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Children of the Old Times 'Hub is what the total eclipse of the sun will look Uke to Toronto peopU on January 24. The picture Is one taken by Dr. C. A. Chftnt, Professor of ABtroT'hyslcs hi tho Univereity of Toronto, In Au.tralta dttrln« the total eclipse whkh was visible to that country In 1923^ France Follows Suit Paris is tn have a Wombley of lt« f>" • "• - "r.ii preiMi rations for the new exhibition are already In an aov. e The French venture >e to be an international exhibition of decorative und Inrlu-strial art. and It is exp«ytert that from May to October next year, vdille It is in progress, the etty on t^e Seine will be busier ahan ever. Loftv towen«s are already rising on tbe chosen site, which stretclies from tlf 'â- â- <â-  arros« the river to th« Champs Elysecs, and the whole area of the Esivlanjide and Place des In- Talldes Is being covered with a eerles of fairy palaces. Very pn minent In tills latest Ex- hlbitirn will be French cooking and the art of the French ftirniture makers. An dit is expected that the .American accent will be even more In evidence at the P.-iris exhibition than It was rt Wembley. the proposed sumptuary regulation. "If I cannot help to le^slate In com- fortable cloth«ft," said he, ' I refuse to help at aU, and I think most honorable members will agree with me." Tbey did. Basil King Canadian author, who, although on the verge of blindness, has sailed for Spain to obtain material for a new novel. Basil King, the Canadian novelist. Is facing total bltntlness. He has been fiaclng that possibility for many years and now that It Is an Imminent cer- tainty, he is looking to the future with courage undaunted. Far from feeling that his talent in useless, he has sail- ed for Si)aln, where he will spend the winter In search of literary ma- terial. "His sight has always been weak," BUted S. C. Swift, head of the Library Department of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, in Toronto. "In fact, that was one of the things that compelled him to give up the ministry yeara ago. Reading and writlns slnc« Itava intensified l)he trouble." "Has It influenced his wrrltlng at all?" .Mr. Swift wa» aslted. "I think It has, though not to any marked extent. I think It has possib- ly sobered lilni, but U has certainly not made him pessimistic. He Is quite fi phKosopher, you know, and takes tilings as they come, with a 8.tr<-nK faith in the Almighty." King's book, "Conquest of Fear," published a year ago, shows the sober- ing Influence of the writer's approach- ing blindness. In Mr. Swift's opinion. Mr. Swlfti, from his knowledge of King's writings, hasarded the guess that the book for which he purposes gathering material In Spain, will be partly on historical and partly on social lines. Britons Hope to Call India on Phone Soon. A few months ago it was considered an ambitious undertaking, when plans were announced for a telephone ser- vice between London and Berlin, a dis- tance of some 600 miles. Now, how- ever, British poetofflce engineers are giving serious consideration to the practicability of conatructln* new lines and linking up existing facilities, with a view of enabling conversation* to be held between Liondon and cities In India. In some quarters. It Is e-tated, optl- mlRtically, that London and Rangoon might be connected by phone. This distance is no greate:r than that coyer- ed by the circuit involved In the Ha- vana-I^os Angeles wire. It Ifl from the perfection of the Instrunaent known as the "repeater," that long: distance tele- phony for Ehirope Is hoped to be de- veloped Into a commercial' success. Mud Skippers. The mud skipper Is a large flsli. ! whioh walks on tend frequently. It also climbs trees and does, other things equally curious. A well-grown aped- nien weights from forty to fifty pounds. It has a head something like that of a mastiff, the resemblance be- ing very striking, about the lower Jaw. â-  The mud skipper walks principally by means of Its pe toral flns and Its taJL It gets along exceedingly well. ' It Is fairly common along the shores of the Indo-Paclflc Ocean â€" that Is to say. In southeastern As-la. In Slam ; plenty of mtid skippers are to be found. I The most remarkable a«compllsh/- , raent of the mud sklipper Is to climb trees. With Its pectoral flns It catches hold of a tree trunk as> flrmly as If It had hands. It goes up Into the tree In search of Insects, sunshine and fresh , air. The mujd skipiper has a loud, hoarse voice. Music They Understand. The natural way to expand the love of music among people Is to give them the music they understand. If music were left exclusively to the highbrows its range of Influence would soon di- minish and the art would become the prckserve of a cult. The great spread of the musical public now observable In this country Is due to the fact that all tastes and all degrees of musical knowledge are being Intelligently catered for. . Clearly, It Is of no use to press Shakespeare upon a child when fairy tales are the only poetry It can undentand. And If a follower of music is able onliy to gix>sp the attrac- I tivencss of a ballad or a popular tune, let him have that. He may by means of tliem work up to higher forma of music impossible of appreciation by him at one stride. j i â€" â- Â» i Complexion creams are being in- creasingly used by men, mostly middle- aged or elderly. Skillfully applied, they make a man both look and feel younger. I Hot water is in future to be sup- plied free to the inhabitants of Wind- hoek, a small town in South-West Africa. It n obtained from a hot- '.vatcr sprinf? which is to be connected with tho ordinary water supply. If our young folks could go back five or six hundred years, they would And that the children of those limes dress- ed and behaved very differently from themselves. The higher clTlllsation of the twentieth century has given all classes of people advantages that even royalty did not posscfis In those old days, but no class has greater reason to be grateful for the changes that have occurred than the young people of today. In those times that we are going to speak uf a child's life was rude and uncomfortable enough. Babies, rm soon as they were born, were wrapned in swaddling clothes, so that they looked like the chrysalis of the silk- worm. The cradle was a rude, cum- brous affair, usually made of oak, and often with no rockers. The huge oaken cradle In which King Henry V. of England was rocked when a baby \i still In existence, care- fully preserved by descendants of a i personage who held the responsible â-  ofllce of rocker to this prince. It Is I wider at one end than at the other, and there are holes at the bottom for cordage to pass through, on which was supported the royal baby's bed â€" a [ mattre.ss of rushes, the best the land ! afforded. I Very little was done for children In those early days. They had no books of any kind, excepting the horn-book, a kind of tablet, from which they learned the alphabet. Few Anglo- Saxon or Norman children could read or write. Their learing consisted In I ps.ilm-slnglng and reciting poetry. The I principal rule for teaching was to tell ' a child to learn, and then subject him ' to a severe beating if he did not. This harshness seems to have con- tinued to a late period, In English society, for Lady Jane Grey, wso was remarkable for her precoclousness and scholarship, complained of the "nips and bobs and punches" administered by her parents, who could never b» satisfied by anything she did. I Costumes Long Ago. I The style of dress was simple, and did not vary greatly through several centuries. Boys wore a tunic, a gar- ment that descended about to the knee, and was t'j.stened at the waist by a girdle of folded cloth of the same material. The lower classes wore nothing besides this tunic, but the gentry wore over It a short cloak or mantle, which was fastened on the shoulder by a brooch. They usually went bareheaded, but ! sometimes they put on a pointed hat I or cap, shaped like a sugar-loaf. The I trousers were tight to the leg, and were, Iji fact, long stockings, or hose, as they were called. I Over these stockings they some- times wore bands of cloth, linen or leather, commencing at the ankle, and terminating a little below the knee, either in close colls, like the hav-bands of a modern hostler, or crossing each other sandalwlse, as they are worn to this day by the people of Abruzzl and the Apennines ,and In some parts of Russia and Spain. ' The shoes were of cloth or leather, open at the Instep, and fastened with thongs. Among the gentry these thongs were adorned with gold and gems'. The buskins of Louis le Debon- alre, the son of Charlemagne, were of gold stuff; his tunic was Interwoven with gold, and his belt was of silver. The dress of the girls was a loose, short gown, worn over a longer robe, confined to the wats't and having long, wide sleeveiS. Sometimes these sleeves were so long that they had to be tied up in knots, so as to avoid treading on them. The hair was worn braided In two long plaits, and coquettlshly tied with , partl-colored ribbons. When they went out of doors, they wore a very wide cloak over the upper part of the body, and a covering upon the head, which must have hade them look much like little nuns. Between the years 1100 and 1500, according to old pictures, the dress of the young folksi was very nearly the same as that of other persons. Little girls dressed Uke their mothers, with long, cumbersome trains to their dresses, stomachers trimmed with fur, a leathern or silken purse attached to their girdles, studded or Impearled with little metallic buttons, and large chignons on the tors of their heads. Young fellows of eleven or fifteen tripped about in long, peaked shoes, tight hose, short tunics or slashed doublets, bordered mantles, long or short, according to the prevailing style, their hair eo long that It fell Into their eyes, and covered with a bannet of cloth a quarter of an ell or more In height a modified garb of their fathers. The poor young prince, by right King Edward V., who was afterward murdered by his cruel uncle, Oloster, in the Tower, received for the cere- mony of the coroflatlon of tho usurper a short gown, made of two yards :-.nd three-quarters of crimeon cloth of the same stuff lined with green damr.sk; a mantle made of two yards and a half of purple ve:vet, bordered with er- mine; a stomacher and doublet made of two yards of black satin, besides two foot-cloths, a bonnet of purple vel- vet, gilt spurs, an.l a chain of gold t<> be worn around the neck. Favorite Sports. Tho out-door amusement,H of the boys were boxing, running, wres-tllng, football, tilting at the ring and quin- tain. Toys fciiiiiiar to us were used â€" such as whop-toF'^, baKs, marbl'CS, shuttle-cocks and hooP''). These toys were, of course, very crude and coarse ns compared with those of modern days. There ore many crude pictures In ancient books Illustrating these old games. In one they are playing ball; In another, battle-door and shuttle- cock; In still another, the boys are playing with a hoop. Two of them are holding the hoop up between them and the third Is preparing to Jump through It head foremost. His plan Is to come down on the other side upon his hands, and so turn 'x^i; : .;3^; â-  â-  'i- '- - « fi»*S«^ asking "Qui Fery" who touched?) If the one blindfolded guessed correctly, that one took her place. "Cross and Pile," afterward called a somersault and come up on his feet "Head and Tall," "Crambo," a game In beyond. , which one gave a word for another to ^i oucue of supplies belouKlug to surveyors of the 'lopjsraphicai Purvey of Canada Is shown In Northern Saskatchewan. It Is built off the grouad and strong enough to resf^t the assaults of animals. band behind her. The rest of the com- Jectlonable in society, living up to this pany, each In turn, struck her hand, code of etiquette? It was considered quite the thing for young gentlemen to leave home and take service under persons of higher rank In order to learn meanners and accomplishments. Their duties at first were humble. They waited at The hobby-honse and the whip were find a rhyme to It; dice, ohess, tables, table, put on tbelr master's shoes, car- well known. One of the most popular toys was called the Joust ing-tov. It was a model of a mounted kulght In full armor, with a lance manufactured of brass. The knight and his horse rested on a stand with four wheels, which was drawn about by means of a cord a^ taohed to the front. The plaything was so constructed that the knight could be thrown back- ward and separated from his hor»e by Nobles and princes lived In large castles, very stately on the outS'lde, but cold and uncomfortable within. _. .., ii, * . u. ... ,j There were no carpets on the floor, tT„niir.r.. ''L^l.*^ ^ " t' !^* nothing but straw or rushe. crinkled rled him armor In battle, and perform- ed other offices which would be con- sidered menial by our smart young men of to-day. This apprenticeship, however, was a vpluable one to the neophyte. He learned to be meek, , .. J â-  u . _. A «,«~i oblent and courteoufl â€" virtues that poor people lived In huts olv^^^^^ ^ ^^^^ attribution of knight- or rough stones, with thatched roofs. ^ ^ now our familiar back-gammon, were among the frequent amusements of oldtlme young folks. Dwellings Were Comfortless. The dwellings at this period were dark, cheerless and Inconvenient The or the front of his helmet With two .-^ pavements. But feeble of these toys It was easy to represent ^^^ ^^^,,^ ^^^^^^ the few two knights In deadly combat. ^in<lo^s, and the smoke from the They were placed some distance g^g^t fire-place ascended through a from each other, and then drawn sud- jj^jg jq t^e roof, for there were no denly together. When the lance of chimneys.. The parlor or great hall one hit the figure of the opposite ^^g jjung round with suits of armor, knight, of course It overthrew It, and fierce-looking weapons, deers' antlpr.3 ended the mimic duel. ^^^ grizzly-boars' heads. The "tes- As soon as the boys were old enough ^^y^ board" was literally boards, which they were trained In the marital exer- ^^^g simply set upon trestles to form clses and usages which were practiced ^ table. There were no books In in those days. , ^jjg^p ^'^ ^ elegant bindings, no palnt- They put on heavy suits of armor, j^gg „„ the wal'/?; but, per^o-w. '^<; and took lessons In springing upon a rudely-carved figure of a saint looked horse, In running races, and in strik- ^^^j^ from ^g niche, and In some of ing heavy blows In quick succession with a battle-ax or club, as If they were beating an enemy lying upon the ground, nd trying to break his armor to pieces, and other similar things. tho wealthier houses, a huge copy of the Bible or some ancient Latin work might be found In the ladles' chamber. It was no wonder that the poor gir'.s and their mothers were glad to pass One feat which they practiced was as much time as i)osslble out of doors. to climb up between two partition- W"uenever tho weather was fair. walls, built pretty near together, by they came out of the dark huts and bracing their backs against one wall and working with their knees and hands against the other. Another feat was to climb up a lad- der, on the under side, by means of the hands alone. They also learned to mount upon a cheerless castles, some to mount pal- frey and ride, a-hawking in the broad meadow, others to dance and play chess In the shady gardens. A great deal of attention and care were paid by the gentry to their yards and gardens, and they were favorite horse, behind another person by leap- places of resort to the ladies of the Ing directly from the ground. But the most famous exercise of all â€" or perhaps it should be called a game â€" was performed with the quin- tain. The quintain was of singular construction. There is one still stand- ing on the green In Offharn village, Kent, a southern county of England, and so we have a pretty good Idea of how the plaything looked. It consists of a stout post set in the ground, and rising ten or twelve feet above the surface. A strong bar Is placed across the top, turning on a pivot, so that it will go round and round. At one end of this cross-bar there Is fixed a square board for a target. From the other end a heavy club la suspend- de. In playing the game, the competit- ors mounted on horseback, and rode one after another under the target-end ' household. ; ' A manuscript of the fourteenth cen- j tury gives an Illustration of a group ' of boys and girls amusing themselves In a garden of weavlng-chaplets and garlands of fiowers. In another, a party of ladles are represented din- ing at a table. Early rising was a virtue among our ! ancestors, and the girls and boys of those early centuries arose betimes. Six o'clock In the summer and seven in the winter was the rule. I ARnclent Table Manners. Lunch or breakfast was eaten soon after rising, and the dinner hour was at ten or eleven. Later, in King Henry the Eighth's time, they dined at noon. Supper oc- curred at five in the afternoon. Table manners were primitive, and the conveniences of our age were lacking. There were no such things In the same manner girls were taught to spin, to weave, to embroider, and to make dresses. They also learn- ed how to nurse and doctor the sick â€" a most excellent thing In a girl's edu- cation. Medical herbs were grown In every garden, and the girls dried and mode them Into medicine for use when n-eeded. « During the middle ages the ladies were the surpeons and physicians. In all the medieval romances and manu- scripts, women are represented as nursing wounded knights, and prepar- ing with their own white hands the * plasters for raalned limbs and painful • wounds. Our old-time children have now very nearly grown to be men and women. ' We have followed them from Infancy • to years of maturity. Their dress, . tbelr amusemeDtfi, their mode of liv- ing- have passed in review before us, and we will now leave them â€" the boy ' perhaps a perfect knight, to tilt on . tourneyHelds or fight stern battles In the warfare of life; the girl a matron- ly woman sitting at her embroidery • frame in her dark stone chamber, or ,, riding forth In the sunshine to ths beautiful meadows with her lord, to. watch the falcon's light or seg the red deer leap from covert to covert. Life may not have been so dreary to them as we might suppose, but,' surely none of the young folks of to- day would care to go back and live' with the children of the olden time. • 'i ! of the cross-bar, hurling their spears as forks. They were not Invented for at it with all their force. The blow from the spear would knock the tar- get-end of the cross-bar away, and so bring round the other end with its heavy club to strike a blow on the horseman's head if he was not Instant- ly out of the way. It was like striking one enemy In front In battle, with an- a long time afterward. The common table knife was a clasp-knife. It was considered the height of refinement for tyo to eat out of the same dish. Napkins were not in use. People wiped their hands on the straw or rushes on the floor, or oftener on the table-cloth. The following rules are other enemy ready to strike you on the thse which a mamma of the fourteenth Instant from behind. Of the children's indoor amuse- ments, dancing was the favorite one. Very staid, stiff and sober, however, were the dances of the period, and It must have been a funny slRht to see the boys and girls, looking like mlna- ture men and women, engaged In this pastime. A game called "Qui Fery," now our welt-known "Hot Cockles," was fre- quently Indulged in. One of the players was bliuded, and knelt in the centre of a circle, with one century might be supposed to give her young daughters who were Just entei^ Ing society: "In eating, you must avoid much laughing or talking. If you eat yAth another^â€" namely, in the same plate â€" turn the nicest piece to him, and do not go picking the finest and largest for yourself, which is not courteous. Moreover, no one should eat greedily • piece that Is too large or too hot, tor fear of being burned or choked."' How delightfully simple! Who could help being decorous -ind unob- - â€" Siy^"â„¢â€" ^5S Badly-Dressed Statesmen, i Cecil llhodes would not have accept- ed the dictum of the "Tailor and Cut- ter" that Is obligatory on statesmen to dress w»ll. Even on cereni'snlal oc- casions Rhodes would wear old and dilapidated flannels and a seedy slouch hat Sir Gordon Sprigg, when Premier Of ! Cape Colony, made an effort to en- ' force the weiulng of "respectable" dark clothes In the Cape Parliament Sir G /rdon was the height of respecta- bility himself, and rJways wore a 'jiack 'rock-coal in rarliament. i RbC'jM refused to follow the Pre- i ml«r'« Ie«t &ad nxtde a aoeech s^alnaft I #1: « M /'â-  « « ^ â- N;-f « ' , *.. - . • • *- • t 4 • Dr. F. Nansen Who has olBcially announced his plans ' to lead a Zeppelin expedition to the' North Pole. f â€" â€" -^-«» ..- -- The Real Best Sellers. ' What are the real "best sellerB';'* The books that are the sensations oC a moment are u-sually known by this name, but In most easels tbey are for-' gotten in a very short time. One day* they may be on all the bookstalls ; the, next the man who buys second>-hand literature will hardly look at them. ' The real best sellers are t&e "old; timers" of our youth. "Little Lord B^untleroy," the authoress Of which' died recently, has »tlU a steady sale/ Dickens Is aa popular as ever, an(^ even Wilkie Collins Ls famtliar to many aiore people than we might sup-' pose. , Another Interesting sidelight on this question was provided by Mr. C. t* Longmon. who presided at the recent Longmans bicentenary luaobeon. H9 ' said that more copies of "Robinsoa Crusoe" had been sold In India a!«irii ' during the last five years th«n had been sold In the first five yevs of !(â-  publlcati'on. I Ike nitiiubers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, ia charge of paflllM as WHtUsr 4bm lb* «gUiiWUoa opeacd^ v shown vrerions to sail insre::icr C. H. Hill, who have been present tn ti>e CanaUlan govemment't Ing from LlTetpool tor hwat. Riches in themselves are not ibi evil; it is the trust in richo* that U tvil. â€" Canon Rurell. , Native girls of New Guinea are u f<Mid of decking themselves wits bright-coloi-ed stones and othsi orafS* ~~*M M thttr KnrofMB i ^ ii