SHORT STORY

* Doh't b slieve you've any religion at ■o.' said -WiHsfem~-Smr»h" to-Jake- Eldridee, as they lounged into the post office at Snapshot. :. 'Why sot?. You don't know every thing, though you do happen to be a Britisher,' said the offended Jake. * Well, if you understood the gospel of labor, you wouldn't waste an hour every day waiticg while your mail la sorted, when you right to be at work in the swe't spring sunshine doing your beat to increase yqnr country"* output,' . 'Go-as the country t-ia't ao hard up for produce btit what it can spare me an hour or two,' earn Eldridge, drily. 'Canadians ain't like Englishmen. They don't shove . one another over a little island into the sea every five minutes. No, ait. Thia'ia God Almighty's country, this L", with plenty of room in it You bet, we can huatle when we've a mind to hustle, and we can loaf when we've a mind to loaf.* ' Daresey you can; but you have fire hundred people in Snapshot, and almost a thousand religions; too much religion is ae bad as too little; therefore, practically, you've no religion at all. ' Why, that*s all you know about it,* Kid Eldridge,.-indignantly. . 'Guess.l'm :Hard Shell Baptist this year. N-no! Come to think of it, that was year afore last. Last year I was a Presbyterian; I this j ear Quaker—got a new drib *, suit on purpose, ain't got no religion! Why, the truth is f've too much, for sure. I'm chock-full. You could make little maps all over me of the different religions I've been In my t'me, and thi places where struck ma most. I'm a Quaker now, and don t you forget it.' * Why are you a Quaker P Why not a Shaker?*

'l've never shook any of my friends yet, and I ain't going* to begin now. Guess I'm a little bit of a Canadian kind of Quaker in my 'manners. D'you think old George Fox wouldn't have known me as a genuine friend, not a 'hickory' imitation—them folks as ait on the ..fence and wait which side to jump down. No, air, Afik' the Princess' if I ain't apeakin' the rrosen truth. Bat I forget. Yoa can't ask the Princess if yoa don't know her. Jast come with me down to the Friends* school house—if a all red brick outside, and ekan whitewash within—and she'll convince yoa afore yoa can hit a yallow dog.' . . .- ._■ Winston Smith laaily swung himself off the poetomce counter (it is the ceneet thing to sit on the'poetomce counter at Snapshot) and followed his long-legged guide oat into the afreet, put the little Quaker meeting house, and down to the wharf.

' It's a wonderful country this Canada of oura,* continued the indignant Jake. • the primeat bit of the wnole earth. ■Come to the edge of the Ottawa shore. 8-*-ah! You'll frighten that bluebird off her neat; reckons sne knows me, but this yer British'bat of yours gives you away even to a bluebird, whicb don't take much interest in hats as a ginial thing.: Verily it does, bagoeh. Now look at the coffee-brown of the water—the timber rafts floatin* lazily along just as if they'd . done it for years—the blue sky, the green wOlews at the river edge; the Laurentian mountains a little way back, with their rows and rows of maples and pines atop of 'snu Where will you find a more beautiful sight f Gosh—l mean verily— , it's all the earth and the fence round it. It only wants the Princess out here just to finish it off a bit/ Winston allowed Jake to run on. A. recent convert to Quakerism, his speech was still mixed with that of other creeds.

'Jale was in a contemplative mood as they passed the bluebird and settled down for a smoke in a little harbour midway between the bpnk and the shore. Some thing in the serene atmosphere seemed to invite confidences. ' 'Breathe all your troubles and mistakes to me, and I will soothe you with my rippling song,' bab bled the river. 'O, you puny beings mis called man, how oitsn, as i flow ouward to the eternal sea, do I behold you by my banks, children of a larger growth Who murmur to me all your little loves and hopes and leara! Your pigmy stories are swallowed up in my breast j they are car ried out to the salt ocean, and- buried fathoms dfepne*er to rise again* -*- It wait "vary hot Presently a potato bug, looking somewhat like a bloated ladybird, crawled from a bough above, and dropped on to Jake's neck. ■ His first im pulse was to be profane. 'Me bein' a Quaker on probation, I daren't let fly,* he said, apologetically to Smith. "Sides, if a too near the school house. The princess might hear me.' They smoked on until they attained Nirvana: were even as gods for whom Tin*? las no meaning. At ac bfl the bell clanged. The children hastened out'from the red-brick scbool hons« with merry laughter, and raced up the road to the village. Last of all came the princsFS. carrying in her arms a wee, wee g'tl, fast asleep, As she neared the arbor, she began to sing softly, and the bluebird listened on its nest, for it seemed to know and love the sound of her voice.

Smith.' looked at Jake. He crimsoned as the princess came slowly down the path, her eupple figure swaying rhythmi cally with every step She was a tall, fair princees, Heaven's holy calm within her pore and candid eyes—a princess with flowing robes, of blue, a human forget-me-not, blossoming in the way. As she came down the path. Smith in voluntarily took ,oS his hat, and stood bareheaded in the noonday heat So did Jake, his handsome features flushing like a girl's. The princess smiled when she saw them. ■ I fear me have robbed you of your nook,' said Smitb, making room for her to ait down. Jake introduced Winston Smith to her. He was troubled and ill at ease, and Smith instantly, dirined the reaeon for his con straint. When they returned to the village, Winston Bmith carried the child. U • W.e shall be much pleased to see you 'tola 'fcvening,' the princees said to him.. Frieid Jake ia to apeak in the court house en the Temperance Question.' He —ha has tried both sides of it.' She looked at Jake with a sweet, grave, diTWtniW. and that stalwart Apollo again husg hia head. T*»'A was the

™ Princes* Wa ; is,

reason of his -swearing off;' this was th reason he had joined the Society of Priands; this accounted for bis abstention from 'tanglefoot* warranted to kill at forty yard*. Jake wag emerging from the thoughtlessness of early manhood, and becemi ug a thinking animal. But he did not look as if his reflections made him happy., .„ Winston Smith's quarters were at the house .of the ' Begistrar's Lady,' as she called theraelf. He had drifted into this quiet little valley by* chance, and was too ; much its inhabitants -to 3 drift out again untiThe had more* of! them; there was rough matozial for a hundred novels in the strange indivi dualities which surrounded him. Every one was original, from the • Begistrar*a Lady *to t?.e printer's doyil. rt the office of the small paper. • The'rashk-ns were also origin*!, and depended on what novel . Mrs Judge Perkins had rvad lat-ly. She derived hrr ideas of costume from books, and imparted them to the • Registrar's Lid/' as hem* the litest Paris modes. ' The 'Bsgistrar'B Lady.' however, some- • times rebelled against Paris modes when ■„ it oame to appearing in a headdress of ' eagle's feathers, and the other accessories (they ware, not many) of tha costume '• worn (what Uttle there was of it to wear) ' by'LeloS*. th-« Uride of the Plains.' She ! said that no Christian wooaaa wouid go about in such scanty garb, and s> Mrs Judge Perkins had toe "mi dowa to mora conventional attire.

la additions to the disputes about fashions, a fhrce fi;ht was going on in Snapshot; between the powers of good and evil. .jAll who were not total abstainer* were disreputable; all *?ho drank watei led godly lives. No one seemed to be- able .to steer a middle coarse—from the jucUe downwards. Nobody drank beer. The ordinary liquid consumed in moments of conviviality was a fiery, scorching com pound known as 'tanglefoot/ -which burned up a man in a few months, and transformed him into a howling, mad dened demon without five minutes' notice. Under its influence a ms n had been known to turn his children into the pitiless storm of a winter night—only to go mad on the morrow, whin their frozen bodies were dug out of the snow. ~._.,*.

u There had been so many temperance meetings at Snapshot that everyone became intensely intemperate on the sub ject- At the meeting to which Winston Smith was invited by the princess, Judge Perking led off with a *flowe'ry oration, to the effect that he intended to be a water drinker for the future. This interesting. statement was capped by old Parkworks, the butcher., 'You see, jedge,'. he said, addreaßing that worthy,«where the leader goes the shaft-horse is bound to foller. Now, I'm a shaft-hoss, and il you leads quietly, danged if I'll kick over the traces. But if you kicks, then Pm bound to kick, eo'b not to be unreasonable and look bet ter'n my betters.' This maiden effort was received with tumultuous applause. Jack -Eldridge followed Park works, and spoke with a rude, impassioned eloquence, which carried people cf their fast. For five minutes at least every hardened old toper in the. village vowed to reform. Then the seasoned offenders sneaked into Brobetf a tavern to discuss the speeches, 'and to moisten their parched throats. - A coolness gradually arose between Jake and Winston Smith. Of coarse, the princess was the innocent cause of this. Smith saw a good deal of her. Jake's Quakerism was of too recent a- data to enable him to visit frequently at the house of the princess' parents. Consequently, the novelist had the advantage of him in /many ways, although Jake and the princess had attended school together. They had a hundred associations in com mon, but, in spite of them, seemed gradually to drift apart. The princess' intellectual powers were much in advance of Jake's. She did her beat to conceal the fact, lest he should feel her super iority ;' but he was too intense on worship ping her to nothe this. Besides, every one knew that Minnie Higginson, Parson Higginson's daughter, was madly in love with him—everyone but Jake. Winjtcn Smith, lying on the turf be hind the bluebird's nest one day, unwit tingly overheard Jake's proposal to the princess. He had been sleeping in the , short grss3, inly to be awakened by the musical notes of the princess' voice. -• '* Tadnf no ose',' said Jake; • I've loved you ever since we sat on the same form at school i and shared our lunches together, liain't worthy of yon, I know that. But since this English feller's come along you won't look at me; you ain't no use for me.'

The princess' voice was very sweet and gentle; 'Youare unjust, Jake. Minnie loves you. You paid her a great deal of attention, and it is only right that you should give yourself to her. I watched her face the other night j she betrayed her innocent secret. You had no right to i raise h'r oatpeetations by your attentions, and then to withdraw because I came back again to Snapshot. .Think of her humiliation.' ' Jake hung his head." 'They were— were only attentions; I didn't mean 'em'.' * Do you thinks asked the priscess, ' that I could build my happiness on the ruins of Minnie's hopes ? She loves you with her whole soul, and she is my friend.' •But if you loved me you'd think a darned sight more of yourself and less of her,' pleaded Jake. It seemed to Smith (he was perforce obliged to remain where he was) that the princess f rew pale. «We cannot go into that,' ahe said softly. «Jake, when we do wrong we must suffer it. I would never marry a man who has deceived someone else, especially when that someone is my dearest friend. True happiness does not consist in thinking only of ourselves. If you wish to retain my esteem (Smith saw that her lip trembled for a moment) you. . will offer yourself to Minnie.' ' But don't love her— not a mossle Thar ain t no other woman in the world for me cept you.' 'You *ill learn to love her when you see how sweet and winning she is. The greatest proof you cay give of your love for me is to—marry her.' ■ You'vo made me love you. Don't you .owe me nothin' P* 'Yes, I owe you something,'she aaid ► entry. ' I owe it to you that ycu should not be duloyal to your old schoolfellow We will put myself absolutely out of the question.' But he was by her sida, covering her hands with passionate kisses. • Say that yoa might ha' loved me if I

I hadn't fooled with Minnie. Say that, and, I—l'll marry her.' J For a moment, the Princess' eyes looked .at him very sweetly and tenderly, « Ycu ; must not ask ire that,' she said, and went away. I Jake picked np the handkerchief she had let fall, and stood twisting it in his fingers with a dazed look on his handsome face. *No heart, no heart,' he mattered. 'Notamossle. Sbe don't love me; she never did; bat I might ha* made her in time if it hadn't been for—Minnie!' As Jake bent down and kissed the spot where the Princess had stood, Winston Smith came out from his hiding-place, and took his arm. *Be a man, Jake. Bear your punishment. If she nad not loved you, she would never have set you so bitter a task.' ' Yes; it's bitter—bitter as hell!' he cried, without evincing any surprise at Smiths presence. 'Oat of onr pleasant vices the gods make instruments to scourge üb.' That's what ycu'told me the other day. I thought it was poetry stuff. Now I know what you meant. Why did you say it P'. •Why did I say it? Would you be yery much surprised to hear that I am in love with the Princess myself ?' Jake turned upon him savagely, as if about to strike.

' You'll ask her to marry you P' 'Not yet. It would be hopeless. I shall go away, make a name in the world, .seek the Holy Grail, tben come back and goffer myself to her. I am a worldling ibecause I have always lived among worlds lings. I will strive and work and —1 must conquer !* ' Think she'll listen to you ? You don't, know her.' ' Neither do you. We aren't worthy to know her,' said Smith, with sudden pas sion. 'Some day, when we've passed ihrough trials and afflictions, and borne them av she would iiavo us bear them; when we've put aside from us all that is of the earth, earthy j when we've walked as she'd have us walk; then, and not till then, shall we be worthy of her. The/e comes a moment in "the life "of every man when he ha& to choose his path or lose it forever. Do you think it isn't hard for me to go away without "speaking ? J'm ■ not fit to speak now. Some day I shall return.' They parted and w.-nt their diverse' ; ways. : • • * # * I,

The years go by,, and, under the 6'aadow of the silent hills beside the river shore, the Princss teaches in the villagi school, the child sbe carried in her arms is now the happy mother of a laughing babe; generations of blue birds' nest and nest again; but still no sign comes from the outer world, and still the Princess— waits !—Black and White.

Humour.

The Advance Agent: 'Crack up the show all you know, won't you ? Tell them if s the greatest thing that ever hap pened.' The Editor: • The trouble is I've done that iso often that people don't put any more faith in me than if I was an advance agent.' — : 'Foiled • hieseTd the. villain, through his clenched teeth. • Well, you ought to be used to it by this time,' retorted the low comedian; ' but what is it now P' «The worst that could possibly happen. I have mislaid my cigarette.' Wife : •' But I have nothing to wear' Husband: ■ Then let's go to the opera. No one will notice the difference.' He (after listening to her playing) : * I should think you would get one of thcsD attachments to the piano.' Shei 'Why?' 'Anyone can play that.' Mother—' I am surprised, Ethel, that you should talk so impertinently to papa. I'm sure you never heard me talk that way to him.' Ethel—'Well, you choosed him, and I didn't.' . -—— : In an Ice cream Psrlor>-He: ' I wonder why it is no man has ever succeeded in capturing the wealthy Miss Bullion P' Sweet Girl (between spoonfuls) : ♦ She has always been rich enough to buy her own ice-cream,' - A Question of Privilege.—Mistress (after 3a heated discussion with argu mentative cook) v 'Are you the mistress of this house, I should like to know P' Cook t■ • No. ma'am. I ain't—but- ' Mistress (triumphantly) • ' Then " don't talk like an idiot!' A BECOMPENSE IN KIND. Clerical Customer (arousing himself from nap in barber's chair) : 'Finished, ehP' ! Barber: 'Yes, sir, quite—some time ago.' Clerical Customer: • Indeed 1 Then I must have been asleep.' jj Barber:'.' You surely have, sir.' •- Clerical Customer: 'lt was certainly very Mad of you not to awakeu me. The rest has. done me good, and I am very/ -fcharibful to-you'for what was really a very refreshing sleep.' Barber: 'Don't mention it, sir. Ifs only a fair return. I attended ser vice at your church last Sunday.' ENGLISH GOOD ENOUGH. Senator Quay is fond of telling a story of an experience at a country hotel near Pittsburg. Hanging on the wall' in the parlor was an inscription, * Ici on parle Franeais.' The senator noticed the inscription, and, turning to the proprietor,) said: iDo ycu epeak French.?' . . - •' No, replied the proprietor. • Unitefdl States will do for me.*' 'Well, then,' said Quay, "why do you have that notice on the wall—that means ' French is spoken here.'' - •.. ; . ' Well, I'll be blamed if a young chap didn't sell that to me for a motto,' God bless oar home!'' answered the astonished hotelkeeper. A FRIEND'S ADVICE. Jack—-' I have a chance to marry a poor ■ girl whom I love, or a rich woman whom I do not love. What would you advise ?'. ■ •■''*« George—'Love is the salt of life, my friend. Without it all else is naught. Love, pure love, makes poverty pain a joy, earth a heaven.' Jack—' Enough. I will marry the poor girl whom I love.' George—« Bravely spoken! By the way, would you—er —mind introducing me to the rich woman whom ycu do not loveP' . Mrs Watson: * Every now and then, in reading the news of failures, I come across the phrase 'preferred creditors,' What are preferred creditors ?' Mr Watson: ' Well, I myself prefer creditors who don't dun roe.' Jester: '. How are you getting on with your lessons in French ?' Mies Giddy: * Why, I can speak it, but I can't understand it.' Jester: ' What you need is an inter preter, to tell yourself what you are saying.'

Sketcher.

DEATH AT THE PALLS. * . 5T^ A - VE . tne falls o f Niagara a-Tiyp vKflP n otic power over certain people igggk, that lures them onto destruction? " 'Dr, A. L. Benedict, of Buffalo, asserts that thjSKfhaye.; Dr. Beiftfdiofc says more} He -jSthe swirling/ motion of the rapjjjfii ana" trjfe of the cataract which* sus-I 6*ptiffie persons* calrno'f resist, ananas sure an agent of hypnotism as revolving miirors, crystals, or passes of the hands.'

'I havq often mot persons,' says Dr. Benedict, t who told me they could not look down'upon the waters rushing along beneath without feeling a strong impulse to leap into their coyl embrace.' The record of thousands of sane, normal people whj have gone to Niagara to rest or recreate, who have gazed fascinated into its whirlpools and bound to; its roar, Aventually*l!rn'gtag themselves into the treacherous embrace of the crying wstersf would seem, to bear witness to-the statements "who was fmoved to an expression of his views byjthe recent suicide of Alice W. Qolie. \ fa& «vai

i * Thk; Waters Akr Calling* Me 2 '■■- jMvss Colie was a Buffalo girl of 'good position, |good\ home, g?od "looks : and everything to Kv e for. She waa engaged to Mr. Raymond Bushman, of Buffalo, and they were to be married this sprint. Miss Colie was in poor { healthjandDr. Benedict iwas her. "He claims that 8b e was a perfectly normal, well balanced 'girl, and that there was cer tainly no trace of insanity when she left his office the day she went to the falls Miss Colie visited the falls frequently. It was a pleasant little trip from Buffalo, and the theory was that it did ,ier good. As a matter of fact,*? aodordirfg tot; Dfj Benedict, it did her-4 J&e bercauw the victim of a fasci^a^^ 1 which tered her. On the morning of March .20 she left her home, paid her usual visit at the doctor's o'fEce, and went on to the falls. For a week nothing was heacdiof her. Her 1 fiance was almost frantic and her people followed every clue in vain Then came a letter from Mr. R, C. Eaffield, of Lcs stopped at the falls on his way from 'Eng land" " Mr. Eaffield stated that he had found a purse on the small bridge leading to Luna Island, in which was a email sum of money, a return ticket to Buffalo, a prescriptiojfit from ..&» .Buffalo and the yisifong jbai<t of lUSsa Miol W£" Colie/ with these *worfls: pencilled oh the back :" ; a A.4 w ':--*' &. %*J A 1

• 'Good-by, Ray, mamma, papa, and all the dear ones. Do not think that I don't love you all, for I do. The watera.ar,e.

calling me!' * w ." ; The last sentence of Miss Colie's fare well message justifies Dr. Benedict's theory of hypnotism, The girl had lis tened ,t/> the rushing of the waters till she fancied th-y had a message for her. She had watched the circling swirl,of the eddies and whirlpools arid the, downpou? of the falls till her weak&efves were wrought with an unconquerable desire to Did Not Want *'

Miss Delia Taneey, of Buffalo, com mitted suicide after precisely the same manner as did Miss Colie. Delia iTansey was devoted to her sister and jealous of her attentions to another girl. She made repeated visits to the falls, and on the day of April 9 walked to the bridge that connects Green Islpnd with the mainland. There, in sight of 200 persons, she leaped from the bridge. Her body-lodged in the ice near the American falls, and as people rushed to the hank; and "pe;ered over the bridge, she begged pitebusly to "be saved. William Connor, jpf. whowas;oa thefbridjrejj* the;t^tae,;waded o«fe istp the river anJ" s"aeceecled in catch iag her foot. As lie pulled the shoe came off. An; expression of?.ageflyHjrossed the girl's face and" the waters closed in about her. Someone found a rake and threw it out to Coramxf ffle/sgot it fastened-ia the girl's clothing audtpaJled' with all his might. The rapids pulled against him. At last something, gave way. Connor fell back violently, clutcnlng fastto the rake, to which hung part of the girl's clothing j and the rapids carried her body over the falls. The girl dKf ms4s.itep.s to commit suicide. She loved youth and life and gaiety. She was not morose.. She was loving. | She went to the falls to. pout and think out a way fdr winning her old place back in her sister'aiaffection. - The waters soothed I her. She felt friendless. They seemed to talk jto ; h%r, fine grew familiar with their noises.' fascinated her. They hypnotised her. But the moment she felt their cold chill and the force of their blows, the spoJl ? was broken and she longed for life. ' Not long ago a school 'teacher named Allison, from Cory, Fa., attempted suicide in the Lower Rapids. But before the currentj caught her two men pulled her ane recovered cob sciousness she wept and thanked God and said the spell had bepfel&okeu ; as goon as' she touchedjche been work ing to Niagara for her; pte the Jraiiere . soothed ihe* at first, *'thM fascinated "her. After that she couldn't keep away frqm them, and on the evening before her de parture j folh)we(L an ungovernable im pulse and lelrped'M ; *'' : ; * r The S people consider the falls are an irresistible attraction. In 1892,; a record year for Niagara suicides, a party of young 1 men went over to the falls for a hilarious outing. One of their number, more irresponsible than the rest, insisted on 'trying it' from the parapet at the brink of the American falls. Again and again his companions led him away until each was too §rjink. to take care of his rieighbourT lirtne morning the man was missing. His coat and hat hung to the side of' the parapet. There was every reason to believe he had "tried'it.' s=! ~

Several days after that a sad-faced priest in clerical black clothes stood for a moment; on the platform over the whirl pool of rapids. Then he raised his eyes, made the sign of the cross and leaped. He was Father James O'Donnel, of the Church; ofc ibetSacrect Hears ;of Jesus, in New Ydrk. Religions fervour had worn out his pationcs aucLenergy. The sin and strife of the world* Baa Broken his 'spirit, There were peace and solace in the rush is g waters.

lt is not always tragic, however. Last October a jauntily-dressed man, who had around Prospect Park for a week, sauntered park one rainy morning and looked over the railing at the point.,, Ifeis a peculiarly well-adapted spot for ecnrfmitting suicide. All one has to do is to step over a two-foot railing and drop. The man lighted a cigar and sat on the rail. The cigar must have been a good one, for; he seemed to appreciate it. He took deep inhalations "and made rings in spite of the rain. Two park at tendants watched him. His position on the Tail was a. hazardous .one. Yet he hadn't the manner of a suicide. Presently the cigar was smoked and he threw away the butt. Then ho tossed one leg over the railing. l The attendants came toward him. The man lifted his brown Derby jauntily, then jumpod. There was no trace of him left, and his body was never found, $

Aaofches odd character, who wora-seed? chtbes "and a tired into a saloon near Prospect; Park one day ia June and begged the use of a pencil. Then he wrote: • God bless all on earth and have mercy on my soul.' The -blessing was all ha left when he went over PrOßpeofc; Point, and it s gave ao clu« tohis ideniiity : . ; * Probably love and its attendant com plexities have been the strongest of all factors in workiag together with Niagara's* byphoisie ' ihflueiioa; •*• T6 r 4Sbse wbjfi3e| Bpiritßlhaya; hjoken J beneatbSthe r^lpgi f»assipfr| the rush' Of th£ waters ascinatm| s 'lnHaybyV ;; ProiipaoY Point'*is : the most favoured suicide spot for dis appointed lovere*

Science.

I BY LIGHT? OP SUN. §gP^ pt JH.ACHTNE has been recently -st£jßkfi u harnessing the 'rays of the sun and making them work a steam engine.- A huge.'sun. raotorihasA Been. bniW which pumps %p : wateV f6r ifriga-* tion-purposes. The sun motor looks like an inverted umbrella, consisting of a reflector 83 ft. 6in. across the top, lined with rows.of small mirrors. . These re flect the sunlight, concentrating, it upon a" small boiler in the centre, in which steam is generated. - This, after all, is only a modification of the huge sun motor built by Ericeson and set up many years ago, tfce boiler in that cjsse being a "long.tube., runmngclongi-* tadinally with the mirror. Whether the heat from the Bun can compete with the heat from coal, from am economical stand point, is, however, doubtful. On a cloudy day the sdn motor would have. to go out of business altogether.

f" f TELEGRAPHf ". f % 1 The reasbn'for Marconi'sigreatei* Buccep jqi wifeless telegraphy over sea than mis Jandfethat an'j£ opaqno "substance vwijl 'act as' a reflector for electric" waves, such as a wet duster or the. surface of water. The radiations that fall on the water are reflected upwards again, while of those that fall on earth some at any rate are absorbed. The range of the apparatus in South Africa was greatly restricted by the. dryness of the soil; all the wayea. that 'itduohed the earth were absorbed' the influence of the radiation died out very rapidly, messages could not. be transmitted ss far as was anticipated.

1 I fO, UNMOUNT PHOTOGRAFHS. [ | ;To jiuhniount photographic prints,' pint them'face downwards upon a clean board or on a glass. Wring out a cloth that has been soaked in water (preferably warm) so that'it will riot; Slip, and place it three or four folds thick upon the prints. It should 1 be so folded that its size is just enffioieat to corer them. Fat another piece of glass on the top, and then a weight. Leave the whole ar rangement, for several hours, until the .mount is damped right through, when the "print will come off nicely without damage LONG DISTANCE HEATItfG. Germans are blasting- fthst f t|here r -ia! nowhere in the world a building similar to one which was recently erected in Dresden. .: In this novel building is an immense furnace, from which heat is supplied to several public buildings in Dresden, in cluding the royal castle, the Royal Opera House, and the police headquarters The heat is convened to these buildings through pipes, and in some instances the distance is so great that the furnace has been popularly dubbed ' the long-distance heating apparatus.* '■'■ This plan of heating large buildings is said to work admirably, and arrangements >are now bfiirig' made; to establish similar faraacea in ether largo critics «f Germany. EDUCATING OURSELVES IN L BEAUTY'S SCHOOL/ I started out the Ist ojf ■ January to'iuake myself Beautiful, for ? after having read articles in nearly .every magazine and paper on how to 'Eduaate Yourself in Beauty's School' I was almost led to believe that even an old maid could Boon blossom like the_rose ifshe.w?re willing utoiry.-. •"-. 1 /. '}■ .'■'""'. ■.■ .:' H v£ My dressing table has been loaded with bottles and- boxes, while)my ; pocketbook has felt lean many times because there was always some trifle I must have to aid me in my work; >••' . ' : - i« *

This afternoon I've been giving .myself an examination*, after my three .morithsf; "trial, and to be very honest; Ijp niy self looking and acting very much the same as I did when I began.; It; does . s6e.m* hard after all the trouble Pve i>akeß,'bufc I fear it's ' o use for me to try, ..and, Tye. about decided to'stop think ng riDout-my- 5 self and be as happy; as I can; looking the way the Lord intended I should. • ......From the.,yards -■■, of newspaper*-and magazine articles published every week one in made to think that all can be good looking if they try a lotion ot two &nd|||g few exercises, JThis'" may' betttrue, mm certain it is therg are ss-inau|r viewXjei| the subject one is puzzled||o fegLOw is the best. After having tried first one, . then another, and iff the end seaing no change for the better, we settle down deciding our png noses never ;can] be like the true Grecian or thin lipsf oldba'ck like.a rose petal. boxes, and exercises the four Winds' wo decide history, science, and literature are more in our line, than..'Education in Beauty's School.'. , Do not understand me! I believe most heartily in good'healthy exercise, with plenty of sleep and nourishing food, and in every woman's trying to look her, very' t best at ail tuneß&nd }n all places, |bjr| do we improve our looks tfr manner (knfc stantly seeking for something to make'us appear different frem what we really are P I am of the belief also that thinking so much about ourselves makes"ua-selfish, and we spend so much time in looking for other people's imperfections we forget that after all it is brains that count.

-This is an; age of fads', and to be up to date we must follow them more or less, but whenSwe.- get so far advanced in beauty's school that we are not able to go on a pleasure trip without wondering every three minutes if we're walking correctly, smiling so aa not to maka wrinkles, and holding ourselves with that Hobe-like.;poise so ; becoming to women then is the time to call a halt, get out out Emerson ;an<l read what 'he says about beauty: ? There is * eonf plexions, or form, or behavior like the wish to scatter joy ; and not pain around us, and character will in time model the face into something nobler and more win some than mere beauty of features.' So some of us, though we may not suc ceed in the external part of-beauty may be able to win some small degree' of suc cess by internal applications. Bbtst 'Pais- 7 --..-' r , f ; x 3 '.fe-

Traveller.

JAFFA GATE Off JERUSALEM. S|S|ftUTSIDE the Jaffa Gate, which &QJT ? d J oinH fcEe Tower of David, and Wgr& is *he chief entrance for trade, travel and pilgrims into the Holy jw!f|M a a **rge square surrounded by l WfW§ OOlnm i ß 'ion and brokerage offices, \ I JI V OT corrala and khans, tbe busiest plaoe iifJiifea, where all th* oenturie3 and all the raoes meet and hustle each other. It ia the horse and oamel market of Jerusalem,; the headquarters of the sad dlers, farriers and veterinarians, the starting place ©f the caravans that leave and the camping place of those that eater the city. It is the rendezvous of buyers and sellers of all classes of produce and merchandise, a general market at which anything can be bought er ordered, a sort of bourse or exchange and chamber of commerce, It ia the court and the parlia- : ment of tbe masses, where * they hold public meetings, discuss politics and theology and gossip about the stats of 'affairs. It is an employment agency, where groups of laborers and hubbandmen and mechanics sit around and sleep in the Bun while waiting to be hired, and where angry women come to hunt for truant . husbands and lovers.' Here complaints are made to the police officers, and lawyers consult with, clients ' from "the -"country, 5 says William E. Curtis, in the Chicago Beoord-Herald. It ia an unpaved and dus'-"-*forum, -littered with rubbish and filth,* , By arming with mangy doge, obstructed by ugly camels, which chew their cud in indif ference and give their whole mind to the purpose of their stay there, which is rent. Professional letter writers, ; with a scholarly air, wearing spotless white turbans and Jong white cotton cloaks, sit around with ink horns and blocks of paper in convenient corners, sheltered by umbrellas from the heat of the sun,,just as they havo done in the public places of Jerusalem since the days of David. Money changers have little tables with piles of coins before them; dealers in pottery, saddlery, bread? and other necessaries of life required by the caravans have little stands against the walls. Arab and Jewish girls are about chaffing their admirers and selling baskets of f rait; venders of lemonade and sherbet, with jigskins hung over their. shouldera, which look as if they would burst With their contents, clink their brass Cups 'With a musical rhythm to attract attention. Sharp-looking old men offer the camel ,drisere' s '*ojarien, beads and amulets to jljaifg around the necks of their animals, to '>%ep off :the evil eye; itinerant barbers do W briSk-| business all day out of doors, shaving the beads of the Bedouins. You can hire here horses/ saddles, camels, donkeys and any other kind of beast by the hour or the day or the week, or by the distance; you can charter camel trains for any place within the limits of> Asia Minor or Egypt; you can contract for the transportation of freight to any point, and you can buy or sell anything that is marketable. . rTr

I A PAINTED VILLAGE. In Switzerland there is a village where the inhabitants ara' so favoured as to have original works of art executed upon the outside of their houses. The pic turesque corner of Switzerland is known to English visitors by the pretty name of the ' Painted Village.' It is not far .from the shores of Lac Leman, being about four or five kilometres from Clarens, now little more than a continuation of the popular resort of Montreux, bub formerly famed as one of, the resting places of Byron— the house where he lived now bearing a tablet—as'well as being a favourite resort with E'busseau, Gambetta, and various other personages known to fame. ' ag A QUBBB PIOTUBK GiJ&IiBBT, •;, ¥o the postal authorities, the name by which the English-speakiag christened it, the village is known as? St. L9gier. To the rambler taking a stroll in. the neighbourhood it comesCwith something of bewilderment to happen unexpectedly upon a cottage having a ] spirited chalk drawing—of a dog ..fight, it may be —executed upon its otherwise,; undistinguished • walls. He glances at this .with a certain amount of interest- and curiosity, but merely imagines jit to be the abode of some original ajad artistically-minded person, or, perhaps, a village Hogarth,! whose. superabundant artistic energies find an Outlet by! ornamenting his house in this somewhat I unusual fashion. A little .further on;, however, he rubs his eyee at sight of abarn door with an oil sketch of a sergeant de ville on one side and a Swiss peasant woman on the other. ■ After that quite a vista of painted houses,' kp«penß out before his astopished gaz;. Some of the pictures are in black and white—or, 5 at least, black and whatever colour the wall happens to be—others are done in oils. Some of the, iworks of art-

lurk, in unsuspected corners or on incon spicuous side walls* t while others are placed beside the front door. a realistic head peeps weirdly §ui s#one loun'dytfre side of a house, feaanaing one a little' of the Wiertz Museum at Brussels; while now and then a barn door is employed as a background, the stiles: of the door being ingeniously made to serve as a frame, i Altogether, although the paintings are not remarkable as works of art or the method that of the frescoed paintings, of St, Mark's, J Venice, there is, nevertheless, a certain interest peculiar to itself in this display of open air art. \ '"'■ : >* -° "*B»**** '•; ■ ■ ■■:>'

The way. in/wThich o£ Si. Legier firat "came by was at the band of t&jjfaame—whoso birthplace it was. lii ftj&ejßsriy'; days ..off his artistic career Sk Beguin apparently found the seductive blank walla of his; fellow townspeople a temptation to his budding artis'.ic powers, or possibly the supply~of r Gahvas; on which to j?uperabundant, 'energies became a difficulty to him. ? At any rate, his art spread itself generously over the walls of his native villago in a ssriea of spirited sketches. Later in his career M Beguia vwent to. -Paris, where, as ? migh have tfesn expected from the,display of so much industry, he gained repute as an • artist. As a matter of fact, it is said thai after his departure from St. Legier freel pictures did not fail to appear oh the wallr,' and it is easily discernible that they were not all executed by the same-hand. Who was responsible for the additional ones seems doubtful, but it is probable that 'more than one,hand added ttie fresh gems ito this out-of-door art gallery. It is cer tainly a quaint and interesting way of. | recording the village annals. ~"' ..."

Naturalist.

Steffi h bably has 1 ho honor of owning Che SSOK Iwgtist. 13 was grown on a amall "■■ farm,- Kill .rneyj-five-miles frbift I*ederieton,;N.Jg^ v;y ,, v ,.,..,, . . , , , Just before ' , and .found' to tip *he scale at 48 pounds. Its length was-30 inches v andjl}eight ,18 r T iffloheß. It back. Now,stuffed And.mounted, it'forme ah exhibit pi which th'e locality % ! KILLED; k >HrcltatVMG^©EF.l^at J The biggest wolf story of the season" " comes from Billing:* county, where G, W. Mysters was the lucky captor. Lupus in this case is reported to-Aave been BeVeri . feet and ten inches from his nose to, the ; tip of his rail| and to have weighed 168 pounds dead. He had been a long-time offender, and Mr -Myers, had. for yeara . made a standing offer of £lO for his u capture. It is estimated that he haa -' : killed £6OO worth of stock. Within ihH>' : last few months he has "kilted ft number of full-grown, cattle on Mr Myars" ranch.: The-hide was tanned and will bo retained ; as a souvenir. _•...:'/, „., -i PASSING OP THE LOBSTEB.

•The great decline of the lobster supply,' says Capt. Joseph W. Collin*, chairman of the commissioners of inland fisheries, and ..gam", 'ia unquestionable. In 1890, the average catch was 88 lobsters per pot but in 1900,10 yeare later, it had fallen off to only 45 per pot, Returns for 1901, just ended, show a further" great decrease of 24 per cent. The number of eggs which the Uai'ed, States fiah com missioners were able to obtain from the: Wood's Hoi hatchery in 1901 *as only one-half that which they procured there in 1900, orj approximately, only between one-nineteenth, and one-twentieth of the quantity they secured at the same place seven years ago. These facts make the subject a very serious matter for the con sideration of all concerned.' : - The primary cause of. the swift diminu tion of the supply is the unlawful catoh* ing and marketing oMobsters before their first spawning, preventing their natural increase by procreation. Another cause is the immense business carried on. by canneries. Massachusetts and Maine, where enormous quantities were formerly tanned, were compelled to abandon the industry on account of the scanty supply, but in Nova Scofci* and Newfoundland there are many mammoth canneries, which annually consume mil lions «l lobsters of all sizes. Still another cause is the almost in credible increase of shipments to remote inland sections, made possible by im proved and enlarged facilities for trans portation, ' modern refrigerating cars enabling shippers to send largo and fre quent invoices, to cities, and to was in mid-continent, and even beyond the . Eocky Mountains.. In Massachusetts it.is unlawful to sell or market any lobster less than 10} inches long, which is computed to be about; the average length of female lobsters when they reach maturity and begin to spawn, and they are estimated then to be from 5 to 7 years old. When lobsters of leas than the lawful 1 ength are caught the statutes provide that they .shall be re turned to the water and left to mature, unmolested. In some oases the law. is obeyed, more ihstanoea" the'short lobsters are smuggled into market by rapacious fishermen and surreptitiously sold by dishonorable dealers. • - Pull-grown lobsters usually range from from one to two feet in length, but, ia rare instances, some have been caught which were two and, one-h*lf feet long. The males and females are about equally divided in number, but the females £tjtx@&k m>re meat than males.of the same eist. < 'fT .:•. ■.'■■..-.- '■ v ~

The spawn of the lobster is composed of very diminutive qgg&,«roi globule", of which each female pcodu 363 from 2,500 to 15,000 at a"single spawning, according to her growth, large . lobsters averaging nearly 14.000 each'. The females carry their spawn for from 10 to' 12 months and ' as they deposit it only once in evdty 1 two years, spfloi'esis not propagated so rapidly as might be inferred from the multitudinous nuhibar of eggs which each deposits when spawning. When .uniin prQghated,'the -i egg3.a'ce ..of a bright red. hue, whence"is' derived "t'le term * lobster, as applied to tbe'female. "When the eggs are' gravid and maturing, they' gradually become of a .muddy or- blackish a hue. i,■ r I •"-; -. v.' r!'l\\ >;.■; '•' rt ". •'..'■' Tae offspring of the lobster, technically 'known »3ffry~?rpr. * swimmerets,'are of very minute aiz j when- hatched, and instead of Crawling on their native rivers or bays, like their parents, they swim sportively about like little fishes of other species. After a few. months, however, they assume the. crawling hab,it r of their adult relations and'are nolonger 'in the Swims' r: '~ '■'■^'

Lobsters Indigenous to the waters of Long Island Sound, and along ' the Atlantic coast,'from New Jersey to New- ' foundlaad, are oj the same species of crustaceans. In summer -taey live near the shore and prefer a rocky bottom. In winter they crawl away to deeper water and sometimes descend to a depth of from 10 to 20 fathoms—96 :to 120 feet—on isteep shores, where they go into winter quarters* I Although exceedingly voraW tieus, they can exist a surprisingly, long ♦'; .time wholly without f 3od.- At mealtimes, ' when their larders have besn bountifully supplied, they are very deliberate and eat their .food an a state c.f luxurious leisure, not; .to say dignified. rpatfulness. For stealy diet they decidedly prefer the roe of living fish; but when they are unable / to;' catch 'em alive/ they sagaciously fall- . back, as 'twere, on' Hobson's choice' -and wisely eat dead fish. In,,.the ; United Spates lobsters . are... caught almost txolussively in wooden 1 lobster pots/or. basket?, constructed on the principle of Freacii rat traps, with' funnel-shaped holes, which the 'lobster - may easily enter, but from which, on account ofj his spreading claws, he cannot a escape. Thence, he is takento.a book to' havehis dull,greenish-yellow shelly with spots of bluish-black, transformed into, a pright ,scarlet hue, by b iling. . These .'pots' are baited with cheap fish and sunk to the bottom of the fishing waters by v m*eatis of stones, their positions being marked by buoys attached to them . The disastrous- decline in the -lobster supply is striking shown by a special tabulated statement . issued by the United States B'ish commissioh covering , the changes iq full detail from 1880 to .1900, inclusive, in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, : New,Jarae'y and Delaware,'to?."•■' the waters of which seven states the lobster fiaheries of the United States' are:•.■.•..' limited by ; nature. . , . •-< I aggregate catch in all ,the states enumerated was 20,128,033 pounds. Il!rlßsi>p by.Treason* of -iha catching and marketing! of immature, lobsters, ■,'.., cafch had increa ße d'to : ;Bo,77i;673 .pounds, lit 1900 this enormoussupply, .' not include largd quantities receiyed from .. . Nova Scbtta.phad dwindled to i5#67,741 , pounds, showing a decrease of very nearly • ©na-hal£. ' : -^...■:.'...". . ''''''.':'.:'■ • : "~-' „' ;

OSfaTCB ft 9 iiMi'maim. ■ THbbjlJ-_ i «fe> '



To cook.bacon properly cut it very thin, lay the Blices on the broiler, rest this- on a dripping pan and . put ..in a hot 6v,en. Turn once. To,u avoid all • smudge, and your bacon is pink, crisp and delicious and easily digested. Eicon a the best possible meat for breakfast.



Towne :j ' I see there's a ne* 6&shier*at the,.bank.j I suppose Smugley was dis charged?' ■„.,,..,,„. -.. t.v- '' - Browne: "Not exactly. . They're offer-, ing double his old apiary to get him Tbwißi,vAh%Kesigmed, ehP' ;:.,.* * Browne: £&ds, %xlofcly ;. that,", either J They.re offering a thousand re ward forlhjim.' . r'-#&4£& Mi .*±&,ijj& Prima'Donna-.;'Those flowers;.are;not 'form©/.:. ! - "' s ""*"' j" *>'" J, \ »- * Conductor : s Ye.s j they £ , ' Well, they're not the onea Ijpaidfor^