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ladv Scaltermouofs Jewels. "Good moraing, Sir James." exclaim- ed Lady Scattarmonut, aa she entered her husbajid's study one marnicg after breakfast. " I bcpe you slept better last Bight i" "Huinph!" grunted Sir James, look- ing up suspiciously from his paper. " What do you want now ?" â- â-  How mistrustful you are, my dearl" observed his wife, piacimg her ample, but well-preserred figure in the nearest armchair. " What should I want ? Is it not natural for me to talLe an in- terest in your health I" " Perhaps It is ; but it is fax more natural for you lo talie an interest in my purse." " My dear Sir James !" exiijaimed her ladyship, reproachfully. " How ofteox do 1 see you, except when you want money, I should like to kofow ?" " Well, my dear, you aje so exces- sively studious, and have so frequently desired that you should not be disturb- ed, that, of course, we do not worry, you QulesB we are obliged to." " Oh, yes ; I dare say, you are wom- deffuUy thoughtful of my comfort," remarked the old gentleman, satirical- ly ; "still I shall feel obliged if you will cam« to the poimt. What do you WBjrtl" " Only a little cheque, dear," replied Lady Scattermoujit. " What more money I" cried Sir Jamee, a,ugriJy. " Certainly not." " But, my dear ," commenced her ladyship. " There are no ' buts,' about it," Ln- tearrufted her husband. "Your extra»- Taganoe ia ruining me, and I will not â- ubmit to it." " I only want a hundred pounds," irlcuded her ladyship. "Only a hundred (ounds I" repeated Sir Jam«B. becoming more and more ir- ^ii "Only a hundred pounds I And what do you want that for, pray i" " To pay Morton's bill and one or two other little accounts which are ov- •rdue." " It's false, madam I It's false I" ex- el&imied the old gantleman, pulling out a aoiid leather-covered note-book. "For- tuioately, X always keep a record of these little things, andâ€" erâ€" er â€" >o8, bore we are. Vou bad a hundred and twenty (ounda on Che seventeenth, on- ah« had lost to her the previous .even- mg aC the house of a mutual friend. One sugKestion after another arose, only to be dismissed as useless or im-' practicable, when suddenly her wander-, ing glance fell upon her < losihcuga.hy jewel ca£e, which was standing on the chest of drawers. "There's enough there to raise the money on over and over again." she thought- "and I have had such bad luck lately that it must change soon, audi then I could redeem them." Jumping up she opened the jewel* case, and began to looK over the con- tent;S â€" riiig^, brooches,, earrings, pend- ants, bracelets, and necklaces of rubles, sapiihires, pearls, diamonds, and other precious, stones. "Why shouldn't I?" she thought; "it's all his fault." And, as she hesi- tated, jihe happened to remember that since .she had left her room the sweep had been employed thereâ€" in fact, on her return from. her unsuccessful visit to her husband, she had disturbed the housemaid, who was cleaning up the grate. Surely the Evil One must have put the idea into her head, but slie seized upon it at onoe. Obtaining her handbag, she trans- ferred the whole of the contenta of her jewel case, closing the lid aitar her, out leaving ! ii" kev iu the lock. Then, proceeding to the fireplace, she stretch- ed her arm up the chimney and pressed her hand againj>t the sooty side, care-, fully hulding back her sleeve so that it should not be soiled. She then return- ed to the chest of drawers and made two or three blurred marks on the white mat on which the jewel case was standing-. Having' wa^ied her bands and emptied the basin, her ladyship de- scended to the drawing room, and ring- ing the bell ordered a cab to be fetched. ' Tell him to drive to the Marble Arch." abe aaid to her servant as he closed the door of the vehicle. On her arrival she paid the driver, and, waiting a few minutes, called an- other cab, and gave the coachman an address not far from Lincoln's-inn- fields. "Jonas Dingle. Solicitor," waa the name on the door-post, and, entering the office. Lady !:cattermount inquired if Mr. Dingle was in. "Yea. madam." replied the clerk; "what name shall I say ?" Her ladyship hesitated a few mom- ents. What name should she give ? She bad been Mrs. Berger when .she had previously bad dealings with this man, so she gave the clerk that name. Jonas Dingle was a hmiiau spider, but the years oT money-lending, which had turned his face into a mask and his heart into stone, colild- not prevent his eyes sparkling witti malicious pleasure when he perceive I who his visitor was. "Good morning. Mr. Dingle," said ber ladyship, seating herself opposite the solicitor, "I am in a little tempor- ary difficulty, so 1 have come to you to borronv some money on good secur- ity." "Oh I it's my Lady Scattemiount, is itf Well, well ' . . - I never thought I ly three weeks a«o, to pay Morton's ?*""V'* ^^"^ V^ you again. You didn't ^.,, "«>«=•« ««", •-" F<»j ..iu* uuu a ^j^^j mg ^gjj^ yjjy^ know, considering bill and other small accounts." that I found vou the money to get " My dear Six James, what is the «ise naarried with l Very shabby I Very of beiaig so particular with regard to ?^''''y ' Howevar, business is busine^. , , ' „ . 1 ,. J L 1 J How muua do you waat, and what is a leiw puunds? expostulated her lady. . . •> •hip. You have plenty, and you cannot poesibly take it with you." the security f" The proceedings did not occupy any length of time, tor Dingle was a good •< v^. »-,* I „»_ ..„.â- .» .,„,. ,.â„¢ .: ' judge of stones, and in a few minutes No ; but I can prevent you wasting ( La^y gcattermount departed with a It while X live," answered Sir James, | cbeaue for five hundred pounds, and the â- pitefuUy ; "and by Heaven, so I will I cleat was called in from the outer of- You don't have any money from me to- I "<» to make an inventory of her jewels. »„u u„u u. <> u< u^ucjr ..luiu ""'••"- I Qy jj^ j- petum homc she found that day. madam, to pay your gambling ; lunch waa waiting for her, and Sir debts." I James reudy to coiuiuence ; so, instead " Lady Scattermount changed colour a "^ «o'n8 upstairs to lake her things ..... ... • ., , ,. ,1 off, .siie removed her hat and mantle little, which waa visible, even through â€" her make-up, but she did not lose ber •elf -possession. "And pray, how do you know that I want the money to pay gamliling debts with?" " Ah, I know," reclied ber husband," with a malicious chuckle; "L am ^et- tln« on in years, but you needn't think I'm silly. Ob, dear no, not by any meBOH. I kuow all about it." " Wall, what if you do?" retorted her in the dining-room, and sent for ber maid to take them away. "Oh â€" a«d here, Jane," she observed, banding the woman a couple of brace- lets and a brooch, "place these in my .jewel-ca.se and bring me the keys." "What's the use of having a jewel- case unless you keep it locked 1 should like to know ?" snarled Sir James. "X fongot them tbiis morning, dear, " answer«d her ladysi^ip, sweetly. â- 'X''orgot ! You are always forgetting ladyshlf, defiantly, " I must have some .somethine ! It's lucky for you that your amusement: 1 can't sit reading silly old head 1:9 properly fastened on, or books and papers day after day all the eJj o ." year round, as you do." | "Oh, my lady, they're all gone I" cried " W«tll, you may make up your mimd the maid, bursting into the room, that you are not going to waste my i "All gone 1" repeated l,ady Scatter- mooey at the gambling table, and so | mount, in horror-stricken tones. "Im- I should advise you to find some less ! possible I" expeoiaive amusement." 'i "The jewel case is empty, my lady, " Don't be too hard. Sir James," | and there Isn't even as much as a answered his wife, waruingly. " Reinem- ring }eit." hex that by your harshness you have i Sir James dropped his knife and fork, driven your only son out oft be house, and looked for a moment as though Don't oom|:eJ your wife to seek refuge | ho wa.s going to choke. Recovering with strangers also." : himself with an effort, be exclaimed. " There is do fear of you, ' seeking a i "Don't sit there like a dummy, wo- refuge with strangers,' Lady Scatter- i man ! You've lost the jewels through mount. 1 only wish there was a chance ' your own carelessness, and the least of it ; but you are fax too clever for you can do is to try and recover t heinl that," responded Sir James, with a . Send to Scotland-yard at once, and in- mockiaig smile. " And as to my poor ] forui the police." boy George, if you will take the trou- l In a little over an hour Inspector ble to recollect, it was you who caused Drillett, of the C.J.I)., was surveying me to turn him out-and as I have of- th« scene of the theft, and after "due : ',,"", ^i'!^ Z" iT^'^'^l^ti'u^l ".^J.^^^r.^r, tem. thought since-on very insufficient deliberation he turned to her ladyship's | ofLhe fan blad^. ''*'^''*''"''' "«'^'«'"'^'>'' ^~\â€"} <-"an t tell ymi," replied the poor girl, now growing au fiery red as she had previously been' pale. "Then it is my painful duty to ar- rest you on suspicion," said the in- spector. "You are my prisoner." Lady Scattermount did not care whb suffered . so long as suspicion did not rest upon her; and Sir •Jame^ beyond gumbhng at the inconvenience at'iend- in^ the loss of his amanuensis, did no- thing to prevent Rose's removal, so In due course she found herself in Hollo- way gaol. Aa soon aa she b&^ recovered from the shock she obtained writing-paper and envelopes, and indited the follow- ing epistle :â€" '_'_My own dearest Georse,â€" "I have been locked up on suspicion of stealing Lady Scatbermount's jew- els, and all because the detectives found the locket you gave me in. my room, and I wouldn't tell him where, I got it from, because you made me promise not to. Oh, dear, George! do please come and take me out of this horrible place, or I am sure X shall go mad. With many kisses, ever your own. lov- ing Rose." George Scattermount hod read this for the third time that morning, as he sat on the high stoll facing the counter consuming bis lunch at the City re- staurant, when a young fellow entered, and, taking the next stool to him, ob- served "Hallo, Geiorge! How are you, my boy? I saw youjr charming step- mother yesterday. She came into our show to raise the necessary on her jew- els." "Good HeavensI you don't mean it," exclaimed George, trembling with ex- cilemen*. "Tell me all about- it, old fellow." Then his friend, who was Joseph Dingle's clerk, entered into full parti- culars of her ladyship's visit of the pre- vious day. Hastily thanking him, George hur- ried away and jumping into a cab, drove to his father's house, taking care to dismiss the vehicle at the corner of the street out of respect for his father's economical feelings. Sir James was at home and would see his son, so George was shown in; and, without beating about the bush, he at once enlightened his father as to the whereabouts of the family jew- els. Sir James turned as many colours as a dying dolphin, and then, holding out his hand to his son, oijaerved â€" "X have l»en thinking lately that perhaps I did you an injustice, George, in condemning you unheard. Now tell me, my boy, what did you w,ant money for so badly as to compel you to seek the assistance o fa money-lender?" "I didn't wont it, father," replied George. "It was for Lady S<:atter- moont. 6be begged me to help her, and I promised to say nothing about it." "Oh, that is too much." e.Tclaimed Sir James. "But tb«re is one thing more which requires explanation. How did Miss Millet got hold of that locket which was your poor dear mother's I would have sworn that girl was the soul of honesty." "So she is, father," answered George. "I gaw it to her when she promised to be my wife, but as I did not want the eng.igement known X told her not to mention it." "Well, well! Upon my word I Ybu sly dog, youl Not but what you might do a great deal worse. She is a good girl, and not u.t all ej;travagant." • • • • .• •• Lady Scattermount no wresides at Mcmte Carlo, where she is a well- kncrwn habitue of the tables; while Georgi and Rose have set ujj hou.se- keepirg tor themselves In a little villa them periodical visits, and gives bis at Ricb'nond, where Sir James pays daugb r-in-law lectures on the econ- omical rea.'ing of babies. FROST ON SHOW WINDOWS. A jeweler, who fuutiid that the frost an his showhwiadows interfered for some houis of tli« day with the inspeo- tion o«. hiij wares, by the j>assers-by> took a l-4-inc4i pipe of brasei, bored small holes in it abdult 1 inch apart, and after iwnding the pipe to fit the bottom of the wimdow, fast«ned it to the sash around the lower edge of the glass. Then, attaching a flexible tulie from one end to the gas fixt.ure, be turned on the gas. The light from the little gas jeta wanned up the win- dow and the frcwt disapiieared. The lights also served indireotly as an ad- vert iseuient, and any niumber uf peo- ple looked at the wimdotv In passing) who would never have gl.anoed that way but foir the unwonied line of lights. Tbe F.-uiie object is frequent- ly gained by having a small eleotric faji motor in a display window. It also serves a duublo purpose, keeping th3 air in the wirwll.^w in iiioiion. and evidence, for being a spendthrift and a maid and inquired- gambler." "Have you had "Insufficient evidence. Sir James," ; lately ?" repeated her ladyship, angrily. "Whati "Yes; he swept the sweep here this chimney this SOLDIERS' BEDS. Olfl'ereiil KInil.s Tliitl .4re l»r<l in Kurn- IH'iiH ArniiriH The soldier's t)ed varies notably in the different European armies. Accord- ing to Dr. Viry, the following are the do you mean i" â-  morning," was the reply. "I mean that a young man who has- "1 thought .so," ol ,«itvc(I the detec- a very small allowance may visit a ! tive, pulling out his note-book, "Just money-lender to obtain an advance tor , oblige me with hi-, :i.i:u>- and address, othjer purposes besides gambling, and please." that possibly a young man's stepuiotb- ! "I think we've koI the party, m'- «r is not the most unprejudiced witness \ lady," he continued, turning to I^ady Tinst him who could be found." Scattermount. "But p'laiw it will be. • • â-  u- . ady Scattermount glared at her lord a« well, just for sati.sfaction's .sake, to ; principal varieties, in which, perliajw, and maetesr in silence tor about a min- , have a look over tbe hou.sc, and inspect | we may see the reflection of national ute, ,Tnd then, in a husky voice, in- i th^ .servants' boxes." . , ^ ,, I characteristics, says the Medical Record. qulr«dâ€" I Amid a vast amount of only half-con- 1 , -, , , .^ , , - , j ,, ,.- " Are vou going to let me have this i ceaJed indignation, the C.I.D. officer; In England the bed is hard; the soldier money?' i .slowly went from one room to another, lies on a thin mattress that rests on " No ; I am not," replied her buslxind; ' until he found himself in a small cham- '' canvas stretched over a (rame. In "and you may tak« that as final." ; ber at the top of the house. Here be "Very well, then," asid ber lady.ship; di.scove.ivd somobhing that seemed to and, clenching her teeth and compress- j interest him, and he inquiredâ€" ing her lips, she quitted the room, not) | "Whose room is thlst" forgetting to bang the door after her; "Miss Millet's." was the reply, "Thi. In tlie most approved nieLhod iniroduQ- ' young person who reads to Sir James, ed by the angry woman It was the old. old, tale of faultaj on both sides. Sir James was eco- norakial even to meanness, while her ladyship was lavish even to extra va- ga,nce. The old gentleman would not entertain at home, nor would he ac- company her to any place of amuse- ment; nevertheless, he would nut ac-t knowledge thot lie was to blame when, sJie made friends for herself who ledi her into evil waya. Lady Scatter- mount wns seated in her bedroom on- the arm of tbe couch, hiding her thumb nail an*^ swinginfr one foot to and fro, as she endeavoured to think out, tha problem of bolw she wtas to raise suffi- cient Djwwey to pay the Dowager Lady Uingei'y the oinety-two pounds whlchl and writes his letters. "Tell hea- I want to .see her." In a few minutes Riose Millet, a blue-eyed, golden- haired young wo- man of about four-and-twi'nty, made her appearance, not a little upset by the imperative message. "Is this yours?" asked the detective, holding up a large gold locket, which had the Scattermount ore-st in enamel on tha back, and the initial J. S. in iHibies, surrounded by diamonds, on tbe front. Miss Millet became very white, but in a low voice succeeded in answering "Y&s, it is." "Where did you jget it from?" in- quired the officer, with increasing .sev- erity. Spain the soldier has only a straw bed, but he is allowed bejsidcs this a pillow, j two eheets, two blankets, and a covered quilt, sometimes even a cover for the Ifeet, It is almost sylmritic. In Germ- any and Austria he has a simple straw bed .with one or two covers, neither sheet nor mattress. In Russia, until recently, the poldier slept with bis clothes on, on a camp l)ed ; but now or- dinary bcils liegin to be used â€" the re- sult of contact with more civilized coun- tries. After this, it cannot be doubted that the French soldier's bed is tbe best of all, with its wooden or iron 'ocd- stead, a stxaw bed, a wool mattress, sheets, a brown woolen coverlet, and an extra quilt for cold weather. Thus the bed of tbe French soldier is the softest of all soldiers' iDeds, as that of the French peasant is acknowledged al- so to be the best of all Europe.-m coun- tries. DEPIRTMEHTAL STOEES. THE BAD EFFECT THEY ARE HAVING ON COUNTRY TRADE. ToroBlo and Muutreal Mllllonair<.. â- '^urtam Ut I'sulrul tbe Trade of 4'aauduâ€" MnuiH Murt-ILr^prr* BeiiiK Driven uat of BualnrsH â€" Hurling Krai Cutateâ€" Tke People Have the Keniedy !â-  Their •wn HubiIm . Tbe time has arrived when people must make up their minds either to submit to a condition of affairs in which a few milHbnalres in Toronto and Monc- j real will do all the retail store trade ! of the Dominion of Canada, or there > must be an uprising of public senti- . menc against the great departmental .store monopolies. As it stands now the I retail merchants in Toronto are being destroyed and there is not a town or village in the Province that has niot ! had its local trade injured by the great stores in Toronto, while at the same time, and despite that reputation for cheapness which has been built up by each store at an expense of |20,000 or 930,000 a year for newspaper advertis- ing, no corresponding lienefit has been conferred upon tbe city of Toronto as a trade cent re nor upon the people who do tbe buying. Like any other monop- oly this octopus is in the interests of tbe monopolists. Whether a man lives in Toronto, in a large town, or on a farm, he is de- pendent in a measure upon bis neigh- bor. When one dies and the man who lived next door comes forward and a'ays, " He was a good neighbor," there re- mains very little more to be said about the deceased in the way of praise. No higher certificate of character could very well be given. The man next door bad "neighboured" with him in tbe back yard as well as on the front stoop and if there had been anything nasty about the late lamented gentleman tbe man next door would have found it out to his cost. J^ good neighlmr is one who does not steal your Wood, nor poison your dog, nor smash tbe fenoe for kindling, nor make noises in tbe night, nor let bis hens into your flow- ed-beds, nor tell tales of yuux private offairs. X good neighbor is one with whom you are on reciprocal terms in all the courtesies of lifeâ€" exchange for each other's advantage all sorts of con- veniences, doing for each other many thoughtful little things. A good neighbor does not merely stand on his own lot and refrain from doing you injury. You work each oth- er mutual good. If your bouse ca tehee (ire be rushes in and n-arn.s you. He piles in with an enthusiasm equal to your own to quench tbe fire or to save your goods from loss. Be does this because he knows you well, likes you and has your real wel- fare at heart. Moreover, your welfare and bis own are inseparably looked to- gether, because if your house is burn- ed down his own will almost undoubt- edly be i-onsunied also. ' Even if his house is far enough away to be out of danger, the value of his home will be reduced If your house is replaced by a cellar full of ashes and burnt timbers. The proprietor of the departmental store is not your neighbor. Let me illustrate what 1 mean by a case right here in Toronto, Iml one which is exactly parallel with a town or village or a community of an.v kind anywhere in Ontario. Ten years ago there were great stretches of commons lying nort h, east and west of what was then the city of Toronto. .Since then, these commons have l)eeu built up with residences and places of business. Take Spadina avenue north of Knox College for instance, 'fbat was open country not lung agoâ€" now it is a town of itself. Those who own properly there are in- terested in the values of lands and bouses. Those who live there are inter- ested in the conveniences of the neigh- Ixjrhood. The drug store is a conven- ience. If a member of the family lakes ill in the night, you can go there and rouse the druggist -from your sl(>ep to get you what is needed. If you wish to find anyone's address you go to tho drug store to consult the city direc- tory. You wish hia le'epbone now and then ; you buy postage stamps there. ; He i.s a member of your church near | by and contributes to its support. He j pay.s local imi)rovemeni taxes and helps j to make the street smooth tor your : carriage or your bicycle. Ho is your ; neighbor. You are useful to each oth- ; er in ways you do not pau.se to consi- ; der. Yet when you go to a depart.uieiltal ; store to buy your perfumes, or .soups, or j patent medicines a few cents cheaper | than he offei's them, you destroy the i vitality of your own neighlmrhood. If i bis business declines he must reduce his expenditures ; be must give less lo tbe ] local church and its scTieiues ; le.ss to '. Iwal charities; be must shut his hand. [ If he is forced to as.sign, ihe lociil butch- , er and baker get only 30c. on the dollar : for what he owes them. Then they, too, must hedge and scrape to make [ up this loss. But perhaps you or your son or your brother may clerk in a downtown wholesale where that drug- ; gist bad an account. That wholesale ' noii.se gets only 30c. on the dollar from that druggist, and ten other druggists having similarly l>een forcetl to as.sign in ten oiher parts of the city, it fol- lows that the wholesiile bouse must as- j sign al80, and all its clerks and trav- elers l)e thrown out of employment. The trade cannot alsorb them all. The | rate of salaries is reduced by the fact i that these expert applicant.s are trying ! to wedge in somewhere. One wholesale ! failure causes other houses to cut down exi-enscB- they grow timid and parsi- moy.inuB. They dismiss a couple of travolers. They double up work in the office iin<l let men go. To follow throiigo all their ramifications the con- sequeuces of these failures would l)e impossible, but it is sate to say this, that a txemor goes through every part of the business body of this city of To- ronto. Tbe policy that can thus kill adru* store can kill off any other kind of local store, and the injury ia almost as great. The concern that was par- ronized in preference to the local stores has no memory for faoea. You may deal there twenty years, yet If you lu«e your situation and are i>«nnileas in th» middle of winter you could not g«t a flourrib "T**** uiLcredit. Whether you al store It recognizes only one face â€" tbe face of the Queen on coin of tha realm. Take a town fifty miles from Toron- to. If you pay the local merchant ten dollars for an overcoat, perhaps he pays it to tbe doctor for attendance, be to tbe druggist for drugs, he to tbe butch- er for meat, he to the farmer for miit>- ton, he to a lalxirer for digging a well, he. to another, and so that len-doUar bill serves the purposes of trade in and around that town indefinitely. But U you send it away to a dsp^mental store for an overcoat, that other over- coat lies on the local merchant's shell, ~ and that ten dollar-bill may never agaia enter your community. The real value of this point lies in tbe fact that the profit in the sale of the overcoat goes to an institution in a distant cityâ€" an institution that haa nothing in common with youâ€" and that profit is lost to the merchant who helps to keep up your schools and churches, your sidewalks and roads, the man to whom you can appeal in an emergency to play the part of a neighbor. In the year 1870 less than 19 per cent. of the population of Canada dwelt in cities, and in 1890 the rate had groMm to nearly 29 per cent. This change was largely due to tha development of agricultural machinery no doubt, yet if rural Ontario is to be deprived of a large and ever growing percentage of its people, and if on top of this the cities are to draw away from the dwindling towns and villages an ever-increasing share of t heir shrink- ing trade ;' and if the cities, growing ever more populous and dominant in tbe trade of the whole province, are to contain only- three or four mammoth stores, instead of three or four hundred, have we not here all the materials for such a monopoly as tbe world has neve> seen ? ' The monopoly of the mercantile trade that is doing ao much harm to the towns of Ontario is conferring no bene- fit upon Toronto, l>ecause the profits- go into the hands of only two or three firms. It is doing no good to the de- luded people who are giving their trade by mail to departmental stores Iwcause the towns they live in are losing vit- ality and they are unable to make aa good a living as they used to do. No business in a town is so prosperous, no land is as valuable as it was, whether built upon or vacant. Farm property falls in value as tbe prosperity of tiie nearest town or village wanes.â€" Mack ia Toronto Saturday Night. BONIIELR'S CAREER. Rosa Bonheur has just published her autobiography in Paris. It. appears that befor* she took to painting she was ap- prenticed to a dressmaker. Then she be- ?an coloring kaleidoscopic views. Her irst picture ^va8 a liuncb of cherries. Later on she made copies in the Louvre, where her strange costume? and inde- pendent airs won for her Ihe nickname of "The Little Hussar." The "Little Hussar" grew rapidly. In 1853 Rosa Bonheur exhibited the"Horae Fair." \v1iich was bought by M. Gam- bard for 40,000 francs. It was exhibit- ed in the Tnited States, and brought in 300.UOU francs. "In 1858." she says, "I bought tha property of By in the heart of the for- est of Fontainebleau. 'where I still live to-day. I gave 50,000 francs for it and built a big studio. The Emperor gave me permission to hunt, in the for- est around my own park. 1 lived there ba{>pily. receiving tbe visits of a few intimate friends, .lud working as well as 1 could. In 18l>5 I was busy one afternoon with my pictures.* I had up- on my easel the "Slags in tbe Long Rocker." when 1 heard the cracking of a postilion's whip and toe rolling of a carriage. My little maid, Olive, rush- ed into the apartment in a state of excitement. " 'Mademoiselle I Mademoiselle I' aba exclaimed, 'Her Majesty tho Empress I" "1 had just time enough to put a petticiHi over my trousers and to take off my long blue blouse and replace it) with a velvet jacket. " '1 have here,' said the Empress, 'a little jewel which 1 tiring to you on tha part of the .Emperor. He author izea me to announce to you .\ our enrollment in the Legion of Honor.' "The Empress kihscd the now knight and placed the cross upon the black velvet jacket. A fe« days afterward I received .tu invitation to dine at tbe imperial court in Fontainebleau. On the appointed d.iy they sent a gala car- riage for me. 1 went to the wrong door when I arrived, and came near losing my way, when M. Mocquard came to my relief by giving me his arm. 1 was seated be.sidc tbe Emper- or, and during the eniire reiiast he spoke to me aiinut Ihe intelligence of animals. Then the Empress brought me out upon t he lake. "At Fonfainebleau 1 live like a peas- ant. 1 get up early and go t.o bed late. Every morning ai an early hour I make a toiir of the garden with my dog, and after that lake a drive in my pony cart, in the forest of Fontainebleau. At 9 o'clock I am seated before my easel, and work till 11.30. Then I breaktast very simply, smoke a cigar- ette, and glance over the newspapers. I take m.v bru.slies .igain at 1 o'clock, and at 5 o'clock I make aiioiher excur- sion. 1 love tu see Ihe setting sun be- hind Ihe great trees of the forest. My dinner is as modeai a.s uiy breakfast. 1 flni.sh the day by reading. 1 prefer the books on travel, huiuiug, and history. "Before Pommenciiig a picture I study my suliject thoroughly, prep.-ir- ing myseilf tor it by an attentive and careful observation of iature. I seek the kind of sky and land suitable to my idea, and I never make a single fea- ture before studying ii. Aly only guide is the desire to reach truth and simplicity os closely as possible. Study and work nm'er tire me. They are to-day, as they have been during all my life, my greateai happiness, be- cause assiduous work is the only thing that will bring one near the .srdution of Ihe problem, which is perhaps in- soluble, of ever-changing nature. It is a problem which, more than any other, elevates tbe mind by filling it with thoughts of justice, goodness and charity." •V.l;*",'*