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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Clinton News Record, 1921-12-8, Page 6THE MYSTERY OF T GREEN RAY By William Le Queux CIIAPTk I III,—(Oont'd,) • (`Someone you know?" she eleleed, as I righted our course, "Only a chap I met on the train; I explained, "It looks like the tonant,of Gaena- • binn:c, but I couldn't be certain, I've never niet him, antii1've only aeon him once." "Glasnabinniet" I' exclaimed, with n naw interest• "Really! Why, that's Otte. close to yon, surely?" "Just the other side of the loch, directly apposite us, A good swimmer could" swim avo(u but a motor would take days to go•ruuncl. So we're really a Icng way off, and unless he turns up at some local 'function we're not likely n said to be to reek He's t s no American' millionaire; but then every American in these parts is sup- posed to have at least one intake of Money." about hint , know anything Do o g , 3 y „ —what he does, or did?' I ask('d, "Absolutely nothing," she replied, "except, of course, the silly rumors that one always hears about stran- gers. He took Glasnabinnie in May— in fact, the last week of April, I bo- lieve. That rather surprised''us, be- cause it was very early for Summer visitors. But he showed hie' good sense in doing so, as the country was looking gorgeous—Sgr'iol, na Ciche, rad •the Cuchulins under snow. I've heard (Angus McGeachan, one of our el -offers, told me) he was an inventor, and )'rad made a few odd millions out of a machine for sticking labels on rem,al neat. That and the fact that he is e veey keen amateur photograph- er is the complete hisrory of Mr. Till - demean so far as I know it. Anyway, he has a gorge -ins view, hasn't he? It's nearly as good as ours," "ire has indeed,' I agreed readily, 'But 1 clon't think Hilderman can he very wealthy; no fishing goes with (.'-enabinnie, there's no yacht an- chorage, and there's no road to motor' cn. • Hew dm he get about?" `. i1e's got a . beautiful - Wolseley Irl+nee," said Myra pealously, "a per- fe,.. beauty,-- ale calls her the Balti- more IT. She waeelybig alongside the ITermione at Mallaig When we left. Oh! look en the loch,, Donl Isn't it o wonderful view.?" And so the magnificent purple - grey summit of Seat na Ciche, at the head of Lech Nevis, claimed our at- tention--(that and other ,platters of a personal nature)—and J. G. Hilder-' r'nn went completely from our Minds. efeva was a real:Highlander of the West. She lived for its mountains and lochs, its rivers and barns, its mag- nificent coast end its fascinating ani- mal life, She knew .every little creek and inlet. every rock anile shallow, every reef and current front Fort,Wil- Iiam to the Ger Toch. I. have even lcard',t said that when she wee twelve she could draw an accurate outline tf Benbecula and 1'lort.h Uis't, a feat flint would be a great deal beyond the vest majority of grown-ups living on those islands theotselves.•As we turn- ed to cross the head of Loch Bourn: Myra pointed out Glasnabinnie, nestl- ing like a lump of grey lichen at the •foot of the-Croulin Burn. Anchored off the point was a small steam yacht, either a eoiverted drifter or built on drifter. lines. "Our friend has visitors," said Myra, "end he's not there to receive -them. How very rude. That yacht •It often there, She only makes about eight knots as a rule, although she gives you the impression she could •-do more, You see, she's been built for strength and comfort more than for looks. She calls at 'Glasnabinnie in the afteenoons sometimes,. and is there after dark, and sails off before. six." (:lyra was always.outof doors before six in the morning, whatever the weather.) "From which I gather," she continued, "that the owner lives some distance away and sleeps on board. She can't be continuously cruising, or she would make a longer etey sometimes." - "You seem to .knew the ways of yacht owners. dear," I said, "Hullo) what is that hut on the cliff above the 'falls? That's new, surely." "Old that beastly thing," said Myea in disgust.. "That's his, too. A smoking -retro and study,. X believe, He had it built there because he has nit uninterrupted' view that sweeps the sea," ' "Why `beastly thing'?" 1 asked, "It's too far away to worry you, though it isn't exactly pretty, and I 1v)w you hate to see anything in the :h'lno et a new building going up." "Oh! it annoys me," she answered Inir''ly-, "and somehow it gets on ra;ldy's nerves. You .see, it has a funny sort of window which groes nil rte n:t the top of the hut, • This is c': [ 1,.:aiy divided into several small \' 11:io::s• Lecause they swing about in '.rind, and when the slut shines on tli,nl tI' y cai;rh the eye even at our diiten:e. And, es 1 say, they get on clacidy'o nerves, which 11505 not been toe good the loot week or two." "Never mi(ul," 1 consoled her; "he'll be all right when his friends come 1,r for the Twelfth. I think the doe - tee:, nee wrong to say that he should never beta a lot of people hanging laurel lain, because there can surely be ea barn in letting him see a few friends. I certainly think he's right to 0101,0 an oxcei,tion for the ;'rouse," "Grease!" sniffed. Myra, "Tiley 00100 for the Twelfth becouse they like to be scan travell!r.g-north on the eleventh! An'l I hath to entertain them And some of the ones who come for the first time tell me they suppose I know all the pretty wellte ,round about! And in any case, :,he finished, in high in- dignation, "can you intagule me en- le,'taieing anybody?" r ' a ktP.,," , ty : • t$$Lie, No, 1.4.•... insr loot WQ* $ js yet ,to CQtrie "Yes, my dear, I can," I replied; and the "`argument" kept us busy till we reached Inyermallech. The old General came down to the leed'ireg- stage to meet us, and was much more honestly pleased to see me than I had over known him before. "Ah! Ronald, my 'boy!" he exclaim- ed heartily, "'Pon my soul, I'm glad to see you, It's true, X suppose? You've heard the neve?" The question Amused me, because it was so typical of the old fellow, Here had X come from London where the Cabinet was sitting night and day, to a spot miles fawn the railway termi- nus, to be asleed if I -,had heard the news• '"You mean the war, of course?" I replied. "Yes; Itscome, my boy, at last. Come to find me on the shelf! Ah, well! It hail to come sooner or later, and now we're not ready. All, well, we must all do what we can. Begad, I'mlad to see you,m boy, glad, It's abit lonely here some- times for the little woman, you know; but she never complains:" (In point of fact, she even contrived to laugh, and take het( father's aria affection- ately in hers.) "An,: besides, there are many things I want to have a talk with you about, Ronald—many things. Be the way, had lunch?" "We lunched at Mallaig, thank you, sir," I explained, "Well, well, Myra will see you get all you want -won't you, girlie(?" he said. "I say, Ronnie," Myra asked, as we reached the house,, "are you very tired after your journey, or shall we have a cup of tea and then tale our rods for an hour or so?" '. I stoutly declared •I was not the least tired—as who could have been in the circumstances? -and I should enjoy an hour's fishing with Myra immensely. So 1 ran upstairs and had a bath, end changed, and came down to find the General waiting for me. Myra_had disappeared into the kitchen regions to give first-aid to a bare- legged crofter laddie who had cut his foot on a broken bottle. "Well, my boy," said the old man, "you've come to tell, us something. What is .it?" "Oh!" I replied, as lightly as I could, "it is simply that we are in for a row with Gerniany, and I've got a part in the play, so to speak I'm enlisting," "Good boy," he chuckled. "good boy! Applying for a commission, I suppose.—man of your class and edu- cation, and all that --ell?" "Oh, heavens, no!" I laughed, "I shall just walk on with the crowd, to continue the simile." "Glad to hear it, my boy—I am, indeed. 'Pon my soul, you're a good lad, you know—quite a good lad. Your father would have been proud of you. He was a splendid fellow—a thunder- ing splendid fellow, We always used to say, `You can always trust Ewart to do the straight, clean thing; he's a gentleman,' 1 hope your comrades will say the same of you, my boy." "By the way, sir," I added, "I also intended to tell you that in the cir- cumstances I—I— Well, I mean to say that I shan't—shan't expect Myra to consider herself under—under any obligations to me." However difficult it was for me to say it, I had been quite certain that the old General would think it was the right thing to say, and would be genuinely grateful to me for saying it off 'my own bat without any prompt ing from him, So I was quite un- prepared for ',the outburst that fol- lowed. "You silly young fellow!" he cried. "'Pon my soul, you are a silly chap, you know. Do you mean to tell me you carne here intending to tell my little girl to forget all about you just when you are going off to fight for your country, and may never conte back? You mean to run away. and leave her alone with an. old crook of a father? You know, Ewart, you—von make me angry at times." "I'nt very Torry, sir," I apologized, though 1 had no recollection of having made him angry before. "Oh! I know,' lio said, in a calmer tone. "Felt it was your duty, and alt that—eh? I know. But, you see. it's not your ditty at all. No. Now, there are one or two things ,I want to tell you -that you don't know, and Tel tell you one of 'em now and the rest later. The first thing—in absolute coufl- donee, of course—is that--" But at this point Myra walked in, and the General broke off into an incoherent mutter. He was a poor diploma Het. "Alt! secrets? Naughty!" cite ex- claimed laughingly. "Are you ready. Ronnie?" "IIe's quite ready. my dear," said the old man graciously. "I've said all I want to say to him for the time be- ing. Run along with, girlie, Ewart, You don't want to mess about with an olrl..crock." f'.ljarldy," said Myra reproachfully, "you're' not to call yourself names,' "All right. then; I won't,' he laugh- ed, "You young people will excuse me, I'm sure. I should like to join you; but I have n lot of letters to write, and 1 daresay you'd rather be by your- selves, Eh?. --you veering clog!" It was a polite fiction between father and daughter that whet the old 'fellow felt too unwell to ,join her or his guests he "had a lot of letters to write," And occasionally, when he was in the mood to' overtax his strength, she would never refer to it directly, but often she would remark, "You know you'll miss the past, daddy," And they both understood. So we sae out by ourselves; surd I naturally pre - faired to be alone with Myra, much as I liked her father. We went out on to the verandah, and while 1 unpacked my kit, Myra retvoutul her line, whic.t had been dryiimg on the pegs aver- night. "Are you content with small mer- cies, Ron?" she asked, "or do you agree that it fe better to try for a salmon than catch a trout?" "It certainly esn''t better to -tray, anyway," I answered, "I want to be near you, ciarling. I don't want the distance of. the roofs between us. We might walk up to the Dead Malts Pool, and then fish tip groin; and later fish the loch from the boat. That would bring us hack in nice time 'for diener," "Ohl splendid!" she cried; send we fished out our fly -books, Her's was a lylg book of tattered pig -skin, which reclivad at the bottoin of the capacious poacher's peeket en her,jacicet. The fly -4)00k was ant. old Trtvoritc.-site Wouldn't hove parted with it foe worlds, nein fellewod erer adveee, ef •-.i r. 4 y ttly / 1 I II � 1-7 1 I1lf , ..-�f • ��1-ea ,,. Jr and changed the Orange I' had tied for the "bob" to a Peacock Zulu, which I borrowed from her, we set out. (To 'be continued.) Forestry and the Flying Man. It is only fair that the flying ma- chine sihould prove a valuable aid to forest protection, because it is scarce- ly too much to say that were it not for the forest there could be no flying ma- chine. The framework of the airplane must not weigh a pound more than is absolutely necessary to ensure the re- quisite strength, Not only does bhe life of the airman depend upon the steel stays and the linen wings but, mainly, it depends upon the strength and toughness of the wooden scant- lings and rods that are the backbone, the ribs, and the wing -bones of the machine. The wood used is practical,. ly all Sitka spruce, a species which, as its name indicates, is found on the north Pacific coast of North America, and chiefly in British Columbia. The airplane designer wants to know just how light he can matte these rods without endangering the safety of his machine. To find this out and also to ascertain the other qualities of Sitka spruce was the object of an Investi- gation involving several thousand tests made by the Forest Products La- boratories of Canada, The conclu- sions which also indicate the other uses to which this wood can be put are published in the illustrated Bulle- tin No. 71 "Canadian Sitka Spruce: Its Mechanical and Physical Proper- ttes." Copies of this bulletin may be had free upon application to the Di- rector of Forestry, Ottawa. A Prospect of Retrospect. When I think how time will pass Until this Now is turned to Then, Like smoke that fades within a glass Seem the curled fancies of my pen, For this year's sturdy discontent Will read as words a boy cis -spelled, When I have weighed the Much life meant Against the Little that it held. —Edward Davison. Smuts Was Snubbed. General Smuts told an amusing story a short tine ago. "I was at a social gathering with General Botha," he said. "Two flap- pers carne up and asked me for my autograph. In a daintily bound book I signed my name with the proffered pencil, The girl studied my signature with a frown. 'Aren't you General Bothe?' she asked. 'No,' I replied, 'I'rn General Smuts,' She turued to her friend with a shrug. 'Lend me your India•rubber, May,' she said." Alps Give Up Their Dead. The long drought and the long hot summer have caused the glaciers and the snowfields to melt so much that bodies at climbers have been found who have been lost for many years. In some cases all hope of ever finding them had been abandoned. At Zer- matt it is even hoped that the s'emains of Lord Frederick Danglas„ who was killed on July 14, 1865, during Whym- per's first ascent of the Matterhorn, may be found. It will be remembered thtit during the descent of the Matterhorn on that occasion Mr. IIadow, the Rev. Charles Hudson, the guide, Michel Gros, and Lord Frederick Douglas were all kill- ed, and that the bodies of the three first named were recovered, but not that of Lprd Frederick Douglas. It was assumed that he fell 501110 6,000 feet onto the glacier below, where he n:ay very well have fallen into rt cre- vasse. Re..ently the body of Josef Trench, belonging to a well known family of Swiss guides, was fourtcl at the foot of the Ktiserstook,in the Gothard range, after he had been missing for eighteen years. .The remains of a Swiss school teacher, who disappeared In an acci- dent toward the end cf 1914, have also been found atter seven years. Bodies of other lost tourists and climbers have been found not in the Swiss Alps alone but in the French Alps and in Tyrol. In the opinion of Alpine guides and climbers if the coming winter is as snowless as the last, then next sum- mer it should be possible to discover the bodies of all persons who have des - appeared in years gone by on glaciers and snawfields. As yet the mountains have been merely powdered with snow, whereas generally the first heavy snowfalls have occurred by this time. Couldn't Spare Him. Janet's mother entered the nursery and, as she surveyed the child's col- lection of dolls, said: "Now, clear, you have had this sol- dier doll a long time and the poor little girl next door is ill and has 110 doll at all. Don't you want to send her your soldier boy?" "No, mother," said Janet, "I would rather send her any one but that. You see, that's the only man two have in the family, and he's married to all the other dolls." • Real Helpmate.. Bachelor—"Well, old roan, one thing I notice about you since you've been married, you always have buttons on your clothes." Benedict—"Yes, Dolly taught me how to sew 'en on before we'd been married a week" Goat -Raising in British Columbia Cleats ori the Province -;of British Columbia. now number approximately 5,000, according to a statement issued by the Provincial Department of Agri- culture. Practically all of these ant - maks are of lite Toggenburg, Saanen and Nubian breeds, When flnst intro- duced into British Columbia it wee - predicted that goats were but a pass- ing fad, but such has not been the ease and to -day goat -raising ooeupies 0 recognized position in the livestock industry of the province. While no other province in the Dominion has entered into this industry• so exten- sively, the demand for these animals in British Columbia still continues ma abated. The original foundation -stock, num- bering sone 200 Bead, entered Caiada in 1017 from the United States, when they were examined by Federal nutit- orit.ies and eaeh animal tagged with tt little metal plate • stilling that it was officially recognized by tho Gov- ernment as foundation stock, in or- der to avoid confusion and to limit the. registration of pedigrees, all efforts have been concentrated on the three main breeds, Toggenburg, Salome, Nu- bian, which are noted for their milk- prodtioing qualities, The amount of milk produced by many of these goats Is truly remarkable, Official records have boort made of over 2,000 potuuls per annum, and site animal is creelit- e_d with a prodttetio'n of 9,941 pounds. No inberiois wont is entailed by ale owner in caring for a herd of goats. A snug and comfortable house, free from draughts. and rain -proof, is all that le required far shelter. A geed - sized yard is 1100essary for the militias to browee lit, In feeding, leaves of all lands, broom, wind berries, and 0rrac- tieaily all ]finds of trash ere relished. by them, as well es grass and meat weeds, they will -also eat the young roots of bracken and of coniferous trees, and in winter will eat freely of the latter, and bark the young branch- es as well, The chief source of income front a goat is derived In tho form of mills, which Is the equal of cow's milk in nutrition, Practically all 01 the goats now In .tho province are owned by houseleolders, who keep one ee two in the beckyardor on a nearby vacant piece of lande `l'iey are milked -twice a day at regular. hours, and thrice if the goat is a heavy mutter. The in- come from m111c alone in the province last year amounted to $40,300, mare - seating 70,450 gallons. In addition, butter and cheese can bo made from the milk, but experiments have proven that the qusllty of these products Is not -up -to the standard of that made from COW'S melte, and as a result there is n'0 market, A goat breeder's society tvas formed in British Columbia in 1917 with a membership of 176, which las in- creased annually until at the present time the number is ', ell over 400. An- other society, known as the Canadian Goat Society, has also been formed for the purpose of registering pedi- grees of goats, There is it continual demand for goats in British Columbia, where the ellmatec conditions tend abundance of natural food make the province a.l )deal ono for the raising of these ani- tttale. he time it is probable that the other provinces, inspired by the ettc- 0055 which has attended the efforts of breeders in British Columbia, will also take tip 11110 form of livestock, and in the 'meantime Itis offot'ts aro being spared to make the .'sale province the leading' managing a'eshng territory on the continent, PRINCESS' CUOKCE PES ENGLAND RING'S ONLY DAUGHTER TO WED VISCOUNT. Interest is Renewed in• the Marriages of the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Prince Henry. The betrothal of Princess Mary has been joyously received all over Hug - laud, largely bose.ase she is marrying an Dn llirnall stye a London des- patch. The action has had the effect of rteessurieg the mind of the British people on a subject about which much has been spoken and little written— the forthcoming marriages of her brothers, the Prince of Wales, the n Prince Henry.Duke of York and ri It y has been obvious that the war had oompletely altered the situation re- garding eligible royal alliances for the Frame of Lhe blood and it is now Frames likely and certainly hie hl desired that 1 Ya g y they will go back to the old tradition of the English throne before the royal marriage act was passed. There was a stringent restriction in the Stuart tines, but previously there bad been manyins'taucee of maio'iages outside r'eigniag families. Many Plan- tagenets married outside royal strains, and three daughters of Edward I., who had a high sense of royal dignity, married knights, two of whom were English earls holding titles no 'higher tha,t1.that Pritreess Mary's future hus- band will beer, Question of Royal Marriage. The eldest, daughter of Edward III. married a French ]might who was created Earl of Bedtard. •'Under the Stuarts, royal blood marriages were strictly insisted upon, through James, Duke of York, married Ann Hyde, but it was kept a secret. With the Georges the passion for restricting marriages to royal families reached its 'height. • . George TIT. and his consort Anne were both fanatics on this subject, and were greatly angered when two of the King's brothers married commoners. A sequel to this was the royal mar- riage act, which tightened the restric- tions, which still prevail. Owing to the necessity of excluding Roman Catholic princesses the royal field since the war is very barren. Ie it certain that public opinion would never tolerate the marriage of any Prince with a German, and the num- ber of marriageable princesses in Hol- land, Denmark, Sweden and Norway is remarkably small. The imperial family of Russia has utterly disap- peared and the Greek princesses would not be popular here now. The remaining royal families, those of Spain, Italy and Belgium, are Roman Catholics, In these conditions it is inevitable that some at least of the King's sons must marry outside royal circles, and there is no doubt that the people would cordially welcome such a selec- tion. It is no secret that the Prince of Wales prefers to take an English girl, and undoubtedly the people would ac- claim the selection with such enthusi- asm that the House of Lords would set aside the marriage act.. It is ac- cepted here as almost certain that the old superstitions about the blood royal vast give way to modern ideas, and the betrothal of Princess Mary is re- garded as the first step in this direc- tion. Men Outrun Horses. In the days of the "Wild and Woolly West" plainsmen and travellers by overland wagons held to the belief that a long journey could be made mare speedily by man afoot than on horseback. In the army the impres- sion is general that the infantry can out -travel the cavalry on long, grind- ing marches, but to the Santo Domin- go Indians of New Mexico belongs the credit of chasing wild horses over the ranges of (tills until the animals are exhausted and submit to capture. No Marathon runners have ever been recruited from this tribe of Pueb- lo Indians, for the wonderful powers of endurance of the runners of the tribe are little known outside of the district immediately surrounding their village. These runners of the Santo Domin- go come from a race of fleet footed ancestors, Like ail tribes of Ameri- con Indians, they have accepted the means of travelling best suited to the country where they live. Tito Sioux of the Dakotas are horsemen. The Santo Domingos have been Walkers and runners always. Their physique shows the result of generations of footmen, Great chests, almost Minor - mai in development, slope downward to slender waists, while sinewy &elves proclaim thestrength to hold to a hard trail, Usually their chases of the bands of wild horses owned by the tribe are natters of necessity. The enormous stretches of broken country where the herein graze and the untanned spirits of annuals, many of which have not been touched by nazi in their several years of existeneo in the hills, make it ueeossar'y to wear the creatoros out and run them down, Testing the Age of Eggs. Fill a tumbler two-thirds . full of water anal' then place in it a newly - laid egg and it will sink to the bot- tom of the glass. The egg is compos- ed largely of water, and therefore is heaviest while it is fresh. The older the egg, the lighter it becomes on ac- count of the water evaporating from tine white of the egg, which causes tine empty space at the thick end of the egg to become enlarged. Hence. at three eveeks of age the egg will lean in the water, When three months oid et evi11 stand perfectly straight, with pointed end n1' the egg barely touching the bottom of the glass, The larger the empty space beanies the more the egg will rise in the water, until finally it reaches the surface. An Oaf -Fashioned Party. So many parties nowadays seem to be planned for young folks only, that e party which the older people can enjoy may not come melee. The in- vitations may read ist this manner: Twenty-year endowments We hear of every day They're always in the future. Lot's look the other way. Twenty years behind us, And maybe twenty more, And t A drtece allpatthe pleasures We liked so much of yore. (important Note! Wear old-time costunte.) The collection of costumes is the first amusing feature; the ladies wilt be wearing hoopekirts and tiny hats pan- ca at scoop net and ! s or s o p bo n s, z dhe t men will have the most antiquated cut to coat and trousers' and the quain- test style of hat brims, far all the eastuntes should possible far as come out of athlete Those who west may dress in little girl or boy clothes that 'belonged' to their grandmothers or grandfathers. The next amusing feature will be the showing of daguerreotypes. In an oval opening, large enough to hold a person, appear in succession, one. alter another, characters from a by- gone age, and as each is exhibited someone reads aloud what purports to she the name and age of the daguer- reotype subject, Thus: "Aunt Mary Watkins at the age of twenty-one." "Grandma Brown the day she en- tered the female seminary." "Uncle Ben and Aunt Hetty on their wedding day." Another very entertaining feature is illustrating some of the old songs by means of tableaux in the frame. For instance, a chosen quartet may sing "Sweet Alice, Ben Boli." while Sweet Alice herself, in costume, smiles demurely out at the audience, "Juanita," "Robin A.dair," "Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party," and many of the other tunes in any book of old songs will illustrate delightfully, The•most fun will tome in the play- ing of the games of yesteryear. Imagine a crown of fifty atud.sixty- year-olds playing " hliss Jennia Jones:' One player, as you know, represents the mother; another, Miss Jennia, the daughter. The rest join hands and advance, chanting; "We've come to see Miss Jennia Jones, Miss Jennia Jones, Miss Jennie Jones, We've come to see Miss Jennia Jones, And how is she to -day" (Tune: "Mulberry Bush,") The other announces that Miss Jen- nia is washing; en it goes through verse after verse. Shouting Proverbs used to be one of the favorites at parties. While one person leaves the roost; the others de- cide on a proverb' for Iain to guess. Then each person is portioned out a word with instructions to shout it loudly when the guesser enters. All the word holders shout at once, and the poor puzzled guesser seeks to dis- tinguish enough to enable hint to piece the complete proverb. Copenhagen is another old and popular game. All the players but one, who stands in the centre, forth a circle with hands on a rope. The central player 'tries to slap the hands of the other players as they rest on the rope, and the players in turn try to elude hint try withdrawing their hands. It is a rule of the game not to let go both hands at once. Another singing game—'his one from England—is "Charlie Over the Water." The players clasp hands` are circle round and round, one in the centre singing: "Charlie over the water, Charlie over the sea, Charlie caught a blackbird, Can't catch me." At the last word all squat down, but if the one who is "it" can touch one of them before he gets into that position, that one is "it" Then there are "London Bridge," "Clap In, Clap Out," "Stage Coach," and "Spin the Platter"—all of which are pretty widely known. A quieter game is "Capping Quota- tions." One person gives one, the next person mast follow with a quo- tation beginning with the sante letter with which the previous quotation ends. By all means have "Going to Jer- usalem." Two rows of chairs are placed back to back—enough for all players, lacking one• Then a lively tune is played on piano or phonograph while the players starch round and round the chairs, clapping hands. When the music suddenly stops, there is a wild scramble for chairs, Tho refreshments should be the be- loved ones of childh•o'od-hot biscuits and honey, saucer pies or apple turn- overs, old-fashioned chewing candy, or popcorn balls. New Ideas in Curtains. No one thing adds more to the ap- pearance of the home than appro- priate window hangings. The effect of handsome rugs, good furniture, pictures and ornaments may be com- pletely spoiled by cheap, cracked shades, or earthen and drapes of eh - feria quality or jangling colors. It is of the utmost importance, than, that the woman who wishes her home to look moll uses care in se:oetin:; and making her curtains, If. your roller shades have given out and yoti need curtains, too, why not make roller curtains of some fabric which will suit your pocketbook and your room? You -have perhaps been longing for the handsome lade roller shades, but have been kept from buy- ing them by the prohibitive 'cost. Utilize your old rollers and mace shades of linen or cretonne. These, with draperies which harmonize, will prove as satisfying to your artistic eye ns, the cone nercially made lace nee, provided yogi de your work care- fully and well, In cutting your material exit the cur- thins two inches wider than the re- quired width when finished, and as much tenger as you need to alt9W • or an 1neh to be turned under at the top and the 'bottom finish, which may be either a deep hem, leve trjmmed, or scollops. The sides should be turned wider one inch for a horn and run on the machine with a loose tension. The bottom may be finished with a hem, through which is rust the curtain stick, or it may be scalloped and bound with the sante material or with ribbon. 1f scallops aro used as It finish, a casing' for the curtain stick must be stitched or J'u'st above the scallops, Linen shades, with dropes of a coloe to harmonize with the room, or of cretonne or chintz would be best for the ordinary living -room. Shades of cretonne or chintz require o large room or a sun room, .They call for drapes of plain material, If you do not want to snake roller shades for every window, and would like to try your skill at malting a lace shade for the door, r ll ers may be bought in any house furnishing store for thirty-five cents. The work does not call for any especial skill, but does demand infinite patience. To pre- vent sagging at the edges, make the top heal deeper at the outer eoreers. In making the linen shades and drapes there are many color schemes which could be appropriately worked out, but perhaps one of the most =- usual ones is a combination of mus- tard color and olive green; Other sug- gestive color developments are gray and rose, gray and old blue, Chinese blue and yellow. Mars Must Wait for Radio Phone, Says Marconi. The Wren of t'lars, if there are any, will have to wait patiently for some time before they got any wireless tele- phonic communication from us, ac - ceiling to Signor Marconi. the in - venter. He said that short waves would be necessary and that they would have to be seat out by a station !:. vieg a capacity of nt least a million 1,1,100 pourer; and vrC bare not:ling ap- proucl,iug Mutt yet. But ilt"re i ra iny; teri,cs agency a'erking to aid luau in his eiloots to flash his tltuughia greet di4tances. Prof. J. Fleming. a we•i! itlh)son scient- ist and inventor, exploine thvt wireless signata travelling from 6,100 to 12,000 miles are many tintaa sten ager than those travelling short distance!: by saying that this can be atcomnted for ouly by the pre:e'en of conducting layers fasting hundreds of miles above us. He says it is logical that waves would not cling to the earth, but it is now believed that the great strength of 'Natant signals 15 due to the Uresence of this conducting layer in the upper regions of the atmos- Prof, Fleming says the layer cont- pietely envelops the earth and as the radio waves move outward they strike it and are reflected and guided around it in a sort of gigantic wireless speak- ing tube, through which man can whisper radio secrets to the Antipodes without teeing overheard by listeners on outer planets. He declares this is an immense' boon to humanity, for otherwise long distance wirelessing, would require the expenditure of such vast amounts of energy that it would be commercially impracticable. Prof, Fleming hold's that long com- nutnication is impossible with the noon because elle has no Conducting screen, He has a .theory regarding the nature of this screen, which, he says, is caused by electrified dust thrown from the sun, IIe has photo- graphs of these dust clouds departing. IIe says the pressure of light is strong enough to overpower the backward gravitation action, with the result that particles of this dust continue their long journey earthward through empty space, travelling at great velocity, un- til they reach the outposts of our at- mosphere, where they are stopped by friction. According to Prof. Fleming every particle of this dust bears an electric charge so powerful that a stere handful would propel the largest litter a whole day. Long distance waves measure about ton allies and can be handled by a conduction screen, Signor Marconi, backing up Prof, Fleming, said the screen would not hinder the progress of shorten' waves, but likewise would not help them with the result that a tremendous generating power would' be needed. Neither of these scientists would hazard a guess on the possibilities of commirtnication with ether planets is the face of these discoveries, He Wanted Variety. Not long ago there occurred a big fire in a Mttseachusetts town, and the crowds that gathered were soon re -e:: fooed by ethers from near -by places. While running to this fire one man overtook another in the road who was proceeding in the same direction. "Where's the fire?" asked rho last- mentioned man, out of breath. "Don't tell me it's the carpet factory! I've seen that twice already." One inch of rain means 1'10 tons o1 water on every acre. 5 Boys jus+ love {+s smooth 'ire ran+ la+her