A QUESTION. Canst thou, If heaven thy wisest choice peruse And cross thy plans, howe'er thy courage nags. Do with thy might the work thou dost not choose, Walk In the dust nnd wear lire's very rags, While one, no worthier, lilted from thy side, Holds thy wished place and lives In ease and pride? Canst thou without reward, save In thy mind. The calm content that springs from duty done. See all thine honors strlpt away, and nnd Another with the prise thy merit won, Untouched by envy while the many. wrong ills name with praise that to thine belong? Canst thou, when foes wax strong and friendship! cease, When men with evil words thy good de.',ime, In patience keep thy soul, hold fast thy peace. And let thy lire put slander's tongue to shame, Sura of the inward verdict, without heed How the great world may look upon thy deed? Rejoice, O friend, and deem thy fortune rare! Whate'er thine outward lot, thy cup Is brimmed With richest blessing; kings no Jewels wear Upon their brows whose light would shine undlmmed. Matched with the lustre of that aureolo Wherewith the highest heavens have crowned thy soul. LILA'S REVENGE. By MRS. ALEX. He came down from the Capitol and boarded the electric car on Pennsyl vania avenuo, a handsome man of thirty-five, stately, but with the pallor of dissipation on his aristocratic fea tures, and with clothing of the shab by genteel type. The only other occupant, a middle aged man, with a soldierly air, started, looked twice, then smlied. "Claude Merrill, 1b it not?" and they shook hands cordially. "Major Graves, I am lndebteded to your kind remembrance. It must be Quite ten years since we met, and I thought I had altered beyond recog nition. I am down on my luck, you gee," fishing with the consciousness of the warm overcoat that kept off the cold of the winter day. "Ten years! Why, it must bo twelve!" cried the soldier, ignoring the latter part of the speech. "Wasn't It in the White Mountains I saw you last? That . summer you were so eweet on the little dark-eyed girl with the prisoned song-bird In her white throat I forgot her name, but It is Mrs. Merrill, now, of course?" "No." "Possible? So, then it was only a flirtation! 'Pon honor, I thought it a genuine case of 'Bpoons'," laughed Maj or Grave3. "Don't, Major! I cannot bear to re member those old days!" and Claude Merrill sighed from the bottom of his heart. "You don't mean to say she died?" In a tone of awe. "Yet It must be so. She would never have Jilted you; she loved you too well." "And I worshipped Llla Lake, Maj or Graves, but I never asked her to marry me." "Did she marry some one else?" "I don't know. I never heard what became of Lila, but I'm a bachelor till, and if I know where to find her now, I'd beg her to forgive me and to share my altered fortunes, if she . Would." "She Is dead, perhaps," said the soldier. "I have often feared so dead per haps of a broken heart poor little Lila," sighed Claude Merrill, dropping Into pathos, and thinking of Tenny son's hero weeping over the grave of his broken-hearted little love: "There I put my face in the grass, Whispered; 'Listen to my despair; I repent me of all I did. Speak a little, Ellen Adair!'" Major Graves began to took greatly Interested, but the car stopped Just then to admit several more passen gers, and Merrill continued, in a low ered voice: "I see you're curious, and I wouldn't mind telling you the whole story, only I must leave you In a few minutes. I get off near the White House, to call on Senator Lorton, who lives up that way. I was at the Capitol to see him, but the doorkeeper told me he'd gone home to help his wife receive her guests In the entertainment she gives for the foreign legation this af afternoon." "Oh, yes, Lorton's from your State. Splendid speaker, and young, too, they ay little over thirty. Friend of yours, of course?" "Do I look like a Senator's friend?" with a sarcastic glance downward at his shabby clothing. "No, I've never met Lorton, but I'm trying to secure his Influence to get me something un der the Government high-toned posi tion if passible If not, anything! I'm ruined have run through my fortune, and must work now, for I've an aged mother and an Invalid brother to sup port, you see, and I can't afford to be particular." "No," assented the soldier. . "But I'm not sanguine of success," continued Merrill, gloomily. "I've no teal claim on Lorton, only that I voted lor him, and am from his State. Then too, he must know of my family the highest In the county, and once the richest But I may fall. How la It with you, major? Have you any Influ nce you could use for me?" "None at all, I'm sorry to say. Tou ee, Merrill, my politics and the Pres ident's arc of a different complexion entirely, and that cuts me out of any Influence. But come and join me in little supper tonight, and tell tee what luck you had with Lorton you must!" handing Merrill his address. .'Well, then, I will, thank you, ma jor. But this Is my corner. Au re Toir." "Who is he, major?" asked an ac quaintance, as Merrill left the car. "Old acquaintance Claude Merrill, from down South. Quite a grandee once down on his luck now, and seek ing goveoSKnent work." McVEIQH MILLER. "Oh, ah? I wish him luck!" and the subject dropped, but the major looked forward Impatiently to the lit tle supper that night. The old days had their pain and their charm for him, too; for, unknown to all, the major It had been plain captain then had secretly cherished an affection for the beautiful girl who had, as he said, "a song-bird in her white throat." But Claude Merrill had monopolized her so completely that every one else, seemed quite out of the running. "And he leti her go, after all, the fool," the major muttered to himself, as he impatiently awaited his guest that evening. The door opened. Through the curl ing blue smoke of his cigar he saw Claude Merrill's face, pale, strangely excited. "Congratulate me!" he cried, In a strange voice. "With all my heart," and they shook hands. "Tell me all about It," cried the major. "Well, I saw the Senator. He was very kind. I am successful beyond my hopes. I get a good berth in the Pension Department with a big sal ary!" "No wonder you look excited! Why, man alive, your face Is pale, your eyes wild, as if you had seen a ghost "Perhaps I have, major." He drew a deep breath as he light ed a cigar and threw back his hand some head. His gray eyes glittered strangely. "The ghost I care most to hear about is Llla Lake," said the soldier. "You promised this afternoon, you know " "Yes, I will tell you all," said Mer rill. "Hark to the wind, how it raves! A stormy night, my friend." "Yes, yes; but it cannot penetrate here, and supper will be served pres ently. Let us have the story first. Why did you not marry Lila? A lov er's quarrel?" "No." "Then why the deuce" "Softly, major. Your excitement makes me suspicious." "A fig for your suspicions! I loved Llla Lake myself! There! I thought you meant to marry her, or I would have offered her my hand." "I wish you had, Major Graves. I was a better match perhaps then, as money goes, but your heart was the truer. Listen, then, and despise me." Outside the winter wind raved wild ly, moaning along the broad avenues like a dirge. The two men gazed at each other eagerly. "You know my family. Major Graves. The best blood ran in our veins, and we were rich, too. I was a catch in those days." "Yes." "And when I fell in love with Lila Lake, who was summering in the White Mountains, I never dreamed but that she was of my own rank in life. Young, lovely, srifted. she wna my ideal, and you know I spared no pains to win her heart" "And you succeeded," said the ma jor, with a groan. "Yes, her beautiful dark eves and every tone of her sweet voice when she spoke to me told me that. I was so sure of her answer I was in no hurry to speak, and the day that she left to return to the city I told her I should follow her the next week, and asked permission to call on her at her home." "Yes." "She looked at me with such a sweet and trusting smile and gave me a card with her address. It was on such an obscure street that I look ed at her in uncontrollable surprise. She hushed, and murmured half- proudiy: "'I don't live on Beacon Hill, vou see. I am only a working-girl, Mr. Merrill.' . "She a working girl! that lncarnn. tion of beauty, grace and talent! The ground seemed to reel beneath my leet I stared at her, almost offensive ly, I know. In my great surprise, for she drew herself up proudly, and said. In a stiff little voice: . - " 'I ought to have told you all about myself before, but I did not think it was anyone's business unless unless they were particularly interested in me and you you have been very friendly' she blushed warmly here 'so I will be frank with you, and then -then you can"sall or not, as you please, when yo'a return to the city.' "She told me then that she was an orphan. Poor little girl, only seven teen and an orphan! She lived with a widowed aunt at the address she had given mm But they were poor, and Lila, dainty, beautiful Llla, with her refined manners and elegant bearing, worked in a store sold gloves and ev en tried them on mincing fine ladies at the glove counter. " 'And on Sundays I sing at the ca thedral, and I get as much for my con tralto in the choir, for one single day, as I do for my whole week In the great Boston store,' she added, with a lit tle air of pride. 'Indeed, only for the singing I never could have saved mon ey to come to the mountains and rest It is very tiresome at a glove counter, you know. One's side gets to aching so badly from leaning over and trying on people's gloves. " "She said it with a proud, sweet air, like a princess, and If I had not been a fool and a coward, I should have taken her in my arms and told her that her weary, toilsome days were over and that she must soon ba my bride. But I was horrified; my pride rose In arms." "Yes," the major said, dreamily, through his cigar smoke. "We parted In mutual constraint, Ll la wounded and very quiet. I saying simply that I would call on her when I passed through Boston on my way South. I do not think even then she believed me, for she was very proud, very quiet. I saw her sweet Hps trembling when she tried to smile a gay good-bye. "And you have never seen her since?" "Oh, yes, for I came through the city and stayed two weekB. But I did not call on Liia. A struggle was go ing on in my mind between love and pride. How could I, the proud, aris tocratic Claude Merrill, take for my bride a little salesgirl from a glove counter? My proud relations would have disowned me. My dead ancest ers would have turned in their graves. "So you came away?" "Yes, after two weeks, during which I saw her dally,' myself unseen. I was at the cathedral when she sang. I was at the grand emporium where she sold gloves. I saw how sad and pale the lovely face had grown. I heard the accents of despair In her sweet-young voice. My heart was breaking, too, but I could not relent from my cruel pride. I came away at last, and made no sign." "Poor Lila!" murmured the major. "I wonder if I could find her In Bos ton now." . "No;' I wrote there years ago In a quiet way. Her aunt was dead. Llla had left the city. No one knew where she had gone." "And that Is the end of her little story of love and sorrow. Poor Llla!" and the major's head drooped on his breast. There was a strange smile on Claude Merrill's face. "Now let mo tell you about my call on the Senator," he said. "Is there a-vthlng more? You have already said j ju wou. get the place under the Government." "Not much more. But It was a grand success, was It not? Major Graves, you know that many a poor devil has hung about the lobby of the Capitol for years, and never got any thing Tialf so good as this for his pains, though he lay in the very dust at the Congressmen's feet. Well, you know my influence must have been strong." "Very but how was It?" "They were In the very thick of the grand entertainment when I sent In my card to Senator Lorton. His flunkeys were incensed at my cheek, but I Insisted. I was desperate with suspense, and I didn't care for a hun dred legations. I'd been running af ter the Senator and writing to him for a week. I was determined to get a hearing." "And he saw you?" "Yes. He came to me In the library. He was very proud at first, and I fan cied half contemptuous. My blood be ga nto boil then. I. saw him putting some sort of "restraint on himself, and he said quietly that he had not thought he could help me at all when he first got my letter the place was actually promised to another man, and he could not see just how he was go ing to make it up to the other fellow, but a lady of his household had Inter ceded for me, and as he could refuse her nothing, he bad agreed to get ma the place. "Then he looked at me a little cold ly out of his splendid blue eyes, and asked me If I ever knew a Miss Lake Miss Lila Lake. "I told him yes, and that I would give the world to see her again. " 'Perhaps she can see you a few moments. I will go send her to you, and you must thank her for the ap pointment you will receives tomorrow morning. It is all her doing,' and he bowed himself out o fthe library." Major Graves threw down his cigar in high excitement. "Ah, now I see how It will all turn out!" he cried. "Llla was the gover ness, or perhaps even a relation. She loved you still, she interceded for you, you found her still young and lovely after all, she could not be quite out of her twenties yet she forgave you, and will yet be your bride.' Claude Merrill smiled a ghastty smile, almost a sneer. "Major Graves, how you run on," he aid, abruptly. "But, yes, I found her still young and lovely indeed, more beautiful than ever. And she was dressed like a queen, in silks and laces and diamonds, all snow-white, like a bride. You remember how gay and bright she was at the White Moun tains? She was Just the same now. The years that have turned you and me gray, dear major, have only lent her the added charm of ripened beauty. "She came to the library alone, she gave me her little white hand, all daa llng with Jewels, and cried: " 'Do you remember little Llla LakeT I have never forgotten you. As soon as the Senator mentioned your name, I remembered you and spoke up for you. No,. not one word of thanks. I owe It to you for helping to make that summer In the mountains so bright and happy. And I wonder what became of dear Captain Graves? I liked him very much also, you know. And you never called when you came through Boston, as you promised, Mr. Merrill? I thought I saw you once at the Cathe dral and again at the store. But I was mistaken, of course. At first 1 was very much disappointed, but I got over it in time. And you are mar ried now, I suppose?" "I stammered out something ridicu lous that makes me grow hot and cold now. 'No, I was not married yet She was the only woman I had ever seen that I could love like that I had written her that in Boston four years later, but she had gone away, and I could learn no more. Could she ever forgive me?' "Her smile was sunshine Itself. "'Four years ago? Why, I was In Europe then. Yon see, It was two years after I first knew you that Sen ator Lorton heard me sing, and fell In love with my voice. He sought my ac quaintance, and 3ie was not a Sen ator yet, you know and I lost my heart to his bonny blue eyes. We were married soon and went abroad. What! did he not tell you that? Why, I have been Mrs. Lorton these ten years!'" From Good Literature. QUAINT AND CURIOU3. The electric post is to be tried In Italy. Cardiff exports twelve million tons of coal yearly. Steel rails average 130 tons of metal to the mile; iron, 145 tons. The tariff of the Indian railways are lowest of any In the world. The entire native population of Si beria does not exceed 700,000. Four and a half tons of cotton rags will make 2 4-5 tons of paper. Over one million exiles have been transported to Siberia since 1840. . There were 9914 new books published In 1907, or 1311 more than for 1906. In most large cities death rate In winter Is much greater than in sum mer. The r.pnRUR nf ihn latvvpra nt Worn every 250 persons. The first eecretary of the Chinese le gation in St. Petersburg remarked the other day that the Chinese government has a stronger hold on its people than the Russian has on its own, and that the Chinese people are less cultivated and more oppressed. One would think that a writer whose stories have reached the enormous tale of 6,000,000 copies would be known to everybody, yet the name o' Mr. Nat Gould Is probably not at all familiar to the most of the ordinary novel-reading public. Justin McCarthy, the historian and ex-leader of the Irish party, Is now living In retirement at Westgate-on-Sea. McCarthy is still busy, hut his sight has become greatly Impaired. He dictates for an hour or two every morning to an amanuensis. At the recent meeting of parochial school principals in the Columbus, Ohio, Roman Catholic diocese, It was decided to take practical steps for teaching Gregorian music In the pa rochial schools In order to make easier Its Introduction into the churches. ' The rails on the Belt line road In Philadelphia are the heaviest in the world. They weigh 142 pounds to the yard, and are seventeen pounds heav ier than any rail ever used before. They are ballasted in concrete, and nine Inch girders were used to bind them. To the uninitiated the various grades of railway uniform are bewildering. The London"& Northwestern Railway company alone has no fewer than 130 different forms of caps in issue at the present time, the various trimmings, bands or lettering of which indicate the position of the wearer. To Collect Post Cards. A Danish girl living In her father's home In Denmark, having probably heard something about Sydney, and anxious to add to her collection of postcard views from this state, hit up on a plan the success of which will probabljf astonish her. Having selected a card with a very pretty rural scene of the home In which she lived the little maiden addressed the card In English "To the cleverest girl In the biggest school in Sydney, and would she please send a card in return?" The card was delivered by the post man to the Girls' High school in Eliz abeth street. The pupils, numbering some 500, are going to forward each a card to their unknown Danish friend. She will therefore receive 500 post cards. British Australasian. An Ingenious Yankee made a loco motive run his toy factory not long since when repairs were necessary in the power plant and there were large numbers of rush orders on band. Dairying Enriches the Farm. Something of the Importance of live stock and especially dairying on the farm Is seen In the fact that only 10 cents of fertility leaves the farm in BOO pounds of butter sold, but $18 of fertility goes from the farm for every 100 bushels of corn sold from it. This Is the difference to the farm in grain farming, when considered as a final analysis. And herein are the reasons why dairy farming enriches the farm, as it does, while grain farming Impov erishes It, without live stock to return fertility. Indiana Farmer. 8quab Raising.' The most successful squab raisers are those who have begun In a very small way, and increased their Btock and equipment as the business grew. The work is not particularly exacting Dor arduous, and an extensive plant is unnecessary. Common pigeons should not be considered. Homers or homer crosses probably are the best for the amateur. Pigeons always go In pairs, and If there is one extra male in the pen, he will constantly cause trouble by disturbing the mated pairs. Sub urban Life. Spreading Manure. When manure Is not decomposed in the heap it must be decomposed In the soil before the plants can utilize It as a food and the sooner the man ure Is spread the better it will be for the crop. As It Is difficult to spread manure on plowed ground, owing to the labor of hauling over the rough, soft ground, the method practiced by those who plow twice is to spread the manure on the unplowed ground in the trough 'not harrowing) and when the land is cross-plowed later on the manure is more intimately mixed with the soil. Epitomist. Good Cultural Methods. All general staple crops such as cotton, corn, wheat, etc., can be large ly protected from serious Insect dam age by what is known as cultural methods. ' This means a good, deep, thorough preparation 'of the land, the use of good seed, planting at the most favorable time, fertilizing prop erly with barnyard manure or com mercial fertilizers, and rotating your crops so that one crop does not inher it the insect enemies of the preceding crop. These methods all tend to make a strong, vigorous, quick-growing plant which will quickly recover from slight attacks of the Insects; whereas, If the crop is in poorly pre pared nnd poorly fertilized soil, it will be sickly and weak and will succumb readily to the attacks of insects. Progressive Farmer. Living from an Acre. The wonderful possibilities of rich soil combined with irrigation are well set forth In an article in the Century Magazine, in an account of a one-acre ranch at Clarkston, Wash., by Mr. Wm. H. Kirkbride. The little farm is owned by a retired railroad engineer, who co'ild find nothing more congen ial than farming, in this small way. He finds also that, by means of abun dant water applied at the right time, he is able to support his little family and lay up some money each year. He does ail the cultivation by a hand wheel plow. Among his crops are peaches,' pulms, apricots, cherries, English walnuts, chestnuts, small fruits and all kinds of vegetables; be sides these products he keeps quite a chicken ranch, which yields him $200 to $300. He Is well centent with the farming, and says of himself and his business: "I am my own horse and plow and farm hand, and even my own rain maker. With Irrigation and careful supervision, there is nothing in the way of profitable producer that can beat the small farm." So much In favor of Irrigation; without It the rich soil and careful til lage would help but little. Horses and Alfalfa Hay. It takes a good while to break away from other methods and prejudices. Occasionally it is stated that It will not do to feed alfalfa hay to horses. The Utah experiment station has test ed comparative horse feeding on tim othy and alfalfa hay. One horse In' each of two teams of draft horses was fed timothy hay and the other horse In each team was fed alfalfa, for three months from January to April. The grain ration was bran and shorts. The horses weighed about 1400 pounds each. During this period one horse on timothy lost 47 pounds and the other 77 pounds. One horse on alfalfa gained 4 pounds and the other lost 8 peunds. From April to Janu ary the two that had been fed on al falfa were put into timothy, the other two that had been fed on timothy were given alfalfa, iurlng this peri od one horse on timothy gained 5 pounds and the other lost 65 pounds. One of the horses on alfalfa gained 60 pounds and the other gained 25 pounds. Again for two periods, the feeds were reversed during each period with results favoring alfalfa. The horses were moderately worked dur ing the entire experiments. This experiment tonds to disprove the theory that alfalfa cannot be fed to working horses successfully. Hors es fed on it performed the same work on the same grain ration as horses fed on timothy hay, and showed gains In weight during the test while the timothy-fed animal In all but ona case shows a decrease. In feeding It care should be taken to guard against over feeding. It Is much relished by horses and for that reason it is more necessary to be fed carefully. Feeding Tobacco to Sheep. - ' The first suggestion after tobacco feeding Is, that In a day or two there would be a job of pulling wool. But Dr. J. M. Miller a doctor, remember says that feeding sheep tobacco will kill all parasites, inside and out, ticks f.nd all, and that it is his own experi ence for a year. Commenting on this claim of the doctor, Wallace's Farmer says it will not be necessary to feed the sheep fine cut, or expensive tobac co, but simply stems from the cigar makers cut up fine and mixed in their feed In order to get them to eat It, as like most other animals, except men, sheep are "agin" tobacco as a regular diet, and must be coaxed with such mixing. The Farmer, In its comment finally says: "While we have no experience In this, we think It Is entirely probable that if tobacco is fed liberally to eariv nart or the mimnipr. tnev wu be comparatively free from parasites Many farmers feed their horses to bacco to get rid of Intestinal worms. We once owned a colt which became so fond of it that it would hunt the tenant's pockets to get a nip at his fine-cut. There are worse uses of to bacco than feeding It to sheep." Green Cut Bone. I am a reader of the Farmer and much interested in the poultry depart ment. I read the article of J. G., at Ohio Institute on "Feeding for Eggs" in number of Feb. 15, page 12, and would like to ask J. G. where he gets the green cut bone, that he talks about. He says at one cent a pound it is cheaper than grain. There is nothing of that kind on the market here at Mentone, which Is my trading point If I could get It I would give It a trial or do any of our readers know of It? W. H. D. There is no doubt but that green cut bone does make hens lay. The testimony to this fact comes from all sides; there Is no disputing It. But the bones must be bought fresh from the butcher, and ground at home. If ground in a wholesale way it would not keep, and would injure the fowls If fed to them. But here comes the trouble what bone cutter to buy. We cannot tell you. All the cutters we know anything about are either too expensive, or are too difficult to work. They are generally very hard to man age, requiring two persons, 4nd the one who turns the crank must be a stout one. It is hard work. A good, strong, easily worked bone cutter at a reasonable price, Is a much needed machine, on every farm where eggs are grown for the market Who will invent one? Indiana Farmer. Notes for the Farm. A pound of poultry ca nbe grown at less cost than a pound of beef and Is worth more. Keep the poultry houses clean, and give them an occasional whitewash ing and the fowls will be free from lice. Feed plenty of charcoal to the hens for their health and the fine cinders for grit; supply fresh soli and ashes for their dust bath. The homeopathic remedy for roup with Its characteristic cough, tena cious mucous about the beak, with dif ficulty in breathing, Is to give aconite. Put one drop in a gill of water and give this to the sick bird to drink. This treatment will have a marvelous effect Dryness, when we have heavy show-, ers. Is an Important requirement in the poultry house. Diseases often originate through dampness produced by a leaky roof. When fowls are con fined in a close, wet apartment, it is Impossible to keep Uicm in a healthy, condition. If a scaly looking gray powder is seen around the roosts or nest boxes, you may be sure there are mites there. Where coal oil Is objected to, use strong brine, hot or cold, or hot lye water to rout the mites. Whatever is used, apply again in a week or ten days, for a new crop will be "on" by that time. For the poultry amateur, who has not the present means to build a scratching shed for the hens, adopt this simple plan: Make a framework of any old material that may be scattered about the place; weather board all but the south side with corn fodder. Make a roof of the same. Prepare a little of Btraw for the floor covering and a few nests half filled with straw, and the egg supply will be Increased. The fodder may be fed to the stock after cold weather Is past. The smallest quadruped In thd world Is the pigmy mouse of Siberia,
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