
lake up any. You can draw your first
quarter's salary and pay that back to
the company's bankers on your first
call. That will qualify you.'
" 'No,' I Bald, ‘I'm not going to do
that. I'm going to be mixed up with
this new company in no degree what
ever. Flatly. I don't believe In the
thing one bit. It's a notorious fact that
freights are so low just now that thou
sands of tons of shipping are laid up
because It can’t be run at a profit, and
If you put more In commission freights
will tumble down still lower.’
*‘ ‘You speak from your Ignorance,’ he
Bald. 'I should remind you that I
am by far an older man and have a
much deeper experience. The business
of Marmadulcc Rivers & Shelf Is a last
ing monument of what my humble
talents can accomplish and you will
some day see for yourself the newer
company on an equal footing. Did you
not notice what enthusiastic confidence
in Its prosperity those humble friends
of mine showed this afternoon?'
" A fat lot they know about the ship
ping business,' said I. In the mood
you worked them up to they'd have
believed In an advertising stockbroker’s
circular if only there were a text at the
head of the page.’
"Shelf pulled the cheek string, and
his brougham stopped against the curb
‘Mr. Fairfax.' he said your attitude
rains me. let os part hue for the
time, aha let u.T both pray that when
next we meet you may be in a more
Christian mind,' whereupon out I step
ped and came along here to Parle lane
Amy, dear, 1 don't like the look of
things at all. The other business—the
Oceanic Steam Transportation com
pany as It Is called officially—Is by no
means in a healthy condition, and re
membering that It seems to me that
starting thiB new company Is something
very nearly approaching a swindle I
believe that Theodore Shelf, knowing
that he is in low water, Is getting des
perate."
"I don't know about the last," re
plied the girl thoughtfully: "but, as for
being In low water, there I think you
are wrong. Every week here
they seem to spend more money
thun they did tho week before.
Mrs. Shelf was at a picture sale yes
terday and bought two old masters at
4,000 guineas apiece, and It isn't likely
she’d throw away that sum on what is
absolutely and entirely a luxury un
less money were pretty plentiful with
her."
“It can't go on at this pace,” said
Fairfax. "I know what the limits of
the business are, and I am certain It
can't stand the drain which a'l this
gorgeousness must entail. Last year
the profits were almost nil, and yet did
Mrs. Shelf retrench at all? Not a hit.
She goes In for more and more display
every weak she lives. This pace must
bring about a wreck and if the Oceanic
Steam Transportation company goes
down It is on absolute certainty tiu»t
thjs new Brother* company "wfil he
swamped with It"
"And then?”
"More than 5,000 poor people, for the
most part old, will find that the savings
of a lifetime have vanished into noth
ingness before their eyes. It Is an awful
thing even to think such a suspicion
against a man, but the Idea is growing
upon me, and Theodore Shelf saw what
1 thought when he showed me out of
his brougham this afternoon."
"Then what," asked the girl In a
horrified whisper, "will you do?"
"Nothing. What can I do? To
breathe a word of it aloud would be
a libel, and If I did not get sent to jail
they would pack me off to Hanwell as
a malicious madman. Shelf's name Is
as good as a banknote In the city this
day, and for everybody’s sake I trust
I have wronged him foully, and that It
may always continue so. But, Amy,
dear, I have a heavy foreboding on me
that In less than half a year's time
there will be a mob of wretched people
shooting themselves or going to the
workhouse because he has ruined them,
and thev haven't the pluck or tho thews
left to commence life afre.th.”
CHAPTER XV.
rHE PLUME HUNTER’S DINNER
PARTY.
Tho one eyed man, Billy Nutt, and his
'rlend and partner, whose name was
tppnrently Hank, without further nt
lachment, made a livelihood by trans
gressing the laws of the United States
tnd supplying a strong demand .Ladles
if society wished for egret plumes and
ilher feathers for external adornment,
ind the Seminole of the Everglades
leslred corn whisky for his stomach’s
sake, and white game regulations for
>ade collection of the first, Indian's pro
tection acts vetoed lawful distribution
if the second. And for the transgres
sor there were distinct and heavy pen
ilties.
But, to begin with, State’s law does
lot cary very far in the Everglades of
Florida, which Is the home of outlaws,
tnd In the second place Mr. Nutt and
'rlend were both ’ wanted” on several
■mints already, among which unjustifl
ible homicide ranked high, so that they
vere men entirely reckless and Inclined
o look upon p-aching and illicit whisky
icdling to the aboriginal as the mildest
>f mild peccadilloes. Moreover, as in
urtherance of their business they were
■xtremely well armed and apt to shoot
list and reflect afterward when an
loyed, they were not persons to be
trgued with by any of the more gentle
nethods.
The three men on the steamer were In
10 way prepared to receive these du
>ious visitors—were, In fact, completely
iblivlous of their approach, being still
■hained in the deepest slumber. The
lun had drooped below the tree tops,
md already the night noises, of the
crest were beginning—the rattle of
■rickets and toads In the trees, the
fronting of the bullfrog in the swamp,
he dry rustle of the jar (lies and the
varm hum of the never sleeping nio
iquito. In the darker tree aisles there
■ormrenced the brief light snappings of
in-flies, and In the black shadowed
voter of the bayous were other phos
)hore3cent glows, like these, only coni
ng from the eyes of some prowling al
I gator.
The sloop ran down her jibtopsall,
md as the iron hanks screamed along
he stay a negro trotted nimbly out
long the flat bowsprit top to secure the
all In its gaskets. The wind was drop
ling with the sun, and because the eur
•ent raced manfully down the bight
vhere the stranded steamer was lying
he sloop made but a fathom or so to
he good by every board across the
Ivor. The one eyed man danced a
l barefoot tattoo of fury on the floor
loards of the cockpit at this slowness,
md his loose limbed partner, who still
iprawled on the cabin roof, chuckled
vlth easy amusement. But the breeze
leld long enough for their purpose.
Phey ran up above the steamer, and the
itream ground their planking against
he rust streaked Iron. A pair of davit
alls hung down, with the blocks weed
-overed in with water, and overhauling
>ne of these they made It fast round
he bltts. Then, swarming up the other
all, the whole five of them gained the
irldge deck above.
Instinctively when once their feet
vere on the warm gray planks each
nan, black and white, handled his
veapon ready to fight any one. as
njght be demanded of him, but no one
ippeared to seek explanation of their
presence, and from starting about
hem they took to staring at one an
)ther rather foolishly. If one has been
ixpectlng a brisk game of murder, and
me meets with empty silence, It sather
■polls the sequence of Ideas.
"Come to think of It,” Bald Hank in
in oppressive whisper, “If there'd been
in anchor watch, they’d have hailed us
jefore we got this far. I bet the old
nan’s asleep In the charthouse. I
Twouldn’t be a bad Idea to bottle him.” I
(Continued Next Week.)
"Gamblah From Chicago.”
Hero is a story that comes all the way
'rom Florida, a state that overflows with
larkles. There was a small church,
wretchedly out of repair, with a terribly
oaky root, and the negro pastor fervent
firayed for funds to make repairs, A col
lection was started. Ono brother put in ten
:ents.
"Ten cents from Brudder Jones. De Lord
bless Brudder Jones."
Then a quarter of a dollar was received.
"Brudder Johnson a quartah. De Lord
bless Brudder Johnson."
The collector reached a gambler, who
happened to go into church out of curios
ity to witness a darky service, and who
had had a big winning night. He put a
twenty-dollar note Into the hat.
The almost breathless collector said:
"Wha's de name, salt?"
"Never mind the name, I am a gambler
from Chicago."
"Gamblah from Chicago, twenty dol
!atv>," shouted the collector.
The pasfor rolled his eyes up, and rais
ing Ills hands, said, with a voice choking
with emotion: "Twenty dollahs, gamblah
from Chicago. May de good lar d bless
and prospah do noble gamblah from Chi
cago."
From Fuck.
Anecdote of William the Conqueror
One day King William the Conqueror
was seen to kick himself, whereupon the
estates of the realm voted an address to
the throne, calling for an explanation,
provided, of course. If it were compati
ble with the public Interest.
"Why, certainly," replied the sovereign
graciously. "The doctor told me I should
pay for It when I ate lobster for supper
last night, and now I'm footing the bill
that's all.”
His words were variously received. The
loyal Normans laughed heartily and
vowed his majesty was perfectly killing
somehow, but the disgruntled Saxons
kept straight faces, and more than Inti
mated that they had heard the Joke be
fore.
Reckless.
From the Somerville Journal.
Once In a while you see a girl who
doesn’t care If people know how old she
Is. She is usually seventeen.
♦ The best housekeeper is the ♦
♦ one who passes less time in ♦
♦ making things clean and more ♦
♦ thought In keeping them clean ♦
+ as she goes. +
♦ ♦
«■ ATCHI30N GLOBE SIGHTS. +
tiiiiiiiiiiiMiiimiiiiM
False teeth are the only ones that can
be extracted without pain.
Ever notice how a man whose wife
Is away visiting is watched?
You needn’t take any pains to give
the devil his due; he’ll get It.
Every good farmer has three or four
Jobs laid up for a rainy day.
At the summer resort every summer
Is the hottest one they ever had.
What are you mad about most fre
quently? In our case. It Is because we
are old.
The family skeleton usually comes
out of the closet to referee the family
quarrels.
How many times some men can
make fools of themselves without find
ing it out.
A good many people make promises
to lecturers and candidates that they
never keep.
The amateur gardner Is usually an
adept at explaining why his garden
Isn't better.
People talk about “different tempera
ments,” when they really mean differ
ent tempers.
It is particularly easy to deceive a
woman when It comes to saying nice
things about her.
What has become of the old-fashioned
man who referred to the harness on his
horses as “gears?"
The world seems to accept the doc
trine that man should give hls friend
a little the best of it.
Occasionally there Is a good man who
Is also so stupid that he will not know
heaven when he sees It.
One reason fewer girls than boys
know how to swim Is that girls rely
on someone teaching them.
Hit John Barleycorn every time you
get a chance. Even behaving his best,
he is meditating mischief.
If a man is sufficiently in love, he
imagines he thinks poetry, even though
he doesn’t attempt to write It.
We have noticed that when a wom
an hears that another woman was
never In love, she says “Bah.”
Some men are so mean they like to
take their wives’ advice so they can
tell them later how worthless It was.
The new neighbors next door al
ways turn out better than their fur
niture looks when It arrives on a wag
on.
n is a remargaDie crowd of children
who can play games for twenty min
utes without quarreling over who is
■it."
"You are no peach," we heard a
young man say to a girl at Forest
park, lately; “there are no peaches this
year.”
A farmer sitting in front of a store
said to a reporter today; "We farmers
are very busy in the harvest field
now.”
When an agent calls to collect, he
is not near as polite as he was when
he called to coax you into signing the
contract.
The Lancaster Literary society will
next Saturday night settle the question
•—"Can a shiftless person help being
shiftless?”
When a widow says she will never
marry again, she usually follows the
statement with a proviso beginning
with "unless.”
There is at least the consolation to
the girls that It is a greater compli
ment to be called a peach this year
than it was last.
What has become of the old-fashioned
man who described his anger by say
ing he was "mad enough to bite a ten
penny nail in two?"
How much useless talk we indulgei
In. Keep track of yourself some day,
and note how much time you waste
In talking foolishness.
Judging by what happens afterward
there must be a lot of bad luck omens
attending every wedding which are
not noticed at the time.
When a man kills himself for a
woman he gets lots of sympathy, but
when a woman kills herself for a
man she is laughed at.
Y'ears may come and years may go,
but the time will never arrive when a
man will sit up and patch his wife’s
clothes after she is asleep in bed.
The man who butts into a family row
has a large bump of good judgment
compared with the visiting ball player
who starts a fight with the umpire.
The United States buys about GO per
cent, of the total diamond output of
South Africa, but there are still a good
many girls who haven’t been supplied.
If a man borrows your lawn mower,
and fails to return it, don’t become
discouraged, and let your grass be
come ragged; borrow another lawn
mower and go to work.
It is going to be hard when a woman
g;ts to heaven and flqds herself flying
around in a one-piece robe, with no
cause for feeling in the back if her
sKin nuu uer wmsi cue lugeiner.
An unfortunate child is one whoso
mother has a short memory. She
doesn't remember when she refuses
her children pleasures that only yes
terday she was a child, and begged for
them herself.
A pretty and modest girl shocked this
reporter recently, and this reporter Is
a tough old man. The girl wore a see
more waist, and. when she stopped to
play with a cat, the sight was toler
able dreadful. Are these waists worn
because they are comfortable, or be
cause they shock the men?
For seventeen years an Atchison
woman has concealed the fact that she
was related to the Bobgers, a particu
larly worthless family. Then one of
the Atchison woman's family died, and
the Bobgers, as kin, appeared at the
funeral. It was too much for anyone
to hear and she has been prostrated
ever since.
An Atchison expert In flirting says
that when you take nold of a girl's
hand, and she doesn't say anything,
but gets that cold, steel gray look In
her eyes, as it she had sick headache,
you had better let lose and run. But if
the girl grabs her hand away, and
says: "Now you stop!" th; expert says
keep ri~M ; , It’s all. right.
• HE PIERROT COLLAR.
There Is a little collar now in fashion
which has been suggested by those
worn by Pierrots on fete days of
France. It is made of linen, gathered
Into a ruff about three inches wide,
and then is tacked to a bodice or jacket
somewhere between the neck and
shoulder. On "exclusive" summer suits
the Pierre collar is quite the newest
feature.
As a rule, these suits have first a flat
collar of the goods, rather round In
shape and under which the Pierrot col
lar Is hasted. It Is never sewed tightly
to the jacket, because it Is frequently
taken off for the purpose of laundering.
Extra Pierrot collars are sometimes
supplied with a suit.
The edge of this collar Is finished with
hemstitching or it is bordered with very
narrow lace. This latter should, if pos
sible, be real.
The Pierrot collar seems to be re- 1
garded as indicative of many things.
Its quality and fineness are scanned
much as if it were a handkerchief. In
fact, for summer evening wraps It is
being made entirely of the finest real
lace, duchess or Venetian rose being
none too good for this pert little collar.
The women to whom the Pierrot col
lar most becoming are those with
broad shoulders. It Is not at all desir
able for women whose shoulders would
slope down from under Its jaunty ful
ness. It appears on many summer
blouses, particularly those of plaid
Bilks. _ |
" --l"——1 ' ......J
^ ^ FOR FEMININE EYES ^
..—__
4 LETTER DONT’S. 4
•f 4
4 Don't use a typewriter for social 4
4 correspondence or business paper. 4
4 Don’t fail to use clean paper and 4
4 envelopes to match. 4
4 Don’t omit your address and the 4
4 date either at the head of the first 4
4 page or at the foot of the last. 4
4 Don't forget to write legibly; the 4
4 recording angel would not be over- 4
4 worked If letter writers would ob- 4
4 serve this rule. 4
4 Don’t seal a letter of introduction 4
4 when handing it to the person who 4
4 Is to present it. 4
4 Don't forget that a business letter 4
4 should be brief and to the point. 4
4 Don’t send money in a letter with- 4
4 out registering it. 4
4 Don't fail to answer promptly all 4
4 correspondence. 4
4 Don’t omit to reply to all the 4
4 questions asked of the various 4
4 points raised by your correspond- 4
4 ent. 4.
4 Don’t forget to affix correct 4
4 amount of postage: if in doubt 4
4 have the letter weighed. 4
4 Don’t fail to fnciose stamp for 4
4 reply when writing to a stranger, 4
4 requesting some personal favor or 4
4 some < cial information. 4
4 Don’t forget that— 4
4 Every sentence should begin with 4
4 a capital. 4
SOCIETY’S FAVORITE FLOWER.
Front the New York Press.
Whatever the shortcomings of the
”400," the members of this over-adver
tised body cannot be charged with neg
lect of flowers. It is a hopeful sign In
a woman to- flr.d her fond of flowers
and women at the ’’400’’ seldom have
been seen in a happier light than at
present, when they are engaged In riv
alry over the cultivation of dahlias.
The dahlia is a common plant in En
rope, in many parts growing wild. U is
a rarer plant in this country, and ns it
belongs almost exclusively in the hot
house it has been developed to a beauty
not approached in the most favorite
spot abroad. There is some doubt as
to the or.e who receives the credit for
the sudden growth in popularity of the
plant. The Vanderbilt conservatories
Marguerite Frey, the Denver gtrl who
won a national prize the other day fof
being the most beautiful woman in
America, is a young business woman
of 19. The following catalogue of her
tastes and aims is interesting in these
days when a pretty face is supposed to
he an excuse for a girl to rush to the
stage or be mixed up in unsavory scan
dals. This pretty girl, whose face was
chosen as the most artistically beauti
ful among 100,000 faces of lovely women,
is a devoted daughter and sister, and
a great'home lover. She says she likes
best in the world—after her mother,
sisters, brothers and home—musie,
moonlight, roses, white kittens, choco
late creams and sad love stories.
She hates gossip, affectation, cruelty,
envy, snakes and rare meat.
Her ideal of a good time is: A bunch
of violets, a box of creams, a rowboat
on a still lake, with the moon shining
on the water, a good looking man row
ing, and somebody singing in the dis
tance.
Her greatest ambition: To be a good
girl.
Her greatest hope: To be worthy of
w-Ijat she considers her great good for
tune.
Her greatest fear: An unhappy mar
riage.
Her dearest friend: Her mother.
Her best chum: Her brother.
The one she loves best of all: Her big
sister.
This natural, girty giri was selected
as tlie beauty of America because of
her perfect profile, her roses and cream
skin, her large melting blue eyes, her
mass of crinkly golden hair, her perfect
white teeth, and the purity of her ex
pression. Her figure is slight and
graceful, and at the same time she is
active, strong, and a lover of outdoor
sports.
TO MEND SILK STOCKINGS.
Silk stockings are among the expen
sive luxuries of a girl’s wardrobe. Th®
CHECKED TAFFETA VISITING GOWN.
Very graceful is the princess gown depleted in the sketch. The prlnc^o
Idea is accentuated by having the skirt perfectly tight-fitting over tfie hips;
below.' shows a graduation of the material. The bretelle effect is ulso combined
with the skirt; the side gores extend over the shoulders and meet a similar ex
tension from the back. A cap is added to the bretelles falling over each
shoulder. Suitable development can be had in taffeta, chiffon panama, shan
tung, rajah, checked or striped voile and linen. A fine lingerie waist worn with
this skirt makes a pretty costume.
are now stocked with it. Mrs. W. IC.
Vanderbilt has marked the dahlia as
her favorite flower, and so with Mrs.
Clarence Mackay. Mrs. Harry Payne
Whitney is another lover of the dahlia,
ehielly because of its rainbow tints
and its rare value for decorative pur
poses.
Mrs. Mackay seems to have the lead
in the friendly rivalry just now, tor she
has a dozen plants of truly surpassing
beauty. The hearts of the flowers are
of variegated brown, with the long,
soft, golden petals tapering off to white.
The secret of the variety belongs alone
to Mrs. Mackay and the Mackay horti
culturist, and the Mackay country place
in Roslvn finds an adornment even
more alluring than the dahlia effects in
the Vanderbilt and Whitney homes.
—4—
FOR THE WASHDAY.
When through boiling your clothes on
washday, put your flatirons in the boil
er and iel them remain there till the
water is cool. Wipe dry, rub a little
sweet oil over them, anil wrap each one
in a newspaper and put away till next
dry's ironing.
yweet oil 1 ubhed all over the wash
boiler when clean and dry prevents it
from rus.ing.
One pin: of beer in two quarts of
starch gives the curtains a delicate
cr.um co:or.
—«■—
SAVE WITTY CLIPPINGS.
A r.ent little booklet for an invalid
can he made by saving witty clippings
and pasting in a small scrap book. Of
ten when ore is not able to read
lengthy articles, something bright and
witty Will hi p brighten the day. It
, houkl oniy be icinr.e.i and passed along
11 here i. would probably be the most
Appreciated. Little pieces can be pasted I
• >., cures, and are much more easily
•Ml by persons iji.ig in bed. Bright
.riuics. comic nd otherwise, are nice
.or ihi.divn. and afford amusement to
• lie impatient little sufferers who must '
V'luii, in Ltd. ■
first cost is considerable, and they do
not stand hard wear.
When the first stitch breaks their
beauty is much impaired if not actually
destroyed. That one tiny break rapid
ly runs down the length of the stock
ing, and if not quickly mended the open
stiip speedily widens and the case is
hopeless.
i he usual way of mending is to sew
the raveled edges together with over
all.1-over stitch. This may stop fur
tner raveling, but even with the great-,
est care there will he a fuzzy seam*
very conspicuous on the plain part ofl
the stocking, and most unsightly on
any part.
A hotter way, which only requires
patience, is to pick up the stitches and
crochet the edges together with a fine
needle, and fine silk of the same color.
J he seam then will never he noticed
by any one but the wearer.
—♦
TO BLEACH EMBROIDERIES.
Dip an old pillow case or something
similar in very deep bluing water, let
dry, and if not very blue dip again, and
dry again. Use the bag to bleach col
ored embroideries, such as doilies and
centerpieces and flings which cannot
he boiled lest the colors fade. Wash
the pieces, dry in the shade, then put
in the blue bag and hang in the light
several days. They will come out al-i
most as white as new.
—r—
HANDKERCHIEFS.
French embroidered handkerchiefs
are being replaced by those done iri
Maderia embroidery, and the new
style Is attractive. This embroidery la
done in the southern part of France,
although judging from the name ona
should Imagine it was done In the
island of Madeira. It takes Its name
from the \\ ork for which the natives
of that island are famous. Madeira
embroidery first was seen In the doily
sets for the table, and is still extremely
fashionable and effective. The work on
the handiterehief is newer and a till
mar* charming.
J