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- i. . ^ ^ ^ Ok, THE RESULT OF FANCY DRESS BALL WOETH BIG FOHTTJNES. Priceless Autographs That Eeposo lu London Safes. Some of thi! Jinost und most valu- able coUectioiiB uf autugia^hs in the world 111) ill no less proauJC places thaii the suit* oi' old-esiablishetl bunking lirnis, tlio signatures in ques- tion Leing either in the form of re- ceii'ts for mone> or those made in special books for guiilcnce and pur- posos of coinijari3on at the banks in qucHlion. In ul least two casus in London theso autographs iire absolutely price- less, Icr they exti'nd back for nearly 200 years, and tbtyy comprise speci- mens of the handwriting of every British monai'ch during that time, of many foreign potentates, ancl of near- ly every distinguished man, v.hcther in war, commerce, statesmanship or art. For piu-poses of comparison ev- en now these old-time bank, auto- graphs are said to be absolutii]^- in- valuable, for it mu.st be recollected that these signatures are the very pri\ate and, so to say, hall-marked CIIAFTEK I. I at a fancy ballâ€" the only of my kind To-day, that "gay philosopher," ] in the room. I shall therefore" â€" has risen upon the world with quite solemnly. â€""croate a sensation. " a charming air. Its .sighs ore bulray j •'You will do that anyway," says and its smifes frequeiit. It is evi- Mrs. Clifford. She looks at her sis- dently in a glivd and glorious mood, ! ter a little discontentedly. "I'm as well it may be. having just been sure I don't know what they will all highly decornted by that splendid , say of me. That I went in silk nt- gencral, the sun, who marshals us tire myself, and brought you as Cin- through most of our happiest hours, ; derella." and who i.s now shining with all his i '"l-o find a Prince?" might upon the long, old-fashioned j "Your l»rince ! why. he's found," windows of Diana's home. i .says Diana. "He is almost sure telautographs of their writers, having "What a day '." says Diana's sis-; he at the bail. Did I," slowly | attached to them secret marks known tor, looking ui) from the pile of lilac | "tell jou ? I met old Miss KlnseHalonly to the writer and to xMc bank; calico lying on her knees. It is the : ye-'Jterday, and she said Mrs. Dysonr|and when saleroom forgeries in the kind of calico, both in color and te.x- : Mooro told her she e-xpected him oniwa^- of autographs are olTered now, ture, that one associates in one's ; the fifteenth by the late train." jthese often faded writings are as mind with a servant's morning work! "The night of the ball !" A startl- jpreciou.<i as when they were made, to â€" determined in its .shade, but pretty cd look springs into Hilary's eyes. I But in a moment she recovers her- i self. "Tlio late train Ten ! He will I bo too tired to go anywhere." "Ho may wish to meet j-ou." I "A girl he has never seen ?" I "A girl he must either marry, or lon-j obviate bjink forgeries, in times past. Only quite recently a Audi trades- man of Portsmouth happened to look througli a lot of what he had always been told by his parents was old lum- ber. This tradesman's great-grand- father had been a purser on various British war vessels duriuo; the Napo- leonic w^ars, one of the sliips of which for all that, and striped; little linos of (lark violet running over the lighter ground. "-Yesâ€" heavenly!" says Diana, whose married nauic| is Clifford. She speaks rather absently, as if linding it difTi- cult to lift her mind from the mak- ! lose £18,000 a year." ing of the little mol)-cap at which | "What a detestable will !" cries eho is so diligently ftitching. The Hilary, springing to her feet, and glance she gives upward, as if in beginning to pace up and down the ,, . ... r,^ ^ , answer to pilary's rapturous sigh, room. 'liuquitous I call it. What i""" served havmg fought at Trafalgai- in purely mechanical, though she evi- 'on earth had I ever done to Aunt i'''''^'^ limiself aboard as purser. Host dently wisiios it to be understood Charlotte that she should insist on'"'" ^^'^ °^^ lumber in fluestion was that she too acknowledges the heav- bringing mo into an affair of this,fo"^^ t° relate to this ancestor, and -on-sent glories that arc lighting up | kind ? Vihy could she not choose ! a"iOJi& 't were scores of receipts and the trim lawn outside, and rendering some other niece? Some other i other documents written by Nelson, the garden an earthly paradise. But I nephew and niece, who knew each jCoUiugwood and many other naval other ?" I heroes of those days. One particular "There would have been loss wis- i batch of this ol-d lumber was sold dom there. People who knew each jwitliin a few weefis of its discovery other â€" ! That's generally fatal ! I for £3.0. In one account back alone jWhcn strangers meet there are possi- !were soores of n.ival autographs of â-  bilitics. ' jthe greatest interest and \ahie. "There are indeed, and very un- | f In a second her pjes fall to her task again. "rho ide-a of yoiu- wearing this !" sa.vs sl-.c, giving a contemptuous twirl to the delightful little cap. "And that" â€" with an equally con- tcuiptuou.s pointing of her forefinger to the lilac niafs lying in Hilary's pleasant ones. I feel certain," IfiP â€" "'It the biggest fancy-dress ball ' stopping short to regard her sister we have had hero for ages, when at with on effective eye, "that Frederic any moment you might be mistress | Ker is the very "last man in the of £18,000 a year." | workl I should ever care to marry" "At any moment I might not, al- K03S WAK. OF HOEEOE. Htms !\i," says her sister with a little laugh. "And even if I were the mi.stro.ss of it, there would be a mas- ter too. That takes all the gilt off the gingerbread. In the mean time"â€" smoothing out the folds of the lihu- skirt with a fond hand â€" "I shall wear this. A housemaid's dress is a fancy one â€" for every one up except the bona lihe housemaid â€" and ; too plentifid. "Of course, if you have made your mind beforeh.'\nd " "I haven't made tip my mind about anything." "Not to look at bim." "You are wrong there. I'm dying (o look at him â€" from a distance ! "It is such to throw aw with a sigh. as it is inexpensive, and as pennies _ count. I have chosen it. Providen- tially, at a hall of this kind one can be as bizarre, as eccentric, as one likes." "Still." says Diana, with a re- gretful sigh, and a swift glance at her lovely sister. "I had always im- agined ,vou as " "Oh, 1 know," «ith amused impa- tience. "Joan of Arc." "Certainly not, " indignantly. "As •Morning.' You would have. looked beautiful as 'Morning.' " "I .shall look divine as Sarah Jane, " says Miss Burroughs, with calm conviction. She lifts the cali- ian Invents a Gas- Charged Shell. At last it lias been discovei-ed how to mate a military omelet without brealving the eggs. Hereafter war may be bloodless; ship's companies, battalions, whole arn^ios may be plac- ed hors-de-combat. hut only tempo- rarily. In the middle of the wildest a great deal of money j charge siiuadrons of cavalry may he y," says Mrs. ClilTord j reaucocl from a state of heroic fury Aloncy with her is not ;lo beatitic anaeslh.esia, and may in- jstantly be precipitated, in most regu- "Who says I'm going to throw it lar formation, into peaceful slumber, away?" cries Hilary gayly. "Per- | -In a word, a Hunaarion geiiiiis has haps I am going to seize it. And, invented a shell which, on bui-sting, perhaps it is hu who will throw it iiiberates a tas warranted to gtupefv away after all. Ke may not like |all who breathe it without causing all. FTe may not me ! ire â€" may reject me ! He â€" " she turns once more to the mirror as I if to gain support from it. "Im- jmortal gods ! what an awful .thought !" says she. "I confess," in a stricken tone, "it never occurr- |cd to me before." . ' "Well, it needn't occur now," says Diana, her fair, handsome faco light- ing. ".Vnd you needn't pretend you I think it." ' "But it's so serioxis, Di, If I re- or any permanent or serious effect. When such a soporific shell bursts and awake, [lerhaps, to find them- selves prisoners in a hostile port. Let a nimiber of such shell exploifo over a fortress and not Uie fortress but the garrison will fallâ€" into coma. Scientilically S[>eaking, it is entire- ly possible that thi.s gas-charged shell will do all that its inventor claims. He is now in coinmu)iic«tion with the CO skiit with daintily careful lingers ' fu.se to marry my cousin Frederic, or ; •'"•i>anese governinrnt. so it is not â€" it is as yet only tacked together â€" ! if he refuses to marry me. £.18,000 a j improbable that Port .\rthur and and regards it with an admiring eye. I year goes to 'The homo for lost an- i Vladivostok may be as quiet socn as imal.s â€" the dogs.' '' (the i>alace of the Sleeping Beauty. "Well, it is in your own hands." JTlie inventor's Hungarian hatred of "Don't; le<-ns think of it till after P>i«sia- dating back to ISIS. prc- thia dance, anyway," says . Hilary. â-  vented liim fro;n approaching the "W"e have a little breathing-space |czar. to whcse pacific ideas such a left us." liumano shell would strongly appeal. "Not if he is there !" | Of course, such a sholl would revo- "Oh. ho can't be ! Coming by that jlutionizp warfare. The hospital latu train!" She lets her bands "corps would become the most im- Thnt iQ «i„- T „„, „ t :^"" '"^° ^°'' '"r" again, the needle I portant branch of the service, and Ihat IS wlij I am not K^- ; sticking up ' " Jim would have liked to give you something better," says Mrs. Clif- ford, leaning forward, with her el- bows on her knees and the cap be- tween both her hands. Her tone is plaintive. "Ho says you arc too absurd, too proud " "Jim is the dearest brother-in-law In all the world." says Hilary, un- reserved atloction in her voice. Ing to let him beggar himself the chicks for me." "What nonsense ! .\ and ' ell. this ,s a mere gown, too. | ,von't; but if ho should, promise me Im suio .1 will suit me. Bo ; you will not introduce me to him. or know, I 1. llinemg down the get any one else to do it." imisbed dress and ;;oingto a -But it ho asks me '?" ••w And you half-lin long mirror let into one of .the walls "last night an as fill doubt nr.ise within my mind. 1 felt that the dress would .suit me so admirablyâ€" so alto).Tt!ierâ€" lli,;i I iiogan to think that perhaps I was to the manner bornâ€" that Nature had meant me to be a real Sarah Jane." She Ivors at herself in the glass, leaning a little forwnr.!. poised, as it were, on her toc.>!. and with her hands clasped behind Iier back. The plass gives her back a very e.xquisite relUctioaâ€" softly smiling dark-blue eyes, a mouth a little ([Uizzicul, but tender too, and a strong, lirm chin, a forehead low. broad, and earnest, nnd .such hair ! â€" hair that shines like burnished gold. Not the <!e«d-gold to one of her pretty lingers, and Hooks at her sister anxiouslv. "If mere gown | ho should come to the dance, Diâ€" of course," with eager conviction, "he dangerous proximity .portant branch of the service, and I* 1 1 »•. i 1 * »â-  (ill «â- Â»-»»• c? riTifl! ..11 .____! 1. i_ _.. .1 "ITov,- can he? He doesn't know- yon either." "He could get an inlroductiou. Airs. 1\\ soii-Meoie might ;" "Not she. She will be taken up with herself and her admirers. Xow promise." "Well, I promise. But is it wise ? Ought you not to meet him at once, and " "Marry him I" sarcastically. "No, I think not. I must have time. And, above all things, 1 want to enjoy this dance." "Mrs. Melnlyre is giving another fnnc.v bnll the week later; you will have to meet him there." "Suflicient unto the day." says hair wo know of. nor the crispy hair; Hilary rit-kkssly. ''And who knows that never seems at rest, but a mix- ; I'O may not have loft long before ture of both these, looking always '. <h"t, ? I have made up niy mind R.s if half an hour ago it had come "«>t to uieet him at this first ball, out of a warm, sweet hath, nnd was at all events." growing brighter and brighter ! Plana looks at her sister with a through tho sun rays that have j''P'"tahi concern. dried it. " ! "I wish you would try to like "No, 1 don't look like it now, " him." says she. "Ho means so says she. fur-iing awa.v, and Icltinp; 'i-uch to you." her slim figure drop once more into I "lOxactly a.<! much as 1 mean to her lounging-chnir. "But when 1 him. Don't look .so forlorn," with have the cni> and gown on. 1 know inn irrepressible lavigh. "Vm going 1 shall look the thing. Humiliating to try and like him as hard as ever tho\ight !" jl Can. Harder even, if it will please "There won't be n gi^in the room you. Iio you suppose 1 too cannof like you. " snys Diana (^ertionalcl.v. ."lec all the honboiu* that aro to he "An ! that'll my saviiif; riaiise !' wilfully misiinderctundlng her. "llouw'maicis will bo a rare quantity. I exp««ot I shall bo '-uniqueâ€" I shall porhav* â- â€¢Â« that astonishinip thing pot out of £18,000 a year V" "I belie\e you aiv ns blind *•< a Iwt," says Diana with some indigna- I tlon. I (•1^> be CwitlTiwed ) would need to be enormously iiicreas- would need to bo enormously increas- ed in order that prostral.>d combat- ants could be remowd from the field and' restored to con.«ciousn>\ss. The HL'xt Hague convention would have to agree that all who were as- phyxiated by this pas sliould consider tbem.<v>lveH dead until the war endetl. .And what woul<l Iva.ppen when op- posing artilleries emploved the won- derful shell? Kach side wouUl surely increase the charpos of gas mitil some would bo killed b,v mi overdose of it. Thus the shell's henr-licent jun"- pose would be defeated. . â€" ^. cnu.Piu:^ AS incpb.vtors. Pathos and humor arc combined in a singular story frojii Russia, relating to a j'oor pea.sant woman living near Viloil;a, who was left absolutely des- titute with six children to support. At lar.t a luminous idea struck her. She suggested to the n^nghboring poultry farmers that she sliouhl re- lieve them from the trouble and e.x- pense of usinj; incubators for hatch- ing rhicien.s and turlievs. They agreed, nnd the eggs, carefully secui-ed from injury in wooden ca.<!es. and packetl In wool, wen- plar«*l in the children's cots, which were constant- ly occupied, day and night, b.v tho six little ones in turn during the three weeks re^^uired tor incubation. As each of the cots contained 400 egg» â€" a«10 on each side â€" the hianan incuba- tors Buceeeded in hatching l,20O «iggs at n time, for which t.hoy received 1 wnt an egg. or $12. Their earnings, theifforv, lor lying in bed' for twanty- .ni'> «la: f I amounted to exactl.v $-1 a k A Woman's < Love... ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ CHAPTER X\11I.â€" (Continued.) From the distance came the faint echoes of cheering and the tJying sounds of music. A little wind made a hush among the leaves, and overhead the cold stars made more beautiful the beauty of the deep blue sky. TTiick dark lay on each hand, land in front stretched to the far wall a broad band of light in w'i.'.ch her shadow cut a dead black line. The air was cool, and seemed to bring some slight calm to her fever. For a moment she was caught out of herself, and, as from a height, she looked down on Maddalena, the poor harassed Queen, as on some one she had never seen before. A tiny branch was blown against her face, and she noted snapely form of a cer- tain green leaf. What sort of leaf was it •? How did its edge bi-come so gracefully serrated ? What'intricate veining ! How impos.sibly perfect ! Curious, she thought, that at such a moment as this when she ought not to steal a moment from her lover, she should be standing here in the night, wondering at the shape of a leaf, at the magic of its venation. A moment from her lover ? Ah ! â€" she turned. She had been a moment only in the lieht; but the glare, where all had been blackness, caught the eye of -Asunta. and in the glare the brilliant whiteness that was Madda- lena. Asunta left her place by the railing. Hector might pass a " thou- sand times for aught she cared. Yon- der was her rr\al, yonder the woman that had taken Hector from her, yonder the real object of her re- venge. Crouching cunningly. she slipped througli the coverts of the garden like a wild woodland thing, beautiful and murderous. Maddalena turned and entered the room again. Hector was standing before her. "The world is a wonderful thing," she said: "the world and the night and the stars, ami there is magic in them all. But one moment with vou, ray beloved, my Hector, is the world and the night and the stars. 1 am a small tiling, and my love is a small thing, and together we are as noUiing before you. This day ,vou have n;ade me a Queen â€" there but three of us in the whole earth â€" and look ! I tell you I am a woman prouder of being loved by .you than I am of my people, of my throne, of niy crown I What are they all but ,vours â€" yours ?" She lifted the simple gold band from her hair, and holding it in ] figures of priests in Vestments ttt rich both hands, knelt and laid it at hisjhue. The organ pealed. f<^et. I And then, through a Innft of the "Let this be for sign that I am 'men of Palmetto holding torches, a yours. Say to me, 'Maddalena. my llano miles long, went Hector Chis- wife. come with mo !" and I come, holm Grant to his rest on the high- Say '.Maddalena. my wife, stay here , est peak of the Monte, a rars and nnd let me have leave to go !' and ^juost royal progress. I stay." I Over against his bed is a rock on "Maddalena !" was all that he 'which they have cut The great Highlander took h«t from Hector, now woundad tn hot!i arms, and laid her gently c^ m couch. "Dead !" Hector muriEurs 1b a daze. , J "Dead!" comes the echo frotn^ ^***f .'Vlasdair. ; - "O I God, why not I, why not I?" Asunta is forgotten â€" tiM is «oth-! ing' â€" Maddalena is dead, tfaddaleaa' is dead, love is dead, the woitd is; at an end. ITiere is no rooaa to! think of aught else â€" this fUla ajwoe. "Alosdah- !" , ,'.-'^^;, -' ^»- â- â-  * "Heckie !" . . ---.,.. ' .â-  Thcy^ are standing, one on each) side of the couch where she lies. ~ "Y'ou love me, my brother f" "O I my mother's son, I loTeyo«!'*i "Your promise is sacred." "What promise ?" "Do you forget yon summer after- ' - ;; noon in the Forest of IlotliienM«"ChU9, â-  . â- ; when to the brotherhood of mtiik. we added the brotherhood of blâ€" d ?" "I remember, Heckie, I remMTdnr â€" but do not ask me now." 'I do ask yo!i now, I do a*lk you now." "Heckie. Heckie !" "You passed your word !" "Perhaps she is not dead. l.*t me go for assistance." "Alasdair, will j-ou go hasi^ on your word, will you be foraawara ? Must I spit upon j-ou ?"• 'No. no, my brother, no ! I love you too well." And with a cry that was ai&ABesa of devotion and unutterable aarrow, .•Vlasdair gripped his dirk an«i drove it. haft-deep, into his l}ro<fter'a heart. letting go only v*4ie> the weight of Hector's body told a* his grasp of the steel. .4nd as tho blood spurted, and that whicA was Hector fell across the Queen miA hei name on its lips, laughter as i^ » fiend broke at the window. In the broad lu-.iul of lijfiit Alas dair saw^ a wcnian I'yii'v. A lea( like a stag's and he wus after her. A second it seemed, and his band had gripped a neck. The trighted faco was -Asunta's and in hei- hand was a, pistol. There was ««e swift snap, and as a dog shaken a rat, -Mnsdair shook Asunta, and reveogi had recoiled on itself. Hector lay on a great bier im th4 Cathedial. A pull of silver cloth covered him. And oa it flaaed 4 single blood-rod rose, a ross that looked like a heart against the splen- did white-, a rose thirt was the heart of Maddalena â€" for Maddalesa dij not die â€" wuuld to Gxjd she had ; A» the foot of the bier rested ilie crown of Palmetto â€" in homage to him that had won it. On the iSltar gtii-.uiior- ed innumerable candles, the pal.i lambent glow of the lamp l!;at Uurns continually slione down mv.storiously the pallor of marble columns gleam- ed, and to and fro went the dim could say. and that in tones broken nnd almost inaudible. "Maddalena, my w i fe ! " She rose. "Yotir wife. Hector, my beloved, now and for ever ! My people will surely not ask from me that last tor- tureâ€" to wed another man. Y'our wife or no man's. I cannot be yours. I shall be no man's I" "Maddalena, how you love me I" "There is no how.' Hector. I love you â€" that is all. I love you." Not yet had they touched lip to lip or breast to breast. 'lliat. by some secret concord, was kept for Hector Orant. Palmetto Ken>embers I (The Knd.) JAPANESE BABIES. How Thej' Are Brought Up in th-3 Flowery Kingdom. Judging by Western ideas, Japanese babies have a hard time; yet, tiieie are no healthier children in the world. The Japanese baby is cb-essed and undress'.-'d in a frigid tijuu'erutMre in winter, and in sununer no care is taken to protect its tender liit4e eyes the last moment, and ns a sacrament from the full glare of the sua. \n too holy to be used llsihtly. winter th^? sir.all hea<i is covere*' witli .â- \nd now fell on their ears the first a worsted cap of tho brightest ejiil stroke of twelve, sounding from San ga,vcst design and color. Tlie black Bernardino. IKair is cut in all sorts of fajitastic She rose and moved to him. her foot spurning the crown, not con- sciously, but ns if she knew not it Were there. "W'e part now \" . "We part now !" Lip to lip. and breast to b:oas'-. ways, just liSe the hair of the Japan- ese dolls importer! into this csmtr.v. The babies of the lower cIasbcs aro generally carried on the back <»f tho mother or little sister; sometiaues tho small brother is obliged to bo tho nurse-n;aid. The kimono i.^ liiade all passion of love throbbing in tho icxtra large at the back, with a poci- cmbrace, all tho quivering wonder j pt of sufHcient size to hold the babv, and trembling despair of love in the | whose round head reaches the back of j the neck of the person who is cur- ryin.x it. It is not an uncommon I sight to see children who are barely \ old enough to toddle burdened with a small brother or sister .«lei>ping |H?ace- I fiiUy on their backs. At first one jOxpect.s t'-> .see the child stuKg>-r and I fall beneath the weight, but al>|>arent- |Iy none of its movements are itniMxl- ed. and it plays with the othw chiW dron as tinconeernedt.\- as if it woro not londed down with another men;- lier of the f.-iiuily. At Nagasaki. anu ng the woBien coalers who coal the ."hips. oj»a sees intolerable |manv- who cany babies on thei<- backs in thi.s way. Tho tnothers w«rk all da.v in th> rain or the sun »r Uie snow, aiul (hi' baby iH^enis iadiferent to pvei-v thing. The top of its *i*:id alone is vi.'uble. while the aio vetnen t .•< least hindered, and she neconi^taheo of the moth'M- do not sofm :â-  the ns much work as the men. And nnd kind fel- close holding of each to each. It is an eternit.v, that last long crush of life into life â€" an eternit.v into which is pent all their days from the day of birth to the day in the future when death must surely come : an eternity of happiness, an eternity of pain. "I love you !" "I love you !" And then again silence falls, in the silence soul meets soul. I all about them spreads the I dark, atul each soul knows its low, and is mi.xed with it in an in- elTable ccsta.sy of despairing joy, a wild abandonment, an pain of happiness. "i;ood-b,ve for ever !" "No. Hector, no. Good-night â€" onl.v good-night !" The silence is shivered by a laugh he knows and the crackle of a pistol. His eye is aware of .â- Vsunta's face at the wind«w. Maddalena is a dead wei,i;ht on 'nis left arm, wht>le no ]ong»r. ".Vlasdair ; Alasdair !" Asimlft is gone, but the faithful fo.ster-brother is hero oghaat. "Tho Queen. Vlasdair. *he Queen I" Hector speaks in tiaclic \ mnors pt....vxt. There i.s n plant in Chili. a«d a similar one in Jai^an. called lh« "Cower of the air." l.t i* »• cal!*;l |boca\i«e it apj^ars to have r» root, The bullet has passed -thrwugh Hoe- i •»•> '^ nfvtv fixwi to th» «arth. Knoll tor's protect ii;« hand and entered I **"^i'* .produces two or three Pawer) jber side. Already a bhir of redi'i^Pa lily-white, f iaiM|»ar«iit. an<l 'shows on the silver of her robe. She io.k>rifer»u.s. V, is capable of b(Ha,t sum far exceeding the aver- j Is cold and lifeless, white ns the j ti"a»3pt>rted 600 or 700 wiles. a.- « u\ f â-  \i wcel , age wage of a 15ii.sst.Tn skilled trorfc- i garn^ent in which she we.s crowned, mall if the couutry Uiatrictii ' "Tifhearna !"' vctretates a« it travels ausi^ncj^^^ a twiy.