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 thair ,000 Qe in Id her 'Itold, owe J "e 3,. â-  capital 'of this com- ^ay for Is equal ^tion as that of I islands mile â€" itl, and "m" OR, \r^^:^i:iif BIFT LOVE AND VENGEANCE AMONG THE SMUGGLERS. Thb Most Fascinatiko Ocean Romakok Sorox tk Datb ov CkOFER AND MaBTATI. CHAPTER XVLâ€" (CoNTiNPBD.) The moon at the moment that the lieaten- spoke became completely hidden by a 'ws of clouds. A double darkness seemed °^ fall upon t^^ waters of the bay and the Ichoouer roUed in the trough of rather a heavier sea than had for some time shown """ Keep her easy " sang out Mr. Royle to the man at the helm. " Aye, ave, sir Easy she is." The'Spray took a long tack out of the bay. The diirkuess of the night now appeared to be excessive after the bright moonUght and not a particle of even the dimmest re- flected light seemed to come from land or «ea, until the Spray had nearly cleared one of the headlands, and then far away to west- war. I the Lizard light was faintly visible. " That will do," said Mr. Royle. " What light is that " whispered Lieu- tenant (ireen, as a strange, reddish-lookmg star appeared a little over the surf ace of the sea. " It seems to me- as if it came from wnere we have been so recently. My night irlass, Mr. Dowton " " " Yes, sir," said the midshipmanâ€" whr much Vj lus disgust, had been drafted on board the schooner. The night glass was soon at the eye ot the lieatenaut, who took a long and anxious look at the red, star-like light in the bay. It ap- peared to be about twenty or thirty feet from the surface of the sea, and to be set right in the face of the cliff. How it could be there, what sustained it, or wliat it meant, were puzzling questions that Lieutenant Green found it impossible to answer. Handing the night glass to Mr. Rovle, he said '• Yoii look at it, Mr. Royle, and see what vouthink of it." Mr. Royle took a long look. " Well, sir, I don't know a bit what to think oi it. The whole affair, sir, is a touch above me." The lieutenant dived into the cabin again. The Honorable Charles MintoGray was fast asleep. " Hilloa 1 Sirâ€" sir '" " Whatâ€" what i% it?" "I want your leave, sir, to cruise about the bay till daylight for I feel quite cer- tain that if we do we shall make some dis- covery about the Rift. " " Good Gracious, Mr. Green what do you mean Is it not down in the log that the Rift is sunk '" " Yes, sir but â€" " " Mr. Green " " Yes sir." " Y'ou will be so good as to bear this in mind, once for all. Whatever is down in the log of one of his majesty's ship's in com- mission is and must be true." "But, sirâ€"" " Is and must be true. Do you hear me, Mr. (ireen? â€" is and must be true. The Rift is sunk. Good night, Mr. Green." "(lood night, sir." The lieutenant took his way slowly on deck and, in a low tone, he said " Keep her for Falmouth, Mr. Royle." ".And the red light, sir " " Oh that is not down in the log Good night, Mr. Royle â€" goodnight." Lieutenant Green dived down below to his own cabin, leaving JSIr. Royle in a state of great bewilderment in regard to the wliole pr.iceedings of the evening. How- ever, lie set the night watches and then, with his eyes fixed upon the odd-looking, little, red star in the cliff, he communed with himself after his own fashion. CHAPTER XVII. THE LOST SOX OF THE PORT ADMIUAL. It was not for long that Captain Morton, after he had left the little boat hut of the dead smuggler, allowed his feelings to ob- tain so complete a mastery over hun as they had done. A man of a more gallant spirit than he never lived, and there was but one thing that could ever shake the sincerity of his soul. Something must touch his affections before this representative of a brave and gallant people could be thrown off his bal- ance in the way we have seen he was. But the very idea that he had actual- ly been in the presence of his long-lost child, the notion that he had seen and conversed with her and yet let her slip f i-om him was too much for him and he had, on the im- pulse of the moment, acted as we have de- scribed. Eor so many years â€" years which to him had seemed interminable â€" had he mourned over the loss of that little one, that the thought of her had become what we may almost call the morbid part of the mind of Captain Morton. He had mourned her as lost to him for- ever â€" as dead past all hope of ever again meeting his eyes, except in Heaven â€" until that paragraph in the English newspaper had met his gaze, and then a new hope had sprung up in his heart and he had battled with the'huge waves of the Atlantic in his vacht and reached the shores of the Old World. And he had seen her At least he was so told, and the death of the smuggler seeuied to sanctify with truth the words he had uttei-ed. He had seen her oven as though he had seen her spirit â€" only for a moment, to pass away from him again. No wonder that Captain Morton was deei)iy affected. But, as wesaj-, this excess of feeling pass- ed away and by the time he reached the gorge-like pass he was himself head of the little, narrow, that led down to the sea, a.'ain. But he was very pale and his eyes were more than usually bright and sparkling. When there. Captain Morton paused, and, pressing both his hands upon his heart, he .=trove to still its wild, tumnltuotis beat- ings. .• •: .^^., â- â€¢â€¢ I must think now," he saidâ€" "f must think now, caludy and quktly, p£ all ^is There must be no hurry â€" ^no flarry but I mast ile calm and clear in all that I attempt to do. I will be ci^ !â€" I will be caJna, j" The strong,detennin»tim f)rey»il^flj |Uid gradually his heart stili^ itself, fujihe^jras able to look about him without connision and to arrange his ideas. Among the first things that struck him dien was hu broken oigagemMit to dine with Sir Thomas Clifford, tiie port admiraL Then he asked himself if he should stay about the spot where he was, and make in- quiry concerning his daughter, or at once apply to those who had authority to aid him. If the latter, who could have more author- ity of the kind he probably would require to have exerted than Sir Thomas Clifford himself By placing it very close to his eyes, Cap- tain Morton was able just to discover, by his watch, that it was nine o'clock. The evening was still young. •' Not too lateâ€" not too late," he said. " I will seek the port admiral at once and claim his S3mipathy and help. There was a some- thing in his countenance which assures me I shall readily receive both." In fact nothing could be more prepossess- ing than the manner of Sir Thomas Clifford â€" tinged at it was with just such an amount of settled sadness as awakened all one's sympathies in his behalf, for he was a man who had evidently seen some deep sorrow. Perhaps, after all, that was the hidden tie which drew him and Captain Morton to- gether, and as there are many things on earth and in heaven that transcend our phil- osophy, it may be that these two men, from a kind of community of suffering, found themselves irresistibly .dl•a'«^l together. The moment he had fairly formed the de- -termination to seek Sir Thomas Clifford, Captain Morton shaped his course for the town, the lights of which were plainly vis- ible as soon as he fairly turned out of the narrow lane that led to the beach. Of the first person he met Captain Mor- ton inquired the way to the port admiral's, and he was directed to a large house, stand- ing in a garden, not a hundred yards from where he was. The summons of Captain Morton for admission was replied to by an old man, who had all the appearance of having bean an old seaman, nor did the manner in which he replied to the questions of Captain Morton as to whether the ad- miral waswithin or not at all belie the sup- position. " Aye, aye, sir,' he said, "and if so be sir, as you be Captain Morton, the admiral is in a rare way about you, sir." " I owe him many apologies, for I ought to have been here to dinner." " That's it, sir got out of your reckoning mayhaps, sir, in unknown latitudes." The old sailor, who had been boatswain on board of a vessel which had been long under tlie command of Admiral Clifford, led the way to the dining-room, where no one was to be seen, although there were ample evidences of recent occupation. " Oh," said the boatswain. "Theadmir al has gone into the drawing-room, I take it sir. This here's the way â€" you make a short tack to nor'ward, sir, and then you beat up east again, and there you are." "Thank you." " Captain Mortin, sir " The old sailor flung open the door of a handsome drawing-room, which was bril- liantly lighted with wax candles, and Cap- tain Morton f mnd himself in the presence of Sir Thomas Clifford and two ladies. "I have sincerely to apologize, admiral," said Captain Morton, after he had court- eo»sly bowed to the ladies, "for breaking my engagement with you. " " Something that you could not help pre- vented you keeping it," said the admiral, " and as better late than never, I am de- lighted to see you now. Ben " "Ay, ay, sir." "Bring the wine in here. " "Now, brother" â€" said one of the ladies, who looked exceedingly prim and demure â€" " now, brother. " "What is it, Agnes?" "Yon know that it is really â€" anything but â€" hem I That it is contrary to all eti- quette. " "Now, sister, do be quiet; and for' heaven's sake never mind about etiquette. I was in hopes that we should not have heard that word this evening." " I can assure you, brother, that etiquette isâ€" Ben!" "Yes, marm." "You were not absolutely told to bring the wine here it was a subject of discus- sion." "Beg pardon, marm, but the admiral he said ' Bring the wine,' and here it is." "Yes, yes," said Sir Thomas Clifford, " that is right, Ben. Always obey orders." "Always do, sir." " Yes, you literal, dreadful man," said Miss Clifford, " I know you do. Would you believe it, sir, the admiral has on the lawn a hon'id cannon " " A horrid cannon, madam " "A twenty-four," said Ben. "Took from the French." " And," added Miss Clifford, "he keeps it loaded." "Ben does," said the admiral, with a smile. " Well, admiral," said Ben, " who knows but Bonypart may come here and try to take this very caboose, sir And then a pretty thinp it would be, not to be able to load quick enough and me single-handed, too " And would you believe it, sir," added Miss Clifford, " that Captain. Baxter, of the â€"theâ€"" " Euryalus," said Ben. " Well, perhaps he was. Captain Baxter was dininsr here and Ben spoke of the gun and how it was loaded, and Captain Baxter, who is a man that does not pay the least at- tention to etiquette in what he says, just happened, in his rough way, at that very moment, in speaking of the wine, to ss^ to my brother ' Now, fire away ' And what did this Ben do on the next moment " " I cannot say, madam."' " Why, he went on to the lawn and, just as I was sipping some wine, off went the gun with a noise that I have never got the better of ever since, and he broke half a dozen panes of glass in the dining-roora and frightened all t£e' town. " "Ay, ay!" aai Baft "And,?' added Miss CUfford, "vbenl tdmvaL h« Mid» !U»h, «ifpcUo.]^ loDg-lort^M Imt tiie rfewl- v*j*».k#. add faws aoM^.tha liM^ilr^ yMtaings o(|he fatbw'sJMMrt __;r .Z- .. add favnff mm B^tkht.' Basi Bai« with a graced remonstrated with him, a week afterwardjâ€" when my nerves were a little restored*â€" all he said, was that ders." he was obeying or- 'â- fiB««way,' and tiM adoural, J*;' so oiMt I M^ tmaty-f oar. m it wi "Thete, that wiU do. Sen." laid Sir TlM»iaa Clifford. " I do bdisv* thatyoa and Agpm made an agreement between ^oe to ten that uieodote for the gr»tifieatiioa of each other." " O Lor'" said Ben, as he left tbe room. "Brother," said IfiBsCIifEbrd, "rmanr- prised at yon." « " What for, now, sister " " Such a scandalous breach of etiquette " " Why what have I done now " "To- imagine it possible that^Icoold make any agreement witli that horriUe Ben Bolt!" " Oh lis that aU?" " All â€" all Good evening, brother â€" good evening. Captain â€" a â€" a â€" Captadn â€" " " Morton, madam." "Captain Morton." Miss Clifford, with a great rustling of an exceedingly thick silk dress, sailed out of the room. The other lady â€" ^who had only smiled once or twice, although in a faint sort of way, during their dialogue â€" ^now spoke and the subdued sweetness made a srreat impression upon Captain Mor ton. "My sister," she said, "has some little prejudices but she is one of the best-hearted creatures in the world." " And here am I," said the admiral, " sit- ting here, and have, never introduced yon, Captain Morton, to my vnle. Pray pardon me. Captain Morton, my dear Lady Clif- ford, Captain Morton. I don't know what it is, but I feel an unusual weight at my heart to-night â€" an unusual weight." " My dear?" said Lady Clifford anxiously. " Oh, it is nothing â€" it is nothing. It wUl pass away â€" it will soon pass away. But â€" butâ€"" "Y'ou will excuse us both. Captain Mor- ton," said Lady Clifford sadly " but we are sufferer.s." -• " Sufterei-3 " Captain Morton could not but glance around hun, upon all the material signs of prosperity and happiness which that costly apartment exhibited. "Alas, sir!" added Lady Clifford, who saw the action, "it is not the glitter of wordly prosperity that will bring peace to the poor, wounded, heart." " No â€" no " said the admiral. " I know it," said Captain Morton. " You know it, sir?" " Oh, yesâ€" yes And if you, admiral, and you, madam, will bear with me a little time, I would fain ask your advice and your aid in a matter that lies vei-y near to my heart.' " Pray speak, sir," said the admiral " we will be all attention. And it will only give us pleasure to aid you." In a faltering voice. Captain Morton spoke " Ten years ago my little daughter â€" then a mere child â€" sailed from America in the sliip Sarah Ann. From that time until to- night I have not seen her." " Tonight, su: " " Yes, admiraL I will tell you all." Captain Morton then from first to last re- lated to Admu-al Sir Thomas Clifford what fragmentarily is already well known to the reader regarding the Sarah Ann and the fate of his child. Toward the end of his narrative Captain Morton was very much affected, and so seemed to be Sir Thomas Clifford, for he rose and paced the room with disordered steps. And when Captain Morton had told all, down to the death of the smuggler and the appearance of the young girl with the basket, whom he now believed veritably to be his long lost daughter, the admiral paus- ed by his chair and in a voice of deep emo- tion he said " I, too â€" I, too, am a bereaved father." "Y'ou, sir?" " I amâ€" I am " lUie admiral sat down and rocked to and fro, and he covered his face with his hands. " My boy â€" my boy My own boy Oh, my poor boy " Lady Clifford trembled, but she did not weep â€" she did not speak. " I grieve much," said Captain Morton, " that in detailing my own griefs, I have unwittingly touched a chord which vibrates with yours, sir, and yours, madam." " It is accidental," said Lady Clifford. " Quite â€" quite," said the admiral. " Stilll am very sorry." " Oh, say not so, sir I will aid you to the uttermost of my power in this, and be assured that the young girl you have seen will soon be restored to you, for it is quite evident she cannot reside far from h«%. I would to heaven we had as good a hope in regard to our own long lost son." " Alas alas " sighed Lady Clifford. " And you have lost a son " « "Y'es, Captain Morton â€" yes. Shall I tell the captain, my dear " "Yes." " It is now twelve years ago, sir, that our son â€" ^then about four years of age â€" was on the beach beneath the cliffs with his nurse, who no more than ourselves dreamed of dan- ger to him, when a boat, manned by four men, ran up to the shingle and, without a word, seized upon the child and carried him off." "Off to sea?" " Yes. Otir coast has such numerous in- dentations, headlands and bays that they were lost to sight in ten minutes, and when the nurse recovered from the blow that had been given her and from her fright, nothing could be seen of the boat, the men, or the child by her or by several other persons who, on hearing her cries, had flown to her aid too late to prevent the act." " It is very sad." " And now, sir, we havetold yon aU." " And for all this time has there been no news of your lost one " " None â€" none " " Be hopeful yet, admiral, and you, ma- dam for up to the time when this obscure para£p;aph that I have read to you met my eyes I kad no hope." " Ah there is no such good fortiinb in store for us." "Nay, do not say that. Who shall say it and with a knowledge sufficient to sub- stantiate it " " You are very kind. Captain Morton, to try to give hs hope, and we would taia cher- ish it. I willt however,, now go at once witli you to one. of bar most active ma^ieitratea and see whAt can lie done to h^linyoa in liie recove»y of yo«r 4»W|^tor." .-, j "A thooMid -tbaq^ Sir Tbomaa CHf- fotdV â- ' .. ::, Zz^^' It was now abont half-pa^^t4nall^^ Cap- tain Morton b^pm to entertain a notion that he onght to aay aomething idiich alunld yMlsing* oTlhe fatber'slMart the fotterof 'all aaeh oonsid«raticaH " T^ jne. Sir l^oma*," he said, ** am I not wruig to tako yoo from your hoaae at tiiiatlme? Am I wnrng 'and aelfiah. Lady Clifford r' " Not at all, airâ€" notmt alL I would my- self beg Sir Thomas to go." " Oh I it's quite ng^t," said the admiraL " the night is still early, and if it were an hour later the gentleman I am about to take yon to would think nothing of being dis- turbed in such a case as this. Bsn, get a lantern. I am'going to Mr. Justice ffilton's. "Ay, ay, sir." Ben was soon ready with his lantern, for the streets of the old town of Falmouth at that period were only lighted by a few very precarious oil lamps, which generally went out at the first gust of wind. Ben vent before to show the way, and as the admiral and Captain Morton followed, the former said "I don't know iiow it is, except that I suppose it is always a relief to tell the story of our griefs to any one, but I am certainly easier in my mind since I hive spoken to yon about my lost son." " I am glad to hear that." " Thank you. And what is more strange is that a feeling of hope has come over me, such SIS I have never before experienced on the subject." "Then I am more happy still." " My own idea of the fate of my poor boy was that he had been kidnapped to the plantations, as thev are called for such things have been aone. But now I feel as if I had a hope of looking in his face again." " It is a blessed hope. " West by south," said Ben. wmiUiE. BT BASS QOKBKI.., 0»MiMM.) THE rat's bevel Wh«i everyone was so turned sgunst WinUe and NeUie became her sole mmd and protector,she begau to make excuses for her. "Idon't,Ielieve,"shesaid, "that we give her enough to eat or she wouldn't have been driven to steal. I will see that, after this, she has all she wants," and so pussy was fed in season and out of season with everythmg Nellie oouldfind, even securing the daintiest lats from her ownplate. After a while Winkle got so die did no- thing but eat and sleep. The^re was no more chasing of birds over fences and up trees, no more running after dead leaves as they were blown along dj' the wind, no more fndicking with thistle down or snow flakes. And you would never have recognized the layf ul kitten of other days in this fat, lazy, half stupid cat, and the only excuse for her life was " Nellie loved her so." Her ^vorite lounging place was in the bam on top of a box of bran close by the oat-bin, and the probabilities are that, but for her untimely end, she would soon have been too indolent to get up even that high. There were plenty of rats and mice to hunt out in farmer Clifford's bam, but Win- kle had lost all inclination for that sort of thing. Of course the rats and mice soon found it out, and many a jolly time they had making fun of her. One day when she was asleep in her accustomed plaibe on top of the bran, a large rat came cautiously out of the oat bin and looked up at her. But there 'This way,." said the admiraL " You was no need f or cautiop. She was fast as cannot expect, Ben, that Captain Morton is to follow you by compass" "All right, admiral; bat it is west by south. Here we are, at the gate." " This is the magistrate's, my dear sir and again I assure you, that from him you wUl receive every possible attention; " It was at this moment that the report of a gun in the offing echoed through the town. " Some arrival, Ben " said the admiral. " Yes sir. There she is." A brilliant blue light at sea now let them see, from the rising ground on which they stood, the schooner Spray, making her way toward the harbor. "^Vhois she, Ben?" " Why, admiral, that's the schooner that has been sent out after the smuggler." "Ah! the Rift. Yes. I asked for a schoon- er to be commissioned to hunt down one of the most daring smugglers and â€" I think I may add â€" pirates that has ev^er infested our coast. He calls his cutter the Rift." "I have met with her, I think, sir." "Indeed?" " Y'es some sixty or eighty miles across the channel, and I saw the schooner like- wise " Bang I went another gun. "There she comes, s^," said Ben, " with her best foot foremost and, I should say, she has done her work. " " Has she a prize with her " "No, sir." " Then the Rift has escaped." " Or else she has gone down â€" do you see, sir â€" for them pirates don't like being taken, and would rather go down in blue water than be hauled up to the yardarm any day, and I don't for one blame them for that either." The Spray fired a third gun, and then the white sail of a pilot boat was seen glimmer- ing over the sea as it went to meet her to bring her in. " Well, well," said the admiral, " I shall know all about that in the morning, for who- ever is in command of the schooner is to re- port to me." "" Ay, ay, sir," said Ben. " She's liad a brush with the rogues. " " Indeed " " Lord bless you, sir, yes. I can see she has been hit and her foremast is spliced." " Then I hope for the best as regards that terror of the coast, the Rift so, now fcr my friend the magistrate." It was a pretty sight to see the Spray beating up for Falmouth roadstead, with the bright blue light glittering like a spirit and casting its radiance upon every rope and every spar, and far out upon the heav- ing sea. (to be contixced.) YAEEBTIES. As soon as a horse becomes blind, its coat, it is said, changes ite normal condition. It is then smooth in the winter and rough in the summer. Emigration from Germany of young men between the ages of seventeen and twenty- five is strictly forbidden by law all vessels leaving Hamburg are watehed by the police on this account. Lighting the Parsees' sacred fire is an ex- pensive and elaborate process on the institu- tion of a new temple. Sixteen different kinds of wood in a thousand and one pieces of fuel are required to obtain the sacred flame, which is afterwards fed with sandal- wood, and the cost of the process averages two thousand five hundred pounds. There are still three large and thirty-three small fire-temples at Bombay. People sometimes seem to imagine that a bee is a kind of insect-cow, which browses upon flowers and converts the nectar into honey by a process somewhat analogous to that by which the cow converts ^rass into milk. A bee does ho such thing. It simply taps the flower, stores the nectar in its hag, and empties the unchanged nectar into the cells in the hive. Hence, if you feed bees on syrup, they will fiill their cells with syrup. Syrup issyrup all the same, whether itp«sses through the body of the bee or not. Hence the importance of the flower-fields on which the bees are pastured. " Sloyd " is a a Scandinavian word used to designate a system of education which is becoming popular in Sweden and some other European countries, and which alms at estabushiDg handicraft as one of the subjects generally taught in schools. The praupters of the Sloyd movementprc^pose that all chil- dren in board-schools shall be instructed ip. soc^ industries as modelling, wbod-oarving, ioipery^ibcksinith's work, c. so that they may aequire manual dull and taste for domimiic urprk, imd be enabled to beauiafy tiidr homes at tfttie expenseb It would pre- ^pste t6» dtildren of «ie lownn: classes for every kind «rf mechanical work, and fucm:an agNWaMWtelketttiMi titha«ibiMd Mwr Ire- mditll^-^fk^ymhg-mm at 4i»«j»fniities. Gennany, Sweden, and Denmark are ihe pioneers of this new branch of education. leep as usual. Then Mr. Rat turned around and said something into the oat-bin and out wished Mrs. Rat and a whole family of little Rate. Then Mr. Rat took his fiddle and Mrs. Rat and all the little ones formed a ring around lazy sleeping Wrinkle. And they danced and capered about her to the music of the fiddle. Vilder and wilder grew their sport and then while they madly whirl- ed around her they sang to a rollicking tune they had learned of some college studento who visited there the year before. Oh Winkle, Mistress Winkle dear, Your'e such a lazy cat, j That you have quite forgottenow To catch a mou.'e or rat' Chorusâ€" Ha, ha, lia, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, lia. .You are such a dreadful g-lutto That you have grown so fat, You are simply good for nothing, A stupid, lazy, cat. Chorus â€" fla, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, lia, ha, Ua, ha, ha, ha, h, ha. I would hide beneath a blanket, And cover up my head, If I were so fat and lazy. From beinp: over-fed. Chorus â€" Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Here the chorus suddenly stopped, for Winkle having, for several seconds, been ly- ing half awake, opened her eyes, and the rats, big and little, all scampered off home to the oat-bin. The last one had got safely away by the time she roused herself sufficiently to look after them. " Dear me," she said " how provoking to have those rats making fun of me and I so much bigger and stronger, and belonjging to so much nobler and more aris- tocratic a family. And to think that they all got off before I could catch one. Never mind, I'Upay tiiem back, I'll wateh for them." And she settled herself to wateh. But habit was too strong and she was soon asleep again, and the rats came out and fioished their laughing chorus and then ran home as fast as before. This time she felt so insulted that she de- cided to take up her quarters in the oat-bin so as to be near them and the more easily obtain her revenge. So she walked over to the oat bin and, the cover being open, went inside and lay down again to sleep. But while she slept the treacherous oats began to move and Winkle sank down, down, down. At first the sensation was not un- {tleasant and as she was so accustomed to ie half awake with her eyes shut for a while when roused from a pleasant nap, before she got ready to move or look around her for the disturbing influence, she was buried deep down in the oate and smothered to death. The next morning, when Nellie went out to the barn to feed lier charge as usual, she' could find no trace of her. Winkle h'ad mysteriously disappeared and though she searched everywhere she could think of, no clew to her whereabouts was discovered. Nellie never forgot her first pussy-cat, and though she is an old woman now she still vividly remembers the pleasure and pain and disappointment in her possession. It has kept her always interested in the joys and sorrows of children, and full of sympa- tiiy with them. And to-day, as the little people, who call her "grandma," cluster around herasking for a story, "a really story, aboutwhen you were alittle girl, grandma," she takes another Nellie in her lap and tells them about Winkle. Ohoosing Baby's Profession. When Jimmy Silker got home from the store the other evening ms wife met him at the door looking very much worried. " Jim, what do you think Baby John swallowed four pennies this afternoon and I couldn't find the doctor, and I'm so fright- ened I don't know what to do." " Well, brace up," said Jim, reassuring-, ly. " I'm kind of glad it happened." " Oh, you horrid thmg Glad " " Yes. Yon see I've oecn wondering for a long while what profession we would have John go into when he grows up." " And did you just decide " Yes. I think he ought to be well adapt- ed for the internal revenue service." She didn't forgive him for an hour and six minutes. A Family Beteayement. An industrious rustic went into his stabl^ one spring moming^and discovered his faith- ful mule" in the agonies of death, he having overbed .himself the ni^t previous. " Here's a stete of ttiii^," exclaimed the disgnited peasant.. " All winter long you do nothing out feed and feed at my expense, and when s jring comes, and it is time to do |b Httie plowing, you get out ci, it by ^ving up the ghost." The dying mule nSi68 ' Uis head and sud inafeetife^*^ T V^l ,.^,f|^Ufqi9you are such an ass, you should t^a taf death as a family beroavenmit," I after whidi his splxit took its flight.