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It ™ during a Dam roach engage-
-ment In Chicago that I happened to go
to the theatre one evening. I was
alone, a* my wife had not been going
out since the death of a relative. The
audience was a muslc-lovlng one, and
during the third act as I strolled Into
the foyer I found It quite deserted, a
most unusual occurrence.
Wdgner grows noisy to an unculti
vated ear after listening an hour or
so, and the strains that came through
the heavy, closed doors were more
agreeable to mine. I waa about to re
turn to my seat, however, when I no
ticed a remarkably handsome woman
emerge from the curtained door that
led Into the lower boxes.
She waa unusually beautiful, of that
flashing combination of dark eyes and
golden hair that is so rare.
She was fashionably dressed, and
under her opera cloak I saw the glim
mer of jewels. I expected her to sweep
out to her carriage. Instead of which
she stopped in front of me and be
gan to look anxiously toward the out
side door. Then she stepped back
Into the curtain, but almost Immedi
ately returned, and began to pace up
and down more anxiously than before.
She was evidently looking for some
one whose delay caused unusual alarm.
Once I thought she started toward
me as If she was going to speak. I
thought I noticed .this movement again
when I involuntarily approached her.
“Can I be of any service to you,
madamr* I asked In a most defer
ential tone, which her bearing seemed
to dvmoode
She paused doubtfully a half sec
ond, then graciously explained:
Her father had left her at the
theatre, expecting to return immedi
ately; he had failed to do so and she
iwas extremely alarmed on his ao-
count, and was -also embarrassed at
finding herself alone in a strange city
at midnight In fact there wae noth
ing elee for me to do bnt to offer to
eee her home. It wan all arranged in
a few aeoonde. and under the charm
of a woman who waa of no ordinary
type. She gave the directions to the
driver. I had ordered a carriage and
after about an hour’s drive we stopped
in a part of the city that waa not al
together familiar to me, though I
could aeo by the street lamps that It.
woman that was leading me on. She
had thrown aside her opera cloak and
reclined on a divan, her golden hair
gleaming against the crimson drapery,
her dark eyes bolding two points of
fire In their expanded pupils, like come
Eastern enchantress under whose spell
I was completely. enthralled. I felt
my blood course through my veins
with a sense of exhilaration I had nev
er before experienced. I could have
knelt at her feet. She seemed a crea
ture to be worshipped, who could In
turn wield an lnfiuence strangely
powerful. I thought of the historical
women of fascination who have led
men to do awful deeds. She seemed
to recall the pictures In my mind's
eye of such women, as she reclined
there her eyes flashing darker under
the masses of hair that surrounded
her fair face like a crown of gold.
and at the same time determined to
Investigate the diabolical agencies at
work to destroy the happiness of my
home and family.
I told the driver to follow my wife’s
cab, and at the end of its destination
to stop about a square behind. He
followed these Instructions and after
a. long, - noisy ride over the rough
cobbles, halted abruptly and opened
the cab door, for me to alight I
paid him and dismissed the cab, and as
I saw my wife's dress disappear in
a doorway down about the middle of
the next square, made for that di
rection.
hfy heart gave a bound aa I hur
ried np the steps to the door I had
seen her enter. By some lucky chance
It was unlatched, and I walked Into
the house. Great Heavens! The i
h Its <
gazed at her In a dazed steadfastness.
Involuntarily I raised my glass; It was
filled. Again: The third time as I
would have guided It to my Ups It fell
from my trembling fingers and shiv
ered at my feel!
I staggered and fell senseless!
When I awoke to consciousness I
found myself at my own front door.
From the numb conditions of my limbs
I knew I had been there at least an
hour. I fumbled at the door with my
latch key; my fingers were all thumbs.
At lost, however, It was opened. I
thanked my lncky star that my wife
waa fast asleep; and I succeeded In
getting to bed without disturbing her.
Of course I could not go to sleep.
The effects of the dragging had passed
off—1 knew now I had been dragged,
for what damnable purpose I could
not ponjecture, no more than I could
account for the other mysterious
events of this most remarkable even
ing I had ever experienced—leaving
me la a most nervous state. If It had
been a case of robbery the mystery
would have been cleared up to my
mind immediately; bnt the fact that
a handsome diamond that I wore on
my email finger wae not missing, end
also quite a large amount of money
that I happened to have had In my
pocket was (till there made It more
Inexplicable. The more I tried to un
ravel It, the more unfathomable the
whole affair became. It wae a deeply
THE GLASS feu fHOM MV THEM BUNG fINGEHS!
'was a fashionable if somewhat remote
!' neighborhood.
My companion had been too mnch
agitated to engage In convermatkm dur-
lng the drive, except to wonder over
her father’s unaccountable delay.
Whan the carriage stopped she hast
ened to the steps of a stately reel-
. dence in the middle of the square. A
man to livery opened the door.
Is my father tor* she asked to q
tone to which I noticed some of the
agitation hadsubsided.
“Ah! Hortenae my dear, forgive met
I fen asleep and completely forgot
yon? How did, yon get homer
. This voice came from within and
was followed by an elderly man of
foreign appearance who cue forward
and extended .his hand affectionately to
his daughter as she aaiwend by ex
plaining my presence.' I toned to r>.
but with lavish exprasMone of grati
tude usual to a foreigner, he ferny
dragged me into the house. .. .
The outside appearance would hard
ly have suggested the magnificent
npartoienta to which I found myself.
Rich hangings, rare works of eit and
a general luxartnaraera Implied the
moat cultivated USta. White the
daughter swept Into an adjoining
room and brought refreshments with
her own hand, the father engaged me
in conversation on the topics of the
; day, upon which he showed more than
ordinary Intelligence.
1 refused anything bnt a glass of
wtoe which she poured from a decanter
of rare workmanship—a rich cordial
rSthsr—filling one also for her father
and another for herself. They ■
delightful conversationalists. I
came unusually talkative myself. The
oonvenatkm drifted Into persons!
nerlences. I related one I had urn
^ ed to mortal ears before.
J not know whetherlt was toe
or too adorable smite of
laid plot <5f which I was the victim,
though for what purpose I could at
tribute not toe slightest motive.
For days I could think of nothing
else; I Bald nothing to my wife about
It While I could Justify my actions
In the affair to my own mind. I wae
r quite sure I could do so to hers.
fact my wlfo faad been to an ex
tremely .nervous condition for u long
time, and of late I noticed she had be
come more depressed than ever.
I do not know what raised the sus
picion to my mind, but I took a sud
den fancy that, my wife’s late depres
sion was to some way connected with
‘ A quea-
firmed this snsptdoo and
with added alarm. *
It was a question relating to aa ex
perience of my past life, of which I
had never epoken except to the pres
ence of the father and daughter the
ntght of my strange visit and through
which source I felt rare she could only
gain a possible knowledge of too rams.
I determined at all hazards to Investi
gate at least what connection my wife
could have to the chafe of mystery
that waa surrounding me.
An opportunity offered Itself toe
very next day. I happened to be ta
Marshall Field’s great store doing
some purchasing for myself, when I
spied my wife coming out of one of
the doors leading upon the main street
as I was about to pdas out of another.
I started to attract her attention when
I noticed her signal for a cab. This
circumstance aroused my suspicion, as
It was an undsnal thing for-my wife
to da I Immediately baited another
and followed her. I could not help
feeling guilty to this new role of all
our married life, as spy upon my wife’s
actions. Not that I suspected her of
anything wTong at toe time. I was
following her more as a protector.
rich hangtngi, the divan with its orim-
eon drapery, the paintings—all re
vealed themselves to the glare of broad
daylight I heard the murmur of
voices somewhere to the house and
paused to catch the direction of the
sound. I could not seem to make out.
Every minute was as an hoar. I stood
in breathless expectation a while long
er, then passed noiselessly-over the
velvet carpet lpto the adjoining room.
A heavy portiere at the rear led into
still another, and from thence the
voices proceeded. I recognized my
wife's to the most excited tone. I
glided closer to.the curtain and dis
tinctly heard these words:
"What you have already told me I
cannot help believe and while I would
know more, I am afraid OhI
can notl not now I ”
“Madam “ some and Interrupted
to the unmistakable volee of my even
ing’s enchantress, “I am simply about
to present my Impression of your
husband aa he appears to me to that
astral personality which he la most
probably unconseloua of possessing.”
There was a deathlike stillness for a
few minutes; suddenly broken by my
wife’s voice In the moat agitated tone
accompanied with a low sobbing:
"Oh my God! I cannot look! It Is
my husband and yet so strangely dif-
forentl” I could hold back no longer;
I drew aside the curtain and through
the folding doors which were opened
wide enough for the purpose, passed
in. I found myself to total darkness.
There were a few seconds of suspense
and then—at first Indistinctly, ..then
clearer and clearer ont of the dsrk-
noss—a face appeared; finally stand
ing to startling bas-relief against a
fiery nimbus that surrounded It In
the wide open staring eyes, the com
pressed lips and sunken cheeks, * rec
ognized my own pbylognomyl
“Sylvia!”
It was my wife’s name I had ut
tered before I waa conscious wbat I
had done. There wae a distinct scream
from each woman; one of them fell!
I groped my way to the darkness and
found It was my wife. I picked her up
In my arms and got out of the room
and houso I know not bow. I have A
vague memory of hailing a cab and
placing my wife to It and then driv
ing home. All that night she was too
111 to move; but the next morning she
had recovered enough for me to report
at police head-quarters.
The detective to whom I told my
story smiled.
"You have been to the hands of s
couple of notorious adventurers," be
explained, “for whose arrest the au
thorities of some Urge dtles to this
country and abroad are on the alert
The woman la a clairvoyant and pro
fesses to make a specialty of the sci
ence of double personality; practicing
this humbuggery by the desperate
means yon describe by which she has
gathered a targe clientele to toll city.
The experiment to your case la one
of the most daring. The apparition of
your face Is a reproduction of a photo
graph taken to your menseleza state
that evening to their bouse, for which
purpose you were decoyed there and
drugged. This by a clever etereopti-
con effect was used to present the
startling revelation of your second
personality for yonr.wlfe’s benefit, who
happens to be a patron of theirs, and
for whom the trick was contrived.
They were arrested las* night”
the winter birds are fond of both nuts
and suet No one need ever waste old
or rancid nuts. The birds will be
glad to get them.
Another Illinois corresphndent says:
“Last fall I bung a blrdtood shelf at
our south window and early each morn
ing put cracked nuts, suet and bird
seed on it Several ' tufted titmice
visited It the first morning. In a day
or two snow-birds and chickadees came
In flocks. 'White-breasted nuthatches,
downy and hairy woodpeckers, a white-
crowned sparrow and a red bellied
woodpecker were constant visitors all
winter, often coming several times a
day. A mocking bird came until the
middle of December, making In all
nine kinds of birds. These birds all
enjoyed the fresh fat pork I nailed to
a nearby tree."
TFon Royal Red Croat.
The coveted Royal Red Cross of
England has been conferred upon Mrs.
Vio|et Clay, as an expression of .ment
for her services during and after the
terrible Indian earthquake which recent
ly occurcd at Dharmsola. Mrs. Clay is
FEEDING TOE BODIES.
Hade Friends by Hanging Fat Meat
OutTor Them In Winter.
Bird Lore, to Its notes on winter
feeding of wild birds gives a number
of methods for such feeding that may
be easily employed by any kindly per
son with the greatest satisfaction. At
this time of year birds, like domestic
fowls, appreciate fat food. Soap boned,
after they have served their purpose
to the kettle, may be hung to a tree
or elsewhere so that cate qiay not get
at the feathered visitors. Here the
birds will pick away every bit of meat
end gristle. Suet may be put to the
tree* this way or the carcass of e
fowl, and blue Jays, nuthatches, wood
peckers and chlcadees, not to mention
the English sparrows, will visit this
luncheon with delight
A correspondent writing from Jack
sonville, 111, says: “Ever since I be
gan bird study, six years ago, I have
kept a winter bird table; and It bee
been a never-falling source of pleasure
and Inst ruction to me as well as a
help to my bird guests during the bad
weather. We have an acre of--ground
around onr home, and fine trees, but
there are streets on all but tbe north
aide; so I chose that aide for the bird
table; as It Is too most sheltered and
at the same time affords us the bait
chance to watch the birds from the
bouse. I begun by tying lumps of met
np to mall trees near tbe windows
id vary soon my guests began to
arrive. Later I devised a plan for
bringing too net eaters within closer
range. I fastened a rough stick, two
or three Inches in diameter, to the
window shatters, across the window a
little below the middle rash and upon
this stick I tied my tamp of met
that time we'have had the
all winter long of watching
onr bird nefrhh"-* at their Inncbeon
white sitting at our own dining table.
I also fastened a wooden tray to the
sill Into which we pnt cracked nuts
and chopped neL The most constant
visitors were the chickadees and wood
peckers; than bluejays, titmice, show-
birds and r“t*>*ehee, with ones to a
while a cardinal. Of these the chlk-
adees and downy woodpeckers an the
tamest When toe spring migrants
return we find blackbirds and «a£
birds patronizing the suet. Almost all
MRS. VIOLET ClAYl
the youngest daughter of Sir Henry
Nightingale and the wife of Major C. if.
r,B V. qf the 7th Gurkha Rifles, who was
jusly injured, during the earthquake
while saving the life of his -little eon.
The Adorable P&lli. ,
The famous Adelina Patti, always
young, despite her yfars, first appeared
In 1859, at the New York Academy et
Music. She was brought forward under
tbe direction of her klnsmdn and mas
ter, Maurice Strakosch, in the title role
of "Lucl dl Lammermoor." She was
then only 16 years old, but had already
learned to manngehervolce, a flute-llkc
flexible soprano, with extraordinary
skill and taste, and cupauie critics at
once recognised to the debutante one
of those rare lingers who appear at
long Intervals on tbe musical horizon
to revive not only the hopes of man
agers, but the enthusiasm of the public.
This prediction bad quick fulfilment
After a short Initial engagement to
Philadelphia, Mile. PatU, piloted by
Strakosch, embarked pn a concert tour
which ended at New Orleans, whence
she railed for London where ehe may
be said to have fairly begun a career,
which, like her art, most remain long
unique In lyric annals Thereafter for
upward of 40 yean, she held first place,
and daring toe greater part of thit
time, she wae not only a sweeter, but
a better singer than any other woman
to the world. Her name lends a gold
en ending to any record of too early
days of opera to America. '
If yon like it, pay for it after trying it three months. If you
don’t like it, stop it at our expense and no questions asked.
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cultural regions of the West, the industrial and commercial sections
of the East, in the Northwest, the Southwest, on the Coast and
everywhere, earnestly espousing honest effort, courageously and
fearlessly exposing fraud and dishonesty.
Carefully edited, beautifully illustrated, artistically printed
on fine paper, a dollar magazine in all but price and sold for
only CO cents a year. Intensely interesting to every man or
woman, old or young, filled from cover t6 cover with delightfully
inspiring and encouraging articles. Special departments of in
terest to all the family.
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ULLINERV LESSONS FREE
Adulterated Dresses.
Public attention is being directed
to the wholeaate manner to which the
materials that keep us warm during
the day, and.the blankets'which cover
us at night, are adulterated.
The silk drew of the lady of a hun
dred yean ago rustled as she moved,
on account of tbe genuineness of too
fabric; now It rustle*with St per cent
of salts of tin used to commercialise It
Tha.lady at the period to her silk drees
Is, Indeed, a sort of “women in armor."
Epsom salts, instead of betag need
or medlctogl purposes, ns formerly, —
bow employed, lt>'wonld. appear,
loading, flannel. The- to-called table
linen of today IS not pure linen, inch
as delighted the hearts of the house
wives of olden: times but la mads
largely of cotton, Ailed with China'
clay and starch. So. too, collars are
often of ootton merely faced wlto linen.
la a word, nearly every kind of fabric
sold., is adulterated to some form or
other, and the public, to blissful Ignor
ance of the truth, .finding how poorly
the things wear, lays the blame upon
toe laundryman, the dyer or the
cleaner. Instead of npon toe real cut-
nrit. tho manufacturer.
It Is believed that there Is some dan
ger of toe skin- being attacked by
disease as a result of the really poison
ous substances which are rat free by
the action of perspiration npon tot me
tallic compounds contained to appar
ently Innocent wearing apparel.
A GUt With Each Ticket.
George Adams, toe manager of the
Crystal Theatre of Denver, 1s operating
hit play-house upon unique line*. For
some time he hra given away souvenirs
to all hte patrons, tome of them of
considerable value. He bat now stocked
a large store with about everything
that is needed to housekeeping; and la
Issuing a trading stamp or coupon with
every ticket to the theater. The value
of each coupon it ten cento and these
trading coupon* can be exchanged to
toe (tore for articles ranging from, ten
cents to twenty-five dollars.
Mr. Adams bra feet Imported a car
load of dish as from Germany, and he
states that be has, daring the winter,
already given away, to Crystal Theater
goers, more than tone car loads of
articles.
45c DISH PAN SAVED