WHEN LIFE IS DONE.
When life is done availcth naught
The pleasures that we dearly bought,
The wealth we risked our souls to gain,
The honors won through toil and pain,
The titles coveted and sought.
No world-wide fame avnileth aught,
No name, 110 marvels science taught,
When earth and earthly objects wane.
When life is done.
The kindly deeds for others wrought,
The patient word, the generous thought,
The effort made by hand or brain
'Gainst might for right, though made in
vain,
Shall be by God forgotten not
When life is done.
—Magdalen Rock.
3 SOME INJUNS." J
7[ J?
THE TRAPPERS STORY OF A SIOUXS G
* GRATITUDE. C
n F
ONCE in his life old Thad Grif
fin, the trapper, did a very
foolish thing; at least, that
was what he called the act,
when he thought of it nt all, for a long
time afterward. Two young Sioux
heaves having attacked him, Thad had
killed one and wounded the other. But
lie took the wounded man to his cabin,
dressed the wound, nursed the Indian
hack to health, and then restored his
guu and canoe, and told him to go
home to his own people.
But the Indian did not lead a scalp
ing party hack to the trapper's camp,
as Griffin had half expected ho would,
Nothing more was heard of him. Three
years after, when Griffin left Fort
Snclling at the end of September, and
started up the Minnesota River to be
gin his fall hunt, the incident had al
most faded from Ills mind. He pad
dled to the headwaters of the I'omme
de Terre, and camped a few days in a
little thicket of scrub oak, while he
looked round to see what the prospect
was for furs—and for Indians. He
had kept his eyes open all the way up
river, for the Sioux were reported to
he on the warpath. This, however,
was somewhat In the trapper's favor,
for they would he likely to travel in
big bands, and with care he might the
easier avoid them.
There were "slathers of fur signs,"
but no traces of Indians in this region
of rolling prairie, broken at the cast
ward by a belt of heavy timber. So
one day Griffin set out with his gun to
try for a saddle of venison. When the
afternoon was almost over lie found
a good sized buck, aud presently start
ed for camp with the hide aud saddle
slung to his back.
Clear sky aud bracing atmosphere
and the promise of a successful season
made the blood fairly bound through
the trapper's veins, and he strode along
feeling as though he would like to
sing. Indians were far from his
thoughts just then. The greater was
his dismay when, just as lie had
reached the top of a low ridge Half
way between the woods and his camp,
lie saw a hand of forty Sioux coming
up on tlie other side.
Griffin had had many a "fuss" with
these same Indians, and he recognized
them instantly as belonging to a vil
lage that wintered in the Otlertail
woods, away off nt the northeast. Evi
dently they had been out 011 the Da
kota prairies for a big buffalo hunt,
for they were ou foot and lending
their ponies, which were loaded with
hides and dried meat.
Flat in the grass dropped Griffin, hut
not soon enough to escape Hie sharp
eyes of tlie Indians. Raising a terrific
whoop, they left the ponies to look
out for themselves, anil came 011 in a
body, while Griffin slipped the venison
from his shoulders and started at his
best pace toward tlio belt of timber.
The Indians were not more than two
hundred yards away when Grifiin
sighted tliem; but in running he had
the advantage of going down Hill, and
he hnd almost doubled the distance
before they reached the top of the
ridge and began to shoot nt him. None
of Hie huilets happened to hit the mov
ing target.
Griffin glanced over his shoulder.
As he expected, a dozen of the swiftest
runners had thrown off their blankets
anil, knives In hand, were approaching
nt a rate that meant mischief for a
man who must cling to a twelve-pound
gun. But the trapper had been in
worse places tlinu this, anil he felt
that if lie could once get into the
woods, with night, falling, he could
dodge the Indians.
He was still a half mile from the |
timber when lie looked hack once more, i
One of the braves was now far In ad
vance of the otbers, bat all His pur
suers were gaining, niul Griffin began
to fear that lie might lose llie race,
tired as he was from His hunt and
handicapped Hy the weight lie carried.
That foremost Indian must die!
Griffin slackened His pace a trifle, thai
lie might get ids breath before trying
io take aim. Tim Indian put 011 an
exlra hurst of speed.
When Griffin was close to (lie timber
tlie leading Indiau had come so near
that the trapper could hear the patter
of his footsteps. Thinking it must lie
now or never, Hie trapper wheeled and
was a liont to pull trigger when iiis
adversary made a movement that
caused Griffin lo liesitnle from sheer
surprise. The Indian waved him to
ward Hie woods.
"White mini no shoot!" he shouted.
"Me him friend! No stop: Injun no
ketclff urn!"
The white man took n good look.
This—yes, tliis was flic same young
lirave lie bad spared and nursed! Real
izing that. Griffin grasped the meaning
of the words, anil instantly he faced
about and made for Hie woods again.
"White man saved Injun, now Injun
save white man," tlie savage called
as soon as the trees and hush hid them
from sight. "White man hide iim,
heap quick. liijuu run by; no lccteh
urn. Bimeby dark, white man run off."
Griffin shaped his course for the near
est clump of bush, and put his last
atom of strength iuto a leap that laud
ed him fair in its centre. He spread
himself flat and clung close to the
ground. Yelling like mad, to lead his
mate's away, the young Sioux kept on
iuto the woods.
It was so contrary to the trapper's
training to trust an Indian that his
first movement was to slip out his
knife. lie meant to be prepared in
case the Siuox should pounce on top
of him.
But the Indians tore on into the for
est, and after him went the others.
They passed so near the'place where
Griffin lay that they might have heard
his hard breathing had they net been
running so fast and yelling so lustily.
But a fat old fellow who brought up
the rear gave over the chase at the
edge of the forest. He leaned against
a tree not twenty feet from Griffin's
bush, evidently intending to wait until
the others came back with the white
man's scalp.
The young braves kept up the search
until after dark. All that time the old
fellow lingered by his tree, and Griffin
dared not even stretch for fear of
being heard.
He hardly knew what action to take.
It seemed that the young brave had
meant him to get away as soon as the
crowd passed; and it would be easy
enough to shoot the old Indian, and
then make ills escape in the darkness.
But the trapper Anally decided that
the right thing to do was to lie still.
The old fellow might be his friend's
father for alt he knew. To kill him
there might throw suspicion upon the
young man. And Griffin knew that if
the Indians discovered the trick that
had been played upon them they would
kill the perpetrator.
"I won't do it!" said Griffin to him
self. "Not if I lose my scalp for It."
By tlie time the band returned from
the fruitless chase the trapper had got
his breath. He wasted none of It. we
may be certain, in the course of the
impromptu council that the Indians
held before they left the timber. Prob
ably the talk lasted less than five min
utes. But that seems a long time to
a man who feels enemies crowd around
Ills hiding-place and dreads that any
Instant they may fairly fall over him.
But liunlly they did leave, and Griffin
crept out of the bush and fetched a
wide circuit to reach his camp. He
did not feel any appetite for supper
just then. What he would do, and did,
was lo load his belongings into his
canoe and. heading down stream, put a
wide stretch of river between himself
and the redskins.
Griffin never saw or heard of the
young Sioux again; but the trapper
had a better opinion of the tribe and
the race from that time forward.
"Sure enough," ho used to say, when
lie told tho story, "most of 'em are bad,
and others of 'em are worse; but I tell
you, boys, sure enough, some t"hins
are folks!"— Youth's Companion.
Ant llypnotlsts.
That ants doctor their sick by hyp
notism and magnetism is proved by
observation. An ardent student tells
how lie witnessed what may be termed
a seance in medical science among
ants. He saw several of these little
creatures emerge from the hills and
noticed that there were some among
them which were weak and emaciated
—invalids, in fact. They were accom
panied by healthy members of t lie com
munity, and all made their way towurd
a distant mound.
On following their movements through
a glass tlie observer saw on this mound
a big and sturdy ant which made
some motions in tlie direction of the
advancing invalids. The latter went
up the mound, one by one, aud sub
mitted themselves to treatment. This
consisted in the physician ant passing
his feelers over the head and body
of the patient in a manner distinctly
suggestive of tlie hypnotizing of nerves
and muscles practiced by human doc
tors. Every one went through the
treatment, then the patients went back,
and the doctor marched off in the op
posite direction.
Recruiting Men For tlie Navy.
In order to assist in the recruiting
of moil for Hie navy, the Navy Depart
ment lias prepared large lithograph
posters for display in nil the principal
cities and towns in Hie country. The
I navy is in great need of able-bodied
seamen and is using extra exertions
| ;o secure them without delay. These
j posters are the most elaborate bids
I for men the navy lias ever made. They
are highly decorated and picture life
! on a man-of-war in the most alluring
[ colors. The centerpiece is a picture
i of the battleship Kearsnrgp, with a
I happy, contented-looking jackie of
; heroic dimensions as a companion
j piece. These pictures are highly col-
I oral and can scarcely fail to attract
| attention. The lext gives practical
j information regarding ratings and pay,
I and shows the advantage of naval ser-
I vice. To make the words more im
pressive, they are printed in red with
a profusion of capital letters. Over
130,000 of these posters, which are of
immense size, have been distributed
] among recruiting centers.—Washing
! ton Star.
An Opportnnlty For Some One.
| Hero is an advertisement that was
i published lately in an Italian news
; paper: "An agreeable young man, of
! most distinguished family, good, seri
| ous, honorable, bard-working, finding
j it out of ids power to effect a most
| remunerative business plan, proposes
j to a wise father of a family to marry
| bis daughter, if only she be agreeable
i and have a dowry exceeding 100,000
; lire—Alfa. 1441, Postn, Fircuse."—Boa*
! ton Journal.
Jjpkicki |L
1 j j | p
During Kngllsh KqneMrtans.
ONE of the most extraordinary
feats of horsemanship ever
performed in this or any
other country was that of Mr.
John Leech Maning, at the White Hart
Hotel, Aylesbury, nearly three-quar
ters of a century ago. Ho rode his
horse upstairs into the dining room,
and while the meal was In progress
lumped the animal clean over the table.
Describing the incident not very long
ago, Mr. Maning said: "Nothing was
removed from the table. In fact, the
dinner was actually going on. I
jumped the horse bareback, without a
bridle, before more than forty gentle
men, who were dining after the steeple
chases."
Seven or eight years ago n number of
German officers stationed at Metz per
formed au extraordinary equestrian ex
ploit—or perhaps escapade It ought to
be called. Shortly after 111 one night
six lieutenants of the Thirteenth Dra
goons dashed out of tlie barracks on
their chargers, clad in nothing hut their
shirts. Without pausing they charged
an adjacent cafe, breaking the door
ways anil windows and leaping their
horses over file heads of tlie terrified
customers. Two of them actually rode
around the large hall of the cafe, the
fibers contenting themselves with
leading their horses round by the
bridles. The police were at once sent
for by the proprietor, but as one con
stable who ventured to expostulate was
brutally maltreated for his temerity,
the others thought It prudent not to
tnterefere. A few minutes Inter the
rowdy officers remounted their steeds
and rode off again at a gallop. It is
hardly necessary to add that their out
rageous conduct created quite a sensa
tion in the town.
For the sake of a wager a remarkable
feat of horsemanship was some years
ago accomplished by a sporting noble
man In a certain West End mansion.
He made a bet with a friend that he
would rlile his pouy from the ground
floor of tlie house to the top and down
again. His steed required a good deal
of persuasion to attempt the task,
but it was finally performed, though
the damage done to the stair carpets
and other things amounted to £SO,
which hail to be paid by the winner.
The foregoing performance was par
alleled by the exploit of a Lincolnshire
farmer who, at Kirton Lindsey, in that
county, succeeded in riding a pony up
two flights of stairs into a room and
to the ground floor again. The scene of
:his equestrian feat was the George Inn
at Kirlon Lindsey, anil it was consid
ered all the more remarkable because
the weight of the rider was as much as
twelve stone, while that of his mount
was under thirty stone.
A marvelous feat in the hunting field
was reported a few months since from
Wnrrnnmhool, Victoria. During a run
of the local hounds n horse known as;
Handy Andy, ridilen by Mr. M. J. Dick
son, appronched a stiff four-rail fence
in the neighborhood at Grasmere. An
other horse, hearing Dr. MacKniglit,
stopped within a few feet of the ob
stacle, and, running down the fence,
got In the way of Handy Andy. The
latter then jumped the obstructing
horse, rider anil fence, Just touching
the doctor with his hoofs. The feat
was superbly done, hut, unfortunately.
Handy Anily stumbled on lauding anil
unseated ids clever anil intrepid rider.
Some extraordinary equestrian ex
ploits have taken place in New York.
At a costly banquet, given some time
ngo in the carriage room of Mr. W. H.
Clark, an American millionaire, his
favorite horse was ridden round the
table by one of the forty guests, after
It hail enjoyed a poetical "feed" of
flowers and champagne. Afterward
Shetland ponies were ridden into and
about the room by others of the guests,
the revels being prolonged into llie
small hours of the morning.
Some volunteer officers in Wales rode
their horses at full gallop at midnight
over the rocky declivities of a neigh
boring mountain without mishap to
men or mounts.—Tit-Bits.
Fishting For 1,1 Co In a Net.
Tangled in a big fishing seine after
the capsizing of their boat one mile
from shore, Charles Beck anil ids sou,
Genre, Beck, two Evanston firemen,
struggled for their lives for two hours
yesterday morning in Luke Michigan.
Not until il imperilled men hail cut
the nei, which was 300 feet long, in
two. were they able to extricate them
selves. Then, thoroughly exhausted
with (heir efforts to io p afloat while
they were escaping from the death
trap, they buttled again wiih the waves
and, by aiding one another, warn to
the beach in safety.
The Becks, who live at —1 -l<> Maple
avenue, Evnnstou, hail gone out early
in the morning to take in the seine,
which they had set oil Gro ,
Lighthouse. They were engaged in
hauling in the netful of fish vheu u
squall arose. Their boat, a flat-bot
tomed scow, swung Into the trough of
the sea and filled with water. While
they were bailing out the water with
their hats the scow capsized, throw
ing both Its occupants into the lnki
Immediately the arms and legs of the
men became entagled In tlie seine and
rendered tiiem powerless to swim.
Divesting themselves of their rubber
coats nud boots, the father and son.
with a fishing knife, began cutting tlie
cords from their hands and ankles.
When ottee they had cut themselves
loose and had started to swim toward
shore they again became entangled in
the big net. The sou's strength began
to give out after a half hour's struggle,
anil the double burden of helping the
boy to keep afloat, and freeing both
himself and his son from the impend
ing meshes fell to the father.
The latter's endurance had nearly
given out when he succeeded in separ
ating the last strands of the seine.
Both fishermen were so prostrated
when they reached shore that they had
to be assisted to their home.—Chicago
Inter-Ocean.
Bull Tripped Up the Tent*.
A new rendering of the old story of
the bull in the china shop is told by
P. J. McCook, a nephew of General An
son G. McCook, and himself a veteran
of the Spanish-American War.
"During the Porto Rico campaign,"
said Mr. McCook, "my company was
camping in a field not far from the
town of Ailjuntas. A barbed wire
fence separated the camp from another
field, in which were a number of cat
tle. The fence was taken as guard line,
and sentries were posted along it. Dur
ing the night a frisky bull in the ad
joining field took it into his head to
charge the fence, with the idea of get
ting at the sentry on the other side.'
The sentry naturally resented the in
trusion, and when the bull got within
range prodded him sharply in the nose
with his sword bayonet. The bull re
treated with an angry roar.
"Evidently the Injured nose troubled
the animal, for presently he made an
other rush for the fence. Again he met
a vicious stab. By this time the in
furiated animal was roused. He upset
the sentry, snapped the wire fence and
was in the midst of the camp in a
second. The scene that followed beg
gars description. The company was
sleeping in the little 'pup' tents used
in the field. As the angry animal rolled
through the field he tripped and
stumbled over the tent ropes, and in a
few minutes dozens of men were strug
gling to get loose from the canvas and
howling in pain as the feet of the
nnlmal lnnded on them. A 'strike' in
in a bowling alley is not more complete
than the way in which the indignant
bull demolished the company street of
lents. There was little sleep that night
in Company A."
I.ost Life Bather Than Itetreat.
Among the interesting figures at the
recent naval maneuvres at New Lon
don wus a signal corps sergeant named
Ackers, who lay claim to one of the
most remarkable war records in the
Army. At Manila, in China and in the
West he tins seen service. At the time
of the Chinese campaign he was chief
telegraph operator of the American
forces. During the battle before Tien-
Tsin Ackers was sent with a message
to Colonel Liscum of the Ninth In
fantry, whose regiment was under
heavy fire. The orders were to re
treat.
"I brought the word to Liscuin," said
Ackers, in telling the story. "Liscum's
lighting blood was up and he was mail
at the Idea of retreating. Turning to
me lie gave me the worst wigging 1
ever received. There we stood out in
tlie open, with the bullets flying in all
directions, and the Colonel sailing into
me for fair. Of course, I had to stand
up to attention, and it wasn't the most
comfortable position in the world with
about 50,000 Chinese shooting at us.
"Well, Liscum had just about fin
ished with one tack and was begin
ning another when all of a sudden he
doubled up and went down in a heap in
front of me. I think that was the first
time I ever regretted tlie end of a wig
ging. The sheer nerve of the man to
stand up there and call me down as
If we were in barracks while bullets
were whizzing on all sides was won
derful, but it cost him his life."—New
York Tribune.
Saved From au Alligator.
While a number of passengers were
waiting for the morning train at Pablo
Beach, Fla., they heard the wail of a
child. Jerry Dfdaney, Deputy Sheriff
and a former Cincinnati policemuu,
headed those who hastened to search
for the cause of the cry. A short dis
tance away they saw a big alligator
dragging a child away, having secured
hold of its dress in its mouth. The
child was shrieking. The posse rushed
to tlie rescue, and the 'gator redoubled
its efforts to get to its bayou nearby.
A big dogMielonglug to the child came
running along anil dashed at the
'gator's head. The 'gator whacked its
tail around with great force, dashed
the dog into its mouth which it opened
with a gulp, taking in the dog and
swallowing him with ease. The 'gator
dropped hold of the child's dress in the
struggle. The posse at once killed the
'gator. It was fifteen feet long. It
is thought to have been made fierce
by hunger, as it is seldom that they
will attack human beings and espe
cially so near a habitation. The child
was uninjured.
Slio Got Two Cuugnra With Two Bullets.
Mrs, A. l'\ Dobrowsky, the young
and pretty wife of a jeweler, killed
i wo mountain lions on Sunday at Bear
Mountain. The man anil ills wife go
I every Sunday into the woods, but last
! senday she killed her first mountain
| lion. She was alone on the mountain
j side when she was attracted by the
i buying of her hotinil. She found he
I liad a large lion up a tree. As she pre
-1 pared to shoot at it she saw a second
| lion looking hungrily at her through
| tlie thick foliage. Just then her lius
baud came up, attracted by the noise
j .;>!' tlie dog. At tlie eount of three
| [ ivo rifles rang out and two tawny
,b. liti s fell to the earth mortally
wounded. As they rolled in their death
i struggles Mrs. Dobrowsky saw a third
1 i,,n higher up in the tree than his fel
low., had been. She killed it with one
ball. The smallest lion measured five
feet.- Sau Eranclsco Chronicle.
It's a Popular Delusion That
the Climate is Changing
By Willis L. Moore, Chief U. S. Weather Bureau.
RUTHFUL anil intelligent men are wont to declare that they
Tknow from personal recollection that the climate of their par
ticular places of residence had changed since they were boys;
that they had reliable landmarks to show that the streams were
drying up; that the precipitation was growing less, and that TliSr*
winters were becoming milder, notwithstanding the fact that
carefully taken observations of temperature anil rainfall for each
day for the previous hundred years at their place of residence
showed no alteration of climate. Of course, wide variations,
sometimes extending over periods of several years, had occurred; but a
deficit nt one time was made up by an excess at another.
To be sure, changes must have taken place during geologic periods, but
these have been so slow that it is doubtful If man in his civilized state has
occupied the earth long enough to discover an appreciable quantity. Quite
accurate records of the opening of navigation In Europe anil of the time of
vintages for 500 years show no change In the average data of the first
ten years as compared with the average of the last ten.
Tlie date palm, the vine, and the fig tree flourish as luxuriantly to-day in
Palestine as they did in the days of Moses. Dried plants have been taken
from the mummy eases of the Pharoahs exactly similar to those now
growing in the soil once trod by those ancient monarclis.
jS-
American Fire Fighters
Are the Best in the World
By Philip G. Hubert, Jr.
TBTffl. firW HEREVER the American goes in Europe, it is with a feeling of sat
isfaction that he finds, in the more important cities, the adaptation
S of our ideas for fighting fire. Onr steam fire-engines, our brass
W poles that bring men down from the upper stories of their sta
tion-houses, our hinged collars that snap around the horses'
necks at a touch, are everywhere. At every important interna
tional exhibition of recent years, beginning even with that of
Paris in 1567, American fire-engines and ladder-trucks have
taken prizes. At the Paris Exposition of two years ago an
American fire-team from Kansas City, fourteen men under Chief George C.
Hale, carried off all the most important honors nt the International Fire Con
gress, at which were represented America, Frnnce, Portugal, Holland, Norway,
Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Turkey, England, Scotland,
Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, India, Austria, Mexico and Peru. Nearly 8000
firemen took part in the competitions. The first contest was made with steam
fire-engines, on the banks of the Seine. About 100 engines competed.
The test was made from cold water In the boiler. The average
time for foreign engines in getting a stream from the hose was from eight J
to twelve minutes. Their streams reached about half way across the river.
In five minutes and thirty seconds the American engine threw a stream that
wet people on the opposite bank, a distance of 310 feet. The size of the
stream was nearly double that thrown by the other engines.—From "Fire-
Fighting To-day and To-morrow," in Scribuer's."
JZ7
Tell Women the Truth.
By Helen Oldfield.
ORINCIPALLY the cause of what is called woman's unreason
ableness is the direct result of her not being tolil the truth.
Half the time a woman does not know how she stands to face
a problem, because she cannot get a man to tell her the simple
facts in the ease. He will suy all sorts of soothing things to
her and mislead her with rosy hopes, and he will try to make
up by the fervor of his compliments for the lies he is telling
her, and so she goes blundering along, making all sorts of mis
takes, that she might have been saved from if anybody hail
bad the courage to tell her the truth.
A curious example of this once came under my own observation. A mssV
died, leaving his widow without any means of support. His friends, in the ntosD,
delicate way in the world, provided for her, and began exerting themselves to
get some occupation for her by which she could support herself. Place after
place was offered, but she scornfully rejected every one.
"Did you ever hear of anything so unreasonable in your life," cried the
men to each other, "not a penny in tlie world, actually living on charity, and
won't do a thing!" Finally in a gust of passion one of the men blurted out to
the woman the naked truth—that her husband had died absolutely bankrupt,
and that his friends had been providing for her. The woman was aghast. She
had never an idea of the real state of affairs, and the minute she kuew the truth
she accepted the situation with a courage, a philosophy and a determination
to make the best of it that fairly astonished every one.
So far as business women are concerned, the chief enemy to their progress
Is man's fear of telling them the truth. A man who has a clerk who falls into
careless ways, 6r has some annoying fault, will talk to him plainly anil give
him a chance to correct it before he dismisses him; but he will not give a girl
the same chance. He won't tell her the truth about her faults. He wiil make
an excuse about business being bad. and then turn her off rather than speak
the truth to her. How many times lias that happened in our big cities! Girls
know.
Another thing—and I don't know a more pathetic thing—is that the whole
world seems banded together to deceive women about the real facts of working:
life.
Now there's plenty of work in the world for every industrious and iutelii- i
gent girl, but It's nothing short of a crime to make her believe that there is }
any get-rich-quick way to fortune; and I never read any of these romances
ibout picturesque modes of getting a living that fails to arouse in me a righteous
contempt for the authors of such stories.
Mysticism is Increasing
in This Practical Age
By Ralph M. McKcnzic.
SHE hunger displayed by all classes of people for literature
of a mystical or esoteric character is beyoud tire belief of
any one nut connected with the sale of books or period
icals or not In touch with the work of public libraries
throughout the country. This Includes fortune-telling by
cards, palmistry, astrology, the phenomena of hypnotism,
suggestive therapeutics, spiritism, mind reading, faith cure,
theosophy and everything connected with the divining of
the future or the mystical or occult in mind, matter or
religion. J
Many periodicals treating of these various subjects are published now '
in many languages, anil the circulations of some of them have increased
wonderfully. A curious phase of the subject is the fact that particular ar
ticles In those periodicals attract wide attention, anil are often quoted anil
discussed in coteries which are not usually supposed to be interested in
matters beyond the domain of the five seuses. Some of these magazines
in the Library of Congress are kept under lock and key, and ouly given
out for reading to known persons upon card, because the temptation to
cut or mutilate certain select portions of the text seems to be 100 great for
those of less than ordinary will power.
Of course, there Is much of this literature of distinct value, especially
such as relates lo psychology in any direct or indirect way. A great deal
of it is ethical, and is of uo value as jnoral-instruction or teaching. A great
ileal of it is obscure, and some of it is utmost as unsatisfactory to the In
telligent reader as a chapter of Paracelsus or any of the old alchemists or
searchers after the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone. Even tlie
many volumes devoted to palmistry may be said to have a raisou d'etre out
side o* their more or less fahleil value as a means of divining the future.
Tbey serve, perhaps, to draw the attention of people to their hands and
io secure for them better care and more cleanliness.
The cause which more than all else lias led to a great revival of interest
In this class of 'literature Is, of course, the wonderful spread in the belief
in spiritism and the consequent deduction that the spirits must needs
Uuow something of the future of mortals anil can be depended upon in
some vague way to communicate tills knowledge to the material world.
Some look to the clairvoyant as the most reliable source of this supposed
spirit knowledge of the individual's future; others depend upon the reader
of cards, the reader of palms, or the reader of the stars. But it can all
be reduced to the one cause—the yearning of man for immortality and for
! knowledge of the future yean sf kis z&fft state. New kerk News.