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-- DO believe that mv uncle is tlie
I most selfish man who ever
lived exclaimed Bob Curzon
What has he done now dear in
quired Cicely who was not unaccus
tomed to hear condemnatory remarks
respecting that gentleman
Why in the lirst place darling as
you are only too well aware replied
Bob he refused his consent to our he
lag mtrricd on the score of my youth
Well dear Bob je may have been
right there said Cicely soothingly
Twenty is a little young to get mar
ried isnt if
Not a bit answered Bob impa
tiently If a man doesnt know his
own mind at 20 he never will
But you may see some girl whom
you will prefer to me suggested
Cicely Somebody who is better look
ing or more accomplished
What nonsense exclaimed the
young man irritably Do you think
Im a boy to change my mind every
live minutes
O jio dear replied Cicely caress
ingly but such things have happened
you know and though it would break
my heart to lose you I would rather
you found out you didnt love mo be
fore we were married than after
wards
But 1 do love you my own little
sweetheart and always shall ana well
get married in spite o all the old can
tankerous uncles in Christendom
And as Bob spoke he placed his arm
around her and drew the young girls
head down on his broad breast
Robert Curzon was a student in St
Georges Hospital and Cicely was a
nurse probationer at the same estab
lishment aged respectively 20 and 19
They had fallen in love with one an
other some six months previously and
Uob had at once written home to his stead of a
iiiu ie MiVM Miinwirimr who stood in such as she had expected to find he-
- -- ----- - -- -
loco parentis to him as he was an or-
phan
There was very little opportunity for
making love in the hospital but the
young people were in the habit of meet
ing in the park whenever circum
stances permitted and it was on a se
cluded seat that the conversation Ave
have recorded took place
After a short interval devoted to
what the novelists of a previous gen
eration were in the habit of calling
tender passages Cicely drew herself
gently away from her lovers embrace
and putting her hat as straight as the
absence of a looking glass would per
mit inquired
What is this fresh news from your
ogre of an uncle dear
Why I heard the other day re-
jsponded Bob that he was dangerously j
ill had a fall while hunting and so I
thought it would be a splendid oppor 1
utility while he was weak and ill to j
get his consent to our being married j
an dhere is the communication whicn j
1 received this morning in reply
And pulling a letter out of pocket J
Bob extracted the contents from the i
envelope and read the following i
opistle I
Honored Sir I has been derected by j
youre uncle Major Mainwaring to
arnswer your letter He tells me to
say as how he cant write himself but i
he will se you something as 1 dont i
like to put on paper first afore he lets
you marry afore youre twenty live He
also ses as how you bein mixed up in j
it like ort to no were to get him a good
nerse and your to send him down can j
manege him I also sends cheq as do- I
sired and remain
vant
Hes the old maus valet and facto
tum explained Bob as he linished
reading The letter And now dont
you think that it is the most seliish lot
tery youve ever hearer
Well dear I think yc ri ought to
make allowances
Oh yes I dare say in novels
ell do take place in real
life
Sometimes praps but
Dont you think Im a good enough
nurse then
My dear Cicely you are the best
nurse in the hospital for a
l e- interrupted Bob perceiving that
Jio conversation was taking a wrong
turn Every one acknowledges that
Then why wont you let me go down
iiii see what I can do
Well my dear 1 dont mind of
course replied Bob slowly but do
you really think it will be of any use
1 shouldnt have sijgested it unless
1 did
1 must sav that 1 think it will be
labor in vain but still if you wish to
your hand at diplomacy I suppose
1 must consent
Theres a sensible darling cried
Cicely putting her arms round his neck
and kissing him And now I will
show you what a woman can do
i - sje s
Major Mainwaring was what is
known as a continued bachelor When
Jabez introduced the young nurse who
had come to him on the recommenda
tion of his nephew his lirst muttered
remark was
I hope to goodness she wont start
tidying things up
Only one who has been left to tin4
tender mercies of a soldier servant for
nearly a week can imagine the differ
ence which a couple of days made noi
only in the Majors room but in tht
Major and nobody was more surprised
than that gentleman himself when lie
found how much the womans tricks
as he somewhat contemptuously ex
pressed it added to his comfort
Cicely had her surprise also for in-
worn out decrepit old man
lovers uncle she discovered that he
was a handsome man in the prime of
life and though he was evidently suf
fering intense pain from his fractures
and contusions yet he bore it nearly as
uncomplainingly as a woman would
have done
The weeks slowly glided away and
the Major gradually grew stronger
One morning he said in an apologetic
voice
1 am going to ask you to to do me a
favor Cicely
Certainly Major responded Cicely
with the sunny smile that made her
invaluable as a nurse What is if
Why I want you ro write a letter
for meto a scapegrace nephew of mine
The truth is this fellow has been trad
ing on the fact that he is my only li
ing relative ever since he knew the
value of the relationship and at last I
think the time has arrived when I
ought to put down my foot
What has he done then inquired
Cicely endeavoring to conceal the agi
tation which she felt
The young vagabond is a medical
student at St Georges but of course
you are aware of thai as he sent you
down here the only good turn he has
even done me in his life by t he bye
and I have always made him a gener
ous allowance In addition to this I
have paid his debts twice And now
he writes to say that unless he has a
certain sum by to morrow morning to
pay his debts of honor as he terms
them he will be ruined for life Now
I have made up my mind not to let him
have any more money beyond his in
come and I want you to write and tell
him that as he has broken his word of
youre obedent ser- honor when he promised me on the last
JABEZ BUNGER j occasion not to ganib
again I must
decline to have anything to do with
his debts of honor
Cicely took down the address and
made notes of what she had to write
but strange to say almost immediate
ly afterwards she met with an acci
dent and ran a pin into her -thumb in
i - i
i ook nere uiceiy interrupted Boo such a way as to prevent her holding
1 know this man and you dont Im a pen and the communication had to
the son of his favorite sister and the be written by Jabez after all
only relation he has in the world hes A few days after this Cicely had
an old man who cant expect to live been reading to him when the Major
anuc h longer whos had lor of fun in aft or a short interval of silence ex-
Jiis day been in the army in India and
ii that sort of thins you know and
he erer behaves in this sort of
way I consitrer th its disgraceful
i has had his turn why cant he let
one have mine
Bob Ive got an idea exclaimed
Cicely suddenly turning round and
taking his hand in hers as she spoke
Let us have it my dear answered
Uob in that patronizing manner which
very young men are fond of assuming
in their dealings with the opposite sex
It may suggest something dont you
Jkuow
My idea Bob is this Your uncle
svanis a nurse let me go down and at
tend him and when Ive restored him
to health ami he i completely conval
esce i can tell him who I am
What would be the good of that
ased Bob
Why of course dear he would be
o grateful that he would at once give
his consent to our being married
Ha ha ha laughed Bob 0 you
little goose you dont knew my Uncle
Mellaril
You are unkind Bob said Cicely
-drawing herself away irc m him
Dont be cross little one I couldnt
J Jp laughing pon my word I coulfl
nt
But Ive read of such things Bob
claimed
The doctor says I may get up to
morrow Cicely and that has made mc
think
What have you been thinking
about demurely asked the pretty
nurse
I have been wondering what on
earth I shall do when you leave me
and so back to town
Just what you did before I came I
suppose replied the young lady in
tently regarding the binding of the
book she was holding in her lap
No T can never do that said the
Major When I was a young man
Cicely I was very fond of a girl in
fact we were going to be married but
the week before she was to have be
come my wife she ran away with a
friend of mine a lieutenant in the same
regiment as myself Since then I have
had a somewhat bad opinion of wom
en and you must acknowledge with
reason but you have altered all that
Cicely
How or in what way Major Main
waring faltered Cicely groAViug rap
idly red as a rose
Why I can see that ihough there
are bad women in the world there are
also good ones and the man who man
ages to get hold of a good one for his
wife cannot obtain a greater treasure
7
and Im going to ask you if you will be
my treasure
But Major Mainwaring I am only
a nurse a hospital nurse what will
your friends say
My dearest girl you have saved my
life and in my opinion you possess all
the graces and virtues that a woman
ought to have If 1 marry a girl I do
it to consult my own happiness not
that of my friends I know I am twice
your age but in spite of that I am a
young man still now say dear will
you marry me
Are you sure you love me asked
Cicely in a low voice That you are
not asking mo to be your wife out of
gratitude
Cicely cried the Major I cannot
take you in my arms as you well
know or I shall upset this compound
fracture but come here come here at
once and look in my eyes Now do
you think I love you and will you be
my wife
Cicely beheld such a tire of love in
those honest brown eyes that she felt
compelled to hide her own but as she
endeavored to conceal her blushing
face he heard her whisper something
which in spite of comminuted com
pound fractures dislocations and such
other evils as attend a hunting man
who comes a cropper compelled him
to place his arms around her and raise
her head until her sweet red lips were
available for kissing purposes
My Dear llobert I was married to
your uncle Richard yesterday and we
leave here for the south of France to
morrow 1 did not lind what you rep
resented in fact quite the contra rv
When I tell you that 1 have persuaded
your uncle to increase your allowance
I feel sure that you will not regret my
signing myself your affectionate aunt
CICELY MAINWARING
By Tore exclaimed Bob as he tore
the above letter into little pieces its
wonderful what a woman can do
Chicago Tribune
First Sapphire Found in Idaho
An Idaho miner brought a stone to
the Minors -which
bureau was pro
nounced a sapphire of the purest -water
and the largest ever seen The gem
was nearly a cube being about one
and one half inches thick one and ono
half inches -wide and two inches long
It was much water -worn showing
plainly the pebbly conformation grad
ually assumed by gems found in the
beds of mountain torrents the edges
being very much rounded This is ihj
lirst sapphire of any size discovered
in Idaho They are frequently found
in Montana and some tine stones have
come from there The owner of this
stone is operating placer mines in
Idaho and the stone was found in the
tailings and preserved on account of
its bright blue color News of the find
reached New York and an agent of
Tiffany after examining iw stone of
fered SSHOO for it The owner decided
that if it was worth that in the rough
it was probably worth much more and
is now on his way to London -where
he expects to realize its full value
The ione is almost perfect the only
blemish being a fracture on one side
extending hs than one eighth of an
inch into the stone Mr Taylor who
has i long experience in handling gems
says that iu his opinion it is the
largest known sapphire in th world
the weight being 20S carats Sap
phires are valuable according to their
purity perfectly clear gems bringing
high prices the price like that of
diamonds being increased per carat in
proportion to the weight of the stone
Denver Republican
Only Six Survivors
Of the crowd of members of
who on Nov 20 3S37 thronged
the bar of the House of Lords to catch
a glimpse of the girl Queen opening her
lirst Parliament only six are living at
this day This fact standing alone
marks the unparalleled length of Queen
Victorias reign The half dozen sur
vivors are Mr Leader who represented
Victoria in the lirst Parliament of Vic
toria Mr Hurst who represented Hor
sham Wentworth Fitzwilliain of Mal
ton now Earl Fitzwilliain Sir Thomas
Acland of West Sumerset whose fam
ily is still represented in the House of
Commons of to day by the ox vice pres
ident of the council Mr Villiers now
as then representing AVolverhampton
and Mr Gladstone the rarest relic of a
turbulent political past and now in re
tirement from public life Of her first
ministers not one is alive
Frogs as Soldiers
Dont imagine these frogs dressed up
in ied coats with swords and pistols
but simply as an army going out to
light
The frog plays the part of a soldier
in Iceland says a traveler from that
country but of course it had to be
taken there as Iceland had neither rep
tiles nor toads The frogs light the
mosquitoes In some parts of Iceland
especially round the larger lakes the
mosquitoes and tlies have become so
much of a plague that people living
around myvath mosquito water are
obliged while working in the fields to
protect their hands ana faces by gloves
veils or masks
An English physician devised the
clever plan of importing the frogs As
soon as these little croakers got into the
country the mosquitoes began to di
minish
Lin nip Chimneys
A Gorman firm makes a lamp in
which there is a bulb at the upper in
stead of the lower part and in which
the upper rim is cut obliquely This
it is said makes it much safer to blow
a lamp out and the flame is taller and
steadier so that the light is improved
The greater safety in blowing out will
of course depend upon the blower
blowing from the high pit of the
slanting top
HOME OF PRESIDENTS
OFFICIAL RESIDENCE OF
CHIEF EXECUTIVES
OUR
Interesting Description of the Famous
Biiihlinu The JSast Blue Green and
Keel Rooms Mecca of Politicians
Who Seek Ollice
The White House
Washington correspondence
There is no house in all the land to
which the eyes of the American peo
ple turn with more interest than to the
ote which for almost a century has
been the home of rhc ir Preiceius
the White House at- Washington
When LEnfant laid out tne plan of
this beautiful city it is evident that
he had in mind the old Babylon of
Scriptural magnificence Jefferson
however had procured abroad plans
of foreign capitals Paris Marseilles
Milan Versailles and others and be
fore submitting his own he consulted
lUESIDKXTS IVKIVATE OFFICK
these and from them he took the to
pography of Versailles and then in
troduced the broad transverse ave
nues the circles open squares and tri
angular reservations which resulted
in producing this city of magnificent
distances
At the foot of one of these reserva
tions the White House stands There
are twenty acres in what is known as
the Presidents grounds fronting on
Pennsylvania avenue and directly fac
ing the lovely Lafayette square and
running south to the rotomac river
The house was designed by the famous
Architect Hoban and was constructed
under the personal supervision of
George Washington He officiated at
the Masonic ceremonies when the cor
ner stone was laid and he had the sat-
woven through them are hundreds of
tiny varied colored electric lights the
whole presenting a picture which
might grace the Arabian Nights It
was in this room near the large east
windows that Nellie Grants marriage
which afterwards proved so unhappy
was solemnized
Leading from the East Room is the
Green Room so named from the tint
ing which prevails in its furnishing
and decorations On its Avails hangs
the picture of Mrs Hayes which was
presented to the Government by the
Womans Christian Temperance Linon
because she was the lirst mistress of
the White House who turned her wine
glass upside down at the diuners given
there although since then Mrs Cleve
land has done the same The life size
painting of Mrs Harrison also hangs
in this room and is one of the most ar
tistic pieces of work in the house
The next in this suite of state parlors
is one about which a peculiar charm
attaches the Blue Room For it is
here that the receiving party stand for
the official receptions and it is here
that President and Mrs Cleveland were
married It is in this room too whore
the diplomats in their gorgeous attire
await for the President to receive them
first on New Years Day The room
has been the scene of a thousand and
one other interesting events In the
is3
HJ illustra
y I Gate
ltion -can be seen the Golden
over which the eager public
lean to catch a glimpse of the receiving
party after having passed through the
rooms themselves and beyond it is a
glimpse of the Tiffany screen
Opening off the Blue is the Red
Room this was Mrs Clevelands fa
vorite of all of the downstairs rooms
and she gave it a more home like air
than any of the others possessed She
tilled it with her own books
and so forth and often here received
her guests Mrs McKinley prefers the
library above stairs which is a delight
fully charming sunshiny room and
the view from its south windows of the
White lot the Monument Potomac
and the blue Ifflls of Virginia beyond
cannot be surpassed for loveliness
On the walls of the lower floor hang
pictures of all of the Presidents ab
well as many of their wives
The state dining room opens from
the Red Room and across the hall is
the smaller one used by the family
both handsome apartments and fur
nished in fine dining room parapher
nalia To the west of the house is the
conservatory and probably more rare
exotics are grown there than within
if ii sisfiiiisiii
zt
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P
TILE EAST ROOM WHITE IIOUbE
isfaction of walking through it with
Mrs Washington after its completion
a few weeks previous to his death This
building was burned by tiie British in
1S12 but rebuilt in 1S15 With the ex
ception of Washington it has been the
home of every President the United
States has had The structure is built
of sandstone painted white and is se
verely plain in its exterior It is two
stoxnes high with a basement and is
of the Grecian style of architecture
On the north which is the front side
is an imposing port cochere and a
grand portico supported by Ionic col
umns while on the south is a semi-circular
colonnade
But if the exterior is plain the in
terior is sufficiently magnificent to
compensate for it The heavy black
Aval nut front doors Avith their stained
glass AvindoAvs open into a spacious
corridor the floor of Avhich is of mo
saics in different colored stone In
the rear and separating it from the
red corridor is thefajuoiisTifiauy
screen Aviiich is one of the most beauti
ful pieces of Avork of its kind in the
Avorld and Avhich Avas designed and
made by Louis Tiffany An idea of its
ioost may be obtained from the fact
that at one of Mrs Clevelands last
receptions in the crush of people tAVO
of the small pieces of glass Avere
broken out and it cost 2 to have sim
ply the two replaced It is in this cor
ridor that the Marine Band is stationed
Avhen playing for the Presidents din
ners and receptions
The Kast Room
To the east of this corridor and
across the hall Avhich leads upstairs is
the Avell knoAvn East Room so historic
in its associations so tilled with the
memory of the great men avIio have
trodden its fioor It is finished in Gre
cian style and the Avoodwork is deco
rated in Avhite and gold The ceiling
is divided into three panels and from
the eefitcr of each hang massive crys
tal chandeliers On the Avails are the
painting of Washington which Dolly
Madison had cut from the frame car
ried from the White House aa Iioii the
British Avere at its very gates in 1S12
and those of Martha Washington 7ef
ferson and Lincoln This room is a
marvel of beauty when it is prepared
for the official receptions Then the
window recesses are filled Avith tall
palms the mantles and mirror rests
are banked Avitli cut flowers while
from the chandeliers are hung ropes
of dainty asparagus and smilax and
the same space elsewhere in the coun
try
The upper corridor is used by tiie
Presidents family as a sitting room
and off from it is the library and the
five sleeping rooms Avhich make up the
number that the limited space of the
historic old mansion can spare for that
purpose The eastern part of the up
stairs is given to offices OA cr the East
Room is the Presidents private ollice
from which the carpet lias been worn
almost threadbare by the feet of the
many office seekers since the of
March Avhile leading out of it is his
secretarys office and beyond that the
room in which the Cabinet meet On
the other side of the corridor are other
offices Avhile this corridor is the Avail
ing room for those AAho Avish to see the
President Avhen he is busy
The First Teacups
Even after tea was introduced into
Europe and had come into general use
teacups Avere scarce says the Jewelers
Circular At the same time coffee was
introduced but apart from Constanti
nople the first coffee cups in Europe
date back only as far as KJ lo in Venice
1GH9 in Paris ljr2 in London and 1014
in Leipsic From the lirst hoAvevt r
the conventional Oriental coffee cup
without stem or handle Avas little ued
and in Germany not at all The Chi
nese teacup Avas used for tea coffee
and chocolate as well Specimens of
porcelain AAere undoubtedly introduced
into Europe in the Middle Ages yet not
till the sixteenth century were cups im
ported from Cliina in any great quan
tities and even then it Avas as articles
of virtu Most of those found their
Avay back to China again as collecting
porcelain is a lasting fad there and
high prices are paid for good speci
mens The collection of Chinese porce
lain if only the genuine- specimens are
desired requires immense study and
knowledge as the Chinese are skillful
imitators and put numerous filsiiica
tions on the market
GroAVth of Postal Service
In the reign of Charles I the British
postal service carried l0OUUO letters
annually in the reign of George II S
000000and in 1S04 as many as 2100
000000
The woman avIio wears such full
sleeves to her clothes that they dip in
the butter and jam should elope to
some desert island Avith the man Avho
gets soup in his whiskers
AN ANCIENT MEXICAN CITY
A Curious Lccrcnd Relica of Emperor
Maximilian 0-
Quoretaro was a toAvn before the
Spanish conquest and avis made a city
in 1oj5 A legend of Quoretiro is that
an Otomite chief Fernando de
Tapia by name undertook to ccavert
the city to Christianity in a way that
seems novel to us lmt was common
enough to his day He camie from
Tula with a challenge to the people ofc
Queretaro to a fair stand up fight If
he Avon the people surviving were to
be baptized The challenge Avas ac
cepted but while the fight was in
progress a dark cloud came up and tho
Blessed Santiago was seen in the
heavens with a fiery cross whereupon
the people of Queretaro gave up anxl
were baptized They set up a stone
cross to commemorate the event on tho
site of the present Church of Santa
vCruz There is scarcely a church iu
Mexco which litis not a legend of
this kind attached to it The town is
identified Avith the history of Mexico
Hee the treaty of peace between the
United States and Mexico was ratified
in ISIS and here Maximilian made hLs
last stand in 1S07 was obliged to
surrender and was shot Everybody
is interested Ln Maximilian mainly on
account of poor Carlotta avIio by the
way has just obtained permission to
revisit Mexico Maximilian was ex
ecuted on the Cerro de las Cmipanas
and with him Generals Miramon and
Media The place is marked by thre
little crosses of stone The two gen
era Is were killed at the first volley
but Maximilian avIio hail requested
that he be shot through the body that
his mother might look upon his face
was only wounded and a second firing
was required to kill him The lEniperoE
had been led to beliAe that Carlotta
was dead She became insane from
grief and was kept in an asylum for
mairy years but she still lives and
still mourns for her deail husband and
the loss of her throne The United
States government protested against
the execution of Maximilian but in
Aain Juarez refusing to spare him
There are all kinds of relics of Max
imilian in Mexico The Yturbide thea
ter where he avos tried and con
demned the table on which the death
warrant was siirned the wooden stools
on Avhich the prisoners sat during rhe
trial and the coffin of Maximilian
whoso remains wore subsequently sent
to Austria and buried at Miramar I
confess I do not share in any sentiment
of pity for Maximilian avIio aais an
adventurer without a shadow of right
in Mexico and took the chances of Aar
He Avas it is true a victim of Napoleon
and of his oavii ambition and Avas
very scurvily treated by those who had
induced him to set up his throne in
Mexico but to have released him
would have been to establish a claim
ant for the Mexico throne It was bet
ter that this man should die than that
thousands should be sacrificed in the
Avars he avouhi surely Have fomented
if he had been alloAvd to live Phila
delphia Public Ledger
Seeing the White House
One of the most unique types of hu
manity that have been seen at the
White House in many a day strolled
leisurely into the mansion shortly after
luncheon the other day says a corre
spondent of the New York Sun He
was a negro pockmark
ed nigged and footsore He had just
tramped in from O ran ire County Vir
ginia and after putting foot on the
Washington asphalt made a bee line
for the White House He Avas the ob
ject of many curious glances
Is dis de Presidents house he
asked of a doorkeeper
Yes colonel aams the reply the
doorkeeper noticing the military garb
Well is cullnd persons loAA ed in
He was informed that no distinction
is dniAvn between rhe races and he
marched proudly into the east room
He took in his surroundings at a
glance Avalked straight for a chair
ami removing a hat that had seen bet
ter days knelt in prayer He remain
ed in this posture several minutes
while the White House attaches won
dered whether a lunatic had invaded
the mansion Finally the old negro
arose inspected the furnishings of the
room uttered Avords of praise for the
President and noiselessly glided out
of the east mom It aaos not enough
he thought to see only the east room
He Avanted to make a tour of the man
sion He peeped through keyholes
cracks and crevices trying to get a
look ar some of the occupants of the
White House Failing to see anybody
he passed out of the building On the
portico he encountered a White House
policeman
Just tell de President that Mister
John W Shelden of Orange County
Virginny called Remember now
John W Shelden
The policeman informed Mr Shelden
that Le would communicate his mes
sage Avhereupon the old darky re
moved his hat buttoned his old coat
and jumped up in the air like an
Apache Indian en route to war Avith a1
hostile tribe
Rise shine shout giAe God the
glory shouted the old man at the top
of his voice as he passed dOAvn the
steps leading to the drivewav
Acetylene
It is stated that acetylene is bein0
tried in some of thetramcars in Paris
and with promising success The gen
erator containing the calcium carbide
and water weighs under thirty pounds
and is placed beneath the steps of the
vehicle and it contains sufficient
ma
terial for generating thirty five feet
of gas As the lighting power of acety
lene gas is something like fifteen- times
that of coal gas the cost is stated to
be less than that of illuminating the
cars by petroleum
The average man would rather he a
young fool than an old person of sense
m
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