Spain lias traded real estate for ex
perience.
There should be a good chance for
some American to engage iu the busi
ness of dyeing Spanish flags in Porte
Rico.
China is prepared, in a measure, foi
the introduction of an American rail
way system. Her experiences with the
powers of Europe have familiarized
her with the rear-end collision.
The foundation of all lasting prog
ress in Cuba must be hygiene. To es
tablish promptly and maintain intelli
gently, in cities like Havana, a system
of sanitation wholly foreign to their
history, and at variance with the life
long habits of the people, is a hercu
lean and costly task. If the more in
telligent and influential of the Cubans
could be persuaded to study the work
thus far done in Santiago by General
Wood—with its significance in com
mercial revival and growth—there
would soon be less of Cuban dis
content at the prospect of Ameri
can control in the island.
Ibsen has given his views on the
subject of national disarmament. He
says that such a proposal has his sym
pathy—but if war were suppressed
"we should have to discover some
other means of blood-letting." He
goes onto remark that "at the pres
ent stage of human development we
require something of the sort to pre
vent our blood getting too thick." It
is doubtful, iu the Norwegian drama- i
tist's opinion, whether the existence
of military service really hinders prog- I
ress. He thinks that its abolition
might quite possibly bring about ,
social retrogression. He has known
instances in which the barrack room ,
has "transformed beasts into meu."
This opinion has additional value,
coming l'rom the citizen of a peaceful
natijn that is devoted to the industrial
arts.
:—
"Should Wives Work?" is a ques- 1
tion that has been undergoing lively
discussion in the daily press and
women's journals across the Atlantic,
and many views have been given pro
and con. The three forcible objee- j
tious urged to the wife being family
bread-winner, are, 1. The man, whose
wife does what he should do, deterior
ates. 2. The home suffers because her j
time and attention is taken from it. ,
3. She, to support her liusbaud and
his children, dispossesses some man,
willing and otherwise able to support
his family. To these objections it
was urged: 1. A husband falling sick
or happening to other misfortunes,
needs and has a rightful claim to hit
wife's assistance; and that, certainly,
if he is disabled through any cause
whatever, she has a light to provide
for herself and those who thus be- !
come dependent upon her. 2. That j
no natural woman will neglect hei '
home unless tha necessity to preserve
it drives her forth. 3. That if neces
sity to support herself and family de
volves upon her, she is obliged tc
compete with men similarly placed.
Now that labor conditions enter tc |
such an important extent into indus- j
trial operations, much interest at
taches to the report of a prominent
firm of shipbuilders in Sunderland,
England, on the result of adopting
the eight-hour system for seven years
in their works. They hold that the
plan answers well; the meu actually
do not lose so much time, in fact, thej
work more hours than they did undei
the old system. Instead of the pro
duction of the works being less from
the apparently shorter hours of work,
it has gradually increased since 1891.
They took up the system in the belief
that tliey could get the same amount
of work out of their men by a bettej
method. Of the meu working on time
wages fifteen or twenty per cent, lost
the first quarter of the elay, while the
piece meu scarcely ever started before
8.30 under the old method. The men
started at 6 o'clock, stopped at 8 foi
half an hour for breakfast; had an
other interval of au hour at noon,and
the day's work was finished at 5.
The conditions were such that many
workmen were physically incapable of
enduring the long hours. It was cjuite
a common thing for a man to lose
three-quarters of a week because he
could not keep up the early rising
necessary for the 6 o'clock start and
work full time. Under the forty-eight
hours' system the men have an earlj
breakfast and start work at 7.30,g0ing
on with only one break until 5 o'clock.
They thus elo more work themselves,
besides getting more work out of the
machines, the results being an in
creased output and a decreased cost
Under the old system the men hardly
averaged five hours' work a day. The
report has attracted great attention
among English employers of labor,
with whom the "eight hours a day"
has long been a burning question.
Oood folks, thar*B fan In llvin' In the coun
try, all around.
When the frost in in the furrow an' tha gresn
is turnln' brown.
When the days are cool an' crispy, an' the
nights have brighter stars,
An' you heur the tinkle of the bells acrost
tho pastur' bars.
Thar's lots of fun in llvin' when the woods
are full of haze
An" you hear the fiddle singin' whar the
eabfn fires blaze !
When the gals are candy-piillin', an' they've
robbed the honey bees.
An' you're dancin' when you want to, an'
you're spurkin' when you please!
, Within an Ace of flurder. \
BY STACK POLE K. ODKT.T,. Ij*
Milly Broughton was the only
daughter of a Welsh collier, who lived
in a small village iu Glamorganshire
aud worked iu one of the many neigh
boring coal pits.
Milly was peculiarly proud of her
' ancestors, and she delighted iu relat
ing their deeds of courage and even
heroism. For many generations her
family name figured on tho death roll
of the pits—the roll of honor detailiug
those who had died in the performance
, of their duty as colliers,procuring coal
for the comfort and enrichment of
their country.
The girl was known by young aud
old in the colliery district as "Our
Milly" and "Our Lassie," aud she
was looked upon almost as the prop
erty of the various pits, while the
special pit where her father and three
of her brothers worked was known
more as "Milly's Pit" than by the
name of its proprietor.
Milly was a striking looking girl,
much taller than any other members
of lier family, and, though rather
slight, she was neat and well propor
tioned.
That she had many suitors was not
to be wondered at, but only two out
of them all received any encourage
ment from her. One was the local
preacher, who often preached in the
little chapel at which Mill}' and her j
people attended; the other was the
young man who played the harmonium
at the chapel and who was looked
upon as a musical genius in the dis
trict. Like most musicians he was of
a very jovial nature, and naturally he
was a great favorite both iuthe village
aud in the pit in which he worked.
Both of these young fellows
worked witliMilly's father and broth
ers, and either would have been con
sidered a gojd match for her, but espe
cially the musician.
It was Milly's eighteenth birthday,
and it happened to be a Monday—a
day on which most colliers do not work.
Milly hud received numerous little
presents from her various admirers,
which she had strewn on the kitchen
table, before which she sat coutem- j
plating them with a beaming face. |
The picture was a pretty one. The I
kitchen of a steady, sober,industriou*
miner is not a place to be despised. >
This particular one had an air of tidi- j
liess and comfort, with a certain amount
of refinement a little above the ordi
nary. Through an open door could
be seen a cozy little room,on the floor
of which was a bright carpet and in a
corner a piano. Milly gave music les
sons to many of the colliers' children.
So she was independent and able to
contribute toward the general income.
It was a warm summer's evening,
and Milly was sitting at the door of
her little home; the rays of the setting
sun lit up her pretty face as she sat
there thinking of David.
A man was coming toward the cot
tage—it was the miner-preacher.
Milly did not see him, owing to the
sun which dazzled her eyes. How
ever, she had been seen by the young
man iu the distance, and he was ap
proaehiug her. He was dressed in
his Sunday clothes, aud though, per
haps, he was in manner somewhat
serious and overstately, yet iu ligure
and looks he was such a man as a girl
might like. He had every appearance
of physical strength combined with a
certain amount of rugged intelligence.
Milly received hiui with signs of
pleasure. She showed him the various
articles on the table, expatiating on
the kindness of those from whom she
had received them.
"I, too, have a present for you,
| iMilly," the young mau said presently,
j ,as he took out of his pocket a little
■ morocco ease and out of it a ring. He
' took Milly's hand and placed the ring
| upon her engagement finger.
"You and I have loved each other a
■ long time now, Milly," he continued.
"I should have asked you to allow
me to do this before, but it was only
this morning I heard that I was to be
made an overseer. So now we shall
; be able to keep house."
He did not wait for a reply, but con-
I tinued in more passionate language to
j express his feeliugs. Milly tried to
I stop him more than once, but he paid
I no attention to her.
"Morgan, "she said at last, "you are a
good fellow, and I like you and am
j glad to hear you have got the rise at
i the pit. I hope we shall always be
Ifriends; but I cannot marry you—
' David is to be my husband—that was
settled last night between him and
my father."
Morgan could not reply. He tried
to say something, but his tongue
seemed as if it were tied. He became
so pale that Milly was frightened. She
placed a chair near him aud pressed
him into it. He grasped the arms of
it and trembled all over. Again and
again he tried to speak, then ho ges
ticulated feebly with his hanels.
"Stay there!" she cried, "I will
bring someone." >
The nearest house was locked. The
girl had togo farther. When she re
tained Morgan was gone*
FUN IN THE COUNTRY.
Oh, the wbirrin' of the partridge an' the
boundin' ot the buck !
The treein' of the 'possum an' the rabbit's
foot for luck !
The barkln' of the squirrels on the oak and
hiok'ry trees—
An' you find 'em when you want to, an' you
shoot 'em When you please !
That's the time that gits me ! fer the world is
good to see
When the fiddle is a-singin' an' my sweet
heart fcmiles on me!
An' If it is a quadrille—l'm not takin' any
chance,
Cut I'll bet you that the purtiest gal is goiu'
to have a dauce !
—Atlanta Constitution.
He was a good fellow, but Milly
loved another.
To be the husband of this girl hnd
been the dream of his life. His love
for her was uu insanity. He felt that
he could not live without some hope
of obtaining her. He would not for a
moment allow that she was not to be
his; to have done so would have meant
suicide.
For a whole month he kept away
from the pit, in consequence of which
he lost his preferment. During that
time he weut from place to place, bat
tling with the great love that was
burning within him. But it increased;
it mastered him. Milly's image was
constantly before him, and for a time
his disappointment drove him to
drink.
At last he decided to struggle no
longer against his love; so he weut
back to work by the side of his success
ful rival, who was still his friend and
against whom he could bear no ani
mosity.
He saw Milly as of old. She
thought he had conquered his feelings
toward her, so their former friendship
was renewed.
One day, a few hours after the pits
had commented work, Morgan caine
to Milly looking very pale.
"Do not be frightened," lie said,
"but David has met with an accident
—a slight accident. He has been ex
ploring a used-up pit where he
thought there was a seam of coal that
could be got at. He has uncovered a
lot of sturt' and found the seam, so he
expeets to get a good sum of money
for his find, if he does not try to rent
the place and work it himself. He
took me down this morning to see it.
While stripping some of the surplus a
lump of coal fell across his leg. Ho
has lost a little bloud and is resting.
He thought if you would bring down
a bandage or two we might set him
right between us. You see, he does
not want anyone to know of his dis
covery just yet, so you must not hint
to anyone of it."
Milly went with Morgan immediate
ly. He led her to the pit. which was
in a very out of the way place.
"David is in there," he said, point
ing to a dark archway from which the
coal had been excavated.
Milly entered. Morgan immediately
followed and closed a door behind
him—a door rudely ma le, but strong.
Theu he told Milly that David was not
hurt at all and that he had brought
her to this place in order to tell her
that he could not live without her and
that he might make her promise to
marry him. He tried persuasion and
threats in vain and at last left her,tell
ing her that he would call each day
with food and for her reply.
He went book to his work in the pit
at once, making exenses for his ab
sence. When Milly would be missed
suspicion must not fall upon him.
He had hardly commenced to ply
liis pick when a tremendous explosion
took place. All the outlets from the
mine were completely blocked."
Morgan found himself iu the dark,
lying prostrate on his back, with a
quantity of coal upon him. His face
and head alone were free. He cried
for help in vain. For many hours he
lay there, unable to move.
Each hour seemed as though it
were a day. His mind was terribly
perturbed. He did not. care much
about dying or about the pain he was
sufferiug. His thoughts were chiefly
occupied with the poor girl he had
imprisoned. What would she do for
food? He pictured her dying of star
vation. His mind had been well in
culcated with the principles of Chris
tianity; this made his remorse all the
greater. As he lav helpless with, for
all li" knew,tons of coal on top of him,
he already felt the torments of re
morse. Again and again he shrieked,
his mind overcome with horror.
At last a voice answered his cries.
It was the voice of David.
"Is that you, Morgan?" he said.
"I was stunned. Wait till I get my
lamp alight."
It did not take him long to remove
some of the fallen coal and extricate
Morgan.
And theu for five dreary days they
remained prisoners in the darkness.
David's lamp did not remain alight
for long, not even long enough for
them to explore their surrouudings.
It would be impossible to describe
their sufferings, more especially those
of Morgan. He was frantic at times,
and it was all that David could do to
prevent him from dashing out his
brains against the jagged rocks of
coal.
At last the time came when Morgan
was so faint that he could hardly
move. David's strength, meanwhile,
had kept up wonderfully, and he did
all he could to cheer Morgan. The
latter, who used to pray and preach so
much, had now not one prayer to offer.
David could not comprehend this.
"Why don't you pray, Morgan?" he
asked.
"I can't," came faintly from Mor
! gau's dying lips.
| "la there anything on your mind?"
"There is—Milly."
"Milly? Poor Milly! lam afraid
we shall never see h«r again," sobbed
David, breaking down for the first
time.
He was holding Morgan's hand. Hw
felt a great shudder pass through his
friend's body.
"Stoop," said Morgan," "stoop as
near as you can. I cannot die without
telling you."
In spasmodic tones, with long pauses,
constantly interrupted with exclama
tions of horror from David, Morgan
told how he had inveigled Milly into
the old pit and had imprisoned her so
that she could not possibly escape and
left her only food enough for one day.
It was a terrible story to hear in
that dark vault, without a gleam of
light or a clear hope of escape. David
seemed to forget that he had been for
five days without food. A great surg
ing tide of indignation rolled like lava
through his veins as he thought of
Miliy, his own darling Milly, to whom
he was so soon to be married.
The story was hardly fiuished when,
with a shout as savage us that of a
wild beast deprived of its mate, he
sprang up and seized the dying man.
He lifted him in his arms with the in
tention of dashiug him down again.
It was a moment of uncontrollable
passiou, roused by the thought of
Milly's lingering death. David held
Morgan for a few secouds and pre
pared to fling him against the sharp
rocks of coal.
Suddenly a gleam of light appeared
in a far corner. Milly herself entered
the cave. David became powerless
and dropped .Morgan at his feet.
Milly hal not been long in her
prison when she escaped. She had
heard of the explosion and since then,
by day and by night, for many hours
at a time, she had traveled through
all the old mines searching for a pas
sage to the exploded one. She was
just in time to save her lover from
the crime of murder. .Morgan, how
ever, did not live many hours longer.
A CENIUS AT ADAPTATION.
rropoaeri to tlic» Wrong Girl, but Stuck
to tliu Bargain.
Scarcely a day passes that some of
its events do not affirm the old saw
that truth is stranger than fiction,
says the Detroit Free Press. Out near
Muskegon there is a big family made
up largely of sous. None of them has
a superlluitv of intelligence or push,
so that th ■ one most favored in this
respect is looked upon as a genius by
the other members of the household,
lie cau do a fair job of paintiug, from
water colo s to barns and baok fauces,
has a knack for interior decoration of
the more ancient type, patches,mends,
tinkers, and has t. smattering of all
the common mechanical trades.
Thus gif'.id, the young man con
cluded to iit up a cart and go about
the country soliciting odd jobs of all
kinds. Among those with whom he
found employment was a tenant farmer
having several fair daughters. With
one of these the genius had a lengthy
visit while about his work and became
impressed with her charms. For the,
remainder of the season she was in
his thoughts, and by the time he
reached home to remain during the
winter, he had made up his mind that
he was in love and would propose to
the girl he had seen but once. He
wrote a straightforward business let
ter explaining the state of his feelings
and asking her hand in marriage.
Back came the answer from "Dear
Mary," to whom he had written, say
ing that she was willing.
The thing was to be done in some
style, so that printed invitations were
sent broadcast and a great feast pre
pared. When th u genius reached the
bnsy scene of preparation he was
somewhat disturbed to find that Mury
was not the girl he had fallen in love
with at all, but the elder sister. He
did a little quiet figuring on the cost
of new invitations and another wed
ding supper, tore the paper up when
he was through, kept his own counsel
and married Mary. The only com
ment offered is that they seem to be
an unusually happy couple.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
The Tibetans have a week of five
days, named after iron, wood, water,
feathers and earth.
Some of the screws used in watches
are so small that it takes 380,000 of
them to weigh a pound.
The smallest- salary paid to the head
of a civilized government is sls a year
to the president of the Republic of
Andorra, in the Pyrenees.
A snake does not climb a tree by
coiling round it, but by holding on
with the points of its scales. A snake
could not climb a glass pillar.
The hearing organ of animals is not
always located in the head. In some
grasshoppers it is in the forelegs, and
appears on the wings of many insects.
In the old cemetery at Cambridge,
Mass., there is growiug a pear tree
which was planted bythe Stone family
when they came over from England
'263 years ago.
Milan has a curiosity in a clock
which is made entirely of bread. The
maker is a native of In lia, and he has
devoted three years of his time to the
construction of this curiosity. The
clock is of respectable size, and goes
well.
There is a fish fouudin Hudson bay
which absolutely builds a nest. This
it does by picking up pebbles in its
month and placing them in a regular
way on a selected spot the bottom
of the bay, where the water is not
very deep.
There has been discovered in India
a strange plant which possesses aston
; ishing magnetic power. The hand
i touching it immediately receives a
> strong magnetic shock, while at a dis
! tauce of twenty feet a magnetic needle
is affected by it.
THE REALM
OK FASHION.
Ladies' Military Jacket.
This natty jacket, while illustrating
the trend of national affairs to in
fluence women's dress this season, at
the same time affords the protection
A NATTY JACKET.
requisite for a comfortable top-coat.
The style is unobtrusive, but may be
still less marked by the omission of
the nautical looking shoulder straps.
While navy blue is the favored color-
WOMAN'S AFTERNOON TOILET.
ing for such jackets, they may be
made eu costume with any seasonable
woolen fabrics in black, brown, green,
gray, red, or mixed colors—tweed,
serge, cheviot, covert, or broadcloth
being fashionable.
The close-fitting back is arranged
below the waist with coat-laps and
plaits that give the scai«t but fash
ionable flare. The side-back gores
are shaped high in coi-rect military ,
outline.
The loose-fitting fronts lep in
double-breasted fashion, the neck
being closely fitted by short darts
taken up in each front. mili
tary buttons are used in closing, and !
the shoulder seams covered with
pointed shoulder straps are held in
position by buttons to match, but of
smaller size. The neck is completed
with a standing collar of true military
eut, aud a smart finish is given by the
stylish application of black braid on
the collar, straps, fronts, wrists and
pocket laps. The plain two-seamed
coat sleeves are military in cut and
finish, the moderate fulness being
disposed in gathers at the top.
To make this jacket for a lady of
medium g size will requiie one and
three-quarter yards of material fifty
four inches wide.
Stylitli Black anil Wliite Costume.
A stylish black and white combina
tion is shown in the large engraving
in black pean do soie and guipure lace
over white satiu, the full chemisette of
white mousseline over satiu imparting
a soft aud dainty finish. A narrow
quilling of peau de soie, applied with
a corded heading, trims the broad col
lar, revers and epaulets on the free
edges. The stylish waist, equally
suited for |informal dress or ordinary
wear, is smartly adjusted over correct
ly fitted linings that close in centre
front. The full frgnts and seamless
back are laid in overlapping pleats at
the loose edge, and between the front
edges is disclosed a smooth vest por
tion that ends under the bust in point
id outline. The full chemisette puffs
out slightly, and the neck ia completed
by a high standing collar of white
satin, covered with black oruiuure.
The broad foliar forms a round yoke
outline in black and meets the unique
ly shaped lapels that roll back from
the fronts. Stylish sleeves are ar
ranged with downward turning pleats
at the sides and gathers at the top over
linings that are closely adjusted to the
arm. The wrists flare in rounded bell
shape over the hand, showing a lining
of white satin and niching of mousse
line de soie under the satin quilling
that finishes the edges. The graceful
skirt is of circular shaping, the gradu
ated flounce being joined to its lower
edge under bias folds of cordings of
satin. While desirable for silk, satin,
poplin and other dress fabrics, the
mode will develop equally well in any
of the seasonable wool or mixed fabrics
now fashionable. Braid, passemen
terie, insertion or applique will pro
vide suitable decoration, while a com
bination of velvet, silk or satin with
woolen material will produce Uappv
results.
To make this waist for a woman of
medium size will require three and
one-quarter yards of material forty
four inches wide. To make the skirt
will require four and one-lialf yards of
material forty-four inches wide.
Hints 011 Remodeling Sleeves.
Some of the coats worn two or three
winters ago can be made in style this
winter if only the sleeves are cut over,
and large sleeves may easily be re
modeled by either of the styles which
are here given. No. 1, represented in
tine covert cloth, is what is called the
box sleeve. Instead of the usual
pleats or gathers at the top, it is shaped
by short darts that arc takeu up at
regular intervals and finished with
straps applied by machine stitching.
The straps may be omitted and the
dart seams simply stitched and pressed
flat. A shapely uuder-arm portion
fit* the sleeve comfortably, and the
vr sts are finished with a double row
of stitching at round cuff depth No.
'2, in rough woolen cloaking, is shaped
with upper and under portions, the
fulness at the top being laid in two
downward-turning pleats at each side
WOMAN'S COAT SLEEVE
of the shoulder. The wrists are com
peted with a cuff, simulated by two
rows of machine stitching.
To make these sleeves for a womar
o! medium size will require seven
eighths of a yard of material fifty fouv
i inches wide.
I The SILS Petticoat.
The new silk pctticdat which can
have any place among the new fashion,
must be fitted as carefully as
which covers it, made almost long,
I and auite ulaiu about the hips.