Tight Gloves.
Tight gloves are worse than tight
Shoes. The shoes may give a dainty
look to the foot in spite of the tor
tures endured, but tight gloves make
the hands fat and red and ugly. The
llesh bulges out and wrinkles form.
Gloves should he worn so easily lilting
that rings may remain under them.
The red, creased look of the palm
when gloves are too tight is abomin
able. The maiden who wears the
glove is the only one who is deluded
Into the belief that her hand looks well
In it.
Shtmr.e Ilreil nml Jewel.,
. Now that ladies wear so many jewels
In the day time a sequence of color
be thought out. The Siamese
* arrangement may, perhaps, afford sug
gestions. In that country on Sunday
red silk with a parure of rubles is
Worn; Monday brings a silver and
white drees and a necklace of moon-
Stones; Tuesday is dedicated to light
ped, with coral ornaments; Wednesday
Is devoted to green, with emeralds;
Thursday sees a display of variegated
colors, with cat's eyes; Friday the lady
Is arrayed in pale blue with flashing
diamonds; and Saturday the more
Sombre, darker blue, with sapphires
to match. —London Graphic.
Keribbonml Arm-Top*.
' While too many frills are not to be
pommouded for a tiny daughter a fond
mamma occasionally evolves some lit
tle touch that is as pleasing as it is
1 becoming. One thought as much upon
J Seeing a rosy little girl in sheorest
S white the arm-holes of her frock being
Dutlined with two or three inch pink
ribbon. A few stitches had been tak
en to prevent the ribbon from becom
ing mere strings. These ribbons were
tied on the tops of the arms, the hows
being neither small nor very large. The
same sized how of the very same rib
bon was tied around the top hair in
the very sensible way which now keeps
the unmanageable tresses ouit of the
little one's eyes. No doubt one reason
lor the admirable effect gained in this
Instance was the skill with which the
(ribbon had been chosen. It was just the
delicately rosy shade that brought
the hidden roses in the little maid's
cheeks.
An Übiqultou* Materinl.
' Was there ever before any one mat
erial which served in one and the same
for bathing suits, outing suits,
' walking suits, tailor costumes, travel
ing and coaching cloaks, promenade
ind evening wraps, house dresses, visit
ing costumes and evening dresses?
' You may think this last far-fetched,
bujt it is true that a very line silky
White mohair, prettily made, is very
attractive of an evening, and especially
useful at the seashore, where many
materials are far from satisfactory. Mo
hair is, of course, the material to
which we refer.
About the same thing may be said of
taffeta, which is also used for every
thing, and for all ages.
In fact, it even outdistances mohair,
being superior for linings and petti
coats especially.
The more one thinks of such con
trasting uses of a material the more
one marvels. —Philadelphia Record.
>The SHIKIOW Girl.
The Sandow girl is in style. The new
ghirt waists are built so that a woman
looks twice as wide as she is. In hep
eklrt she looks narrower, for skirts aro
very clinging and they are fitted as far
flown as the knees. But tho figure must
be broad and apparently muscular, so
that the midsummer woman comes
ivery near being top-heavy.
The new waists aro made with the
Shoulder plait. This Is a fold of cloth
which is put on in such a manner that
It projects over the shoulders. In cer
tain shape it is called the "Gibsonian,"
and its immediate effect is to make the
shoulders look very wide. It is really
more becoming to a slender woman
than to a plump ono, but both styles
are wearing it and you are gradually
getting used to the woman who looks
twice as broad as she did in the spring.
Sleeves display the same pecularity.
£ They are tucked in rows of tucking
■M. running around the arm and they arc
r trimmed with bands of lace going
round and round, all of which tend to
make the sleeve large and the arm big.
—Milwaukee Sentinel.
I
Prix* Fackel..
Many owners of the marquise and
fltjevalirre rings that fashion has order
ed for her favorites, and which have
been given as presents, are discover
ing that ther pretty ornaments are un
expected prize packets, which only
ctiance can reveal to them, says Wom
en's Life.
When carelessly twisting ene el
tfceso rings roung her finger a well
known Parisienue was suip:ised to
Bnd the top of her ring suddenly spring
, open and reveal within its depths the
Jk tiniest miniature of her favorite pet
kitten. Another, testing her own ring,
met wiih a like surprise, to find her
own face smiling back at her.
Miniature portraits of the givers are
more general, and on inquiry at a lead
ing jeweler's, where the most costly of
Jewelry novelties first see the light, It
f,, was confessed that quite a number of
i rings fitted with these tiny springs,
) and oncloaln? some little photo, or
the petal of a certain flower, have
been made, though their contents
have not yet been discovered. Only
an accidental touch Is likely to re
lease the spring, for not even to the
giver, but only to the maker, is the
secret known.
XTomen'a Opportunities.
That the industrial field for women in
this country is looked upon as a veri
table Eldorado by some English writ
ers on the subject is evidenced by the
glowing account of the opportunities
at the command of American women
and the salaries paid for various kinds
of that appeared in a recent issue of
an influential London weekly. Teach
ing and typewriting are stated as the
staple occupations of women of edu
cation and ability. The average rate of
salary for capable well trained teach
ers, it is stated, is "from SBOO to SI2OO
a year, while head and col
lege professors receive proportionately
more. All teachers have a summer va
cation of from three to fo\ir months,
which many energetic teachers make
profitable by giving private lessons or
tutoring in the various summer resorts,
by chaperoning girls to Europe or in
many other ways which entail neither
loss of prestige nor of social posi
tion."
Concerning the occupation of steno
graphy and typewriting is this com
ment: "The typewriter is an adjunct of
every business office in the United
States, and its operator Is usually a
woman. Here salaries begin at $lO a
week and go up to S4O or SSO a week,
or even higher, in cases where expert
knowledge is required, as in a law of
fice, or in connection with medical
work." —Brooklyn Eagle.
Th Decline of the Apron.
It Is about forty years since the pop
ularity of the apron began to wane. At
that time no woman's wardrobe was
complete without an assortment of
aprons for all sorts of occasions. A
black silk apron was the acme of ele
gance and. propriety, and any nonde
script gown could, by the addition of
the black silk apron, trimmed with a
few rows of black velvet ribbon, be
dignified and adorned to the utter satis
faction of the wearer.
An apron had rather a wide field of
•usefulness when you consider that It
not ODly preserved and embellished a
new gown, but it also concealed the de
fects, and added dignity to an old one.
An apron was always en regie. The beet
dross was kept clean by its use, and the
daintiness of it represented all the fem
inine traits. It was a regular banner
of the home. To its strings the chil
dren were tied.
"Tied to his mother's apron strings!"
Contemptuous expression of subordinsk
tion! And yet so much sentiment at
tached to it! Whoever was tied to his
mother's apron strings was compara
tively safe —was in his mother's lead.
Mother's apron! The baby was rolled in
it. Childish tears were dried with it
The little boys used its strings for
reins, and the little girls played prin
cess and trailed its ample folds behind
them, real ladies in waiting to an im
aginary queen.
Those were ante-new woman days.
Knitting and needlework were femin
ine occupations. It was previous to the
day of higher education for women. It
may sound far fetched to say that home
sentiment waned with the decline of
the apron. The latter may not have
been the cause, but it certainly kept
pace with it. I have the written state
ment of a man to the effect that a snow
white apron tied neatly about a trim
waist had power to attack the mascu
line heart at itH most vulnerable point.
After that say there is no sentiment
about an apron! But man cherishes
sentiment about things of which the
feminine mind has no conception, and
his heart has been many times ensnar
ed in the muslin bow that tied at the
back of his. sweetheart's waist this
banner of the homo. The last was
about the man of a generation ago. But
the man of today has the same senti
ment —latent. —Woman's Home Com
panion.
Long strings of heads made of burnt
wood, carved and tinted, are very
pretty.
Small pockets stitched on the left
front of shirt waists are very chic and
stylish.
The water lily In black represents
one of the novelties in iloral millinery
garniture.
The most fashionable veils are black
and white or black tulle with hall
moon or tiny Stars on the plain
grounds.
Very pretty oracelets of irregularly
shaped pearls in varying tints, caughl
together with gold links, are finding
much favor.
Spanish lacra In small figured de
signs, stars and dots, aro to be seen in
borders of handkerchiefs that have
eentres of silk.
A wrist bag of gray is stn<Mad
with turquoises, ths mounting being
set with a row of turqnoisss and Rhine
stones in alternation.
China allk underbodices. full in front
with straight back, eut high in the
neck and finished with elbow sleeves,
are very nice to weeir under sheer
white batiste blouses.
A very pretty finish is given a waist
by a white lace collar, edged with
finely plaited black chiffon, which in
turn is bordered with a narrow chiffon
ruching. It givis the bertha effect and
breadth to the shoulders.
What the Chicken Thought.
Before the chicken burst his shell,
He could not see things very well.
It seemed to hira like one white wall;
lie could not look outside, at aK,
But, when once free, ho viewed on hii'h
The beauty of the bright blue sky !
I4 Borao day, when I am grown," thought
ho,
4 TII break that blue shell that I see!"
—Boston Budget.
flow long l>o Animal* lAve*?
How many of you know how long
the birds and animals live? None of
our common pets, the cats or dogs,
live very long. I once heard of a
cat that lived 29 years, and of a dog
that was 22 when he died. But this
does not often happen.
A horse cannot do much work after
he is 12 or 14 years old; but I heard
of one horse that lived 64 years.
Birds sometimes have long lives.
There was once a parrot who lived
over 100 years, and ravens often live
much longer.
A cocatoo in a far-off country was
a cheerful old pet when he was 85
years old. He would have lived to be
older if he had not grown so cross
that he would fight and hurt himself.
A dove once lived 25 years in a
cage.
Fish are such selfish creatures that
they ought to live long. They never
get hot.
Carp are said to live hundreds of
years, and pike are also hardy old
fellows.
There are some Insects that live
but a few hour 3. Some live but a day,
and all of them are short-lived.
The wild beasts do not live long,
but elephants are sometimes old, and
then they grow helpless, just like
old people, and cannot do anything
for themselves.—Washington Star.
A Taiu® Qunati.
Mr. C. Napier Bell gives, In "Zang
weera," a pleasant account of a tame
quash, a little animal of Central
America belonging to the' raccoon
family. It is about twice the size of
a cat, is covered with thick brown
fur, and has a long, bushy tail.
While in camp. Mr. Bell's party
brought up a young one.
"I never in my life saw such an in
quisitive, active, pertinacious, fear
less, impudent, amiable and quarrel
some little beast as he was," says Mr.
Bell. "If you treated Quash well, he
would be most loving, playing with
your hand, poking his long nose up
your sleeve or into your pockets, and
running all over you as if you belonged
to him; but, if you attempted to put
him away before he chose to go, he
would quarrel at once, snarl and bite,
and twist his nose from side to side
with impudent definance.
"If the workmen set their food
down, Quash would take possession
at once, and a fearful row would take
place before he could be disposessed.
"He was everywhere and into every
thing, singed his little toes by walk
ing through the wood ashes, when, in
stead of running away, he shrieked
with rage, and began to dig and scat
ter the ashes in ungovernable an
ger. Then he rushed up a man's
back to sit on his shoulder and lick
his sore toes. He would often jump
on your face when you were sound
asleep, and insist on lying down there.
At night nothing would satisfy him
but to crawl under the men's cover
ings and up against their naked skins,
where he was by no mean 3 careful
with his sharp little claws; but to get
rid of him meant nothing less than
a stand-up fight.
"Every one was fond of Quash, and
at the same time every one voted him
an unmitigated nuisance. Finally, I
gave him to an Indian girl, with whom
he became a great pet and grew tamer
than ever."
PO*IHI Glerk'n Famuli* Doc,
Stuffed and handsomely mounted in
a square glass case to the right as
one enters the Washington postal mu
seum is Owney, the tramp dog.
Strung around his neck and around
him in tho case are hundreds of med
als received by Owney from officials
in all parts of the world. In life
Owney was one of the most famous
dogs that ever lived, says the Wash
ington Post. He was the postal
clerks' dog, without pedigree or beau
ty, and in his latter days minus one
eye, the result of a hot cinder while
on one of his numerous trips. He was
known from St. Petersburg to Kala
mazoo. When in Japan Owney is said
to have behaved very badly in the pres
ence of the Mikado, and when the
court ladies sought to caress him,
to have bristled up in an unfriendly
and un-American fashion, decidedly
unfavorable to the propagation of good
relntions between Japan and this,
country.
Owney was a cross between an Ir
ish and Scotch terrier, and of the dull
gray in color secured by tho combi
nation of the seven prismatic rays
of tfie sun. When a pup ho crept
into the Albany postoffice for warmth,
and from that time forth was a fa
vorite with the poflt.ofllee officials in
th# cities fv>m on® end of the land
to the ether.
Following the mail wagon to the
train one (lay Owney jumped aboard.
No one saw or missed him. He and
the mail bags were old friends. Be
ing found by the postal clerks he was
taken care of, and having learned
the secrets of the bags and liking
the rattle of the train, he became a
globe-trotter. In Mexico a Mexican
dollar was hung to his collar. Reach
ing Washington, Postmaster General
Wanamaker supplied a harness for
Owney and badges were fastened to
it. Returning from Japan, where the
Mikado presented him with a pass
port bearing the seal of the emperor,
and where, at Tokyo, ho is said to
have whipped every dog he ran across,
just to shew what an American dog
could do, Owney reached this coun
try, and in 1597 found himself in To
ledo, Ohio.
While there one of the clerks, desir
ing to have him photographed, chained
him. This was too much for Owney's
American spirit, and he bit the clerk.
It was reported to the postmaster, and
he had a policeman shoot him. An in
glorious end for a dog of his distinc
tion.
A tittle and a llig Follow.
There were 36 plump muskmelon
seeds, and Bobbie planted them very
carefully, tucking nine in each one
of the four mounds of earth his fat
hands had heaped, smoothed, and
patted down.
My garden's to be all melons this
year. I'll have enough to eat, and
lots to sell," he called out proudly to
Harry Wood.
Now Bobbie and Harry were great
friends, though the former was only
five years old and recently out of
kilts,'while the latter wore a stand-up
collar, a butterfly necktie, and was
even thinking about "putting on long
trousers."
Harry's tone, though patronizing,
was kind, as he inquired, "So you
really think, sonny, that you'll have a
big crop of melons?"
"Of course!" And Bobbie's voice
was full of pride. "I mean to take
awfully good care of the plants."
And, indeed, as the weeks went by
Bobbie did tend his melons faith
fully, and in spite of many discourage
ments. For in two of the brown
mounds the seeds failod to appear;
whether they had been planted too
deep, or whether they had been nib
bled by some wandering worm, nobody
could tell.
However, the other two mounds soon
bristled with luxuriant green plants.
These, under Uncle Jed's advice, Bob
bie thinned out carefully, weeded, and
watered. Then, alas! one night when
the little boy was sound asleep
(dreaming of luscious melons), an
evil-minded cutworm sawed away in
the moonlight, and, when morning
came, half the plants lay wilting and
dying.
Bobbie would have cried over them,
but then, salt water wasn't good for
plants (only asparagus, Uncle Jed
said); and so, instead, he did his best
to save the rest of his plants. Soot
from the kitchen stovepipe, tobacco
from another pipe (the hired man's),
routed the wicked cutworms. Then a
warm rain, followed by sunshiny days,
made the melons grow as fast as "Mr.
Finney's turnip behind the barn."
They got ahead of weeds, hugs, and
worms, and began to put forth pert
little runners dotted with yellow blos
soms.
Then, one woful day, Mrs. O'Brien's
cow got out of the pasture, and wan
dered about until she reached the
Barker garden; and, on her way to
reach the dozen rows of young corn,
what must she do but place her feet
right on his last hill of melons, smash
ing every trailing vine but one!
And this time Bobbie cried. And
Harry Wood, who came over to see
the extent of the damage, tried to
whistle cheerily, as he said, "Well, the
old bossle didn't tread on your very
best vine. See, you have one left,
and —my stars, if there isn't a melon
on it as large as my biggest agate
marble!"
Now Bobbie hadn't noticed this, and
he was so delighted that he quite for
got his tears.
The one lonely melon grew rapidly
until It began to look very well. Then
one day—lt was when Bobbie and the
rest of the Barkers went to the county
fair —the young Plymouth Rock roos
ter squeezed himself through the
chicken-yard palings; and what else
must he do but stalk boldly up to that
melon, and begin to peck at it! Tap,
tap, tap! went his yellow beak, until
he broke right into the juicy, salmon
pink heart.
It was Harry Wood who saw him,
and drove him back into the hen-yard.
But most of the melon rode away
in the stomach of the Plymouth Rock.
Harry looked down mournfully at
the bits of rind, scattered seeds, and
pulp remaining on the melon hill.
Then he gathered up the mess, and
threw it among the burdocks on the
other side of the garden fence. After
which his long legs carried him down
to the Italian's fruit sore; and, when
he came out again, he bore a bulging
paper bag. Hurrying up street, ho
reached the Barker yard,—reached
Bobbie's ill-fated melon patch, and
then—and then
The Barkers came home from the
county fair, and Bobble wont out to
his "garden.' There ha.l been mel
ons at the fair, and the sight of them
had filled him with fresh affection for
his own solitary treasure. lie bent
over the brown mound, parted the
greon leaves, and—oh, wonder of won
ders!
"Ma! ma!" Bobble shouted. "Do
come here. Why, my melon has grown
lota just while I'vo been gone! And
it's so ripe that it's loosenod itself
from the stem. Oh-ee! it's perfectly
lovely!"
The Plymouth Hock stuck his red
cor/ib through the chicken-yard fence,
and crowed derisively; hut Bobbie
didn't, notice him.
And Ilnrry Wood was chuckling to
himself across the street, as he said:
"That quarter I was saving toward
my new air-gun Is gone, hut I don't
care. The joke was worth 25 cpnts.
And, anyhow, a big fellow kind of
ought lo look out for n little fellow."
—Sunday School Times.
Most spiders have eight eyes, al
though some species have only six.
SWINDLE FOLKS BY MAIL
WHY POST OFFICE PEOPLE THINK "A
SUCKER'S BORN EVERY MINUTE."
Constantly Issuing Fraud Orders Against
Firms That Are Getting Itich Through
"Schemes" Which Ought Not to Even
Entrap a Shrewd Child of Ten.
"Notwithstanding the fact that we
are generally credited with being a
newspaper-reading nation, I am otten
tempted to believe that there nnist he
many millions of intelligent persons
in the United States who never so
much as glance at the head lines of
a newspaper," remarked an official of
the postoffice department. "At any
rate, if these millions to whom I refer
ever actually do read the newspapers,
their gullibility must be so profound
as to be unfathomable. The postoffice
department is constantly issuing fraud
orders against individuals and alleged
firms engaged in getting rich in the
opsration of schemes that it would
seem as if any shrewd child of 10
ought to be able to see through with
out the least bother.
"The other day, for example, the de
partment got after a chap out in Cin
cinnati who for some months had been
conducting what he called a 'turf bu
reau.' He allaged In his really admi'-
nbly-written circulars that he had pri
vate and absolute certain methods of
obtaining information as to the horses
that were slated to win races on tracks
all over the United States, and he
guaranteed returns of tremendous pro
portions. Well, when we looked this
fellow up, he promptly skipped, and
his incoming mail was seized. It seems
Incredible, but every day's mail
brought in thousands of dollars, in
amounts ranging from $5 actually up
to SSOO, and the letters inclosing cash
and checks were nearly ail of them
apparently written by persons of edu
cation. The book in which the man
kept his simple account of cash re
ceived showed that since he put his
scheme into operation he had taken
in no less a sum than $465,000, almost
out of the question as it may appear.
He has got away, but, even if he is cap
tured, I very much doubt if any very
heavy punishment can be visited upon
him. These slippery chaps who work
their dodges by means of the mails
have the money to employ first-rate
lawyers, and these lawyers can gener
ally successfully construe their clients'
circulars as not having really prom
ised anything to the gulls after all.
"The endless chain schemes that the
department runs down year after year
are all of them money-makers for their
operators. It would actually seem as
if all a 'busted' individual had to do to
get rich is to get a lot of circulars
printed and send them out, borrowing
the money for postage, and there will
always be enough gulls to start him
on his way. The cherry-tree scheme
worked by a gang of southern men,
one of them a clergymen, was a col
ossal success for its promoters, and
yet not a man in the crowd had a coin
to bless himself with when they start
ed the endless chain scheme in mo
tion. The more recent fountain-pen
fraud, worked by a couple of Pennsyl
vanians, yielded returns that went in
to the thousands every day, and I
haven't a doubt in life that any num
ber ot similar endless-chain schemes
are bclnyworked this very day that
we shall have to go after later on.
"The people who bite on these end
less-chain schemes all obviously want
a whole lot for nothing, or little or
nothing, and this, combined with their
strange simplicity, is at the bottom of
the success of the fellows who attempt
to make their fortunes through the
use of the malls.
"You would naturally suppose that
persons sufficiently intelligent to pos
sess an interest in stock speculation
would be able to steer clear of 'lnvest
ment agents' whom they only know of
through circulars, would you not? And
yet the department is constantly in
receipt of tales of woe from indivi
duals who have invested sizeable sums
of money with New York and Chicago
swindlers claiming to conduct specula
tive businesses, who operate entirely
through the mails. These outfits are
broken up by the United States post
office authorities as soon as their
fraudulent character is clearly estab
lished, but it seems impossible to drive
Phase fellows who run the alleged
investment agencies wholly out of
business. The game's too easy for
them, and they are fully aware of the
|;reat difficulty found in convicting
iShem. As soon as one 'brokerage'
firm carries on its business entirely
by mall Is smashed the men who have
been successfully conducting it sim
ply move down to another block and
open up another 'brokerage' office un
der another firm name. The shift only
involves their getting out another
batch of literature. The thousands and
thousands of dollars which these
•harpers take in year in and year out
from people whose way of expressing
themselves on paper makes it patent
that they are educated men and wom
en Is a perpetual source of astonish
ment to me.
"Tho smaller fry of mail swindlers
are the fellows who advertise that they
will send 'solid gold watches' and all
that sort of thing upon the receipt, of
'one dollar.' Now doesn't it seem rea
sonable to imagine thai any man er
woman sane enough to rub loose in a
civilized community ought to know
perfectly well that a solid gold watch,
or whatever other article it may he.
perhaps 'a genuine diamond ring,'
cannot he bought, for the sum of 'one
dollar?' And yet there are responses
to these ads. reaching literally into
the millions, and the promoters of
those dodges nearly always get rich.
I.ast year we routed out a fellow In
Boston who advertised in a very elab
orate and splurgy fashion throughout
the country that he had got hold of a
lot of 'lucky stones' on his travels
through India, which he was willing
to purvey by mail upon the receipt
of a $1 per stone. The money that
chap got was something fabulous. The
dollars were just raining in, when the
inspectors swooped upon his office and
cleared him out. He didn't care then
whether he was cleaned out or not.
He had got the money.
j "Something over a year ago the de
partment nailed a clever woman who
was operating her little dodge down
In Florida —a woman of tremendous
shrewdness, this one was, sure
enough. She advertised and sent out
circulars to the effect that she was a
natural-born healer of ar.y old disease
that was ever included in a medical
book, mental or physical, and she set
forth the fact that, if anything, she
was some better as an 'absent healer'
than she was as a contact healer. All
the persons afflicted with any sort of
disease had to do was to hike a $5
note along to her, and she would spend
Ave minutes at a certain hour of the
day or night thinking of the person
remitting the money. Thus, the afflict
ed one would be made whole. If I
remember correctly, this little woman
pulled in something like $200,000 with
her scheme, and if she had really de
voted five minutes of thought each day
to each of her subscribers the day
would have had to be about two
months long. The beauty of the situa
tion in her case was that .absolutely
nothing could be done in the way of
punishment to her. She clung to it
when nailed that she really was an ab
sent healer all right—although there
was a merry twinkle in her eye as she
said it—and the government hadn't
way of proving that she wasn't what
she claimed to be, even had the gov
ernment been disposed to establish
any such a contention.
"Not in recent years have any of
these mail swindlers been so bold as
that humorist who, advertising that
he would send a certain way of get
ting rich on receipt of a sl, sent out
little slips containing the words 'Work
like the devil and never spend a cent,'
but manipulators of the mails almost
as brazen are constantly requiring sup
pression. When one stops to reflect
upon how many years this sort of mail
swindling has been going on, and then
considers how many tens of millions
of newspapers containing accounts of
such swindles are constantly being
thrown off of American presses, one
is tempted to take stock in that old
aphorism of Hungry Joe's that 'there's
a sucker born every minute and they
never die.' "—Washington Star.
THE SPIDERS' WAYS.
Some Neglect Tlielr F.gg, Oilier* Gnard
Thill) Well.
In connection with the question of
whether adders swallow their young
upon danger threatening, a correspond
ent wrote, it may be remembered, ask
ing, is there any proof tliat adders at
tend to their young at all? This ques
tion, like the other, has been debated
more than once. Some have declared
the belief that the common lizard will
tend its young; others that the ringed
snake of England watches near the spot
where she has deposited her eggs—a
thing hard to credit. It is very inter
esting to notice the wide difference
that exists among animals In the mat
ter of watching over or of neglecting
their eggs and hatched offspring.
Take the case of the spiders. Some,
after the oggs have been deposited, ap
pear to have no further concern with
their offspring in embryo. But there
are spiders, on the other hand, that
'take a moet lively interest in their
eggs and young, and carry them about.
At the present time of year a spider
called—l know of no English name for
it —Lycosa eamprestris, may constantly
lie seen among the clods of earth in
field or garden lugging about with her
a white silk bag, about the size of her
own body. She carves ths bag under
neath her body, to which is seems to
be attached by some viscous matter. I
found the other day some difficulty in
making her yield possession for a
while of this receptacle. She clung to
it with the utmost tenacity, and if one
lifted the bag one had to lift the spider
with it. At length, without injury, the
spider and the bag were separated.
She thereat began to search for it with
eagerness. This she appeared to do
not by sight so much as by feel.
With her forefeet she seized and ex
amined but instantly rejected several
things lying about wLich bore no re
semblance to the silk bag. Her touch
was unerring. I never recognized be
fore the full truth of the lines:
"The spiders touch, how exquisitely
fine!
Feels at each thread, and lives along
the line."
It was droll to see her seize upon an
armadillo wood louse—which at the
first sign of danger rolls itself up into
a ball—and relinquishing this at once
try whether a tiny clod were her lost
bag of eggs or not.
These creatures do not make webs
by which to capture their prey, but
atallc it on the ground. The most fa
mous spider in this family it the non-
Brkish tarantula, which Is also much
attached to her egg-ball and her young
when they are luirn. Another wolf
spider of England, which closely re
semble* (he eamprestris in habits, is
sailed Lycosa saecata. She, too, car
rim about on her person a precious
hag of eggs. Bonnet, the French natur
alist, to whom sonic of the famous let
ters of Huber on bees were addressed,
once, to test the affection of this spider
for her eggs, put her in a hole where
an ant-lion lurked, watchful for prey.
The spider tried to esApe, but the
ant-lion seized and took away her hag
of eggs. The spider gave battle at once
to the unit-lion, and struggled desper
ately to regain her lost delight.—Lon
don Express.