The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

mzmm •t : TffB BtiiHBWRT rt,ATtnEAI,KR. HcHBWBt, HA. ; -.:'••••• "P" 'm&f -•. r %'• CHAPTER Xm M * --12-- . f given Jean op, under protest, *"*'•» 6*® only thing to do. But having my protest I meant to accept say fate with dignity; I would take •J sentence like a man, and serve it !>lftwt whining. t had been long In going to deep, ana as a consequence had awakened tote. The shack was bitterly cold; the ••ly comfort lay under my heavy Mtakfets. As the light increased I COViHtsd the knobs of frost that had flOMied on the ends of the nails that Mme through the roof. I had never 'Aotlced that GO many nails had missed rafter*. We were rather bad carpenters. My mind leaped hack to the ifine when we built the shack, clearing all the events crowded between, as the vision leaps from height to beight serosa great valleys in the prairies. How unreal and far away It all seemed! But another leap carried Be to the bank of a river, and little Children playing in the sand, and a 4low-pacing water wheel that Sprayed lis mist of diamonds in the sunshine. I saw her little calico dress, her little ferown bare feet, the ringlets of yellow hair hung about her cheeks. That '%a« Jean. . . . The clock had stopped I It was with , terrific suddenness that I realized the <Slock had stopped and in my barren tftanty was the silence of the tomb. Its round, glassy face grinned an Imbecile grin at me from its place on a *helf on the wall. Its hands showed - a quarter to four. . . . Well, there , was nothing very mysterious about that. In the excitement of the wed- 1 ding party I had merely forgotten to wind the clock. Only an overwrought •ervous system could discern anything Vncanny in that. I reasoned all this 4>ut, with absurd deliberation, as I rubbed my eyes and wondered why the clock had stopped. Or perhaps the frost had stopped ft. My watch had fared better, and When I drew it from my pocket on the corner of the bed the friendly hustle of its ticking was reassuring to Sny ear. I could hear the companionable canter of its balance wheel galloping down the road of life by my aide. "Next to a dog," I said to myself, "a watch is the best friend a tnan can have." That set me thinking about dogs, And I wondered why in all these months I had neglected to provide myself with a dog. As a sort of insurance, I grimly reflected. One always can fall back on a dog. The hands of the watch said half-past «ight, and I suddenly remembered that there were cattle to feed. It Ivould be a decent thing to get up and jflo all the chores that morning, if they iwere not already done. So I drew my Underwear from beneath' my pillow, land sprang from the friendly shelter of the blankets. V I hurriedly started a fire; watched • tt until it had a proper draft; turned .the damper In the pipe to guard Wguinst its getting beyond control after jl left it. Then, aftei* drawing on my %>e«jacket, cap and mitts, I set out for «|tlie stables. The morning was gray, ^ •wlth a scattered sifting of small snow- •^Jflakea. but the nip to the air was not nearly so uncomfortable as it seemed . when contemplated from under the ;warm blankets. I reflected that com "ifort and happiness are largely a mat- • ter of the point of view. But that - doesn't help when the bottom has fal out of your particular universe. The stove lids were red hot and the '.^kettle was belching forth a small gey v |ser of steam when I got back to the y&shack. My search for remnants from %l'the feast of the night before was as- : tonishingly fruitless, until I remembered that the young Hansens hud sjbeen turned loose upon the left-overs. iSo I cooked a mixture of oatmeal and water, which I called porridge, boiled two fresh eggs, thawed out part of a loaf of bread, melted a piece of butter and sat down to a meal that-was hard ly calculated to make me rejoice it my single blessedness. After breakfast I washed my few dishes, swept the floor, made my bed, and generally set the house in order. Even then it was only ten o'clock, with nothing more to do until noon. At noon there would be a repetition of the routine, and then nothing to d< until night. At night there would be •upper and the evening chores, and nothing more to do until morning. And the next day the ^Ame, and the aame, and the same. / It was mid-afternoon white Jack burst in upon me. "Well, old Robinson Crusoe, how goes solitude?" he demanded. „ "Rotten,*' said I, "but I can always change my mind if I want to." ' "Aha!" he exclaimed, Inreturn, clasping himself about the middle. "A blow in the fifth rib! A subtle blow under the fifth rib !"* Jack was obviously in great Spirits, hut with a sudden soberness he sat down beside me, and I felt his hand on my knee. " "It's not quite the thing, old chap," he said, "to cut us dead, ^ Just because we're married--that is, some of us." "I haven't cut jou," I retorted. •HJive me time." £ < "I know it's a raw deal for you,' y he went on, disregarding my inter- * ruptlon, "and I'd give--I'd give--half •f my happiness, if you like, if I could put it right It's a little embarrassing for us atl. But don't you think Jean fei worth a fight--a little more fight ' than you have made?" "I understand English," I said, "par- , ttcolarly Jean's English. If she wants ma now she'll have to sny so." "Oh, get off your high horse. He's a lame nag, anyway! Jean thinks she loves Spoof, but she doesn't. She's '4 Just infatuated with him. She'll grow £ out of .that. But you might help her along a little." ' "I'mr not so sure. Spoofs a pretty decent chap," I said. Inwardly giving t myself credit for amazing magnanlm- ; "y • "Of course he Is." Jack agreed, somewhat too readily, as it seemed to ••But that has nothing to do with By ROBERT STEAD Author of "The Cow Puncher,0. "The Homesteaders* mTO8«rv«e» £ Avyricfat far Rotart Stnf under the magnifying glass, BO to speak, and studying out which is the more decent chap. It isn't done that way. And to save her life she couldn't tell you why, today, she thinks she loves Spoof, and why, tomorrow, she will know she loves you. Reason doesn't enter into these things at all." "That doesn't make it any easier for me." , "Maybe not," Jack admitted. "And, , as I have argued that reason doesn't enter into the consideration, I suppose It Is of no use to reason about it. Then let us get onto ground you can understand. Come on over for supper." I accepted with more alacrity than might be expected of a young man who was resolved tyat although tied to the stake he would not thrust his feet in the fire. Marjorie kissed pie when I went In--a kiss for her dear old bachelor brother, she said, obviously in fun, but I think there was a pang of deep sisterly sympathy underneath. Jean was calm, poised, selfcontrolled ; her eyes seemed larger than usual, and the white of them showed that clear blue tinge that is found in some kinds of delicate china. Either the lamp light was peculiarly yellow or Jean's complexion was below the mark. She chatted freely, almost too freely, and laughed upon occasion, but there was*no ring in her laughter. Altogether, it was rather a difficult evening. We played cards after supper, and tried, as so many others have done, to forget our troubles in the chance of a lucky hand. Even the cards were against me. Jean and I had always played together, but tonight Jack insisted that it was not meet that.a man should have his wife for a partner at cards, so our combination was broken. I may have had a subconscious and disturbing feeling that Jean's hand, to my left, would have made better holding than anything I could hope to draw from the <feck. At any rate I played abominably and went home early. And so the days dragged on. I kept a corner of my south window rubbed clear of frost so that I might maintain a lookout for a visit from 8poof, for although he was my rival, or because he was my rival, I felt that I had with Spoof something very much in common. But Spoof seemed suddenly to have discontinued his visits to Fourteen and Twenty-two, and for the first time in that winter the trail to his shack was entirely overblown and obliterated in a waste of snow. Jack came over every day, and Marjorie and Jean came two or three times a week and gave my shack the womanly touches of which It was beginning to stand In need, but Jean never came alone. I began to understand that the prairies give solitude without privacy; if one seeks privacy he goes to the city for it In this way a couple of weeks had passed when one evening It occurred to me that I could kill a dull hour or two, and discharge a somewhat neglected filial duty, by writing a letter to my father. Investigation proved that I had no writing paper, so I went over to Jack's to borrow some. They had none, either, but Jack produced an old account book with some blank sheets in it, which we decided would do quite well. In those days we weren't particular about stationery. Jean was In her room while I was there, and did not come out, so In a few minutes I returned to Fourteen. There I set the lamp on the table and spread the old account book out before me. It once had been owned by Jack's father; the first pages were my heart the question interrogated me, Gould Jean be Ingenuous enough to use those dots, after the manner of our modern writers, to suggest something which she abfaak saying in plain.English? • • • • a . * • I resolved to have It out with Jean. There was no sense in letting things go on like this. Jean had happiness within her grasp, for the taking, but she persisted in writing moonstruck doggerel to a man who apparently cared no more for her than for the post that marked the corner of his section. Spoofs continued and deliberate neglect--I called it neglect now--- admitted no other explanation. I spent a wakeful night thinking about this, and toward morning I got up and.retrieved the crumpled bit of paper which I had thrown into a corner of the kitchen. I spread it out and read the lines again. A night of reflection had worn the edge from my Indignatio(i, and I admitted that, from an artistic point of view, the verses were perhaps not so hopeless as I had thought them. Indeed, they suggested a certain germ of poetic ability. A little devil of conscience began an insurrection in my sense of fair play, demanding to know if I could write as well myself. But I am no poet. I took a pencil and put down the word Jean, and then set about hunting for rhymes for it, but I could think of only two--"lean" and "bean." Neither of these seemed to lend Itself to poetic treatment Suddenly a whiff of memory rushing in from somewhere sent me scuttling among old school books at the bottom of my trunk. It was a whim of mine to keep myjjlc^ school books. If only that in after years I might read and appreciate the little gems of literature which, with the assistance of a phlegmatic teacher, I cordially hated when a child. -Here It was--an old Ontario reader with a sensational story about an Indian woman who killed a bear with a butcher knife, or some such weapon. My sympathy, I remember, had always been with the bear, doubtless because of the picture which was made to represent the Indian woman. I had read this story again and again, when all othen passages in the book had failed to^ Interest me, and some little long-fo/gotten cell of memory said I would find a fragment of paper tucked between these pages. $ure enough, there It was! I drew it out eagerly, but tenderly and almost reverently, and held it under the lamp. How that strange, childish scrawl seemed to run all over my heart and pucker It Into little gasping pockets! I could feel a thumping between my lungs and the hard beating of my pulse went throbbing through-the paper In my fingers. . • When I am old And very tall ^ I hope my name Will be Mrs. HalL "So It Has Come to That," [ 8aid to , My«eif.» *«Lov«-8ick Doggerel!" * , " r- .filled with items which apparently had to ^o with the purchase of the Lane farm, and with Mr. Lane's services in the woolen mill. I glanced over them with casual Interest and as I did' so a loose slip, fell from the pages. , I picked it up from the floor and found a number of lines ln^Jean's handwriting: •* ^ ' ~) When through the llvelon^day I «lgh And ponder on my sad estate, I would my Nemesis defy • And burst the bounding cords of Fate. Now would I tear each; bond awajru^. Now would I risk yofir sad reproof;,' Come, let us liye fcand love who may: Come to ma. . . . Spoofv - "So It has comer to that," 1. said Jean isn't putting ye» a#d crushed the sheet of paper In my hand in a rage, eveif while a'iiot flush of co?or ran up my face at the realization of the fact that I had read something never Intended for other eyes--for my eye^Jeast of all. . So she could tear the bonds i»way; she could risk his "sad reproof; she could do anything but find words to .fill out the feet <ft the last line. "Come to ihe. . . f. A mist came up out of the past and blurred the scrawly letters until they swam before my eyes and faded out of sight. They had carried me back to the dear dead days^ of childhood-- that Eden of life which comes before the disillusionment which Is the Fall. The years between had gone out with a gulp that filled my throat, and again we were little children playing together, solemnly mating ourselves for the future under the witnessing murmur o# the great pine. That had been one of the great days in my life, and I had not known it then. I wonder how often we know the great day when it is actually upon us? But In that day I had drunk In something which had become part of my system; part of my flesh and bone and bmln; part of my hope, my aspiration, my life. And now would I give it up? Never-- never! I pressed the precious missive to my lips and suddenly the dam of my overwrought nerves gave way, and tears rushed down upon me. With a man's shame I would have checked them If I could, but the flood would not be stopped--and there was none to see. I fell on my bed and let the storm sweep over me. After a while came calmness, and with that calmness the resolution which I recorded in the opening lines of this chapter. I would have it out with Jean. I would put up another fight for all that made life worth the living. I would not accept my fate; at least, I would not accept the fate to which Jean had resigned me. She would see! . . . * | But this was a battle which could not be fought In public, and I racked my wits for some way in which I might lay siege to Jean--alone. I hardly could ask Jack and Marjorie to get out of their own house while I subjected Jean to the main drive which was to break down her resistance; much less could I invite Jean to Fourteen for the same purpose. The prairies, with all their vast spaces, refused me just that one little niche of privacy I needed. As I turned the matter over in my mind a clever plan unfolded itself before me. I would make a sled and Invite Jean to go coasting somewhere along the banks of the gnlly. Then we would wander on and on, the farther the better. Fortunately some boards remained of the table which had supported the wedding feast, and" I went to work with a will. The reaction from inactivity was in itself a tonic to my spirit^, and I found myself whistling aij Improvised tune which I fitted to /'the words, "When I am old and very • tall, etc." Hope rebounded, as hope will, from its dip into despair, and I began to picture the shack on Fourteen as'It would be under the lovin care & "Mrs. Hall," and the Joy that we would find in its seclusion. The winter months, which had been dragging so unutterably, suddenly threatened to be all too short. I completed my sleigh and presented myself pt the door of Twentynwo. rather stoutly, but that was no reason why he should suggest that I hitch an ox to it. "An ox!" I retorted. "This Is built for speed. I am going to ask Jean to go coasting." "Aha!" said Jack, significantly. "I wish you all possible--speed." Jean showed no reluctance about going. She drew on a woolen sweater and a short, cloth winter coat, with a collar of some fluffy kind of fur which had originally grown on a cat. She had a little fur eap of the same material, which she pulled down snugly on her bead, and we were off. We followed the crest of the gully for some distance in the direction of Sneezit's farm, ostensibly in search of a good coasting spot, but actually much engaged with our thoughts and the real purpose of our outing. That Jean understood it perfectly I was convinced, and under such circumstances the fact that she had so readily accepted my invitation was at least a hopeful omen. Walking on the untracked snow In midwinter is an uncertain business, and the prairie people rarely make use of snowshoes. For the most part, there was frozen crust that bore our, weight, but this crust has an unfor-' tunate habit of giving way at unex-! pected moments, particularly when one has Just taken a big stride forward. There is an effect very much like coming upon the head of the stairs in the darkness when you think you are still safely walking along the hall. It precipitates one forward with great suddenness, but fortunately snow is a good thing to fall In. We scrambled to our feet laughing and in high spirits. It was a wonderful thing to laugh again, and mean it At last we found a place where the snow had curved in a great white plume over the bank of the gully. For fifty or sixty feet it dropped away in an absolutely smooth descent; then came a sudden pitch, as though a great ladle had scooped out the drift; then a Succession of little billows whipped up by the cross'currents at the foot of the hill. "It looks good," said llean. "Let me see if it is firm." With that she. ran out upon the drift, her dainty feet tripping down It like a bird. But the descent ^vas steeper than she thought; her momentum overbalanced her, and in an instant I saw her careering wildly dowi| the slope, her arms outstretched, her nair flying loose from under the rim of her cap. Near the foot she disappeared entirely. Perhaps I should have rushed after her, but I didn't. I sat down leisurely at the top of the hill and waited for her to reappear. Presently a mittened hand came up over the crest which hid her from view; then something something round and furry, like a sleeping kitten; then a forehead, two eyes, and a glimpse of cheeks. ' "Aren't you coming down--to help me?" she called. Now I had meant to ^staml on my rights; to tell Jean that sliehad gone down the bill on her own accord, and might come back in the same way; perhaps to poke some quiet mirth at her efforts to scramble up the slippery drift. When a man contemplates matrimony he may as Well settle at once who's who, and why. Now was my time to be firm. "No, I'm not coming," I said. Jean looked at me for a moment, In surprise;^ then uttered not another word. But from her hand she drew her woolen mitten, and raised her fine, firm fingers in the air. One of those fingers crooked, with the knuckle bent toward me, and the finger pointing to her face; then, with a little seductive flicker, she beckoned me*to her. . . . It was too much. I sprang on my sled and shot like an arrow to its target. "Isn't it wonderful, wonderful!" she exclaimed. "All this white wilderness to play In, to shout in--Listen!" And she helloed at the top of her voice. Only an echo, beating back from the banks of the gully, answered. See, we are all alone--alone in 'all the world. Why didn't you bring me out here before?" "Are you glad to be alone with me, Jean?" I asked, drawing her hand into mine. "Are you glad to be here, alone, with me?" ' ' "Why, yes. YOn are my frlead.* "Only your friend?" m "Oh, see, there's a place where perhaps we can slide right over the pitch I Let's 1" She was on the sled In an instant, and I behind her. I kicked it loose. With a gentle crunching sound the runners started scraping through the snow; then, as the speed increased, the sound rose to a whine which mingled with the rush of air in our ears and the spray of snow in our faces. Jean's heels were Just above the snow surface, and when, as happened once or twice, they dropped too low, they showered us with flying Icy crystals. Then, Just at the dip, one heel drove in much too deep--too deep to be ac- >*: ,-s; r,:i! cidental--the sled trembled, tamed sideways, and went over. We disentangled ourselves, laughing, but we did not immediately recllmb the hill. I found a sheltered spot in the pitch where we might sit on the sled with our backs to the great drift while our faces caught the slanting warmth of the sun and our eyes could range the field of tiny rainbow signals thrown up from the ripple at our feet., Jean broke up the crusted snow with the heel of her dvershoe; then buried her feet In the powdery mound. Presently a toe came wiggling up through I t . . . . "Jean, don't" I cried. "Ton take me back to those old days! We under* stood everything then; then everythlnff was supposed to be settled." The toe settled to stillness in lta burrowing; Jean's sensitive lips, to*i settled to a stillness firm and sad. "Tell me. Jean," I pressed at length; ^"why can't we go back; why can't wa start over again--like that?" "We have always been good friends," she murmured. "Good friends--yes, Most It stop at that?* "And neighbors," she continued. "We have always" been good neighbors. Perhaps that is the trouble." "How--the trouble?" "Well, it's like this," she said, and again the toe began to gyrate in the snow, "We've known each other so well, .u^d so long, there isnt anything Newest Hats Are S The tradition held to by ladles of an earlier day that the bonnet and tb»v boot gave tone and style to the costume is equally applicable to these times. A modification of the severe cloche, writes a fashion correspondent In the New York Times, has been gradually becoming apparent and many of the new hats are fashioned to show something of the hair. They are turned back from the face, or rolled at one side, though all of the shapes are still worn low on the head. Some of the handsomest hats, in both the stiff and the draped models, show the influence of old styles such as the picture hats taken from old masters' portraits of great ladles. The genuine Gainsborough, though, has not yet made its appearance, and from present indications Its return is a long way off. But the new hats follow more generous, graceful lines. The mo>t marked compromise of the present, season Is the hat of medium size with more trimming than any have lately shown. The hat with larger crown and fuller arrangement of drapery is welcomed by many women on whom the tiny tight shapes are trying. Some of the dressy qew hats are distinctly reminiscent of the Charlotte Oorday, the Directolre, the early English poke bonnet and other historic shapes. But they are cleverly adapted to the mode of the hour and show a tendency toward Individuality for which the best designers strive. The cloche has not disappeared altogether, though its form is modified. It still represents simplicity itself, bat with variants that make for grace and beauty. The email tailored or seml- But the Dsscsnt Waa 8teeper Than 8he Thought; Her Momentum Overbalanced Her, and in an Instant I 8aw Her Careening Wildly Down the Slope. --much--left to know, is there? Could you stand the boredom of a person who has no new thoughts, no strange Ideas, no whims--nothing that you haven't already seen and known a hundred times ?" "There never could be boredom with you, dear. Just to have you with me, to feast on you, to know you were mine, would be enough for me." "For about a week. ' You'd soon tire of a feast with no flavor to it I would, at any rate. . . . Oh, I see it working out already. I don't want to gossip, and Jack and Marjorie have been everything they could to me, but already I can see them settling down to the routine--the deadly routine. Bad enough 'anywhere, but on these prairies, with their isolation, their Immensity -- unbearable. I couldn't stand it." I studied her for a moment in silence. Jean might know all about me; I might have no new thoughts, new Ideas, new whims, but *lt was quite plain I didn't know all about her. "Still, there are many couples on these prairies living happily, f, auppose," I ventured. ' L-1 (TO BB CONTINUBD.) j ! Ugly General Pay a Penalty Phllopoemen was a Greek general, notorious for his ugliness,* but also famous for having had it said of him by Plutarch that he was the "last great Greek." He was so ugly that when he arrived in a town making ready for a ceremony in honor of his coming, he was put to work helping to prepare for his own entrance into the city. He looked so common and unsightly to the Innkeeper in charge of the program that he was put to work drawing water and building a fire. When his Identity was discovered he merely replied that he was paying the penalty for being so ugly. ' j 1 1(3) No. 1--Turban of Moire. No. 2--Ensemble Emphasizing Turkish Influence. No. 3--Cloche of Tan Felt. tailored hat remains the correct hat for day-time dress, for street wear, sports and even for afternoon dress. In a somewhat softer treatment. All of the prominent milliners present the small hat. Monsieur Guy, Reb<ux, Agnes have done some charming things this season, notwithstanding the limitations to a style of such extreme simplicity. Changes in Shapes. Most ofjhe models are felt, beaver or some sort of &loth. The material Is not Inexpensive, since it must be of a quality to stand the cut edge. The changes in shape are marked. The inverted kettle, which the original cloche resembled, is seen no more. Instead, there is a model with a crown like that of a man's silk hat and a little brim gently rolled at one side. Another model that is especially popular among younger women has an oval, ribbed crown looking much like a football and a narrow flange that turns back from the face. A crease across the crown, a slight fold In til rial or a slash in the brim with ends finished at the back, are among the slight touches that vary the latest - models of the best Paris houses. > ' The season has brought out soma conspicuous styles. Some'of the smart * milliners have .gone in for exceedingly ectentric things. Reboux, Maria Guyi ; Oamille Rogers, Charlotte Hennardand Monsieur Guy and Lewis have made some strikingly original hat# with success, conforming, to some degree, with the conventional, but establishing some things of unusual type • and artistic value. A black felt help met completely covering the head an4:, J ears, with a metallic ornament la.:-"'; A : front, has a decidedly Cleopatra looki^/l, • A brimless cloche is made of clotfe^V with the crown completely covered with long stitches of embroidery sll V- ; a stiff feather with two brush endf-v ' covering the back at a sharp angle^ij {• ; Another must have had its inception IlVM ' a royal Russian headdress. The hlgtt; -V up-turned brim in front is embroidered " in mother of pearl and beads of steel and scarlet Designers are inclined to vary th# v small bat as much as possible. Thfc . widened brim, the draped crown, th* ( entire hat covered softly with a fabric and the turban in several variants are examples of the latitude in the fashions of the moment. Felt continues to be used In utility hats particularly, but the nov«£|y of the season which promises to carry on is veloura. This Is a flattering material equally adaptable for sports hats or for more elaborate dress. Two materials In different colors are seen In some of the handsomest hats. This treatment givea a more "dressy" appearance to a hat of simple contour, with little or no trimming. Some rather extraordinary liberties are taken by the combination of gilt lace with cloth or velours In a semi-tailored shape bearing the label of a recognized authority in millinery designing. Ensemble Idea in Millinery* ' * The ensemble idea in millinery !• most attractive. A strictly tailored hat, Empire in feeling, of Oxford gray beaver is matched by a collar of the same material. The hat comes well over the eyes and is set at the angle at which men's hats are worn. Tha collar, straight, detached and hlgl) enough to cover the ears, is shape# > like £ cravat, and drawn through a loop at one side. This comes from Franklin Guy. Another, the creator of which is not revealed, is done lfc ^ Scotch plaid. The hat is one of thoat melon or football shapes with a flange of cloth matching the red of the plai# . turning back flat against the higlf* ribbed crown. A straight scarf, likft - a muffler, is made of the plaid wooL Pretty turbans of sMtalllc brocade or plain silk in lovsiy colors are sol<| ^ • with scarfs of the same fabric. HI some of these decorative ensembles fur is added to the'scarf ends. Frod an Important Parisian house has beea received a toque of gold lame and Russian sable with a scarf of tha sable in diagonal stripes, faced with lame. Colonial buckles always were ami always will be stylish.. But each sef|,; " son "witnesses some slight change li , their size er shape. During the season squares, oblongs and ovals ; will vie with one another for first ~ place. After all, the selection of one of them should depend solely on tha ? type of foot of the wearer. It is onljr natural that these three types of buckles should give a different aspect to the shoe. The square buckles are solid, whereas the ovals and oblonga are more often seen with open center* with or without center bars. Perfume Balls Popular in Paris Old Geographical Term Iberia was the name given by the ancient Greeks to the territory including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France; but it Is now used as poetic term for Spain only. The word "Iberia" was also employed by the Greeks and Romans to designate the southern part of Georgia, a country In Asia, south of the Caucasus mountains, between the Black and the Caspian seas. Dead Chinese Shipped to Celestial Kingdom i. •SL •c Twice a year all New York Chinatown iturns out to be present at the shipping of the dead, Pierre Van Paassen writes in the Atlanta Constitution. When a Chinaman dies he is not burled, but his coffined body-is kept in a storage place along with others until the collln ship can take a load back to the Celestial kingdom. The cere.nony of conveying the coffins to the ship offers an animated scene, violins shriek, bells tinkle, rattles are used and pictures of the deceased are carried In the procession, all to keep the evil spirits at a distance. Some of the officiating priests Ju their ancient robes, with shaved i^ads and their arms folded, are pictures of Impenetrable oriental stoicism. The procession is a colorful one and a noisy Vne, but the priests do maintain their dignity. During the hours of the ceremony Jack loo&ed up^h, the vehicle with' evi- I rival tongs cease all hostility under Spoof 1" With.a sudden ^nhhtiig it I dent unlsgtvlAg. ^ve b)uuii|lltt il t | the terms of a previously agreed upon 1 armistice. It's the only hour the police may be certain there will be no killings and still the bluecoats and plainclothes men are as thick as flies around a Chinese funeral procession. Vulcanite Production Practically ail rubber Intended far commercial uses is treated at a high temperature with sulphur, with the result that it becomes enormously hardened. When, however, the proportion of sulphur used is very high, the production is vulcanite--a rubbery compound of such extreme hardness as to resemble ebony. Vulcanite Indeed looks very much like ebony, and Is often called ebonite. In this form. It Is frequently used as a substitute for horn, ivory or bone, in such articles as combs, knife handles/^pe stems, buttons, and the like. Tne word Is derived frdm Vulcan, the God of Fire of the ancient Romans, Quite popular In Paris Just now as a Jewelry "novelty" are those llttie enamel perfume balls (made like tiny censers) on a fine gold or platinum chain that were first seen in America about 1016. The call for them has had plenty of time to die out meanwhile and will probably reawaken with intensity. Paris has also suddenly taken to wearing pearl necklaces, both real and Imitation, hanging town the back. A compromise has been reached In regard to the modern fondness for undress evening clothes. The new j*backless" evening gowns are not really backless at all. They have flesh- Colored chiffon shoulders, or backs to the waist, where the colored material of the gown begins. They are much more nude in effect than the real decollete. The one great advantage, however, is that whereas few backs are really beautiful enough to wear a waist-cut gown, even the skinniest back looks well under a veil of pale- Dink chiffon. This fact has so impressed itself on the minds of designers that for the first time in years they are beginning to line lace-backed ev» nlng dresses with a layer of plnlr chiffon. The fashionable long sleeve solvit. many difficulties. The smartest lfttftsi frocks are being exhibited by all the fine lingerie shops. In the thickest and warmest of crepe de chine, with regular Sarah Bernhardt sleeves, coming down to the hand. In white, cream, pale pink, blue and mauve. They are the most enchanting things, elaborate with drawnwork, tucks and hemstltchipg. There Is very little embroidery and flares are giving place to plalta. On the Riviera these frocks will be worn often with fur coats. Shoes aad stockings will be light • The latest stockings to startle tte French capital have an Insert up the front shaped like the old lace ones )n which our mothers used to rejoice, of heavy embroidery, in colors and gold. It is a fashion that requires fine ankles, and as that is a thing vefy few French women have, it Is unii|i to spread to any great extent Sports Hat and Bag of Matching Plaid Leather: A new version of the sports ensemble finds expression in ti e . hat and bag of notching plaid leather. Jaunty little hats in semi-cloche styles, turned up pertly In front or all tround, are particularly adaptable to leather.^; Bags may be had in trim envelope models, large balloon or pouch effects. The bright colors dominating in both articles are used to relieve the color monotony of a strictly tailored outfit. For occasional use is a prerty bag of black reindeer and fancy r>M kid. To carry out the color scheme, gold- Black Hose Ankles may be thick, and frpquently are, but stockings continue to he thin. So sheer are the hose now b<ung exhibited in the smart shops that it is difficult to determine their exact shade when they are on. The gim metal shade looks like very sheer black chiffon. Real black is beginning again to make an occasional appearance after long retirement. colored moire is used for lining aa4£ fittings. Though envelope-like In ap* pearance, it has a gold kid strap aa< deep Inner pockets, which are separated by thev triple frame. Enter Shawls! There Is no immigration quota law in effect when it comes to shawla. Their ability to enter and engage upoft successful and popular American careers does not depend on whether they come from Spain, Italy, Japan or China. The general rule laid down, however, for the evening shawls now so decidedly popular is that they be of white crepe de chine at least 54 inches wide, heavily and elaborately embroidered ih flower designs of btffc llant coloring and possess hAd-knda ted fringe 18 to 36 Inches In depth, f Velvet Ribbon Used Or Velvet ribbon is seen as a trimmlSp on all types of frock, but partlcalskfl on,.dance and dinner frocks. ?.