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.- ~ The Shop 8 On ’Wheels eeeooooeooeoeoeoeeo I . It was nearly three o’clock in the morning, and Josiah Pim almost beâ€" gan to despair of doing any more trade that night. “Never kIIL\V things to be so quiet,” he muttered, in a tone of deep disgust. “It’s more like a country churchyard than London town.” Mr. Phil had a pleasant, habit of talking to himself, which was proâ€" bably the result of so often having no one else to talk to. “Blest if I don't think I'll take the old shop home,” he added, with a threatening look at his giant coffee-urn. “I’ll take you home, and break you up for old iron ! Busiâ€" ness," he contihued, turning to the teapot for sympathy, “what’s the good of talking about the state of trade, when a coffeeâ€"stall at the corâ€" nor of Sloane street can’t take more than ninepence in two hours ? I shall chuck it, that‘s what I shall do.” It was one of the advantages of Mr. Pim’s business that if customers came not to him he could take his wares, shop and all, to them. Just then a party of young people returning from some scene of social festivity came in sight. Mr. Pim eyed them scornfully. “Tof’ls !” he said confidentially to the sugar basin. “Not worth twoâ€" pence to us !" But for once even Mr. Pim’s sa- gacity was at fault. One of the young men who was leading the way called out to the rest : "Here's 5. coffee stall ! Who Wants coffee ‘2” “Oh, I would like to have coffee at a street stall ! Shall stop ‘2” Then a young man, who was eviâ€" dently a humorist, observed that they might as well die there as anyâ€" where, so the whole party pulled up. much to Mr. Pim’s astonishment, and demanded coffee, hot. some W0 Mr. .Pim was not at all flustered at this inrush of aristocratic paâ€" tronage. Indeed, he often boasted that at his temperance hotelâ€"as he sometimes used to call his cofTeeâ€" stallâ€"he served all classes of society, from noble dukes to artful dodgers. So he served the party with hot coffee of the most aromatic and reâ€" lreshing quality in his power, talk- ing all the time in a low voice, as was his custom, to the various {articles about him. “Well, it is a. ruin world, and no mistake !” he said in a confidential whisper to his most intimate friend the coffeeâ€"urn. "Here’s a lot of swellsâ€"downright outâ€"andâ€"outers, as .you may seeâ€"who could have everv blessed thing they asked for, must needs come to a coffeeâ€"stall at three o’clock in the morning for penny cups of coffee." “It‘s jolly good coffee !” said the noisy young man who had led the way. "Is it ‘2" inquired Mr. Pim drily. "That's rather surprising. Seeing that I’ve only been making coffee for the last forty years, you wouldn’t expect me to know anything about it yet." “That’s one for you,” said a mem- ber of the party to the noisy youth. “I suppose you see some 'funny sides of life here, don’t you ?” he asked turning to Mr. Pim. ’ . "Yes," replied the hotel proprietor in, the same slow, sarcastic tone of voice. “I get all sorts and con- ditions of men here. I’ve had lords and loafers, Prime Ministers and jockeys, rogues and vagabonds. wise I! I men and â€"here he looked quizzically at the noisy young gentlemanâ€" “fools.” "What heading do we come under?” asked a young lady, turning a pair of beautiful greyâ€"blue eyes to Mr. Pim inquiringly. _ The old man, who had been read- ing human nature in the stillness of the night for nearly half a century turned his keen eyes to her for moment, and, after a glance at the young fellow who stood by her side said, in a softer voice : ’ “At present, my child, you under no heading. i qualified yourself. ” Then he looked again at the young fellow by her side, who had a curiâ€" ouslly striking face, and said to the gir : ' "Your opportunity may be ing." By this time most of the party had gone on, and these two were ‘alone at the coffee-stall. The girl appeared to be struck bv the old man’s remark, for she said ‘: v come You have not yet C0111- . “Is my opportunity really comâ€" ing 2’ I wonder if I shall make use of it ?” “What about me, old boy ?” asked the young man. “Am I among the sheep or the goats '2” "At present you are among goats ?” said the old keeper grimly. The young man was evidently half offended, and said sharply "Oh, I think it’s time we got on, Miss Trent !" With a nod from the girl. and a somewhat grufi‘ “Goodâ€"night 3” from the young man, they went away. leaving Mr. Pim to his own caustic. shrewd thoughts. "That’s the way of lliv world,” muttered to iii-3 friend the urn. "A crowd the coffeeâ€"stall he coffee- ,and perhaps ;\'.'()l‘tli noting.” @ @@@@@©@@ of the whole crowd, there’s one man, one woman, who is lle proceeded to pack up his ufen-‘ sils, chatting to his silent con;- panions all the time. i “Yes ; we shall see him again,” he‘ said. “Up the tree or in the gutter.‘ Who knows ‘2 She doesn't know ; and yet it is she who will \vrite his, fate. And perhaps she doesn’t even know that his fate is in her hands., That’s the pity of itâ€"sho may not men know that the fate of a man is in her hands 2” II. A couple of years rolled by, and still Mr. I‘im wheeled his ft-mperancc‘ hotel night, by night to the corner of Sloane street. lie was still making caustic obser- vations on the ways of the world at large, and holding confidential chats with his coffeeâ€"urn. But his coffeeâ€"urn was not his only companion, for many improbable people stopped at his hotel, and 'learnt to appreciate the queer old man's acufeness. There was one manâ€"a young man â€"who had taken to coming almost every nightâ€"or, rather, morningâ€"to drink one of Mr. Pim’s cups of coffee. lie was very pale and shabby- looking, aan there was a pinched, sharp look about his face that told quick-eyed Mr. Pim clearly enough of the tale of semiâ€"starvation that is being told. _ . Hardly anyone would recognize in him the wellâ€"dressed young swell who once stopped at the stall at three o’clock in the morning, with a young lady who had singularly beautiful grey-blue eyes. But Mr. Pim had not forgotten the fact, though he had not once referred to it. . “Good-evening, sir,” said Mr. Pim one night to his queer customer. “And how’s the world been using you 7" “Oh, well enough i” said the young man, quietly. Mr. Pim looked at him keenly. People who are half starved and wear shabby clothes don’t often speak of the world as treating them “well enough.” "I paint, pictures which the world won’t buy,” said the young man ; “but I don’t know whose fault that is.” ” ian’t you manage to paint pic- tures which the world will buy '2” asked Mr. Pim. The young man looked at him with a smile. “Of course I could to,” he said. “Only you don’t choose to ‘2” reâ€" marked the old man. "No ; I don’t choose to, customer. "Well, I’m hanged i” said Mr. Pim with a twinkle in his eye. “I’m blest if I wasn’t right when I said you were the one man in the crowd worth noting !” “When did you say that '2” asked the youi _ man. “A couple of years ago, Pim, “when you stopped here night with a party of tofls. You were differently dressed then, and you had a young lady with you.” The young man colored slightly, paid for his coffee, and went away hurriedly. But one night when he was visiting the coffee-stall he took out his note- book and made a sketch of Mr. Pim and his temperance hotel. “Oh,” said Mr. Pim quizzically, when the sketch was finished, “so you’re the young man who paints pictures that the world won’t buy '2 Now, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If you care to scribble a copy of that on the front of my stall, for my customers to look at while they drink their coffee, you can come here for coffee every night free of charge.’ The young man laughed. “What’s the good of a sketch you ?” he asked. if I wanted u said his u said Mr. one of Mr. goes by, and. out‘ "That's my business,” said Pim. It’s a business offer; you take it or leave it, as you like.” “I accept,” said the young man. “Why should I not ? I have painted a good many pictures and got no- thing for them. At any rate, I shall get coffee for this.” So the following night he brought his materials with him, and worked away for over an hour, with apâ€" parently a keen sense of enjoyment. “How is it that you’ve come down in the world '2" asked Mr. Pim. sudâ€" denly. “You used to look as smart as any of them.” “Because I’m Cftn what most people would call a fool," said the young man. “I can earn a good enough living if I choose to do so, by sketching for the illustrated papers. But I’ve got a conceited notion in my head that I’m fit for something better. So I plough away at a class of work which the public won’t buy. See '2" "I see," said Mr. Pim quickly. "You won’t mix chicory with your coffee." Now, there is a certain celebrated artist in London who loves art for itself, and not merely for what it brings in. He is a queer, wandering Bohemian character, who delights in roaming about the great old city at night, when, he thinks, he sees more real human nature than in the day. He was an occasional customer of Mr. Pim’sâ€"a fact which Mr. Pim no doubt had in his mind when he ask- cd for a sketch to adorn his stall-â€" and not long after it was finished it happened to catch his eye. He looked at it carelessly. seemed to rivet his attention. llut it and ‘hu put down his cup of collce to look Pim silâ€" while Mr. observant it more closely. in at smoked his pipe 01103 But the great man was not satis- fied with merely looking at the skatrh. for he took out a glass and examined exery bit, of it anxiously. "\‘. ho painted that ?" he asked at last. “A young friend of mine," said Mr. Pim briefly. “A young echoes the friend artist of yours ’2” incredulously. L"What’s his name ?" "I don’t know his name," said Mr. I’im ; "no more do you." “I know the name of every painter in London." "Yes ; but you don‘t know the name of this one," insisted lilr. l’im. “He doesn't advertise in any paper, and he doesn’t run about asking the successful for help." “Tell me his name "’ said the artist. impatiently. "Tell me his name. I say l We haven't many artists in England ; let me find this one quickly !” That was how the tide turned. In two or three mornings the great man had taught him more of painting than he had learnt in so many years. More than that, he inâ€" troduced him to the public ; so that his work got fair attention, and he no longer had to slip out at night to take his walk in order to hide his shabby clothes. In some way the public heard of the strange manner in which he had been discovered ; but there was a circumstance connected with his career which never became publicâ€" no, not even when his marriage with the beautiful Miss Trent was anâ€" nouncedâ€"and that was a pile of let- ters. carefully hidden away in his trunk, which had cheered him week by week, without once disappointing him, all through the long time of strugglingâ€"letters which had only one message "I am waiting for you. Struggle on; fear nothing." Not once had they met after that night. when he first knew her; but Mr. Pim could have told how once or twice a young lady, carefully wrapped in a long cloak, had come to him late at night, merely to hear him talk of a customer who was very, very shabby, and very poor.â€" London Answers. __+___ WOMEN AND THE CORONATION. Matters of Dress Which Excite In- terest in England. The cloth of gold for King Ed- ward’s coronation robe is being Woven and is, upon completion to be handed over to the Royal School of Art Needlework. Princess Christian of Schleswig-lâ€"Iolstein is responsible for this move, the school being her pet hobby. Her protegees are to work upon the cloth a. bold design in colors. Queen Victoria’s coronation robe was ornamented, in like fashion, with a gorgeous design of roses, Shamrocks and thistles. The royal wish that English silks shall be used for the coronation was helped on by the recent exhibitionpf British silks held for the benefit of the Queen’s Nurses’ Fund. The Princess of Wales, who is president of the National Silk Association, attended the exhibition, and so did all the great ladies who happened to be in or near London; for aside from loyalty, there was a keen curâ€" iosity in regard to the life size mo- del of the coronation robe approved by the Queen. Rumor has it that in spite of loyâ€" alty and royal wishes to the conâ€" trary, many coronation orders have already been placed with the great Parisian dressmakers. The Queen’s maids of honor, not being peeresses, have less to worry over than the other women who will take part in the coronation ceremonâ€" ies. They are not sitting up nights agonizing over chronets and wonâ€" dering what the state of their hair will be after the brief donning of those awkward emblems of their rank. The maids will wear white with silver trains and will sport the tra- ditional ostrich feathers in their hair, so the chances are that their enjoyment of the ceremony will be more whole-hearted than that of the rest of the feminine contingent. Apropos of head adornment, the new Queen is to have a. new crown, made expressly for her, and, it is said, more becoming than the small jewelled top knot of other years. Another coronation item now exerâ€" cising the thought and skill of deâ€" signers and workmen is the corona- tion Bible which will be gorgeously bound in crimson, emblazoned with the Royal Arms in gold, and fastenâ€" ed with elaborately wrought gold clasps. This bible is one of the per- quisites of the prelate who adminâ€" isters the oath. ____+.__.__ THEIR OPINION. A volunteer, who was a great man in his own eyes, was by some inâ€" fluence appointed captain. He could hardly speak of anything but his new dignity. Meeting a friend one dav he accosted him thus : “Well, Jim, I suppose you know I have been appointed captain ?" “Yes,” said Jim, "I heard so.” “Well. what do your folks say about it ‘P" asked the captain. “They don’t say nothin’," replied truthful James; “they just laugh." FATIIJCIILY lXSZIf 2 HT. Pollyâ€"“Pa, don’t you think I will be a success in business life 2’" Pitâ€"“N0, Polly, not unless you get :1- situation where you can boss the boss.” POINTS OF A GOOD IIOIISB. A noth horseman sums up the requirements of a good horse as fol- lows:â€" 1. Quality throughout, firmness of bone, being more important than lsize. -‘ .. ll‘ine. dense. muscular fibre with good development in every part. 3. Nerve energy, vital force and prompt action without the use of the whip. 4. Oblique, springy pasterns to avoid concussions of joints in fer“. and legs. 5. Smooth, wellsroundcd, but deep body; not ruggedâ€"hipped or flatâ€"ribâ€" bed. 6. Narrow space. between lust and hip and low at the flank. 7. Sound, wellâ€"formed feet, and legs, well set under the body, front and rear. 8. Straight face line, mild full eye, largo thin nostril and low windâ€"pipe. f). Frictionless line movement and elastic action, not toeing in or out. 10. Measure well the strength of the weakest parts, the. stronger ones will take care of themselves. They are never put to the strain but the Weaker ones are. Size has always been considered a measure of power, all other things being equal; but size in horsesâ€" working animalsâ€"with coarseness of bone, looseness of tissue, want of nerve force, sluggish action. lack of ambition, organically tired, etc, has for many years 'past been the laâ€" mentable foundation stock of the horse breeding business generally. The constant aim~â€"and it must never be overlookedâ€"is to produce animals of size. quality, endurance and ability to perform all required duties with the least "wear and tear" and expense to their owners. But we. should never consider the size of the horse without these very essential requisites, which make him a benefit and pleasure to us, or on the other hand an annoyance, exâ€" pense and disappointment. What we do in horse breeding should be done for the very best, to- wards what the produce can do for us. Let us consider the horse from the performing standpointâ€"consti- tution. endurance, strength and ac- tionâ€"rather than the amount of flesh he can be made to Carry, or the pounds the scales can make him weigh. Any extra fat is a detriment to vital action for either work or breeding, and always costs the purâ€" chasers a very high price for the useless extra pounds of meat that smooth over the animal to please the eye. rib GOOD DAIRY COWS PAY. I have been breeding Jerseys for the last 15 years, writes Mr. C. D. Simpson. They are like the Irish- man’s whiskey. He said it was all good but some was a little better than the rest. Just so with the Jersey cow. I have seen some soâ€" called Jerseys that were not worth their feed, while there are others nearly worth their weight in gold. History tells us that the Jersey has been bred for more than 500 years on an island midway between and not far from either of the two greatâ€" est butter consuming cities in the world, London and Paris, and that they were selected and bred exclusiveâ€" ly for supplying butter for these great cities. The greatest profit for the amount of food consumed is what we are afâ€" ter in the dairy business, and Jerâ€" seys make a most excellent showing in butter and also milk. I milk my cows almost the whole year. The dairy calf should be allowed to suck its mother but a few days after which it should be fed skimmed milk until five or six months old. It should also have the run of a good clover lot. It should never be fed very much corn or any other fatâ€" producing food. I have known some very fine heifers to be ruined by beâ€" ing kept too fat while they were growing into a cow. In the winter, feed bran, oats and clover hay. In connection with keeping cows I find a cream separator almost a ne- cessity for the larger profits. I have a. small oneâ€"horse gasoline engine which separates the cream from the sweet milk in a very short time. The sweet milk is mixed with ground wheat and oats and fed to pigs. It seems to be one of the best- pig foods I have ever used. I feel that the skimmilk about pays the keep of the cows when used in this way. The butter product I consider not profit. There is still good money in the good dairy cow when properly bandâ€" led. SOIL LIFE. Soil is not an inert lifeless mass of dirt, essentially unclean and unâ€" worthy of thought or attention. but is a live and complex substance in which constant change is taking place, as an immense kitchen in which food is made and prepared for plant roots. All soils are formed upon rocks by the action of freezing and thawing, rain, running water and glaciers. They are marii- up chiefly of particles of rock of varyâ€" ing sizes. The fertility of 1 soil depends to a considerable ‘21”; w» ‘.p_ on the size of its particles. The soil contains decayed and decaying \ego- table matter and this material gives lsoil its dark color and adds to its lfertility. It is the home of count- [less numbers of minute creatures, too small to be seen that are con- stantly at work causing decay of \egetublc matter and maktapr plant food. Animals, including all the higher forms, depend upon plants for food. for life. Plants live upon and Hi the-S011. Without soil all ani- mal life and all higher forms of plant life would be impossible, The surface of the earth would be a bald and barren scene of desolation. PRO FIT 1N I’IG S. One cannot hope to make. swine a, profitable farm product unless he goes permanently into the business. Too many who try to make money from swine find it unprofitable one _\'f':lr, and abandon it, or because afâ€" for two years of fair success the ‘bird year proves unsatisfactory, they conclude that the best days for the business have passed, and they try their hand at. something else. As a continuous business, carried on not one or two or three years, but ten. fifteen and twenty years. it has no superior and the man who purâ€" sues it thus will get his sure reward. finch succeeding year we learn more about the work and find out where we made mistakes and where we could have made improvements. We become so familiar with the whole subject that we are conrpcfent jud- ges as to whether we should raise this or that breed. We also grow accustomed to anticipating the mar- kets, which is a great thing in these days of fluctuations. Then, too, we learn how best to feed the animalsâ€" how to get the most from every ton of feed, grass or hay. JAPANESE SUPERSTITION. Foundation of a New Building Sealed with Blood. In old Japan people were some- times buried alichâ€"or, oftener, allow- ed themselves to be buried alivchat the beginning of a difficult piece of engineering work in order to impart strength and life to the undertak- ing. The victims to this horrible superstition were known under the title of "human pillars” and many quaint and weird stories have been woven around this custom, and are recounted to this day by Japanese grandmothers to their grandchildren. But. no one would imagine that. any grown-up Japanese of the pre~ sent day would seriously believe in these tales, much less offer to be the subject of one of them; .yet this is exactly what two persons have just done. The Buddhists of Osaka have re cently been collecting subscriptions for the erection of a big belfry with a monster bell at Tennoji Temple, in the suburbs of that city. An old lady, a fervent Buddhist, living in the south island of Japan, happen- ing to hear of this project, had a. letter written to the temple intimat- ing that she was willing to offer her- self as a sacrifice of the “human pil- lar" variety if the temple authori- ties did not object. Of course they did not object, says the London Leader. . THE SECOND ENTHUSIAST ‘ was an exâ€"priest of Osaka, 49 years of ago. On the evening of the 19th inst., a policeman attached to the Tennoji police station noticed the figure of an elderly person proceed- ing toward the temple. The figure was clad in white, and was carrying on its back a coffin. The latter fact aroused the suspicions of the police- man, on whose approach the figure attempted to run, but was overtaken and led to the station. An examination of the coffin re- vealed a singularly beautiful old sword and a mortuary tablet. A letter addressed to the head priest of the temple, which was discovered ‘on the person of the prisoner, explained exactly what the latter had been about to do. The man, on being in- terrogated, calme confessed that he had resolved to commit suicide that night in the temple premises in or- der, as he said, “to vit‘alize the col- lection of the bell funds and to give strength to the belfry on its con~ struction.” He was perfectly sane and 'm' if- literate, and the warm remonstrano- es of the police and the temple priests succeeded in making him promise to abandon his rash project. He was consequently released, but he insisted on leaving behind in the police station his valuable sword, an heirloom in his family and an excelâ€" lent specimen of the swordsmith’s art. The man’s name was (lwano Hayashi. He has a. wife and two children and has so far been able to maintain them decently. __._.__5___ THIS I‘OINT WAS MISSING. “Professor,” said an acquaintance, “you understand Latin, do you not ?” “Well,” may be said to have a fair ledge of Latin ; yes.” “I know everybody says you have. replied the professor, “I know- I wish you would tell me what 'volix’ means. Nobody that I have asked seems to have heard of the word." "If there is any such word as volix, madamâ€"of which I have scL rious doubtsâ€"I certainly do not know what, it means." “You surprise me, professor. A man of your attainments ought to know that volix means Vol. IX." The professor devoted a moment to calling up his reserves and bringâ€" ing his light artillery into action. "It is no wonder, madam," he said "that I did not see the point of your jqke. You left the point out of it.”