The Private Secretary

For the University Cpmedy ('lub's performance of the Private secretary at the Grand Opera house tomorrow ttight the entire barquet has been sold, thougb. there remain vet many excellent Beats in thecircle and' the first two rows in the balcony, seats in which are being reserved at sheehans. These seats are really the bestia the house and inasmucii as several theatre parties have taken positions there the management believes that the remaining seats in the iirst two rows will be as eagerly sought for as have been the chairs on the lower Hoor. The splendid advance sale of seats assures the Athlectic Association and the Fruit and Flower Mission o' neat additions to their freasurie?. it must bs remembered that aside f rom The Private Secretary the club wi 1 present for, in reali y. the Iirst time p ibli'-ly in tlris co intry, a oneact tragic snetch entitled TaeLaee Makers, the two parts in which will be taken by A. M. Smith and K. E. Harriman. Inasmuch as during the performance of this piece all lights in the house will be dimmei, the audience are requested to be in their seats by 8:10. The curtain will rise ;it 8:15 and until it deseends on 'I he Lace Maker no one will be sbown to a seat. The cast of The Private Secretan7 is as follows:- Hr. Catterraole (f rom India) J. H. Handy. Dónelas Cattermole (nis nephew'. ..A. M. Smith Mr. Marhlainl (wlio vüí once x hoy) T. H. Weadock. Harrv Marsuland (liis nephew W. Boynton. Mr. Gibson (.the tailor with u heil) D. C. Wagar. Mr. Knox [the bailiff with e writ) M.G. Snow. Itcv. Robert Spanlding ("do jou kuowr"; K. E. Harriman. Perkins (who sets the table) W. H. McKt-e. Mha Ashford (addicted to 8pirits)...Mrs. Handy. Edil li Maretüand Mise Divine. Eva Webster Miss Farnpworth. Mis. Btrad Miss Phillips. Mneic hy tue Chtquoniegon Orchestra oí ien piece. I)eath of John Slatford. John Slatford, one of the well known farmers of the county. died at his home in Ann Arbór township Monday last, aged Til years. JU r. Slatford was bom in Trowbridge, England. He moved onto the farm in 1832, and has lived there continuously since that date. The funeral was held yesterday afternoon, Kevs. Yoang and Burton conducting the oere'iiony. Interment at Forest HUL _ ' SnoTvshoe Walking. OutiDg coiitains a live, stirring paper du the snowshoe travel whioh forma so fascinatiug a portion of winter sport8 in our northern states and in Cauada. The paper describes the varions patterns of shoes for walking over the snrface of snowdrifts whioh reach to the fence tops. It is difBcult to get acustomed to the snowshoe walking. The awkward, wooden, sleighlike sole, spreading on all sidea far beyond the foot, with the netting into which the foot must be fastened, is a thing to which the taste, as well as tbe muscles, must be educated. The writer of the paper in Onting says: Iu the old days, in the big woods we used to swear at the bare idea of the ürst trip on snowshoes. But after that, after the first trip has been taken and tho mnscle8 have become used to the motion, then- Wlien the snow is piled to the fence tops, when roads are blocked and when ordinary walking oxercise is impossible, then the enthusiastic shoer is in his element. He dons a cold defying garb- heavy woolen underwear, a sweater, perhaps; the light but warru knickera and coat, made of fine blanket; a pair of long, heavy, woolen stockings, two or three pairs of socks, moccasjns, sash, mittens, woolen toque and pnowshoes - and he is ready for a tramp which will make his blood stir in earnest. The wind may rage apainst him, the snow powder him from head to foot, the frost nip at his cheeks and nose and make icy pendanta uponmustache and beard, but inside bis woolen arinor he ís Bafe and comfortable. Over the v.hite burdened fields, climbing great, gleaming ascents, sliding down trackless slopes, he goes till his eyes gleam with pure delight and his heart leaps in response to the magie of God's gloriousoxygen. This sort of outdoor exercise is good forany sound man j who has real blood in his veins. Inciease of Population. The governineiit aulhorities min volitical economists of France ure becorn iug seriously troubled ut the slow ulerease of population in that country. In some sections the number of inhabitants is stationary, if not actnally declining, The raarriage and birtli rateshave f allen ofE alarrAiusriy. The anthoritieswill trv to take some measures to arrest hy law the decline, whether by makiu'g marriage compulsory or by giving bounties to the parents of large families is not stated. The situation, however, proves only that the Prench people, the best economists in the world, are wiser than their nalers. They show, indeed, the highest wisdom in refusiug to inerease a population already too numerous for the means of support. There is in all naturally constituted persons of both sexes a fondness for little children. Their beauty, innecpnee and helplessness appeal as nothing else does to the heart Surrounded by comfortable circumstances, with ampie means for giving their belovedofEsin'ingthe best start in life and irir niaking their youth and childhcod jcyoiis. mankind almost without exception would find their best happiness in the f amily relation, surrounded by their children. Without Buch ampie means, however, children with wan faces and ragged garments are inerely so many accusing angels to a fatlier and inother of any sensibility. No people on earth are fonder of children or of domestic life than the French. That families are declining aniong thtm only shows therefore that they know they are too poor to briug children up with the advantages they Bhould have. Those who try to encourage raarriage and large families in France under present economie conditions are therefore barking up the wrong tree. Let these economie conditions be overhauled not only in France, but everywbere.