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McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 21 Jul 1899, p. 6

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n.*vn.*;n.<ivn.<&n>c fbe (laKiOj) of a Soldier. 4.-f -i# Vv*.*Ki t '. » • ' | ̂ *f%A »lV Oftfc »> S , : . r ' - r.,\ ^ ; ';{«• V%;. • r\ :M'\ ^ "* *• '-t; ES, MaTy," said the old farm­ er, as be climbed Into the wagon beside his wife to homeward, "I've got a letter# and Ms from William. You take the linen rnmt Ml read it." As thcj drove out of the village and WW the bridge and up the long hill tec husband anfi father slowly read riMri the words written by the soldier •Mi aow at the front It was a gloomy fetor. It told of hardships and suffer- iqpt and privations, and not one brave want was to be found froui beginning taoMl. boy!" sighed the mother, as rrstftng was finished ail'd Bbe re­ plied the lines. ."Wall. I don't like it!" replied the tttimr. "He was botind to go in spite of fwr;fhiag. and now he ought to put with things and not be a baby. Spicer boys don't send home no letters as this." ^1--1 wish he hadn't gone!" *Bmt he did go, and now lie's got to lla and bear it, same as the rest Isn't yon let on to nobody that he's ••Mirk and ready to cry. If the nay* its sot hold of it they'd poke all man- m mi fun at him and be sneering at •*ut we can sympathize with him," iMl the wife. •A littie, mebbe, but we ain't goin' to 9 very much. I'm going to write htm at he wants to take things as they and be a man. There's them hoys and Tom Johnson and Doolittle and Ben^mith, and j ever hears a whine from them." *ur& 'cause William Is homesick to as* as." ••Wall, he must get over It then. I it want him to go, but bein' he's there he mustn't play baby and as ashamed. I'd feel like hang- W ajsclf if our .William flunked out of * i£bt or deserted his colors. You've Ma#ua* the wrlttn', and I guess you've too softly." on the Rapidan, in the old Six- tsfatlfc, Private William Hopkins sniaaTt making a good record for him- •riL For the first four weeks of army Mfr fee was cheerful and enthusiastic, feat after that a change had come. Basaasickness is worse than a fever wound for a soldier. Every man a home had had a touch of It, but of them had thrown It off. Per- ke tried to, but if so he didn't The boys got onto him, and IfcBTirli they felt to pity him, they did •at spare him their gibes and taunts. He was the booby of Company G, and bis tent-mate had a feeling of con­ fer him. One day the orderly t dropped in on him to say:' ILaok here, Bill Hopkins, this thing takgss? far enough! You are making a &r&t~elass fool of yourself, and if you data*! braiee up the boys will give you a*ay at home. Get out and chase ystsrself and fling this homesickness •K. A boy 10 years old would be •rtimrrt to mope around as you do!" frftate Hopkins was hurt by these anuarks. instead of being braced up, nH turning his face away from the aetgpent he then and there resolved on a Asperate deed. He would desert at tt* first opportunity. He wouldn't ad- nP Hm-t Kojripcii'i-noei; linil anrthinf fn 4a with it He had been ill-used. .They had given him extra guard dhtfy--extra. work around camp--had MH3£fS and jeered him in place of giv- tag him a fair show. He could figure aaft that the captain and both lieuten- aoife were down on him, and of the alaety men of the company he was the •Jprtyr. He had given no cause for tMte, and he wouldn't submit to such ftaj^rnties.- He was certain of sym­ pathy from father and mother, and more back at home he would stay even if he had to hide in the gar- k|L Every soldier who lets the feel- iqs of somesickness get the better of fe|ai fellows the same train of thought agdarrives at the same conclusions. lAn opportunity to carry out his plan sstsie to Private Hopkins much sooner fie had hoped for. Company G arieus ordered out on a night reeonnois- aacc and, pale-faced and weak-kneed, (Homesick boy took his place in the •seai No one expected any fighting. It so> happened that a small force «C tfiu? ettfmy was in the neighborhood afed there was a skirmish and the com­ pany was driven back. At roll call it found that five men were missing. Tw6 »f those liad been left dead in the •Mid and two others were believed to lave been wounded and crawled into the bushes. The fifth man was Private HoiUuus. and it was altogether likely tbsi he had been taken prisoner. At rati, he was thus recorded on the afwqmiy roll until something more aoiild b« learned. As a matter of fact, the homesick boy ||mI a narrow escape from capture, but ; %«* tfuogar' liad no sooner passed than fee found" his opportunity to desert. Throwing away his gun and accouter- <wnts. he headed for the Federal lines, qBd. tiaviug reached them, he set to Eto dodge pickets and sentries, i. iiioruiug came he was clear of who woul.il have halted him. Ififfa three months' pay in his pocl;et stood a good.chance, and two weeks iter. dressed as a citizen, aud after a <|ffrcn close shaves, he found himsolf #rttbin a mile of home. Up to that mo- Ipeat. when a turn of the highway £aw him a view of the old homestcud, JfcefeiMl been consumed with impatience ite reach the farmhouse. Of a sudtien fcr- felt dissatisfied and began to won- iter mid reflect. He bftd departed aicld •,&& waving, of flags and the cheers of * %afidreds. He was sneaking home au a ter, almost dodging the cows aad p in the field#. A loss of self-ire- came to him and he heartily I himself back at the front He would go on, though. Ha was penniless anA way-worn, and he wanted sympathy. Perhaps, after a stay of a week he would go back to the army. When he told father and mother how he had been abused they would not blame him--would not call It a casj of deyrtton. It was 2uptown when the boy approac&ed the barn across the fields. He caught sight of his mother at the kitchen door and he heard the father In the barn. From the hour he deserted up to this he had pictured to himself how he would rush into the house and take the old folks by surprise, but now he changed the pro­ gram. He went skulking along the fence until he reached the barn, and there was shame in his face as he en­ tered and stood before his father. When the old'man heard a step be looked up and stood leaning on the pitchfork in his hands. He saw his son William before him. The boy had been heard of last it the front He was here and in citizens' attire, and he had no shout of greeting. If it had been a case of furlough he would have been in uniform, and some news would have come In advance. Ideas passed through Farmer Hopkins' brain like flashes of lightning, and after a long minute hie face grew stern, his eyes had a cold look in them, and the watching aon realized that the truth was known. "Well?" hoarsely queried the father, with stern-set face. "They--they didn't use me right down there r' almost wailed the boy in reply. "And so ye ran away?' "Yea. It wasn't exactly deserting, but " "But ye sneaked off like a cur, never mindin' the disgrace sure to foiler!" For half a minute they looked into each other's eyes. The boy's knees grew weak and his face went white, and the face in front of him was so hard and cold that he wondered if he had ever seen it before. By and by the father sternly said: "Stranger, I take it from yer bein' here that ye'd like supper and lodgin's, but I must tell ye that we can't ac­ commodate!" The boy felt a chill pass over him. "That is," continued the father, "on- less ye was goin' right back to the army to do yer duty as a soldier, and* to stay until honorably discharged. I wouldn't let a deserter share the pen with my hogs! Better come a leetle further into the barn while we talk and if yer moth--I mean if my old woman comes out ye kin get into the oat bin!" The deserter instinctively moved for­ ward a few feet and as he did so he heard his mother's voice singing a hymn. "I've got a son down at the front," said the farmer in a voice which trem­ bled a little. "His name's William Hopkins, and he's in company G of the Sixteenth. If ye was goin' down I'd send word to him. I'd send word that be was expected to be a man among men, and to come home with a record as good as the rest I'd hev ye also say to him that if he deserted bis colors he'd never call this place home agin. Did ye say ye was goin' right back to the front?" The son nodded his head. "And to stay there till the end of the war?" Another nod. ' »Vall, then, I shall hev to do sun- thin' fur ye. I'll go into the house and git ye a bite to eat, and when it comes dark ye kin take the hoss there and ride ov^r to Strongsville. From there ye kin take the kars, ye know, and I'll pick up the hoss next day. I've jest paid the taxes, and I'm short o' money, but I'll bring ye out $20. I guess that will git ye through. If ye don't git through, ye--ye " I shall get through," whispered the deserter. If ye was a son o' mine, I'd expect ye to or die tryin'! Jest wait here 'till I git the things fur ye." Ten minutes later the farmer was back in tiro barn, having a bite to eat in one hand anu a $20 greenback in the other. "You are purty sure to see William?" he queried as he handed over the ar­ ticles. "Yes." "Wall, tell him jest what I said, and tell him bis mother won't know nuthin' about It Ye--ye didn't meet anybody what knowed ye as ye came along?" The deserter blushed and shook h*s head. "And ye won't meet anybody goin' over to Strongsville? In about ten days I shall be lookin' fur a letter from Will­ iam at the front and he'll tell me if he's seen ye yit. There's the boss and saddle, and as soon as it's dark ye'd better be goin'. Good-by to ye, stranger." "Good-by." One day as Company G had just fin­ ished drill the missing private, Will iam Hopkins, walked into camp in charge of the provost guard. He had on a portion of a Federal uniform, and he had approached the pickets from the direction of the enemy. "And so you were taken prisoner and escaped!" exclaimed the captain. "Yes. I got away." "Well, I'm glad to see you back. 1 feared you had been wounded and crawled away to die. Better write a letter home this afternoon, as the old folks will be worrying about you. You seem to have had a rough time of it, but you'll soon pick up." The prodigal soldier had finished a page of his letter when the orderly sergeant stuck his head into the tent to say: "Say, I',m mighty glad it happened. Those rebs have knocked some sand into you somehow. You don't look like the same man. How's the homesick biWlness?' "All gone." t£Q0dI w»» » a^rt.ef one. tfeati OTtf ttiap until you'd played the foel and deeerted. All right--all right, yotrtl make a aoldler' yet" And two lifer Farwr Hop­ kins returned from town one day with a letter in his hand, and as he to*sed It to hla wife he said: "Wall, Mary, our William ip^ltUA' thewk" ;v- "What do you mean, Joel?* i* "Why, he lit bo well In the kit big battle that they've went and made him corporal, aad he says he's party sure to git up three or four pegs higher afore the war Is over." You do#4 say? Wall, I alius toM ye he'd do sunthin' to make us fart proud o' him, and now ye see I was right." Y-e-s," replied the farmer as tie lad the horse lute the barnyard to be tan- hitched. "But ain't ye tickled about It?" "Sartinly I am, but I was thlnkttt'-- thlnyn'--whoa, there, but can't ye ^erle shown displays night gowns made stand still a mlnit till I git this tug ua- with both high and low neck, either © DAINTY UNDER WE A»lb - .< * ^ F late years the repeated attacks of dress reform, health reform and mannish fashions have well nigh driven dainty underwear Into the shade; but not for long. Dainty tin gerle has always held a charm for the truly feminine woman for she loves the frivols and fripperies of soft billows of fine lace and muslin. The latest lln- They are from business acquaintances of her father who never saw her, or from formal friends of her mother's Visiting list, whom she never wishes to fee. "I have ninety bouquets," says a fresh, proud debutante; "but not mors ($an six were sent from lore.** « weir Gewey story, looked ?'^-Chlcago Times-Herald. HE STOLE A CORPSE. Aad Thtt Why th« Joke Waa •* the Thief. "There are people in this town who will steal anything," said a thin man with a strfhg tie as he rolled a fresh cigarette and asked his friend for a light. "Yes, sir, they will take the bat- tons off your eoat if you don't watch 'em. I was 'touched' twice during the peace jubilee, and last winter some one copped out my overcoat at a restau­ rant while I was getting lunch. ' "But it's all right. I got even the other day in a small way, and I've been laughing ever since. We had an old cat over in our flat which had been a pet of my wife's ever since we were married. Elvira, that's the cat's name, not my wife's, was so old she had lost nearly all her teeth and we had to feed her on milk and soft stuff. This got tiresome, because I bad to do the feed­ ing, and I decided that Elvira was about due to die. "One night I sneaked home a bottle of ctoloroform, and after my wife went out to one of the clubs or something she belongs to I wet a sponge with the chloroform and went out In the kitchen looking for Elvira. There she was, curled up on a chair, and before she knew what was going on I had her fixed. Didn't hurt her, you know, and she really was a burden to herself. "When my wife came home I looked solemn and told her Elvira was dead --went off in a fit There were tears, of course, and the remains had to be viewed. My wife insisted that Elvira should have a decent burial and would not listen to my suggestion that the body be disposed of in the usual way. Finally I consented to take Elvira out in the country the next day and bury her myself, and was called a 'dear old boy.' "Early next morning, after a lot of tears from my wife, I started on with Elvira neatly done up in a couple of sheets of wrapping paper. I took a car which connects with a suburban line and deposited my bundle on the rear platform next to the gate while I went inside to read the paper. I was deep in the sporting page when the transfer station was reached, and the conduc­ tor had to offer me a transfer twice. I went out on the platform and, bless your soul, if Elvira hadn't disappeared. Some guy thought the package contain­ ed my morning marketing ^and had swiped it "I was a bit put out at first, but when I realized that for once I had the laugh on the thief I felt good. Laugh? Well, I should say yes. People on the street must have thought I had a gig­ gling jag on. I did not advertise for the return of Elvira and no questions asked for several reasons, but I'd give $3 to know what that fellow said |vken he opened the package."--Washington Star. pointed or square with long or elbow sleeves, or sometimes with full flowing sleeve, like a clergyman's surplice. In the cut is given one of the simplest night-gowns ever seen, for if comfort is u Z.ADIBS* WIGHT DRESS. to be obtained much of the trimming must be discarded. The design taay easily be copied in any material, and with the addition of a ruffle at the bot­ tom, one may have a charming loung­ ing gown for the warm summer after­ noons. An Atlantic Steamship's Larder. One tidy little refrigerator about six feet wide and twice that depth is the butterman's stall in this market under the sea. Little tubs of butter are ar­ ranged on shelves to the amount of 5,000 pounds, and' In company with these are 20,000 eggs. Twenty-five hundred quarts of milk and cream are stored in a separate room, all having been sterilized. This market has a room especially for salt meats, and here are hams, bacon and tongues to the amount of 4*000 pounds. There are some articles of food without which the epicure would be unhappy, and which must be alive when cooked. Chief among these are oysters, of which 16,000 are carried to meet the wants of the passengers. Clams are only provided to the number of 1,500. Lobsters are not abundantly supplied; 700 pounds is all the store-room shel­ ters. This market in the bottom of the ship contains, besides the things men­ tioned, fruit, green vegetables and an enormous stock of groceries. The lat­ ter is only limited by space, for gro­ ceries are not perishable goods and will keep from one voyage to another until used. Tea and coffee are used in large amounts--about thirty-three pounds of tea a day and fifty pounds of coffee. Perishable supplies are taken on board in proportion to the number of pas­ sengers booked, and anything of this kind which is left over when the ship reaches port is eaten by the crew.-- Ladles' Home Journal. The Story of a Pappoeae. The story of Miss Susanne Barnett is a peculiarly interesting one. She was 3 years old when her father. Petoche Barnett, a full- blood Indian, met his death in the Sparhecher war. A year later her mother,a beautiful half-breed wom­ an, in her help- 1 e s s widowhood, fearful under the threats of violence from a certain In- miss babxbtt. dian of ill-repute whose wife she had refused to be, brought the little girl to Miss Alice Robertson, a missionary teacher among the Creeks, begging her to adopt her. Miss Robertson, fearing to assume so great a responsibility, the'mother took the little one back home with her, and ten days later the mother's fears were realized. The little Susanne, finding herself and her little brother, just old­ er, alone in the cabin, called vainly for their mother, whom she at last found lying dead, just outside the door. The assassin had fulfilled his threats. The agonized plea of the mother that she would take her little one and "raise her to be a Christian and a lady" Miss Robertson could not banish from her mind, and two years later, finding that the child 4*a8 in very unsuitable hands and having in the meantime assumed charge of a school for Indian girls at Muscogee, she went to the people who had charge of the child and obtained an entire relinquishment of her. The school to which Miss Rotfertson took her has since grown into Henry Ken­ dall College, and the building it then occupied is now used for offices by the Dawes commission. Into the same re­ ception room that Miss Robertson brought the timid little child who could spfek no word of English thirteen years later she chaperoned the self- possessed young lady, coming to ask for her allotment of land. The build­ ing occupied as a land office stands on the site formerly occupied by the little wooden church in which Miss Barnett was christened, and which has been replaced by a handsome edifice on an­ other site, where she is now the organist. Corr-apondence Friendships. To hold and to keep a friend by 'the slender chain of written words may be a little trouble, but it is a trouble that brings a great reward. It is worth considerable thinking and some study­ ing, too, this giving of pleasure to the dear ones away from us. The taking of notes, the clipping from papers of little items of interest, become a source of pleasure and mental profit to us as well as to them. The prompt reply, the appreciative commenting on points In some late epistle, the little chats by the way as we go down the pages, the special meaning of the letter intended for just that one friend to whom it is sent, make it a treasure indeed to the one who receives it, as the giving of ourselves, the breathing of our spir­ itual essence, keeps our image fresh in the mind and dear to the heart of our absent friend. Weddinc G'fta Optional. Once in a while the heart is gladden­ ed by a social dictum which suits the inclinations. Here is one which will appeal to the impecunious, and these who can persuade themselves that they come under the head. It is de­ clared to be good taste no longer to An Amusing Experience. To secure a picture of your voice, it is only necessary to tie a sheet of thin, strong paper over the flaring end of an old tin horn. Hold the horn with the sheet of paper upward. Take a little pinch of fine sand and place it in the ! send weddl°S 8ifts unless you are rea- center of the paper. Then hold the horn ^vertically above your face and sing a note into the lower end of the instrument. Now lower the horn 9are- fully and look at the sand. You will find that the vibrations of your voice have scattered the pinch of sand Into a beautiful sound picture. Every note in the musical scale will produce a great variety of them. Some of these pictures look like pansies, roses and other flowers; some like snakes, and others like flying birds; in fact, there is no limit to the variation. The pic­ tures of the notes of musical instru­ ments are made by holding titfe1 horn as near a* possible to them. Whan Mother Plan wlth Thaoa. "Children are never happier than when mother will play with them. The bide-and-go-se& In the home with the small boy or girl Is a delight that Is never forgotten when the boys and girls have children of their own. Let us laugh with our children and be young with them. Do not take them too serioustjr, nor fear to lose control over them by relaxation. "The nervousjnother is a hardship tp her children, for Irritability on her part develofla the same attributes in tliecn. In a nervous, overcharged at­ mosphere in a home there is little peace; quarrfjs are frequent and pun­ ishment the order of the day. Ruskin says such a tame is one in name only; 'It is but a part of the outer world which you hart roofed over and lighted a fire in.' Hot can a mother hope to develop patience and forbearance in her children when she continually loses her patience? She Is their; model, and If she fails theft is it any wonder that in their childhood there is little happi­ ness?" Some Srtialble Advice. A New EngUkJid gentlewoman early in the century wrote the following quaint bits of afivice in her notebook: A friend to the ladies would take this opportunity to advise them to supply their toilets with the following articles: First -- Self - knowledge, a mirror showing the forfh In the most perfect Hgbt. / * Second--InnoceAce, a white paint, beautiful, but easily soiled and requir­ ing continual care to preserve its luster. Third--Modesty, a rouge giving a de­ lightful bloom to the cheeks. / Fourth--ContenUnent, an infallible smoother of wrinkle* Fifth--Truth, a salve rendering the lips soft and delicious. Sixth--Gentlene^, a cordial impart­ ing sweetness to the voice. Seventh -- Good hurqpr, universal beautifler. A lady who possesses all thOBe toilet articles must certainly be well equip­ ped. They are prcbably as efficacious now as they wert nearly a hundred years ago.--PhiladeSphia Times. WOman't Hand. It is certainly nit true that small hands are bred by choice descent, for in one family the hands of both women and men are found 4ifferent in size and in every other qualflty. The individual woman of the people stretches and hardens her hand aad batters her nails on her own account, so that months of care would not retrieve it, but doubt­ less her baby hand Was much the same as a rich woman's in her own baby­ hood. English worsen and Americans, with their blonde bands, are admired deliriously for this one beauty by the darker races. But, it any rate, to Eng-< llsh eyes there is loTellnesS also in the fine hand that has clear brown color in place of white--a r*re beauty, for the blonde woman ha* usually the finer form of hand, but somewhat dark must have been the "tender inward of the hand" that played on the virginals for Shakspeare.--Collier's Weekly. She's a Silversmith. Mrs. Madeline Yale Wynne, of Chica­ go, enjoys the double distinction of be­ ing not only a clever writer, but the only woman silver­ smith in the world. She Is, moreover, widely kt^>wn as a painter and a promi­ nent society woman. Mrs. Wynne is espe­ cially famed for her skill as an artificer in metals, being able mks wynnk. to turn crude silver, gold or copper Into ornaments, buckles or trays with all the ease of a veteran silversmith. The top floor of MrS. Wynne's lake front house is fitted up as a shop, and here she works as hard as does any wage-earner in the entire city of Chicago. To Clean Stained White Goods. Put half an ounce of salts of tartar into a bottle with half an ounce of sal ammoniac, add half a pint of warm water and shake the bottle until the salts and the sal ammoniac have dis­ solved. Stretch the stained portion of the fabric over a small basin and pour some of the liquid over it. If the stain has been recently made, it will soon disappear, but if the linen bas already been washed It will probably be nec­ essary to repeat the process several times, and the fabric should be very gently rubbed uow and tl «n. When the mark is noylonger visibT*, rinse the linen at once/in hot water, and then wash it well with soft soap and hot water and let it dry in the sun. sonably Intimate with the bride, the groom or the family of either. An in­ vitation to the reception does not now necessitate a gift or a shame-faced, empty-handedness, s*ys the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But things are pretty evenly bal­ anced all around, and if the wedding gift is becoming optional, the debut­ ante bouquet is certainly unavoidable. The Indent may guilelessly suppose that the bouqnets which hide the fur­ niture, the mantel and the mural dec­ orations at a "coming out" are evi­ dences of the young debutante's popu­ larity, and that each one contains a aote, a heart or a ring. Not at all. Souse's Feantifnl Wife. Mrs. John Philip Sousa, wife of the composer, is a remarkably pretty wom­ an, who looks like a girl of 17, al­ though she Is the mother of several sturdy, grown-up children. The reason for her wonderfully youthful appear­ ance !s due largely to Iter slender, pe­ tite form and also to the fact that her luxuriant hair is prematurely gray. It is usually worn in artistic curls above her forehead and tied at the back of the neck with a blach velvet ribbon. With her fresh complexion and bright eyes, accentuated by this oddly beauti­ ful hair, Mrs. Sousa looks like a beauty of the pompadour era. Never Box Nor f'nll the Kar«. The reason a blow on the ear may do Irreparable injury is that the air, being driven suddenly and violently against the drum of the ear, might rupture the membrane and cause incurable deaf­ ness. The ears should never be pulled nor meddledi with In any way, except to wash them in the gentlest manner, the orifice, being cleansed with a fold of the washcloth rolled Into a little cone.--Ladies' Home Journal. «• Admiral Naarlr Jftarted Another War with "In May, 1875, Admiral Delrey was commander of the old Narragansett," said Lieutenant Winslow, "and he was detailed to surveying the Gulf of Cali­ fornia and the shores of the coast of the peninsula. It was not long after the Virginlus affair at Santiago, and the feeling toward the Mexicans and Cubans was none too cordial. The Narragansett reached La Paz, near the southern end of the peninsula, and we no sooner got ashore than we heard that an American mining engineer and some Englishmen who owned the mine were prisoners in their mining shan­ ties, forty miles back of La Paz, In the mountains; The American bad re­ sented an insult, a quarrel followed, and the American killed two Mexicans. The friends of the latter swore they'd kill the Yankee and the Englishmen, too, and the latter were soon obliged to barricade themselves. This siege had been on for several days when we dropped anchor. "As soon as Commander Dewey heard of it he was very much Inter­ ested. The next day he sent a mes­ senger to the Mexican colonel In J^i Paz, who had a garrison of 600 sol­ diers there, asking him what he was going to do to give the American a trial before he was shot. ? " 'Oh, he got into the trouble--let him get out,' said the Mexican. "Commander Dewey didn't like this reply, and the more he thought about it the angrier he got The next fore­ noon he sent a note to the Mexican colonel telling him that an American citizen's life was in danger, and that the man was entitled to a fair trial. He told the colonel that he would al­ low him Just twenty-four hours to rea- cue the American and protect the En­ glishmen. If at the end of that time relief was not on its way to the little mining party he would bombard La Paz and burn it "When we heard what Dewey had done we were all frightened. " 'Does he mean it?' we asked one another. "As for myself, I was soon satisfied that he meant every word of it. I was in command of the guns. We had only two old howitzers on the Narragansett, the larger guns having been left tem­ porarily at the Mare Island navy yard. " 'Get those howitzers ready for to­ morrow morning and inspect all the small arms and ammunition,' said Dewey to me. Then he called the men to quarters and estimated that of the crew of about 120 we could land ninety able, armed men as a storming force. We drilled the men all that afternoon and far into the night That night, on Commander Dewey's order, we steam­ ed to a point commanding the princi­ pal streets o" La Paz and trained the howitzers on the town. By next morn­ ing we were all ready to begin a sec­ ond war against Mexico. At daybreak a Mexican corporal eame on board with a message from bis colonel saying that the Narragan­ sett commander's request would be complied with. Early that morning we watched 300 armed Mexican sol­ diers start for the mining camp, and we kept the old howitzers trained on La Paz till the soldiers returned with the American engineer. When Dewey reported to Washington on the matter he minimized the importance of it and it was passed over as a mere incident Lieutenants Harris and Wright were on the Narragansett then, and Harris, at least, was with the fleet at Manila. It is somewhat singular that at that time, when we were expecting a dec­ laration of war against Spain on ac­ count of the Virginlus affair, Com­ mander Dewey had his plans all made to sail the Narragansett to Manila."-- New York Tribune. ;L ' Curious Christian Names. I remember hearing the following story from the late Canon Bardsley, author of "English Names and Sur­ names." There was once a woman-- "a little 'cracky,' I think," said the canon, by way of parenthesis--who had a son whom she had christened "What" Her idea seems to have been that when in after days he was asked his name, and kept saying "What," amusing scenes would follow, which was likely enough, especially if the boy was careful to pronounce the aspirate. Such a scene did, I believe, occur once when he went to school, and was told, as a newcomer, to stand up and furnish certain particulars. "What is your name?" asked the teach­ er. "What," blurted out the boy, amid the laughter of the class. "What is your name?" askeu the master again, with more emphasis. "What," replied the boy. "Your name, sir!" roared out the infuriated pedagogue. "What, What!" roared back the terrified urch­ in. The sequel I forget, but I believe it was one of those cases in which the follies of the parents are visited on the children of the first generation.--Notes and Queries. Calve as a Gardener. Mile. Emma Calve is probably the only great prima donna who combines farming with her brilliant operatic achievements. She has a large farm at Gevennes, and rusticates there each summer. Last summer the famous singer went into her kitchen garden and cared for her own vegetables. No one was al- Jowed to touch them, and the results were far better than when her gar­ dener cared for the things. Mile. Calve wore a short skirt of the blue jeans, sabots and a linen shirt waist. She spaded and hoed and watered'her vege­ tables day after day, and proudly seqt gifts of the finest fruits of her labors to friends In Paris. The prima donna was very ill and nervous when she went to Ceyennes, but this free, open-air life and the vig­ orous exercise soon restored her to the most robust health, and when friends ask her the secret of her cure she an­ swers: "Spades and potatoes." Mile. Calve's chickens also come In for some of her attention, but the gar­ den is her chief delight--Philadelphia Post. Coant Tolstoi's daughter Maria puts Into practical operation her father's j Ideas, by rising with the dawn, work- I ing beside the peasants In the fields, | and devoting her smtUl earnings to such as are ill or disabled. When Miss Mary Johnston of Ala­ bama sent her story, "Prisoners of Hope," to Houghton, Mifflin & Co., she was wholly unknown to them, and her story was Immediately recognized and accepted on its own merits alone. "An Odd Little Lass" is a story for gtrls, by Jessie E. Wright. It is favor­ ably compared with Louisa Alcott's "Little /Women." Another good book for girl readers Is Dorothy Day, by Julie M. LIppman. It Is illustrated by Ida Waugh. Richard Le Gallienne is completing two new books to be entitled "Sleeping Beauty and Other Prose Fancies" and "The Worshiper of the Image; a Tragic Fairy Tale." Another book by Mr. Le Gallienne, which has just ap­ peared, is called "Young Lives; a Ro­ mance." Mrs. Voynich, whose striking novel of the Italy ($t the first half of the cen­ tury, "The Gadfly," has passed into its eighteenth edition, is said to be com­ pleting a new novel treating of Polish life qf the present day. Mrs. Voynich's husband, by the way, is a Pole who has suffered considerably for his coun­ try's wrongs. Dr. Gertrude E. Heath, both a doer and a dreamer, had verses accepted by standard publications when she was quite a young girl, and often supplied the illustrations herself. "Rhymes and Jingles for a Good Child" is one of her successful books. She is another of the swiftly Increasing army of talented women who can do more than one thing well. 4.1 HENRY VIII.'S LOVE LETTERa One of Hia Bpistlea to Anne Boleyn Now Firat Published. Photographic reproductions have been made recently of various ancient archives in the Vatican library in Rome, particularly those that bear upon the episodes of early English his­ tory. Sir Benjamin Stone, M. P., was the lucky man to obtain special per­ mission to make the copies. Among the treasures selected by him for the purpose was a series of manuscripts on the achievements of King Henry VIII.'s administration for the church, Including one bearing the king's signature and arguing against Martin Luther's teachings. That pa­ per was sent by an envoy extraordi­ nary to Pope Leo X., In return for which the Pope gave the King the title of "defender of the faith." * Another Interesting subject was an original love letter written in bis own hand in French by Henry VIII. to Anne Boleyn. A heart marked with the letters "A. B." adorns the paper at the end of the letter. The letter, as- translated, reads: "The approach of the time which I have been so eagerly awaiting delights me so that it seems already to be here. More than anything else In the world do I wish for the meeting, for what Joy can be greater on earth than to have the society of her who is my dearest friend? And as I know that"" she has the same reeling the thought / gives me the more pleasur^^You cs judge how great an Influence Xhe pres- ence of her must have upon me. Her absence tears a wound into my heart greater than word or pen can describe, and that nothing can cure but her re­ turn, I beg of you, my dear lady, to tell your fatner for me that I wish he would hasten the meeting by two days. No more now for lack of time. I hope shortly to tell you in spoken words how deeply I grieve over your absence. The writer of these lines is and will ever be your true and most humble servant, H., no Other Seeks, Rex." --New York Press. Self Steering. A recent Invention is a bicycle with­ out any semblance of a handle bar, but which is steered entirely by the mo­ tions of the rider's body. In the con­ struction of this machine the stem of the steering wheel is supplied with a rearwardly extending steadying bar, having a spring causing it to bear slightly on a support. This pressure is sufficient to hold the wheel steady, but not to Interfere with Its free motiorf, so that it yields to every motion of the body. The fork of the front wheel Is turned slightly under instead of out­ ward, and the steering wheel is slight­ ly smaller than the other, whereby the guiding of the machine is rendered more easy. The steadying bar also offers a means of steering by the hand in case of any sudden emergency. Smoking and Influenza. Tobacco smokers have been more ex­ empt from influenza during"the recent epidemics than those persons who do not smoke. Panning on a Famous line. The poet Campbell, the author of the far-famed war poem "Hohenlinden," In which occurs the reference to "Iser rolling rapidly," attended an evening party on one occasion, and when the gentlemen were securing their hats and coats previous to departure sud­ denly the lights went out In the con­ fusion which followed some one push­ ed vigorously against Campbell, knock­ ing him downstairs. The offending gen­ tleman at once said: "Beg pardon, who's there?" and a voice replied from the depths below, "It is I, sir, rolling rapidly." The Telegraph in Soudan. The Soudan is being rapidly covered with a network of telegraph wires. It is expected that the telegraph will be 1,000 miles south ofc Khartoum at the end of the year. This means the prac­ tical joining up with Uganda, and as Rhodes' telegraph is approaching Tan­ ganyika the transcontinental telegraph may be expected to be finished early next year. When a man has his hair shingled close to his head, every one is remind­ ed that he was once a boy, and bn cuts and bruises on his head. When a woman begins to adtnifo a man, she begins to persecute him. Don't encourage those at the break­ fast table to tell what they dreamed the night before. It leads to as much lying as telling fish stories. ^ .

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