toOLEFtTL BALLAD OF A HERMIT.
nr . b.
.There was a Hermit vii nnd good.
Who owned n modoit little cot
Close to the borders of a wood.
And hnppy was his lot.
Bo kind he wns to bird nnd beast,
They loved him ns tlu'ir dearest fritnd;
They often shared hi ftupial feast.
And he the sick would tend.
One night upon his rottnue door
There came n moat emphatic knock.
And still another one, before
His hand could roach the lock.
He opened, and to Ins nmaze
There stood a little brownish bird
SVith head aslant and jaunty paze,
Who said, "At last you've heard!"
"I'll lake a shelter for the night,"
Said he, excruciating bold,
"There is no other hut in sight,
Besides, it's rather cold."
The gentle Hermit stnred nchast,
80 saucy was his little guest,
But spread an adequate repast,
And bade him take his rest.
The bird just, winked his beady eye,
6aid he, "My friend, I've come to stay;
I'll build a nest or two near by.
And never move away."
land so it was. Before you'd think
Some hundreds of his cousins mustered;
The Hermit could not sleep a wink.
Bo loud they screamed and blustered.
Until at lost they drove him out,
t Which grieved his, neighbors to the
marrow,
ftnd long ere this you've guessed, no doubt,
This Person was an English Sparrow.
-I. F. B.
When Pa Kicked Oyer the Traces
By GERTRUDE C. BLAISDELl
Ma looks out of the window, fan-,
Blng herself vigorously with her blue
Checked gingham apron.
"It beat the Dutch," she Bays to
Arvylla, the younger daughter. - "It
does beat the Dutch how your Pa
tramps over to the neighbor'!! (or
water. Here's our cistern full and oil
we need Is drinking water brought,
and by actual count that's the elev
enth time he has fetched a pail to
day." - "Why, Ma," says Arvylla, as she
drops the pea pods in the wide bas
ket, and glances down the path at her
father as he plod3 along between the
banks of blossoming roses. "Why,
Ma, we don't drink no eleven rails of
water a day.
"Land sakes nllve. Arvylly, of
course we don't; ho jlst pours it out
and says he thinks he'll get some
fresh water. I'm afraid, I'm afraid,
Arvylly, that something dretful ails
your pa. Now his consin, Sallle
Brown, her that was Sallle Perkins,
died with some such an ailment, and
that is jist the way she acted, was al
ways thinkin' about fresh water,
would drink a hull pail at a time, so
they said."
The tears were coursing down Ma's
placid face and Arvylla looked up
cared and white, "Oh, Ma," she
gasps, "Don't."
Meanwhile, Pa, the object of their
concern, plods along the path and
Into the yard of their neighbor,
thoughts and impulses to which he
had always before been stranger
eurge through Pa's gentle breast.
Heretofore life has held for him only
Ills "wimmenfolks." Ma and the
girls have been the sum and sub
stance of his existence. When a
few years before they had decreed
that the old farm should be sold and
a home made in town, Pa had not de
murred. "Ma knows best," he said.
What If out behind the barn with no
ene to see but old Rover, a few tears
tad trickled down the withered old
cheeks. . The "wimmenfolks" had
never known. He had said good-by
to the dear old farm where his whole
life had been spent, to the cows and
horses, the lambs and calves. No one
fcad known the cost to the poor old
man. No one unless It was Rover
who looked up in his eyes in such a
ympathetic way that Pa felt he un
derstood, even it Ma and the girls
did not. Poor Rover, town had been
too much for the farm dog and the
yringa bush had blossomed over his
grave now for two seasons.
Four weeks ago when Pa had gone
to the neighbor's, for a pail of water,
there, In the woodshed, curled up be
side their savage little mother, were
six of the plumpest, most winning
fox terrier puppies possible to Im
agine. That was the beginning. The
puppies were very friendly and soon
would scamper to meet him, growl
ing and barking and jumping about
him in delight and Pa enjoyed the
frolic even better than they.
"Better take one, Mr. Perkins,"
said the neighbor pleasnntly. But
Ma and the girls had Instantly ve
toed such a possibility when Pa had
timidly suggested it.
"What, a puppy trackln' over my
clean floors, well, 1 guess not,"
gasped Ma.
One day when Pa vent -ver there
were only five brlght-e.ui, frisky
puppies left. The next day Fatty was
gone. To-day there is only one, but
' the brightest and best of the lot
thinks Pa as he grabs little Spotty
np. "Oh, Spotty, Spotty, 1 can't let
you go, I can't," lie groaned.. Then
something very like a twinkle
gleamed in the old man's eyes, and
he muttered tremulously: "I'll do it,
I will, I'll kick over the .traces this
once."
If the "wimmenfolks" had worried
over him before they were In agony
, about him now. His peculiar desire
for fresh water gives place to many
new but equally' startling vagaries'.
It Is a usual thing now when they git
down to an unusually- good dinner
and ue old ican baa prepared the
meat and vegetables for eating to sud
denly push back his plate, declaring
that he feels "porely" and cannot eat
unless he carries his dinner out of
doors. "Seems like the smell of the
roses and sich makes things more
tasty," he murmurs.
"Why, sure, father, dear," says
Arvylla the first time this happens,
"We'll set the table out under the
apple tree to-morrow if you can eat
better there." Her father shakes hia
head, "I want to eat alone," he says,
shortly.
Bo they watch him nearly every
day as he potters toward the barn
with his plute. "And he don't even
take a fork," sobs Ma. "He muBt
eat with his jack knife."
As fall draws near the old man
grows frailer and thinner, and one
morning docs not get up as usual,
but lies so still that Ma, with a great
catch at her heart, thinks he must be
dead. But he Is only 111, so ill that
for days and weeks he lies aa one
already beyond the borderland. The
devoted nursing of the "wimmen
folks" wins In the end, however, and
one clear, crisp day in November, Pa
opens his eyes and knows them.
Knows that Ma Is holding his hand
just as tenderly as she did bo long
ago when they were first wedded;
knows that It Is Arvylla who drops
the soft ktss on his forehead. Even
as the peace of it all soothes him a
wild fear and horror seizes him.
Spotty! Just at that moment some
thing wriggles at the foot of the bed
and Pa glances down there curled
up, fatter, saucier, more Irresistible
than ever, on Ma's best white coun
terpane lies Spotty, and as though
he understands, he opens his eyes
and with a little yelp of Joy wriggles
up to Pa and snuggles against him.
"Ma," quavers Pa, "I hadn't ought
to a done it."
"You keep still," sobs Ma, one
hand holding fast to Pa's poor bony
one, the other patting Spotty's sleek
back.
"You jist keep still. Oh, Pa, to
think of your Btarvin' of yourself and
a makin' of yourself sick, jist because
I didn't want to be bothered by a
dog. Oh, Pa, you was out of your
head that first day, and you talked so
strange. We never knew how lone
some you was without the critters
before and thnt you wanted a dog so.
That very day I went out to the barn
and found this rascal and I brought
him in, and he ha3 lived on the fat of
the land ever since. Oh Pa," and
Ma's head fell down on the bed In an
agony of repentance, and Spotty,
wriggling his soft little body over In
his most insinuating way, gave Ma's
shining gray head a few loving little
licks. Boston Post.
Equ&I to the Emergency.
By TOM r. MORGAN.
"Mawnln', sah!" saluted a ram
shackle looking negro, addressing the
cashier of a certain small town bank.
"Mawnin' dat is, sah, If yo' Isn't too
busy. An' does yo' need a nigger
'round de place yuh nigger wid a
ree-commend, Eah; 'dustriois, hon'
able cullud man to wash winders
an' po'tah 'round. Uh-kaze, it so,
I's de pusson, sah, an' dis yuh docky
munt am de obsequies dat Cuhnel
White done wrif 'bout muh 'chieve
munt3." "Ah-h'm!" commented the banker,
as he scanned the proffered paper.
"So your name is Hilsondlggor?"
"Yassah; dafs muh 'dsntification,"
"And the Colonel writes here "
"He sho' does, sah!"
"He says Look here! Can you
read?"
"Who, me? Nussah. Dat is to say,
I kain't read writln'."
"I thought not. Well, the Colonel
says: 'The bearer hereof, Gabe Hll-
8ondiggei, is personaly known to
me
"Desso, Bah! Aw, do Cuhnel
knows me!"
" aa a liar nnd a thief, and too
utterly worthless to set a good dog
on.' Well ha! ha! It appears that
the Colonel does know you. Ha! ha!
ha!"
"Well-uh, well-uh now, now It
dat ain't s'prisin'! But uck! dat's
de way I likes to heah a white pus
son laugh, sah; I sho' does! Takes
away dier troubles, Bah makes 'em
tuhglt dler tribbylations. Dat's muh
puhmlssion in dis world, makin' de
white folks happy. Kain't be much
fun In dis yuh bank-bldness dess'uh
chlnkin' de money an' uh-shavin' off
do ten puh-cent. , An' dtz., when yo'a
all wo' uot, sah, I comes 'long, an'
yo' has a big laugh dat makes yo'
feel fine, all day; desg as fine as a
dram er. peach an' honey done make
yo' feel. Don't yo' reggin, sah, dat
yo' could spar' 'bout haffer-dollah for
do good joke yo' has on me, an'
T'anky, sah; t'anky! Gwine on muh
way uh-'jolcin', sah! Gwine nowl"
From Puck. .
Use ot Magnets in Flour Mills.
Explosions are often caused in flour
mills and breweries by nails or other
iron particles that find their way in
the grain and which when they strike
the steel rolls of the mills produce
sparks and ignite the finely pulverized
material about them.
Recently a large malting concern
that had been troubled by many such
explosions installed a set of electro
magnets over which the grain is
passed before being prepared for
shipment to the breweries. All Iron
particles in the grain are picked up
by the magnets and S00 to 1000 bush
els ot grain are cleaned an hour
When the magnets have collected a
large amount of metal they are swung
to one side, degenerzed and swept
clean ot any particles adhering to
them by residual magnetism. Since
the Installation of these magnets
ttere have been no explosions la the
mills. Scientific America.
lisBuil
No Back Door for
A Country House
By E. P. Powell.
HERE should be no back side to a house. It should front always,
I only with a different outlook; for there Is no direction In which
I I you will not find the beautiful, and the moBt beautiful very often
I - r ......... hnxen n-lin.n t ll IITO DCA C I fill
lies rignt in tne rear 01 u muuu . 1 - - -
holes and shlftlessneBS which spoil everything. Yon ought to be
able to walk around a house in the country without distress, or
catching a bad odor, and there ougnt to be an equauy cneenui
welcome for you with porches and balconies, on all sides. Around the kitchen
door particularly there should be neatness and sweetness.
Keep clean on all sides, and do not Indulge eyourself In slovenliness out
of sight of the street. This is one reason for building back from the high
way; it puts you on your honor to be decent, and to develop the beautiful.
Besides this you will feel that your home Is not built for others to look at,
but for yourself to see, and to smell. Flower beds are preferable to ash heaps
and decaying refuse. Outing.
0 J$3 &
It Is Not Always
Possible to Sixve
By Walter Weyl.
HB majority of the old aBk notning or society, mu mis very wi.
I should make the support of society, to those who do need Us aid,
I I more immediate and willing. There are many who through mis-
I .... . . - .1 , l.nl.. noflirfll aflTW
fortune are leit in age Deren 01 mime? uuu m men
porters. A bank may fail, an employee abscond, a business panic
arrive, an error of judgment, or an unwise act of generosity may
MM
strip a man or woman of the savings of a liretime. ine who ui
Buch a man may lie ill and the savings of years go in a month's doctor's bills.
The sudd n Blaying of a husband in an industrial accident may leave the
wife deprived of expected support.
And not all men can Bave. Some are honest and hard-working, but have
not the knack of getting and holding. They are marble to receive and wax to
retain.' Others do not marry, or marry and have no children, or they lose
their children In early Infancy. Family bonds are mortal. There are always
men who through no fault of their own are left naked and alone In their old
age. Success.
i? 0 0
The Fate of
Second-hand Autos
By R. D. Heinl.
HUE price of a rebuilt car ranges from 1300 to Id.&uu. une arm
& I I ported that the average selling price ot Its second-hand cars was
I I $2 000. Good standard chassis converted Into, delivery wagons
I ... - - , l i t- 1 i mil .1 fnl
are selling at $l,suu. Touring cam, wmtu mni jem
$1,250 and $2,000, may now be bought for from $500 to $800. A
limousine which only saw a few months' service last year was
133
Bold from a second-hnnd shop this year for $3,000. The owner
originally paid $4,200 for the car.
Tuxedo Park Association, the exclusive residence colony club of New
York, recently bought four three-year-old cars, saving fifty per cent, on the
original cost. These were formerly touring cars, but they have been rebuilt
into station wagonB to carry the members of the colony to and from trains.
The Adirondack League Club, of New York, has also purchased second-hand
cars for the same purpose.
A greater market for second-hand machines is found out of New York.
A second-hand automobile firm, possibly the largest in this country, last year
sold eight thousand cars. Ninety-five per cent, of these vehicles went to
farmers. Leslie's.
The Bible as &
Substitute for Bridge
By Frances Frear. ,
mmmhgN women in the whirl of New YorK society come logemer iui
A J I a week-end study of the Bible, it is of more than passing interest.
lfY I Mrs. Martin W. Littleton felt that a more thorough knowledge
I ... ..... 1 1 , i .1 I -. . 1 .. H .. 1 tun nmlMnff
01 tne iHDie wouiu nave a nieaujuig nuiucuca 111 ma cam.vub
times which JuBt now exist In the feminine world, and so despite
the cold water thrown upon her suggestion, friends were invited
to her home to hear Dr. C. I. Scofleld, secretary of the Oxford
Revision Society, make clear some points in regard to a better understand
ing of the Scriptures. Enthusiastic was the response, and preparations are
now under way for a longer course of study next winter. A movement of this
kind seems to some of us to Indicate even better than the Buffrage agitation
that women are really interested in trying to solve the problems which are
peculiarly theirs to solve. Respect for women will increase in proportion as
they concern themselves with serious occupations, like the study of the
Bible or the proper training of children, thus showing that all their interests
are not compassed by bridge whist, the theatre and receptions. Leslie's.
Knowledge That Is Power
By
Orison Swett Marsden,
HE world Is full of people who know a great deal but cannot use
& I their knowledge. They are weighted down with unavailable facts
I I and theories. You have often met people who seem to know so
mucn, wno are so encyciuyeuiu iu uieir greeny ausurpuon 01
facts that their general knowledge is like an enormous pack on
a sqldler's back, which exhausts his vitality and Impedes his
march. It makes them heavy of foot and clumsy in everything
they do. They impress you as not being large enough to swing their loads or
to carry them with ease. They are like children tugging away at great pieces
of furniture which they can scarcely lift.
It is not the ability, the education, the knowledge that one has that makes
the difference between men. The mere possession of knowledge is not always
the possession of power; knowledg which has not been digested and assimi
lated and become a part of yourself, knowledge which can not swing into
line In an emergency, is of little use, and will not save you at the critical
moment.
To be effective, a man's education must become part of himself, as he
goes along. All of It must be worked up Into power. A little practical edu
cation that has become a part of one's being and is always available, will
accomplish more In the world than knowledge far more extensive that can
not be utilized. Success Magazine.
Domestic Life.
It was the poet Cowper who sang
of domestic happiness aB the only
bliss that has survived the fall. One
of the burning and unsolved ques
tions of today is, Will It survive
the twentieth century? Will it sur
vive rapid transit and bridge and
woman's rights, the modern novel and
modern drama, automobiles, flying
machines and intelligence offices?
Hotel, apartment and suburban life,
or four homes or none at all? Is
It a weed that will grow anywhere
In a crevice between two stones in
the city? Or is It a plant that re
2
quires tender care and the water of
self-sacrifice? Above all, is it desir
able Both Italy and Switzerland nre for
tifying the entrances of the Slmplon
tunnel, whila in the tunnel Itself en
gineers are engaged in constructing
mines and strengthening those al
ready In place, in order to blow up
the tunnel at a moment's notice In
tha event of war.
In Russia cigarettes are used more
widely than cigars.
MODEL Y. M.
Every community that counts Itself a city nas in its midst a stronghold
in the building which houses the Y. M. C. A. and serves as headquarters for
Its activities. Where once a store or small building answered this purpose,
the most modern type of building Is now required, equipped with every facll.
lty for promoting the work, and sometimes of the dimensions of a sky
scraper. The new Y. M. C. A. building at Detroit, shown in this picture It
one of this class. " 1
Hammock Support.
For the present hot weather the
hammock support designed by an In
diana man is highly appropriate. It
enables the owner to swing his or her
hammock wherever desired, on rough
or level ground, to be always sure of
shade and to have the hammock at
any height from the ground that Is
convenient. The support consists of
a pair of standards with an awning
top. The standards are made with
sliding rods and either or both can
be regulated to any height. If the
ground Is too uneven the standard on
the higher part can be shortened or
vice versa. The whole affair is, con
structed with an eye for stability, and
when set up will bear any weight the
hammock cords will hold without
breaking. The canopy top makes It
possible to swing the hammock in
open spaces, where there is plenty of
breeze, but no other shade. Unfor
tunately, shade and breeze do not
naturally go together, but the owner
of one of thpse supports need not
worry about that. Washington Star.
EDWARD, NEW PRINCE OF
WALES, AND HEIR TO
THE THRONE.
Ladder of St. Augustine.
Girls who wish to spend the pres
ent year well and to develop their
good resolutions should always bear
In mind the famous ladder of St.
Augustine and Its five steps, which
were, "I am," "I know," "I can," "I
ought," "I will," says Home Notes.
Let every girl have confidence In
herself and say "I am;" let her de
velop her Intellect and say, "I know;"
let her pause before saying "I can" to
any decisive step; above all, let her
sense of honor tell her when to say
"I ought," and let her make up her
mind to surmount all difficulties and
say, "I will."
- ..j.jt .1... .i..m:,.,i
A DIFFICULT TASK.
"If you ever dare to deceive
Sourbre.
C A BUILDING.
A Hoodoo Locomotive. l
A locomotive with probablfr tha 1
bloodiest record In the world cut up
capers In the local yards here to-night,
was stripped of two Bide rods and
drive wheel when It jumped the track
while pulling a local freight out of
the yards.
The engine is Rio Grande No. 606,
The hoodoo which goes with this en
gine is so strong that no experienced
engineer can be Induced to sit in Its
cab. The number was recently
changed from 512 to 506, but the em
ployes learned this and fight shy of
the cab.
The engine has pulled trains which
have been In accidents in which many
more than 100 persons have been
killed. Grand Junction Correspond
ence Denver Republican.
The Man of the Hour.
How Weasels Carry Kggs.
On Wednesday morning of last
ast
Ing
t
week a weasel was surprised crossing;
the public highway leading from Jed.
burgh Into Oxnam Water. It was oh
served" to be carrying something un
der its chin and pressed against-
slender neck, and when a collie dd
belonging to one of the onlookers
made a dash at the little creature It
dropped its burden a hen's egg
and gliding under the roadside hedge
disappeared in the woodland.
On being picked up the egg was
found to be without a crack. The
nearest poultry run is about three
hundred yards distant from the place
where the weasel was intercepted.
Scotsman.
Negroes Own Boat Line.
The Bteamship Rupert City, which
was on the run between Seattle and
Prince Rupert last year, will be sold
to the Ethiopian-American Steamship
Company, of Lob Angeles, a corpora
tion of negro capitalists, who will op
erate a line ot two steamers between
Los Angeles and Liberia, says the
Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman.
Negotiations have been opened be
tween the Mackenzie company, own
ers of the boat, through Surtess Hope,
of Seattle. ,
When a heavy fall of snow occurs
In Valdez, Alaska, the fire department
is called out to clear the sidewalks.
me. Algernon, I'll disfigure you!" LA
;