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nwazrm‘ . __.___..._â€"__ YOUNG FOLKS N WHICH LOVED BEST. 'I love you. mother," said little John; Then. forgetting work his cap wen: on. And he was off to the garden swing. Leaving his mother the wood to bring. "I love you mother," said rosy Nell; "I love you better than tongue can fl?” ;" Then she teased and pouted full half a. day, Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play. “I low you mother." said little Fan; "To-day I'll help you all I can; How glad I am that school doesn't Veep" 80 8018‘, rocked. the baby till it. fell (sleep. Then. stepping softly, she took the broom. And swept the floor and dusted the room; Busy and happy all day was she, Helpful and cheerful as child could be. "I love you mother.“ again they saidâ€" Three little children going to bed; How do you think that mother guessed \Vhich of them really loved her best“? nan OLD HAIR TRUNK. ‘ The old hair trunk stands up in grandma's garret. It is such a funny thing. covered with brown and white hair like my pony, with leather bands on it all nailed down with brass-head- ed nails. It smells of camphor and is always fast lmked. There is a story about it that grandma sometimes tells us. It happen-ed when she was a little girl like me. There were twelve chilâ€" dren in the family, some quite big boys. and down like a pair of steps to the twins. The twins were five years dldâ€"a little girl and boy so much alike that. if they had the same clothes on- no one could tell them apart. Of course they were the pets of the house, and they were the funniest lit- tle creatures, always playing jokes on their elders. - One of their favorite tricks was to hide themselves where no one could find flhlem. in the queerest nooks and corn- ers, under tables with clothes on them, on closet Shelves, in amongst the hay ital the barn. Once they got right down inton. great bush andstayed there for hours. After a. while the family stopped being frightened about them when they were missing, and one day which about ten o'clock in the morning some One said that Arthur and Edith had hidden themselves again. even their mother only laughed. "They'll find themselves at dinner time," she said. But dinner time came and they did not appear. Peo- ple went all about the house and gar- den calling “Edie! Artie! :Come to dinmerl Succotasihl, apple dumplings! Colme, childrenl” But there was no answer. ' The twins were so fond of these dish- as that the family knew that they would not stay away if they heard they ' were on the table. So every one he-l gain to be frightened, and ran out into the fields and out into the woods, calling and calling, and some went to the neighbors' houses, and their father put a ladder into the cistern and went down to look. They poked the hay over, they looked in the horses' stalls; they were sure that something dread- ful had happened to the poor little twins at last. If they had only gotl I lost. that was bad enough; even; growln folks were afraid of being lost in the thick. lonely woods, ‘but besides there was a dangerous place by the river, and there was an old cistern, There were lost of dangerous places when they began to think, and now they were nearly frightened to death] Before night all the neighbors were, out looking for the lost twins, beating fihle woods. dragging the water, going down into cisterns. Lanterns shone all over the fields and meadows, but: still the children were not found. And. oh! to think of it! Night pass-l ed and the sun arose again. and not in l trace of them could be found. ' hope; she fainted away. and the doc-.' tor was called and. said she was very: ill. 1 All the girls were crying, and some of the little boys. Grandma said shei never saw anyone look so white as her; lathe-r did, and she herself was tremb-L ling all over. She had to stay with; the poor. sick mother. But she could: not. help thinking that if she could go'= out and look for the lost twins she- would find them. dead or alive. That was an awful thought that they ; might be lying dead somewhere. like: the Babes in the “'ood. that they were; so fond of hearing about. I Now and then she would leave her} mother’s side and go to the window} and look out; still she saw the menf searching everywhere. Yes. and we: women and children. too, and knows that there was no news. and so night came again. , Her mother in tired-hot fever was, moaning in her bed; she herself was faint with hunger for there was no mealscooked and she had forgotten toi get even a. piece of bread since earlyl morning. She was very sick. too. and (no was walking up and down the mom i i l to keep herself awake. when all of a sudden. them came into her head the words of a so her father used to| ping, “The Mist; toe Bough." It is a. song of r. W who played hide and reel: on Christin“ evening and hid herself in an on an: chest with a spring lock.l "of them cured their mother, and all ' of time doubtless nothing will be left No one thought of looking for her there -a.nd she died and even her bones were lot. found for years and years. It seemed to my grandma that the .cords were really sung in her ear, and .vith them came the thought of the aid hair trunk. One day she had seen :hb twins get into it; perhaps that was where they would be found. In a minute she had caught up the .andJe and rushed up the garret stairs. She was so weak that she fell down twice, but she got to the place where the hair trunk stood. and with all her -.trength forced the cover up and looked in. and. there were the children, and she thought that they were dead. But when she stooped down to lift -them up. oh. joy! joy! they stirred, and Artie said in a weak in ice, "Oh, Sissy Jane is blekfus weady? \Ve is so hunglyl" Then grandma. got strength enough to scream so that some one heard her, and the children were carried down stairs. If the old hair truck had not had so many cracks and holes in it the little ones would. have smothered long before. As it was they were nearly starved and Edith. was too weak to speak, but a. little feeding and nurs- ingmade them all right anzl the sight over the neighborhood they blew the trumpets and rang bells and hurrahed because the twins were found, and af- ter that the big hair trulnlk was alway kept fast locked. - ENGLAND'S QUEER VILLAGES. 0iie Town in “'lilch There Is Neither Church, fthnpel Noi- Schoolhouse. Scattered throughout the area. of Great Britain are numerous towns and villages of a curious character. One large village actually consists of old railway carriages, even the little mis- sion chapel being built out of four large horse car trucks. Another vil- lage, with a population of 1,100 and a ratable value of £8,000, has neither church,chapel nor school,the only pubâ€" lic edifice being a pillar. letter box. Villages with a. single inhabitant are not unknown. At Skiddaw, in Cumber- land, there is a solitary householder, who cannot vote because there is no overseer to prepare a. voters’. list, and no church or other public build- ing on which to publish one; while the only patepayer in a certain rural Norâ€" thumberland parish has recently de- clined to bear the expense of repair- ing a road because he considers it quite good enough for himself. In the Isle of Ely there is a little parish which has been somewhat con- temptuously described as "a portion of land with three or four houses, and, perhaps, twelve inlabitants.” ’lhis place has no roads at all, and is conse- quently put to no expense in keeping them in repair. As a matter of fact, there are no expanses of any kind, and no rates. One of the most remarkable villages in this country is Kempton, near Bedâ€" ford, which is seven miles long, and ex- tremely straggling. To walk from one end of the village to the other occupies two hours. , Sometimes whole villages will pracâ€" tically disappear. A little Shropshire village has gradually sunk until now it is almost out of sight. ’It is bui‘t on a disused coal pit, and the sinking goes on steadily eVery year. Now and then a tottering house is propped up to keep it standing, but in spite of all precautions buildings are constantly falling to the ground, and in course but a. few bricks to mark the spot where a village once stood. There are plenty of deserted villages throughout the country. A diversxon of trade into other channels is some- times sufficient to produce this of- fcct. Not many years ago the proprie- tors of an iron works at a townlet near Sheffield, being unable to obtain certain concessions from a railway company, removed their works. Short- ly afterward thal the place was to let, and the windows of many of the houses were boarded up. W THE MOUSE IN THE PlANO. pâ€" lt [Inn 01!! at the Sound of Classical Music. but Not for Two Steps. ‘ Ylll Mill”. [NTERESTING ITEMS ABOUT OUR OWN COUNTRY. l l ‘ ills to buy her troumeau. and lost the urea. It fell into honest hands. and there is joy in one \V’oodstock home. Grand Forks, B.C., owing to certain irregularities in the municipal election, must do it all over again and then pe- tition the legislative assembly to allow the chosen council to take their seals. The Carpenters’ Union of Hamilton, others with the figure of thew “ eagle. while above one [our link-,6 spark. ling with diaunmxds sippori a globe surmounted by a golden cross. Siliigularly beautiful, bush in steps and uruauuuitatlun, is uh» crown of the Emperor of Austria. From the ooronot. there arse sigma jewelled ornaments. each topped by a superb pearl. The hoop of the Clip .3 surmounted by M1 Gathered from Vsrlous Points from th. has passed nresolutionxrpressing apâ€""~‘~‘il~"’l‘111°lhS Balllmi‘l‘v- .Thd M11118 is 0' Atlantic to the Pacific. London's total fire loss for the your was 858,122.65. Brantford’s total loss by fire last year was $55,427.25. Knox church, Stratford, will be im- proved 86,500 worth. Stratford's new Y. M. C. A. build- ing is nearly completed. Gait will spend several thousand dolâ€" lars in cement walks this year. Burglars got thirty cents in araid (fin the Brnntford Soap Company’s ofâ€" 1ce. - Hamilton workmen are protesting against the employment of outsiders by the city. A syndicate of dairymcn near Kings- ton will build and operate a. cheese factory. J. 0. Whitney, of Detroit, has leased the new Grand Opera House in St. Thomas. ‘ Three London girls found guilty of vagrancy have been sentenced to a year each. ' Klondike teas are the latest church fed in rural districts. Boiled icicles are a feature. ; . Neil McEwan, of Vancouver, died from the effects of being knocked down by a train car. Mrs. Dr. Bingham of Hamilton died in the Gait Hospital after an illness of two years. Fort William sports are revelling in anticipations of a new race track and a summer meet. Rossland now licenses saloons for §350 for six months and hotels for $150 for the same period. It is proposed that Brantford adopt a scheme for the uniform'treatment of all its industries, \Voodstock has two damage cases on her hands, arising from; people fall- ing on slippery sidewalks. Kingston’s new elevator is being rushed to completion. It will have a. capacity of 800,000 bushels. Willie Jones, aten-year-old boy, had three fingers jerked off by apulley in Hunter’s livery stable, London. Detective \V. K. Davis, of Toronto, was in Kingston looking for aman the other day. The man saw him first. The Standard Oil Company has bought 9,000,000 feet of lumber from the Booth Co. on the Ottawa river. Eighteen oil wells have been sunk along the London road to the west of Sarnia, and'ail are producing well. preciation of the provision made by: the City Council for the payment of current wages as set by the trades in city contracts. A belt two feet in width broke in Burr Bros. furniture factory at Guelph the other day. Beyond smash- ing various articlw of furniture and frightening the employees nearly to death, no harm was done. 0n the authority of Capt. G. Johns- ton, chief engineer of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Co., it is learn- ed that the company has withdrawn the suit against Belleville relating to the small pox affair of last summer. CELEBRATED BROWNS. MANY AND VARIOUS KINDS AT THE PRESENT TIME. llouliinnla's Is Made of Gun Metalâ€"Purin- gui'}; is “’orlli $3,000,000 â€"â€" The " Iron l‘rown” --' England l'ossscscs Two Crowns. "\Vlh‘o would. not risk his life for a crown i‘" one of the French) conspirat- ors was reported to have exclahmed to Napoleon, when that mighty man shrank back from the coup d'etat which would either place him upon the throne of France or submerge him iln over- whelming disaster. If {this [question were nskcd.t<>day, the ordinary man would reply tlinlt i't depended much up- on the crown, for of late years many of the lesser diade-lns of Europe have actually gone nâ€"beggiyng. Considered ruby colored velvet. 'l‘lhe Eiuperor is also the pcssessor of thu sacred crown of Hungary. "lhs is in fact, two crowns, which have bum welded loge- ther. The first is :l. gout-mi diadcm urn- umented nvlch pearls and precious stones. the otlrsr a. Byzantine circle. Al. the bile of the m'zalzitllm: twonet is an enormous supplnns surrounded by four oblong green stones of some un- known kind. Lapidarim disagree as bu what these T:'ll;§hriifhbi6 gems may be. This crown has been the subject of many extraordinary adventures. in 1848 it fell into the hands of Kossuth and mysteriously disappeared. Rumor had it. that Kossutli had carried it off, broken it up, and sold (die jewels in Turkey“. Ollie-rs declared that id» had been taken to London. .A Government commission was appointed to inquire in~ to the mystery, but discovered nothing until 1853, when a. countryman offer- ed to disclose the secret of its hiding place, and led the searchers to it tree near Orsova. im the roots of wlfioh Kos- suth had caused it to be buried. One of the most beautiful crowns in Europe is that of the King of Denmark. The, while comparatively simple in de- sign is of the most artistic. workman- shlp. The leuives by which the clrclet is surmounted are curved and veined by precious stones. and each. leaf is or- namented lln turn by a: MAGNlh‘ICENT JEWEL. 'l‘he Kilng of the Belgians is an un- crmvned monarch. There is no coro- nation function in the exact sense of the word. The feature of the ceremony _ consists in the King's swearing to pro-j preserve the constitution and luvs oil: the cottmtry. l: lipa'un had in cnrloY times no royal" (lindelln nor does ids crown to-dmy fig~ ure in the. coronation services, the sov- ereign takilng an oath similar to that \\"il.l0h forms the chief feature of the merely from the standpoint of ilntrinâ€" [Belgian installation, sic value there are manly and variousl [kinds of crowns extanlt iln thiB world at the present time. For ilnstance, the crown olf Rounnnnia is composed of gun metal, made in: fact out of a bill; of old cannon captured at Plovna; that of Por- tugal has gems in it which have caused it to be valued at $8,000,000. , The iron Crown of Lounbardnnv’hlich by the by, is the oldest dividem. inl Eur- ope, is only six inches in diameter. The i question usually asked by those who! behold it for the first time is, Where! is the iron? for to all appearances the! crown- consists of a broad circle of gold 5 ornamented by an enamclling of flowâ€"‘ ers. This however, is but the outward case; wit-hin- the coronct rests the iron ‘ itself. It is fashioned cult; of one of Brantford Ministerial Alliance is like nails by Which Christ was taste-“Ml taking steps to stop the distribution of. theatre tickets among school childâ€" ren. . The work of erecting a. new light- house on “Snake Island will not be pro- cgeded With. The reason given is lack 0 ice. The \Voman’s Hospital Aid of Brant- ford has set aside two-thirds of its funds for the establishment of an iso- lation hospital. « George H. Dewitt, who was sent to the penitentiary from Guelph in the spring of 1896, has been released ow- ing to ill-health. Fred Rentschler, a Guelph cabinet- maker, lost the tip of his thumb 'and two fingers through trying to operate a circular saw. Brantford street railway during the past four months carried 12,000 more passengers than during 9. correspond- ing period last year. Lord Dufferin has been offered the honorary colonelcy of the ‘Dufferin. to the cross. The crown now rests in the Cathedral of Monza, Italy, and is‘ under the care of the monks of the establishment. These holy man call at- tention to the fact that while no at- tempt has ever been. made to clean the baser metal, still there is no sign of rust upon. itâ€"a fact which conclusive- lry proves ITS SACRED ORIGIN. England possesses but two crowns‘ which are ever used. One of these is the British state crown, the other the crown of Lngland. The former is rc~ served for important. occasions, while the latter is used at times demanding less Wimiifieemoe. The state crown, the one used by Queen Victoria when use-- ending the. throne, was made especially I for that purpose, and weighs but thir- ty-lnme ounces. Ill. is valued at $1,800,â€"l 000. The jetweils with: which it is stlidâ€"‘ ded were supplied llnostly from older. dindems of the realm. and include nearâ€" 5 ly 3,000 stones. The cup is of criluison l Rifles of Brantford. He has hithertqvelvct, lined with. while silk, and halal been patron of the corps. The 13th Battalion has decided to remain in Hamilton on May 24th.. The “Speaking of mica," saw Mr. Jaime. Fourteenth Rifles of Kingston, may by, "a. friend of tm‘ilne that owns an old~fashloned piano tells me that when it was being played upon the other day a mouse ran out of in; and scamperedl Their poor mother, who illlli beeniarouud on the lop, and then ran down} running about all night! "0“ 83"0 “Die. curtailn whose folds touch the piano' at one end. The mouse had done this twice in it siugtc day. . the instrument for a mouse's nest, but none was found. Per- haps the mouse had only just selected. bhfs place and had not yet. begun build- ing when it was first started by the sound of the strings. lHowevcr. that may be, irt still comes back, and it comes out and runs away only when classic- al music is played. and not for two steps and that sort of thing. "As to the accuracy of these facts tllirsre can. of course, be no doubt. The only question is my own mind is as to whether the mouse's failure to come out when the two steps and so on are played really indicates a. preference for the lighter forms of music, or that -â€" erâ€"râ€"the mouse isn't there." _. \VHAT SHE LEARNED. Mammaâ€"W'ell. Elsie, what did you lcarn at school toâ€"day ? Elsie. aged Gâ€"Learned to spell. Marianaâ€"Now. what did you learn to spell i‘ Elsieâ€"Mean: Hammer-And how do you spell man? Elsie. promptelyâ€"M-a-n'. man. ' Mamaâ€"Now how do you spell boy! Elsie. after a. few moment's reflec- tiomâ€"The same way only in littler let- tern. The last big snowstorm cost Montreal $52,000 for the removal of snow from ‘ visit the Ambitious City on that date.[ 1 lstory runs that Pedro invited the liedl an ermine binder. To some of the gems } bllizimg in this insignia of royal power gruesome and romantic. legends are at- ‘ taclicd. For instance, the famous ruby a given by Pedro the Cruall to the Black ‘ Punt-e is said Uo haw-e l-olnl: into the. fornmr's hands by foul nuans. The. The Vatican lmasures contain a va- riety of papal tlitrus, some of (opinions value. “which from the beautiful work- manship and precious stones that adorn them, are rendered priceless. Among this collection is one presented to Pius ill. by Queen lsabella of Spain. It is valued at more than $l,000,009 and weighs over three pounds. Anolhel‘ treasure is the papal tiara presented by Napoleon to Plus VII. One of its gcans is. the largest emerald lmowu. (The Sultan possesses no crown, corâ€" onation being unknown in Turkey. in place of this is substituted tire invesli- tors of the monarch with the sword of. Otlminn. H‘he sabre is girl. around ill-l: new Sultan wilh the words: “Take it with faith, for ye have received it from God." Outside of Europe the crown becomes a rarilly. “he crown of the Shah of Persia, ilf such it may be: called, is of. an alltogehlie-r exceptional shape and slze. -1mlc»ed.'i't is most. frequently «ll-- scrLbed by llllosc who have seen it as ll. ’llomiiet. fit is composed of cloth of gold, adorned with slriings of hanging precious clones with. here and 1ilfl"0 tufts of feat-hers ornamented by diu- men-dis, rubies, emeralds and pearls. LETTER THAT NORA DICTATED. Was Ilia Scrvnnl. Girl lgiiorunl or “’nu kim- \‘cry Clever. M. young housekeeper had an amus- ing experience with her first. cook, an excellent woman from the Emerald Isle, who after a. few weeks of employ~ ment in her service asked her mlstréss to write a letter for her to the folks across the sea. "I do be mimdin' the puts an' puns / so much that I cayn’t spell me words straight. am' as for wrilin’ l ii'n'ir was a master hand at the pen. if ifi’s the same to you, ma'am. I’ll be after say- im’ some few slicrcls an' it would ob- ligo me if so as. ypu’d be cloain' your cars." " All right. Nora. You can any any- thing you please and i won't listen to a word." "'I‘bankce. ma'am. ’l‘liin you might begin wid a. fine svnlimeni ub‘oul not the city streets. Two hundred thou-'Kl'ng of Grenada to hislmhw and qur- ‘ forgvtlin' them a». in left behint. An' sand sleigh loads of snow Were reâ€" moved. London City and County Councils are considering plans for a new hospital. “Search was made in the interior of i The “ounty “I” “Rely take a fifth inlerest if it does not cost more than $15,000. Two Charlottetown, P. E. I. toys, 11 years and 14 years respectively, have been sent to the penitentiary for tcrms of two and five years for steal- ing $32. Nellie McGraw, the London girl ac- quitted last fall of a charge of mur» daring her child, is again in the hands of the police, this time on a charge of vagrancy. By apersonal canvass Dr. Clark of Hannah street Methodist church,Hani- ilton, has succeeded in lifting afloat- ing debt of $2,200 off the church in two weeks. John Dalton, of Glanfordjs the proud possessor of a. cow that gave birth to twins on Thursday. When an hour old the twins weighed 142 pounds. They appear to be thriving. A poultry expert has recommended to the Brentford Council that all fowl brought to the market must have the heads on in order that the health of the birds may be determined. A \Yoodetock young woman started out with upurm containing 8100 in l l l | tier-ed hfs guest for the sake of the won- drous germ. Perhaps the sIInic-llcr iii-'5 flue-nee which might attach itself to ’tll's john-f is counteracted by its com- panion, the l'llllllPllBO sapphire which is fainezl lo have come from lhc rf.llg of Edward the Confessor. So grail. were the virtues it was sulppos:d to have guinctl through its contact with this; holy man that it was gem-rally bclicv-l ed that the stone endowed its possess-! or with power over various disrasesfi in connection with the (ii-ideals of I-Ing- ? hind infght be mentioned the ancient} crown of Scotland. which still may be: ;scen in Edinburgh Castle. It was made ! in the fourteenth century, and, oil course was used at. the coronation of; Mary. Queen of Scots. I The Russian imperial crown is it won- derful piece of workmanship. The (.‘2-3 ar being regarded by this people as to1 a great extent a. religious as well as! a temporal lord. it in not surprising to. find the badge of imvcrl-ignriy modelled after the patriarchal. initre. Five beau- tiful diamonds resting on : MAGNIFICENT RUBY. form the cross which composes its sum- mit. Diamonds and Marla of the ut- most perfection and a sapphire which. it is claimed. has no rival, render this diedem one unsuan in magnific- woe. The crown possessed by the German Emperor is d peculiar shape. The rap rests upon eight alields. {our ornam- ented with diamd crosses and the lull tliim there‘s money here jut-ll for tlu- \mrkiln" for 't an‘ as fine things to lite on drink an’ “car as needs be, an this is let‘lin' 0le know that l‘ve found ll good place, barrin' the truth that thi- mil-leis doesn't have any alums, she being young and inexperienced like." " But, Noraâ€"" "l'in not through yet. lna‘iuu. She do In- that foolish about taking care of her house that cliildcr 3 years old could larii her, all' she given me orders that would turn the bonds of the bless- ('d saints th’luimdves. lin' can't nook no more nor the pig in the pen at home, :tn’ hasn’t the palirncc to lnrn. But I bump to tat-he her if it's in her to lam. an’ here's wishing mcsclf gum! luck in the undertakiin'." " Is that all. Nora !" asked her mi» tress meckly, us the owl: waited for inspiration. “ Put in my love and duty lo’lhe old folks an' the byes illi’ tell thin when they write to direct to me here. for though I nivir tackled a bigger or a harder job l’ili thinkin' I'll stay by the mil-sails till she gets a kitchen ed- dicetion." Nora stayed and is well satisfied. both with her place and her mistress but the latter often wonders whether the contents of that letter were dis- teted by a spirit of much knowledge or real ignorance. In either case thi- scheme worked to the advantage of the courageous Non