: '-iyi., C
TOPICS OF THE TIMES. I
A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER- i
ESTING ITEMS.
C f aad CrlUelama Baiwl I poa th
The fountain of youth consists of
working every day, eating and drm i-
ing regularly and moderately, and
sleeping nine hours every eight !
Football la pa d to be more brutal .
than baseball; yet we notice a great
many baseball plaers "die" on bases 1
while Jootball victims are taken to
hospitals.
MA'.'-i love seems to re more dan
gerous than g lufjowder and matches.
Every day some fellow blow h.s girl's
trains out. or some divorced fellow
kills his former wife.
So ie people have a queer idea of
humor. V. they learn that anyone Is
particularly '-tender" on a certain
subject, thev never fail to bring it
up, and talk about it. To s is not
humor; this Is brutality.
Speaking of worr .log, which kills
more people than d seae. keep a
record for a month, and -ee If you do
not worry over a great many tb ngs
that turn out ail right. And a mat
ter that occasionally causes you worry
turns out to be particularly for
tunate. Old ladies, who are the w sest peo
ple In the worlJ. say he is not the
best husband who say? "darling"
Oftenest, but who provides his wife
with a comfortable homa This love
making 4s the siiliest tn onshine com
pared to a daily supply of good bread
and butter.
It makes no dl' erence for what
purpose a n.eeting is called, or what
enthusia m has been manifested, the
audience becomes as cold as a pup's
nose when the collection basket it
brought out. The people would
rather shout and wave handkerchiefs
for an hour when the uewspap-ers are
abused, thau do. .ate a d.mc
T:iK high school pupils, after con
suiting grandmother, grind father,
uncles uants, parents, sisters and
brothers, get their essays prepared,
and baud them in. Two teachers,
the pr ueipal and the superintendent
go over them then with blue pencils
and the pupil is compelled to copy,
leave out parts insert suggestion",
and Anally, after a half dozen rer,ittl
tlous of this process i the essay h
ready for commencement night.
Then a heartless publ.c com plains
that the essays do not sound "origi.
nal." In most ca es, all that is
heard of the pupil's original attempt
Is the title and signature.
A B'tosian in Spain writes that
the trains in Mr-aiii aie certainly the
slowest of aK creation. A rate of
ten or twelve miles an hour is con
sidered a hood a wrage of speed for
everyday travelers When the Span
ish otl elals wish to j ui on style and
show visiting foreigners what they
really can accomplish in the wav of
rapidity, thev ofTer express trains
which dash mad y across the land
scape at an average rat of tlfVen to
eighteen miles an ho r. In one way
this proves an ad. antage, for the
traveler sees a great deal more
scenery for his nioriey than if be
were pushed past It more swiitly.
Some new cars on one of the East
em railroad that have been con
st t ucted without the accustomed
mirror at each end call out an indig
nant protest fro n the I hilulelphia
Tress. That paper insists that al
though they may lie n ither beauti
ful nor artistic they serve a useful
purpose. It is inll.cting an unwar
ranted hardship upon the women
passengers to deprive them of an op
portunity to see that their hair is
properly curled and that tbefr hats
are setting correctly as they get up
to leave the car. The women should
Institute a boycott to have the mir
rors replaced in their usual positions
Thet are always bringing outnov.
elties over in Jersey. Their- latest
discovery is a dashing girl burglar,
who is said to be captain of a band
which makes nights very unpleasant
for the wealthy dwellers in villas.
An added ph., nancy is giving to the
story by the statement that the fair
crackswoman is well connected and
bas len wont to move in good so
ciety. We are evidently on the verge
of a new series of dime and half
dlme novels. In which girl burglars,
girl detectives, and young highway,
women are to be chased by female
Old Sleuths through the maze of ex
citing adventure common to that
sort of literature.
Ir thefe are a boy and girl in a
family, both earn inn money and par
ing the same board, t distinction is
made In favor of the boy that is very
unjust. He does no work around the
bocue: the lrl does a great deal in I
the odd moment. The bey spends
0 dim ou Utile 'awftvsiuant
round tb houe; the 1 rl sp uds a
great deal. The Ley's mending U
doDe for tlia, the girl does hers when
j she comes home tired out at Bight.
' The ty grumbles that he waak this
; or that at the table, and his mother
' ct sinter get up and wait on him.
The girl has to wait on herself, and
on others to-u A boy fares best when
he boards at home; la almost every
instance, a self-supporting girl faies
bet ter if she boards among strangers.
English fa ming is chMjging
from grain growing to g a log
meadow. This is owir.g f the
p ices of all kinds of gra o,
e-pe iany of wheat Each su
fa-t
and
low
and
ees-
siv year a smaller acreage Is put in
wheat, and even w th a full crop rr
acre there is a continued increas-' in
the demand lor foreign wheat for
oread. In t"73, the wheat acreage
was 4; 0, (.00 acres. Last year this
was only l.vrT.ooO aces and the
present crop shows a further reduc
tion. There has also been a de
crease in land sown to other grains.
Rarley has decreased 300,000 acres in
twenty years, lans 340, OCw and peas
lu ,0o0 acres. There Is an lncreae
in the acreage sown to oats the in
creasing population of the island re
quiring a larger fart of Its land to
support the horses f r draught and
the cows for giving milk. The acre
age of frmanent pasture shows a
j very large iucreas-3. Itloo!:s, to um
a slang phrase, as II English farming
i was "going to grass" at a most uo
healty rate.
-
1 The creation of a national bureau
; or health is strenuously urged by
I r-urgeon General Sternberg of the
; ariuv, who takes the advanced view
1 that the public health should have
been represented from the first by a
, cabinet oTccr. ery few outs de of
I ti e ranks of the surgeon general's
: professional brethren will be likely
; to coincide with this view, but a
great mHny will approve his proposal
for establishing a bureau of health
: in the De, artment of the Interior,
which was recommended some time
j ago by the New York Academy of
j Medicine. It is only when there s a
! threatened invasion of some particu
! larly dreaded disease like cholera that
everybody becomes aroused to the
; oecessit. of a general system for the
i protection of the i ubllc health, and
: yet Surgeon General Sternberg make?
' the impressive statement that the
i mortality from the preventable dis
i eases which pre ail in all parts of the
! country, such as consumpt on, ty
phoid fever, and diphtheria, is far
i greater than that caused by cholera
or yellow fever in those countries
where they prevail habitually. E en
In tlie countries where the exotic
: maladies flourish the mortality from
i tfseiu Is not so great as from the non
pest lent al diseases. The r-urgeon
it tenera! expresses the belief, based
' upon foreign statistics that a na
: t ional bureau of health would mean
j an added saving to the country of
! ii-.oou lives every year, an assump-
: tion which, if it were possible to
, verify it. would justl y a liberal ex
. fiend iture for such a bureau. Estab
lishing safeguards for the public
health is a well recognized function
! of government and the proposal of
j Surgeon Ocneral Sternberg is cer
l tainly entitled to earnest consldera
; tiou.
j Klectriciiy and Fires.
I The first reports put in circulation
i as to the origin of the fire at Tal
: mage's Tal ernacle, in Brooklyn, at
tributed it, of course, to an electric
; wire somewhere in the vicinity of
the organ, it was said. This was in
: evitable, as every mysterious Ore will
be laid at the door of electricity un
i til some n w idea gets possession of
tne popular mind on the subject
' lint the trustees of the cnurch now
, say that it was not. and that the
tire was as. Indeed, seems more than
; probable, of incendiary origin, it
may not tie generally remeajhered
tnat when the Taoernacie was
bu ned down before, the I ire Mar
shal of Brooklyn alleged that the
cause was lightning, which 'had
struck the wlre" and had passed in
through the switchboard co itiectini
the church with the i-treet electric
circuits. This Ingenious theory was
received very seriously and held its
own until, in clear, ng up the re
mains, the switchboard that had suc
cumbed to lightning was found in
tact In the mass of deoris, and was,
in reality, about the only thing re
maining unhurt! Electricians
therefore, received the latest stories
with considerable suspicion, making
the comment that Dr. Tal mage was
a man who had probably won bitter
enemies as weil as enthusiastic
frieuds and tflat the tire waited very
patiently until the church bad
been cleared of its large congrega
tion. The previous fire wis equally
careful, they pointed out, to avoid
taking life. As a matter of tact,
tires will occur from electricity as
from any other source of light
and beat, but proper precautions
will always reduce such dangers to
the minimum. It was re. ently
noted by a marine authority that
fires at sea bad diminished enormous
ly in number since electric lighting
was introduced on board' steamships
and men-of-war.
Tiibke is a reason tc assume that
tbe contribution box Is sot run on a
(old basis.
WOMAN'S WILES.
A Ml Waded cn ft r&uuit! 1&1.
la tb tkr-ojr Nmt fim
Aiid Um -'! to LuiinU, wi'-tl ft uilckar and a
fctUlltt.
"I'm glaJ that tbs Bowwm
Vti ml. e 1 vu born mi where I w ral-rd.
ior Me D'gimt ar Of l- incll,
Adi tbr moa t Hi cie rubor Uai4 or bruited,
ur l Ley know Ut I m tuotouna."
bo up tL eh re. wl h emfi.eQt air, j
H weni. lb- f' 1 l meet.
Aiid tbty uzed tim ap rS.bi ihen and there.
As XZT..CU loj Uifiu u, eau
Thtnthc old Klctr da-jhtr. np Ue b,
id tLe ucae ul bw uauT l&od.
AlJ Mil e .r p. t-'U d Lf.trr i-t i:i
itu ilili toui;b ji.'nng u-an in bind
So armni Jack'i neik bar trmt the Sung
A d cutjt-d I ke a fcTii-tiXiif d"'-e.
And L ilu.iiu iits tboueh tooJ. a
young
bucis tvuud b'tiitelj much In luve.
O, al?ck ai.d ala ft woman vilea.
lur Le taw uut Ler aim.
And tmdr be influeu e ol Ler amiles,
Vite ten .er b became
So tbev cooke r hitn up in the bk-b-st art,
I owu x u--re on tt.e .ea abe,i sbore.
And nd-r ihv iLilm-n.ecf her amilea.
V'mIKj tend r b becftiue
So they K.ked Llm up in the fclheit art.
lowo ther m tbv wa wah. d itbore.
A: d tb tiiaiden ut cour.a received the bea t.
WUib tiie a!iie b - l ad given hr be.'ura.
- lndiajiaiioUa Journal.
GOT IX AT BRUGES.
Mr. l'ortnjan I ibi s was a prosper
ous, elderly gentleman, of rjulet
ways and fixed habit . A small cir
cle of familiar frieuds supplied all
his social needs: he concerned hluu
seir little with the rest of humanity,
belongs to the class who can live
side by side in the same street witb
a fell j .v-creature all their lives with
out so much as knowing hiui by
sight.
.-vuiong Mr. Dlbbs' fixed habits
was a yearly tour, but he did uot
take It, like most people, in the sum
mer months, i ut iu the early spring.
la p- , when March came round,
be made the u-ual preparations for
his yearly tour in h s customary
way. On the evening before his de
parture, an old city friend, Mr. Gold
smith, dined with him at h.s house
In Harley street When about to
leave, Goldsmith drew a small case
ironi his pocket,
'I brought this with me, on the
chance that you were going to
Lucerne. You w 11 do me a great
favor by giving it into my brother's
hands there. It contains a brilbant
of such rare value that I could in
trust it to lew there Is no risk, as
no one will know you have such a
thing with you."
'Anything to oblige a friend,"
said Iiibos, lightly. "I would take
the Koh-i-noor as a trave.ing-com-panlon
unrier the fiime circumstan
ces. "
The two meu were stand ng at the
study window, the blind of which
happened to be up. While In the
act of placing the case In his pocket,
InbU' tyes wandered to tbe st eet.
At that moment the i ght from a
lamp in front of the dor struck on
the face of a man standing there:-'
a tieeullar, dark face, with straight
b ack whiskers.
Tbe man moved on; Dibbs drew
back hastily.
"None of your people knew that
you were giving me this commission
he inquired of Goldsmith.
"Not a soul, my deer fellow; the
matter Is entirely between jou and
me. My head cierk alone knows of
the existence of the brilliant"
What Is he like?"
"Like you like me. Respectabil
ity itself: What are you thing,
lug of'"
"Has he black whiskers:-"
"Grey as a badger's white, even,
liut. bless my soul, what is the mat
te!' What do vou mean:' Have
you seen anjone "
"A man was standing there by the
lain p-post as you handed me the
jewel ca-a lie was apparently look
ing at us, and might hae heard w hat
was said."
"Then ho must be In the street
still." said Goldsmith, throw, ng up
the window and putting his head out;
Mbbs did the same. The night was
bright Not a soul was to lie seen
anywhere the street was quite de
serted. "A neighbor or a neighbor's butler.
He bas gone Into some house." Gold
smith withdrew :roiu tbe window.
"In any case no one i ould have heard,
nor, 1 should think, have seen us."
I'ortman Dibbs set out next morn
ing for Lucerne via .Brussels and tbe
Lhine, staving a few days at Ostend'
on the way. He took b-s place in trie
undeuiahle comfort of a first-class
carriage in the express to I'.nisse s
with a mind as free from care and
uneasiness as elderly gentleman ever
possessed.
Nearly an hour had pasted before
Dlbbs laid down his paper and
ilanccd round the carriage, lie was
thinking of the parliamentary debate
he had been reading, and not at all
.A his fellow travelers, when, on a
judden, his eye caught that of the
man opposite curiously fixed on him.
Each becoming aware of tbe other's
zlance, withdrew his at once, not,
however, before Dibbs' attention had
been engaged. W as tte man a com
plete stranger, a he had supposed?
Had he not seen the face l eiore?
And when? Where? The fa e was
peculiar, with straight, blacK whisk
ers. With the suddencss of a flash
Dlbbs' memory was Ilium nated. The
man opposite was the same who had
itood In the lamp-light outside the
window in Harley street There was
no doubt of it; no mistaking the un
usual face and remarkable whiskers.
On a sudden impulse, Dibbs put his
band to feel' the jewel-case in h.s
breast-pocket; as he did so, his eyes
met those of the stranger fixed on
Itu with a peculiar expression.
l!y a chain of reasoning, of whl h
he felt half ashamed, Dlbbs, before
reaching Brussels, decided on chang
ing bis usual hotel, the isellevue, for
the less-known Nassau. Setting out
for the latter, be lost sight of his
fellow-traveler on the crowded plat
form of tbe statloa
Fixity of habit a a creed cannot
be lightly renouueed. Dibb was
miserable at the Nassau, simply be
cause it was not tbe accustomed
Irellevue. Discontent with him-elf
and everjth ng ele was the ;eult
-v bat an aw I have ma le of uij
seir about that man who came in at
Iiruges"' was the burthe of his
thoughts while smoking bis a'ter
ainner cgar. li s tieing in the
tram was a mere coincidence, i e
probably h never cat a thought
a'iout rue. 1 must walk this non
sense ui.t of ui bra n."
As Dibts left the room he pas-ed.
at tbe door, a late guest being
ushered into a solitary dinner. W th
a certaiu revision oi feei ng be rec
rgnied his fellow-traveler. The ob
.ect of bis thoughts
The ear ie-t train for Cologne next
morning saw Dibbs' departure lr in
Drupels an alteration lu h 8 uual
program, which always in luded a
day or two in that bright capital.
The closest scruting of tbe tiain did
not discover his bugbear: there was
no s gn of him at Cologne.
A tranquil night in his accus
tomed hotel restored Dibbs' mental
balance. Reverting to his usual
habit, be took his way by liat up
the Rhine, ."-pending one night at
Mayence, the following found him at
the Three Kiugs In Hasle, his last
haltitig-piace before Lucerne.
in the pleasant coolness of a moon
lit night he sat on the terrace of
the hotel overlooking the l hine His
mind was as undisturbed as the
peaceful scene around. Suddenly be
liecatne aware ot the presence of an
other man on the terrace, ana to
Dibbs' eyes were abruptly revealed
the face and figure of the man with
the black whiskers.
Tbe shock was tremendous; its
suddeuness was too much for bim.
All the clear reasoning by which he
had couvln ed himself or the ground
lessness and folly of his alarm at
Urusse s was now overthrown and
swept out of sight lie was shad
owed by the man below! That was
bevond a doubt. Whoever he was,
the secret of the diamond was known
to him. Kither chance or design had
made him acquainted with it on that
night In Harley street.
The success of his mantuvrein
leaving Rrussels made him repeat it,
and liesides. he was In a perfect fever
to get to the end of bis journey and
rid himself of the charge of the dia
mond. His spirits rose coos derably
as the hour of the train's departure
drew near without any apnearauce of
the "shadower" in the station.
I I bus remained on the platform un
til the last moineut, then, with a
fervent sigh of relief, he entered the
railway carriage. The train was just
moving off, whi n tae door was sud
denly opened, and a breathless p nier
nashed in a hand-bag and a parcel of
rugs, followed by a still more breath
less traveler. The door was shut,
the engine shrieked the last dejart
lng signal, the train moved irom
Iiasle station, in oue corner of the
carnage sat Dlbbs; In another the
farthest ou the opposite side sat the
man with the Warn whiskers:
A long journey lay before tliein,
and Dibbs was unarmed. At this re
view of toe situation bis heart sank;
he drew back instinctively into the
corner. His eyes suddenly met those
of the other man: a deeu flush suf
fused bis face, which seemed to Hud
arel'ecinn in the others. Dlbbs
hastily too up liaedekt-r and affected
tor-ad; the man opposite simul
taneously did the same.
The tension was terrible; to remain
inactive, almost Impossible. Dibbs
had an inspiration, as a man in ex-
' fetnity sometimes has. Though he
j was not armed, he would pretend to
: be. That might do something; pro
! duce hesitation or delay, at lea-t.
Accordingly he deliberately as-umed
I a bold, ejeu threatening demeanor,
i Casting a truculent glance across the
j carriage, he plunged his hand Into
! h:s po ket, atlecting to grasp an im
aginary revolver. To his intense de
light the rusetook bumediate effect
The man opposite gave an unmi-lak-able
start, and shrank back Into his
corner, ho far, so gotxl Rut how
to keen up the pretense? What to
do uext? At this crisis the whist
ling ot the engine suddenly distracted
Dlbbs. Good heavens! He had for
gotten tbe loi.g tunnel! They were
coming to it now! His eyes, with a
quick, involuntary movement, sought
the lamp. Jt was not lighted.
Entrapped: Doomed: The wildest
thoughts rushed confusedly to his
brain. With a shriek the train
plunged noisily into the tunnel. Into
darkness. Every railway murder of
wnlch Dlbbs had every read flashed
lefore him with all the ghastly de
tails. Absolute panic seized upon
him: hardiv knowing what he was
doing, he tried softly to open tbe
door. It waa locked, however. IGs
movements must have been heard:
there was a stir at the other end of
the carriage. The fatal n.oment
had come; the assassin was ad vane. ng
to the attack. In the extremity of
his terror, Dibbs sank swiftly on the
floor and crawled under his sear
For what length of time he
crouched there, half stiied and
scarcely daring to breathe, Dlbbs
knew not Agony cannot mca-ure
time. A sudden and extraordinary
rush of air made his heart ilrst stand
still, arid then sent the blood coiim
lng wildly through his veins. The
far door was swinging open! Some
thing had Happened! And what?
His straining ears had detected no
sound but tbe outside rattle and roar
of the train through the tunnel:
within all was silent, He remained
listening In intense excitement and
amazement until the hope which had
hardly dare to stir in bis breast g ew
Into vigorous 1. fa. He was alone In
the carriage! He was savedl Del I v.
erance bad come miraculously why
and how, be knew not!
Tbe tunnel was coming to an end;
!lght began to stream into the car
riage Cautiously and slowly Dlbbs
pee(,1 from under the neat. He w j
quite alone. Tne u;sc bad disap
peared. At the station, Ju't ou'.-ide the)
tunnel. Dibl alightin.' al u't te
fore the train bad stopped chucf
his place for one in a now led,
cuiid-cUss compartmer.t A few
hour later the brilliant a safely
tran erred In.m b.s charge into thsl ;
of Goldsmith's brother at Lucerne. j
.
Dibb's adventure made -.uite a -eo-1
sation on li t return to f on Ion He ,
was tbe hero of the hour in blscirc.e.
Whether or not he related the cir
cumstances exa tly as here ct forth,
need not I mentioned His friei d
Itodkin. among others, gave a dinner i
party in his honor. MM, with M
uuai punctuality, was the f5rt of
the guests to arrive.
Ry the way," liodkin
Cng v. to hirn. as the
chatting together on the
' you must look to your
sail, chaf
to stood
hearthrug,
laurels to
night, Dibbi Do you know Ltroy,
you neighbor in Harley street-"
Never saw the man in my life
What's the oke'"
" rival adventure! In SwiUer
land, too. and culminating in a tun
nelnot sure that It wasn't the
CI ten one, also "
"Dear me: What an extraordinary
coincidence:"
"In his case it was a lunat c, not
a robber. He was shadowed at
hotels and In trains. You must hear
the story from n i own lips: he's din
ing here to-night The cl max is
terr.Dc. hut into a railway car
riage, alone with a lunatic, aforesaid
lunatic armed with a revolver. A
long tunnel, an extinguished lamp,
the lunatic crawling in the darkness
to the atta' k, an escape by the skin
of the teeth Leroy had suii'.oont
presence of mind to open the door
and pretend to get out, in reality
crawling tinder the seat Instead. The
ruse saved his life. He supposes
that he fainted in tbestltllng air, for
w hen be was next conscious the tr i n
1 had left Olten and ho w is alone n the
carriage, from which all t a- es of the
' lunatic had d)sapieared. "
Rodkin was so cng ossed In telling
the sto y, he did not remark ts curi
ous and startling cllect on Dlbbs
Just then the door was thiown
open, and the footman announced
"Mr. Leroy."
i Rodkin, spring ng forward with
cdusion to greet the new comer, ltd
him gu4iinglv up to Dibbs.
"Vou two must know e ich nther,"
he said.
And they did. The ..Cr.
was instantaneous , i
With a casp, Dibb-- st.ii-. i .o , n
less wonder on the tuati with toe
black wbisKers. wh le l.eroi st iried
bacic a.. hast on en ountering the
gae of the lunatic! Yankee iiade.
j Nniiir ir Children.
I Down to the early part of the pres
ent centuiy it was usual to name a
; child after the -alnt on whose day
he happened to be born. A writer
; to Notes aud (.uenes in 18 .1, states
t that he had recently baptized a child
; by the riau.c ol Rciimiuiu Simon
Jude. On his exp es-ing some sur
i prise ut this somewhat singular con
; junction of names, lie was informed
that tbe birth had taken pl.ice on
tne .estival of S.s. Simon and .lude,
arid that it was always considered
. very unlucky to take the day from a
J child.
j The custom of naming children
after any particular saint has fadcu
i into general disuse, except in those
'countries where the po, illation is
composed almost entirely ot Roman
, Cnt.hol.cs. The gi-ing of a name iu
i baptism s really no essential part of
the rite, but Is merely a custom de
; rived apparently from the .lews, and
which through long practice has lio-
corue an Important eiement iu the
! ceremony.
I Many instances might be furnished
j of children who have inadvertently
received wrong, names, trie regis
ters in armlnster Church contain
the following entries:
"j; .u, Jan. 17, Charles, daughter
of John and Relty Haines. Tins
child ought to have been bristened
Charlotte, but, owing to a mistake
of tbesiAinsors it was wrong named "
"lT'.d, .iuly 31, William, daughter
of William and Sarah Welddick. N.
Klt was intended that this child,
being a girl, should have 1een chris
tened Maria, but through a mistake
of the godfather It was named Will
iam "The Westminster Review,
J be Compliment Ctiillivl.
There Is an awfully bright worn in,
who has a great, good-natured and
fairly good-looking husband who
dotes upon her. So far as his per
sonal attraction go he never gives
them a thought but she delights in
glv ng him credit for being the most
conceited mortal on the face of the
earth. Tbe other night sue took
two f ienus to the theatre a mother
and daughter the former of whom
has a great admiration for the bus
band In quest ion. Ruslncss prevent
ed bis accompanying the trio, but he
ptoK)sed to get to tbe theatre in
time to esi ort the ladies b .me. The
old lady looked around the house en
deavoring to discoxe the young
man. as the performance drew to
ward a close, but her search was un
availing. "No," ne said when she gave it
up, "ho is not here, and 1 haven't
seen a man as good-looking an he is
here, either."
Th s delighted the wife, and when
alio reached home she told her bus.
band, when he arrived a few minutes
later.
"That was very kind," he re
marked, on hearing of the com pi I
ment: and bo added, "Did Mrs.
li 'h daughter ay the same
thing?"
'Oh. no," returned bis spouse
(juicklr, "she Is younger than her
mother, and bas better eyesight"
TriEHK
Is but
ono letter In ego-
Data's alphabet.
IN THE SCHOOLROOM.
li. Nrrtii Uoiif
xKsd tit thr S tiooltnu hrr.
Miss b.l MrGallon was a t-a-hr
In a public s ivx.i. Hie bad a yinui
n lend who was nervous and di:1 d-ut
She knew th it be wj in love w. ii
her, but eve.y time be unei to
trt.jx.se be tammert-d and stu'tererj
and U-'-iuie so eiiil -iira sel that -i,o
felt o.d god Pi Cl ange tbe ub ect.
The young man rea i.. d bis f.rdmj
ar.d was mu?b humiliated ti e eu
N it-bt aft r bight be went to Miss
Mcirall-'ti's house determined to as
her if she wou.d not consent to gie
up teaching tIlo! and become U s
Wife ariu night afUr night he made
a frst of tne operation, o, e la.
last week be was passing along the
street ou which the school iu win. h
Miss Mc-ailon teachts is sitmted,
and be felt that if lie could ee tbe
ob ce of bis adiirarion at that time
be wo'ild have ner e enough to ask
tne momentous -uestion lie thought
the matter over and became -Irmly
convm el inav tie was ejuai vi mc
emergencv. Ti.ere was nothing Pio
then but the eqenruent, and be
walked i- ldiy nto the school and
asked to see Mi.s McGallon
The janitor esco ted him to her
room, she had a lot of youngster, in
front of her. cer-p n tbe mvsteries of
decimals, when tbe young man
came into the room, ."he came
giaciously forward to meet him. He
blushed a bit. but his tongue did not
go back on bun.
H jw do vou do," she said w.th
charming smile, "to what am i In
debted for the great pci urc of this
visit'"
Tbe young man grasped her hand.
"Miss Mci.allon D.ibel." he said,
fer. ently, "1 h ive called here this
morning because 1 have something
on which dcjietids my happmes for
all mv future days. I want to ask
M
"Hbt," Interrupted Miss McGallon.
"if ;t Is so Imp ortarit as that w mid
it not 1 bettor if we were alone':"
"Yes, but I beg o: you not to turn
a deaf ear to me because these chil
dren are here."
Miss McGallon smiled again. Then
she wa ked to the desg. and rang a
big gong three tunes. At the sound
ot it thechildren all rose and marched
out of tne room.
"That," she said as she turned to
the astonished young man. "is tbe
i re tlri'.L Now, if you hustle, vou
will have time to say what you want
to -ay before thev get back."
wid be bad jti-t received the
. ;oth,il-kis!as tbe hiltlieii c.nno
...tit! through the hail on their
, .etura Ru.lalu Kprci-.
An Arrtsi I'm tcr.
It would be interesting to know
the hlsto y of many of the leautiiui
or strange ia" which II nd the r way
onto artists' canvas, and liecoiuo
famous pictures An amusing story
Is told of the w iy In which a well
known Freneh artist se- un-d a model
for one of hi. tlnest painting.
He was exl'cmciy shabby and un
tidy in n s dress; one day as he
walked shiiichily . b-ng the street be
beard a woman's voice behind linn
call out, "fb-re, my man, cm vol
ca-ry a bundle a little way tor me,'"
The an 1st looked at the i.i ly for a.
moment, and discovering lb it she
had a most beautiful as well as sing
ular face, tie did not explain that be
was a gentleman, but sad. "Willing
ly, ma lain,'' and followed her into a
(hop
The bundle was large and heavy,
but be lifted it to h s hhoulder, and
fobowed the larly along the street.
At last she mounted to the second
story of a house, with the tired jmru-r
(lose behind h -r. and becau to furn.
hie in her po 'ket for the money to
pay h'hi r , -
. li'ardon me," said the artist,
courteously, ! am riot a porter. I
am an urilst: and instead of money I
will ask a lavor of you, maJ.im to
allow me to make a copy of your
face.
"The bundle was very heavy, and
the compliment you aid to mv dross
was somewhat mortify. i:g; but I shall
I consider myself well re uited if I
may send a portrait of you to the
next exhibition of the academy. '
The favor was granted after some
hesitation, and in this way the arti-,t
came by the sub ect, p,r ,ifi uf ltl0
most ex ;ii sl'e pictures ever painted
by his brm-h. it Is du, however,
whether true or not, that from the
Jay on which this little episode oc
curred, dated a decided III! -,rf,r.r,,r.nf.
in his personal appearance and dress,
aim ne never again ilgureil on the
street as a porter. --Youth's Compan
ion. A Hare Ntonr.
Among the numerous costly pres
ents given to the Duke of York from
the Indian Ha.ahs was a oar stone.
The beoar, beuar. or bea was a
atone procured from the kidney of
the ccrncubra, an animal partly deer
and partly g, at found In Arabia.
This stone was s, pposed to have been
formed of the poison of a scrjK-nt
which had bitten her produce. In
the middle ages It was believed to brt
potent charm aga nst plaugo and
poison. The Persia . call it. Pad y:ihr
ur Jiaii zahr expelling poison.
The
Duchess of Ivtiinbiirgh and
h.-r
Mother, the Czar of Russia.
each
posses a bezoar. That hrhmuW t
the latter belonged to the Kmperor
Charles V. and Is mentioned In the
inventory after his death at Sustl
thus: "A Ixix of black leather llrmd
wnn crimson velvet containing
four
lieoar stones variously set In gold'
joe or wnicii t,o bequeathed to
bis
enueman or the Chamber to euro
blm of the plague. I'ubllc Lodger. 3
The greatest trial In the world Is
to bave a trouble on your mind and
guest ou your hands at the same
time.
At it Is a poor thing
:nd on.
to raise tbe
4
