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Zurich Herald, 1919-09-19, Page 2IIA JOAN'S LETTER By T. C. BRIDGES. IL That night Colonel Peyton did a rather unusual thing. He called at the rooms of Father Creed, the Ro- man Catholic chaplain. Creed knew that something was up, but was too wise to ask questions, and the two men sat and smoked in silence. Suddenly the colonel spoke. "Know anything about that chap Harrigan, Creed?" "He doesn't talk much," replied Creed. "A quiet, decent sort of man. The warders 'like him." "They like him too well!" growled the colonel. "I caught him traffick- ing to -day, or trying to." Father Creed waited in silence while the governor told the story. "Quite interesting," he said briefly. "To my mind, there's some connection between his refusal to tell to whom he was writing and his anxiety to get out in July." "You think so ?" replied the other. "Try to find out, Creed, will you? I've had that man on my mind all day." Creed nodded, and the colonel took his leave. Next morning the chaplain paid a visit to the punishment cell. He used all his powers of persuasion, and they were not small, but without any result whatever. "Sure, I can't tell ye, • sorr," Harri- gan kept repeating miserably, and at last the kindly chaplain went away, with knitted brows and a feeling of something like despair. It went to his heart to see the poor little man suffer as he was evidently suffering, yet if he would not speak, there seem- ed no way of helping him. Father Creed was half way to the gate when he pulled up short, .made a quick turn, and hurried back in the direction of B Hall.. The warder-in- ',..ee gn 'Gree stereo straight up the bare stone stairs. All- unoccupied cells are left wide open, and the chaplain passed straighii, into No. 77. It was exquisitely clean, for Harri- gan had long ago learnt the prison lesson of tidiness. Father Creed stood for a moment, glancing round, then took a step forward and picked up the slate from the little flap -table where it lay. The upper side was clean. He turned it over quickly, and a quick look of imanmakeymnflzmumm SEE TRW IT'S ON CLA WS K EANS AND IS A N ENT CLJARANT� er PURITY nX v . 1./ Mf1RKlIMITC6PAa1/rP�kt3, L�A.��IIk iommemomexamonnumni J disappointment clouded his face. True, there was writing, but it had been smudged over apparently with a coat - sleeve, and at first it seemed to be all a blurr. The chaplain took it across to the small, high window, and holding it so that the light fell full upon it, set to studying it carefully. Whole words were missing, others were so smudged that they were al- most illegible; hut the pencil, for- tunately, had had a hard point, and the marks were scored deep, so that at last he began to make some sense of it. After fully ten minutes' study, he sat down at the table, took a small notebook from his pocket, and made a fair copy of the half -erased scrawl Sometimes he had to guess at a word, sometimes to leave one out altogether, but in the end he succeeded in making some sense of Harrigan's effusion. He carefully cleaned the slate be- fore laying it aside, then, slipping the notebook into his pocket, he left the cell and the hall, and made his way straight to the governor's office. Colonel Peyton, who was alone, glanced up, with a quick question in his frosty blue eyes. "Well, Creed," he said, "did you get any good out of him?" "I did not, colonel," answeredthe priest. "Speak, the little man would net; but for all that, I have put the puzzle -pieces together and solved them. And it's right I was, colonel," he added. "The two things hang to- gether—Harrigan's refusal to tell you to whom he was writing and his anx- iety to get away in July." "I don't like mysteries," replied the governor, frowning. "Explain." "Wait then, and Pll read you what Ifound. on Harrigan's slater 'Tis the, eteveet ^'sem`le — exraer-ew ar ere- ,'ar eze weigh a post for him." • , The colonel pricked up his ears. "By all means, let's hear it, Creed." Father Creed took out his notebook and opened it. " 'Dear mother,' he read. "Tis lit- tle time I have to write to you, for I do be so busy on this grand, great farm. But I'm doing well, and I've nigh worked off niy debt, and the masther says he'll be afther paying my ticket home to ye next July. So, praise the saints, I'll be seeing ye again afther all these weary years! Hard years they've been to ye, mother mavourneen, but take cheer, for I will not be leaving' ye again while ye live., And wid all I've learnt living here on the big farm, sure I'll be afther mak- ing a good living for ye. Ye'll get Father Burke to read this for ye, but don't be 'troubling him to write, for I've no time for letters at all, at all. The saints kape you. And so no more from your loving son, Lanty.' " Father Creed's voice was not as steady as it might have been as he finished this curious effusion. The governor stared at him a moment in silence. "So that's it, is it?" he said at length, "That's it, colonel. He has been keeping his address from the old lady all these years, and, upon my word, I think you'll have to allow him to do so." The governor grunted, "What, Creed! You back the man in a pack of lies?" "I do," said the chaplain stoutly. "Then I suppose I shall have to help you out," said the other, with a short laugh. "Yes; I'llegive you a free hand, o and tell him that he can leave the 1 ` arm' in July." "And that' 'tlie master' will pay his tioket?" put in Creed. "The Government will do that," chuckled the colonel. "And if it's a matter of another pound or two, by way of wages—" Once more the colonel laughed, and this time the chaplain laughed, too. (The End,) The skin of an elephant when tan- ned is very expensive, the tanning taking about six months. 'rornate Jelly Salad.—To' a pint of strained tomatoes, seasoned, add one- fourth package of gelatin, mold in caps and when cold turn onto lettuce leaves and serve w th salad dressing. A rice variation of this is the cddi• t;on of a little finely chopped cuc.imber or stuffed olives. etinatees r initiieht for sale everywhere. Yet Living. After Meta Deal had gone, Paulin© went ug to her room and locked the door. She was angry and hurt, and she did not want to see anyone. To think that Meta Deal should calmly ask her for Roy's letter --Roy's last letter, the•most sacred thing she had in the world—to read to her club girls! It had seemed like a desecra- tion •almost to have it framed in her room; she had done that only because. the thin paper would soon wearout, even with her reverent handling, and she simply had to see at every day! But the idea of suggesting that it be read aloud to a lot of girls whohad never even known Roy—Pauline :rem- embered how she had felt when Sadie. Cummings walked up to it an& ead it only the other day. Half-unconsci- ously she crossed to her desk and- read for the thousandth time the words she knew by heart. "This is to tell you not to worry, dear. I got a few scratches, but no- thing at all compared with enost=ef the boys. If you could see their courage —I tell you, it makes life .a great thing. When it's all over and we can begin our life, dear, we've got tn.keep it as big as this. We've got to• !seep our vision of the divine courage and patience and unselfishness -rind :love hidden in commonplace lives*. _ Of course I don't need to say this tj you, of all people! But it is a joy to write it because I feel as if in this way I were coming a little bit nearer you." The weak, straggling writing, broke there, and then a Line was add1i t "A bit tired. Think I'll take a nap. My love, dear, forever." He never had wakened frothat nap. Forwarded with the letter' was one from his nurse. "He will be an endless inspiration to all of us who knew him," she had written. ."I wish I could make you understand what his mere presence and his example of courage, and cheerfulness have been to others in the ward!" The old, overwhelming grief swept the girl. It was not for herself; she sobbed; it was not! It was because the world needed him so, . He would have made such a wonderful surgeon —all his teachers had said se. To have a life like that cut short was cruel beyond words. And then a strange thing happened. As clearly as if it were before her, Pauline saw Sadie Cummings's face as she stood reading that letter. More than that: she seemed to see Sadie Cummings's very self as she liad, been: since—less wild, less flippant, %land-' eringl„y. and crudely, 'out ho tl�,+ zr,graliTterekeetereeeeaW4.. sat there, trying t. e 7u.ic,-o i new, hard thing. Did s•e real! rant Roy's life to go on in the wo d, or did she want to keep it for herself alone, sharing its beauty and its in- spiration with no one else? That was the question. At last Pauline rose and went to the telephone. "Is that you, Meta?" she called. "Meta, I've been thinking about that letter, I was selfish. I see that now. You may read it to your girls," What He Got. With the idea of being agreeable, the visitor asked her hostess's child- ren what they learned at school, - "I," said the eldest, ''"get reading,_ writing, arithmetic and spelling, 'k "And what do you get, my little man?" said the visitor, addressing the littlest one, who had listened in a bored way while the others ran through their lists of accomplish- ments. "Oh," he replied promptly ,"I : dots readin', spellin', and spankin'. S The Way lle l%!tde Sales. I knew a man who had more sheep and lambs than he knew what to do with, and sales were slow, One day he went to town, had a four-page folder printed, got a few !envelopes and sent a folder to everybody be knew that he thought would be inter- ested in worth -while sheep or lambs, He did not try to see what big stories he could tell about his sheep when he got up the folder; he just told a plain, clear, matter-of-fact story, describing each sheep in plain language, and giving his price for it. If he had had twice as many sheep he could have sold them all. Now he is doing the same thing when he has cows, pigs or poultry for sale. It works just as well with one kind of stock as, it does with another. Nor does a salesman of this kind need to be confined to stock. This plan will sell anything. Do You Wish to Learn BOOKKEE ING We have a large audit practice and are working in oftioes every day. If there are any new ideas or methods in bookkeeping we know about them. W`o aro installing new bookkeeping systems all the time. Our bookkeeping course is planned from books in actual use in large cities. We also have home -study courses in shorthand and typewriting. Write for book- lets to Dept. 0., D. 0, MIMS AUDIT Co. and Commercial School Leggett Chambers - ifaanilton An electrically heated wagon to hold several food trays has been in- vented to insure warns meals for hos- pital patients; 1 miinard's 3,iniment Cures Dandruff. ten: r The; stand th 4 H r +' ,i Rub—and the Scrb s For Sale by Ali Dealers Comfort Lye is a very powerful cleanser. It is used for cleaning up the oldest and hardest dirt, grease, eto. Comfort Lye is fine for making sinks, drains and closets sweet and clean. Comfort Lye Kills rats, mice. roaches and insect pests. Comfort Lye will do the hardest spring cleaning you've got. Comfort Lye is good for making soap. It's powdered,perfumed and 100% pure. - All grd4ese Write for priced. TORONTO SALT WORKS O. J. CLIFF , TORONTO max, The clothes you were so proud of when new—can be made to appear new again. Fabrics that are dirty, shabby or spotted will be restord to their former beauty by sending them to Parker's. in is properly done at PARKER'S Parcels may be sent Post or Express. We pay carriage one way on all orders. Advice upon cleaning or dyeing any article will be promptly given upon request. PARKER'S DYE WORKS Limited Cleaners and Dyers, 791 Yonge St. +14 *F3r For Pr ' servin Toronto Real home-made preserves; and the woman who puts them up— how they're both appreciated. Preserving is not 'difficult to -day. The LILY WHITE way has removed the uncertainty. Most of yoirr preserving troubles have come from using sugar alone. Even the beginner can count on success if she will use half LILY WHITE and half sugars. LILY WHITE blends the sugar with the fruit and make preserves that will 'never crystallize. LILY WHITE and CROWN BRAND are both Dandy for Candy. Your motet sells Croon Brand and Lily Whits Corn Syrup in 2, 5, 10 and 20 pound tins. THE CANADA STARCH Ca, LIMITED, MONTREAL. Wilk for Bookkto/Pangs) . ' • w� COST OF LIVING FAVORS GERMANY ONLY COUNTRY WHERE PRICES HAVE FALLEN. Tendency in Allied Countries is to ' Maintain High Level Reached During the War, The Germans may nave perfectly good reasons for not being overen- thusiastic about the peace treaty, nevertheless the end of the war has left them in ono respect at least bet- ter,,off than any of the Allied and as- sociated nations. Germany is the only country to -day where prices have gone down considerably in the last few months. There was no reduction in the cost of living in England after the armistice; no reduction to speak of in the United States—in many instances, indeed, prices have advanced; in France everything is as expensive to. day as it was a year ago, if not more so, and in Italy it took a near-Bolahe- vistic revolt of the population to et feet a fall in the price of necessaries. In Holland and Switzerland, as well as in the Scandinavian countries, the e,lfect of the Cessation of the restric- tions on imports was counteracted by the increase in exports to the Central powers. Alone in Germany was the signing of peace followed by a general decrease in prices; the decrease is noticeable in almost all instances, considerable in soma - The "Vossische Zeitung," of Berlin, has,„ in the course of July,_published a survey of the cost of necessaries iu Germany as compared with prices pre. vailing in other countries. Prices in Other Lands. A summary of the rise of livin costs in Allied countries, as compiled by the Statistical Society of Bernei was printed, showing that the general level of prices has advanced sine( July, 1914:— In Italy, 481 per cent. In France, 368 per cent. In England, 240 per cent. In Canada, 215 per cent. In the United States, 209 per cent. The report adds that in the first twb years of the war the rise was conk pakatively small (in France 188 pet cent., in Italy 210 per cent.) But the submarine warfare soon caused a sky, ward move of all prices. In England the rise of .prices advanced from 1$0 ner cent, in'.June; cent in June, 1917, Turning to the' after -war tendency of price movement in neutral count tries, the Berlin newspaper publisheg the accounts of its correspondents in Rotterdam and Copenhagen. Accord( ing to the testimony of the Rotterda* report, not only did the signing of peace fail to produce a general fall of prices in holland, but in many in( stances it actually caused a rise. Thi was especially so in the case of veget tables and fruits, owing to the in, c, eased export to Germany. In regard to other articles the trend was generals ly downward and the illicit traffic ill foodstuffs, which in Holland had flourished no less than in the belli- gerent countries and suppliefl a con- siderable portion of the needs of the more well-to-do classes, has disap- peared from the scene. The only ar- ticle still sold surreptitiously in Hol- land is sugar. In Denmark, the Copenhagen cor- respondent of the Berlin newspaper says, prices are still high above peace level, but they are constantly going pack, as far, at least, as foodstuffs arcs concerned. Thus non -rationed butter cost in Copenhagen about July 10 something like 10,40 marks ($2.64 per pound, whereas in Berlin smug gled butter was bought at the rate of 20 marks a pound ($5 pre-war exµ change). The prices of textiles, clothe Ing and shoes are still high above Mg prewar level in Denmark. Remarkable Reductions. In Germany the fall of prices in thkt last few months has been, in some iit'a stances, remarkable. In May line, pods in colored patterns cost in Beni lin about $3 a yard; in July it walk about $1,20. On July 2 a pound o, coffee was $5; the same on July 0 cost only $3.25. In Eisenach the price of American lard fell. in a few !lays from $6,25 to $3,25 a pound; of barn and baton, from $7,50 to $4,50 and $3.75. As late as May it was almost imp possible to buy leather shoes at any price, even though one possessed shot tickets issued by the government, the beginning of July the "Vossisclidi Zeitung" says shoes were displayed ,abundance in the store windows, In Frankfort -On -Main soap (Iiinglisli and French), which sold the first week of July for about $5 a pound, was only $3.75 on July 10 and abundant quanta' ties were offered, 'English covert coal cloth, which in June cost about $20 a yard, was on July 10 reduced to $7. Some people's idea of making lift easy seems to be in making it herder for the rest of us.