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A^ I iMM iiej Mil's nil Catharine Coombs is entitl«d to tbe saiqae distinction of being a woman who has for forty-tiiree yeara sueceas- Cully masqueraded in male attire, and oncier tti« name at "Cliarleyl Wilson,'' worked witii men in the masculine trade o< a painter. Tbrougbi an acci- dent ber sex was disc-oiTered,' and she U now In the West Hu.m Union, Lon- daa, where alia was recently inter- Tiewed by the London Telegra^jh, which prints her strange story:â€" 7)r<?aaed In the Himple uniform) of the West Ham Untoo of blua linen, with white aproD and cap uponr her short iron gray hair, Mrs. Coombd entered briskly and alertly and would certain- ly not have been set down as more ih&n fifty yeara of age, thongh she is OT^er sixty-three. She is by no means tall, and in tier maaculine, garb must have appeared both short and slight. Her veice soonded unusually deep for a woman, but as sb« explained in sab- aeqoent conversation, she had enlti- â-¼ated (ts lowest registers, till she had come to use them habitually; and she aJao expresses herself with a terse- ness and vigor not quite cbaracteris- Ucaily feminine. She was not dispos- •d at first to speab folly of her life, saying, modestly, that to some it might not seem a very e<Ufyingi one; but by degrees, and with tba belpi of a lead- ing question or two, aho unfolded her extraordinary history, and as she talk- ed it became evident that she had en- ' Joyed considerable educational advan- tages To her possessioa, in fact, of I these Is due the unhappy beginning of I her lite { >As she explained, she was born at> â-²xbridge, in Somersetshire, of comfort- I ably circumstanced parents, who sent her to the Cheltenham Ladies' College, j iwbich half a century ago, held, as it | does to-day, a leading place among | girls' schools, and while therel she was | - far better taught than were the major- ! tty ol girls at that time. It has been stated that her husband was a cur- ate, bat that ia not the case. He was a schoolmaster and a ectasia of her OH-n. considerably her senior. Think- ing that her Icnowledge would be of ' assistance to him In teaching, he press- ad for a very early* marriage, which | proved a disastrously unhappy one, I until his efforts to live' upon her par- 1 •nts, and his personal violence to her, ' oomiielled her not only to leave him,! but to take steps to prevent his ever finding her again. Then It was that th^ problem of ex- istence presented itself. There were not the "openings for women" I five and forty years ago that there i axe to-day, and, to pat it in her own i words, she saw that th« rboiee lay be- , tween a man's clothes and labor and i destitution. She elected the former, and, but for an acci lent, would pro- bably have carried her secret to her deathbed. She sueceeded in effecting an outward transformation in bumble lodgings at a Birmingham coffee house. Her next step was to find work, and she started as a learner in the house pjiinting trade at four shill- ings a week. Her aptitude soon show- ad itself, and after three weeks this modest remuneration was raised, un- til tn a few months' she was able to •arn a "living wage." In. the earlier days of her career she worked a great deal in Yorkshire, an<l txjre her part in the internal decorations of many of the finest mansions of the landed and titled people there. I interrupted her narrative to ask If she had never felb afraid in these times of some gesture or inadvertent speech that would betray her to her "mates," and her ananver showed how wel) she turned the pou-ep of oLeerva- tion le account. "I knew I must never lapse Into carelessness," she said, "and how; little it would take to give me away, from a very small episode We had our luncheon while we were decorating a fine house, and the gardener, think- ing to give us a treat, brought in a basket of choice apples. He was in a hurry, however, and tc>; those at the further end of the hall he threw the apples, and a young l>oy, sitting down, who, I suppose, had been in the habit of wearing an apron at his work, ex- tended bis knees a<>art to< make a lap in which to catch the fruit. There was an old Yorkshire foreman close beside him, who at onoe laughed at the l>oy, • and said. Yon tad's Iwarnt bow t' wenches play* I hail played crick- et, so I knew how to catch mine, but I did not forget the lesson." â- â€¢ Charley Wilson" went twice to Paris on special jobs for " bis" em- ployers, and had an exceedingly • â-  jtood offer on one occasion to go ' ; io America. Perhaps the meet remarkable fact of this woman's business capabilities was her employment for over thirteen years by the Peninsular and Oriental Com- ; pany. It is with considerable pride that she mentions that, with the e.xeep- tiou of the last two or three ships built, there is not a vessel) in that stately i fleet which cannot show her handi- work. She had a large share in the rpdecoration of the saloon of the Rome after the big alterations that were made in her hull for her Improvement. ' The ornamentation of the musit^saloons •f the Victoria, the Oceana, and the Arcadia, which are especially elaborate and rich, was almost entirely carried out by her In enamelling, and this, it ; â- hould he added, is rather a distinct i branch of the painter's craft, for, as ; •he says, "a ship's painten may paint ' a house, but a mere house painter o&n't paint a ship." During her •Bgagement by the firm who did tbi work for the company, and sulvequent- ly whan the Penlnsulsir sad Oriental Company did its own painting, she en- joyed a iiarticularly good character for her punctuality in arriving at her work in the morning. "But how did you brinif yourself to talk as men talk when they are alonef" I uked. > "Well, you see," she answered, "I never mixed with them. From the first I saw my safety would lie in maintain- ing a rather proud, rather 'stand- off' demeanor. My work, I may aay without vanity, was so good! that that was my claim to the. master's notice. The men wondered a little who I could be that chose to kaap> so much to my- self, and so they dubbed me 'the gen- tleman painter.' " As Mrs. Coombs talked. III was easy to lea that she heldl strongly religious and devout opinions, though without any ostentation or tendency to ob- trude them, and In thl^ way, too, she could save herself from offence. "T have often," she continued, " had to 8{)eak my mind out straight when a man working under me hak been lazy or careless, but I can safely say I have never used a blasphemous word or an expression that would be jarring on a woman's lips. And. as far as talk about me weiit„ I never hesitat- ed to show that I disliked coarse and irreverent and vulgar conversa- tion." "Again, as you say yon were sent often to tlie country on jobs, how did you manage for lodgingsF' I iiv- nnlreid. ' "Sow that I lo(A back," she an- swered, "it does seem remarkable that I never ODce found it inevitable to sleep in the same room w-ith a man. I used to go to cottages, ratheit than topul> lie houses, for, though I have never been a teetotaler, the accommodation of the village inn is often very objec- tionable. C)ne time when I was on some work in South Kensington. I met a man I had known^ and he said, 'Charley, old chap, there's a first rate thing some of us arei going down to. It's near West Grinsteadâ€" the whole of Sir Willirvm Burrell's mansion to be decorated, and there's a vacancy still." I hetiiUted a little, bat it seemed a good thing, so I offered my- self and went. We all got down there, and while they were sitting round their lunch I strolled out, saw a nice old fellow smoking over a gate, and said, "Knoiw where I could get a roomf I'm here for the painting of the big house.' 'Don't know a.i we couldn't do with you ourselves,' and he took me In and showed me a clean and com- fortable room, wtiich I immediately engaged, and, fearing lest any of my companions would want to share it, I said I would have 'my wife' down also and my niece; and I had as healthy and comfortable a summer in the country as yon could have wished." Working at Kingston in the sum- mer, she fell from a scaffoUling and fractured some ribs. She made a good recovery, and no sas{iicion even then was raised as to her sex by the doctor who set them and attended her. any more tbaji it had been when she fell down a ship's hatch and fractured her kneecap. On this occasion, however, the doctor had said one day, "What curiously small hands you bave^ for a man, Wilson." Looking, too, atl them. well formed and even white,i it is al- most a wonder that these never did raLte any inquiry. But her savings were soon exhauste<l, and, for the last few weeks, work was unobtainable. For two days and two nights' this brave- hearted woman tramped the streets with no more than a halfpenny roll to eat, and at last sbm was fain to seek the shelter of the workhouse. .She clung to the hope that soniehi>w she miiiht evaile the compulsory stripping, but it was impossible, and feminine mod- esty revolted even to yielding up the secret she had kept so long. "But I have hoi« that' I shall not have to stay here long," she piteously aaXA. "My eyesight is not as good as it was. and I (ear I shall not be able to undertake high class painting work again, but I could act aa caretaker, I could keep a lodge and should he very thankful it I could* hear of any poeition of trust. I am doing my liest while I am here, and the matron is very kind to me, giving me only some stockings to darn and sheets to hem, instead of sending me to scrub or wash. And I feel very uncomfortable in these clothes, though you would not find me wanting any half-and-half 'bloomers' if I can't have, my old coat and trousers." Wxtn OF TACT. Never say too much. Manners go a great way, and delicate matters man- aged with tact can be carried out with- out the slightest blow to the sensi- tive feelings of the parties concerned. It is not tact to rush up to a person and say ; "How 111 you are looking." Anyone who is not feeling well gen- erally knows all about it, and does not like to be reminded of the fact. On the contrary, in meeting anybody who is looking particularly well or hand- aoime, then is the time to speak. To be able to keep people In good humor and never rub them thtf wrong way shows a wonderful amount of tact, but ho^v many people there are who are always doing or saying the wrong thing. Two old school friends who had not seen each other in years met again a short time ago. .-ind almost im- mediately after the first words of greeting had been exchanged, the one exclaimed to the other ; " why. you look as if you had been crying for years ; your face is so wrinkled." Now that remark, to say the least, did not show tact, and in a measure it destrored the old feeling of affection which had rixisted for so many years. I'eople do nut like to be told disagreeable facts, but when an unpleasant truth must be told, to use a little tact in the telling of it will make the hurt less deep. Say and do pleasant things in this world whenever it is poesible. but' if diaa- agreeable ones come to the surface ' handle them as gently as possible to spar* th» feelings of others. AT THB OLD "fXBM, A scent of hay, A cattle call A whir of wioe/i^ And peace o'er all. At the old fana* My mother's soqg At breaJc of momt A robis'a lay, The brealcfast bordl At the old fana> ^ ninoing brook, A meadow sweety A laughing boy With naked feet, At the old farm. A leafy wood Adown the gle>n. Bemots from ai«ht And sound of men( At the old farm. The kitchen's glow In hearth-fire's cheer* A dreamy tale. A smile, a tear. At the old tAtsu A downy bed The attic io. And boyhood's sleep, Ko fear, no sim. At the old farm. NUT GROVES. Miore interest should be ta^en In nut- bearing trees, and a grove of this ohar- acter should be started on every farm. There is a general opinion that they are slow of growth and that it will seldom pay to set them out. Ibis is a j mistake, and if pains be given as to culture ajid the soil is fertile the rate of growth is quits rapid, even In the I case of the oak. and good results caji I be obtained f roui acorns If tbey are pro- i perly planted and cared for. Rapid growth does not depend so much on variety as upon supplied conditions, such as subaoULivg before planting, ap- pliciitions of manure, and after-culture until the roots become sufficiently es- tablished to draw well from ths soil and be independent of surface condi- ' tiona. For success in the line indicat- ed by our correspontiwit's inquiry we would advise deep plowing this fall and making the grcve strip a long one. The nuts should be taJcen fresh from the hull when ripe amd placed in shallow trays al sand In the proportion of not ' over one-third nuts to two-thirds sand. This should be slightly dampened with water so as to be in an average) state of moisture, or about a.H tlw soil Is when in a condition for the beet growth of vegetations (The peach or pear boxes found at the stores may be used , for the trays, which it is beat to keep cohered with wire netting to prevent ;mice getting in. They should be plac- ed on the floor of a daoip cave and covered |viLh moist eurth until the ground begi.os to freeze up for winter. Thtn ri'ouovi' tht>m and bury outdoors a little deeper than the boxes, say (iira or six iocbea, cover with frvsb earth, and top out the mound with a foot of well moistened straw. 'nUa latter point is importumt. as the straw next I the ground should not dry out and let the frost get into the boxes andi freeze I the nuts all winter. Aa soon as the frost ia out of the boxes in the spring, generally the lat- ter part of Maroh. aud when the sur- face of the plowed plot is dry. with 'the frost sbowuig at a dieptb of about ' four inches, plant the nuts in rows four I inches deep and eight feet apart, six I to eighX nuts to the hill, sticJiing a ; small stake beside each hill. Kight or ten days after the nuts have germin- ated and thrown up shoots take a rake and remove the dirt from the starting shoot, letting the heat of the suui near- er the germlnatLng nut. and later when the shoots have a good start, draw the earth in around them. After the seed- lings show that tbey are well cstab- lisbed, pull out by the roots and de- stroy all but the best aod most vigor- ous in the hill. We would advise plant- ing the entire plot to soft maple seed- lings when the usual planting time ar- rives in April or May to create a shade as speedily as possible. After these are planted high culture and plenty of ma- nure worked into the soil will be sure to produce a thrifty growth. The soft maples should be allowed to grow for several years to proviAle forest condi- tions. Tbey will be beu'ciicial to the nut secilliinga because of their shade, and as the maples are shallow r(x>ti,ng when young they will in no way in- terfere with them. 'When the nut trees reaiih the proper si^e the maples can be thinned and finally removed from the lx>dy of the grove; but since hickory trees are subject to borers it would be well to have a stri4> of maples along the south line of the nut grove. This will throw shade in the grove and on the steui;S of th« nut trees, and. since borers do little or no dojuage in the shade, will o|)erate as a preventive of these pfsts. We would also advise the planting of chestnut groves, the uuts I being treated in the manner out- ' lined above. There are many chestnut! groves in bearing in the W«et and a i nut grove of hickory or sweet chestnuts i is possible on any farm. As a general I rule trees will grow taster if allowed to remain wh»>rc thi" nut is planted, but with t'ae v'hcsliiut this doee not make so much differ<^Qi>>, for it ia set back very little by transplanting if the new kx'it'oii given it is made quite rich.. ilL>wever it is 1 fst usu;>.lly to traiisp'ait i>nly iineyi-ar st*dlinga, as they rt\pv>!r quiciceet irom the shock. Walnuts ^%^ al.-*> be treale<l in a man- ner similar to that just described. It is poesible to plant nuts outdoors just as they fall, but they meed very deep covering to k«rei> them from being in- jured by the heated surface soil dry- ing the shell and possibly preiventlng BucceesCul germination. Difficulties in this direction caa be oTer<-ome by deep- ly eoverie^ the nuts in tba fall, and ia ths spring the soil can be teoipor- arily removed over the seed until the •hoots rise above the surface. HOW TO GROW CHERRIES. Cherries thrive In a variety of soils but attain tbair highest development in one that is light and loamy. It must retain coniilderabla moisture, but never be sour. If ths land is too wet It mnst bs drained and oo light dry knolls, otherwise favorable to cherry coltura, the moisture holding capacity of the soU may be Increased by the ad- dition of vegetable matter and judici- ous surface cultivation. The turning under of crimson clover, or a crop of almilar character la highly beneficial. The beat results axe obtained from orchards situated on a western or northwestern slope, as the blooming period Is retarded in spring and the danger of frosts greatly lessened. A depression la not desirable, as frost is liable to occur there when it would! not OD higher groumd. !Where the country is naturally level, a slight elevation is preferable, auMe it insures air drainage and good eircuiatioo. The sour vari- eties of cherries seem to thrive better on lower levels than the sweet kinds. The distance apart for planting trees will depend almost wholly upon tha manner of growth, ijome trees may at. tain a height of Kl to 50 ft and! be w ids spreading. These should stand not less than 30 ft. apart. The highest success in cllerry growing cannot be attained without thorough cultivation during the early life of the orchard and also later while fruit is being matured. There ia no objection to growing small fruits or some other crop requiring frequent cultivation be- tween the rows of uberry trees for a few years, provided the land is good and contains enough plant food to keep the trees In vigorous condition. The s\veet clierry ia a coarse feeder and will thrive on less applied fertilizer than the other kinds. G. Harold PowelLBul- letln 35, Delaware experiment station. When the Ian 1 is too rich or too murh fertilizer is jAiied. the energy of the tree ia ipt to be <levoted loo largely towood growth. An abundance of moist- ure is essential for cherry trees during the bearing season, especially just > efore and during the ripening process, conse- quently It is advLgable with a bearing or<-hard to plow early Ln spruig and | follow with light cultivations every ten days or w he never the raoi becomes scarce. On the first or middle of July, the condition of the soil can be greatly improved in its water holding capacity by turning under annual crops of crim- son clover or some other nitrcg-'nous cover crop. In order to secure thiS crop sow at the last cultivation 10 on 12 lbs. ot crimson clover seed pf r acre. It is very essential to retain the moisture in the soil in tlie spring by early plow- ing and by quite frequent culture. If the trees maJce too vigorous a growth seed down one yeiir to rye or buck- wheat. 'I'he moat profitable sour cherries are the Montmorency and blarly liichmond and these varieties can lie grown in nearly all the orchard fruit regions. The following sweet varieties have been grown with more or leas success: lUack Tartarian. Ro'^erfs Red Heart, Napol- eon. Windsor and Dikeoian. Tor this same region, the following may be add- ed for faauiy use: Black Eagle, Mezel, Gov Wood, Coe's rran8i,-arent, Knight's Early Black, Yellow Spanish and Louis Philippe. WATER COWS OFTEN IN WINTBR. To get the best results from cows they must be kept comfortable night and day. It is not necessary to have expensive stables or barns, but their quarters must be warm, well lighted and ventilated. Feed a well balanced ration of roughage and grain. Very few realize the necessity of furnishing plenty of water. As a rule cows in winter quarters get no succulent food. Dry hay, corn fodder and dry grain ore their daily ration. A few dairymen water their cows twice a day and a much smaller number have water in the stables. A cow will thrive much better, will drink more and give more milk from the same food if allowed to drink in a warm, comfortable place. I One of the best devices made for wat- ering cows in the stable consists ot a I V-shaped trough running the whole ' length of the stably, inimeiliately overt the manger and al)out three and one- { half feet above the bottom. It is thus j out of the way of cons ondl attendants. I The water can easily be led from a tank or pump directly into the trough. It i is necessary that the cow, in addition j to the water needed tor rumination and ; digestion have e>nough to put 87 per cent. Into the milk she gives. A i-ow weighing 1.0OO lbs. in full milk should have about 12 gallons of water a day. And if so much water be taken at one time duritig very cold weather the cow receivea a great chill (rouu which it will take hours to recover. liesides. it maJces the food in her stomach so liqu- id t^at it cannot be raised tor rum- loation. Ot course nature soon takes out the surplus but the process con- tinues and the contents l)ecome dry and solid. Watered frequ«.'Dtly. the same lot of cows will give froju 10 to even AS muiob OS 20 pur cent, more milk on tha aame food. No one who koeiis cows for profit can i^^ore micih a result. It will requirn can8idcr'»i>le work to at- tend properly to all details in a well managed dairy, but they must l>e look- ed after if success is to N* attainedi. PL.ANK FRAJItNG FOR BARNS. It is customary in framing barns and other heavy farm buildiugs to use much i heavier timbers than are necassary, I'hisia really true, notwithaiandingfr^ riuent collapses troDX storms, overloaded mowa, etc 'nie trouble is that tn framing ia often Ul atJapted to reels! tha strains acting on it. Ws know of one farmer who put txl2 lAch joists on 12 Inch centerg^ U ft. span, uadez a cow stable and ioi a few months it began to settle, then collapsed. Ths joists had been cut liona 6 inches te let In a trench i ft. from one bearing which had been nocciied up 6 inciies into a sleeper. The joists split. Had thsy been properly out tbey would have baea there yet. The ultimate strength of a timber U that of as weakest part. A 6zS ineU post notched to receive a, 1-inch brace is weakened almost halt. Heavy timbers are used to allow free cutting and; not- ching with safety. Another point is to have the strongest dizectioa of th* timber coincident with the greatest stress. A 2xli inch joist has the aama wood in it aa a ixt iocii and is four times OS strong. It will bear just Id times the weight with the n&rrow slda up as with the wide aide up. Bearing these facta in mind it is practicable to build a 40x60 bam with a plank frame tJiroughout, but it must be a balloon frame with box sills and built-up posts. It mtist have inside iMaring partitions and be tied across the plat«a w-.tb built- ttp timber tie beams or rods and brae- ing done the aaime as an^ ordinary bal- loon bracing. All notching, mortising, etc.. should be avoided. Probably no suitable plan could be drawn for any specific case without a koowladge of bow many and what kind of cattle are to be boused, oaf)€u:ity of mows, bias, eto. SAM WAS ALONB. Bei rreai â- !â-  Trce-rerlrvM â- Â« DI4 TemalS BxrestUa-A Keelarky Htmrj. Back ol ihft mountaineer's cabin wa« a great plum tree, and under this tra« was a grave without a headstone, noticed the mound as I wandered aijout in the afternoon, but it was evening and we sat at the door smoking our pipes before I made enquiry. " Yea, that's Sam's grave," re|>Iied thr old man. aa he looked away into th> gathering twilight. " Sam was my sus â€"my only son. W'e buried him there five yar's ago." I saw from ibs look which [.asse<l l>e tween husband anl wifs that I had touched on a lainful matter, and I was about to change the subject when the woman said : " Joe. he may bev heard aunthin' bout it. lietter tell the story straight." " Wall." said the old man. after a long pause. " they had a boss race up at the Co'ners. and our Sam was thar and got into a dispute with one of the Clay boys, i'nar' was five of the Clays, and Sam was all a lone. He was only 18 yar's old, but » ben taem Cla>s begun to elbow him around he stood up to the hull five of 'em. Thar' woun't no shout- in' right thar' at the Co'ners. The Clays waited till Sam bai got started fur home, and then rid arter him :iu-i opened f<re. He had the sense to put his hoes on tba dsad rud and look fur kiver. Tbey followed him right along home, and bis boss \'>as ahoi as be jumi>- sd down at the gate. Mary, yo' tell the rest." ' I was all alone yere," said the wife. ' and when I heard the ahootin' I knowed what it meant. 1 got down the Winchester and stoo,l at the door. and as Sam cum av he took it and run to the big plum tree fur kiver. Thar' was five of the Clao^s. and tbey itodged about and kept shootin' ani paid no 'lensbun to me. I was that scart that I sat down on the ground and kivered up my face with my apron. I can't say bow long it all lasted, but I reckon not mo' than ten minits. When ths shootin' stopped 1 got up, and â€" andâ€"" " And Sam was lyin' dead under the plum t ree I" said the old man. Tears ran down the face of the wom- an and the husban I'scbin quivered, and it was a loog minute Iwfore he ad. led : " Y'ee. Sem was lyin' dead on t he ground hit by five bullets, but out thar'â€" and over thar'â€" ond right out yan to o' them Clay boys was lyin' on their liacks with their sightless eyes lookin' up at the sky. aiod the fifth one craw lib' on hands and knees up the road I" " He had kille'l four I" I exclaimed. "Killed fo', sob. and wounded the fifth one till he was a cripple fur life I That was our Sem, sah. and we buried him right whar' he fit tuid made his rei'ord. Fo' dead men on their backs â€"a wounded man crawlin' away and cryin' as he went I" " .\nd there were no other Clays?" " Nary a man nor boy I Ti:e wimen bad to cum tor tlue i!ead. and I ha.i to help lift 'em into the cart I" DICK WAS SMART. Dick prop<wed to me Inst night con- fessed Madge to Kliza'ietb. Let me congratulate you, for, of course, yon accepted himf No. You didn't reject himf Ye.s. Ho-.v did he take it? Oh he was iwrfectly lovely a!>i'ut it. and I almost worship hi:u for it. Hie said he knew girls liked to have it to .â- ^ay thht th«y have had ;i grc:it many otters and that lv< sh ull not despair, but he hoped that \\h>n I had refuoed enough pn'posa's (o ."nl- isfy me I would intim.>i.te the fact to him in some way luid th'u ho wwu'd propo.se again aud we could l.c married quietly and selt'e down. I>> you th'uik it would •* forwa'il in me to let him know that I have n.>w refu». ed adl tbm offers I care toi i * Jm â- SR- iK ijBa^^aai-.,_Ja ^ â- Ik ._^!l%u^ â- â- â- â€¢^ .jjtii&a^t