see
"HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER."
oe
A SKETCH
By w,
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oett
oS)ssoeee cng
I remember so well the very first
time I saw Mike Lonnegan. It was
joutslde a wayside Irish station, where
he had drawn up a pair of ill
matched, bony hunters (driven dur
ing the summer in a wagonette) with
a great flourish indeed, in reckless
style, for the bony hunters resented
this unusual flippancy on Mike's part,
and pranced on and off the pathway
with indignant hoofs.
My friends whispered to me that
Mike had intended to impress my
English mind. He did; but not ex
actly In the way he intended, poor old
fellow! It was his head. I never
taw such a head! All the parts that
ought to have stuck out went in, and
vice versa. Then the marvellouB
manner in which he had balanced
the shabby cockaded hat on the con
trary bumps was in Itself a work of
art; no, rather an "outward and vis
ible sign" of an "inward and spir
itual" originality worth cultivating.
They bsgged me not to laugh at
Mike or his appearance, saying, with
a sigh: "He is so sensitive, poor
dear; and really I don't know what
we should do without him." Ah,
krhat indeed!
I had the pleasure of staying many
months in this genial Irish house,
and my respect nay, awe for Mike
Increased daily.
He was coachman, gardener, but
ler and valet this, in itself, was to
me sufficiently astonishing; but I
bad only been a week In the house
when I discovered that Mike ruled
It with an iron rod, gently wielded,
raaybo, and with a padded tip; never
theless, from my host, who loved him,
to Brian Boru (the setter, which had
reason to remember Mike's strength
of arm), no one seemed to question
bis right to rule them.
"Tell me," I asked, "why do you
all bow down to Mike, and do you
like It?"
"My dear," I was told, "Mike has
been fifty years at Ballyknockshan
oon; he came to my father as a boy to
belp in the garden. Times are bad
Cor us Irish landlords, and Mike has
gradually drifted into the proud post
of general factotum, because we have
Do money and because he loves us."
My pretty friend's pretty eyes filled
with tears, and she went on: "You
don't know how good Mike Is and
What he does for us. He is nearly
Seventy years old, and It Is still
against his principles to sit down
during the day, and only after sup
per will he rest; so, of course, we
must put up with his dictatorial fits,
and, worse still, of contrariety.
Watch him at dinner to-night when I
refer to the table decoration. It will
amuse you."
I watched. I had already observed
lllent battles over the immense ag
gressive bowl of flowers that orna
mented the centre of the dinner table
at Ballyknockshannon. Enter the
company, who take their seats. En
ter Mike, with the air of carrying In
boar's head and truffles, instead of
vegetable soup; enter Brian Boru,
Stealthily, making for the soft mat
under the table, with a wary eye on
Mike withal.
"Dear me, Janet!" cries my wicked
little friend; "I can't see a wink of
you; this bowl obstructs the view.
Mike, I've told you that we don't
like that thing, but the little silver
rases, why don't you use those?"
Mike fixed the bowl with a regret
ful but determined eye, and mur
mured, deprecatlngly, "Sure 'tis a
folne beautiful thing, yer ladyship's
bonor, and fitting It Is to you and his
bonor; as to the other things bad
luck to 'cm, they "
"That will do, Mike," replies her
ladyship's honor, "take away the
bowl."
Mike looked at her with anguish,
then clutching It . with feverish
fingers, muttering withal, he moved
It with more force than was neces
sary to the side of the table; and then
Withdrew hurriedly, as if he had for
gotten something. '
"Now, you watch," whispered my
delighted host, "he will never remove
that bowl."
Mike came staggering in with tne
fish.
"The bowl off the table, Mike,"
whispered the wicked one, sternly.
Mike expostulated in an undertone,
"And is It not the fish sauce he was
getting; would her honor wish the
fish without sauce, and an ilegant
English lady there," etc. And so on
through dinner.
"Mike, the bowl," reproachfully.
"I will, I will," returns he, sooth
ingly; "Just wait until he brings In
the foine figure of a duck," and so
on, ad lib. Dear, funny old Mike!
He stuck firmly to his point; the bowl
bad been used ever since he could
remember, therefore It should be
used now and for all time.
The old order changeth,
Yielding place to new,
was Incomprehensible heresy to Mike.
Three or four days after the "Bat
tle of the Bowl" (as we syled it) I
was sitting under the beautiful trees
- of Ballyknockshannon reading.
It was a gorgeous, golden after
noon In September,, and a harvest
was being gathered sn; the voices of
the workmen and the gurgling of a
FROM LIFE
W.
sea
little strenm that ran at the bottom
of the garden floated to me across
fields of waving gold. I had been
reading "The Idylls of the King," and
their beauty had sunk deep into my
heart, making a sweet content.
I watched Mike mowing the lawn
pityingly.
"Poor Mike," thought I, "with no
Idylls to comfort him, no poetry to
delight his fancy, no beautiful books
to stimulate his Intellect a mere
machine!" Oh, wise woman! "Mike,"
I called, as the old man's methodical
mowing began to irritate what I Im
agined to be my poetic appreciation
of nature, "Mike, can you read, and
would you like me to lend you some
books?
Mike put down the mowing ma
chine with great care and precision,
and came over to me. I remember
the sun set full on his quiet old face,
with Its deep set childish eyes, and
on the lines of care so deeply marked
on the prominent forehead.
"And what books may they be, yer
ladyship?" (We are all 'ladyships"
to Mike, and he had begun, during
the Inst few days, to think that some
good might come out of England.)
"His honor has given me a grand
library, and the new ones they are,"
severely, "the divil, begging your
pardon, my lady."
"What do you read, Mike?" I
asked, patronizingly.
"Ah, well, my lady, I have alt Mr.
Carlyle's works, and the grand Scotch
gentleman's Sir Walter Scott; then
her honor last Christmas gave me
William Shakespeare in a folue Ile
gant cover of green and gold. And
I have Tennyson and Moore and
Robbie Burns and Longfellow and
Wordsworth and Shelley and Cowper
and ''
"Good gracious, Mike," I ex
claimed, sitting up and putting my
hat straight, "do you mean you have
read all these Carlyle, I mean, and
Shakespeare?"
"I have, my lady," said Mike, sim
ply. Then he went on to tell me that
Colonel O'Callaghan, a neighbor, had
a valuable library and had given
Mike permission to use It whenever
he wished.
I discovered that there was no
standard work of any note that Mike
had not read.
It was one of the mysteries of
Ballyknockshannon as to when Mike
did read, and how and when he had
acquired the extraordinary all around
knowledge he undoubtedly possessed,
for he was thoroughly employed dur
ing the day; In the evening we often
heard him playing the violin, and out
of his sixty-five odd y"vars he had
hardly spent one out of Ballyknock
shannon. It was borne In upon me gradually
that Mike was in himself (1) a phil
osopher, (2) a literary critic, (3) a
poet, (4) a musician, (5) a horticul
turist, (6) an amateur Jockey, (7) a
local time table, (8) a calendar, (9)
a Whltaker's Almanack, (10) an
army list, (11) a complete peerage!
My brain reels when I think of
Mike's practical knowledge, and,
whenever I wished for useful advice
or an unbiassed opinion of a horse,
a book, a flower, I went to Mike.
On one of these occasions I remem
ber I hurt the old man In his most
sensitive part, namely, his pride. He
had given up a considerable portion
of his time to constructing a wooden
stand for my bicycle (I forgot to say
he was a carpenter In addition to his
other accomplishments), and I made
the egregious mistake of slipping a
sovereign into his hand.
Up to that moment I must confess
that the expression "filthy lucre" had
seemed to me a mere facon de parler,
but I felt the force of it then. Mike
gave me one look of indignant scorn,
put the money down (with the air of
dropping a black beetle), and turned
on his heel and left me standing there
very much ashamed of myself, with
eyes askance.
The mistress of Ballyknockshan
non followed me to my room that
evening. "My dear Janet," she be
gan, mournfully, "what have you
been Baying to Mike? He Is In a
right royal rage; I know the mood,
and I feel" working me up to the
awful climax "I feel we shall have
the Battle of the Bowl at dinner."
I confessed my sin, of course, and
was Implored never to offer Mike
money again.
"Not when I go away?" I cried. In
credulous.
"No, for Heaven's sake, don't.
Why, do you know, I have known
Mike make a point of hiding himself
If he thinks any departing guest Is
going to 'tip him.
I gasped, remembering sundry
English country houses and their de
mands on my slender purse
One morning. Just before my de
parture, my hostess came Into the
study with a harassed expression on
her face and an open letter in her
hand.
"Oh, .Janet," she explained, "such
an awful thing "
."What?" (With visions ot boy
cotting and dining with pistols on
the sideboard.)
"Mike's brother has come back."
"Never knew be had a brother,
I answered, with great Interest.
"Yes; this is the only one. He's a
ne'er-do-well, and comes from Amer
ica. He has no money, and Is very
idle and dishonest and fascinating,
and "
"How typical. I murmured dream
ily. "What of?"
"Oh, nothing, dear. Please tell mo
more about him."
It appeared that Mike's brother
was nearly twenty years younger
than he, and had distinguished him
self by robbing the surrounding fam
ilies when at home, and, when
shipped off to America at great ex
pense to his family, had proceeded
to drain their feeble resources by
begging letters, full of Irish Im
agination! "Mike's brother?" I cried, amazed.
"Yes, Mike Is his guardian angel,
and I believe" with great mystery
"I believe that Mike sends him
money still."
Mike came Into the room Just then,
and our conversation stopped, but I
noticed he looked very much dis
turbed the next few days, his simple
eyes clouded, his ruddy face paler.
I left Ballyknockshannon a week
afterward, and I always carry In my
mind the remembrance of old Mike
as he opened the gate for the dogcart
that was to take me to the station
the November sun on his white head,
a bunch of his best ruddy chrysanthe
mums held up for me to take as we
sped along, his left clutching Brian
Boru (whose coat matched the
chrysanthemums), and a wistful, far
away eagerness In his earnest eyes
as they followed the cart down the
leaf strewn road.
I wondered did Mike look more
careworn? Was my sight, misty,
with tears, deceiving me? Or was
it the influence (always keenly felt
by me) of the romantic melancholy
of the half-neglected acres around
me, with their fateful autumn still
ness? ,
Life, however, with Its Incessant
bustle and stir, claimed me, and In
its feverish stress perhaps the mem
ory ot Ballyknockshannon and my
old friend Mike faded a little until
chance took me to Ireland again to
"dear, dlrthy Dublin" on this oc
casion. It was during the late spring, and
the season there was nearly over. I
remember I had promised to do a
commission for a friend In a remote
and somewhat "Blummy" part ot the
town, and as I was amusing myself
with watching the "types" around me
my eye suddenly fell on a little old
man who came hurriedly out ot a
pawnbroker's shop and walked In
front ot me a few steps, then turned
to cross the road. I caught his pro
file, then full face It was Mike!
The same "bumpy" head (and the
hat at the same angle), the same
childlike, deepset eyes, yet I thought
he looked broken, older, shabbier.
"Mike," I cried, "you remember
me?"
He dropped his eyes nervously and
flushed with embarrassment.
'"Tis Miss Janet," he said, with
an obvious effort at being pleased to
see me. "Sure, an' how could I be
forgettin' the lovely face of yer?"
"Oh! Mike, Just the same," I
laughed. "How are they all at Bally
knockshannon?" "Yer ladyship," the old man's voice
sank and his earnest eyes solicited
mlno, " 'tis a grand favor you'll be
doing me not to tell her honor that
you met me here. I was Just" he
hesitated "buying an Ilegant pres
ent for me cousin Biddy, who Is to
marry young Larry Murphy at" he
began to cough, and I didn't like to
hear him, also I distrusted his com
ing to Dublin to buy a present.
"Doesn't the mistress know you're
in Dublin, Mike?" I asked, gravely.
"She does, yer ladyship, but this
street" he indicated It with a fine
air of patrician scorn " 'tis not of
the quality, and her honor might be
thinking I'd be afther taking some
sickness down," he stammered, pain
fully.
"Of course, Mike," I answered
gently, "I shall not say anything."
In vain I tried to persuade the old
man to let me give him some tea, he
looked so ill and worn out. He pro
tested with an air of great mystery
that he had business, an appointment.
etc.; so I let him go, as he was ob
viously eager to do so, and watched
him down the street. Hew shabby
his coat looked, and it was turned up
around the neck as it he feared the
wind; and Mike, who had faced all
weather in all seasons, and this was
a balmy spring afternoon. I went
home wondering. -
A few weeks later I received the
following letter:
"Dear Janet I have been Intend
ing to write to you for some weeks,
but we have been in such trouble
about poor old Mike. He has been
ailing for some time, but last Mon
day he died from a severe attack ot
pneumonia our faithful old friend.
But oh, Janet, the Badness of It all!:
Do you know that for months the
olJ. man has been sending all his sav
ings and wages to that Insatiable
brute of a brother of his; when he
had nothing left he was obliged to
pawn many ot his clothes. We have
found out since that he got rid ot
them one by one, and must have
gone about with nothing next to him
but his coat. Oh! my dear, he never
told us or asked for help, poor, proud
old fellow, and I feel I must ever
reproach myself for not looking after
him more; here he was, dying under
our very rocf. It ever a man de
served a martyr's crown, Mike did.
I know you admired and loved him;
so you will sympathize with us in
our loss. Your affectionate,
"AMY."
The Ladies' Field.
"MOCHA AND JAVA."
A Phrase Which Has Grown to be
Only a Tradition.
The United States imports ' about
1,000,000,000 pounds of coffee yearly.
Some eight-tenths of the supply comes
from Brazil, about one-tenth from
other South American countries, and
one-tenth from Central America and
Mexico.
The importations of Mocha coffee,
which takes Its name from the town
of Mochn, at the southern extermlty
of Arabia, are only about 2,000,0000
pounds annually, and of Java coffeo
only about 10,000,000 pounds.
These quantities are so small as to
constitute only an Infinitesimal pro
portion of the vast consumption ot
coffee In the United Stntes. The av
erage import value of South Ameri
can coffee is about eight cents per
pound, compared with 12 and 15
cents for coffee from Arabia and tho
East Indies.
Turkish and Egyptian traders go to
Arabia before the harvest and buy the
Mocha crop on the tree. They make
sure that It Is not picked before It Is
perfectly ripe, and they attend to Its
preparation themselves.
Such choice Mocha Is marketed
largely through Cairo or Alexandria,
and "the coffee that reaches Mocha
and 1b exported from Aden Is only
what these merchants thought too
poor to buy."
In view of the fact that the beBt
Mocha never reaches this market at
all, and the notorious fact that for
years only an Infinitesimal proportion
of United States imports have been
from Arabia and Java, the official
statement sent out by the United
States Government Is doubtless true
In declaring that "the terms Java and
Mocha have now become mere charac
teristics of quality and blend." But
It would be difficult to frame any de
scription of the characteristics of
qualitiy and blend which these terms
are supposed to represent.
As a matter of fact, therefore, the
words Java and Mocha on a brand of
Coffee may usually be accepted as
equivalent .to the words "finest" or
"best," or similar adjectives. Only on
coffee which Is positively known to
be the pure product from Japanese
plantations or from Arabian planta
tions do these terms have any signi
ficance. There are not a few disinterested
coffee lovers who prefer some of the
standard brands of Brazilian coffees
(which constitute the great bulk con
sumed in this country) to genuine
Java or Mocha. A. B. Gans, who has
given much attention to this subject
maintains that most of the ' coffee
consumed in the United States Is
taken by the consumer In the belief
that it Is genulno Mocha or Java. If
this statement Is true, declares Good
Housekeeping, such fraud and graft Is
of the largest dimensions.
The Color of Alpine Flowers,
The extraordinary purity and bright
ness of the colors of many Alpine flow
ersand the same Is true of Arctic
ones are well known. The vlvld col
oring often extends to the whole part
of the plant above the ground, even the
leaves and Btems being covered with
a deep red or purple which masks the
chlorophyll green. Dr. Thorild Wulff
who has published his researches with
the Russo-Swedlsh Expedition In Spits
bergen, finds that the pigment An
thocyantn which causes this color
Is present In all Arctic plants, and
that it Is connected with a superfluity
of sugar in their composition In oth
er words, that the leaves of Arctic
plants are "sugar leaves.' The pur
pose which the pigment serves is pos
sibly that of helping the plant to pass
the products which the leaves assimi
late Into Its general system; or It may
be that the red and violet colors which
result from the accumulation ot the
pigment enable the plant to absorb
more radiant energy from the sun's
light, and thus heip out its rather fee
ble vital processes. Another interest
ing feature of Arctic plants is that
they are all of feeble transptratory
powers that is to say that the amount
of moisture exhaled from their leaves
Is very small. At hlsn temperatures
the transpiration rate falls. The Arc
tic plants, In fact, dare not make use
of the conditions which favor evapora
tion, because tneir roots are unaoie
to absorb enough water to cover the
loss which would result.
The Shakeless Grip.
The English high handshake which
raged to such an extent In this city
at one time that some of Its devotees
are said to have practiced it on step
ladders has now entirely disappeared,
and, according to an authority on such
subjects, is to be replaced by another
form ot salutation which consists In
thrusting the hand straight out, giv
ing one quick grip without any up and
down motion, and then instantly with
drawing It. Whether people who like
this no better than they like the high
shake will be forced to adopt It for a
while, as was the case with the other
fad, will depend on the violence and
extent of the new epidemic. The or
lgn of this latest style, by the way,
is supposed to be a fear ot germs, the
idea being that since handshaking
cannot be dispensed with altogether,
it Bhould be as brief a performance as
possible. Philadelphia Record.
Hammerless Guns.
The new hammerless guns are more
dangerous than the old fashioned
ones. The slightest pressure of a twig
on the safety snap puts the compan
ions ot the owner of a hammerless
gun In danger of receiving a charge of
leaden pellets. It will be Interesting
at the end of the season to compare
the number of injuries by firearms
tnis year and last. Boston Record.
jyg gg r"- .au-uaLi- ,-r : 1 , ?,mT7n
Now York City. Elaboration ap
pears to be the one all pressing de
mand for the season and almost ev
erything except the tailored suit of
the severest, most useful sort Is braid
trimmed. Here Is a most charming
little Eton that gives all the drensy
effect demanded by fashion, while in
reality it is absolutely simple in con
struction and can very easily be
made. Braid of varying widths is
combined with velvet to give a really
bandsome and altogether elaborate
effect, but the foundation is Just the
plain little Eton shown in the small
view. In this instance t'he material
Is hunter's green broadcloth and the
collar and the wider bands are made
of velvet, the collar being overlaid
with lace while the trimming con
sists of flat braid In two widths and
of soutache braid applied over a
tamped design. All suitings are ap
propriate, however, and the model
will be found especially well adapted
to velvet and velveteen as well as to
broadcloth, while it can be made far
simpler, by being trimmed on differ
ent lines. For example, if the hori
zontal strappings were omitted alto
gether the garment would still be an
attractive one or the narrow braids
in fronts and back could be dispensed
with, still leaving a dressy garment.
The Eton Is made with the back,
the side-backs, fronts and side-fronts.
Both the Bide-fronts and side-backs
are cut to form extensions at the low
er edges and these extensions are
lapped over onto the fronts and
backs, so providing a foundation tor
the braiding, which gives the effect
of a band. The back is slightly long
er than the side-backs and Is attached
to the belt, over which it blouses.
The flat collar finishes the neck and
the closing is made with buttons and
Footwear For All Occasions.
As every one knows the dressing
of the foot and leg is an all important
part of any child's costume.
Tan and black are tho standard
colors in stockings as in shoes, but
where economy is not closely con
sidered there are many variations
from these standards.
Stockings that match the frock and
shoes that harmonize are the deslr
ible thing from a fashion standpoint.
Low shoes and slippers In ooze
loops of braid. The sleeves are in
tho fashionable three-quarter length,
with bands nt the lower edges.
The quantity of material required
for the medium size Is three and one
quarter yards twenty-seven, one and
thrao-quarter yards forty-four or one
and one-half yards fifty-two Inches
wide with five-eighth yard of velvet
for the collar and wide bands, six
yards of medium width, tea yards of
narrow braid with soutache, accord
ing to design used, with one yard of
lace.
Feather Breast For Turbans.
The soft feather breasts so much
used for natty turbans are beautiful
ly matched In wings.
Fancy. ffeated Skirt.
There Beems literally to be no lim
it to the possibilities ot the pleated
skirt. It is constantly appearing in
some new guise or other and is seem
ingly always most atractive in the
latest. This one is perfectly smooth
over the hips, giving something of a
yoke effect at the same time that the
lines are long, graceful and becom
ing. In the illustration it is made
of nut brown broadcloth trimmed
with bias bands of velvet and is
stitched with beldlng silk, but trim
ming can be braid or anything that
may be liked or the skirt can be fin
ished with a stitched hem only. Again
It gives a choice ot round or walking
length, bo that It becomes adapted
both to the street and to Indoor wear
while It Is suitable for the thinner
materials, such as silk and veiling
quite as well as cloth and other suit
ings. The skirt is made in nine gores
that are cut with extensions below
the plain yoke portion, which pro
vides fulness and flare, while at the
back are the Inverted pleats that are
so universally becoming.
The quantity of material required
for the medium size Is eleven and
ono-half yards twenty-seven, six and
one-quarter yards forty-four or fifty
two Inches wide, with two yards ot
bias velvet to trim as Illustrated.
leather with embroidered motifs, as
well as shoes ot kldskin and satin in
Belt colorings, are worn for dancing
classes and similar Juvenile festivi
ties. Bodice of Raffles.
The bodice composed entirely of
narrow ruffles of lace, laid one above
the other on a well-fitted lining, is a
charmingly fluffy evening waist.
Wide bands of Cluny pass from shoul
ders to waist, crossing at the bust.