Democrat EE —— ———— Bellefonte, Pa., November 30, 1906. EE ————————————————— THE GREATER GIFTS In the first beginning of things, Far back when the world was new, God gave the eagle wings To rise and soar in the blue. To the lion he gave might, And rending claws of steel, To the horse the speed of lizht, To the dolphin and the seal Path and power in the sea From far-off strand to strand. But when man eame to be, The gifts God laid in his hand Were neither strength nor speed Nor wings to rise to the'sun— But toil and warfare and need, And all earth's tasks to be done. Then man, in his weakness, took His gifts and wandered forth ; Bravely, beneath God's look, He followed south and north The mighty creatures that ruled The forest and the sea, Till, by tireless striving schooled, He met them with mastery. Hourly his hand and brain Grew through the conflict strong, Fire and weapons and grain, These were his servants ere long ; All the roads of the land And all the paths of the sea,’ These he learned to command And greater ends to foresee. Still is the lion as strong, The horse as fleet as of old, But how of man shall the long And the coming story be told ? The gifts of God are great, But man’s forever the best, To strive on early and late And in nothing gained to rest, Power that in need begins Is his tailsman of might In the warfare that ever wins Toward nobler wars to fight. Wings to rise to the sun? Nay, better—feel to ciimb Till the voice of God's * Well done I" Rings at the end of time. Priscilla Leonard. WHERE WILL YOU GO? Dear little Red Rose, Where will you go When your beautiful garden Is covered with snow ? Have you a crib, And a nightgown of white And a little rose-mother To guard you at night ? When your beautiful petals Are strown o'er the place — Not a sign to be seen Of your sweet face? I'll try to think, somewhere, "Though folks say you're dead, You're tucked away safely In your snug little bed, — Elsie Parrish. BLISS LOIS She bad the beauty of an old-fashioned dahlia. Prim as her Quaker oasing was, uncompromisingly upright as her slender form held itself, «he was yet—like the flower—crowned with gold, and no satin petals were ever smoother than the sleek glory of Lois's wonderful hair. But if she ever felt the stirring of a natural vanity, I, her frequent visitor could never discover it. The long tressees were concealed by a cap, and she quiet, beantifully gentle eyes, in spite of silky lashes, never shot a cogueitisbh glance a$ any man in Domerville. Although Miss Lois was nos yet thirty-five, she was not only iudifferent to men-—she feared them sincerely. Since my arrival in Dormerville, a year viously, to live with my coasin, Mrs. len, I confess that I had heen the recip- fent of very satisfactory attentions from more than one agreeable man in Dormer- ville. But I never dared take a man friend with me on my visits to Miss Lois, for she had freely confessed that sach a proceeding would strain our relations sadly. “Miss Lois, I do wish you liked mean,”’ I said mournfully on one special evening, ay I sat enjoying her sponge-cake and a big glass of ice-cold butter milk, fresh from the cooling embraces of a big Georgia spring which formed her dairy. My ap- petite is always dainty before the opposite sex, but every girl of eighteen knows how jolly it is to be greedy when you're alone witha woman. ‘‘They would be sure to like you,” I continued encouragingly. A look of alarm sprang into her blue eyes. She dropped, in ber neat lap, the napkin she was hemstitching. are knows that would be worst of *“T'o have them all like you? Oh, now, Miss Lois! Yon don’t know what good times they can give you.” *‘Thee knows they frighten me,’ retarn- ed Miss Lois, quickly picking up her work. “Bat why?" Miss Lois flushed over her pretty, hey th big ey—they are so big, =o strange— with those deep, terrible voices—and so stern. ““That’s all put ov,’’ I said airily. ‘Men are just big babies. I should like to see one scare me! Why, Miss Lois, I've been to three ata time!” mo bp vied I ay w re 80 y cannot un- Fe thee! How can thee drive and dine and play with men when so many earnest women would be glad to bave thee noar them?’ “Miss Lois, earnest women are well enough. Bat just let me tell you that all women ——except you——have only one use. “Only one use, child?" “To fill in the chinks of one’s time when there aren’s any men around.” ‘Thee does not mean thy wild, wild words! 1 aus raining = 3wo chases wo stay away from the boysof their age. cannot bear to bave them annotate rT children in the ¢ way, even that sister, whe run away from o er influence to become a Methodist wife and mother, bad left them a heritage of i gi be apt t from them carefully, Though my thinks otherwise.” In the surprire occasioned by her words, I spilt my buttermilk and choked on my “Your husband—Miss Lois?" She blushed scarlet. ‘“Then thee did not koow?"’ “How could I? Everybody calls you ‘Miss Lois.’ ” “That is true.” I was dying of curiosity by this time, aod I burst ous impulsively: *‘Oh, dear Miss 1 me about it! That is—unless it’s painfol. Not that anyone's the least bit ashamed of divorce nowadays—'’ “Divorce!” Miss Lois repeated the words in a tone of shocked remonstrance, vorce anyone—even a man!’ “Then what have you dome with him? Is he down in the cellar?" *‘Child, thy frivolity will do thee grea: harm yet! My husband is overseas. Nay, we are not separated through any quarrel. It was in this maoner. My sister died and left the twins. As soon as I heard the sad news I hurried down from Pennsylvania to claim them as my own. For what could a man do with two delicate little girls, bare- ly four years old? I said to David Moflis, “Tee shall give me the children, and they shall grow up in my care at the North.’ Bat alas! I could not make him see reason. All he would say wae, ‘Stay bere with the children, Lois, until I come home again, y and then I will tell you what may he done.’ “Therefore I stayed. He voyaged in many waters, going out from Savanvah. Nor did he return for eighteen months. Then, his bands filled with gilts aud money, he entered when we least expected him, and for six dreadful months be re- maioed in the village, visiting the children each day and lavishing worldly toys upon them, against which I protested in vain. Nor would he form any plan about the little girls, being filled with the remarkable obstinacy of men. Thee knows, Amy, they cannot reason.’’ “That's what they say about us,” I avswered, cuttirg another slice of the gold- en sponge. “Nay, it is they that bave no logic. For he saw how fearful I was of his ways, yet be would presist in coming near me, in making me presents, in saying comforting things of my care of the children, and in praising my manner of keeping house. And —and—his taste was poor, for he dis- tressed me much hy call oR BY bair sun- shine, and my eyes blue owers—thee has never heard such foolish, worldly talk. Thy youth would save thee.” I choked again on my cake. “Oh, poor man! Oh, Mies Lois, don’t you see—"" Bat when she turned her innocent, in- quiring gaze on me I could not continue. ‘At last a terrible thing bappened.” She cast down her work and her slender hands nervously together. came to me and said, ‘Lois, marry me,and then you may have the girls as your own.’ “I cried out on him, ‘Oh, David, David! Has thee forgotten my sister?’ ‘And he said doggedly, ‘No, Lois, I love her memory still. But I love you better than I loved her.’ “I looked at him and my courage rose, dreadful as he seemed, for he was tall and deep of chest and his voice like the rolling thunder, and his eyes had a fierce light. “ ‘David,’ I said, ‘shame ob thee! Is not a man’s heart shaped in one piece? Is thee gnite a castaway to dream thee could love two women? Oh, David, David!" *Oh, but, Miss Lois,”” I interrupted, “‘they—"' [ stopped. Tear« were filling her eyes. “Ala, child, how wicked of me to tell thee this! But mv heart has never opened to anyoue ay it has to thee. Yet I would Bob draw thee into too deep knowledge of evil.’ “Poor David—he wasn’t evil,” I said stoutly. ‘‘Listen, Miss Lois. Once I was in love with two men—my own self!” ‘Child, thy mad prattle assomed to comfort me is as nothing. Yet he stood cruelly to his offer. I must marry him, or I should not have the children. And now I loved them like my own flesh!” “What did you do?" “For many nights I wept and prayed. Then an inspiration came tome. And I went straight to him and said, ‘Is thee a man of thy word? And he answered, ‘Yes, Lois.’ Then I said, ‘I will marry thee and never look on another man. But when thee bas set thy ring on my finger thee must go away and never dwell under this roof, nor hold enmmunion with me unless I hid thee.’ "0 “What did be say?’ I asked bhreathless- ly, faneying the explosion John Lock, for ingtanee, would make on such a proposi- tion. ‘‘He grew quite white, save where his great hairy beard covered his face. For a few momemts he stood wordless. And then the grow! of his voice seemed softer shan usual, and he said: ** ‘It shall be as you say, lass. But I claim the right to come home now and then and ask if you're ready for me.’ “Thee may gness how thankful I was for such an easy way out of the difficulty! We were married immediately, for I was more than anxious to hurry him away." “Well, but, Miss Lois,” I observed as soon as 1 had recovered from my astonish- ment over this arrangement, *‘wasn’t such a marriage dangerous? Suppose yon were to—to sce another man and—and fanoy him?" “How could a married woman fancy a man other than her husband? Thee does not understand bow fast “Where is he now?" “Sailing. During my sister's life he gave up the sea. But I am sure he is very bap- py to get back to it. For the stormy waters are well Sapte to men; they are wild and turbulent like themselves.” “Commend me to a good woman for un- Lois, you are incorrigible. And so I don't have to call you Mrs. Modis?” She shuddered. “No, no, child. Call me Lois, as thee has done.” “I'm ready to gather the green Jun for tomorrow, ”’ s and nmping my crumbs into the fi go deliciously pitcher of Jersey cream. Iremember I bad just found an extra- ordinarily large and luscious berry, and basso profundo hailed us outside the wicket “Rose ahoy!" Miss Lois started up, the green straw- berry caps showering unheeded from her 2: rty husband!” she cried, in the tragic tones of one proclaiming “Wolf!” I rose also,and we faced each other quite pale from mutual excitement. “Child, child,” she raid agonizedly, “what shall we do?” “Let me go out and meet him for youn,” I suggested ly, being indeed more than curious to see the dreadful David. ‘‘Shali I bring him in?” “Yea, yea, he must come in! 'Tis his house after all! Nay wait, Amy—will thee first hand me my wedding ring out of youder cracked teapot on the shelf while I unfasten this apron?” I hastened to produce the fat, polished circlet while Miss Lois stripped off her checked apron. As she slipped the ting on her finger the deep voice outside hailed us 0: *‘Rose Cottage, ahoy!”’ Hurrying out I saw a great, broad- shouldered man, who was frantically try- ing to make bis bicycle balance while he rode round and round near the gate. When he saw me he jumped off, rolling the wheel beside him, and came inside the “Did Lois send you oat to me, my pret- ty lass?" he asked, with a friendly admira. tion in his eyes which at once established him in my good graces. ‘‘She did. She says you may come in,” I returned gracionsly. His face, with its faithfol brown eyes, lit up gladly. *‘Oh, thank you, lass!" “For a little while!" I added, not wish- ing to raise false hopes, and I saw his sountenance cloud heavily. ** ‘For a little while’! And it’s months since I set foot bere! But never mind! Wait till I get my bag, lass. It's strapped to the stern of this queer craft. Why, I've lost it—a blue bag, full of nickknacks for Lois and the kids. [ left my trunk at the hotel, you see.” “There's a blue heap lying on the hill- side,” I answered, pointing up the decliv- ity be bad just decended. He mounted instantly, though with some difficulty, explaining that his craft was a clipper, but knew neither starboard nor larboard, making navigation uncertaia. As he dashed recklessly off it was easy to see he had not long been accustomed to riding. However, be made gallantly up the steep hill, secured his bag and turned to come down. Then it was that the bicycle got the upper hand, and, the brake refusing to work, came tearing down at a rate which no ship will ever dream of equaling. Down, down it shot like the proverbial arrow! The sailor, finding nothing else to to do, began wildly ringing his bell, so that when Miss Lois, ecared by the ivces- sant sound, hurried to the piazza she was juss in time to see the wheel, the sailor still madly ringing, dart straight for her picket fence, the hit the centre of a post, buck off with ardor of a bronco, and pitch the new- comer into the air, flinging him clean over the fence iuto the very middle of a choice rose plot! Doubtless no harm would have been done, except for careless me. But alas, I had left a heavy iron rake lying in the rose bed,and when the back of the sailor’s head stinck this with terrible force as he landed the concussion left him senseless across the beaten roses. We two terrified women got him into the house romehow; we are hoth tall and strong. We managed to lay him on the sofa and then, with confusion and horror in my guilty soul, I ran for the doctor, leaving Miss Lois alone with a man ! Comforting myself that it could not be so very much after all, I burried the doc- tor back to Rose Cottage. For surely a lit- tle thiog like the corner of a rake conld not hurt a big strong man, accustomed to fight with ocean storms, When we reached the cottage I n to feel secure, and when the doctor began bis examination of the still figure I boldly as- sured Mise Lois thas all would be well. My cheerful predictions were nos so read- ily verified. That rake came near gathering the sailor in as relentlessly as it would the dead leaves of a past season. Brain fever set in, and through long, long days he raved of Lois, Lois, only Lois. And Miss Lois tended bim with a faith- fulness hard indeed to put into words. Her smooth cheeks grew thin, her blue eyes very weary, hut she never faltered. At last one day the crisis passed and her charge was need out of danger. Mise Lois andl, alone together in the kitchen, wept tears of thankfulness. “And you've quite forgiven me,” I pleaded, ‘‘for nearly killing im? “Child,” etammered Miss Lois, and I saw that she was blushing, ‘‘I have no need to forgive, I am thy debtor!” Her debtor for what? Could my Miss Lois be glad becavse a man bad suffered ? Had dislike so soured her gentle breast? I was called away that afternoon by my aunt's sudden attack of rheumatiem and I did not get back to the cottage for many a day. When I did come I found the invalid sitting in a big armchair, eating broth with much satisfaction, and gazing adoringly over his bowl at hi nurse, who stood flush- ed and strangely pretty beside him. ‘Oh, Mr. Moffit,”” I cried, “I'm so sorry abous that rake!” “Lady Lass,’’ thundered the sailor in his booming tones, ‘I'll bave you a rake made of gold and set with pearls for a n. That instrument got me the best harvest I'll ever glean! Tell her, Lois.” “Why, Mies Lois,”” I cried, and flew to ber side. *‘Is it—are yon really—2" Through the pink color on her face the t shone radiantly. She caught me ight hone a “‘Child, thee was right—y. as thee is! Men are just babies, I cannotsend him away—he needs my care.’”’—By Clinton Dangerfield in Watson's Magazine. Dolls in Mourning. A superb equi drew up the other Bible Extraordinary. J. Pierpont Morgan has imported the most costly copy of the Bible ever hrought into this country. The copy was made by the monks of Cluny, France, in the thir- teenth century. Packed ir the same hox with this Bible was an old Eoglish manu- eoript, the original warrant for the arrest of John Banyan, the author of the religious book next to the Bible in amount of sale. For the two, Mr. Morgan is said to have paid twenty-five thousand dollats. Accord- ing to the story told at the Castom House, New Yoik city, thi« Bible was bought in competition with King Edward, of Eng- land, who was anxious to present is to the Chapel at Frogmore, where lies the hody of Queen Victoria. It was reported that Mr, Morgan intends to presents the Bible to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, of which he is one of the trustees. Oa this Bible (whether the Banyan manuscript was included or not we cannot say) the import duty was four thousand dollars, which was paid hy Mr. Morgan's brokers without protest, It wax said of a wea captain who was spoken of by hi« neighhorsas “forebavded,?” that he kad the handsomest Bible in the town. It was placed on the center table and much admired. Ie grew sick and sent for a minister of the old type, who asked him if he was “‘at peace with God.” His reply showed that he wa< much disturbed about the future; bat he said, *‘I have al- ways believed in the Bible, and ever since I was married 1 have had one in the house.”’ Baid the minister, **Ye<, [ know ; I have seen it in the parlor. Have vou read is 2” **No,’’ said the captain, ‘I didu’s, bus I have always felt better for having it in the house.” “Well,” said the minister, ‘I will 1ead to you from it.” : The passages that he read spoke of the uences of «in. The captain grew restless and asked the minister if he couldn’t find anything better than that. ‘Not unless you repent,” “Well, I do repent.” ‘“Are you sure,” said the minister, ‘‘that Jou would not he just what you have been { you rose from your bed in your usual strength and lived for yeas?” ‘Yes, I am, if God would help me.” Then the minsster read the promises to the repentant. The story runs that the captain recovered, that he left the costly Bible where it bad heen, hut alwavs car- ried with him a small ove for use. It also ends heantifull, by the statement that he lived a religious life ; read the Scriptures to his men on the vessel, and led many of them to become Christians. How true the story is in all its parts we have no means of knowing. Its moral is that the value of the Bible consists in its truth, and there is no more saving power in this exquisite Bible than there is in those neat Bibles that the American Bible Society is selling for thirty-five cents ; and there is no sav- ing power in them unless they are read, be- lieved and practiced. —Seientific American. We Paid $100,000,090 tor Foreign Lux- aries. Luxuries were purchased by the United States from abroad to the extent of one hundred milhon dollais during the fiscal year 1906, according to the tabulations of the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce and Labor. These “‘luxuries’’ are classified as diamonds and other pre- cious stones, of which $40,000,000 was im- ported; laces, edgings, embroideries and ribbons, $40,000,000; feathers, natural and artificial, $7,000,000; champagne, $6,000,- 000 and miscellaneous, such a+ perfumeries, toiles articles, smokers’ articles and opium for smoking, made up the balance. Tobacco, cigars and cigarettes were im- ported to the value of $25,000,000. This is more than double the amount spent abroad for such articles a decade ago. The item of largess increase in the above list is said to he diamonds, as the value for 1896 did not reach eight million dollars. Opium for smoking was imported in the fiscal year just ended to the value of $125,- 000 as compared with $65,000 in 1896. The bulk of things classed as luxuries, other than tobacco, came from Europe, the dia- monde from the United Kingdom. Nether lands, Belgium and France. The imported tobacco grew in Snmatra. The Tobacconist's Efigy. One of the most uliar things in the whole history of sigus is the fact, thas while all other shopkeepers were patroniz- ing the embryo painters, the tobacconist aiways called upon th2 wood carver on the Continent as well as in England. As long ago as Elizabeth’s reign the wooden image of the Black Boy was the favorite eign of the tobacco dealers. Later the customary Sign was the Highlander, or a figure ot Sir alter Raleigh. In Holland, for some strange reason, the tobacconists adopted the dairy maid as their sign, with the motto, ‘Consolation for suckliogs.”” The Indian, naturally enough, has always been the predominant in this country, although once in awhile a reversion of type crops out with the an- cient Black Boy. —*‘My dear,” says the thoughtful hashand, entering the house with a huge package in his arme, ‘yon remember last week when yon secured such a wonderlul bargain in shirts at forty-eight cents and neckties nt three for a quarter for me 2"! “Yes, love,’’ says the fond wile. ‘Well, don’s think I didn’t appreciate your thoughtfulness. See, I have bought something for you. I noticed some beauti- ful green and yellow plaid goods in a show window on my way home, and bought > eighty yards of it at four cents a yard. The clerk said it was a great bargain, and it will make enough dresses to last you two years. Why, che has fainted !"’ =;—Ou the sixteenth of August, 1807, Marshal Michae! Ney, Duke of Elchi 4 having received orders to charge, turned to his men and shouted to them ina voice of thunder : . “My lads, I have an income of 300,000 francs, and you baven’t a farthing. Keep your eye on your commander as he charges, and do as he does.” coachman Fob ny Bo. The | "'g, saving, he rode off as bard as he could ihe I oye » des aallon on te diveation of the evemy. The were black. whole army followed him as though elee- Eb mans esd little girl, in black ified rage, car- Aloe & Havs Jou Jord aby little girl carried a doll in ber BOB on Yai8 case ve Juror : adollina gown, a black rue) ne, oy, Attorney : After the evidence ou ® long Black veil of erepo. In this there was ng illogical, alter all. If horses wear mourning, why not dolls? TE — Conundrums, What would yon do it were $ wi a? Jov gh Jive it up. od be i Why can’t a bare-head chop a cherry tree? ows Because he has not a bat yet (hatchet) sides is all in, do you think you will be able to form an ? Prospecting Juror : No, oir, Attorney : Good ! You'll ——A hungry wan is bard to reason with. ~The cheerful giver bas no need of a press agent. ——Life ia what we make it—death the way we take it. EARLY GENIUS. Sien Who Were Young In Years, but Old In Hours, Davy made his epochal experiment of melting ice by friction when but twenty. Young was no older when he made his first communication to the Royal society and was in his twenty- seventh year when he first actively espoused the undulatory theory. Fres- nel was twenty-six when he made his first Important discoveries in the same field, and Arago, who at once became his champion, was then but two years his senior, Forbes was under thirty when he dis- covered the polarization of heat, whicl pointed the way to Mohr, then thir- ty-one, to the mechanical equivalent. Joule was twenty-two in 1840, when his great work was begun, and Mayer, whose discoverjes date from the same year, was then twenty-six, which was also the age of Helmholtz when he published his independent discovery of the same law. William Thomson was a youth fust past his majority when he came to the aid of Joule be- fore the British society and but seven vears older when he formulated his own doctrine of dissipation of energy. And Clausius and Rankine, who are usually mentioned with Thomson as the great developers of thermo-dy- namics, were both far advanced with their novel studies before they were thirty. We may well agree with the father of inductive science that “the man who is young in years may be old in hours.” —Exchange. CHINESE SKILL WITH AXES. Carpenters of Cathay Will Compare With Occidentals. In judging the performance of the native Chinese workman it is almost impossible to avoid the popular bias that addiction to their own methods and tools invariably bespeaks fatuous conservatism. Though this is in many cases true, it will often be found on careful observation that what has pass- ed for a stubborn blindness to the vir- tue of innovation is in reality a keener perception of comparative merits than the judge himself was aware of, This is particularly true of Chinese carpenters. While most of their com- monest tools differ in some radical way from our own, it is never safe to assume the superiority of the western product. Their small ax, for example, is a beautifully balanced tool, and they are remarkably adept in the use of it, being able to work as true a surface therewith as can be obtained with an adz in the hands of the white man. On heavy work it is customary for two to hew together on opposite sides, striking alternate blows. Both hands are used, and the recover is over the shoulder, alternate right and left. There is a freedom of swing with an accuracy of delivery that is a treat to watch, and the rapidity of blows is al- most bewildering. —Engineering Maga- zine. The Great Dustard. The great bustard (Otis tarda), a bird still found in the southern provinces of Russia, is the heaviest European fowl In size it exceeds the Norwegian black- cock. The old males attain a weight of thirty-five pounds, and where food is plentiful specimens weighing thirty- eight pounds and even forty pounds have been captured. These birds have disappeared from western Europe, where once they were nlmost as numer- ous as partridges, and are seen only in small flocks in the sand hills skirting the lower valley of the Dnieper and here and there along the north coast of the Caspian. The hen lays eggs as big as ordinary pears. A larger and heav- ier bird, the cassowary, is incapable of flight, but it can kick with the strength of a mule and uses the sharp, bony quills of its wings as a cock uses his spurs. Granted In Advance, The young doctor who had lately set- tled in Shrubville had ample opportu- nities to learn humility if nothing else in his chosen field. One day he was hailed by an elderly man, who re- quested him to step in and see his wife, who was ailing. At the close of his visit the young doctor asked for an private word with the man. “Your wife's case is somewhat com- plicated,” he said, “and with your per- mission I should like to call the Brook- field physician in consultation.” “Permission!” echoed the man indig- nantly. “I told her I knew she ought to have a good doctor, but she was afraid you'd be offended if she did.” “Paradise Lost.” Milton's “Paradise Lost” was com- menced between 1630 and 1642 and completed about the time of the “great fire of London” in September, 1666. Its author composed it in passages of from ten to twenty lines at a time and then dictated them to an amanuensis, usually some attached friend. It was first published in 1667 by one Samuel Simmons, and a second edition appear- ed In 1674. For these two editions Milton received £10 and his widow £8 more.—London Graphic. Over and Above, “Mother, does Dr. Smith wear his everyday clothes under that long white gown when he preaches?” asked a lit- tle girl who had seen the edge of the minister's trousers under his robe. “Yes, dear,” was the reply. “Well,” she continued, “now I know why it is called a surplus.”—Harper's Weekly. Good For Luncheon. “At luncheon I had something which was excellent, but not substantial.” “What was it?’ “An excellent appetite.”—I1 Diavolo Rosa. The two greatest stimuladts In the world are love and debt.—Beaumont. ! a - ——— SE RE SR— LEGEND OF THE TOPAZ, Why the Jewel Is Called the Stone of Gratitude. The topaz is called the stone of grati- tude, and the old Roman books record the following legend, from which the stone derives this attribute: The blind Emperor Theodosius used to hang a brazen gong before his pal- ace gates and sit beside it on certain days, hearing and putting to rights the grievances of any of his subjects. Those who wished for his advice and help had but to sound the gong, and immediately admission into the pres- ence of Caesar was obtained. day a great snake crept up to the gate and struck the brazen gong with her coils, and Theodosius gave orders that no one should molest the creature and bade her tell him of her wish. The snake bent her crest lowly in homage and straightway told the fol lowing tale: Her nest was at the base of the gate. way tower, and while she had gone to find food for her young brood a strange beast, covered with sharp needles, had invaded her home, killed the nestlings and now held possession of the little dwelling. Would Caesar grant her jus. tice? The emperor gave orders for the por- cupine to be slain and the mother to be restored to her desolate nest. Night fell, and the sleeping world had for- gotten the emperor's kindly deed, but with the early dawn a great serpent glided into the palace, up the steps and into the royal chamber and laid upon each of the emperor's closed eyelids a gleaming topaz. When the Emperor Theodosius awoke he was no longer blind, for the mother snake had paid her debt of gratitude. PASSPORTS IN FRANCE. The Kind That Were Issued In the Time of Louis XVI, The mysterious cards of the Count de Vergennes each contained a brief history in cipher of those to whom they were given, De Vergennes was Louis XVL’'s minister of foreign affairs, and when strangers of a suspicious charac- ter were about to enter France he is- sued to them these strange cards, which acted as passports, and were also intended to give information con- cerning the bearer without his knowl- edge. . In the first place, its color indicated the nationality of the man who car- ried it. The person's age, approxi- mately, was told by the shape of the card. A fillet around the border of the card told whether he was a bachelor, married or a widower. Dots gave in- formation as to his position and for- tune, and the expression of his face was shown by a decorative flower. The stranger's religion was told by the punctuation after his name, If Le was a Catholic it was a period, if a Jew a dash, if he was a Lutheran a semicolon and no stop at all indicated him a nonbeliever. So a man's morals, character and appearance were pointed out by the pattern of his passport, and the author- ities could tell at a glance whether he was a gamester or a preacher, a phy- sician or a lawyer, and whether he was to be put under surveillance or allowed to go free.—Sunday Magazine. Materialistic Man, Sir James Crichton-Browne, the Eng- lish physician, speaking before some members of his profession, protested against the tendency to adopt too mate- rialistic an explanation of man. The raw material of a medical practice be- came a mere contrivance of matter and force; the brain of this poor consumer of pills and potions a “glue-like sub- stance, nine-tenths water, with a little phosphorus thrown in.” “They left us man,” said Sir James, with a smashing figure, “a motor car, self made and self started, with no passengers and no chauffeur, moved by a series of explo- sions or redistributions of energy, and rushing on to inevitable destruction.” A Prayer. Send some one, Lord, to love the best that is in me and to accept nothing less from me, to touch me with the search- ing tenderness of the passion for the ideal, to demand everything from me for my own sake, to give me so much that I cannot think of myself and to ask so much that I can keep nothing back, to console me by making me strong before sorrow comes, to help me so to live that while I part with many things by the way I lose nothing of the gift of life.—~Hamilton W. Ma- Maude Was Willing. A strict housewife said to a new maid, “I forgot to tell you, Maude, that if you break anything I'll have to take it out of your wages.” But Maude, whom two days had heartily sickened of her berth, replied, with a merry laugh: “Do it, ma'am; do it. I've just broke the hundred dollar vase in the parlor, and if you can take that out of $4—for I'm leavin’ at the end of the week—why, you'll be mighty clever.”—Argonaut. The Other One. “What is the meaning of ‘alter ego? ” asked the teacher of the begin- ners’ class in Latin. “The other 1” said the Loy with the curly hair. “Give a sentence containing the ” “He winked his other I.” New Nurse—But why don’t you want to take your bath, Johnny? Little Johnny—'Cause said the good die young, and I don’t want to take chances on being drowned. See?—Exchange, Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.— Maclaren,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers