Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Anything to Amuse the Public If Free Books, Why A[ot Free Tea and Coffee ? By Jignms J hpplier. HE bookecllera of London km boon ottering eome bwta?M> llko hereeiee anent fro*, libraries. Sobar Englishmen. da* ?old at enthusiasm. are asking tkemaelvea and their neigh bora whether the f 'iwe Hbnfty la aa unqualified blessing, or aa unmitigated nuisance., la riew of the fact that eighteen hundred and fifty-nine' novels were puMlahad la England , last year, their might be pardoned for doubting the adYissr billtjr of learaiag to read. The curious thing about the dlapute (to American eara at least) is m mUMuii lain by the disputants njxm the tax-payer's point fit ?tow. In oar nobler land no week consideration for the tax-payer enters Into anybody's mind. It Is startling to read In an English newspaper a narrow 'minded paragraph like the following: "Tea and coffee are good things in their way ? at least as good as the av* erage novel? but the tax-pay era ^[re not required to furnish free tea and coffee rooms. Tet It would be qulte .y Just to establish free tea and coffee rooms at the expense of tax-payers as to establish free libraries for the use of un wsshed loungers and novel-reading boys. m How comes It, we wonder, that we bare not established the free tea and coffee rooms long ago? Why has not some philanthropic citizen awakened to this suggestion, and offered to provide the teapots and coffee-urns (marked -with his name and appropriate Insert ptlons), on condition that the tax-payers should keep them always full? Some gentle stimulant is needed to keep the weary novel-readers awake. There are those who assert that the overcrowding of our great cities Is due. In some measure, to our Intelligent efforts to provide entertainment for the public ? games for klndergarteif babies, clubs for girls and boys, libraries for young men and women, concerts, fireworks and parades. By contrast with all these joys, buoollc life must seem terribly bald and bare. T<r depend upon one's own energies and resources may be wholesome, but, it Is far from enllv* eaing. No wonder that Rome was the biggest of all big cities, when she gava her shows free! ? Life. Avoid Mannerisms By Beatrice Fairfax. O habits are more easily acquired than little peculiarities of manner and none that are more irritating to one's friends and acquaintances. A girl who would otherwise be very charming can quite spoil herself by a habit of drawing in her lips or screw ing up her eyes. ' One woman whom I know nearly drives her family distracted by her habit of hesitating for choice of a word when describing anything. Another friend, ft man, uses one gesture so often In telling a story that you find yourself watching for. It so intently that you frequently lose the point of the story. ' llany people, quite unconsciously, form the habit of grimacing when telling a story. It comes from their earnestness in their subject, but it is ?ery regrettable. Exaggeration of expression Is a habit that is easily formed and hard to break. I know this to my cost, for I dally light against It. It comes from the Idea that in order to impress people you must en large facts and numbers. ^ At first it takeq very well, but after a while they cease to believe whaf you say or at least place but small importance on your utterances. - > It is so easy to become a slave to little habits and so very, hard to - break away from them. - r Never. If you can help It, form any habit unless it is such a virtuous one that to be without It would be a grave error. We may become the slavea even of good habits. There is nothing that needs always to be done in the aame way as long as -the right principle is adhered to. The man nho does the same thing, in the same way every day( ywfr ' to and yefrr out. becomes the slave of routine. He is unhappy when ha does it and unhappy when he does not. Diversity goes a long way toward contentment. Try to make each day a little different from the day before and go at your work in a different spirit. Of course all work must be done in a certain prescribed manner in order to be well done, but there will be many little ways In which vsrlety may be attained. Make up your mind that you will not be conquered by the habit of doing things in tbe same wsy. 1 Conquer habit; don't let habit conquer you. ? rjew York Journa; Russians Plight An Empire of Graft in High Places? Burst* ing of the Bubble of its Terrible Greatness . A ' By John Foster Carr. REAT fear of Russia ims hung over the world for more tban a quarter of a century, *ut today, after a nine months' war with Japan, Its dreaded power has become almost a laughing-stock. Russia has great size joined with great weakness. Some of the causes of its lethargy are Incurable. Others are due to, a backward civilization. The roads are mere military routes. The postofflce handles one piece of mall for fifteen that pass through our own. For every two miles of telegraph in Rus sia, we have five; and for each mile of her telephone wires, we have fifty-three. Russian Industry tells the same story. For each Inhabitant, Russia Invests In Industrial enterprlie four dollars; the United States, one hundred and twen ty-Are. Our factories out-number hers twenty-three to one. The value of her cotton spinnings 4s but two-thirds of ours. She manufactures somewhat more than half as much tobacco; and only In sugar does she surpass us. Ignorance leads misery by the hand. Three-fourths of the children never the Inside of a school-room Of those who go to school, few are taught more than their alphabet, the catechism, and the elements of arithmetic. In Russia proper, ninety-four people out of every hundred canno^ write their names, or spell out easy words. Technical education is even more neglected; and, for every 11,000 people, there In but a single physician. The bureaucracy and the merchants in collusion have built up a perfectly organised system of graft. It Is openly recognized, treated with tolerance, even thought of with respect Not only do admirals buying coal In foreign ports pro cure receipts for much larger sums then they have paid, pocketing the differ* ?nee and dividing It with their under-offlcers, but no contract is let at home which does not allow a liberal margin for a "rake-off." In this way, Russia has paid for her railroads two snd a half times tho amount which the Minister of Finance estimates at their value? and by American standards, his estimate Is 60 percent higher than the necessary ooet. It Is said that fully 76 percent of the large Red Croso Fund which was subscribed at home and abroad has been stolen. The magnificently equipped hospital train which the Czarina sent to the Bast was looted between St Petersburg and Moscow. Not a thing of value was left In It To mm up; Russia stands at a great crisis In an evil plight. Its aristoc racy la rotten and tyrannous; Its people sodden In Ignorance, without moral , dull and brutish; Its priestcraft often degraded, extortionate, and sen Its land of natural resource wasted and consumed; Its Imperial line, itlng human souls and bodies aa bullion tor Its coming; and 1U fear. AgroUaq i Mi weakl i ng? World '* Work Pottle LjeinM. A food tombstone Inscription to add to your collection is given In a recent book. It Is said to be *>f seven teenth century date, and runs as fol lows: "Here lies the body of Thomas Wood hen, The kindest of husbands, the best of men." And directly under the inscription the explanation, "His name was Wood cock, but that would not come in the WOULD NEVER DO. fMmnger? I want to buy a good watchdog. Dor Fancier? Here's the one yrm want, sir. Trained by an expert. !!? can tell an imuirance agent a mile off. "And what will he <lo then?" "Do? He'll chow him Into aotip boned." "Well, he won't nult me." "Why? Most people want a dog like tha>t." "Yes, 1 know; but I'm an insurance agwnt, you ? Chlcafo JournaL PE haw ?( aattama after* noon tru spread ilka a ??11 of goMca gause over the foothills of the Sierra, deepening into purple shad ow* ui to* canyou and fading Into' a paler bat opaque blanket where It stretched awe y toward the west above the Talley of the 8an Joaquin. Pas sengers on the coach rolling down the Yosenlte stsge road through the for est caught glimpses of the lower hills and the shoreless sea of yellow hsse beyond thetu, and regruUed that they were soon to leave the cool, bracing air of the mountains and plunge b$ neajth that sea of dust and. omiw Into the quivering heat of the plains. They threw back their shoulders and lnbsled deep draughts of air laden with' the pungent odors of pine and fir, and felt. that It was good lo be alive. The coach rolled over the thick car pet of dust, laid by the long rainless summers upon the road, silently save for the creaklug of the harness and the occasional grinding .of the brake; and the stillnesp of afternoon In the forest was broken ouly by the tapping of n woodpecker fitting ncorus Into the holes he bad drilled lu dead trees .during the summer, or by the rustling fall 'of a cone from a lofty sugar pine. Yosemlte had exhausted the exclama tory vocabulary of the garrulous, and awed the judicious Into reverent si lence, and even the man from Phila delphia had ceased asking questlous of the driver. A deer crossed the road and trotted lightly up the mountain side, a dun sluldow flitting among the red-brown truuks of the pines, and Bock Gridley only pointed toward it with his whip. The passengers whispered and gased at the graceful animal, bnt made no sounds thst might alarm It. They felt the brooding stillness of the Sierra, and unconsciously fell Into the mood of the autumn afternoon. When the whip-like report of a rifle shot, faint and far, but not to be mistaken, came echolees to their ears, they felt vague resentment at the Intrusive sound. The coach swung around a sharp bend at the foot of a steep grade, and the horses were at a walk, when a man stepped from behind a tree Into the road, awl held up his hand. He was a rAl- bear tied giant, massive and pow erful., ,He wore only a blue shirt, open at the throat and chest. and overalls, His feet and his head were bare; and his hair, the color of the Sequoia's bark, was tousled like an urchin's. In bis right hand ho held a rifle. Rock Grldley's foot wss on the brake, and he had the team well In hand. In an instant the coach came to ?tad stop, aixA the passengers bad the first thrill of an adventure with stage rob bers, which most of them half hoped for and more than half dreaded from the hour when they first took seat in I a California singe coach. At first glance" the blonde giant pre sented a formidable" figure, but the menace of his huge form and fils, weapon was belled by his ruddy. Jo cund visage, and the passengers felt like apologizing for their tremors when they saw, Instead of a mask, the wide, blue eyes and frank smll^ of the mountaineer. "Howdy, Rock?" was tlio stranger's greeting to the driver. "Hello, Wes," responded Grldley. ?What's up?" "Seen anything of an Injun as you Came along?" "Reckon so. Feller went down into the gulch this side* of Chlnquepln. Moccasin tracks crowed the road at Frencby's oak. After' him V" "Kind of; but guess he's hittiu' the high places an' won't come back. There's another one In the road down by my shack. Watch out and don't run over him. Rock." "Accident ?" "Kind of." "doing back?" "Might as well." Tbc big man climbed to the box be side the driver, and the coach went on down the grade. At Intervals there was a low rumble of the big man's voice, unintelligible to the passengers, to wbrch the driver responded with occasional grunts and nods; but none of the passengers ventured to ask ques tions, although their curiosity was ex cited to a keen pitch by the vague hints conveyed In tbc first brief col loquy. Perhaps a mile farther on the road doubled a spur of the mountain, and came into a straight ana comparatively level stretch of a few hundred yards. Perched above the road was a cabin of unpointed boards, and opposite, in a clearing, was a rough ?hed. In the middle of the road, between the shacks, lay a dark, huddled object, an Insistent blot in a patch of intense yellow sunlight. The passengers lenned out over the sides of the coach, stared nt tlio dark figure, and talked in low, hushed tones, but the driver and his compnnlon seemed to pay no heed to it and made no comment ns they approached. The lenders swerved, pricked their ears forward, nnd blew short blasts through their nostrils when they came near the object, and Hock Grldley spokq.ts them shsrply snd set the brake, bring ing the team to a hslt. Two of the passengers Jumped out snd stepped quickly toward the body* while the others gnzed at It In ami fascination. Wesley Lee, the red* bearded giant, descended deliberately and walked over to the group. "The man Is desd," announced one of the passengers, turning a keen look upon Wesley's grave countenance. "I 'lowed he might be," said Wes, softly. "He's been shot. Here's c bullet hole In the back of his head." "You don't sny! Now, that's cur'ous, slr.'t it? Rock, this gentleman snys the diseased is dead, an' has a hole In his head. I kind of s'plcioned that myself." Hock looked calmly down at the body, nodded, and cheerfully asserted: "Deader'n a door nail," wns what he said. I Wesley lifted the limp figure easily j In his huge nrms, nnd placed It upon | the bank at the roadside. It had luin j in the road face downward, an awk- 1 ward *.raA*^? ?T. ? calko shirt aat *4?* ortralU. ; with a man ?( lSl>W ???* the head ai4 ?' the face. ,!^i!T seen to be am evil-looking Indian, and Orlifcl at once rec ognised It ?5Tj?U?1 I L "Lame George," said Seek- ? ? ~ i -Um-eb,- wllZsWey. nt ? George, ?are enough." "You seem d lwir the man,** broke In the alert ~ who had been taking note qt? fWthlng. "Probably you know murdered him. Tbts doesn't lookShftJUta an accident." Tn? *** mwrilered," replied tht^Vi mountaineer slowly, -hit It doli I Lbad. (or a fact. I ain't making charges, stranger, but th fc* was another I-iJun here, ab be's skipped. Back seen him scootln through the breah ap yonder. Seems like there wss gieanJ for suspicion." Tbe inquisitive tourist agreed with siguiikant emphasis t^at there was ground for suspicion, and 'he might have gone on to plainer speech but for tbe driver's abrupt call of "All aboard /" There Is no 'arguing with tbe autocrat of the box about starting or slopping, and therefore tbe passen 1 gers climbed quickly to their places, and a crack of th* whip started tbe team. J ^ "Tell the Judf'to send up a buck board for the ^Basins, or come along himself If beSantr to bold an In quest," was wpsley'a parting Injunc tion, to which *ock replied: "Right. Bo long!" as the coach swung along down the srtda Into the shadows of the forest. | The alert pssflinger fell Into a brown study, whUe the others chattered ex citedly about the grim Incident of their Journey. He haf taken the seat beside tbe driver, and presently be said, in a low tone: "Driver, who killed Indian George?" "I didn't see nobody kill him," re plied Rock In a eonddeotlal tone. "Of course, yen didn't; but whst do you think? I think that man Wes, as you call him, ahot the Indian." "Stranger," drawled Rock aolemnly, "my Job Is driving bosses, nonthinking. When a man fqpgste his Job and goes to thinking, trouble begins. I had my lesson. Over on the Big Oak Flat road, coming down Priest's HML.wlth a fnll load of tourists, I got to thinking about something that wasn't any of my busi ness, and instead of snaking tbe turn I drove straigh|aS the road and landed the wbole outflljn the tops of a bunch of bull pines Injlfce gulch. That's the place they call "Gridley's cut-off to this dsy. But don't let that 'fcfocourage ypu. You keep right-on- thinking; 'twan't disturb me a bit." \ ' Grldley'a jnsnnsr ^ ai gravely re spectful, and there was no hint of asperity In bis , tone. The passenger smiled, being a man .of discernment and some humor, and relapsed Into thoughtful silence. The result of his meditations was a jMplve to stay over a dsy at the IttU* settlement pt tbe end of the day's obaerve the further developgMB of the ???*. i He was c lawyer, otJI therefore luter- ; csted. At the stage station the tourists found enger listeners to their story, and none of the rctlcenco which char acterised Reek Gridley, and the little community was soon buzslng with the news that Wee Lee had killed the no torious Indian vagabond, Lame George. Not one of the tourists had ventured to make direct assertion that Wes was responsible for the Indian's Ceatb, but the fact seemed to be t^ken for granted by the gosslpers on the hotel porch. After the departure of the outgoing stase in the morning there was a general movement of the village popu lation toward the stage company's har ness sbop, which was also the office of tbe district's sole "representative of tbe law, tbe upholder of tbe peace and dignity of tbe State of California, Judge Bruce, who exercised the func tions of coroner, notary, and commit ting magistrate. As tho Judge, decorously deliberate, left the botel to go down to bis office, tbc Interested tourist joined him, and began questioning blm as to methods of procedure. lie learned tbat tbe In quiry about to be beld would be vir tually an inquest, but if cause for be lieving tbnt a crime bad beeu commit ted shonld appear, it would become a preliminary hearing of the case against the person accused. So far It was all plain to tbe Eastern lawyer, although It seemed to him a crude sys'.nn. "And where is the mur derer now'/" he asked In all simplicity. "Tho wlilch 1" said the Judge in a puzzled tone. "The homicide, the prisoner. I don't see him rny where." "Oh!" responded the Judge, as If light had beer thrown upon a dark subject. "You menu tbe man who killed the In dian! II will be along pretty soon; he lives <.ulte a few miles away, you know." "Do you mean to say he is at large? Isn't he in jail or even under arrest?" It was tho judge's turn to be shocked, and he obviously was when he turned an amaze* face to the tourist, and blurtrl oat: "In Ja?! Pat a man la Jail for shooting a drunken InJnn! Never heard of such a thing In all my llf- . No, sir, Wes Lee Isn't in Jail ?first I. > . because we haven't any Jail and d'-i t need, none; and secondly, be eawr : hat's bim caning over tbe brl<!;u< bet morefi half an boar late." The big mountaincer'a swinging stride soon brought bim Into tbe group lu front of the harness shop. He had attired himself in his "store clothes," even to necktie and boots, bis balr and beard were carefully combed, and bis ruddy cheeks had a distinctly soapy shine. Tho preternatural gravity of his countenance, assumed In recogni tion of tho official importance of the occasion, lasted until his first "How dy," when It was shivered and scat tered In ripples of good nature, even am the placidity of a pool la broken by n cast stone. Wes Lee shook hand* wltb every body, explained that the walk of twelve tnllcs had consumed an extra half hour, because he had stopped to roll out of tbe road a half-ton bowlder tbat lad fallen Mr Alder Creek, and pre posed thai all hands take refreehienta before opetlof court. Tile lodge stole a fnrtlve glance at the dleapprorlng coontenaace ot ?he tourist, and de clined with severe dignity. . When Wee and the others returned from the store, the court was opened and a coroner's jury selected by the Judge. Rock Gridley and the men who had brought In the body of the Indian were chosen, because, as the Judge ex plained, they had handled the remalus, and knew many of the facts In the case, and that would save taking much testimony. The only witness called was Wesley. Lee. He told how Lame George and another Indian entered his cabin and demanded whisky, being already drunk and ugly; how he refused, and they threatened him. one with a pis tol and the other with an axe; how he tried to get to the cornet1 where his rifle stood.' and was assailed by the In dian with the axe; how he dosed in and seised the fellow around the body and used him for shield and missile, and hurled both the Indians through the door into the road. Then Wesley's ?tory became a trifle hssxy. The In dian with the pistol figured In It rather ' vaguely; but It was clear that the mountaineer secured his rifle and fol lowed the djrunken redskins out of the csh)n. "The Injun with the six-shooter was yelling and shooting/' testified Wes ley, "and the fellow with the axe. Lame George, be was talking about ; coming back and killing me some other ! time. You know them Injuns, judge, and you know they're meaner'n plxeu i when they're drunk." "Lame George was sure bad. drank ? or sober," said the judge; "but what this court wants to know is whether his drunken companion shot him while flourishing a pistol with malice afore thought and intent to do bodily barm, or whether 70U killed blm In self-de fense. Did you shoot him. Wes?" "Now, I wouldn't want to swear that I did," responded the witness medita tively. "I pulled up on him with my Winchester, but I was kinder hurried like, and I shouldn't be surprised if I shot just a leetle too iar to the right. Of course, I'm sorry, Judge." The court Inquired If the jury desired to ask any questions or hear any more evidence. The jury allowed that it had all the evidence necessary, agreed that Lame George dead was an Improved red man, decided that nobody knew who killed him, and hasarded the guess that his companion was guilty, be ing notoriously a worthless vagabond. The formal verdict was that a pistol shot was the cause of death. Court adjourned, and Wesley invited the Judge and the stranger to join him in a visit to the store. The judge declined the Invitation with a wink and a grimace on the side of his face away from the touriat, and cleared his throat to deliver a homily on the evils of driuk. "This is a very deplorable' uffair, Wesley," began hts Honor^ Im pressively. "This Is a sort of a* sad case, so to speak." Wesley looked as grave as he knew how, and eagerly Assented. "Yes," he said, "It surely was sa^lhnt I didn't get the other" one, too."? New York Evening Post. "^QEh itmz ]NDVVn\IA Before the Academy * of ScJeuccs, Paris, M. Boudouln ,?avc clear evidence of differences in physical and chemical composition between grafted aud non grafted grapes which he baa obtained, and the facts observed explain the more rapid ageing of wines from grafted vines, aud also their greater seusitivc ness to pathogenic ferment*. The study of great nebulae, like that of Orion, has been made easier since the use of short focus objectives for photograhpiug the stars. M. Max Wolf shows that the photographs bring out In a remarkabe way a fact that Herscbcl had pointed out? that the great nebulae arc surrounded by nearly empty spaces that form veri I table stellar deserts. M. Wolf finds that the empty space lies 011 only one side of the nebulae. A few rare and brilliant star* are to be secu, but all mailer one* seem to have been grouped round the nebula. The nebula of An dromeda and the spiral nebulae do not follow the rule, apparently funning another class. In a new apparatus for measuring the radio activity of soils aud mud, Bister and Oeltel note the increase in the conductivity of a constant volume of air exposed in, a metal cylinder to the action of the radio-active material. The indications are given by a modi fled form of Bxner's electroscope, in which the leaves are insulated by amber and a dry atmosphere Is pro duced by metallic sonlum. Measure ments of tbo effect and decay of mud from the hot springs of Battaglia tend to show that Its activity is dtfo solely to radium. The same Investigators offer the theory that t'je conductivity of the atmosphere Is largely or entirely due to a radlo-actlvo emanation from the earth'* crust, and mention that the conductivity of the air of closed cellars and deep boles Is often fifty times as great as that of normal air. * " For two years an exhaustive mono graph on a typical lake of Italy has been painted by the Italiau Geographi cal Society. The picturesque lake of Bolsena, within easy reach from Home, was selected for the purpose, and the studies Include the geographical and geological features, tho rainfall and temperature and seasoned variations, the changes of level, the seiches or rythmical pulsations of the surface and the life forms. Tlio seiches con stitute one of the most Interesting of the phenomena. These have a regu lar period of twelve or fifteen minutes, tho rise of the water on occasions reaching ? foot, and the oscillations are often so marked that natives speak of the lake as panting. They aro more conspicuous at Marta than on the op* poslte side of the lake at Bolsena, a rise of seven Inches at the former being correlated with one of four la ches at the latter* CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT. A RAINY. DAY PASTIME. Here is a pastime for a rainy day which will teach you a pretty little trick besides showing you how to spend a very pleasant hour. Make a small paper target and lean It against some books on the table. Now get some needles, large ones are best, and see If you cau throw them against the target so that their points will atlck in it. Although you try many times and stand *ery near tbe target you will not succeed, for the needles will refuse to stick in tbe pa per but will fall to tbe table. ' * Now put a abort piece of thread. say. four or flvt Inches Ion??, iu tbe eye of eacb needle and note tbe result. When tbls Is done you ean throw tbe needles ever so much farther and stralxliter, antl tboy will stick iuto tlic target aU most every time. 1 Wben you have accomplished this raucb you can bave lots o f fun acinic bow close to tbe bull's eye you can come wltb your novel darts. THROWING THE NBEDLE BARTS AT THE TARGET. __________ -New York Evening Mil:!. NO TIME OF DAY. "If any one ever reaches the North Pole he will find no north, no east, no west, only south, whatever way he turns. The time of day is also n puzzling matter, for the pole is the meeting place of every me ridian, and the time of all holds good." "What will they do?" said the midship mite, "With the North Pole, if they find it!" "Run up the flag?" quoth old Jack Tar, "And set the watch to mind it. "Every man Jack who rounds his back Against the. pole to shore it Will find, when be attempt* to tack. South? ouly south ? before it; No north, no east, no western wayj In fact, no proper time ol' dny." "No time of day!" said the midsbipmiic. 1 "What could be more complete? All times of day must be ail right Where all meridians meet. ' 'So there will be, beyond a doubt. No proper time for 'turning out/ Or knocking inidshipmites about. And, in that blest retreat. No time the galley sweets to lock JJut 'plum-dun' all around the clock! * | ? Adele M. Hayward, in St. Nicholas. REX 'AND MATILDA. Rex was a gentleman. As every body kuows who is at all familiar with dogs, there are loafers, cowards and otherwise ill-bred fellows among our four-footed friends; but now and then we come across a true gentleman, who respects himself and so is, of course, respected by all who know him. . Bnt just as one who is wise and re spectable seldom or never is aulte per fect, so Rex had one serious fault. He realized it himself, but bad habits arc always hard to overcome, and the b^g St. Barnard had many vain struggles to conquer his. He would chase cats. Maybe, away back in his awkward puppyhood, when his feet were three sizes too big for him, some cat had made sport of him; maybe Rex's failing was born with him; but it was a sore trial to the fam ily. One does not whip college pro fessors, and Rex was as dignified as the wisest professor in tbe land. One docs not even use harsh language to them; but something had to be done. Rex was never struck by anybody. It would not have been safe for a stranger to strike him, and as for the family, they would never have for given themselves for doing such a thing, even if Rex himself had over looked the indignity in time. But neighbors' do not like to have their pets worried, even if the pets ure mere cats and the worrying is done by a dog of high degree; so, naturally, tliey complained, and then papa or mama or Grace would say: "Dear me, you have been bad again! Yon kuow where lawbreakers go, Rex. Off with you to joil!" and poor Rex, with tall drooping and looking ashamed and penitent in every liair, would make for the coach-house, to re main until the next day. But badly a^Jie seemed to, and really did feel, he always forgot and would Bin again, sooner or later; and one cold, wet fall day something strange hap pened. Grace heard his familiar scratch at the hail door and went to opeu it. Then we hoard hoc cry out in auger? the only time we ever knew her to speuk hastily to our old friend? "Oh, you naughty, wicked dog! You ought to he thrashed!" ? And then, still more wonderful, we heard Rex growl at Grace! Everybody rushed to the hail, to find Grace, her face very white, half be hind the door for shelter, peering round It at something In the entry. "He's done the very worst," she cried, half-sobbing. "He never was so bad as this before. He's gone and killed a poor, helpless llttlu kitten and brought it* body here!" Papa, looking very angry and deter mined, reached for his cane, and I do not know what would have happened next, when we heard a feeble "mew," and mama, who had pushed to the front, said, "Why, Rex hasn't killed the kitten! He's licking it!" Suro enough. We opened the door and Rex, still looking edgewise at Grace, who had misjudged and in sulted him, stalked Inside and laid a very wet and miserablo morsel of gray fur on tho rug. Then, having proved to us that he had not hurt the kitten, he picked her up and trotted through to his closet off the coal-room. Mama followed and fed tho tiny stranger with hot rallk, while Rex left hi# dinner to watch. When both I wore satisfied ami the kit ton no louder shivered, he carried her into liis btM and curled up about her. We named the foundling Matilda, aud she still is with us. although even her great-grandchildrcu havo grown up aud found good homes auioug friend*. As for Ilex, he passed a dog's "threescore years and ten" some time ago. and ended his life as peacefully as he had litcd it, loved and respected by us all. As to where and in what circum stances he found Matilda we never knew. He was always polite ami gen erous to her although she. I griev?? to tell, was sometimes rather scllisli In her treatment to liim, probably not remembering or appreciating all he bad done for her. Rut he chased other eats now aud then, until his legs got so still that running was difficult. As he newer was known to bite one of the cats he pursued, we cxcused his falls from grace, and chose to regard him as re formed.? Roe L. Hcndricl;, in Youth'* Companion. t COAL MAN'S CHIEF WORK ICR. Coal has beqptae man's chief worker, and horse labor and human manual la bor are slowly being pushed aside. In the great transformation it has been brain power that has triumphed over brnte strength. Man first nought to shrift his burden to the backs of the beasts of the field and the horse became his patient friend and assistant, but now he seeks to harness the elemental forces of nature to do his bidding. The burden is thus lightened without cru elty to any living creature; neither man nor beast has had his labors in creased, but steadily decreased. -l-'roni George Ethelbert Walsh's "What a Lump of Coal Could Do," in St. N':? ho las. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW. ? Here arc some things which arc ? on sidered contrary to good mar. nor?, ami which all little boys and girls should take to heart: To make remarks about the food at dinner; to talk about things which in terest only yourself; to contradict your friends; to grumble about your homo and relations to outsiders; to say smart things which may hurt one's feeling; to be rude to those who serve you either in shops or at home; to refuse ungraciously when somebody wishes to do you a favor; to behave in a trolley, car or train as if no one else had a right Jo be there; to speak disrespect fully to any older than yourself. Th? Supply of Ivory, During a recent visit to the London docks, says Knowledge and Scientific News, Her .Majesty the Queen was in formed that the stock of Ivory t hen shown represented, on an average, the annual slaughter of some 20.0(H) Afri can elephants. This statement ha* l*cn contradicted in two letters in tho daily papers. In one of these Messrs. Hale, of 10 Kenchurch avenue, stato that at least eighty-live per cent, of the supply is "dead ivory," mainly ob tained from hoarded stores of African chiefs, who are shrewd euough to put their commodities on the market only in driblets. The most Interesting part of the letter is, however, the statement that the great bulk of this hoarded Ivory is obtained from "elephant cento terles"? spots met with here and there In the jungle, where elephants have re sorted to for centuries to die. Much of the ivory that comes to the market may, therefore, according to this Id ler, be several hundred years old. The marvel Is why it Is not devoured io the Jungles by porcupines, as certainly happens with tusks of the Indian ele phant which are left in the Jungle. Dot and Eagle. The best eagle story that has been told for many a day comes from Dauphlny. At the village of llomant a fanner's dog was lying asleep, when a large eagle swooped upon it. Housed by the pain of the bird's talons In his flesh, the dog seized one of the eagle's legs fast between his teeth, biting t lie limb through and through, and holding on until the bird was completely beat en nnd captured. When the farmer arrived It was too exhausted to tight longer for Its life. The wings meas ured fifty-eight inches from tip to tip.? London Globe. #