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/ THE FLESHEBTON ADVANOB. The Republican Convention If should be very evident to impartial students of ivt-ntu like the recent Kerublican convention at Chicago iliat the lapacity of inople for fooling ibemselve. or each other is pracUcally unlimited. We are BuppoBcd to be cul tivBting and developing democratic conceptions and plane of governmc-nt ou this continent, and democratic government is supposed to be the embodiment of Abraham Lincoln's phrase, "of the people, by the people, for the people." Any person who could delude hiiBBelf that t4ie candidate chosen to bear the Bepublican banner was selected by the people must have been born else- where than Missouri. On a straight popular vote by proportional representa- tion it is probable that Herbert Hoover or a similar well-known and able man would be found t* have a majority in bis favour. The gentlemen who devised the electoral college had not heard of proportional representation or they might have adopted it, but it is too l»te now, and their ancient ideas are now crystallized into a political engine which may be removed but can never be remodelled. The astute gentlemen who assembled in Chicago had every intention of "putting it over each other," but the most astute among them were able to nullify the activity of the others by playing them off ngaini-t each other. The candidates with the big majorities gored each other 10 death, and a respectable nonentity won the prize they strove for. A cer- Uin group, it is boasted, had him in view from the tirst to do their will, and if elected to promote their policies. He is not yet elected. The Republicans could have swept their country with Hoover, but Harding is a horse of an- other color. Hiram Johnson is by no means satisfied, and a third party may go to the people and wreck the Kepublican hopes by "splitting the vote." The vote is not really split in such cases, but the independent public who are disgusted with and refuse to vote for a machine candidate, are given an op portunity to say what they think, and they do so. It is not now considered the crime it once was "to vote against the party" because it is understood that in most instances "the party" is the particular interest that has got hold of the party machine for the time being and that possesses no claim to the allegiance of any voter whatever. 7 HE BRAIN BOX CONDUCTED BY E. GUNN RAMSAY. Rcgiitered According to the Copyright Act, Foolish Francesca By Olive Wadsley The Ontario Coal Problem It is not too early to bigiii discussing the winter s coal, and the intelli- gent householder who has his supply already locked up in the cellar is quite ready to listen to anything that promises a reduction in next year's prices. We have been assured that the coal movement is normal, but it is difficult for the simple-minded citizen to regard the coal movement as normal which requires the payment of $17 or $18 a ton to get it moving. The premier has assured the House of Commons that the United States will be gracious unto us, and "give the most reasonable consideration in their power to the inter- ests of this country." We believe this to be true, but it is a difficult ques- tion to say what is in their power. It is admitted that the coal supplies of our neighbors are appreciably lessening, that labor is scarce, expensive and intractable, that transportation is a most difficult problem and deliveries un- certain. The warning is sent out once more to citizens to get in their winter supplies as soon as they can. Some effort is being made by the Government to move coal in Canada from the western and the maritime pits to the cen- tral areas. Marine freight is being engaged to some extent, and as a means of hastening transport the Belleville route by lake steamer from Oswego is commended, having been found most expeditious. What is needed for On tario however Is a coal mine in the north such as Saskatchewan and Alberta have in vi»w. Western engineers are firm in their assertions that there is coal in the Hudson Bay district. They say the Outiirio Cioveriiiiicnt geologists never admit anything till it is shown them and that Cobalt and Porcupine would still be lying fallow had tlie opinion of tlie Govcrumeut experts been followed. An Alberta expert declares that there is coal without any doubt in northern Ontario. I'erhups the Minister of Mines will look over the situation once more. il'a I1H1.T tui. i;iti II' ill. rill How many times as a small child did you laboriously copy this cheerful [ihrase in your school writer I'robably often with a fervent wish that it, and similar sayings, had never been invent- ed, for what seemed to you the tor- ment of small stiffened fingers. liut somehow, eveu though you have felt the term to be now and again mis- applied, its philosophy has not always failed you, and there are times wlieu you are glad to remember that certain things can be mended. Along with this phrase about nicud- iug, you were some time taught that "110 man can add one cubit to his stature." It provided au interesting specula- tion ou your part. Vou reviewed i" rumiuatiuu all the little people you had ever met, the short mau who kept the grocery store at tlie corner, lie was somewhat stocky iu ligure and mil much above the height of your uuii young brother. Vou xeflectcU that you guessed ''he would be glad if he could gain a few inches" and it seemed funny to you to think that there must come a time when you too would stui» growing, and that hotliiug you could do after that would add one whit to your height. How big are you uow'l ll amuses you to-day to look back to those far-off times. Muscular, full- grown and active, no thoughts such us these trouble you, but UOW BIG AJU': VOUi And as this question is asked, 1 want to record alongside another little mot- to modelled along the liue of your schoolboy script: "It's never too late to grow." There is really no such thing as ii limit set to the time of growth for any living mau or woman. When we lease to grow physically, we still go on growing iu other direr- tious. Vou may grow lean or grow fat, grow jiretly and jirosperous, or pretty and penniless, ugly and seltisb, or gen- erous and expansive. (.irow bigger and better or meaner and mustier and it all depends largely upon your outlook. How big are you? I 1(1 villi \Miiit til j;ri.v% liiggirr It 18 good to make comparisons sometimes, to pull ourselves up, to take our own measurement mentally, to trace back over the past, noting what measure of progress we have made with the passing years, and gathering therefrom inspiration for to-morrow. Hut when it comes to a question of omjiarisoii between the reward which the world is handing you to-day and that wliicli is being reaped by the oth- er fellow, let us bo very fair, very careful. This is the time to lock most critically upon our own endeavors. How did we measure up* Here is the challenge for every work- er. All are seeking for a more sym- jiatlictic attitude between the work- ers and the employer, but unless one can point faithfully to you and you ami to me, and the other fellow, who lia\e ileiilt faithfully and efficiently in the face of all circumstances, ujioii wluit other basis can we ask for a more co-operative spirit throughout! Wliuii you take uieutal measure of yourself and are inclined at the same time to compare notes with your neigh- bor, remember: Success is not aiwuys to be reckoned by dollars and cents. There is a success which fur outweighs ami ovcrtips the scale when compared with mere monetary values. The fail- ures of some big souls, did we but know the truth of the efforts behind, are more glorious thai, the biggest suc- eesses of wliieji an unthinking world makes capital. To dub a man successful who has built up a fortune through the sweat and slavery of his workers or other dislionest methods is ragged honor. Again there may hi some who, look- ing upon your position to-day, deem you a failure, measuring by the world's standard of accuuuilatiou of riches. VOV alone are th>. best judge of ulicther your life is a success or a failure. VOU alone know whether that ideal wliieh you set out to achieve was a worthy one and how far you have kept the path. How big are you I It depends upon your outlook. If hitherto this has been small, your life made narrow, write it up again: ••ITS NKVKK TOO LATE TO GROW." A Little Bit of Everything The League of Knavery News from Persia has been as disturbing as iu any part of the world. The JJolsheviki raided the province in which Keslil is the capital, on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, and declared the formation of a .Soviet republic and the repudiation of the monarchy. This may mean little or miu-li, according to the deine;inor of the people, and that depcmhi to some extent on the prestige of the Allies, chielly represented by Britain; and the influ- ence that may be exerted by Enver Tasha, Ujemal I'asha and Talaal Bey, who have been plotting with Berlin and subseijueutly in Moscow. Thes^ precious rascals are busily engaged trying to beat I.eiiin and Trotsky at their own game. The forlorn hope of western Europe appears to be in the prin ciple that when thieves fall out honest iiu'ii eonic by their own. it is doubt ful if the League of Knavery is so timid of its hopes or fearful of its con- victions as the League of Nations njipears to be. There is quite as bad blood among some of the western Allies as among any of the friends of the former Central powers. Even in France the bitterest sort of agitation against Brit- ain has been organized by certain journalists and politicians, so that we need not be astonished at some of the thing's that hajipeii in the I'liited States, especially when ranters like Lindsay Crawford run around tidliiig gullible Americans that Canada is ready to follow the example of the Sinn Felners and declare a republic. It is conceivable to some people that a Canadian republic will be established as soon as an Irish one, and tlint Lindsay Craw- ford will be the first president, which brings us back to Persia again with its ancient civilization, its rare art and literature, its complete antithesis of all that Bolshevism represents. It is to be desired that both Persia and Ire- land recover their ancient ideals, and have rest from the wicked who ecase not to trouble them. A riQHTING SQUIKEEI,. W'hen surprised in the woods, the be- havior of the fox squirrel is quite dif- ferent from that of the gray species. As a rule the former will put forth his best endeavor to reach some h(d- low in a tree, and into this he (juickly scrambles to avoid his enemy, says the American Forestry Magazine of Wash- ington. One may often see them stretched out ou a limb as flat as pos- sible, and they wi.., thinking them- selves unperceived, remain a long time in that position as (luiot as a mouse. If cornered, but there being no hole handy for him to get into, and the limb he is ou is too small to hide him, he will liigiii barking at the hunter or his dog in the most dellant manner possible. It is said that a fox squirrel can beat off a Biiiall dog, ami will juit up a hard light if one attacks him. Profiteering Workmen There ought to be a strike census. There are two or three new ones every day. The more money some men get the more they want. Some people call it profiteering and attribute it to capitalism, but it is the same comjdaint wherever it breaks out. The proliteer refuses to sell his gooils excejit at exorbitant prices. The striker refuse- to sell his labour except at ligures to which the (onsiiuier cannot accede. There is a fair (iriee and it can be reached by reasonable methods. The profiteer in either labour or merchan- dise is unwilling to trust his case to arbitration, and there have been notable instances where an arbitrated agreement has been repudiated by the profiteer. It would be absurd to say that all strikes are the result of profiteering in wages. The strike lias been an indisjiensablc and effective weajion for the workmen against unscrupulous and incnnsidernte employers. But having found it successful in righteous causes the profiteering spirits have jiroceeded to em- ploy it in others not so righteous. Then it is the jiublic suffersâ€" and withdraws his sympathy. There is less willingness to work than was formerly the case, and many strikes are declared to be the result of this attitude. The man who does not want to work wants the highest wages ho oan extract to enable him to live the longest possible period without working. The record of absence is greatest among the highest paid labourers. This is not necessarily an ob- jection to the man himself. But it is undruibledly the result of ignorance. If everybody quit work the world would soon be in a state of starva- tion. Because so many have quit work, and so many thousands more are ready to quit, we are forced into nn era of non-producing. What the ulti- mate fate of industry will be under constant and repeated strikes it is diffi- cult to gny, but it is lack of production chiefly ails the world of civilization to day. The profitcerers among cBjiitalists and workers both take advantage of this situation, and the unfortunate citizen starves along as best he may. FLYING FEAT OF GRASSHOPPERS. The grasshojiper would seem to have nothing in i-omiiuin with the seagull, yet they are reported as having been picked up iu swarms at sea, iu some cases no less than \Mi) miles from the nearest land. The African grasshopper has been known to cross the Red and Mediter- runean seas in destructive numbers, and even to fly to the Canary Islands. For the most part they are of a mi- gratory species noted for its great flights. The bodies are about four inches long, and are equipiied with large air sacs in addition to the usual breathing tubes. These ?ia<'B buoy iqi the iiiseet so that it is nblo to stay iu the .'lir fur days at a time, exerting jiractically no effort at all. Uuring flight its speed is said to vary from three to twenty miles an hour. When it is tired it rests on the water and is borne along on the waves. very ancient times to the present day the Chinese have observed the strict- est ceremony with regard to the pay inj; of visits. The cards which they use for this purpose are very large ami usually of a uright red color. When a Chinaman desires to marry, the jiarents intimate that fact to the professional "matcu maker," who thereupon runs through the list of her visiting acquaintances and selects one whom she considers a titting bride for the young man. The match maker calls upon the young wom..« 's parents, arm- ed with the bridegroom's card, on wliieh ;ire iuseribed his aacestral name and the eight symbols which denote the date of the birth. If the answer is an acceptanco of his suit the bride's eard is sent in return, and should the or;n-les prophe.sy good eouceniing the union, tlie jiarticulars of the engage- ment are written on two large cards and these tied together with red eord-^. EYES THAT NEVER CLOSE. All lislus whirli sleep il<i so with their eyes open, as they are not pro- vided with eyelids, and cannot, there- fore, close their eyes. From experi- ments made, it was discovered that some fishes have no preference for the night tii/ie, but sleep equally well dur- ing the day. They may be observed resting quite motionless for periods, appareutly in â- sleep, except that, having no eyelids, they are unabb; to close their eyes to ( xelude all influence from without. The hare also sleeps with its eyes open, for the simjile reason that "its eyes are unprovided with eyelids. In- stead of these there is a thin mem- braiie whieh eovcrs the eye when asleep. This membrane, as in the case of eertaiii birds, folds like a curtain in the corner of the eye, and, by an ii.stantaneous action, flies back when sight is required, leaving the eye im- mediately and fully open for the exer- cise of sight. •Some birds, such as the eagle, also have this membrane, which, when at rist, lies in the corner of the eye, fold- ed uj) like a drawn curtain. ORIGIN OF VISITING CARDS. Visiting rards were in eoiiimon use by the Chinese in the seventh century, this also being the time of the intro- duction of the "red silken cnnls" \ hiih fgure so conspicuously on the engagement cards in China. From PISCATORIAL LABOR SAVER. CikIc Kph .lohiisou, aged negro, na- ti\e of .Scott County, Kentucky, has iiiVfiited a machine that reduces to the minimum of labors of the lishermiui. 'Tis siiii|de, this invention of I'nde Iqili's. It is not patented. On the contrary, its inventor offers it to any and all devotees of the rod and reel. .Stick an uinlirella rib pcriieiiilieiilarly in the mud on the bank, fasten "a sleigh bell near the top and connect tlie line with this •'invention" and you are ready to fish â€" and sleep. "It ain't iiotliiu' mure'n a labor saver," said Unule Eph. "Vou see, every time I get a bite the fish bends the um- lirt'lla rib and the bell rings. Den 1 wakes up an' hauls him in." CENTENARY OF HERB. SPENCER. The recent sale by auction of the house ill which Herbert .Spencer was born recalls the fact that litlill is the centenary of that philosopher. His faille seems to have worn rather badly. Twenty or thirty years ago he was b.dng constantly cited. Nowadays oni' hears his name very rarely except from SOU]! box orators, who hurl Speii- cerian arguments at their audience, evidently without any process of men- tal digestion and sometimes with rath- er ludicrous effect. Even in his own day people laughed at him a little. "Every one has written a tragedy, even Spencer," said someone. "Ah," said Huxley, "I know what the ca- tastrophe would boâ€" an induction killed by a fact." WHY GOLD TARNISHES. (iiveii the prcqier conditions gold tarnishes. This is due to impurities in the gold, the alloys used to make it of the desired carats. These are s her, copper, zinc and sometimes nic- kel. All gold under 18 carat has some of these alloys, and the acid in the perspiration that exudes from the skin will cause tarnishing and discolora- tion. In the second place tarnishing is due to the gold coming in contact with certain substances. Julius \Vo- diska, the well known authority on jirecious metals, cites rubber, sulphur, ointments containing mercury or ar- senii', iodine, complexion lotions, some hair dyes, and numerous solutions 'o^ cleaning leather and other fabrWrf, as causing the tarnishing. .• ' (Author of "The Forgotten Wedding, Etc.) CHAPTER I. AT YOUTH'S GATE. IT WAS atrociously hot in the com- pound. The punka-puller, at no iime remark- able for his love of work, had entire- ly ceased to pretend even to labor, and slept peacefully on his rush mat, his head, covered by a discolored turban, pressed down upon his drawn-up knees, his hands slackly clasped round his thin ankles. Francesco walked up to him languid- ly, and very gingerly touched him with her small, rather grimy, white tennis shoes. "Ai, lazy one," she said in the ver- nacular, ' ' wake up and work, or the burdah shall be fetched." Her voice held a curious note. It was soft and caressing and yet oddly vibrant, and in some way alive. The punka-puller awoke sullenly and gave a vicious twist to the rope. A very small drift of air reached Francesco. She flung herself into an armchair half filled with cushions in crimpled muslin covers, and pulled out a book from beneath them. The punka-puller groaned from time to time sclf-pityingly as he pulled. He stared resentfully at the missy sahib, but brightened a little as he noticed her absorption in the book. He watch- ed her closely, and at last deemed it safe, ceased work once more. Francesca read on. At last she put down the book, ami. projiping her face on her hands, stared out at the quivering, «un-drowned gar- den with its few straggling, gaudy flowers, and its parched earth. Her eyes still glowed with the ex- ultant interest the book had awakened in her, her small face was slightly Hushed, the thin, beautiful eyebrows met in a frown of concentration. Her mind whirled her on. There was life somewhere in the world, life which pulsed and flamed. Music, books, crowded streets, lights aflare against the darkness, the sea washing up in purple waves beneath some silvered sky, restaurants all glit- ter and smooth liurry, theatres, jewels â€" and she had never «cen anything. She got up suddenly, her thin hands gripped together, and began to walk ii[i and down the room. Her short, curly hair, her one real loveliness, seemed to attract each flicker of sun- shine in the shabby lOom. It formed an aureole round her pale face. She wore it quite short, parted at one side like a boy's, held dose to her head by a broad band of black velvet. .\ frock of some cheap muslin stuff, with the least possible amount of ma- terial in it, covered her slenderness. It was cut open in a deep V in front, and above it, encircling her white throat, she wore a string of imitation pearls. White silk stockings, much and bad- ly darned, and white buckskin tenuis shoes ill rather a dilapidated condition, I'uiupleted her attire; her whole appear- ance was third-rate, in hopelessly bad taste. She sat down at the piano and be gall to ]day over, ••Vou Made Me Love You," which had just reached Chiltilian and was the rage of the station. -Vs she played she sang softly, and as she sang she unconsciously acted the expression of the words. Her eyes looked innocently alluring beneath the black lashes, her mouth curved into a little smile. The door opened noisily and a t:;ll woman came in. .She wore a ilressiug-gown of pale rose silk, obviously a model, obviously costly; but it was dirty and the chiffon ruffles on it were iu Huffy shreds. ••Keally, Frankie," she said irrita- bly, "you do make a deuce of a noise. Baby has just gone to sleep, and he 's so lidgety in this beastly heat." Francesca sfopjied playing and re- garded her sister-in-law. "Sorry," she said perfunctorily. "What a sight you are, I'hrynette! That negligee arrangement is filthy," she went on dispassionately. ' • It looks as if you'd bought it at the ba zaar jumble." "Oh, 1 know," Mrs. Trent said. "It's rotten having no money for clothes or anything. .,ver since Paul 's (leatli it's been like this; bills, bills, bills coming in and nothing else." "It wasn't much different when he was alive, poor old dear," Francesca commented. '•Six months, and still that lawyer doesn't settle up things. It's disgrace- ful!" Francesca shrugged. •'I should say there isn't much to settle up," she said tranquilly. "Vou know how you and Paul have always spent every sou as soon as it came in.' ' ' • I ought to have married a rich man," Mrs. Trent said in a tone of languid discontent. Francesca 's rather thin lips curved a little. ••Apparently that's what that dash ing half-caste, Dr. Vlan, thinks. Any- way, as I was saying, the handsome auctioneer appears extremely taken, my dear, and he's got pots and pots of money." Phryuette twisted her rings round with a conscious smile. "Of course, it's awfully soon afte.- poor old Paul's death, I know," rhe said; "but, as a matter of I'ae-, Frankie. Howard hasâ€" well, almost proposed." Francesca 's inscrutable eyes gazed steadily at her sister-in-law. " "And you are unable to answer be cause you do not quite know what ,to do about me."' she (pieried. "Tha; is it, isn't Hr> Mrs. Trent flushed and looked un- comfortable. "You see," she began lamely, "it would be rather difTicult starting house ^ ith you and Howard. Dsby'i thar* atU h " "Still," Francesca said, "he is, aft er all, Paul's son. You can't very well boost him out, poor lamb!" She laughed a little without gaiety. "Don't be so spiteful," Phrynette said sharply. "I'm sure I adore baby, and I think it very heartless of you to treat me like this. It's not as if I'd ever once made a fuss about hav- ing you, though lots of young wives would have refused to start life with a sister-in-law tacked on and " Francesca strolled over to her. "It's all right," she said languidly, "you don't suppose I haven't realized things ages ago, surely? That De Vlan outsider was always here even when Paul was alive. "He was in love with you then, I dare say. It's really all right. I wrote off to old Mr. Fawcett two months ago, asking him if he could get me my pass- age home. I dare say his answer will be in the mail to-day. "I shall get work of some sort, I suppose â€" any sort; I don't care as long as I'm once in London. All my life I've wanted to live in London. Our old nurse, she was mother's maid, lets lodgings in a place called Shepherd's Bush, and she wrote when Paul died, if you remember. "I shall go there, and try to get work. I could go as a nursery govern- ess â€" there 's my French and music â€" or as a secretary. I can tjrpe â€" or â€" oh, stacks of things will turn up, I ex- pect." "You're so young," Phrynette ob- jected weakly, smitten with the easy, undistressed remorse which attacks those who determine ruthlessly to get their own way despite all opposition, and occasionally find all the difficulties removed without protest or unpleasant- ness. 'Seventeen next month. If old Fawcett does write this mail, I can go back on the Orava; the Saltera are going then." ••-V troop ship, too, rather sport." "We never knew any of the people in Paul's time, so I don't suppose they will flock round us now," Francesca said dispassionately. Phrynette flushed again. Only she knew the reason for the regiment 's ostracism. Paul, her hus- band, had only discovered that his wife- was an Eurasian after marriage. Her blue eyes, her rose-white skin, her thick, crisp, golden hair, had made even the supposition impossible. She had been living with her father, they two the only white people in t-he place, at Ramhet in Burma. Paul had gone up for some sheeting, and the fea-p!anter had made him his guest. Piirvnette, beautiful, lonely, inflara- mabic, had married Paul within the month: and Francesca, who had been HI Inoia siuc;e her eighth birthday, had learned fully what it meant to give up her childish, happily despotic p7wer, aid bo ruled. She had been ten there, Phryuette seventeen. She had learned, too, to adopt the easy, slipshod speech and the careless dress of her sister-in-law. Only her definite personality had kept her apart, aloof in spirit at least. Paul, good-looking, weak and ador- ing, had not bothered about his little sister; nor had his colonel's suave but frigid welcome of his wife depressed him long. Phryuette was lovely, and iu love; and he let her do every thiug she wanted, and only complained when the servants got especially slack or i'hrynette stormed to him about the beastliuess of the regiment, and the station in general. He had died of cholera, and Phry- nette had wailed and shrieked for "a week, and refused to eat or drink or sleep. But after the week was over sho had eaten excellently aud slept cor- respondingly well, aud had begun to interest herself in her clothes again aud the frequent visits of condolence made by Mr. de Vlan. _ Once again she was in love, and Francesca was distinctly in the way^ Ii, seemed to Phryuette to be really rather indelicate to have the sister of her dead husband iu the house, when' all her thoughts were held by her ap- proaching remarriage. It was uncomfortable besides, and quite disturbed her pleasant autieipa- tions occasionally. However, Frankie was going; and no doubt in England she would find work or a husband, or both, and everything was being done pleasantly and in a friendly way. She rose and kissed Francesca, who looked, by comparison, like a rather ordinary bleached daisy beside a big pink rose. "That's very gracious of you. Thank you," Francesca said. "You've a very nice sense of the fitness of things, my dear! It only remains for you to say you will miss me uud so weiter, und so weiter, as thoy say iu the Fatherland; and I ought to let my eyes fill with tears, et voila, every- thing gone off really well and in the best style." She looked quizzically at Phrynette through her half-closed lids. ' ' You will feel so poignantly sad when you trail elegantly into my bed- room after I have just driven off'," she said. "All the odds aud ends ly- ing about, the empty cupboards â€" not that there will be many of them; this house was built by a socialist. I should say, who believed in every one sharing everything; it 's impossible to keep even a hairpin safely from the servants. "Where wa» If Oh â€" at the empty cupboards! You'll gaze at them with those huge blue eyes, and feel I have deserted you. It will be a ripping half hour of cnjoyab»» sadness. (To Be Continued.) Reptiles rarely die in daylightâ€" visually between nightfall and mid- night. When a Tartar invites an honored guest to eat and drink he will take him by the ear and lead him to the table. M.