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package config import ( "bytes" "fmt" "sort" "strings" ) // TestString is a Stringer-like function that outputs a string that can // be used to easily compare multiple Config structures in unit tests. // // This function has no practical use outside of unit tests and debugging. func (c *Config) TestString() string { if c == nil { return "<nil config>" } var buf bytes.Buffer if len(c.Modules) > 0 { buf.WriteString("Modules:\n\n") buf.WriteString(modulesStr(c.Modules)) buf.WriteString("\n\n") } if len(c.Variables) > 0 { buf.WriteString("Variables:\n\n") buf.WriteString(variablesStr(c.Variables)) buf.WriteString("\n\n") } if len(c.ProviderConfigs) > 0 { buf.WriteString("Provider Configs:\n\n") buf.WriteString(providerConfigsStr(c.ProviderConfigs)) buf.WriteString("\n\n") } if len(c.Resources) > 0 { buf.WriteString("Resources:\n\n") buf.WriteString(resourcesStr(c.Resources)) buf.WriteString("\n\n") } if len(c.Outputs) > 0 { buf.WriteString("Outputs:\n\n") buf.WriteString(outputsStr(c.Outputs)) buf.WriteString("\n") } return strings.TrimSpace(buf.String()) } func modulesStr(ms []*Module) string { result := "" order := make([]int, 0, len(ms)) ks := make([]string, 0, len(ms)) mapping := make(map[string]int) for i, m := range ms { k := m.Id() ks = append(ks, k) mapping[k] = i } sort.Strings(ks) for _, k := range ks { order = append(order, mapping[k]) } for _, i := range order { m := ms[i] result += fmt.Sprintf("%s\n", m.Id()) ks := make([]string, 0, len(m.RawConfig.Raw)) for k, _ := range m.RawConfig.Raw { ks = append(ks, k) } sort.Strings(ks) result += fmt.Sprintf(" source = %s\n", m.Source) for _, k := range ks { result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s\n", k) } } return strings.TrimSpace(result) } func outputsStr(os []*Output) string { ns := make([]string, 0, len(os)) m := make(map[string]*Output) for _, o := range os { ns = append(ns, o.Name) m[o.Name] = o } sort.Strings(ns) result := "" for _, n := range ns { o := m[n] result += fmt.Sprintf("%s\n", n) if len(o.RawConfig.Variables) > 0 { result += fmt.Sprintf(" vars\n") for _, rawV := range o.RawConfig.Variables { kind := "unknown" str := rawV.FullKey() switch rawV.(type) { case *ResourceVariable: kind = "resource" case *UserVariable: kind = "user" } result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s: %s\n", kind, str) } } } return strings.TrimSpace(result) } // This helper turns a provider configs field into a deterministic // string value for comparison in tests. func providerConfigsStr(pcs []*ProviderConfig) string { result := "" ns := make([]string, 0, len(pcs)) m := make(map[string]*ProviderConfig) for _, n := range pcs { ns = append(ns, n.Name) m[n.Name] = n } sort.Strings(ns) for _, n := range ns { pc := m[n] result += fmt.Sprintf("%s\n", n) keys := make([]string, 0, len(pc.RawConfig.Raw)) for k, _ := range pc.RawConfig.Raw { keys = append(keys, k) } sort.Strings(keys) for _, k := range keys { result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s\n", k) } if len(pc.RawConfig.Variables) > 0 { result += fmt.Sprintf(" vars\n") for _, rawV := range pc.RawConfig.Variables { kind := "unknown" str := rawV.FullKey() switch rawV.(type) { case *ResourceVariable: kind = "resource" case *UserVariable: kind = "user" } result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s: %s\n", kind, str) } } } return strings.TrimSpace(result) } // This helper turns a resources field into a deterministic // string value for comparison in tests. func resourcesStr(rs []*Resource) string { result := "" order := make([]int, 0, len(rs)) ks := make([]string, 0, len(rs)) mapping := make(map[string]int) for i, r := range rs { k := r.Id() ks = append(ks, k) mapping[k] = i } sort.Strings(ks) for _, k := range ks { order = append(order, mapping[k]) } for _, i := range order { r := rs[i] result += fmt.Sprintf( "%s (x%s)\n", r.Id(), r.RawCount.Value()) ks := make([]string, 0, len(r.RawConfig.Raw)) for k, _ := range r.RawConfig.Raw { ks = append(ks, k) } sort.Strings(ks) for _, k := range ks { result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s\n", k) } if len(r.Provisioners) > 0 { result += fmt.Sprintf(" provisioners\n") for _, p := range r.Provisioners { result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s\n", p.Type) ks := make([]string, 0, len(p.RawConfig.Raw)) for k, _ := range p.RawConfig.Raw { ks = append(ks, k) } sort.Strings(ks) for _, k := range ks { result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s\n", k) } } } if len(r.DependsOn) > 0 { result += fmt.Sprintf(" dependsOn\n") for _, d := range r.DependsOn { result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s\n", d) } } if len(r.RawConfig.Variables) > 0 { result += fmt.Sprintf(" vars\n") ks := make([]string, 0, len(r.RawConfig.Variables)) for k, _ := range r.RawConfig.Variables { ks = append(ks, k) } sort.Strings(ks) for _, k := range ks { rawV := r.RawConfig.Variables[k] kind := "unknown" str := rawV.FullKey() switch rawV.(type) { case *ResourceVariable: kind = "resource" case *UserVariable: kind = "user" } result += fmt.Sprintf(" %s: %s\n", kind, str) } } } return strings.TrimSpace(result) } // This helper turns a variables field into a deterministic // string value for comparison in tests. func variablesStr(vs []*Variable) string { result := "" ks := make([]string, 0, len(vs)) m := make(map[string]*Variable) for _, v := range vs { ks = append(ks, v.Name) m[v.Name] = v } sort.Strings(ks) for _, k := range ks { v := m[k] required := "" if v.Required() { required = " (required)" } declaredType := "" if v.DeclaredType != "" { declaredType = fmt.Sprintf(" (%s)", v.DeclaredType) } if v.Default == nil || v.Default == "" { v.Default = "<>" } if v.Description == "" { v.Description = "<>" } result += fmt.Sprintf( "%s%s%s\n %v\n %s\n", k, required, declaredType, v.Default, v.Description) } return strings.TrimSpace(result) }

Q: How to use quantile color scale in bar graph with drill-down? I'm using the following script to generate a bar chart with drill down capability. (source: http://mbostock.github.io/d3/talk/20111116/bar-hierarchy.html). What I am trying to do is - I want the bars to be different shades of a color depending on the data (pretty much what this question asks - D3.js: Changing the color of the bar depending on the value). Except, in my case... the graph is horizontal and not static so the answer may be different. So Ideally, at the parent node and all sub nodes except the child node, it will display lets say different shades of blue based on the data, and once it reaches the end after drilling down, the remaining bars will be grey. I've recently started using d3 and am kinda lost as to where to start. I tried adding different colors to the color range z but that did not work. Any help will be appreciated! Thanks. NOTE: in my case, I am assuming.. that after a transition, either all nodes will lead to subnodes OR no node will lead to subnodes. Basically, at no point in the graph will there be bars, where some will drill down further while some won't. This assumption is based on the type of data I want to show with my graph. <script> var m = [80, 160, 0, 160], // top right bottom left w = 1280 - m[1] - m[3], // width h = 800 - m[0] - m[2], // height x = d3.scale.linear().range([0, w]), y = 25, // bar height z = d3.scale.ordinal().range(["steelblue", "#aaa"]); // bar color var hierarchy = d3.layout.partition() .value(function(d) { return d.size; }); var xAxis = d3.svg.axis() .scale(x) .orient("top"); var svg = d3.select("body").append("svg:svg") .attr("width", w + m[1] + m[3]) .attr("height", h + m[0] + m[2]) .append("svg:g") .attr("transform", "translate(" + m[3] + "," + m[0] + ")"); svg.append("svg:rect") .attr("class", "background") .attr("width", w) .attr("height", h) .on("click", up); svg.append("svg:g") .attr("class", "x axis"); svg.append("svg:g") .attr("class", "y axis") .append("svg:line") .attr("y1", "100%"); d3.json("flare.json", function(root) { hierarchy.nodes(root); x.domain([0, root.value]).nice(); down(root, 0); }); function down(d, i) { if (!d.children || this.__transition__) return; var duration = d3.event && d3.event.altKey ? 7500 : 750, delay = duration / d.children.length; // Mark any currently-displayed bars as exiting. var exit = svg.selectAll(".enter").attr("class", "exit"); // Entering nodes immediately obscure the clicked-on bar, so hide it. exit.selectAll("rect").filter(function(p) { return p === d; }) .style("fill-opacity", 1e-6); // Enter the new bars for the clicked-on data. // Per above, entering bars are immediately visible. var enter = bar(d) .attr("transform", stack(i)) .style("opacity", 1); // Have the text fade-in, even though the bars are visible. // Color the bars as parents; they will fade to children if appropriate. enter.select("text").style("fill-opacity", 1e-6); enter.select("rect").style("fill", z(true)); // Update the x-scale domain. x.domain([0, d3.max(d.children, function(d) { return d.value; })]).nice(); // Update the x-axis. svg.selectAll(".x.axis").transition() .duration(duration) .call(xAxis); // Transition entering bars to their new position. var enterTransition = enter.transition() .duration(duration) .delay(function(d, i) { return i * delay; }) .attr("transform", function(d, i) { return "translate(0," + y * i * 1.2 + ")"; }); // Transition entering text. enterTransition.select("text").style("fill-opacity", 1); // Transition entering rects to the new x-scale. enterTransition.select("rect") .attr("width", function(d) { return x(d.value); }) .style("fill", function(d) { return z(!!d.children); }); // Transition exiting bars to fade out. var exitTransition = exit.transition() .duration(duration) .style("opacity", 1e-6) .remove(); // Transition exiting bars to the new x-scale. exitTransition.selectAll("rect").attr("width", function(d) { return x(d.value); }); // Rebind the current node to the background. svg.select(".background").data([d]).transition().duration(duration * 2); d.index = i; } function up(d) { if (!d.parent || this.__transition__) return; var duration = d3.event && d3.event.altKey ? 7500 : 750, delay = duration / d.children.length; // Mark any currently-displayed bars as exiting. var exit = svg.selectAll(".enter").attr("class", "exit"); // Enter the new bars for the clicked-on data's parent. var enter = bar(d.parent) .attr("transform", function(d, i) { return "translate(0," + y * i * 1.2 + ")"; }) .style("opacity", 1e-6); // Color the bars as appropriate. // Exiting nodes will obscure the parent bar, so hide it. enter.select("rect") .style("fill", function(d) { return z(!!d.children); }) .filter(function(p) { return p === d; }) .style("fill-opacity", 1e-6); // Update the x-scale domain. x.domain([0, d3.max(d.parent.children, function(d) { return d.value; })]).nice(); // Update the x-axis. svg.selectAll(".x.axis").transition() .duration(duration * 2) .call(xAxis); // Transition entering bars to fade in over the full duration. var enterTransition = enter.transition() .duration(duration * 2) .style("opacity", 1); // Transition entering rects to the new x-scale. // When the entering parent rect is done, make it visible! enterTransition.select("rect") .attr("width", function(d) { return x(d.value); }) .each("end", function(p) { if (p === d) d3.select(this).style("fill-opacity", null); }); // Transition exiting bars to the parent's position. var exitTransition = exit.selectAll("g").transition() .duration(duration) .delay(function(d, i) { return i * delay; }) .attr("transform", stack(d.index)); // Transition exiting text to fade out. exitTransition.select("text") .style("fill-opacity", 1e-6); // Transition exiting rects to the new scale and fade to parent color. exitTransition.select("rect") .attr("width", function(d) { return x(d.value); }) .style("fill", z(true)); // Remove exiting nodes when the last child has finished transitioning. exit.transition().duration(duration * 2).remove(); // Rebind the current parent to the background. svg.select(".background").data([d.parent]).transition().duration(duration * 2); } // Creates a set of bars for the given data node, at the specified index. function bar(d) { var bar = svg.insert("svg:g", ".y.axis") .attr("class", "enter") .attr("transform", "translate(0,5)") .selectAll("g") .data(d.children) .enter().append("svg:g") .style("cursor", function(d) { return !d.children ? null : "pointer"; }) .on("click", down); bar.append("svg:text") .attr("x", -6) .attr("y", y / 2) .attr("dy", ".35em") .attr("text-anchor", "end") .text(function(d) { return d.name; }); bar.append("svg:rect") .attr("width", function(d) { return x(d.value); }) .attr("height", y); return bar; } // A stateful closure for stacking bars horizontally. function stack(i) { var x0 = 0; return function(d) { var tx = "translate(" + x0 + "," + y * i * 1.2 + ")"; x0 += x(d.value); return tx; }; } </script> A: you can create a new scale to handle the "shades" of your colors, var shades = d3.scale.sqrt() .domain([your domain]) .clamp(true) .range([your range]); and create a variable to control the "depth" of your drill-down, so when you are going to color your bars, you simply set the level of the color "shade" with d3.lab (Doc), like this: function fill(d) { var c = d3.lab(colorScale(d.barAttr)); c.l = shades(d.depth); return c; }

WOOD, Thomas, with Mary, his wife, and son William, came from Warwickshire, England, and settled in Chester County. A daughter was born at sea on the passage, and was named Richmonday. She married 3,31,1749, William Sheppard, of Menallen (now) Adams County. William Wood, born in Warwickshire 6,22,1723, died 4,20,1775, married 10,6,1749, Margaret Holland, born 5,18,1730, in Price George Co., Md., died 10,29,1775, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Holland. They settled in Londongrove, and had children,--Thomas, m. Susanna Pusey; George; Mary, m. to Caleb Swayne; Joseph, Cassandra, William, Elizabeth, Margaret, m. to Garret Garretson; Joshua and Ruth. Thomas and Susanna Wood were the parents of Joel, William, John, Lydia, Nathan, Margaret, Thomas, Susanna, Pusey, Caleb, and Mary. Of these, John married Lydia Swayne, and was the father of Thomas Wood, of Doe Run. Joseph Wood, son of Thomas and Mary, died in 1797, aged sixty-seven years. He married, 1,12,1769, Katharine Day, and settled in West Nottingham. His children were Thomas, William, Joseph, Jesse, Lydia, Elizabeth, David, John and Day. Dr. James Bayard Wood was born in New Castle Co., Del., Nov. 5, 1817. In 1920 his father, Joseph Wood, removed with his family to Londongrove township, Chester co. The educational advantages of Dr. Wood were only those afforded by the common schools of the day, but he neglected no opportunity to cultivate his mind and fit himself for usefulness in life. He first learned the trade of a miller, which he followed about five years, and then engaged in the mercantile business in Chatham. On the election of William Rogers as sheriff, in the fall of 1840, he became his deputy, and held the position dur9ng his term and for a time thereafter. In October, 1844, he was elected sheriff, and held the office three years. In 1849 he engaged in merchandising in West Chester, and was also appointed postmaster. He held this office by appointment of the Postmaster-General and of the President until Mary, 1853. During this latter period he studied medicine, and graduated at the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania in March, 1854. Since that time he has devoted his attention almost exclusively to the practice of his profession, which is quite extensive, and in which he has been very successful. He has been honored with the position of president of the Chester County and State Homeopathic Medical Societies, and has been one of the censors of the national society. As a politician he has been active, and he has filled various posts of honor in the parties to which he belonged. He has served in the councils of the borough of West Chester, and since April, 1879, he has been chief burgess. Through his instrumentality and persevering efforts the present beautiful and enduring monument at the "Paoli massacre" grounds was erected in 1877. His wife is a daughter of William Rogers, and his only son, Dr. Henry C. Wood, is a physician in West Chester.

1959–60 IHL season The 1959–60 IHL season was the 15th season of the International Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Eight teams participated in the regular season, and the St. Paul Saints won the Turner Cup. Regular season Turner Cup-Playoffs External links Season 1959/60 on hockeydb.com IHL Category:International Hockey League (1945–2001) seasons

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So very sad to hear about the passing of Ruby legend Jim Weirich - davidchua https://twitter.com/dhh/status/436410949919313920 ====== JangoSteve Jim was an amazing guy, and I wish I had spent more time talking with him. There was a time several years ago when the Ruby community was very vibrant and energetic, and in all that energy, just a little hostile to newcomers. There was a lot of hype about the best new testing methods with RSpec and this new thing called Cucumber, 100% paired programming all the time, 100% TDD, and 110% test coverage, fat-model, skinny-controller, decorators and service-based architectures, and on and on. These were all good things on the path to quality software as a community goal, but to a newcomer, it was overwhelming. It was the fanatical attitude and the all-too-common phrase, "you're doing it wrong." I had already been doing Ruby for a couple years when all of this hype came to a peak. I remember pushing back over dinner table discussions with various speakers at conferences that this attitude was hurting the community. It was erecting a barrier to beginners. We were telling people they couldn't just build something that did something. They had to do it this way, using all these tools and methodologies. Unless you know and fully understand the purpose and constraints and context for what someone is building, how can you tell them they're doing it wrong? Where was the support for learning progressively? What happened to the joy of just building something? After all, this is where Ruby, as a language, shines! I bring all this up, because I met Jim at one of the first Ruby conferences I had ever gone to around this time. Though I had been doing Ruby for a couple years, I was relatively new to the conference-going community, and so not part of the "in-crowd". I remember the highlight of that conference for me was talking with Jim. He seemed not to care for the existence of any sort of clique while simultaneously being its unknowing leader. He was very approachable and friendly. But more importantly, he was a great listener and thinker. I remember talking with him about my views on TDD and pair-programming (at the time, the view that "it depends" was controversial), and how the hype was hurting the community. He was one of the few who gave it considerable thought, and after discussing it, even encouraged me to give a talk. As someone new to the conference and public developer community, and outside the speaker in- crowd, this was very encouraging. I had been asking what happened to the joy of just building something in the community at that time, but I can honestly say, Jim never lost it. Jim, you'll be missed. ~~~ auggierose I think once you started programming in "Ruby", you've given up your right to talk about how to program in the right way. Just saying. ~~~ karmajunkie I've seen a lot of snide, dickhead comments on HN, but dropping one like that on a memorial thread for someone like Jim Weirich takes the cake. ~~~ auggierose He's dead. Nothing I can say here will affect him in the slightest. ~~~ sweetcaroline No, it won't affect him. But his family will be reading these later and it will affect them. ~~~ auggierose Yeah. Like the family of a programmer reads HN. ~~~ sweetcaroline As a matter of fact they do. I'm very close with his family, and when I spoke with them yesterday they were looking forward to reading the many threads and posts about him on this and other websites. I can only hope they'll be strong enough to ignore the cruel remarks made by heartless people like you. ~~~ glanotte I don't know his family, but with Jim as their relative, I would pray they are wise enough to ignore a troll. Jim was a wonderful man and this little person doesn't matter, neither do his opinions. ------ venus That is really sad news. Jim Weirich was a real gem. Friendly, approachable and chatty, he didn't have that aloofness so unfortunately common to some "personalities" in the ruby commmunity. In the last couple of years he had been interested in controlling drones with ruby, regularly posting articles on the Neo blog and speaking about it at conferences. It was my great pleasure to spend an hour or so with him in Singapore last year just chatting about drones, his _argus_ control library, and applications present and future - he was a genuinely interested, interesting, friendly man with a fantastic, giving spirit. He was one of the founding fathers of what I like to think of as the "real" ruby community and will be sorely missed. ------ codebeaker As the author of Capistrano, we leant on Rake a great deal in the new version, Jim was amazing in helping us through some of the weirder parts of the integration, and always happy to discuss the pros and cons of our planned approaches. I hope that the community can select someone to replace him. He's done great work for the community. ~~~ cromulent Good old SwitchTower. Thank you. ------ Argorak Jim was a silent star of the Ruby community. Some newer Rubyists might not see how important his work on Rake was on Rubys road from a toy language to a serious development environment. Also, Rake was (to my knowledge) one of the first libraries that aggressively leaned on Rubys block syntax for writing DSLs. On top of that, he was well known for his talks and ability to explain things. A recommended read: an early statement on Ruby on the C2 Wiki (scroll down to "User stories") [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?RubyLanguage](http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?RubyLanguage) ------ viraptor Just realised how often when working on some code I will try to contact the original author based on git blame... but in the future, a lot of those people won't be around anymore. I think we usually take for granted that people working on the same project will be here - but in a couple of years "anyone who worked on this module still alive?" may be depressingly more common. Not even from the development perspective, but working on the same thing as someone who's not alive anymore. Apart from long-term or famous construction projects, I can't think of many non-art places where the author is preserved in the history so permanently as in a source version control. ~~~ chimeracoder Not to detract from the work that this man (or anyone else) has done, but it's very rare for code to survive for very long without an active maintainer before it succumbs to code rot. Either someone else steps up to the plate and actively maintains the software, or something else will replace it. Source control makes it easier to revisit the past, but it doesn't ensure that the past will continue to stay current. ------ VeejayRampay [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FITJMJjASUs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FITJMJjASUs) This talk is a must-see, really shows off Jim Weirich's craft and overall ability to be a great pedagogue. ~~~ Derbasti Yes it is! This talk is absolutely awesome! ------ lukeholder Very sad to hear. his last commit was only a day ago: [https://github.com/jimweirich](https://github.com/jimweirich) ~~~ agumonkey Someone spoke to him just yesterday [http://www.reddit.com/r/ruby/comments/1yfeb7/jim_weirich_cre...](http://www.reddit.com/r/ruby/comments/1yfeb7/jim_weirich_creator_of_rake_passed_away_today/cfk1njr) he was hacking as usual ~~~ petercooper He seemed to really get into drones and copters whole heartedly over the past year and appeared to be having a lot of fun with it :-) ------ craftsman I met Jim at Rocky Mountain Ruby a couple years ago. He was friendly, easily approachable, and had that hacker humor that is so fun. You could just tell he loved everything about Ruby, hacking, and teaching and learning from others. He sang Ruby Coding High at that conference: [http://www.confreaks.com/videos/740-rockymtnruby2011-ruby- co...](http://www.confreaks.com/videos/740-rockymtnruby2011-ruby-coding-high) Thanks for helping us all get on a Ruby Coding High Jim, we'll miss you. ~~~ zefhous Wow, cool to see you post this. I had the pleasure of playing with him in that video! Many others have said it, but he was a joy to be around and always kind and generous. ~~~ craftsman Awesome! You guys were great. I thoroughly enjoyed that, so thanks to you too. ------ spellboots Fitting that his last publicly visible github commit is adjusting a Rakefile: [https://github.com/jimweirich/wyriki/commit/d28fac7f18aeacb0...](https://github.com/jimweirich/wyriki/commit/d28fac7f18aeacb00d8ad3460a0a5a901617c2d4) ~~~ rlt There's something deeply moving about his last commit becoming a memorial to him. I actually shed a tear when I saw this. ------ jcutrell Sad news indeed. I would say it is appropriate for any of you who have had the pleasure of knowing Jim to add some information to his Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Weirich](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Weirich) for those of us who didn't meet him. ------ jdhendrickson I met him at BigRuby in Dallas, he was kind, knowledgeable, and incredibly intelligent. He was interested in a very wide range of things, and I really enjoyed discussing metallurgy, blacksmithing, controlling drones, ruby, amongst other things. He was always willing to help, even if the problem was beneath him. Rest In Peace Jim, you will be sorely missed. ------ mbrock Jim Weirich linked warmly on his blog to something I wrote back in 2005. I was 17 at the time and found it very encouraging. That was possibly a reason I kept on practicing my writing. Thanks Jim! ------ bitwes I met Jim through a friend, and I've seen him at numerous conferences. He was inspiring to be around. His energy and enthusiasm for programming was contagious. Just hanging around the guy was great. I played my first D&D game at a conference with him, and a great board game called Cosmic Encounters. I always looked forward to seeing him. It is a testament to how great he was, that people could have such little interaction with him and he could have such a big impact on their lives. ------ lispm Haven't met him... just from watching some of his talks via videos I'll got the impression that we'll need more of these people. He had a great talent to explain things. A Hacker left us. R.I.P. ------ kayoone A great person and developer who will be dearly missed. He was too young, but sadly is a prime example for the risks factors of heart disease. With overweight like that over a long period of time, he most likely had blood pressure and cholesterol issues, along with not much physical exercise. Of course there are a ton of people in similar condition who get to be much older, but still, risk factors are risk factors. ------ aslakhellesoy I'm very sad to hear this. When I was more active in the Ruby community I'd bump into Jim regularly at conferences. He was such a charismatic, smart and above all - a very nice guy. ------ RDDavies Wow. This is astounding. I happened to meet him and Dave Thomas a year or so ago, and had lunch with them at a Ruby conference. Incredibly nice and funny guy, who was _really_ smart. ------ draegtun My first opensource creation was a port of Jim's wonderful Builder gem. Many thanks Jim for the inspiration you'll be sorely missed. ------ kidmenot This is sad. I'm not much of a Rubyist, but I leant on Rake quite a bit to automate builds and whatnot. ------ theceprogrammer Jim, rest in peace brother ! you will be cherished forever along with all the greats. You have joined the ranks of the fallen heros of both our craft and otherwise. A life well lived, full of joy, full of love.... we will miss you. ------ girishso I can never forget the discussion I had with Jim during Rubyconf India last year. He was so devoted to coding… I envied him. Very friendly and energetic. Very sad to hear the news. ------ charlieflowers Jim Weirich was a legend, and deservedly so. Rake was (and is) a masterpiece. I'm sad to see Jim go and I want to pay respect to his contributions and his life. ------ diminish Sad day, just read his last tweet few hours ago..... ------ seanhandley I'm devestated to hear this. I met Jim at Scot Ruby 2012. A sweet, bright, kind and funny man. RIP. ------ shahinh Jim was a great man and an awesome contributor to the Ruby community. He will be missed indeed. RIP. ------ jackson1990 Jim was a great guy and an awesome contributor to the Ruby community. He will be missed indeed. RIP. ------ shahinh Jim was a great guy and an awesome contributor to the Ruby community. He will be missed indeed. RIP. ------ jackson1990 Jim was a great guy and an awesome contributor to the Ruby community. He will be missed indeed. RIP. ------ jackson1990 Jim was a great guy and an awesome contributor to the Ruby community. He will be missed indeed. RIP ------ jackson1990 Jim was a best guy and an awesome contributor to the Ruby community. He will be missed RIP. ------ shahinh Jim was an actual guy, and I wish I had spent more and more time talking with him. ------ tedchs Jim contributed a great deal to the Ruby community and will be deeply missed. ------ jackson1990 Jim was a great guy and an awesome contributor to the Ruby community. ------ shahinh Jim was best guy, and I wish I had spent more time talking with him. ------ jackson1990 I wish I had spent more time talking with him. ------ shahinh Your post is Great read, thanks for posting. ------ UNIXgod This is sad. ------ mentaat what was the cause of death? ~~~ winslow From the other thread (Jim's last Github commit) it states he passed away due to a heart attack at age 57. [1] - [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7271909](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7271909)

1. Field of the Invention One or more embodiments of the invention are related to the field of containers. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention provides for a top mounting can container that enables for example one handed carrying of the can and container and/or simultaneous access, through a straw if desired, of the contents of the can and container after momentarily removing and reattaching the top mounting container to the can. An alternative configuration is where the container is removed from the can and utilized as a separate unit or vessel. When a pull tab removes a piece of the lid in a half-circle shape along a score line a system is provided whereby snacks may be selectively lifted and shaken into the mouth without the worry of spilling additional contents from the container. In effect a spill-free container is created. The independent vessel may be reattached to the can when desired. 2. Description of the Related Art Cans generally include an inner chamber but do not include an integrated upper container to hold other food items for example. There are no known containers that couple with cans. When carrying a can, it is cumbersome to also carry a container with food in the same hand. It is generally not possible to access the contents of the can while also accessing the contents of an additional container while holding both in one hand, in other words, under normal circumstances one hand is required to access the contents of the can and another hand is generally required to access the contents of a container. Known containers that couple with cups include food containers that fit onto the top of yogurt cups for example. Known containers have to be removed from the yogurt cup and then flipped over and opened before the contents of the container and cup may be accessed. Once flipped and opened such containers cannot couple while in the upright position to the yogurt cup, and additionally such containers cannot couple with a can. Known containers that couple with bottles include gift containers that fit onto the top of bottles for example. It is generally not possible to access the contents of the bottles while also accessing the contents of the gift container. Thus simultaneous access of the contents of cans, cups or bottles and the contents of a container is not possible while holding both in one hand. This makes for difficult drinking/eating canned liquids, such as tea, soda, beer, etc., and snacks, such as cookies, crackers, etc., in malls, public zoos, theaters, amusement parks, sports stadiums or in any other venue. For example, it is difficult to drink and eat while standing and walking to a desired location, normally it is necessary to stop and sit to use two hands to eat and drink. Known objects that couple with the top of a can include “COMBINATION MULTIPLE-CANNISTER CARRIER AND LIP PROTECTION DEVICE” as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,275 to Borg. A planar ring with downward pointing flanges is described that allows for multiple cans to be carried together as a unit. The problem with the device is that it does not enable a container, for example filled with food to couple to the top of the device and hence, two hands are required to carry the cans held by the device and a container, for example with food. In addition, there is no contemplation of accessing the contents of the can while the device is coupled to the can. There is no contemplation of thermochromic materials to show the temperature of any associated portion of the can or device. For at least the limitations described above there is a need for a top mounting can container.

The present invention relates generally to variable reluctance magnetic transducers and, in particular, to a passive-type magnetic transducer especially suited for sensing the speed of a rotating object. Passive-type variable reluctance magnetic transducers are well known and have been widely used as speed sensors in electric control circuits for monitoring the speed of an associated rotating object such as, for example, a gear, a wheel or a bearing. Typically, the transducer includes a permanent magnet which is adjacent to one end of a pole piece formed from a ferrous material. An opposite end of the pole piece extends outwardly from the transducer to define a pole piece free end. The pole piece free end is adapted to be spaced from projecting ferrous elements attached to a rotating object, such as the teeth of a rotating gear. A coil surrounds the pole piece for sensing changes in magnetic flux through the coil. The coil is connected to generate an output signal to an associated electronic control circuit. An example of a prior art passive-type magnetic speed sensor can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,790. In operation, a magnetic field extends from the magnet through the pole piece and out into the air space at the free end of the pole piece. The return path of the magnetic field is from the air space to the other end of the magnet. As a ferrous element approaches the tip of the pole piece, the reluctance of the magnetic circuit decreases, thus increasing the magnetic field. As the ferrous object passes away from the pole piece, the magnetic field decreases. When the magnetic field increases, it induces a voltage in the coil in one direction and, when it decreases, it induces a voltage in the coil in the opposite direction. The passage of one ferrous object (such as one gear tooth) induces one cycle of AC voltage. The AC voltage is proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux in the magnetic circuit, and is generally proportional to the speed of the ferrous objects passing the pole piece, at least up to a predetermined speed. The frequency of the AC signal is directly proportional to the number of ferrous objects passing the pole piece per unit of time. When a variable reluctance magnetic sensor is used, it is important to accurately fix the position of the face of the free end of the pole piece with respect to the trajectory of the periphery of the projecting ferrous element. In practice, it has been observed that an axial shift of the end of the pole piece by a few tenths of a millimeter in the direction of increasing the spacing separating the pole piece from the ferrous element can lead to a loss of useful signal. According to the prior art, variable reluctance magnetic transducers are typical formed by inserting the permanent magnet and pole piece into a cylindrical cavity formed in a transducer core. The transducer core is usually molded from plastic material. As an alternative, the magnet and pole piece are placed in an end-to-end relationship and the core molded thereover. The alternate method allows use of a non-cylindrical pole piece. With both methods, the accuracy of the position of the free end of the pole piece with respect to the rotating ferrous object depends upon the cumulative tolerances of the length of the magnet and the length of the pole piece.

This collection presents the first three feature films of silent comedian Harry Langdon. Not only that, but one features a young Joan Crawford and the other two were directed by Frank Capra. Tramp, Tramp, Tramp: Harry falls in love with the girl on the billboard for Brandon shoes and enters a cross country walking race to win the prize to pay off the mortgage. This film is very episodic even though framed by the cross country race. This was typical for first features, such as Buster Keaton’s Three Ages, partly because it could be chopped into shorts if the feature was a bomb. Here Langdon plays his character as a cross between Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplain, with a Harold Lloyd daredevil scene thrown in for good measure. This is a charming and engaging feature which is helped immensely by the second billed but still rather small part for [then] virtually unknown Joan Crawford. She’s the girl on the billboard and the daughter of the president of the company. The Strong Man: Harry is a Belgian soldier who’s in love with his pen pal from the states, Mary Brown. When he comes to the U.S. as the indentured servant of a Strong Man performer, he scours every town in search for his love. Here Langdon perfects his man-child persona in the first feature film directed by Frank Capra. Needless to say, this is the ‘strongest’ film in the collection, and actually considered to be a national treasure. It’s a mesmerizing blend of melodrama, adventure, fallen women, and pratfalls, great gags and a smashing finale. Langdon’s comedic timing is absolute perfection and his pathos is equally touching. There are lots of wild stunts that, while accomplished through obvious camera tricks, are surreal and exciting. Here Langdon realizes his own original character in the pantheon of silent clowns; due in no small measure to the writing staff and film crew. Long Pants: Harry’s parents have his life all planned out right down to his marriage to the ‘girl next door’. But Harry is infatuated by a chance meeting with a gangster’s moll. This was a very ambitious and risky undertaking for Langdon, just as The General was for Keaton. They both flopped, in both cases being just too grim and downbeat for contemporary acceptance as comedic entertainment. The General was largely responsible for Keaton being sold off to MGM, resulting in the ruination of his career. Long Pants sealed Langdon’s fate as well. The Strong Man was still quite episodic, but Long Pants has a definite tale to tell, and it’s a rather sordid one. Langdon plans to shoot his fiancée dead on their wedding day so he can bust femme fatale Bebe out of prison. The murder attempt sequence is quite bizarre with lots of Keatonesque pratfalls, but how can you root for Harry attempting to murder his sweet, young, innocent and trusting betroved? Well, this flick is just building up steam and it gets even wilder from here on out. The DVD: All three features in academy standard, all presented in a brownish tint. The Strong Man looks by far the best, with Tramp, Tramp, Tramp showing occasional wear and snippets of film missing. Long Pants is not only somewhat washed out (mostly Harry’s face), but an entire scene, a wild catfight between two gangster’s molls appears to have at some point been censored. The musical settings are good, featuring the original arrangement by Langdon for The Strong Man. Langdon comes across as Chaplin in the first feature, and as Keaton in the third. Sandwiched in between is his greatest and most original accomplishment as a petulant man-child. Even those not usually inclined to tolerate silent features may wish to give this collection a shot. Just stand there and count to 500.

Introduction {#s1} ============ One of the key cancer hallmarks is their reprogrammed energy metabolism [@pone.0071177-Hanahan1]. That is, glycolysis replaces oxidative phosphorylation to become the main ATP producer. A direct result of this change is that substantially more lactates, as the terminal receivers of electrons from the glucose metabolism, are produced and transported out of the cells. To maintain the cellular electro-neutrality when releasing lactates, the cells release one proton for each released lactate, the anionic form of lactic acid. This leads to increased acidity in the extracellular environment of the cancer cells. It has been well established that high (extracellular) acidity can induce the apoptotic process in normal cells [@pone.0071177-Webster1], leading to their death. Interestingly this does not seem to happen to cancer cells, hence giving them a competitive advantage over the normal cells and allowing them to encroach the space occupied by the normal cells. Currently it is not well understood of how the cancer cells deal with the increased acidity in their extracellular environments to avoid acidosis. A number of studies have been published focused on issues related to how cancer cells deal with the increased acidity in both the extracellular and intracellular environments [@pone.0071177-Fang1], [@pone.0071177-Sonveaux1], [@pone.0071177-Hernandez1], [@pone.0071177-Swietach1], [@pone.0071177-Swietach2], [@pone.0071177-Wykoff1], [@pone.0071177-Neri1]. The majority of these studies were focused on possible cellular mechanisms for transporting out or neutralizing intracellular protons, typically focused on one cancer type. More importantly these studies did not tie such observed capabilities and proposed mechanisms of cancer cells in avoiding acidosis with the rapid growth of cancer as we suspect there is an encoded mechanism that connects the two. We have carried out a comparative analysis of genome-scale transcriptomic data on six types of solid cancers, namely breast, colon, liver, two lung (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma) and prostate cancers, aiming to gain a systems level understanding of how the cancer cells keep their intracellular pH level within the normal range while their extracellular pH level is low. Our analysis, focused on transporters and enzymes, of the transcriptomic data on these cancer and their matching control tissues indicate that (i) all the six cancer types utilize the monocarboxylate transporters as the main mechanism to transport out lactates and protons simultaneously, triggered by the accumulation of intracellular lactates; (ii) these transporters are probably supplemented by additional mechanisms through anti-porters such as ATPases to transport protons out in exchange of certain cations such as Ca^2+^ or Na^+^ to reduce the intracellular acidity while maintaining the cellular electron-neutrality; and (iii) cancer cells may also utilize another mechanism, i.e., using glutamate decarboxylase to catalyze the decarboxylation of glutamate to a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), consuming one proton for each reaction -- a similar process is used by the bacterial *Lactococcus lactis* to neutralize acidity when lactates are produced. Based on these analysis results, we proposed a model that connects these deacidification processes with a number of cancer related genes/cellular conditions, which are probably intrinsic capabilities of fast-growing cells used under hypoxic conditions rather than gained capabilities through molecular mutations. We believe that our study represents the first systemic study focused on how cancer cells deal with the acidic environment through the activation of the encoded acid resistance mechanisms triggered by cancer associated genes and conditions. These results have established a foundation for a novel model for how cancer cells avoid acidosis. Results {#s2} ======= 1. Cellular Responses to Increased Acidity {#s2a} ------------------------------------------ The degradation of each mole of glucose generates 2 lactates, 2 protons and 2 ATPs, detailed asshowing the source of the increased acidity when glycolysis serves as the main ATP producer in cancer cells [@pone.0071177-Gatenby1]; in contrast the complete degradation of glucose through oxidative phosphorylation is pH neutral. Clearly these extra protons need to be removed or neutralized since otherwise they will induce apoptosis. The monocarboxylate transporter (MCT), specifically the SLC16A family, has been reported to play a key role in maintaining the pH homeostasis [@pone.0071177-Feron1] with four isoforms, MCT1 - 4, playing crucial roles in proton-linked transportation [@pone.0071177-Halestrap1], [@pone.0071177-Halestrap2]. Previous studies have reported that the MCT1, MCT2 and MCT4 genes are up-regulated in cancer such as in breast, colon, lung and ovary cancers [@pone.0071177-Ganapathy1], [@pone.0071177-Pinheiro1]. It has also been observed that a monocarboxylate transporter pumps out lactates and protons with a 1∶1 stoichiometry to maintain cellular electron-neutrality [@pone.0071177-Halestrap3]. Our transcriptomic data analyses of the six cancer types added to this knowledge that these MCT genes also show up-regulation in five out of the six cancer types. The only exception is the prostate cancer, which did not show any increased expression of the MCT genes. [Figure 1](#pone-0071177-g001){ref-type="fig"} shows the transcription up-regulation of MCT1 (SLC16A1) and MCT4 (SLC16A3) in five cancer types. Specifically MCT4 shows up-regulation in four of the six cancer types, an observation that has not been reported before. {#pone-0071177-g001} One published study suggests that MCT1 might be regulated by p53 [@pone.0071177-Boidot1] in cancer. Another study shows strong evidence that MCT1 and MCT4 are regulated by the intracellular level of hypoxia. We hypothesize that hypoxia may be the main regulating factor of the over-expression of the MCT genes, which may require additional conditions such as the pH level or the accumulation of lactates as the co-regulating factors, as suggested by our analysis result of transcriptomic data of cell lines collected under hypoxic condition, where MCT1 and MCT4 genes are up-regulated (see [Figure 1](#pone-0071177-g001){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure S1](#pone.0071177.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for details). The protons transported out of the cells will increase the acidity of the extracellular environment. Previous studies have shown that (normal) cells tend to adjust their intracellular pH level to a similar pH level of the extracellular environment [@pone.0071177-Fellenz1]. It has been well established that the increased intracellular acidity will induce apoptosis through directly activating the caspase genes, which bypasses the more upstream regulatory proteins of the apoptosis system such as p53, hence leading to death of the normal cells that do not seem to have the right intracellular conditions to deal with the reduced pH. 2. Additional Mechanisms for Dealing with Excess Protons in Cancer Cells {#s2b} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We have examined if other genes may be relevant to the removal or neutralization of protons in cancer cells in a systematic manner across all the human genes. Our main findings are summarized in [Figure 1](#pone-0071177-g001){ref-type="fig"}, detailed as follows. ### V-ATPase {#s2b1} Transmembrane ATPases import many of the metabolites necessary for cellular metabolisms and export toxins, wastes and solutes that can hinder the health of the cells [@pone.0071177-PerezSayans1]. One particular type of ATPase is the V-ATPase that transports solutes out using ATP hydrolysis as the energy. It pumps out a proton in exchange for an extracellular Na^+^ or another cation such as K^+^ or Ca^2+^ to maintain the intracellular electro-neutrality. V-ATPases have been found to be up-regulated in multiple cancer types, but the previous studies have been mostly focused on using the increased V-ATPase gene expression levels as a biomarker for metastasis [@pone.0071177-Sennoune1] or on utilizing them as potential drug targets as a way to trigger apoptosis, hence causing cancer cell death [@pone.0071177-Sennoune1], [@pone.0071177-Fais1], [@pone.0071177-Sennoune2]. We have examined the expression levels of the 19 genes that encode the subunits of V-ATPase, the V~0~ (transmembrane) domain and the V~1~ (cytoplasmic) domain, namely ATP6V0A1, ATP6V0A2, ATP6V0B, ATP6V0E1, ATP6V0E2, ATP6AP1 and ATP6AP2 for V~0~ and ATP6V1A, ATP6V1B1, ATP6V1C1, ATP6V1C2, ATP6V1D, ATP6V1E1, ATP6V1E2, ATP6V1F, ATP6V1G1, ATP6V1G2, ATP6V1G3 and ATP6V1H for V~1~. We found that multiple V-ATPase genes are up-regulated, indicating that the V-ATPases are active in transporting the protons out. Interestingly some of the ATPase genes do not show up-regulation and some even show down-regulation in prostate cancer ([Figure 1](#pone-0071177-g001){ref-type="fig"}). More detailed examination of the gene expression data indicates that the actual expression levels of the ATPase genes are at the baseline level in both the prostate cancer and the adjacent control issues, hence the fold-change data are not particularly informative. Overall the data on prostate cancer seem to suggest that the acidity level in this cancer type is not substantially elevated. For the other five cancer types, the expression levels of some V-ATPase genes do not show changes in cancer. We note that these gene expression levels are also elevated in the control tissues compared to cell-line data of the matching tissue types (data not shown here), which is consistent with previously published data, suggesting that the elevated acidic level in the extracellular environment can also induce increased expression of the V-ATPase genes in normal tissues [@pone.0071177-PadillaLopez1]. This may explain why some of the V-ATPase genes do not show overexpression in cancer *versus* adjacent control tissues. Then the question is why cancer cells seem to handle the increased acidity better than the normal cells. Our hypothesis is that while pH may play some regulatory role of the expression of the V-ATPase genes, the main regulator of the V-ATPase is probably mTORC1 as it has been recently suggested [@pone.0071177-PenaLlopis1]. mTORC is one of the most important regulators relevant to cell growth, and it generally has dysregulated expressions in cancer. To check on this hypothesis, we have examined the gene expression level of mTORC1 (the GBL and FRAP1 genes) in the six cancer types. We see clear up-regulation of these genes in all six cancer types as shown in [Figure 1](#pone-0071177-g001){ref-type="fig"}. So overall we speculate that it is the combined effect of decreased pH and up-regulation of mTORC1 that makes cancer cells more effective in pumping out the excess protons than the normal cells. ### Na+-H+ Exchanger (NHE) {#s2b2} NHE anti-porters represent another class of proteins that can transport out protons and exchange for a cation to maintain intracellular electro-neutrality. We have examined the five genes encoding this class of transporters, and found that these genes are highly up-regulated in the two lung cancer types. Interestingly the expression-change patterns are highly complementary between NHE genes and the V-ATPase genes in five out of the six cancer types, specifically up-regulation in breast, colon and liver cancers but not in the two lung cancer types as shown in [Figure 1](#pone-0071177-g001){ref-type="fig"}. Hence we speculate that the NHE anti-porters may play a complementary role to that of the V-ATPases through coordinated regulation by an unknown mechanism. Literature search suggests that NHEs are regulated by both growth factors and pH among a few other factors [@pone.0071177-Donowitz1], which partially explains why the system is more active in cancer (affected by both growth factors and pH) than in control tissues (affected by pH only). 3. Carbonic Anhydrases Play Roles in pH Neutralization in Cancer Cells {#s2c} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It has been previously suggested that carbonic anhydrases (CAs) play a role in neutralizing the protons in cancer cells. For example, a model of how the membrane-associated CAs facilitate out-transportation of protons has been presented [@pone.0071177-Swietach3]. The key idea of the model is that the membrane bound CAs catalyze the otherwise slow reaction from CO~2~+ H~2~O to H~2~CO~3~, which dissociates into HCO~3~ ^−^ and H^+^ in an acidic extracellular environment, as detailed by The HCO~3~ ^−^ (bicarbonate**)** is then transported across the membrane through an NBC transporter [@pone.0071177-Johnson1] into the intracellular environment, where it reacts with a H^+^ to form a CO~2~ and H~2~O; and the CO~2~ is freely membrane-permeable to get outside the cell, forming a cycle for removing some of the excess H^+^. See [Figure S1](#pone.0071177.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for a more detailed picture of this mechanism. To check if the model is supported by the transcriptomic data being analyzed in our study, we note that (1) three membrane-associated CAs (CA9, CA12, CA14) show up-regulation in five out of six cancer types (except for prostate cancer), as shown [Figure 2](#pone-0071177-g002){ref-type="fig"}; and (2) two of the three NBC genes, NBC2 (SLC4A5) and NBC3 (SLC4A7), show up-regulation in four cancer types. It has been reported that CA9 and CA12 are hypoxia-inducible in brain cancer [@pone.0071177-Proescholdt1]. Hence we hypothesize that all the three above membrane-associated CAs are inducible by hypoxia. In addition, our literature search indicates that the NBC genes are pH inducible [@pone.0071177-Chiche1]. {#pone-0071177-g002} Interestingly all the cytosolic CAs (CA2, CA3, CA7, CA13) show down-regulation, reflecting that oxidative phosphorylation is not being used as actively and hence produces less CO~2~ in cancer cells as in normal cells. 4. Neutralization of Acidity through Decarboxylation Reactions: A Novel Mechanism? {#s2d} ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our search for possible mechanisms of cancer cells in deacidification led us to study how *Lactococcus lactis* deals with the lactic acids. We note that the bacteria use the glutamate decarboxylases (GAD) to consume one (dissociable) H^+^ during the decarboxylation reaction that it catalyzes [@pone.0071177-Cotter1], as shown below: The reaction converts a glutamate to one γ-aminobutyrate (GABA) plus a CO~2~. Two human homologues of the GAD, GAD1 and GAD2, have been found. Published studies have shown that the activation of the GAD genes leads to GABA synthesis in human brain [@pone.0071177-Hyde1], suggesting that the human GAD genes have the same function as the bacterial GAB gene, i.e., catalyzing the reaction for the synthesis of GABA. The majority of these studies were done in the context of the nervous system in human brains [@pone.0071177-Kaila1], [@pone.0071177-Owens1], [@pone.0071177-Yamada1]. Specifically, GABA is known to serve as a key inhibitory neurotransmitter. In addition, activities of GABA have been found in human liver [@pone.0071177-White1]. While hypotheses have been postulated about its functions in liver [@pone.0071177-Lewis1], no solid evidence has been established about its function there. We have observed that GAD1 is up-regulated in three out six cancer types under study, namely colon, liver and lung adenocarcinoma, and GAD2 is up-regulated in prostate cancer. It has been fairly well established that glutamate, the substrate of the above reaction catalyzed by GAD, is elevated in cancer in general [@pone.0071177-DeBerardinis1]. Hence it makes sense to assume that the above reaction indeed takes place in cancer. This is supported by our observation that multiple in-take transporters of glutamate are up-regulated in five out six cancer types (see [Figure 3](#pone-0071177-g003){ref-type="fig"}). An even more interesting observation is that multiple genes encoding the out-going transporters of GABA are up-regulated in five out of the six cancer types, indicating that the GABA molecules are not being used by cancer cells but instead serve a way to remove H^+^ out of the cells. {#pone-0071177-g003} Currently, to the best of our knowledge no published data are available to implicate which genes encode the main regulator of the GAD genes. Interestingly, our search for possible regulators of the GAD genes in the Cscan database [@pone.0071177-Zambelli1] revealed that FOS, a known oncogene, can potentially regulate the GAD genes [@pone.0071177-Wang1]. Some experimental data from the ENCODE database [@pone.0071177-Rosenbloom1] show that the expression of the GAD1 gene (NM_000817, NM_013445) is positively co-related with that of FOS in the HUVEC cell-line. Integrating this information, we hypothesize that FOS, in conjunction with some pH--associated regulator, regulates the GAD genes, which leads to the synthesis of GABA and reduces one H^+^ as a by-product per synthesized GABA; then the unneeded GABA molecules are transported out of the cells. This may provide another mechanism that cancer cells use to keep their intracellular pH level in the normal range. 5. A Model for Cancer Cells to Keep their Intracellular pH in the Normal Range {#s2e} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overall 44 genes are implicated in our above analyses. Our search results of these genes against Cscan database [@pone.0071177-Zambelli1] indicate that 28 of these genes are regulated directly by nine proto-oncogenes, namely BCL3, ETS1, FOS, JUN, MXI1, MYC, PAX5, SPI1 and TAL1; and 17 genes are regulated by two tumor-suppressors, IRF1 and BRCA1 as shown in [Figure 4](#pone-0071177-g004){ref-type="fig"}, indicating that there is a strong connection between deacidification and cancer growth. {#pone-0071177-g004} [Figure 5](#pone-0071177-g005){ref-type="fig"} summarizes our overall model for the cellular deacidification mechanisms and the associated conditions that may trigger each mechanism to be activated. Specifically, we hypothesize that hypoxia and growth factors may serve as the main regulatory factors of the deacdification processes, hence making them available only in cancer cells, in conjunction with the cellular pH level. {#pone-0071177-g005} Discussion {#s3} ========== Based on comparative transcriptomic data analysis results on six cancer types, we have proposed a model of how cancer cells deal with excess protons in both intracellular and extracellular environments, which are generated due to the reprogrammed energy metabolism. Some of the mechanisms have been reported in the literature but mostly in a fewer cancer types. Our analysis results have confirmed and expanded the models previously proposed. In addition we have proposed a new model based on how bacterial *Lactococcus* deals with a similar situation. Another contribution of the work is that we have proposed possible regulatory mechanisms that allow cancer cells to fully utilize these encoded deacidification mechanisms that are not triggered in normal cells. Since our proposed model is based on transcriptomic data only, further experimental validation on a number of the hypotheses are clearly needed, including (i) the main regulators of these processes and their regulatory relationships with pH related regulators, (ii) the new mechanism proposed based on a homologous system in *Lactococcus*, the organism that produces lactate; and (iii) the proposed NBC cotransporter transports in HCO~3~ ^−^ and Na^+^ together, but it is not clear how the Na^+^ is handled in cancer cells; and similar questions can be asked about the inported Ca^2+^ or Na^+^ by other deacidification processes. All these require further investigation both experimentally and computationally. Our overall search procedure for enzymes and transporters that may change the number of protons in a systematic manner proves to be highly effective. For example, the carbonic anhydrases are found to be possibly relevant to the deacidification process from the search; only later we found that this system has been studied and reported in the literature. This result clearly shows the power of this procedure, when coupled with additional searches and analyses of the transcriptomic data, which we believe to be applicable to elucidation of other cancer-related processes. Materials and Methods {#s4} ===================== 1. Gene Expression Data for Six Cancer Types {#s4a} -------------------------------------------- The gene-expression data for the six cancer types, (breast, colon, liver, lung adenocarcinoma, squamous cell lung, prostate), are downloaded from the GEO database [@pone.0071177-Edgar1] of the NCBI. For each cancer type, we have applied the following criteria in selecting the dataset used for this study: (1) all the data in each dataset were generated using the same platform by the same research group; (2) each dataset consists of only paired samples, i.e., cancer tissue sample and the matching adjacent noncancerous tissue sample; and (3) each dataset has at least 10 pairs of samples. In the GEO database, only six cancer types have datasets satisfying these criteria. A summary of the 12 datasets, 2 sets for each cancer, is listed in [Table 1](#pone-0071177-t001){ref-type="table"}. 10.1371/journal.pone.0071177.t001 ###### A summary of the cancer datasets used in our transcriptomic data analysis. {#pone-0071177-t001-1} set1 set2 pairs ------------------------------ ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- -------- breast cancer GSE14999 [@pone.0071177-Uva1] GSE15852 [@pone.0071177-PauNi1] 61/43 colon cancer GSE18105 [@pone.0071177-Matsuyama1] GSE25070 [@pone.0071177-Hinoue1] 17/26 liver cancer GSE22058 [@pone.0071177-Burchard1] GSE25097 [@pone.0071177-Tung1] 97/238 lung adenocarcinoma GSE31552 [@pone.0071177-Tan1] GSE7670 [@pone.0071177-Su1] 31/26 lung squamous cell carcinoma GSE31446 [@pone.0071177-Hudson1] GSE31552 [@pone.0071177-Tan1] 13/17 prostate cancer GSE21034 [@pone.0071177-Taylor1] GSE6608 [@pone.0071177-Chandran1] 29/58 2. Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes in Cancer *versus* Control Tissues {#s4b} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For each dataset used in this study, we have used the normalized expression data from the original study. Since we used only paired data, a sign test developed by Wilcoxon [@pone.0071177-Karas1] for matched pairs, is applied to identify the significant differentially expressed genes in cancer *versus* adjacent normal samples for each dataset. We consider a gene being differentially expressed if the statistical significance, *p*-value, is less than 0.01. For each cancer type, we consider only genes with consistent up- or down-regulation across all samples as differentially expressed genes. The final fold change is calculated by taking the mean of the fold change between the cancer and control samples. 3. Searching for Regulatory Relationships in Human {#s4c} -------------------------------------------------- To retrieve the transcriptional regulation relationship information about the genes we are interested in this study, we have used a public database along with its search engine Cscan (<http://www.beaconlab.it/cscan>) to predict the common transcription regulators based on a large collection of ChIP-Seq data for several TFs and other factors related to transcription regulation for human and mouse [@pone.0071177-Zambelli1]. The regulatory relationships were inferred based on ChIP-Seq data collected under 777 different conditions in the hmChip database [@pone.0071177-Chen1] and transcription factors from the UCSC Genome Browser [@pone.0071177-Rosenbloom1]. 4. Cancer Related Genes {#s4d} ----------------------- To retrieve cancer related genes, specifically proto-oncogene and tumor suppressor genes for our study, we searched the UNIPROT database (<http://www.uniprot.org/keywords/>) using keywords, which led to the retrieval of 232 proto-oncogenes (KW-0656) and 194 tumor-suppressor genes (KW-0043) in human. Supporting Information {#s5} ====================== ###### Deacidification mechanisms in cancer cells. Each rectangle bar represents a transporter, enzyme or pump family. The red colored rectangles are up-regulated in our study and the green show down-regulation. Dashed arrows indicate CO~2~ diffusion across the membrane. (PDF) ###### Click here for additional data file. Special thanks to Fei Ji of CSBL Lab at the University of Georgia for the help in this project for protein structural prediction analysis. YX also thanks Professor Ruren Xu of Chemistry College, Jilin University, for helpful discussion regarding acidity issues discussed in this study. [^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. [^2]: Conceived and designed the experiments: YX. Analyzed the data: KX XM MM FM. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: KX XM JC CZ. Wrote the paper: KX XM MM YX.

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"Knowledge as Credit for True Belief," in Intellectual Virtue: Perspectives from Ethics and Epistemology, Michael DePaul and Linda Zagzebski, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). JOHN GRECO KNOWLEDGE AS CREDIT FOR TRUE BELIEF I begin by reviewing two kinds of problem for fallibilism about knowledge. The first is the lottery problem, or the problem of explaining why fallible evidence, though otherwise excellent, is not enough to know that one will lose the lottery. The second kind of problem is Gettier problems. I will argue that both kinds of problem can be resolved if we note an important illocutionary force of knowledge attributions: namely, that when we attribute knowledge to someone we mean to give the person credit for getting things right. Put another way, we imply that the person is responsible for getting things right. The key idea here is not that knowledge requires responsibility in one's conduct, although that might also be the case, but that knowledge requires responsibility for true belief. Again, to say that someone knows is to say that his believing the truth can be credited to him. It is to say that the person got things right due to his own abilities, efforts and actions, rather than due to dumb luck, or blind chance, or something else.i 1. The lottery problem. The lottery problem for fallibilism is stated nicely by Stewart Cohen.ii On the one hand, fallibilists want to say that there can be knowledge by inductive reasoning. Thus fallibilists define themselves against rationalists, who hold that only deductive grounds can give rise to knowledge. On the other hand, it seems that a ticket holder does not know that she will lose the lottery, even if the odds are heavily in favor of her losing. So here is the problem for fallibilism: how is it that in general one can know through inductive grounds, but in the lottery case one fails to know, though one's inductive grounds are excellent? To sharpen the problem, consider two cases of inductive reasoning. Case 1. On the way to the elevator S drops a trash bag down the garbage chute of her apartment building. A few minutes later, reasoning on the basis of past experience and relevant background knowledge, S forms the true belief that the bag is in the basement garbage room. Of course her grounds for so believing are merely inductive: it is possible that the trash bag somehow gets hung up in the chute, although this is extremely 2 unlikely.iii Case 2. S buys a ticket for a lottery in which the chances of winning are ten million to one. A few minutes later, reasoning on the basis of past experience and relevant background knowledge, S forms the true belief that she will lose the lottery. Of course her grounds for so believing are merely inductive: it is possible that she buys the winning ticket, although this is extremely unlikely. Many will have the intuition that S knows in Case 1 but not in Case 2. But how so, given that her reasons are excellent in both cases? This is what the fallibilist needs to explain. a. Nozick's tracking account. The difficulty of the problem is illustrated by some accounts that fail to solve it. According to Robert Nozick, S knows p just in case S's believing p tracks the truth.iv Complications aside, this amounts to the following: S knows p just in case 1. p is true 2. if p were true then S would believe p 3. if p were false then S would not believe p. Nozick's account does a good job explaining why S does not know in the lottery case: if S were going to win the lottery, she would still believe that she is going to lose. However, the tracking account rules incorrectly in the garbage chute case. This is because it is possible, although an extremely unlikely occurrence, that the trash bag gets hung up in the chute. But if the bag did get hung up, S would still believe that the bag is in the basement, and so S fails to satisfy clause (3) of Nozick's account. In fact, the garbage chute case and one's like it were originally formulated as counterexamples to Nozick's account.v b. Sosa's safety account. Let us say that one's belief is sensitive to the truth just in case it satisfies Nozick's clause (3). Ernest Sosa suggests that a belief is better safe than sensitive, where a belief is safe just in case one would have it only if it were true.vi Complications aside, Sosa's suggestion amounts to the following: S knows p just in case 1. p is true 2. S believes p 3 3. S would believe p only if p were true. Alternatively, S would not believe p unless p were true. Sosa's clause (3) is ambiguous between the following two interpretations: Strong Safety: In close worlds, always if S believes p then p is true. Alternatively, in close worlds never does S believe p and p is false. Weak Safety: In close worlds, usually if S believes p then p is true. Alternatively, in close worlds, almost never does S believe p and p is false. But now there is a problem. If Sosa means to endorse strong safety as a condition on knowledge, then his account does no better than Nozick's with Case 1: S would believe that the bag is in the basement even if it were hung up in the chute, and so S fails to satisfy a strong safety condition on knowledge.vii This suggests that Sosa means his safety condition to be interpreted as weak safety. But now his account rules incorrectly that there is knowledge in Case 2: It is true that in close worlds, usually if S believes she will lose the lottery then it is true that she will lose, and so in the lottery case S satisfies a weak safety condition. That is how Sosa's account rules on the lottery case when complications are aside. When complications are not aside, Sosa adds that there are other conditions required for knowledge, or at least for full-blooded, reflective knowledge. For example, in one place Sosa says that a belief's safety "must be fundamentally through the exercise of an intellectual virtue," where an intellectual virtue is a reliable or trustworthy source of truth.viii In another place he says: "For reflective knowledge one not only must believe out of virtue. One must also be aware of doing so"ix But it seems clear that these added requirements do not make a difference in the lottery case, for there S does believe through reliable inductive reasoning, and might even be aware that she does. c. Cohen's contextualism. Finally, consider Cohen's own solution to the lottery problem. According to Cohen, the problem is solved by recognizing that attributions of knowledge are sensitive to context, and, more specifically, that the standards for knowledge are sensitive to context. We have knowledge in cases of ordinary 4 inductive reasoning, such as that employed in the garbage chute case, because the standards that are operative in ordinary contexts are low enough to admit such cases as counting for knowledge. We do not have knowledge in the lottery case, however, because in that context the standards for knowledge are raised-the possibility of winning the lottery becomes salient, and our inductive evidence, as good as it is, does not rule out this possibility. x I do not wish to deny Cohen's general point that the standards for knowledge are sensitive to context-it seems to me that they are. What is less clear is how this is supposed to solve the lottery problem for fallibilism. The problem is that Cohen gives us no explanation why the standards for knowledge should get raised so high in the lottery case. More specifically: he gives no explanation why the standards should be raised beyond S's capacities to meet them. Cohen is quite explicit that he means to remain within the framework of fallibilism. Moreover, in the lottery case it is stipulated that S has excellent (although fallible) reasons for believing that she will lose. So why, on a fallibilist account of knowledge, does S fail to know that she will lose? To be clear, I am not claiming that S does know in the lottery case-I agree that she does not. My complaint is that nothing in Cohen's account explains why S does not know. The same problem can be viewed from a different angle. Cohen says that when S reasons about the odds, the very form of her reasoning makes the possibility that S wins salient. And once made salient, Cohen says, that possibility cannot be ruled out. But again, why can't it be? Why isn't S's reasoning about the odds good enough to rule out the possibility of winning, even once made salient? It has been stipulated that S has excellent reasons for thinking she will not win the lottery, so why doesn't she know that she will not win? In sum, Cohen's contextualism does not explain what it was supposed to explain: given that we are fallibilists about knowledge, and given that we think inductive grounds are good enough to know in other cases, why are S's grounds not good enough to know in the lottery case?xi 2. Gettier problems. It has long been understood that fallibilist accounts of justification give rise to Gettier problems. For 5 example, consider the following. Case 3. On the basis of excellent (although fallible) reasons, S believes that her co-worker Mr. Nogot owns a Ford: Nogot testifies that he owns a Ford, and this is confirmed by S's own relevant observations. From this S infers that someone in her office owns a Ford. As it turns out, S's evidence is misleading and Nogot does not in fact own a Ford. However, another person in S's office, Mr. Havit, does own a Ford, although S has no reason for believing this.xii Clearly S does not know that someone in her office owns a Ford. The problem for the fallibilist is to explain why this is so, given that S has excellent evidence for this true proposition. 3. A proposal for resolving the two problems for fallibilism. We may distinguish two questions one might try to answer when giving an account of knowledge. The first is the "What is knowledge?" question. This question asks what conditions a person must satisfy to count as knowing. The second is the "What are we doing?" question. This question asks what illocutionary act is being performed when we say that someone knows. I will have more to say about the "What is knowledge?" question below. But I think that the key to solving our two problems for fallibilism lies in the "What are we doing?" question. So what are we doing when we attribute knowledge to someone? Clearly, we might be doing any number of things. But one of the central functions of knowledge attributions is to give credit for true belief. When we say that S knows p, we imply that it is not just an accident that S believes the truth with respect to p. On the contrary, we mean to say that S gets things right with respect to p because S has reasoned in an appropriate way, or perceived things accurately, or remembered things well, etc. We mean to say that getting it right can be put down to S's own abilities, rather than to dumb luck, or blind chance, or something else. But then this gives us a resource for solving the two problems for fallibilism reviewed above. For in the lottery case, it does seem to be just a matter of chance that S gets it right when S believes that she will lose the lottery. And in Case 3 (the Gettier case), it seems just a matter of luck that S gets it right that someone in her office owns a Ford. In the garbage chute case, however, we think that it is due to S's good reasoning that she gets 6 things right-we give S credit for arriving at the truth in this case, and we are therefore willing to say that she knows. This is the main idea that I want to pursue.xiii The idea needs to be developed, however. For one, my treatment of the two problems remains largely intuitive so far. More importantly, the main idea I am proposing is faced with the following problem. First, I have said that we are willing to give S credit for her true belief in cases of knowledge, but not in the lottery case or in Gettier cases. Second, I have said that this is because in the former, but not in the latter, S's arriving at the truth is due to her own efforts and actions, or more exactly, to her own abilities. But it is not clear why the various cases can be distinguished in this way. Consider that in the lottery case, S uses excellent reasons to draw the conclusion that she will lose. And in the Gettier case, S reasons flawlessly to the conclusion that someone in her office owns a Ford. But then it seems that S arrives at the truth because of her abilities in all of the cases above, and not only in the cases where we judge that S has knowledge. Clearly, more needs to be said. By way of saying more, I will draw on some important work in moral theory. Specifically, I want to look at Joel Feinberg's fascinating discussion of attributions of moral blame.xiv From this it will be easy enough to construct a general theory of credit attribution, and a theory of intellectual credit attribution in particular. With this groundwork in place, it will be possible to explain why it is appropriate to give S credit for her true belief in cases of knowledge, and appropriate to withhold such credit in the lottery case and Gettier cases. More specifically, it will be possible to explain why, in cases of knowledge, it is appropriate to say that S gets things right because of her own abilities, whereas in the lottery case and Gettier cases, it is appropriate to deny this. a. Feinberg on blaming. Feinberg's account of moral blaming takes off from the following central idea: When we attribute blame to a person for some occurrence, part of what we are doing is assigning causal responsibility to that person for the occurrence. Put another way, when we blame S for X's occurring, we imply that S figures importantly into a correct causal explanation of why X occurred. To get further 7 insight into our practices of blaming, therefore, Feinberg makes some observations about the pragmatics of causal explanations in general. One important aspect of causal explanation language is this: In general, when we say that Y occurs because X occurs, or that Y's occurring is due to X's occurring, we mark out X's occurring as a particularly important or salient part of the causal story behind Y's occurring. For example, to say that the fire occurred because of the explosion is not to say that the explosion caused the fire all by itself. Rather, it is to say that the explosion is a particularly important part, perhaps the most important part, of the whole story. Or to change the example: to say that the fire occurred because of S's negligence is not to say that S's negligence caused the fire all by itself. Rather, it is to say that S's negligence is a particularly salient part, perhaps the most salient part, of the set of relevant factors that caused the fire.xv What determines salience? Any number of things might, but Feinberg cites two kinds of consideration as particularly important. First, among the various necessary parts of a complete causal process, an explanation will often pick out what is abnormal in the case, or what is contrary to expectations. For example, we will say that sparks caused the fire if the presence of sparks in the area is not normal. That explanation would misfire, however, if we were trying to explain the cause of a fire in a welding shop, where sparks are flying all the time. Or suppose that a white elephant walks into a room and causes a panic. Of course the white elephant entering the room is not sufficient all by itself to cause the panic-it would not if the room were part of a zoo and the people inside were animal trainers. But if the room is a place where white elephants are not expected to be, and if the people inside are as we would expect them to be, we have no trouble picking out the elephant as "the" cause of the commotion. Another major factor governing salience is our interests and purposes. For example, often when we are looking for something's cause we are looking for something that we can manipulate to good effect. If the thing to be explained is smoke coming from the engine, for example, we will look for a part that needs to be replaced. Here it is perfectly appropriate to say that the cause of the smoke is the malfunctioning carburetor, although clearly a faulty carburetor cannot cause smoke all by itself. Or witness the various explanations of New York City's plunging crime rate. The police attribute it 8 to good policing, the Mayor attributes it to broader social policy, and opposing politicians attribute it to things over which the Mayor has no control, such as an upturn in the national economy. Of course any honest person would admit that the crime rate is influenced by all of these things. But different people have different interests, and so highlight different parts, of the causal conditions that were together sufficient for the drop in crime. None of this need be insincere, nor is salience something that is merely subjective. The argument over "the" cause of the drop in crime is an argument over which of many causal factors should be deemed most important, given our collective interests and given what we know about human behavior, how we want to spend limited resources, what policies have what costs, etc. Likewise, a correct explanation of what caused a panic focuses on what is in fact abnormal about the situation. As was noted above, if the presence of elephants in the room were not in fact abnormal, then a correct explanation would have to focus elsewhere. In sum, correct causal explanations pick out some salient necessary part of a total set of causal factors, where salience is determined by a number of factors, including what is in fact normal and what are our actual interests. xvi We may now revisit Feinberg's point that attributions of blame imply causal explanations. This is most obvious in cases where the thing for which the person is blamed is a consequence of the person's actions. For example, to blame someone for the fire is to imply that her actions caused it: she is the one who struck the match, or who did not pay attention, or who did pay the arsonist. Alternatively, we can blame a person for the action itself, implying that she herself was the action's cause, or perhaps that her choice was or her efforts were. As Feinberg notes, the distinction between blaming someone for her action and blaming someone for a consequence of her action is often merely verbal. For example, we can say either "She caused the fire by striking the match," or "She started the fire." Likewise, "She caused his death by poisoning his food," substitutes for "She killed him." Finally, Feinberg argues that when we blame someone for an action we imply that the action reveals something important about the person himself: "In general, I should think, a person's faulty act is registerable only if it reveals what sort of person he is in some respect about which others have 9 a practical interest in being informed."xvii Feinberg's position is perhaps too strong on this point; it would seem that people can be rightfully blamed for actions that are out of character. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a kind of blame that Feinberg is right about. In other words, even if not all blaming implies that the person's action reveals a faulty character, there is a strong sort of blame, which is common enough, that does. Moreover, this strong sort of blame has a counterpart in a strong sort of credit. Often enough, credit for an action implies a judgement about the person as well, implying not only that the person is responsible for doing something good, but that this is a manifestation of virtuous character. Putting all this together, Feinberg's account of blame for an action can be summed up as follows. A person S is morally to blame for action A only if a. A is a morally faulty action, b. A can be ascribed to S, and c. A reveals S's faulty moral character. Feinberg concludes that attributions of blame share the same pragmatics as causal explanations. His argument for this emphasizes clause (b) of the above account: attributing blame involves ascribing action, and ascribing action involves causal citation. What I want to emphasize, however, is that clause (c) acts the same way. Clause (c) also insures that attributions of blame involve causal citation, for what does it mean to say that an action reveals character, other than that the action results from character? In other words, clause (c) can be read: c'. S did A because S has a faulty moral character. This might seem too strong, and it is if we read (c') as saying that S's character was sufficient all by itself to cause S's action. Similarly, it is too strong if we read (c') as saying that, given S's character, S had to do A. But it is not too strong if we remember the pragmatics of causal explanation language reviewed above. For according to that account, to say that S's action is a result of her character is to say that S's character is an important part, perhaps the most important part, of 10 the story. Taken this way, (c') is not too strong at all, but rather reflects our common sense attitudes about the sources of human action. The fact is, we cite character in explanations of human behavior all the time, as when we say that he made the remark because he is insensitive (as opposed to having a bad day), or that she failed to spend the money because she is cheap (as opposed to hard up for cash at the moment).xviii Feinberg's analysis reveals that such explanations are implied in attributions of blame, or at least in attributions of a certain sort of blame. And this implies that attributions of blame (of that special sort) will inherit the pragmatics of causal explanations. Clearly, any action will be the result of a number of factors, including a person's character. But sometimes we want to say that character is particularly salient-that it is an important part, perhaps the most important part, of the story behind why the person acted as he did. b. A general theory of credit attribution. Feinberg's account of moral blaming can easily be broadened in two ways. First, I have already noted that the counterpart of blame for an action is credit for an action. In fact, we can use credit as the general term, and talk about positive credit (i.e. praise) and negative credit (i.e. blame) for an action. Second, there are kinds of credit other than moral.xix For example, we credit athletes for athletic feats and thinkers for intellectual ones. Accordingly, I propose the following as a general theory of credit. A person S deserves credit of kind K for action A only if a. A has value of kind K, b. A can be ascribed to S, and c. A reveals S's K-relevant character. Alternatively: S's K-relevant character is an important necessary part of the total set of causal factors that give rise to S's doing A. Two examples will illustrate this account. Case 4. Ken Griffey Jr. runs full speed toward the center field wall, leaps with outstretched glove, and catches the ball while diving to the ground. The home team crowd, just robbed of a game winning double, shakes their respective heads in admiration of Griffey's 11 spectacular catch. Case 5. Griffey Jr. runs full speed toward the center field wall, trips, and falls face down on the ground. The ball bounces off his head, goes straight in the air, and comes down in his glove. The home team crowd, just robbed of a game winning double, shakes their respective heads in disgust. In both cases, the action in question has clear athletic value-catching the ball before it hits the ground is essential to winning baseball games. Moreover, in both cases the catch is ascribable to Griffey-we can be sure that a broadcaster announcing the game will be yelling, "Griffey caught the ball! Griffey caught the ball!" But only in Case 4 will Griffey be given credit for catching the ball, and that is because in Case 4 Griffey's catching the ball is the result of his relevant character; i.e. his great athletic abilities. In Case 5 Griffey's catching the ball was just dumb luck, and so the home team crowd is not just a bunch of sore losers. They are right to be disgusted. A similar phenomenon occurs when a poor fielder makes a spectacular catch. In this case he will be given credit of a sort-he will get pats on the back from his teammates and applause from the crowd. But it won't be the same kind of credit that Griffey gets. Griffey makes spectacular catches all the time-his catches manifest his great skills. Not so when Albert Belle makes such a catch. If the catch is difficult, it is almost just good luck that he makes it. And opposing fans will treat it that way, withholding the credit they would readily give to Griffey. Or consider Bucky Dent's infamous home run to knock the Red Sox out of the play-offs. To this day Boston fans do not give Dent credit for the home run or the Yankees credit for the win. Dent was just a singles hitter, and his fly ball would have been a routine out in any park but Fenway. The home run was just bad luck, Boston fans think, having little to do with Dent's abilities as a hitter. Finally, it is interesting that the case can be viewed in more than one way. Yankee fans do give Dent credit for the home run-to them, he will always be considered a great hero. This is because Yankee fans don't think that Dent's home run was just a matter of luck. Their thinking emphasizes the idea that some luck is always involved in sports, but Dent got his bat on the ball, he was strong enough to muscle it out there, he was able to take advantage of Fenway's short left field. In other words, their account of the home run downplays luck and emphasizes Dent's abilities. This is a 12 common enough phenomenon in sports: Losers try to deny credit by emphasizing the role of luck, and winners try to take credit by putting the emphasis back on ability. Hence the attractive but dubious claims that "Good teams make their own luck" and "It all comes out even in the end." c. A theory of intellectual credit attribution. When we attribute knowledge to someone we imply that it is to his credit that he got things right. It is not because the person is lucky that he believes the truth-it is because of his own cognitive abilities. He figured it out, or remembered it correctly, or perceived that it was so. Applying the account of credit attribution above, we have: S deserves intellectual credit for believing the truth regarding p only if a. believing the truth regarding p has intellectual value, b. believing the truth regarding p can be ascribed to S, and c. believing the truth regarding p reveals S's reliable cognitive character. Alternatively: S's reliable cognitive character is an important necessary part of the total set of causal factors that give rise to S's believing the truth regarding p. And hence: S knows p only if believing the truth regarding p reveals S's reliable cognitive character. Alternatively: only if S's reliable cognitive character is an important necessary part of the total set of causal factors that give rise to S's believing the truth regarding p. We are now in a position to apply these results to the two problems for fallibilism. 4. The lottery problem solved: Chance undermines credit. The application to the lottery problem is initially straightforward: knowledge attributions imply attributions of intellectual credit for true belief, and intellectual credit implies that the true belief is the result of S's own intellectual abilities. But here as in other cases, salient chance undermines credit. In the lottery case, but not in the garbage chute case, it seems just a matter of chance that S believes the truth. In the garbage chute case, but not in the lottery case, S's true belief is appropriately credited to her, i.e. to her intellectual abilities. This was our initial treatment of the case. But this initial treatment gave rise to the following problem: S employs admirable inductive reasoning no less in the lottery case than in the garbage 13 chute case. In both cases, therefore, S's abilities make up a necessary part, but only a part, of the whole story regarding S's believing the truth. The present account of credit solves this problem. For it is only in the garbage chute case that S's abilities are a salient part of the story. In the lottery case, what is most salient is the element of chance. Why does the element of chance become salient in the lottery case? I would suggest that the very idea of a lottery has the idea of chance built right into it. Here is the way we think of the lottery case: First, S reasons on the basis of excellent grounds that she will lose the lottery. Second, the lottery is held and reality either does or does not match up with S's belief-it's just a matter of chance. Notice that things are different if S believes that she lost the lottery because she reads the results in the newspaper.xx Here again her evidence is merely inductive, but now the role of chance does not play an important part in the story. Here is the most natural way to think of the newspaper case: First the lottery is held and the facts are fixed. Second, S infers from a reliable source that she has lost the lottery. Now it is not just a matter of chance that she believes the truth-she believes the truth because she has the good sense to believe what she reads about the results. Two more cases help to explore the implications of the present account. Case 6. On the basis of excellent evidence, S believes that her friend will meet her in New York City for lunch. However, S's friend has bought a ticket in the lottery, and if he were to win then he would be in New Jersey to collect his winnings. In fact, the friend loses the lottery and meets S for lunch.xxi Intuitively, people can know things about their friends even when, unknown to them, their friends have bought tickets in the lottery and would behave differently if they won. On the other hand, there is some intuitive pull toward thinking that S does not know in Case 6, since if her friend were to win the lottery then he would not meet her for lunch. The present account explains these conflicting intuitions by distinguishing contexts of attribution. In contexts where considerations about the lottery are not important, the salience of chance is low and so attributions of knowledge can still be appropriate. However, in contexts where considerations about the lottery are important, the salience of chance rises and therefore knowledge attributions are undermined. Handling Case 6 14 this way allows us to say that knowledge is closed under known entailment. Taking a page from the book of standards contextualists, we may note that there is no single context relative to which a) S knows that her friend will meet her for lunch, b) S knows that her friend will meet her for lunch only if he loses the lottery, and c) S does not know that her friend will lose the lottery. If the context does not make chance salient, then relative to that context S can know that her friend will meet her for lunch. But if the context does make chance salient, then relative to that context S knows neither that her friend will meet her for lunch nor that he will lose the lottery.xxii Now consider another case. Case 7. S is visiting from another culture and knows nothing about lotteries. However, over a long period of time S observes many people exchanging dollar bills for small slips of paper, which they invariably discard after a brief examination. On the basis of excellent inductive reasoning, S concludes that the next person in line will soon discard his slip of paper. And in fact S's belief is true.xxiii This case threatens a counterintuitive result: that relative to S's context, S knows that the next person in line will discard his ticket. Put another way, if S were to express a knowledge claim, then, relative to S's own context of attribution, his claim would be true. This result threatens because S understands nothing about the workings of lotteries. And therefore, it seems, chance could not be a salient factor in S's context. However, this way of interpreting the case assumes that salience is a psychological phenomenon-that salience is a function of where someone's attention is, or how he is thinking about things. This is admittedly one meaning of the term, but it is not the one that we want here. On the contrary, I have argued that salience is a function of a) what is in fact normal or abnormal in the case, and b) what interests and purposes are in fact operative in the context of attribution. Therefore, whether something is salient relative to a context of attribution, in the sense intended here, is not a question about how anyone is thinking. What we are looking for is not psychological salience but explanatory salience. The way to identify what is salient in this sense is to ask where a correct explanation would have to focus. As noted above, a correct explanation of a car fire might properly focus on sparks coming from the engine, whereas a correct explanation of a fire in a welding shop must focus somewhere else. But 15 this has nothing to do with how people are thinking about the cases. Rather, it has to do with what is in fact normal and abnormal in cars and welding shops. Likewise, if a drunk driver runs a light and is involved in a collision, then almost always a correct explanation will focus on the driver's impaired condition. Given the interests and purposes that are usually in place, other explanations of the collision are almost always inappropriate. These considerations explain why it is correct to say that S does not have knowledge in Case 7, even relative to S's own context of attribution. For although the role of chance has no psychological salience for S, it does have explanatory salience; that is, any correct explanation of why S believes the truth would have to refer to the lottery. This is because playing the lottery is pretty much the only thing going on here. Relative to almost any context we can imagine, including S's own, an explanation that did not refer to the lottery would leave the most important thing out. This is in contrast to Case 6. In that case any number of factors contribute to S's believing the truth regarding her friend meeting her for lunch. And relative to most contexts that we can imagine, the fact that her friend loses the lottery will play no important part in a correct explanation of why she believes the truth. Finally, it will be helpful to compare the present account with standards contextualism. First, both accounts are contextualist; that is, they both make the truth conditions of knowledge claims relative to the context of attribution. But the way this works in the two accounts is different. According to standards contextualism, the context of attribution determines the standards for knowledge, so that standards are higher or lower relative to different contexts. On the present account, however, the context of attribution determines the salience of various contributing causal factors, thus determining responsibility for true belief. Standards are not raised or lowered according context; rather, responsibility for a complex event (someone's believing the truth) is creditable or not creditable to the believer according to context. Second, I argued above that familiar versions of standards contextualism do not explain why S's inductive reasoning does not allow her to know that she will lose the lottery. The standards contextualist says that in the lottery case the standards for knowing get raised because the possibility 16 of winning becomes salient. But this does not tell us why S's reasoning fails to meet those standards, even if raised. The present account does better in this respect. The very idea of a lottery involves the idea of chance, and so we have an explanation why chance is salient in cases where the lottery is salient. We can then apply a familiar general principle of credit attribution: that salient chance undermines credit. 5. Gettier problems solved: abnormality trumps interest. Recently I have argued that the following conditions are necessary for knowledge.xxiv S knows p only if 1. S's believing p is subjectively justified is the following sense: S's believing p is the result of dispositions that S manifests when S is trying to believe the truth, and 2. S's believing p is objectively justified is the following sense: The dispositions that result in S's believing p make S reliable in believing p. Alternatively, the dispositions that result in S's believing p constitute intellectual abilities, or powers, or virtues. The thinking behind the subjective justification condition is that knowledge requires that belief be appropriate from the knower's point of view. More specifically, the knower must have some awareness that a belief so formed has a good likelihood of being true. Some authors have required that the knower believe that this is so, but I have resisted this way of understanding the kind of awareness in question. It seems that people rarely have beliefs about the genesis of their beliefs, and so it would be too strong to require that they always have one in cases of knowledge. Accordingly, I have stated the subjective justification condition in terms of dispositions to believe rather than actual beliefs, or even dispositional beliefs. People manifest highly specific, finely tuned dispositions to form beliefs in some ways rather than others. And this fact, I take it, amounts to an implicit awareness of the reliability of those dispositions. The objective justification condition can be interpreted along the lines of Sosa's weak safety condition above: to say that S is reliable in believing p is to say that, at least in relevantly close worlds, usually if S believes p then p is true. Notice that clause (2) makes the knower the seat of reliability: it says that S is reliable, not that some process is, or that S's method is, or that S's evidence 17 is. The thinking here is that knowledge must be grounded in the knower. That is, it must be grounded in the knower's own abilities, rather than in a process or method that might be engaged in accidentally, or on evidence that might be trusted on a whim. I now want to add a third condition on knowledge, understanding knowledge attributions to imply attributions of intellectual credit, and understanding intellectual credit along the lines above. I propose that adding this third condition makes the three sufficient as well as necessary for knowledge. 3. S believes the truth regarding p because S is reliable in believing p. Alternatively: The intellectual abilities (i.e. powers or virtues) that result in S's believing the truth regarding p are an important necessary part of the total set of causal factors that give rise to S's believing the truth regarding p. I claimed above that clause (3) allows us to handle a range of Gettier cases. Intuitively, in cases of knowledge S's reliable character has salience in an explanation of how S comes to get things right. In Gettier cases, S's reliable character loses its salience in favor of something else. What we want now is an account of why this is so. Hence we have two questions before us: First, why is it that S's cognitive abilities have salience in cases of knowledge. Second, why is it that they do not have salience in Gettier cases.xxv To answer the first question we may turn to a point that has been emphasized by Sosa. He writes, All kinds of justification involve the cognitive or intellectual virtues, faculties, or aptitudes of the subject. We care about justification because it tends to indicate a state of the subject that is important and of interest to his community, a state of great interest and importance to an information-sharing social species. What sort of state? Presumably, the state of being a dependable source of information over a certain field in certain circumstances.xxvi For present purposes Sosa's point may be glossed this way: For beings like us, dependability (or reliability) of cognitive character is of fundamental social importance. But this implies that cognitive character will have a kind of default salience in the explanation of true belief. Unless something else is present that trumps the salience of S's cognitive abilities, those will be the most important part of 18 the story, or at least a very important part of the story. We may now turn to the second question: Why is it that S's cognitive abilites are not salient in Gettier cases? Gettier cases seem to fall into three categories in this respect. First, there are cases where S's abilities are not salient in an explanation of true belief because S's abilities are not involved at all. Here is one such case. Case 8. Charlie has excellent reasons to believe that he will make his connection in Chicago. However, Charlie does not recognize these reasons for what they are, nor does he base his belief on them. Rather, he believes that he will make his connection because he is overcome with wishful thinking at the prospects of seeing his fiancée. As it turns out, his belief is true. Here it is straightforward that Charlie does not believe the truth because of his intellectual abilities, since his abilities are not involved at all in the production or maintenance of his belief. As I have described the case, he believes the truth entirely out of wishful thinking. Second, there are cases where S's belief is produced by faculties that would normally be considered abilities, but where S is not reliable in the environement where those faculties are used. Here are two. Case 9. Henry is driving in the countryside and sees a barn ahead in clear view. On this basis he believes that the object he sees is a barn. Unknown to Henry, however, the area is dotted with barn facades that are indistinguishable from real barns from the road. However, Henry happens to be looking at the one real barn in the area.xxvii Case 10. Rene is the victim of an evil demon who causes him to be systematically deceived. Despite admirable intellectual care and responsibility, almost all of Rene's beliefs are false. However, his belief that he is sitting by the fire, which is based on appropriate sensations and background beliefs, happens to be true.xxviii In Case 9 S's belief is the result of perception, and normally S's perception would constitute a cognitive virtue, i.e. a reliable ability or power. However, reliability is relative to an environment, and S's perception is not reliable relative to the environment in the example. Similar things can be said about Case 10-Rene's beliefs are caused by his cognitive faculties and in a normal 19 environment these faculties would constitute abilities or powers. But in Rene's actual environment his faculties are unreliable. Finally, there are Gettier cases where S does use reliable abilities or powers to arrive at her belief, but where this is not the most salient aspect of the case. Case 3 regarding the Ford is one. Here are two others. Case 11. A man takes there to be a sheep in the field and does so under conditions which are such that, when a man does thus take there to be a sheep in the field, then it is evident to him that there is a sheep in the field. The man, however, has mistaken a dog for a sheep and so what he sees is not a sheep at all. Nevertheless, unsuspected by the man, there is a sheep in another part of the field.xxix Case 12. Smith looks at his watch and forms the belief that it is 3 o'clock. In fact, Smith's watch is broken. But by a remarkable coincidence, it has stopped running exactly twelve hours earlier, and so shows the correct time when Smith looks at it.xxx In all three of these cases, reliable cognitive character gives rise to the belief in question – Lehrer's office worker reasons from her evidence, Chisholm's sheep watcher trusts his vision, and Russell's time teller trusts his watch. But in none of these cases does the person believe the truth because of reliable character. On the contrary, an explanation of how the person comes to get things right would have to focus somewhere else. In Case 3, S believes the truth because someone else in her office owns a Ford. Chisholm's sheep watcher believes the truth because there is a sheep in another part of the field. Russell's time teller believes the truth because his watch has stopped running exactly twelve hours before he looked at it. In each of the cases, there is something else that is more salient than S's cognitive abilities in the explanation of how S came to get things right. Why is that so in this third category of Gettier cases? I propose that, in at least many such cases, there is something odd or unexpected about the way that S comes to believe the truth, and that the salience of the abnormality trumps the default salience of S's cognitive abilities. We have already seen that the salience of abnormalities is a general phenomenon. When a white elephant enters the room, all bets are off for other explanations regarding why the room emptied out. The odd or the unexpected undermines the salience of other factors involved in the event. In fact, Gettier cases are 20 often told so as to increase this effect. Typically, there is a first part of the case where an entirely normal scene is described. Then comes the "big surprise" part of the case, where we get the odd twist: what S sees is actually a dog, but there happens to be a sheep in another part of the field; S's evidence is misleading, but someone else in the office owns a Ford. Not all abnormalities undermine the salience of cognitive character, however. For example, an unlikely coincidence reminds the detective of evidence he has neglected, and this missing piece of the puzzle allows him to solve the crime. Less dramatically, an unusual noise causes someone to turn her head, and something else comes into plain view. We would like an account of which abnormalities undermine the salience of character in the explanation of true belief and which do not. Here is a suggestion that seems to handle the above cases well: abnormalities in the way one gets one's evidence do not undermine credit, whereas abnormalities regarding the way one gets a true belief, given that one has the evidence that one does, do undermine credit. Put another way, in cases where something unusual does take away the salience of character, it seems just a matter of good luck that S ends up with a true belief, even given that she has the evidence that she does.xxxi We may understand this point in a way that generalizes to other kinds of credit: we may say that, in general, situational luck does not undermine credit. In other words, luck in the way that one gets into one's situation does not undermine credit for what one does once in that situation. This, I take it, is one of the lessons of the literature on moral luck. A general prohibition on luck shrinks the sphere of moral responsibility to nothing, and hence an adequate theory of moral responsibility must allow for the influence of some kinds of luck but not others.xxxii In sum, the present account goes some way toward explicating the content and pragmatics of knowledge attributions, although we must recognize that it does not go all the way. It goes some way because it analyzes knowledge in terms of credit attribution and credit attribution in terms of the content and pragmatics of causal explanations. It does not go all the way, however, because the pragmatics of causal explanations, and especially those concerning the salience of partial causes, are not fully understood. For example, the account given above in this regard is clearly only a partial account.xxxiii Nevertheless, our intuitions about knowledge seem to follow our intuitions about 21 causal explanation: In cases of knowledge, we think that S believes the truth because she is reliable, whereas in Gettier cases we think that S's believing the truth must be explained in some other way. 6. Concluding remarks. I would like to end with two considerations that lend further support to the account of knowledge that has been offered here. First, the account predicts certain phenomena that do in fact take place. Second, the account suggests a solution to the value problem for knowledge. a. Conflicting knowledge attributions. If the preceding account of knowledge is correct, then there should be arguments over knowledge attribution that mirror arguments over other kinds of credit attribution. More specifically, there should be cases where disagreements over whether someone has knowledge reflect different emphases on the relative importance of S's contribution to arriving at the truth. This is in fact the case. For example, consider the following conversation between a gambler and his wife. Gambler: I told you so, Honey! I knew that horse would win! Wife: You knew no such thing, you idiot! That horse could have lost-you nearly threw away our rent money again! Gambler: No-I knew she would win! I've been watching that horse for months now, and I knew that she would run great in these conditions. Wife: You son-of-a-bitch. The conversation lends itself to the following interpretation: The gambler is trying to take credit for his true belief that the horse would win, and his wife is trying to deny him credit. In doing so, he tries to emphasize his ability to pick winning horses, and she tries to emphasize the role of luck. In the context set by the above example I would tend to agree with the wife. But perhaps there are other contexts relative to which the gambler's claim to know is correct. Consider a conversation that might take place among gambling buddies. First Gambler: How did you know that horse was going to win? Second Gambler: Are you kidding? I've seen her run in mud before, and the only horse in 22 the race that could touch her was pulled just before post time. When I saw that, I ran to the betting window. First Gambler: You son-of-a-bitch. In this context the claim to know is accepted by all involved. Perhaps this is because gamblers are deluded about the relative importance of luck and ability in picking horses. Alternatively, in the present context the role of luck is taken for granted, and so all emphasis is rightly put on the relative abilities among the gamblers. If the "amateur" in the next row also picked the winner, he wouldn't be given credit for his true belief. b. The value problem. Recently, Linda Zagzebski has called attention to the value problem for knowledge.xxxiv An adequate account of knowledge, she points out, ought to explain why knowledge is more valuable than mere true belief. In closing, I will suggest how the present account solves that problem. In Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle makes a distinction between a) morally virtuous action and b) action that is merely as if morally virtuous. One important difference, says Aristotle, is that morally virtuous actions "proceed from a firm and unchangeable character." [II.4] Moreover, it is morally virtuous action, as opposed to action that is as if virtuous, that is both intrinsically valuable and constitutive of the good life: "human good turns out to be activity of soul exhibiting excellence." [I.7] The same point holds for intellectually virtuous action, where the distinction between "virtuous action" and "action as if virtuous" translates to a distinction between knowledge and mere true belief. Following Aristotle, therefore, we get an answer to the value problem: As is the case regarding moral goods, getting the truth as a result of one's virtues is more valuable than getting it on the cheap. xxxv,xxxvi i The idea that knowledge entails credit for true belief can be found in Ernest Sosa, "Beyond Skepticism, to the Best of our Knowledge," Mind 97 (1988): 153-89 , and Knowledge in Perspective (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); and in Linda Zagzebski, Virtues of the Mind (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996), and "What is Knowledge?" in John Greco and Ernest Sosa, eds. The Blackwell Guide to Epistemology (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999). More explicitly, Wayne Riggs argues that in cases of knowledge "we deserve credit for arriving at true belief non-accidentally." See his "Reliability and the Value of Knowledge," Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, forthcoming. 23 ii Stewart Cohen, "How to Be a Fallibilist," Philosophical Perspectives 2 (1988): 91-123, and "Contextualist Solutions to Epistemic Problems: Skepticism, Gettier and the Lottery," Australasian Journal of Philosophy, forthcoming. iii The example is from Ernest Sosa, "Skepticism and Contextualism," Philosophical Issues 10 (2000): 1-18. We can imagine that the bag's getting hung up is extremely unlikely because everything would have to go just right for that to occur, including the trajectory of the bag, its contents, the distribution of its weight, etc. iv See Robert Nozick, Philosophical Explanations (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981). v Here is another counterexample to Nozick's account, due to Jonathan Vogel: "Suppose two policemen confront a mugger, who is standing some distance away with a drawn gun. One of the officers, a rookie, attempts to disarm the mugger by shooting a bullet down the barrel of the mugger's gun. (I assume that the chances of doing this are virtually nil.) Imagine that the rookie's veteran partner knows what the rookie is trying to do. The veteran sees him fire, but is screened from seeing the result. Aware that his partner is trying something that is all but impossible, the veteran thinks (correctly as it turns out) [that the] rookie missed." From "Tracking, Closure, and Deductive Knowledge," in Steven Luper-Foy, ed., The Possibility of Knowledge (Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield, 1987). vi See Ernest Sosa, "Skepticism and Contextualism"; "How Must Knowledge be Modally Related to What is Known," Philosophical Topics 26 (1999): 373-384; and "How to Defeat Opposition to Moore," Philosophical Perspectives 13 (1999): 141-155. vii Here I am assuming that there is a close world in which the bag gets hung up in the chute. If that seems wrong, we can invoke Vogel's rookie cop example from note 5. There it seems uncontroversial that there is a close world where the rookie's bullet enters the mugger's barrel. viii "How Must Knowledge be Modally Related to What is Known?", p. 383, note 7. ix Knowledge in Perspective, p. 278. x "How to Be a Fallibilist," pp. 106-7. xi My claim is not that standards contextualism cannot explain the lottery case in principle. Rather, I restrict myself to the weaker claim that Cohen's contextualism does not in fact explain it. What are the prospects for other versions of standards contextualism? The trick, of course, is for the standards contextualist to explain why S does not have knowledge in the lottery case, while at the same time preserving the intuition that S does have knowledge in other cases of inductive reasoning. But this will be hard to do. For example, Keith DeRose argues that S has knowledge if her belief matches the truth out to the nearest world where a salient alternative possibility is actual. However, the matching requirement insures that DeRose's account rules incorrectly in the garbage chute case and in the rookie cop case from note 5. This is because these cases are designed so that not-p worlds are very, very close, and so no matter how weak the 24 standards for knowledge are being set, S's belief will not match the truth far enough out into alternative possible worlds. In other words, no matter how close the nearest world where a salient possibility is actual, S's belief will not match the truth out to that world. See Keith DeRose, "Solving the Skeptical Problem," Philosophical Review 104 (1995): 1-52. xii The example is from Keith Lehrer, "Knowledge, Truth and Evidence," Analysis 25 (1965): 168-75. xiii I first suggested a solution to Gettier problems along these line in my review of Jonathan Kvanvig's The Intellectual Virtues and the Life of the Mind, in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol LIV, no 4 (December 1994), pp. 973-976. Linda Zagzebski develops the idea in a different direction in Virtues of the Mind and in "What is Knowledge?", and Keith Lehrer develops a similar idea in Theory of Knowledge, 2 nd edition (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000). Earlier than any of this, Sosa writes that in cases of knowledge one's belief must "non-accidentally reflect the truth of P through the exercise of . . . a virtue." However, he does not suggest that this idea can be used to address Gettier problems. See his "Beyond Skepticism, to the Best of our Knowledge," p. 184. See also Knowledge in Perspective, p. 277. xiv Feinberg's discussion takes place over three papers, all of which are collected in Doing and Deserving: Essays in the Theory of Responsibility (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970). The papers are "Problematic Responsibility in Law and Morals," "Action and Responsibility," and "Causing Voluntary Actions." Page numbers that follow correspond to Doing and Deserving. My account of Feinberg's account of blaming is a reconstruction-I have taken parts of what he says from each of his three papers and put them together in a way that suits my present purposes. xv It is tempting to follow Feinberg and to put things this way: When we say that Y occurs because X occurs, or that Y's occurring is due to X's occurring, we mark out X's occurring as a particularly important or salient part of a sufficient condition for Y's occurring. (177) This assumes, however, that all causes can be understood as sufficient conditions. Since I do not want to deny either a) the possibility of agent causation or b) the possibility of indeterminate causation, I employ the looser language above. xvi Another example: Sports fans will argue endlessly over why we lost the big game. Was it because we gave up too many points or because we didn't score enough? Obviously, the outcome of a game is a function of both points allowed and points scored. The real argument here is over what was the most important factor in the loss. And that is a function of what one can normally expect, what could have been done differently, etc. xvii Feinberg, p. 126. xviii Some recent work in social psychology suggests that common sense is flawed in this respect. For example, see Lee Ross and Richard Nisbett, The Person and the Situation (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991). For a persuasive argument against such a conclusion, see Michael DePaul, "Character Traits, Virtues and Vices: Are there None?", Proceedings of the Twentieth World 25 Congress of Philosophy, Volume IX: Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Psychology, forthcoming. xix Feinberg's own discussion is at times aimed at other kinds of blame. xx This point is made by Cohen in "How to Be a Fallibilist." xxi This kind of case is discussed by Cohen in "How to Be a Fallibilist," and by Gilbert Harman in Thought (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974). xxii Cohen and DeRose have both argued that contextualists need not run into closure problems. See Cohen, "How to Be a Fallibilist" and DeRose, "Solving the Skeptical Problem." For an early discussion of relevant issues, see Gail Stine, "Skepticism, Relevant Alternatives, and Deductive Closure," Philosophical Studies 29 (1976) 249-261. xxiii This sort of case was raised by Phillip Quinn in discussion. xxiv See my Putting Skeptics in Their Place (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000); and "Agent Reliabilism," Philosophical Perspectives 13 (1999): 273-296. xxv What is a Gettier case? Zagzebski has argued that all Gettier cases are ones where bad epistemic luck is cancelled out by good epistemic luck. For example, in Case 3 S's evidence is deceptive (bad luck), but someone else in S's office owns a Ford (good luck). This analysis suggests that we can treat Gettier cases in the same way that we treated the lottery problem above-we can say that Gettier cases involve salient luck, and salient luck undermines credit. In my opinion this assessment is correct, but it is not as informative as we would like. This is because in Gettier cases, to say that S believes the truth because of good luck is very close to saying that S believes the truth for some reason other than her own abilities. And although that seems true, it is not more informative than what we already have-which is that clause (3) is violated. (In the lottery case, we said that the clause is violated due to the role of salient chance. That explanation is informative, however, because we have an independent grasp of what we mean by chance in a lottery.) xxvi Knowledge in Perspective, pp. 281-2. xxvii The example is from Alvin Goldman, "Discrimination and Perceptual Knowledge," Journal of Philosophy 73 (1976): 771-791. Reprinted in Goldman, Alvin, Liaisons: Philosophy Meets the Cognitive and Social Sciences (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992). xxviii The example is from Sosa, "Perspectives in Virtue Epistemology: A Response to Dancy and BonJour," Philosophical Studies 78 (1995): 221-235. xxix The example is quoted from Roderick Chisholm, Theory of Knowledge, 2 nd edition (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1977), p. 105. 26 xxx The watch example is due to Bertrand Russell in Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948). The example is cited by Chisholm in Theory of Knowledge, where he points out that it is a Gettier case. xxxi The distinction employed here is similar to Mylan Engel's distinction between verific and evidential luck, in Mylan Engel, Jr., "Is Epistemic Luck Compatible with Knowledge?," The Southern Journal of Philosophy XXX, 2 (1992): 59-75. I thank Michael Bergmann for pointing out to me that Engel's distinction is helpful in the present context. xxxii In this regard, see Thomas Nagel, "Moral Luck" in Mortal Questions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979); Margaret Walker, "Moral Luck and the Virtues of Impure Agency," Metaphilosophy 22 (1991): 14-27; and John Greco, "A Second Paradox Concerning Responsibility and Luck," Metaphilosophy 26 (1995): 81-96. xxxiii We can imagine Gettier-type cases, for example, where the problem is not abnormality in the way that S comes to believe the truth, but the interference of another agent, such as a "helpful demon." Here, as in other cases, credit for true belief and hence knowledge is undermined. And, here again, this seems to be a general phenomenon regarding credit. So, for example, the influence of a helpful demon would undermine moral credit as well. I thank Daniel Nolan and Tamar Gendler for raising this kind of concern. xxxiv Zagzebski raises the problem in Virtues of the Mind, pp. 300-2, and in a more extended way in "From Reliabilism to Virtue Epistemology," Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, Volume V: Epistemology (1999): 173-179. Reprinted in expanded form in Axtell, ed., Knowledge, Belief and Character : Readings in Virtue Epistemology (New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2000). See also Zagzebski's contribution to this volume. xxxv Riggs takes a similar approach to the value problem. He writes, "When a true belief is achieved non-accidentally, the person derives epistemic credit for this that she would not be due had she only accidentally happened upon a true belief. . . . The difference that makes a value difference here is the variation in the degree to which a person's abilities, powers, and skills are causally responsible for the outcome, believing truly that p." See "Reliability and the Value of Knowledge." xxxvi I would like to thank Robert Audi, Heather Battaly, Michael Bergmann, Stewart Cohen, Keith DeRose, Tamar Gendler, Stephen Grimm, Daniel Nolan, Philip Quinn, Wayne Riggs, Ted Sider, Eleonore Stump, Ernest Sosa, Fritz Warfield, and Linda Zagzebski for their helpful comments in discussion and on earlier versions of the paper.

Q: SVG text cross-browser compatibility issue First of all, I have to say that I am not good at Illustrator. I just make some basic graphics for the websites that I am working on. Here is one that I made: I exported as SVG format and put it into a website. But when I change size of browser, the text size increases or decreases. This is how it looks like on a web page in Chrome: If I increase the size of browser, letters are coming into rectangle: I never had such a problem. It's so weird and I wasn't able to find a solution for this. Also, in Safari everything works perfectly. In Firefox, this is how it looks like: The text is completely different. Can you you tell me what's happening? Aren't SVG graphics just like images? Why am I having so many problems? Here's the SVG code for reference: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!-- Generator: Adobe Illustrator 18.0.0, SVG Export Plug-In . SVG Version: 6.00 Build 0) --> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"> <svg version="1.1" id="Layer_1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewBox="0 0 821.4 353.7" enable-background="new 0 0 821.4 353.7" xml:space="preserve"> <rect x="0" y="0" opacity="0.8" width="682.3" height="214.5" /> <text transform="matrix(0.8101 0 0 1 25.8074 165.8717)"> <tspan x="0" y="0" fill="#307FB7" font-family="'MyriadPro-Regular'" font-size="196.5103" letter-spacing="28.4">C</tspan> <tspan x="143.4" y="0" fill="#FFFFFF" font-family="'MyriadPro-Regular'" font-size="196.5103" letter-spacing="28.4">agdas</tspan> </text> <rect x="139.2" y="138.7" opacity="0.8" width="682.3" height="214.5" /> <text transform="matrix(0.8101 0 0 1 170.9687 304.5814)" opacity="0.8"> <tspan x="0" y="0" fill="#307FB7" font-family="'MyriadPro-Regular'" font-size="196.5103" letter-spacing="28.4">Y</tspan> <tspan x="135.8" y="0" fill="#FFFFFF" font-family="'MyriadPro-Regular'" font-size="196.5103" letter-spacing="28.4">onder</tspan> </text> </svg> A: The problem is that the SVG is using text as opposed to paths, the browser is then rendering that text with its own text rendering engine, which can lead to inconsistencies with font naming and scaling (the same as regular HTML & CSS text) One solution is to outline the text before exporting the SVG. Either right click the text and Create Outlines or go to Object -> Expand

Q: Tool selection with mouse in emacs for Mac OS X After watching this video I decided to install the artist for emacs. I'm using http://emacsformacosx.com/ and I've been successful in using the tools provided in the artist install and they're awesome! However, I want to know if it's possible to change and select tools like the guy in the video does, i.e. right click -> select tool. When I right click in Emacs I see nothing. Is this possible? A: I don't know about on OSX but on my GNU/Linux machine, middle click is what brings up the tool selection menu. Is that insufficient? If so, you can manually bind artist-mouse-choose-operation to your key of choice.

COURT OF APPEALS SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH NO. 02-12-00071-CR JOHN WALTER RAYBON APPELLANT V. THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE ---------- FROM THE 89TH DISTRICT COURT OF WICHITA COUNTY ---------- MEMORANDUM OPINION 1 ---------- In three issues, appellant John Walter Raybon contends that the evidence presented at his trial is insufficient to support his two convictions for retaliation. 2 We affirm. 1 See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4. 2 See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 36.06(a) (West 2011).  Background Facts Kevin Taylor, a manager with AT&T, was working at a store in Wichita Falls on January 8, 2011, a Saturday, when appellant entered the store to seek assistance with issues related to his account. Appellant brought his laptop into the store. Taylor used the laptop to help appellant, but the laptop eventually fell off of a counter, hit the floor, and sustained damage. Taylor said that he would contact appellant two days later, on Monday, about helping appellant repair his laptop. Eventually, Taylor told appellant to get a price for repairing the laptop from an electronics store, and Taylor said that AT&T would pay for the repair. 3 Nonetheless, appellant contacted Taylor on numerous occasions about the laptop, becoming abrasive toward him. For example, on January 11, the Tuesday after the laptop fell, appellant mentioned to Taylor that he “carried a gun with him anywhere he went.” Appellant also told Taylor that he would get fired, that a “shit storm [was] coming,” and that Taylor “was about to start receiving a lot of unwanted visitors.” Officials at Taylor’s store advised him to begin taking varied routes home from work. AT&T assigned security officers to work in the store beginning January 12. On January 13, during a phone conversation that appellant had about the damage to his laptop with Brandon Haines, who was providing customer care 3 At some point, appellant received a payment of $625 from AT&T’s insurance company for the damage to his laptop. 2 support for AT&T, appellant became angry and told Haines that he would “take care of the situation himself” by getting “his nine” and going to the store. Haines believed that by referencing his “nine,” appellant meant his gun. Haines told appellant that he took appellant’s threat seriously, ended the conversation, and contacted Taylor to inform him about the threat. Shortly after appellant’s conversation with Haines ended, Lane Akin, who works with AT&T as an asset protection analyst, received information about what appellant had conveyed to Haines, notified the Wichita Falls Police Department about that information, and traveled to Wichita Falls to meet with Taylor. 4 On the night of January 24, after speaking with Taylor, Akin called appellant, told him that his “threats . . . were starting to frighten the employees,” and asked him to make no further contact with Taylor but to instead contact only Akin with any questions about issues related to the laptop. Akin advised appellant that Akin had contacted the Wichita Falls police, and Akin told appellant that if he continued to contact Taylor, harassment charges would be filed against him. In the conversation, appellant referenced litigation, lawyers, and the media. On January 28, appellant returned to the store. Outside of the store, in the presence of Wichita Falls Police Department Officer John Ricketts, who was providing security, Taylor barred appellant from the premises. In response, 4 Akin is a retired Texas Ranger. He spent thirty years in law enforcement before working for AT&T. 3 appellant became agitated, made statements about Taylor losing his job, took a picture of Taylor, and said to Taylor, “[Y]ou’re going to regret this.” After Taylor went into the store, as Officer Ricketts was trying to get information from appellant so that appellant could be legally barred from the store, appellant repeatedly placed his hands in his pockets even though Officer Ricketts had told him not to. Officer Ricketts told appellant to turn around and to place his hands on his head so that Officer Ricketts could pat him down for weapons. Appellant eventually did so, and Officer Ricketts found a nine- millimeter semiautomatic gun in appellant’s left jacket pocket. The gun had several rounds in its magazine. Officer Ricketts arrested appellant for unlawful carrying of a weapon. On the way to jail, appellant expressed that it was Taylor’s fault that he had been arrested. In jail, appellant told Officer Ricketts that he carried a gun at all times, that he would use it, that “AT&T and Taylor had not heard the last of him,” and that he would get his money one way or another. Taylor called Akin to inform him about what had occurred that day. Upon Akin’s direction, AT&T terminated its account with appellant. On January 31, after appellant called AT&T’s customer service department to seek reactivation of his service, a customer service employee transferred the call to Akin. During appellant’s conversation with Akin, which lasted longer than twenty minutes, appellant talked “about being upset over certain issues.” He also mentioned that he had been in jail, that his gun had been taken from him, that he 4 was licensed to carry a gun in twenty-six states, that he was going to get the gun back, and that he was “going to make a move to destroy [Akin’s] life and . . . Taylor’s life.” According to Akin, appellant’s statement about getting his gun back was made in “real close time proximity” to his statement about destroying Akin’s and Taylor’s lives. Akin understood appellant’s statement as a definite threat of violence toward him and Taylor; Akin testified at trial that he believed that there was a “definite possibility” that appellant meant that he would kill them and destroy their lives once he got his gun back. After the conversation ended, Akin reported appellant’s statement about destroying his and Taylor’s lives to the police. A grand jury indicted appellant with two counts of retaliation. The indictments alleged that appellant had intentionally or knowingly threatened to harm Akin and Taylor by shooting and killing them “in retaliation for or on account of the[ir] service or status . . . as . . . prospective witness[es], informant[s], and as . . . person[s] who had reported the occurrence of a crime.” Appellant pled not guilty to both counts, and the parties litigated the counts through one trial. After considering the evidence and the parties’ arguments, a jury convicted appellant of both counts. The jury then listened to evidence and arguments concerning appellant’s punishment and assessed ten years’ confinement on each count. Appellant brought this appeal. 5  Evidentiary Sufficiency In his three issues, appellant argues that, respectively, the State failed to prove that any threats he made accompanied a retaliatory intent, the State failed to prove that he threatened harm by an unlawful act, and the State failed to prove that he threatened to shoot or kill Akin or Taylor. In our due-process review of the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we view all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2789 (1979); Wise v. State, 364 S.W.3d 900, 903 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). This standard gives full play to the responsibility of the trier of fact to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts. Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S. Ct. at 2789; Blackman v. State, 350 S.W.3d 588, 595 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). The trier of fact is the sole judge of the weight and credibility of the evidence. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.04 (West 1979); Wise, 364 S.W.3d at 903. Thus, when performing an evidentiary sufficiency review, we may not re-evaluate the weight and credibility of the evidence and substitute our judgment for that of the factfinder. Isassi v. State, 330 S.W.3d 633, 638 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). Instead, we determine whether the necessary inferences are reasonable based upon the cumulative force of the evidence when viewed in the 6 light most favorable to the verdict. Sorrells v. State, 343 S.W.3d 152, 155 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). We must presume that the factfinder resolved any conflicting inferences in favor of the verdict and defer to that resolution. Jackson, 443 U.S. at 326, 99 S. Ct. at 2793; Wise, 364 S.W.3d at 903. In determining the sufficiency of the evidence to show an appellant’s intent, and faced with a record that supports conflicting inferences, we “must presume—even if it does not affirmatively appear in the record—that the trier of fact resolved any such conflict in favor of the prosecution, and must defer to that resolution.” Matson v. State, 819 S.W.2d 839, 846 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). To obtain appellant’s third-degree-felony convictions for retaliation under section 36.06 of the penal code as the offenses were charged in the indictment, the State was required to prove that he intentionally or knowingly threatened to harm Akin and Taylor by an unlawful act—here, shooting and killing them—“in retaliation for or on account of the[ir] service or status” as “prospective witness[es], . . . informant[s],” or “person[s] who . . . reported . . . the occurrence of a crime.” Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 36.06(a)(1), (c). Retaliatory intent In his first issue, appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to prove that he threatened Akin and Taylor “in retaliation for or on account of” their service as prospective witnesses, informants, or reporters of the occurrence of a crime. See id. § 36.06(a)(1). Appellant intentionally retaliated if it was his 7 conscious objective to do so. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 6.03(a) (West 2011). A defendant’s intent to retaliate may be inferred from circumstantial evidence, such as the defendant’s acts, words, or conduct. See Lozano v. State, 359 S.W.3d 790, 814 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2012, pet. ref’d); Helleson v. State, 5 S.W.3d 393, 395 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1999, pet. ref’d). One of the purposes of the retaliation statute is to encourage a “certain class of citizens to perform vital public duties without fear of retribution.” Doyle v. State, 661 S.W.2d 726, 729 (Tex. Crim. App. 1983); see Cada v. State, 334 S.W.3d 766, 771 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011); Morrow v. State, 862 S.W.2d 612, 615 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). Section 36.06, however, does not require the threatened retaliatory harm be imminent, nor does it require the actor to intend to carry out the threat. In re B.P.H., 83 S.W.3d 400, 407 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2002, no pet.); see Lebleu v. State, 192 S.W.3d 205, 211 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. ref’d) (“The crime of retaliation does not require an intent to follow through with a threat. . . . So long as a person issues a threat, knowingly and intentionally, and for the reasons set out in the statute, then she is guilty of the crime.”). Also, the “fact that the party threatened was not present when the threat was made is no defense.” Doyle, 661 S.W.2d at 728. It was not sufficient for the State to prove merely that appellant threatened Akin and Taylor after learning that previous statements had been reported to the police; rather, the law required the State to prove that the threat occurred because of appellant’s knowledge of the reports. See Riley v. State, 965 S.W.2d 8 1, 2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, pet. ref’d); Wilson v. State, No. 09-96- 00086-CR, 1997 WL 137420, at *3 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Mar. 26, 1997, pet. ref’d) (not designated for publication); see also Helleson, 5 S.W.3d at 395 (“To support a conviction for the offense of retaliation, the evidence must establish the retributory element found in section 36.06(a)(1) . . . .”). Comments supporting retaliation may be evaluated in the “context within which they are uttered.” Meyer v. State, 366 S.W.3d 728, 731 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2012, no pet.). Appellant contends that even if his overall statements are interpreted in the “most damning light, the statements constitute ambiguous threats with no relationship to any action Taylor or Akin may have made or might have made.” He also asserts that neither the “content nor timing of the remarks . . . support a conclusion that the statements were made because anyone reported him, might report him, inform on him, or testify against him.” Finally, he argues that since his threats occurred “both before and after [he] was told that [Akin and Taylor] had reported his behavior to law enforcement,” no rational inference can be made that the threats made after he learned of the report to law enforcement were retaliatory. In its brief, the State contends that the jury was entitled to infer appellant’s retributive intent in making the statement that he was going to destroy Akin’s and Taylor’s lives because (1) he had been told by Akin on January 24 that harassment charges could be filed against him and that the police had already been contacted; (2) when Taylor barred him from AT&T’s store on January 28 in 9 the presence of Officer Ricketts, appellant said that Taylor was “going to regret [it]”; (3) appellant made the statement about destroying Taylor’s and Akin’s lives on January 31, which was three days after he was barred from AT&T’s store and was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon; and (4) appellant made the January 31 statement in close proximity to talking about being in jail and having his gun taken away while he was there. Our resolution of appellant’s first issue hinges upon whether the jury permissibly drew a reasonable inference of appellant’s intent to retaliate, which would be entitled to our deference, or impermissibly speculated about appellant’s intent by “theorizing or guessing about the possible meaning of [the] facts and evidence presented.” See Winfrey v. State, 393 S.W.3d 763, 771 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (citing Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9, 16 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007)). We conclude that the evidence entitled the jury to draw a reasonable inference about appellant’s retaliatory intent. Although the evidence establishes that appellant was verbally abrasive and threatening toward several people, including Taylor, before learning of Taylor’s and Akin’s contacts with the police, other evidence implies that appellant’s threats after learning of the contacts were based, at least in part, on the contacts rather than solely on the damage to his laptop and on his dispute with AT&T. For example, soon after Taylor, in front of a police officer, barred appellant from the store on January 28, 2011 (which was after appellant had been paid for the damage to his laptop and after he had learned about Akin’s 10 contact with the police), 5 appellant told Taylor that he was going to “regret” doing so. Then, while appellant was nearby the store after Taylor had entered it, appellant began placing his hands into his pockets and reaching for a gun that had several rounds in its magazine. 6 Shortly after appellant’s arrest for unlawful carrying of a weapon, on the way to jail, he mentioned Taylor’s name and said that it was Taylor’s fault that he had been arrested. While confined in jail, appellant spoke about being angry with Taylor, stated that he “carrie[d] a gun on him at all times and [would] use it,” and said that Taylor had not “heard the last of” him. The events on January 24 (when Akin first spoke to appellant and told him about contacting the police) and January 28 provide context for Akin’s conversation with appellant on January 31. During that conversation, appellant said to Akin that he had been in jail, that the police had taken his gun, and that he was going to get the gun back and “make a move to destroy” Akin’s and Taylor’s lives. 5 We agree with the State that Taylor’s barring appellant from the store made Taylor an “informant” who was protected from a retaliatory threat by section 36.06 of the penal code. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 36.06(b)(2) (defining “[i]nformant” as a “person who has communicated information to the government in connection with any governmental function”). 6 Officer Ricketts testified that appellant did not “get to” the gun because Officer Ricketts prevented appellant from doing so. Appellant struggled with Officer Ricketts and was not fully subdued until another officer arrived. 11  We conclude that these facts provided the jury with enough circumstantial evidence to form a reasonable inference of appellant’s retaliatory intent when he threatened to destroy Taylor’s and Akin’s lives. See Lozano, 359 S.W.3d at 814; Helleson, 5 S.W.3d at 395. Although appellant spoke with several people about the damage to his laptop and about his issues with AT&T during January 2011, his threat on January 31 to “destroy” lives was aimed at the only two people— Taylor and Akin—who had interacted with the police about appellant’s threats. Appellant learned about Akin’s contact with the police only seven days before threatening to destroy Akin’s life, and appellant witnessed Taylor’s contact with the police only three days before threatening to destroy Taylor’s life. And in the same conversation in which appellant threatened to destroy Akin’s and Taylor’s lives, he mentioned that he had been in jail and that the police had taken his gun. Although some evidence in the record, including the threats that appellant made before January 24, may raise a conflicting inference that appellant’s threat against Akin and Taylor on January 31 was based on his general displeasure with them and with AT&T rather than on their contacts with the police, the jury was entitled to choose between two reasonable inferences, and we must defer to that choice. Temple v. State, 390 S.W.3d 341, 360 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013); Sorrells, 343 S.W.3d at 155; Matson, 819 S.W.2d at 846. Finally, citing the Amarillo Court of Appeals’s decision in Wilkins v. State, appellant contends that to obtain a conviction for retaliation, the State was required to prove that appellant made a threat with the intent to “influence the 12 person in their capacity as a member of the statutorily protected class.” 279 S.W.3d 701, 704 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2007, no pet.). The specific intent to inhibit or influence the types of public service included in the retaliation statute— as distinguished from the intent to harm or threaten harm in retaliation for or on account of public service—is not an element of retaliation under the plain language of section 36.06(a)(1), and we join the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals in rejecting the holding in Wilkins on that basis. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 36.06(a)(1); 7 Lindsey v. State, No. 13-09-00181-CR, 2011 WL 2739454, at *5 n.4 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi July 14, 2011, no pet.) (mem. op. on remand, not designated for publication); see also Arceneaux v. State, No. 09-08-00210-CR, 2009 WL 857624, at *1 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Apr. 1, 2009, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (“We do not accept Arceneaux’s argument that section 36.06(a)(1)(A) of the Penal Code . . . requires the threat to have affected or inhibited the service rendered by the public servant.”). For all of these reasons, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to infer appellant’s retaliatory intent beyond a reasonable doubt, and we overrule appellant’s first issue. 7 In contrast, section 36.06(a)(2) supports a conviction for obstruction or retaliation when a person seeks to “prevent or delay the service of another” as a public servant, witness, prospective witness, informant, or reporter of crime. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 36.06(a)(2). The indictment in this case tracked section 36.06(a)(1). 13 Unlawful act to shoot or kill In his second and third issues, appellant argues that the evidence is insufficient to prove that he threatened an unlawful act, which, under the indictment in this case, was shooting and killing Taylor and Akin. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 36.06(a). “Whether a particular statement may properly be considered to be a threat is governed by an objective standard—whether a reasonable person would foresee that the statement would be interpreted by those to whom the maker communicates the statement as a serious expression of intent to harm or assault.” Manemann v. State, 878 S.W.2d 334, 337 (Tex. App.—Austin 1994, pet. ref’d); see Meyer, 366 S.W.3d at 731. Concerning his conversation with appellant on January 31, Akin testified, [T]he call again began with about 20 minutes or so of . . . him ranting . . . and talking about being upset over certain issues . . . and I just listened to him. . . . [H]e mentioned the fact that . . . he had been in jail and that Wichita Falls PD had taken his weapon. He was upset about his service being cancelled. He said he was going to get his weapons back. Yeah, I remember he told me that -- that he was licensed to carry in 26 states and that he was going to make a move to destroy[8] my life and Kevin Taylor’s life. [Emphasis added.] Akin then testified that he took appellant’s statement as a threat to himself and Taylor, that he thought that it was a “definite possibility” that appellant meant that he would shoot or kill Akin and Taylor, and that appellant’s reference to his 8 According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, “destroy” may mean to take the life of or to kill. Webster’s Third New Int’l Dictionary 615 (2002). 14 weapon was made in “real close time proximity” and “right on the [heels]” to his statement about destroying Akin’s and Taylor’s lives. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that this testimony entitled the jury to rationally find beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant threatened an unlawful act by shooting and killing Taylor and Akin. See Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S. Ct. at 2789; Wise, 364 S.W.3d at 903. While appellant argues that “make a move to destroy” could have “as easily” referred to his intent to sue Taylor and Akin, we must defer to the jury’s reasonable inference that the comment, in its context of appellant stating in close proximity that he was going to retrieve his gun, stating before January 31 that he was going to bring his “nine” to the store, and actually bringing his gun—a nine millimeter—to the store and reaching for it three days earlier, instead referred to shooting and killing Taylor and Akin. See Sorrells, 343 S.W.3d at 155; Matson, 819 S.W.2d at 846; see also Meyer, 366 S.W.3d at 731–32 (stating that comments can be evaluated as threats based on their context and holding that because the evidence supported differing reasonable conclusions that could be drawn by a factfinder, the evidence was sufficient to show a threat to harm); Manemann, 878 S.W.2d at 337 (“Threats of physical harm need not be directly expressed, but may be contained in veiled statements nonetheless implying injury to the recipient when viewed in all the circumstances.”). We overrule appellant’s second and third issues. 15  Conclusion Having overruled all of appellant’s issues, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. PER CURIAM PANEL: LIVINGSTON, C.J.; MCCOY and GABRIEL, JJ. DO NOT PUBLISH Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b) DELIVERED: August 15, 2013 16 

The last 36 hours has represented perhaps a big opportunity for the Clemson coaching staff, as on Tuesday an unofficial visit began for one of its top targets, four-star rated Rob Gronkowski of Williamsville, N.Y. The 6-foot-6, 255-pounder is billed by Rivals.com as the No. 7 tight end in the country. Already this year he has taken unofficial visits to Syracuse, Florida, Arizona, Maryland and Duke. For Clemson, apparently the its staff utilized its opportunity to wow the big-time recruit to the max. "My mother (Diane) told me last night this is the best (recruiting) visit she has ever been on," Gronkowski told Tigerillustrated.com Wednesday. "We both liked it a lot. Everything was great."

// Boost.Geometry (aka GGL, Generic Geometry Library) // Copyright (c) 2007-2012 Barend Gehrels, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. // Copyright (c) 2008-2012 Bruno Lalande, Paris, France. // Copyright (c) 2009-2012 Mateusz Loskot, London, UK. // Parts of Boost.Geometry are redesigned from Geodan's Geographic Library // (geolib/GGL), copyright (c) 1995-2010 Geodan, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. // Use, modification and distribution is subject to the Boost Software License, // Version 1.0. (See accompanying file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at // http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt) #ifndef BOOST_GEOMETRY_GEOMETRIES_REGISTER_SEGMENT_HPP #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_GEOMETRIES_REGISTER_SEGMENT_HPP #ifndef DOXYGEN_NO_SPECIALIZATIONS #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_ACCESS(Segment, Point, Index0, Index1) \ template <size_t D> \ struct indexed_access<Segment, min_corner, D> \ { \ typedef typename coordinate_type<Point>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment const& b) \ { return geometry::get<D>(b. Index0); } \ static inline void set(Segment& b, ct const& value) \ { geometry::set<D>(b. Index0, value); } \ }; \ template <size_t D> \ struct indexed_access<Segment, max_corner, D> \ { \ typedef typename coordinate_type<Point>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment const& b) \ { return geometry::get<D>(b. Index1); } \ static inline void set(Segment& b, ct const& value) \ { geometry::set<D>(b. Index1, value); } \ }; #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_ACCESS_TEMPLATIZED(Segment, Index0, Index1) \ template <typename P, size_t D> \ struct indexed_access<Segment<P>, min_corner, D> \ { \ typedef typename coordinate_type<P>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment<P> const& b) \ { return geometry::get<D>(b. Index0); } \ static inline void set(Segment<P>& b, ct const& value) \ { geometry::set<D>(b. Index0, value); } \ }; \ template <typename P, size_t D> \ struct indexed_access<Segment<P>, max_corner, D> \ { \ typedef typename coordinate_type<P>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment<P> const& b) \ { return geometry::get<D>(b. Index1); } \ static inline void set(Segment<P>& b, ct const& value) \ { geometry::set<D>(b. Index1, value); } \ }; #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_ACCESS_4VALUES(Segment, Point, Left, Bottom, Right, Top) \ template <> struct indexed_access<Segment, min_corner, 0> \ { \ typedef coordinate_type<Point>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment const& b) { return b. Left; } \ static inline void set(Segment& b, ct const& value) { b. Left = value; } \ }; \ template <> struct indexed_access<Segment, min_corner, 1> \ { \ typedef coordinate_type<Point>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment const& b) { return b. Bottom; } \ static inline void set(Segment& b, ct const& value) { b. Bottom = value; } \ }; \ template <> struct indexed_access<Segment, max_corner, 0> \ { \ typedef coordinate_type<Point>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment const& b) { return b. Right; } \ static inline void set(Segment& b, ct const& value) { b. Right = value; } \ }; \ template <> struct indexed_access<Segment, max_corner, 1> \ { \ typedef coordinate_type<Point>::type ct; \ static inline ct get(Segment const& b) { return b. Top; } \ static inline void set(Segment& b, ct const& value) { b. Top = value; } \ }; #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_TRAITS(Segment, PointType) \ template<> struct tag<Segment > { typedef segment_tag type; }; \ template<> struct point_type<Segment > { typedef PointType type; }; #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_TRAITS_TEMPLATIZED(Segment) \ template<typename P> struct tag<Segment<P> > { typedef segment_tag type; }; \ template<typename P> struct point_type<Segment<P> > { typedef P type; }; #endif // DOXYGEN_NO_SPECIALIZATIONS #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_REGISTER_SEGMENT(Segment, PointType, Index0, Index1) \ namespace boost { namespace geometry { namespace traits { \ BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_TRAITS(Segment, PointType) \ BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_ACCESS(Segment, PointType, Index0, Index1) \ }}} #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_REGISTER_SEGMENT_TEMPLATIZED(Segment, Index0, Index1) \ namespace boost { namespace geometry { namespace traits { \ BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_TRAITS_TEMPLATIZED(Segment) \ BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_ACCESS_TEMPLATIZED(Segment, Index0, Index1) \ }}} #define BOOST_GEOMETRY_REGISTER_SEGMENT_2D_4VALUES(Segment, PointType, Left, Bottom, Right, Top) \ namespace boost { namespace geometry { namespace traits { \ BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_TRAITS(Segment, PointType) \ BOOST_GEOMETRY_DETAIL_SPECIALIZE_SEGMENT_ACCESS_4VALUES(Segment, PointType, Left, Bottom, Right, Top) \ }}} // CONST versions are for segments probably not that common. Postponed. #endif // BOOST_GEOMETRY_GEOMETRIES_REGISTER_SEGMENT_HPP

Scintimammography enhances negative predictive value of non-invasive pre-operative assessment of breast lesions. The aim of this study was to develop a criterion with a high negative predictive value for the evaluation of breast lesions. We aimed to determine the value of combining three non-invasive tests, mammography (MM), ultrasonography (USS) and 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrite (99mTc-MIBI) scintimammography (scinti-MM). We included 94 consecutive patients with suspected lesions detected by mammography or on physical examination. MM, USS and scinti-MM were performed no more than 4 weeks prior to excisional biopsy in all patients. We then compared the biopsy results with a score calculated for each patient, derived from the results of the three tests, which we termed 'mamma malignancy index' (MMI). Each of the three exams yielded a score ranging from 0 to 2, with 0 representing an almost certainly benign lesion, 1 an indeterminate finding and 2 a likely malignant lesion, and hence giving a total score ranging from 0 to 6. The biopsy results showed that the lesions in 64 patients were benign. Forty-nine (77%) of these patients had received an MMI score of 0 or 1. The negative predictive value for malignancy in patients with a score less than 2 was 100%. Since the smallest detected lesion was 9 mm in diameter, we conclude that MMI may be a highly useful diagnostic tool in the delineation of breast lesions > or =1 cm which should not be routinely referred for biopsy but may be followed non-invasively. Although fine needle aspiration has limitations, we would recommend it as a less invasive method to evaluate suspected lesions smaller than 1 cm.

# coding: utf-8 """ webencodings ~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a Python implementation of the `WHATWG Encoding standard <http://encoding.spec.whatwg.org/>`. See README for details. :copyright: Copyright 2012 by Simon Sapin :license: BSD, see LICENSE for details. """ from __future__ import unicode_literals import codecs from .labels import LABELS VERSION = '0.5.1' # Some names in Encoding are not valid Python aliases. Remap these. PYTHON_NAMES = { 'iso-8859-8-i': 'iso-8859-8', 'x-mac-cyrillic': 'mac-cyrillic', 'macintosh': 'mac-roman', 'windows-874': 'cp874'} CACHE = {} def ascii_lower(string): r"""Transform (only) ASCII letters to lower case: A-Z is mapped to a-z. :param string: An Unicode string. :returns: A new Unicode string. This is used for `ASCII case-insensitive <http://encoding.spec.whatwg.org/#ascii-case-insensitive>`_ matching of encoding labels. The same matching is also used, among other things, for `CSS keywords <http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css-values/#keywords>`_. This is different from the :meth:`~py:str.lower` method of Unicode strings which also affect non-ASCII characters, sometimes mapping them into the ASCII range: >>> keyword = u'Bac\N{KELVIN SIGN}ground' >>> assert keyword.lower() == u'background' >>> assert ascii_lower(keyword) != keyword.lower() >>> assert ascii_lower(keyword) == u'bac\N{KELVIN SIGN}ground' """ # This turns out to be faster than unicode.translate() return string.encode('utf8').lower().decode('utf8') def lookup(label): """ Look for an encoding by its label. This is the spec’s `get an encoding <http://encoding.spec.whatwg.org/#concept-encoding-get>`_ algorithm. Supported labels are listed there. :param label: A string. :returns: An :class:`Encoding` object, or :obj:`None` for an unknown label. """ # Only strip ASCII whitespace: U+0009, U+000A, U+000C, U+000D, and U+0020. label = ascii_lower(label.strip('\t\n\f\r ')) name = LABELS.get(label) if name is None: return None encoding = CACHE.get(name) if encoding is None: if name == 'x-user-defined': from .x_user_defined import codec_info else: python_name = PYTHON_NAMES.get(name, name) # Any python_name value that gets to here should be valid. codec_info = codecs.lookup(python_name) encoding = Encoding(name, codec_info) CACHE[name] = encoding return encoding def _get_encoding(encoding_or_label): """ Accept either an encoding object or label. :param encoding: An :class:`Encoding` object or a label string. :returns: An :class:`Encoding` object. :raises: :exc:`~exceptions.LookupError` for an unknown label. """ if hasattr(encoding_or_label, 'codec_info'): return encoding_or_label encoding = lookup(encoding_or_label) if encoding is None: raise LookupError('Unknown encoding label: %r' % encoding_or_label) return encoding class Encoding(object): """Reresents a character encoding such as UTF-8, that can be used for decoding or encoding. .. attribute:: name Canonical name of the encoding .. attribute:: codec_info The actual implementation of the encoding, a stdlib :class:`~codecs.CodecInfo` object. See :func:`codecs.register`. """ def __init__(self, name, codec_info): self.name = name self.codec_info = codec_info def __repr__(self): return '<Encoding %s>' % self.name #: The UTF-8 encoding. Should be used for new content and formats. UTF8 = lookup('utf-8') _UTF16LE = lookup('utf-16le') _UTF16BE = lookup('utf-16be') def decode(input, fallback_encoding, errors='replace'): """ Decode a single string. :param input: A byte string :param fallback_encoding: An :class:`Encoding` object or a label string. The encoding to use if :obj:`input` does note have a BOM. :param errors: Type of error handling. See :func:`codecs.register`. :raises: :exc:`~exceptions.LookupError` for an unknown encoding label. :return: A ``(output, encoding)`` tuple of an Unicode string and an :obj:`Encoding`. """ # Fail early if `encoding` is an invalid label. fallback_encoding = _get_encoding(fallback_encoding) bom_encoding, input = _detect_bom(input) encoding = bom_encoding or fallback_encoding return encoding.codec_info.decode(input, errors)[0], encoding def _detect_bom(input): """Return (bom_encoding, input), with any BOM removed from the input.""" if input.startswith(b'\xFF\xFE'): return _UTF16LE, input[2:] if input.startswith(b'\xFE\xFF'): return _UTF16BE, input[2:] if input.startswith(b'\xEF\xBB\xBF'): return UTF8, input[3:] return None, input def encode(input, encoding=UTF8, errors='strict'): """ Encode a single string. :param input: An Unicode string. :param encoding: An :class:`Encoding` object or a label string. :param errors: Type of error handling. See :func:`codecs.register`. :raises: :exc:`~exceptions.LookupError` for an unknown encoding label. :return: A byte string. """ return _get_encoding(encoding).codec_info.encode(input, errors)[0] def iter_decode(input, fallback_encoding, errors='replace'): """ "Pull"-based decoder. :param input: An iterable of byte strings. The input is first consumed just enough to determine the encoding based on the precense of a BOM, then consumed on demand when the return value is. :param fallback_encoding: An :class:`Encoding` object or a label string. The encoding to use if :obj:`input` does note have a BOM. :param errors: Type of error handling. See :func:`codecs.register`. :raises: :exc:`~exceptions.LookupError` for an unknown encoding label. :returns: An ``(output, encoding)`` tuple. :obj:`output` is an iterable of Unicode strings, :obj:`encoding` is the :obj:`Encoding` that is being used. """ decoder = IncrementalDecoder(fallback_encoding, errors) generator = _iter_decode_generator(input, decoder) encoding = next(generator) return generator, encoding def _iter_decode_generator(input, decoder): """Return a generator that first yields the :obj:`Encoding`, then yields output chukns as Unicode strings. """ decode = decoder.decode input = iter(input) for chunck in input: output = decode(chunck) if output: assert decoder.encoding is not None yield decoder.encoding yield output break else: # Input exhausted without determining the encoding output = decode(b'', final=True) assert decoder.encoding is not None yield decoder.encoding if output: yield output return for chunck in input: output = decode(chunck) if output: yield output output = decode(b'', final=True) if output: yield output def iter_encode(input, encoding=UTF8, errors='strict'): """ “Pull”-based encoder. :param input: An iterable of Unicode strings. :param encoding: An :class:`Encoding` object or a label string. :param errors: Type of error handling. See :func:`codecs.register`. :raises: :exc:`~exceptions.LookupError` for an unknown encoding label. :returns: An iterable of byte strings. """ # Fail early if `encoding` is an invalid label. encode = IncrementalEncoder(encoding, errors).encode return _iter_encode_generator(input, encode) def _iter_encode_generator(input, encode): for chunck in input: output = encode(chunck) if output: yield output output = encode('', final=True) if output: yield output class IncrementalDecoder(object): """ “Push”-based decoder. :param fallback_encoding: An :class:`Encoding` object or a label string. The encoding to use if :obj:`input` does note have a BOM. :param errors: Type of error handling. See :func:`codecs.register`. :raises: :exc:`~exceptions.LookupError` for an unknown encoding label. """ def __init__(self, fallback_encoding, errors='replace'): # Fail early if `encoding` is an invalid label. self._fallback_encoding = _get_encoding(fallback_encoding) self._errors = errors self._buffer = b'' self._decoder = None #: The actual :class:`Encoding` that is being used, #: or :obj:`None` if that is not determined yet. #: (Ie. if there is not enough input yet to determine #: if there is a BOM.) self.encoding = None # Not known yet. def decode(self, input, final=False): """Decode one chunk of the input. :param input: A byte string. :param final: Indicate that no more input is available. Must be :obj:`True` if this is the last call. :returns: An Unicode string. """ decoder = self._decoder if decoder is not None: return decoder(input, final) input = self._buffer + input encoding, input = _detect_bom(input) if encoding is None: if len(input) < 3 and not final: # Not enough data yet. self._buffer = input return '' else: # No BOM encoding = self._fallback_encoding decoder = encoding.codec_info.incrementaldecoder(self._errors).decode self._decoder = decoder self.encoding = encoding return decoder(input, final) class IncrementalEncoder(object): """ “Push”-based encoder. :param encoding: An :class:`Encoding` object or a label string. :param errors: Type of error handling. See :func:`codecs.register`. :raises: :exc:`~exceptions.LookupError` for an unknown encoding label. .. method:: encode(input, final=False) :param input: An Unicode string. :param final: Indicate that no more input is available. Must be :obj:`True` if this is the last call. :returns: A byte string. """ def __init__(self, encoding=UTF8, errors='strict'): encoding = _get_encoding(encoding) self.encode = encoding.codec_info.incrementalencoder(errors).encode

Nightingale's Lament is the third of Simon R. Green's Nightside novels, featuring Taylor and the weird cases into which he's drawn. Taylor is hired by a worried French financier to find out what's become of his daughter, a nightclub singer named Rossignol (French for nightingale). Nasty rumors swirl around her performances; evidently, fans are committing suicide, but in the jaded funhouse/nightmare world of the Nightside, that only adds to the allure. Taylor's investigations lead him to confront Rossignol's sinister managers, Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish, and their uncanny agent Count Entropy. He also befriends Rossignol, who seems entirely oblivious to the disastrous nature of her talent, and her former manager, the amiable hunchback Ian Auger. In true damsel in distress fashion, Rossignol adds her plea to Taylor to find out what is going on. Being who he is, however, Taylor cannot ignore a beautiful woman's cry for help, no matter the danger. Thwarted by the vicious Cavendishes, Taylor seeks out Nightside legends Dead Boy and Julien Advent, the Victorian Adventurer. Their assistance proves invaluable, even as he is pulled into side adventures like preventing an invasion of the Nightside by cryogenically preserved bodies possessed by Cthulu-esque intelligences and stopping an evil version of Rossignol from a rampage. Ultimately, there is a final confrontation between heroes and villains, the plots are laid bare and the truth is revealed. Taylor comes no closer to gaining the self-knowledge he lacks - his singular talent, the ability to find anything, is as much burden as blessing, while the unknown nature of his mother hangs over his head like the sword of Damocles. Green cleverly keeps these background mysteries boiling along, enriching the backdrop of his world while his characters keep themselves busy in the foreground. Taylor is a fascinating blend of types. He's a private eye from the Sam Spade school whose self-knowledge is dangerously incomplete. His parentage alone has brought him enemies - among them the blind hermit Pew, whose help he seeks after a terrible beating leaves him near dead - but his reputation as a virtually unstoppable force of nature and his take-no-prisoners style has made him many more. The narrative is told first-person, so the reader is invited into the Nightside through Taylor's world-weary perspective, another nod to the film noir roots of the character. The Nightside itself is the other constant running through all these novels. It is the "dark heart of London," where it is always night-time and oddities from all of time and space wander for entertainment, business, vengeance or whatever. People and objects from science fiction, horror, fantasy and every other literary genre mix and meet here, resembling a demented and evil version of Toontown or an outpost of Hell itself. Rossignol, her chorus girls from Caliban's Cavern, the enthralled Goths and the eerie Somnambulists, as well as all the other walk-on characters, make the Nightside a rich, fascinating place, truly a setting that is memorable long after the book is closed. The Nightside is a place no sensible person would ever want to visit - but which a reader will savor time after time. Like Green's other novels - his science fiction Deathstalker series and Blue Moon and Hawk & Fisher fantasies - the Nightside books crackle with possibilities. In the hands of a less skilful writer, this might be seen as weird for the sake of weird, but Green cross-pollinates genres with gleeful abandon, juxtaposing pop culture tropes with obscure mythic archetypes, bringing a wild inventiveness to this mix of mystery and horror. Even better, he throws in small bits that link the series together. In Lament, there's an offhand reference to another novel's villain. It's a reference that would be easy to overlook, but much like Stephen King and other prolific, multi-genre writers, Green seems to enjoy weaving connections between his works and making these disparate books part of a greater whole. Nightingale's Lament is an excellent addition to Green's impressive and diverse body of work. Fans of modern urban or dark fantasy, such as Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels, will be rewarded by picking up this book. However, since this is the third in a series, a reader should start with Something From The Nightside and Agents Of Light And Darkness, in order to get the full story. There are some creepy and horrific things here, though, so be warned: these books are not for the squeamish. We're interested in your feedback. Just fill out the form below and we'll add your comments as soon as we can look them over. Due to the number of SPAM containing links, any comments containing links will be filtered out by our system. Please do not include links in your message.

Shanti Kranti (1991 Telugu film) Shanti Kranti (English: Peace-Revolution) is a 1991 Telugu, crime film produced and directed by V. Ravichandran under his Eshwari Productions banner. It stars Akkineni Nagarjuna, V. Ravichandran, Juhi Chawla, Kushboo in the lead roles and music composed by Hamsalekha. The film is a multilingual film simultaneously shot in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi, in which Akkineni Nagarjuna was the lead in the Telugu version, Rajinikanth in the Tamil and Hindi versions, while V. Ravichandran was in the Kannada version, most of the scenes and artists are the same in all versions. Despite this Telugu version, Rajinikanth's Tamil version was also dubbed in Telugu as Police Bullet. The film was recorded as a flop at the box office. Plot Shanti Kranti is the story of an honest police officer Subhash (Akkineni Nagarjuna) and his fight against a dreaded criminal named Daddy (Anant Nag), who indulges in organ transplant mafia. Cast Akkineni Nagarjuna as Inspector Subhash V. Ravichandran as Inspector Bharath Juhi Chawla as Jyothi Kushboo as Rekha Anant Nag as Daddy Satyanarayana as Subhash's father Babu Antony Manik Irani Shankar Patel Charuhasan as Chief Minister Srinath as Commissioner Shiva Kumar P. J. Sarma as Home Minister Thyagaraju as I. G. Sakshi Ranga Rao as Sastry Ahuti Prasad Siva Ram Annapurna as Subhash's mother Y. Vijaya as I.G's wife Master Amith Soundtrack Music was composed by Hamsalekha. All songs are hit tracks. Music released on Lahari Music Company. Awards Ravichandran got a special technical award for this movie. References External links Category:1991 films Category:1990s Telugu-language films Category:Films scored by Hamsalekha Category:Indian films Category:Films directed by V. Ravichandran Category:Indian multilingual films Category:1990s multilingual films

Monday, November 28, 2005 One of our cultural shortcomings is a disinclination toward studying history in anything but its barest outlines. With each generation this tendency gets worse, especially after the vested interests in the MSM get finished with the material. On our blogroll, you’ll notice the World History Blog. The Baron found it and we immediately added it to the list. To my knowledge, no one else is attempting this in the blogosphere. It’s not only good material for adults, but would be a welcome resource for homeschoolers or parents concerned about their children’s woeful history “education” in school. The site features both the prominent stories of their time and the obscure tales that don’t get told elsewhere. A recent feature offers two links to the history of Panama. One lesson you can take away from it is that the caliber of our Senate chamber hasn’t improved much. No wonder the esteemed Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska threatened to resign and “ be carried out on a stretcher” if the vote on the Bridge to Nowhere didn’t fund this pig project. He had precedent on his side, in the Senatorial goings-on that led to the building of the Panama Canal, and in fact to the creation of the state of Panama itself. It’s not a pretty story: In 1900, a group of investors led by William Nelson Cromwell, the founder of the prestigious New York law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, and the banker J.P. Morgan, created a secret syndicate of Wall Street financiers and politicians to buy the shares of the bankrupt French Panama Canal Company, which owned the right to build the Panama Canal, from thousands of small shareholders throughout Europe. They invested about $3.5 million and gained control of the company. The covert investors then spent the next three years getting the United States government to buy the holdings for $40 million, the payment of which would flow back to them. In order to do this, they first had to defeat an entrenched Nicaragua lobby. Nicaragua was the preferred route for the canal because of its two big lakes, and also because the French had already tried to build a canal in Panama but had failed miserably. And the U.S. was already on its way to building the canal in Nicaragua. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a Nicaragua canal bill, a treaty was signed with Nicaragua, President McKinley had already signed the bill, and the excavation had already began in Nicaragua. It was a done deal—until Cromwell arrived on Capitol Hill and began throwing money around. Senator Mark Dollar Hanna, who was at that time the chair of the Republican Party and probably the most powerful man in America, received $60,000, at the time the largest donation to any politician. In return, Hanna began a campaign to build the canal in Panama instead. U.S. policy was reversed, and in 1902, Congress decided that the Canal was to go through Panama. Only one problem—Panama was at the time a province of Colombia, and the United States needed Colombia's approval to move ahead. Teddy Roosevelt sent Cromwell, who stood to benefit financially from the deal, to negotiate with Colombia. Colombia balked, demanding more money. Cromwell decided to circumvent Colombia, and to instead get Panama to secede and create it's own country—which it did… His [Diaz’] purpose seems to be convincing us that Panama's independence was an episode characterized solely by the selfish-ness, corruption and cowardice of its participants. But in doing so Ovidio-Díaz contradicts himself, and seems to forget that all historical events are the result of interactions between positive and negative elements, which in one way or another contribute to the material and spiritual advancement of the people.. This whole imbroglio brings to mind the present-day machinations behind the discrediting of Ahmad Chalabi for his role in the Iraq war and his on-going political life in the new Iraqi government. First he was the good guy, then he was the villain, and now he’s being resurrected again. In the latest print edition of The National Review, Michael Rubin lays it out for us in “Iraq’s Comeback Kid”: …in the months before Operation Iraqi Freedom began, Chalabi returned to Iraq. And after liberation, he became an irritant to Washington policymakers. While Coalition Provisional Authority administrator L. Paul Bremer sought to run Iraq by diktat, Chalabi agitated for direct elections and restoration of Iraqi sovereignty. He clashed with Meghan O’Sullivan, now deputy national security adviser for Iraq, when she worked to undermine and eventually reverse de-Baathification. He undercut White House attempts to internationalize responsibility for Iraq in the months prior to the 2004 U.S. elections when his Governing Council auditing commission began to investigate the UN Oil-for-Food scandal. In a West Wing meeting, then–national security adviser Condoleezza Rice called Chalabi’s opposition to the ill-fated Fallujah Brigade “unhelpful.” Soon afterward, she directed her staff to outline ways to “marginalize” Chalabi. There followed espionage and counterfeiting charges — the former never seriously pursued by the FBI and the latter thrown out of an Iraqi court. Following the June 28, 2004, transfer of sovereignty in Iraq, John Negroponte — then U.S. ambassador to Iraq and now the director of national intelligence — refused to meet Chalabi. Cut off from U.S. patronage and without any serious Iraqi base, the analysts said, Chalabi would fade away. Of course we know now that he didn’t “fade away.” Reading of his sudden persona-non-grata status in the post-war Iraqi negotiations, I wondered what political machinations had been put into play and if we would ever be told why he was cast into the outer darkness so suddenly. Rubin tells us how he came back, despite the bad-mouthing he got inside the Beltway: Unlike those of other Iraqi figures embraced by various bureaucracies in Washington, Chalabi’s fortunes have not depended on U.S. patronage. His survival — and, indeed, his recent ascent against the obstacles thrown in his path by Washington — underlines the failures of diplomats and intelligence analysts to put aside departmental agendas to provide the White House with an objective and accurate analysis of the sources of legitimacy inside Iraq. Rubin faults the young and untested security officers in the CIA. They are in their twenties and thirties, and most lack any in-depth understanding of Iraq’s cultural system. Obviously, Chalabi doesn’t: Chalabi’s grandfather built modern Kadhimiya, a sprawling Shiite town that has since been absorbed into modern Baghdad; his father was president of the Iraqi senate during the monarchy. Genealogy gives gravitas. In contrast, even as Iraqis suffered under Saddam Hussein’s rule, they expressed disdain for Saddam with reference to his uncertain paternity. (In post-liberation Iraq, the CIA’s blind eye toward genealogy has been evident in its embrace of powerful Baathist families — the Bunias and al-Janabis, for example — even as many Iraqis dismiss such figures as déclassé and embarrassing beneficiaries of Saddam’s largesse.) According to Mr. Rubin, Iraq functions with a system of religious patronage which has no parallel in this country — though one might add that such similarities could have been found in the Middle Ages in much of Europe. But CIA security analysts don’t study history, do they? Like the rest of the American political system, they stay safely in the Green Zone, probably the largest filter in Iraq: The sources of Chalabi’s legitimacy have remained constant. What has changed is the growing realization that neither Langley nor Foggy Bottom has accurately assessed the Iraqi political scene. Part of the problem may be that reality did not mesh with their political agendas, but a far more serious American handicap has been an inability, more than two and a half years after the fall of Saddam, to understand the sources of legitimacy in Iraq. Washington may run the Green Zone but, for Chalabi, it is the rest of the country that matters. And if our Senators have their way, that Green Zone is going to be dismantled and our “security analysts”/CIA will return to Langley no wiser than when they left. As for Foggy Bottom, no one really expects them to learn anything. How does an entity which believes it knows everything already have any room to take in new information? Do we know why it was named The Green Zone? Is it because those ensconced inside are inexperienced and lack knowledge? That’s certainly one definition of “green,” isn’t it? 5 comments: The British secret services used to recruit their recruiters among the dons of Oxbridge. These professors and tutors would then pick the brightest linguists, historians and other up-and-coming scholars among the current crop of students and make the first overtures on behalf of His/Her Majesty's clandestine offices. Thus there was never a shortage of people who could speak the languages, read the texts and mingle with the people. Of course, that wouldn't work for us because the majority of profs in the U.S. would run screaming to the press if the CIA even suggested that they might want to keep an eye peeled for suitable candidates. Now, seducing them into becoming the next Robert Fisk, that's another matter... The Baron's Boy has a strong grasp of history also. It just seemed to come to him naturally. He's extremely literate about the main events, though I don't think he's delved yet into political history. His main interest is military history and strategists... The primary source materials are important; in high school he was fortunate to have a retired Navy man who insisted the kids read. Far Outliers looks fascinating! If I didn't have to go pack for the hospital I'd read more of it. Some meaty things there...that review of the French book, for one, and the Sino stuff, of which I know zilch.

Hadron collider A hadron collider is a very large particle accelerator built to test the predictions of various theories in particle physics, high-energy physics or nuclear physics by colliding hadrons. A hadron collider uses tunnels to accelerate, store, and collide two particle beams. Colliders Only a few hadron colliders have been built. These are: Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), in operation 1971-1984. Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), CERN, used as a hadron collider 1981-1991. Tevatron, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), in operation 1983-2011. Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), Brookhaven National Laboratory, in operation since 2000. Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN, in operation since 2008. See also Synchrotron Category:Particle accelerators Category:Particle physics facilities

Q: Find and extract content of division of certain class using DomXPath I am trying to extract and save into PHP string (or array) the content of a certain section of a remote page. That particular section looks like: <section class="intro"> <div class="container"> <h1>Student Club</h1> <h2>Subtitle</h2> <p>Lore ipsum paragraph.</p> </div> </section> And since I can't narrow down using class container because there are several other sections of class "container" on the same page and because there is the only section of class "intro", I use the following code to find the right division: $doc = new DOMDocument; $doc->preserveWhiteSpace = FALSE; @$doc->loadHTMLFile("https://www.remotesite.tld/remotepage.html"); $finder = new DomXPath($doc); $intro = $finder->query("//*[contains(@class, 'intro')]"); And at this point, I'm hitting a problem - can't extract the content of $intro as PHP string. Trying further the following code foreach ($intro as $item) { $string = $item->nodeValue; echo $string; } gives only the text value, all the tags are stripped and I really need all those divs, h1 and h2 and p tags preserved for further manipulation needs. Trying: foreach ($intro->attributes as $attr) { $name = $attr->nodeName; $value = $attr->nodeValue; echo $name; echo $value; } is giving the error: Notice: Undefined property: DOMNodeList::$attributes in So how could I extract the full HTML code of the found DOM elements? A: I knew I was so close... I just needed to do: foreach ($intro as $item) { $h1= $item->getElementsByTagName('h1'); $h2= $item->getElementsByTagName('h2'); $p= $item->getElementsByTagName('p'); }

Burguete horse The Burguete horse (, ) is a breed of horse from the Navarre region of northern Spain. It is listed in the Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España in the group of autochthonous breeds in danger of extinction. Name The name, both in Basque and in Spanish, is derived from the town of Auritz/Burguete. References See also List of horse breeds Basque breeds and cultivars Category:Horse breeds Category:Horse breeds originating in Spain

[Levels of cytokines in mucosal biopsies of Crohn's colitis. Physiopatological observations]. It is well known that mucosal concentrations of many pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines are elevated in diseased segments of colon in Crohn's colitis. The present study, showing preliminary results, aims to determine whether the IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 levels are increased throughout the entire colon in patients with Crohn's colitis. Five patients with active Crohn's colitis and five controls were studied by mucosal biopsies. In the diseased patients IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 levels have been measured in both pathologic and normal appearing colonic mucosa. The concentration of these cytokines was assessed using ELISA and compared. Histological sections were also performed to confirm diseased segment of colon. The concentrations IL-1beta and IL-8 were much more higher in patients with Crohn's colitis when compared to controls. Moreover IL-1beta and IL-8 were more elevated in uninvolved colonic segments than on diseased segments. Our results confirm the finding of other authors that, although Crohn's colitis is a segmental disease, the concentration of IL-1beta and IL-8 in mucosal biopsies is increased throughout the entire colon. In particular our study shows that the concentrations of IL-1b and IL-8 is higher in uninvolved than involved colonic segments. These appearances favour the physio-pathologic hypothesis that Crohn's colitis involves the entire colon even when is not clinically or histologically apparent, and they suggest that uninvolved parts of colon may not be free of disease. Further studies are required to better understand the higher levels of cytokines found in macroscopically normal when compared to pathological mucosal in patients with Crohn's colitis.

Cracked Rear View Cracked Rear View is the debut studio album by Hootie & the Blowfish, released on July 5, 1994 by Atlantic Records. Released to positive critical reviews, it became extremely popular and is currently one of the best-selling albums of all time. Recording Don Gehman was chosen by A&R man Tim Sommer as a producer because of his previous work with John Mellencamp and R.E.M. Reception Cracked Rear View is Hootie & the Blowfish's most successful album. It was the best-selling album of 1995, with 10.5 million shipments that year alone, eventually achieving 21 million album equivalent units by May 21, 2018. It is the joint 19th-best-selling album of all time in the United States. Cracked Rear View reached number one on the Billboard 200 five times over the course of 1995. The album also reached number one in Canada and New Zealand. Three million copies were sold through the Columbia House mail-order system. Critical reviews of Cracked Rear View were mostly positive. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine crowned the album as "the success story of 1994/1995." He also stated "Although Hootie & the Blowfish aren't innovative, they deliver the goods, turning out an album of solid, rootsy folk-rock songs that have simple, powerful hooks." Track listing All songs written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, except where noted. "Hannah Jane" – 3:33 "Hold My Hand" – 4:15 "Let Her Cry" – 5:08 "Only Wanna Be with You" – 3:46 (Bryan, Felber, Rucker, Sonefeld, Bob Dylan) "Running from an Angel" – 3:37 "I'm Goin' Home" – 4:10 "Drowning" – 5:01 "Time" – 4:53 "Look Away" – 2:38 "Not Even the Trees" – 4:37 "Goodbye" – 4:05 Includes hidden track "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (Traditional) – 0:53 In 2001, the album was re-released on DVD-Audio with the disc featuring a discography, photo gallery, and video of a live performance of "Drowning". The 25th anniversary edition from 2019 includes the following bonus discs: Disc 2: B-sides, Outtakes, Pre-LP Independent Recordings “All That I Believe” “I Go Blind” (Neil Osborne, Phil Comparelli, Brad Merritt, Darryl Neudorf) “Almost Home” “Fine Line” “Where Were You” “Hey, Hey What Can I Do” (John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant) “The Old Man and Me” – Kootchypop Version “Hold My Hand” – Kootchypop Version “If You’re Going My Way” – Kootchypop Version “Sorry’s Not Enough” – Kootchypop Version “Only Wanna Be with You” – Kootchypop Version “Running from an Angel” – 1991 Version “Time” – 1991 Version “Let Her Cry” – 1991 Version “Drowning” – 1991 Version “I Don’t Understand” “Little Girl” “Look Away” – 1990 Version “Let My People Go” “Hold My Hand” – 1990 Version Disc 3: Live at Nick’s Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA, February 3, 1995 “Hannah Jane” “I Go Blind” “Not Even the Trees” “If You’re Going My Way” “Look Away” “Fine Line” “Let Her Cry” “Motherless Child” “I’m Goin’ Home” “Use Me” “Running from an Angel” “Sorry’s Not Enough” “Drowning” “The Old Man and Me” “Only Wanna Be with You” “Time” “Goodbye” “The Ballad of John and Yoko” (Lennon-McCartney) “Hold My Hand” “Love the One You’re With” (Stephen Stills) DVD 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the original album Hi-Res 24/96 Bonus Tracks “All That I Believe” “I Go Blind” “Almost Home” “Fine Line” “Where Were You” Music videos: “Hold My Hand” “Let Her Cry” “Only Wanna Be with You” “Time” “Drowning” – Live Personnel Hootie & the Blowfish Mark Bryan – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocal percussion, mandolin on "Only Wanna Be with You", piano on "Not Even the Trees", Dean Felber – bass guitar, clavinet, vocals, piano on "Only Wanna Be with You" Darius Rucker – vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion Jim "Soni" Sonefeld – drums, percussion, vocals, piano on "Look Away" and "Goodbye", glasses on "Not Even the Trees" Additional musicians David Crosby – background vocals on "Hold My Hand" Lili Haydn – violin on "Look Away" and "Running from an Angel" John Nau – piano on "I'm Goin' Home", Hammond organ Production Jean Cronin – art direction Don Gehman – production, engineering, mixing Michael McLaughlin – photography Wade Norton – assistant engineering Gena Rankin – production coordination Eddy Schreyer – mastering Tim Sommer – artists and repertoire Liz Sroka – assistant mixing Sales charts and certifications Album Decade-end charts Awards See also List of best-selling albums in the United States References Category:1994 debut albums Category:Hootie & the Blowfish albums Category:Albums produced by Don Gehman Category:Atlantic Records albums Category:Folk rock albums by American artists

In this Feb. 4, 2009 file photo, Sara Lee croissants are on display at a market in Palo Alto, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) (Newser) – The economic crisis can be blamed for the death of quite a few large companies already—think Circuit City, Northwest Airlines, and Countrywide—so which ones can we expect to go bye-bye this year? Here are 10 American companies that seem unlikely to survive, from 24/7 Wall St. via Daily Finance: Office Depot: It can’t compete with Office Max or Staples, and is trying to manage 1,150 costly locations on very thin margins. A takeover by a rival or another chain like Target appears likely. Frontier Airlines: It was bankrupt when Republic Airways Holdings bought it in 2009, and is too small to compete with the larger airlines that are increasingly dominating the domestic carrier market. Sara Lee: With corporations and private equity firms circling, it looks likely that pieces of this company, specifically its coffee and meat businesses, will be broken off and sold off in the near future. Borders: Seems like only yesterday the bookseller was making a bid for Barnes & Noble, but the truth is the bookstore chain is facing bankruptcy. The big unknown: Will it be dissolved or snatched up by Barnes & Noble?

Q: Presence indicators I want to add presence indicators to my custom webpart. I have found a blog post about it. string.Format("<li><a class=\"ms-imnlink\" href=\"javascript:;\"><img width=\"12\" height=\"12\" id=\"IMID12\" onload=\"IMNRC(&#39;", Contact.Email, "&#39;)\" alt=\"My SID\" src=\"/_layouts/images/imnoff.png\" border=\"0\" showofflinepawn=\"1\"/ sip=\" \"></a>&#160;{0}</li>" I know even how to get sip address. But isn't there an easier way to show the presence indicator? Doesn't Sharepoint API any webcontrols for that? A: If you're rolling your own web part, then yes you have to add them in. If you start from a list view, and the web application has the presence information enabled, then you can convert the list view web part to a dataview web part and the presense information should be included in the markup.

Q: What is the best way to access elements of parent control from a child control? I have a parent control (main form) and a child control (user control). The child control has some code, which determines what functions the application can perform (e.g. save files, write logs etc.). I need to show/hide, enable/disable main menu items of the main form according to the functionality. As I can't just write MainMenu.MenuItem1.Visible = false; (the main menu is not visible from the child control), I fire an event in the child control and handle this event on the main form. The problem is I need to pass what elements of the menu need to be shown/hidden. To do this I created an enum, showing what to do with the item public enum ItemMode { TRUE, FALSE, NONE } Then I created my eventargs which have 6 parameters of type ItemMode (there are 6 menu items I need to manage). So any time I need to show the 1st item, hide the 2nd and do nothing with the rest I have to write something like this e = new ItemModeEventArgs(ItemMode.TRUE, ItemMode.FALSE, ItemMode.NONE, ItemMode.NONE, ItemMode.NONE, ItemMode.NONE); FireMyEvent(e); This seems like too much code to me and what's more, what if I need to manage 10 items in future? Then I will have to rewrite all the constructors just to add 4 more NONEs. I believe there's a better way of doing this, but I just can't figure out what it is. A: you could create an EventArgs which takes an ItemMode[] or a List<ItemMode> or a Dictionary<string, ItemMode> for those items (instead of the current 6 arguments) - that way you don't need to change much when adding more items...

music is entertainment is life Suzanne Vega Live in Singapore 2014 Suzanne Vega is back to play a really intimate gig at the Esplanade Recital Studio on 1 April 2014, 7.30 pm. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. Tickets are priced at $148 (Singapore dollars and does not include the $3 Sistic fee) and there are only 245 tickets for this gig in support of her new album “Tales From the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles” while will be released on 2 February 2014.

"I don't want to be a superhero who is the greatest hero in the land, commander of a garrison, saving the world. I want to be a humble adventurer who makes his own story against the backdrop of incredible events -- just like in the first three incarnations of the game." "I don't want to be a superhero who is the greatest hero in the land, commander of a garrison, saving the world. I want to be a humble adventurer who makes his own story against the backdrop of incredible events -- just like in the first three incarnations of the game." "I don't want to be a superhero who is the greatest hero in the land, commander of a garrison, saving the world. I want to be a humble adventurer who makes his own story against the backdrop of incredible events -- just like in the first three incarnations of the game." "I don't want to be a superhero who is the greatest hero in the land, commander of a garrison, saving the world. I want to be a humble adventurer who makes his own story against the backdrop of incredible events -- just like in the first three incarnations of the game." "I don't want to be a superhero who is the greatest hero in the land, commander of a garrison, saving the world. I want to be a humble adventurer who makes his own story against the backdrop of incredible events -- just like in the first three incarnations of the game." "I don't want to be a superhero who is the greatest hero in the land, commander of a garrison, saving the world. I want to be a humble adventurer who makes his own story against the backdrop of incredible events -- just like in the first three incarnations of the game." "I don't want to be a superhero who is the greatest hero in the land, commander of a garrison, saving the world. I want to be a humble adventurer who makes his own story against the backdrop of incredible events -- just like in the first three incarnations of the game."

When Your Heart Beats Fast: It Could Be an Overactive Thyroid Have you ever experienced sweating, rapid heartbeat, and nervousness all at once? You may think it’s because of that cup of coffee you just had. But, think again: it may be hyperthyroidism. A clinic in American Fork specializing in diabetes management and thyroid disorders says endocrine disorders like hyperthyroidism are a result of hormone levels that are “either too high or too low”. When you have hyperthyroidism, your overactive thyroid produces more T3 (triiodothyronine) or T4 (thyroxine) than it should. Both T3 and T4 are secreted into the bloodstream and travel to organs like the kidneys and the liver. These hormones play a role in metabolism. That is why when these are overproduced, metabolism accelerates significantly, resulting in sudden weight loss. Apart from this, the condition also has other indicators. Common Signs and Symptoms There are a lot of symptoms that come with this condition. A rapid heartbeat, which can lead to breathing problems, is one. People with hyperthyroidism also have a low tolerance for heat, making them sweat more than most people. Additionally, the condition can impact mood, making a patient nervous, anxious, and irritable. On another note, women with irregular periods might also need assessment for this condition. Diagnosis of Hyperthyroidism If you suspect you have hyperthyroidism, a doctor will ask for your medical history and perform a series of physical exams. During the exams, the doctor checks your fingers for tremors or if you have overactive reflexes. The doctor will also examine the size of your thyroid and your pulse rate. Additionally, you will undergo a thyroxine test to measure the amount of T4 in your blood. Treatment of the Condition Hyperthyroidism can be managed with medications. In the US, there are two types of anti-thyroid medications: propylthiouracil (PTU) and methimazole. Both target the thyroid gland so it reduces production of T3 and T4 hormones. These medications may alleviate the symptoms gradually within three months and should be taken for the length of time prescribed by your doctor. If the condition is severe, a patient may have to undergo thyroid surgery. Hyperthyroidism is a potentially severe condition, mainly because it causes abnormal heart rate and blood pressure. This is why you should not delay treatment. Seek consultation and a management plan, upon the first signs of the condition.

Q: Http session synchronization between webview and java http client in Android I am developing hybrid application by using webview and native both. I am using ajax post method in my webview and also using post method via HttpClient on my default android code. But even if i go to same server my session id's doesn't match with each other. Is there any way to make http request within same session in my application? Thanks for any advice. A: I have solved this issue: public void syncSession(final Context ctx){ new Thread(new Runnable(){ public void run(){ //Products will be stated in memory ProductManager pm = ProductManager.getInstance(); // HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient(); HttpPost httpget = new HttpPost(UrlConstants.SERVICE_URL_SYNC); HttpResponse response; String result = null; try { response = httpclient.execute(httpget); //write db to } catch (ClientProtocolException e) { // TODO Auto-generated catch block e.printStackTrace(); } catch (IOException e) { // TODO Auto-generated catch block e.printStackTrace(); } List<Cookie> cookies = httpclient.getCookieStore().getCookies(); if (! cookies.isEmpty()){ CookieSyncManager.createInstance(ctx); CookieManager cookieManager = CookieManager.getInstance(); //sync all the cookies in the httpclient with the webview by generating cookie string for (Cookie cookie : cookies){ Cookie sessionInfo = cookie; String cookieString = sessionInfo.getName() + "=" + sessionInfo.getValue() + "; domain=" + sessionInfo.getDomain(); cookieManager.setCookie(UrlConstants.SERVICE_PRE_URL, cookieString); CookieSyncManager.getInstance().sync(); } } } }).start(); }

crypto.3ssl man page The OpenSSL crypto library implements a wide range of cryptographic algorithms used in various Internet standards. The services provided by this library are used by the OpenSSL implementations of SSL, TLS and S/MIME, and they have also been used to implement SSH, OpenPGP, and other cryptographic standards.

Q: Filter Array using NSPredicate with Array of Ids I am attempting to filter an Array of dictionary objects using NSPredicate. I have an array of Ids that I want to filter this array against however I'm not sure on how to do so. This is the closest I have got to a working version. However NSPredicate is thinking that Self.id is a number when it is a NSString Guide NSPredicate *resultPredicate = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:@"SELF.id CONTAINS %@", UserIds]; However this errors out with the following: *** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: 'Can't look for value (( "36eaec5a-00e7-4b10-b78e-46f7396a911b", "26fc5ea2-a14b-4535-94e9-6fb3d113838c", "0758a7d0-0470-4ff6-a96a-a685526bccbb", "10dae681-a444-469c-840d-0f16a7fb0871", "0280234c-36ae-4d5f-994f-d6ed9eff6b62", "89F1D9D4-09E2-41D3-A961-88C49313CFB4" )) in string (1f485409-9fca-4f2e-8ed2-f54914e6702a); value is not a string ' Any help you can provide would be great. A: You are going to want to use IN to compare the value of SELF.id to array values, instead of CONTAINS, which performs string matching. Solution: NSPredicate *resultPredicate = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:@"SELF.id IN %@", UserIds];

The automaker did not reveal the amount of shares nor the price they would be offered at in the registration document, but it did set a maximum proposed offering price of $100 million. The offering will be underwritten by J.P. Morgan, and the shares up for grabs will come from a 41.5-percent stake in Chrysler held by the UAW trust. All proceeds will go to the trust. Fiat now owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler, and reportedly wants to buy the remaining stake that’s held by the UAW VEBA so that both automakers can merge into one. However, Fiat and the UAW trust haven’t been able to settle on what Fiat should pay for the 41.5-percent stake. Analysts see the move as a negotiating tactic, employed by the UAW in an attempt to get Fiat to raise its offer and stop the sale to the public. GM also recently announced it plans on buying back almost half of the UAW VEBA trust’s preferred shares for about $3.2 billion. Share this article in: We’ve Temporarily Removed Comments As part of our ongoing efforts to make MotorTrend.com better, faster, and easier for you to use, we’ve temporarily removed comments as well as the ability to comment. We’re testing and reviewing options to possibly bring comments back. As always, thanks for reading MotorTrend.com.

[A case of inflammatory breast cancer treated with preoperative intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy]. A 35-year-old female with inflammatory breast cancer was treated with preoperative intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy. One cycle consisted of cyclophosphamide 700 mg, epirubicin 20 mg and 5-FU 1,750 mg. After 4-cycles of intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy, the size of tumor and regional lymph nodes were remarkably decreased. Histological examinations revealed that almost all the cancer cells had disappeared in the resected specimen. In the patient, preoperative intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy was very effective in local control, which enabled us to perform a histologically curative operation. In conclusion, multimodal treatment including intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy is a promising treatment for inflammatory breast cancer.

New Insurance in the event of an HMRC inspection 4 October 2012 Don’t miss out on the opportunity to sign up for insurance to cover you in the event of an HMRC inspection of your accounts. The cover, provided by Abbey Tax Protection, will reimburse the costs of professional representation from an Abbey Tax consultant in the event of an HMRC enquiry or dispute over your accounts. This policy has been devised to be an extra benefit for Equity members. The cover will reimburse the costs of professional representation from an Abbey Tax consultant, up to a maximum of £75,000, in the event of a Revenue Authority enquiry or dispute over your accounts. Annual rates, inclusive of Insurance Premum Tax, are £59 for an individual or £75 if you operate as a limited company.

Liver injury associated with dimethyl fumarate in multiple sclerosis patients. In pre-approval trials, there was an increased incidence of mild, transient elevations of liver aminotransferases in study subjects treated with dimethyl fumarate (DMF). To evaluate post-marketing cases of drug-induced liver injury associated with DMF. We identified 14 post-marketing cases of clinically significant liver injury. Findings included newly elevated serum liver aminotransferase and bilirubin levels that developed as early as a few days after the first dose of DMF. The pattern of liver injury was primarily hepatocellular. No cases resulted in liver failure. Health professionals should be alerted to possible serious liver injury in patients receiving DMF.

[Epidemiological foci of pulmonary tuberculosis among the inmates of reformatories]. Among the convicts of the Saratov region reformatories and prisons there are now 3 types of tuberculosis foci: extensive, congruent and stable. It is stated that these foci have arisen by chance as a result of misdiagnosis and poor control over persons to be treated.

Pantsuit A pantsuit or pant suit, also known as a trouser suit outside the United States, is a woman's suit of clothing consisting of pants and a matching or coordinating coat or jacket. Formerly, the prevailing fashion for women included some form of a coat, paired with a skirt or dress—hence the name pantsuit. History The pantsuit was introduced in the 1920s, when a small number of women adopted a masculine style, including pantsuits, hats, canes and monocles. However, the term, "trouser suit" had been used in Britain during the First World War, with reference to women working in heavy industry. During the 1960s pant suits for women became increasingly widespread. Designers such as Foale and Tuffin in London and Luba Marks in the United States were early promoters of trouser suits. In 1966 Yves Saint-Laurent introduced his Le Smoking, an evening pantsuit for women that mimicked a man's tuxedo. Whilst Saint-Laurent is often credited with introducing trouser suits, it was noted in 1968 that some of his pantsuits were very similar to designs that had already been offered by Luba Marks, and the London designer Ossie Clark had offered a trouser suit for women in 1964 that predated Saint Laurent's 'Le Smoking' design by two years. In Britain a social watershed was crossed in 1967 when Lady Chichester, wife of the navigator Sir Francis Chichester, wore a trouser suit when her husband was publicly knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Pantsuits were often deprecated as inappropriately masculine clothing for women. For example, until 1993, women were not permitted to wear pantsuits (or pants of any kind) on the United States Senate floor. In 1993, Senators Barbara Mikulski and Carol Moseley Braun wore pants onto the floor in defiance of the rule, and female support staff followed soon after, with the rule being amended later that year by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Martha Pope to allow women to wear pants on the floor so long as they also wore a jacket, thus allowing pantsuits, among other types of clothing. Hillary Clinton, who is well known for wearing pantsuits, once referred to her presidential campaign staff as "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits" (in her August 26, 2008 speech at the Democratic National Convention), a play on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. During the 2016 Presidential election, the pantsuit became a symbolic rallying cry among supporters of Hillary Clinton, many of whom donned pantsuits when they went to the polls to cast their ballots. This was in part due to the influence of a Facebook group of 2.9 million Hillary Clinton supporters called Pantsuit Nation. See also Business wear Women and trousers References External links Category:Suits (clothing) Category:History of clothing (Western fashion) Category:Hillary Clinton Category:1920s introductions

Body image dissatisfaction among women with scleroderma: extent and relationship to psychosocial function. Body image dissatisfaction and its relationship to psychosocial function were investigated in 127 women with scleroderma Results indicated elevated body image dissatisfaction, with participants reporting higher levels than a sample of patients with severe burn injuries. Age, skin tightening above the elbows, and functional disability were related to heightened body image dissatisfaction, suggesting that younger patients with more severe disease may be at greatest risk for developing body image concerns. Path analysis revealed that depression mediated the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and psychosocial function. Results suggest that body image dissatisfaction is a significant concern in women with scleroderma and should be assessed routinely. Early identification and treatment of body image dissatisfaction may help prevent the development of depression and psychosocial impairment in this population.

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for rinsing tissues. A body includes a number of sensitive tissues, for example, eye tissue, mucous membranes of the nasal passages and sinuses, and the interior of the mouth. These tissues are subject to bacterial growth, ulcers, irritation and disease. Sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucosa of various sinuses, which are located around the nasal passages. Rhinitis is an inflammation of the mucosa of a nasal passage. Sinusitis and rhinitis can be caused by cold viruses, allergies to various allergens, smoking, bacterial or fungal infections, nasal polyps, deviated nasal septums and non-allergic hypersensitivities. Symptoms of rhinitis include: stuffy nose, runny or drippy nose, scratchy throat and dry cough. Symptoms of sinusitis are more severe than the symptoms of rhinitis. Acute and chronic sinusitis occurs when the sinuses are inflamed and the ostia, or passages, are blocked. Symptoms include: nasal congestion; runny or stuffy nose; white, yellow or green discharge; headache; night time cough; pain in the upper jaw or teeth; persistent fatigue; fever; loss of sense of smell or taste; and sometimes serious infections like meningitis, brain abscess or ear infections. As indicated above, allergies can cause rhinitis and sinusitis. Allergens are organic particles that attach to the nasal mucosa or respiratory mucosa and lead to the development of an antibody, which subsequently creates a series of chemical reactions leading to symptoms. Every individual""s reaction to allergen exposure is different. Indoor allergens include dust mites, mold, pet dander and cockroaches. Outdoor allergens include pollens, grass and mold. Other substances such as cigarette smoke, perfumes and aerosol sprays are irritants that can worsen allergy and sinus symptoms. Allergens can also irritate the eyes and cause itching, tearing, redness, and swelling of the eyelids. There are various methods to treat the symptoms of, or to cure, sinus and ocular disease, including surgery. An effective nasal rinse can significantly reduce or permanently cure the symptoms of nasal allergies and sinus disease. Saline nasal irrigations have been used and mentioned in medical textbooks going back many years. A wide variety of techniques have been described, including swimming in salt water, which often results in some degree of inadvertent nasal salt water irrigation. For persons suffering from allergies irritating the eye, a saline solution can flush the allergens out of the eye. Nasal rinsing or lavage is a treatment for rhinitis and sinusitis that uses a saline solution dispensed into the nasal passage to cleanse and wash away mucus and allergy creating particles and irritants. Lavaging allows the sinuses to drain normally and reduces the inflammation of the mucus membrane. Oral rinsing with a saline solution can be used for therapeutic purposes. Similarly, a saline solution can also be used to relieve dry eyes, conjunctivitis, or flush foreign materials out of the eye, and can be used on a daily basis. Prepared saline solution is available for uses including nasal lavage, oral rinse, and ocular drops, however a bottle filled with saline solution can be quite expensive. Alternatively, saline solution can be prepared at home using household ingredients. However, there is a concern for cleanliness and contamination, and for ensuring that the proper concentration level and acidity is achieved. Thus, there is a need for a method for preparing a saline solution having a consistent and appropriate concentration that is simple, inexpensive and not easily contaminated. Nasal rinsing equipment currently available includes various types of dispensers that can be filled with a saline solution and which are then injected into the user""s nasal passage. Conventional nasal rinsing equipment can be crude and may only be suitable for users having a certain size nostril. For proper use, the dispensing tip should comfortably seal against a user""s nostril. Equipment having a dispenser tip designed for a certain size nostril can be useless for someone with a smaller nostril, in particular children, such as the nasal rinse equipment described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,723 for a DEVICE FOR LAVAGING. Thus, there is a need for equipment having a dispenser tip that effectively and comfortably seals against human nostrils of varying sizes, including nostrils of children. Another problem with current nasal lavaging equipment is that the configuration of the dispensing tip can cause the saline solution to be dispensed into the nasal passage without sufficiently dispersing before reaching the back of the nasal passage, resulting in an uncomfortable or painful sensation for the user. There is a need for a dispenser tip configured to allow the saline solution to disperse sufficiently before reaching the back of the nasal passage. Conventional lavaging equipment includes dispenser tips that are compatible with power operated oral irrigators. The dispenser tip and oral irrigator can be used to direct the irrigation solution to the mucus membrane of the mouth or throat. However, the dispenser tips are typically only compatible with a certain model of oral irrigator, such as the dispenser tip described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,145 for a NASAL IRRIGATION SYSTEM. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an apparatus and system for preparing and dispensing a saline solution that is simple to use, capable of being prepared and administered in most any location, relatively inexpensive and suitable for use by persons having nostrils of varying sizes, and that is compatible with most commercially available oral irrigators. The present invention provides methods and apparatus for rinsing tissue with a saline solution. In general, in one aspect, the invention features a system for rinsing tissue that includes an iodine-free saline solution for rinsing tissue and an apparatus for dispensing the saline solution. The saline solution includes approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate dissolved in water. The apparatus includes a cap and a container for holding the saline solution. The cap has a cylindrical lower portion; a rounded convex upper portion curving away from an axially aligned opening, from which a liquid is dispensed, located in the uppermost surface of the upper portion and curving downwardly to join the cylindrical lower portion; an open lower end; and a tubular conduit connected to the uppermost interior surface of the upper portion, the conduit having a hollow center axially aligned with the opening located in the upper portion. The container has flexible sidewalls and an axially aligned neck having an open end. The lower portion of the cap and the neck of the container are configured to join together with a liquid tight connection. In general, in another aspect, the invention features a system for rinsing tissue, including a mixture for preparing a saline solution and an apparatus for dispensing the saline solution onto the tissue. The mixture includes approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate, and is dissolved in water to form a pH balanced, iodine-free saline solution. The saline solution has a pH in the range of approximately 7.3 to 7.7. In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method for rinsing tissue. The method includes preparing an iodine-free saline solution having a concentration in the range of approximately 0.9% to 1% by dissolving a measured amount of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate, the amount being approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate, into a measured amount of water in a container with flexible sidewalls. The method further includes connecting a cap to the container. The cap has a cylindrical lower portion, a rounded convex upper portion curving away from an axially aligned opening from which a liquid is dispensed located in the uppermost surface of the upper portion and curving downwardly to join the cylindrical lower portion, an open lower end, and a tubular conduit connected to the uppermost interior surface of the upper portion and having a hollow center axially aligned with the opening located in the upper portion and wherein the conduit extends into the container. The sidewalls of the container are compressed to urge the saline solution out of the container and cause the saline solution to come in contact with the tissue. In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method for rinsing tissue. The method includes preparing an iodine-free saline solution and dispensing the solution to rinse the tissue. The iodine-free saline solution has a concentration in the range of approximately 0.9% to 1%, and is prepared by mixing a measured amount of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate, the amount being approximately 39 parts sodium chloride and approximately 1 to 2 parts sodium bicarbonate, with a measured amount of water and dissolving the sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate in the distilled water. Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following. The tissue can be a mucus membrane, eye tissue, skin, or tissue inside an oral cavity. The saline solution can be isotonic, and can have a saline concentration in the range of approximately 0.9% to 1%. The saline solution has a pH in the range of approximately 7.3 to 7.7. The exterior surface of the lower portion of cap can include rounded, vertical ridges. The opening in the cap can be between 2.5 mm and 4.25 mm in diameter. The conduit can have a slightly decreasing exterior diameter from the top to the bottom. The liquid tight connection between the cap and the neck can be a threaded connection. The container can have a marking to indicate the liquid level and be made of transparent material. Advantages of the invention include one or more of the following. An apparatus is provided that can be used as a nasal rinse by children as well as adults. The apparatus includes a cap design that will provide an effective seal against the nostril of a child or adult. The cap can be used in conjunction with a power driven oral irrigator for performing a nasal, oral, or throat rinse. A flexible tube is provided that can be connected to most commercially available oral irrigators. The irrigation apparatus is simple to use, simple to clean, and inexpensive to replace. The user can inspect all parts of the apparatus to ensure cleanliness. Further, the user can sterilize the apparatus in the home using a microwave or boiling water to kill any bacteria on the surfaces of the apparatus. A nasal or ocular rinse can be performed without having to bend the neck back and look upwards, as is the case with irrigation systems that rely on gravity to dispense the solution. This feature is particularly advantageous to persons who experience dizziness in this position, in particular elderly persons. Another advantage of the rinse is that the mixture allows an iodine-free isotonic saline solution to be conveniently prepared that is pH balanced to the mucous membranes and tissue the solution would generally come into contact with. As such, the solution does not create a burning sensation when it comes in contact with said tissues. Generally, isotonic solutions are more comfortable and produce fewer negative sensations than hypotonic and hypertonic solutions when brought in contact with tissues. Greater comfort increases both patient tolerance of the rinsing solution and compliance with a course of treatment. The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Here's a really handy little tool to keep on hand if you have one of the great older Whirlpool-built dryers. It's made for both 29" (wide) and 27" models. Hang this card inside the drum (instructions are included) and run the dryer for 15 seconds or so. If you open the door and the card has fallen off, airflow through your vent system is OK. If the card's still hanging, it's time to get to work cleaning the vent ducting - and probably the inside of the dryer, too. Poor airflow, usually from lint buildup, is the #1 cause of problems with dryers, and is responsible for more dryer-related fires than any other cause. This is one of the items I no longer stock, but they're still available on Ebay from my distributors, HERE (I've shortened the LONG Ebay URL to make it easier to deal with) "Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Oil and gas wells may be completed by drilling a borehole in the earth and subsequently lining the borehole with a steel casing. In many applications, one or more sections of casing and one or more liners are used to complete the well. After the well has been drilled to a first depth, for example, a first section of casing may be lowered into the wellbore and hung from the surface. Cement is then injected into the annulus between the outer surface of the casing and the borehole. After drilling the well to a second designated depth, a liner is run into the well. The liner may then be fixed to the casing by using a liner hanger.

Cadmium uptake by the rat embryo as a function of gestational age. Maternal blood, liver, kidney, and placental and fetal (embryo) accumulation of cadmium (Cd), a known embryotoxic trace element, was investigated following a single oral dose of various amounts of Cd (10 to 1,000 microgram/rat) as CdCl2 containing 109Cd at days 6, 10, 14, and 17 of gestation. Twenty-four hours after Cd administration the rats were killed and the various tissues were counted in a gamma well counter for determination of 109Cd activity. Maternal liver and kidneys were the main target organs of Cd accumulation at all stages of gestation. Embryo levels of Cd were highest prior to formation of the functional placenta. After placental formation, fetal Cd levels were decreased, while placental accumulation of Cd increased with increasing gestational age. The results indicate that the embryo accumulates the greatest percentage of ingested Cd between implantation and placentation, the early period of organogenesis. The placenta apparently protects the fetus from exposure to this element during the last third of gestation.

Catheter-related cutaneous aspergillosis complicated by fungemia and fatal pulmonary infection in an HIV-positive patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia. A case of intravenous catheter-related cutaneous aspergillosis and Aspergillus fumigatus fungemia in an HIV-positive patient with Burkitt-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia is reported. The patient developed pulmonary aspergillosis with a rapidly fatal outcome despite recovery from neutropenia and improvement of the underlying malignancy. The unusual severity and rapid spread of the infection, despite normal neutrophil count and prompt antifungal therapy, suggest that HIV-related immunocompromise might play a role in the impairment of host defences against Aspergillus infection. Thus catheter-related cutaneous aspergillosis could lead to a severe deep-seated infection in HIV-positive patients.

2016-07-27 05:33:45 - Seeking Alpha - 3 hours ago This is the 14th article in the series of putting together a 7% CEF portfolio that also protects against capital loss. Twelve CEFs have been back-tested 5 years that offer the retiree 7% cash returns and capital maintenance. 2016-06-30 06:30:00 - Market Digest - Jun 30, 2016 Tekla Healthcare Investors (NYSE:HQH) : $1.59 million worth of transactions were on upticks in Tekla Healthcare Investors (NYSE:HQH), compared to $1.21 million on downticks. The ratio between the two was 1.31, whereas, the net money flow stood at a ...

A passive device is referred to as a circuit device that is not capable of providing power gain. A capacitor, an inductor, and a resistor are all considered as passive devices for mainly filtering or blocking higher-frequency alternating current (AC). For example, a magnetic-core inductor that has a coil wound on a magnetic core may used as a choke or a common mode filter, and an assembly of a magnetic-core inductor and a capacitor that are electro-connected to each other may be used as an LC filter. There are three types of commercially available inductors, namely thin film type inductors, multilayered type inductors, and wire wound type inductors. TW patent application publication No. 201440090 A discloses a multilayered type inductor (see FIG. 1) and a method of making the same. The method of making the multilayered type inductor includes the steps of: laminating a first circuit plate 110, a second circuit plate 120, a third circuit plate 130 and a fourth circuit plate 140 (see FIG. 2A); attaching an assembly of a supporting film 150 and a bonding pad circuit 160 to the first circuit plate 110 (see FIG. 2B); transferring the bonding pad circuit 160 from the supporting film 150 to the first circuit plate 110 (see FIG. 2C); removing the supporting film 150 from the bonding pad circuit 160 (see FIG. 2D); sintering the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140 and the bonding pad circuit 160 so as to form a multilayered circuit substrate 100 (see FIG. 2E); and scribing the multilayered circuit substrate 100 using a scriber 170 (see FIG. 2F), so that the multilayered circuit substrate 100 can be broken into a plurality of multilayered type inductors 10 (see FIG. 1). Referring to FIG. 1, each of the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140 includes a respective one of non-magnetic bodies 111, 121, 131, 141 and a respective one of first, second, third and fourth circuit patterns 112, 122, 132, 142. Formation of the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140 requires numerous steps (a total of at least 13 steps), including punching each non-magnetic body 111, 121, 131, 141 to form holes, filling the conductive paste in the holes, forming the first, second, third and fourth circuit patterns 112, 122, 132, 142 and sintering before laminating the first, second, third and fourth circuit plates 110, 120, 130, 140. The conventional method may tend to cause undesired non-ohmic contact and Joule-heating generated at the interfaces between every two adjacent ones of the first, second, third and fourth circuit patterns 112, 122, 132, 142. In order to prevent the undesired non-ohmic contact and Joule-heating and reduce the steps of the method of making the multilayered type inductor, TW patent No. 554355 discloses an improved chip inductor and a method of making the same. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the method of making the improved chip inductor includes the steps of: providing a ceramic substrate 200 which has a thickness of 150 μm; laminating on the ceramic substrate 200 a first circuit layer 210 with a predetermined pattern (such as a spiral coil), a first insulator layer 220 of polyimide (PI), a second circuit layer 230 with a predetermined pattern, a second insulator layer 240 of polyimide, and a third insulator layer 250 which is made from a PI-based material containing inorganic additives, such as Co, Fe, and Mn, so as to form a semi-product; heating the first and second circuit layers 210, 230 and the first, second and third insulator layers 220, 240, 250; forming a plurality of scribing lines (not shown) with a grid pattern on the third insulator layer 250 using a laser beam; and breaking the first and second circuit layers 210, 230 and the first, second and third insulator layers 220, 240, 250 along the scribing lines using a roller so as to form a plurality of chip inductors 2. The total thickness of the first circuit layer 210 and the first insulator layer 220 is 20 μm. The total thickness of the second circuit layer 230 and the second insulator layer 240 is 20 μm. The third insulator layer 250 has a thickness ranging from 20 μm to 30 μm. Since the size of the aforesaid chip inductor 2 is 1 mm×0.5 mm or 0.6 mm×0.3 mm, it is too big to be used in a thin and small electronic device, such as a cellular phone.

Robert Zimmermann (bobsleigh) Robert Zimmermann (6 September 1934 – 20 June 2012) was a Swiss bobsledder. He competed at the 1964 Winter Olympics and the 1968 Winter Olympics. He was also a stuntman, and worked on the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. References Category:1934 births Category:2012 deaths Category:Swiss male bobsledders Category:Olympic bobsledders of Switzerland Category:Bobsledders at the 1964 Winter Olympics Category:Bobsledders at the 1968 Winter Olympics Category:Sportspeople from Zürich Category:Swiss stunt performers

Chapter 98: He is Not Crazy The whole experience scared Jiang Yao stiff. She was trembling in fear. While she was standing behind Lu Xingzhi in the queue, a man had suddenly appeared of nowhere. He had jumped on her and dragged her several steps away while calling her his wife. She turned around and realized that it was the madman, and she started screaming at the top of her lungs. She could even smell the awful scent emanating from the man’s body. Besides being frightened by the whole scenario, she felt sick and disgusted. Within Jiang Yao’s two lives, this was the first time she had been held by a man other than her blood relatives. The incident was so disgusting that she almost puked on the spot. When Jiang Yao turned her gaze to Lu Xingzhi, she saw him restraining the man on the floor and raising his fist at him. She gradually composed herself and yelped at Lu Xingzhi, “Stop it, please, don’t create any more trouble.” After all, Lu Xingzhi was an active soldier. Although he was not in his military uniform, it would not do him good if someone recognized him and reported the incident to his leader. All of a sudden, an old woman sprang out and hurled towards Lu Xingzhi, hitting his hands that were pinning the madman on the ground and growled, “Hey you, let go of my son! Let him go! Baby, are you okay? Don’t scare Mommy!” Lu Xingzhi recognized the woman. She sold fruits at the train station. Lu Xingzhi had seen the madman and the old lady here at the train station, but he didn’t know that they were related. Moreover, for so many years, Lu Xingzhi had never heard of any commotion provoked by the madman at the train station. However, this time, he had jumped on his wife and scared her, so he couldn’t let it go. “No! He’s not! He’s fine!” the old lady denied with a hoarse voice. “Has this place become a lawless jungle? Why are you bullying my son?” The train conductor rolled his eyes and said, “Madam, everyone at the train station knows that your son is a lunatic, okay? How long has your son been at our station? Fifteen years? Or maybe twenty? He always goes around murmuring to himself. This time, he even jumped on a pretty girl and called her his wife! Do you know how many passengers were shocked over his mischief?” A passenger standing at the side interjected, “Yes, that’s right! Your son suddenly hugged the man’s wife and even called her his wife. Look at the poor girl, she’s so frightened that her face is so pale and she’s still shaking. How dare you complain that he’s bullying your son? After what your son did, you should be grateful that the man hadn’t beaten him to death!” “I said my son is not crazy!” the old woman shouted loudly. She then helped the madman up off the floor and sobbed, “Baby, hurry, tell them that you’re not crazy. Oh, my baby! How many times do I have to tell you? That woman will not come back! She doesn’t want you anymore!” “No! You’re lying!” The madman suddenly pushed the old woman away as if struck by lightning. “She loves me! She loves me very much! It’s you, it’s all your fault! She wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t for you!” The madman staggered as he stood up, his whole body trembling. “She was just angry with me. She will return after her anger subsides, she will definitely come back.” Just as the conductor said, the madman walked away and mumbling gibberish by himself while the old woman crouched on the ground crying after him.

We use cookies to customise content for your subscription and for analytics.If you continue to browse Lexology, we will assume that you are happy to receive all our cookies. For further information please read our Cookie Policy. Investment Funds Update Europe - France The Arrêté of 27 February 2017 and published to the Official Journal on 7 March 2017 has amended significantly the General Regulations of the AMF (the Autorité des Marchés Financiers - “AMF”, the French financial markets authority). The updated GRAMF now includes, among others, the following provisions related to: the publication of the transactions in shares or units of UCITS or AIFs (such as exchange-traded funds, “ETFs”) listed on a regulated market carried out by investment service providers, within the framework of their post-trade transparency obligations, under certain conditions; the marketing in France to retail clients of AIFs from a third country; the financial delegation of UCITS and AIFs management (cf. see below); and the implementation of redemption gates in UCITS and AIFs (cf. see below). Terms for Implementing Gates in UCITS and AIFs - New AMF Instruction and Update of the AMF Instructions and Position-Receommendation Pursuant to the authorisation for open-ended funds to implement gates or liquidity restrictions when warranted by exceptional circumstances, the AMF has published on 15 March 2017 a new Instruction n° 2017-05 addressing this newly created legal regime. Among others, this Instruction provides guidance on: the requirement to describe the implementation and use of gates in a fund’s prospectus, rules and/or by-laws; the information to be provided to unitholders or shareholders in case of any changes in a fund’s prospectus, rules and/or by-laws when gates are implemented; thresholds for triggering the gates; the maximum duration of such gates. As a result, the AMF has also updated its policy to incorporate this possibility offered to certain French funds to provide redemption gates. Further to the launch of the FROG (“French Routes and Opportunities Garden”) workshop between the AMF and the AFG (“Association Française de la Gestion Financière”, the French professional association of asset managers) in 2016 aiming to increase French funds’ international competitiveness, the AMF has updated its doctrine to take into account FROG’s recommendations. The update are as follows: 1. AMF French collective investment scheme (CIS) classifications Further to FROG’s proposals and the public consultation launched in June 2016 on the abolition of AMF specific classifications of French collective investment schemes, used to differentiate certain French funds according to the primary nature of the investments being made, the AMF has published its feedback on 15 March 2017. The AMF has now adopted the following provisions, pursuant to which: certain AMF classifications could be maintained, on an optional basis; the “Diversified” AMF classification will be abolished as from 31 December 2017; CIS not using the AMF classification will be required to inform the AMF under which category of funds they fall into as part of the statistical report to the Banque de France and the European Central Bank. Following its policy update on November 2016 pertaining to the presentation of management fees for UCITS and certain AIFs, the AMF has clarified on 15 March 2017 in the latest amended Instructions, the content of the Fund’s prospectus, rules or by-laws, specifying that, on an optional basis, the management company can merge the financial management fees and external administrative fees. In such a case, the relevant section would be entitled “financial management fees and external administrative fees of the management company”. 3. Extension of the scope of financial management delegation Pursuant to the update of the GRAMF amending articles 313-77 and 318-58, French management companies can now delegate their financial management functions not only to (i) other management companies authorised to manage UCITS and AIFs but also to (ii) other entities authorised to provide portfolio management services and to (iii) authorised entity established in a third country subject to the condition that there is effective cooperation between the AMF and the supervisory authorities of the relevant country. AMF doctrine has therefore been updated. 4. Possibility to retain the historical reports of past performance (« track record») of UCITS and AIFs in the event of a transformation of a French FCP (“Fonds Commun de Placement”, form of common funds) to a French SICAV (“Société d’investissement à capital variable”, open-ended investment companies) The AMF has updated its policy under the Position-Recommendation n°2011-05 (Guide to the regulatory documents governing collective investments schemes) by including this new possibility offered to UCITS and AIFs subject to the condition that the Fund does not change its investment policy and management objective. 5. Update of the AMF policy in anticipation of the entry into force of European PRIIPs (Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products) Regulation In anticipation of the entry into force of PRIIPs on 1 January 2018, the AMF has updated its policy, in order to: allow French funds open to professional investors that are not subject to the obligation of drafting a KIID, to finally establish a KIID in compliance with UCITS Directive; and note that from the date of entry into force of PRIIPs, certain French dedicated funds, including professional investment funds, professional specialised investment funds, professional real estate collective investment undertakings and professional private equity funds, authorising the subscription or the purchase of their shares or units to retail clients if their investment is equal or above to EUR 100 000, could be subject to the obligation to establish a KIID in compliance with PRIIPs. AMF - Publication of a Guide to the Use of Stress Tests as Part of Risk Management Within Asset Management Companies Pursuant to a public consultation launched in 2016, the AMF published on 23 February 2017 a guide aimed at French management companies presenting an overview of the stress test practices. The AMF provides general advices and examples of the implementation and use of stress tests that must be adapted specifically to all the different funds, portfolios or management companies. Further to the study on the ETFs and associated risks published on 14 February 2017 in which the AMF observed the growth of the market globally and in Europe, the French regulator wishes to update its policy accordingly in order to adapt and strengthen the French ETFs framework. The AMF submits the three following proposals to public consultation: "Proposal 1: to widen the options available to French ETFs, in certain market situations, for repaying in-kind redemption requests on the primary market (with the exception of liquidations); Proposal 2: to implement an action plan in the event of significant valuation or liquidity problems on the underlying-assets market, with a view to possibly suspending subscriptions and redemptions; Proposal 3: to draw up a continuity action plan in the event of a default or an event affecting a counterparty”. The AFG has published its Governance Charter of French SICAV (open-ended investment companies) on 20 March 2017. The objective of this Charter is to promote best practices in order to improve the quality of governance of French SICAV in the interests of investors. This Governance Charter addresses the following three principles, relating to: the independence of board directors; the minimum number required of independent members serving within a collegial body of a SICAV and fixing the threshold to at least one third of the members or two persons (whichever is lower); the maximum number of mandates held by theses members. SICAV are authorized to mention in their documentation if they fully comply with these measures. Related topic hubs Compare jurisdictions: Patents “The Lexology newsfeed is very relevant to my practice and I like that you can tailor the newsfeed to include specific practice areas. I enjoy seeing a variety of approaches and I will read multiple articles on the same topic for the purpose of getting the fullest understanding of a new law, a court case or other legal development.”

164 F.3d 820 Michael J. STUTO, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Seymour FLEISHMAN, Thomas Pavloski, Kenneth Hamlett, NewYork City Office of the United States Department of Labor'sOffice of Workers' Compensation Programs, U.S. Department ofLabor, and United States of America, Defendants-Appellees. No. 97-6305. United States Court of Appeals,Second Circuit. Argued May 13, 1998.Decided Jan. 21, 1999. Phillip G. Steck, Cooper, Erving, Savage, Nolan & Heller, LLP, Albany, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant. Rebecca DeRuyter, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, Washington, DC (Thomas J. Maroney, United States Attorney, Thomas Spina, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of New York, Albany, NY, of counsel ), for Defendants-Appellees. Before: FEINBERG and WALKER, Circuit Judges, and SHADUR,* Senior District Judge. WALKER, Circuit Judge: 1 Plaintiff-appellant Michael J. Stuto appeals from the judgment entered December 2, 1997, by the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Lawrence E. Kahn, Judge ), dismissing his complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). This judgment followed upon two orders of the district court: the first, issued by Judge Con C. Cholakis, dismissed most of Stuto's claims; Judge Lawrence E. Kahn later dismissed the balance of the complaint. Stuto's complaint alleged a Bivens-type damages claim against defendants-appellees Seymour Fleishman, Thomas Pavloski, and Kenneth Hamlett for violation of his right to due process under the Fifth Amendment, as well as claims against the United States, the United States Department of Labor, and the New York City branch of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs ("OWCP") (collectively the "government" or "government defendants") under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346, 2671 et seq., for misrepresentation, fraud, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising out of the improper termination of Stuto's disability benefits under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act ("FECA"), 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq. Stuto appeals only from Judge Cholakis's dismissal of his due process claim and Judge Kahn's dismissal of his FTCA claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Because we hold that Stuto's due process rights were not violated and that he has failed to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, we affirm. BACKGROUND 2 Stuto's complaint alleges the following facts. In September 1985, Stuto, a mailhandler employed by the United States Postal Service in Albany, New York, suffered a disabling work-related injury to his lower back that required surgery. Two months later he began receiving workers' compensation benefits pursuant to FECA. Four years later, in September 1989, Stuto was given medical clearance for limited job duty of three hours a day. Soon after starting a job repairing damaged mail, his back injury worsened and his physician, Dr. Guidarelli, declared him totally disabled. In November 1989, a Dr. Fay performed a "fitness for duty exam" for the Postal Service and determined that Stuto "would benefit from a ... Work Assessment Conditioning Center." Stuto attended the program, but his condition did not improve. Stuto continued to receive disability payments. 3 On March 18 and June 26, 1991, at the request of the Department of Labor, Stuto was examined by Drs. Fay and Kavanaugh. Both concluded that Stuto was capable of limited sedentary work. Over the next year Stuto accepted new job offers from the Postal Service, but, for reasons not stated in the complaint, he never actually entered into any of these jobs. 4 On May 29, 1992, Fleishman of OWCP sent a letter to Stuto advising him that OWCP had determined that a new job offer from the Postal Service was suitable for Stuto in light of the medical evidence concerning Stuto's ability to work. He gave Stuto "30 days from the receipt of this letter to either accept the job or to provide a reasonable, acceptable explanation for refusing the offer." On July 2, Stuto sent a letter to OWCP stating that he accepted the job offer but also that he had been advised by his physicians, Drs. Guidarelli and Patel, that he was totally disabled. He requested that OWCP send him to a medical referee to resolve any conflict. He also objected to several of the medical reports in his file as not having been obtained in accordance with FECA regulations. 5 Meanwhile, on July 1 Stuto had submitted to a "fitness for duty" exam by a Dr. Rogers, as required by the Postal Service. Dr. Rogers sent a medical report to the Postal Service on July 2, stating that in his opinion Stuto was totally disabled and incapable of working. That report allegedly was forwarded to OWCP by the Postal Service on July 7, accompanied by a memorandum from the Postal Service stating that it needed clarification regarding Stuto's current medical condition before he could report for work. Because Stuto's medical condition remained unclear, the Postal Service did not request that he report for work, and Stuto never did so. 6 Stuto did not receive his scheduled worker's compensation payment for July. In a telephone call on July 29, Fleishman informed Stuto's brother, Peter Stuto, that Stuto's disability benefits were "terminated because he is not working." According to Stuto's complaint, Fleishman denied that Dr. Rogers's "fitness for duty" report had been received by OWCP. 7 OWCP then sent Stuto an order dated August 5, declaring that his benefits had been terminated because "[i]n a statement ... dated July 2, 1992, [Stuto] accepted the job offer but then refused it based on the advice of his physician." Attached to the order was a letter explaining, inter alia, that the "decision [to terminate his benefits] was based on all evidence of record and on the assumption that all available evidence was submitted. If you disagree with the decision, you may follow any one of the courses of action outlined on the attached appeal rights." The "appeal rights" referred to an enclosed memorandum entitled "Federal Employees' Compensation Act Appeal Rights." 8 According to Stuto, the individual defendants at OWCP continued to deny that they had received Dr. Rogers's report, even though Stuto's OWCP file indicates that the OWCP received the report on July 7, that its substance was communicated to the defendants several times, and that a second copy of the report was sent to OWCP on August 5. Moreover, the individual defendants refused to reconsider their decision to terminate Stuto's benefits in light of the report. In response to Stuto's complaint that he would be in a difficult financial condition if his benefits did not resume, Pavloski allegedly suggested that Stuto request another "fitness for duty exam" and tell the doctor that he could do the job. Pavloski told Stuto that he could appeal the termination, but that "his case was very weak, and if the appeal were lost, the Post Office would never offer him another job." Stuto also alleges that the individual defendants conspired to put Dr. Rogers's report into Stuto's file after the date of the termination "in an effort to sabotage Mr. Stuto's right to appeal to the Employees' Compensation Appeals Board ['ECAB']." 9 On August 10, 1992, Stuto filed an appeal with the ECAB for review of the decision to terminate his benefits. On November 4, 1992, the Director of the OWCP filed a motion to set aside the decision to terminate and to remand the case. He contended that OWCP had not followed proper procedures in two ways: (1) it failed to notify Stuto that the medical examination by Dr. Kavanaugh was for the purpose of resolving a conflict in the medical evidence, and therefore Dr. Kavanaugh's report could not be used to resolve the conflict, and (2) it failed to give Stuto appropriate notice prior to terminating his benefits, as required by FECA Bulletin No. 92-19. The Director stated that "[o]n remand, the Office will reinstate appellant's monetary benefits, retroactive to July 11, 1992, ... will ensure that Dr. Kavanaugh's June 26, 1991 report is excluded from further review in appellant's claim[,] and will follow proper procedures to resolve the conflict of medical evidence." On January 11, 1993, the ECAB granted the Director's motion to remand. See In the Matter of Michael Stuto, No. 92-1978 (ECAB January 11, 1993). 10 In November of 1992, prior to the ECAB's decision to remand, Stuto filed an action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York alleging that the Secretary of Labor violated his rights under the Due Process Clause and FECA by improperly terminating his disability benefits. Stuto moved for a preliminary injunction reinstating his disability benefits. In response, the government agreed to reinstate his benefits retroactively, and the motion for a preliminary injunction was withdrawn. Following the ECAB's remand of the case, an impartial medical examination determined that Stuto was totally disabled; his benefits have continued to the present day. 11 On July 7, 1994, Stuto filed this action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. He alleged a Bivens-type claim against the individual defendants Fleishman, Pavloski and Hamlett, for violation of his Fifth Amendment right to due process, see Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388, 390, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971) (recognizing implied cause of action for violation of plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights), and a claim against the government defendants under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346, 2671 et seq., for misrepresentation, fraudulent denial of benefits, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The government moved to dismiss the action pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Judge Cholakis dismissed all of Stuto's claims except for the claims for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The case was subsequently transferred to Judge Kahn, who dismissed the remaining claims upon the government's motion for reconsideration. This appeal followed. DISCUSSION 12 Judge Cholakis held, inter alia, that (1) in accordance with Schweiker v. Chilicky, 487 U.S. 412, 108 S.Ct. 2460, 101 L.Ed.2d 370 (1988), the comprehensive remedial scheme enacted by Congress under FECA displaced a Bivens remedy for constitutional violations; (2) even if a Bivens action would lie, the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because they had not violated a clearly established constitutional right; and (3) all of Stuto's claims under the FTCA except for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress were barred by either the "discretionary functions" or the "intentional torts" exceptions to the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a), (h). See Stuto v. Fleishman, 94-CV-846, slip op. at 3-11 (N.D.N.Y. Jan. 8, 1996). Later, Judge Kahn held that Stuto's claims for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress were also barred by the "discretionary functions" exception to the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a), and that the allegedly tortious conduct was not sufficiently outrageous to satisfy the strict standards for intentional infliction of emotional distress under New York law. See Stuto v. Fleishman, 94-CV-0846 (LEK/DNH), slip op. at 17 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 4, 1997). On appeal, Stuto argues that (1) his Bivens claim is not displaced by FECA; (2) the individual defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity; and (3) his claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress is not barred by the "discretionary functions" exception to the FTCA and alleges sufficiently outrageous conduct to satisfy the elements of the tort under New York law. For the following reasons, we affirm the dismissal of Stuto's claims. I. Standard of Review 13 We review the dismissal of a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) de novo, taking as true the material facts alleged in the complaint and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. See Pani v. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, 152 F.3d 67, 71 (2d Cir.1998); Bernheim v. Litt, 79 F.3d 318, 321 (2d Cir.1996). A dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a cognizable claim may be affirmed only where "it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim that would entitle him to relief." Citibank, N.A. v. K-H Corp., 968 F.2d 1489, 1494 (2d Cir.1992); see also Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). II. Bivens Claim 14 We need not decide whether Congress intended FECA to displace a Bivens remedy for constitutional harms because we find that, in any event, Stuto's Bivens claim would fail because he has failed to state a claim for denial of due process. 15 The district court found that the individual defendants were shielded by qualified immunity because their discretionary actions did not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. See Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). However, in the recent decision of County of Sacramento v. Lewis, the Supreme Court stated that 16 the better approach to resolving cases in which the defense of qualified immunity is raised is to determine first whether the plaintiff has alleged a deprivation of a constitutional right at all. Normally, it is only then that a court should ask whether the right allegedly implicated was clearly established at the time of the events in question. 17 523 U.S. 833, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 1714 n. 5, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1998). While we have held that this preference is non-mandatory, Medeiros v. O'Connell, 150 F.3d 164, 169 (2d Cir.1998), we acceded to it in Medeiros and affirmed on the merits of the constitutional claim in light of Lewis, although the district court's decision was based on qualified immunity. Therefore, we will examine whether Stuto has alleged a violation of due process. 18 There can be little doubt that Stuto's disability benefits under FECA constitute a valid property interest. See Raditch v. United States, 929 F.2d 478, 480 (9th Cir.1991) (recognizing property interest in FECA benefits); see also Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 332, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976) (recognizing property interest in Social Security disability benefits); Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 262, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970) (recognizing property interest in welfare benefits). Stuto argues that the individual defendants intentionally, or at least negligently, deprived him of this property interest by improperly terminating his benefits. However, the negligent or intentional deprivation of property through the random and unauthorized acts of a state or federal employee does not constitute a deprivation of due process if "a meaningful postdeprivation remedy for the loss is available." Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517, 533, 104 S.Ct. 3194, 82 L.Ed.2d 393 (1984) (intentional deprivation); see also Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 543, 101 S.Ct. 1908, 68 L.Ed.2d 420 (1981) (negligent deprivation); Raditch, 929 F.2d at 480-81 (applying the holdings of Parratt and Hudson to the termination of FECA benefits). In her concurring opinion in Hudson, Justice O'Connor explained that 19 Of course, a mere allegation of property deprivation does not by itself state a constitutional claim under [the Due Process] Clause. The Constitution requires the Government, if it deprives people of their property, to provide due process of law and to make just compensation for any takings. The due process requirement means that Government must provide to the [plaintiff] the remedies it promised would be available. 20 Hudson, 468 U.S. at 539, 104 S.Ct. 3194 (O'Connor, J., concurring). Here, Stuto had available to him a menu of possible post-deprivation remedies for the termination of his benefits. In fact, his appeal to the ECAB resulted in the retroactive restoration of his benefits due to the procedural irregularities that had led to termination. That Stuto "might not be able to recover under these remedies the full amount which he might receive in a [Bivens-type] action is not ... determinative of the adequacy of the [administrative] remedies." Hudson, 468 U.S. at 535, 104 S.Ct. 3194. Accordingly, we find that Stuto has not alleged a violation of due process. 21 Stuto relies on two district court cases to support his claim that the actions taken by the individual defendants in suppressing evidence rendered ineffectual whatever procedural protections Congress intended to afford under FECA, thereby stating a claim for a violation of due process. In Rauccio v. Frank, 750 F.Supp. 566 (D.Conn.1990), the district court allowed a due process claim because the defendants (plaintiff's superiors) had repeatedly acted in a manner that foreclosed his ability to pursue remedies for his demotion and termination under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Pub.L. No. 95-454, 92 Stat. 1111 (1978). See id. at 570-71. Similarly, in Grichenko v. United States Postal Serv., 524 F.Supp. 672 (E.D.N.Y.1981), plaintiff was allowed to bring a due process claim against several postal employees based on their "intentional failure timely to process his claim for compensation in FECA," which resulted in FECA's denial of benefits based on the untimeliness of the claim. Id. at 673. Both Rauccio and Grichenko involved conduct that foreclosed the administrative remedies of FECA, and therefore FECA's protections were unavailable. 22 Stuto argues that the individual defendants purposefully suppressed Dr. Rogers's report and intentionally deprived him of access to FECA's post-deprivation remedies by placing the report in Stuto's file after the order to terminate had been issued so that it was not part of the record reviewed by the ECAB. Thus, Stuto contends, he was "forced to go outside the established administrative process to redress his grievances." We reject this argument. 23 Stuto appears to be correct that on appeal, the ECAB could consider only the evidence contained in the record at the time the termination order was issued. However, as explained in "Federal Employees' Compensation Act Appeal Rights,"1 an appeal to the ECAB was only one of several avenues of recourse open to Stuto. He could have sought an oral hearing before an OWCP representative within 30 days after the termination decision, where he would have had "the opportunity to present oral testimony and written evidence in further support of [his] claim." Similarly, Stuto could have sought reconsideration. The memorandum informed Stuto that 24 [i]f you have additional evidence which you believe is pertinent, you may request, in writing, that OWCP reconsider this decision. Such a request must be made within one year of the date of the decision, clearly state the grounds upon which reconsideration is being requested, and be accompanied by relevant evidence not previously submitted, such as medical reports or affidavits, or a legal argument not previously made. ... In order to ensure that you receive an independent evaluation of the evidence, your case will be reconsidered by persons other than those who made this determination. 25 (emphasis added). Under either of these two procedures, Stuto would have been allowed to submit new evidence such as Dr. Rogers's report. The fact that Stuto opted for a direct appeal, the one avenue that prevented him from submitting Dr. Rogers's report, does not lead us to conclude that he was denied due process when other avenues that would have satisfied his objectives were open to him. 26 Finally, to the extent Stuto's complaint alleges a facial challenge to the absence of pre-termination notice procedure, his premise is in error. As noted in the Director of OWCP's motion to remand and in the ECAB decision granting remand, FECA Bulletin 92-19, effective July 31, 1992, already required such pre-termination notice at the time Stuto's benefits were terminated. These are now apparently permanent requirements. See Stuto v. Reich, No. 92-CV-1374, slip op. at 2 & n. 1 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 18, 1994). As discussed above, the fact that Stuto did not receive the notice due to the individual defendants' failure to follow these procedures was constitutionally remedied by the availability of adequate post-deprivation review. III. FTCA Claim 27 With respect to the FTCA claims, Stuto challenges only the dismissal of the claim for intentional infliction for emotional distress. Judge Kahn dismissed this claim on the grounds that (1) it was barred by the "discretionary functions" exception to the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a), and (2) the alleged conduct was not sufficiently outrageous to satisfy the requirements for intentional infliction of emotional distress under New York law. We need not decide whether Stuto's claim would be barred by any of the exceptions to the FTCA because we agree with the district court that, in any event, the conduct at issue does not meet the stringent requirements for this tort under New York law. 28 Under the FTCA, the government may be held liable for tortious conduct of federal agencies or employees only if a private actor would have been found liable under the state law where the tortious conduct occurred. See 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b) (FTCA only comprises causes of action that are "in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred"). Accordingly, we look to New York state tort law to determine whether Stuto has stated a claim. 29 Under New York law, a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress requires a showing of (1) extreme and outrageous conduct; (2) intent to cause, or reckless disregard of a substantial probability of causing, severe emotional distress; (3) a causal connection between the conduct and the injury; and (4) severe emotional distress. See Howell v. New York Post Co., 81 N.Y.2d 115, 121, 596 N.Y.S.2d 350, 612 N.E.2d 699 (1993). " 'Liability has been found only where the conduct has been so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.' " Id. at 122, 596 N.Y.S.2d 350, 612 N.E.2d 699 (quoting Murphy v. American Home Prods. Corp., 58 N.Y.2d 293, 303, 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 448 N.E.2d 86 (1983)); Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 46 cmt. d (1965). Thus, 30 [i]t has not been enough that the defendant has acted with an intent which is tortious or even criminal, or that he has intended to inflict emotional distress, or even that his conduct has been characterized by 'malice,' or a degree of aggravation which would entitle the plaintiff to punitive damages for another tort. 31 Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 cmt. d (1965). Whether the conduct alleged may reasonably be regarded as so extreme and outrageous as to permit recovery is a matter for the court to determine in the first instance. See id. at § 46 cmt. h; see also Howell, 81 N.Y.2d at 121, 596 N.Y.S.2d 350, 612 N.E.2d 699. 32 As the district court noted, several New York courts have dismissed cases involving acts of coercion and misrepresentation related to employment or disability decisions on the ground that such conduct was not extreme and outrageous. For example, in Murphy, 58 N.Y.2d at 293, 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 448 N.E.2d 86, the plaintiff alleged that he was transferred and demoted for reporting fraud, coerced to leave by being told that he would never be allowed to advance, discharged and ordered to leave immediately after reporting other alleged in-house illegal conduct, and then forcibly and publicly escorted from the building by guards when he returned the next day to pick up his belongings. The Court of Appeals held that this conduct fell "far short" of the tort's "strict standard" for outrageous behavior. Id. at 303, 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 448 N.E.2d 86; see also Burlew v. American Mut. Ins. Co., 63 N.Y.2d 412, 415, 417-18, 482 N.Y.S.2d 720, 472 N.E.2d 682 (1984) (defendant's intentional five-month delay in authorizing needed surgery in connection with plaintiff's worker's compensation claim, statement to plaintiff that " 'You're crazy if you think we're going to support you for the rest of your life,' " and procurement of an affidavit from an employee stating that plaintiff's condition resulted from a pre-existing injury not sufficiently extreme or outrageous to state a claim); Howell, 81 N.Y.2d at 118-19, 126, 596 N.Y.S.2d 350, 612 N.E.2d 699 (newspaper's publication of photograph of plaintiff and Hedda Nussbaum taken at psychiatric hospital, obtained by photographer's trespass onto hospital grounds, and published despite hospital's entreaties to remove plaintiff from picture because only her immediate family knew she was there, not sufficiently outrageous); Foley v. Mobil Chem. Co., 214 A.D.2d 1003, 626 N.Y.S.2d 906, 908 (4th Dep't 1995); Ruggiero v. Contemporary Shells, Inc., 160 A.D.2d 986, 554 N.Y.S.2d 708, 708-09 (2d Dep't 1990); Luciano v. Handcock, 78 A.D.2d 943, 433 N.Y.S.2d 257, 258 (3d Dep't 1980). 33 Huzar v. New York, 156 Misc.2d 370, 590 N.Y.S.2d 1000 (N.Y.Ct.Cl.1992), is similar on its facts to the case at hand. There, a correction officer's disability claim was controverted by the Department of Correctional Services as a matter of routine policy, although the Workers' Compensation Board later determined that the plaintiff was disabled. The court found that the plaintiff had failed to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, notwithstanding his allegations that he was 34 threatened by the facility staff that I would be fired if I did not return to work, even though they knew that I had a legitimate job related disability that prevented me from working.... I was told that I would not be allowed to receive my Workers' Compensation benefits. I was told that if I continued to stay out of work, I would be taken off the payroll and lose all of my medical benefits. Calls were made to my home, demanding that I return to work, and if I was not home at the time the calls were made, my wife would be harassed with these calls, and would be questioned as to my whereabouts. 35 Id. at 1004. 36 As in Huzar, Stuto has failed to allege any conduct that is sufficiently "extreme and outrageous" to meet the stringent New York standard as enunciated in the foregoing cases. The crux of his complaint is that OWCP officials "intentionally, recklessly, and/or negligently ignored" dispositive medical evidence, "lied to Mr. Stuto, requested that he lie during his medical examinations, and used his financial need for disability benefits as a weapon to coerce him into acceding to their invalid demands that he return to work." We agree with the district court's observation that coercion is inherent in any decision by OWCP to require a recipient of disability benefits to go to work on the basis that the medical evidence indicates that he is capable of such work. As Stuto acknowledged in his complaint, the individual defendants had before them two medical reports stating that Stuto was capable of limited sedentary work, and OWCP had determined that the job offer at the Postal Service was suitable. Moreover, their disregard of Dr. Rogers's report, while certainly improper, was not sufficiently outrageous given the fact that Stuto could have introduced this report at an oral hearing or upon reconsideration, had he requested either. 37 Stuto points to several cases in which courts have sustained claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress. However, these cases all involved some combination of public humiliation, false accusations of criminal or heinous conduct, verbal abuse or harassment, physical threats, permanent loss of employment, or conduct contrary to public policy. See, e.g., Macey v. NYSEG, 80 A.D.2d 669, 436 N.Y.S.2d 389, 391-92 (3d Dep't 1981) (defendant electric company refused to restore plaintiff's electricity unless she legally separated from her husband); Sullivan v. Board of Educ., 131 A.D.2d 836, 517 N.Y.S.2d 197, 199, 200 (2d Dep't 1987) (defamation and threat of bringing falsified charges used to coerce resignation of tenured professor); Kaminski v. UPS, 120 A.D.2d 409, 501 N.Y.S.2d 871, 872, 873 (1st Dep't 1986) (false accusation of theft, false imprisonment, verbal abuse, and threat of prosecution resulted in coerced confession and resignation); Halperin v. Salvan, 117 A.D.2d 544, 499 N.Y.S.2d 55, 57-58 (1st Dep't 1986) (malicious prosecution; false accusations of criminal conduct); Bialik v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., 142 Misc.2d 926, 539 N.Y.S.2d 605, 606 (N.Y.Sup.1988) (plaintiff's complaint about unsafe working conditions resulted in improper disciplinary action against him, false accusation that he was responsible for accident that resulted in death of one woman, termination, discrimination after reinstatement, and second termination); Flamm v. Van Nierop, 56 Misc.2d 1059, 291 N.Y.S.2d 189, 190-91 (N.Y.Sup.1968) (recurring physical threats and harassing phone calls). 38 The conduct in these cases is readily distinguishable from that alleged by Stuto. The individual defendants here neither verbally abused, physically threatened, nor publicly humiliated Stuto; they neither falsely accused him of criminal or heinous misconduct, threatened him with prosecution, nor permanently deprived him of his benefits or employment. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's dismissal of Stuto's claim under the FTCA for intentional infliction of emotional distress. CONCLUSION 39 We hold that (1) Stuto failed to state a claim for denial of due process because adequate post-deprivation remedies existed to restore his benefits; and (2) Stuto failed to allege sufficiently "extreme or outrageous" conduct to state a claim under the FTCA for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The judgment of the district court dismissing Stuto's claims is affirmed. * The Honorable Milton I. Shadur, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, sitting by designation 1 Although this case was decided on the government's motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12, our consideration of this document is permissible because it was part of the termination order sent to Stuto and discussed in his complaint, and therefore was incorporated by reference. See Newman & Schwartz v. Asplundh Tree Expert Co., 102 F.3d 660, 662 (2d Cir.1996) (" 'In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim ... a district court must limit itself to facts stated in the complaint or in documents attached to the complaint as exhibits or incorporated in the complaint by reference.' " (quoting Kramer v. Time Warner, Inc., 937 F.2d 767, 773 (2d Cir.1991))); see also Cortec Indus., Inc. v. Sum Holding L.P., 949 F.2d 42, 48 (2d Cir.1991) (court can consider documents of which the plaintiffs had notice and which were integral to their claim in ruling on motion to dismiss even though those documents were not incorporated into the complaint by reference)

Contents of the READ.ME file The following files should be included in the Second Conflict Demo ZIP file: SCW.EXE the windows-executable game program SETUP.EXE windows-executable to set up an icon in the Program Manager Games Group STARCTL.DLL a support file SPINCTL.DLL " " " " SCW.GIF cover art for the retail SCW box - GIF format (not in CompuServe(tm) versions) SCW.HLP hypertext Windows Help file PRODIGY.TXT a review from PRODIGY(tm) and Computer Gaming World Unzip the files into a directory of your choice. From the Windows ProgramManager, select FILE/RUN. Type the path and name of the SETUP.EXE programprovided in this ZIPfile. SETUP will run and install an icon in the Program Manager Games group forthe Second Conflict Demo. If you are not using or have replaced the Windows Program Manager, all youneed to set up is the path for the SCW.EXE file. You should read the help topics UNITS, COMMANDS, and PLAYING THE GAME toget started. Of course, the most vital help topic is JOIN THE REVOLUTION!... If you are running DR-DOS 5.0, leave mail to Compuserve account 72750,567.

Bacillus subtilis spoVIF (yjcC) gene, involved in coat assembly and spore resistance. In systematic screening four sporulation-specific genes, yjcA, yjcB, yjcZ and yjcC, of unknown function were found in Bacillus subtilis. These genes are located just upstream of the cotVWXYZ gene cluster oriented in the opposite direction. Northern blot analysis showed that yjcA was transcribed by the SigE RNA polymerase beginning 2 h (t(2)) after the onset of sporulation, and yjcB, yjcZ and yjcC were transcribed by the SigK RNA polymerase beginning at t(4) of sporulation. The transcription of yjcZ was dependent on SigK and GerE. The consensus sequences of the appropriate sigma factors were found upstream of each gene. There were putative GerE-binding sites upstream of yjcZ. Insertional inactivation of the yjcC gene resulted in a reduction in resistance of the mutant spores to lysozyme and heat. Transmission electron microscopic examination of yjcC spores revealed a defect of sporulation at stage VI, resulting in loss of spore coats. These results suggest that YjcC is involved in assembly of spore coat proteins that have roles in lysozyme resistance. It is proposed that yjcC should be renamed as spoVIF.

Introduction {#sec1-1744806918777401} ============ Chemokines are a family of closely related chemoattractant cytokines which promote the recruitment and activation of various immune cells.^[@bibr1-1744806918777401]^ Based on the conserved cysteine motifs, chemokines are classified as cysteine (C), cysteine cysteine (CC), cysteine X cysteine (CXC), and cysteine X3 cysteines (CX3C) subsets. CXCL9 (also called monokine induced by gamma interferon, Mig), CXCL10 (also called interferon gamma-induced protein 10, IP-10), and CXCL11 (also called interferon-inducible T-cell alpha chemoattractant, I-TAC) have been identified as a same subfamily chemokine which bind to a G protein-coupled receptor, CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3).^[@bibr2-1744806918777401]^ In the peripheral tissues, these chemokines are secreted by lymphocytes, endothelial cells, and hematopoietic progenitor cells.^[@bibr3-1744806918777401]^ The receptor CXCR3 is also expressed in various cells, including natural killer cells, CD4^+^ and CD8^+^ T cells, monocytes, dendritic cells, and endothelial cells.^[@bibr4-1744806918777401][@bibr5-1744806918777401]--[@bibr6-1744806918777401]^ CXCR3 and its ligands have been demonstrated to play a pivotal role in the pathology of infections and autoimmune diseases.^[@bibr7-1744806918777401],[@bibr8-1744806918777401]^ Neuroinflammation resulting from the release of inflammatory mediators from glial cells and neurons in the central nervous system has been identified to be important in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain.^[@bibr9-1744806918777401]^ Several chemokines including CCL2, CXCL1, CXCL13, and CX3CL1 act on their respective receptors (CCR2, CXCR2, CXCR5, and CX3CR1) to mediate neuroinflammation in the spinal cord via different forms of neuron--glia interaction.^[@bibr10-1744806918777401][@bibr11-1744806918777401][@bibr12-1744806918777401]--[@bibr13-1744806918777401]^ For example, CX3CL1 and CXCL13 are expressed in spinal neurons and induce the activation of microglia and astrocytes via acting on the receptor CX3CR1 and CXCR5, respectively.^[@bibr10-1744806918777401],[@bibr12-1744806918777401]^ In addition, chemokines CCL2 and CXCL1 are expressed in spinal astrocytes and act on CCR2 and CXCR2 in spinal neurons to increase excitatory synaptic transmission.^[@bibr11-1744806918777401],[@bibr13-1744806918777401],[@bibr14-1744806918777401]^ The gain of excitatory synaptic transmission and loss of inhibitory synaptic transmission in dorsal horn neurons are critical mechanisms for pain sensitization.^[@bibr15-1744806918777401],[@bibr16-1744806918777401]^ CXCL10, which is a major ligand for CXCR3 and has a dominant role in most immune responses,^[@bibr17-1744806918777401]^ was recently found to be highly upregulated in spinal astrocytes after spinal nerve ligation (SNL) and enhanced excitatory synaptic transmission via neuronal CXCR3 to contribute to neuropathic pain.^[@bibr17-1744806918777401]^ The other two ligands of CXCR3, CXCL9 and CXCL11, which have distinct kinetics and tissue expression patterns during immunoinflammatory responses,^[@bibr18-1744806918777401][@bibr19-1744806918777401]--[@bibr20-1744806918777401]^ are less studied in neuropathic pain. In the present study, we investigated whether CXCL9 and CXCL11 contribute to neuropathic pain using the well-established SNL model. Similar to the increased expression of CXCL10,^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ the mRNA and protein expression for CXCL9 and CXCL11 were also markedly upregulated in the spinal dorsal horn after SNL. However, inhibition of spinal CXCL9 or CXCL11 did not affect SNL-induced pain hypersensitivity. Intrathecal injection of CXCL9 and CXCL11 in healthy mice did not induce the hyperalgesia behaviors either. Electrophysiological recording showed that CXCL9 and CXCL11 have different effect from CXCL10 on inhibitory synaptic transmission on lamina II neurons in the spinal dorsal horn. Materials and methods {#sec2-1744806918777401} ===================== Animals and surgery {#sec3-1744806918777401} ------------------- Adult ICR (male, 6--8 weeks) mice were purchased from the Experimental Animal Center of Nantong University. All animal procedures performed in this study were reviewed and approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Nantong University and performed in accordance with the guidelines of the International Association for the Study of Pain. SNL was performed as previously described.^[@bibr13-1744806918777401]^ For sham operations, the L5 spinal nerve was exposed but not ligated. Drugs and administration {#sec4-1744806918777401} ------------------------ Recombinant murine CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 were purchased from PeproTech. Intrathecal injection was made with a 30-G needle between the L5 and L6 intervertebral spaces to deliver the reagents of the CSF. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction {#sec5-1744806918777401} ------------------------------------------------ The total RNA of the spinal cord was extracted using Trizol reagent (Invitrogen). One microgram of total RNA was reverse-transcribed using an oligo primer according to the manufacturer's protocol (Takara). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis was performed in a real-time detection system (Rotor-Gene 6000, Qiagen) by SYBR green I dye detection (Takara). The detailed primer sequences for each gene (*Cxcl9*, *Cxcl10*, *Cxcl11*, and *Gapdh*) are listed in [Table 1](#table1-1744806918777401){ref-type="table"}. The PCR amplifications were performed at 95°C for 30 s, followed by 40 cycles of thermal cycling at 95°C for 5 s and 60°C for 45 s. *Gapdh* was used as an endogenous control to normalize differences. Melt curves were performed on completion of the cycles to ensure that nonspecific products were absent. Quantification was performed by normalizing Ct (cycle threshold) values with *Gapdh* Ct and analyzed with the 2^−△△^CT method. ###### Primer sets used in qPCR.  Gene Primer sequence Size --------------------------------- --------------------------------- -------- *Cxcl9* 5′-GGAGTTCGAGGAACCCTAGTG-3′ 82 bp 5′-GGGATTTGTAGTGGATCGTGC-3′ *Cxcl10* 5′-TGAATCCGGAATCTAAGACCATCAA-3′ 171 bp 5′-AGGACTAGCCATCCACTGGGTAAAG-3′ *Cxcl11* 5′-GGCTTCCTTATGTTCAAACAGGG-3′ 108 bp 5′-GCCGTTACTCGGGTAAATTACA-3′ *Gapdh* 5′-AAATGGTGAAGGTCGGTGTGAAC-3′ 90 bp 5′-CAACAATCTCCACTTTGCCACTG-3′ ELISA {#sec6-1744806918777401} ----- Mouse CXCL9 ELISA kit was purchased from R&D Systems. Animals were transcardially perfused with phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Spinal cord tissues were homogenized in a lysis buffer containing protease and phosphatase inhibitors (Sigma-Aldrich). For each reaction in a 96-well plate, 100 μg of proteins were used, and ELISA was performed according to the manufacturer's protocol. The standard curve was included in each experiment. Western blot {#sec7-1744806918777401} ------------ Protein samples were prepared in the same way as for ELISA analysis. Protein samples (30 μg) were separated on SDS--PAGE gel and transferred to nitrocellulose blots. The blots were blocked with 5% milk and incubated overnight at 4°C with antibody against CXCL11 (1:500, BioRad, China) and pERK (phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase; 1:500; Cell Signaling Technology). For loading control, the blots were incubated with GAPDH antibody (mouse, 1:20,000, Millipore). These blots were further incubated with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody, developed in ECL solution, and exposed onto Hyperfilm (Millipore). Specific bands were evaluated by apparent molecular size. The intensity of the selected bands was analyzed using ImageJ software (National Institutes of Health). Immunohistochemistry {#sec8-1744806918777401} -------------------- Animals were deeply anesthetized with isoflurane and perfused through the ascending aorta with PBS followed by 4% paraformaldehyde. After the perfusion, the L5 spinal cord segment was removed and post fixed in the same fixative overnight. Spinal cord sections (30 μm, free-floating) were cut in a cryostat and processed for immunofluorescence as previously described.^[@bibr22-1744806918777401]^ The sections were first blocked with 5% donkey serum for 2 h at room temperature, then incubated overnight at 4°C with the following primary antibodies: CXCL9 (Rabbit, 1:500, Bio-Rad), CXCL11 (Rabbit, 1:500, Bio-Rad), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP; mouse, 1:5000, Millipore), NeuN (mouse, 1:1000, Millipore), and CD11b (mouse, 1:100, Serotec). The sections were then incubated for 1 h at room temperature with Cy3-conjugated or fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated secondary antibodies (1:400, Jackson ImmunoResearch). For double immunofluorescence, sections were incubated with a mixture of different primary antibodies followed by a mixture of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated and Cy3-conjugated secondary antibodies. The specificity of CXCL9 and CXCL11 primary antibody was tested by preabsorption experiment. In brief, spinal cord sections were incubated with a mixture of CXCL9 or CXCL11 primary antibody and the corresponding blocking peptide (10 μg/ml; Bio-Rad) overnight, followed by secondary antibody incubation. The stained sections were examined with a Leica fluorescence microscope, and images were captured with a CCD Spot camera. Lentiviral vectors production and intraspinal injection {#sec9-1744806918777401} ------------------------------------------------------- The shRNAs targeting the sequence of mice CXCL9 (Gene Bank Accession: NM_008599.4), CXCL10 (NM_021274.2), or CXCL11 (NM_019494.1) were designed. An additional scrambled sequence was also designed as a negative control (NC). The recombinant lentivirus containing *Cxcl9* shRNA (LV-*Cxcl9* shRNA, 5′-TCG AGG AAC CCT AGT GAT A-3′), *Cxcl10* shRNA (LV-*Cxcl10* shRNA, 5′-GCT GCA ACT GCA TCC ATA T-3′), *Cxcl11* shRNA (LV-*Cxcl11* shRNA, 5′-TCT GTA ATT TAC CCG AGT A-3′), or NC shRNA (LV-NC, 5′-TTC TCC GAA CGT GTC ACG T-3′) was packaged using pGCSIL-GFP vector by Shanghai GeneChem. To test the knockdown effect, the *Cxcl9*-, *Cxcl10*-, or *Cxcl11*-expressing plasmid and the corresponding shRNA plasmid were transfected to HEK293 cells. Two days after transfection, the cells were harvested and subjected to quantitative RT-PCR. The intraspinal injection was performed as described previously.^[@bibr13-1744806918777401]^ In brief, animals were anesthetized and underwent hemilaminectomy at the L1-L2 vertebral segments. After exposure of the ipsilateral spinal cord, each mouse received two injections (0.4 μL, 0.8 mm apart and 0.5 mm deep) of the lentivirus along the L4-L5 dorsal root entry zone using a glass micropipette (diameter 60 μm). The tip of glass micropipette reached to the depth of lamina II-IV of the spinal cord. The dorsal muscle and skin were then sutured. Behavioral analysis {#sec10-1744806918777401} ------------------- Animals were habituated to the testing environment daily for 2 days before baseline testing. All the behavioral experiments were done by individuals blinded to the treatment of the mice. For heat hyperalgesia, the animals were put in a plastic box placed on a glass plate, and the plantar surface was exposed to a beam of radiant heat through a transparent glass surface (IITC model 390 Analgesia Meter, Life Science). The baseline latencies were adjusted to 10--14 s with a maximum of 20 s as cutoff to prevent potential injury.^[@bibr23-1744806918777401]^ For mechanical allodynia, the animals were put in boxes on an elevated metal mesh floor and allowed 30 min for habituation before examination. The plantar surface of the hindpaw was stimulated with a series of von Frey hairs with logarithmically incrementing stiffness (0.02--2.56 grams, Stoelting, Wood Dale, IL), presented perpendicular to the plantar surface. The 50% paw withdrawal threshold was determined using Dixon's up-down method. Spinal slice preparation {#sec11-1744806918777401} ------------------------ The lumbar spinal cord was carefully removed from mice (4--6 weeks) under urethane anesthesia (1.5--2 g/kg, i.p.) and placed in preoxygenated (saturated with 95% O~2~ and 5% CO~2~) ice-cold sucrose artificial CSF (aCSF) solution. The sucrose aCSF contains the following (in mM): 234 sucrose, 3.6 KCl, 1.2 MgCl~2~, 2.5 CaCl~2~, 1.2 NaH~2~PO~4~, 12 glucose, and 25 NaHCO~3~. The pia-arachnoid membrane was gently removed from the section. The portion of the lumbar spinal cord (L4--L5) was identified by the lumbar enlargement and large dorsal roots. The spinal segment was placed in a shallow groove formed in an agar block and then glued to the button stage of a VT1000S vibratome (Leica). Transverse slices (450 μm) were cut in the ice-cold sucrose aCSF, incubated in Krebs' solution oxygenated with 95% O~2~ and 5% CO~2~ at 34°C for 30 min, and then allowed to recover 1--2 h at room temperature before the experiment. The Krebs' solution contains the following (in mM): 117 NaCl, 3.6 KCl, 1.2 MgCl~2~, 2.5CaCl~2~, 1.2 NaH~2~PO4, 25 NaHCO~3~, and 11 glucose. Patch-clamp recordings in spinal cord slices {#sec12-1744806918777401} -------------------------------------------- The voltage-clamp recordings were made from neurons in outer lamina II of the dorsal horn. The slice was continuously superfused (3--5 ml/min) with Krebs' solution in room temperature, and saturated with 95% O~2~ and 5% CO~2~. Individual neurons were visualized under a stage-fixed upright infrared differential interference contrast microscope (BX51WI, Olympus) equipped with a 40 water-immersion objective. The patch pipettes were pulled using a Flaming micropipette puller (P-97, Sutter Instruments), and had initial resistance of 5--10 M when filled with the internal pipette solution contained the following (in mM): 135 potassium gluconate, 5 KCl, 0.5 CaCl~2~, 2 MgCl~2~, 5 EGTA, 5 HEPES, and 5 Na~2~ATP. Membrane voltage and current were amplified with a multiclamp 700B amplifier (Molecular Devices). Data were filtered at 2 kHz and digitized at 10 kHz using a data acquisition interface (1440A, Molecular Devices). A seal resistance (\>2 GΩ) and an access resistance (\<35 MΩ) were considered acceptable. The cell capacity transients were cancelled by the capacitive cancellation circuitry on the amplifier. After establishing the whole-cell configuration, the membrane potential was held at −70 mV for recording sEPSC and mEPSC and at 0 mV for sIPSC. Data were stored with a personal computer using pClamp10.0 software and analyzed with Mini Analysis (Synaptosoft 6.0). Those cells that showed \>10% changes from the baseline levels were regarded as responsive to the presence of drugs. Quantification and statistics {#sec13-1744806918777401} ----------------------------- All data were expressed as mean ± SEM. The behavioral data were analyzed by two-way repeated-measures (RM) ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's test as the post hoc multiple comparison analysis. For Western blot, the density of specific bands was measured with ImageJ. The levels of CXCL11 and pERK were normalized to loading control GAPDH. Student's *t* test was applied when only two groups needed to be compared. The criterion for statistical significance was p \< 0.05. Results {#sec14-1744806918777401} ======= CXCL9 expression is upregulated in spinal astrocytes after SNL {#sec15-1744806918777401} -------------------------------------------------------------- Previous report has shown that SNL induces persistent (\> 21 days) mechanical allodynia and heat hyperalgesia.^[@bibr13-1744806918777401]^ We examined the time course of *Cxcl9* expression in the spinal cord at days 1, 3, 10, and 21 after SNL. SNL induced persistent *Cxcl9* mRNA upregulation, which started at day 3, peaked at day 10, and was still elevated at day 21 (p \< 0.05 or 0.01, SNL vs. Sham, [Figure 1(a)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). CXCL9 protein level was also significantly increased 10 days after SNL (p \< 0.05, [Figure 1(b)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). Immunostaining revealed basal expression of CXCL9 in the dorsal horn in naive ([Figure 1(c)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) and sham mice (data not shown), but markedly increased in the dorsal horn 10 days after SNL ([Figure 1(d)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). In addition, preabsorption of CXCL9 antibody with the CXCL9 blocking peptide abolished the immunostaining signal in the spinal cord ([Figure 1(e)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). {#fig1-1744806918777401} To define the cellular localization of CXCL9 in the spinal cord, we further did double staining. At SNL day 10, CXCL9 was sparely colocalized with neuronal marker NeuN ([Figure 1(f)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) or microglial marker CD11b ([Figure 1(g)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}), but highly colocalized with astrocytic marker GFAP ([Figure 1(h)](#fig1-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). These results suggest that CXCL9 was increased in the dorsal horn and mainly expressed in astrocytes after SNL. CXCL11 is upregulated in spinal astrocytes after SNL {#sec16-1744806918777401} ---------------------------------------------------- We then examined the expression of CXCL11 in the spinal cord after SNL or sham operation. As shown in [Figure 2(a),](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}*Cxcl11* mRNA was markedly increased at day 1, day 3, peaked at day 10, and was still upregulated at day 21 in SNL mice compared to sham-operated mice (p \< 0.01 or 0.001, SNL vs. Sham). To detect the protein level of CXCL11, we used Western blot instead of ELISA, as the ELISA kit for CXCL11 was not commercially available. As shown in [Figure 2(b),](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}CXCL11 protein was also significantly increased 10 days after SNL (p \< 0.05). Immunostaining revealed low expression of CXCL11 in the dorsal horn in naive ([Figure 2(c)](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) and sham-operated mice (data not shown), but increased expression in the dorsal horn 10 days after SNL ([Figure 2(d)](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). In addition, CXCL11 blocking peptide abolished the immunostaining signal of CXCL11 antibody in the spinal cord ([Figure 2(e)](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). {#fig2-1744806918777401} We then examined the distribution of CXCL11 in the spinal horn by double staining. Similar as CXCL9, CXCL11 was not colocalized with NeuN ([Figure 2(f)](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) or CD11b ([Figure 2(g)](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}), but highly colocalized with GFAP ([Figure 2(h)](#fig2-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). These results suggest that CXCL11 was markedly increased in spinal astrocytes after SNL. Inhibition of spinal CXCL9 or CXCL11 does not alleviate SNL-induced neuropathic pain {#sec17-1744806918777401} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To examine whether CXCL9 and CXCL11 are involved in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain, we prepared the recombinant lentivirus containing shRNA targeting *Cxcl9*, *Cxcl11*, or *Cxcl10*. In vitro experiment showed that all the three shRNA effectively reduced the expression of the corresponding chemokine (p \< 0.05, [Figure 3(a) to (c)](#fig3-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). The lentivirus was intraspinally injected three days after SNL. As shown in [Figure 3(d) to (e)](#fig3-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}, intraspinal injection of LV-*Cxcl9* shRNA or LV-*Cxcl11* shRNA did not affect the paw withdrawal latency ([Figure 3(d)](#fig3-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) or threshold (p \> 0.05, two-way RM ANOVA, [Figure 3(e)](#fig3-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) at days 10 and 14 after SNL. In comparison, LV-*Cxcl10* shRNA markedly attenuated SNL-induced heat hyperalgesia (p \< 0.001, two-way RM ANOVA, [Figure 3(f)](#fig3-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) and mechanical allodynia (p \< 0.01, two-way RM ANOVA, [Figure 3(g)](#fig3-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) at days 10 and 14. These data suggest that CXCL9 and CXCL11 are not necessary for the maintenance of neuropathic pain. {#fig3-1744806918777401} CXCL9 or CXCL11 does not induce pain hypersensitivity or ERK activation in the spinal cord {#sec18-1744806918777401} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Previous studies have shown that intrathecal injection of chemokines, including CCL2, CXCL1, CXCL10, and CXCL13, induce robust pain hypersensitivity.^[@bibr11-1744806918777401][@bibr12-1744806918777401]--[@bibr13-1744806918777401],[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ We intrathecally injected the same dose of CXCL9 (100 ng) or CXCL11 (100 ng) and checked heat hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. The data showed that neither CXCL9 nor CXCL11 changed the paw withdrawal latency (p \> 0.05, two-way RM ANOVA, [Figure 4(a)](#fig4-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}) or paw withdrawal threshold in 6 h we tested (p \> 0.05, two-way RM ANOVA, [Figure 4(b)](#fig4-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). We also injected much higher dose (200 ng) of CXCL9 or CXCL11, but the latency and threshold were not affected either (data not shown). In contrast, CXCL10 at 100 ng induced hyperalgesia at 1 h, 3 h, and 6 h (p \< 0.001, two-way RM ANOVA, [Figure 4(c)](#fig4-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). CXCL10 also induced mechanical allodynia in 3 h (p \< 0.001, two-way RM ANOVA, [Figure 4(d)](#fig4-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). {#fig4-1744806918777401} Activation of ERK in spinal horn neurons could serve as a marker for central sensitization.^[@bibr24-1744806918777401]^ CXCL10 induces pain hypersensitivity and ERK activation in the spinal cord.^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ To examine the activation of ERK after injection of CXCL9 or CXCL11, we then checked pERK expression in the spinal cord by Western blot. As shown in [Figure 4(e)](#fig4-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}, the pERK expression was not significantly changed 1 h after CXCL9 or CXCL11 injection ([Figure 4(e)](#fig4-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). These results suggest that CXCL9 and CXCL11 are not sufficient to induce pain hypersensitivity and central sensitization in naïve mice. CXCL9 and CXCL11 increase the frequency of sEPSCs and mEPSCs in naïve mice {#sec19-1744806918777401} -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since CXCL10 increases the excitatory synaptic transmission in lamina II neurons via CXCR3,^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ we asked whether CXCL9 and CXCL11 regulate synaptic transmission. We prepared spinal cord slices and performed whole cell patch-clamp recordings in spinal horn neurons in naive mice. We first recorded sEPSCs in lamina II neurons. Superfusion of CXCL9 (100 ng/ml) significantly increased the frequency of sEPSCs in 15 of 22 neurons (68.2%) recorded from naive mice ([Figure 5(a)](#fig5-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). However, the amplitude of sEPSCs was not changed ([Figure 5(a)](#fig5-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). The same concentration of CXCL11 also induced a similar increase of the frequency of sEPSCs in 13 of 19 neurons (68.4%), but did not affect the amplitude ([Figure 5(b)](#fig5-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). {#fig5-1744806918777401} We further checked the influence of CXCL9 and CXCL11 on mESPCs in lamina II neurons, and 500 nM TTX was added in the aCSF. As shown in [Figure 5(c)](#fig5-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}, superfusion of CXCL9 (100 ng/ml) significantly increased the frequency of mEPSCs in 8 of 10 neurons (80%) recorded from naive mice (p \< 0.05, Student's *t* test), but did not change the amplitude. Superfusion of CXCL11 (100 ng/ml) also significantly increased the frequency, but not amplitude of mEPSCs in 7 of 8 neurons (87.5%) recorded in experiments (p \< 0.05, Student's *t* test, [Figure 5(d)](#fig5-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). CXCL9 and CXCL11 increase the frequency of sIPSC in naïve mice {#sec20-1744806918777401} -------------------------------------------------------------- Spinal disinhibition, such as loss of GABAergic inhibition, is thought to be one of the essential mechanisms of neuropathic pain.^[@bibr16-1744806918777401]^ Previous study showed that proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β not only increases the excitatory synaptic transmission but also decreases inhibitory synaptic transmission in the spinal cord.^[@bibr25-1744806918777401]^ To investigate the effect of CXCL9 and CXCL11 on the inhibitory synaptic transmission, we examined the sIPSCs in lamina II neurons. As shown in [Figure 6(a)](#fig6-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}, the frequency, but not the amplitude of sIPSCs, was markedly increased by CXCL9 in 91.7% (11/12) recorded neurons (p \< 0.05, Student's *t* test). Additionally, CXCL11 also increased frequency of the sIPSCs in 81.8% (9/11) recorded neurons (p \< 0.001, Student's *t* test, [Figure 6(b)](#fig6-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). As a comparison, CXCL10 (100 ng/ml) did not significantly change the frequency or the amplitude of sIPSCs in 10 recorded neurons (p \> 0.05, Student's *t* test, [Figure 6(c)](#fig6-1744806918777401){ref-type="fig"}). These results suggest that CXCL9 and CXCL11 enhance the frequency of both sEPSCs and sIPSCs, but CXCL10 did not change the inhibitory synaptic transmission in spinal horn neurons. {#fig6-1744806918777401} Discussion {#sec21-1744806918777401} ========== In this study, we show that CXCR3 ligands, CXCL9 and CXCL11, similar as CXCL10, were upregulated in spinal astrocytes after SNL. However, CXCL9 and CXCL11 play different roles from CXCL10 in mediating neuropathic pain. Inhibition of CXCL9 or CXCL11 did not attenuate neuropathic pain, whereas inhibition of CXCL10 markedly alleviated SNL-induced heat hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. Furthermore, intrathecal injection of CXCL9 and CXCL11 did not induce pain hypersensitivity, but CXCL10 did. Consistently, spinal ERK was not activated after injection of CXCL9 and CXCL11. Our electrophysiological recording results further demonstrated that CXCL9 and CXCL11 enhanced both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission, but CXCL10 only enhanced excitatory synaptic transmission in dorsal horn neurons. The chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 as the non-ELR CXC chemokine subgroup are strongly induced by infection, allograft rejection, injury, or immunoinflammatory responses.^[@bibr26-1744806918777401]^ Previous studies have reported that these chemokines are detectable in peripheral blood leukocytes, liver, thymus, spleen, lung, and are also expressed in astrocytes and microglia in central nervous system.^[@bibr4-1744806918777401],[@bibr27-1744806918777401],[@bibr28-1744806918777401]^ Here, we observed that, after SNL, the expression of spinal CXCL9 and CXCL11 were both markedly upregulated, but CXCL11 is upregulated earlier than CXCL9 or other chemokines including CXCL10,^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ CXCL1,^[@bibr13-1744806918777401]^ and CCL2^11^ in mice after SNL. In addition, CXCL9 was constitutively expressed in both neurons and glial cells, but only increased in astrocytes after SNL, whereas CXCL11 was expressed and increased in astrocytes. Our previous study showed that CXCL10 was expressed mainly in neurons in naïve mice, and markedly upregulated in astrocytes in SNL mice.^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ It was reported that CXCL10 and CXCL11 are also predominantly expressed by astrocytes in the spinal cord of animals with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.^[@bibr29-1744806918777401],[@bibr30-1744806918777401]^ Miu et al.^[@bibr31-1744806918777401]^ detected CXCL9 expression in microglia and CXCL10 expression in astrocytes in brain by in situ hybridization, suggesting different cellular distribution in different areas. CXCR3 has been demonstrated to play a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of chronic pain.^[@bibr21-1744806918777401],[@bibr32-1744806918777401]^ *Cxcr3* deficient mice showed reduced hyperalgesia and allodynia after SNL. In addition, inhibition of CXCR3 by specific inhibitor or shRNA attenuated SNL-induced pain hypersensitivity.^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ Previous studies showed that inhibition of spinal chemokines including CCL2, CXCL1, and CXCL13 alleviated neuropathic pain.^[@bibr11-1744806918777401][@bibr12-1744806918777401]--[@bibr13-1744806918777401]^ Here, inhibition of CXCL10 by shRNA attenuated SNL-induced heat hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia, whereas inhibition of CXCL9 or CXCL11 by the same amount of shRNA did not show any effect. These data suggest that CXCL10, but not CXCL9 or CXCL11, is the major receptor for the activation of CXCR3. Behavioral studies also showed that intrathecal injection of CXCL10 induced thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity, whereas CXCL9 and CXCL11 did not induce a similar hyperalgesia or allodynia. In addition, ERK activation in dorsal horn neurons contributes importantly to the induction of central sensitization.^[@bibr33-1744806918777401],[@bibr34-1744806918777401]^ However, CXCL9 or CXCL11 application to the spinal cord did not induce the up-regulation of pERK, which is different from the effect of CXCL10,^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ suggesting that CXCL9 and CXCL11 are not sufficient to induce central sensitization and pain hypersensitivity. Hyperactivity of excitatory synaptic transmission is one of the essential mechanisms for the induction of central sensitization.^[@bibr35-1744806918777401]^ Previous studies have demonstrated that persistent perfusion with chemokines including CXCL10,^[@bibr21-1744806918777401]^ CXCL1,^[@bibr36-1744806918777401]^ and CCL2^11^ induce a significant enhancement of excitatory synaptic transmission in the spinal cord. Consistent with this phenomenon, we also found that the excitatory synaptic transmission in lamina II neurons was markedly increased during CXCL9 or CXCL11 treatment. The γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or glycine inhibit the synaptic transmission of noxious sensory signals in the spinal cord and previous studies have demonstrated that spinal GABAergic inhibition on synaptic transmission is reduced during neuropathic pain.^[@bibr16-1744806918777401]^ However, the frequency of inhibitory synaptic transmission from spinal cord was increased during CXCL9 or CXCL11 perfusion. The enhancement of frequency of sIPSCs in the spinal cord by CXCL9 and CXCL11 may antagonize the increase of glutamatergic synapses sensitization, thus no pain hypersensitivity was shown after intrathecal injection. The detailed mechanisms under these changes need further investigations in the future. Previous studies have implicated that CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 may work redundantly, collaboratively, or antagonistically.^[@bibr26-1744806918777401]^ Although all of them can bind and activate CXCR3, distinct intracellular domains are required: CXCL9 and CXCL10 require the carboxy-terminal domain and beta-arrestin-1 binding domain, whereas CXCL11 requires the third intracellular loop,^[@bibr37-1744806918777401]^ which may cause difference in the downstream responses. In addition, for all three ligands, the affinity to CXCR3 is different. In vitro studies showed that CXCL11 has the highest affinity binding to CXCR3, followed by CXCL10 having intermediate affinity and then CXCL9 having the lowest affinity.^[@bibr4-1744806918777401],[@bibr38-1744806918777401],[@bibr39-1744806918777401]^ Furthermore, CXCR3 may not be the only receptor of these chemokines. For example, CXCL11 also bind CXCR7.^[@bibr40-1744806918777401]^ Whether these differences among the three ligands contribute to the different role of CXCL9/CXCL11 and CXCL10 in pain hypersensitivity needs to be further investigated. In summary, our results demonstrate the distinct roles of chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in pain hypersensitivity. Although CXCL9 and CXCL11 are upregulated after nerve injury, they may not contribute to the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. CXCL9 and CXCL11 also showed different role from CXCL10 in mediating inhibitory synaptic transmissions. These data suggest that CXCL9 and CXCL11 may not be the effective targets in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Authors' Contribution {#sec22-1744806918777401} ===================== XBW carried out electrophysiological recording experiments, LNH performed the animal surgery, behavioral testing, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot experiments. BCJ, HS, XQB, and WWZ performed the PCR, immunohistochemistry, and behavioral experiments. YJG conceived of the project, coordinated and supervised the experiments. XBW and YJG wrote the manuscript. Declaration of Conflicting Interests {#sec23-1744806918777401} ==================================== The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding {#sec24-1744806918777401} ======= The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31671091 and 81771197), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20171255), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

IRISH FILM MAKER HAS SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT STRICT ALLEGIANCE TO PALESTINIAN CAUSE……… Couple the clampdown on free speech in which only the views from one side of the debate are ever heard, and the complete brainwashing of society with that one sided view, and you’ll have an Ireland completely at odds with Jewish self determination and the right to defend itself. Here’s a film maker who has chosen to walk a lonely path in Ireland’s artist community, due to his awakening to the truth behind the Arabs’ conflict with Israel, which speaks greatly of his courage and moral compass. He’s been confronted with a reality that runs counter to the one carefully prepared for him by his peers and society at large. Nicky Larkin not only challenges himself, but his countrymen as well, by sharing this completely different Irish perspective on the conflict. It’s a perspective rarely discussed in Ireland, let alone mulled over, which speaks greatly of the vice-grip hold anti-Israel forces have on that society. Larkin’s efforts offer a ray of hope that rational and reasonable debate on the conflict is indeed possible in Ireland, lets hope that his colleagues take up the challenge. H/T: Challah Hu Akhbar Nicky Larkin: Israel is a refuge, but a refuge under siege Through making a film about the Israeli-Arab conflict, artist Nicky Larkin found his allegiances swaying I used to hate Israel. I used to think the Left was always right. Not any more. Now I loathe Palestinian terrorists. Now I see why Israel has to be hard. Now I see the Left can be Right — as in right-wing. So why did I change my mind so completely? Strangely, it began with my anger at Israel’s incursion into Gaza in December 2008 which left over 1,200 Palestinians dead, compared to only 13 Israelis. I was so angered by this massacre I posed in the striped scarf of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation for an art show catalogue. Shortly after posing in that PLO scarf, I applied for funding from the Irish Arts Council to make a film in Israel and Palestine. I wanted to talk to these soldiers, to challenge their actions — and challenge the Israeli citizens who supported them. I spent seven weeks in the area, dividing my time evenly between Israel and the West Bank. I started in Israel. The locals were suspicious. We were Irish — from a country which is one of Israel’s chief critics — and we were filmmakers. We were the enemy. Then I crossed over into the West Bank. Suddenly, being Irish wasn’t a problem. Provo graffiti adorned The Wall. Bethlehem was Las Vegas for Jesus-freaks — neon crucifixes punctuated by posters of martyrs. These martyrs followed us throughout the West Bank. They watched from lamp-posts and walls wherever we went. Like Jesus in the old Sacred Heart pictures. But the more I felt the martyrs watching me, the more confused I became. After all, the Palestinian mantra was one of “non-violent resistance”. It was their motto, repeated over and over like responses at a Catholic mass. Yet when I interviewed Hind Khoury, a former Palestinian government member, she sat forward angrily in her chair as she refused to condemn the actions of the suicide bombers. She was all aggression. This aggression continued in Hebron, where I witnessed swastikas on a wall. As I set up my camera, an Israeli soldier shouted down from his rooftop position. A few months previously I might have ignored him as my political enemy. But now I stopped to talk. He only talked about Taybeh, the local Palestinian beer. Back in Tel Aviv in the summer of 2011, I began to listen more closely to the Israeli side. I remember one conversation in Shenkin Street — Tel Aviv’s most fashionable quarter, a street where everybody looks as if they went to art college. I was outside a cafe interviewing a former soldier. He talked slowly about his time in Gaza. He spoke about 20 Arab teenagers filled with ecstasy tablets and sent running towards the base he’d patrolled. Each strapped with a bomb and carrying a hand-held detonator. The pills in their bloodstream meant they felt no pain. Only a headshot would take them down. Conversations like this are normal in Tel Aviv. I began to experience the sense of isolation Israelis feel. An isolation that began in the ghettos of Europe and ended in Auschwitz. Israel is a refuge — but a refuge under siege, a refuge where rockets rain death from the skies. And as I made the effort to empathise, to look at the world through their eyes. I began a new intellectual journey. One that would not be welcome back home. The problem began when I resolved to come back with a film that showed both sides of the coin. Actually there are many more than two. Which is why my film is called Forty Shades of Grey. But only one side was wanted back in Dublin. My peers expected me to come back with an attack on Israel. No grey areas were acceptable. An Irish artist is supposed to sign boycotts, wear a PLO scarf, and remonstrate loudly about The Occupation. But it’s not just artists who are supposed to hate Israel. Being anti-Israel is supposed to be part of our Irish identity, the same way we are supposed to resent the English. But hating Israel is not part of my personal national identity. Neither is hating the English. I hold an Irish passport, but nowhere upon this document does it say I am a republican, or a Palestinian. My Irish passport says I was born in 1983 in Offaly. The Northern Troubles were something Anne Doyle talked to my parents about on the nine o’clock News. I just wanted to watch Father Ted. So I was frustrated to see Provo graffiti on the wall in the West Bank. I felt the same frustration emerge when I noticed the missing ‘E’ in a “Free Palestin” graffiti on a wall in Cork. I am also frustrated by the anti-Israel activists’ attitude to freedom of speech. Free speech must work both ways. But back in Dublin, whenever I speak up for Israel, the Fiachras and Fionas look at me aghast, as if I’d pissed on their paninis. This one-way freedom of speech spurs false information. The Boycott Israel brigade is a prime example. They pressurised Irish supermarkets to remove all Israeli produce from their shelves — a move that directly affected the Palestinian farmers who produce most of their fruit and vegetables under the Israeli brand. But worst of all, this boycott mentality is affecting artists. In August 2010, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign got 216 Irish artists to sign a pledge undertaking to boycott the Israeli state. As an artist I have friends on this list — or at least I had. I would like to challenge my friends about their support for this boycott. What do these armchair sermonisers know about Israel? Could they name three Israeli cities, or the main Israeli industries? But I have more important questions for Irish artists. What happened to the notion of the artist as a free thinking individual? Why have Irish artists surrendered to group-think on Israel? Could it be due to something as crude as career-advancement? Artistic leadership comes from the top. Aosdana, Ireland’s State-sponsored affiliation of creative artists, has also signed the boycott. Aosdana is a big player. Its members populate Arts Council funding panels. Some artists could assume that if their name is on the same boycott sheet as the people assessing their applications, it can hardly hurt their chances. No doubt Aosdana would dispute this assumption. But the perception of a preconceived position on Israel is hard to avoid. Looking back now over all I have learnt, I wonder if the problem is a lot simpler. Perhaps our problem is not with Israel, but with our own over-stretched sense of importance — a sense of moral superiority disproportional to the importance of our little country? Any artist worth his or her salt should be ready to change their mind on receipt of fresh information. So I would urge every one of those 216 Irish artists who pledged to boycott the Israeli state to spend some time in Israel and Palestine. Maybe when you come home you will bin your scarf. I did. Kudos. It is so good to see people start waking up. I know that there are many Irish and others who are just decieved and don’t see the reality. Islam is out to destroy our culture. This war with Islam must remain a war of words. I think that we can win it, but it will be a slow process. Israel, for all of her faults is still a small island of light in a dark world. Thank you for your open mind. IRA was long time one active member of worldwide terrorism with arabs and leftists. Not to forget their sympathies with nazis in 40’s. In other words Irish people have had a strong label in anti-west activities. Demonizing Israel & jews is unfortunately logical, unfair behaviour from large groups of them. I hope there will arise more brave truthspeakers like Larkin to clean the reputation of this nation. There’s no utopian solution for guiding human communities. Daniel Greenfield explains Islam 101: "Every devout Muslim is an "Islamist". Islam is not a personal religion. It is a religion of the public space. A "moderate" Muslim would have to reject Islam as a religion of the public space, as theocracy, and that secularism would be a rejection of Islam. Nothing in Islam exists apart from anything else. While liberals view culture and religion as a buffet that they can pick and choose from, it is a single integrated system. If you accept one part, you must accept the whole. Once you accept any aspect of Islam, you must accept its legal system and once you accept that, you must accept its governance and once you accept that, you lose your rights.'' BLOGGING FROM FINLAND The UN, ''a crooked court with jury hanging judges'' It's the international Jim Crow of our times. Israel can expect the same kind of ‘justice” from the UN, that a Black African American could expect in the formerly segregated southern states of the US.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a new and improved low thermal skew optic cable covered with successive layers of materials in such manner that heat or cold from a localized source is distributed relatively uniformly throughout the fiber optic cable. 2. Description of Related Art The use of fiber optic cables as carriers for electronic signals is well known Frequently such fiber optic cables are coated with a plastic jacket which not only provides thermal insulation but functions as a slick surface to make it easier to pull a cable through a conduits, etc. The use of metallic braid and the use of a metallized polymer film under the braid are likewise well known in industry, for example, in coaxial cables.

#!/usr/bin/env python3 import sys import socket import selectors import types sel = selectors.DefaultSelector() messages = [b"Message 1 from client.", b"Message 2 from client."] def start_connections(host, port, num_conns): server_addr = (host, port) for i in range(0, num_conns): connid = i + 1 print("starting connection", connid, "to", server_addr) sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM) sock.setblocking(False) sock.connect_ex(server_addr) events = selectors.EVENT_READ | selectors.EVENT_WRITE data = types.SimpleNamespace( connid=connid, msg_total=sum(len(m) for m in messages), recv_total=0, messages=list(messages), outb=b"", ) sel.register(sock, events, data=data) def service_connection(key, mask): sock = key.fileobj data = key.data if mask & selectors.EVENT_READ: recv_data = sock.recv(1024) # Should be ready to read if recv_data: print("received", repr(recv_data), "from connection", data.connid) data.recv_total += len(recv_data) if not recv_data or data.recv_total == data.msg_total: print("closing connection", data.connid) sel.unregister(sock) sock.close() if mask & selectors.EVENT_WRITE: if not data.outb and data.messages: data.outb = data.messages.pop(0) if data.outb: print("sending", repr(data.outb), "to connection", data.connid) sent = sock.send(data.outb) # Should be ready to write data.outb = data.outb[sent:] if len(sys.argv) != 4: print("usage:", sys.argv[0], "<host> <port> <num_connections>") sys.exit(1) host, port, num_conns = sys.argv[1:4] start_connections(host, int(port), int(num_conns)) try: while True: events = sel.select(timeout=1) if events: for key, mask in events: service_connection(key, mask) # Check for a socket being monitored to continue. if not sel.get_map(): break except KeyboardInterrupt: print("caught keyboard interrupt, exiting") finally: sel.close()

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This means that I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase something when clicking on the links that take you through to a different website. By clicking on the links, you are in no way obligated to buy. Medical Disclaimer: Statements in any video or written content on this site have not been evaluated by the FDA. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medications, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product. Representations regarding the efficacy and safety of CBD oil have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA only evaluates foods and drugs, not supplements like these products. These products are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease. The material on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your physician before beginning any supplement program.

E-text prepared by Melissa McDaniel, Matthias Grammel, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 46762-h.htm or 46762-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/46762/46762-h/46762-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/46762/46762-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/bessieherfriends00math BESSIE AND HER FRIENDS * * * * * * _BOOKS BY JOANNA H. MATHEWS._ I. THE BESSIE BOOKS. 6 vols. In a box. $7.50. II. THE FLOWERETS. A SERIES OF STORIES ON THE COMMANDMENTS. 6 vols. In a box. $3.60. III. LITTLE SUNBEAMS. 6 vols. In a box. $6.00. IV. KITTY AND LULU BOOKS. 6 vols. In a box. $6.00. V. MISS ASHTON'S GIRLS. 6 vols. In a neat box. $7.50. VI. HAPS AND MISHAPS. 6 vols. $7.50. _BY JULIA A. MATHEWS._ I. DARE TO DO RIGHT SERIES. 5 vols. In a box. $5.50. II. DRAYTON HALL STORIES. Illustrative of the Beatitudes. 6 vols. In a box. $4.50. III. THE GOLDEN LADDER SERIES. Stories illustrative of the Lord's Prayer. 6 vols. $3.00. ROBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS, _New York_. * * * * * * [Illustration: Bessie's Friends. FRONTIS.] [Illustration: Decoration] BESSIE AND HER FRIENDS. by JOANNA H. MATHEWS, Author of "Bessie at the Seaside," "Bessie in the City," &c. "_Speak not evil one of another._" "_Bear ye one another's burdens._" New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 530 Broadway. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by Robert Carter and Brothers, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. To _MY SISTER BELLA_, WHOSE LOVING CONSIDERATION _Has lightened the "burden" of many an otherwise weary hour_. _CONTENTS._ PAGE _I. Jennie's Home_ 7 _II. The Police-Sergeant's Story_ 30 _III. Little Pitchers_ 48 _IV. Papa's Story_ 64 _V. Light through the Clouds_ 95 _VI. Uncle Ruthven_ 117 _VII. An Unexpected Visitor_ 143 _VIII. Franky_ 167 _IX. Bear ye One Another's Burdens_ 181 _X. Two Surprises_ 200 _XI. Blind Willie_ 224 _XII. Maggie's Book_ 241 _XIII. Disappointment_ 269 _XIV. Aunt Patty_ 294 _XV. Willie's Visit_ 314 _XVI. Willie's Recovery_ 336 [Illustration: Beginning of book] _BESSIE AND HER FRIENDS_. I. _JENNIE'S HOME._ "Morher," said little Jennie Richards, "isn't it 'most time for farher to be home?" "Almost time, Jennie," answered Mrs. Richards, looking up from the face of the baby upon her lap to the clock upon the mantel-piece. A very pale, tiny face it was; so tiny that Sergeant Richards used to say he had to look twice to be sure there was any face there; and that of the mother which bent above it was almost as pale,--sick, anxious, and worn; but it brightened, as she answered Jennie. "It is five minutes before six; he will be here very soon now." Away ran Jennie to the corner, where stood a cane-seated rocking-chair, and after a good deal of pushing and pulling, succeeded in drawing it up in front of the stove; then to a closet, from which she brought a pair of carpet slippers, which were placed before the chair. "I wish I was big enough to reach farher's coat and put it over his chair, like you used to, morher." "That will come by and by, Jennie." "But long before I am so big, you'll be quite well, morher." "I hope so, dear, if God pleases. It's a long, long while to sit here helpless, able to do nothing but tend poor baby, and see my dear little daughter at the work her mother ought to do." "Oh, morher, just as if I did not like to work! I don't like 'e reason why I have to do it, but it's right nice to work for you and farher. And I wouldn't like to be lazy, so I hope I will always have plenty to do." "Dear child," said Mrs. Richards, with a sigh, "you're like enough to see that wish granted." "'At's good," said Jennie, cheerfully, taking her mother's words in quite a different spirit from that in which they were spoken; "it's so nice to be busy." And indeed it would appear that this small maiden--small even for her six years--did think so; for as she talked she was trotting about the room, busying herself with arranging half a dozen trifles, which her quick eye spied out, and which, according to her way of thinking, were not just in proper order. First, the hearth, on which no spot or speck was to be seen, must be brushed up anew; next, the corner of the table-cloth was to be twitched into place, and a knife laid more exactly into straight line; then a ball, belonging to one of the younger children, was picked up and put in the toy-basket, with the reminder to little Tommy that father was coming, and the room must be kept in good order. One would have thought it was already as neat as hands could make it. Plain enough it was, certainly, but thoroughly comfortable. The carpet, though somewhat worn, and pieced in more than one place, was well swept and tidy, and the stove and the kettle which sang merrily upon its top were polished till they shone. The table in the centre of the room was ready set for tea, and, though it held no silver or cut glass, the most dainty lady or gentleman in the land need not have hesitated to take a meal from its white cloth and spotless delf ware. The only pieces of furniture which looked as if they had ever cost much were a large mahogany table with carved feet, which stood between the windows, and a bookcase of the same wood at the side of the fireplace; but both of these were old-fashioned, and although they might be worth much to their owners, would have brought little if offered for sale. Not a speck of dust, however, was to be seen upon them or the rest of the furniture, which was of stained pine; while at the side of Mrs. Richards' arm-chair stood the baby's wicker cradle, covered with a gay patchwork spread. And that tiny quilt was the pride and delight of Jennie's heart; for had she not put it all together with her own small fingers? after which, good Mrs. Granby, who lived up-stairs, had quilted and lined it for her. On the other side of the mother, sat, in a low chair, a boy about nine years old. His hands were folded helplessly together, and his pale face wore a sad, patient, waiting look, as if something were coming upon him which he knew he must bear without a struggle. One looking closer into his eyes might notice a dull film overspreading them, for Willie Richards was nearly blind, would be quite blind in a few weeks, the doctors said. Between Jennie and the baby came three little boys, sturdy, healthy children, always clamoring for bread and butter, and frequent calls for bread and butter were becoming a serious matter in the policeman's household; for provisions were high, and it was not as easy to feed eight mouths as it had been to feed four. This year, too, there had been severe sickness in the family, bringing great expenses with it, and how the wants of the coming winter were to be provided for, Sergeant Richards could hardly tell. With the early spring had come scarlet fever. The younger children had gone through it lightly, Jennie escaping altogether; but poor Willie had been nigh to death, and the terrible disease had left its mark in the blindness which was creeping upon him. Then, watching her boy at night, Mrs. Richards had taken cold which had settled in her limbs, and all through the summer months she had lain helpless, unable even to lift her hand. And what a faithful little nurse Jennie had been to her! Then two months ago the baby sister was born, whose coming Jennie had hailed with such delight, but whose short life had so far been all pain and suffering. The mother was better now, able to sit all day in the cushioned chair, where the strong arms of her husband would place her in the morning. But there she remained a prisoner, unable to move a step or even to stand, though she could so far use her hands as to tend her baby. But Mrs. Richards had not felt quite discouraged until to-day. Now a fresh trouble had come, and she felt as if it were the last drop in the cup already too full. The children knew nothing of this, however, and if mother's face was sadder than usual, they thought it was the old racking pain in her bones. The three little boys were at the window, their chubby faces pressed against the glass, peering out into the darkness for the first glimpse of father. His duty had kept him from home all day, and wife and children were more than usually impatient for his coming. It was a small, two-story, wooden house, standing back from the street, with a courtyard in front, in the corner of which grew an old butternut tree. It bore but few nuts in these latter days, to be sure, but it gave a fine shade in the summer, and the young occupants of the house took great pride and comfort in it. The branches were almost bare now, however, and the wind, which now and then came sighing up the street, would strip off some of the leaves which still remained, and scatter them over the porch or fling them against the window. "You couldn't do wi'out me very well; could you, morher?" said Jennie, as she straightened the corner of the rug, "even if good Mrs. Granby does come and do all the washing and hard work." "Indeed, I could not," answered Mrs. Richards. "My Jennie has been hands and feet to her mother for the last six months." "And now she's eyes to Willie," said the blind boy. "And eyes to Willie," repeated his mother, tenderly laying her hand on his head. "And tongue to Tommy," added Willie, with a smile. Jennie laughed merrily; but as she was about to answer, the click of the gate was heard, and with shouts of "He's coming!" from Charlie, "Poppy, poppy!" from the younger boy, and a confused jargon from Tommy, which no one but Jennie could understand, the whole three tumbled down from the window and rushed to the door. A moment later it opened, and a tall, straight figure in a policeman's uniform appeared. "Halloa, you chaps!" said a cheery voice. "Suppose two or three dozen of you get out of the way and let me shut the door; it won't do to keep a draught on mother." He contrived to close the door, but as for getting farther with three pair of fat arms clasping his legs, that was quite impossible. The father laughed, threw his cap upon a chair, and catching up first one and then another of his captors, tossed them by turns in the air, gave each a hearty kiss, and set him on his feet again. "There, gentlemen, now let me get to mother, if you please. Well, Mary, how has it gone to-day? Poorly, eh?" as he saw that in spite of the smile which welcomed him, her cheek was paler and her eye sadder than they had been when he left her in the morning. "The pain is no worse, dear,--rather better maybe," she answered; but her lip quivered as she spoke. "Then that monstrous baby of yours has been worrying you. I am just going to sell her to the first man who will give sixpence for her." "No, no, no!" rose from a chorus of young voices, with, "She didn't worry scarcely any to-day, farher," from Jennie, as she lifted her face for his kiss. Willie's turn came next, as rising from his chair with his hand outstretched, he made a step forward and reached his father's side. One eye was quite dark, but through the thick mist which was over the other, he could faintly distinguish the tall, square figure, though, except for the voice and the sounds of welcome, he could not have told if it were his father or a stranger standing there. Then began the grand amusement of the evening. Mr. Richards pulled down the covering of the cradle, turned over the pillow, looked under the table, peeped into the sugar-bowl, pepper-pot, and stove, and at last pretended to be much astonished to discover the baby upon its mother's lap, after which the hunt was carried on in search of a place big enough to kiss. This performance was gone through with every night, but never lost its relish, being always considered a capital joke, and was received with shouts of laughter and great clapping of hands. "Father," said Jennie, when Mr. Richards was seated in the rocking-chair, with a boy on each knee, "we have a great surprise for your supper to-night." If Jennie did not resemble her father in size, she certainly did in feature. In both there were the same clear, honest gray eyes, the same crisp, short curls, the same ruddy cheeks and full red lips, the same look of kindly good-nature, with something of a spirit of fun and mischief sparkling through it. "You have; have you?" he answered. "Well, I suppose you know it takes a deal to surprise a member of police. We see too many queer folks and queer doings to be easy surprised. If you were to tell me you were going to turn a bad, lazy girl, I might be surprised, but I don't know as much short of that would do it." Jennie shook her head with a very knowing look at her mother, and just then the door opened again and a head was put within. "Oh, you're home, be you, Sergeant Richards?" said the owner of the head. "All right; your supper will be ready in a jiffy. Come along, Jennie." With this the head disappeared, and Jennie, obeying orders, followed. In five minutes they both returned, the head this time bringing the rest of the person with it, carrying a tray. Jennie held in her hands a covered dish, which she set upon the edge of the table with an air of great triumph. She was not tall enough to put it in the proper spot before her father's place; but she would by no means suffer him to help her, although he offered to do so. No, it must wait till Mrs. Granby had emptied the tray, and could take it from her hands. What the policeman's family would have done at this time without Mrs. Granby would be hard to tell. Although a neighbor, she had been almost a stranger to them till the time of Willie's illness, when she had come in to assist in the nursing. From that day she had been a kind and faithful friend. She was a seamstress, and went out to work by the day; but night and morning she came in to see Mrs. Richards and do what she could to help her, until one evening she had asked Mr. Richards if she might have a talk with him. The policeman said, "Certainly," though he was rather surprised, for Mrs. Granby generally talked without waiting for permission. "I guess things ain't going just right with you; be they, Sergeant Richards?" she began. Richards shook his head sadly. "I suppose if it wasn't right, it wouldn't be, Mrs. Granby; but it's hard to think it with Mary lying there, bound hand and foot, my boy growing blind, and the poor little baby more dead than alive; with me away the best part of the day, and nobody but that green Irish girl to do a hand's turn for them all, unless yourself or some other kind body looks in. Jennie's a wonderful smart child, to be sure; but there's another sore cross, to see her working her young life out, when she ought to be thinking of nothing but her play. And then, how we're going to make both ends meet this year, I don't know." "So I thought," answered Mrs. Granby; "and it's the same with me about the ends meetin'. Now just supposin' we helped one another along a bit. You see they've raised my rent on me, and I can't afford it no way; besides that, my eyes is givin' out,--won't stand sewin' all day like they used to; so I'm not goin' out by the day no more, but just goin' to take in a bit of work and do it as I can. That Biddy of yours ain't no good,--a dirty thing that's as like as not to sweep with the wrong end of the broom, and to carry the baby with its head down and heels up. She just worries your wife's life out; and every time she goes lumberin' over the floor, Mary is ready to screech with the jar. Now you just send her packin', give me the little room up-stairs rent free for this winter, and the use of your fire for my bits of meals, and I'll do all she does and more too,--washin', scrubbin', cookin', and nussin'. You won't have no wages to pay, and though they mayn't come to much, every little tells; and Mary and the babies will be a sight more comfortable, and you, too, maybe, if I oughtn't to say it. You're just right, too, about Jennie. It goes to my heart to see her begin to put her hand to everything; she's more willin' than she's able. Pity everybody wasn't the same; it would make another sort of a world, I guess. What do you say to it? Will it do?" Do! The policeman thought so indeed, and was only too thankful. But it was a one-sided kind of a bargain, he said, all on their side, and Mrs. Granby must take some pay for her services. This she refused; she was not going to give them all her time, only part of it, and the room rent free was pay enough. But at last she consented to take her meals with them, though somehow she contrived to add more to the rather slender table than she took from it. Now she had a chicken or tender steak for Mrs. Richards, "it was so cheap she couldn't help buying it, and she had a fancy for a bit herself," but it was always a very small bit that satisfied her; now a few cakes for the children, now a pound of extra nice tea or coffee. "Sergeant Richards needed something good and hot when he came in from duty, and he never took nothin' stronger, so he ought to have it." From the time that she came to them, Mrs. Richards began to improve; there was no longer any need to worry over her disorderly house, neglected children, or the loss of comfort to her husband. The baby ceased its endless wailing, and with Jennie to keep things trim after they had once been put in order, the whole household put on its old air of cosy neatness. Truly she had proved "a friend in need," this cheerful, bustling, kind-hearted little woman. "Now you may uncover the dish, farher," said Jennie, as having brought a little stand and placed it at her mother's side, she led Willie to the table. Mr. Richards did so. "Broiled ham and eggs!" he exclaimed. "Why, the breath is 'most taken out of me! I know where the ham came from well enough, for I bought it myself, but I'd like to know who has been buying fresh eggs at eight cents apiece." "No, Sergeant Richards, you needn't look at me that way," said Mrs. Granby, holding up the tea-pot in one hand; "I ain't been doin' no such expenses. I brought them home, to be sure; but they was a present, not to me neither, but to your wife here. Here's another of 'em for her, boiled to a turn too. Fried eggs ain't good for sick folks. 'Twasn't my doin' that you got some with your ham neither; I wanted to keep 'em for her eatin', but she said you was so fond of 'em, and she coaxed me into it. She does set such a heap by you, she thinks nothin' ain't too good for you. Not that I blame her. I often says there ain't a better husband and father to be found than Sergeant Richards, look the city through; and you do deserve the best, that's a fact, if it was gold and diamonds; not that you wouldn't have a better use for them than to eat 'em; diamonds fetches a heap, they tell me, but never havin' had none of my own, I can't rightly tell of my own showin'. Come, eat while it's hot. I'll see to your wife. No, thank you, none for me. I couldn't eat a mouthful if you was to pay me for it. Don't give the little ones none, 'taint good for 'em goin' to bed. Jennie might have a bit, she's been stirrin' round so all day, and Willie, too, dear boy." Mrs. Granby's voice always took a tenderer tone when she spoke of Willie. "Well, I'll just tell you how I come by them eggs. This afternoon I took home some work to an old lady, a new customer Mrs. Howard recommended me to. When I was let in, there she stood in the hall, talkin' to a woman what had been sellin' fresh eggs to her. There they was, two or three dozen of 'em, piled up, lookin' so fresh and white and nice, enough to make your mouth water when you looked at 'em and thought what a deal of nourishment was in 'em. So when the lady was through with the woman, says I, 'If you'll excuse the liberty, ma'am, in your house and your presence, I'd just like to take a couple of eggs from this woman before she goes.' "'Certainly,' says the lady, but the woman says, 'I can't spare no more, there's only a dozen left, and I've promised them to another lady;' and off she goes. Well, me and the old lady settles about the work, and she tells me she'll have more in a month's time, and then she says, 'You was disappointed about the eggs?' "'Yes, ma'am,' says I. "So, thinkin', I s'pose, 'twasn't for a poor seamstress like me to be so extravagant, she says, 'Eggs are high this season,--eight cents apiece.' "I didn't want to be settin' myself up, but I wasn't goin' to have her take no false notions about me, so I says, 'Yes, ma'am, but when a body's sick, and ain't no appetite to eat only what one forces one's self to, I don't think it no sin to spend a bit for a nice nourishin' mouthful.' "And she says, very gentle, 'Are you sick?' "'Not I, ma'am,' says I, 'but a friend of mine. Bad with the rheumatics these six months, and she's a mite of an ailin' baby, and don't fancy nothin' to eat unless it's somethin' delicate and fancy, so I just took a notion I'd get a couple of them eggs for her.' "And she says, 'I see you have a basket there, just let me give you half a dozen of these for your friend.' I never thought of such a thing, and I was took all aback, and I said would she please take it out of the work. I couldn't think of takin' it in the way of charity, and she says, 'If I were ill, and you had any little dainty you thought I might like, would you think it charity to offer it to me?' "'No, ma'am,' says I; 'but then there's a difference.' "'I see none in that way,' she said; 'we are all God's children. To one he gives more than to another, but he means that we shall help each other as we find opportunity, and I wish you to take this little gift for your friend as readily as you would offer it to me if I were in like need.' Now wasn't that pretty? A real lady, every inch of her. And with her own hands she laid half a dozen eggs in the basket. She was askin' some more questions about my sick friend, when somebody pulls the door-bell as furious, and when it was opened, there was a servant-gal lookin' as scared as anything, and she tells the old lady her little granddaughter was lost, and couldn't be found nowhere, and was she here, and did they know anything about her? Well, they didn't know nothin', and the old lady said she'd be round right away, and she herself looked scared ready to drop, and I see she hadn't no more thought for me nor my belongin's, nor couldn't be expected to, so I just takes my leave. And when I come home and shows Mary the eggs, nothin' would do but you must have a couple cooked with your ham for supper." All the time Mrs. Granby had been telling her story, she was pouring out tea, waiting on Mrs. Richards, spreading bread and butter for the children, and now having talked herself out of breath, she paused. At the last part of the story, the police-sergeant laid down his knife and fork, and looked up at her. "What is your lady's name?" he asked. "Mrs. Stanton," answered Mrs. Granby. "And who is the child that was lost?" "I don't know, only a granddaughter; I don't know if it's the same name. Why, have you seen the child?" "I can't tell if it's the same," answered Richards, "but I've got a story for you to-night. I have been thinking all the afternoon I had a treat for Jennie." "Is it a duty story, farher?" asked his little daughter. "Yes, it is a duty story." "Oh, that's good!" Whenever her father had a story to tell of anything which had happened to him during his daily duties, Jennie always called it a "duty story," and she was very eager for such anecdotes. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 1] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 2] II. _THE POLICE-SERGEANT'S STORY._ Tea was over, the dishes neatly washed and put away by Mrs. Granby and Jennie, the three little boys snugly tucked in their cribs up-stairs, the baby lying quiet in its cradle, and Mrs. Granby seated at the corner of the table with her sewing. Jennie sat upon her father's knee, and Willie in his usual seat at his mother's side, and the policeman began his story. "It might have been about two o'clock when, as I was at my desk, making out a report, Policeman Neal came in with a lost child in his arms, as pretty a little thing as ever I saw, for all she did look as if she had been having rather a hard time of it,--a gentleman's child and a mother's darling, used to be well cared for, as was easy to be seen by her nice white frock with blue ribbons, and her dainty shoes and stockings. But I think her mother's heart would have ached if she had seen her then. She had lost her hat, and the wind had tossed up her curls, her cheeks were pale and streaked with tears, and her big brown eyes had a pitiful look in them that would have softened a tiger, let alone a man that had half a dozen little ones of his own at home; while every now and then the great heavy sighs came struggling up, as if she had almost cried her heart out. "When Neal brought her in, she looked round as if she expected to see some one, and so it seems she did; for he put her on thinking she'd find some of her own folks waiting for her. And when she saw there was no one there, such a disappointed look as came over her face, and her lip shook, and she clasped both little hands over her throat, as if to keep back the sobs from breaking out again. A many lost children I've seen, but never one who touched me like her. "Well, Neal told where he'd found her, and a good way she'd wandered from her home, as we found afterwards, and how she said her name was Brightfort, which was as near as he'd come to it; for she had a crooked little tongue, though a sweet one. I looked in the directory, but no name like that could I find. Then Neal was going to put her down and go back to his beat, but she clung fast to him and began to cry again. You see, she'd kind of made friends with him, and she didn't fancy being left with strange faces again. So I just took her from him, and coaxed her up a bit, and told her I'd show her the telegraph sending off a message how she was there. I put her on the desk, close to me, while I set the wires to work; and as sure as you live, what did I hear that minute but her saying a bit of a prayer. She didn't mean any one to hear but Him she was speaking to, but I caught every word; for you see my head was bent over near to hers. And I'll never forget it, not if I live to be a hundred, no, nor the way it made me feel. 'Dear Father in heaven,' she said, 'please let my own home father come and find me very soon, 'cause I'm so tired, and I want my own mamma; and don't let those naughty boys hurt my Flossy, but let papa find him too.' I hadn't felt so chirk as I might all day, and it just went to the soft place in my heart; and it gave me a lesson, too, that I sha'n't forget in a hurry." Mr. Richards stopped and cleared his throat, and his wife took up the corner of her shawl and wiped her eyes. "Bless her!" said Mrs. Granby, winking hers very hard. "Ay, bless her, I say, too," continued the policeman. "It was as pretty a bit of faith and trust as ever I saw; and after it she seemed some comforted, and sat quiet, watching the working of the wires, as if she was quite sure the One she'd looked to would bring her help. Well, I carried her round and showed her all there was to see, which wasn't much, and then I set her to talking, to see if I could find out where she belonged. I saw she'd been confused and worried before Neal brought her in, and I thought like enough she'd forgotten. So, after some coaxing and letting her tell her story in her own way,--how her dog ran away and she ran after him, and so got lost, she suddenly remembered the name and number of the street where she lived. With that she broke down again, and began to cry and sob out, she did want to go home so much. "I was just sending out to see if she was right, when up dashes a carriage to the door, and out gets a gentleman on crutches. The moment the little one set eyes on him, she screams out as joyful as you please, 'Oh, it's my soldier, it's my soldier!' "Talk of an April day! You never saw anything like the way the sunlight broke through the clouds on her face. The moment he was inside the door, she fairly flung herself out of my arms on to his neck; and it was just the prettiest thing in the world to see her joy and love, and how she kissed and hugged him. As for him, he dropped one crutch, and held fast to her, as if for dear life. I knew who he was well enough, for I had seen him before, and found out about him, being in the way of duty. He's an English colonel that lives at the ---- Hotel; and they tell wonderful stories about him,--how brave he is, and what a lot of battles he's fought, and how, with just a handful of soldiers, he defended a hospital full of sick men against a great force of them murdering Sepoys, and brought every man of them safe off. All sorts of fine things are told about him; and I'm bound they're true; for you can tell by the look of him he's a hero of the right sort. I didn't think the less of him, either, that I saw his eyes mighty shiny as he and the baby held fast to each other. She wasn't his child, though, but Mr. Bradford's up in ---- Street, whom I know all about; and if that crooked little tongue of hers could have said 'R,' which it couldn't, I might have taken her home at once. Well, she was all right then, and he carried her off; but first she walked round and made her manners to every man there as polite as you please, looking the daintiest little lady that ever walked on two feet; and when I put her into the carriage, didn't she thank me for letting her into the station, and being kind to her, as if it was a favor I'd been doing, and not my duty; and as if a man could help it that once looked at her. So she was driven away, and I was sorry to lose sight of her, for I don't know as I ever took so to a child that didn't belong to me." "Is that all?" asked Jennie, as her father paused. "That's all." "How old was she, farher?" "Five years old, she said, but she didn't look it. It seemed to me when I first saw her as if she was about your size; but you're bigger than she, though you don't make much show for your six years." "How funny she can't say 'R' when she's five years old!" said Jennie. "Yes, almost as funny as that my girl of six can't say 'th,'" laughed the sergeant. Jennie smiled, , and hung her head. "And you thought maybe your lost child was Mrs. Stanton's granddaughter; did you?" asked Mrs. Granby. "Well, I thought it might be. Two children in that way of life ain't likely to be lost the same day in the same neighborhood; and we had no notice of any other but my little friend. You don't know if Mrs. Stanton has any relations of the name of Bradford?" "No; she's 'most a stranger to me, and the scared girl didn't mention no names, only said little Bessie was missin'." "That's her then. Little Bradford's name was Bessie; so putting two and two together, I think they're one and the same." They talked a while longer of little Bessie and her pretty ways and her friend, the colonel; and then Mrs. Granby carried Willie and Jennie off to bed. "Now, Mary," said Richards, going to his wife's side the moment the children were out of hearing, "I know your poor heart has been aching all day to know what the eye-doctor said; but the boy sticks so close to you, and his ears are so quick, that I couldn't do more than whisper 'yes' when I came in, just to let you know it could be done. I was bringing Willie home when I met Jarvis with a message that I was to go up to the Chief on special business, so, as I hadn't a minute to spare, I just had to hand the poor little man over to Jarvis, who promised to see him safely in your care. Dr. Dawson says, Mary, that he thinks Willie can be cured; but we must wait a while, and he thinks it best that he should not be told until the time comes. The operation cannot be performed till the boy is stronger; and it is best not to attempt it till the blindness is total,--till both eyes are quite dark. Meanwhile, he must be fed upon good nourishing food. If we can do this, he thinks in three months, or perhaps four, the child may be able to bear the operation. After that he says we must still be very careful of him, and see that his strength does not run down; and when the spring opens, we must send him away from town, up among the mountains. And that's what your doctor says of you, too, Mary; that you won't get well of this dreadful rheumatism till you have a change of air; and that next summer I ought to send you where you will have mountain air. Dr. Dawson's charge," Richards went on more slowly, "will be a hundred dollars,--he says to rich folks it would be three hundred, maybe more. But five thousand is easier come at by a good many people than a hundred is by us. So now we know what the doctor can do, we must make out what we can do. I'm free to say I think Willie stands a better chance with Dr. Dawson than he does elsewhere; but I don't see how we are to raise the money. I'd live on bread and water, or worse, lie on the bare boards and work like a slave, to bring our boy's sight back; but I can't see you suffer; and we have the rest of the flock to think of as well as Willie. And I suppose it must bring a deal of expense on us, both before and after the operation; at least, if we follow out the doctor's directions, and he says if we don't, the money and trouble will be worse than thrown away. "The first thing I have to do is to see Dr. Schwitz, and find out how much we owe him for attending you and the children, off and on, these six months. I've asked him half a dozen times for his bill, but he always said 'no hurry' and he 'could wait;' and since he was so kind, and other things were so pressing, I've just let it go by." When he had spoken of the doctor's hope of curing Willie, his wife's pale face had brightened; but as he went on to say what it would cost, her head drooped; and now as he spoke of the other doctor's bill, she covered her face with her hands, and burst into tears and sobs. "Why, Mary, what is it, dear?" [Illustration: Bessie's Friends. p. 40] "Oh, Tom! Tom!" she broke forth, "Dr. Schwitz sent his bill this morning. A rough-looking man brought it, and he says the doctor must have it the first of the year, and--and--" She could get no farther. The poor woman! it was no wonder; she was sick and weak, and this unlooked-for trouble had quite broken her down. "Now, don't, Mary, don't be so cast down," said her husband. "We'll see our way out of this yet. The Lord hasn't forsaken us." "I don't know," she answered between her sobs, "it 'most seems like it;" and taking up a book which lay upon the table, she drew from between its leaves a folded paper and handed it to him. He was a strong, sturdy man, this police-sergeant, used to terrible sights, and not easily startled or surprised, as he had told his little daughter; but when he opened the paper and looked at it, all the color left his ruddy cheeks, and he sat gazing at it as if he were stunned. There was a moment's silence; then the baby set up its pitiful little cry. Mrs. Richards lifted it from the cradle. "Oh, Tom," she said, "if it would please the Lord to take baby and me, it would be far better for you. I've been only a burden to you these six months past, and I'm likely to be no better for six months to come, for they say I can't get well till the warm weather comes again. You'd be better without us dear, and it's me that's brought this on you." Then the policeman roused himself. "That's the hardest word you've spoken to me these ten years we've been married, Mary, woman," he said. "No, I thank the Lord again and again that that trouble hasn't come to me yet. What would I do without you, Mary, dear? How could I bear it to come home and not find you here,--never again to see you smile when I come in; never to hear you say, 'I'm so glad you've come, Tom;' never to get the kiss that puts heart into me after a hard day's work? And the babies,--would you wish them motherless? To be sure, you can't do for them what you once did, but that will all come right yet; and there's the mother's eye to overlook and see that things don't go too far wrong; here's the mother voice and the mother smile for them to turn to. No, no; don't you think you're laid aside for useless yet, dear. As for this wee dolly,"--and the father laid his great hand tenderly on the tiny bundle in its mother's arms,--"why, I think I've come to love her all the more for that she's so feeble and such a care. And what would our Jennie do without the little sister that she has such a pride in and lays so many plans for? Why, it would break her heart to lose her. No, no, Mary, I can bear all things short of that you've spoken of; and do you just pray the Lord that he'll not take you at your word, and never hurt me by saying a thing like that again." Trying to cheer his wife, the brave-hearted fellow had almost talked himself into cheerfulness again; and Mrs. Richards looked up through her tears. "And what are we to do, Tom?" she asked. "I can't just rightly see my way clear yet," he answered, thoughtfully, rubbing his forehead with his finger; "but one thing is certain, we've got to look all our troubles straight in the face, and to see what we can do. What we _can_ do for ourselves we _must_, then trust the Lord for the rest. As I told you, that little soul that was brought up to the station this afternoon gave me a lesson I don't mean to forget in a hurry. There she was, the innocent thing, in the worst trouble I suppose that could come to such a baby,--far from her home and friends, feeling as if she'd lost all she had in the world,--all strange faces about her, and in what was to her a terrible place, and not knowing how she was to get out of it. Well, what does she do, the pretty creature, but just catch herself up in the midst of her grieving and say that bit of a prayer? and then she rested quiet and waited. It gave me a sharp prick, I can tell you, and one that I needed. Says I to myself, 'Tom Richards, you haven't half the faith or the courage of this baby.' There had I been all day fretting myself and quarrelling with the Lord's doings, because he had brought me into a place where I could not see my way out. I had asked for help, too, or thought I had, and yet there I was, faithless and unbelieving, not willing to wait his time and way to bring it to me. But she, baby as she was, knew in whom she had trusted, and could leave herself in his hands after she had once done all she knew how. It's not the first teaching I've had from a little child, Mary, and I don't expect it will be the last; but nothing ever brought me up as straight as that did. Thinks I, the Lord forgive me, and grant me such a share of trust and patience as is given to this his little one; and then I took heart, and I don't think I've lost it again, if I have had a hard blow I did not look for. I own I was a bit stunned at first; but see you, Mary, I am sure this bill is not fair. Dr. Schwitz has overcharged us for certain; and I don't believe it will stand in law." "But we can't afford to go to law, Tom, any more than to pay this sum. Four hundred dollars!" "I would not wonder if Mr. Ray would see me through this," said Richards. "He's a good friend to me. I'll see him, anyhow. I never thought Dr. Schwitz would serve me like this; it's just revenge." "Have you offended him?" asked Mrs. Richards, in surprise. "Yes," answered the policeman. "Yesterday I had to arrest a nephew of his for robbing his employer. Schwitz came to me and begged I'd let him off and pretend he was not to be found, saying he would make it worthwhile to me. I took offence at his trying to bribe me, which was but natural, you will allow, Mary, and spoke up pretty sharp. He swore he'd make me pay for it if I touched the lad; but I never thought he would go this far. And to think I have had the handling of so many rogues, and didn't know one when I saw him!" "And Willie?" said the poor mother. "Ah! that's the worst," answered Richards. "I'm afraid we sha'n't be able to have much done for Willie this next year; for even if Dr. Dawson will wait for his pay, there's all the expense that's to come before and after the operation; and I don't see how we are going to manage it." Long the good policeman and his wife sat and talked over their troubles; and when kind Mrs. Granby came back, she was told of them, and her advice asked; but three heads were no better than two in making one dollar do the needful work of ten. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 2] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 3] III. _LITTLE PITCHERS._ Three young ladies sat talking over their work in the pleasant bow-window of Mrs. Stanton's sitting-room, while at a short distance from them two little curly heads bent over the great picture-book which lay upon the table. The eyes in the curly heads were busy with the pictures, the tongues in the curly heads were silent, save when now and then one whispered, "Shall I turn over?" or "Is not that pretty?" but the ears in the curly heads were wide open to all that was passing in the bow-window; while the three young ladies, thinking that the curly heads were heeding nothing but their own affairs, went on chattering as if those attentive ears were miles away. "Annie," said Miss Carrie Hall, "I am sorry to hear of the severe affliction likely to befall your sister, Mrs. Bradford." "What is that?" asked Annie Stanton, looking up surprised. "I heard that Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Bradford's Aunt Patty, was coming to make her a visit." "Ah, poor Margaret!" said Annie Stanton, but she laughed as she spoke. "It is indeed a trial, but my sister receives it with becoming submission." "Why does Mrs. Bradford invite her when she always makes herself so disagreeable?" asked Miss Ellis. "She comes self-invited," replied Annie. "Margaret did not ask her." "I should think not, considering the circumstances under which they last parted," said Carrie Hall. "Oh, Margaret has long since forgotten and forgiven all that," said Annie, "and she and Mr. Bradford have several times endeavored to bring about a reconciliation, inviting Aunt Patty to visit them, or sending kind messages and other tokens of good-will. The old lady, however, was not to be appeased, and for the last three or four years has held no intercourse with my brother's family. Now she suddenly writes, saying she intends to make them a visit." "I should decline it if I were in the place of Mr. and Mrs. Bradford," said Carrie. "I fear I should do the same," replied Annie, "but Margaret and Mr. Bradford are more forgiving. I am quite sure though that they look upon this visit as a duty to be endured, not a pleasure to be enjoyed, especially as the children are now older, and she will be the more likely to make trouble with them." "I suppose they have quite forgotten her," said Carrie. "Harry and Fred may remember her," answered Annie, "but the others were too young to recollect her at this distance of time. Bessie was a baby, Maggie scarcely three years old." "Shall you ever forget the day we stopped at your sister's house on our way home from school, and found Mrs. Lawrence and nurse having a battle royal over Maggie?" asked the laughing Carrie. "No, indeed! Nurse, with Maggie on one arm and Bessie on the other, fairly dancing about the room in her efforts to save the former from Aunt Patty's clutches, both terrified babies screaming at the top of their voices, both old women scolding at the top of theirs; while Fred, the monkey, young as he was, stood by, clapping his hands and setting them at each other as if they had been two cats." "And your sister," said Carrie, "coming home to be frightened half out of her senses at finding such an uproar in her well-ordered nursery, and poor little Maggie stretching out her arms to her with 'Patty vip me, Patty vip me!'" "And Margaret quite unable to quell the storm until Brother Henry came in and with a few determined words separated the combatants by sending nurse from the room," continued Annie, with increasing merriment. "Poor mammy! She knew her master's word was not to be disputed, and dared not disobey; but I think she has never quite forgiven him for that, and still looks upon it as hard that when, as she said, she had a chance 'to speak her mind to Mrs. Lawrence,' she was not allowed to do it." "But what caused the trouble?" asked Laura Ellis. "Oh, some trifling mischief of Maggie's, for which auntie undertook to punish her severely. Nurse interfered, and where the battle would have stopped, had not Henry and Margaret arrived, it is difficult to tell." "But surely she did not leave your brother's house in anger for such a little thing as that!" said Laura. "Indeed, she did; at least, she insisted that Maggie should be punished and nurse dismissed. Dear old mammy, who nursed every one of us, from Ruthven down to myself, and whom mother gave to Margaret as a treasure past all price when Harry was born,--poor mammy, who considers herself quite as much one of the family as any Stanton, Duncan, or Bradford among us all,--to talk of dismissing her! But nothing less would satisfy Aunt Patty; and Margaret gently claiming the right to correct her own children and govern her own household as she saw fit, and Henry firmly upholding his wife, Aunt Patty departed that very afternoon in a tremendous passion, and has never entered the house since." "Greatly to your sister's relief, I should think," said Laura. "Why, what a very disagreeable inmate she must be, Annie! I am sure I pity Mrs. Bradford and all her family, if they are to undergo another visit from her now." "Yes," said Annie. "Some sudden freak has taken her, and she has written to say that she will be here next month. You may well pity them. Such another exacting, meddling, ill-tempered old woman it would be difficult to find. She has long since quarrelled with all her relations; indeed, it was quite wonderful to every one how Margaret and her husband bore with her as long as they did. I do not know how the poor children will get on with her. She and Fred will clash before she has been in the house a day, while the little ones will be frightened out of their senses by one look of those cold, stern eyes. Do you remember, Carrie, how, during that last unfortunate visit, Maggie used to run and hide her head in her mother's dress the moment she heard Aunt Patty's step?" "Yes, indeed," said Carrie. "I suppose she will be here at Christmas time too. Poor little things! She will destroy half their pleasure." All this and much more to the same purpose fell upon those attentive ears, filling the hearts of the little listeners with astonishment and dismay. It was long since Maggie's hand had turned a leaf of the scrap-book, long since she or Bessie had given a look or thought to the pictures. There they both sat, motionless, gazing at one another, and drinking in all the foolish talk of those thoughtless young ladies. They meant no harm, these gay girls. Not one of them but would have been shocked at the thought that she was poisoning the minds of the dear little children whom they all loved towards the aged relative whom they were bound to reverence and respect. They had not imagined that Maggie and Bessie were attending to their conversation, and they were only amusing themselves; it was but idle talk. Ah, idle talk, idle words, of which each one of us must give account at the last great day! So they sat and chatted away, not thinking of the mischief they might be doing, until, at a question from Miss Carrie, Annie Stanton dropped her voice as she answered. Still now and then a few words would reach the little ones. "Shocking temper"--"Poor Margaret so uncomfortable"--"Mr Bradford very much displeased"--"patience quite worn out" until Bessie said,-- "Aunt Annie, if you don't mean us to know what you say, we do hear a little." Aunt Annie started and , then said, hastily "Oh, I had almost forgotten you were there. Would you not like to go down-stairs, pets, and ask old Dinah to bake a little cake for each of you? Run then, and if you heard what we were saying, do not think of it. It is nothing for you to trouble your small heads about. I am afraid we have been rather imprudent," she continued uneasily when her little nieces had left the room. "Margaret is so particular that her children shall hear nothing like gossip or evil speaking, and I think we have been indulging in both. If Maggie and Bessie have been listening to what we were saying, they will not have a very pleasant impression of Mrs. Lawrence. Well, there is no use in fretting about it now. What is said cannot be unsaid; and they will soon find out for themselves what the old lady is." Yes, what is said cannot be unsaid. Each little word, as it is spoken, goes forth on its errand of good or evil, and can never be recalled. Perhaps Aunt Annie would have regretted her thoughtlessness still more if she had seen and heard the little girls as they stood together in the hall. They had no thought of old Dinah and the cakes with this important matter to talk over. Not think of what they heard, indeed! That was a curious thing for Aunt Annie to say. She had been right in believing that Maggie must have forgotten Mrs. Lawrence. Maggie had done so, but now this conversation had brought the whole scene of the quarrel with nurse to her mind. It all came back to her; but in recollection it appeared far worse than the reality. Aunt Patty's loud, angry voice seemed sounding in her ears, uttering the most violent threats, and she thought of the old lady herself almost as if she had been some terrible monster, ready to tear in pieces her own poor frightened little self, clinging about nurse's neck. And was it possible that this dreadful old woman was really coming again to their house to make a visit? How could papa and mamma think it best to allow it? Such mischief had already been done by idle talk! "Maggie," said Bessie, "do you remember about that Patty woman?" "Yes," answered Maggie, "I did not remember about her till Aunt Annie and Miss Carrie said that, but I do now; and oh, Bessie, she's _awful_! I wish, I wish mamma would not let her come. She's the shockingest person you ever saw." "Aunt Annie said mamma did not want her herself; but she let her come because she thought it was right," said Bessie. "I wonder why mamma thinks it is right when she is so cross and tempered," said Maggie, with a long sigh. "Why, she used to scold even papa and mamma! Oh, I remember her so well now. I wish I didn't; I don't like to think about it;" and Maggie looked very much distressed. Bessie was almost as much troubled, but she put her arm about her sister and said, "Never matter, dear Maggie, papa and mamma won't let her do anything to us." "But suppose papa and mamma both had to go out and leave us, as they did that day she behaved so," said Maggie. "Nursey has so many to take care of now, and maybe she'd meddle again,--Aunt Annie said she was very meddling too,--and try to punish me when I did not do any blame." "Jane would help nurse _pertect_ us," said Bessie, "and if she couldn't, we'd yun away and hide till papa and mamma came." "She shouldn't do anything to you, Bessie. I wouldn't let her do that, anyhow," said Maggie, shaking her head, and looking very determined. "How could you help it if she wanted to, Maggie?" "I'd say, 'Beware, woman!'" said Maggie, drawing her eyebrows into a frown, and extending her hand with the forefinger raised in a threatening manner. "Oh!" said Bessie, "what does that mean?" "I don't quite know," said Maggie, slowly, "but it frightens people very much." "It don't frighten me a bit when you say it." "'Cause you don't have a guilty conscience; but if you had, you'd be, oh, so afraid!" "How do you know I would?" "I'll tell you," said Maggie. "Uncle John had a picture paper the other day, and in it was a picture of a woman coming in at the door, and she had her hands up so, and she looked as frightened, as frightened, and a man was standing behind the curtain doing so, and under the picture was 'Beware, woman!' I asked Uncle John what it meant, and he said that was a wicked woman who was going to steal some papers so she could get some money, and when she came in, she heard somebody say, 'Beware, woman,' and she was so frightened she ran away and was never seen again. I asked him to tell me more about it, but he said, 'No, it was a foolish story, not fit for little people.' Then I asked him if foolish stories were only fit for big people, but he just laughed and pinched my cheek. But I coaxed him to tell me why the woman was so frightened when the man did nothing but say those two words, and he said it was because she had a guilty conscience, for wicked people feared what good and innocent people did not mind at all. So if that old Mrs. Patty--I sha'n't call her aunt--don't behave herself to you, Bessie, I'll just try it." "Do you think she has a guilty conscience, Maggie?" "Course she has; how could she help it?" "And will she yun away and never be seen again?" "I guess so," said Maggie; "anyhow, I hope she will." "I wonder why mamma did not tell us she was coming," said Bessie. "We'll ask her to-morrow. We can't do it to-night because it will be so late before she comes home from Riverside and we'll be asleep, but we'll do it in the morning. And now, don't let's think about that shocking person any more. We'll go and ask Dinah about the cakes." But although they resolved to try to forget Aunt Patty for the present, they could not help thinking of her a good deal and talking of her also, for their young hearts had been filled with dread of the old lady and her intended visit. The reason that Mr. and Mrs. Bradford had not spoken to their children of Mrs. Lawrence's coming was that it was not yet a settled thing; and as there was not much that was pleasant to tell, they did not think it best to speak of her unless it was necessary. It was long since her name had been mentioned in the family, _so_ long that, as Mrs. Bradford had hoped and supposed, all recollection of her had passed from Maggie's mind, until the conversation she had just heard had brought it back. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 3] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 4] IV. _PAPA'S STORY._ The next morning while they were at breakfast, the postman brought three letters for papa and mamma. "Margaret," said Mr. Bradford, looking up from one of his, "this is from Aunt Patty to say that she will put off her visit until spring." Maggie and Bessie both looked up. "Oh!" said Mrs. Bradford, in a tone as if she were rather more glad than sorry to hear that Aunt Patty was not coming at present. Papa glanced at her with a smile which did not seem as if he were very much disappointed either. Probably the children would not have noticed tone or smile had they not been thinking of what they heard yesterday. "Holloa!" said Fred, in a voice of dismay, "Aunt Patty is not coming here again; is she? You'll have to look out and mind your P's and Q's, <DW40> and Bess, if that is the case. We'll all have to for that matter. Whew-ee, can't she scold though! I remember her tongue if it is four years since I heard it." "Fred, Fred!" said his father. "It's true, papa; is it not?" "If it is," replied his father, "it does not make it proper for you to speak in that way of one so much older than yourself, my boy. Aunt Patty is not coming at present; when she does come, I hope we shall all be ready to receive her kindly and respectfully." "I see you expect to find it difficult, papa," said the rogue, with a mischievous twinkle of his eye. Before Mr. Bradford had time to answer, Mrs. Bradford, who had been reading her letter, exclaimed joyfully,-- "Dear Elizabeth Rush says she will come to us at New Year, and make us a long visit. I wish she could have come at Christmas, as I begged her to do, but she says she has promised to remain in Baltimore with her sister until after the holidays." "Mamma," said Bessie, "do you mean Aunt Bessie is coming to stay with us?" "Yes, darling. Are you not glad?" "Indeed, I am, mamma; I do love Aunt Bessie, and the colonel will be glad too." "That's jolly!" exclaimed Fred; and a chorus of voices about the table told that Aunt Bessie's coming was looked forward to with very different feelings from those which Aunt Patty's excited. "Mamma," said Maggie suddenly, as they were about leaving the table, "don't you wish you had forty children?" "Forty!" exclaimed Mrs. Bradford, laughing. "No, that would be rather too large a family, Maggie." "But, mamma, if you had forty children, the house would be so full there would never be room for Aunt Patty." The boys laughed, but mamma was grave in a moment. "Do you remember Aunt Patty, my darling?" she asked, looking rather anxiously at Maggie. "Oh, yes, mamma, I remember her ever so well," answered poor Maggie, coloring all over her face and neck, and looking as if the remembrance of Aunt Patty were a great distress. "I thought you had quite forgotten her, dear," said her mother. "I had, mamma, but yesterday Aunt Annie and Miss Carrie were talking about her, and then I remembered her, oh! so well, and how fierce she looked and what a loud voice she had, and how she scolded, mamma, and how angry she used to be, and oh! mamma, she's such a dreadful old person, and if you only wouldn't let her come to our house." "And, mamma," said Bessie, "Aunt Annie said nobody had any peace from the time she came into the house until she went out, and you know we're used to peace, so we can't do without it." By this time Maggie was crying, and Bessie very near it. Their mamma scarcely knew how to comfort them, for whatever they might have heard from Annie and her friends was probably only too true; and both she and papa had too much reason to fear with Bessie that the usual "peace" of their happy household would be sadly disturbed when Aunt Patty should come there again. For though the old lady was not so terrible as the little girls imagined her to be, her unhappy temper always made much trouble wherever she went. All that Mrs. Bradford could do was to tell them that they must be kind and respectful to Mrs. Lawrence, and so give her no cause of offence; and that in no case would she be allowed to punish or harm them. But the thing which gave them the most comfort was that Aunt Patty's visit was not to take place for some months, possibly not at all. Then she talked of Miss Rush, and made pleasant plans for the time when she should be with them, and so tried to take their thoughts from Aunt Patty. "And Uncle Ruthven is coming home," said Maggie. "Grandmamma had a letter from him last night, and she said he promised to come before the winter was over; and _won't_ we all be happy then?" Mamma kissed her little daughter's April face, on which the tears were not dry before smiles were dancing in their place, and in happy talk of Uncle Ruthven, Aunt Patty was for the time forgotten. Uncle Ruthven was mamma's only brother, and a famous hero in the eyes of all the children. None of them save Harry had ever seen him, and he had been such a very little boy when his uncle went away ten years ago, that he could not recollect him. But his letters and the stories of his travels and adventures had always been a great delight to his young nieces and nephews; and now that he talked of coming home, they looked forward to seeing him with almost as much pleasure as if they had known him all their lives. As for the mother and the sisters who had been parted from him for so long, no words could tell how glad they were. A sad rover was Uncle Ruthven; it was easier to say where he had not been than where he had. He had climbed to the tops of high mountains and gone down into mines which lay far below the surface of the earth; had peeped into volcanoes and been shut up among icebergs, at one time had slung his hammock under the trees of a tropical forest, at another had rolled himself in his blankets in the frozen huts of the Esquimaux; had hunted whales, bears, lions, and tigers; had passed through all manner of adventures and dangers by land and by sea; and at last was really coming home, "tired of his wanderings, to settle down beside his dear old mother and spend the rest of his days with her." So he had said in the letter which came last night, and grandmamma had read it over many times, smiled over it, cried over it, and talked of the writer, until, if Maggie and Bessie had doubted the fact before, they must then have been quite convinced that no other children ever possessed such a wonderful uncle as this Uncle Ruthven of theirs. When he would come was not quite certain,--perhaps in two months, perhaps not in three or four, while he might be here by Christmas or even sooner. And now came faithful old nurse to hear the good news and to have her share in the general family joy at the return of her first nursling, her beloved "Master Ruthven." "And will your Aunt Patty be here when he comes, my dear lady?" she asked. "I think not," said Mrs. Bradford, at which mammy looked well pleased, though she said no more; but Maggie and Bessie understood the look quite well. Mrs. Bradford had intended by and by to talk to her children of Mrs. Lawrence and to tell them that she was rather odd and different from most of the people to whom they were accustomed, but that they must be patient and bear with her if she was sometimes a little provoking and cross. But now she found that they already knew quite too much, and she was greatly disturbed when she thought that it would be of little use to try and make them feel kindly towards the old lady. But the mischief had spread even farther than she had imagined. That afternoon Maggie and Bessie with little Franky were all in their mamma's room, seated side by side upon the floor, amusing themselves with a picture-book. This book belonged to Harry, who had made it himself by taking the cuts from magazines and papers and putting them in a large blank book. It was thought by all the children to be something very fine, and now Maggie sat with it upon her lap while she turned over the leaves, explaining such pictures as she knew, and inventing meanings and stories for those which were new to her. Presently she came to one which quite puzzled her. On the front of the picture was the figure of a woman with an eagle upon her shoulder, intended to represent America or Liberty; while farther back stood a man with a gun in his hand and a lion at his side, who was meant for John Bull of England. Miss America had her arm raised, and appeared to be scolding Mr. England in the most terrible manner. Maggie could not tell the meaning of it, though she knew that the woman was America, but Franky thought that he understood it very well. Now Master Franky had a good pair of ears, and knew how to make a good use of them. He had, also, some funny ideas of his own, and like many other little children, did not always know when it was best to keep them to himself. He had heard a good deal that morning of some person named Patty, who was said to scold very much; he had also heard of his Uncle Ruthven, and he knew that this famous uncle had hunted lions in far-away Africa. The picture of the angry woman and the lion brought all this to his mind, and now he suddenly exclaimed,-- "Oh, my, my! Dere's a Patty wis her chitten, and she stolds Uncle 'Utven wis his lion." This was too much for Maggie. Pushing the book from her knees, she threw herself back upon the carpet and rolled over, screaming with laughter at the joke of America with her eagle being mistaken for Aunt Patty with a chicken; Bessie joined in, and Franky, thinking he had said something very fine, clapped his hands and stamped his feet upon the floor in great glee. Mrs. Bradford herself could not help smiling, partly at the droll idea, partly at Maggie's amusement; but the next moment she sighed to think how the young minds of her children had been filled with fear and dislike of their father's aunt, and how much trouble all this was likely to make. "Children," said Mr. Bradford, that evening, "who would like to hear a true story?" Papa found he was not likely to want for listeners, as three or four eager voices answered. "Wait a moment, dear," he said, as Bessie came to take her usual place upon his knee, and rising, he unlocked a cabinet secretary which stood at the side of the fireplace in his library. This secretary was an object of great interest to all the children, not because it held papa's private papers,--those were trifles of very little account in their eyes,--but because it contained many a relic and treasure, remembrances of bygone days, or which were in themselves odd and curious. To almost all of these belonged some interesting and true story,--things which had happened when papa was a boy, or even farther back than that time,--tales of travel and adventure in other lands, or perhaps of good and great people. So they were pleased to see their father go to his secretary when he had promised "a true story," knowing that they were sure of a treat. Mr. Bradford came back with a small, rather worn, red morocco case, and as soon as they were all quietly settled, he opened it. It held a miniature of a very lovely lady. Her bright eyes were so sparkling with fun and mischief that they looked as if they would almost dance out of the picture, and the mouth was so smiling and lifelike that it seemed as if the rosy lips must part the next moment with a joyous, ringing laugh. Her hair was knotted loosely back with a ribbon, from which it fell in just such dark, glossy ringlets as clustered about Maggie's neck and shoulders. It was a very beautiful likeness of a very beautiful woman. "Oh, how sweet, how lovely! What a pretty lady!" exclaimed the children, as they looked at it. "Why, she looks like our Maggie!" said Harry. "Only don't flatter yourself you are such a beauty as that, <DW40>," said Fred, mischievously. "Oh, Fred," said Bessie, "my Maggie is a great deal prettier, and I don't believe that lady was so good as Maggie either." "She may have been very good," said Harry, "but I don't believe she had half as sweet a temper as our Midge. I'll answer for it that those eyes could flash with something besides fun; could they not, papa?" "Was she a relation of yours, papa?" asked Fred. "Yes," answered Mr. Bradford, "and I am going to tell you a story about her." "One summer, a good many years ago, two boys were staying on their uncle's farm in the country. Their father and mother were travelling in Europe, and had left them in this uncle's care while they should be absent. It was a pleasant home, and the boys, accustomed to a city life, enjoyed it more than I can tell you. One afternoon, their uncle and aunt went out to visit some friends, giving the boys permission to amuse themselves out of doors as long as they pleased. All the servants about the place, except the old cook, had been allowed to go to a fair which was held in a village two or three miles away, so that the house and farm seemed to be quite deserted. Only one other member of the family was at home, and this was an aunt whom the boys did not love at all, and they were only anxious to keep out of her way." "Papa," said Fred, eagerly, "what were the names of these boys and their aunt?" "Ahem," said Mr. Bradford, with a twinkle in his eye, as he saw Fred's knowing look. "Well, I will call the oldest boy by my own name, Henry, and the youngest we will call Aleck." "Oh," said Fred, "and the aunt's name was, I suppose--" "Henrietta," said his father, quickly; "and if you have any remarks to make, Fred, please keep them until my story is done." "Very well, sir," said Fred, with another roguish look at Harry, and his father went on. "Henry was a strong, healthy boy, who had never known a day's sickness; but Aleck was a weak, delicate, nervous little fellow, who could bear no excitement nor fatigue. Different as they were, however, the affection between them was very great. Gentle little Aleck looked up to his elder and stronger brother with a love and confidence which were beautiful to see, while the chief purpose of Henry's life at this time was to fulfil the charge which his mother had given him to care for Aleck, and keep him as far as he could from all trouble and harm, looking upon it as a sacred trust. "There was a large old barn standing at some distance from the house, used only for the storing of hay; and as they found the sun too warm for play in the open air, Henry proposed they should go there and make some boats which later they might sail in the brook. Aleck was ready enough, and they were soon comfortably settled in the hayloft with their knives and bits of wood. But while they were happily working away, and just as Henry was in the midst of some marvellous story, they heard a voice calling them. "'Oh, dear,' said little Aleck, 'there's Aunt Henrietta! Now she'll make us go in the house, and she'll give me my supper early and send me to bed, though Aunt Mary said I might sit up and have tea with the rest, even if they came home late. Let us hide, Henry.' "No sooner said than done. The knives and chips were whisked out of sight, Aleck hidden beneath the hay. Henry, scrambling into an old corn-bin, covered himself with the corn-husks with which it was half filled, while the voice and its owner came nearer and nearer. "'You'd better take care; she'll hear you,' said Henry, as he heard Aleck's stifled laughter; and the next moment, through a crack in the bin, he saw his aunt's head appearing above the stairs. Any stranger might have wondered why the boys were so much afraid of her. She was a tall, handsome lady, not old, though the hair beneath her widow's cap was white as snow. She stood a moment and cast her sharp, bright eyes around the hayloft; then, satisfied that the boys were not there, went down again, saying quite loud enough for them to hear,-- "'If I find them, I shall send Henry to bed early, too; he's always leading dear little Aleck into mischief. Such nonsense in Mary to tell that sick baby he should sit up until she came home!' "Now it was a great mistake for auntie to say this of Henry. He did many wrong things, but I do not think he ever led his little brother into mischief; on the contrary, his love for Aleck often kept him from harm. So his aunt's words made him very angry, and as soon as he and Aleck had come out of their hiding-places, he said many things he should not have said, setting a bad example to Aleck, who was also displeased at being called 'a sick baby.' "'Let's shut ourselves up in Dan's cubby-hole,' said Henry; 'she'll never think of looking for us there, if she comes back.' "Dan's cubby-hole was a small room shut off from the rest of the hayloft, where one of the farm hands kept his tools; and here the boys went, shutting and bolting the door behind them. They worked away for more than an hour, when Aleck asked his brother if he did not smell smoke. "'Not I,' said Henry; 'that little nose of yours is always smelling something, Aleck.' "Aleck laughed, but a few moments after declared again that he really did smell smoke and felt it too. "'They are burning stubble in the fields; it is that you notice,' said Henry. But presently he sprang up, for the smell became stronger, and he saw a little wreath of smoke curling itself beneath the door. 'There is something wrong,' he said, and hastily drawing the bolt, he opened the door. What a sight he saw! Heavy clouds of smoke were pouring up the stairway from the lower floor of the barn, while forked flames darted through them, showing that a fierce fire was raging below. Henry sprang forward to see if the stairs were burning; but the flames, fanned by the draught that came through the door he had opened, rushed up with greater fury, and drove him back. How could he save Aleck? The fire was plainly at the foot of the stairs, even if they were not already burning, while those stifling clouds of smoke rolled between them and the doors of the haymow, and were now pouring up through every chink and cranny of the floor on which he stood. Not a moment was to be lost. Henry ran back, and closing the door, said to his terrified brother,-- "'Aleck, you must stay here one moment until I bring the ladder. I can let myself down from this little window, but cannot carry you. Stand close to it, dear boy, and do not be frightened.' "Stretching out from the window, he contrived to reach an old worn-out leader which would scarcely bear his weight, and to slide thence to the ground. Raising the cry of 'Fire!' he ran for the ladder, which should have been in its place on the other side of the barn. It was not there. Frantic with terror, as he saw what headway the fire was making, he rushed from place to place in search of the missing ladder; but all in vain; it could not be found. Meanwhile his cries had brought his aunt and the old cook from the house. Henry ran back beneath the window of the little room where he had left Aleck, and called to him to jump down into his arms, as it was the only chance of safety left. But, alas, there was no answer; the poor little boy had fainted from fright. Back to the door at the foot of the stairs, which were now all in a blaze, through which he was about to rush, when his aunt's hand held him back. "'Live for your father and mother. _I_ have _none_ to live for.' "With these words, she threw her dress over her head, and dashing up the burning stairs, was the next moment lost to sight. Two minutes later, her voice was heard at the window. In her arms she held the senseless Aleck, and when Henry and the old cook stood beneath, she called to them to catch him in their arms. It was done; Aleck was safe. And then letting herself from the window by her hands, she fell upon the ground beside him scarcely a moment before the flames burst upward through the floor. Aleck was quite unhurt, but his aunt was badly burned on one hand and arm. She insisted, however, upon sitting up and watching him, as he was feverish and ill from fright. Late in the night Henry awoke, and, opening his eyes, saw his aunt kneeling by the side of the bed, and heard her thanking God that he had given her this child's life, beseeching him, oh, so earnestly, that it might be the means of turning his young heart towards her, that there might be some one in the world to love her. Will you wonder if after this Henry felt as if he could never be patient or forbearing enough with this poor unhappy lady?" "But what made her so unhappy, papa, and why were the boys so afraid of her?" asked Maggie. "Well, dear, I must say that it was her violent temper, and her wish to control every one about her, which made her so much feared not only by the boys, but by all who lived with her. But perhaps when I tell you a little more, you will think with me that there was much excuse for her. "She was the only daughter and youngest child in a large family of boys. Her mother died when she was a very little baby, so that she was left to grow up without that tenderest and wisest of all care. Her father and brothers loved her dearly; but I am afraid they indulged and spoiled her too much. She had a warm, generous, loving heart, but she was very passionate, and would sometimes give way to the most violent fits of temper. The poor child had no one to tell her how foolish and sinful this was, or to warn her that she was laying up trouble for herself and her friends, for her father would never suffer her to be contradicted or corrected." "Papa," said Bessie, as her father paused for a moment, "do you mean the story of this passionate child for a lesson to me?" "No, darling," said her father; "for I think my Bessie is learning, with God's help, to control her quick temper so well that we may hope it will not give her much trouble when she is older. It is not for you more than for your brothers and sister. But I have a reason for wishing you all to see that it was more the misfortune than the fault of the little Henrietta that she grew up with an ungoverned will and violent temper. Whatever she wanted was given without any thought for the rights or wishes of others; so it was not strange if she soon came to consider that her will was law and that she must have her own way in all things. Perhaps those who had the care of her did not know the harm they were doing; but certain it is, that this poor child was suffered to grow up into a most self-willed woman." "I am very sorry for her," said Bessie, "'cause she did not have such wise people as mine to tell her what was yight." "Yes, she was much to be pitied. But you must not think that this little girl was always naughty; it was not so by any means. And in spite of the faults which were never checked, she was generally very bright, engaging, and sweet. As she grew older, she became more reasonable, and as every one around her lived only for her pleasure, and she had all she desired, it was not difficult for her to keep her temper under control. It is easy to be good when one is happy. "This picture, which shows you how very lovely she was, was taken for her father about the time of her marriage, and was said to be an excellent likeness. Soon after this, she went to Europe with her husband and father. There she passed several delightful months, travelling from place to place, with these two whom she loved so dearly. "But now trouble, such as she had never dreamed of, came to this poor girl. They were in Switzerland, and one bright, sunny day, when no one thought of a storm, her husband and father went out in a small boat on the Lake of Geneva. There sometimes arises over this lake a terrible north-east wind, which comes up very suddenly and blows with great violence, causing the waves to rise to a height which would be thought almost impossible by one who had not seen it. For some reason Henrietta had not gone with the two gentlemen, but when she knew it was time for them to be coming in, she went down to the shore to meet them. She soon saw the boat skimming along, and could almost distinguish the faces of the two dear ones for whom she was watching, when this terrible wind came sweeping down over the water. She saw them as they struggled against it, trying with all their strength to reach the shore; but in vain. Wave after wave rolled into the little boat, and before many minutes it sank. Henrietta stood upon the shore, and as she stretched out her helpless hands toward them, saw her husband and father drown. Do you wonder that the sight drove her frantic? That those who stood beside her could scarcely prevent her from throwing herself into those waters which covered all she loved best? Then came a long and terrible illness, during which that dark hair changed to snowy white." "Papa," said Bessie, whose tender little heart could not bear to hear of trouble or distress which she could not comfort,--"papa, I don't like this story; it is too mournful." "I have almost done with this part of it, dear," said her father, "and I tell it to you that you may know how much need this poor woman had that others should be kind and patient with her, and how much excuse there was for her when all this sorrow and trouble made her irritable and impatient. "Her brother came for her and took her home, but not one of her friends could make her happy or contented; for this poor lady did not know where to turn for the best of all comfort, and she had no strength of her own to lean upon. So the faults of temper and disposition, which had been passed over when she was young and happy, now grew worse and worse, making her so irritable and cross, so self-willed and determined, that it was almost impossible to live with her. Then for years she was a great sufferer, and besides all this, other troubles came upon her,--the loss of a great part of her fortune through one whom she had trusted, and various other trials. So by degrees she drove one after another of her friends from her, until she seemed to stand quite alone in the world, and to be, as she said, 'without any one to care for her.'" "Did not Aleck love her after the fire?" asked Bessie. "I think he was very grateful to her, dear, but I am afraid he never became very fond of her. He was a gentle, timid little fellow, and though his aunt was never harsh to him, it used to frighten him to see her severity with other people." "I'd have loved her, even if she was cross," said Maggie, looking again at the picture. "I'd have been so good to her that she couldn't be unkind to me, and if she had scolded me a little, I wouldn't have minded, because I'd have been so sorry for her." "Oh, <DW40>," said Harry, "you would have been frightened out of your wits at her first cross word." "No, I wouldn't, Harry; and I would try to be patient, even if she scolded me like--like Aunt Patty." "And what if she was Aunt Patty?" said Fred. "But then she wasn't, you know." "But she was," said papa, smiling. Maggie and Bessie opened their eyes very wide at this astonishing news. "You said her name was Henrietta, papa," said Maggie. "Aunt Patty's name is also Henrietta," replied Mr. Bradford, "and when she was young, she was generally called so." "And Henry was this Henry, our own papa," said Fred, laying his hand on his father's shoulder. "And Aleck was Uncle Alexander, who died so long ago, before any of us were born. I guessed it at the beginning." "Well, now," said Mr. Bradford, "if Aunt Patty comes to us by and by, and is not always as gentle as she might be, will my little children remember how much she has had to try her, and how much there is in her which is really good and unselfish?" The boys promised readily enough, and Bessie said doubtfully that she would try, but when papa turned to Maggie, she looked as shy and frightened as if Aunt Patty herself had asked the question. "What is my rosebud afraid of?" said Mr. Bradford. "Papa," said Maggie, "I'm so sorry for that pretty lady, but I can't be sorry for Aunt Patty,--and oh, papa, I--I--do wish--Aunt Patty wasn't"--and poor Maggie broke down in a desperate fit of crying. Mr. Bradford feared that his story had been almost in vain so far as his little girls were concerned, and indeed it was so. They could not make the pretty lady in the picture, the poor young wife whose husband and father had been drowned before her very eyes, or the brave, generous woman who had saved little Aleck, one and the same with the dreaded Aunt Patty. The mischief which words had done words could not so easily undo. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 4] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 5] V. _LIGHT THROUGH THE CLOUDS._ Christmas with all its pleasures had come and gone, enjoyed perhaps as much by the policeman's children as it was by the little Bradfords in their wealthier home. For though the former had not the means of the latter with which to make merry, they had contented spirits and grateful hearts, and these go far to make people happy. Their tall Christmas-tree and beautiful greens were not more splendid in the eyes of Maggie and Bessie than were the scanty wreath and two foot high cedar branch, which a good-natured market-woman had given Mrs. Granby, were in those of little Jennie Richards. To be sure, the apology for a tree was not dressed with glittering balls, rich bonbons, or rows of tapers; its branches bore no expensive toys, rare books, or lovely pictures; but the owner and the little ones for whose delight she dressed it, were quite satisfied, and only pitied those who had no tree at all. Had not good Mrs. Granby made the most extraordinary flowers of red flannel and gilt paper,--flowers whose likeness never grew in gardens or greenhouses of any known land; had she not baked sugar cakes which were intended to represent men and women, pigs, horses, and cows? Were not the branches looped with gay ribbons? Did they not bear rosy-cheeked apples, an orange for each child, some cheap but much prized toys, and, better than all, several useful and greatly needed articles, which had been the gift of Mrs. Bradford? What did it matter if one could scarcely tell the pigs from the men? Perhaps you may like to know how Mrs. Bradford became interested in the policeman's family. One morning, a day or two before Christmas, Maggie and Bessie were playing baby-house in their own little room, when they heard a knock at mamma's door. Maggie ran to open it. There stood a woman who looked rather poor, but neat and respectable. Maggie was a little startled by the unexpected sight of a strange face, and stood holding the door without speaking. "Your ma sent me up here," said the woman. "She is busy below, and she told me to come up and wait for her here." So Maggie allowed the stranger to pass her, and she took a chair which stood near the door. Maggie saw that she looked very cold, but had not the courage to ask her to come nearer the fire. After a moment, the woman smiled pleasantly. Maggie did not return the smile, though she looked as if she had half a mind to do so; but she did not like to see the woman looking so uncomfortable, and pushing a chair close to the fire, she said, "There." The woman did not move; perhaps she, too, felt a little shy in a strange place. Maggie was rather vexed that she did not understand her without more words, but summing up all her courage, she said,-- "I think if you took this seat by the fire, you'd be warmer." The woman thanked her, and took the chair, looking quite pleased. "Are you the little lady who was lost a couple of months ago?" she asked. "No," said Maggie, at once interested, "that was our Bessie; but we found her again." "Oh, yes, I know that. I heard all about her from Policeman Richards, who looked after her when she was up to the station." "Bessie, Bessie!" called Maggie, "here's a woman that knows your station policeman. Come and look at her." At this, Bessie came running from the inner room. "Well," said the woman, laughing heartily, "it is nice to be looked at for the sake of one's friends when one is not much to look at for one's self." "I think you're pretty much to look at," said Bessie. "I think you have a nice, pleasant face. How is my policeman?" "He's well," said the stranger. "And so you call him your policeman; do you? Well, I shall just tell him that; I've a notion it will tickle him a bit." "He's one of my policemen," said Bessie. "I have three,--one who helps us over the crossing; the one who found me when I came lost; and the one who was so good to me in his station-house." "And that is my friend, Sergeant Richards. Well, he's a mighty nice fellow." "Yes, he is," said Bessie, "and I'd like to see him again. Are you his wife, ma'am?" "Bless you, no!" said the woman; "I am nothing but Mrs. Granby, who lives in his house. Your grandmother, Mrs. Stanton, sent me to your ma, who, she said, had work to give me. His poor wife, she can scarce creep about the room, let alone walking this far. Not but that she's better than she was a spell back, and she'd be spryer yet, I think, but for the trouble that's weighin' on her all the time, and hinders her getting well." "Does she have a great deal of trouble?" asked Maggie, who by this time felt quite sociable. "Doesn't she though!" answered Mrs. Granby. "Trouble enough; and she's awful bad herself with the rheumatics, and a sickly baby, and a blind boy, and debts to pay, and that scandal of a doctor, and no way of laying up much; for the children must be fed and warmed, bless their hearts! and a police-sergeant's pay ain't no great; yes, yes, honey, lots of trouble and no help for it as I see. Not that I tell them so; I just try to keep up their hearts." "Why don't they tell Jesus about their troubles, and ask him to help them?" asked Bessie, gently. "So they do," answered Mrs. Granby; "but he hasn't seen best to send them help yet. I suppose he'll just take his own time and his own way to do it; at least, that's what Sergeant Richards says. He'll trust the Lord, and wait on him, he says; but it's sore waiting sometimes. Maybe all this trouble is sent to try his faith, and I can say it don't fail him, so far as I can see. But, honey, I guess you sometimes pray yourself; so to-night, when you go to bed, do you say a bit of a prayer for your friend, Sergeant Richards. I believe a heap in the prayers of the young and innocent; and you just ask the Lord to help him out of this trouble. Maybe he'll hear you; anyway, it won't do no harm; prayer never hurt nobody." "Oh, mamma!" exclaimed Bessie, as her mother just then entered the room, "what do you think? This very nice woman lives with my station policeman, who was so kind to me, and his name is Yichards, and he has a lame baby and a sick wife and a blind boy, and no doctor to pay, and the children must be fed, and a great deal of trouble, and she don't get well because of it, and he does have trust in the Lord, but he hasn't helped him yet--" "And my Bessie's tongue has run away with her ideas," said mamma, laughing. "What is all this about, little one?" "About Bessie's policeman," said Maggie, almost as eager as her sister. "Let this woman tell you. She knows him very well." "I beg pardon, ma'am," said Mrs. Granby. "I don't know but it was my tongue ran away with me, and I can't say it's not apt to do so; but when your little daughter was lost, it was my friend, Sergeant Richards, that saw to her when she was up to the station, and he's talked a deal about her, for he was mighty taken with her." "Bessie told me how kind he was to her," said Mrs. Bradford. "Yes, ma'am; there isn't a living thing that he wouldn't be kind to, and it does pass me to know what folks like him are so afflicted for. However, it's the Lord's work, and I've no call to question his doings. But the little ladies were just asking me about Sergeant Richards, ma'am, and so I came to tell them what a peck of troubles he was in." "What are they, if you are at liberty to speak of them?" asked Mrs. Bradford. "Any one who has been kind to my children has a special claim on me." So Mrs. Granby told the story, not at all with the idea of asking aid for her friends,--that she knew the good policeman and his wife would not like,--but, as she afterwards told them, because she could not help it. "The dear lady looked so sweet, and spoke so sweet, now and then asking a question, not prying like, but as if she took a real interest, not listening as if it were a duty or because she was ashamed to interrupt. And she wasn't of the kind to tell you there was others worse off than you, or that your troubles might be greater than they were. If there's a thing that aggravates me, it's that," continued Mrs. Granby. "I know I ought to be thankful, and so I mostly am, that I and my friends ain't no worse off than we are, and I know it's no good to be frettin' and worryin' about your trials, and settin' yourself against the Lord's will; but I do say if I fall down and break my arm, there ain't a grain of comfort in hearin' that my next-door neighbor has broken both his. Quite contrary; I think mine pains worse for thinkin' how his must hurt him. And now that I can't do the fine work I used to, it don't make it no easier for me to get my livin' to have it said, as a lady did to me this morning, that it would be far worse if I was blind. So it would, I don't gainsay that, but it don't help my seeing, to have it thrown up to me by people that has the full use of their eyes. Mrs. Bradford aint none of that sort, though, not she; and the children, bless their hearts, stood listenin' with all their ears, and I'd scarce done when the little one broke out with,-- "'Oh, do help them! Mamma, couldn't you help them?' "But I could see the mother was a bit backward about offerin' help, thinkin', I s'pose, that you and Mary wasn't used to charity, and not knowin' how you'd take it; so she puts it on the plea of its bein' Christmas time." And here Mrs. Granby paused, having at last talked herself out of breath. All this was true. Mrs. Bradford had felt rather delicate about offering assistance to the policeman's family, not knowing but that it might give offence. But when she had arranged with Mrs. Granby about the work, she said,-- "Since your friends are so pressed just now, I suppose they have not been able to make much preparation for Christmas." "Precious little, ma'am," answered Mrs. Granby; "for Sergeant Richards don't think it right to spend a penny he can help when he's owin' others. But we couldn't let the children quite forget it was Christmas, so I'm just goin' to make them a few cakes, and get up some small trifles that will please them. I'd have done more, only this last week, when I hadn't much work, I was fixin' up some of the children's clothes, for Mrs. Richards, poor soul, can't set a stitch with her cramped fingers, and there was a good deal of lettin' out and patchin' to be done." "And how are the children off for clothes?" asked Mrs. Bradford. "Pretty tolerable, the boys, ma'am, for I've just made Willie a suit out of an old uniform of his father's, and the little ones' clothes get handed down from one to another, though they don't look too fine neither. But Jennie, poor child, has taken a start to grow these last few months, and I couldn't fix a thing for her she wore last winter. So she's wearin' her summer calicoes yet, and even them are very short as to the skirts, and squeezed as to the waists, which ain't good for a growin' child." "No," said Mrs. Bradford, smiling. "I have here a couple of merino dresses of Maggie's, and a warm sack, which she has outgrown. They are too good to give to any one who would not take care of them, and I laid them aside until I should find some one to whom they would be of use. Do you think Mrs. Richards would be hurt if I offered them to her? They will at least save some stitches." "Indeed, ma'am," said Mrs. Granby, her eyes dancing, "you needn't be afraid; she'll be only too glad and thankful, and it was only this mornin' she was frettin' about Jennie's dress. She ain't quite as cheery as her husband, poor soul; 'taint to be expected she should be, and she always had a pride in Jennie's looks, but there didn't seem no way to get a new thing for one of the children this winter." "And here is a cap of Franky's, and some little flannel shirts, which I will roll up in the bundle," said Mrs. Bradford. "They may, also, be of use." Away rushed Maggie when she heard this to her own room, coming back with a china dog and a small doll, which she thrust into Mrs. Granby's hands, begging her to take them to Jennie, but to be sure not to give them to her before Christmas morning. "What shall we do for the blind boy?" asked Bessie. "We want to make him happy." "Perhaps he would like a book," said mamma. "But he couldn't see to read it, mamma." "Oh, I dare say some one would read it to him," said Mrs. Bradford. "Does he not like that?" she asked of Mrs. Granby. "Yes, ma'am. His mother reads to him mostly all the time when the baby is quiet. It's about all she can do, and it's his greatest pleasure, dear boy, to have her read out the books he and Jennie get at Sunday-school every Sunday." "Can he go to Sunday-school when he's blind?" asked Maggie. "Why, yes, honey. Every Sunday mornin' there's a big boy that goes to the same school stops for Willie and Jennie, and totes them with him; and if their father or me can't go to church, he just totes them back after service. And when Willie comes in with his libr'y book and his 'Child's Paper' and Scripture text, he's as rich as a king, and a heap more contented, I guess." While Mrs. Granby was talking, Mrs. Bradford was looking over a parcel which contained some new books, and now she gave her one for blind Willie's Christmas gift, saying she hoped things would be ordered so that before another Christmas he would be able to see. There is no need to tell Mrs. Granby's delight, or the thanks which she poured out. If Mrs. Bradford had given her a most magnificent present for herself, it would not have pleased her half so much as did these trifles for the policeman's children. That evening, after the little ones were all in bed, Mrs. Granby told Mr. Richards and his wife of all that had happened at Mrs. Bradford's. Mrs. Richards was by no means too proud to accept the lady's kindness; so pleased was she to think that she should see Jennie warm and neat once more that she had no room in her heart for anything but gratitude. Mrs. Granby was just putting away the treasures she had been showing, when there came a rap from the old-fashioned knocker on the front-door. "Sit you still, Sergeant Richards," she said. "I'm on my feet, and I'll just open the door." Which she did, and saw a tall gentleman standing there, who asked if Mr. Richards was in. "He is, sir," she answered, and then saying to herself, "I hope he's got special business for him that he'll pay him well for," threw open the door of the sitting-room, and asked the gentleman in. But the police-sergeant had already done the "special business," for which the gentleman came to make return. Mr. Richards knew him by sight, though he had never spoken to him. "Mr. Bradford, I believe, sir?" he said, coming forward. "You know me then?" said the gentleman. "Yes, sir," answered Richards, placing a chair for his visitor. "You see I know many as don't know me. Can I be of any service to you, sir?" "I came to have a talk with you, if you are at leisure," said Mr. Bradford. "Perhaps you may think I am taking a liberty, but my wife heard to-day, through your friend, that you were in some trouble with a doctor who has attended your family, and that you have been disappointed in obtaining the services of Mr. Ray, who has gone to Europe. I am a lawyer, you know, and if you do not object to consider me as a friend in his place, perhaps you will let me know what your difficulties are, and I may be able to help you." The policeman looked gratefully into the frank, noble face before him. "Thank you, sir," he said; "you are very good, and this is not the first time that I have heard of your kindness to those in trouble. It's rather a long story, that of our difficulties, but if it won't tire you, I'll be thankful to tell it." He began far back, telling how they had done well, and been very comfortable, having even a little laid by, until about a year since, when Mrs. Richards' father and mother, who lived with them, had died within a month of each other. "And I couldn't bear, sir," he said, "that the old folks shouldn't have a decent burying. So that used up what we had put by for a rainy day. Maybe I was foolish, but you see they were Mary's people, and we had feeling about it. But sure enough, no sooner was the money gone than the rainy day came, and stormy enough it has been ever since." He went on, telling how sickness had come, one thing following another; how Dr. Schwitz had promised that his charges should be small, but how he never would give in his bill, the policeman and his wife thinking all the while that it was kindness which kept him from doing so; how it had taken every cent of his salary to pay the other expenses of illness, and keep the family barely warmed and fed; of the disappointment of their hopes for Willie for, at least, some time to come; and finally of the terrible bill which Dr. Schwitz had sent through revenge, the police-sergeant thought, and upon the prompt payment of which he was now insisting. "He's hard on me, sir, after all his fair promises," said Richards, as he handed Mr. Bradford the bill; "and you see he has me, for I made no agreement with him, and I don't know as I can rightly say that the law would not allow it to him; so, for that reason, I don't dare to dispute it. But I thought Mr. Ray might be able to make some arrangement with him, and I _can't_ pay it all at once, nor this long time yet, that's settled. If he would wait, I might clear it off in a year or two though how then we are to get bread to put into the children's mouths I don't see. And there is the rent to pay, you know. We have tucked the children and Mrs. Granby all into one room, and let out the other two up-stairs; so that's a little help. And Mary was talking of selling that mahogany table and bookcase that are as dear to her as if they were gold, for they were her mother's; but they won't fetch nothing worth speaking of. The English colonel that came after your little daughter, when she was up at the station that day, was so good as to hand me a ten dollar bill, and we laid that by for a beginning; but think what a drop in the bucket that is, and it's precious little that we've added to it. I don't see my way out of this; that's just a fact, sir, and my only hope is that the Lord knows all." "You say Dr. Schwitz tried to bribe you by saying he would send in no bill, if you allowed his nephew to escape?" said Mr. Bradford. "Yes, sir, and I suppose I might use that for a handle against him; but I don't like to, for I can't say but that the man was real kind to me and mine before that. If he presses me too hard, I may have to; but I can't bear to do it." "Will you put the matter in my hands, and let me see this Dr. Schwitz?" asked Mr. Bradford. Richards was only too thankful, and after asking a little more about blind Willie, the gentleman took his leave. There is no need to tell what he said to Dr. Schwitz, but a few days after he saw the police-sergeant again, and gave him a new bill, which was just half as much as the former one, with the promise that the doctor would wait and allow Richards to pay it by degrees, on condition that it was done within the year. This, by great pinching and saving, the policeman thought he would be able to do. The good gentleman did not tell that it was only by paying part of the sum himself that he had been able to make this arrangement. "I don't know what claim I have upon you for such kindness, sir," said Richards, "but if you knew what a load you have taken from me, I am sure you would feel repaid." "I am repaid, more than repaid," said Mr. Bradford, with a smile; "for I feel that I am only paying a debt." The policeman looked surprised. "You were very kind to my little girl when she was in trouble," said the gentleman. "Oh, that, sir? Who could help it? And that was a very tiny seed to bring forth such a harvest as this." "It was 'bread cast upon the waters,'" said Mr. Bradford, "and to those who give in the Lord's name, he gives again 'good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.'" But the policeman had not even yet gathered in the whole of his harvest. [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 6] VI. _UNCLE RUTHVEN._ Christmas brought no Uncle Ruthven, but Christmas week brought Miss Elizabeth Rush, the sweet "Aunt Bessie" whom all the children loved so dearly. And it was no wonder they were fond of her, for she was almost as gentle and patient with them as mamma herself; and, like her brother, the colonel, had a most wonderful gift of story-telling, which she was always ready to put in use for them. Maggie and Bessie were more than ever sure that there were never such delightful people as their own, or two such happy children as themselves. "I think we're the completest family that ever lived," said Maggie, looking around the room with great satisfaction, one evening when Colonel and Mrs. Rush were present. "Yes," said Bessie; "I wonder somebody don't write a book about us." "And call it 'The Happy Family,'" said Fred, mischievously, "after those celebrated bears and dogs and cats and mice who live together in the most peaceable manner so long as they have no teeth and claws, but who immediately fall to and eat one another up as soon as these are allowed to grow." "If there is a bear among us, it must be yourself, sir," said the colonel, playfully pinching Fred's ear. "I don't know," said Fred, rubbing the ear; "judging from your claws, I should say you were playing that character, colonel; while I shall have to take that of the unlucky puppy who has fallen into your clutches." "I am glad you understand yourself so well, any way," returned Colonel Rush, drily. Fred and the colonel were very fond of joking and sparring in this fashion, but Bessie always looked very sober while it was going on; for she could not bear anything that sounded like disputing, even in play; and perhaps she was about right. But all this had put a new idea into that busy little brain of Maggie's. "Bessie," she said, the next morning, "I have a secret to tell you, and you must not tell any one else." "Not mamma?" asked Bessie. "No, we'll tell mamma we have a secret, and we'll let her know by and by; but I want her to be very much surprised as well as the rest of the people. Bessie, I'm going to write a book, and you may help me, if you like." "Oh!" said Bessie. "And what will it be about, Maggie?" "About ourselves. You put it in my head to do it, Bessie. But then I sha'n't put in our real names, 'cause I don't want people to know it is us. I made up a name last night. I shall call my people the Happys." "And shall you call the book 'The Happy Family'?" asked Bessie. "No; I think we will call it 'The Complete Family,'" said Maggie. "That sounds nicer and more booky; don't you think so?" "Yes," said Bessie, looking at her sister with great admiration. "And when are you going to begin it?" "To-day," said Maggie. "I'll ask mamma for some paper, and I'll write some every day till it's done; and then I'll ask papa to take it to the bookmaker; and when the book is made, we'll sell it, and give the money to the poor. I'll tell you what, Bessie, if Policeman Richards' blind boy is not cured by then, we'll give it to him to pay his doctor." "You dear Maggie!" said Bessie. "Will you yite a piece that I make up about yourself?" "I don't know," said Maggie; "I'll see what you say. I wouldn't like people to know it was me." The book was begun that very day, but it had gone little farther than the title and chapter first, before they found they should be obliged to take mamma into the secret at once. There were so many long words which they wished to use, but which they did not know how to spell, that they saw they would have to be running to her all the time. To their great delight, mamma gave Maggie a new copy-book to write in, and they began again. As this was a stormy day, they could not go out, so they were busy a long while over their book. When, at last, Maggie's fingers were tired, and it was put away, it contained this satisfactory beginning:-- "THE COMPLETE FAMILY. "A TALE OF HISTORY. "CHAPTER I. "Once upon a time, there lived a family named Happy; only that was not their real name, and you wish you had known them, and they are alive yet, because none of them have died. This was the most interesting and happiest family that ever lived. And God was so very good to them that they ought to have been the best family; but they were not except only the father and mother; and sometimes they were naughty, but 'most always afterwards they repented, so God forgave them. "This family were very much acquainted with some very great friends of theirs, and the colonel was very brave, and his leg was cut off; but now he is going to get a new leg, only it is a make believe." This was all that was done the first day; and that evening a very wonderful and delightful thing occurred, which Maggie thought would make her book more interesting than ever. There had been quite a family party at dinner, for it was Aunt Bessie's birthday, and the colonel and Mrs. Rush were always considered as belonging to the family now. Besides these, there were grandmamma and Aunt Annie, Grandpapa Duncan, Uncle John, and Aunt Helen, all assembled to do honor to Aunt Bessie. Dinner was over, and all, from grandpapa to baby, were gathered in the parlor, when there came a quick, hard pull at the door-bell. Two moments later, the parlor door was thrown open, and there stood a tall, broad figure in a great fur overcoat, which, as well as his long, curly beard, was thickly powdered with snow. At the first glance, he looked, except in size, not unlike the figure which a few weeks since had crowned their Christmas-tree; and in the moment of astonished silence which followed, Franky, throwing back his head and clapping his hands, shouted, "Santy Caus, Santy Caus!" But it was no Santa Claus, and in spite of the muffling furs and the heavy beard, in spite of all the changes which ten long years of absence had made, the mother's heart, and the mother's eye knew her son, and rising from her seat with a low cry of joy, Mrs. Stanton stretched her hands towards the stranger, exclaiming, "My boy! Ruthven, my boy!" and the next moment she was sobbing in his arms. Then his sisters were clinging about him, and afterwards followed such a kissing and hand-shaking! It was an evening of great joy and excitement, and although it was long past the usual time when Maggie and Bessie went to bed, they could not go to sleep. At another time nurse would have ordered them to shut their eyes and not speak another word; but to-night she seemed to think it quite right and natural that they should be so very wide awake, and not only gave them an extra amount of petting and kissing, but told them stories of Uncle Ruthven's pranks when he was a boy, and of his wonderful sayings and doings, till mamma, coming up and finding this going on, was half inclined to find fault with the old woman herself. Nurse had quite forgotten that, in those days, she told Uncle Ruthven, as she now told Fred, that he was "the plague of her life," and that he "worried her heart out." Perhaps she did not really mean it with the one more than with the other. [Illustration: Bessie's Friends. p. 124.] "And to think of him," she said, wiping the tears of joy from her eyes,--"to think of him asking for his old mammy 'most before he had done with his greetings to the gentlefolks! And him putting his arm about me and giving me a kiss as hearty as he used when he was a boy; and him been all over the world seein' all sorts of sights and doin's. The Lord bless him! He's got just the same noble, loving heart, if he has got all that hair about his face." Uncle Ruthven's tremendous beard was a subject of great astonishment to all the children. Fred saucily asked him if he had come home to set up an upholsterer's shop, knowing he could himself furnish plenty of stuffing for mattresses and sofas. To which his uncle replied that when he did have his beard cut, it should be to furnish a rope to bind Fred's hands and feet with. Maggie was very eager to write down the account of Uncle Ruthven's home-coming in her history of "The Complete Family," and as mamma's time was more taken up than usual just now, she could not run to her so often for help in her spelling. So the next two days a few mistakes went down, and the story ran after this fashion:-- "The Happys had a very happy thing happen to them witch delited them very much. They had a travelling uncle who came home to them at last; but he staid away ten years and did not come home even to see his mother, and I think he ort to don't you? But now he is come and has brought so many trunks and boxes with such lots and lots of things and kurositys in them that he is 'most like a Norz' Ark only better, and his gret coat and cap are made of the bears' skins he shot and he tells us about the tigers and lions and I don't like it and Fred and Harry do and Bessie don't too. And he is so nice and he brought presents for every boddy and nurse a shawl that she's going to keep in her will till she dies for Harry's wife, and he has not any and says he won't because Uncle Ruthven has no wife. That is all to-day my fingers are krampd." Strange to say, Maggie was at home with the new uncle much sooner than Bessie. Little Bessie was not quite sure that she altogether approved of Uncle Ruthven, or that it was quite proper for this stranger to come walking into the house and up-stairs at all hours of the day, kissing mamma, teasing nurse, and playing and joking with the children, just as if he had been at home there all his life. Neither would she romp with him as the other children did, looking gravely on from some quiet corner at their merry frolics, as if she half-disapproved of it all. So Uncle Ruthven nicknamed her the "Princess," and always called her "your highness" and "your grace," at which Bessie did not know whether to be pleased or displeased. She even looked half-doubtfully at the wonderful stories he told, though she never lost a chance of hearing one. Uncle Ruthven was very fond of children, though he was not much accustomed to them, and he greatly enjoyed having them with him, telling Mrs. Bradford that he did not know which he liked best,--Bessie with her dainty, quiet, ladylike little ways, or Maggie with her half-shy, half-roguish manner, and love of fun and mischief. Maggie and all the boys were half wild about him, and as for baby, if she could have spoken, she would have said that never was there such an uncle for jumping and tossing. The moment she heard his voice, her hands and feet began to dance, and took no rest till he had her in his arms; while mamma sometimes feared the soft little head and the ceiling might come to too close an acquaintance. "Princess," said Mr. Stanton, one evening, when he had been home about a fortnight, catching up Bessie, as she ran past him, and seating her upon the table, "what is that name your highness calls me?" "I don't call you anything but Uncle Yuthven," answered Bessie, gravely. "That is it," said her uncle. "What becomes of all your r's? Say Ruthven." "Er--er--er--Yuthven," said Bessie, trying very hard at the r. Mr. Stanton shook his head and laughed. "I can talk plainer than I used to," said Bessie. "I used to call Aunt Bessie's name very crooked, but I don't now." "What did you use to call it?" "I used to say _Libasus_; but now I can say it plain, _Lisabus_." "A vast improvement, certainly," said Mr. Stanton, "but you can't manage the R's yet, hey? Well, they will come one of these days, I suppose." "They'd better," said Fred, who was hanging over his uncle's shoulder, "or it will be a nice thing when she is a young lady for her to go turning all her R's into Y's. People will call her crooked-tongued Miss Bradford." "You don't make a very pleasant prospect for me to be in," said Bessie, looking from brother to uncle with grave displeasure, "and if a little boy like you, Fred, says that to me when I am a big lady, I shall say, 'My dear, you are very impertinent.'" "And quite right, too," said Uncle Ruthven. "If all the little boys do not treat you with proper respect, Princess, just bring them to me, and I will teach them good manners." Bessie made no answer, for she felt rather angry, and, fearing she might say something naughty, she wisely held her tongue; and slipping from her uncle's hold, she slid to his knee, and from that to the floor, running away to Aunt Bessie for refuge. After the children had gone to bed, Uncle Ruthven went up to Mrs. Bradford's room, that he might have a quiet talk with this his favorite sister. Mrs. Bradford was rocking her baby to sleep, which business was rather a serious one, for not the least talking or moving about could go on in the room but this very young lady must have a share in it. The long lashes were just drooping upon the round, dimpled cheek when Uncle Ruthven's step was heard. "Ah-oo-oo," said the little wide-awake, starting up with a crow of welcome to the playfellow she liked so well. Mamma laid the little head down again, and held up a warning finger to Uncle Ruthven, who stole softly to a corner, where he was out of Miss Baby's sight and hearing, to wait till she should be fairly off to dreamland. This brought him near the door of Maggie's and Bessie's room, where, without intending it, he heard them talking. Not hearing his voice, they thought he had gone away again, and presently Maggie said in a low tone, that she might not rouse baby, "Bessie, have you objections to Uncle Ruthven?" "Yes," answered Bessie, slowly,--"yes, Maggie, I think I have. I try not to, but I'm 'fraid I do have a little objections to him." "But why?" asked Maggie. "_I_ think he is lovely." "I don't know," said Bessie. "But, Maggie, don't you think he makes pretty intimate?" "Why, yes," said Maggie; "but then he's our uncle, you know. I guess he has a right if he has a mind to." "But he makes more intimate than Uncle John, and we've known him ever so long, and Uncle Yuthven only a little while. Why, Maggie, he kisses mamma!" "Well, he is her own brother," said Maggie, "and Uncle John is only her step-brother,--no, that's not it--her brother-of-law--that's it." "What does that mean, Maggie?" "It means when somebody goes and marries your sister. If somebody married me, he'd be your brother-of-law." "He sha'n't!" said Bessie, quite excited. "He's a horrid old thing, and he sha'n't do it!" "Who sha'n't do what?" asked Maggie, rather puzzled. "That person, that brother-of-law; he sha'n't marry you; you are my own Maggie." "Well, he needn't if you don't want him to," said Maggie, quite as well contented to settle it one way as the other. "And you needn't feel so bad, and sit up in bed about it, Bessie, 'cause you'll take cold, and mamma forbid it." "So she did," said Bessie, lying down again with a sigh. "Maggie, I'm 'fraid I'm naughty to-night. I forgot what mamma told me, and I was naughty to Uncle Yuthven." "What did you say?" "I didn't _say_ anything, but I felt very passionate, and I thought naughty things,--how I'd like to give him a good slap when he teased me, and, Maggie, for a moment I 'most thought I wished he did not come home. I am going to tell him I'm sorry, the next time he comes." "I wouldn't," said Maggie, who was never as ready as Bessie to acknowledge that she had been wrong; "not if I didn't do or say anything." "I would," said Bessie. "It is naughty to feel so; and you know there's no 'scuse for me to be passionate like there was for Aunt Patty, 'cause my people are so very wise, and teach me better. And it grieves Jesus when we feel naughty, and he saw my naughty heart to-night." "Then ask him to forgive you," said Maggie. "So I did; but I think he'll know I want to be better if I ask Uncle Yuthven too." "Well," said Maggie, "maybe he will. But, Bessie, why do you speak about yourself as if you are like Aunt Patty. You're not a bit like her." "But I might be, if I wasn't teached better," said Bessie, "and if Jesus didn't help me. Poor Aunt Patty! Papa said she was to be pitied." "I sha'n't pity her, I know," said Maggie. "But, Maggie, mamma said we ought to try and feel kind to her, and to be patient and good to her when she came here, 'cause she's getting very old, and there's nobody to love her, or take care of her. I am 'fraid of her, but I am sorry for her." "If she has nobody to take care of her, let her go to the Orphan Asylum," said Maggie. "I just hope papa will send her there, 'cause we don't want to be bothered with her." "And don't you feel a bit sorry for her, Maggie?" "No, not a bit; and I'm not going to, either. She is quite a disgrace to herself, and so she'd better stay at her house up in the mountains." Maggie, in her turn, was growing quite excited, as she always did when she talked or thought of Aunt Patty. It was some time since the children had done either, for Christmas, Aunt Bessie, and Uncle Ruthven had given them so much else to think about, that they had almost forgotten there was such a person. And now mamma, who had laid baby in her cradle, coming in to stop the talking, was sorry to hear her little girls speaking on the old, disagreeable subject. She told them they must be still, and go to sleep. The first command was obeyed at once, but Maggie did not find the second quite so easy; and she lay awake for some time imagining all kinds of possible and impossible quarrels with Aunt Patty, and inventing a chapter about her for "The Complete Family." While little Maggie was thinking thus of Aunt Patty, the old lady, in her far-away home, was wondering how she might best contrive to gain the hearts of her young nieces and nephews, for she was not the same woman she had been four years ago. During the last few months a new knowledge and a new life had come to her, making her wish to live in peace and love with every one. But she did not know how to set about this; for the poor lady had grown old in the indulgence of a bad temper, a proud spirit, and a habit of desiring to rule all about her; and now it was not easy to change all this. She had humbled herself at the feet of her Lord and Saviour, but it was hard work to do it before her fellow-men. She could not quite resolve to say to those whom she had grieved and offended by her violence and self-will, "I have done wrong, but now I see my sin, and wish, with God's help, to lead a new life." Still, she longed for the love and friendship she had once cast from her, and her lonely heart craved for some care and affection. She well knew that Mr. and Mrs. Bradford would be only too ready to forgive and forget all that was disagreeable in the past, and she also felt that they would do nothing to prejudice the minds of their children against her. She thought she would go to them, and try to be gentle and loving, and so perhaps she should win back their hearts, and gain those of their little ones. But old habit and the old pride were still strong within her, and so, when she wrote to Mr. Bradford to say she was coming to make them a visit, she gave no sign that she was sorry for the past, and would like to make amends. But shortly before the time she had fixed for the visit, something happened which caused her to change her purpose, and she chose to say nothing of her reasons for this, only sending word that she could not come before spring, perhaps not then. Now, again she had altered her plans, and this time she chose to take them all by surprise, and to go to Mr. Bradford's without warning. "Margaret," said Mr. Stanton softly, as his sister came from the bedside of her little girls, and they went to the other side of the room, "what a sensitive conscience your darling little Bessie has! It seems I vexed her to-night, though I had no thought of doing so. I saw she was displeased, but the feeling seemed to pass in a moment. Now I find that she is so penitent for indulging in even a wrong feeling that she cannot rest satisfied without asking pardon, not only of her heavenly Father, but also of me." And he told Mrs. Bradford of all he had heard the children say, with some amusement, as he repeated the conversation about himself. "Yes," said Mrs. Bradford, "my dear little Bessie's quick temper gives her some trouble. I am often touched to see her silent struggles with herself when something tries it, how she forces back each angry word and look, and faithfully asks for the help which she knows will never fail her. But with that tender conscience, and her simple trust in Him who has redeemed her, I believe all the strength she needs will be granted. God only knows how thankful I am that he has thus early led my precious child to see the sin and evil of a passionate and unchecked temper, and so spared her and hers the misery which I have seen it cause to others." Uncle Ruthven came in the next morning, and, as usual, "making intimate," ran up to mamma's room. She was not there; but Maggie and Bessie were, busy over "The Complete Family." But Maggie did not look at all as if she belonged to the Happys just then. She had composed, what she thought, a very interesting chapter about Aunt Patty, and commenced it in this way: "There came to the Happys a very great aflekshun." But when she had written this last word, she had her doubts about the spelling, and carried the book to mamma to see if it were right. Mamma inquired what the affliction was, and finding, as she supposed, that it was Aunt Patty, she told Maggie she did not wish her to write about her. Maggie was very much disappointed, and even pouted a little, and she had not quite recovered when her uncle came in. In his hand he carried a little basket of flowers, which the children supposed was for mamma, and which he stood upon the table. Bessie loved flowers dearly, and in a moment she was hanging over them, and enjoying their sweetness. Uncle Ruthven asked what they were about, and to Bessie's surprise, Maggie took him at once into the secret, telling him all about "The Complete Family" and her present trouble. Uncle Ruthven quite agreed with mamma that it was not wisest and best to write anything unkind of Aunt Patty, and told Maggie of some very pleasant things she might relate, so that presently she was smiling and good-natured again. Then Mr. Stanton took Bessie up in his arms. "Bessie," he said, "did I vex you a little last night?" Bessie all over, but looking her uncle steadily in the eyes, answered, "Yes, sir; and I am sorry I felt so naughty." "Nay," said Uncle Ruthven, smiling, "if I teased you, although I did not intend it, I am the one to beg pardon." "But I was pretty mad, uncle, and I felt as if I wanted to be naughty. I think I ought to be sorry." "As you please then, darling; we will forgive one another. And now would you like this little peace-offering from Uncle Ruthven?" and he took up the basket of flowers. "Is that for me?" asked Bessie, her eyes sparkling. "Yes. I thought perhaps I had hurt your feelings last night, and so I brought it to you that you might see _I_ was sorry." "But I could believe you without that." Bessie felt reproached that she had told Maggie she had "objections to Uncle Ruthven," and now she felt as if they had all flown away. "Perhaps you could," said Uncle Ruthven, smiling as he kissed her; "but the flowers are your own to do with as you please. And now you must remember that I am not much accustomed to little girls, and do not always know what they like and what they do not like; so you must take pity on the poor traveller, if he makes a mistake now and then, and believe he always wishes to please you and make you love him as far as he knows how." [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 7] VII. _AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR._ Uncle Ruthven had brought home with him two servants, the elder of whom was a Swede, and did not interest the children much, being, as Maggie said, such a "very broken Englishman" that they could scarcely understand him. But the other was a little Persian boy about twelve years old, whom a sad, or rather a happy accident, had thrown into Mr. Stanton's hands. Riding one day through the streets of a Persian town, as he turned a corner, this boy ran beneath his horse's feet, was thrown down and badly hurt. Mr. Stanton took him up and had him kindly cared for, and finding that the boy was an orphan, with no one to love him, he went often to see him, and soon became much interested in the grateful, affectionate little fellow; while Hafed learned to love dearly the only face which looked kindly upon him. When the time came for Mr. Stanton to go away, Hafed's grief was terrible to see, and he clung so to this new friend, that the gentleman could not find it in his heart to leave him. It was not difficult to persuade those who had the care of him to give him up; they were only too glad to be rid of the charge. So, at some trouble to himself, Mr. Stanton had brought him away. But if he needed payment, he found it in Hafed's happy face and tireless devotion to himself. He was less of a servant than a pet; but his master did not mean him to grow up in idleness and ignorance, and as soon as he knew a little English, he was to go to school to learn to read and write; but at present he was allowed time to become accustomed to his new home. The children thought him a great curiosity, partly because of his foreign dress, and that he had come from such a far-off country; partly because he could speak only half a dozen English words. Hafed took a great fancy to the little girls, and was never happier than when his master took him to Mr. Bradford's house, and left him to play with them for a while. Maggie and Bessie liked him also, and they immediately set about teaching him English. As yet, he knew only four or five words, one of which was "Missy," by which name he called every one who wore skirts, not excepting Franky, who considered it a great insult. Maggie was very eager to have him learn new words, and was constantly showing him something and repeating the name over and over till he could say it. But though he took great pains, and was an apt scholar, he did not learn fast enough to satisfy Maggie. "Hafed," she said to him one day, holding up her doll, "say 'doll.'" "_Dole_," repeated Hafed, in his soft, musical tones. "Doll," said Maggie, not at all satisfied with his pronunciation, and speaking in a louder voice, as if Hafed could understand the better for that. "Dole," said Hafed again, with a contented smile. "D-o-o-ll," shrieked Maggie, in the ear of her patient pupil, with no better success on his part. Miss Rush was sitting by, and she called Maggie to her. "Maggie, dear," she said, "you must not be impatient with Hafed. I am sure he tries his best; but you must remember it is hard work for that little foreign tongue of his to twist itself to our English words. He will learn to pronounce them in time." "But, Aunt Bessie," said Maggie, "mamma said it was always best to learn to do a thing well at first, and then one will not have to break one's self of bad habits." "And so it is, dear; but then we cannot always do that at once. When mamma teaches you French, you cannot always pronounce the words as she does; can you?" "No; ma'am; but those are hard French words, and we are trying to teach Hafed English, and that is so easy." "Easy to you, dear, who are accustomed to it, but not to him. It is even harder for him to frame the English words than it is for you to repeat the French; and you should be gentle and patient with him, as mamma is with you." The little Persian felt the cold very much, and delighted to hang about the fires and registers. He had a way of going down on his knees before the fire, and holding up both hands with the palms towards the blaze. The first time nurse saw him do this, she was quite shocked. "The poor little heathen," she said. "Well, I've often heard of them fire-worshippers, but I never expected to see one, at least, in this house. I shall just make so bold as to tell Mr. Ruthven he ought to teach him better." But Hafed was no fire-worshipper, for he had been taught better, and thanks to his kind master, did not bow down to that or any other false god. It was only his delight in the roaring blaze which had brought him down in front of it, not, as nurse thought, the wish to pray to it. "Let's teach him about Jesus," said Bessie to her sister. "First, we'll teach him to say it, and then he'll want to know who he is." So kneeling down beside the little stranger, she took his hand in hers, and pointing upwards said, "Jesus." The boy's face lighted up immediately, and to Bessie's great delight, he repeated Jesus in a tone so clear and distinct as to show it was no new word to him. He had a pretty way when he wished to say he loved a person, of touching his fingers to his lips, laying them on his own heart, and then on that of the one for whom he wished to express his affection. Now, at the sound of the name, which he, as well as Bessie, had learned to love, he tried, by a change in the pretty sign, to express his meaning. Touching first Bessie's lips and then her heart with the tips of his fingers, he softly blew upon them, as if he wished to waft to heaven the love he could not utter in words, saying, "Missy--Jesus?" Bessie understood him. She knew he wished to ask if she loved Jesus, and with a sunny face, she answered him with a nod, asking, in her turn, "Do you, Hafed,--do you love Jesus?" The boy went through the same sign with his own heart and lips, saying, "Hafed--Jesus," and Bessie turned joyfully to her sister. "He knows him, Maggie. We won't have to teach him; he knows our Jesus, and he loves him too. Oh, I'm so glad!" "Now the Good Shepherd, that has called ye to be his lambs, bless you both," said old nurse, with the tears starting to her eyes. "That's as cheering a sight as I want to see; and there was me a misjudging of my boy. I might have known him better than to think he'd let one as belonged to him go on in darkness and heathendom." Nurse always called Mr. Stanton her "boy" when she was particularly pleased with him. From this time Hafed was almost as great a favorite with nurse as he was with the children, and seeing how gentle and thoughtful he was, she would even sometimes leave them for a few moments in his care. One morning mamma and Aunt Bessie were out, and Jane, who was sick, had gone to bed. Hafed was in the nursery playing with the children, when the chamber-maid came in to ask nurse to go to Jane. Nurse hesitated at first about leaving her charge, but they all said they would be good, and Hafed should take care of them. Nurse knew that this was a safe promise from Maggie and Bessie, but she feared that, with every intention of being good, mischievous Franky would have himself or the others in trouble if she stayed away five minutes. "See here," she said, "I'll put ye all into the crib, and there ye may play omnibus till I come back. That will keep ye out of harm's way, Franky, my man, for if there's a chance for you to get into mischief, ye'll find it." This was a great treat, for playing in the cribs and beds was not allowed without special permission, and Franky, being provided with a pair of reins, and a chair turned upside down for a horse, took his post as driver, in great glee; while the three little girls were packed in as passengers, Maggie holding the baby. Hafed was rather too large for the crib, so he remained outside, though he, too, enjoyed the fun, even if he did not quite understand all it meant. Then, having with many pointings and shakings of her head made Hafed understand that he was not to go near the fire or windows, or to let the children fall out of the crib, mammy departed. They were all playing and singing as happy as birds, when the nursery-door opened, and a stranger stood before them. In a moment every voice was mute, and all five children looked at her in utter astonishment. She was an old lady, with hair as white as snow, tall and handsome; but there was something about her which made every one of the little ones feel rather shy. They gazed at her in silence while she looked from one to another of them, and then about the room, as if those grave, stern eyes were taking notice of the smallest thing there. "Well!" exclaimed the old lady, after a moment's pause, "this is a pretty thing!" By this time Bessie's politeness had gained the better of her astonishment, and scrambling to her feet, she stood upright in the crib. As the stranger's eyes were fixed upon Hafed as she spoke, the little girl supposed the "pretty thing" meant the dress of the young Persian, which the children thought very elegant; and she answered, "Yes, ma'am, but he is not to wear it much longer, 'cause the boys yun after him in the street, so Uncle Yuthven is having some English clothes made for him." "Where is your mother?" asked the old lady, without other notice of Bessie's speech. "Gone out with Aunt Bessie, ma'am." "And is there nobody left to take care of you?" "Oh, yes, ma'am," answered Bessie. "Maggie and I are taking care of the children, and Hafed is taking care of us." "Humph!" said the old lady, as if she did not think this at all a proper arrangement. "I shall give Margaret a piece of my mind about this." Bessie now opened her eyes very wide. "Papa don't allow it," she said, gravely. "Don't allow what?" asked the stranger, rather sharply. "Don't allow mamma to be scolded." "And who said I was going to scold her?" "You said you were going to give her a piece of your mind, and pieces of mind mean scoldings, and we never have mamma scolded, 'cause she never deserves it." "Oh!" said the old lady, with a half-smile, "then she is better than most people." "Yes, ma'am," answered Bessie, innocently, "she is better than anybody, and so is papa." "Just as well _you_ should think so," said the lady, now smiling outright. "And you are Maggie--no--Bessie, I suppose." "Yes, ma'am. I am Bessie, and this is Maggie, and this is baby, and this is Franky, and this is Hafed," said the child, pointing in turn to each of her playmates. "And is there no one but this little mountebank to look after you?" asked the old lady. "Where is your nurse?" "She is coming back in a few minutes," answered Bessie. "And Hafed is not a--a--that thing you called him, ma'am. He is only a little Persian whom Uncle Yuthven brought from far away over the sea, and he's a very good boy. He does not know a great many of our words, but he tries to learn them, and he knows about our Jesus, and tries to be a good little boy." Dear Bessie wished to say all she could in praise of Hafed, whom she thought the old lady looked at with displeasure. Perhaps Hafed thought so, also, for he seemed very much as if he would like to hide away from her gaze. Meanwhile Maggie sat perfectly silent. When the old lady had first spoken, she started violently, and, clasping her arms tightly about the baby, looked more and more frightened each instant; while baby, who was not usually shy, nestled her little head timidly against her sister's shoulder, and stared at the stranger with eyes of grave infant wonder. "And so you are Maggie," said the lady, coming closer to the crib. Poor Maggie gave a kind of gasp by way of answer. "Do you not know me, Maggie?" asked the old lady, in a voice which she intended to be coaxing. To Bessie's dismay, Maggie burst into one of those sudden and violent fits of crying, to which she would sometimes give way when much frightened or distressed. "Why, why!" said the stranger, as the baby, startled by Maggie's sobs, and the way in which she clutched her, raised her voice also in a loud cry. "Why, why! what is all this about? Do you not know your Aunt Patty?" Aunt Patty! Was it possible? At this astounding and alarming news, Bessie plumped down again in the bed beside Maggie, amazed at herself for having dared to speak so boldly to that terrible person. And yet she had not seemed so terrible, nor had she felt much afraid of her till she found out who she was. But now Mrs. Lawrence was losing patience. Certainly she had not had a very pleasant reception. Coming cold and tired from a long journey, she had found her host and hostess out, and no one but the servants to receive her. This was her own fault, of course, since she had not told Mr. and Mrs. Bradford to expect her; but that did not make it the less annoying to her. It is not always the easier to bear a thing because we ourselves are to blame for it. However, she had made up her mind not to be vexed about it, and at once went to the nursery to make acquaintance with the children. But the greeting she received was not of a kind to please any one, least of all a person of Aunt Patty's temper. And there was worse still to come. "What is the meaning of all this?" asked Mrs. Lawrence, in an angry tone. "Here, Maggie, give me that child, and stop crying at once." As she spoke, she tried to take the baby, but poor Maggie, now in utter despair, shrieked aloud for nurse, and held her little sister closer than before. Aunt Patty was determined, however, and much stronger than Maggie, and in another minute the baby was screaming in her arms. "Oh, Maggie, why don't somebody come?" cried Bessie. "Oh, do say those words to her?" Maggie had quite forgotten how she had intended to alarm Aunt Patty if she interfered with them; but when Bessie spoke, it came to her mind, and the sight of her baby sister in the old lady's arms was too much for her. Springing upon her feet, she raised her arm after the manner of the woman in the picture, and gasped out, "Beware, woman!" For a moment Aunt Patty took no notice of her, being occupied with trying to soothe the baby. "Beware, woman!" cried Maggie, in a louder tone, and stamping her foot. Mrs. Lawrence turned and looked at her. "Beware, woman!" shrieked Maggie, and Bessie, thinking it time for her to come to her sister's aid, joined in the cry, "Beware, woman!" while Franky, always ready to take part in any disturbance, struck at Aunt Patty with his whip, and shouted, "'Ware, woman!" and Hafed, knowing nothing but that this old lady had alarmed and distressed his young charge, and that it was his duty to protect them, raised his voice in a whoop of defiance, and snatching up the hearth-brush, brandished it in a threatening manner as he danced wildly about her. Nor was this all, for Flossy, who had also been taken into the crib as a passenger, commenced a furious barking, adding greatly to the uproar. [Illustration: Bessie's Friends. p. 158.] It would be difficult to say which was the greatest, Aunt Patty's astonishment or her anger; and there is no knowing what she would have done or said, for at this moment the door opened, and Uncle Ruthven appeared. For a moment he stood perfectly motionless with surprise. It was indeed a curious scene upon which he looked. In the centre of the room stood an old lady who was a stranger to him, holding in her arms the screaming baby; while around her danced his own little servant-boy, looking as if he might be one of the wild dervishes of his own country; and in the crib stood his young nieces and Franky, all shouting, "Beware, woman!" over and over again. But Aunt Patty had not the least idea of "running away, never to be seen again," and if her conscience were "guilty," it certainly did not seem to be at all alarmed by anything Maggie or Bessie could do. Nevertheless, Mr. Stanton's appearance was a great relief to her. Baby ceased her loud cries, and stretched out her dimpled arms to her uncle, with a beseeching whimper; Hafed paused in his antics, and stood like a statue at sight of his master; and the three other children all turned to him with exclamations of "Oh, Uncle Ruthven; we're so glad!" and "Please don't leave us," from Maggie and Bessie; and "Make dat Patty be off wiz herself," from Franky. Mr. Stanton recovered himself in a moment, and bowing politely to Mrs. Lawrence, said, with a smile sparkling in his eye, "I fear you are in some trouble, madam; can I help you?" "Help me?" repeated the old lady; "I fear you will want help yourself. Why, it must need half a dozen keepers to hold these little Bedlamites in any kind of order." "They are usually orderly enough," answered Mr. Stanton as he took baby from Aunt Patty, who was only too glad to give her up; "but I do not understand this. What is the matter, Maggie, and where is nurse?" But Maggie only answered by a new burst of sobs, and Bessie spoke for her. "She's Aunt Patty, Uncle Yuthven; she says she is." "Well," said Uncle Ruthven, more puzzled than ever, for he knew little of Mrs. Lawrence, save that she was Mr. Bradford's aunt, "and do you welcome her with such an uproar as this? Tell me where nurse is, Bessie." As he spoke, nurse herself came in, answering his question with, "Here I am, sir, and--" Nurse, in her turn, was so astonished by the unexpected sight of Aunt Patty that she stood quite still, gazing at her old enemy. But, as she afterwards said, she presently "recollected her manners," and dropping a stiff courtesy to Mrs. Lawrence, she took the baby from Mr. Stanton, and in a few words explained the cause of her ten minutes' absence. The tearful faces of her nurslings, and that of Aunt Patty, flushed and angry, gave nurse a pretty good guess how things had been going while she had been away, but she saw fit to ask no questions. "My lady is out, ma'am," she said, with a grim sort of politeness to Mrs. Lawrence, "and I think she was not looking for you just now, or she would have been at home." Then Mr. Stanton introduced himself, and asking Mrs. Lawrence if she would let him play the part of host till his sister came home, he offered the old lady his arm, and led her away. Poor Aunt Patty! she scarcely knew what to do. The old angry, jealous temper and the new spirit which had lately come to dwell in her heart were doing hard battle, each striving for the victory. She thought, and not without reason, that her nephew's little children must have been taught to fear and dislike her, when they could receive her in such a manner; and the evil spirit said, "Go, do not remain in a house where you have been treated so. Leave it, and never come back to it. You have been insulted! do not bear it! Tell these people what you think of their unkindness, and never see them again." But the better angel, the spirit of the meek and lowly Master, of whom she was striving to learn, said, "No, stay, and try to overcome evil with good. This is all your own fault, the consequence of your own ungoverned and violent temper. Your very name has become a name of fear to these innocent children; but you must bear it, and let them find they have no longer cause to dread you. And do not be too proud to let their parents see that you are sorry for the past, and wish it to be forgotten. If this is hard, and not what you would have expected, remember how much they have borne from you in former days; how patient and gentle and forbearing they were." Then, as her anger cooled down, she began to think how very unlikely it was that Mr. or Mrs. Bradford had said or done anything which could cause their children to act in the way Maggie and Bessie had done that morning. This was probably the work of others who remembered how perverse and trying she had been during her last visit. And Aunt Patty was forced to acknowledge to herself that it was no more than she deserved, or might have looked for. And so, trying to reason herself into better humor, as she thought the matter over, she began to see its droll side (for Aunt Patty had a quick sense of fun) and to find some amusement mingling with her vexation at the singular conduct of the children. Meanwhile, Mr. Stanton, who saw that the poor lady had been greatly annoyed, and who wondered much at all the commotion he had seen in the nursery, though, like nurse, he thought it wisest to ask no questions, was doing his best to make her forget it; and so well did he succeed, that presently Mrs. Lawrence found herself, she scarcely knew how, laughing heartily with him as she related the story of Maggie's strange attack upon her. Mr. Stanton understood it no better than she did, perhaps not so well; but he was very much amused; and as he thought these young nieces and nephews of his were very wonderful little beings, he told Aunt Patty many of their droll sayings and doings, making himself so agreeable and entertaining, that by the time his sister came in, the old lady had almost forgotten that she had cause to be offended, and was not only quite ready to meet Mrs. Bradford in a pleasant manner, but actually went so far as to apologize for taking them all by surprise. This was a great deal to come from Aunt Patty. She would not have spoken so four years ago; but Mrs. Bradford was not more surprised by this than she was at the difference in look and manner which now showed itself in the old lady. Surely, some great change must have come to her; and her friends, seeing how much more patient and gentle she was than in former days, could not but think it was the one blessed change which must come to the hearts of those who seek for love and peace by the true way. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 7] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 8] VIII. _FRANKY._ But although such a great and delightful alteration had taken place in Mrs. Lawrence, and although Mrs. Bradford and Miss Rush did all they could to make the children feel kindly towards her, it was some days before things went at all smoothly between the old lady and the little ones, and Annie Stanton, seeing the consequence of her thoughtlessness, had more than once reason to regret it, and to take to herself a lesson to refrain from evil speaking. Maggie and Bessie, it is true, were too old and too well behaved to speak their fear and their dislike openly, by word or action, but it was plainly to be seen in their looks and manners. Poor Aunt Patty! She heard the sweet, childish voices prattling about the house, ringing out so freely and joyfully in peals of merry laughter, or singing to simple music the pretty hymns and songs their dear mother and Mrs. Rush had taught them; but the moment she appeared, sweet song, innocent talk, and gay laugh were hushed; the little ones were either silent, or whispered to one another in subdued, timid tones. Little feet would come pattering, or skipping along the hall, a small, curly head peep within the door, and then vanish at sight of her, while a whisper of "She's there; let's run," told the cause of its sudden disappearance. She saw them clinging around their other friends and relations with loving confidence, climbing upon their knees, clasping their necks, pressing sweet kisses on their cheeks and lips, asking freely for all the interest, sympathy, and affection they needed. Father and mother, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, Colonel and Mrs. Rush, the very servants, who had been long in the house, all came in for a share of childish love and trust. But for her they had nothing but shy, downcast looks, timid, half-whispered answers; they shrank from the touch of her hand, ran from her presence. Yes, poor Aunt Patty! the punishment was a severe one, and, apart from the pain it gave her, it was hard for a proud spirit such as hers to bear. But she said nothing, did not even complain to Mrs. Bradford of the reception she had met with from Maggie and Bessie, and it was only by Uncle Ruthven's account and the confession of the little girls that their mamma knew what had occurred. On the morning after Mrs. Lawrence's arrival, Maggie, as usual, brought the "Complete Family" to her mother to have the spelling corrected, and Mrs. Bradford found written, "'Beware, woman!' is not a bit of use. It don't frighten people a bit; not even gilty conshuns, and Uncle John just teased me I know. It is real mean." Mamma asked the meaning of this, and, in a very aggrieved manner, Maggie told her of Uncle John's explanation of the picture, and how she thought she would try the experiment on Aunt Patty when she had insisted on taking the baby. "But it was all of no purpose, mamma," said Maggie, in a very injured tone; "she did not care at all, but just stood there, looking madder and madder." Mamma could scarcely wonder that Aunt Patty had looked "madder and madder," and she told Maggie that she thought her aunt wished to be kind and good since she had not uttered one word of complaint at the rude reception she had met with. But the little girl did not see it with her mother's eyes, and could not be persuaded to think less hardly of Aunt Patty. But that rogue, Franky, was not afraid to show his feelings. He was a bold little monkey, full of life and spirits, and always in mischief; and now he seemed to have set himself purposely to defy and brave Mrs. Lawrence, acting as if he wished to see how far he could go without meeting punishment at her hands. This sad behavior of Franky's was particularly unfortunate, because the old lady had taken a special love for the little boy, fancying he looked like the dear father who so many years ago had been drowned beneath the blue waters of the Swiss lake. A day or two after Aunt Patty came, she, with Mrs. Bradford and Miss Rush, was in the parlor with three or four morning visitors. Franky had just learned to open the nursery door for himself, and this piece of knowledge he made the most of, watching his chance and slipping out the moment nurse's eye was turned from him. Finding one of these opportunities for which he was so eager, he ran out and went softly down-stairs, fearing to hear nurse calling him back. But nurse did not miss him at first, and he reached the parlor in triumph. Here the door stood partly open, and putting in his head, he looked around the room. No one noticed the roguish little face, with its mischievous, dancing eyes, for all the ladies were listening to Aunt Patty, as she told them some very interesting anecdote. Suddenly there came from the door, in clear, childish tones, "Ladies, ladies, does Patty stold oo? Oo better wun away, she stolds very dreadful." After which Master Franky ran away himself as fast as his feet could carry him, laughing and chuckling as he mounted the stairs, as if he had done something very fine. Mrs. Lawrence went straight on with her story, not pausing for an instant, though that she heard quite as plainly as any one else was to be seen by the flush of color on her cheek, and the uplifting of the already upright head. As for poor Mrs. Bradford, it was very mortifying for her; but what was to be done? Nothing, just nothing, as far as Aunt Patty was concerned. It was not a thing for which pardon could well be asked or an apology made, and Mrs. Bradford thought the best way was to pass it over in silence. She talked very seriously to Franky, but it seemed impossible to make the little boy understand that he had done wrong; and, although nothing quite as bad as this occurred again for several days, he still seemed determined to make war upon Aunt Patty whenever he could find a chance of doing so. And yet, strange to say, this unruly young gentleman was the first one of the children to make friends with his old auntie; and it came about in this way:-- Aunt Bessie had brought as her Christmas gift to Franky a tiny pair of embroidered slippers, which were, as her namesake said, "perferly cunning," and in which the little boy took great pride. Nurse, also, thought a great deal of these slippers, and was very choice of them, allowing Franky to wear them only while she was dressing or undressing him. But one day when she brought him in from his walk, she found his feet very cold, and taking off his walking-shoes, she put on the slippers, and planted him in front of the fire, telling him to "toast his toes." No sooner did the little toes begin to feel at all comfortable than Franky looked around for some way of putting them to what he considered their proper use; namely, trotting about. That tempting nursery-door stood ajar, nurse's eyes were turned another way, and in half a minute he was off again. Mammy missed him very soon, and sent Jane to look for him. She met him coming up-stairs, and brought him back to the nursery with a look in his eye which nurse knew meant that he had been in mischief. And was it possible? He was in his stocking feet! The precious slippers were missing. In vain did the old woman question him; he would give her no answer, only looking at her with roguishness dancing in every dimple on his chubby face; and in vain did Jane search the halls and staircase. So at last nurse took him to his mother, and very unwilling he was to go, knowing right well that he had been naughty, and that now he would be obliged to confess it. "Where are your slippers, Franky?" asked Mrs. Bradford, when nurse had told her story. Franky hung his head and put his finger into his mouth, then lifted his face coaxingly to his mother for a kiss. "Mamma cannot kiss you till you are a good boy," said Mrs. Bradford, and repeated her question, "Where are your slippers?" "In Patty's pottet," said Franky, seeing that his mother would have an answer, and thinking he had best have it out. "And how came they in Aunt Patty's pocket?" "She put dem dere hersef," answered the child. "Did she take them off your feet, Franky?" "No, mamma," answered Franky, liking these questions still less than he had done the others. "How did they come off then?" "Me trow dem at Patty," said Franky. At last, after much more questioning and some whimpering from the child, he was brought to confess that he had gone to the library, where he found Aunt Patty. Defying her as usual, and trying how far he could go, without punishment, he had called her "bad old sing," and many other naughty names; but finding this did not bring the expected scolding, he had pulled off first one and then the other of his slippers and thrown them at the old lady. These Mrs. Lawrence had picked up and put in her pocket, still without speaking. Little Franky could not tell how sorrow and anger were both struggling in her heart beneath that grave silence. When Mrs. Bradford had found out all Franky could or would tell, she told him he was a very naughty little boy, and since he had behaved so badly to Aunt Patty, he must go at once and ask her pardon. This Franky had no mind to do. He liked very well to brave Aunt Patty from a safe distance; but he did not care to trust himself within reach of the punishment he knew he so justly deserved. Besides, he was in a naughty, obstinate mood, and would not obey his mother as readily as usual. But mamma was determined, as it was right she should be, and after rather a hard battle with her little son, she carried him down-stairs, still sobbing, but subdued and penitent, to beg Aunt Patty's forgiveness. "Me sorry, me do so any more," said Franky, meaning he would do so no more. To his surprise, and also somewhat to his mother's, the old lady caught him in her arms, and covered his face with kisses, while a tear or two shone in her eye. "Don't ky; me dood now," lisped Franky, forgetting all his fear, and putting up his hand to wipe away her tears; and from this minute Aunt Patty and Franky were the best of friends. Indeed, so indulgent did she become to him, that papa and mamma were quite afraid he would be spoiled; for the little gentleman, finding out his power, lorded it over her pretty well. Mrs. Bradford, coming in unexpectedly one day, actually found the old lady on her hands and knees, in a corner, playing the part of a horse eating hay from a manger; while Franky, clothes-brush in hand, was, much to his own satisfaction, pretending to rub her down, making the hissing noise used by coachmen when they curry a horse, and positively refusing to allow his patient playfellow to rise. But Maggie and Bessie could not be persuaded to be at all friendly or sociable with Aunt Patty. True, after their first dread of her wore off, and they found she was by no means so terrible as they had imagined, they no longer scampered off at the least sound of her voice or glimpse of her skirts, as they had done at first; and Bessie even found courage to speak to her now and then, always looking however, as if she thought she was running a great risk, and could not tell what would be the consequence of such boldness. For after all they had heard, our little girls found it impossible to believe that such a great change had taken place in Aunt Patty, and were always watching for some outbreak of temper. Unhappily there was one thing which stood much in Aunt Patty's way, not only with the children, but perhaps with some grown people also, and that was her old way of meddling and finding fault with things which did not concern her. This she did, almost without knowing it; for so it is, where we have long indulged in a habit, it becomes, as it were, a part of ourselves, and the older we grow, the harder it is to rid ourselves of it. And there are few things which sooner rouse the evil passions and dislike of others than this trick of fault-finding where we have no right or need to do so, or of meddling with that which does not concern us. So Mrs. Lawrence, without intending it, was constantly fretting and aggravating those around her while Maggie and Bessie, who thought that all their mamma did or said was quite perfect, were amazed and indignant when they heard her rules and wishes questioned and found fault with, and sometimes even set aside by Aunt Patty, if she thought another way better. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 8] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 9] IX. "_BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS._" One Sunday when Mrs. Lawrence had been with them about two weeks, Maggie and Bessie, on going as usual to their class at Mrs. Rush's, found that they two were to make up her whole class that morning; for Gracie Howard was sick, and Lily Norris gone on a visit to her grandfather who lived in the country. Mrs. Rush was not very sorry to have her favorite scholars by themselves, for she wished to give them a little lesson which it was not necessary that the others should hear. And Maggie gave her the opportunity for which she wished by asking Colonel Rush for the story of Benito. "For," said the little girl, "if we were away and Lily and Gracie here, and you told them a new story, we should be very disappointed not to hear it; so Bessie and I made agreement to ask for an old one, and we like Benito better than any." "Very well; it shall be as you say," replied the colonel, who, provided his pets were satisfied, was so himself, and after the children had gone, he said to his wife, "Certainly there are few things in which our sweet little Maggie does not act up to the Golden Rule, of which she is so fond. She does not repeat it in a parrot-like way, as many do, but she understands what it means, and practises it too, with her whole heart." So when the lessons were over, the colonel told the story of Benito, which never seemed to lose its freshness with these little listeners. When he came to the part where Benito helped the old dame with her burden, Mrs. Rush said, "Children, what do you think that burden was?" "We don't know," said Bessie. "What?" "Neither do I _know_," answered Mrs. Rush. "I was only thinking what it _might_ be. Perhaps it was pain and sickness; perhaps the loss of friends; perhaps some old, troublesome sin, sorely repented of, long struggled with, but which still returned again and again, to weary and almost discourage her as she toiled along in the road which led to the Father's house. Perhaps it was all of them; but what ever it was, Benito did not pause to ask; he only thought of his Lord's command, 'Bear ye one another's burdens;' and so put his hand to the load, and eased the old dame's pain and weariness. Was it not so?" she asked of her husband. "I think so," he answered. "But a little child could not help grown persons to bear their sins, or to cure them," said Bessie; "they must go to Jesus for that." "Yes, we must go to Jesus; but the very love and help and pity we have from him teach us to show all we can to our fellow-creatures, whether they are young or old. One of the good men whom Jesus left on earth to do his work and preach his word tells us that Christ was 'touched with the feeling of our infirmities, because he was in all points tempted like as we are.' This means that, good and pure and holy as he was, yet he allowed himself to suffer all the trials and struggles and temptations which can come to poor, weak man, so that he might know just what we feel as we pass through them, and just what help we need. Yet, sorely tempted as he was, he never fell into sin, but returned to his Father's heaven pure and stainless as he left it. Since then Christ feels for all the pains and struggles through which we go for his sake, since he can make allowance for all our weakness and failures; and as he is so ready to give us help in our temptations, so much the more ought we who are not only tempted, but too apt, in spite of our best efforts, to fall into sin, to show to others all the kindness and sympathy we may at any time need for ourselves. So may we try to copy our Saviour, 'bearing one another's burdens,' even as he has borne ours, by giving love and pity and sympathy where we can give nothing else. Benito was a very young child, scarcely able to walk on the narrow road without the help of some older and wiser hand, and his weak shoulders could not carry any part of the old dame's load; but he put his baby hands beneath it, and gave her loving smiles and gentle words, and these brought her help and comfort, so that she went on her way, strengthened for the rest of the journey. And, as we know, Benito met his reward as he came to the gates of his Father's house. So much may the youngest do for the oldest; and I think _we_ know of an old dame whose 'burden' our little pilgrims, Maggie and Bessie, might help to bear, if they would." "I just believe you mean Aunt Patty!" exclaimed Bessie, in such a tone as showed she was not very well pleased with the idea. "And," said Maggie, with just the least little pout, "I don't believe she is a dame pilgrim, and I don't believe she is in the narrow path, not a bit!" "There I think you are mistaken, Maggie, for, so far as we can judge, there is reason to think Aunt Patty is walking in the safe and narrow road which leads to the Father's house; and, since she has not been brought to it by paths quite so easy and pleasant as some of us have known, there is all the more reason that we happier travellers should give her a helping hand. It may be very little that we can give; a word, a look, a smile, a kind offer to go for some little trifle that is needed, will often cheer and gladden a heart that is heavy with its secret burden. And if we now and then get a knock, or even a rather hard scratch from those corners of our neighbor's load, which are made up of little faults and odd tempers, we must try not to mind it, but think only of how tired those poor, weary shoulders must be of the weight they carry." "But, Mrs. Rush," said Maggie, "Aunt Patty's corners scratch very hard, and hurt very much." "But the corners are not half as sharp as they were once; are they, dear?" asked Mrs. Rush, smiling. "Well," said Maggie, slowly, as if she were considering, "maybe her temper corner is not so sharp as it used to be, but her meddling corner is very bad,--yes, very bad indeed; and it scratches like everything. Why, you don't know how she meddles, and what things she says, even when she is not a bit mad. She is all the time telling mamma how she had better manage; just as if mamma did not know a great deal better than she does about her own children and her own house, and about everything! And she dismanages Franky herself very much; and she said dear Aunt Bessie deserved to have such a bad sore throat 'cause she would go out riding with Uncle Ruthven, when she told her it was too cold; and she said the colonel"-- "There, there, that will do," said Mrs. Rush, gently. "Do not let us think of what Aunt Patty does to vex us, but see if we do not sometimes grieve her a little." "Oh! she don't think you do anything," said Maggie; "she says you are a very lovely young woman." "Well," said the colonel, laughing, "neither you nor I shall quarrel with her for that; shall we? There is one good mark for Aunt Patty; let us see how many more we can find." "She was very good to Patrick when he hurt his hand so the other day," said Bessie. "She washed it, and put a yag on it, and made it feel a great deal better." "And she likes Uncle Ruthven very much," said Maggie. "That is right," said Mrs. Rush, "think of all the good you can. When we think kindly of a person, we soon begin to act kindly towards them, and I am quite sure that a little love and kindness from you would do much to lighten Aunt Patty's burden. And if the sharp corners fret and worry you a little, remember that perhaps it is only the weight of the rest of the burden which presses these into sight, and then you will not feel them half as much. Will you try if you can be like Benito, and so receive the blessing of Him who says the cup of cold water given in his name shall meet its reward?" "We'll try," said Maggie, "but I don't think we'll succeed." "And if at first you don't succeed, what then?" "Then try, try, try again," said Maggie, cheerfully, for she was already trying to think what she might do to make Aunt Patty's burden more easy; "but--" "But what, dear?" "I hope she won't shed tears of joy upon my bosom," said Maggie, growing grave again at the thought of such a possibility; "I wouldn't quite like _that_." "And what does Bessie say?" asked the colonel. "I was thinking how precious it is," said the little girl, turning upon the colonel's face those serious brown eyes which had been gazing so thoughtfully into the fire. "How precious what is, my darling?" "To think Jesus knows how our temptations feel, 'cause he felt them himself, and so knows just how to help us and be sorry for us." Colonel Rush had his answer to both questions. That same Sunday evening, the children were all with their father and mother in the library. Mrs. Lawrence sat in an arm-chair by the parlor fire, alone, or nearly so, for Miss Rush and Mr. Stanton in the window at the farther side of the room were not much company to any one but themselves. Certainly the poor old lady felt lonely enough, as, with her clasped hands lying upon her lap, her chin sunk upon her breast, and her eyes fixed upon the fire, she thought of the long, long ago, when she, too, was young, bright, and happy; when those around lived only for her happiness. Ah! how different it all was now! They were all gone,--the youth, the love, the happiness; gone, also, were the wasted years which she might have spent in the service of the Master whom she had sought so late; gone all the opportunities which he had given her of gaining the love and friendship of her fellow-creatures. And now how little she could do, old and feeble and helpless as she was. And what hard work it was to struggle with the evil tempers and passions to which she had so long given way; how difficult, when some trifle vexed her, to keep back the sharp and angry word, to put down the wish to bend everything to her own will, to learn of Him who was meek and lowly in heart! And there was no one to know, no one to sympathize, no one to give her a helping hand in this weary, up-hill work, to guess how heavily the burden of past and present sin bore upon the poor, aching shoulders. In her longing for the human love and sympathy she had once cast from her, and which she could not now bring herself to ask, the poor old lady almost forgot that there was one Eye to see the struggles made for Jesus' sake, one Hand outstretched to save and to help, one Voice to whisper, "Be of good courage." True, Mr. and Mrs. Bradford were always kind and thoughtful, and all treated her with due respect and consideration; but that was not all she wanted. If the children would but love and trust her. There would be such comfort in that; but in spite of all her efforts, they were still shy and shrinking,--all, save that little tyrant, Franky. Even fearless Fred was quiet and almost dumb in her presence. So Aunt Patty sat, and sadly thought, unconscious of the wistful pair of eyes which watched her from the other room, until by and by a gentle footstep came stealing round her chair, a soft little hand timidly slipped itself into her own, and she turned to see Bessie's sweet face looking at her, half in pity, half in wonder. "Well, dear," she asked, after a moment's surprised silence, "What is it?" Truly, Bessie scarcely knew herself what it was. She had been watching Aunt Patty as she sat looking so sad and lonely, and thinking of Mrs. Rush's lesson of the morning, till her tender little heart could bear it no longer, and she had come to the old lady's side, not thinking of anything particular she would do or say, but just with the wish to put a loving hand to the burden. "Do you want anything, Bessie?" asked Mrs. Lawrence again. "No, ma'am, but"--Bessie did not quite like to speak of Aunt Patty's troubles, so she said, "_I_ have a little burden, too, Aunt Patty." Aunt Patty half smiled to herself as she looked into the earnest, wistful eyes. She, this innocent little one, the darling and pet of all around her, what burden could she have to bear? She did not know the meaning of the word. Then came a vexed, suspicious thought. "Who told you that I had any burden to bear, child?" she asked, sharply. "Every one has; haven't they?" said Bessie, rather frightened; then, strong in her loving, holy purpose, she went on. "Everybody has some burden; don't they, Aunt Patty? If our Father makes them very happy, still they have their faults, like I do. And if he don't make them very happy, the faults are a great deal harder to bear; are they not?" "And what burden have you, dearie?" asked the old lady, quite softened. "My tempers," said the child, gravely. "I used to be in passions very often, Aunt Patty, till Jesus helped me so much, and very often now I have passions in myself when some one makes me offended; but if I ask Him quite quick to help me, he always does. But it is pretty hard sometimes, and I think that is my burden. Maybe it's only a little one, though, and I oughtn't to speak about it." Aunt Patty was surprised, no less at the child's innocent freedom in speaking to her than at what she said, for she had never suspected that gentle little Bessie had a passionate temper. She looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Then thank God every day of your life, Bessie, that he has saved you from the misery of growing up with a self-willed, ungoverned temper. Thank him that his grace has been sufficient to help you to battle with it while you are young, that age and long habit have not strengthened it till it seems like a giant you cannot overcome. You will never know what misery it becomes then, with what force the tempter comes again and again; _no one_ knows, _no one_ knows!" Perhaps Mrs. Lawrence was talking more to herself than to Bessie; but the child understood her, and answered her. "Jesus knows," she said, softly, and with that tender, lingering tone with which she always spoke the Saviour's name. "Jesus knows," repeated the old lady, almost as if the thought came to her for the first time. "Yes, Jesus knows," said Bessie, putting up her small fingers with a little caressing touch to Aunt Patty's cheek; "and is it not sweet and precious, Aunt Patty, to think he had temptations too, and so can know just how hard we have to try not to grieve him? Mrs. Rush told us about it to-day, and I love to think about it all the time. And she told us how he helped every one to bear their burdens; and now we ought to help each other too, 'cause that was what he wanted us to do. But if sometimes we cannot help each other, 'cause we don't know about their burdens, Jesus can always help us, 'cause he always knows; don't he?" "Bessie, come and sing," called mamma from the other room, and away ran the little comforter to join her voice with the others in the Sabbath evening hymn. Yes, she had brought comfort to the worn and weary heart; she had put her hand to Aunt Patty's burden and eased the aching pain. "Jesus knows." Again and again the words came back to her, bringing peace and rest and strength for all days to come. She had heard it often before; she knew it well. "Jesus knows;" but the precious words had never come home to her before as they did when they were spoken by the sweet, trustful, childish voice,--"Jesus knows." There is no need to tell that they were friendly after this, these two pilgrims on the heavenward way,--the old woman and the little child, she who had begun to tread in her Master's footsteps so early in life's bright morning, and she who had not sought to follow him until the eleventh hour, when her day was almost ended. For they were both clinging to one faith, both looking to one hope, and the hand of the younger had drawn the feet of the elder to a firmer and surer foothold upon the Rock of Ages, on which both were resting. And how was it with our Maggie? It was far harder work for her to be sociable with Aunt Patty than it was for Bessie; for besides her fear of the old lady, there was her natural shyness to be struggled with. As for speaking to her, unless it was to give a timid "yes" or "no" when spoken to, that was, at first, by no means possible; but remembering that Mrs. Rush had said that a look or a smile might show good-will or kindness, she took to looking and smiling with all her might. She would plant herself at a short distance from Aunt Patty, and stare at the old lady till she looked up and noticed her, when she would put on the broadest of smiles, and immediately run away, frightened at her own boldness. Mrs. Lawrence was at first displeased, thinking Maggie meant this for impertinence or mockery; but Mrs. Bradford, having once or twice caught Maggie at this extraordinary performance, asked what it meant, and was told by her little daughter that she was only "trying to bear Aunt Patty's burden." Then followed an account of what Mrs. Rush had taught the children on Sunday. "But, indeed, indeed, mamma," said poor Maggie, piteously, "I don't think I can do any better. I do feel so frightened when she looks at me, and she don't look as if she liked me to smile at her, and this morning she said, 'What are you about, child?' _so_ crossly!" Mamma praised and encouraged her, and afterwards explained to Aunt Patty that Maggie only meant to be friendly, but that her bashfulness and her friendliness were sadly in each other's way. So Mrs. Lawrence was no longer displeased, but like the rest of Maggie's friends, rather amused, when she saw her desperate efforts to be sociable; and after a time even Maggie's shyness wore away. Before this came about, however, she and Bessie had made a discovery or two which amazed them very much. Surely, it might be said of each of these little ones, "She hath done what she could." [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 10] X. _TWO SURPRISES._ Some time after this Aunt Patty bought a magnificent toy menagerie, not for a present to any of her young nieces and nephews, but to keep as an attraction to her own room when she wished for their company. Even Maggie could not hold out against such delightful toys, and after some coaxing from Bessie, and a good deal of peeping through the crack of the door at these wonderful animals, she ventured into Aunt Patty's room. The two little girls, with Franky, were there one morning while mamma and Aunt Patty sat at their work. The animals had been put through a great number of performances, after which it was found necessary to put the menagerie in thorough order. For this purpose the wild beasts were all taken from their cages, and tied with chains of mamma's bright- worsteds to the legs of the chairs and tables, while the cages were rubbed and dusted; after which they were to be escorted home again. This proved a very troublesome business, for the animals, as was quite natural, preferred the fields, which were represented by the green spots in the carpet, to the cages, where they were so closely shut up, and did not wish to be carried back. At least, so Maggie said when mamma asked the cause of all the growling and roaring which was going on. "You see, mamma," she said, "they want to run away to their own forests, and they tried to devour their keepers, till some very kind giants, that's Bessie and Franky and me, came to help the keepers." But now Flossy, who had been lying quietly on the rug, watching his chance for a bit of mischief, thought he had better help the giants, and rushing at an elephant with which Franky was having a great deal of trouble, tossed it over with his nose, and sent it whirling against the side of the room, where it lay with a broken leg and trunk. Alas, for the poor elephant! It was the first one of the toys that had been broken, and great was the mourning over its sad condition, while Flossy was sent into the corner in disgrace. Of course, it was not possible for the elephant to walk home; he must ride. "Patty," said Franky, "do down-'tairs and det my water-tart; it's in de lib'ry." "Franky, Franky!" said mamma, "is that the way to speak to Aunt Patty?" "Please," Said Franky. "Aunt Patty has a bone in her foot," said Mrs. Lawrence. Franky put his head on one side, and looking quizzically at the old lady, said, "Oo went down-'tairs for oo bastet wis a bone in oo foot, so oo tan do for my tart wis a bone in oo foot." Maggie and Bessie knew that this was saucy, and expected that Aunt Patty would be angry; but, to their surprise, she laughed, and would even have gone for the cart if mamma had not begged her not to. "Franky," said mamma, as the little girls, seeing Aunt Patty was not displeased, began to chuckle over their brother's cute speech, "you must not ask Aunt Patty to run about for you. It is not pretty for little boys to do so." "But me want my tart to wide dis poor efelant," said Franky, coaxingly. Bessie said she would go for the cart, and ran away down-stairs. She went through the parlor, and reaching the library-door, which stood ajar, pushed it open. Aunt Bessie and Uncle Ruthven were there; and what did she see? Was it possible? "Oh!" she exclaimed. At this the two culprits turned, and seeing Bessie's shocked and astonished face, Uncle Ruthven laughed outright, his own hearty, ringing laugh. "Come here, princess," he said. But Bessie was off, the cart quite forgotten. Through the hall and up the stairs, as fast as the little feet could patter, never pausing till she reached mamma's room, where she buried her face in one of the sofa cushions; and there her mother found her some moments later. "Why, Bessie, my darling, what is it?" asked mamma. "What has happened to you?" Bessie raised her flushed and troubled face, but she was not crying, as her mother had supposed, though she looked quite ready to do so. "Oh, mamma!" she said, as Mrs. Bradford sat down and lifted her up on her lap. "What has troubled you, dearest?" "Oh, mamma, such a shocking thing! I don't know how to tell you." "Have you been in any mischief, dear? If you have, do not be afraid to tell your own mamma." "Oh! it was not me, mamma, but it was a dreadful, dreadful mischief." "Well, darling, if any of the others have been in mischief, of which I should know, I do not think you will speak of it unless it is necessary!" "But you ought to know it, mamma, so you can see about it; it was so very unproper. But it was not any of us children; it was big people--it was--it was--Uncle Yuthven and Aunt Bessie; and I'm afraid they won't tell you themselves." "Well," said Mrs. Bradford, trying to keep a grave face, as she imagined she began to see into the cause of the trouble. She need not have tried to hide her smiles. Her little daughter buried her face on her bosom, as she whispered the, to her, shocking secret, and never once looked up at her mother. "Mamma,--he--he--_kissed_ her!--he did--and she never scolded him, not a bit." Still the disturbed little face was hidden, and mamma waited a moment till she could compose her own, and steady her voice. "My darling," she said, "I have a pleasant secret to tell you. You love dear Aunt Bessie very much; do you not?" "Yes, mamma, dearly, dearly; and, mamma, she's very much mine,--is she not?--'cause I'm her namesake; and Uncle Yuthven ought not to do it. He had no yight. Mamma, don't you think papa had better ask him to go back to Africa for a little while?" Bessie's voice was rather angry now. Mamma had once or twice lately seen signs of a little jealous feeling toward Uncle Ruthven. She, Bessie the younger, thought it very strange that Bessie the elder should go out walking or driving so often with Uncle Ruthven, or that they should have so many long talks together. Uncle Ruthven took up quite too much of Aunt Bessie's time, according to little Bessie's thinking. She had borne it pretty well, however, until now; but that Uncle Ruthven should "make so intimate" as to kiss Aunt Bessie, was the last drop in the cup, and she was displeased as well as distressed. "And if papa had the power," said Mrs. Bradford, "would my Bessie wish Uncle Ruthven sent away again, and so grieve dear grandmamma, who is so glad to have him at home once more, to say nothing of his other friends? I hope my dear little daughter is not giving way to that ugly, hateful feeling, jealousy." "Oh! I hope not, mamma," said Bessie. "I would not like to be so naughty. And if you think it's being jealous not to like Uncle Yuthven to--to do that, I'll try not to mind it so much;" and here a great sob escaped her, and a tear or two dropped on mamma's hand. Mrs. Bradford thought it best to make haste and tell her the secret. "My darling," she said, "you know, though you are so fond of dear Aunt Bessie, she is not related to you,--not really your aunt." "Yes'm, but then I love her just as much as if she was my very, very own. I have to love her for so many yeasons; 'cause she is her own self and I can't help it, and 'cause I'm her namesake, and 'cause she's my dear soldier's own sister. Mamma, don't you think that is plenty of yeasons to be fond of her for?" "Yes, dear, but you must be willing to have others fond of her too. And do you not think it would be very pleasant to have her for your own aunt, and to keep her always with us for our very own?" "Oh, yes, mamma! but then that could not be; could it?" "Well, yes," said Mrs. Bradford; "if Uncle Ruthven marries her, she will really be your aunt, and then she will live at grandmamma's, where you may see her almost every day, and feel she is quite one of the family." "And is he going to, mamma?" asked Bessie, raising her head, and with the utmost surprise and pleasure breaking over her face; "is Uncle Yuthven going to marry her, and make her our true aunt?" "Yes, I believe so," answered her mother; "it was all settled a few days ago. We did not mean to tell you just yet, but now I thought it better. But, Bessie, if you send poor Uncle Ruthven away to Africa again, I fear you will lose Aunt Bessie too, for she will go with him." "I was naughty to say that, dear mamma," said Bessie, her whole face in a glow of delight, "and I am so sorry I felt cross to Uncle Yuthven just when he was doing us such a great, great favor. Oh, he was so very kind to think of it! He has been trying to give us pleasure ever since he came home, and now he has done the very best thing of all. He knew just what we would like; did he not, mamma?" Mamma laughed. "I rather think he knew we would all be pleased, Bessie." "I must thank him very much indeed,--must I not, mamma?--and tell him how very obliging I think he is." "You may thank him just as much as you please, dear," said mamma, merrily. "Here comes Maggie to see what has become of us. She must hear this delightful secret too." So Maggie was told, and went capering round the room in frantic delight at the news, inventing, as usual, so many plans and pleasures that might fit in with this new arrangement, that Bessie was better satisfied than ever, and even forgave Uncle Ruthven the kiss. And here was a second joy at hand; for in came a message from Mrs. Rush, asking that the little girls might come over to the hotel and spend the rest of the day with her and the colonel. They were always ready enough for this, and in a short time they were dressed and on their way with Starr, the colonel's man, who had come for them. Starr was a soldier, straight, stiff, and very grave and respectful in his manner; and now, as he walked along, leading a little girl in each hand, they wondered to see how very smiling he looked. "Starr," said Bessie, peeping up in his face, "have you some good news?" "I've no bad news, miss," said Starr, with a broader smile than before. "You look so very pleased," said Bessie; to which Starr only replied, "It's likely, miss," and became silent again. When they reached the long crossing, who should be standing on the corner but Sergeant Richards. Bessie saw him at once, and went directly up to him. "How do you do, Mr. Station Policeman?" she said, politely, and holding out her morsel of a hand to him. "This is my Maggie." "Well, now, but I'm glad to see you, and your Maggie too," said the police-sergeant. "And how have you been this long time?" "Pretty well," answered Bessie. "How are your blind boy and your lame wife and your sick baby, and all your troubles?" "Why, the wife is able to move round a little," said Richards, "and the baby is mending a bit too." "And Willie?" asked Bessie. A shadow came over the policeman's honest face. "Willie is drooping," he said, with a sigh. "I think it's the loss of the sight of his mother's face and of the blessed sunlight that's ailing him. His eyes are quite blind now,--no more light to them than if he was in a pitch-dark cell." "But I thought the doctor could cure him when his eyes were all blind," said Bessie. "Not just now, dear. Next year, maybe, if all goes well. That's the best we can hope for, I believe. But here I am standing and talking to you, when I've business on hand that can't be put off." So saying, he shook hands again with Bessie and walked rapidly away. "I s'pose he means he can't afford to pay the doctor now," said Bessie, as she and Maggie went on again with Starr. "Mrs. Granby said they were pretty poor, and she was 'fraid they couldn't do it this year. It's so long for Willie to wait. I wonder if papa wouldn't pay the doctor." "There's the mistress watching for the little ladies," said Starr, and, looking up, the children saw Mrs. Rush standing at the window of her room and nodding to them. In two minutes more they were at the door, which she opened for them with even a brighter face than usual; and, after kissing them, stood aside to let them see the colonel, who was coming forward to meet them. Yes, there he came, and--no wonder Mrs. Rush looked bright and happy, no wonder Starr was smiling--without his crutches; moving slowly, to be sure, and leaning on a cane, but walking on two feet! If Colonel Rush imagined he was about to give his little friends a pleasant surprise, he found he was not mistaken. "Oh!" exclaimed Bessie, but it was in a very different tone from that in which she had uttered it once before that day. Maggie gave a little shriek of delight which would almost have startled any one who had not known Maggie's ways, or seen her sparkling face. "Oh! goody! goody! goody!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands and hopping about in a kind of ecstasy. "How lovely! how splendid! how--how--superfluous!" Maggie had been trying to find the longest "grown-up" word she could think of, and as she had that morning heard her father say that something was "altogether superfluous," she now used the word without a proper idea of its meaning. But the colonel was quite content to take the word as she meant it, and thanked her for her joyous sympathy. He knew that Bessie felt none the less because she was more quiet. She walked round and round him, looking at him as if she could not believe it, and then going up to him, took his hand in both hers, and laid her smooth, soft cheek upon it in a pretty, tender way which said more than words. "Do let's see you walk a little more," said Maggie. "It's so nice; it's just like a fairy tale, when a good fairy comes and mends all the people that have been chopped to pieces, and makes them just as good as ever; only this is true and that is not." "Who put it on?" asked Bessie, meaning the new leg. "Starr put it on," answered the colonel. "And did you make it, too, Starr?" asked Bessie. "No, indeed, miss;" said Starr, who still stood at the door with his hat in his hand, and his head on one side, looking at his master much as a proud nurse might look at her baby who was trying its first steps,--"no, indeed, miss; that was beyond me." "Starr would have given me one of his own, if he could have done so, I believe," said the colonel, smiling. "So would I," said Maggie, "if mine would have fitted. I think I could do very well with one foot; I hop a good deal, any way. See, I could do this way;" and she began hopping round the table again. "And you run and skip a good deal," said Mrs. Rush, "and how could you do all that on one foot?" Maggie considered a moment. "But I am very attached to the colonel," she said, "and I think I could give up one foot if it would be of use to him." "I believe you would, my generous little girl," said the colonel; and Mrs. Rush stooped and kissed Maggie very affectionately. "Will that new foot walk in the street?" asked Maggie. "Yes, it will walk anywhere when I'm accustomed to it. But I am a little awkward just yet, and must practise some before I venture on it in the street." It seemed almost too good to be true, that the colonel should be sitting there with two feet, which certainly looked quite as well as papa's or Uncle Ruthven's, or those of any other gentleman; and it was long before his affectionate little friends tired of looking at him and expressing their pleasure. "We have some very good news for you," said Bessie; "mamma said we might tell you." "Let us have it then," said the colonel; and the grand secret about Uncle Ruthven and Aunt Bessie was told. "I just believe you knew it before," said Maggie, who thought Colonel and Mrs. Rush did not seem as much surprised as was to be expected. "I am afraid we did, Maggie," said the colonel, smiling; "but we are none the less pleased to hear Bessie tell of it." "But if Uncle Yuthven did it for a favor to us, why did he not tell us first?" said Bessie, rather puzzled. "Well," said the colonel, with a little twinkle in his eye, "it is just possible that your Uncle Ruthven took some other people into consideration,--myself and Marion, for instance. Can you not imagine that he thought it would be very pleasant for us to be related to you?" "Will you be our yelations when Uncle Yuthven marries Aunt Bessie?" asked Bessie. "I think we shall have to put in some claim of that sort," said the colonel. "Aunt Bessie is my sister, and if she becomes your own aunt, I think my wife and I must also consider ourselves as belonging to the family. What should you say to Uncle Horace and Aunt May?"--May was the colonel's pet name for his wife. It was not likely that either of our little girls would find fault with this arrangement; and now it was impossible to say too much in praise of Uncle Ruthven and his very kind plan. The children spent a most delightful day. Mrs. Rush had ordered an early dinner for them; after which the carriage came, and all four--the colonel and his wife and Maggie and Bessie--went for a drive in the Central Park. It was a lovely afternoon, the air so soft and sweet with that strange, delicious scent in it which tells of the coming spring, and here and there, in some sunny nooks, the children were delighted to see little patches of green grass. Sparrows and chickadees, and other birds which make their home with us during the winter, were hopping merrily over the leafless branches, and twittering ceaselessly to one another, as if they were telling of the happy time near at hand, when the warm south winds would blow, and the trees and bushes be covered with their beautiful green summer dress. Presently Starr, turning round from his seat on the box beside the coachman, pointed out a robin, the first robin; and then Maggie's quick eyes discovered a second. Yes, there were a pair of them, perking up their heads and tails, with a saucy, jaunty air, which seemed to say, "Look at me; here I am to tell you spring is coming. Are you not glad to see me?" And as the carriage drove slowly by, that the children might watch the birds, one of them threw back his head and broke into the sweetest, merriest song, which told the same pleasant story. Yes, spring was in the air, and the birdies knew it, though earth as yet showed but few signs of it. "He sings just as if he was so glad he couldn't help it," said Maggie, "and I feel just like him." When they drove back to the city, the children were rather surprised to find they were taken again to the hotel instead of going home at once; but Mrs. Rush said, that as the weather was so mild and pleasant, mamma had promised they might stay till after dark. This was a suitable ending to such a very happy day, especially as it was arranged for them to take their supper while their friends dined. Mrs. Rush thought nothing too much trouble which could give pleasure to these two dear little girls. They were listening to one of the colonel's delightful stories when Mr. Stanton and Miss Rush came in, with the double purpose of paying a short visit to the colonel and his wife and of taking home their young visitors. Scarcely were they seated when Bessie walked up to Mr. Stanton with "Uncle Er-er-er-Yuthven,"--Bessie was trying very hard for the R's in these days, especially when she spoke to her uncle,--"we do thank you so very much. We think you are the most obliging gentleman we ever saw." "Really," said Uncle Ruthven, gravely, "this is very pleasant to hear. May I ask who are the 'we' who have such a very high opinion of me?" "Why, mamma and the colonel and Mrs. Yush and Maggie and I; and I s'pose all the fam'ly who know what a very great favor you are going to do for us." "And what is this wonderful favor?" asked Mr. Stanton. "To marry Aunt Bessie, so she will be quite our very own," answered the little girl. "And then you see that makes my soldier and Mrs. Yush our own too. They are Uncle Horace and Aunt May now, for the colonel said we might as well begin at once. We are all very, very pleased, Uncle Yuthven, and Maggie and I think you are the kindest uncle that ever lived." "I am glad you have found that out at last," said Uncle Ruthven. "Here I have been living for your happiness ever since I came home, and if I had made this last sacrifice without your finding out that I am the best and most generous uncle in the world, it would have been terrible indeed." "I don't believe you think it is a sacrifice," said Maggie. "I guess you like it 'most as well as Bessie and I do." "_Does_ he, Aunt Bessie?" asked little Bessie, in a tone as if this could not be; at which Uncle Ruthven's gravity gave way, and the older people all laughed heartily, though the children could not see why. If Bessie had known how to express her feelings, she would have said that it was Uncle Ruthven's manner when he was joking which caused her to "have objections" to him. When Uncle John was joking, he had such a merry face that it was quite easy to see what he meant; but Uncle Ruthven always kept such a sober face and tone that it was hard to tell whether he were in earnest or no. And now, when he caught her up in his arms, and stood her upon the mantel-piece, she felt as if she still only half approved of him; but it was not in her heart to find fault with him just now, and she readily put up her lips for the kiss which she knew he would claim before he let her go. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 10] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 11] XI. _BLIND WILLIE._ "Maggie and Bessie," said Mrs. Bradford, one day soon after this, "I am going to send Jane over with some work to Mrs. Granby. Would you like to go with her and see the policeman's children?" Bessie answered "Yes," readily enough, but though Maggie would have liked the long walk on this lovely day, she was rather doubtful of the pleasure of calling on those who were entire strangers to her. But after some little coaxing from Bessie, who said she would not go without her, she was at last persuaded, and they set out with Jane, taking Flossy with them. The children had their hooples, which they trundled merrily before them and Flossy went capering joyously along, sometimes running ahead, for a short distance, and then rushing back to his little mistresses, and if any rough boys made their appearance, keeping very close at their side till all danger was past. For since Flossy was stolen, he had been very careful as to the company he kept, and looked with a very suspicious eye upon any one who wore a ragged coat, which was not very just of Flossy, since a ragged coat may cover as true and honest a heart as ever beat; but as the poor puppy knew no better, and had received some hard treatment at the hands of those whose miserable garments covered hard and cruel hearts, he must be excused for thinking that the one was a sign of the other. Flossy had turned out quite as pretty a little dog as he had promised to be. His coat was long, soft, and silky, and beautifully marked in brown and white; his drooping ears hung gracefully on each side of his head, while his great black eyes were so knowing and affectionate that it was hard to believe no soul looked out of them. It was no wonder that almost every child they passed turned to take a second look, and to wish that they, too, had such a pretty merry pet. Flossy was in great favor that day on account of a droll trick which he had played, much to the amusement of the children. Harry and Fred were very anxious to teach him all manner of things, such as standing on his head, pretending to be dead, and so forth; but Maggie and Bessie declared he was too young to be taught anything except "to be good and polite," and would not have him teased. Beside, he had funny tricks and ways of his own which they thought much better than those, and was as full of play and mischief as a petted doggie could be. Harry had a weak ankle, which in his boyish frolics he was constantly hurting, and now, having given it a slight sprain, he was laid up on the sofa. On the day before this, his dinner had been sent to him, but as it did not exactly suit him, he called Flossy, and writing on a piece of paper what he desired, gave it to the dog, and told him to take it to mamma. He was half doubtful if the creature would understand; but Flossy ran directly to the dining-room with the paper in his mouth, and gave it to Mrs. Bradford. As a reward for doing his errand so well, she gave him a piece of cake, although it was against her rules that he should be fed from the table. On this day, Harry had been able to come down-stairs; and while the children were at their dinner, Flossy was heard whining at the door. Patrick opened it, and in he ran with a crumpled piece of paper, on which Franky had been scribbling, in his mouth, and going to Mrs. Bradford held it up to her, wagging his tail with an air which said quite plainly, "Here is your paper, now give me my cake." "Poor little doggie! He did not know why one piece of paper was not as good as another, and Mrs. Bradford could not refuse him, while all the children were quite delighted with his wisdom, and could not make enough of him for the remainder of the day." Maggie and Bessie were rather surprised at the appearance of the policeman's house. It was so different from those which stood around it, or from any which they were accustomed to see in the city; but it looked very pleasant to them with its green shutters, old-fashioned porch, and the little courtyard and great butternut tree in front. The small plot of grass behind the white palings was quite green now, and some of the buds on the hardier bushes were beginning to unfold their young leaves. Altogether it looked very nice and homelike, none the less so that Jennie Richards and her three younger brothers were playing around, and digging up the fresh moist earth, with the fancy that they were making a garden. But their digging was forgotten when they saw Jane with her little charge. "Does Mrs. Granby live here?" asked Jane, unlatching the gate. "Yes, ma'am," answered Jennie. "Will you please to walk in?" and opening the doors, Jennie showed the visitors into the sitting-room. Mrs. Richards sat sewing, with Willie, as usual, beside her, rocking ceaselessly back and forth in his little chair; while good Mrs. Granby, who had been seated close by the window, and had seen Jane and the children come in, was bustling about, placing chairs for them. On Willie's knee was a Maltese kitten purring away contentedly; but the moment she caught sight of Flossy, she sprang from her resting-place, and, scampering into a corner, put up her back, and began spitting and hissing in a very impolite manner. If Miss Pussy had been civil, Flossy would probably have taken no notice of her; but when she drew attention upon herself by this very rude behavior, he began to bark and jump about her, more with a love of teasing than with any idea of hurting her. It was quite a moment or two before these enemies could be quieted, and then it was only done by Maggie catching up Flossy in her arms, and Mrs. Granby thrusting the kitten into a bureau drawer with a cuff on its ear. The commotion being over, with the exception of an occasional spit from the drawer, as if kitty were still conscious of the presence of her foe, Bessie walked up to Mrs. Richards, and politely holding out her hand, said, "We came to see you and your fam'ly, ma'am, and we're sorry to make such a 'sturbance." "Well," said Mrs. Richards, smiling at what she afterwards called Bessie's old-fashioned ways,--"well, I think it was the kitten was to blame for the disturbance, not you, nor your pretty dog there; and I'm sure we're all glad to see you, dear. Are you the little girl that was lost and taken up to the station?" "Yes, I am," said Bessie; "but I was not taken up 'cause I was naughty, but 'cause I could not find my way home. Is my policeman pretty well?" "He's very well, thank you, dear; but he'll be mighty sorry to hear you've been here, and he not home to see you." "Mother," said Willie, "what a sweet voice that little girl has! Will she let me touch her?" "Would you, dear?" asked Mrs. Richards; "you see it's the only way he has now of finding what anybody is like." "Oh! he may touch me as much as he likes," said Bessie, and coming close to the blind boy, she put her hand in his, and waited patiently while he passed his fingers up her arm and shoulder, then over her curls, cheek, and chin; for Willie Richards was already gaining that quick sense of touch which God gives to the blind. The mother's heart was full as she watched the two children, and saw the tender, pitying gaze Bessie bent upon her boy. "Poor Willie!" said the little girl, putting her arm about his neck, "I am so sorry for you. But perhaps our Father will let you see again some day." "I don't know," said Willie, sadly; "they used to say I would be better when the spring came, but the spring is here now, and it is no lighter. Oh, it is so very, very dark!" Bessie's lip quivered, and the tears gathered in her eyes as she raised them to Mrs. Richards. But Mrs. Richards turned away her head. She sometimes thought that Willie had guessed that the doctor had had hopes of curing them in the spring, but she had not the courage to ask him. Nor could she and his father bear to excite hopes which might again be disappointed, by telling him to wait with patience till next year. But Bessie did not know what made Mrs. Richards silent, and wondering that she did not speak, she felt as if she must herself say something to comfort him. "But maybe next spring you will see, Willie," she said. "Maybe so," said Willie, piteously, "but it is so long to wait." Bessie was silent for a moment, not quite knowing what to say; then she spoke again. "Wouldn't you like to come out and feel the spring, Willie? It is nice out to-day and the wind is so pleasant and warm." "No," answered Willie, almost impatiently, "I only want to stay here with mother. I know it feels nice out; but the children come and say, '_See_ the sky, how blue it is!' and '_Look_ at this flower,' when I can't see them, and it makes me feel so bad, so bad. I know the grass is green and the sky is blue, and the crocuses and violets are coming out just as they used to when I could see, but I don't want them to tell me of it all the time; and they forget, and it makes me feel worse. But I wouldn't mind the rest so much if I could only see mother's face just a little while every day, then I would be good and patient all the time. Oh! if I only could see her, just a moment!" "Don't, don't, sonny," said his mother, laying her hand lovingly on his head. It was the ceaseless burden of his plaintive song,--"If I only could see mother's face! If I only could see mother's face!" "And maybe you will some day, Willie," said Bessie; "so try to think about that, and how she loves you just the same even if you don't see her. And don't you like to know the blue sky is there, and that Jesus is behind it, looking at you and feeling sorry for you? None of us can see Jesus, but we know he sees us and loves us all the same; don't we? Couldn't you feel a little that way about your mother, Willie?" "I'll try," said Willie, with the old patient smile coming back again. Poor Willie! It was not usual for him to be impatient or fretful. But he had been sadly tried that day in the way he had spoken of, and the longing for his lost sight was almost too great to be borne. But now Mrs. Granby, suspecting something of what was going on on that side of the room, came bustling up to Willie and Bessie, bringing Maggie with her. Maggie had been making acquaintance with Jennie while Bessie was talking with the blind boy. "Willie," said Mrs. Granby, "here's just the prettiest little dog that ever lived, and he is as tame and gentle as can be. If Miss Maggie don't object, maybe he'd lie a bit on your knee, and let you feel his nice long ears and silken hair." "Yes, take him," said Maggie, putting her dog into Willie's arms. Flossy was not usually very willing to go to strangers; but now, perhaps, his doggish instinct told him that this poor boy had need of pity and kindness. However that was, he lay quietly in Willie's clasp, and looking wistfully into his sightless eyes, licked his hands and face. Maggie and Bessie were delighted, and began to tell Willie of Flossy's cunning ways. The other children gathered about to listen and admire too, and presently Willie laughed outright as they told of his cute trick with the crumpled paper. And now, whether Miss Kitty saw through the crack of the drawer that her young master was fondling a new pet, or whether she only guessed at it, or whether she thought it hard that fun should be going on in which she had no share, cannot be told; but just then there came from her prison-place such a hissing and sputtering and scratching that every one of the children set up a shout of laughter. Not since his blindness came upon him had his mother heard Willie's voice sound so gleeful, and now in her heart she blessed the dear little girl who she felt had done him good. Then as the children begged for her, kitty was released; but as she still showed much ill-temper, Mrs. Granby was obliged to put her in the other room. Soon after this our little girls, with their nurse, took leave, having presented Willie with a new book, and his mother with some useful things mamma had sent, and giving Willie and Jennie an invitation to come and see them. They did not go back as joyfully as they had come. Somehow, in spite of the good laugh they had had, the thought of blind Willie made them feel sad, and giving Jane their hooples to carry, they walked quietly by her side, hand in hand. Bessie was half heart-broken as she told her mamma of the blind boy's longing to see his mother's face, and neither she nor Maggie quite recovered their usual spirits for the remainder of the day. Mamma was almost sorry she had allowed them to go. "And what makes my princess so sad this evening?" asked Uncle Ruthven, lifting Bessie upon his knee. "Don't you think you'd be very sad, sir, if you were blind?" "Doubtless I should, dear. I think, of all my senses, my sight is the one I prize most, and for which I am most thankful. But you are not going to lose your sight; are you, Bessie?" "No," said Bessie; "but Willie Richards has lost his. He is quite, quite blind, uncle, and can't see his mother's face; and they can't let the doctor cure him, 'cause they are too poor. Maggie and I wished to help them very much, and we wanted to ask them to take all the glove-money we have,--that is what mamma lets us have to do charity with,--but mamma says it would not be much help, and she thinks we had better keep it to buy some little thing Willie may need. And we are very grieved for him." "Poor little princess!" said Mr. Stanton. "And why did you not come to me for help? What is the good of having an old uncle with plenty of money in his pockets, if you do not make him 'do charity' for you? Let me see. How comes on the history of the 'Complete Family,' Maggie?" "Oh! it's 'most finished," said Maggie. "At least, that book is; but we are going to have another volume. Mamma likes us to write it. She says it is good practice, and will make it easy for us to write compositions by and by." "Very sensible of mamma," said Mr. Stanton. "But I think you said you wished to sell it when it was finished, so that you might help the poor." "Yes, sir." "Well, you know I am going away to-morrow morning,--going to take Aunt Bessie to Baltimore to see her sister. We shall be gone about a week. If your book is finished when we come home, I shall see if I cannot find a purchaser for it. And you might use the money for the blind boy if you like." Just at this moment nurse put her head in at the door with "Come along, my honeys. Your mamma is waiting up-stairs for you, and it's your bed-time." "In one instant, mammy," said Mr. Stanton. "Is it a bargain, little ones? If I find a man to buy your book, will you have it ready, and trust it to me, when I come back?" The children were willing enough to agree to this; and Maggie only wished that it was not bed-time, so that she might finish the book that very night. Uncle Ruthven said they would talk more about it when he returned, and bade them "Good-night." "My darlings," said mamma, when they went up-stairs, "I do not want you to distress yourselves about blind Willie. When the time comes for the doctor to perform the operation on his eyes, I think the means will be found to pay him. But you are not to say anything about it at present. I only tell you because I do not like to see you unhappy." "Are you or papa going to do it, mamma?" asked Bessie. "We shall see," said Mrs. Bradford, with a smile. "Perhaps we can help you a little," said Maggie, joyfully; and she told her mother of her uncle's proposal about the book. [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 12] XII. _MAGGIE'S BOOK._ Uncle Ruthven and Aunt Bessie went away the next morning, and were gone nearly a week, and very much did the children miss them, especially as the week proved one of storm and rain, and they were shut up in the house. During all this stormy weather Aunt Patty seemed very anxious to go out, watching for the first glimpse of sunshine. But none came, and at last, one morning when there was a fine, drizzling rain, she came down dressed for a walk. Mrs. Bradford was much astonished, for Mrs. Lawrence was subject to rheumatism, and it was very imprudent for her to go out in the damp. In vain did Mrs. Bradford offer to send a servant on any errand she might wish to have done. Aunt Patty would not listen to it for a moment, nor would she allow a carriage to be sent for, nor tell where she was going. She stayed a long time, and when the boys ran home from school in the midst of a hard shower, they were surprised to meet her just getting out of a carriage which had drawn up around the corner. Aunt Patty did not seem at all pleased to see them, and in answer to their astonished inquiries, "Why, Aunt Patty! where have you been?" and "Why don't you let the carriage leave you at the house?" answered, sharply, "When I was young, old people could mind their own affairs without help from school-boys." "Not without help from school-_girls_, when _she_ was around, I guess," whispered Fred to his brother, as they fell behind, and let the old lady march on. Nor was she more satisfactory when she reached home, and seemed only desirous to avoid Mrs. Bradford's kind inquiries and anxiety lest she should have taken cold. This was rather strange, for it was not Aunt Patty's way to be mysterious, and she was generally quite ready to let her actions be seen by the whole world. But certainly no one would have guessed from her manner that she had that morning been about her Master's work. Uncle Ruthven and Aunt Bessie came home that afternoon, and found no reason to doubt their welcome. "We're very glad to see you, Uncle Er-er _R_uthven," said Bessie, bringing out the _R_ quite clearly. "Hallo!" said her uncle, "so you have come to it at last; have you? You have been learning to talk English while I was away. Pretty well for my princess! What reward shall I give you for that _R_uthven?" "I don't want a reward," said the little princess, gayly. "I tried to learn it 'cause I thought you wanted me to; and you are so kind to us I wanted to please you. Besides, I am growing pretty old, and I ought to learn to talk plain. Why, Uncle Ruthven, I'll be six years old when I have a birthday in May, and the other day we saw a little girl,--she was blind Willie's sister,--and she couldn't say _th_, though she is 'most seven; and I thought it sounded pretty foolish; and then I thought maybe it sounded just as foolish for me not to say _r_, so I tried and tried, and Maggie helped me." "Uncle Ruthven," said Maggie, coming to his side, and putting her arm about his neck, she whispered in his ear, "did you ever find a man to buy my book?" "To be sure," said Mr. Stanton, "a first-rate fellow, who promised to take it at once. He would like to know how much you want for it?" "I don't know," said Maggie; "how much can he afford?" "Ah! you answer my question by another. Well, he is pretty well off, that fellow, and I think he will give you sufficient to help along that blind friend of yours a little. We will not talk of that just now, however, but when you go up-stairs, I will come up and see you, and we will settle it all then." "Here is a prize," said Mr. Stanton, coming into the parlor some hours later, when the children had all gone; and he held up Maggie's history of the "Complete Family." "What is that?" asked Colonel Rush, who with his wife had come to welcome his sister. Mr. Stanton told the story of the book. "But how came it into your hands?" asked Mr. Bradford. "Oh, Maggie and I struck a bargain to-night," said Mr. Stanton, laughing, "and the book is mine to do as I please with." "Oh, Ruthven, Ruthven!" said his sister, coming in as he spoke, and passing her hand affectionately through his thick, curly locks, "you have made two happy hearts to-night. Nor will the stream of joy you have set flowing stop with my little ones. That poor blind child and his parents--" "There, there, that will do," said Mr. Stanton, playfully putting his hand on Mrs. Bradford's lips. "Sit down here, Margaret. I shall give you all some passages from Maggie's book. If I am not mistaken, it will be a rich treat." Poor little Maggie! She did not dream, as she lay happy and contented on her pillow, how merry they were all making over her "Complete Family," as Uncle Ruthven read aloud from it such passages as these. "The Happy father and mother brought up their children in the way they should go, but sometimes the children went out of it, which was not the blame of their kind parents, for they knew better, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves, and it is a great blessing for children to have parents. "The colonel had a new leg, not a skin one, but a man made it, but you would not know it, it looks so real, and he can walk with it and need not take his crutches, and the souls of M. and B. Happy were very glad because this was a great rejoicing, and it is not a blessing to be lame, but to have two legs is, and when people have a great many blessings, they ought to 'praise God from whom all blessings flow;' but they don't always, which is very wicked. "This very Complete Family grew completer and completer, for the travelling uncle married Aunt Bessie, I mean he is going to marry her, so she will be our own aunt and not just a make b'lieve, and all the family are very glad and are very much obliged to him for being so kind, but I don't think he is a great sacrifice. "M. and B. Happy went to see the policeman's children. Blind Willie was sorrowful and can't see his mother, or anything, which is no consequence, if he could see his mother's face, for if M. Happy and B. Happy could not see dear mamma's face they would cry all the time. I mean M. would, but Bessie is better than me so maybe she would not, and Willie is very patient, and the cat was very abominable, and if Flossy did so, Bessie and I would be disgraced of him. She humped up her back and was cross, so Mrs. Granby put her in the drawer, but she put a paw out of the crack and spit and scratched and did 'most everything. Oh! such a bad cat!!!!!! Jennie she cannot say th, and afterwards I laughed about it, but Bessie said I ought not, because she cannot say r and that was 'most the same. And she is going to try and say Uncle Ruthven's name quite plain and hard, he is so very good to us, and he promised to find a man to buy this book, and we hope the man will give five dollars to be a great help for blind Willie's doctor. I suppose he will ask everybody in the cars if they want to buy a book to print, that somebody of his wrote, but he is not going to tell our name because I asked him not to." The book ended in this way:-- "These are not all the acts of the Complete Family, but there will be another book with some more. Adieu. And if you don't know French, that means good-by. The end of the book!" "Pretty well for seven years old, I think," said Mr. Bradford. "Mamma, did you lend a helping hand?" "Only to correct the spelling," said Mrs. Bradford; "the composition and ideas are entirely Maggie's own, with a little help from Bessie. I have not interfered save once or twice when she has chosen some subject I did not think it best she should write on. Both she and Bessie have taken so much pleasure in it that I think it would have been a real trial to part with the book except for some such object as they have gained." "And what is that?" asked Colonel Rush. "The sum Dr. Dawson asks for the cure of Willie Richards," answered Mrs. Bradford, "which sum this dear brother of mine is allowing to pass through the hands of these babies of mine, as their gift to the blind child." "Aunt Patty," said Bessie at the breakfast-table the next morning,--"Aunt Patty, did you hear what Uncle Ruthven did for us?" "Yes, I heard," said the old lady, shortly. "And don't you feel very happy with us?" asked the little darling, who was anxious that every one should rejoice with herself and Maggie; but she spoke more timidly than she had done at first, and something of her old fear of Aunt Patty seemed to come over her. "I do not think it at all proper that children should be allowed to have such large sums of money," said Mrs. Lawrence, speaking not to Bessie, but to Mrs. Bradford. "I thought your brother a more sensible man, Margaret. Such an ill-judged thing!" Mrs. Bradford was vexed, as she saw the bright face of her little daughter become overcast, still she tried to speak pleasantly. Something had evidently gone wrong with Aunt Patty. "I do not think you will find Ruthven wanting in sense or judgment, Aunt Patty," she said, gently. "And the sum you speak of is for a settled purpose. It only passes through my children's hands, and is not theirs to waste or spend as they may please." "And if it was, we would rather give it to blind Willie, mamma," said Bessie, in a grieved and half-angry voice. "I am sure of it, my darling," said mamma, with a nod and smile which brought comfort to the disappointed little heart. Ah, the dear mamma! they were all sure of sympathy from her whether in joy or sorrow. Aunt Patty's want of it had been particularly hard on Bessie, for the dear child saw the old lady did not look half pleased that morning, and she had spoken as much from a wish to cheer her as for her own sake and Maggie's. "It is all wrong, decidedly wrong!" continued Mrs. Lawrence. "In my young days things were very different. Children were not then allowed to take the lead in every way, and to think they could do it as well or better than their elders. The proper thing for you to do, Margaret, is to put by that money till your children are older and better able to judge what they are doing." "I think they understand that now, Aunt Patty," said Mrs. Bradford, quietly, but firmly; "and if they should not, I suppose you will allow that their parents are able to judge for them. Henry and I understand all the merits of the present case." Aunt Patty was not to be convinced, and she talked for some time, growing more and more vexed as she saw her words had no effect. Mr. and Mrs. Bradford were silent, for they knew it was of no use to argue with the old lady when she was in one of these moods; but they wished that the meal was at an end, and the children were out of hearing. And there sat Miss Rush, too, wondering and indignant, and only kept from replying to Aunt Patty by Mrs. Bradford's beseeching look. But at last Mr. Bradford's patience was at an end, and in a firm, decided manner, he requested the old lady to say nothing more on the subject, but to leave it to be settled by his wife and himself. If there was any person in the world of whom Mrs. Lawrence stood in awe, it was her nephew; and she knew when he spoke in that tone, he meant to be obeyed. Therefore, she was silent, but sat through the remainder of breakfast with a dark and angry face. "Papa," said Maggie, as her father rose from the table, "do you think there is the least, least hope that it will clear to-day?" "Well, I see some signs of it, dear; but these April days are very uncertain. Of one thing be sure, if the weather be at all fit, I will come home and take you where you want to go." "Are you tired of being shut up in the house so long, dear <DW40>?" asked Aunt Bessie, putting her arm about Maggie, and drawing her to her side. "Yes, pretty tired, Aunt Bessie; but that is not the reason why Bessie and I wish so very much to have it clear. Papa told us, if the weather was pleasant, he would take us to the policeman's, and let us give the money ourselves. But he says, if it keeps on raining, he thinks it would be better to send it, because it is not kind to keep them waiting when they feel so badly about Willie, and this will make them so glad. I suppose it is not very kind, but we want very much to take it, and see Mrs. Richards how pleased she will be." "We will hope for the best," said Mr. Bradford, cheerfully; "and I think it may turn out a pleasant day. But my little daughters must not be too much disappointed if the rain keeps on. And now that I may be ready for clear skies and dry pavements, I must go down town at once." No sooner had the door closed after Mr. Bradford than Aunt Patty broke forth again. "Margaret," she said, severely, "it is not possible that you mean to add to your folly by letting your children go to that low place, after such weather as we have had! You don't know what you may expose them to, especially that delicate child, whom you can never expect to be strong while you are so shamefully careless of her;" and she looked at Bessie, who felt very angry. "That will be as their father thinks best," answered Mrs. Bradford, quietly. "He will not take them unless the weather is suitable; and the policeman's house is neat and comfortable, and in a decent neighborhood. The children will come to no harm there." "And it is certainly going to clear," said Harry. "See there, mamma, how it is brightening overhead." "It will not clear for some hours at least," persisted the old lady; "and then the ground will be extremely damp after this week of rain, especially among those narrow streets. Do be persuaded, Margaret, and say, at least, that the children must wait till to-morrow." "Bessie shall not go unless it is quite safe for her," answered Mrs. Bradford, "and she will not ask it unless mamma thinks it best; will you, my darling?" Bessie only replied with a smile, and a very feeble smile at that; and her mother saw by the crimson spot in each cheek, and the little hand pressed tightly upon her lips, how hard the dear child was struggling with herself. It was so. Bessie was hurt at what she thought Aunt Patty's unkindness in trying to deprive her of the pleasure on which she counted, and she had hard work to keep down the rising passion. Aunt Patty argued, persisted, and persuaded; but she could gain from Mrs. Bradford nothing more than she had said before, and at last she left the room in high displeasure. "Mamma," said Harry, indignantly, "what do you stand it for? How dare she talk so to you? Your folly, indeed! I wish papa had been here!" "I wish you'd let me hush her up," said Fred. "It's rather hard for a fellow to stand by and have his mother spoken to that way. Now is she not a meddling, aggravating old <DW53>, Aunt Bessie? No, you need not shake your head in that grave, reproving way. I know you think so; and you, too, you dear, patient little mamma;" and here Fred gave his mother such a squeeze and kiss as would have made any one else cry out for mercy. "I sha'n't try to bear Aunt Patty's burden this day, I know," said Maggie. "She is _too_ mean not to want blind Willie cured, and it is not any of hers to talk about, either. Her corners are awful to-day! Just trying to make mamma say Bessie couldn't go to the policeman's house!" Bessie said nothing, but her mamma saw she was trying to keep down her angry feelings. "I suppose she is tired of the 'new leaf' she pretended to have turned over, and don't mean to play good girl any more," said Fred. "She has been worrying papa too," said Harry. "There is never any knowing what she'll be at. There was a grove which used to belong to her father, and which had been sold by one of her brothers after he died. It was a favorite place with our great-grandfather, and Aunt Patty wanted it back very much, but she never could persuade the man who had bought it to give it up. A few years ago he died, and his son offered to sell it to her. She could not afford it then, for she had lost a great deal of property, and the mean chap asked a very large sum for it because he knew she wanted it so much. But she was determined to have it, and for several years she has been putting by little by little till she should have enough. She told Fred and me all about it, one evening when papa and mamma were out, and we felt so sorry for her when she told how her father had loved the place, and how she could die contented if she only had it back once more after all these years, that we asked papa if he could not help her. Papa said he would willingly do so, but she would not be pleased if he offered, though she had so set her heart on it that she was denying herself everything she could possibly do without; for she is not well off now, and is too proud to let her friends help her Well, it seems she had enough laid by at last,--a thousand dollars,--and she asked papa to settle it all for her. He wrote to the man, and had a lot of fuss and bother with him; but it was all fixed at last, and the papers drawn up, when what does she do a week ago, but tell papa she had changed her mind, and should not buy the grove at present." "Harry, my boy," said Mrs. Bradford, "this is all so, but how do you happen to know so much about it?" "Why, she talked to me several times about it, mamma. She was quite chipper with Fred and me now and then, when no grown people were around, and used to tell us stories of things which happened at the old homestead by the hour. The other day when you were out, and Mag and Bess had gone to the policeman's, she told me it was all settled that she was to have the grove; and she seemed so happy over it. But only two days after, when I said something about it, she took me up quite short, and told me that affair was all over, and no more to be said. I didn't dare to ask any more questions of her, but I thought it no harm to ask papa, and he told me he knew no more than I did, for Aunt Patty would give him no reason. He was dreadfully annoyed by it, I could see, although he did not say much; he never does, you know, when he is vexed." "Quite true," said his mother; "and let him be an example to the rest of us. We have all forgotten ourselves a little in the vexations of the morning. You have been saying that which was better left unsaid, and your mother has done wrong in listening to you." "No, indeed, you have not," said Fred, again clutching his mother violently about the neck; "you never do wrong, you dear, precious mamma, and I'll stand up for you against all the cross old Aunt Pattys in creation." "My dear boy," gasped his mother, "if you could leave my head on, it would be a greater convenience than fighting on my account with Aunt Patty. And your mother must be very much on her guard, Fred, if a thing is to be judged right by you because she does it. But, dearest children, did we not all determine not to allow ourselves to be irritated and vexed by such things as have taken place this morning? This is almost the first trial of the kind we have had. Let us be patient and forgiving, and try to think no more of it." But it was in vain that Mrs. Bradford coaxed and persuaded, and even reproved. Her children obeyed, and were silent when she forbade any more to be said on the subject; but she could not do away with the impression which Aunt Patty's ill-temper and interference had made. Poor Aunt Patty! She had practised a great piece of self-denial, had given up a long-cherished hope, that she might have the means of doing a very kind action; but she did not choose to have it known by her friends. And having made up her mind to this, and given up so much to bring it about, it did seem hard that her arrangements should be interfered with, as they seemed likely to be by this new plan which had come to her ears the night before. But now as she stood alone in her own room, taking herself to task for the ill-temper she had just shown, she felt that it would be still harder for the children; she could not allow them to be disappointed if it were still possible to prevent it; that would be too cruel now that she saw so plainly how much they had set their hearts upon this thing. At first it had seemed to her, as she said, much better that they should put by the money until they were older, but now she saw it was the desire to carry out her own will which had led her to think this. But Aunt Patty was learning to give up her own will, slowly and with difficulty it might be, with many a struggle, many a failure, as had been shown this morning; but still, thanks to the whispers of the better spirit by whose teachings she had lately been led, she was taking to heart the lesson so hard to learn because so late begun. And now how was she to undo what she had done, so that Maggie and Bessie might still keep this matter in their own hands? For Aunt Patty, hearing the little ones talk so much of the blind boy and his parents, had become quite interested in the policeman's family. She did not know them, it was true, had never seen one of them, but the children's sympathy had awakened hers, and she felt a wish to do something to help them; but to do this to much purpose was not very easy for Mrs. Lawrence. She was not rich, and what she gave to others she must take from her own comforts and pleasures. What a good thing it would be to pay Dr. Dawson and free the policeman from debt! What happiness this would bring to those poor people! What pleasure it would give little Maggie and Bessie! But how could she do it? She had not the means at present, unless, indeed, she put off the purchase of the grove for a year or two, and took part of the sum she had so carefully laid by for that purpose, and if she did so, she might never have back the grove. She was very old, had not probably many years to live, and she might pass away before the wished-for prize was her own. And these people were nothing to her; why should she make such a sacrifice for them? So thought Aunt Patty, and then said to herself, if she had but a short time upon earth, was there not more reason that she should spend it in doing all she could for her Master's service, in helping those of his children on whom he had laid pain and sorrows? She had been wishing that she might be able to prove her love and gratitude for the great mercy that had been shown to her, that she might yet redeem the wasted years, the misspent life which lay behind her, and now when the Lord had given her the opportunity for which she had been longing, should she turn her back upon it, should she shut her ear to the cry of the needy, because to answer it would cost a sacrifice of her own wishes? Should she bear the burdens of others only when they did not weigh heavily on herself? And so the old lady had gone to Dr. Dawson and paid him the sum he asked for curing Willie's eyes. What more she had done will be shown hereafter. If the children had known this, perhaps they could have guessed why she would not buy the grove after all papa's trouble. There were several reasons why Mrs. Lawrence had chosen to keep all this a secret; partly from a really honest desire not to parade her generosity in the eyes of men, partly because she thought that Mr. Bradford might oppose it, and fearing the strength of her own resolution, she did not care to have it shaken by any persuasions to the contrary, and partly because she had always rather prided herself on carrying out her own plans without help or advice from others. This fear that she might be tempted to change her purpose had also made Aunt Patty so anxious to bring it to an end at once, and had taken her out in the rain on the day before this. And now it seemed that her trouble so far as regarded Dr. Dawson was all thrown away. But the question was, how should she get the money back from the doctor without betraying herself to him or some of the family? for this Aunt Patty was quite determined not to do. It was not a pleasant task to ask him to return the money she had once given, and that without offering any reason save that she had changed her mind. Every limb was aching with the cold taken from her exposure of yesterday, and now if she was to be in time, she must go out again in the damp. True, it was not raining now, but there was another heavy cloud coming up in the south; she should surely be caught in a fresh shower. If she could have persuaded Mrs. Bradford to keep the children at home until the next day, she could go to Dr. Dawson that afternoon if the weather were clear, and so escape another wetting. For the doctor had told her he did not think he could see the policeman before the evening of that day. But Margaret was "obstinate," said the old lady, forgetting that she herself was a little obstinate in keeping all this a secret. So there was nothing for it but to go at once. Poor old lady! Perhaps it was not to be wondered at that, as she moved about the room, making ready to go out, she should again feel irritable and out of humor. She was in much pain. The plans which had cost her so much, and which she had thought would give such satisfaction, were all disarranged. She was vexed at being misjudged by those from whom she had so carefully concealed what she had done, for she saw plainly enough that they all thought her opposition of the morning was owing to the spirit of contradiction she had so often shown. She was vexed at herself, vexed with Mrs. Bradford, vexed even with the little ones whom she could not allow to be disappointed, and just for the moment she could not make up her mind to be reasonable and look at things in their right light. Nor were her troubles yet at an end. As she left the room, she met Mrs. Bradford, who, seeing that she was going out again, once more tried to dissuade her from such imprudence, but all to no purpose. Aunt Patty was very determined and rather short, and went on her way down-stairs. As Mrs. Bradford entered her nursery, mammy, who had heard all that had passed, said, with the freedom of an old and privileged servant,-- "Eh, my dear, but she's contrary. She's just hunting up a fit of rheumatics, that you may have the trouble of nursing her through it." Mrs. Lawrence heard the old woman's improper speech, but did not hear Mrs. Bradford's gently spoken reproof, and we may be sure the first did not help to restore her good-humor. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 12] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 13] XIII. _DISAPPOINTMENT._ Bessie's high spirits had all flown away. The scene with Aunt Patty, and the fear that the weather would not allow Maggie and herself to carry Uncle Ruthven's gift to blind Willie, on which pleasure, in spite of her father's warning, she had quite set her mind, were enough to sadden that sensitive little heart. More than this, she was very much hurt at what Aunt Patty had said of her mother. _She_, that dear, precious mamma, always so tender and devoted, so careful of her by night and day, to be so spoken of! No one else had ever dared to speak so to mamma in her hearing, and she did not feel as if she could forgive it. Poor little soul! she was very indignant, but she kept down her anger, and all she had allowed herself to say had been, "She would not like to be blind herself a whole year; but she has not a bit of _symphethy_." At which long word mamma could not help smiling; but as she looked at the grieved face, she felt as if she could scarcely keep her own patience. "Come here, Bessie," said Miss Rush, who was sitting by the window, "I have something to show you; see there," as Bessie climbed upon her lap. "A few moments since I saw a break in the clouds, and a bit of blue sky peeping out. I did not call you right away, lest you should be disappointed again; but the blue is spreading and spreading, so I think we may hope for a fine day, after all. And see, there is the sun struggling through. Ah, I think you will have your walk with papa." Yes, there came the sun shining quite brightly now, and the pools of water on the sidewalk began to dance in his beams as if they were saying, "How do you do, Mr. Sun? We are glad to see you after a week's absence, even though you do mean to make us disappear beneath your warm rays." Bessie watched for a few moments, and then ran to find Maggie, who had gone up-stairs with mamma for a new story-book which Aunt Bessie had promised to read for them. "Maggie, Maggie!" she called from the foot of the stairs, "come and see how the blue sky is coming out and how the sun is shining;" and as she spoke, Maggie ran along the upper hall, and came down, saying, dolefully,-- "Oh, Bessie! I saw it up-stairs, and I went to the window to look, and there's a great cloud coming over the sun. There, see! he's all gone now. I just believe it is going to rain again." It was too true, and as the little girls ran to the front-door, and Maggie drew aside the lace which covered the large panes of glass in the upper part, so that they might peep out, they saw that the blue sky had disappeared, and a moment later, down splashed the heavy drops of rain. Bessie felt a great choking in her throat, and Maggie said, impatiently, "It is _never_ going to clear up; I know it. It just rains this way to provoke poor children who want to go out." "Maggie, darling, who sends the rain?" came in Aunt Bessie's gentle tone through the open parlor-door, and at the same moment a stern voice behind the children said,-- "You are very naughty, child. Do you remember that God hears you when you say such wicked words?" Both children turned with a start to see Mrs. Lawrence in hat and cloak, and with an enormous umbrella in her hand. "No," she said, severely, as poor frightened Maggie shrank before the glance of her eye, "you will not go out to-day, nor do you deserve it." Then Bessie's anger broke forth. "You are bad, you're cruel!" she said, stamping her foot, and with her face crimson with passion. "You want poor Willie to be blind all his life. You don't want him to be well, even when our Father--" What more she would have said will never be known, save by Him who reads all hearts; for as these last two words passed her lips, she checked herself, and rushing to Aunt Bessie, who had gone to the parlor-door at the sound of Mrs. Lawrence's voice, buried her face in the folds of her dress. "Our Father!" Was she his little child now when in her fury and passion she had forgotten that his holy eye rested upon her, when she was grieving and offending him? Such was the thought that had stopped her, even as she poured forth those angry words. For one moment she stood with her face hidden, sending up a silent, hurried prayer to the Great Helper, then turning to Aunt Patty, she said, with a touching meekness,-- "Please forgive me, Aunt Patty. I didn't try hard enough that time; but I'll try not to do so again. The wicked passion came so quick;" and then she hid her face once more against Miss Rush. Yes, the passion had come quickly, but it had been quickly conquered, and as Aunt Patty looked at her, these words came to her mind: "Greater is he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city;" and she stood humbled before this little child. Turning away without a word, she opened the front-door and passed out, while Miss Rush led the children back to the parlor. Aunt Bessie's own eyes glistened as she lifted the sobbing child upon her lap, while Maggie stood beside her, holding Bessie's hand in one of her own, and with her pocket-handkerchief wiping the tears that streamed from her little sister's eyes. "Oh, it has been such a bad day, and we thought it was going to be such a nice one, didn't we?" said Bessie. "We were so very glad when we woke up this morning, and we have had such very _misable_ times all day, and now I was so naughty. And I did ask for help to be good, too, this morning. Aunt Bessie, why didn't it come?" "I think it did come, darling," said Aunt Bessie. "If it had not, you could not have conquered yourself as you did the moment you remembered you were displeasing your heavenly Father. If you forgot for a moment, and your temper overcame you, I think he knew how you had struggled with it this morning, and so pitied and forgave, sending the grace and strength you needed as soon as you saw your own want of it." "It's all Aunt Patty's fault, anyhow," said Maggie. "She provoked us, hateful old thing! I know I ought not to say that about the rain, Aunt Bessie, 'cause it's God's rain, and he can send it if he chooses; but it was not her business to meddle about, and I am a great deal more sorry for your speaking so kind than for all the scolding. I just wish--I wish--" "I would not wish any bad wishes for Aunt Patty, dear," said Miss Rush. "That will not help any of us to feel better." "I don't know about that," said Maggie, gravely shaking her head. "I think I'd feel more comfortable in my mind if I wished something about her. I think I'll have to do it, Aunt Bessie." "Then wish only that she were a little more amiable, or did not speak quite so sharply," said Miss Rush, smiling at Maggie's earnestness. "Oh, pooh! that's no good," said Maggie. "She never will learn to behave herself. I'll tell you, I just wish she was a Lot's wife." "Lot's wife?" said Miss Rush. "I mean Lot's wife after she 'came a pillar of salt, and then maybe she'd be all soaked away in this pouring rain, and no more left of her to come back again and bother us." There was never any telling where Maggie's ideas would carry her, and at the thought of the droll fate she had imagined for Aunt Patty, Miss Rush fairly laughed outright, and even Bessie smiled, after which she said she would go up-stairs and talk a little to her mother, which always did her good when she was in trouble. This shower proved the last of the rain for that day, and by twelve o'clock the clouds had all rolled away and the pavements were drying rapidly, giving fresh hope to Maggie and Bessie that they would be able to go over to the policeman's house; but before that Aunt Patty had returned. She was very silent, almost sad, and the many troubled looks she cast towards the little girls made Mrs. Bradford think that she was sorry for her unkindness of the morning. This was so, but there was more than that to trouble the old lady, for her errand to Dr. Dawson had been fruitless. When she reached his house, he was out, but she sat down to wait for him. He soon came in and without waiting for her to speak, told her that, having an hour to spare, he had just been up to the police-station to give Richards the good news. So it was too late after all, for now that the policeman knew of her gift, Mrs. Lawrence could not make up her mind to ask it back. Then the doctor asked her if she had any further business with him, to which she answered "No," and walked away, leaving him to think what a very odd old lady she was, and to say indignantly that he believed "she had not trusted him, and had come to see that he kept faith with her." "Bradford," said Mr. Stanton, as he stood in his brother-in-law's office that morning, "those dear little girls of yours have put me to shame with their lively, earnest desire to do good to others. Here have I been leading this lazy, useless life ever since I came home, looking only to my own comfort and happiness; and in my want of thought for others scarcely deserving the overflowing share of both which has fallen to me. Your little ones have given me a lesson in their innocent wish to extend to others the benefits which God has heaped upon them; now cannot you help me to put it into practice? I am still so much of a stranger in my own city that I should scarcely know where to begin the task of carrying help to those who need it; but you were always a hand to know the claims and deserts of the poor. I have, thank God, the means and the time; can you show me where I can best spend them?" "Doubtless, my dear fellow," answered Mr. Bradford. "I think you are rather hard upon yourself; but I can show you where both time and money can be laid out with a certainty of doing good and bringing happiness to those who deserve them. Just now--But how far do your benevolent intentions go?" "Tell me the necessities of your _protegee_ or _protegees_," said Mr. Stanton, smiling, "and I will tell you how far I am inclined to satisfy them. I had not thought much about it, having just been roused to a sense that it was time I was doing somewhat for the welfare of those who are not as well off as myself." "I was about to say," continued Mr. Bradford, "that at present I know of no more worthy case than that of the father of the blind boy in whom my children are so much interested. If an honest, God-fearing heart, a trusting, cheerful, yet submissive spirit, can give him a claim upon our help and sympathy, he certainly possesses it. I have watched him and talked to him during the last few months with considerable interest, and I honestly believe his troubles have not arisen through any fault of his own, but through the dealings of Providence. He has been sorely tried, poor fellow, and I should like to see him set right once more with the world, free from the pressure of debt, and able to save his earnings for the comfort of his family. I had intended to undertake the payment of Dr. Dawson for the treatment of Willie's eyes, but since you have done this, I shall hand to Richards the sum I had intended for that purpose. Whatever you may choose to add to this, will be so much towards relieving him from his debt to this Schwitz." "And how much is that?" asked Mr. Stanton. Mr. Bradford named the sum, and after hearing all the circumstances, Mr. Stanton drew a check for the amount needed to pay the rest of the debt to Dr. Schwitz, and gave it to his brother-in-law, asking him to hand it to the policeman with his own gift. "You had better come with us this afternoon, and see for yourself," said Mr. Bradford. "It is going to be fine, and I have promised those dear little things that they shall carry their prize to the blind boy's home. I believe we are likely to find Richards there about three o'clock, and I should like you to know him." So Mr. Stanton was persuaded; and as Maggie and Bessie were watching eagerly from the window for the first glimpse of papa, they saw him coming up the street with Uncle Ruthven. When they were ready to go, those three precious notes, the price of Willie's sight, were brought by Maggie to her father, with many prayers that he would take the best of care of them. She was not satisfied till she had seen them in his pocket-book, where she herself squeezed them into the smallest possible corner, next thrusting the pocket-book into the very depths of his pockets, and ramming in his handkerchief on top of that, "to be sure to keep it all safe." But there was a sore disappointment in store for these poor children. As they were leaving the house, and before Mr. Bradford had closed the door behind them, who should appear at the foot of the steps but Sergeant Richards himself, with his broad, honest face in a glow of happiness and content. "Ah! Richards, how are you?" said Mr. Bradford. "At your service, sir," answered the policeman, politely touching his cap. "I just came round to say a word to you, but I see you are going out. I sha'n't detain you two moments, though, if you could spare me that." "Willingly," said Mr. Bradford. "We were on our way to your house, but our errand will keep;" and he led the way back to the parlor, followed by the whole party. Mrs. Bradford and Miss Rush were there also, just ready to go out; while Aunt Patty sat in the library, where every word that passed in the front room must reach her ears. "No, I'll not sit down, thank you, sir," said the policeman, "and I'll not keep you long. You have been so kind to me, and taken such an interest in all my difficulties, that I felt as if I must come right up and tell you of the good fortune, or, I should say, the kind Providence, which has fallen to me. I have been furnished with the means to pay my debt to Dr. Schwitz; and more, thank God! more than this, Dr. Dawson has received the amount of his charge for the operation on Willie's eyes. I shall be able to hold up my head once more, and that with the chance of my boy having his sight again." "And how has this come about?" asked Mr. Bradford. "I cannot say, sir. Some unknown friend has done it all; but who, I know no more than yourself, perhaps not so much;" and the policeman looked searchingly into Mr. Bradford's face. "And I know absolutely nothing," said the gentleman, smiling. "I see, Richards, you thought I had some hand in it, and expected to find me out; but I assure you, it is not my doing. These little girls of mine had, through the kindness of their uncle, hoped to place in your hands the sum needed for Dr. Dawson, and it was for this purpose that we were on our way to your house; but you say some one has been beforehand with us." "That's so, sir," said Richards; "but none the less am I most grateful to you and the little ladies and this kind gentleman for your generous intentions. I am sure I don't know what I have done that the Lord should raise me up such friends. But it is most strange as to who could have done this, sir, and about that old lady." "What old lady?" asked Mr. Bradford. "Why, sir, she who either has done this or has been sent by some one else. If I don't keep you too long, I should just like to tell you what I know." "Not at all," said Mr. Bradford. "Let us have the story." "Yesterday morning," said the policeman, "Mrs. Granby was sitting by the window, when she saw an old lady going to 'most all the houses, and seeming to be asking her way or inquiring for some one. So Mrs. Granby puts out her head and asks if she was looking for any one. 'I want Mrs. Richards, the policeman's wife,' says the old lady. Mrs. Granby told her that was the place and opens the door for her. Well, she walked in, but a stranger she was, to be sure; neither my wife nor Mrs. Granby ever set eyes on her before, and they did not know what to make of her. All sorts of questions she asked, and in a way Mary did not like at all, never telling who she was or what she came for. Well, after a while she went away, but never letting on what she had come for, and Mrs. Granby and Mary set it down that it was only for spying and meddling. But last night when I took up the Bible to read a chapter before we went to bed, out drops a sealed packet with my name printed on it. I opened it, and there, will you believe it, sir, were two one hundred dollar bills, and around them a slip of paper with the words, printed, too, 'Pay your debts.' No more, no less. You may know if we were astonished, and as for my wife, she was even a bit frightened. After talking it over, we were sure it could have been no one but the old lady that had put it there. But who was she, and how did she know so much of my affairs? Mrs. Granby said she remembered to have seen her fussing with the leaves of the Bible, sort of careless like, as it lay upon the table, and she must have slipped it in then. But whether it was her own gift, or whether she was sent by some one else, who does not care to be seen in the matter, I don't know. The women will have it that it was the last, and that she did not like her errand, and so eased her mind by a bit of fault-finding and meddling, and I must say it looks like it." "And you have no possible clew to who this person was, Richards?" asked Mr. Bradford. "None, sir. I might track her easy, I suppose, but since she didn't seem to wish it to be known who she was or where she came from, I wouldn't feel it was showing my gratitude for the obligations she's laid me under, and you see by the printing she don't wish to be tracked even by her handwriting. Nor was this all. Early this morning, round comes Dr. Dawson to the station, asking for me; and he told me that an old lady had been to his house yesterday, and after asking a lot of questions, had paid him a hundred and fifty dollars for undertaking the operation on Willie's eyes, and took a receipted bill from him. By all accounts, she must be the same person who was at my place yesterday, and if ever a man was as mad as a hornet, he's the one. When he asked if he might take the liberty of inquiring what interest she had in my family, she asked if it was necessary to Willie's cure that he should know that; and when he said, 'No, of course not,' she said it _was_ a great liberty, and as good as told him to mind his own affairs. He quite agrees with my wife and Mrs. Granby that she was only a messenger from some unknown friend, and that she was not pleased with the business she had in hand. The doctor is very much occupied just now, and told her he could not well see me before this evening; but he found he could make time to run over and tell me this morning, and kindly did so. So, you see, sir, I do not rightly know what to do, joyful and grateful as I feel; and I thought I would just run over and tell you the story at once, and ask if you thought I might safely use this money without fear of getting into any difficulty. You see it's such a strange and mysterious way of doing things that I won't say but I would think it odd myself if I heard another person had come by such a sum in such a way." "I see no possible objection to your using the money," said Mr. Bradford. "It certainly has been intended for you, however singular the way in which it has been conveyed to you, or however disagreeable the manner of the messenger. It has probably been the work of some eccentric, but kind-hearted person who does not choose to have his good deeds known." "I can't say but I would feel better to know whom it came from, Mr. Bradford, grateful from my very soul as I am. I shouldn't have been too proud to take such a favor from one who I knew was a friend to me, with the hope, maybe, of one day making it up, but it's not so comfortable to have it done in this secret sort of way, and as if it were something to be ashamed of." "Do not look at it in that way, Richards, but believe that your friend has only acted thus from a wish that his left hand should not know what his right hand has done. Look at it as a gift from the Lord, and use it with an easy heart and a clear conscience, as I am sure your benefactor intended." "Well, may God bless and prosper him, whoever he is," said the policeman. "I only wish he knew what a load is lifted from my heart. And thank you too, sir, for your advice and for all your interest in me." While the policeman had been telling his story, Maggie and Bessie had stood listening eagerly to him. At first they looked pleased as well as interested, but when it was made plain to them that some stranger had done the very thing on which they had set their hearts, a look of blank dismay and disappointment overspread their faces. By the time he had finished, Bessie, with her head pressed against her mother's shoulder, was choking back the tears, and Maggie, with crimson cheeks and wide-open eyes, was standing, the very picture of indignation. "Papa," she exclaimed, as Mr. Richards said the last words, "does he really mean that woman went and paid that money for blind Willie to be cured?" "Yes, my darling," said her father, with a feeling of real pity for the disappointment of his two little daughters, "but I think--" "It's too bad," said Maggie, without waiting for her father to finish his sentence; "it's as mean, as mean as--Oh! I never heard of anything so mean; the horrid old thing! something ought to be done to her. I know she just did it to make a disappointment to Bessie and me. Oh, dear! It's too bad!" She finished with a burst of tears. "My dear little girl," said her father, "I know this is a great disappointment to you; but you must not let it make you unreasonable. This person is probably an entire stranger to you; and any way, she could know nothing of your purpose." "You will find plenty of uses for the money," said Uncle Ruthven, catching Bessie up in his arms. "Put it away till you find another blind boy, or lame girl, or some old sick body, who would be glad of a little help. Papa will find you ways enough to spend it." "But," said Bessie, mournfully, as she wiped her eyes, "we wanted to use it for Willie, and we thought so much about it, and we were so glad when we thought how pleased he would be! Oh! we are very much _trialed_; are we not, Maggie?" "Now the Lord love you for your thought of my boy," said the policeman, "and I'm sure I wish, for your sake, that the old lady had stopped short of Dr. Dawson's door, keeping her money for some other folks that had need of it, and leaving it to you two dear little ones to do this kind turn for my child. But Willie will think just as much, as I do, of your meaning to do it, as if you'd done it out and out; and if you'll allow it, madam,"--here he turned to Mrs. Bradford, "I'd like to bring him over, that he may say so." Mrs. Bradford said she would be very glad to see Willie, and asked Mr. Richards to bring him and Jennie over the next day, and let them spend an hour or two with the children. This she did, thinking it would be a pleasure to her little girls to see the blind boy and his sister, and wishing to do all she could to console them for their disappointment. The policeman promised to do this, and then, once more thanking Mr. Bradford and his family for all their kindness, he went away. [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 13] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 14] XIV. _AUNT PATTY._ But Maggie and Bessie, especially the former, were quite determined not to be consoled. They thought such a terrible disappointment deserved to be sorrowed over for some time to come, and sat with tearful faces and a very mournful manner, quite unable to do anything but grieve. "I hope I shall have strength to bear it, but I don't know," said Maggie, with her pocket-handkerchief to her eyes. Mamma told her that the way to bear a trial was not to sit fretting over it and thinking how bad it was, but to look at its bright side, and see what good we or others might gain from it. "But _this_ has no bright side; has it, mamma?" asked Bessie. "I think so," replied her mother. "This unknown friend has done much more for the policeman and his family than you could have done, and she has not only given the money for Dr. Dawson, but has, also, paid the debt to Dr. Schwitz; while your uncle is kind enough to allow you to keep your money for some one else who may need it." "But, mamma," said Maggie, with her eyes still covered, "Uncle Ruthven was going to pay the debt himself; papa told us so. So it would have been just as good for the policeman." "I declare," said Mr. Stanton, "I had quite forgotten that I was disappointed too! Well, well;" and he leaned his head on his hand, and put on a very doleful air. "Bradford," he continued, in the most mournful tones, "since we are not to go over to the policeman's this afternoon, I had thought we might have some other little frolic; but of course, none of us are in spirits for the visit to the menagerie I had intended to propose." At this, Maggie's handkerchief came down, and Bessie raised her head from her mother's shoulder. "I do not know but I might go, if I could make up a pleasant, happy party to take with me," said Mr. Stanton. "_You_ could not think of it, I suppose, Maggie?" "I don't know," said Maggie, half unwilling to be so soon comforted, and yet too much pleased at the thought of this unexpected treat to be able to refuse it. "Perhaps I might. I think maybe it would do me good to see the animals." But she still sat with the air of a little martyr, hoping that Uncle Ruthven would press her very much, so that she might not seem to yield too easily. "I thought perhaps it might bring _me_ a little comfort to see the monkeys eat peanuts, and then make faces at me, while they pelted me with the shells," said Mr. Stanton, in the same despairing tone. At this Bessie broke into a little low laugh, and the dimples showed themselves at the corners of Maggie's mouth, though she pursed up her lips, and drew down her eyebrows in her determination not to smile. But it was all useless, and in two moments more Uncle Ruthven had them both as merry as crickets over this new pleasure. Mamma and Aunt Bessie were coaxed to give up their shopping and go with them, and the three boys, Harry, Fred, and Franky, being added to the party, they all set off in good spirits. The blind boy and the terrible disappointment were not forgotten, but the children had made up their minds to take mamma's advice,--bear it bravely, and look on the bright side. Aunt Patty saw them go, and was glad to be left to herself, although her own thoughts were not very pleasant company. She had done a kind and generous action in an ungracious way, causing those whom she had benefited to feel that they would rather have received the favor from another hand, bringing a real trial upon these dear children, and vexation and regret to herself. She could not look upon her work or its consequences with any satisfaction. What though she had done a good deed, she had not done it quite in the right spirit, and so it seemed it had not brought a blessing. Self-will and temper had been suffered to overcome her once more. Bessie had shamed her by the self-control which she, an old woman, had not shown, and she had been outdone by both these little ones in patience and submission. The policeman's family would have been quite as well off as they were now, and she might still have had the long-desired grove, the object of so many thoughts and wishes, had she never taken up the matter, or had she even allowed her intentions to be known. She had really had an honest desire to keep her generous self-sacrifice a secret, that it should not be published abroad to all the world; but there was, also, an obstinate little corner in her heart which made her determine to keep it from her nephew, lest he should oppose it. "For I want none of his advice or interference," she said, to herself; it being generally the case that those who deal most largely in those articles themselves are the most unwilling to receive them from others. So the poor old lady sadly thought, taking shame and repentance to herself for all the peevishness and ill-temper of the last two days, seeing where she had acted wrongly and unwisely, and making new resolutions for the future. Ah, the old besetting sin, strengthened by long habit and indulgence, what a tyrant it had become, and how hard she had to struggle with it, how often was she overcome! Yes, well might little Bessie be thankful that wise and tender teachers had taught her to control that passionate temper, which later might have proved such a misery to herself and her friends. Then came back to her the dear child's trusting words, "Jesus knows," bringing with them a comforting sense of his near love and presence, and a feeling that his help and forgiveness were still open to her, though she had again so sadly given way. Oh, that she had little Bessie's simple faith! that this feeling of the Saviour's nearness, this constant looking to him for help and guidance, which were shown by this little one, were hers also! She bethought herself of a hymn, which she had heard Mrs. Bradford teaching to her children during the last week, and which they had all sung together on Sunday evening. She could not recollect the exact words, but it seemed to her that it was the very thing she needed now. She searched for it through all the hymn-books and tune-books on which she could lay her hands, but in vain; and, as was Aunt Patty's way, the more she could not find it, the more she seemed to want it. Should she ask the children for it when they came home? To do so, would be the same as confessing that she had done wrong, and that was the hardest thing in the world for the proud old lady to do. But yes, she would do it! Nay, more, she would no longer be outdone by a little child in generosity and humility. She would tell the children that she was sorry for her unkindness of the morning. It did Aunt Patty no harm, but a great deal of good, that long afternoon's musing in the silent house, where no patter of children's feet, nor any sound of young voices was heard; for baby had gone to her grandmamma, so that even her soft coo and joyous crow were missing for some hours. Meanwhile the children were enjoying themselves amazingly; for a visit to the menagerie with Uncle Ruthven, who knew so much of the wild beasts and their habits, and who told of them in such an interesting way, was no common treat. The day had been as April-like within as without, clouds and sunshine by turns, ending at last in settled brightness; and no one who had seen the happy faces of our Maggie and Bessie would have thought that they could have worn such woeful looks but a few hours since. After reaching home, they were passing through the upper hall on their way down to the parlor, where they had left papa and Uncle Ruthven, when Aunt Patty's door opened, and she called them. They stood still and hesitated. "Come in," said Mrs. Lawrence again, in a gentle tone; "Aunt Patty wants to speak to you." Maggie and Bessie obeyed, but slowly and unwillingly, as the old lady grieved to see, the former with drooping head and downcast eyes, while Bessie peeped shyly up at her aunt from under her eyelashes. "Aunt Patty was cross, and vexed you this morning," said Mrs. Lawrence; "but she is sorry now. Come, kiss her and be friends." In a moment Bessie's rosebud of a mouth was put up for the desired kiss, but Maggie still held back. It was not that she was unforgiving, but this meekness from Aunt Patty was something so new, and so contrary to all the ideas she had formed of her, that she did not know how to believe in it, or to understand it. "Kiss her," whispered Bessie; "it is not 'bearing her burden' if you don't." So Maggie's face was lifted also, and as her aunt bent down and kissed her, she was astonished to see how gentle and kind, although sad, she looked. The "corners" were all out of sight just now, and Maggie even began to feel sorry that she had wished Aunt Patty to be "a pillar of salt which might be soaked away in the rain." Mrs. Lawrence asked them if they had enjoyed themselves, and put a question or two about the menagerie in a pleasant, gentle tone, which showed that her ill-temper was all gone. Then there was a moment's silence, the children wishing, yet not exactly knowing how, to run away; at the end of which, Mrs. Lawrence said, in rather an embarrassed voice, as if she were half ashamed of what she was doing, "Bessie, where did you find that little hymn, 'Listen, oh, listen, our Father all holy'?" "Oh, it is in our dear little 'Chapel Gems,'" said the child. "Is it not pretty, Aunt Patty? Mamma found it, and I asked her to teach it to us, 'cause it was so sweet to say when any of us had been naughty. When we sing it, I think it's just like a little prayer in music." "Can you find the book for me?" asked the old lady. "Mamma lent it to Mrs. Rush. She wanted to have the music, so we might have it for one of our Sunday-school hymns. I'll ask mamma to let you have it as soon as Aunt May sends it back." "It is of no consequence," said Mrs. Lawrence, in a tone in which Bessie fancied there was some disappointment. "Do not let me keep you if you want to go." Both children turned toward the door, but before they reached it, Bessie lingered, also detaining Maggie, who held her hand. "Aunt Patty," she said, sweetly, "I think it is of consequence if you want it. And--and--I know 'Our Father all holy.' If you would like, I can say it to you." "Come, then, darling," answered the old lady, and standing at her knee with Aunt Patty's hand resting on her curls, Bessie repeated, slowly and correctly, this beautiful hymn:-- "Listen, oh, listen, our Father all holy! Humble and sorrowful, owning my sin, Hear me confess, in my penitence lowly, How in my weakness temptation came in. "Pity me now, for, my Father, no sorrow Ever can be like the pain that I know; When I remember that all through to-morrow, Missing the light of thy love, I may go. "For thy forgiveness, the gift I am seeking, Nothing, oh, nothing, I offer to thee! Thou to my sinful and sad spirit speaking, Giving forgiveness, giv'st all things to me. "Keep me, my Father, oh, keep me from falling! I had not sinned, had I felt thou wert nigh; Speak, when the voice of the tempter is calling So that temptation before thee may fly. "Thoughts of my sin much more humble shall make me, For thy forgiveness I'll love thee the more; So keep me humble until thou shall take me Where sin and sorrow forever are o'er."[A] "'I had not sinned, had I felt thou wert nigh,'" she said again, after she was through with the last line. "I wish we could always remember our Father is nigh; don't you, Aunt Patty? We know it, but sometimes we forget it a little, and then the naughtiness comes, and so we grieve him. But is not that a sweet hymn to say when we are sorry for our sin, and want him to help and forgive us again? I felt it was yesterday when I had been angry and spoken so naughty to you." "Oh, child, child!" was all the answer Mrs. Lawrence gave. Her heart had been softened before, now it was quite melted, and putting her arm about Bessie, she drew her to her and kissed her on both cheeks; while Maggie stood by wondering as she heard the tremor of Aunt Patty's voice and saw something very like a tear in her eye. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, Thou hast perfected praise," murmured the old lady to herself, when the door had closed behind the children. "Lord, make me even like unto this little child, granting me such faith, such grace, such patience, such an earnest desire to do thy will, to live only to thy glory." Yes, such were the lessons learned even by an old woman like Aunt Patty from this little lamb of Jesus, this little follower of her blessed Lord and Master. "Even a child is known by his doings." "Who is for a summer among the mountains?" asked Mr. Bradford as the family sat around the table after dinner. "I am, and I, and I!" came from a chorus of young voices, for from papa's look it was plainly to be seen that the question was addressed to the children, and that the grown people had had their say before. Even baby, who was learning to imitate everything, made a sound which might be interpreted into an "I;" but one little voice was silent. "And has my Bessie nothing to say?" asked papa. "Is the sea at the mountains, papa?" said Bessie, answering his question by another. "No, dear," said her father, smiling, "but among the mountains to which we think of going, there is a very beautiful lake, on the border of which stands the house in which we shall stay." "I am very fond of the sea, papa," answered Bessie, "and I think I would prefer to go to Quam Beach again,--I mean if the others liked it too." "I do not doubt we should all enjoy ourselves at Quam," said Mr. Bradford, "for we spent a very pleasant summer there last year. But grandmamma does not think the sea-side good for Aunt Annie's throat, and wishes to take her up among the mountains. The colonel's doctor has also advised him to go there, so we shall not have the same delightful party we had last summer if we go to Quam. About four miles from the old homestead, and higher up in the Chalecoo Mountains, is this very lovely lake set deep among the rocks and woods. Here lives a man named Porter,--you remember him, Aunt Patty?" "Certainly," answered Mrs. Lawrence, "he has been adding to and refitting his house, with the intention of taking boarders, I believe. Do you think of going there?" "Yes. I remember even in former days it was an airy, comfortable old place, and with the improvements which I hear Porter has made, I think it will just suit our party. What do you say, Bessie? Would you not like to go there with all the dear friends, rather than to Quam without them?" "Oh, yes," said Bessie; "I like my people better than I do the sea; but then I do wish there was just a little bit of sea there, papa." Papa smiled at Bessie's regret for the grand old ocean, which she loved so dearly; but as he told her of the many new pleasures she might find among the mountains, she began to think they might prove almost as delightful as those of the last summer at Quam Beach. So the plan was talked over with pleasure by all. Papa and Uncle Ruthven were to start the next morning to go up to the lake, see the house, and, if it suited, to make all the necessary arrangements. The party was a large one to be accommodated,--grandmamma and Aunt Annie, Uncle Ruthven and Aunt Bessie, Colonel and Mrs. Rush, and Mr. and Mrs. Bradford with all their family; and as soon as it was found to be doubtful if this could be done, all the children, even Bessie, were in a flutter of anxiety lest they should be disappointed. This was of no use, however, for the matter could not be decided till papa and Uncle Ruthven returned. "I have a little private business with Maggie and Bessie," said papa, as they rose from the table. "Young ladies, may I request the honor of your company in my room for a few moments?" Wondering what could be coming now, but sure from papa's face that it was something very pleasant, the little girls went skipping and dancing before him to the library, where, sitting down, papa lifted Bessie to his knee, and Maggie upon the arm of the chair, holding her there with his arm about her waist. When they were all settled, Mr. Bradford said, "Uncle Ruthven and I have a plan which we thought might please you, but if you do not like it, you are to say so." "Papa," said Maggie, "if it's any plan about that money, I think we'll have to consider it a little first. You see it seems to us as if it was very much Willie's money, and we will have to be a little accustomed to think it must do good to some one else." This was said with a very grave, businesslike air, which sat rather drolly upon our merry, careless Maggie, and her father smiled. "I shall tell you," he said, "and then you may have the next two days, till Uncle Ruthven and I come back, to consider it. Dr. Dawson thinks it necessary for Willie Richards to have change of air as soon as he is able to travel. Of course his mother must go with him, to take care of him; and, indeed, it is needful for the poor woman herself to have mountain air. I have thought that we might find some quiet farmhouse at or near Chalecoo, where Willie and his mother could go for two or three months at a small cost; but I do not believe it is possible for the policeman to afford even this, without very great discomfort and even suffering to himself and his family. Now, how would you like to use the money Uncle Ruthven gave you to pay the board of Willie and his mother, and so still spend it for his good and comfort? As I said, you may take two days to think over this plan, and if it does not suit you, you can say so." Ah! this was quite unnecessary, as papa probably knew. _This_ needed no consideration. Why, it was almost as good as paying Dr. Dawson,--rather better, Maggie thought. But Bessie could not quite agree to this last. "I am very satisfied, papa," she said, "but then it would have been so nice to think our money helped to make blind Willie see his mother's face." "Maggie, have you forgiven that old woman yet?" asked Fred, when his father and little sisters had joined the rest of the family in the other room. "Oh, yes!" said Maggie. "I think she is lovely! She has made things a great deal better for us, though she did not know it, and blind Willie is to go to the country. But you are not to talk about it, Fred, for he is not to be told till it is all fixed, and papa has found the place; and we are to pay the board, and I'm so sorry I said bad things about her, even if she was only the messenger, and some one sent her." "Hallo!" said Fred, "anything more?" "I am so full of gladness, I don't know what to do with it," said Maggie, who very often found herself in this state; "but I am so very tired I can't hop much to-night." [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 14] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 15] XV. _WILLIE'S VISIT._ "There," said Mrs. Granby, holding Willie Richards at arm's length from her, and gazing at him with pride and admiration,--"there, I'd like to see the fellow, be he man, woman, or child, that will dare to say my boy is not fit to stand beside any gentleman's son in the land." Certainly Mrs. Granby had no need to be ashamed of the object of her affectionate care. His shoes, though well worn and patched, had been blacked and polished till they looked quite respectable; the suit made from his father's old uniform was still neat and whole, for Willie's present quiet life was a great saving to his clothes, if that were any comfort; his white collar was turned back and neatly tied with a black ribbon, and Mrs. Granby had just combed back the straight locks from his pale, fair forehead in a jaunty fashion which she thought highly becoming to him. There was a look of hope and peace on his delicate face which and not been there for many a long day, for last night his father had told him that the doctor had an almost sure hope of restoring his sight, if he were good and patient, and that the operation was to take place the next week. The news had put fresh heart and life into the poor boy, and now, as Mrs. Granby said this, he laughed aloud, and throwing both arms about her neck, and pressing his cheek to hers, said,-- "Thank you, dear Auntie Granby. I know I am nice when you fix me up. Pretty soon I shall _see_ how nice you make me look." "Come now, Jennie, bring along that mop of yours," said Mrs. Granby, brandishing a comb at Jennie, and, half laughing, half shrinking, the little girl submitted to put her head into Mrs. Granby's hands. But, as had been the case very often before, it was soon given up as a hopeless task. Jennie's short, crisp curls defied both comb and brush, and would twist themselves into close, round rings, lying one over another after their own will and fashion. "I don't care," said Jennie, when Mrs. Granby pretended to be very angry at the rebellious hair,--"I don't care if it won't be smoothed; it is just like father's, mother says so; and anything like him is good enough for me." "Well, I won't say no to that," said Mrs. Granby, putting down the brush and throwing Jennie's dress over her head. "The more you're like him in all ways, the better you'll be, Jennie Richards, you mind that." "I do mind it," said Jennie. "I know he's the best father ever lived. Isn't he, Willie?" "S'pose that's what all young ones says of their fathers and mothers," answered Mrs. Granby, "even s'posin' the fathers and mothers ain't much to boast of. But you're nearer the truth, Jennie, than some of them, and it's all right and nat'ral that every child should think its own folks the best. There's little Miss Bradfords, what you're goin' up to see, they'd be ready to say the same about their pa." "And good reason, too," chimed in Mrs. Richards. "He's as true and noble a gentleman as ever walked, and a good friend to us." "That's so," answered Mrs. Granby, "I'll not gainsay you there neither. And that's come all along of your man just speaking a kind word or two to that stray lamb of his. And if I'd a mind to contradick you, which I haint, there's Sergeant Richards himself to back your words. The bairns is 'most ready, sergeant; and me and Mary was just sayin' how strange it seemed that such a friend as Mr. Bradford was raised up for you just along of a bit of pettin' you give that lost child. It's as the gentleman says,--'bread cast upon the waters;' but who'd ha' thought to see it come back the way it does? It beats all how things do come around." "Under God's guidance," said the policeman, softly. "The Lord's ways are past finding out." "I'll agree to that too," answered Mrs. Granby, "bein' in an accommodatin' humor this afternoon. There, now, Jennie, you're ready. Mind your manners now, and behave pretty, and don't let Willie go to falling down them long stairs at Mrs. Bradford's. There, kiss your mother, both of you, and go away with your father. I s'pose he ain't got no time to spare. I'll go over after them in an hour or so, Sergeant Richards." Here Tommy began very eagerly with his confused jargon which no one pretended to understand but Jennie. "What does he say, Jennie?" asked the father. "He says, 'Nice little girl, come some more. Bring her doggie,'" said Jennie; then turning to her mother, she asked, "Mother, do you b'lieve you can understand Tommy till I come back?" "I'll try," said her mother, smiling; "if I cannot, Tommy and I must be patient. Run now, father is waiting." Mrs. Granby followed them to the door, and even to the gate, where she stood and watched them till they were out of sight, for, as she told Mrs. Richards, "it did her a heap of good to see the poor things goin' off for a bit of a holiday." The policeman and his children kept steadily on till they reached the park near which Mr. Bradford lived, where they turned in. "How nice it is!" said Willie as the fresh, sweet air blew across his face, bringing the scent of the new grass and budding trees. "It seems a little like the country here. Don't you wish we lived in the country, father?" "I would like it, Willie, more for your sake than for anything else, and I wish from my heart I could send you and mother off to the country this summer, my boy. But you see it can't be managed. But I guess somehow father will contrive to send you now and then up to Central Park, or for a sail down the bay or up the river. And you and Jennie can come over here every day and play about awhile, and that will put a bit of strength in you, if you can't get out into the country." "And then I shall see; sha'n't I, father? I hear the birds. Are they hopping about like they used to, over the trees, so tame and nice?" "Yes," answered his father, "and here we are by the water, where's a whole heap of 'em come down for a drink." In his new hope, Willie took a fresh interest in all about him. "Oh, I hear 'em!" said Willie, eagerly, "and soon I'll see 'em. Will it be next week, father?" and he clasped tightly the hand he held. "I don't know about next week, sonny. I believe your eyes have to be bandaged for a while, lest the light would be too bright for them, while they're still weak, but you will have patience for that; won't you, Willie?" Willie promised, for it seemed to him that he could have patience and courage for anything now. "Oh!" said Jennie, as they reached Mr. Bradford's house, and went up the steps, "don't I wish I lived in a house like this!" "Don't be wishing that," said her father. "You'll see a good many things here such as you never saw before, but you mustn't go to wishing for them or fretting after the same. We've too much to be thankful for, my lassie, to be hankering for things which are not likely ever to be ours." "'Tis no harm to wish for them; is it, father?" asked Jennie, as they waited for the door to be opened. "It's not best even to wish for what's beyond our reach," said her father, "lest we should get to covet our neighbors' goods, or to be discontented with our own lot; and certainly we have no call to do that." Richards asked for Mrs. Bradford, and she presently came down, bringing Maggie and Bessie with her. Jennie felt a little strange and frightened at first when her father left her. Making acquaintance with Maggie and Bessie in her own home was a different thing from coming to visit them in their large, handsome house, and they scarcely seemed to her like the same little girls. But when Maggie took her up-stairs, and showed her the baby-house and dolls, she forgot everything else, and looked at them, quite lost in admiration. Willie was not asked to look at anything. The little sisters had thought of what he had said the day they went to see him, and agreed that Bessie was to take care of him while Maggie entertained Jennie. He asked after Flossy, and the dog was called, and behaved quite as well as he had done when he saw Willie before, lying quiet in his arms as long as the blind boy chose to hold him, and putting his cold nose against his face in an affectionate way which delighted Willie highly. There was no difficulty in amusing Jennie, who had eyes for all that was to be seen, and who thought she could never be tired of handling and looking at such beautiful toys and books. But perhaps the children would hardly have known how to entertain Willie for any length of time, if a new pleasure had not accidentally been furnished for him. Maggie and Bessie had just taken him and his sister into the nursery to visit the baby, the canary bird, and other wonders there, when there came sweet sounds from below. Willie instantly turned to the door and stood listening. "Who's making that music?" he asked presently in a whisper, as if he were afraid to lose a note. "Mamma and Aunt Bessie," said Maggie. "Would you and Jennie like to go down to the parlor and hear it?" asked Bessie. Willie said "Yes," very eagerly, but Jennie did not care to go where the grown ladies were, and said she would rather stay up-stairs if Maggie did not mind. Maggie consented, and Bessie went off, leading the blind boy by the hand. It was both amusing and touching to see the watch she kept over this child who was twice her own size, guiding his steps with a motherly sort of care, looking up at him with wistful pity and tenderness, and speaking to him in a soft, coaxing voice such as one would use to an infant. They were going down-stairs when they met Aunt Patty coming up. She passed them at the landing, then suddenly turning, said, in the short, quick way to which Bessie was by this time somewhat accustomed, "Children! Bessie! This is very dangerous! You should not be leading that poor boy down-stairs. Where are your nurses, that they do not see after you? Take care, take care! Look where you are going now! Carefully, carefully!" Now if Aunt Patty had considered the matter, she would have known she was taking the very way to bring about the thing she dreaded. Willie had been going on fearlessly, listening to his gentle little guide; but at the sound of the lady's voice he started, and as she kept repeating her cautions, he grew nervous and uneasy; while Bessie, instead of watching his steps and taking heed to her own, kept glancing up at her aunt with an uncomfortable sense of being watched by those sharp eyes. However, they both reached the lower hall in safety, where Bessie led her charge to the parlor-door. "Mamma," she said, "Willie likes music very much. I suppose you would just as lief he would listen to you and Aunt Bessie." "Certainly," said mamma. "Bring him in." But before they went in, Willie paused and turned to Bessie. "Who was that on the stairs?" he asked in a whisper. "Oh! that was only Aunt Patty," answered the little girl. "You need not be afraid of her. She don't mean to be so cross as she is; but she is old, and had a great deal of trouble, and not very wise people to teach her better when she was little. So she can't help it sometimes." "No," said Willie, slowly, as if he were trying to recollect something, "I am not afraid; but then I thought I had heard that voice before." "Oh, I guess not," said Bessie; and then she took him in and seated him in her own little arm-chair, close to the piano. No one who had noticed the way in which the blind boy listened to the music, or seen the look of perfect enjoyment on his pale, patient face, could have doubted his love for the sweet sounds. While Mrs. Bradford and Miss Rush played or sang, he sat motionless, not moving a finger, hardly seeming to breathe, lest he should lose one note. "So you are very fond of music; are you, Willie?" said Mrs. Bradford, when at length they paused. "Yes, ma'am, very," said he, modestly; "but I never heard music like that before. It seems 'most as if it was alive." "So it does," said Bessie, while the ladies smiled at the boy's innocent admiration. "I think there's a many nice things in this house," continued Willie, who, in his very helplessness and unconsciousness of the many new objects which surrounded him, was more at his ease than his sister. "And mamma is the nicest of all," said Bessie. "You can't think how precious she is, Willie!" Mrs. Bradford laughed as she put back her little daughter's curls, and kissed her forehead. "I guess she must be, when she is your mother," said Willie. "You must all be very kind and good people here; and I wish, oh, I wish it was you and your sister who gave the money for Dr. Dawson. But never mind; I thank you and love you all the same as if you had done it, only I would like to think it all came through you. And father says"-- Here Willie started, and turned his sightless eyes towards the open door, through which was again heard Mrs. Lawrence's voice, as she gave directions to Patrick respecting a parcel she was about to send home. "What is the matter, Willie?" asked Mrs. Bradford. "Nothing, ma'am;" answered the child, as a flush came into his pale cheeks, and rising from his chair, he stood with his head bent forward, listening intently, till the sound of Aunt Patty's voice ceased, and the opening and closing of the front-door showed that she had gone out, when he sat down again with a puzzled expression on his face. "Does anything trouble you?" asked Mrs. Bradford. "No, ma'am; but--but--I _know_ I've heard it before." "Heard what?" "That voice, ma'am; Miss Bessie said it was her aunt's." "But you couldn't have heard it, you know, Willie," said Bessie, "'cause you never came to this house before, and Aunt Patty never went to yours." These last words brought it all back to the blind boy. He knew now. "But she _did_," he said, eagerly,--"she did come to our house. That's the one; that's the voice that scolded mother and Auntie Granby and Jennie, and that put the money into the Bible when we didn't know it!" Mrs. Bradford and Miss Rush looked at one another with quick, surprised glances; but Bessie said, "Oh! you must be mistaken, Willie. It's quite _un_possible. Aunt Patty does not know you or your house, and she never went there. Besides, she does not"--"Does not like you to have the money," she was about to say, when she thought that this would be neither kind nor polite, and checked herself. But Willie was quite as positive as she was, and with a little shake of his head, he said, "Ever since I was blind, I always knew a voice when I heard it once. I wish Jennie or Mrs. Granby had seen her, they could tell you; but I know that's the voice. It was _you_ sent her, after all, ma'am; was it not?" and he turned his face toward Mrs. Bradford. "No, Willie, I did not send her," answered the lady, with another look at Miss Rush, "nor did any one in this house." But in spite of this, and all Bessie's persuasions and assurances that the thing was quite impossible, Willie was not to be convinced that the voice he had twice heard was not that of the old lady who had left the money in the Bible; and he did not cease regretting that Jennie had not seen her. But to have Jennie or Mrs. Granby see her was just what Mrs. Lawrence did not choose, and to avoid this, she had gone out, not being able to shut herself up in her own room, which was undergoing a sweeping and dusting. She had not been afraid of the sightless eyes of the little boy when she met him on the stairs, never thinking that he might recognize her voice; but she had taken good care not to meet those of Jennie, so quick and bright, and which she felt would be sure to know her in an instant. But secure as Aunt Patty thought herself, when she was once out of the house, that treacherous voice of hers had betrayed her, not only to Willie's sensitive ears, but to that very pair of eyes which she thought she had escaped. For, as the loud tones had reached Maggie and Jennie at their play, the latter had dropped the toy she held, and exclaimed, in a manner as startled as Willie's, "There's that woman!" "What woman?" asked Maggie. "The old woman who brought the money to our house. I know it is her." "Oh, no, it is not," said Maggie; "that's Aunt Patty, and she's an old lady, not an old woman, and she wouldn't do it if she could. She is real mean, Jennie, and I think that person who took you the money was real good and kind, even if we did feel a little bad about it at first. Aunt Patty would never do it, I know. Bessie and I try to like her, and just as we begin to do it a little scrap, she goes and does something that makes us mad again, so it's no use to try." "But she does talk just like the lady who came to our house," persisted Jennie. "You can see her if you have a mind to," said Maggie, "and then you'll know it is not her. Come and look over the balusters, but don't let her see you, or else she'll say, 'What are you staring at, child?'" They both ran to the head of the stairs, where Jennie peeped over the balusters. "It _is_ her!" she whispered to Maggie. "I am just as sure, as sure. She is all dressed up nice to-day, and the other day she had on an old water-proof cloak, and a great big umbrella, and she didn't look so nice. But she's the very same." "Let's go down and tell mamma, and see what she says," said Maggie, as the front-door closed after Aunt Patty. Away they both rushed to the parlor; but when Jennie saw the ladies, she was rather abashed and hung back a little, while Maggie broke forth with, "Mamma, I have the greatest piece of astonishment to tell you, you ever heard. Jennie says she is quite sure Aunt Patty is the woman who put the money in the Bible and paid Dr. Dawson. But, mamma, it can't be; can it? Aunt Patty is quite too dog-in-the-mangery; is she not?" "Maggie, dear," said her mother, "that is not a proper way for you to speak of your aunt, nor do I think it is just as you say. What do you mean by that?" "Why, mamma, you know the dog in the manger could not eat the hay himself, and would not let the oxen eat it; and Aunt Patty would not buy the grove, or tell papa what was the reason; so was she not like the dog in the manger?" "Not at all," said Mrs. Bradford, smiling at Maggie's reasoning. "The two cases are not at all alike. As you say, the dog would not let the hungry oxen eat the hay he could not use himself, but because Aunt Patty did not choose to buy the grove, we have no right to suppose she would not make, or has not made some other good use of her money, and if she chooses to keep that a secret, she has a right to do so. No, I do not think we can call her like the dog in the manger, Maggie." "But do you believe she gave up the grove for that, mamma? She would not be so good and generous; would she?" "Yes, dear, I think she would. Aunt Patty is a very generous-hearted woman, although her way of doing things may be very different from that of some other people. Mind, I did not say that she _did_ do this, but Willie and Jennie both seem to be quite positive that she is the old lady who was at their house, and I think it is not at all unlikely." "And shall you ask her, mamma?" "No. If it was Aunt Patty who has been so kind, she has shown very plainly that she did not wish to be questioned, and I shall say nothing, nor must you. We will not talk about it any more now. We will wind up the musical box, and let Willie see if he likes it as well as the piano." Very soon after this, Mrs. Granby came for Willie and Jennie, and no sooner were they outside of the door than they told of the wonderful discovery they had made. Mrs. Granby said she was not at all astonished, "one might have been sure such a good turn came out of _that_ house, somehow." [Illustration: decoration, end of chap. 15] [Illustration: Title decoration, chap. 16] XVI. _WILLIE'S RECOVERY._ Willie seemed amazingly cheered up and amused by his visit, and told eagerly of all he had heard and noticed, with a gay ring in his voice which delighted his mother. It was not so with Jennie, although she had come home with her hands full of toys and picture-books, the gifts of the kind little girls she had been to see. She seemed dull, and her mother thought she was tired of play and the excitement of seeing so much that was new and strange to her. But Mrs. Richards soon found it was worse than this. "I don't see why I can't keep this frock on," said Jennie, fretfully, as Mrs. Granby began to unfasten her dress, which was kept for Sundays and holidays. "Surely, you don't want to go knocking round here, playing and working in your best frock!" said Mrs. Granby. "What would it look like?" "The other one is torn," answered Jennie, pouting, and twisting herself out of Mrs. Granby's hold. "Didn't I mend it as nice as a new pin?" said Mrs. Granby, showing a patch nicely put in during Jennie's absence. "It's all faded and ugly," grumbled Jennie. "I don't see why I can't be dressed as nice as other folks." "That means you want to be dressed like little Miss Bradfords," answered Mrs. Granby. "And the reason why you ain't is because your folks can't afford it, my dearie. Don't you think your mother and me would like to see you rigged out like them, if we had the way to do it? To be sure we would. But you see we can't do more than keep you clean and whole; so there's no use wishin'." Jennie said no more, but submitted to have the old dress put on; but the pleasant look did not come back to her face. Anything like sulkiness or ill-temper from Jennie was so unusual that the other children listened in surprise; but her mother saw very plainly what was the matter, and hoping it would wear off, thought it best to take no notice of it at present. The dress fastened, Jennie went slowly and unwillingly about her task of putting away her own and her brother's clothes; not doing so in her usual neat and orderly manner but folding them carelessly and tumbling them into the drawers in a very heedless fashion. Mrs. Granby saw this, but she, too, let it pass, thinking she would put things to rights when Jennie was in bed. Pretty soon Tommy came to Mrs. Granby with some long story told in the curious jargon of which she could not understand one word. "What does he say, Jennie?" she asked. "I don't know," answered Jennie, crossly. "I sha'n't be troubled to talk for him all the time. He is big enough to talk for himself, and he just may do it." "Jennie, Jennie," said her mother, in a grieved tone. Jennie began to cry. "Come here," said Mrs. Richards, thinking a little soothing would be better than fault-finding. "The baby is asleep; come and fix the cradle so I can put her in it." The cradle was Jennie's especial charge, and she never suffered any one else to arrange it; but now she pulled the clothes and pillows about as if they had done something to offend her. "Our baby is just as good as Mrs. Bradford's," she muttered, as her mother laid the infant in the cradle. "I guess we think she is the nicest baby going," said Mrs. Richards, cheerfully; "and it's likely Mrs. Bradford thinks the same of hers." "I don't see why Mrs. Bradford's baby has to have a better cradle than ours," muttered Jennie. "Hers is all white muslin and pink, fixed up so pretty, and ours is old and shabby." "And I don't believe Mrs. Bradford's baby has a quilt made for her by her own little sister," answered the mother. "And it has such pretty frocks, all work and tucks and nice ribbons," said Jennie, determined not to be coaxed out of her envy and ill-humor, "and our baby has to do with just a plain old slip with not a bit of trimming. 'Taint fair; it's real mean!" "Jennie, Jennie," said her mother again, "I am sorry I let you go, if it was only to come home envious and jealous after the pretty things you've seen." "But haven't we just as good a right to have them as anybody else?" sobbed Jennie, with her head in her mother's lap. "Not since the Lord has not seen fit to give them to us," answered Mrs. Richards. "We haven't a right to anything. All he gives us is of his goodness; nor have we a _right_ to fret because he has made other folks better off than us. All the good things and riches are his to do with as he sees best; and if one has a larger portion than another, he has his own reasons for it, which is not for us to quarrel with. And of all others, I wouldn't have you envious of Mrs. Bradford's family that have done so much for us." "Yes," put in Mrs. Granby, with her cheery voice; "them's the ones that ought to be rich that don't spend all their money on themselves, that makes it do for the comfort of others that's not as well off, and for the glory of Him that gives it. Now, if it had been you or me, Jennie, that had so much given to us, maybe we'd have been selfish and stingy like; so the Lord saw it wasn't best for us." "I don't think anything could have made you selfish or stingy, Janet Granby," said Mrs. Richards, looking gratefully at her friend. "It is a small share of this world's goods that has fallen to you, but your neighbors get the best of what does come to you." "Then there's some other reason why it wouldn't be good for me," said Mrs. Granby; "I'm safe in believin' that, and it ain't goin' to do for us to be frettin' and pinin' after what we haven't got, when the Almighty has just been heapin' so much on us. And talkin' of that, Jennie, you wipe your eyes, honey, and come along to the kitchen with me; there's a basket Mrs. Bradford gave me to unpack. She said it had some few things for Willie, to strengthen him up a bit before his eyes were done. And don't let the father come in and find you in the dumps; that would never do. So cheer up and come along till we see what we can find." Jennie raised her head, wiped her eyes, and followed Mrs. Granby, who, good, trusting soul, soon talked her into good-humor and content again. Meanwhile, Maggie and Bessie were very full of the wonderful discovery of the afternoon, and could scarcely be satisfied without asking Aunt Patty if it could really be she who had been to the policeman's house and carried the money to pay his debts; also, paid Dr. Dawson for the operation on Willie's eyes. But as mamma had forbidden this, and told them that they were not to speak of it to others, they were obliged to be content with talking of it between themselves. If it were actually Aunt Patty who had done this, they should look upon her with very new feelings. They had heard from others that she could do very generous and noble actions; but it was one thing to hear of them, as if they were some half-forgotten story of the past, and another to see them done before their very eyes. Aunt Patty was not rich. What she gave to others, she must deny to herself, and they knew this must have cost her a great deal. She had given up the grove, on which she had set her heart, that she might be able to help the family in whom they were so interested,--people of whom she knew nothing but what she had heard from them. If she had really been so generous, so self-sacrificing, they thought they could forgive almost any amount of crossness and meddling. "For, after all, they're only the corners," said Maggie, "and maybe when she tried to bear the policeman's burden, and felt bad about the grove, that made her burden heavier, and so squeezed out her corners a little more, and they scratched her neighbors, who ought not to mind if that was the reason. But I do wish we could really know; don't you, Bessie?" Putting all things together, there did not seem much reason to doubt it. The policeman's children were positive that Mrs. Lawrence was the very lady who had been to their house, and Aunt Patty had been out on two successive days at such hours as answered to the time when the mysterious old lady had visited first them, and then Dr. Dawson. Papa and Uncle Ruthven came home on the evening of the next day, having made arrangements that satisfied every one for the summer among the mountains. Porter's house, with its addition and new conveniences, was just the place for the party, and would even afford two or three extra rooms, in case their friends from Riverside wished to join them. The children were delighted as their father spoke of the wide, roomy old hall, where they might play on a rainy day, of the spacious, comfortable rooms and long piazza; as he told how beautiful the lake looked even in this early spring weather, and of the grand old rocks and thick woods which would soon be covered with their green summer dress. Still Bessie gave a little sigh after her beloved sea. The old homestead and Aunt Patty's cottage were about four miles from the lake, just a pleasant afternoon's drive; and at the homestead itself, where lived Mr. Bradford's cousin, the two gentlemen had passed the night. Cousin Alexander had been very glad to hear that his relations were coming to pass the summer at Chalecoo Lake, and his four boys promised themselves all manner of pleasure in showing their city cousins the wonders of the neighborhood. "It all looks just as it used to when I was a boy," said Mr. Bradford. "There is no change in the place, only in the people." He said it with a half-sigh, but the children did not notice it as they pleased themselves with the thought of going over the old place where papa had lived when he was a boy. "I went to the spot where the old barn was burned down, Aunt Patty," he said. "No signs of the ruins are to be seen, as you know; but as I stood there, the whole scene came back to me as freshly as if it had happened yesterday;" and he extended his hand to Aunt Patty as he spoke. The old lady laid her own within his, and the grasp he gave it told her that years and change had not done away with the grateful memory of her long past services. She was pleased and touched, and being in such a mood, did not hesitate to express the pleasure she, too, felt at the thought of having them all near her for some months. About half-way between the homestead and the Lake House, Mr. Bradford and Mr. Stanton had found board for Mrs. Richards and her boy. It was at the house of an old farmer who well remembered Mr. Bradford, and who said he was pleased to do anything to oblige him, though the gentlemen thought that the old man was quite as well satisfied with the idea of the eight dollars a week he had promised in payment. And this was to come from Maggie's and Bessie's store, which had been carefully left in mamma's hand till such time as it should be needed. All this was most satisfactory to our little girls; and when it should be known that the operation on Willie's eyes had been successful, they were to go to Mrs. Richards and tell her what had been done for her boy's farther good. Mrs. Bradford told her husband that night of all that had taken place during his absence, and he quite agreed with her that it was without doubt Aunt Patty herself who had been the policeman's benefactor. "I am not at all surprised," he said, "though I own that this did not occur to me, even when Richards described the old lady. It is just like Aunt Patty to do a thing in this way; and her very secrecy and her unwillingness to confess why she would not have the grove, or what she intended to do with the money, convinced me that she was sacrificing herself for the good of some other person or persons." Then Mr. Bradford told his wife that Aunt Patty meant to go home in about ten days, and should Willie's sight be restored before she went, he hoped to be able to persuade her to confess that she had had a share in bringing about this great happiness. He was very anxious that his children should be quite certain of this, as he thought it would go far to destroy their old prejudice, and to cause kind feelings and respect to take the place of their former fear and dislike. Mrs. Bradford said that good had been done already by the thought that it was probably Aunt Patty who had been so generous, and that the little ones were now quite as ready to believe all that was kind and pleasant of the old lady as they had been to believe all that was bad but two days since. She told how they had come to her that morning, Maggie saying, "Mamma, Bessie and I wish to give Aunt Patty something to show we have more approval of her than we used to have; so I am going to make a needle-book and Bessie a pin-cushion, and put them in her work-basket without saying anything about them." They had been very busy all the morning contriving and putting together their little gifts without any help from older people, and when they were finished, had placed them in Aunt Patty's basket, hanging around in order to enjoy her surprise and pleasure when she should find them there. But the poor little things were disappointed, they could scarcely tell why. If it had been mamma or Aunt Bessie who had received their presents, there would have been a great time when they were discovered. There would have been exclamations of admiration and delight and much wondering as to who could have placed them there,--"some good fairy perhaps who knew that these were the very things that were wanted," and such speeches, all of which Maggie and Bessie would have enjoyed highly, and at last it would be asked if they could possibly have made them, and then would have come thanks and kisses. But nothing of this kind came from Aunt Patty. She could not enter into other people's feelings so easily as those who had been unselfish and thoughtful for others all their lives; and though she was much gratified by these little tokens from the children, she did not show half the pleasure she felt; perhaps she really did not know how. True she thanked them, and said she should keep the needle-book and pin-cushion as long as she lived; but she expressed no surprise, and did not praise the work with which they had taken so much pains. "What is this trash in my basket?" she said, when she discovered them. "Children, here are some of your baby-rags." "Aunt Patty," said Mrs. Bradford, quickly, "they are intended for you; the children have been at work over them all the morning." "Oh!" said Mrs. Lawrence, changing her tone. "I did not understand. I am sure I thank you very much, my dears; and when you come to see me this summer, I shall show you how to do far better than this. I have a quantity of scraps and trimmings of all kinds, of which you can make very pretty things." This was intended to be kind; but the promise for the future did not make up for the disappointment of the present; and the children turned from her with a feeling that their pains had been almost thrown away. "Mamma," Bessie had said afterwards, "do you think Aunt Patty was very grateful for our presents?" "Yes, dear, I think she was," said mamma, "and I think she meant to show it in her own way." "But, mamma, do you think that was a nice way? You would not have said that to any one, and I felt as if I wanted to cry a little." Mamma had seen that her darlings were both hurt, and she felt very sorry for them, but she thought it best to make light of it, so said, cheerfully, "I am quite sure Aunt Patty was gratified, pussy, and that whenever she looks at your presents, she will think with pleasure of the kind little hands that made them." "When I am big, and some one gives me something I have pleasure in, I'll try to show the pleasure in a nice way," said Maggie. "Then you must not forget to do it while you are young," said mamma. "Let this show you how necessary it is to learn pleasant habits of speaking and acting while you are young." "Yes," said Maggie, with a long sigh, "and Aunt Patty ought to be excused. I suppose, since she was not brought up in the way she should go when she was young, she ought to be expected to depart from it when she is old. We must just make the best of it when she don't know any better, and take example of her." "Yes," said mamma, rather amused at the way in which Maggie had put into words the very thought that was in her own mind; "let us make the best of everything, and be always ready to believe the best of those about us." All this Mrs. Bradford told to her husband, and agreed with him that it was better not to endeavor to find out anything more till the trial on Willie's eyes was over. Maggie's new volume of "The Complete Family" was begun the next day in these words: "Once there was a man who lived in his home in the mountains, and who always listened very modestly to everything that was said to him, so his wife used to say a great deal to him. And one day she said, 'My dear, Mr. and Mrs. Happy, with all their family, and a great lot of their best friends, are coming to live with us this summer, and they are used to having a very nice time, so we must do all we can to make them comfortable, or maybe they will say, "Pooh, this is not a nice place at all. Let us go to the sea again. These are very horrid people!"' And the man said, 'By all means, my dear; and we will give them all they want, and let them look at the mountains just as much as they choose. But I do not think they will say unkind words even if you are a little disagreeable, but will make the best of you, and think you can't help it.' Which was quite true, for M. Happy and B. Happy had a good lesson the man did not know about, and had made a mistake; and sometimes when people seem dreadfully hateful, they are very nice,--I mean very good,--so it's not of great consequence if they are not so nice as some people, and they ought not to be judged, for maybe they have a burden. And M. Happy made two mistakes; one about Mrs. Jones, and the other about that other one mamma don't want me to write about. So this book will be about how they went to the mountains and had a lovely time. I guess we will." Rather more than a week had gone by. Willie Richards lay on his bed in a darkened room, languid and weak, his eyes bandaged, his face paler than ever, but still cheerful and patient. It was five days since the operation had been performed, but Willie had not yet seen the light, nor was it certain that he would ever do so, though the doctor hoped and believed that all had gone well. They had given the boy chloroform at the time, and then bound his eyes before he had recovered his senses. But on this day the bandage was to be taken off for the first, and then they should know. His mother sat beside him holding his thin, worn hand in hers. "Willie," she said, "the doctor is to be here presently, and he will take the bandage from your eyes." "And will I see then, mother?" "If God pleases, dear. But, Willie, if he does not see fit to give you back your sight, could you bear it, and try to think that it is his will, and he knows best?" Willie drew a long, heavy breath, and was silent a moment, grasping his mother's fingers till the pressure almost pained her; then he said, low, and with a quiver in his voice, "I would try, mother; but it would be 'most too hard after all. If it could be just for a little while, just so I could see your dear face for a few moments, then I would try to say, 'Thy will be done.'" "However it is, we must say that, my boy; but, please the Lord, we shall yet praise him for his great goodness in giving you back your poor, dear eyes." As she spoke, the door opened, and her husband put his head in. "Here's the doctor, Mary," he said, with a voice that shook, in spite of his efforts to keep it steady; and then he came in, followed by the doctor and Mrs. Granby. The latter, by the doctor's orders, opened the window so as to let in a little softened light, and after a few cheerful words the doctor unfastened the bandage, and uncovered the long sightless eyes. Willie was resting in his mother's arms with his head back against her shoulder, and she knew that he had turned it so that her face might be the first object his eyes rested on. It was done; and, with a little glad cry, the boy threw up his arms about his mother's neck. "What is it, Willie?" asked his father, scarcely daring to trust his voice to speak. "I saw it! I saw it!" said the boy. "Saw what, sonny?" asked his father, wishing to be sure that the child could really distinguish objects. "I saw mother's face, her dear, dear face; and I see you, too, father. Oh, God is so good! I will be such a good boy all my life. Oh, will I never have to fret to see mother's face again?" "Ahem!" said the doctor, turning to a table and beginning to measure some drops into a glass, while Mrs. Granby stood crying for joy at the other end of the room. "If you're not to, you must keep more quiet than this, my boy; it will not do for you to grow excited. Here, take this." "Who's that?" asked Willie, as the strange face met his gaze. "Ho, ho!" said the doctor. "Are you going to lose your ears now you have found your eyes? I thought you knew all our voices, my fine fellow." "Oh, yes," said Willie, "I know now; it's the doctor. Doctor, was I just as patient as you wanted me to be?" "First-rate," answered the doctor; "but you must have a little more patience yet. I'll leave the bandage off, but we will not have quite so much light just now, Mrs. Granby." Willie begged for one look at Auntie Granby, and then Jennie was called, that he might have a peep at her, after which he was content to take the medicine and lie down, still holding his mother's hand, and now and then putting up his fingers with a wistful smile to touch the dearly loved face he could still see bending over him in the dim light. That evening the policeman went up to Mr. Bradford's. He was asked to walk into the parlor, where sat Mr. Bradford and Aunt Patty, while old nurse was just taking Maggie and Bessie off to bed. "Oh, here is our policeman!" said Bessie; and she ran up to him, holding out her hand. "How is your Willie?" "That's just what I came to tell you, dear. I made bold to step up and let you know about Willie, sir," he said, turning to Mr. Bradford. "And what is the news?" asked the gentleman. "The best, sir. The Lord has crowned all his mercies to us by giving us back our boy's sight." "And has Willie seen his mother's face?" asked Bessie, eagerly. "Yes, that he has. He took care that should be the first thing his eyes opened on; and it just seems as if he could not get his full of looking at it. He always was a mother boy, my Willie, but more than ever so since his blindness." "How is he?" asked Mr. Bradford. "Doing nicely, sir. Rather weakish yet; but when he can bear the light, and get out into the fresh air, it will do him good; and I hope he'll come round after a spell, now that his mind is at ease, and he's had a sight of that he'd set his heart on, even if we can't just follow out the doctor's orders." Bessie felt as if she could keep her secret no longer. "May I, papa,--may I?" she asked. Papa understood her, and nodded assent. "But you _can_ follow the doctor's orders," said she, turning again to the policeman, "and Willie can have all the fresh air he needs,--fresh mountain air, he and his mother. And Maggie and I are to pay it out of the money that Uncle Ruthven gave us for the eye doctor whom the"--here Bessie looked half doubtfully towards Aunt Patty--"the old lady paid. And now, you see, it's a great deal nicer, 'cause if she hadn't, then, maybe, Willie couldn't go to the country." Bessie talked so fast that Richards did not understand at first, and her father had to explain. The man was quite overcome. "It's too much, sir, it's too much," he said, in a husky voice, twisting his cap round and round in his hands. "It was the last thing was wanting, and I feel as if I had nothing to say. There ain't no words to tell what I feel. I can only say may the Lord bless you and yours, and grant you all your desires in such measure as he has done to me." Mr. Bradford then told what arrangements had been made, in order to give Richards time to recover himself. The policeman thought all these delightful, and said he knew his wife and boy would feel that they could never be thankful and happy enough. "And to think that all this has come out of that little one being brought up to the station that day, sir; it's past belief almost," he said. "So good has been brought out of evil," said Mr. Bradford. As soon as the policeman had gone, Maggie and Bessie ran up-stairs to tell their mother the good news, leaving papa and Aunt Patty alone together. Mr. Bradford then turned to the old lady, and laying his hand gently on her shoulder, said,-- "Aunt Patty, you have laid up your treasure where moth and rust do not corrupt; but surely it is bearing interest on earth." "How? Why? What do you mean, Henry?" said Mrs. Lawrence, with a little start. "Come, confess, Aunt Patty," he said; "acknowledge that it is to you this good fellow who has just left us owes his freedom from debt, his child's eyesight, his release from cares which were almost too much even for his hopeful spirit; acknowledge that you have generously sacrificed a long-cherished desire, given up the fruits of much saving and self-denial, to make those happy in whom you could have had no interest save as creatures and children of one common Father. We all know it. The policeman's children recognized you, and told my little ones. Why will you not openly share with us the pleasure we must all feel at the blind boy's restoration to sight? Did you not see dear Bessie's wistful look at you as she bade you good-night? These little ones cannot understand why there should be any reason to hide such kindness as you have shown to these people, or why you should refuse to show an interest you really feel. It is true that we are told not to let our left hand, know that which is done by our right hand; but are we not also commanded so to let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven? And can we do so, or truly show our love to him, if we hide the services rendered for his sake behind a mask of coldness and reserve? My dear aunt, for his sake, for your own, for the sake of the affection and confidence which I wish my children to feel for you, and which I believe you wish to gain, let me satisfy them that it was really you who did this thing." The old lady hesitated for a moment longer, and then she broke down in a burst of humility and penitence such as Mr. Bradford had never expected to see from her. She told him how she had heard them all talking of the policeman and his troubles, and how much she had wished that she was able to help him; how she had thought that the desire to have the grove was only a fancy, right in itself perhaps, but not to be indulged if she could better spend the money for the good of others; and how, without taking much time to consider the matter, she had decided to give it up. Then she had half regretted it, but would not confess to herself or others that she did so, and so, feeling irritable and not at ease with herself, had been impatient and angry at the least thing which seemed to oppose her plans. The children, she said, had shamed her by their greater patience and submission under the disappointment she had so unintentionally brought upon them, and now she felt that the ill-temper she had shown had brought reproach on the Master whom she really wished to serve, and destroyed the little influence she had been able to gain with the children. Mr. Bradford told her he thought she was mistaken here, and if the children could only be quite certain that it was she who had proved such a good friend to the policeman's family, they would forget all else in their pleasure at her kindness and sympathy. So Mrs. Lawrence told him to do as he thought best; and she found it was as he said; for when Maggie and Bessie came down in the morning, full of joy at the happiness which had come to Willie and his parents, they ran at once to Aunt Patty, and Bessie, putting her little arms about her neck, whispered,-- "Dear Aunt Patty, we're so much obliged to you about Willie, and if we had only known it was you, we wouldn't have felt so bad about it. Now we only feel glad, and don't you feel glad, too, when you know how happy they all are?" Then Maggie sidled up, and slipping her hand into Aunt Patty's, said,-- "Aunt Patty, please to forgive me for saying naughty things about you when I didn't know you was the queer old lady." Aunt Patty was quite ready to exchange forgiveness; and for the two remaining days of her stay, it seemed as if her little nieces could not do enough to show how pleased and grateful they were; and when she left them, they could tell her with truth how glad they were that they were to see her soon again in her own home. And if you are not tired of Maggie and Bessie, you may some time learn how they spent their summer among the mountains. FOOTNOTES: [A] "Chapel Gems." ***

It looks like you've got Ad-block enabled.While we respect your decision and choice of plugin, it's important to realize that ads pay the bills, and keep the lights on. We understand many sites use annoying pop-up ads and other manipulative techniques that have made ads annoying in generaland created the need for Ad-Blockers. All we humbly ask that you add TopSecretWriters.com to the ad-block whitelist. Without the revenue generated from advertising, we would be unable to provide this great content free of charge. If everyone ran ad-block, TopSecretWriters would be no more. Dr. Allen Hynek’s Classifications of UFOs and Alien Encounters It is quite the understatement that when it comes to UFOs there is rift between skeptics and ufologists. Very rarely do these opposing sides meet in the middle or concede to one another. However, when these two factions do meet in the middle or cross so-called enemy lines, UFO research reaps the greatest benefit. This is exactly what happened when J. Allen Hynek, a once UFO skeptic, began classifying the most compelling and promising scientific cases of UFO sightings and alien encounters. As he studied and categorized the various UFO/Alien cases, Hynek began to become less of a skeptic. It his research and expertise that led to the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which is considered to be one of the most accurate portrayals of alien/UFO eyewitness accounts in a fictional movie. (1) Just about any investigator (UFO, Criminal, Paranormal, etc.) will tell you that the eyewitness account of an event is normally the most unreliable piece of evidence gathered during an investigation. Yet, often times, it is the only piece of evidence that investigators have to go on. Moreover, the more complex or traumatic an event is, the more difficult it is to rely on these accounts. Additionally, it is even more difficult to categorize and organize these accounts into a coherent fashion which would allow others to study these accounts. This difficulty in categorization definitely holds true for eyewitness accounts of UFO sightings and alien encounters. Differing Eyewitness Accounts The difficulty lies in how different each eyewitness account is from one another. As the UFO CaseBook put it: “Witnesses to UFOs report many different shapes and sizes. From discs to cigars to triangles and almost anything you could imagine.” Such varying accounts make it almost impossible to categorize them into any sort of neat classification system. However, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a UFO skeptic, set out to do so. According to Hynek, even though UFO sightings and alien encounters vastly differ from one another, there is usually some common thread that can tie various sightings/encounters together, such as distance, time of day, shape of object, etc. From this theory, the Hynek Rationale was born. In all honesty, Hynek was not a true believer when he began his research into UFO sightings as a scientific consultant for the U.S. Air Force’s Project Sign (Sign would later become what is now known as Project Blue Book). It was Hynek’s job to basically debunk the eyewitness accounts by labeling them as either natural phenomena or man-made objects. When he was brought onto the project, Hynek described the entire idea of a UFO eyewitness as, “the whole subject seems utterly ridiculous”. However, as he continued to study these eyewitness accounts and implemented his own classification system, Hynek’s overall views toward the subject began to change. As About.com stated, Hynek found that “The UFO enigma could not be explained away so easily…” (3) Father of Modern Ufology Hynek said, “And once you open the gates to the possibility that all these people can’t possibly be mistaken, then you see a lot of other cases in a totally different light.” (4) He began looking at eyewitness accounts under a new light. Once he made his break with the Air Force, the former skeptic began to study these various accounts on his own; still categorizing them in his home-grown classification system. To date, the Hynek system is the most widely used UFO/Alien sighting classification system. Hynek, because of his classification system and the validity he brought to the subject, is considered to be the father of modern Ufology. Dr. J. Allen Hynek was brought in as a consultant on the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His expertise on what actual eyewitness accounts entailed gave the movie a sense of realism concerning UFO eyewitness claims that was unheard of in fictional films of the time. Hynek even went as far as appearing in the film for an eight-second cameo. (4) There is no doubt that Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a former UFO skeptic and government UFO debunker, and his UFO classification system brought a certain amount of credibility to the field of Ufology.

Replacing education with psychometrics: how learning about IQ almost-completely changed my mind about education. I myself am a prime example of the way in which ignorance of IQ leads to a distorted understanding of education (and many other matters). I have been writing on the subject of education--especially higher education, science and medical education--for about 20 years, but now believe that many of my earlier ideas were wrong for the simple reason that I did not know about IQ. Since discovering the basic facts about IQ, several of my convictions have undergone a U-turn. Just how radically my ideas were changed has been brought home by two recent books: Real Education by Charles Murray and Spent by Geoffrey Miller. Since IQ and personality are substantially hereditary and rankings (although not absolute levels) are highly stable throughout a persons adult life, this implies that differential educational attainment within a society is mostly determined by heredity and therefore not by differences in educational experience. This implies that education is about selection more than enhancement, and educational qualifications mainly serve to 'signal' or quantify a person's hereditary attributes. So education mostly functions as an extremely slow, inefficient and imprecise form of psychometric testing. It would therefore be easy to construct a modern educational system that was both more efficient and more effective than the current one. I now advocate a substantial reduction in the average amount of formal education and the proportion of the population attending higher education institutions. At the age of about sixteen each person could leave school with a set of knowledge-based examination results demonstrating their level of competence in a core knowledge curriculum; and with usefully precise and valid psychometric measurements of their general intelligence and personality (especially their age ranked degree of Conscientiousness). However, such change would result in a massive down-sizing of the educational system and this is a key underlying reason why IQ has become a taboo subject. Miller suggests that academics at the most expensive, elite, intelligence-screening universities tend to be sceptical of psychometric testing; precisely because they do not want to be undercut by cheaper, faster, more-reliable IQ and personality evaluations.

Exfoliators Getting the most out of your cleanser and moisturizer may not be as simple as you think. While these products should form the foundation of your skincare regimen, it is essential to exfoliate regularly to keep your skin looking radiant, smooth, and even. Exfoliating helps to remove dirt, dead skin, and other debris that a regular cleanser does not always capture. When this debris is left on the skin, it can cause a dull complexion or an increased number of breakouts. Peter Thomas Roth Exfoliators Products work to keep your skin looking bright and healthy by eliminating dead skin cells and impurities. Peter Thomas Roth Exfoliators Products are formulated to scrub away dead skin cells and leave your complexion clean and refreshed. Your skin will feel softer and smoother after using the product Peter Thomas Roth Exfoliators Products help to eliminate pore-clogging debris that can lead to breakouts. By incorporating an exfoliator into your skincare regimen, you will improve the look and feel of your skin. Regular exfoliating can help to improve your skin’s firmness and elasticity, leading to a radiant and more youthful appearance. Additional Peter Thomas Roth Products Information In order to keep skin looking healthy and radiant, it is vital to ensure that dead skin cells, makeup, and other debris is rinsed off your face. While daily cleansers work to remove some of this debris, Peter Thomas Roth Exfoliators Products offer a more thorough cleansing. Adding a reliable exfoliator to your routine will yield fantastic results. If you would like to use an exfoliator but are worried that a scrubbing product will be too rough on your skin, Peter Thomas Roth Botanical Buffing Beads may be the solution you are looking for. This gentle formula uses jojoba beads and botanical nutrients to cleanse away dead skin cells and to open clogged pores. By dissolving the sebum that causes blackheads and whiteheads, this exfoliator improves your skin’s health and appearance. If you are looking to achieve anti-aging benefits along with your cleansing routine, incorporate Peter Thomas Roth UnWrinkle Peel Pads into your beauty regimen. These pads are designed to allow skin to better absorb anti-aging treatments or other serums. Formulated with antioxidants and powerful botanical extracts, these pads promote cell turnover and prepare the skin to experience maximum results from subsequent products. For a powerful anti-aging product that is gentle in its application, Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Buffing Beads cannot be beat. This scrub can be used anywhere on the face or body to invigorate skin and remove dead cells and debris from the surface. Glycolic acid complex, salicylic acid, jojoba beads, and botanical brighteners work together to produce radiant, smooth, and youthful skin.

Blink reflex in hemiplegia. Data about the influence of hemispheric lesions on the blink reflex are conflicting. 21 hemiplegic patients and 11 control subjects were investigated. The duration, latency and electric area of electrically evoked blink reflex responses were evaluated by common electromyographic techniques. A depression of the ipsilateral and the consensual late response after stimulation of the paretic side was the most evident finding. However, also a certain increase of the early response and a depression of the late response of the paretic side independent of the side of stimulation emerged. Concerning the parameters taken into account, the evaluation of the latency period seems to be the most significant and reliable. Determination of the electric area provides additional useful data which, however, may easily lead to mistakes.

Q: configuring maven beanstalker plugin beanstalk:wait-for-environment mojo I've successsfully deployed my app to elastic beanstalk using $ mvn beanstalk:upload-source-bundle beanstalk:create-application-version beanstalk:update-environment I'm able to watch in the AWS console that the environment is updated correctly. When I try to chain beanstalk:wait-for-environment, maven polls every 90 seconds and never detects that the environment is Ready. One thing I noticed is that it's waiting for 'environment null to get into Ready', and it's looking for the environment to have a specific domain **.elasticbeanstalk.com. I don't know how to change that, or disable that check $ mvn beanstalk:upload-source-bundle beanstalk:create-application-version beanstalk:update-environment beanstalk:wait-for-environment ... [INFO] Will wait until Thu Aug 22 10:59:37 PDT 2013 for environment null to get into Ready [INFO] ... as well as having domain ********.elasticbeanstalk.com [INFO] Sleeping for 90 seconds My plugin config in pom.xml looks like this (company confidential names hidden) <plugin> <groupId>br.com.ingenieux</groupId> <artifactId>beanstalk-maven-plugin</artifactId> <version>1.0.1</version> <configuration> <applicationName>********-web-testing</applicationName> <s3Key>********-2.0-${BUILDNUMBER}.war</s3Key> <s3Bucket>********-web-deployments</s3Bucket> <artifactFile>target/********-2.0-SNAPSHOT-${BUILDNUMBER}.war</artifactFile> <environmentName>********-web-testing-fe</environmentName> </configuration> </plugin> Does anyone have insight into using beanstalk:wait-for-environment to wait until the environment has been updated? A: wait-for-environment is only needed (in part) when you need a build pipeline involving zero downtime (with cname replication). It all boils down to cnamePrefix currently. You can basically ignore this warning if you're not concerned about downtime (which is not really needed for testing environments) Actually, the best way is to use fast-deploy. Use the archetype as an start: $ mvn archetype:generate -Dfilter=elasticbeanstalk

This invention is in the field of card systems used for obtaining access to a wide variety of services either in a physical setting or in an online computer network setting. This field is concerned with the diverse techniques that are used in facilitating the secure communication of confidential or proprietary information (messages) between two or more entities. For purposes of this patent application, we restrict our attention to six types of cards—credit cards, debit cards, employee identification (ID) cards, drivers licenses, health insurance cards and social security cards. Under current technological practices, all these types of cards contain identifying information—usually alphanumeric strings specifying name of issuing entity, name of the party to whom the card has been issued, a specific number associated with the card, and period of validity, security code and signature of the card holder. In the United States, physical or online transactions involving a credit card do not require the user to enter a password whereas transactions involving debit cards do require a password. Also, when credit card transactions are conducted, there is normally no attempt made to verify the identity of the individual using the credit card. This poses a problem since credit cards are often stolen. On the other hand, even if the cards themselves are not stolen but lists of credit card numbers held by various organizations such as banks, credit reporting agencies, large retailers and card processing companies are stolen, a significant number of fake credit cards can be easily manufactured very quickly and used effectively before the theft is noticed. In the case of employee ID cards, it is extremely simple to make fake ID cards in order to gain access to buildings and computing facilities. In some special political or social situations, even if fake ID cards are not the issue, some employers may not wish to have either their identity or their employees' identities revealed for fear of having their assets compromised or their employees harmed or taken hostage for ransom purposes as, for example, diplomats. In the case of stolen health insurance cards and social security cards, thieves can establish bogus identities and submit fraudulent claims for medical and financial benefits. The ability of crooks or malefactors to use stolen cards for nefarious purposes is made quite easy because the stolen cards contain names and numbers which are easily read and reproduced. One way to prevent this from happening is to create cards which contain no identifying names or numbers but instead contain other types of information such as images. Transaction processing systems employing images that are currently in existence such as CAPTCHA [See U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,698 B1 “Method for selectively restricting access to computer systems”], have two drawbacks—i) they use images as the second step in a two-step verification process and ii) the images themselves are totally independent of user information such names, card numbers and the like. Two recent patents that heavily rely on images for user identification are the OMNIGENE system [See U.S. Pat. No. 8,787,626 “The OMNIGENE Software System”] and the VIVID system [See U.S. Pat. No. 9,218,528 “VIVID: Image-based technique for validation/verification of ID strings]; however, these systems do not involve the use of imprinted cards nor do they require any password-based encryption/decryption techniques. The KAFKA system, a utility patent application submitted by the inventor to USPTO which is currently under review is also of some relevance to this patent application.

Q: Apache beam: Timeout while initializing partition 'topic-1'. Kafka client may not be able to connect to servers I got this error when my Apache beam application connects to my Kafka cluster with ACL enabled. Please help me fix this issue. Caused by: java.io.IOException: Reader-4: Timeout while initializing partition 'test-1'. Kafka client may not be able to connect to servers. org.apache.beam.sdk.io.kafka.KafkaUnboundedReader.start(KafkaUnboundedReader.java:128) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.WorkerCustomSources$UnboundedReaderIterator.start(WorkerCustomSources.java:779) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.util.common.worker.ReadOperation$SynchronizedReaderIterator.start(ReadOperation.java:361) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.util.common.worker.ReadOperation.runReadLoop(ReadOperation.java:194) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.util.common.worker.ReadOperation.start(ReadOperation.java:159) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.util.common.worker.MapTaskExecutor.execute(MapTaskExecutor.java:76) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.StreamingDataflowWorker.process(StreamingDataflowWorker.java:1228) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.StreamingDataflowWorker.access$1000(StreamingDataflowWorker.java:143) org.apache.beam.runners.dataflow.worker.StreamingDataflowWorker$6.run(StreamingDataflowWorker.java:967) java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142) java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617) java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745) I have a Kafka cluster with 3 nodes on GKE. I created a topic with replication-factor 3 and partition 5. kafka-topics --create --zookeeper zookeeper:2181 \ --replication-factor 3 --partitions 5 --topic topic I set read permission on a topic test for test_consumer_group consumer group. kafka-acls --authorizer-properties zookeeper.connect=zookeeper:2181 \ --add --allow-principal User:CN=myuser.test.io --consumer \ --topic test --group 'test_consumer_group' In my Apache beam application, I set configuration group.id=test_consumer_group. Also testing with console consumer and it is not working as well. $ docker run --rm -v `pwd`:/cert confluentinc/cp-kafka:5.1.0 \ kafka-console-consumer --bootstrap-server kafka.xx.xx:19092 \ --topic topic --consumer.config /cert/client-ssl.properties [2019-03-08 05:43:07,246] WARN [Consumer clientId=consumer-1, groupId=test_consumer_group] Received unknown topic or partition error in ListOffset request for partition test-3 (org.apache.kafka.clients.consumer.internals.Fetcher) A: Seems like a communication issue between to your kafka readers Kafka client may not be able to connect to servers

A structural method to guide test evaluation. This paper describes a conceptual framework to guide the evaluation of diagnostic tests in medicine. The framework systematically generates questions about possible test uses and factors that can modify their value.

Best of the Best TV: Kid’s cartoons If you have kids, you’ve watched cartoons. Disney channel and PBS are regulars in my home. My son loves them all! So I thought it might be fun to see what YOU, the parent, enjoy watching with your children. What are the channels that are your go-to viewing options when you’re busy making dinner, trying to rush through a work project or maybe you are babysitting on a Saturday morning.

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# Copyright 2019 Google LLC # # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. # You may obtain a copy of the License at # # http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 # # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and # limitations under the License. # NOTE: This file is auto generated by the elixir code generator program. # Do not edit this file manually. defmodule GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Api.RemarketingListShares do @moduledoc """ API calls for all endpoints tagged `RemarketingListShares`. """ alias GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Connection alias GoogleApi.Gax.{Request, Response} @library_version Mix.Project.config() |> Keyword.get(:version, "") @doc """ Gets one remarketing list share by remarketing list ID. ## Parameters * `connection` (*type:* `GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Connection.t`) - Connection to server * `profile_id` (*type:* `String.t`) - User profile ID associated with this request. * `remarketing_list_id` (*type:* `String.t`) - Remarketing list ID. * `optional_params` (*type:* `keyword()`) - Optional parameters * `:"$.xgafv"` (*type:* `String.t`) - V1 error format. * `:access_token` (*type:* `String.t`) - OAuth access token. * `:alt` (*type:* `String.t`) - Data format for response. * `:callback` (*type:* `String.t`) - JSONP * `:fields` (*type:* `String.t`) - Selector specifying which fields to include in a partial response. * `:key` (*type:* `String.t`) - API key. Your API key identifies your project and provides you with API access, quota, and reports. Required unless you provide an OAuth 2.0 token. * `:oauth_token` (*type:* `String.t`) - OAuth 2.0 token for the current user. * `:prettyPrint` (*type:* `boolean()`) - Returns response with indentations and line breaks. * `:quotaUser` (*type:* `String.t`) - Available to use for quota purposes for server-side applications. Can be any arbitrary string assigned to a user, but should not exceed 40 characters. * `:uploadType` (*type:* `String.t`) - Legacy upload protocol for media (e.g. "media", "multipart"). * `:upload_protocol` (*type:* `String.t`) - Upload protocol for media (e.g. "raw", "multipart"). * `opts` (*type:* `keyword()`) - Call options ## Returns * `{:ok, %GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare{}}` on success * `{:error, info}` on failure """ @spec dfareporting_remarketing_list_shares_get( Tesla.Env.client(), String.t(), String.t(), keyword(), keyword() ) :: {:ok, GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare.t()} | {:ok, Tesla.Env.t()} | {:error, any()} def dfareporting_remarketing_list_shares_get( connection, profile_id, remarketing_list_id, optional_params \\ [], opts \\ [] ) do optional_params_config = %{ :"$.xgafv" => :query, :access_token => :query, :alt => :query, :callback => :query, :fields => :query, :key => :query, :oauth_token => :query, :prettyPrint => :query, :quotaUser => :query, :uploadType => :query, :upload_protocol => :query } request = Request.new() |> Request.method(:get) |> Request.url( "/dfareporting/v3.4/userprofiles/{profileId}/remarketingListShares/{remarketingListId}", %{ "profileId" => URI.encode(profile_id, &URI.char_unreserved?/1), "remarketingListId" => URI.encode(remarketing_list_id, &(URI.char_unreserved?(&1) || &1 == ?/)) } ) |> Request.add_optional_params(optional_params_config, optional_params) |> Request.library_version(@library_version) connection |> Connection.execute(request) |> Response.decode(opts ++ [struct: %GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare{}]) end @doc """ Updates an existing remarketing list share. This method supports patch semantics. ## Parameters * `connection` (*type:* `GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Connection.t`) - Connection to server * `profile_id` (*type:* `String.t`) - User profile ID associated with this request. * `id` (*type:* `String.t`) - RemarketingList ID. * `optional_params` (*type:* `keyword()`) - Optional parameters * `:"$.xgafv"` (*type:* `String.t`) - V1 error format. * `:access_token` (*type:* `String.t`) - OAuth access token. * `:alt` (*type:* `String.t`) - Data format for response. * `:callback` (*type:* `String.t`) - JSONP * `:fields` (*type:* `String.t`) - Selector specifying which fields to include in a partial response. * `:key` (*type:* `String.t`) - API key. Your API key identifies your project and provides you with API access, quota, and reports. Required unless you provide an OAuth 2.0 token. * `:oauth_token` (*type:* `String.t`) - OAuth 2.0 token for the current user. * `:prettyPrint` (*type:* `boolean()`) - Returns response with indentations and line breaks. * `:quotaUser` (*type:* `String.t`) - Available to use for quota purposes for server-side applications. Can be any arbitrary string assigned to a user, but should not exceed 40 characters. * `:uploadType` (*type:* `String.t`) - Legacy upload protocol for media (e.g. "media", "multipart"). * `:upload_protocol` (*type:* `String.t`) - Upload protocol for media (e.g. "raw", "multipart"). * `:body` (*type:* `GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare.t`) - * `opts` (*type:* `keyword()`) - Call options ## Returns * `{:ok, %GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare{}}` on success * `{:error, info}` on failure """ @spec dfareporting_remarketing_list_shares_patch( Tesla.Env.client(), String.t(), String.t(), keyword(), keyword() ) :: {:ok, GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare.t()} | {:ok, Tesla.Env.t()} | {:error, any()} def dfareporting_remarketing_list_shares_patch( connection, profile_id, id, optional_params \\ [], opts \\ [] ) do optional_params_config = %{ :"$.xgafv" => :query, :access_token => :query, :alt => :query, :callback => :query, :fields => :query, :key => :query, :oauth_token => :query, :prettyPrint => :query, :quotaUser => :query, :uploadType => :query, :upload_protocol => :query, :body => :body } request = Request.new() |> Request.method(:patch) |> Request.url("/dfareporting/v3.4/userprofiles/{profileId}/remarketingListShares", %{ "profileId" => URI.encode(profile_id, &URI.char_unreserved?/1) }) |> Request.add_param(:query, :id, id) |> Request.add_optional_params(optional_params_config, optional_params) |> Request.library_version(@library_version) connection |> Connection.execute(request) |> Response.decode(opts ++ [struct: %GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare{}]) end @doc """ Updates an existing remarketing list share. ## Parameters * `connection` (*type:* `GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Connection.t`) - Connection to server * `profile_id` (*type:* `String.t`) - User profile ID associated with this request. * `optional_params` (*type:* `keyword()`) - Optional parameters * `:"$.xgafv"` (*type:* `String.t`) - V1 error format. * `:access_token` (*type:* `String.t`) - OAuth access token. * `:alt` (*type:* `String.t`) - Data format for response. * `:callback` (*type:* `String.t`) - JSONP * `:fields` (*type:* `String.t`) - Selector specifying which fields to include in a partial response. * `:key` (*type:* `String.t`) - API key. Your API key identifies your project and provides you with API access, quota, and reports. Required unless you provide an OAuth 2.0 token. * `:oauth_token` (*type:* `String.t`) - OAuth 2.0 token for the current user. * `:prettyPrint` (*type:* `boolean()`) - Returns response with indentations and line breaks. * `:quotaUser` (*type:* `String.t`) - Available to use for quota purposes for server-side applications. Can be any arbitrary string assigned to a user, but should not exceed 40 characters. * `:uploadType` (*type:* `String.t`) - Legacy upload protocol for media (e.g. "media", "multipart"). * `:upload_protocol` (*type:* `String.t`) - Upload protocol for media (e.g. "raw", "multipart"). * `:body` (*type:* `GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare.t`) - * `opts` (*type:* `keyword()`) - Call options ## Returns * `{:ok, %GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare{}}` on success * `{:error, info}` on failure """ @spec dfareporting_remarketing_list_shares_update( Tesla.Env.client(), String.t(), keyword(), keyword() ) :: {:ok, GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare.t()} | {:ok, Tesla.Env.t()} | {:error, any()} def dfareporting_remarketing_list_shares_update( connection, profile_id, optional_params \\ [], opts \\ [] ) do optional_params_config = %{ :"$.xgafv" => :query, :access_token => :query, :alt => :query, :callback => :query, :fields => :query, :key => :query, :oauth_token => :query, :prettyPrint => :query, :quotaUser => :query, :uploadType => :query, :upload_protocol => :query, :body => :body } request = Request.new() |> Request.method(:put) |> Request.url("/dfareporting/v3.4/userprofiles/{profileId}/remarketingListShares", %{ "profileId" => URI.encode(profile_id, &URI.char_unreserved?/1) }) |> Request.add_optional_params(optional_params_config, optional_params) |> Request.library_version(@library_version) connection |> Connection.execute(request) |> Response.decode(opts ++ [struct: %GoogleApi.DFAReporting.V34.Model.RemarketingListShare{}]) end end

1. Field of Invention The invention relates to hangers for use on portable power tools such as electric saws, for example. Frequently, environmental conditions for operation are such that the tools must be supported in working areas where flat surfaces are not available and hanging means must be provided. In wooden frame construction, for example, portable power tools such as electric saws are carried and operated in locations where there are no table-like supports. Thus, an operator must look to other means for supporting a tool when it is not in use. Frequently a carpenter, for example, is working on joists or in roof rafters where there are no floor supports and there is a need for structure on a portable saw for hanging the same on a joist. The known portable saws have no hangers by which saws can be conveniently and safely hung in such situations. 2. Description of Prior Art I refer now to U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,064 to Goss. This tool is designed for uses similar to the Klicker-Hackett Hanger, but is not as convenient or versatile. The Goss tool will hang a saw fairly well on a horizontal joist. The Klicker-Hackett Hanger will safely hang the saw at any angle from horizontal to vertical. The Goss tool also increases the working height of the saw. This makes it difficult or impossible to get the saw between narrowly spaced rafters and joists, to make necessary cuts. Since the Klicker-Hackett Hanger attached to the side of the saw, it dosen't increase the saws height. The Klicker-Hackett Hanger folds flat against the side of the saw when not in use. Therefore it dosen't increase the saw's width either. Thus, it is a safer and more convenient tool than the Goss Hanger. The following patents described various tool supporting devices but none are as efficient as the Klicker-Hackett two position hanger. ______________________________________ 869,947 11/1907 Tupper 1,116,847 11/1914 Russell 1,303,908 5/1919 Johnson 1,948,932 2/1934 McMickle 65/65 2,262,832 11/1941 Caldwell 145/35 2,309,990 2/1943 Savi 248/360 2,467,905 4/1949 Ostberg 248/360 2,730,803 1/1956 Kimball 30/167 2,841,192 7/1958 Martin 30/340 X 3,886,658 6/1975 Wikoff 30/388 4,179,805 12/1979 Yamada 30/122 4,406,064 9/1983 Goss ______________________________________

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Space Age is a contemporary period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events. The Space Age is generally considered to have begun with Sputnik (1957). Contents Beginning The Space Age began with the development of several technologies that culminated on October 4, 1957, with the launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union. This was the world's first artificial satellite, orbiting the Earth in 98.1 minutes and weighing in at 83 kg. The launch of Sputnik 1 ushered a new era of political, scientific and technological achievements that became known as the Space Age. The Space Age was characterized by rapid development of new technology in a close race mostly between the USA and the Soviet Union. Rapid advances were made in rocketry, materials science, computers and other areas. Much of the technology originally developed for space applications has been spun off and found other uses. The Space Age reached its peak with the Apollo program which captured the imagination of much of the world's population. The landing of Apollo 11 was an event watched by over 500 million people around the world and is widely recognized as one of the defining moments of the 20th century. Since then and with the end of the space race due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, public attention has largely moved to other areas. During the 1990s funding for space related programs fell sharply as the Soviet Union disintegrated and NASA no longer had any direct competition. Also, public perception of the dangers and cost of space exploration in the USA was greatly affected by the Challenger disaster in 1986. Since then participation in space launches have increasingly widened to more governments and commercial interests. Since the 1990s, the current period has more often been referred to as the Information Age rather than the Space Age, since space exploration and space-related technologies are no longer felt to be commonplace by significant portions of the public. Several countries now have space programs; from related technology ventures to full fledge space programs with launch facilities. There are many scientific and commercial satellites in use today, with a total of hundreds of satellites in orbit, and several countries have plans to send humans into space. Earlier spaceflights The Space Age might also be considered to have begun much earlier than October 4, 1957, because on October 3, 1942, a German A4 rocket, a prototype version of the V-2 rocket program, reached space. It thus became the first man-made object to enter space, albeit only briefly. Since this flight was undertaken in secrecy, it wasn't public knowledge for many years afterwards. Further, the German launch, as well as the subsequent sounding rocket tests performed in both the USA and USSR during the late 1940s and early 1950s, were not considered significant enough to start a new age because they did not reach orbit. Having a rocket powerful enough to reach orbit meant that a nation had the ability to place a payload anywhere on the planet, or to use another term, possessed an inter-continental ballistic missile. The fact that after such a development nowhere on the planet was safe from a nuclear warhead is why the orbit standard is used to define when the space age started.[1]

hot damn. PL

130 F.3d 691 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.Luis Lauro HINOJOSA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant. No. 97-40183. United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit. Dec. 4, 1997. James Lee Turner, Paula Camille Offenhauser, Assistant U.S. Atty., Katherine L. Haden, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee. Jose E. Chapa, Jr., Roberto J. Yzaguirre, Yzaguirre & Chapa, McAllen, TX, for Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Before REYNALDO G. GARZA, KING and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges. KING, Circuit Judge: 1 Defendant-appellant Luis Lauro Hinojosa-Lopez appeals the sentence imposed upon him by the district court after he pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with unlawful presence in the United States following deportation. He claims that the district court incorrectly added sixteen points to his offense level on the basis of his prior state felony conviction for possession of marijuana. He also argues that the government failed to prove all of the necessary elements of the offense of which he was convicted. Finding no error, we affirm the district court's judgment of conviction and sentence. I. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 Luis Lauro Hinojosa-Lopez pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with unlawful presence in the United States following deportation pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b)(2) (1994). In exchange for Hinojosa-Lopez's guilty plea, the government agreed to recommend the maximum credit for acceptance of responsibility and a sentence at the low end of the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range. The Presentence Investigation Report ("PSR") indicated that Hinojosa-Lopez's previous convictions included a Texas conviction for "aggravated unlawful possession of marijuana," for which he had received a five-year prison sentence. Based on that Texas conviction, the PSR stated that Hinojosa-Lopez's base offense level of eight should be increased by four points because he had been deported after conviction of a felony. See U.S. SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL § 2L1.2(a), (b)(1) (1995). The PSR also indicated that Hinojosa-Lopez was entitled to a two-point reduction for acceptance of responsibility, see id. § 3E1.1(a), resulting in a total offense level of ten, which, in combination with a criminal history category of III, produced a guidelines sentencing range of ten to sixteen months of imprisonment. Neither the government nor Hinojosa-Lopez objected to these findings. 3 At the initial sentencing hearing, the district court queried whether Hinojosa-Lopez's Texas conviction for aggravated possession of marijuana was an aggravated felony within the meaning of § 2L1.2(b)(2) of the Sentencing Guidelines. Section 2L1.2(b)(2) requires a sixteen-point increase in the offense level rather than the four-point increase mandated by § 2L1.2(b)(1). See id. § 2L1.2(b)(1), (2). As neither side was prepared to address this issue, the judge continued the sentencing hearing. When the sentencing hearing resumed, defense counsel confirmed that cases from every circuit that had considered the issue indicated that a sixteen-point increase in Hinojosa-Lopez's offense level pursuant to § 2L1.2(b)(2) was appropriate, but he nevertheless asked the court to sentence Hinojosa-Lopez according to the original PSR. 4 The district court found that Hinojosa-Lopez's aggravated possession of marijuana conviction qualified as an aggravated felony and applied the sixteen-point increase pursuant to § 2L1.2(b)(2) of the Sentencing Guidelines. The court then granted Hinojosa-Lopez a three-point decrease for acceptance of responsibility, resulting in a guidelines sentencing range of forty-six to fifty-seven months of imprisonment. However, because the court found that the PSR overstated Hinojosa-Lopez's criminal history, the court decreased the criminal history category to II and sentenced Hinojosa-Lopez to forty-two months of imprisonment. II. DISCUSSION A. Application of § 2L1.2(b)(2) 5 Hinojosa-Lopez argues that the district court erred in imposing a sixteen-point enhancement pursuant to § 2L1.2(b)(2) of the Sentencing Guidelines. He contends that the term "aggravated felony" as used in § 2L1.2(b)(2) does not include his Texas felony conviction for possession of marijuana because that crime is only a misdemeanor under federal law. See 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) (1994). 6 This court's review of a sentence imposed under the Sentencing Guidelines is limited to "a determination whether the sentence was imposed in violation of law, as a result of an incorrect application of the Sentencing Guidelines, or was outside of the applicable guideline range and was unreasonable." United States v. Matovsky, 935 F.2d 719, 721 (5th Cir.1991). We will reverse the trial court's findings of fact only if they are clearly erroneous, but "[w]e review a claim that the district court erred in applying U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(2) instead of § 2L1.2(b)(1) de novo."1 United States v. Reyna-Espinosa, 117 F.3d 826, 828 (5th Cir.1997). 7 Section 2L1.2(b)(2) of the Sentencing Guidelines provides that the defendant's offense level should be increased by sixteen points "[i]f the defendant previously was deported after a conviction for an aggravated felony." U.S. SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL § 2L1.2(b)(2) (1995). Application Note 7 to § 2L1.2 defines the term "aggravated felony," in pertinent part, as follows: 8 "Aggravated felony," as used in subsection (b)(2), means ... any illicit trafficking in any controlled substance (as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802), including any drug trafficking crime as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2).... The term "aggravated felony" applies to offenses described in the previous sentence whether in violation of federal or state law.... 9 Id. § 2L1.2 Application Note 7. 10 Marijuana is a "controlled substance." 21 U.S.C. §§ 802(6), 812 Schedule I(c)(10) (1994). In pertinent part, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2) defines a "drug trafficking crime" as "any felony punishable under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq)." 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2) (1994). Hinojosa-Lopez contends that this language indicates that in order to qualify as an aggravated felony, the crime must be classified as a felony by the Controlled Substances Act. We disagree. 11 Although this is an issue of first impression before this court, it has been addressed by several other circuits. In United States v. Restrepo-Aguilar, 74 F.3d 361 (1st Cir.1996), the First Circuit held that the defendant's prior state conviction for simple possession of cocaine qualified as an aggravated felony under § 2L1.2(b)(2) despite the fact that the same offense was punishable only as a misdemeanor under federal law. Id. at 364-65. Looking to the interaction between the Sentencing Guidelines and the applicable federal statutes, the court held that 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2) defines a "drug trafficking crime" as "encompassing two separate elements: (1) that the offense be punishable under the Controlled Substances Act (or one of the other two statutes identified); and (2) that the offense be a felony." Id. at 364. The court then explained that 12 a state drug offense is properly deemed a "felony" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2) as incorporated by application note 7 to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, if the offense is classified as a felony under the law of the relevant state, even if the same offense would be punishable only as a misdemeanor under federal law. 13 Id. at 365. As the defendant's prior conviction was a felony under applicable state law and was punishable under the Controlled Substances Act, the court held that § 2L1.2(b)(2) applied. Id. 14 We agree with the reasoning of the First Circuit in Restrepo-Aguilar and of the four other circuits that have considered this issue. See, e.g., United States v. Briones-Mata, 116 F.3d 308, 310 (8th Cir.1997) ("We believe the definitions of the terms at issue indicate that Congress made a deliberate policy decision to include as an 'aggravated felony' a drug crime that is a felony under state law but only a misdemeanor under the [Controlled Substances Act]."); United States v. Garcia-Olmedo, 112 F.3d 399, 400-01 (9th Cir.1997) (holding that prior Arizona felony convictions for possession of marijuana that also would have been punishable under 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) constituted aggravated felonies under § 2L1.2(b)(2)); United States v. Cabrera-Sosa, 81 F.3d 998, 1000 (10th Cir.) (holding that a prior New York felony conviction for possession of cocaine that also would have been punishable under 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) constituted an aggravated felony under § 2L1.2(b)(2)), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 218, 136 L.Ed.2d 151 (1996); United States v. Polanco, 29 F.3d 35, 38 (2d Cir.1994) ("Because Polanco's [New York] felony conviction was for an offense punishable under the Controlled Substances Act, one of the statutes enumerated under section 924(c)(2), the offense rises to the level of 'aggravated felony' under section 2L1.2(b)(2) and 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2) regardless of the quantity or nature of the contraband or the severity of the sentence imposed."). Thus, Hinojosa-Lopez's prior conviction constitutes an aggravated felony for purposes of § 2L1.2(b)(2) if (1) the offense was punishable under the Controlled Substances Act and (2) it was a felony. 15 Simple possession of marijuana is punishable under the Controlled Substances Act, albeit as a misdemeanor. 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) (1994). The statute under which Hinojosa-Lopez was convicted in 1991 was the Texas Controlled Substances Act, TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.121 (Vernon 1992), which states that the knowing or intentional possession of more than fifty but less than two hundred pounds of marijuana is an "aggravated offense," punishable for a life term or a term of not more than ninety-nine nor less than five years of imprisonment and by a fine not to exceed $50,000.2 Id. § 481.121(d)(1). Aggravated possession of marijuana is a felony under Texas law. See id.; Young v. State, 922 S.W.2d 676, 676 (Tex.App.--Beaumont 1996, pet. ref'd). Thus, for purposes of § 2L1.2, Hinojosa-Lopez's Texas conviction was an aggravated felony because his offense was a felony that also was punishable under the Controlled Substances Act. 16 B. Sufficiency of the Factual Basis Supporting the Guilty Plea 17 Hinojosa-Lopez next argues that his conviction was invalid because the government failed to prove all of the elements of a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He argues that in order to prove him guilty of violating the statute, the government had to show that he was "arrested and deported" or "excluded and deported." He claims that the proof offered by the government only showed that he was deported and did not reflect whether the deportation was preceded by arrest or exclusion. This argument lacks merit. 18 Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(f) requires that the sentencing court satisfy itself that an adequate factual basis exists to demonstrate that the defendant committed the charged offense. United States v. Adams, 961 F.2d 505, 508 (5th Cir.1992). "The acceptance of a guilty plea is deemed a factual finding that there is an adequate factual basis for the plea." Id. at 509. We will reverse this finding only if it was clearly erroneous. Id. 19 In the instant case, the indictment alleged that Hinojosa-Lopez was both arrested and deported. We have held that, "[i]f sufficiently specific, an indictment or information can be used as the sole source of the factual basis for a guilty plea." Id. In this case, however, the government also summarized the facts surrounding Hinojosa-Lopez's prior arrest and deportation, and Hinojosa-Lopez agreed to the facts as stated by the prosecutor. Indeed the district court was extremely thorough and specifically questioned Hinojosa-Lopez about each fact presented by the government, including his arrest in 1991 prior to his deportation. As a result, we do not think that the factual basis was insufficient to support Hinojosa-Lopez's guilty plea. III. CONCLUSION 20 For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court. 1 The government contends that this court should review the district court's application of § 2L1.2(b)(2) only for plain error because Hinojosa-Lopez did not object at sentencing. Hinojosa-Lopez, however, contends that our consideration of this issue is not limited to plain error review. He argues that the fact that the district court itself raised the issue of whether his prior conviction constituted an aggravated felony indicates that the court had an adequate opportunity to consider the issue. Because we conclude that the district court's application of § 2L1.2(b)(2) was correct under either standard of review, we decline to address this issue. We therefore assume, without deciding, that Hinojosa-Lopez adequately preserved this ground of error for appellate review 2 In 1993, the statute was amended to delete subsection (c); possession of more than 50 but less than 200 pounds of marijuana is now denominated a felony in the second degree. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.121(b)(5) (Vernon Supp.1997). A second degree felony is punishable by a sentence of two to twenty years and a fine not to exceed $10,000. TEX. PEN.CODE ANN. § 12.33 (Vernon 1994)

Sunday, July 5, 2009 Playdate In an attempt to be efficient - we stopped at Menard's after church to get a few things David needed to finish a few home improvement projects and to let the kids play in the designated play area! It worked out quite well - we were together as a family, David shopped in piece and quiet and the kids played in a climate controlled environment! Gianna looks interested in this new "home". Gianna was trying to make some lunch - I don't think she managed to start the stove. This is Gianna using the "secret" passage to escape from me after I tried to get her out of the house. Little did she know that the little door led right out of the play area!

Q: mysql: update timestamp if timestamp is beyond 10 hours Wondering if there is a way to do this without using two hits to the sql database. If a person views content the timestamp is recorded. If the person views the same content again 2 hours later the timestamp is not updated. If the person views the same content 10 hours after first viewing the content, update the timestamp db table field. Any method of doing this via SQL and not doing a "select" than php comparison than an "update" ?? A: update mytable set lastvisited=now() where person='john' and lastvisited<(now()-interval 10 hour);

Yes sure,Let me start it with some brief history, I have completed my under-graduated in Science in 2007, (like 11 years back). Then I decided to join a pharmaceutical sciences for my graduation, before joining there was like 3 months of vacation so I decided... Interview with Allan Bowe, SAS Expert Allan Bowe is founder and chair of the SAS User Group for UK and Ireland (SUGUKI) and regularly presents at SAS forums worldwide. He’s also the mind behind the recently launched sasensei.com game, an educational and fiercely...

Kansu Braves The Kansu Braves or Gansu Army was a unit of 10,000 Chinese Muslim troops from the northwestern province of Kansu (Gansu) in the last decades the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Loyal to the Qing, the Braves were recruited in 1895 to suppress a Muslim revolt in Gansu. Under the command of General Dong Fuxiang (1839–1908), they were transferred to the Beijing metropolitan area in 1898, where they officially became the Rear Division of the Wuwei Corps, a modern army that protected the imperial capital. The Gansu Army included Hui Muslims, Salar Muslims, Dongxiang Muslims, and Bonan Muslims. The Braves, who wore traditional uniforms but were armed with modern rifles and artillery, played an important role in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. After helping to repel the Seymour Expedition – a multinational foreign force sent from Tianjin to relieve the Beijing Legation Quarter in early June – the Muslim troops were the fiercest attackers during the siege of the legations from 20 June to 14 August. They suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Peking, in which the Eight-Nation Alliance relieved the siege. The Kansu Braves then guarded the Imperial Court on their journey to Xi'an. Origins in Gansu In the spring of 1895, a Muslim revolt erupted in the southern parts of Gansu province. Dong Fuxiang (1839–1908), who had fought under Zuo Zongtang (1812–1885) in the suppression of a larger Muslim rebellion in the 1860s and 1870s, had by 1895 become Imperial Commissioner in Gansu and he now commanded the Muslim militias that Zuo had recruited locally. In early July 1895, Dong commanded these troops in relieving the siege of Didao by Muslims rebels. When he attended Empress Dowager Cixi's sixtieth birthday celebrations in Beijing in August 1895, he was recommended to Cixi by the powerful Manchu minister Ronglu. The Muslim rebels, who were armed with muzzleloaders and various white arms, were overwhelmed by the firepower of the modern Remington and Mauser rifles that Dong brought back from Beijing. Dong also used his understanding of local politics to convince the rebels to return to their homes. By the spring of 1896, Gansu was again pacified. Generals Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang and Ma Haiyan were originally called to Beijing during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, but the Dungan Revolt (1895) broke out and they were subsequently sent to crush the rebels. During the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898 Generals Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang, and Ma Haiyan were called to Beijing and helped put an end to the reform movement along with Ma Fulu and Ma Fuxiang. Transfer to Beijing Following the killing of two German missionaries in Shandong in November 1897, foreign powers engaged in a "scramble for concessions" that threatened to split China into several spheres of influence. To protect the imperial capital against possible attacks, Cixi had the Gansu Army transferred to Beijing in the summer of 1898. She admired the Gansu Army because Ronglu, who was in her favor, had a close relation with its commander Dong Fuxiang. On their way to Beijing, Dong's troops attacked Christian churches in Baoding. After the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform (11 June – 21 September 1898) sponsored by the Guangxu Emperor, Cixi named Ronglu Minister of War and highest official in the Grand Council, and put him in charge of reforming the metropolitan armies. Ronglu made Dong's militia the "Rear Division" of a new corps called the "Wuwei Corps". Dong Fuxiang was the only commander of the five divisions who did not hide his hostility toward foreigners. Beijing residents and foreigners alike feared the turbulent Muslim troops. It was said "the troops are to act tomorrow when all foreigners in Peking are to be wiped out and the golden age return for China." during 23 October 1898. Some Westerners described the Gansu Braves as the "10,000 Islamic rabble","a disorderly rabble of about 10,000 men, most of whom were Mohammedans", or Kansu Irregulars, others as "ten thousand Mohammedan cutthroats feared by even the Chinese". In late September and early October 1898, several minor clashes between the Gansu troops and foreigners heightened tensions in the capital. Soldiers from the United States Marine Corps were among the new guards called from Tianjin to protect the Beijing Legation Quarter from possible assaults. By late October, rumors were circulating that the Gansu Army was preparing to kill all foreigners in Beijing. Responding to an ultimatum by the foreign ministers, Cixi had the Gansu troops transferred to the "Southern Park" (Nanyuan ), which was also known as the "Hunting Park" because emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties had used it for large-scale hunts and military drills. By the 1880s, this large expanse of land south of Beijing – it was several times larger than the walled city – had been partly converted into farmland, but it was conveniently located near the railroad that connected Beijing to Tianjin. The Kansu braves were involved in a scuffle at a theatre. At the section of railroad at Fungtai, two British engineers were almost beaten to death by the Muslim Kansu troops, and foreign ministers asked that they be pulled back since they were threatening the safety of foreigners. The Boxer Rebellion Rise of the Boxers and return to the walled city On 5 January 1900, Sir Claude MacDonald, the British Minister in Beijing, wrote to the Foreign Office about a movement called the "Boxers" that had been attacking Christian property and Chinese converts in Shandong and southern Zhili province. In the early months of 1900, this "Boxer movement" took dramatic expansion in northern Zhili – the area surrounding Beijing – and Boxers even started to appear in the capital. In late May, the anti-Christian Boxers took a broader anti-foreign turn, and as they became more organized, they started to attack the Beijing–Baoding railway and to cut telegraph lines between Beijing and Tianjin. The Qing court hesitated between annihilating, "pacifying", or supporting the Boxers. From 27 to 29 May, Cixi received Dong Fuxiang in audiences at the Summer Palace. Dong assured her that he could get rid of the foreign "barbarians" if necessary, increasing the dowager's confidence in China's ability to drive out foreigners if war became unavoidable. Meanwhile, an increase in the number of the legation guards – they arrived in Beijing on 31 May – further inflamed anti-foreign sentiment in Beijing and its surrounding countryside: for the first time, Boxers started to attack foreigners directly. Several foreign powers sent warships under the Dagu Forts, which protected access to Tianjin and Beijing. On 9 June, the bulk of the Kansu Braves escorted Empress Dowager Cixi back to the Forbidden City from the Summer Palace; they set camp in the southern part of city, in empty lands in front of the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Agriculture. Fearing the worst, Sir Claude MacDonald immediately sent a telegram calling for Admiral Seymour to send help from Tianjin. On 10 June, the anti-foreign and pro-Boxer prince Duan replaced the anti-Boxer and more moderate prince Qing as the head of the Zongli Yamen, the bureau through which the Qing government communicated with foreigners. On that same day the telegraph lines were cut off for good. Assassination of Sugiyama Akira On the morning of 11 June, the British sent a large convoy of carts to greet the Seymour Expedition. The procession safely passed through the areas occupied by the Gansu troops inside the walled city and soon reached the Majiapu (Machiapu) train station south of Beijing, where the relief troops were expected to arrive soon. Except that it they never arrived, and the carts had to head back to the legations. A smaller Italian delegation guarded by a few riflemen narrowly escaped Dong Fuxiang's soldiers, who were lining up to block Beijing's main southern gate the Yongding Gate, but also managed to return safely. That same afternoon, the Japanese legation sent secretary Sugiyama Akira to the station unguarded to greet the Japanese troops. With his formal western suit and a bowler hat, Sugiyama made a conspicuous target. The Kansu Muslim troops seized him from his cart near the Yongding Gate, hacked him into pieces, decapitated him, and left his mutilated body and severed head and genitals on the street. George Morrison, the Beijing correspondent for the London Times, claimed that they also carved his heart out and sent it to Dong Fuxiang. The Japanese legation lodged a formal protest at the Tsungli Yamen, which expressed its regrets and explained that Sugiyama had been killed by "bandits". Combat Dong was extremely anti-foreign, and gave full support to Cixi and the Boxers. General Dong committed his Muslim troops to join the Boxers to attack foreigners in Beijing. They attacked the legation quarter relentlessly. They were also known for their intolerance towards the Opium trade. A Japanese chancellor, Sugiyama Akira, and several Westerners were killed by the Kansu braves. The Muslim troops were reportedly enthusiastic about going on the offensive and killing foreigners. The German diplomat in Beijing Clemens von Ketteler killed a Chinese civilian suspecting him of being a Boxer. In response, Boxers and thousands of Chinese Muslim Kansu Braves went on a violent riot against the westerners. They were made out of 5,000 cavalry with the most modern repeating rifles. Some of them went on horseback. The Kansu Braves and Boxers combined their forces to attack the foreigners and the legations. In contrast to other units besieging the legations, like Ronglu's troops who let supplies and letters slip through to the besieged foreigners, the "sullen and suspicious" Kansu braves seriously pressed the siege and refused to let anything through, shooting at foreigners trying to smuggle things through their lines. Sir Claude Macdonald noted the "ferocity" of Dong Fuxiang's Kansu troops compared to the "restraint" of Ronglu's troops. Battle summary The Muslim troops led by Dong Fuxiang defeated the hastily assembled Seymour Expedition of the 8 nation alliance at the Battle of Langfang on 18 June. The Chinese won a major victory, and forced Seymour to retreat back to Tianjin with heavy casualties by 26 June. Langfang was the only battle the Muslim troops did outside of Beijing. After Langfang, Dong Fuxiang's troops only participated in battles inside of Beijing. Summary of battles of General Dong Fuxiang: Ts'ai Ts'un, 24 July; Ho Hsi Wu, 25 July; An P'ing, 26 July; Ma T'ou, 27 July. 6,000 of the Muslim troops under Dong Fuxiang and 20,000 Boxers repulsed a relief column, driving them to Huang Ts'un. The Muslims camped outside the temples of Heaven and Agriculture. The German Kaiser Wilhelm II was so alarmed by the Chinese Muslim troops that he requested the Caliph Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire to find a way to stop the Muslim troops from fighting. The Caliph agreed to the Kaiser's request and sent Enver Pasha (not the future Young Turk leader) to China in 1901, but the rebellion was over by that time. Because the Ottomans were not in a position to create a rift with the European nations, and to assist ties with Germany, an order imploring Chinese Muslims to avoid assisting the Boxers was issued by the Ottoman Khalifa and reprinted in Egyptian and Indian Muslim newspapers in spite of the fact that the predicament the British found themselves in the Boxer Rebellion was gratifying to Indian Muslims and Egyptians. During the Battle of Peking at Zhengyang Gate the Muslim troops engaged in a fierce battle against the Alliance forces. The commanding Muslim general in the Chinese army, General Ma Fulu, and four cousins of his – his paternal cousins Ma Fugui 馬福貴, Ma Fuquan 馬福全, and his paternal nephews Ma Yaotu 馬耀圖, and Ma Zhaotu 馬兆圖— were killed while charging against the Alliance forces while a hundred Hui and Dongxiang Muslim troops from his home village in total died in the fighting at Zhengyang. The Battle at Zhengyang was fought against the British. After the battle was over, the Kansu Muslim troops, including General Ma Fuxiang, were among those guarding the Empress Dowager during her flight. The future Muslim General Ma Biao, who led Muslim cavalry to fight against the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War, fought in the Boxer Rebellion as a private under General Ma Haiyan in the Battle of Peking against the foreigners. General Ma Haiyan died of exhaustion after the Imperial Court reached their destination, and his son Ma Qi took over his posts. The role the Muslim troops played in the war incurred anger from the westerners towards them. As the Imperial court evacuated to Xi'an in Shaanxi province after Beijing fell to the Alliance, the court gave signals that it would continue the war with Dong Fuxiang "opposing Court von Waldersee tooth and nail", and the court promoted Dong to Commander-in-chief. The Muslim troops were described as "picked men, the bravest of the brave, the most fanatical of fanatics: and that is why the defence of the Emperor's city had been entrusted to them." Organization and armament They were organized into eight battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, two brigades of artillery, and one company of engineers. They were armed with modern weaponry such as Mauser repeater rifles and field artillery. They used scarlet and black banners. Notable people List of people who served in the Kansu Braves Dong Fuxiang Ma Fuxiang Ma Fulu Ma Fuxing Ma Haiyan Ma Biao Ma Qi Ma Zhaotu Ma Yaotu Ma Fuquan Ma Fugui Ma Zhankui 馬占奎 Aema (Han Youwen's father) Another Muslim general, Ma Anliang, Tongling of Hezhou joined the Kansu braves in fighting the foreigners. Ma Anliang would go on to be an important Chinese warlord in the Ma clique during the Warlord Era. The future Muslim General Ma Biao, who led Muslim cavalry to fight against the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War, fought in the Boxer Rebellion as a private in the Battle of Peking against the foreigners. Another General, Ma Yukun, who commanded a separate unit, was believed to be the son of the Muslim General Ma Rulong by the Europeans. Ma Yugun fought with some success against Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War and in the Boxer Rebellion at the Battle of Yangcun and Battle of Tientsin. Ma Yugun was under General Song Qing's command as deputy commander. When the imperial family decided to flee to Xi'an in August 1900 after the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing at the end of the Boxer War the Muslim Kansu Braves escorted them. One of the officers, Ma Fuxiang, was rewarded by the Emperor, being appointed governor of Altay for his service. As mentioned above, his brother, Ma Fulu and four of his cousins died in combat during the attack on the legations. Ma Fuxing also served under Ma Fulu to guard the Qing Imperial court during the fighting. Originally buried at a Hui cemetery in Beijing, in 1995 Ma Fulu's remains were moved by his descendants to Yangwashan in Linxia County. In the Second Sino-Japanese War, when the Japanese asked the Muslim General Ma Hongkui to defect and become head of a Muslim puppet state under the Japanese, Ma responded through Zhou Baihuang, the Ningxia Secretary of the Nationalist Party to remind the Japanese military chief of staff Itagaki Seishiro that many of his relatives fought and died in battle against Eight Nation Alliance forces during the Battle of Peking, including his uncle Ma Fulu, and that Japanese troops made up the majority of the Alliance forces so there would be no cooperation with the Japanese. "恨不得馬踏倭鬼，給我已死先烈雪仇，與後輩爭光"。 "I am eager to stomp on the dwarf devils (A derogatory term for Japanese), I will give vengeance for the already dead martyrs, achieving glory with the younger generation." said by Ma Biao during the Second Sino-Japanese War with reference to his service in the Boxer Rebellion where he already fought the Japanese before World War II. See also Hui people References Category:Military units and formations of the Qing Dynasty Category:Military units and formations of the Boxer Rebellion Category:Military history of the Qing dynasty

{-# OPTIONS --without-K --rewriting --confluence-check #-} postulate _↦_ : ∀ {i} {A : Set i} → A → A → Set i idr : ∀ {i} {A : Set i} {a : A} → a ↦ a {-# BUILTIN REWRITE _↦_ #-} data _==_ {i} {A : Set i} (a : A) : A → Set i where idp : a == a PathOver : ∀ {i j} {A : Set i} (B : A → Set j) {x y : A} (p : x == y) (u : B x) (v : B y) → Set j PathOver B idp u v = (u == v) syntax PathOver B p u v = u == v [ B ↓ p ] postulate PathOver-rewr : ∀ {i j} {A : Set i} {B : Set j} {x y : A} (p : x == y) (u v : B) → (PathOver (λ _ → B) p u v) ↦ (u == v) {-# REWRITE PathOver-rewr #-} ap : ∀ {i j} {A : Set i} {B : A → Set j} (f : (a : A) → B a) {x y : A} → (p : x == y) → PathOver B p (f x) (f y) ap f idp = idp postulate Circle : Set base : Circle loop : base == base module _ {i} {P : Circle → Set i} (base* : P base) (loop* : base* == base* [ P ↓ loop ]) where postulate Circle-elim : (x : Circle) → P x Circle-base-β : Circle-elim base ↦ base* {-# REWRITE Circle-base-β #-} Circle-loop-β : ap Circle-elim loop ↦ loop* {-# REWRITE Circle-loop-β #-} idCircle : Circle → Circle idCircle = Circle-elim base loop

Q: Validating that all Stored procedures are valid Background My application is backed up by an SQL Server (2008 R2), and have quite a few SP, triggers etc.. My goal is to make sure upon program start that all of those objects are still valid. For example, if I have a stored procedure A which calls stored procedure B, If someone changes the the name of B to C, I would like to get a notification when running my application in Debug environment. What have I tried? So, I figured using sp_refreshsqlmodule which according to the documentation returns 0 (success) or a nonzero number (failure): DECLARE @RESULT int exec @RESULT = sp_refreshsqlmodule N'A' --In this case A is the SP name SELECT @@ERROR SELECT @RESULT So I changed SP B name to C and ran the script. The results where: @@ERROR was 0 @RESULT was 0 I got a message of: The module 'A' depends on the missing object 'B'. The module will still be created; however, it cannot run successfully until the object exists. My question: Am I missing something here, shouldn't I get anon-zero number that indicates that something went wrong? A: Assuming that all of your dependencies are at least schema qualified, it seems like you could use sys.sql_expression_dependencies. For instance, running this script: create proc dbo.B as go create proc dbo.A as exec dbo.B go select OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(referencing_id),OBJECT_NAME(referencing_id), referenced_schema_name,referenced_entity_name,referenced_id from sys.sql_expression_dependencies go sp_rename 'dbo.B','C','OBJECT' go select OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(referencing_id),OBJECT_NAME(referencing_id), referenced_schema_name,referenced_entity_name,referenced_id from sys.sql_expression_dependencies The first query of sql_expression_dependencies shows the dependency as: (No Column name) (No Column name) referenced_schema_name referenced_entity_name referenced_id dbo A dbo B 367340373 And after the rename, the second query reveals: (No Column name) (No Column name) referenced_schema_name referenced_entity_name referenced_id dbo A dbo B NULL That is, the referenced_id is NULL. So this query may find all of your broken stored procedures (or other objects that can contain references): select OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(referencing_id),OBJECT_NAME(referencing_id) from sys.sql_expression_dependencies group by referencing_id having SUM(CASE WHEN referenced_id IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) > 0

Leptotrombidium myotis Leptotrombidium myotis is a species of mites in the family Trombiculidae that parasitizes bats. Species that it affects include the Arizona myotis, little brown bat, and northern long-eared bat. References Category:Animals described in 1929 Category:Trombiculidae Category:Parasites of bats

Help us reduce the maintenance cost of our online services. Because your computer is running an older version of internet browser, it no longer meets the features of modern websites. You can help Amazing Discoveries reduce costs by upgrading or replacing your internet browser with one of the options below. We thank you in advance for partnering with us in this small but significant way. Catholic World News - The Vatican’s representative at UN headquarters in Geneva has said that “military action in this moment is probably necessary” to curb the slaughter of Christians in Iraq. Archbishop Silvani Tomasi told Vatican Radio that in the long run, the only solution to Iraq’s problems will come with “a dialogue of reconciliation and the acceptance of diversity,” with a regime that ensures equal rights for all. But in the immediate future, the crucial question is the survival of the country’s Christian minority. The archbishop said that it has been difficult to persuade “the Western powers to take a strong stance in defense of the Christians.” But as reports of atrocities reach the Western world, he said, he hopes for a mobilization of public opinion in favor of humanitarian aid “as well as some political and even effective military protection.” The historian Ranke says this about Protestant-Catholic relations: "In the year 1617, everything betokened a decisive conflict between them. The Catholic party appears to have felt itself the superior. At all events it was the first to take up arms." Hegelian dialectic thinking is applied in many situations in world politics. Often the ordinary people are used as pawns in the game of Hegelian psychology played by those who pull the strings of world control. Most people can understand the reasoning behind nine of the Ten Commandments—don't kill, don't lie, don't steal. But what about the Sabbath Commandment? Why would God give such a law? Why should we follow it?

The present disclosure relates generally to a foil bearing with a split key, and more specifically, to a thin foil, hydrodynamic gear bearing comprising a split key to reduce or eliminate a non-synchronous or reverse on the thin foil, hydrodynamic gear bearing. In general, thin foil, hydrostatic journal bearings are used to support a rotating element in air cycle machines. Historically, journal loading was assumed to be static, (due to gravity or acceleration) or synchronous (1 time per shaft rotation); however, recent experience has shown that there are environments that impose a non-synchronous, high-cycle load on the thin foil, hydrostatic journal bearings. This has led to bearing anti-rotation key cracking (and in some cases separating) initiated at a tight radius at a bottom of a formed key of the thin foil, hydrostatic journal bearing. The cracking is in part due to a geometry of the tight radius, which is an inherently high stress riser. Further, a forming operation necessary to fold the foil into a 180° bend exceeds an ultimate elongation of the foil itself, which leads to an orange peel condition and a degradation in the material fatigue strength.

Revised self-consistent continuum solvation in electronic-structure calculations. The solvation model proposed by Fattebert and Gygi [J. Comput. Chem. 23, 662 (2002)] and Scherlis et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 124, 074103 (2006)] is reformulated, overcoming some of the numerical limitations encountered and extending its range of applicability. We first recast the problem in terms of induced polarization charges that act as a direct mapping of the self-consistent continuum dielectric; this allows to define a functional form for the dielectric that is well behaved both in the high-density region of the nuclear charges and in the low-density region where the electronic wavefunctions decay into the solvent. Second, we outline an iterative procedure to solve the Poisson equation for the quantum fragment embedded in the solvent that does not require multigrid algorithms, is trivially parallel, and can be applied to any Bravais crystallographic system. Last, we capture some of the non-electrostatic or cavitation terms via a combined use of the quantum volume and quantum surface [M. Cococcioni, F. Mauri, G. Ceder, and N. Marzari, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 145501 (2005)] of the solute. The resulting self-consistent continuum solvation model provides a very effective and compact fit of computational and experimental data, whereby the static dielectric constant of the solvent and one parameter allow to fit the electrostatic energy provided by the polarizable continuum model with a mean absolute error of 0.3 kcal/mol on a set of 240 neutral solutes. Two parameters allow to fit experimental solvation energies on the same set with a mean absolute error of 1.3 kcal/mol. A detailed analysis of these results, broken down along different classes of chemical compounds, shows that several classes of organic compounds display very high accuracy, with solvation energies in error of 0.3-0.4 kcal/mol, whereby larger discrepancies are mostly limited to self-dissociating species and strong hydrogen-bond-forming compounds.

Q: Flask gevent when downloading url do through proxy I have a simple flask application I am running through the gevent server. app = Flask(__name__) def console(cmd): p = Popen(cmd, shell=True, stdout=PIPE) while True: data = p.stdout.read(512) yield data if not data: break if isinstance(p.returncode, int): if p.returncode > 0: # return code was non zero, an error? print 'error:', p.returncode break @app.route('/mp3', methods=['POST']) def generate_large_mp3(): video_url = "url.com" title = 'hello' mp3 = console('command') return Response(stream_with_context(mp3), mimetype="audio/mpeg3", headers={"Content-Disposition": 'attachment;filename="%s.mp3"' % filename}) if __name__ == '__main__': http_server = WSGIServer(('', 5000), app) http_server.serve_forever() How would I be able to make it so when my my console function runs that it runs via a proxy to download the url instead of the ip of the server? A: Answered it, Needed to simply update the env variable in the Popen env = dict(os.environ) env['http_proxy'] = proxies[random.randrange(0, len(proxies))] env['https_proxy'] = proxies[random.randrange(0, len(proxies))]

Q: How to load all view controllers storyboard, but skip the natural sequence and go direct to a specific view? Suppose I have three view controllers inside a storyboard, I want to load all of them into view controllers stack, but I want to choose which one will appear first to the user. As shown below I would like to show the third view on load, instead to show the first, any glue? A: Option 1. Using storyboards, you see the arrow pointing to your ViewController 1. Drag that to View Controller 2 or 3. Option 2. On load of your first view controller, you can instantiate whichever view you'd like in your viewDidLoad(), provided you have given each storyboard view an ID. let storyboard = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil) let controller = storyboard.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "YourVCIdentifier") self.present(controller, animated: true, completion: nil) Option 3. In your AppDelegate file, you can do this. func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool { self.window = UIWindow(frame: UIScreen.main.bounds) let storyboard = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil) let initialViewController = storyboard.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "YourVCIdentifier") self.window?.rootViewController = initialViewController self.window?.makeKeyAndVisible() return true }

Old War Dogs teach new tricks This past year I came up with an idea that, strangely enough, bore fruit: I knew that there had to be lots of other old vets out there like me who had overcome their fear of computers and the Internet to discover that these are tools which can be used effectively to expand on the knowledge gained from our military experiences to provide unique insights and perspectives to the millions of web viewers who've not been there nor done that. I looked at it as a situation of old dogs learning new tricks, and out of that, through the dedication and skills of Bill Faith, owner of Small Town Veteran Blog and volunteer webmaster for this endeavor, was borne our blog, Old War Dogs. To our delight we have become a site of some note in the military blogosphere, due, I'm sure to the fact that we have member Dogs from every major conflict from WWII to the present. We don't have any generals or admirals yet as contributing Dogs (the major networks have all those guys) but we do have a couple of senior officers, large unit commanders, a sergeant major, some NCO's and a few draftees who served their time and are proud now that they were called by their government. Some of our Dogs have PhD's and some of those lacking such academic qualifications have the offsetting benefit of extensive combat experience. We're an eclectic, mongrel bunch at Old War Dogs. Which brings this Dog to his point. In the midst of all the discussion and dissension regarding our situation in Iraq, it is becoming readily apparent that one of the most insidious flaws of my war in Vietnam, that is, senseless, bureaucratic influence upon the rules of engagement, is once again being resurrected by politically expedient commanders in this current conflict, and this Old War Dog feels compelled to bark. Fearful of being condemned for possible civilian losses in their areas of operations, American commanders are burdening the troops at the point of the spear, those facing the greatest risk of life and limb in this treacherous insurgency, with ridiculously cautious rules of engagement just as their predecessors did to American troops in Vietnam. I recall a situation in early in that war, when I was a young buck sergeant, squad leader in an infantry company of the 101st Airborne Division. We were operating well out in Indian country, setting up a defensive perimeter for the night. The company commander called the officers and NCO's together at the company CP for a briefing. To the absolute amazement of a bunch of hardened old paratrooper non-coms, and the bafflement of some of us newer members of that fraternity, he informed us that he had just received a directive by radio that if we were hit by the enemy that night, we were not to return fire without obtaining direct, verbal authorization from him or the company first sergeant. In other words, if someone outside the perimeter tripped one of our defensive flares or Claymore mines, we could not commence fire without clearance from company headquarters. This precaution, it turned out, had been directed from II Field Force headquarters back in their very safe, coastal enclave. Here we were, in hostile country, where we could be overrun by any well-directed, concerted assault by a proven, accomplished enemy, and we were being told by rear echelon staff weenies that we could not respond to such an assault with all the force at our disposal without proper authority. In other words, all the money and time that had been spent by the American government to train me and my fellow junior NCO's to lead our troops in combat had just been negated by some jerk, rear area, general officer, who was more interested in covering his ass and his stars than preserving the lives of those troops under his command. Being one of the younger, less seasoned and thus less disciplined, NCO's, I protested, and was immediately told by my young company commander to shut my mouth and to do what I was told. OK, so I did precisely that, to the letter. I went back to my squad sector to check on my troopers, who were busily engaged in digging in for the night. And there, I honored my CO's order, in spirit, if not in intent. He had directed that we were not to return fire. To me, that implied firing our M-16's and our M-60 machine guns. Keeping in mind that prohibition, I instructed all of my guys to build up a substantial parapet on the leading edge of each defensive position they dug and to then crimp the pins on several grenades and lay them within easy reach on those parapets. I explained that we had been ordered not to return fire but that nothing had been said about grenades. My instructions at each position in my portion of the perimeter were, "If you hear something out there, don't worry about asking for permission to fire your M-16 or M-60, just start throwing grenades and keep throwing them until the whole frickin' balloon goes up." I knew from previous nighttime assaults, that if the shit hit the fan, nobody would ever have any idea of where that first grenade exploded, nor, in the aftermath, would they care. I knew there would be a lot of nervous young paratroopers with twitchy fingers sitting watch that night and the first flash and boom would be enough to send the whole perimeter into an all out, full-fire response, which might waste some ammunition should the intruder be a monkey, but might also save some lives. Fortunately, nothing happened during that night or in the ensuing few days until the much protested, asinine order from II Corps was rescinded. However, to this day, I feel comfortable knowing the men I was responsible for weren't going to be easily overrun and sacrifice their lives to some bureaucratic inaninity, which brings us to the point. I hear over and over that because of the fear of killing innocent Iraqis and other politically correct considerations, that our forces are being hamstrung with exactly such petty oversights and constraints in the current rules of engagement. The President mentioned this problem in his speech tonight, which is what jarred my memory back forty years and inspired this writing. I would urge everyone who reads this, whether you have a loved one in this fight or not, to contact your congressmen and senators and tell them you will not abide such insanity in this current war. Be very clear in what you say: you do not countenance the callous taking of innocent civilian life but, more importantly, you will not accept asinine rules of engagement that put our troops, our loved ones, at risk only to protect the careers of politically attuned generals and the sycophants who surround them. Stand up for our troops, folks. They're standing up out there for you. Russ Vaughn 2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division Vietnam 65-66 This past year I came up with an idea that, strangely enough, bore fruit: I knew that there had to be lots of other old vets out there like me who had overcome their fear of computers and the Internet to discover that these are tools which can be used effectively to expand on the knowledge gained from our military experiences to provide unique insights and perspectives to the millions of web viewers who've not been there nor done that. I looked at it as a situation of old dogs learning new tricks, and out of that, through the dedication and skills of Bill Faith, owner of Small Town Veteran Blog and volunteer webmaster for this endeavor, was borne our blog, Old War Dogs. To our delight we have become a site of some note in the military blogosphere, due, I'm sure to the fact that we have member Dogs from every major conflict from WWII to the present. We don't have any generals or admirals yet as contributing Dogs (the major networks have all those guys) but we do have a couple of senior officers, large unit commanders, a sergeant major, some NCO's and a few draftees who served their time and are proud now that they were called by their government. Some of our Dogs have PhD's and some of those lacking such academic qualifications have the offsetting benefit of extensive combat experience. We're an eclectic, mongrel bunch at Old War Dogs. Which brings this Dog to his point. In the midst of all the discussion and dissension regarding our situation in Iraq, it is becoming readily apparent that one of the most insidious flaws of my war in Vietnam, that is, senseless, bureaucratic influence upon the rules of engagement, is once again being resurrected by politically expedient commanders in this current conflict, and this Old War Dog feels compelled to bark. Fearful of being condemned for possible civilian losses in their areas of operations, American commanders are burdening the troops at the point of the spear, those facing the greatest risk of life and limb in this treacherous insurgency, with ridiculously cautious rules of engagement just as their predecessors did to American troops in Vietnam. I recall a situation in early in that war, when I was a young buck sergeant, squad leader in an infantry company of the 101st Airborne Division. We were operating well out in Indian country, setting up a defensive perimeter for the night. The company commander called the officers and NCO's together at the company CP for a briefing. To the absolute amazement of a bunch of hardened old paratrooper non-coms, and the bafflement of some of us newer members of that fraternity, he informed us that he had just received a directive by radio that if we were hit by the enemy that night, we were not to return fire without obtaining direct, verbal authorization from him or the company first sergeant. In other words, if someone outside the perimeter tripped one of our defensive flares or Claymore mines, we could not commence fire without clearance from company headquarters. This precaution, it turned out, had been directed from II Field Force headquarters back in their very safe, coastal enclave. Here we were, in hostile country, where we could be overrun by any well-directed, concerted assault by a proven, accomplished enemy, and we were being told by rear echelon staff weenies that we could not respond to such an assault with all the force at our disposal without proper authority. In other words, all the money and time that had been spent by the American government to train me and my fellow junior NCO's to lead our troops in combat had just been negated by some jerk, rear area, general officer, who was more interested in covering his ass and his stars than preserving the lives of those troops under his command. Being one of the younger, less seasoned and thus less disciplined, NCO's, I protested, and was immediately told by my young company commander to shut my mouth and to do what I was told. OK, so I did precisely that, to the letter. I went back to my squad sector to check on my troopers, who were busily engaged in digging in for the night. And there, I honored my CO's order, in spirit, if not in intent. He had directed that we were not to return fire. To me, that implied firing our M-16's and our M-60 machine guns. Keeping in mind that prohibition, I instructed all of my guys to build up a substantial parapet on the leading edge of each defensive position they dug and to then crimp the pins on several grenades and lay them within easy reach on those parapets. I explained that we had been ordered not to return fire but that nothing had been said about grenades. My instructions at each position in my portion of the perimeter were, "If you hear something out there, don't worry about asking for permission to fire your M-16 or M-60, just start throwing grenades and keep throwing them until the whole frickin' balloon goes up." I knew from previous nighttime assaults, that if the shit hit the fan, nobody would ever have any idea of where that first grenade exploded, nor, in the aftermath, would they care. I knew there would be a lot of nervous young paratroopers with twitchy fingers sitting watch that night and the first flash and boom would be enough to send the whole perimeter into an all out, full-fire response, which might waste some ammunition should the intruder be a monkey, but might also save some lives. Fortunately, nothing happened during that night or in the ensuing few days until the much protested, asinine order from II Corps was rescinded. However, to this day, I feel comfortable knowing the men I was responsible for weren't going to be easily overrun and sacrifice their lives to some bureaucratic inaninity, which brings us to the point. I hear over and over that because of the fear of killing innocent Iraqis and other politically correct considerations, that our forces are being hamstrung with exactly such petty oversights and constraints in the current rules of engagement. The President mentioned this problem in his speech tonight, which is what jarred my memory back forty years and inspired this writing. I would urge everyone who reads this, whether you have a loved one in this fight or not, to contact your congressmen and senators and tell them you will not abide such insanity in this current war. Be very clear in what you say: you do not countenance the callous taking of innocent civilian life but, more importantly, you will not accept asinine rules of engagement that put our troops, our loved ones, at risk only to protect the careers of politically attuned generals and the sycophants who surround them. Stand up for our troops, folks. They're standing up out there for you.

John Grey (British Army officer, died 1760) Major-General John Grey (died 10 March 1760) was an officer of the British Army. Background Entering the Army on 17 February 1710 as an ensign Grey served in the King's Regiment of Foot. On 22 December 1712 he was promoted lieutenant, but was placed on half-pay when his company was reduced in 1713. He was restored to full-pay in 1716, promoted captain-lieutenant on 1 January 1727, and to captain on 10 December 1731. Grey served with the King's Regiment as a captain in the campaign of 1743. Towards the end of the Battle of Dettingen he took command of the regiment after Lieutenant-Colonel Keightley and Major Barry were wounded. For his services at Dettingen he was promoted major on 14 July 1743, following Barry's death. He was later present at the Battle of Fontenoy, where he was wounded. Grey was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 14th Regiment of Foot on 17 February 1746, and colonel of the 54th Regiment of Foot on 5 April 1757. He was promoted to major-general on 25 June 1759 and died on 10 March 1760. References Category:Year of birth unknown Category:1760 deaths Category:British Army generals Category:King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers Category:West Yorkshire Regiment officers Category:54th Regiment of Foot officers Category:British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession

Background {#Sec1} ========== Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonitis (AFOP) is a rare form of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), which has currently been increasingly recognized and added to the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) international multidisciplinary classification of IIP \[[@CR1]\]. AFOP is a rare histopathological diagnosis, which is characterized by organized intra-alveolar fibrin. AFOP can be idiopathic or associated with known causes, such as connective tissue disorders, drugs, occupational exposure, immune system disorders, and infections \[[@CR2]--[@CR5]\], requiring prompt clinical evaluation. Clinical characteristics associated with this disease are non-specific and vary widely. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports on AFOP associated with fungal infections. We present a case of AFOP combined with fungal infection, which presented with a rapidly progressive clinical course and radiological findings, and responded well to corticosteroids combined with an antifungal treatment. Case presentation {#Sec2} ================= A 67-year-old man, former smoker (20 pack-year), complained of cough with white mucous sputum for over 2 weeks and developed fever for 3 days. The medical history included hypertension, which was well-controlled with nifedipine. Blood investigations at a local hospital revealed a white blood cell (WBC) count of 19.17 × 10^9^/L, and markedly elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level (242.26 mg/L). Initial chest computed tomography (CT) on March 22 showed bilateral scattered consolidation areas **(**Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}a**)**. Empirical therapy was provided for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with piperacillin-sulbactam, moxifloxacin and ceftriaxone. However, he showed no signs of improvement. Laboratory investigations revealed a positive serum galactomannan (GM) antigen test (1.76), and *Aspergillus* was isolated from the sputum culture. The patient was treated with fluconazole, but the treatment was ineffective. Chest radiography on March 27 revealed obviously increased bilateral parenchymal opacities **(**Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}b**)**. As the patient's condition further deteriorated, he was transferred to the Department of Respiratory and Critical Medicine at Jinling Hospital. Fig. 1**a** CT on March 22 showing bilateral diffuse ground-glass opacities and multi-focal, patchy, ill-defined nodular opacities in the lungs. **b** Newly developed multi-focal dense consolidations are observed On admission, his vital signs were as follows: body temperature, 38.6 °C; pulse rate, 84 beats/min; respiratory rate, 18 breaths/min; and blood pressure, 129/74 mmHg and; oxygen saturation on room air, 95%. Chest auscultation revealed increased breath sounds with fine crackles and wheezing in the upper right lung zones, with no other remarkable findings. The abnormal laboratory test results were as follows: WBC count, 14.25 × 10^9^/L; neutrophils%, 81.8; CRP, 69.6 mg/L; albumin, 25.0 g/L; alanine aminotransferase, 109 U/L; procalcitonin, 0.105 μg/L; and interleukin-6, 224.60 ng/L. The autoimmune antibody profile, CD4 lymphocyte count, IgM, IgG, IgE and tumor biomarkers were within the normal limits. Other laboratory investigations, including rapid antigen tests for influenza A and B, the Mantoux test, and the T-spot test, were all negative. However, he had poorly controlled blood sugar during hospitalization. He received a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 from endocrinologist. Based on the sputum culture, blood GM test, and CT at the local hospital, we initially diagnosed the patient with "probable" invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) and treated him with voriconazole. However, the patient's clinical status worsened, with persistent fever. The serum GM test result at our hospital was negative. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed the following day. On admission day 4, the patient developed exertional dyspnea and hemoptysis. We suspected drug-resistant pneumonia and treated the patient empirically with anti-bacterial (biapenem, linezolid), anti-fungal (caspofungin), and anti-viral (oseltamivir, acyclovir) drugs in succession. Despite these treatments and supportive care, his respiratory status continued to deteriorate, with persistent hyperthermia. Arterial blood gases analysis showed hypoxemia (partial pressure of oxygen (PaO~2~)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO~2~) 235 mmHg). The blood culture, staining for acid-fast bacillus in sputum and BAL fluid, and GM test results in BAL fluid were negative. Smear and culture of *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* in sputum and BAL fluid were also negative. Emergency contrast-enhanced chest CT on day 10 revealed bilateral diffuse patchy opacities, multi-focal dense consolidations and bronchial shadows in some lesions **(**Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}**)**. As the antimicrobial drugs were ineffective and organizing pneumonia was considered, the patient was administered with methylprednisolone 40 mg daily; fever subsided, but dyspnea, cough, and hemoptysis underwent progressive worsening. To confirm the diagnosis, we performed a CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy on day 10. Histologically, the predominant findings were as follows: alveolar spaces filled with fibrin and organizing loose connective tissues involving 70% of the observed region, pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, and small abscesses and epithelioid cell granuloma in the focal area **(**Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}a, b, and c**)**. Result of periodic acid-silver methenamine (PAM) stain was positive **(**Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"} d). The pathological diagnosis was AFOP combined with fungal infection. Methylprednisolone at an increased dose of 40 mg twice daily and voriconazole were continued. However, his condition steadily deteriorated, with continued hypoxemia (the lowest PaO~2~/FiO~2~: 173 mmHg), chest discomfort and exercise intolerance. CT on day 15 showed worsening of the bilateral patchy opacities **(**Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}**)**. Fig. 2Bilateral diffuse patchy opacities, multi-focal dense consolidations and bronchial shadows in some lesions are observed Fig. 3The lung biopsy findings are consistent with the histological pattern of AFOP combined with a fungal infection. **a** Alveolar spaces filled with fibrin and organizing loose connective tissues (hematoxylin and eosin \[H&E\] stain, × 200). **b** Infiltrations of abundant neutrophils and some lymphocytes and formation of small abscesses (H&E stain, × 200). **c** Epithelioid cell granuloma (H&E stain × 200). **d** Periodic acid-silver methenamine (PAM) staining of a lung biopsy specimen revealing spores (× 400) Fig. 4Increasing bilateral diffuse pulmonary infiltrates in both the lungs On day 16, a 3-day course of intravenous methylprednisolone was started at 500 mg/d and subsequently, methylprednisolone was continued at 40 mg twice daily. Simultaneously, an antifungal therapy with amphotericin B (dose gradually increased from 10 mg to 40 mg daily) and voriconazole was administered. On day 25, the dose of methylprednisolone was gradually reduced to 30 mg twice daily. Chest CT revealed reduction in the size of the opacity. On day 30, the dose of methylprednisolone was reduced to 40 mg daily. Because of progressive anemia and thrombocytopenia, amphotericin B was discontinued on day 36. On day 37, the patient was switched to oral prednisone (40 mg daily) and voriconazole, with a reduced prednisone dose of 5 mg weekly after discharge from the hospital. Steroid tapering was well-tolerated, with no obvious adverse reactions. Four months after the discharge, chest CT showed complete resolution of the lesions. The fungal pathogen from the sputum culture was identified as *P. citrinum*. The phialides were ampulliform, bearing well-defined chains of spherical to subspherical conidia, with smooth or finely roughened walls **(**Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}**)**. The fungal pathogen was sent to a reference laboratory (Shanghai Majorbio Bio-pharm Technology Co., Ltd) for identification, and was confirmed as *P. citrinum* with a polymerase chain reaction sequencing analysis. Antifungal sensitivity testing using the Sensititre™ YeastOne™ YO10 Susceptibility Plate (Trek Diagnostics Systems, West Sussex, UK) revealed that the *P.citrinum* isolate demonstrated marked in vitro sensitive to amphotericin B with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2 μg/ml and resistance to voriconazole with MIC of \> 8 μg/ml. Fig. 5Septate branching hyphae of *P.citrinum* showing ampulliform phialides and spherical conidia (lactophenol blue) (× 100) Discussion and conclusions {#Sec3} ========================== Since the concept of AFOP was proposed by Beasley et al. in a case series involving 17 patients in 2002 \[[@CR3]\], AFOP cases have been increasingly reported and recognized. In 2013, AFOP was added to the ATS/ERS classification of IIPs \[[@CR1]\]. Patients with AFOP can present with various respiratory signs and symptoms. The common clinical symptoms are fatigue, prolonged fever, cough, dyspnea, and hemoptysis with rapid deterioration leading to respiratory failure. On imaging, various radiographic findings have been described \[[@CR6]\]. Patients with AFOP who experience a rapidly progressive course often exhibit diffuse predominant consolidation, ground glass opacities, and multifocal parenchymal abnormalities on imaging. The diagnosis of AFOP relies on the histologic features of a lung biopsy specimen. Our patient was preliminarily diagnosed with CAP; however, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral treatments were ineffective. To confirm the diagnosis, a percutaneous lung biopsy was performed; the pathology was consistent with AFOP. Therefore, clinicians may consider the possibility of AFOP in cases of pneumonia deteriorated rapidly to respiratory failure and refractory to antimicrobial therapy. AFOP is characterized histopathologically by intra-alveolar deposition of fibrin, features of organizing pneumonia with patchy distribution, and absence of the hyaline membrances \[[@CR3]\]. The presence of organized fibrin is the predominant histological finding \[[@CR3], [@CR7]\]. AFOP is a rare variant of pneumonia with an uncertain etiology. Proposed etiologies include connective tissue disorders, drugs, occupational exposure, immune system disorders, and infections \[[@CR2], [@CR3], [@CR8]--[@CR10]\]. The concomitant occurrence of fungal infection has not been described in patients with AFOP. Our patient appeared to have a fungal infection, which may be *P. citrinum*. *P. citrinum* is ubiquitous in the environment and usually considered as a laboratory contaminant or a non-pathogenic species, as it rarely causes human infection \[[@CR11]--[@CR14]\]. In this case, the patient was initially misdiagnosed as IPA. It is likely that *P. citrinum* shows similar hyaline septate hyphae to *Aspergillus* on direct microscopic examination. Anyway, fluconazole is not an appropriate treatment for Aspergillus at the local hospital. We considered *P. citrinum* infection in our patient for the following reasons: (i) The growth of *P. citrinum* in five separate sputum cultures from a symptomatic patient with uncontrolled DM prompted careful consideration of a *P. citrinum* pneumonia; (ii) Pathological biopsy revealed small abscesses and granulomatous nodules, and special stain (PAM) result was positive, suggesting fungal pneumonia; (iii) There was no evidence to confirm infection of other organisms. GM test in BAL fluid was negative which is in contrast with previous reports \[[@CR15], [@CR16]\]. It's likely that our patient was non-agranulocytosis and received voriconazole, to which false-negative GM test results have been attributed. Due to the unpleasant experience, the patient refused to undergo tracheoscopy once more. The case presented herein highlight the potential pathogenic role of *P. citrinum* in immunocompromised hosts. Notably, clinicians should be aware of these usual "contaminative" fungi of low pathogenicity and maintain a high index of suspicion in diagnosing this potentially fatal but treatable disease. Currently, corticosteroid therapy is the most common and effective treatment for AFOP \[[@CR3], [@CR17], [@CR18]\], as in this case. There is no consensus on the dosage or duration of corticosteroids. Various regimens have been used depending on the severity and progression of the disease. The long-term effects of corticosteroids have not been established; therefore, monitoring the disease progression is recommended, and reassessments may be necessary. Although there are no standard treatment guidelines for patients with penicilliosis, the first-choice treatment regimen is 0.6 mg/kg/day amphotericin B for 2 weeks, followed by oral itraconazole for 10 weeks \[[@CR19]--[@CR21]\]. Voriconazole should not be considered first-line for the empiric treatment of *P. citrinum* \[[@CR16]\]. The high MIC of *P. citrinum* isolate in our patient, which is consistent with previous reports \[[@CR15], [@CR16], [@CR22]\], may partly explain why the initial administration of voriconazole was ineffective. Therefore, early antifungal susceptibility testing is essential for appropriate treatment to improve clinical outcomes. Significant relief of symptoms and improvement in radiological findings after the administration of corticosteroids and amphotericin B indicated that the patient received appropriate therapy. However, the patient was treated with corticosteroids and antifungal agents together, it is difficult to understand the effectiveness of antifungal administration. In summary, we reported an unusual case of AFOP and fungal pneumonia. If clinical symptoms and chest imaging features are unresponsive to broad-spectrum antibiotics, a lung biopsy could be considered and timely performed. As this common "contaminant" can behave as a pathogen in an immunocompromised state, both clinicians and microbiologists should consider the presence of a serious and potentially fatal fungal infection on isolation of *P. citrinum*. Based on this case, it could be speculated that AFOP may occur in association with fungal infection including *P. citrinum*. Our speculation improves the understanding of AFOP. Whether or not *P. citrinum* infection is a risk factor of AFOP needs to be clarified with more investigations and further experiments. AFOP : Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonitis DM : Diabetes mellitus CT : Computed tomography IIP : Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia ATS/ERS : American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society WBC : White blood cell CRP : C-reactive protein CAP : Community-acquired pneumonia GM : Galactomannan IPA : Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis BAL : Bronchoalveolar lavage PaO~2~ : Partial pressure of oxygen FiO~2~ : Fraction of inspired oxygen PAM : Periodic acid-silver methenamine MIC : Minimum inhibitory concentration **Publisher's Note** Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Not applicable. JZ takes responsibility for drafting the manuscript. JZ, DY and XS are the attending doctors of this patient. QS is responsible for Pathological results and WW is for Microbiological results. YS and XS is responsible for revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Authors' information {#FPar1} ==================== Jiangnan Zhao and Dongmei Yuan are resident physicians-in-training, and Yi Shi, Qunli Shi, Weiping Wang and Xin Su are attending specialist physicians who dedicate their time to mentoring trainees. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 81873400 to Dr. Su) and Jiangsu Province "333 Project" Research Funding (BRA2019339 to Dr. Su). This funding body had no influence on the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript. Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient to participate in this case report. Written informed consent for publication of clinical details and clinical images was obtained from the patient. A copy of the consent form is available for review by the Editor of the journal. The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-based cancer vaccines: recent patents and antitumor effects from experimental models to clinical trials. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a glycosylated protein of MW 180 kDa, is overexpressed in a wide range of human carcinomas, including colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, non-small cell lung and breast carcinomas. Accordingly, CEA is one of several oncofetal antigens that may serve as a target for active anti-cancer specific immunotherapy. Experimental results obtained by employing animal models have supported the design of clinical trials using a CEA-based vaccine for the treatment of different types of human cancers. This review reports findings from experimental models and clinical evidence on the use of a CEA-based vaccine for the treatment of cancer patients. Among the diverse CEA-based cancer vaccines, DCs- and recombinant viruses-based vaccines seem the most valid. However, although vaccination was shown to induce a strong immune response to CEA, resulting in a delay in tumor progression and prolonged survival in some cancer patients, it failed to eradicate the tumor in most cases, owing partly to the negative effect exerted by the tumor microenvironment on immune response. Thus, in order to develop more efficient and effective cancer vaccines, it is necessary to design new clinical trials combining cancer vaccines with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and drugs which target those factors responsible for immunosuppression of immune cells. This review also discusses relevant patents relating to the use of CEA as a cancer vaccine.

Heraeum (Thrace) Heraeum or Heraion (), also known as Heraion Teichos (Ἡραῖον τεῖχος) was a Greek city in ancient Thrace, located on the Propontis, a little to the east of Bisanthe. The city was a Samian colony and founded around 600 BC. In some of the Itineraries, the place is called Hiereum or Ereon. Herodotus, Demosthenes, Harpokration, Stephanus of Byzantium and Suda mention the city. In 352 BCE Phillip II besieged the city. Athens decided to sent a fleet of forty triremes and to levy sixty talents in order to help the city, but the fleet never set sail. Only later a much smaller fleet of ten ships and money of five talents were sent. But Philip captured the city. Its site is near Aytepe, in Turkey. See also Greek colonies in Thrace References Category:Populated places in ancient Thrace Category:Greek colonies in Thrace Category:Former populated places in Turkey Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Category:Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Category:Samian colonies Category:History of Tekirdağ Province

List of programs broadcast by Hum Europe The British television channel Hum Europe has been broadcasting a range of entertainment content since 2014, chiefly designed for British Pakistani viewers. Current programming Drama serials Deewar-e-Shab (8 June 2019) Kun Faaya Kun (4 July 2019) Anaa (TV series) (17 February 2019) Bharam (4 March 2019) Meer Abru (3 April 2019) Mere Humdam (26 January 2019) Chhoti Chhoti Baatein (10 March 2019) Ishq Zahe Naseeb (21 June 2019) Inkaar (11 March 2019) Khaas (17 April 2019) Jaal (1 March 2019) Soaps Log Kia Kahengay (4 February 2019) Soya Mera Naseeb (10 June 2019) HUM Europe exclusives De Ijazat Jo Tu Ghundi Madiha Maliha Love Ke Liye Mannchalay Former programming Serials * Bilqees Kaur (2014) Shareek e Hayat (2014) Kisay Apna Khainy (2014) Kahani Raima Aur Manahil Ki (2014) Kitni Girhain Baqi hai (2014) Mein Diwani (2014) Ishq Me Tere (2014) Shab e Zindagi (2014) Zindagi Tere Bina (2014) Bunty I Love You (2014) Laa (2014) Janam Jali (2014) Aahista Aahista (2014) Mohabbat Ab Nahi Hogi (2014) Mausam (2014) Mitthu Aur Aapa (2014) Mere Meherban (2014) Do Saal Ki Aurat (2014) Shanakht (2014) Daay Ijazat Jo Tu (2014) Firaaq (2014) Darbadar Teray Liye (2014-2015) Tum Mere Hi Rehna (2014-2015) Mehram (2014-2015) Digest Writer (2014-2015) Humsafar (2014-2015) Parsa (2015) Sadqay Tumhare (2014-2015) Shehr-e-Zaat (2015) Aik Pal (TV series) (2014-2015) Zindagi Tum Ho (2014-2015) Zid (2014-2015) Meray Khuda (2015) Na Kaho Tum Mere Nahi (2015) Nikah (2015) Alvida (2015) Dil Ka Kiya Rung Karon (2015) Mera Naseeb (2015) Aye Zindagi (2015) Jugnoo (2015) Man-O-Salwa (2015) Muqaddas (2015) Yahan Pyar Nahi Hai (2015) Malaal (2015) Karb (2015) Dayar-e-Dil (2015) Mol (2015) Kadoorat (2015) Kitna Satatay Ho (2015) Tum Mere Paas Raho (2015) Mohabbat Aag Si (2015) Tumhari Natasha (2015) Kaisay Tumse Kaho (2015) Muje Apna Bana Lo (2015) Aik Thi Misaal (September 2015-January 2016) ''''Tumhare Siwa (2015-2016) Tere Baghair (2015-2016) Sangat (2015-2016) Preet Na Kariyo Koi (2015-2016) Kahi Unkahi (2016) Gul-e-Rana (2015-2016) Humnasheen (2016) Maana Ka Gharana (2015-2016) Mastana Mahi (2016) Kisay Chahoon (2016) Mata e Jaan Hai Tu (2016) Maan (2015-2016) Lagao (2016) Sehra Main Safar (2015-2016) Tere Mere Beech (2015-2016) Abro (2015-2016) Mohabbat Rooth Jaye Toh (2016) Dil-e-Beqarar (April–August 2016) Akbari Asghari (May–August 2016) Pakeeza (February–August 2016) Aseerzadi (July–August 2016) Mann Mayal (January 2016-September 2016) Zara Yaad Kar (March 2016-September 2016) Khawab Sarae (May–September 2016) Udaari (April–September 2016) Ek Tamanna Lahasil Si (August–October 2016) Jhoot (May–October 2016) Dharkan (June–October 2016) Kathputli (June–October 2016) Deewana (May–November 2016) Maat (August–November 2016) Saiqa (October–November 2016) Laaj (July–November 2016) Khoya Khoya Chand (November–December 2016) Hatheli (September 2016-January 2017) Bin Roye (October 2016-January 2017) Sanam (September 2016-February 2017) Saya-e-Dewar Bhi Nahi (August 2016-February 2017) Sila (October 2016-March 2017) Sang-e-Mar Mar (September 2016-March 2017) Dil Banjaara (October 2016-March 2017) Kuch Na Kaho (October 2016-April 2017) Choti Si Zindagi (September 2016-April 2017) Kuch Na Kaho (2016 TV series) (October 2016 - April 2017) Nazr-e-Bad (January 2017 - June 2017) Naatak (December 2016 - June 2017) Sammi (January 2017 - June 2017) Dil-e-Jaanam (March 2017 - July 2017) Phir Wohi Mohabbat (March 2017 - August 2017) Yeh Raha Dil (February 2017 - August 2017) Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain (October 2016 - August 2017) Mohabbat Khawab Safar (April 2017 - August 2017) Woh Aik Pal (March 2017 - September 2017) Adhi Gawahi (July 2017 - October 2017) Yaqeen Ka Safar (April 2017 - November 2017) Neelam Kinaray (September 2017 - December 2017) Gumrah (September 2017 - January 2018) Pagli(August 2017 - January 2018) Daldal(August 2017 - February 2018) Alif Allah Aur Insaan(April 2017 - February 2018) Mein Maa Nahi Banna Chahti (October 2017 - February 2018) Tumhari Maryam (June 2017 - February 2018) Toh Dil Ka Kia Hua (July 2017 - February 2018) O Rangreza (July 2017 - February 2018) Dar Si Jati Hai Sila (November 2017 - April 2018) De Ijazat (January 2018 - May 2018) Khamoshi (September 2017– June 2018) Teri Meri Kahani(February 2018 - June 2018) Mah e Tamaam (January-August 2018) Tabeer (February-August 2018) Zun Mureed (March-September 2018) Ishq Tamasha (February-September 2018) Soap operas Rungeelay (2014) Dramay Bazain (2014-2015) Dil Ka Darwaza (2014) Halka Na Lo (2014-2015) Love Ke Liye (2014) Hum Theray Gunahgar (2014) Munchalay (2014) Agar Tum Na Hotay (2014-2015) Susraal Mera (2014-2015) Choti Si Ghalat Fehmi (2015) Sartaj Mera Tu Raaj Mera (2015) Aasi (2015) Perfume Chowk (2014-2015) Ishq Ibadat (2015) Akeli (2015) Mera Dard Na Janay Koi (2015-2016) Ishq-e-Benaam Zindagi Tujh Ko Jiya (2016) Jahan Ara Begum 2016 Sawaab 2016 Haya Ke Daaman Main (March 2016-September 2016) Namak Paray (April–October 2016) Bay Aitebaar (July–December 2016) Bad Gumaan (September 2016-February 2017) Fun Khana (2017) Gila (December 2016-March 2017) Ladkiyan Mohallay Ki (July 2016-March 2017) Jithani (2017) Sangsar (2017) Mohabbat Mushkil Hai (July 2017) Samdhan (2017) Thori Si Wafa (2017-18) Naseebon Jali (2017-18) Maa Sadqay (2018) Horror/Supernatural series Woh Dubara (2014) Belapur Ki Dayan (February 2018 - 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Q: Setting a Jenkins Pipeline timeout for only a group of stages I know that one can set a timeout for the entire pipeline script or a specific stage using options, but is there a way to set a timeout for a group of stages? For example a total 10 minute timeout (not 10 minute each) for only 3 out of the 5 stages, and let the other 2 run freely. A: Sure, you can create nested stages and define the timeout option for the parent stage: pipeline { agent any stages{ stage('Stage A') { options{ timeout( time: 10, unit: 'SECONDS' ) } stages { stage('Stage A1') { steps { sleep( time: 4, unit: 'SECONDS' ) } } stage('Stage A2') { steps { sleep( time: 4, unit: 'SECONDS' ) } } stage('Stage A3') { steps { sleep( time: 4, unit: 'SECONDS' ) } } } } } } Stage A3 will never be executed because of the parent timeout. It will be marked as "aborted":

Failed Cuban "Twitter" Project Designed By U.S. Government Contractors ZunZuneo - a now defunct social media platform similar to Twitter - was designed to undermine the Cuban government by two private contractors: Creative Associates International (CAI) from Washington DC and Mobile Accord, a Denver based company. Funding was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Named after a Cuban hummingbird, the text message based system was launched in 2010 and hit a peak of 40,000 users before it shut down in June 2012 when funding ran out. CAI targeted a list of 500,000 Cuban phone numbers provided by an engineer from Cubacel, the government owned cell phone provider. Mobile Accord was tasked with tracking age, gender, "receptiveness" and "political tendencies" of individuals who signed up for the service. "There will be absolutely no mention of United States government involvement," wrote Mobile Accord in a 2010 memo cited by the AP. "This is absolutely crucial for the long-term success of the service and to ensure the success of the Mission." Yet the AP quotes from USAID documents which state specifically that ZunZuneo was created to "push (Cuba) out of a stalemate through tactical and temporary initiatives, and get the transition process going again." The project planners also offered the rationale that "text messaging had mobilized smart mobs and political uprisings in Moldova and the Philippines, among others," write the AP. "In Iran, the USAID noted social media's role following the disputed election of then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009 - and saw it as an important foreign policy tool." Both CAI and Mobile Accord have a prior history of being awarded contracts for U.S. government democracy initiatives in Third World countries. Mobile Accord was founded by James Eberhard, a technology entrepreneur, to distribute bulk text messages for non-commercial purposes. The technology was used to to raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti and to create a social media platform called Humari Awaaz (which means "Our Voice") in Pakistan on behalf of the U.S. State Department. (Like ZunZuneo the latter project folded when the funding was cut) For example, CAI was awarded $1 million sub-contract in 1989 to train Contra rebels, the anti-communist guerrillas in Nicaragua, in skills such as engine repair, first aid and road maintenance. CAI's contracts have come in for criticism in the past. For example, CAI won a 2003 contract to print textbooks and train teachers in Afghanistan, despite never having worked in the country before. Raheem Yaseer, assistant director of the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Center for Afghanistan Studies, which also bid and lost, says he was surprised. "Our university has been involved in Afghanistan from the early 1970s, and had offices and programs during the war years," Yaseer said. Creative didn't bother with supporting the local economy - instead it subcontracted the printing of the Afghan textbooks to an Indonesian company, and then airlifted them to Afghanistan. The company has also been investigated by USAID for using insider influence to win contracts in Iraq. A June 2003 USAID memorandum detailing the findings said, "The documentation is clear that only one of the five contractors that were subsequently invited by USAID to bid on the contract participated in an initial roundtable discussion. In addition, we conclude that USAID Bureau officials did not adhere to the guidance on practical steps to avoid organizational conflicts of interest." Footer -- Donation Show Your Support With a Donation Footer -- Links Footer -- Our Mission Our Mission CorpWatch works to promote environmental, social and human rights at the local, national and global levels by holding multinational corporations accountable for their actions. We employ investigative research and journalism to provide critical information on corporate malfeasance and profiteering around the world to foster a more informed public and an effective democracy.

--- abstract: 'We study the space of generalized translation invariant valuations on a finite-dimensional vector space and construct a partial convolution which extends the convolution of smooth translation invariant valuations. Our main theorem is that McMullen’s polytope algebra is a subalgebra of the (partial) convolution algebra of generalized translation invariant valuations. More precisely, we show that the polytope algebra embeds injectively into the space of generalized translation invariant valuations and that for polytopes in general position, the convolution is defined and corresponds to the product in the polytope algebra.' address: - 'Institut für Mathematik, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Robert-Mayer-Str. 10, 60054 Frankfurt, Germany' - 'Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, 35 Route de Chartres, 91440 Bures-sur-Yvette, France' author: - Andreas Bernig - Dmitry Faifman title: Generalized translation invariant valuations and the polytope algebra --- Introduction ============ Let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional vector space, $V^*$ the dual vector space, $\mathcal{K}(V)$ the set of non-empty compact convex subsets in $V$, endowed with the topology induced by the Hausdorff metric for an arbitrary Euclidean structure on $V$, and $\mathcal{P}(V)$ the set of polytopes in $V$. A valuation is a map $\mu:\mathcal{K}(V) \to \mathbb{C}$ such that $$\mu(K \cup L)+\mu(K \cap L)=\mu(K)+\mu(L)$$ whenever $K,L, K \cup L \in \mathcal{K}(V)$. Continuity of valuations will be with respect to the Hausdorff topology. Examples of valuations are measures, the intrinsic volumes (in particular the Euler characteristic $\chi$) and mixed volumes. Let $\operatorname{Val}(V)$ denote the (Banach-)space of continuous, translation invariant valuations. It was the object of intensive research during the last few years, compare [@alesker_mcullenconj01; @alesker_fourier; @alesker_bernig_schuster; @alesker_faifman; @bernig_aig10; @bernig_broecker07; @bernig_fu06; @bernig_fu_hig; @bernig_hug; @fu_barcelona] and the references therein. Valuations with values in semi-groups other than $\mathbb{C}$ have also attracted a lot of interest. We only mention the recent papers [@abardia12; @abardia_bernig; @bernig_fu_solanes; @haberl10; @hug_schneider_localtensor; @schneider13; @schuster10; @schuster_wannerer; @wannerer_area_measures; @wannerer_unitary_module] to give a flavor on this active research area. Of particular importance is the class of the so-called smooth valuations. The importance of this class stems from the fact that it admits various algebraic structures, which include two bilinear pairings, known as product and convolution, and a Fourier-type duality interchanging them. These algebraic structures are closely related to important notions from convex and integral geometry, such as the Minkowski sum, mixed volumes, and kinematic formulas. This emerging new theory is known as algebraic integral geometry [@bernig_aig10; @fu_barcelona]. A different, more classical type of algebraic object playing an important role in convex geometry is McMullen’s algebra of polytopes. In this paper, we show how McMullen’s algebra fits into the framework of algebraic integral geometry. More precisely, we show that McMullen’s algebra can be embedded as a subalgebra of the space of generalized valuations, which is, roughly speaking, the dual space of smooth valuations. Let us now give the necessary background required to state our main theorems. The group $\operatorname{GL}(V)$ acts in the natural way on $\operatorname{Val}(V)$. The dense subspace of $\operatorname{GL}(V)$-smooth vectors in $\operatorname{Val}(V)$ is denoted by $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$. It carries a Fréchet topology which is finer than the induced topology. In [@bernig_fu06], a convolution product on $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ was constructed. Here and in the following, $\operatorname{Dens}(W)$ denotes the $1$-dimensional space of densities on a linear space $W$. Note that $\operatorname{Dens}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \cong \mathbb{C}$: if $\operatorname{vol}$ is any choice of Lebesgue measure on $V$, and $\operatorname{vol}^*$ the corresponding dual measure on $V^*$, then $\operatorname{vol}\otimes \operatorname{vol}^* \in \operatorname{Dens}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ is independent of the choice of $\operatorname{vol}$. If $\phi_i(K)=\operatorname{vol}(K+A_i) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*$ with smooth compact strictly convex bodies $A_1,A_2$, then $\phi_1 * \phi_2(K)=\operatorname{vol}(K+A_1+A_2) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*$. By Alesker’s proof [@alesker_mcullenconj01] of McMullen’s conjecture, linear combinations of such valuations are dense in the space of all smooth valuations. The convolution extends by bilinearity and continuity to $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$. By [@bernig_fu06], the convolution product is closely related to additive kinematic formulas. It was recently used in the study of unitary kinematic formulas [@bernig_fu_hig], local unitary additive kinematic formulas [@wannerer_area_measures; @wannerer_unitary_module] and kinematic formulas for tensor valuations [@bernig_hug]. In this paper, we will extend the convolution to a (partially defined) convolution on the space of generalized translation invariant valuations. Elements of the space $$\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V):=\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)^* \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V)$$ are called generalized translation invariant valuations. By the Alesker-Poincaré duality [@alesker04_product], $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$ embeds in $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V)$ as a dense subspace. More generally, it follows from [@alesker_fourier Proposition 8.1.2] that $\operatorname{Val}(V)$ embeds in $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V)$, hence we have the inclusions $$\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \subset \operatorname{Val}(V) \subset \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V).$$ Generalized translation invariant valuations were introduced and studied in the recent paper [@alesker_faifman]. Note that another notion of generalized valuation was introduced by Alesker in [@alesker_val_man1; @alesker_val_man2; @alesker_val_man4; @alesker_val_man3]. In the next section, we will construct a natural isomorphism between the space of translation invariant generalized valuations in Alesker’s sense and the space of generalized translation invariant valuations in the sense of the above definition. Given a polytope $P$ in $V$, there is an element $M(P) \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \cong \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)^*$ defined by $$\langle M(P),\phi\rangle=\phi(P).$$ Let $\Pi(V)$ be McMullen’s polytope algebra [@mcmullen_polytope_algebra]. As a vector space, $\Pi(V)$ is generated by all symbols $[P]$, where $P$ is a polytope in $V$, modulo the relations $[P] \equiv [P+v], v \in V$, and $[P \cup Q]+[P \cap Q]=[P] + [Q]$ whenever $P,Q, P \cup Q$ are polytopes in $V$. The product is defined by $[P] \cdot [Q]:=[P+Q]$. The map $M:\mathcal{P}(V) \to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ extends to a linear map $$M: \Pi(V) \to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*).$$ Our first main theorem shows that McMullen’s polytope algebra is a subset of $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V)\otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$. \[mainthm\_injection\_mcmullen\] The map $M:\Pi(V)\to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V)\otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ is injective. Equivalently, the elements of $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$ separate the elements of $\Pi(V)$. In Section \[sec\_partial\_conv\] we will introduce a notion of transversality of generalized translation invariant valuations. Our second main theorem is the following. \[mainthm\_convolution\] There exists a partial convolution product $*$ on $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ with the following properties: 1. If $\phi_1,\phi_2 \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ are transversal, then $\phi_1 * \phi_2 \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ is defined. 2. If $\phi_1 * \phi_2$ is defined and $g \in \operatorname{GL}(V)$, then $(g_* \phi_1) * (g_* \phi_2)$ is defined and equals $g_*(\phi_1 * \phi_2)$. 3. Whenever the convolution is defined, it is bilinear, commutative, associative and of degree $-n$. 4. The restriction to the subspace $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ is the convolution product from [@bernig_fu06]. 5. If $x,y$ are elements in $\Pi(V)$ in general position, then $M(x),M(y)$ are transversal in $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ and $$M(x \cdot y)=M(x) * M(y).$$ Stated otherwise, the maps in the diagram $$\xymatrix{\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \ar@{^{(}->}[r] & \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) & \Pi(V) \ar@{_{(}->}[l]}$$ have dense images and are compatible with the (partial) algebra structures. [**Remarks:**]{} 1. In Prop. \[prop\_continuity\] we will show that, under some technical conditions in terms of wave fronts, the convolution on generalized translation invariant valuations from Theorem \[mainthm\_convolution\] is the unique jointly sequentially continuous extension of the convolution product on smooth translation invariant valuations. 2. In [@alesker_bernig], it was shown that the space $\mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(X)$ of generalized valuations on a smooth manifold $X$ admits a partial product structure extending the Alesker product of smooth valuations on $X$. If $X$ is real-analytic, then the space $\mathcal{F}_\mathbb{C}(X)$ of $\mathbb{C}$-valued constructible functions on $X$ embeds densely into $\mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(X)$. It was conjectured that whenever two constructible functions meet transversally, then the product in the sense of generalized valuations exists and equals the generalized valuation corresponding to the product of the two functions. The relevant diagram in this case is $$\xymatrix{\operatorname{Val}^\infty(X) \ar@{^{(}->}[r] & \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(X) & \mathcal{F}_\mathbb{C}(X), \ar@{_{(}->}[l]}$$ where both maps are injections with dense images and are (conjecturally) compatible with the partial product structure. Theorem 5 in [@alesker_bernig] gives strong support for this conjecture. 3. The Alesker-Fourier transform from [@alesker_fourier] extends to an isomorphism $\mathbb{F}:\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V^*) \to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$, compare [@alesker_faifman]. Another natural partially defined convolution on $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ would be $$\psi_1 * \psi_2:=\mathbb{F} \left(\mathbb{F}^{-1}\psi_1 \cdot \mathbb{F}^{-1} \psi_2\right),$$ where the dot is the partially defined product on $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V^*)$ from [@alesker_bernig]. It seems natural to expect that this convolution coincides with the one from Theorem \[mainthm\_convolution\], but we do not have a proof of this fact. Plan of the paper {#plan-of-the-paper .unnumbered} ----------------- In the next section, we introduce and study the space of generalized translation invariant valuations and explore its relation to generalized valuations from Alesker’s theory. In Section \[sec\_embedding\_polytopes\] we show that McMullen’s polytope algebra embeds into the space of generalized translation invariant valuations. A partial convolution structure on this space is constructed in Section \[sec\_partial\_conv\]. In Section \[sec:Appendix\] we construct a certain current on the sphere which is related to the volumes of spherical joins, and can be viewed as a generalization of the Gauss area formula for the plane. This current also plays a major role in the proof of the second main theorem. Its construction is based on geometric measure theory and is independent of the rest of the paper. Finally, Section \[sec\_compatibility\] is devoted to the proof of the fact that the embedding of the polytope algebra is compatible with the two convolution (product) structures. Acknowledgements {#acknowledgements .unnumbered} ---------------- We wish to thank Semyon Alesker for multiple fruitful discussions and Thomas Wannerer for useful remarks on a first draft of this paper. Preliminaries {#sec_prels} ============= In this section $X$ will be an oriented $n$-dimensional smooth manifold and $S^*X$ the cosphere bundle over $X$. It consists of all pairs $(x,[\xi])$ where $x \in X, \xi \in T^*_xX, \xi \neq 0$ and where the equivalence relation is defined by $[\xi]=[\tau]$ if and only if $\xi=\lambda \tau$ for some $\lambda>0$. The projection onto $X$ is denoted by $\pi:S^*X \to X, (x,\xi) \mapsto x$. The antipodal map $s:S^*X \to S^*X$ is defined by $(x,[\xi]) \mapsto (x,[-\xi])$. The push-forward map (also called fiber integration) $\pi_*:\Omega^k(S^*X) \to \Omega^{k-(n-1)}(X)$ satisfies $$\int_{S^*X} \pi^*\gamma \wedge \omega=\int_X \gamma \wedge \pi_*\omega, \quad \gamma \in \Omega_c^{2n-k-1}(X).$$ If $V$ is a vector space, then $S^*V \cong V \times \mathbb P_+(V^*)$, where $\mathbb P_+(V^*):=V^* \setminus \{0\}/ {\mathbb{R}}_+$ is the sphere in $V^*$. Moreover, if $V$ is a Euclidean vector space of dimension $n$, we identify $S^*V$ and $SV=V \times S^{n-1}$ and write $\pi=\pi_1:SV \to V, \pi_2:SV \to S^{n-1}$ for the two projections. Currents -------- Let us recall some terminology from geometric measure theory. We refer to [@federer_book; @morgan_book] for more information. The space of $k$-forms on $X$ is denoted by $\Omega^k(X)$, the space of compactly supported $k$-forms is denoted by $\Omega^k_c(X)$. Elements of the dual space $\mathcal{D}_k(X):=\Omega^k_c(X)^*$ are called [*$k$-currents*]{}. A $0$-current is also called [*distribution*]{}. The boundary of a $k$-current $T \in \mathcal{D}_k(X)$ is defined by $\langle \partial T,\phi\rangle=\langle T,d\phi\rangle, \phi \in \Omega^{k-1}_c(X)$. If $\partial T=0$, $T$ is called a [*cycle*]{}. If $T \in \mathcal{D}_k(X)$ and $\omega \in \Omega^l(X), l \leq k$, then the current $T \llcorner \omega \in \mathcal{D}_{k-l}(X)$ is defined by $\langle T \llcorner \omega,\phi\rangle:=\langle T, \omega \wedge \phi\rangle$. If $f:X \to Y$ is a smooth map between smooth manifolds $X,Y$ and $T \in \mathcal{D}_k(X)$ such that $f|_{\operatorname{spt}T}$ is proper, then the push-forward $f_*T \in \mathcal{D}_k(Y)$ is defined by $\langle f_*T,\phi\rangle:=\langle T,\zeta f^*\phi\rangle$, where $\zeta \in C^\infty_c(X)$ is equal to $1$ in a neighborhood of $\operatorname{spt}T \cap \operatorname{spt}f^*\omega$. It is easily checked that $$\label{eq_boundary_vs_differential} \partial ([[X]] \llcorner \omega)=(-1)^{\deg\omega+1} [[X]] \llcorner (d\omega)$$ and $$\label{eq_push_forward_forms_currents} \pi_*\left([[S^*X]] \llcorner \omega\right)=(-1)^{(n+1)(\deg\omega+1)} [[X]] \llcorner \pi_*\omega.$$ Every oriented submanifold $Y \subset X$ of dimension $k$ induces a $k$-current $[[Y]]$ such that $\langle [[Y]],\phi\rangle=\int_Y \phi$. By Stokes’ theorem, $\partial [[Y]]=[[\partial Y]]$. A [*smooth current*]{} is a current of the form $[[X]] \llcorner \omega \in \mathcal{D}_{n-k}(X)$ with $\omega \in \Omega^k(X)$. If $X$ and $Y$ are smooth manifolds, $T \in \mathcal{D}_k(X), S \in \mathcal{D}_l(Y)$, then there is a unique current $T \times S \in \mathcal{D}_{k+l}(X \times Y)$ such that $\langle T \times S, \pi_1^*\omega \wedge \pi_2^*\phi\rangle=\langle T,\omega\rangle \cdot \langle S,\phi\rangle$, for all $\omega \in \Omega^k(X), \phi \in \Omega^l(Y)$. Here $\pi_1,\pi_2$ are the projections from $X \times Y$ to $X$ and $Y$ respectively. If $T=[[X]] \llcorner \omega, S=[[Y]] \llcorner \phi$, then $$\label{eq_product_smooth_currents} T \times S=(-1)^{(\dim X-\deg \omega)\deg \phi}[[X \times Y]] \llcorner (\omega \wedge \phi).$$ The boundary of the product is given by $$\label{eq_boundary_product} \partial(T \times S)=\partial T \times S+(-1)^k T \times \partial S,$$ compare [@federer_book 4.1.8]. If $X$ is a Riemannian manifold, the [*mass*]{} of a current $T \in \mathcal{D}_k(X)$ is $$\mathbf{M}(T):=\sup \{\langle T,\phi\rangle: \phi \in \Omega^k_c(X), \|\phi(x)\|^* \leq 1, \forall x \in X\},$$ where $\|\cdot\|^*$ denotes the comass norm. Currents of finite mass having a boundary of finite mass are called [*normal currents*]{}. The flat norm of $T$ is defined by $$\mathbf{F}(T):=\sup\{\langle T,\phi\rangle: \phi \in \Omega^k_c(X), \|\phi(x)\|^* \leq 1, \|d\phi(x)\|^* \leq 1, \forall x \in X\}.$$ If $X$ is compact, then the $\mathbf{F}$-closure of the space of normal $k$-currents is the space of [*real flat chains*]{}. Wave fronts ----------- We refer to [@guillemin_sternberg77] and [@hoermander_pde1] for the general theory of wave fronts and its applications. For the reader’s convenience and later reference, we will recall some basic definitions and some fundamental properties of wave fronts, following [@hoermander_pde1]. First let $X$ be a linear space of dimension $n$, $T$ a distribution on $X$. The cone $\Sigma(T) \subset X^*$ is defined as the closure of the complement of the set of all $\eta \in X^*$ such that for all $\xi$ in a conic neighborhood of $\eta$ we have $$\|\hat T(\xi)\| \leq C_N(1+\|\xi\|)^{-N}, \quad N \in \mathbb{N}$$ (with constants $C_N$ only dependent on $N$ and the chosen neighborhood). Here $\hat T$ denotes the Fourier transform of $T$, and the norm is taken with respect to an arbitrary scalar product on $X^*$. Next, for an affine space $X$ and a point $x \in X$, the set $\Sigma_x(T) \subset T_x^* X$ is defined by $$\Sigma_x(T):=\bigcap_\phi \Sigma(\phi T),$$ where $\phi$ ranges over all compactly supported smooth functions on $X$ with $\phi(x) \neq 0$. Note that one uses the canonic identification $T^*_xX=X^*$. The [*wave front*]{} set of $T$ is by definition $$\operatorname{WF}(T):=\{(x,[\xi]) \in S^*X: \xi \in \Sigma_x(T)\}.$$ The set $\operatorname{singsupp}(T):=\pi(\operatorname{WF}(T)) \subset X$ is called [*singular support*]{}. Let $(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ be coordinates on $X$. Given a current $T \in \mathcal{D}_k(X)$, we may write $$T=\sum_{\substack{I=(i_1,\ldots,i_k)\\1 \leq i_1<i_2<\cdots<i_k \leq n}} T_I \frac{\partial}{\partial x_{i_1}} \wedge \ldots \wedge \frac{\partial}{\partial x_{i_k}}$$ with distributions $T_I$. Then the wave front of $T$ is defined as $\operatorname{WF}(T):=\bigcup_I \operatorname{WF}(T_I)$. A current $T$ is smooth, i.e. given by integration against a smooth differential form, if and only if $\operatorname{WF}(T)=\emptyset$. \[def\_dkgamma\] Let $\Gamma \subset S^*X$ be a closed set. Then we set $$\mathcal{D}_{k,\Gamma}(X):=\{T \in \mathcal{D}_k(X): \operatorname{WF}(T) \subset \Gamma\}.$$ A sequence $T_j \in \mathcal{D}_{k,\Gamma}(X)$ converges to $T \in \mathcal{D}_{k,\Gamma}(X)$ if (writing $T_j, T$ as above) $T_{j,I} \to T_I$ weakly in the sense of distributions and for each compactly supported function $\phi \in C^\infty_c(X)$ and each closed cone $A$ in $X^*$ such that $\Gamma \cap (\operatorname{spt}\phi \times A)=\emptyset$ we have $$\sup_{\xi \in A} |\xi|^N \left|\widehat{\phi T_{I}}(\xi)-\widehat{\phi T_{j,I}}(\xi)\right| \to 0, \quad j \to \infty$$ for all $N \in \mathbb{N}$. \[prop\_approx\_smooth\] Let $T \in \mathcal{D}_{k,\Gamma}(X)$. Then there exists a sequence of compactly supported smooth $k$-forms $\omega_i \in \Omega^{n-k}(X)$ such that $[[X]] \llcorner \omega_i \to T$ in $\mathcal{D}_{k,\Gamma}(X)$. In other words, smooth forms are dense in $\mathcal{D}_{k,\Gamma}(X)$. \[prop\_intersection\_current\] Let $T_1 \in \mathcal{D}_{k_1}(X), T_2 \in \mathcal{D}_{k_2}(X)$ such that the following transversality condition is satisfied: $$\operatorname{WF}(T_1) \cap s \operatorname{WF}(T_2) = \emptyset.$$ Then the intersection current $T_1 \cap T_2 \in \mathcal{D}_{k_1+k_2-n}(X)$ is well-defined. More precisely, if $[[X]] \llcorner \omega_i^j \to T_j$ in $\mathcal{D}_{k_j,\operatorname{WF}(T_j)}(X)$ with $\omega_i^j \in \Omega^{n-k_j}(X)$, $j=1,2$, then $[[X]] \llcorner (\omega_i^1 \wedge \omega_i^2) \to T_1 \cap T_2$ in $\mathcal{D}_{k_1+k_2-n,\Gamma}(X)$, where $$\Gamma:=\operatorname{WF}(T_1) \cup \operatorname{WF}(T_2) \cup \left\{(x,[\xi_1+\xi_2]):(x,[\xi_1]) \in \operatorname{WF}(T_1), (x,[\xi_2]) \in \operatorname{WF}(T_2)\right\}.$$ The boundary of the intersection is given by $$\label{eq_boundary_intersection} \partial (T_1 \cap T_2)=(-1)^{n-k_2} \partial T_1 \cap T_2+T_1 \cap \partial T_2.$$ The wave front of a distribution is defined locally and behaves well under coordinate changes. Using local coordinates, one can define the wave front set $\operatorname{WF}(T) \subset S^*X$ for a distribution $T$ on a smooth manifold $X$. Definition \[def\_dkgamma\] and Propositions \[prop\_approx\_smooth\] and \[prop\_intersection\_current\] remain valid in this greater generality. We will need a special case of these constructions. \[prop\_wf\_submfld\] Let $Y \subset X$ be a compact oriented $k$-dimensional submanifold. Then $$\operatorname{WF}([[Y]])=N_X(Y)=\{(x,[\xi]) \in S^*X|_Y:\xi|_{T_xY}=0\}.$$ An example for Proposition \[prop\_intersection\_current\] is when $T_i=[[Y_i]]$ with oriented submanifolds $Y_1,Y_2 \subset X$ intersecting transversally (in the usual sense). Then Proposition \[prop\_wf\_submfld\] implies that the transversality condition in Proposition \[prop\_intersection\_current\] is satisfied, and $T_1 \cap T_2=[[Y_1 \cap Y_2]]$. It is easily checked using , that for currents $A_1,A_2$ on an $n$-dimensional manifold $X$ and currents $B_1,B_2$ on an $m$-dimensional manifold $Y$, we have $$\label{eq_intersection_product} (A_1 \times B_1) \cap (A_2 \times B_2) = (-1)^{(n-\deg A_1)(m-\deg B_2)} (A_1 \cap A_2) \times (B_1 \cap B_2)$$ whenever both sides are well-defined. Given a differential operator, we have $\operatorname{WF}(PT) \subset \operatorname{WF}(T)$ with equality in case $P$ is elliptic [@hoermander_pde1 (8.1.11) and Corollary 8.3.2]. In particular, it follows that for a current on a manifold $X$, we have $$\label{eq_wavefront_boundary} \operatorname{WF}(\partial T) \subset \operatorname{WF}(T).$$ If $T$ is a current on the sphere $S^{n-1}$ and $\Delta$ the Laplace-Beltrami operator, then $$\label{eq_wavefront_laplacian} \operatorname{WF}(\Delta T)=\operatorname{WF}(T).$$ Valuations ---------- Let us now briefly recall some notions from Alesker’s theory of valuations on manifolds, referring to [@alesker_val_man1; @alesker_val_man2; @alesker_survey07; @alesker_val_man4; @alesker_val_man3] for more details. Let $X$ be a smooth manifold of dimension $n$, which for simplicity we suppose to be oriented. Let $\mathcal{P}(X)$ be the space of all compact differentiable polyhedra on $X$. Given $P \in \mathcal{P}(X)$, the conormal cycle $N(P)$ is a Legendrian cycle in the cosphere bundle $S^*X$ (i.e. $\partial N(P)=0$ and $N(P) \llcorner \alpha=0$ where $\alpha$ is the contact form on $S^*X$). A map of the form $$P \mapsto \int_{N(P)} \omega+ \int_P \gamma, \quad P \in \mathcal{P}(X), \omega \in \Omega^{n-1}(S^*X), \gamma \in \Omega^n(X)$$ is called a [*smooth valuation*]{} on $X$. The space of smooth valuations on $X$ is denoted by $\mathcal{V}^\infty(X)$. It carries a natural Fréchet space topology. The subspace of compactly supported smooth valuations is denoted by $\mathcal{V}_c^\infty(X)$. The valuation defined by the above equation will be denoted by $\nu(\omega,\gamma)$. We remark that, without using an orientation, we can still define $\nu(\omega,\phi)$, where $\omega \in \Omega^{n-1}(S^*X) \otimes \operatorname{or}(X), \phi \in \Omega^n(X) \otimes \operatorname{or}(X)$. Here $\operatorname{or}(X)$ is the orientation bundle over $X$. Elements of the space $$\mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(X):=(\mathcal{V}_c^\infty(X))^*$$ are called [*generalized valuations*]{} [@alesker_val_man4]. Each compact differentiable polyhedron $P$ defines a generalized valuation $\Gamma(P)$ by $$\langle \Gamma(P),\phi\rangle:=\phi(P), \quad \phi \in \mathcal{V}^\infty_c(X).$$ A smooth valuation can be considered as a generalized valuation by Alesker-Poincaré duality . We thus have injections $$\xymatrix{ \mathcal{V}^\infty(X) \ar@{^{(}->}[r] & \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(X) & \mathcal{P}(X) \ar@{_{(}->}[l]}.$$ By the results in [@bernig_broecker07] and [@alesker_bernig], a generalized valuation $\phi \in \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(X)$ is uniquely described by a pair of currents $E(\phi)=(T(\phi),C(\phi)) \in \mathcal{D}_{n-1}(S^*X) \times \mathcal{D}_n(X)$ such that $$\label{eq_conditions_t_c} \partial T=0, \pi_*T=\partial C, T \text{ is Legendrian, i.e.} T \llcorner \alpha=0.$$ Note that, in contrast to different uses of the word [*Legendrian*]{} in the literature, $T$ is not assumed to be rectifiable. Given $(T,C)$ satisfying these conditions, we denote by $E^{-1}(T,C)$ the corresponding generalized valuation. If $\mu$ is a compactly supported smooth valuation on $X$, then we may represent $\mu=\nu(\omega,\gamma)$ with compactly supported forms $\omega,\gamma$. If $E(\phi)=(T,C)$, then $$\langle \phi,\mu\rangle=T(\omega)+C(\gamma).$$ In particular, the generalized valuation $\Gamma(P)$ corresponding to $P \in \mathcal{P}(X)$ satisfies $$\label{eq_currents_for_polytope} E(\Gamma(P))=(N(P),[[P]]).$$ If $\phi=\nu(\omega,\gamma)$ is smooth, then $$\begin{aligned} T(\phi) & = [[S^*X]] \llcorner s^*(D\omega+\pi^* \gamma),\label{eq_pair_currents_smooth_a}\\ C(\phi) & = [[X]] \llcorner \pi_*\omega, \label{eq_pair_currents_smooth}\end{aligned}$$ where $D$ is the Rumin operator and $s$ is the involution on $S^*X$ given by $[\xi] \mapsto [-\xi]$ [@alesker_bernig; @rumin94]. Let us specialize to the case where $X=V$ is a finite-dimensional vector space. We denote by $\mathcal{V}^\infty(V)^{tr}$ and $\mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}$ the spaces of translation invariant elements. Alesker has shown in [@alesker_val_man2] that $$\mathcal{V}^\infty(V)^{tr} \cong \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V).$$ A similar statement for generalized valuations is shown in the next proposition. \[prop\_identification\_vals\] The transpose of the map $$\begin{aligned} F: \mathcal{V}_c^\infty(V) & \to \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \\ \mu & \mapsto \int_V \mu(\bullet + x) d\operatorname{vol}(x) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*\end{aligned}$$ induces an isomorphism $$F^*: \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \stackrel{\cong}{\longrightarrow} \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}.$$ The diagram $$\xymatrix{\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \ar_\cong^{F^*}[r] & \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}\\ \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \ar^{\cong}[r] \ar@{^{(}->}[u] & \mathcal{V}^\infty(V)^{tr} \ar@{^{(}->}[u]}$$ commutes and the vertical maps have dense images. First we show that the diagram is commutative, i.e. that the restriction of $F^*$ to $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$ is the identity. Let $\phi\in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$ be a smooth valuation. We will show that for any $\mu \in \mathcal V_c^\infty(V)$ one has $$\langle F^*\phi,\mu\rangle_{\mathcal V^\infty(V)}=\langle \phi,\mu\rangle_{\mathcal V^\infty(V)},$$ or equivalently that $$\langle \phi,F\mu\rangle_{\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)}=\langle \phi,\mu\rangle_{\mathcal V^\infty(V)}.$$ Fix a Euclidean structure on $V$, which induces canonical identifications $\operatorname{Dens}(V) \cong \mathbb C$ and $S^*V \cong V \times S^{n-1}$. We may assume by linearity that $\phi$ is $k$-homogeneous. Represent $\mu=\nu(\omega,\gamma)$ with some compactly supported forms $\omega \in \Omega_c^{n-1}(S^*V)$, $\gamma \in \Omega_c^n(V)$. We may write $$F\mu=\nu\left(\int_V x^* \omega d\operatorname{vol}(x),\int_V x^*\gamma d\operatorname{vol}(x)\right).$$ If $k<n$, then $\phi=\nu(\beta,0)$ for some form $\beta\in\Omega^{n-1}(S^*V)^{tr}$ by the irreducibility theorem [@alesker_mcullenconj01]. By the product formula from [@alesker_bernig] we have $$\langle \phi,\mu\rangle_{\mathcal V^{\infty}(V)}=\int_{S^*V}\omega\wedge s^{*}D\beta+\int_{V}\gamma\wedge\pi_{*}\beta\label{eq:manifolds_pairing}$$ and $$\langle \phi, F\mu\rangle_{\operatorname{Val}^{\infty}(V)}=\pi_{*}\left(\int_{V}x^{*}\omega d\operatorname{vol}(x)\wedge s^{*}D\beta\right) +\int_{S^{n-1}}\beta\cdot\int_V x^{*}\gamma d\operatorname{vol}(x). \label{eq:valuation_pairing}$$ The second summand in is $$\int_{V}\gamma\wedge\pi_{*}\beta=\int_{S^{n-1}} \beta \cdot \int_V \gamma$$ which coincides with the second summand of . Denoting $\psi:=s^{*}D\beta \in\Omega^{n}(S^*V)^{tr}$ and $\tau:=\omega \wedge \psi \in \Omega_{c}^{2n-1}(S^*V)$, it remains to verify that $$\pi_{*}\left(\int_{V}x^{*}\omega d\operatorname{vol}(x) \wedge\psi\right)=\int_{S^*V}\omega\wedge\psi,$$ which is equivalent to $$\pi_{*}\left(\int_{V} x^{*} \tau d\operatorname{vol}(x)\right)=\left(\int_{S^*V} \tau \right)\operatorname{vol}.$$ Write $\tau=f(y,\theta)d\operatorname{vol}(y)d\theta$ for $y\in V$, $\theta\in S^{n-1}$ and $d\theta$ the volume form on $S^{n-1}$. Then $$\begin{aligned} \pi_{*}\left(\int_{V}x^{*}\tau d\operatorname{vol}(x)\right)(y) & =\left(\int_{S^{n-1}} \left(\int_{V}f(y+x,\theta)d\operatorname{vol}(x)\right) d\theta \right)\operatorname{vol}(y)\\ & =\left(\int_{S^{n-1}}\left(\int_{V}f(x,\theta)d\operatorname{vol}(x)\right) d\theta \right)\operatorname{vol}(y)\\ & = \left(\int_{S^*V} \tau \right)\operatorname{vol}(y),\end{aligned}$$ as required. Now assume $k=n$, so $\phi=\nu(0,\lambda \operatorname{vol})$ is a Lebesgue measure on $V$. Then $$\langle \phi, F\mu\rangle_{\operatorname{Val}^{\infty}(V)}=\lambda \pi_*\left(\int_V x^*\omega d\operatorname{vol}(x)\right)$$ and $$\langle \phi,\mu\rangle_{\mathcal V^{\infty}(V)}=\lambda \int_{V} \pi_{*}\omega \operatorname{vol}.$$ Since the right hand sides coincide, the commutativity of the diagram follows. We proceed to show surjectivity of $F$. Let $\phi$ be a smooth translation invariant valuation on $V$. We fix translation invariant differential forms $\omega \in \Omega^{n-1}(S^*V), \gamma \in \Omega^n(V)$ with $\phi=\nu(\omega,\gamma)$. Let $\operatorname{vol}$ be a density on $V$ and let $\beta$ be a compactly supported smooth function such that $\int_V \beta(x) d \operatorname{vol}(x)=1$. The valuation $\mu:=\nu(\pi^*(\beta) \wedge \omega,\beta \gamma)$ is smooth, compactly supported and satisfies $F(\mu)=\phi \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*$. This shows that $F$ is onto. Thus $F$ induces an isomorphism $$\tilde F: \mathcal{V}_c^\infty(V)/\ker F \stackrel{\cong}{\longrightarrow} \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*).$$ The transpose of $\tilde F$ is an isomorphism $$\tilde F^*: \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \to (\ker F)^\perp.$$ The proof will be finished once we can show $(\ker F)^\perp = \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}$. If $\mu \in \mathcal{V}_c^\infty(V)$, then $(t_v)_*\mu-\mu \in \ker F$ for every $v \in V$, where $t_v$ is the translation by $v$. It follows that $(\ker F)^\perp \subset \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}$. Let $\phi \in \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}$. Fix a compactly supported approximate identity $f_\epsilon$ in $\operatorname{GL}(n)$ and set $\phi_\epsilon:=\phi * f_\epsilon$. Then $T(\phi_\epsilon)=T(\phi) * f_\epsilon$ and $C(\phi_\epsilon)=C(\phi)*f_\epsilon$ are smooth currents. By [@alesker_bernig Lemma 8.1], $\phi_\epsilon \in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$ and $\phi_\epsilon \to \phi$. This shows that $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \cong \mathcal{V}^\infty(V)^{tr}$ is dense in $\mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}$. Clearly $\operatorname{Im}\left(F^*:\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \to \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}\right) \subset (\ker F)^\perp$. Since the image is dense in $\mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr}$, it follows that $\mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)^{tr} \subset (\ker F)^\perp$. For $\phi \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V)$ we set $\operatorname{WF}(\phi):=\operatorname{WF}(T(\phi)) \subset S^*(S^*V)$. Given $\Gamma \subset S^*(S^*V)$ a closed set, we define $$\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_\Gamma(V):=\left\{\phi \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V): \operatorname{WF}(\phi) \subset \Gamma\right\}.$$ \[lemma\_density\_smooth\] The subspace $\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \subset \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_\Gamma(V)$ is dense. This follows by [@alesker_bernig Lemma 8.2], noting that in the proof of that lemma, a translation invariant generalized valuation is approximated by translation invariant smooth valuations. Embedding McMullen’s polytope algebra {#sec_embedding_polytopes} ===================================== Let $V$ denote an $n$-dimensional real vector space, and $\Pi(V)$ the McMullen polytope algebra on $V$. It is defined as the abelian group generated by polytopes, with the relations of the inclusion-exclusion principle and translation invariance. The product is defined on generators by $[P] \cdot [Q]:=[P+Q]$. It is almost a graded algebra over $\mathbb{R}$. We refer to [@mcmullen_polytope_algebra] for a detailed study of its properties. For $\lambda \in {\mathbb{R}}$, the dilatation $\Delta(\lambda)$ is defined by $\Delta(\lambda)[P]=[\lambda P]$. The [*$k$-th weight space*]{} is defined by $$\Xi_k:=\{x \in \Pi: \Delta(\lambda)x=\lambda^k x \text{ for some rational } \lambda>0, \lambda \neq 1\}.$$ McMullen has shown ([@mcmullen_polytope_algebra], Lemma 20) that $$\Pi(V)=\bigoplus_{k=0}^n \Xi_k.$$ The aim of this section is to prove Theorem \[mainthm\_injection\_mcmullen\], namely that $\Pi(V)$ embeds into $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$. Recall that the map $M:\Pi(V) \to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \cong \operatorname{Val}^{\infty}(V)^*$ is defined by $$\langle M([P]),\phi\rangle=\phi(P), \quad P \in \mathcal{P}(V).$$ We will denote by $M_k:\Pi(V)\to \operatorname{Val}_k(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ the $k$-homogeneous component of the image of $M$, and similarly $[\phi]_{k}$ is the $k$-homogeneous component of a valuation $\phi$. $$M([P])=\operatorname{vol}(\bullet-P)\otimes \operatorname{vol}^*.$$ In particular $\operatorname{Im}(M) \subset \operatorname{Val}(V)\otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$. We claim that $\langle \operatorname{PD}(\psi),\operatorname{vol}(\bullet - K) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^* \rangle=\psi(K)$ for $\psi \in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$ and $K \in \mathcal{K}(V)$, where $\operatorname{PD}:\operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V)$ denotes the natural embedding given by the Poincaré duality of Alesker [@alesker04_product]. Indeed, let first $K$ be smooth with positive curvature. Then, by ([@bernig_aig10], (15)), $$\psi \cdot \operatorname{vol}(\bullet-K)= \int_V \psi((y+K) \cap \bullet) d\operatorname{vol}(y)$$ and hence $$\langle \operatorname{PD}(\psi), \operatorname{vol}(\bullet-K) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*\rangle=\psi(K).$$ By approximation, this holds for non-smooth $K$ as well, showing the claim. Since by definition $\langle M[P],\psi\rangle=\psi(P)$, the statement follows. \[lemma\_m\_as\_average\] Let $P$ be a polytope and $\Gamma(P) \in \mathcal{V}^{-\infty}(V)$ the associated generalized valuation, i.e. $\langle \Gamma(P), \phi\rangle=\phi(P)$ for $\phi \in \mathcal{V}^\infty_c(V)$. Then $$F^*M([P])=\int_V \Gamma(P+x) d \operatorname{vol}(x) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*,$$ with $F$ as in Proposition \[prop\_identification\_vals\]. Let $\phi \in \mathcal{V}_c^\infty(V)$. Then $$\begin{aligned} \langle F^* M([P]),\phi\rangle & =\langle M([P]),F\phi\rangle\\ & = F(\phi)(P)\\ & = \int_V \phi(P+x)d\operatorname{vol}(x) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*\\ & = \int_V \langle \Gamma(P+x),\phi\rangle d\operatorname{vol}(x) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*\\ & = \left\langle \int_V \Gamma(P+x) d\operatorname{vol}(x) \otimes \operatorname{vol}^*,\phi \right\rangle.\end{aligned}$$ For the following, we fix a Euclidean structure and an orientation on $V$ and denote by $\operatorname{vol}$ the corresponding Lebesgue measure on $V$. Denote by $\mathcal{C}_{j}$ the collection of $j$-dimensional oriented submanifolds $N \subset S^{n-1}$, obtained by intersecting $S^{n-1}$ with a $(j+1)$-dimensional polytopal cone $\hat{N}$ in $V$. Given $v\in \Lambda^k V$, define the current $[v] \in \mathcal{D}_{k}(V)$ by $$\langle [v],\omega\rangle:=\int_V \omega|_x(v) d\operatorname{vol}(x), \omega \in \Omega_c^k(V).$$ Let $\Lambda_s^kV$ denote the cone of simple $k$-vectors in $V$. Given a pair $(v,N) \in \Lambda_s^k V \times \mathcal{C}_{n-k-1}$, we define the current $A_{v,N} = [v] \times [[N]]\in \mathcal{D}_{n-1}(V \times S^{n-1})$, where $[[N]]$ is the current of integration over $N$. Observe that changing the sign of $v$ and the orientation of $N$ simultaneously leaves the current $A_{v,N}$ invariant. Let $Y_k \subset \mathcal{D}_{n-1}(V \times S^{n-1})$ be the $\mathbb{C}$-span of currents of the form $A_{v,N}, v \in \Lambda^k_sV, N \in \mathcal{C}_{n-k-1}$ such that $\operatorname{Span}(v)\oplus \operatorname{Span}(\hat{N})=V$ as oriented spaces. Given a polytope $P \subset V$, we let $\mathcal{F}_k$ be the set of $k$-faces of $P$. Each face is assumed to possess some fixed orientation. If $F$ is a face of $P$ of dimension strictly less than $n$, we let $n(F,P)$ be the normal cone of $F$, and $\check n(F,P):=n(F,P) \cap S^{n-1}$ is oriented so that the linear space parallel to $F$, followed by $\operatorname{Span}(\check n(F,P))$, is positively oriented. Moreover, let $v_F$ be the unique $k$-vector in the linear space parallel to $F$ such that $|v_F|=\operatorname{vol}_k F$, the sign determined by the orientation of $F$. \[lemma\_image\_of\_polytope\] Let $P$ be a polytope. Then $$\begin{aligned} E(M_0([P])) & =\left(0,\operatorname{vol}(P) [[V]]\right),\\ E(M_{n-k}([P])) & =\left(\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} A_{v_{F},\check{n}(F,P)},0\right), \quad 0\leq k\leq n-1. \end{aligned}$$ It follows from and Lemma \[lemma\_m\_as\_average\] that $$\begin{aligned} T(M([P])) & = \int_{V} T(\Gamma(P+x))d\operatorname{vol}(x)=\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_{\leq n-1}(P)} A_{v_F,\check{n}(F,P)}\\ C(M([P])) & = \int_{V} C(\Gamma(P+x))d\operatorname{vol}(x) = \operatorname{vol}(P) [[V]].\end{aligned}$$ From this the statement follows. Let $$T_k:\operatorname{Im}(M_{n-k}) \to Y_k, \quad 0\leq k\leq n-1$$ be the restriction of $T$ to $\operatorname{Im}(M_{n-k})$. For a linear subspace $L\subset V$, we will write $S(L)=S^{n-1} \cap L$. Let $\mathcal{F}(V)$ denote the space of $\mathbb{Z}$-valued constructible functions on $V$, i.e. functions of the form $\sum_{i=1}^N n_i 1_{P_i}$ with $n_i \in \mathbb{Z}, P_i \in \mathcal{P}(V)$ (compare [@alesker_val_man4]). Let $\mathcal{F}_\text{a.e.}(V)$ be the set of congruence classes of constructible functions where $f \sim g$ if $f-g=0$ almost everywhere. \[lemma\_inclusion\_into\_constr\_functions\] Denote by $Z$ the abelian group generated by all formal integral combination of compact convex polytopes in $V$. Let $W \subset Z$ denote the subgroup generated by lower-dimensional polytopes and elements of the form $[P \cup Q]+[P \cap Q]-[P]-[Q]$ where $P \cup Q$ is convex. Then the map $$\begin{aligned} Z/W & \to \mathcal{F}_\text{a.e.}(V)\\ \sum_i n_i [P_i] & \mapsto \sum_i n_i 1_{P_i}, \quad n_i \in \mathbb{Z} \end{aligned}$$ is injective. It is easily checked that the map is well-defined. To prove injectivity, it is enough to prove that $f:=\sum_i 1_{P_i} \sim \sum_j 1_{Q_j}$ implies $\sum_i [P_i] \equiv \sum_j [Q_j]$. Decompose the connected components of $$\left(\cup_i P_i \cup \cup_j Q_j\right) \setminus \left(\cup_i \partial P_i \cup \cup_j \partial Q_j\right)$$ into simplices $\{\Delta\}$, disjoint except at their boundary. Then, by the inclusion-exclusion principle, $$\sum_i [P_i] \equiv \sum_i \sum_{\Delta \subset P_i} [\Delta] \equiv \sum_{k \geq 1} (-1)^{k+1} \sum_{\Delta \subset \bigcup_{i_1<\ldots<i_k} \cap_{j=1}^k P_{i_j}}[\Delta]$$ By examining the superlevel set $\{f \geq k\}$ we see that $$\bigcup_{i_1<\ldots<i_k}(P_{i_1} \cap \ldots \cap P_{i_k}) \sim \bigcup_{j_1<\ldots<j_k}(Q_{j_1} \cap \ldots \cap Q_{j_k}),$$ where $A \sim B$ means the sets $A,B$ coincide up to a set of measure zero. Therefore, $$\sum_i [P_i] \equiv \sum_j [Q_j] \mod W,$$ as claimed. The same claim and proof apply if we replace $Z$ with the free abelian group of polytopal cones with vertex in the origin. Let us recall some notions from [@mcmullen_polytope_algebra]. Let $L$ be a subspace of $V$. The [*cone group*]{} $\hat \Sigma(L)$ is the abelian group with generators $[C]$, where $C$ ranges over all convex polyhedral cones in $L$, and with the relations 1. $[C_1 \cup C_2]+[C_1 \cap C_2]=[C_1]+[C_2]$ whenever $C_1,C_2,C_1 \cup C_2$ are convex polyhedral cones; 2. $[C]=0$ if $\dim C < \dim L$. The [*full cone group*]{} is given by $$\hat \Sigma:=\bigoplus_{L \subset V} \hat \Sigma(L),$$ where the sum extends over all linear subspaces of $L$. \[lemma\_lemma39\] The map $$\begin{aligned} \sigma_k : \Pi(V) & \to \mathbb{C} \otimes_ \mathbb{Z} \hat \Sigma \\ [P] & \mapsto \sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} \operatorname{vol}(F) \otimes n(F,P)\end{aligned}$$ restricts to an injection on $\Xi_k$. For all $0\leq k\leq n-1$, there is a linear map $\Phi_k:Y_k \to\mathbb{C} \otimes_{\mathbb{Z}} \hat \Sigma$ such that $\Phi_k(A_{v,N})=|v| \otimes [\hat{N}]$. The first thing to note is that if $A_{v_1,N_1}=A_{v_2,N_2}$, then either $v_1=v_2$, $N_1=N_2$ or $v_1=-v_2$ and $N_1=\overline{N_2}$, where $\overline{N_j}$ is $N_j$ with reversed orientation. Thus on the generators of $Y_k$, $\Phi_k(A_{v,N}):=|v| \otimes [\hat{N}]$ is well-defined. Now assume that $\sum_j c_j A_{v_j,N_j}=0$. We shall show that $\sum_j c_j |v_j| \otimes [\hat{N}_j]=0$. Note that for all $\rho \in \Omega_c^k(V)$ and $\omega \in \Omega^{n-k-1}(S^{n-1})$, one has $$\sum_j c_j \int_V \rho|_x(v_j)d\operatorname{vol}(x) \int_{N_j} \omega=0.$$ More generally, suppose that we have $$\sum_j \lambda_j \int_{N_j} \omega=0$$ for some coefficients $\lambda_j \in \mathbb{C}$ and for all $\omega\in\Omega^{n-k-1}(S^{n-1})$. Let $L \subset V$ be a linear subspace of dimension $n-k$. Let $U_\epsilon \subset S^{n-1}$ denote the $\epsilon$-neighborhood of $L \cap S^{n-1}$, where $\epsilon$ is sufficiently small. Let $p_\epsilon:U_\epsilon \to L\cap S^{n-1}$ denote the nearest-point projection. Fix some $\beta \in C^{\infty}[0,1]$ such that $\beta(x)=1$ for $0 \leq x \leq \frac13$ and $\beta(x)=0$ for $\frac23 \leq x \leq 1$. Let $ \beta_\epsilon \in C^{\infty}(U_\epsilon)$ be given by $\beta_\epsilon(x)=\beta(\operatorname{dist}(x,p(x))/\epsilon)$. Given a form $\sigma \in \Omega^{n-k-1}(L\cap S^{n-1})$, we set $\omega:=\beta_\epsilon p_\epsilon^* \sigma \in \Omega^{n-k-1}(S^{n-1})$. If $N_j \subset L \cap S^{n-1}$, then $$\int_{N_j} \omega=\int_{N_j} \sigma,$$ while if $N_j$ does not lie in $L \cap S^{n-1}$ then $\int_{N_j} \omega \to 0$ as $\epsilon \to 0$. Thus, letting $\epsilon \to 0$, we obtain $$\sum_{N_j \subset L} \lambda_j \int_{N_j} \sigma=0,$$ where the sum is over all $N_j$ contained in $L$. Now fix an orientation on $L$ and assume without loss of generality that all $N_j \subset L$ have the induced orientation. Going back to the original equation we may write $$\sum_{N_j \subset L} c_j \int_V \rho|_x(v_j)d\operatorname{vol}(x) \int_{N_j}\sigma=0.$$ Let $v_0 \in \Lambda^k L^\perp \subset \Lambda^k V$ be the unique vector with $|v_0|=1$ and $v_0^\perp=L$ (the last equality understood with orientation). Then $v_j=|v_j|v_0$ for all $j$ with $N_j \subset L$. Therefore, the above equation implies that $$\sum_{N_j \subset L} c_j |v_j| \int_{N_j}\sigma=0$$ for all $\sigma \in \Omega^{n-k-1}(L \cap S^{n-1})$ and this implies that $$\sum_{N_j \subset L} c_j |v_j| 1_{N_j}=0$$ almost everywhere. By Lemma \[lemma\_inclusion\_into\_constr\_functions\] we have in $\mathbb{C} \otimes \hat{\Sigma}(L)$ $$\sum_{N_j \subset L} c_j |v_j| \otimes [\hat{N}_j]=0.$$ Since $L$ was arbitrary, we deduce that in $\mathbb{C} \otimes \hat{\Sigma}$ we have $$\sum_j c_j |v_j| \otimes [\hat N_j]=0,$$ as required. By Lemma \[lemma\_lemma39\], the map $$\sigma_k:\Xi_k \to \mathbb{C} \otimes \hat{\Sigma}$$ is injective. For $0 \leq k \leq n-1$ we have $$\sigma_k=\Phi_k \circ T_k \circ M_{n-k},$$ while $\sigma_n$ is the volume functional on $\Pi(V)$ restricted to $\Xi_n$, so identifying the space of Lebesgue measures on $V$ with $\mathbb{C}$ allows us to write $\sigma_n=C \circ M_0$. We conclude that $(M_{n-k})|_{\Xi_k}$ is injective for each $k$, and hence $M$ is injective. Partial convolution product {#sec_partial_conv} =========================== Let us first describe the convolution in the smooth case, see [@bernig_fu06], but using a more intrinsic approach. Let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional vector space. Let $\operatorname{Dens}(V)$ denote the $1$-dimensional $\operatorname{GL}(V)$-module of densities on $V$. The orientation bundle $\operatorname{or}(V)$ is the real $1$-dimensional linear space consisting of all functions $\rho:\Lambda^{top}V \to \mathbb R$ such that $\rho (\lambda \omega)=\mathrm{sign}(\lambda) \rho(\omega)$ for all $\lambda \in\mathbb R$ and $\omega \in \Lambda^{top}V$. Note that there is a canonical isomorphism $\operatorname{or}(V) \cong \operatorname{or}(V^*)$. Let $\mathbb P_+(V)$ be the space of oriented $1$-dimensional subspaces of $V$. Then $ S^*V:=V \times \mathbb P_+(V^*)$ has a natural contact structure. We have a natural non-degenerate pairing $$\Lambda^k V^* \otimes \Lambda^{n-k}V^* \stackrel{\wedge}{\longrightarrow} \Lambda^n V^* \cong \operatorname{Dens}(V) \otimes \operatorname{or}(V),$$ which induces an isomorphism $$*:\Lambda^k V^* \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \stackrel{\cong}{\longrightarrow} (\Lambda^{n-k} V^*)^* \cong \Lambda^{n-k} V.$$ Let $$\ast_1:\Omega (S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \stackrel{\cong}{\longrightarrow} \Omega(V^* \times \mathbb P_+(V^*))^{tr}$$ be defined by $$\ast_1(\pi_1^*\gamma_1 \wedge \pi_2^*\gamma_2):=(-1)^{\binom{n-\deg \gamma_1}{2}} \pi_1^*(*\gamma_1) \wedge \pi_2^*\gamma_2$$ for $\gamma_1\in \Omega(V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*), \gamma_2 \in \Omega(\mathbb P_+(V^*))$. Let $\phi_j=\nu(\omega_j,\gamma_j) \in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*),j=1,2$, where $\omega_j \in \Omega^{n-1}(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*), \gamma_j \in \Omega^n(V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$. Then the convolution product $\phi_1 * \phi_2$ is defined as $\nu(\omega,\gamma) \in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$, where $\omega$ and $\gamma$ satisfy $$\begin{aligned} D\omega +\pi^*\gamma & = \ast_1^{-1}\left(\ast_1 (D\omega_1+\pi^*\gamma_1) \wedge \ast_1(D\omega_2+\pi^*\gamma_2)\right)\\ \pi_*\omega & = \pi_* \circ \ast_1^{-1} \left( \ast_1 \kappa_1 \wedge \ast_1 (D\omega_2)\right)+(*\gamma_1)\pi_*\omega_2+(*\gamma_2)\pi_*\omega_1.\end{aligned}$$ Here $\kappa_1 \in \Omega^{n-1}(S^*V)^{tr}$ is any form such that $d\kappa_1=D\omega_1$. The convolution extends to a partially defined convolution on the space $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ as follows. The space $\mathcal{D}_*(S^*V)$ admits a bigrading $$\mathcal{D}_*(S^*V)=\bigoplus_{k=0}^n \bigoplus_{l=0}^{n-1} \mathcal{D}_{k,l}(S^*V),$$ and for $T \in\mathcal{D}_*(S^*V)$, we denote by $[T]_{k,l}$ the component of bidegree $(k,l)$. We consider now the $\operatorname{GL}(V)$-module of translation-invariant currents $\mathcal D(S^*V)^{tr}=\mathcal D(V)^{tr} \otimes \mathcal D(\mathbb P_+(V^*))$. One has the natural identification $\mathcal D_k(V)^{tr}=\Omega^{n-k}(V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V)$, and a non-degenerate pairing $\mathcal D_k(V)^{tr} \otimes \Omega^k(V)^{tr}\to \operatorname{Dens}(V)$. We define for $T \in \mathcal{D}_{k,l}(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ the element $\ast_1 T \in \mathcal{D}_{n-k,l}(V^*\times \mathbb P_+(V^*))^{tr}$ by $$\langle \ast_1 T,\delta\rangle:=(-1)^{nk+nl+k+{\binom{n}{2}}} \langle T,\ast_{1}^{-1}\delta\rangle \in \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$$ for all $\delta \in \Omega_c^{n-k,l}(V^*\times \mathbb P_+(V^*))^{tr}$. With this definition of $\ast_1$ the diagram $$\xymatrixcolsep{2pc} \xymatrix{\Omega^{k,l}(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \ar[r]^-{*_1} \ar@{_{(}->}[d] & \Omega^{n-k,l}(V^*\times \mathbb P_+(V^*))^{tr} \ar@{_{(}->}[d] \\ \mathcal{D}_{n-k,n-l-1}(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V)\otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)\ar[r]^-{*_1}& \mathcal{D}_{k,n-l-1}(V^*\times \mathbb P_+(V^*))^{tr}}$$ commutes. Equivalently, $$\ast_1 \left([[S^*V]] \llcorner \gamma\right)=[[S^*V]] \llcorner \ast_1 \gamma$$ for all $\gamma \in \Omega(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$. Clearly we have $\operatorname{WF}(\ast_{1} T)=\operatorname{WF}(T)$ for $T\in \mathcal{D}(S^*V)^{tr}$ Without the choice of an orientation and a Euclidean scalar product, we may intrinsically define $A_{v,N} \in \mathcal D_{k,n-1-k}(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{or}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ as follows. Let $v \in \Lambda^k_s V$ and let $N \subset \mathbb P_+(V^*)$ be an $(n-1-k)$-dimensional, geodesically convex polytope contained in $v^\perp \cap \mathbb P_+(V^*)$. Then define $$\langle A_{v,N}, \pi_1^*\gamma \wedge \pi_2^* \delta \otimes \sigma \otimes \epsilon \rangle= \int_V \langle x^*\omega, v\rangle d\sigma(x)\int_{N_\epsilon} \delta$$ for $\gamma \in \Omega_c^k(V), \delta \in \Omega^{n-k-1}(\mathbb P_+(V^*)), \epsilon\in\operatorname{or}(V)$ and $\sigma \in \operatorname{Dens}(V)$. Here $N_\epsilon$ equals $N$ with a choice of orientation such that the orientation of the pair $(v,N_\epsilon)$ is induced by $\epsilon$. Given a Euclidean trivialization, this reduces to the previous definition of $A_{v,N}$. \[lemma\_filling\_current\] Given a Legendrian cycle $T\in\mathcal{D}_{n-k,k-1}(S^*V)^{tr}$ with $1\leq k\leq n-1$, there exists $\tilde{T} \in \mathcal{D}_{n-k,k}(S^*V)^{tr}$ with $T=\partial \tilde{T}$ and $\operatorname{WF}(\tilde{T})=\operatorname{WF}(T)$. Let us use a Euclidean scalar product and an orientation on $V$. Then we may identify $\operatorname{Dens}(V) \cong \mathbb{C}, \operatorname{or}(V) \cong \mathbb{C}, S^*V \cong SV=V \times S^{n-1}$. Let $\phi \in \operatorname{Val}_{k}^{-\infty}(V)$ be the valuation represented by $(T,0)$. Choose a sequence $\phi_j \in \operatorname{Val}_k^\infty(V)$ such that $\phi_j \to \phi$. Let $\omega_j \in \Omega^{k,n-k-1}(SV)^{tr}=\Omega^{n-k-1}(S^{n-1}) \otimes \Lambda^kV^*$ be a form representing $\phi_j$ and such that $D\omega_j=d\omega_j$. Note that $\mathcal{D}_{n-k,k-1}(SV)^{tr}=\mathcal{D}_{k-1}(S^{n-1}) \otimes \Lambda^{n-k} V$. Then $d\omega_j \in \Omega^{n-k}(S^{n-1}) \otimes \Lambda^kV^* \subset \mathcal{D}_{k-1}(S^{n-1}) \otimes \Lambda^{n-k}V$ converges weakly to $T$. Let $G:\Omega^*(S^{n-1}) \to \Omega^*(S^{n-1})$ denote the Green operator on $S^{n-1}$ and $\delta:\Omega^*(S^{n-1}) \to \Omega^{*-1}(S^{n-1})$ the codifferential. We define $\beta_j:=G(d\omega_j) \in \Omega^{n-k}(S^{n-1}) \otimes \Lambda^{n-k}V$, i.e. $\Delta \beta_j=d\omega_j$. Then $\Delta d\beta_j=d\Delta \beta_j=0$, hence $d\beta_j$ is harmonic, which implies that $\delta d\beta_j=0$. We define $$\tilde T:=(-1)^{n+k}\lim_{j \to \infty} [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \delta\beta_j \in \mathcal{D}_k(S^{n-1}) \otimes \Lambda^{n-k}V \subset \mathcal{D}_{n-k,k}(SV)^{tr}.$$ Then $$\partial \tilde T = \lim_j [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner d \delta\beta_j = \lim_j [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \Delta \beta_j=\lim_j [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner d\omega_j =T.$$ From $\tilde T=\delta \circ G(T)$ and , we infer that $\operatorname{WF}(\tilde T) \subset \operatorname{WF}(T)$. Conversely, from we deduce that $\operatorname{WF}(T)=\operatorname{WF}(\partial \tilde{T}) \subset \operatorname{WF}(\tilde T)$. Recall that $ s:S^*V \to S^*V$ is the antipodal map. Let $\phi_j \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*), E(\phi_j)=:(T_j,C_j)$, $j=1,2$. We call $\phi_1,\phi_2$ transversal if $$\operatorname{WF}(T_1) \cap s(\operatorname{WF}(T_2)) = \emptyset.$$ \[prop\_def\_convolution\] Let $\phi_j \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$, $j=1,2$ be transversal and $(T_j,C_j):=E(\phi_j), j=1,2$. Decompose $T_j=t_j+T'_j$, where $t_j=\alpha_j \pi^*([[V]] \llcorner \operatorname{vol}_n) \otimes \operatorname{vol}_n^* \in \mathcal{D}_{0,n-1}(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \Lambda^n V^*$ is the corresponding $(0,n-1)$-component, and let $\tilde T_1 \in \mathcal{D}_n(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \Lambda^n V^*$ be a current such that $\partial \tilde T_1=T'_1$ and $\operatorname{WF}(\tilde T_1)=\operatorname{WF}(T_1)$, guaranteed to exist by Lemma \[lemma\_filling\_current\]. Then the currents $$\begin{aligned} T & :=\ast_1^{-1}\left(\ast_1T_1 \cap \ast_1T_2\right)\\ C & :=\pi_*\left(\ast_1^{-1}\left(\ast_1\tilde{T}_1 \cap \ast_1 T'_2\right)\right)+\alpha_1C_2+\alpha_2C_1\end{aligned}$$ are independent of the choice of $\tilde T_1$ and satisfy the conditions . Note first that $\partial$ commutes (up to sign) with $*_1$ on translation invariant currents. By , $T$ equals (up to sign) the boundary of the $n$-current $S:=\ast_1^{-1}\left(\ast_1 \tilde T_1 \cap \ast_1T_2\right)$. In particular, $T$ is a cycle. Moreover, $\pi_*T= \pm \partial \pi_* S=0$, since $\pi_*S$ is a translation invariant $n$-current, hence a multiple of the integration current on $V$ which has no boundary. For the same reason, $\partial C=0$, hence the condition $\pi_*T=\partial C$ is trivially satisfied. Note that whenever $Q \in \mathcal{D}_n(S^*V)$ is a boundary, then $\pi_*Q=0$. Indeed, let $Q=\partial R$ and $\rho \in \Omega^n_c(V)$. Then $$\label{eq_push_forward_boundary} \langle \pi_*Q,\rho\rangle=\langle Q,\pi^*\rho\rangle=\langle \partial R,\pi^* \rho\rangle=\langle R,\pi^* d\rho\rangle=0.$$ By Lemma \[lemma\_filling\_current\], there exists a translation invariant $n$-current $\tilde T_2$ with $\partial \tilde T_2=T_2'$. Suppose that $\partial \tilde T_1=\partial \hat T_1=T_1'$ for two $n$-currents $\tilde T_1$ and $\hat T_1$. Then the $n$-current $Q:=*_1^{-1} \left(*_1(\tilde T_1-\hat T_1) \cap *_1 T_2'\right)$ is (up to a sign) the boundary of the $(n+1)$-current $R:=*_1^{-1} \left(*_1(\tilde T_1-\hat T_1) \cap *_1 \tilde T_2\right)$. By , it follows that $\pi_*Q=0$, which shows that $C$ is independent of the choice of $\tilde T_1$. Let us finally show that $T$ is Legendrian. Fix sequences $(\phi_j^i)_i$ of smooth and translation invariant valuations converging to $\phi_j, j=1,2$. Let $\phi_j^i$ be represented by the forms $(\omega_j^i, \gamma_j^i)$. Then $E(\phi_j^i)=(T_j^i, C_j^i)$ is given by the formulas , and hence $\phi_1^i * \phi_2^i$ is represented by the current $T^i=[[S^*V]] \llcorner s^*\kappa^i$, with $$\label{eq_conv_smooth} s^*\kappa^i:=\ast_1^{-1}(\ast_1 s^*(D\omega_1^i+\pi^*\gamma_1^i) \wedge \ast_1 s^*(D\omega_2^i+\pi^* \gamma_2^i)).$$ It is easily checked that $\kappa^i$ is a horizontal, closed $n$-form (compare also [@bernig_fu06 Eq. (37)]). It follows that $T^i$ is Legendrian. Note that $ [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^*(D\omega_j^i+\pi^*\gamma_j)$ converges to $T_j$. By the definition of the intersection current, $[[S^*V]] \llcorner s^*\kappa^i$ converges to $T$ and hence $T$ is Legendrian. \[def\_convolution\] In the same situation, the convolution product $\phi_1 * \phi_2 \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$ is defined as $\phi_1 * \phi_2:=E^{-1}(T,C)$. If $\phi_1,\phi_2 \in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \subset \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$, then the convolution of Definition \[def\_convolution\] coincides with the convolution from [@bernig_fu06]. For $\phi_j \in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V)$ given by the pairs $(\omega_j, \gamma_j)\in \Omega^{n-1}(S^*V)^{tr} \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V)$, the corresponding currents are $E(\phi_{j})=([[S^*V]] \llcorner s^*(D\omega_j+\pi^*\gamma_j), [[V]] \llcorner \pi_*\omega_j)$. We consider two cases: If $\omega_1=0$ and $\gamma_1=c\cdot \operatorname{vol}$, then $\phi_1=c \cdot \operatorname{vol}$, and $\phi_1 \ast \phi_2=c\phi_2$ by the original definition of convolution. By the new definition, $E(\phi_1)=([[S^*V]] \llcorner \pi^* \gamma_1,0)$, and $$\ast_1 \pi^* \gamma_1=c \in \Omega^0(V\times S^{n-1}).$$ Write $$\phi_1 \ast \phi_2=E^{-1}( [[S^*V]] \llcorner \pi^*\gamma_1,0) \ast E^{-1}(0,C_2)+E^{-1}( [[S^*V]] \llcorner \pi^*\gamma_1,0) \ast E^{-1}(T_2,0).$$ If $E^{-1}(0,C_2)=\lambda\chi$, by definition the first summand equals $c\lambda\chi=cE^{-1}(0,C_2)$. The second summand is $c\cdot E^{-1}(T_2,0)$, and so $\phi_1 \ast \phi_2=c E^{-1}(T_2,C_2)=c \phi_2$, as required. In the remaining case, we may assume $\gamma_1=\gamma_2=0$, so $E(\phi_{j})=( [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^{*}D\omega_{j}, [[V]] \llcorner \pi_{*}\omega_{j})$. Moreover, we may assume that $d\omega_{1},d\omega_{2}$ are vertical. The original definition of convolution gives $E(\phi_{1}\ast\phi_{2})=( [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* D\omega, [[V]] \llcorner \pi_* \omega)$ with $$\begin{aligned} \omega & =\ast_1^{-1}\left(\ast_1 \omega_1 \wedge \ast_1 D\omega_2\right)\\ D\omega & =\ast_1^{-1}\left(\ast_1 D\omega_1 \wedge \ast_1 D\omega_2\right).\end{aligned}$$ Since $[E^{-1}([[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* D\omega_j,0)]_{n}=[\nu(\omega_{j},0)]_n=0$, it remains to verify that by the new definition, $$E^{-1}([[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* D\omega_1,0) \ast E^{-1}( [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* D\omega_2,0)=E^{-1}( [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* D\omega, [[V]] \llcorner \pi_* \omega).$$ By homogeneity, we may assume that $\deg \omega_1=(k,n-1-k)$ and $\deg\omega_{2}=(l,n-1-l)$. If $k+l<n$ then by dimensional considerations $\omega=0$. If $k+l>n$ then $\pi_* \omega=0$, and the new definition of convolution gives $$E(\phi_1 \ast \phi_2) =\left( [[S^*V]] \llcorner \ast_1^{-1}\left((\ast_1s^*D\omega_1) \wedge (\ast_1 s^* D\omega_2)\right),0\right)=\left( [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* D\omega,0\right)$$ as required. Finally, if $k+l=n$, then $1 \leq k \leq n-1$, $D\omega=0$, and by the new definition $T(\phi_1 \ast \phi_2)=0$. Since $T_1= [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* d\omega_1$ and $\omega_1\in\Omega^{n-1}(S^*V)$, using one can take $\tilde{T}_1=(-1)^n [[S^*V]] \llcorner s^* \omega_1$. Using , the fact that the operations $s^* $, $\ast_1$ and $[[S^*V]]\llcorner$ commute, while $\pi_* \circ s^*=(-1)^n \pi_*$, we obtain $$\begin{aligned} C(\phi_1 \ast \phi_2) & =(-1)^n \pi_* \left( [[S^*V]] \llcorner \ast_1^{-1}(\ast_1 s^* \omega_1 \wedge \ast_1 s^* d\omega_2)\right)\\ & =(-1)^n \pi_* ([[S^*V]] \llcorner s^*\omega)\\ & =(-1)^n [[V]] \llcorner \pi_* s^*\omega\\ & =[[V]] \llcorner \pi_* \omega,\end{aligned}$$ completing the verification. \[prop\_continuity\] Let $\Gamma_1,\Gamma_2 \subset S^*(S^*V)$ be closed sets with $\Gamma_1 \cap s\Gamma_2 = \emptyset$ and set $$\Gamma:=\Gamma_1 \cup \Gamma_2 \cup \left\{(x,[\xi],[\eta_1+\eta_2]):(x,[\xi]) \in S^*V, (x,[\xi],[\eta_1]) \in \Gamma_1, (x,[\xi],[\eta_2]) \in \Gamma_2 \right\}.$$ Then the convolution is a (jointly sequentially) continuous map $$\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma_1}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \times \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma_2}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*) \to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_\Gamma(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*).$$ In the notations of Proposition \[prop\_def\_convolution\], we have $\operatorname{WF}(*_1 \tilde T_1)=\operatorname{WF}(\tilde T_1) \subset \operatorname{WF}(T_1) \subset \Gamma_1$ and $\operatorname{WF}(*_1 T_2')=\operatorname{WF}(T_2') \subset \operatorname{WF}(T_2) \subset \Gamma_2$. Since the intersection of currents is a jointly sequentially continuous map $\mathcal{D}_{*,\Gamma_1}(S^*V) \times \mathcal{D}_{*,\Gamma_2}(S^*V) \to \mathcal{D}_{*,\Gamma}(S^*V)$, the statement follows. Whenever it is defined, the convolution is commutative and associative. Let $\phi_j \in \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma_i}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*), j=1,2$. By Lemma \[lemma\_density\_smooth\] there exist sequences $\phi_j^i \in \operatorname{Val}^\infty(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*), j=1,2$ converging to $\phi_j$ in $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma_j}(V) \otimes \operatorname{Dens}(V^*)$. By Proposition \[prop\_continuity\], $\phi_1^i * \phi_2^i$ converges to $\phi_1 * \phi_2$ in $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma}(V)$, while $\phi_2^i * \phi_1^i$ converges to $\phi_2 * \phi_1$. Since the convolution on smooth valuations is commutative, it follows that $\phi_1 * \phi_2=\phi_2 * \phi_1$. For associativity, let $\Gamma_1,\Gamma_2,\Gamma_3 \subset S^*(S^*V)$ be closed sets such that if $(x,[\xi]) \in S^*V, (x,[\xi],[\eta_i]) \in \Gamma_i, i=1,2,3$, then $$\eta_1+\eta_2 \neq 0, \eta_1+\eta_3 \neq 0, \eta_2+\eta_3 \neq 0, \eta_1+\eta_2+\eta_3 \neq 0.$$ One easily checks that both maps $\operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma_1}(V) \times \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma_2}(V) \times \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}_{\Gamma_3}(V) \to \operatorname{Val}^{-\infty}(V)$ are well-defined. An approximation argument as above shows that they agree. The volume current on the sphere {#sec:Appendix} ================================ The aim of the section is the construction of a certain family of currents on the sphere, which can be used to compute the volume of the convex hull of two polytopes on the sphere. This can be viewed as a generalization of the Gauss formula for area in the plane. The construction in this section uses tools from geometric measure theory, and is independent of the rest of the paper. It is used in the next section for the proof of the second main theorem. A geodesically convex polytope on $S^{n-1}$ is the intersection of a proper convex closed polyhedral cone in $V$ with $S^{n-1}$. We let $\mathcal{P}(S^{n-1})$ denote the set of oriented geodesically convex polytopes on $S^{n-1}$. For $I \in \mathcal{P}(S^{n-1})$ of dimension $k$, denote by $E_I=\operatorname{Span}_V I\cap S^{n-1}$ the $k$-dimensional equator that it spans. For $I,J \subset S^{n-1}$ geodesically convex polytopes, we let $\operatorname{conv}(I,J) \subset S^{n-1}$ denote the union of all shortest geodesic intervals having an endpoint in $I$ and an endpoint in $J$. If $\dim I+\dim J=n-2$, both $I,J$ are oriented and $E_I \cap E_J=\emptyset$, one has a natural orientation on $\operatorname{conv}(I,J)$, by comparing the orientation of $\operatorname{Span}_V(I) \oplus \operatorname{Span}_V(J)=V$ with the orientation of $V$. The geodesically convex polytope $-I$ is oriented in such a way that the antipodal map $I \mapsto -I$ is orientation preserving. Note that $\partial(-I)=-\partial I$ whenever $\dim I>0$, while when $\dim I=0$ we have $\partial (-I)=\partial I$. Here and in the following, $\partial$ denotes the extended singular boundary operator, i.e. for a positively oriented point $I$ we have $\partial I=1$. If $\epsilon=\pm 1$, we write $\operatorname{conv}(I,\epsilon)=I^\epsilon$, where $I^{-1}$ denotes orientation reversal. We denote $A_{n-1}(I,J):=\operatorname{vol}_{n-1}(\operatorname{conv}(I,J))$ provided that $(-I)\cap J=\emptyset$. Note that whenever the orientation of $\operatorname{conv}(I,J)$ is not well-defined, it is a set of volume zero. Note also that $A_{n-1}$ is a partially-defined bi-valuation in $I,J$, so we may extend $A_{n-1}$ as a partially-defined bilinear functional on chains of polytopes. \[lemma\_cancellation\] Let $J \subset S^{n-1}$ be an oriented geodesically convex polytope of dimension $k$. Suppose it does not intersect $\operatorname{Span}_{{\mathbb{R}}^n}(I) \cap S^{n-1}$ for all $I \in \partial n_{F}$, for all $F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)$. Let $\omega \in \Omega_c^k(\mathbb{R}^{n})$. Then $$\label{eq:conjecture} \sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} \langle \ [v_F],\omega\rangle A_{n-1}(-\partial n_F,J)=0.$$ Remark: Note that if $-\partial n_F=\sum_j I_j$ is the decomposition of $\partial n_F$ into geodesically convex polytopes, then by definition $$A_{n-1}(-\partial n_F,J)=\sum A_{n-1}(I_{j},J)$$ is the sum of the oriented volumes. Note also that in formula (\[eq:conjecture\]) the orientation of $F$ in each summand appears twice, and so the summands are well-defined. For $k=n-1$, this is the well-known statement that $$\sum_{F\in\mathcal{F}_{n-1}(P)} [v_F]=0,$$ where the orientation is given by fixing the outer normals to $P$. Now for $k<n-1$, fix an arbitrary orientation for all faces of dimension $k$ and $(k+1)$. For a pair of faces $F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)$, $G \in \mathcal{F}_{k+1}(P)$, s.t. $F \subset \partial G$, define $\mathrm{sign}(F,G)=\pm 1$ according to the orientation. Then $$A_{n-1}(-\partial n_F,J)=\sum_{G\supset F} A_{n-1}(-n_G,J)\mathrm{sign}(F,G),$$ where the sum is over all $G \in \mathcal{F}_{k+1}(P)$ containing $F$ in their boundary, and therefore $$\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} \langle [v_F],\omega\rangle A_{n-1}(-\partial n_F,J) = \sum_{G \in \mathcal{F}_{k+1}(P)} A_{n-1}(-n_{G},J) \sum_{F \subset G}\mathrm{sign}(F,G)\langle [v_F],\omega\rangle,$$ but the internal sum is obviously zero by the case $k=n-1$. \[lemma\_symmetry\] Let $I,J \subset S^{n-1}$ be oriented, geodesically convex polytopes with $\dim I=k$, $\dim J=n-1-k$, such that $J \cap E_I=\emptyset$. Then $$A_{n-1}(\partial I,J)= (-1)^k A_{n-1}(I,\partial J).$$ Let us consider $I,J$ as singular cycles, such that the singular boundary operator on an oriented point equals its sign. Denote $\partial I=\sum_i I_i$, $\partial J=\sum_j J_j$, where $I_i,J_j$ are geodesically convex. Choose any point $x \in S^{n-1}$ outside $I \cup J$, and let $H=S^{n-1} \setminus\{x\}$. Choose a form $\beta \in \Omega^{n-2}(H)$ such that $d\beta=\operatorname{vol}_{n-1}$. Then $$\partial \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J)=\operatorname{conv}(\partial I_{i},J)+ (-1)^k\sum_j \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J_{j}),$$ and since $\partial^{2}=0$, we can write $$\partial\sum_i \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J)= (-1)^k \sum_{i,j} \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J_{j}).$$ Similarly, $$\partial \sum_j \operatorname{conv}(I,J_{j})=\sum_{i,j} \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J_{j}).$$ Therefore $$\begin{aligned} A_{n-1}(\partial I,J) & = \left\langle \operatorname{vol}_{n-1}, \sum_i \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J)\right\rangle\\ & = \left\langle \beta,\partial \sum_i \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J)\right\rangle\\ & = (-1)^k\left\langle\beta,\sum_i \sum_j \operatorname{conv}(I_{i},J_{j})\right\rangle\\ & = (-1)^k A_{n-1}(I,\partial J),\end{aligned}$$ concluding the proof. The following proposition is the main result of this section. It shows that in fact $A_{n-1}$ can be uniquely extended as a bilinear functional on all chains. \[prop\_volume\_current\] Given $I \in \mathcal{P}(S^{n-1})$ of dimension $k$, where $0 \leq k \leq n-2$, there exists a unique $L^1$-integrable form $\omega_I \in \Omega^{n-k-2}(S^{n-1} \setminus I)$, such that for any $J \in \mathcal{P}(S^{n-1})$ of dimension $(n-k+2)$ with $J \cap I=\emptyset$ one has $$\label{eq_omegaI} \int_J \omega_I=A_{n-1}(-I,J).$$ The current $T_I \in \mathcal{D}_{k+1}(S^{n-1})$ with $$\langle T_I,\phi\rangle:=\int_{S^{n-1}} \omega_I \wedge \phi, \quad \phi \in \Omega^{k+1}(S^{n-1})$$ has the following properties: 1. $T_I$ is additive (i.e. $T_I=T_{I_1}+T_{I_2}$ whenever $I=I_1 \cup I_2$ with geodesically convex polytopes $I_1,I_2$ such that $I_1 \cap I_2$ is a common face of $I_1$ and $I_2$); 2. the singular support of $T_I$ equals $I$; 3. If $k>0$, then $$\label{eq_boundary_T_I} \partial T_I= (-1)^{nk+1} \operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1})[[I]]+ (-1)^{n+1} T_{\partial I},$$ where $[[I]] \in \mathcal{D}_k(S^{n-1})$ is the $k$-current of integration over $I$; 4. If $k=0$, $$\partial T_I=-\operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1})[[I]]+(-1)^nT_{\partial I},$$ where we adopt the convention $\omega_{\pm 1}:=\mp \operatorname{vol}_{n-1} \in \Omega^{n-1}(S^{n-1}), T_{\pm 1}=\mp [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \operatorname{vol}_{n-1} \in \mathcal{D}_0(S^{n-1})$. Then holds also for $I=\pm 1$. *Step 1.* Define for $v\in S^{n-1}$ the hemisphere $H_v:=\{p\in S^{n-1}: \langle p,v\rangle>0\}$. Let $W \subset (S^{n-1})^n$ be the set of $n$-tuples $(p_1,...,p_n)$ belonging to some $H_v$. Define $F: W \to {\mathbb{R}}$ by $F(p_1,...p_n)=\operatorname{vol}_{n-1}(\Delta(p_1,...,p_n))$, the oriented volume of the geodesic simplex $\Delta(p_1,\ldots,p_n)$ with vertices $p_1,\ldots,p_n$. $F$ is well defined and smooth, since all $p_j$ lie in one hemisphere. For two non-antipodal points $q,p \in S^{n-1}$, we define $$\omega_{q,p} \in \Lambda^k T ^*_qS^{n-1} \otimes \Lambda^{n-k-2} T ^*_qS^{n-1}$$ by setting, for $u_1,\ldots,u_k \in T_q S^{n-1}$, $v_1,\ldots,v_{n-k-2}\in T_p S^{n-1}$ $$\begin{gathered} \omega_{q,p}(u_1,\ldots,u_k,v_1,\ldots,v_{n-k-2})\\ :=\left.\frac{d^{n-2}}{ds^k dt^{n-k-2}}\right|_{s,t=0} F(q, \gamma_1(s) ,\ldots,\gamma_k(s),p,\delta_1(t),\ldots,\delta_{n-k-2}(t)),\end{gathered}$$ where $\gamma_i$ resp. $\delta_j$ are any smooth curves through $q$ resp. $p$ such that $\gamma_i'(0)=u_i$, $\delta_j'(0)=v_j$. It is immediate that the definition is independent of the choice of such curves, and that $\omega_{q,p}$ defines a unique element $\omega\in \Omega^{k,n-k-2}(S^{n-1}\times S^{n-1}\setminus \overline\Delta)$, where $ \overline\Delta=\{(q,-q):q\in S^{n-1}\} \subset S^{n-1} \times S^{n-1}$ denotes the skew-diagonal. Note that $$\begin{gathered} F(q,\gamma_1(\epsilon),\ldots,\gamma_k(\epsilon),p,\delta_1(\epsilon),\ldots,\delta_{n-k-2}(\epsilon))\\ =\frac{1}{k!(n-k-2)!}\omega_{q,p}(u_1,\ldots,u_k,v_1,\ldots,v_{n-k-2})\epsilon^{n-2}+o(\epsilon^{n-2}). \end{gathered}$$ Given an oriented geodesic $k$-dimensional polytope $I\subset S^{n-1}$, define $\omega_I \in \Omega^{n-k-2}(S^{n-1}\setminus I)$ by $$\omega_I\big|_p=\int_I\omega_{-q,p}dq.$$ Let us verify that $\int_J \omega_I=A_{n-1}(-I,J)$ for an $(n-k-2)$-dimensional geodesic polytope $J$ such that $J\cap I=\emptyset$. Since both sides are additive in both $I,J$, we may assume that $I,J$ are geodesic simplices. We may further assume that there are vector fields $U_1,\ldots,U_k$ on $-I$ that are orthonormal and tangent to $-I$, and $V_1,\ldots,V_{n-k-2}$ on $J$ orthonormal and tangent to $J$. These vector fields define flow curves on $-I,J$. For $\epsilon>0$ one can use those curves to define a grid on $-I$, resp. $J$ denoted $\{-q_i\}$ resp. $\{p_j\}$, defining parallelograms $-Q_i$ resp. $P_j$ of volumes $\epsilon^k+o(\epsilon^k)$ resp. $\epsilon^{n-k-2}+o(\epsilon^{n-k-2})$. Note that the volume of the convex hull of two $\epsilon$-simplices is equal, up to $o(\epsilon^{n-2})$, to $\frac{1}{k!(n-k-2)!}$ times the volume of the convex hull of the corresponding parallelograms. Thus the total volume is given by $$\begin{aligned} A(-I,J) & =\sum A(-Q_i,P_j)\\ & =\sum _{i,j}\left(\omega_{-q_i,p_j}(U_1,\ldots,U_k,V_1,\ldots,V_{n-k-2})\epsilon^{n-2}+o(\epsilon^{n-2})\right)\\ & =\int_{(-I)\times J}\omega +o(1).\end{aligned}$$ Taking $\epsilon\to 0$, this proves the claim. *Step 2.* Let $J \subset S^{n-1}\setminus I$ be a geodesic polytope of dimension $(n-k-1)$. Then $$\begin{aligned} \int_J d\omega_I & = \int_{\partial J} \omega_I\\ & = A_{n-1}(-I,\partial J) \\ & = (-1)^k A_{n-1}(-\partial I,J) \quad \text{ by Lemma \ref{lemma_symmetry}} \\ & = (-1)^k \int_J \omega_{\partial I}.\end{aligned}$$ It follows that on $S^{n-1} \setminus I$ we have $$d\omega_I= (-1)^k \omega_{\partial I}.$$ *Step 3.* Let us verify that $\omega_I$ is an integrable section of $\Omega^{n-k-2}(S^{n-1} \setminus I)$, and therefore admits a unique extension to all of $S^{n-1}$ as a current of finite mass. Introduce spherical coordinates $$\begin{aligned} \Phi_n:[0,2\pi] \times [0,\pi]^{n-2} & \to S^{n-1}\\ (\theta_0,\theta_1,\ldots,\theta_{n-2}) & \mapsto \Phi_n(\theta_0,\theta_1,\ldots,\theta_{n-2}),\end{aligned}$$ which are inductively defined by $$\begin{aligned} \Phi_2(\theta_0) & :=(\cos \theta_0,\sin \theta_0),\\ \Phi_n(\theta_0,\theta_1,\ldots,\theta_{n-2}) & := \left(\sin \theta_{n-2} \Phi_{n-1}(\theta_0,\theta_1,\ldots,\theta_{n-3}),\cos \theta_{n-2}\right).\end{aligned}$$ Note that $\theta_{n-2}$ is defined on the whole sphere $S^{n-1}$ and smooth outside $\{\theta_{n-2}=0,\pi\}=S^0$, while for $i>0$, $\theta_{n-2-i}$ is undefined in $\{\theta_{n-1-i}=0,\pi\} \cup \{\theta_{n-1-i}\text{ undefined}\}=S^{i}$, and constitutes a coordinate outside $\{\theta_{n-2-i}=0,\pi\}$. The volume form of $S^{n-1}$ is given by $$\operatorname{vol}_{n-1}=\prod_{i=0}^{n-3} \sin^{n-2-i} \theta_{n-2-i} \bigwedge_{i=0}^{n-2} d\theta_{n-2-i}.$$ Define for $0 \leq i\leq n-2$ the vector fields $$X_{n-2-i}=\frac{1}{\prod_{j=0}^{i-1}\sin^{n-2-j}\theta_{n-2-j}}\frac{\partial}{\partial\theta_{n-2-i}}.$$ The vector field $X_{n-2-i}$ is well defined outside the set $\{\theta_{n-2-i}=0,\pi\}$. Whenever two such vector fields are defined, they are pairwise orthonormal. Now $\omega_I$ is integrable if $$\int_{S^{n-1}} |\omega_I(X_{i_1},\ldots,X_{i_{n-k-2}})| \operatorname{vol}_{n-1}<\infty$$ for all $i_1,\ldots,i_{n-k-2}$. Let $j_1,\ldots,j_{k+1}$ be the indices not appearing in $\{i_1,\ldots,i_{n-k-2}\}$. We consider the common level sets $C=C(\theta_{j_1},\ldots,\theta_{j_{k+1}})$, with volume element $\sigma_C$, so that $$\operatorname{vol}_{n-1}=\left(\prod_{l=1}^{k+1}\sin^{j_l}\theta_{j_l}\wedge_{l=1}^{k+1} d\theta_{j_l}\right)\wedge \sigma_C.$$ Then $$\begin{aligned} \int_{S^{n-1}} & |\omega_{I}(X_{i_1},\ldots,X_{i_{n-k-2}})| \operatorname{vol}_{n-1} \\ & =\int_{\theta_{j_1},\ldots,\theta_{j_{k+1}}} \prod_{l=1}^{k+1} \sin^{j_l}\theta_{j_l} \prod_{l=1}^{k+1}d\theta_{j_l} \int_{C(\theta_{j_1},\ldots,\theta_{j_{k+1}})}|\omega_I(X_{i_1},\ldots,X_{i_{n-k-2}})| \sigma_C.\end{aligned}$$ While $C(\theta_{j_{1}},...,\theta_{j_{k+1}})$ is not a geodesic polytope in $S^{n-1}$, it nevertheless holds by the definition of $\omega_I$ that the internal integral is bounded by the total area of the sphere. Thus the entire integral is finite. We can therefore define the current $T_I \in \mathcal{D}_{k+1}(S^{n-1})$ by $$\langle T_I,\phi\rangle := \int_{S^{n-1} \setminus I} \omega_I \wedge \phi, \quad \phi \in \Omega^{n-k-2}(S^{n-1}).$$ *Step 4.* We prove by induction on $k$. For the induction base $k=0$, recall that $T_1=-[[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \operatorname{vol}_{n-1}, \omega_1=-\operatorname{vol}_{n-1}$. The $0$-dimensional geodesic polytope $I$ is just a point, which we may suppose to be positively oriented. Then $-I$ is the positively oriented antipodal point. Let $S^{n-1}_\epsilon$ be the sphere $S^{n-1}$ minus the geodesic ball of radius $\epsilon$ centered at $I$. For $g \in C^{\infty}(S^{n-1})$, we compute $$\begin{aligned} \langle \partial T_I,g\rangle & = \langle T_I,dg\rangle\\ & = \int_{S^{n-1} \setminus \{I\}} \omega_I \wedge dg\\ & = \lim_{\epsilon \to 0} \int_{S^{n-1}_\epsilon} \omega_I \wedge dg\\ & = \lim_{\epsilon \to 0} \left[ (-1)^{n+1}\int_{S^{n-1}_\epsilon} d\omega_I \wedge g+ (-1)^n\int_{\partial S^{n-1}_\epsilon} \omega_I \wedge g\right]\\ & = (-1)^{n+1} \int_{S^{n-1}} g \operatorname{vol}_{n-1}+ (-1)^n \lim_{\epsilon \to 0} \int_{\partial S^{n-1}_\epsilon} \omega_I \wedge g.\end{aligned}$$ The boundary of $S^{n-1}_\epsilon$ is an $(n-2)$-dimensional geodesic sphere around $I$. Since $\int_{\partial S^{n-1}_\epsilon} \omega_I=A_{n-1}(-I, \partial S_\epsilon^{n-1})=(-1)^{n-1}\operatorname{vol}S^{n-1}_\epsilon$ (note that Lemma (\[lemma\_symmetry\]) does not apply here, as $S_\epsilon$ is not geodesically convex), the second integral tends to $(-1)^{n-1}g(I)$ times the volume of $S^{n-1}$. It follows that $$\partial T_I= -\operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1}) [[I]]+ (-1)^{n} T_1,$$ as claimed. *Step 5.* Suppose now that $k>0$ and that holds for all polytopes of dimension strictly smaller than $k$. Define the current $U_I:= \partial T_I+(-1)^n T_{\partial I} \in \mathcal{D}_k(S^{n-1})$. By step 2 and equation , $U_I$ is supported on $I$. We have to show that $U_I= (-1)^{nk+1} \operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1}) [[I]]$. Choose a family of closed neighborhoods $I_\epsilon$ with smooth boundary such that $I_\epsilon$ converges to $I$ as $\epsilon \to 0$. Define currents $T_{I,\epsilon}, V_{I,\epsilon}, U_{I,\epsilon}$ on $S^{n-1}$ by $$\begin{aligned} \langle T_{I,\epsilon},\phi\rangle & := \int_{S^{n-1} \setminus I_\epsilon} \omega_I \wedge \phi, \quad \phi \in \Omega^{k+1}(S^{n-1}),\\ \langle V_{I,\epsilon},\phi\rangle & := \int_{S^{n-1} \setminus I_\epsilon} \omega_{\partial I} \wedge \phi,\quad \phi \in \Omega^k(S^{n-1}),\\ \langle U_{I,\epsilon},\phi\rangle & := (-1)^{n+k} \int_{\partial (S^{n-1} \setminus I_\epsilon)} \omega_I \wedge \phi, \quad \phi \in \Omega^k(S^{n-1}).\end{aligned}$$ By Step 3, $\mathbf{M}(T_{I,\epsilon}-T_I) \to 0, \mathbf{M}(V_{I,\epsilon}-T_{\partial I})\to 0$ as $\epsilon \to 0$. Since $U_{I,\epsilon}$ is given by integration of a smooth form on a compact smooth manifold, it is a normal current (i.e. its mass and the mass of its boundary are finite). By Stokes’ theorem and Step 2, we have $U_{I,\epsilon}= \partial T_{I,\epsilon} + (-1)^n V_{I,\epsilon} $. Therefore $$\mathbf{F}(U_{I,\epsilon}-U_I)=\mathbf{F}(\partial(T_{I,\epsilon}-T_I)+ (-1)^n(V_{I,\epsilon}-T_{\partial I})) \leq \mathbf{M}(T_{I,\epsilon}-T_I)+\mathbf{M}(V_{I,\epsilon}-T_{\partial I}) \to 0.$$ It follows that $U_I$ is a real flat $k$-chain supported on the $k$-dimensional spherical polytope $I$. By induction, we have $\partial T_{\partial I}= (-1)^{nk+n+1}\operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1}) [[\partial I]]$ and hence $\partial U_I= (-1)^n \partial T_{\partial I}= (-1)^{nk+1} \operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1}) [[\partial I]]$. The constancy theorem [@federer_book 4.1.31], [@morgan_book Proposition 4.9] implies that $U_I= (-1)^{nk+1} \operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1}) [[I]]$, as claimed. For further use, we give the following current-theoretic interpretation of . If $\phi \in \Omega^{k+1}_c(S^{n-1} \setminus I)$, then $T_I \cap \left([[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \phi\right) = [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner (\omega_I \wedge \phi)$ and hence $$\langle T_I \cap ([[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \phi),1\rangle=\int_{S^{n-1}} \omega_I \wedge \phi=(-1)^{(n-k-2)(k+1)} \langle [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \phi,\omega_I\rangle.$$ Let $\phi_i \in \Omega^{k+1}_c(S^{n-1} \setminus I)$ be a sequence with $[[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \phi_i \to [[J]]$ in $\mathcal{D}_{n-k-2,\operatorname{WF}([[J]])}(S^{n-1})$ Since $\operatorname{WF}(T_I) \cap s \operatorname{WF}([[J]])=\emptyset$ by the second item, $\langle T_I \cap ([[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \phi_i),1\rangle \to \langle T_I \cap [[J]],1\rangle$, while $\langle [[S^{n-1}]] \llcorner \phi_i, \omega_I\rangle \to \int_J \omega_I=A_{n-1}(-I,J)$. Therefore $$\label{eq_intersection_volume_current} \langle T_I \cap [[J]],1\rangle = (-1)^{n(k+1)} A_{n-1}(-I,J).$$ \[prop\_boundary\_tildet\] Let $P$ be a polytope and let $(T,C):=E(M([P]))$ the associated currents. Decompose $T=t+T'$ as in Proposition \[prop\_def\_convolution\], where $t$ is the $(0,n-1)$-component of $T$ and $T'=\sum_{k=1}^{n-1} \sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} A_{v_F,\check{n}(F,P)}$. Let $$\tilde T:= \frac{1}{\operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1})} \sum_{k=1}^{n-1} (-1)^{nk+k+1}\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} [v_F] \times T_{\check n(F,P)} \in \mathcal{D}_n( SV).$$ Then $$\partial \tilde T=T'.$$ By and Proposition \[prop\_volume\_current\] we have $$\begin{aligned} \partial \tilde{T} & = \frac{1}{\operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1})} \sum_{k=1}^{n-1} (-1)^{nk+k+1} \sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} \partial([v_F] \times T_{\tilde n(F,P)})\\ & = \frac{1}{\operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1})} \sum_{k=1}^{n-1} (-1)^{nk+1} \sum_{F\in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} [v_F] \times \partial T_{\tilde n(F,P)}\\ & =\sum_{k=1}^{n-1} \sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} A_{v_F,\check{n}(F,P)}+\frac{1}{\operatorname{vol}(S^{n-1})} \sum_{k=1}^{n-1} \sum_{F\in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} (-1)^{nk+n} [v_F] \times T_{\partial n_F}.\end{aligned}$$ Let $ 1 \leq k \leq n-1$ be fixed and let $J \subset S^{n-1}$ be a $(k-1)$-dimensional geodesic polytope not intersecting any $\partial n_F$ for $F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)$. Lemma \[lemma\_cancellation\] implies that $$\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} \langle [v_F],\omega\rangle T_{\partial n_F} \cap [[J]] =0$$ for all $\omega \in \Omega_c^k({\mathbb{R}}^n)$. It follows that $\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} [v_F] \times T_{\partial n_F}=0$, and the statement follows. Compatibility of the algebra structures {#sec_compatibility} ======================================= From now on, we fix an orientation and a Euclidean scalar product on $V$ and identify $\operatorname{Dens}(V) \cong \mathbb{C}, \operatorname{or}(V) \cong \mathbb{C}, S^*V \cong SV=V \times S^{n-1}$. It then holds that $$\langle \ast_1 T,\omega\rangle =(-1)^{nk+nl+k}\langle T,\ast_1\omega \rangle$$ for $T\in \mathcal D_{k,l}(S^*V)^{tr}$, $\omega \in \Omega^{k,n-1-l}(S^*V)^{tr}$. \[prop\_star\_product\] Let $v_i \in \Lambda^{k_i}_sV$ and $T_i \in \mathcal{D}_{l_i}(S^{n-1}), i=1,2$ be currents on the sphere such that $T_1 \cap T_2 \in \mathcal{D}_{l_1+l_2-n+1}(S^{n-1})$ is defined. Then $$\ast_1 ([v_1] \times T_1) \cap \ast_1([v_2] \times T_2) = (-1)^{k_1(n-k_2-l_2-1)}\ast_1 \left([v_1 \wedge v_2] \times (T_1 \cap T_2)\right).$$ In particular, for $A_{v_i,N_i} \in Y_{k_i}$ with $N_1$ and $N_2$ being transversal, one has $$\ast_1 A_{v_1,N_1} \cap \ast_1 A_{v_2,N_2}= \ast_1 A_{v_1 \wedge v_2,N_1 \cap N_2}.$$ Let $v \in \Lambda^k_s V, T \in \mathcal{D}_l(S^{n-1})$. We compute for $\gamma_1 \in \Omega_c^{n-k}(V), \gamma_2 \in \Omega_c^l(S^{n-1})$ $$\begin{aligned} \langle \ast_1 ([v] \times T),\pi_1^* \gamma_1 \wedge \pi_2^*\gamma_2\rangle & =(-1)^{nk+nl+k}\langle [v] \times T,\ast_1 (\pi_1^* \gamma_1 \wedge \pi_2^*\gamma_2)\rangle\\ & =(-1)^{nk+nl+k+\binom{k}{2}} \langle [v],\ast \gamma_1\rangle \cdot \langle T,\gamma_2\rangle\\ & =(-1)^{nk+nl+k+\binom{k}{2}+k(n-k)} \langle [\ast v], \gamma_1\rangle \cdot \langle T,\gamma_2\rangle\\ & =(-1)^{\binom{k}{2}+nl} \langle [\ast v] \times T,\pi_1^* \gamma_1 \wedge \pi_2^*\gamma_2\rangle,\end{aligned}$$ i.e. $$\label{eq_star1} \ast_1 ([v] \times T)=(-1)^{\binom{k}{2}+nl} [\ast v] \times T.$$ Let now $v_i \in \Lambda^{k_i}_s V, T_i \in \mathcal{D}_{l_i}(S^{n-1}), i=1,2$. We have $[*v_1] \cap [*v_2]=[*(v_1 \wedge v_2)]$. Using it follows that $$([*v_1] \times T_1) \cap ([*v_2] \times T_2) = (-1)^{k_1(n-1-l_2)} [*(v_1 \wedge v_2)] \times (T_1 \cap T_2).$$ The statement now follows from . Two elements $x,y \in \Pi(V)$ are in general position, if any two normal cones to a pair of faces of $x$ and $y$ are transversal. Given two elements $x,y\in\Pi(V)$ in general position, the convolution $M(x) \ast M(y)$ is well-defined, and $M(x\cdot y)=M(x) \ast M(y)$. By linearity, it suffices to consider $x=[P]$ and $y=[Q]$ for some polytopes $P,Q$. The wavefront of the current $A_{v,N} \in Y_k$ is the conormal bundle to $N$ in $S^{n-1}$. Thus $\operatorname{WF}( A_{v_1,N_1}) \cap \operatorname{WF}( A_{v_2,N_2})=\emptyset$ if and only if for all $x \in N_1 \cap N_2$ we have $$T_x N_1+T_x N_2=T_x S^{n-1},$$ that is, if and only if $N_1$ and $N_2$ are transversal. Recall from Lemma \[lemma\_image\_of\_polytope\] that for $0 \leq k \leq n-1$ $$T(M_{n-k}[P])=\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} A_{v_F,\check{n}(F,P)}.$$ Thus, given $[P],[Q] \in \Pi(V)$ in general position, the normal cones in $S^{n-1}$ have disjoint wavefronts. Let $F$ be a face of $P$ and $G$ a face of $Q$. If $\dim F+\dim G \geq n$ then $\check{n}(F,P) \cap \check{n}(G,Q)=\emptyset$ by transversality. Thus, by Proposition \[prop\_star\_product\] $$\begin{aligned} \ast_1 T(M([P]) \ast M([Q])) & =\sum_{\dim F+\dim G<n} \ast_1 A_{v_F,\check{n}(F,P)} \cap \ast_1 A_{v_G,\check{n}(G,Q)}\\ & =\sum_{\dim F+\dim G<n} \ast_1 A_{v_F \wedge v_G,\check{n}(F,P) \cap \check{n}(G,Q)}\\ & =\ast_1 \sum_{H \in \mathcal{F}(P+Q)} A_{v_H,\check{n}(H,P+Q)},\end{aligned}$$ and so $$T(M[P] * M[Q]) =\sum_{H\in \mathcal{F}(P+Q)} A_{v_{H},\check{n}(H,P+Q)}=T(M[P+Q]).$$ It remains to verify that $C(M[P] \ast M[Q])=C(M[P+Q])$. We set $$T_1=t_1+T_1':=T(M[P]), T_2=t_2+T_2':=T(M[Q])$$ as in Proposition \[prop\_def\_convolution\]. Then $t_1=\sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_0(P)} A_{F,n(F,P)}=\pi^*( [[V]] \llcorner \operatorname{vol}_n)$, hence $\alpha_1=1$. Similarly $\alpha_2=1$. Let $F$ be a $k$-dimensional face of $P$ and $G$ an $(n-k)$-dimensional face of $Q$, where $1 \leq k \leq n-1$. By Proposition \[prop\_star\_product\], $$\begin{aligned} \ast_1([v_F] \times T_{\check n(F,P)})\cap \ast _1 (A_{G, \check n(G, Q)}) & = \ast_1([v_F\wedge v_G] \times (T_{\check n(F,P)}\cap [[\check n(G,Q)]]).\end{aligned}$$ Summing over all faces of $P$ and $Q$, using and Proposition \[prop\_boundary\_tildet\], we obtain that $$\begin{aligned} C( & M[P] * M[Q]) = \pi_* *_1^{-1} (*_1 \tilde T_1 \cap *_1 T_2') + \alpha_1 C_2+\alpha_2 C_1\\ & = \sum_{k=1}^{n-1} (-1)^{nk+k+1} \sum_{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)} \pi_* *_1^{-1} (*_1 ([v_F] \times T_{\check n(F,P)}) \cap *_1 T_2') \\ & \quad + \alpha_1 C_2+\alpha_2 C_1\\ & =\sum_{k=1}^{n-1} (-1)^{nk+k+1} \sum_{\substack{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)\\G \in \mathcal{F}_{n-k}(Q)}} \pi_* \left([v_F\wedge v_G] \times (T_{\check n(F,P)}\cap [[\check n(G,Q)]])\right) \\ & \quad + \operatorname{vol}(P)[[V]]+\operatorname{vol}(Q)[[V]]\\ & =\sum_{k=1}^{n-1} (-1)^{n(n-k)+nk+k+1} \sum_{\substack{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)\\G \in \mathcal{F}_{n-k}(Q)}} [v_F\wedge v_G] \operatorname{vol}(\operatorname{conv}(-\check n(F,P),\check n(G,Q))) \\ & \quad + \operatorname{vol}(P)[[V]]+\operatorname{vol}(Q)[[V]]\\ & =\sum_{k=1}^{n-1} (-1)^{n+k+1} \sum_{\substack{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)\\G \in \mathcal{F}_{n-k}(Q)}} [v_F\wedge v_G] \operatorname{vol}(\operatorname{conv}(-\check n(F,P),\check n(G,Q))) \\ & \quad + \operatorname{vol}(P)[[V]]+\operatorname{vol}(Q)[[V]].\end{aligned}$$ Note that the pair $(-1)^{n+\dim F+1}(v_F,-\check n(F,P))$ is positively oriented, and coincides with $(v_{-F}, \check n(-F,-P))$. It follows by [@schneider_book14 Eq. 5.66] that $$\begin{aligned} C(M[P] * M[Q]) & = \sum_{k=1}^{n-1} \sum_{\substack{F \in \mathcal{F}_k(P)\\G \in \mathcal{F}_{n-k}(Q)}} [v_{-F} \wedge v_G] \operatorname{vol}(\operatorname{conv}(\check n(-F,-P),\check n(G,Q))) \\ & \quad + \operatorname{vol}(P)[[V]]+\operatorname{vol}(Q)[[V]] \\ & = \operatorname{vol}(P +Q)[[V]] \\ & = C(M[P+Q]). \end{aligned}$$ This finishes the proof. [10]{} Judit Abardia. Difference bodies in complex vector spaces. , 263(11):3588–3603, 2012. Judit Abardia and Andreas Bernig. Projection bodies in complex vector spaces. , 227(2):830–846, 2011. Semyon Alesker. , 11(2):244–272, 2001. Semyon Alesker. The multiplicative structure on continuous polynomial valuations. , 14(1):1–26, 2004. Semyon Alesker. , 156:311–339, 2006. Semyon Alesker. Theory of valuations on manifolds. [II]{}. , 207(1):420–454, 2006. Semyon Alesker. Theory of valuations on manifolds: a survey. , 17(4):1321–1341, 2007. Semyon Alesker. 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Spray coating is a fairly diverse art. In some applications spray coating is done in the atmosphere, while in other applications it is performed in a chamber which is substantially closed, except perhaps for openings through which a product to be coated can be conveyed. Other openings into or out of the spray booth may also be present. In some of the coating operations done in a chamber air can be tolerated in the chamber, while in other applications a solvent rich atmosphere is maintained. In coating booths utilizing a solvent rich atmosphere, the coating material is generally atomized hydraulically and directed onto a substrate to be coated. By hydraulic atomization, it is meant that the coating material is atomized by means of a special type of orifice through which coating material is pumped at a high hydraulic pressure on the order of 300 to 3000 psi. No compressed gas is generally used in such systems to effect the atomization. When the coating material is sprayed some of the solvent present in the coating material evaporates upon discharge from the nozzle. Shortly, the solvent vapors displace any air which is in the interior of the coating chamber and provide a solvent rich atmosphere. Solvent rich atmosphere coaters result in a condition within the spray booth where oversprayed material does not solidify on the interior of the chamber walls, or other interior surfaces. Such coaters exhibit other advantageous results known to those skilled in the art. Of necessity, most coating booths have openings in them, for example, the opening through which a product to be coated is conveyed. Such is usually true of the coaters utilizing a solvent rich atmosphere, and as these processes are generally continuous operations, the solvent vapors which are being added to the atmosphere of the coater must be removed lest they escape through any openings into or out of the coating chamber. The vapors and contaminated atmosphere removed can then be filtered or recycled or both. It is significant to note that any exhaust system used to prevent the vapors from escaping from the openings in a booth having a solvent rich atmosphere, need not and usually should not create a large amount of vapor flow. A large amount of vacuum or vapor flow would result in a condition where air could be drawn into the coating chamber whereupon the advantages of the solvent rich atmosphere would be defeated. Prior art methods of preventing the vapors from issuing through the holes were inadequate for many applications. Many systems provided too much vacuum, and hence excessive flow volume from the chamber for certain applications, such as solvent rich atmosphere coaters. Other systems were built into the chamber itself and were difficult if not impossible to add to an existing system. Further, many of these prior art devices were bulky and required an excessive amount of space for installation. Further, the prior art devices were rather complex structures, both in terms of their mode of operation, and assembly. Further, complex assembly procedures added expense to the manufacture of such devices. The present invention provides an improved manifold assembly for containing the vapors which might issue from a coating chamber. Various aspects of the present invention combine to result in a maifold which is simple in its design and air flow characteristics, and can provide good controllability of small negative pressures to result in small air flow volumes necessary to many applications. Further, various aspects combine to provide a compact, less complex, and less costly device which can be easily added to existing coating chambers. Although the present invention has particular application to coating booths having a solvent rich atmosphere, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the manifold of the present invention will have uses in conjunction with other types of booths having a contaminated atmosphere as well. The manifold comprises a front wall and a rear wall, both having apertures therethrough leading to an opening into or out of the coater. A side wall assembly is provided and attached to the front and rear walls to form a hollow chamber around the apertures. A collar is provided around the aperture and is attached to the front and rear walls. It is constructed so as to have or form holes therethrough to allow vapors issuing out of the opening in the coating chamber to be drawn into the manifold. Baffle means are provided in the manifold chamber creating a generally downward then upward vapor flow passage from and generally around the collar. A spray nozzle adapted to spray a precipitant such as water in a generally downward direction in the vapor flow passage is provided to create a venturi effect in the vapor flow passage which causes vapors to be drawn into the manifold. The sprayed precipitant also acts to scrub the vapors drawn through the air flow passage and cause paint particles and other contaminants to be precipitated out of the vapor. Drain means are provided at the lower portion of the chamber to remove the precipitants and precipitated contaminants. An exhaust port for the scrubbed vapors is provided in the vapor flow passage and is located above the drain means and downstream of the spray nozzle.