Better than Hold.
Bettor Uinn gramleur, holier than gol.l,
Than ruuk and title* a IhouMiul lold,
la a healthy body and a mind at enao
Ami aimplo pleasure* that alwav* plcaan;
A heart lliat can feel for anothnr'a woe,
With ■jmpalhiea large enough to enfold
All tnon an brother*, ia better Uian gold.
Better than gold ia a conscience clear,
Though toiling for bread in an humble sphere,
Doubly blown*l with content and henlth,
Unliiod by the luat* and earee ol wealth,
Lowly living and lolly thought
Adorn and ennoble a poor man'* cot,
For mind and moral* in nature'* plan
Are Uto genuine teat* ola gentleman.
Better than gold i* the sweet repoae
Of the eons of toil when the labor* close,
Bettor than gold ia the poor inau'* *lep,
And the balm that drop* on hi* similiter* deep
Bring sleeping draught* on the downy bed,
Where luxury pillow* it* aching head,
Hie toiler simple opiate deem*
A shorter route to the land of dreatn*.
Better than gold ia a thinking mind,
That in the realm of hooka can liud
A treasure aurpuvting Australian ore,
And live witli the great and good of yore.
Hie sage's lore and the |ton's lay.
Tint glories of empire* p,i*cd uway;
The world'* great dream wilt thin unfold
And yield a pleasure better than gold.
Better than gold is n peaceful home
Whc ■re all the fin-aide character* come,
Hie shrine of love, tnc heaven ol life.
Hallowed by mother, or i*ter, or wile.
However humble the home may lie.
Or tried with sorrow by heaven'* decree,
The blessing* that never were Imught or sold
And center there are better than gold.
A Lesson in Obedience.
S'te was all alone!
I, was quite a new experience to
l otty, thin housekeeping business,
she had theorized a good ileal over
'Handy Housekeepers," "Comprehen
sive Cook-Hooks" and "llome-iiuides,"
but she had never had any practical
experience before. And now, up in
these wild w IKS Is, the helm of domestic
affairs was unexpectedly placed in her
hands, and hers alone.
She liked the woods and the river;
the meadows all starred with daisies,
and the long. low farmhouse, with its
red brick chimney-stacks; its trellises
all landing with the weight of vines;
the old stone-walled garden, where
ripening currants hung like ruby
fingers. and the green gooseberries
teemed to altsorb the very sweetness of
the sunshine into their translucent
hearts.
To her mind it was a deal nicer than
the city-flat, with the milkman yelling,
the hand-organ droning, the everlast
ing clouds of dust. And to-day, when
Aunt Themis wanted .to go to hear her
favorite elder hold forth at camp-meet
lng. Dotty volunteered to stay and get
the dinner for Reuben and Rankin, her
two tall cousins.
"L, child!" said Aunt Themis, "y-.o
don't know nothin' alieut euokin'."
"llut indeed 1 do." asseverated
Dotty. "I can make a chicken
fricassee as well as you. Aunt Theinv.
I watched the way you did it last
Saturday; and I knotr i can turn out
a first-class cherry tart "
"Well," said Aunt Themis, a little
doubtfully, "anyhow, there's plenty of
good rye-bread and new milk, and
nobody needn't to starve on Jhat.
And be sure, Dotty, you keep the doors
bolted, and don't let tramps in. and
don't forget that brood of young
turkeys in the barn chamlier. and blow
the dinner horn at twelve precisely;
and don't on no account leave the
milk-room door open, for that new cat
is the theivingest creeter you ever did
tec."
"Oh. I'll take care!" said Dotty, with
the reckless audacity of ignorance.
"Everything shall be quite quite
right! You'll nee, Aunt Themis."
And after the old lady had departed,
with many misgivings, Dotty drew a
long breath of rapture, and executed
an impromptu dance in the middle of
the kitchen floor.
"Only think!" she said, addressing
the cat in the corner -"the whole
house all to myself! Won't I get a
superb dinner for Reulien and Rankin''
I'M make a mrrirvpir tart, and ice
cream, and vanilla puffs, and chocolate
cake, and I'll try my hand at mock
turtle soup, and cream candy, and
black coffee! And how I will sur
prise them! And as for bolting the
doors, how utterly ridiculous it would
be to shut out the beautiful sunshine,
and the butterflies, and the sweet
scented air! This house always smells
like blue mould when Aunt Themis is
here; and of course nobody could get
in while / snt here!"
80 Dotty skimmed the pans for
cream to make the Ice cream, and
Stirred up the v—-ilia puffs, and grated
chocolate to I mri . ake, and put the
two fat, little white chickens into the
pot for tho fricassee; and then, feeling
herself every inch a housekeeper, she
frisked away up stairs to make the
beds.
llut there was no question of lieda,
when once she was up stairs, where a
huge old chest of some dark-stained
wood itood open, near the landing.
"The old oak chest!" cried Dotty,
who was full of romance as a white
clover blossom is of sweetness. "And
to think that Aunt Themis never let
me look into it before!"
There was nothing very particular,
after all, in it. Only stuffy-smelling
blankets, a moth-eaten gown or two,
the brass buttoned military eoat in
which Uncle Amaniah—dead these ten
years—had been wont to "rally" on
training days.
"Pshaw!" said Dotty, "There
ought to have been a forgotten will
there, or a skeleton, at the very least.
It's a humbug, that old chest."
Just as this reflection passed through
her mind, a whining, nasal voice
sounded at the bottom of the little
wooden stairway, which wound up
like a corkscrew from below.
"Any old clothes to exchange for
beautiful china vases, lady? Any
cold victuals for a poor man?"
lie was a stalwart, black-browed ;
fellow, with villainous, slit-like eyes, 1
and a tattered velveteen suit; and j
Dottv's heart stood still with terror '
for a second.
Oh, if she had only obeyed her Aunt
Themis aud locked up those doors!
"No!" she said, shortly. "Go away."
"Don't be hard on a poor fellow, |
miss!" whined the man.
And Dotty was quite certain that i
!
shf naw the spout of Aunt Themis'
old solid silver cream jug protruding
from the flaps of his ragged velveteen
pocket. At the same moment, he
began ascending the stairs with
insolent deliberation.
In an instant all the doubts, the
dreads, the possibilities, the horrors of
the situation, glanced across Dotty's
mind.
Reuben and Rankin were in the dis
tant meadow cutting grass; the tin
horn, by means of which she usually
summoned them, was hanging up
down stairs at the back of the kitchen
dair.
Not a neighlair lived within sight or
ca" Anl here she was at this
steaahy facial brute's mercy. Would
he gag Itbt ? Would he murder her *
What was to become of Aunt Themis'
gold heads and Reuben's new breast
pin, besides all the nice old silver
which had desaended to them from
Grandmother Rluffet?
"No," a d iHitty to herself; "for
myself 1 do not care. Rut the silver
■'hull be protected !"
With a -pni k glimp inspiration,
she advanced toward tin- shambling
fellow with the sinister face.
"There are some old garments in
that big chest," said she. "You may
look at theio; perhaps they will la
w-hat you want'"
The eyes of the sinister man, who
had by this time reached the top of
the -tairs, glistened. He promptly ad
vanced, and bending over the side of
the monster chest. peered into its
depths.
"Most anything'll work in in mv
trade," said he. "I ain't no ways
pa'tiekler. la-cause "
Now was 1 Kitty's time. As he bent
over, with at least two-thirds of his
laaly in the old chest, she sprang
alertly forward, and bundled the other
third into the stuffy recesses.
The tramp dropped like a huge over
grown kitten into the flannel blankets, ,
In a second, Ihitty had the lid shut
down, and hail turned the key.
"Now I've got you!" said Dotty, all
triumphant, though dishevelled. "Oh,
ves! kick and |>onnd all that you like,
j hut you'll not get out until Reuben
and Rankin are here!"
And flying down stairs, she seized
the old tin horn and blew a blast
wbi'-h echoed like the "Horn of
Itoncesvalles' over hill and dale.
Reulien, swinging his scythe on thp
side hill, stopped to listen, Rankin
dropped his whetstone, and Miles !
Rugglcs, the hired man, cried out;
"Je ru salem! it ain't twelve o'clock
j yet!"
"There's something up, anyhow!"
cried Reulien, making a grasp at the
linen coat which hung on the nearest
; tilberry bush.
"Mother ain't home, and Dotty is all
alone?' exclaimed Rankin.
"Wal, ef there's anything extraordi
j nary on the carjiet," declared Miles. "I
ain't a-goin* to lie left out in the cold."
Up hill and down dale, over lng
-1 bridged streams and across hutnmocky
' swamp hastened the three brave re
i cruits, without loss of time, and
rushed, all abreast. Into the kitchen
door.
Dotty stood there, with the broom in
one hand, and a saucepan of boiling
water in the other, pale hut resolute.
1 "Dorothy!" cried Reulien, "what on
earth is the matter?"
; "He's up stairs!" gasped Dotty.
"Who is up stairs?" demanded Ran
; kin as he reached down a loaded re
volver from the very top shelf in an
odd little three-cornered cupboard.
1 "And I think he's kicking through
I the side of the chest," falteied Dotty,
clinging to Rankin's arm.
"Jo riiHiilom!" again remarked Miles
Buggies, under his breath.
"Who?" persisted lieu ben. "What
<:li cat ?"
"The burglar!" said Dotty. "He's j
in the old rhest uj> stairs. I tipped j
him into it. And, oh, 1 was so al'ruid
afterward thai he would suffocate to
death, because he wits so still for a
minute or two!"
"Astonished, maybe," suggested
Miles lluggles, under his breath. "1
should a-been, I know."
"Hut when he began to kick," said
Dotty, with a little gasping breath,
"and swear, I knew he wits all right."
"I should think so!" said Jteuben,
with a lowering brow. "How did the
villain get in, Dotty?"
"I —left all the doors open," confessed
Dotty, with a conscience-stricken air.
"Aunt Themis told me not to; but I
thought there wits no harm. And I
had hardly got upstairs, when he caiue
shullling up, and I saw the old silver
milk jug in his jM*ket, lie wanted
old clothes; and 1 told him we had
Some in the chest; and when he stooped
over to look, 1 just pushed him in."
"Brave little heroine!" said ICankin.
"And locked it tight," nodded Dotty.
"The best thing you could have
i done," declared Heuben, admiringly.
"Je-rtisalein!" commented Miles
! Buggies, smiting the kitchen table
with one horny palm.
So up they proceeded, in solid
j phalanx, and released the velveteen
; captive, who was very sullen and com
-1 plctcly bathi-d with perspiration,in con
sequence of the vain efforts he haul
made to get free.
"Collie"' roared Heiils-ii. who was a
voting giant of six feet odd inches, and
broad proportionately, at the miserable
prisoner scrambled out and stood
cowering l>efore them, "what are you
doing here ?"
"< lid clothes in exchange for china
vases!" lie faintly stammered.
"Then what are you doing with our
: silver milk pitcher and ten forks in
your coat pockets?" demanded Benl**n.
"And what the ,le rusalem business
hev sou a-prowlin' round and si arm'
the women folks *" said Miles Ituggb s,
coming valiantly to the front. "Here,
Hankin, I'll get up the old one-ln>ss
w agon your ma's got th<-shay an'
cart the feller off to Justice tiilliland's.
He'll settle him in qtiii-k time, I tell
ye what Jest tie the fellow's hands,
and make him all ship-shape, 'that's
all I ask of you!"
So the sim-ter scoundrel, in hla< k
velvtteen, was horne un#-er<--ii .niously
ofT by stout Miles Buggies, is the first
stage toward .i two years' captivity in
the n-ar#~it dates pris#in; and Ih.tty
was relies ed at last frnin the incubus
of bis presence.
First hn laugh#* I at Itankin's idea
that she was a heroine, and then she
cried and shuddered at 10-r vivid j#-r
-i eption of the terror she had endured.
"But, Beul-n and Bankin," she
said, "you must promise solemnly
now never to tell \unt Themis tliat
I disols-yed her and left Uie door ojien.'
\nd the two young men leiiind
tliemsi-lves solemnly ever to keep the
vow of eternal silence uj>n the sulv
jrs-t.
"since there is rra'ly no harm done,"
said lieu ben, laughing.
"Except Dotty's fright." said Ban
kin, quite seriously.
So the chicken fro assee was made,
and the vanilla puffs; but the ice
raenm was postponed indefinitely, and
the chocolate cake remained forever a
disemlKHlled ideal. And it look the
two young men all the afternoon to
console I kitty.
And w hen Aunt Themi* came home,
i full of the preacher, and the brethren,
and the camp meeting, they all listen
; ed in dutiful silence, and she never
once mistrusted that anything had
' happened.
"But I'm sure," whispered Dotty to
! Itankin. when they went out together
to get a pail of spring water, "it will
always lie a lesson in oliedienee to me.*
H'len For rett Mr art*.
A Mongol Characteristic.
With many good qualities, anil with
almost a superabundance of religion,
the Mongols have no love of truth, and
are wont to despise a man who cannot
meet the stress of daily events by an
apt llv On one o< casmn, traveling
with a guide over the desert. Mr. tiil
mour was frequently asked whether he
carried a revolver. He constantly
made the truthful reply that he did not.
This so aroused the fear and excited
the indignation of the guide that his
employer's sad state l>ecama a matter
of deep thought, resulting in this solu
tion. He suggested that to all future
queries Mr. Gilmour should reply,
"Supposing I have, what then? Hup
posing I have not, what then Y" The
canny Scotch wit of the missionary led
i him to learn a lesson even from a Mon
gol. "I saw no harm in this form of
answer, agreed to use it, and have
, often since staved off in the same
manner Impertinent questions,"
THK OMTKIfIf.
Qirr tin tot nfa l-ranliar IllrS -flow fha
Oatrlrh 4 limited.
A letter to the Now York Timea do-
Hcrilx-s the ostrich farm at Anaheim,
<-al. Dr. fSket hlcy, owner of (In
form, on which there are twenty-one
birds, said to the writer:
"They lay eggs every other day.
| Age does not affect them. I have seen
a pair of birds which were H2 years old
; ami they were just as valuable for
I breeding and feather raising as ever.
| Were they decrepit? You could not
tell the difference in any way last ween
\ them and very much younger birds. 1
| have known birds 110 years old, a pair,
j valued at i'BMSI, You can see the
chances here. If the birds are in
proper condition I expect that we
| shall have IKHI chickens in a year.
The difficulty in ostrich farming is in
1 raising the chickens. They catch odd.
; But when they are over a month old
they are all rigid. Ostriches have no
disease that i know of, and I hnve had
eight years' experience with them.
I When a chicken is ♦ months old the
value of its feathers is alsmt fid;
when it is 11 months old the value is
; between fJO ami s.'fi, and wheu the
! bird is between .'ij and I years old the
value is alsmt f JV) annually. Sixteen
years ago the business of ostrich farm
ing was Ix-gun; now flO.iSki.tJtKJ are
invested in it"
An ostrich is apparently alsmt the
roost ill-tempered bird in existence.
They never a- quire a fondness for any
one. They have no particular prefer
ence ordinarily as to mating. They
are alw ays on the lookout to ki< k some
one. and if tln- kick has the intended
effect it is pretty sure to he fatal. The
blow is aimed forward, and is accu
rate. For this reason the person who
pulls the sticking over the ostrich's
head at the time when the feathers ar<-
to is- cut must is- wary and experi
enced. As Dr. >ketoldey walked along
by the corrals, of which there are
alsmt a baker's do/en, the ostriches,
with a few exceptions, followcsl along
with an evident de-ore to get a kick at
him. A Chinaman carrying a vythe
along hv one -f the c irrals was at on<
an object of provocation to the ostrich
es in that corral and of fear to Dr.
>ketehley. The latter tried to make
the Chinaman understand that tlu-re
was danger to the pp-chm* birds from
the scythe should they ki<k through.
The birds, when they found that the
Chinaman was out of their reach, lav
down in the dust of the corral and.
r-H king violently from side to side,
lie.it their lMiic> with their h- el* with
all their available force. which from
the sound seemed to Is- considerable.
It was stuh a sound .is might come
from a muffled drum. Having in
dulged in tins outh irst for awliile.they
st.ilks| a) out with that peculiar gait,
which seemed to is- their | roja-rtv in
common • nli with the camel or <lr#>ro
edary; then they again lay in the dust
and repeatisl th>- drumming opera
tion. Dr. sketchh-i sue# #-ede#l in < aid
ing '-ne lij the net k. hut <1 i<l n-* hold
it. He also put lus ban i into the
mouth of one to show- tliat it ha#l no
strength in its jaws. Their diet is
mainly alfalfa and barley, with cab
bage, turnips, an I jiotat*-s thrown in
as a sort of ostrich des-crt, Tlic diet
would alone indicate the Lick of
strengtli in the jaws. Before they
reach that culmination <>f anger which
results in the prostration and drum
ming. they emit a loud hiss like a
go#**-, opening the mouth to stieh an
extent as to hsik like a letter V lying
on one side and stretches! very wide
apart. The danger is all from the one
toed feet, witn the obviously prodigious
muscle of leg and thigh to projiel
them.
A striking difference exists between
the corraled and farmed ostriches and
those running over the African deserts,
inasmuch as the latter never fight.
Dr. Hketchley hunted for nine months
in the desert. The hints have to 1*
hunted sclent Ideally. Certain facts
are known, one leing that the birds
will always run in a semicircle. First
they will run with the wind, that they
may use their wings to help them.
After they get what the sailors call "a
head wind," they go around the other
way. They must le run down. One
horse cannot "wind" them. The great
. trouble Is to kefpthein in sight They
will run 4< miles on a stretch. If they
ever get n breathing sp>ll they will
get away. The hunter starts out with
a fresh horse. A Bushman boy rides
another ami leads one. As soon as it
is seen which way the bird will run.
the boy takes his cue and drives to
, where he thinks the hunter will need
j the friwh horse. In the meantime the
ostrich singled out for the chase and
the hunter are speeding along like the
wind, the latter straining every nerve
to keep In sight of the bird and the
bird nicking its most prodigious strides
for freedom. A great deal now de
pends OQ the Bi'.shman boy's judgment,
, in having the fresh horse at the right
place, that no time may be wasted. It
is seldom that the hoy makes a mis.
take. The hunter leaps on the fresh
horse and gains on tin- birl, which,
growing tired, goes more and more
awkwardly. The hunter has only,
j when iie catches it, to rap it on the
head with Ids hunting whip and the
chase is over. There are really 'inly
two kinds of ostriches, the North Afri
can and South African birds. The
mah-s are black and the fi-mai#* drab.
All are of one color, drab, until alter
| they are two years old.
One of the most singular features is
the location of the ostrich's stoma#-!).
He carries it on his hack between his
shoulders, ami the fo#nl can lie seen
winding around irisi#le <if his neck t#i
g#-t at this out-of-the-way receptacle.
Although there is a great ileal of
dialing against the corrals in case of
fright, tlie plumage, for which alone j
tlie birds are of vaiu#-. do#-s not seem
to suffer much. All of the (lock aj>- '
pear t#> b- in Hue feather. The plum
age is soft, silky, #-l#*an, and glossy as
it grows, an-l is all ready for market
speaking of the relative value of the
birds, Dr. hketchley sai#l that while
one might yield more feathers or prove
a lietter breeder, he averaged them.
The value is determined mainly by
breeding qualities. The ostrich is <#>n
siderad a chicken until it is 12 months
old. a feather bird only until about iij
years old, and at t years it should
breed. The most valuable iire#-#lirig
birds are called "guarantee birds,"
from the discovery that their eggs will
hatch. The average life is supposed
to he alsiut I**) years among long-lived
birds. These birds are now Is-twis-n *
and years old. Should they live and
tin- experiment prove successful,
Southern California may yet contain
thousands of ostriches.
How tine Novel was Written.
Wilkie Collins w rites most of his
novels with his own hand, hut now
and then rheumatic gout gives him
sin ha pain that he cannot hold a p< n.
and then lie employs an amanuensis.
The greater part of "The Moonstone"
w.is dh tated, and Mr. < oil in* says it
is the only one of his works which lie
lias never read. The re ollcction <J
the agony h<-suffered while dictating
it ib-ti-rs him. "For a long time,
while that Issik was writing." h- say s
1 had the utmost difficulty in getting
an amanuensis who wonhl go on with
Ins ork without Interrupting himself
t<# sympathize with me. lam mu h
Ilk# a ts-ast in many ways if lam in
pain. I must howl ; ami, ie I lay in the
issl in the corner yonder, I would of
ten break forth in a yell of anguish.
Then inj amanuensis would urge nie
to C#lli|Krse myself an#! ret to write
any nmre. Between the paragraphs
I woiiM go along n:#<-ly enough, hav
ing in my mind just w! at I want# I to
say, and th#-#- interrupt, rn w uld
drive ma#). Finally a young girl. n-t
more than seventeen, offered to help
me. and I con*#-ntel that sin- should,
in t as#- sli- was sure she could let me
how I and cry out in my pa;:i while she
kept her pla •• at the table. She did
it. too. and --The Moonstone" finally
lauietoan end. But I never read it
never."
A Man *nprrior to his Fate,
A man who had by dint of sheer
courage and energy overcome almost
insuperable difficulties, and showisl
tliat life, even when it m-ems almost a
curse, may le well worth living. di#s|
last week at Arare. in the canton of
i.eneva Jean Trottet, th<- man in
•position, was I Kirn in IH.'ll, without
iiatuls and without feet. His short
arms were p#iinte#l. ami his legs such
a* they were, not being available for
progression, he was able to move only
by twisting his Ixtdy from side to side.
His case greatly Interested the sur
geons of the n#-ighlK>rh#Ksl. and local
Barnums ina#lc the parent*. well to-do
peasants, many tempting offers to turn
their child's misfortune to account by
exhibiting him almut the country. But
these offers we.-e invariably lecline#l, 1
and when Jean was <dd enough he
was sent to school.
In writing he held his pen at the
bend in the elbow, and as he grew old
er he took great interest in hustiaml- t
ry. liecame an active haymaker, used ]
the reins with dexterity, and was so
good a shot that he often carried off j
first prir.e at the village fir*. He en
joyed, too, some reputation for saga#i
ty, was consulted by his neighbors on
matters of importance, and has left
Itehind him a widow and four child
ren amply provided for.
Hhe Sever Did.
"I can't carry this bundle," said a
wife to her husband.
"I can't," the husband replied, "for
I have to carry the two children."
"But you ought to have some con- i
slderation for me," the wife continued, j i
•You must think I'm a wagon." i
"Oh, no, my dear. I don't think you
are a wagon. A wagon holds its ,
tongue, but you never do."— Ark<j%mt . (
TtxHxler. ' (
CHILD IIK VM COM X.V
filial Dnoiluii of a
Wc have a saying that charitybegin*
at home, and it ha* 1 <-*-n added that a
great d<-al ol the charity that begin*
at home Htaya there. Of thin narrow
sort of benevolence, too, we find ex
amples aiming the animal*. Tlwre in
the barljet, for instance. It is a soli
tary bird, and sits most of the time in
morose silence on a twig. waiting for
its food (in the shape of an insect) to
fly by. Sometimes it la said to rouse
itself and make a descent upon the
nest of some smaller bird, and eat all
the little ones.
The celebrated naturalist. Lev ail lan t,
who has told us so many interesting
things about the birds of Africa and
South America, says that he discov
ered a barbet's ned in which there
were five birds. Four of them were
young and vigorous, but the liftii was
so old and weak that when it was j>ut
into a cage with its comrades it could
not move, hut lay dying in the corner
where it had laser* placed.
When food was put into the <
the jesir old bird could only look at it
longingly, without having the strength
to drag itself within reach of it. Then
it was that one of the younger birds
manifested a singular spirit of kind
ness. Quickly, and even with an air
of tenderness, as it seems, they carried
food to the decrepit old bird, and fed
it as if it hail la-en only a fledgling.
There are several different species of
harbets found in Africa and South
America, and though not graceful in
shape, many of them are exceedingly
beautiful in | lumage. They get their
name of l aria t from the French word
hartjt, meaning beard, because* they
have* tufts of stiff ha;r at the base of
the bill. Naturalists place them in a
genus call'-d tin—, and some persons
call them puff-birds, liecause thev have
an i!cl way of puffing out the feather*
all over the UsK. which then 1< ks
more like a hah* of feathers than a
bird.—A'f. Sirhola*.
4 Tuhlni liir Idrnt,
"lk bird* think 'f" Le-t me tell yot
of a bircl I once owned. The little
bird wa* a female mocking-bird who
hiel a nest c,f young ones alsiut a we-t*k
old. The baby birds were never
healthy, inheriting wc-akne-ss from
their father, who had tlie* asthma.
Farly one morning I was a*.*.akenwl bv
the mother bird standing on my pillow
]xiuriiig into my car the mest mourn
ful ric.tes I ever heard. I knew .some
thing was wrong ami arose at once*
I lie mother flew to her ne-st. then
I<*kc*d to .er if I was following,
which 1 was. As sc*>n as I reached
th> nest she took hold of one of the
baby birds' wings, pinched it gently
with her Iw-ak and watched it eagerly,
1 t!iink. to see if it moved. Then she
took hold of one of the little feet and
pinched it in the same manner, and.
finding it did not move, she looked up
at me in a pleading way, as if sh p
wanted no* to try to awaken them.
I reached my hand out toward the
riest she stood aside and looked on
with as much interest and feeling
apparently as any young human
mother.
"I examined the lifeless little boding
and when I withdrew my hand the
mother hastened to hover over the
little . lies, see ming to think that if
she could warm them they would
awaken. In a few moments she
hopjad off the nest, looking at her
babies, held food close to their mouths
and coaxed and called them, but in
vain. She flew all around the mom,
as if in search of some untried remedy.
Several times she perched on my
shoukler. and looked so distressed and
pitiful 1 could scarcely keep from
crying. 1 put her In a cage, and hung
her in the sunshine to see if she would
lieoome quiet. She took a bath. I ait
still remained nervous and seemed
anxious, and by and by grew sorest
less I had to let her out of the rags
and let her go to the nest again.
••she stood quite a while looking -at-V
her dead children. Then she went
ever all the little bodies—pinching
them gently and watching them close,
ly to see if they mo vest. When she
saw no signs of life she seemed
pur.rled. She seemed at last to make
up her miml the little ones were dead.
And one by one she lifted them ten -
derly in her beak and laid them side
by side in the middle of the mom.
She looked at them lovingly a mo
ment, then flew to her empty nest and
gared woodertngly into that Finally
she perched on mr shoulder and looked
into my eyes, as If to ask. What doe* ,
all this mean What a lesson of lovw I
and devotion that little bird taught f'J
She always fed the little one* lisfore
taking a mouthful herself, and she
would stand coaxing them to take one
more mouthful, and finding they had
enough would swallow 1* herself—
Chunga Timet.