TOJ'ICSOFTKKTIKS.
A CHOICE SC. FCT'On fjc INTlIH
E37IMG II ,13.
Caniant ami C'r l Ht.i-a I pun thi-liai-prnlntci
of Die 11m y ll, .rt. ,ud
a ULM.
.v. niv. are t;ow ni;;d of pa;er.
fume !iPs: a sboud if letter
than otr.eis fur the puipost-
An cii t 1j uiat c perVon is m i1 in a
fivorile. Don't admire a in thing;
aiw;.v- look as though you have Itet
t.'; at Lome.
Arn-.ii a woman has taken cure of
a -i' k ni.in, and remained cheeiful iu
pile of all his vagaries, she is lit for
lieV. S'll.
T:u: ( liio Dairy anj Foo l Commis
sioner announce thai, mu-h -of iho
whisky sold in Ohio Impure, lie
eem to have been analyzing a few
luilk punches.
1'. some of the so-called savage
tannines, as soon as a man becomes
a burden to h tiiseif or others, he is
put out oi the way. In those, coun
tries, a man of foity is compelled to
walk very straight or get, killed.
A Cjunksk n ival olllcer alwut t i
put to sea to tinht for his country and
sovereign sold bis -hip's best nun and
UJOst of the ammunition, lie was
too much of a patriot to give upm a
chauce to get her hands on those val
uables. We h.fve beard children compla n
of striking th d' cr.i.y bone," and
gay th;it it hurt ternblv. Cliildifii
only have one era bono, hut il.eir
jiuit-rtiH have lot-of th-in. an 1 j e i. It;
are aiways hilt ng them, and hurl
ing their Ic-lings.
A Ni.vv Yoik man returned ho ; e
after an absence ! twenty-Miieo-years
and hlsui'c prou.-.itly s;;un.iicd
the door in bis la e. ile ougtit to
have e peeled it. Wives iiiu-t ..raw
the line somewhere, an 1 no husband
should stay out as late as that
As expedition has Just, set. out to
belt the globe and gath-r ctirionlie.
for the Columbian Museum. Asa
suggestion, one certain pe-icock
feather, three-eted. and one ye I w
Jacket, irrea ed abaft by the potable
pigtail of Li Hung 1 hang would be
viewed with inleiest and vseii worth
the price of ad:iii-.ou.
Tm-: work of a thoroughly pro
gressive farmer, savs an exchange,
includes not only agriculture proper,
b t slock raising and horticulture.
This tact by itsolf is enough to show
that the larmer should be a liberahy
educated man. H ie,uircH a itood
deal of knowledif V handie properly
ail the things tha' i nine under these
beadiiiL's.
Sum:-: idea of Japan's pre-e'it under
taking mav In: inler.ed from the
statement that if the battle of l'iri
atn? could be repeatea every day
with a loss o,' !h,U(i i ( hlne-e soid ers,
It would reeuire sixteen vears to dis
pose of China's liuhtiritf fur e of
ad til i-x, and by thai time several
millions of new soldiers v.ould be
ready to lake up arms.
Tw hem t.EMKN have brouitht suit
against Ihe Kaiser on the (,'round
that the title and estate that have
tiecptue associated with him realh
belong to them. A thir.l Kootlenian,
who has eiual laim with the plain
tiffs, prefers not to join them as he
has a proiitahle skatini; rink to su
perintend, a ci cum.sianee thatshnvrs
at least one member of the family to
be compos metis.
Tiik absence of fear of death which
lit such a striking charactet litic of
the Chinese nature has a lotfic.il ex
planation. The Chinese are laiiKht
that only those who face death fear
lessly cuter into happiness in the
other world. I'orelK'tiers who have
witnessed exeeut cms in China bear
wltne-s that, as the executioner with
bis isword mows down th ; kneeling
ranks, the convicts invariably meet
death will a jest.
Tiik work of persuading the dli'er
ent tribes In the Indian Territory to
accept the allotment system pioeeedn
slowly and under dbVcult conditions,
and the proViahdlty is that compul
s .ry measures will have to be adopted
In the case. Certainly the time has
come when the ownership of la rye
bodies of lands In common by the In
dians should be discontinued, and
public fcuttiucut will n it much long
er tolerate such a drawback to the
Interests of civilization.
Tmk paradi-e of tips, writes a visi
tor, is Carlsbad. I, is estimated that
not less than a million .uaiks must
be paid durmy the season in the
rjuestion ible shape of gratuities to
waiter; and others, which do not ap
pear In any bill. Everybody who
does you any service In Carlsbad looks
for hi or her "trinkgeld" before you
depart. The waiter nets upon an
average from tlx to ten florins. The
Balden who serve you with water at
t..o Iiiui.'cn expect rud u-ualiy rr..
txi'i' hr.-p Hur.ns aiJ the tii'S'
t 'a I'm in.
; F 'l-MS'i beds aie evidently not
, clcarlv umlcmt ml across the v. a ter.
j A writer In a Loonon print thinks
something remarkable is being ie
cr ;.(! when the story of Lath's
I "bedrooms without bells'' Is (old:
j "No (.tie ever see' a bed in any o! the
Itcdrooms at Mrne. 1 atti's Craig v
Nos Tattle until the evening, aud
wli.it might be taken to be a hand-
i-oroe ward'o'e will) a minor wa
' rc-il'y a ' -dsu-.iU The housi-mads.
a: t'. r making the lied in the morn
ing, touch a sprint;, and the bed
. sink - down into the frame oi ibf U:d
' stead, and is drawn up bo as to gi.e
I 't the appearance of a warlrobe."
L)Etss f the m sterious have
now beforc them a new article,
known as manicolntry. " All they
have to do is to dispatch a pair of o.d
gloves and a lew postage stamps
to the man colonist, and this euter
prisinif gentleman will help them to
know "where they are." Your man
Icologist Is a clever fellow. tie
claims that aft r gloves have not
thoroughly "set" to the shape of the
Hands, tney become docume its bear
iiii; wlti e.- to their wearer's charac
ter, riis . sitlon. and "prospects in
IKe',--docuiucriU vviitteu in a sort of
universal aul yet mysterious
language, w th which only the maui
coloisi is a ouaiuted.
I'nv the infelicities of a Philadel
phia couple, once faithful love s, now
; lorn asunder hy a disagreement over
1 w'.at was at one time their pet
pa-son or bicycling. The husband
we.irhd of the wheel and dee ded to
r .am on the merry bicycle, no more:
but li s wile d d not share h;s senti
ments, and one day she rode so far
tuatshe concluded never to i,'o hack.
Hence a suit for dhoiee in which a
let ler lioiu the wife was introluced
as evidence, c ntaining the cutting
statement that .-he got more com
fort and satisfaction tro u h r wheel,
which wis young and frisky, then
she Her ved hv being tied d'nvn to
Ins side." Surely alter that the poor
husband ought to have heeu Quite
w illing to lei her go.
i will prooobly fall to somebody,
in due time, to write upon the phil
osophy of caricature, with estimate
of Us ell eels upon modern civiliza
tion Looking at one of these, just
now, we are led to inquire as to the
manner iu which the persons pll oried
in this way "take their medicine," and
as to Its client upon their moral (and
political,- health. :f course results
gene al in character are reached in a
pr ces of individual ones, ana the
lonit is, bow far the dread of this
Kind of personal scaridcation may
make ublic men earclul of their say
ings and doings, an I so in time give
us ei'ects even revol itonary in ehar
aeter. We cannot credit the authors
of caricatures with purposes jheuon,i
enally far-seeing an I benell ent: yet
who can tell If the artist m s u b
cases may not be building a good detil
belter than lie knows
1) . IU F. llo ro, a popular Lon
don preacher and author. takes a hope
ful view o:' the leligious situation.
We lind him minted as strongly en
dorsing in a recent lecture "the
theory that society is shaped by re
ligion, and that the better the re
ligion the more perfect the society
In spite of appearances to the con
trary he believed" h s audience
"would Indei d inis.udge the society
it which they lived If they concluded
that it is less religious then it was
lirty years ago. l odoubtedly, a
f mailer proportion of the lopulatlon
are regular attendants at places of
worship, but they had to consider
what notions are Influencing ttie men
who do not go to church. They had
to observe how the people of this
country Lngland choose by prefer
ence as their leaders in trade disputes
and in political movements religious
u en. lie maintained that we are
i ot less influenced, but more than
our fathers were, nd the society In
wblcti we are living it tending every
day to be more Impatient of the ir
religious religion, and moro Impa
tient for a rclig on which Is truly re
ligious "
A PorjtA'1 .Votn.
The I'rst recorded Instance of the
forgery of a Lank of Hngland note
has a singular tou hof romance about
It. The forger was a linen drasr at
Stafford, named Vaugban, who, In
the year I7., employed several work
meu to engrave different parts of a
C h note, and when a dozen had been
printed off he deposited them with a
young lady to whom he was engaged
to be married as a p oof of his
wealth: but the imposition was dis
covered, and aughau was hanged.
Hernafler.
One American tribe believed that
at duath the soul bad to pass over to
the other world on floats made of cob
webu On this account the spider
was held In high veneration, it beinc
accounted a highly dangerous act to
kill or Injure one.
economy.
TOPICS OP INTEREST TO FARMER
AND HOUSEWIFE.
Vulnt of Intensive l-aruiin? - U hrat IViiijf
iifrl!y I -d t I.U. hloi-k-Il'u-liul(l
llr 1 hut Hhvi- or hii'1 lirtllow
to Kipeii Tomutm-H-l-.4rm Motet
Whs I Iittfiiwit- F rtiifnic?
Simiily this Two neigh' ors in
Lima, N. Y. . comjeUd in riis ng
potatoes, l-.aeh broke up a tbree
a re piece ol iand three tear in sod,
ad. outing t ach oiler and as marly
aliKe as po-sihie in natural cha acter
Isti s. Loth agie d to u e no ftrtil
ber of any kind, end to (ultivatelt)
their usual manner. 1 otb told in
the same market, Rochester, and
u-ed the same seed and the same
quantity. Thus the louditious of
the planting ..ud sale were as equal
as co, ild well be. The results were
a. follows:
In en 1 f'om
ne. in a
1 1'iwinfi V 0 5'ifij
t in pjowlnt; 7 oi
I!i rrowutg '2 .Ml 2 5i
Kl uri.i .lBUt;n l'l ft )n 50
i nltl ' iou 1". OJ 'I 75
1 ..! ti . -i u 4 IM Id uU
H (iwii tl w lit - . 8 (M
I igjLK. 110 li IX)
Total cost tbre i ncri'g .. '. 0 l" (K)
Tie .1 71 ' bu. i7 bu.
Allio nt ren'i il f!71 .V) jtK! 5)
l eha tost of t;ruiti ,. 5.1 OJ 4M 2o
) Mfit on tr.it i:tl i M 9 las 5)
I'refit ; e ttfre un'. SO 4 i i (I
The cost f.f the intensive method,
it will le seen, was $.'. s. per acre
more than the comiuon, but the ex
tra exj ense was iu hor-e-woiK, while
the more laborious hand work cost
more by the common method. It
a so ost 5.'l 1 ss t dig 74 bushels-by
the Intensive system thau 3 u bush
els by the old w ly.
This, it Is piatn, was not ' fancy"
farming: t w;i solid, common sense
business. The ." expended in ex
tra cultivation yielded over lso,
whicn was reit;inly a very handsome
return on the nva-tinei t The care
iu pieparatiou and cultivation re
leased the lat nt fertiiitv of the soil
an I jirev nted the ill 1 Heets i f the
s .miner drying, and tliiii see red
the heavier yield.
To U iin l ooiittotw.
It does not seem to be generally
known that tomatoes do not require
sun, but ripen best in warm, dark
nil'KNINO iomato.:s.
places. One can hardlv p;.ss iilong
by country homes without seeing in
the k.lciicn windows row, and lows
of thii Jellcious Iruit I 1 all stages of
ri. enlng and decaying, too, perhaps.
Lor sunstrokes are common among
tie "love at pies" and exposure to
too much light and sun heat, ruins
them a t'-geiher ofteutii.es, says
American ( '.11 denitig. The accom
panying iilus' rat iti.i suggests a simple
arid suitable box or 1 loset .or storing
tomatoes while they are iu process of
ripening. It Is nly adr goods box,
fitted with si ding shelves and a snug
door. The time needed to thus lit it
up Is scarcely worth the mentioning
when one reflected upon the rich, red
fruit, thus saved irnm 'spoiling."
The closet may he large or small,
with 111 ire o.' less shelves, according
lo the amount of the iruit raised.
AVh n tilled, it should be set in a
warm, moist pace, and insjecied
fmm time to time In order to remove
any or the fruit tint mav. have rip
ened, before there is possibility of de
cay and consequent barm to the rest.
IS:. vim I.lior aiel Itlr'.
A house was lately vlslled which
had a very neat attachment to the
kitchen stove that saved the hotisc
wire a gicat amount of dirt labor.
The bottom of the kitchen stove be
low the ash pan, had been removed
by the tinsmith and a galvanized Iron
felted
AH INOENIOUS KITCH1IK CONVKVIENCI.
chuto fitted to the opening and con
veyed through the kitchen iloor into
the cellar, where it extended down
nearly to the bottom of the cellar as
a round pipe, emptying Into a gal
van! ed iron tank. All the housewife
had to do then was to tip the 'urate
and all the ashes in an iustant were
In the 'cllar. The tana had handles
on each side so that It could be car
ried out when fu L The arrange
ment and attachment of the chute to
tho stove is shown tn the accompany
lug Illustration.
WhiMtt it H ilsntHnt for Corn.
Investigation by the Chicago
"Trade Hulletln" with regard to tho
feeding of wheat to live stock, con
firms reports from other sources that
there Is a very general use of the ce
real for this purpose. From all the
States from New York and I'ennsy).
tan la westward to Colorado and from
several Southern states replies have
been received to the Inquiries of tha
Trade Hulletln, some of which say
that the conaaBptlon of wt.a4 for
DOMES!
i .
i-Tt&i';
S-1-1 .
an t ii al food will amount to fron M to
10 percent. .Mid a few anticipate the
use ol as much as ,i per cent, in dis
pla. eriK nt ot other grains ir these
estimate, have not icen exaggerated
tlie effect must u timately 1 pit in a
! measure of relief to the abnormal
' pre e depress on in the wheat mark
ets. The relat velv greater value of
wheat when led to stoek is ind ented
by the report of a Western hog eeder
; t 1 the t're-ddent o! the Comm ercial
i Exchange. The result or his exper
iments in wheat feeding in the last
few week, ha, ben a airi in weight
of b's en w alenl 1.0 c cents per
busiiel f,,r wtii-at win. h is Uol worth
0'. eroi cents in the Chicago market
after the t awnent of freight and
other exj crimes of shipment from the
farm.
liankpt-nljaiMMl Sl.'d Klgi-iim.
The cut repies.-r.ts an excellent
arrangement for hauling hay, straw,
or any bulky material. The bows
are made cf L'x-I . inch scant
ling (or four hicko y poles are
ab-out as good shaved in the middle.
I'laee them across the sled and place
1 another siantiing on ion of them
lengthwise y. tire sled, and pry them
U(jwn and bolt them to the cross-
pie es of the s'ed. I'in a board on
the ends of the poles, then a. sir. p
across behind and it is linished, and
Is far better then a level rigging,
l-'igu e 'J. ren esents an iron clasp
which is very much handier than
bolts to hold the rigging 011 It goes
over thee titer piece o. the. sled Two
of them are plenty.
slow or Ih.i Iti-yln.
It makes a great d' (Terence in the
value of corn fedder whether it is
cut during warm, dry weather, when
it will cure rapidly or ater. when
rains and co d make it dry out more
slowl,. All the t me it is moist some
waste is going on 111 the nutritive
value of the stalk. When thediy
Ing h hastened the waste is small:
when it is protracted bv rains, es
pecially with warm weather, the
waste Is much greater. It, is riot
stopped entirely hy i old weather. As !
the moisture freeeg out of the stalks :
it is touifd that the wo d , fibre is in- j
creased and the nutritive value has,
decreased in li e proportion. Every '
farmer-knows that cornstalks after
repealed freelug and thawing be-
come of little vilue for feeding.
They are dry. tas.eless and the slock
will not eat. them rapidly, as thev do '
the partly dried stalk at the begin-1
ning of winti r. Much is said of the J
waste of nutrition by fermentation in '
thSSilo. There Is such waste, but it
is trivial romp red with the waste of
cornstalks by slow drying. .The silo
makes the nutrition more available
by partly cooking the food.
Sunroiiiii- llrtM.
"in uniting swarms." Mr. I'erclval
savs, "it us d to he considered ne es- !
sary to take gte:tt care to prevent
lighting and loss of life but nowa-
days ,t is a very simple matter, I ees
know stiangers by their odor, and. as j
every one knows, the law of the hive
is death to the intruder Some '
sprinkle the bees with grated nut-'i
meg, mint or ro-e water to over-j
power the odor." A way we like 'bet-j
ter is by smoke from brown paper, or
cotton rags dipped in a weaK solution ,
of saltpetre, and dried. This smoke,
blown into Hie hives so disturos the
bees that they think of nothing but to
get away irom it. tvrnie they arc
running about trying to find a crcv
ice to bide in, we turn the hive up
side down, empty Into it the bees we
wish to place in it put the hive In
place, give another whiff of smoke
and shut, up the. hive for a few min
utes and the union is complete."
l-'oedltitf Stork Ki'gainrly.
Good digestion is perhaps as Im
portant a point as any in determin-
1 lug the vali e of any kind or stock.
! It Is ver.i largely dependent on reg
ularity of fee ling. Much young stock
has ,ts digestion ruined by alternate
starving andlstulllng. There should
be a regular time for feeding calves
and pigs, instead of leaving this to
be determined bv accident, ff vmiri,
nniin.ils nrn L-ont. luilf.hniit. f-wil IW a
long time the digestive powers are
weakened. When food Is obtainable
It results in overloading the stomach
which has already been made feeble'
by having loo little to do. These are ,
the conditions of wild animals, and ;
are opposed to profitable use under
trie goou treatment to wnieu wei,
fed animals of
ways respond.
Improved breeds al- j
hiiiritr Ittsetit lit Swpf(!cii.
Of late years the beet sugar In
dustry iu wedeu has made consld
e able progress. While in 1SH1-N2
tlieie was only one factory, in 1 i2-: 3
ten factories worked 2',", 4 43 tons
beets; the extraction was lu per cent,
with .1 per cent residuum molasses,
l abor, fuel, etc., ost at least . 0 per
cent more than In Germany and
Austria. While good beet lands are
not to be found everywhere, the
pros rets are that within a few
years the total production will have
don tiled. The sugar consumption
was about U pounds per capita In
1 00, while In IS.il It rose 27 pounds,
or a total ot tt -1,78a tons, about one
half ol which was made In Sweden.
"JoriNNY, " said the pretty teacher,
"What Is a kiss?" "I can't exactly
put it In words," returned the boy,
"but If yer really wanter kn w I can
bow yer.
1 WnitE a man Is watrhtns his ene.
mies, bit frleads get away with hint. 1
r"? i :. " a
WHEN TWLfCHT FALLS.
Vi f 0i t wi'is .1 Ii br i -m Ij r
W hm . Iu . a tmt.- 1 itut a . 1 owor
loc U to U 111 lU'J il'l lit J
Au 1 a.l-ly or! i.-i ui
T . I a 11I.0- tb I it :ir
Au'l ubi - M,r t.i . r "f . in . lie r
'i imt l.tar us t.o ti I ie .r ).ur
AuJio l litl-. lflO.-i ti i,eart
Vi bun till;lit ' the umiil u 'r 111-;
Km Jio'i-i mi- lo 1 : 1 li n.em eoui
i or i -..1 lo iu h r. an.
1-. s ue 1 ft in ti e lint i'v s x in,
A d tiHi.e . p ..i !,. -11 J oiBcst.
He) oli tii.r l.t ill- t!'i. " rest;
K e e 1- 1 tin -'tis 1. l,-ii;t tei inga
tn .oa.Ior; ta.it I.- j ri.s.'.'i. iiriua.
I.B r l.a- lo k .1 U . u o.
All I i'V ,t hii 'e c- !' J ti -,
I mi 1 tit .e.-: a . 111
V ill . 4ft I- cm - mi it-;
Ami c tn nt if 1 "i nt; rtim.
lew t- lor )t. . i.ii f ! i b iu,
Ai d uf f.4 biut h 1 hi. nt ii
Iu liiu'. die. ui-bour w. en tibnl.t falli.
THE MIS.SJNG LINK.
It was a cold night in December.
1 had visited an o.d irieud wno dved
a 00 ut six mil 's from the e.tv, iu au
O e. -l oi tei: w : had oeen sli t ivj; to
gei'ner unu. la in tie- war n, co,;y
room. ocr i g.as.s of punch, t n
' fortunately, one of the buggy horses
oT my friend had become Jame a lew
.days before, and as I had to transact
j important business in the cityihe
II :;t morning, 1 iiati no oiner auer
iiaiivu but to walk home.
It was bitterly cold, and so dark
th.it one i ouid hardly see the bands
be ore the eyes. A sharp e..st wind
bowled over the gloomy ba ten Ileitis,
and 1 was heaiiby glad when the
)ellow gaslights of liie suborns ap
peared, l iKier liie Inst lamp post 1
stopped lo look at my w atch, which
was a mat ter of souk; diibcuity, as oae
ot the- panes of the lamp was broken,
and th .' llauie, hi .wii by the wind to
a. 1 direct ons was liable to be e -tinguistied
any minute. At last I
su ceed.d in recognizing the hand,
it showed three minutes to tweive.
When 1 looked ;.p again, I invoiun
taill.i started. Close hcfnie me stood
a m n. i had not heaid the least
noi-e of steps; it was a-, if be h id sud
denly risen out of the ground I
looked for a moment silently into his
taee. but this moment was enough
lo press hi-i countenance upon my
III inory. 1 le. w as a tall, lank man,
c;ad ,n a woinoui, buck coal, on
which some 0. ine earns were open.
Ids face was exceedingly lean and
pale Ihe eyes were deep in I heir
cav.tes, and around Ihe thin hui,g a
g ay, unkempt ! card.
lie lifted his shabby bat, a id
si a
I 111 tl tUlie VYI,ll"l7 JJ'lllyiH -.T lliMMI
shed
; nd
isy" me: ".May J ask ton lor the 1
ness sir, to teil me how late it
1 nat uraliy was ca oi ul not to pull
out. my wavch again "Three min
utes before midnight,,'' I replied' He
thanked me w th the same politeness
with winch he had fonncily spoken,
lilted his hat again and disappeaicd
in the darkness as noiselessly as h-i
bad come.
lla'f an hour later 1 smiled in my
co y bed-room about mv causeless
lear, and a week a:terward ihad for
golten the adventure. .1 wa i very
busy about that time and a large
contract, which I bad to lill in the
ne t few da.vs for a firm in the neigh
boring city M. o cup ed my whole at
tention. About wo months had
pissed when I had, in the night a
very strange dream, after I had just
returned Horn a business trip to M.
I found myself on the summit of a
sleep precipice. Far away on the
huri on, I saw the lower of M. 1 0111
ing up liesidc me stood a tall,
black tlgure. Suddenly it strcV bed
( ut its arm and poinied wiih a com
manding notion tithe far-away ciiy.
The dream was s topic, but it was so
cxecdingly vivid that, I could not
gel rid of the thought oi it 1 ho fol
lowing day. ''Will it come againV
I murmured when 1 retired on the
evening. And the dream came again,
the same di earn 1 had the night be
fore; 1 again, stood tin the mount, and
the mysterious ligure I'gain pointed (
at the city M.
I 'cxt morning at, the breakfast
table 1 narrated this strange dream
to my wife. She was kind enough
Med to laugh at It. but gave me a
very sensible explanation. "That
you dream of M.," said she, "is very
natural. " 011 just returned from
there a ml moreover item a very im
pcilant business transaction And
as lar as concerns the black tlgure,
well, of such ghosts one dreams
o ten." '-lint It s strange that I
have the same dream two nights in
, -
1 replied "Well, Ibis
-s natural enough, v ou .;ust loid me
UMt J'"u were linking all day about
1 yotJ. dream.
I drank a cup of cof-
1 fee
with a leel ng of relief. The ex
planation of my wife was so sensible.
It, was a pity that 1 could not pie
vent the dream from coining in the
third night arid more vhid than evor
before. In the gesture of the black
ligure this time was something
threatening, terrible 1 was bathed
'" culfi Inspiration when I started
up irum siecp wnu a cry 01 terror.
"Vou look like a corpse," ex
claimed my wife when I entered the
dining room next morning. "Has
anything ha pened to you'-"'
1 tried to smile, but I tear I did
not succeed well in the attempt.
"Jusl think. I bud the dieam again
last night," I said slowdy.
My wiie lo iked at me silently.
lOithcr I will become Insane or
something terrible has happened in
M."
'Oh, you superstitious " she
did not conclude 1 he sentence. The
maid entered the room with the
mail. "Well, there it is. A iettler
from M."
" ery well, but what then? Open
It first?" 1 opened the envelope
with trembling lingers. 1 was sure
that 1 must have received an unfor
tunate message,
"Well?"
"Oh, my business friend requests
me to see him about a transaction "
My wife laughed outright "And
therefore the triple dream! Well,
see
that you get off. The train
lea es in an hour. Cut I hope you
will lir ng botne nothtr face."
Lat it was slrau ;e, when 1 b oarded
the train, 1 feit more anxiety than
t -er. 1 too a paper and tried to
lead, but it was impossible to get my
t ho dghis together. Again and again
the black tig. .re appeared before me.
1 div ded the coupee with three gen
tlemen, twoe'dcriy and a youuger
oae. wh.j nad a lively conversation.
1 soon foiin i out that they were law
yers. Their conversation was about
a murder case whicn was to be tri d
at I he district i on rt One. a band
couie g -ritlemau with a gray Ua d
ana gold spe ta -les, was thoroughly
colli iiu ed of the guilt or the deieod
anL "The defense was altogether
faulty from thesia t." besaid.
The younger one his sharply cut,
iritell.ge.it piolile seemed familiar to
me nodd,:d ' The proof of a ibi
was ventured, indeed, but on the
other side you mu-t not ;orget
that there was not one direct witness
of the murder. Audi inast toilless
1 am somewhat mistrustful of puiely
circumstantial e valence."
iiut let i:.e tell you my dear Dr.
Lergiuann;" said liie stout one, "the
case is as clear as the sun. And if a
d en witnesses bad been there lha
fellow wou.d noi be more certainly
convicted, .No douut he is the mur
derer." I addressed my vis-a-vis: 'l he
liev we have met i.eio.e. doctor?"
The young lawyer rtcogui.-.ed me we
bail liad some business together soma
time beiore. I asked hint for par
ticulars "What is this casi about.''
1 have not regularly read the papers
recently."
" h, it is a very interesting case.
A bookkeeper who has lost his posi
tion is indicted lor the murder and
robbery of the cashier of his former
tirm. a direct p oof, it is said, can
not be given; the circumstantial evi
dence, however, is grave enough.
The defense has tr ed to p ove an
aiibi but, unfoi'tuiiaiely, there is a
missing link, just the critical hours
in which the deed was committed.
Weii, bore we are already at M. "
The tra n stopped, and we g t olT.
"Will you accompany me to the court
bouse.-' r must you attend to your
bus n ss right, away'" asked the law
yer. 1 stood undecided for a mo
i.ient. It was just after ' o'clock, so
early 1 wo .Id hardlv find ruv business
lr.ei.d. eiy well, if I can get a
seat" "The court room will un
doubtedly be very lull but I will lo
my be, I. "
I succeeded In pushing ruvselt into
tl e o ercrowded court room, I ut I
had lo lie sat isfied with a seat, from
which i could see little more than
b.o.d backs and high ladies' hats.
It, waa a low hail, badly lighted, and
wor.se ventilated; the atmosphere was
stiiliug.
Perhaps this was the cause, why
that uneasy, foreboding feeling op
p.e.ssed me more and mora The
court had not yet been opened. Lou 1
confusiun of noibes filled the hali.
Suddenly d'eep silence prevailed. I
heard steps liie court entered. - The
presiding .Judge opened the session.
A few minutes later the district at
torney took the i oor. Although I
could see nothing of the action. I
; ou!d hear every word; and I followed
the argument of the speaker in
breathless su-pense. 1 had seldom
beaid a better one. How terriulv
eouvin -ing be spoke! With what
clearness be arranged and explained
the testimony o ' the witnesses!
With what skill his wove out of these
insigniiicant t lire ids a ne,, from
which. there seemed ro escape for the
murderer: l or t'e defendant was
the muiderer; he must lie the mur
derer. .No one in the court room
doii,bfed it afte this crushing speech.
The attorney for tho defendant,
also did his best Iiut in the proot
of alibi, by which he tried to save
his client, the most important link
was missing li was p oved that the
crime was commuted about mid
night. Several witnesses had unani
mously stated that about that time
cries lor help were heard from the
o i ce in which the cashier bad been
working alone.
The defendant during the whole
transaction, had steadfastly main
tained that be was not at all in the
city at that time. Iiut he could cot
prove It by a single witness I'nder
these conditions it was certain that
the argument of his attorney wou.d
have no torce.
"Defendant, you have the last
word: have you anything else to say.
asked t e Judge, amidst a ( ead
silence.
At this moment the gentleman in
front of me moved a tittle to the
side, and 1 could see the defendant,
but not. his face, for it was turned to
the Judge. "As true as there is a
God I am innocent," said he, with a
calm, deep voice, whose tune affected
me strangely. He slowly turned and
looked sorr, wl'ully through the long
lines of the audience.
"There is but one man In the world
whose testimony can save me, and "
he suddenly stopper).. "There is the
man," he cried out, and his out
stretched hand pointed at nie.
Like a stroke of liuhtning it Hashed
through my bra n. 1 "recognized the
man; he was the same that 1 had
met in that December night, the
night of the murder.
"He is innocent," I shouted.
My testimony brought the missing
link iu the chain for proof of not
guiltv.
The man at the time of the crime
was lully three miles from the city.
A half hour later he was free.
And, strangely enough, the mo
ment he rccognbed me the hands of
the clock in the court room pointed
to three minutes to twelve. Wash
ington Star.
Pkoi'pk who are always wishing
they had something to do for the
Lord might aa well stop looking sour
to begin with.
What a lot of things
from each otbar.
people ibid