SNOWING. BT I. T. WFEK8. . Feathering the willows. Drifting in the hedges, riling downy pillows Uu the mountain ledges; ! Bordering the streamlet Where the sedxes shiver, Wnfting on a dienndet To the drowsy river; Weaving robes of ermine For the perished roses, Soft as couch of niernmn, When the deep reposes; Sparkling in a whisper Mystical nnd olden, " Silver thronted lisper With a language golden; Smoothing out the wrinkles, In the cemetery, Laughing where the tinklea Of the bells are merry; Dancing like a fairy. Vanishing, returning, Till the spirits airy Set the woods a-yeaming. From the Century Alagazine. THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING. "That has always been my opinion, or, at least, always since I stopped letting mamma form my opinions for me," said a distinctly pleasing feminine voice behind him. Colton turned casually around from the desk by the wall, where lie was writing his usual prist of Sunday letters, not so much because the hotel stationery is both excellent and In expensive, as because his own room was lonely, to see who the speaker might be. The great room was filled with men and a few women, seated at the small tables drinking and chat ting, while the waiters moved silent ly about, well groomed products of the tipping system. The table a few feet from Cotton's elbow was now oc cupied by a wholly charming girl and a young man who Colton Instant ly decided was unworthy of her. In the first place he was a touch too good looking, and In the second place his clothes fitted his figure too well, bo Colton thought, for a man evident ly In his senior year In Divinity. Colton turned back to his desk, not to write, but to listen. "I'm glad to hear you say so," the student said, continuing the conver sation begun before entering the room. "I've found lots of girls, up-to-date girls, too, who didn't agree with me. But what will you have to drink?" "Lemonade," said the girl. "Oh, try a cocktail," urged her companion. "No, thank you," she answered, Wth that peculiar half laugh those ho know women are aware Is the expression of finality. Colton mentally Bcored one for the girl, while her companion, calling a waiter, ordered a lemonade and a Scotch. "Yes," the man continued, "I have Always said that it was unjust and illy In a country so universally re spectful to women as ours, to deny a girl the opportunity of making chance acquaintances, say during a long, tire some railway trip, or something of that sort. If a girl is coming alone from Cleveland to New York on a Pullman car, and If there is a young man near her, evidently a gentleman and of her social position, why on earth isn't It all right for her to ac cept his offers to make her more comfortable and to pass away the dismal time of the Journey in conver sation pleasant for both of them? I can see no harm In It." "Nor I," said the girl. "I have al ways thought that, as I told you. If one has common sense, such things can be managed all right. The trou ble Is, girls put our theory into prac tice too young, when they don't know the world, and get scared into prim ness. " "Now, If they'd only wait till they are grown up and sensible like you," said the man, with what Colton de cided was undue effusiveness, "how much more delightful a time they could have, with something of the treedom in getting fresh viewpoints from strangers a man enjoys. Colton stole another look at the girl. Yes, she wag decidedly charm Ing. He began to wish he were a hypnotist and could make the man ask her on vbat day and train she -would return to Cleveland. Just then he glanced at him. He turned back quickly. Could it be possible? No, be tola himself; on the train, per taps, but not here while her caller ,a -1 1 Vl 1iai. If 'ab IiIh 1 .. i nn " 1 " tit. 1 , II. " ID 1J 13 UUiy UUC of reading fulfilment into what was not there. As the dramatist said. there Is a limit to all vanity, even that of a Harvard man. "Again, haven't you been forced to wait alone sometimes for a long while In a place where It was not wholly pleasant for a girl to be with out an escort?" continued the young woman's companion. "Such situa tions are bound to occur. Now, would it not be more pleasant for you If A nice man, perhaps seeing your em- hflrr&RKlns' nnnltinn annlra tn vnn feel free to accept his friendliness in the spirit intended, and to chat with him to pass' away the tedious wait?" ' "I should feel quite free to talk with him," said the girl, "it he be haved himself." "And it he didn't yon girls have Always a way of artistically turning us down," said her companion, with ' a "worldly snigger" (so Colton men tally tagged hti laugh). "Rather!" said the girl. 'But I'll tell you what makes me angry," the man went on. "That Is to have a girl, when she has met a man In this fashion, and found him per fectly presentable, Introduce him to her friends as 'Mr. So-and-So, whom I met at the beach,' or otherwise In vent a lie to cover up what needs no covering. Even from a worldly point of view, lying is to be indulged in as rarely as possible. Besides a girl, though she needn't go out of her way to stick up for ber principle, shouldn't back down from it when when " "When Bhe's caught with the goods," laughed the girl. "Let me help you out with a lay phrase. No, you are quite right. I've known girls to do just what you say. It's a touch of their feminine timidity that causes them to do it. Of course, as a matter of fact, they don't need to make any explanation, one way or the other, when they Introduce a chance ac quaintance." 'I'm glad to see we agree so thor oughly," said the man. Colton turned, for he did not like the tone. "The flirt!" Colton muttered, and dropped a book from the desk with a loud noise. It had the desired effect, for the man straightened up. His cigar was burned out, and he remarked to the girl: 'If you'll excuse me, I'll get a fresh cigar. I know the kind I want, but I've forgotten the name, so I cannot order from the waiter. You don't mind being alone a minute, do you?" "Certainly not," she said. "I shouldn't think she would," thought Colton, as he watched her companion go out of the room. Five, ten minutes, passed, and he did not return. Colton stole a look at the girl. She was sitting alone at the table, looking about her nervous ly, for the room was now filled al most entirely with thirsty men. Fif teen minutes passed, and two large specimens of the West entered, port ly and red faced as the indirect result of fortunate mining speculations. They approached her table, the only one with vacant chairs. Her ner vousness increased. She looked em barrassed and very lonely. Should he or should he not? Colton debated. Wasn't the game worth the candle, any way or rather the snuffer?1 Just then she glanced at him again. The Westerners were almost there. He decided. "Pardon me," he said, "but when a girl is forced to wait alone in a place where it is not wholly pleasant to be without an escort " "You have good ears," she Inter rupted, coolly. 'Then you acknowledge that they have not deceived me," he replied, Bitting down, for the Westerners had turned away. "They have not," the girl said, "but the conversation you took the liberty of overhearing, like the chair you are sitting In, was not meant for you." "True," returned Colton, "nor was1 the chair reserved for those broad, departing backs from Colorado, if I mistake not." "Thank you for that," said the girl, softening a bit. "I should thank you for that. But you have done your duty now they have gone." "Oh, no, my duty is not done ' they may return!" said Colton. "But so may my escort," the girl said hurriedly. ' 'A touch of feminine timidity.' " Colton smiled. "And you know you two agree so well," he added, mock ingly. The girl acknowledged the touch by shifting ground. "But I haven't time to find out If you are presentable," she said. "My ancestors came over in thsl Mayflower," Colton answered meekly. "Oh, everybody's did that!" saldl she. ; "Your point," laughed Colton.; "But my name is Standlsh. That should pass me." "I can hardly believe you," the1 girl retorted. "You would never need a John Alden." Then they both laughed. And from a mutual laugh there 1b no return. Presently the student came backj and started to ask pardon for his delay. The girl interrupted. i "Let me introduce to you," Bhei said, pausing to watch Colton's face, "my friend, Mr. Standish, whom I met last summer in the White Mountains. Isn't it too bad that he's got to run. right away to make a horrid call?! Mr. Addington, Mr. Standlsh." ( Colton braced to the shock, and said blandly: i "I am delighted to meet you, Mr,) Addington. I wish you had been with us last summer at the Crawford! House." "The Crawford House," exclaimed Addington. "I thought Miss Bates always went to Bethlehem." Colton backed off and gathered up1 his letter. "Perhaps it was Bethlehem," he said, looking straight into the girl's .'ace. "One meets so many girls in a summer it Is hard to keep them dif ferentiated." Then he went on hlB way. ; Not long after he might have been seen In his lonely room writing to bis college chum on the unholy joy ot having the last word. New Yorlr Times. His Offense. Jones "Green bought a second hand automobile three weeks ago, and he has been arrested six times in it." Smith "For exceeding the speed limit?" Jones "No; for obstructing the street." Pittsburg Dispatch. True. Western woman holds that large feet are evidence of great brains Maybe. But it's no place to carry them. New York Herald. Cost of Distribution Makes Food Prices High By JAMES O. WHITNEY HiR nnt nt livine la hleh not so much Ibecause of a decrease in I the production of the necessaries of life, tout ibecause of the i I expensive system of distribution at present In operation. I . . . i . i . ... I .. .. I .. ninnnhanfa fcnmVTl naiiroaa transportation anu cuuiuusmuu iuch."-, as middlemen, are responsible for the present high cost of liv ing. ' , It is true that the fanner 19 getting Detter jjnera ur products than ever before, and, on the whole, this is a good thing lor the country generally. But the farmer Is not getting all the increase put upon provisions in recent years, nor anywhere near the increase. Even at the present good prices paid to him there lfl enough going to waste on the farms of the country, a little here and a little there, which if collected and shipped would feed the suffering multitudes abundantly. Apples rotting on the ground, turnips, beets, carrots and other vege tables fed to the hogs. - Why? Simply because It does not pay to ship these email lots, ior when tho railroads collect their tariffs and the middlemen have exacted their enormous tribute there is not left enough to pay the farmer for the ibarrei or crate In which the stuff was shipped, not to speak of his labor in raising, gathering and packing It. . . A parcels post -would undoubtedly go a long way toward remedying mis difficulty. It would bring the producer and consumer nearer each other ana cheapen the exchange between them. . There Is no question as to the ability of the country to iproduce enougn and to spare so that all the people may eat, drink and foe merry. The .prdblem Is to get our products distributed at the lowest possible cost. High Water Mrk of Bliss. By Dr. MAURIER PETER IBEETSON HE happiest day In ell my outer lire! For In an old shed full of tools and lumber at the end of the garden, and half-way between an empty fowl-house and a disused stable (each an Eden In Itself), I found a small toy wheelbarrow quite the most extraordinary, the most tinheard of and undreamed of. humorously, daintily, exquisitely fascinating X object I had ever come across In all my brief existence. I spent hours enchanted hours In wheeling brick-bats from the stable to the fowl-house, and more enchanted hours In wheeling them all foacK again, while genlnl French workmen, who were biiHy In and out cf the house where we were to live, stopped every now and then to ask good-natured ques tions of the "petit Anglais" and commend his knowledge of their tongue and his remarkable skill In the management of a wheelbarrow. Well, I remember wondering, with newly nroused self-consciousness, at the Intensity, the poig nancy, the extremity of my bliss, and looking forward with happy confidence to an endless succession of such hours in the future. But next morning, though the weather was as fine, and the wheelbarrow and the (brick-bats and the genial workmen were there, and all the scents and sighs and sounds were the same, the first fine, cnreloss rapture was not to be caught again, and the glory and the freshness had departed. Thus did I, on the very dawning of life, reach at a single tide the hlgn water mark of my earthlv bliss never to foe reached again by me on tins Bide of tho Ivory gate and discover that to make the perfection of human happiness endure there must be something more than a sweet French Paren a small French wheelbarrow and a nice little English boy who spoke French and had the love and approbation a fourth dimension is required. 0 High Cost of Living Due to Extravagant Use of Land By D. W. MARTIN ra9WFIUNQ your query "Why Does It Cost Wore to Live?" In thla morning's paper, I reply as follows: It lies In the extrava gant use of land, whether in city, suburban or farm property. rrhr-a ttimianrwia nf ints In Manhattan and Brooklyn J. 11 CI O tiv ii.uui'"-"" - - boroughs without an adequate Improvement upon them. Specu lation In suburb and subway has run riot. There Is no such .v.i in oithor nf i.hn "horrniL'hs mentioned as a normal congestion of population, while apparently it may seem abnormal Let the title to land revert to the State, and let the ownership of Im provements remain with the individual under proper legal safeguards and fictitious value upon which our people pay exorbitant interest will be destroyed. The great centres of population and business enterprises exact terrinie tributo from those within and without their confines through their landed PrOPTheoperation which represented the sum of $24 as a value for the trans fer of the Island of 'Manhattan several centuries ago by its primitive com munity to private ownership has culminated in our time to the measure ot a billion dollars for that Identical Island in its virgin state, upon which the present inhabitants must pay interest to private ownership, whether alien or otherwise, and the end Is not yet in sight. These conclusions must be measured toy percentage. One hundred per cent, owned the island then, probably one per cent, own It now. Under present conditions the State taxes the Individual the minimum, but allows a few individuals to tax the other members of the State the maximum. Nevi York American. & 0 0 Oriental Encouraged Effect of the Russian Defeat by Japan's Armies By SAINT NIHAL SINGH ' J ..... i r m mimhE! defeat at arms of tne nuaiuns ny me Japanese gave a sen " I faith and self-respect to the oriental which he never before I I knew. It dispelled the hallucination of self-limitation; It opened I . , . . I. . IV. ...tin- nnJ k n .nmm rr A nvimnllah Visions OI wum mo jnu i"- Each victory that the Japanese won, each humiliation the Rus sians Buffered, shattered a thousand shackles which had kept the dark-skinned nations of the orient cnainea to tne piuars or prejudice and reaction. When the treaty was signed at Portsmouth, which ended a bloody war, the dawn of a renaissance had resplendently crimsoned the political horizon of every Asiatic country." China was disturbed from 1U Inanition ot ages; India 'became a social and political volcano; Persia and Turkey both became the storm centers of governmental change. In the success which the Japanese parliament had achieved during Its many .years of tenure there was a lesson for all Asia to transform the gov ernmental machinery aoeordlng to the spirit of our times, which doubtless Is strongly democratic In character; but the popular element had 'been Intro duced into the Japanese administration without any ado. Tho mikado had given up his absolutism bit by bit, and the carnage of the Manchurlan battle field was needed to publish the news of the Japanese political revolution to the orientals. The Russo-Japanese war turned the spotlight of investigation upon the causes that had contributed to the success ot the Asian Islanders. At the root of them all, the easterners learned, was the democratic attitude that the present mikado displayed in training his subjects to exercise their inallenaible birthright of self-government as opposed to being governed like dumb beasts. Once the nations of Asia discovered this, all of them became eager for political change for change from absolute despotism to limited monarchy or republicanism 0 Real Estate Bv JAMES J. HILL VERY nation is reduced, in the final appraisal of Its estate, to re liance upon the soil. This is the sole asset that does not perish, because it contains within Itself, if not abused, the possibility of infinite renewal. All the life that exists upon this planet, all the development of inan from his lowest to his highest qualities, rest as firmly and as unreservedly upon the capacities of the soil A4 do his feet upon the ground beneath him. The soil alone is capable of self-renewal, through the wasting of the rocks, through the agency of plant life, through its chemical reactions with the liquids and gases within and about It A self-perpetuating race muBt rely upon a self-perpetuating means of support. Our one resource, therefore, looking at humanity as something more than the creature of a day, Is the productivity of the soil. Yet the waste of our treasure has proceeded so tar here In America that the actual value of the soil for productive purposes has already deteriorated more than It should have done in fire centuries of km. Assets Do Not Perish luck and Adventure JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO A HERO OF THE CAB. No newspaper ever 1 reported the deed of Dan Falrbalrn, which made his name famous among the railroad men of the Canadian Pacific system, and still keeps well kept the grave In which he lies in the little cemetery at Chapleau, Ontario. Like many an other hero of the rail Big Dan es caped all the perils of his calling only to die while comparatively young from the sickness following an ordi nary cold. On the Chapleau division, which Includes most of the stretch between Sudbury mines and Fort William on Lake Superior, there Is perennial danger from forest fires. The track runs through an unculti vated country of thick bush, and near ly all the bridges are of wood, some of them long upstanding trestle spanning broad rivers or arms of lakes. Frequently In late spring and early summer the whole force ot the bridge and building inspector Is de tailed for days at a time to do nothing but watch these structures while the fires are raging. With the first of the warm weather in 1S87 the fires on this section of the road became even more menacing than usual, and the evening when Falrbalrn backed his engine to No. 1 (the transcontinental mall) at Car tier, a pall of smoke hid the sky. Fifty-four miles from Cartler Is BIs cotaslng, and about a mile farther on is the long Bisco trestle. From the time of leaving the point at which en gines had been changed, the fire con ditions had been getting steadily worse, and the pillar of cloud on the track ahead of the engine blacker and denser. The muffled roar of the con suming flames could be heard occa sionally, and from time to time the glare of the conflagration could be Been for a minute or two by the pas sengers. Evidently tho train was ap proaching nearer to a danger zone In stead of leaving the fires behind. The express had cleared Blscota slng and was heading for Ramsay, when the fireman, Howard Gougeon, thought he discerned a flicker of flame apparently In the middle of the track about half a mile ahead. "Great Scott, Dan! I believe the long trestle Is on fire," he said. Falrbalrn scanned the track from his side of the cab, but could see nothing of the light. "Nonsense!" he replied. "Between the bridge car penters and the section men, we should have heard of it long ago If that was so. That is the one point they'll both be watching just now." At the same time he took in a notch and continued to keep a sharp lookout. They were within two train lengths of the trestle at the end of a long down grade, when Gougeon "There It Is! Look now!" he cried. No need to tell the engineer; he had seen, understood and already made up his mind. He had only a second In which to act, and that small spurt of fire told him that he was within a few yards of a long wooden bridge that had burned long since and was now a smoldering ruin. To attempt to Btop within the short dis tance was out of the question; It would only mean a heavy dead weight creeping on the charred woodwork and death for all. There was just time to jump, but Dan was not considering that. Still the young fireman must have his chance; bo the engineer threw a curt "Drop off!" to him over his shoulder. As he shouted the words, he yanked the throttle "wide open and put on every limit of speed of which his en gine was capable. With a roar and a rumble the train took the bridge. Instantly the rush of the wind crea ted by Its great speed acted as a gi gantic fan on the smouldering wood; the flames leaped high and enveloped the whole train In a mantle of fire. Underneath the rails sunk as in a quagmire; but with hair and eye brows scorched and the big blond beard actually on fire, Falrbalrn held tight to the wide open throttle, and after an eternity of a few sec onds the train was on the other side. High above the whir of the wheels on the ballasted roadbed sounded crash after eras1". The long BIsco taslng trestle had collapsed from end to end! When the frightened passengers climbed out of cars, from which every vestige of paint had been licked, and stumbled over the ties to the river bank, they aw only a long black void. Not' even a remnant of the su perstructure remained to t.how that there had ever been L bridge at that point. For a minute they regarded the scene in awestruck silence, then with one accord they made for the engine. Clambering from the cab was a blond giant of six feet 'five Inches, who wiped with a piece of oil soaked cotton waste a face blistered and seared by fire. Dan summoned a very one-sided grin. "Pretty close," he said. Close! Didn't they realize how close it had been? Could they not picture what might have been, had this man sought only his own safety or hesitated with bis duty for one moment? They lifted him, giant as he was, on their shoulders, and carried htm to the dining car. One ot their num ber was a doctor, who Bet about ban daging the face of the hero, much to Dan's disgust. "That's all right," said the engi neer; "but first let's find out wheth er they've sent a brakeman back. It's no use our escaping it the next fellow following Is dumped into the drink." ITJIuck and 8 Bl Adventure 8 OO ooooocxxx Assured that the conductor had done his best by placing three red lanterns on the bank and leaving trainman In charge, Dan became only: more impatient of. attention. "Get 'em all aboard, gentlemen," he said. , almost harshly, "If the brakeman , can't swim, It's up to us to hustle to Ramsey as quick as we know how and let the despatcher know what has happened. No time for tomfoolery just now, though I'm much obliged) just the same." The seventeen miles to Ramsey were made in eighteen minutes, and the warning message telling that tho Bisco bridge had gone was sent in. At Chapleau the.- wondered what had happened, since such a message came , from the conductor and engineer of No. 1 at the station next beyond this very bridge. In due course the conductor' and ' engineer made re.iorts. Dan's (which' has been read by the writer of these lines, who knew him well) was a dry, terse statement of facts. That of the conductor bad more ot imagination and color. Both were forwarded to the head office in Montreal, and a lit tle later Daniel Falrbalrn was or dered to report at the office of the general manager, There he was pre sented with one ot the best gold watches money could buy, which bore Insid the case r suitable inscription, testifying to the gratitude of the com pany for his heroic action. On his re turn to Chapleau another surprise awaited him. The division superin tendent had received by express from Vancouver an embessed address suit ably framed, from the passengers who . had reached the end of their journey, with a request that it be presented to Falrbalrn, together with the purse of gold that accompanied It. New; . York Tribune Sunday Magazine. STRANGE ACT OF PROVIDENCE. How remarkable are some of the experiences of those who drive loco motives for any length of time may be gathered from a story of early days In the West told by an engineer not long ago in the official organ of the Order of Railway Conductors. About twenty-five years ago, while working on what was known as the P., M. & O. railway, which ran. through the eastern part of Missouri, he left Tacoma about ten o'clock one morning with a train of twelve heavi ly loaded passenger cars containing; the members of a Sunday-school bound for a picnic at a place known; as Picnic Grove, about fifty miles dis tant. It was insufferably hot, and be fore the train had made more than half, the distance clouds began to gather, and soon the sky became black as Ink. Evidently an exceed ingly heavy thunder storm might be expected at any time. At last it came, a regular cloud burst. The children In the train thought only of a spoiled outing; but the man in the cab was seriously con sidering the possibility of a washout and spread rails. As they swung round a curve and bore down on a small station at a1 speed ,of about thirty-five miles an hour, the engineer, keenly on the lookout despite the falling sheets of rain, was horrified to discover that the switch for the siding was set foal. Probably a freight train had used it and the brakeman had forgotten to set It properly after backing out his train. To run over it meant a terrible dis aster, and even the fireman, feeling: sure that his own death -.as near, could only whisper hoarsely, "Oh, the kids, the poor kids!" The engineer reversed and did all In his power to bring the train to a stop; but he knew that he could not hope to bring up in time; the speed was too great and the switch too near. "Better stick to it!" he shouted to hla fireman. "I mean to," was the answer. "God help us!" Scarcely had the words left his mouth when a bolt of lightning more blinding than any before, flashed di rectly in front of the engine, followed by the terrific and peculiar crack of thunder which indicated that the bolt had struck something. Englnser and fireman were half dazed, and by the time they had fully recovered their senses were astounded to discover that they had passed the switch and? were still riding safely on the main line. As soon as possible the train was brought to a stop, and both hurried back to discover what had happened. The fireman took off his cap. "If that isn't what they speak of as the act of God, I know know what is!" he said. The lightning had struck squarely between the switch and the rail, forc ing over the track, and so allowing them to pass in safety. While the conductor hurried back to the station 'to make a report and call for section men to make permanent repairs to the switch, the pastor in charge of the excursionists was listening to the story of the engineer. At the end he gazed at him curiously for a moment, then said quietly: "Yes, I think we should all give thanks to our heavenly Father. Bv the way, your hair was black when you combed it this morning, was it not?" "Certainly," answered the driver. "I'm afraid you won't find much black left theie now," said the clergy man. "It has become almost entirely white." New York Tribune Sunday Magazine. Mean to the End. The meanest man in Clnnamlnson has just passed away, leaving careful testamentary instructions that bis doorplate was to be taken down and put on his coffin. Los Angeles Times.