A
nice
ASPIRATION.
IL
The pale and misty particles of Time
over about us: scarce our eyes can see
Youth's far-off dream of what we were
0 be.
Life’s truth, which once we would redeem
with rhyme,
Has proved instead a world-worn panto- *
me,
m ;
The running river of expediency
Has drowned the hopes that Fortune held
in fee.—
Why fall upon the track so many climb?
Why He speak what all the earth has
rd?
e
Why labor at a work the ages plan? —
Life has been lived so oft an outworn
thing!
Then hark! The time-sweet carol of a bird
New as a flower; and see—ah, shame to
'
man '—
The endless gspiration of the spring.
) § rs
The fuli throat of the world is charged with
song, e
Morning and twilight melt with ecstasy
In the high heat of noon. Simply to be,
Palpitant where the green spring forces
throng,
Eager for life, life unashamed and strong—
This is desire fulfilled. Exalted, free,
The spirit gains her ether, scornfully
Denies existence that is dark or wrong.
This is enough, to see the song begun
Which shall be finished ‘in some field afar.
Laugh that the night may still contain a
star,
5 Nor idly moan your impotence of grace.
Life is a song, lift up your care-free face
Gladly and gratefully toward the sun.
—Helen Hay Whitney.
A MIDNIGHT
1
i B
RUN . | | Frie Waters.
H
“Please leave Jim at home this trip,”
mother said, when father suggested
taking me with him, as he often did in
the holidays. I was a lad of twelve
and father, who was a contractor, had
a big job on a new railway. The ob-
ject of this journey was to pay the
men, the paymaster being ill.
“I don't like you to carry so much
fooney,” mother complained. It’s
tlangerous.”®
© “Not a bit of it, Mary; don’t worry.
Not a creaggire knows that I am taking
it. Besides, we are ahead of pay day.”
But mother was not satisfied, watch-_
ing us wistfully from the doorstep the
next morning when we started for the
office. A messenger from the bank
brought the money, which was put
into father’s valise. My bag was cnly
half full and exactly. like father’s in
size and color. : .
We left town at 11 o'clock. : You may
be sure that we kept a careful eye on
the valise. :
It was dark when we reached Oak-
ton, and after a poor supper at the
only hotel we waited for the stage
which was to take us to our destina-
tion—twelve miles distant. ‘The ste,
drawn by two bony horses; rumbled up
to the sidewalk. . &
“Where’s Bill?” father asked, for the
burly driver always amused him with
his quaint remarks.
“Guess Bill can't drive this here
stage tonight,” the landlord answered.
“Them old horses skeered at some-
thing this morning and upset the rig,
an’ Bill, he’s a-lyin’ upstairs with a
broken leg.” =
Billy’s substitute was anything but
attractive. I have seldom seen a more
disagreeable face. His eyes were
small and shifting; his mouth drawn
down. He was polite, however, and
put out his hand for the valises.
“Never mind,” said father, careless-
ly. “They will not be in the way,
since we are the only passengers.”
The night was dark and gloomy. An
unaccountable depression came over
us. Going through the village father
told me that it had once been of some
importance, but a rival town had
drawn away business and people, add-
ing that it was sad to see “such beauti-
ful houses going to decay.” :
“We will pass a house said to be
haunted,” father went on. “A man
swas found dead in his room and the
place became so terrifying to the fam-
ily that they left it hurriedly not even
taking their furniture.” ;
I wished that father would not dwell
on such unpleasant subjects, for it
gave me a horrid sensation of fear.
“Where did the accident happen this
morning?’ we inquired of the driver.
“Near the haunted house was the
reply. The horses seemed nervous and
shied at every shadow.
“Here’s the place,” the driver cried,
*“and—curse it! the beasts seem to
remember it.” At the same instant the
terrified animals shied violently, and
before we could speak the left wheels
had gone into a ditch and the big pole
snapped off. The man jumped out,
trying to quiet the frightened horses.
Strange to say we were unhurt and
scrambled out, clinging to our luggage.
The driver professed great: concern,
appearing much annoyed at the acci-
dent. We freed the horses and tried
to lift the wagon, but so much damage
bad been done that it was impossible
to repair it.
“I must get on to Norton tonight,”
father said. “Can we get a wagon
near?”
There was nothing nearer than the
village, the man declared, “and I must
take these horses back and hitch them
to the other ’bus.” Then rubbing his
head and considering:
‘“There’s some folks in the old house
yonder. I guess they can give you a
bed, and I will be back by daybreak.”
There seemed to be no alternative,
80 we went to the old mansion. The
door was opened by a man with an
unforgettable face; .with large pale
blue eyes, a wide forehead with a
broken nose. He spoke kindly, saying
that he would give us shelter. After
lingering before a cherry wood fire,
which seemes to emphasize the fitful
shadows, we were conducted to a big
bedroom upstairs. Its windows opened
on a long veranda.
After our host left us we stepped
out, discovering that the veranda was
much dilapidated and that a long
ladder leaned against it. We next
turned our attention to the room. A
huge, high-backed bed stood at one
side; and in the centre a table on
which were two lighted candles. It
had been a handsome apartment, with
richly painted walls and dark wains-
coting. Old pictures hung on the
walls, their gift frames tarnished and
dusty. Opposite the tables were por-
traits—handsome people in the dress of
long ago.
We began to prepare for bed. Father
placed his valise on the table, taking
out different articles and laying some
When they disappeared we ran rapidly
house. Waking the inmates we told
our story.
ried down, and a little brown-haired
girl was greatly excited, watching us
curiously.
ters,” the farmer said, “and only to-
night a hint was given me that they
of the money parcels on top. I wan-
dered about looking at everything. I
had an uncanny feeling and a sensa-
tion that somebody was looking at
near.
“Look at this pictute, father.” I
cried, pointing to the life-sized face
of a handsome old gentleman with
cold blue eyes. “He seems to look at
me wherever I go.”
“They say. that’s a sign. of good
painting, Jim.” >
I had been learning of eyes lately
from an uncle who was an oculist ‘and
he had shown me how the pupil dilates
in“darkness and contraéts in a- strong
“light.” * I’ do- not know: what induced
me to take one of the candles and go
clgse to the picture.’
“See..this ;:big math, father,” I cried.
“Can I catch it for my collection?”
- Going to the portrait of the old gen~
tleman I raised the candle suddenly,
and was certain that 1 saw the pupils
of the ‘blue eves grow smaller and
smaller. Lf. b""
“Oh, that moth!” I" said, and made
another move" with the light, to see
again the- sharp contraction of the
pupil. {is Faw : 3
“There! you've blown out the light!”
father said. “Be careful, lad.” :
In the dim light I glancéd hastily,
to see a well dilated pupil in the pale
blue eyes. To say that I was fright-
ened would be to put it mildly. I was
perfectly terrified—ghosts ‘and goblins
were in the very air. If.ghosts could
see they could hear—I dared not speak.
Once more I raised the candle which
I had relighted. Had I been dreaming?
The eyes in the portrait were dark
brown!
What I had seen, I had seen, but how
was I to convince father of the fact.
He, meantime, had repacked the valise,
leaving it on the table. Going behind
the bed where the eyes could not fol-
low, I wrote rapidly on a bit of paper.
Again pretending to catch a moth I
called father. The moment he saw
my ghastly face he realized that some-
thing serious had happened. But for
the money he might have laughed at
my fears, but he was superstitious and
confessed afterward that he had expe-
rienced the same sensation of a pres-
ence in the room. He scribbled a few
lines, telling me to watch him and
walt.
We heard voices below; a door shut,
and then silence fell. We blew out the
lights and pretended to retire. Then
father got up quietly, took everything
out of my bag, which, you remember,
was the duplicate of his, and stuffed
it with heavy bedding, locking and
strapping it and putting it on the ta--
ble. Cramming everything in the
precious valise, he put it in the bed.
We were. dressed except for our boots.
We left the French window ajar and
got into bed. The moon came up and
shone into the room.
“Good night, Jim; pleasant dreams,”
came in a sleepy voice from father and
presently loud snores could be heard
from his side of the bed. An hour
passed. I kept shivering and seemed
to see mother watching us anxiously;
would we never see her dear face
again? Suddenly we heard stealthy
steps and nudged each other. The
snoring became louder. Peeping
through half-shut lids, we saw a
shadowy form creeping in the window,
and a hand stretched out to the valise
on the table. Then cautiously and
noiselessly man and bag disappeared.
Father argued that the men would
take their plunder to a distant room
to open it, and that if they found them-
selves tricked our fate would be seal-
ed. Signing me to follow, father slip-
ped out of bed. Carrying our boots
and the valise we gained the veranda,
going down the ladder, which creaked
under our weight. Great heavens! if
it should fall!
We touched the ground safely.
Moving in the shadow of the building,
we reached the barn; hiding behind it.
Horrors! what did we hear! I clutch-
ed father’s arm and we cowered down
in the high, rank burdocks. The door
opened, and four men came out, laden
with trunks and bags. They hastened
to a wagon already loaded. The poor
old stage horses were harnessed to it.
It ‘was evidently a “flitting.” There
was not time to examine their spoils.
“They’ll not wake till morning,”
the blue-eyed man whispered hoarsely.
“The old one is snoring like a rusty
saw.”
To our unspeakable relief they jump-
ed in and drove rapidly toward Oak-
ton, evidently to catch an early train.
down the road. At last we reached a
One by one the family hur-
“We thought them suspicious charac-
me, and that some one was breathing
| ing some o6né to help him out. When
| were & gang of counterfeiters, their
4 chief being the blue-eyed man with the
broken nose. The authorities were
prepared to search the place tomor-
row.” :
Neighbors were collected, horses
brought out, and we started in pursuit.
And here I may as well say they were
never captured.
At daylight the constables from the
village went with us to the haunted
house, “where were found evidences: of
a counterfeiter's work and signs of a
hasty departure. They had probably
been warned of the intended raid, and
father’s journey with the money and
had delayed their flitting in order to
secure it, in both cases causing the
breaking down of the stage. We
thought with glee how enraged they
must have been when they opened the
bag.
In examining the house they found
the secret of the blue eyes. In an ad-
joining room hung a picture. Taking
it down we saw that the’ plaster had
ben removed and the canvas exposed.
Over the eyes were cleverly arranged
slides. Moving them, one could by
pressing the face closely to the yield-
ing canvas, look into the next- room.
The man with the broken nose" could
do so more easily. Thus I saw his
eyes as he watched father stow away
the money.
That night’s adventure gave me the
chance of finding a treasure, for the
little ‘girl whom I met for the first
time that night is now my wife. She
declares, however, that it was not, a
‘case of “love at first sight.” That
a more grotesque little figure she never
saw, with staring eyes, hair standing
on end, clothes covered with burrs,
and a red necktie neatly tied: under
one ear.—Michigan Farmer.
AUDIT GAME SWINDLE.
‘ Applicant for Loan Pays to. Have His
Books Examined—Gets Nothing.
It is hard to keep track of the easy
money games that are going on in
this town all the time. The man who
pays the bill is usually the one who
is ‘looking: for money that is not easy.
He is short’ himself, and he is seek-
he - has had his. little dose of ex-
perience he is shorter than when he
began. x: eke *
A new- phase of the swindle might
be called the audit game. A man
neeaing capital is likely to be taken
in by men who advertise that they
have unlimited capital to put out in
safe ventures. .He knows that his own
business is pretty well founded and
he nibbles at the bait. 0
At the office indicated he gets ‘a
cordial welcome. He would like to
borrow money, would he? Well, he
has come to the right place, but it is
only fair to warn him that the shop
cares to do business only with high
grade business men.
The applicant, however, is a little
wary. He would like some assur-
ances on his part that the men he is
to deal with are all right. The man
who receives him calls his attention
to several prosperous looking men
sitting in an inner office looking over
securities. He points these men out
as rich and as always seeking safe
investments. Sometimes the caller
is introduced to one of these men, who.
mildly acknowledges that he has
money, but who makes it known at
once that he has no desire to handle
any proposition that isn’t safe. He
nods to the first man, and tells the
visitor to make plain his proposition
to him. If it seems to be good, he
will be glad to look it over.
Here is where the bunco game be-
gins. The office man again says that
his clients must be sure before they
invest. It will be necessary to make
an exhaustive examination of the ap-
plicant’s books. It is only right that
the applicant should pay for this. Ac-
cording to the nature of the business
in which he is engaged, the price will
be from $100 to $500. The lender-to-be
assures the applicant that there will
not be the slightest. difficulty in get-
ting the loan. ' But the money must
be advanced to pay for the examina-
tion.
The applicant is by this time so
confident that he will get the money
that he pays the advance required.
The examiners come around all right.
They go over the books and ask a lot
of wise questions, but are non-com-
mital. In due time the applicant gets
word that the moneyed men have come
to the conclusion that the examina-
tion of the applicant’s business shows
a condition which makes it undesir-
able for them to invest in it.
A promoter who has investigated
several of these concerns said to a
Sun Reporter that there are scores
of men engaged in this game.—New
York Sun.
France's Submarine.
The French navy is still maintain-
ing an active interest in submarine
vessels, and an entirely new type of
craft is soon to be constructed at
Cherbourg, which, on account of its
large size, will be known as a ‘“sub-
marine cruiser.” It is 182 feet in
length and 15 feet beam, being driven
by electric motors when under the
water and by gasoline engines at the
surface.
There are two electric motors,
which operate two propellers and
eight horizontal rudders, while cur-
rent is to be supplied by double sets
of accumulators. Watertight com-
partments will be fitted along the
sides of the vessel for over two-thirds
of its length, while fuel-tanks are to
be placed in the centre, one on each
side.—Harper’s Weekly.
young girls especially well and ar
greatly in vogue for winter coats. Thi
with trimming of black braid and
handsome buttons; but the design. is a
thoroughly useful one and can be made
available for all seasonable cloakings.
Broadcloth is particularly fashionable
New York City.—Empire styles suit]them in place. The thread is not as
one is shown in claret red broadcloth
elfirm as this little helper and not as
8s | sightly. Frocks made from material
with a loose weave have a narrow
tape stitched with the seams so that
they cannot pull out. Buttonholes are
often strengthened with lip glue ap-
plied before the cutting or with ma-
chine stitching between two rows of
which the cloth is cut. These are what
I mean by trick of the trade.—Boston
Traveler.
New Chiffon Velvet.
There is a very pretty cottonback
chiffon velvet which is found in muny
attractive tones, and wvelveteens for
street suits are always satisfactory.
In more expensive weaves pompadour
velvet, short-haired plush with a design
painted upon it and floral panne are
all new, as is striped velvet and the
new mousseline silk with velvet flowe-
ers scattered over it.
Misses’ Pleated Skirt.’
The pleated skirt in all its variations
is a favorite for young girl and makes
one of the most becoming of all styles.
This one is adapted to almost all sea-
sonable materials and gives a box
pleated effect at the fromt that is al-
ways desirable. As shown it is made
of claret red camel's hair stitched with
belding silk. The pleats are turned
backward and stitched in graduated
lengths, giving the best possible effect
to the figure, while they fall in abund-
ant and graceful folds below the stiteh-
ings. Broadcloth, cheviot, serge and
-all suiting materials are in every way
-Blouse Jacket, with Tucked Eto n, 32 to 40 Bust.
ai
=
this year, but kersey is a bit heavier
and warmer for the everyday coats
and such materials as cheviot and
homespun are always desirable.
The coat is made with body and
skirt portions. The skirt portion is
laid in flat pleats and is joined to the
body portion, the seam being concealed
by the trimming strap. There are
coat sleeves of the accepted style and
the neck is finished with a flat collar.
The quantity of material required for
the medium size (fourteen years) is
six yards twenty-seven, three and
three-fourth yards forty-four on three
and one-half yards fifty-two inches
wide, with sixteen yards of braid to
trim as illustrated.
Home Dressmakine.
There is no way in which a woman
can save so much money as in making
her own clothes, but to do it to the
best advantage she needs to have
knowledge and experience. Working
with a home dressmaker is a good
training, and taking advantage of the
tricks of the trade as seen in the shop
windows will save time and trouble,
For instance, the large buttonsson out-
side garments of the better class have
small
buttons on the inside to hold!
desirable, while the model also makes’
a good one for the lighter weight ma-
terials of in-door wear.
The skirt is cut in seven gores, the
seams being concealed by the pleats,
and is laid in deep inverted ‘pleats
at the centre hack. .
The quantity of material required for
the medium size (fourteen years) is six
and three-fourth yards twenty-seven or
three and three-fourth yards forty-four
or fifty-two inches wide.
Purple Gowns the Rage.
One dressmaker no sooner asserts a
color will be worn than it is straight-
way denied by some other sartorial
authority of equal importance. That is
what makes fashion so interesting, it is
said, for one may be in the extreme
of fashion to-day and quite out of is
to-morrow. All the shades of violet,
bheliotrope and purple are just as much
The first notes of the ‘“Marseillaise”
are being used as a popular form of
whistled greeting in London.
in vogue here just now as in London,
aithough the crude tones of these colors
are seldom seen. They are rather the
softened shades that have something
of the purplish, grayish or brownish
about them making them becoming.
There is a fancy for making up cos-
tumes of half a dozen or more of these
shades.
Velvet in Fashion,
Velvet is always more or less fash-
ionable, and this year the demand for
it is immense, and to meet this de-
{mand many new and beautiful varia-
{ tions in all grades are exhibited,
M’COY’S BODY .DISINTERED
Examination Said to Have Revealed
That Shots Were Fired from In-
side the House.
killed at his home near Darlington,
Beaver County, several weeks ago,
trict Attorney J. B. McClure, by
Coroner Dr. J. S. Wade, of New
Brighton. The district attorney stole
a march on friends of the McCoys,
who expected to prevent the body
from being raised. The examination,
it is alleged, revealed that.the gun
that killed McCoy must have been
close to his body, as wads were ex-
tracted from the wounds. There was
no trace of glass found in either of
the wounds. One shot lodged back
of his ear -and the other under one of
his arms. The claim is made that the
shots were fired from
house, and not from the outside.
Two. passenger trains on the North-
ern Central railroad were saved from
being wrecked by Mary McCall, aged
16, daughter of a trackwalker living
at Clarks Ferry. The girl saw a’
huge boulder .roll from the mountain
Taking a lantern, she ran down the
track and stopped the Erie express
within a few yards of the obstruction.
She then hurried in the other diree-
tion, stopping the Erie fast line.
depéndence = township, washington
county, near the Wabash railroad, has
been sold to a syndicaté of New York
capitalists for $120,000. The prices:
ranged from $100 to $300 an acre. D.
C. Perrin negotiated the deal.
block lies between holdings of J. V..
to have cut off the ouflét of
Uniontown capitalists to/this road.
Legislature to arrange for the dedi-
cation ‘of the.new capitol, consisting
of Governor Peénnypacker, Auditor
General Snyder, State Treasurer
Mathues, Speaker Walton of = the:
House of Representatives, and Sena-
tors Fox and Sproul met in Harris-:
burg to organize, and elected Gover-
nor Pennypacker president and
Thomas J. Lynch and Thomas M.
Jones, secretaries. LE
Mack Day, a farmer of Video;
Green county, dropped dead. The
Virginia Oil and Gas company several
weeks ago began drilling and when
near the sand notified the owner of
the farm that a few minutes would in-
form him whether or not there was oil
When oil began flowing from the well
Day threw up his hands and sank to
the ground. He was dead when
picked up.
According to the report of the
Board of County Auditors, filed in
court at Meadyviile, the accounts of
former Treasurer D. H. Scott are
short $30,874.80. Mr. Scott had held
office for three years. He declares a °
mistake has been made in accounting.
He will contest in court the validity
of the findings, some of the strongest
financiers of Meadville and Titusville:
having been his security.
In a dispute over a game of cards,
at West Newton, Edward McCcyv stab-
bed Jesse Kincaid with a pocket
knife, the blade penetrating the re-
gion of the kidneys. McCoy was ar-
rested and will be held to await the
result of Kincaid’s injuries, which
are serious. The men are employes
of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.’
The plant of the McFreely Brick
and Manufacturing company, one mile
east of Latrobe, was burned. The
plant was erected five years ago and
was equipped with modern - ma-
chinery. The loss is estimated at
$100,000, said to be covered by insur-
ance. The plant is owned by Pitts-
burg capitalists. : :
The physicians of Monongahela:
have organized a protective associa-
tion, with Dr. 'C." B. “Wood 3s presi-
dent and Dr. P. M. Wall secretary. A
list of delinquents will be made® and
regular monthly meetings will be held.
for discussion of subjects of inter-
est to the profession.
Councilman Mortis Gukerbraum and
Harry Rabinovitz, of New Castle,
have received word that a test-well
which they have been drilling in the
Butler county field has proved a
gusher. They have a large amount of
land under lease and will sink more
wells.
The postponed bill fixing the sal-
ary of the insurance commissioner at
$6,000 a year, after the governor had
given his opinion that this came with-
in the jurisdiction of his call, was
passed by a vote of 166 to 1, Mr.
Stroup voted in the negative. .
Dr.” Arthur Staples, president of
Beaver college, made information
against six young men of Beaver,
charging them with breaking into the
college building. The maximum pen-
alty is $100 fine and six months im-
prisonment.
Murray Heider of Selins Grove and
Mary Crumwell of Sunbury were. in-
stantly killed while attempting te
cross the Pennsylvania railroad bridge
which spans the Susquehanna river
at Selins Grove.
The Rev. Dr. Herwin M. Roop, who
recently resigned from the presidency
of Lebanon college, * was re-elected .
president by the directors. After the
election was announced a dozen mem-
bers of the faculty resigned.
Bert Deligee, colored was conviet-
ed of murder in the second degree by
a Center county jury for the shooting
of Ralph Williams, a 13-year-old boy,
last October. Deligee claimed the gun
was accidentally discharged.
The Rev. Dr. George Whitfield
Mead, recently called to the pastorate
of the Second Presbyterian church of
Wilkinsburg, ‘has notified the con-
gregation that he will assume the
pulpit on February 11.
Italians in the anthracite region
have formed organization for the pur-
pose of exterminating the ‘Black
Hand” society.
(EYSTONE STATE CULLINES
The body of Hugh McCoy, who was
was disinterred at the request of Dis- ;
inside of the
side upon the tracks near Her home. : °
A block of 600 acres of coal in In-
The
Thompson and the Wabash and is said .
the,
«)