THE COMET : : MAY , 1898 . to move from her place by the window .

" She is certainly a perfect woman ," ! he said to himself , " for as often as I look in , she never raises ' her eyes from her work to give me even so much as a passing glance ." Will ' s idea of a perfect woman may probaly seem a little peculiar .

After trying in vain to meet the shop gJirl our hero thought ora plan Which he was certain would work , and which he determined to give a fair trial .

Marion LeRoy was somewhat surprised bhe next morning when her brother invited ' her to go with him to H . & H .' s , saying that he had been wishing to make her a present for some time , and would get her a dress and have it made . Will diddid not especially believe in / hiring dresses made , and was in the habit of saying to , his Sisters : " W ' hy not make it yourself ? It will save a great deal of money ."

So -it is not strange that ' Marion was surprised . Nevertheless , she gladly accepted the invitation and they were soon at H . & H .' s

When they ' had selected the material for the gown , Will and Marion went into the dress making department , T ' he young man inquired of the manager -i, f he-might look around .

" Certainly ," he replied , glad to display his well-managed shop .

Will ' s first glance was , of course , toward the window where the girl was accustomed to sit . His ' heart throbbed with xlelight as he saw her standing near a table . He could scarcely wait to be led to her part of the room .

At last t ' he time came , and he walked slowly toward her , thinking , as ' he walked , what he should say . When he reached the table he raised his eyes and met her glance .

About ' this time , Marion , turning to speak to her brother , noticed that he had turned very pale .

" Why , what ' s the matter , Will ?" she

cried . " She ' s only wax ," . he gasped , and turned away from the window .

THE MODERN BICYCLE .

Few people who ride the modern safety bicycle ever stop to think of the history of this truly wonderful machine . But it has a , history , and a very interesting one at that .

The modern bicycle started from a ; clumsy two-wheeled affair invented by a Frenchman living in Germany , Baron Von Drais . His machine consisted of two wheels , connected by a cross-bar , midway of which was a cushioned seat for ' the rider . In front of the seat was a raised cushion , on which , handles in hand , the rider rested his elbows in guiding the machine . It was called a " celeritere ," and was used by the inventor to aid him in looking over his vast estates . The rider propelled himself by running along until he go : sufficient speed to maintain his equi1i ' brium , when he would lift ihis feet and , . in modern parlance , " coast ." Sure it was a slow and tiring way of getting around . It would seam that a person would prefer to walk . They were introduced into England and later into America , where ' they were called " hobby horses ." It was not an unusual sight seventy years ago to see men rldlng these ungainly machines through the streets of New York . T ' he " Bowery " and the dawn grade from Chatham street to City Hall Park were favorite places for riding them .

But the difficully of making these machines practically useful , and the ridicule always exerted by the riders , I caused the rage for them to rapidly subside , and they fell into disuse until 1865 .

In this year an ingenious Frenchman , Pierre Lallemant by name , conceived the idea of attaching foot-cranks to the front wheel of the old ' hobby horse . He made a machine embodying this idea , learned to ride it , and exhibited it at the Paris Exposition in 1867 . ' Phe honor of having invented this immediate predecessor of the modern bicycle is also claimed in England for Edward GiJ . man , but Frenchman or Englishman a great step had . been made in the perfection of the bicycle . T ' he new invention immediately became popular in both England and America , and enterprising business tnen in both these oountries , seeing ttie possibilities in it , immediately commenced manufacturing the machines . From this on the " velocipede " of Lallemant was steadily improved , the front wheel being made larger and the back wheel correspondingly smaller until the bicycle of 1891 was produced . Many people thought that now the machine could be no more improved . But there were several disadvantages to the high bicycle . In the first place it " bucked worse than a wild Texas ' broncho ," if the rider : s equilibrium was not perfect . And , secondly , it was ' So high that a fall from it sometimes meant a serious accident . So the two wheels were made the same in size and a great deal smaller than the big wheel of the high bicycle , and the chain system was adopted . From that time on the bicycle has been steadily imp roved , the object being since then to make it Iighter and at the same time stronger , unttl to-day we have that perfect product of mechanical art , the chainless bicycle of 1898 . It now seems that the ' bicycle

Is ne ded to SEe the goodness of our shirts . The minute you take one in your hands you know it is a good shirt . The more earfully you examine

The Better you will be satisfied with tJheir thorougei good quali .. y , ' both in ma : terial and making . Neither could be oetter-e-ait any price . Our prices , $ 1.00 , $ 1.50 to $ 3.50 a - . d $ 5.00 . For dress , business and neg . igee ' Wear . We ' ve got your sizr- .

Mail orders receive pr . enpt attention .

has reached the acme of its construction , and . hat no more great improvements are possible . However ihat may be , no one can deny that immense strides forward have been made in bicycle construction since the time of Baron Van Drais and that the modern bicycle is as different Irorn its fore- Iather , the old hobby horse , ' as a cat is from a whale . ' What a contrast there would be if we placed an 1898 , chainless bicycle , with aill its gracefulness and lightness , beside one of . hose clumsy , heavy " bone-shakers ," the hobby horse of 1819 .

' I ' HE COMET .

As the Low Juniors are such a brilliant class this year , they have had an honor · tiliat no other Junior class ever had : They took an examination with the High Seniors not long since , and , as a matter of course , did equally as well .

If the present war calls away the chief governmental officials , the Juniors , arter such a thorough course in civics , feel as though they will be entirely competent to manage affairs .

THE EFFECT OF THE WEATHER

Warm weather is now approaching wit ' h its usual drowsiness , and the pupils show some signs of mental va-