THE BACKWARDS ROAD.
I know that somewhere there must be
A llackwurils lUad,
A road like this,
trailing to all old lovely limes,
Picnics last year, forgotten rhymes,
And dolls I used to kiss.
But every road beneath my feet
, Leads further off
From yesterday;
(And, when I creep into my bed,
1 feel it rock beneoth lny head
Like ships upon their way.
If I could only find tlmt road.
The Backwards Road,
How qui' k I'd walk,
'And change the naughty things I've done,
i'ick up my plaything one by one,
And Lear the haby talk.
Florence Wilkinson.
IN THE
I HOG PASTURE.
& BY J-s- ELLIS -ij.
iiiriiifiiii
The domestic hog. grunting lazily
bout bis pen, is as harmless a crea
ture in appearance aB can well be
Imagined.. In their wild state, ac
cording to travelers, bogs are fierce
and cruel, unrelenting in their fury,
and will attack men when roused.
Circumstances occasionally arise
which show that this wild strain has
not been wholly lost, even In the
most obese porker.
Mark and Carl Perkins, two Chi
cago boys, aged eleven and fourteen,
while spending their vacation last
summer on their Grandfather Triggs'
farm in Central Wisconsin, bad an
experience with hogs which they will
not soon forget.
Among the many delights which
the farm afforded, the one which
gave the boys the most pleasure, dur
ing the early part of the summer, was
picking wild strawberries In a pasture
a half-mile from th3 house. The
most convenient route to this field
was across the hog pasture, a ten
acre lot which lay between the
"Btrawberry pasture" and tie house.
On these berrying trips Miey were
often accompanied by Mack, a farm
dog of uncertain breeding, with the
color and Intelligence of c shepherd
dog and the heavy Jaw and persist
ency of a bulldog. The boys had
taken a strong fancy to the dog, and
he In his turn appeared to like the
society of youth, after long associa
tion with Grandfather Triggs.
One forenoon, the week after their
arrival, they started for strawber
ries, carrying with them two tin palls
and a lunch which their grandmother
fcad put up for them.
"Boys," their grandfather called
after tbem, "see if there are any
gophers in those traps I set on the
hill! The little peBts are going to
kill all the grass it I don't manage
to get rid of them somehow." '
The boys went to the place indi
cated, and found the traps, nicely
hidden, but no gophers.
"I guess it's too early. They
haven't come out yet," said Carl.
The boys went on to the strawberry
pasture. After their paHs were filled,
they sat down to rest, and suddenly
remembered that they were hungry.
They brought out their bread and
jam and cold chicken.
"Let's go back by the traps," said
Carl, after they had finished their
lunch. "There might be a gopher in
one now."
The traps were near the centre of
the field. When they were near them
they heard a pig squeal. The squeal
ing grew loudor. "Well, that's
Queer," said Carl. "It must be hurt."
"Maybe it's lost," suggested Mark.
They could hear hogs all over the
pasture grunting In response to the
squeals of the pig.
"Come on, Mark!" cried Carl. "I
see it. It's In a trap!" He began to
run, holding the palls carefully so
as not to spill the berries. "Take
them," he said, handiug these to
Mark, "while I get It out. Its leg
may get broken."
He stooped to bend the spring, but
the pig made such franctic efforts to
escape that it Jerked up the stake
which held the chain and hobbled
away, with the trap clinging to its
foot.
"Carl, I'm afraid of the hogs!"
cried Mark.
.They were indeed acting stangely.
They were running toward them from
all quarters of the pasture, uttering
a noise that was more like a roar
than a grunt.
"Hogs?" said Carl, scornfully.
"Hogs won't hurt you. See, I can
drive them away with this stick."
He picked up a stick and rapped a
hog smartly over the back. The ani
mal squealed and ran to one side.
Mark was reassured. His confi
dence in his older brother was un
limited. Together they set out after
the crippled pig, chasing It hither
and thither.Mn and out of the drove
of excitad hogs. Finally Carl caught
the end of the chain and stopped its
progress, at which the pig squealed
more wildly than ever. The old hogs
were making a deafening uproar
round them. Even Carl began to get
nervous.
"Tou'd better get out!" he shouted
to Mark. "Run and climb over the
fence."
."Shall I take the berries?" asked
Mark.
While Carl hesitated, a snout
truck the back of .his leg, and he
Beard his trousers rip.
"Run quick!" he cried, and the
next Instant was knocked down.
A babel of hoarse grunts and the
napping of tusks surrounded him,
above which rose the Bhrlll squeal!
of the pig. Carl had clung to the
stick, and, half-rising, he laid about
vigorously, and soon had a circle
cleared, round which the hogs stood
with snapping, foaming jaws.
In this moment of relief he saw
that Mark had reached the fence. He
sprang toward the hogs that stiod
botween this and him, and beat them
over the head. They gave way, and
he started to run, when he was
Jerked back by something that tugged
at his hand.
In the excitement he had slipped a
finger through the ring in the end
of the chain and could not withdraw
it. He was chained to the pig! The
danger of the situation really came
to the boy now for the first time. He
struggled madly te release his finger,
but the ring had slipped over the
knuckle, and his struggles only
served to blacken and discolor the
finger.
If he was to escape he would have
to fight his way through. He could
not run. The pain in his finger from
the continually tugging of the pig
was becoming excruciating. Slowly
be moved toward the .fence, now
about a hundred yards distant, drag
ging the pig. The drove of hogs
moved with him in a solid and con
stantly narrowing circle.
To-increase his didlculties, the dis
tracted pig began to run about him,
winding his legs in the chain and
threatening to overthrow him. Carl
was becoming terror-stricken, frantic.
He struck a hog which was disputing
his way,, and saw his stick fly to
pieces. He looked up and cried aloud
in terror. The fence was so near, yet
he could not reach It.
He could see Mark running about
excitedly on the other side of
the fence and whistling? Yes,
whistling. He was calling Mack.
Carl turned eagerly toward the
house and his heart gave a great
bound. Help was coming! Up the
long slope that led from the house
Mack was coining like an arrow sped
from a bow. Would he be in time?
Carl turned and began to kick
savagely at the hogs. The frightened
pig ran between his legs, and whirled
about, wrapping him hopelessly In
the chain. He struggled to keep his
footing, but fell under the rush of the
hogs. For a brief moment they ran
over him, and he covered his face
with his hands, expecting with each
breath to feel their teeth. Then to
his amazement they left him, and he
was lying alone in the sunshine, un
molested. Even the pig had escaped
by freeing Itself from the trap.
The explanation for this came from
an uproar at one Bide. In the midst
of the drove Mack was spinning like
a top, snapping right and left, a
bleeding snout here and an ear there
showing that these leaps were not
futile. At last the dog made a lunge
at a particularly large hog, and fas
tened so securely that his hold could
not be broken. The squeals of the
victim sent the entire drove fleeing
in terror down the hill.
Carl got up slowly, crossed the
fence, and sat down. The world
seemed to be traveling round In a cir
cle. Mark, the clouds, the trees and
the two pails of berries all seemed a
part of a huge merry-go-round.
"I'm glad you didn't spill them,"
he said, thickly. "Grandma "
Then it suddenly became dark.
When he opened his eyes again
he was in the cool north bedroom,
and his grandmother was rubbing his
forehead with arnica. Youth's Companion.
THRIFT MAKES WEALTH.
French People Own the Securities of
Other Nations.
The public debt of France is $6,
000,000,000, all held at home. In
addition, the French people own for
eign securities to the stupendous ag
gregate of 115,000,000,000, and it is
further estimated that an equal
amount is placed in home securities.
These figures may be exaggerated
all but those representing the pub
lic debt but they illustrate the vir
tue there is in thrift, which is also a
German usage.
There is no Rockefeller, no Carne
gie, in France, though there may be
a lesser Russell Sage. The French
people do not speculate; they save.
They do not get rich at a hop, skip
and jump; they accumulate by Blow
degrees they economize. The crime
of crimes in rural France is waste,
and France would subsist on what
America throws away. Within the
past year there have rotted on Amer
ican farms enough machinery and
utensils to supply agricultural France
the next quarter of a century, A
peasant of Normandy would as leave
subject his household plunder to the
rage of the elements as his plows, or
harrows, or harvesters. And the same
Is true of the German on the other
side of the Rhine. Waste makes want
everywhere, and frugality makes
wealth everywhere.
France is blessed with a soil more
fertile and a climate more favorable
than Germany, and that Is why toil
gets richer return on the French side
of the Rhine. It was ever so. Cen
turies ago France recovered from the
devastations of war much more rap
idly than any of the German States,
and for ages it was the trade of both
countries to avail themselves of the
blessings of peace to make accumula
tion that would allow them to indulge
in the horrors of war. Now that is
all changed, and another thirty years
of peace between the two peoples may
make Impossible a war between
them.
If our population were as thrifty
as the people of France, and our till
age as thorough,, we would have to
build new barns for our harvests and
open new banks for our savings.
Washington Post.
RANK
Rattles Are an Easy Way to
Gather Coin 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
By I, a. MARTIN ICTT.
One of the most annoying of small
grafts is the raffle, as conducted for
gain.. It is bad enough to be held up
twenty-five cents or fifty cents for a
ticket which entitles you to a chance
on a rug or a clock when you reason
ably are sure that the proceeds will
go to charity, but no man likes to be
fooled out of his small change by a
cheap grafter, even it the grafter hap
pens to need the money.
A story is told of two printers who
lived for a month on a cheap sliver
watch which they raffled off almost
dally, until they had "worked" nearly
all the printing offices of any size in
town. Those typographical grafters
are unworthy of the noble craft to
which they belong. They pretended
to be Jobless on account of last year's
strike, and unable to live with their
families on the money furnished by
the union.
During the noon hour, or about
closing or opening time, one of the
men would saunter into a composing
room and put up a hard luck story.
He had an o!d sllverlne watch that he
wanted to raffle off if he could sell
twenty tickets at twenty-five cents
each. He usually managed to sell the
tickets.
About the time tha drawing was to
take place the confederate entered
and cheerfully took a chance and won
the watch without any difficulty.
Thus they had the watch and the $5
also. They would split the money,
and on the first convenient occasion
the raffle would be repeated at anoth
er place, and by some trick known
only to themselves the drawing was
manipulated, so that the confederate
always won the watch.
A south side woman recently bad
600 raffle tickets printed, to be sold
at ten cents each, the drawing to be
on Thanksgiving Day for a "grand
parlor clock," the proceeds to be for
the benefit of a "poor widow." As
the woman herself happens to be a
poor grass widow, and as the place of
the drawing could not be learned,
neither could there be obtained a
sight of the clock, it is not difficult to
guess the final destination of $50 for
which the tickets will be sold.
At many saloons and cigar stores
there is a continuous raffle in pro
gress for a "fine gold watch." It Is
well for those who buy chances to in
spect the timepiece with a critical
eye. One of these watches was sub
mitted to a jeweler by the man who
won it. "It's what we call an auction
watch," said the expert. "It is worth
about eighty-seven cents wholesale.
The case is gilded, and the works are
of less value than the movement of a
slxty-nlne-cent alarm clock. It may
keep time until the brass begins to
show through the plate, and it may
not."
One of the most attractive forms
of the raffle ticket game is valuing
the ticket at from one cent up to as
high as desired. The man who buys
a chance draws a little envelope con
taining his number. If he is lucky
and secures a small number he is en
couraged to try again. This is a sort
SOME QUEER SCHOOLS.
For Policemen, Nursemaids, Grave
Diggers, Judges and Croupiers.
There are some very strange edu
cational establishments open at the
present day. A school for cash boys
was opened some time ago, says the
Boston Transcript.
According to a prospectus pupils,
who must not be under fourteen
years of age, are taught arithmetic in
every day use, bookkeeping, penman
ship and the quick handling and
counting of money. Many of the
boys who have attended the school
are earning good wages as cashiers
in some of the largest stores In New
York and Chicago.
It is proposed to open in London a
school for nursemaids, where girls
over sixteen years of age may be giv
en lessons in the management of in
fants, preparing of children's food,
plain sewing and laundry work and
the kindergarten system of educa
tion. '
Such an Institution already exists
in Berlin. It was founded two years
ago by a clergyman and is in connec
tion with a foundling hospital. The
growing girls of this establishment
are taught to become competent
housemaids, and positions are found
for them in the houses of the best
families In Germany.
Russia possesses a Bchool for po
licemen, where young men are
trained for the force. The school is
situated in St. Petersburg, and In a
museum connected thereto the pupils
make themselves familiar with jim
mies, drills, chisels and other tools
used by profe&lonal thieves. A par
ticular branch of the school is the
Russian passport system, which every
budding policeman has to study In de
tail. A remarkable educational estab
lishment is the school for Judges
opened recently In Paris. Here make
believe trials are held by pupils un
der the supervision of well known at
torneys. The whole procedure, from
the issuing of a warrant for arrest to
the summing np and the Judge's ver
dict, is carried through In a business
like manner. . -
At Monte Carlo there Is a school
of croupiers. It is held during the
sir cummer months In the club room
ef the Tlf aux Pigeons and the Salle
f Fvr'r JAt-ba-Caaino tyUliiJ.
GRAFT
5HSE5-551I
SSJSBS3SSi
of double gamble, and many men can
not resist the temptation to speculate
upon the chances simply in order to
have the fun of drawing the little en
velopes. Of course, many of the raffles are
for cases of genuine charity, and It is
an easy way to raise funds for some
worthy object. Many a person who
would not accept an outright gift,
even in case of sickness or death, will
permit friends to raffle off a piano or
a bicycle for a good round price in or
der to obtain a fund to tide him over
an emergency. To buy tickets for
this kind of a raffle is praiseworthy.
But sharpers are not above getting
money by the same means. If a
strange man, or a doubtful looking
woman, wants to sell you a chance for
the benefit of "an old soldier," or a
"little orphan girl," or a "striker out
of work," it might pay you to inves
tigate. But here Is where the easy money
comes in for the sharper. It is too
much trouble to investigate, and the
tender hearted person would sooner
give up the ten, twenty-five or fifty
cents to an unworthy grafter than to
take chances of refusing to aid a case
of genuine need.
Then, too, there Is what might be
called a legitimate raffle business. Of
course, tthe raffle is a lottery under
the law, and, therefore, is a criminal
transaction. But in many cases goods
of known value but slow sales are
disposed of through raffles, and the
drawings conducted honestly. A
north side man disposed of an auto
mobile in this way. It had been a
good "wagon" in its day, although
the type was old. He wanted to get
a new one, and as the makers would
not allow hjra anything In exchange
for the old, he sold raffle tickets to
the amount of $500, and the winner
got a real bargain the losers paying
the bill.
A group of young men who wanted
to build themselves a little clubhouse
in the Fox Lake region resorted to a
raffle that waB almost a downright
steal. They had the printer make
them tickets and each one went
among his friends and organized a
"suit club," selling chances for a $30
tailor-made suit. Of course those
who invested understood that the suit
probably would be worth about $18,
but they were satisfied to help build
the clubhouse on that basis, and be
sides they thought they had a fair
chance to get the suit.
It was learned afterward by acci
dent that there were twenty "series"
of tickets sold by these young men,
and instead of each series standing
for a suit, only one drawing was held
and only a single suit made for the
entire twenty, series of tickets. In
other words, they sold $500 worth
of tickets for a $30 suit of clothes.
They built their clubhouse, however,
and laughed at the man who kicked
because he thought he did not get a
square deal for the half dozen tickets
he bought They thought It was a
good joke. Michigan Tradesman.
Here are tables similar to those In
the Casino gaming room, and each
pupil In turn takes the role of crou
pier, while others personate ylayers
and stake money over a table. At
given signal the croupier must be
ready to calculate and pay out the
winning stakes.
There are usually between forty
and fifty pupils In this school, and a
six months' course Is generally suffi
cient to turn them Into finished crou
piers. A very odd educational establish
ment is the school for grave diggers
In Belgium. It was founded by the
directors of the Great Evere Ceme
tery, and all candidates for posts as
sextons in Belgium must undergo
training In the school and pass an ex
amination.
There are several schools of house
wifery in England, the principal of
which is connected with the National
Training School of Cookery in Lon
don. Every branch of household
management is taught at this school.
the keeping of accounts, the princi
ples of domestic sanitation and a cer
tain amount of sick training being in
cluded.
Let Everybody Plant Trees.
If every land owner would plant
in every available place such 'trees
as would not only give present bean
ty but also insure a future supply
of valuable timber, it would so sup
plement the larger work of a Govern
ment forest reserve that reforesta
tion and the preservation of an ade
quate supply of good timber would
be much slmplied. .
The precious and" almost lndispen
sable white oak is naturally only a
forest tree, but the black walnut,
which Intrinsically is even more val
uable, will grow almost anywhere and
In a much Bhorter time, and it will
pay for:ltself from the time It begins
to bear. The same Is true of the
chestnut.
There is no question that cabinet
woods will always be in demand, fo:
no other material can possibly take
the place of wood In the making of
furniture. Craftsman.
Thomas King was 3ned in a Lon
don police court for taking his baby
to a pawnshop and trying to pawn it
tor fifty ceutr, wherewith to buy gi
New York City. Such a pretty
little princesse frock as this one cults
the younger girls admirably well and
can be made from almost any childish
material, as fashionable stuffs are
almost all thin and soft and pliable.
In this instance rose colored voile Is
made with a yoke and trimming of
green lace and is finished with fancy
stitching. But not alone are the
light weight wool materials of the
present appropriate, the design Is a
charming one for the many silk and
cotton materials and other similar
fabrics that will be worn throughout
the warm weather and that also make
very charming, fascinating dancing
school and party frocks. .
The dress consists of body lining,
which Is faced to form the yoke and
on which the tucked and shirred por
tion is arranged, and the skirt. The
skirt Is hemmed and tucked at It3
lower edge and shirred at the upper
and joined to the waist. The pretty
sljeves also are tucked and gathered
at their edges and are finished with
bands.
. The quantity of material required
for the medium size (ten years) is
five yards twenty-seven, four and one
fourth yards thirty-six or three and
one-four yards fnrty-four Inches wide,
with three-eighth yard of all-over
lace and three yards of lace for trills.
Flaring Skirts Preferred.
Many women prefer flaring skirts
of many gores for the tub frock, and
these will be a boon to the laun
dresses who have for several seasons
past wrestled with pleated skirts.
The danger of sagging with wear and
of losing shapeliness In the launder
ing Is, of course, the objection to the
circular wash skirt.
Geisha Bow Vogue.
"Geisha" bows are seen on nearly
every garment nowadays. The bows
are placed between the waistline and
the shoulders, and are formed with
long ends reaching almost to the hem
of the coat
Point Celbert's RerivaL
Point Celbert, a lace that comes
midway between renaissance and
point venise. Is one of the real laces
that Is havlfcr a revival this season.
n a yii v Ji m n i n
IV
Brakl Wraps.
The newest little wraps which will
accompany smart wardrobes are
made entirely of braid like that
which trims the cloth skirts accom
panying them. The extensive use of
braid promises to continue into the
next season. Many of the coats found
in the lace robe department are made
of braid held together with lace
stitches. This braid lace, known as
dentelle de sole, also forms panels
of skirts. In coats and trimmings It
is often dyed.
Child's Double Breamed Coat
Such a simple coat as this one suits
the small children admirably well
and Is always a favorite. In the il
lustration it is made of dark blue
broadcloth with collar and cuffs of
velvet combined with the cloth and is
a very chic little garment, but It Is
adapted to velvet and to velveteen,
to the beautiful fur plushes, to chev
iot, and, Indeed, to every material
that Is used for children's coats, it
being just as good a model for the
spring ones of light weight cloth as
it is for those of the colder weather.
In this case it Is worn by a little girl
and la buttoned over from right to
left. But the design suits the boys
just as well as the girls, the only
difference being in tbe method of
buttoning, so that when the left side
Is lapped onto the right It becomes
truly masculine in style and suited
to the wee men.
The coat Is made with fronts and
back, fitted by means of shoulder
and under-arm seams, and is finished
at the neck with a comfortable roll
over collar. Its sleeves are in regu
lation coat style with roll-over cuffs,
and it Is closed with buttons and
buttonholes in doubles -pi style.
The quantity of material required
for the medium size (six years) Is
three and one-fourth yards twenty
seven, one and seven-eighth yards fort
ty-four or one and five-eighth yards'
fifty-two inches wide, with three
eighth yard of velvet to make as Ik
lustrated.
Woolen For Lace.
- When the all-lace house gown b
beyond the reach of possibility, t
very successful substitute Is one ol
soft woolen material with a lon
front panel of lace, bordered, If d
sired, by velvet ribbon.
Brownish Gray Preferred.
The brownish gray of molesku
is a leading tone among dress fabJ
rlcs. both in sheer stuffs and heavie.
cloths.
WsiJ'
I 1