THE 8EA O, the sweeping swing ot the blue-gray wing . Ai they circle before the eye. And the swerving dip of the breast adrtp Of the gulls that seaward flv! They nana: and balance, they waver and float With an Idle air and an aim remote, Then suddenly cleave the skyl And naught know we of their query or quest At they pause a breath on n blue wave's breast. Or the secrets hid In the closing blue Where they sail and sail and are lost to view. . O, the fret and worry, the cark and care. They stifle us here ashore! O, to breathe aloft In the swift free nlr, Away from the world nnd it grim despair. To be fetterless evermore: To follow to bournes of the fnbled Spring. Where youth's gay fountains lisp nnd sing, Nunc X3hQ Unruly Member. Bv HKLF.X FOHHK9T GRAVE?. You would have recognized Rose Lodge as the residence of an unmar ried femalo, had you seen it in Rus sia or Japan, or on the very fbore of the Ganges! It bore the unmistakable Impress of single blesscdnes-3 on its portico and front steps the box-edged borders spoke it as plainly as if every leaf and twig had been a voice. The very dead loaves and failen rose petals did not have a chance to wither away la peace on tho closely Bhaven grass, but were whisked away with a garden broom almost ere they were fallen, and the flowers blowed stiffly In geometrically shaped beds, while love-ln-!dlene3s" and "bacho lor's" buttons were not even tolerated within the green-painted gates. While the cottage opposite was such a contrast. Built In the simple Gothic style, its casements twined and shaped with clematis and honeysuckle, and its garden walks a graceful wilderness of bloom and fragrance, it had all the as pect of an lnhabitated Eden, and the key of the difference between these two cottages was that one was peo pled by a young married couple, the other by a lady of a certain age, and very uncertain prospects of matri mony, "My dear," said Mrs. Carroll Miss Cynthia Arran was receiving morning visitors in her. blue, chintz-furnished """boudoirj a room which she had fitted up exactly after the description of the boudoir of Lady Blanche Somebody in the last novel that she had perused 'my dear, who are your neighbors?" Miss Peckhara put up her eyeglasses, Mrs. Johnson put aside the curtain to obtain a better prospect and Miss Ar ran answered carelessly: "Oh, a bride and bridegroom, I be lieve; Agnes Winston and her hus band!" "Do you know them?" "Only by sight!" For Miss Cynthia did not deem It necessary to state that she had called on the new arrival, but that Mr. and Mrs. Winston, having somehow heard of Miss A rran's reputation as a gener al gossip, and female edition of Paul Pry, had neglected to return the visit. "I know all about 'em," said Mrs. Johnson, mysteriously, wagging the roses in her bonnet front. "He used to visit Amelia Raymond, didn't he? Peo ple always thought that would be a match, until Agnes Brown came along. He'a a lawyer. Isn't be?" "Yes," said Miss Arran; he's a lawyer." "Perhaps that's he?" questioned Mrs. Johnson, with a nod of the head to ward a black-coated figure in the shad ow of some lilacs. "No," Miss Arran answered, "that's a gardener that comes by the day. Frank Winston Is too fine. It seems, to trim and prune his own trees and bushes. But he's in Boston Just now t least that Is what their chamber maid told my maid of all work." "In Boston!" ended Mrs. Johnson, elevating both hands; "and they not married three months yet!" "I thought it looked bad," sighed Miss Arran, "but I make a point of never Interfering with my neighbor's business." "Of all things, I despise gossip," said Mrs. Johnson. "Doessbe seem to pine much, dear?" "Not she," said Miss Cynthia, with a toss of her curls. "I Just wish you could hear her sing opera airs at that piano." "Does he write to her?" "I've never seen the postman come there yet,'' said Miss Arran, mourn fully. "Ah h h!" groaned Mrs, Johnson. That '8 what come of love-matches. I never did bolieve In em, for my part. Well," riBing to go, "I am sorry they are so 111 suited to each other. If I was a little acquainted with her, I'd so over to offer her some sympathy; but folks do say she is too haughty ' to appreciate any such attention. Pride must have a fall, sooner or later that's all I've got to say." Mra Johnson took her leave, and pretty young Agnes Winston, trimming her roses In front of the Gothic, cot tage, never dreamed of the beady black yes which were watching her, as the elderly widow went by. Or perhaps the sunshine would have been less ra diant, and a vague fear would have overshadowed the glow and softness of the July atmosphere. tin. Carroll had sat and silently ab orbed the conversation In Miss Ar ran's boudoir, but she was not so taci turn at the next plaos at which she called. GULLS. And O, for the chance of that wild, free lnnce Of a bird with a tireless wlugl Hear the tern's coarse cry as the clouds loom Mack, As the whiie-cops surge on the tern pot's track. These warders of sea-fnrers' fate, Ahover at Dame Carey's (rate. The while sails scurry t The winds blow strong Hear them shriek aloud their discord ant song "Beware the seal Beware the seal Man s Implacable enemy 1" Song the bold young Vikings heard Far in the North, from the warning bird : Bonn of the years on the vacant seas, Fur as the earth's antipodes. This witches' bird with tho moan of mini. This pray old, wnnd'rlnu charlatan lluth kept in culm and in booming breeze His watch with tho ghontly, changing ftCIl. y Eaton Waterhonse, in the Criterion. i t "Do you know the WInstons?" she asked of Mrs. MaJ. Murrell. "The young people who have Just rented Frankland Cottage? No, but my brother, George, knows Mr. Win ston." , 4 "Ah!" sighed Mrs. Carroll, "how lit tle young folks dream what's In store for 'em In this wicked world. Else they'd all stay single, that's my opin ion." "What do you mean?" demanded Mr?. Murrell. "Don't you know?" "I can't possibly imagine what you're talking about." "Well, Mr. Winston has left his wife, and she is there at home singing opera songs to other gentlemen, and the young couple don't even correspond. I believe people think she has discov ered that he cares more for 'Molla Ray mond, his old sweetheart, than he ever did for her. Amelia has an aunt in Boston, and I shouldn't wonder if he has gone there for the express purpose of meeting her." "You don't tell me bo!" cried Mrs. MaJ. Murrell, and away she went, the moment Mrs. Carroll and taken her leave, to see what old Mrs. Ginger thought about it. "Have you heard the sad news about the WInstons?" sho asked, untying her hat strings, and fanning herself vio lently. "No; what is It ?" asked Mrs. Ginger, pricking up her ears like an ancient war horse at the sound of artillery. "Why he has left her and gone to Boston to meet his old sweetheart, Amelia Raymond, and she Is practic ing for the opera she always had a good voice you know with lot3 of for eign gentlemen at her house. It 1b very Imprudent of her, under tho cir cumstances, you know what Agnes Brown always was. MaJ. Burrell al ways said that Frank Winston would never make a Bteady husband." "Well, I never!" cried Mrs. Ginger. "I shall see her aunt at the sewing cir cle this afternoon, pnd I mean to ask her If it is true." "Oh, there's no mistake about it!" said Mrs. Murrell, eagerly. "I had it from the very best authority." Yet the good woman really believed what she said. There is no accounting for the glamour that female tongues will cast about female when once the evil spirit of gossip is abroad. "Pooh! stuff and nonsens?!" said Brother George, a good-looking young attorney, when his Ulster Imparted to htm the "dreadful tidings" which were now In brisk circulation. , "I don't be lieve a word of It!" "It's all true, nevertheless!" asserted Mrs. Murrell. "Why, I've been there again and again since the wedding, and hey are the most devoted couple I ever saw." "Ah!" slgherd Mrs. Murrell, "there Is always something wrong where you see so much outward show. I'm sorry for them, very!" George Wrexham pulled his mus tache in sore perplexity, and when the rumor reached him for the third time, he walked straight to the telegraph of fice and sent oil a brief message: "To F. Winston, Esq., Parker House, Boston: What's this people are say ing about you and your wife? Better come home and see about It? "George Wrexham." Aunt Barbara Brindale, at the sew ing circle, heard the tidings with in credulous astonishment. Our Agness parted from her hus band and going on the stage!" she cried, dropping her thimble in dismay. "Fiddlesticks! a likely story, indeed!" But, nevertheless, Aunt Barbara rolled up her sewing half an hour ear lier than usual, and went to Frank land cottage, to see what on earth It all meant. ' Agnes Winston welcomed the Old lady with a bright smile evidently no serpent had as yet stung away her do mestic peace. "My dear," said Aunt Barbara Brin dale, "when la Frank coming back?" "Day after to-morrow, I suppose," said Agnes innocently. "Why?" "And and Is Miss Raymond to ac company him?" asked the old lady, somewhat hesitatingly. Agnes opened her Boft blue eyes. "Miss Raymond? Why should she?" "Because people say they are there together, my dear," blurted out Aunt Barbara, feeling herself grow very hot and uncomfortable. "People tell a wicked, dastardly falsehood, then!" cried Agnes, stamp in bar tiny fovt passionately upon the floor. "How dare they say such things about my Frank?" "Yes, but listen to It all, my dear it's the talk of the town, and such rum ors must have some shadow of founda tion. I really think you, ought to know It" Aunt Barbara told the whole tale as It had been told to her, and Agnes Winston straightway went Into hys terics; not that she really believed It oh, no, she was too loyal-hearted a wife to do that but she always had felt a sort of lurking Jealousy of Ame lia Raymond, and she had not had a letter from Frank In two whole days, and . But Just as Aunt Barbara had reck lessly showered half a pint of cologne over her niece, the door flew open and In walked Mr. Winston's self. "What does all this mean, about your going on the stage?" he demanded fiercely. "Where are the men who are haunting my house In my absence, Agnes? I Insist on hearing the whole truth at once!" "You had better go back to Amelia Raymond," sobbed Agnes, vindictively, and she cried more bitterly than ever. "Men, Indeed! there has been no man about the place but Mike, the gardener, and old Undo Jocelyn, who brings the dally paper before we are up in the morning." "Children," said Aunt Barbara, lay ing a warning hand on Frank's arm as he was about to burst forth in recrim ination, "hush! and let's have matters explained. It sterns to me we have all allowed ourselves to become the fools of gossiping tongues." And she related, plainly and suc cinctly, what she had heard, and how it had reached her, tracing the tongue of venom back to Mrs. Carroll and Miss Arran, with pretty direct accur acy. Agne.i burst out laughing through her tears. "Frank," said she, "we might have known better than to believe such Idle gossip. Let us treat It as we would Idle wind. I never dreamed of leav ing you, or of going on the stage." "And I haven't seen Amelia Ray mond since 6he was here to tea, a month ago," said Winston, with some thing like a smile dawning on his puz zled countenance. "Let It be a lesson to you, children," said Aunt Barbara, kindly, "to trust one another In spite of everything, and not to believe more than one-sixteenth part of what you hear In this world." And the world, which had prepared itself for all the delicious Items of a divorce suit, was disappointed, after all. New York Weekly. QUAINT AND CURIOU& In the flash of an electric spark 125 mlllionths of a second in duration a rifle ball con be photographed In Its flight TJhough more populous than this country, .the Russian empire has but 800 newspapers. The number In this country is 22,000. Thirty convicts recently escaped from the Nlkolosk-Ussuri Jail In Sibe ria by driving a tunnel 180 feet long under the building. No tree has ever been found larger than the Sicilian "chestnut of a hun dred horses." It Is no less than 304 feet in circumference. The coronation robe presented to the empress of Russia was of fur. It weighed only 16 ounces, yet was worth $6000, or (365 per ounce. The life of a dime Is only four or five years, because It changes hands 10 times wille a half a dollar 1s moved once from one person's pocket Into the till of another. Carts, Wagons, drays, trucks, etc., are not employed largely In Syria and Palestine. On the farms a wagon of any description is hardly ever seen. Grain is brought In on the backs of camels and donkeys. Delivery wagons are unknown In Syrian cities. M. Maximln Crappler, an Inhabitant of Caix, France, who recently died In his 90th year, was the head of a family, which for patriarchal size beats all records in the world. Himself the eld est of 10 children, his mother at her death in 1880, at the age qf 94, could boast of 144 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. M. Crappler, during bis lifetime, became an uncle or great-uncle no fewer than 263 times. A remnant of the Serls tribe of In dians Inhabits the island of Tiburon, in the gulf of California, and is ruled entirely by the women. Formerly the tribe numbered about 5000, but Is now shrunk to a few hundred, living a life of almost complete Isolation, and re fusing to intermarry with any of the Indians of the mainland. The woman is master of the household, and a coun cil of matrons Is at the bead of pub lic affairs. It Is not known Just how Jong mos quitoes can live, but their average life Is much longer than Is ordinarily sup posed. Thousands of them live throcgh winter, hibernating or asleep in dark places In barns or bouse cel lars. In sparsely settlod localities, where they cannot find such places for shelter, they live through the winter In hollow trees, and, even though the temperature may fall far below freez ing, they are not winter-killed, but on the approach of warm weather be come active again. The natives of the Friendly islands are noted for their good humored faces and splendid physique. Their skin Is a clear, light copper brown in color, while the bair la yellow and curly. The Paths. Straight up the hill from the pasture bind Is a little path to the skv; And If yon would but tnke iny band, We'd climb there, you nnd I And wnnder all the cloiidlitnd through, And come together to the blue. Out from the shore arross tho lake Is a path of light to the inoiui: And had 1 a ship n vovngn we'd make To the Land of Pretty Boon The place where make-believes come true, Where the way Is shining for me and you. Youth's Companion. Stubborn Paper Wad. Did you ever see a paper wad that Is so stubborn that it will fly In the face of one who tries to compel It to go Into the neck of a bottle? The more you try to blow it in, the more it leaves the bottle. You can try this with any large bot tle and a paper wad or cork small enough to fit very loosely in its neck. Holding the bottle so that it points di rectly at your mouth, and placing tho cork In the Jieck, the harder you blow on the cork for the purpose of driving It Into the bottle, the more forcibly will the cork rush from Its place In the neck. A Few Riddles. Why docs a cat look first on one side and then on the other when she comes Into a room? ,outh4awooIIbqioNNod odar darthese Because she can't look both ways at once. When does bread resemble the sun? When It rises from the yeast. What Is there you cannot take with a kodak? A hint Two ducks before a duck and two ducks behind a duck and a duck In the middle. How many ducks in all? Three. What animals, when beheaded, be come very cold? Mice. Why are well-darned socks like dead men? Because they are mended. The Unfriendly Coyote. I have never had any difficulty In making friends with the gray wolves I happened to be sketching. Immedi ately on my appearance, no matter what thev were doing, they camo at once to the bars to be scratched and talked to. and when their coata were changing and their skies sensitive, they would stand there any length of time while I pulled away the loose tufts of hair, their every action ex pressing a Somewhat sullen friendli ness. But with the coyote it was dif ferent They never make friends with nor lose their fear of man. Gen erally speaking, they resemble the prairie wolf, but are much smaller and of a browner color; their fur Is also longer and the tall more bushy. They vary considerably In color, changing with the seasons. In win ter their coat is lighter. In summer darker and with more brown. Black coyotes, while not common, are some times seen, but these are only freaks of nature. From J. M. Gleeson's "The Coyote" in St. Nicholas. Colt's Terrible Ride. A valuable marc, with her equally valuable colt, escaped from a barn yard in a western town a few days ago, and a train was noiselessly ap proaching. The colt which was only a few weeks' old and had had no experience with trains, became frightened and ran on the track ahead of the engine. In another minute the cowcatcher pushed its nose under the colt, tossed it up and caught it There on the Iron nose of the engine lay the colt terrified but safe. After it side by side with the en gine, galloped the frantic mother. She leaped fences and whinnied at the top of her voice, so that the passen gers in the coaches heard her even above the roar of the train. Finally, after a two-mile run. tho train slowed down, and the colt was removed from the cowcatcher and re stored to Its mother. Happy? Tbey were so happy that people who looked on cried out of sympathy with the animals. Building a Canoe. The Black Hawk was built last year and paddled and sailed all summer by a boy of 15, who did not spare the boat In any way, and It now lies In dry dock (down the cellar) for the win ter, safe and sound in every stick. This summer it will be sandpapered, painted, and put in commission again. There are two ways of building a canoe; one Is to get a plank for a keelson, a couple of strips for the gun wales, on;' old wooden barrel hoops for ribs, tack on the canvas, and there you are. This certainly ma!:en a quick Job, but the result 1b a thing horrible to look at and which will surely be thrown away unless the owner can find a more foolish boy who will pay blm 50 cents for the outfit. The next way la to build the boat In accordance with the plan, knowing beforehand Just what you are going to do, and having in your mind a clear picture of what the boat will look like when finished. This is not only the best method, but the easiest and is sure to produce a craft of whicU you will never be ashamed, either for its looks or its sailing qualities. Per haps It will seem that this last plan Is slow .because It Is necessary to do little work before the actual building begins; but It Is really quick, since, when once started on the frame, things go with a rush. From 8. D. V. Burr's "The Building of the 'Black Hawk" in Bt Nicholas. A Father's Encouragement. From the father of a young citizen of New York comes a letter explaining his very successful method of making the reading of good books delightful to bis son. He soys: "I believe It Is well he should real those books bo has before acquiring new ones, and so we have entered Into the following arrangement. For every book be reads himself from cover to cover, and of which he tells In a tittle composi tion, I am to give htm a new book of his own choosing; the right to veto the choice remaining with me. If I do not think the choice a good one." There comes with the letter one of the llttlo "compositions," showing how this nine-year-old boy carries out his part of the agreement Tho Idea seems an excellent one; but would it not be Improved If the father also should write an opinion of the book, so that his son might be guided in his Judgment? It might also be a good plan for the father to make sugges-N ttons as to the new book given as a reward especially as the father writes us that his son's taste for books Is Inherited. From "Books and Read ing" in St. Nicholas. Aunt Jessie's Shawl. "What a pretty shawl that is, Aunt Jessie!" said Carol, leaning her cheek against the soft, fluffy wool. "Yes," answered Aunt Jessie). "I think a great deal of this shawl, for your Uncle James brought it to me from the Shetland Islands." "Oh, do tell me about!" evclalmed Carol, straightening up suddenly to listen. "Well, about two years ago your Uncle James went over to the Sheb land islands to buy some ponies." Card r.oddcd. She knew the little Shetland t!:nt ran about the pastures and sometimes took her for a ride or a drive, and her esperial pet was Jack, the dearest little Shetland of them all. "While your uncle was In the larg est cf the Islands some one told hlra of an old lady who had four Shetland ponies, so he went to see her. She lived ten miles from Lerwick. In a little cottage of one room, and was very poor. When Uncle James went in she was sitting on one side of an open peat Are, busily knitting, and up on the other side were ,15 or 20 chick ens, who seemed quite as much at home there as the old lady did. "When Uncle James went out with her to look at the ponies she took her knitting with her. and kept busily at work while sho walked about and tnlked, for those Shetland women of tho poorer classes are never Idle. They even knit as they go to and from market They load their goods, usu ally peat, which is used for fuel, on the patient little ponies, and then walk beplde them, knitting as they go. The Shetland women are known all over the world for their beautiful knitting, especially for the shawls that they make. "Before he left. Uncle James told the woman that he would llko very much to buy the shawl that sho was making to take home to his wife, but he could r.ot wait for her to finish It " 'Oh, well, you can pay me for it now, and I will deliver It to you when It Is finished.' the woman said. "Uncle James was not in tho habltof doing business wltli strangers in that way, but the woman spoke so simply and earnestly that he decided to trust her; and since sho was bo poor he was willing to pay her the price of tho shawl, any way, even though he might never see It again. So ho gave her the money and told her the name of the boat on which he was to sail from Lcrwlclt, and the date of Its sail ing. Then ho went away, and was so busy about the ponies that he bad bought In different places and getting ready to take them away on the boat that he had almost forgotten the shawl. But just before tho boat sailed a girl vcame up to the dock and in quired for him. Whon be camo to her sho took a bundle from under her arm and In it was this shawl, which the i woman had sent Jimt as she had prom- ised. The girl had walked the ten ! miles to lirlntr It tn T.prwle!f. nnd I would walk all tho way back again." "My!" exclaimed Carol, with a long breath. "Uncle James was as much pleased with the honesty of the woman as ! over the beauty of tho shawl itself, and he was told on his trip that the people of the Shetland Islands are al ways fair and honest in all tho'r deal ings, and that the woman would have trusted him Just as readily as she ex pected him to trust her. "So the ponies and the shawl came home on the same boat, and this wom an who made my shawl was the very one who also owned your favorite Shetland, Jack." Julia D. Cowles. in tho Youth's Companion. Figured Out a Profit In the Pig. A Pennsylvania railroad officer has a stock farm on the outskirts of Phil adelphia, and at a recent dinner of the Clover club a friend of the rail roader spoke of it, saying: "He runs it cn a businesslike basis. Somctimos he makes money out of it. Last year he bought a pig fur $27, fed It forty bushels of corn at fl a bushel, and then sold It for 131.60. " I made $4.50 out of that pig,' he remarked to me the day after the ani mal was taken away. " 'But,' I protested, 'how abort the 40 bushels of corn at SI a bushctl, that you fed him?' " 'Oh,' contented tho gentleman farmer, 'I didn't expect to make any thing on the corn.'" Philadelphia Publio Ledger. A SCHOOL FOR THIEVES. BOYS AND GIRLS TAVQHT TO STEAL BY MODERN FAQ IN 8. London Criminal Clsstes Do Not Htsltate to Instruct Their Children In What They Fssr to Prsotlss Themselves Training Boy Burglars. Daring crimes are often committed by children In London, and only Scot land Yard Is awaro of the fact Youthful offender are rarely caught In the act of committing even slight offences, or If they are a tolerant policeman is moro often than not In clined to look with lenient eyes on a misdemeanor that In an older person would mean Immediate arrest, by box ing the ears of the tiny culprit and letting him go. The recent remarkable series of housebreaking eases in the En field district. In which the father of an errand boy was sentenced to six years' penal servitude for teaching his 14-year-old son to commit burglaries shows conclusively' that the criminal classes do not hes!tnt9 to teach chil dren to do what they fear to practise themselves. The Scotland Yard r.uthorltles know that many criminals, too old now to commit various crimes with Impunity, to all intents and purposes reform, and become resp'-ctolilo members of the community. They cpon small shops and then In a very quiet way hold classes of pupils eager to pay for learning tho secrets '. tho "craft," Tho first thing the "master" does la to examine the would-be probationer's hands. The "thief's mark" must show up strongly upon both, or the boy or girl is not worth the risk of train ing. Even If the child has clever, light fingered parents, nnd the "thief's maik" Is absent frcm its hands, the trnlner will have nothing to do with the case. He does not believe In a child Inheriting its parents' evil pro pensities. Girls are mostly ta'ight pocket-pick-Ing and how to ste?.l trifles from shop chow cases. Members of both sexes are well drilled In th-5 art of unblush ingly telling lies. They dally rehearse "hold-ups" by Imaginary policemen. The trainer, of course, acts the latter role, and instructs the young Idea how to Invent plausible excuses at a sec ond's notice. The girls are the sharpest at this game, nnd very soldi m get caught A trainer will norer have anything more to do with -i child that Ims-once entered a reformatory. The clergy man there has generally worked on the youthful cousclence, and ever after fits of repentance must be counted on to occur at inopportune moments. Hoy burglars am t-alned In a very simple manner. It is argued that most people living In vlllhs pay a great deal of attention to the bolts and bars on their ground fluors, but very little If any to those on the first. Accordingly the Juvenile Bill Flkes Is provided in the early days of his training with a 10-foot silken rope tied In knots a foot apart Fastened at the end is a strong but light steel hook. Tho boy is required to practise with thlR rope, throwing It In much the samo way as a lass? would be up to a window sill six or more feet above him, so that the hook holds to tho stone. When tho lassoing Is acquired to the trainer's satisfaction, the lad Is text required to sh'n up the rope with nit dislodging the hook Trom the sill. This requires a great deal of practice, ind many are the falls endured. As the height is seldom more than 10 feet, and prior to this stage the lioy bas - been taught how to fall, only slight bruises result. The children In their first expedi tions are always taken and shown the house that is to be criered In the day time, and instructed as to the best melhsds of entry to the back. Then late at night tho lnstructoi takes the little lad to the "crib," nnd from a convenient spot watches his pupil disappear according to instruc tions. The presence ot an adult with a boy of tender veira late at night disarms any suspicion an alert police ' lan m'ght have If the boy were seen 'alklng through a street alone. Once at the back of the house the ay, quite at his leisure, makes an In jection of every window on the ..round floor. If ore opens readily he enters by It, if not be surveys next tier, and in nine cases out of ten dis covers that the both room window is partly open. That is sufficient From a side pocket he draws the coll of silken rope, and i couple of minutes later Is standing Inside the little room. The Juvenile burglar Is instructed to mako his ent'y by a bathroom wherever possible because there Is always a risk In vllladom of any or every room being occupied as a bed room, and a window opening with a sleeper in the room would nearly al ways Insure an alarm being raised. Not long ago i remarkable thing happened at a villa on Brixton Hill. When the people awakened In the morning the house was in perfect or der; every window was closed and fastened, every door was bolted. Yet every one's pocket had been rifled, every article of Je'velry had been tak en away during the night. The maid and her boxes wore searched, but ev en she waB minus her month's money, 'naid tho day before. Tho police were communicated with, n examination tiny finger marks wero ,mnd on the bathroom window, and aces of a hook were plainly visible n the window sill, A clever boy burglar bad paid the villa a visit. He was never caught, for be departed in the way be had come, taking with him only valuables that vould be carried unobserved in bis pockets. London News. CAPTAIN HANK. Ha Was Not Ons of the Kind That Skinned Feathers. In a little Island harbor ot the Main Coast dwells Billy Yan Bant fisher man, bachelor and artist Painting In bis crude way the surf, the moonlit waters, the Jagged rocks about bis cabin, selling bis pictures for a pit tance, and on the proceeds taking a lesson or two from some better equipped- artist he turns art Into more art, and for the needs of his body de pends upon fish line and lobster pot and a chance day's work with some prosperous neighbor. No one ever looked upon a uleghbor with greater pity than Is bestowed up on Billy by Capt Hank, whose neat white cottage faces the opposite side of the harbor., Capt Hank Is "prac tical." A cent Is a cent to htm and a hundred of them, counted slowly, make a dollar. Billy's flour barrel was entirely empty one day. and bis cupboard shelves were almost bare, when Capt. Hank pushed upon the cabin door without the formality of knocking and entered. "Howdye, Billy!" he said. "I cal'late to git up to the Narrer tomorrow af ter a load of wood. Didn't know but I c'd git ye to go along." Billy's heart leaped. To tho Nar rows would be a whole day's trip. That would mean $2, nnd on $2 he could live In luxury for more than a fortnight "I'll be glad to go, captain," he said. They were away at daybreak, beat ing up the channel of tho river mouth against a strong head wind. They spent the middle of the day, an hour and a half, putting the wood on board the sloop, and at nightfall anchored again under the lee of Capt Hank's rocky dooryard. Weary and wet, Billy sought his cabin, took down the last provisions from the shelves, r id ate everything but a cold potato an I a bls sult which he reserved for br ikfast On the morrow ho would 1 3 rich again. The next morning Capt. Han!,- again sculled his punt across the harbor and entered the cabin. From n bulky shot-bag he extracted with pal:..ul de liberation, three silver dimes. "I come over to settle up f r that little trip yesterday," he said. "Thirty cents, I make it hour and a hr :f." Billy wheeled in amaz. rncf,t. "W-w-what?" he gasped. "Wal, course we wasn't but ai tour an' twenty minutes puttln' the wood aboard, but I ain't one o' them folks that skins the feathers off the eagle. Hour and a half I call it. and you're welcome to every cent of It." He held the three dimes forth reluctantly. Whatever there is of fear or rldi oule In the artistic soul la acutely de veloped In Billy. Ho looked at the three dimes, but hesitated not a mo ment "No, no. Put it up. Hank, put It up," he said. "You don't owe me a cent" With an air of relief the captain re turned the dimes to tho shot pouch, and tied them in securely. "Well, of course, you're welcome to It," he said, as he back out "I reckon Billy ain't niore'n half baked," he told his wife over the din ner table that noon. "Wouldn't take a cent for workln' yesterday, and he might 'a' screwed me for the whole day two dollars." But over In his cabin Billy, who was dining off the last half of the potato and the crumbs of the biscuit, was quite sure that he would not change places with his wealthy neighbor. Youth's Companion. Railroad Progress. Tho heavier rails, stronger bridges and more powerful locomotives re quired in American railroads by tho present demands of traffic have result ed in the practical rebuilding of the trunk roads during the past ten years. In the words of H. L. Stone, writing in the World's Work, "most of the equip ment of a decade ago Is now In the scrap heap." A single locomotive now does work once calling for three. Passenger trains of sixteen cars ace not unusual. A "through freight" averages eighty cars, and on shorter runs one engine sometimes hauls 110. In 1S93 the av erage weight of a passenger locomo tive, with tender, was about 75 tons. The latest type of locomotive, with tender, for the same service, weighs more than 142 tons. Only ten years ago the famous No. 993 ot the New York Central, exhibited at the Chica go World's fair, was looked upon as a marvel In size and speed; yet it weighed only 102 tons, as against the 150 tons of the present passenger en gine. In the same year the average weight of a freight locomotive was 85 tons. The latest type of compound freight engine weighs 181 1-2 tonB, and will haul more than 4001 tons of freight Extending Vacations. The United States senate has passed a hill providing that after ths date of tho passage ot the act thirty days' an nual leave of absence with pay be giv on employees of the government print ing cflice exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays. Existing laws relating to tho granting of annual leave with pay to clerks and employees In the executive departments shall apply to clerks and employees ot the govern ment printing office who are paid an nual or monthly salaries. A letter was read from the publio printer stating that the employees un der the existing law are given twenty six working days' leave with pay, the bill to make the leave thirty days. Ths provision relating to annual or month ly salaries will affect 175 employees. The bill was passed without debate.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers