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TELLING HER SO. His Grandson's Letter Brings a Regr to the Old Man. "There's nothing, wrong with Arthur, I hope," suld Mr. Lobdell to his 'daugh ter, in whose hands were a number of closely written sheets of foreign note paper. Although Mr. Lobdell sat on the other side of the hearth, he no ticed that several tears had fallen on the letter Mrs. Iiuntoir was reading. "I've never been quite sure, Ellen, that you did the .right thing when you let the boy go to Tarls to study. It's easy for a young fellow like him to get weaned from home. We ought to have kept hlin near us. Now, if he's in any trouble " "He isn't, father, tie's very well, and busy with his work, and he has written me such a dear letter for my birthday that well, It niirde his foolish mother cry a little. Head it, father." Mrs. Denton gave him the letter, and then took from the mantel a photo graph of a bright, boyish face, whose fearless, honest eyes seemed to an swer her tender gaze. Mr. Lobdell glanced at the first page hastily. The pleasures of correspond ence had never especially appealed to him, and he was rather scornful of long letters. In a moment he adjusted his glasses more securely, and began , to read slowly. When at last he came to the end, he folded the sheets care fully and replaced them in the en velope, sighing as he did so. "It's a beautiful letter, Ellen, beau tiful; strong and manly, too," he said, In reply to his daughter's expectant look, "but it makes me sad." "Why, father? I thought it would make you glad, not sad." "It docs make me glad for you and for him, but it takes me back to my own boyhood. Arthur says that the thought of you is his inspiration, his safeguard; that he carries your image in his heart, and with your picture in his pocket, he cannot go to any place where he couldn't take you., It was Just so with my mother. The thought of her goodness kept me out of many a scrape, and I loved her Just as Ar thur loves you, but I never told her so. What wouldn't I give, Ellen, to have written her a letter like this one!" Mrs. Benton knelt by her father's side and took his hand. "Grandmother always understood," she said. "She knew how you loved her." "Yes, perhaps, but what a comfort and a pleasure it would be to me to have told her as your boy, God bless him! has told you." Youth's Com Danion. Not a Wlillng Victim. The neat, middle-aged matron gazed suspiciously at the disreputable-looking tramp who had knocked at her kitchen door. "What do you want?" she asked. "Would ye mind givln' me a piece o' pie, ma'am?" he said. "I don't know about that. I can't say I like the looks of you.". "I know I ain't very prepossessin', ma'am, but it ain't my fault. I ain't afford to dress any better." "I'm not speaking of your clothes altogether. You don't look clean." "I'm willln' to confess it, ma'am. I guess I don't." "And you don't look as If you ever combed your hair, or took any sort of care of yourself." "Well, I reckon that's 'cause I live close to nature." "If you do," she said, as she went after the pie, "I'll guarantee it isn't nature's fault!" Broke the Eleventh Commandment. "Why, of course it was wrong," the plain citizen declared; "he accepted a bribe." "Oh, I don't know," began the politician; "there's nothing wrong about" "What? They caught him dead to rights and he admits" "Oh, if he was caught at It, of course it was wrong." Philadelphia Press. MEERSCHAUM PIPES A Test by Which to Tell the Genuine from the Spurious, , Once upon a time there was a man who spent eight of the best years of his life coloring a meerschaum pipe, only to And at the eud of that period that lie had been nursing a piece of "nmssakopfe" Instead of the genuine "ecume de mer." The "mnssukopfe" is a composition made of the parings of genuine meerschaum and a mineral clay. The parings are triturated to n fine powder, boiled In water and mold ed Into blocks, with or without the addition of clay. Each block is then cut , into a bowl, but as it contracts considerably It must bo left some time to dry. These bowls are distinguished from the genuine meerschaum by their greater specific gravity, but there is no absolutely certain test by which the real meerschaum can be told from the composition. In forming a pipe from "ecume de mer" the silicate of magnesia Is pre pared for the operation by soaking in a composition of wax, oil and fats, The wax and 'oil absorbed by the meerschaum are the. cause of the color produced by smoking. The heat of the burning tobacco causes the wax and fatty substances to pass through the stages of a dry distillation, and, becoming associated with the products of the distillation of the tobacco, they are diffused tnrough the substances of the bowl, producing those gradations of tint which are so much prized. In some cases the bowls are artificially colored by dipping them, before being soaked in wax, in a solution of sul phate of iron, either alone or mixed with dragon's blood. Good meerschaum is soft enough to be indented by the thumb nail. It yields readily to the knife, especially after having been wetted. There a.re various densities. Some kinds sink in water; others float on the surface. Those of medium density are preferred by the pipe maker, for the light varie ties are porous and even cavernous. Many Judges assume that the heavier kinds are spurious, but there Is no ab solute proof that such Is the case. A negative test may be mentioned. The composition bowls never exhibit those little blemishes which result from the presence of foreign bodies in the nat ural meerschaum. Therefore if a blemish occurs In a meerschaum bowl, which is very frequently the case, the genuineness of the bowl is rendered most probable. Hut as blemishes do not show until after the bowl has been used for some time the test Is not of much value. New York Tress. New Gorman Paint. If one-half that is claimed. for the new German paint is true the white lead base of paints so universally used is doomed. The new pigment is ob tained from a burnt limestone which contains a considerable proportion, 20 per cent or more of magnesia, the best combination being that found natural ly in dolomltic limestone, says the Philadelphia Record. This is mixed with a hydrocarbon and fired until all the carbon is consumed. Among the desirable features claimed for the new paint are fineness and smooth ness of surface, covering power, per manence and cheapness; quick-drying qualities without the addition of dri ers; freedom from yellowing with age, unaffected by ammonia, sulphurated hydrogen or sulphurous acid and a natural hardening or enameling after a few months. Greatest of all, it may be washed without destroying its original smoothness. Coloring pig ments may be used in conjunction with. it. as in the case of white lead. Abolish It. "How can lobbyists be kept out of the legislature?" the 'anxious New York Press Inquires. Terhaps as good a way as any would be to put the legislature out of business. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Let the light come to your eyes from one side or from above, not from iu Iront Insult to Washington. The principal of a high school In Jer sey suddenly ordered all classes to as semble in the auditorium, and when teachers and pupils, in amazement, were gathered together before him, ad dressed them on "George Washington, the Father of Our Country," says the New York Tress. In finishing his en comiums on the immortal George he said: "The bust of George Washing ton which stood upon the pedestal in the reception room has been removed and placed upon the floor with its face in the corner. Until the culprit, who ever he or she may be, comes to the front and makes a public confession of the misdemeanor, not a soul will be permitted to leave this building! Re memberthere will be po other pun ishment imposed than the open and public confession!" Sensation! Teachers glanced at teachers, pupils fidgeted around in af fright, the principal looked solemn and funereal. If that old pin had dropped, every one would have heard It. Then the Janitor arose and stepped forward, to break the awful silence. "I'm afraid it's up to me, sir," he said. "The roof was leakln' mighty bad, an the boost of Mister Washin'ton were in the drip, an' I thought proper to move it to keep the rain from spilln' it, an' I meant no insoolt by turnin' his face to the wall, sir." The principal, a man of talent and some brains, tapped the bell and dismissed the school without further questioning. Comfort In a Buhl Head. There are advantages accruing even trom bald heads. It is pointed out by a writer In a medical Journal that bnld-headed men never suffer from consumption and that a tendency to baldness is an assurance that the dreaded scourge will pass over him whose thatch grows thin. At first glance it would seem absurd to argue that n man's hair Is indicative of his Immunity from disease, but the writer who advances this novel theory de clares that in the five years during which he seriously added a record of his patients' hair or lack of it his case cards have failed to show a sin gle instance of "bald" being entered upon the card of a consumptive. He had under treatment more than 700 cases, and he makes the further statement that in a census of more than 5,000 tuberculosis cases he failed to discover a single sufferer who was bald. He makes no effort to explain his theory upon medical grounds, but simply offers the results of his ob servation for the benent of the profes sion. The Great Jersey Kesort. Speak to the man from "way down East," or the cowboy from the plains, about Atlantic City, and the chances are he will toil you as much about it as any Jursi-yuiun who runs down to "the beach" in an hour from his home town. This little sandy island off the Jersey coast has become one of the nation's greatest pleasure grounds; a city created solely to help people kill time. There are bathing, yachting, boating and fishing for those who are fond of water sports; there are golf links, a race-track, and baseball grounds; ev ery form of diversion from the ma chine which tells your fortune, glvep your weight, and plays a merry Jingle while doing so all for a nickel to the band concert, merry-go-round and "trip to the moon." Nightly the large hotels are scenes of balls and card parties. Every hour of the day, from the time one rises from the breakfast table until even the dawn of the next morning, some thing diverting can be found by the pleasure-seeker. In the forenoon, be fore the evening dinner, and from nightfall to midnight, it is "the thing" to be on the promenade. Defined. Little Willie Say, pa, what is "con science money?" Pa Conscience money, my son, Is the quarter your mother leaves in my pockets when she makes a mldnigUt raid. The Dress Suit Case. If dress suit cases hud the gift of speech, it is a foregone conclusion that their first words would be, "How are the mighty fallen;" Time was when a man who entered a car with a suit case was tho object of respect ful attention from the other' passen gers. Its possession was considered ample proof that he belonged to the fortunate class who changed their clothes for dinner. The popular fancy depicted him as flying from one scene of festivity to another, and absolute ly no doubt was felt as to the metal of which his natal spoon was made. All this Is now changed, and the man with the suit case may be anything, from a burglar escaping with his "swag," to a meek little family man bringing In ills wife's white skirts to be 'done up" by her favorte laundress. Nor Is the tale of degradation com pleted when the case has been reliev ed of the skirt, for like as not tho thrifty dweller beyond the city limits will undertake to "do" the local butch er by bringing hlme his meat in the conservative looking bag when on his return trip. New York Evening Sun. On Reading Newspapers. Every man should read one good newspaper each day. I do not ,mean, of course, that he should read every thing in it; but he should go over the entire contents, carefully making his selections and reading attentively the articles which give promise of being1 helpful or instructive. The weekly, and, more particularly, the monthly reviews are also of great value, from the fact that they familiarize their readers with current history which, after all, Is the most important .his tory while at the same time possess ing some advantages over the daily newspapers, because the editors are not compelled to accept first reports, and also have on opportunity to cor rect any Inaccuracies which may creep into hurrl'uUy prepared dlscus solns of subjects. Neveriueless, these reviews must ever but supplement the dally newspapers, for we are not con tent, In this ago, to wait until the end of the month for our news. Success. Patch Lou Cnough. A Virginian whose home adjoined the early one' of Thomas Nelson Page tells this story of the author's father. The family, like many other Southern ones, was much impoverished by the war, though the old time hospitality was as warm as ever. One day guests were expected upon whom Mrs. Page wish ed to make a good impression, and the furniture and fittings were furbished for the- occasion. The good dame's heart was much disturbed by the worn condition of the upholstery of a rare sofa and she petitioned her husband to stand before it when receiving the visitors, and then sit carefully over the ragged spot. With fine chivalry Mr. Page greeted the arrivals and dis coursed entertainingly until the neigh ing of his favorite horse attracted his attention, as a stable boy led it past the window. Then rising, he said to the guests: "Will- you excuse me for a short time?" and to his wife: "My dear, I really cannot act any longer as a patch for that sofa." New York Times. Addressed to Smokers. A firm in Fort Smith, Ark., has this reading notice posted in the counting room: "We nre never busy. We like the odor of strong pipes; we like the little dude cigarette; we like a cheap cigar, but never smoke a genteel 10 cent cigar; we are not used to them; no place of business or workshop is com plete without the odor of tobacco; if you can't smoke, then chew; spit on the stove, desk or floor anywhere ex cept out of doors." Very Likely. "I wonder what was tho origin of that old saw about people in glass houses not throwing stones." "I suppose it was meant as a warn ing to the women. You know, if a woman living In a glass house were to throw a stone at another she'd be sure to hit her own." Philadelphia Press.