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of-dark blue clothe and a little peak cap lay a few yards distant. It wa^s the face of his dead love. " He stooped and pressed passionate kisses upon the pale lips. Then lie pulled his brandy flask from his pocket and poured a little of the spirit through them. ; •* 4 • Presently the girl's eyelids quivered. "Do not feaii," cried Eric, gently. "You are safe. Are you feeling better?" "My head," she breathed faintly ;"the pain is terrible." Then, suddenly re­ membering, she cried wildly: "That man, where is lie? O, pray don't, leave me, I am so frightened." To delay medical aid would perhaps prove serious. lie scarcely liked to AN EVENING LULLABY. Kew and Very Novel» • ThoiP Successful, Method. V A good story is told of a youi who.had gained'access to the a one of the richest and most arlsl families in the city. He fell if with the only daughter of the \ and tried to ingratiate himself her in every possible manner, esp^x. ciallly by bringing her the latest pub­ lications. One day the father of the young lady found one of these books lying on the table, and- began glanei^ 'through It. in one of the chapters he*found a num­ ber of words underlined with a lead „ pencil--not beautiful passages, but in­ significant words as "I" and "you." He turned over leaf after leaf, and found everywhere the same thing. He connected Up the underlined words, and read as follows: "Dear­ est Fraeulein: "Will it insult you if I tell you that I adore you, and " o In short, a' love letter of the mostu gushing description, and closing with' the suggestive words: "Answer in the next chapter." Then he . took a lead pencil, under­ lined some words in the next chapter, wrapped the, book in a piece of paper, and' handed it to the footman, whom he instructed to take it back to the young gentleman. - The latter opened the' volume, his heart throbbing like a sledgehammer, and found the words' underlined in the next chapter. He road as follows: "You young scoundrel! If you dare to cross the threshold of ray house again, I shall kick you c- . of the win­ dow."--New York Mercury. j The day is done and in the west The afterglow is gleaming; j,A»d sweet the nestlings are at rest-- •l-J^'entli downy wings are dreaming. {The owl hoots in the thicket drear, In the elm his vigils keeping. (.While mother sings in tones so clear j And ba-by lies unif> sleeping;, ,Sleep, sleep, gently sleep. While the owls their vigils keep. Idly dreaming, " I Moonbeams gleaming j. While my baby lies asleep. !The soothing notes in cadence fall, i And vesper bells are ringing. jf>ear mamma sings a madrigal While baby's arms are clinging. J Nocturnal winds are howling, drear And rippling waves are flowing, •Still mammarsings to baby dear Sweet love seeds softly sowing. Sleep, sleep, gently sleep. While the stars from heaven pee I Wake not, dearie, . • You are weary, i Sleep, mydarling, gently sleep. Saw a Meteoric Stone Fall. Mr. J. F. Black,a farmer, living about nine miles from Ottawa, Kan., saw a small meteorite fall on his land late In the afternoon of April I) last, and going to the spot where it fell, picked it up. It weighs thirty-one ounces and con­ tains a little iron, but consists in the main of stony material. New Zealand's Gems. Agate-hunters from Germany are now exploring New Zealand with very prom­ ising results. Blue and white topaz •and splendid specimens of amethyst have been discovered by them, as well as large pieces of quartz so tilled with slender, rutile crystals as to resemble masses of matted hair. • "l\-. Java's Man-Ape. - Prof, Marsh, of Yale, has recently an­ nounced his opinion that the remarka­ ble remains of a skull, teeth and Other tossil bones found by I)r. Dnbo's in 'Java-belonged to on annual tlint "was not human, but itpresen cq ;i form.: intermediatebetween man and the high­ er apes." This opinion confirms the be­ lief of the discovert r of tIw• bonis, who called the animal pithe.anthropos, or "ape-man." The bones were found in ancient volcanic deposits, and belong, Prof. Marsh thinks, to the age known as the Pliocene. New Kind of Kites. Meteorologists are now trying to study the atmosphere high above the ground with the aid of self-recording barometers and thermometers, etc., sent up in kites. This has resulted in a great improvement in the forms of kites, which are now constructed 011 scientific principles. At the headquar­ ters of the Weather Bureau in Wash­ ington box-shaped kites, with open ends and sides partly covered with silk, are used. Instead of twine or cord, fine piano wire is employed to hold the kite. At tiie Blue Hill Observatory, near Bos­ ton, box-shaped kites have been sent up to an elevation of almost a mile above sea-level. ;WRRA HIS OLD Much Ensineerjmt Skill Required to Bet the Poles Properly. • Telephone construction in the Rocky . Mountains is anything but child's play, and is attended with a great deal of hardship. The line built from Leadville to Aspect several years ago is a case in PQiji|.' it took two months'ip cover the entire lengtfri, forty-eight miles.,/In or­ dinary construction the poles would be sea forty-two to the mile, but at. certain points, where sUaj^- ltims were neces­ sary, th^ainl^iV.^vophi" sometimes be increased 'to ^ta^nt^-ftve to the mile. The members off tlief construction gang had to be its expeii^s axmeu as tliej were as linemen, for^vlien timber was encountered a path of 200 feet 011 each side of the line had to be cleared in or­ der that wires might not be broken when trees were blown over by the ter­ rific blasts which at times prevail in that region. A great deal of the comparative slow­ ness of the installation was owing to the inability of the workmen to labor in such a ra rifled atmosphere. At one point the wires Were strung at an ele­ vation of 12,000 feet above the sea level. In such an altitude the lineman soon becomes completely tired; after lie lias climbed two or three poles he has to take a rest to recuperate his en­ ergies. The preparation of the holes for poles, which would have been tedi­ ous in similar ground even in an ordi­ nary atmosphere, was an especially slow and fatiguing operation. It was often necessary to blast a hole for the pole by the use of giant powder, and an ex-miner, who had had an extensive experience with explosives, was assign­ ed to the job. The digging of one pole hole would sometimes occupy liini for a whole day, working honestly. Over 300 pounds of powder were used on the line for this purpose. When the continental divide was reached the poles had to be aban­ doned and the wires were placed in a submarine cable, which was buried in a two-foot trench for a distance of 7.600 feet. The advisability of abandoning aerial construction at this pOinUwas demonstrated by the experience of the company that maintains the Denver and Leadville line. At one point 011 that line. Mosquito Pass, the poles were orig­ inally set seventy feet apart. As soon as the wires were covered with sleet they promptly snapped and the line was useless. Double the number of poles were then used, with the same result. The space between the poles was then 1 educed to twenty-five-feet, but as soon as the sleet came the line was swept down flat. Eventually an underground cable was laid for two and a half miles, and there has been no trouble since.-- Denver Field and Farm. j "No, I do not admire the 'new wom­ an'. at all," cried Major Ashlojv. be­ tween the whiffs of a cigar.. • , " I "How is that?" inquired Lieutenant jBolton. , "For my pa,rt I think a girl •looks awfully, jolly seated on a bicycle, Or playing cricket. "The'Major shook his head. "(Jive me the girl of twenty years ago, womanly and inodest. The girl of •o-dav I do not care for; she is far too bold and--well--masculine." ! Charlie Bolton laughed heartily. "Look here. Major," he-said; "I'll bet you anything you like that you'll end -by marrying a 'new woman.' " "I shall never at all, Charlie, ni.v boy. I have cared for but one woman in my life, and I do not think I ever sliaii another.' Charlie rose and went over to tlie Majorj^ad^ rale." lie said, "I am afraid W some painful memory Rmight hate guessed you remaining single." ou are right. Charlie," lie renli'd. pPyaying that you have called up a l^rnful memory in my life, but do not apologize for doing so. Sit down. lad. and'I will tell you all about it-this memory. It was Nineteen years ago." began the Major/ "when I first met Alice Dare--I had just reached the age of 21. She was 18 and very beauti­ ful. I think I fell in love at flrst sight. "She was with lrer mother at a gar­ den party. vtbere I was also a guest. - She woroA simple white dress, with a idustagj^^Bblden-cyed marguerites, tvf 'A JjM'gu havtfimmed •PJYP&Slowers. our meetings were fre- wnicu CAUSED nis ULOOD T KUS COI.D. Too Careful of the Bhbyy There are few things ' thsft be carried to excess, however excellent they may be, in themselves considered. Even a baby may be ,fussed over, and fidgeted over, .$»d taken -care "effj" ahd coddled, till it' is in dangef b"f growing up a weakling, if it grows' up' a^ all. On this polnWjihe New "torli Tribune lately had sensible prfra]rraphs. "When my first child' Was ' born." said Mrs. A., "I had the iisiialt young mother's craze for a daintily kept baby. The layette was one of those gorgeous gift affairs, with frocks which Victoria, I am sure, would have thought much too fine for the royal children--be­ sides every conceivable fantasie in which the most luxurious-minded in­ fant could by any possibility be attir­ ed. I used to gloat .over the sachet- scented, exquisite little belongings, and the moment I was up and about after baby's birtli I began to play doll with my small daughter, decking her out in first one thing and then an­ other. <0 "I had one of those fussy French nurses, immaculate as a new pin; and between us we scrubbed and polished up that poor baby until it's a marvel it didn't fade away before , our eyes. After a bath in almond meal-softened water, with plenty of Lubin and sweet- snielling talcum, she did look a darling in her sheer, beribboned draperies, and I. foolish mother, never noticed her languor and waxen skin. "I* did take note that her- /hair wouldn't grow; that worried me, for, no matter how becomingly dressed, a child with a billiard-ball style of coif­ fure does not realize the fondest dreams of the maternal heart. I sewed dolls' crimps in lier bonnets, which was all very well for outings, but inadequate for home, so finally Itcalled in the doc­ tor. "He was a grumpy person, very curt and not over-civil at times. 'Bathed too much,' he said, briefly. 'Look at her skin--all the life washed out of it. Too much care given that child. Let her get dirty and stay dirty.- Nothing better for children than.Judicious neg­ lect.' "It was a new idea and I went to work at it. Very shortly we went to our country place, and I noticed the farmers' babies who at$ almost any kind of country food, sat in puddles and went bare-headed whether the rain fell or the sun scorched. They were inevitable victims of future dys­ pepsia, but the fact "remained that, as babies, they were sturdy and rosy, and mine wasnt; and I concluded to try judicious neglect. "I invested in gingham pinafores and stout shoes, dumped a load of clean sand at the side door, and in­ augurated a perpetual feast of mud- pies. Pauline was instructed not to say 'Don't,' save in extreme moments, and baby began to live the life of a young animal left to the beneficent care of sunshine and fres}i air, undisturbed save at regular intervals for food and sleep. "I bought a pig that she might hang over the pen and tickle piggy's back with a stick. It afforded her hours of pure rapture to echo the pig's grunts with her silvery coo. and in some mys­ terious fashion the association was conducive to health. I n ££uld understand why, only it wfeS. ¥ She would always return blooming* and serine, and ft itlrflifllfll l jililt| Y**"" a f t e r h a v i n g ^ p e r i o d tfr"I bought feed themi,£j&r'|lbves rffid pets about the "finding tfcftt^aflftlials gave interest but no iOvei^jtStibulus to the baby nerves. In short, I never had my wax dolly again; but in the autumn 1 carried home a blooming, sturdy little maid whose splendid spir­ its and perfect health more than com­ pensated for occasional mud stains and torn pinafores." Burials. There is at least one country in the world where it costs nothing to die. In some of the cautons of Switzerland all the dead, rich as well as poor, are baried at the public expense. Coffins and all other necessary articles are furnished on application to certain un­ dertakers designated by the govern­ ment. Everything connected with the interment is absolutely gratuitous, in­ cluding the grave and the religious service. All classes avail themselves freely of the law. The Ruby." ";T The ruby in the center of the, Maltese cross 011 the top of the British crown is the stone that was given to the Black L'rtnce by King Pedro of Castile after 'tfter* battle of Nejara. Henry V., of England, wore it in. his helu&jt at the battle^ of Agincourt. When people try to show all the lovg there is in them, they arc tried for iu. aauity. ' # leave licr while he rode off for a doc­ tor, yet what else could be done? Stooping, he lifted the small form in his strong arms and bore her gently to the roadside, where the grass was growing fresh and green, and the hedge would shelter her from the sun's rays. Ten minutes later the inhabitants of the next village were surprised to see a gentleman riding a bicycle, in his shirt sleeves, stop at the doctor's door. A Phosphorescent Party. Monsieur Henry, of the Paris-Acad­ emy of Sciences, has invented a phos­ phorescent starch with which surpris­ ing effects can be produced. Used as a face-powder, it makes the countenance glow in a dark room with mysterious radiance. Recently a "5-o'clock tea" was given in Paris after dark, 110 light being employed except that supplied-by phosphorescent starch sprinkled over everything in the room. The carpet, the ceiling, the pictures 011 the walls, the furniture, the teacups, the flowers, the faces, shoulders and dresses of the ladies all glowed and gleamed, making a spectacle that was at once startling and beautiful. Oldest Man in the World. According to statistics collected in Cermany the oldest man known to be living anywhere 011 the earth is Bruno Cotrim, a negro born in Africa, but now living in 11 io Janeiro. Upon the same authority is based the seemingly incred­ ible statement that there are o,883 per­ sons living in Bulgaria, each of whom has reached, or passed, the age of 100 years, making one centenarian to every 1,000 inhabitants of that country! Cer­ many., with a population of 52,000,000, claims only 78 centenarians, and France, with a poulation of 40,000,000, 21.'5 centenarians, while Ireland, whose population numbers only 4,<100,000, has 57S centenarians. CHARLIE UOSF. AND WENT OVEITTOTHE MAJOR'S SIDE. ^i^stroylnK Friction. After calling attention to the fact that man was content with the use of oil to keep machinery in running order until lie began to ride the bicycle, when he demanded some better labor-saver and invented ball-bearings, the Scientific American proceeds to illustrate aiid de­ scribe some recent applications of such bearings. They are employed lor wag­ on and carriage wheels, for the carrier- wheels of cable roads, and for the shafts of swift-running machinery. They practically dispense with the use of the oil can and greatly reduce the amount of friction to be overcome, thus adding to the effective power of all ma­ chines in which they are used. The singular fact is noted that Prof. Boys, of London, showed experimentally that ball-bearings, when properly construct­ ed, are practically proof aginst wear. 11c demonstrated this fact by weighing the balls of a bicycle-bearing when they wore new. and again after they had been subjected to long service. They showed 110 loss of weight. Those who know Grant Allen say he invariably looks as if he were recover­ ing from a severe illness. Brander Matthews' new volume of short stories, "Tales of Fantasy and Fact," is among the most recent an­ nouncements. Lady Henry Somerset writes in the Outlook an appreciative sketch of her friend and companion-in-arnis, Miss Frahces E. Willard. Henry Norman is said to be prepar­ ing a book with the modest title, "How I Became a Prophet." It is to bo com 'posed chiefly of clippings from his earlier articles. Gen. ^itzliugh Lee, Consul General to Cuba, has written for the Century an account of "The^^lure of the Hamp­ ton .Conference". into which ho introduces an unpublished letter from Jefferson Davis. John Bigelow--Franklin's biographer, and Bryant's and Tildeu's--is summer­ ing at his country seat, "The Squirrels," at Highland Falls, on the Hudson. His younger son. Capt. John Bigelow, Jr.,,author of "The Principles of Strategy," is studying the battle of Saratoga, and his younger son, Poult- ,ney Bigelow, specialist in Kaiser Wil- helm anecdotes, has gone to a cool place in South Africa. The Annals of the Aaierlcan Acad­ emy of Political and Social Science for July contains an article by Martin A. Knapp, a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission, condemning the present act as self-contradictory. Mr. Knapp says the act prohibits dis­ crimination and yet puts a premium upon it by attempting to maintain the principle of competition and prohibit­ ing railway pooling. The third volume of Henri Roche- fort's "Adventures of My Life" las just, appeared from the press *11 Paris, and is quite sensational in its Interest. It contains the journalist's apology for t he commune. He admits that h's sym­ pathies were with the commune, though he denies having taken any ac­ tive part in it. The most thrilling por­ tion of the volume is his account of his escape from the French prison near the Island of Noumea to an English ship. American Soapstonc. In the Bagged Mountains, in Albe­ marle County, Virginia, the scene of one of l'oe's weird tales, exists a great deposit of soapstone which is said to be the finest in the world. It was dis­ covered only about twelve years ago. but now a small colony exists at the S]M>t and three quarries have been open­ ed. The stone, which is very hard and fine-grained, is cut out in blocks aver­ aging nine tons Tn weight, and after­ ward is sawed into slabs. It is em­ ployed, among other things, for tanks in chemical laboratories, tubs and sinks in laundries, linings for fireplaces, grid­ dles. which need no greasing when made of soapstone, tables'and fittings in hospitajs and dissecting-rooms. Acid is said to have no effect upon the stone. WF.LT, TnE Tt.UTn IS, I AM IN I.OVE. my wife, dear? That is, if you care for me well enough." , Jessie did not seem at all surprised, for she put her two little hands upon his sleeve. "I knew it was me you meant all the while," she said, blushing. "You silly fellow!" Does Woman Earn Her Keep? Thousands of wejnen work In the mines of Belgium, England and Corn­ wall^ In the first-named country they formerly worked from twelve to six­ teen hours a day, with no Sunday rest. The linen-thread spinners of New Jer­ sey, according to the report of the Labor Commissioner, are ' in one branch -of the industry compelled to stand 011 a stonS" floor in water the year round, most of the time barefoot, With a spray of water from a revolving cyM inder flying constantly against tlgl breast; and the coldest night in vgM >tev,-- as1 well as the warmest in sfl tner, these poor creatures must^H their homes with water drippinjfl their underclothing along tlieliH • because there could not be sojfl Lads of Enterprise. <0f Two enterprising boys have erected a small shed near the entrance to Oak- woods Cemetery and do a good busi­ ness ou Sundays checking the bicycles of" riders who wish to visit the cemo£ tery, but are not permitted to enter witli their wheels. ..>• -f r »