A Royal Road to The old proverb that there la no ] coynl road to learning, which was for merly accepted as Indisputable, Is em phatically denied by Mrs. Evelyn Fletcher Copp, the originator of the Fletcher kindergarten method of musi cal Instruction. That royal road will j be found, she says, for the children of ; the future, and the road Is being made ( smooth for the children of to-day In a way that would once have been ; thought impossible. In the realm of , music, for Instance, children now nc- , \ <3J, cj White velvet painted in floral design Is the latest fancy in corsets. Ox blood felt with violet trimmings represents ono of the season's combi nations. Flat buttons and long waisted pouch fronts are tbe characteristics of tbe new flannel waists. Fancy buttons, many of them hand painted, appear on some of tbe hand somest hats this season. There is a growing tendency to use two materials in sleeves, and tbe most ultra sleeves are made of pulls from the shoulder to tbe band. The double English violet is being utilized for entire flower toques and turbans, and also for millinery garni ture. The dahlia, however, is tbe flower of tbe season. Snble cloth Is quite a now fabric, being made up as winter costumes, partaking much of the nature of zibe llne, but richer In Its effects of light and shade in tbe folds. This Is to be obtained In many colors, but looks lovely In deep violet with a glow of red In It. It Is as a rule only in the more ex pensive gloves that buttons can be found, and buttons are considered much smarter and have been for some time than the clasps. This Is a Paris Idea. However, there are many more of the clasp gloves worn than the but toned, nnd there ts no objection to them so serious that one need quarrel with them. MORE MEN BY 1,800,000 MASCULINE PREPONDERANCE IN THE UNITED STATES. Twenty-four Extra Males m Every 1000 of the Population War ami Immigra tion Upset the Equilibrium of the Sexes —Men Most Numerous iu the West. Whatever differences Dame Nature may have intended between the spheres of influence of men and wom en, she evidently intended that numer ically at least the two sexes should stand on nearly the same footing. The world over, except where recognizable, and what might be called artificial causes interfere, the male and female elements of the population are about equal. At first sight, perhaps, this may not seem at all remarkable. But it is to he remembered that in many families —large ones, too—the great majority of the children are of one sex or the other. And one should not be sur prised if the aggregate effect of this lopsideduess were to produce a con siderable excess of men or women In a nation. The fact that such is not the ease, then shows that there is some potent and mysterious law of com pensation at work upon the race as a whole. And this law operates upon many of the animals as well as men. On the farm it is found convenient to preserve a great predominance of one sex over the other in cattle and chick ens. Curiosity, not to say astonishment, is excited, therefore, by a recent an nouncement of the Census Bureau. The enumeration of 1000 shows that there are more men and boys than women nnd girls in this country and that the difference exceeds 1,800,000 in a poulation of 76,303,357. The ex cess appears more distinctly, perhaps, when it is said that there are 512 males and only 483 females In every thousand people in the United States. What is more, this sort of thing has been going on, with some little Uuctua tion in the percentage, for over half a century. As long ago as 1850 there was a distinct numerical superiority of the male over the female element. By ISOO the preponderance was even more conspicuous, but in lS7o.lcss than for several decades. The returns for 1880 show a slight gain once more, though the disparity of 1800 was not quite reached, and those for 1800 a still further increase. The situation has scarcely changed in the last ten years. Indeed, the Census Bureau fig ures out a microscopic falling off in the growth of the male population, as compared with the female. To be sure, the excess was only 1,500,097 in 1890, and has since been enlarged by 254,727; but the bureau linds that the percentages of gain are not quite alike, and that there are faint indications of a future reaction. The state of things here revealed is the more striking when compared with that existing in Europe. Both in the United Kingdom and on the Continent the women are more numer ous than the men. It is possible to detect forces which disturb tho bal ance in some of these countries. But Mr. Porter, superintendent of tlie cen sus of 1800, was inclined to think that these influences did not operate per ceptibly in Austria and the Nether lands. and hence that normally the female sex outnumbers the male in nearly the proportion of fifty-one to forty-nine. Comparison with the standard, then, make the excess of males in America stranger than if nature exhibited strict impartiality. The two forces which appear to be chiefly concerned iu upsetting tlie equilibrium are war and immigration. And of the two tlie former is much the less effective. Still, it was power ful enough to influence the returns in Germany anil France after tho famous struggle of 1870-71. And In the United States it pulled down the male propor tion of 5112 in every 10,000 in 18G0 to 5050 in 1870. Migration, of course, works In two ways. The majority of immigrants are men. The departures from one coun try, therefore, leave the other sex in excess in one part of the world, while they promote the preponderance of their own in another. Thus, in some European countries the proportion of males to females is about 485 to 515. Now, inasmuch as three out of every live immigrants who come to the Unit ed States are men and ten out of every seventy-five people here are of foreign birth, it is easy to see how important is this factor iu establishing tho ratio between tlie sexes. In'lSOO, for in stance, the excess of males here was made up in this proportion; Native horn, 028,707; foreign born, 88-1,713. And yet scarcely a seventh of tlie pop ulation came from other lands. It is to tills fact, no doubt, that immigration lias experienced a slight check in tho last few years that the recent slight falling off in tlie masculine ascendency here is due. But people migrate not only from one country to another, but from one part of a country to flilotlier. This is peeul iarily true iu tlie United States. In consequence, there is a depletion In the ranks of the sterner sex in the East, and a strong re-enforcement in the West. Indeed, in the latter quar ter there Is a double invasion—from tho more densely populated parts of our own land and from the Old World. Hence the distribution of sexes is not uniform. Along the Atlantic seabonrd for at least half a century theft has been practically no excess of males, ami on the whole, a slight deficiency. The superabundance of women has been most conspicuous, though,ln Mas sachusetts, Rhode Island and the Dis trict of Coluinbin. Just why there should be such u situation at the Na tional capital is not clear. But ,'n New England a special local agency has been at work—an influx of factory girls from Canada. Thus there is an occasional exception to the rule that the majority of immigrants are males. As might be expected, the greatest excess of men is to be found in the Far West, in the great agricultural and mining districts.—Chicago Tribune. HAVE CROWS A LANCUAGE7 Many Curious Facts Tliut Go to Justify the Theory. There is some reason for calling an owl the bird of wisdom; and yet there is cause for wondering if the crow is not mentally his superior. Crows are not disheartened by the gloom of late autumn. If the fog is too dense to fly through it, they rise above it or trot about the ground, discussing the situation with their fellows. Is this speaking too positively? I have long been familiar with an observing man who has lived all his days within sight and hearing of crows. He claims to understand their .language, and can repeat the "words" that make lip their vocabularly. Certainly crows seem to talk; but do they? Does a certain sound made by them have always the one significance? Yf\r after year I have listened and Watched, watched and listened, and wondered if my friend was right. He believes it. I believe It—almost. Are there limita tions to ornithological interpretation? And is this an instance where truth is unattainable? We know that crows are cunning and by their mother wit have withstood the persecutions of mankind; we know that they have a wide range of ut terances, and not one is put forth merely to gratify the ear, as in the case of a thrush's song; yet we hesitate to say plainly that crow taiketh unto crow and that they take counsel to gether. There is no physical or meta physical reason why this should not be the case; there is abundance evi dence pointing in that direction, but no actual demonstration, satisfying everyone, has taken place. Were we less theory-ridden and more observant, the question would have been settled before this. In such a case the opinion of the farmer Is worth more than that of a professional orni thologist.—Lippincott's Magazine. When a Locomotive Ulowa Up. "I am one of the very few persons who ever saw a locomotive blow up," remarked an old railroad man the other day. "Generally the men who witness tho explosion of a steam en gine are so dead when tho smoke has cleared away that they are never able to give an account of the disaster. "Like many other accidents, the one I saw was tho result of carelessness low water in the boiler, for the en gine had just come from the shops and was in complete repair. It was on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia a number of years ago. I was on a locomotive some dis tance behind the one which exploded, and was looking ahead out of the cab window, so that the ill-fated engine was immediately before my eyes. Sud denly I saw the machine rise In the air; it seemed to me to be about as high as the telegraph poles beside the track, which, as you doubtless know, are not so high as telegraph poles in tlie city. Then came a cloud of dense black smoke and dust, which hid the engine from view, and almost simul taneously I heard the roar of the ex plosion. "Both the engineer and the fireman were killed, and the locomotive was fit for nothing much but the scrap heap when it fell to the ground. The crown sheet ovet the firebox had blown out. "The strange thing about the explo sion was that no white steam was seen. You know perfectly dry steam is Invisible, being like the air, and before it had time to condense it was probably smothered by the cloud of smoke and dust raised by the bursting cf the boiler."—Baltimore Sun. Cot a 5514 Pearl With Ills Oysters. Morgan H. Morgan, file clerk in the office of the Clerk of tlie Circuit Court, In company with several friends, lunched in a restaurant at Clark and Randolph streets, and, nmoug other things, the entire party partook of fried oysters. Morgan picked out a large, juicy one, and was beginning to eat it with a relish, when his teeth grated on a hard substance. He removed tho object from his mouth mid was about to tel! the waiter that lie had not ordered his oysters to he seasoned witli gravel, when liis at tention was attracted by the reflection of the light upon tho object lie had thrown upon tlie table. Investigation showed that it was a pearl of good size. Morgan put the pearl in his pocket, and after leaving the restaurant went to the cfiice of a lapidary in the Clmmplnln Building, where he was offered sl-1 for the gem. He took tho money.—Chicago Inter-Ocean. Will Wed W lieu Ho is 100 Yearn Old. . If Charles Stoltz, ninety-two years of age, lives to reach his hundrendth birthday, he is to ho married to a wo man who will then he about ninety years old. Her name is Elizabeth I'rosser. A few days ago Mr. Stoliz who retains his health, although his sight has failed him, made the an nouncement ol' ills approaching nup tials and declared that he will live to be joined to Mrs. Pressor iu marriage. "O, I am not so old," he said. "Nine ty-two years lias passed quick and I feel like a hoy. You wouldn't believe it, but I am engaged. If I reach the 100 mark I am to marry Mrs. Eliza beth Prosser, who will then he about ninety." Mrs. rrosser, who herself has kept her strength wonderfully well, com firmed Mr. Stoltz's statement.—St Louis Globe-Democrat. JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE. The Style YlehTlnfj to That Common in .European Countries. A Japanese architect who makes a specialty of European styles and de signs is a person not frequently met in this country, yet sueli is the profes sion of Mr. S. Yosliii, of Toltio, Japan, who arrived in Washington Tuesday. Mr. Yoshii's card tells that he is the "chief architect to the ministry of communication, architect to the homo department.," etc., and Mr. Yosliii him self tells some very interesting things about the architectural phase of Jap anese life. Speaking of this he said: "European architecture is gradually gaining a foothold in Japan, and must sooner or later dominate, just as Eu ropean styles of dress are soon to dominate in the big cities. In Tokio and in other large centres of popula tion all the new business houses are built on European plans. They are found to be more practicable. The residences are still of the Japanese style, and I suppose they will bend to the change last of all. Some of the larger and finer residences .in the cities are built like yours, but most stick to the old customs. "The Government does not own Its buildings, but rents them, and those, without exception, are of European design. Within a few years the Gov ernment will erect its own buildings, and, of course, will adopt European patterns. There are three good Euro pean hotels in Tokio, and a number that are not so good. The Europeans and Americans never stop at the Jap anese hotels, because they cannot do without chairs. Our hotels have noth ing but couches. "Architects in Japan make it a rule never to construct a building over four stories in height, for fear it will fall during an earthquake. Earthquakes are frequent there. Sometimes we have two in one month, but the dam age is seldom great."—Washington Tost. WISE WORDS. Senility and extreme youth are equal ly garrulous. Like death, inspiration often comes unexpectedly. To lcok is not always to see, says the wise man. Happiness often goes about dis guised as duty. Daintiness is to woman what cour tesy is to man. Health is a touchy thing; disobey it, and oil it goes. Only a snob is pretentious; gentlefolk are always modest. Thrift is not learned by text books, but through observation. Women confess to bad memories, but seldom bad methods. To fail out of love is joy; into it, misery. To love is difficult. It is better not to say all you mean than to mean nothing you say. He who fulls once is to be pitied; twice, to be watched; thrice, to be condemned. There never was a true book lover jvho could understand what "lonesome ness" means. After one can eliminate the interro gation point from the life matrimonial all goes well. In order to learn a man's character, watch his hatreds; to gauge a wom an's, note her loves. To hit the mark with another's arrow is despicable when you deprive the owner both of the opportunity and weapon.—Philadelphia ltecord. After Many Years. Very curious was the scene enacted in a popular up-town table d'hote restaurant one evening recently. A middle-aged gentleman of distinguished appearance entered and found a seat at the only vacant small table. He had scarcely been seated before almost his exact counterpart in facial appearance entered anil was ushered to the seat opposite him—the only un occupied seat. Each naturally looked at the other, and was struck by the wonderful resemblance. It was evident that they were strangers. Their respective orders served, the onlookers were amused to find them taking furtive glances at each other with wonderment and bewilderment depicted oil their features. Finally one of them ventured to say to, the other that his name was and that the family resemblance of the other was most striking. "I hp J a twin brother," ho said, "but ho was lost in his Infancy In going from England to Australia." "No, he was not lost," was the reply. "He was rescued by a passing ship and tnken to Melbourne and reared by the man who had picked him up out of the sea as his sou. Recently on his death, I learned the secret of my life and I am now on my way to Eng land to hunt up my family." A hasty comparison of dates recalled the fact that the two were twins— hence their wonderful family' resem blance —reunited by a singular circum stance after separation since early youth.—New York Timer. 11. 1.. Stevenson's Orsto. This is from the New Zealand Times: A visit to the grave of K. L. Stevenson would disappoint many peo ple. While some time back visits to this famous hill were most frequent, the limit must now be six persons yearly. And no wonder! The place is quite overgrown with weeds, and perhaps some day will be hard to dis cover. I understand that on receiving a complain from a Sydney resident, a .little while back, the British Consul sent some of his men up and the place was cleared. It is now time for an other clearing. JoLmm Teddy, the Hobby Horte. Toddy is my Hobby Horse, And Teddy, he can go; Teddy gallops miles and miles And then I holler "Whoa!" Some day when I get old enough And grow up big and wise I'll put him on the race track, and My Teddy'll win a prize. 'And then I'll get a harness made Of silver and of gold. And we'll travel on and on, Just like knights of old. I'll meet such pretty princesses And be myself a prince. And when I go to battle I'll lie brave and never wince. Hurrah! Old Teddy Hobby Horse We won't have long to wait Till I'm a gallant cavalier And you're a charger great. —Atlanta Constitution. '.The Little Sprig of Content. Edith is only a schoolgirl, but she has some of the wisdom that is bet ter than any to be gotten from books. She does not spend her time fretting over things she does not have. She en joys what she has. "Don't you wish you were going to the seashore?" asked Margaret. "I would like it," said Edith; "but I'm glad I'm going to grandpa's. I always have a good time there." "Wouldn't you like to have a new dress like Mary's?" said Jessie. "Yes, but I like mine just as well," was the answer. Edith has "the little sprig of con tent" which gives a rich llavor to everything. Really Too Bad. Great men, when they were boys, were often just lilte other boys, fond of fun and mischief. The boy who became Professor Gillespie proved this. He noticed—trust boys for noticing— that the schoolmaster was in great fear of thunder and lightning. Even when the sky grew overcast he used to watch the windows tremblingly. The boys, led on by Gillespie, turned this weakness at times to their own advantage. When a holiday was wanted they used to get a herd laddie to "work" a stick against the railings outside and in other ways to make a noise that might pass for distant thun der. When the boys heard the sound one would utter, in a stage whisper, "Thunder!" Some would even cry out, "There's a flash!" By and by the teacher would say: "You had better go hotue, boys, for a thunderstorm is coming on, aud It will rain in torrents.'' The lads obeyed. Peers Who Are Minors. About a dozen peers who are stll minors may view with unconcern the orders regulating the form of cos tume to be worn at the forthcoming coronation which have just been pro mulgated by the Earl Marshal. These include the Marquis Conyughutn, who at the time of the coronation will bo nineteen; Lord Camoys, who will be eighteen; Lord de Clifford, seventeen; the Duke of Lcinster, Viscount Tor rlugtou. Lord Somers und Lord Holmpatrick, fifteen; the Earl of Mac clesfield, fourteen; Lord Vernon, thir teen, and Viscount Exmouth, eleven. The ease of the ixiarqnis of Bute is perhaps the most interesting, as his lordship ouly attains his majority about six or seven days prior to the date of the eoroimtioa. Assuming, therefore, that the upper house lias not adjourned, It will he quite pos sible for the young peer to take his seat In Parliament and a few days later to bo present at the stately cere mony in Westminster Abbey, wearing his robes aud coronet.—Loudon Tele graph. An Enterprising Farm Boy. There is a farm boy living up in the northern part of Minnesota, probably the most unpromlsiug part of the State for fruit; but it looks now as if lie is doing a work la the interest of fruit for the whole State that hut few boys or men are doing in more favorable locations. He is planting fruit seeds and pits in the effort to develop sorts adapted to ills environment. lie now has a plum, a seedling of the best wild plums that ho could fiud, iliat Is of exceptionally Hue quality, and if it is found to be adapted to general culti vation, it will be a rare acquisition. The tree is hardy, but is yet too young to know just what its fruiting qualities will be, but the fruit excites the ad miration of all who have seen it. Tills boy planted pits of prunes that came from the store, and out of the lot oue tree lias survived, had its first blossoms tills year, and the boy writes that he is awaiting with intense anx iety the coming year aud some ma tured specimens from the one sur vivor of ills prune trees, the oue that has stood unscathed the vicissitudes of his severe climate. There is no fear that that boy will "leave the farm." It is not yet time to name this young worker along the true lines of fruit de velopment for this region. There will be lime enough for that when his plum lins had another year in which to demonstrate whether or sot it possoses certain essentials to commercial suc ieess, and when liis harily prune lias shown its qualities. 11l the meantime the example of tills boy should be copied liy very many others all over this northern region. Farm, Stock and Home. There are said to lie 9,000,000 chil dren in the United States who attend ao Sabbath-school or other place of re 'jKicus instruction.