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..--j--.-- --.-- AS YE WOULD. » I should see A brother languishing in sore distress, And I should turn and leave him com­ fortless • '/' v When I might be • A messenger of- hope and happiness, How could I ask "to have what I denied To my own hour'of bitterness supplied? K I might sing A little song to cheer a fainting heart, And I should seal my lips and sit apart When I might bring A bit of sunshine for life's ache and smart, How could I hope to have my grief re­ lieved if I kept silent when my brother grieved? ually be is harmless enough, but collec­ tively he is capable of the greatest mis­ chiefs. The extermination of our song­ birds is apparently the chief aim of his existence. We can never forgive him, but our wrath against him should be mollified because of his one redeem­ ing point--he is good in pie. "Four and twenty" of him would reproduce that matchless dish of nursery fame. Under the alias of "reed-bird" he is constantly sold in our markets, and praised by purchasers in the fiua-1 act of disposing of him. So let us enjoy sparrow pie iu and out of season, since we may do so without a moral twinge, and indeed feel that we are doing society a service. -- Woman's Home Companion. departure. "Let me know the first chance you have." V ^ The next,Wednesday evening Robert Wade was .&way; from home. About 1 o'clock his wither heard him come in. "I woul<4n*t wOnder if Rob's got an Idea of sparking somejbody," thought the deacon. "Maybe it's like the measles--when it gets, into the.family, they all have it," and he chuckled to think his son might have caught the disease from 'him. "Well, Rob's a good boy, and I hope he'll do as well in get­ ting a wife as I shall, if I get Rhoda Mason." The ;next morning Rob looked very wise OjS he sat down to.breakfast op­ posite Ms father. "I've,got a message for you," he said, by-and-bfy„ wheii tfie .housekeeper had left the nyoto}. "i was over to the Ma­ son place, and wlieft I came away Rhoda told me to tell you that if you wanted to know what her mother thought about youp housekeeping idea you'd better come "over and talk with her about it., I was quite surprised to find out you'd got matrimonial ideas in your head, but. I want-to say that I think the plan a most sensible One. Mrs. Mason would make ybu a tip-top housekeeper, and--if you'll take the mother, I'll take the daughter. Indeed, I've made an arrangement to that ef­ fect. Rhoda and I came to a satisfac­ tory understanding last,night." It was well for. tl^e deacon that the house­ keeper came' ijfr just at this juncture. Rob went out, a'ud he betook himself to his room tb' cbfle^t Ills "bewildered senses. "I begin to understand it," he told himself, by-and-by. "I've come dread­ fully near making a fool of myself. I guess I did make a fool of myself, all right enough: but what I mean is, I came dreadfully near getting caught at it. But, by the greatest stroke of luck that ever happened to me, I have­ n't been caught. I see how it is. Rob's going to many Rhoda, and he's been sparking her all along, and the girl thought I knew it, and she thinns it was. her mother I had in view for a housekeeper. And. as luck would have it, I didn't say anything that'll give me away, if--if I carry out the deception and marry Rhoda'? mother. If I don't they'll mistrust something. It seems as if fate had something to do with it. I never thought of such a thing, but I'm forced right into it, so to speak. I can't help myself. And, com£ to think of it, it's the proper thing to do. It would have been a foolish thing for an old man like me to marry a young girl KLONDIKE SHIPPING, OEM. MILES AND FIVE DEPARTMENT COMflANDERS. FREE FARMS FOR YANKEES. \ i Venezuela Offers Land and Transport* ation to American Emigrants. An emigration bureau [has been open­ ed in New York by the Venezuelan Gov- ernmfent. It is under the charge of Dr. Manuel V. Toledo, formerly commis­ sioner to the World's Fair, and already a number of emigrants have been sent to Venezuela through its agency. The bureau was founded in March, 1897, under two special acts of the Venezuelan Government. Its intent is to help settle the vast tracts of unpeo­ pled country in the rich valley of the Aragua, and to encourage emigration advantageous offers are authorized by the government. . * Under the act authorizing the bureau the government officials are now en­ deavoring to arrange a reduced rate of transportation for all emigrants. The act, in the first place, authorizes the payment of a sum equal to 80 bolivars for the transportation of each adult and half that amount for the transpor­ tation of minors. In addition to this a shi® equal to $4 is offered for the payment of the adult's passage to the seaboard. At "the moiiSiet the bureau, lias been, unable to carry out this ar­ rangement with emigrants, for the rea­ son that It has been unable to contract with the steamship companies that ply between 6ere and Caracas. It hopes to have this arrangement . completed* shortly. - - ' In addition to this transportation bounty the government lias authorized: certain land concessions of the utmost value. To eacfr emigrant will be given free not Jess than Jive acres nor more than six acres of fertile land. Titles and deeds will be made out to him, and: the only stipulation is that s»ne-half the land must be cultivated yithin a period of three years. Another advan­ tage offered is that the emigrant will be permitted to buy at a merely nom­ inal price any other of the public lands he may desire in any amounts and in any locality. The valley of the Aragua, to which particular attention i»paid by the Vene­ zuelan Government, is the most arable section of the country. Up to the pres­ ent time the chief difficulty in working it has been the lack erf transportation. The Ivrupps of Germany have recently invested large capital within its limits, and are now building a railroad that will tap it from end v# end. The ter­ minal points of the road are Caracas and Valencia. It is hoped by the government that American farmers wiTB respond to the call.. The Venezuelans* woorl'd prefer to have Americans take up the farms, and' other inducement may possiMy I»e offered'. It would be easy to fill the Aragua valley with Europeans,, foot the Venezuelan Government oPoes not look with composure at this, It will make every effort to get Americans, and, un­ til failing there, will, not invite Euro­ peans. ... * His Joke Was Turned Very Neatly. A prominent Senator told! an? interest­ ing story tea* group of attentive- listen­ ers at an uptown hotel the other even­ ing, the Senator in question, a young- woman, and a member of the diplo­ matic corps being the principals. It happened that the-Senator was on his way to Now. York,, and. the-young wo­ man in the case was intrusted to> his care. Shortly after, leaving Washing­ ton the Senator noticed' that fche diplo­ mat was casting sheep's eyes at the pretty girl in: the opposite chair.. It be­ came the duty of the Senator to> speak to his charge on some trival matter and: this was tiie long-looked for opportun­ ity for the dude. He-knew the Senator slightly and therefore did not ̂ hesitate about improving: his acquaintance. First seeing that the coast was clear he sidled up to'the Senator remarking he did.so: "That's a deucedly pretty girl withi you, Senator. If you do not consider it presumptuous on my part: I would like to-make-her ucquaintanee.'T There was- just a. suggestion of a twinkle in the Senator's- eye as he im­ plied: "That's my sisters maid. She- is going to New York to meet soma off my folks who- are returning from abroad;" A horrified: look, came ower the face of the young diplomat: who found it' convenient to change his seat into an­ other car for the remainder of the jour­ ney. "After the fellow called; my attention to the fact," said the Senator, ""I no­ ticed that although it was a fine-look­ ing girl who had been- intrusted to my care she was not bothered1 by any mo-re. attention from, her fellow passengers*." Average- Height of Men. Dtring the-war measurements were made of oven 1,000,000 men in the United States army,. a.nd it was found that the average height of men born in the United States was 61.8 inches. Ac­ cording to Topinard, the average height of Englishmen, Scotchmen and Sweden is G7.4 inches; Irishmen, 67; Germans, 66.2; Frenchmen, 65;: Danes, 66.5; Rus­ sians, 65.4; Chinese-, 64; Bushmen, 62; Laplanders,. 6U.T;. American Indians, 68.2; Patagoniatts, T0.3. Taking these measurements as. a basis, the average for the would would be about (55.8. Na­ tives of the United States, it will be observed, are taller than any other rep­ resentatives of the Caucasian race, and it is an interesting fact that residence on this continent, or, at least, the north­ ern part of it, tends to develop ait the races in respect of height, weight and muscular power. Thus, in the army measurement referred to the average height of foreign-born citizens was less than the average of American-born, but' greater than the average in their re- spectivei countries. The high average of the Indians is another point in proof. No statistics of the height of women have ever been tabulated. According to Gerland, the variation in the height of females of the various Vaces is very mneli less than of men. In the short- est and weakest races the females are; physically equal to the males, and' sometimes surpass them. On the other hand, where the stature of the males' Is considerably above the normal, the female departs little from it. He Was Ready. Miss Henniker--Mr. Blucher, I hope you wil pardon me for vein tyring on such a delicate subject, but papa has declared that unless you mean business you must stop coming here. Mr. Blucher--Tell your father that I am ready to talk business at auy time. What are his office hoursV If you think you are solid iu society, try giving a party without rcCces.U- tueuts. GREAT DEAL OF IT IS OF.THE "OLD TUB" ORDER. Tlie Old Indian Method of Traversing the Waves by Canoe Is Again in Vogue-Chilcoot Pass Electric Road Kept Busy--Information as to Rates. Regiments of Men Seek Passage. About 10,000 men are sailing each month from Tacoma ami Seattle on the regular passenger steamers for Junean, Skaguay and Dyea. Forty-five trips were scheduled for February and March, and to these must be added the voyages made by schooners and sailing craft of all sorts. Every kind of craft iu Seattle and Ta­ coma, even to canoes, is hiring out for Skaguay and Dyea. Canoes will carry one all right if properly managed. The Alaska Indians have been coming down every summer since 1859 for the hop-pick- ing season on Puget sound, paddling 1,500 miles down and back again. The canoe business lias come to life again, therefore, and Indian canoemeu command high wages. • _ ,\.: To Tacoma, a city of perhaps 40,000 persons, which was until recently in finan­ cial distress, "petering out and losing its bottom," Eastern investors said, 10,000 men a month passing through and leaving dollars for outfits means a great deal. Houses that have been empty since the boom burst in 1S90 are full now, and ho­ tels that have been closed for the iast three years are crowded with guests. The same is true in Seattle, where rents have advanced twenty to fifty per cent. The transportation business is paying as good returns as the best Klondike claims. Indeed a boat is a far better in- WOMEN AS COMPOSERS. And so I know That day is lost whereiu I fail to lend A helping hand to some wayfaring friend. Bnt if it show 'A burden lightened by the cheer I send. Then do 1 hold the golden hours well spent And lay me down to sleep in sweet con­ tent. # . --Jewish Comment.- » . Publishers Say Their Manuscripts Far Outnumber Those of Men. Rupert Hughes contributes an arti­ cle to the Century on "Women Com­ posers," in which he says: A prominent publisher tells me that where, some years ago, only about one-tenth of tlia manuscripts submitted were by women, now their manuscripts outnumber those of the men ,two to one. While this ratio will not hold Jn published compositions, the rivalry is close even there. Women are writing all sorts of music, A few of them have already written in the largest forms, producing work of excellent quality and still bet­ ter promise. It is in the smaller forms, however--in 'instrumental* solos and short songs--that they have naturally found tlieir first success. So good has their work been here that honesty com­ pels the admission that hardly any liv­ ing men are [tutting forth music of finer quality, deeper sincerity, truer individ­ uality, and more adequate courage than the best of the women composers. Be­ sides these, there is a number of minor composers writing occasional works of purest quality; and in art quality is everything. As to nationality, one finds best rep­ resented the three couutries that are now working along the best lines of modern music: Germany, of course (whose Clara Schumann wrote mneb that was worthy of serious considera­ tion), France, and America; for Amer­ ica, whatever its musical past, is sure­ ly winning its right to the place in this triumvirate of modern music. Its ten­ dencies are toward the best things. Italy has recently had a flurry of new life and of growth away from the de­ bilitating mawkishness into which it A STROKE OF LUCK cause of much loss. The loss to the sheep herds is likely to be especially severe. This is the only really dangerous storm the stockmen have, had to encounter this sea­ son. . ;. The blizzard was most severe in the northwestern part of the State. The air was so filled with snow that it was impos­ sible to see a distance of ten feet for sev­ eral hours. Many bunches of stock were scattered and will not be gathered togeth­ er.for several days,. The weather has not been Cold enough ..to freeze cattle, but heavy loSfe "is'likely from the stock stam­ peding ill the storm, running into and be­ ing cut by wire fences, straying beyond the possibility of rounding-np, falling over embankments, rhyming into ravines, riv­ ers, etc. nr ,c FORTY LIVES LOST. Bark Helen W. Almy Wrecked at Sea Off the Golden Gate. , Forty lives are believed to have been lost a few miles outside the Golden Gate by the capsizing of the bark Helen W. Almy ,during a storm. Twenty-seven of those lost were passengers bound for Cop­ per river ports and other points in the Alaskan gold fields. The other thirteen were the captain and crew of the vessel. When the first intimation of the wreck was brought to San Francisco the tug Sea Witch was dispatched to the point indi­ cated. The bark lay upon her starboard side with her stern low down in the wat­ er, her deck hamper badly wrecked and several planks of her hull washed loose by the seas which broke over her. While there were no signs of boats am&ag the wreckage, it is not believed that her pas- FlXlNG FOR WAR. Gdlon"l Pagli^ri, Havana's chief of po­ lice,. calls corresi'o'de its of Ameiican newspapers "liars," "pigs" and "canaille:" sengers and crew escaped by putting off from the vessel in them. Furthermore, no word lias been received from the sur­ vivors, if any exist. According to the tugboat men, there was a pretty stiff breeze when the Almy sailed out of Golden: Gate on Sunday, and by noon it was- blowing a gale. She left under topsails,, and when last seen was standing out for an;offing. There was a heavy sea running, and it is supposed that some time during the night she was struck by a squall and turned turtle. The Helen W.. Almy was once a south sea trader and was quite famous for her many adventures among the reefs. The vessel was in good condition for an old vessel. She was on the dry docks some days before being put on the berth, and her owners spent $8,000 in repairing htr. She had a« temporary house on deck. When the Almy left port she had twenty- live tons of ballast in her, besides the provisions of the -passengers and their outfits. She was a vessel of only 250 tons. SIXTEEN MORE SHIPS. had drifted, but-haS not yet produced a notable woman composer. The other Continental countries seem even more torpid; and though English women have written much, they have not got beyond the prevailing cheapness of the English school, except, perhaps, in cer­ tain of the compositions of Mrs. Marie Davies and Miss Maud Valerie White. ©£* BOARD AT SEATTLE. HOUSES GOING;