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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Advocate, 1900-5-17, Page 67 CHAPTER 1. 'Wanted a tutor for a little boy. Sal - no object if credeatials auKt attain- naente ere satisfactory. An eiderlY gentleman of quiet habits preferred. Address Lady Leigh, Leigh Park, Down -- ?shire." -•‘-1 annale notiee in a local paper, but lxreductive of some ee:eitenleet hi- the quiet country °nth, where it is seen .for the first tirae and read aloud. "Tbe Lille end a the wedge at last," drawls a conceited -looking man, with pale, pronalueut blue eyes and heavy eneber wastaeties, who is most oommena-- ly known to Ids triends as the Heath- en Chiuee, but to the world at large as the Houorable Graver 11featle. "The inveterate hater of our see has, after all, discovered that a certain amount of male soeiety is indiepensable ana takes this opportunity of avowing her mistake." "Let us take our triumph m.odestly," laughs another; "for after all she has entitle a gallant defense and stuck to ther colors seven years," "Only to raise the siefee at last." "Soercely thatlc is not en unceti- , ditional surrender. Mark well, the cid• vertieement rtins—`An elderly geuLle- man of quiet habits preferred.' " "That's for appearances. Anybody San see what it means." "Everybody has not your astuteeess, Graver. Now, to my simple intellig- ence, it seems as though she meant trhat. she said; as though she were sae- eificing her own. feelings for the sake of her child. But this explanation is too natural tied commonplace and net one to be received with much favor. Seeing this, ,the speaker takes up the Saturday Re- view and abandoning the topic, buries ihimself in its pages. He is a man sufficiently well-favorecl to alsva.ys attract attention, and yet free from any beauty that might be justly termed effeminate. The lips are rather sad. and often compressed in anger or scorn; the face itself is bronz- ed and disfigured with a scar, but the eyes are clear and keen, ana a smile will flash into them at times singul- arly sweet and winning. His figure is weal knit; his voice is low, and has the reputation of being very fascinating, toe; in addition he is one of the best partis in a county where all the landowners are rich and most of them well-barn—ultra-conserv- ative Downshire. Be was enly twenty-two when he came inti, his heritage, and for one year he raveled in all the advantages that wealth can glee when one is young. Then, apparently suddenly tir- ing of the too thinlyevelled flattery and homage that came to him from all aides alike, he exchanged, at the time of the Indian mutiny, from the crack eavalry corps in which he was lieuten- ant into a native infantry regiment. Promotion in those tsoublous times was swifts and, after ten years' absence, he retired, a.ncl returned to his native land as c,olonel. Some stories had been afloat at the time of his departure in reference to a supposed entanglement -with a too fair daughter of Judah; but the con- eervative county shuddered at the bare idea of such an esclandre, refusing the story all credence, while not even the most curious would have dared to ques- tion Gervase Dare himself as to the truth of the reports. 'Seven years' mourning! A most respectable term of widowhood; not ev- en a good hu_sba.nd could expect more; and I don't think the late Lord Leigh was ever accused of being that," con- tinues the Heathen Cnieee. languidly. "And another year will see her mar- ried again, the ice being once broken; let us hope that it will prove a more fortunate venture. A grand chance for all they ounger sons. Wish I wasn't out of the list," says Mr. Crossoe Brere- ton, dolefully; he is a married man and a member of Parliament„ seldom find- ing leisure for a gossip at the club, and enjoying it all the more when prac- ticable. She was a beautiful child when Leigh married her, and must be a lovely woman"etill," "She may take a fancy to me." lisps Captain Venere, complacently. "I'm not so bad -booking, they tell me." The other shekes his head in decided megative, "You don't catch a bird twice with the same chaff. and Leigh was the handsomest man of his day." "She ine,y prefer intelligence this dine," observes the Honorable Graver hand resting on his head, "and let your "And that will be fatal to your in wife be one that you will not be asham- barest," puts in Colonel Dare, quietly. "According to your account, no one Ilnas a chance," says Captain Venue, densely. "T don't think any one has." w "Ex feet the elderly tutor—lucky fel- lo!" drawls the Heathen Chinee. `Tor my part," declares Captain Ven - am, "I disbelieve entirely in this rare avis. I don't mind betting anybody a. pony that .she chooses the best looking man' [bat presents himself as her son's guide to knowledge." "I'll take the bet, Venere." It is Colonel Dare who speaks and all turn to him in astonishm.ent. "Ho you know her?" asks Mr. Crosse- Seeereton, jealously, feeling injured that eebody besides himself should be able ro claim acquaintance with the xnys- terieus ledy who for seven years has lived so secluded a life on her awn do - "No.. l' have never even seen her. But the idea of a woman whose sole aim in tile is not the subjuga,tioa of our sex ifs so refreshing, that I am only anxi- ous to prove it real. If I lose— Well it is only one more disappointment, that is all!" "How is it to be decided? We eannot well manage to see all the unsuccessful candidates. and the bea,uty will have to go by comparison: Tutors are not generally noted for their good looks." "Let us go ourselves, Venere; that will be the safest test," atswers Gra- vir and his suggeetion is re- ed. with acclamation. "Of eourse ata oat oi it myself," Cn t; a Mr. rosse-Brereton, with aac- cent of regret; "but' shall, he MIX- fOtIS to hear the result. l fancy Dare will have the best of it; these weather- ieaten werrioref easy aye win the dae ." "Is it quite fair I" demurs the col- onel, doubtfully, i Mgnoring the compli- erit, received. F "air Of course, it's fair! Ail is fair in love and war," laughs Captain Vetere. "13ut this is education." "Same thing, Cupid has to teach his est, and ladies, es O. rttle, are apt pu- pils." Colonel, La re frowns d approv i ugly his mo the rat words and told her at Cep Cain ere aere ts favorite -0f his, and be hell repents haviug entered in- to this eegegement. The Heatheu Chinee rises, straggling with a stifled' yawn- cite. "net* fortune ter a new ex Ment I" he exelaims, devoutly, pulling ttis long amber musta,ohee, "Pin eff." "Where to, Graver i" is the geneeal "To psecond-hand shop, to plok up a Isla of seedy hawk." The roue' of laughter, that greets his information, startle.s two elderly gen- tlemen who are quietlY reading the pewees at the farther end of the roora, but the. °eject oE the .merrime,nt 03 quite unmoved, and deports in hapey assurance of his ultimate secoess. Even a "suit et seedyblack," he is con- ineed miu,st be irresistible. captain Venere pulls out eis pocket- book and enters the bet. "If one of us is accepted, we shall !lave to engage a female Paris to de- cide as to who is the comeliest," he says, laughing. "Be content," answers Colonel Dare, gravely; "the golden apple is youra. We will not dispute it," and then, \vitt leastily-suppressed sigh, he turns and leaves the room. "He's e queer fish," observes Cep- taiu Venere, with a vexed shadow on his handsome face, as the green baize door swings to behind the colonel. "If nevee can raeke him out," "Nor I either," assents the M. P., uneasily. "He seems to take this joke very seriously; I hope it may end well." In the meantirue Colonel Dare strides on swiftly through the one quiet street which constitutes the town, until he reaches the small rustic inn where his dog cart is in waiting. The g,rooin stares a. little at his mast- er's impassive face as he jumps in, and, taking the reins; (lashes the horse in- to a quick gallop. The colonel does not slacken speed until he reaches his own gates, and then, suddenly bethinking himself, pulls up, and drives more slowly. The flave n no reason for re can aye his former haste, for, once in the pri- vacy of his own room, be hides his face in his hands, and for a long time is lost in thou,ght. When he raises his head his eyes are saddened, and his lips, unconcealed by mustaches, are sterner even than their wont. From a small chewer in a writ- ing table before him he takes out a case and holds it for some minutes in his hand, as though hesitating whee titer to open it or not. It is only a little battered brown case, apparently containing nothing of dark hair, and glowing eyes that re- verently, knowing. it is the epitome of the story of his life. In it there are two likene,sses. One is a photograph from an oil painting of a lady with. sad, stern eyes half hidden by the soft gray curls feeling over her forehead, and a mass of filray lace, who, from the strong likeness she bears to the man before her. can only Pc his mother. The other is a tinted miniature on ivory of a girl with rich, dark hair, and gar:eying eyes that re- deem the decidedLy marked features that are portrayed there, After all, there must have been some truth in that story of ten years ago, for the ripe, red lips, so perfect in their outline, and the delicate acquiline nose mark -plainly the rade from which she sprang. The strong man quivers as he gazes upon , the beautiful imaged face and remembers all she might have been to him, and was not. He almost dashes the miniature te the ground. "What has brought her into my mind to -day ?" he mutters, impatiently , — "the unhappy girl who ruined my life and her own 1" Ten years ego! Living then, they seemed long enough; but now, looking back, they are like the shortest dream. The story that had shadowed, his life was a sad one, but perhaps not uncom- mon; it is not always the man who tempts or the woman whose weakness is betrayed. Even a Samson may fall into the bands of a Delilah. Ten years ago he had been young and free from care. The natural sor- row at bis father's death had been as either his courage has fatted hira naturally dispelled, and when, after last, or he thinks he cannot do justice awhile, he left his newly -acquired es -1 to hina,seif in a "suit of seedy black." tate. it was highest hopes and. firm- At any rate he has given it up, and est faith in what the future had. in Ls only present now as urapire, in3a e store for him, only saddened for a pire should be needed. moment by his mother's parting words. "I "believe you will be accepted., She had taken him down the long Dare," goes on Captain Venere, cross-- picture -gallery and told hira the his- ly. tory of each ancestor hanging there; "Heaven forbid!" ejaculated the oth- how the men had always been honor- er. devoutly. able and brave, the Women fair and That such a thing may occur has nev of noblbirth. - "Try to be worthy of them, dear Ger- er aannia ohmsenhtassearnioiyusliyoiennetderiend the s e vase" she had whispered gently, her joke from curiosity, as the only meth- od of obtaining a glimpse of the re- puted taanhater, and partly because a ed to bring here—to rae." They were. simple words. if solemtien, f"regleinsgfor himosiiehlienotaccountnv,landhecahnasnopotvei yet destined to have mere influence ev- to resist. er his future fate than either of themle.an with the fat that an ordinary pork eould have su,pposed. disguise hiinself much, but Colonel to pig, cannot produce. His t deney to At 0 garden party at, weahmend, giv- Dare is completely transformed. The fatten unduly is fatnl to bine The pig en by some of his bachelor brother of- loose, ill-fitting suit is a masterpiece ficers, be had met a beautiful Jewess, of Heim nee the long, iron -gray wig invited had any of the ladies of the fee find blue spectacles are no less success - who could certainly never have been an the eattio lam tbat he could eeyer make lier nes wife. 2. Such stormy scenes followed, So reanY renroughes and prayers, that the boy was nearly overcome by their frequent repetition, and only saved hint5elf by flight, 1000111ms be was no match for the .\\ ity woman who had ensnared him, he realized that diseretion in this case really was the better part of valor; and he excbanged into an Indian re- giment, without telling any one of his intention beforeharid, so that it was from Malta he wrote his faresvells. To his mother he tole. the whole story and she, knowing tlaat through souse such probation all must pass allice, readily forgave 'him and sent her loving sympa.thy and regret. But the story was not fated to end Parc. Six months later, when the whole country was emayalsecl with the horrors of the rcia.seacre of Cawnpore, it was Gervase Dare's duty to go and try to reinfu,se some order into that fearful scene, it was a sight) to make the strongest shudder. The dead were Lying in heaps, Leering marks of the mutilation they had received frout their implacable en- emies; and here and there was to be seen the body of a Sepoy who had been eut down in the midst of his savage fury, e demoniac smile still hovering over the cruel colored face. it was indeed a fearful seene to wit- ness; but a greater trial awaited the brave young officer who had already distinguished. himself in the fighting that had taken pilace, and who, ow- ing to mene- gaps caused by death, had won lais company. On the very edge of the fatal well lay a form that made his heart leap to his moo.th. It was, the work of a mo- ment to alight from his saddle and turn her face to the light ;this worst fears were confirmed, and with a wild cry of "Rachel 1 Rachel I" he lost all con- sciousness of his pain. Whether she had followed him inten- tionally, or whether some outward fate had brought her there, he never heard; he only knew that the woman he loved was dead, and that, faulty and un- womanly as She had doubtless been, for him there was no other in the world. But that was lotng ago, and years later, when he revisited the spot and gazed upon the fair white monument with its inscription, "In Memoriam," and wandered through' the lovely gar- dens that surround it like an oasis in the sandy region of Cawnpore, he could scarcely realize or remember the agony that he had. suffered then. And so it is doubly stra.nge that she should come into his mind now, and that he should feel the same fierce re- sentment burning still. He raises his mother's pictured face to his lips in tender reverence. "Perhaps I may yet meet a woman who is guikless alai, true," he murmurs —" one that I need, not be ashamed to bring to the house that was your home." CHAPTER II. • Even Captain Venere feels abashed when he comes before a woman so regal in her presence and with such an air of gentle hauteur, ana he knows that he has made a mistake. He is glad, after a few curt sentences have passed between himself and Lady Leigh, to mutter an incoherent ex- ellee and withdraw, withont waiting - for the dismissel he is convinced will come, and Lady Leigh is too uninterest- ed and distraite to notice anything un- usual in his manner. She had only seen that he was young, even good- looking, and these were suffizient arguments against him. For the first time in his life the Young dandy is thoroughly crestfal- len, and does not even pretend to his usual presence of mind when he joins the others, who are waiting for him some distance off. "She never seemed. tci see me; she is as cold and indifferent as a marble statue," he complains, indignantly. "Waiting for another Pygmalion, Perhaps," put in Mr. Meade, languid- ty. Mr Meade has retired from the lists; th 0 prirprivitia Di= .° u imu Uri ULLUr -- 4, 00. 111,11.. 0 .0.0.0.000.04,409000.0.0.0V J. M. Imboclen of Decatur, Mee hi an address dellveged before an asso- ciation of stock breeders, gave his ideas as to beef cattle points as fol- lows: "Theee is no one breed or beef cattle better than ail others under ah circumstances and conditions. Tito trouble with cattle from the butchers' staudpoiut is too big shoulders, giv- ing the fore quarters too large a pro- portion to the rest of the carcass. The muscles that are exercised the most are the toughest. leer this reason the inside two-thirds of the round is good, While the outside third is not so good. A thick, mellow hide—not a hare, hush hide—deaotes more clean meat than a thin hide. A straight back, well sprung rib and width of loin indicates a large amount of 'the high priced meats in the carcass. The companison of animals M. the show ring is •often, so close that the awarding of the prize trails on a very small point, as a tie or a dimple in the back, which cuts no figure in the usefulnessor profit of the animal. A typical beef animal should have a thicker neck tba.0 ,the dairy breeds, the flesh should begin at the treat, the animal should have the greatest possible thickness of flesh along the hack between the shoulders and the hips, and the width of the hip should be carried forward to the shoulders. The A.ngus are the thicltest fleshed beef cattle. Their greatest fault is too much of a spread of the shoulder blades at the top. They do not mature quite as quick as the Here- fords. It would be hard to tell whicb of the beef breeds a.t 30 months old on the same care and feed would make the greatest gain. Young a.ninials de- velop muscle along witb the fat and when fattened young contain a. larger proportion of lean meat to the fat and hence more profitable to the butcher. The first 1,000 pounds put on a steer is the cheapest, as the animal is grow- ing as well as fatteuiug, arta the. cost of the increase of weight increases with age." Pork- mud Bacon Hogs. The ordinary pig is a phlegmatic ani- mal, given to eating much and laying on fat at a rate that delights its Miler, says a correspoadent of The American Cultivator. There is nothing nervous or high strung in him—so different from the fine dairy cow, horse or thor- oughbred sheep. The pig's disposition Is perfectly adapted by nature to the life it leads, and so anybody can fatten one if there is plenty of food at hand. He is the poor man's frieucl, too, be- cause he will eat almost anything. But there is a dilleirence even in pigs, and breeders are eust beginaing to real- ize that there are nervous, high struug breeds that will not so readily fatten. These nervous pigs are not adapted to the work ordinarily required of them. They would till the pork barrel very slowly and make doubtful profits for the owner. But they are not without their use in the world. They have a mission to perform that has been only faintly realized in this country. The nervous temperament in the pig makes him essentially the bacon pig. Here we have the two broad distinc- tions that should be observed careful- ly, the phlegmatic pig for the pork bar- rel and the nervous, high strung pig for making bacon. The former makes poor bacon. The meat is too fat anti greasy, and it sells poorly in the mar- ket. Good bacon needs the streaks of regiments been expected, although no Altogether, he looks as like a Germ with a nervous temperament, on the contrary, will not pay for pork, but it will prove a good profit as a bacon pig. thing could heve been urged against professor as it is possible for a man her antecedents or present conduct. Her mother was with her; and. other ladies to, look who has been a. soldier for the were there whose exclusion from. the it years of his life, and has a deep, unscholarly scar all down one side a inner circles of society was less mark- ed; and, although Gervase Dare knew his face. But women, as a rule, he from the moment when he saw ber first ;hinks, are not observant ; and it is to that this was not the woman he could' this peculia,rity in their general char - introduce to his ancestral home as his( acter that he has trusted his safety. bride„ although that knowledge haunt- I "Heaven forbid!" he bad exclaimed, w ed hien o- with a strange persistence coI exaclinitellYt;nean"Andel Iberlh after d fteai-dalnaes l lit would sicleriag it was their first meeting—and Pc easy to get out cif it." that alone should. surely have warned I of his danger—he m. could not resist But Captain Venere is becoming ire- hier side and listening to patient. For him the joke has lost lingering at h her low -toned. voice. Its zest, and his vanity is so deeply hurt that his temper has suffered. With a woenan's quickness of pereep- too. tion, she saw the conquest she had e made, and determined to turn it to Make haste, do, Dare, if you really her advantage. She loved laim—yesev- , mean to go; We cannot wait here all en then she /oven hinx, returning his day," he says, with an injured air, and l'h43 Heathen Chinee bs'els his request passion as recklessly as it was offered; with e violent yawn. but net for an inataiat did she hesitate to rum his life by linls- And so Gervase Daze goes, and. direct - in her resolve ing it with her own. tae was rich, ly he has crossed_ the threshold a subtle feeling comes over him that perhaps he nen-barn, and could raise her to [hal petition for which she longed. and has not been Wise in risking so much out of mere ceriosity. from which she was hopelessly debate-- His keen eyes detect instantly Chet ed by that accident of birth. Women this house is different from any other less beantiful had made marriages suf- ficiently brillitint'to obliterate their he has ever entered. before—everything is so old-fashioned and quaint. Be- Pasta—why should not she? sides this, 'there is no single eign of Ancl so for two Months the unequal t man% present,. game went on, she a woman of the , To be Continueda world, though not in It; he a beardless boy, with too little experience to guess to w -hat all this was leading. The bright smiles that, greetect his approach and Lae brighter tears that started so nat- arally at his departure were bewilder- ing enough to blind, the judgment and daze the senses of even an older man: Mb in his weakest moment, when led en to confess his Mire, he rerneMbered PrOof "Ott, but he's not a reel poet!" "Why'r" •"Here is a place where he netkoe wind rhyme with sinned instead of blind or find or something ofthat SAVING THE RANGES. Stiecessfal Cultivatiou of Alfalfa ou the l'ittins, Promising experheente are being conducted in Texas under the direction ef the national department of agricul- ture in au ellost to find a way oe re- storing the cattle senses almost de- stroyecl by overstocking, says the Nov York Evening Post. \\rhea the land Upon tsiiich the experiments have been Conducted was snown to a committee of experienced stocecmen elarele 1895, they decided that it would re- quire 10 acres of it to support a cow throug,h the season and expressed sonic doubt as to whether the yield or grass would be sufficient for that, ana this season the agent in charge has been pasturing cattle on this land at the rate oil one to:14 for every eight acres. aniere is now au unbeeken turf over the entire land aud a fine carpet ot grass. Before the experiments were commenced one-half me the land was devoid of vegetation and almost as hard and barren as a pitvement. Sev- eral of the experiments wale the iatro- duction of foreign grasses and foreign plants have proved successful. Chief among these is the experiment with the "oasis" alfalfa. This is an alfalfa that was found growing without irri- gation on the bigh plains of India. The agricultural department secured one pint of seecl and sent them to the agent for trial. This alfalfa grew rapidly and reached a heigbt of some two feet. In July the drought set in, and by Sept. 1 the agent had reported to Washington that this alfalfa was all dead, and to every appearance it was. On Oct. 29 the rains came. Green shoots started from the roots, and from that date alfalfa eight inches tall was cut. • Work Porsen Wanted. The mark.et reports are just now con- firming the prediction made last fall that farmers woula buy large numbers of horses this spring, says The Na- tional Stockman. When earmers In sections that formerly marketed a big surplus of horses have to go to the cities to buy, it is evident that the sup- ply of ordinary warts horses is no lon- ger excessive. We may look for a big run of range horses eastward this year. There are still a good many range horses available, but good sized ones are not a 'very largp proportion of the supply. Some web broken branded horses are now selling at fair prices iu the market and at country points, but they do not, as a rule, come airect from the range. Range stock will cerise for- ward before long, however, as I be win- ter hes been mild, and the horses have come throtigh in ,splendid condition. MixingAlfalfa. ' A good growth of alfalfa Was obtain- edin south jetecy last season by mix- ing the seed with sell washed from Well grown pannefrom the New jer- sey station field, letting the mixture stand over night end Sowing all to- gether, aftetwinel sprinkling the plot with 'N'Oter 11:1 Wilieh the plants had been soaked. The advice is to get ,a sleind by thick sowing and extra care on well Cm -Menet soil fuel use the soil from this to inoculate the seed for mote extemleci sowing. Alfelfe Is west desirable of the clovers en every ac- count.. FINE Ala IN 3IURT)Eli THE MINING ENGINEER'S STORY OF AN ASSASSINATION, It Was Not a Clumsy Butchery, but Was • Executed With a AVI:tuesio Present and Yet Exelted Not Even is Suggestion of Sutilnieinii. "So they located him in St. Louis, and they hanged lam in Chicago inside of a year, all beeause of half it broken cuff button in the dead mans room. It was a little thing, but some such little thing is always there to tell the tale, Murdet will out." And the police haspector stretch- ed his feet ott the opposite seat of the emoking comparunent and leaned back with tho air of a man who has thoroughly demonstrated his proposition. "Yes, murder vill out—maybe," replied the mining engineer as he adjusted the stern fragment ot a cigar into an ember holder for a new lease of smoke. "There is nothing that strikes ine as more palpa- bly inconclusive than that same quota- tion. Of course some murders come out, sad it is only those that do come out that stand any chance of belies identified as matelers Take a practical view a it If really crafty man wants to commit 111l11:del', do you suppose he is going to knock his game on the head with a club or shoot him ,ttp`ii whole lot on the public highway? Talk about De Quincey's `Mur- der as a Fine Art!' • I never could see any art about it. All of his murders were clumsy butcheries without any char- acter to them except buckets of blood. Why, I knew an engineer of an electric plant down in South America who could have given De Qeincey points and who put his man out of the way so that the corouer didn't think it worth while to hold an inquest. "You See, they had put in an electric light plant le Caracas along with an ice machine and some artesian wells, so the town was feeling, pretty raetropolitan. The company had . to take all its help down there from the Stetes, but when the plant was up and running they sent Get Acquainted With Sheep. the most of them brick or drafted these It is not enough to go into the sheep off on other jobs, so that about all they kept were a few linemen and the enge :leer and his assistant. These two engi- neers were thrown together all the time, slept in the same quarters, ate at the same table and quite naturally in three months were ready to kill each other on The assistant taught the chief poker, end the chief developed rapidly, and pret- ty soon put his instructor into the,hole foe about two months' wages. It was summer. The weather was muggy as the inside of a Turkish bath. They hated each other and had nobody else to talk to. They played cards ha self defense aft- er work was over, and they snarled over every jack pot. The weather was in their nerves until they felt as though yellow fever with a furlough attached would be an undisguised blessing. "The assistant couldn't see any way of winniug himself out of the hole, and he made up his mind to get even and quit or kill the chief. So one night when the oth- er had thrown out some slur about people that played for paper because it was easy paid the assistant made the chief a prop- osition to play him °lie cold hand double or quits. The chief held something like a full house to a four flush, and then the other made up his mind to kill him aud put an end to it all. "It was before the days of direct con- nected dynamos, and the plant was fixed with an old Westinghouse horizontal en- gine and a belt connected double brusla dynamo set at the other end of the room far enough off to give the belt a good sway on the pulleys. He told me he often sat smoking and figuring just how he could get rid of the chief. Fie was preju- diced against poison, because he didn't think it could be worked without leaving a clew. He thought sometimes of tripping the old man into the fly wheel when the plant was running, but there might be some hitch about that, as the firemen were always just inside the boiler room, and besides the chief didn't drink, and engineers don't stumble into their ma- chines when they ere sober. Finally he hit what he thought was a good plan. "The old man, vslio wasn't any older than his assistant, always oiled round just at midnight. When the chief looked at the clock and started after his oil can, the assistant went to the closet and took out a good sized wad of waste and dipped it in the water bucket. Then he walked up close to the driving wheel of the en- gine. Naturally the driving wheel was bigger than the pulley wheel of the dyna- mo, so the belt ran on a down grade to the small pulley, passing right alongside the brass oil cup on the Main journal. "When the chief lifted the cap of the oil cup, the assistant calledtto the dago in the fireroom to lend hini a match. 'That was merely to pet a witness on hand. Then he dropped his wad of wet waste on the running belt find walked toward the fireroom door. The wad of waste stuck where it was dropped and was car- ried clown like a flash by the belt. It fetched bp slap between the oil cup end the brusbes and grounded 2,000 volts of alternating current right through the eltiers Imuci. , - "The lights blinked just as the dago showed up in the doorway, and, thus call- ing the assistant's attention to what had happened. he reached over and yanked, the belt off the driver at the imminent risk of losieg his own arm. The engine raced a bit. but be but her down before any harm wns done, and then they struck a light and went to the assistance of the chief. But it was too late. He died without ever recovering consciousness. "The fireman, who didn't know the dif- ferelice between oil and water in a piece Costly Sires. of waste, told marvelous tales about the The great obstacle to the Improve- assistant's quick valet o shutting down barn two or three times a day, throw down a little hay, give them a mouth- ful of grain and let it go at that, says a correspondent of The Rural New York- er. The successful inan gets acquaint- ed with his dock—many of them indi- vidually—during the winter and in lambing time almost lives witb them. No two sheep look- alike. Their faces and voices are diefeeent. The reference in the Bible to calling sheep by name IS ,,no exaggeration. Several winters' experience taught tue that they have more intelligence than most people think. They learn to know a Person who uses them well. A pocketful of corn given as a treat at odd times will get their good will. They crowd around one of their human friends in such eases as officeseekers besiege a cautli- date tvho has promised them, fat posi- tions. Of course there are sbeep with such strains of wild blood that it is difficult to tame them. Some tneu 00 not wish them tame, because they get in the way, but L prefer this to having them scurry to one corner, of the yard as though a wild beast was after them, as they will do after a few courses ell tilt kick and yell treatment given be some farmers. They learn to get out of the way if ill used and will teach the owner such practical pocketbook sub- traction that he will conclude that there is ne money in them. So much. for the sentimental side of the sheep business, but sentiment that arouses an interest in the welfare of men and animals is connected with common' sense and a good plank for a farmer to have in his platform if he cares for the good will of his family and neighbor and his financial success. Breeding Young Sows. All farmers k.now that, other things being equal, a litter of pigs from a sow 3, 4 awl even 5 years old produces stronger and better pigs as well as a greater number than from a young sow, says The American Cultivator. The first litter when the sow pig is bred under a year olcl 18 pretty sure td, have one, two or three runts in ite That means that the young sow was not able to appropriate sufficient nour- ishmeat to bring forth all the pigs that she conceived when. impregnated. If the gestation continued longer, some of these would have died, and the litter would be smaller than It is. Still there Is an advantage in thus breeding sows as soon as possible, even though the first litter Is not worth much. Fatten these first litters for roasters and sell them at 10 to 12 weeks old whenever there is good demand for them. Then without waiting for the sow to fatten up after her pigs are taken from her breed her again. She must be fed very sparingly, and •yet with nourishing food that will make the sow grow rath- er than fatten. ln five or six weeks the pigs in her fetus will begin to draw upon the sow and increase her appetite. Then her own rations must Pc increased. In this way she can be made to grow instead of fatten, and the litter of pigs will be much better than the first. mutt of farm stock is the cost of thor- oughbred sires of the best breeds which are needed to grade up tbe stock they now have, says The American Cultivator. Why cannot such farmers who live near together unite in pur- chasing a superior animal that will serne till in the vicinity? Those wno help pay for the male will secure ins services free, while others earl get the same service on payment of a fee that will In most ceses more than pay the cost of the remote -Ise in a fete yeare. We note in a western paper that some farmers have been swindled by the purchase of a horse because it was a fine looking grade, btit which proved' worthless as a stock getter la7merise lie was of no particular breed. Only thor- oughbreds 'can be depended on as breeders. Whoever buys should he a good judge of stock, for the therougle bred may [lave eharaetetistice that will detract from his Value for breeding, the plant, and the directors of the com- pany gave him the chief's vacant berth along with a raise of wages and a beauti- ful letter complimenting him on his emit - age end promptitude in the emergency. "I -Ie worked a dredge engine for in afterward down on the coaSt,' and when he WaS about passing out with chagees fever be told um the stosy to ease his mind. Poe praeticel purposes, I don't think that murder ever came out."—New York San. , ror His System. "Chnriey, deer," said ;mime Mrs. Tor kips, "I want you -to premise me. some- thing," • "What do you waet atow?" "1 teaeit you to Promise that yen will take some new medicine 1 iiitee notice (hitt whenever the races' come to town eou are elways complainfng about, your seatent Last year you, said your system Went' wrong, and it cast you 880. So I think you ought to take some - thine right levee teed, save doctor bills." --Wasiainatou Star.