GOODWIN'S WEEKLY. 11 I
grass, then" took to the water the otter, on his
cautious journey towards a neighboring salmoij,
pool. Moonlight caught the hair upon his bac,
as it glistened wet and dark; his snake-like head
could be seen, the sweep of his tail. Swimming
with head just above the water, he passed from
ki moonlight into shadow, following each curve of
f the current; long afterwards there came a shrill
whistle from far down the river, where a success-
. ful fisherman called to his mate. In dewy fields
above the river, rabbits were abroad; a hare stole
out of her "form," and limped towards the up
lands. Overhead there was swish of hidden
wings; beneath, in the river, "plop" of rising
trout such sounds, beneath cold light of the
moon, seemed to hold curious significance; they
were uncanny as the outlines of those lean wil
lows which bent, gnome-like, above the whitened
river.
Night, by the riverside, gave birth to many a
strange illusion; murmur of wind through trees,
although all wind had sunk, crackling of twigs by
footsteps, although no feet had passed. Mystery
clung to the river during these hours of gauzy
moonlight; the mystery of hidden distances, of
sounds that, coming from darkness, were lost in
darkness again. Man, by the riverside at night,
Is an alien, an intruder during the day he may
be at -no conscious disadvantage among the river
folk, but when night comes his reign is over, his
limitations are then defined with strictness. One,
perhaps, knows the foxes' earth, away in the
copse; another has traced the otter to his hover,
and seen the dark head peer out, nostrils twitch
ing, eyes alert. So one knows this, and one
knows that, yet the total of our knowledge con
cerning creatures of the night it is not great.
Nature's secrets are still her own; priest-like,
she tells us what she will, nothing more.
Breeze trembled above high oaks on the crest
of the hill; towards three o'clock the sedge
warbler sang, and that mystic moment came when
man and beast alike turn restlessly, moved by
primeval instinct. Later, shimmer seemed to
cross the sky; a grey curtain drawn by myriad
ghostly hands; behind its folds 'trees and shrubs
weer faintly visible denizens, it seemed, of a
shadow world. A strange silence fell; even the
"murmur of the river seemed hushed all night
there had been no stillness like this when dawn
waB near. Now, from dewy meadows, the hare
limped back to her "form," following well-worn
runs, and the otter crept to his hover beneath the
I roots of the willow tree. The badger, too, who
had wandered all night upon grassland, turned
I home, twigs snapping beneath his clumsy feet.
With a queer, rolling gait he passed along the
track, and on earth cast up by moles his foot
prints showed clearly. In 'the half light, this
badger, "earth pig" of the country folk, was in
distinguishable except to the keenest sight; his
white and black face markings, his greyish body,
seemed to blend with surrounding shadows. He
pressed through thick ,furze and bramble as
though it were gossamer, reached the mouth of
the "set" where mound was piled high, and rolled
away out of sight.
So, one by one, nocturnal hunters sought their
, strongholds. Sunlight aslant between the boughs,
water struck t oblue such were not for them;
a trembling redness in the east warned them to
postpone all travel.
Dawn, meanwhile, came slowly. On the slope
of the hill trees and bracken showed first as a
formless mass, then their outline became definite,
distinct against a lightening sky. Frail, gauzy
was this dawn of day; the light had no depth of
certainty; it seemed to hover, doubtful a breath,
and it might be done Came sunrise then,
and lent the light intensity a red ball of fire
outtopped the hills and crimson slowly spread
westward, although the river was misty still.
Night, which had struck the river to unsub
stantial fairyland a study in black and grey
was over; day came with brilliant coloring and
langorous heat; with sounds that held little sub
tlety hum of insect, song of bird, lap of water
against red earth of the banks.
Color, warmth, sound such are the river's
gifts by day, clear for all men to share, but dur
ing the night she shows herself clad in sombre
garments, aloof, mysterious; and safe beneath
this shroud, the river folk come to their own.,
Masters of the night, they hold their revels in a
land of black and grey.
NEW HOUSES AND HEALTH
New houses are constantly offered for rent in
large numbers in the United States and real-estate
agents are naturally anxious to fill the houses on
their lists with tenants as soon as possible. Prob
ably a little investigation would show the desir
ability in this country of requiring a certificate
that a new house will not endanger the health of
its occupants before families are allowed to move
into it. Such municipal regulations are proving
valuable in England. Toward the close of 1912
the Portsmouth (England) corporation decided
that thereafter no new building intended for hu
man habitation in that borough should be occu
pied until It had been certified as sanitary in
every respect. Dr. A. Means Fraser says. "The
principal evil that it will prevent is the occupa
tion of houses before they have had time to
dry." Pie adds: "I would far sooner live in a
house with defective drainage than in a damp
house; the results from the latter are more in
sidious in their onset and more difficult to over
come. Dampnes undoubtedly greatly favors the
incidence of consumption, bronchitis, rheumatism,
heart disease and diphtheria. Probably children
are more susceptible to the ill effects of damp
houses than adults." The departments of health
of our cities might well take up this question,
says The Journal of the American Medical Asso
ciation. Probably most American municipalities
already have the legal power necessary to re
quire such certificates and the question is only
one of making the regulation and establishing
the custom.
PEACE '
By G. K. Chesterton.
(Lines to An Old Pro-Boer Who Asked for a
Contribution to a Peace Periodical.)
You cannot think my heart so tough
To shrieks that ring or shards that rend;
You cannot think me bad enough
Nor good enough for tortures, friend.
Nor do I lightly talk of tears
Through some vague pageant of the past:
The shriek of shafts, the shock of spears,
The bursting of the arbelast.
Do you recall in that base fight,
When men were crushed with clubs of gold,
The meek and murderous flag of white
Of which our English lies were told,
Till white had washed away the red
And a calmed country found release?
Look forth today, and count the dead
'Under your leprous flag of Peace.
Rather than Peace's pearl to pray,
When cast before us by such swine,
I would again your friends and mine
Were riding to Pretoria.
From the New Witness.
EMPRESS I
Two superb athletes; a clever duo in new
songs and dances; "Seven Minstrel Kiddies" in- H
troducing songs, dances and jokes; two unique M
funsters; three European Ice Skaters and a new H
moving picture feature will constitute the Em- fl
press bill that opens Monday afternoon of next 4H
week. H
The "Todd Nards," athletes who are said to H
be remarkable for the variety of stunts they per-
form, are featured. They are followed by Ron-
air and Ward in "Ocean Breezes." M
The "Seven Minstrel Kiddies" are six little
girls and a boy who sing, dance and tell stories M
and "Savoy and Brennen" are two men whose M
act has been verj topular. M
The "Three El opean Ice Skaters," the Har- H
bys have a novelty which is expected to attract M
a great deal of attention. With a moving pic- H
turo feature, these acts constitute the new bill H
that opens Monday. H
The bill which opened last Monday runs H
through today and Sunday closing Sunday night. H
The program is comprised of the "'Five Violin H
Beauties," Newport and Kirk in their comedy H
sketch a 'Barber's Busy Day;" Chas. Bachmann H
and Company in Willard Mack's sketch of the H
underworld, "There Get-Away ;" and -Frank Gard- H
ner, the "Black-faced Gloom Dispeller," together H
with one of the best moving picture comedies of H
the year. H
FREE OREGON HOMESTEADS I
Large tract of good valley farming land just H
thrown open for free settlement in Oregon. Over H
200,000 acres in all. Good climate, rich soil, H
and does not require irrigation to raise finest H
crops of grain, fruit, and garden truck. For H
largo map, full instructions and information, and H
a plat of several sections of exceptionally good H
claims, send ?3.40 to John Keefe, Eugene Ore-
gon. Three years a U. S. surveyor and timber- H
man. An opportunity to get a good fertile free
homestead near town and market. H
SALT LAKE'S I
PUREWATER I
Is the admiration of Eastern Tour- H
iest. So, also, is it's H
FISHER I
BEER I
For fine water, fine barley, and H
fine beer, "This is the place". H
A. Fisher Brewing Co. I
SALT LAKE CITY
The Prize is in THE BEER H
JB