Bond
>
4 CMthHMl
' Sttry.
HALL CAINE.
CHAPTER VI. ( Continued. )
' < l But , waiting for the coming of the
lk l apothecary , a new dread , that was
k also a new hope , stole over her.
Since that first day on which her
boy and her husband talked together ,
and every day thereafter when Sun-
1 locks had called out "Little Michael !
little Michael ! " and she had sent the
child In , with his little flaxen curls
combed out , his little chubby face
rubbed to a shiny red , and all his lit
I' tle body smelling sweet with the soft
M odors of childhood , she baa noticed
ehe could not help it that Sunlocks
listened for the sound of her own
footstep whenever by chance ( which
might have been rareshe passed his
I'V way.And at first this was a cause of fear
to her , lest he should discover her
before her time came to reveal her
self ; and then of hope * that he , might
even do so , and save her against her
V will from the sickening pains of hun
gry waiting ; and finally of horror ,
N- that perhaps after all. he was think
- ing of her as another woman. This
last thought sent all the blood of her
body tingling into her face , and on
the day it flashed upon her , do what
she would she could not but hate .him
for it as for an infidelity that might
not be forgiven.
"He 'never speaks of me , " she
thought , "never thinks of me ! I am
dead to him ; quite , quite dead and
swept out of his micd. "
It was a cruel conflict of love and
hate , and if it had come to a man he
would have said within himself , "By
this token I know that she whom I
love has forgotten me , and may be
happy with another some aay. Well ,
I am nothing let me go my ways. "
But that is not the gospel of a wo
man's love , with all its sweet , dell-
clous selfishness. So after Greeba
had told herself once or twice that
her husband had forgotten her , she
told , herself a score of times that do
what she would he should yet be
hers , hers only , and no other woman's
in all the wide world. Then she
thought , "How foolish ! Who is there
to take him from me ? Why , no one. "
About the same time she heard
Sunlocks question the priest concern
ing , asking what the mother of little
Michael was like to look upon. And
the priest answered that if the eyes
of an old curmudgeon like himself
could see straight , she was comely
beyond her grade in life , and young ,
too , though her brown hair had some
times a shade of gray , and gentle and
silent , and of a soft and touching
voice.
"I've heard her voice once , " said
Sunlocks. "And her husband was an
Icelander , and he is dead , you say ? "
"Yes , " said the priest ; "and she's
like myself in one thing. "
"And what is that ? " said Sunlocks.
"That she has never been able to
look at"anybody else , " said thepriest.
"And that's why she is here , you must
know , burying herself alive on old
Grimsey. "
" " in the low
"Oh , said Sunlocks ,
murmur of the blind , " "if God had but
given methis woman , so sweet , so
true , so simple , instead of her of her
and yet and yet "
"Gracious heavens ! " thought Gree
ba , "he is falling in love with me. "
At that , the hot flush overspread
her cheeks again , and her dark eyes
danced , and all her loveliness flowed
back upon her in an instant. And
then a subtle fancy , a daring scheme ,
a wild adventure broke on her heart
and head , and made every nerve in
her body quiver. She would let him
go on ; he should think she was the
other woman ; she wouid draw him
on to love her , and one day when
she held him fast and sure , and he
was hers , hers , hers only forever and
ever , she would open her arms and
cry , "Sunlocks , Sunlocks , I am Gree
ba , Greeba ! "
It was while she was in the first
hot flush of this wild thought , never
doubting but the frantic thing was
posisble , for love knows no impedi
ments , that the apothecary came from
Husavik , saying he was sent by some
unknown correspondent named Adam
Eair brother , who had wiitten from
London. He examined the eyes of
Michael Sunlocks by the daylight first ,
but the season being the winter sea
son , and the daylight heavy with fog
from off the sea , he asked for a can
dle , and Greeba was called to hold
it while he examined the eyes again.
c4Never before had she been , so near
to her husband throughout the two
years , and now that she had lived
under the same roof with him , and
BOW that she stood face to face with
him , within sound of his very breath
ing , with nothing between them but
the thin gray film that lay over his
dear eyes , she could not persuade
herself but that he was looking at
her and seeing.her.Thenrshe began ,
to tremble , and presently a voice said ,
"Steadily , young woman , steadily ,
or your candle may. fall on the good
master's face. "
She tried to compose herself , but
could not , and when she had recov
ered from her first foolish dread ,
there came a fear that was not fool
ish a fear of the verdict of the apoth
ecary. Waiting for this in those min
utes that 'seemed to be hours , she
knew that she was on the verge of
betraying herself , and however she
held her breath she could see that
her bosom was heaving.
"Yes , " said the apothecary , calmly ,
"yes , I see ne reason why you should
not recover your sight. "
' "Thank God ! " said Michael Sun-
loclcs.
"Thank God again , " said the priest
And Greeba , who had dropped the
candle to the floor at'length , had to
run from the room on the instant ,
lest the cry of her heart should
be the cry of her lips as well , "Thank
< God , again and again , forever and fer-
\jver. "
And , being back in her own apart
ment , she plucked up her child into
her arms , and cried over him , and
. laughed over him , andwhispered'
strange words of delight into his ear ,
mad words of love , wild words of
hope.
"Yes , yes , " she whispered , "he will
recover his sight , and see his little
son , and know him for his own , his
own , his own. Oh , yes , yes , yes , he
will know him , he will know him , for
he will see his own face , his own dear
face , in little Michael's. "
But next day , when the apothecary
had gone , leaving Jotions and drops
for use throughout a month , and
promising to return at the end of it ,
Greeba's new Joy made way for a
new terror , as she reflected that just
as Sunlocks would see little Michael
If he recovered his sight , so he would
see herself. At that thought all her
heart was in her mouth again , for she
told herself that if Sunlocks saw her
he would also see what deception she
had practiced in that house , and
would hate.her for it , and.tell her , as
he had told her once before , that it
came of the leaven of her old light
ness that had led her on from false-
dealing to false-dealing , and so he
would turn his back upon her or
drive her from him.
Then in the cruel war of her feel
ings she hardly knew whether-to hope
that Sunlocks should recover his
sight , or remain as he was. Her pity
cried out for the one , and her love
for the other. If he recovered , at
least there would belight lor him in
his dungeon , though she might not be
near to share It. But if he remained
as he was , she would be beside him
always , his second sight , his silent
guardian spirit , eating her heart out
with hungry love , but content and
thanking God.
"Why couldn't I leave things as
they were ? " she asked herself , but
she was startled out of the selfishness
of her love by a great crisis that came
soon afterwards.
Now Michael Sunlocks had been al
lowed but little intercourse with the
world during the two and a nair years
of his imprisonment since the day of
his recapture at th Mount of Laws.
While in the prison at Reykjavik he
had heard the pitiful story of that
day ; who hiy old yoke-follow had
been , what hehad doneand said , and
how at. last , when his Drav e scheme
had tottered to ruin , he had gone out
of the ken and knowledge of all men.
Since Sunlocks came to Grimsey he
had written once to AdamFairbroth -
er , asking tenderly after the old man's
condition , earnestly after Greeba's
material welfare , and witn deep af
fectionate solicitude for thp last tid
ings of Jason. His letter never
reached its destination , for the Gov
ernor1 of Iceland waa. the postmaster
as well. And Adair on his part had
written twice to Michael Sunlocks ,
once from Copenhagen where ( when
Greeba had left for Grimsey ) he had
gone by help of her n oney from Reyk
javik , thinking tp see the King of
Denmark in his own person ; and once
from London , whereto he had followed
on when that bold design had failed
him. But Adam's letters shared the
fate of the letter of Sunlocks , and
thus through two long years no news
of the world without ha.d broken the
silence of that lonely home on the
rock of the Arctic seas.
But during that time there had been
three unwritten communications from
Jorgen Jorgensen. The first came
after six months in the shape of a
Danish sloop of war , which took up
its moorings in1 the roadstead outside ;
the second after a year , in the shape
of a flagstaff and flag which were to
be used twice a day for signalling to
the ship that the prisoner was still
safe in custpdy ; the third after two
years , in the'-shape of a iuge-'lock and
key , to be placed on some room in
which the-prisoner was henceforth to
be confined. These three communica
tions , making in their contrary way
the progress of old Adam's persistent
suit , first in Denmark and then in
England , were followe after awhile
by a fourth. This wasNa message from-
the governor at Reyklavik to the old
priest at Grimsey , that , as he valued
his livelihood and life he was to keep
close guard and watch over his pris
oner , and , if need be , to warn him
'that a worse * fate might come to him
at any tima.
Now , the evil hour when this final
mesage came was just upon the good
time when the apothecary from. Hus
avik brought the joyful tidings that
Sunlocks might recover his sight , and
the blow was the heavier for the hope
that had gone before it. All Grimsey
shared Doth , for the fisherfolk had
grown to like the pale stranger who ,
though so simple in speech and man
ner , had been a great man in some
way that they scarcely knew having
no one to tell them , being so far out
of the world but had fallen upon hu
miliation and deep dishonor. Michael
Sunlocks himself took the blow with
composure , " saying it * was * plainly-his
destiny and of a * piece with the jest
of his fate , wherein no good thing
had ever come to him without an evil
one coming on the back of it. The
tender heart of the old priest was
thrown , into wild commotion , for Sun-
locks had become , during the two
years of their life together , as a son
to him , a son that was as a father
also , a stay and guardian , before
whom his weakness that of intem
perance stood rebuked.
But the trouble of old Sir Sigfus
was as nothing to that of Greeba. _ In
the message of the Governor she saw
death instant death , death without
word or warning , and every hour of
her life thereafter was .beset with ter
rors. It was the month of February ;
and if the snow fell irom the mossy
eaves in heavy thuds , she thought it
was the muffled "trend of the guards
that swept down trom Greenland
cracke on the coast of Grimsey , she
heard the shot that was to end his
life. When Sunlocks talked of des
tiny she cried , and when the priest
railed at Jorgen Jorgensen ( having his
own reason to hate him ) she cursed the
name of the tyrant. But all the while
she had to cry out without tears and
curse only in the dark silence of her
heart , though she was near to betray
ing herself a hundred times a day.
"Oh , it ia cruel , " she thought , "very ,
very cruel. Is this what I have waited
for all this weary , weary Ume ? "
And though so lately her lave had
fought with her pity to prove that it
was best for both of them that Sun-
locks should remain blind , she'found
It another disaster now , in the dear
inconsistency of womanhood , that he
should die on the eve of regaining his
sight.
"He will never see his boy , " she
thought , "never,1never , neer now. "
Yet she could hardly believe it true
that the cruel chance could befall.
What good would the death of Sun-
locks'do to anyone ? What evil did it
bring to any creature that he was alive
on that rock at the farthest ends of
the earth and sea ? Blind , too , and
helpless , degraded from his high place ,
his young life wrecked , aud his npble
gifts wasted ! There must have been
some mistake. She would go out to
the ship and ask if it was not so.
And with such wild thoughts she
hurried off to the little village at the
edge of the bay. There she stood a
long hour by the fisherman's jetty ,
looking wistfully out to where the
sloop of war lay , like a big wooden
tub , between gloomy sea nd gloomy
sky , and her spirit failed her , and
though she had borrowed a boat she
could go no further.
"They might laugh at me , and make
a jest of me , " she thought , "for I can
not tell them that I am his wife. "
With that , she went her way back
as she came * , crying on the good pow
ers above to tell her what to do next ,
aud where to look for help. And en
tering in at the porch of her own
apartments , which stood aside from the
body of the house , she heard voices
within , and stopped to listen. At first
she thought they were the voices of
her child and her husband , but though
one of them was that of little Michael ,
the other was too deep , too strong , too
sad for the voice of Sunlocks.
"And so your name is Michael , my
brave boy. Michael ! Michael ! " said
the voice , and it was strange and yet
familiar. "And how like you are to
your mother , too ! How like ! How
very like ! " And the voice seemed to
break in the speaker's throat.
Greeba grew dizzy and stumbled for
ward. And , as she entered the house , ,
a man rose from the settle , put little
Michael to the ground and faced about
to her. The man was Jason.
( To Be Continued. )
"Where the Fans Came From.
A social worker who has had occa
sion to inspect most of the so-called
, sweat shops in New York gave it as
his belief that-the person who invent
ed the electrical fans got his idea fron >
the funny little tailors and their sew
ing machines. It has been an old prac
tice with these workmen in warm
weather , said tHe agent , , to use the
power in their machines to fan them
selves. This they accomplish by tying
pieces of stiff cardboard to the spokes
of the fly or balance wheel , and , as
they work the pedal with the feet , the
cardboard on the wheel cuts the air
like a small pinwheel and plays the
air upon the face of the tailor.
New Place for Corsets.
A Manila exchange tells of an Amer
icansoldier who , while stationed in
Bulacan , became enamored of a pretty
Filipino. Wishing to show his affec
tion he purchased and sent to her a
complete outfit of American clothing.
When next he called he found her ar
rayed in all the pretty things , but she
had made one radical mistake. This
was with the corsets , which had caused
her a great deal of worry before she
discovered what she took to be the
use for which they were intended.
Then she unlaced them and put on tho
two pieces as leggings.
His Royal Flash Saved Him.
There was a big game of j > oker in
progress at a New York hotel the other
night. The game had lasted for houra
and finally the.players decided to stopv
after a las.tj'jaqkpot' ! had been.pla.jred.
A well known lawyer did not draw any
cards. He had been a heavy loser all
the evening. Finally the betting nar
rowed down to the lawyer and another
man , until there was $2,000 on the
table. When the call came the lawyer
laid down a royal flush. The other fel
low had two jacks and a heavy heart.
Schwab Misrepresented.
"This talk about Mr. Schwab derid
ing education , " said a Pittsburg man ,
who knows , him well , the other day ,
"is all nonsense. No man mthe-coun
try thinks more of education"than Mr.
Schwab. He thinks all the more of it
because he has had but little of it. I
look for Mr. Schwab to make very
large gifts to education institutions.
Mr. Schwab is not at all the sort of
person he is represented to be. "
More from the "Quo Vadls" Man.
Henry Sienkiewicz's translator , Jere
miah Curtin , has just returned from A
visit to the novelist at his summer
home in the Carpathians. Sienkiewicz
is at work on a novel of the life of
John Sobieski , a king of Poland. He
intends to later write a series of his
torical novels on the career of Na
poleon I , and then a novel treating of
the career of Kosciusko and the down
fall of Poland.
Says It Is a Business Proposition.
A millionaire snoe manufacturer is
going to leave his palace home and
occupyone" of the platn"cottages he Is
buildingfor 'hisworklngmen in the
model shoe manufacturing town he is
constructing at Endicott , N. Y. He
absolves himself from all philanthropic
measures and declares he is actuated
in securing ideal'surroundings for his
laborers simply by the knowledge that
it will pay. ,
to < tn Old Firm.
Charles Lawrence Clark , who has
just died in London , had for thirty
years organized and managed every
lord mayor's show in the British capi
tal. The firm of which he was a mem
ber , Messrs. Bishop & Clark , has been
in existence since 1592 , and for 300
years has had intimate connection with ,
all sorts of civic and state ceremonials
from the time of Henry VIII down.
We should all like to see the under
taker prosper If we coulddesignate
the source of his income.
i Commoner ( Comment
" *
Extracts Prom W. J. Bryan's Paper.
'
Admiral Schley. .
When She first news reached the
American people concerning1 the San
tiago naval battle the impression "was
that Admiral Sampson was the real
hero of the occasion. This was due to
the fact that Admiral Sampson sent to
the president a message in which he
said that "the fleet under my com
mand" offered the American nation the
Santiago victory as a Fourth of July
present. But as spon as the newspaper
reports and the statements of eye wit
nesses came in , it developed that Ad
miral Sampson , while theoretically in
command of the American fleet , was at
least twelvemiles from the scene of
"battle , and that it was Admiral Schley
who commanded and led the splendid
fight. Immediately a systematic at
tack was opened upon Schleyalthough
that great sailor did not in'dulge in
any boasting of any character. In re
ply , to a question he said "there is
glory enough in this victory for all of
us. " Since then the adherents of
Sampson and the administration poli
ticians have kept the newspapers filled
with things intended to discredit
Schley , but that officer has main
tained a dignified silence.
Finally , because of formal and se
rious attacks made upon him , Admiral
Schley has been forced , in defence of
his manhood , to demand a court of in
quiryHis statement to the newspa
pers after having demanded this court
of inquiry is characteristic of the man.
He said : "It is a very great pity that
there should be a controversy over
matterswherein everybody did his
best. " How different this is from the
attitude assumed by the enemies of
Admiral Schley.
It is indeed a very great pity that
there should be any controversy
over a matter wherein the world has
given cred.it where credit belongs. It
is indeed a pity that there should be
any controversy that seeks to discredit
a brave , honorable and modest sea-
fighter , who successfully led the Amer
ican forces in one of the greatest if not
the greatest naval battles in the his
tory of the world. It is indeed a very
great pity.that the politicians and the
bureaucrats having the favor of this
administration should insist upon dis
crediting and abusing a man who has
served his country so faithfully as
Winfield Scott Schley has served the
United States of America.
Admiral Sampson's friends should be
satisfie d with'the fact that their favor
ite obtained the prize money won in a
battle in which he did not participate ,
and that his face is to grace a medal
that is to commemorate a fight in
which he did not take part. It should
be sufficient for them that Admiral
Schley has never made any claim as to
his part in the great battle in Santiago
Bay ; that he has been content for the
newspaper correspondents and other
witnesses to give the facts to the
American people. The difficulty is that
these statements have convinced the
American people that Schley was the
real hero of the day and entitled to all
the honors at the hands of a grateful
people , even though-he is denied the
emoluments in the way of prize money
and medals.
The industrial commission has re
cently completed some interesting fig
ures relating to the United States
Steel corporation , otherwise known as
the steel trust. The commission's in
vestigations confirm the popular sus-
rpicinJ hat.tb.istiajst < hasjn - . its. stock
a vast amount of water. The commis
sion claims that nearly one-third of
the entire capital of this trust is wa
ter. It will be remembered that Mr.
Schwab , president of the trust , testi
fied that in the organization of the
trust the property was under valued
rather than over valued. The com
mission declares that this claim is
without basis and that the amount of
watered stock in the trust will reach
the sum of 8300,000,000.
A correspondent of the New York
Journal puts the Sampson-Schey case
in a nutshell when he says :
1. Sampson's admirers claim that he
was the victor , while he ( Sampson ) was
never in the firing line ( which was ab
solutely true ) .
2. Schley's admirers say that he won
the battle , being there ail the time and
following the enemy. Now as we are
in possession of the facts , let the pnb-
lio decide between the two.
1. IB' Sampson a hero because he was
not there ?
2 Is-Schley a coward" because he was
there and won ?
The New Haven Union _ seems to pre
fer an honest platform which says
what it means and means what it says
to the reorganizers' method of using
ambiguous phrases to deceive the vo
ters.
The new * that a number of Philip
pine provinces have been deprived of
'civil" gornment is not unexpected.
The natives should have been intro
duced to the visiting congressmen by
slow degrees.
The men who own the anthracite
coalmines will not allow themselves to
be deprived of "profit simply because
laboring men. refuse to mine coal for
pauper wages. The mine owners have
a better scheme. They keep a goodly
supply of coal on hand and the con
sumer pays the cost of the strike.
Strange , is it not , that although we
are so powerful that we can , and in
duty bound must , provide for * the ma
terial welfare of an alien people , we
rre not strong enough to combat the
influence of a partial crop failure.
"
I ,
Equality In Taxation.
The Ohio democratic platform de
mands that railroad and street car
lines shall bear their fair share of tax
ation. The plank reads as follows :
"Steam and electric railroads and
other corporations having public fran
chises shall be assessed in the same
proportion to their salable value as are
farms and citj * real estate. "
Who will deny the proposition there
in stated ? Who will assume to suggest
a different basis of assessment ? The
railroad enjoys the right of eminent
domain ; it can take any property it
wants for railroad purposes. The
state surrenders to it enough of sov
ereignty to enable it to demand any
man's land , even his homestead , upon
the tender of its salable value. The
street car line enjoys a valuable fran
chise , usually secured from the peo
ple's representatives without the
knowledge , of the people themselves.
Why should the ordinary individual ,
who receives from his government no
franchises , bonuses , subsidies , or spe
cial privileges , pay taxes upon the full
value of his land , while the railroads
and street car lines pay but a small
per cent of the value of their property ?
Why should the farmer be compelled
to pay taxes on the full value upon his
horses cattle , hogs , and other walking
stock , while , railroads and street car
lines pa3r on but a small per cent of
the value of their rolling stock ? May
or Johnson is responsible , for the in
sertion of this plank , and it is emi
nently just. The candidates upon the
state ticket can afford to challenge
their opponents to discuss this propo
sition before the people of their state.
Equality before the law is a maxim
that is being more and more ignored.
The democrats of Ohio are to be con
gratulated upon their attempts to re
vive this principle in state affairs.
They would have been wiser if they
had appliad it to national affairs as
well.
1 here is too much voting by proxy.
A republican once explained his vote
by saying that being a sheep raiser , he
of course voted the republican' ticket.
He allowed his sheep to do his voting.
And yet , in whatrrespect does he differ
from the man whose vote is governed
by the price of hogs , cattle , horses , or
Wall Street stocks ? If , as Hanna
thinks , money talks , it is not strange
that some allow their property to do
their voting. But if we are to have a
government ( administered according to
high ideals ) and ( founded upon the
Declaration of Independence ) men must
do their own voting , and they must
cast their votes according to judgment
and conscience. %
Republicans who yearn to represent
agricultural districts in congress
should at once proceed to extend guar
antees of good behavior to the protect
ed barons. The men who profit by a
protective tariff are becoming sus
picious of the loyalty of men from the
agricultural west. There are signs
that western people are growing weary
of 'putting up money for the protection
of "infant industries" that are strong
enough to demand any price they please
for their wares and at the same time
compel agriculturalists to sell their
produce at-whatever price the barons
see fit to pay.
The Ohio convention has served at
least one useful purpose. It has shown
.the.arrpgance and\intolerance of the
gold element. The loyal democrats
have been willing to have the bolters
return but as soon as the bolters get
any authority they want to read out of
the party all who were loyal in 1896
and 1900. Let the faithful beware !
The New York Sun , in order to bols
ter up Mr. Maclay refers to him as "the
most distinguished living American
historian. " It is strange that a man
designated as "the most distinguished
living American historian" would' find
it necessary to resort to the lowest
form of abuse in dealing with an his
torical character.
The rush for landsin Oklahoma
brings to mindagain the fact that the
money spent in subjugating the Fili
pinos for the purpose of developing
the islands would have "irrigated mil-
lious of acres of land in the semi-arid
west and provided hundreds of thou
sands of homes for American laborers.
As Mr. Watterson was seizing the
reins and warning "the fools" to get
out of 'the rway-jthe St. .Paul Globe , it
self < a bolter ixMWB qufetijr pulled his
coat tail , and suggested to him that th
passengers might feel a little nervous
if he tried to drive so soon after his at
tempt to hold up the coach.
A large majority of the democrats
who voted for Mr. Cleveland in 189t
believed in free silver but he selected
a cabinet of gold men. The reorgani-
zers show a similar disposition to ig
nore the voters in order to please th-e
financiers.
Whenever John Bull sees a weak na
tion that owns some valuable property
John needs in his business'he at once
is seized with missionary zeal. John
never sends his missionaries into un
productive countries.
In the into the
inquiry Schley-Samp-
son controversy the indications are
that Schley will be just where he was
on July 3 , 1898 right on the spot.
Post mortem , bank examinations us
ually shift the losses upon the should
ers of the depositors.
EVILS OF EATING ALONE.
8n wa to Xp
Marriage t Deferred.
At a time like the present , when the
marrying age of the averageman of
middle class is being more and more
postponed , the physical Ills of bache-
tordom come increasingly under the no *
tlce of the medical man. It is not
good for man or woman to live alona.
Indeed , it has been well said that for
solitude to be successful a man must
be either angel or devil. This refers
perhaps mainly to the moral aspects
of isolation , and with these we have
now no concern. There are certain
physical ills , however , which , are not
the least among the disadvantages of
loneliness. Of these there is many a
clerk in London , many a young bar
rister , rising perhaps , but not far
enough risen ; many a business man or
journalist , who will say that one'of the
most trying features of his unmarried
life is to have to eat alone. And a
premature dyspepsia is the only thing
ever takes him to his medical man.
There are some few happily disposed
individuals who can dine alone and
not eat too fast nor too much nor too
little. "With the majority it Is differ
ent. The average man puts his novel
or his paper before him and thinks
that he will lengthen" the meal
with due deliberation by reading a lit
tle with , and more between , the
courses. He will just employ his mind
enough to help aud too little to inter
fere with digestion. In fact , he will
provide that gentle mental accompani- /
ment which with happier people con
versation gives to a meal. This is
your solitary's excellent idea. In real
ity he becomes engrossed in what he Is
reading till suddenly finding his chop
cold he demolishes it In a few mouth-
fuls ; or else he finds that he is hun
gry and paying no attention to the
book , which he flings aside , he rudhea
through his food as fast as possible to
plunge into his arm chair and litera
ture afterward. In either case the
lonely man. must digest at a disad
vantage. Certainly it is not good to
eat and drink alone. It is a sad fact
of our big cities that they hold hun
dreds of men and women who in the
day are too busy and at night toe lonely
to feed with profit , much less with any
pleasure. From the Lancet.
OAK STUMP AS A CANNON.
It Fired a Projectile Through a Hocu *
la Birmingham.
The residence of Coroner Paris in
the southwestern part of Birmingham.
Ala. , was badly damaged yesterday
afternoon in a most peculiar manner ,
a big hole being cut through one aide'
by a shot from an old stump. During
the tornado which recently swept the
south side of the city two huge trees
were blown down on the Paris place
and yesterday afternoon Coroner Paris
employed a negro to remove the fallen
trees , which were 200 feet from the
house. The negro sawed the trees up
leaving the stumps cut off short and
partly buried in the ground. One of
these stumps , a big oak affair , leaned
over , pointing directly toward the
house. The negro wanted to blow this
stump to pieces , and to this end he
bored a 2-inch hole In it from the side
and then inserted a stick of dynamite.
The hole was then closed upland the
charge exploded. With the explosion
of the dynamite the heart of the oak
stump shot from its place like a can
non ball and flew straight for the
house , striking it broadside and boring
a huge hole through the wall. The
stump was uninjured , except that the
heart was removed , and after the ex
plosion it stood pointing its "muzzle"
at the house like a huge piece of artil
lery. No one was hurt , the room In/
which the oaken shot fell after passing
through the wall being unoccupied-for
the moment. Atlanta News.
Ban Too Great a Hazard *
A man boarded a , Missouri pacific
train equipped with , transportation ,
which "Dad" Walsh , the conductor ,
thought was questionable. The pas
senger refused to put up the cash fare
and Walsh called the porter and car
ried him from the train , depositing
him on a truck on the station platform.
The man took it so nonchalantly that
it occurred to Walsh that he might be
making a mistake. He accordingly
went back to the passenger and told
him he might get aboard again. "All
right , " said the passenger. "I didn't
get off the train and theoretically I'm
still riding. In the nature of. things I
cannot well board a. train upon which
I am already riding , " and he sat on the
truck as obstinate as a mule. Walsh
called the brakeman and porter and
carried the man carefully onto the
train , put him in the seat in which he
had been riding before the incident oc
curred andfcsaved his road a damage
suit Kansas City Star.
Bootless Monkey-Faced Owls.
Three owls that appear to be part
monkeys have been found near Red
JBud , 111. , says the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Two of the birds are now in posses
sion of Phil Offerding , a hotel keeper
of this city , and are viewedwith great"
curiosity. The owls are two months
old now and so far have shown no
signs of feathering , and this adds to
the monkey likeness. They 'have
large , staring eyes like the owls , even
the beak being depressed , but the fore
head ruil 1ack like that x > f the
monkey. Tne hoot which , has made
the owl well Itnown is absent. The
vocal powers of these monkey-faced
beings are somewhat impaired : They
remain silent unless disturbed , when
they let out a hiss like that of a
snake. They were taken from a nesi ;
in tlie woods near Red Bud about a
month ago by George Carpenter.
Men and . lemons are hard tokjiow.
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