. k ♦♦♦ >
THE OLD HERB GATHERER.
V V
Stiff-Jointed, wrinkled, old and wan.
Once fair perhaps; ah, me, who knows!
Gliding gruceful as a swan,
breaking hearts. Ah, me, who knows!
Her husband r.led long years ago;
Does she still mourn? Ah, me, who
knows!
* * Three children—hopdstones In a row—
Has time stlllcu grief Ah, me, who *
knows!
In summer, she roams o'er the hills,
Light heart or heavy? Ah, who knows!
She gathers herbs to cure all ills;
Can aught cure heartucho? Ah, who
knows! I
Do scent of flowers and song of birds
Bring comfort to her? Ah, who knows!
Silent and chary of her words—
If depths are stirred. Ah, who kuows!
♦ ♦♦♦
Mrs. Hyssop's First Boarder.
BY ALBERT J. KLINK.
(Copyright, 3902, by Daily Story Pub. Co.)
The Algonquin was not so preten
tious a hostelry as its name might lead
one to believe. It was a modest two
storied affair, placed well back from
the street, and presided over by a
rather spacious example Of the gentler
sex, who lived simp.y and happily un
der the pungent name of Mrs. Wini
fred Hyssop. This estimable lady had
been a widow now for two years, dur
ing which time the Algonquin had
beei! planted, had taken root, and
brant! Ed into a cosy, comfortable
boarding house. From its very incep
tion the rooms were always taken, and
the table always held its limit of satis
fied eaters. Mrs. Hyssop was a model
landlady in more senses than one.
She was now sitting enthroned on
the front veranda —enthroned, because
no other word fits so aptly when she
chooses to adorn the front veranda.
"I do believe he' 3 taking up with
both the girls," was her soliloquy, the
"he" being the boarder who was the
first one domiciled under her humble
roof. "And I wonder which will get
him? My, but it is exciting! Oh, here
comes Fanny now."
Fanny looked worried as she came
up the steps. She drew a chair up to
Mrs. Hyssop and sat down.
"Are you tired, Fanny?" the latter
asked. "And did you meet with much
success to-day?"
Fanny's success depended upon dis
posing of gaudy fancywork made by
her own nimble fingers, which, to
judge from her work, numbered more
than the allotted supply of thumbs.
Fanny sighed. Mrs. Hyssop knew
well what this meant.
"It is hard, I know," she sympa
thized, "to get along in this world.
Especially when one is alone," she
ended, casting a side glance at the
perturbed Fanny.
Mrs. Hyssop hoped this would tow
Fanny into the matrimonial channel.
And a prologue in this direction did
sprout, for the girl sighed again, and
said:
"I would lose hope altogether if it
wasn't for—for "
Fanny's face went red. Then she
said in a stage whisper:
"For Mr. Barnston."
"Ah!" breathed Mrs. Hyssop, very
much as if she had had a drink of
some refreshing beverage.
"You must have noticed," resumed
Fanny, "that he has been attentive to
me—quite attentive. As 1 have no
mother, I thought all along that I
would some day come to you, who
have been so very kind to me, and
confide in you and ask your advice.
You know more about Mr. Barnston
than I do. He told me he had been
boarding here for two years."
"Yes, for two whole years," put in
Mrs. Hyssop. "Ever since I opened
up."
"You must have had a rare chance
to study him," Fanny said. "You must
know if he has any—any qualities that
are not —not —good."
Mrs. Hyssop sat more erect. She
turned her head to one side pensively.
Fanny now came to the point with
almost superhuman abruptness, ask
ing:
"Do you think I ought to marry him,
Mrs. Hyssop?"
The suddenness with which the
question came made the landlady
wince. Then she beamed upon her fair
boarder.
"Yes," she began, "Mr. Barnston has
been with me a long time. There have
Fanny looked worried as she came up
the steps.
been many chances to study him, and
I have taken advantage of them. You
haven't known him so long as I have,
and of course are not so able to judge.
I appreciate very much your coming
to me. And taking everything into
consideration, and to make a long
story short, I would advise you not to
marry him under any circumstances."
A cyclone seemed to strike Fanny
and her fancywork, for both went to
pieces—Fanny on her chair, and the
fancywork on the floor at her feet
"Oh, Mrs. Hyssop!" she gasped.
"I know what I am talking about,
Fanny," the landlady went on. "In
this case no one than myself could
give such intelligent advice."
Mrs. Hyssop talked on. It was a
way she had. She went into details,
explained at almost marvelous length.
And poor Fanny listened.
Finally the landlady halted. Fanny
"Mr. Horton, allow me to introduce
you to my wife."
rose from her chair and gathered up
her fancywork.
"Well, what are you going to do
about it?" Mrs. Hyssop asked.
"I'm going to do my best to win Mr.
Barnston."
"I hope you are not angry with me?"
Mrs. Hyssop asked.
"Oh, no, not in the least," was the
reply. "I thank you very much for
your advice."
Two days later Mrs. Hyssop was
again sitting upon the front veranda.
A frail creature in white, with a last
year's sailor on and a music-roll in her
lap, sat beside her. Both were gazing
absently across the street.
"I don't see how 1 shall get through
the summer," the frail creature said.
"Almost all of my pupils have now
gone to the country to stay for the
summer. I must make a living some
how."
"You poor dear," solaced the feeling
widow. "No one knows that better
than I do. When my dear husband
died he left me almost destitute. But
I thought at once of starting a board
ing house, and the first thing I knew
Mr. Barnston "
The frail creature suddenly raised
her eyes. She was the other girl with
whom Mr. Barnston was "taking up,"
as his landlady put it.
"Mr. Barnston came, and before long
I got more boarders than I could ac
commodate," ended Mrs. Hyssop.
Again she had set the ball rolling
Barnstonward, and again her hopes
rose, for the frail creature with the
music roll at once plunged headlong
into the subject of Mrs. Hyssop's first
boarder.
"Of course," she said, "you must
have noticed that Mr. Barnston has
been paying attention to me of late.
He seems to be very nice. He is al
ways so gentlemanly."
"He is indeed," put in the landlady.
"There have been times," went on
the girl, "when I felt as if I just must
come to you for advice about Mr.
Barnston. If any one could give it, I
knew you could. Do you think he
would make a good husband?"
Having had experience, this time
Mrs. Hyssop's calm was something to
wonder at.
"My dear I.outse," Bhe began, "I feel
deeply the honor you put upon me.
Yes, I have studied Mr. Barnston very
closely for the past two years. And
of late I have noticed that he thinks
very well of you. But Mr. Barnston
is—is—well, Louise, dear, I wouldn't
marry him if I were you."
For a moment there was silence on
the front veranda. Then Louise burst
out:
"I believe you are in league with
that cat Fanny. I know you are, just
because she gave you that doiley for
your parlor table. I suppose if I had
things to give to you, you'd say it
was all rigfit for me to marry Mr.
Barnston. I won't ask you to tell mo
v/hat you have against him, because
you'd make up things. But you just
bet Fanny'll nave a hard race to win.
From now on I am going to do my
utmost to cut her out."
The greatest day in the Algonquin's
history dawned bright and clear.
"Just a perfect wedding day," came
from all sides.
From early morning there was con
stant bustling. Everybody was will
ing and did lend a helping hand. The
boarders could hardly await the com
ing event. The wedding supper wa
to be a most sumptuous culmination.
By noon the house began to take on
its decorations. The boarders who
came for their midday meal were loud
in their praises of the excellent taste
manifested. And when evening at
last came and they began to assemble
in the parlor, there was a veritable
buzz of talk about things in general.
Finally the guests had been ushered
in. all but one, and that one would not
witness the ceremoney. In an upper
room she sat alone at an open win
dow, with a handkerchief to her eyes,
weeping. She could hear the minis
ter's voice as he made them man and
wife. Later, when she heard the hi
larity below, she knew that it was
all over. But she still sat at the win
dow. She saw the carriage drive up
and halt at the stepping-stone. She
heard loud talking out on the side
walk. She saw figures scurrying back
and forth. Then she heard a chorus
of shouts. A moment later the sound
of rice thrown against the carriage,
more shouting, and then the sharp
bang to of the carriage door. After
ward the patter of horses' feet, and
the sound of wheels on the cobble
stones. Then more shouting.
Within the vehicle sat two very hap
py beings. The ride to the station
wa3 short, and when they entered
their train Mr. Barnston was surprised
to see, seated at the other end of the
car, a former chum of his.
Barnston and his bride had hardly
got comfortably seated when his
friend left his seat to go to the smok
er. As he camo abreast of the newly
wedded couple he recognized Barnston
and halted:
"Jove, but I am glad to see you."
Barnston Laid, raising and taking his
friend by the hand, "Mr. Horton, allow
me to introduce you to my wife, for
merly Mrs. Winifred Hyssop, of the Al
gonquin."
A Mormon Family Reunion.
A Salt Lake City correspondent
sends us a clipping from a Mormon
newspaper describing the family re
union of Grandfather Merrill. This
prolific gentleman, an apostle of the
Mormon church, is the father of forty
living children, and his living grand
children number 12G. Nearly all of
these honored the occasion with their
presence. The newspaper correspond
ent delicately suggests the harmonious
relations which subsist among the var
ious wives of the patrtiarch. "From
the many expressions of love and es
teem it was evident the kindliest and
best of feeling exist in the hearts of
all members of the family. Many tears
of joy were shed when the different
mothers narrated the experiences of
the early days." Incidentally one is
reminded by this story of the strange
fact, substantiated by all observers,
that the Mormon women, who have
suffered the most from polygamy, and
gained the least advantage, are the
most fanatical and incurable adher
ents of this abominable doctrine.—
Chicago Standard.
Illustrating the Point.
"You see," said the young man who
was explaining the mimic war, "the
attack is carried on the same as in
actual warfare, except that the mis
siles are only technical. Now, sup
pose that I am commanding a brigade
and I should be charged by a regiment
of the enemy "
"Technically?" asked the young
woman.
"Certainly. And supposo they fired
upon us "
"Technically?" repeated the young
woman.
"Yes; yes. And I should be en
couraging ray men to make a last
stand "
"Technically?"
"Of course. And I should get in
range of the enemy's fire, and should
be shot through the brain "
"Oh," interrupted the fair damsel,
"I know that would have to be tech
nically, too!"
Reason for Child's Answer.
Bishop Brewster of Connecticut
tells this story illustrative of his
wife's cleverness. One day they vis
ited a mission school, and in kindly
catechising the children he asked:
"Who is your neighbor?"
A dead silence followed the ques
tion. Finally one little girl raised her
hand and made the most unexpected
and amazing reply, "God."
On the way home the Bishop said
to his wife:
"Now, what do you suppose that
child had in mind to give such an
answer?"
"I suppose," replied Mrs. Brewster
"that she was following that rule ol
a great many older people, 'when in
doubt play trumps.'"
Was It Indeed but a Dream?
I dreamed that you kissed me, dear-
Was it indeed but a dream?
To my heart you lay very near—
And can so much happiness seem?
In the rush of the night you came;
My hair was stirred by your breath,
And my blood would have leaped into
flame
Had my sleep been the slumber of
death.
And when you had kissed me, love,
A rose you laid on my mouth,
Did you tHink I could traitorous prove!
O one sweet flower of the South!
I thought that your lips still clung
As I drank in the rose's perfume;
And a golden censer was swung,
And a glory enfolded the room.
—Charles Henry Webb.
Insanity Ratio In Ohio.
In Ohio one person In each 400 has
been adjudged insafle.
Trade of South America.
The trade of all South America ia
not equal to that we have with Canada
THE SPOILS OF BABYLON.
Antiquarians Revel in Finds from An
cient City.
The ruins of Babylon continue to
yield antiquities of the very highest
interest to the excavators who repre
sent the German Oriental society.
From the center of the square site
which extends for miles on both sides
of the Euphrates, at a place now
called Nieehan-el-Aswad, the Germans
have taken 400 tablets, one being a
syllabary in two languages which may
add a good deal to our knowledge of
the languages written in cuneiform
signs, and another, a litany, which was
chanted by the priests of Marduk or
Merodaeh at the temple of Esagila.
Marduk was one of the twelve great
gods and was represented in heaven
by a constellation. In some of his
traits he was like Hercules, in others
like Zeus. A striking discovery was
the site of a temple of the god who
was the Babylonian forerunner of Pai
eon, the physician of the gods in
Homer, and of Aesculapius in later
centuries. This god of physicians was
worshipped as Ador or Nineb. Amu
lets, cylinder seals, reliefs showing
hunting scenes and colored tile work
of a very high artistic value are among
the German spoils at Babylon during
the past season.
NEW IDEA FOR EXPRES3 TRAINS.
Makes No Stops, But Drops Passen
gers Off at Stations.
A model of a new device was re
cently shown before the members of
the British Association, by means of
which it is possible to put passengers
off at any station along a railroad
without stopping the train.
The model showed a circular track.
The last carriage on the train was
slipped as each station was passed,
and passengers wishing to alight at
the next station would proceed to the
last carriage, the train being of course
continuous on the American plan, so
that access could be had right
through. Then the slipped carriage
had deposited Its passengers and tak
en up a fresh load, it would be started
and the next train would be allowed
gradually to catch it up. It would
then form part of tho new train until,
having passed a sufficient number of
stations, it came to be tiie last car
riage again, when it would be once
more slipped. Of course the cars
v ould be electrically driven, and the
author exhibited a model showing
how by an electrical device it could
be shown in the separate car and in
the overtaking train how far the two
were apart.
Life's Scars.
They say the world is round, and yet
I often think it square.
So many little hurts we get
From corners hero and there.
But one great truth In life I've found,
While Journeying to the west—
The only folks who really wound
Are those wo lovu the best.
The man you thoroughly despise
Can rouse your wrath, 'tis true;
Annoyance in your heart will rise
At things mere strangers do:
But those are only passing ills;
This rule all lives will prove,
The rankling wound which aches and
thrills
Is dealt by hands we love.
The choicest garb, the sweetest grace.
Are oft to strangers shown;
The careless mien, tho frowning face
Are given to our own.
We flatter those we scarcely know.
We please the fleeting guest.
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.
Love does not grow on every tree,
Nor true hearts yearly bloom;
Alas for those who only see
This cut across a tomb!
But, soon or late, the fact grows plain
To all through sorrow's test,
The only folks who give us pain
Are those we love the best.
—Woman's Journal.
Light aßa Healing Agent.
In view of the growing Importance
of the application of light as a heal
ing principle in medical science the
medical congress which recently con
vened at Wiesbaden invited Prof. Bie
of Copenhagen to read a paper on the
subject. The lecturer explained the
principle of employing light for heal
ing purposes after excluding its chem
ical effects. The results obtained by
this method in cases of smallpox, ac
cording to the lecturer, are such that
the question is raised whether the
light treatment shall not be made
compulsory. Prof. Bie approves the
apparatus invented by Dr. Finsen of
Copenhagen, with which the latter has
achieved such remarkable success in
cases of lupus, but urges that no one
but qualified doctors should bo allowed
to apply the light treatment, as dis
turbances are apt to occur which ren
der it necessary to break it off sud
denly.
Had Chinaman's Sympathy.
Secretary of the Treasury Shaw, at
the Fifth Avenue Hotel the other
evening, incident to a discussion of
the Chinese question, told a. story on
himself.
"Some years ago," he said, "when
I had to make a frayed collar do ser
vice as long as possible, I undertook
to show a Chinese laundryman, In
dumb show, that I wanted several
collars turned inside out.
"He seemed to understand, but as
he handed me the check he inquired:
" 'You no 'Melican man? You no
speak Englis'?'
"And he seemed quite sorry for me."
—New York Times.
Proof of Filial Affection.
When a Carthage father became so
badly jagged a few nights ago that he
could not walk, his muscular son threw
him over his shoulder and "toted" him
home much as ho would have carried
a sack cf flour—an exhibition which
tends to disprove the theory that filial
affection is decreasing.—Kansas City
Journal.
A Three Days' Jag
On Sulphuric Acid.
Ex-Representative Morgan of Mis
souri tells a good rlury about an old
toper in the state of the muddy water.
When be first settled down to practice
the town boasted of a drug store run
by one of his friends. The store had
a soda fountain and back of this, with
the bottles of liquids otherwise medi
cinal, was placed a bottle of whisky.
In the town was an octogenarian,
known as Uncle Billy. It was Uncle
Billy's habit to step into the drug
store every morning, pass behind the
counter, and help himself to a tum
bler of whisky.
"Good mornin'," he always said, and
"Good mornin', Uncle Billy," every
body said to him. That was about all
that passed in a conversational way as
he made his regular morning call.
One morning Uncle Billy had made
his regular visit to the habitat of the
whisky bottle, and was just disappear
ing through the door when the drug
gist discovered that Uncle Billy had
drunk out of the wrong bottle. He
had taken his potion from a bottle of
sulphuric acid. Well, the druggist was
almost panic-stricken. Uncle Billy
had gotten out of sight, meantime,
and the druggist closed the door of his
shop, and in fear and trembling sent
for his friend, the struggling young
lawyer who later represented the state
in congress. When told the situation
Life's Plons Seem
Sadly Out of Joint.
If, indeed, the intention was that
life should mean happiness, how sad
has been the blundering! For consid
er, for one thing, the pitiful ignorance
which has resulted in such tragic suf
fering to humanity. As a matter of
fact, man has been cheated of his
birthright, supposing him entitled to
happiness, for has he not been com
pelled, unaided, to wrestle with the
problem of fitting himself to his en
vironment? Through long ages, by
sweat of brow, travail of spirit and
onerous physical toil, he has struggled
to adjust himself to conditions into
which he was thrust. He found no
paradise of happiness free to all. Life
is a perpetual struggle, not elysium,
says Vogue. Not only have millions
been the victims of hideous slavery,
but the whole race, from all time, has
suffered cruelly because of ignorance,
the most pathetic phase of this suffer
ing being the unpremeditated cruelty
and injustice which results from ig
norant parentage. Can those who
claim happiness as a birthright explain
why sentient beings predestined for
Some of the Popular
Cures for Rheumatism.
American men of science have re
turned to an old cure for rheumatism,
in the shape of bee stings. Tho scien
tific explanation is that a bee when
stinging injects formic acid which is a
cure for rheumatism. What probably
happens is that the patient, after hav
ing sat for some time on the beehive,
forgets all about tho rheumatism.
It is, probably the long continuance
of damp weather which has inspired
so many newspaper correspondents to
give the world just now their notions
on cures for rheumatism. We referred
briefly the other day to the American
revival of cure by bee stings—a meas
ure heroic enough to please every Si
mon Stylites in the world; and now
we are told in the press of a cure by
means of a mole's foot worn next to
the skin, suspended from the neck by
a silken cord so that it hangs a little
below the chest. In many jewelers'
shops one may see "rings for rheum
atism," it being a common faith
among even educated people that a
metal ring worn on the little finger of
VOLUNTEERS FOR THE FRONT.
Embarrassing Mistake Made by a
Visitor to Hayti.
That the character of the frequent
revolutions In Hayti tends decidedly
toward opera bouffe is attested by a
story which has gained currency in
the navy department during the last
week. It emanated from a man who
held, under one of the mushroom gov
ernments of Hayti, the post of admiral
of the Haytian navy, the same office
held by Admiral Killick, who is re
ported to have gone to the bottom
with his ship, the Crete-a-Pierrot,
when it was sunk by the German gun
boat Panther.
The admiral was standing in the
doorway of a hotel in Port au Prince
in company with another American,
who was familiar with Haytian cus
toms.
Down the main street came a band
of negroes. They were ignorant look
ing and seemed little inclined to
march ahead, but were forced along
against their wills by the persuasive
powers of long black whips in the
hands of brilliantly uniformed per
sons, evidently officers of the Haytian
army.
"Who are those—convicts?" asked
the admiral, turning to his friend.
The friend appeared surprised, for
he had just finished talking of the rev
olution reported to be raging outside
Port au Prince. "Why, no indeed,
they're not convicts," he replied.
"They are volunteers going to the
front."
Morgan advised that the only thing
to do was to open the doors just as if
nothing had happened and to await
developments.
Both momentarily expected word of
Uncle Billy's death. Three days
passed and no word came. Finally
they were about to conclude that he
had dropped dead from his dose of
the poison in some obscure spot
where no one had yet come along to
discover him, when Uncle Billy, look
ing a little the worse for wear, but
smiling all over, walked In rather ner
vously. The druggist was beside him
self for joy.
"Glad to see you, Uncle Billy," he
exclaimed, and repeated. "I am cer
tainly glad to see you this morning.
I've got a bottle of the finest brand
of whisky I want you to try."
"Sorry," answered Uncle Billy, "but
the fact is the last time I was here I 4
got some that was a leetle bit dlffer
er,t from anything 1 ever had before.
But it was the finest I ever tasted,
and I think I will stick to that."
And the old man, who, instead of
being killed by tho poison, had got
ten a three days' jag on it, insisted on
being allowed to sample the sulphuric
acid again.
A practical joke is a fool's cowardly
insult.
happiness are not put in the way of
achieving it? For instance, is the fate
which is supposed to dispense happi
ness asleep, or gone on a journey,
that it permits northern capitalistic
unholy love of money to combine with
southern parental greed for the tor
ture of children, in the process of mill
money getting? If happiness be the de
signed portion for humanity, then are
life's plans sadly out of joint, for the
most cunning of malevolent spirits
could not possibly devise greater vari
ety or more lacerating kinds of misery
than those which human beings in all
grades of society are made to experi
ence. Apart from the inevitable per
sonal sorrows which affect all, how is
it possible for any but the very young
or the very selfish to be happy in a
world where the majority are miser
able because of disease, little health,
dire poverty, incapacity, onerous la
bor or cruel anxiety? Life as disci
pline for character-building is an in
spiring conception. Life as an abor
tive happy hunting ground is an appal
ling theory.
tne left hand Is a cure Infallible. But
of all these notions the most Interest
ing and probably the most popular in
England is that known by the name of
the potato cure, as the London Globe
says. It is said that if a person suf
fering from rheumatism will carry a
potato about with him he will find
himself free from pain and distress.
It is asserted that a potato carried in
the pocket of a rheumatic person will
speedily become as hard a3 a rock,
while in tho keeping of a person free
from the complaint it remains in its
ordinary condition. Therefore it would
appear as if the explanation of "faith"
in this case does not apply—as it
would perhaps in the matter of
charms, So far as we know, science
has no pronounced judgment on the
potato cure, but it would certainly be
interesting to obtain a scientific ex
planation of the hardening of the po
tato.
Revenge may be sweet if one could
forget.
WHAT MOST IMPRESSED HIM.
How Young Moody Came to Admire
Fortitude of Stephen.
Paul D. Moody, son of the evangel
ist, was a class deacon and a power
of righteousness in his class at Yale
—l9Ol. To MB strength of character
were added companionable qualities
that made him very popular with his
fellows.
One day Paul was induced to get
into tho exhilarating game of "nigger
Through a conspiracy it devolved
baby"—a favorite campus pastime,
upon him to pay the rigorous penalty
of the game, which consisted in
crouching against Alumni hall while
the other participants, fifty feet away
took three shots each at him with a
tennis ball. Great was the hope of
the Philistines that a worldly, un
deaconlike cry would burst from the
target at some stinging hit, but none
came.
"I guess you swore under your
breath once or twice, anyway; now,
didn t you, Paul?" a follow player
asked, when the ordeal was over.
"No, I didn't," replied Moody frank
ly. "But, I tell you wnen 'Bob' Rob
ertson (the 'Varsity pitcher) was
throwing, I appreciated as never
before the magnificent fortitude of
Stephen, the stoned martyr."
Newfoundland Sparsely Settled.
The Island of Newfoundland—a ter
ritory as large as the state of New
York—has only about 960,000 inhab
itants, and these are sprinkled along
the coast line.