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* t ‘ t according to a recent cens-i"*, has 42,»*V264 inhabitants. That is considertirty more than she will have if she gets into a military fuss with Rnssia. Much is being said over the bill that has been introduced at Albany, N. Y., prohibiting the corporeal punishment of pupils in the public echools. and making tho penalty for inflicting such punishment imprison ment for any time under a year. Mexico now has lady bull fighters, Brooklyn has lady foot-ball players and Middletown, N. Y., has a lady street-car motorman. If this thing keeps up we shall ultimately have lady everything except lady women, predicts the Louisville Courier-Jour- ‘nal. In many places agricultural fairs have been diverted from their legiti mate purposes and turned into mere circus combinations, says Farm and Fireside. In some places the evils connected with tho latter have grown to be intolerable. Fakirs work all sorts of fradulent schemes, disreputa ble showmen give exhibitions that are grossly immoral, and gamblers run swindling games openly. Such things eventually kill the fair and drive the agricultural society out of existence. “1 never saw so much genteel pov erty before as exists in Washington, D. C.,” writes a Cabinet member’s wife in the Ladies' Homo Journal. “You have no idea how many of these department clerks tremble in their boots for fear of losing their positions with a change of administration and enforcement of the Civil Service rules. Tho departments unfit both men and women for any other occupation. You would be surprised to know how many of tho fashionable society men are department clerks. Somu of the most attractive among them get a ma jority of their meals out of society. They rent a room for a small amount, and dine out every night, frequently getting a lunch or a breakfast from a friend. In return, they make it their business to be entertaining and aU ways in a good humor, ready to be of aarvias .and to >initiate now people into tho etiquette of the place.” I CO UP INTO THE SUNSHINE. Dwell who will In the valley below, I go up into the sunshine! Free and warm and glad Is Us play, Light and Ufa are in every rav, liuruing to brighter and brighter day. Let who will in the valley stay. I go up into the sunshine! Mists are down In the valley below, Hhadow and cloud wave to and fro. The rivers go creeping, sluggish and slow, Tho very winds have forgotten to blow. Dwell who will In the valley below, I go up Into the sunsbinel Down in the valley tread listless feet. The pulses move with a measured beat. The senses are steeped with a calm un meet, The soul is lulled with an opiate swoct. Let who will in the valley retreat, I go up into the sunshine! On tho golden summit the morning sings. Like n glad bird pluming his radiant wings. The torrents flash like living things. Sparkling and foaming, the rivulet springs. Every bright drop like ft joybell rings. I go up into tho sunshine! There in the veins the life currents flow, Tho heart with fervor is all aglow, Trumpet calls the wild breezes blow, The soul like a warrior would go. Stay who will in the volley below, I go up into the sunshine! Fame—And a Woman’s Heart. BY VIRGINIA NILES LEEDS. t) OO33320303050303330030& HE had chosen. Fame was to be her part and she wo u 1 d dedicate herself to her art. Tho goddess of the laurel wreath should take the place of lares and penates, and she would live alone for fame. So she etudied diligently with the finest mas ters until her rich voice was culti vated to the highest point and she could hold a mighty audience in thrall. There had never been a moment of discoaragement throughout the long process, The diplomacy of Russia has always presented a remarkable combination of suppleness and extreme tenacity. She has learned by long experience to understand the orientals, and while she is ready at times to make substan tial concessions, she never makes formal ones. But Russian diplomacy has another advantage over that of the Western powers. It never meddles with those endless discussions which are every day provoked by the pres ence of Christian missionaries in tho Celestial empire. There are deeper causes, however, for the intimate con- nectnu between China and Russia. Tho Chinese ai r e keenly alive to their own interests; and between those in interests and those of Russia there is no contradiction, but rather a great similitude. Tho sole aim of England, of tho United States, of Germany and of France is to find in China a vast outlet for tho products of their indus try; in other words, to impose their manufactures upon her, it need be, by force. On tho other hand, both Rus sia and Jap^u desire to facilitate tho exportation to Europe of Chinese products. Russia has not tho slightest apprehension of that approaching peril of which we hear so much. Thanks to her great railway, she is going to bo the intermediary between produc ing China and consuming Europe. Her nascent industries will not suffer by comparison with tho skilled labor of the yellow races, but she will bo able, in case of need, to employ that labor for the purpose of inundating Europe with cheap wares. Tho agri cultural or mountainous provinces oi Russia yield nothing at all resembling the main products of China. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being brought in contact with the innumerable subjects of the Celestial empire; and tho immense current of exchange which will bo set have tedious as it seemed, for, with ambition spreading the sails and gtaryat the helm, the course was al ways fair and promising and the ' haven cloee at hand. Many had sought her hand since success had shone upon her, bnt she had dismissed them all with a disdainful shrug. Taere had been one in days gone by— but why speak of that now? She had declined him of her own sweet will— only another small sacrifice on the al tar of her ambition. And now she is in the zenith of her success. She makes her debut on the greatest stage in the world to-night. There is a rustle and hum among the audience, and programmes flutter like the wings of white birds. A hush follows tho hum as the pri- ma donna floats toward the footlights. Her beauty is resplendent in her gleaming satin and laces, and the splendid jewels that sparkle like a thousand suns on her bosom, neck and arms become her well. And her,voice—ah! with what rich, wild, perfect melody it rings out! It throbs, it quivers, it swells in a very heaven of harmonious sounds. The piece she has chosen is an op eratic selection with tlute-like trills, difficult roulades and rich cadences, and she executes it faultlessly. One moment her tones are soft as the nightingale’s; tho next breaking into tumultuoua fulness. The audience is hushed, and scarce ly a programme flutters, and then bursts forth in tremendous applause. In the midst of it her eyes, half dazed with the intoxication of success, wan der over the house. lu the pit, close to the footlights, they meet another pair—a pair that bring back old asso ciations, old thoughts, old memories, long before this great,, wonderful achievemeut was dreamed of. The last notes of the prima donna’s* cadenza die away in passionate thrill ing. Flowers are showered upon the stage; wreaths, pyramids, loose bunches. The lofty dome reverber ates with the wild applause. Ladies wave their lace handkerchiefs; gloves split asunder in their wearers’ en thusiasm. It is an ovation. Cries of Encore! Bis! Encore! rend the The whole vast opera-house uproar. Tho singer, flushed with victory, re appears from the wings and bows her thanks and appreciation, then hurried ly retires. But no! They will not it so. She must sing her hair, her arms—she is shorn of at her ornaments and the white flesh gleams bare and creamily above the fall of her lace. Stepping softly, she comes to the very edge of the stage. Then she folds her handr upon her breast, and, with out accompaniment, sings a simple ballad that stirs every heart in tho andience. "Could you come back to me, Douglas, Douglas, In the old likeness that I knew, I would be so faithful and loving, Doug las, Douglas. Douglas, tender and true.” | A tender expression comes into tho face of the prima donna as she sings, and her eyes, seeking out a certain spot, dwell there. The rich trills and roulades of the operatic pieces fade and grow dim besido the almost pain ful sweetness of the simple ballad. Her very soul seemed to rise and fall with the ebb and flow of the strain. It was replete with gentleness, sadness and an infinite, nnconscious longing. There was scarcely a dry eye in tho audience. Those who had sweet, tender memories were living them over again, while those across whose path no shadow as yet had fallen real ized Suddenly and acutely what tragic possibilities life might have in store for them. None understood the apparent change in the mood of the singer— possibly it was not a mood at all, only a trick, a coup de theater, put on in coquettish affectation after her ovation, for there is no one quite so proudly vain and maniere as your truly great artist. But when she was at home—alone —in her splendid apartment, amid tho many trophies of her success, the singer knew it was no affectation. Yet what was it that w-as lacking? Here were gems, there flowers, all the votive offerings of success and the lad der of fame to which she had aspired, she had climbed to the very topmost round, yet something was lacking. She hears again the thunder of ap plause, the music throbs like hot wine iu her veins. Ah, yes! that was a triumph indeed! What is this str&nge pain that comes to her in the very height of her glory, disquieting her and making fame seem incomplete? A knock on her door, and her maid come to her, late as it is, with a note. She takes it with listless fingers,but suddenly her eyes burn and the color surges back to her pale cheek. It is merely a card—a man’s card—but scrawled across its back in hasty lines with a lead pencil are the words: “May he come back to you in the old likeness tlmt you knew?” It ' v »9 simply^ “Douglas,ten der "and fBue/'f And he came back jlo her on the mor row in the,old likeness, only with eyes that were somewhat graver grown and hair that had a streak or two like a silver artery running through it; and as he held her hand and looked down into her eyes the successful woman suddenly found out what it was that was lacking and why it was that the perfect fulfilling of her ambition had not satisfied her woman’s heart.—Tho Ledger. A Novel Plutol. A cnriotis story is that of an inci dent in the early life of Marshall Tidd, tho famous gun builder of Woburn, Mass., who made his first firearm out of a spike sixty-three years ago. When Marshall was ten years old his father died, and he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. On the clay when the Boston & Lowell Railroad ran its first train through Woburn the boy was one of tho spectators. He picked np a spike, and the idea occurred to him that it could be fashioned into a pistol barrel. A blacksmith cut off the ends of the spike, and Marshall then bored it on his brother’s lathe. He found a piece of hoop iron, and fastening one end in a vice, made a spiral of the metal. When he got tho shape that seemed best he made a tool to cut tho inside of the barrel. This pistol bar rel was mounted on a stock that ex- teiids tho entire length of the barrel. The hammer is very old-fashioned in design, striking a percussion cap nip ple. He sold the weapon to another boy for $3, and it was lost sight of for nearly a quarter of a century. One day a friend got track of it and pre sented it to the maker. It is still in working order. air. in an up between China and Russia will bear life and prosperity to the steppes j of Siberia, causing them to become in a short time one of tho world’s great centres of agricultural production. Nothing but profit can accrue to Rus sia from tho economical development of China. again, arc louder than Ths cries of Encore! before. “Oh, do yon think she will not come again?” cries a lady, nervously, as the wild storm continues without response. “She must. She cannot refuse.” But what is this? Tho cautatrice has laid aside every gem, the flashing fires arc gone from her bjsora, from How to Make Southern Farm# Pay. | . R. W. Hale, a Pike County (Geor gia) farmer, has realized the value of diversified crops on a farm by his ex perience during the year jnst closed. He made forty-six bales of cotton and sold it for less than it cost him to pro duce it. On the other hand Mr. Hale has a young orchard of forty-six acres of fruit trees. Only ten acres were old enough to bear any frait last sea son, but, nevertheless, fruit men paid him one thousand dollars cash to let them ship what they wanted to from the orchard. When they got through a distiller gave Mr. Hale two barrels of brandy for what fruit was left. After this, the hogs had a feast on tho balance.—Atlanta Constitution. litforini in Sixty Yearn. Thirteen crimes were punishable in Great Britain by death when Queen Victoria ascended the British throne. To-day there are practically only two —treason and murder. © THE REALM OF FASHION. lints For Spring and Summer. Fashionables of Paris are now be ginning to think of summer hats. Straw will be, as usual, universally worn, and the novelties are very charming. Among the new ones are epaulettes. The straight strip shown at the front is lined with crinoline, then applied to the waist proper, cov ering the edges of fall fronts. The sleeves are two-seamed and fit snngly, except for the slight puffs, at t^e shoulders, which are universally worn by children and young girls. The pointed wrists are finished with frills of lace, and at the throat is a high standing collar. The skirt is four-gored and fits smoothly across the front and over the hips, the fulness at the back being laid iu backward-turning plaits. It is lined throughout, bnt unstiffened, and is trimmed with two rows of fancy braid. To make this costume for a girl bf eight years will require two and one- half yards of forty-four-inch material. the effect is charming. A novel man ner of using tulle is to arrange it in layers, one over the other, until it is quite opaque, and theu either stretch it smoothly over a firm shape or ar range it iu the form of a beret, with the loose edges of the tulle separate, ^ike the leaves of a book, and each one edged with very narrow satin rib bon or a row of spangles or jet nail- heads. In Paris tlower-trimmed hats and bonnets ai’e already the vogue, and New Materials for Spring Wear. Among the new materials this spring arc several weaves of crepon, which arc not intended for anything but mourning wear. They look as though part were made of crape, and then of shirrings of silk and wool. They are also to be seen with n sort of blistered surface, resembling matelasseor quilt ing. They are always of a deep black, not a blue black, and wear well, but are among the expensive materials. However, as they do not require much trimming, they are not so expensive as might be thought. Novelties In Uuttons. In fine buttons for bddioes and jackets some handsome novelties are shown in celluloid, jet, steel and por celain. Tho latter are especially love- GIUL’S COSTUME. closely plaited coarse straws in all shades. Finely sewn straws, Pana mas, Leghorns and manillas will also be worn. The coarse straws, how ever, will be deemed the most ele gant for toques and bonnets. Tulle will prove a strong rival of straw during the early part of the coming season. Even now the naw models are built of tulle and velvet. Chiffon and tulle are also employed for deep plaited frills to soft velvet crowns, and gay blossoms will doubtless be exten sively worn in the early spring. Large open roses are tho most fashionable. Felt hats and toques have entire crowns made of them. As is usual in the late winter, violets are all the rage, and the provident dame is now adding a fresh note to her winter hat in the shape of these delicate and beantifal flowers. Girls’ Costume la Light-Weight Serge. Whatever number of more elaborate and delicate gowns the growing girl’s wardrobe may include, one of sturdy stuff, simply made, is essential to her comfort and well-being. The model shown in the double-column illustra tion, says May Manton, is of light weight serge in royal blue and is trimmed with fancy black braid. But cheviot, covert cloth and all tho new spring suitings, as well as cashmere, are equally suitable. The foundation for the waist is a fitted lining that closes at tho centre- back. On it are arranged tho fall body portions and the yoke, which is t.:t;adcd and divided to form slashed ly, and often look like miniatures, so exquisitely are ideal heads painted upon them. Latest Spring Blouse. The bloused fronts open over a plas tron of white satin or of a silk which matches one of the colors in the plaid of the waist material. These fronts are held together by cufflinks through button holes. The revera are faced SPRING BLOUSE. with the waist material or to matcl the plastron. Plaida, stripes, plaii silks, checks, all are made up in thi: style. The back is in a single pieci and Slightly bloused. If preferred i can ha drawn down tightly.