The Brussels Post, 1915-10-14, Page 2The Green Seal
BY Ct1ARLBS BDM,9NJS WAi.K
Author of "The Silver Blade," "The Paternoster Ruby,,
"The Time Lock," etc,
404
CHAPTER VIL—(Cont'd)t I However, dead for sleep as I was,
Half dazed. and frantic with rage ' 1ilp late ff n thday investigating hiethh, matter
at the indignities T had been made to it will be recalled, was Sunday,
suffer, I tore and clawed furiously at I may dismiss this phase of the
the confounded thing about my head,
but. several seconds elapsed before i matter with a few words. As in most
was free of it. similar establishments in California,
I was sitting at one side of a coun- our club's subordinate servants were
try road in a hilly region, In no mostly Chinese; and when any diie-
direction was there indication of hu- covert' of anything hidden is depend -
Man habitation, and, no sign of the. ent upon a Chinaman's communica-
at away in the tiveness when he chooses to remain
secretive, it must stay forever unre-
vealed: at once the investigator col-
lides with a wall of suppression and
concealment that neither diplomacy
or coercion can penetrate.
Thus it was after 1 had,cemplained
to the steward: our Chinese room ser-
vants either in fact knew nothing of
flower stems of three century plants ; the invasion of my apartments, or
rearing ghostly aloft; empty distances'' else they would not tell whatever they
and unpeopled hills and ravines; the did know. The difficulty the steward
and ravines; the vaguer blur of the lead in suppressing his amusement
farther mountains—these alone met suggested that the night elevator
my vision. I"might have been in the; operator had not been discreet,
middle of the Mojave desert, for all I A Sunday morning walk up Hill
the idea I had of my whereabouts. Street to First Street is not the least
In one respect at least all roads' enjoyable exercise one may indulge
are alike: one and all they lead some- in, for in Los Angeles, where the air
where; and so, with the mountains as is always dynamic with that ethereal
a landmark, I set my back to them • fluid which enters into the veins and
and commenced walking. I shall not transforms the blood to Olympian
dwell upon that long. painful pilgrim- ichor, most Sunday mornings are
age back to the city. When, some- pleasant.
time after two in the morning I came ; i soon arrived at police headquar
to the end of a trolley line far out ,tors, in a mellow mood that was in
at the northern edge of town, the sharp contrast with the fierce sense of
cars had long since stopped running, outraged dignity that some hours pre -
and I footed the remaining weary dis- yiously had made me resolve upon
tante to my club, It was dawn when this errand. I entered reluctantly,
I arrived there. ?and sought out the chief of police,
The period, however, was not with- with whom I had some acquaintance.
out its alleviation. It gave my use- ; Upon this official, to my surprise,
less anger time to cool and afforded the enormity of the offense against
an opportunity for rational reflection. me produced no very marked im-
If to the diamond was to be ascrib-' pression. In fact, he ' checked me
ed the motive for the outrage, then it before I had fairly launched upon my
was no longer to be doubted that my kidnapping narrative.
possession of it was downright don- «Just a moment, Mr. Ferris," said
gerous for me. The nature of to- he. "Didn't one of our plain -clothes
night's attempt was sufficient to re- men call on you a day or two ago ?"
veal the extreme lengths. to which "Yes," I acknowledged; "chap ham -
somebody was recklessly daring ed Struber,I believe."
enough to go to obtain it. And this The chienodded. "I'll find out if
could be looked upon, probably, as he's in; T want him to hear your
merely a beginning! What desperate story."
measures might be next adopted! I perforce waited, for the chief im-
And how did it happen that the meditely left me alone in his private
search was directed toward me at all? office and went in search of Mr. Stru-
It was possible that at present the ber. In a minute or such a matter he
rascals were not certain that the die- returned with that hatchet-faced in -
mond was in my keeping, and were dividual, which made me regret still
only trying to make sure of its more that I had brought my griev-
whereabouts; this being the case, 1 ances to the police. I didn't want
might look for an attack from some
other unexpected source. Not ' a
pleasing thought; but there was re-
lief in knowing that. hereafter I
would be on my guard, and not to be
snared so easily es I had been to-
night.
The comforting reflection had just
entered my mind that my suite at
the San Gabriel Club, owing to its
more or less public situation, to say
nothing of the guard of servants on
duty at all hours, was next to inee-
cessible to any unauthorized inva-
sion, when I limped into the elevator.
Inspection of my disarray and gen-
eral battered appearance brought
the sleep -drugged operator broad
awake. The knowing Ieer that finally
overspread his features invited
friendly confidences, an" exchange of
passwords that denoted' us as being
on an equality in the Universal Or-
der of Gay Birds who know a thing
or two of -the city's night life, but
which, in my present frame of mind,
only annoyed me.
A second or two later I let myself rightly and. capably attended to.
into my own particular haven,• with a Just in time to catch him," said
muttered prayer of thanksgiving. It
was gray dawn.
Straightway I became conscious of
an unfamiliar atmosphere. I could
not for a time define the feeling or
fix upon its cause; but by and by I
came to realize that the general as -
distance I could "hear the purr of a
motor rapidly growing fainter.
Overhead the stars; behind me a
straggling hedge of ancient giant
cacti, relics of a byegone period still
to be seen here and, there about Los
Angeles; across the road, in an un-
fenced expanse of waste -land, the.
Struber to hear my story.
He took my presence quite as a
matter of course; as if I had come by
appointment instead of unexpectedly.
This superior assumption of fore-
knowledge and omniscience by a fel-
low of his apparent calibre impressed
me in a way, I might have told him,
quite contrary to the one intended. I
was aggravated and provoked at the
idea of being supposed to lay a mat-
ter requiring skill and finesse before
a man who, with all his insolent cock-
sureness, could not even put up a con-
vincing front.
On the other hand, you at once re-
cognized in the police head an extra-
ordinary strength of character; his
magnetism you instantly felt as a
big and moving realty. He was an
enprmous man of erect bearing, his
dark curling hair graying at the tem-
ples, his moustache and carefully
trimmed Vandyke of a reddish hue.
Briefly, he was the sort of man to
whom one could confide one's troubles
with confidence that they would be
the chief of police. "Struber was
just going home. Now go on."
The chief focussed his calm gaze,
upon me. His eyes were blue and
usually bore a humorous light; but;
they possessed a trick of suddenly'
narrowing at times into a fixed and
pect of my rooms did not appear just uncomfortably penetrating regard,
as it should. Here, in the midst of behind which one felt the whole force
surroundings that were as intimately of the man's virile personality. They
common to me as my two hands, I assumed this cold, discerning look
was filled with a sense of strangeness. more than once as I proceeded.
It was a nightmarish experience that From the time the page notified me
made me impulsively turn on all the of the telephone call until my return
lights. to the club, I recounted circumstan-
In the brilliant revealing glare I tially what had happened. I held
had it brought home to me precisely back lithe facts of the burglary until
how difficult of access my rooms real- I could hear some expression upon
ly were.
Somebody had been in them during
my absence.
CtIAPTER VIII.
I am rather finicky in some respects
and it is almost second nature with ward, pressed against his chest, while
me to have a place for everything he regarded me from time to time
and everything in its place. with a far -away, detached look, as if
I could not say that my belongings engaged with his own thoughts and
what to me was the more heinous
crime. But for some unexplained
reason the two officers remained
apathetic. The chief glanced ques-
tioningly at Mr. Struber, who stood
holding his derby "hat, crown out -
my office had not been overlooked.
But I could not see Struher's motive
for milting that particular question,
"No,' I replied at length; "but
had intended going there." Then I
went on:
"Fact is, I haven't told you the ex-
tent of last might's happenings. While
I was being 'forcibly hauled around
the country In an automobile, Seine -
body broke into my rooms and ran-
sacked them high and low.
«I'm clear up a stump about that,
too; so far as I've been able to dis-
cover, nothing was carried away. I
tell you this because it suggests the
possibility of ney office having been
entered also during the night --
though not having been there yet I
don't know this to be so."
Mr. Struber's countenance' took on
a ciu•ions expression that I was un-
able to read; longer acquaintance with
him suggested that it might have
been a pale outward manifestation of
some inward excitement. But the
chief all at once stabbed me with one
of his steady disconcerting stares.
"Have you some particular thing—
paper, document, anything of the
kind—that some person is especially
anxious to get hold of?" he question-
ed.
"Nothing
uestion-ed"Nothing worth taking such desper-
ate risks to secure—at least, not out-
side the bank."
"But if such a thing exists," was
the chief's comment, "nobody besides
yourself would know positively where
it was."
True enough," I admitted. "But
the person who would restore my
watch and purse and break into my
rooms without stealing objects of
unquestioned value, is plainly look-
ing for something of still greater
value—something common sense
would tell him I Would not guard
carelessly,"
I was still constrained to keep sil-
ence about the diamond, for I was
filled with conflicting doubts and mis-
givings, among them being an absence
of certainty that after all the dia-
mond was the cause of the inexplic-
able machinations being aimed against
me.
It was Mr. Struber who put a per-
iod to the situation. With surprising
animation, he clapped his hat upon
his head and moved toward the door.
"Leave it to me, Chief," he said
bluntly. "I'll go with Mr. Ferris."
And addressing me: "I'd like to lamp
that office o' yours again before any-
body has a chance to mess round in
it. ' Let's beat it."
As we walked down the slope to
Broadway I observed that my com-
panion moved with a peculiar shuf-
fling gait, apparently indifferent to
things about him. The impression of
laziness and slovenliness produced by
these characteristics was quickly dis-
pelled; however, when I found that I
had to hurry to keep up with him. At
the corner we took a car that carried
us to the monolith of steel and con-
crete that housed my offices.
(To be continued.)
AURORA WAS FEARED.
Ancients Looked Upon It as Omen of
Direful Slaughter.
Many people believe that the aurora
borealis is a phenomenon peculiar to
modern times. But this is not true.
The ancients used to call it chasmata,
bolides, 'and trabes, names which ex-
pressed the different colors of the
lights. The scarlet aurora was looked
on by the, superstitious barbarians as
an omen of direful slaughter; so it is
not unusual for descriptions of bloody
battles to contain allusions to northern
lights. In the annals of Cloon-mac-
noise its is recorded that in 688 A.D.,
accompanying a terrible battle be-
tween Leinster' and Munster, Ireland,
a purple aurora lit the northern skies,
foretelling the slaughter.
A Long Farewell.
Private Doherty was six 'feet four
in his socks; the sergeant was much
shorter. The sergeant looked along
the line. "Head up there, Dooley!"
he cried. Doherty raised his head.
"Up higher," said the little sergeant.
"There, that's better. Don't let me
see your head down again.» "Am I.
to be always like this?" asked Do-
herty, staring away above the little
sergeant's head. "You are." "Then
I'll say good-bje to ye, sergeant, for
I'll never see yez again."
Land in Bond Street, London, has
fetched 186 per square foot, or more
than x1,500,000 per acre.
Not until about six months after
his marriage does a man begin to
realize that courtship may be a pre-
face to hardship,
"What's In A Name"?
Ruffles and Plaice.
Many of the velour oats for elill-
dren of 10 or 12 years of age are
made with considerable fullness,, the
skirt portion being cut circular, with
a straight threadin front andthe
back seam cut on a true bias.
For juvenile wear, the broad belt
remains good style.
A stunning oat of two -toned plush
in brown has its skirt part extremely
full, the sleeves are set in at the arm
scye, and a standing collar of fitch
comes up straight and snug about the
throat likea bandage, Another coat
is beaver trimmed upon a foundation
of Sofro blue broadcloth, The belt
is novel, as it is very wide under the
arms, and narrows front and back.
Flat, smoked pearl' buttons are used.
Wide -wale corduroy, trimmed with
black skunk, is employed extensively.
It wears well and looks well, and what
more can -mortal woman ask?
Velvet will predominate this winter
and faille will be strong.
Short hooped petticoats are attach-
ed to some of the abbreviated dancing
frocks that have come from Hullos.
They produce a flaring silhouette that
is very dancy and quaint.
Tulle continues the beat material
for dancing gowns and designers 'have
found that it is particularly beauti-
ful when draped over metallic tissues.
The new evening frocks are elaborate-
ly trimmed with paillettes, and un-
usual laces and embroideries.
A petticoat, which is gorgeous
enough to be a frock itself, is made
up of peachblow silk, veiled in spang-
led tulle. The effect of iridescent fish
scale spangles, rosy -hued silk and
white tulle is flowerlike and beauti-
ful. Another fancy petticoat is made
of jetted net over black pussy willow
taffeta. The flounce is outlined in
close quilling.
A charming costume in Nile green
taffeta has the base of the skirt
caught up with ovals ofpink roses
and leaves, giving a scalloped effect
to the hem. The short -waisted bodice
is decorated with rosebuds—white
straps of crystal beads go over the
shoulder and end in tassels at front
and back. There are very short
sleeves of Nile green tulle and a large ,
butterfly bow with, sash ends of tulle
extends from the centre -back closing.
An afternoon dress of black crepe has
a princess effect obtained by straight
folds hanging from the bust nearly
to the hem of the skirt, the fullness
being held by a dull gilt girdle. A
cuirass of taffeta is shrouded in.
crepe and headed by bands of dull
gilt. Festooned crepe gives extra full-
ness to the skirt.
A simple semi -mourning dress on
princess lines is of black crepe de
chine with collar and cuffs of white
organdie embroidered in black.
A Hess of striped poplin, brown
and black, has an overdress effect
shorter at the back than at the front.
The sleeves and vestee are of crepe
de chine.
A 'model in white striped taffeta;
brown and black, is cut with a _very
deep yoke empigcement front and
back, but shortened very materially
on the hips. A full, circular skirt
joins the yoke and follows its line
with two rows of piping on the hem
to accentuate the fullness and short-
ness of the skirt. The chiffon drop
sleeves have oversleeves of the silk.
There are two styles of fur coats
this year, the coat that fits and the
coat that doesn't. Both ripple in
godet folds below the waist.
As for furs, two kinds are in vogue,
caracul and Hudson seal, but this is
only the first style feature of a fur
coat, for they are to be trimmed with
a contrasting fur this winter. The
collar, which is a big, soft, high chok-
er, into which one can sink the chin;
the cuffs, which are wide bands about
the long sleeves, and the bottom edge
of the fur coat are made of a con-
trasting fur. This contrasting fur
on a Hudson sen; coat 18 generally
beaver, otter or nutria.
An attractive boudoir in very pale
—including; all the odds and ends of not heeding me at all. —
junk that in time accumulate to litter I I was nettled at this show of indif-
a bachelor's quarters—were disar- ference.
ranged, but at the same time I knew 1 "Is it possible," I demanded, "that
SPARTAN MOTHER. WOULD GIVE
that every movable object had been you will matte no move to apprehend ALL HER SONS TO TI -JE EMPIRE
disturbed and not replaced exactly !the scoundrels?"
as it had been before. I Once again now I was subjected to
I made a hasty examination of the detective's tool, deliberate, com-
drawers and closets: my linen and prehensive scrutiny, as if I were
other clothing were still neatly fold- some strange species of fauna
ad or hanging from their hooks; my I brought to his notice for the first
papers were all in plane; but here ; time,;. I resented it.
were numerous little details of evi- "Well V.; I curtly urged them to
dance that made it plain to me that respond.
everything bad been overhauled and The detective's regard shifted to
the. place thoroughly ransacked by an the chief. They exchanged a meaning
adept at the game. I could not die- look. Struber coughed' deprecatingly
cover that anything had been taken; behind his hat and raised his eye-
butif a letter, say, or some article as brows in an expression of disavowal,
small as the diamond had been the as if his unspoken thought were one
object of the search, it inevitably of wonder that I should have burden -
must have been brought to light. ed him with a recital of my misad-
Of a sudden I recalled Struber''s de- ventures; then for the first time since
scription of the burglarized room at entering the room, lie spoke, address -
the Republic Hotel. There were car-: ing me,
Lain striking features of resemblance "S'pose yuh haven't been to your
between the two episodes that made office this morning—what?"
the one affecting me something more Now as a matter of fact, I had in -
than annoying; it became positively tended going there from police head-
quarters, but as yet I had given no
hint of my intention, nor had 1 men-
tioned the burglary. It had already
occurred to me that last night's mar -
enders had made a complete job of
their enterprise, and consequently
disquieting with a hidden, indefinite
note of menace. It was as if 1 were
encompassed by maleficent unseen
far
cespbent upon m undoing. My
faith in the permanenntee p ofestablish-
ed
ed conditions Was rudely shaken.
k;
vM
�, i�arrie7i�7 .
Shove ore blr, 11 if -1:1',1
three of whom le' e' ,,.
oar 11 .!.o.>., iirr c 1;
sixwete able to go a,•d
.kssepkt.i amen]].,
'it Dint:'. tr uol'r, trod two Cif his puna, -all w
volors, There are fon. other Sons and
-;:r1 The mother 1.e1.,05 that site'whilics nil
bight for Ring; anti country.,
it means irreproachable
quality and value. ...
Foods for Growing Poultry.
One of the most important things
demanding the special attention of
the poultry raiser at this season of
the year is the matter of developing
the young stock and of securing rapid,
healthy growth. There are several
items, of care and management which
affect the growth of the young chicks
butnone is more important than in-
telligent feeding,_ and while this is
true, itis well to remember that food
alone will not accomplish the desired.
result. Our remarks at this time
will be confined to the question ` of
feeding, but we cannot refrain from
calling attention to the fact that feed-
ing is not • the sole factor, as many
people suppose, and who consequent-
ly do. not get results because of lack
of attention to other details.
The list of poultry foods is long
and is very generally known. Briefly,
it consists of all kinds of grain, whole
and ground, including small 'grains,
such as buckwheat, millet, kaffir
corn, etc. In addition to the various
grains, there is green food, such as
grass, dlover, alfalfa and all kinds
Of growing vegetation and all root
vegetables. Animal foods form an-
other important group, and under
this head may be included all forms
of insect life which is usally acces-
sible to fowls that have free range'
and the meat foods in the form of
fresh meat scraps, which many poul-
try raisers can procure at a reason-
able cost.
Bowel Regulators.
There are also various meat meals,
beef scraps and concentrated meat
foods on the market that are of value
if procured and fed in a fresh condi-
tion. Oil meal, linseed meal, cotton-
seed meal, etc., are valuable only as
occasional additions to the rations,
and they serve principally as bowel
regulators. Condiments and similar
prepared foods are not necessary
and frequently are harmful in their
effects.. Skimmed milk, buttermilk,
and other milk products are of value.
The beginner in poultry raising is
bewildered when he starts to investi-
gate the feeding question and is con-
fronted' with the long list of avail-
able foodstuffs. He is apt to become
discouraged if he gains the impres-
sion that he must have everything in
the list, which is, of course, impos-
sible and undesirable. Each section
of the country has its own local con -i
ditions, and no matter where the
poultry raiser is located, he can find
sufficient variety in the foods at
hand to serve his needs. He should
not be misled into thinking that there
is a set formula comprising a few
special feeds, which is better than.
any other combination ,that can be
secured. We make that statement
because readers of poultry literature
have no doubt found certain combin-
ations described and recommended as
being the most satisfactory and pro
ductive of greatest results. They are
therefore
Confused in Tlieir Ideas
and do not know what course to fol-
Iow. For the benefit of all such
breeders and those who have not yet
learned the facts, we wish to state
that there is no one formula which
can besaid to be positively the best
under any and all conditions. What
has been said thus far applies to the
food question in general, regardless
of whether the object be to obtain in
young stock or for any other special
purpose.
Feeding for growth requires differ-
ent rations than would be the case if
the object was to fatten fowls or to
encourage egg production. The mis-
take which most people make is to
assume that flesh -producing foods, or
rather fattening foods, are more de-
sirable for growth than any others.
They overlook the fact that growth
means the development of bone and
muscle quite as much as it does addi
trona] flesh and especially fat. Young
chicks intended for broilers or fries
may be confined and pushed to the
limit with corn and other fattening
rations, but much handling fits them
only for table poultry, and they are,
ruined for other purposes. The young
stock should be given as much range
as possible, and the poultry raiser
should start his plans with that
thought in mind. A plentiful supply
of green food should be within reach,
and if it is not growing in the runs
or yards, it should be supplied from
the list of articles previously men-
tioned.,
Good General Formula.
Readers who prefer to have a regu-
lar formula and who do not wish to be
bothered with trying to provide a
changing variety will find the follow-
ing a most excellent combination:
Cracked wheat, 25 parts; pinhead
oatmeal, 16 parts; millet seed, 10
parts; granulated charcoal, 6 parts;
chick size grit, 10 parts; buckwheat,
5 parts; rape seed, 6 parts; broken
rice, 6 parts; cracked peas, 5 parts,
and ground beef scraps or other meat
meal, 6 parts. Some of the above
articles are not easily obtainable in
all localities, and the mixture should
be made with the ingredients at hand
and considering cost. A dry mash
consisting of ground wheat, corn and
oats may be kept in hoppers where
+ the chick can go to it at will. A little
1 granulated charcoal and cottonseed
meal make a desirable addition to the
dry mash; the former sweetens the
crop and aids digestion and the lat-
ter is a good regulator.
blue crepe de chine has wide; deep
armholes, edged with fringe. The
fichu shawl collar is also edged with
fringe, which follows down one side
of the front opening. On the upper
front, over the shoulders, and ac3•osa
the back there is a decorative design
in rope silk embroidery of the same
color.
WILL USE PRUNING KNIFE,.
British- Government Will Cut Down
Expenses.
That the British Government actu-
ally means business in its inaugura-
tion of a national campaign of thift is
proven by the feet that, when, in the
House of Lords, a resolution was
moved in favor' of economy in public
expenditure—the mover,. Lord Mid-
dleton, sharply criticising many im-
portant items—the Government, in-
stead of resenting the action, actually
accepted the resolution and made the
vote in its favor unanimous. Lord
Lansdowne, a prominent member of
the. Government, while declaring that
the first rush of preparation for war
meant extravagance and loss, yet ad-
mitted frankly that there were ways
which present expenditures could,
be curtailed, and promised that the re-
solution. in favor of economy should
bear early fruit in the way of real
economies. It is pointed out by the
Economist, one of the greatest au-
thorities on financial questions in the
world, that the expenditure of the
Government has immensely increased
en many' new services, while old ser-
viees, on which economies might he
expected, call for just as much money
as ever, The wisdom of much of the
new expenditure is sharply questioned
and the use of the pruning knife to
bring the whole tree of public expen-
diture down to the requirements fixed
by present conditions is strongly re-
commended.
_--_
MOLASSES AS MUNITIONS. '"
Large Quantities Wanted for Making
Explosives.
There has been an unprecedented
demand in the United States recently
for blackstrap molasses. It is needed
in making alcohol and is part of a for-
mule for the manufacture of powder.
A Cincinnati dealer in sweets placed
an order for ten tanks of 8,000 gal-
lons each, or a total of 80,000 gallons
of this blackstrap grade of Cuban
molasses that is to he Used by a large
powder concern in the'making of ex-
plosives for war purposes.
The price of blackstrap molasses
has doubled since the orders began
pouring in from the powder mills.
This is the third large order that
has been placed by the dealer within
a few days.
As to where the powder is to he
used he does not know, only that he
also has received other orders for
future delivery, and the Gales aro be-
ing made to several powder' =nudes -
fusers not only near Cincinnati, but
in other parts of the country,
One baby out o! five dies before it
is a year old.
Over one-half of all the
women in
England between the ages of fifteen
end forty-five are unmarried.
SOLDIERS AND
SWEETHE
MANY MARRIAGES IIASTENED
BY CALL TO THE FRONT,
British People Determined to See the
War Through to the Bitter
Bud,
The other day I took up H. Q.
Well's very clever story, "Anne Ver-
onica." It is a story, a8 its readerp•
know, of the revolting daughter;
writee T. P. O'Connor. All the unrest
which finds its vent in the militant
suffragist movement, in the works o
the feminists with their defiance of
the conventions of religion and of so-
ciety for centuries; all these things
And their symbol and their expression
in this daring and brilliant story'.
Though I was deeply interested, I
found it hard, several times not to
throw the book down. This world of
oft emotions, of the eternal feminine,
somehow or other, seemed to me re-
mote and unreal at a time when every
day I was reading of the bodies bf
young, and often beautiful, human be- ,
ings being torn to bleeding and tor-
tured rags. Blind men whom I have
seen at the Dunstan House—which
was organized by C. Arthur P.earson,•
the journalist, who is himself blind,
and lent by, Otto Kahn—meet you in
the street; men stumping on one leg
pass you;
At Hospital Windows
or on hospital verandas you see pale-
faced men with head still bandaged;
everywhere, even in the busy streets
of London, you come across these re-
minders of the horrors and sufferings
of war. What time is there amid
such mementoes to think of the soft
alliances of life?
And yet at no time is one -more re-
minded of the eternal feminine and
the irresistible mating of human be-
ings than at this very moment, Na-
ture's instinctive tendency to the pre-
servation of the race asserts itself
fiercely during the war, which will kill
oft' so many of the bravest and the i
best.
Everywhere the young officer or the.
young soldier is to be seen with his
sweetheart. Pathetic figures they
frequently make, for the girls often
seem as if they ought still to be in
short frocks, with baby faces, and
curling, fair hair, and peach blossom
cheeks. They seem to be school girls
who ought not yet to know anything
beyond speculation and dreams of the
mysteries of life. But they and their
sweethearts snuggle up to each other
in train, in street car, in parks, in
theatres, in the street, and they are
off to the church or the Registry Of-
fice the moment it is announced that
the man has to go to the war. People
respect this perennial spring of hu-
man hope and destinies.
Clinging Like Love Birds.
The other day, travelling back
from Harrowgate, a soldier and his
sweetheart—she looked little more
than a child—were separated in the
crowded carriage. A man immediate-
ly got up and surrendered his seat,
and the two were once more at each
other's side, clinging to each other
like love birds.
It was all very human and very sad,
and very touching, all the more touch-
ing to me at the minute because my
travelling companion was an old
Scotch gentleman who was rushing
back from Harrowgate to his daugh-
ter. Taking out the London Times,
he pointed out to me the name of her
husband, his son-in-law, in the list of
the killed. I tried hint on the ques-
tion I have put to so many bereaved
parents since this war began, as a.
test of the spirit of the nation:
"Do you feel as strongly as ever,"
I asked, "that we must go on with
this war until we have won?"
"More than ever," was the reply.
Then, without any manifestation of
the pain in his heart, he went on to
talk of other things.
I have never received any other
answer, even from those whose only
child's death in the war had taken all
the light opt of their lives and left
them in ever -enduring darkness.
GERMAN CUPID.
Surplus Royalties, Wedded inBalkans,
Help Fatherbsnd.
It has been pointed out that how-
ever unsatisfactory German diplomacy
may be, as marriage brokers and king
purveyors the Germans are unmatch-
ed. It is especially in the Balkans
that this Teutonic marriage broking
is seen at its best. The royal famillea
of all the Balkan States, except Ser-
bia and Montenegro, aro German by
origin or marriage. The King of Ru-
mania is a Ilohenzollern of theminor
branch, the Queen of Greece is a sis-
ter of the Kaiser himself, the Ring of
Bulgaria comes from the house of
Saxe-Cobourg and Gotha, and the
Queen is a Princess of Reuse.
The cornering of the marriage mar-
ket is explained by the large number
of princes whom Germany always has
to dispose of, and the fact has not
been without its influence on the.pol•
icy of the States concerned, as the
obstinacy of the late Ring of Rumania
and the self-assertion of the proseni
Ring of Greece have shown.
Some machine -gime have it firing.
power of over a thousand shots 1
Minute.