MY PRAYER. I have no lenghty - player to make When I approach my bed, And when through God's grace, I awake, Agr *n to fare ahead! My prayer 1 say Through all the day— The words are few And simple, too: "God, let my faith in thee And in thy people be Forever strong and true!" This is the simple prayer I pray— If it be answered, I l* Alone shall find the way And confidently die. —S. E. Kiser, in the Chicago Times- Herald. __ | .. | Little Lace Maker, 112 Mdlle. Noemi Verdier, a lacemaker "of Valenciennes, was as good as she was pretty and her modesty and simplicity commanded the respect of all. Left an orphan at 13 years of age she lived with her brother, three years her senior, who, having suddenly become the head of the house, labored for his little sister and himself at cabi net making. The two lived happily together; but the years passed and the time of mili tary service came. Louis was obliged to go. The separation was terrible to those two children, who loved each other so much. Left alone in the little lodgings, thus suddenly become too large for her, Noemi with bleeding heart applied herself to her work and wrought mar vels from tne flax fields. Every Saturday she carried back her work and when she returned home di vided her earnings in two parts. Must she not send a small subsidy to her soldier, who was thinking of her there In his far-away garrison? On his side Louis believed in his regiment as he did in Valenciennes; that is to say, like an honest man, and so, at the end of the second year of his absence he was able to announce one beautiful morning that he had been promoted to be sergeant. You can imagine how happy Noemi Was! How her heart throbbed with joy! Oh, how proud she was of her dear brother! But her happiness was short. In a few weeks came a letter. The war-cloud had burst all at once; armed France rushed to the frontier of the East. The dreadful war began. From the letters of her beloved Louis she learned the successive defeats of the French army, Woerth, Rozen ville, Saint-Private, Gravelotte, Sedan. Then silence followed —no more let ters, no more news, nothing. Noemi, who never read the papers, hastened now to the ofllco of the Guet teur de Valenciennes and of the Echo fle la Fontiere, seeking there some little ray of hope. She listened to the talk on the street, she mingled with the groups of people commenting on the news, she gave ear to the painful accounts of the war and she learned, with a sinking heart, that her brother's regiment had met with severe losses. Meanwhile the wounded soldiers were sent, through Hirsan and Aves nes, to the towns and cities on the northern frontier. Every day fresh convoys arrived in Valenciennes. All the hospitals were full, and still they came. Then private ambulances were organized everywhere, churches and factories opened their doors to the unfortunate wounded soldiers. One morning the report was circu lated that a convoy of wounded from her brother's regiment had arrived during the night. To the poor girl a glimmer of hope returned. She ran from one to the other, ask ing of the nurses, bending over every cot; but the hope of the morning van ished. All at once she remembered that the day before they had opened in Saint- Saulve a hospital intended especially for the officers. Was there any possi bility that an unknown sergeant might have been brought there? Surely not Yet, notwithstanding, she found strength togo thither. An army surgeon came toward her. "What do you wish mademoiselle?" "Oh, monsieur! Pardon! lam look ing for my brother, Sergeant Louis .Verdier. "You mean Lieutenant Louis Ver dier?" And pointing with his finger down the long row of mattresses on the floor, 'there he is in the sixth bed." To the poor girl it seemed as if the «arth vanished from beneath her feet. She choked back an exclamation of joy, tottered forward a few steps and •with an outburst of infinite happiness knelt before the bed of Lieutenant Verdier, who, with his head wrapped in linen, was lying in a heavy stupor. "Louis! Louis! It is I," she ex claimed, trembling,with clasped hands, ready to fall. At this appeal the wounded man re covered his consciousness, opened his eyes and perceived his sister, but not being able to raise his head he stretched forth both his hands, which she seized in hers and covered with tears. In the meantime the surgeon ap proached, and, >\alf unwillingly, led her away. "You must not cause him any emo tion, or wo cannot guarantee anything, eapristi! Your brother's wound is do ing well; he will recover, tnat Is cer tain, if you do not undo our work." "Oh, monsieur le docteur " "Never mind monsieur le docteur. This is enough for today. Come back tomorrow morning, but now go home." "Do you see, my dear Louis," said the liappy Noemi to him a few days later, sitting by the bedside of her brother, "yesterday the merchant for whom I Work ordered of me a piec* of magnifl cent lace for a wealthy English house. I began to work on It last night and I hope to finish It In ten days. For this work they will pay me a very high price. Do you know what I am going to do with the money?" "Speak, my darling," answered the young officer. "The surgeon says that you will soon be able to get up. I am going to take you home to our little nest and tako care of you day and night. You shall see how happy we will be and how quickly you will be well." "Dear, dear sister! Oh, what a good Idea and how I shall hasten to get strong, so as to be able togo with you." One morning, when she :ame in, ra diant with gladness, her brother bade her speak low and pointed with his eyes to a new wounded officer, whom they had brought in and placed on a mattress beside his own. The wounded man was M.de Lauterac d'Ambroyse, lieutenant "aux chasseu.-s a pied" jnid had been struck in the shoulder by a : bombshell. "Poor young man!" said Noemi, j compassionately. "He has no sister to take care of him." And she became interested in this man, whose death seemed certain. In the meantime the days went by and Louis' convalescence pvogresed rapidly. Had he not promised to hurry? On the morning of the tenth day Noemi arrived, joy in her face, bringing a precious package wrapped in tissu* paper. She, too, had kept her word; her marvellous work was finished and she brought it to show her brother before carrying it to the merchant who or dered it, and in her joy at being able to take her brother home she forgot about the poor, wounded man lying be side her. "See how beautful it is!" she said, displaying the delicate masterpiece up on the bed —proud of it, not because of it's overwhelming difficulties, but be cause it enabled her to realize her most ardent wish, to bring her dear convalescent into their little nest in the little street, into the small lodg ings where happiness would come back at the return of her beloved brother. And they were both happy. With hands clasped, they contemplated the delicate lace. All at once a piercing shriek drew them from their ecstasy. In making an effort to rise M.de Lauterac d'Ambroyse had disarranged his bandages, the wound reopened, and the unfortunate man fell back on his bed covered with blood. At the scream the surgeon was on the spot and in a twinkling had re moved the bandage. "Quclc, quick! Some lint!' he cried. "Hurry, hurry!" And while the nurses, beside them- i selves at the cries of the patient, j searched everywhere for what was at j hand, the stream of blood kept flowing and the anxious surgeon multiplied his appeals. The brother and sister, motionless, pale with fright, exchanged one glance. , Noemi seized her precious lace, tore it j in pieces, and gave it to the major, j who applied it to the wound. The hemorrhage was stopped Louis and Noemi, trembling with emotion, looked at each other. "Dear sister, thanks That was all that Louis could say. "It will make but a few days' de lay," lisped the jroutu; gif.'. keeping • back the tears just ready to flow. "1 j v,iii begin my work again." Lieutenant de Lauterac d'Ambroyse j is today colonel; he is the father cf j three children; one a big, pretty girl, j almost as beautiful and sweet as her j mother, whose name she wears, | Noemi; and two flne-looking boys, I who are "terrors," as their uncle as sures us, the brave commadant Louis Vernier. —W averly Magazine. ILLINOIS' VANISHED CAPITAL. '1 lie Town of Kaxknnkia Swept Awny by tlie MUalHaippl. One hundred years before Ilinois became a territory and 111 years be fore it became a state there was a town at Kaskaskia, says the Chicago Inter Ocean. Fifty years before there was a white settlement at St. Louis or any military post at Pittsburg, and 96 years before the founda tions were laid for Fort Dearborn, at Chicago, Kaskaskia was a thriving village. As early as 1710 there were in the town three miles for grinding corn. As early as 1705 the town contained 65 families of whites. In 1771, five years before the Revolutionary War, it contained 80 houses and had a population of 500 whites and 500 negroes. In 1809 it was made the capital of Illinois Territory. It was the capital of the state from 1818 un til 1821, and was the seat of Ran dolph county until 1847. The first brick house built west of Pittsburg was constructed in Kas kaskia. For over half a century Kas kaskia was the metropolis of the Up per Mississippi valley and was the focus of commerce in the Northwest Territory. On Thursday the last vestige of this historic settlement was swept away by the Mississippi river. The work of destruction that began with the great flood of 1844 was com pleted, and the home of the early Illinois governors—the first state capital—ceased to exist. Its destruc tion was complete. Not a stone was left to mark the place. Chicago, that was built in a swamp, is the second city in America. New Orleans, located in what was be lieved an unsafe and unhealthy dis trict, is the commercial metropolis of the southwest. But Kaskaskia, which was set on a spot chosen from the boundless variety of the virgin west, is merely a memory. / /' The Wind Blew Tliein Away. There was an old woman who lived in a tub; Each morning she gave all her children a scrub; She scrubbed them and rubbed them so hard ev'ry day They all got so thin the wind blew them away! —Chicago Record. The Kacape of the Tnrtlea. L. T. Eckert of Dunstable township was given an exhibition of the man ner in which land turtles will flee from approaching danger, says the Lock Haven Democrat. Mr. Eckert has three turtles on his farm —one bearing the inscription "W. C. D., 1875," which letters and figures were cut on by a neighbor, W. C. Danley; another having the initials "W. S." on, which came from Mr. Eckert does not know where; and a third with his own initials, "L. T. E." and a cross mark. One day flames broke out in Mr. Eckert's clearing and swept over the entire field. After the flames burned awhile Mr. Eckert thought of his pets and went out to see what had be come of them. He was worried, fear ing that they had been burned to death. After a long search he went a short distance from the track covered by the flames and found a freshly dug hole. In it he found one of the tur tles down a considerable depth dig ging deeper, with more vigor than is usually seen in those slow-going tortoises. Mr. Eckert after walking around finally found the other two down along a small stream, both in the water, with only their heads sticking out. When Mr. Eckert appeared on the scene they pushed their heads a little farther out, as much as to say, "We're all right, go about your busi ness." The turtles evidently know when to get out of danger's way. The Potation I'onnjr, A curious old custom'.3 described in St. Nicholas by Margaretta L. Hlnchman. The schools of our coun try one hundred years ago, she says, would hardly be recognized as schools by the children of today. The school houses were small and one-roomed, frequently hexagonal, that is, six sided like a bee's honey-cell. At first there were no desks, rude benches be ing used instead, while great logs took the place of chairs. But the holi days came round as regularly then as they do now, and commencement day was no doubt looked forward to with as much delight and eagerness. Tfaere wero no "exercises," with dreadfully long speeches, but all was feasting and merry-making. A great picnic was given at the schoolhouses. On this grand occa sion the children, dressed in their "best bibs and tuckers," came early with their parents and families, and the ministers and authorities of the community were always present. Tho school-teacher presided over the foast, and paid for the food with pen nies that bad been brought to him during the whole year. It was the custom for each pupil to bring a penny, or some small sum, which enabled the teacher to furnish the treat. If he lived in a generous neighborhood, this gave him quite a little sum above the costs of the feast. This custom gave rise to the name "potation" or "drinking-penny." They had all the good things to eat and drink that one could think of. They had buns, jam-tarts, gooseberry pies, and cakes made in all shapes— dogs made of cake, birds made of cake, and gingerbread men, of course. Then, they had figs and dates, brought to the colonies in trading vessels, and ale and cider of their own j making. This old custom the colonists brought from England. There is a record of it in the statutes of Hartle bury, Worcestershire, "the seventh year of our Sovereign Lady Queen j Elizabeth:" "The said schoolmaster shall and may have, use, and take the profits of all such potations as are commonly ustd in schools, and such other gifts as shall be freely given them over and besides their wages, until their salary and stipend shall be aug mented." In some of the countries of Eng ; land this is still continued. T«y« at tli© I'arift Expo«if>>n. Throughout the summer every Thursday was children's day at the Paris Exposition, and then it was frequently transformed into a land ol little people. Schools and kindergar tens were closed for the day, which allowed the children to explore this vast realm of wonders and delights. The French exhibit displayed many marvels, and, really, clockwork won deTS can go no further. The German exhibit was not as large as the French but was no les3 interesting. Among the French toys was seen an acrobat balancing himself on a chair by ont hand while he lifted a second chair in the other. Clockwork birds sang ir cages and bathed themselves as na i turally as possible. A large case of dolls was arranger l . to represent a public garden with dolls riding on elephants and sitting in little carriages drawn by different animals, dolls climbing trees, am! mamma dolls having tea. A little girl doli, vho had fallen down on the hard gravel and hurt herself, hat wonderful tears running down her face. Close at hand was a gallant soldier offering a seat to the trim nuresmaid. There were squadrons of battle ships and torpedo boats, and locomo tives of every kind. There wore, too, regiments of indla rubber soldiers, which cannot be killed in battle. The model shops were a delight to the lit tle ones, particularly one representing a hairdresser's, with plenty of brushes and bottles filled with per fumed waters and oils. Close'at hand was a collection of old French toys which amused the chil dren two centuries ago. There were rough wooden dolls In tattered gar ments, which had been copied after the period to which they belonged. There was a great deal of small furni ture, beautifully made and finished, and in really good condition. The German toys were from Sonne berg and Nuremberg, and their characteristics were entirely different from the French. This exhibit pic tured a quaint old German town at Christmas trme, and the children were plump, rollicking little mortals, who had a solid faith in the power of j storks, angels and Santa Claus. In ! Sonneberg Santa Claus is driving a ■ reindeer sled, full of toys, through i the town, while in Nuremberg the \ old saint has a pack on his back and j is waiting at the door of a house wherein two children are lying in bed asleep. Another charming arrange ment was a model bridge over a stream full of magnetic ducks and fish, and In it a lot of little doll boys were bath ing and fishing and having the most delightful time possible. For the , little girls there were all sorts of | jolly housekeeping games, even to a . whole model kitchen of pots and pans I and jars and dishes without end. It j Is easy now to understand the j most, of the world's playthings are all labelled either "From Paris" or "Made i in Germany."—New York Tribun i. Tlie Proud Cow. There was once a cow who was j very proud. She had some reason to | be proud, perhaps, although she had 110 right; for none of us have any ! right, although we may have reason j This cow was the prettiest cow | among the herd. She was of a lovely j light brown color and of a slighter and better shape than the other cows Also her disposition was more ami i able than that of the rest, that is, it was until she grow proud. She gave twice as much milk as any one of the ; herd and the butter which the dairy- i maid got from it was celebrated for miles around. The mistress of that cow was very much pleased to exhibit her to any ' visitors. She was continually bring' ing her friends out to the barnyard to admire "My beautiful little Alderney.'' | The cow did not exactly know what j the name meant, but she knew it must be complimentary, for each set ol j visitors strove to outdo the last in praising her. So this cow bpgan to grow very : haughty and she put on many airs ; among her companions. Whether she was in the cow-yard or in the field, ! she selected the pleasantest spot for ; herself, the softest bedding and the choicest of the food. Sooner than create a dispute, the other cows gave way good naturedly and allowed hei •to have her own way. She would allow no one to precede her. Coming out of the cow-yard in the morning to pasture, or going back at night, she always insisted upon being the firs) one to enter or leave the gate, and ! the other cows were obliged to walk humbly behind. One night, by some accident, the other cows happened to arrive al home first, and when the proud cow got to the cow-house door, all the others had entered, and she was left to come in last. Much affronted at this humiliation, the cow stood at the door lowing and showing her angei in every way possible. She resisted every effort of the dairymaid, whe knew well what was the matter, tc drive her into the yard. "This is the third time she hai acted so." grumbled Rose, the dairy maid. "I have had to turn out every one of the cows so that she could enter first. Nothing else will suit her." Now It happened that this night the cow's mistress came down to show off her favorite, as usual, to a party of friends. Much astonished at the cow's actions, she stood watching. The cow ran back and forth around the house, kicked, tossed her head and made all the noise of which she was capable. "What Is tho matter?" the lady asked. "Why, it is dangerous to have such a creature." "Indeed it is, ma'am," cried Kose, flushed and indignant. Then she told of the cow's bad temper. "And ever since she has become so trou blesome, ma'am," added Kose, "we have not had half the milk she used to give. She may be a pretty enough creature to look at, but if looks are all, it's a plaster cow you'd better get, that will stand there, and make less trouble, ma'am." And the mistress quite agreed with her. "Since her usefulness is over," she said, "we cannot afford to keep her any longer for the sake of her beauty. Tomorrow morning I will ask the butcher what she will be worth as beei." So the cow and her pride were ended together.—Brooklyn Eagle. A IJvo.lv In the village of Kerschdorf, near Heidelberg, Germany, there-is a lively ninety-onc-ycar-old blacksmith and church warden, who recently climbed to the top of the church steeple and tied a new rope to the bell after the younger men in the village had re fused to risk their necks In the per formance of that task. The ordinary every-day life of moat of our women is a ceaseless treadmill of woft. How much harder the daily tasks become when some derangement of the female organs makes every movement painful and keeps the nervous system all unstrung ! One day she is wretched ana utterly miserable ; in a day or two she is better and laughs at her fears, thinking there is nothing much the matter after all; but before night the deadly backache reappears, the limbs tremble, the lips twitch —it seems as though all the imps of Satan were clutching her vitals ; she goes to pieces and is flat on her back. No woman ought to arrive at this terrible state of misery, because these symptoms are a sure forerunner of womb troubles. She must remember that Lydia E. Pink ham's Vegetable Compound is almost an infallible cure for all female ills, such as irregularity of ftpriods, which cause weak stomach, sick headache, etc., displacements and in flammation of the womb, or any of the multitudes of ill nesses which beset the female organism. Mrs. Gootlen vjrcta to Mrs. Pinkhzm when she | was In groat trouble. Her letter tells the result. "DEAR Mas. PINKHAII:—I am very grateful to you for your kindness and the interest you have taken in me, ana truly believe that your medicine* i and advice are worth more to a woman than all the | doctors in the world. My troubles began with inflam- I mation and hemorrhages from the kidneys, then inflammation, congestion and falling of the womb, yygPP and inflammation of the ovaries. I underwent local treatment every dav for some time; then, after nearly ajg tfffl two months, the doctor gave me permission togo SJw \r back to work. I went back, but in lew than a week fBSgSfl I was compelled to give up and goto bed. On break / ing down the second time, 1 decided to let doctors J and medicines alone and try your remedies. Before IhpJb the first bottle was gone I felt the effects of it. Three bottles of Lydia E. Plnkham's Vesretable Compound and a package of Sanative Wash did me more good than all tho doctors' treatments and J.omjULN. medicine. I have gained twelve pounds during the last two months and am better in every way. Thanking you for your kind advice and attention, I remain. Yours gratefully, •' MRS. E. J. GOODEN, Ackley, lowa." SDVB jfifc jfOfr fIPHAff A nil Owing to the fact that som* skeptical H B N ■ ■ W ■ MR So MM BK 9 D people have from time to time questioned 9I D N I 9 HI C|f WBl BJ the genuinenessof the testimonial liters M fl 9 n R 9 we are constanll y publishing, we have MM 9 Du 9 deposited with the National City Bank, of Lynn, Mass., $5,000, SI £9 El 9Hll H R "hith P to an y Person who will show that the above H R n mjj RJ S 11 Jp testimonial is not genuine, or was published before obtaining the H Mir Hir writer's special permission.—l«YDXA E. PINKHAM MEDICINE CO. I ■«—M I Mil ■■■!■ 111 I I MIIMII Servant In One Family For Years. I Tn those days of constant change anions household servants. It is rather . I remarkable to read of a Chicago dom- j estic who has lived with one family j j for fifty-four years. Mary Cuthbert | | entered the service of the Steel family 1 in IS 10. when she was but eighteen | years old. Her first position in the , family was that of nurse; then, when . the children grew up, she was ad- j vanced to cook, and later became ! housekeeper. At the recent home sci- 1 j enco contest In Chicago she won the ; prize for the period of longest service . in one family. I Florida, Cubit and t>«e South, Tlox ico and California. j The Sonthern Kailway, the great Trunk ! Line of the South, offers the most perfect ! service tor reaching the principal cities anil I resorts of the South. Southwest and the Pa j clflc Coast. Three through trains daily opcr | atlng perfect dining-car service,with through Pullman drawing-room sloeplng cars. New j York to New Orleans, Atlanta, Memphis, I Tampa, Jacksonville, Savannah, Aiken, Au- I gusta. A she vilie. Chattanooga. Nashville. I Pullman tourist sleeping car Washington to t-'an Francisco without change. January 14, I 1901. New York and Florida Limited resumes I service between New York and St. Augus tine. Finest train in the world, composed exclusively of composite dinitg, library, ob servation, compartment drawing room and sleeping oars, electric lighted, steam heated. Address New York Ticket Ufllces, 271 K'way. or Ale*. S. Thweatt, East. Pass. Agt., 1185 B'way. A soft answer may turn away wrath, but sometimes it comes hard. Tl»« Beit Prescription for Chill# and Fever 1* » bottl. of GnOVE'J TASTII.MII CHILL TOKTO. It 1» simply iron and quininein a tasteless form. No cur»— no pay. Pries Nevada is the most sparsely settled re gion within the United States. Mrs. Wlnslow's Soothing syrup tor olillilrtn teething, softens the gams, rednoea inflamma tion. allays pain, cures wind colic. 25c.a bottle i The Fire Department of Chicago has j ninety-eight steam lire engines. Eft. .11l Safest, surest cure for 111* B-KHH Qi.ll throat and luug • w troubles, l'cople praise Cough Syrup Refuse substitutes. Get Dr. Bull's Cough Svrup. Don't Stop Tobacco Suddenly! It injures nervous system to do so. Dion fillflfl 1h the only cure that lteally C'ureci DfluU'llUnU and notifies you when to stop. Sold wltli a «unr nntee that three boxen will care any ca««e. Dinn niton ls vegetable and harmless. It has DAuU"lfUlfU cured thousands, it will cure you. At all drmridßtß or by mall prepaid. IM*QO a box; a boxes, *2.50. Booklet Write EUREKA C'IIKxUU'AI, CO., La Crone, Wis. weak eresi use Thompson's EyoWator 1 of BEEF | <■ Made without regard to econ omy. We use the best beef, •S. get all the essence from it, and concentrate it to the uttermost. IS In an ounce of our extract •_ there is all the nutrition of many «C< pounds of beef. To get more J nuftiment to the ounce is im possible. Few extracts have cfi- as much. *■* cS• Our booklet, "How to Make Good "J# 2 Things to Eat," tells many ways to m. 9mr use heel extract. It gives recipes lor _S lunches and the chafing dish. Send tK* your address for it. || LIBBT, MCNEILL £• LIBBY I* Chicago Ap mbm IN CHILDREN ARE veritable demons STH H M 8 SHE "fd must bo romoved or serious results miTiW-"™ 34 ™ follow. The medicine which for 60 yeart bus lieltl tbe record for successfully ridding children of these pests Is Kr»j''«Verinifu|{e—mnde entirely from vegetable products, coutninliiK uo calomel. IT APTC IQ k TfIMIP 25 cts. at driiKUlsts, 11 All I U A'J A I Unlu. country stores or by mail. K. &S. Fuey, Baltimore, Md. To W. C. T. U. Worker? with unselfish devotion pourlny your morlest into the lnp of a irreat, helplul, many-sided prise of noble women, muil lor details old( ]( SITiJOO (IFFKK. THE DELINEATOR,* 7 to-rTwriSth St., New York. CANTASSEESS.S WANTED -or For aellintr our liurh tp\u»e Oriinui«*ntal and 1' rnft Trees, end Shrubbery. Keieren- es must accompany application. Business establishedlW. ! The M. H. Harm an Co. , Nurserymen, Geneva, N. \. nDftD CV NEW DISCOVERT; vfT.l mJ av I WJ ¥ qui ok relief and cur«» wort* c\Nk< BOOK of testimonials and 10 days' treatment Br. a. S. «UM'saoXl.l