THE CENTRE SE EES THE VALLEY OF FORTITUDE Dy FANNIE HURST (© by McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) HEN misfortune came to Edna Oliver, it struck her, out of a clear sky, to the flat of her back. And there she was to remain, lit- erally, for a period of fifteen stricken years, encased, as 8 mummy might be encased, in a plaster cast that held her body rigid. As the star woman reporter on the biggest metropolitan daily, Edna Oli- ver, rushing down the corridor of an office bullding on a scoot for a “big story,” had stepped into an elevator shaft, thinking the cage awaited her. The result had been devastating and had resulted in a partial paralysis. The Edna Oliver of fifteen years after this calamity was scarcely to be recognized as the alert, vivacious and talented young woman who had sky- rocketed to a position of importance on the reportorial staff of a gigantle newspaper. Pain, mental anguish and unutterable fatigure of spirit had told thelr story In the face of Edna Oliver, and yet, as is so often the case with the afflicted in body, she had come through the trial-by-fire with a special and rather magnificent kind of tri- umph. With the fifteen years spent on the fiat of her back, strange wisdoms had come to Edna Oliver. Those brilliant, comprehending eyes of hers had looked inward, so to speak. Out of the solitude, out of the pain, out of the contacts on the sun parlor with other souls as stricken as hers, had come a new, tolerant, spiritual Edna. The friends who had stood by in all these years, who had visited her religiously, needs, noted with a awe this change. Toward the end of the fifteen years the spirit of rebellion in Edna had died down. There apparently had come to her In the watches of those long nights, some of the secrets of the sainted. To visit with leave her her cared for her creature kind of certain Edna Oliver was to bedside feeling humbled, and a little reverent. To sit In her presence was not only to leave it grateful for the benediction of your own heaith, but the benediction of a soul like Oliver's upon this earth, chastened, grateful for Edaa Lying on her back, gazing out of a window at a rectangle had sweetened this woman what seemed almost a knowledge of the infinite. A spray of lilac in a «ould be her universe. Some one had given radio, and the the world outside fiospital room and kept her in sympathetic touch with great milling scenes of the metropolis with which he was SO i $ ie te phaysicany of sky. with Vise her a warm the out of contac During her years In that hospital Edna had formed friendships witl afllicted around her as with the physicians and had thwarted ones well as who nurses gervedd her. She come to learn the strange, psychology of the lame, the halt, the blind; and at the same time the mental and spiritual triumphs that they could accomplish over physical defeat. It was a little ironical, as her sub- mission to destiny ripened and grew into the something that was spiritual, that the poor twisted spine of Edna Oliver shou!d begin to gather strength. There came a day when her physician could hold out to the strick- en girl promise of a partial, if not a complete recovery: Curious, but the old Fdna, at the prospect of that, leaped into harness like a fire horse nt the call of a bell Old ambitions came flowing back, As she told her favorite physician, Doctor Alonysious, who had served her well, crying upon the back of his hand, something that she had thought dead within herself had lifted its head. In the months that followed, it Is more than prubable that sheer grit, determination and rehabilitated hopes in Edna Oliver accomplished at least two-thirds toward her miraculous re- covery. Sixteen years to the day from the horrible one when she had huriled down an elevator shaft, Edna Oliver walked out of the hospital, Her return to the newspaper was an occasion for festivity long to be remembered even in the feverish an- nals of journalistic New York. ladun returned to her work with the the acclaim, and the honor of a general returning froin a successful battle. Her colleagues ral- led around her to the man. Every hand was held out to give her a fresh start In the work that had been so cruelly interrupted. There were flow- ers on her desk from every depart- ment In the organization; from old and less fortunate friends still lying prone on their back in the hospital; from Doctor Alonysious and his entire staf’, The return of Edna Oliver to the busy, rquirming, struggling world was the return of a conqueror, But right here the ndvancement of this story of her progress misses a cog, so to speak. The Edna Oliver who had returned to her work with thanksgiving in her heart, enthusiasm in her spirit, felt ineredible her prestige, herself appalled at the very threshold. Somehow, In some way, the new Edna asked herself almost Immediately, questions that had never occurred to the old Edna, The years of medita- tion in the cloistered reaches of the long days and the long nights had awakened new channels of thought in her mind. It was impossible to find herself In this elbowing, pushing, shov- ing, unthinking, relentless world and not ask herself questions that were minted out of the new wisdoms that the fifteen years had given her, Whither? Why this rush? What mattered this day-by-day struggle for the creature things, if in their attain- ment one had not time for the beau- tiful leisure for thought and commun- fon? What was it they were strug- gling for, scratching for, throttling for? What availed a roof over the head, if beneath that roof there were neither leisure, wisdom, contentment, beauty? It was Impossible for Edna Oliver to rush about the city, hither, thither, here, there; up, down; in, under; and not feel herself tormented by a sense of futility. Life on the surface was 0 evasive: life beneath the surface, in the quiet, somber, profound reaches of the soul had taught her that. The world which had taken her back so eagerly no longer satisfied Edna Oliver. Her heart and mind were filled with pity toward it. Her one desire was to find a way to Instill in- to these hurried, harried, comrades of hers some of her new, strange wis doms of the deeper values of life, And yet, of course you did not mount a soap box and query: “List. en, folks! Where are you hurrying? What do you do with the seconds and minutes so frantically saved? Of what significance is this vast, strange, beautiful world In which you find yourselves, If you neither the peace, the leisure, nor the wisdom to enjoy It? “Where is this leisure for which you are rushing? [I see It nowhere. Where do you keep it? In a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow? Why, you cannot even see the rainbows for the cluttered, horizon, “When do out there, In do you think? Have convent of learned the doms that lurk In No, one certainly did not give one's gelf preaching that sort of gospel to a busy, heedless world have nolsy you think, pedple, you, What hink at all? you ever withdrawn into the your and some of wis- the maelstrom? Do you own souls girange contemplation? away by There must be more subtle ways to disseminate some of her secreis. It was the sort of wisdom you had to dole out to an unsuspecting world In sugar pills. The men and women who milled about her In her dally would have tapped their brows work over her, had they suspected the strange doubts that her return to the maelstrom Edna. She did not propose to have them tap vast, was awakening In thelr brows over her. But slowly and surely was borne in upon the need to herself, The need to And her into the peaceful and spirit rested during the long pain- ful convalescence her save way back meadows of soul where she had years of her slow and It might offhand seem ungrateful to her world only ft again, but m nantly it was borne In that she had not w» had lost her there in the mind an her bed of pain had created It was inevitable that Edna should find he: way back to the stricken ones win back to surrender ore and more poig- Edna on back her world: The loisteored which for her. the new she world one back ealm, reaches of the companionship of the in the hospital: to those whose bap- tisn of had made them wiser, more tolerant, more chastened, It was further inevitable that the new Edna should ultimately drift into the companionship of marriage with her erstwhile physician, Dr. Edward Alonysious, who also had looked into the vale of the resurrected In spirit, and had there found the wisdom and the beauty. fire cn ——————— Not at Home Two old cronies met one day and they had not met for some time. “How are you gettin’ on wl’ yer hens, Johnnie?" asked one, remem- bering that rearing poultry had al- ways been a strong suit with him, “Oh,” sald Johnnie. “I've stopped the hen business entirely. I'm raisin’ pigs now, and if you would like to see the best litter in Lanarkshire, just tak’ a step doon our way any time you lke!" As luck would have It. Johnnie's friend was down In his district the very next day and called upon him. His wife came to the door. “I would like to see the wee swine, Mrs. Broon,” sald the visitor, “He'll not he back ‘til six o'clock I” promptly said the lady.—Vancouver Province. Sky Rockets Into Unknown For many years Dr. Robert H. God- dard of Clark university has been studying the subject of skyrockets; now a liberal gift from Daniel Gug- genhelm insures more ambitious re search, There is a limit to the height to which balloons and airplanes can rise becuse of the rarity of the atmos phere, but the rocket, propelled by the recoll of gases, might travel In the thinnest medium. Fuel must be pow. erful, but not heavy; the mixture of liquid hydrogen and oxygen seems the most promising at present, The scientists hope to send up rock. ots with Instruments which will solve many problems to a height of twenty. five or even fifty miles. World's Work, Kil Perennial Weeds in Fall Much Easier Job Than in Spring After the Garden Has Been Planted. It Is not too late to rid small gar- den areas of such persistent weed pests as the wild morning glory and the poverty weed, It i8 announced by Walter Ball of the botany department of the Colorado Agricultural college. Eradication of such pests now will not only stamp them out, but prevent thelr spreading, Weeds Can Be Killed. Experimental work carried on by the department recently has demon- strated that these weeds can be killed by treating the infested ground with carbon disulphide. This treatment Is not practical for large pieces of ground as it Is too expensive, but for small areas In gardens it Is practical, and it pays. These perennial weeds not only trouble the gardener, but rob plants and flowers of food and water, thus preventing their proper growth, Detailed Information as to the use of carbon disulphide may be obtained without cost from the botany depart- ment of the college. Generally speak- ing, one gallon of the chemical is re quired for treating the average square rod of ground. When the infested soll is right— neither too wet nor too dry and hard —the fluld is poured into holes 18 inches deep, dug in the ground at two- foot intervals, The holes may be made by driving down an iron pipe about one inch In diameter, and about two feet long. About two ounces of the chemical should be poured into each hole, and the hole immediately filled In, so that the fumes of the fluid may effectively kill the weed roots, Disulphide Evaporates Rapidly. Carbon disulphide rapidly, and therefore amounts should be container at a The tight « i also hi evaporales only small taken from the and used quickly. kept This wemical Is very time, container cap should be times ive so It should be kept 3 fire Especially ghould workers refrain from smoking while Killing the weeds in the fall is much easier than In the spring after garden is planted, for every time the plow or cultivator is run through the infested area, parts of the weed roots and the spread is too, In the fall of injuring plant almost everything has from the garden, using it. 2) the are carried quite rapid. there Is no growth, been taken along, Then, danger Rifice Not Possible to Cross Gherkins and cu do watermelons and fact true pumpkin true crosses are rare even under controlied and conditions where every effort to artificl ¢ produce a hybrid though fruits result bh a cross they either produce no seeds or sterile is made Even from su seeds so that the erosed progenies will de that pumpkin do not exist an occasional result of a varieties of pumpkins, fait He to secure hich is the ifferent how- ever, cross readily as do also different varieties of CToss squashes, Farm Machines Better Occasionally we stil] mark that the farm day are not so built nor of as good material ss they used to be years ago, but this idea only raises a laugh among the men who know, To be sure the quantity of material ysed is far less, but the quality and strength of material is far greater; and the machines of today are strong- er and more durable, lighter In weight and draft, more convenient and re liable In operation, and repair costs are far less, The improvement in quality and reliability in farm ma- chines has almost kept pace with that of automobiles, hear the re machines of to- well Fall Plowing Prevents Erosion During Winter In fall plowing It is important to consider the lay of the ground in lay- ing out the lands, so that erosion may be avoided to the utmost during the late winter and spring months, when the ground begins to thaw out and become mellow, It is hard to realize Just what an enormous loss of soil oc- curs by washing away during this time, even when precaution is taken to prevent it. This is especially true on ground which Is plowed very late, and, on which no cover crop of val unteer grains or grasses had time to spring up. Oat stubble plowed rea- sonably early will develop a root crop of volunteer oats that protects the soil greatly. farm where many fruit trees are grown, the fertilizer problem Is an easy one. Manure can be put on now ; during the winter months, Spread the manure under the branches, If pled up under the | branches mice may get in, Moving Large Trees Done Successfully Proper Attention to Details Is Quite Essential. (Prepared by the United Sintes Department of Agriculture.) Moving large trees was once regard. ed as being so difficult that it was sel dom attempted, but by the use of modern equipment and the exercise of care, it can be done successfully, se.ys the United States Department of Agriculture, The same attention to de tails is required as 18 needed In mov- ing smaller plants, but because of the greater welght to be moved and the longer time required, both in prepara- tion and moving, much greater at tention to detalls 1s necessary. Among the essentials for successful transplanting are a good tree, includ ing a8 well-developed root system and a healthy top; moving at the proper season: Deciduous trees while dor. mant, evergreens when the ground Is sufficiently warm and moist to stimmu- late the plant to the Immediate forma- tion of roots; properly dug trees with the roots well protected from the time the soll is first removed until replanted ; an adequate hole; the tree properly set and the soll sufficiently firmed; the top properly pruned; and the soll properly watered until the tree Is re-established, With the use of derricks, trucks, and an sbundance of protection for the bark and roots, the mechanical difficulties of moving large trees have been greatly reduced. Excellent Practice in Winter Care of Manure The best practice In handling nure is to haul it out and it on the fields every day. The at. tempt should be made to, cover the more level and rolling fields as there is more of 8 tendency for the manure to wash and leach the hill- sides, There when it will be Impossible to get into the field with the spreader, and it will then be until it handled In bull i ile, separate it fro: mae distribute away on will doubtless be some days desirable to pile the manure and it is well to the regular barnyard $0 that it can be bullt up in much the game manner as & stack of hay or If spread out and improperly cun be drawn out. straw, cared for, it will result in a very large losa of fertility, due to leaching and less by fermentation, Fall Plowing Has Many Advantages to Farmer Fall plowing of land Iz advisable In many instances as it Is more econom- ical and not because it wil the yield of corn In cording to D. H, Hughes of lowa State Coliage. every case, ne There favor of tenms then work : are a number of factors In fall the ure more work 1 « oe 100} Plowing Such as able to do the as they are used to doing heavy t t there is more time in the fall a8 the pressure of the other less and greater destruction of weeds and insects is secured by fall plowing. $i iE Aa lowing, some i ana nter badly § are heavy and wel and one cannot be sure of them In the spring Agricultural Squibs Shavings are materials for superior to all hen's nests. . - * Do not worm a dog that you suspect has distemper. It may kill the dog. » . - Honey ranks high in energy value; he calorie value to the pound is 1485, - » * Well-matured, strong. one-year-old scion wood should be used for graft- ing. » - - The earlier lime is applied the soon- er it begins to correct acidity for next year's clover, a - » Live stock and live stock products furnish 80 per cent of Ireland's re- turn from agriculture. . Sl - Under average conditions, alfalfa will give good stands if seeded at the rate of about 12 to 20 pounds per acre. » . * Silage Is a great cattle feed, and Is useful in feeding some other stock, but as ordinarily made it is far from a balanced feed. .«. &* @® Paint. protects wood by retarding gain or loss of moisture, so that the sudden swelling and shrinkage of the surface that causes weathering does not occur. . - - Alfalfa should never be sown In wet, pooriy-drained ground. It cannot stand “wet feet.” Likewise, there will be only disappointment if alfalfa is sown on soll that Is markedly acid. . oo » Fourteen hundred and nineteen New York dalrymen know their cows. They own the 85,267 cows in the advanced registry, in dairy herd improvement associations, and in dairy record clubs, . os» Silage costs may be made unneces- sarily high by attempting to produce milk or to finish beef cattle on a straight silage diet. It Is the combi nation of silage, some hay and a con- centrate that generally gives most eco- nomical results, pana TLR UHHH TH relieves Headache Colds SAFE the pa ———————— Wind Unjustly Blamed Pollen of poison Ivy oak Is sticky and is not distributed For troubles Fussy, fretfut . . . . of course babies are uncomfortable at teeth. ing time! And mothers are worried because of the little upsets which come so suddenly then. But there's one sure way to comfort a restless, teething child. Castoria — made especially for babies and children It's perfectly harmless, as the formula on the wrapper tells you. It's mild in taste and action. Yet it rights little upsets with a never- failing effectiveness. hats the beauty of this special children’s remedy! It may be given to tiny infants—as often as there is need. In cases of colic and similar disturbances, it is invaluable. But it has everyday uses all mothers should understand. A coated tongue LYDIA ORLOSKI 425 So. Washington Ave., Scranton, Pa. “] took Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound for run- down condition before my baby was born. Now I eat better, have gained in weight and have more stre to take care of my four children. I can do my housework and not get a bit tired. My mother and my sister, also several of my women s are taking your medicine now, because 1 be lieve that this medicine will help any woman that will take it Jogulaly, "vie Lydia Or Rheumatism Neuritis own protection insist on with the name Bayer and One Reason Hard times: A ple quit feeding der why she the cow gives jess milk, calls for a few drops to ward off constipation; so does any suggestion of bad breath. Whenever older children don't eat well, don’t rest well, or have any little upset, a more liberal dose of this pure vegetable preparation is usually all that’s needed. Genuine Castoria has Chas. H. Fletcher's signatureon the wrapper. Doctors prescribe it. MINNIE E. HICKS RR. #2, Rushville, Indiana “When I started taking Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound I could hardly do my housework. 1 was so nerv- ous and weak from Change of Life that I had to lie down very often. 1 heard about the Vege table Compound through a pamphlet which was left at my door. I am doing all the house- work for a family of four and it keeps me on my feet. | have taken six bottles $ ahd 1 have E. Hicks. Vegetable Compound
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers