THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



35 



his intention to have his boy taught every- 

 thing a human being could learn. He 

 should go both to Oxford and to Cam- 

 bridge, and to two foreign universities as 

 well, so that he should be thoroughly 

 versed in every branch of knowledge. 



His friend said, "Suppose, when you 

 try to stuff four universities full of mis- 

 cellaneous learning down his throat, he 

 flatly refuses to swallow anything but 

 nuts? " 



McClure stopped in his walk and put his 

 hand on the speaker's arm. " I never 

 thought of that." 



WHAT HE WANTED, AFTER ALL. 



"Kind hearts are more than coronets." 

 The visit of the Duke and Duchess of 

 York to Australia has furnished a touch- 

 ing incident, an account of which we find 

 in The Presbyterrian. 



The Duchess called at Sydney Hospital 

 incognita, and went through the wards. 

 On one of the beds lay a little boy. The 

 Duchess halted there and asked the patient 

 what was wrong. The reply came, "I've 

 broke my leg. " Her royal highness wished 

 to know how the accident came about. It 

 was all very simple and boylike. " I fell 

 off a fence trying to see the Duchess, and 

 I never saw her, after all ! " 



A pretty little situation truly ! The 

 Duchess of York immediately told the boy 

 who she was, and said, " You can see me 

 now all to yourself." That boy wasn't 

 sorry he fell off the fence." 



WHY HELEN KELLER IS HAPPY. 



Who tires of.reading about Helen Keller? 

 This wonderful girl deaf, blind and 

 dumb or at least dumb until recently 

 is perhaps the be^t known and best loved 

 young woman in all the land. We have 

 followed her from those early days when 

 the indomitable perseverance and marvell- 

 ous skill of her teachers pierced through 

 the shell in which a sad fortune had en- 

 closed her beautiful soul. We have 



watched her progress, step by step, as th p 

 world has unfolded itself .before her de- 

 lighted appreciation. Of recent months 

 we have seen her entering Radcliffe Col- 

 lege, and taking honorable rank there. 

 Unending effort has even given her the 

 faculty of speech, though she can hear no 

 syllable that she utters. When chosen 

 vice-president of her class, she rose at the 

 freshman luncheon, and said distinctly: 

 "Classmates, it is a great pleasure, and I 

 esteem it a great honor, to be present here 

 and speak to you. I am glad to have an 

 opportunity to thank the class for their 

 kindness in electing me their vice-presi- 

 dent, and I hope that I may become ac- 

 quainted with many of you. Though I 

 cannot see you, I will soon know you by 

 touching your hands." 



"Miss Keller," said one of her teachers, 

 the other day, "is really the happiest 

 person I know of. And why? Because 

 of the great obstacles she has overcome." 



PAST AND PRESENT IN A CUBAN 

 TOWN. 



When we compare the present with the 

 past in Cuba, we quickly see what pro- 

 gress has been made. Fairest of all the 

 isles dotting these sunny seas, horror- 

 haunted and terrorized for decades of 

 years, surely the martyr nation of the 

 nineteenth century is at length coming to 

 its own. Peace, tranquility and prosperity 

 have returned to these beautiful shores. 



The thrifty city of San Antonio de los 

 Banos. not far away, was the scene of 

 many stirring events during the last war, 

 and has of late witnessed marvellous and 

 striking changes. Begirt with royal palms 

 and plantain groves, it has always been a 

 popular resort with the Havanese. Here 

 is the Ariguanabo, a river which risen 

 from unknown depths two leagues to the 

 north, and, after traversing the city with 

 its swift crystal current, spanned by four 

 bridges, plunges mysteriously into a cave, 

 to be seen no more, though the thirsty 



