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kos-' A FATHER'S BDRDEN. V « I In a Cumlwrvale farm kitchen a woman wits Imail; goUioK supper. A â- bout floated from tlia pike looping the liatie of the hill, and a barefouteit |irl ran from thu rain-barrel to the oiwn (lo:>i to tell her mother that 8t«ve was at the gate holding up a latter. She put her gourd dip|)er on the sill and hurried down. " It's from liem," ah* said, return- ing to her mother, waiting ui)on the •t«p, " an' it mtw' be an awtui little one from th' feel." The Hon's note deefiened the haroHS- ed look that often comes to the fa"e« »f farm wires »t the close of a I>u8y day. She gave it to Ella who slowly •pelled it out with her forefinger tracing the woTd». Steve had put bis horae away an<' now came through the side gate. Mrs. Judd inquintd whether the letter had not con.o to the jiost office that morn- ing, and when hp lial answered "ye.s," asked him to fetch her husband from the tiwld. The farmer soon came and she handed him the note, saying "Lem's comin' home." "So be is." he echoed, after reading the note. " It ain't his week's leave jret, is it 1" "No, he wrote he'd be hero f'r a week in August. If he came up on th' Bvening tnin he'll be here oefore long." She ahaded her eyes and looked along the visible stretch of pike. " I do b'lLeve he's comin' now," she •aid. " There's soimeone walkin' an' Liem 'A have t' waJk i( be didn't get m lift." Ella ran doiwn to the road and the father \imi>e<l after her. He seemed to be carrying a burden. A glance at the h >use and over the farm wouUI have shown what the burden was. rhe mother waited in the doorway, her thin face chauK>ng from exiiecta- tion to apprehension. The three pres- ently came up the path, carrying a â- alchtd and several rarcels. Lemuel was a stalnarl, handsome fellow. He had discaiilud the slouch bat. shirting. Jeans sud cowhide bouts, usually worn by the farmers, tor more fashionable clothes and a new looU substituted the wholesome one which had shone upon bia face when he left home the aut- umn I x- fore. Seeing only gliulness in her brother's return, the little girl danced about, unmindful that his half-ba-shful greet- ing gave sulMitance to the mother's fears. The father leaned against the rain-barrel, as if he kept bimMelf up with an effort. Cuml>ervule folkn are backward in queelioning even a meml>cr of the fam- ily ujioa critical matters. At the sup- per table no one hinted at the reason for Lemuel's return. This was not be- cau»e .Steve and two other "handfil'' ate with them, for family affair^ are often discussed before the " help." The former made several attempts to re- lieve ti.e situation. lie asked Lemuel bow th« cro|i« " was roun' about ' and getting an unwilling re|>ly ventur- ed an inquiry as to whether he " had â- aw 'am Down's new red wnggin in his barn road." Receiving only o brief er dof I ho|i« the confounded letter negative he rela/ised into a silent and vigorous use of his knife. Later la the evening when Judd went out for a last look at tUe stock. Lem- uel stood at th« kitchen door while his mother wearily iierformed the closing toiiks of the day. Amid the noises of the city ha had often thought of the rasi> of the crickets an<t the gurgle of the frogs as music, but there was now a diso<Til in tbft mimraer nocturn. He turned around, and said, " I'm in trou- ble, mother." " I knowed it, f,em. You're face told me." "The coolractora in blame me for dishonesty, but I'm not guilty, mother." " I kninved tbut. too. I«m â€" I mean I kno^ved you aint dishonest." " There's no use worrying you or father with any more of the facts. They're hard enough for me to liear. All I want ymi to know is that I've lost my place and will lie home for ^ awbUe. 'rhey'll write me a letter if they find out I wasn't to blame, and they will find it out before long." " I hojie they will." l(K>kiag up wear- ily from the hearth, from which she was sweeping dust with a turkey wing into a pan. Then she ro.se painfully, and continued, " I*m, have you noticed that father is " Judd'a heavy step sounded upon the sill, and the little woinarl knelt quick- ly u|ion the bricks. " Father,' said Lemuel, when he came in, "I've to<d toother that I lost my plaoe through no fault of mine, and i.ill slay at home for a while." The father slowly ojtened the lan- lera door blew out the flame, and set I lie lantern u|M>n the floor. He rose, pr<^8sing his side as it be had a stitch. Then he walked over (o the blue man- tel, hung a key uinm n iinil driven in- to it, went to t\\^ sink, took a drink from a tin bucket, put the dipiier back into it; then tu'-notl to his sun. Cum- liervale folks approach an important discussion by timid stages. " We'll Imi vurry glad t' have y'u honve again, I^em, but^but I'm afeared you wont feel at horae. It aint city- tied here, an' it kint a bit like it used t' lie. We're sort â€" sort o' played out. Lem^ â€" me an' mother. We're workin' too hard. 1 exi)eot. We need help on the farm, but w'en I say that. I don' mean that you'll be asked t' do any work. Y'u oeedn' !« aLfeare<l o' that. Y'u never did like farmin', an' y'u've got Bjore above it in th' city. We'll f«t Along somehow, I reckin'." A trpm of his inaufficiant stranfth seemed to fall 8U<1denly u-on him an ' he caught the corner of the sink an'' waited, while the mother «to;iped her tired wisjiing with the turkey wing and looked up at her son. He, however, liad his eyes and thoughts far away in and <li(! wA. wm) his father's vveakneAs nor think of his relation to it. ' You're rife-ht, father. I never diil like farm dru<lffery. and never will. I can't lie contented in it. I must gel back to the city, an' I hojie this trou- ble will soon blow over." " Vurry weJl, Lcm ; vurry well. We agreed that you wa-wn't meant f'r o farmer atore you went t' so it's no use talkin' it all over again. Try t' feel contented while y'u have t' be here. We'll let y'u do je.s as y'u please.' He hung bis straw hat urnm a hook and lighted a candle. His hand trem- l)le<l warningly in doing both, but only the mother saw this as she rose from lh«< hearth and put the wing upon the mantel. Tile matter was not again dlscu.ssel and no on-> interfered with Lemuel's freedom. He ramble I about the coun- try, sometimes fishing, sonietimea hunt- ing. Occasionally he went into the field ant did light work, but be show- ed no interest in the harvest or in the welfare of the farm. He renewed his acquaintance with Cicely Martin, who was ackrowledgod to be the " likeliest " girl of tlie com- munity. The Jud<l farm adjoined her father's. His calls, however, ceased ab- ruptly, and he found some attraction in the county town three miles away. Steve watched him abarply. He was a talkative fellow, and enjoyed a joker's license of blunt «i oech. " I'm mighty glad y'u've came hum. licm," was one of his characteristic prods at the table. " Y'u kin notice th' imiiroveuient in th' farm a mile away. They was people herea' out as said th' Judd Karm was goin" down, but they aint no danger .len-e y'u've came back. It'll ooon be th' lirag farm uv th' vycinity. But there's one thing I'm mighty consurne<l about, Lem. I'm afeared y'u'U ovorilo y'urself an' then y'ur ftttber'll bev f pitch in an' help.' One of vSt eve's dutie.s was to ride to town late in tb^ afternoon for the mail and necessary supplies. I'pon his way back he often found I,emuel sit- ting u|>on the fence looking for him wistfully. One evening when be a.sk- ed if a letter had come for him, instead of answering " no," as usual, Steve dis- mounte<l. l«(l the horse to the fence, and said â€" "No, no letter baa came an' I hot* none ever well. I've gouged ; 'u at the table afore all th' fo'ks an' y'u've scowled, but it don't make no dlf'r- ence t' me." liemuel sprang angrily from the fence." "Oh, y'u needn't get huffy. I can't bold in- no longer, an' I ain't goin' to. You think us fo'ks don* know w'at trouble y'u got into in th' city. Soue uv us does, me f'r one." " You know it?" "Yes. an' so do«'s y'ur father an' mother an' th' Martins. A man in town told me th' contractors in blame y'u f'r givin' the' figgers uv a bid t' anotlver c'ntractor so's be c'u'd give a lower bid an' pet th' job. an' that y'u got big money f'r it." "And you lielieve I <lid it," Lemuel said, stri<ling toward him with white face. " No, I don't Lem ; true as I I've I dun' b'liove y'u'd do slch a thing. But things looks ag'in y'u an I don' ex|iect y'u'll ever get that letter." A wagon rattleil toward them. Dan- iel Martin and Cicely were uiion the â- eat and the spring lied was filled with parcels from the town stores. The fath- er bade the " time." but the <laugh- ler. who wa« driving, kept her eyes on the horses. " I know now whj^ ahe isn't friendly to me any more,"'I.«muel said, bitter- ly. "She l)elievefl I'm guilty." "It ain't that at all. liem. There ain't a man or wonian in all this i art \iv th' valley that 'd b'lieve Ez. Ju<ld'8 son 'd <'o sich a thinig. an' least uv all Cic'ly Martin. She's th' cleverest girl in all Cumliervale. an' she's ag'in y'u 'cause y'u'vo no thoughts f'r anything but . liookaliere. I^em. This farm has b'en th' Judd Farm ever since th' first deed were wrote on it. an' every cvenin' y'u've dawdled on this fence, wait in' f'r a letter that'll never come. It's goin' down as fast as a fiM-m kin, an' it won't he w'orth raisin' mullen stocks on in a month' 'r two. Were are y'ur eyes, Lem Judd ? Jes' un- hitch 'em t'morruh from , an' look at th' house ojti' th' barn an' th' land. Oet that letter out iiv y'ur head an' y'u'll see w'y it's going' down. He caught Lemuel by the shoulder, turned him around with an easy move- m<-nt of his brawny arm, and (loint- ing, said,â€" " It ain't to odnrk yet t' see them w'ife stones over there on th' hill. If y'u don' take oft y'ur city coat. Lem Judd, an' btvlptorui. this farm, there'll l»e another atone over there afore long an' th" name on it will be Ezra Judd. P'r'ape y'u'i.' lie in then, an' strangers will have f go onto th' Judd Farm, an' what in nation 'II y'ur moth- never does come. Thai's all I got to say, an' I don' care f'r th' odds.' He leaped on his horse and clattered away. l,omuel turned and crOBsed his arms on the top fence rail. The house and barn were sharply outlined against the evening sky. He bad not noticed lief ore that the left gable of the form- er had sagged an<l that the latter needed re.shingling. The decay that was now visible all over the place was not gjn illusion of the twiKght. He remembered now that he had of- ten seen the fa{rn»era look up the hill and shake their headn as they drove tiy. . He knew how that it must be "common talk," throughout the sec- tion that the old Judd place was going down. In fancy Iw naw large bills, with a display top line, " The Judd Farm tor .Sale," followed by the pic- ture of a farm-houae. and an enumer- ation of the carriage aad plow horses, milch cows and farm implements. He oould almost hieaj- thie sale crier ui>on the court house pavement on a Satur- day afternoon ringing hia Ml an<l atv licitiog bids from the calculating crowrl and thie farmers telling one Another how the faroi ha,d come under tha ham- mer. He tore a sliver from this rail and went home chewing it. Twocveningfi later he returned froci the creek with his rod and line. The "cork" had bobbed ui.heeded in the ripjiles all aftern(X)n, for a suliject had floated like it in the current of his thoughts. Hia mothe.' ran from the kitchen door to meet him. She was very pale and was twisting her apron helplessly in her handu. " Lem l.h' men ha.s jus' brung fath- er in from th' u;>per field, lie fainted tlwre. He's '>n th' fie<l an' <!on' know any of us. Would vou care t' take one of th' horses an' ride t' town f'r th' doctor f" He ran to thb barn and bridled a horse. H's niotlier'a bint of unwilling- n^'ss to help in this emergency made him iinro the animal to its utmost. A mile from the house he met Bteve com- ing home. He raiiidly told him what bad baipeoe I and asked Jiim to go for the doctor ao that he might return to his father, The man turned aliout, whipping the horse. Returning home Lemuel found his mother liewildered and he assumed the care of bus father. I'aniel Martin and Cicely, who had been told of Judd's illness by Steve, came in to a.ssist. The daughter was a tyiical Cumbervalegirl and she loo'c charge of Mrs. Judd with the steadiness of a matron. The doctor who ( anie with Steve was noted throughout the whole section of the valley for his tongue as well as his treatment. When he bad brought Judd to consciousness and had given directions for the night, Lemuel <lia- covered that he was sjcilful in diagnos- ing other thin i^niicai troubles. "You are young .iudd. aren't you f" he asked bluntly. " Yea. I am" "Well. I want to tell you that this at lock is not very serious, but it's a v:irning. I'll exiecl you to .see flat your father ('opisn't do a stroke of work until fall. If he doee, you will lie re- sjioasible for the consequences." With a sucoe.ssion of characteristic sniffs he was off as busily as he bad come. "See here. Lem." Steve said, when he came in after helping the doctor start. " Here's th' mis'a'de letter. It come this eveniii'. If I'd darst I'd a kep' it. Things always doee come at th' wo'st time," T.«muel read the few tyrewritten lines and crumbled the [taper nervously. " Aro they still ag'in y'u yet, Lem?" Steve asked. " No ; they have discovered who gave away the figures of the bid an i want me to come back ix> my place at once.'' " I'm â€" I'm glad f'r y'u, Lem.' the father feebly said from his i>illow. "Me an' mother has never b'lieved you <lone it. Now, y'u c'n go back t' th' city an' be c'ntented. Y'u'<l better write y'ur answer at once so ^noliody else gets y'ur place. I^emuel walked slowly toward the bed. His hands were shaking and his face was set. " I>o you want me to go away, fath- er ?" he asked. Judd turned from him and put his arm over his eyes. "Y'u know, Lem, bow much y'u are f me an' mother," he answereid, "an' thai y'u're welcome t' stay- as long !ia y'u want. Dut y'u can't be c'ntented at th' old home any more, an" I won't say a word I' get you f stay. I c'n Iw up workin' around t'morruh as uah- yaj BO y'u c'n go without worryin' Me an' mother'll get along somehow, L«im." Mrs Judd ond Cicely Martin came in- to tlie room from the hallway. Ella, who had lieen standing near, caught the corner of I.«muers coat, and, look- ing up into his face asked: "Are you goio' away again. Lemf" He took her hand, walked to the lied, and askoil, "will you trust the farm In my 'hands, father t" The farmer could not answer, but his look was all tliat was required. " I'll do ray lient with it. All you need do is to give rae directions and try to get well. We won't mention the city again." In 'elling the other "hands" about it, Steve declared that " keei)in a tight rein on a hurror was wo'se'n breakin' a colt ; and w'en Lem's mother crienl an' Judd hiaself kivered his face with the bed kivers, I took an' run. An' I seen Cicely Martin shake Lem'a ban' an' tell him that it ever he done a right thing he done it then" Thne<t who now drive aroun 1 the base of the hill and look up to the left, see one of the fine farms that have made Cumliervale famous. When Cicely Mar- tin came over to help Lemuel it took a sinirl forward and not a farmer in the vicinUy think.s of it now in con- nection with saJie bill or an auction- eej. AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE AGENCY Sweet Girlâ€" Pa, the hou.>>e next door was robJied last nigiht. (Paâ€" Meroy ! Ne.vt door? t>weet Girlâ€" Yes. and the burglars have been in two or three houses on tNis block within a week. Paâ€" I know it. I know it. It's ter- rible I But wlvat c«.n we dot Sweet Girlâ€" I was thinking it might tje a good plan for Mr. Nvvfello and mo to sit up a few nights and watch tor Wm. OEMS OF WIT. 'Dhe man who tells you he is np fool may lie only mistaken. The barlier is the only man who does headwurk with his hands. The mercury never gets warm in its efforts to lower the record. It was originally intended to have aheet music sung by the choir. .'Vime men act like hogs and there are otJiers who do not need to act^ The horseless carriage is a novelty, but the oowdess milk wagon la a ckcir- nult. - « • 'v^ . . -ifttlVBNttft** Have yo*.- • Ije'en ^emdiaig -dlKtut tlJe HlH>ts on the sun? .aake<)r ^he .vtoung man. No. replied the ex-suminer girl, but 'I'm.giM the old thing has a few freck-. lea himself and ran see how ha Itkea it. CHINA'S RULIIII} POWERS. OOWAOER EMPRE.SS BOSSES THL SON OF HEAVEN. kiiang ll'.n Mtut i'p iii llli Tiirplr Forbhl di'ii t'liy Willi IIIk ItuM iinil .trrow^ Tli. UriiiHl 4'uiiiirll, Ihe MliiKlry af Wnr. Ilie r>iiuiC'li I'nmrii niiU tlir Hen f>:i<> I'lHiiilllulP Tlirm -- l)all> IMei at llir llrf»lli<>r 4if IlK' .Hull. Tli««re is a young man in Pekin who would l)e tnlii'iting ju-st now in his -skin if he were i^nlyableto realize pro perly Ll:e dajijci-r th.it i,-; Ihreutened to him and his empire by some of these very kind friends wh<i b.'i.e come to him dnoii ferentes. He us tlie Emper- or Kuang H-.u, euphemistically known. auioiui^ otlier outragedus titles, as the .Son of Heaven and BrotJier of the Sun. He is the m ist secluded monarch on earth. When he appears in public, which is very rarely, mattiiw is hung up in fnmt of all the houses, and strips of cloth are stretched across the alleys I and riide streets tiu'ough which the im- \ (lerial pTote.->sion must pass. He is in- v.iriably accuinpaaiud by a vast re- liiiue of soldiers and an aimy of cour- tiers, and the mm who peei>s around the coraer or lia* hiis eye fasLi-ned to a hole in the matting Ls liable to be blinded by a bullet or an arrow. When be Ls at humt* he is carefully hidden away in the centre of a big Tartar oity. whi'Th is ia tl*» centre of the Chinnwe city, at Pekic, and you have to go through three sets of wallsâ€" Mjiply an impossible task for a Europ- ean vt-itorâ€" before you approach the buildint; >n which he U kept, guarded by eunuchs. First, there are the im- meniie walls of the greit Tartar city, which are .sixty feet thick and as tall ai a Lomion flat. These inclose a i large area filled up with the houses of I Tartars and Government liuildings, j which run round a .s;iaoe the middle of which is kiiown as the Imperial City. This has a high wail of gray brick about six miles in circ-umference. and it includes the outside palaces, the pleasure grounds, an 1 the temples of the iacred city. The Emperor is kept inside this, and bis exclusive quarters are kouun as the PURPLE FORBIDDEN CITY. T!ie walls of this last pen are rigidly guarded. They incUise the quarters of tlie fiuperor, hi-, famiiy, the ladies of the royal liarem, and the thou'-ands of eunuchs who make up the servants, and include buildings fur court cere- monied, which are arrimged round the sides of a ridge of palaces running from the north to the south. The Kmpenir himself lives in the north- western part of fhc iien. and the Em- prci^ Dowager has u (.ivlace near by. la another part oC tlx; iuclo^ure is the hall of liuwary aoyss, or the imperial library, end in this the Cabinet oHi- ceri, about wb.'in more anon, hold their -sessioas. Pe vin is a huge city, credit- ed wiui l,5llO,tJ..U iubabitunts. but apart from the euniuclis. the toadies, and the women who haunt the Purple For- bidden City, it is tloubtful if 5,tKX) of tli'is vast aumlier have ever set eyes upon the monarch, aud among Eu- roiieojiis ond Americans it is only Uic Amba3.sadors who are permitted to gu/.e upon hil» august countenance. Though he i.s generally credited with the po^ssession of a very ugly temper, which incites him to smash the bric-a- briick of bis apartments when he can- not have his own way, his efforts at ruling go no further thau doing what he is told to do. Ho is kept in order- ancestor worship being a strong point in the Celefitiau moral codeâ€" by the old Empress Dowager, who practically runs the State .show, nioul who is influeuced .sometimes by whim working through a thin leaveo of diluted statesmanlike feeling, and sometimes by that back- .stairs palace intrigue which works tlirtiugh the favorable medium of her favorite eunuch. Pitsian-li. Kuang Hsu â€" which means The Illustrious Suc- oe.siiio'n>â€" has been under the old lady's thumb since he was 4 years of age. wlw'ii he was chosen to succeed T'ung- ch'i. She supervised his education. Hhe packed out his wives for him, and she mak«.s the ladies of his harem skip to- day if they don't walk ohalk in her presence. Of course she took her own frientls when she selected his wives, and .she has him so hemmed about w ith her officials and girls that if he had a will of his owin he wouldn't know how to use it. The Empress Dowager, win) lias bossed the Tsuivg-li-Yumen for a generation, is now 63 years old. She was tlie secondary wife of the Emperor Hsien Fung. She was at the head of Uie Kimpire during a greater jmrt of tlve Taeping n>bellian. She managed its affairs during its war with France .vnit tdie has had more then one taste of Russian dipbunucy. iihe is said to have a mnnd of her ov n, and all of the Chinekse â-  RESPECT AND FEAR HER. .She is u stickler as to form, and In- sist.s that all busiw.^ss hall lie dune through the young Elmperor, though "she i-eally directs what he is to do. She is even '.qiQ^ secluded than the Um- (leror* o^d' tMten she receives her offi- .cdats- and >he Cabinet Ministers her ,praoticA is to A| behind a screen while they talt at 'h^v through Itâ€" unless she ha«i Bomethiol; strong to say to them. 'Hie Eiuperor is H, leans undersized a>ad, unlhealthy. His features are Tartar as oontradistiuguished from 'Chinese; the reigning family being, as every one should know, but pro^bly doe« not. Tartar. He does all his bus- iness at nigflit and he sleeps in the day- timie. He beginH his work about i in the morning, after a midnight break- fa.^t. ^vtten ha recaivea his Cabinet iMin- â-  " 1- i... J.-y inters, who. oa being rshered Into iila pre.sei]Ce, go down on tlieir knees and perform tie -even fa' el "Ko-tou' â€" that is, bump their beads again and again on tbi; floor. i'liey also remain on their knees wliil« before him. Every- ti.iog about an'l connected with Kuang H'lu is regulated by law, eves to hia meals. Accordi.rtx to the aid Chinese bunks there must lie placed before him laily tliirty puunilis of m^at in a basin and seven pounds boiled into soup. Ha ha-i a daily alluwaaixi of about a pound "f hog's (at anut butter, and he has the lis'lit to order two sheep, two fowls an I two ducks, wlile his drink (or the day ii restricted to tie milk of eighty coivs and the steepin.; of seventy-fiva : ircals of tea. It Is probable tl.at j'is real diet is different, but the.se are tiie regulation provi-ions, and if be de- .-ires anythin,' that is not on the menu the board bawnig charge of the im- perial table has to be '-onsulted. It is mort! tl.an doubtful whether his Ma- jesty realizes his e.xalted situation and his power. H.i has been h'Jmmed in aud fooled all hi.s life. H.i knows nothing of modern civilization, and, in spite of the recent war, next to nothing of modem warfare. He has never re- vieweil, awl is not c; pable of review- ing, his army, and bis common u'muse- m"nt is to shoot with a how and ar- row. If he ever had in l.im the mak- tnors of a character they must have been ruined bmg since by his mode of life and his surroundings. THK SUP.1£ME BODIES which, by the grace of the Empress Dowager and the favorite eunuchs have the direction of the country's af- fairs, are the Grand Council, the Min- i-try of War, and tli» Tsunir-li-Y'amen. 'Ihe first, which is erroneously con- founded with the last, corresponds to our Cabinet, and consists of five mem- bersâ€" Prioce Kifng, the Emperor's uncle, whose principal aim in life now appears to be to thwart the iimpress Dowager, .vith whom he haa many stormy scenes ; Shih To, better known to us as Prince Li, who haa no knowl- edge of foreign affairs and hates all "foreign barbarians ;" Weng Tung-ho, the Emperor's private tutor, who ia^ equally conspicuous for his dislike thv harbarianrs, though he is credited with having take;i to the study of for- eign affairs sin':;e the troubles with Ja- pan; Kung Y'i, an offiiial Who gained his high office by presenting the Emr peror. for the purposes of the late war. with a large sum of muitey, which he had no doubt obtained by extortion of one kind or nnotlier, and who~e up- presMation of modern conditions in warfare may be judged by the fact that he prefers bows and arrows to guna, and has ordered that those of bis com- panies which are provided with the jiurderous rifle shall u.se clay buDeta, so as to save the exiiense of laden unea; and Chien Ying-pu, President of the Board of Works, who is singularly free from prejudice against foreigners, in spite of the fact that experience has never brought him into proper contact with them. The Ministry of War con- sists of PrioDe Kuug, President, Prince ChunK, Vice-Pre.sident, Weng, Tung-ho^ and Jung Lu. With two of these ppintlemen we have already made ao- quaintimoe. Prince Ching, I Kuang, Wiws promoted from the third to the .sec(«nJd order of princes four years ago. He has held ma4y office.s in the capi- tal, aaxuig others that of President of the Tsung^ll-Yamen. to which he still belongs, and is reported to lie a fair-minded man â€" relatively, that U, for he has never been far from home. Jung Lu ia a M.-inwhu, and airs advanc- ed views which are crude. His leng- thy combection with the War Depart- iu«nt may or may not account for bis insistence U|iou the necessity of ahow- A BOLD FRONT to fcireigti aggression. The Tsung-li- Yameacon-ists of Prince Kung. Prince Cb.intr. Wtvng, Tung-ho. Kang Yi, and Ju!n|7 Lu. in addition to our estim.tble old friend. Li Hung Chang and Ching Hsin. a stiff and bigoted nominee of Prince Kung; Cbiug Li. a very old man from wiiose mature lips drop words of antiquated wisdom; Hsu Ying-wel. a Cantonese, w^ho was once literary Charrellor in Kan,su, but who haa re- mained in Pekin for a good twenty years past; Liao Shaoheng, elder broth- er of the Governor of Che-Kiang; Chang Yin-huan, V.ho siient twelve years as Minister to the I'nited States. Spuiio. and Peru, and was Special Am- bassador at the diamond jubilee, and Wu Tinitt-fon. the leader ot the Re- form party. Tine mem most capable of offering good counsel in the present emergency are the two lost named, but Chang Yin huan is of too low a rank to possess any real influence, and it is .stated that Wu Tiing-fen despairing ot any reform wMle the count ry'.s affairs are in the hands ot the prejudiced fos- sils and corrupt servants, recently ai»- plied for two months' leave of alisence III repair his ancestral tombsâ€" a pre- liaiinnry to retirement, lu the mul- titude of counsel offered by these var- ious officials there is much guile but little wisdom, and there is much plot- ting on tlve |iart of each member of the three boards against each aiitl every one of his fellows. Periodically the tlmpress Dowager comes out, rates thein soundly from behilud her screen, and if they have dene something unus- ually foolish, boxes all their ears. AimI lietweeoi one and iiniither of them the unhappy Son of Heaven comes a cr«i>- per. INQUEST ON A HEN. An analy.sis of the contents of the gizzard of a lien killed at Opuloi>oliH. N.S.W., revealed one three-iienny-liit, one bone overcoat-button, six metal trouser-buttons, two brass-headed tacks, »-t in., about .â- > dozen metal sprigs (for Umts), and sundry opal chips. The old lady suffered "no in- convenience, and contritiuted her daily egg to the breakfast table up io th<t last. DANGERS OF MATRIMONY. Mrs. l)e Peck â€" Since 1 married you I am lotiiug all m,v good loidcs. Mra. De Peckâ€" Doctors agree t^at nothing will siwil a woman's beauty quicker th«a frequent ebuUUioaa of temper. 4 it-; i» ^^£iam^mm â-  f * '«««â- Â«â- â-