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K. as AS GOOD AS GOLD. y-\ CHAS^TTER XXVI. It Bhanoed that on a fine spring (UTrnfaig Henchard and Kajfrae met in tbn Chefltnut Walk which rau along the south waJl of the lown. Kach ha<l Ja»t (Mine out from his early l)r<>akTast, •4i« there was not another soul near. Henctuird was reoilinig a letL<>j: from Luoetta. sent in. antwer to a ntite from bim, in which she made Hoine excuse for not immediately granitinK him a second interview that he had desired. Donald had no wish to enter into r4>aviBrsatla(i with his former friend on thoir prenent omstrained terms; nei- ther would he pass him in scowling sil- ence. He nodded, and Hem-hard did the same. They had receded from each other severa paoe.s when a voioe cried •'Karfrae I" It was Hejjchard's. who stood regarding him. "Do you rememlier," said He«chard, aa if it were the presence cA the thought and not of the man which mode him Apeak ; "do you remember my story of that second womanâ€" who suffered for her thoughtless devotlxHi to inef" "I do." said Karfrae. "Do you remember my tedling 'ee how it all began, and how it ended?" "Yes." "Well. I have offered to marry her now that I can; but she won't marry toe. Now what would you ttunk of her â€"I put it to you?" "WeJl, ye owe her nothing more n<»w." said Farfrae heartily. "It ia true," said Uencbard, and went on. That he had looked up from a letter to ask his questicms completely shut out from Farfrae's mind aJl vision of LucettA aa the culprit. Indeed, her present position was so different from that of the young woman of Henchard's atory as of itself to be sufficient to blind bim absolutely to her identity. As for Uencbard, he was reassured by Farfroe's words and manner against a auspicion wliich had crossed bis mind. They were not those of a conscious ri- val. Yet there was a rivadry by some one be was firmly persuaded. To discover whose presenoo that wasâ€" whether re- aaiy Farfrae's after all, or another's â€"be exerted himself to llie utmost to oee her again ; and at length succeeded. At th« interview, when she offered him tea, he made It i<. point to Haunch a cautious Inquiry if she knew Mr. BVirfrae^. Oh yea, she knew him, she declared ; abe could not help knowing almost ev- erybody in Casterbridge, living in such a giuebo over the (Knire and arena of the town. "l*l.'.a«ajit young fellow," said Hen- chard. "Yes," said I.ucetta. "We iKjth know him." said kind Kliza- tietb-Jane. to r«^lieve her compan'ion'rt divined emlwirrassment. There was a knock at I h<< door: lit- erally, three full kn(x-ks and a little one at the e.nd. "That kind of a kntvk lueans hslf- and-halfâ€" sumelMKly l)Btwe<in genlle and almple." .said the oorn-merchnnt to hiin- aeJf. "I shouldn't wonder ( hen-.fore it it is be." In a few «<M-<mrlH Hur<<ly enmigli Drniald w.ilked In. I.>u(vtt.a was full of little fidgtvts and flutters, whii'h increased Hen- chard's .suspicicfriH without afforiling any special proof of their oorrertacss. He was w»ll-nigh fermious at th'sotuw of the queer situation in wh'u'li lu> stood tiMards this wonum. .' nd now he aat a I her le.irtuble eager to gain h*tr altentingi. and, in his ojnatory rage, feeling the (jitbi'r man present to l)e a villain, just an any young f(Ml of a lover niight fwl. They sat stifly side by side lit the darkening table, dike scoiiiH Tuscaji paint ipig of lite two disciples supping at KmmauH. I.ucetta, funning the third and chief figure, wius opposite tliem ; Klizabel It^June, l>(^iIllK mil of tlie game, ajid out of the (^roup. ivould ol>- Herve from afar nJll things. "More bread and butter?" said l.u- â- jettii to Ilenchiird lund Karfrae equally, h'<!ilintf out iK-twecn Ihpom a plateful of long slices. Ilenchard took a slicn by one end and Donald by t.H» ot hei' ; ca<'h fi' 'iiig r<^rtain lii'i wa.s the riiu,n meant; neiilier Ii-I go, and the olice came in two. "Ohâ€" I am ao sorry I" cried Lucetl a, with a nervous titter. Karfriie tried to laugh ; but he wils tmi munh in love to see tlie incid«nt In any hut u tra- gic light. "How ridiculous of all three of thenil" said K.Ii7;nl>elh to herself. Uencbard left the bou.s<' with a Ion of c(mj«icture, though without a grain of proof, that the counter attraction was I''arfrae ; and therefore he would not make up hU mind. Yet. to Klizi- l)etb-Jano it was plain n.s the town- fiuinp that l)(>n:i'd iirid I.ucetta were nciplent lovers. More than onoe, in apite of her care, l.uoi-tla Ivad l)Cen unable \a restrain her gluiice from flit- ting across into l''iirfrtie'H eyes like a bird (o its nest. Hut II<'nehard was con/»tructed upon loo 'nrge a .scale to discern such minutiae n.s tliese by an evening light, wliich t.> him were as the notes of a gnisf liopiM-r Hint I'ie above the c.imipiuss jf like human ear. But he was distii. Iwd. And the wti.sii of occuU rivalry in suitorship wiis so much Aupnraddrd to the pa'palile ri- va'ry of their ' u.siuesa lives. To the coarse materia' t.y of that rivalry ir. added an infnn ing sou'. "Tho thus vita'Ued aniugoni.sm look the form of ac.ion by Monnluird .send- ing for ilojif), the manager origina'ly disp'a4-e<l by Karfnirf>'s arrival. Ilen- chard hnd frequiml.'y nwit this man about the «tre<Ms, observed that bis o'othing S7iake of needinc^s, heaird t liivt be 'ived in Mixen Lane â€" a Iwick shun of the town, the pia a'ler of Casteir- bridge domici'ial.ionâ€" itself almost a pr<M)T t hat a iniiin had reached a stiige when he wou'd not stick at trifles. Jopp ciuOB after dark, by tlm gat.eo jf tne .store-yard, and f<\'t his way through the hay a,nd straw to t be offk« witere Ilenchad sat in solitude awaiting him. "I am again out of a foreman." said the corn-fattor. "Are you in a place?" "Not so mutvh a,s a beggar's, sir." "How much do you ask?" .lopp named bis price, which was very moderate. "Wlieu can you come?" "At this hour on I moment, sir," said Juiip, who. standing hand«t-pocketed at the street-corner till the sun had faded the shoulders of his coat to scarecrow grt^en, had regularly watchiwi Ilonchard in the market -placii. in<'aaured bim. and I learnt him, by virtue of the power I wbif-h the still man has in his stillness I of knowing the busy one better than he knows iiimself. .lopp, too, had had a convenient experience ; he wa.s the only one in Casterbridge l>esidcs Hen- I chard and th? cluse-lipiied I'^lizabelh j who knew that Luoetta came truly frum Jersey, and but proximatcJy from Bath. "I know Jersey, too. .sir," he said. "Was living there when you used to do business that way. Oh yes â€"have often seen ye there.' "Indeed! Very gixid. Then the thing is settled. The testimonials you show- i e<l me wh«\n you first tried for't are sufficient." That characters deteriorate in time of need possibly did not occur to Hen- chard. Jopp said, "Thank you," and stood more firmly, in the consciousness that at last he offbially belonged to that spot. "Now," said Henchard, digging his strong eyes into Jopp's face, "one thing Ls ne<es.sary to me. as the biggest corn and hay dealer in these parts. The fScol»;luuan who's taking the town trade so iM>Id into his hands laxmt be cut out. D'ye hear? We two can't live side by aide â€" that's clear and certain." "I've seen it all," said Jopp. "Hy fair' competition I mean of course," Henchard continued. "But as bard. keen, and unflinching as fair- rather more so. By sw-h a desperate bid against him for the farmer's cus- tom as will grind him into the ground starve him out. I've capital, mmd ye, and I can do it." "I'm all that way of thinking." said the new foreman. Jojjp's dislike of Far- frae as the man who bad oncu usurped his place, while it made him a willing t(x>1, made him, at the same time, com- uiercially as uniafe a colleague as Hen- cliard could have chosen. "I sometimes think," be added, "that he must have some glass that be sees next year in. He has such a knack of making everything bring him fortune." "He's deep l>eyond all honest men's discerning ; but we must make him shallower. We'll under-.sell him, and overbuy, him, and so snuff him out." They then enter6<l into specific details of the process by which this would be acc<nnplished, and parted at a late hour. Klizal)eth-Jane beard by accident that Jopp had lv,en engaged by her step- father. She was .so fully convinced that b<! was not the right man for the olice that, at the risk of making Uencbard angry, she exprossed her apprehension to him when they met. But it was dune to no puriHise. Henchard shut up her argument with a sharp rebuff. The settsirti's weather neemed to fa- vour their scheme. The time was in the years immodi.ilely l»efore foreign conii)etilion hud revolutionized the trade in grain, when still, as from the earliest ages, tlie wheat quotati(ms from niont h to month dniiended en- tiroly upon the home liarT<«t. A luid harvest or the i)r(>s|H'.ct of ona, would double the priix* of com in a few weeks; and the proniise of a good yield would lower it aa rapidly. I'rioes were like the roads of the period steep in gradient, reflecting in their phases the lix'al conditions, without engineer- ing, levellings. or average.s. The farmer's income was ruled by the wh<fat-<'rop within his own horizon, and the wlu'et-crop by tl>e weather. TbiLs, in ix'rson, l» iMcame a sort of flesh-larometer, with f(^elers always di- re^'ted to ttie Hky and wind around him. The local atmosphere was everything to him; the atmu.si)hen<s of other coun- trieis a matter of indifferent^. 1Tho I>eoplp, too, w;how em notf armers, the I rural multitude, naw in tibe god fu the I weather a nuire importani |iersonag« I than they dn now. Indeed, the feeling* of the p:>atiantry in this matter was so I intense as to l>e ahuir*! unrealisable in i thew equable days. Their impulse was 'well-nigh to proMtrate tliemselves <n ! lamentation l><>fore untimely rains and ; tem|>ests, which ivime lus the Alastor : of tliow hous<>holds wiiose crime it was to lie p<Kir AUer midsummer they watched the I weather-rockH iis men waiting in ante- cbamliers watch the lackey. .Sun elat- I ed them; <iiii(-l rain Holiered them; weeks I of watery t<vnii>ivst stuptvfied t hem. I That aHjiect of tlv" sky which they now I regard as disagre^wible \.\vy then liebeld I as furious. I It WHS June, uiid th.' weather was • very unfavorable. Casterbridge, being, I as it weTe, the bell-bourd on which all the adjacent hamlets and villages sounded tl«'ir notes, wci.s decidedly dull. Instevul of new artii^les in the shop- windows, those that luid lx*n rejected in the foregoing imminer were brought I out again; .supeirseded reai>-lw)ok», bad- ly-.Hh:i|)ed rakes, sliop-worn b.'ggins, and I time-stiffeiieil w,iler-t iglits rtapiicared, 1 furbi.shed up as «i(«ir t() new oa |»os- sible. Hencliflrd, backed by Jopp, read a dis- astrous garnering, and re»(dved to liase his strategy ng.iiii.st Karfrae u|>on that , reading. Hut iH^foie acting ho wished â€" what so nmny Jiavi-- wished â€" that be i could know for certain what was at prewint only strong prolnabilily. He was .suiierstiliousâ€" as .su('>b headstrong natur«\s often areâ€" and lv> nouristuid in his mind an idtvi lieariiig on the matter; an idcji be librank from disclosing even to Jopp. ] 111 a lonely (viuilet a few mile.s from ! the town â€" .so lonely, thiit what are call- ed lonely villag<wwere teeming by com- parisonâ€"there livHvl a man ol' curious repute as a forecaster or weather pri>- phet. The way to his house was crook- ed and miry â€" oven difficult in the pre- sent unprupitioUH seison. One evening wlien it win raining so heavily that ivy and laurel resounded like distant musketry, and an out-ibxir man i^ould Iki exciistid for shrouding himself to his ears and eyes, HiirOi a Hlirouded figure on foot iniigbt hiive lK*n piTceivefl tra- velling in the direction of the hinel- cojise which drippi'.d over the prophet's cot. 'Ilie tiiril-pike roid l«!canie a lane, the lane a cart-track; the cart-track biiille-p.itb, the bridle-|>alh a fo^it- way, the foot-way ovecgrown. The Kolltury walktir slippad hero and there, and sluiiiHled over the natural springes formed liy' the lirrinililtTi, I'll at lenitili Uo rpach^d tbi> house, which) with its garden, was ft !*!?!â€" . siu:i;auud«d wiUi .a, hjjch. dense, hedge. 'I'he cottage, comuanuively a large one, had lieen built of mud by the occupier's own "IvMidsi, and thatched also by him- self. Here he Jiad always lived, and here it was pie.sumed b« would die. He existed on unseeji supplies; for it was an anomalous thinf^ that while there was hardly a soul m the neigh- borhood but aff«'ted to laugh at thin min'.s ass<'rtion.s, uttering t li»^ formula, "There's nothing in 'em," with full as- sui-ance on the surface of their faces, very few of the,m were unbelievers in their secret hearts. Whenever they consulted him tliey did it "for a fancy." When they j>aid him they said "Just a trifle for Christni/is," or "Candlemas," as the case might Ixj. Behind his lack he was called "Wide- oihi" on account of his reputation; to his Cace, "Mr." Kail. The hedge of his gardem formed an arch over the entrance, and a door was inserted as in a wall. Outside the door the tall traveller »lopi»ed, ban- daged his Caoe with a handkerchief as if he were miffering fr<wn toothache, and went up tlie path The window abutters were not clused, and he could see the prophet within, preparing his supper. ( In answer to the knock Fall came to the door, candle in hand. The vbsitfjr stepped Imck a little from the light, and said, "Can I speak to ye?" in sig- nificant tones. The other's invitation to come in ^-aa responded to by the country form, "This will do, thank ye," after which the householder has no al- ternative but to come out. He placed the candle on the corner of the dress- er, took his fant from a nail, and join- ed the stranger in the porch, shut- ting the door behind bim. "I've, long Ivard that you can â€" do things of a sort?" began the other, re- pressiog hia individuality as much as he could. "Maybe ao, Mr. Henchard," said the weait he r-castB r . "Ahâ€" why do you call me that? ask- ed the visitor with a start. "Because U's your name. Feeling you'd come, I've waitied for ye; and thinking you might be leery from your walk I laid two supper plates â€" l(»k ye here." B)b threw open the door and disclosed the supper-table, at which ap- peared a second chaiir, knife and fork, plate and mug, as he had declared. Ilerichard felt like Saul at his re- ception by f>ainuel; he remained in si- lence for a few maments, then throw- ing off the disguise of frigidity which he had hitherto preserved, he said, "Then f have not come in vain. . . Now, for instance, can ye oharm away warts?" "Without trouble." "Cure the evil?" "That I've doneâ€" with consideration â€"if they will w«vir the toad-bag Iby night as well as by day." "Korecast the weatl>er?" "With labor and time." "Then take this," said Henchard "Tis a crown-piece. Now, what is the har- vest fortnight to lief When can 1 know?" "I've worked it out already, and you can know at once." (The fact was that five farmers had alrea.dy been there on the same errand t'rum different parts of the country.) "By the sun, moon, and stars, by the clouds, the winds, the trees, and grass, the candle-flame and swallow, the smell of the herlis; like- wis«\ by the cats' eyes, the ravens, the leei^hes, the spiders, and the dung-mix- en, the List fortnigiht in August will b«!â€" rain and temjiest." "You are not certain, of course?" "An ooie can 'be in a world where all's unsure. "IVill be more like living in IteveUtioiis this autumn than in Eng- land. .Shall L Hk»tch it out for ye in a scliemu?" "Oh, no, no," said Heucltard. "1 don't allotfether lielieve in forecasts, come to se4-orid thoughts on such. But I " "Vou don'tâ€" you don'tâ€" 'tis under- stood," said Wid«>-oh, without a sound of si-om, "You have given me a crown because you've one too many But won't you join mo ot supper, now 'tis waiting and all?" Henchard would glatlly have joined; for the savour of ttio stew had lloatcd from the cottagii into the porch with sucJi apiietising distinctness, that the meat, lue onions, the pepper, and the hivrlis could bj severally recugnized by his nosiv. But aa sitting down to hob- and-nob there would have seemed to mark him too implicitly as the weath- er-caster's aixistle, ho declined, and went his way. The next ^turday tlenchard bought grain to such an enormous extent that there was quite a talk atxiut bis pur- cihuses among his iieigbliuni, the law- yer, the wine merchant, and the doc- tor; al-so on the next, and ou all avail- able days. WliMi his graiuiries were full to cJioking, all tlic wealhoj-oocka ul Casterbndgo creaked and set Uieir faces in anotiier dirmUion, as if tired of the stmtb-west. The weather chang- ed; the sunlight, which had lieon like tin for w««>k», assumed Uie hues of to- paz. '1 he teunNjraiui»nl of the welkin passed from the phlegmatic to the sanguine; an excelle.ut harvest was al- iiuwt a certainty; and as a consequence prices rushed down. All those transforiuatioas, lovely to the outsider, to the wrong-headed corn- diwler wore terruiilo. He was reminded of what be had well known Iwforo, that a man mighH gamble ui>on the square green area^i ot iields as readily as upon ' tiioae of a card-room. Henchiird bail backed bad weather, and apparently liwt. lis had mistaken the turn of tlv.i flood for the turn of the ebb. lliis deulings liiiad lioen do exten-< sive that settleuutnt could not long be IMMtponed, and to siittle, he was otilig- tMl to sell oft corn thtt he l»ad bougld. only a few weeks before at figures higiior by many shillings a quarter. Much of the corn he had never seen; it had not even lieen moved fnmi tlie ricks in which it lay slacked miles away. Thus luv lost h<savily. In the blaze of an early August day be met Karfrne in tllie markut-place. Karfra«> kiii^w of hia dealings (though Imv did nut guess their intended brar- ing on himnelf) and couiiuiB(<rated him; for aiiu'o thoir e.vclva.iige of words in t'htN South Walk they had lieon on stif- fly-speaking terms, llt^nchard, for the moment, appeaiHid to rosont tlic sym- pvthy; but be suddenly took a carele^ j.urn. "Ho, no, iiolâ€" nothing uerious, miinl" he cried with fierce gaiety. "These tilings always hapjiun, don't they? I know it liius lieen Siiid that figunvs have loticlied me tight ll.itely; but is that aiiiything i-are? The i-a:* is not so bad as folk make out ivihaps. And dammy, a man nuist l>e a fo d to mind the com- mon hazards of tradel" •But b'J had to enter (ho Caslor- liridgo Bank that iliiy for reascms which had never iHitore sent hini thereâ€" and to rtitalung tiiiv,' in t lii^ jwrlnei'.s room with a constrained liearing. U was rwmorod soon after tliat much real property, as well as vast stores of pro- duce, in the town and neighliorhood. which had stood in Henchard's name, was actually the projierty of his bank- ers. Coming down the steps of the iKink he encountered Jopp. Tlie gloomy tran- sactions just completed within had add- ed fever to the original siing of Far- frae's sympathy that mornUig, which Henchard fancied might Ix) satire dis- guised, so that Jopp met with anything but a bland reception. The latter waji in the act of taking off his bat to \vii>o bis forehead, and saying, "A fine hod day," to an acquaintance.. "You can wipe and wipe, and say "A fine hot day," can yel cried Hencnard in a savage undertone, imi{>risoniug Jopp between himself and the Bank wall. "If it hadn't been for your fool's advice it might have been a fine day enough. Why did ye let me go on, hey -when a word of doubt from you or anybody would have made me think twice, that you cain never be sure of weather till 'tis post." "My advice, sir, waa to do what you thought lieat.'' "A useful fellow; and the sooner you help somebody else in that way the lietter! Hendlmrd continued his ad- drees to Jopp in similar terms till it ended in Jopp's dismissal there and then, Henchard turning upon his heel and leaving him. "You shall be sorry for thia, sir; sor- ry as a man can lie!" said Jopp, stand- ing pale, and looking after the oorn- I merchant as he disappeared in the crowd of market-men hard by, ('I\j be couLinued.) WINTER WRINKLES. He â€" "Well, your sister is married. Now it's your turn." She â€" "Oh I George! ask papa." i "Touristâ€" "Are we near the falls?" jGuide â€" "Yea. sir. As soon as the ladiea stop talking you can hear the roar." "Is your picture in the academy a success?" '"I'hat's what 1 am wcnder- jin^. Some one said it was worth the I price of admission." Heâ€" "Jones is all right, I suppose.but he and I do not like each other a bit." jSheâ€" "Well, that is much to the cred- it of both of you." I Xlafcney â€" "Ciilbney started on a cen- jtury run to-day." BalJeyâ€" "Where baa I be gonet" Daluieyâ€" "After the fellow jWho stole bis wheel." I Amateur Humoristâ€" "That's a pretty food joke of mine; don't you think so?" Ixperienced Editor â€" "Well, it is just as funny now as it ever was." lloliert â€" "When 1 get into my new ! house I mean that everything sbali go like clockwork." Richardâ€""! see; the same as heretofore; tick, tick." Bol>by â€" "Is oxygen what the oxen breathe all day?" Papiiâ€" "Of course, and what everything else breathes." BoWiy â€" "And is nitrogen what every one breathes at night?" The English language must be tough. At lest, that's what I've reokoned. For it Is still alive to-day. Though murdered every second. "Why do you hate soap so?" oaked the inquisitive lady. "1 doD't," said Mr. Dismal Dawson. "I simply ig^ nore it. We don't move in the same set; that's all." Brown â€" "I wonder who originated t he idea that it is unluoky to begin any- thing on Friday ? Rol>insonâ€" "Probab- ly it was some lazy individual who pre- ferred to wail until Saturday." "You don't mean to say you U'come engaged to him after but five hours' acquaintance?" "Certainly. How much time would you have me devote to one engagement. This world is but a fleeting show. And few are they, alasl Wlio can rake up a pull that's strong Enough for a free pass. "Ttume Eskimos up in Alaska have good, sound, common sense." "How so?" "Why, wheji 1 hey fall in lovw with a girl they announce it by send- ing her a seaUkin sacque." Sisterâ€" "There you have candy all ov- er your now suit I Wlial will mamma say?" Little Brotherâ€" " Well, mamma won't let me have any fun in these clotbtvi till I got 'em .spoiled." "Wh«.t 1 want," said the lawyer, "is to prove that my client is mentally de- ficient." "Certainly," replied the ex- pert. "There w<vn't be th«> least trouble in showing that as lung as he has employed you as his lawyer." Piof. (licturing)â€" "Oxygen, gentle- men, is essential to all animal exist- ence; tbope could I* no life without it. Strange to say, it was not discover- ed until a century ago, when-" Stu- dentâ€" "Whst did they do before it was di.scovered, professor?" "May I write you a poem on the beautiful snow?" oslied the poet, timid- ly. "Yos," thundered the editor, "go out, squat down in t lu> snow and write. In the meantime, I'll sit liere and pray tliat as fast as you write the sun will thaw it out." LI HUNG'S COFFIN. 8»l<l to llnvr Hren Iturned b|F Arriaeat, aiMI lie 1^ iilmi mt II. Among the tbuusund or more pieoes of l>aggago which Li Hung Chang took with bim in his Western travt^ls the one that excit«td the gi^ealest curiosity was, witliout doubt, his uiffin. The Vice- roy's agt^ at tluit time alrtMtdy exceeded tht^ Bibltca)^. limit ot Ibreesixire years and ten. At a family council held l)e- foiv his .setting out from home the cliances of a man of bis age surviving the fatigue of a long ocean voyage wore discussed and decided to lie very small. Accordingly preparations were made for the worst, and a coffin was added to his baggage. But the old man proved that ho was made of tougher stuff than was generally suppus{^d. When he reached England ho foil that lio had strength and vitality enough to oarry him thixiugh the remainder of his journey, and gave ordtirs that the con- stant .reininner of his anproaohing death be shipped boAk to China. The coffin got as far as the Suez Can- al. There, as reiwnt adviivs from the East have it, fire broke out in the slivamer, and Li Hung Chang's coffin added fuel to the flamx«<. There is no doubt t hat the Viceroy l(H>ks uiioii t \v> loss as a good omen. If h> is not alwve sui>ei-stition, h^> will in- terpret it to mean that he has not yet come near the end of his earthly career, inasmuch as the l<oards that are to hold his mortal remaiu.s have still to bo fashiimed THE WEATHER AND CME EFFECT OF CLIMAriC INFLUENCES ON CERTAIN NATURES. Ktarlllna IM«trnieat« by CrtanalaslAlâ€" Murderem Flan Tlirlr KvU Deed* •> <'ol<l Clear Days. Atmospheric conditiona bavlea much greater influence upon human natura and the evuryday doings of mankind than the average man or woman un- derstands. Some ofi tihe moat ordin^ ary occupatioois ara more or less in- fluenced by the prevtailing conditiona of the weather, and the police oould tell, if they cho»e, that evpn crime ia more or less previalent under varying meteorological conditions. That man's mental Cuncticma are to a grea* or less extent governed by his physical ccuMlition has long beea an acknowledged fact among pthy- sicians and scientists. Just bow far, however, the weather is directly re- sponsible for thf shortcomings or evil- doings of mankind the medical profe»- sion antd laymen interesbed in micii research are only beginning to find out. One authority in London con- tends this:â€" A main wtho attempts to commit a delibeniie murder would plain it on a clear, cold day rather than during sui- cide weather. Burglary would also be planned and carried out when tha atmosphere is clear and bracing rath- er than when it ia heavy and deprea»> ing. It seems a peculiar tbiitg, but in the summer-time poison and the bulletU seem to be tlhe favorable methode o( both murdor amd aelf-destructioi^ white in wimtear the BOPB AND KNIFE appear to be the most popular mode* of ending the existence of either aeif or another. The pc4ice along the side of tha Thames know full well in just what kind of weather to look for suicides* and exactly what meteorological con- ditions are productive of other crime. On a sultry summer night, when even breathing seems an exertion, the con- stable on whose beat Buicide-«tepe ara located keeps a dharp watoh on all who wander down to the river. "Why it ia," eaid be, "I do nod know; but I can always tell whtsn thlere is trouble ahead. During the heat of midsumimer people seem to have a perfect mania for coming down to the Thames and jumping overboard on purpose. I gave up long ago try- ing to account for it, but it is a fact, nevertheless. J*us«t a*i soon as tha cool weatiher comeb there is a de- crease in tAve number of suicides, and m^irileni l>e>gi'n-" When very moist, the atmosphere ia a much better conductor of electricity than at any other timie. Then the natural electricity is drawn from tha Imdy, and tihis hiasa tendency to de- stroy vitality and so wealcen the men- tal faculties. A man or woman who liv«t mucb alrtne is, a<s a rule, maicU more easily inlfluenced by the condi- tions of tlhe weather than are othera^ So a person who has MliVNY TROltBLES " and is constantly thinking of them, is much more susceptible to any sud- den atmospheric chtyngc than what ia commonly termed a ertrong minded, m«^ntally well-balanced individual. The same iieculiar effect of the wea- ther upon the mind has lieen notictvt in different climatei. In the torrid zone suicide Ls mudh more trequenH than in hightvr latitudes,' while on the other hand, the people of cold coun- tries have perpetrated some of the most alrw^iouB murders on record,, out- doing for useless brutality and sav- agery any crime ever perpetrated. M'liat the weather has a wondertiUly acute influeniie on even the normal mind cannot l» denied. How often wo s|ieak of "depressing weatberi** weathi-r that makes one fc>el "blue" to a degiec. "Bracing weather." that makes l.h" Idond tinstle in our veins and inspirea active exertion, a stimu- lation of ideas; "morWd weather," that brings to our inind.s all "»o'ts of lugubrious thoughts; "lazy vwather," that is productive ot loafing and cre- at«ffl languor and a feeling of "dolca far nionte." "BU«8sed is tibe bride thht the sun !4hines on, and blessed are the dead that the rain rains on/' says the old saw, and as a result we .have bridal weather and funeral weather/ WITH THE ROENTGEN RAY A Cent a «'hll«l Had Hwallonrd Located and Mnrce>srnllr Krnioved. A Roentgen ray surgical oi)eralion was performed by Dr. F. W. Zimmer of Rochester, N.Y.. the other day which will 1)0 of griNat interrat to surgeons. A child twenty-two months old .swal- lowed a cent sixteen days ago. With) a radiograph the wnt was approxim- ately located a week ago in the ae^io- phagus. A prolonged attempt was then made by orciinary means to extract the coin, liut without success. It was finally determined to use the fluoroscoiie during tlvo operation, the oKserver directing the movements from his oliservation of the coin, and met- al instruments as tlwiy appeared on the fluoroscoiic screen. Thin lioarda were placed across two boxes and the patient was placed under thts Cro(»kes tul>e. The ol>s»nver placed himself Iwneath and with the use ot the now metalUo screen of inch mesh definitely located the coin. The tulie was then placed un- der the patient, and Or. Zimmer pro- (H-eded to grasp the coin under the di- rection of the olisorvor. It was highly .sncce.ssful, the coin be- ing removed after .slipping once or twice from t h.> fonv'ps. rb" pa' lent wns un- der the influence of ether, and the ol)- serve.r aiw every movement ot th> for- oeps. 'Phe patient is now considered out of danger. During his entire car«»er, Stro4ivnr- ius made from fi.O'lO to 7,000 violioa. Few of th"se wore moUI for moi'e thari $25 during his life. Now some oJ them •^Huniand $10,000 each. i m Dti,