~~ a “ol Politicians UMORISTS "hase written English history before now, and we recall thal the great- est of them, Charles Dick- ens,wrote a'child's history, in which, recording the death of Henry VIL, he said that the king left a spot of blood and grease on the chronicles of the island. Henry Lucy was known to millions before he became -Sir Henry as the Parliamentary corre- jspondent of Punch and a humoriat of lestablished reputation, Recently he has made public some parts of the diary that he kept for half a century or more, and from them we get in- teresting sidelights upou some of the great men of the times. Like most other historians, he has his own particular slants, and one notes that to him Gladstone was hardly less than a demi-god. But the world knows all about Gladstone that is likely to be known, and @ir Henry has not much to disclose on this sub- ject except his profound admiration. We are more interested in what he says about Sir Charles Dilke, a great, baulked statesman, of whom the world thinks generally in terms of the divorce court. When the charges. were bronght against Dilke which led to his soci ostracism, he was betrothed to a girl Their engagement up to j but when.she heard of the accusations against the man who had seemed des- tined for the Premiership she cabled immediately ‘to the London news- papers announcing their relationship, ‘as act that Luey properly calls as brave as it was loving. She for home as soon as possible, and of their married life the chronicler cies “It was a perpetual honey- oon.”. At the Dilke home it was the habit of the week-end guests to dispose themselves on the verandah, a custonr that required many chairs. @ne of them was: labelled in Sir Charles’ handwriting, “Lady Fussie’s Chair,” which ,nobody else ever thought of occupying. r six years Dilke was under a cloud, although several times he was offered a seat in Parliament. He declined all of them, and insisted that If he should @ver re-enter public life it would be at the request of men who had “full and absolute belief’? in him a his word. Eventually he did returm for the Forest of Dean, and sat as its representative: until "the time of his dea It is in coon with Dilke that | to we recall one af the most character- istic imoidenite of the la aye King Ed- ward. It was he who pu oy. ee Dilke on the street and s with him, thus testify faith and confidence. was difficult for lesser persons to pre- t the statesman was one un- bury. It was sup he had enemies within the party who prevented it, but we are told that Chamberlain himself, who saw the agaiust its acceptance. conversation with the chronicler in 1900 he said that when he left the Liberal party he had determined that in no circumstances would he become Premier, though he admitted that he would have desired the office had the opportunity presented itself. before he left Gladstone. © Salisbury, who dominated the Cabinet meetings in his firat two ‘administrations, toward the close of his career would sit silent with clos- ed eyes and permit the aere chiefly Chamberlain, to do the talking. The suspicion is that he was asleep. He was no democrat, and ill-concealed a general scorn for the masses His ‘aloofness was broken down, however, on the occasion of his wife's death when public expressions of sympath$ ‘were so general and heartfelt. This loss was a blow from which he never recovered, and he died within two years. He was essentially a kindly man, and a tremendous- worker, os every British Prime Minister has to be. But he was not a cautious poli- ticlan, and was apt on little provo- eation to arise and make speeches that later on more diplomatic col- leagues had to explain away. Naturally Lucy’s diary is rich in onal \ anecdote. e tells of Bayard the admired—American Am- bassador, geo was sensitive on the wubject of his deafness, which he tried to conceal, telling a story at a dinner which had -been told in al- most the same words by the previous speaker, whom he had been unable ito hear. We hear once more of Lady Burton, of the famous brewing fam- ily, who wished to go toa Masquer Myal CREOPHOS TONIC BUILDER RELIEVES BRONCHITIS 7 Nal» * For sale in Listowel by J. Living- stone, Jr. and J, A. Stuart. smile. 1" “I look at these brisk gentlemen \ bombing, with bombs each capable | of destroying a small town, “ | submarine activities, ain’ not let him associaie with men of ain fntellect.” Wellington's Census ‘Paper. Census papers, such as are now being prepared for our us¢ next year, are-supposed to be destroyed after the returns have been compiled, but there have been” exceptions. One collector treasures the census ‘paper filled in by the Duke of Wellington in 1361, ae for at o. enee eae of lesser people i be recalled that the SAreEbArS gon Gh were not re correct. To the question, “Where born?” the duke yg “In Ireland —believe in Athy,” reas he was born, as insdataoyartinles records show, in Merrion street, Dublin. To the question,. “Any deaf or dumb in household?” he answered, “il am deaf."’ Grandfathers—Old and New. “When I was young,” writes Mr. Frederick Langbridge in Sunday et Home, “grandfathers were very old: A respectable grandfather couldn't be much under eighty. His hair was white as snow; the genuine grand- father let his unassisted hair, shin- ing and abundant, cover his neck and often overflow his shoulders. His cheeks were like winter apples, bright with a cléar, if shrivelled, glow; his eyes were of a cherry, frosty blue; and he was a little proud of his abil- ity to read the mallow: print without the aid of .giass “But his paste thee were his chief glory. He scarcely condescended to small nuts—they were the delight of boys—but give him a little bag of Brazil nuts (David Copperfield, you remember, had to crack them in the door), and you won hi of hearts. I hope I shall not startle any of my readers by a question that asks itself in my Irreverent thought. Did grandfather really ever live? On the whole, I am inclined to think that grandfather, like Waverley and the medic. novel, was fiction founded vat inclines» me to this belief is the circumstance that, in a certain sense, grandfather still exists. Not pase gush I am introduced to well- groom n of the nioment, with the latest tate, the latest news, the latest cut in knickerbockers, who answer—perhaps with a shade of re- luctance — when eae Hoey call them ‘grandpapa have no more of the winter es frosty but and then a little touch of an old fever, but good as ever at croquet, just a ittle ‘has-beeny’ at cricket. going ‘stronger than ever at golf, lords still of gallant speech, and, by the grace of a good dentist, of the ivory-golden and say to myself: ‘Are things what- they seen or * visions about?’" William His Mark. Among the mediaeval manuscripts belonging to the Baroness Beaumont, and recently sold at Messrs. Sothe- by's, was one concerning the Abbey-of St. Stephen, Caen: While the others went’ at comparatively small prices, for this one, a few inches of vellum, the purchaser had to pay £500, the reason being that it bears the auto- graph crosses of William the Con- queror (signing as William. King of the English), his Queen, Matilda, and two other witnesses. It would seem that the earliest English Sovereign of whose ability to write his own name there is existing proof is Ed- ward III.; and though the antograph crosses of some of them before that are known, no other of the Conqueror than this Beaumont one is extant.. . Drying Fish. Electrical dehydrating plants for fish are promised as a result of re- cent experiments in England, which demonstrate that it is possible with the ald of heated air to accomplish in a brief time results that now re- quire many days of air curing, says Popular Mechanics Magazine. Depriv- ed of every trace of moisture, the fish meat may be kept for years, and then restored to its original freshness by soaking for three days in water. The dried flesh also may be ground into a fine flour of high food value. The process has M patented in all countries. Doctors say that sitting with the legs crossed is conducive to obesity. Horrors of the Next War. Writing fh the Review of Reviews Mr. H. G. Wells gives his vision of the next war, the end of which will, he says, be ‘a triumph of the dying over the dead.” “armies will advance no longer along roads," he writes, ‘‘but extend- ed in line, with heavy tank transport, which will plough up the centre sur- face of the land they traverse. Aerial will be practicable 1,000 miles beyond the military front, and the seas will be swept clear of shipping by mines and ‘Phere will be no distinction be- | tween combatants and non-combat- ants, because every able-bodied citi- | zen, male or female, is a potential producer of food and munitions. | Probably safest shelters will be the , earefully-buried _sandbagged, and | camouflaged General Headquarters of the contending armies. There, mill- ; pay (Contributed be Ontario st mage ol Agriculture, Torom TMOSPHERIC tentbariture has ever been a matter of ~ much concern to agricultur- ists. A high temperature, although necessary and beneficial in some cases, is detrimental In others, but in each case requires a liberal amount of precipitation. On - the other hand the destructive. frost of late spring. and early autumn is an unpleasant but frequent visitor to the agriculturist. Man has harnessed much of nature and made it his ser- vant, but as yet bo one can say that man can control the atmospheric temperature, although he may modi- fy it In‘a few instances or overcome some of its disastrous effects. The primary source of ull heat is- the sun. Old Sol shines and: heat and light travel the intervening §2,000,- 000 mMes of space with a yelouity of 186,000 miles per second. Some of this heat is absorbed in its transit by dust particles, water-vapor and the air. itself, thus increasing the temperature of the air. The remain- der is absorbed by the earth and thus raises its temperature and the tem- perature of the air in contact with it. The lattter a the greatest effect on air tempera Local ondltjons have a’ great effect on temperature. Water requires | about fwe times the quantity to raise its temperature one degree as does soil, thus large water areas tend to prcvent high temperatures. Also, as there is always slow evaporation and it requires about 300 times as much heut to ‘@yaporate one gallon of water as to raiseits temperature one dugree, the temperature is kept more i.od- erate. rge swamp and bush areas froe large quantities of water to the atmosphere, as well as retaining the spriag water longer in the courftry and consequently have a woderating effect. ‘Frosts are eres prevented by waler, swamp and bush areas because they produce a high ‘humidity ala wre nol 50 cooled as large isod areas. Air of high humidity ucia as a better blanket as it were, (hua the air. Also the temperature at he dew is formed is higher anu e lowering of the temperature may be sufficiently cag to éliminate any. Senger 6 of f ‘Lhe type of seacaitare in any sec- tion is decided by its air temperature. oe new crops which are imported ust first become acclimatized 1o Lual nection before they are a success, Winter cereal crops of Ontario and hay crops are not affected by ex- low temperature unless wth is started by warm weather followed by low temperature or by heaving of thé soil‘about the roots, ‘Late spring and early fail frosts cause much damage. If the temperuture does not drop below 28 degrees Fah- renheil only the tenderest vegetation suffers, but, if below it, wholesale destruction results. High tempera- tures cause strong, evaporation trom the leaves of plunis and (nus the peed of a large amount of precipitation to prevent stunting or death itself. In a pamphiet by A. J. Connor ol the Meteorviogical office, Toronto, an interesting relation between the growth and yield of wheat and the temperature is set forth. Both yield and growth are increased by a low te rature and a low range in tem- ure. A critical perjod appears to exist in the latter part of the 90 duya toMowimg sewing. and iW the weather in this period be warm and dry, with great temperature range, the wheat plants will head quickly and the harvest be light, but if the cool moist conditions exist heading will be postponed and the yield in- creased. Thus it remains a matter of seeding at the proper time to Insure the coo! moist weather iu the critical period. In the Western Provinces the sowing is early, namely, the last of April, throwing the critical period about the nifddle of July, the varia- bility of the temperature of which is the critical factor However, the rule there is the earlier the better, while in Ontario we are unable to sow spring wheat sufficiently ¢arly to pro- cure that desired cool moist weather, nor can it be obtained by late sowing. Most cereals are best adapted to the temperature regions, and espec- ially to those of low temperature and small temperature range. Conse- eae the above temperature effect is applicable to all. Fruits as a rule ure region | Many fruits, however, hav distribution and is the result of var- iety —-R. C. Moffatt, O. A. College, Guelph. The Rural Teacher and Agriculture. For a teacher to be able of cover- ing the subject as,a whole even in a most superficial way is not to be thought of after one month of train- ing at a Summer School. Certain teachers may develop certain hobbies such a8 nature study or the school garden; one may be an amateur botanist and interest the gchool in collecting weeds and es; one may make collections of insects; ‘an- other may lead the school in making a survey of the crops grown in the school district, or the breeds of live important contributions to the study of agriculture, and m sey te be followed diversions tary gentlemen of limited outlOok and high professional training will, in comparative security, achieve de- | struction beyond their understanding. | “Such a disaster may -be averted by an immense world-wide effort of co- operation and mutual toleration and salvage.” lege, cea ee ee eee ae t great advantage from the gg school courses,— dent J. B. Reynolds, O. A. Col- Don't fail to whitewaslt the stable @nce a year; twice would be better. AS ZT y MARBLE-ITE FLOOR FINISH If your floors are hardwood, Use) : arble - Ite The Floor finish with a money-back guarantee. It will not mar nor scratch white and is not, af- fected by water. _ “hpentee ie eed ebm but save the wood. Save the and you Sa Save all. SENOUR’S | |i Floor Paint is impossible to Sort nted, the palate, bl advise you. ia to use, dries very hard with a lustre and will with- = wet srmurt gh tard wea.” No al requ using s UR’S FLOOR PAINT. can apply it, The Sonik on ly enhance the beauty of your-home and cht it Ee vel forthe or be very ey fo tw clean. Come in and let us giye you full iculars. We con a full ra of shades pee and sue a PEIN-SENOUR. Product. R. B. WHITE LISTOWEL, ONT. "tet t oF tions. ] Western Ontario Best - Commercial School CENTRAL @TRATFORD,. ONT. Our winter term commen- ces Tuesday, Jan. 4th, and studénts may register in our Commercial, Shorthand or Telegraphy departments. at any time, Our courses are thorough and practical, and we assist graduates to posi- logue. Get our free cata- D. A. MtLachlan, Principal stock, These and other studies are | GRA A. M. MONTREAL TO RAILWAY SYSTEM RUN Double Track Route between RONTO DETROIT CHICAGO UnexceliedDintng Car Service. Sleeping cars of night trains and parlor cars on principal day trains. Full information from any Grand Trunk Ticket agent or C. E. Horning District Passenger"Agent, Toronto. SMITH, Station Agent. J. A, HACKING, Town Agent. — Always in stock. | Phone 138 | The Modern Meat Market J. H. McDONALD, Proprietor leather, the strongest, toughest will more than please you. C. Prueter From Chrome Leather A Horsepower Hame Strap riffith Halters These two articles are me Se chrome at They will not harden with sweat or waters They have great stren sl and wearing qualities that we 5 our fine-selection of halters and harness. Listcwe!. er known. ow you W. Lavery Life offers no greater joy than that of the man in a small car who passes a big car on a hill. | | | | ® When your wife drops her diamond | ring down the sink hole, emptying | dish water, don’t be a cheap skate’ and buy her another. Be a real sport and send for the plumber, whatever * ft costa. 2 eo 7 i ee a ee “Aren't you iia to invite Mrs. Blank to your dinner party?” asked Mrs. Blunderby's niece. “I should say not.” answered the old lady. “I \entertained her once and she never recuperated."" A restaurant out West, according to N. Y. Life, has this sign in its wia- dow: “Get all your meals here; keep your wife for a pet.” ce i = lll, a