¥
Gi a. Rida
RRA
A Fascinating Story of
Mystery and Love.
V.
ANIMULA.
The three months succeeding Simon's
catastrophe I devoted night and day to
my diamond lens. 1 had constructed a
vast galvanic battery, composed of near-
ly two thousand pairs of plates, —a
higher power F dared not use, lest the
diamond should be calcined. .. By means
of this enormous engine I was enabled
to send a powerful current of electricity
continually through my great diamond.
which it seemed to me gained in lustre
i SE . = 1
{ I say “human,” I mean it possessed the
| outlines of humanity,—but there the
{ analogy ends. Its adorable beauty lifted
| it illimitable heights beyond the loveliest
daughter of Adam.
I cannot, I dare not, attempt to in-
ventory the charms of this divine rev-
| elation of perfect beauty. Those eyes
| of mystic violet, dewy and
{ evade my words.
hair following her glorious head in a
golden wake, like the track sown in
heaven by a falling star, seems to quench
my most burning phrases with its splen-
dors. If all the bees of Hybla nestled
upon my lips, they would still sing but
hoarsely the f
harmonies. of
outline that enclosed her form.
wondrous
She swept out from between the rain-
bow-curtains of the cloud-trees into the
broad sea of light that lay beyond.
every day. At the expiration of a Her motions were those of some grace-
month 1 commenced the grinding and | ful Naiad, cleaving, by a mere effort of
polishing of the lens, a work of intense | her will, the clear, unruffled waters that
toil and exquisite delicacy. The great
density of the stone, and the care re-
quired to be taken with the curvatures
of the surface of the lens, rendered the
the labor the severest and most harass-
ing that I had yet undergone.
At last the eventful moment came;
the lens was completed. 1 stood trem-
bling on the threshold of new worlds.
I had the realiztion of Alexander's fa-
mous wish before me. The lens lay on
the table, ready to be placed upon its
platform. My hand fairly shook as I
enveloped a drop of water with a thin
coating of oil of turpentine. prepara-
tory to its examination-—a process ne-
cessary in order to prevent the rapid
evaporation of the water. I now placed
the drop on a thin slip of glass under
the lens, and throwing upon it, by the
combined aid of a prism and a mirror,
a powerful stream of light, I approached
my eye to the minute hole drilled
through the axis of the lens. For an
instant I saw nothing save what seemed
to be an illuminated chaos, a vast lumin-
ous abyss. A pure white light, cloudless
and serene, and seemingly limitless as
space itself, was my first impression.
Gently, and with the greatest care, I de-
pressed the lens a few hairs’ breadths.
The wondrous illumination still contin-
ued, but as the lens approached the ob-
ject, a scene of indescribable beauty
was unfolded to my view.
I seemed to gaze upon a vast space,
the limits of which extended far be-
vond my vision. An atmosphere of mag-
ical iuminousness permeated the entire
fold of view. I was amazed to see no
trace of animalculous life. Not a living
thing, apparently, inhabited that dazzling
expanse. I comprehended instantly,
that, by the wondrous power of my lens,
I had penetrated beyond the grosser
particles of aqueous matter, beyond the
to the original gaseous globule, into
whose luminous interior I was gazing,
as into an almost boundless dome filled
with a supernatural radiance.
It was, however no brilliant void into
which I looked. On every side I be-
held beautiful’ inorganic forms, of un-
known texture, and colored with the
most enchanting hues. These forms pre-
sented the appearance of what might be
called, for want of a more specific defin-
ition, foliated clouds of the highest rar-
ity; that is, they undulated and broke
into vegetable formations, and were
tinged with splendors compared with
fill the chambers of the sea. She floated
forth with the serene grace of a frail
bubble ascending through the still at-
mosphere of a June day. The perfect
roundness of her limbs formed suave
| and enchanting curves. It was like lis-
| tening- to the most -¢piritual symphony
| of Beethoven ‘the divine, to watch the |
harmonious flow of lines. This, indeed,
was a pleasure cheaply purchased at
any price. What cared I, if I had wad-
ed to the portal of this wonder through
another's blood? I would have given
my own to enjoy one such moment of
intoxication and delight.
wonder, and forgetful for an instaut of
everything save her presence, I with-
drew my eye from the microscope eager-
ly,—alas! As my gaze fell on the thin
slide that lay beneath my instrument,
the bright light from mirror and from
prism sparkled on a colorless drop of
water! There, in that tiny bead of dew,
this beautiful thing was forever impris-
oned. The planet Neptune was not
more distant from me than she. 1
hastened once more to apply my eye to
the microscope. :
Animula (let me call her by that dear
name which I subsequently bestowed on
her) had changed her position. She
had again approached the wondrous for-
est, and was gazing earnestly upwards.
Presently one of the trees—as I must
call them—unfolded a long ciliary pro-
cess, with which it seized one of the
gleaming fruits that glittered on its
summit, and sweeping slowly down, held
it within reach of Animula. The sylph
took it in her delicate hand, and began
to eat. My attention was so entirely ab-
sorbed by her, that I could not apply
myself to the task of determining
whether this singular plant was or was
not instinct with volition.
I watched her, as she made her re-
past, with the .most profound attention.
The suppleness of her motions sent a
thrill of delight through my frame; my
heart beat madly as she turned her
beautiful eyes in the direction of the
spot in which I stood. What would I
not have given to have had the power
to precipitate myself into that luminous
ocean, and float with her through those
groves of purple and gold! While I
was thus breathlessly following her ev-
ery movement, she suddenly started,
seemed to listen for a moment, and then
cleaving the brilliant ether in which she
which the gilding of our autumn wood-
lands is as dross compared with gold.
Far away into the illimitable distance
stretched long avenues of these gaseous
forests, dimly transparent, and painted |
with prismatic hues of unimaginable
brilliancy. The pendant branches wav-
ed along the fluid glades until every
vista seemed to break through half-lu- |
cent ranks of many-colored drooping |
silken pennons. What seemed to be |
either fruits or flowers, pied with a
thousand hues, lustrous and ever vary-
ing, bubbled from the crowns of this
fairy foliage. No hills, no lakes, no
rivers, no forms of animate or inani-
mate were to be seen, save those vast |
auroral copses that floated serenely in |
the luminous stillness, with leaves and
fruits and flowers gleaming with un-
known fires, unrealizable by mere imag-
ination.
How strange, I thought, that this
sphere should be thus condemned to
solitude! I had hoped, at least, to dis-
cover some new form of animal life,—
perhaps of a lower class than any with
which we are at present acquainted,—
but still, some living organism. I find
my newly discovered world, if I may so
speak, a beautiful chromatic desert.
While I was speculating on the sing-
ular arrangements of the internal econ-
omy of Nature, with which she so
frequently splinters into atoms our most
compact theories, I thought I beheld a
form moving slowly through the glades
of one of the prismatic forests. I look-
ed more attentively and found that I
was not mistaken. Words cannot de-
pict the anxiety with which I awaited
the nearer approach of this mysterious
object. Was it merely some inanimate
substance, held in suspense in the at-
tenuated atmosphere of the globule? or
was it an animal endowed with vitality
and motion? It approached, flitting be-
hind the gauzy, colored veils of cloud
|
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|
|
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foliage, for seconds dimly revealed, then | life with his presence, and left a gen-
vanishing. At last the violet pennons
that trailed nearest to me vibrated; |
they were gently pushed aside, and the | of which human intellect was capable,
Form floated out into the broad light.
It was a female human shape. When |
was floating, like a flash of light, pierced
through the opaline forest, and disap-
peared.
Instantly a series of the most singular
sensations attacked me. It seemed as
if T had suddenly gone blind. The lum-
inous sphere was still before me, but |
my daylight had vanished. What caus- |
ed this sudden disappearance? Had she
a lover, or a husband? Yes, that was
the solution! Some signal from a hap- !
py fellow-being had vibrated through |
the avenues of the forest, and she had
obeyed the summons.
serene, |
Her long lustrous |
Breathless with gazing on this lovely
upon her wondrous beauty, yet she must
eyes that day and night gazed upon
her, and, even when closed, beheld her
| in dreams. With a bitter cry of anguish
sleep like a child.
VL
THE SPILLING OF THE CUP.
I arose the next morning almost at
| daybreak, and rushed to my microscope.
I trembled as I sought the luminous
world in minature that contained my all.
| Animula was there. I had left the
| gas-lamp, surrounded by its moderators, |
burning, when I went to bed the night
before.
it were, with an expression of pleasure
animating her features, in the brilliant
light which surrounded her. She tossed
her lustrous golden hair over her shoul-
ders with innocent coquetry.
in which she supported herself with
ease, and gambolled with the enchanting
| grace that the Nymph Salmacis might
‘have exhibited when she sought to con-
| quer the modest Hermaphroditus. I
| tried an experiment to satisfy myself
| if her powers of reflection were devel-
oped. I lessened the lamplight consid-
(erably. By the dim light that remained
| I could see an expression of pain flit
across - her face. She looked upward
suddenly, and her brows contracted. I
flooded the stage of the microscope
| again with a full stream of light, and
| her whole expression changed. She
sprang forward like some substance de-
prived of all weight. Her eyes sparkled,
and her lips moved. Ah! if science had
only the means of conducting and re-
duplicating sounds, as it does the rays
of light, what carols of happiness would
then have entranced my ears! What ju-
bilant hymns to Adonais would have
thrilled the illumined air!
I now comprehend how it was that
the Count de Gabalis peopled his mystic
world with sylphs—beautiful beings
whose breath of life was lambent fire,
and who sported forever in regions of
purest ether and purest light. The Ro-
sicrucian had anticipated the wonder
that I had practically realized.
How long this worship of my strange
divinity went on thus I scarcely know.
I lost all note of time. All day from
early dawn, and far into the night, I
was to be found peering through the
wonderful lens. I saw no one, went
nowhere, and scarce allowed myself suf-
ficient time for my meals. My whole
life was absorbed in contemplation as
rapt as that of any of the Roman saints.
Every hour that I gazed upon the divine
form strengthened my passion,—a pas-
sion that was always overshadowed by
the maddening conviction, that, although
I could gaze on her at will, she never,
never could behold me!
At length I grew so pale and emaci-
ated from want of rest, and continual
brooding over my insane love and its
cruel conditions, that I determined to
make some effort to wean myself from
it. “Come,” I said, “this is at best but
a fantasy. Your imagination has be-
stowed on Animula charms which in
reality she does not possess. Seclusion
from female society has produced this
morbid condition of mind. Compare
her with the beautiful women of your
own world, and this false enchantment
will vanish.”
I looked over the newspapers by
chance. There I beheld the advertise-
I found the sylph bathing, as |
She lay at |
full length in the transparent medium, |
{last agony had seized her.
Suggestions to Make Them Pretty and
ment of a celebrated danseuse who ap-
peared nightly at Niblo’s. The Signor-
ino Caradolce had the reputation of be-
ing the most beautiful as well as the |
most graceful woman in the world. I!
instantly dffessed and went to the thea-
tre.
The curtain drew up. The usual
semicircle of fairies in white muslin
were standing on the right toe around
the enamelled flower-bank, of green
The agony of my sensations as I ar-
| rived at this conclusion, startled me. |
I tried to reject the conviction that my
reason forced upon me. I battled against
the fatal conclusion,—but in vain. It
was so. I had no escape from it. I
loved an animalcule!
It is true that, thanks to the marvel-
lous power of my microscope, she ap-
peared of human proportions. Instead
of presenting the revolting aspect of
the coarser creatures, that live and
struggle and die, in the more easily re-
solvable proportions of the water-drop,
she was fair and delicate and of surpass-
ing beauty. But of what account was
all that? Every time that my eye was
withdrawn from the instrument, it fell
on a miserable drop of water, within
which, I must be content to kriow, dwelt
all that could make my life lovely.
Could she but see me once! Could
I for one moment pierce the mystical
walls that so inexorably rose to separate
us, and whisper all that filled my soul,
I might consent to be satisfied for the
rest of my life with the knowledge of her
remote sympathy. It would be some
| thing to have established even the faint
| est personal link to bind us tegether,—
to know that at times, when roaming
through those enchanted glades, she
might think of the wonderful stranger,
who had broken the monotony of her
|
i
|
|
{ tle memory in her heart!
But it could not be. No invention,
could break down the barriers that Na-
ture had erected. I might feast my soul
| The fairies start.
| fairies all stand on the left toe, and
canvas, on which rhe belated prince was
sleeping. Suddenly a flute is heard.
The trees open, the
the queen enters. It was the Signorina.
She bounded forward amid thunders of
applause, and lighting on one. foot, re-
mained poised in air. Heavens! was
this the great enchantress that had
drawn monarchs to her chariot-wheels?
Those heavy muscular: lithbs; those thick
ankles, those cavernous eyes, that ster-
cotyped smile, those crudely painted
the safest colors to choose, or a com-
at the seashore or in the mountains.
One that will stand sun and fog and yet
retain a presentable appearance should
be selected.
cape or one of the three-quarter length
half-fitting
Lill!—ill, and I could not assist her! I
always remain ignorant of the adoring |
believe at that moment I would have
gladly forfeited all claims to my hu
| man pirthright, if I could only have
| beea¥glwarfed to the size of an animal-
1 fled from the room, and flinging my- |
cule, and permitted to console her from
whom §ite had forever divided me.
I' racked my brain for the solution of
| this mystery. What was it that afflicted
the sylph? She seemed to suffer intense
pain. Her features contracted, and she
even writhed, as if with,some internal
agony. The wondrous forests appeared
also to have lost half their beavty. Their
hues were dim, and in some places fad-
ed away altogether. I watched Animula
for hours with a breaking heart, and
she seemed absolutely to wither away
under my very eye. Suddenly I re-
membered that I had not looked at the
water-drop for several days. In fact,
I hatedsto see it; for it reminded me
of the! natural barrier between Animula
and. myself. I hurriedly looked down
on the stage of the microscope. The
slide “was still there,—but, great heav-
ens! the water-drop had vanished! The
awful truth burst upon me; it had
evaporated, until it had become so min-
ute as to be invisible to the naked eye;
1 had been gazing on its last atom, the
one that contained Animula,—and she
was dying! :
I rushed again to the front of the
lens, and looked through. Alas! the
The rain-
bow-hued forests had all melted away,
and. Animula lay struggling feebly in
what seemed to be a spot of dim light.
Ah! the sight was horrible: the limbs
once so round and lovely shrivelling
up into nothings; the eyes—those eyes
that shone like heaven—being quenched
into black dust; the lustrous golden
hair now lank and discolored. The last
throe came. I beheld that final struggle
of the blackening form—and I fainted.
When I awoke out of a trance of
many hours, I found myself lying amid
the wreck of my instrument, myself as
shattered in mind and body as it was. I
crawled feebly to my bed, from which
I did not rise for months.
They say now that I am mad; but
they are mistaken. I am poor, for I
have neither the heart nor the will to
work; all my money is spent, and I
live on charity. Young men’s associa-
tions that love a joke invite me to lec-
ture on Optics before them, for which
they pay me, and laugh at me while I
lecture. “Linley, the mad microscop-
ist,” is the name I go by. I suppose that
I talk incoherently while T lecture. Who
could talk sense when his brain is naunt-
ed by such ghastly memories, while ever
and anon among the shapes of death I
behold the radiant form of my lost
Animula!
For The Dear Girls.
Keep Them Neat.
I know it has been a fad for the last
few years for the girls to be quite re-
gardless of their complexions during
the summer, but the girl who is wise
will take my advice and carry a parasol,
and for the greatest comfort, and to
prevent all strain and glare to her eyes,
let her have a dark green lining to it.
This lining will not affect in any way
the outside covering or the appearance
of her parsol.
For every-day wear the plain sailor
hat, untrimmed, is still unsupplanted,
and it is unquestionably the hat above all
others to wear with the shirt-waist suit.
When a few hats must be made to fill
many needs, black, white and ecru are
bination of any two of these colors.
A wreath of various flowers in blended
colors makes another attactive and suit-
able trimming for a hat which must be
worn with many gowns.
A light wrap for the summer is es-
sential to the girl either in the country,
Either a wide circular
coats of a light-weight
cheeks! Where
blooms, the liquid
harmonious limbs of Animula?
The Signorina danced. What gross,
discordant movements!
her limbs was all false and artificial.
Her bounds were
forts; her poses were angular and dis-
tressed the eye.
longer; with an exclamation of disgust
that drew every eye upon me, I rose
from my seat in the very middle of the
Signorina’s pas-de-fascination, and ab-
ruptly quitted the
I hastened home
more on the lovely form of my sylph.
I felt that henceforth to combat this
passion would be impossible.
my eye to the lens.
—but what could have happened? Some
terrible change seemed to have taken
place during my absence.
grief seemed to cloud the lovely fea-
tures of her I gazed upon.
had grown thin and haggard; her limbs
the wondrous lustre
trailed heavily;
of her golden hair
broadcloth would probably be the best
were the vermeil | selection to make. Such wraps do not
expressive eyes, the | require a lining nor hardly ny trimming
beyond stitching or plaits.
The! play of The belt of black velvet ribbon worn
with a fancy buckle is the most uni-
versally becoming and useful’ belt to
wear with all kinds of gowns. High
girdles of flowered ribbon will be worn
with odd blouses and white gowns, and
may certainly be classed among the
most helpful accessories of one’s sum-
mer costumes. These girdles are boned
in the front, side and back, where they
fasten and are finished with small stiff
painful athletic ef-
I could bear it no
house.
to feast my eyes once
An Oklahoma Story.
When the Territory of Oklahoma was
opened to settlement in April, 1889,
Henry McNeill, of Kansas, was one of
the thousands who joined in the race
for a claim. More fortunate than some,
he secured a choice bit of land, and
joyfully set to work to build his dug-
out.
That necessary labor done, the ques-
tion arose where he should conceal his
provisions and other belongings while
he took the unavoidable trip to the
land office to get his * papers.’
Neighbors, in the usual sense, he had
none, the nearest settler being almost
{a mile away. The region was infested
| with straggling desperadoes — claim -
| jumpers, gamblers, horsethieves—and to
| leave his property exposed would be
| to invite any rascal ‘to take it.
| McNeill dug a sort of cave behind
{ his sod house, making the pit deep
enough so that some time in the future
he could connect it with his cellar. In
this hole he placed his few household
goods. Then he boarded over the top,
covered the boards with sod and brush,
and started away feeling sure that ail
would be safe.
McNeill was but one of the many set-
tlers with claims to file, and it was
three days before he received his papers.
Then, happy in their possession, he hur-
ried back to his new house—only to find
that it was occupied by two rough-look-
ing men who eyed him in a way that
promised anything but a friendly re-
ception.
Now McNeill was a Scotchman, and
cautious, and he began by asking mildly
if they knew where there was any va-
cant land in the neighborhood. They
did not. But they volunteered the in-
formation that, finding this place de-
serted, and being told that the man
who made the improvements had got
discouraged and .abandoned the claim,
they had taken it up.
Were they claim-jumpers or honest
men who had been misled? McNeill
resolved to give them the benefit of the
doubt. \
“Gentlemen,” he said, “I built this
house and made these improvements.
This is my claim. I have not aban-
doned it, and never thought of doing
so.”
The two men stared at him for a
moment in silence. Then one of them
laughed contemptuously.
“That won't go down, young feller!”
he cried. “I don’t believe you ever
saw this claim ’fore today. And if you
did, 'twas abandoned clear enough—no
grub or tools in sight, to show that
whoever’d been here meant ever to come
back. Anyway, folks around about tell
me the feller that was here was a
‘sooner,’ come into the country before
the gov'ment give thc, word, and if he
hadn’t got out the military wuold ’a’
run him out.”
“But,” McNeill protested, “I can prove
that I am the rightful owner. See, here
is my receipt from the land office, and it
describes this claim: ‘The S. W. 1
Sec, 177 "—
Here one of the intruders reached for
the paper in McNeill’s hand, as if to
examine it; but no sooner had he se-
cured possession, than he threw it toward
the other end of the room. In the next
instant he leveled a revolver at the
young man’s head.
roared, “and don’t you ever set foot
on this claim again, unless you want
the sun to shine clean through ye!”
McNeill traveled; there was nothing
else for him to do. .But there was a
gleam in his eyes which suggested that
the matter would not end there.
Naturally he went for help first to the
men who had taken up adjoining claims.
“Now -you travel, sonny,” the rascal |
to assault the “jumpers,” although he
believed they would not hesitate to kill
him. He hoped to dispossess them by
strategy. He must wait patiently for
an opening.
Hardly daring to stretch a muscle now
that he was so near, afraid to doze, lest
he might dream and cry out, McNeill
placed himself as restfully as he could
and prayed for the long night to wear
away.
At last he heard sounds that told him
the claim-jumpers were astir. One pre-
pared breakfast, the other guarded the
door. McNeill in his hiding-place lis-
tened intently.
| “Wonder if we'r goin’ to be bothered
today with the youngster as claimed this
ver place?” one of them growled. “We'd
ought to be a-movin’ that ar team we
| picked up as soon’s we can. If the fel-
ler that used to own it should come
along jest now, lookin’ for his hosses,
he’d be mighty apt to find em.”
“That's so,” responded the other. “I
guess you'd better take the hosses and
slope for the Panhandle today, hadn't
ye? If the little tenderfoot does come
back, I can manage him. Sorry I didn’t
fix him yesterday, when I had such a
good chance.”
Well, McNeill reflected, if it must be
“kill or be killed,” he knew which would
suit him the better.
“Hadn’t ve ought to be goin’ up the
draw to water them ar hosses before
anybody does get around?” one of the
ruffians said, presently.
“Reckon we had. I'm ready.”
“Better take the Winchester?”
“Oh, I guess not. It's kind of on-
handy, and we ain't likely to be both-
ered by anybody so early in the morn-
in". Buckle on your six-shooter; that'll
be enough.”
As the sound of their footsteps died
away, McNeill jumped for his spade.
With the desperate energy of an honest
man who fights for his own, he drove
at the thin crust of earth overhead.
Down it fell; up he clambered into the
dugout.
He ran for the Winchester. Then
on second thought he laid it aside and
took up his shotgun, the surer weapon
at close range. Swinging the door al-
most shut, but leaving a crack through
which to watch the approach, he waite
expectantly. £
Twenty minutes later the claim-jump-
ers came back. They had started an ar-
gument while they had been gone. That
was the only thing then in their minds.
Wrangling violently about the price they
should ask for the stolen horses, they
approached the dugout.
Then suddenly, in their very faces.
the door flew open, they looked down
the barrels of a shotgun, and heard a
stern voice say:
“Throw up your hands—quick!”
Only an instant of hesitation—a glance
at the face of the speaker—and four
brown hands went high in the air.
“Now, about face! March! Side by
side—six feet apart there. Gang as I
tell ye, an’ dinna stop nor look back,
gin ye wad keep whole heids”
Thus commanded McNeill, in his ex-
citement dropping into the speech most
familiar to his boyhood. And it was
in the same tongue that the young man
responded when, after they had covered
half a mile, the rascals complained of
the fatigue of holding up their hands
so long, and begged piteously to be al-
lowed to let them down to rest.
“Ye can clasp them atop your heids
an’ ye'll do wel eneuch,” McNeill said,
grimly. “Long will they rest, I'm think-
in’, or e’er again ye lay them on anither
mon's gear!”
The young man was a true prophet.
When he and his next neighbor had dis-
armed and tied the desperadoes and
taken them to Guthrie, it proved that
they were “wanted” not only for the
They sympathized with him, yet would
not interfere. Their advice was that
McNeill should begin legal proceedings
to expel the intruders. But the young
man objected that that would take time, |
and he wanted to be at work on his
claim, since the season for planting was
rapidly passing. ,
Finally, ending the wearisome and
fruitless argument, McNeill resolved to
try to regain possession single-handed.
He borrowed a spade and a shotgun
from the nearest neighbor, and after
darkness had fallen crept cautiously up
the “draw” or ravine that crossed his
claim. Undetected, he made his way
to the pile of brush that marked the
entrance to his underground storeroom,
and cautiously removing. some of the
sods and boards, dropped down into the
hole.
But he did not dare to begin at once
to dig. Not until he thought the rascals
must be asleep did he start to burrow
between his hiding place and the room |
through the three or four feet of earth |
beyond. |
Very slowly he worked, feeling with |
his hands for any stone that might fall
and betray him, and laying each care- |
bows. Silver braid in a wide width, |
fastening with a cut-steel buckle, looks |
remarkably well with either a black or |
a white gown.
I applied
Animula was there,
|
Harold—My ancestors were all honest, |
but they were not stylish. |
“That’s all right; my ancestors were |
all stylish, but, so far as I can learn, |
they wouldn't pay their debts.”—De- |
had faded. She was | troit Free Press
Some secret
Her face
fully down. Hours he toiled, it seemed, |
much cramped for space and sometimes |
straitened for breath, before he felt |
sure he was almost through the wall. |
|
Then he took out his knife. Piece by
piece, bit by bit, he shaved away the
earth. Suddenly his blade penetrated
the thin partition. He had come out
as he had planned, directly under the
bed. He could hear the deep breathing
of his enemies as they slept.
It was no part of McNeill’s design
theft of the horses they had hidden in
the ravine, but for various crimes com-
mitted in Kansas. In the Kansas Pen-
| itentiary they remain to this day.
Thus weil rid of the claim-jumpers,
McNeill took part of the reward the
State of Kansas paid for their capture,
and—bought the spade and shotgun. The
rich farmer would be deeply offended
if anyone should call him a sentimental
mann; but he never allows the tool and
weapon to be mishandled, and I have
a notion that if his handsome house
caught fire he would save the spade
and the shotgun first.
Senator Grab—A man called on me
this morning and offered me $1000 for
my vote on a certain measure, but I
refused it.
Political Jurist—Bravo! You ought
to have the approval of your conscience.
Senator Grab—I have: we finally
agreed on $2000.—Boston Post.
nostrils, and we remark:
Ah! and doubtless that is a message
{fom some politician going to headquar-
T'S.
“Nope,”
native. “That's the
Dr the po new distillery just
corrects the matter-of-fact
a a
hE aay EN