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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1899-3-9, Page 3TITE B3CETBI30 TIMES SkSter***41.'''ar44.4***44.33'31r6.‘V'bef"41‘,,SliP o.4 Love and Waree,• ART...., OF SLAVBRY DAYS. By MARY J. HOLMES. 04:4;4;f4.1aCeft:***,7•Aaaee.he'ne,"';'*-eaaneea'asen'ts.„,,,,e,aase,,,„,..'aennaas.„ . eeeseeseee • •etses eeeseeeenesea .00 dor ott f CHAPTER XIX.—Oontin.ued. The brief, speech ended, and Rose, , listening at Immo, clapped her hands in eostasy as she hea,rd the teraifia cheers and catight the name of aCaele- e ton' mingled with "Teaac Simms." "Poor boy!" she said, "I wonder how he'll get home! I wish 1 lied told Jinanate to drive that way, and take bine in the carriage." She need have given herself no un- • easiness, for what she had forgotten was remembered by jimmie, who, after a hurried consultation with Tom, in- itiated that both Isaac and his mother • saeuld take seats in tee carriage, while he and Tom mingled with the crowd, • "And your other son, there'e room foe him," he said, looking round in quest of John, who, at the last moment, had obtained permission to visit his bride, and so came on with Isaac. At a glance his eye had singled out .Susan, and the young couple were now • standing apart from the rest, exchang- ,ing rautual caresses, and words a love, the tall lieutenant kissing fondly the blushing girl who could not realize 'that she stood in the presence a her • husband. After a little it was decid- ed that Tom, and Jimmie, Mrs. Simms and Isaac, should occupy the carriage, • while John and Susan walked, and so erom her lofty stand -point, Rose watch- •eti the long procession winding down the stteets, amid the strains of music and the cannon's bellowing roar. It was very exciting to Isaac, and by the , time the cottage was leeched he was • .glad to be lifted out by Jimmie, who bore •the tired boy tenderly into the house and laid hire down on the soft, •warm bed he had dreamed about so 'many nights in the dark, filthy prison corner. Hew faint and weak he was, • ;and how glad to be home again 1 • Winding his arms around his mother's neck, he sobbed out his great joy, say- • ing amid his tears, "God was so kind to let me come back to you." It was a very happy group tee vil- lagers left' behind in that humble cot- tage, and neither John nor Susan thought it out of place when the moth- er called on them to kneel with her and thank the Giver of all good for Inc great mercy in granting them this blessing. Meantime the procession passed on untii it rea.chea the Mather mansion, where, with three eheers for Captain Carleton, the crowd dispersed, leaving Tom at liberty, to join the mother and sister waiting so impatiently for him, one on the steps, and the other in the parlor jusi where she had welcomed ,Jimmie. "If Will were only here, it would be the happiest day I ever knew," Rose ,said, as, seating herself on Tom's knee with her chubby arm around his ileac, she asked him numerous questions con-. • eerning her absent husband. Then, as she saw in him signs of weariness she said, "You, are tired, I•know. Sanas pose you go to your room till dinner- time. It's the one right at the head , of the stairs," she continued, and glad an opportunity to rest, Tom went • to the room where Annie Graham just then chanced to be. She had dis- covered that the servant had negtected to supply the rack with towels, and so she had brought themherself, lin- • gering a moment after they were ar- • ranged, to see if everything were in order. She did not hear Tom's step, until he opened the door upon her, and uttered an exclamation of surprise and apology. He had no idea who the • little black robed figure was, for though he knew the wife of George • Graham was an inmate of his sister's family, he had her in his mind as a very different person frora this one be- fore him. Mrs. Graham was young, he eupposed, and possibly good looking, • but she did not bear the stamp of re- finement and. elegance which this graceful creature did:, and fancying he had made a mistake andstumbledin- to the apartment of some city visitor, he was about to withdraw, when An- • nie came 'toward him, saying: • • "Excuse me; sir, I came in to see that all was right • in your room. Mr. Carleton, .1 presume?"' This last .Annie spoke doubtingly, for in the tall, handsome stranger be- fore her there was scarcely a vestige of the "greyish haired, oldish, father- ly' -looking man" she had in fancy known as Captain Carleton, and but for the eyes, so Much like Mrs. Math- er's, and the unmistakable Carleton curve about the mouth, she would never have dreamed that it was Tom to whom she was speaking. As it was, she waited for him to confirm her sus- picions, which he aid by bowing in the affirmative to her interrogation, "Mr. Carleton, 1 presurnee" • Then holding the door for her to eiass out, he stood watching her till she disappeared at the extreme end of • the hall, wondering who she was, and • why a mere 'visitor should take so much interest in his room. Once he • thottght of Annie Graham; ,but this could not be a widow, though the deep • mburning dress told of recent bereave- • ment, Still Annie Graham was a dif- fereni personae, he knew; and thus , perplexed, Tone instead of resting, coriesulneed his toilet for dinner, deter- mining, as soon as it was completed, to go down ised have the mystery Un- ravelled. Restless and impatient to know just • What his brother thought of Inc late treachery to the Federal Flag, Vienne • paced the parlors below until he could ' wait no loriger, arid knowing by the sounds Which came from the chamber above, that Tom %yes not trying to • sleep, he finally ran up the stairs, and .'kweeking at the chamber door, -watt •eeon oloseted with .Toitt. 11 wee ,an awkward business to speak of the pact, but Jimmie plunged alto it at once, stating some reasons Which bad led him to abjure his own gOverntnent • expressing Inc contrition for having done ste and ended by saying he hop- ed Tom if possible, would forget that •he ever'hael a rebel btother. It had. taken Tom a long time to re- cover from the shock of meeting Inc brothet in the Virginia woods, and knowing he was a traitor to his (mute - try, hut thse same genetons feeling Whiali lea him to 'ettfrain from• any al - luster. to that rattetirtg in the Mese- ages serit tet his Wither and sister atotte his Richmond prison, •now pie/mote(' hint to tetet with kitid for- ' bearanee the beolher whoin he had loved aud grieved (wee eince the days of his mischtevoue boyhood. "I should leave foundit very bard to forgive you if yeu bad staid in the Southern army," he said, "but as it le we will never meution the subjeet again. - Jimmie knew, by the warm pressure of Tone's hand, that he was forgiven, and with a burden lifted from Inc mind he was about leaving the room, when Tom, with a preliminary cough, said: "By the way, Jimmie, who has Rose got here—what visttor, 1 mean?" and Tom tried to look vastly indifferent as he buttoned his vet and hung across it• the, chain made from Mary's hair, But the ruse did not succeed. Jim- mie, IsneW he had seen Annie, and with suddenuprising of something unde- fined he • asked in sudden • sur- prise: ' "Visitor! what visitor 1 He naust have oome to -day, then, Where did you see him?" "I saw her in here," Tom replied, end Jimmie laughingly rejoined: "A pretty place for a her in your quarters! Pray, wbat was she like?" "Some like Mary, as she usecl to be when 1 firpt knew her—a little body dressea in black." With large, handsome, blue eyes? . interrupted Jimmie, while Toni, with- out suspecting that his brother's object was to aecertain how closely he had observed the figure in black, replied.: "Yes, very handsome, dreaneY eyes.,', "And pale brown curls?" was the Leasing Jimmie's next query, to which Tom quickly responded: "Curls, no. The hair was braided in wide plaits, and twisted around the head, falling low in the neck." "Not a very white neck, was it V" Jimmie continued, with imperturable gravity. "Indeed, it was," Tons said, indus- triously eoraping his thumb nail with Inc penknife. ' "White as snow, or looked so from the contrast with her dress. Who is she?" "One question rtiore—had she big feet or little, slippers or boots?" and this time J'immie's voice betrayed Toni knew he was being teased, and bursting into a laugh, he answer- ed: - "I confess to having observed her closely, but not enough so to tell the size of her slipper. Come now, who is she? Some lady you spirited away from Secessiondom? Tell me — you know you've nothing to fear from steady old Tom." For an instant the eyes of the two brothers nietwith a ciirioue, express. -slow an each, ,Both were conscious of something they were trying to con- ceal, while a feeling akin to a pang shot through Jimmie's heart as he thought how 'inu.ch •more .worthy of Annie Graham's respect was steady old Tom than a rollicking young soap& grace like himself. "From your rather minute descrip- tion I think you must hive stumbled upon the Window Graham," he said "Rose has taken her up, you know, and as a word of brotherly advice, let me say that if you wish to raise Rose to the seventh heaven you have only to praise her protegee. We, that is the widow and I, do not get on very well, fax she is a staunch patriot, and until this morning I verily believe she looked on me as a, kind of =lister She's a perfect little Puritan, t'oo, and if she stays here long, will make a straight-laced Methodist of Rose, under the grab of an Episcopalian, oicourse, as she is the strictest kind of a church woman." • "I shall not .esteem her less for that," Tom said, and in rather a per- turbed state of mind, as fax as the Widow Graham was concerned he went with Jimmie to Lhe parlor, hall• hoping his brother had mischievously misled him, and that the stranger wouldeprove after all to be some visi- tor.; ftom,Boeton. But the first • object' he timer- on en- tering the parlor' was the dainty fig- ure in black, standing by the window, and on the third finger of the hand raised to adjust .the heavy curtain glittered the wedding ring. Tom knew now that Jimmie had not de- ceived him, and with a feeling of dis- appointment he addressed Mrs, Gra- ham, when introduced by Jimmie, making some playful allusiou to their having met before, but saying no- thing tO her then of George, for re- membering his own feelings when Mary died, he knew that Annie would not thank hum, a stranger, to bring up sad memories of the past by talking' of her husba.ntl. Still, in his manner to- warct her there was something which told how he pitied and sympathised With her, and Annie, grateful always for the emallest kindness threw off her air of quiet reserve and talked with them freely, asking many ques- tions concerning Isaac Simms and the conclitiop, of the Richmoud prisoners generally. "She was going round after cleaner to call ou Isaac,' she incidentally said whereupon Tom rejoined that wishing to know how Isaac bore the journey and the excitement, he had intended going there himself, and would with her permission time bis visit to suit her couyenience, and so acconapany Instantly Jimmie's black eyes /lash- ed upon Annie a look of inquiry, which brought the bright color to her theeks.for she knew he was ,thinking or the night when she had reaused his escort, and' she felt her present posi- tion a Tether erabarrassing one, Still the cireumstinees were entirely dif- tercet. There was a reason why Tom should call on Widow Simms, while With Jimmie there wee uoile, and bow- ing to Captain Carleton, she replied that "she sinew/led. Mts. Simms would be glad at an opportueity to thaek hint fax hie kindurss to 'Isaac, and that though not in the least afraid to go alone she had no • objection to %hewing Ilan the way." , "What! going off the first eligb tid they are coming to serenade you : ooI • You nut.git not • go, Torn. Steal hs,. mother?" cried 'Rose, whet at first had been too buy with her duties es ezet hetes, clearly to eernPrehend what TQM was saying to Annie. "It vviii look: as it yon do /ea appre- ciate the people'ttentien," Mrs. Carleten replied, while ,Tenanalevehe- mently protested egainet • the impro- prietyot the, act, and so Tem was eon).- polleti to yield, thinking the While that a walk to • the Widow Strome' might posseely affetra him gnite as ranch satisfaction as Staying at home fax a serenade. "I always surrender to the major- itY," he said, playfully, while .Timinieat epirits rose perceptibly, and Annie had never before Been hint So witty or gaa lame he crone home from Washington as he was during the dinner. It was joy at his brother's return, be thought, never suepecting that Tom's decielon had anything to do with it, and Jimmie hardly knew him- self that it had.' Ile only felt relieved that TOM was notto receive a favor which had once) been' denied to aim - self. and glad also that Annie was to spend the evening with them. But in this he was mistaken, There was no necessity for Annie's deferring her visit. The serenade was not for her, and with that nice' sense of propriety wjaich prompted her to shrink from anything like intrusion, she felt that on this first 'night of their reunion, the Carleton family would rather be olone.. This rule would apply also to Mrs. Simms, but Annie knew she was al- ways welcome to the widow, and wish- ing to see the boy who bad led her husband from the battlefield, she went to her room, and throwing on her cloak and hood, tole quietly down stairs just as Jimmie was crosing the hall. He gueesed where slue was go- ing, and coining quickly to her side, said. supposed you had given up that call but if you persist in going it must not • .be alone, this night of all others when the streets are likely to be full of men and boys. You accepted my b•rother's escort, you lean - not of course, refuse mine," and seiz- ing his hat from the hall stand he led her out upon the steps and placed her arra in his with are air of so much authority that Annie had. no word to offer in remonstrance, It was not a very' comfortable walk to either party, or a very sociable one either, hut ere it was ended Annie had reason to be glad that She was not alone, for as Jimmie had ,predicted, the streets were full of men and boys, fol- lowing the band. up • to the Mather Mansion, as they met group after group- of the noisy throng Annie timidly drew clos- er to her companion, who pressed more tightly the arra, trembling in his own. "I am glad you came with me," she said, when at last the friendly gleam of the • widow's candle appeared in view, "but if you please I think you had better not go in to -night. You are so much a stranger to the family, and Mrs. Simms' boys have but just returned. John will see me safely home, and I'll excuse you now. You must feel anxious to rejoin your broth - Bt Jimmie was not to be disposed of so -easily. He lead no intention of entering the house, but he should wait outside, he said, until Annie's visit was over. Annie had no alternative save submission, and parting from Jim- mie at the gate, she hurried up the walk and was soon bending over the couch of the sick boy, whose eyes beam- ed the welcome Inc pale lips could scarcely speak. How Deafly questions :he had to ask him, and how much he hed to tell her of that day when her hueband received his fatal wound. Al- together it was a sad interview, and Annie's eyes Were nearly, blistered with the hot tears she shed while lis- tening to Isaac's touching account • of George ere the woods were gained, and Tom Carleton generously gave up his seat to the bleeding man, thereby be- coming himself a prisoner. Much, too, was said in praise of Tom; and Annie felt that she could, not de too much for one who had shown himself so gener- ous and brave. Talking of Tom re- minded her of Jimmie stalking up and down the icy walks, waiting patiently for her, and when at last the music of Tom's serenade had ceased she arose to go, wishing to, get away ere the band came there, as she knew they were intending to do. As John arose to accompany her, she had to say that "Jimmie Carleton was waiting for her by the gate." Instantly the sharp eyes of the widow shot at her a curious glance, which brought the hot blood to her cheek, while John and Susan ex- changed e. smile, the meaning of which she ?mild not fail to understand. Poor Anntel How her heart throbbed With pain as she guessed of what they were thinking! Could they for a moment believe her so heartless ,and cold/ The mere idea made her dizzy and faint, and scarcely articulating her good- night, she hastened out into the cool night air, feeling half tempted to re- fuse outright the arni offered fax her support. If she only dared teli him to leave her there alone,—leave her to flee away through the dark, lonely streets to 'the still more lonely yard, where on George's grave she could lay herself down and die. • But not thus easily could life's heavy burden' be shaken off' she could not lay it clown at will,—and conquering the emotions whiele each time she thought of Sohn Simms significant smile, threatened to burst out: into a fierce sterin of pass- ionate sobs she apologizecl for having kept Jimmie waiting so long, and tak- ing his arm leit the cottage gate just as the throng of ssrenaders turned into that street. Jimmie knew she had beet crying, and conjecturing that she had been (liking of her hus- band, he, • too, began to epeak • of George, asking her • many questions ab, at him and, repeating m ny things he had heard in his praise from the Rockland , citizens, • It • seemed strange that this should comfort heit but it did. The hard, bitter feeling in- sensibly passed away while listening to Jimmie, and by the tittle the Mather Mansion was reached the tears Were dried on Annie's theeks, and outtverd- le she was cheerful arra patient as ever. To be Continued. • BOILEtt EXPLOSION. In an officiai French investigation • Of recent boiler explosions. 15 in num- bete not one of the boilers was found to have • had tuba of iron or steel, the tubes being ef brass be 14 oases and of copper he end. In eight of the boilers the tubes were more then four inehtes in diameter. DEVIL EISIIING IS GUARANTEED AN EXCITING SPORT. eleoir Only tquiptioutt for nettling With • Thigle Many Tottioeled Nonstop should Ile a llalthIng Stial awl Root, Devil fishing is quite, the neevest • end at the same tin m the most curious and exeiting sort Of sport. The ethics of the game, are, first, that you must eatoli the oreeture alive, and, secondly, that your sale equipment be a bath- ing suit and a flat bottom boat. In- deed, one may do very well at the sport • and leave out the bathing suit. This method' of devil fishing is a late invention, and was used, for the first time last summer by Clarerke Verrill, a Yale student, on a visit to the Bermudas, the beautiful semi- tropical islands of the West Indies. A, dozen splendid specimens of the octo- pus or devil fish which Mr, 'Verrill has just presented 10 the museum of Yale University are the results of his novel fishing trip. These huge sea spiders measure from four to five feet from tip to tip and. are of a grayish color. They were black anct larger when Mr. Verrill caught them, but they shrink and change color out of wa her • . Everybody knows what the devil fish looks lilre—a great circle of wriggling arms attached to a small round body.' When you .eee him making Inc way ineolently along the bottom of the ocean under your boat he Looks like a huge spider ancl seems just about as unpleasant an object to meet in the water as a big tarantula would be in his favorite perch at the bottcen of a cocoanut tree. WEST INDIAN DEVIL FISH. The devil fish of the West Indies are seldom found larger than five feet from tip to tip, but thenatives tell of some very large ones that measure eight feet across. The n.egroes of Bermuda, Mr. Ver- rill. says,.regard the octopus with great dread and will not go near him. They would not think of touching one, even after he had been caught and was quite dead and harmless in a big bot. - tie of alchol. They call him the "scut- tle" and are extremely careful to keep out of waters that .he frequents. To break up a native bathing party it is only necessary to say "scuttle" and they will come scampering to shore. The horror that the devil fish in- spires makes lVfx. Verrill's way of catching him all the more interesting, fax he goes out in his boat, waits un- til he spies the long, wriggling arms of an octopus below him, jumps over- board, grabs the devil of the deep in his arms and brings him in triumph to the surface. Tbis. is excitement fax you and Victor Hugo turned up side down, for it is in Hugo's "Toilers of the Sea" that the terrible octopus seizes men and bears them off as a hawk would a chicken. VICTOR HUGO'S OCTOPUS. This octopus was the product of the great French writer's imagination, and no octopus known to modern science has ever done anything of the kind. Neilher do devil fish suck the blood of their victims, as tradition tells us. Their tentacles, as scientists have long since •affirmed, and Mr, 'Verrill knows from repeated experiences,,• are used only to grasp objects with, and each is provided with numerous suckers that aot like the bit of leather on- a string that boys fasten to the side- walk. The mouth, of the devil fish is under its body, and it is armed with a powerful beak, which is the most form- idable weapon of defence that this satanic hell possesses. Nevertheless, to catch devil fish in this way requires not only nerve and daring, but considerable strength and skill as a swiinmer. To dive twenty 01' -thirty feet after One of the •ugly creatines—the • ugliest thing of its size that exists—and struggle with the bare hands against it in its natural element is a feat considerably out of the. ordinaey. One must dive straight for the body and endeavor to grab it from the top. More often than not the creature will see you coming through the water and dodge by pad - citing away with its long arms. When the dive is made from behind Mr. Devilfish, out of the range of his pierc- ing, bulging eyes, the chances are good for ea tching him. ' • DIVING FOR THE 1VIONSTERS. But you must grasp hirn.firiaite with your hands at his throat near Inc beak, otherwise he raay slip away, as he will try to do at first, or possibly be will strike a dangerous blow with his strosig beak, like a bird's, which he will try to use as soon as he finds that he is c,aught. To do this he tries to turn over and grasp his opponent with his long, sucking arms to give him courage. If the diver's grip is good it is now only a question of ris- ing to the surfteee and getting Into the boal with the poor sea devil. This is not a difficult matter, for while the struggles of the victim are fierce, be soon Liles, and even the suction of Inc tentacles can be readily overcome. ti Everybody that has read about devil fish knows of the black field that they liject when they want to escape. If l•he diver's grip is at the right place he can choke the oetopue and prevent the exit of this inky substance, • But its ink well earmot save it in this bat- tle, and neither can the slippery firma that wind about its antagonist and produce an unpleasaitit mid occasional- ly painful sensation on his sepeitive skin, The devil fish can do nothing bet cling with its tentacles. They are its Meting of grasping food, The way to be freed of the tentaelee is by taking there at the extremity and peeling them off, but this ean only be florae after the devil fish is in the boat. The man's fight ander Water is con- fined to holding on with might and mein goa. paying little heed to • the Finney eel like arms, though often their suction is eo strong ea to leave black end blue Merles, UXHILAIIATINCr' SPORT, Mr Verrill •declares this kind QS, devil fishin0 to be the most e,xhitee'et- ing sport known, for there is not only tile excitement of clanger, but the combat, with the horrible eensation in feeling, eight cold, writhing arMe of tbe grewOome sea spider •olutohin one's body and Woking to it in a deat struggle under the water. • • When he gets in the boat the "sent - tie" keeps up •the fight and strikes furiouely at the eyoodevork with his pari•ot like beak, eintehing everything within reach with •Powerful arrna, whielt fasten themselves to the eictee of the boat, There are other ways of catching the devil fish. He may be peared or caught with a many Pronged ho,ok, and„ little ones can be got near snore •oy wading fax them. But there is only one way to catch, him that is truly sportsmanlike. OCEAN TRAPS. gaunt Motlusks or the Patine l'hat Soule, nuns catch Fisk and Men. An °Meet of the exploring ship Challenger was one day being rowed along a reef in the• South Pacific when a garfish, a long, slender, sharp -nosed creature, sprang from the water and struck him exactly lathe front of Inc cap, knocking it off, Stich accidents, it waslearnativ learned, were not unewnm°n among the In these waters are found/ some of the largest shelIn known, One is a• elan -dike shell with huge ribs °ailed the tridacna, one valve el which has been known to weigh 25e pounds. The meat alone weighed twenty-five or more pounds, and a single animal, if served on the hall shell, would be a good meal for fifty men. It can be imagined that such a mon- ster must be extremely, powerful, aed that the muscle which holds it together is of remarkable size. So solid are the shells that they can al- most cut a man's hand off, crushing the bones, and as the tridacna has the habit of lying with its valves partly open, as if to trap some unwary tra- veller, it has earned an unsavory re- putation and is considered a creature to be avoided. unless means are at hand to make it harmless. The attention of white men was first attracted to ths trap • when a party of collectors were rowing over the reef in search of rare Gerais. They suddenly sew some large fesh beating the surface violently with its head out of the water. It was evidently (taught by some other fish, and, rowing in that direction, the party witnessed an • EXTRAORDINARY SPECTACLE. As they drew near they saw that the fish was a large shark which, caught by its tail, was struggling violently to escape. The tide was low, the water at this point being not more than four feet in depth, so the boat was rowed alongside the fish, about which it rope was thrown. The shark made a vicious struggle, seizing an oar in its ugly jaws and biting a piece out of feit, but thefinally men held, it securely and discovered the cause of its ab The shark had been caught in a liv- ing trap. Its tail, or the lower lobe, was held seeurely by a giant shell, the tridacna, ihe strong and powerful grasp (dinging to it With a vise -like p 'There is a case on record of a man having been entrapped in a similar way. He was an American collec,tor unfamiliar with the reef and its strange inhabitants, and seeing what he eupposed to be a great green sea anemone, he attempted to grasp it. But the anemone disappeared, and like a vise the edges of the shell clamped the wrist of the collector, who, to his horror, found himself anchored in a Stooping position by Inc hand. • The tide was rising, not a person was in sight and there was apparently no possible chance of escape. The • col- lector, fortunately, had a knife, and almost crazed by the pain he began an attack upon the shell, but every thrust: he made only caused the powerful ani- mal to clasp him closer and add to Inc agony. IL was imposeible to cut around the shell, the rock being tea hard, and the. only thing to do was to wait and hope that, the shell would relax and permit him to jerk his hand out. Seconds seemed minutes and minutes hours. The water was rising higher and higher; a gentle breeze lind sprung up and waves began to form that threw- the water against the captive. He had about determin- ed upon a ter ri ble alternative—to cut off his hand to save his Iife--wlien the shell relaxed its hold and with a quick jerk he pulled out tho maimed and helpless member and turned in shore. '1'WOULD BE AWFUL. 'garret', Indeed, would Ile This World IT • lien 1'1111111 Live Without tur. Atmosphere • is not alone valnable Col' breathing purposes. It prevents heilstones from falling with tet•rible velocity and killing us like bullets. It prevents the fieree heat of the min from burning as up in the daytime by intercepting and storing it up, and gives it off slowly at night to keer us warm. But tor thia action of the air the earth would be like a furnace by day and a freezing machine at re el t. 'Without -air there. would be no dew, and plants would languish. • There would be no twilight without it, and when the sun event down the change from briLlilint • 'light to perfect, darks nese would be instantalieous. The beautiful (*lore of the sky would be nonexistent, as they are. due Lo the decomposition of light by moist ttir. Without ate there would be rib sound. on the earth, • We conld never hear a humen voice, music- or the song of birds, No fire could burn, no gas, 110 lamps, no ketories, no irenevate, rio jams arid marniala.d, no eweelet, rio stiff eollare and cuffs. IIIJRIED I INTESTMINST.lft, Ite Westminster Abbey 1,1713 peteon, haVe been buried. ; • JOKE ON LONDON FIREMEN, THEORIES ARE PLENT1F glow The*!' t»us1 nal "trAo • Sudileit Close. A humorous, bilt very ennoying, plate - tion/ joke Wee Waled on the Lenelon firemen the etler day. 11 Wee long been the custom of the varioue fire gades to hold an annual ball early in •Tannery, and this year the tunal ere rangereents were made fax that Pur- pose. Invitations were sent out, and Were eagerly eceepted, oortsPieuntle aM- ongthe guests being Oommander Wells, a retired offieer of the navy, ws ehvop react teetyae Almorrola,Ly parneds idoetrhi. te,r, onfd_ tieials. A Willie* and merry scene the bail rooni presented when the en- tertainment began, but, very soon the scene was changed. The first dance on the programme was a quadrille, end. Commander Wells who was the leading figure in it, was just about to advence majestically up the floor when a signal of alaien was heard, For is moment little attention wan paid to he but hardly a minute had passed before the news was re - Mired tbat a terrible fire had brok- en out in I'ondon. The dancers were amazed. No One seemed to know just what had happened until finally an apparently authoritative report came to the effect that there had been an explosion in a storehouse which was filled with mineral oils, end that, as• a result, twenty houses were on fire, Without a moment's hesitation, the gallant, firenaen prepared to risk their lives, as they ha.c1 so often risked them before. They knew where their duty Ina', and, being of the same calibre as the British officers who danced so merrily before the battle of Water- loo, they tore themselves away from their fair partners and hastened to the scene of action. Commander Wells was one of the first to leave the ball room. Entering his carriage, he order- ed the coachman to drive as fast as he could to the efflieteca district. A few of the cooler heads meanwhile thought that it would be well to no- tify the local authoritias of their de- parture, and therefore they commun- icated with thena. To their amazement back oanie these words in reply ;—"We don't know what fire you are talking about. Everything is all right in this qouuarrsteve afos, f.t, n he city. Go oand amuse y Truly this was good news, but it came too late. Most of the dancers had left the ball 100111, and the major- ity of them did not know untia their return that they bad been cruelly vic- timized by some practical joker. The authorities have tried to discov- er the guilty party or taarties, but their efforts have been in vain, and it is net likely that they will ever be successful. DOROTHY DREW AND QUEEN. GI:1411SI011e'8 Favorite 4'4 rsudehlkl WA deg •.Ereltily of Visit to Vittoria at Windsor. A London despatth says that little .Dorothy Drew, granddaughter of Mr. Gladstone, publishes ha a magazine in London next month this pretty picture of her visit to the Queen at Windsor Castle: "An Indian man whom the Queen likes very much was at the door. The next moment we stood before the great Queen whom grandpapa served for six- ty years. She was just another wo- man like grandmararna, with a white cap on her head. I courtesied and kiss- ed leer, and told her my name, Dorsie, and of grandpapa, and all our pet names anHasvarden Castle. The Queen, put on her glasses and asked me to go to the other side of the room so that she could see me better. Then she took a little 'jewel -case and said 'This is for you.” I opened it and saw a darlinglittle brooch with a diamond V, a diamond R, a turquoise I, and it little crown at the top, made of red enamel. I courtesied and kissed her hand, and said 'Thank you very much.' She looked very nice and kind, and I liked her very much. The Queen kiss- ed rats again and mother and I went away." A GREAT WORK. 'Entitle! Moto. T111:111, Twelve -Renee tong Through SW1ss Aountaln:. Atlhough it is only five months since work was begun on the new Simplon tunnel, which will be the longest in the world, 12 1-2 miles, already inns, houses and roads have sprung up in what before was a wilderness, and there is a continuous going up and down of laorses, certs, workmen and machinery. The chief difference between the Simplon and its two great rivals, the St. Gothard and the Mont Cents, will be the double tunnel. Each is design- ed to be 17 feet wide, 26 feet high rend 55 feet between the two, commun- icating by openings every 615 feet, and having a ,balf-way underground station. But at present only one tun- nel will be cut tvhieh, it is expected, Nvill be finished in five years, while the other will only be eonstrueted at those points required for the ventil- ation, of the first, ete., reserving the complete opening, until such a time es the increased traffic; shall require it. • The workmen employed in this gig- antic operation nutsiber 1,0013, all Ital- ians; putting together I he work done on the Swiss and llatian sides in these Live maths, it makes a cutting el 1,010 feet at 2,320 feet above the, level of the sea. Telegraphic; and telephonic communication tedvences with the werk, so that in case of need help or meg- val aid can be quickly obtained, Over S1,150,006 has already •been expended out of the R15,000,060 which it is esti- mated the whole will absorb. ' EQUAL TO THE ElefltIRGENC The spenathrift at eollege, WrOle the Lotiowing letter to the old, ,mith , 'Father -1f ,yon don't Send me $1011 within a Week from this, date I slain enlist in the army. To whieh' the old man replied, brief as fellows •.; . ' Son---Nothitt'•is nobler than to tight ones countey, Go ahead and en, istfot five yee:114. CONCERNING THE SHAPE OF OOR • TERRESTRIAL HOME. Esoteeiee ieelleve like Earth 40 Isa t rifl • Misk,-Wise •Mit or ,4111,bin SAY It, Floats to Water -4410r Ilfeweer Ceneelo floss. Although the shape, • ef • the earth Ilan long 'veas6d tO be a StaelPat Marvel to even the seboot.ebildren' of t is and many' pther ereatittle , ft . a -(31.1 interesting queetion fo alaWr other people less learned. • The Eskimos of Greenland, lea 14'7 atanee, have got it into their heeds that the whole world to a flat diskt like a gigantie plate, This is eupe ported on a jumble of tremendous mountains and rocke, which are plere- • ed by terrific caverns. Througb these holes the sun, moon and planets de- scend, pass under the earth, and 6P pear again on the far side. What the mountains themselves rest on is not quite clear; A. peculiar notion is entertained by • THE HENDII VEDAS. They also believe the world to be a flet disk, but think it is supported on 12 pillars. Tho more usual idea in India is, how- ever, a stiLt more curious one, hardl to describe in words. The world, hemi- spherical, like the (lover of a soup tur- een, rests on the backs of four of India's sacred beasts, huge tusked. ele- phants, and these elephants in turn stand upon the shell of an ancient tortoise. The tortoise, whica, by its long life is symbolie of eternity, is sometimes represented as swimming in a tideless sea, bound none knows where." The four ele,plia,nts are generally tak- en to represent the four points of the compass. This reminds one of the Roman notion of the globe being sup- ported on the baelc of the great giant Atlas. The wise men of that still little known lancl of desert and mirage, Ara- bia, have got hold of an idea svhich if absurd to us, has yet an element of truth. The earth, they say, is egg- shaped, and floats on one end, the lower hall in water. Around the earth, like the merabrance of the egg, lies the atmosphere, and above this a tremendous layer of thick cloud, sup- posed to be 'charged with fire and smoke. Another egg-shaped fallacy was held by the early fathers a the English Church. They considered the. earth to be ocean in an egg-shaped fotm. Two continents only dotted this vaet sea. On one, the southern, was the origin- al home ,of man, the Garden of Eden; but from this he floated away during Noah's flood and landed on the north - 'ern island, nor could he ever return. The Polynesians still hold an idea, once prevalent in Europe 20 centuries ago, that the earth is one wide CIRCULAR SURFACE OF SEA, On which is one continent and many islands. Below run down greet roots deep into some misty and mysterious eternity of space. That everything is one great island floating on a boundless sea, certain in- land tribes of South America believe and teaoh. This seems, indeed, very like the early Roman idea of the eon- • tinent around whieli ran steadily in a slow, majestic oirclegollthe never ceas- ing stream of ocean. • One of the Congo tribes has a fantas- tic method. of accounting for the starry heavens. They declare the earth is a goddess, whose robe, bespangled with embroideries of fire, forms the bril- liant night sky. The sun and moon are other, gods who travel across the sur- face of the great earth mother's robe in little cars of fire. Of all the quaint and comical concep- tions of this planet's economy none perhaps ever equalled that evolved by an Italian priest some centuries ago. This looks very much like a model of a 11101111tain with a glass shade over it TO KEEP THE DUST OFF. But the mountain this priest assur- ed his followers, was the eastle tvhich grew ever higher as you went north- ward, till it culminated in a mountain bigger than any in the "Arabian Night," This mountain tapered off in the shape you see. and behind it the. sun and moon set and rose, the length of the days and nights depending on whether the sun passed tow down or high up behind the big hill, On top of ale held up in some mysterious way by the sides of the cubical box, was the sky, which was blue and solid, and in height far above the Sun and moon, This preposterous tile was in- geniously supported by the fact that the river Tigris ana Euphrates, which ran south, were rapid, while the poor Nile, which had, of course, to run up hill, as its clireetion eves northward, was naturally a sluggish stream. ^ DON'T I.VIESPIERIZE YOITREI Be very careful about mesmerizing or hypnotizing yourself. Either is very easily done. Think not1 To do it just look at your own refleetion ili the mirror in lha eye tor it, lolig tune without winking it you can. In a r.liort time it mist. spreadS over your X8i011 and then vague colors float about yen. Then you drop ore• into a inesmerte dr hypnotie Sleep from Wilieh yOti. Might never awaken Withoilt the help or a hypnotist et meseeeritte, Many persons have through •insomnia been &riven to the old devite of star- ing al, an objent until forted into a hypriotic sleep. Often it lute happened that • they never woke up from such salt-jai:toted. elumber, Take ,good ea te that yea do not tend YbittNe),C to tilig d Rug CrOus preetioe, • FEMININE 1?IJEASANTI1X. Mrs, Haskins—Is that ItIrs, (4aley4i husband with hell • SedleyeeCertai al y noel Van% you see that Man is trying to keep it oLog • AitiA liorT tt. 1