* * * * * THE RULE OF THE ROAD. In England the "rules of the road" require foot-passengers to keep to the right, and horsemen and vehicles to keep to the left. Some years ago a learned justice looked into the matter, and thus explained it: "The foot-traveller," he observed, "in ancient times passed to the right in order that the shield, which was carried on the left arm, might be interposed to ward off a treacherous blow, while the right arm, or the sword-arm, was left free for action. Horsemen, on the other hand, were accustomed to wearing suits of mail for the protection of their bodies, and it was believed that there was greater safety in having the arm actively employed in defence and attack nearer to the enemy than to have to strike at him across the horse's neck; hence the horseman passed to the left, and vehicles were naturally required to do the same." This seems like a plausible reason, but in the United States it has been considered safer to have the rules of the road the same for pedestrians as well as for horsemen and vehicles; hence in this country the rule of the highway is to pass to the right. Possibly we choose the right in preference to the left on the simple proposition that if you turn to the right you cannot go wrong. * * * * * A portly old gentleman was with difficulty making his way down the street on a very windy day. The strong gusts occasionally carried him from side to side in a tacking sort of fashion, which finally brought him up with a crash against an Irishman who was plastering show-bills on a fence. The old gentleman very politely begged the bill-poster's pardon, and hoped he had not inconvenienced him much by getting in his way. So much politeness puzzled the bill-poster, and in a rich Irish brogue, he replied, "Faith, if yez ain't in yer own way, yer not in moine!" * * * * * [Illustration: A DEEP VOICE.] A LUCKLESS BULL-FROG LOST HIS VOICE WHILE TALKING IN HIS SLEEP, AND NOW HE'LL NEVER FISH IT OUT--HIS VOICE IT IS SO DEEP. End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, May 5, 1896, by Various