lsC7-I ? < P13 * * *
Mnwm mi * * i to [
ERE you are , Miss Clevenger ;
this is Just in your line , " said
the city editor of the Daily
Blaze , as he handed a clipping to a
, young woman reporter. "You certaln-
Jy can get something spicy out of that.
Answer it , follow it up and get a good
yarn. The stronger the better , and If
there is a bit of lemon color in it it
won't hurt anj'thing. "
Norah Clevenger took the clipping
from the city editor's hand. It was an
advertisement cut
from a contempo
rary daily. This
is what she read :
Wanted A wife ,
not more than 32
years old ; must be
loving disposition ;
cripple preferred.
Address Lock Box
07 , lloosierville ,
Indiana.
"I think that's a
bona fide 'ad , '
Miss Clevenger , "
said the city ed
itor , "and the fel-
' WROTE A LETTER , low WllO Stuck it
in wants a cripple , and that's queer in
kself. Write to him , meet him and get
your j'arn. It ought'to be a good
'one. ' "
Norah Clevenger' had been writing
fepicy stories for the Daily Blaze some
jyears. She knew how to make her
pen scorch the paper , and that's what
"the Blaze liked. She was calloused
and she took assignments that many a
'girl would have shrunk from , but then
it was alJ in the business , and Norah
had never been the cause of getting
the Blaze into a libel suit , and on that
fact she plumed herself.
Norah sat down and wrote a letter ,
.addressing it to Lock Box 07 , Iloosier- .
Tille , Ind. She lied in it , nothing less ,
Imt tiien that , too , was a part of the
business she had learned at the Blaze
oflice. She said that she was a crip
ple ; that her right arm was-paralyzed.
She told the truth , however , about her
Appearance , and her age she was ' 20
i and then asked that the lock box
owner address her at the general de
livery \viado ; v of the postern * cu , saying
that she did not wish to give her
proper address until she knew positive
ly that her correspondent was a good
man and one who would not trifle with
a woman. She signed the letter Mary
Anderson.
Norah Clevenger waited three days
before an answer canie to her com
munication. When one did come she
found that it was written in a good
hand and in good English. It was
simple and straightforward. The wri
ter said that he was a widower , 3-1
years old , with one child ; had a large
stock and fruit farm , which yielded a
.good income , and he was laying up
anoney. The letter gave no reason
-why the writer wished to marry a
-cripple.
Norah Clevenger wrote again. She
Jedthe , writer on a little in the next
letter.and with an audacity charac
teristic of the girl , inclosed her photo
'
graph. On the third day she had an
-answer , which she showed the city
editor , saying , "I'm in for it , Mr. Ran-
Jiin. His name is Moore , and he
reaches the city to-night , and I'm to
meet him at the Consolidated Depot
at S o'clock. Some of the boys will
have to flx up my arm. We'll put a
brace of some kind on it or otherwise
I'll forget that it is supposed to be
paralyzed , and I'd be swinging it
around and give the whole snap away.
What in the world this countryman
wants a cripple for is more than I can
imagine , but there ought to be a crack
ing good story in it. " |
Norah Clevenger-was at the Consol
idated Depot at S o'clock , with her
right arm in a surgeon's brace. Some
girls would have felt a bit of trepida
tion at the prospect of meeting the
stranger , but years of rather seamy
work had hardened this woman's na
ture. She waited in the passenger-
room. The train rolled in and in a min
ute or two there came through the
doorway a tall , well-built man , with
crisp , curly hair , sun-browned cheeks
and honest eyes. Ke was leading a lit
tle girl about 5 years old by the hand.
Norah Clevenger felt that this was
the man she was to meet , though a
moment before she could have sworn
.that her correspondent was some fool
of a fellow with a cast in his eye , a
painful limp and so ugly generally that
his very appearance would give an
swer to the question why he had not
sought a bride in the vicinity of Hoos-
lerville. The man looked/ about the
station. His eyes fell on Norah , and
then went quickly to her arm. He
saw the surgeon's brace and walking
forward raised his hat and said : 'Miss
Anderson , I believe. I am George
Moore. This is my little girl Fran
ces. "
The little one held out both hands
to Norah and lifted her face to beef
kissed. This writer of stories with
a touch of saffron in theuiytfelt some-
thing of a shock , but she bent over and
JKS I ] the child's red lips.
"Lir us sit down for a moment. Miss
/mUt on. I o\ve you , an explanation.
I -Jiv vou are crippled. My wife , who
died four years ago , was a cripple. I
tell you frankly that I loved her , and
the fact that she was dependent dn me
because of her crippled state made me
learn the delight that there is in doing
for others. I was a selflsh man , but I
learned unselfishness , and it made me
happy. 1 don't know much of * the
world , and I feel that to advertise for
a wife may not be considered right ,
but I say honestly that there was none
near home whom I wished even could
I have chosen. "
Norah Clevenger felt uncomfortable.
She hardly liked to admit it to herself.
She , knew that this man was fair and
above board , and that- she had been
doing something that was unwomanly.
She had done unwomanly things before
in the interest of a story , but this
thing cut. The little girl had slipped
into her lap by this time , and was
talking to her softly. Moore rose sud
denly. "I forgot something , " he said ,
"bray with Miss Anderson a minute ,
Frances , " and then he disappeared in
the direction of the baggage-room. In
a minute he was back with a huge
basket on his arm , and , raising the
cover , he showed it to be full of black
Hamburg grapes. These are for the
Crippled Children's Home , " he said ;
" 1 send fuuit in every week because of
my memories. I thought I would
bring the grapes myself this time. I
raise them in my hothouse. I'll give
them to an expressman , and he can get
them to the hospital , so that the tots
can have them in the morning. "
Norah Clevenger rose from her seat.
"Mr. Moore , " she said , "I have met
you as you asked. I must go now. I
will write you to-morrow , " and before
Moore could say a word the girl had
hurried away.
"No story in this for us , Mr. Ran-
kiu , " she said to the city editor an
hour later , "or if there is I won't write
it. " And Norah Glevenger left the of
fice and went home. Next day she
wrote .a letter , and sent it to George
Moore , Hoosierville , Ind. Prior to writ
ing it she had inquired at the Crippled
Children's Home , and found out all
about the man , his kindliness and his
honesty , though she felt that she need
ed no character assurance save that
given her by the memory of his face.
In the letter she told him the whole
story. "When I wrote you that I was
a cripple , " she said , "I thought I was
lying , but I have found out since that
I was a cripple of the worst kind , in
short my conscience was crippled , but
it certainly is healed now. and it is
active enough to smite me. "
Norah Clevenger still wrote for the
Blaze , but they had to turn to other
reporters when they wanted an orange
streak in a story. The months passed
on , the boys saw many letters lying
on Norah's desk before she came down
in the morning , all bearing the Hoe
sierville , Ind. , postmark. They remem
bered Norah's "cripple" assignment
and wondered. One da3r she treated
them to black Hamburg grapes that
were selling at ? 4 a pound at Jung's.
"Where did you get them , Norah ? "
asked City Editor Rankin.
"They are samples of goods which
I shortly shall offer for sale , " she
said. "I have been asked" to take a
life partnership in the business , and
on Easter Monday I shall become the
junior member of the firm. " Chicago
Record-Herald.
His Time Was Not Up.
A man of a mercenary spirit had
several sons , one of Avhoin was on the
eve of his twenty-first birthday. The
father had always been a strict disci
plinarian , keeping his boys well under
parental charge , allowing them few lib
erties and making them work hard.
It was with a feeling of considera
ble satisfaction that the young man
rose on the morning of his birthday
and began to collect his personal be
longings preparatory to starting out in
the world.
The farmer , seeing his son packing
his trunk , which he rightly judged to
be evidence of the early loss of a good
farm-hand , stopped at the door of the
young man's room and asked what he
was going to do.
The boy very promptly reminded his
father of the day of the month and
the year , and declared his intention of
striking out in the world on his own
account.
"Not much you won't. " shouted the
old man , "at least not for a while
yet ! You wasn't born until after 1'2
o'clock , so you can just take off them
good clothes and fix to give me an
other half-day's work down in the potato
tate patch. "
Seventy-live Miles ari Hour.
An electric road out of Buffalo con
templates a schedule of seventy-live
miles an hour. If that rate could be
kept up , says Munsey's , it would carry
you from New' York to San Francisco
In less than two days. If a track were
laid around the world on the eighty-
fifth parallel of latitude , a car going at
that velocity from east to west would
keep up with the earth's rotation , and
beat Joshua's miracle by holding the
sun in one place all summer.
A spinster's ideal man is one who
will say the word.
BARTER AT THE CROSS ROAD&
, T\ro of the Natives Talk Two Day a to
Make a Deal.
At Carter's cross roads I came upon
two native Tennesseeaus who sat on a
logand whittled while they talked. One
of them had. an old silver watch and
the other owned the poor old mule
hitched to a-post. ' They had come to
gether to make a trade and had been-
talking for an hour and as I rode
off one of them said :
"I'll trade yo' even up , Jim. and if
that don't hit yo' it's no use to talk
furder. "
' "I. can't do it , Tom , " replied the
other. "That there mewl is wuth two
sich watches. "
It was dark when I returned and
there sat the same two men and there
stood the same old mule. They were
talking trade as vigorously as ever
and as I rode away the man with the
watch was saying :
"It's even up or nothin' , Jim ; jist as
I told yo' before. "
"Tom , I can't do it can't possibly
do it , " replied the other.
Along toward night next day I rode
over to the same store on an errand
for Mrs. Williams and there sat the
very same two men. I couldn't see
that they had moved an inch. They-
weren't saying a word , however. On
the contrary , both had their legs
swinging over the edge of the plat
form , their chins in their hands and
were looking down on the-ground ,
saw the old mule lying dead on the
ground , and between the two men lay
the watch. It had stopped dead still
and both hands were off the face.
"Do you know that your mule is
dead ? " I asked the owner of the ani
mal.
mal."Of
"Of co'se , " hq replied.
"And your old watch has gone to
wreck ? " I said to the other.
"Yes , sah. "
"Did you sit here all night ? "
"We did , " they answered in chorus.
"But if the muleis dead and the
watch busted you can't trade. "
"Oh , that trade was off at midnight , "
said the owner of the watch , "and
what we are dickerin' about now is
that yere saddle again my dawg. "
"DIXIE" CHEERED EVERYWHERE.
North No Less Enthusiastic Than the
South on Hear i tie It.
"A singular thing about the tune of
'Dixie , ' " said a Washington man who
does a good deal of traveling , "is that
it arouses quite as much enthusiasm
when it is played above Mason and
Dixou's line far above that line , in
many instances as it does when it is
played down South. .1 have often no
ticed this and wondered over it. In
the Southern towns and cities , or even
in Washington , where Southern sen
timent predominates , it' is the natural
thing for the cheers and the hand-
clapping to begin when , for example ,
a theater orchestra or musical per
formers on a stage strike up the tune
of 'Dixie , ' but precisely the same thing
happens in the Northern cities. An or
chestra never gets into the swing of
'Dixie' in a New York theater that
the audience doesn't almost come to its
feet. They cheer 'Dixie' vociferously
every time it is played in San Fran1-
cipco. They yell in approval of it in
Detroit , and St. Paul , and Cincinnati ,
and in Chicago they hum it along
with the band or orchestra. Even
in chilly * Boston they wake up and
give a hand to 'Dixie. ' It's a lively
and inspiring tune , of course , but I
don't'think that fact exactly explains
why it is that it arouses enthusiasm
in communities in the North , where a
Southerner would scarcely even expect
to hear it played , much less cheered.
Maybe it's because there's a lingering
love all over the country for the old
South , and maybe it is because there
is a pretty general and wholesome
sentiment all over the land for the
section that came out of the big fight
a good deal like the under dog ; but ,
at any rate , 'Dixie's' the tune that gets
the biggest hand and the wildest ac
claim , no matter where it's played ,
from Michigan to the Gulf , and from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. " Washing
ton Post.
Forsrot Nothing : .
Waiter Hem er haven't you for
gotten something ?
Farmer Barns Oh. no , I guess not.
I've et everything clean up.
One Point of View.
"I am very much afraid that you do
not appreciate the spirit of a free coun
try. "
"Oh , yesI do , " answered the man
\vho had recently landed in New York ,
in a dialect which it is needless to re- .
prodii' . '
"What do you understand by a free
country ? "
"It is a place where you are free to
do as you choose if you can manage to
get on the police force. " Washington
Star.
Cotton Mill at Quito.
A cotton mill to be built at Quito ,
the capital of Ecuador , must be car
ried oil the backs of mules through
the Andes , passing a point 16,000 feet
in altitude.
Fitness of her part matters little tt
the up-to-date actress if the fit of her
gowns is perfect.
SUPPOSE WE SMILE.
HUMOROUS PARAGRAPHS FROM
THE COMIC PAPERS.
cleasant Incidents Occurring : the
World Over Sayings that Are Cheer
ful to Old or Young Funny Selec
tion * that Everybody Will Enjoy.
One day little G-year-old Bernie fail
nl to spell "throw" correctly. Thf
teacher prompted him and he spelled i1
ifter her. "Spell it again , " she said.
"T-h-r-o-w , " he replied.
"Again. "
"T-h-r-o-w. "
- - - -
"Again. "
" . "
"T-h-r-o-w.
"Once more , " she insisted.
"T-h-r-o-w. "
- - - -
"Now , what are you spelling ? "
"Again , " he answered.
Confession.
"Do you make much out of your lit-
jrry work ? " asked the inquisitive per-
ion.
ion."Yes
"Yes , " replied the man who scrib-
Dies occasionally , "much more out of
It than I do in it"
She Kules the Kitchen.
< ii - o-
Housewife Mina , is dinner no
readjWe are all starving.
Mina ( who is reading a novel ) No
Sinner is not ready and it won't be un
til I find out whether'the black knight
wins the fair lady or not.
From Had to Worse.
Doctor Did those powder's I gave
you have the desired effect ?
Patient No ; my insomnia is worse
than ever.
Doctor Is thai -o ?
Patient Yes ; \v.uy , I can't even go
to sleep now when it is time to get
Up.
Then and Now.
"When I was courting my wife , "
paid the sad-faced man , "we were two
souls with but a single thought. "
"How about you at the present writ'
ing ? " asked the inquisitive youth.
"We still have but a single thought , "
replied the proprietor of the sad vis
age. "We both think we made foola
of ourselves. "
Nervy.
Warden He was the coolest and
most thoughtful convict that ever
broke jail.
Jenkins That sb ?
Warden Yes. He left behind him a
note to the governor of the State be
riming , 'I hope you. will pardon me
or the liberty I'm taking. " Philadel-
> hia Ledger.
f
Heraldry.
"Wordley tells me he has been work-
ajjr on his family tree of late. "
"Yes , it' keeps him pretty busy. "
"Kuther complicated work , eh ? "
"Well , I believe he found a noos < ;
.a one of- the branches , and he's hav-
a ; : some trouble sawing it off. " Phil- ,
idelphia Press.
In 1998.
V- ' ,
Ng
Judgoss What made the jury agreq
; o quickly ? Why , the ladies wereu'J
jut more than fifteen minutes.
Clorkess It's bargain day at Mon-
\v makers' .
Often the Case.
. "In choosing a wife , " said the scan-
tv-haired philosopher , "one shoulcj
; evei' judge by appearances. "
"That's right , " rejoined the very
oun ; man. "The homeliest girls usu-
: ! y have the most monej * . " -
Canuht on the Kebound.
Husband 1am sorry to say ,
. -ar , that you can't make pies like
; : iim > r used to make.
Wife No , I suppose not If I re-
correctly , your father died oJ
The Crowd Will Scan It.
: r-r School Girl Is Miss HIghgradi
; > - i a read a poem at the commence
t.J
\--ul : School Girl No ; she's goiuj
i.one. ! . Baltimore American.
Accessibility.
! j..vlirtj's ! bloom by the fence ,
.1 : v > vyliudy's roach.
: ' . y \ \ . iv .scarce they would coa't
: ' Vr ; 'dollar each.
; . . ; iu ; > i Star.
Mother Wisdom.
Perhaps a bit of personal experience
maybe Interesting to some one. I am
one of the many busy mothers and
housekeepers whose work is never
done , and finding awhile ago that the
monotony of my life was causing mete
to grow morbid , 1 tried to think of
some way in which I could vary my
work , and thus get the change which
Was so evidently needed.
Before the children came I had taken
great enjoyment in music and English
literature , but both had been sadly neg
lected of recent years , owing to other
demands upon my time and strength.
I therefore decided that every mornIng -
Ing after the chambers were put air
ing , the dishes washed , and the chil
dren started for school. I would sit
down at the piano and practice for
fifteen minutes on some of the pieces
which I had played years before , as
new pieces would be discjuraging.
Then , after dinner , I Cleared the ta
ble , and before attacking the army of
dishes which always awaits the house
keeper's unwilling hands at that hour , |
I lay dovrn on the couch , and instead
of reading the daily paper , whose rec
ords of murders , suicides and defalca
tions IK so depressing , I selected one of
the po ts whosq works had given me
much pleasure in my school days , and
spent half an hour in his society. The
result after a few days was noticeable.
While at work on the dishes before
mentioned , strains of music from the
practice of the morning , or a thought
from the poem read at noon , would
float through my mind , affecting me so
pleasantly that I have decided to con
tinue the custom indefinitely.
If we wish to train our children
aright , we must have beautiful
thoughts , but as the springs in the
mountains would fail to supply the
brooks were it not for the rains , so
our springs of thought will become ex
hausted unless they are occasionally
replenished.
Bible reading with the children for
five minutes every morning smooths
things for the day wonderfully , and
they grow so accustomed to it as to
ask for it themselves if it should by
chance be forgotten.
Better by fur omit some of the end
less dusting and putting to rights thar
to starve our minds by neglecting t-
use some of the beautiful things -God
has given us to nourish them. All may
not care for poetry and music , but we
all can appreciate" half-hour's rest ,
and most of us like reading of some
kind. A complete change of thoughts
is what is necessary if we are to rest.
I hope some tired mother will try the
plan mentioned , and reap the benefit
which will surely come from it if she
Is persistent. Mrs. Marian L. Ward in
Home Science' Magazine.
Housework Good Kxercise.
There are plenty of women who
scorn housework but are devoted to
gymnasiums. Now the best of all-
round , Indoor exercise is to be found
in the manifold duties of housekeep
ing. Bedmaking , sweeping , dusting ,
even cooking , bring more than one set
of muscles into play , and none of them
is more destructive to the beauty of
the hands than gymnasium work and
outdoor games. We are not advocat
ing the performing of all the home du
ties , without assistance of any kind ,
but of parts of them. Of course if
you have a liking for the work , and
the strength , do it all if you want to ,
but this is not advisable unless lack
of money is the inducement. There
are so many ways in which time can
be profitably spent. ,
"Woman Gets Good Appointment.
The United States War Department
has announced that Miss Floy Gilmore
has been appointed Assistant Attorney-
General for the gov
ernment in the Phil
ippine Islands. Miss
Gilmore is a daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs.
A. M. Gilmore of
Elwood , Ind. , and is
24 years of age. She
was graduated from
the law school of
the University of
Michigan and ad
mitted to the bar of
Indiana two years
' I f ago. She went to
MISS GILMORE.
the Philippines as
stenographer , and by good work has
won a distinction never before attained
by a woman.
For Those Tiresome ilorncnts.
While you are arranging the parlor
just have a thought for the visitors
who might sometimes wait to see you.
and carefully refrain from putting I
every object of interest _ beyond their
reach. Of course , as a careful host
ess , you never mean to keep callers
waiting ; but if they come when the
baby Is on the eve of dropping to
sleep or you ore in the midst of plan-
niug dinner with the cook , you must
delay a little , while they are reduced
to staring out of the window or to an
involuntary effort to penetrate some f ]
magnificent household secret.
The family photograph album is us
ually regarded as a sufficient resource
in moments like these ; but is there
not something akin to indelicacy in !
allowing strangers and ordinary aci i e
qualntances to turn over the likenesses
, of our nearest and dearest perhaps to
criticize them with the freedom of un-
famillarlry or the indifference natural
to a lack of personal appreciation ?
The late magazines , a book of good
! engravings , a household volume of
poetry , photographs of foreign scenes ,
and a dozen other things are all good
| aids to the occupation of stray min
utes. Moreover , they often suggest to
the visitor and the host topics of con
versation more profitable and InterestIng -
Ing than the state of the weather or
the history of the kitchen. Philadel
phia Inquirer.
The Savinc Women.
If we are to l > elieve the old proverb
which says that "saving's good earn
ing , " then the earning capacity of wo
men always has been greater than that
of men.
Oh , the saving women of this world !
The women who sit up late making
over last season's clothes to save buy
ing new ones ; the women who stealth
ily tiptoe across the floor to turn down
the gas when papa dozes over his news
paper ; the women who darn huge
holes in basketfuls of stockings ; the
women who have a cracked teapot or
old pocket book Into which they drop
s-tray dimes and quarters , taking'the
accumulation to the savings bank with
guilty secrecy ; the women who wash
out pieces of carpet to make them ap
pear fresh and new , who turn the
trimmings on their hats and clean :
their gloves with gasoline , and cut
down the clothes of Willie , aged 14 ,
to fit Jirnmie , aged 10. Bless them ,
every one !
There is another sort of saving which
might properly be termed hoarding. It
consists in laying down rugs to prevent
the nap of the carpet from wearing , in
putting paper covers on prettily bound
books , in locking up the little girl's
French doll. We read the other day of
a woman who made a plush cover for
the rosewood piano , and a linen cover for
the plush , and a newspaper mat for the
linen. We hope there are not many
women like her. In this sort of saving
there is often an admixture of folly.
There is yet another kind. Saving car
fare at the cost of an exhausted body ,
uiving lunch money and "skimping"
the table , just as if yeti could cheat
nature without incurring retribution ;
saving the price of eyeglasses at the
cost 'of impaired or perhaps destroyed
eyesight ; saving money earned by the
severe overtsrainlng of mental and
physical powers. "Woman is not al
ways wise in her economies , we fear ,
but the verb "to save" is certainly
feminine. Philadelphia Ledger.
Muiit Mary a German.
Mary Schmidt , of Pooria. HI. , whose ,
father left her a fortune on condition
that she marry a German , has already
received a score of
offers from eligible
young men of tha
Kaiser's domain ,
but she has not
made a choice. Ono
of her most ardent %
| a'3m'rers is a young
Frenchman , and It-
is whispered time
Mary may yet con
clude that wealth
Is not really neces-
to "appines *
after all.
When to Accept.
Discussing the all-important subject
of proposals , the author of "How to
Choose a Husband" remarks : "The
first thing in choosing the husband late
to realize what sort of man you ouglit
not to choose. My advice to all girls
is , first , to refuse at > all hazards the
man who proposes at a dance , because
there is a glamour about a ballroom ,
ind men often say at a dance what
: hey wish unsaid the following morn-
Ing. At picnics , what with washing
ap , carrying baskets and opening bot-
les , girls cannot ' only judge of a man's
Character'but it will be quite safe to
iccept a proposal made at oneespe-
: ially if it is made before luncheon. "
Easily Done. /
When an aggravating little hole sud-
lenly appears in an agate or porce-
ain-lined stew pan , do not throw It
i way as past redemption. Take one
) f the round-headed
paper fasteners ,
men as lawyers or teachers are in the' '
labit of using to keep the sheets of a
nanuscript together , push the two
evel flap-clips through the hole from
: he inside , bend back on the outside ,
: hen laying the basin on a hard sur- *
ace , hammer the round head down flat -
m the inside. It requires but a mor
nent's work and your dish is as good
is new.
A WcddinjBreakfast. .
A wedding repast served any tim
efore 1 o'clock would be called a
redding breakfast. The usual menu
or a simple wedding breakfast
Is an-
old sliced fowl , with creamed oysters
r a salad on the same plate ; a variety
f thin sandwiches , and then ices or
rozen pudding with
small cake * and
offee.
No Chance to Talk.
Mrs. Gumms Does your husband
ver talk of his mother's
cooking ? ,
Mrs. Gobang Not a word Hi , fatu _
r died of dyspepsia- oklyn Life
