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AN ADAPTATION OF EXODUS. Why There Were Many Plagues in the Captain’s Quarters. BY OWENDOI.KX OVEKTIIN. To a certain sort of mind a saint is only t 0 known as a saint by the baio above his brow, and the Prince of Darkness himself would be devoid of identity without .a, pitchfork and ( ,; o ven hoof. To such as these the knight-errantry Q f Drayton and Bart lett may seem problematical; but a knight-errant is .one who succors beau ty in distress, anjil who rides abroad redressing human wrongs. Whether he employs an obnoxious insect rath „r than a swore 1 , ,as Drayton did, or whether he rides a S. C. govern ment mule, as Bartlett was want to do, is neither here nor there. Bartlett was riding the aforesaid mule shortly after the time my story begins. He rode it arp the line, its long gray ears waggling evenly and rest tully, and came to a .halt ;in trout of the set of quarters where .Drayton and he roomed. Drayton .was sitting on the porch, his feet on the railing, his chair tipped back, and the .visor of his cap pulled down on his .nose. He pushed the cap to the back of his head as Bartlett came sflo.wly aip the steps. “I wish you woud get a horse,” he complained. “If you could just realize" the figure you cut on that .old ele phant!” "That’s a mule,” corrected Bartlett, his arm around a pillar and letting his heels dangle as he perched .on the railing. “It's also a very nice It is no longer a shave-tail, bait has reached years of discretion. The mo ment man or animal doe-s that, has ap preciative country straightway has ■him inspected and condemned. Horses ■ may do for some, but not for one who ■has the duties of post quartermaster ■to perform. And, besides, I believe in Zthe infantry and scorn a horse.” [ I "The scorn,” observed Drayton, ■“of the fox for the grapes.” I I “Don’t rub it in,” said Bartlett, de ■ectedly; “I'm miserable enough as it I “Thought you looked rather triste. H'rn all sympathy. Go on.” I Bartlett released his hold upon the ■filar and folded his arms on his breast ■u an attituue combining stern endur ance and precarious balance. “The ■lollinses are going to rout the Law r - Srences out.” || fs 7 ow, the Collinses were the family ■( Captain Coilins—wife, mother-in ■aw on both sides, and three small ■hildren. They had that morning ar rived in the post, Collins was in com- Hnand of Troop L, which had been fcioved on some weeks before. If he Had been well-disposed his entry Should not have put the whole garri- Hon, below his rank, in the throes of Hear of a progressive “turning out.” H'or there were empty quarters into he might have moved exactly ■- well as not, and no one have been piny the worse off. II “But Collins won’t see it that way,” Hartlett went on. “He ranks Law ■ence, and his wife ranks him, you Bet; and it s the wife and the mother- Bi-law -who are going to have the Law- Etnces’ set or bust.” i: | “Throw them a few buckets of paint Bnd calcimine, by way of sop,” Dray- Bcn ventured to suggest. B “Did,” said Bartlett, briefly. “Of- Bered them half the quartermaster's Bepartment, and a carpenter, and a Blacksmith, and a farrier, too. if they Bappened to need one. Told them they Bould have any or all of tne colors of B&int in the rainbow, if they’d just Be good—but those three Graces are Being to have the Lawrences’ house.” H Drayton opined, with a little of the Blacidity, nevertheless, with which we BH bear one another's burdens, that it Has a very great and very profane Bhame. “There's that poor little wom- B n with those little bits of kids, and Bgst moved into those quarters, and them all fixed up so prettily, and garden started, too. Then, those They’re a mean lot of cat- V e ’ a nyway.” He made a gesture of ■P'sgnst, which turned the visor around Byer his left ear, and was silent for a Hninute through sheer wrath. ■ "I told Mrs. Lawrence they would be Berpents on the wood cutter's Hearth—” B "Serpents, now?” asked Bartlett; ■‘they were cattle before; and you ■ailed that”—he pointed over hts ■boulder—“au elephant, whereas, in B°mt of fact, it’s a mule.” j§ l told her,” continued Drayton, ■amoved, “that it wouldn’t pay. 1 ■now all about the Collinses —served ■ ith them in Texas. 1 was sitting on B“ r s. Lawrence's steps—l know* that ■ usually am. so you can save yourself ■H was sitting on her steps when the ■ “Ains outfit drove up. The ambu o*See stopped in front of the C. O.'s ■°use, next door, and Collins jumped But and went in. The rest of them ■ust waited. All would have been well ■ Mrs. hadn’t become ■ e nder-hearled in a most unnecessary ■ a y. and hadn’t chosen to disregard advice.” He assumed the look of W°Puecy fulfilled. "I told her to sit ■ '' and not get excited and do some ■“ln£ rash; gave her the benefit of and experience. But it ■ te n t any use. , She made me dry up ■ a u hang on to the kids, while she ■ n dow n to the ambulance and invit ■; whole caboodle to come n and B ’ and refresh themselves. They ■“Pe- You can bet your life they they wouldn't have been the ■tp ltlsps I saw Dame C.'s weather Bj/ taking in the house. I could see 1 iked it, and L knew there'd be ■,. e - M rs. Lawrence kept them to ■sW° n the w hole seven of them, ■ ' me > too; but the kids were raising Cain, and the abode of peace was transformed, so I lit out.” "Well, I guess she's sorry now —if that’s any comfort to you. For the Collinses are not only going to have those quarters, but they’re going to have them quick. Even the C. O. got at Collins. But it wasn’t .any use. My wife likes tne quarters,’ says he. And that’s all.” They sat in meditation for some time. Then Drayton spoke. “I like those quarters, too. J‘m go ;ing to have some of them myself,” he said. Bartlett did not understand., and JDrayton undertook to explain. “Well —see here.!’ He took his feet, down from the rail, in his earnestness, and straightened his cap. “it's like this. You and I have got one room each iin this house, haven’t we, same as the most of the other bachelors?” Such was the case. “And we’re en titled .to two rooms each, aren’t we?” Bartlett agreed that they were. “And we'-ve "been keeping these ones because we’ve been too lazy and good natured ,to ask Tar more, haven’t we? Well we won’t be lazy and good natured any more. If the Collinses move into the Lawrences’ set. I’ll vacate my room turn it over to you—and I’ll apply for the upstairs floor of the Lawrences house. 0,ll! I'm entitled to it, all right,” he 'Chuckled. “I know my rights as a citizen of these United States and as a first-lieutenant or cavalry. The Collinses, the whole sweet seven of ’em, may have the low-, er floor. It’s all they can claim under law. That’s four rooms, including the kitchen. I dare say they won’t mind living like that any way. They're pigs.” “Pigs, too?” asked Bartlett. Drayton went on unfolding his plan. ■“‘Once I have that top floor, you watch the interest in life I'll provide for them. I’ll make their days pleasant and their nights—particularly their nights—beautiful. I’ll have suppers up their every evening, and do songs and dances until reveille, if 1 have to hypothecate to pay my commissary bill, and if my health breaks down. You watch!” He stood up and began to button his blouse. "So you are warned. If the Collinses move in,such is my devotion to them that I’ll move in. too. And I’ll put in my formal ap plication for those two rooms. No other two in the post will suit, either, you understand.” And it all came about exactly as said. There was a hegira of Law rences and an ingress of Collinses, and great was the latter’s wrath when they found Drayton taking possession of the upper floor. They protested to everybody in general, and to the com mandant and the quartermaster ip. particular. And the commandant and the quartermaster said they were sorry, but that Drayton was certainly within his rights. Ho had applied for the quarters in virtue of the general turning-out that D troop was causing ing the post, and he was entitled to occupy them. There was nothing mcro to be said. “I can’t pretend to be sorry forthem, exactly,” Mrs. Lawrence confided to Drayton, when he advised her not to try to settle in her new quarters very elaborately; “I’m only human, after all, and my house did look so sweet, and my garden—. But I’m sorry for you. I think those children are the very imps of evil.” Drayton nodded. “There are others/' he said. It was emigmatical, but Mrs. Law rence looked doubtful and ready to be hurt. “You don’t mean mine?” she said. “No, my dear lady,” Bartlett reas sured her, “he doesn’t mean yours. He thinks yours are all that tender infancy should be. I don’t know what he does mean, however. And prob ably he doesn’t know himself.” “Don’t I?” queried Drayton, enigmat ical still. "Don't I just?” “Perhaps,” said Bartlett, “you mean Jimmy O'Brien. I saw you hobnob bing with him today. Would it be Jimmy now?” Drayton would not commit him self. But is was Jimmy and one other, nevertheless. Drayton had come upon him when he was playing duck-on-a roclt all by himself, near the sutler’s store. The duck was a beer bottle, and Jimmy was pitching stones at it, with indifferent aim. The father of Jimmy was first-sergeant of Drayton’s troop, and so the lieutenant felt they had enough in common to warrant a con versation. It began by a suggestion as to a better way to throw a stone, and it ended with a bargain struck. “Then,” said Drayton, “if I promise to pay you two bits for every centipede, four bits for every tarantula, ten cents for every lizard, a nickel for every toad and a cent for every big spider, you wiiM catch all you can and bottle them for ' me?” Jimmy nodded solemnly. “And you won't say anything about it to any one? ' A quarter was pressed into a chapped and grimy hand. •The very next morning before guard mounting. ne clambered up the stair way to Drayton's rooms. Drayton was only just dressing. He had kept late hours. Bartlett had helped him. and until 2 o’clock they had alternated pacing heavily to and fro with drop ping weighty bodies on the floor The Collinses were kept awake. “It's a question of endurance, be cause we are two," said Drayton; “out I expect we can hold out.’’ He inspected Jimmy's first catch. THE WEEKLY NEWS, CATVTERSVILLE, OA. There was a -centipede, two lizards and throe toads. Jimmy’s pockets bulged with bottler There were also five large and unpleasant spiders. “Good hoy." said Drayton, and paid as per schedule. ■Mrs. Colline and the mother-in-law’s ner\es vwie not earned. auy way, by the wakeful night, it was the harder for them when they found thlarge toads in their rooms that day. To have a toad hop at. you from a dark corner is not nice. It is still less to step on one and crush it. It gives a peculiar sensation. Mrs. Ccllihs found it so. There was a lizard in the milk bottle, and another on the hack of a chair, whence it c limbed into a moth er-in-law’s hair. Big spiders infested the place. Toward noon Drayton came down stairs carrying on the end of a pin, and examining it critically, a centi pede. “Large, isn’t it?” he asked, with some pride; “I killed it myself at the topof the stairs. They always come in families of three. The other two will be along pretty soon, I suppose.” The mother-in-law shuddered. “You and Mr. Bartlett made a great deal of noise last night, Mr. Drayton,” she re proached. Drayton looked concerned. These government quarters were so thin floored, lie explained. “Did he always stay up until 2 o'clock?” He admitted being of a restless dis position and given to insomnia. “All right,” he reported to Mrs. Lawrence, shortly after. “You just rest ou your oars. We'll have you back in those quarters before the kids have had time to do much damage to the place. I should say that a fort night, at the very outside, should see Mrs. Collins suing for another set — any other old set. Bartlett will let her have them. He’s an exceptionally obliging Q. M„ as Q. Ms. go. That’s his reputation.” It did not run as smothly as Drayton might have wished. The women of the Collins family did not surrender without giving fight. They attacked Drayton himself first, but were, met with an urbanity which parried every thrust. It was the thinness of the walls and floors, and that was mani festly the government’s fault, As for his insomnia, the blame of that lay with the doctor, he should think. He did not like staying broad awake un til nearly dawn any better than they did. Of course, however, he would try to control his restlessness. The at tempt, met with failure, though, and the women appealed to the command ant. The commandant was urbane, too, but the insomnia of his officers was evidently not a matter to be reached officially. It was plain that the insomnia aroused the supicions of the Collinses. But the insects did not. They had never —not even in Texas —seen a house so overrun with reptiles. There were lizards in everything. There were frogs and toads in dark nooks. They hopped into your lap when you were least expecting it. They were always getting under your feet and—squash ing. Spiders spun webs and dropped from the ceiling and the walls. And as for more venomous things! A day hardly passed that Drayton did not kill a tarantula or a centipede some where around. They seemed to emerge only when he was near. The wrath toward him v. r as tempered w T ith unwilling gratitude to a saviour. There had also been a garter snake on the front porch. And one terrible day they had come upon Drayton, sabre in hand, standing in the front hallway beside the decapitated body of a rattle snake. They neglected, in the excite ment, to notice that the body was rot wriggling. Jimmy had that morning produced a newspaper package. “Here’s a dead rattler,” he had said. “I didn’t know as you could use him. But I found him, and you can have him for a dime.” And the rattler had proved the best investment of all, as well as the last straw. Captain Collins had carried him on a stick out into the road. Then he had gone to the commandant and Bartlett. He was heavy-eyed for want of sleep. The whole family was that way; and Drayton was, too. In all humanity he asked the favor of be ing allowed to change has quarters. Any other quarters would do, provided there were fewer insects. He was not particular at all. He asked so little, in fact, that Bartlett took pity on him. He renewed his offer of paint. “Now,” he said to Mrs. Lawrence, “you can come back to your own. They’ll move out tomorrow. I’ve just been Inspecting the premises, and there hasn’t been much harm done. They are still the best quarters in the post. The kids have knocked a few holes in the walls and the woodwork s a little scratched. But I’ll give you some paint, too.” Paint was Bartlett’s idea of the panacea for all earthly ills. He had not much else in the world, being a second-lieutenant; but he had paint, and he was liberal with that. The Collinses moved next day. Drayton waited until the last load or furnitui'e was gone, and the three women were taking their final look around. Then he came down the stairs holding out, at the length of his arms, two centipedes on the point of two large pins. He exhibited them. “These quarters are too much for me,” he said, “I’d rather have a corner of a housetop alone, than a wide up per floor with crawling things. I’m going to go back to my own room.” A fierce light of suspicion broke in on Mrs. Collins’ mind then. "I be lieve. Mr. Drayton, that the whola thing was a put-up job,” “Do you? I)o you really?” asked Drayton. smilingly, deprecatingly. “But consider, my dear lady, consider the centipedes." —San Francisco Argo naut. BF Tin* Khljlc**. The EmpYess Dowager cf Russia is said to be the owner of the finest col lection of Russian sables in the world. One of her cloaks has a lining worth J 50.000. and was made of skins gath ered by the governor of a polar prov ince where taxes are paid in furs. The Boa of Sum in r. Every other well dressed woman sports a boa of pale gray ostrich feath ers these balmy days, but almost as pretty and soft and more becoming to some wearers is th? ooa of cream white faille, bordered by a niching of black silk loops, and strands of silk cord and jet falling in front in a sort of airy lattice work. The U of Ti AT ta. Black taffeta silk, flounced, corded, hemstitched, tucked or plaited, is worn by most well dressed women in every possible style and conformation. The fancy taffeta waists are perhaps the most popular garments made from this fabric. These are shown in an extensive variety of designs ranging in price from the cheapest to most expensive creations. Taffeta skirts are worn with these separate waists. They are tucked or flounced and made quite long, producing a decidedly styl ish appearance. One model has three narrow circular flounces trimmed with black velvet ribbon, which is very rich. Then there are the fancy bole ros made to match the skirt and worn over a blouse of contrasting color. A Notable scotch Woman, Lady Grizelle Cochrane, a notable society beauty, is the daughter of a wealthy Scotch peer, and among her intimate friends she is called Annie Laurie. This is because of her strik ing resemblance to the beauty immor talized in the old love song, a resem blance that cannot only be traced through the words of Douglas of Fing land’s famous verses, but also by the portrayal of the fair Annie that hangs :in Maxwelton house. It Is said, fur ! iher, by those who find the likeness j roost convincing that Lady Grizelle’s family is also connected with the Fer gerson house, into which Annie was married, and thus the striking like ness is accounted lor by inheritance. With her long white throat, masses of dusky brown hair, radiant complex ion, hazel eyes and exquisite slender figure this charming young woman has easily inspired the modern Scotch po ! ets with a theme for verses, and the ! poems that have been written in her honor and the songs that have been | sung in her name have already made ; her almost as well known as the true | Annie Laurie. Like the Duchess of Mont rose and Sutherland, the Ltfdy Griz -1 elle is a very patriotic Scotch woman. | She wears none but the simple wild j flowers of her native moors and fields, and she can speak the broadest and. to | American ears, the most incomprehen sible Scotch brogue, or if she likes pure Gaelic to the Highlanders, and it is said further that she is o'jte o'f the few women of the north country who can play the pipes as well as any man. It is being whispered about that the fair Lady Grizelle is being wooed by a stalwart Yankee, and hence another earls daughter may follow theexa.mple l of Lady Sybil Cuffe, daughter of Lord Harewood, who recently married Mr. Cutting of New York City. Minor Tiling* Thai ( nvnt. I A pair of run down heels, rubbed boot toes or shoestrings that have | been broken and tied again and again j give a rather correct hint of the wear ' er’s title to self respect. The heels may be straightened for a few pennies, the strings cost a dime and shoe polish is not costly. To be neat is more admirable than to be handsome and slovenly. | Soiled white stocks, ebonlzed gloves, white belts, finger marked white eveu , ing bodies, are made as good as new by a thorough sponging or dipped into clear gasoline. To reek of perfume Is vulgar. Per spiration is not hidden, but Jntensi fied by trying to disguise it with heavy ! odors. Women will be blessed in knowing that common baking soda will entirely remove the odor of per spiration; therefore, wash your dress shields every week. A suggestion of some delicate odor is exquisitely feminine. Let it be but a suggestion Bernhardt, and most French women, put just a drop upon their ear tips. The Russian grande dame scents her hair. Too many American women douse perfume all over them. Veils should be rolled upon a veil pa l. A shabby, torn veil Is a forlorn thing and will make even a beauty look a guy. After 40 white veils are ridiculous; before 20 black ones are correspondingly so. A veil, like gloves, should he above criticism. Tawdry (lowers, worn by no matter whom, give the wearer a theatrical commonplace appearance. With a tailor made gown gay flowers or nod ding plumes are in bad taste. A beau tifully tied bow of heavy silk or panne velvet upon a straw hat is more chic, keeps its style and can be cleaned. Chatelaines, gorgeous lorgnette chains, diamonds and jeweled bar ett?s are worn while shopping, but never by women of great social dis tinction. who would as soon wear a bicycle costume to church. Tis the little things that show whether or not the woman is a gentlewoman.—Phila delphia Record. Queen M*<l • * hlr. Three grand dr.mis lave furnished the cue ala inode lor the last hail! century, or since 1860. Qu. en Alexan dra, Mine, do Mott:nil h .raid Sarah Bernhardt are the trio. The quran is u positive beauty, but the other twa arc pot.n.s and only of negative good looks. In fact Mmc. de Mctt/rnich, whose influence upon the fashions has been perhaps the strongest, is posi tively homely, few women being more so: her ugliness is unique, but ren dered fascinating by a cretain charm of manner. It was Queen Alexandra—then the Princess Wales —who made black very chic; before her time it was dedi cated to th? bourgeolse. The wearing of this dismal hue belongs only to modern times; who ever heard of a Greek, or an Oriental, or an Egyptian in black. The only woman who can wear black to advantage Is the one who has black eyes, black hair and is fat, is tli? dictum of the disciples of Edmund Russell. The young Queen of Holland is making white the fashionable color for gowns throughout aristocratic circles in Holland. She has always preferred white, and her trousseaus contain white dresses of every kind of ma terial-silk, velvet, wool—both foi morning and evening wear. On the morning of her marriage Queen \V:I - appeared at breakfa.:'. with l ev mothe. - in a lovely gown of white tlovii, embroidered in white '>>ol. Her \ edding gown was cloth of silver, and very magnificent was the white velvet dress she wore when making h?r pub lic entry into Amsterdam. It was trimmed with sable, with an ermine mantle. Because she embroideed a tunic so beautifully for the viceroy, the pres ent Dowager Empress of China was al lowed to learn to read. She was a slave and 12 years old, when she ex ecuted this really wonderful piece of work, and when asked to name her re ward she said there was nothing which would suit her better than to learn to read. There is no such thing as low neck and short sleeves in China. When western women visit China two feat ures of their dress are a great shock to the Oriental woman —the decollette of the evening bodice, and the fact that no trousers are worn. If bloom ers or knickerbockers were worn, cov ering the leg to the ankle Chinese women would regard them a vast im provement on the present style of west ern dress. Such a hue and cry is raised about the extravagance of women of the present day, but it is nothing com pared to that of centuries ago. Marie de Medici had a gown embroidered with 32,000 pearls and 300 diamonds, and Mme. de Montespan wore at a court festival “a gown of gold on gold, and over that gold frieze stitched with a certain gold which makes the most divine stuff that has ever been imag ined.” Even in ancient times extravagance in dress was not uncommon. Sarah, pieces of silver for a veil —to be sure, the silver was a gift, and for that purpose, that she might buy a cover ing suitable to a person of her rank. Sarah doubtless wore this valuable gift as a symbol of modesty. Hermione, daughter of Helen, when she leai I ad that her mother had been carried off by Paris, tore in pieces her veil that was interwoven with gold. All Grecian ladies wore muslin veils interwoven with gold thread, while servants were not allowed anything but plaiii ones. In Lacedemonia married women only are allowed the privilege of wearing veils. Young women ought to show themselves, said Charcian, in order that they rnlgnt get husbands, and the married women should go veil :d, to keep theirs. —Chicago Record-Herald. Sleeves continue to be elaborate. Linen gowns will be much in evi dence this summer. The newest ferrets are of iron. Oxy dized silver is also used for these fanciful ornaments. Raised ribbon floral embroidery on chiffon or lace ground is a London fancy, also ribbon embroidery on net. Rope braid is used to a considerable extent for millinery purposes and ap pears in the form of bows, with many loops, on lace, chiffon, net and tulle toques. White English serge gowns, lined with white taffeta and strapped with soft, lusterless white cloth resembling suede kid. are expected to be much worn this summer. For outdoor wear shoes of gray or white chamois will continue to be fashionable. The new models show large, square hows, held in place by buckles just below the instep, over which rises a shaped flap or tongue. A stylish black taffeta gown, with the regulation flare to the skirt, has at intervals running the full length of it box plaits of cloth. The Eton jacket of silk is finished in the same way. The result is particularly stylish and pretty. Many of the prettiest new summer waists are made with elbow sleeves and finished with a twist and little bow of velvet or taffeta. When the waist is trimmed with bands of lace insertion velvet ribbon is run through the lace with pretty effect. Very chic is an ecru straw hat. the brim turned up, continental fashion A black velvet ribbon bow is tied around the crown. At the left side stands a big pink rose, its leaves trail ing over the brim onto the hair, where they loin a soft rosette of liberty satin in a delicate turquoise. DEFICIT EDUCATION. I’m really sorry for the man Who's bred te idleness, lie passes illlul'gp life’s litlle span A pietmv of distress. Alas, lie may not even know Whnt joy it is 1" shirk, lie is indeed ■; . nj: of woe Who hasn't learned to work. But sadder i* the busy one Who hurries through tins life And never steps to think of fun Amid the bustling strife. He is the mournfuilest of men—• You see him every day— M ho feels like loafing now and then, Hut doesn't know the wity. . —Washington Slafc HUMOROUS. Riter —Hav? you re a 1 my lwt poem? Reeder 1 hope so. The Photographer—But this picture doesn’t look like her. Astute Assist ant —Of course, not; but. it looks liko she thinks she looks. Wigg—Young Gotrox is an imbecile. He hasn’t even horse sense, Wagg—• lie doesn't need horse sense. He rides in an automobile. “Some people say,” remarked the talkative barber, “that barbers are too fond of conversation. ’ “O! that’s all wrong,” replied tin man in the chair; “it’s soliloquy they’re fond cf.” “What does the teacher say when you don't know your lessons?” asked Willie's father. "She rnyc 1 must be a chip of the old blockhead,'’ replied Willie. And then something hap pened. "I know all the tricks cf the trade,” declared the loud mouthed lodger. “You don't suppose I've been hoard ing 20 years for nothing “ “No,” said the landlady icily. “Pm positive you haven't,” “For a man who doesnt work,” said the housekeeper, “ybu have a pretty good appetite.” “Yes, ma’am,” replied Hungry Higgins; “dat’s why 1 don't work, if I did. dey wouldn’ be no sat isfyin’ me.” Smith —I suppose v on are one of those who claim the world owes you a living. Laziman—Yes; and the trouble is collections are bad. TVs as much as I can do to scrape together a bare existence. Two bulls Were oni • in love wilh the same heifer. In the midst of their dispute a man was seen ap proaching. Aha!” exclaimed the heifer, who played no favorites. “Here is a way out of the difficulty. You may toss up for me” Thus ia feminine wit always equal to an emergency. “I was getting measured for a suit of clothes this mawning,” said young Mr. Sissy to his pretty cousin; “and just for a joke, y’ know i awsked Sni pe n if it weally took rone tailors to make a man. He said it would lake more than nine tailors I>> make a man of some people. I thought it was quite clevah." “You are the sunshine of my life !” be exclaimed. She smiled encourag ingly. “You reign in my heart alone!” he continued. She frowned. “I could not wed a man who mixed his meta phors like a weather prognosticator, 1 * she said, haughtily. He realized at once that his case was hopeless, and, putting on his mackintosh, he stag* gered out into the moonlight. NO MORE BIG CITIES- Improved Kapid Trail'd* Will Be Iho Municipal Solvont. In an effort to pictnrr f fie future of great cities as afflicted by the devel opment of rapid transit. Mr. H. G. Wells contributes to th< London Fort nightly Review a fiiw mating article on the England of 200 A D. It is the second of a series of serious scientiflo anticipations, the first of which placed the speed of railway journeys for the near future at 100 mile or more an hour, and of omnibuses, cabs, etc., at 30 miles or more. Mr. Wells believes nut tbe influ ence of this rapid transit will be not to condense population, but to spread it out all over the lan l Huge towns and cities will all but disappear, and the inhabitants will oelako themseves to the country again. Hitherto the great cities have been confined, he points out, within a radius of about eight miles from the centre; horse traction and bad trail services have compelled it. Socn rh< 'idius will be 30 miles. “And is It too much asks Mr. Wells, “not expect that the available area for even tne commor ihrily toilers of the great city of tb- year 2000 will have a radius very much larger than that? Now, a circle w .;i a radius of 30 miles gives an an a of o\ r 2800 square miles, which is aunost a quarter that of Belgium.” The social equivalent the season ticket holder, will, he suggests, have an available area with r radius of over 100 miles, or almost th* size of Ire land. “Indeed, it is not too much to say that the London ulizen of the year 2000 A. D. may Inwe a choice of nearly all England and Wales south of Nottingham and ea?-. of Exeter as his suburb, and that tic vast stretch of country from Washington to Al bany will be all available tc the active citizen of New York and Philadelphia before that date.” Mr. Wells’ picture is ruieed delight ful. He giv-s Englishm*-! a London city of a sort, a Lam as!... city, and a Scotch >M-,. consisting chiefly of business ps ?-■ •s, while tbe whole of Great Britain will be dotted over with houses ,< n different from the modern "villa" • fi in its spa cious garden. It w I in much lisa monotonous, Mr. V> ays. Thera will be more life and more character, and each district will t row in its own particular way. The postefflee will de liver nearly everything that ewif household wants.