181

2HE fences shown upon the opposite page, separating houses and lots, often prevent acquaintance with neighbors being made. The result of this non-intercourse is usually a suspicion that the neighbor is unworthy of confidence, an opinion which is never overcome except by interchange of civilities which would show each the worth of the other.

Unacquainted with his neighbors, the resident, ceasing to consider their rights, grows careless of his obligations toward others, and consequently becomes a less worthy citizen.

The illustration upon this page (Fig. 23) represents the scene very much changed. Again we have the same residences, and the same neighbors, who have become acquainted and have learned to value each other. The result of this social intercourse and evident observance of the rights of others has wrought a vast change in the appearance of the homes, which is manifest at a glance.

all are improved. Even the cat and dog that quarrelled in the former scene are now acquainted with each other, and happily play together, To maintain pleasant relations among neighbors, there are a few things which the citizen must avoid. Among these are the following: Never allow children to play upon a neighbor's grounds or premises unless they are invited and made perfectly welcome by the neighbor. Never allow fowls or animals of any kind, which you have control over, to trespass upon the premises or rights of other people.

Never borrow of neighbors if it be possible to avoid it. It is better to buy what you need than to frequently borrow. There are a few things which a neighbor should never be expected to lend. Among these are fine-edged tools, delicate machinery, and any article liable to easily get out of order. The less business relations among neighbors, the better.

This illustration represents a neighborhood where the people evidently do unto others as they wish others to do unto them. They trust each other. The barriers between them are removed. No animal is allowed to do injury. Enjoying

this alone a heavy item of expense has been removed, while with it has come the enlargement of grounds, which, studded with finely trimmed trees, and intersected with winding pathways, surround every residence with a most elegant park. That this improvement is enjoyed, is shown in the congregating of the neighbors together in the shady nook, the gambols of the children on the lawn, and the promenade of the ladies and gentlemen throughout the beautifully embellished grounds. All delight in the scene, and all are made better by it. While the resident could be coarse and selfish in his own little lot, he is now thrown upon his good behavior as he mingles with others on the beautiful grounds, and thus

peace and beauty they evidently desire that the neighbor shall share the same. This co-operation, kindness and regard for all, give the beauty, the harmony, the peace, and the evident contentment which are here presented.

Never fail to return, with thanks, any article borrowed, as soon as you have finished using it, and see that it is in as good or better condition than when you received it.

Articles of provisions which may be borrowed should be very promptly returned in larger quantity, to pay interest, and better in quality if possible. In no way can

a neighbor lose character more effectually in business dealing

than by the petty meanness of borrowing and failing to pay, or by paying with a poorer quality and in less

amount.

Avoid speaking evil of your neighbor. As a rule it is only safe to compliment and praise the absent one.

If any misunderstanding arises between yourself and a neighbor, endeavor to effect a reconciliation by a full explanation. When the matter is fully understood you will very likely be better friends ever afterwards. Never fail, if the grounds run together, to keep your premises in as good order as your neighbor's. Should you own the house and grounds, and others occupy the same, you will do well to arrange to keep the exterior of the premises in order at your own expense, as tenants have not the same interest. The improvements of grounds among neighbors thus will always be kept up; you will be compensated by securing the best class of tenants, and the neighborhood will be greatly improved.

182

N officer of the law you may be, and it becomes you to care for the prisoner in your charge. While law should be enforced. for the good of the criminal as well as the protection of society, it does not become you to be unkind. Perhaps investigation may prove that your pris

soner is innocent and has been wrongly arrested. But if guilty, at most he is simply unfortunate. He had no power to say what qualities of mind he should inherit, what his temperament should be, or what training he should receive in infancy; all of which are usually determining causes that fix man's destiny in after-life.

He stands before you largely the victim of unfortunate circumstances. He lacks the moral strength which others possess, and hence his weakness and his errors. True, he must pay the penalty of his transgression, but you can temper the administration of your government with such justice as will tend to the improvement and, possibly, the reformation of the criminal. Whatever the conduct of the prisoner, you should always rise superior to the feelings of passion or revenge.

In a thousand ways our paths in life will be crossed by those who commit errors. It will be easy to find fault; it will be natural to blame. But we must never forget that further back, far beyond our sight, lie causes that tended to produce these results.

Well may the mother look with deep anxiety upon the infant, wondering what destiny lies before it. Alas! that a mother's hopes and prayers often do not avail. Drifted away from parental control, the footsteps fall amid temptation, and a life of sorrow is the result.

We should never forget, in our treatment of the erring, that, were the mother present, she would plead with us to deal gently with her child. Very touchingly does the following poem ask that we be lenient for her sake:

Some Mother's Child.

T home or away, in the alley or street,
Whenever I chance in this wide world to meet
A girl that is thoughtless, or a boy that is wild,
My heart echoes sadly, ""T is some mother's child!"
And when I see those o'er whom long years have rolled,
Whose hearts have grown hardened, whose spirits are cold-
Be it woman all fallen, or man all defiled,

A voice whispers sadly, "Ah! some mother's child!"

No matter how far from the right she hath strayed;
No matter what inroads dishonor hath made;
No matter what element cankered the pearl-
Though tarnished and sullied, she's some mother's girl.

No matter how wayward his footsteps have been;

No matter how deep he is sunken in sin;

No matter how low is his standard of joy-
Though guilty and loathsome, he's some mother's boy.

That head hath been pillowed on tenderest breast;

That form hath been wept o'er, those lips have been pressed;
That soul hath been prayed for in tones sweet and mild;
For her sake deal gently with "some mother's child."

W

HILE error must be deplored and virtue ever commended, we should deal carefully and considerately with the erring, ever remembering that a myriad of untoward circumstances are continually weaving a network around the individual, fettering and binding a soul that otherwise would be white and pure.

It is a most fortunate circumstance for the child to be born of an excellent parentage, to be reared amid kindness, and to be guided in youth by wise counsels. Given all these favoring circumstances, and the chances are that the pathway in life will be honorable. Deprived of these advantages, the individual is likely to fall short in excellence in proportion as the circumstances have been unfavorable.

There are those who seemingly have only a smooth pathway in life. They were so fortunate as to be born with an excellently balanced organization of mind. They have no passion unduly in excess. They have no abnormal longings, no eccentricities, no weaknesses. Roses strew their way, and they live a life well rounded out and full of honor.

But while there are those who are apparently exempt from temptation, all are not so fortunate in ability, in strength of purpose and in power of will which may enable them to resist evil. Some are liable to easily err, and it will take, possibly, but a trivial circumstance to carry them aside. In the transgression they will get their punishment - they will suffer sufficiently. It does not become the more fortunate, therefore, to take too much credit to themselves for being more virtuous and free from error. It is vastly more noble and charitable to extend sympathy and compassion. This sentiment is well expressed in the following poem, by Millie C. Pomeroy:

You Had a Smooth Path. NE morning, when I went to school, In the long-vanished Yesterday,

I found the creek had burst its banks,
And spilled its waters o'er my way.
The little path was filled with mud;
I tried to cross it on a log;
My foot slipped, and I, helpless, fell
Into a mass of miry bog.

My clothes were pitiful to see;
My hands and face were covered quite.
The children laughed right heartily,
And jeered me when I came in sight.
Sweet Jessie Brown, in snow-white dress,
Stood, smiling, by the teacher's desk,
The while he, gravely as he might,
Inquired the secret of my plight.

Then Jessie shook her snow-white dress,
And said, "What will you give to me
For coming here so nice and clean?
My very shoes from dirt are free."
The tutor frowned, and answered her,
"You merit no reward to-day;
Your clothes and hands are clean, because
You had a smooth path all the way."

And so, I think, when children grown
Are white in grace or black with sin,
We should not judge until we know
The path fate had them travel in;
For some are led on sunny heights,
Bevond the power of Sin to sway;
While others grope in darksome paths,
And face temptation all the way.

N the transaction of business, it becomes necessary for all persons to occasionally write various business forms. Among those in most frequent use are Receipts, Orders, Bills of Articles Purchased, Promissory Notes, Checks, Drafts, etc.

market as much as possible, in order that he may buy and fill his contract at a profit. Hence the "shorts" are termed "bears."

Buying long, is to contract to purchase a certain amount of grain or shares of stock at a fixed price, deliverable within a stipulated time, expecting to make a profit by the rise of prices. The "longs" are termed "bulls,' as it is for their interest to "operate" so as to "toss" the prices upward as much as possible.

Promissory Notes.

A promissory note is a promise or engagement in writing to pay a specified sum at a time therein limited, or on demand, or at sight, to a person therein named, or his order or assigns, or to the bearer. The person making the note is called the drawer or maker.

A note is void when founded upon fraud. Thus, a note obtained from a person when intoxicated, or obtained for any reason which is illegal, cannot be collected.* A note given upon Sunday is also void in some States.

Notes bear interest only when it is so expressed; after they become due, however, they draw the legal rate of the State. † Notes payable on demand or at sight, draw no interest until after presentation or demand of the same has

* If, however, the note is transferred to an innocent holder, the claim of fraud or no value received will not avail. The party holding the note can collect it if the maker is able to pay it.

+ If it is intended to have the note draw more than the legal rate of interest, after maturity, the words should so specify in the body of the note as follows: "with interest at the rate of

per cent until paid.

184

been made, unless they provide for interest from date on their face; they then draw the legal rate of interest of the State.

If "with interest" is included in the note, it draws the legal rate of the State where it is given, from the time it is made.

If the note is to draw a special rate of interest higher than the legal, but not higher than the law allows, the rate must be specified.

If the note is made payable to a person or order, to a person or bearer, to a person or his assigns, or to the cashier of an incorporated company or order, such notes are negotiable.

When transferring the note, the indorser frees himself from responsibility, so far as the payment is concerned, by writing on the back, above his name, "Without recourse to me in any event."* | When a note is made payable at a definite period after date, three days beyond the time expressed on the face of the note (called days of grace) are allowed to the person who is to pay the same, within which to make such payment. Notes payable on demand are not entitled to days of grace.

If a note is payable at a bank, and is held there on the day upon which it falls due, until the usual hour for closing, ready for receiving payment thereon, no further demand upon the maker is necessary, in order to charge the indorser. The demand must, in all cases, be made upon the last of the days of grace; a demand

before that time passing for nothing as against the indorser.

The days of grace, which must be computed according to the laws of the State where the note is payable, are to be reckoned exclusive of the day when the note would otherwise become due, and without deduction for Sundays or holidays; in which latter case, by special enactments in most of the States, notes are deemed to become due upon the secular day next preceding such days. Thus, a note, due upon the twenty-fifth day of December, is payable on the twenty-fourth, as the day when due is Christmas day; if the twenty-fourth chance to be Sunday, it is due upon the twenty-third.

In order to charge an indorser, the note, if payable at a particular place, must be presented for payment at the place upon the very day it becomes due; if no place of payment be named, it must be presented, either to the maker personally, or at his place of business, during business hours, or at his dwelling house, within reasonable hours; if payable by a firm, a presentment may be made to either of the partners, or at the firm's place of business; if given by several persons jointly, not partners, the demand must be made upon all. If the note has been lost, mislaid, or destroyed, the holder must still make a regular and formal demand, offering the party, at the same time, a sufficient indemnity in the event of his paying the same