University of South Carolina Libraries
!T 7 c \{/.:\ ' ? 'j H WEEKLY EDITION. WIX]S7SB0R0, S. C.. WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 19. 1881. ESTABLISHED IN 1848. [THE BLACK ROBE. r BY WILKIE COLLINS. ?AUTHOB OP? ?THB WOMAK Df WHITE," "THE SIOOX | 8TOXE," " AFTEB DABS," "NO NAME," " S1AK A5D WIPE," " THE LAW AJCU THE IiADY," " THE SEW MAGDALEN," Era, ETC. rPi.vrvu XL?THE OBDEB OF THE DISHES. Iuaea ine r Loring's iscribed as e person;" ect truth, on to the On its was repre, youthful ction that ore. The ittle mind ity. Any | ction op- ( together, i n speech . attention ' which fol- ^ Romayne, his coffee to all ap- | if he had I : Bjfom the remote , HA. new contribuEfs little library ( by on the table, Ks to the means by Riose first advances SpLs present position. Re of dignity was V ? HRShe had a priest for V book with the rev- , Kautliograph inscribed ^ Fee to yonr liking, ^ Hp sugar if yon please." R?ras proud of her hand, Hf the meritorious details n She took up the sugar- " Wsuavity and grace; she f sugar into the cup, with a *" easure in ministering to the j es of her illustrious guest. ! z _ ! I hp gwu uivyii, jcvn/wsxt luaviiw ffway," she said with the ap- ? pf sixteen superinduced upon y of sixty. ? Ben well was an adept at moral q of all kinds. On this occasion ? the disguise of pastoral sim- , 1 to & an idle old man at this horu ^ jemoon," he said. "I hope I j aping yon from any household 0 I: o |rally enjoy my duties," Miss a pswer?d. " To-day they have jjo agreeable as usual; it is a be to have done with them. 0 humble position has it? a, I k [acquainted with Miss Not- t< racter, hearing these words, s< b at oncc changed the subject, i o fcpoke of " her humble posi- b I invariably referred to some g, fcred to her dignity, and she p fcly ready to state the griev- ^ 11 length. Ignorant of this c iFather Benwell committed I & |r. He inquired, with court- J 1st, what the housekeeper s | I Ight be. j a I they are beneath your! w IL Miss Xotinan, modestly. j d e time, I shonld feel it an I > the benefit of' your opin- >( L so like to know that jon o jether disapprove of my ^ jr some provocation. Yon p he "whole responsibility of c Sinners falls on ins. And, e company, as there is this responsibility is particu- e d a timid person like my- q dinner-party, Miss Not- 1; s , no! Quite the reverse. tlomftn?IMV, "Rnmnvrir*." f ^^H^HHBBenwell set down Lis of B way to Lis lips. He at once 1 Brrect conclusion tLat tLe in- s H Romame must Lave been * * i Wccepted after Le Lad left the * Pe- ~ a BSS^^Tomayne and Stella together, ( Her circumstances which would J Mrdly improve their acquaintance, c H as plain to him ?s if he had heard * Hpnfessed in so rnany words. If he ' only remained in the gallery he E Kit have become acquainted with the ' persuasion used to induce a HRH unsocial as Eomayue to accept ' ? ?-r t" _-l? i._ I IF niatlOli. "X uavo m>ocii i/j he thought, bitterly, "for bo- ^ >ic in the dark." Anything wrong wi.L. the coffee?' ^ potman asked, anxiously. ' nSsshed on to his fate. He said: yfing whatever. Pray go on." ||?Notman went on. Hi see, Father, Lady Loring waa Sly particular about the dinner occasion. She said: 'Lord LorRinds me that Mr. Romayne is a Btle eater, and yet very difficult aBe in what he does eat.' Of B[ consulted my experience, and &d exactly the sort of dinner Hs wanted under the circum9k I wish to do her ladyship the Bustice. She made no objec the dinner in itself. On the l she complimented me on Swas pleased to call my ready H. But when we came next to Win which the dishes were to B1-" Miss Notm&n paused in I of the sentence and shndthe private and poignant rewhich the order of the ed up. ime Father Benwell had dist mistake. He took a mean bf Miss Notman's susceptikip his own private inquiries Irval of silence. UDj i'-oiorance," he said; ?or dinner is a matter of I acd one dish. I don't nnfcifference of opinion on a r three people only. Lord lioring, two; Mr. Romayne, Htperhaps I am mistaken ? gfcs Evrecourt makes s |jl Father "A very charming person, .Miss Notroan. I only speak as a stranger. You, no doubt, are much better acquainted with Miss Eyrecc-Tsrt "Much better, indeed, if I may presume to say so," Miss Xotman replied. "She is my lady's intimate friend : we have often Ulked of Miss Eyrecuurt during the many years of my residence in this house. On such subjects her ladyship treats mo quite on the footing of an hum 1)1 a fripTuI- A cnmnlpw r-nn ? ? ?? trast to the tone she took, Father, when we came to the order of the dishsa. ^e agreed, of course, about the soup and the fish, but we bad a little, a very little divergence of opinion, as I may call it, on the subject or the dishes to follow. Her ladyship said, ' First the sweetbreads atnl then the cutlets.' I ventured to suggest that the sweetbreads, as white meat, had better not immediately follow the turbot, as white fish. 'The brown meat, my lady,' I said, 'as an agreeable variety presented to the eye, and then the white meat, recalling pleasant remembrances of the white llah.' You .see the2>oint, Father?'' "I see, Miss Xotman, that you are a consummate mistress of an.art which is (juiie beyond poor me. Was Miss Eyrecourt present at the little discussion?" " Oh, no! Indeed I should have objected to her presence; I should have er?a tr^c o t?/"\nr"k r* ah* aP T-? ah muo a wui^ vut ui uu proper place." ' Yes, yes; I understand. Is Miss Eyreccurt an only child?" Ail only cliild now. She had a sister, Tho is dead. " Sad for the father and mother, Miss Sotman!" "Pardon me, sad for the mother, no loul>t. The father died long since." "Ay! ay! A sweet "woman, the nother"? At ie.uf, I think i have heard 10." Miss Noiman shook her head. " I ihould vrish to cruard mvself against speaking unjustly of any one," she said; ' but when you talk of a ' sweet woman,' 'ou apply (as it seems to me) the domestic virtues. Mrs. Eyrcccuvt is issentially a frivolous person." A frivolous person is, in the vast najority ox cases, a person easily peruaded to talk, and not disposed to be eticent in keeping secrets. Father 5enwell began to see his way already to he necessary information. "Is Mrs. Eyrecourt living ia LonLon?" he inquired. "Oh. dear, no! At this tiiuo of year ho lives entirely in oilier people's ouses?goes from one country seat to \ notlipr. and cvilr thinks of nmusini? I erself. No domestic qualities, Father, lie would fcnow not!ting of the order of he dishes! Laily Loring, I should have old you, gave way in the matter of the weet bread. It was only at quite the itter part of jay ' menoo," as the 'rench call it, that she showed a spirit f opposition?well, veil! I won't dwell n t.liat. i wil i nnlv axle vou. P-itlipr. ! t what part of a dinner an oyster-ome)i?a. jMixrlii -iA ) ia Father Benwell seized bLi opportunity f discovering Mrs. Eyrecourt's present ddress. " My dear lady," he.said, "I now no more ^Uen the omelette ought 5 he served than Mrs. Eyrecourt her. slf! It must be very pleasant to a lady f her way of thinking to eujoy the eauties of nature inexpensively?as een in other people's houses, from the oint of view of a welcome guest. T render whether sbe is staying at any ountry-seat w-.-icb I happen to have een?'' { "She may be in England, Scotland or f reland, for all I know,'' Miss Xotman | nswered, with an unaffected ignorance rliicli placed her good faith beyond ,oubt. "Consult vour own taste, 'alter. After eating jelly, cream and 3e-pndding, could you even look at an yster-omelette without shuddering? j Vould you believe it? Her ladyship iroposed to serve the omelette with the heese. Oysters, after sweets! I am iot (as yet) a married woman ?" Father Benwell made a iust desperate Sort to pave the way for ono more [uestion before lie submitted to defeat. 'That must bo jour fanlr, my dear ady!" ho interposed, with his peraasive smile. Miss Notman simpered. " You ccnuse mo, Father," she said, softly. " I speak from inward conviction, liss Notman. To a looker-on, luce my;elf, it is sad to see Low many sweet vomen, vho jous^ijcTiis of worthy men, prefer to ?ada single life. The church, I know jxaits the single life to the highest >lace. But even the church allows ex:eptions to its rule. Under this roof, or example, I think I see two excepions. One of them my unfeigned respect " (he bowed to Miss Notman) " for)ids me to indicate more particularly. Che other seems, to my humble view, to je thi? young lady of whom we have ?een speaking. Is it not strange that Miss Eyrecourt has never been married?" The trap had been elaborately set; father Ben well had every reason to mticipate that Miss Notman would walk into it. The disconcerting housekeeper walked up to it?and then nroved unable to advance a steo further. *'I once made the same remark myself to Lady Loring," she said. Father Benwell's pulse began to. quicken its beat. "Yes?" he murmured, in tones of the gentlest encouragement. "And her ladyship," Miss Xotman proceeded, "did not encourage me to go on. 'There are reasons for not pursuing that subject,'she said,' reasons into which I am sure you vriil not expect ne to enter.' She spoke with a flattering confidence in ray piudence which I felt gratefully. Such a contrast to her tone when the omelette presented itself in the order of the dishes! As I said just now, I am not a married woman. But if I proposed to my husband to give him an oyster omelette after his mrddinsrs and his pies, I should not be surprised it he said to me: ' Jly dear, have yon taken leave of your senses ? I reminded Lady Loring most respectfully that a cheese omelette might be in its proper place if it followed the sweets. ' An oyster omelette,' I suggested, 'surely comes after the birds ? I should be sorry to say that her ladyship lost her temper-I will only mention that I Lept mine. Let me repeat what she said, and leave you, Father, to draw your own conclusions. She said: '"Which of us is mistress in this house, Miss Notman ? I o: dcr the oyster omelette to come in with the cliee.se.' Tht:o was not only imtabilil there was contempt?oh, yes! contem ?in her tone. Out of respect for ra self, I made 110 reply. As a Christia I can forgive; as a wounded gent] woman, I may not find it so easy forget." Miss Xotman laid herself back : her easv-chair?she looked a; if she hi suffered martyraom, and only regretti having been obligou to mention i Father i>enweli surprised the wound* gentlewoman by rising to his feet. "You are not going awav alrcad Father Time dies l';ist iu your society, de: iuiss -Notman. I have cngageaie] ?and I rm late for it already.*' The housekeeper smiled sadly. " 2 least let me hear that you don't disa] prove of my conduct under trying ci: cumstanees," she said. Father Benwell took her hand. " A true Christian only feels o3ens< to pardou them," he remarked, in h: priestly and paternal character. " Yo have shown me, Miss Notman, that yo are a true Christian. My evening ha indeed been veil spent. God bles ! yon I" lie pressed her hand; slteu on lie the light of his fatherly smile; h sighed and took his leave. Miss Not man's eyes followed him out with devo tional admiration. ? Father Benwell still preserved hi serenity of temper when he was out o the housekeeper's sight. One impoi tant discovery he had made, in spite o fhft rliitlenlfcies nlaced in his wav. A com promising circumstance had unquest ionably occurred in Stella's past life and a man was, beyond all doubt, ii some way connected with it. "M; evening has not i een entirely throw: away," he thought, as lie ascended th< stairs which led from the housekeeper': room to the hallCEATlilR YH?THB INFLUENCE OF STELLA Entering the hall, Father Benwd heard a knock at the house-door. Th< sen-ants appeared to recognize th' knock?the porter admitted Lord Lor ing. Father Benwell advanced and mad' Iiis bow. It was a perfect obeisance o its kind?respect for Lord Loring, tin obtrusively accompanied by respect fo: himself. " Has your lordsb'p been valking ii the park ?" he inquired. " I have been out on business," Lord Loring answered, " and I should like tc tell you abopt :l. If you can spare me a few minntes come into the library, Some time since," he resumed, 'yhenihe door was closed, " I think I mentioned that my friends had been speaking tc mo on a subject of some importance? the subject of opening my picture-gallery occasionally to the public." I remember," said Father Ben well. " iias your lordship decided what to " Yes. I have decided (as the phrase is) to ' go with the times,' and follow til? example 01 umer uwuwa ui ^uvbiuc galleries. Don't suppose I ever doubted that it is my duty to extend, to the best of my ability, the civilizing influences ->l art. My only hesitation in the matler arose from a dread of some accident happening, or some injury being done to the pictures. Even now, I can onlj persuade myself to tiy the experiment under certain restrictions." " A \rise decision undoubtedly," said CTaJ-Iisvm T>/-v/ill U Tn a ft 9 JL' auuwu ?.? ? this you could scarcely open your gallery to everybody who happens to pass the house-door." "I am glad you agree with rue, Father. The gallery will be opened foi the first time on Monday. Any respectably dressed person presenting a visiting card at the offices ox the librarians ir Bond street and Regent street, will receive a free ticket of adm ssion, the number of the tickets, it is needless tc say, being limited, and th* gallery being only opened to the public two days in the week. You will be here, I suppose, on Monday?" " Ceitaiuly. My work in the library, as your loxdship can see, has only b& gun." " 1 fl111 vwv ansious iuhjuu cm; auus.w: of iLie experiment," said Lord Loring "Do lock in at the galley, csc-e-m isi?e4&-?iTn-t^7i^ and tel.' me what your own impression is." Having expressed his readiness t; ussist " the experiment" in every possi ble way, Father Benweil still lingerec in the library. He was secretly oot* scions of a hope that he nr'ght, at th< |leventh hour, be invited to joix Itomayne at the dinner table. Lore Loring only looked at tho clock on th< mantelpiece ; it was nearly time to dres: for dinner. The priest had no alterna fcive but to take the Lint, and leave th< house. ^ Five minutes after he had withdraw] a messenger delivered a letter-for Lore Loring, in which Father Benwell's in terests were directly involved. The le! ter was Jy\r-Spllomayho. It containe his excuses for breaking his engag< ment, literally at an hour's notice. "Only yesterday.'' he wrote, "I ha a return of what you, my dear friem call' the delnsion of the voice.' Th nearer tho hour of your dinner et proaches, the more I feel the dread tli? I the same thing 'iuty happen in yor | house. Pity me and forgive me." ? - * * t y t* ? | ?'ven gooa-narureu coring im : some difficulty in pitying and forgivin i when bo road those line?. "This so: ; of caprice might be excusable in i woman," he thought. ''Amanougt ! really to be capable of exercising son: ! self-control. Poor Stella! And wh; | will my wife say V He walked up and down the iibrar : with iiwsila's disappointment u:>d Lac I Loring's indignation prophetic illy pr ! sent in his mind. There was, ho were I no help for it?he must accept his r : sponsibility, and be the bearer of tl bad news. He was on the poLt of leaving t] ' Jibrary when a visitor appeared. T! I visitor was no less a person th ! RnrnftTTiA himself. i " Have I arrived before my lectci i he asked, eagerly. Lord Loring shoved him the letter. ' " Throw it into the fire," he sai< "and let me try to excuse myself f having written it. Yon remember t happier days when you used to call r I the creature of impulse ? An impul | ff&cfa'ced that letter. Another impu] ty, brings me hero to disown it. I can pt onlv explain rny strange conduct I>y iJ- asking you to heip me at the outset. Qi Will you carry your memory back Le- to the day when the physicians to consulted on my case ? I want you to coriect me if I inadvertently tn misrepresent their opinions. Two of iC^ them were physicians. The third and f1* last vras a surgeon, a personal friend of !t* yours; and lie, as veil as I recollect, told you Iiotv the consultation ended ?" " Quite right liomaync?so far." 7" "The first of the two physicans,r Romayne proceeded, " aeclared my case ar to bo entirely attributable to nervous derangement, and to be curable by ^ purely medical means. He proposed, first of all, to restore 1 the tone of my stomach,' and this done, to administer rcertain medicines, having a direct influence on the brain and the nervous CTofom T cnno lr tyri atonil *r? ^3 "j""*'***' 45iiv*?uu;, kj 14 iff xxx g plain English, that I believe was the u substance of what he said: u "The substance of what he said,* ts Lord Loring replied, "and the sufca stance of his prescriptions?which I think, you afterward tore up ?" x "If you have no faith in a prescrip tion," said Eomayne, " that is, in my opinion, the best use to which you can if \X/1> if nn W> /% f/% xl^yv ? - f ?>uu xu. uucu iu t\j liio UU1JLL UI the second physician ho differed with, tbe first as absolutely as one man can 8 differ with another. Tbe third medical authority, your friend the surgeon, took a medical course, and brought the - consultation to an end by combining - the first physician's view and the second - physician's view and mingling the two ; opposite forms of treatment in one i harmonious result ?" 7 Lord Loring remarked that this was ' aot- a very respectful way of describing a fche conclusion of the medical proceed0 lugs. That it was the conclusion, how sver, lie could not honestly deny. " As long as I am right," said Romavne, "nothing else appears to bo of nracli importance. As I told you at 1 the time, the second physician appeared ? to me to be the only one of the three 5 authorities Tvho really understood my - case. Do you mind giving me, in a few words, your own impression oi = what he said?" f " Are you sure that t shall not dis. tress you ?" r " On the contrary, you may help me 1 11 w uope. i "As I remember it," said Lord Lor- ! ing, "the doctor did not deny the in- \ I fluence of the body over the mind. He : i was quite -willing to admit that the 1 . Bcate of tout nervous system might be ? o ( one among other predisposing causes j , which led you?1 really searccly like to \ I go on." ] , " "Which led me," Eomcyne continued, . finishing the sentence for his friend, ] . " to feel that I never shall forgive my- ^ self?accident or no accident?for Lav- ( , ing taken that man's life. Now go ? > I _ _ | V i voice," Lord Loring proceeded, " is, in the doctor's opinion, tlie moral, result . of the morbid state of vour m; "'1 at the time when you really heard the ^oice ou , the scene of the duel. The iimueuctj acts physically, of course, by means of certain nerves. But it is essentially a moral influence; and its powers over : you is greatly maintained by the self. accusing view of the circumstance* . which you persist in taking. That, in Bubstance, is my recollection of what j the doctor saii" *' And when he was asked whatremo dies he proposed to try," Romayne in( quired, " do you remember hid answer? 1 The mischief which moral influences hare caused, mortal influences alone . can remedy.'" " T rftmpmber. said Lord Lorinj? p j "And lie mentioned, as examples of 1 i J what he meant, the occurrence of some j . new and absorbing interest in your life, j ? or the working of some complete < > change in jour habits of thought?oi '< . perhaps* some influence exercised ovet * s you by a person previously unknown, ( appearing under unforseen circumstan- : ces, or in scenes quite new to you." < , Eomayne's eyes sparkled. ! "Now you are coming to it!" ha ; cried. "Now I feel sure that I recall 3 correctly the last words the doc Lor said: ; ? -v T -f l ! 1 ? I-If Mr*. KomayuG "follows raj auvice. j L* should not be surprised to liear that ' the recovery which we all wish to see, bad found its beginning in such appar* * entlv trifling circumstances as the ton* of some other person's voice, or the in* fluence of some other person's look.' That plain expression of his opinion 3 only occurred to my memory after I | had written my foolish letter of excuse. I spare you the course of other recollections that followed to come at onee to j the result. For the first time I have the hope, the faint hope, that the voicf which haunts me has been once alreadj 1 controlled by one of the influences o 1 ^ which the doctor spoke?the- influences L. of a look." > If he liad said this to JLadv Loving, i instead of her husband, she would have understood him at once. Lord Loring asked for a word more of explanation, d "I told you yesterday," Romayne ani swered. "that a dread of the return of *> ? e the voice Lad been present to me all the )- morning, and that I had come to see bt the picture with an idea of trying ii lt changc would relieve me. "While I was in the gallery I was free from tM .t dfead and free from the voice. When g 11 returned to the hotel, it toriui e<i rt | me?and Mr. Penrose, I grieve to say, a | saw that I suffered. You and I attribit j nted the remission to the change oi ie scene. I now believe we were both it i wrong. Where was the change ? In i Baai-ner VATI arifl Tjftdv LoiiuST I SaW tll6 p I two eldest friends I have. In visiting j your gallery I only revived the familiar , ! associations of hundreds of other visits. r j To what influence was I really indebted j for my respite ? Don't try to dismiss ie ; the qaestion by laughing at my morbid : fancies. Morbid fancies are realities to ie ; a man like me. Remember the doctor's ,ie | words, Loring. Think of a new face, jjj j seen in your house ! Think of a look | that searoned my heart for the first ?? i time?" j Lord Loring glanced once more at i the clock on the mantelpiece. The j, j hands pointed to the dinner hour. ' " Miss Eyrecourt ?" he whispered. ^ *1 Yes?Miss Eyrecourt." The library door was thrown open by A servant. Stella herself entered tha .56 i room. & ' (To be Ccn'thvaedo - Hindoo Domestic Life. A notable feature in the domesti life of the Hindoos is the concentratio: of households. Father ancf sons, wit] the sons' wives and children, all cor gregate together nnder the one rooi That roof is enlarged to meet the en larged requirements, but the establish ment of separate homesteads appears t< be opposed to national instincts, ens toms, and religion. Ii> the town or ii the country the senior of the family i the common father of all its members and in this respect there has probabl; been little change for some thousand of years. No legal act is signed, no im portant business negotiated, no ne~v vvuubt/uuu lUliUCU, UU JLi'tl III IV CtJJttllUUJU, connected with birth, marriage, o: death permitted until the head of thi family has been consulted in the fiis' instance. Nor is this an idle ceremony His voice is supreme, and all the mem ber3 of the household so regard it. Ii the daily distribution of food th< younger members of the family ar< helped first-, and the mistress of th< household seldom attends to the othei matters until the important portion o: the day's duty is completev ^QQQ% sions of festivity the household and his misti,e5^"aie"enjo"iaec both by social law and practice, to fast until the last guest has been served. Even then the mistress"will not take her meal until her husband has finished eating ; but this is a practice of selfdenial familiar to the female members of Hindoo households. Festival days are very numerous in India, and wellconstituted families pride themselves on a rigid attention to punctilious observances during such times. The mistress of the family is usually content with the food left by the male members of the household. It is unusual for any particular food to be prepared for her, especially when in good health. The thought of her being the head of the household is supposed to be sufficient to make her despise all deprivations. She does not seek personal comfort. She would have all the members of the household live happily and contented together. Brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, domestics and slaves are treated alike with consideration by the intelligent and devoted head of the family. There is a OPrfnin eimnUfnHr in +.T10 domestic life of the well-regulated Hiiidoo household that is very charming. For instance, at a feast or festival, all the members of the household consider themselves botind in honor to attend chiefly to the comfort and enjoyment of too guests. They never think of their own wants in comparison. It is only vhen the guests have been abundantly supplied and attended to that they think of themselves. Among the higher castes the food consists chiefly of wheat and maize, flour, grain, pulse, clarified butter or ghee, milk and sweet3. Fish and meats, particularly caution and fowls, are not objected to by the lower castes if they can procure them, but beef is an abomination as joining from a sacred animal, and pork is abhorred as vile, and as containing ;he germs of disease. Only outcast Sindoospartake of these last. Like the Rn/l/IVn'oto +!-?s\ ~ Ci-lO Cil3lCft U1 JJUUUUU3 reverence the sanctity of life. They ire warned by religions writings against shedding of blood, against the infliction >f pain, against the tailing of life. They hold every living animal as sa;red as_?.JinniaiL.Jjeing; in Bengal, in article of diet by- ;"-a)lv used as radiction to their religious tenets. JNor loes this abstinence from animal food mpair the physical strength or warlike rigor of the best classes of Upper India, rhe Mahratta cavalry have been praised 'or endurance and courage by -all wri;ers and the Gurkas and Tiiingas are idmitted to make first-rate soldiers,? dry, obedient to discipline, ready to ndure fatigue and hardship, and by no neans deficient in energy and courage. The household expenses are usually lefrayed by the senior member or head ?f the family, who is supplied with unds by all the residents in the household possessed of separate incomes. It s not usual for any interference to j>e caused by the other members as to he details of the daily expenditure, nor s any attempt usually made to apporion those expenses ratably. The whole s done in a spirit of mutual conciliation md family affection ; nor are quarrels is to the gature of the provisions supplied matters of frequent occurrence. Living under the same roof and partaking of the same food constitute the jhief ingredients of domestic concord md amity among the Hindoos. Their system 01 caste renders me iamiiy circie eery exclusive and prevents much indiscriminate entertainment. In many respects the Hindoo life resembles that ancient Greece. In both we find the same reverence for the family homestead, the same comparative freedom of svomen in the management of the households, and the same embodiment of mythological legends in the ancient history of the country. In culture and civilization the Bengalis are the Athenians of India. ^ The Great Bamboo of Japan. In a paper recently read before the Horticultural Society of Victoria, Mr. F. C. Christy, describing a specimen of the Japanese gigantic bamboo, now growing in the society's gardens in Melbourne, says: "It is cultivated in groves on the hillside or valley, in deep volcanic chocolate soil?not-in wet situations, but where there is a moderato amount of moisture. In early spring the bamboo throws tip large onsets, or stickers, around the parent plant; these are about 3 inches or 4 inches in diameter, and are removed when about 12 inches above the ground, leaving three or fonr to mature, which apparently mature during the summer, or in about six months, and attain a height in one summer of from 4=0 feet to 80 feet, according to soil and situation. The groves consist of several hundred bamboos, planted about 12 feet apart, kept free from weeS^Sid undergr3|frh of every kind. The bamboos prodnce dense shade; a bamboo grove is one of the coolest retreats in summer; the shade and shelter produced contribute in a great measure to their luxuriance. This bamboo rarely seeds, and the few seeds produced are said to be most difficult to germinate; the propagation i3 by the removal of one-year-old matured stems with roots; the young offset taken in spring invariabiy withers and dies. The young offsets removed to strengther the growth of those required for commerce when matured are edible; slicec and boiled they are tender and crisf I and of a very delicate flavor, and art served at table as an ordinary vegetable the offsets at the same tender ag< (when about G inches or 12 inche: through the ground) are also sliced anc preserved with giDger, and form th< commercial preserve 'chow-chow.' Whei the bamboos are matured, they are cu near to the ground, and used for scaf fold poles, fences, guttering for houses down pipes, underground drains, garden seats, ladders, and a thousand othe purposes. Tbis bamboo will grow 0] Australian mountain sides, and in an; valleys where ordinary shelter and ricfc deep soil can be procured, and wil stand fourteen degrees of frost." Thi plant appears to be well adapted fo cultivation in the United States. i^qpp?? Married women nowadays make lov to their husbands in a ronndabout waj They usually say : "Just to think ho'i I hated you when X fcret oet you !* j TALES OF A TRAVELER. c ^ l'earl Finis ins; on the Bank* ol'Ceylou?.Wiles of Glisteniijj: Oyster Shells. h t. Ceylon has for centuries been famed ; for the richness and value of its pearls. Its oyster banks are said to have furnished those with which the voluptuous 0 Cleopatra quaffed in her wine to ihe health of Marc Antony. The "barba-; Q ric pearl" was ever a favorite ornament' s among the Greek and Roman ladies ; I and it is still as highly prized by the I 'v native princes of India. g On the 29 th of February, 1858, I ar- j rived in the bay of Condahetry, an in-! v vited guest on board her Britannic 7 majesty's frigate Desolator. The inr spector of the pearl banks was also on 2 boirj, with his own boat and crew; his I cutter was fitted up very comfortably with awnings and cushions, precautions ' I soon found highly necessary on such j service. Early the next morning I j landed with the inspector at Silawo1 torre, a small village. It was a miser5 able, place, consisting of but a single . row of mud huts standing on hot and f dusty solitude, with a few lonely, | less sand^plains, save the distant white ' walls of "Doric," a lofty government , building, which glistens so brilliantly in the rays of the morning sun as to make one's eyes blink again. For miles ; around lay countless heap3 of snowy oyster shells Bleached by the storms of many monsoons. Eidge over ridge, heap upon heap, they seemed to have no end ; and one might well have imaoiriA/1 f Viof. ill 1 An n? ranva r?o c?f er\r> '-Q? N/v* wwwvj AM AWiAQj J O Uj UUillO conflicting armies of oysters liad met to do battle on those sea-washed sands, and left their many hecatombs of slain nnbnried on those wastesThere were a few dirty women and thin-faced children on the beacb, whose curiosity had for the moment overcome their sloth. Farther on, nnder three 1 palm trees, stood the "Adapannar," or ' headman of the district, a fine-looking, grey-headed old man, attended by his deputy and a few seedy-looking fol- 1 lowers, armed to the teeth with paper umbrellas and painted sticks. The ] next morning we stood out for the oys- j ter banks, near which the anchor was * dropped, and for several days the ' inspector and his men were occupied in } placing buoys, with little red and blue i tiags attached, on the edges of those beds which were to be "poked." The j weather was oppressively hot; the sky j was without a cioud to break the inten-, * siiv 01 cue sun s rays: tne sea breeze i* blew faintly and fitfully, scarcely rip- i J pling the surface of tlie water, which j ? seemed as though it was a sea of molten j1 metal. The work of marking com-1 ? pleted, we returned to our anchorage. I j ' could not help being surprised at the i c pantomimic change whi?h had come ! a over tho dull mud village and dusty I c plains. It was as though Harlequin \ j3 had, with his wand, transformed all j * ' those piles of shells into living masses : 8 of dusky human beings. The very 13 sands of the plain seemed to be redolent of life. The miserable row of low, dirty huts had either been leveled to the ground or were hidden from sight by numberless gaily-colored booths of all shapes and sizes, ornamented with I ^ the pale green leaves of the palmyra j ? and cocoa-palm. There were thousands j ? of natives flocking to the beach. Our tj anchorage was opposite a flagstaff, and about^us lay fally^^^^.v' .J* went ashore. It seemed incredible that the gay place I then beheld could j ^ have been the same that not many days i 0 since I had left so silent and desolate. ! s ji i t J5_ n. i n AU mess tnousaiius were gatueieu tu share or deiive some profit from the \ fishing about to take place. At one cf the large arrack-booths a crowd of boatmen were assembled ' listening to the harangue from the tall, ungainly figure. I found out he was a * "shark charmer." The divers are so j ^ persuaded of his mystic power over ? the monsters of the deep that nothing j: could induce them to venture *ith- J; out his presence. This "charmer" st->od over six feet higb, a dark, long-baired Brahmin, with bright, cat-like eyes and heavy eye brows, the brawny neck and arms ornamented with strings of j beads. The day before the fishing the Deso- c lator once more stood for the bunks, fc with every stitch of canvas set, having ^ on board the inspector and government: fc agent. The boats with the divers i t were to leave at midnight. In order to [ s see as much as possible?and I gener- j | ally manage to see all that is going on | a i when traveling?I remained to accom- j ? panj the fleet, with the old "Ada- j r panaar," in his ten-oared critter. The j 1 night was pitchy dark ; a large bonfire j f blazed aloft, lighting up bazars, palm i trees and temples, in one lurid blaze. | c The "shark-charmer" stood on the sum- !? mit of a pile of oyster shells gesticnlat- j ( ing wildly, and as the glare of the fire j t shot past him he appeared to be i s clothed in flame. | s The appointed time for sailing grew j j Wuj-im$uu&j$ent forth a few thunder-1 i ous notes, and^wft^iyy^ja^dennes^U the dancing, singiiig ^dtTHHl^Bj ceased; the boatmen and divers rushecrR to their places in the boats. More than 11 four thousand huma?i beings were i < packed into those frail boats. The! t 'Adapanaar" showed'me his boat; we j j seated ourselves, and he gave orders to : j make all ready. Then arose a low, in- ] distinct murmur, which gradually j swelled into something like hollow < thunder, the echo of thousands of voices. < The boatmen rose upon their benches, < flung high their arms, and roiled their ] shining eyes. "What could all this' 1 mean ? Was it a mutiny ? No; the < "shark-charmer" was missing and not a i j boat would put to sea. A detachment!' of Malay riflemen were dispatched ir i search of the holy truant, who soon j brought in the charmer, staggering j drunk with arrack. The "Adapanaar" ! gave the final signal; half a dozen j rockets shot into the air, and away went j the two hundred boats in gallant style, j The land breeze was jresh, and our fleet! made rapid way. The large yeiiow j masts, pointed high in air, with their i beautifully white transparent sails fil-1 ling with the breeze and lit up by the ' | bonfire onthe shore, seemed as thought j | they were a part of huge winged crea-1 ' tares of the deep hastening to their sea j ; homes far away. It was still dark, and,, 1 looking out, 1 perceived a bright light! 1 at the mast head of the Desolator. We ' were close to the banks, and I went on 1 board the frigate. The sun rose brightj " and gorgeous. The eyes of all were \ upon the Desolator, awaiting the ex-1 ' peet-ed signal. Five divers in each ; boat were mounted on the gunwales, j ' armed with their diving stones, nets! i and ropes. Minutes seamed hours, ; ? i The union jack fluttered in the breeze, * j and just as it touched the mast-head : i i one thousand divers plunged silently j J! into the sea. I shall not easily forget i | the sensation I experienced when I saw that crowd of human beings sink, as by j > magic, in the depths below, leaving bu j 1 a few bubbles to mark their downward r path. A minute elapsed, and not one i 1 of all the thousand appeared?a minute ^ and a-half?two minutes; still not a ? j soul rose to the surface ! Two minutes ! and a-quarter had flown! I turned to s i the "Adapanaar" in an agony of anxiety, r , but he was calmly smoking his cheroot! I How my heart beat when I first saw a : dozen heads and shoulders?then fifty e ! ?then five hundred and more ascend to ! the surface, bubbling and spluttering. v ! And then the bustle and excitement h^ gap.. The bc^troaB helped to pall flj j the nets full of oysters; the divers ! climbed into their boats to see their fish ! counted. ' From the commencement of the aiv- j ing, the old "shark charmer" stood in j the stern of his boat in the center of j the fleet; now and then he muttered a ; prayer or charm, flourishing his long j arms about. About mid-day we were startled by hearing a shrieking and a howling in one of the boats, followed by a terrible commotion, and loud cries ; of "a shark! a shark!" Cur boat im-1 mediately pujled to the scene of com- j motion, and there, sure enough, one of j those monsters of the deep had been at! work. A diver was being pulled into a j boat, lacerated and bleeding profusely, the water around being deeply tinged with blood. One leg ^as nearly severed from liis body, and the pain caused him to faint away. The alarm went round from "boat to boat, and very soon the crews'*were pulling for shore. The inspector sent for the old shark charmer and asked him how he dared to permit a shark to injure a diver in the employ of the British government? The old rascal replied that while he was taking izecf' by a gun"; thousands were again on the beach awaiting our return, anxious to hear of our success. As we drew near a long, wild shout rent the air. The next morning the oyster auction began. There were many wealthy traders there from ail parts of India ; some returned home rich beyond their ex- . pectations, but many went back ruined, beggared and broken-hearted. The natives of Jndia have a singular . belief with regard to the origin of pearls. , It is that those beautiful concretions are , congealed dewdrops, which Buddha, at j certain months, showers upon earth, - and are caught by the oysters while ] floating on the water to breathe. The priests, as is usual in all religious < systems, ever alive to their own inter- , e=ts,keep up the strange belief.and make { it a pretest for exacting from the divers j what are termed <;cbarity oysters," for the use of Buddha, who, when thus pro- j ? piated, according to their showing, will j render the fish more rich in pearls in j future seasons. Thus ended my first * md last pearl-fishing excursion. Two j< lays more and I was again on board the k Desolator, bounding over the waters to e oin my ship. Superstitions About Love. *" No event in human life has, from the v iarliest times, been associated with a s nore extensive folk-lore than marriage. J Beginning with love divinations these ire of every conceivable kind, the anx- e ous maiden apparently having left no 0 ; one unturned in her anxiety to ascer iir> lior in tliA mf>rric>fri? sf.ato Snmo mt the common brake or fern just ,bove the root to ascertain the initials n if her future husband's name. Again, ~ tuts and apples are very favorite love- v ests. The mode of procedure is for a ?; ;irl to place on the bars of a grate a ^ .ut, repeating this incantation : If lie loves me pop and fly; P. If he hates me live and Cie. ^ Great is ihe dismay if the anxious ice of the inquirer gradually perceives b.e nut, instead of making the hoped- ?' 3r pop, die and make no sign. One a| leans of divination is to throw a lady- ug into the air, repeating meanwhile iie subjoined couplet: Fly away east and fly away west,^ ^ jved one resides it is regarded jghly-favorable omen. Another species rp f love-divination once observed con- ^ isted in obtaining five bay leaves, four ^ f which the anxious maiden pinned at ?r be four ocrners of her pillow, and the - .1 ? !? -II. T? ? ~ ~ ' iim in tne miacue. jli sub was aoj.- ^ anate enough to dream of her lover, ifc ^ ras a sure sign that he would be mar- . ied to her in the conrse of the year. 'riuay has been held a good day of the ~C( reek for love omens, and in Norfolk ^ he following lines are repeated on ^ hree Friday nights successively, as on he last one it is believed that the young idy will dream of her future husband : ' To-night, to-night, ia Friday night, Lay me down in dirty.white, Dream who my husband is to he ; And lay my children by my side, j o: If I'm to live to be his bride." y In selecting the time for the marriage ii eremony precautions of every kind ? mve generally been taken to avoid an l? mlucky month and day for the knot to b >e tied. Indeed, the old lioman no- u Af.iT7 worri'irroa orA TinlnAfrv o arrives to this day in England. June j fi s a highly popular month. Friday, on : ti .ccouQt of its being regarded as an in- I ii .uspicious and evil day for the com-! p aencement of any kind of enterprise, j t] s generally avoided, few brides being j o ound bold enough to run the risk of v ncurring bad luck from being married I >n a day of ill-omen. In days gone by o Sunday appears to have been a popular o Uy for marriages. It is above all t] hings necessary that the sun should c ihine on the bride and it is deemed ab- p solutely necessary by very many that g ;he shoul 1 weep on her wedding-day, if fc t ly only a few tears, the omission of 1 fltffckiact being considered ominous t feature happiness. It is, too, t ill-luck for either the i o wio^WBjbdegrooffi to mtet a fun- j f jral on going to c.- coming from church, i a * * -" J Art 1 All A A^ 1 ^ T?. i A.i> it IS LiCiVLIX l,V \Jii.o \sx v OU5SCA ! i bride on her return home fr^ enures-^ is often robbed of all the plus about j lier dress by the single women present. <> from a beiief that whoever possesses j rae of them will be married in the ; sourse of a year and evil fortune will t sooner or later inevitably overtake the $ bride who keeps even one pin used in i the marriage toilet. " Flinging the t stocking" was an old marriage custom < in England. The young men took the > bride's stockings and the girls those of t the bridegroom, each of whom, sitting at 2 the foot of the bed, threw the stock- f ing over their heads, endeavoring to j make it fall upon that of the bride or j her spouse ; if the bridegroom's stock- ] ing, thrown by the girls, fell upon rue | < bridegroom's head it was a sign thi>* j ( they themselves would soon be married j j and similar luck was derived from tip/ j falling of the bride's stockings, thrown I ] by the young men. There is a super- ] fctitious notion in some places that when f the bride retires to rest on her wedding i night her bridesmaids shouid lay her i stockings across, as this act is supposed to guarantee her future prosperity in ;' the marriage state. An Arab's Trick. The Bedonin Arabs are noted for their I sharp thefts practiced upon one another no nn frov.ilprti A writpr in I it.> ? C1X t-O VAA V.W.M. Chambers's Journal tells of an Arab ex- j pedient that would do credit to a trained | detective : An Englishman traveling in the i East, not being quite satisfied with the j appearance of the mare he rode, asked | his Arab servant if he was sure she got! her allowance. ,;Oh, yes," he replied, "my country- j men often steal from one another and ; rob their friend*' horses ; but I can always find it out if your mare has been cheated. I put seven or ei^ht pebbles in with the barley, counting the number exactly. The mare never eats the pebbles, ar.d if any one steals from the barley, he is sure to take two or three i pebbles with it. If I find the pebbles : shoit in the morning, I have hard I words, and they cannot tell how I know, i and so they give up cheating her." We judge OT^e^s by jAet we feel U*apabie of judge tie I Brighton. The "biggest thing" in English watering-places is Brighton, which is sometimes called Londoa-by-the-Sea, and which in size and solidity corresponds with the great metropolis, and is a worthy and appropriate "annex" to it. It is practically no further from Belgravia than Coney Islan.l is from Madison Square. The fast trains whirl down to it in little more than an hour, at a cost to the passengers of from eight shillings. RP^nrtfl tr> f.wplvA sltilUnfrs O 7 ?? 7 " " w-'v ? ? ?? ?""J first class. A business man may leave liis office in the city at a late hour in the afternoon, and have time for dinner and a walk on the pier, or a drive along the King's Road before dark. It is London repeated on a small scale, "without the smoke and the slums, and with a purer atmosphere, though with scarcely less of a crowd. The shop3 are London shops, the actors at the theater belong to London companies, the faces and dresses have become familiar to the Strand or Piccadilly, and the Cockney dialect, with its soft drawl and misused aspirates, is heard oftener than any other. Like London, too, its social < affiliating; and while in one quarter i coronets' are no rarity, and a prince j leads society, in another the excursionist ] of a day, or the tradesman spending a ] two weeks' holiday, smokes his briar or : cutty and eats his shrimps without feel- i ing the depravity, and without realizing i that Brighton was not made especially I for the delectation of his own class. i But though practically incorporated i with it, Brighton is fifty miles away .] from the city, and lying between the i two are undulating English landscapes, < with many shady lanes and ancient vil- ] iages, through which the train flies ' svhen it is once beyond the spacious g limits of London. Under the Box Hill s lonnei; "which is the scene of a story by i Dharles Reade, and has often done ser- \ rice in fiction; over the lofty spans of j -he Seven Bridges, through deep and ' 'riable cattings of chalk and limestone d -this is the way to London-by-the-Sea; i ind as we come nearer to it the land is s lillier, the foliage less abundant, and t. locks of sheep are seen fattening on it he nutritous grasses of the breezy South Downs. It is to be remembered that, with the ixception of the crescents and squares Sj .nd intersecting streets, there is no ^ ireak in the three miles of buildings ^ rhich abut on the sea; the houses, n hops, baths and hotels are set together g1 rithout any unoccupied lots between ^ hem. "Rnf, tr> fnllv enrrmrAhAnd tViA xtent of Brighton, one should go out ^ n the pier, and then the place may be a] een in its complex and substantial enirety. Compared to it, the most ej rowded American -watering-place?Coey Islan d, At lantic City, or Long Bran ch ^ -is nothing more than a camp. It is ^ eritably, and cot in any fancifulness f nomenclature, a city by the sea - a ^ ity modeled on London, and having ra le structural permanency of the metro- CI olis. It is not built on the banks of a ver, nor at the hea: of a gulf, nor in j? le shelter of a bay. It is immediately Xi a the coast; the chalk cliffs, "with their m rassv summits, are at either side of it, ^ ad the water is never more than a few ^ ards from the esplanade. The solidity m ad compactness of the frontage of to uildings, and the heights covered with ^ ouses, are things which must excite the m onder of any one who sees them for Q% jtiict L1U;P: ,, " 1 tJP ie fishermen, and the coa-i-guard. hough the fashionable season does not ^ egin until late in September or early ^ t October, the excursionists crowd it ^ om the early summer until late in the tj( sar. From August to December the ja imate is most salubrious?"warm, elasc and braeing. An east wind keeps ^ i&itors away in the first months of the gar, and the place is then deserted ex- fj. ;pi by a mere handful of people? &e Dout one hundred and four thousand? * ho constitute the resident population. -Harper's Magazine. 0I The Poison Sumac. P1 la This sumac is terrible in its effects, W: ften causing temporary blindness. ac ears ago it became the fashion to wear nmense wreaths and bunches of articial flowers inside and outside of idies' bonnets. The flower-makers, gJ eing hard pressed for material, made q se of dried grasses, seed-vessels, burs, w ad catkins; these were painted, dyed, ^ rosted and bronzed, to make them at active. I became greatly interested ^ 1 the business and the ingenuity dislajed, and spent much time examining ae contents of milliners' windows. On ^ ne occasion, when standing before a ery fashionable milliner's window on , 'ourteenth street, I was horror-stricken n discoveiing that an immense wreath ^ f grayish berries, which constituted lie inside trimming: of a bonnet, was , omposed entirely of the berries of the gj oison-sumac, just as tj^y had been } athered, not a particle of varnish, ronze, or other material coating them. ^ ?he bonnet, when worn, would bring he entire mass of villainous berries on ^ he top and sides of the head, and a few ^ >f the sprays about the ears and on the ^ orehead. Stepping into the store, I ddressed the proprietor and asked her f she knew that the bonnet was trimmed ^^^gjterries of one of the most ? known in the United (i me in a sort of 11 Juzzled that I ? vas mistaken^^^^^^^^^gAived " hose flowers igo. " Madam," Irepliea^^^^^^^H )e a mistake somewhere, for thosPHBI he berries of the poison-sumac, which a loes not grow in Europe." She gave me t me angry look,asked me to please attend f o my own business, and swept away from j, ne to the other end of the store. A a' ew days after this I read in the daily papers an account of the poisoning of a lumber of small- girls employed in a French artificial flower manufactory in jreen street. I at once guessed the v ?ause. I visited the factory mentioned, s introduced myself to the proprietor, :old him what I know about the poison Denies?and was rudely requested to s make myself scarce. After these two idventures I made up my mind to keep oiy botanical knowledge (poisonous * though it mi^ht be) to myself.?Harocr's You?g People. ^ Skull Dimensions. j The researches of Professor Flower, the well-known English anatomist, show , some interesting results in relation to the comparative sizes of the heads of ; different races of people. The largest normal fckuil he ever measured had a , capacity of as much as 2,075 cubic centimeters; the smallest, belonging to an individual of the nearly extinct people inhabiting Central Ceylon, measured only 900 centimeters. The largest average capacity of any human head he has found belongs to a race of long, flatheaded people on the west coast of Africa. Although of small stature, the Laplanders and Esquimaux have very large skulls, the averaee measurement of the latter being 1,546. The English skull, of lower grades, measures 1,542; the Japanese, 1,486; the Chinese, 1,424 ; the modern Italian, 1,475 ; the ancient Egyptian, 1,464; the Hindoo. 1,306. " Scj&il bonnets are shown in felt," says a fashion exchange. Yts, and ihey are also shown and felt. The impression they rtalie on the old Kan's poeketb^jl ie most decidedly M ? ? 3Iainc S-rdi^es. If Connecticut is the land of wooden nntmegs, Maine must be the land of herring sardines. There are said to be twenty-two establishments on the Waghington county coast, whereof two-thirds are in Eastport, in which herring are pnt np as sardines in tin boxes made ricro in imif-atinn nf t.liasp rrsis^ Typ tTifl French, beaung French labels, preserved in cotton-seed oil which is asserted on the cans to be choice olive oil. "No admittance" it notified at the entrance, but the role is not enforced. Herring are brought in from th6 bay in large quantities, and are unloaded at the several wharves where the factories are erected. They are carried in baskets into a large room provided with rough tables, where a gang of boys and girls from ten to fifteen years are waiting for them, each armed with a knife. Some of these children are dexterous. A single cut removes the head and from one to two inches of the shoulders of each fish, and at the same time draws the greater part of the "innards." The f-ft-il ia mnw ni* Ipsa rATmvvpd Viv nnn+.KA* parts of the herring at a single establishment frequently amount to several hogsheads a day. These parts are boiled, pressed for their oil, and the refuse is sold for manufacttfre into dressing for soil. It is not yet possible to mannfac;ure olive oil and anchovy paste out of ;he heads of the herring. The bodies ind tails of the herring are washed, bid ipon wire racks, baked in a great oven, packed in tin boxes by girls, covered yith cottcn-seed oil, the boxes are sollered, heated again in the oil and-final- - y packed in wooden boxes for shipment the process need not be described at rreat length. It does not appear to be i very cleanly process, but very likely fc is as much so as that of putting up eritable sardines. The larger fish are rat up in oval tin boxes and are called 'sea trout." Still other herrings are tabbed "eagle fish." And, finally, there s a process of putting up the fish in a piced preparation which gives them he name of "mustard sardines."?Basin Advertiser. Death Warnings. Superstitions associated with the last fcage of life, says a recent English pubcation, are very numerous. Every icident out of the common course of atural events is seized upon by the aperstitious as a death -warning. The owling of a dog at night is the sign of pproaching death. An ox or a cow reaking into a garden is an ill omen, id it is still a saying when a person is angerously ill and not likely to recov:, "The black ox has trampled upon : ? a ?j-t, ? ^^>1. ILLLm AUULUCI UUJUUIVU UJXLCUL ui ucaiu the hovering of birds around a ouse, and their tapping against the indow-pane. Among the death-pretging birds may be mentioned the .ven, the crow and the swallow. The owing of the cock, also, at the dead : night is regarded as eqnally ominous. an apple or pear tree blooms twice a iar it denotes a death in the family. bere is a popular idea prevalent in ancashire that to build or even to relild a house is always fatal to one ember of the family, and we are also Id how the household clock has been lown to depart from its custoary precision in order to warn its raer of approaching death by striking irteen. From a very early ?>eriod >riod which precedes death. Again, e interval between deatJh ana tamai 1 is generally been associated with xious superstitions, fears and prac3es. Thus as soon as the corpse is id out there is still a widespread cusm of placing a plate of salt npon the east, the reason being, no doubt, to . event the boddy swelling; although tere i3 a belief that it acts as a charm gainst any attempt on the part of evil )irits to disturb the body. In the jrth of England it was customary, lly a few years ago, to carry "the jad with the sun" to the grave, a ractice corresponding with the Highnd usage of making "the deazil," or alking three times round a person icording to the course of the sun. A DldUA. IT (UilUl ovvij* * The smartest Texan, and in fact, the nartest farmer I ever met, is old Sam raves' who lives on a 100-acre farm est of Waxahatchie, in Central Texas. fter Mr. Graves had shown me his cate and cotton, he took me over to see is woods " Well, what of it? " I asked, as he Dinted ont a ten-acre f -rest. ' k " What of it ? Why them's black walats, sir. Ten acres of 'em. Planted I foTl OOTA Spp thftV ill ljjy Oc:ii.? vgu jvuiw ~ ^ e ten inchese"through. Good trees, And sure enough there was ten acres ^ E hand planted walnut trees. They -i ;ood aboat 200 feet apart, 200 to the I ire?in all 3,000 trees. " Well how did you get your money m ack?" I asked. fl " Black walnuts are worth $2.50 a fl ushel, ain't they?" I'll get 400 bushel lis year. That's 81,000. A hundred olJars a year is good rent for land orth$15 an acre, ain't it?" " Weil, what else ?" I inquired, rowing interested. 9 "The trees," continued Mr. Graves, are growing an inch a year. When ley are 20 y?ars old they will be ninejen inches through. A black walnut fl ree nineteen inches through is wortn i3. My 2,000 trees 10 years from now ^to^orth $30,000. If I don't want ? H can cnt half of them, fl of walnuts toAI he crop. ars an acre a in't it ? *?Chicago TriclI In JSit&etic Wife. E "Say, ril tell you something if you ron't "blow it," was the way one man 1 aluted another. _ \ 1 "All right?go ahead." j "You won't give it away until I say 0 "Not a word." "Well, my wife has got to be an jesheh>." m "No?" 1 "Cure's you're born. I have suspected " ihat she was working that way for some ;ime past, but it's only within a day or ;wo that I became positive." "Well, that's wonderfal. Say, how , does she act ?" J "Languid?very languid. She lops A around, drawls her words, writes sad poetry, and the sight of an old pie-tin fl or a banged up chromo entrances her. Congratulate me on my luck." "I do?I do. That is?" "What?-' H "Don't build hopes too fast. Be sure you are right a d then go ahead. I la- I bored for a whole year under the delusion that my wife was developing as an res thetic, and when 1 came to father he said she was always more than. half-idiot by nature. Go slow?go slow. V The difference between an aesthetic and fl a fool is so mighty small that you can'^flf afford to make a mistake and be place^ in a box."?Free Press. fl As the James brotj^^^^L^^fl out ia a card denyh* the stage nearLa^ dijs sinc^^l aLng