Extensive educational reform are
projected by the Madrid ministry.
The war demonstrated the need ol
teaching the Hpaiiish young idea bow
to shoot.
-
Since July lust DIM) blcyclos have
been stolen in Ohiengo, and the po
lit of Mint eiy give out tho uiininn
gravely Mint dome hike burglar is try
ing for n ten-century record.
The shadoof Christopher Columbus,
iu the l'.lysinu Fields, must smile with
amusement to see his counlrynion of
today carrying his brother's dust to
and fro upon the earth tmder the
pious fiction tlmt it is his, while hi
own rests undisturbed by tho side of
tho rusting fetters he once wore.
One of the first acts of General
Wood at Santiago de Cuba was to re
form and vastly improve tho school
system. General Kitchener's first act
concerning Khartoum since his con
quest of the place is to raise 85(10, 0(10
for the establishment of a college
there. " That is what Anglo-Saxon
conquest means today the building
not of fortresses to enslave people, but
of schools to educate and elevate
them.
The Massachusetts Socialists ae
highly elnted by the showing which
they made at the recent election iu
Massachusetts, having a total of 10,.
000 against CHOI a year ago. This w ill
entitle the party next year to a place
upon tho official ballot as a regular
political party, and they are greatly
encouraged by tho success in Haver
hill of .lames F. Carey and Louis M.
Scales, who were elected to the Legis
lature on the Socialist-Labor ticket,
and will bo the first Socialists to hold n
Heat in any legislative body iu the
United States, it is said.
The advantages of ancestry and
family aro worth little iu themselves
to a young man savo in our oldest
communities. In tho newer parts of
tho country the day laborer, provided
nature has gifted him with brains and
energy, may cherish any ambition.
Lincoln was a day lnborer. General
Miles was a clerk iua dry goods store.
Bluino taught a country school. Gar
field drove mules on tho towpatli.
McKinley practised law in the insig
nificant little towu of Canton, Uhio.
Many of onr millionaires began as
workmen. Other men who are drudg
ing for wages today will bo tho mil
lionaires of twenty-five years hence.
Birmingham, England, is frequently
referred to as tho best governed city
in the world. Whether or not that is
true, Birmingham certainly has ir.ude
greater progress in municipal social
ism than any other city. Almost
everything is municipalize d. It was
a pioneer in municipal tenement
bouses, markets, slaughterhouses, mu
Bourns, art galleries, libraries, indus
trial schools, public laundries and
baths, street-car lines, gas plants, elec
trio lighting, and draws most of its
revenues from business blocks erected
by the city upon the ground which
was formerly covoied with tho shims,
and was purchased iu order to eradi
cate them. Municipal sanitation ia
probably carried to greater perfection
in Birmingham than in any other city
in the world, and the common council
is now spending $2, 000,000 in the
purchase of a farm upon which the
sownge of the city may bo utilized as
a fertilizer.
One of the greatest drawbacks to
arming in this country, and espe
cially in the New England states, is the
difficulty of keeping the boys upon
the farm. Fifty girls have taken up
the study of scientific farming in the
Minneapolis college of agriculture.
The progress of these young women
will attract general attention, and if
the results ore practical the innovation
will naturally spread to other states,
and thus ia the end work a reform iu
farming matter that will not only give
a new impetus to the industry, but
also rehabilitate many of the now
abandoned New England farms, and
furnish profitable, healthy aud even
congenial employment to the super
abnudaut female population of those
states. With scientific methods, in
conjunction with the labor-saving ma
chines now in vogue, farming is not
accompanied by the drudgery that
necessarily attended the work iu the
yean goue by. There is nothing iu
the whole routine of farm labor that
cannot be accomplished by the aver
age woman, aud iu no instance need
he unset herself in it performance.
It is to be hoped the movement start
ed by the Minnesota women will re
sult in a reformation in farm matters
that will not only increase the quanti
ty and quality of the product, but also
render the home of the farmer attract
ive to the young men of the family.
A LULLABY FROM THE WE3T.
ffsv, bnhyl Ho, baby! what 'i afi the row?
Close up Ihnm peeper on' go to sleep now!
I'sppy 's hern with him an' no un '11 hurt
If there Is, ntun Kdloot ' ffot to eat flirt!
J am pin' Jiihusnphat! hear how he yellsl
Woron'n a hril that's stamps'lcil eormlls!
Hounds like Apai'hss a-huntln' a muss
Hoy, bahy! Ho, baby! dry up yr fuss!
Itny, baby! Ho, bithy! look out down them!
Hint's vr Tap's all-shooter bottnr take
onri'!
Untiv too tlltln to handle a Kiini
Wlmu yer In trousers yer 1'appy 'II Ret one,
t.t'nrn ye to shout It, too. Itnlly fcr ynu !
Yer a true sum ' West, through an' through!
f.'tok llko ii tenderfoot yet, but ye ain't
Hey, luiliy! Ho, baby! sleep likes snlnt!
Hey, baby! Ho, baby! Oosh! him screw
tip Ills ktd face Worsn 'n enyntes 'II dot
Hiy up that noise, er ver I'nppy 'II shout,
1 hlnkln' he 's trapped by a band o' Pint" !
Mammy 'II come la a minute! Sow quit!
Panthers fcr yellln' nln t Iu It a llt!
What! bev ye quIlV pat an end to yer fuss?
Hey, bahy! Ho, baby! out" little (-ihs!
Hov r'nrrell (Ireeu, la 1'iiek.
ABIJAH BLAISDELL'S HEN. jj
j Was Not tht Wide Who Cart Way.
fit srnA naowx nomiiNs.
"She's the most remarkable hen iu
the country. I know she doesn't look
it. No.she'd never take a prize ut the
cattle show. She ain't, so to speak,
pure blooded. Sonm folks would oven
call her mongrel, but 1 think it's more
respectful to refer to her as a compos
ite. Why, she knows more than some
men nnd most women," and Abijah
would gaze admiringly at his solitary
fowl.
"You'll think she'd bo lonesome,
would you? Well, how about mo? O,
no! we keep each other company. I
don't want auy better companion than
Belinda, and she uevor finds a bit of
fault with me.
'Did I ever tell yon how it came
about that she was left here all alone?
You know I used to keep hens. I had
those three houses full. They didn't
do well, Honiohow,and one winter when
grain was extra high and tho hens
didn't lay an egg, 1 got disgusted and
vowed I'd sell oil' tho wholo lot of
them.
"Well, a lien ninu came along, and
lie and I went out ami caught the
hens, and an awful squawking and
dust they made, too. When the man
had paid me and gotioou", I felt pretty
good.
"Hut just as I tit nod to go into the
house I heard a lift. a noise, and there
came Belinda picking along as nice as
you please. 1 was mad, aud 1 told
her then and thero that she needn't
think she could get the best of me
that way, and just as soon as I'd eaten
up a mess of corned beef I'd just got,
I'd kill her and have a chicken pie.
"She looked up at me and craiked,
the way she ha'. She gives two or
thrse craikes like an ordinary hen,
and then her voice kind of breaks in
.along, pitiful wail. It sounded just
as if she said 'O.O.O, dou't!' if you'll
believe me, I said out loud to her, 'All
right, I won't.
"Since then she's had things about
her own way. I was going to tear
down the henhouses, but Belinda alio
likes to use all of 'em, so I didn't.
Sho always lays iu the first one. The
second one she has for n dining room
mid living room, and she sleeps iu tho
third one.
"Yes, it's some trouble to take care
of them all, but as long as Belinda is
satisfied I don't find any fault.
"Lay? You never aaw a hen that
would lay as she does. Sho hasn't
missed a day in six months.
"And it's a fiiuny thing, too. My
aunt Nancy came hero on a visit and
stayed a mouth. Now, she bates hens,
but she likes eggs. Well, what do
you think? All t lie time she was here,
Belinda didn't lay a single egg! But
ho began again tho very day aunt
Nancy went away. She knew what
aunt Nancy was just as well as I did,
and she wanted to spite her.
"Why, I dou't know but I should
liave got married before now if it
uadu t bceu for Belinda, but I dou't
suppose she'd like to have auy other
woman around."
Thus would Abijah Blaisdell run on
about his hon, as long as any one
would listen to him.
The widow Millett, Abijuh's next
door neighbor, talked a good deal
about the hen, but iu a different strain.
She addressed her remarks to hoi sol'
or to tho hon, ao no one was the
wiser. Sho huted hens in general,
and Belimla iu particular.
"If you'd luiud your own business
and keep on your own side cf the
fence, I wouldn t say a word, but I
won't have you iu my flower bods.
Shoo! scat!" and she would shake her
kirts at the intruder, and with a
frowu on her usually placid fuce, chase
tbe hen oil' her premises.
"It isn't aloue that you are a ben,"
she would say again, as she sat at her
window and looked over across at
Abijah'a yard where Belinda could be
seen. 'But it's your beiug his' beu,
and making him the laughing stock ot
the neighborhood. He acts just as if
you were a person, and he seems to
Lave forgotton my existence.
"To be sure, he never did take
much notice of me, but there was a
time when I thought " here she
would break oil" and blush a little;
"well, any way, I should think you'd
be ashamed to make a grown mun act
so silly."
As time went on her hatred of Be
linda increased. There seemed to be
au irresistible fascination for the bed
iu Mrs.1 Millett' guidon, and nearly
every day found her scratching there.
"I never did boo a lieu that kuew
anythiug," the widow would say
wrathfully, "and I believe you know
the loast of any of tlioin."
She spoke to Abijah about keopiug
bis ben at homo, and he fixed up the
fence with that object in view, but
fence were iiothuig to Belinda. Sue
was light of weight, and could fly over
anything constructed of laths.
One day the widow found the ben
busily digging a largo hole iu the
midst of her pansy bed. Thereupon
in the heat of her auger she gave vent
to dire threats,
"If I find yon over here scratching
agai, yon, Belinda Blaisdell, I shall
kill yon. Do you hear? You think I
wouldn't do it, but I just would. I
have had to kill hens before now and
I didn't like the job, but I almost
think I'd enjoy killing you, you mean
old thing. Now remember! I'm a
woman of my word and I shall keep
it, if I have to chase you nil tho way
home to catch you."
As sho went into the house, she bo
gnu to repent of her threats. "I sup
poso 1 should hate to kill tier," she
soliloquized, "but I Mini 1 would, and,
yes, 1 will, if sho scratches any more,
But I'll keep a close watch of her and
keep her away s i that I wou't have to
do it. And I il get AIM ah to build his
fence biuhcr. "
After that Belinda was on Mrn. Mil
lctt's mind most of tho time. Sho
was driven home ninny times a day,
and never got a chnucoto have a good
scratch.
But this thing could not go on for
ever. As cold weather canio on,
and tho frost had taken most of her
flowers, Mrs. Millctt's vigilance began
to relax, and one day Belinda came
over and found a uico sunny place iu
a grassy banking, w here she scratched
and dusted to her heart's content for
half an hour before she was dis
covered. There she lay her feathers full of
dirt anil her eves blinking sleepily,
when Mrs. Millett came aloug and saw
her.
The widow pounced upon her, but
Belinda was too quick for her. There
upon liegnn a cliaso which only ended
ill the uiiildlo house, which Jlelemla
had always used for a dining room
aud living room.
The next day thero was news for
tho gossips. Abiah Blaisdell had lost
bin hen.
"You see, I was awav from homo all
day," he said, "and I didn't get homo
till dark. But I'd left feed enough for
Belinda's dinner and supper, so I
didn't worry about her. I went out aud
shut the door of the third house, be
cause I supposed she'd gone to bed,
but I didn't look in, as I was iu a
hurry to get to my supper.
"Well, this morning I went to let
her out, and sho didn't come. The
house was empty. Tho other two
houses were empty, too, but in tho
second line there were some feathers.
Now, I suppose for some r aoin she took
a notion to sleep in the second homo,
and as I didn't shut that, Homo vnr
mint got in and caught her. .V was a
fox must likely."
I'or a day or two Abijah was low
spirited, but ho was of a philosophical
mind, and he decided to mako tho best
of it, so he began to tear dowu tho
henhouses, as there was no further
use for them.
It was the fourth day after Belinda's
disappearance that Abijah went to do
so.no w hitewashing for Mrs. Millett.
"You'd better stay to dinner," she
bad said, "then you can work longer,"
and Abijah had agreed.
The widow was up early that morn
ing aud hud her dinner started be
times. Only a few minutes before
Abijah rninn alio removed tho cover
of a ki ttle which was sinking on the
stove aud looked in nnxi uisiy.
"I expect you'd a-lieen ns tough ns
a biled owl if I bud n't kept you so
long." she said. "As it is, I guess
you'd better boil pretty steady till
noon."
Abijah worked busily and cheer
fully, and as the savory smells from
Mis kitch"ii came to bim, his spirits
rose and bo whistled hi favorite
tunes.
. When dinner wus announced be
dropped bis brush instantly and came
without delay.
He enjoyed his diunor immensely,
and as he took a second helping of the
central dish be said, lo iking across ut
the widow.
"I believe this ia the best chicken
pie I ever ate."
"I'm glad you like it, "she answered,
and he noticed that she blushed at his
compliment
They say that tho way to a man's
heart is through his stomach. If this
is true, that chicken pie must have
been the entering wedge iu tho case
of Abijah Blaisdell.
Be this as it may, he and the widow
were married last' June. Boston
Horuld.
A Iog Mops ltiiitiiwit't
A butcher boy iu Chicago, four
year ago, taught a Great Dane pup
to sit ou the seat of the delivery
wagon, hold the reins iu his mouth
and pull back on them if the horse
started while the boy wus away.
It was a pretty trick, and has
been the pride of the butcher boy
even after lie got a shop of bis own
and had other boys to deliver for bim.
A few days ago, as the Great Dane
was trotting beside the wagon, the
horso shied so violently as to throw
the driver from his seat. Tho horse
thou ran away up tbe street, the rein
dragging on the ground. The dog
was puzzled for ten seconds. He
looked at the boy scrambling to his
feet, half dazed. He looked at the
runaway horse tearing dowu the street.
He looked at the dangling line and
he decided something was to be done.
Sprinting after tho runaway he caught
bim in a block, seized the r ins, which
were luckily buckled, in his teeth, and
settled buck, au animated, scratching,
bouncing anchor. The horse was not
so very badly scared, after all, and tbe
dog was a big dog to carry ou tho bit.
The horse stopped presently, the
Great Dane grunting with joy of the
struggle, and the boy came up. - All
which shows the value of early edu
cation, ew York Commercial Advertiser,
388
NEW YORK
THE LATEST DESIGNS IN GOWNS AND
WRAPS FOR YOUNG GIRLS.
New Yohk Citt (Special). The
gowns for young girls this reason are
made on very much the same lines a
those that are worn by older womcu,
but the materials used are not quite so
SKIRT AND WAIST Fon A TOVKO MtRS.
heavy. Au unusual nnd very useful
littlo gown is mado oi a wine-colored
cloth. Tho skirt, long ami close-fitting,
has no flounce or tunic, but is
trimmed with bands of violet velvet that
are put ou dowu the front breadth.
COSTUME
form a small circle, and then go round
the entire skirt. The waist is tight
fitting, with the fulness drawn in at
the belt, aud is trimmed with bauds of
velvet put on as though to outline a
bolero jackot; over the shoulders are
ruffles of the cloth double rutlles, one
shorter than thoothor and the sleeves
are close-fitting. On the waist are also
round gold buttous, aud ut the throat
is a soft tie of wine-colored silk. This
gown has much tho prinoessa effect,
but is mado with separate skirt and
waist.
Gray cloth gowns are very fashion
able, sometimes made only with the
gray, and in other cases relieved by
the trimming of some contrasting
color. A very graceful gown, cut iu
princesse style, is of the lightest shade
of gray, trimmed with bauds down the
front of white cloth on whioh are
smaller bands of a deep blue velvet.
The way in which these bands are put
on is quite different from auy thing that
hns as yet been worn. The front of
the gowu is perfectly plain, at the
throat ia a large bow of blue velvet,
and the sleeve are finished at the wrist
with two bands of the velvet, blue aud
white. The bat worn with this is a
pale gmf velvet trimmed with rosettes
of velvet, two gray ostrich tips, and
exaggeratedly large jet pins stuck
through the velvet rosettes. The mull'
with this gown is of gray chinchilla.
MtylUh Coatuma For a Girl.
A very new and stylish combination,
by May Mauton, is shown in the large
sngraving in stone gray and rich red.
The gray novelty wool good is strewn
over with polka dots of red velvet or
fthenilie. The yoke and collar are
)l machine tucked velvet that is
hnncrbfc vmaiIt fnelrAil Inr ibia mirnnnw
The bertha has a facing of plain red i
velvet, its lowest edge being trimmed I
with three evenly spaced row of nar- !
. l i . : i . i . . . l i. . . ..
row ran tooci uuuuu iu iuuiuu iua
skirt and sloeves. A sash of satin
backed velvet is tied around the waist.
The waist i arranged over fitted
linings that close invisibly iu centre
back. The full front and backs are
gathered top aud bottom and applied
at round yoke depth, the yoke being
faoed with tuoked velvet. The pretty
bertha is shaped in square outline,
the top being rounded to tit the lower
FASHIONS.
edgo of yoke. A standing collat
covered with tucked velvet finishes
tho neck. The sleeves fit the arm
closely, being shaped with upper and
under portions, stylish puds being
gathered and arranged at the top.
The wrists are trimmed with cross
lines of narrow velvet ribbon, which
decoration is repeated just below the
puns of sleeves.
Tho skirt is shaped with four gore
that fit at the top and flare prettily at
the foot. Gat herssnd just the fulness
in back, and the top is sewed to lower
edge of waist. The three evenly
spaced rows oi velvet ribbon are an
pliod to form a pretty pointed outline
in centre front.
Very many charming combinations
of material and coloring may be sug'
gested by the mode. Tho bertha
could bo all of velvet with guipure
applique border, and the yoke and
collar covered with all over guipure or
the dress may be all of one fabric, the
yoke and collar being covered and the
bertha outlined, with rows of ribbon,
plain or frizzed.
Serge, cheviot, cashmere, veiling.
broadcloth or other wcolen fabrics will
trim durably with braid, while silk
materials may have insertion or ribbon
as decoration.
To make this costume for a girl of
eight years will require two and one
half yards of material forty-four inches
wide.
i:xisnnlTi anil Varied Ur Fabrlca,
Fashionable dress fabrics aro varied
indeed this season, but it is the soft
clinging textures that havo tlr.it place.
A now cloth called ilrnp do chine, soft
faced oloths and drap d'ete are all
FOU A OlitL.
worn, and the silks must be soft and
pliable, or they have no style. Fleur
de voloura make beautiful gowns, and
tho old-fa:ihioned armure and otto
man silks we coming into favor again.
The prettiest of all tho fabrics for a
dressy gown is the new crepo de
chiue, as glossy as satin. To be sure
it costs three, four or five dolUrs a
yard, but then this is au extravagant
"ge.
Whiter Wrap For n Cilrt.
It Woulii seem a.) though every pos
sible style had alreaily been exhausted
in the designs that have been shown
iu the wiuter wraps for girls, but
every week now ones appear; some of
j.o. a coat roc a un;L.
tlMu made on the same line as the
ctfer ones, but all with uove'ty at
tj out and trimming. One of the
litest design for a oloth long ooat for
girl is tbe r doonipauyiog (mart, but
rather trying design.
K?i'-sv'tV.--V7
1
ARGENTINE'S LOCUST PLACU
Many ftellsvs That lbs Conntry Can !,
R free Prom Thm,
The Argentine Bepublio is snbjoc
to droughts, and the crop rise an
falls according to tbe weather. Th
worst thing, however, that the far
mcrs have to contend with is tbe lol
ousts. The pest that infests tbe Ar
TUB A tUlENTIKE LOCUST W HICH t EBTltOT
TUB WnHAT CROP.
getitine is fully as bad as the locus'
plague with which the Lord aflliotcl
l'haraoh.
Many people believe that the Rittia
tion is such that the number of locust
will increase from year to year, an
that the country can never be free froil
them. Ibey argue this from the locn!
tiou of the Argentine. It is, yo
know, situated in the temperate zone
with a delightful climate and a fairH
good (oil. Just above it lies Brazil
which is covered with tropical vegetal
tion and vast areas of which will neve
be different from what they are now
In this country it is claimed thatth
loonnts have their breeding grounds
They are produced by the million
there every year, aud as a swar
thinks nothing of a flight of COO mile
yon can see that an army starting or
from there is a dangerous enei
They lay that the locusts breed
Brazil and annually start out for t
south, eating up everything as tbe
go
It is hard to realize what a terribh
thing such an invasion is. The loonst
appear in great swarms, which often
darken the sun if they fly betwee
you and it. They light on every thin
green and begin eating. The brauche
of the trees bend down with thei
weight and you can hear tbe snap
ping of their jaws as they crunch th
leaves. They often eat the flesh fron
the fruit, leaving the stones of th
peaches hanging to the bare branches
They will elenn the crops from th
fields, eating the grain dowu to th
ground. Sometimes they will tak
the green wheat from one side of th
road and pas by that on the other
and they sometimes fly on and on foi
days over rich fields to feed on tbos
beyond. The next swarm mar eil
that whioh is left.
This pest of the locust has been
great that the Argentine Governmen
ha been spending large sums of mone;
to get rid of them. Among other things:
they have sent to the United State1
for Professor Lawrence Bruner, of th
University of Nebraska, to investigatf
the subject and to give them advice
The Argentine locusts look ver
much like grasshoppers. They ar.
very prolific,, and the greatest damag
in caused not by those which come i
swarms, lint by the young locust
which follow. As the locusts mov
over the country they lay their egi
iu the ground. Each female loousi
makes a hole in the ground and lay!
about 100 etrcs. and a month or si
later these turn into 100 young locust
who crawl out and begin their marcfi
over the country. Their parents hav
pretty well cleaned up the crop. Th
babies start out to eat what hasgr,
up in the meanwhile. They cau
far at first, and they crawl aloj
ing up everything as they go.'
cover the ground, crawl overt
aud sweep the country of ere
green.
In a few week they grow w.
then fly onward to other
grounds. No conception can
of the enormous number of
ensts. In one year sixteen
eggs were destroyed in one
Billions of eggs are now bein
out of the ground and crashed,
to-day the Argentine farmers are fight
ing for their life with the locusts. 1
The methods for exterminating thei
are niuuy and costly. Thousand
dollars ore Rpent every year to ki
them. At the time of an invasion a
the farmers must turn out and destroj
them. They are caught iu traps
corrugated iron. I hey are scoopc
up with scrapers and killed; poison
i it. v,
il
WW
EACH
LOCUST
IOO
are used, and tbe grass, plant au
weeds are sometimes sprinkled it
arseuio, korosone and creosote. The
aro caught iu bags, driven into ditchd
and are killed iu all sorts of way
Nevertheless, in lH'.Hl it is estimate!
that $80,000,000 worth of wheat
thus destroyed iu two States of th
Argentine. This impoverished tl
farmer of those Stales, and the N
tional Government spent 310,000,0ft
that year iu giving them seed wheat
Two hundred thousand families,
ha been calculated, are living in Lot!
don on 5 a week.
WCU5T