University of South Carolina Libraries
A WOMAN'S INFlOENCi ?? 41. , r CHAPTER VI. SOME VIEWS OF PO VTHTT. "When Brian descended to the breakk fast room next morning, he found Margaret alone. She was standing near the open win" ?'! 4?v4-a*>4- htnati nrronrrintf CDmA lilies in a bowl that ehe did not notice his presence until he was close beside His voice recalled her absent thoughts, and, looking up with a 6tart, the warm K. blood mounted to her brow, notwithH standing her effort to control the momentary weakness. "I did not expect to see you so soon." she said, In answer to his "Good morn"And I did not expect to see you alone. "We are both disappointed?I I most agreeably. Will you allow me to assist you? No? Perhaps you doubt my ability. I 6hall improve it by watching you. Or, better still, I 6hall tase advantage of this opportunity to tell you that I am sorry I ever came here." "That is a poor compliment to Miss Hilton and me," replied Margaret, with an attempt at lightness, and an absorbing interest in her task. "You know what I mean, "he returned, with some warmth. "You know why Ithe very sight of you is painful for me. You seem happy enougn, but I am ut iterly miserable. '' ul)id you sleep well last night?" she broke in, with questionable irrelevancy, placing the flowers, which she could make no further pretext of fixing, in the middle of the table. . "No, I didn't sleep at all," was the rather 6hort reply; "I was haunted." "Haunted! How unpleasant! I wonder why they don't bring in breakfast. "Will you ring that bell by you, please?" "No, no! Wait one moment, Margaret. I dare say the coffee isn't ready, or the steak isn't cooked, or something. I don't like my breakfast half done; besides, I'm not hungry." "But I am; I've had a 'long ride this morning." u,r J;a nf C'/iAnoftf I xou u1uu 1/ ubo L\l i iuo ou k> luud>-1/. i Confound that hole! How I wish it had 'been swallowed up before I ever saw it! ["Why did you deceive me, Margaret.? You told me your name was Smith." "And 60 it was while I was there. 'Others knew me as Miss Smith, whj* shouldn't you?" She colored in spite of herself. "You might have told me afterward," !he continued, reproachfully. "V>"hat a difference it would have made!" "I understand," she replied, with not a little scorn, and Brian, feeling that ho had committed himself again, was about to say something in his own vindication, when the door opened and Miss Hilton entered, thus putting an end to the tetea-tete. He saw Margaret's expression of reJifef, and his heart sank accordingly. But during breakfast 6he talked to him bo pleasantly and naturally that he began to feel less depressed. He was even planning a quiet hour with her during the morning, when she arose from the table, with the words: "I think I shall ride over to The Cedars, M<ss Hilton. I haven't seen Alice since my reiuru, juu miuv?. * au ou.hj and cousin Brian will have lots to talk over, so I'll leave him in your hands." Miss Hilton noticed the change that pa-sed over Brian's countenance, but she answered quite cheerfully: "Very well, my dear. You mustn't neglect your friends. Brian and I will have a nice, quiet morning together. Don't let the Colonel keep you too long." "After your remark about the quiet morning, I think I'll spend the day," wa6 Margaret's quiet rejoinder, as she passed through the door which Brian held open for her. Twenty minutes later she had mounted her horse, and was following the well-kept road through the busy little town. But though she was nodding every few minutes to the people she passed, her thoughts were far ir>m her present surroundings. Certain ideas had obtained lodgment! In her mind and refused to be displaced For the first time, the possibility that her uncle had looked forward to a union between her cousin and herself came to her with a certainty that was absoluta pain. She recalled many incidents and allusions,many half-forgotten conversations, which received a deeper meaning from this new possibility. She remembered that often, in speaking of Brian, her uncle had said a goo 1 wife would be his salvation, that home ties would bind him to a more useful life, and that his most earnest desire was to see his wayward son well anil happily married. .but she remember* d. above all, that when her uncle lay dying he had awakened, after many hours of unconsciousness, to say, in accents which only hei ear could catch: "God will bless and guard you, Margaret. l?on't forget Brian, and be good to him for my sake." The request had sounded oddly then, but now it had a new meaning. Was her uncle looking into the future even then, or did he in his dying moments - 5 ? * -1 ?Kot Uia V.AI.AO enjoy im; iiuppj uciusjuu iuuv mg uv^vo were realized." Margaret was trying to answer this painful question when she reached her destinatiot-'-b handsome, mddern-lookIng house, surrounded by stately cedars. Running up the broad staircase, with' the air of one familiar with the surroundings, she paused before a halfopened <loor, with the words: "May I come in, Alice?" For answer, there "vvas a ylad cry; the Bound of a chair falling, followed by rapid footsteps, and a pretty girl of a brunette type rushed into Margaret's arms and kissed her with affectionate impetuosity. "Oh, I am so glad to see you, "she cried between her spasmodic caresses. "You dear child, you've been away an ago., You look pale, too, or. perhaps it's this! bla< k dress. C trne right in. Everything's mussed as usual. There, take my big chair, and consider yourself quite privileged. So that wretched place didn't quite kill you?" , "No," laughed Margaret, allowing herself to be placed in the chair in question. "I am very much alive, as you Bee. You pjid Miss Hilton really amuse mn; your ideas of S'conset are as different from the reality as night from uay. ' It is a whole host of delights in itself. I am really not an object of sympathy, so your pity has all been thrown away." ] "So it has, you bad girl. Why didn't you tell me before. I might have saved Bume. Still I'm glad to see you back. Uncle will be delighted. He has been I positively unbearable, and I do hope your presence will improve his temper. .Oh, I had quite forgotten. Your cousin / Is with you, isn't he? is He nice? How does he like things, and how do you like him?" Alice moved nearer to Margaret, and taking her hand, laughingly guzed into her face. t "Yes, he is home. He came yesterday afternoon, and Well, it is simply unendurable. Fancy the position of playing hostess to a man who feels you have taken his birthright. Yet, there are people in this place who think me fortunate. Some persons never see beyond the surface." "Well, don't think about it, my dear," said Alioe, consolingly. '"It isn't your fault. I am anxious to see your cousin. His return is. all over the neighborhood, of course, im arraia It won't please Mrs. Downs. She may think poor dear Alfy's chances lossened thereby,, He has pined to a mere sKeieiou uunug your absence, Margaret." A contemptuous expression passed over Margaret's face. "I do wish some one would marry him and carry him off to another neighborhood," she said. "I am so thoroughly tired of seeing him around. He may be the paragon his mother thinks him. I daresay he is. He hasn't brains enough to be otherwise. But I prefer a littlo wickedness to want of sense." "Don't be sarcastic discussing Alfy, my dear. Ho is a very nice, girlish young man, and his bank account will reach from here to the Goilf of Mexico." "Perhaps if it were 6horter ho might be better," commented Margaret. "Money causes all the trouble in the world." "The want of it, you mean,"suggested Alice, sagely. "It is a wonderful power, no doubt. It makee beauty more beautiful, virtue more virtuous, and greatness more great. The very thought of it manes mo wax eloquent. oonousi^, my dear, poverty is the meanest thing under the sun. Nell agrees with me there. I had a letter from her this morning, and to cheer you I will read It." "How is Nell?" asked Margaret, Smiling at a thought her mind conjured up. "I don't see that plaque she painted. Have you become unappreciative of her genius?" "No," returned Alice from the depths of her desk, where she was bunting for her letter. "But uncle gave me that lovoly little landscape on the . left there, and when I hunij it by Alice's plaque, the contrast between it and her indigo lane and impossible trees was startling, even to my inartistic eye. I stood it for a few days, but at last nature would b^ar no more, and the plaque now reposes in my trunk, where the sun can not fade or the dust injure. Here's her letter. "My Dear Alice; At last I am sitting down to answer your letter, and acknowledge its welcomo inclosuro. My head is buzzing the things I have to Bay, but I'll begin at the beginning. Gratitude before everything in my category. I will therefore thank you for your Check. I spell it with a capital, you observe. I don't know that it is correct according to the rules of orthography, but under the laws which make us important or insignificant in proportion a? we are rich or poor, it is perfectly iD order. Henceforward I shall adopt it a? showing my deep and abiding respect xui uuuu^j "This particulai money came in quite apropos. AVe had been getting oi:r summer wardrobe (I use this word advisedly, as it sounds more imposing than enumerating details), and you will not have to strain your imagination much to bring to mind the painfully emaciated condition of the family purse. It looked extremely humble, I assure you, despite the fact that poverty is always proud. But the moment your check arrived, what a change! It immediately swelled with pride, like the fabled frog whose picture I U6ed to admire so" extravagantly, and though it has been considerably depleted since, it still remains fat. "Now, Alice, a word of advice. Keep in with the old bear and make him leave you some money; for, horrible thought,the Reynoldses seem to be growing poorer. I think it a decided mistake on the part of mamma and papa to have had so many children. But I have noticed that this mistake is common amonir poor people. I suppose they want numbers "somewhere, so they make up in babies what they lack in dollars. If matters don't mend with us, shall go to writing stories; I always did think I had a talent. "In your last letter you mildly inquired if we liked our new flat. My dear child, the question was superfluous. Flat3 weren't made to be liked; not the cheap flats, at least, and those are the only kind we indulge in. Our present one is a narrow tunnel, probably a trifle broader than the road which is popularly supposed to lead to eternal bliss. We have daylight at each end and varying degrees of twilight in the middle, and our bed-rooms tifg bo small that Bess, being a girl of resources, kneels upon the bed to say her prayers and prevent me from tumbling over her feet, which, to say the least, are not in proportion to our apartment. "Speaking of Bess, I'm dying to know if she ever mentions Mr. Spencer in her letters t.o you. That man is my abomination, and I shiver at the possibility of such a brother-in-law. He likes her, I know, for he comes here nearly every night, sits in our b:-st chair, which he has nearly worn out, and talks through the bigg.-st nose it has been my fortune to see. Altogether ho is odious, and if Bess marries him, she is no sister of mine. "Allusions to marriage and such giddy subjects remind me of what I consider a most important piece of news. I have a devoted follower, a painfully verdant, callow, youth, with brains so few as to be scarcely worth noticing, and a bank account so long that ? well, that, like charity, it covereth a multitude of sins. He is so enraptured with me, that my red hair is golden in hit eyes, from which fact you may estimate the extent of his imagination. " 'If he only had a little more sense,' I find myself saying morning, noon anc night, but with all the possibilities tha< Cluster around that 'if,' the unwelcom< fact still obtrudes itself. His mind is ? vacuum, and I, like nature, abhor i vacuum. "Sometimes I wonder if his pocketbook can fill the place whero his brair ought to be. As th? question is a momentous one. pray give me the benel!' of your advice. Meantime, I continu< to be the sun of his existence, tho stai oi nis niKQt, aau mew outer luminaries And as, also, you must be thoroughly tired of me by this time, I will t?aj good-by, for the present. Everybody joins me in love to you. More in my next. Nell. " " "P. S. Beintr a woman, my lcttai wouldn't be complete without a post script. So here it is: Give my love U Miss Margaret when you see her. suppose she is as sweet and as pretty ai ever, for I know her good fortune hasn' spoiled her." Margaret flushed and smiled at thif allusion to herself. "Just as bad as ever," she commented "Nell will never be staid nor dignilied.1 monirnn Oil I'U Wfi nr< luaii ID Y>liUU iuuunuw ^?.r wr. > */ ?? . nil u lively set. I dare say tliey thiul my nest is leathered, but " Alico shook her head doubtfully. "Uncle is so overbearing at times, aric I was never noted for mildness of tem per. Sometimes I get perfectly raving and then there's a grand scene. Indeed you wouldn't laugh if you were in mj place. "There is hi6 bell now. He is awake jmd I suppose he wants ioe. Evidento \ to'8 la ~a bad humor. Come with me, Margaret. He will want to see you, and besides your presence may be as oil upon the troubled waters. Alice hurried off,, whilo Margaret waited to get her hat and gloves. When she reached the head of the stairs she heard the Colonel's high-pitched voice, evidently answering some proposition from Alice. "Go back? I'll go back when I choosy Miss. I'll not bo dictated to. I'll* Bless my soul! if there isn't Margaret* When did you get here, child? Just now? Well, well! I'm 60 pestered and bothered. I can hardly see you. Come here and let mo have a good look at you." At this invitation Margaret came down the steps, and the old gentleman, despite her blushing remonstrance, took her face between his hands and kissed her on each cheek. bo you ve oeen away, anu comw uaca. as pale as ever," he added, holding her from him and looking at her earnestly. "I believe we could have done better for you here. I'm jjlad to see you, child, mighty glad. Missed you like the devil. By the "way, I hear you've got that young scamp with you. I doubt if he had one foot off the train before some of these confoundod tattling women published it to the neighborhood. If I were the husband ?f some of them. I'd v " or shoot 'em. What are you giggifiig So Alice? Nothing? Well, have more sense. Come. over and take dinner with us, Murgaret. No company, you know. Only yourself and Brian, if you choose to bring him. I want to see the boy. I suppose he's grown out of my recognition." The old gentleman disappeared in the library as he made this last remark, and Margaret turned to Alice with a smile. "I must be going," she said. "I've left my cousin, you know, and I must not be inhospitable. Please come over soon, Alice. Miss Hilton sent her love and a special invitation." Alice stood on the porch for some minutes after Margaret was gone. "If I should turn prophetess," 6he I aoiH Violf ftlrmrl T wnuld eaV " She did not complete her sentence, but, smiling to herself, went into the house. [XO BE CONTINUED. 1 The Bees Smarmed on the Hcu. Uncle I?ham was whitewashing at our place the other day, says a letter from Woodbine, Miss., to the Philadelphia Times, when a swarm of bees in full wing chanced to pervade the atmosphere. Now, bees are much dearer to the heart of Uncle Isham than whitewashing, though whitewashing is his profession, so I was not sur? prised when the old man dropped his brush head and ears in the bucket, straightened his orooked back and hobbled rapidly up to the door. "Gimme de dinner bell, mistis," ho said excitedly. "Wnat is it?" I asked. "Bees," he whispered, and I got the bell I knew the old man's weakness. Besides, it is not uninteresting to see a swarm of bees hived?from a perfectly safe distance, understand. The bees showed 6ome signs of making a raid on a honeysuckle vine that was in full bloom on my trellis, but the queen seemed dainty about making a lonriin/* film anrl whirled and iOiUUlil^! UUW VUUUWM WMM, .. shifted with (the swarm at her heel? till the air was black with bees, but resolutely in the midst, with his bell ringing, stood Uncle Isham alone and unprotected, yet with his face to the foe. I couldn't toll whether the swarm was moving with the old man or he was moving with the swaim, the bees were so thick about him, but the group kept up a continual migration till at last the door of my little poultry yard was reached. A heavily blossomed rosebush grew just beside the gate, and upon this at length the queen seemed to have made up her mind to light. She made a divo downward. the swarm following, when, just at that critical moment, a hen from the poultry yard, with a loud cackle, flew from her nest into the very midst , of the swarm. "Drat dat ole fool hen!" I heard I TT**aIa TaViom oar and T thoneht the \J UU1U A0iaC*U* WMM. ? g game was ended. What those bees and that hen really thought it was impossible to state with accuracy, but they evidently seemed to think that some mutually reacting kind of a cyclone business had been let loose in their midst. For i moment or two there appeared to be just a conglomerate mixture of bees and hen in midair, and, ty and by, when they came down, they were literally all there and altogether. The queen, who had no doubt been knocked "perfectly silly," was comfortably established on the hen's back, while the whole swarm clung around her. The poor hen was bedecked from tip to beck, and could not move a feather. Uncle Isham, very much surprised it the turn of affairs, got a box and joon had the swarm safely hived, much to the poor hen's relief. Lord Mayor's Bauble1. T./%? /! '\roTT/-?'r nt T.nnrtnn }inn n. AUO AJViU V. ?? ? 3word borne before him, and at first he had to provide the weapon for himself. Since 1520, says the Saturday Review, it has been furnished by tho Chamberlain at the expense/of the 1 city. No doubt at first every citizen ' who rose to be Alderman and finally ' Mayor had and wore a pword as part of a gentleman's outfit, 'iho 6Words I at present belonging to the corporation t are four in number: the pearl sword > so called from the ornamentation of i the sheath ; the sword of State, which 1 is wliat we see held through the window of the glass coach when tho Lord ' Mayor is within; tho Old Bailey . sword, which is placed over the seat of t the judges at the Central Criminal ) Court; ^and, finally, tho mourning ' sword, covered with black velvet for funerals or other special solemnities. The pearl 6Word is not only inagniiicent in the materials of which it and '. it3 scabbard are made, but also a beautiful work of art. It dates from about i 1550, and is said by tradition to have been given to the city by Queen Eliza| betb after the opening of tho lioyal ^ Exchange in 1570; but, as Mr. Jewitt * points out, this is very unlikely. The Lord (Mayor's chain of office "is a , most beautiful Collar of SS., one of the finest as well as the earliest known to . bo in existence." It was bequeathed ' to the city by Sir John Allen in 1544, 3 and is of gold, with enameled Tudor [ rosea and knots and a porticulhs in the center. In 1607 a jewel, still I worn, was added as a pendant. It . consists of an onyx carved in relief with the city arms surrounded by a , motto in diamonds on blue enamel. f An outer border shows eight roses with shamrocks and thistles in dia? monds. r I "FARMERS'ROADS." A MATTER OF IMPORTANCE' T TILLERS OF THE SOIL. United State9 Department of Agr culture Takes It Up?Macadam and Telford Systems?Model North Carolina Roads. THE United States Departmei of Agriculture has taken v the matter of "farmer roads," avers the Chicag Record, and Roy Stone, an engine* of the department, believes that farn ers can build good roads without id poverishing themselves. On this sul ject Engineer Stone says: "In the first place the road that wi beet suit the needs of the farmer mu not be too costly; in the second pla< it must be of tbe very best kind, fc the farmer should be able to do h heavy hauling over it when his fielc are too wet to work and his teams a] free. The road that would seem 1 fill the farmer's need, all things coi sidered, is a solid, well-bedded stoi road, so narrow as to be only a sing track, but having an earth track aloni side. "A fine, dry, smooth dirt track the perfection of roadsit is easy c the horses' feet and legs, easy on tl vehicle and free from noise and ja: It holds snow better than gravel < stone and requires less snow to mal sleighing, and where such a road hi a stone road alongside to take tl travel in wet weather it will su?f< hardly any appreciable wear. "The stone road, on the other han< wears by the grinding of the whee and the chipping of the horses' call in dry weather more than in wet. it can be saved this wear for an ave age of six months in each year, i much will be clear gam. "The questions raised regarding th method of construction are: Can tl junctions of the earth and stone se tions of the road be kept even so i not to have a jog in passing from 01 to the other, and can the meating as passing of loaded teams be provid? for?" Mr. Stone cited the condition of tl Canandaigua (N. Y.) roads as eviden< that there is no sign of division b tween the earth and 6tone, and adde that those who use these roads say thi no difficulty is found in the passic of teams, since practically no tv teams ever fcurn cjjat at exactly tl same spot, and no rutting of the eart road occurs. A MECKLENBURG C0UN1 The League of American Wheelme has taken up the cause of good road and men who are accustomed to fe< the public pulse say that good roac will soon be a dominant issue in Sta and National politics. What bicyc riders are doing at present was doi by the horseless vehicle men of En] land in 1831, when their agitation r suited in the appointment of a cor mittee of the House of Commons "I inquired into and to report upon tl proportion of tolls which ought to 1 imposed upon coaches and other v hides propelled by steam or gaB upc turnpike roads." It was just about this time th James Macadam. Road Surveyor, ai Thomas Telford, President of the I etitution of Civil Engineers, with the adherents, were engaged in a contr versary regarding the relative meri of "Macadam" and "Telford" roads. Up to that time England's best roa were the remains of the old Romi roads, but Macadam and Telford b gan an era of road ounuing, eacn a ter his own kind, whioh brought En lish roads to a high state of develo ment and made those two enginee famous as the originators of th9 t\ 6ystems which to-day bear their name SECTION OF TELFOBD BOAD. The macadam road has the ear graded and rollen for its foundatio The principles laid down by Alacada were as follows: It is the natural sc which really supports the weight of tra el; while it is preserved in a dry sta it will carry any weight without sin inc. This native soil must previous be made quite dry and ft covering much impenetreble to lain as possib must then be placed over it to pr serve it in that dry state. That tl thickness of a road should only be re ulated by the quantity of materi necessary to form such im[jervioi covering and never by any reteren to its own power of carrying weight These principles, modified in son respects, govern the making'of a mn adam roadway to-day. The natur earth foundation is graded so that tl curve of the foundation will be pa allel to the curve of the surface of tl roadway when completed. The ear foundation is rolled and rcrolled u der a heavy roller until the earth firm, compact and even. On both sides of the roadway exc ??? Too/ln fnr flrftillS. VtiWlUiia axo uiuvm ?v? the bottom of the ditch thus ma< tiling is laid, covered with tiny, strn or some such filtering material, ai over it is laid broken stone in such manner that water will easily lind i way down to the tile. Sometimes, instead of tiling, bundl of rods or straight limbs of tree bound together fagot fashion, are Ja in the bottom of the drains instead tiles. This is a cheaper construcfcio \ but is not regarded so good as the J U-shaped tiling. When tt j roadway has been graded O and rolled and the drains have been i bnilt the first layer or broken stone is put on the rolled surface of the eaith j. foundation. This layer is about six . inches deep, and consists of broken stone, no piece too large to pass through a ring of two and one-half J inches inside diameter. When this layer "is evenly spread it over the foundation the roller is again ip brought into use, and the stone layer s' is rolled until it is firm and compact. ;o The 6tone is eprinkled with water bear fore tho roller is passed over it, and a- sometimes clean, sharp sand is sprina kled over the stone. b- The second layer, thick enougn to bring the stone bed np to ten inches, .11 is next spread on and rolled, and then st a top layer of clean gravel or stone ;e chippings is put on and rolled. Care )r is taken that the gravel shall not be is waterworn, with smooth, round cor3s ners, for this is injurious to the roadre way. to The Telford road differs materially a- from the macadam, for it has a founie dation of stones laid down singly, with le the broad side down, and the spaoes I- between the stones filled with smaller, is SECTION OF MACADAM ROAD. ie * * jr rough, wedge-shaped stones driven in eolid. Originally tne xenoru iuuuubuuu Is was "convexed" by laying the largest is stones to form the crown in the center If of the roadway and then grading down r- to the gutters w'ith smaller stones, but jo this practiqe is no longer followed, for the earth is graded to form the crown is as it is done in a macadam road, te The earth foundation is well rolled c- and then the sub-pavement is laid o is with the lung side of the stone set le transversely. Between these stones id stone chips are packed firmly and then .?d broken stone is placed over the subpavement in two layers, the first layer le being rolled and packed before the :e second is laid on. e- This layer of broken stone forms sd the intermediate oourse, for the surit face is made of stone broken in smaller ig pieces and packed under a light roller. ro Sand is swept over the surface and mie other rolling with a heavier roller ;h completes the pavement. The snnd is moistened and the rolling is continued rY (NORTH CAROLINA) ROAD. >n until the sand can no longer be driven e, in between the broken stone. Drains al are laid, as they are, for macadam Is roads, before the sub-pavement, is te built. le A simple experiment, which can be le made with any wheel, will show why g- a smooth, hard-surfaced road makes e- hauling easy for a horse. On such a a- road the roadway is tangent to the to circumferenoe of the' wheel. The wheel le stands on the immediate point of con* Je tact, and there is no obstacle over e- which the wheel must be lifted. On m a sandy or loose, soft earth road the wheel sinks into the roadway. To at draw the wheel forward the earth beld fore its track must be displaced or n- passed over, so that a horse, in addiir tion to the force it must exert to draw o- the load, must use extra force to over.t3 come the obstacle in the path of the wheel. da In Mecklenburg County, North in Carolina, the systematic improvement e- of roads has made progress for nearly if- fifteen years. The general plan g- adopted was to start at tho city limits p- of the county seat and to grade and rs macadam all publio roads from this vo point out toward the township and is. county limits. These roads have a ? width of fortv feet for the first two miles from the city limits ana oeyona this point a width of thirlv-oix feet. The average cost of these roads, including the macadamizing and grading, is about $2000 a mile. The efficiency of the roads is shown by the il! lustration, copied from a photograph. The wagon'loaded with twelve bales of cotton weighs 6000 pounds, and each of the other three wagons is loaded with a cord of wood, th Much of the road building in this n- county is done by convicts. The av^ erage number of convicts employed is about eighty, and the average cost of v' this labor per convict, including food, *e clothing, medical attention and guards, k* is from twenty to twenty-two cents a 'y day. as Tuo rate of taxation in the county is eighteen cents on $100 worth of e* property. In addition each township levies a tnx varying from seven to fits' teen cents on each 8100 worth of property. The law requires all able 119 bodied citizens along tbe public roads co to labor four days of each year on the public roads or to pay fifty cents a JU | day in lien tiiercot. ;C" This class of lnbor is used independent of the convict labor, principally in the work of grading or in the gen,r' ; ernl repairs of those roads or portions | of them upon which the conviot l'orce th j 18 U05; en^u'^ed. nWhere Water is Scarce, a- , Water is so scarce in South Africa [n that it is dealt out by the gallon, the ;le ' allowance to encii person woricing ror lw the raining companies ranging from ul one to one and u half gallons per day. a . This limits the drinker of tea and cofts j fee to one cup, while if stronger stim' nlants are indulged in they are swales ! lowed without. Washing is a luxury, is, i clothing being .submitted to the action id j of sunshine and air. with a good shakof | ing, alter the manner of carpets, to a, get rid of the dust. \ .. . v"- v vrr v.' V: :r K *''' ' I-; ? ' STEAHHEATim T1 -J ?DC Recent Advance In This System of raDg Warming Residences. mile With its many early imperfections man steam-heating was slow in coming into shoe favor, and there are to-day many mati worthy persons who hold a rooted Ri aversion to it, based upon unhappy the ?c ? ???? roor ilI!11i|ii pi / sica PERSPECTIVE VlEVr. Q^g( experience. It is not difficult to understand the reason for this when one visits a building equipped with a steamheating apparatus of a score or more jears ago. The temperature is scarcely even bearable, for with the steam turned on the rooms become torrid; if it is turned ofl they become frigid, and there seems to be no happy me- t dium. Added to this very vital objeo- ? I tion, when the 6team is first admitted /il| to the radiators, one might as well live '/j] in a boilershop. The thumping and 1 M clanging is enoaghto craze a person of IM nervous susceptibilities. ' MJ In view of the splendid results that w[ are now obtained in steam-heating, it I|]? is needless to eay that these faults are |(Uj not due to the system, but to the // M ignorant application of it. Where | the heat oannot be properly and per- I fectly regulated there has been no '/ scientific adjustment of heating sur- , face to the cubio dimensions of the I' room. In many buildings that have J been equipped with the apparatus, J subsequent to their erection, there are 1 hundreds of feet of steam pipe ex- I nosed, because it was iocmossible to carry them from floor to floor and from room to room within fchfl walls. ' The radiators themselves have suf- ' ficient heating surface, while the steam pipes are responsible for the over heat- i ing. The architect of to-day settles Jp this difficulty in his plans. If the 11 matter is.left to him, steam-heating V becomes a' delight to the householder, \ as it gives sure and equable tempera- {> ture in the utmost extreme weather, <\ and at a minimum of cost for fuel. ^ The thumping in the radiators, v which forms a prime objection to the ^ system in the mind of those who re- ^ member the experimental stage of ' steam-heating, is entirely obviated by the use of improved apparatus. It is \ caused, of course, by the condensing of steam in the radiators, and when ?v, this water is properly conducted back \ into the boiler the system is as noiseless as not air ur uuii wuioi ucnuug, ^ The accompanying design is for a country villa in -which the plans call for a simple' and inexpensive steamheating plant. GeneralDimensions: Width, through dining-room and back parlor, 33 ft. 6 ins.; depth, including bay window, 43 ft. Heights of Stories: Cellar, 7 ft.; ? first story, 9 ft.; second story, 9 ft. lonj Exterior Materials: Foundation, kini stone; first and second stories, clap- ena: boards; band between first and second wit] coo g\ijj-Usr- "H run hav i ? w u <$]]_) tail i Kitchen I | bor j i if-15' ^ ? pen Dining R- Sitting R $ > ij'xic is'xiy y Ir\ J_ I K W ^J i I tI uP ^ { r *{J Parlor call ? 1SXI5' a ' 3'X' 6' . Cat I Of 1 c a.? -?cA J fire Veranda. For <,'wide ' || sho ?_ Ofl rirst rLoor the pet, stories, band under eavee, gables, dor- eve: mors and roofs, shingles. she1 Interior Finish: Two 'coat plaster, diei hard white finish. Flooring and trim ine in hall, oak; elsewhere, N. C. pine. 27.' XT t nn TVOIIQ TPQItl. U&K SttiirCUbtJ. Illl^UCU ?T ?j<g HM<M scoted. All interior woodwork grainfilled and finished with hard oil varnish. ^ Colors: All clapboards, fawn , brown. Trim, inolnding water-iable, r,^ corner boards, cornice?, etc., white. ?e. Outside doors and ceiling, oiled, .aiE Shingles on side walls left natural for weather stain. Shingled roofs stained 1 a deep red. car] Accommodations: Cellar under rear half of house with inside and outside ( entrance. Portiere openings connect e hall, parlor, sitting-room and a.ningroom. Open fireplaces in hall and .. dining-room. Hat and coat closet in ' ; hal'. Butler's pautry, containing ?0D A ble per bes sevi r-?'mm ' * i wit add |c:o 9ed R. ax. Bed R. 9'k 15' the I is*" o. H uel FV . iml |ciq. in t BedR. N Bed R- lDi **"' cb i*i*r / ? ? ^=il J) wat /?* 1 Second Ttoor ^ dresser, connects kitchen and dining- lab< j room. Portable range and sink in gre , kitchen. Bath-room in second story, nau with full plumbing. Atlic unfinished, blm except for storage purposes. , Lit lis house would cost about 81985 >t including the heating apparatus,) ;e and mantels?built within 100| s of New York City, althpugh ini y sections of the country the cost ild be much less, where labor or! trials are cheaper. idiatore should be placed as near HH windows as possible, and in all |H na but the kitchen, including the i-room and lower hall. A. fair es? 'fl| ite for the apparatus complete^ would be about $290. opyrlghted 1896.) | -mm A FEATHERED CURIOSITY. ' , B i a Booster With a Sixteen Fee^ Lodz Tall. he Japanese are a fun-loving peo- H and they are as fall of tricks ol H ons kinds as an American school* A writer who recently returned 'H a Japan tells of a queer rooster he on the Mikado's Island. "The H r thing in the shape of a live, phy- B 1 freak that ever came under my srvation was a common, everyday . of a barndoor rooster," he says. lat rooster bad a tail sixteen feet ' I BOOSTER -WITH A LONG TAIL. \ SB I and thought he was 'some pump- fll 3.' Nevertheless, he was a fraud, a] re and delusion. He strutted about! ti the self complacent air of a peak, notwithstanding that he mustj e been aware of the faot that his. was composed of plumes begged,; rowed or stolen from the caudal ap-i BH dages of other roosters.' That tail; tainly was a marvel of ingenuity.! ! feathers were so cleverly joined; to another as to defy detection,; flfl ept on the minutest of scrutiny. I the owner of the bird could take and put on that wonderful tail! inever it pleased him to do so.1 ladelphia Press. \ A Feline Fireman. ! ^Rj here's a remarkable cat in this city' ed "Tootsy." She is the only firej j^H in the land. Tootsy is a memberj Engine Company No. 27, and all the, men love her. She was born on the* irth of July, has been in the catj w, rides on the engine, sitting on; 1^0 driver's seat, and loves the smell j imoke as much as she does a dinner | ive mouse. Nothing could induce' HB men of No. 27 to part with their Tootsy knows an alarm of fire,1 n if she hears the gong strike when 's a block away. When Tootsy j there will be sorrow of the genukind in the 'engine house of No. ?New Tork Record. ? ^- ** 4 His Imperative Dntr. bW . lady, en route to the last Queen's mH wing-room, in London, found her blocked in a line of carriages con* ting people -who had not the entree which she herself was entitled. ~ ch annoyed, she leaned oat of the riage window and said to a police1 on duty there,in imperious tones: ;rhaps you don't know that I am wife of a cabinet minister?" "I ^H| idn't let yon pass, ma'am," he nlv replied, "even if yon were the 3 of a Presbyterian minister."?ArFireproof Taper. .n inhabitant of Berlin is responsi- HjH for the invention of fireproof pa. A considerable quantity of a?* tos fiber of the best quality, with sral other ingredients, is mixed h the ordinary wood puip, with thej^^^I itiou of some lime water and bor-^Hflj Paper thus produced will resi6t^^^| direct influence o: a flame and can^^^f placed even in a white heat with^^H >unity. The Largest Dam. 'be largest dammed body of waterHBH he world will be secured by thd^^^J lding ot a dam at Cloquet, AJ.inn.,^^^H the St. Louis JRiver, 900 feet lon^^HH eighty feet high, by which bacl^MM er wili be extended sixty miles.? rent Literature. Great Botanic Garden. 'he botanic gardens ot the Jardii^^H| Planter, Paris, includes abou^^^H snty acres. The plants are sled with red label*, medicinal^^HH en for alimentary ; yellow, for or^H^B lentai purposis; blue, fpr art. ant^^^H :k, for poisonous plants.?Curren^^^H