WRITE A LETTER HOME TO
NIGHT."
Don't go to the theatre, concert or ball,
But stay in your room to-night,
Deny yourself to the friends that call,
' And a good long letter write.
iWrite to the sad, sad folks at home
Who sit, when the day is done,
iWith folded hands and tear-wet eye.
And think of the absent one.
Don't selfishly scribble, Txcuse my baste,
I've scarcely time to wrue!"
jjcsc meir arooping mougais go wanuermg
, DacK
To many a bygone night,
RVhen they lost their needed sleep anJ
rest.
And every breath was a prayer
(That God would leave their darling one
To their tender, loving care.
Don't let them feel you have no need
Of their love and counsel wise,
For the heart grows strongly sensitive
When sorrow has dimmed the eyes.
It might be well to let them think
You've never forgotten them quite;
That you deem it a pleasure wLen far
away
' Long letters home to write.
Don't think the young and giddy friendt
Who make your pastime gay.
Have half the anxious thoughts of you
That the home hearts have to-day.
The duty of writing do not put on.
Let sleep and pleasure wait,
Lest the letter for which they look and
long,
Be a day or even an hour too late.
For the sad, loving hearts at home
With cheeks tear-washed and white,
Are longing to hear from the absent one, -Bo
write them a long letter to-night.
.-Contributed by H. W. Smith to The
L . Sample Case.
1 Looking at a map of Natal and fol
lowing the course of the Tugela River
from Its' mouth, you will see a small
tributary marked Insuzl River, which
baa Its source in the N'Kankhla
Mountains, Zululand. This river fol
lows a very tortuous course as it
rushes to join the Tugela, and is fed
by numerous streams which dash
down the mountain sides in water
falls and cascades, cutting down
through the rocks and forming long
purs with gorges hundreds of feet
deep between.
Some years ago I was running a
Kaffir store, which was situated on
the slope of one of the long spurs
aforementioned, overlooking the
N'Kuzana stream. At the time of
Which I am speaking, there were a
good many prospectors in the valley,
and a syndicate was working claims
up the N'Kuzana stream. Besides
trading with the natives I did a fairly
good business with these plucky pio
neers of civilization,
i Game was pretty plentiful, and also
snakes; a more salubrious region for
these creatures I was never in. I
had an Instinctive feeling of repug
nance for snakes, and never passed
one without at least trying to kill it.
One evening, after telling the um
faan (native lad) to close the store,
I was sitting outside my wattle-and-Saub
hut enjoying a smoke, when
suddenly the boy came rushing up,
Shouting, "Baas, baas, inyoka urn
kulu, kakulu!" (Master, ' a big a
rery big snake!) Springing to my
feet, I asked him where it had gone
and what kind of a snake it was. He
replied that it was too dark to see,
but It was very large; he had seen it
go into the store just as he was about
to close the door.
"All right," I said, "go and shut
the store up now."
But the lad remained where he
was, shaking with fright, and It was
. obvious that he dare not go near the
place while that snake remained in
lide. --
My other "boys" had been sent
away on errands in the morning, and
had not returned. At first I thought
I would leave the snake until the
corning, but remembering that I had
Just received a fresh supply of goods
which were lying about the store and
would give - the creature plenty of
biding places, I thought it better to
.have It out with the brute there and
then, otherwise it would mean turn
ing the store inside out nest morning
. to- look for it. From the boy's de
' scriptlon I took it to be a young py
thon, able to inflict a severe bite, but
not venomous.
Selecting a good stick and taking
a lighted candle with me, I Went to
the store, slipped quietly in, and
closed the door behind me. Placing
the candle on the counter, I looked
around in the dim light. Hearing a
Blight noise at the end of the store I
crept towards it, and presently saw
-the head of a snake appear Just above
a bale of blankets, its body being on
the other side. I struck at him, but
as he dodged the blow I saw that it
was not a python. Jumping back I
tripped and fell with a crash among
the tin-blllies and Kaffir-pots. In
falling I saw a hissing streak of
black, which struck at me as it
Cashed past and made for the door.
Any doubts I had as to the kind of
snake it was were now dispelled, for
by the sickly smell of musk I knew
the creature was a black mamba, and
the largest of its kind I had ever seen.
Heartily I cursed myself for my
folly in noi bringing my shotgun -with
me, for now I was fairly trapped, the
brute being between me and the
door. The black mamba, I may men
tion, is one of the most dangerous of
deadly snakes, for, besides the viru
lence of its venom, it is very fero
cious, and when at bay will attack a
human being with incredible fury. -
f IN THE DARK f
t WITH A MAMBA, t
1 ily AusTiw "ji f
The extraordinary -qulckuss of Its
movements makes It Btllt more to t
dreaded; it will dodge a blow from ,
stick and strike back before its op- j
ponent has time to recover. And
, uere was i, sum up, luiuugu luy vwu
stupidity, with a serpent of this de
scription, which appeared to me to be
about twelve feet in length.
Meanwhile the brute, finding its
retreat cut off, turned toward me
again; I could see its evil looking
eyes scintillating in the dim light of
the candle. I caught up some
weights and burled them at it, in the
hope of injuring it sufficiently to stop
It from springing, but this only had
the effect of still further incensing
the mamba, and it gathered Itself to
gether to attack ' me. Promptly I
jumped up to get on the other side ot
the counter. In my hurry, keeping
my eyes all the time on the snake, I
upset the candle and sent it flying
leaving myself in total darkness!
My feelings at that moment were
not exactly enviable. Searching has
tily in my pocket for a match I found,
to my dismay, that I must have left
them by the chair where I had been
smoking outside, and the stock of
matches in the store was at the other
end, with the snake barring the road!
Just then I heard the mamba, with a
loud hiss, hit the thin wood lining in
front of the counter as it struck out
in my direction. Thinking that it
was trying to get at me over the
counter, I lashed out wildly to right
and left with my stick, but beyond
clearing the counter and bringing a
shower of articles from the shelves
about me I did no harm to the snake
except to rouse it to still greater fury.
I could hear the brute striking
continually anywhere and every
where it seemed to me hissing with
rage meanwhile, the thud of its blows
sounding loud against the wood lin
ing. Standing helplessly there in the
darkness, with death in hideous shape
coming nearer and nearer, I realized
to the full the horror ot my position.
To say I was in a blue funk is no ex
aggeration; I felt cold, my skin
seemed to creep, and, if my hair did
not actually stand on end, I exper
ienced all the sensations of its doing
so. I continued slashing wildly, how
ever, expecting every moment to feel
a blow and the deadly fangs buried
in my flesh. But the strain was get
ting 'too much for my nerves, and I
felt like screaming when I heard the
little door between the counter and
front of the store fly back with a
thud. The snake, striking furiously
all along the front of the counter,
had at last come to the door. Not
being bolted the force of the blow
had sent it erasing back.
The noise of that opening door
brought me to my senes, for I knew
now where my enemy was. Thinking
the snake was coming round to the
back of the counter I immediately
jumped on top, my head coming into
violent contact with boots and other
articles hanging from the celling.
Wrenching them from the hooks I
threw them in the direction where I
thought the snake was, and then took
a flying leap toward the door.
Next instant I gave a terrified yell,
for I came down right on top of the
mamba, feeling the snake's body give
and turn under my foot! I was now
fairly demoralized, and almost mad
with terror. Wrenching open the
door, I leapt out and slammed it hard
behind me, well nigh fainting when
I got out into the cool evening air.
Making for my hut, I got some stim
ulantr which brought me round.
Next morning, with a couple ot
cartridges in. my shotgun, I went to
the store, and, opening the door soft
ly, beheld the cause of my fright ly
ing coiled up peacefully on some
sacks. I raised the weapon, pulled
the trigger, and the charge ot No. 5
did its work. I told the boys to
bring the snake outside, and, getting
a rule, measured the mamba, finding
him to bo ten feet nine inches in
length, the finest I have ever seen.
On examining the woodwork of
the counter we could see the marks
of the fangs where the brute had
struck again and again in his blind
fury. Whenever I go to kill a snake
now I generally take a double-bar
reled shotgun with me in case of ac
cidents. From the Wide World Mag
azine.
AN EVERYDAY CREED.
-
I believe that work is the best
panacea for ills, especially those
ot the mind.
I believe in fun and laughter.
I believe in the beauty of flow
ers, sunsets and mountains; in
the music of birds and brooks.
I believe there is a bright side
to everything.
I believe that an ounce of
frankness and explanation is
worth a pound of repentance and
forgiveness.
I believe in the hearty hand
shake, in hospitality, comrade
ship, friendship and love. Bos
ton Brown Book. .
: ,
Winds and Fish.
A singular correspondence has late
ly been brought to light between the
prevailing direction of the wind on
the coast of New South Wales and the
average catch of fish. These Influences
have periods ot three or four years.
Thus in 1898 there was a general
scarcity of fish, but afterward they
became more and more abundant up
to 1901. In 1905 there was another
scarcity of fish, but the next year they
began to return in increasing num
bers. The cause of these variations
was a mystery until the coincidence
with the prevailing direction ot the
coastal winds was noticed. Now it is
thought that by the study of the
winds the prospects of the fishermen
may be predicted two or three years
in advance.
THE GUILELESS AND CRtu
ULOUS GEOGRAPHERS.
:
By far the neatest tale of Cana
dian mountaineering concerns Mts.
Brown and Hooker myths now rele
gated to the limbo of Mt. Iseram. In
its palmy days alchemy fostered no
such credulity as sways some scien
tific mapmakers. Unexlsting Mt.
Tillman, Alaska, which had decorated
maps for fifteen years, where the
writer in 1900 first found a lot plain,
or the rubbery height ot St. Ellas,
which has bobbed between 12,000
and 20,000 feet (even Russell cheat
ed it by a sheer half mile), are not
even good jokes beside the 17.Q00
and 16,000 foot mountains, which
from 1827 on have been engraved
on each side of the pass at the head
of Athabasca River, with the "Com
mittee's Punch Bowl" between. A
map might omit Great Slave Lake,
but never the "punch bowl." A kid
at school might pass for not locating
Fort Garry, but to the dunce stool
he went for not knowing the colonial
boast that these peaks mark the
apex ot the Rocky Mountain system.
Now, as a fact, the walls ot this pass
are only a few thousand feet high,
and the "punch bowl" is twenty
yards wide!
Neither the railway surveys, spend
ing three million dollars, nor George
Dawson himself nailed the lie. That
was done in a library by Collie, after
two seasons' expeditions and a year
of worry. Except the maps, and a
hunt in Palliser's journal Unking
Brown and Hooker with one
Douglass, a botanist, of Douglass fir
(Oregon pine) fame, no mention of
them could be found in print, until
Collie struck Bancroft's History of
British Columbia. There the botan
ist's diary was cited. Collie dug it
out. Douglass had crossed Atha
basca Fass from Vancouver In 1827,
camping in the eye of the pass on
May 1. On the north lay a moun
tain, he wrote, "which does not ap
pear to be less taan 16,000 or
17,000 feet high." But this three-
mile-sheer peak, he climbed in a
single afternoon "which," as Collie
naively observes, "was naturally ab
surd." The chance say-so ot a
botanist, but geographers ate it
alive! Surely one was with Douglass
and named the "punch bowl" after
mixing his keg in it. A Professor
.Coleman had been in the pass five
years before Collie, but finding no
Brown and Hooker, and seeing high
er peaks to the west, imagined they
had been mlslocated. But these peaks
then had names, the Brown and
Hooker business is no error, but a
hoax. During the Klondike rush.
when the writer was just north of
this region, trappers smiled and
shook their heads when you asked
about Brown and Hooker. They
knew. Geographers are more guile
less. From "Mountaineering . in
North America," by Robert Dunn, in
f e Outing Magazine.
Cinematograph in Medicine.
In the London Lancet Dr. H. Camp
bell Thomson, M. D., has an interest
ing note on the use of the cinemato
graph, which he has successfully used
for recording and illustrating the
movements of patients suffering from
various nervous complaints. The pho
tographs, which were taken at the
rate of sixteen per second, clearly
show the nervous movements, and are
used for the Instruction ot students.
Dr. Thomson considers that, given a
suitable light, it is possible to take
the finest movements and he hopes
shortly to be able to demonstrate this
by showing the movements which oc
cur during the electrical reactions of
muscles.
No doubt ideas will occur to read
ers in which a record ot many med
ical cases other than those ot nervous
diseases will be useful, for the whole
aspect of a case is often different ac
cording to whether it can be seen in
life-like movements or -only in sta
tionary illustrations. The practice ot
surgery would also seem to offer great
facilities for demonstration by cine
matograph, but hitherto little or no
serious work has been undertaken
for purposes of teaching.
For the general purposes of class
teaching in medical and other forms
of education, there can be no doubt
that the cinematograph will prove to
be very useful and its management
is but little more trouble than that
of the ordinary lantern. Moreover,
with the most modern types of ma
chine it will be possible to stop at
any one picture and thus to combine
with the cinematograph all the ad
vantages of an ordinary lantern with
out any danger of firing the films.
Bees Swifter Than Pigeons.
A pigeon grower in Germany bad a
trial of speed between bees and pig'
eons. At the same time he liberated
a dozen bees three miles from their
hives, and a dozen pigeons the same
distance from their cots. The fii-3t
bee reached the goal a quarter of a
minute ahead of the first pigeon. The
other bees came in ahead of the sec
ond pigeon. The bees bad been
rolled in flour before starting, that
they might be known from other bees,
and that made their flight somewhat
slower than it otherwise would have
been. Of course the pigeons would
win in a long distance race, but bees
fly faster for a short distance. --The
Junior Christian Endeavor World.
Ancient Measures to Be Restored.
'The measures and weights which
were in vogue in the reign ot Kang
Hi, early in the present dynasty, are
again to be put In force in China with
I slight modifications.
New York City. Th .,. e that
allows effective use of the faBui-; able
buttons or embroidered discs as trim
ming is one certain to be in demand
Just now, and here is a model that is
admirably well adapted to the treat
ment. It can be made with skirt to
match or be worn with an odd one,
as liked, and the pretty band which
trims the neck and front edges can
be embroidered, or covered with ap
plique, or banded with soutache, or
treated in any way that fancy" may
suggest. The yoke also allows ot
variation and can be made from all
over lace, from embroidery, from
lingerie materia, from tucked net or
from any material ot the sort.
' The blouse is made with a fitted
lining and consists ot the front and
the backs. The fronts are tucked to
yoke depth and both the front and
the backs are arranged in wide tucks
over the shoulders, while the lining
Is faced to form the yoke. The shaped
trimming band trims the neck edges
of the front, and the closing Is made
Invisibly at the back. The moder
ately full sleeves are gathered into
straight cuffs.
The quantity of material required
for the sixteen year size is three and
one-halt yards twenty-one or twenty
four, two and one-half yards thirty
two, or one and three-fourth yards
forty-four inches wide, with one-half
yard eighteen Inches wide for the
yoke, two and one-half yards of ap
plique, ten buttons to trim as illus
trated. Style in the Back.
It is the style to pay special atten
tion to the back and the prettiest of
gowns have backs that exactly match
tie front and are even more elab
orately trimmed. A little embroid
ered vest or point Is set in the back
ot the gown and finished with a flat
applique of lace, while a handsome
buckle completes the picture, with
big sash ends falling from the buckle
to make a charming finish to the back
ot the gown.
Shirt Waist Buttonholes.
The buttonholes in the front of a
shirt waist should be cut across. It
they are cut up and down it is diffi
cult to make tbe waist stay buttoned.
Four Gored Skirt.
"" The skirt that allows of effective
treatment for striped material is one
much in demand Just now, for Btrlpes
are In the height ot style and chevron
effects are much In vogue. This one
can be so treated with singular suc
cess, yet need not be - confined to
striped fabrics, as it is a simple gored
skirt which can be cut from any sea
sonable material and either left plain
or trimmed, as liked. In this instance
the stripes are made to form a suc
cession of chevrons at the front and
at the sides, but .even If striped ma
terial is used it can be cut on the
straight, if preferred. Indeed, the
stripes allowed to take the perpendic
ular line and the skirt trimmed with
a bias band above the hem make a
combination much in vogue and alto
gether satisfactory.
The skirt is cut In four gores and
there is consequently a seam at the
centre front and one at the centre
back. The fulness is laid in inverted
pleats. " .
The quantity of material required
for the medium size is nine yards
twenty-four, five and one-fourth yards
thirty-two, or four and one-fourth
yards forty-four Inches wide, if cut
from striped material, as illustrated;
sis and one-halt yards twenty-four.
five and one-fourth yards thirty-two,
or three and one-half yards forty-four
inches wide, if cut from plain ma
terial, or with perpendicular stripes,
if material has neither figure nor
nap; if there should be figure or nap
five yards forty-four inches wide will
be needed.
Tan Shoes Popular.
And still it is the tan shoe, dealers
declaring that it is more popular than
ever before. . It may be harder to
keep in nice condition, but it is al
ways a comfortable shoe and seems
so especially suited for street wear
and outing purposes generally.
New Lace Design.
Thorn are some especially beauti-
fttl new laces designed for use with
the natural and colored linens.
WAR AGAINST MOSQUITOES
Ninety Separate Species of the In
sects Discovered on the Isth- - -mus
of Panama.
A government bug hunter has been
down on the Isthmus of Panama col
lecting mosquitoes in the- Canal Zone. .
He secured larvae of eighty-three spe--cles,
of which thirty species were new
to science. With seven additional
species already known, this constitu
tes the largest number recorded from
any one locality on earth, says the
Washington correspondent of the New
York Evening Post. Anybody who is
Interested may see the mosquitoes for
himself in the National Museum,
where they have been deposited. Au
gust Busck is the name of this scien
tific collector who now holds the mos
quito record. He spent three months
on the Isthmus during the mosquito-1
breeding time, covering the end ot
the dry season and the early. part of
the rainy season.
. It has cost, and is costing, a lot of
money to protect the lives of the men
working in the Canal Zone from the
90 separate species of mosquitoes
now known to exist along the route
of the waterway. Mosquitoes do not
fly very far from the place where
they are born. They keep close to
their food supply. Those that affect
the inhabitants of a town or camp
normally do not come from a distance
greater than two hundred yards.
FITS, St .Vitus' Dance, Nervous Diseases pet
manently cured by Dr. Kline's Great NervB
Restorer. 12 trial bottle and treatise free.
Pr.H.R. Kline, Ld.,931 Arch St.,Phila.,Pa.
The Scientist's View of It.
According to Prof. Hereward Car-
rlngton of the American Institute for
Scientific Research, twelve ounces of
food daily is enough for any many or
woman.
24
Mrs. Window's Soothing Syrup for Children
teething, softens the gums, reducesinflamma
tion, allays pain, enree wind colic, 25c a bottle
Fanatical Destroyers.
There is a distinct reminder of the
hard riding and hard praying adher
ents of Cromwell in this Kentucky
night riding element. The Kentucky
riders do not hesitate to gallop .over
law and order to carry out their de
structive purpose, and now we are
told that they pray as well as destroy.
If the story told by a young couple
who were returning from a party and
fell into the hands of a night riding
band is true, the marauders are shown
In a new and Interesting light. The
band at a rlgnal from the leader is
said to have knelt In the roadway, the
moonlight flooding the bowed heads,
while one of the party offered up a
fervent petition. Then when the amen
was spoken the destroyers sprang to
saddle and were away on their law
defying mission. Before the crime
was committed the young couple were
led down the roadway and told to go
home. But with the recklessness and
curiosity of youth, they lingered until
the torch was applied to a huge ware
house barn. As the fllamcs nrose
high In air the watchers turned home
ward, the strains of a popular hymn
coming to their cars as they passed
down the hillside. . . ..
Tf ta nitttA nnnslhln thnt thpHfi hn.rn
burners and sheriff doners have con
vinced themselves that they are jus
tified In the raids that have made
night rider a term of terror. If there
is a fanatical taint In their minds
which la altogether likely they can
easily believe that a divine providence
favors their scheme of reprisals and
looks with approval upon the smok
ing embers that mark their ruthless
way. Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Astronomy In Japan.
So rapid has been the advance of
the Japanese In western civilization
that the party of Japanese merchants
now in London are perhaps much less
astonished at what they see than the
man in the street Imagines. The vis
it ito Greenwich observatory may pos
sibly have been a novel experience
as it would be to most Englishmen
but not because modern astronomy is
unknown in Japan. There are sever
al well-equipped observatories In the
ljanu oi uie nisiug ouu, aim uiu in
built Naval observatory at Toklo, un
der the directorship of S. Hirayama,
F. R. A. S., Is doing work as admira
bly performed and as permanent In
value as Is being done at any similar
Institution in tho world. Westmins
ter Gazette.
Plea for a Sane Fourth.
There is an article in the June
Century, by Mrs. Isaac L. Rice, on
"Our Barbarous Fourth." As an evi
dence of Its barbarism, she shows
that during the celebration of five na
tional birthdays, from 1903 to 1907
inclusive, 1,153 persons were killed,
and 21,520 were injured. Of the in
jured, 88 suffered total and 398 par
tial blindness; 308 persons lost arms,
letrs or hands,' and 1,067 lost one or
more fingers. v-
BUILT UP
Right Food Gives Strength and Brain
Power.
The natural elements of wheat and
barley, Including the phosphate ot
potash, are found in Grape-Nuts, and
that is why persons who are run
down from Improper food pick up
rapidly on Grape-Nuts.
"My system was run down by ex
cessive night work," writes a N. T.
man, "in spite ot a liberal supply ot
ordinary food.
" "After using Grape-Nuts I noticed
improvements at once in strength and
nerve and brain power.
"This food seemed to lift me up
and stay with me for better exertion,
with less fatigue. My weight in
creased 20 lbs. with vigor and com
fort in proportion.
"When traveling I always carry the
food with me to Insure having it."
Name given by Postum Co., Battle
Creek, Mich. Read "The Road to
Wellville." in pkga.
Ever read the above letter T A new
one appear from time to time. They
are genuine, true, and full of human
Interest.