ada THE DESERTED CLAIM. Up_where the snow shines puré and white n the peaks that port to thé summer sky, 0 vp in the gulch by t saw, e evenin as we traveled slowly light by, A claim deserted and left alone, A shaft sunk in the mountain side, A roofless cabin, of logs rough hewn Where some onc had labored till hope had died. And later on, when our camp was made, And the white tents pitched for another night, While the pine trees weirdly tossed and swayed In the cheerly glow of our camp firelight, When merry voices rang on the air, And smiling faces flashed in and out— I thought of that cabin rude and bare, Of its owner, who labored in hope and doubt. He had come, perhaps, from some Eastern home, For speedy wealth, to this Western clime. And homesick and weary, and all alone, He had faithfully toiled for some friendly sign, Cold moans the wind through the canyon deep, And the coyote cries the night hours drear; There are unknown footsteps that softly creep, ‘And the voice of the burro is kindly cheer. Still he dreamed as others had done before— As others shall do in the days to come— 4 Of finding wealth in unbounded store, his treasure And joyfully bearing home; But fortune is chary when all is told— 4 Her smiles are the hardest on earth to gain, And where one is favored with shining gold A thousand others may toil in vain. Thus I sit and muse «in the camp-fire g evening While the welcome low, meal is spread, And the sound of the river comes soft and low; And the stars shine brilliantly overhead; For my heart is saddened day by day We pass in sunshine-or dripping rain, That frequent road-mark upon our way, A deserted, desolate mining claim. — Denver Republican. Those two rival families repeated on a small scale the discords of the Mon- tagues and Capulets; only, with due regard to the civilization of the times, instead of spilling blood, they spilled money. Instead of dead relatives, there had been many lawsuits, long and entangled; they went to law for spite, for resentment, for anger; they kept at law with that obstinate delight jn litigation which is one of the joys of provincial life. As usual, it was a question of trifles—a stream of water that had taken a wrong direction; an unruly goat that had leaped from the field of one into the field of the other; some obscure and stupid potatoes which, spreading themselves under- ground, had disregarded the bounda- ries. Upon this showered legal docu- ments; the lawyers toiled to write in that style of theirs, the last relic of barbarous invasions; judgments were multiplied; lawsuits grew complica- ted. The two advocates rubbed their hands for joy, and, from the aspect of things, were sure of transmitting as a valuable inheritance those quarrels to their sons. How the enmity be- tween the Pasquali and the Dericca families had been caused could not be clearly learned; affirmations varied on one and the other side. But it was a deep and declared enmity. Being neighbors in town and in the country, they frequently met, looking askance at each other; the women heard mass in two different churches; if the Deric- ca girls wore blue gowns, the Pas- quali girls at once put on pink ones; in the municipal council the Pasquali were always conservative and the Dericca, naturally, radicat; that which one did the other would not have done for a thousand scudi; where one went the other did not appear. And then gossip, evil-speaking, complaints, eag- erness for scandal, malignity, in short all that outfit of pleasing things which take place in provincial towns between two rival families. On top of all this Carlo, the eldest son of the Pas- quali, and Maria, the second daughter of the Dericca, thought it best to fall in love with each other. Tove in a small town has not much variety; usually it begins in childhood, continues amid games of blindman’s bluff, is apt to manifest itself in social dancing parties and round games, and is. always ratified by the parish priest and the mayor. These loves are rea- ognized, superintended, established, registered in the household comings and goings; protected by grumbling grandfathers and by priestly uncles; loves without nerves, without -tears, without tenderness and fancies; some- thing extremely calm and slow. the crystallization of love. But Carlo Pasquali had had the fortune to pass a fortnight at Naples, which made him look with scorn upon provincial customs; and Maria Dericea, at night, by feeble lamp, had wept over the hapless heroines of Mastriani and had envied them in their fantastic pas- sions: therefcre for these two was re- quired an exceptional love. First it was a furtive glance; a softly mur- mured word, yet heard with singular perception by her who should hear it; a carnation-pink fallen from a bal- cony by reason of the wind, of course; a sudden pallor of his, a sudden blush of hers; then, by the armed interven- tion of a rogue of a fifteen-year-old- girl who came with a flatiron to smooth Maria's linen and the course of true love at the same time—a note, and a brief reply; a little letter, a long letter, and finally these voluminous epistles of eight or ten sheets of note- paper which mark the highest point of the folly of love. Alas! The joy of the young reople was brief, and sorrow rapidly arrived to destroy it. They were seen, spied, the news reached their respective papas, and all the thunderbolts of pa- ternal wrath, embittered by eleven lawsuits, fell upon the heads of the poor lovers. The balcony windows were closed, the bolts were fastened on the terrace door, the carnation pinks on the bush were counted, walks were forbidden or at least made with- out previous notice, the hour of go- ing to mass varied each Sunday—but those two continued to love each other. Rebuffs, exhortations, prohibitions, difficulties, availed only to inflame their love; at night, in the winter. Maria arose, dressed herself, wrapped incomparable | | took lonely walks, was always deeply v hig lifer” herself in a shawl, and in -slippers, with bated breath, trembling for fear, descended the stairs to a window of the first floor; the ycung friends was in the street, leaning against the wall. So they talked for two or three hours, without caring for the ccld, the rain or the loss of sleep; they talked with- out seeing each other, from a distance of five meters of altitude, becoming silent at every sound of a passer, then cautiously . resuming their discourse, with the continual fear that Maria's parents might arouse and find her in that aerial colloquy. But what did, it all matter to them? They had, within their hearts, sunshine, light, springtime, courage, enthusiasm; if the king had come, they would not have moved. Instead, the brother of Maria, one night when he could not sleep, arose from his bed and found the door ajar, went down the stairs, heard a murmur, and caught his sister in the act; he unceremoniously barred the shutters in the face of Carlo, gave Maria a resounding box on the ear, and brought her to her room. Next morning the small window on the first floor was walled up. 0, all ye faithful lovers, who grieve amid the pains of thwarted love, imag- ine the despair of those two! Their letters were no longer legible, for tears blotted the words; rows of ex- clamation points, that looked like Prussian soldiers under arms, follow- ed the daily imprecations against for- tune, destiny, fate, and other imper- sonal beings incapable of ‘resenting them; a thousand fantastic plans were created, discussed and then re- jected. Carlo would have liked to elope: with Maria, but his father al- lowed him no money, and it would have been difficult to put together the nine lire and fifty centesimi for two tickets for the journey to Naples; they thought for a moment of suicide, but found that it would not solve the dif- ficulty. Then, in the long run, their love became systematic, the impreca- tions were always the same, and they could not go to their beds without hav- ing “poured forth upon the faithful paper the fullness of their grief.” In the town nothing was talked of but their unshakable love and their tor- ments; they were the objects of gen- eral interest; if a Neapolitan arrived, the townsfolk took him to see the ruins of the amphitheatre and related the case cof Carlo and Maria. There- fore the young people, flattered in their amour propre, assumed the ‘behavior fitting to the circumstances: Maria was always pale, with a melanchely air, never smiling, always talking to her girl friends about her joyless days,’ in all heroines. to resemble Mastriani's respects Carlo content one cf derressed; at" balls he never moved out of a corner, content that they mur- mured around him: “Poor young man; that unfortunate love affair sadfens In society, at small festivi- ties, in vigits, with the unwearying monotony of the province, the discourse always returned upon the subject of the two lovers. Carlo and Maria bore with dignity the burden of their popu- larity. - Finally, after I don’t kncw how many ‘'years—four or five,.it seems to me—of this continual struggle, of dai- ly weeping, of long, long love main- tained alive by dissensions, the aspect of things changed. There was a wor- thy person—there still are such—who with many efforts of eloquence per- suaded the parents that by the law- suits they were losing property, and much of it, as witness the two advo- cates who had grown rich at the ex- pense of their clients; that those two young people were pining and would go into a decline because of that thwarted love; the houses were side by side, and fhe estates contiguous; Christ forgave and they must forgive, if they wished to find forgiveness. He said so much, and so many Other per- sons, moved by the examrle, inter- posed, that the questions came to a compromise which had, as its first chapter, the marriage of Carlo and Maria. Here surely every one will suppose that the young people were greatly consoled, and will suppose truly— but my obiigation as a sincere story- teller constrains me to say that.in their first free colloquy reigned a great em- barrassment. They were accustomed to see each other at a distance, by stealth; to speak from a first floor window down to the street, in the darkness, disguising or smothering their voices: they found themselves quite different, perhaps a little ridicu- lous; they had no subjects of conver- sation, they were often silent, hasten- ing their thoughts the hour when they should quit each other. There were no more imprecations and tears to be mingled with the ink; they no longer wrote to each other. Everything was free, smooth, easy for their affection; they were not obliged to think of sub- tleties by which to evade the vigilance of their elders; they took no mcre pleasure in murmuring a few words in secret; they made no more daring projects for the future. They would be married prosaically, without .obsta- cles, like so many other silly couples. The townsfolk no longer took thought of them; the wonder and the comments on the marriage once over, Carlo and Maria no longer awoke attention; were no longer talked about; their be- havior was noted no more; they ceased to be pointed out as an example of fidelity. Now all eyes were fixed upon the wife of the pretor, who was ac- cused of too’ great partiality for the vice-attorney—a serious piece of busi- ness. The two lovers felt themselves for- saken; a great coolness arose between them. Carlo found that the virtues of his fiancee, those virtues which shone in her letters, were dimmed by the atmosphere of home; Maria frequently thought that Carlo was rather com- monplace in his tastes, and that to end, with a stupid marridge, so tem- pestuous a love was unworthy cf a reader of Mastriani. A few lively re- marks passed between them in re- gard to ‘illusions: contradicted by the reality,” about ‘“‘mirages,”’” “optical de- lusions,” and similar pin-pricks; a quarrel ensued, then two, then they became a daily occurrence. One even- ing Maria said-with an irritated tone: ‘‘Carlo, let us leave it off.’ “Let us,” he replied without hesita- tion. : And the next day he set off on a journey for the improvement of his mind; Maria went to Naples, to the house of a cousin, to fish for a heroic husband. The families had a new fall- ing out; Maria's father had an open- ing made for a window which over-- looked his neighbor’s courtyard; - the latter, in order to anncy him, built a dove-cote of which the doves ran about everywhere; immediately there was a summons, a second, a third the law- suits began again, and this time, the advocates said, smiling, without hope of any compromise.—Matilde Seras: Translated by E. Cavazza for Short Stories Magazine. QUAINT AND CURIOUS. A New York theatrical manager says that only one play in fifty wins. It is estimated that not less than $20,000,000 is paid out in tips year- ly in Paris. A folding bed for touring automobiles is the latest thriller for those who crave extra hair-raising excitement. Alfred Howard Lloyd, of Harewoods, Bletchingley, England, sent as a Christmas box a check for $5000 to each of his thirty-seven nephews and nieces. A noted London photozrapher who has taken the portrait of almost every European celebrity for years past said the other day in an interview: “All royal people are invariably consider- ate.” The oratorio of “The Messiah” was given entire by graphophone to an au- dience of over a thousand persons in Weymouth, England, the other night. It was considered a complete musical success. Along the central part of the Ccago River there are a number of salt marshes. The African digs shallow holes in these whence issue streams of hot water, which, on beirLiz evaporated, leaves a residue of salt. established at schoolboys A bureau has been Budapest for supplying with ready-written essays and prose and verse compositions and transla- tions in any language at eight cents a paze. The Budapest education au- thorities have applied to the govern- ment to suppress it. The largest lighthouse in existence is situated at Cape Henry, Virginia. It is one hundred and sixty-five feet in heizht, and its walls are eight feet thick. Virginia also boasts of the largest fort in the world, Fortress Mon- roe; though, of course, Gibraltar eclipses it in mere strength. A bridge built entirely of mahogany, said to be the only cne of the kind in the world, is in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The bridge spans the Rio Michol, and its total length, including approaches, exceeds 150 feet, while the width is fifteen feet. It is used by both teams and pedestrians, aad, though somewhat rude and primitive in construction, it is substantial. None of the timbers of the flooring were sawed, for in that regicn there ‘are no sawmills, but were hewed and split. The Way of Man. Mrs. Knicker—Is your husband prac- tical? Mrs. Bocker—No; he remembers a winter just like this when he was a boy, but he won't recall an errand I asked him to do in town this morning. —New York Sun. ~~ | Good Cooking a Bar to Divorce } By Dr. Henry N. Wiley. a Chemist for the United States Department sami, of Agriculture. IVORCE will decrease about 90 percent when women learn the art of cooking. When that happens this will be the happiest place this side of Arcady or heaven—though I do not know the geographical location of the latter place, nor am | acquainted with the nutrients used there. Of course, a man like myself who has never married cannot pretend to speak with authority on such subjects as divorce. But I do think that if more attention were paid to : cuisine in the ordinary menage—if more wives were cap- able of giving that department of the domestic machinery intelligent super- vision—the divorce courts could pretty nearly go out of business. Moreover, if wives all learned ta cook, that dreaded bugaboo, vant problem,” would evaporate. » I remember going to a farmers’ institute—I used to go to a good many of them—and hearing a very nice paper on how to keep husbands at home. We all listened with deep attention. : .- When it was all over, an old lady sitting in one of the back seats arose and said: “I have been greatly edified and interested by what Mrs. Blank has said; but I faney I have had’ more experience in this matter of keeping hus- bands at home than she has—more perhaps than most of you here present— and ‘I want to say that there is just one way, one infallible rule, beautiful in its simplicity, unfailing in its application, and that is—FEED THE BRUTES!” = And that old lady was right. If a man comes home to three good meals a day, good food and plenty of it, well cooked and well served, with a redson- able deference to his indivigdual tastes—do you think he’s going to quarrel with his luck? Why, he'd be a fool! ~ 2 ADALALLAL A vvVvVveove “ OH 000000 A veYvevvee ye OOO0 HALAL YyYvyveoeovee the ‘‘ser- ARAARRRLRAARRLAERR ALR RARRRAS First Step the Hardest § By Graham Hood. HE’ size of a task often depends upon the point from which we: view it. Sitting in an easy chair, racking our brains to evolve some plan by which we can accomplish the la- bor with the least possible cffort, it sometimes assumes gigantic proportions, and we tremble at the thought of the difficulties that confront us. ‘As we approach, however, the change in the perspective produces a conspicuous change in the appearance of the object aimed at, and when we actually do begin to climb—day by day ascending higher and higher —we smile to think that we ever should have hesitated at so easy an ascent. It is the same with other tasks in life as it is with mountain climbing: The main point is to begin.’ Once under way the task becomes a compara- tively easy one; the difficulties that seemed so gigantic gradually dissolve as we approach, and by quietly and easily climbing we suddenly discover that we have reached the top. The task has been accomplished, and as we look back upon it we marvel to see with what slight effort the work has been done. The hardest part of any enterprise is in taking the first step. The best way to take this first step is to take it at once. Few of us are so deeply in- spired that we cannot resist the temptation to work. Most of us need to be goaded up to the desire. By the exercise of a little will power, however, we can easily overcome such a fault, and by making up our minds to per- severe in doing something every day, whether we want to do or not, we shall soon find that it was not so difficult a matter to overcome that spirit of in- decision that is responsible for so much of the loitering in this world.—— New York Globe. MAAS EE] Brera tie) Nature's Problems 3 Solved by Heat ¢ L By Prof. Robert K. Duncan. Crm GrumrrrmarvenS | % JoofesTorfesfeafesferlede 5 IR Andrew Noble has reached the highest point of temper- E ature in terrestrial thermometry. He has accomplished this by exploding cordite in closed vessels with a result- ing pressure of 50 tons to the square inch, and a temper- ature of no less than 5200 degrees C. Sir William Crookes saw that one incidental result of this experiment should have been the formation of diamond-—that is, if his calcula- ‘tions. were correct. On working ever the residue of the explosion chamber he has recently extracted from them small crystals that seem to be veritable diamonds. We see, then, that if men cannot control the conditions that make for large diamonds they, at least, understand them. It is, in all likelihood, a matter of a comparatively short time when the diamond will have been con- quered as absolutely as the ruby. With this final temperature of 5200 degrees C. we have reached the lim- it of man’s present attainment. On looking back, we that every step in temperature he has so far taken has led him just so far along the path to universal conquest—the absolute conquest which he is destined ultimate- ly to make. : But in this phase of temperature alone he has still far to go. We have had evidence from many sources that cven in the sun, which is by no means the hottest of the heavenly bodies, and which yet temperatures that transcend anything we know on carth, the very elements of matter lie there disintegrated into simpler forms. Such temperatures are the distant Aidpine heights, ever and ever so far higher than the slight ascent to which we have co tediougly arrived.—Harper's Magazine. Ja ole Sfeafesferfertesfentend F Greleeotolnlony tt See possesses CN £ Evil Effects of Football, Basketball «na Hockey By President Eliot, of Harvard. oon fl pre algae dvioney) O discontinue football, basket ball and hockey at Harvard would do no harm. Basket ball is very objectionable. It is too rough and there are too many chances for cheating. The rules have been stretched so that they spoil the game. It would be a good thing to have basket ball especially discontinued. Rowing and tennis are the only sports in which honorable play altogether is practiced. That is what I sald, or in- tended to say, at last Thursday's crew dinner. You can nc more cheat in those two sports than in a-game of cards; you would be crowded out of society if you tried. - Z 5 To baseball there are many objections; still I would not advocate its dis- continuance, because it is so popular. Some forms of track sport are also ‘objectionable. In it there is too much cheating on record. Hockey is altogether too rough. It requires team work, and I must say that I have no use for a game that requires that. [It is not open enough and, as in basket ball, its rules have been distorted. I have explained my objections to football. I know it is popular but, as I have said, the university would not suffer a particle if there were no imore football. Lacrosse has not been played at Harvard long enough for me to express my opinion on its merits. 1 cannot say too much in favor of rowing. Not only is there an ab- sence of cheating, but it is the most healthful and interesting as well as one of the two most honorable sports. Tennis can be played with profit by any one. All it requires is individual skill and brains. There is no underhanded team work to it. : : T 1 ashes, backache, sees Bad Symptoms. The woman who has periodical head- imaginary dark spots or specks floating or dancing before Ler eyes, hag gnawing distress or heavy full feeling tomach, faint spells, drag- ling in lower abdominal or pelvic region, easily startled or excited, Inesn r or painful periods, with or with- or badly treated and such fn run into maladies which de- e surgeon’s knife if they do not atally. \ edicine exta 4 g ingredients known to medical science for the cure of woman’s peculiar ailments enter into its composition. No alcohol, harmful, or habit-forming drug is to be found in the list of its ingredients printed on each bottle-wrapper and attested under oath. In any condition of the female system, Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription can do only good—never harm. 1ts whole effect is to strengthen, invigorate and regulate the whole female system and especially tha pelvic organs. "When these are de- ranged in function or affected by disease, the stomach and other organs of digestion become sympathetically deranged, the nerves are weakened. and a long list of bad, unpleasant symptoms follow. Too much must not be expected of this “Fa- vorite Prescription.” It will not perform miracles; will not gure tumors—no med- icine will. Tt will often prevent them, if taken in time, and thus the operating table and the surgeon’s knife may be avoided. Women suffering from diseases of long standing, are invited to consult Doctor Pierce by letter, free. All correspondence is held as strictly private and sacredly confidential. Address Dr. R. V. Pierce Buffalo, N.Y. : Dr. Pierce’s Medical Adviser (1000 pages) is sent free on receipt of 21 one-cent stamps for paper-covered. or 31 stamps for cloth-bound copy. Address as above. How Italians Reckon Time. In Italy time "is reckoned on the 24-hour system. Thus, 3 o'clock in. the afternoon. is there designated as 15 o'clock. Midnight is 24 o’cloek.’ The good sense of this plan should commend its use by all enlightened nations.—Travel Magazine. FITS, St. Vitus'Dance : Nervous Diseases per- manently cured by Dr. Kline's Great Nerve Restorer. #2 trial bottle and treatise free. Dr. H. R. Kline, L.d.,981 Arch St., Phila., Pa. Mayor Johnson of Cleveland be- lieves that the virtual victory of the 3-cent fare in his city will eventually lead to free street cars. Only One “Bromo Quinine” That is Laxative Bromo Quinine. Similar- ly named remedies sometimes deceive. The first and original Cold Tablet 1s a White Package, with black and red lettering. and bears the signature of KE. \V. Grove. 25c. Decrease in the Population of Italy. Recent statistics having shown that Italy’s population for the last five yars has been decreasing owing to emigration, the gove.nment has de- cided to adopt restrictive measures. It has been found that in several of the provinces which furnish the greatest numbef of emigrants the deaths already outnumber the births. In other provinces the population is found to be stationary. The lack of laborers is felt evervwhere through- out the country. The government has hitherto encouraged emigration. ENDURES ECZEMA 5 YEARS. Sores Behind Ears Spread to Cheeks ~—Best Doctors Fail—But Cuti- ra Remedies Effect Cure. “Words are inadequate to express my gratitude for Cuticura Remedies. 1 had been troubled with eczema for five years on my ear and it began to extend on my cheek. I bad been doctoring with the best physicians, but found no relief what- ever. When informing them that I could not bear the itching 1 was teid by one of our best doctors, ‘not to scratch. As the medicines and salves did me no good I thowsht I would get the ‘Magic Three,” Cuticura Soap, Cuticura Ointment and Cuticura Pills, costing me one-half of one visit to my physician. After using as di- rected, with plenty of hot water, 1 can truthfully state that I found instant re- lief. When I had used three boxes of Cuticura Ointment and two cakes of Cuti- cura Soap I found my skin as soft and fine as a baby’s. My circle of friends is very large, and I am persuading thenr to use Cuticura Soap and give up the kinds they were using. I find no trouble, as my case has proven to them that it Cuticura Oint- ment is good, Cuticura Soap must be like- wise. Miss Netta Ayers, 131 Franklin Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.. Sept. 1 and 15, 706.” Five Acres a Competency. Farming lands are advancing in value by leaps and bounds. Improv- ed methods of cultivation and more accessible markets make five acres in many instances a more valuable possession than 160 acres a genera- tion ago. The department of agri- culture declares five acres ample for the support of a family. How fool- ish, then, to continue giving away the small remnant of the nation’s culti vable lands in 160-acre tracts, espe cially since under the commutatio, clause of the homestead act the gift usually goes to some great land grab- ber instead of going, as intended, to a home-builder..—Maxwell’'s Talisman. DOES YOUR BACK ACHE? Cure the Kidneys and the Pain Will Never Return. Only one sure way to cure an ach- ing back. Cure the cause, the kid- neys. Thousands tell 0? cures made by. Doan’s Kidney Pills. John C. Coleman, a prominent merthant of Swainsboro, Ga., says: ‘For several years my kidney were affected, and my back ached day and night. 1 was languid, nervous and lame in the morning. Doan’s Kidney Pills helped me right away, and the grea: relief that followed has been permanent.” Sold by all dealers. 50 cents a box. Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers