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A Proxy FatheiMniaw By C. B. LEWIS. Copyright, 1908. by Associated Lit erary Press It was reporttsi of the lion. John Sharpe that bo had but two fads where other schemers and speculators and owners of railroad lines had a dozen, tine of his fads was the I’, and (1. rail toad, In which he owned ft controlling Interest. He knew every foot of its roadbed and kept himself posted on all details. His other fad was that his daughter Edith, having finished her school days, Should Interest herself In the I’. and <1 even as he had. If she had been cut out for an old maid or a business wo man she might have obeyed orders lit erally, hut as it was she had to assume nil Interest site did not feel. The Hon. John lived In Chlcngo, and his pot line was farther west. When tired of making money and fighting other I fries on tin* Stork Exchange or by some sly cpup, he would order the general superintendent or other official Into Chicago to report details and plan Improvements. If It wasn’t the general superintend ent, then it was one off a division or a civil engineer and bridge builder. lie had them at his house that his daugh ter might hear and secure experience, and when they had departed he would go over the matter again with her to make sure that she understood. When the civil engineer engaged In building the bridge over Centlped creek was called In he and Miss Edith mot. The Hon. John was in high feather that day. He had secured a mail contract over a rival line and had been told that tin* bridge could tie built for $25,000 less than the estimated exiiense. He stretched his courtesy to Invite the engineer to dinner and to ask Miss Edith to play the piano after ward. Then two or three things happened that he didn’t take cognizance of, al though he was rated a keen and ob servant man. From that night Miss Edith begun to take more Interest In railroad matters, especially In the department of bridge building, and Mr. Havens, the engineer, sent in reports that seemed to necessi tate Ills visiting Chicago much oftener than before. As punctually as the clock the Hon. John Sharpe took u trip over his line In Ills own private car every three months. Miss Edith had accompanied him twice lie fore her sudden great in terest had come to the surface, and her enthusiasm over the third ap proaching trip so pleased him that he patted her golden hair and feelingly observed: “You ore your own father’s daughter, after all. You will come back better posted ou the railroad business than any other girl in America." “It must take a very brainy man to construct such a bridge as I have heard you and Mr. Havens talking about,” she demurely suggested. "It does, my dear a very brainy man." “And one pretty certain to rise in the world V” - * : “Um-y-e-s.” • i. —-~ ► The llyn. John had risen in the worTl, and tie took care to let the world Jcnow it. But lie was rather opposed -W any one else rising, especially any body employed on the l*. and <l. road. “Yies*, v Mr. Havens may rise In his profeasionV” he reluctantly admitted, “but you must remember the social gulf now existing between us. 1 or you and I are the owners of the P. and road. Mr. llaveus Is an em ployee.” Ten days previous to the start on the third trip the Hon. John discovered that threw him into a fer vid flutter, It was not that his daugh ter tfi lier enfhUfTnsm to learn more a bout ra ing for further. about the cantaievcr principle or Uiat he in reply was telling about the tensile strength of steel and the strain put upon it under certain conditions. It was that a feeder to his line was about to pass Into other hands unless he couid secure enough proxies to pre vent this at the election to l>e held in Denver. He took off his coat and started in, and lie came home one night with beaming face to say to the daughter: "My dear girl, always remember that the first principle of railroading is to get possession of the road." ‘‘Hut if you can't get enough of the stock?” she asked. “Then get the proxies. Buy, borrow or K'g. but got them. It is with prox ies that I shall get control of the M. and W. I need only a thousand more votes, and th- are In Denver waiting for me.” i The Hon. John was rubbiug his hands when his car left Chicago. He enjoyed coups, and was on his way to make one. lie felt just a little sym pathy for the already routed enemy. Defeat would come with a dull thud, whereas he rather preferred something of a battle first. “Proxies, my dear,” he said to his daughter as he took a bundle of them from his pocket and thumbed them over—"proxies are the powder and "ball to desolate the ranks of the enemy. Blessed he proxies!” At Santa I'e business detained him half a day. He had scarcely left the car when Mr. Havens made his ap pearance and was received with n smile and a blush. The talk between him and Miss Edith began about the bridge over the Centlped. but gradually cntne down to less scientific and more Interesting things. He referred to a hint she had given him In her last letter and assured her that ho hnd acted on It, and ho solic ited her permission to ask her father n certain momentous question before tho day had expired. That afternoon when the train hud pulled out Miss Edith fluttered around for a lilt uud then timidly asked: “Father, what will happen if you fall to get that thousand proxies you are counting on?” “Why—why, I’d tie knocked into a cocked h:rt, daughter. But I can't fall. I know Just where they are. I shall receive a wire at the next stop. lam glml to see you so Interested in the matter. Proxies are the powder and ball, and I'm sure of the proxies.” Half an Hour later the Hon. John was stamping up and down the car and roaring at tho top of his voice. lie had received the expected wire and had been informed that the party on whom he depended had sold the stock at a sharp advance. This was the biggest setback ho bad received in five years. It meant a staggering blow to the P. and G. While he stamped and roared his daughter iept very quiet. When he had got Through smashing the English language he sat down hard and wiped Ids forehead and looked at the young lady with despairing eyes. “Father, I don’t think we are beaten yet,” she said in reply. “But we are, daughter. Those prox ies are certainly In the hands of that infernal M. and W. gang, and they have got me tight To think that I left It In the hands of Chilvers to betray me! Why, 1 deserve to he sent to an idiot Tsylum!” "But tlie game may not he lost after all. You know you have been trying to make a railroad woman of me for a year past.” “But that miserable Chilvers sold out his stock on me!” shouted the father as he brought his fist down with a great bang. “Yes. dear, but that’s a part of the railroad business. If Chilvers sold his stock someone bought it, and some one has the right to vote It In the meeting tomorrow.” “But the M. and W. gang have got It. of course!” “Perhaps. It’s a part of tho railroad business to find out. You didn’t want me to stop at grades, sidetracks, switchbacks and bridge building, did you? My dear father, remember that the first principle of railroading is to get possession of the road, the next to keep track of stock and proxies.” “Girl, you know something,” he said after a long look into her face. “Well, suppose the M. and W. gang didn’t get that stock?" He gasped for breath and turned pa le. ——*.■ *• “Suppose that a gentleman interested in our road got it?” The Hon. John sat with his mouth open. "Suppose that a gentleman, a real jiiee geutlemnn, a gentleman Interested In— lll -you, got the stock with the idea of helping us out?” “By thunder, but I’d break Ids ribs Lugging him! Out with It, girl! Don’t keep your old dad on the hooks this way.” “Well, then, Mr. Havens is in the rullnian ahead. He had to come up to Senta Fe to hurry tlie last of the bridge stuff down. As he knew how much you wanted control of that feed er and as he knew how interested 1 was In the railroad business he he”—- But the Hou. John had sent the porter for Mr. Havens, and Edith skip ped away to her stateroom. An hour later there was a knock on her door. “Say, young lady, you think you're smart, don’t, you?’ said the father us she appeared. "I’m yodr daughter, you know.” “Um—y-e-s! Well, I’ve told Havens (hat that bridge o\er the Centlped has got to be finished before there is any further nonsense. After that he will lie superintendent of the I*, and G., and If you learn any' more about the rail road business it w ill be from him. You are a little too apt for me.” Simple. Lawyer (at the theater on the first nighti—l can’t Imagine how the piece can lie drawn out into five acts. Author —Oh. that Is very simple. In the first act. you see, the hero gets into a law suit Chance For Imagination. Newspaper men were to be excluded from a famous trial. “That’s good.” one of them remarked. “1 hate to be hampered by facts in writing up a case of this kind.” —Exchange. The Wife Did It All. Hewitt—Couldn't you get the person you called up by telephone? Jewitt— Oh, yes. Hewitt—But I didn't hear you say anything. Jewitt—lt was my wife I called.—New York Freas. A CLERK'S Blunder. Its Effect Upon the Fortunes of Our Revolutionary War. The element of chance as exempli fied In the blunder of a copyist had an Important bearing on the result of our war for Independence. As is well known, the crisis of the military be tween Great Britain and the revolting colonies was reached when General Bnrgoyne’s campaign was planned in London. The object was to strike a tremendous blow at the center of the Revolution. The British forces were to take possession of the Mohawk and Hudson valleys by a concentric march from Lake Champlain, Oswego and New York on converging lines toward Albany. The ascent of the Hudson by Sir William Ilowe’s army was essen tial to the success of a scheme by which New England was to he cut off as by a wedge from the southern coio nles. Orders wore sent out from London for the advance of Burgoyne’s and St. Leger’s forces from Canada. At first Sir William Howe was merely inform ed of the plan and was armed with discretionary powers, but finally a dis patch was drafted positively ordering him to co-operate in the movement from New York. A British clerk made a hasty and very careless copy of tha dispatch, which the minister. Lord George Ger maine, found great difficulty in read ing. He angrily reprimanded tlie cul prit and ordered a fresh copy to he made without flaw or erasure. Being pressed for time and anxious for a holiday, Lord George posted otY to the country without waiting for the fresh copy. The military order was laboriously copied In the clerk’s best hand, but when it was finished tlie minister was not there to sign it. It was pigeon holed and overlooked when he returned and was not sent to America until long afterward. Howe, being left with full discretion, allowed himself to be drawn Into military operations against Wash ington’s army uear Philadelphia. Bur goyne's army was entrapped, cut off from retreat and forced to surrender at Saratoga. Thus the fortunes of the Revolutfon : ary war turned upon the carelessness of a British clerk.—Chicago Record- Herald. SOAP BUBBLES. How Some Pretty and Marvelous Ef fects May Be Produced. There are degrees of skill in all pas times, but one would hardly think that there were specialists in the art of blowing soap bubbles. An article in the Windsor Magazine by Meredith Nu gent, however, shows that some very pretty and marvelous effects may be obtained by the exercise of care and patience with soap and water. The first step is to make a solution by rubbing pure white castlle soap into a bowl partly filled with water until a lather has been formed. Then remove every particle of lather, dip a clay pipe Into the cleared solution and start to blow a bubble. Tf can blow one six Inches in di ameter so that it will hang suspended from the pipe and will allow your fore finger covered with the solution to be pushed through into the bubble with out breaking, then the mixture is ready for use. Six bubbles may be blown, oue inside the other. This is performed by dip ping tho end of a straw in the soapy water and after resting the wet end upon an inverted plate or sheet of glass, which should have been previ- j ously wet with the solution, blow a 'bubble six inches in diameter. Then dip the straw into the solution again, carefully thrust it through into the center of this first bubble and blow another. Continue iu this manner until all the bubbles are in position. Great care must be taken that the straw is thoroughly wet with solution for fully half its length before each bubble is blown. With practice ten or twelve bubbles may be placed inside of one another. No Tears Nor Hills. In the days when Howley Hill was bishop of the Isle of Man one of his clergymen bearing the name of Tears came to say adieu to his bishop on gettiug preferment. The parson said: “Goodby, my lord. 1 hope we may meet again, hut if not here in some better place.” The bishop replied. “I fear the latter is unlikely, as there are no Tears in heaveu.” “No doubt,” wittily answered the par son. “you are right that our ebauce of meeting is small, as one reads of the plains of paradise, but never of any Hills there.”—London Queen. Australian Bushmen. Although the bushmen of Australia are the very lowest in the scale of ig norance, they possess a rare instinct that equate that of many animals and is in its way as wonderful as man’s reason. It is almost impossible for them to be lost. Even if they be led away from their home blindfolded for miles, when released they will unerr ingly turn in the right direction and make their way to their nest homes, and, though these are all very similar, they never make a mistake. LEARNING TO SWIM. The Fat Man Who Was a Model of Patience and Perseverance. Persistence in undertaking is a laud able virtue, but it can be a bit over done sometimes, as in a case described by Y\ L. Moiloy in “Our Autumn Holi day on French Rivers.” Mr. Moiloy md his friends, longing for a good live, went to a swimming school on an island in the Seine. They donned their rented costumes and were preparing for the plunge when a man with ropes came along and insisted on tying them about their waists. It was according to police regulations, and, although they made an indignant protest, they were obliged to submit. While we were dressing, says Mr. Moiloy, we asked the two swimming masters for an extra towel. “Pardon,” they replied, “we must at tend to our monsieur.” Then we saw that there had come upon the platform a short and absurd ly fat man dressed in bathing costume, swimming sandals and oiled cap. “Let’s see him go in,” said we. “What a splash he’ll make!” The swimming masters received the new arrival at the middle of the plat form. There he balanced himself on his stomach on a wooden two feet high. The masters seized him by his hands and feet and with slow and deliberate movements made him strike out with the action of swimming. They kept this up for a quarter of an hour, and the perspiration rolled off him in great drops. "He’ll be awfully hot to go into the water after that,” said I. But he did not go into the water. The swimming lesson over, he moved to ward the dressing room, saying: “I have done better today.” “Ah, yes,” answered one of the mas ters. “Your progress is admirable.” The fat man beamed with complai sance and went in to dress. I called the swimming masters aside. “Does ‘our monsieur’ practice often like that? He must have great perse verance.” “Perseverance! He has worked like this for five years, and he has never lieen in the water!” SIGN OF A BEATEN MAN. Runner Who Looks Behind Almost Sure to Lose the Race. “There are many more good distance runners now than in my days,” said an old time champion after watching a three mile scratch race at the New York Athletic club games. “But the habits of the runners have not changed any, for I noticed one little trick in the race that bore the significance that used to attach to it. “To the casual onlooker there was nothing to choose between the two leaders when they were beginning the last quarter of a mile. Right from the crack of the pistol they were running almost stride for stride with the low, graceful, easy action of the real long distance runner. “Neither had called into use the re serve power which must be utilized in the final sprint for victory when they turned into the stretch for the final lap. Then one of them slightly turned his head to see where the third man was. “ ‘That man is Ixuiten,’ was the thought which occurred to me at once, and it proved true, as always, for when the dash for the finish began he allow ed his rival to get a lead of five yards before going after him in earnest pur suit. “From that point to the finish there was no perceptible difference in the speed of the men, but the man who had turned his head to make sure that he would get second place, instead of bending every energy to win, of course landed where his thoughts placed him.”—New York Sun. The Gun Barrels Grew. In the early days iu the northwest, when the Hudson Bay company laid the foundations of great fortunes by trade with the savages and a gun paid for as many beaver skins as would reach to the muzzle of It, the skins packed fiat and the gnu held upright, it was alleg ed that the barrel of the weapon grew and grew’ with each successive year until the Indian, after he had bought It with the peltry, had to borrow a file and cut off a foot of useless metal. Domestic Bliss- Wife—l have about made up my mind, John, that when I married you I married a fool. Husband—That re minds me of a remark you made just before we were married. You remem ber that you said it would be hard to find two people more alike than you and 1. His Glassy Eye. Doctor—l diagnose all sickness from the patient’s eyes. Now, your right eye tells me that your kidneys are af fected. Patient—Excuse me, doctor, but my right is a glass eye.—Moody’s Magazine. An Eye Opener. “Eight o’clock,” exclaimed a guest at a hotel, yawning, “and I’m so sleepy I can scarcely open my eyes!” “Shall l bring your bill, sir?” inquired a waiter. A GHOST STORY. Tha Spectral Horuman That Visits Wycollar Hall. This ghost story Is contributed by a correspoddent of an English magazine: “Wycollar Hail, near Colne, was long the seat of the Cunliffes of Billingtou. They were noted persons in their time, but evil days came, and their ancestral estates passed out of their hands. In the days of the commonwealth their loyalty cost them dear, and ultimately they retired to Wycollar with a rem nant only of their once extensive prop erty. About 1819 the last of the fami ly passed away, and the hall is now a mass of ruins. Little but the antique fireplace remains entire, and even the room alluded to in the following legend cannot now lie identified. Tra dition says that once every year a specter horseman visits Wycollar Hall. He is attired in the costume of the early Stuart period, and the trappings of his horse are of a most uncouth de scription. “On the evening of his visit the weather is always wild and tempestu ous. There is no moon to light the lonely roads, and the residents of the district do not venture out of their cottages. When the wiud howls loud est the horseman can be heard dash ing up the road at full speed, and. aft er crossing the narrow bridge, he sud denly stops at the door of the hall. The rider then dismounts and makes his way up the broad oaken stairs into one of the rooms of the house. Dread ful screams, as from a woman, are then heard, which soon subside into groans. The horseman then makes his appearance at the door, at once mounts his steed and gallops off. “His body can be seen through by those who may chance to be present; his horse appears to be wild with rage, and Its nostrils stream with fire. The tradition is that one of the Cunliffes murdered his wife iu that room and that the specter horseman is the ghost of the murderer, who is doomed to pay an annual visit to the home of his victim. She Is said to have predicted the extinction of the family, which, according to the story, has been liter ally fulfilled.” THE CRITICS. These Observers Were Wholly Per sonal In Their Judgments. “The critical faculty is rare,” said an editor and critic at a Philadelphia art club. “It must be impersonal. But most of us Incline to be wholly per sonal in our criticism. The fact was brought home to me at one of the exhi bitions at the Academy of Fine Arts. “Passing from picture to picture, I overheard many criticisms. Thus a lady in a rich gown said: “ ‘What a superb portrait of a young girl! It should certainly wiu the Car negie prize. It is easy to see that the gown was made by Paquiu.’ “A fat, red nosed man iu a fur lined overcoat halted before a picture enti tled ‘The LuncheAn.’ “‘This still life.’ he exclaimed, ‘is the most admirable I have ever seen. Terrapin, eanvasbaek. champagne, lob ster, even Perigord pie—ah, what a genius.’ “‘ln (bis historical painting.’ I heard an antiquary say. ‘the costumes are ac curate in every detail. The painter is a second Raphael.’ “ ‘That horse there,’ said a young polo player, ‘is exactly like my Poda sokus. It’s the best picture in the ex hibition.’ “An athlete uttered a cry of delight before a daub called ‘The Gladiator.’ “‘What shoulders! What arms!’ he said. ‘I bet anything the jury gives this painting the highest award.’ “And half the throng, departing, said: “ ‘The picture in the last room is the best. No, we didn’t see it—couldn’t get to it, in fact—but it draws far and away the biggest crowd.’” Mole Superstitions. According to tradition, if you have a mole on your chin you may expect to be wealthy, while if you have it un der your arm it promises you wealth and honor as well A mole on the ankle indicates courage. On the left temple a mole indicates that you will find friends among the great ones of the earth, but if it be placed on the right temple it warns you of coming distress. A mole on a man’s knee means that he may expect to marry a rich woman. A mole on the neck ' promises wealth. If you have a mole on your nose you are going to be a great traveler. A mole on the throat indicates health and wealth. A Grand Family Medicine. u It gives me pleasure to speak a good word for Electric Bitters/’ writes Mr. Frank Conlan of No. 486 Houston St., New York. It's a grand family medicine fordvspep sia and liver complications, while - for lame back and weak kidneys it cannot be too highly recom mended.’’Electric Bitters regulate the digestive functions, purify tho blood, and impart renewed vigor and vitality to the weak and degilitated of both sexes* Sold . under guarantee at Dr. G. W. DeLaperriere’s drug store. 50c. >