A SINGLE STITCH. One stitch dropped an the weaver dror* ' His nimble shuttle to and fro, "Vj! In end out, beneath, above, ' *7' Till the pattern seemed to bud and grxm A§ if the fairies had helping been— One email stitch which could scarce be ieen. But the one etitch dropped pulled the next stitch out, And a place RTVW in the fabric stout. And the perfect pattern was marred for aye By the one small atitch that had dropped that day. One small life in God's great plan. How futile it aeems aa the ages roll, j. Do what it may or strive how it can To alter the sweep of the infinite wholel A single atitch in an endlesa web, A drop in the ocean's flow and ebb, But the is rent where the atitch la lost Or marred where the tangled threads have crossed, And each life that fails of its true intent Mara the perfect plan that its Master meant. —Susan Coolidge. •A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A | GENTLEMEN | | CONVICTS | ? By C\. QUAD. £ 4 k * corvmoHT, 1000, BY C. B. LEWIS. ST - _ ► • 7*T*Y*T* It was a queer chapter of accidents that overtook the bark Nonesuch on the Bouth Amerlcnn coast in the year 1870. We were bound from Philadelphia to Pernambuco, being a well found craft and a willing crew, nnd we lost a mau overboard before we had been out 24 hours. Off the Bahamas the second mate aud two men pulled away in tbe dingey to Inspect some wreckage which seemed to prove tbe loss of a steamer, and as they were returning a small whale rose under the boat aud smashed her to match wood, nnd then two sail ors were drowned. Tills left us three men short, and we put In at the Wind ward Islands to replace them. After much trouble we got two men, but as we were leaving port the captain was bitten on tbe cheek and the first inate on the hand by a flying Insect Bome wbat resembling the so called "darning THE CAPTAIN'S WIFE AT THE WHEEL. needles" to be found In the United States. Within an hour they were suf fering as much as If they bad been stung l>y nu asp. Tbe captain's wife was aboard, and of course she did all In Iter power, but it was three or four days before tbe men could move about again, and then only tbe mate could return to duty. Tlie captain lind what seemed to be a carbuncle appear utidcr bis right eye, and for ten days lie suffered so acutely that at times be was out of Ids senses. We should have run Into Deinerarn had be not begun to improve, but It would linve been better bad we doue so any how. The two fellows we picked up at the Windward islands proved to he worthless sailors and had men, and they worked the bark an evil turn. Oue night as we lay becalmed, with the captain and mate still suffering from the poisonous bites, they overpowered and bound the second mate, provision ed and lowered a boat and Induced four of the original crew to embark with them. We nfterwnrd came to know that they had been tnlking a great deal about n treasure burled on the Dutch Uulana const, from wlilch we were dis tant about 7G miles. We were thus left with only three able bauds aboard, and the cnptuln'B wife had to take her trick at the wheel while we headed for Cayenne to get relief. We hud crawled along to within 30 miles off the French penal port when the wind beaded us, nnd we could do no better than drift off to the eastward and wait for a change. After about 30 hours of drifting tlie wind changed in our favor, and one morning at sunrise we were making shift to get ou our course again when we espied a raft with 12 men on It close at hand. With the naked eye ono could mnke out that they were clothed In convict garb, and of course tbe de duction was that Ibey had escaped from the const. There were two rude sails on the raft, and the clumsy struc ture had bad a fair breeze behind her for a day aud a half. As tbe raft wan not easily managed, we could have evaded It by putting up our helm. We were for dofag llils at once, nil but the captain's wife. She knew they were convicts and desperate men and that ouce aboard of us we should be at their mercy, but she nevertheless in sisted that we should pick them up. They were GO miles off the coast, with the signs of a storm coming on, and sbo declared that It would be n cruel act to leave them to perish. 1 was of a mind to lock ber up in her stateroom and dodge Hie raft, but tbe other two men were against me. and ten minutes later tbe float was alongside and tbe #onvlets were climbing aboard. 1 ex pected nothing less than an Immediate ntlack from tbetn. for 12 tougher look ing men I never set eyes on; but. to my surprise, they baited at the rail while their leader advanced, doffed Ills cap, with a scrape of bis foot, and In pas sable English Inquired for tbe captain. He was told of the captain's illness aud of our being short handed, and be bowed and Bcraped again and said to tbe woman: "Madam, bate do fears. You prob- ably know tbnt we are escaped con victs from Cayenne, but no man will offer barm to any one aboard. We may be robbers and murderers, but we are also gentlemen In away. There lls bad weather coming on. We have arrived at an opportune moment, j Most of us are sailors, and all of us are at your orders." When I looked Into tlielr vicious faces, I fould not help but suspect that they had a game to play and were only delaying It, but it was policy to tako them at their word. As soon as the captain and mate heard of the arrival of the gang they became almost panic | stricken and advised this nnd that, and the wife was the only one who had the least confidence In the promises made. It was well that she had and that her | advice to trust them was followed by all of us. We could not have kept them from coming aboard with our feeble crew, and to have shown our distrust afterward would have angered them. They took hold with us at once after being given food, and before night we had cause to rejoice that they were with us. We got dirty weather, which lasted three days, and but for their aid the Nonesuch would haw become a helpless wreck or gone to the bottom. We had to run off to the east during this spell, and It was only when the weather cleared that the leader of the convicts had a conference with the cap tain and his wife nnd asked that Ills gang be set ashore In ltrnztllnn territo ry. This was promised him, aud I must say that I never worked with a more cheerful and willing crew aboard of any craft. Seven of the 12 had been convicted of murder, nnd all were des perate men, but they were ns obedient as children and ns good nntured ns you please. They were careful of their Inn gunge, respectful In their demeanor, nnd not once did I hear one of them grumble or complain. We ran Into the Amazon nnd up that river for 40 miles to set them ashore. In his gratitude to them the captain gave them sailcloth for two tents, a musket, a lot of clothes from the slop chest nnd all the provi sions we could spare. With cooking utensils, fishhooks nnd a few carpen ters' tools they were fairly well rigged out for a life on the bnnks of the stream fqr half a year to come, nnd at parting there were ns much handshakings and ns many fnrewells ns If a band of old friends was breaking up. Their escape from the colony was a desperate one nnd the authorities made an exhaustive search; but, so far ns 1 have been able to learn, not one of the dozen has ever been retaken. Not Above Ills Business. Young Ilrodhead. scion of a wealthy family, cherished journalistic ambi tions and, like a sensible youth, had re solved to begin at the beginning. lie had applied for and obtained a position as a reporter on a dally paper at a moderate salary, where he was treated precisely like any other report er, shirking no assignment that came in his way and putting on no airs oil account of his wealth or social stand ing. He had not thought It worth while, however, to acquaint the family serv ants with the nature of his daily occu pations, and when a rellow reporter came to the house one day with a mes sage from the city editor the flunky In attendance at the front door took him around the house nnd brought him up to the young man's room by a back stairway. "Why didn't you show Mr. Craig up byway of the front liallV" demanded young Brodhead. "He's only a reporter," whispered the butler. Imagine the dignified flunky's horror when his master responded in an audi ble voice: "I'm only a reporter myself, you don key!"— Youth's Companion. Webster and tbe Trout. With each Increase of Webster's fame as a lawyer and an orator, writes Professor McMaster In The Ceutury, friends and admirers grew more nnd more urgent that he Bliould once more return to public life. He did Indeed consent to serve as a presidential elect or and for ten days sat In the Massa chusetts legislature. Many yenrs after ward In the course of a speech Web ster referred to this service and told Ids hearers a story quite characteris tic of the man. "It so happens," said he. "that all the public services which 1 have rendered In this world In my day nnd generation have been connect ed with the general government I think I ought to make one exception. I was ten days a member of the Mas sachusetts legislature, and I turned my thoughts to the search for some good object In which I could be useful In that position, nnd after much reflection ■ I introduced a bill which, with the gen eral consent of both houses of the Mns j sachusetts legislature, passed Into a law and Is now a law of the state which enacts that no man In the state shall catch trout In any other manner than In the old way, with an ordinary book and line." Pickled Railroad Ties. Pickled railroad ties ore now being used to a great extent all over the eouutry. A number of railroads. In cluding the Burlington, the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific, have plants : of their own In which the ties are pickled. How to preserve the ties and add to their life and durability has lieen a serious problem for railroad operatives ever since the early days of transportation by rail. The constant ; wear and tear of ties has necessitated their replacement as soon as they were perceptibly worn. A solution of ehlo ' ride of zinc Is applied by a specially arranged process. The ties are put In large airtight cylinders, the air Is pumped out and the ties arc heated by steam. The chemicals are then pump ed in and the ties kept In the solution under high pressure until they are sat tifatfed.-Pbllatlflphia Record. ITS PRICES THAT TILE AT NEUBURGER'S Freeland's Greatest Store. Several Lucky Purchases Have Brought to the Big Store Positively the Greatest Stocks of Clii, Sloes, Dry Cools, FnralsMnis, Hats, Caps, Nations, Etc., Which are now offered at the lowest prices high-grade merchandise has ever been sold •n' n *- uzerne co H n Jy* Without all question of doubt (which a visit of inspection +u l ioi 3r i+ ve c Neußurger s offer extraordinary bargains during the sale of these stocks. The goods are all of this season's make and were bought from manufacturers hard-pressed for ready cash : They came direct from the factories and workshops to Neußurger s, thus insuring you the greatest bargains that will be offered this season. The brief group of values offered below were picked at random from the tremendous stock. ITEM CI A "R.TTiiT'TTT .T CLOTHING Boys' all-wool fast color Never-Rip Knee Pants. "I (In per pair X *J\J The ESBE 75c cavalry-seated Never-Rip Knee Pants, with patent hold-fast buttons, ten styles, KAn in sizes 3 to 16, go per pair during this sale at V/l^ Young Men's all-wool Cassimere Trousers, per Men's all-wool tricot long gray mixed $1.75 Trou sers wOL 200 Children's all-wool $2.00 Blouse Suits in four colors—steely gray, drab and blue—during sale 1 9^ \ouths' j2.00 Double Breasted Blue Suits Youths' $3.00 Double Breasted Blue Suits 2.00 Children's Pure Worsted Serge Blouse Suits 2.00 Young Men's three-pieced all wool Long Pants •/ QQ Suits Youths' three-pieced silk-striped Teasdale Cassi- Q mere >6.00 Suits 2 08 Men's 55.00 Fancy Worsted Suits 9Jv.J Men's <8.50 Fine Black Clay Worsted and Cassi- PC A(I mere Suits VJ Men's custom-made absolutely pure wool Suits,