gSHEn voj 10 of yon as yon are to be free from me. Hurry up. Victor laughed in his soft way as he crept down into the little cabin to obey orders. Orton buttoned his rough jacket close and drew his broad-brimmed hat low over his eyes in anticipation of a row against the wind, which was beginning to freshen from the northwest. Indeed it was a finely in vigorating experience, that breasting ot the sweet, sharp breath from the resinous woods and wide salt marshes of the "Wolf river and Jordan river countries. The skiff into which Orton and Victor had bestowed themselves with the young man's baggage and sketching outfit was a slight affair, and the Creole's lusty oar strokes set it fairly boundinc over the sparkling water. The course led them through a long curve around Magnolia 3? oint, giving broken glimpses of the Bochon house, with its dull drab walls and peaked roof withdrawn in a soft crepuscular gloom which was shot through here and there by fine lines of glowing sunlight. A person looking from the shore must have felt the effect of the animated bit of life and color afforded by the skiff and its crew. Victor's red shirt and Orton's blue jacket shone gaily, and the artist's yellow curls contrasted effectively with the black unkempt locks of the Creole. Then what a background; all the wide bay rolling free before the breeze and the dark, troubled masses of the woods on the other shore, had caught tbe full midmorning glow and shim mer. Southward albng the horizon line some tall ships under full sail were bowling on their way, and flights of pelicans, ducks and geese made the high air palpitant with their wings. Some one on shore did see the skiff, and did watcL it with curious eyes. Gaspard Bochon stood at tbe extreme point of the little headland near his house, and with his sturdy legs wide apart, his heavy band shading his strong dark face, and his cap set well back on his grizzled head, gazed at tentively. "Voila! yonder! see!" exclaimed Victor eagerly, "Mo'sieu Bochon standing on the high place; you see him?" Yes, Orton saw with a thrill in acknowl edgement of the figure's bold outlines and picturesque attitude. Be took up a small field glass, and, justifying it, surveyed with increasing interest thai burly and hirsute lord of tbe land whose dreadful deeds and dark ways Victor has been so fond of des scribing. "Xbu look at him mighty well now," said the Creole jn his glib patois, "for he's worth looking at, is Mo'sieu Bochon. I jll vnn tliHt vnn mitrht s well fcpen fihv ot U him and the Ma'm'zelle, certainly, if yon 14 dnn'tlike trnnble. Bad as a shark, he is. and the Ma'm'zelle, he " Just then Orton showed signs of having discovered something new. The Creole rested a moment on his oars and gazed. A second figure had come forth from the magnolia grove and was approaching the spot where stood Bochon. It was a tall girl, probably 16, simply clad in a gown of gray stuff with a flutter of dark red ribbons here 'and there; she was supple and graceful evidently, and Orton sa through his glass that her face, shaded by a wide palmetto hbt, was charmingly sweet in its expression. There was little time for this exchange of inspection, as tbe tide was nearly to the turn, and Victor, resuming the oars, pulled vigorously, soon sending the skiff past the point and on to the mouth of the bayou. "What did I say?" he exclaimed as he rowed, "I told you how that man looked like a great savage bear, and how the Ma'm'zelle she looked like a lily. Did you see? Mo Dieu, but whata scowl on his ugly old face! and she; did yon see how pretty she is''" To this and much more Orton made no response. The spell of the place was upon him. This was his first experience in the South; his home was in the far 2Corth, where life had nothing in it to prepare one for what one met in this strange out-of-the-way nook of tbe sub-tropic, and besides, Orton had been made peculiarly impressible by tbe unusual and vividly romantic stories of Victor. Xow, as the house and the grove and the . two figures on Magnolia Point passed from .his vision into memory, a sense of immense distance from the real world took possession of him. It was as though he had found a little region, detached irom earth, set in a space of its own and filled with the atmos phere and the colors of dreams, a very para dise for the artist who longs for what is not commonplace. He felt that very soon some adventures and experiences must make a memorable impress upon him and probably affect the whole current cf his life. He was ready for this, even eager, for he was at that age and of the temperament which de mands a fair share of the melodramatic and the strongly colored. He would not have objected to a little of the tragic and the ter rible as a condiment, for there was a fight ing strain in his blood just strong enough to make him venturesome and courageous to a degree. A mile or two up the bayou they came to a rude wharf of timber, near which a fishing smack was moored to a stake, driven into the marsh mud. Back a few paces on the other shore in tbe midst of scuppernong vines and orange trees, now beginning to bloom, stood a low, rambling honse of many rooms, built partly of logs and partly of rough boards, and surrounded by a gallery or rude colonnade, over which clambered a Cherokee rose vine thickly covered with its snowy flowers. Behind the structure stood a huge live-oak tree, whose arms, SO feet long, spread out a heavy mass of moss-festooned sprays, completely overshadowing the irregular roof. Here Orton was to have his home for a time, having set out from New Orleans with this purpose in view. Victor, whose little schooner he had chartered, describes the k. place to mm ingiowing colors as an ideal that an artist and a sportsman, could desire to follow. A thin, swarthy man, with a high eagle nose and deep-set black eves, met them on the wharf. Victor made him known to Or ton as M'sieu Edouard Garcin, the proprie tor of the place, whereupon he gave the ar tist most profuse welcome and Fed the way into the house, while two or three negroes busied themselves with Orton's baggage and sketching materials, bringing them to the gal lery, and, depositing them in a heap on the floor, where lounged four or five deer bounds. "Come een, come een, mek oose'f at ome," said the host trying hard to speak very good English. "Glad I see oo, Mistoo Orton; ver' proud of oo kindness ven oo .come at my 'ouse dees time." The room was ample, with low celling, a wide fireplace and small windows. The furniture was, to Orton's surprise, of heavy carved mahogany, table, chairs, clock and -bedstead, costly and beautiful. In one cor ner lay a curious old guitar. CHAPTER II. LALIE GABOnr. Victor, who was in a great hurry to re turn, scarcely allowed himself time for a g)ass of wine with Garcin before setting out, but, so rapidly did he speak, he suc ceeded in giving a most glowing and appar ently satisfactory account of Orton whom he described as a great gentleman from New York who had become famous all over the world as an artist and whose skill with the riflo and the .fowling-piece was something prodigious. ''He wants to shoot and fish and make pictures of everything in your country, Mo'sieu Garcin," he glibly went on, with , many winks, shrugs and gestures of hands and elbows, "certainly he does, and he has come all the way from his grand home in " the great city on purpose to stay in your humble house awhile, Mo'sieu Garcin, and enjoy your company, certainly so." Edouard Garcin bowed and smiled, first toward Orton and then toward Victor, and his fine black eyes expressed satisfaction and hospitable intent more readily than did his tongue, since he persisted in trying to y speak English. "It mek me joyous 'at ee come so soon to veesit a. long wile dis time," he remarked, finding his words with great diffeulty. When Orton, to relieve him, spoke in . - very good French, there was an expression '-Evidently he would have preferred to have THT "'TOPWf the conversation in English, whether he de sired to leirn the tongue, or whether he dreaded to have a French speaking alien in his house, would have been hard to guess. With that politeness which never deserts a man of his class, however, he accepted Or ton's choice and spoke the language of the place. "This is your room, Monsieur, your house, it belongs to yon as long as vou will stay," he said with that soft cordiality and perfect sincerity of voice and manner impossible to imitate or describe, "Whatever you want call for it, everything is yours." Orton thanked him as best he could; but it was hard to get a word ready before the adroit Garcin would pour out another and another flood ot flattering welcome. Victor snatched a glass of wine then after a short, hurried consultation aside with the host, bade Orton au revoir, promising, ac cording to contract, to bring the Zozo around again at the end of a month so that if he should wish by that time to leave Bay St Louis he could do it. "Bemember, Victor." said Orton, shak ing his sailor's little dark hand, "not later than the 10th of April; I shall expect you to be prompt. I couldn't think of embark ing in any other craft than the schooner Zozo." The face of Victor lighted up under this compliment to his little vessel, which was in lact the fastest on the coast, and he al most embraced the artist while he said: "Certainly; exactly on that day I will come, if the wind is fair, certainly, Mo'sieu, the Zozo she brought you here, she will take you away, certainly. "And. by the way, 1 was about to forget my letter," exclaimed Orton, taking from his pocket a sealed paper package upon which, besides the address, he had drawn his monogram in a fanciful India ink sketch. "Here, don't fail to send this by the first vessel. It is very, very important, Victor. Will you forget it?" "Mo dieu, how can I forget it, Mo'sieu? I shall think of it all the time," and he fairly snatched it from Orton's hand. It was addressed to General Horace Orton, New York City. Victor could not refrain from sending an eager glance over the bold superscription, nor did his eyes fail to rest for a moment on the puzzling monogram before he bestowed the package safely in his pocket. Then he gave Garcin a quick knowing look, as if to say: "There what did I tell youl This is proof of my words. Orton did not notice this scarcely per ceptible expression of unusual interest, nor did it strike him as meaning anything when Garcin excused himself and followed Victor down to the wharf on the bavou. "It is just as I said," remarked Victor in a whisper as he and the host went down the sandy path under the vines. "He is come to get Mo'sieu Bochon. He is a secret officer, lam sure of it, and he has no fear. Tbe Government, Mo'sieu Garcin, the Govern ment has sent him." "But mon Dieu, how do you .know? in quired Garcin eagerly. "I was knowing it all the time, but now," and her Victor, tapped on his pocket to indicate the letter, "now it is certainly so. "The letter?" whispered Garcin. "Yes, the letter," responded Victor. The men halted at the. edge of the dock and looked at each other quizzically. "He writes to General Orton, at New York, do you understand, Mo'sieu Garcin? General Orton!" exclaimed Victor, lifting up his shoulders and spreading his hands out before him with great energy. The em phasis placed on the word general was tragic in the extreme. Garcin was vivaciously silent and thought ful for a few moments, then, with sudden earnestness he inquired: "But how do vou know thai; that it is only old Bochon that he is after?" Victor smiled a queer little smile, and shook his head knowingly. "Don't be afeard, Mo'sieu Garcin, certainly he has not come for you," he said with a patronizing intonation in his whisper, "I told him about you, and he thinks you a great gentleman. Certainly he'll not suspect you, Mo'sieu Garcin, never." They went down the rough steps of the whart and Victor entered the skiff. Garcin leaned over the gunwale and said: "But if he finds out if he finds out?" "Bahl don't be. a calf, Mo'sieu Garcin, he is a gentleman and he is in your house. Certainlv you must treat him well and have him to like you. Don't you see? You're safe enough. It's the old man that he's after." Victor furtively slipped forth the letter so that Garcin could see the monogram and superscription. Both men sighed with the suppressed excitement of the occasion as their vivid imaginations illuminated, with a light that never was on sea or land, the purport of that mysterious package, so grand and official looking and addressed to a general in New YorK Garcin puffed out his swarthy cheeks and Victor smiled his gentle Creole smile. He replaced the letter and made ready to row away down the bayou. "Goodby, Mo'sieu Garcin," he said, "I hope you will have a pleasant time with Mo'sieu Orton. Goodby." "But you will return in just a month, eh?" Garcin called after him as the skiff was gliding swiftly from the shore. "I must expect you, then?" "Certainly, certainly," came back the musical answer. Surely Victor had a very sweet voice, almost as sweet as that of the mocking bird singing yonder on the live oak. Garcin stood awhile gazing after the now fairly galloping skiff, then with his hands in his pockets he turned about and went back into the house. The wind had come to be a trifle sham and chilly, as it always does when it blows from the Northwest. A neero started a fire on the hearth in Orton's" room, a fire of round wood with splinters of fat pine be tween, which flung forth a cheerful light, making the dark furniture gleam and caus ing the curious old pictures on the walls to look still more stiff and dusky. The artist examined his surroundings "u K"ai interest, xi was aimcnit to reconcile the costly moveables with the rude structure in which they appeared so out of place and with the extreme isolation of the region Through a partly opened door he could see that an adjoining room was fur nished even more Strikingly and expen sively then his own. Some heavily bro caded curtains, a high-backed richly cush ioned, chair and a three-legged spinet were in the line of his. vision. He noted that the spinet's feet were exquisitely carved to rep resent serpent heads, mouth open and fangs extended, and that the keys were of ivory and ebony curiously inlaid. Over a corner of the instrument hung an India shawl of rich design, and upon this lay a jaunty hat of some fine straw trimmed with scarlet velvet ribbons. These things, set in such a rough entourage, appealed with great force to the artist's taste for the un common and the picturesque. That a ram bling cabin of the coarsest architec ture, the room of which wore scarcely better than those of a Western frontier dwelling, should be filled with ar ticles that a lord might prire was enough to start all sorts of suggestions in a mind natur ally ready to be led toward romance. Through a little window he had a view of the bayou and the broad, grassy marsh meadow beyond. Looking that way he savf Victor rowing hard, leaving a long silver wake behind the skiff and tossing bright sprays with the feathering of his oars. Soon man and skiff were lost to sight and in spite of himself Orton felt a little thrill of loneliness as he realized that for a month at least he must be shut up in this wild, queer little region utterly out of the world P9d given over, it appeared to him, to the whims of a very strange people. When Garcin re-entered presently, light footed and smiling, Orton turned from the window to meet him. "It ees beegin to blow varee cole, Mistoo Orton," the host began saying, then, recoj lecting himself, continued inFrenchr "We shall have a -cold night; it may hurt tbe fruit. I think you will -find the lira com fortable. Bray sit down, sir." He offered Orton a chair and took one himself, waiting, however, for his gnest to be seated first. His manner was grace itself, and, although his voice was not so mellifluous as Victor's, he spoke French with a charming Creole accent Orton soon learned that he was a native, of Martinique, i - - . wW&QK&samM - , "I&ftZ? THE whence he had come many years before to settle here in the blooming wilderness -of the Gulf coast country. He had found it a most delightful place to live, he said, heie on the quiet bayou where he could have his cattle in the broad marsh meadows and his sugar cane fields beyond. There Avas excel lent shooting near at hand and the fishing was glorious in all the waters. He exam ined Orton's guns a rifle and a fowling piece and found them very fine; then he fetched his own and exhibited them; they were still finer, but of much older pattern. One of them, a short, heavy, smooth-bored piece for shot or ball, had a stock of some rich,satin-like wood upon which was carved the same snake design noticed by Orton on the feet of the spinet in the adjoining room, and its lock was a masterpiece of engraving and modeling. While they were looking at these weap ons, along with some pistols, pouches and a pair ol rapiers, Orton became aware that a thitd person had entered the room. He heard therustle-ofadress and the sound of a light foot-fall on the floor. Looking up his eyes met those of a petite, plump girl whose oval face was very dark and whose lips were as red'as cherries. "My friend, Monsieur Orton my daugh ter Lalie," said Garcin as Orton rose. The girl dropped a quaint courtesy and came forward to take thevoungman s hand, a faint blush showing under the dusk of her beautiful skin. She was not more than 15. but she appeared quite developed, one of those quick, warm growths of the South, soon to flower, soon to fade. "The gentleman is a very great artist, Lalie, and he has come to live with us awhile. Maybe vhe will make a picture of our house; our chateau," said Garcin gaily. "They say a ruin does welljn a picture," she responded, "but I should think that the Bochon place would be a better subject. That is a very beautiful place." "Yes. I saw it from the bay," said Orton, "it must indeed be interesting. By the way, I saw the master of the place, too, and the young lady, what is her name?" "Felicie Bochon, is her name," said the girl quickly, "and she is very, very beau tiful." "Is she? I thought so, too, but she was so far away that I could not make out her features very well. What a pretty name it is, Felicie Bochon, don't you. think so?" He spoke to her as he would have done to a child. "Are you acquainted with her?" he added. She blushed as she answered iu the nega tive, though she spoke without confusion. "We are not friends, though not enemies, Monsieur Bochon and I; said Garcin rather gravely. "We have never been ovei-so-ciable, nor have we ever quareled. You see how it is." Of course, Orton did not see how it was; but much as he would, have liked to know more he felt that it was out of the question to make any further inquiries for the present The name of Felicie Bochon was running through his mind like some haunting strain of music, and the vision of the two striking figures standing forth on tbe breezy bluff at Magnolia Point was still firmly set in his memory. It was a picture whose impression grew "deeper all the time and whose colors increased in richness and purity. "Mo'sieu Gaspard Bochon is looked upon with a little suspicion, just a little suspi cion, by some people, but I don't know about" it," said Garcin, moving rather nervously. "Some say he ought to be taken in hand by the Government, but I don't know, to be sure. I could not testify against him in the least" Nothing could have sharpened Orton's interest more than this indirect tattle con cerning Bochon, for it confirmed, in a way, the romantio stories told by Victor, and bung about the figures most in his mind a thicker veil of mystery. "I came in to tell you that luncheon is ready for you," said the girl, going close to her lather and laying a plump hand on his thin muscular shoulder. Now, for the first time, Orton noticed how the dark blood of Martinique had set an unmistakable seal on all her features. She looked up at him quickly, and, as if she had read his thoughts appeared to shrink a little, the smile slipping from her lips, leaving them pouting and serious, while her eyes quivered and fell quickjy. A moment later she went and drew back a heavy, somewhat faded curtain, showing the way to a spacious din ing room in the log part of the house. Madame Garcin, a heavy, commonplace woman of almost African complexion, greeted them with profuse politeness. She spoke very rapidly, and with a marked ac cent and a broadening of all the vowel sounds. Orton glanced around to see the walls of round pine logs hung with antlers and other trophies, of the chase, guns, pistols, swords, knives, the wings and tails of bright-feathered birds and a few unim portant pictures, mostly shooting scenes. Small art had been shorn in the arrange ment ot these curious ornaments, but the effect was replete with a half barbaric sim plicity and strength. The two narrow windows of the room were hung with cur tains of dressed buckskin upon whose rich yellow ground had been wrought simple but pleasing designs in embossed needlework of blue silk. Above each was a tealskin with wings and neck outspread. There were strong dashes of red, orange and green, here and there, from the feathers of paroquets, jays, gros beaks and flamingoes massed in odd places. The ceiling was the roof itself made of heavy boards of heartpine, rich with resin. A very simple luncheon was spread upon an oval table in the center of the room. Hard, sweet biscuits, thinly sliced dried venison, preserved fruit, coffee and wine were served in a leisurely way by a negro girl, whose head was bound with a snowy cotton cloth. During the course of the repast, Orton, whose mind would wander back to dwell upon one subject, inquired about the dis tance to Bochon place, and was surprised not a little when, in the conversation which followed, Madame Garcin said: "Mo'sieu Bochon is a very fine gentle man: he is a. preat friend of ours." The host coughed a little, fidgeted in his chair and remarked: "Ah, well, not a great friend, Madame, not a near friend, certainly. Only just a neighbor of whom' we must speak well, you know, out of due politeness." "Mo' dieu! precisely so," exclaimed the vivacious hostess, glancing half-inquiringly from her husband to her daughter nnd finally at Orton. She poised her stout figure with an effort at reserve and added: "Mo'sieu Orton will not misunderstand." In truth the young man could neither un derstand nor misunderstand; the whole mat ter was a mystery to him. For lack, of a better way out of the awkward situation, he simply said: "I should very mujh like to visit the Bochon place." Swift glances and furtive signs were ex changed by tbe Garcins, but this escaped Orton's observation, so busy was he with in ward vision. It brought "out a common smile when all three of them said at, once: "The young lady is extremely beautiful." Madame Garcin even'laughed aloud in a subdued way. "It must be so," remarked Orton, "when everybody declares it" "Ob, but she is perfectly lovely," ex claimed Lalie, "I never have seen anyone else who was half so beautiful. When you once have your eyes on her, Mo'sieu, you will say this yourself, certainly." "Doubtless," said Orton'and before long that is just where I hope to have my eves. I shall feel honored, indeed, if I can 'but see, from a little closer point of view, this lovely Lily of Bochon." "Oh, that is charming," cried Lalie, "that name for her. You are clever, Mo'sieu Orton, to think of it It suits her precisely. The Lily of Bochon, J like it." The smiles and surreptitious signals went around again; this time Orton was indirect ly aware them. "Miss Bochon is known by the flowry title, is she not?" he inquired quickly, looking from one to the other; "Captain Victor said so, and it pleased me to accept his nomenclature along with his very ro mantic stories." "Certainly, Mo'sieu Vlctoi told you c aiij vi uyuuuu ia hum me sau ,ors all call her," said Madame Garcin with her inimitable readiness and. swiftness. "V SSS&' ' PITTSBURG- DISPATCH? "Probably Lalie did not know that; Lalie is very young, yott see." "I am past 15 now," 'the girl affirmed, pouting prettily and glancing shyly at Or ton, "and certainly that isn't a baby's age. Do you think it is, Mo'sieu Orton?" "Lalie I" "Lalie I" In one breath both father and mother chided the girl, while at the same time they were laughing admiringly and look ing with wide-open eyes from each other to Orton. Olives and little dry salt fish, with claret, were served just then by the demure waiter. "For my part." said Lalie persistently, "I am quite tired of being sucha veiy little bit of a girl. Beally I Bhould like to be called Ma'm'zelle Garcin, with a low bow and a very deferential air." . "Lalie!" ' "Lalie !" Orton laughedand the host and hostess looked contentedly surprised at their daugh ter's show ot boldness and spirit. "She is quite spoiled, is Lalie," observed Madame Garcin, presently as she gave the signal for rising: "She has been our only one and has not seen much of life. The birds in the woods know as much as she. Certainly she is a little wild and untaught, but she is a good child' "She speak Englees mo' fas' fan me," added Garcin in an undertone, "but she shame, she scare w'en she speak eet cer tainly. I don 'no w'at at she scare w'en she speak zat Engless. Now, myse'f, it scare not me w'en I speak zat Englees so veil. Eeet ees not any shame to speak eet." They passed into the, room where the spinet was, and Lalie after a while sang some light songs, playing quite cleverly. Her voice was not strong, but it had the touch of wildness which Orton liked, a bird like sweetness with a quality of its own, rare and engaging. The wind continued to blow from the north during the rest ot the day, so that Orton found it very agreeable to remain in doors, now chatting with Lalie, now smok ing with Garcin, anon reading in an old French romance that he found on the man tel in his room. At night the wind fell. A calm of two hours was followed by a balmy breath from the Gulf. Soon it was warm again. Dinner came at 7, tbe table bearing a load of viands charmingly served. The house was'lighted with myrtle-wax candles, whose faintly fra grant smoke touched the air with a delicate film of dreamy individuality,' so to call it, at qnce gratifying and unique. By the time that Orton sought his bed the moon had come up and the air was 'full of tender warmth. That night while the mocking birds sang as if under their breath, and while Lalie slept just beyond the wall from him he -dreamed of the Idly, of Bochon. Continued Next Sunday. Copyright, 18S9, by Maurice Thompson. TOMATOES A LUXURY. Their Adoption Into General Use In England of Recent Date. From the London Tattler. American readers, accustomed to see tomatoes in some shape on the table nearly every day of the year, will scarcely ap preciate how nearly that familiar vegetable comes to ' being a rare delicacy in En gland. Ten years ago it was an ex ception to find this delightful fruit on the tables of any but the wealthy; but to-day they are to be found in most houses during the.season, their extensive cultiva tion haying brought down the prices so as to make them come within the reach of all. The tomato, or love apple as it was former ly called, originally came from South America, but it was not until the climate of the United States was found to be eminent ly adapted to their growth that they came into general use, the taste for the same spreading to Europe. It is, in addition to its valuable hygienic qualities, one of the most profitable fruits to cultivate, and we know of one private gentleman who sends no less than one ton to market daily in the early season, the price paid for the Eame averaging 6d per pound,, all of them being grown under glass. Few come to per fection in the open air, owing to the short duration of sunshine in England. Like the olive, it was a long time before people became accustomed to the peculiar and deli cate flavor, but each day they grow in popu larity, so much so, indeed, that Cape Town has been requisitioned for a supply of the same when they are out of season here. REPUBLICAN PLEDGES. Mr. Theodore Booaerelt Says HU Party Should Make Good Its Promises, From the Baltimore San. . Mr. Theodore Boosevelt said: "I am very glad to show my appreciation of what reformers have been doing by going to the Baltimore meeting, and I also wish to add what little weight I may have to keeping the in coming'administration straight on the ques tion of civil service reform. It is a pleasure to me as a Bepublican to take part in any such gathering. I want to do all I can to help my party make good its pledges. Now that the party has come into power I think it especially incumbent to every civil serv ice Bepublican to show that he is thorough ly in earnest "I want the Bepublican party when it comes into power to make good the prom ises it made in adversity, and to show that the criticism made of its foes were made honestly, and not merely to score partisan points. It is for this reason that I have heard with peculiar pleasure such speeches as have been made by Senators Hawley and Hoar and Congressman Lodge, and felt in dignant as a Bepublican with certain of Senator Ingalls' utterances. I expect, in response to an invitation, to make a short address after the main addresses are deliv ered at the Baltimore conference." Education In Nebraska. Teacher (from the East) Npw, children, all of you who intend to behaye and be good hands up! ' Chorus No, you don't, pard. gittin' no drop on us! Judge. You ain't Try It on Uncle Sam's Kary. Detroit Free Press. A .Norwegian engineer locates leaks in a ship while in dry-dock by filling the ves sel with smoke. The leaks are soon shown by an escape of smoke, the process requir ing only 30 or 10 minutes. If you have not tried 8alvation Oil you should do so, and you will be greatly sur prised. - rrnf riihi j W'jfjKf3 wiii $ i .1 1 .Jti 'STOTDXT; THE SWELL AT HOUR How the New York Bachelor Out- i shines His Parisian Brother. GAUDY APARTMENTS DESCRIBED. The Queer Habits and Freaks of 'Some of the lonn-r Millionaires. A QUAINT COLLECTION OP PHOTOGRAPHS wiurcjur roa the disfatch.J wmm HE lich bachelors of New York are to my mind the most comfort ably and luxurious ly housed men in the world. I dd not know exactly how to account for it It seems to me a condition of things which exists only in New York. Tbe London bachelor may be a tremendous swell if he is rich, but in nine cases out of ten he is satisfied with quiet chambers in Jermyn street or in, a locality that is similarly near the clubs', while the larger portion of his income is expended for guns, dogs, horses and a house or shooting box somewhere in the country. In Paris the apartments of bachelors are nearly always pretty and tasteful, but seldom ex pensive. The Frenchmen have a great fancy for creton hangings and white paint well gilded. The pictures in their rooms are invariably good, but the decorations do not display anything like the magnificence that prevails in the homes of New York's unmarried men. I think" that this is largely because there are very few confirmed bache lors in Paris. Every man in France looks upon marriage as his fate. It is largely a business transaction and he simply waits until he can make a good bargain. Pend ing that time he lives comfortably, but does not invest fortunes in his surroundings. I had breakfast once in Paris with a man whose reputation as a vivier is more than national. His name has been associated with those of a number of famous women, but aside from this phase of his life he is a promoter of cable companies, a man of title, a member of the Jockey Club and a Parisian to his fingertips. He was just the sort of a man, in tact, that one would expect to find housed in magnificent fashion. I found that he lived in an apartment on the first floor of a big house on the Boulevard Haussmann. His stable was in the rear of the house. There was a drawing room, a dining room, two or three bedrooms and then a long passageway, at the end of which were the servants' quarters and the kitchen. The dining room was the most pretentious room in the apartment We took breakfast there at a table that would accommodate about ten guests. The decorations were, in blue and gold. Tbe table was oval to match the room, the chairs were oak and the hangings neither notable nor particularly valuable. It was precisely like tho interior of any one of five thousand flats in New York City. A LUXURIOUS BACHELOR. Yesterday, on the other hand, I met a man on Broadway as I was walking up. toward home to dinner whom I knew slightly, and, who insisted upon my going into bis apart ment for a glass of sherry as au appetizer. His age is about 40 years, his habits are stocky and methodical and he is not particu larly attractive. "We turned into the Metro politan Opera House building, went np in the elevator and entered his apartment. The reception room wasneutral tinted and every thing was perfectly harmonized. "We went from there into the drawingroom, and for a moment I was astonished. There were sixty or seventy thousand dollars' worth of paintings on the walls, and the room plight have perved fittingly for the antechamber of the Czar. Indeed, X doubt if the Czar has so cozy and beautiful an apartment in either of bis places. The room was octagonal, and in the middle of it was a plush lounge, or settee, precisely the shape of the room in miniature. The back rose to a marble base, which was surmounted by a superb bronze water nymph lite-size and wonderfully graceful and perfect in outline. There were several smaller bronzes about the room, and all the divans and chairs were built so that they fitted into certain niches in the, wall or corresponded to the general contour of the room. The decorations of an adjoining room were quite the reverse of all this. Everything was blue and gold. The pictures were water colors, and the panelling of the doors repre sented a small fortune. Even the furniture was of the light French pattern. It was one of the prettiest little breakfast rooms I have ever seen. The gentleman lives alone in this magnificent place, indulging his fancies with a lavish hand. "I do not care to marry," he said in the course of our short talk. "It is so much better this way.' A PHOIOOEAPH FIEND. I know another bachelor in New York whose rooms are. interesting from the fact that he has for several years been an inde fatigable collector of the photographs of women. All of the photographs which ho has secured in the course of many years' ac quaintance with the women of the stage and of the lesser strata of society are arranged around his sleeping room in the form of a deep frieze. There are two or threehundred of them, and it is the most remarkable col lection of notable faces that I have ever seen. The frames are small and precisely alike, and beneath tbe pictures is a fantastic design which merges into a lot of goblins and sprites painted on the four walls. The bed is in the middle of the room, surmounted by a canopy. The face of every famous woman in the world is to be found in that collection. Another row of photographs may be added when the bachelor has col lected enough. This particular suite consists of fourrooms in one of the most pretentious bachelor apartment houses in New York. The rent is 200 a month. The place is furnished luxuriously. The bachelor's only regular companions are bisservant and his dog. He swears at them with equal eloqneLfo and treats them precisely alike. One day when I dropped in there at noon 7 found the 'oc cupant of the apartments ttill in bed. "I can't get ud yet," he said testily, "be cause my servant hasn't come." "While he spoke the servant came in in a breathless and evidently much agitated con dition. He was a middle-aged personage who has been in his present service for many years. He apologized for being late and asked to be relieved at once. He said bis mother was lying ill in St. Luke's Hospital, and be didn't know at what moment she might die. "Well, this is a queer sort of a position for a man to find himself in," said the master, looking at the" servant solemnly. "I'm in a blue funk. How can I dress? I don't know where any of my things are." "I'll lay everything out if you'll let me go,',' said the man humbly. "All right," said the rounder good-naturedly alter a little deep thought Put the studs fn the shirt and turn on tue bath and I'll have a go at it myself." " . AN ECCENTRIC FELLOW". I suppose that there are no men on earth more ntterly lonesome and unhappy than the bachelors of a big town. Everything goes well with the -first 40 years of a bache lor life, but after he has passed that limit, the crankiness he exhibits at all points is almost beyond belief. Another bachelor who interested me very much in the course of my more or less ex tensive acquaintance with New York and New Yorkers was a man who was known by the name of Mr. Davis. Bfit Davis was not his name, because I ran across him in London onceat a dinner and he was there known by his own and entirely different cog nomen. One summer jn New York a friend of mine went to Europe suddenly two weeks after having completed the furnishing of a small snite 6f rooms in one of the most ex pensive apartment houses in the city. He fi was a rich man, but like all of his kind, not averse to turning an honest penny. He offered to rent his rooms for $100 a month and I took them for three months. They were cool, airy and comfortable, and I lived there nearly two months when I discovered the janitor one morning craftily tiptoeing along my corridor. The elevator had stopped running and I had come upstairs afoot, and so he had not heard me. it was about two hours before daylight Tthought at first he was a thief, and I watched him quietly until he had passed my door and gone to tbe end of the corridor. There I saw him go down on his knees and apply first his eye then his ear to the keyhole. It occurred to me that I did. not want to have that sort of a trick played at my own door, and I called to him shortly. He did not seem the least disconcerte'd but rose with a sight of relief. "The fact is, sir," he said with great can dor, "I was scared nearly to death. One of the maids told me as how Mr. Davis bad come in half an hour ago, and I happened to remember th3t for the first time in.three years we had failed to leave a log smoulder ing on the hearthstone with his slippers be fore the fire." ""What do von mean?" I asked. He took a passkey from his pocket and led me into a suite of four rooms on the corner of the house. A QUEEB CONTBACT. "Mr. Davis has had these rooms," said the janitor, "for five years, and during that time he has lived here only three weeks. "We do not know where he lives or when he comes to town, but the lease will be broken according to his contract if the rooms are not always ready for him. Winter and summer we are to keep a log smouldering on the hearth, leave his slippers before the fire, turn his bed down, and see that there is fresh water on the buffet." Then he took me through the rooms. He lighted the gas, and I had the pleasure of looking upon some magnificent paintings and small specimens of 'Oriental tapestry. Fifty thousand dollars would be a small value to put upoz the furniture and pictures of the apartment It chanced that Mr. Davis did come there for a night before I left, and I got a glimpse of him the follow ing morning in the elevator. He was a pale, dissipated and bent man of perhaps 56 years of age, with a wrinkled, discontented face and a churlish manner. I discovered his identity in London, but am not at liberty to reveal it. He is a rich man, an Englishman and' a bachelor. He has apartments in London, Paris and New York, but when and where he goes, or what his habits are, -no one whom I have met could say. I had rather be a coal heaver and live in a cabin, however, than such a bachelor as my quondam neighbor, Mr. Davis. Blakelt.Hall. A NEW-FANGLED WEDDING EINtt. A Report From a Rosy Youth Who Has Jnat Had to Gef One. "There is a constant demand for novel ties in wedding rings nowadays as well as in every other article of luxury," an expert jeweler said the other night, "and we have to meet the demand or lose the very desira ble custom of young couples contemplating matrimony. This season has brought forth the most curious and beautiful wedding rings yet designed by the trade. Now isn't this a dandy?" The expert held up an oval loop of gold. "Why.that's just like any other ring. The oply difference is that it has a crooked scratch asross the surface." "Ah, that's just where the beauty lies," retorted the expert "Just notice this effect." He thrust a tiny pair of jeweler's priers into the inner edge of tbe ring opposite what appeared to be the scratch, pressed lightly on the needle", and instantly the ring dropped intohis hand transformed into two tiny hoops of gold looped together. The needle had split the ring into two halves, each half having a flat, broad edge. "There," said the jeweler, "you see that the ring is more elaborate than it ap pears to be. Those flat surfaces are de signed for the purpose of being engraved with any tender or romantic inscription that the bride or groom desire to have placed upon the ring, and they will contain mnch more than can be put upon the inner surface of an ordinary ring. After the en graving is done the ring is closed again by fitting the two hoops together, and locking them securely by a concealed catch fitted on the inner edge of the hoops. It requires the closest scrutiny to discover, as you see, that the ring is not an ordinary hoop of gold. These rings have made a big hit. One of them was used at a swell society marriage in a Fifth avenue church the other day. The society belle who was the bride made the selection herself." "How much do they cost?" "The cheapest bring S16, and the value increases with the increase of weight in the ring. But of course the exquisite workman ship and the knowledge that the ring is something new and fashionable compensates for tbe increased cost oyer the ordinary gold nuptial symbol." NOTHING LOST. What Becomes of Food Waste In ''Paris Everytblnc Utilized That Can Be. Tbe Heme des Deux llondes has some curious statements respecting the food con sumption of Paris. In the large lyceums and schools boys are generally very waste ful; they will throw away half the bread they get for lunch, tread upon it, kick it into the gutter, ink it, etc. None of these iragments are lost The servants sell them to certain dealers who are called boulangers en vicux, and turn their acquisitions to good account. They first pick out all the tolerable pieces, which they heat in an oven and then rasp clean. Thus prepared, these bits reappear in the market in the shape of toast for soup. Most of the coutons cut into lozenges and served on the tables of the rich, with spinach, have no other orign. As for the dirty crumbs and refuse left after the pick ing, they are pounded in a mortar and sold to butchers as chapelure, with which they cover thtir cutlets and knuckles of ham. The reall) filthy remainder, which is too bad even for chapelure, is blackened over a fire, pounded, and then mixed up with honey aromatized with a few drops of essence of peppermint. This is sold as an opiate for the toothache. Poor Unman Nat ore. First. Histrion The great need of the stage, to-day, gentlemen, is a higher and more ennobling standard of dignity among its professionals! In the words of our great master, the immortal Shakesp Practical Soker-rHere's a glass of beer for somebody! Puck. 11 lLidJons- A liJMftB mm HI. .,.,,. IE!- IT frajp CTisa8MJs-aaZi SOURCE OF DISEASE. Dr. Hammond Tells How Occupations Affect Health. THB PROFESSIONAL- A1LMESTS. Hoir the Struggle for Wealth is Wrecking the Active ilen. FANCIES OP THE TICTI3IS OP PARESIS tWaiTTZK Ton TOI D1SPATCH.1 EOPLE well know that certain occupations fol lowed by mankind are in themselves prejudicial to health. It is not, how ever, so distinctly recog" nized that there are oth" ers which, though pos sessing no unsanitary features, are detrimental o the organism solely from the accidental circumstances surrounding them or from the unremitting energy with which they are pursued. Thus the workers in lead, if not extremely careful, and even at times, in spite of all the precautions that may be taken, become affected with paralysis and a certain peculiar kind of colic. Painters whojise pigments into the composition of which lead largely enters are especially lia ble to these diseases. Other artisans whose labors require them to be exposed to the vapors of mercury are affected thereby in a very characteristic manner through the toxic'influence of the metal, which is slowly absorbed into the system Workers in quicksilver mines, fire-gilders and looking glass makers rarely escape contamination and consequent poisoning. There is a wool sorters disease, a grinders' disease, and others too numerous to be referred to in a paper like the, present. PEOFESSIONAL DISEASES. Then we have an interesting class of af-' fections developed from the constant use of the same muscles in the same occupation and which are, I think, becoming more fre quent with the advance of so-called civili zation. These are met with among writers, telegraphers, pianists, engravers and others whose profession requires the frequent repe tition of certain delicate muscular actions. The professional diseases, as they may be called, are especially remarkable for the characteristic that the spasm, cramp or paralysis, which is their principal symptom, is only manifested when the affected muscles are employed in the particular occupation which has produced the disease. Thus the subject of writers' paralysis, though utterly unable to move his pen in such a way as to write words, can perform any other act with the fingers that may be witliin their power. He can paint, draw, engrave, play the violin, without the least difficulty, provided, of course, that he is acquainted with the technique of these several performances. The various muscles employed in these acts must be exercised to a great extent in ex actly the same way as when engaged in writing, and yet the one is impossible while the others are" accomplished, not only with ease, but even with pleasure. I have known telegraphers who were utterly incapable of manipulating the key ot their telegraphing instrument but who could play the piano in a skillful manner. It would seem that in such cases the mind must be affected to some degree. The cells of the nervous centers which supply muscu lar force appear to be exhausted only so far as some one particular series of volitions is concerned, while for all other volition) act ing upon the same muscles their vitality is unimpaired. The main element of cure in such cases is absolute rest from the occupa tion which has produced the disease, and this not-only for a few weeks or months, but generally for several years. THE SPREAD OF PABESIS. There is a disease which is certainly be coming more common every day, and from which recovery is so rare that many physi ciansmostcapabIeof judging doubt if it ever takes place, and that is general paralysis, or general paresis, as it is sometimes called. While probably not resulting from any par ticular occupation, as such, it may be caused by any employment which is above tbe mental capacity of the individual, or which involves great anxiety or in which there are reverses or disappointments. It is especially prevalent among those who are engaged in financial speculations or in some business requiring inventive powers or a degree of knowledge which tbe nerson does not pos sess. It is a most terrible outcome of the struggle for wealth and position in which the whole civilized world seems to be now engaged. Those who are satisfied with their lot in life or who, if not contented, have no hope of improving their condition, and hence make no effort in that direction, are never affected with this disease. I doubt if a single case ever occurred among the slaves 'of the South, while since their freedom it has made its appearance among them and their descendants. There are both mental and physical symp toms in general paralysis, and while the ap proach of the disease is generally insidious, its presence is indicated by certain phenom ena which are unmistakable in their insig nificance. .Chief among these is what tbe Frpnch call deft're de grandeur, the "delir ium of grandeur." THe patient, for in stance, imagines that he is the richest or the most powerful, or the strongest or the handsomest man in all the world. FREAKS OF THE AFFLICTED. One poor fellow who did not own so much as a mill pond informed me that all the lakes in the universe belonged to him, and that no one could navigate them without paying- him toll. Another, who, after a se ries of harrassing financial misfortunes, had lost all his possessions in Wall street, imag ined that all the diamonds in the world be longed to him; that kings and bankers and jewelers from all the countries in Europe were in correspondence with him,offering him immense sums of money for some of the diamonds which he had stored away in a cave in South America. He declared that he had placed a sreat many of bis diamonds on deposit with Tiffany and other venders of precious stones, to be sold for his benefit Another, while scarcely able to drag one foot after another, bragged of his great run ning capacity. Nothing in the whole world was as fleet lie. He could outrun tbe swiftest horses or tbe fastest railway engines.. If he only could get beyond the attractive power of the earth he could beat the planet in its course around the sun. Like other general paralytics, he knew no impossibilities, and the most egregious incongruities were to his mind models of logical reasoning, gashed him one (lay how many children he had. "Children,' he exclaimed, "I have thous ands of acres of them." . CKAZED BT GOOD LTJCK. While it is true that general paralysis is eenerallyproduced by disappointments or reverses, yet such is not invariably the case. One of tbe worst instances of the'disease I ever saw was in ihe person of a gentleman who, after many financial lossess, by a stroke ot sudden good fortune made several hundred theusand dollars. Here the sud den revulsion appeared to be the exciting cause, for a few days afterward the delirium of grandeur made its appearance. He stopped at Tiffany's on his way uptown, and, purchasing a large amount of beauti ful jewelry, made his wife put it on and walk up and down In frontof him while he sat admiring her. The slightest service rendered to him was paid for by $1,000 or more. In the course of one morning he wrote 20 checks, each for'over $1,000, which he tendered to bis servants for opening or shutting a door, bringing him a glass of water, ,or handinz hint a chair. General paralysis is rarely seen in women. There appears to be no reason for this, com parative immunity other than the fact that their ambitions and struggles are not so weighty and intense as those which actuate men. But as theex enters into politics aad k assumes the earn aa anxieties of a bsri ness life it will doubtless be the case that this exemption will disappear. A few cases of the disease in women that hare come un der my observation have been in thosa who had been obliged to buffet with the world ia the effort to save themselves and those de pendent upon them from destitution, and who barely accomplish their object in the face of almost overwhelming oDstacles. . "W'ttLIASt A. HA3CM02TD. THE FIEESIDE SPHIflX. A COLLECTION OF ENIGMATICAL NUTS FOR. HOME CRACKING. Address communications for this department (oE.lt. CSADBOVKS.Lewitton, Maine.- 407 A CARD TBJCJC' "aSl I'm ford of cards; like many mea -j My taste for tbem developed wnea I Anew thn difference between ' . The jack and joker, king and quees.' Jf Although the pass I cannot make. Or any antics undertake. In dealing once I turned a knave. When lo! on my astonished gaza ' JJHfe There hurst a picture of the world. In panoramic view unfurled, As if 'twere viewed from some balloos Or empty crater in the moon. Should any reader wish to see The picture that so puzzled me. He'll And the task is not so hard If he bnt turn toe proper card. whliax WrtsoaJ? Mokteeal, Quebec: 498 NTTMEEICAL. The 1.2. 3, 4, 5, In swamps Is said to thrive. The bark from this small wood ; For 6, 7, 8 is good. Cures his ills: and 'tis said A whole can mend bis bead '? Bv sending hira for 30 days ,. Where he will try to mend his ways. OwX. 499 A5T ORCHARD PUZZLE: In one corner of a farmer's apple orchard stood three rows of three trees each which he give to his nine children. The following year the entire yield from these trees was 183 bnsh- -els. and the farmer and his children noticed this peculiarity .about It: tbe yield from anv three trees standing in a row was the same as that from any other three also in a row, whether counted straight from a side ordiaconallyfrom a corner. Mary's tree bore tbelarget and Tom's tbe smallest number of bushels. Fred's bore one bnsiiel more than Suy's, and John's one more than Dick's, and Will s, Harry's and Anna's together bore 66 bushels. The girls' trees stood In one row. Find the position in " tbe square of each child's tree and the nomber ". of bushels it yielded. Zoe. 500 A BOX. Think over all tbe boxes That you have ever seen. Ana all that, you have heard of. 'L u.nen name tne oox J. mean. j Its lid was once uplifted y On an unlucky day; Gues. If you can, who opened It, . . w And what within it lay. ? i And then, when most its contents ' . Were scattered to tbe wind. Pray name to me the precious je-ra! That still remained behind. - Geo. 501 AjrAOEAM. 2Ir"Warbler" is no singing bird. Whose notes are soft and mellow; For yon will find him, on my word, A very noisy fellow. KELS03IA3 602 DIAMOND. 1. A letter. 2. Imperial ensign of a glooe, with a cross on it 3. A painters frame. 4. An idle talker. 5. Covered with pustules. 6L High ly effective. 7. Cities in Spain. 8. A coarss woolen cloth. 9. A letter. A. B. Or. 503 OBSCUBE aTEANINOS. Obscure meanings? Tes. a few. About a score perhaps will do. Italicized to give more clew. I am the one vou leer and Koot at. 1 am the mark you fix to shoot at; And otherwise than that disclose Tne-metal ring upon a hose. A timber's end I am, and what Seems rather s trance. 1 am that not; While called the objert of an aim, ln on the other hand, I claim, A short piece ofunfurrowed land. And thickest part of ox-hides tanned, , A limit, end, or bound, I mean. And yet I am as a vessel seen. A push or thrust I am, and more Perhaps vou'lt-nnd me on yoardoor. And yet I am. It may seem odd, The end of a connecting rod. If other meanings can be told. They're snch as I shall not nnf old. NELSoxmr. 504 A drummer's charade. I had a distant point in view. And thought, as many others do. That it would be discreet and wise, In all ways to economize. To an official then I said, "Can I two one to Marbleheadf "That" said he, "you cannot do, Unless you show me a one-two." Bat when I told bim I bad none He bluntly said, "Vou can't go one." It was his duty to refnse; I had no right a two to use. And so I paid and onward sped; I went not one to Marblehead. 505 A T0T75O MECHANIC'S LESS02T. SPELU2TO A boy was told to learn to spell the words in, the following list He studied tbem carefully,, rearranged them on his slate, and without' transposing letters in any word, was able to find the name of nearly every article in his father's shop. How many of these names can you And? Mercantile, Nomad, Ascribe, Dismal. Defile, Honesty. Zebra, Aspen, Vellum. Catechise, Ganger, Stockade, Shawls, Terrible, Babbit, Cllicious, Laxity, Advice, Haven. Enjoin, Lethargy, Planet, Sham, Velvets,Awf nl. J. W. Haekszss 505 INITIAL CHANGES. First, we bave for washing ores the place; Secondly, may mean a close embrace; Third, we do when drinking to excess; Fourth, a promiscuous crowd or press; Fifth, see a confused or turbid fix; Sixth, a nlace where dirt and water mix; Seventh, to walk along with head inclined; Eighth, a species of red earth e find. M. E. Woodvoed. HANDSOME PBIZES FOR MARCH. Tbe sendee of tho best lot of answers to tha puzzle published dnrin: March will receive a Deantifully bound, profusely illustrated sinelo volume cyclopedia of useful knowledge. Fo; tbe next best lot a prize well worth winning will bo given. Send tho solutions weekly, ana don't expect to get them alL ANSWERS. 4S9 At 1 o'clock P. M. 430 Nice bat. 131 W I T H s B o p N E y i w A X 11 T I i a T A w A S H I G T O ' N E T n i L L O N Z V 3i r I E K A N O B X, G R A I T vv I I. I s. O B N w h: A V 492-Yard. 3. play-yard: 2. yard-arm: 3, navy- Vard; 4, dock-yard; 5. (bip-yard; S, brick-yard;! i, steei-yaru: o, coaj-yara; v, inmucr-jrafu; Sm nrison-vard: 11- barn-vard: 12. front-yard: MLl yard of 88 Inches: 11, grave-yard:'lS, goldes-I yard, the three stars In the belt of Urlon. S TO-AVil VIII, 494 Rhirt-rinrlr. 4QrL-'RnltlIa fhrtftA, t 1 "! 406 M-on-key. PALINDROMES. Summer and Autumn. Rnmmv ilinwara lnn treasures.- There e woko tbe pipe and taborjji , By and Bye of social pleasures rSS JtOO an autumn mutuu uwr. A trilling BelpmeeU Wo need no cook to read her book, 10 noil, 10 jry or wuu a i Am ample neip, mamma. "Thy speech doth betray the. '' "Tell me the city which I bail from, there's the raV " And somethlnc In his speech '-test Savored of tbe Hnb. K , Ana inns x nooKea tuo na Jfe. v-rfi By phrases to let go; aw". O slana is not so bad '-r1 A Motion tian also. L-j , Kc' & ft vincjmSSS V M r-ai ''&&.: ... . 'ujk iWl.J&A.tf'i'L-' . ' .."".i ..i, .. , 3&ti . ffl - , ? . .