The Secret
By JAMES
CHAPTER XIX.
Aa exclamation of dismay and grief
escaped Balgonie on beholding thi ap-
( ailing spectacle; the weird and ghastly
error nt which waa enhanced by the un
sertsin light in which it wag exhibited,
tod which imparted a wavering aDd al
toost life-like action to the corpse, as
Irith it long hair floating, head and arm
taodent, it swayed to and fro in the
horning wind against the castle wall.
"The Lord havs mercy upon ur cried
Basil Mierowitz, covering bia face with
lis hands, and permitting the musket
with which he had armed himself to fall
to the ground with a clash, which, to
letlier with his most mournful exclama
tion, alone broke the silence.
"Behold." said Bernikoff. in cruel tri
imph. "This is your emperor no let
iim head your troops. Doubtless he will
bake a fine, figure on the imperial
ihrone."
"Oh! Bernikoff." exclaimed Basil, "you
ire like Judas, as we may see him at
the Kazan Church one hand ou the
Bouth denoting treachery, and the other
n a bag of money."
"Thou liest, lieutenant; my fingers
know more of the grip of steel than of
told," said the other furiously, as he
Juried the hilt of hia broken aaber at
the speaker.
"goto this has been your work and
lecision? Thou art a cruel judge; but
teniember the law of Peter the Great "
"Which makes the judge answerable
for his decision. Then shall 1 content
Be, traitor, and be answerable for my
(ecisiou as well as for its execution. I
save done my duty to the C-arina."
"You have done a deed for which hell
Bust blush and angels weep," was the
forcible reply of Mierowitz, who seemed
to overcome by grief and honor as to
lose all Felf-posHossion; for he now or
lered his men to disperse to the woods
to sek safety in flight; and then calmly
taking off his sword and belt and sash,
ke threw them on the ground, saying:
"Siii e my imperial muster is dead,
further resistance would be va''n in me.'
lie was nhiiost immediately afterward
struck to the e:irt'.i and made prisoner
by Lieut Tschekin, who. with a party of
lismounted Cossacks, hud stolen through
the casemates and galleries to a postern
(pening on the rear of the drawbridge,
ud these, after firing a confused roller
with their pistols find ninxketoons. fell
With their sharp crooked sabers upon the
iow thoroughly disheartened adherents
If Mierowitz. Lieut. Usakoff and Ja
gouski alone made any vigorous resist
ance, resolving not to be taken alive.
Fighting desperately, almost back to
sack, the former armed with the saber
f Mazeppa and the latter with a mus
ket, and both bleeding from many
wounds, they were driven through the
nter barrier toward the town. On the
pathway Jagouski stumbled over a com
rade and was taken; but Apollo UsakofI,
With a shout in which triumph and de
ipair were mingled, leaped into the Neva,
the waters of which swept him away,
nd he was seen no more by hia pur
suers. When Tsehekiu's Cossacks joined in
the melee with the fugitives, Balgonie
nrnnir thrmiirh the wicket, sword in
land, resolved to succor his friend at all
kazards; and fortunately arrived just in
time to save him from the bulky giant
Nicholas Paulovitrh, who, with a club
bed musket, was about to give him a
blow that must inevitably have proved
(atal.
Paulovitoh he ran through the heart,
and spurning him oft the blade with his
foot, hurled the snorting ruffian to the
ground, and raised his friend, with the
assistance of a soldier and Lieut Tsche
kin. "Made prisoner, and by yon, too,
Carl!" said Basil, reproachfully and in
t low voice, for he was faint with
srounds and bruises.
"By me, but to saTe you."
"Seek ratner to save Natalie, if you
tan. he wmcperea; sne is, sne is-
"Where, where?" said Balgonie, im
petuously and imploringly.
But there was no reply. Basil had
fainted, and was borne into the Castle
Of Schlusselburg, a prisoner of state.
Balgonie never saw the face of his
ngntn
go ended for a time a scheme, the im
portance of which was only equaled by
Its bold recklessness the scheme of two
subaltern officers to revolutionize the vast
empire of Hussia, and to subvert the
Brm dominion of Catharine II.; and such
was the terrible sequel to the "Secret
Dispatch" of Balgonie.
Day had completely broken when he
was summoned by Bernikoff. Shudder
ing as he passed through the court of
the castle nad under the very window
where the corpse waa yet swaying
mournfully to and fro In the morning
freeze. Charlie sought the presence of
this detestable personage, the thunder of
whose wrath be feared was about to de
scend upon himself.
He, found the colonel in his shirt
ileeves and almost covered with blood,
Which was flowing from a wound in his
breast and another on the head, from
whence it was trickling to the ends of
bis long and snaky-gray mustaches. To
both of these cuts the barber was about
to apply dressings, while the patient so
laced himelf by scheming out some
dreadful punishment for Jagouskl, who.
with several others, had fallen into his
gentle hands.
Balgonie, whose thoughts ran chiefly
opon how to discover and succor Natalie,
was roused to attention by Bernikoff
saying grimly:
"Carl Ivanovitch Balgonie, for aiding
la the capture of the rebel Mierowitz,
I thank yon; suspicions I had, bat they
are gone. Ton are now, perhaps, to re
Jota the Regiment of Smolensk, and
shall bear dispatch from me to Lieut.
Qeau Weymarn and Lieut Cot. Casch
fcla, 4a ting the affair of the last twelve
tear. . VhusWf shall prepare It, and I
ataA atf Kb Place a feather la the
naL ke the cantata linger aa be dM at
tmzt NT. kwfc art at aw thai, See.
Ll Ood It that Mat Ira sfcoaM be
Dispatch
GRANT
me to destroy bira. Whst is done Is
done, and is the will of God; and you
know, or ought to know, our Muscovite
proverb the Czar is high, and God is
every where!"
"Three times has this old reprobate
mentioned that terrible name, and each
time lowing his sinful head!" thought
Charlie, with disgust and wonder.
Hah!" resumed Bernikoff, pursuing
his own thoughts, and clenching his teeth
in rage and pain, "did that suckling of a
lieutenant think to deceive me 1. who
have been forty years in the Russian
army, and have to deal with the most
cunning scoundrels between the Black
Pea and the Baltic! Jagouski, too, 111
fill his mouth with gunpowder, put a
fuse between his teeth and blow his head
off." He gnashed his teeth with pain,
and added, "Be ready to ride in an hour,
capiaiu; till then, leave me!"
CHAPTER XX.
The empress' court of Secret Chancery
sou decided on the fate of Basil Mie
rowitz, bis father, and his cousin, Mario
lizza, who had been passive, though sus
pected in the matter, bad their case tak
en into future consideration, so they were
kept close prisoners while their property
and possessions were given up to pillsge
and military execution. Basil was con
demned to be broken alive upon the
wheel; but the empress, who bad a par
ticular tenderness for handsome men.
"mitigated his punishment to the less
severs one of being beheaded."
A brief paragraph in the London Ga
zette of the ld of O' tober records this
brave fellow's death, just fourteen dsys
after his rash affair at Schluielburg:
"M. Mierowitz, in pursuance of bis
sentence, was publicly beheaded on
Wednesday last; he behaved at his exe
cution as he had done throughout the
whole transaction with the greatest res
ignation. Six of the soldiers and under
officers who wee engaged with him were
so severely whipped that it is said three
of them are since dead. Many more are
to be punished. One, t'sakoff. a lieuten
ant, who was privy to the design, was
accidentally drowned."
Notwithstanding his rank and years,
Mierowitz was retained in a dungeon
among a number of miserable Bussian
rogues and Polish prisoners, clad In
filthy sheepskin, many of them being
i'.fflii ted with the terrible disease known
as matted hair, which hung over their
necks in clotted lumps, every tube be
ing swollen and dilated with globules of
blood, and there he died.
The lower vaults of Schlusselburg
were those built by Ivnn the Terrible for
the reception of a few of the revoluters
of Novgorod, after he had put twenty
fire thousand of her citizens to the
sword. They were prisons like (he fright
ful cells of the Bastile; those of the In
quisition, or of old castles of the Middle
Ages a rival to that Chillon to which
Byron's genius has given a greater name
than ever its terrors won it. One of the
lower vaults of Schlusselburg was a den,
the floor of which was below the rocks
whereon the seals of Ladoga basked In
the sunshine, and which was consequent
ly liable to be flooded during those inun
dations that, at certain seasons, overflow
all the country for a great way north,
so that no crops will grow upon the emi
nences. Vaulted with stone, It wns nearly
square, and measured twelve feet each
way, with a floor that sloped down at
one end, having been unevenly hewn out
when the rock was pierced; and from a
portion of this rock sprang the solid arch
of granite blocks which formed the roof,
A narrow slit, six inches broad by twelve
high, and having even in that small
space a thick iron bar, admitted to the
interior a feeble ray of light. This slit
was partly built of stone, but ita sill
was the living rock of Schlusselburg. It
opened toward the lake, but 'gave no
prospect save the clouds.
The prisoner, when seated on the stone
bench which formed a bed or seat alter
nately, could only see the changing hues
of the sky, and know by the darkness
which gradually obscured this mere shot
hole that day was passing away, and
that another night, chill, dark, dreary
and hopeless, was at band.
s ths floe:, sio?ed dotvn seme, twelve
inches or more, the lower end waa al
ways full of water, into which the slime
that gathered on the vault of the arch
fell at intervals with a regular splash
that, to the silent and apparently forgot
ten prisoner, became maddening in it
monotony of aound, by day and night, by
morning and evening, by dawn and sun
set. Then, as the tides rose and fell, or
as the waters of the vast Inland lake of
Ladoga are affected by the Baltic stop
ping the downward flow of the Neva, or
by rains flooding the many tributaries
that join them, so did this dark pool In
the dungeon rise and fall, when the cur
rent oozed through secret and unknown
channels or crannies In the granite rocks.
It waa in this vault, or one of those
adjoining such a den as that In which
Dante placed his demon that the wife
of Count Orloff, the beautiful daughter
of the Empress Elizabeth, was drowned,
ten years after the date of this history,
when the waters of the Neva rose ten
feet; and, as they subsided, bore her
body to the Gulf of Finland.
No one could live very long In such a
plae low, damp, cold and horrible.
And well did Bernikoff know this, when,
in the blind transports of rage aod ag
ony resulting from hia double wonnds,
he barbarously consigned Natalie Mie-
rowna to such a place ay, even Natalie.
the soft and delicate, the high-bred and
tenderly nurtured daughter of Mierowitz
and ahe had now been la the under
ground vault for three days and nights
seventy two hours which to her bad re
sembled a horrible and protracted night
mare.
She waa Ignorant aa yet of her broth
er's ataentloa, a week before Betrayed
by one of their most trusted adherents,
aa the mice of hia own liberty, aha and
Katiaka had beea token. Of the fata of
the latter aha kanw aottlag. For her-
asif, the aoar girl ooly kaaw aha waa
Haraa tarn to await the
bar eaaataa aai tha grand
Hope was dead, completely, la, tier
heart; and though the desire to !iv was
strong, her former life seemed aul a
dream; or something that bad happviird
lotig. lung ago!
Crouching on a damp pallet that
on the com h of stone, ber Lair dishev
eled, her dress more than ever torn, die
colored and disordered, her snowy hands
and arms stripped of every ornament and
riug, her tender feet well nigh shoeless,
her eves fcalf closed and surrounded by
dark inflamed circles, her cheeks sunk
and haggard it would be dinVult to rec
ognize in her the once beautiful and
brilliant Natalie, whose coquetry had ex
cited the ready Jealousy of Catharine;
the Natalie of the imperial salons at
Moscow, at Oranienbaunx, or the palace
of Turky Selo; or the Natalie of that
primely old chateau near the Ixiugi
the proud, bright ejed and beautiful girl
whom Charlie Balgonie had loved and
worshiped as a goddess.
She was pale as white marble cold
as death a prey to utter eomusion rath
er than profound grief. When she did
rouse herself to calm reflection and the
realities of her position, thought well
nigh drove her mad.
Her old father his sturdy figure, hia
vegetable beard and white eyebrows, hia
ailter hair queued by a simple ribbon,
his quaint, old-fashioned costume of the
fcrst Peter's time, rose vividly before ber,
and with a gush of memory came all the
peculiarities of disposition, his warmth of
hert and temper, his kindness and irri
tability, his pride of race and family.
Where were all these now?
Her lover, too his voice, and eyes,
and gentle manner came next, to add to
ber pangs for him, too, must she relin
quish forever. No shelter was there now
for her save the cold grave, which waa
perhaps to receive them all Basil, Usa
koff and Mariolizza.
Suddenly a scream escaped her; ahe
was in total darkness. Amid her sleep
or stupor a fourth night had come on-
a night of storm, too, for she heard the
roar of the autumn rain as it descended
like a vast sheet upon the lake without
Cold and slimp things had often crossed
her slender ankles, making her shriek
and shudder; but now she became sensi
ble that ber feet were completely im
mersed in water; that the wind was bel
lowing without and rolling the waves
against the rocks, and that the current
of the lake was flooding the floor of her
vault and rising fast within it.
It rose with appalling rapidity, and
now the terror of a dreadful death made
Natalie utter a succession of piercing
shrieks, mingled with prayers to heaven.
But her cries were unheard, for the same
cold, iy tide that flooded her cell filled
all the corridors by which it and others
on the same floor were approached.
Rapidly it rose, this dark, silent and
terrible tide rapidly and without a
sound.
She sprang upon her stone couch, but
already the palb-t was floated away. Up
yet rose the invading water, and it was
soon nearly to her waist, and gasping
and shuddering cries were mingled with
her prayers. A little more and the nar
row slit through which she could hear
the bellowing wind and see the black
clouds careering past one red and fiery
northern star the last gleam of life and
of the outer world would vanish from
her eyes, as she perished in that misera
ble tomb, even as the Princess Orloff and
many others have done, helpless and un
heeded in their dying agony, drowned
miserably like the prison rate that
swarmed around them.
In the last energies of her despair ahe
made her way to the enormously thick
door which closed this trap of stone,
and. applying her lips to the Joints,
shrieked loudly again and again for suc
cor, and beat wildly and fruitlessly with
with her tender hands upon its massive
plenks and Iron bolts.
Her brain seemed bursting, for she
was suffocating as the air lessened. She
thought she saw a red light shining
through the crannies of the doorway, but
whether this were fancy or reality It
waa impossible to say, aa a faintneaa
came over her, and she sank down chok
ing and drowning In the flood that rose
within the walls and against the door of
the prison.
(To be een tinned.)
BEARS ARE BAD IN ALASKA.
Their Savages Among Cattle and Sheep
Are Moat Destructive.
From Alaska comes a Macedonian
cry for help to put a stop to the rav
ages of the big bear In that peninsula.
Senator Foster, of Washington, has re
ceived the plea and In mentioning It
says that If President Roosevelt wants
a glorious hunt for bruin be can tell
when the great game is plentiful. The
Alaska variety of bear la said to weigh
. 1 KAA n V QftO nnnnil.
A recent letter In Mr. Foster's mall
from Seattle tells the story. "Wa
shipped 3X head of cattle and 9,100
breeding ewes to Kodlac, Alaska, last
spring," writes a firm of packers from
that city. "The bears have been get
ting Into the bunch and have killed 608
up to date. During the rolxup about
twelve bears were slain. About thirty
days ago two bears got Into the sheep
and after killing twenty-one abeep and
tearing the coat off one man the bears
were killed. The United States mar
shal on hearing of this bad all our
men arrested for killing the bears. FIT
of our men were compelled to stand
trial at considerable expense to us.
"T'le bears are very numerous on the
island," concludes this letter, 'and since
they have tasted sheep the sheep are
badly scared and are continually piling
up. Unless something la dona with
the bears they will put us out of bust-:
ness."
Senator Foster la puzzled as to Just
how be can help bis constituents In
their plight They assert that boun
ty of at least 15 a bead should be
placed on bears for a year or two In
order to clean them out"
Not What Ke HaldU
The man wbo can neither hear cor
rectly nor quote accurately la the vic
tim of a little Joka In the Philadelphia
Ledger. ,
"I think you must be mistaken, air,"
ho Mid.
"What abontr asked hia nalghbor
In the crowd.
"Didn't I Just bear yon say yon wart
glad the war ia Bulgaria waa orarr
"Not exactly. I r-Ud I was glad tfea
war waa oror la Badfrla,"
VARIETY IN SLEEVES
ALL SORTS ARE NOW STYLISH
AND TO BE SEEN.
Great Deal of Ornamental lou la Per
missible, bat Many Women Are
Bather Overdoing; It In This Regard
Home of the New Hats.
N--W York correspondence:
. -J BOlT everything
la. I I that ever was heard
I lot in sleeves now
A S sfr appears in the styl
)j(W '"h showing of
l M I them, this last be
f4 1 ing taken to include
J-'sN both what women
JT- V making ready for
sfSl .. ir? I them to wear. Even
the leg-o-muttou
outlines appear now
and then, and there
are many sleeves in
which the point of
greatest fu!!r.ss
has crept aliove the
elbow. These last
present so pleasing
an apesra!ice that
it would seem as if
they must multiply.
The upper, full portion of these sleeves
is plain, but froni the point nhere the
fullness is first caught in, to the wrist
Is enough of elaboration to please any
one. In strong contrast witn this type is
a i-Ieeve from shoulder to elliow and be-
J' il I tl
UiI'LE WAISTS AND
. . 1.... I.
low of the tight coat order, but it ends
Iu a deep and dressy cuff, so it is harby
severe. All these are striking type, mid
most numerous of all are the sleet cs
whoe greatest fullness is at or close to
the elbow.
Whatever the outline, there is orna
mentation at the wrists, and if the bod
Ice be of at all dressy character, this
embellishment is likely to be very fanci
ful. In many examples the excruciations
gotten in on sleeves between wrists and
elbows arc extrnordiuary. Frequently
this portion is the most highly wrought
of the entire gown, even when that Is of
elaliorate nature. This tendency Is re
flected even iu walking suits, where in
stead of the splendid frills of lace are
pleating of silk, these sometimes finish
ed with stitching, again ornate with em
broidery. In the increasing diversity of
sleeves, too, they have become more In
dependent of the gown. Only a few
months ago the sleeves must match the
rest of the dress in every detail. Now
re seeu models In which some of the
n
m
iff m mm mp
' " m mm MA
Mm mm&tJ
INCONSPICUOUS HAT TYPES.
complexity Is In bsnnony, while the rest
stands without echo or reflection In the
general scheme.
Black silk skirts are no longer service
able with fsney bodices owing to the de
mand for harmony of color, but a black
silk suit will be a very pleasing item of
the summer wardrobe, one that will give
dressy not without great outlay, and that
should hats tilie wearing vusi'l'- 1
quality, of course, is ihu newer soft t rt,
Mhk'li is found iu tuauy grade, at i'-ft
some of whMii should wiihalauj unicti
wear and tear. While this uiiteri..l i
often made up with much elator::oii.
this is not necessary, for the silk has a
certsin dresiues of itself. A tailor suit
of it is sketched in the initial illustration,
a bite buttons and black silk bauds giving
it trimming. Iremaker employ deli
cate touches of gold or color to net off
their black taffeta drease. A little red
is ery stylish. Self bandings and rord
iugs are much uwl, accompanied or not
by tucking.
Since the fancy bodice must harmon
ize in color with the skirt worn with it,
it would seem as if makers should con
st nt to simple faahious in these agist,
but the tendency is strongly toward high
ly wrought effects. Three faucy silk
waists appear in the accompanying pic
tures. The first of these was v. hit
teffeta self-banded and embroidered in
gold cord. Below this is shown a waist
of pale blue crepe de chine, w ith a hits
cord and pearl buttons for trimmings,
and at the right of the picture Is red
silk waist trimmed with red and white
passementerie. Buttons enter iuto the
embellishment of such waists, aud are
to be had iu grest variety. Much braid
is used on them, too. and they are a
splendid field for th dip"l of laces.
Handsome white dresses are trimmed
in military fashion with gilt, and are
worn by older women than usually don
such get-ups. The dress goods often Is
some wool stuff. White set off with gold
appears also in silks, and without sol
dierly suggestion. A sketch is gives
among these waists of a white silk pon
gee gown embroidered in flower design
with white and gold thread. Such
dresses are new this season aud mske a
tine appearance. In all the array o
A NEW
I l.it.. ,
nhite tli at is usual during the warm
months there will lie very little of the
black and white combination. Hifci'bl
the relief of gold, there will be the touch
of color, either being thought preferable
to black.
Never was the matter of so buying
summer millinery as to have something!
to show for the outlay after the siiii.iiier
is over so hopeless. In dressy hats every
thing is extremely perishable; feathers,
flowers, the hats themselves. Iu simpler'
headwear the esse is not much better.
Women of ample means should make
record milliner's bills this summer. Com'
psratively simple hats of moderate siie
are much trimmed with flowers In the
greatest profusion, or with a single rich
plume or with a pair less fine. Lace Is
put on hats in quantities, such use being
as characteristic of the new millinery as
is bauklng of bloom aud the mingling of
blossoms and feathers. Some moderate
types are shown here by the artist. Tie
upper two in the picture were a red chif
fon hat trimmed with white feathers
and white rosea, and a coarse white
strsw trimmed with white silk and pink
rosea. The lower were fancy soft white
straw, with black velvat fold, lilacs and
blsck ribbon pompons for trimmings, rnd
a plain white straw with coarser tsa
straw and white silk for embellishment
Fortuno bof rlaada tha bold. Drydea.
warn: gown.
IV0 URS IS SOIIII'OC X
. . ,. ,.t v.a foiimliaiid lies;
II llie iwi .
,n,a!l Island known as the Isiff of
i. -mons. which holds within Ha ro. ny
ii. ore a romance as thrilling aud a
r igedv as real as any told iu fi' tloru
Vliut 1M0 Marguerite de Iorval,
.. ti. trr,.ii, ti vbvrov. fell iu love
ilt--- LFI lit7 ,...--- .
,ib a young ovaller aud promised
,:m ber heart aud band. Her uncle,
i. viceroy, oiisldered the youtn ui
. . . ..ol..
ivorthy of bis niece promt
. .l angered by ber refuel to give
jp ber lover, be passed a seiiteti ol
!le uimui both of tbera. A vessel car--l.-d
the couple to the Isle of IN-Uions,
caving tliein there alone, with an oU
mrse who bad attended the lady Mar-fiH-rit.'
from her childhood, and wbe
Khed to sbarv ber exile.
At first the banishment did not setn
tit dreadful a thing; the young man's
itrfiigth stood Iwtween his wife and
-i .Teriiig. and for two years all went
.veil. A child born, and the pa
cuts liegiui to plan for the establish-
,,-nt of a i-olony which might thrive.
this Win ml home. Then came trou
i!e. swift and terrible.
Iiisease smiite the little family, and
f'u vnnuir w ife and mother saw lief
Uishi'ii.l. child and faithful nurse all
ticken and die. With her own liHlnlt
;!,e dug their graves and Imriiil all
tliiit was dear to her; and then li.-g:m
a life nlolie. a life 111 which the mere
mottlon of existence became a proln
l-'in bard IikIiihI for a frail woman til
1'itre. Ilv weans of the gut) Hint Hud
ii lu-r husband's, she kept herself
iiovliltd with food and with skltis for
her clotllll,.
I'or two yen rt she lived n Ho1i1iim'!
Crusoe life, ibis gently nurtured, high'
!y bred gill, (line a boat filled wllll
Lillians rutuc near the shore, but th
Hinted f. ! mid tierce asjioci of th
Mviigos frightened her, so that she bhi
llisteiid of hulling them. She speiifj
weeks of labor li making a crude in'
roe, but ber hlllnW were unskilled,
mid when sh" launched her craft II
vmild only tiji over.
At last she wits reviled bv soinU
Jti.riitiMi w ho ventured on the island,
balf-frlchteiicd at first by what they
thought was nil evil Mpparit Inn.
Marguerite was s'-nt t" France, bill
tier uncle ilivm ered her w hetealKUlU
ml continued to persecute- her. Mil
imlly found a refuge in a sninl)
'reiicli vllliige, where she bid until tlitj
i icerny's death. After that Mie came!
Into the world once more ntxl lived It
0 good old ace.
STORY OF THE MUFF.
Once Ita Color lictokcnt-d the Hnnk ol
the Wearer.
"Do you know that the color of a
onilT once betokened the rank of the
Rearer?" said a furrier to a rhlladel
t hin nceord man as he stroked a ,t nu
ll fnl sealskin muff. 'In the days of
Charles IX. no ludy could have worn
Ibis fur. for black was decreed by the
King to be the badge of the common
I motile and the court followers were
1 natrt.ta'l tt tlm r.l.ti
"Muffs have gone throtiiili u,orj
Mylex than It would seem possible tii
ji tent for sitcli n simple article of eon.
lenience. It has been long and nur
!ow, like a sheaf, and, again, large
Hid round. At the beginning of last
n ntury the test of !.. tviu to try tbij
iiuff In a flour barrel. If It went In
jvithoiit much trouble then that muff,
r as too small to be really fashionable.
At the present day almost nnytiiing I
roper, but those enormous cyllnd t
(vould certainly draw much attentiou.
One of the most curious style wail
lliat of Ixiuls XIV.. called the villous
HinuchoiiB,' because they were made to
tonvey little dogs In.
"The muff when first introduced was
(he exclusive property of the nobility
hid originated In Venice. These tntiffi
were very sinnii ami consisted or a
ngle piece of velvet, brocmle or silk,
lined with fur and the openings fas
ti lied with rich jewels. Su'di ttrninga-
fcients came in during the early part
til the seventeenth century, but In the
previous century llie Indie freU-'iit y
fiirrled n piece of rich fur, w hich they
Used either ns a muff or n neck piece.
"The muff reached Its highest point
tu the reign of LonU XV., when tl;t
jrodtictlons were exquisite. Then
L:shloti declared for a cloth muff In-
M'-ad of fur, and the furriers made a
ureal uproar. They petitioned the l ops
to excommunicate the wearer of a
loth mtilT, but to no purpose. Family.
some ingenious merchant bribed the
iiditniin to carry a cloth mud" on
I sedition day. The women shrank
rom such association and the fur worj
lie day. We now associate the inuf
nly with cold weather, but In (he old.
flays It was a regular part of woman'i
'ics and was carried In all weather,
ls late ns 18.10 a muff and a ntraw
onnet were not deemed Ini otigruotH."
L'lCHttng the Ouilly Idint.
Jones waltzed out of the bnthroon
In u gorgeous and purpling fury. "rUimfj
iu.ot has been using my razor," hi
bowled,
"I know It," responded Mrs. Jonea
She looked Jones right square In Hit
eye.
"Who was It?" demanded Jonea
Ills voice shook wllh emotion. "I say
who was It?"
"John Henry," remarked his wlf
dispassionately, "I'll have you kno
that nobody uses that razor but ysur.
self." New York Evening Sun.
AUssii.
"What la Bllgglns practicing on th.
violin?"
1 don't know," answered the mai
who has no ear for music. "But il
wunda Ilka TlviacUoti." Wasbtaitoa
4tar.
