SUCCESS 18 LIKE Siicppm U like A fur-off hill, Serenely wreathed In mellow n?", It loom there, dim nml illnlnnt, still When, after inntiv trying dti.vs, With waning hopes nnd shuttered will, We lift our weary heads ami guze. And like Mm fnr-off lilll thnt through The softening Unzo shows gem li' Mopes, The clouds oft hide It from lit view Thtit in the ilnrkeni l vnllcv propci The. roudwlnds much In lending to Thu lulit whereon ho at Is Ins hopes. -3. K I MABEL versus By CHARLOTTE It vm Mat Bronson who put the lde Into our . heads which, Indoed, were ready enough to receive It. I knew that Mat wes crois thnt nfternon JuBt by the way he slammed his wheel gainst the veranda and came charg ing up the s'.eps. "See here, Molly," w9 his only greeting, always having lived next door, he Is not always very ceremoni ous, "why don't you girls take the nonsense out of Mabel Rogers? I asked him, "What nonsense?" I knew well enough, but Mat has such an exasperating way of brenklng Into subject! "Don't be unnecessary denso," was all the satisfaction I received. "I tell you, Molly, I'm sick of Mabel's city airs and affectations, and so are all the other fellows. They're all begin ning to keep shy of her." It was wicked of mo, but I could not resist. "And yet," I said, "when Mr. Matth ew Bronson came home from college, about two weeks ago, ho paid It was refreshing to find one really stunning girl in town n girl with fome style and manner, a girl who knew what was what. And he considered It such a pity that the rest of tho Harwich girls couldn't visit somebody In New York, and" But that was as far as I got, for Mat was fairly snorting something about Its being Just like a girl to remember everything a fellow ever Bald, and rake It up after he had changed his mind. Then, when he felt a little more comfortable, he said he thought It was somebody's duty to make Mabel "cut it out," as he expressed It. Her fath er did not care to, It s?emcd, and her aunt did, not dare to, so he thought it was left for us his sister Nell and me as Mabel's most Intimate friends. Bhe was too fine a girl to be spoiled by such silliness, if It were one of the boys, now, the other boys would "take it out of hira mighty quick!" Nell had come upon tho veranda dur ing the oration, and she asked Mat, sarcastically, what method he would suggest Would he advise us to p:t Mabel on the floor and sit on her until she promised to be nice and natural again? She believed that was the us ual mode of procedure with boys. But Matthew only shook his head and hinted dnrkly that girls had "ways;" he did not know how they did things, but he knew they did. He could not tell, for instance, how they had made Ned Bates slop smoking but they had. Nell guve me a funny little look and cald that she guessed Ned could not tell, either, nnd I hurried to ask If Mabel had been doing anything new and striking. She was certainly inter esting in those, days. "I was over there a little while ago," said Mat, "to see if sho would go to Edith's party with me. That new maid held me up at the door for a card wouldn't let me in without It, either and ordered mo to walk Into the 'drawing room' while sho took the card to Miss Mabcllo. Mabel had eccu mo from tho window too." "Oh," I interrupted, "did you hear bow sho tried, to make Timothy wear livery whon ho took tho horses out? Fancy It Old Tlm! Of course he wouldn't, and for onco Mr. Rogers in terfered. He said that ho would pay the extra maid and change his dinner hour end call her Mabello, but ho wouldn't ot her niahe a fool of Tlm, too." Mat raid, "Good for him! I didn't know he had tho spirit." Then he told how ha asked Mabel to ro to the party, and sho wanted to know If he did not think that sort of thing "so country." Mat asked her what sort of thing, and she said, think ing you must always go to places with boys. And her aunt preferred her to Co Just with ono of the maids. Then Mat had scJd things. Ho told her that was all right in a city, but in the country, where they have been neighbors all tfcoir lives, it wca sim ply ridiculous. He finished by telling her that she could go with ono of the maids until the ond of her days, so far as Mr. Matthew Bronson was concern ed. .Then Mabel told him not to act like a small bcry, and be came away. Nell and I screamed. To be called a small boy is so Irritating when one Is! And Vat is undeniably undersized. But he did not sse the cause of our mirth. He said severely: "It's all very well to laugh, hut I think It's your duty to make ber drop tt, if you can. You think it over." So Nell and I thought it over. To tall the truth, we felt flattered by Hat's conOdencs In our power to do something, and we agreed with him In thinking that something ought to be dona Mabel Rogers usod to he considered the prattlost. brightest, moat popular girl in town before aha went to visit ber New York cousins; but that visit nearly spoiled ber. When she came back ber aim la Ufa was to look and A DISTANT HILL. Tho lilll that looms before its, fnr Away iutom the misty space, Pli'im"nnt. n imp nor hrctik to miir The even liimntv of Hit face, But. when wn renc'h It innny n sear And cleft It rough steeps liiterlnce. Silve In like the hill wp fro Kitr off, v Ihtp might v river spring, Ami few Hint rem-li It w nlt for free, l-nii- ilnys tlm tnt lire l to luliigi It 111 not I'umi' to u, 'tin we 'I hut Imvu to ilo the traveling. KImi', In The Chicago Ucoord-llcrnld. MABELLE. I SEOOWICK. act and talk llko the city girls she hud mot, nml of course she overdid It, No city girl ever would have recognized herself as tho original of Mabel's ex aggmiied Imitation. Sho wore her pompadour about three sizes too big; her manner was all "gush," and her affected way of talk ing made it a standing John In town that "Mabel Rogers went to New York on the cars; Akibolle Wogehrs came back fwom New Ynwk on tho enhs." What Mabel needed most, I think, was a brother. I have noticed that the girls who have brothers are not so apt to get silly little airs and affectations as other girls are. I have often wished I had a brother, but Mat does very well. Ho keeps me supplied with many ot ho comforts of one, par ticularly In the matter of frank crit Icsm. Nell and I thought It oil over for several days. We thought hnrd. It takes hnrd thinking, 1 nave discovered, to find a really successful way of not mlmling your own business. In tne end, I am sura wo would have given tt up If Noll had not had an Idea In Latin. She Is always having ideas in Latin. She hnd this one while we were read ing In tho hammock one afternoon, and she gave a little bounce that made the hammock flop nnd throw us out on the ground. Our hammock has tho flop piest disposition, anyhow. Then, whllo we sat there on the ground, weak from laughing, she ex plained that sho had the loveliest Idea. 1 said It seemed to have quite upset her, but she utterly euubbed my poor pun. "I Just found it in this book," she went on. 'Slmllla slmllibus curantur. I wonder we didn't think of it before." "Translate it," I said. I never havo Ideas In Latin myself. "And you expect to enter college this fall!" Nell said, significantly. "Llko cures like,' of course, my dear. I've heard it somewhtre before," she added, honestly. "You mean " I began. "Exactly," Nellie assured me. "We'll Just try being affected ourselves, and lot Mabel see how sill- It Is." I had my doubts. I said that Mabel would be mere likely to see that wo were Just rudo, end perhaps we would only offend her Instead of reforming her. Mother agreed with mo, too. She advised us. If W3 really felt called on to mend Mabel's ways, to tell her frankly what W3 thought, Instead of using a method that was so likely to be misunderstood. But Nell and I agreed that we did not have tho 'courage to do that, and besides, this other way would be more fun. Mother smiled and did not say any more. She never uags, and she never says, "I told you eo, my dear!" She Just lets mj find out a good many things for myself. So Noll and I spent sovcral days In learning how to do It. We studied Mabel prettly closely, and I confess I had a kind of sneaking feeling, for flie Is one of the Bweetest, frankest, most generous girls I ever Kuow. But at last we considered our edu cation completed, and ono afternoon wo started out, with trailing skirts bor rowed and absurdly fccpompr.doured heads, to make a formal call on Mabel. We flattered ourselves that wo had ac quired tho correct accent, and our man ner was affected to a point several de grees above Mabel's. We tried It on Mat before wo started and he uoarly had a fit. At Mabel's house we usually waik right In and announce ourselves, but this afternoon wo rang tho bell and brought Meg.ito with her tray. I know she was surprised, but sho was "game," as Mat would have said. As we gravely presented our card9 nr.d asked for "Miss Wogehrs and Mlsa Mabcllc," her face was as expression less as if wo were perrect strangers. She quietly showed us Into the parlor and went to "tell the ladles." She came back in a minute to say that Miss Rogers was out, but Miss Mabelle would be down in a minute. Noll and I wonderod afterward if she gave Mabol a hint. We have never found out. Perhap3 our sending in cards warned Mabel. At any rate, when she came in to the parlor nothing in her manner euggosted that thore was anything un usual about us. She had played tennis with us all the morning, too. She said, "Aunty will be so sorry to miss your call! How do you do, Mary and Helen?" Then she shook hands with us both, explaining how glad she was to see us, and bow long it was since we had met. She was simply delicious, and for a moment Nell and I were staggered. We thought we were ready for any thing, but this perfect composure near ly routed us. Then Nell rallied and "went Into action." Nell Bronson Is nothing If not thoroughgoing, and she Is a born actress. It was the funniest thing I ever saw those two girls matching their Imitation city manners against each other. I stayed out, for the most part. I bad all I could do to keep from laughing and spolHng It all; and besides, fell did not need any help. They talked about the weather; about Edith's party, which Mabel pronounc ed a "charming bit of local color, but. .so country, you know." Then she de scribed a party she had attended In New York. Nell said, feelingly, that It must be trrlbly stupid to live In a country town whon one was used to tho city, Mabel said It was oh, unspeakably Rttipldt (Sho had been In New York Just five weckn! ) There was no society In Harwich. Of course there were nice people, but no society. Nobody knew how to entertain, except, perhaps, Mrs. Merlwenther, and site really was a New Yorker. So those girls went on, nnd I think they would hr.vo kept It up Indefinitely only 1 rose to go, fairly bursting with swallowed laughter. Nell got up, too, and Mabel. " Must you go?" she said. "But you will come again? Mary, love, pardon me, but your hat Is a bit too far for ward. Do you mind If I fix It? There! Really, ono needs to have lived In a city to get things Just right." Then she asked us if we would let her show us some day how to do our hair. And Bhe insisted on showing Nell how to put her belt on "the new way." And aa wa started down the steps sho offered suggestions about the "correct wny" of holding up our skirts, which Nell and I hnd caught up any how, to keep from falling all over the miserable things. I watched Maoel closely to see If she mennt mischief, but her face was as In nocent as a baby's. She seemed to be doing it all out of the kindness of her heait. She honestly wanted to help, I thought, and sho appeared positively flattered by our wanting to bo like her! Tho noblo Duke of York, or whoever tt. was, who marched up tho hill and then marched down again, has my sym pathy. I know exnetly how he felt. Nell nnd I felt llko that when we marched down tho hill from Mabel's. We camo away In good order, how ever. Wo did not run until wo were round the corner; and then we did not stop running until we were safe In Nell's llttlo "den," where we dropped on tho divan and proceeded to have hysterics, all by ourselves, as we sup posed. nut In a minute we henrd Mat polite ly Inquiring from the door If he could be of any assistance, and In tho next breath Impolitely advising us to "stop snorting" and tell him what tho "row" was. Nell sat up, mopping her eyes, and tried to explain. "O-M-Mat," she choked, "It's the f-funnlest thing! Ma bol never Eaw tho p-p:lnt! She thought we really wanted to be 1-liko her. Mol ly, I shall die!" and she collapsed again. "Hurrah for Mabel! She's all right!" was the only sympathy that we got from Matthew. "Of course she was Just blufllng you, and It serves you riptt! Girls never can mind their own lusl noss, anyhow. They're all the time meddling." That brought Nell and me to In a hurry. We started for that wretched boy, but ho waa too quick for us. Ho dodgod Into his room and locked the door, so we had to content oursmves with 'telling him through the keyhole our opinion of boys In general and of Matthew Bronson in particular. Noll said It waa Just llko a boy, any way. If you took his advice and suc ceeded, ho was a wonder; If you failed, you woro a meddler. Oh, we said several things, nnd we could have said many more, only be fore we camo to them somebody ran up t'jo stairs and distracted our atten tion. It was Mabol. "I'vo come to return your call, girls," sho said, "and I couldn't wait tD Bend up cards." Noll and I Just stared. She was speaking In her old, natural way, and somehow I know she had boen crying. "I want to toll you that I'm very grato.'ul to you," she went on. "I was furious at first, fcr I think It was a pretty mean way of tolling mo that I've been a goose, but I suppose I do- j served it. Only, Instead of discussing mo behind my back, and lotting me ' keep on being a goose so Ions, I think ! you might have told mo frankly." j Then her voice began id tremblo and sho stopped. Things looked pretty squally, and Noll and I could not seem to tli I nit of a thing to say. We Dim ply stood there and folt mean. And then suddenly tho door flow open and that I) leased boy camo bouncing out. I could havo hugged him! "I beg to Inquire," he said; solemn ly, "whether I have the pleasure of ad dressing Miss Mabello Wogehrs or Miss Mabol Rogers?" "Mabel Rogers," Mabel said, laugh ing. "I Just came back from Now York this afternoon. Come on, Mat! Let's show these little girls here how tc play tennis. Go change your skirts, my dears!" Mabel is all right! Youth's Com panion. King Edward's Power. How can a monarch become efTtcl. ent who is constliutionally'constralned to Inefficiency? The kaiser can be efficient, but would England tolerate In her king the sort of efficiency that Germany sustain at her kaiser's hands ? The kaiser has some real power. Tho king woll to be Bure, the king has enormous social Influence at home, and very Important personal and official Influence with other mon archs and heads of European govern ments. Possibly King Edward could stimulate efficiency In England if lie bent blmself to the work a camel may pass through the Needle's Eye but It would be difficult. Casto, more than royalty, Is hurting England. Tho srlstocracy Is on trial more thar. thu tbrona, Harper's Wekly. THE CANAL A HARD TASK DIFFICULTY THAT MUST BE MET TO PIERCE THE ISTH MUS. Labor Is Expensive and Must be Im ported Nstlves Too Proud to Da the Work Chinamen Cannot Stand Climate West Indian Negroes the Best. M. K'.nlln Pernot. a French civil en- glnoer, arrived here from Colon, Pnna-1 ma, on his way to his home In Quebec. M. Pernot was ono ot the engineers who helped the Panama railroad, as he also did the Suez canal, being em ployed for four years at the latter un dertaking. In an interview M. Pernot spoke of the difficulties that our en gineers will have to contend with in constructing tho Panama cancl. "Now that tho canal Is really to be built," ho said, "one of the first things yop will have to look to will be the se curing the right kind of labor. That may seen rldlculounly easy thing to get ct first thought, but when you come to consider the terrible nature of the climate at the isthmus you will see where the difficulty may arise In getting the right class of men that It, men strong physically to withstand the climatic conditions. "To secure such men much higher wages wll have to be paid them than they make here at home. That Is an Important matter for your government V consider, because wages will be the chief source oi expense In the con struction cf the canal. If men were hired Just as they come along, regard less of their physical fitness, an enor mous death rate may be expected among them. Such a thing, however, could be materially lessened If the men were to bo first put through a physical examination as to their abill tv to combat a lever-ridden country. Ycti see, most of the labor will havo to be Imported from this country, be cause If you were to employ native la bor it Is doubtful it the canal would ever be completed. "Neither tho Colombians nor the Isthmians will settle down to pick and shovel. They have a keen dislike to laborer's work nnd consider them selves tar above such menial tasks. Politics and revolutions are their forte. Nevertheless they are experts at handling their machetes und clear ing bush and Jungle, and for these put poses only they would be useful. Chinamen are equally unsatisfactory, if not mere so. They are not only very expensive to hire at the Isthmus, but thonr habits and customs preclude them from hard and rough work. "Tho number that succumbed dur ing the construction of the Panama railroad Is almost Incredible. It Is a saying at the isthmus that 'every rail way sleeper covers the dead body of a Chinaman.' From what I saw I don't think the estimate Is over much exaggerated. "The West Indian negro Is the only laborer that would be fit for the heavy work of digging tho canal. He Is han dy with the pick and shovel and is proof against yellow fever, which Is the chief curse of the Isthmus. He would, of course, havo to bo paid the same wage as the white laborer, and also kept separated In order to prevent racial disturbances. "Aside from the labor question," M. Pernot continued, "thore will be many almost insurmountable engineering difficulties to contend with. "Tho wcri of the Sues offorod no such momentous obstacles as does the Panama undertaking. For Instance, In the cutting of the Suez canal there were no marked differences In the. lovels of the Mediterranean and tho Red Seae, nor great variations In tho rise and fall of their tides. "With the Panama canal It Is Just the other way, as the Pacific tides vary In their tIbo and fall from 18 to 22 feet. In order, therefore, to compoto with that difficulty breakwaters ot great strength and size will have to be thrown up. At the Atlantic, terminus, too, ground must be reclaimed from tho sea to allow buildings, quays, wharves, and other necessary conven iences to be built. Then again, at Pana ma and Colon the depth of the water at both termini is shallow, and in many places tho bottom Is composed of cornl-reffo and hard conglomerates. All such obstructions bavo to be blast ed and dredged. "Tho canal at the Panama terminus will also have to be extended to tho Islands of Naos and Flamenco, a dis tance ot between threo and four miles from the Rio Grande, the proposed mouth of the canal. Of course, all theso difficulties will be overcome, and the waterway, when finished, will be a glorious triumph for American en gineering skill." Of the condition of affairs at the Isthmus M. Pernot said that when be left Colon the people were wild with enthusiasm at gaining their Indepen dence. "It has always been a wonder to me," be said, "why tho Panamalans did not revolt long ago. They are better able to govern themselves than the Columbians, and cf the two peoples the Panamtans, as a whole, are of a higher honor and Integrity." And Now They Don't Speak. "Thoy say that Brook, a little town In Holland, is the cleanest town in the world," said the New York Girl. . "Do you suppose that's true?" "I know it's true from personal ex perience," answered the Chicago girl. "Some girl friends ot mine In Chi- ! cago and I were there not long ago, and they wouldn't let any of us go Into ! any of the bouses without taking off our aUoos." "Yes, I suppose the bouses thera ara rather small," mused the girl from I Kew York. New York Times. MEET YEARS AFTERWARD. Men Oppoted During Civil War Now Work In the Treasury. Blrango things happen In the course of a lifetime. Persons whom we meet under peeullur circumstances and ncvor expect to encounter n?aln have a curious way of bobbing tip. A re markable coincidence that has of late ptcsented Itself wns tho singular meeting cf M. P. Knight, watchman, mid William M. Skillman, assistant messenger In the treasury building, During the civil war Mr. Knight served as sergeant In Uie Fifth Indi ana Infantry, Col. J. W. Foster, after ward secretory of state, commanding. Mr. Skillman wag a member of Mor gan's cavalry, serving on the side ot the confederacy. One day, during the early years of the war, while Morgan toas operating In Kentucky, Skillman and others of his troop received an In vitation to attend a wedding, which was to be held the same night In a part of Kentucky lying uncomfortably near a federal outpost Nothing daunted, however, the confederate cavalrymen decided to attend, and when night fell they were all, to the number of 15 or more, gathered at the home of the bride's parents to partic ipate In the wedding festivities. Everything went well, and the guests wf;re having the time of their lives, when, unfortunately, Information of what was In progress reached Col Foster, stntloned at some distance from the scone of the festivities. He at once determined upon prompt and decisive action, and. without more ado, dispatched Sergt. Knight and a body of 25 or 30 cavalrymen to surround the houso where there wedding ban quet was gomg forward, and capture such of the guests as were members of Morgan's cavalry. Sergt. Knight performed his part to a turn, sur rounding the house and taking prison er every member of the 15 Confederate cavalrymen within. Doubtless at the cIoro of the civil ar Knight and Sklllmfcn had little Idea of ever meeting or seeing each other again, and the surprise of both may bo better imagined than described when, several days ago, the two men met In the treasury building. Wash ington PoeL QUAINT AND CURIOUS. At the burial of a South London man, his six dogs, draped In black, followed the cortege. It Is figured out by some one that the average traveling man, preacher or teacher talks 12,0uu words a day. The following advertisement, recent ly appeared: "I will gladly sing to the sick or those who are unable to leave their homes." In nearly every street In Japanese cities Is a public oven, where, for a small fee, housewives may have their dinners and suppers cooked for them. Trout are believed to he exclusively fresh water fish. It happens, however, occassionally that some are caught with tho herring In tne Oerman ocean. Australia has more churches per capita than any other country. She has 210 churches to every ino.000 peo ple; England has 114 and Russia but 65. . The amtomobl'3 principle has been applied In Paris to baby corrlages. The nurse sits behind and regulates the qpeed, which does not exceed a moderate figure. An English syndicate has been formed for tho purpose of removing ono of the worst evils with which Irish Industrial development Is af flicted, viz., dear coal. The experiment of serving honey at a Sunday school picnic was tried In Kansas. The bees In the neighbor hood learned of the affair and tho pic nic disbanded a bit suddenly. A new occupation is opening , for tramps In England. They station themselves near a police trap and warn approaching motorists of danger, and, as a result are rewarded with do nations of small pieces pf money. A tramp smoking in a g-anery at Znarnoe, Hungary, set flro to the place. The inhabitants, unable to ex tinguish it, threw the tramp into the flame, whenco he was rescued by the police In a dlng condition. The use of sea water for flushing Btreets and sewers in English towns has been abandoned because tm salt dust damaged the goods ot merchants, the paint on carriages, and corroded plumbing. In several respects the Albanians are the most Interesting people in Europe. They commit no crimes but murder. Among them human life has an even smalled value than in Sicily, and the vendetta prevails even more rigidly. In any large city of Germany a spe cial delivery card or stamp, costing less than eight cents, wiu cause a mes sage to be shot by tube anywhere In the city. A messenger will carry it from the point of reception to the re ceiver, and will wait for an answer. Message and answer In Berlin take about two hours. American Tourists. About 85,000 Americans cross the Atlantic every year. Many make the voyage every spring and return each fall. Business men find In a cruise of six or seven days going and as many more returning the most restful ex perience t their command and take their vacations on shipboard. "ROOM UP FRONT." Inthe jnmmpd nnd Jouncing street enf I, wiik tumulus to n Ktrnp, Trying hind to keep from xlttli'flmouie totiil M ranger's dipt Every time we Mopped, some others rernmliled IiiiitIciII v iiIioiii-iI. While In tones Hint tl r iled with enrn- frtiii-M the lilne cliid mini Implored "U, tln-i-e's plenty room up li-ont there If you'll move nloiig unit limit Step u little lively, people, for there's ltoutii Front." If we'd heed that llttlo lesfon as we struggle lny liv iliiv, Tolling on nnd iiioillnguiiwnrd in a dull, hiilf-liein ted way, If we'd miike n resolution that we'd do our work so well That unless the others hindled we'd be i i tnln to excel, We would feel a lot left crowded us we do our iliillv Mnnt If we d "step it little lively" tliere'd be "Itooiu LP Front." Iliiltiinore American, HUMOROU8. "I thought sho was going to marry an English duke." "No. Her father found a Russian prince that he could get for half tho price." Chicago Record-Herald. "Yes," said the sharper, who had Just succeeded In obtaining change for a bad flO bill from a guileless old clergyman, "If there's anything I like It's pastoral simplicity." Puck. "Say, papa," aBked little Cordelia, "what is a woman called who thinks twice before she speaks?" "Slie's what they call a mute, my dear," an swored the knowing parent. Chicago News. "People say," remarked the girl in blue, "thnt wo look very much alike, and 1 believe I can sec a little resem blance myself." "You conceited thing," pxelolmc.'d the girl in gray. Chicago Post. Bob Are you fond of reading, Dick?" Dick No, I hate It; that's the reason I pretend to like It. If my mother thought I didn't like to read, she'd keep me at It all the time." Boston Transcript. "Well, nnyway," he said during their lltle spsit, "when I proposed to you, you took mo promptly enough." "Yes," sho heplled: "I wns only a woman, and you did look so cheap." Philadelphia Ledger. "Yes, It's all off between Laura and Reginald." "What was the trouble?" "He met her unexpectedly out onto moblllng and she had on her new auto cap. The next day he broke the en gagement." Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The day Is done." murmured the sentimental maid. "That's right," ad mitted the prosaic youth, "but the night Is pretty raw." Whereupon they both shivered and broke up the camp on the front stoop. Chicago Dally News. "I wish I had been born with a nil vet spoon In my mouth," sighed the youth. "Oh, don't let that worry you," rejoined the village sage. "You'll probably get a lot of gold teeth In your mouth before you die." Chicago News. "Now, dear," said the hero of the elopement, as they boarded the train, "we are safe from pursuit." "And also," said tho radiant girl, "safe from starvation. Here's a check papa made ou to your order." Philadelphia Press. "What your town needs most," said tlu traveling man, "is a hotel with all the comforts of a home." "Not much," replied the housekeeper. "A home with all the comforts of a hotel is what most of us want." Philadelphia Pi ess. He Do you remember when wo wera children, nnd I used to come over to your house to ploy? Wern't those Jolly times? Sae Weren't they? And your ninmma never let you stay more than an hour. Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. "When you send your poetical effu sions to the magazines do you call them 'poems' or 'verses?' " "Well, when I'm sending them I call them my 'poems,' but when they come back I call them my 'reverses.' " Philadel phia Pre. Miss Screecher So Mr. Critique said my singing was heavenly, did he? Mr. Howells Well, not in so many words, but he probably meant that. .': Sreecher What did he say? Mr. Howells He said it was unearthy. Chicago News. "You have spinal troubles," said the physician at the conclusion of his ex amination of the able editor. "Well, ah h'm doctor," returned the Jour nalist, "how much do you charge per column for treatment In such cases?" Town Topics. "Yes," said the grass widow with the perpetual ticket to Dakota. "I can count my husbands on my fingers." "How about that short, stout gentle man you married some time ago?" asked her friend. "Oh, I count him a thumb." Buffalo News. "He's the most eccentric genius I ever met" "Ho certainly Is a gen ius, but I never considered him eccen tric." "That's Just it. The average genius Is eccentric, and his lack of ec centricity makes blm all the more ec centric." Philadelphia Ledger. A 8oclal Cannibal. An amusing story Is told of a miser ly old gentleman who visited his rela tives uninvited. One morning his llttlo niece of Ave summers came up to him unexpectedly with the indignant ques tion: "Uncle, are you a cannibal?" The gentleman was startled, and said: "No, of course not my dear; but what on earth makes you ask?" The little girl replied: "Ota, I thought you must be, because mamma was saying this morning. Just as you came In, that you always lived on your relations." , SCIENCE NOTES. Flowers out of the natural season are usually obtained by keeping the young plants in cold, dry houses, and forcing them later by heat and moisture. Why do mocmtltoffl bite human be ings? Aci'ordlnq to Dr. Santos Fcrr.an-rt-z. of Cuba, It Is because the female cannot form their egsa without suck ing somo warm blood. If they fall to cct it they lay no cgc. The dog rrows for two years and lives for ten or twelve. The cat grows only for about eighteen months and may oIfo live for ten years. In ve.y ex ceptional tares for twice as leng. The atom of hydrogen Is the small est of tho "ultimate atoms" of tho chemists, hut It Is 17S0 times as larga as the corpuscles which have recently been demonstrated aa the elements of the atoms. A and worm of tie northern and western roads i,t Fi ance seems to have a flciiM of time. It Is known as "con voluta," nnd M. Uchn states that It makes green spots on the sand at low tldo and disappears as the tide rises, nnd continued this course during the fourteen days In an aquarium. Great Britain Is to have an habitual criminal law resembling thews of some of our states. According to the Daily Mnll the pion now under consideration Is that ot an Industrial penal settle ment for tho special benefit of such "habltuals," where special efforts would be made to reform them and op portunity given them of regaining their liberty by Industry and good conduct, but only on probation. A curious Investigation by Alfred Blnet of the Laboratory ot the Sor honno has revealed differences In the handwriting of tho sexos. Numerous characteristics are traced such as carelessness In the writing ot women and firmness and simplicity in that of men and an expert graphologist has been able to glvo the sex of the writers of 141 addresses out of 180. The writ ing ot old men resembles that of wom en. CINEMATOGRAPH IN SURGERY. The Machine Improved So as to Seem to Throw Moving Objects In Relief. The cinematograph. In addition to Itc many other uses. Is now adapted i to the clinic. Tho machine common ly displayed has, however, been Im proved upon for tho surgeon by the addition of an ingenious appliance by which photographic projections seem to ho thrown upon the screen with the veilef that accompanies the same scene In nature. This has been done In Paris. To lock at the picture of a surgeon per forming an operation as It is thrown upon the screen It exhibits no special peculiarity. But when the same picture Is exam ined through a small apparatus con sisting of two aluminum plates with some mechanism between apertures for tho eyes, there ara seen plainly as In life all the details of the operation. The Illusion Is so perfect that the man looking tt it might almost imagine himself present at the operation. The va!ueof the apparatus, which h the Invention of Dr. Doyen, a Frenrh Burgeon, is that tt Is possible with its aid to display beforo tho eyes of almost any number cf students typ ical surgical operations In their min utest details end In the most life-like aspect. Later It is expected to bo ahlo to af fix the apparatus to opera glnseei so that It may be used In t'-'.o samo man ner with ordinary cinematograph pic tures. The Invention has received warm praise from several learned so cieties In London before which It has been exhibited. New York Sun. Dritish Birds for Canada. An attempt cn a largo scale to intr 3uce English song birds Into Lritish Columbia Is at present being mada. The Victoria (B. C.) Natural History society is taking out from Eng'.and about 500 birds, consisting of loo pairs of goldfinches. 100 pairs of larks, and 50 pairs of robins. Thuy go by way of New York to Victoria. In accordance with the arrangements that have been made, half of the consignment will be placed In Vancouver and taken care of there until next spring when they will bo distributed throughout tlm woodlands of the lower mainland. The remainder will be placed In Beacon Hill Park aviary and kept until spring; when they will be given their liberty at various points on Vancouver Island. It will bo very Interesting to hear if this extensive scheme of acclimatiza tion proves a success. Submarine Hotel In France. A submarine hotel near Perdun, on tho south coast of France, Is proving a great attraction. Quite a number cf guests aro entertained there during the summer months. Tno building hr of steel on a rock foundation, and has heen firted with larga plate glass win dows, from which the guests rr.ay Icok out on the peculiar form of life under the water at a depth of 36 feet. .Machinery at the surface pumps -air Into the rooms for those visiting be low, and at the same time drives away t:io Impure air through draft tubes. It was in this hotel that the famous uovelist Richoburg wrote some of his best stories wheu taking his annual vacation. Once In three years tho fish In a large pond belonging to Prince) Schwarzenberg In Bohemia ara caught The latest catch, which last d three days, yielded 32,000 worth ot fish.