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 "•«it8 on our JV 1- recruits yon p^"*^. t feat trouble^*^\at b, precision In'LT"^.* th f I got into a Vh? J •f«lly warm and tt!"' ^n almost uT'^^^M -yl-rseatThfrSr »g'vu,gthemvolley7, St\rr""s;^ ng along so wel'l by th 'Kf" y Present ^Fi e| 'iW ring out likeasi^gj â- ut'Rea.!y;'anQthe^o lat of veterans. rifle went up to should ^Vt the very mstant I • 'ny fretting horse lx)lte, TOSS the range. I waa n, the squad. My eye caug ^s leveled right at niea ied my eyes and duck, now what British soldie 'c my feelings, my terrih 'ef.re, I was never befoi knew that if I opened Its would riddle my Ij • they were expecting t robably M-ouldhavetak( My desire to cry out'.; ;he rifles off' my body wi to clench my teeth to ke 3f course the whole thi )nds, but it was many mi at to me. ginghorse had carried ;ionless rifles I managed ;anie around I cried 'fir those stolid men oliey. absolute precision. Th_ more that had I openei jssing their rang" Ishoul nuui, for they were no to distinguish a differen istaiit and yet followec blind fidelity. lUgbt," added the officer e 0!i his lips, "that thos( had cut across them t( they showed no surprise 1 of emotion, when Isuil cried 'lire I' But you ma; this was not the case that never afterward ii jet caught in so danger tuation.' in its prime, St marriage time, loneymoon now in June, been wooed and won, 1 just begun t loves to Stay, e night away ns shine so deep lo time for sleep bs with the gush ited thrush, lit the thiill, oom at will, lade e ever made songs, and light, of her plight, lan heart, e chords start sweet 1 no retreat )ssom, too, nd flowers do. in Venice. liversal custom among 1 i of Venice of the pre- cigarettes, both when ,n° The hostess at » ty receives her goes.' â- een her fingers, and a^^ e in the pauses of «« 1 of Robert Brow^j; eatcd a profound " â- tv last year by declfU' ,t-]nviteladiestosmok^ little daughter "fj unconsciously uttereaa the custom. _,_juj iting an Italian TTOD^ -J^"hrsxei rUKenby^-^ llery -^^rfe W 11-room after tne nt m silence, »" Yactts in WHch the Crowned Heads â-  of Europe Go to Sea. Hf Majority Are Bria^b BnUt. ot has, it seems, attacked Her m^'-f. Majesty's yachts Oshome and r'y^to such an extent that, to make them r -thv t'9'"^^ will have to be spent on wrer and fo'XK) on the former. â- "'oiclest surviving English royal yacht ^â- ^'prnlO-^^on/i, which carried the Queen '^â- '•iBt trip to Scotland half a century t' Built ill 1"13. the glory of this ancient 'i\ y jonr' since departed but she still -in Portsmouth harbour the humble 5'";eful purpose of a floating barracks for " rews of her modem successors. In 1833, â- rer rovil yacht â€" the Royal Adelaide â€" r -laiincheil at Sheemess. She was a tiny t-e tiitv feet longaud fifteen feet broad. f.'.ie li"'J'^-l O-onje, she has had her day ^ir a3 royalty is concerned. Her Majesty â-  )- present four pleasure-ships at her com- i*'l -the yachts Victoria and Albert and Y\â- ,â- lâ- ^ a"'i the tenders Alberta and Eifin. I'll the average age of these vessels is ".ventv-iiine years, not far short of a "Hâ- ^^ sterling has been spent on them up to l-rnresent. The Elfin â€" the oldest of the r.rl-wa3 built at Chatham in 1849, aiidhas iplacemeiit of only ninety-three tons. I'.- ori_'iaal cost was fOlSS, and the cost of 1 .:, unteiiur.oe up to date has been about I-':) III. The Vi'foria and Albert, the LAKiiKSTAXD HAXDSOMEST. • H-r Majesty's private fleet, is the second â-  hfV name. " When she was laid down at i'lliroke in ISo-j it was as the Windsor '..•â-  but at her launch in 1854 she was en iier present name, the old Victoria .i.Vh'i-t being then renamed the Osborne, i; 'i was broken up in 1868. liie present Victoria and Albert is three laired feet long and rather over forty feet rv.il, has a displacement of 2470 tons, and feints i)f "2080 indicated horse-power. Her rioions cabins and saloons are furnished bl decorated in the most luxurious and Ittjstic style, and she has the reputation of t.v.'s i"t only a fast but a comfortable ves- -i She carries a crew of one hundred and ::v(iue otticers and men. It cost £176,820 |: ii'.ii'.d lier and keeping her afloat has en- ikd an additional expenditure of more Mil t'JWT.OOOâ€" so thataltogethei- more than alfaiiiillinn has been spent on her. The Al- â- rt'i and the Osborne were also built at Peni: nike. in 18(53 and 1870 respectively. About Iii,(HUi \yas laid out on the former, a vessel r'thrte hundred and seventy tons while the ter, with a displacement of eighteen hun- ireilanilfifty tons, costnearly £134,000. Like |:iie Vi'/oria and Albert, the Onbome is a pad- it steamer. She is two hundred and fifty lie: long and thirty-six feet broad, her indi- ited iiursf-power is 3360, and her crew con- ittsiif one hundred and forty -five' all told. .Is iluring her comparatively short life of iiieteeu years the Oxborne has cost over n.'iii.iHM) for maintenance, it is somewhat :rpri-ii)g to be told that she now stands in :».! of A large further outlay to render her Kviit able. Her Majesty, as is well known, nkes very little use of her little squadron of vJits. ONl'f; OR TWICE A YE.\K iM o: otiier of them is requisitioned to con- vey iier acro.ss tlie Solent and on rare oc- a-if ;;s she crosses the Channel in one of :he;:i Imt nearly all the year round they ri- lying idle. Being all built of wood, they ecay lupidly, and would soon fall to pieces tlkv \v(.n-" not constantly overhauled and itiin'l and paint6l. Economists urge that use lour uld wooden ships, on which ir_'e -^ums have been spent year by year, iiiuM at oncn be replaced by one or two eiv-ttel yachts f fa modern type. Drj-- 1 1. iiiiKii attack a steel ship, and though it ly 'isi more to build, it would cost far '.1' keep in repair. b'r. it mu.st not be supposed that Queen Utti lias yachts cost more than those of :iy .thcr monarch. That is far from being ""K fact. Among crowned heacs the Em- f«or nf Russia ranks first as a yacht-owner. ^MioM. ten years ago, the late C/.ar ordered t!ic ::..!i)riiius Liradia to be built, he was il'ea.iy the owner of half-a-dozen fine yachts. All'Jiiiigs considered, it must be allowed â- "U: lilt' Llradia is the strangest and most "seliss yacht that has yet been seen. To s^er.re tlie Imperial family against sea- jwkiHss, she was built with a breadth (one .ndred and fifty-three feet) equal to about "^;ii-t!.irds of her length (two hundred and Mirty-oiie feet); and in. order to give her ~eater speed and make her handier than i'her ships, she was supplied with engines ^ailicaiiiig 10.500 hors'^-power and with 'nree screws. On herampledeck was reared a 'Sritable palace and had she fulfilled the ^^peciations of her designers, she would I i" di v.;! It have been THF. MOST MAGXinCEST YACHT p"i: ever floated, albeit the ugliest. So far, iivever, from "walking the waters like a J'liiu^ of lite." she behaved in a generally h^kv.ard manner, and, in short, turned out I- c;"U:i([ue and monstrous failure. To-day, I'ltii liername changed to the Opyt, she â- iri-.-i as a sort of barracks somewhere in !-'â-  l'l:iok Sea. The Liradia was constructed â-  'â- â- â€¢â€¢. in, and launched in 1880. Altogether, -â- â€¢"â-  I in le little doubt that over half a ;•'.;â-  u jv.unds was spent on her. When the -e t 'zar goes for a sea trip now, it is inthe " a wooden paddle-ship, built in St t s't'urg in 1871. She is three hundred I '-even feet long and forty -two feet wide, â- i* a 'lisjjlacement of 3346 tons and engines f' -,'nt horse-power, and her internal ar- -^-'•-:;Tents are on the most magnificent p-ie. The Czar is, however, now having [--t. also at St. Petersburg, a yacht which "r surpass in splendour â€" and in costli- *;? t.io, one may safely predict â€" every -e:- in the world. The Polarnaia Siceizda to be a twin-screw vessel of 3346 f'^s and 6'300 horse-power, and measuring I'^ree hundred and fifteen feet by forty-six l*t. His Imperial Majesty's other steam- l-Jicats are the iron S'jigle-screw schooner I ;-" • (•««, of 796 tons, built at Hull in 1874 Y' paddle-vachts Alexandria and Strieland, riut on the Thames in 1851 and 1887 the If ev Slarianka, laimched at Hull in 1874 |^jJ^n-ei-o,theZJna, and the Sutka. Be- I les these, he has several small Bailrne- |Jv;hts. ** .^ young German Emperor is also a ' ^nsulerable yacht-owner. In addition .several little river-craft, he has a ^gate-yacht, which was built at 'oolwich in 1832, and sent by Eipff ^^hamlV. as » present to' ^e kin* M ^j^ She WMpmoOeO^H^Jik^ihCftld â- J^a'.lde/airfementiojiiedaWeâ€" after the l^.ynt' English frigate '/»»^;,. torf as a I^th the Empeiar. ^VHttttniraa vety^ fond â-  «ailmg her. The Kaiser's chief yacht HohenzoUem, an iron paddle-ship Sb^ia lwo.,,^»a9j. dred and sixty -eight feet by thirty-' four feet, has » displacemeBt of. 1675 tons and a horse-power of 3000, and car- ries a crew of one hundred and thirty three inclading officers. Though the Hohenzolltrn is beautifully fitted and can steam about SIXTEEN KSOT3 AN HOtTS, the Kaiser must needs have another yacht It is said that the HohenzoUem is not near- ly large enough to accomodate the Emperor's staff and suite when he assumes the com- mand of operations at sea, and the Budget Committee of the Reichstag have according- ly itKiluded in the naval estimates a grant of 4,500,000 marks (nearly £225,000) for a new Imperial yacht. The Sultan owns* no fewer than ten yachts, all of which are of British build. Of -these the most important is the Sidtanieh, which dates from 1861. She is three hun- dred and sixty-four feet long, and has a displacement of 2902 tons and a horse-jHJwer of 800. The Anaar-i-Nusret and the Medar- i-Zaffer are of 1344 tons and 350 horse- power each while the Tevaid, Ismail, Oualir, and Izzedin are rather smaller. The remaining three are the Stamboid (909 tons and 350 horse-power), the Rethimo, and the Sitreya. All ten are paddle-yachts. The Italian royal yacht, the Savoia, is re- markable for her size and power as well as for the completeness of her armament. In fact, she is more of a war-ship than a plea- sure-ship. Built at Castellamare inl8S3, she is a deck-protected cruiser of 2800 tons dis- placement and 4150 indicated horse-power. Her length is two hundred and seventy -five feet andber breadth forty-two feet. She is furnished with four two-and-a-quarter inch quick-firing guns and six machine-guns, in addition to which she carries two toi-pedo discharging tubes. The Miramar, the principal yacht of the Austrian Emperor, wis built in England in 1872. She is a fast iron paddle-ship of 1830 tons and 2500 horse-power, and measures two hundred and sixty nine feet by thirty -two feet. Another British-built royal yacht is the Amphitrite, belonging to the king of Greece. She was built eleven years ago, and is a steel paddle-sldp, having a displacemsnt of 1028 tons and an indicated horse power of 1800. The Mahroii.-a, owned by the Khedive of Egypt, is a yacht of imposing dimensions, but is now sadly out of repair. She measures three hundred and sixty feet by forty-two feet her displacement being 3142 tons and her horse-power 6400. She was launched in 1865, and used to be capable of steaming eighteen knots an hour. The king of Denmark's yacht is the Dan- nebrog, an iron paddle-ship of 760 tons and 800 horse-power, built at Copenhagen in 1880. The Skoldmon, the Swedish royal yacht, was built of iron in 1868, and has a displacement of 1028 tons. The Prince of Roumania's yacht, the Stefan eel Marc, was built in 1866. She is an iron paddle-ship of 350 tons and 570 horse-power. Among Asiatic potentates the king of Siam, the Mikado, the Sultan of Johore, and the Rajah of Sarawak are yacht-owners. The yacht at present used by the Mikado is he Siiriu, an iron screw-steamer of 300 tons and 270 horse-power. She was built in 1 85tt, and will soon give place to a new and large vessel. â€" Ghambars' Journal â- I* â€" ' Dost Like the Cherry A fruit dealer on Market rtreet, in- censed at the liberties taken by loafers and friends with his stock displayed at the door, placed half a gallon of cayenne pepper pods in a basket, labelled it, "New Zealand Cherries," and hung it in a conspicious pli\oe in front of his stand. In a few minutes tlie next door merchant saun- tered up, inquired how trade was, picked up a New Zealand cherry placed it in his mouth and suddenly left to attend to a cus- tomer. Rev. Dr. Bolby next rounded to. observed that it had been years since- he had tasted a New Zealand cherry, whereupon he ate one, remarked that it was superb, wip- ing his eyes on his coat sleeve, supposed that New Zealand was getting warnier every year, gave the dealer a look of lingering re- proach, wished him good morning and dis- appeared, lamenting the growing weakness of his eyes in the sunlight. A chronic dead beat then came up, took a mouthful of cherries, spluttered them out with an im- precation hotter than the fruit, stuffed a pear, banana, and a bunch of grapes into his mouth to take out the fiery taste, inform- ed the innocent fruit dealer that he would have him prosecuted for keeping green fruit, and hurried down the street to a pump. A lady with two children next appeared, stopped to admire the cherries, asked if she mightn't taste them â€" she had never seen any before â€" supplied the • children, and walked away with a face fiery with scorn and anger, whilst the children set up a howl that brought all the people to the doors and windows and above all the policeman off the street. Thus the fun went on all the morn- ing. The fi-uit dealer never laughed so much in all his life. The occupants of the adjacent and opposite stores and a shoal of small boys soon learned what was up, and watched for the proceedings, eagerly join- ing in a ringing roar as each new victim tried the cherries. Finally a solemn looking countiyman lounged up, inquired the price of them 'ere New Zealand cherries invested in a pint and put one in his mouth, took it out again, gave the fruit dealer a withering look, threw off his coat and waded into him. When he left the fruit man with tendencies to practical jokes had a black eve, a red nose, a purple face, a sprained wrist, a torn collar and several baskets of fruit scattered promiscuously around among the small boys, while a ringing roar of laughter was going up from the on-lookers. ^. Baby- One little head of golden hair, Two little cheeks so rotmd and fair, Two little lips with fragrant sighs. One little nose and two blue eyes. Two little hands as soft as a peach. Two little feet with five toes each. Two little smiles and two little tears. Two little legs and two little ears. Two little elbows and two little knees. One little grunt and one little sneeze, One little heart, but no little sins, Plenty of skirts and lots o' pins. One little cloak and plenty of frocks. One little hood and two little socks, A big disposition to haul and to pull, One uttle stomach that's never full One little mouth of the rcpse's tint. One little bottle of peppermint. A Deccan Hnntiiig Song. 'HixbMg.-Ae inighti fc h wi r'i wy i .thjMML jai What er tie wise may say, My morning thought, my midnight dream. My hope throughout the day. ♦» Then sing the boar, the mighty boar, Fill high the cup with me. And here's to all who fear no fall. And the next gray boar we see. Youth's daring spirit, manhood's fire. Stout heart, and eagle eye. Doth he require who would aspire To see the wild boar die. Then sing the boar, the mighty boar. Fill high the cup with me. And here's to all who fear no fall. And the next gray Ijoar we see. We envy not the rich their wealth. Nor kings their crowned career, The saddle is our throne of health. Our sceptre is the spear Nor envy we the warrior's pride, Deep stained with purple gore, For our field of fame's the jungle side. Our foe the grim gray boai. When age iiath weakened mannuou a powers. And every nerve unbraced. The joys of youth will still be ours. On memory's tablets traced And with the friends whom death hath spared. When youth's bright course is run, We'll tell the dangers we have shared And the spears that we have won. CHOKUS. Then sing the boar, the mighty boar. Fill high the cup with me. And here's to all who fear no fall. And the next gray boar we see. Saved by a sa:fktch--r-yonr signature to a checlcl 'UndeV The Lord's Mink Farm. Lord Wynford stopped at North Platte, Neb., during his tour of the prairies. He seemed greatly pleased with the Wild West and intimated that he would like to invest some money in something good. There was a sharp young Irish lawyer in the town, whose parents had had some unpleasant dealings with Lord Wynford in the old country. This young lawyer had lived in North Platte about two years. He came there to examine a claim he had purchased on paper. To his disappointment his farm was nothing but a prairie-dog town. You could not raise even sage brush on the claim, so close together were the burrows of the little animals. He had about given up all hopes of disposing of his land when he learn- ed that Lord Wynford was looking for a good investment. Then he called upon the wealthy foreigner and offered for sale what he called "the most profitable industry in America." He told the British Lord that he had been ten years establishing a mink farmer, and just as the enterprise was beginning to coin money he was oblig- ed to go .South on account of his poor healtn. He explained how the minks were raised, how their skins were disposed of, and the great demand for mink fur in this country. The young Irishman pledged Lord Wynford to say nothing of the deal, as his mink farm was only known to a few who were in simi- lar enterprises. Then he drove his guest out to the prairie-dog farm. Here an extensive tract of land, destitute of trees and alive with little animals that burrowed in the ground and barked like a small dog, was thoroughly inspected. The possibilties of furnishing the West with mink fur in the Autumn delighted Lord Wynford, and returning to the city he gave §5000 for the dog town. He owns it now, and the good-for-nothing place is called " the Lord's mink farm." To Kesulate the Sale of Meat. A bill introduced into the British House of Commons to "regulate the sale of foreign and colonial meat " will, if passed, have an important effect on the import trade, though whether its bearing will be relatively unfavorable to live imports, such as those from Canada, may be doubted. It provides that it shall not be lawful to sell or expose for sale any foreign or colonial meat unless a conspicuous sign is placed over the shop to indicate that the meat is foreign or coloniaL No such meat can be sold except at these labelled shops unless notice is given in writing to the purchaser that such meat is from abroad, and unless also the pur- chaser shall have expressly ordered colonial or foreign meat. Furthermore, carts used for conveyance or sale of such meat must also be labelled. However, the bill, it may be assumed, will not pass at present. But its introduction is significant of the tendency, not merely on this continent, but in England, to resort to petty and meddlesome legisla- tion on the very slightest pretext and re- gardless of the loss of time and expense in- flicted on individuals, and the burden the public at large have thus to bear in main- taining a host of inspectors and regulating officers, whose numbers threaten to' become as great as those of private citizens making a living in a better way, Persian Flower Worship. A recent traveler in India gives the following description of flower worship as practiced by the Persians in Bombay. A true Persian, in flowing robe of blue, and on his head a sheepskin hatâ€" black, glossy, curly, the fleece of Kan-Kalâ€" would saunter in and stand and meditate over every floWt r he saw, and the ideal flower he was seeking found, he would spread his mat and sit before it until the setting of the sun, and then fold up his mat again and go home. And next night, and night after night until that particular flower faded away, he would return to it and bring his friends in ever- increasing troops to it, arid they would all together pray there, and after prayer still sit before it, and sit and pUy the guitar or lute before it, sipping sherbet and talking the most hilarious and ^hocking scandal late mto the moonlight, and so again every evening until the flower died. Some- times by way of a grand finale, the whole company would suddenly arise before the flower and serenade it together with an ode from Hafiz and depart. Standing Up For Bat Tdeai. Mr. Haokinaon (ait the party)â€" 'What a daintyeater Miss Kajoiiesls Miss Kerstnith {hoimm Mmd 'Ot Mifs Kajones) â€" 'Indeed, Mh fiainkinaota, yon^o the dear girl injoatice: After her tea acd angel cake at -a lianqaet like tJiis you have ne ver seen her at home in boat d plate of cold eattsacni* -*' '^i- j; ,.,t!:i-r-i;#»ii -^ .*â-  â- .-^iui' â-  It was an .£urtan .kad irhq married iii1|fif • teen, so that die «ooia have her flqiden wed- «Ciu( wKtehift' ifaald do h e rw w w gBodf' TEE OOUNTBY EAILEOAD STATIOBT. If there is anything specially planned, and specially calculated tH!ry a "awn's faith in the eternal wisdom and fitness of all things, it is having to wait for a train at Sk country railroad station. The train that he is going to take' is gen- erally behind time. A^d he is in a hurry. All people who are going on t aina are in a hurry. The station is always located in the hot- test and most uninviting place in that part of the country. Sand is all around it. Shade trees are unknown. Grass, which i^ one of the most democratic species of all vegetation, fights shy of it. The station itsself is aii anomaly in the way of architecture. The man who plan- ned the first railroad station ever-built in the country, tpwn has reason to congratulate himself on having struck something new un- der the son. And it was so near perfection that no suceeding architect has ever felt him- self able to improve upon it. And there it stands to-day, hui:'i:eds of it, all over our land, as a perpetual iiionu- ment to the.geuins of that first buii.l- r. No blinds, no shades the seats \eilow settees, the water supply a pump before the door, the ornaments on the walls framed advertisemtents of steamship lines, and "Fiz- zleton's Great Soap Discovery " and the flies are there in full force to cheer the heart of the weary waiter, and make him feel that though the world may frown on liim in other places, here he is welcome The ticket-office is generally closed, which proves that the otficial in charge is a wise man. He knows better than to wear out his precious life dancing before that win- dow, looking for travelers who never come to buy tickets. He takes his rest on the shady side of the house, on a settee, with a cigar and a novel to help him take it easy. He is a philoso- pher, and indeed he needs to be, since no other man could survive a month of life at a country railroad station. He has his little diversions, no doubt. When the Sunday-school jpicnic starts out, and when the circus comes to the next town, and when some farmer's cow is run over and killed, and the people round about drop in to talk it over, t^nd speculate on whether or not the owner of the animal is likely to get damagps. But the man who is waiting for the train has none of these little interests to cheer him. When he has read the ail vert isements on the walls, and looked up and down the track, and peered at his glowering image in the cracked looking-glass, and looked twenty times at his watch, and the same number of times at the time-table, he is ready to give his kingdom for the sound of a locomotive whistle. And the old woman who comts in with her bundles, and the young woman who comes in with her crying baby, are welcome as the flowers in spring. He never before realized how entertaining a crying baby might be under some circumstances. Some- thing to look at â€" something to listen to. He studies the old woman's bonnet, and he counts the buttons on the baby's cloak, and he wonders what h in the' big bundle, and what is in the little box, and then he looks at his watch again, and compares it with the clock, and finds that the clock has been stopped an hour, at the least calcula- tion. By and by the ticket-seller comes leisure- ly in and Opens his little window. Oh; what an encouraging sound it is ?-^sweeter than music to the ears of the weary waiter. He rushes up and gets his ticket. Then- he sits down and reads it all over. He never dreamed that a railroad ticket could b-^ such interesting reading. He has never before looked upon that sort of literature as worthv of notice. Well, circumstances alter cases, and you do not know what you might be driven to consider as entertainment until you have waited for a train at some country railroad station. Man's Best Friend. First and foremost, woman is man's best friend,: Because she is his mother. Second, because she is his wife. Because without her he would be mde, rough and ungodly.. Because she can with him. endure pain quietly and meet joy gladly. Because she is patient with him in illness, endures his fretfulness and " mothers " him. Peoause she teaches him the value of gentle words, of kindly thought and of con- sideration. Because on her breast he can shed tears of repentance, and he is never reminded of them afterward. Because she has made for us a beautiful world, in which we shculd be proud to live and contented to die. Because she will stick to him through food and evil report, and always believe m im, if she loves him. Because, when he is behaving like a fretful boy â€" and we all do, you know, at times â€" with no reason in the world for it, woman's soft word, touch or glance will make him ashamed of himself, as he ought to be. Because without her as an incentive he would grow lazy there would be no good work aone, there would be no noble books written, there would be no beautiful pictures painted, there would be no divine strains of melody. Because â€" and this is the best reason of all â€" when the world had reached an unen- viable state of wickedness the blessed task of bringing it a Saviour for all mankind was given to a woman, which was God's way of setting his seal of approval on her who is mother, wife, daughter and sweetheart, and, therefore, man's best friend. Ths National Failiog. Jackson â€" " I'm going to start a new pap- er, and I think 111 call it The Umbrella." Merrittâ€" " Why?" Jackson â€" " Beokuse everybody who sees it will take it." Merritt â€" " Yes, people would take it, but they wooJdn't pay for it." TV. mg John," said Mrs. J., " you were^ all nij^t in. your tUsep about a jack'ixiot. What is a jack-pot rJio^ (acor^inStf)â€" " Yon know what a jack roae idfSmiapoae 6SEAT GAMEnr AFRIOA. Kr^CanolI Calls U the Creatcst â- â- â- ttaK ^â- â€¢**"' •"^•«ra*iaMMir«fce-w»i*u ^^ Royal Phelps Carrcdl has retuirxted from. his shooting trip in the anexplotvd wilds of Africa, where he taught the elephants of the Masai country, for the first time, to respect the sound of the rifle. Mr. CWroU has naturally brought back with him hosts of good stories of big game, which he tella, upon occasions, with the uaostentatious zest of the true sportsman. Contrary to the habit of most African hunters, he deala- neither in the marvellous nor the heroic "As for lions," said he, few d*ys ago, "you don't run across them every day, you know, even though the Masai consider them sacred and never kill them. They are plenti- ful enoughâ€" far too plentifal for the good of the edible game of the land, and even for the safety of the people. But they keep very- quiet in their jungle stroaghoids, and it ia only by chance you now and then run across them. If I had been after lions par- ticularly no doubt the natives, who know their ways, could have found me their hiding places. As it was, I was in Africa for elephants and did not look for more ' lions than I met by the way. Lions were all ronnd camp, however, every night. We could not see them, for they kept well outside the line of camp fires, but we constantly heard them. They made a most peculiar noise. The lion'a cry is not the thunderous roar that people think. Imagine' a noise resembling a grunt, and yet with something of the dignity of roar, and you will about have it. With day- light, however, the lions disappear. "I had good chances at seven lions, yet I only got one of them. That fellow was a camp follower. He had been after us for a day or two. One morning I caught a glimpse of him, grabbed my big express, and follow- ed. I caught sight of him once and fired. He dashed into the brush. I followed him. Soon I got another chance and fired again. Again he disappeaaed in the brush and I after him. After about half an hour of this he turned. It was in an open. I saw him swing around a tree, face me, and crouch. I took a careful aim and fired. He disappear- ed. But I found him not far off with hia shoulder broken. ' 'Once I had a chance such as very seldom. offers to a sportsman, and I lost it because of an attack of genuine buck fever â€" litm fever I suppose you might term it in this case. I might have bagged five lions on the spot if it hadn't been for that. "It happened this way. I was beating through heavy jungle, my biggest English express on my arm, and some of my people lehind carrying other loaded weapons to hand me in case of need. I was after an elephant. I broke through a mass of ex- ceptionally heavy brush, and suddenly found myself on the verge of a precipice. The rocks shot precipitately down at my feet for thirty yards or more, and arose agam as precipitately on the Other side of a 50-foot chasm, at the bottom of which rushed a mountain torrent. The opposite edge of the chasm was clear of brush and covered for some distance back with a lux- uriant growth of fine grass about three feet high. While I was studying the lay of the land a hngh tawny head with flowing man* hopped up out of the grass opposite, and the back of a great lion became visible. He did not see me. At the same time I caught sight of a huge lioness, and presently made out three nearly grown cubs. They were all in the grass, all in short range and all easy prey. I had no excuse -whatever for fear, because not one of them, if enraged, could leap that chasm in the teeth of a rifle, and I had plenty of good -rifles close by in the hands of my men. But the unexpected chance upset me. I became most unreason- ably excited. I fired at the big one with my big express, and, -without any possible excuse for it, missed him. My men passed me up rifle after rifle, but I got more rat- tled at every miss, and the lions all go away. It was a most disagreeable, not to say disgusting, experience. â-  A Far-off Star. It is difficult to conceive that the beauti- ful dog star is a globe much larger than our sun, yet it is a fact that Sirius is a sun many tinies more miehty than our own. This splendid star, which, even in our most pow- erful telescopes, appears as a mere point of light, is in reality a globe emitting so enorr mous a quantity of light and heat that were it to take the place of our sun every creature on this earth would be consumed by its burn- ing rays. Sirius shining -with far greater luster than, any other star, it was natural that astrono- mers should have regarded this as being the nearest of all the "fixed" stars but recent investigation on the distances of the stars has shown that the nearest to us is Alpha Centauri, a star lielonging to the southern latitude, though it is proble that Sirius is about fourth on the list in order of distance. For though there are about fifteen or twenty- stars whose distances have been conjectured, the astronomer knows that in reality all of them, save three or four, lie at distances too great to be measured by any instruments we' have at present. Astronomers agree in fixing the distance of the nearest fixed star at 22,000,000,000 miles, and it is certain that the distance of Sirius is more than three and less than six times that of Alpha Centauri, most likely about five times, so that we are probably not far from the truth if we set the distance of Sirius at about 100,000,000,000,000, miles, what 31 vast distance is this that separates us from that bright star Words and figures themselves fail to convey to our minds any adequate idea of its true efaaractjer. To take a common example of illustrat- ing such enormous distances. It is calcu- lated that the ball from an armstrong 100- pounder quits the gun with the speed of about 400 yards per second. Now, if this velocity could be kept up it would require no fewer that 100,000,000, years before the ball could reach Sirius. Sweet 6itL "Maria." "Yes, Tom." "Mariaâ€" Iâ€" ah." "Yes, Tom." "Maria, do you â€" that is â€" " "Yes, Tom.' "O, will you marry me?"' "Yes, Tom. That is the fourth time IVe said it. I knew what you were driving at aU the time." if ii It ir.l i e^ Sman Ohaoge. Liqumtive CStizen-r'" Do yoa eFW gat any money from tender-hearted peojde " Gennan Trampâ€"" Oh, M»ie diBies." m "â- ' â- r^i^^.lSi^ikk, Ti'Mr"ri*i 'iliMriif' ^iiiiiiiu Mil iii iiii iiife