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Mr. Wragg Invites contributions c
any new ideas that readers of this de
partment may wish to present, ana
would be pleased to answer correspond
ents desiring information on subjects
Jlscussed. Aldr!s M. J. Wragg. 300 Good
Block. Des Moines. Iowa.
WANTED A MAN!
The world has a standing advertise
ment over the door of every profes
sion, every occupation and every
calHug: "Wanted A Man!"
Wanted a man who is larger than
his calling, who considers it a low es
timate of his occupation to value it
merely as a mean of getting a living.
Wanted a man who sees self-development,
education, discipline and
drill, character and manhood in his
occupation.
A tl.oiisand business positions va
cant in every city; five thousand
men idle in the same city, while a
thousand employment agents scour
the land for men to fill those same va
cant iKiS'U'tns and scour in vain, is
a sufficient indication of the large
ness of the opportunities of the age.
and als-o of the crying need for good
men.
Wanted a man who is well-bal-ancrd;
who is not cursed with some
defect or weakness- which cripples his
usefulness and neutrali7.es his pow
ers. Wanted a man who mixes common
sense with his theories; a man who is
content' d to win his victories in prac
tical, everyday life.
The whole world is looking for the
right kirdofamsn. Although there are
a million out of employment, yet it is
almo.'t imiKissihle to find jst the
right man in almost every department
of life. Ewry profession and every oc
cupation has a standing advertise
ent all over the world: "Wanted A
Man."
Let this reflection spur us on to do
our hest and make the most of our op
portun i ties. Exchange.
I know many farmers who are so
busy making a living that they have
no time to devote to studying the best
way to live. There is more in the
living problem than is given credit
The man who has no time to live a
Christian will sooner or later be com
pelled to take time to die. There are
many things to take into considera
tion in living. Let us find some of
them and give them some considera
tion. SKUNKS, SNAKES AND TOADS.
Walking thirty rods across a wheat
field, we counted eighty-four places
where the skunks had dug out grub
worms, and the same conditions could
be seen all over the twenty-acre field.
On one square rod there were sixteen
holes, each representing a dead grub
worm. Now the skunk does sometimes
break up an old hen that has stolen
her nest, but the good he does as an
insect destroyer repays many times
the damage he does.
The boys killed a small snake in
the barn and an examination showed
three mice in its stomach. All of our
snakes, excepting the rattlesnake and
the copperhead, are harmless, and do
the farmer a great deal of good by
destroying mice, moles and insects. A
three-foot snake about the barns or
corn-cribs will do more good to rid
them of rats than will half a dozen
cats.
A few days ago we saw some boys
kill a toad, and they said they had
killed four that morning. It is said
that a toad eats twice its weight in
insects every week, and everyone
knows that it is absolutely harmless
in every way. The skunk, the snake
and the toad are not very pleasant
things to look upon, but they should
not be injured or killed.
Get more land by making that
which is now owned more productive.
Double the area by doubling the yield.
The nym who is growing thirty bush
els of corn may as well grow sixty.
RURAL PHILOSOPHY.
It ain't every feller with big shoes
that's well heeled.
The sensible man is the man who
always agrees with you.
Some folks will find fault even when
a feller does his best.
The feller that knows the least gen
erally insists on tellin' the most.
No single man or woman ever con
cedes that marriage is a failure.
Pessimists are generally men with
long hair and women with short hair.
The woman that's on the shelf al
ways lowers herself when she gets
married.
Real happiness and religion are
about the only things a man can't get
wrongfully.
All women may not be mind read
ers, but there's a mighty few that
ain't mind speakers.
A feller with good hearing is often
as deaf as a post when you want to
borrow a dollar.
If swallowing words give a man in
digestion, there's lots of fellers with
incurable cases.
Folks that's so deaf they never
know it thunders never miss hearin
an invitation to a picnic dinner.
More money is made from the Ben
Davis apple than from any other va
riety. It is red for one thing, grows
large and keeps well. It holds its own
as a market apple in spite of the fact
that the quality is of the poorest.
TO KEEP EGGS.
Fresh laid eggs are placed in com
mon pasteboard boxes on end, as eggs
are commonly packed, then covered
completely with common white flour
and stored in a cool place. After
three months they will be found
fresh and niccand scarcely discernible
from freshly laid eggs. I use common
shoe boxes, which hold about two
dozen each, the number of eggs and
date of packing being written on
the cover of the boxes, so that the
lrst packing can be used first Eggs
packed In a mixture of lime water and
salt are alee for cooking purposes, but
after a coanle of months they are
malt for eating.
Allow the boys to transact all the
ashless they are capable of and you
will aot be ashamed of their deattag I
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JAPANESE PLUMS.
According to a report of the On
tario station the Japanese plums are
proving successful as far north as
Georgian bay. Experts declare that
the northern line of the successful
growing of Japanese plums runs from
northeast to southwest. West of Lake
Michigan it begins at about the vicin
ity of Chicago, slanting in the direc
tion named. This will show why Jap
anese plums have been so seldom prof
itable in northern Illinois and Iowa.
While the American wheat grower
is wondering why there is not greater
European demand for his grain, and
the Yankee miller cannot understand
the dearth of orders for his flour, it is
to be noted that the Argentine is ex
porting increased quantities of wheat
and corn. Since January last its ex
ports of wheat have exceeded the
same period in 1901 by more than 20,
OO'imio bnclels. and its corn exports
are FiOrt.O'iO bushels greater than those
for the first five months of 19'4. That
it is the price at which the American
cereal is held that is narrowing our
market and giving it to other people
is not to be doubted, and it isj equally
certain that other lands will be en
couraged to increase their productions
if they find they can do so with profit.
At present there is no apparent pros
pect for exports of American wheat
The sole diet of the mole is angle
worms. When it burrows through
(he warden it is in search of its lav
nrite food. In wet weather these
worms are found near the surface and
for that reason the mole's work is
then tr.oie noticeable than in very
dry weather.
HOMEMADE SPECULUM OR DE
VICE FOR HOLDING A
HORSE'S MOUTH OPEN.
The following is a very handy de
vice for a farmer or stock raiser. It
is ver3' often necessary to open a
horse's mouth and keep it open in
such a way that a person's hand will
not be injured. Take two pieces of
wood (hard wood preferred) eighteen
inches long, two inches wide and half
an inch in thickness. Next take two
5-16-inch bolts, eight inches long. A
little larger or smaller bolt will do.
Bore holes through the flat sides about
an inch apart so as to be able to ad
just the speculum to different horses'
mouths. Now place the bolts in posi
tion through the strips. Put one bolt
in the horse's mouth as you would an
ordinary bit, turning the speculum so
that one bolt will press against the
upper and lower part of the mouth
respectively. This may be attached to
the halter by means of small straps
placed through the holes (not used)
ibove mentioned. With the above
contrivance, a person can examine a
horse's mouth with perfect safety.
A friend of mine recently has in
stalled an acetylene gas plant in his
country home, and he is much pleased
with it. The outfit cost him about
12i5, including generator, piping and
fixtures, and he tells me that the aver
age monthly cost of lighting the house
is something less than 2. "And," he
adds, "that means that it is really
lighted from top to bottom whenever
and wherever light is needed."
He says, further, that the outfit re
quires no attention except to put,
twice a month, a new supply of car
bide in the generator.
FARM NOTES.
Early cultivation is the most Im
portant. It adds quite a nice sum to the
value of a horse to know that he is
trusty.
Manure for the garden should be
thoroughly rotted and fined before
applying.
One advantage in keeping pigs
thrifty is that they are always ready
for market.
A growing young horse may have
the size, but it requires time to give
stamina.
In nearly all cases, so far as condi
tions of the soil will admit, potatoes
should be planted deep.
So far as can be done, the hest plan
of management is to haul out and
scatter the manure as fast as made.
It is necessary that a cow eat a
large quantity of feed, but it is not
every cow that has that capacity.
A tree in poor ground cannot bear
because it requires all the strength
it can extract from the soil to sustain
its life.
Sawdust and rotten chips, which
gradually collect in a term of years
in the woodpile, have a manurial
value too often overlooked.
Alternate fattening and starving
will not longer pay in the process of
making a certain weight of meat from
a certain quantity of food.
The object in pruning the grape is
to lessen the amount of fruit and in
crease its quality and to enable the
vine to mature its fruit early.
Breeding from immature stock has
a tendency to degenerate the offspring
and gradually deteriorate their vital
ity, size, growth and development
Worthless dogs are the poorest kind
of live stock that a farmer can own.
Every year there are lawsuits or
neighborhood quarrels in nearly every
community which originate from the
depredations of some mongrel that is
not worth its board. A good dog,
when properly trained, may be of
some use to his master and many of
them render no little assistance. Of
course, dogs of that variety sometimes
run amuck and chase the neighbors'
sheep or cattle and kill their chick
ens, but it is more often the worth
less cur that causes trouble of that
kind. Along with the improvement
that is going on in breeding cattle,
hogs and sheep It would be well for
owners of dogs to kill off their present
stock and make a fresh start or else
quit the business entirely. Such a
procedure might be hard on lawyers,
but it would very materially increase
the peace and happiness of all con
cerned. The quantity of work done by a
horse, its quality and ease with which
it is accomplished are affected very
materially by the proper fit and neat
I adjustment of the harness.
CL4PBEN
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Tvuson
WATER FOR PLANTS.
Our friend the scientist states that
for land to do its best its water con
tent should be steadily maintained
to within from 40 to 50 per cent of sat
uration. Prof. Kind tells us that where
this has been maintained by the ap
plication of the needed water their
smallest yield was four tons of dry
matter peracre, and the largest seven
teen tons, and an average of over
seven tons when twenty-two cases
were tried. We all know that that i
very much in excess of what most of
us are doing. We also know that all
plant food in the soil is soluble in
water under certain conditions, and
that all plant food (with perhaps one
valuable exception, that of carbon) is
aken into the plant through mois
ture that is in the soil. This being
the case, no matter how rich our soil
may be, if it is perfectly dry the plant
has no means of getting hold of the
dant food. The vegetable matter is
made available through millions of
'aeteria that are in the soil.. Our
dant corn takes S.750 gallons per
acre each day less moisture to bring
it to perfection than any other crop
we sow. using some 230 tons of water
to grow one ton of dry matter; Dent
corn ::00, and other crops varying
amounts, till we reach oats, which
use from SOO to 700 tons. An apple
::ee, during the time it produces its
fruit, will use 250 gallons per day, or
-,n an acre, with the trees So feet
part. S.ToO gallons per day. Prof,
ving tells of four stalks of corn that
tsed in thirteen days as they were
coming to tassel 150.0 pernios" of wa
'er, cr nearly three pounds of water
"or ench stalk per day. This gives us
some idea of the importance which
moisture has in the growth of plants.
Any farmer who can handle bees
without trouble should keep a few
colonies. It affords pastime, educa
tion and the sweets are among the
best A housewife is always ready
for company when there is honey in
the house. I like to work with bee?;
they show so much intrepid, but in
telligent, industry.
DOES THINNING FRUIT PAYT
Undoubtedly it does pay to thin
peaches. Because of the inclination
of many varieties to grow in clusters
it is almost impossible for all of the
fruit to attain a marketable size so
that thinning usually pays. Whether
it will pay to thin other fruit is a
matter which must be determined by
every grower for himself. In the ex
perience of the writer it has been
found that when the fruit goes to a
market paying a good price it will pay
to thin the fruit, at least to the extent
of shaking the tree to dislodge the
fruit that will drop anyway, and then
"eliding a lot of small boys through
the trees to thin wherever it seems
is if it could be done to advantage.
Of course, the lads will have to work
under the direction of some one who
knows and the work should not be
too finely carried on; that is, the thin
ning should be done only in cases
where two or more fruits are so close
together that none of them will like
ly mature. This sort of thinning will
generally pay. but it is a matter of
much doubt if anything more will be
found profitable, except, as stated
with peaches, and possibly with
plums.
The actual value of rape as a for
age feed is too little known among
farmers. More should experiment
with it and learn its value to them.
It can be sown any month during the
spring and summer and will afford
an abundance of feed for all kinds of
stock.
OLEO IN IOWA.
The Iowa Supreme Court has hand
ed down another decision going to
strengthen the position of the state
law on the question of oleomargarine
colored to resemble butter. A Chi
cago company appealed a case from
the lower court on the contention that
the law of Iowa as it relates to the
colored matter in oleomargarine is un
constitutional, as the color in "the
oleomargarine came in naturally by
the use of ingredients natural to the
things from which oleomargarine is
made. The court holds that it makes
no difference how the color got in; if
the coloring matter is there in suffi
cient quantities to make the oleomar
garine resemble butter It is an illegal
product The court goes further and
declares that the state could, if it
wished, prevent absolutely the sale of
oleomargarine. The decision also re
cites that the original intention in the
manufacture of oleomargarine was to
make it so resemble butter that the
consumer could not tell it from the
thing it imitated and thus permit the
dealers to sell it for butter.
If you expect cockleburs or other
noxious weeds, hard to eradicate, to
bother in the corn this year, but a sur
face or knife cultivator, and where
they are used generously and kept
sharp they are a great enemy to
weeds.
THE SPOT FOR THE GARDEN.
In selecting a spot for the garden,
I prefer a plot of ground without so
much as a single tree or shrub on it
Any permanent growth of this kind
seems always in the way. It breaks
into the solid rows of things we may
wish to plant and reduces the jield
of most crops for quite a circle around
the tree or shrub. It takes sunlight
robs the garden plants of food and
drink and mars the attractiveness of
the whole patch; for the beauty of the
vegetable garden lies mainly in Its
regularity, In straight rows are even
ness of crops. Even a single tree In
the garden interferes with all the
perfect harrowing and thorough cul
tivation. And finally It may prove a
harboring place and feeding ground
for injurious insects and possibly for
injurious birds. If the garden patch
is to be used permanently as such.
I would cut down even an otherwise
useful fruit tree standing on it The
fruit on such a tree would be far too
expensive.
A good harrow Is a good implement
to commence the cultivation.
BatigkBmXr&aEmMtok III cotht. 1892. brie nd si.enani II "Do you know anyone nameo i .. . . ..
T. . TT SBBBKBBBBXErtSWt SBBBi
THE MISSING MAN
By MARY R. P. HATCH
Author of -The Bank Tragedy"
CHAPTER III.
Cashier's Matters at the Bank.
Constance was left a prey to anx
ious thoughts while Tony went on
toward the mill building, a long, low
built structure on the river bank.
Tony asked to see Mr. Carter, and
was directed to his office, a comfort
able enough apartment at the rear of
the building.
"Mr. Carter, have you seen Mr.
Hamilton, this morning or last
night?"
"Seen Mr. Hamilton! What do you
mean, young man? You ought to
know I haven't without asking," he
said irritably.
"Mr. Hamilton was at the bank
last night, that's all, said Tony.
"And never came near the mill!
Look here, Henderson!" he called.
"Vane has come, and we can get him
to straighten that consignment mat
ter "
"By George, I'm glad of it You
know. Carter. I said this morning he
was likely to walk in at anytime."
"But it seems he hasn't." said Tony,
coolly, amused, in spite of his anxi
ety, at their readiness to shufile off
their responsibilities. And then he
toM them the facts as he had done
to Mrs. Hamilton.
"By George! That looks bad, don't
it, Carter?"
"Yes; where can he be now?"
"That's the question. Perhaps .ho
came back after something, and didn't
want to trouble Constance by going
there. She, of course, would object
to his going away again, and he knows
it. He knows very well, too, that his
mysterious journeys vex lier, as well
they might."
"Where does he go, Carter, every
year in May?"
"You know as well as I do. I only
hope there's no danger in it, that's
all. Seems as if there must be, or
he would tell Constance."
"Mr. Carter, your niece would like
to have yon step up to the house."
"Worried, hey! Well, Henderson,
you just fix that matter as we talked.
It seems we must get along without
Vane a while longer. I hope nothing
has happened to him, as you say. I'll
just go up to see Constance. If we
only knew the nature of his business
away, or his whereabouts, but we
don't;" and with a worried air Mr.
Carter followed Tony.
Constance was greatly excited when
he reached the house.
"Oh. uncle, something dreadful has
W
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'Now, madam, have you any idea
rappened to Vane!" she exclaimed, as
soon as she saw him.
"Oh, no, Constance. I guess not I
uess he had business at the bank, I
something connected with the deposit
vault in Boston. He may have been
hurried, and didn't want to alarm
you."
"But after he had spoken to Tony,
uncle, he must have known I should
worry."
"Yes, so you would. Vane ought
to have thought of that, but men are
inconsiderate. Very inconsiderate
men are, my dear."
"Vane isn't. He would know I
would worry. I am sure something
has happened to him."
"Can't you write anywhere to find
out?"
"Ke gave me an address in Boston,
the same I always write to when he
is away, but it amounts to but little."
"Why?"
"Because, as Vane explained, he
migtt be miies away, though in the
course of a week a letter so addressed
was pretty sure to reach him."
"Well, a week will soon pars, and,
no rioubt, Vane will return safe and
well. But let me advise you. Con
stance. Question him about his jour
neys, where he goes. You have a right
to know."
"I had decided to, uncle; for, as
von say, I have the right to know."
As I have said, the time did not
pass very quickly, for time lags to
hearts wearied or worried. Constance
dispatched her letter to the Boston ad
dress, and inquiries were made in
Grovedale concerning Mr. Hamilton's
appearance there on the twenty-second
of May, which was the time al
leged by young Osborn as the date
when he saw and spoke to him.
But no one had seen him. or any
person particularly resemblilng him.
Some people in Grovedale discredited
Oshom's statement, while others
averred that he must have been mis
taken, though, without doubt, they
baid, he thought he was correct in
im-king it. On the other hand, many
believed that harm had come to the
cashier after he left the building,
vbile the bank officials thought the
matter quite serious enough to call a
meeting and look over the books, de
posits and collaterals cf the bank.
People who had money in the savings
institution got wind of the matter, and
the passbooks began to come in so
rapidly the directors publicly an
nounced that all should be attended
to in due season, but that no irregu
larities had thus far been discovered,
nor did they expect to find any. Mr.
Hamilton was expected in three days
now. when, no doubt, matters would
settle In their old place. The bank
examiner, meanwhile, would in any
case soon be there. For the rest. Mr.
Hamilton's bondsmen, Carter, Hender
son and Deane, were responsible mem
Asd thus the matter rested, if it
mM he said to rest when half a doz
en bank officials, aided by young Os-
ware Imd"rIously turning over j
Copyright. 1802, by Lee and Shepartl
all the bank books, looking up col
laterals and deposits, which at one
point showed a difference of several
thousand dollars. But there were one
or two erasures in the balance sheets,
difficult to understand, and yet which
might be made to come fight in the
hands of the bank examiner. It was
too soon to say there was anything
wrong.
No reply came to the letter Mrs.
Hamilton ha-i written, and the air by
Tuesday night, which was just two
weeks from the time Mr. Hamilton
left Grovedale. was rife with a hun
dred rumors. At the station when
the train whistled in. the platform was
crowded with exnectant people. Mrs.
Hamilton with her children and Mr.
Carter were all there, waiting, and
trying lo look placid and cheerful,
but to little purpose. About twenty
people alighted, but Vane was not
annng them.
"He will come to-morrow, sure," said
Mr. Carter, cheerfully. "Come, Con
stance. See where you are stepping,
Clare. For Heaven's sake, look cheer
ful, Constance" (in an undertone this
was said).
"How can I look cheerful?" asked
Constance, drawing down her veil.
"Will he come to-morrow, Uncle
Carter?" asked Perley.
"I think so."
"Then what did the man at the sta
tion mean by snyinu he had gone off
with the creen-headed woman?"
"Grcen-herdc.l woman? what do you
mean. Perley?"
"I don't know. That's what he said;
I heard him. I'o people ever have
green hair?"
"1 never heard of such a thing. The
man was talking so to plague you."
"No. he was talking lo another man
and I overheard him."
"You must have understood with
your elbows. Cheer up. Constance.
Vane will be here to-morrow; if not,
the day after, surely," he said, kindly,
for he noticed that she was deadly
pale. "But what could the boy have
meant about the green-haired wom
an?" "Doubtless it is known that a wom
an with curiously tinted hair spoke
to Vane on the street the morning he
went away. She was a stranger and
traveling north, but they left town
about the same time."
"Oh. yes, that explains it. The man
was joking. I thought so."
The bank examiner was sent for.
and a detective engaged to look after
the missing man.
-
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where your husband has gone?"
Mrs. Hamilton was very much un
nerved when Mr. Bruce was shown
into the sitting room, and seeing this.
he did not immediately open the busi
ness of his -call, but chatted pleas
antly with Clare, who was just begin
ning to take music lessons, and was
struggling with her "scales."
"Fine children, madam. Little girl
takes after her father, the boy after
you. I see."
"They are good children, and their
father is a good man," she said proud
ly. "I do not doubt It; and now, if you
please, we will go over this matter as
carefully and calmly as possible."
"Very well. Clare, you may take
your brother into the garden."
As soon as the children went out,
Mrs. Hamilton turned an expectant
face toward the detective.
"Now, madam, have you any idea
where your husband has gone?"
"None whatever."
"I am told that every year since
your marriage he has been away in
the month of May and stayed two
weeks."
"Once he stayed but ten days; at
another time he was gone fifteen."
"Have you any knowledge of his
life previous to his marriage?"
"I know his birthplace. It was El
mira, N. Y. I knew his mother. He
was an only child. His father died
when he was five years of age. The
family was once exceedingly wealthy,
I have heard, but Vane, when I mar
ried him, was only moderately well-to-do,
as we say here."
"How does your husband appear
when he goes away?"
"Sometimes he seems troubled, at
other times quite cheerful. But this
time he appeared more worried than
usual. He seemed very absent-minded,
and he talked in his sleep a good
deal the night before he went away."
"Ah!" Mr. Bruce appeared interest
ed. "What did he talk about?"
"Of carrying heavy loads, and he
complained that nobody would help
him. "I can't stand it It is too much,
too hard.' he said over and over again.
I thought he referred to his business,
which is very difficult to manage, for
my uncle and Mr. Henderson are both
disposed to leave all the details to
Vane."
"Probably you are right What
else did he say?"
Mrs. Hamilton blushed and hesitat
ed and looked at his note-book. Mr.
Bruce promptly closed it and put it in
his pocket
"You were saying. I think," he said,
suggestively: but still he hesitated.
"After all, dreams amount to noth
ing stray scraps of fancies, conver
sations and a confused jumbling up tf
what it would be too much to call
ideas."
"I understand you," she said, keen
ly. "You think what he said may be
of consequence. I think so, too; but
please to recollect that when my hns-
band scoke a wnrcna's name in l-
vu
,""w
sleep I did not mistrust his honor,
nor do I now."
"Perhaps you will tell me what he
said," looking her squarely in the
face, for he perceived he had a worn-
an of nerve and commonsense to deal
with.
"I will. He said 'Lenora Nora a
pretty name.'
"Do you know anyone named Le
nora?" "No, I do not. and I have never
heard mv husband speak of anyone
by that name."
"Still you think you can explain it.
I can see that." he said.
"Perhaps that yould be too much to
say." Mrs. Hamilton arose, went to
the bookcase, and took therefrom a
volume of Poe's poems.
"He liked them very much, and I
found a book-mark at 'Lenore.'"
Mr. Bruce took the book and read
with not unattractive accent:
"How shall the ritual then be read? tti
requiem how be sung?
By you. by yours, the evil eye: by yours
the slanderous tongue
That did to death the innocence, that
died, and died so young."
"Poe's verse Is very melodious, but
that is one of his poorest poems. Still
it might have haunted your husband's
mind."
After a few more questions. Mr.
Btuce took his leave, assuring Mrs.
Hamilton that, without doubt, tidings
would be got of her husband before
long.
Then he went stmicht to the P!ssex
House to learn what he could about
the strange lady who had spoken to
Mr. Hamilton on the street, for he
had heard the meeting commented
upon.
(To be continued.)
SAD SIGHT IN INDIA.
KiMmen Stagger Under Burden
Immense Planks.
No sadder sight is to be seen
of
in
India than the spectacle of "The
Men With the Planks." staggering
along under their burden. Here is a
grimly pathetic picture of them, drawn
by Sir Frederick Treves:
"They are hillmen of the poorer
sort who carry planks of sawn wood
into Simla. Each beam is from twelve
to fourteen feet in length, and two
or three make up a load. The men
are ill-clad, and the sun and rain
have tanned them and their rags to
the color of brown earth. They bear
the planks across their bent backs,
and the burden is grievous. They
come from a place some days' journey
toward the snows. They plod along
from the dawn to the twilight. They
seem crushed by the weight of the
beams, and their gait is more the gait
of a stumbling beast than the walk of
a man. Their long black hair is white
with dust as it hangs by each side of
their bowed-down faces. The sweat
among the wrinkles on their brows is
hardened into lamentable clay. They
walk in single file, and when the path
is narrow they must needs move side
ways. . . . The path is in a soli
tude among bare and pitiless hills;
the road is as old as the world; and
in the weary dust of it many hun
dreds have dropped and died. Along
it steals this patient line of groaning
men, bending under the burden of the
planks upon their backs. Behind
them a rosy-tinted light is falling upon
the spotless snows, and it needs only
the pointing figure of Dante on one
of the barren peaks to complete the
picture of a circle in Purgatory."
Willie and the Impecunious Boss.
Willie was a sweet boy, with a
cherubic face, and he was temporarily
in the employ of a hustling but im
pecunious attorney who was busy
dodging collectors. One morning the
Impecunious Attorney eluded Willie
ungently. A short time afterward the
form of an Insistent Collector with a
bill for $46 appeared, and the Impe
cunious Attorney hastily clambered
into the miscroscopic closet which
contained the washstand, clambered
on top of the wash bowl, and pulled
the door shut, motioning frantically to
Willie to tell the ubiquitous collector
that he was out
"I want to see Blank!" snarled the
collector.
"He's out. sir," said Willie, smiling
sweetly, "but I expect him in in a
short time. Won't you please take a
chair and wait?"
"Thanks. Yes. I'll wait."
"He's just been gone a minute and
I expect him back in a few minutes.
Won't you look over the paper while
you're waiting."
The collector accepted both the chair
and the paper and reposed himself to
wait comfortably. And Willie resigned
hurriedly without waiting to tell any
one about it and never returned for
his money.
Origin of "Yankee."
The origin of "Yankee" is uncertain.
According to a common statement.
"Yankee" as used in the plural "Yan
kees," Is a variation of "Yenkees" or
"Yengis" or "Yaunghees." a name said
to have been given by the Massachu
setts Indians to the English colonists,
being, it is supposed, an Indian corrup
tion of the English word 'English," or,
as some think, of the French "Ang
lais," English (in the latter case the
statement must refer to the Indians of
Canada, the only ones in contact with
the French). The word is said to have
been adopted by the Dutch on the Hud
son, who applied it to the people of
New England (it is said, "in con
tempt." but probably not more in con
tempt than any other designation of
them).
Ages of British Titles.
Of the British House of Peers, em
bracing dukes, marquisses. earls, v8
counts and barons, numbering over
500 persons, not one can trace his title
and arms back further than the year
1181. The peers are nearly all of re
cent creation, especially those of the
higher ranks. The barons go furthest
b-ick. In the English peerage but one
Zouche of Haryngworth goes back
as far as 1308, but most barons are
creations of the nineteenth century.
The Scotch peers average older dates
of creation than the English, the Earl
of Sutherland dating back to 1228.
Ireland has one baron who got his
title in 1274, and another, Michael C.
De Courcy, whose date is 1181.
Skin of White Rhinoceros.
MaJ. Powell Cotton, who is on an
expedition from the Nile to Zambesi,
has secured a skin of the northern
white rhinoceros, of which only ono
specimen has ever reached Europe.
Relics of Major Hawley.
Mrs. Joseph R. Hawley. widow of
Gen. Hawley. has given the Connecti
cut Historical society many relics f
her distinguished husband. Including
gifts from foreign governments.
Is Artist in Tattoo.
Chyo is the master of the tattooing
art in Japan. Some of his pictures are
aid to b marvels.
' ' S " ,i ' .. - -m
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deatifin trailing skirt m
m
Danger That Lurks in Present Day Obedience
to Fashion's Whim
The following short story from the
i u oma!1 s Journal is very timely in the
warning given against trailing skirts:
Only a little dust, almost impercep
tible dust, caught on the rug on the
floor of the handsome hall.
It was a Turkish rug. lying on the
perfectly waxed, hardwood floor, in a
lull where neatness seemed to reign
a!cng with all the appointments of
wealth.
But there was that almost imper
ceptible dust. How did it come there?
If you had ears that could hear its
voices it would tell you. It would
say that it had clutched a fold on the
beautiful lady's gown and come in
from the street
It was a beautiful gown as well as a
beautiful lady a tailor-made gown,
and its fashionable bias flounce trailed
stylishly on the ground.
Everything was stylish about the
lady, from her fair face, with
rather deep circles below the eyes, to
her slender and handsome walking
shoes. She walked trailing her gown
properly, dust or no dust. Indeed, she
ignored the dust of the street; but will
! the dust 5SK"-' er?
Let us listen, if she will not. for
this almost imperceptible dust moves
and acts with tearful force, and if we
listen possibly we may understand its
language.
Soon after coming in on the beauti
ful lady's gown, other steps followed
and other gowns helped to move the
; dust along farther into the nouse; but
it had a fancy for the beautiful lady.
Her frailness attracted it and it fol
lowed her to the bod chamber. Her
feet had never trod the loathsome
precincts whence it came, but it came
to her on her gown.
Soon there came to the chamber a
little child, a sweet, rosy cherub. In
its romping it stirred the dust about.
Then the dust began to be sepa
rated, being formed of many particles,
and these talked among themselves.
As they talked they danced back and
forth, waltzing, swirling, capering,
with every motion of the child and its
mamma, the beau'iful lady.
A scientist could have understood
them if he had caught some of them
under his microscope. He would have
called them "germs." With what
alarm he would have recognized the
diphtheritic, and with what dismay
would he have seen the tuberculous
germ approaching the frail lady.
Back and forth, dancing, capering.
waltzing, the germs kept time while
baby, in its mother's arms. said, as
thousands of other little ones were
saying
"Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If 1 should die before I wake.
I pray the Lord my soul to take."
This baby was saying it for the last
time.
When night came again, thousands
of little voices sent up the baby pray
ers, but this one was gasping out its
little life on mamma's bosom de
stroyed by a germ.
A yellow card at the front door
warned all comers against diphtheria.
Tho beautiful lady vainly sought
health for a year or more, then found
rest "bevond the sorrow and the part
ing." "Broken hearted," it was said.
"Found death in the dust or the
street," said the microscope. A vic
tim of the long skirt.
Fashion and Consumption.
In all American cities and most of
the larger towns promiscuous expec
toration is prohibited. There are or
dinances and rules against spitting in
public conveyances, on the floors of
assembly halls and on the sidewalks.
Of necessity, however, this cannot be
prevented in the gutters and on the
pavements.
By educating the tuberculosis pa
tient himself in regard to his duty to
his fellow citizen much more can be
done. A careful consumptive is a
good citizen; a careless consumptive
is an enemy to society and the state.
Even with the civil and self-imposed
precautions, the dust of the highway
and crossings is teeming with various
disease germs. It is practically im
possible to eliminate these beds of
filth. In the cleanest streets such col
onies of germs are present
The use of long, dragging skirts on
the average highway is the height of
folly. It is worse. It is absolutely
dangerous. The sweeping cloth picks
up dust and dampened particles car
rying tubercular germs. They are
thus transplanted into the very house
hold. In this simply yet sadly effec
tive way, the children, so carefully
guarded, are exposed to the dreaded
plague. The entire family, satisfied
with their fancied security, are
stunned when tuberculosis claims one
of their loved ones.
It may not strike the family circles.
The household servants may be af
fected. Many of the deaths of domes
tics have their explanation. The mis
tress, after a shopping tour. leaves
her mud-bordered skirt for the maid
to clean. In the cloud of dust arising J
from the brush the fatal bacillus
lurks. The girl, already weakened
from too long hours indoors, suc
cumbs. A few weeks later she is
forced to stop work and waste away
in hopeless dependence on her over
burdened family or at public expense.
Another girl is easiy obtained and
the careless mistress never suspects
any connection between her fooish
fashion and the doomed domestic's
sad fate.
Expectoration on the streets can
never be stopped. The streets cannot
be kept clean. But this can be done
Not Permanently Disqualified.
One of the southern senators re
counts a conversation that once took
place between a friend of his a busi
ness man in Mobile and a colored
man who had made application for
work.
"Well," said the business man, after
the recital had been made of the dar
ky's qualifications, "I should like to
give you the place, but I'm afraid I
can't do so, for I understand you are
married. For special reasons, I desire
for this place a single man."
An expression of the deepest disap
pointment came to the dusky counte
nance of the applicant Finally, after
a short silence, during which he mum
bled to himself by way of reflection,
he asked, hopefully and eagerly:
"Well, boss, if dat's de only trou
ble. I think I kin arrange a divorce all
right." Harper's Weekly.
Prayer Book Too Stately.
Dean Lefroy, speaking at Ncrwicb,
England, said he yielded to no man In
his loyalty to the Book of Common
Prayer, but It was not always adapt
ed to the people. It was too stately.
every woman should wear sensible
skirts entirely clearing me ground.
This will entirely eliminate this great
avenue of tuberculosis invasion.
A Vegetarian Dinner.
Soup
Vt'Ketable.
Entrfe
Roast Imperial.
0,1 . Vegetables
Scalloped Potatoes. Chopped Cabbage.
Macaroni with Tomato Sauce.
Stowed Vegetable Oysters.
. Breads
Graham Bread. Cream Crisps,
a. , ... Dessert
Steamed Fig Pudding with Lemon Sauce.
The American Heart.
We have heard much about the
American stomach and the American
nerves, but we are just awakening to
a discovery that there is being rapidly
developed a form of heart disease
which, if not peculiar to America, may
at least be said to be more prevalent
in this country than in any other part
of the world. The heart-weakness re
sulting from the use of tobacco and
alcohol and from a sedentary life on
the one hand, and extremely violent
exertion on the other hand, is no long
er a rare condition, but has come to
be one of tlie most common affections
with which the physician has to deal.
A large proportion of the men reject
ed in the army examinations are re
fused on account of heart weakness.
A large proportion of the public men
who die suddenly die as a result of
the failure of the heart. The same;
may be said also of many of the
cases in which the cause of death is
reported to be pneumonia, typhoid fe
ver and other affections in which spe
cial strain is In ought to bear upon tho
heart, and in which the failure of tho
organ to mee the emergency is one of
the most common causes or death. Tho
cigar, the cigarette and the pipe are
probably tho most common cause of
this growing frequency of cardiac af
fections; but the neglect of physical
exercise, overeating, the ue of condi
ments and excesses of all sorts are
also to a large degree responsible for
the rapid inciease of this grave mal
ady. SOME WHOLESOME RECIPES.
Vegetable Soup. Simmer together
slowly for three or four hours, in livo
quarts of water, a quart of split peas,
a slice of carrot, a slice of white tur
nip, one cup of canned tomatoes and
two stalks of celery cut into small
bits. When done, rub through a col
ander, add milk to make of proper con
sistency, reheat, season with salt and
cream, and serve.
Roast Imperial. Mix together one
half cup of lentil pulp (prepared by
rubbing well-cooked lentils through a
colander), one-half cup of pease pulp,
one-half cup of English walnuts, and
season to tarte with sage and salt
Line an oiled baking dish one-half
inch deep with the mixture. Pack in
loosely a dressing made from the fol
lowing ingredients: Four slices of
zwieback, steamed until softened, one
half cup of hot cream, sage and salt
to taste, and one well beaten egg. Mix
together lightly with a fork. Cover
closely with pens. lentil and nut mix
ture. Spread over the top thick cream,
bake in a moderate o'.on until firm
enough to cut into slices. Serve with
cranberry sauce or fruit jelly.
Scalloped Potatoes. Pare the pota
toes and slice thin: put them in lay
ers in an earthen pudding dish, dredg
ing each layer lightly with flour, add
salt, and pour over all enough good,
rich milk to cover well. Cover, and
bake rather slowly till tender, remov
ing the cover just long enough before
the potatoes are done, to brown nice
ly. If preferred, a little less milk may
be used, and a cup of thin cream add
ed when the potatoes are nearly done.
Chopped Cabbage. Take one pint of
finely chopped cabbage; pour over it
a dressing made of three tablcspoon
fuls of lemon juice, two tablespoonfuls
of sugar, and a half cup of whipped
cream, thoroughly beaten together in
the order named. This is also nico
served simply with sugar and diluted
lemon juice.
Macaroni With Tomato Sauce.
Break macaroni into inch lengths,
enough to make one cup. and drop
into boiling water. Let it boil until
perfectly tender. In the meantime,
prepare the sauce by rubbing a pint
of stewed or canned tomatoes through
a colander to remove all seeds and
fragments. Heat to boiling, thicken
with a little Hour; a tablespoonful to
the pint will be about the requisite
proportion. Add a half cup of very
thin sweet cream and one tcaspoonful
of salt. Dish the macaroni in indi
vidual dishes, and serve with a small
quantity of the sauce poured over
each dish.
Steamed Fig Pudding. Moisten two
cupfuls of finely grated Graham bread
crumbs with half a cup of thin sweet
cream. Mix into it a heaping cupful
of finely chopped fresh figs, and a
quarter of a cup of sugar. Add lastly
a cup of sweet milk. Turn all into a
pudding dish, and steam about two
and one-half hours
faerve as soon as
done with a lemon sauce prepared as
follows: Heat to boiling ia a doublo
boiler a pint of water in which aro
two slices of lemon, and stir into it a
dessert spoonful of cornstarch; cook
four or five minutes, or until it thick
ens. Squeeze the juice from one largo
lemon, and mix it with two-thirds of
a cup of sugar. Add this to the corn
starch mixture, and allow the whole
to boil up once, stirring constantly:
then take from the fire. Leave in tho
double boiler, surrounded by the hot
water, for ten minutes. Cool to blood
heat before serving.
Hedgehog's Frown.
A hedgehog curls itself up by a
frown that is, by muscles like those
which produce a frown and it frowns
severely or gently according to cir
cumstances. If it is poked hard, it
"sighs" itself tighter. If really hurt,
it frowns into a tight ball. The
prickles can be erected in a measures,
though as they point all ways this Is
not needed. They are as sharp as
needles. We have only known one
dog, a large black and white setter.
which would deliberately bite a hedgo
hog till it killed it But this dog was
quite mad and shared some of tho
anaesthesia common to certain luna
tics. London Spectator.
Chinese Coins.
One of the great barriers to trade in
China is the monetary system, which
is crude, confusing and in every way
unsatisfactory, except to the Chinese
themselves. The most commonly cir
culated coin is the copper cash, equal
to about one-tenth of a cent Tor
large sums the tael is the mmit; this,
however, is not a coin, hat a weight of
silver.
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