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OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. .When Sh«rlock Hdlmes, ingenious mail, _ pursued his strange career, We studied his adventures with a sym­ pathy sincere, ' f Although iutime his victories monotonous became, Because his base opponents never won a. - * single game. . .. * ' • • :• "•: \ ' • He caught his latest .criminal, and' then at last--he died; "We mourn him. we lament him, but it's :---- time he went," we cried; ' Ah, foolish words!. Soon after we regret­ ted him, dismayed To find he'd left a family to carry on the il. trade. • .. _' " • - They swarm in every magazine, each jour- • 'V * nal with them teems, Detecting obvious criminals bj* very obvi­ ous schemes, Adapting to their purposes devices long -•••r-V- ago' V- Invented by the master hand of great i Gaboriau. , Their wisdom, too, is marvelous; the mud upon your boots • Informs them to a penny what your bal­ ance is at Coutts'; They know your mother's maiden name, what train you traveled by, And if you've had lumbago--from the color of your tie! > Yes! Sherlock Holmes is dead and gone; but still in other shapes We meet the old detective whom no / it,:'.?, • criminal escapes; The hateful "Strange Occurrence" or : "Mysterious Affair" Still, still infests the magazines and drives us to despair. . Oh, ghost of Mr, Sherlock Holmes, please , mercifully kill These shameless imitators of your tran- / ' scendent skill, Or haunt the homes of editors, and point­ edly suggest That fietionary criminals might be allow­ ed a rest! --St. James's Budget. SUSAN ANN'S METHOD. tlrely by herself, she told liim th^t she wanted something to Wpar, and gave him a little memorandum of what was needed. "Jeroosliy, Susan Ann," he - ex­ claimed, "I can't stand this. I'ye al­ ways said you wasn't much On savin', ;but' this is upsettln' everything. Why, what you've got down here will cost p.s much as.$31.75. . "What if it does, Joram," she re­ plied amiably, "haven't I worked for i.t? You haven't bought me anything s i n c e w e g o t ^ a r r l e d . " - • . ' ' 7 " . "And 1 ain't bought myself anything, have I?" he"asked after the manner of the kind of man he was. When breakfast was over Susan Ann was not much nearer the desired goal than before, and she was in a bad humor besides, with an addition in the UK SHIVERED BEFORE THE TILE OF RTO-. BfSH. HEN Susan Ann Bilton married Joram Nellums she thought she was doing b i g things, for Joram was very fore­ handed and there wasn't a thriftier farmer in all Squan Neck neigh­ borhood than he was. Of course, people said Joram ^Nellums was so close that a dollar couldn't be dragged out of his pocket with a team of cat­ tle; but Susan Ann said that was be­ cause they hadn't so much as he had and didn't know how to accumulate. ; As far as Susan Ann was concerned j she was an old maid who took in sew- I ing and made enough by it toydress j herself well and live in tlie^mty hotel | in the town of Squan Neck. It wasn't j much of a hotel, as hotels go these days, but it sheltered Miss Bilton very com­ fortably. and being an independent woman who liked to have her own way coming and going, she found it emi­ nently satisfactory, It cost her possi­ bly as much as $2 a month more t^flive there than if she had gone to Mrs. Wig- ginses' boarding house, but Susan Ann was not close when it came to her own comfort and convenience. It was a great lift to her, no doubt, when she married Joram Nellums. for now she Was to be mistress of her own house and the finest farm in the country. Many a younger woman than she would have been glad to have become Mrs. Nellums, and it cannot be denied that on the first Sunday that the new Mrs. Nellums walked down the aisle iMini'.i MADE RUDE REMARKS ABOUT CLOTHES HE WORE. of the church she carried her head a few notches higher than the meek and lowly doctrines taught in the edifice every Sunday really required of her. That was the woman in her, however, and it may be excused under the circum­ stances. The happy couple went away on a bridal tour to be gone two weeks, and it was a sore disappointment to Susan Ann when Joram cut it just half in two, giving as an excuse that the business of the far ill had very unexpectedly called him back. Like an obedient wife she accepted his explanation and his promises that they would go to the city as soon as the crops were laid by, and they would stay there as long as she cared to stay. For a month after their return Susan Ann laid great store by her exalted position in Squan Neck society, but somehow there was an ever present lack of opportunity to use it to excess. Joram was busy, or Joram was tired, or Joram had something else that pro- vented, or forty dozen other obstacles with Joram back of tliem interfered with her plans. Thus a year ran on, and by that time Susan Ann was doing kitchen work and house work and there was some indication that she would be doing the Washing next, with a fair „ prospect that tailoring for Joram and one or-two of the farmhands would be added to her other duties. Occasion­ ally Joram had something to say about economy, but lie never a<fcused her of extravagance. "You ain't very savin', Susan Ann," he "said to her one day, "but I'm willin' to agree that you aiu't a great spender." About this time the fact began to dawn upon her gradually that there was a difference in the manner of Mrs. Nellums' everyday life and that of Miss Susan Ann Bilton. She would wonder sometimes if making dresses and get­ ting paid for them, with the privilege of spending her earnings as she pleased, was. not in some particulars almost as satisfying as doing two women's work for Joram Nellums without pay. At the end of two years she discovered that the wedding clothes that she had provided herself with had come to%ie ragged edge, and a new dress at least, and bonnet were absolutely necessary. So when Joram sat down to breakfast one morning in a good humor, for the breakfast was a good, one, done en- shape of. a disappointment in Joram she had been trying for a long time to stave off. \ " At the.,endt of a week hevgave her $10 and told her that he could not spare another cent "You must remember, Susan Ann," he said, "that I ain't a millionaire. And eyen if I was I wouldn't encourage ex­ travagance in a woman. It's born in 'em anyway, and if they git half a chance with money they never know when to stop letting go." Three months after this lecture from Joram. she got another when the neces­ sities of the case drove her to him to get a pair of shoes. Then Susan Ann sat down to think over the situation, and it is safe to say that she did some very tall thinking. Some women might have wept, but Susan Ann was no weeper. If she had tears to shed,.she did not intend to shed them in a cause of this kind. Some- tiling harder than tears was the remedy and Susan Ann was not long in getting at it. That night at supper Joram didn't like the coffee. "It was more like beans, lie said, but Susan Ann hadn't much to say. and Joram thought she was sullen because he had talked judiciously to her on the subject of extravagance. The bad coffee continued a week and then Joram .noticed that the meat was not as good nor was the bread, as it had once been. He complained, but Susan Ann hadn't much to say. On the following Sunday when they started out to church Joram thought Susan Ann was a sight to behold, but he didn't say anything for fear she might come back at him about the dress and the shoes. It was the first time since they had been married that Joram had not felt a pride in the appearance of Mrs. Nel­ lums and it made him think just a lit­ tle. On the way home he spoke of it and suggested that as he had made a little something on wheat the week be­ fore maybe he could let her have that money for a,new dress. "Indeed, no, Joram," she replied. "I don't want it. I only thought I did. I can get along just as well with what I have at present and we can save that. Every little counts, you know, Joram, and we are too poor to go to needless expense." " He insisted mildly that she should take the money, but it was not difficult for her to convince him that it was ex­ travagant, and lie said no more about it. The dark bread and the weak coffee and the bad meat continued and there were added other things less attractive Jto the palate than formerly, and one day when he wanted to know why she did not use the meat in the smoke house that he knew was as good as any that had ever been cured, and he prided himself on curing meat, she surprised liim by putting quite a sum of money down by his plate and telling him she had sold it for a good price because she thought it was more economical to eat less expensive meat. Joram began to talk, but she was so pleasant and practical in lief arguments that he had­ n't the heart to argue and gave up to her. He also put the money in his pocket One day when he went into town on his wagon some boys made remarks about the clothes he wore and when he told Susan Ann about it and said may­ be he had ought to get something better, she flew all to pieces and gave the naughty boys sucli a raking over that Joram was sorry he had said anything about, it, and went on wearing the same old clothes. A dop-n or more times during that winter Joram sat shivering before a miserable fire because Susan Ann in­ sisted that fuel was too expensive, and that they must save until they had plenty to indulge in luxuries on. Day by day the tabl<rbecame poorer and ^poorer; the good china was put away and tl^e old cracked kind brought out; the little silver things that had been given them for wedding presents were locked up, and Susau Ann was cutting down expenses in a way that nobody would have expected of her. Several nights Joram almost froze her good temper could do to keep htm from boiling over. All this time Joram was doing some thinking as. well as Susan Ann was, and between shivering at nights and balf. starving during the day, he was getting in a condition to go to a lunatic asylum. One day the final crash arrived. When Joram came in from work the big easy chair he had paid $25 for in a freak of extravagance just before he was n^arried was gone and with it-all the carpets. "What does this mea^, Susan Ann?" he asked, trying to appear cool. "Are you house-cleaning?" 7 "Why, Joram," laughed Susan Ann, "how you talk. You know this ain't house-cleaning time." "Wen, where's the chair and the car­ pets, then?" " "Hero they are, Joram." And she gave him $100. "Besides the money I got a cheaper chair and cheap car­ pets in their place, and they'll be here in the morning. Now go on and wash your face and hands; supper's ready." Joram obeyed and went to supper; and it was the meanest supper lie ever sat down to. That evening he shivered before the fire of slack and rubbish, and that night he had too little cover, but lie could hear the money jingling in his pockets. ^ - At breakfast lie appeared looking as blue as an ague patient and shaking. like two. , 1 "Susan Ann," he said, "I'm going to town this morning. You haven't sold the buggy yet, have you ?"..,. "No, Joram." she answered, "but there's a man coming to look at it to­ day. We don't need it, and It costs a mint of money to keep a carriage, any­ how." "What time's the man comlug, Susan Ann?" he asked submissively. "He said he'd be here at 10 o'clock." Joram Nellums gulped as if some­ thing were choking him, and he looked at Susan Ann. "Susan Ann," he said slowly, "here's a check for $1,000, and you can tell the man that's coming to go to the devil. I'm going to take you to town in the buggy, and we are going to buy every­ thing we want and have a nice time, and when w^e come back I'm going to make you cashier of the business and you can do as you darn please. Econ­ omy's all right, Susan Ann, but there's a limit to it that somehow I never see before until you showed it to me." Then it was that Susan Ann broke down and cried, because she thought the occasion appropriate, and the tears that fell from her face fell upon the face of the check in her hand, but Joram actually laughed and kicked up his heels like a boy.--Free Press. THE JOCKEY'S SCHEME. A USEFUL PRANK. How Ridicule Became the Incentive to Winning- an Education. •A- jolly party of Yale students camped out in the/Vermont woods, near.the border of the State, for midsummer Sport. Returning to camp one after­ noon along a lonely road, they met a backwoods Canadian boy, who was jog­ ging along with a blind horse putting a buckboard. "This must be a native," whispered a mischievous collegian. . "Let- us guy him by talking Latin." As the boy approached, the wag bowed ceremoniously, and delivered sonorously a ^passage from Cicero which he had once declaimed at school. His companions stood by in silence, floirig their best to look like Roman Sen­ ators. The boy stopped his horse and sur­ veyed the group with astonishment "I do not understand the language which you are speaking," he finally stammered.. ; The orator continued his fierce invec­ tive against an imaginary Catiline, while his companions solemnly ex­ pressed their approval in such ejacula­ tions as "Tempus fugiti" "Hie, haec, hoc!" and "E pluribus unum!" The boy, perceiving, that, they were making a butt of him, drove on, fol­ lowed by a chorus of laughter and a shout from the leader: "Have your Latin about you the next time youimeet gentlemen!' ~ It was a foolish prank which the col­ legians speedily forgot Not one of them had an idea- that anything would come of it . The Canadian lad had an errand to do for his father at the nearest village. He asked the owner of the crossroads store a curious question: "Do you know Latin?" "No. I may be buried in the woods, but I am not a dead Roman!" "Then Latin is a dead language?" "As dead as Julius Caesar." "I want to learn it Have you any Latin book in the store?" Strange to say, there was an old Lat­ in grammar in a cupboard in the store­ keeper's litftise. It was an old-fashioned text-book. "You can have it," said the store­ keeper, "but you will never read a word of it" The boy took the book and drove home to his father's cabin. He never saw the collegians again, but for years that Latin grammar was his constant companion. In some mysterious way, possibly by having it always under his pillow, he learned to read it and to con­ jugate the verbs. A sportsman who heard the story advised him to go across the border and earn his living in some college town where he could continue his stud- ness required for the match sticks, while at the same time eight small knives cut the slice into seven pieces, -like ribbons; and of the length required for the sticks? these ribbons are then broken Into lengths of six to seven feet, knotty and defective1 pieces are removed, a'nd the ribbons are then fed through-a machine which cuts them into pieces like' a straw cutter, these then passing through an automatically arranged machine with cutters, which slices^ off as many pieces, the thickness required for a match, as there are cut­ ters, one machine turning out from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 match splints a day. The data given of this manufac­ ture shows that Sweden and Norway have long been among the largest match-producing countries of the world, their exports amounting to about 20,000,000 pounds of matches per annum, while in Germany the number of factories is stated at 200, with an annual yield Of abOut 70,000,000 matches, and in Austria there iire some 150 factories, with a correspondingly large output DEATH SEEMED NEAR. for lack of cover, but Susan Ann was cheerful and told him that newspapers were warmer than blankets if he woukl only make up his mind to think so. He kicked, however, on this, and was only pacified when she gave him $20 He Knew the Failing: of the Horse He Had to Heat. "i don't want no more such tight squeezes like dat race on ole Jack Richerlew las' week," said Felix Carr, the crack jockey. "It was nip and tuck, eh?" ^ "Wus den dat," replied Barney Schreiber's saddle-tinted breadwinner, retrospectively. "Jes 'fore de race Mars Barney come inter de paddock an' he says, 'Felix, we've got ter win on ole Jack to-day.' " 'We kyan't do it, Mars Barney,' says I. 'Dey's been a-packin' an' a-packin' weight on de ole boss tell dey's done broke his heart. He's car- ryin' de Palace Hotel ter-day, an' I ain't gwine ter bat an' spur him no more. Hundred and thirty-four pounds. Doniino couldn't pack that. He couldn't win ef I killed him, an' I don't gwine ter try.' • ' ' "'Felix,' says Mars Barney, 'we's got ter win. I bin a-losin' fur ten days. I lose $9,000 on dat durn Eck- ert an' dey's got de ole man up a gum tree dis time fur suah. I stand ter win $0,000 on Jack, an' ef he don't win) I'll liav' ter come down off de block!' Das jes' what Mars Barney says," and the jockey's voice trembled at the mere recollection of the awful possibility. "I felt mos' like I could cry," re­ sumed the successor of Garrison, "but I says, 'all right, Mars Barney, I'll get dar ef I kin, but it's good-by ole Jack. It's he las' race.' Den I go back to de stables to fjCe how ole Jack strip. Den I went round to the stall of Red Pat, dat I kuowed was gwine to boat us with de light weight H^.look fine, but he was all in a trimble. " 'What's matter wid him?' I says. " 'Why,' says Pat's rubber-down, 'he's jest seen 'er rat. He was bit by 'er rat when he was a colt and he feard of 'em ever since. Jes' watch," and he hit the feedbox with a scraper and hol­ lered 'Rats,' and Pat he snorts an' jumps back. He was nios' scared to death. "Pretty soon the bell rings and we mounts. As I go out dar was Mars Barney at de gate, wipin' de purspera- tion off his face. 'Felix,' lie says, and den he chokes up. " 'All right, Mars Barney,' I says. 'You jes' go back an' take all de Pat money you kin git; we'll git daF some­ how]' - ^ Well, it were a tur'ble race, for suah; tuf'ble! I coax- ^le Jack along tell down in de stretch Chorn and me had de rest beat off, an' we went io de bat fur de wire. I kep' de spurs ready fur de las' jump. 'Bes' I could do I cud only lap on Pat's neck. • I was knockiu' at de door, but dat's all. Then yards from de wire I frows de steel in an' ole Jack got his nose in font jes' a second, and jes' den I leans sideways over Pat's head and I seg, 'Rats!' " The lad went to Rochester, supported himself in a preparatory school, and entered the university there. What is more, lie became the Latin prizeman, remarkably proficient in the classics, and made a fine record for scholarship. He studied law and was successful in his profession. A random college prank turned the current of a whole life, The young Canadian's early conquest of Latin was a boy's wliim inspired by pique. Ou trifles light as this has hung many a hu­ man destiny.--Youth's Companion. MAKE ENGINEERS SMILE. Be rilE WORST SUPPER 1IK EVER SAT DOWN" TO "And then?" "Red Pat quit right dar. I win out by a lip. When 1 came back to de stand dar was Mars Barney leanin' over de fence, an' when I look at liis face I felt like a chickin in a dough tray, shuali."--San Francisco Exam iner. Work of Insects. The great Barrier Reef, along the coast of Australia, is about 1,500 miles long, the work' of coral insects. Some­ times it rises almost perpendicularly from a depth of 1,200 fathoms. that she had received for the fruit she had put up and didn't care to ise. He thought it was extra stock that she had, but later V\'hen he wauted some and she told him she had spld it all,* and there wasn't anything for dessert now but dried apples, Joram became rather demonstrative, and it was all A Terror.--Bulkets--Don't you think your sister will be awfully sorry to marry and leave a nice little boy like you? The Pet--Yes. She said she'd s a' got married a dozen times over if It j hadn't been for me.--Smith, Gray & ! Co.'s Monthly. We scarce got rid of Congress, " With all its doings sad, When, presto! comes a baseball club Tha1's realty most as bad. . ---i, --Washington Star. Railroad Stories of Adv.enture to Taken with a Grain of Salt. "Old railroaders smile frequently when they read in the newspapers the accounts of alleged thrilling adven­ tures of engineers," said a member of the craft "For instance, I noticed a story in 'some Chicago paper not long ago of the terrible experience of a man whose hair was turned white in fifteen minutes or something of, that kind by the close call lie had for going through a bridge. There had been a heavy rain, the supports had been undermined, and tlie whole business would have gone down under the next train that struck it. "All this would have happened if the 'eagle eye' of the man at the throt­ tle hadn't taken in the situation about half a mile back ou a heavy grade and reversed his engine. The queer part of the story was that this 'eagle eye'-- that's what we call 'em on the road-- daren't reverse his lever until he had nearly brought the train to a standstill with the air-brake. 'Otherwis ,' said this story, 'the engine woul< franr jumped the track.' That is to say, if he had put on his air-brake and re­ versed his lever at the same time the sudden stoppage and reversal would have thrown her off. "Now, all this reads very well, I sup pose, to the general public, who don't .care whether a thing is true or not just so it interests them. It amuses a railroad man for another reason. He knows that an engine won't do any­ thing of the sort Whenever there is danger ahead which compels a man to stop right quick he doesn't have any time to waste setting the brakes and then waiting for his train to slow Up before he throws his lever. He gives the air brake a shove with liis foot and throws back the lever, all by the same motion, you migtyt say. It's all done in a second. "Then, if he has a chance he looks out for himself; he has done all he can and he jumps. As a general rule, if the accident which he has prepared for really takes place, he doesn't have time to jump, and although engineers are as brave as any set of men alive, be­ cause a man takes his life in baud whenever lie. goes out on, a run, they often get the credit of beiug heroes and sticking to their engines in the face of danger when, as a matter of fact, it was the only tiling they could possibly do. When a man discovers a washout or another train coming to­ ward him on the same ...track it is usu­ ally too late to get out of the way be­ fore the smash takes place. The hero­ ism conies in in holding a place year in and year out which is liable to cost liim his life at any hour of the day or night through the blunder of some one else or some accident that nobody could foresee or prevent." But the Presentiment Turned'Out to . -"\ j, Be Fulse. Gen. Gordon, a distinguished South­ ern veteran, recently told of an expe­ rience during the war in the Shenan­ doah Valley when Gen. Early ordered him to storm a Federal fort in tlieii front "I never was more indignant in my life," said Gen. Gordon, "than when I heard my order. I knew it was an unnecessary thing to do, and explained to Gen. Early that we could accomplish our plan of campaign without slaughter­ ing my command by^this attempt to storm a strong positon; a position that would fall of itself when we should make our proper movement. Early took no other notice of my explanation than to send me word that if I did not care to execute the order he wTould delegate its execution to some one else. You may guess this .reply made me boil with fresh indignation. I felt it to be an insult, but, inasmuch as it Was my place to obey his orders, regardless of consequences, I issued the necessary instruction for a movement at daylight •next morning. "I began, on my own account, mak­ ing every preparation for death, for I had a presentiment that I'would this time meet my end. So I Avrote a fare­ well letter to my wife, told her what to do about myj affairs, handed over my watch and other personal effects to a friend, and then walked up and down my quarters waiting for day to break and my command to move. That was a solemn night to me, for I had this firm presentiment that it was my lasl night on earth. I always had, in every battle of my life, a sense of the danger to which I was exposed. I never knew what it was to forget it; but tint; t:::;e I felt as I never, had before. "So at daylight I took up my line of march to my death, as 1 fully expected. Ou we went, closer and closer to tL'C fort, until at last we were within close ange of its guns. I wondered that they did not open on us, and every second I expected to see them belch forth shol and shell and play havoc in our ranks. On we went; my,eyes were fixed on the guns and my mind excited to its high­ est tension with wonderment why they did not open fire. On we went until our advance struck the fort and rushed upon its defenses, when, to our uttei amazement we discovered that it had been evacuated, and not a Federal was anywhere in sight, inside or out. Y'ou can imagine my sense of relief as I saw my boys in possession of the fort with­ out so much as a scratch. So you see what a presentiment is worth. I have never much believed in them since that night." ONLY A POOR LITTLE CAT. She Made the Terrier Tired Before She \V as Through with Him. She was only a black and white cat of humble birth, and she was return­ ing from a little social party in the neighborhood of 12th street and Broad­ way, in Kansas City. It was rather late at night, but what of that? Cats keep no count of the hour, and she was as dignified and proper in her bearing as a mature black and white puss need be. There was nothing about her to justify the insolent attitude of a Scotch terrier, who suddenly confront­ ed her with a snarl and a snap. Puss tried to cross tlje street, but a cable car was in the way, and the impudent terrier made bold > to chase her. She suddenly turned, and the terrier stopped. Her back went up, her tail grew big, and she spat out defiance at her tormentor. The terrier may hare been rude, but lie was discreet--he kept at a safe distance. Two or three news­ boys, a "red-hot" man and a police- officer were interested spectators. They most ungallantly sided with the terrier, who was now barking fero­ ciously, but keeping out of pussy's reach. One, of the boys threw a stone at the combatants; it rolled between them, and the terrier's attention was diverted for a moment; from his antag­ onist It was bis first mistake. Puss' saw her opportunity and leapt at the terrier, landing fairly on his back. In a second she had her claws full of his hair, and he was running for dear life down the street Puss held on like a circus rider, contriving to sink her sharp claws into his back at every jump. The crowd followed, shouting. As they passed an alley puss jumped off and disappeared in the darkness. There is one terrier in Kansas- City who has had enough fun with cats to last him a lifetime. Making Matches. A description is given of the Swedish method of manufacturing matches, which has at least the merit of simplic­ ity in the manipulation of the wood stock., The timber is cut into blocks about fifteen inches long and placed in a turning lathe; with each revolution a elice or veneer is peeled off the thick- The Retort Quick. Speaking of the young man who talks in public places I heard a retort made to him last Thursday night which was so good I was surprised never to have heard it before. It was at the thea­ ter, and the young man had seen the play before. He let everybody for four seats arounfd know that, and he kept telling just what he was coming and just how funny it would be when it did come. Ho had a pretty girl w ith him, and lie was trying to amuse her. At length ho said: "Did you ever try listening to a play with your eyes shut? You've no idea how queer it seems." A middle-aged man with a red face sat just in front He twisted himself about in his s<ftit, and glared at the young man. "Young man," he said, "did you ever try listening to a play with your mouth shut?" ' And the silence was almost painful. --Washington Pqst GRANDMOTHER SINGS. A Melody that Had Thrilled Her Fifty , l'cara Ago. u; Three generations sat in the soft glow of the deep crimson lamp shade that mellowed everything in the parlor. There was one daughter seated at the piano, singing sweet and low; she most of all was glorified by the ruddy rays from the tfansTucent'^""paper that fell over her. There was the, mother, and beside her sat the mother's mother, near the circumference of the halo, the one listening with a glow of pride, the other, to whom the girl's voice was new --the grandmother was a visitor at the house--listening as one who hears a voice calling in a lonesome place. She sat there thinking, thinking, thinking, did this dear old soul, of a day when she; too, had sat at ihe piano herself, so proudly, and" had sung the tender bal­ lads of that bygone day with a voice full of passion, a deep contralto voice, one that touched the heart in its most sacred depths, when the strong, clear notes were struck, and then broke into a pleading tremolo iij the upper regis­ ter. Fifty years ago that granddame's voice had thrilled hearts now dust, or worse than dust--hearts that were numb to tender things--and there was borne in the burden of her songs one message, that of love--even before her heart had known its meaning her voice had spoken love. The voice of the girl sitting at the piano was like her grand­ mother's had been. It-Shunted chords In the hearts of those who heard her and set them pulsing in echo to lier own sweet longing that could find no words. God only knows what long silent, rusted chords she touched with her resonant voice, did this child in her grandmother's soul. She sang the simple ballads of the day--"Last Night," "The Clang of the Wooden Shoon," "Marguerite"--and as she sang her mother, to whom the sing­ ing was an old story, slipped out of the room--taking all, hel* years with her, perhaps--and left them together; to­ gether even in youth that sees visions. The young shall see visions, and the old shall dream dreams, saitli the prophet. But when, by some magic of a voice or some alchemy of the soul, old age, which has dreamed dreams, sees in one vivid flash of light the dreams of the past as visions--there is tragedy. The girl under the crimson lamp shade turned idly from leaf to leaf in her portfolio and sang by piecemeal. The elder woman only asked that she keep on singing. She only asked to hear that voice, her own voice, to the very quaver of And her dreams were all but visions, and life was all but youth again. -There had been a Wild song, ode that the hearer did not know, and the chorus sobbed out: "O, Is it forever, Love, that we must sever, O, Love, will you never Come back again?" And the story that the sonk told of was of two lovers who had met under the roses and had known "the/We of a day the love of a life." What a swirl of fancies the singing of the child sent eddying through the aged brain! Tlio music did not cease. The girl recalled a sweet old song, a peaceful, sorrow­ ful ditty our grandmothers sang: "Could ye come back to me, Douglas, Douglas, In the old likeness I knew. I'd be so faithful, so loving, Douglas, Dougla-s, Douglas, tender and true." The girl sang ou until she thought she had tired her grandmother, and then whirling around on the stool sho said gayly: "Well, grandma, how do you like it? Haven't I improved in ten years?" She rose as she said this and without even waiting for a reply, as is the way of careless, thoughtless youth, she left the room humming: "Npw all men beside are to me like --" ^shad o ws, Douglavpouglas, tender and true." The girl werTtl to her mother, who she knew was attend?^ to some duties of the household. ThtAwords "all men like shadows" ran through the aged wwam's head when the girl left the room and she was thankful for the child's thoughtlessness which had left her alone for a moment The spell of the pleading song was upon her. Her life was turned backward. Young faces smiled at her. She seem­ ed as bold as youth--this shy old wo man, who two hours before had been afraid to protest against the overcharge of a cabman. She heard her daughter's steps and the child's in the room above her, and, thrilled with the mesmeric enchantment of the song, she became wrapped in a consuming longing to try if she could sing the old song again. She tiptoed about the room, and clos­ ing the doors and looking ever behind her she circled to tlie piano. She wished to sing out loud some­ thing that was in her heart, to put it into words aud let it come from her lips. She believed that to say tlie ach­ ing words would ease a throbbing in her heart She eould not at first bring herself to begin the song, so she fum­ bled among the keys, pretending to hunt for the air, and said the words of the first stanza to herself in silence. She touched the pianissimo pedal of the instrument. Then, as her hands upon the keys led her to the second bar, she moaned: "As I lay my heart on j-our dead heart, Douglas, • \ Douglas, Douglas, tender and true." And when she heard the horrid croak of her own voice she remembered--ev­ erything. God pited her and sent hv.:- two great tears, tears tLm were of youth that had been kept sacred through all the years. Song of the Roads. I looked to. the eafit, I looked to the weatf I saw a man with a "jag" on, A-whipping four horses, all pulling theiS best, And hauling an empty wagon.' ^ CHORUS. Pull off the road, boys; Tear the fence down. Tlie road is too bad to travel. * . Pull off your coat, boys, /' All mired down; Get out and pry out and walk into to'M. It rained in the north, it rained in tho south; It stalled ev'ry man with a load. They all were whipping and working their mouths, For the bottom was out of the road.^> An old fanner started to cross a bridge \ To fight the road tax levy, •: - .-i The bridge broke down, and I s^w hin» drown, •' His road tax was so heavy. I saw an old hat move along on the mud; It made me watch and wonder. My pet pointer pup, he picked it up And found the owner under. Five hundred farmers all go to town, The time that each one loses A-miring in mud and swimming a flood Would fix up the road he uses. A stranger went out to buy a farm. He slipped when walking a rail-- A shriek and a roll in a big mudhol,e-- And the farmer he lost the sale. The river is just as pure as the things That live on the banks and throng it. The road or the street is just as neat As the people who live along it. •• --Good Roads. Government Favors Wide Tires. The Agriculture Department has is­ sued a bulletin compiled by Roy Stone, special.agent in charge of road inquiry, containing information concerning tho use of wide tires on wagon wheels. Mr. Stone regards it of special import­ ance in the maintenance of public high­ ways that the vehicles used on them shall have tires of greater width than are now in general use. Extracts from State laws respecting the width of tire to be used on vehicle are given, some of which offer a rebate of a portion of tho highway tax on wagons with rims or tires not less than three and three and a half inches in width. fThe results of experiments with wide tires in vari­ ous States are also given. For the Benefit of Good Roads. The New York State meet of Ameri­ can wheelmen will probably be held at Coney Island and will include a race meet, a theater party, a dance and one or more runs. The profits of the meet will be devoted entirely to the improve­ ment of side paths or the erection of guide boards on Long Island, or the publication of a special guide book for wheelmen of the New York district, as may be determined by the members of the L. A. W. residing in Kings County. It is proposed that the net profits of all league meets in New York State shall be turned over to the good roads fund for the benefit of the wheelmen in the county where the meets are held and not to the club treasuries as here­ tofore. This scheme originated in New York and will doubtless be imitated elsewhere if successful. Good Roads, Better Prices. The longing of many young men and women to escape from the farm is largely traceable to the isolation caused by the '%iud embargoes. Good roads mean better prices for tlie farmers lo­ cated a few miles away from the mar­ ket town, because the present condi­ tion of the highways compels the mar­ keting of the products of such farms at the times when the roads are good and the market prices usually,,lpw,est. Good roads would permit the average purchaser of farm products living in towns and cities to buy his stock of such articles at a lower price than at present The Value of Light. A sunbeam is a small thing, yet it has a power to fade the carpet and cur­ tains, to rot the blinds, and for this reason folks carefully exclude the sun­ shine. What is tlie result? The fam­ ily is always ailing, the young girls have a waxen white skin and a weary, pinched expression of countenance. Their appetites fail, they fall into sucli a bad state of health that tlie doctor is called in. In olden days he would have shaken his head, perhaps, and friends would have whispered that dreaded word "decline!" Nowadays he notes the pale gums and waxen skin and says "anaemia;" prescribes iron and milk, fresh air and exercise and often a change. If lie knows nothing about the darkened rooms, he will be puzzle^ as to why no permanent improvement manifests itself, and, possibly, the pa­ tient will'seek other advice.--Medical Monthly. Coming to a Mutual Understanding. Travel an& commerce, passing to and fro on the sea highway, are slowly con­ tributing to bring about a mutual un­ derstanding between the races of men which points toward their unification, intellectual and moral. England, now dominant in India, labors persistently, even against her will, to reduce tho contrasts that divide the populationsof the peninsula, and to give them a mor­ al unity corresponding to that of their geographical position; but the barrier of mountains aud of solitudes which, to tlie northwest of India, marks tho natural limit between East and West Is still almost as difficult to cross as it was 2,000 years ago. The mountain passes are open only to the privileged--privileged hy for­ tune or by political power; there are no great highways, even yet, to facilitate freedom of movement to and fro. And, indeed, before any such highways can be opened to the free ingress of the na­ tions, a great question of political equilibrium--the • greatest and most pressing of modern times--must bo settled once for all, and settled at the foot of those very mountains of Hin­ dustan which have stood through all times barring the Corner, passage be­ tween tlie two worlds. England and Russia are the two coun­ tries specially involved in tho dispute; it is for them to solve--by peaceful means if possible--this problem of the leveling of the mountains of Central Asia. It was said once--but in a pure­ ly dynastic sense, and history has not yet ratified the saying--"The Pyrennpp are no more!" It rests with the civili­ zation of the West to say, more truly, and from a human, not a dynastic, point of view, "We have done away with the Himalaya!'--Elispe ReclUs, in the Contemporary Review. . y Nations, like individuals, live or •die, but civilization cannot perish.---Maz^ zinL •' ^ 0>'