Pi, Pe anion ppapeetcertt aameeringir terrae. caegotee et tee Repent yuepataienyeor ewe PoCecesooH recess Gt a8 23 SoS OBE te. ts steth! Sere SPSHET cps ona Ua : "THE FARM a 2G ie = ru Useful Hints tare the "ere of the Soll KEEP THE ROYS ON THE FARM. ,. 'Fathers want to keep their boys on the farm, but too many of them do not want to give the boys a start, writes' U. Carr.. They say) {het them dig thetr way out as I did be- fore them.' a Every hoy, cannot work hard all of the time in heat' or cold, or in rain er when the sun shines, but when he asks for a holiday often he is sent back to work with a sore and heavy heart, and many a boy on the farm seldom gets a chance to go anywhere for pleasure. That is cis- couraging, Then, many farm boys are 'denied a little spending' modney, which every boy craves. He onghtto have a little change that he can spead just as. he pleases, . Iknow. farmers who always leave their boys at honie {o care for the house and the stock while their parents go off te town or to places of amusement, This always makes a boy sore. This is oualy one side of the ques- tion. On the other, hand some. fath- 'evs indulge their boys too much and Hil them, They say, 'I have worked too hard all my life and now Tam, going to give my boy a chance to make a living easier than I did," Another says: 'I will give' my boy nothing but tools and) let him make, his own living." I think this is the - best plan. Boys, to be content on the farm, must have some stock and pets, of their own. This will do more to}? keep them contented than anything else. I know what I am' talking about, for I live on a farm. TI have stock of my own, and I wouldn't change places with any town boy I know. JI am only thirteen years old, but I have a horse, a cow and some hogs. I am proud of my start, For sport the boy likes a gun, and he likes to trap rabbits and other game. He alco likes to have a room of his own where he can keep all of his own things. <A bookease filled with boaks will gladden his boyish heart and fathers should buy their boys books when they know they want them. Some boys are born for one pur- pose in life, and some for another, 'und parents should find ont what he ean do best, and thea help him in 'that direction. Continual 'faultfinding makes» a hoysw heart sore and discburages him A boy'should not be punished for every little fault, but he should be talked to and shown where he. is wrong. Most boys are good at heart .and do not 'intend to do wrong, ard if they can be helped to see what is right they will generally do it. CARING FOR THE PIGS. In order that we may take proper care of the young p'gs, it is neces- sary that we know. about what. time to expect them. I have made ita rule to keep a record of the date on which the sows are bred. _. By teherenos to my record I find that my sows farrow from the 112th to 115th day from breeding. . Some elaim that.an old sow will 'go longer than a young sow, but I bred a yearling, a two-year-old and. a six-year-old sow all on the same date. These,three sows all farrow on the same day. I. like for. my sows to be into a) thriving condition when the pigs are farrowed. In fact, I like for them to improve in flesh during the, en- tire period of gestation. 'Some ' 'poople are afraid of getting their sows too fat, and 1, suppose that they can be made too fat, but they ought to be in good flesh. They should have a surplus laid up for the suckling of the young pigs, because it is hard to keep a sow from going down in flesh rapidly while the pigs have to depend upon her for their food. The sows, are given separate, lots with a good shelter, close warm house, if the weather is cool, about a week before they are due to far- row. The, sows are fed sparingly: for a few days after farrowing, then gra- dually brought up to a full ration, Tt has always been hard for me to keep from feeding the sow too much while the pigs are young, and as a result 1 have had several cases of scours with the young pigs. = 4 When I find the pigs beginning to scour, I give the sow fifteen to 'twenty drops of laudanum in her feed for a few feeds. Her feed is reduced and this usually checks the scours in a'day or so. If I have not any laudanum I have used pow- dered chareoalowith good results. As soon as the pigs are old enough to eat I give them a sepa- rate trough where they can eat without being disturbed by the mo- them. They are given a mixed feed of middlings, cornmeal, or other ground feed mixed with water. The sow getsia similar ration., More corn is used in cold weather than Jif the season is: worm.-+A. Je Lege. Replies LITTLE: HELPS ON THE FARM. Do spring. Follow with the: harrow soil is finely pulverized. Use wood ashes for potatoes. The potato relishes the potash contained in them, and the scab does not like the lime they contain. Give your garden erops just the fertilizer' they prefer. Remember that!plants that furnish us with edi- ble Jeaves or stalks flourish if given nitrogen ; when the fruit, reot, "Bake nel or bulb is the edible part dose with ashes, potash or phospheric acid. Hen manure may he tween the rows of lettuce, lowed to wash into the soil. not plow too' early in the Wait till the grouad is dry. until the sown and al- BRITAIN 3 MAA BURDEN TWO BELLION DOLEARS SPENT IN FOURTEEN YEARS. + RENCE One Battleship osts 50-Per Cont, More "Yhan Whole of Nelson' 8 Trafalgar Fleet, ane xopreiy detingseo cost of ete and, on the same ane one of "the least satisfactory, features of moder naval development. In twenty years the price of battle- ships "has doubled; in twelve the cost of armored cruisers has nearly treb'ed. -There. is really. no cause * for wonder in the fact that with the presertation of the estimates for 1912 13, the present British Govern- metut, ia its seven financial years of office (1906-7 to 1912-18) will have And the toal ntumber of guns on the Orion is 24, while Nelson's fleet had 25448. CRUISER'S COSTLIER STILL. The Orion, therefore, has cost close upon 50 per cent. more than the whole of Nelson's fleet of line- of-battle ships ,at Trafalgar, while she carries only one gun for every ninety mounted in that* fleet. On the other hand it must be remem- bered that each single big. gun in the Orion--and there are ten of them--fires a shell of 1.250 pounds, whereas the whole broadswe of 'the 100-gun Victory weighed only 1,160 pounds. : Even the. Orion, -however, does' not mark the present high-water level of warship cost. When first introduced in its modern form, the armored cruiser was a distinctly in- ferior unit to the battleship. It was smaller, cheaper, and not only less powerfully armored, but carried de- cidedly inferior guns. Our mcdera} armored cruisers--renamed "bat- rendered itself responsible for a to-| tle-eruisers'? to indicate that they 'tal outlay on the navy of ever $1,250;600,000. Most 'of the early, fronclads cost over $2,509,000. The 'first to absorb $7,500,000 were the Lord Nelson and the Agamemnon-- --36,500-ton battleships laid down while the plans of the Dreadnought "were being perfected. The Dread- nought. herself cost. $9,065,500 ; but, although displacements have con- tinted to Increase since that revolu- fionary pioneer was constructed, prices went down more or less steadily until the adoption ef the} 13.5-inch gun involved a d'splace-j' ment of 22,500 tons and over. The recent'y completed Orion. cost, et including: her guns, $9, 849, - 470. "MORE THAN NELSON'S FLEET. As affording' some idea | of the cumulative financial effect of. a. cen- _ tury's changes im naval - inhtefial and architecture, the following com- : ison between the cost of the ; a and that of Nelson's fleet at the battle of Trafalgar is of more _ than ordinary interest. In every ase the cost of guns is omitted: No. of No. guns Ay.cost Total ships. ineach. pershbip. -- cost. 100 ~~ $838,000 $1,014,000 98 285,600 . 1,142,400 80-- 265,600. © 265,600 74 919,100" 8,505,600 64 -179,600. , 538,800 86, 466, 400 Orion . ae coc ao ave eee $8, midleg are officially regarded as fit 'to "'lie in' the' line' of batile--are from 4.000 to 5,000 tons larger than con- temporary batileships; in speed they are nearly 50 per cent. faster, and though their guns are fewer they are of the same size and power. The battle-cruiser costs more than the battleship. The first battle- cruisers, three of the . Invincible ¢lass, displace 17,250 tons, and cost on an average $8,313,840 without their armaments. TWO BILLIONS IN 14 YEARS. Then came the Lion, just finished at a cost of $9,376,220, again ex- cluding guns, while the Priacess 'Royal, which is completing by Messrs. Vickers at Barrow, is esti- mated to cost no less than $9,564,830 in the same condition. « The Lion may just scrape home under the te? million mark, but i in the case of the Princess Royal that point will in- 'evitably be passed. The increase in the cost of the individual ship is accompanied by a falling-off in the numbers built. Thus. in the Dread- nought' era only thirty armored ships have been provided for in seven programmes, as compared with fifty-four' in the seven years preceding; but, all the same, the estimate for 1898-9--the first year of the earlier period--was only $118,890,000, as compared © with $221.962,500 in the year just draw- ing to a close. In the septennial period, 1898-1904, the total sum voted for the navy was $1.163,209,- 500, and in 1905-1911, $1,445,679,500 be-|) a ariccls, ayes 5 eel an oe 'of $172,470;000 in the secon af as compared with the first, writes 'Pergival A. Haslam in; the London Graphie. y . It is not, of course, to ships alone tha ig increases are be patheee sient Ag have-more m - and we pay them and feed jthem bet- ter than we. did ten years ago. INFINITELY BETTER SHIPS. The ships may cost two dr three times more. than they did ten or twenty years ago; but it is some satisfaction to khow that they ng -nfinitely better ships. For 'i stance, the Formidable class, shes pleted in 1899-1960, displace 15,000 tons. and cost a shade over $5, 000,- 000. . They steam 18 knots, have nine inches of armor, and fire a broadshot of 4,000 pounds, the heaviest, shell (850 pounds) being able to penetrate, 12 inches of hard- ered steel at 3,000' yards. ~The Orion has cost, complete, a trifle under ten millions. She displaces 22,500 tons, steams 22 knots, and has 12 inches of Krupp armor on the waterline. Her broadside is 12,500 pounds, while the 1,250 pound ghells fired by her 13.5-inch guns can penetrate 2 foot of the best' armor at 10,000 yards. Roughly, this is the real comparison betecen the . two ships: ' a Orion. Formidable. Cost BETES 100 55 Ppeed ss. scat 100 82 REINO Tha cos ena 100 75 Broadside ....., 100 27 Effective range . 100 50 That last line is the crux of the whole matter. The Orion could sink a Formidable--or any ship with 12-inch guns--at a range where, the 12-inch gun-could not touch her. That, too, is the reason why, since Britain has adopted the 13.5-inch gun, other powers are starting the 'manufacture of 14 and 15-inch wea- 'pons. It is a poor but vastly costly game of brag; and even when the last card is on the table, it will be not the ships or the guns, but the men behind the guns, that will take all the tricks. Be. QS ALL DEPENDS: Teacher--"Now, children, here's a tic. How old would a.person.be who was born in 1887?' Pupil--"Was ita man or a wo- man?' little example in mental arithme- | PF Se AA Found. Out: ytd reed ba bE SOP Era oi FASO Ot iyetr ' |r: James » 'Benson, despite' his years, 'had! advanced -- towards. the | door of his cottage in a manner far ore. befitted to a. juvenile. scout, than to an elderly. farm- -laborer: re: turning from his day's work. ; And now, arrived at the door, he: ened his ear against it to listen. rom within the kitchen there came sounds of feminine voices, and Mr. Benson turned: and ease his movements. } "She? s there. again !"? he Satna? ed, mopping his. brow, when he reached the roadway again, "Fair sick to death of 'er, Tam! Just as if Ti could cat my supper comfort- able with 'er looking at me all the time! What the missus can see in 'er I don't know! , A. nasty, gossip- ing, spiteful old cat, that's, what a is? > Thus did he erlinthfe for a wwitithe: and then, philosophically tightening his helt and lighting his pipe, he sat on a stile in the gathering davkztese and watched his dwelling, with bale- | ful eye. Some time after tua foutiaee door opened; and' a thin little, feminine figure was silhouetted for a minute on the: threshold against the warm glow of the lamp in'the kitchen. ' Mr. Benson oaly waited till Mrs. Gunn had turned up the road bé- ore he slipped thankfully from the tile and hurried towards his home. "Mrs. -Gunn's just left,'? said Mrs. Benson, as he entered the kit- chen. "Didn't you meet' her?' "No, thank goodness! What's she been "ere for? She's always coming 'ere!" ' "She comes here to cheer me up with a little chat, replied Mrs. Benson. "T know. She comes 'ere to tell you 'oo's dead, and 'oo's likely to die next, and 'oo's quarrelled with their "usbands; and she calls that cheering you up! She's a 'orrid ee oy: WH old gossin, that's what she is! I tele Ho Noda 4 Vil-a Jar V?? "Well, and she don't like you, so that's qut:. Bi says Youne & Art: ful old -fellow, if you wants to know."' "Oh, trying to make trouble he- tween you and me; is:she?, Well, she can't do that without' making up a lot of lies."' "T don't know so much, »? answer- "Mrs: Benson, giving hima few sec-. onds' start, snatched. up her shaw] and shadowed: him'down 'the road. Presently she saw him reach the 4 feross-roads and come to a stand- |. sti 'to note his movements. 'Mr. Benson waited some minutes, glancing about. him with a great. air of 'secrecy. Before long the village postman came whistling along' the: . Benson eagerly 'ar-| rested his ee with a question, road, and The postman nodded an affirma- tive, and Mr. Benson, sidling up to him, looked about? to see that no one was observing the proceedings. Then he gra sped the letter the post- man was holding out and. scuttled quickly down the road ont of sight. "Well, I never!' breathed' Mrs. Benson, more than a 'little dismayed that the accuracy of 'Mrs. Gunn's statements should be able to stand this test. She went slowly back ites her cot- tage. The redoubtable' Mrs. Guan was waiting for her. by 'the garden gate. "Weill V? hissed Mrs. Gunn eager- y. "It's quite true? Benson. *T knew it wag!' bidninhel Mes, Gunn. "'E's done the same for three Saturday,mornings now. You mark my. words, 'e'tl. be. running * admitted Urs, away and' léaving you soon,:if you don't watch 'im!" . "T wonder 'oo it is " writes \ 'to 'im?' pondered Mrs. Benson. "Why,. a, woman, .of course | She's making up to "im, writing 'im love-letters and all! And°I know 'o00 it is, too!" she stated, with an air of triumph. "Who? queried Mrs. Benson ex- citedly. "Ah, that would be-telling !" said Mrs. Gunn. And, despite the blandishments of her friend, she was not to be wooed from this atti- tude of reserve. Certainly she let fall, ap cadeatls by accident, a few significant re- marks. But of these hints Mrs. Benson could make nothing, though she attempted to. piece them to- gether itll her head ached. "No, me word's as good as me bond !"' said Mrs. Gunn, when Mrs. Benson made a final appeal for elu- cidation to her. "Better than. me bond, in fact. I never break me word, just as I mever tell tales, or gossip about folks. So I can't tell you. But you'll find out soon enough." "How can I find out? é "demanded Unique photograph showing Norwegian gymnastic team walking across the The team and squad work: of European gymnasts wi dium on their hands. London Olympic | Sta+ revelation to the New a Werld athletes) at the Olympiad, and they will be-a big feature in Sweden this summer. HOLLAND IS SINKING. Planning to Make 'New: Land shy Draining the Zuyder Zee. M. Blaupot tea Cate, writing in the Ingenieur, suggests that Hol- land is "stowly sinking. His theory is based partly upoa the subsidence of old Roman buildings. Such apparent subsidence | is known in other countries, but. in these, cases it is probable that' in- stead of the buildings sinking the surrounding er superposed soil has risen. The old Roman street. that ran through London is.now eighteea feet below Cheapside. At Aosta in northwest Italy the Roman pave: ment of the Via Praetoria is from eight:to ten feet below the present level.of the ground, The Cathedra!! sof Notre Dame in Paris.was former- ly appreached by a flight of steps, which haye now disappeared. With regard to Holland M. ten Cate says: "A certain number of Roman edi- fices, the entrance to' which must necessarily have been from the level of the ground when they were built in the first, second, er third century B. C., are now awash at high tide. An examination of the foundations shows that they have sunk from five to thirteen feet: "Tn certain low lying plaing of Holland that have been drained for long years the -level of the ground has fallen a little over. a foot in two centuries. "Finally, the formation of the Zuyder Zee and of the Gulf of Jade, | iy northern Germany, leaves no room for doubt as to the subsidence , of the soil in that part of Europe | in fairly recent times.' But. in spite of this gradual gals ing cf the soil. of Holland' the con-- struction of the great works for the drying of the Zuyder Zee will not be allowed to cease. The Zuyder Zee covers 760 square miles. It is esti- mated that the construction of a dam across the mouth would cost: $18,375,000 and the process of draining another $65,000,000. i MAKING PROGRESS. 'How 42e you getting, on school, Johnnie?' "Very well: I'm second now.' "Second! Good! How many are there in the class?' "Me and a little girl.'"" at ed Mrs: Benson. "She told me | something about you to:night, and} she ~declares it's gospel truth-- about you and the postman." "About me and the postman ?"' Mr. Benson's confidence appeared suddenly to have. vanished, 'and | some tea that he was drinking had | cons derable trouble in reaching its destination: Mrs. Benson stcod eyeing her husband closely. '"What--what' was it she said?' he demarded, with a 'vain attempt at ease. '"'I may'as well ave a good laugh."' 'L ain't igoing- to tell you," she replied. 'I'm going to find out for myself if it's true. You says she tells stories, and I.says she don't, s0 we may as well find out who's right." : She said no more on the subject, but bustled about 'the © kitchen, glancing at her husband occasion- ally from the corner 'of her eye. He seemed to have lost his appetite, for he munched very slowly, and pushed back his plate long before he had cleared its contents in. his usual thorough way. He lit his pipe, but found little satisfaction in. it,-and presently he just sat.back in his chair, staring (dejectedly atthe fire. Once or twice h's wife caught bum looking at her: guiltily. At breakfast next morning he was yemarkably quiet, and it was evi- dent that the conversation of the night before still weighed heavily on him. "T's Saturday morning, don't ' forget,'" his wife remarked sudden-: ily, watching him suspiciously. Mr. Benson started. as though a hidden meaning underlay 'the state- ment.~ "Oh, ay, so it-is!" he agreed, af- fecting wunconcern. "Wonderful how the days of the week do slip by! pr : He drained his tea slowly, uncom- fortably wondering how much his wife really knew. "TE say,"? he blurted out. preseat- 'ly, unable to stand the suspense any 'day--and then catch jJonger, "what was the yarn Mrs. 'Gunn made up about' me?' "J?]} tell you when I've found out | 'whether it's true or not," she-an- swered, "Tf she. makes up stories, as you sty, you've got nothing ot worry about." The old man.« baffled, rose from, ee else and' set out to his work. ' 4 t ee el eS Mrs. Benson... ."Jim wouldn't tell me if I was to ask him. He would- n't be such a fool as that!"' "Well, wait till next Saturday- them letters always come on Satur- "ym red-handed with the postman," suggested Mrs. Gunn. "He's bound to tell you the truth then."' "Ves, that'll be the best thing," agreed .Mrs: Benson sorrowfully. "Tj °ide behind the. shed. at the cross-roads. And thank you for opening my eyes about him, Mar- tha, "Oh, don't. mention it!" Mrs, Gunn replied politely. "It was a pleasure. Now, 'mind you don't let him think that you suspect any- thing !" she advised. OT 26 ever,.' said when I've got She did net end her sentence, but left it 'significantly blank; and Mrs. Gurn, a smile of malicious satisfac- on just the same as Mrs. 'Benson. "But =m cornered----"' tion on her face, toddled happily off. : During the. week that followed Mrs. Gunn took a positive pleasure in bringing further tidings to Mrs. Benson. "Pve just found out else,' she said, visiting son on the Friday nizht. tell you~ ~vo told me, because I prom sed to mention no names, 'but a certain person saw that very let- ter in the potsman's 'and last Sat- urday morning, and it 'ad a row of crosses on the onevelop. On the very ongvelup itself !. There's a for- ward 'ussy for you!" Next morning. no sooner had Mr. Benson set forth to his work than his spouse, more-irate than ever through Mrs.-Gunn's hints, hurried by devious cross-ents to the former scenes of his meeting with the post- man, : Rather to her dismay, she found Mrs. Gunn already ensconced be- hind the shed. "1 eouldn't resist coming. along to 'axe a look at'is face when you caught 'im,'? explained Mrs. Gunn, ~The two.concealed women had not long to wait befére Mr. Benson gtrolled up.-- A 'minute' later the postman came along, and- handed pats Remses a letter. "Caught you !"' ae voice. Mr. 7, cern, something Mrs. Ben- eried a@ 'trijm- saw his wife bearing: swiftly dows én him from ker place of con- A Drawing into the seclusion. | offered by a hedge, she petind: out "TJ can't{ Bensen, turning in limp con- cealsnent. : Behind. her, Pes tri- umphantly, was Mrs. Gunn. "Now, what 'have you yot to - 1? demanded Mrs. Benson shril- "Caught you in the 'very act. Ae me that letter !" r. Benson. p ing the letter behind his back. "TD ean't!" he mumbled: 'guilt- by. "Tt's--it's a secret," ; ""A 'nice sort of secret, carrying on like this behind' my back !"? "Tt's--it's a private business," said. Mr. Benson guiltily,. "I-don't want you to know anything about |. it. "Ere, give that' back'!" -he shouted. ! But he was too late, for | Mrs. Gunn, creeping strategically behind him, had dexterously whisked the letter from his hand and thrust it into his wife's grasp. ; "Please, don't open it!' 'he beg- ged pathetically. Mrs: Benson, disregarding him, tore open the envelope. Gasping, she withdrew 'a postal order for half-a-crown, Despite a frenzled search,. no accompanying missive could she find, "Who's the hussy, who, sent you this?' she demanded, "T'll postal ordet her'? "Tt--it' din't 'a hussy,"' Benson. . ; "Tell me who it is this minute !" she! ordered imperatively. "Why, Ty may: 'as well tell syou now,' 'he admitted shamefacedly: "Look at the writing." "Why. it's our boy. Jack's writ-| ing!' she: said, amazed, studying the envelope. Ay, 'our boy Jack!) You remem- ber 'e camé over from Norwich to see us a few weeks back? Well, found mea bit down-'earted. It was over something J didn't want you to know about. You see, I'm --I'm not so young as I was, and-- and they'd ¢ut down my wages by 'alf-a-crown at the farm,' "'Half-a-crown " she echoed, "Ay, aud I couldn't bear to, tell you, because' I knowed it would worry you, it being a sign that I was getting old and beginning t« shape like being past work one' day. You don't know how it worried me! y?? "Poor old Jim!" 'said his wife, with a total change of voice. "And .then there being less tc spend on 'ouse-keeping--I didn't want to,worry you. But I told ow Jack: when 'e asked me what was up, and 'e said---Heaven: bless:'im | that 'e was earning' more tha: encugh for "imself, and 'e arrange? ot send, me 'alf-a-crown evety Sat urday morning, so's 1 could add it to my wages, and you'd besnone the wiser. We made a secret of it, 'im and me--'e insisted on '?t--and we said') Mr: only told the postman "ere, and '« promised right, willing to "ely. u: keep the secret, .And--an1 that': all about it, though I'd rather' ave kept it from yonu."' . "You poor old ag 1? crted Mrs Benson, and. under the approving eye of the Se flung her arm round. her husband's neck and kissed him' fondly. : Mrs. Gunn, having heard Mr Benson's story, begun' to stea! away quietly; but Mrs. Benson. leaving her husband, hurried. afte) her. "Vou and your trumped-up stor- ies |'? satd. Mrs. "Benson, 'scornfully addressing her quondam. friend. "Twenty-five crosses, and all the rest offit ©! Just making it up, you was; I see that now. Pretending iti know such a lot, and trying t taake trouble and all! Don't you let me see, you. inside my kitchen again. that's all, or' Ill have something t sav to you. With white face Mrs. Gunn has tened away. Mr. Benson phicked ap 'pirits to laugh heartily at. her discon fiture, "Do you really mean you've don¢ with 7er?' he asked engerly "Well, that's fine! Why, it make: me feel years younger! Although. mind you, there's stil] a good many years'. work left in me yet. And I'm glad you know 'all about it.now. | didn't really Dke 'aving any secret: from you. Tm right! glad "you knows !" So. .am -I,??- said Mrs. Benson softly. And. Mrs. Gunn, looking back, was just in time to see them embrace again.--London- Answers. Pia Ses REMEDY' FOR TSETSE FLY. Keeping Fowls May End the Sleep- ing Sickness. Letters reeeived in London cently from the West coast of Africa tell of a new hope for the ultimate conquest of sleeping sickness. It is known that ene or two of the tsetse flies carry the parasite (trypano- some) cither from man to man, or from beast to man. The-attempt to remove the natives from the fly areas, and thus protect them from the d'sease, has nt been altogether suceessful.. Any, attempt to kill down the flies appears hopeless. Recent work, however, shows that the guinea fowl finds the pupa of the fly a tasty morsel. Land that has been scratched over by fowls is completely free from the pest. Ina re- few weeks full details of th's new hope avill be published the world over, If the natives can be per- suaded to keep fowls it will not only be a cenre? of profit to themselves, but also a protection against the assaults of the. fly. harbor the disease, they have maladies | they are not such as beings. and although of their own, attack human Ra THOUGHTFUL RUPH. Ruth--"Yes, I got pana to buy a vacuum cleanér for mother." Mand--"How thoughtful!" Ruth--"Yes. Mother is a stiffened up with rheumatisin, you | know, and I used' to feel so sorry io-see her trying to use the broom: bat Talways left home on sweeping day.' laced the hand hold- | Fowls do not | little; FRANCE GETS, BATH weit IT IS QUITE.A. CHODERY 1Ns Ste ls ib id ae : j x Partial Bathing' In, However, stim in the Ascendancy in the oy wench 9 oF pee URCRE,, frag I Thicknéese, 'the friend of Thomas Gray, the poet, 'has a curious para- graph in a book on his travels in France, in which, he remarks gn the habits of the French with regard to Brey says a writer in the Lon- don Standard.' SEL Travellers in the nine REohth cb! tury repeated some of his obserya- tions, which. were to the effect that the French: had :an aston!shing, lik- ing 'for "'partial bathing,' that slipper baths, foot baths, hiv baths, and every yariety of hath with a qualifying adjective prefixed to it were common, but, that the common bath was comparatively rare. Bathing cut ef doors in-one.of the leisurely atreaniz or rivers has been a popular and even democratic: pas- time, in summer modnths,' and" the chron! clers tell how ladies and gen- tlemen, of the Court used to. bathe in the Seiae owitlin the shadow. of the old Pont' Royal, but it is only within: recent years that the hath as the word jis understood ia Eng- land' has made its entry into the avérage French houce. © Perhaps that is why 'the morning cold bath is generally spoken of heré as a "¢ubh.?? ' CURIOUS SIGHT. The Touring Club de France and the hewer hygienists, however, have done a great deal in recent years to alter, the. ancient order of things, which apparently was founded on the plan of the Ancient .Romans, and in the larger towns at least the ourious vehicle that is used to con- vey a hot bath from the bathhouse to customers' apartment is becom- ing a rarer and rarer sight as years pass by. ; In provincial France progress is less rapid. Where there is @ river there almost certainly jis a fldating bathing establishinonty and where the newer ideas of the Tour- ing Club have penetrated there is eldom an hotel, even of a modest yppearance, without .a bathroom. But elsewhere very often it is still the day. of partial bathing, A news- paper recently made'a cursory in- quiry inte the equestion. After the first investigation it was thought that the record Jay with Mayenne, >». town of 10,000 inhabitants, which had only oze bathng establishment, and which provided only one thou- and baths--~-grands baing, drt bains complete; equally significant terms ~in the course of a year. NOT IN' DEMAND But the distinction was rapidly laimed for other towns. Redon (7,000 inhabitants, in the Tlle-et- Vilaine) has only one bathing estab- ishment, which has four haths, and 'his establishment is open' only hres times a week. At' Chatean- rontier, 'whichis not far from May- nne (7,000 inhabitants, in the de- yartment of Mayenne), there were formerly two -establishments.: One ff thése failed. The second; for two years, supplied an average of two sista a day. but' recently it also 'losed it: gall s. Lure (6,000 inhab- itants,.in the H agute-Saone) it' is also without any public bathhouse. Tts inhabitants take train for Be- fort or Vesoul (20 miles) when octa- ion arises. The énly other rival is Neufchatel-en-Bray, the sub-prefec- ore in the Seine. Inferieure, a town of 5,000 inhabitants. sang ladeekecetetiel THE ROYAL PAIR OF RUSSTA. 4 Glimpse at the. 'Crowning of the Cznrina. The widow of an American diplo- mat, who has published her mem- irs of foreign courts in '"'Lutimacies £ Court and Society," de cribes the royal pair of Russia as they looked at their coronation. "The Czarina was-casily the most beautiful woman to be seen,: and many spoke of her as the artist's 'deal of the queenly queen. But her; lovel'ness -had nothing of the vanity which secks a public homage; it had rather the appealing gentle- ness which made her mother, under the happy freedom of Enalisl skies, the mest beloved princess of her day, and to» me she was more the type of the sheltered woman, to. be mated to a Brutus of lofty soul, Her face upon her coronation day was charged with profound emotion --it has haunted me ever since. It was like the face of a martyr walk- ing with measured steps to her fun- eral pyre. "And the man who was the centre of the gorgeous pictures, whose au- toeratic aloofness and sanctity of person were proclaime. by every pozs ble accessory of pomp and sa- ered ceremonial,. produced in him- self no illusion of rovalty such as may impregs and thrill even the most demccratic when face ta face with a king who is. rvenaily kingly. His narrow forehead and receding chin, vis ble even behind the beard, spoke little of intelligence mitvacth- ing cf power, while the insiga'fi- cance of his small form was empha- sized: beside. the, tall meaeok his fam- Jily, splendidooking. fellows, all lover six feet.?' a? PB a, HIS PROFESSION. "Now, Robert; what do you in- 'tend to do when you become a iman?" questioned Aunt Ellen, as she .looked approvingly upon her small nephew. | "Vm goin' to be a soldier,' re- plied the boy, promptly, ""cause then I can fight whenever T want tq without being spanked for it." as xt ee