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-1 LEWIS yi. GRIST, Proprietor. - ^Llt JlldCflflUlcnt (Jjhlttillj Hfeujspper: Jor the promotion of lite folitical, Social, Agricultural and Commercial Jnteresls of (he Jiouflt. |TERMS?$2.00 A YEAR in ADVANCE. VOL. 36. YOEKVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 1890. NO. 12. BTOMVE A Story of Ameri BY CAPT. CHAR] Author of "The Colonel's Dans Dcsertc Copyrighted 1888 by J. B. Lippincott C< special arrangement through tl | CHAPTER VII. OR a moment there was jjjMaO silence in the brightly illuWaft minated room. With flushaS ^ face and swollen veins tiarula nlrl Af airland stood there daring at the young officer. Before Perry could speak again, however, and more fully explain the untoward circumstance, there came a rush of hurrying footsteps without, and the sound of excited voices. The next minute they heard an eager, angry challenge, and Perry recognized the voice of the overseer or manager whom he had met in the morning. "What do you fellows want here?" was his brusque and loud inquiry as he sprang from the piazza and stood confronting the sergeant, who was quietly seated in the saddle, and the question was promptly echoed by three or four burly men who, in shirt sleeves and various styles of undress, came tumbling in the wake of their leader and stood now a menacing group looking up at the silent troopers. If there be one thing on earth that will stir an Irishman's soul to its inmost depths and kindle to instant flame the latent heat of his pugnacity, it is just such an inquiry in the readily recognized accent of the hated "Sassenach." Perry recognized the danger in a flash, and, springing through the open casement, interposed between the hostile parties. "Not a word, Sergt. Leary. Here, Mr. Manager, these men 6imply obeyed orders, and I am responsible for any mistake. No harm was intended" "Harm!" broke in one of the ranchmen, with a demonstratively loud laugh. "Harm be bio wed! What harm could you do, I'd like to know? If the master'll only say the word, we'd break your heads in a minute." "Quiet, now, Dick!" interposed the overseer; but the other hands growled approval, and Perry's eyes flashed with anger at the insult. What reply ho might have made was checked by the sight of Sergt. Leary throwing himself from the saddle and tossing his reins to one of the men. He knew well enough what that meant, and sprang instantly in front of him. "Back to your horse, sir! Back, instantly!" for the sergeant's face was fierce with rage. "Mount, I say!" added the lieutenant, as the sergeant still hesitated, and even the sense of discipline could not keep the mounted troopers from a muttered word of encouragement. Slowly, wrathfully, reluctantly, the soldier obeyed, once turning furiously back as jeering taunts were hurled at him from among the ranchers, unrebuked by their manager. "Now move off with your men to the gate. Leave my horse, and wait for me there. Go!" added the young officer, sternly; and, with bitter mortification at heart and a curse stifled on his quivering lips, the Irishman turned his horse's head away and slowly walked him in the indicated direction. "Now, Mr. Manager." said Parry, farming fiercely upon the younger Englishman, "I have done my best to restrain my men; do you look out for yours. You have allowed them to insult me and mine, and you may thank your stars that discipline prevailed with my Ole, though you have nothing of the here." "Your men have cut down our fences, by your order, I presume," said the manager, coolly, "and it's lucky for them they got out of the way when they did. We have a right to protect our property and eject intruders, and" "I came here to inquire for a missing man?a right even an Englishman can' not deny us on these prairies. We had excellent reason to believe him injured, and thought, not knowing you for the inhospitable gang you are, that he might have been carried in here for treatment; there was no other place. Your proprietor tells me he is not here. After what I've seen of your people, I have reason to be still more anxious about him. Scant mercy a single trooper would have had at their hands. Now I ask you, Do you know or have you heard of a cavalry soldier being seen around here during the day?" Perry was standing holding his horse by the curb as lie spoke, facing the parlor windows and confronting the angry group of ranchmen. Within, though nearer the window than ho had left him, was the bent form of the owner of Dunraven, leaning on his cane and apparently impatiently striving to make himself heard as ho came forward. Before the manager could answer, ho was compelled to turn about and rebuke his men, + ??*SV Ap t??I*A?? tt?A??A Imv vi wuvui ? uuV/Uicub and menacing. Finally ho spoke: "I have heard nothing, but I tell you frankly that if any of your men have been prowling around here it's more than probable some one has got hurt. Has there been any trouble today, men?" he asked. "By God, there will bo if this ranch isn't cleared in five minutes," was the only answer. "Don't make an ass of yourself, Iloke," growled the manager. "They are going quick enough." "I am going," said Perry, swinging lightly into saddle; "and mind you this, sir: I go with well warranted suspicion that some of these bullies of yours have been responsible for the non-appearance of my stable sergeant. If he is not found this night you may confidently look for another visit. I say that to you also, Mr Mnifl.ind nml vrai mvf? if. tn mir fr\r bearanco that there has been no bloodshed here to-night." Old Maitland's tremulous tones were heard but a second in reply when he was interrupted by a coarse voice from the crowd of ranchmen, by this time increased to nearly a dozen men. Some of them were gathering about Perry as he sat in the saddle, and an applauding echo followed the loud interruption: "Give the swell a lift, Tummy; 'twill teach him better manners." Almost instantly Perry felt his right foot grasped and a powerful form was bending at the stirrup. He had heard of the trick before. Many a time has the London cad unhorsed the English trooper, taken unawares, by hurling him with sudden lift from below. But Perry was quick and active as a cat. Seat and saddle, too, were in his favor. Ho simply threw his weight on the left foot and his bridle hand upon the pommel, let the right leg swing over the horse's back until released from the brawny hand, then back it came as ho settled again in the saddle, his powerful thighs gripping like a vise; at the same instant, and before his assailant could duck to earth and slip out of the way, he had whipped out the heavy Colt's revolver and brought its / M MICH. can Frontier Iiife. ,ES KIYG, I . 8. A., jhter,'* " From the Ranks,*' "The t," Etc. nnpany, Philadelphia, and published by le American Press Association. butt with stunning crash down on the ranchman's defenseless head. There was instant rush and commotion. I In vain old Maitland feebly piped his protests from the veranda; in vain the overseer seized and held back one or two of the men and furiously called off the rest Aided by the darkness which veiled them, the others made a simultaneous rush upon the young officer and sought to drag him from his plunging horse. Perry held his pistol high in air, threatened with the butt the nearest assailant, yet loath to use further force. He was still in the broad glare of the parlor lights?a conspicuous mark; eager hands had grasped his bridle rein at the very bit, and he could not break away; and then missiles began to fly about his devoted head, and unless he opened fire he was helpless. While two men firmly held Nolan by the curb, half a dozen others were hurling from the ambush of darkness a scattering volley of wooden billets and chunks of coal. He could easily have shot down the men who held him. It was sore temptation, for already he had been struck and stung by unseen projectiles; but just as the manager sprang forward and with vigorous cuffs induced the men to loose their hold on his rein, there came three horsemen charging full tilt back into the crowd, scattering the assailants right and left; and, this time unrebuked, Sergt. Learv leaped from the saddle and, with a rage of fierce delight, pitched headlong into battle with the biggest ranchman in his way. And this was not all; for behind them at a rapid trot came other troopers, and in a moment the open 6pace was thronged with eager, wondering comrades?full half of Stryker's company? in whose overwhelming presence all thought of promiscuous combat seemed to leave the ranchmen. They slipped away in the darkness, leaving to their employers the embarrassment of accounting for their attack. Leary was still fuming with wrath and raging for further battle and shouting into the darkness fierce invective at the vanished head of his opponent. He turned on the overseer himself, and but for Perry's stern and sudden prohibition would have had a round with him, but was forced to content himself with the information conveyed to all within hearing that he'd "fight any tin min" the ranch contained if they'd only oome out where the lieutenant couldn't stop him. The troopers were making eager inquiry as to the cause of all the trouble, and, fearing further difficulty, Perry promptly ordered the entire party to "fall in." Silence and discipline were restored in a moment, and as the platoon formed rank he inquired of a sergeant how they came to be there. The reply was that it had grown so dark on the prairie that further searcli seemed useless, Capt. Stryker and most of the men had been drawn off by signals from the Cheyennes up the valley towards the post, and these men who had been beyond Dunraven on the northern prairie were coming back along the Monee trail when they saw the lights and heard voices over at the lower shore. There they found Leary, who was excited about something, and before they haa time to ask he suddenly shouted, "They're killin' the lieutenant. Come on, boys!" and galloped off with his own party; sc they followed. Perry quietly ordered them to leave a corporal and four men with him, and told the senior sergeant to march the others back to the post; he would follow in five minutes. Then he turned to the manager. "You will have to put up with my keeping some of my men with me, in view of ail the circumstances," he said, coldly. "But after this exhibition of lawlessness on the part of your people I do not propose to take any chances. I want to say to you that it is my belief that some of those ruffians you employ can tell what has become of our missing man, and that you will do well to investigate to-night. As to you, Mr. Maitland," he said, turning to the old gentleman, who had sunk into a low easy chair, "much as I regret having disturbed your privacy and?that of the? ladies of your household, you will admit now that justice to my men and to the service demands that I should report my suspicions and my reception here to the commanding officer at Fort Rossiter." There was no reply. "I wish you good night, sir," said Perry; but his eyes wandered in to the lighted parlor in search of a very different face and form?and still there was no answer. The manager came back upon the piazza and stepped rapidly towards them. Perry quickly dismounted and bent down over the crouching figure. "Why, here!" he suddenly exclaimed, "your employer is faint, or?something's gone wrong." "Hush!" was the low spoken, hurried answer of the Englishman. "Just beai a hand, will you, and help me to lift him to yonder sofa?" Easily, between them, they bore the i slight, attenuated form of the old man j into the lighted parlor. A deathly palloi ; had settled on his face. His eyes were closed, and he seemed fallen into a deeii | swoon. Perry would have set a cushion | under his head as they laid him down on a broad, easy couch, but the manage: ; jerked it away, lowering the gray hairs j to the very lev " of the back, so that the I mouth gaped wide and looked like death j itself. "Just 6teady his head in that position j one minute, like a good fellow. I'll be back in a twinkling," said the manager, j as he darted from the room and leaped 1 hurriodlv ud the hall stairwav. Porrv heard him rap at a distant door, I apparently at the southwest angle of the j big house. Then his voice was calling; j "Mrs. Cowan! Mrs. Cowan! would yon i have the goodness to come down quick' the master's ill." Then, before any answer could he given, another door opened aloft and trailing skirts and light foot falls camt I (lashing down the 6tairway. Almost before he could turn to greet her, she was ; in the room again, and with quick, irnj pulsive movement had thrown hersell i on her knees by his side. | "Oh, papa! dear father! I was afraid ! of this! Let me take his head on my I arm, so," she hurriedly murmured; "and ! would you step in the other room and ! fetch me a little brandy? 'Tis there or the sideboard." Perry sprang to do her bidding, found a heavy decanter on tho great oaken buffet, half filled a glass, and brought it with some water back to tho lounge. Sho stretched forth her hand, and, thanking him with a grateful look from her sweet, anxious eyes, took the liquet and carried it carefully to her father's ashen lips. "Can I not help you in somo way? Is there no one I can call?"'asked the younjj soldier, as ho bent over her. "Mr. Ewen has gone for her?our old nurse, I mean. She does not seem to be | in her room, and I fear sho has gone ovei to her son's?a young fellow at the store house. Mr. Ewen has followed by this time." She dipped her slender white finger.in tho water and sprinkled the forehead and eyelids of tho prostrate man. A feeble moan, followed by a deep drawn sigh, was the only response. More brandy poured into tho gaping mouth seemed only to strangle and distress him. No sign of returning consciousness rewarded her effort. "If Mrs. Cowan would only come! She has never failed us before; and wo so lean upon her at such a time." "Pray tell me which way to go. Surely I can find her," urged Perry. "Mr. Ewen must be searching for her now, or he would have returned by this time; and I dread being alone. I have never been alone with my father when he has had such a seizure." Perry threw himself on his knees beside her, marveling at the odd fate that had so suddenly altered all the conditions of his unlooked for visit. He seized one of the long, tremulous hands that lay so nerveless on the couch, and began rapid and vigorous chafing and slapping. Somewhere he had read or heard of women being restored from fainting 6pells by just such means. Why should it not prevail with the old man? He vaguely bethought him of burnt feathers, and looked about for the discarded pillow, wondering if it might not be a brilliant idea to cut it open and extract a handful and set it ablaze under those broad and eminently aristocratic nostrils. Happily, he was spared excuse for further experiment. He felt that life was returning to the hand he was so energetically grooming, und that feeble but emphatic protest against such heroic treatment was manifest. "I think he's coming to," he said. "He's trying to pi 11 away. Shall i keep on?" "Yes, dol Anything rather than have him lie in this death like swoon." Obediently he clung to his prize, rubbing and chafing hard, despite increasing tug and effort, Then came another feeble, petulant moan, and the hollow eyes opened just as rapid footfalls were heard on the veranda without and Mr. Ewen rushed breathless and ruddy faced into the room. " w nere ou eartn cuii umt v? uiuuu na?c gone?" he panted. "I cannot find her anywhere. Is he better, Miss Gladys?" "Reviving, I think, thanks to Mr.? thanks to you," she said, turning her eyes full upon the kneeling figuro at her side and sending Perry's heart up into his throat with delight at the gratitude and kindness in her glance. She was striving with one hand to unfasten the 6carf and collar at the old man's neck, but making little progress. "Let me help you," eagerly said Perry. "That, at least, is more in my line." And somehow their fingers touched as he twisted at the stubborn knot. She drew her hand away then, but it was gently, not abruptly done, and he found time to note that, too, and bless her for it. "I hate to seem ungracious, you know, after all that's happened," said Mr. Ewen, "but I fear 'twill vex him nwfully if heshould find you in here when ho comes to. He has had these attacks for some time past, and 1 think he's coming through all right See!" Old Maitland was certainly beginning to open his eyes again and look vacantly around him. "Better leave him to Miss Gladys," said the overseer, touching the young fellow on the shoulder. Perry looked into her face to read her wishes before he would obey. A flush was rising to her cheek, a cloud settling about her young eyes, but she turned, after a quick glance at her father. "I cannot thank you enough?now," she said, hesitatingly. "Perhaps Mr. Ewen is right. You?you deserve to be told the story of his trouble, you have been so kind. Some day you shall understand?soon?and not think unkindly of us." "Indeed I do not now," he protested. "And?whom are we to thank??your name, I mean?" she timidly asked. "I am Mr. Perry, of the ?th cavalry. We have only come to Fort llossiter this month." "And I am Miss Maitland. Some day 1 can thank you." And she held forth ner long, sum nana, no iook it very reverently and bowed over it, courtier like, longing to say something that might fit the occasion; but before his scattered senses could come to him there was another quick step at the veranda, and a voice that sounded strangely familiar startled his ears: "Gladys! What has happened?" And there, striding to the sofa with the steps of one assured of welcome and thoroughly at home in those strange precincts, came Dr. Quin. CHAPTER VIII. T WAS very late that night / ?. ^ie c?l?nel? seated on his veranda and smoking a W~~ cigar, caught sight or a cavalry sergeant hurriedly passing his front gate. The ruain searching parties had long since come home, unsuccessful; Lieut. Perry had returned and made report that the people at Dunraven denied having seen or heard anything of Gwynne, that both proprietor and manager had treated his visit as an affront, i and that he had had much difficulty in preventing a fracas between his men and ! a gang of rough fellows employed at the > ranch, that Mr. Maitland had fallen i back in a swoon, and that he had left i him to the care of Dr. Quin, who arrived soon after the occurrence. i The colonel had been greatly interested i and somewhat excited over the details of i Perry's adventure as that young gentleman finally gavo them, for at first he 1 was apparently averse to saying much 1 about it. Little by little, however, all i his conversation with Maitland and Ewen ' was drawn out, and the particulars of his hostile reception. The colonel agreed i with him that there was grave reason to 1 suspect some of the ranch people of knowing far more of Sergt. GWynne's | disappearance than they would tell; and finally, seeing Perry's indisposition to talk further, and noting his preoccupa> tion and apparent depression of spirits, I he concluded that between fatiguo and ! rasped nerves the young fellow would be glad to go to bed, so he said, kindly: 1 "Well, I won't keep you, Perry, you're tired out. I'll sit up and see the doctor ' when lie cets back and have u talk with him, then decide what steps we will take 1 in the morning. I'll send a party down ' the valley at daybreak, anyway. May I ' offer yon some whisky or a l>ottle of ! 1 beer?' i "Thank you, colonel, I believe not to- j night. A bath and a nap will set me all i I right, and I'll be ready to start out first I i thing in the morning. Good night, sir." I i But Col. Brainard could not go to sleep. The garrison had "turned in," all except tho guard and Capt. Stryker. That officer i had returned an hour after dark, and, getting a fresh horse, had started out ( again, going down tho south side of tho Moneo to search the timber with i lanterns, the Cheyenne scouts having ; reported that GWynne's horse had come up that way. He had been missed by I Mr. Perry, who galloped up the trail to ) catch the platoon before it reached the post, and the colonel, now that he had > neard the lieutenant's story, was impai ticntlv awaiting his return. Up to within a few minutes of midnight, however, i neither Stryker nor the doctor had come; I dim lights were burning in both their quarters and at the guard house. Everyi where else the garrison seemed Bhrouded in darkness. Catching sight of the yellow chevrons as they flitted through the flood i of light that poured from his open door way," the colonel instantly divined that this must be a sergeant of Stryker's troop going in search of his captain, and promptly hailed him: "What is it, sergeant? Any news?" "Yes, sir," answered the soldier, halting short. "Sergt. Qwynne's come back. I was going to the captain's to report." "How did he get back? Isn't he injured?" "He Bays he's had a fall, sir, and has been badly shaken up, but he walked in." "Why, that's singular! Did he see . none of the searching parties??see none of their lights?" "I can't make out, sir. He's a little queer?doesn't want to talk, sir. He asked if his horse got in all right, and went and examined the scratches, and seemed troubled about them; but ho doesn't say anything." "Has he gone to the hospital?" "No, sir; he'll sleep in his usual bunk at the 6tables to-night He is only bruised ana sore, 110 says, ciis race is cut and scratched and bound up in his handkerchief." "Very well," Baid the colonel, after a moment's thought. "The captain will look into the matter when he gets back. You take your horse and ride down the south side of the valley and find the Cheyenne scouts. Capt. Stryker is with them. Tell him the sergeant is home, safe." "Very well, sir." And the trooper saluted, faced about, and disappeared in the darkness; while the colonel arose, and, puffing thoughtfully at his cigar, began pacing slowly up and down the piazza. He wished Stryker were home; he wished Capt. Lawrence were officer of the day, and, so, liable to come out of his quarters again: he had heard just enough about that odd English ranch to make him feel disturbed and ill at ease. There had evidently been hostility between his predecessor and the proprietor of Dunraven, and very probably there had been bad blood between the men of the Eleventh cavalry and the employes of the ranch: else why should there have been so unprovoked an assault upon the lieutenant this night? Then there were other things that gave him disquiet. Several officers had gathered upon the piazza during the early evening; they were mainly of his own regiment, but Capt. Belknap and two of the infantry subalterns were there; Lawrenco did not come. Of course the talk was about the incident of the evening, and, later, the rumors about JDunraven. All this was new to the cavalrymen: they had heard, as yet, nothing at all, and were not a little taken aback by the evident embarrassment and ominous silence of the three infantrymen, when the colonel turned suddenly on Belknap with the question? "By the way, captain, I had no time to ask Lawrence, and it really did not occur to me until after he had gone, but ?what did he mean by saying that Dr. Quin could tell us something about the people at Dunraven?" Belknap turned red and looked uncomfortably at his two comrades, as though appealing to them for aid. The younger officers, however, would say nothing at all, and the colonel promptly saw that ho had stumbled on some piece on garrison gossip. "Never mind," ho said, with a kindly laugh. "I don't want to drag any stories out by the roots. The doctor can doubtless explain it all in good season." "Well, Col. Brainard," answered BelI - ?? ~ a 4a11 ilio f rntU T rnolln UIU1JJ, UUIB.llJ, W ICJi HIS UU>U, * .VU..J don't know anything about it, and I don't know any one who does, though I have heard some woman talk about the post The relations between Dr. Quin and some of the officers of the Eleventh were rather strained, and ho is a somewhat reserved and secretive man. The stories were set afloat here last fall, and wo had to hear more or less of them until the Eleventh went away this spring. Wo know only that Dr. Quin has been to Dunraven and the rest of us haven't. Possibly some of the Eleventh were piqued because they had no such luck, or perhaps their ladies did not like it because Quin wouldn't tell them anything about what he saw. At all events, he refused to talk on the subject at all, and allowed people to draw their own conclusions." "He probably told his post commander," suggested Lieut. Farnham, who, as acting adjutant of the post and an aspirant for the adjutancy of the regiment, thought it a good opportunity of putting in a word as indicative of what ho considered the bounden duty of an officer under like circumstances. "Well, no, I fancy not," replied Bel knap. "About the only thing we really do know Is that, In a somewhat angry interview last fall, Col. Stratton forbade Dr. Quin's leaving the post or going to Dunraven without his express permission. I happened to be in the office at the time." "Was it before or after that he was said to go there so often?" asked Farnham. "Well, both," answered Belknap, reluctantly. "But understand me, Mr. Farnham, I know nothing whatever of the matter." "I should not suppose that Col. Stratton would care to restrict his post surgeon from going thither if they needf 1 his professional services," said C 1. Brainard, pleasantly. "That was the point at issue, apparently," answered Belknap. "Col. Stratton 6aid that it was not on professional grounds that he went,and thereby seemed to widen the breach between them. Dr. Quin would not speak to the colonel after that, except when duty required it." Tho conversation changed here, and little moro was said; but Col. Brainard could not help thinking of a matter that he carefully kept to himself. It was not his custom to require his officers to ask permission to leave tho garrison for a ride or hunt when they were to bo absent from no duty, and only by day. Here it was midnight, as he thought it over, and tho doctor had not returned, neither had he mentioned his desire to ride away, although ho had been with the colonel well nigh an hour before parade. True, ho had sent tho doctor word to go and join Lieut. Perry at tho gate of Dunraven, and that would account for his detention; but ho knew that the surgeon was several miles away from his post and his n.itients at tho moment that message t ? was sent. Meantime, Perry, too, was having a communion with himself, and finding it all vexation of spirit. All the way home the memory of that sweet English face was uppermost in his thoughts He had been startled at tho sight of a young and fair woman at Dunraven; ho had felt a senso of inexplicable rejoicing when sho said to him, "I am Miss Mainland;" it would have jarred him to know that sho was wife; he was happy, kneeling by the side of tho beautiful girl he had never seen beforothat evening, and delighted that ho could bo of service to her. All this was retrospect worth indulging; but then arose tho black shadow on his vision. How came Dr. Quin striding in there as though "native and to tho manner born?"?how came he to call her "Gladys?" Perry had been pondering over this matter for full half an hour on tho homeward rido before he bethought him of Mrs. Lawrence's remarks about the signal lights. One thing led to another in his recollection of her talk. The doctor answered tho signals, no one else; the doctor and no one else was received at Dunraven; the doctor had declined to answer any questions about tho people at the ranch; had been silent and mysterious, yet frequent in his visits. And then, more than all what was that Mrs. Lawrence said or intimated that Mrs. Quin, "such a lovely woman, too," had taken her children and left him early that spring, and all on account of somebody or something connected with Dunraven Ranch? Good heavens! It could not be "Gladys." And yet Instead of taking a bath and going to bed, "Mr. Perry poked hie head into Parke's bachelor chamber as he reached the little cottage they shared in common. No Gladys disturbed the junior's dreams, apparently, for ha was breathing regularly, sleeping the sleep of the just; and so, finding no one to talk to and being in * no mood to go to bed at an hour so comparatively early when he had so much to think about, Perr^ filled a pipe and perched himself in a big chair by the window seat, intending to think it all over again. He was beginning to hate that doctor; he would have chafed at the idea of any bachelor's being before him in an acquaintance with Gladys Maitland, but a married man knowing her so well as to make his wife jealous and himself indifferent to that fact?knowing her so well as to drive "such a lovely woman, too," into taking her children and quitting the marital roof?that was too much of a bad thing, and Perry was sore discomfited. He got up, impatient and restless, passed out to the little piazza in iroiu 01 ma quui ran, uuu uegun up and down, the glow from his corncob ^ pipe making a fiery trail in the darkness. He would have been glad to go back to , the colonel and keep watch with liim; ^ but there wospn^idng connected with his visit to Dunraven that he could not j bear to speak of, especially as those , words of Mrs, Lawrence recurred again and again to his memory. He had not \ said one word?he did not want to tell? | of Gladys Maitland. i And so it happened that Perry, too, was awake and astir when the footsteps i of the cavalry sergeant were heard on ( their way to Capt. Stryker's quarters. ' Listening, he noted that the soldier had j halted at the colonel's, held a brief con- J versatio'n with that officer, and then turned back across the parade. Instant- ! ly divining that news had come of Sergk Gwynne, Perry seized his forage cap and , hurried in pursuit. He overtook the j trooper just beyond the guard house and ( went with him eagerly to the Btables. A moment more, and lie was bending over a soldier's bedside in a little room adjoin- . ing the forage shed and by the light of a < dim stable lantern looking dowu into the j bruised and battered features of the non- < commissioned officer, whom he had pronounced of all others at Rossiter the 1 most respected and highly thought of by ! the cavalry garrison. '< "Sergeant, I'm very sorry to see you so badly mauled," said Perry. "How on earth did it happen?" Gwynne turned his head painfully until the one unbandaged eye could look about and see that none of the stable guard were within hearing, then back again and up into the sympathetic face of his young superior. "Lieutenant, I must tell you and the , captain; and yet it is a matter 1 profoundly wish to keep as secret as posoiKlo?flift of-rsrrr r\f mt? i-lntr'a T mean." "You need not tell me at all If you do not wish to," 6aid Perry; "though I think it is due to yourself that the captain should know how it was you were | gone all day and that your horse and you both came back In such condition." "I understand, sir, fully," answered Gwynne, respectfully. "I shall tell the captain the whole story, If he so desire. Meantime, I can only ask that no one else be told. If the men in the troop had an inkling of the true story there would be endless trouble; and so I have tried to account for it by saying my horse and I had an ugly fall while running a coyote through the timber. Wo did see a coyote, down near the ranch on the Monee, and I did have an ugly fall: 1 was set upon by three-of^those ranchmen and badly handled." "Yes, damn them!" said Perry, excitedly and wrathfully. "I've had an experience with them myself to-night, while we were searching for you." "So much the more reason, sir, why my mishap should not be told among tho men. The two affairs combined would be more than they would stand. There are enough Irishmen here in our troop alone to go down and wipe that ranch out of existence; and I fear trouble as it standa " 'Whether there will be trouble or not will depend very much on the future conduct of the proprietor and manager down there. Of course we cannot tolerate for an instant the idea of their maintaining a gang of ruffians thero who are allowed to assault officers or men who haDDen to ride around that neigh borhood. You were not Inside their limits, were you?" "Yes, sir," said the sergeant, painfully, "I was; I had tied my horse outside and ventured in to get a nearer look at the buildings." "What time did it happen?" "This morning, sir; not more than an hour and a half after you spoke to mo in the valley." "Indeedl Then you must have lain there all day I Why, Gwynnc, this will never do. I'll go and get the surgeon and have him look you all over. You must have been brutally mauled, and must be utterly exhausted." "Don't go, sir," said the sergeant, eagerly stretching forth a hand. "It? It isn't us you think, sir. I have been kindly cared for. They're not all ruffians down there, and the men who assaulted me will be fully punished. I've been quite as well nursed and fed and brandied and bandaged as though I'd been carried right to hospital. Indeed, I don't need anything but rest* I'll bo all right in a day." "But 1 think Dr. Quin ought to seo you and satisfy us you are not injured." "Be satisfied, sir. The doctor has seen mo. "Why, but how??where? lie was here all day, and only went away at sunset. Ho joined me at Dunravcn about 9 o'clock, ami naunt reiurneu wnen i came in. Did lie find you and bring you back?" Gwynne hesitated painfully again: "The doctor saw mo this eveningdown near where I was hurt; but I got back here without iiis help, sir. Lieutenant," said the soldier, suddenly, "there are one or two things conuectcd with this day's work that I cannot tell. Come what may, I must not speak of them, even to the captain." Perry was silent a moment. Then he lcindly answered: "1 do not think any one hero will press you to tell what you consider it might be ungrateful or dishonorable in you to reveal. I will do what f can to see that your wishes are respected. And now, if you are sure I can do nothing for you, good night, sergeant." And the young officer held out his hand. "Good night, sir," answered Gwyune. lie hesitated one moment. It was the first time since ho entered the service, nearly five years before, that an officer offered him his hand. It was a new and strange sensation. It might not be "good discipline" to take advantago of it, but thero were other reasons. Gwynne Jooked up in the frank blue eyes of his Jieutenant and read something there that told a new story. Out came a hand as slender and shapely as that of the young officer, and the two were silently ana firmly clasped. "How can I question him?" said Perry to himself as he walked slowly home* "ward. "Is there not something I am holding back??something I cannot speak of? lly Jupiter! can his bo the same reason?" TO HE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK. ?? [ Night or morning fogs, or in I winter persistent fogs, often signify I si calm and settled condition of the j 5iir and the prevalence of fair weathj er. Heavy dews, especially in au| tumn, likewise portend fine weather, hut usually of shorter duration. Fogs appear usually in one of two con! ditions?either the air is nearly satu! rated up to a considerable height, or else is unusually dry, except in a stratum immediately above the ground. 2ttisccUnnc0U5 grading. THE WORLDS PRAYER. (), Almighty Dollar! our acknowledged governor, preserver and bene"actor, we desire to approach thee, )n this and every other occasion, with that reverence which is due to superior excellence, and that regard which should ever he cherished for ixalted greatness. Almighty I)olar! without thee in the world we >an do nothing, but with thee we can lo all things. When sickness lays ts palsying hand upon us, thou canst provide for us the tenderest of nurses, :he most skillful physicians; and when the last struggle of mortality s over, and we are being borne to * ~ A: ?/xr 4-Urx IIwmi i?utj resunj; pmire i#i uic uraiuj uiuu sin provide a band of music and i military escort to accompany us ;hither; and last, but not least, erect i magnificent monument over our graves, with a lying epitaph to perpetuate our memories. And while here in the midst of oiisfortunes and temptations of life, we perhaps are accused of crime, and Drought nefore magistrates; thou, AJmighty Dollar, canst secure to us \ feed lawyer, a bribed judge, a packed jury and we go scot free. Be with us, we pray thee, in all thy decimal parts, for we feel that thou art the one altogether lovely ind cheapest among ten thousand. We feel there is no true condition in life where thy potent and all powerful charms are not felt. In thy absence how gloomy is the household, and how desolate the hearthstone; but when thou, Almighty Dollar, art with us, how gleefully the beefsteak sings on the gridiron; how genial the warmth the anthracite coal or hickory wood diffuses throughout the Apartments, and what an exuberance of joy continues to swell every bosom. Thou art the joy of our youth, and the solace of old age. Thou canst Adorn the gentleman and thou feedest the jackass. Thou art the favorite of the philosopher, and the idol of the lunkhead. Where an election is to he carried, O, Almighty Dollar ! thou art the most potent argument of politicians and demagogues, r*?/l 41* n 4- rlnnirlna +KA nnn_ milt UIC uiii|;uv nun uctiviui tii& wntest. Almighty Dollar, thou art worshipped the world over. Thou hast no hyprocrites in thy temples or false hearts at thy altars. Kings and courtiers how before thee, and all nations adore thee; thou art loved by the civilized and savage alike, with unfeigned and unaltering affections. (), Almighty Dollar! in the acquirement and defense of human liberty thou hast placed armies in the field and navies on the ocean. At the uplifting of thy powerful hand their thunders would break and their lightnings flash. Thou hast bound continents together by the telegraph cables, and made the varied products of our country available to all by a perfect net of railroads. The forest has been prostrated and the desert made to blossom as the rose. We continue to regard thee as the handmaid of religion, the twin sister ~ iiruit.A i:,-Tx4 ui cnuriiy. >\ jicu we wi wj shining countenance breaks through the gloom of famine-stricken Ireland, the shamrock wears a greener hue, and the harp resounds in loftier strains, while weeping mothers and starving children rise above their wails of woe, as their hearts and their heels resound to thrilling strains of "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning." When our brothers and sisters of the sunny South are smitten "hip and thigh" by the climate scourgeof fever, and destitution prevails in consequence of the cessation of industries and suffering is increased from lack of nurses and medical attendance and they call for the almighty dollar of the North, thou goest on the wings of love to their rescue, while the air that was discordant with, groans and shrieks, becomes redolent with the exhilarating melodvof" Yankee Doodle." (), Almighty Dollar! be with us, we beseech thee, attended by an inexpressible number of thy ministering angels, made in thine own image, even though they be but silver quarters, whose gladdening light shall illumine the vale of penury and want with heavenly radiance which shall cause the awakened soul to break forth in acclamations of joy. Almighty Dollar! thou art the awakener of our energies, the guide of our footsteps and the goal of our being. Guided by thy silvery light we hope to reach the "Golden Gate" triumphantly; enter while angels' hands harmoniously sweep their golden harps, and we, on the golden streets, in the highest exhilaration of feeling, and with jubilant emotions, strike the Highland fling. Almighty Dollar, thy shining face Hespeaks thy wondrous power; In my pocket make thy resting place; I need thee every hour. And now, Almighty Dollar, in closing this invocation, we realize and acknowledge that thou wert the God of our grandfathers, the two-fold God of their children, and the three-fold God of their grandchildren. Permit us to possess thee in abundance, and of all thy varied excellencies, is our constant and unwavering prayer. Amen. KEEPING THE REMNANTS. There lived in the northern part of tne Kingdom a man wnose name was David. Now, David was a cunning workman in cutting and making all kinds of garments whereby men are clothed. And not only was lie famous for his skill in making these garments, but likewise in looking after his cabbage, otherwise called remnants. Now this was a continual source of trouble between him and his customers, who always wished to have theremnants for repairs. Now, David declared that if he exercised his skill in cutting a garment out of the regular amount of cloth, he was entitled to the remainder. Now it came to pass about this time that a certain man well skilled in the laws of the nation, desired to have a coat made. So he went to them that sold and bought the material wherewith to make it; and he sent a messenger to David, desiring him to bring his measuring line that he might measure him therewith. And David arose and took his staff in his hand, and came unto the house of the lawyer and saluted him. The lawyer said unto him?"Now, David, I have heard it said that thou art in the habit of keeping all the remnants. Now, thou knowest that I am well skilled in all the laws of the nation, and there is no law whereby thou canst withhold that which is not thine own. Here is a piece of cloth, from which 1 desire thee to make a coat; and here also are buttons and thread, and all that thou requirest; and 1 demand of thee that thou bring back every remnant of thread, lining and cloth, and every piecethat thou hast left over; then I will nay thee." And David answered and said unto him, "I will do even as thou sayest." Thereupon the lawyer brought out his balance and laid his bundle upon it, and said unto David, ".See, I have weighed it and thou shall have to account for every ounce of it." And David answered and said unto him, "I will do even as thoudesireth me." And David took the bundle in one hand and his staff in the other, and hi.! Iw.nuo Vnu\ thorp fcUL UlllW , were none in the hind filled with wisdom like unto David, and he said within himself, "I must show this crafty lawyer that I am as crafty as he." So David arose early in the morning, and after divers measurements he not only cut the coat out of the cloth, hut the front of a vest for himself as well. Then he took a piece of money and gave it to the servant saying, "Get me some lead drops for this piece of money and the servant did even as he was told. Now David took these drops and sowed them in the border of the garment to make up the weight thereof. And when he had finished the coat and tied it up in a bundle, he put on his new vest and went to the house of the lawyer, who rejoiced to see his coat made so quickly and exactly to his mind. Then the lawyer asked for the remnants, and David showed him divers triangles and rectangles of cloth, and lining, and various small pieces of thread. Thereupon the lawyer placed all upon the balance, and found that they agreed with the weight which he had given unto David, and said unto him' "Thou has done even as I desired thee," and he gave him a piece of money for his labor. Then David said unto the lawyer, "Art thou perfectly satisfied?" And he answered "Perfectly?" Then David unbuttoned his. rtM.it finrl uairl 4,S!no hprp. tllPTl. T hflVP got ii vest out of thy cloth." Then the lawyer said, "Tell me how thou hast done this." Then David whispered into the ear of the lawyer, "Canst thou keep a secret?" The lawyer said, "Yes." David said, "80 can I." 80 David took his departure. A CURIOUS COINCIDENCE. "I used to travel around the country with a patent hay-fork," said the man with the green patch on his left eye, as it came his turn to tell a story. * "I am not going to say anything about that patent more than that no farmer ever got any benefit from it. What I wish to bring out is what might be called a curious coincidence, and one that I have kicked mvselfovor a dozen times. "It was in this way," he continued, as he got settled back on his seat. "Farmers have their weak spots the same as other folks. You can hit some of them by praising their buildings, others by admiring their horses, others, again, through their hogs or calves. I had a way of hitting them all, and it worked to my great profit every time. When I got up in the morning, after staying all night with a farmer, I got off something as follows: "I had a very curious dream last night. I dreamed that I was digging out behind your barn, just on a line with a big knot-hole in tire sixth board from the west end, and I unearthed a tin box containing two thousand dollars in greenbacks. The dream was so vivid that I almost feel the box in my hands. There's nothing in a dream of course, but I never had one that seemed so real." ' "Mind you, I had taken notice of the knot-hole the evening before. Sometimes I fixed a place behind the barn and sometimes near a stump, or so many paces from a certain tree or straw-stack; but it was all settled on beforehand. It wasn't one time in twenty that a farmer would charge me for my lodgings after giving him this dream. It hit 'em plumb centre, and they were only too anxious to get me out of the way so they could begin digging." "Go on," said several voices, as he made a long pause. "Well, one morning, after lodging with a farmer all night and getting his note for fifty dollars for a hayfork, I related the usual dream in the usual way. This time it was buried treasure beneath a stump near his barn. I saw that he was Jiard hit at once, and he left me eating breakfast and went down to dig. I was chuckling over his greenness, when became walking in with a tin box under his arm." "You don't say?" "But I do, and it was a box he had dug out a foot or so below the surface. It was broken open right then and there, and may I be drowned for a yaller dog if the contents l-' i-ii. ?a .r. i t'.l.r :,.0* rto ?n,u] UKIIl'L pUIl UUt Hi ju.ii ii.i guuu greenbacks as ever you saw." "But?but?" "There were no buts about it. He found the money and kept it, as was his right, and no one ever came to claim it. This two dollar bill was a part of it. He gave it to me as a reward for my dream, and I am keeping it as a relic to show what a fool a man can make of himself. That's all, gentlemen?all except that I want some of you to kick me as soon as convenient.?[New York Star. CHINESE ECONOMY. An example of careful, calculating economy is the construction of the cooking pots and boilers, the bottoms of which are as thin as possible, that the contents may boil all the sooner, for fuel is scarce and dear, and consists generally of nothing but the stalks and roots of the crops, which make a rapid blaze and disappear. The business of gathering fuel is committed to children, for one who can do nothing else can at least pick up straws and weeds. In autumn and winter a vast army of fuel gatherers spread over the land. Hoys ascend trees and heat them with clubs to shake off the leaves; the very straws get no time to show which way the wind blows before they are annexed by some enterprising collector. Similarly professional manure collectors swarm all over the roads of the country. Chinese women carry this minute economy into their dress; nothing comes amiss to them; if it is not used in one place it is in another, where it appears a thing of beauty. Foreign residents who give their cast-off clothes away to the Chinese may be assured that the career of usefulness of these garments is at last about to commence. Chinese wheelbarrows squeak for the want of a few drops of oil; but to people who have no nerves the squeak is cheaper than the oil. .Similarly dirt is cheaper than hot water, and so, as a rule, the people do not wash; the motto, "Cheaper than dirt," which the soap dealer puts in his windows, could not be made intelligible to the Chinese. To them the average foreigners are mere soapwasters. Scarcely any tool can be got readymade; it is so much cheaper to buy the parts and put them together for yourself, and as almost everybody tiikes this view, ready-made tools are not to be got. Two rooms are dimly lighted with a single lamp deftly placed in a hole in the dividing wall. Chinese, in fact, seem to be capable of doing almost anything by means of almost nothing. They will give you an iron foundry on a minute scale of completeness in a back yard, and will make in an hour a cooking range, of strong and perfect draught, out of a pile of mud bricks, lasting indefinitely, operating perfectly and costing nothing. The old ..-lift In imr lust. moments WWJIlilil IIU A II IIV1 ?i*uv ........ hobbled as near as possible to the family graveyard in order to die so as to avoid the expense of coftin bearers, was Chinese. A TkxasSexatoh.?Senator Coke of Texas does not care a rap about any formal observance, except the instance that he shall not be interrupted in business. Absorbed in writing one day, he was rudely slapped on the shoulder by a stalwart greaser: "Hello, Dick Coke, how you was?" "Who are you and what do you want here?" demanded the senator, as if he took the fellow for a burglar. "I'm Bill Snaggs from Coyoteville. I walked in, and seeing that these here r/?nni< holmiir to flip Xtiltp of Texas. I thought I'd just drop in and make myself at home, and you needn't be putting 011 any airs with me." "Since you have done me this honor," replied Senator Coke, beginning to be inwardly amused, "I will jnst give you a little lesson in Washington manners. Just go out by that door through which you came and inquire at the hotel desk if Senator Coke is in. If they say yes, come [ back, knock at the door, and ask the ft person who opens it the same thing." si The Taxan hesitated, but seeing t; tire in the senator's eye, complied si with his directions. Coke was alone s< in his apartment, hence when he a heard the knock he opened the door A himself. "Is Senator Coke in ?" ask- u ed the visitor, looking dazed. "Not n to callers ; he is occupied with some u matters of special importance to the w State and cannot he interrupted by si visitors to-day. Sorry. Call again." is As the fellow stalked off he was heard to mutter: "Well, I'll he darn- tl ed." * ai ? ? ii EDISON'S BIG CHECK. When Edison had finally sold his ( patent on the gold and stock indicator to the Western Union Telegraph company for $40,000, he came over to A. New York to get his money. c! He had heard of Wall street and 11 its hulls and bears, and had been told e that it was full of "sharks," who u would fleece a man very quick. So 11 he made un his mind that Wall street a! was a very dangerous place, and that al if he ever had occasion to go there he J* would be lucky if he got away with- J1 out losing his overcoat and umbrella. a At that time General Lefferts was A president of the Western Union. 1{ One morning Edison came into the a company's general offices to close up u the sale of his patent. After a few 0 preliminaries he was given a check 11 for $40,000. h lie looked at it curiously for a moment or two and appeared to be puzzled what to do with it.' He knew " that he had sold a patent to the Western Union company for $40,000, but ? he did not see any money. Observ- h ing his perplexity, General Lefferts s' told him that if he would go to the Lank of America, in Wall street, he would get the check cashed. "So I v started," said Edison, "after carefully s' folding up the check and went to- 2 ward Wall street." 11 On arriving at the Bank of America he hesitated about entering, fear- 1 ing still that something might be 11 wrong. At last, however, he mus- ^ tered up courage and half trembling- l) ly shoved his check out to the cashier. 1' The latter scrutinized it closely, gave v "EVlicnr? o niormnir o-lonnn and stfiwl 1 someThing^whicir Edison could not ^ understand, as he was hard of hear- s ing. 11 That was enough. He was now n more than ever convinced that his " "check" wasn't worth $40,000, and > thought as he rushed out of the bank with it, that any man who would give him $2,000 could walk away s with the check. He hurried back to k the Western Union offices and said g he couldn't get any money. General \ Lefferts sent a man with him to iden- d tify him. He said: "This man is 1 Mr. Thomas A. Edison, to whose or- d (ler the check is drawn." \ "Why, certainly, Mr. Edison," a said the cashier, obsequiously, "how t would you like your $40,1)00?in what \ shape?" f "Oh! any way to suit the bank, t It doesn't make any difference to me a so long a?I get my money." \ Edison was given $40,0(H) in large t bills. After dividing the roll into e wads of $20,000 each, he stuffed one i into each trouser's pocket, buttoned i up his coat as tightly as possible, and I made a break to get out of Wall I street as quick as he could. The next i day he be^an work on his first labor- 1 atory at Isew York. f > POSTAGE STAMPS. 1 Congress first authorized the issue [ of postage stamps in 1845, says the c Rochester Herald. Previous to that ^ time postage was paid in cash. The * first stamps were issued in 1847, and | were of the denominations of five and , ten cents. The five-cent stamp had , a picture of Benjamin Franklin and r the ten-cent the head of Washington as the principal figure in the design. s These heads have continued to adorn J the postage stamps of our country , from that day to this. The stamps , first issued were a little larger than those now in use. In 1851 the carrier system was introduced in all large cities, and stamps of a peculiar design, costing one cent each and * known as carriers' stamps, were is sued for the purpose of providing 1 prepaid delivery. In that year the ? letter postage was reduced to three ( cents, and the old brick dust red three 1 cent stamp came in. At the same 1 time the issue was enlarged to eight ] stamps, the largest denomination 1 being ninety cents. The portrait of ( Jefferson was introduced on the five cent stamp, hut the other seven bore the heads of Washington and Frank- 1 lin in different designs. Thesestamps j were the most popular ever issued by J the department. They remained in ] use ten years. 1 Among the rarest American stamps are some which were not issued by 1 the government. When congress, in ' 1845, authorized the use of stamps, it ] neglected to make such provisions as j warranted the postal authorities, in | their estimation, in the issue of 1 stamps. During the period of two \ years preceding the issue of government stamps the principal cities of f the United States issued what were < known as postmasters'stamps. They ' were intended for the convenience \ of business men who desired to mail > letters after the closing of the post- ] office, for the postoftice did not re- ' main in operation all night in the primitive days of the postal service. ] These stamps were used by postmas- 1 ters at New York, Philadelphia, 1 Washington, Baltimore, St. Louis, ! Providence, Alexandria and a great many other places. Some of these stamps were mere slips of paper bear- 1 ing the signatures of the postmasters. 1 Collectors value the Baltimore stamp, . which is of this character, at $2(10. i A stamp which was issued by the i postmaster of New Haven, is worth < on an original used evelope $300 and 1 more. A postage stamp issued by i the Milbury postmaster, which was < of elaborate design for those days i and bore the head of Washington, i brings easily $300 to $500. ] Ci'HK FoiiCold Fekt.?An Indian ; " " ? -- i 1 ..< i of the Cheyenne Agency nau une ui his legs injured, making amputation 1 necessary to save his life. Dr. Daniel, 1 of the agency, urged him to have an 5 operation performed, but the noble ( red man thought he would cut but a ? sorry figure with one leg, and said 1 he would rather die. Arguments ; were unavailing. The doctor then ] thought of a good scheme to gain his consent. He hied himself to Pierre, 1 where he secured the service of a ' friend who journeys through life on < one leg of flesh and another manu- 1 factured from the bark of the cork- ?' tree. Together they started to the ( reservation, and, after the doctor's friend had given the brave an exhibition of how he could fly around-on . his cork member, the Indian was satisfied and even anxious to submit to ] the operation, and told the doctor , that he might cut off both legs, as he ; was habitually troubled with cold feet every winter. The United States Flag.?It is astonishing when one considers how very few persons, native Americans too, who are acquainted with ; mi nf /Mir nqfirkiml fliiir Hie I'UlIipwiUWil W1 VM1 said a naval officer, recently. In engravings and pictures I daily see misrepresentations of the flag, and even upon poles or in processions on holidays. They are made with more than the required number of stripes, more or less stars in the union than there should be, or the arrangement of the stripes as regards colors is not right. Then again the flags are not made of proper dimensions. The official flag is made as follows: There should be thirteen stripes, representing the original States of the Union, border stripes of red; the union, of blue, should be seven stripes square, resting on white, with >ur red and white stripes on the ides; the entire flap: should be twenr-one stripes long and thirteen tripes wide. Very often flags are 30n with fifteen to twenty stripes tul over fifty stars in the union, iside from these irregularities, it is uite common on holidays to see ags with the union down. By the nion down is meant having stripes here the union should he. It lould always be uppermost. If it i down, it signifies distress. All good Americans ought to know lese things, but from observation ud inquiry I find that hardly one 1 fifty understands the composition f our emblem, or even knows how ) display it. 4- ? ? Interesting Surgical Case.? . distinguished physician of this ty tells of a recent case in his pracce that has certain features of inter>t. In a household of this city there 'as a hoy of twelve who possessed lany excellent qualities, being amible, truthful and upright. Passing long the street one day a piece of oard fell from the second story of a ouse that was being built, and struck im, inflicting a wound on his head, .fter a time the wound healed and ;ft merely a slight scar. But it soon fterward appeared that the boy had ndergone an unaccountable change f character. He had become a liar nd a thief, and was almost brutal in is nature. At last the parents conjlted the physician to whom we ave referred, and who made a study f the case. He finally suggested :iat the boy should be trephined, in rder to ascertain if any injury had een done to the brain when the kull was struck. When the operation had been perirmed in the vicinity of the scarj it ,fas found that a splint from the mide of the skull had pierced the brain, tfter the splint had oeen carefully reloved and the wound properly ressed, the boy rapidly recovered;, 'o the delight of his parents it was iade apparent tnat tne evil traits ,'hich had been brought into play y some unknown means had disapeared. He was changed again, and -'as once more the amiable, truthful nd upright boy that he had been be)re he was wounded. "This case," lid the distinguished physician who arrates the facts of it, "would be relarkable if the medical books were ot full of similar cases."?[New fork Sun. Silent Forces.?Workmen in the tone quarries often find a very hard :ind of rock. They pick little rooves for the iron wedges, and then nth great sledge-hammers drive and irive the wedges into the flinty rock. Ind yet once in awhile they fail to livide the solid mass. The iron vedges and the sledge prove useless, nd the workmen wonaer at the stubborn rock. But there is yet another vay. The iron wedges are removed rom the narrow grooves. Then litle wooden ones of a very hard fibre ire selected. The sharp, well made vooden wedges are first put into waer. They are then inserted in the grooves tightly while wet, and water s kept in the grooves, and no sledge s needed to drive them. They would ireak under the severe blows of the londerous hammer. But the worknen just let the wet wedges alone, rhey will do what the driven iron ailed to do. How so? The damp -vood swells, the particles must have oom to enlarge,and the granite heart >f the rock cannot withstand the sient influence. In a little while the olid rock parts from top to bottom, +V?/-? nrAt*1rman'u Will flPPHTTl uiu inu n vinuiuu IT MWW... >lishe<l. It is so, often in other hings. What noise and visible efbrt fail to do, some quiet power, ,vhen applied, will surely accomplish. Teachers may remember this fact in nechanics, and manage some very stubborn natures by the application )f the silent forces. The iron and he sledge-hammer often fail, but ears, prayers and a patient example lever fail. Every Man a Brick.?Very few of the thousands who use the ibove slang term know its origin or ts primitive significance, according :o which it is a grand thing to say of i man "He's a brick." The word, lsed in its original intent, implies ill that is brave, patriotic and loyal. Plutarch, in his life of Agesilaus, dng of Sparta, gives us the meaning )f the quaint and familiar expression. On a certain occasion an ammsador from Epirus, on a diplomatc mission, was shown by the king iver his capital. The ambassador tnew of the monarch's fame?knew :hat though nominally only king of ^nnrhi hp was ruler of Greece?and le had looked to see massive walls earing aloft their embattled towers .'or the defense of the city, but found nothing of the kind. Pie marveled much at this, and spoke of it to the king. "Sire," said he, "I have visted most of the principal towns, and 1 find no wall reared for defense. Why is this?" "Indeed, sir ambassador," replied Agesilaus, "thou anst not have looked carefully. Dome with me to-morrow morning md I will show you the walls of Sparta." Accordingly on the following morning the king led his guest nut upon the plain where his army was drawn up in full array, and, pointing proudly to the patriot host, ho said: "There thou beholdest the walls of Sparta?ten thousand men, md every man a brick." "i., 'piiv fJum?Thp erin v/mui^ v/i litii 0--r lias been traced by the London Times with reasonable certainty to Eastern Asia and the floods, followed by famine and malaria, which occurred in the Hoang-IIo, or Yellow river, of L'hina, two years ago. Similar out)reaks of influenza have originated in the same region from the same iause, or at least the disease has spread west through Siberia just after overflows of Chinese rivers which produced famine and fevers. The jreat streams of the Celestial empire support a teeming population, and when the mud deposits destroy the rice crops and breed malaria the people die by hundreds of thousands uul epidemic makes its career of congests westward just as the ancient Scythians did. Until China and oth?r Oriental countries receive our science and put in practice modern notions of sanitation, there is no preventive means that can stay the progress of the red, black and other deaths that issue from that cradle of destruction. All that can lie done is to lessen the evil by proper treatment uul quarantine closely against the deadlier pestilences. Boost Yourself.?A small boy was endeavoring to climb a tree, and was standing with arms and legs em ---? uracing 11, wnen jic ?*i>v ituumci wj passing on the other side of the street, und called out to him : "I say, Bill, come over and give me a boost!" Bill's answer was not polite or helpful, but it contained a full bushel of common sense. "Boost yourself!" he said, sententiously, and walked on about his business. Perhaps it would have been better for liim to go across and help a fellow, hut he spoke a sentence of sound philosophy in those two words. There are many in this world waiting for somebody to give them a boost, when what they need is to boost themselves. It will often do a bov more good to make his own start in life than to have some other person start him. Find your own place, and * then you will have your own power, and not some other man's influence. There are plenty of Micawbers waiting for something to turn up, when they ought to go out and turn up something. Find a tree which bears fruit worth climbing after, take a Arm hold and then boost yourself. ?[Our Youth.