Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1917-9-20, Page 6Between Cousins; OR, A DECLARATION OF WAR. CHAPTER VI.—(Cont'd.) with here and there an upright stalk "Tell me, Ronald, is there anything to?which the seed -pods had clung a 1 spears, while alnew in the world that would induce you toalongside the green make a guy of yourself by putting on spears were already piercinggvictor- s kilt?" Mabel with het' cousin at her heels, "It would need to be a pretty, big had been examining, exclaiming, and inducement?" "Would it be, big enough if I asked you to do it?" Ronald looked taken aback, and con- sequently onsequently rather foolish, "Oh, well, if you ask me, of, course, that would be a different thing alto - lamenting the absence of an intellig- ent native for quite ten minutes, when, on rounding a hillock, astonishment brought her to an abrupt Stand- still, The discovery that they were not the only, visitors to the island was indeed, from a practical gather." point of view, not at .all surprising, "Answer mei" she said, with an but allthe more so from an artistic imperious tap of her fan upon the one. So palpably did the spot breathe chimney -piece, "Yes or no: would it death that every evidence of lifewas be enough?" • bound to come with something of a "Well, you know, I couldn't say `No' shock, The encounter of an other - to you, could I Mab?" he stammered, dox ghost, even by broad daylight, with frankly admiring eyes, but an would have appeared far more appro- obvious want of enthusiasm for the priate than the revelation of two per - subject. sons—a young man and a young girl, The words were drowned by the busy apparently beside one of :the sound of the dinner -gong; yet, to modern head -stones. At the foot of judge from the gracious softening of the dark -grey slab, and apparently the glance which rewarded him, freshly deposited, lay one of those Mabel had heard. It was all the re- monstrosities in white beads and wire ward ]he got for the moment, Lady which, on this side of the Channel, are Atterton being already in the room, apparently considered a tribute to the with the butler at her heels. dead. The girl, handkerchief in hand, "He's a nice boy, really, and' was bending low, wiping the glass wouldn't be difficult to manage," shade which was to preserve its Mabel reflected as she dodged the black beauties from the ravages of wind and plump white hand rested upon Ron -' wet. velvet train of her mother, whose breath, "I da believe here are the very "Ronald," said Mabel, beneath her ald's arm, while in truly regal fashion aboigines we want. Just look at their she accomplished the progress to thehair. dining -room. ! "ByJove, yes!" murmured Ronald, Ronald too was making comments, becoming, aware of two dark -red heads which ran somewhat in this fashion: bending in close proldmity over the "She's awfully good-looking, and an grave. "What are you going to do?" awfully good sort; but I do wish she he added, in some apprehension, as wasn't so awfully quick and clever. Mabel moved resolutely forward. Never know exactly when she's jok- "I'm going -to scrape acquaintance with them. They will be able to tell us about things." (To be continued). HEROES AT REST. They are not dead, they only sleep, For death can vanquish only clay, And kindred spirits should not weep ing, and when she's serious. Makes a fellow feel so awfully foolish." „. CHAPTER VII. "Oh, that was one, wasn't it?" ask- ed Mabel, projecting the upper part of her person over the boat -edge at a somewhat perilous angle, in order to keep in view the spot from which a black, shipy head had just sunk out of sight. For more than living dust were they. "I believe it was. By Jove! there's another! I say, what a pity I haven't They are not dead, they only rest; my rifle with me." So rough the road, so far the goal, Barbarian! As if I would suffer God called the halt and He knows best you to harm a hair of their heads, When to relieve the weary soul. before my eyes. Don't you now that they're enchanted princes? I found that out the other day, in Scott." "It wouldn't harm them to shoot them dead—at least, it wouldn't hurt them, I mean; unless you make a clean job of a seal he dives to the bottom and clutches hold of the seaweed, and you never see an inch of him again," "That's romantic, and also poetical. ly just. If I was a seal I would much rather rot away entangled in seaweed, my claws stiffening over their slimy stalks, than gratify my murderer by the possession of my skin. The cousins were en tete-a-tete, the It was the call of Freedom's God swell on the loch having proved too Unto His son's to rise and show much for Lady, Atterton's interest That man is more than slavish clod. even in the historical grave. Grey and breezy, with more than a They left their homes, their children, touch of Scotch mist in the air, the wives, April day might almost have been an Their sweethearts true, their native October one. Behind the veils of the sod; rolling vapours the shores of the loch Thegave to Libertytheir lives seemed indefinitely to recede. All ` y was grey and moist and unbrokenly uniform. "How about a landing -place?" ask- ed Mahel, as slowly they drew near to the island, which, with a tail of smal- ler ones, broke the surface of the loch. "It's rather a bore having no one to tell one the right spot, Perhaps we ought to have brought a native with us. Oh, Ronald, this is wild!" About its being wild there could not well be two opinions. Hard indeed to imagine any more weirdly sugges- tive burial -spot than this morsel of earth girdled with dripping seaweed, tufted with coarse rushes, haunted by the never -resting gulls—where the wind sung desolately in the tops of the weather-beaten firs, and the waves beat eternally upon the rocky sides with the moan of a wild beast that hungers after the prey which the earth has swallowed, but of which it would fain have its share. Upon one Their missionary deedsshall preach or two of the smaller islands a few y bleached tree -stumps gave an illusive Freedom to slaves in earth's dark impression of grave -stones; but that parts WAS a mere freak of Nature, a playing Oh, may they too, a lesson teach In nearer lands to sluggish hearts. So long the march, so fierce the fray And foul the ways of murderous foe, That when they tired at close of day, Ire gave them rest Who bade them go, Their toil was hard, their day was long, But not on earth more envied lot Than theirs, the brave heroic throng Who gave to Freedom all they'd got. Their call was not of earth, oh no, CHOWFA VAJIRAVUDIL Slam? No, -16 of the Allies, Has a '• Population Larger Than Canada, . Yes, it does sound rather like a glorified sneeze, but it is merely the name of the King of Siam—King Vajirevudh, son of the late King Chu- lalongltorn. I hear ,that Icing' ' Vajiravudh has grown very enthu$iastic over the war since Siem entered the arena, says a. recent writer. His 'sentiments are distinctly pro -British, for he spent his early days in England, and was educated at Sandhurst and Oxford, I do not know what battle -cry he has selected, but it should be one to strike terror in the heart of the kaiser if it breathes the spirit of the usual Siamese harangue. Take, as an ex- ample, the following passage from the Oath of Allegiance: "We pray the powers of the Deities to plague with poisonous boils and with all manner of diseases the dis- honorable, the disobedient, and the treacherous. When they have depart- ed this life upon earth, may they be sent to terrible Hell, where they shall burn with unquenchable fire through limitless transmigrations." Ring Vajiravudh's father, by the way, had ninety children! The entry of Siam into the war shows that the revolt against thee ruthlessness of, mail -fisted Germany bas travelled to the outermost fringe of further India. Siam is bigger than Japan proper— the country is. She has 196,000 square miles of territory. And the high - chested Japan proper is not quite 148,000 square miles in area. Siam is. only 13,780 square ]Piles smaller than Germany herself, As 'to the number of the people in Siam, she tierself was not any too elem. until 1910, In 'November of that year fairly accurate figures were obtained—as &ensus figures go—and published, The number given was 8,- 149,487, It" included women. For years the serious trouble with the Siamese census figures had been a startling feet that to'them women were no people at all. To be sure Siam can not make much impression on the war finance of the entente allies. Her revenue for the fiscal year 1916-17 is estimat- ed at 826,692,000;. the entire amount does not cover just one day's war expenditure of Great Britain alone. i Foot Work The late Jack London once fell be- hindhand in a story which he had promised a New York magazine. The editor, after repeated efforts to get the story, at last called at London's hotel and sent up the following note: "Dear Jack London: If I don't re- ceive the story within twenty-four hours I'll come up to your room and kick you downstairs, and`I always keep my promises." London replied: "Dear Dick: If I did all my work with niy feet I'd keep my ,promises, too." If your shoe pinches where the big joint comes, take it to the shoemaker and have him stretch the leather a bit. If the shoe is not heavy, you can pack it full of paper, crowded in hard. Leave it so for a few days and you will be surprised to find how much easier it will feel to that sore joint. DOMESTIC SCIENCE AT HOME Tenth L'ess Cane sugar is the crystallized pro- duct of the juice extracted from the sugar cane. The cultivation and -manu- facturing of sugar was introduced into Europe from the East early in the ninth century. Venetian historians state that sugar was imported by their countrymen from Cicily in the. twelfth century. The first European plantation of note was at Valencia in Spain. Since its cultivation at this time, it has been grown extensively in every semitropi- cal country on the globe. • The Manufacture of Sugar The canes are gathered, freed from all loose leaves, and then passed through heavy rollers, which crush them into a pulp, thereby extracting all the juice from the cane. This juice is of a sweetish taste and muddy brown in color. It is then collected in a reservoir, antj, there treated by special processes. After this it is ren into large caldrons, where the pro- cess of obtaining the sugar com- mences. They gave their souls to Freedom's Whrlo the temperature of the juice God. i rises, as heat is applied, a thick scum comes to the top. This scum is remov- But they're not dead; they'll come ed by running out all the cane juice again through a spigot. In this way the When tyrant lords would freemen bind The sacrifice was not in vain They'll come again in future kind. Their hearts were not of common clay; Their noble deeds in sight of God, Accomplish'd in the light of day, Rest not beneath the tortured sod. The story of their fame shall ring When wives and mothers cease to weep; And pens shall praise and tongues shall sing The glory of the brave who sleep. at the grave -yard game for the big island alone held human bones. As, fiery neatly, Ronald ran up to a flat ledge of rock a feathered cloud rose into the air—black birds and white birds, rooks and gulls, circled shriek- ing above the tree -tops. "Mind you made the boat fast," said Mabel, as Ronald helped her on to the slippery rock. "I've known cheer - fuller places for spending the night in. And look here, Ronald, I believe " you'll have to give me your hand.'t He gave it without demur, having first gone through same scientific -look- ing manoeuvre with the boat -chain and some stones. "It's" as exciting as walking upon crackers; declared Mabel, as the last year's pods snapped underfoot. "And what are those funny squares cut In the turf for, I wonder? Oh, I do wish we had a native here?" No trace of a path guided the vis - ;tors' steps among the wilderness of grave -stones, of which the most ancient, with yellow lichen picking out what remained of an inscription or of an obviously Celtic ornament, were not always distinguishable from the natural rook rearing its head above the uneared-Par erase, The slate- egtone iirhleh, in a more practical age, had taken the place of rho granite, af., feeted the perpendicular rather than the horizontal, forming as dreary and unbeautiful a forest as mind of man could conceive, The summit of the rising ground was crowned b Some fragments of masonry, thick with ivy, and in a sheltered dip last year's' iri eaves still waved disconsolately, like I deem it vain for such as we For them with Christ to intercede, Singe they, like Him have bled to free Their fellow -man from hellish creed, They rest in peace at God's right hand, They live in ev'ry noble heart; And true men now should bravely stand And take each resting soldier's part. I do believe their only grief— If grief a place in Heaven hath, Is this --that we who need relief Should fear to follow Freedom's path. They are not dead, they are the guests— The honor'd guests—of' Him on High Who planted Freedom in their breasts— They're only dead who fear to die, Chas. Ethelwold, Riandness Is a language that the [leaf can hear and the duinb.tindergtand, t • •Faith of the right sort consists In eflvays looking for the best whether we are old 00 young, rich or p0or, We have a right to think each clay the best day yet, and to try to make it en roken banners, or trained on the by living a little better than we ever {?'oand, ao limp as socked ribbons, did on any ober day; scum is left in the kettle. - The juice is further processed until the sugar crystals begin to form, when it is run into ,prepared vessels and allowed to cool.e The surplus syrup ie drained off, the residue remaining is the raw sugar of commerce, which must be re- f.nedbefore it can be used. From every hundred pounds of sugar cane, about sixty to seventy- five pounds of cane juice is extracted. The Use of Sugar in the Body Sugar is an important energy- iv- inir or fuel food. It is soluble in cold on—Sugar. water, and readily dissolves in hot wa- ter. The digestion of sugar com- mences in the mouth, and is filially completed in the intestines. The pro- cess of the digestion of sugar is com- paratively simple. When used in moderation, sugar is beneficial, and a producer of heat and energy in the body. Pecause of this it should be used sparingly dur- ing the warm weather. Thi; is one of the reasons why heavy rich desserts are injurious to the health during the heated season of the yea.. How- ever, it is valuable 'n cold weather be- cause it quickly furnishes the required energy and heat:' Explorers in. cold regions carry large quantities of su- gar. Sugar may be, cooked by adding a certain percentage of water until it forms a hard, clear candy; this is call- ed barley Sugar. Heated beyond this stage, it becomes carmel or burnt su- gar. Mothers should pay particular at- tention to the source of supply of the candies that their small children buy. Cheap and dangerous substitutes used in candies may -.rove fatal to the little ones. It is very easy and pleasant to make at home the few simple can- dies that the children crave._ Beet Sugar In the middle of the eigl.teenth century it was found that sugar could be obtained from beets. About 1760 the first factory was `established in Austria for the pupose of manufac- turing beet sugar. The beet from which the sugar is obtained flourishes in moderate climates and is not hard to raise. Other known sugars are fruit sugar, which is found in fruit; sugar of milk, found in milk; corn su- gar, obtained from corn, and maple sugar from the sap of the maple tree. Home Canning September is the best month of the• year for the forehanded housewife.; This is the real canning season, Now is the time of preparedness for winter.] Green Tomato Preserve.--One-quar-; ter peck of green tomatoes, three lemons. Scald the tomatoes and then remove the skins. Cut into quarters' and put in a preserving kettle. Ceti the lemons in half and then remove! all the seeds. Chop fine and then: add to the tomatoes and also the :eel - lowing; two cups of water, three' pounds o4 sugar, one tablespoonful of ginger, one tablespoonful of cinnamon,; one cup of raisins. Cook until very thick. Seal in sterilised jars, Cover, with paraffin and then store in a cool' dry place. Parboil lemon until tog' der before adding to the tomato mix- ture, Spiced ['lams.—Rinse the plunks •,n! plenty of cold water ah.G then remover the stems. Prick several times with. a fork to prevent bursting, Cook for; twenty minutes in a syrup made of four pounds of sugar, one quart of via - ter, one-half ounce of white ginger , root, one-half ounce of stick cinnamon,' one-quarter ounce of whole cloves,! one-quarter ounce of allspice, one! tablespoonful of blade maco. Tie the spices in a. bag and cook the syrup for ten mintiles befaro adding' the plume. Drina, to a boil and cook gently for. twenty minutes. Seal in sterilized jars. Test- for leaks and store in a cool, dry place. Ginger Pears.—Use your -' favorite variety of pears. Peel and then cut them. into quarters if large and into halves is small; Put the fruit while 1 peeling in a pan of water to keep it from discoloring, until the entire amount of pears is preparet. Cook I the pears until soft in clear water. Drain and use one quart of this water, the water in which the pears were cooked, and also two pounds of sugar, thinly pared rigid of two lemons, two ounces of white.. ginger. Gook Por- ten minutes and then add eight pounds, of prepared pears and cools until the pears are transparent. Seal in sterilized jars and then store in a cool place, Al] ginger roof used in pickl- ing.. and preserving should be well washed and then sliced very thin. Peach Jam.—Use soft ripe peaches of the yellow variety. Peel, slice thin and the.. put in a preserving kettle. Add two cupfuls of water and ten pounds q£ prepared peaches. Cook until very soft, Mash with a potato masher and then rub through a fine sieve. Measure and return to the kettle and add one cupful of sugar to every two cupfuls of prepared pulp. Cook very slowly, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, for one hour. Try u little of it in a saucer. It it bolds, that is' ie it does not enrol and run, then fill it into sterilized glasses and cover with paraffin. Store in the usual manner for jellies, Use syrup, asbestos mat under the kettle to prevent burning. Tihie jam should be ;a beautiful golden color. It is a de, licious accompaniment to hot or cord 'roast fowl or game and is equally de- licious with chicken salad. It is most 'important to use a porcelain kettle. drat is in good condition for all pie,kl- ing aril an aluminum or agate Mettle i for preserving jams, ' THE DESTRUC'T'IVE TORNADO. Only Two Natural Phenomena Are More To Be Dreaded, If a voleanie eruption or great earthquake be+eceptedsuch a "ey- I clone twister" is the moat destructive I of ell natural phenomena. The funnel- shaped cloud revolves et a rate of at 'least 600; miles an hour, and the forces it develops are powerful -enough to destroy any of the works of man. The oddest thing about it is its al- most humorous freakishness, It will Pluck chicken's clean of their fea- thers, without hurting them; strip women of their clothing; yet leave them uninjured; empty wells of water, and fill them with mild; drive straws clean through inch planks; But it 10 no more inspired with a sentiment of mercy than a Prussian. It kills per- sons and spreads wholesale and utter destruction. This year, 1917, has been a bad tornado year in the Middle Western States. Gas In The Stomach Is 'Dangerous Physicians Recommend the nee of Maa'- nesia, Sufferers from indigestion or dyspep- sia should remember that the. Presence or gas or wind in the stomach invariably Indicator that the stomach Is troubled - by excessive acidity, This acid causes the food to ferment and the fermenting food in turn gives rise to noxious gases which: distend bre stomach, hamper the normal func- tion. of vital -Internal Organs, oausa acute headaches, interfero with the ac- tion of the heart and charge the blood Stream with deadly poisons, which in time mist ruin the health. Physicians say that to quickly dispel a -dangerous accumulation of wind in the etomaclr and to atop 1310 food fermentation which creates the gas, the acid in the stomach must be neutralised and .that for .this purpose there is nothing quite so good as a teaspoonful of pure bisurated mag- nesia taken in a little water immediate- ly after meals. This instantly neutral- izes the acrd, thus stoning fermenta- tfon and the formation of gas, and en- ables the inflamed, distended stomach to proceed with its work under natural conditions. 13Isurated magnesia is ob- tainable in powder or tablet form from any druggist; but as there are many different forms of magnesia it is impor- tant that the bisurated which the lyraslelaneeoprescribe should be distinct - r. ly Hitherto, says the Paris Daily Mail, all inhabitants of the British Isles, including Irish, have generally been described in French as "Ang- lais." General Verraux, who writes in the Ouvre, is trying to rectify this. He tells his readers that Miraumont was taken not by "les Anglais," but by "les Britanniques." 'The' Journal des Debats heartily endorses the use of the new word, and suggests that Frenchmen in future should say "Brittannie" instead of "Angleterre" when. referring to Britain in general, A Unique Service One of the most remarkable burial services ever held on a European bat- tlefield is described by the chaplain of a' Western Ontario battalion. It was that of an Indian killed by a bomb. Sixty Indians, commanded by an In- dian lieutenant, attended the funeral. They represented the Mohawks, One- idas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Missis- seugas, Delawares, Iroquois and Black - feet. UNWI'rTINGLY A BURGLAR.. How a Japanese Poet Helped to Rob a San Francisco house. Soon after Mr. Yone Noguciti, the Japanese author, came to America, prompted by the best of intentions he TO TRANSPORT ARMIES AND helped to burglarize a San Frandsen housq He belts how it happened in RAILROADS SOLD FOR WAR USE his autobiography. While at San Francisco, sometimes I stayed at a Japanese boarding house where I paid nothing, since I made a service of English letter wyiting fore the proprietor, and sometimes at a certain William Street one of the MATIRIAL TO TIIE FRONT. "About '.00 Miles ofCanadian and 1,0 M le a n American Railways Have Been Laid Down in France, most insignificant of Street, alleys, The long and hungry airm of war where m gfrience ublishedga comic has reached out into Canada and the y p weekly. Here I happened to become United States in search of surplus and . unused railroads and the plains and an actor in a fares that set the whole junkyards of the two countries have town to laughing under the heading, How a Japanese Poet -Helped a Bur - been -ransacked of thematerials re- glar. One afternoon I was reading a book in the room that was parlor, sleeping armies in Franco caught the stool room and editorial office by turns (we trade unprepared, and rather than occupied -the lower floor; the upstairs' wait months for the rail and equip - rooms were occupied by a Spanish ment factories to catch up 13'hgland tailor who happened to be out pant' hgone into the world market inas afternoon), when a young boy, Span- search of old railroads which could ish, or Mexican about the same age asked fora key that might fit the be dismantled and transplanted in as myself, knocked at my door and France rooms upstairs. It was his^intention, he declared, to move the things away by the com- mand of the tailor, who had engaged some other ]house. "I lost the key on my way here," be shid. quired in France. The tremendous demand for steel rails and rolling stock for the allied Hundreds of miles of railroad have, disappeared completely from the face of the North Americanrcontinent, only to appear a few hnonths later in east- ern France. Ijnglnes, ears, rails, bridges, ties—everything real and tan- gible in the way of railroad property Iipw could my mind of innocence has been running the submarine block - doubt him ? I helped hint to open the f ode for`montbs, and the end is not in upstairs rooms, and also assist- sight, ed to move down a few things of Good Prices for "Junk." some importance. I even offered him Junk dealers have been scampering my service to help him with the large about the country buying up all the looking -glass. We had walked some decrepit railroads they could get their seven or eight blocks ,when we were herds on. And as "junk" the road pursued by a large, fat Irishman, who `phiperHO' have been sold.. -at prices took us by force to a police station,' 800 and 400 per cent. above the and duly locked us up there.. "junk" market of four years ago. To clear myself from the charge, Within recent months approximate - next day, I made the first and last ly 1,000 miles of Canadian and Areal - public speech of my foreign life. I be- can railroads, including all rolling Neve that it. was a masterpiece. I said that the incident was a case of Japan- ese etiquette or humanity turned to crime in America by wrong applica- tion. We have a -right to take pleasure In stock worth salvaging, have been snapped up and prepared for shipment abroad. Even hungry junk dealers from Japan have appoarei in the mar- ket. Canadian railroads sacrificed many miles of track and much roiling stock our own development, It should be for the mother country. Side and encouraging to watch our powers de- switch tracks at small stations were velop; . to know that we are able to do shortened or eliminated, in some cases something to=day which we could not portions of double track equipment do yesterday, should give us happi- being taken up in order that the Eng- ness. lish armies might not suffer from, lack of shells and food. Wherever economy • Where there is enough helpor in use of roadbed could be brought g about trackage was sacrificed. In a where small areas only are grown the number of cities where street railway beans may be pulled by hand. For 1'and interurban lines were being relaid large crops of beans it is generally with heavier steel the old rails passed profitable to use bean harvesters into the bands of agents who had been which consist of the ordinary two- collecting such property for sale to wheeled cultivator, equipped with two foreign buyers. Few Narrow Gauge Lines. The transportation problem back of the allied armies has become one of the most important issues of the war. The maintenance of the English and French armies has required the use of kept clean and should be stored with thousands of miles of railroad lines flat knives placed to form a V cutting two rows at a time and piecing both rows into one windrow, The beans n.ay be bunched by. hand or by means of the side delivery rake, which places from three to five rows together. After cutting, the beans should be as little weathering as possible. and huge quantities of rolling stock and, other equipment. Need for this -.. . r - , equipment became more and more im- perative each time the allied armies dented the German line. Despite the popular impression, nar- row gauge lines are not the rule at the front. To be truthful, they are the exception, for the huge guns and the tremendous quantities of supplies which must be moved oyer these lines demand the heaviest of equipment. Miles and miles of standard railroad track run right up to the big guns which are belching death into the German ranks. Shell holes must be filled up, the wreckage of German narrow gauge lines moved to one side, bridges in- stalled and equipment brought up, sometimes under fire so galling that the work is even.mare dangerous than trench.fighting. - Ontario Veter nahj Colliege 110 University Avenue, Toronto, Canada Under the control of the Departmeut of Agriculture of Ontario. Affiliated with the University of 'pront'o. College Reopens Monday, Oct. 1, 1917, Calendar Sant on Application. E. A. A. GRANGE, V.S„ M,So., Prinoipal ESTABLISHED ,eeP tt APV. r , THE RIGHT BiltiA TO PAINT RIGHT A. RAMSAY & SON CO. 41 For wear and,fieauty of Makers of Eine Paints and Varniahee 1 i color they are unsur- passed. Ask your Ramsay Dealer —or write us. MONTR A '105014 O • V/.'rl0bvvcn tt 777 sz Q Q a e n 4 4'? e t°e s T4AT. THE POLISH SHOE POLISHES 104 ®r.A K"WHITE---tAW 1(;:fi F. P. Dailey Co. of Canada, Ltd. tinea..i, Can. e 1 d 6 4j:6 3 ti NAT'URE'S TREASURE BOX. Fairy Grotto in Brazil is Lined With Richly Colored Amethyst. One of the most curious things in nature is a "geode." 11 is a ready- made treasure casket. The beginning of a geode is a cav- ity in rock. Water percolating into it deposits silica in e!"•ystalline form. Ages later, pet' ' ps, the rock is brok- en open and outfalls the geode ---a no- dule of chalcedony lined with beoutiftl . • crystals. Sometimes the silica that forms the crystals is stained with oxide of maZh- ganese, and in such cases the geodes are lined with amethyst. Occnsional- ly a geode holds a gill or1°two of we- ter—to be seen through the.translu cent coat of the nodule' --which has been shut up in the little bdx for mil - liens of years, maybe. ' The biggest and most wonderful geode ever discovered was found not eery long ago -near the German settle - went of Santa Cruz, in Brazil., It was Wrest -three feet long, sixteen feet wide and ten feet high, Embed- ded In reek, the upper part of it—the roof, as one might say --had been broken through in some accidental way and a palm tree was growing 0121 of it. Phe whole inside of this fairy grot- to•—ler it deserved no less pictui'eacm e name ---was lined with richly colored crystals of amethyst, many of them as big as a mans fiat, Ad with bril- limit luatrons facets, as if polished by o lnpl'y. • To ie1loidnve tlija gigantic geode was itppo wible, blit it Was broken careful- ly to pieces without blasting.