AT BAY.
This is the end. then, of striving; this in what comes of It all
DaTkness and foes just behind one: before, an impassable wall
What does it matter how staunchly on? may have battled for try I
When with hia weapons all broken he sits by Die grave of hia youth!
What did it profit in paat yean that one did the beat that one knew
When in the gloom of the present Virtue herself seems untrue?
Why should one fight any longer when nothing remaina but defeat?
Surely such labor were useless, and idle the stirring of feet.
Ah! but the soul that i faithful knows it is well to have fought.
Knows it is good to have acted, whatever the doing has brought.
This ia the crown of the conflict, this the reward of the strife
Faith in one's self and one's motives, no matter how darkened the life.
Flesh mav ha bruised and defeated, but spirit is never disgraced
Spirit is' alwaya triumphant, whatever sharp pain it. has faced.
Here, at the end of my conflict, I counsel not yet with despair.
Though to all seeming my struggles are his who hut beateth the air.
Darkness and foea are about me, yet 1 stand with my back to the wall.
Facing whatever Fate aenda me, and facing Kate thua 1 ahall fall.
Oscar Fay Adams.
66
DIOCLES."
1
Ad Athenian Fable by Henry Slenkiewitz, Translated From the French.
Wly SIMEON s r it it n k v.
Divine sleep has brought peace to
ifettiens and a silence so profound that
Hip ear might catch the faint drawn
ut breath of the dreaming city. Hill,
Acropolis, and temple, the olive
groves and the dark cypresB' masses
e drenched In moonlight. The
fountains have ceased to play; the
Scythian watchmen are asleep at the
house doors. The city, the entire
countryside, is at rest.
Young Diodes alone keeps vigil
with the night. He has pressed his
forehead against the feet of Pallas
Athene where she rises, glorious, In
(fete gardens of Academus; he has
embraced her knees, crying, "Athena,
Athena, who formerly appeared to
men In visible form, hear me! Take
pHyJ Give ear to my prayer! "
He lifts his forehead from the base
of the cold marble and raises his eyes
to the face of the virgin, which is il
lumined by a Bingle beam. Only the
soence answers him, and even the
light breeze which blows from the
sea at this hour of the night dies
away. Among the trees not a leaf
stiff.
The heart of the young roan is
pbssesscd with an infinite sadness
aid from his eyes, swollen with much
tffeeplng, tears trace a way down his
beautiful face. He continues his sup
plication: "You.and you .alone, I adore and
toag to celebrate above all other di
trtnlties you my protectress. But
ybu, too, have lighted the fires of de
sire which consume me, and given
me over to torture. Extinguish the
flame, Oh Divinity, or appease ltf
Opant me to know the Highest Truth.
te Truth of Truths, the Soul of all
(Sings, that I may offer up life and
Iw delights as a sacrifice before her!
Bor her sake I will cast off riches,
renounce youth, beauty, love, felicity.
skid even that glory which mortals
MMd as the highest good and the
greatest gift in the bestowal of the
gads."
Once more he laid his head against
tbo marble and the prayer rose from
Its soul as perfumed clouds mount
upward from holy censers. His en
tire being became passionate en
treaty. Ho lost all consciousness of
space or time or earthly clrcum
stance. Swimming in estacy his soul
harbored but one aspiration, but e
single thought: that to so passionate
an invocation a reply must surely ,
cbme.
And truly enough the response
came. The slender branches of the
olive trees began to stir, and the
orpress trees bent their heads, as
though the night wind had sprung
into life again. Little by little, the
rustling ot the olive branches and
die grating noise of cypress needles
Mended to form a human voice which
swelled up, filling the air, Ailing the
garden, as if a multitude, from all
aides, and with one accord were
snouting, "Diodes! Diodes!"
Snatched from the depths ot
eestasy the young man shivered, as
it with cold. Thinking that his com
panions were seeking him, he looked
around.
"Who calls?" he demanded.
A band ot marble weighed down
Ms shoulder. "You have summoned
me." spoke the goddess. "Your
prayer has been heard. Behold me."
A divine horror seized upon Dlo
des. His hair rose in fear as he fell
npon hia knees. For terror and de
light he could only repeat, "You are
near me, you, tho Incomprehensible,
(me Awful, the Inexpressible One!"
The goddess, commanding him to
frse, continued: "You would know
tfte Highost, tho Only Truth, which
ft the Soul of the Universe and the
substance of all things. But I tell
you that hitherto none of the seed
Of Deucalion has seen her without
the veils that hide her and shall hide
her eternally from human eyes. I
tear you may pay dearly for your
temerity, but since you have adjured
me at the price of life, I am ready to
aid you, It for the sake of this Truth,
you will renounce riches, honors
love, and even that glory which, as
you have said, Is the highest gift of
the Gods."
"I renounce the whole world and
the very light of the sun," cried Dio
des, quite beside himself.
The olive trees and cyprosses stood
with bowed head, like nervltors, be
fore Jove's omnipotent daughter, as
he pondered over the youth's vow.
"And you, too, shall not see her
all at once. Every year, on a night
like this, I will bring her Into your
presence, and on each occasion you
must tear off one of her veils and
cast It behind you. My immortal
power shall ward off death from you
till you have withdrawn the last veil.
Do you agree to the conditions, Dio
des?" "This day and unto eternity thy
Will be done, Oh Lady of Knowledge,"
replied the youth.
As he spoke the goddess tore her
self free from her marble bonds,
seized Diodes In her arms, and!
launching Into flight, sped through
the dlvluo ether like one ot the stars
Which on summer nights furrow the
Celestial vault above tho sleeping
'Archipelago. Cleaving the air as
rapid as thought, thy cameto an
unknown' land and a mountain that
attained the sky, loftier than Olym
pus or Ida, loftier than Pellon and
Ossa. On its bald summit Diodes
perceived the vague outlines ot a
female form shrouded In numerous
tightly drawn veils. A mystic efful
gence, different from any terrestrial
light, emanated from her, feebly.
"Behold Truth," said Athena. "Her
rays, you see. Intercepted by many
wrappings, pierce through neverthe
less and give light. Their feeble
radiance, gathered, on earth by the
eyeball of the philosopher, is all that
saves men from stumbling about
blindly in the gloom of perpetual
night, like those who dwell in the
laud of the Cimmerians."
"CeleBtlal guide," asked Diodes,
"when I shall have torn off the first
veil will not Truth appear dazzling to
my eyes?"
"Tear it off," said the goddess.
He caught at the border ot the
shroud and pulled it away sharply.
The light burst forth with increased
intensity. Half blinded. Diodes failed
to perceive that the veil as it dropped
from his hands had changed into a
white swan which winged Its way into
the distant twilight. For a long
time he remained in the presence of
Truth, ravished, raised out ot life,
transported Into supertcrrestrlal
spaces, emancipated from mortal
thoughts, quaffing of unexperienced
existence, of an unknown force, tast
ing the delights of inward peace.
"Oh, Luminous One," he breathed.
Oh, Eternal One! Oh, Soul of the
Universe! "
: Modes kept the vow he had made
before the goddess. People knew
that he was rich and as he strolled
with his companions in the gardens
of AcademuB, or in the road leading
to the Acropolis, or in tho olive
groves that lie between the city and
the port, they did not hesitate to ex
press their astonishment and dissat
isfaction. "Come now, Diodes, your father
has amassed a vast fortune ot which
you have complete enjoyment. What
keepB you from bringing off a mag
nificent feast like those our godlike
Alctblades has tendered to the youth
of Athens? What makes you despise
the pleasures of the banquet table,
the dance, and the sweet sound of the
phorminx and the clthara? Have
you cast your lot with the Cynics that
you refuse to care for your mansion
or adorn your chambers in a manner
suitable to your work? Remember
that wealth is a gift of tho gods which
one has not the right to reject." But
Diodes only replied with a question:
Tell me, with all the treasures of
the Persian King, may one purchase
truth?"
And so he continued to live !n pov
erty, while men began to say that
some day he would Burpnss in wisdom
the divine Plato, and honored him
accordingly. In the meanwhile on
another night of moonlight, u second
veil escaped from his hands and flew
off Into the darkness in the form of
swan, while more brilliant than
ever the Truth of Truths shone upon
him.
Diodes was a very charming youth,
and the greatest men of Athens, phil
osophers, rhetors and poets, sued for
his friendship, hoping through the
contemplation of his beauty to gain
insight into the beauty of the Eternal
Idea; but he rejected their gifts and
their offers of friendship. The young
girls who gather at the fountains in
the Stoa and the Ceramlcus wrapped
him In their tresses and enveloped
him in the circle of their dance. Tho
wondrously beautiful Companions,
like so many nymphs, cast at his
feet branches of fennol dedicated to
Adonis, or whispered into his ear,
over the drooping chalices of lillos,
words as gentle and Insinuating as
the tones of the Arcadian flute.
But all In vain.
Like clouds shredded by Thraciau
mountain peaks which blustering
BoreaB drives each winter over Ath
ens out to the open sea, the years
passed over Diodes. He attained ma
turity. And though he rarely min
gled In the disputes ot the philoso
phers ir the debates of the public
assembly, his reputation tor elo
quence and wisdom grow. More than
once his fellow-citizens proffered him
tho highest political offices. Not only
irieuas, dui mere acquaintances,
would beseoch him to seize tho helm
of State and guide the ship out of
the breakers and quicksands into
calm waters, but he only saw tho so
cial life, steeped In corruption, love
of country stifled by personal hatreds
and strife of parties, and his own ad
monitions falling like seed in sterile
ground. The day finally came wfyen
the Athenians called upon him to
place himself at their head. He re
plied: "Men of Athens, you have no
enemies but yourselves. As a man,
my tears flow for you; but were I a
Cod, I could not. govern you." War
having broken out, Diodes went to
the front like every one else and re
turned covered with wounds. But
when the crown of valor were dis
tributed on the Acropolis he did not
march with the procession ot vet
erans und he would not conseut to
have his name engraved on the tablet
of oronzo suspended as a memorial In
the temple.
Whbn old ago eamo Diodes built
himself a hut out of branches of wll- I
low near the quarrlos of Pentellcus.
He left the city and lived far from
men. Athenians are not slow at for
getting, and on the occasion when he
came to market to purchase bread
and olives his friends did not recog
nize him.
Several Olympiads rolled by. His
hair had turned white, his form was
bent to the ground, his eyes were
sunk deep In their sockets. Time
had robbed him of his strength. But
one hope upheld him, nevertheless,
the hope that before leaving the light
of the sun he might see Supreme
Truth, the eternal mother of all uni
versal fad. And he oven allowed
himself to hope that if, after the final
revelation, Atropos should refrain
from cutlng the thread of his years,
he would return to the city brlnglig
men a greater gift than they had re
ceived at the hands ot Prometheus.
It came at length, the ultimate
mystic night, when the goddess once
more wrapped him in her arms and
brought him to the heaven-piercing
mountains, face to face with Truth.
"Behold, she said, "what glory!
What splendor! But before you ex.
tend your hand for the last time,
listen to me. The veils which, yeai
after year, through so many years,
have fallen from your hands and es
caped In the form of swans, wore
your Illusions. Will you spare the
last one? Or docs fear cramp your
heart? Retreat before It Is too late.
From theso heights I will carry you
back to your native land, whero you
may end your days like other men."
"To this single moment my whole
life has been consecrated," cried Dio
des, and with beating heart he ap
proached the radiant form whose
glory dazzled him. With trembling
hands he seized the last veil, tore It
oft, and cast It behind him. In the
very same Instant the old mail's eyes
were as If struck with a thunderbolt,
and he was plunged Into darkness,
compared with which the densest
night of Hades were brilliant day
light. In the midst ot it the voice
of Diodes, heavy with Inexpressible
terror and Infinite grief, was heard,
calling: "Athena! Oh, Athena!
There Is nothing behind the veil, and
I cannot even see you."
To this cry ot despair the goddess
responded, severely: "The full light
has. blinded you, and your last Illu
sion the belief that a mortal might
see Truth unveiled has flown."
Then sllonce fell.
Diodes sobbed: "Those who trust
you, you over deceive. Me, too, you
have betrayed, cruel goddess ot lies.
But since I nevermore can hope to
see Truth Supreme, send me at least
the death which liberates."
There wag more than human dolor
in his words, and Athena was moved.
She laid her hand on the unhappy
head and said gently: "I will send
It, Diodes, and with It a final hope.
When death shall have brought you
peace, you shall see that Light which
blinded your eyes when you were
alive."
LONDON'S OUTCASTS.
With the Men Who Have Touched
Bottom in the Great City 1 1 t 1 1 s 1 1 1 1
FHIIOSOI'HY OF THE KMII.K.
VAAAVVAAAAA
I spent two nights last week with
the homeless and the outcast, one on
the Embankment and the other In a
County Council lodging house.
At Charing Cross and Waterloo
there were 1100 men snatching eag
erly chunks of bread and the bowls
of boup which the army officers kind
ly distributed. The police consta
bles were gentle and considerate, but
It was a sad sight to see hungry men
marshalled to receive a charity. To
understand them adequately and
truly I ought to have been a tramp
side by side with my fellow bank
rupts, and not a visitor looking on
from without.
Yet a number of men talked free
ly; one had tramped from Nowcas
tie expecting to nnd In London a
good job and a golden wage. In
stead he fonnd a piece of bread and
a sip of soup on the Embankment
Another had a good, strong, swarthy
face, and I hazarded the remark that
he was not a Londoner and discov
ered that he was an Australian. Un
fortunately ho Is not tho only Colon
ial who has touched bottom in Lon
don.
uver twenty-ovo per cent, were
young men, many of them mere lads;
and the police officers confirmed the
opinion of the social expertB who
maintain it Is not misfortune that
brings this class to the doss house
and the Embankment. There was
one face knotty as a stunted oak on
some bleak hillside, which attracted
me by Its black despair. Not only
did he Ruilenly refuse to reply, but
snappishly bade his comrades not to
answer our questions. He was per
fectly right, and I immediately recog
nlzed the higher voice, the voice of
humanity, and maybe the voice of
Ood, and at once desisted from feed
ing a curiosity, howsoever well mean
ing and Innocent, upon the wretched
ness of my fellow men.
One of the Blomsbury Sisters who
were two men sitting on each side of
lienoh, pictures of detection and
dospalr. It was wben I sat down In
silence between these two men and
endeavored to look out at the world
through their eyes that I knew that
I had touched the ninth circle of our
social Inferno, and felt strongly that
ir there had been no Incarnation
there ought to have been one.
There were a few worklngmen, one
of them toying with his spade, but
most of tho artisans who live here
are said to be those whose wives are
separated, whose homes are broken.
No genuine man In work stops here,
if he is in receipt of a decent wage.
Some are shfferlng from physical
disabilities and some are old, "the
too old at fifty" rlass. eking out a
sordid existence by a a little pension
and an odd job. There were a few
men who had the cut of journalists,
and one lad of nineteen, who had
been staying there for six months,
was, I am almost sure, a student
scorning delights' and living labori
ous days, contenting himself with the
bare necessities of existence In order
to get through a curriculum or obtain
a degree.
There waB the same proportion of
young lads here as on the Embank
ment. It is sad, in all conscience,
to see a brother on the ground; but
it comes nigh to an unspeakable trag
edy to see men touching the bottom
ledge before they are twenty-flve,
and old In misfortune while only
young in years.
I am haunted by the figure of a
lad holding a conversation with a
villainous looking senior on tho
hearth side In front of a blazing fire.
It was the face of a boy who knew
too much and had lived too rashly.
The place had an air of comfort,
but It utterly lacked hope. Literally
tho men are without Ood and with
out hope In the world. For most of
them there Is nothing better and
accompanied me called our attention I there can be nothing worse. Suffl-
The night grew pale and dawn rose
cold and melaucholy gray. Thin lines
of cloud appeared In the sky, and
heavy snowflakes began to fall, cover
ing the mortal remains of Diodes.
New York Evening Post.
Fable of Two Fleas.
Two fleas were once sitting on a
dog who was wandering about the
streets, when one of them said:
"Brother, what a degraded, half
starved lot is ours! Here we have
chosen to unite ourselves to a com
mon street cur who wanders from al
ley to alley. We see nothing but the
most dismal sights. We hear no ele
vating conversation . or delightful
small talk. Surely there ought to be
something better in store for us than
this."
"You are right," said tho second
flea. "Look, my brother; here is a
carriage approaching. It is evident
ly some high-born lady bent on a
charitable enterprise. In her lap sits
such a beautiful little terrier. Let
us, therefore, make an effort to bet
ter ourselves."
"Splendid!" said the first flea.
"We will live amid the most luxur
ious surroundings. We will feed on
the fat of the land. Wo will sleep at
night in a clean bed."
And so In a few bold but success
ful jumps as the carriage stopped
they both landed simultaneously on
the back of the terrier. In a short
time they wore driven to their new
home.
So delighted were they with their
new life that the two fleas could
hardly contain themselves for Joy.
Their manifestations, however,
were so unusual that the terrier
frantically scratched himself, which
attracted the attention of his mis
tress, who immediately sent for a
physician, who at ouce gave the dog
such a radical treatment that the two
fleas were slowly drowned In a horri
ble fluid that came like a flood and
surprised them before thoy were able
to get away.
"Alas! brother," said the first
flea, as he gave a dying gasp, "why
could we not have been satisfied with
our humble lot?"
Moral: Some folks never know
when to let well enough alone. --Llfo.
Horrors ot Horrors!
People have curious ideas as to
the treatment patients receive In asy
lums. A nurse who was on sitting
room duty recently heard a newcom
er asking people who had been visit
ors for some time as to the treat
ment of patients.
"Oh," was one reply, "thoy treats
the poor things cruel here. They
gives 'em a bath every week."
American Home Monthly.
i hi Difference.
You may think, In looklug out
upon the world, that the great differ-
enco between people Is that some
have many things to enjoy and oth
ers very few; when you know them
better you will find that a greater
difference is that some have great
power to enjoy and others very lit'
Rhondda Williams.
In thirty States there It a law em
powering a man to will away his uu
boru child.
to an old man who had fainted at
one end of the long, sad line. He
lay full length on the steps of Water
loo Bridge, his head pillowed on a
cruel ledge of stone. There was re
finement In hlB face, and his white
beard was neatly trimmed. He was,
we learned, a graduate of Cambridge,
and had once been sent to the Unl
veslty as the pride and the hope of a
cultured homo. But forty years
have passed since then, and for the
past two nights he has been without
sleep and food, and has fallen on the
Inhospitable stones without strength
to care to open his eyes any more.
The sister speaks to him. He opens
his eyes with languid Indifference,
but when he Bees a kind, womanly,
Christlike face bonding over him,
may be he mistakes it for one ot the
faces ot long ago; anyhow he is
aroused, and comes back to tell his
sorrowful tale.
The case of these 1100 men sug
gests a rich study In contrasts. By
our side 1b a dark river heaving Its
bosom like a living thing, with a
light reflected here and there like a
sinister gleam of a serpent's eye.
Close at hand is the Hotel Cecil,
where rich men fare sumptuously
every night, utterly regardless of
LazariiB on the Embankment. Low
er down in Scotland Yard, where mil
lions are spent in tracking criminals,
but not a penny In saving them. Be
yond that the War Office, red with
gore and black with the waste of
money onough to solve every social
problem that troubles our land. Fur
ther still is the House of Commons,
to which some of us look In great
hope, but whose existence has been
completely erased from tho horizon
of the men of the Embankment
The one bright spot of hope is the
self-sacrifice of the Salvationists. For
the soup is handed round by volun
tary workers, worklngmen who have
'come all the way from Bermondsey
and give their night's rest and their
klt.d labor in order to feed the hun
gry und relieve the hapless. They,
too, were once in the gutter, but they
saw something, and that vision is the
Becret of their sacrifice. One of them
told me bow he had become a cynic
and a "moucher." He met a
clergyman when he was famishing
for food, who, instead of a loaf, gave
him a tract "Thou sbalt not live by
bread alone." He cursed the clergy
from that hour, and in the light of
his experience his cursing was as holy
as a paternostre. Not long after
ward he stood outside a ring of open
air temperance workers he signed the
pledge, obtained a shilling, and be
camo a cadger. But be lias now been
on his feet for fifteen years and is
doing magnificent work. If all the
Christians in London had the devo
tlou and the sacrifice of these hum
ble Salvationists the New Jerusalem
would ere now have come down on
Holborn and the Strand "prepared aB
a bride adorned for her husband."
The second night I dispensed with
tie and collar and overcoat and cuffs.
and greatly enjoyed my emancipa
tion, as I dived down Into one of the
narrow streets of central London und
asked a bewildered and suspecting
constable for a doss house. I went
'In and "took my kip," and had bed
No. 8S allotted to me. 1 had left all
the necessaries ot life behind except
a few pennies and a packet of "tabs."
My first task was to get a light,
which a gruff neighbor kindly gave
ine by holding the end of his pipe
close to my face. My second difficul
ty was to get food, fur unfortunately
the bar was closed. I told my plight
to a little red fared man, und In tell
ing it I am afraid I stuttered rather
badly. He replied: "Mate, I'll tell
you what I'll do. I have got some
stuff in my locker; I'll sell you a
ha'porth ot milk, and there Is plenty
J of boiling wuter."
1 expected lit in 10 be a long way
below redemption point, but was
touced by another Instance ot beauti
ful kindliness in the simple annals
of the poor.
Tho reading room suggested a fair
worklngmen's institute; some ad
dresseed envelopes, two men dis
cussed tbe parsons, four others were
i talking about Evelyn Nesbit, a tew
read, aud almost all smoked. There
clent for the day is the evil thereof.
It Is embarrassing to think of the
morrow. There Is the comfort that
you are burled In Central London.
You are lost to friends and acquaint
ances. Nobody knows and nobody
cares. There Is the lodging house
for to-day and the workhouse or th?
Thames for to-morrow.
An Oxford graduate who has
touched tho depths and found his
feet in our men's meeting at Blooms
bury says that the words of Kipling
came to him again and again as he
has tramped the corridors of the doss
house or the streets ot the city:
We have done with hope and honor; we
are loat to love and truth ;
We are dropping down the ladder rung by
rung.
Gentleman rankers out on the spree,
' Damned from here to Eternity,
God have mercy on auch as we, '
Bah, Yah, Bah!
But it Is something to have given
them shelter and comfort; and here,
as in the case ot the trams, and
slums and parks, the London County
Council has been Inspired by a com
passion and humanity which is rare
In ecclesiastical assemblies, leave alone
large public bodies. By providing
homes that are clean, and cheap, and
wholesome they have fed tho hungry,
clothed tho naked and taken In the
homeless. But why cast the women
Into tbe outermost darkness?
, For on Wednesday night there
were Sisters, too, on the Embank
ment. My wife spoke to a number
of broken down women all over fifty.
These are the despair of every social
worker In the heart ot London. The
men we can send to the Council lodg
ing houses, but for the women, there
Is nowhere!
Oh, it is pitiful.
Near a whole- city full,
Home they have none.
London Dally News.
! Make Your Advertising Attractive.
George G. Sherwood, of the Blairs
town (Iowa) Record, is a newspaper
man of observing habit, and in con
sequence has original and decided
opinions upon a wide variety of sub
jects. In expressing his views of
newspaper management he writes:
"The same as all other business In
stitutions, the newspaper, to be suc
cessful, must have each department
.nder systematic management, but
the advertising columns are the as
sets the vital point.
"The average country editor does
everything from swiping the press to
writing copy, and when business
slacks up, he slacks up with It In
stead ot going to BUI Jones, whose
'ad' hasn't changed for two or three,
or possible eight or ten, weeks aud
getting something live for the space.
There 1b the point. Advertising mat
ter must be attractive. And to make
it attractive, the 'ad' inuBt be well
written, well set, and changed overy
week. The people won't read an 'ad'
twice any more than they will an
obituary or a half-column write-up
of a church sociable. They won't
read uny farther than the first lino
In the second round. Half your
patrons do not take much stock In
advertising, but with persists 'it push
lug and your personal attention
given to the attractiveness of their
space, the result Is bound to bring
about the realization of the value ot
advertising, If systematically worked
to tho eud. Present the real points
to your advertisers, and present them
often, and your 'ad' spaco will not be
vacant, your health will be better,
and you can lock your door on the
kid with the dreaded sight draft."
"I'm Going to Sleep."
In making public tributes to the
late Thomas Bailey Aldrlch from well
known writers, Talbot B. Aldrlch,
son of the poet, told how the famous
author approached death, with his
mind filled with poetical thoughts.
Mr. Aldrlch said:
"My father died a poet. Only a
little while before the end he said: 'I
regard death am nothing but the pass
ing of the shadow of the flower.'
"His last words as he passed away,
holding our hands, were:
" 'In spite of all I am going to
sleep; put out the lights." Boston
Dispatch to the New York American.
Habit Formed by tlir Asaodallon of
Agreeable Impressions.
Smiling has been studied from a
physical standpoint by George Du
mas, a French physiologist, and hie
conclusions on why we smile are pub
lished in the Literary Digest, trans
lated and condensed from the Revue
SclenGflque. M. Dumas produced ar
tificial smiles by applying an electric
current to the nerves under the lobe
of the ear.
"The muscles concerned In smiling
were made to contract, and the op
posing muscles remained quiescent,
but the action of the members of the
smlllng-groiip was unequal, so that
most of the 'electric smiles' that the
experimenter obtained Beeraed to In
dicate grief rather than joy, particu
larly since the contraction around the
eye exceeded that around the mouth.
Nevertheless, he considers the result
a triumph for his theory, and exhibits
with pride a photograph of a 'unilat
eral smile' caused by electric excita
tion of only one side of the face."
He says a smile may appear with
out any psychologic excitation and In
Itself haB no expressive value. "And
man," he says, "has formed the habit
of associating the muscular sensa
tions and the sight of these move
ments with an agreeable Impression,
so that he regards them ns a sign ex
pressive of this state of pleasure. To
manifest It he has formed, by asso
ciation, the habit of smiling and of
considering the smile of others as an
evidence of their satisfaction.
We have learned to smile In different
ways to Indicate irony, indulgence,
etc., and the accentuation of the I
movements of different muBdes has
assumed the same value as a shrug
of the shoulders, the raising of tho
head or the pronunciation of certain
syllables or words. It is thus that
psychologic progress has made of the
smile a keyboard on which we play
with more or less skill.
"The Oriental, especially the Jap
anese, always smiles out of polite
ness, even when he Is sad, because It
Is a social fault to sadden a stranger.
He has reached the maximum of self
mastery and, in a sense, a superior
state of psychologic progress and of
civilization.
M. Dumas says animals do not
smile with their faces because their
facial muscles are not, as In man, the
most mobile. Those of bis tail are a
dog's most mobile muscles, therefore
'he smiles' by moving his tail, and
this movement has a tendency, even
In his case, to become a real gesture.
Cats also Bmlle with the tall, and per
haps also birds; the electlle muscles
of the feathers and tall are, with the
magpie, for Instance, real smiling
muBdes."
The speed of a wild duck Is about
ninety miles an hour.
The oldest banknote Is In the Ast
atic Museum of St. Petersburg. Ik
was Issued by the Chinese Govern
ment and dates from the year t
B. C.
In Germany they fined a man throw
marks for Bneezlng five times while
crossing the street, and in Tennessee
a man has been fined $20 for snoring
In church.
What Is declared to be a record
landing of dogfish for any fishing
port In England took place at Ply
mouth recently, when lid tons of
these fish were brought in.
America last year produced nearly
three billion bushels of corn. Dis
tributed equally, that would give
about thirty-seven bushels to every
Inhabitant of the United States.
Hove a Fire Muy Start.
The account of the way a fire
started, as printed by the New York
Post, shows that many mysterious
fires which are generally supposed
to be of Incendiary origin may very
easily have been caused by an acci
dent. No one can be too careful
about fires, mutches, etc.
The ease with which a fire may be
started and the apparently inexplic
able cause which may produce one
are both emphasized by a happening
In an up-town house last week. The
mistress of the house was seated in
the extension parlor in the afternoon
nlone and perfectly quiet, when with
out warning a hanging bookshelf
broke from its fastenings and slipped
to the floor. On Its way it struck a
small table standing beneath it and
knocked over a box of matches, ignit
ing two or three of them. These flew
off, one touching the light gauze
scarf which had bung from the table,
which fell blazing against tbe lace
curtain near by. The frightened
screams of the mistress brought a
servant, and It took energetic meas
ures on the part of the two women
to extinguish the rapidly spreading
Are. Had the room been untenanted,
as it had been all the morning and
would have been again fifteen min
utes later, it would have been a case
of fire department succor to have
saved the house.
Lake Balaton.
Few who are not specially fond of
geography could tell where this in
teresting European lake is situated.
It has recently been tho subject of
special investigation by the Hunga
rian Geographical Society. It lies Id
the great plain of Hungary at an al
titude of 343 feet, and has an area of
about 230 Bquare miles. Watering
places have grown up at the mineral
springs on Its shores. The ethnology
of the region about the lake is par
ticularly Interesting. Some of the In
habitants near its banks dwell In
caves dug in the hillsides. Many of
the caves, now abandoned, are high
up on the cliffs, and were made. Dr.
Janko says, before denudation had
cut back the ground, leaving the ends
of the old excavations "like hanging
tunnels of the face of the cliff." Tools
of the stone age and pottery and Im
plements of the bronze age are found
In the neighborhood. Flshing'in the
lake constitutes an important indus
try, and is conducted in Interesting
and peculiar ways. Youth's Companion.
Tho latest estimates place tho
wealth of this country at $110,000,
000,000. The United States could
pay off the public debt of every na
tion and still be richer than any coun
try in the world.
There is an anti-opium society In
the Malayan Kuala Lumjur which
claims to have cured 14,000 victim
In a few weeks with a plant which
serves as a specific antidote. It
grows wild In Selangor and there Is a
great demand for It. The Malayan
movement against opium Is said to
be spreading Hire a Welsh revival.
Glass Broken by the Voice.
It Is scarcely credible, but it is a
fact that a glass can be broken by
the voice. If you strike a thin wine
glass wbil you hold it by the stem
it will emit a certain note in most
cases a pretty deep one. On
lifting the glass rapidly to your
mouth and shouting Into it the same
note as loudly as possible, the vibra
tion of the glass -being thereby ex
tended, it will be shivered Into frag
ments. This used to be a favorite
experiment ot Lablanche, the re
nowned singer, who would thus
break, one aftor the other,, as many
glasses as were banded to him.
''hlladelphla Ledger.
Our Army.
The United States regular army,
which is regarded as the basis or skel
eton of a much larger arnsy in time
ot war, is probably both as to officers
and men the host physically, the most
tnttlllgent, the most highly trained
and the most perfectly equipped of
any army In the world. London
Spectator.
A characteristic illustration of tho
habit of Uie Japanese of following tho
professions of their fathers was re
cently afforded by an advertisement
in a Japanese newspaper. A famous
dancing master announced a religious
celebration of the 1000th anniver
sary of the death of his ancestor, who
had been the first In his family to
teach.
What Is described as the largest
pipe In the world Is valued at $40,
000, and Is counted as one of tho
most remarkable pieces of carving in
existence. The pipe is made of one
solid piece of meerschaum, and repre
sents the landing of Columbus.
There are twenty-four figures in tho
scene, each one four Inches high.
All of the furniture and fixtures In
the office o4 Francis E. Leupp, Com
missioner ot Indian Affairs, wero
made by Indians. His desks, tables,
portieres and bric-a-brac came from
various tribes of rod men, and Mr.
Leupp knows the makers of many of
the articles. His home in Washing
ton abounds in fine specimens of In
dian handiwork.
TEACHING THE INFANT.
The Mission of the Toy in Education
Admitted by Science.
Toy making seems to have reached
about as near the zenith of Its possi
bilities as have any of the practical
arts.
To-day, as much as ever In the evo
lution of the toy, the thing desired In
to hold childish attentions largely
through the stimulation of the imag
ination. The first toy of the aboriginal baby
doubtless was something that caught
the infant eye and which rattled ac
ceptably to the Infant ear. Aftor
6000 years there have been few Im
provements in principle and form ot
the toy attracting the Infant.
In some of the lower types of hu
manity there is a marked precocity,
in the lutant and small child.
But this precocity in the youth far
down the scale has had its influences
upon the imaginations and inventive
ness of the lower orders of men and
women. The same spirit, and Incen
tive that have come right up with
man to the present when the perfec
tion ot a toy that in miniature will
do all that the practical, useful ma
chine accomplishes for the adult may
involve a higher inventive and con
structive ability.
In all times tbe ono nppoallng
quality in the toy, after its possessor
has reached an observing age, is that
it enables tho little one to play tho
grown up. Before a small bit of hu
manity can desire to play at soma
real activity in the life of bis parents,
his imagination will have to be cum
ulated; and once stimulated to tho
thought, there are evidences that a
too nearly perfect mechanical device
to that end Is robbing tho youngster
of some of the most pleasurable pos
sibilities In the game of make-be Hero.
Thirty years ago, when a dally
newspaper sold universally for flvo
cents, a doll that cost $1 was regard
ed as worthy ot a society note, to
day with the dally paper selling for
one or two cents, a doll that costs
$15 or $20 is commonplace In tho
larger cities, says the Chicago Tri
bune. It is to be doubted If tho active In
fluences of the Juveniles have been
exerted widely toward this elabora
tion of the toy. Rather It hKs bean
tbe Influence of tho Inventive older
person who has anticipated a market
for tbe more intricate, larger and
more costly production. In doing so
be has uppealod to tho aCult buyer
who, having passed hia lranginstlvo
stage of exlstenco, is almost univer
sally likely to be attracted to tbe ma
terial accomplishments of tbe man
who makes toys tor children after a
man's own ideas of wbt children
should covet and conserve.
The bost end to He served by tho
toy will not be reached until in ono
way or another tbe toy U relegated
to that first gseat end ot stimulating
a healthy imagination in tho child.
Why Kings Iie Awake.
A London correspondent says King
Pdward eats a square ; l just be-
fore retiring. This closely resemble
u dew to the origin ot (ho ssylog,
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a
crown." Louisville Courlor-JoureaX