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^^mm wmmm / Oh, It was glorious CbriHtmas weath- erâ€"sunshine and blue skies and a nip- ping frosty air tnat whisked about, tweaking no8«a and filliping cheeks un- til they bloomed like peonies ! Church waa out, and a stream of people poured along the streets in the merriest humor imaginable, for, bless na all, it was Christmas day, and their hearts were aglow with the spirit o£ peace on earth and good will toward men. The youngsters went hurrying home- ward with skates alnng over their •boulders of the new and glittering pattern especially delighted in by Santa Claus, for fine as the Ice was the ringing of the noontide bells had called up visions of turkey and stuffing, plum padding and mince pie which no mor- tal boy could resist. As for the little girls in the new hoods and mittens and muffs they had found in the chimney place that morn- ing, between vanity and appetite they atood irresolute at their own front gates, such happy, rosy, chubby crea- tures that everybody smiled involun- tarily at sight of them. The policemen on the corners slap- ped their arms about like windmilU to keep themselves warm, grinning from ear to ear just because it was Christ- mas day. And over all pealed the joy- ous music of the bells in carols that found an echo on every lip. Even the houses wore a gala air. Wreaths of everprreens hung in all the windows high and low, and the market on the corner was atbint; of beauty •Ad a joy forever, with piles of crim- son cranberries. (colc^Bn pumpkins, sil- ver turnips, celery, apples, pears and nuts heaped picturesquely behind its frost e^hed panes of glass, and the whole franed in graceful festoons of ducks and chickens. It was a triumph of art. No wonder the passers stopped in spite of their hurry to gaze upon it for the thous- andth time and fall to speculating as to what bad become of its two crown- Ing gloriesâ€" the biggest turkey on re- cord and the smallestâ€" which had hung there side by side fur a week past in • oontraaC at once the joke and ad' miration of all beholders. Popular belief held that the mons- ter, the 90 pounder, bad been purchas- id by old Ebenezer Green, the rich and crusty bachelor who lived by himself In a big house on the outskirts of the town, for be was the only person who wuld have afforded to buy it in such bard times. But the little one I There was hardly more meat on its tiny car- cass than on a spring chicken. Who bad a family small enough to get a Christmas dinner out of that? Ebenezer Green had been asking hlm- â- elf bhe very question as he sat by the fire that noon, now watching the flames leap up the chimney, now, turning to (lance at the woman who presided over the housekeeping laying the table for bis holiday feast â€" a feast, ulas, of soli- tary splendor t He bad been struck all at once at the absurdity of setting such a gigantic bird before a single person, and when he saw a plulter half •s large as the table taken down from the oloset where his mother's blue and white Canton china was stored be fell into a silent fit of laughter. The woman nodded grimly, with a quick appreciation of the situation. " "Tis funny, I declare," she said pres- ently, pausing as she reached the door with toe great platter in her arms, "but the funniest part of it all is that the little feller is cookiu this minute next door where they've got six mouths to fill tieside their own. 'Tis honest Injun 1" "Next door f" Ebenezer glanced up Inquiringly. "Tes, in the cottage on the east aide." "Why, it's tumbling to pieces. 'Tisn't fit for anybody to live in." "Well, lolks moved in a month or bo ago, respectable looking, but I guess they are about as poor as can be. He's out of work, and oe helps about the house handy as a woman, and she takes in sewing. There's a parcel of chil- dren, and I don't believe they ever have a good ^uare meal among 'em. Think ot 'em sitting down to-day to that mite of a turkey !" And Ellen chuckled at the picture. "How do you know they have that turkey ?" demanded the old gentleman, more impressed than he would have liked to own by the curious coincidence which had kept the two fowls still near neig-hbors. "The boy told me that brought ours last night. It seems ho chores for the market sometimes, and they gave him the little turkey when they found there wasn't any prospect of its being bought. But, land's sake ! 1 smell •omethlng burning." She hurried off | in a flutter of anxiety. A Christmas | dinner of all dinners to be spoiled 1 ] Her master rose and slowly crossed j Uie hall. He ha/l been a bandsume ; (nan in his day, and though hi.s hair bad whitened and hii shoulders Ijowed ; under the burden of years ho was still j l^n imposing figure. He had few ac- ' quaintanccf in the town and h a.s re- i garded with awe, principally uu ac- ^ nount of his wealth, which was reput- »d to be fabulous, but not a. little he- | r'ause of a somewhat reserved and ' haughty air. i He made his way deliberately toward the witting room, a spaciou.s, couifort- tbly furnished apartment, with \vin- ow« looking out upon the sWroby, ; weather beaten cottage, iu which the tther turkey waa to end its mortal Mireer. Sure enough, there were un- ipistukable signs ot occupation ahout The neglected garden had been put order, the broken gate repaired and re-hung, and a general air of neatness gave a new interest and attraution to the little hoiuse long empty and unno- ticed. The shades were drawoj high to let in all the warmth of sunshine of the happy holiday, and Kbcnozer Green could see whjsut was going on in the room as well as if ha had been one of the busy people in it. Busy they were, for the table was spread with a clean white cloth, and the father, with a troop of excited chil- dren to help, was at that instant en- gaged in the thrilling occupation of taking up the cliildren's dinner. The mother, pale, thin and sweet faced, was evidently the guest of honor, ensconced in the one comfortable chair, with * cushion at her back and watching the proceedings witJi a charming smile, half amused, half melancholy. The eldest boy, a tall lad of 12, who did the chores at the market, filled the glasses with water fresh drawn from the well. Two gleeful little girls danced in with dishes of potato and turnip, and a brace of chubby young- sters in much patched trousers trotted aft«r with the bread and butter, proud to assist in the serving of such a feast. And Uist of all the father appeared In the doorway enveloped in a big white apron, to be greeted by an uproarious shout of delight. For ha bore on a platterâ€" oh, me, such a tiny platter!â€" the crowning splendor of the day, the turkey, done to a turn and smelling more delicious than ever a turkey smelled before, as the whole family un- animously agreed. There was gravy, too, in a funny china pot with a large handle, and who brought that in, feel- ing the importance of the occasion to the utmost, but the baby, toddlintr alon«r M gravely as a judge, deep anx- iety in her blue eyes. And cider ! A whole quart Ln the big white pitcher â€" extravagance which could only l.e jualifled by the recollection that it wais Christmas day. And now the father laid aside the af.roa. The cook vanishied; :he heal of the house appeared. He led the pale mother tenderly to the table, and the children, followed, prancing to theii places around the table, -which nobody thought bare or poorly, set forth There came a pause for a moment â€" the little heads, brown, black, and flax- en, were bent silently over the plates while the father asked a blessing and thanked God for his goodness in keep ing them together and giving them so many comforts. And then h& took up the carving knife as he gazed an.xious- ly at the turkey. The revel .was about to begin. Gbenezer Green turned away, with a sigh. The bell had sounded in bis own dining room, and standing on the threshold of the apartment be bent a fixed stare upon the table, where there were flowers and silver and cut glass, and on the side lUable, smokinir hot and browned till he crackled all over, loomed up the mighty outline.i of the prize turkey. For one man ! All at once the oddest idea popped Into the head of that one man. If be had stopped to think alxiut it, noth- ing would have happened, and the prize turkey never would hav<^ played a part in a story. But, for onc« in bis life, the olil man acted upon the spur of the moment. He hurried out into the hall, put on his coat and hat, opened the door, slipped back into the dining room and took up the platter from the table. Oh, but that was a monstrous birdl Thirty pounds) Fifty I Old Kbenezer fairly staggered under its weight as he cautiously picked his way over the ice and snow toward the cottage door, and he couldn't even spare a liand to knock. The toe of his boot managed to make a good, smart rapping, how- everâ€"a sound so unwonied that the father ran hastily out, with the chil- dren trooping in his train. "Good d.ay," giisped the visitor, quite out of breath after his Herculean ef- forts. "Good day, and wish you merry Christmas 1 Ynu don't know me, but I'm your next door neighlwr, liben- ezer Green. I've got the prize tur- key, but I want you to help me eat it, for I'm very lonely over there all by myself. Can I come in ?" Come inf Well, the father saw in a trice bow it was, and he opened wide to let in the turkey and its Ijearer, not to speak of a taah of crisp, chill air. The spirit of good will stirred in his heart, and forgetting the disparity of wealth and poverty lietween them he felt only a warm throb of sympar- thy for the solitary old man. The motherstepped forward, kindly gentle in a simple courtesy which would have become a palace. "You need not have brought your dinner with jrou, sir," she said, smiling. "You are quite welcome to a share of ours on Chri.stmas day. Jimmy, put) a plate for the gentleman, and John," turning to her husband, "do not let him bold that heavy platter. Oh, what a turkey I He must have been raised in a land of giants." So once again it chanced that the Wg turkey and the little one were side by .side. The cottage was very soon a scene of riotous enjoyment, for lib- ene/er's spirits rose at a bound and he felt like a boy again. He sent Jim- my back with a note to his housekeep- er, who thou«;ht be had suddenly be- 1 tJiB snow to t&s house next door. It waa story telling time, and in the cheery glow on the hearth the father poured out his soul and told how he hod been thrown out of work by the closing of a factory, how hard be bad tried to find anotlier pHace, but to nu avail, and how all thev had to live up- on was the sum his (near wife earned by sewing and Jimmy's pittance from the market. And the wife, in her turn, told how brave and patient he had been, with a loving glance that made him blush with pleasure. And Mr. Green promised that he should have something to do by New Year's day and gave his word upon it, feeling for the first time how much happiness a rich man has the power to create. Then it was bis turn. The children gathered at his knee to drink in breathlessly his tales of travel by land and sea, of strange countries he had seen and people he bad known â€" queer, quaint people in far off places, whose custom and history sounded like the iiioiit entrancing of fairy tales. The baby drew nearer and nearer, and fin- ally climbed upon his knee, listening with her great blue eyei< wide open. When it was her bedtime, she laid her cheek upon his in a soft caress. "She loves you," she said, and in a burst of laughter was led away â€" not far, for the bouse was very tiny. Her childish voice could be heard prattling on while the elder sister made her ready for bed, and then the -group out- side fell into silence, while the little one knelt beside her crib and murmur- ed the dear familiar words of her "Now I lay me down to sleep." Oh, that was a happy Christmas day I As it drewr toward its close £benezeli Green lingered in his sitting room, bare and empty after that he had left so full of love and cheerful content. The fire leaded and flared and threw its rich light into the shadows round his chair. He felt the baby arms still round bis neck, the dimpled baby cheek pressed close to his own, wrinkled and seamed with the cares of the world, and when the chimes rang out at mid- night soft and clear the old man bowed his head, and for the first time in many a year be breathed a little pray- er. ^^^.^^^^â€"^•^•^â- ..^â€" â- -'••â-  HOW CLEMENT HARRIS DIED. He Foaslit Wblle HIh t;r«rk <'anira«|<*ii Knu The following story, related by a cor- respondent, in a letter from Athens, dated Oct. 17, is worth reading: Last autumn, he writes, a talented English lad of good family and good fortune determined to spend the winter at Cor- fu. lUe had already, though barely out of his teens made a name for himself in mu/iical circles; he hud earned the friendship of the great ones of the earth; he was a welcome guest in the bouse of the Dowager German Empress and of our own Princess of Wales. His compositions were th«« theme of com- mon conversation, and the world was opening brightly lor young Clement Harris. An enthusiast in all he und- ertook, he soon fell a victim to the wiles ot the Etbnika Helacria. Before spring broke he had Iforgotten the hatred of Greek he had imbibed at Harrow, and was full of Greek wrongs and anxious for Greek freedom. War had not yet been de<-lared when he threw in his lot with the cowards of Corfu. He liecame an enrolled mem- ber of the Amlartea, ami undertook to serve against the Turks when called upon. THE CALL CAME SOON and early in April Clement Uarris. with about threescore Corfioles, deter- mined to cross to Arta to join the army there being formed for tJje in- vasion of the Kpirus. In good English fashion, tJje (.aiupaign was to commence with a dinner; and on the evening of bis departure young Harris entertain- ed some twenty patriots at his hotel. The steu-nier was in the harlior. His modest and very amateur fighting kit waa packed,, bis laggage was left in charge of the hotelkeeper, and toasts were freely pledged to the " Freedom of Kpirus and Confusion to Turkey." As the evening wore on the head of the ])arty went down to the stuamer then lying in the harl)or that was to take them across to Ana, and, returning, said she was so crowded, so dirty, and uncomfortable, that they had better wait until another steamer should ar- rive. The young Harrow hoy retortwl that he ha I made up his niind to go that night, and go he would I so, shoul- dering his pack he lade his Greek friends .•uiipu and embarked for Arta. Karly on the morrow the Greek of- ficer who had been his eiaunchest frienri appropriated his bicycle, anoth- er his camera, and another his great cont; and whilst they fought the bat- tle of words in Corfu they allowed their English friend to SHED HIS BLOOD AGRICULTURAL TREATING PRUNING WOUNDS. A bulletin recently issued gives sotme results Lu the treatment of pruning wounds on trees. It says: Having done the pruning, and made the wounds, bow shall we treat them; .Shall they be covered with an application of any sort? This is almost universally re- recommended, especially when the wounds are large. In order to test this question, six different methods of treatment were carried through, all l^eiug used at each of the times when the pruning was done. The appliiations used were liquid grafting wax, sbellao varnish, white lead paint, pine tar and coal tar, the other wounds being left with no application whatever. The com- parison of the diffei-ent applications is much more reliable than that between different times of pruning, for eaih tree received the same numl)er of applica- tiens of each kind, ao that the tree which was weak and feeble, where wounds would nut readily heal, would leave tbe some impression upon the re- sults iu one case us iu another. To in- corporate all the ob.servut ona made up- on this point would be as uninteresting as useless. Wax is the only application which aiipears topisscsj any advantage in aiding the wound to heal, though most of the others did not hinder the process. A greater proportion of the wounds treated with wax are reported as healing extremely well than of any others, while bat few are reported as healing slightly, the majority healing either well, very well, or extremely well. Those treated with shellac did not seem tu have healed quite as well as those left uutreuted. I'aint does not binder the pro ess of healing and theie is little evidence that it favors it the slight variation lieing no more than would naturally occur between two sets oi wounds treated in the same way. Those treated with pine tar seem not to have healed quite so welt as those untreated, alth lugh the diffei- eace was not great. Cual tur, how- ever, seems to have been a p- sitive hin- drance to the healing process, not one wound having been reported as heal- ing extremely well, while the majority are reported as healing only fairly well. When we come to ine matter of checking, conditions are different. Al- though untreated wounds heal as well as any, except those covered with wax. we find that they check worst of all. Only two wounds of tho.se left without an appliiation of any kind, in our ex- periments are reported as not check- ed, while most are reported as checked and many as badly checked. In this mat- ter the paint stands pre eminently at the head. Ily far the greater part of the wounds treated with paint are reported as not ebeckcd, nearly all the i rest as sligb'ly checked, only three us checked and one as ha Ily checked. Wax and coul tar are alxiut on a [larity in this matter, both being decidedly ben- eficial though neither is equal to paint. Shellac and pine tar also rank about even the pine tar having a 111 tie Ibe ad- vantage, lioth succeed in preventing checking in a measure, hut not to any great extent It will l)e Keeu, there- fore that while an ainilii'Otion of any sort may not lie worth while so far as healing is coiiivrned. and may indeed even hinder it, hh in tbe case »( ci al tar. it is of decided value in prevent- ing wounds from checking. Ibis is doubtless OS iminirtant as the matter of healing, for the ihecks readily serve as .starting places for deiay. which may in time destroy the life of the tree. It was noticed in the pruning done in January and February, when the weather was cold, that ihes? wounds which were not treated with any ai>- plicatioii very soon began to check, while all ihc appliiations prevented this for a time. The shellac soon l>e- gan to crack and drop off and the wood would then check in tbe .sputs thus exposed. The wax .sh;iweci some ten- dency to do likewise, ihough not so much, ibo bark wa.s comiuoiily found to have died back for one-fourth ot an inch or more, e.veept where wax or sheila- had been us>;d. In these cases it secuied to be healthy and suund en- tirely to the edg<". A.s to durability, there is still a differenl ranking of tbe various appli, aliuns. The cMial t:ir .seems to have stayed on better than any of the others. This may not how- ever, indicate any particular advan- tage. It colors (he wound, and that color remains, but [jerhaps without conies the paint, which stayed nearly as v^ell as ihc coal tar, and this in turn followed by tbe grafting wax, w hieh proved to bo fairly dtirable. both shel- lac and pino tar failed ultx^rly in this regard. In no <-a.s<! are cither of theiu ft. come mad when she found not only I . ,, . him but the turkey gone. â„¢ "heir cause without striking a blow Over went the flowers, and the nuts : '-''Bniselvee. ; Arrived at Arta, Clem- an<l raisins, and apples and pears nnd 1 •*"'• Harris found himself drafted into very much body t.o serve as a prolcc- grapes, the mince pies and the plum "â-  company ot about sixty Andarlej*. ^'^n to the wood itself. Next to this pudding from the great hou.se to the eiuh of whom was furnished with a sinall, and the children, who had not woollen cloak, a cap, rifle and Albanian had a square meal for weeks, sut down shoes and twenty drachmas in money, to a board fairly groaning under the Some of the men struck for mort^ mon- weight of the good things on it. The ey. but their clamor was silenced with little boys ate till they could barely j the retort "You have a rich Unglish- *^ , . , • , , . I man with you, he will pay for all your I reported as staying well. In nearly Ihe little girls were nearly distract- food. "From Arta,, Harris went to ' every case they were all gone, or near- ed between admiration of the pink Louros ajid was hurt in the foot en- 1 ly gone, in June, 1897. Of course the f^l'bJ.arT^and ^?onfihmeTt a? ^^| ''«''^?^'«8 *« P"^ ""^ the flames in a : question of durability is not an ini- ^dd na^ when Mr G?e^ set it to I 'turning town. From Louros he march- I portunt one, provided the results may puaaing wnen air. ixreen set it to ^, ^^^j, ^^^ ^.„g ^^ Pentopegjulia.wbere be obtained without it. It the wound with half a dozen Andarti, all that heaU well and does not check, it mat- remained of the sixty who had leftl Ar- 1 ters little whether the application ta, be held a knoll to the right of the stays well or not, but in general it will old maaonry fort. Here he fought as he found that if the application does many a Harrow lx>y has fought l)efore i not stay the wound is likely to crack biiu, and as many another will fight | oiien. Taking all things together, They all put in and washed up the â„¢ ^^^ days to come, and when the re- i nothing seems to be Ijctter for cover- dinner dishes afterward. The father tire sounded, and bis five unwounded j iug the wounds made in (iruning than washed and Ebenezer Green wiped, comrades sneaked away, young Harris I common lead paint, which is closely wishing the directors of tbe bank stayed until a friendly bullet ended a i followed by grafting wax, the wax could see him, and tbe young feett career full of promise and laid low a | is superior to imint in the matter of tripped briskljr to and fro until every- lad who knew not how lo fly. There I healing, but does not last as well and thing was in its place, clean as clea/n i were seventy Greek prisoners t.uken by I is not so convenient to anily, although could be. It waa a real frolic, the Turks that daji, The brave Corfi- : Ln warm weather when it works well pudding blazing in burning brandy. And the father and mother wonder- 1 ed how their neighlxir had ever gob his reputation ot being stiff and proud. ; Never had so delightful a guest de- : scended into their modest household i lie fore. Then they pressed up around the otea of the 10th Hfginient knew bow tire. The big legs had gone from Mr. to save their skins, but they let their Green's cellar not many minutes be- English comrade die without an effort fore Jimmy bad worn a path through , to aave him. there is little trouble in this regard CouJ. tar Is useful in preventing the wood from ohecking, but apiM>ars to he a positive hindrance to healing so that, in spits, of- the fact>tbat it stays well, there la little to recuin- mend it. Pine tar Is no aid to lieal- ing, being apparently a trifle detri- mental while it helps only slightly in the matter of checking, and does not last well, therefore it has nothing t» recommend it. Shellac is a failure. It does not last and neither aids th» wound in healing, nor, to any appre- ciable extent, prevents it from cJheclfr- ing. FIXING UP THE FENCES. Tbe fence question is oa* of thos* persistent problems that will not down, lu fact, the problem is sure to come up every time the fence goes down, if the fanner could arrange to have all the posts of any particular line of fen(« rot off at tbe same tim*. or all the boards to spring loose at once, the question iwould be mucli amplified. It would then Iw a ques- tion of rebuilding, and easily solved. But when it comes to fixing up tbe weak places and rebuilding a spot bere and there with a new post in ona place and a mended wire or renewed board in another, tlie problem be- comes more complicated and vexatious. We are tempted to follow a system ot patching, promising ourselves thattlie mending will last for a year or two and tbe doctored B(>ots will last aa long as the rest of the fence, when we will have a new one. Fences must lie fixed up as long as wood decays or wire and boards break, and we would suggest a few prinoi- ples which we find practicable in do- ing the work; First, begin the work when building in the first plare. Wire is supplanting all other kinds of fenc- ing for field divisions. When proper- ly built, a wire fence will last a long time and the repairing will be confin- ed to renewing an occasional post or mending a broken wire. But wheie poorly built there Is a ceaseless de- mand in rest retching tlie wirea and bracing the posts anew. Needed re- pairs should Ite attended to promptly. A broken post. i» no suiiport, but by swaying in the wind, loosens the wir:a and sags the fence on either side, and, again a broken spot is always a temp- tation to stock. They are always sure to find tbe weak places, and the hole is certain to be larger before they leave it. This is es|)ecially true of yard fences where we use iKiardsand nails. Then we would say. let prompt- ness in repairing any weakness or break be the second principle upon which we work. Third, tw thorough. An old feuce is a hard customer to deol with. As a rule it is best to use radical measures where a fence needs mora than a mere strengthening in some weak part. When a fence gets in a dilapidated condition it is economy to tear it out at onoo and rebuild. Most of the old material can he used again and the fence in- stead of being patched for a year or six months will ne«'d w attention for several years and will also present a I I'etter appeaiance. We once know a man who was always fixing his old fences and never rebuilding. .Vlmost every post had a prop against it and the neighbors said that whenever the wind changed Mr. lilank was out changing Ihe props along his fences. We must all have some old fences, and of necessity mu»t do more or less patching at times; but it has l>een our e.\[)erience that the most satisfactory way is to make a business of pulling olf the wires and straightening up tbe posts, renewing any ihot may t» bro- ken off. Tlben the work is done for ^ sometime. In repairing Ixiard or rail 1 fences the sound [Kists can l)e settled ' to their places, new ones put in, and then the lonrds reiiniled. A poor fence , is always a dangerous fence. A largo ,j percemtpge of nil injury to stock la done in old fences, where the wires I have liecome loostened or delacho I and I the slu k condition offers • teinpta- j tion to stock. We cannot lie too care- i ful in keeping the ends of wires fas- I tened where slo.-k will not run into , them. There is a general pra;tiee of stretching a wire along an old rail femse as a support to broken posts and I to keep .st'ick from rubbing against , it. We know of no be.tter and eh 'up- cr way (o reinforce an old fence. He careful, however, it hurst's have ac<eHS to it that it is nut loft too long. If it is i>artially fallen down th<>y will attempt to cro.ss it and the ihanivs are thej- will be injured. ARE THE PULLETS LAVINCf With a season where obstades of al- most every form have bren encoun- tered, the farmer who has hens, few or many, must lie looking very ear- nestly for eggs. Are the puHeta Iny- [ingt If not, what is the trouble If early hatched and now five ni nlh< old they shniild Ik- sheiliiig out iRgs worth two eeiits eaeb in the nmvk t If they fail of thdr duty .s,irnelhin(r is'wrong and Id find what that isaiiil remove it, is the first duly of th - far- mer. Is it an overfat condition o a tcnfiency to fat forjiiing? Is i( that the birds are lousy or the nests fith-? Is it boeau.se ot lack eilh-^r of f< o.l or exorcise? .\.s8Uining that Ihe birds m re from four iirid one-halt to five iiioni h i old one of I hese queslions will proa- biy touch Ihe seat of Ihe difficult v. Attend to the pullets and th-y will attend to you. (iet the niii hiiiery for egg building into o|H'rntion iil the ear- liest iKwsible momoiit nnd ktep it busy until .Vpril. Then Ihe year's a"- oount will balance itself in a fair in.in- ner and the .secret ot successful [xiul- try keeping lie solved. E^tlSTENCE IS PRECARIOUS. Considering how nianv iicoplo die ev- ery year, it is evidenr that living is very, very dangero\;8.