B. F. SCHWEIER, THE COnSTITUTIOn THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEUENT OF THE LAWS. Editor and ProprUttr. VOL. L.IV. MIFFL.INTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENN., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1900 NO. 39 X' 1 V r1 . it r - S I i X.. gaptaii? BY B. 7VZ. j .Military . FfomaDce.of. gou tfe. J Mca CITAPTER VII. Bat Miles still held the bridle, and de dined to accept this broad hint, walking beside bis cousin, till Jacky suddenly came to a violent halt at the back gate of a large farm yard, surrounded by high, red-tiled, deep-roofed barns, and a noise of lowing and barking and clucking and crowing. "Oh, Miss Esme, dear!" cried a ruddy cheeked, elderly woman, in a large check ed apron, who was in the act of feeding a mob of ducks. "She's been asking for you the whole afternoon. Go in and see her like a dear young lady. You're brought the wool?" "Yes, but I've no time to stop, Mary. Jacky has kept me hours on the road. lie went half-way into the horrid green pool near the Belle rising, and was going to lie down, only a boy rushed in and drag ged him out; and be got loose in the hay field, and I thought he never would have been caught. I'll give you the fingering, and I'll come in again," evidently anxious to be gone. "Oh, but here ia Tom to hold the pony, and you must just run in for a minute, dear. She's been awful irritable all day, and maybe you'd put her in a good humor for us; you know how she takes to you. Do now," coaxingly. "Tom, go to the pony's head!" to a youth with a shock of red hair. Thus adjured, Esme jumped off Jacky, and hastily went into the farm house, fol lowed by Miles, who found himself in a long, low, tiled kitchen, with small 1st-tlced-paned windows and well-stored raft ers, and in the presence of a little old woman, who wjis sitting near the fire in a kind of beehive chair, with glittering dak eyes, lighting up a face as wrinkled as a roasted apple and as sharp as a needle. "Well, so you were not for coming in, missy!" she cried, in a high, reedy voice. "I saw you. My sight is spared to me, though it would be as well sometimes if It wasn't, to see the waste going on all around," glaring at her daughter-in-law and lifting, as she spoke, a large ear trumpet to the ear nearest Esme. "I would have come in, only I'm late. granny," returned that young lady down ', the trumpet, in her most apologetic tone of voice, "and here is the wool," placing a packet in the old lady's lap. "It's gray!" she exclaimed. "I don't wanjt gray wool. I said brown," she re turned, ungratefully, as she held it up and felt it critically between her claw like fiugers, her eyes all the time fixed on Miles. "I can change it," said Esme, making animated signs. "No, no, no; then I would not get It for another long spell. It will have to do," very crossly. And now, suddenly sitting op quite erect, and still staring hard at . Miles, she nodded her head conlidentially. J And so this is the young man that has come all the way from the other end of the world, hasn't he " Essie made a quick sign of assent, unprepared for the sequel, "to marry you." "No, he hasn't!" she shouted down the trumpet. "It's no use you screaming to me, missy," she returned shrilly. "I never can bear what you say, and it just goes through my poor head," now planting the trumpet In her lap. and thus cutting off any possible reply, "and it's no good shaking your head like that. What's he couie for else?" demanded this very ter rible old person. "She's a good girl" in a patronizing staccato "and you'll get a pretty wife," she cried, raising a high, chirruping voice, and addressing herself specially to Miles, who, now that he had seen Esme, was by no means so averse to congratulations as he had been two hours previously. As for his uuhappy cousin, who knew from years of experience the extraordi nary loquacity of Granny Uogben, and the liberties she allowed her tongue, she got herself how she never exactly knew once more out into the yard, and was soon in the saddle. Jacky was stepping homeward at a rapid, consequential walk, wheu Miles overtook them running, say ing, as be got np to them: "Surely you are never going to be so Inhuman as to desert me and leave me to my fate in these outlandish lanes? It would be ungrateful, to say the least of It." "Oh," answering him very reluctantly, "I will point you out the road, and you can easily make your way home. You go up this lane," pointing with her whip, "aud lake the first turning on the right, then the second on the left, then " "Then," he interrupted emphatically, "I shall have lost my way, and shall be rambling about the fields all night. Pray spare me this fate!" Miles was amazed at his own persist ence and his dwn flow of language, but the rude avoidance of an exceedingly pretty girl is occasionally a sufficient in centive to put a young man on his met tle. "Come, then. If yon like," was the grudging answer; "but you must walk fast, or we shall be late for dinner." "I'll run the whole way. Ill be your eyes, as if you were in India," he return ed eagerly. "Only don't leave me!" "To hear you, one would iraagineyou were one of the babes in the wood," re turned his cousin, contemptuously, glanc ing down on her companion as she spoke. "What an amiable person Mrs. Hog ben's aged parent seems to be," he re marked, irrelevantly. "I quite love her." "Do you? You must be susceptible in deed." Yes, he certainly had a look of Teddy when he laughed. I wanted to say something to you,' continued Miles, nervously flourishing hi cane about in a manner that excited the Ire of Jacky; "and all the way up from the fields I was cudgeling my brains, but I could not say it I wanted to speak to von about about this will, and yonder worthy old woman broke the ice for me at one plunge. You know-- " "I know." interrupted his companion hastily, with averted face, "that if ever break it aay further. I .hall never peak to you again. Also, that I shall tea" yon here to find your own way home as best yon can." "May I not say one word on the sub- Not one. Tle.se pot the whole affair out of your mind. If yon even hint a Ier:h;".h.a threHe had Zo recourse Erin J forth l ."Meet on some f nture oc casioa. grabajoi? CROKGR "And what may I talk about?" he ask ed. "What topic are not labeled dan gerous?" "Oh," pricking Jacky with her whip, "talk of the weather, the crops, the new moon, anything; talk of Burmah. And thus eucouraged be lamely began to make some conversation. But even under their peculiar circumstances young people of their age were sure to find suujecLi ui cuuversuuuu, auu iif, v nr ing he had an eager and intelligent listen er, launched forth about the wonders of Mandaley, that impostor the white ele phant, the hill reported to be composed of solid silver. Then he gave a few Bur mese legends, a short sketch of Bangkok, said to be the richest city in the world. with its huge golden altar, streets full of (amblers, and river cheery with the cele brated singing fish, when, to his and Esme a astonishment, they found tnem selves already at the back gate at Bar onsfor lo not suppose that she bad been silent all the time. She had, after her Interest was aroused, and feeling a conviction that she had overawed and silenced the young man beside ber. thawed and thrown A remarks, questions aud nods Just as plentifully as opportunity occur red. He had a look of Teddy. Only for thia one great point in his favor she would never so she assured herself have opened her lips to him, even once. And yet in what did the likeness lie? He was dark and sunburned, and not much above middle height; while Ted was tall and fair. "Why. we are actually at home!" he exclaimed in surprise. "We must have come by a short cut. How quick we have been." "Yes," returned Esme, "those stories of yours made the time pass. I don't mean to flatter you," she added quickly, but those descriptions of Burmah were Co interesting, and I do like to hear about ptber countries having seen so little my-, elf no matter from whom; and of l-ourse no one, however stupid, goes about the world for nothing. In this cruel manner did she qualify her compliment; but Miles accepted it. roncurnae in the time-nouorea aauge mai half a loaf is better than no bread. "We have ouly ten minutes before din ner," said Esme, glancing nervously at (he yard clock. "No, no," waving her Cousin away impatiently. "I always dis mount alone; but." jumping down, gath ering up ber skirt and commencing to run, "if yon like to follow me in by the back door you may," she called to him tondescendingly over her shoulder. "It saves time." . y- , CHAPTER VIII. Under a shady bank, overhung by two put trees, a clump of lilac, and a very pneient mulberry, the summer house at jBaronsford seeks to screen itself from the vulgar gaze. Its kind old friend, the but tree, spreads its leafy arms above its pointed thatched roof, and conceals its wigwam proportions from strangers' yyes. Who is the girl in white huddled up on the wooden seat that runs all round the interior, a gir! with her dress tightly gathered round her, and the tips of her shoes merely resting on the ground, her whole attitude bespeaking distrust of the insect inhabitants, and with her eyes bent on a young man in uniform, who is sitting on the venerable and rickety table, with his forage cap over one ear, and his arms akimbo? They are Esme and Teddy, of course. He is brown, broad-shouldered and soldierly looking, and itf-his sister's eyes as well favored a young man as ever wore spurs. She is far prouder of his personal appear ance than she is of her own; his mus tache she consider, simply perfect, and her vanity i. divided between that and the three-cornered white patch on his forehead usually covered by his jaunty forage cap. It is duskish in the summer house; not a single moonbeam penetrates from outside, thank, to the careful nut tree. "You will never guess where I supped and slept last night, Esme," Teddy was saying. "At Aunt Jane's! "I don't believe you," returned his sis ter, politely, after a minute'a pause. "Nevertheless it is a fact all the same. went down in fear and trembling to wait npon the old lady. When she saw me she stared very bard for about half a minute, and then cried, 'Goodness, mer cy, gracious! why, it's TeddyT She had .not expected to see me in uniform, you know; in fact, she had not expected to see me at all. Well, then she put up her arms and drew me down and kissed me first time, I'll bet, she ever kissed a mus tache and then she turned me round and round as if I was on a pivot, and then looked me all over; and then she kissed me again and made me sit down beside her and tell her all about myself and my career, as she called it. And I did; 1 showed her my three stripes, and told her of my prcspects, and hvw you had stuck to me through thick and thin, and then oh, incredulous young woman she killed the fatted calf and told me I was not to dare to go back to Mrs. Swoffer, but to stay with her. She presented me with fifty pounds, and once I'm promoted I'm to have a large allowance; and for the future I am to consider myself her boy, and by a few little hint, she let fall, I fancy you are her girl!" "Not I," cried Esme. with a laugh of incredulity. "However, as long as she is good to you she is doubly good to me." emphatically. . "And now. Esme to turn to another subject for a change what about this chap. Miles Brabazon?" "Oh, I was going to tell you, Ted; I got a desperate fright this morning, what our Irish laundrymaid calls 'a regular turn.' I was talking to him down by the river , "About what?" interrupted Teddy, in quisitively. "Never you mind; I was down by the river, and in pulling out my handkerchief I dragged out that new photo you gave me last night; it fell precisely at his feet. Tableau!" "Tableau, indeed!" grinning. "And what did he say? what did he do?" "Of course I pounced on it at once, but he wa. too .harp for me; he got hold of it first, and handed it back without looking at it; but he did not appear to be over and above well pleased.". . "And pray why not?" "Why not? you ridiculoua wooden-headed Teddy; because I believe he thought it saa some lover ot mine.' "The "deuce he did!" puffing oat dead. of smoke. "And I rather fancy that he could be jealous." "You don't aay so! Well, and so could I if I was engaged to a girl and caught her carrying other fellow.' portrait, about her person. I suppose be asked you no questions, and you told him bo ahem, fibs?" "No." . "I say, Esme," confidentially, are you going to marry him? to come to the point, a. they say." "I don't know," she replied, with per ceptible hesitation. "Don't know! what rubbish. You know your own mind, surely, by this time." "I'm to give him an answer in a week," said his sister, ia a low tone. "And now, Teddy, I want to know if you will grant me a great favor," in a coaxing tone, standing up and laying her hand implor ingly upon hi. arm. "Let me tell Miles." "No; sorry to refuse yoo, my dear child, but that la just the very thing 1 cannot allow you to do. Can t yon hold oa a bit? There s bo hurry. "Oh, but there la." she returned, eag erly. "So many thing, most seem so strange to him my rushing out and hug ging him by mistake, as I told you; that photograph thia morning, and .other tilings. It', like Uving in a powder mill any moment there may be an explosion Do, please, please, let me tell him!" she pleaded eagerly. "IF becoming ex tremely red, but the kind darkness con cealed the fact "if I he," stammering. "we are to be married, the sooner you know one another the better; and should like to introduce you." "I dare say," scornfully, "and walk up to him with me in to, and say, 'Per mit me to present my brother leddy alias Sergt. Brown, of the Prince's Lan cers,' and I wogld have to salute him and call him 'Sir,' as would bent a non-com missioned officer, and it would be a very pretty little picture altogether. I could uever feel the same to him if I met him by and by on an equal footing. It may seem ridiculous nonsense and vanity to you, but it ia juat my one weakness, and I should like to put my best foot fore most, and appear to the best advantage to your husband, old lady, when we meet as brother officers, and there', no yawn ing gulf between us; and, with a sud den start of surprise, "here he is; at least, I suppose that thia is he, this fel low in evening clothe, coming down the middle walk." "It is, it is!" she gasped. "Oh, Ted,' creeping closer to her brother, and speak ing in an agonized undertone, "what shall we do if he discovers us? Keep cool," returned Teddy, impera tively. "Get well behind the table and don't sneeze or crunch the gravel with your shoes. It's a. dark as pitch in here to anyone outside. Imagine his face,1 tie continued, in a smothered whisper, "if be were to walk in and find hia pretty Esme tete-a-tete with a sergeant of Lan cers! Ills feelings would be what you might call mixed! I suppose he would murder me! "If he docs find ns, Teddy, you must tell!" returned his sister hysterically, crowding still nearer to her companion, and scarcely daring to breathe, as she aat with her gase riveted on the unconscious cause of her trembling trepidation. (To be continued.) MIRROR WRITING ODD MALADY. Its Victims Have Faculty of Inacrlbtaaj Characters Backward. An almost unique case of nervous dis ease was investigated at tbe last sitting of tbe French Academy of Medicine. The patient is a young Roumanian, whose malady bag been observed by Dr. Marinesco of Bucharest. The most curious manifestation of his disease takes the shape of what Is known among scientists as "mirror writing," which means that tbe characters are written backward, so that when re flected in a mirror they are to be read in the ordinary way. Dr. Marinesco had observed that the bands of his pa tient when unoccupied were affected with a nervous trembling, wbicb ceased to a great extent when they were used for a definite purpose. Wishing to see what effect this symptom of the mal- a " bad on tne nanuwnting ur. ai.- inesco asked the patient tc write a few lines from dictation. To his astonish ment he found that the entire passage bad been written backward with abso lute accuracy. The experiment was repeated several times with exactly the same result, and It Is, In fact, impossible for the patient to write otherwise. When asked to trace a word with his foot on the ground it, too, was found to be written backward. Tbe patient being a Jew, a final experiment was made with He brew. Thia language, as Is well known, is always written backwards, but the patieut, reversing, as usual, tbe normal process, can only write It from left to right. Partial cases of mirror writing have been observed before, but none In which the tendency was so Irresistible. Pall Mall Gazette. Wrong Basket, Frank I knew Penn would be a poet when he was a baby. Ida What were the symptoms? Frank He was found in a basket on tbe doorstep. Ida I don't see anything in that Frank Yes, but it waa a waste bask etBrooklyn Life. i A Real Oenlua. The man that sharpened shoe pegs at both ends and sold them for wheat was a genius, but he has bis equal In Mexico. Some time ago one of the habitual revolutionary flare-ups was lbout to commence in one of the bel ligerent little South American Presi dencies which masquerade under the title of republics. A couple of hundred men marshaled In opposition to the government, swore solemn oaths, and met nightly in an abandoned hut at the entrance to a swamp. Enthusiasm was plentiful, bat arms were scarce; o a purse was made up, and three of the party set off to bay ammunition. They went to Mexico, where a cargo jf powder ;ras delivered to them, and, after Inspection, was shipped to the revolutionary headquarters. A signal gun waa mounted on a hilltop, and when the day and hoar arrived the 3cld marshal of the revolutionary army touched a match to the fuse of the piece There waa no response. The marshal used all the matches In his silver matchbox, bat tbe gun refused to fire. An Investigation by the "War Office" followed, and that cargo of powder proved to be nothing but ma hogany sawdust, wbicb had been vig orously stirred np with powdered graphite to give It the proper color and appearance. THROUQH OTHER EYES. B HAD been sent by one of tbe large downtown stores to lay a carpet In the spar bedroom. He whistled merrily in the intervals when his mouth waa not full of tacks and although hia face was lined with care, there was a good-natured twinkle In his eye and he went about his work as one who enjoyed it. The young mistress of the house had come into the room and was watching him from tbe window seat, the only available resting place In the room. Her frame of mind was of the deepest cerulean hue, and she considered her self an exceptionally unfortunate woman. Her husband had that morn ing informed her that, owing to unex pected reverses In business, they would not be able to go to the seashore, as they had planned to do, and. In fact, they could not leave the city, but must be content this year to test the attrac tion of St. Louis as a summer re sort. There would be nothing to do, therefore, la the way of recreation but te ride ever the well-known boulevards and attend the theater once In a while. The dressmaker who bad been engaged to plan and make a number of fetch ing gowns and other "confections" must be informed that her services would not be needed, and altogether the mistress of the house considered this life to be a very disappointing af fair, one which, when taken ail in all, waa by no means worth the trouble of living. tfha watched the man In moody si lence. Why did ha take any Interest la his occupation? How could he be happy when for him the future evi dently contained nothing bnt work? She wondered how life appeared as seen through his eyes. She felt like talking to him; she wanted to learn something of hia history; but there was the rat-tat-tat of the hammer to drown an conversation, even had he been able to apeak distinctly with the tacks In his mouth. Whan hia task waa nearly finished, and when he was pouring the last re maining tacks from the paper Into his hand, aha asked tentatively: . "Have yon a large family of chil dren?" "No children at all. ma'am, and I goeas It's a blessing I haven't the way things have turned out," he replied cheat fully. "Ton have had some trouble In sup porting yourself, then, I conclude T" "Myself? Gracious! It wouldn't be any trouble to provide for myself. Anything', good enough for me. But yoa sea ail my life long I've had some body an my hands to take care of. I was Just a small kid, though I was the oldest of five, when my father died. Then mother said: "'Joe, yon are a little fellow, but yon avast do what yon can to support the other children.' And so I went to work, and you might aay I never waa a child from that minute. Then mother she married again, because she thought It would be better for us chil dren, she said. My stepfather was a good-hearted man. bnt not one that ver could set the river afire, and after awhile he met with an accident that crippled him for life, and I had him on my hands, too.. Tbe other children grew up and married off, bnt none of em ever seemed to have a place in their homes or any money for father and mother. I was Jbe oldest, you know, and they'd got into the habit like of depending on me. I guess it was nothing more than natural that they should. "Then Aunt Jane, my stepfather's oldest sister, came from Iowa on a visit She was considerably d rawed np with rheumatism, and she said she thought the trip would do her good. That was ten years ago, and she la with ns yet" 'Why, you have no right to sup port her. She Is not related to yon in the slightest degree." "That's so, but then, she ain't related to my brothers and sisters, either, so they couldn't be expected to take her. She has no money, no other relatives of ber own, and no place else to go. Naturally, I've got to look after her. She'd be a heap more agreeable, though, if she wasn't so cranky and fond of finding fault If tbe tea I. green she wishes It was black, and If It's black, she's sorry 'taln't green, and so on. Bnt then, we all have our faults." He placed a tack on the edge of the carpet and hammered It in. 'I should think any home would be unpleasant that contained such a woman," remarked the mistress of the house when the noise of the hammer bad subsided. He smiled. "Well, with her remarks and with father and mother always hectoring more or less, our place ain't always what you'd call gay. But I've found that tbe best way to be happy la not to think too much about yes terday, but get all tbe good yoo can eat of to-day. And there's a good deal that's pleasant to be found, after all. If we'll only look for It" "It Is not surprising that you were not able to morry," she said, ignoring his philosophy. - "Oh, but I am married!" and hit ragged features were Illuminated by1 a brilliant smile. Then he drove in another tack. "With four grown people to support two of them Invalids you most have a hard life, no matter how yon look at H, and yet yon struck me, somehow, aa being a very happy man." "And so I am." be returned, still nailing. "The richest man in St Louis er McKlBley himself ain't any happier than I am this day. I could sing at Use top of my voice. I could even dance If there was nobody to see me. for i guess one of my feet must be a Methodist, I am so awkward on the floor." And he chuckled softly. The hut tack was In now. He stood up and surveyed his work with an ex pression of satisfaction, and then be gan to gather up his tools. "Tell me about your marriage and what it Is that makes you so happy," aid the mistress of the house per suasively. He was quite willing to comply with her request He slipped on his thread bare coat, and, leaning, tall and un gainly, against the doorpost, be folded his arms and' began half apologeti cally: "I know very well that I hadn't ought to marry, there being circum stances in ure wren a man has no right to think of his own comfort The rest all took it for granted that I'd never marry, and I always said I wouldn't But that was before I'd seen Lizzie. X "She was also alone la the world, poor little thing, and worked In a res taurant downtown. I couldn't afford to take many meals at restaurants, as you may guess, but I used to drop into that one sometimes and order a dough nut and a cup of coffee. If I couldn't i:et a seat at Lizzie's table, I could Watch ber wait on other people, and even that was worth a good deal." "Yon considered " her pretty, ol courser" "Yes, ma'am, as a picture. You'd never see a prettier complexion, or dearer blue eyes, or nicer hair, of a light color, and soft aa a child's, and ber hands were little bits of white hands like a born lady's. She had such a kind look on her face, too, and wearing Ler white apron, alwaya so pic and span clean, and that little white cap. she looked like an angel to me, though I expect angels don't ever wear aprons-and caps. "I don't know. I don't Indeed, how I ever mustered np courage enough to ask a girl like that to marry me. But f did, and she said 'yes,' though I was a good deal older than she waa, and was poor, and nothing to look at Then there came the dread of telling tbe folks at home. I knew mighty well they wouldn't like It, and they didn't Father and mother were both awfully huffy about It, and Aunt Jane was Just wratby, said she'd always known that men were selfish, but she hadn't thought that even I could be so bad as to take the bread out of my own family s mouths to give to a stranger, a silly girl, she said, who'd flaunt 'round and put all my wages on to bet own back. "Well, I did feel a little guilty when they called me selfish, and I could un derstand Just how they felt about It, but I lost my temper and made Aunt Jane keep quiet when she began on Lizzie. "After we were married that was four years ago my wife wanted to keep right on in her old place, but I wouldn't hear to It I'd married her to take care of her, and I was going to do it If I worked my lingers to the bone. But she was such a good house keeper and fine manager that she saved money out of what I gave her for the butcher and grocery man, and we Just had loads of pleasure on what she saved. Saturday she'd fix a lunch in a basket and when my work was done we'd meet some place, and go to tbe park, where we'd have a little picnic all to ourselves. In the winter we sometimes went to the theater, not the expensive ones where they cut and slash around In grand style, but to the JO-cent shows, where they come out and sing and dance. "It wasn't reasonable to expect that such luxury and happiness could last long, and it didn't Lizzie was taken sick and had to go to the hospital, an J there waa weeks and weeks of misery for her and me. When obe came out she was like a little ghost, and though her eyes were as pretty as ever, she couldn't see out it these, any more." His voice faltered and his listener said sympathetically: "That Is very sad for both of yon." "The doctors gave us a little hope, but told ua not to build too much on it They said that as her blindness was caused by a surgical operation, and not by a disease of the eye itself, she might get ber sight back some tJn.e, and suddenly. "She must have led a miserable life all day with the old people, all of 'em so fretful, and she all In the dark, but the little woman never complained. When I'd ask her about It she'd beg mi not to talk about her. but to tell het what I'd seen during the day. And I need to tell her of the fine booses I'd been In and of the ladles I'd seen, and describe what they had oa, though I don't think I could write for a fashion book. I'd tell ber the funny thing, that happened to make her laugh, and s I don't see much really, being al ways so busy when I'm In people's houses, I got to making up lots and lota of things that never happened. Why, It was only yesterday that I told het of a quarrel I'd heard between a fat old man and a cross-eyed woman, and neither of 'em ever lived in this world, or any other. Ananias ain't la It with me! "Bnt this morning, this blessed morn ing,' while I was taking my breakfast my wife got np from ber chair, and putting her arms around my neck, be gan to cry. 'Oh, Joe!" she says. Just like that; 'Oh, Joe!" It wasn't a bit like ber to act ao. and I saya, astonished: - ,- Why. Liz, what's tbe matter with your And aba says, 1 can aaaf . The mltrt-as of tbe house turned hei head and looked out of the window, 'nit her eyes were veiled by a mist St. Louis Star. - JACK TO HIS OLD-LINE BOOKS iacoarasjlnai Experiences of a Can vasser with a Volume on Dog. "I've gone back to my first love, the ireat 'Celebrated Compendium of Cui- .ersal Knowledge.' bound in calf and .old at a price within reach of all." i .aid the book agent to a Detroit Free Press reporter. "The other day the head member of tbe firm that I am proud to represent called me Into bis private office and showed me a book on dogs, telling bow to take care of thein what to feed, what to do for the uun.-e. how to tell a mastiff from a pug. how to Dandle a mad dog in fact, it was a regular dog encyclopaedia, bound In cloth, and sold at a popular price. "Tbe moment I set eye. on that book I saw great possibilities in it. 1 knew from bitter experience that nearly every one kept a dog, and no matter what kind of a cross-eyed purp It might be tbe owner couldn't be con vinced that hi. particular dog wasn't the finest dog on earth. I made up my mind that there waa a fortune In the sale of that book, and I secured the exclusive light to this city before 1 left the office. Cautioning the head member of the firm to keep the presses jolng. so theie would be no possible chance for a shortage, I started out to place the great work before the pub lic. The first house I struck my hopes received a sudden chill. I was no sooner In the yard thar i big dog came tearing around the cor uer of the house and made for me. lbere was only one thin? to do, aud I did It 1 made for a tree that was near and managed to get out of the way before the beast arrived. As he .ibowed no desire to leave. I yelled fot help. A man came to the door, and after calmly looking the situation over asked what I wanted. " 'I am selling a work on dogs,' I said rather weakly from my position in the tree. 'It tells bow to cure tbe mange what to feed, what to ' "'Well,' said be, cutting In, 'explain it to Tlge, and If he cares about It I'll buy It' With that he went inside and shut the door. "For two mortal hours that miserable ?ur sat uader the tree and licked hi chops. Then tbe owner came to the loor again and said it was time that flge had his dinner, and that I could finish explaining the book to him after je got through. If be hadn't called that dog away Just as he did Tlge -would have had' his dinner right under the tree, and the Arm would have been short one book agent As far as Lam concerned, every cussed dbg In this ity may die of mange. In fact, I hope they will." Danger in Veils. ' A service has been done to women ;eneraily by Dr. G. A. Wood, ef Chl ago, in tests made by him with sys- .einatlc care to determine tbe danger, f any. In the wearing of veils. For this jurpose he selected a dozen typical pecimena of the article and applied he ordinary tests of ability to read .vblle wearing them, and these tests showed that every description of veil iffects more or less the ability to see listinctly, bath In the distance aud near it hand, the most objectionable being he dotted sort Other things elng Hiual, vision Is Interfered with In direct jroportlon to tbe number of meshes per square Inch, and the texture of the ma :erlal also plays an Important part In he matter. Thus, when tbe sides of che mesh are single compact threads he eye Is much less embarrassed than vhen the double threads are used, tbe east objectionable veil, on the whole. jelng that which Is without dots. prays or other figures, but with large ind regular meshes made with single ind compact threads. Dr. Wood perti nently remarks that while eye troublo lo not necessarily result from wearing rells for the healthy eye Is as able as ny other part of the body to resist egltlmate strain weak eyes are in lured by them. New York Tribune. Philippine Only Railway. The Philippine Islands can boast of jut one railway, running from tbe city it Manila to Dagupin, a distance of 123 miles. This railway, however, if Iret-class, so far as It goes. It has a ilngle track of steel rails, la very well sullt and the bridges along tbe route ire of Iron or stone of excellent con struct Ion. Tbe station buildings are all well-built substantial edifices. Consumption of Coffee. The consumption of coffee the world over is growing rapidly. The average annual consumption In the decade 1870 to 1880 was 702,000,000 pounds; In the next decade It was 1.820,000,000. Last rear It was 1.580,000.000. CESSIONS TO FOREIGN POWERS, Territorial Oranta China H Made front Tint to Time. Each conflict in which China has en gaged has resulted In a loss of terri tory. The principal cessions made by the Mongol government as tbe price of peace have been the following. The island of Formosa was ceded to Japan In 1805, after the war with China. In 1897 Germany seized the port of KIou- Chou on tbe east coast of tbe Shantung peninsula, her excuse for so doing be ing a massacre of missionaries wulcli had taken place there. Two months later ah received from Cblaa a ninety-nine-year lease of the port and dis trict In 18U8 Russia obtained from China a twenty-five-year lease of Port Arthur, TaUenwan and their adjacent territories and waters. The lease enn be extended by mutual agreement The same year the Chinese government gave permission for Great Britain to occupy Wel-Hal-Wel for as long s period as Russia shall hold Port Ar thur. To compensate France for the concessions glvea to Great Britain and Russia a nlnety-nlne-year lease was given her of the bay of Kwang-Cha.i- j Wan, on the coast opposite the island of Hainan, and last year two islands at the ep trance of the bay were definitely ceded to ber. Hong-Kong was ceded to Great Britain in 184L The unlucky man seldom betters hliv self bf changing bis position. I GERMON, Y Br, Calm ftabjeett CtitMren of KlngTh Kaval Hons of Jasns, and tha Bun, I ha Moon, tha Stars ant All Nalnra Ara Its Heritage Crnas Its Herat,! le Sign. Copvrlsbt lwm.1 VABHrxoTOtf. D. C In this discourse Dr. Taltnsee who, during hia journey homeward has seen much of rnval and im perial splendors, in passing through the capitals of Europe, shows that there is no higher dignity nor more illustrious station than those which the Christian has as a child of God; text, Jniiges viii, IS: "Each one renemheM the children of a king." Zehah and Zalmunna had been off to battle, and when they came ba-k thev were asked what kind of people thev hml seen. Thr- answered that the people had a royal appearance; "each one resemWed the children of a king." That description of people is not extinct. Tb;re are still many who have,Jhis appearance. Indeed, they are the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. Though now in exile, they shall yet come to their thrones. There are family names that stand for wealth, or patriotism, or intelligence. The name of Washington among us will al ways represent patriotism. The family of the Medici stood as the representative of letters. The familv of the Rothschilds is significant of wealth, the loss of $, 000,000 in 1848 putting them to no incon venience, and within a few vears they have loaned Russia $12,000,000; Nanles. 25,O00.000; Austria, 40,000,000, and Knu land, $200000.000. and the stroke of their pen on the couiitine room desk shakes everything from the Irish .Sea to the Dan ube. They open their hand, and there is wr; they shut it and there is peace. The Romanoffs of Russia, the Holienzol lerna of Germany, the Bourbons of France, the Stuarts and Guelphs of Great Britain are houses whose names are inter twined with the history of their respective nations symbolic of imperial authority.. But I preach of a family more potential, more rich and more extensive the rovnl house of Jesus, of whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named. Wc are blood relations by the relationship of the cross; all of us are the children of the King. First, I speak of our family name. When we see a descendant of some one greatly celebrated in the last century, we look at him with profound interest. To have had conquerors, kings or princes in the ances- iral line gives lustre to the family name, n our line was a King and Conqueror. The Star in the East with baton of light woke up the eternal orchestra that maile music at His birth. From thence He started forth to conquer all nations, not by trampling them down, but by lifting them np. St. John saw Him on a white horse. When He returns He will not bring the nations chained to His wheel or in iron cages, but I hear the stroke of the hoofs of the snow-white cavalcade that bfings them to the gates in triumph. Our family name takes lustre from the star that heralded Him, and the spear that pierced Him, and the crown that was given Him; It gathers fragrance from the frankincense brought to His cradle, and the lilies that flung their sweetness into His sermons, and the box of alabaster that broke at His feet. The Comforter at Bethany. The Resurrector at Nain. The supernatural Oculist at Bethsaida. The Saviour of one world, and the chief joy of another. The storm His frown. The sun light His smile. The spring morning II is breath. The earthquake the stamp of His foot. The thunder the whisper of His voice. The ocean a drop on the tip of His finger. Heaven a sparkle on the bosom of His love. Eternity the twinkling of His eye. The universe the flying dust of His chariot wheels. Able to heal a heart break or hush a tempest, or drown a world, or flood immensity with His glory. What other family name could ever boast of such an illustrious personage? Henceforth, swing out the coat of arms! Great famines wear their coat of arms on the dress, or on the door of the coach, or on the helmet when they go out to battle, or on flags and ensigns. The heraldic sign is sometimes a lion, or a dragon, or an eagle. Our coat of arms worn right over the heart hereafter shall be a cross, a lamb standing under it, and a dove flying over it. Grandest of ail es cutcheons! Most significant of all family escutcheons! Iu every battle I must have it mazing on my nag the Hove, tne cross, the Iamb, and when I full, wrap me in that good old Christian flag, so -that the familv coat of arms shall be right over my breast, that all the world may see that i looked to the Dove of tbe tuurit and clung to the Cross, and depended upon the Lamb of God, which taketh away the in of the world. Ashamed of Jesus, that dear friend, On whom my hopes of life deend; No! When I blush, be this my shame That I no more revere His name. Next. I sneak of the family sorrows. If trouble come to one member of the family all feel it. It is the custom, after the body is lowered into the grave, for all the relatives to come to the verge of the grave and look down into it. First those near est the departed come, then those next of Km, until tney nave all looked into the grave, oo, wben trouble ana griel go qown through the heart of one member of the family, they go down through them all. The sadness of one is the sad- ot all. A company ot persons loin hands around an electric battery; the two Dersons at the ends of the line touch the battery and all the circle feels the shock. Thus, by reason of the filial, ma ternal and paternal relations of life, we stand so close together that when trouble sets its battery, all teel the thrill ot dis tress, in the great Christian family the sorrow of one ought to be the sorrow of all. Is one persecuted? All are perse cuted. Does one suffer loss? We all suf fer loss. Is one bereaved? We arc all be reaved. Their streaming eyes together now For human guilt and mortal woe. 11 yuu ityu.-iT ui- anuLiit-i miAiuiiuiic. you are not one of the sheep, but one of the goats, and the vulture of sin hath alighted on your soul, and not the Dove ot the spirit. Next, I notice the family property. Af ter a man of large estate dies the relatives assemble to hear the will read. So much of the property is willed to his sons, and so much to h,s daughters, and so much to benevolent societies. Our Lord Jesus hath died, and we are assembled to-day to hear the will read. He says, "My peace I give unto you." Through His apostle He says, "All things are yours." What, everything? Yes, everything! This world and the next! In distinguished families there are old piotures hanging on the wall. They are caucd the "heirlooms" of the estate. They are very old, and have come dbwn from generation to generation. So I look npon all the beauties of the natural world as the heirlooms of our royal family. The morning breaks from the east. The mists travel up, hill above hill, mountain above mountain, until sky lost. The forests are full of chirp, and buzz, and song. Tree's leaf and bird's wing flutter with gladness. Honeymakers in the log, and beak against the bark, and squirrels chattering on the rail, and the call ot the hawk out of a clear sky make you feel glad. the sun. which kindles conflagrations among the castles of cloud and sets mina ret and dome aflame, stoops to paint the lilv white, and the buttercup yellow, and the forgetmenot blue. . What can resist the sun? Light for the voyager over the deep! Light for the shepherd guarding the flocks afield! Light for the poor who have no lamps to turn! Light for the downcast and the lowly! Light for ach ing eyes and burning brain and wasted eantlve! Light for the smooth brow of childhood and for the dim vision of the octn-enarian! Litht for nueen's coronet ind for sewing girl's needle! Let there be light! Whose mornins is thf? My morn ing. Your morning. Our Father save us the Picture and hun it on the sky in loons of fire. It is the hei'lonm of one familv. And as the nisht. Tt the f'H moon. i h m'.is from shore to hnre steam like hattc-ed mirrors, and the ocean nnder her glance eomes un with great tide, panting upon the beach, mingling, as it were, fnnm and fire. The noor man blesses God for throwing snch a eheao light through the broken window pane into his cabin, and to the sirk it iwrnn a livht from the other shore which hounds this great deep of human nain and woe. ff the sun seem like a song fulj and nonred from brazen, instruments that fill heaven nd ryrth with meat harmoniff. the moon, is plaintive and mild, standing heneh the throne of God. sending up her soft, weet voice of praise, while the stars listen and the sea. No mother ever more sweet Iv guarded the sick cradle than all night loig this pale watcher of the sky bends over the wearv. heartsick, slumbering earth. Whose v is th! black framed, black tnsseled pii-ti"- ' the nl"ht? It is the heirloom of our family. Ours . the grandeur of th spring, the crystals of the snow, the co-M of the beach, the odors of the gardpn, the harmonies of the air. Yog cannot see a large estate in nna morning. Yon must take several ws'lrs around it. The familv propertv of this royal house of Jesus is so great thnt we must take several walks to get anr iil"a of its extent. Let the first walk be around this earth. All these valWs. th harvests that wave in them, and the c tle thnt pasture them a'l th" mount ains, and the precious things hidden le neath them, and the crown of iHarir thev cast at the feet of the alpine hnrrirane all these lakes, these islands. thse wnti nents, are onrs. In the second walk rr among the street lamps of heaven. nt see stretching off on everv side a wilder ness of worlds. For us they shine. For us they sang at a Pavionr's nativitr. rr ns thev will wheel into line, and w;th their flaming torches add to the sn'endor of our triumph on the day for which Ml other days were made. In the third walk, go around the eternal city. As we come near it, hark to the rush of its chariots and the wedding peal of its great towers. The bell of heaven has struck 12. It is hieh noon. We look off upon the rhnn leta which never fade, the eves thnt never weep, the temples that never, close, the loved ones that never part, the procession that never halts, the trees that never wither, the walls that never can be cap tured, the sun that never sets, until we can no longer gaze, and we hide our eves and exclaim: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hrnrt of man, the things which God hnth tire pared for them that love Him!" As these tides of glory rise we have to retreat and hold fast lest we be swept off and drowned in the emotions of gladness and thanksgiv ing and triumph. Almost every family looks back to a homestead some country place where you grew np. You sat on the doorsill. You heard the footsteps of the rain on the garret roof. You swung on the gate. You ransacked the bam. You waded into the brook. You thrashed the orchard for apples, and the neighboring woods for nuts, and everything around the old homestead ia of interest to you. I tell y.iu of the old homestead of eternity. "In Mv Father's house are manv mansions." When we talk of mansions we think of Chatsworth and its park, nine miles in circumference, and its conservatory that astonishes the world; its galleries of art, that contain the triumphs of Chant rev, Canova and Thnrwaldsen :' of the kimts -and the queens who have walked its state-' ly halls, or, flying over the heather, have hunted the grouse. But all the dwelling places of dukes and princes and queens are as nothing to the family mansion that is already awaiting our arrival The hand of the Lord Jesus lifted (lie pillars and swung the doors, an t planted the park. Angels walk there, and the good of all ages. The poorest man in that house is n millionaire, and the lowliest a king, an I the tamest word he sneaks is an anthem, and the shortest life an eternity. It took a Paxton to build for Chats worth a covering for the wonderful flower Victoria regia, five feet in diameter. Hut our lily of the valley shall need no shelter from the blast, and in the open gardens of God shall put forth its full bloom, and all heaven shall come to look at it, and its aroma shall be as though tiie cheruliitn had swung before the throne a thousand censors. I have not seen it yet. I am in a foreign land. But my Father is waiting for me to come home. I have brother and sisters there. In the llilile I have let ters from there, telling me what a fine place it is. it matters not much to me whether I am rich or poor, or whether ti:e world hates me or loves me, or whether I go by land or by sea, if only I may lift my eyes at last on the family mansion. It is not a frail house, built in a month, soon to crumble, but an old mansion, which is as firm as the dav it was built. Its walls are covered with the ivy of many ages, and the urns at the gateway are a-b)oom with the century plants of eternity. The Queen of Shelia hath walked its hall, and Esther, and Marie Antoinette and Lady Huntingdon and Cecil, and Jeremy Taylor, and Samuel Rutherford and John Milton, and the widow who gave two mites, and the poor men from the hospital these last two perhaps outshining ail the kings and queens of eternity What clasping of hands! What emlirac ings! What coming together of lip to lip!' What tears of joy! ou say, "1 thought there were no tears in heaven." There must be, for the Bible says that "(iod shall wipe them away," and if there were no tears there, how could He wie them away? They cannot be tears of grief or tears of disapiointment. They must lie tears of gladness. Christ will come ami say: "What! Child of heaven, is it too much for thee? Dost thou break down under the gladness of this reunion? Then 1 Will help thee." And, with His one arm around us and the other arm around our loved ones. He shall hold us up iu the eternal jubilee. While I speak some of you with broken hearts can hardly hold your peace. You :e u ... .v ... ictti an ,i juu ntiuni niiuhk urn. aim ty. "Oh, blessed day! Beed on. Toward thee I press with blistered feet over the desert way. My eyes fail for their weeping. I faint from listening for feet that will not come, and the sound of voices that will not speak. Sjieed on, oh day of reunion! And then. Lord Jesus, be not angry with me if after I have kissed Tliy blessed feet. I turn around to gather up the long lost treasures of my heart. Oh! be not angry with me. One look at Thee were heaven. But all these reunions are heaven encir cling heaven, heaven overtopping heaven, heaven commingling with heaven!" I was at Mount Vernon, and went into the dining room in which our first Presi dent entertained the prominent men of this and other lands. It was a very inter esting spot. But, oh, the banqueting hall of the family mansion of which I speak! Spread the table, spread it wide; for a great multitude are to it at it. I'roiii the tree by the river gather the twelve manner of fruits for that table. Take the clusters from the heavenly vineyards, and press them into the golden tankards tor that table. On baskets carry in the bread of which, if a man eat. he shall never hun ger. Take all the shot-torn flags of cart li ly conquest and entwine them among the arches. Let David come with his harp, and Gabriel with his trumpet, ami Miriam with the timbrel, for the prodigals are at home, and the captives are free, ami the Father hath invited the mightv of heaven and the redeemed of earth to coiue aud dine! Cost of Raising Wheat and Corn. Statistics which hure been collated In Wisconsin show the averuge cost of raising wheat to be 54 cents a bushel, and tbe cost of corn 27 cents. In both cases there is Included Interest on the value of the land, with tbe cost of Implements and horses added in. The Nest Quntioiu "Excuse me, sir," said the census enumerator, briskly, aftr the name and age bad been duly recorded, "but what la your occupation?" "I am a poet." "But what do you do for a living V A J