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QflRHP *m V ; * . . :• * v :V'J- .. •• ' ; . ' . •• " 1 • « •i THE LINE RIDER. Over the mesa, 'neatb the milk-white moon, Leisurely riding through the wonder- night, i!Went Sanderson, line rider, full of dreams Of young Dolores, sweetest of brown maids. (Something" lies hidden in the coyote grass.) Only a month ago those canyon walls. Moon-white, beheld a shadowy train wind down- Contra bandista, laden with mescal; Pepe their chief:, exultant, almost home. (Something lies sullen in the coyote grass.) Apache rumors had preceded them, „ Herding white settlers homeward. San­ derson, Frontier wise, watched the canny Mexi­ cans, Saw |hem untroubled; couched, and got nis prey. 0 (Something lies vengeful in the coyote grass.) „ Musing, his firm mouth smiling now and then V' With reminiscent tenderness, he rode, Unheeding how that Pepe had fled un­ scathed, - Until his horse, snorting and trembling, ' shied-- ' - + ' v;. - | (A sudden spring from out the coyote ;Ygrass!) -| Oh, brown Dolores! musing 'neath the i;; ', ' 'moon ' • That" floods the homely old adobe-walls, Ask Pepe, when he comes to you to-night, Whose horse he rides? What makes his . dagger dark? * . (Something lies silent in the coyote grass!) --Land of Sunshine. ' THE ACTOK'S DOUBLE. :v ; We were talking about spirit mani­ festations at the Thirty-nifiTeCIUb, and retailing the usual second or third-hand accounts of deceased ladies and gen­ tlemen showing themselves to their sor­ rowing relatives. "It is strange the tricks which our brains will sometimes play us," said Dr. Macpherson. "I remember once seeing a ghost myself, and I can tell you that the sensation is a very curious one. It was a good many years ago, in mjfc examination days, and I had been sitting up until the early hours 'cram­ ming.' Everybody in the house had long since gone to bed, where I ought to have been myself, so I was rather surprised when I glanced up from my book to see somebody sitting at the ta­ ble where.I myself had been a few mo­ ments before writing. I felt quite star­ tled for an instant, until I recognized the intruder. He was a little hazy, but I could see plainly enough who It was." "A dead relative?" asked Major Den­ nett, who was a firm believer in good, old-fashioned ghosts. Macpherson answered in his peculiar­ ly quiet way: "No, it was myself. The experience of seeing one's own ghost is not altogether unusual, I believe." --"Now,-! do not think yourexperienee was half so remarkable as one of mine," said Gilbert Dane, the well- known actor and manager of the How­ ard Theater, who happened to be there that night. Dane is not a member of the Thirty-nine, but had come with Macpherson. Most of the brain special­ ist's friends are in the profession, a fact which is, perhaps, due to the year which he himself spent on the stage as young man. "My story begins prosaically," said the actor, when we begged to hear it *'I lost the latchkey with which I let myself into the theater, and took some­ body else's to the locksmith's to have a •duplicate made. I agreed to call for it the following morning as I was going up to town for rehearsal. I was living at Putney then, and we were actively preparing a play which deserved a bet­ ter fate than it received, if thought and preparation go for anything, for I came near making myself ill over it. I was feeling out of sorts on the morning that I called for the latchkey, and when the locksmith swore positively that he had given me the thing already--that less thaij ten minutes previously I had come for the key, paid for it, and taken it away with me--I will confess that I lost my temper, and stormed at the fellow, but I could not get him to budge a line from his story. He seemed to have an idea that I was playing a practical joke, and the only result of my talking was that I nearly lost my train at Waterloo. It.was moving when I reached the plat­ form, and I had to run for the only com­ partment of which the door was open, near the end of the train. "The compartment contained two other passengers, but if I glanced at them at all I noticed nothing except that each was pretty well hidden be­ hind a daily paper. I had fortunately bought my own paper before calling at the locksmith's, and I speedily follow ed their example. So far the story is painfully commonplace. Now comes the truly remarkable experience which ihas stamped the doings of that day in­ delibly on my memory." .; The actor paused to strike a match and relight his cheroot, which he had allowed to go out, and we all watched him in silence, wondering what was coming. Macpherson only had the air of a man who had heard the story be­ fore. "I had become rather interested in my paper," Dane went on, when the cigar was alight again, "and did not notice my companions talking until .one of them started telling an anecdote. Then it gradually dawned upon me that the story he was telling was one that I considered my own particular property, and when I listened it struck me that the story was being told, not only in my exact words, but also in my own voice. "The story and the voice startled me but it is difficult to describe my feelings when I put down my paper to glance at the narrator." "It was yourself?" asked Major Den nett excitedly as the actor paused, and Dane nodded. "Yes. gentlemen, I saw seated at the other end of the compartment, by the window, opposite his companion, a fig­ ure that was an exact facsimile of the reflection which I see in my glass every day when I have dressed for the part of a respectable citizen. It was my­ self, complete in every detail of face and attire.", "An optical delusion, I suppose?" I and the actor shook his > . » ; . • "No; that was the first idea that oc­ curred to,me--that I had been working and. worrying too much over the new play„ and my brain had played me a trick. The unconcerned way in which the third man glanced at tfie encour^ aged me in the belief, for t|e likeness, unless I was imagining t*^=was enough to attract instant attention. I won­ dered whether there was actually a man sitting and talking where I had seen and heard my facsimile; for the third man, an'ordinary, every-day in­ dividual, had not spoken a word to him, and might from his expi-esslon have been listening to his anecdote or simply thinking. I was relieved when he laugh­ ed at the point when my 'double,' as I began to call bis- companion, came to the joke of the story, but when he open­ ed his mouth it was only to increase the mystery of the affair, for it showed me that my double possessed my name, as well as my voice, my dress, my face, my .figure. "I began to wonder then not whether the man at the window was a reality, but whether I was really myself, and it certainly would not have surprised me if I had looked in a mirror and found it reflect back a face that was unfamil­ iar to me. It is strange how quickly a single phenomenon will sometimes change all one's fixed opinions on a sub­ ject of the supernatural. I felt I must speak to the man if only to pi'ove whether I was awake or dreaming, and. I seized the opportunity of introducing myself by hearing 'my double' called by my name. • " 'Excuse me,' I said, addressing him, •but I heard your friend, just now call you "Mr. Dane." I wonder whether we are related at all, for that happens to be my name, and We seem to bear a striking similarity to one ahother.' " 'My double' turned and surveyed me through his single eyeglass in ex­ actly the same manner as that with which I should have surveyed a stran­ ger who addressed me in the train. " 'I really do not know whether we are related,' he said, in the voice I use when I wish to be slightly patronizing. 'I am Gilbert Dane of the Howard The­ ater,' and he actually handed me one of my own cards. "There was something in the substan­ tial nature of the familiar bit of paste­ board that brought back a little of my common sense $ind relieved me from the state of stupefaction into which the phenomenon had driven me. " 'Gome, this is a very clever trick,' I said with a smile, which I am afraid was rather feeble. 'You have certainly succeeded in startling me. Now I should like your own card, so that I may know whom to congratulate on a very clever performance.' " "And what did the mystery do?" I in­ quired with interest when the actor paused. "He did exactly what I should have done if a stranger addressed me in the same manner. He became angry and asked me what I meant and whom I called myself. " 'Well, until to-day I have been in the habit of calling myself Gilbert Dane of the Howard~Theater- he had been pondering for some time.** "But be must have haunted you like a shadow beforehand," put in"-Major Dennett, "to learn all your gestures and that. I should hardly think the result was worth the trouble." Macpherson] who had been sitting quietly in the background, surprised us by replying for his friend. ."Excuse me, Major," he said, in .his usual quiet way, "but you make a mis­ take there. Any man would have been glad to give £100 down for the engage­ ment which Dane offered me straight­ away. It cost me less than £10 for clothes, and about a month of study; and njy time was not worth £90, a month then, or I should not have thought of giving up medicine and taking to the stage."--Tid-Bits. . ! / Uses for the Orange. In view of the prospects of the future developments in orange production in this country, attention has been drawn to the supplementary uses to which the products of the orange tree can be put. In their natural state the orange flow­ ers serve to flavor drinks, candies, etc. When distilled they yield the much-es­ teemed orange flower water, and an essential oil called iieroli. When treat­ ed with sugar, the flowers form a deli­ cious candy, which is said to be not only exceptionally palatable, but more wholesome than many other produc­ tions of the confectioner's art. The flowers are selected with Care, weigh­ ed and immersed in cold water for twenty-four hours, after which they are dipped in cold water, rewashed, and finally spread out on a linen cloth or sheet to dry. When quite dry they are laid out1 in low, wide dishes, each flower separate from its fellow, and then sprinkled with double their weight of .sugar, administered at intervals over a period of eight days. They are mean­ while moved and kept in the shade. At the expiration of that time they are once more placed in the sun, whose rays dry them completely. The orange flower water is made of equal propor­ tions in weight of blossoms and water, which yield on an average about one- fifth of a pound weight of water and flowers and aqua nanfa, with about .007 per cent of essential oil. At pres­ ent the best manufactories of orange flower water are to be found in France, where a spirit called petit grain is pro­ duced by the distillation of the leaves, --Pittsburg Dispatch. Iwas beginning, keeping as cool as I could, when 'my double' interrupted me in a tone which I still recognized perfectly as my own. " 'Weill you had better not do so any more,' he said, sharply, 'or you will find yourself in the hands of the police. I see" that you have been imitating my dress, too, which I cannot help, but the use of my name is another thing.' "We had just reached Vauxhall, our first stopping place, as he spoke, and a ticket collector who knows me by sight came to the door. My double caught his eye first I wish you would tell this gentle­ man who I am,' he said, and the man answered promptly; 'Certainly, sir; you are Mr. Dane, the actor.' He looked startled when I asked him the same question. 'I should call you a very good imita­ tion,' he said when he had recovered from his surprise. "This was beepming decidedly uncom­ fortable, and I began to wonder how I could prove to anybody that I was not good imitation of myself. The ticket collector's ready acceptance of my dou­ ble as the real 'Mr. Dane' showed me how helpless I should be in an appeal to anyone who did not know me well. But I felt that it would not do for two Gilbert Danes to remain at large. The question which one was to surrender the title nmst be settled at once. It struck me that the easiest way to do it would be to go together to the theater and submit the questions to the com­ pany assembled for the rehearsal. I suggested this course to my facsimile, and he surprised me by accepting it readily. • -- 'I warn you that I shall detain you when it is settled* and send for the po­ lice,' he said in my haughtiest voice. "It was what I was intending to do with him." "And did you both go back?" some­ body asked. The actor paused to light another cheroot. Dane nodded. "Yes, together. The third man left us at Waterloo," he said. "You may not believe it, but I felt rather uneasy as I approached the stage door, and the fact that I had no latchkey to open it for myself,seemed a calamity. 'My double' calmly produced his and marched me into my own theater with the air of a proprietor. Then he closed the door behind him, and, changing his voice and manner, suddenly turned' quietly: 'And now. Mr. Dane, I will puzzle you no more, but apologize for giving you so much trouble, which I hope you will think repaid by the enjoyment of a unique sensation. The fact is that I am very anxious to go on the stage under your auspices, and I thought that this would be the best way to obtain an in­ troduction to you, and at the same time show you a specimen of my acting in the part of your understudy. You will admit at least that I understand the art of making up. Now are you going to give me an engagement or to send for the police." "And you gave him the engagement, I suppose?" I asked. "Yes; I have always regretted that he threw it up before the year was out, and returned to his. former profession that of a medical man." "It was he, of course, that called for the latchkey In the morning?" "Yes; he had been in the shop when I ordered it, and the fact finally deter­ mined him to carry out the affair which An Apple Problem. Once upon a time there were two old men who sat in the market early every morning and sold apples. Each one had thirty apples, and one of the old men sold two for a cent, and the other old man sold three for a cent. In that way the first old man got fifteen cents for his basket of apples, while the second old man received ten cents; so that together they made twenty-five cents each day. But one day the old apple-man who sold three for a cent was too sick to go to the market, and -be asked his neighbor to take his ap­ ples and sell them for him. This the other old man very kindly consented to do, and when be got to the market with the two baskets of apples, he said to himself, "I will put all the apples into one basket, for it will be easier than picking them out of two baskets." So he put the sixty apples into one basket, and he said to himself, "Now, if I sell two apples for one cent, and my old friend sells three for one cent, that is the same thing as selling five apples for two cents. Therefore I will sell five for two cents." When he had sold the sixty apples he found he had only twenty-four cents, which was right; because there are twelve fives in sixty, and twice twelve are twenty-four. But if the other old man had been there, and each had sold his apples sep­ arately, they would have received twenty-five cents. Now, how is that explained?--St. Nicholas. 5! A TOPICS FOB FARMERS Y<. A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR OUR RURAL FRIENDS. jo . ' Joan of Arc Before the Judges. The questions addressed to Joan, and her answers day by day, have been transmitted in the records of the court. To read them is to understand the bru­ tal ferocity with which she was tor­ tured, until, turning on her accuser, she cried, "You call yourself my judge; -be careful what you do, for I am indeed sent by the Lord, and you place your­ self in great danger." To answers almost sublime succeeded answers filled with naive ingenuity. Questions were plied, traitorously con-, ceived, concerning the visions which had come to her, and the celestial voices which she heard, and which throughout her mission had counseled and guided her. But on this point she was firmly] silent. It was as though it were a se­ cret which she was forbidden to betray. She consented to take an oath to speak nothing but the truth, but concerning her visions she made a reservation. You could cut my head off before I would speak," she'protested. At night, in the darkness of her dungeon, St. Catherine and St. Margaret appeared to her, and celestial voices comforted her. She avowed that she had seen them with the eyes of her body * * * and when they leave me," she added, I wish that they would take me with them."--Century. Money in Wint^r^Fattenins of Sheep --Handling; Corn in the Stalk--Glover a Profitable Crop--Bny Only the Best Stock--Odds and Ends. -T-- , Fattening Sheep and Lambs. There Is always, money to be made in Winter fattening of sheep, and still more in the fattening of lambs, which in this case are yejirlings.. But to make the money requires experience in buy­ ing the right class sof stock to feed, and still more in feeding so as to keep the animal always from becoming cloyed. This is very difficult, and requires both close attention and practical discrimi­ nation in the kinds and amounts of feed to be given. A thrifty growing animal is always preferable to one that Is scrawny and poor. If digestion in either sheep or lamb is once injured, the animal never fully recovers. Hence the beginning of feeding ought always to be very light, and part of it should be of bran and a teaspoonful of oil meal mixed with it for. each animal at a, feed­ ing. After: a week's feeding on this a few oats, whole, may be a added, les­ sening the amount of bran at the same time. As the weather grows colder, whole corn may substituted for one- third and finally .pue-lialf pf the oats. With this mixed feed, bran, oil meal, oats and corn sheep will seldom get off their feed if it is limited to what will be eaten clean each day. Handtinsr Corn in the Stalk. Well-eared corn is very heavy to han­ dle. It takes thirty to thirty-five hills of corn to make a stook, and even after it has dried out as much as it will be­ fore winter, such a stook is pretty heavy lifting on alhigh wagon. When­ ever it is desired to clear a field of corn, low-wheeled wagons with low racks should be used. Two, men can work to much better advantage than one, the one on the ground cutting the hill against which tliestook is built and lift­ ing the stook from the bottom, while the one on the load grasps the top, plac­ ing it where he wishes on the load, and keeping each stodk separate as far as possible. This makes It much easier to unload. With a low wagon and two men not afraid of^work, a large clear­ ing can be made in a corn field by one day's labor, and the corn be drawn un­ der shelter, where it can be husked dur­ ing weather too stormy or cold to per­ mit comfortable litlsking in the field. Raise Clover. Clover will go a long way toward making a farm profitable. Think how many ways it can be utilized--for pas­ ture, for hay, for feeding the stock or feeding the land; sometimes serving the double purpose, of feeding the stock and then going back to the soil in the mannrial product. Fear not raising too much; it wiII always IndT mar- ket. - -- - Becrin -with the Best Stock. It is very difficult for a farmer who Is just beginning in this business, and who finds all sorts of expenses accumu­ lating, to make up his mind to secure only the best stock, no matter what it cost. Yet if he really understands his business this is what he will do if his purchase has .to be restricted to a sin­ gle animal. Breeding from this he can soon stock up to the extent that his farm requires, ancles profits on his live stock increase will te generally greater than from the grefwing and sale of crops. It is the advantage of the live stock on the farm that if managed as it should be, that,j| will make the farm pay while it is be;ing all the time made richer, and that thus it will make the- growing of crops, ultimately profitable. Mannrinn in the Fall. There is much leas waste by fall ma­ nuring than is commonly supposed. If fresh manure frtstm stables is drawn out as made and Spread over the sur­ face, the winter Sttbws and rains leach through it, and Whatever soluble fer­ tility it contains slowly soaks into the soil. Unless the7 'surface is frozen or the land is flooded -from running water coming from above, there is never any washing of the surface soil to carry off Its fertility. On tbe contrary, the ma­ nure is much better mixed with the soil than it could b«! if left until spring, when if plowed uilder the rains seldom come heavy enough to thoroughly soak the manure in the sj>il. Forest Leaves. It is very often advised by agricul­ tural writers to j*<i/into the forests and secure leaves tot "bedding for horses and other stock, t There is no objection to this if other beting cannot be easily obtained. But thfe leaves are procured with rtie idea that','they are a valuable addition to the ri&nure heap. On the contrary they are of very little value there, as when rotted down a very large heap of leaves Wul make only an In­ significant amoui\'t of leaf mould, whose chief vald'^ is in the potash it contains. But in the forest the leaves serve an important purpose, keeping the soil moist under them. m f" 'pf -- H worth only $8.40 per ton, estimated In the same way. Strange to say, some closely allied species of grass showed high manurial value. The common crab grass (panicum sanguinale), stands third on the list, with ^ssalue of $13.39 per ton. One very remarkable fact Is the exceptional value of the poke berry. This Is given as $21.93, while the next on the list, bitter dock (the common runnex obtusifolius) is but $16.20; all the others down to the panic grass fol­ lowing each other in fractions of the dollar only between them. r Best Pigs from Old Sows. . | In looking out for young breeding sows, the farmer is too apt to overlook the sow that has borne one or two good litters jOff pigs, and Is now worth more as a breeder than at any former time of her life. So long as the sow is herself growing she cannot do full justice to furnishing the framework of the grow­ ing litter which she carries. Hence there are always one or more runts in litters from immature sows. The pigs from an old sow will be larger, framed and more vigorous in every way. They will also make better breeders than pigs from small, immature sows can be, however welt~tney may be fed. \ Manures for Onions. Ohions need rich land, but it must b^ land made rich by previous manuring rather than by application of fresh or even composted manure. In other words, the fertility must be diffused through the soil, so that it can make a solid seed bed. Fresh manure makes the soil too light,-so that, the roots of onions run down, and the crop becomes very largely scbllions. In all cases where'the soil is not naturally rich- enough to produce the largest crops of onions the deficiency must be made up with nitrogenous and mineral commer-: cial fertilizers, which will compact the soil rather than loosen it. •fhe Poultry House. • A flock of fifty hens is as large as is profitable in one pen. A house 8x20 or 25 feet, with liberal yard room, is about right. The hens should be con­ fined each day until they are through laying, so that none but absolutely fresh eggs will always be secured, and an honest man's reputation is thus sav­ ed from question. To Break Up a Sitting: Hen. I use a light frame two feet square and two feet high. I cover the top with a board, and around the four sides I have wire netting" about^ two-inch mesh. I put this frame in the yard among the other hens and enclose the criminal in it. She can see the flock, and while endeavoring to gain her lib­ erty she forgets her broody habit. A day or two in the box is enough.--Ex. Drainage. When water stands in pools in a field, drainage is necessary. If the Iffnd is uneven and'the subsoil of stiff clay, pools will be formed!, and remain until late in the spring. Tile drainage is best,- as it removes-the surface water by drawing off that below, thus mak­ ing the soil more porous, and permit­ ting the land to come into condition for plowing earlier in the spring. Have Windbreaks. Windbreaks are appreciated in win­ ter. To grow them set out a row or two of arbor vitae or Norway spruce, keeping the young plants trimmed the first year or two, and then permit them to grow undisturbed. Placed on the north side of a barn or house, the thick hedge (for that is what it will be), will add greatly to the protection of the buildings. Must Wait Upon the Servants. Considerable interest has been arous­ ed in England by the news that the Legislature of New Zealand has just passed a law creating a statutory half holiday for domestic servants. As- corcllng to the measure the employer is. obliged to turn every servant out of the house between 3 p. m. and 10 p. m. on one day each week. The half holiday is compulsory, not only in the sense that the employer is bound to grant it, but in the sense that the servant is bound to take It, and If any servant Is found at work during the statutory half holiday the unfortunate employer is liable to a fine of $25. Should the servant return for meals during the half holiday--and this is one of the most beautiful pro­ visions of the new law--the master or mistress wHJ have to minister to the wants of the domestic. Tinder the cir­ cumstances it is only natural that every hired girl In New Zealand will make it a point of coming home to tea on her half holiday, the privilege of being waited upon by one's employer being a right which no "lady help" would will ingly forego. Great Ctflrn State. Iowa is the be&t corn producing sfate. There are about 31,000,000 acres of farm land in t.h»;State, of which 26,- 000,000 are improved, and 16,000,000 cultivated. The? average farm con­ sists of 153 acres;,141,979 farmers work their own farmer and 58,987 are ten­ ants. Farm value i is $1,088,063,978, with mortgages amounting to $13S,- 585,000. Only 83,552 farms have mort­ gages of less thatt*42 per cent, of their value. The corn crdp of Iowa amounts to more than all its' other agricultural products combined.^-Itural World. It is usually said of the people who haven't a lick of sense on earth that they have very happy dispositions. Bulldog Stops a Runaway. Councilman Bungay, of Spokane, Wash., has a bulldog that is worth owning. Outside of keeping trouble­ some dogs away from the store and fighting worthless curs it developed a new power the other day. It stopped a runaway horse. Every one going out Jn East Sprague street knows the dog. He lies in front of Mr. Bungay's store, and is friendly to all who treat him kindly, but a terror to others. He was having a nice nap when he was awakened by a cry of "runaway." A delivery horse had broken the weight from the hitching strap and was com­ ing down Sprague street at a lively gait The dog saw what was up, and at once located the strap dragging $n the ground. He made a jump for one end, getting his teeth firmly fastened in it the first time. The speed of the horse was sufficient to jerk the dog into the air, but he held on to the strap all the time, and when he could brace himself for a moment would set hla feet Into the earth and jerk back. The horse could stand this only a short dis^ tance, finally being brought to a stand­ still. A number of men ran out and took the animal by the bridle, and as soon as they did so the dog let go of the strap, and shaking the dust off him­ self, sauntered back to the store, go­ ing to sleep in the same old spot A KENTUCKY RABBIT-HUNT. All Sorts of Costumes and of Horses Used. The men are dressed as they please, the ladies as they please; English blood gets expression, as usual, In Indepen­ dence absolute. There is a sturdy dis­ regard of all considerations of form. Someo men wear leggings, some high boots; a few huve brown shooting- co4ts. Most of them ride with the heel low and .the toes turned according to temperament The Southern woman's long riding-skirt has happily been laid aside. These young Dianas wear the usual habit; only the hat Is a derby, a cap, sometimes a beaver with a white veil, or a tam-o'slianter that has slipped down behind and left a frank bare head of shining hair. They hold the reins in either hand, and not a crop is to be seen. There are plenty of riding-whips, however, and sometimes one runs up the back of some girl's right arm; for that is the old-fashioned position for the whip when riding in form. On a trip like this, however, ev­ erybody rides to please his fancy, and rides anywhere but off his horse. The men are sturdy country youths, who in a few years will make good jty.pes of the beef-eating young English squire--sunburned fellows with big frames, open faces, fearless eyes, and a manner that is easy, cordial, kindly, independent. The girls are midway between the types of brunette and blonde, with a leaning towards the lat­ ter type. The extreme brunette Is as rare as is the unlovely blonde, whom Oliver Wendell Holmes differentiates from her dazzling sister with locks that have caught the light of the' sun. Ra- Sliant with freshness these girls are, and with good health and strength; round of figure, cigar of eye and skin, spirited, soft of voice, and slow of speech. There is one man on a sorrel mule. He is the host back at the big farm­ house, and he has given up every horse he has to guests. One of the girls hjjs a broad white girth running all the way aroiind both horse and saddle. Her habit is the most stylish In the field, she has lived a year in Washington, perhaps, and has had a finishing touch at a fashionable school in New York. Near her Is a young fel­ low on a black thoroughbred--a grad­ uate, perhaps, of Yale or Princeton. They rarely put on airs, couples like ,these, when they come back home, but drop quietly into their old places with friends and kindred. From respect to local prejudice, which has a hearty contempt for anything that is not car­ ried for actual use, she has left her riding-crop at home. He has let his crinkled black hair grow rather long, and has covered it with a blaek slouch hat. Contact with the outer world has made a difference, however, and it is enough to create a strong bond of sym­ pathy between these two, and to cause trouble between cOuntry-bred Phyllis, plump, dark-eyed, bare-headed, who rides~a pony that is~trained~to the hunt as many of the horses are, and young farmer Corydon, wTho is near her on an irongray. Indeed, mischief is brew­ ing among those four. At a brisk walk the line moves across the field, the captain at each end yelling to the men --only the men, for no woman Is ever anywhere but where she ought to be in Southern hunting-field--to keep it straight. "Billy," shouts the captain, with the mighty voice, "I fine you ten dollars." The slouch-hat and the white girth are lagging behind. It is a lovers' quarrel, and the girl looks a little flushed, while Phyllis watches smiling. "But you can compromise with me," adds the captain, and a jolly laugh runs down the line. Now comes a "rebel yell." Somewhere along the line a horse leaps forward. Other horses jump, too; ev­ erybody yells, and everybody's eye is on a little bunch of cotton that is being whisked with astonishing speed through the brown weeds. There is a massing of horses close behind it; the white girth flashes in the midst of the melee, and the slouch-hat is just be­ hind. The bunch of cotton turns sud­ denly, and doubles back between the horses' feet There is a great crash, and much turning, twisting and saw­ ing of bits. Then the crowd dashes the other way, with Corydon and Phyllis in the lead. The fun has begun.--"After B'rer Rabbit in the Blue-Grass," by John Fox, Jr., in the Century. SiBiSaaBfflBfts Weeds as Fertilizers. The University ̂ Virginia has been experimenting witlv< weeds In order to determine their val^o as fertilizers, tak­ ing their proportiqi? of nitrogen, phos­ phoric acid and potjssh as the criterion of commercial Value. Fifty species of weeds were taken-, for the experiment, and of these fifty the highest in value per dry ton was the common poke berry (phytolocca decandar), which indicated that a dry ton of this would equal as ma­ nure what would cost $21.93 if the chemical matters above named had been bought for manure. The lowest in vfflue of the fifty thus used for ma­ nure 'Would be CgQJmon panic grass (panicum virgatum), which would bo Gen. Lew Wallace's Stepmother, The finest quality of a great soul is, perhaps, that of being unconscious of its altitude, and many who think of others so much that tliey have time to think of self but little, would be surprised to hear their virtues set i forth. J "Speaking of great men with great mothers," said a well-known orator, "I think Gen. Lew Wallace was tho most fortunate of all the famous men I know in stepmothers. His stepmoth er was a woman of great intellect, and of superior talent. In regard to their affection for each other there is a good story. It was just after the publica­ tion of 'Ben Hur.' 'And what do you think of my book?' the author asked of his stepmother, Mrs. Zerelda ^ Wal­ lace. " . " 'Oh, it is a grand book, my son,' said Mrs. Wallace* 'but where did you get that, beautiful character of the mother of "Beik Hur?" ' " 'Why, my dear mother, I thought of you every line while I wrote it,' re­ plied the general, as he put his arm around her." Monkeys^ Comprehend Pictures The monkeys of South America seem to comprehend the meaning of pic­ tures, for they often grin with merri ment, it is said, at a comic design. Cholly--Do you think it very wicked in me to bet on the races? Ethel--No-- pot if you patronize some poor book­ maker who really needs the money.-- Puck. ... Recognized Him. 'Friend, these are awful roads you've got in this neighborhood. Why don't you repair them?" "'Cause they're so muddy we caln't." Well, why don't you do it when they're dry?" " 'Cause they don't need it then." "Say, when did you move away from Arkansaw?" Chinese Trust One Another. I have said that a Chinaman trusts his friends to an extent that we would consider almost imbecile. Among them money is loaned without inter­ est and without written acknowledg­ ment or witnesses. If a man is "short" and appeals to his cousin or his friend to help him, that friend will divide up without specifying a time for its re­ payment If the man is teick or poor, the creditor, in all probability, will never mention the matter again, and will certainly not ask for its return while the debtor refrains from gam­ bling or opium-smoking, and honest­ ly does his best. I have known men to be for a tijne without employment and ^hile^tEey were trying to obtain it if they conformed to the strict mor­ al code of Chinese law, they were help­ ed by the various cousins with gifts of money sufficient to support them until work was obtained; and not only to support themselves, !>ut their families also. And then, as "tiirn about Is fair play," they were expected to be equal­ ly generous with some one else.--Cen­ tury. A Spectral Boatman. ' ; There is a shivery, 6haky legend among the people who live along the Hudson river which is to the" effect that that stream is the everlasting boating waters of a specter who is personified as Ramhout Van Damf /Away back in colonial times Ram Rout and his friends were drinking until late at night Finally this man Ramhout start­ ed for home, some distance up the river, in his boat swearing that he would row the distance if it took a "month of Sun­ days." Ramhout never reached hbme, and the superstitious people say that he has been condemned to row till judgment day. From Land's End to John O'Groat's. . T, Edge has just broken the English. 1,000-mile bicycle road record, by trav­ eling from Land's End to John O'Groat's; and back to Forfar iff four days, nine hours and nineteen minutes. This is fourteen hours better than the previous record. What the Farmers Want. Chicago Times-Herald: Among the numerous subjects discussed by the national farmers' congress at Indian­ apolis, the question of good roads easily transcended all others in importance to the agricultural interests of this country; The farmer is the natural promoter of good roads. The cities and towns build the highways with the corporation funds raised by taxa­ tion, but the country road falls upon the farmer. He is also the chief ben­ eficiary, and if he will not lead in ag­ gressive agitation for modern scien­ tific road building it is useless to ex­ pect the movement to advance. Good roads have paid for themselves in Europe; they have also yielded big re­ turns in New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Massachusetts and New York. It has been estimated by the bureau of road inquiry at Washington that it now costs the American farm­ er an average of $3 per ton to market his products. It Is calculated that with such country highways as are in use in England and Frairce this cost would be reduced to $1 per ton. This cost Is not a matter of cash expendi­ ture, but represents the value of the time, labor and effort on the part of man and beast in hauling crops to the market. Upon this basis of calculation it is easy to estimate what the farm­ ers of Wisconsin might saye in one year on their crop of oats, which amounts to a million tons, if they had smooth and solid country highways. .. Good Roads in India. India is a land of good roads. Be-r tween all the larger towns well-shad­ ed macadamized roads are to be found. The average city pavements of Chica­ go, St. Paul or New York are not as igood as these long stretches of well- built roads, with "their culverts of solid stone masonry, and their whitewash-! ed milestones shining like solitary monuments in the hot sun. There Is an enormous outlay of money and la-« bor in blasting and buttressing, macad- itoiaing these roads; but in develop­ ing the agricultural and commercial interests of the mountain regions they are worth all and more than they cost. The inner ranges of the Hima­ layas furnish perfect climate and soil for the production of tea and all the fruits of the temperate zone. Hun­ dreds of thousands of acres of tea plants have been put out since these cart roads, as they are commonly call­ ed, were built. Thousands of English­ men are employes in managing these estates, and all their supplies of food, building material and machinery are brought to them, and all the products of the estates are carted out to the va­ rious terminals. Cart drivers haul by weight and can make from 50 cents to $1 a day. A day's journey going up hill, loaded, is from eight to ten miles. Going down from fifteen to twenty.-- Epworth Herald. A Fight with Torpedo Boats. During the visit of the members of parliament to Portsmouth a naval offi­ cer told an amusing story of last year's naval maneuvers. While the warships were stationed in Lough Foyle there was an alarm of a torpedo attack at night. Instantly the guns opened fire and blazed away at the torpedo boat. The next morning the admiral request­ ed each captain to send in a report of the number of torpedo boats he had seen and the quantity of ammunition he had expended. The reports were inter­ esting. Some of the officers had seen six torpedo^ boats, some four, others three and; others two.. Only one cap­ tain declared that lie had seen no. tor­ pedo boat and had fired no shot: The others,, however, had used an enor­ mous quantity of ammunition. It turn­ ed out that there had not been a tor­ pedo boat within thirty miles of the- lough, and the torpedo boats seen from the ships were in truth a single coal' barge. Exaetiy. A teacher relates the following inci­ dent of a boy's quick thought. .He had' asked the meaning of the Word miss. "To miss," I told him, "is the same as to fail. You shoot at a bird or ftlrtrfmark and do not hit it; you miss it. You go to a tailor's for a coat, and your coat fits badly; it is a misfit. You hope to enter the mfddle class next year, but you can­ not pass the examination, and so you miss the promotion." His face wore a puzzled air, and he shook his head. >. %j- "Then," said I,"there is another mean­ ing of miss. We call a married woman madam, but an unmarried woman miss." His f&cc brightened. He smiled and nodded. "Ah, I see," said he; "she has missed her man." Cleared Uf. Crosby--I understand that old Cash- ley's daughter has eloped with his coachman. Gregory--What! Why, she was en­ gaged to marry me! , Crosby--Oh, then, that accounts for it.--Cleveland Leader. An Innocent Reply. He (well born but not well bred, pompously)--It takes six generations, you. know, to make a gentleman. She (innocently)--Yes. What a pity that it only takes one to unmake him.--^ Hew York Times. , : -