1
By M. B. MANWELL
xtx x x xtx xtx xtx xtx xtx * V " * t' * V
* * -t' * > - * ' ' * - * * * - * ' * - - * - * - ' * L - y- *
CHAPTER IX. ( Continued. . )
Looking on , thankful for his wife's
temporary brightness , was Gervls , too
much encumbered by his robes of "ici
cles and snow to join the dancers , and
holding his hand was little , misshapen
Syb she , too , perforce , being a spectator
tater and never an actor In the merry
games of life.
"It's a pretty sight , isn't it , little
Syb ? " heartily said Gervis , determined
in his honest , manly fashion to be
proud of the wife he had won.
Gladdy , light as a sprite , was dart
ing up and down in the old-fashioned
dance , and every eye was fixed upon ,
her dainty figure , in its dress of sil
very brocade. She , too , had blood-red
berries fastened In the folds of her
wedding gown and a great bunch on
her left shbuldcr.
"If Leila had on a dress of silver
brocade , and diamonds on her neck ,
she would look a thousand times prettier -
tier than that thin girl ! " was Syb's
(
harsh reply , as she glowered at the
phining little figure dancing up and
down the middle.
. Before the startled Gervis could col
lect himself to reply a disagreeable ,
low laugh made both Syb and he turn
r quickly.
Temple-Dene was liberty hall , and
the scientist had again shut himself
up in his room all day , deep in some
abstruse calculations , doubtless. But
the music and laughter had drawn
the hermit from his cell , and he stood
close behind them , with a strange ,
mocking smile on his thin lips.
"Little missy has distinct powers of
discrimination , evidently , " Paul Ans-
dell said , fixing his black eyes full on
the frowning face of the deformed
child. At the same time he lifted his
right hand , but , on second thought ,
dropped it at his side furtively.
"You ought to have been among the
merry dancers , Ansdell , " said Gervis ,
a little puzzled by his new friend.
"The merry dancers. ? " repeated the
scientist quickly. "Why , do you know
what you are saying ? The merry
dancers are the famous northern
lights , and we folk across the herring
pond have a superstition that they
are never seen save before some ter-
nole calamity. "
While Paul was speaking his -gaze
grew more intent , and his dark eyes
seemed to be drawing out the soul
of the deformed child. The frown had
faded from her uplifted face and in
its stead an expectant look leaped. It
was as though she were saying dumb
ly :
"I am ready ! What would you have
with me , my master ? "
" " Gervis whose > s
"Well , retorted , e.yj
wandering back to the quaint old
dance had lost the byplay , "if the mer
ry dancers are to bring a calamity ,
it must be upon yourself , Ainsdell , see
ing we have no such superstition
-among us that I know of. " And he
moved off , with a train of clamoring
children at his heels.
The dance was over , and laughing ,
chattering and fluttering , the dancers ,
In old and young , gathered around Lady
Jane , who , determined to have a va
riety of entertainment at her Christ
mas party , was urging a shrinking ,
shy boy to recite "The Mistletoe
Bough. "
"You know , Bobby , you can do it
so beautifully , and Mrs. Templeton
would like to hear it so much ! "
Bobby Vane was the big brother
from Eton of the small lisper in blue
velvet who clung to Gladdy's skirts
when he could.
Bobby was a born reciter , but , un
fortunately , shy horribly shy.
However , at last , cajoled , hustled
and goaded , the boy , with his ears
pink and his knees knocking together
for he had never faced so large an
audience rushed at his task.
After the first line Bobby felt his
feet. His voice was good , clear , sweet
and round as a bell ; it showed no hint
of breaking as yet.
The gay company , breathless and in
tent , closed round the youthful reciter
as the old legend in verse fell in clear ,
dropping syllables from his lips :
The mistletoe hung in the castle hall ,
ivnd the holly-branch shone on the old
oak wall ,
And the baron's retainers were blithe
and gay ,
Keeping their Christmas holiday.
And as the poem went on all were
forcibly impressed by the curious simi
larity of their present surroundings
to those detailed by the reciter.
The old world ballroom , with its
dark oak rafters , its rows of glittering
armor-V for Temple-Dene was no .d
for its armor the "goodly company"
of gallants and fair dames , the merry
children , the old paneled walls blush
ing red with lavish wealth of scarlet
holly berries ; while here and there
and everywhere , in the most unex
pected places , large bunches of mistle
toe hung to tempt and entrap the un
wary And , above all , there was the
chief feature , the bride
The star of that goodly company.
"I think we ought to carry it out
to the letter ! " excitedly cried Gladdy ,
when the recitation was over , and the
deafening applause cause shame-faced
Bobby to flee for shoiter behind a suit
of shining armor.
"A dear , wild child , this new daugh
ter of mine , " blandly said Lady Jane
to her dowager cronies , as Gladdy sped
through the hall to the distant stair
case.
If Gladdy.had not been the great
American heiress she was , her escap :
ade would have been promptly frowned
down , they knew very well.
Upstairs , in the gallery that ran
round the hall , Paul Ansdell was pac
ing up and down , with folded arms
and deeply frowning brow.
Tonight meant for this man other
things than it did for the merry
makers below. The crucial moment
had come when he was about to stake
his all. Either he would be in a po
sition to grasp a fortune , or he would
find himself in a prison cell. That
he knew.
As he paced along the gallery a light
footstep come behind him. So light
was its patter that Paul did not hear
It.
"You ? "
As he turned he faced a little figure
in gleaming silver robes with patches
of crimson here and there blood-red
berries and at her throat a dazzle
of diamonds.
It was Gladdy , on tiptoe.
"I have come to hide to hide ! "
Her voice abruptly died away , for
Paul Ansdell's eyes held her. Her whole
figure drooped , the joyousness died
out of her small face , and her eyes
grew large and dilated as they .gazed
back , almost glued to those of the
scientist.
Motionless , immovable , she waited
while he drew nearer to her. There
was for her the fascination of the vic
tim for the rattlesnake.
And while the two master and tool
came closer and closer , there came
floating up from below the sounds of
music and revelry and gay laughter.
The dancing had begun again , and
there was a flash of changing color as
the couples whirled round.
In the gallery a strange silence
reigned.
One little watcher , hidden close be
hind a bank of ferns and festoons of
holly berries , could hear her own heart
beats.
It was Syb , the deformed girl , who
had stolen away from the throng of
merrymakers an hour since.
Something strange and uncanny had
befallen Syb , some inscrutable influ
ence held her prisoner. Her will was
chained up , she was powerless to come
and go as she would.
But only so far was she dominated.
Every other sense she had was alert.
And she watched with wonderment the
bride , whom she hated for standinig
in the place that should have been
Leila's , droop visibly before the slowly
waving hands of Paul Ansdell , the sci
entist. The strain not to lose any
thing in the strange scene being en
acted before her was too much for
Syb even to wonder why the long ,
lean hands went up and down , up and
down , slowly and methodically.
The gay music from below rose and
fell , and between its bursts Syb's sharp ,
young ears caught the hissed out com
mand as Paul Ansdell bent over the
little crouching figure in silver bro
cade :
"Go ! Do my will ! "
With a faint , almost inarticulate
cry Gladdy straightened herself , and ,
turning , went slowly along the gallery.
Paul Ansdell's eyes followed her until
she disappeared on the opposite side.
The music below ceased with a
crash of chords , the dance was over ,
and m the lull Syb heard a sharp
click.
So did Paul Ansdell , for he quickly
lifted his head , and a gray pallor crept
over his face.
Then he hurried away in the direc
tion of the bachelors' wing , where he
had been located on his arrival.
"I hate him , too ! " irritably said Syb.
In truth , the poor , misshapen girl
hated most people.
As if some baleful thing had depart
ed , she rose and shook herself. The
holly had scratched her thin , bare
arms , and there was a trickle of red
that dropped on her white muslin
frock.
"Ugh ! it's all horrid ! " she shud
dered impatiently. "I wish Leila and
I could run away from it all , and live
in a cottage by ourselves , " she mur
mured , as she went wandering round
the horse-shoe gallery.
For to this afflicted child all the
music and brightness and Cnristmas
joy in the hall below was gall and
wormwood.
CHAPTER X.
Even the maddest , merriest of rev
elers must grow weary.
The Cnristmas merrymakers flagged ,
the gay music dragged a little slowly ;
here and there a tired child-guest
yawned in a corner , then nodded , and
finally was carried away in a deep
sleep.
Outside , under the stars , a long line
of carriages waited , and the hostess ,
with tired eyes , wondered why people
did not go.
It had been a fatiguing day for
Lady Jane and for Leila , who had not
spared herself in helping. She and
Lady Jane , side by side , ran the gant
let of the interminable good-byes from
exhausted but delighted guests.
The Christmas gathering had been
the greatest success the county had
known for years , and Lady Jane was
excited by the flatteries and thanks
of the departing guests.
"Where's your wife , dear ? She
ought. to have been here to see the
guests off. "
Lady Jane laid ho ? hand on her son's
arm. She was , in her tired state , ready
to be cross even with the heiress.
"Gladdy ? I'm sure I don't know ,
mother dear. "
Gorvis yawned. He was pining to
get off his Santa Glaus trappings , and
to have a quiet pipe by himself.
A quarter of an hour later nearly
every soul under the Temple-Dene
roof was echoing Lady Jane's ques
tion.
tion.Where
Where was the bride ?
Not in her own room , not in the
hot , deserted ballroom ; she was not
in the upper gallery , where the lights
were already being put out.
All sense of fatigue was put to flight
by a vague terror of some evil hang
ing over the house of Temple-Dene.
Under the ancient roof only two
persons did not share the terrified ex
citement when it was discovered that
Mrs. Gervis Templeton was nowhere
to be found its master and the Amer
ican guest.
Gervis himself was petrified. He had
brought all his strength of will to
bear on nobly doing his duty to the
woman he had won for his wife. No
one but he would ever know how
hard the fight had been.
And now it was all in vain , for
Gladdy had gone where , no one knew.
Since the journey on the Canadian
Pacific railway , over the snow-covered
prairies , Gladdy had been a bewilder
ing puzzle to her husband. Her vagar
ies had made him secretly wonder at
times if he had married a lunatic.
Then again a great fear would loom
up that his wife had inherited some
terrible wasting disease , and was about
to slip through his fingers and out of
life itself.
But this catastrophe on Christmas
night eclipsed , all that he had even
dreaded.
Gladdy gone ! She who had been the
merriest , gladdest , happiest of all the
"goodly companie ! " It was inscrut
able , horrible , maddening !
Out into the freezing night went
parties of searchers. Not a man un
der Temple-Dene's roof , gentle or
simple , save two its master and the
American guest , Paul Ansdell but
joined the anxious hunt.
All was in vain !
"Nothing more can be done until the
daylight comes , " hoarsely said Gervis ,
as he strode into the still gayly lighted
hall , and stamped the hard iced snow
off his boots.
His face was gray , and a strange
look of age had crept oved it , which
made it startlingly like that of his
mother.
Lady Jane , worn out and spent ,
crouched down beside the great yule-
log , that crackled and roared , the only
cheery thing around.
She and Gervis gazed blankly at each
other. What had they done , the two
were asking one another silently , that
this disgrace should have come to
shame them ?
"Can anybody tell me who saw or
spoke with my wife last ? "
There was a catch in the young
husband's voice as he put the question
to the circle of anxious-eyed searchers
round him.
"She said she was going to hide.
Don't you remember ? " Bobby Vane ,
who.had recited , craned his neck for
ward to say.
Then everybody did remember what
they had forgotten Gladdy's wild pro
posal to enact the bride in the "Mistle
toe Bough , " and a gasp of relief came.
"Why , she's in the house somewhere ,
safe and sound , laughing in her sleeve
at us all ; and we've been for the last
hour tearing our clothes and the skin
off our hands in that thicket of holly-
bushes round the pond ! "
"Let's go all over the house again , "
suggested somebody else.
"Perhaps she's crept inside one of
the suits of armor , " suggested Bobby ,
with protruding eyes. What a tale it
was going to be to carry back to
school !
Another hour was spent in search ,
but all fruitlessly.
( To be Continued. )
TOO EXTRAVAGANT.
A Defaulting Cashier Ate Ham Boiled in
Champagne.
The manner in which one defaulting
cashier Avas detected was rather pecul
iar , says the Louisville Times. It was
all due to the curiosity of the women
of his neighborhood. He went to no
expense in the way of dressing , they
never heard of his gambling or drink
ing to any extent , he was a model hus
band , but he loved a good table. There
was nothing unusual in this , but one
day when the ladies of the vicinity
were discussing the best methods of
cooking meals the wife of the cashier
declared very innocently that her hus
band doted on ham , but he would not
eat it unless it had been boiled in
champagne. "Boiled in champagne ! "
exclaimed tne listeners. "Heavens ,
how expensive ; we couldn't afford to
have ham on our table often if we
cooked it that way. " It was soon
noised all around the neighborhood
that Cashier Blank was a high liver ,
indeed , and the men began telling of
his uplifted ideas of cookery. This
soon reached the ears of the directors
of the bank , and they concluded it
might be wise to investigate the ac
counts of such an epicure. Plain wa
ter was all they could afford for their
hams , so the champagne lover was
called up and subsequently relegated
to the pen , where he had to forego his
pet dish for many , many weary days.
"Rattle In an Apiary.
A singular battle was witnessed re
cently in an English apiary. A hive
of bees was besieged by a large swarm
of wasps. The bees made valiant sorties
ties to try to drive away their besieg
ers and the wasps .made furious as
saults to drive out the bees. The bat- |
tie raged for two days , at the end of
which time the bees evacuated ths .
hive and the wasp took possession. '
TALMAGE'S SEEMON.
I
BLESSINGS SHOWERED UPON
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Draws Comparisons liotxveen Our Own
and Other Countries Our Duty to Ex
tend These lUesKlnjjs to thu AVorld
Soiuo Happy Condition * .
( Copyright , 1000. Louis Klopsch. N. T. )
Washington , Dec. 16. Dr. Talmage
preaches a discourse of Christian pa
triotism and shows the resources of
our country and predicts the time
when all the world will have the same
j blessings. His two texts are Revelation -
, lation xxi. , 13 , "On the south three
gates ; " Psalm cxlvii. , "He hath not
dealt so with any nation. "
Among the greatest needs of our
country is more gratitude to God for
the unparalleled prosperity bestowed
upon us. One of my texts calls us to
international comparison. What na
tion on all the planet has of late had
such enlargement of commercial op
portunity as is now opening before this
nation ? Cuba and Porto Rico and the
Philippine Islands brought into close
contact with us.and through steamship
subsidy and Nicaragua canal , which
will surely be afforded by congress ,
all the republics of South America.will
be brought into most active trade with
the United States. "On the south three
gates. " While our next door neigh
bors , the southern republics and neigh
boring colonies , imported from Euro
pean countries 3,000 miles away $ G75-
000,000 worth of goods in a year , only
$126,000,000 worth went from the Unit
ed States $126,000,000 out of ? 675,000-
000 , only one-fifth of the trade ours.
European nations taking the four fin
gers and leaving us the poor thumb.
Now all this is to be changed. There
is nothing but a comparative ferry be
tween the islands which have recently
come under our protection , and only
a ferry between us and Bolivia , Peru ,
Paraguay , Uruguay , Venezuela , Salva
dor , Nicaragua , Colombia , Costa Rica ,
Equador , Brazil , while there are raging
seas and long voyage between them
and Europe. By the mandate of the
United States all that will be changed
through new facilities of transporta
tion.
The Nation's Advertisements.
In anticipation of what is sure to
come , I nail on the front door of this
nation an advertisement :
Wanted. One hundred thousand
men to build railroads through South
America and the island of the sea un
der our protection.
Wanted. A thousand telegraph op
erators.
Wanted. One hundred million del
lars' worth of dry goods from the great
cities of the United States.
Wanted. All the clocks you can
make at New Haven and all the brains
you can spare from Boston and all the
bells you can mold at Troy and all the
McCormick reapers you can fashion
at Chicago and all the hams you can
turn out at Cincinnati and all the rail
road iron you can send from Pitts-
burg and all the statesmen that you
can spare from Washington.
Wanted. Right away , wanted by
new and swifter steamers , wanted by
rail-train , lawyers to plead our cause.
Wanted. Doctors to cure our sick.
Wanted. Ministers to evangelize
our population.
Wanted. Professors to establish our
universities.
"On the south three gates , " yea , a
thousand gates. South America and
all the islands of the sea approximate
are rightfully our commercial do
main , and the congress of the United
States will see to it that we get .vhat
belongs to us.
And then tides of 'ravel will be
somewhat diverted from Europe to our
islands at the south and to the land of
the Aztecs , Much of the § 125,000,000
yearly expended by Americans in Eu
rope will be expended in southern ex
ploration , in looking at some of the
ruins of the 47 cities which Stephens
found only a little way apart and in
walking through the great doorways
and over the miracles of mosaic and
along by the monumental glories of
another civilization , and ancient Am
erica will with cold lips of stone kiss
the warm lips of modern America , and
to have seen the Andes and Popocate
petl will be deemed as important as to
have seen the Alpine and Balkan
ranges , and there will be fewer people
spoiled by foreign travel , and in our
midst less of the poor and nauseating
imitation of a brainless foreign swell.
Some Happy Conditions.
Again , in this international compar
ison notice the happy condition of our !
country as compared with most coun
tries. Russia under the shadow of the
dreadful illness of her great and good
emperor , who now , more than any man
in all the world , represents "peace on
earth , good will to men , " and whose
empress , near the most solemn hour
that ever conies to a woman's soul , is
anxious for him to whom she has
given hand and heart , not for political
reasons , but through old fashioned
love such as blesses our humbler
dwellings ; India under the agonies of j
a famine which , though somewhat lifted - |
ed , has filled hundreds of thousands of i
graves and thrown millions into or
phanage ; Austria only waiting for her |
genial Francis Joseph to die so as to j
let Hungary rise in rebellion and make
the palace of Vienna quake with insur
rection ; Spain in Carlist revolution
and pauperized as seldom any nation
has been pauperized ; Italy under the
horrors of her king's assassination ;
China shuddering with fear of dismem
berment , her capital in possession of
foreign nations. After a review of
the condition in other lands can you
find a more appropriate utterance in
regard to our country than the ex
clamation of the text , "He hath not
de < lt so with any nation ? "
Compare the autumnal report of
harvests in America this year and the
harvests abroad. Last summer i
crossed the continent of Europe twice ,
and I saw no such harvests as are
spoken of-in this statement. Hear it ,
all you men and women who want
everybody to have enough to cat and
wear. I have to tell you that the
corn crop of our country this year is
one of the four largest crops on record
2,105,000,000 bushels ! The cotton
crop , though smaller than at some
times , will on that account bring big
ger prices , and so cotton planters of
the south are prosperous. The wheat-
fields have provided bread enough and
to spare. The potato crop , one of the
five largest crops on record 211,000,000
bushels ! Twenty-two million two
hundred thousand swine slain , and yet
so many hogs left.
The Story of Prosperity.
But now I give you the comparative
exports and imports , which tell the
story of national prosperity as noth
ing else can. Excess of exports over
imports , $544,400,000. Now let all pes
simists hide themselves in the dens
and caves of the earth , while all grate
ful souls fill the churches with dox-
ology. Notice also that while other
countries are at their wits' ends as to
their finances this nation has money
to lend. Germany , we are glad to see
you in Wall street. If you must bor
row money , we have it all ready. How
much will you have ? Russia , we also
welcome you into our money markets.
Give us good collateral. Meanwhile ,
Denmark , will you please accept our
offer of $3,000,000 for the island of St.
Thomas ? My hearers , there is no na
tion on earth with such healthy con
dition of finances. We wickedly waste
an awful amount of money in this
country , but some one has said it is
easier to manage a surplus than a
deficit.
Besides all this , not a disturbance
from St. Lawrence river to Key West
or from Highlands of New Jersey to
Golden Horn of the Pacific. Sectional
controversies ended. The north and
south brought into complete accord by
the Spanish war , which put the Lees
and the Grants on the same side , Vermonters -
monters and Georgians in the same
brigade. And since our civil war we
are all mixed up. Southern men have
married northern wives , and northern
men have married southern wives , and
your children are half Mississippian
and half New Englander , and to make
another division between the north
and the south possible you would have
to do with your child as Solomon
proposed with the child brought be
fore him for judgment divide it with
the sword , giving half to the north and
half to the south. No , there is noth
ing so hard to split as a cradle. In
other lands there is compulsory mar
riage of royal families , some bright
princess compelled to marry some dis
agreeable foreign dignitary in order to
keep the balance of political power in
Europe , the ill-matched pair fighting
out on a small scale that which would
have been an international contest ,
sometimes the husband having the bal
ance of power and sometimes the wife.
The Question of Wages.
Again , in this international compar
ison there is not a land whose wages
and salaries are so large for the great
mass of the people. In India four cents
a day and find yourself is good wages ;
in Ireland , in some parts , eight cents
a day for wages ; in England , $1 a day
good wages , vast populations not get
ting as much as that ; in other lands ,
50 cents a day and 25 cents a day ,
clear on down to starvation and
squalor ! Look at the great popula
tions coming out of the factories of
other lands and accompany them to
their homes and see what privations
the hard-working classes on the othsr
side of the sea suffer. The laboring
classes in America are 10 per cent bet
ter off than those in any other coun
try under the sun , 20 per cent , 40 per
cent , 50 per cent. The toilers of hand
and foot have better homes and better
furnished. "How much wages do you
get ? " is a question I have asked in
Calcutta , in St. Petersburg , in Berlin ,
in Stockholm , in London , in Paris , in
Auckland , New Zealand ; in Sydney ,
Australia , in Samoa , in the Sandwich
Islands , so I am not talking an ab
straction. The stone masons and car
penters and plumbers and mechanics
and artisans of all kinds in America
have finer residences than the major
ity of the professional men in Europe.
You enter the laborer's house on our
side of the sea and you find upholstery
and pictures and instruments of music.
His children are educated at the best !
schools. His life is insured , so that in j
case of sudden demise his family shall
not be homeless. Let all American
workingmen knew that while their i
wages may not be as high as they ;
would like to have them , America is
the paradise of industry.
Expenses of Government.
It is said that in our country we
have more dishonesty in the use of
public funds than in other lands. The
difference is that in cur country al
most every official has a chance to
steal , while in other lands a few people
ple absorb so much that the others
have no chance at appropriation. The
reason they do not steal is because
they cannot get their hands on it. The
governments of Europe are so expen
sive that after the salaries of the royal
families are paid there is not much left
to misappropriate. The emperor of
Russia has a nice little salary of ? 8-
210,000. The emperor of Austria has
a yearly salary of $4,000,000. Victoria ,
the queen , has a salary of $2,200,000.
The royal plate of St. James palace is
worth § 10,000,000. There is a host of
attendants , all on salaries , some of
them $5,000 a year , some | 6,000 a year.
Comptroller of the household , mistress
of the robes , captain of gold stick , lieu
tenant of silver stick , clerk of the
powder closet , pages of the back stairs ,
master of the horse , chief equerry ,
, crown eque.
equerries in ordinary
vice chn
hereditary grand falconer
berlaln. clerk of the kitchen , groo
in waiting , lords in waiting anns
sergeant-at
chamber ,
the court
dfiK
waterman ,
and
barge master .
ladles of.
bed chamber women , eight
.
andsoon.
and so on
the bedchamber ,
of the fabulous
All this is only a type
. All
expense of foreign governments.
blood
and
this Is paid out of the sweat r
satis
of the people. Are the people
UKe
Germani
However much the
fled ?
Frauds
likes
Austria
William , and
her glorious
England likes
Joseph , and
stupendous governmental
these
ous queen ,
a groan
mental expenses are built on
of dissatisfaction as wide as Europe.
If it were left to the people of Englander
Russ'a
or
Germany
or Austria or
whether these expensive establish
ments should be kept up , do you doubt
what the vote would be ? Now , Is it
not better that we be overtaxed and
the surplus be distributed all over the
land than to have it built up and piled
up inside the palaces ?
Question of Monopolies.
Again , the monopolistic oppression
is less in America than anywhere else.
The air is full of protest because great
houses , great companies , great indi
viduals , are building such overtower-
ing fortunes. Stephen Girard and
John Jacob Astor , stared at In their
time for their august fortunes , would
not now be pointed at in the streets of
Washington or Philadelphia or New-
York as anything remarkable. These '
vast fortunes for some imply pinched-
ness , of want for others. A growing
protuberance on a man's head implies
illness of the whole body. These es
tates of disproportionate size weaken
all the body politic. But the evil is
nothing with us compared with the
monopolistic oppression abroad. Just
look at the ecclesiastical establish
ments on the other side of the sea.
Look at those great cathedrals , built at
fabulous expense and supported by
ecclesiastical machinery , and some
times in an audience room that would
hold a thousand people twenty or thir
ty people gather for worship. The
pope's income is $8,000,000 a year.
Cathedrals of statuary and braided
arch and walls covered with master
pieces of Rubens and Raphael and
Michael Angelo. Against all the walls
dash seas of poverty and crime and
filth and abomination.
Ireland today one vast monopolistic
visitation. About 45,000,000 people in
Great Britain , and yet all the soil
r
owned by about 32,000. Statistics '
enough to make the earth tremble. 'I
Duke of Devonshire owning 96,000
acres in Derbyshire , Duke of Richmond
owning 300,000 acres around Gordon
castle. Marcus of Bredalbane going
on a journey of 100 miles in a straight
line , all on his own property. Duke
of Sutherland has an estate wide as
Scotland , which dips into the sea on (
both sides. Unfortunate as we have >
it here , it is a great deal worse there.
While making the international
comparison let us look forward to the
time which will surely come when all
nations will have as great advantages
as our own. As surely as the Bible is
true the whole earth is to be garden-
ized and set free. Even the climates
will change and the heats be cooled
and the frigidity warmed.
NATURE IS STRANGE.
Its Impulses Illustrated by Teamster
and Hungry Doff Kpisode.
Seated at the edge of the curbing
was a weary teamster , while near by
stood his horses crunching away at
their noon portion of oats , says the
Chicago News. Heaving a deep sigh ,
the teamster slowly ambled to the wagon
gen and from under the seat drew forth
a good-sized dinner pail. Resuming
his seat upon the curb he mechanically
removed the cover from ths lunch
bucket and began to eat.
His mind was far away from his sur
roundings , and with an occasional
ominous shake of the head he mutter
ed the thoughts that burdened his
brain. The appearance of a lean , hun
gry-looking dog resting upon its
launches directly in front of him at
tracted his attention. The animal
gazed longingly at each morsel of food
which passed the man's lips. The man
shied a bit of bread at the dog , who
devoured it eagerly. One piece of food
after another he tossed to ths emaci
ated animal until the contents of pail
had disappeared , all but a tough and
dangerous doughnut. Breaking a
piece from the "sinker , " he bade him
eat it. The animal sniffed , but refused
to take it in its teeth. Thinking that
by tossing the morsel to the ground
the animal might eat it , he did so ; but
the dog pushed it aside with his nose
and disdained to eat it. This act on
the part of the dog so angered him
that he arose slowly and landed
a vi
cious kick in the dog's ribs , which sent
the poor animal into the gutter , where
it lay writhing in "
agony , "So you ,
too , refused to take what I would rob
myself of , after having sacrificed
ev
erything else , " said the teamster.
with that remark and a parting kick
at the prostrate animal , he hastily re
moved the nosebags from the horses
mounted to the seat and drove away !
Horse Shoes for t.nck.
The custom of keeping horseshoes
or luck is said to have originated
the time when in at
every home
horseshoe. When anythin ?
to the picture the halo
and s " Pt
remained >
fastened to th ,
order that ! ° ° r' Instill
the saint's infl. '
still prevail. As J n ° e mlght
, it soon became
ake a charm o this to
the horseshoe fo lcVed ° I7' and
§ 1Ca"y
Prevention against ? . a