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i.rvA.xVitufeiwit
THE PIECE THAT WAS LOST,
9Tt " W
It wns a midsummer morning. Tho
gram was waiting for the scythe, lint
aflrr breakfast Silas Rogom took down
Mm old bible that had been his moth
cr'H dully companion for over eighty
ycnra, mill Ihoy Bat reverently down
to worship, The reading was thai ten
dor lesson of Hit wandering sheep, and
the lost piece of silver, and ended with
the heavenly rejoicing "over the sin
ner that repenteth." nnd after the enrn
est, though homely prayer, they wen
ready for work. Aimer, the hired man,
and Reuben, the hoy. an they started
out of the house, ulinnal stumbled over
a woman sitting in the doorway, ab
sorbed In thought. Hllas looked at her
but did not stay to question her. And
when they weie pine, she rose
abruptly and said, "Will you give mo
romo breakfast?"
Mrs. Rogers looked at her. She was
a tall and not uncomely woman of
about thirty, but with something Iti
dollnably evil about her face. The hard
mouth, the bold, defiant e.vcs. repelled
her, yet It seemed as If at any Instant
they might bieak Into scninful tmw,
"Who a:e you?" asked the goed wife
iiimliiK neater, with u pan of hie.ul
In her hand. Again the face darkened
and lightened, grew hard anil yleld
Iiik. with the sudden declaration, "I
am the piece that was lo.it."
Martha Rogers had not a particle of
poetry In her nature, but she had the
mo!t profound rovnciice for Hie Scrip
ture, therefore the words both puzzled
and shocked her. Hut she was not the
woman to refuse bread to the hungry ;
so she placed food upon the table, anil
motioned the woman to a chair, say
ing, "Set up and eat."
All the time that the woman was eat
ingand she did not hasten her eyes
followed the in ltd less and Hetty, the
bright joiing daughter, until Martha
Rogers grew nervous and sent Hetty
to "red ui tho chambers."
"Will you give mo work to do?" she
demanded rather than asked.
"Who aie you?" asked Mrs. Rogers
again, simply to gain time.
"I thought ou knew-. I am Moll
Prltchard; they have turned me out of
iny houc, burned It over my head "
'Hid her eyes grew lurid.
"What can you do?" nuked Mw.
Rogers.
"Anything that a woman can do, or
a man. I can work in the Held with
the best of them; I have done It many
a time; but I bhould like to do u hut
to lie like other women."
"Are on a good woman?"
The question came straight nu-1
strong, without an faltering. She had
heard of thin Moll Piltihurd, a woman
who lived alone In a tumble down but
below tho sawmill, and won a meager
living by weaving rag carpets, picking
berries for sale, and. It was suspected
In less reputable ways; but Martha Ho
gcrs took no slock In Idle rumors. If
she had not the divine compassion, she
had something like divine Justice,
which Is altogether a nweeter thing In
its remembering of our frame "than
the tender mercies of the wicked."
Tho woman lookcdat her curiously
at first with a mocking smile, then
with n sullen, nnd at last with a defiant
expression.
"I AM THK PIECE THAT WAS
LOST."
"la It likely?" she said tlercely. "A
good woman! How should 1 he a good
woman? 1 tell you, I'm the pleeo that
was lost, and nobody ever looked for
nte. If 1 was a good womnii, do you
suppose I should be whuro I be only
2S yearn old, well and hearty, mid
every door In the world shut In my
face? I tell you tho man who wrote
that story didn't know women; they
don't hunt for tho pleeo that's losi,
they Just let It go. There's enough of
them nnd don't got lost."
Poor Martha Rogers was sorely per
plexed, all tho more that her way had
lain so smooth nnd plnln before her
that she. might have walked Into It
blindly. If sho was a lost piece of
silver, It was not she who lost It; bin
what If It wero the Maater's, precious
to his heart, and a careless hand
dropped It and left It to Uo In tho dust?
And what If ho bade her to seok It, and
ilnd It for him? Should sho daro re
fuse? On this very day, when sho
puoded so surely the help which she had
so looked for in vu1n, hud not this
woman been sent to her very door,
and was It not n plain lending of Prov
idence? It la a blessed thing for us
that we nro usually driven to act first
and theorlzo afterward, oven though
the after-thought sometimes brings re
pentance. Tho bread was rendy for
tho oven and tho woodhox empty,
"You may fotch In some wood," said
Martha Rogers, and tho woman
promptly obeyed, filling tho box with
one load of her sinewy arms, and then
stood humbly waiting. Hetty came In
to tho kitchen and began to clear the
table, but her mother aajd, "Go upstairs
and fetch a big apron and ono of our
sewing caps, and bee If you can finish
up your dress."
Away went Hetty, nor light heart
1 . . i
ML w--
lUKfljf ft ft fJJS
wM w: ill
bounding with the unexpected release;
e mother turned again to tho
furnished btr with a (naive
towel, and sent her to the wash house
for a thorough puilllcntlon. Half an
hour afterward, with her hair hidden
In the muslin cap. her whole tlguie en
veloped In the calico apion, a comely
woman was silently engaged in house
hold tasks, doing her work with such
rapidity nnd skill that the housewife
drew a nigh of lellef.
"There's a handful of towels and
eoaise clothes left from the Ironing,
you might put the lions on, Mary, and
miiooiIi 'cm out."
The woman tumid a startled face
upon her, and then went (illicitly for
the clothes; hut something- was It a
tear?--rolled down bet swaithy cheeks,
mingling with the bright drop.i she
sprinkled over them. When hud she
ever heard anything hut Moll? Not
since among New' llampshlie bills a
pale woman had lain her hands upon
(he tangled curlri of her little tlaugh
ter and piuyed that some one would
watch over these wtivward feet, lest
tliey should go astray. It made Moll
shudder to think (,f t. What did she
know about Joy in heaven over one
sinner and repenteth?
Slim Rogers llslriud to the day's
story as be sat mending a bit of har
ness with clumsy lingers, and among
his other thought he grasped the idea
that his wife had seemed a valuable
and much-needed helper.
"It scouts a risk to run," said Mar
tha, anxiously, "and I don't know but
It's prestinituoua; them's Hetty and
tlwre'H Reuben --"
"And thete'H the Lord," said Silas,
stopping to open his knife.
"Yes.' halt! Martha, with a little
htart, "and I quite can't get rid of
what she said abuut tho 'piece that was
lost,' though, to be sine, the woman
that lost It ought to hunt It."
"She never does; folks are always
losing things for .somebody else to
find; 'taint many of them can say.
'Those that thou hast given me I have
kept,' right straight along."
"Hut If you lose your own piece look
ing after other folk's "
"Well, theto's the rinks, as you say,
but I'd rather take a risk for the
Lord than agin him."
Martha Itogers took the ilsk for the
Lord, and he abundantly Justified and
r warded her faith. For the piece that
was lost becomes "my piece" to the
heart that lluds It again In the Mas
it rs hand; and locking the "lory ef
the wanderer in her own breast. It was
only to the angels that she said, "He
Job e wlh me."
Anil when yeais afterward the wom
an herself said before the committee
oT the church, "I am the woman ovoi
whom there Is a gie.it Joy In heaven,"
there was not wanting those who
thought she was presumptuously claim
ing to he a saint. Emily Huntington
Miller.
A (iiinil AihrrtUIni; Vti-illiini,
A glance In an Atlanta book Htoro
yesterday made this striking truth
stand forth:
Death Is sometimes a big advertise
ment. In uo department of human effort do
men put forth such terrific energy as
lu their attempts to catch the public
eye. Men nick their brain for Ingenl
otiri schemes to attract public attention.
The good advertiser is the rarest and
richest of successes.
Hut some times all the cleverness
and Ingenuity of these brain workers
tire beaten--and unexpectedly.
mi ..Manners iieatn last week was
an advertisement for Harper Hrnn.
which no Idea they might dig out of
their brains could excel. It has started
a great rush after last mouth's Har
per's, which contained tho first Install
ment of "The Martian," Du Maurler's
now story, and a third edition of the
number Is now being fast exhausted.
Those who cannot Ilnd the magazine
are Inventing in "Peter lbbetson," and
If there happen to be any who have not
read "Trilby" they Invest in that. The
book dealers will tell you that In the
past four days there has been a won
derful demand for Du Mnurler's works.
This great author who has added
thousands to the coffers of the Har
pers by his life. Is adding thousands
to their profits by the mere fnct of his
death. Atlanta Constitution.
The Spirit or Alnilrrn A I Im-iih.
Modern Athens, which recalls In so
many ways the Athens of ancient days,
has Inherited from her the privilege of
being beautiful and enriched by her
children. The public treasury was not
alwn.va very well filled in those times
any more than in tho present, but
wealthy citizens who had made for
tunes at a distance liked to crown thel"
commercial career by some act of lib
erality to the mother country. They
endowed the land with superb edifices
of general utility theaters, gymna
sia, temples. Tho modern city Is like
wise full of monuments which she owes
to such generosity. It was easy to ob
tain from private Individuals what the
stato could not give. The Olympic
games had burned with ho bright a lus
ter In the past of the Greeks that they
could not but have their revival at
heart. "Tho Olympic- Clnmes of 1896,"
by naron Pierre de Caubertlu, In the
Century.
A sure sikh,
"I saw Muggins on his front porch
this overling smoking n cigar; It must
bo that Ills wlfo is away."
"What makes you think so?"
"Why, when she'e at home ho smokca
a brier-root plpo and tries to look eoo-
nomlcal." Iluffnlo Kxpress.
Row Johu Wler, after nine years of
coutlnuoua labor in Japan, ia soon to
return with hia family to this country.
V
POPULARITY OF SARATOGA.
AMr.it lion nf ViiiitIcmii Wult-rliii; I'liu'fl
NmiK In l.mitltiii I'lipcr.
JJaiatoga Springs will always bo pop
ular. You have here the best of Anier
kun society, less exclusive than Now
port or Lenox, less mixed than l)tig
Hrancb and .Manhattan Heach and vast
ly more representative than either, says
a letter In the London Telegraph. This
Is mainly due, perhaps, to the cnprniou.'!
hotels, wKh their huge verandas or
piazzas In front nnd vast garden court-
ni ds In the rear which Is Oie special
Icatuie of Saratoga. TIhmp gigantic
struetiiies are among flic biggest hos
tel! les In tho world. Two of the larg
est ptovide something like 2,000 beds
each and their lofty and, spacious halls,
drawing, dining and reception rooms
are all on a scale of corresponding
magnitude. Hero all classes melt and
blend. Hound the Inclosed garden
couits aie hullt tiers of elegant apart
merits, each with Its veranda, while
every set of rooms on the same Hoot
Is technically a cottage. .lullan Haw
thorne hays a walk round the circuit
of these verandas takes long enough
for a young man and woman to becpnir
arqtinliited, to get engaged and bieak
It off again. This estimate Is so doll
nlte that I hesitate almost to repeat
the cinder statement (hat one of thr
courtyards measures seven acres. It l
marvelous, however, how attractive thr
Irclosuus of these two great hotels aie
In the hottest afternoons the branch
ing elms and the sugar maples throw
their shadows across the green sward
and, lu the cool, delicious evenings
when the hands are playing, the foitu
talus Mowing and ladies lu gauzy toil
ettes promenading, the scene Is charm
lug. Ilesldcs Its agreeable- society, lei
me say that Saratoga has many uatura
attractions. From New York you ap
proach it as far as Albany by the Hud
son- the Rhine of America. 1'p thlt
river the blue tidal watets of the At
lantlc How as far as I'oiighkeepsle. Or
both shirs of the stream the banki
tire lofty and well wooded, and all th(
wiy along aie dotted with villages auc
country residences standing lu pictur
esque Inelosures. sloping down very of
ten to the water's edge. On the north
ern side of Saratoga are Lakes (leorgt
ami Chninplaln, two of the pretticsl
of transatlantic Inland waters. In
former das also the village, like Tun-bildge-uells.
owed Its reputaMon to the
springs. There are any number of
thein. They come bubbling up from
great depths, charged with carbonic
acid, sodium, potassium, lithium and
calcium lu varied coiiifiluatioiis. Theie
was a time when people came here to
repair shattered constitutions by drink
ing tit the geysers, or Washington
ppilng, or the Saiatoga Vichy or Carls
bail. A I'ri'illi-tliiii Admit liillui.s.
The following prediction, made by
the Royal College of Physicians of Ha
varla In ISo.'i, Is now on record in the
archives of the Nitieinberg and Furth
Hallway. In that country. When It was
proposed to build this line, the phy
sicians of the country met and for
mally protested agiilnst it. "Loronu
tion, by the aid of any kind of steam
machines whatever," the liavnrian
physicians declared, "should be pro
hibited in the Interest of the public
health. The rapid movements cannot
fall to produce In the passengers tho
mental ailment called delirium furios
um. Even admitting," the protest went
on. "that travelers will consent to run
the risk, the state can do uo less than
protect the bystanders. The sight alone
of a locomotive passing at full speed
sutllces to produce this frightful malady
of the brain. It Is, at any rate, India
pcnsahlt! that a barrier at least six
feet high, should be erected on buil
sides of tho track."
I'mili "f I.IkIiIiiIiii;,
All the doors In .John Kipp's house
at Cedar Hayou, Harris County, Toxas,
wero opened and a lid of tlte kitchen
rango wns blown off by a bolt of
lightning.
MISSIONS.
Tho annual report of the Moravian
church gives ir0 mission stations, 400
missionaries and Olt.OOO converts In
heathen lauds.
Tho native Christians In heathon
Innds last year gavo $rriO,000, more than
one-ninth the amount raised In tho
United States.
The last of the heathen on Kfale
Island arc being gathered Into tho
church as the result of twenty-threo
years' faithful labor.
One hundred and fifty Chinese con
veits weie baptized during tho last
twenty months by Rev. Hopkin Rees
at Tientsin, north China.
As tho American H.iptlst Homo MIs
hloa society Is heavily burdened with
debt, tho board of managers of that
society, nt a meeting held Sept. 14, de
cided to make no appropriations for
missionaries salaries for the present for
a period extending beyond Dec. Ill,
1SUG, unless the current receipts mean
tlmo shall bo vry considerably lr
creased. Tho vast possibilities open to an In
dividual society of Christian Kndeavor
nro shown In a report that comes from
Geolong, Australia. The Yarra Street
Wesleyan society, which contains five
divisions nnd 550 members, has organ
ized a boys' club, a men'a club, a birth
day league for missionary purpnsea and
u Sunday school home department.
During tho year It hold 20S cottago
prayer meetings, besides soventy-elght
open nlr services; 1,251 visits wore paid
arid 12.4S8 loaves of bread distributed.
The Juniors provided an outing for ona
hundred slum children, distributed 150
bouquets of (lowers and mado more
thnn COO vlalta. Tho other labors of tho
society wero on a proportionate, aenle.
-9' r t' 4f. ! -IL 4 -If t t- i 9 A -I-
! " i - i T
t Beauty and
A South American puma lion, tho
fiercest animal of that half of the hem
isphere. Is the pet of little Miss Kthol
Curzon, the L'-year-old (laughter of
Captain Henry I'. Cttizon, late of Her
Majesty's service.
Damon is a line, sleek and nlllten
halictl specimen of his tribe. He was
bom throe .ve.irs ago among Hie pam
pas grans legion of South America that
is known locall.v us La Pf.nipa.
Ctirzon for years ban been In that
country as the representative of an
English syndicate. He arrived In Phil
adelphia the other day accompanied by
his daughter, and the ptiinu came with
them, making the long Journey In a
cage that was carried In the baggage
car.
"Damon Is the dealest er'ature
next to papa on earth," said Miss
Kthel to n repot ter. "He saved my
life, and the debt of gratitude I owe
111 in can never be tepald."
"Damon la a puma." said the cap
tain. "Here In Pennsylvania the early
settlers knew his congeners under the
MISS CURZON'S
namo of panther, 'painter,' or cata
mount. In California they call him
the cougar, or 'mountain lion." Dur
ing tho past decado and a half of years
I havo had an abundant opportunlt)
to become pretty Intimately acquainted
with Sir Puma. Tho longer I know
htm tho better I llko him.
"Ho has been very unfortunate In
his biographers. They give him, It 1ft
true, a high character for courago, but,
at tho Bamo time, becauso of their ig-
nornnco of his true nature.they Impute
to him a cowardly fear of man that
ho la very far from possessing. Ho
will not, ns a rule, defend himself
against man, nnd tho gauchos of tho
pampas, understanding and appreciat
ing tho mysterious gentle instinct or
this ungentlo beast; call him 'arnjego
del ehrlstlano.'
"Damon was full gTovvn when wo
first became acquainted with him. Ho
was never captured, and, except when
wo are traveling, is never restrained cf
his liberty. I am on my way hack to
my old homo In England primarily to
visit my aged parents nnd Incidentally
to place my daughter at school. When
I return to South America I shall leavo
Damon behind, for It would ! oruelty
to both to soparnte htm from Ethel
"Tor the past five years uinco trto
death of my dear wlfo wo havo been
living at a place called Snladlllo, where
I had an estancla. My daughter has
ieen raised to an nctlvo, eut-door llfo,
' f 4t S vl .1- !' .1. t ! i l $jl
. ) ilJ ifl .. -. .. :( -T ,T . ..
the Beast, t
and she rides a horso with all the
grace and fearlessness of a gaitcbo.
Last fall we bad a grand 'ccrco,' or
assembly of ranchmen and hunters, to
hunt ostilchiM and other game. The
uport Is exciting, hut far from danger
ous, nnd ICthel was one of the party.
The litiutets, numbering about thirty,
spread themselves loitnd in a vttst ring,
and, advancing toward tho center,
drove the animals before them.
"During the excitement of the chase
which followed, while we wero all en
gaged In preventing the ostriches, deer,
etc., from doubling back and escaping,
I noticed that my daughter had disap
peared. Her ab.-ence did not alarm me
at the time, for I thought she had be
come tiled and gone back to the estau
cla. I was in ally frantic when, late nt
night, 1 reached home and found that
I'thel's pony had come galloping home
early In the afternoon without its
rider. I Heading the worst I imme
diately got togdher a band of gauchos
and we started out to hc.irch for my
darling.
TAME PUMA LION.
"Eventunlly ono of the gauchos
found Ethel In u bunch of scrub, lying
on tho ground with a broken leg. Her
pony, early In the hunt, had stepped
Into nn 'oculto' hole and thrown Its
rider, nelng nnnhlo to move because
of her fractured limb, Ethel had shout
ed for assistance, but lior voice was
drowned by tho yells of excited hunters
and the hope of rescue vanished. Sho
Is a brave girl, and, knowing that a
search would be made for her as coon
as her absence was discovered, sho
mado herself ns comfortftblo as possible
and awaited tho arrlvnl of help.
"Ab night nppronched, nnd no ono
came, sho began to oxporlenco genuine
alarm, and when, about an hour beforo
dark, a pumn now her pet Damon
appeared nnd squatted down in the
grass close beside her, she gavo herself
up for lost. Tho beast, however, did
not seem to notice her, nnd her courago
revived. Sho remembered that the
puma rarely, If ever, molests a human
being, and uho begun to hopo that the
creature would go nway.
"Aftor awhile tho puma became rest
lees, frequently going nway and return
ing, nnd finally It stayed away so long
that alio thought It had left her for
good. About midnight alio heard the
deep roar of a Jaguar, and abandonod
all hopo, for tho South American tiger
la man'B deadly foo.
"By raising herself on hor elbow, Bho
Mil
fenBw
wns nl'i tc uc tl- 1 iv '-f tl.o Jifjunr
crouching mar lu r. but l'j lace was
turned from h. :, and It apjir.ued to
bo Intently vaU-hlh,'; wne object upon
which it vvu.) about to spring. Pres
ently It crept out of sight, and there
followed a dtep sIHicc, broken sud
denly by frightful yells and acre.ims of
pain, coupled with the fierce growls
and snarls of the puma, and tho sounds
of desperate conflict.
"The puma and tho Jngunr aro Bwom
enemies, anil the two great beasts wero
having a battle to the finish. Tho bat
tle kmtod for some time, but near
morning the puma, sate!) wounded,
crept through the grass and crouched
down beside my daughter, purring like
a cat. The creatine seemed so friend
ly that Ethel ventured to stroke his fur
with her hand, whereupon tho puma
began to play nnd roll about llko a kit
ten. When wo rode up tho puma
crouched over hor body and began to
growl. Several rllles were leveled at
the head of the brute, but Ethel begged
us not to shoot, and from that day tu
this the two havo been inseparable"
A FRENCH BABY,
l.'i;iil 4 l'tiriimlltlr-i on tin- lllrtli of ii
r.in.llile Soliller.
The birth of c, now citizen In Krnncc
at once gives rise to countleos formali
ties and an avalanche of legal sctib
bllngs, which would teach him, could
ho but understand, that his country Is
par excellence the homo of legal cere
mony and administration, says the
Century. Within tho first twenty-four
hours notice of the birth must bo sent
to the mayor's office (there Is such nn
ofileo In every village lu France), so
that tho official physician may call and
make the necessary legal statement.
I suppose he wnnts to convince himself
that the declaration alieady made Is
correct, and that the family, when It
announced the birth of a girl, wtut not
trying to scieen a future soldier from
his compulsory service. Then tho
father, accompanied by two witnesses,
goes to (111 out the birth certificate and
gives his child Its legitimate, docu
mented position, to which he or she
will bo obliged to have recourse In till
the great, and frequently lu the minor,
clrcuni.nanees of life, from ono end of
It to the other. Without It tho child
could not enter a school, nor draw lots
on entering the army, nor get married,
nor be burled. The leat mistake of
form would have most serious conse
quences; the baptismal names declared
must always be placed In tho same,
order on all future deeds. These nro
usually saints' names. l recall the
amusing anger of a young American
father of my acquaintance who wished
to give his son born lu Paris the name
of the great sailor Diiquesne, In re
membrance of tho avenue where the
baby had seen the light of day, and,
lu addition, the family name of one of
his friends, which no frenchman
could pronounce. All thK seemed so
shocking and Incongruous to the regis
trar that the certificate was rondo our
only after Interminable disciu.dnn.
I'lilent ICIkIiI MilmllrH.
An exchange says tliut a smooth pat
ent right swindling scheme Is being
worked in some of tho states. A man
comes to a farmer with a patent wagon
tongtio for which great claims are
made. He has only that ono county
left and will sell the right for two
hundred anil fifty dollars. A few days
later, while the farmer Is thinking
over the matter, another man comes
along, who hns learned that the farmer
has the right to the valuable Invention,
and offers him four hundred dollars for
It, paying him ten dollars down. The
farmer at once goes and closes tho deal
with the first party, giving his noto or
cash for the two hundred and fifty dol
lais. In the meantime tho second man
disappears and the two schemers moot
and "dlvy." If a note, It Is discounted
at the nearest hank.
Ills .MMukit.
Mr. Footo (tho shoemaker) "Who
was It Invented this walking through
the grass barefooted?" Mr. Iilock
"I believe It was a minister." "Well,
he tiocms to have mistaken tho kind of
soles ho should try to save." Yonk
ers Statesman.
STAGE WHISPERS.
"Sho can do moro In Ilvo seconds
with her eyes than Anthony Comstocic
can undo In Ilvo years, gays Jamw G.
Huneker of Anna Held, the JatiM sen
satlon Imported from Paris.
An English comedian siya Ui& only
way to successfully spring a Joko on
Iliitlsh theater-goers Is to first an
nounce that n Joke Is about to bo
sprung, then to spring It. and lnstly to
explain Hint It lis been sprung.
Clement Scott, tho famous London
critic, has a non playing In Daly'a com
pany In Now York In "Tho Geisha."
A son of William Winter nnd a grand
son of Tom Hnddaway, tho famous
American comedian, are also In tho
samo organization.
It la probablo that "Tom aroRan,',
which Augustus 111 o mas aided Hopkin
son Smith in making Into a play,
may not bo produced thla season after
all. Considerable work haa to bo dono
on It to get It Into ahapo, aa tho first
draught was far from satisfactory.
Boston Is moving in tho abolition of
obstructive hats In theatre, Ono man
ager sends an uaher to every offending
woman, Just before tho rlao of tho cur
tain to ask her to removo tho nulaanco,
ind In nearly overy caso alio compile
vithout ado.
Recent London papers havo glvon
nuch commendation to a performance
iy Mlsd Keith Wakoman. nn Amorlcan
ictreas, who wna formerly In L'iwrouc
Harretfa company, and who vven; to
England aomo time ugo with thkt ot
E. S. Willard.
..
U
MAi(( Mi'vilkJi
C
iH . j
