painted with all the sumptuous splendor of Venetian art, is a stately
vase, around which hangs a festoon of gorgeous flowers, its end dragging
upon the pavement. In the background, between the columns, smiles the
blue sky of Italy--the only thing Italian not deteriorated by time. The
careful student of this picture, if he have been long in Paris, is some
day startled by detecting, especially in the faces of the women
represented, a surprising likeness to the women of Paris, and perceives,
with a thrill of dismay, that the models for this picture of decadent
human nature are furnished by the very city in which he lives.




THE TWO FARMERS

BY CAROLYN WELLS


Once on a Time there were Two Farmers who wished to Sell their Farms.

To One came a Buyer who offered a Fair Price, but the Farmer refused to
Sell, saying he had heard rumors of a Railroad which was to be Built in
his Vicinity, and he hoped The Corporation would buy his Farm at a Large
Figure.

The Buyer therefore went Away, and as the Railroad never Materialized,
the Farmer Sorely Regretted that he lost a Good Chance.

The Other Farmer Sold his Farm to the First Customer who came Along,
although he Received but a Small Price for it. Soon Afterward a Railroad