Ligonier Banner., Volume 33, Number 22, Ligonier, Noble County, 1 September 1898 — Page 3

An Army Wile n Army Wile. - BY CAPTAIN CHARLES KING. ° 2 . MAAAAAAA~ 2 [Copyrighted, 1896, by F. Tennyson Neely.]- . vt SYNOPSIS. ! ~ Chapter I.—Fannie McLane, a young . widow, I 8 invited to visit the Graftons at Fort Sedgwick. Her sister tries toxdis- " suade her, as Randolph Merriam (whom she had jilted for old McLane) and his bride are stationed there. | Chapter ll.—Fannfe McLane’s wedding causes family feeling. A few months later she, while traveling with her husband, meets Merriam, on 'his wedding trip.: Chapter ITl.—Some time previous to this : Merriam had gone on a government survey, fallen ill, and had been nursed by Mrs. Tremaine and daughter Florence. A hasty note from Mrs. McLane’s stepson ' takes “ him to.the plains. Chapter IV.—Young McLane dictates to Merriam a dying message, which is sent to Parry (a young. Chicago lawyer and brother-in-law of Mrs. McLane). Reply causes Merriam to swoon. He is taken to the Tremaine’s; calls for Florence. Chapter V. — Engagement of Florence Tremaine to Merriam is announced; wedding shortly follows. e Chapter! VIL.—Mr. McLane is mysteriously shot in San Francisco. Mefriam is greatly excited when he reads account in papers. While still in mourning Mrs. McLane prepares to visit Fort Sedgwick. Chapter Vll.—Mrs, McLane arrives at the fdrt. Merriam is startled at the news, and he and his wife absent themselves from the formal hop that evening. : Chapter VITI.—Mr. and Mrs. Merriam pay their respects to the widow on an evening when she would be sure to have many other callers. When the call is returned Merriam is away, and his wife i pleads illness as excuse fcr not seeing her. Mrs. McLane receives telegram: *‘Arrested, Chicago. Your unclé stricken—paralysis. You will be summoned. ‘- S¢cure papers, otherwise lose everything. C. M.” She faints and is revived with difficulty. Chapter IX.—Mrs. McLane desires to see Merriam. Grafton persuades him to go, but the widow postpones the meeeting till -next. moon. . : Chapter X.—Florence learns Merriam has been to see Mrs. McLane, and in a storm of passion will not allow him to explain. ‘Shortly after Merriam is intercepted by Fannie McLane as he is passing through Grafton’s yard. Florence witnesses the > meeting, which she supposes has been prearranged. . s Chapter Xl.—Mrs. McLane begs. Merriam for papers given him by her stepson, but which he tells her were all forwarded to yParry. Merriam is seriously wounded in - fight with greasers.j Chapter Xll.—Florence, in her deep disappointment, leaves her home in the night for her father’s house at the cantonment.

Chapter Xlll.—Three personal telegraph messages come for Merriam from: Parry. Latter is notified of Merriam’s mishap

miles from posts. A dispatch from her lawver, on his way to the fort, together with account of serious injuries to Merriam gccount of serious injuries to Merriam, causes Mrs. McLane to faint.. - Chapter XlV.—Merriam is brought in in the ambulance; inquires for-Florence, but gets only an evasive answer, doctor fearing news of her flight may prove fatal to him. .

Chapter XV.—Just about noon, when the hospital attendant was away “at dinner Jrs. McLane steals in on Merriam. What follow% is thus described:

CHAPTER XV.——~CONTINUED.

He was half asleep, half'awake, in that helplessly lethargic state that seeins to possess most temperaments after subjection to the influence of morphine. He was conscious of no pain, no ‘soreness, conscious of nothing but that longing for the coming of Florence and a wondering as to the time of night or day. He remembered: half opening his eyes and seeing Hop blinking in an easychair by the bedside, and then noticed that it was in the spare room—the guest room—he was lying. and he thought it must be near dawn, for the shutters and shades were'drawn, yet a dim lightwas shining through.. He thought Florrie must, be in her room, the front room, and he was just thinking of calling to the servant and rousing him, when he heard the swift pit-a-pat of light footsteps in the hall, a swish of skirts, and, stretching out his arm, he called aioud: “Florence, darling!” and the next minute a woman’s form was at his bedside and he started up, rubbing his eyes, amazed, startled, believing perhaps that he was still dreaming, for there, with trembling, outstretched hands, stood Fanny McLane. © - “What—where is my wife?” he gasped. “I thought—why, surely this cannot be you!” s “It is I, Randy,” she quavered. “I was in torment—l could net rest nor sleep. I knew you were alone, with néfne to care for you.” , _ “Alone!” he interrupted. “What do you mean? Where is Florence, my ~-wife?? ¢ = -

-“You -don’t mean—they haven’t told you?” she answered. “She has gone —home to her people, it is supposed. She left two nights ago—that'is one reason I am here.” , e

But Merriam burst in upon her wailing. half incoherent words. “In God’s name what do you mean? You .or I must be mad. - Here, Hop, quick! ‘Where are my clothes? Fetch them at once; then go for Capt. Grafton.”

“I’m not mad;’ she answered. “Read | this—the letter she left for you,” and the wretched woman tossed upon the bed the note she had taken from among the others on the mantel, and, shouting | for a light, Merriam tore open the envelope, while the Chinaman, nerveless - and obedient to the master’s will, threw open the shutters. In the next minute Randy had read the page, with staring, throbbing eyes, then fairly ordered her from the room and dazed, yet terrified at the effect of her announcement, she crept into Florence’s room and threw herself into a chair, moaning and rocking to and fro. Like a madman Merriam was up and tearing about, issuing rapid orders to the servant, his lameness all forg&tten, and Hop, awed and dismayed, dared dis‘obey him in ‘nothing. Quickly he dressed his master; pulling on light riding breeches and leggings instead of the cavalry scouting rig, and carefully drawing a hunting shirt over the crippled arm that io its sling ana bandages was now bound close to the body. It seemed to take no time at all to get him dressed, yet Merriam fumed and raged, and then limped forth into the hall, bidding Hop go saddle. Browu Dick at once. . . e At sound of his halting footsteps in the hall. she had once more roused herself to dction, her own weight of care and trouble urging her on. “Randy,” she eried, “for God’s sake answer me!Are you sure—are you sure—was there no other statement? no other paper? Did he persist to the last that his mother was alive?” ~ “Mrs, McLave,” was the answer, - “you forced me to tell you the truth. 1 did all I could to keep it—and to keep fiygglf from you, but you would have “Oh, Randy, Randy!” she cried. “Yon are heartless! You are brutal, windictive! You are punishing me be- ~ +ause Ise eruelly wronged you. But

what did I ever do to you compared with what you have done to me? Ob, why, if you ever loved me, why could you not have destroyed that lying paper that is to rob me of my name, my rights, rob me of everything?” “Hush!” he answered, leaning heavily against the balustrade. *1 rode night and day. We sent the swiftest courier we had—to save your honor—to stop that marriage—". : “But you didn’t stop it! You were too late!” she. eried. “And when you saw it was too late, instead of burning those papers or giving them to me—you held them that you might triumph over my ruin. Then when you knew I was coming to beg for them, you were a coward, Randy—you sent them all to Ned Parry, that my own sister might gloat over my downfall.” ' “Mrs. McLane,” he interrupted, “this is all unjust, all untrue. Ask Mr. Parry when he comes, as come he probably will. But this ends our meetings. God forbid that I should ever see you alone again! It hasdriven from me my wife —the wife I love and love devotedly—do you hear?—and I'm going now to find her.” - fais X T

And then he broke away. Out to the stable he staggered; love, pity, devotion urging him on and triumphing over the still numbing effect of the deadening drug whose languorous spell he had ‘never known before; and Brown Dick whinnied his welcome and impatience, and Hop Ling whimpered his “pidgin” protests, even as he was “cinching” on. Merriam’s field saddle with its well-stocked pouches. Randy fiercely ordered silence, bade the Chiriaman give him a hand, and then, with blurred eyes and senses, with ears still drowsily ringing, he slowly climbed into saddle, hardly missing the customary grip of the left hand in the mane. Then out he rode into the sunshine, Brown Dick bounding with eagerness to search for and rejoin his stable mate; and then with every stride as he tore away over the mesa Randy felt the cobwebs brushing from his brain, and hope and determination spurrinig him on.. “You have broken your word and gone to your old love,” was the stern message of Florence’s brief letter. “I will be no man’s fool, no faithless husband’s wife. Youmneed not look for me nor follow, for I will never come to you again.” + Another time pride, anger and sense of wrongmight have held his hand, but not now. And before that half-crazed, half-cringing woman could ‘give the alarm, Randy Merriam was riding fast and furious to join the pursuit, thinking only of her suffering and her sorrow, all ignorant, mercifully, of the new peril that involved his precious wiie. e :

It was vain for Dr. Leavitt to heap imprecation on the head of that hapless Chinaman. Implicit obedience to the will of his master was the only creed Hop Ling observed. ‘Mellium say cdless.and catchum saddle and flask and lunch’’—that was enough.- “Mellium say lide an’ catchum Missee Mellium,” end Hop Ling wasn’t fool enough to interfere. ‘ i

But if Dr. Leavitt had lost one patient, Fate had provided him with another. He was needed at once at Grafton’s, and, tarfying only long enough t~ report to Buxton the escape of Lieut. Merriam, he hastened to the bedside of Mrs. McLane, now in sore need of medical attention. ; :

Harriet Grafton has been heard to say that that afternoon and the night that foliowed made her ten years older, but her looks do not warrant the statement. Unquestionably she had a hard time, and might have had a much harder but for the opportune arrival at the post, just before sundown, of the lately blockaded lawyer, Mr. Edward .Parry, of Chicago. | : . Meantime, utterly broken down and cut off now, for the first time since her marriage, from the soothing and comfort of the perilous drug to the use of which she had become wedded almost frcm the hour that she met McLane, poor self-absorbed Fanny was pouring out her story and her secret in almost incoherent ravings to her hostess. Dr. Leavitt, who had suspected the cause of her vagaries before, was confident of it when he was called in to prescribe, and quickly found the dainty little case that "Grafton had discovered the day before. It was hours before she could be even measurably quieted, and meantime what a tale of shame and woe had she not poured into Harriet’s astonished ears! ; ) ;

Strained, from its ravings and incoLerencies and straightened out in chronological order, the story resolved itself int 6 this: John Harold McLane was a sol'fib\:rn sympathizer as a young man, and went to California during the I war, provided with a liberal allowance and an oppoftunity of embarking in business. At Sacramento he fell into the clutches of a notorious houséhold.. “oOld man Perkins” had three handsome daughters and a scheming wife. The piother’s aim was to marry those girls to wealthy men, dnd she had succeeded as to two of them, and McLane fell a victim to the plot and was married to the third. A son, John H., Jr., was born to them in June, 67, and trouble of every kind followed. The sisters had quarreled with their respective lords, | cne of whom had abandoned his wife | and gone to Japan, while the other, even more desperate, had gone, self-di-rected, to his grave. McLane’s home people refused to recognize any of the Perkins stock and cut off the young fellow’s allowance. Old man Perkins, ‘therefore, had three married daughters and one son-in-law on his hands and. pandemonium reigned within his gates: He had to order the eldest daughter out of the house, and she revenged herself by eloping with a than who deserted wife and children to run away with this magnificently handsome creature, a thing he mourned in sackcloth and jlashes until, his money vanishing, she ran off with another victim and left him poor indeed, yet vastly better off than-when he had her. McLane's wife was the best of the three in disposition, but that was saying little, and when all his money was gone they fairly kicked him out of doors, and he, in desperation, drifted to Nevada and the mines, just in the days when colossal fortunes were being made by men.who were wielding pick and shovel. At the very time old Perkins’ people were trying to get a ‘divoree, alleging desertion and failure ‘to support, McLane lpomed up at Virginia &y as part owner of a lode that paid like the Comstock, and his Sacra‘mento wife, who was believed to be (deeply in love with a steamboat engineer, proved that she wasn't by jour-

——"———q_l————n__fll?-—_—__ reying to Virginia City 'with ner littly boy and reclaiming her now prosperous husband. There they liv_&d instyle,and the Perkins household pcame to visit them and remained indefinitely, until the bickering drove McLane mad and he “skipped to ’Frisco,” where every deal he made in the stoc‘i( market went his way, and he becamqfé a millionaire before he was 30. Again his pretty but low-bred wife followed, and again ‘be honestly tried to make the best of his bargain; but her magfi extravagance and the ceaseless incursions of mother and sister-in-law were too much for him. One day there cafige a crash and much of his fortune vsaés swept away. He had to break up his|San Francisco bome and go back to Virginia City, and a furious quarrel followed, in which he ordered the Perkinses never to darken his doors again, and lo!| his wife sided with ‘her sister and elected to go with them. McLane would gladly have parted with them all, but h{z had grown to love his boy. When on¢e more, a year later, fortune smiled on him, and, with a new bank account, he{;came down to San Francisco, the Perkinses had diseppeared. Two of the sisters were living the lives of adventuresses. Old Perkins was dead and buried; and no one knew where the rest had gone—a host of Sacramento tradesmen wished they could find out. :

Then McLane came east, bringing his sheaves with him, andn}fhis family not unnaturally forgave and welcomed him. Prosperity followed him. He fairly coined money, and Uncle Abe Mellen was only too glaffl to have him as a partner; and then affter a lapse ot years, when he thought her dead and honestly wished her s§;o, his blissful bachelor life was broken in u%oh by the reappearance of his Sacramento wife, row a handsome wom:in of nearly 40, and a stalwart stripling whom he recognized at once as his long-lost son. For two years he provided for-her and iried to educate the hoy, but never again acknowledged her as his wife, and so long as she was amply paid and housed, lodged amfi cared for, she never protested. Mac’s club friends scmetimes winked and nudged each other when the tall 3'?)ung fellow appeared at the waiting-room with a letter, or when occasionally a dashinglooking woman patroled the neighborhood until he would come out and join her. The boy was wild and wouldn’t study, and was expelled from the schools at which he was entered by the name of Perkins, and| the landlords complained of the people Mrs. Perkins received and entertained; then Mac put the young ‘man in Mellen’s bank, and there he was/when 'i;hei}Hayward nieces came back from Europe, and Charlotte married Neg Parry arfid Fan wished to marry Merriam. It wasJ. . McLane, Jr., who did Uncle Abe’s work for him and went around among Merriam’s creditors and got them to unite in their complaint to the war pepartment; but by that time he had seen something of Randy, had “taken a I'sh_ine to him,” as hc expressed it, and when he learned that Merriam had beep ‘banished to the frontier as a consequence he told the old man that he was done with that sort of dirty wogk, and was minded to go and confess to Miss Itayward'what he had done. To buy him off Mellen gave him all the money fxei. needed and bade ‘him go and live the|life he always longed to live, that of a prospector and miner in the Sierras.| McLane, the father, was away and had been away for several months. - Mrs. McLane, the mother, after a furipus quarrel with her protector something over a year before, had agreed to return to California and never trouble him again upon payment of a big, round sum in cash. She would not listen to a pension, and the story that came to the husband’s ears soon after was that at last his Sacramento wife had r'ewzn&ded the fidelity ot her old friend, the stépmboat cngineer; but the lawyers sent t%p trace the matter were confronted by unlooked-for news —unwelcome news, and therefore news they fully investigaffied_before reporting, since, if true, it, would put an end to what promised to be a most profitable case. That $25,000 was practically wasted—>Mrs. John |H. McLane was dead. | e :

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

Burying Them One by One. *

“Yes,” remarked an enterprising colored pastor; in:one of the southern cities, “I’ve done had a powerfu’ lot o’ trouble in my ch’¢h. On yeah I had all de deacons ag’in/me to once. Dey kep’ a-sayin’ foh me to go; but I says: ‘No, bruders, I'm not de one fur to depart. If dere’s a:iy emygratin® fur to be done, it’s you dat’ll do it.” TFin'ly deir prevailin’ got so frequent like, dat I done come right out on ’em in one 6b my red-hoftest suhmons. . I shook my fingers at ’em right in de meetin’; and I says: ‘You deacons dah—you’s jist a-workin’ an” a-workin’ for yoahseves; I'm a-workin’ fohe de good Laud; an’ 'm a-goin’ to stay heah in dis church till I buries ebery one ob you.! ‘An’it wa'nt very long befoah I did bury one of ’em, an’ de oders dey. got'mos’ powerful scart, an’ I don’t never have any moah trouble after dat”” And the sable shepherd lighted his pipe, gently collapsing into noiseless reminiscence.—Every Where.

How the VWlfxale Escaped.

A whale is s§dom caught napping. ‘When, however, one is waked from his after-dnner sleep by a passing vessel, ke makes off from the intruderin great haste. The author of a recent book, “With Russian Pilgrims,” has a good story to tell of a whale thus disturbed. One day at sea, when I was chaplain on the Vancouver, a big whale created a sensation. The upper deck was covered with loungers, for it was a lovely summer afternoon, and all the deck chairs had their novel-reading occupants. The whale was sleeping inthe sunshine, and suddenly felt his tail tickled by the passing monster. He leaped bodily out of the water in his anxiety to hurry away. The fashionable crowd gave & shout; novels flew and chairs emptied themselves quickly, as everyone rushed to the rail; but the whale dived, and an infant’s voice said: “Ma, did the whale jump: out of the : 9. i B> Y v cabin window?’—Youth's Companion. . No Novelty. “I'm afeard,” remarked Farmer Corntossel, “thet the period of usefulness fur that politician is about to be drawed to a close.” | : “What’s the matter?” inquired his wife, “is it a case of overwork ?” “No,” was the answer; * "tain’t nothin’ so onusual as overwork. It’s a plain, old-fashioned case of overtalk.—Wash-

‘POWER OF PRINCIPLE. Democrats Will Keep Up ihe Fight Against Plutocracy and : - 'Corruptios. : The idea has beeén advanced that by “pairing with the republicans in questions arising out of the war,” democrats can then change the subject and talk of something else. The absurdity of expecting democrats to pair with republicans on issues involving the declaration of independence and the decalogue is self-evident. . The plutocracy which now controls the republican party is radically opposed, even in peace, to the Ten Commandments and to the principle that all just government rests on the consent of the governed. And still more radically is it opposed to them im all issues involved in the use of the war power. Plutocratic republicanism stands for the greatest possible coercion in the exercise of governmental powers. Democracy stands for the least possible. Democrats believe in a resort to force only at the last extremity, and then only to prevent oppression. William J. Bryan defined democratic principle admirably when he said, at Omaha:

“Until the right has triumphed in every land, and love reigns in-every heart, government must, as a last resort, appeal to force. Aslong as the oppressor is deaf to the voice of reason, so long must the citizen accustom his shoulder to the musket and his hand to the saber.” : ; £l

* Plutocratic republicanism involves force, not as “a last resort,” but immediately whenever fraud fails to accomplish its purposes of oppression. Between these ideas there can be no “pairing” and no compromise. They are in opposition to each other so radically that their conflict from the beginning of civilization until now has bathed the world /in the blood of the martyrs of liberty who have died rejoicing to. be able to die in behalf of the glorinus truth that the best possible government depends on' the least possible force. 'That is the fundamental truth of democracy. The man who abjures it, abjures democracy with it. He opposes himself to liberty, to good government, to the possibilities of progress: He also abjures common sense. Tke replblican party has only one hope of holding the country, and that lies in keeping ‘“war issues” at the front and in so sustaining the war excitement as to prevent plutocratic corruption and oppression of being exposed. The day before the war was declared, the democratic party and its populist and silver republican allies had probably not less than a threefourths majority of the congressional districts. They have now so many as democrats can carry by the most aggrezssive cpposition to plutocraecy at all points, whether in civil or in military affairs. And since plutoeracy is most dangerous when in control of the military power, it needs especially to be opposed at that point if democracy is to win. ) : ;

Such leaders as Mr. Bryan, Mr, Bland; Hon. J. K. Jones, chairman of the. democratic national committee, and Mr. Altgeld, of Illinois, have thought on this subject with calm disinterestedness and have spoken on it with due sobriety. . L

The power of the principles of the Chicago platform is greater than that of money or of armies. The demoecracy they represent is the grea inspiring force which moves men fZ‘rwzutd. giving them heart for self-sacrifice and courage for self-devotion. With that power impelling them, with that strength animating them, democrats will move to the attack on plutocracy, never stopping until they are in possession of its intrenchments.

THE REFERENDUM.

flllinois Republicans Are Opposed to ' the Basic Principles of Our Government. il

The republican party of the state of Illinois has seen fit to take issue with the democrats on the question of direct legislation, as represented in the initiative and referendum. Tln the state platforfn,i adopted by the democrats, the referendum was favored and the party is pledged to carry such a law into effect in case the people give the party sufficient support to elect. In other words, if the democrats of Illinois carry the legislature, the pecple of the state will thereafter have a chance to vote on all important questions, before they become alaw. Thus the people at large would become executive, as was originally intended by the founders of our republic. Just why the repuplicans can muster up sufficient Herve to oppose the democrats on this question, is a mystery. There iz neither logic nor wisdom in their course. Yet the republican press of ‘the state is unanimous in opposing democracy on this point. It is too much like saying that the people are not sufficiently wise to legislate for themselves. If the people of Illinois are wide awake, they will answer the republicans at the polls in November, and in a manner that will teach them a lesson. - 4 S - PARAGRAPHIC POINTERS. ——No criticism of the conduct of the war department is coming from the army contractors. Secretary Al ger has a few supporters left.—Spring.field (Mass.) Republican. : ——lln honoring the nation’s heroes Hon. Steve Elkins should not be forgotten. Mr. Elkins contributed largely to the success of the war by vociferously opposing it.,— Chieago Chronicle. : : : - ——There is no longer any question ‘that there will be an inquiry into the conduct of the war department under Alger, and there is Just as little that there will be a great deal of rottenness developed.—Peoria Herald. S ~ ——The war with Spain will soon be over, but the trusts and corporations will continue to push their invasion of the rights of the people, and will capture every stronghold that is left ‘fo:"a minute unguarded.—Kansas City Times. : i

—~——llt is a good thing that the supply of Ohio statesmen is inexhaustible. John Hay, of Ohio, is to succeed Judge Day, of Ohfo, as secretary of' state, that Judge Day, of Ohio, may take a place on the peace commission and afterward a United States judgeship. Whitelaw Reid, of Ohio, is likely to succeed John Hay, of Ohio, as minister tolingland. Any Ohio men unprovided for will please =end on their papers— Pittsburgh Post. Do

AN OUTRAGEOUS INJUSTICE. The Dingley War Tax Measure 1s as ‘Bad as His Tarift ‘ Iniguity. ; From his stronghold in Maine Mr. Congressman Dingley gives out the utterance that “the war taxes, some of them, will probably be permanent.” The “probably” is well put in. Beyond any reasorable doubt Mr. Dingley speaks for the republican party. Continue it in legislative power, and the war taxes that came so conveniently to the aid of the treasury, covering up the failure of the Dingley tariff measure as a revenue producer, will be continued. The people of the United States, who have to pay war taxes and all other demands of government, are yet to be heard from.- Presumably they will not cure {0 pay war taxes in time of peace, and they will want statesmen at Washington who will readjust the hurdens of taxation so that they may fall with something of evenness upon the wealth of the United States.

Mr. Dingley will be retained because in his drastic tariff measure, which fell heavily upon all other citizens of the United States, he discriminated in favor of his district. See Section 20 of his act, providing that the produce ot the forests of the state of Maine upon the St. John river and its tributaries owned by the American citizens and sawed and hewed in the province of New Brunswick by American citizens, the same being otherwise manufactured in whole or in part, which is now admitted into the ports of the United States free of duty, shall continue to be so admitted. :

Mr. Dingley took care to abandon in behalf of his own coastituents a restrictive policy, whereas he made certuin that the restrictions shonld operate against every other constituency in the United States. ‘

Mr. Dingley's tariff measure was an outrageous injustice. His subsequent war taxation measure is extremely vexatious, and borne only because the needs of war prosecuted by the Usnited States demanded the cheerful acquiescence of the people of the United States, but now that the war is at an end it is the duty of the people in their own interests to take care ithat there shall go to congress representatives who, lifting in part the burden of taxation, eustom house or other, will so rearrange the whole scheme of federal taxation as to make its enactions fall as well upon the great accumulations of wealth in the country as upon’ the slender savings of him who labors with his-hands.

REPUBLICAN OFFICIALDOM

The President Is Looking After the Interests of England in This Country. .

In America the opinion was definitely reached that Amasa Stone’s millions had more to do with his selection by Mr. McKinley of John Hay as secretary of state than any other factor. .

We Lave from England an attogether different view. The London Times says, in speaking of Mr. Hay’s recall from England: “We must console ourselves with the reflection that the for»ign affairs of the United States are in the hands of a man who haslearned from actual observation what are the recessities of the foreign policy of England.”

No formal alliance, offensive or defensive, has been struck up between Fngland and the United States. That would require a treaty which the president would be obliged to submit to the senate of the United States, and the president might well hesitate to fether such esteem lest his popularity suffer among the people of the United States, who are not ripe for any such alliance. : £ot 0 :

But we may gather from London thatapoliey which will not be declared openly or formally will be given operation by an indirection. - Mr. McKinley selects for the head ef the department of state in- the United States a man who has learned from actual observation what are the necessities .not of the United States but of the foreign policy of England. We may reasonably suppose that it is the English view that Mr. Hay goes into the cabinet of Mr. McKinley as Fngland’s particular representative..

IN BEHALFK OF THE SOLDIERS.

A Duty That Democrats Owe to the Brave Defenders of Our . ; Country’s Honor.

When congress meets there will be an investigation as to the conduct of the war. If the republicans succeed in retaining a majority in the house the result of that investigation will be simply a whitewashing of Alger and eil the rest of the incompetent and venal officials appointed by the republican administration. There have been many corrupt bargains, -great incapacity and innumerable blunders during the short campaign against the Spaniards. These matters should not be hushed up. Soldiers who have been starved by robber commissaries, neglected by incompetent officers, murdered by lack of proper medical attent:on, should be remembered by congress, and the men who caused all this needless suffering should be severely punished. But if the republicans remain in power the eongressional investigation will prove a farce. For this reason democrais should labor strenuously to return their candidates to the house of representatives. This is a duty the party owes to the soldiers. The war was brought about largely through democratic influences, but the injuries to soldiers have all proceeded from republican administration. Soldiers who have suffered will hesitate to bring their cases before a republican congress; therefore, in behalf of these brave defenders of the flag, democrats should work zealously for success.—Chicago Dispatch,

—~——Senator Hanna’s reported sug- . gestion that war records will control in 1900 should convey a very strong intimation tothe administration that if it, does not take preventive measures noy it may bé forced to fight the presi--dential campaign on Alger’s war record, irrespective of its own desires,— Pittsburgh Dispateh. | : E

——Col. William J. Bryan will not (t!gwn tohfu;ure generations as onegoof ose who darcd, but didn’t,— : Times, - = )u#n;c

N OGS fs -T 'i L > i 3 4 \ L-qk;fi L » * : . g #Z = F (¢ 3 S - ' R ‘— A v P I‘l‘ ) el 0 V 7 3 = - . A : mmmwmm “ A WONDER. —— The wonders great by science wroughtUpon the land and sea Are nothing:in comparison To something owned by me. 5 © You might not think it wonderful - To see it standing there; . In fact, you might mistake it for A common rocking-chair. But when my little nephews dear . Desire afar to stray, ' It serves them for a ‘‘great big ship,’” To bear them swift away. ) Or, if for any reason they . Do not desire a sail, M is a ‘‘choo! choo! enginecar,” To glitke along the rail. . Or else it is a carriage fine, ‘ To which they hitch a horse. (A very gentle animal Their pony is, of course.) - And yet, to everybody else . : This wonder, I declare, ! Seems nothing wonderful at all, ] But just—a rocking-chair. E —A. H. Hutchinson, in Golden Days. ' | TALK ABOUT INSECTS. ' The Lady Bird and the Dragon Fly 1 Are Two Very Interesting | and Useful Creatures.

So commonplace an insect as the little ladybird, or, as it is often called, the ladybug, is something to excite your interest. It is constantly seen upon flowers, and is known by natural~ ists as coccinella. It is a tiny creature, with a hard ‘body, like a_ shell, which is of 'a deep orange color, with black or red spots, or a sprinkiing of brown. By looking under a rose leaf, you will often see a cluster of little am-ber-colored balls; they are ladybird’s eggs, and in time will be developed into a flat six-footed worm of grayish célor, marked with yellow. As soon as these worms are hatched out they beginto look about for the aphides, which are tiny green creatures to be found on any neglected rose bush. The worms eat them with great avidity,- after. which. they attach themselves to some solitary leaf, where they remain without food ‘until they are changed into ladybirds. ' : ~Besides' furnishing food for the develcpment of the ladybird, the aphidesserve another purpose in the economy | ‘of nature. They are called the ants’ cows. When the ants stroke them with . their feelers, they exude a pale, sweet, green substance, not unlike honey. which the ants devour. The aphides are laxy and nevgriroam from the leaves uponewhich they have commenced their life. Four times in 12 days they change their coverings before they reach maturity, and then they begin with their family cares. Some 20 are produced by their parents duily, and were it not that the lady-, bird worms devour them in such.quantities they would scon overrun and kill the plants. \ Anctherinterestinginsect is the dragon fly, with its wings of transparent iridescent gauze. It, too, must pass through a process of transformationbefore lits perfection is reached. At first it is only a’ gréenish gray grub, which lives in the mud on the margin of the stream. The grub crawls from the mud and attaches itself to a reed with its claws; in a little time its eyes become very brilliant, the back opens, a head appears, then the body, and fifiully the wings, which are closely folded; and very scon the dragon fly will be able to fly. Dragon flies live upon other insects, and when they are numerous the mosquitoes are said to disappear. ‘Some of them are very beautiful; the wings of some are golden green, of others slate blue, and ‘still others have black and blue spots upon the extremities of their wings.— Qur Animal Friends. .

BIRDS ARE PATRIOTIC. Two Reobins l ~a Chicago Suburb ° Weave the American Flag - Into eir Nest.

Even the birds in Oak Park are patriotic. o a el

. Two robins, when they started their nest in a tree at the home of W.D. MeIlvane on North Grove avenue, evidently knew that this of all years was the one in which to display the stars and

Ve 2>4 | >3 o =2 2, 2 2oy N~ A== ‘ 7 = —_— < c T : "‘\M _l;‘%—: 2 ‘4 e , = ‘ ] \/ (oSS 2 | N SN & Wi’ 1 = Y V&) i\ fi”/' — AR 2 (7 /R, 8 /5’,”, _*\"',.{\.,"" S ; /flwv‘*" \ \3-‘\‘.‘/.“ e\ \\ v N 8 \\ //, ;e ‘//// R\ 7T R R /g = \\ < HTh ’?’ <=z M < , | \\\ AW THE FLAG-DECKED NEST. stripes. So these wise birds kept their eycs open and when they saw a small American flag which some child had' dropped they picked it up and flew to the nest. : : With a chirping and much fussing about the stars and stripes were securely and neatly woven into the structure of the nest. There, amid the mud and bark and horse hair, it now-rests, plainly visible from below and the ob-. ject of much attention from Qak Park pitizens, who take pride in having two such loyal birds. : e That one nest is secure from the depredations cf the small boys, for no one would lower the American flag—at least, mot in: this suburb.——-ChicagM Journal. : Fa | o A wWaste of Time, / Miss Ratiler—l don’t mind bathing, but I detest diving! - : 3 Miss Newcome—Why so? Miss Rattler—Oh, you can’t talk under water, you know.—N. Y. Herald. ~ : He Wanted to Know. - = - «Remember, my daughter, that nothing is gained by deceit.” el “Why, mamma, how did you ever win. Fp;‘?a, ‘then?’—Yonkers Statesman. -

DUTIES OF MARINES. Warship Soldiers Have to Work Hard “ . ‘and at a Great Variety oF of Things. i : The first United States troops to land on Cuabn soil were marines. A detachment of these- gallant sea soldiers were put on shore at Guantana- : mo, and there for three days they resisted the attacks of a numerous force of Spanish guerrillas and regulars. There was nothing surprising in this to those who know that t})e history of the marine corps is one ‘of brilliant bravery. . A g ‘ Aboard ship the marines’ duties are somewhat different from on shore, although they ‘consist prinecipally of sentry duty, and-for this reason they are generally termed the police of the ship,- as. they are given the task of maintaining order. Every warship has a detail of marines, from 40 to 50, with a captain in charge, on a battleship or big cruiser that is a flagship, down to a corporal’s guard on one of the small - gunboats. On a big ship - ‘there are some six or seven posts that must be constantly covered. ‘A sentry must be at every gangway and must hail every boat fhat approaches the- - - In case the visitor or departing officer’is one of rank, the guard must be turned out with proper ceremony, and in ceremonials the marines- are drawn' up in line on the quarter deck. One or two of their number, accor® ing to the detail, must act _as mess cooks, and the constant serftry duty, the life of a marine on board ship is

1T N sot I s AN L= : “~--’/. = T [ ""//".‘\\.\\K = BN e 1) 2477 (0 R W = L A .4 f/-'/'” / ,m / p e 4 ‘I / it d 7 s’ ’ : COL. CHARLES HEYWOOD. . (Commandant of the United States Marine i Corps.) . by no means easy. In addition they are. given regular drills in infantry meneuvers, and are also drilied with the crew at the’ rapid-fire guns, and also in all the general drills, such as general quarters or fire drill. In case of a conflict they man the rapid-fire guns, never larger than a five-inch, and the Colts and Gatlings in the military tops, as we'l as being set to work trying to pick off any exposed men, and especially cfficers, on board the enemy’s ship. They are obliged to keep their own quarters- clean, are given a. certain portion of the brass work and deck to polish and keep spick and span. They are instructed in rowing a boat, and. in landing drill, and must be neat and clean, as they are always on-what may be termed dress parade, being ‘lfe first member of the ship’s company a wvisitor sees when he steps aboard ship.—Golden Days:

NEST-BUILDING TAUGHT.

oOld Birds Show the Young Ones Hovy, And Some Ants Hire Spiders to . Do the Work feoer Them.

* It is a common error te believe that ‘with birds the knowledge of building their nests is inane. It isa trade that is taught to every bird by its parents and in just as systematic a manner as men are trained to be builders. ~ Birds are born with the instinet to carry little twigs and the materials of which nests are made, but unless they are instructed in the art of building they will just drop them in a pile and never attempt to weave them- into nests. ’

It is after the young birds have have learned to fly that the older ones regularly teach them the process of interweaving and lining that is necessary to.construct nests. This is most

complicatéd and a trade peculiarly their own; it cannot be-imitated, even by men. To arrange the little twigs 'so that they will be symmetrical and strong enough to hold the weight of the mother bird and four or five little cnes to a branch of a.tree requires good engineering ability. ) The lining of the nest is usually of a much softer material than that of which the outside is made, and to place this neatly is also taught by the older birds. Humming birds will often follow cows for days to pick up their soft bair with which toline their nests, and they weave it as compactly as a piece of flannel. ~ : .

- “Birds that have always been in cages can never make nests, and are pitiably clumsy even with cotton, wool and materigl that has been given to them. ~ That nest building is taught is also trué of those that squirrels and mice build, as well as bees, wasps and ants. --The green ant of Australia is very clever in the building of its mest. Itappears to consider it an irksome duty ‘that can be hired out. A small spider is therefore trained to do this work and act as a servant in all things. - . The green ants pay the spiders fer their labors in a coin that they enjoy. 1t is by giving them to eat a portion cfthe innumerable little .eggs that the ants lay. Thisis a most agreeable arrangement for all, man included. as ctherwise the green ants would rival the rabbits in overrunning Australia. In West Africa there is a species of ape, commonly known as the nestbuilding apes. They build their nests of branches of. trees and leaves that overlap each other, so as to be perfectly water-tight. In this case they suspend them from the trees upside dewn and sit under them during the heavy storms. A : - ~About every ten or fifteen days, or as soon as the leaves have become too dry to longer resist the water, they build newones. Itisquite a tediouzlabor, but not arduous. These apes. therefore teach the deformed and weak ones among them to do this nest building. -When it is not done proper1y they are denicd their portion of the food that the stronger apes have prosl o s T ©__ Stating His Reason. - Judge—Why did you steal this genHeman'spurse?'= .Lo saniin might do me goud~Tit-Bits, |