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V ‘ .‘5 s i l v , .. "fianceeseasssseesasseeasea’fi "Oh. if my darling could only have the winet Poor, so poor.” Annie heard her mother's Words. although they were not intended for défiéééééééééfié‘éééééééé‘gk V Annie’s ” ' v ' W Curls V - W V V W W W W I her to hear. She saw her brush away the tears from her eyes and then go back to Teddy’s room. “What did the doctor say, moâ€" ther?” asked Teddy, voice; “did he say I will Annie heard the reply: in a weak get well?” “He says that the fever is broken, and that all you have to do now is to get well.” Teddy’s voice trembled as he re- plied: “Oh, mother, I was afraid he Would say I might die, and I wondered who would take care of you and little Annie. I am glad God is going to let me live to do it. Now I must begin to get strong! Can’t you give me lots to eat?” Annie saw her mother’s lips quiver as she turned her face from Teddy. “Yes, my son, but not too much at once, you know,” she said. Teddy looked very thoughtful. “But is there anything in the house, mother? I have been sick a good while, and my last wages must be nearly gone, and you haven’t had time to color many photos lately, ’ have you?”‘ The boy’s mother answered, brave- ly: “Sick folks mustn’t bother about these things, you know.” Then she left the room, and Annie saw that she, did so to hide tools which were streaming down her worn face. ‘ “I must do something; I wonder what it will be?” murmured Annie to herself, and, crushing her hat down over her curls, she slipped inâ€" to the street. Annie thought constantly of wine for poor Teddy, and wondered if she summoned courage to bog a bottle whether anyone would be kind en- ough to give it to her for a poor sick boy, her only brother. She knew that grocers sometimes kept wine, especially around holiday time, and felt sure if they only knew how very, very much it ., was needed at home by her poor sick Teddy that some‘ one of them would surely give her a bottle. Then there were oth- er places where they sold nothing but wine and such stuff, for she had seen big windows full of the bottles, with pictures 0f great bunches of beautiful grapes standing behind them. Annie wasn’t a bold, forwmd child; she was timid, but brave and reso- lute; her love for her brother, at least, made her brave for the time; so she resolved in her heart to beg for the wine which the doctor said would bring back strength to Teddy. Christmas had come and gone, but Teddy was so ill with fever that Annie ‘thought nothing about the absence of the gifts usual to that happy day; but now Teddy was to grow better, and she did long to be able to make his New Year’s and her mother’s brighter than Christâ€" mas had been. As she Wondered down the Streets revolving those thoughts in her mind and wondering how she might get the necessary wine she passed many a gay scene. Early evening had closed down on the city, and all the shops were aflame with light and brightness. Annie gazed wis-tfully at the pretty - things in the great windows; she was but a little maid, and could not help wishing for pretty things for herself and for her mother and Teddy. But the wine -â€" she must not lin- ger; she would only look in one shop and thenâ€"then she would seek the great shop where wine was sold in bottles; surely the big, rosyâ€"faced man whom she had often noticed standing in the doorway of the shop would listen to her story of poor Teddy and give 'her the wine. So she stood before this last store â€"â€"it was a jewelry storeâ€"and, oh, how beautiful the jewels looked sapphires and rubies and diamonds-â€" how they glittcred. The sight Was enough to fascinate older eyes than Annie’s. Presently something in one corner of the window caught her gaze â€"- it wasn’t a jewel, it was a switch of lovely hair; not one, but several, and below them in pretty, shallow, satinâ€"lined boxes, were clusters of curls. A sudden thought came Annie; she pressed her little hands together and held her breath, then paused a moment to gain courage, and passed resolutely into the great store. A kindâ€"looking man came forâ€" wardto meet her and said: "What can I do for you, little lady?" “Do you‘buy hair?” she asked. “Sometimes, little one; why do you ask?" “Will you. buy mine? See, 1 have plenty!” she answered, taking off her hat and shaking her curls down over her. shoulders, and looking up with anxious eyes. "But, my little girl, are your curls yours to sell?” '. - . “O'hl, fies, stir; if you ‘piily knew. why" I must, sell them, I am sure you would buy them. Teddy. is so . ill thataho'nec’ds' things, and' mother-â€"” and here she choked up so she could say no more. “And you want to sell your beau- tiful hair to buy things for your sick brother; is that it. little one?” “fies. sir." How hard it is to be so? he; couple of days to see her curls to. [ “I wouldn’t take it, butâ€"” "Please don‘t refuse me, sir; grow in again; it grows see, hair will awful fast; waist!” “It is beautiful, a very rare color, and so curly,” said the man, strok- ing the rippling mass of shining hair. “Mother’s is just like mine, only it is a. little fady here and there. You will take my hair, Won’t you? Please do; it will surely grow again, and my brother needs things so very, very much; the doctor says so!” The man led her into a back room and himself cut the glossy locks, laying each curl carefully down. Then he called a man who wore a white apron and gave the little shorn head into his charge. “I believe that you are prettier than before,” the kind man said, when the hairâ€"dresser had finished. Then he laid a, little-roll of bills in the child’s hand and bade her be careful not to lose it on her way home. . Annie hurried ‘ home. When she arrived mother was reading to Ted- dy, and Annie crept in like a little mouse. She removed her hat careâ€" fully, so as not to spoil the hair- drosser’s work, then dropped the bills in her mother’s lap, with a “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, mammal” “Oh!” screamed Ted-dy. “Oh!” screamed mother, both saw and knew all. "How came you to think of it, my poor_l.jaby?” asked the mother. “It’s for wine â€" wine is better than curls any day,” answered Anâ€" nie; then, turning to Teddy, she hug- ged him in joy and said softly: "Get well, Teddy, and pay me back '1’ as they some day . Then she told how it all happenâ€" led, and how she Was going in a in their pretty satinâ€"lined case! After they had both kissed her and thankâ€" ed her over and over again she crept away. "I’m glad I did it; but how lonely my pretty curls will be!” said the child. But the curls were not at all lone- some. The kind man was looking at them when one of the boys showed a gentleman in. The visitor was a big man and he had gentle eyes, though his face was somewhat rough to look at. “I’m quite out of heart, Alfred; I 10 clew; but what’s that can get aren’t have there? Pretty, you they?” “Yes, beautiful! ” Then the kind man told all about the little girl who sold the curls to him, so she could have money to buy things for the sick brother. “Alfred, this hair is just the color of Ellie’s; could it be? Could it be Ellie’s child’s hair?” . "She’s coming here day after to.- her curls in their satinâ€"lined box; then if you .vill be ‘here you can find out whr she is,” morrow to see answered the jcwder. Sure enough, Annie came to see her curls as they looked ready for sale: she. wanted to see the box. While she was admiring it and tellâ€" ing about Teddy, and how the wine was doing iim good, the stranger with the gentle eyes arrived. life talked to the little girl for awhile, 'then surprised the jeweler and little Annie by bursting into tears. “They’ve told you about Uncle Luke, haven’t they?” be asked. “Oh, yes, often,” replied Annie. “He is in Australia, where the bark falls off the trees and the. leaves stay on, and where the birds have no wings, and everything is so queer!” “But what if he came home?” | “Oh, he won’t,” she said, “mothâ€" 1’ or has lost him completely. “But he has come home. I he.” ' Then there was what Annie called “a time.” That was how it happened that just as the doctor was praising Tedâ€" dy’s- patience, and saying how the wine had helped him, there was a great flutter in the hall, and Annie bounced in, dragging a big man with kind eyes in a rough face by the hand. “My curls fouml' him. Luke, mother, and he has money onâ€" ‘Cl 1T1 gough to buy my curls back two i or 'three times. I know, because he .said so.” And then there Was much more of "a. time.” And the doctor held ’l‘erlâ€" dy’s hand while Uncle Luke told about his long search for his sister, and mother explained about father’s death and her removal to the city, and how she lost Uncle Luke’s adâ€" dress an-d could not get a letter to Ireach him. ' Then they talked about lAnnie’s curls, and the doctor blew his nose furiously and dug at his I . . , leycs, and, Annie heard him say. “Old idiot that I am! I guess I’ll try to see about a way of get- ting wine when I prescribe it again for a boy whose mother has that frightened look in her eyes.” Annie tucked her little shorn head under the doctor’s arm and whisper- ed: “But you see how it was ' best, don’t you? My curls found so much for us â€"- they brought us an uncle. Just look at mother; don’t. she look happy? Isn’t a good uncle the best 'New Year’s present in all this 'w0rld‘?” . , .W‘ine. is a good medicine when one |needs :it, and Teddy-improved rapâ€" gidly -â€" so'rapidly that he-.was most ready to try the new sled that Uncle Luke brought home to him on New Year’s eve. As for Teddy’s moâ€" ther, the roses began "to tint her cheeks again, and Annie was sure she was the. prettiest and best mother in all the world. 1t is Uncle: it is beloW my AUSTRALIANS - wards for alâ€" - â€" WORRIED BY THE RABBIT AND FOX. Another Beast that Makes Great Trouble Is the Native Wolf. During the first year of the proâ€" claimed Commonwealth of Australia it may be interesting to consider a few of the troubles, unknown to us, with which our distant colony has to deal. First and foremost is the rab- bit. Many years ago, when Aus tralia was very young, it occurred to some enterprising Victorian colâ€" onist, that the harmless, skittish little bunnv of his native land would form a welcome addition to the faâ€" una of his adopted country, and he imported a. few. The idea caught on. People liked to see the pretty little things gamboling about, and other colonists imported a few more; while the landowners upon whose property they were domiciled care- fully protected the furry colonists from Wicked men with dogs and guns: Indeed, for years after per- mission had at length been given to kill them, the injunction not to shoot the young ones was religiously given as it was respected, says Household Words. MEANS OF EXTERMINATION. Toâ€"day you may turn any deadly thing, from Maxims down to mi- crobes, loose among them, and no man will raise a hand to stay. Nay, men will rather call you blessed. For the rabbit that Australia nurtured s'o gently has been ungrateful. In return for her hospitality 'it has laid waste hundreds of miles of wav- ing corn and pasture land, and no man Can tell what the end will be. And this, too, notwithstanding that every known means of extermination has been employed against him. In the northern colony of Queensâ€" land, for instance, the most arduous efforts have been put forward to keep out the pest. A rabbit-proof fence, 700 miles long, was thrown across the line of 'march from New South Wales and South Australia. Bacilli of chicken cholera in pollard pellets were freely distributed among his runs, while private owners were state assisted with their fencing to the extent of 4,42l miles, and about 3,000 miles by lessees. In 1898 alone the state paid 1,522,835 scalps, and this was, of course, exclusive of countless slaughterings for which no row-and was claimed. Recently some enterprising individuals have frozen the pests and exported them to Engâ€" land. There are already signs that this trade may attain considerable dimensions. Once convince the man in the street that there is money in it, and brcr rabbit’s extermination should degenerate into a sum in-sim- ple proportion. THE UNNECESSARY FOX. After brcr rabbit, brer fox. He was originally imported for the two- fold purpose of killing off brer rab- bit and affording colonial sportsmen u. taste of the joys of “Tally Ho!” He has fulfilled the latter function in a manner worthy of Dewct himself. He has also slain a few rabbits. On an average he kills six domestic chickens and a dozen young lambs for each rabbit he consumes. 4 The squatters have consequently voted him do trop, and started to hunt him for more than merely sporting reasons. The Antipodes is noted for topsyâ€" turV’y customs, and an Antipodean fox hunt is no exception.' From first to last, Ilcynard has it all his own way. With hundreds of rabbit and wombat burrows in every square mile around his habitation, the hounds have never a chance. Brer fox runs just far enough to stretch his legs, and then goes to earth. Meanwhile the farmer colonist, who is only just beginning to get rid of his plague of dingocs-, contemplates doing a little fox hunt on his own accountâ€"with dynamite. TIIE SHEEP’S ENEMY. The dingo, or native Australian wolf, is a handsome black hound with a while chest and tail tip, and often scales as much as four or five stones. He is the only animal (loâ€" mcs-ticated by the aborigines, and before the advent of the white man prayed upon the young kangaroos and bandlcoots. But to his mind there is nothing to beat the taste of lamb, and lamb he will have at all hazards. It is intensely difficult to thwart him, even with the aid of the best dogs, owing to tl'xe'thickness of the bush and the stupidity of the sheep. Two or three dingoes will suddenly rush out and cut on" perhaps a dozâ€" en sheep from a flock of a thousand head. ‘Their 900-odd .companions will immediately bolt through the bush, and it will take their dis- tracted shepherd perhaps an hour’s hard toil before they can be re'â€" marshaled. ‘Meanwhile, the dingoes haveeaten their fill, mauled the reâ€" mainder, and slunk off. Were it not that the dingo seldom hunts in larg- 01‘ numbers than tWO or three, sheep farming would have ‘been impossible in the Australian continent. ‘ THE CI-IEERFUL SPARROW. , The 'sparrow is anotherAntipo- dean curse. He 'was imported to :kill the Antipodean he had been protected by heavy pen- alties for several years, it was sudâ€" 1‘8- denly disoovered that the wrong sparrow had been imported. “The hedge sparrow, not the common sparrow, was the insect-eater," the colonists were told. But it was too W___ my PESTS OF THE lllTll’flllES late. They had got the common sparrow, and they have him to this day. He levies a heavy toll on the far- mer. Nothing escapes his attenâ€" tion, except, perhaps, his original objectiveâ€"the insects. Corn, fruit, seed and vegetables alike fall a prey to his voracious appetite. Countâ€" less "sparrow clubs” exist for the sole purpose of his destruction, countless rewards are paid for his heads and eggs. Still he flourishes, one of the most distracting problems of the Australian farmer. - THE ABORIGINES. The black fellow is- another thorn in the colonist’s side. gaol scum, which the wisdom of past legislators let loose in Botany Bay, found him an unsuspicious child. Their outrages upon even his primi- tive notions of honor and womanâ€" hood converted him into a blood- thirsty maniac. He became re- garded as so much vermin to be shot on sight, or dosed with opium and fiery spirits, according as the fancy took his tormentors. The effect up- on his kind has been most disas- trous. In 1790 Capt. Phillip estimated the total number of aborigines at a million. By 1881 the number had shrunk to 200,000, w'hile toâ€"day it is probably not more than 170,000. Inâ€" deed, Tasmania is already blackâ€" less, the last native having died so long ago as 1876. If appearances are to be trusted, the natives will not survive the present century. And they will not be missed. ~ A MYSTERY TO THE END. Only a couple of years ago a party of six black fellows and halfâ€"castes terrorized several hundreds of miles of up-country ranches by wounding and murdering all with whom they came in contact. It took several strong posses of police, aided by the keenest “trackers” in the governâ€" ment employ, many weary months on that crimson trail before the gang was finally “disperser.” Educationally and socially he will remain a mystery to the end. He has named every bird, beast and fish that 'he knows, yet he cannot generâ€" alize, and would regard you with stupid incredulity were you to speak of a sparrow and a crow as “birds.” His numeration ends at “three.” Four is merely “two two,” and five is "tw0 three,” and so on. He eats alike his slain enemy and his dcâ€" ceased friend; but in the latter case he regards it as his duty to the dead. He has never built himself a hut, reared a crop, or, dingOCS ex- cepted, domesticated an animal. He has, in fact, lived only for the moâ€" ment; and, now that the moment is. passing, he is fast getting pushed off the earth. THE AUSTRALIAN The larrikin is the Australian Hooligan. In a large degree the lineal descendant of the original Bot- any Bay transportations, he posâ€" sesses most of their vices and none of their redeeming qualities. He is better educated than his Lon-don qrototypc, and not infrequently starts well up in life. Then the spirit of “freedom” so common to new counâ€" tries, gets him. As a rule it finds first bent upon the race course. Betâ€" ting is Australia’s greatest vice, no I-IOOLIGAN. less than £30,000,000 annually changing hands in this way. Gambâ€" ling means dcbt, and here it is that heredity swamps him. He de- scends to pilfcring, and in a few months has forfeited his right to re- spectable employment. Then he streets in search for mischief. Here he is joined by stranded gold-«liggers, ne’er-«do-wcll sons of good old English families, outâ€"andâ€" out s-callyâ€"wags, larrikinesses (of whom the least said the better), and the sweepings of the Polynesian ports, all Of whom combine to make him a, power to be dreaded. Start- ing his carecr~ in his early ’toens, the larriklin is at his height in the early twenties. By 25 he is either a confirmed criminal or has lapsed back in the paths 0f virtue. Such lapses are rare; His reclamation or extermination are probably the toughest of. the many problems which confront the new Australian Commonwealth. “4...,” BAG PICKER AND ARTISAN. One of Cork, the Other of Dublin, Each Heir to $300,000. It. is doubtful if a- fortune ever tumbled into the lap of a person less likely ,to use it to advantage than the $300,000 which the United States Supreme Court recently lawarded to 65â€"yearâ€"old I-Iallan Cal- lagan, of Cork, Ireland. as her share of the estate of her cousin, John Sullivan, who died in Seattle, Wash. A Wrinkled, haggard, with a narrow, pointed nose, thin lips, a bitter tongue and aggressive disposition, the woman who has just inherited $300,000 earned her living until a few days ago as a ragpicker. For years she had made her home in a Squalidlittle room alley appropriately named Crone’s lane, in Cork’s worst slum. 'She' be- gan life as a crockct worker, and once earned as much as $5 a week. ~Thcn she got to be a scrub-Woman and made less, and of late years she has collected bones, sold fruit and ingectsi _. After, generally lived from hand to mouth. ' She has .been somewhat partial to gin. Edward Corcoran, a poor Dub- lin artisan, got the other half of the Sullivan estate. 4c»...â€" Early rhubarb is sent to London in December from Yorkshire. finest _ value will be'~considerably augment The original. takes to mooching about the Sidney ‘O-fi' in faCt' .in a narrow PERSONAL rOINTERsifT Doings of Prominent Actors _. on the World’s Stagem _' The Pope is enthusiastic pliila‘ telist, and possesses some of f-‘lhe stamps in the world. Theii ed'next year, "for the Roman (lathe. lic priests of Cashmere will present to him, on the occasion of his Silvei Papal Jubilee, a unique collectib‘n of obsolete ,stamps of Jemmu '2 and Cashmere. .1." ,. Probably the youngest privat‘Q's’ec; rotary in the world is Ye Weâ€"C bug. the only son of the Minister fxfr'onf' Korea 'in Washington. {e is" spiny thirteen years old, and a year itagu did not know a word of Englishgjbnt so rapid has been his progressz in this language that he can now lapth write and speak. it. He dressesQ'in American stylé, adopted many Americanisms. _. .- Miss Elspeth Campbolh-in-addl _ to beingan expert angler, is one-1301' the best lady bagpipe " ,e, players-ml Scotland. Her father, Lord Arch? bald Campbell, who is mostk‘énâ€" thusiastic about Highland manners and customs, still keeps up a pipe band at Inverary. Prominent Seats who still I, have privatef'pipers T1.‘ are: the "Duke of.Fife, 'the. Duke of Sutherland, the Duke of Argyll, the Duke of Atholl, Lord Macdonald of the Isles, and Lord Lovat. Few people Colors for the "Army. Sir Albert W. Woods, Garter King-ofâ€"Arms, is the holder of this office, and his ex.- pcrt knowledge of heraldry proves of valuable service when the authorities require information on technical points regarding the colors of. any regiment needing alteration or re- newal. Although colors are not carried into action nowadays, they ..as vitally important are regarded , best symbols of, everything that is in a rcgiment’s life and history. ‘As’ a crack whip, huntsman, yachtsman, boxer, and racing man, there are few betterâ€"known sporting peers than the Earl of Lonsdale, who recently entertained the German Emperor as a guest. It is perhaps, not so generally knOWn that he has also been a traveller in Arctic re« gions. About fourteen years ago Lord Lonsdale went on a long and arduous journey through the wild territory of Northwest Canada. His travels occupied close on twelve months, and during that time he scâ€" cured many splendid trophies, which now adorn the various rooms in Lowther Castle. When President Roosevelt was mak- ing a State visit the other day a little girl managed to elude the police and, running up to the Pre- sident, said : “Mr. Roosevelt won’t you please wear my rose in your button-hole ?” The President stop- pod and smilingly said : my dear ; I will exchange with you.” And taking from the lapel of his coat the carnation'that he always wore, he gave it to the little maid and put the rose in its place. Then the procession of Cabinet Ministers, diplomats, governors, senators, gen- erals, and other dignitaries, who were wondering at the cause of the interruption, was allowed to pass on. During the King’s last review Ilia Majesty noticed that the reporters had been placed .a considerable dis- tance from the royal dais, too far to hear ehe extempore address which he was about to deâ€" liver. He therefore sent an. equerry to request that they would come nearer. Two reporters Were deputcd to wait on Ills Majesty, and. pencil and note-book in hand, stood by the King’s side. "At that moment Major- Gcneral Trotter, who was in comâ€" mand, “spotted” them, and riding up asked what they Were doing there. Before they could explain, the King said : “Oh, it’s all right, Trotter. They are reporters. I asked them to come. I want'thcm to hear my speech. ' ......__-.+__,__._ DEMOCRATIC EMPEROR. There is no barbaric splendor about the court of Japan, nor does lhe emperor insist on fantastic forms of homage. He is just a plain in- dividual. I-Iis guests he receives standing, and he enters freely into conversation with all. "l‘here is scarcely a subject that does not inâ€" informed. A delightful is his custom to suri‘bund not well host. it and has already- know that there is- such an office as that of Inspector of. ‘ ‘ Certainly, . 'terest him, or one on which he is' himself with clever men â€" men who - are the shining lights of their pro- fessions. Engineers, artists, musi- cians, writers, soldiers, scientists ~â€" every class of persons who have won distinction is welcome at the royal table, for it is one of the character- istics of his majesty that in the disâ€" tribution of his farm's he is thor- oughly impartial. "ww FREAK IN NAMES. People 'in Melbourne are beginning to say that in order to do any good in Victoria your, name“ must be Clarke. _’I‘hc Governor is Sir George Sydenham' Clarke,‘the late Agent- General in London was Sir Andrcug' Clarke, the first Victorian, baronel was Sir William' Clarke, the ri'c‘he's'l squatter is Sir .Rupert Clarke, thl new Bishop 'of Melbourne is" Canox Clarke, the most prominent membc; of the Melbourne Stock Exchange if Mr. A. Clarke, the chief Australia! novelist is Marcus Clarke, and "th Sandsomest Victorian matron” i mdy Clarke. Probably it would b difficult to match this in any Angle _Saxon community in the world, Ina-"l, m it 5-4.