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| .7-' ■*****•»■ '•'»««-- K . ■ ■• ■m : f ■. • - J;& '. - V-' ' ■ jvj? ■. XTHTT il . A ! ir;)j/i HI. > • MMI ■-1 1 v ^ ' v« <\At U'\ r o hth uv ^.:- -i -■ 1-t-r-~r: .i tri-weekly edition. wtwr ii-fCsttisyi DESKBTED. , t , r — • . * nt spb, far-flooding all the pebbled sand, :ui& stone to ae ty lull Sound ^murmured to the strand, “ , lover’s tone; And yet I kil ewhere^ of the priceless cups? off the carved shelf of the Japanese cabinet and broke it into three piece*. "Mrs. Whitworth W'alkingham will commit suicide,” cried Medora, clasp ing her humh—Mtih^ciianhttHiI linrn - n ‘^ I inrn* .fo^J'fwear you to eternal secT Some other shore, as fair,' hy waves have Icisssed and left It dry and lone. right sunshine, gleaming wall, on my cottage Traping the shadows of a|4 ivy spray, , low tenderly, thy golden touches fall On common things to-day; Yet, beneath other skies Some land benighted lies, . qserted by tky glory, cold and gray. lithe bird, loud-warbling underneath the eaves An eager love-«ong passionate and shrill, My heart is trembling amid summer leaves With sweet, lesitonsive thrill; Yet far away, dear guest, There is an empty nest fhich thou hast left forsaken, void and still. Pair sea, bright sunshine, birds of song divine, I too may lose the tide, the light, the lay; )thers may win the kisses that were mine, Mv night may he their day; tat, though the soul may sigh For precious things gone by, 51 shall have had my rapture, come what mavl LITTLE KOSABEL. me,” u ^o- “Of course they don’t want tid Rosabel Raymond sadly. [body seems to want me. No home l seems to be open to me anywhere. [When papa died he told me that Uncle Dallas would be kind to me, and take this vacant place. And he is kind, [after his odd, abrupt fashion. But my t Aunt Alicia don’t care for me, and the girls look coldly on my shabby dress and pale face. Evidently I am not a [cousin to be proud of. If I were an [heiress things would be different.” Poor little Rosabel! The world [looked very dark to her as she sat on | the window sill of the third-story back r room iu the Dallas mansion, which had j been unanimously voted “good enough for Rosabel Raymond,” •and watched ; the dull reds and grays of the Winter , sunset fading out behind the crowded spires of the city. “Oh, Rosabel, are you here?” It was her cousin Medora’s soft, sweet voice. She disliked Medora more than either Augusta or Bell, [ although she could not tell why. “We were thinking, mamma and I,” said Medora, “that you must be terri bly dull without anything to do, all these dismal days.” “It is rather lonesome,” sighed Rosabel, .wondering at her cousin’s unusual thoughtfulness. “And so,” added Medora, with the * riiniii^tofriinailtfil nim n i mis ter designing rooms—you always were an artist, you know, dear—I ex claimed in that silly, impulsive w r ay of mine; ‘The very idea for Rosabel.” And,” added Medora, “Miss Armitage says you can obtain excellent lioard for four dollars a week with a wudow near the rooms, and that would save you a great deal of time and no end of fares. So, if you conclude to accept the posi tion, perhaits you had better come down into the drawing-room and see Miss Annstage.” If there was anything which Rosabel Raymond loved, it was her pencil. Here, at last, was the much-longed-for opportunity, and she arose with alacrity and followed Medora Dallas down the stairs. Mis. Dallas and the Misses Dallas were openly exultant when Rosabel Raymond was gone. “So dispiriting to have her round all the time, with her swollen eyelids and l>ale face,” said Miss Augusta. “But what are we to say if Mr. Bal lard asks after her?” blurted out Bell, the most honest and least prolitic of the family. “Say? Why, the truth,” declared Medora,—“that she has left us.” E'er the secret of Miss Medora Dal las’ anxiety to get rid of her pale little cousin, whose mourning was so dis tressingly becoming to her, was the fact of Mr. Hugh Ballard’s admiration of the white, statuesque face, the deep larkspur-blue eyes, and the features which were as perfect as any cameo. Miss Medora had marked Mr. Ballard f for her own prey, and declared war upon any unfortunate pretender who i should come in her way. The very first evening that Mr. Bal- I lard called, he inquired for Miss Ray- ■ mond. Medora dropped her long [lashes. “Rosabel had a cold, reserved na- t ture,” she said. “She never seemed to become fond of any of us, and she has • gone away.” “Gone where?” Mr. Ballard was per sistent enough to ask. “She said she would write and send us the address,” said Medora, drawing on her imagination; “but she never [did. It quite went to dear mamma’s ' heart. Mamma regarded Rosabel as a fourth daughter. But Rosabel never [was inclined to reciprocate our affec- Jtion.” Mr. Ballard glanced at Medora with fan expression which she could not in- j terpret, but it meant simply; “If this girl is lying, she is doing it very artistically. Appearances are certainly against Rosabel Raymond; but it would take more than the mony of one woman to make'me be lieve her either cold or ungrateful.” These reflections passed through his j mind as he was politely accepting Miss Dallas’ invitation to accompany her to [Mrs. Whitworth Walkhigham’s musi- |cal tea, the next day.' ‘It will be a bore,” he said to hhn- elf; “but Mrs. Whitworth Walkirgham a genius, and there is sure to be good insic there.” “There was good music there, and Iso delicious “Orange Pekoe” in the liest of cups, each painted with a eparate wild flower or bunch of grasses; ir>pa nnH whi+o ffronoa fr ie barcarolas and rondfollettaa—and went merry as a nurriag^ bell, itil, in turnitg to place a chair nearer window for Miss Dallas, Mr. Bal l’s unfortunate elbow knocked one said Mr. Ballard, laughingj as he wrap ped the precious pieces up m his pocket handkerchief and deposited them safely in his pocket. “If there is a store in New York, Brooklyn, or Jersey City, where this precious toy can be matched, it shall not be left unsearched.” “You can’t match it,” said Medora Dallas. And she proved to l>e right. In his despair, Hugh Ballard went to old Mrs. Megarreau, who was exactly like everybaly’s fairy grandmother. “What am I to dor’ said he, blankly. “Do?” said Mrs. Megarreau, nodding the diamond butterflies on her cap. “Why, go to the cliina-painting and decorating rooms, of course, in Ham- mersly Square. Take your sample, and they’ll duplicate it for you in twenty-four hours. Say that Mrs. Megarreau rant you.” Mr. Ballard devoutly thanked the cid lady, and obeyed without loss of time. Mrs. Baker, the superintendent, who sat at her desk, took the pieces of Mrs. Whitworth Walkingham’s doomed cup and looked earnestly at them with her head to one side. “We have that shape in our wares,” said she; “and I am quite sure we can reproduce the design—blue iris-buds and marsh grasses. Miss Raymond’s designs are, some of them, even more exquisite than this. Rosabel, my dear, come here.” And Rosabel Raymond, pale and pretty as ever, came unconsciously forward in her brown linen painting dress, with a bow of black ribbon at her throat, and her lovely chestnut brown hair pushed back from her face. Mrs. Baker was holding out the bits of fractured china, whereupon were painted the blue iris-buds and drooping grasses, but Rosabel never looked at them. “Mr. Ballard,” she cried, her face brightening with a delight which she was too unsophisticated to suppress, “What brought you to this place.” “Miss Raymond,” he exclaimed, “what are you doing here?” “Earning my own living,” said Rosa bel. with quiet dignity. • Does Miss Dallis—Medora, I mean —know where you are?” “She ought to know,” said Rosabel, “for it was she who recommended me to come here. For the Dallases, I think, were getting tired of me,” she added, with a sigh. “But I ought to be very much obliged to her, for I have acquired a most welcome independence, and the work here is exceedingly con genial to my tastes. Is that the pat tern you wish copied Mrs. Baker?” she asked, taking a piece of china. “Oh r whatr an excellent group of buds! yet I am bold enough to think I can imitate it successfully.” “If you can replace that cup,” said Mr. Ballard, dramatically, “I am your slave for life.” “I think I can promise to replace it without any such condition,” said Rosabel, laughing. And Mrs. Whitworth Walkingham never knew that her iris-oud cup was broken until Hugh Ballard brought back its exact counterpart. • He came no more to Mrs. Dallas’ Tuesday morning receptions and Friday afternoon teas. Miss Medora vainly wondered why. But one day she met him on Fifth avenue, and prettily re proached him with his recent absen teeism.* “I have been fortunate enough to discover the abiding place of your cousin, Miss Rosabel Raymond,” said be gravely. Medora looked up, with a deep color mounting to her cheek. “Indeed?” said she. “It was very kind of you to secure for her such a congenial position as that,” he added. “Medora Dallas hung her head, and was silent. “But she will not remain there long,” he continued, cheerfully. “I am happy to tell you that I am engaged to her. We are to be married in a few weeks. Of course you will receive ‘at home’ cards when w r e are finally set tled.” Medora murmured something about “congratulations” and “delighted to hear of it.” But Mr. Ballard smiled to himself when she passed on. “La belle cousine is not exactly pleased,” he said to himself. The Sunflower. The sunflower does not turn with the sun, but a recent observer finds that a majority of the flowers do have a prevailing direction when opening. In the case of one of the perennial sun- flow r eis of sixty-eight flowers, up to one time all had their heads inclined to the southeast. Three days after this, with seventy-three flowers open, twenty- one among the older ones had advanced toward the northeast, their horizontal faces becoming nearly erect during the journey. A* Accurate Tline-pieoe. * * * While on the subject ot Wal tham watches, we may mention that we have seen a letter from the Commander of mi6 (Joi'clvti C%lSil6 {CaaMe iiue of a learn Packets), who was fortunate enough to save life at sea, and who for his gallant conduct was presented in September last with a Gold Keyless Waltham Watch by the President of the United States, on be half of the London Local Marine Board. Referring to this Presentation Watch, he says: “When 1 left London the watch was six seconds fast, and on my arrival at Singapore it was only three seconds slow, a moat extraordinary performance for a watch, as I earned it on my person the whole time. I compared it every day with my chronometers on the passage oat, and it seldom or ever differed one second, from HU.*—.* 9 «* -'!««•/m»4 -*«- • ; • Grandma’* Knitting'.Work. The noisy old mill doesn’t make them so warm, after all. Does ever the breathless snapping machine stop to tepch a bright-eyed urchin to knit a lit row on a Pair of chicken quilte? hands, how softly they patted the cheeks of the romping grandchild, not half so soft in their childish curves as the touch of grand ma’s hands. The stockings grandma knit; how much love went into every stitch; how many prayenrwere w r rought into every round. Somewhere I once read about a nun who bent over her needle work, and as oft as a tear fell from her eyes upon the snowy fabric she wrought about it and worked it in with her deft needle, until at last the strange design wrought out a touching story of her loneliness and sorrow. And if we could read all the dreams and thoughts and prayers that grand ma wrought with those patient needles we would wear the stockings she knit next to our heart rather than on our feet. For here is a dream of John, and there is a tear for Chris’ Robbie, and here is a plan for Will, and here comes creeping in a quivering strain from some old, old hymn that is hallowed to us not because her lips blessed it so ofteu; see now a prayer quivered all along this round; here the stocking was laid down while the old hands turned over the leaves' of the Bible that seemed never to be out of her lap; here the old eyes looked out across the pasture and the mowing lot down to the wooded hills where the birds are answering winds; here the old eyes slept for a few’ minutes, and here is a knot. Ah, yes, Philie and Annie are home this week, and the house is full of their children. There will be many more knots in the yam before the stocking is finished. Who is the boy whose fate it is to hold on his extended hands the skein of yarn while grandma winds it off after the romping youngsters who taunt liim with shrieks of laughter as they desert him. But never mmd, grandma confronts him with splendid stories of Uncle Doc’s pranks when he was a boy and went to school at Carmichaeltowm, until the boy wishes the skein was five miles long. And then he is rewarded by a great big cooky, sweeter than honey, because he was such a good boy. The only thing that took the edge off this reward was that all the other children got just as big cookies as he did, because somehow grandma’s rewards tot the good boy and girl managed to include all the other boys and girls. To grandma, all children were good; some children were better than other’s, but there were uo bad children. A thousand blessings, a thousand times told, orr the dear" old face and tire silver hair that crowned the placid brow; on the wrinkled hands and the work they wrought; on the dear lipe and blessed old hymns they sung; on the dear old book that lay in her lap, and the Irfe that drew so much of love arrd faith atrd help from its pages. The “Expert” UiutneM. - WINNSBORO. S. 0.. MAY 24, 1883. certain certificates of stock were six years old. It was shown that it was written with a certain variety of ink, and Piper obtained a specimen of writ ing over six years old done with the same kind of ink, which had turned brown, wirereas the signatures on the certificates looked bright and fresh. Blood has proven as great a field of investigation for the expert as ink. It was claimed, for instance, by a party arrested out West for murder, that the blood on his garments was from a pig which he had carried on his shoulder. In human blood the minute corpuscles are about 32 1000 of an inch in diameter, while those of a pig, as a rule, are but about 1-4000 in diameter. It was con clusively shown that the blood on the man’s garment lad larger corpuscles than pig’s blood was ever known to have, and, the tact being established that it good as my chronometers, which is a good dealto say for a watch earned abont end subject to all kinds of Jolts.”—London, Jungland, The Watchmaker, Jeweler and Silvertmith, Fib. 5.1888. An elderly gentleman with bushy white hair and whiskers, rather square and massive features and a firmly knit form of medium height, clad in an exceeding ly plain and old-fashioned suit of clothes, welcomed a reporter in Cleveland the other evening. “Is this Professor Piper?” asked the reporter. “Please call me Mr. Piper, plain Mr, Piper,” was the modest request. Piper is an eminent microscopist and expert, summoised to examine the signa tures of a deed conveying certain Pros pect street real estate from Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Osborne to C. A. Adams. Mrs. Osborne claims that her signature to the deed was written at home without pro per acknowledgement by the notary, whose signature and that of her husband was written dow’n town after hers had been affixed. And upon this ground she seeks to set aside the deed. Adams, of course, objects to the setting aside of the deed, since he has advanced Osborne money on the strength of it, claims that the instrument was signed in legal form. . Piper Drought his misroscope to bear on the signatures and declared that it was an indisputable fact that Mrs. Os borne’s signature was not written before that of the other signers, as she positive ly states, but afterward. The loop of the y in Mrs. Osborne’s Christian j.ame of Mary crosses the H. of her husband’s signature, and a powerful glass showed conclusively. Piper claims, that the lines of the y were written over the H. Numerous drawings of the letters mag nified many diameters appeared on Pi per’s table, together with pencils, brushes and finely-graded rules for measuring the smallest fraction of an inch. Piper, by an ingenious device, threw the sha dow’s of the signature, magnified many diameters, on a sheet of bristol board and then drew them as they appeared. He has just returned from Philadel phia. where he was employed over one hunared days on one case. That which called Piper into prominence more than anything else was his connection with the Cadet Whitaker case. It will be remembered that it was claimed that Whitaker himself wrote the note of warning found in his room. Piper en larged the handwriting and declared that it was not Whitaker’s. Subsequent confessions proved that he was correct. “I am a firm beljpver,” said the expert, “in Whitaker’s innocence.” One of the curiosities of Piper’s col lection is h ! s wonderful laboratory of inks, containing samples of almost every variety of ink made. He has a book filled with ink tests. A long strip of paper is pa luted with a certain variety of ink and then the strip is marked off into squares. In each square a drop of a certain chemical is placed. Oxalic acid, for instance, takes out all the color of the bright-hued aniline inks, but has little effect on Arnold’s ink or Stephens^. Chloride of lime and potash water have a marked effeet on even Arnold’s inks, India ink nothing appears to effect. At slated intervals Piper writes specimens in certain kurus oi nut wun a aaCO affixed and lays them sway to show what effect the action bf time has on them. In one case on which he was employed a matter of 8250,000 hinged on his decision. A party swore that was not pig’s blood bat human blood on the garments, went a long way to ward convicting the defendant. In order to obtain temples of blood from various animals for investigation under the' glass Piper once bled the whole of Forepaugh’s menagerie save the monkeys. When the animals ad vanced to the Itars of their cage the doctor struck each on the nose with a spring lance, making a minute little gash from which a drop or two of blood was obtained. It is nopdl&ss to say that Piper didn’t loaf around the lions’ or tigers’ cages long after he had stuck his business into their noses, as it were. Strange to remark that while samples of the savage lions’ and big boa con strictor’s blood could be obtained, the keepers did not dare allow the monkeys to be bled. It has been learned by ex perience that such undue familiarity with a monkey as lancing it makes it insane and worthless. Tlie blood of the elephant and the wliale is a little larger so to speak, than that of a human lieing. A camel’s blood differs from the claret found in human veins in that the cor puscles are oval instead of round. Taking Tea with the Japanese. The great pecularity of this tea-drink ing ceremony consists in the exactness with which everything is done. A spoon, cup, or whatever is handled, has to be taken hold of in a particular way, set down in a pecular place and touched in a particular part, and everything is done with the same strange precision. What I saw was part of the ceremony of ‘thin tea-drinking,’ and part of the ceremony of ‘thick tea-drinking,’ but the whole is simply a lesson in those laws of politeness which were formerly so rigidly exacted in every mansion and which are still largely kept up in the houses of the old aristocracy. Origi nally, the ceremony was of a secret character, and no servant entered the house in which it tout place—the mas ter kindling the fire, ttjfiing the water, making the teay-s»{? r ^a^Wiort, doing everything for the guests ; but in later years it has become a mere ceremony of an extremely fasldoriable character. One or two things in this service struck me as especially strange. Thus, both host and guests knelt from the time they entered the building till the time they left it; and even when the master had to go to the little back room to fetch water, cups or whatever else he might require, he shuffled on his knees to the slide which served as a door, and, then, having opened it, shuffled through the opening till he was well on the other side, when he rose to his feet; but this he must not do while in the presence of his guests. The chief guest, moreover, is the spokesman for the company, and no word is uttered save by the chief guest or the host during the sendee, be it ever so long. The chief guest also demands everything—thus he asks for tea and refreshments, but the particular moment at which each request has to be made is arranged by the code of eti quette. At opportune moments the chief guest also asks if he may Idbk at the tea caddy, a spoon, a bowl or the tea-pot. • Receiving the necessary per- msssion, he shuffles on his knees to the place where the object demanded is, takes it, bows his forehead to the ground, then rising, touches his forehead with the object received, and begins to ex amine it. Looking at the tea-pot he asks if it is silver; then who made it; then opening it and smelling the tea, what tea costs per pound; after which inquiries he passes it to the next guest, and makes a remark to the host which should, if possible, be at the same time a compliment and a pun. After each of toe guests has duly inspected the ob ject, the chief guest shuffles again across the floor, and returns it to its place. Object after object is brought, examined and returned in the same manner. —T-— ♦ — A Costly Small Book. At an auction sale in New York re cently, among the books sold the one creating the most spirited bidding was an almanac for the year 1686, entitled “Kalendarium Feunsilvaniense;' or, America’s Messenger.” This book contains twenty leaves, not paged and uncut, and this and another formerly liossessed by George Brinley. of Hart ford, an the only ones known to be in existence, it is esjiecially valuable from the fact that it is the first work of the first printer of Philadelphia and New York, W. Bradford of the former city who, in an address printed in the book, says; “Hereby understand that after great charge and trouble I have brought the great art and mystery of printing into this part of America, be lieving it may be of great service to you in several respects.” It was sold to Mr. Stone for 8520. The other books disposed of include an almanac for 1705, another for 1693, which respectively brought 811. and 87; “Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons,” 88; “The American Neptune,” in three volumes, printed in 1781 for the use of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, under the direc tion of the R. H, Lords Commis sioners of the Admiralty, brought 890; the Holy Bible, with genealogies prefix ed, printed in 1613 by Robert Barker, of London, bound i" ♦’-dek boards, w'tli metal corners and centre, was purchased for 820 50. A copy of the original charter of Rhode Island College, now Brown’s University, presented at the General Assembly in February, 1715, brought 820 54. St. Petersburg In Winter. People iu America might possibly imagine that tea-making in this country is a very complicated and laborious affair, but it is no more so than any where else, only people here are so easy-going and good-natured; time has so little value, <-ud labor is so cheap, even though it mav be poor, that about half a dozen people are doing here what one person would do with much more thoroughness in America because not stumbling over other jieople’s feet. One of the servants in question was washing about half a dozen spoons, saucers and glasses. Men in Russia drink their tea out of glasses, so they can admire the amber liquid and at the same time feel its warmth creeping through their bodies as they hold the glasses between tlieir fingers. The second man brought the tea-canister and sugar-bowl, and being impressed with the importance and dignity of his work he moved about with a slowmess that was edifying to behold and gene rated in the spectator a violent desire to go to his assistance. The third man was arranging sweet crackers and slic ing lemons to be used with the tea, wliile the fourth man’s attention was entirely absorbed by the samovar. The samovar, as well as the steam bath, is a truly national institution. Take away from the Russian these two objects of necessity and luxury, and lie will think life has been robbed of half its charms. The samovar is an indis- pensable piece of furniture in ihe houses of the rich and the poor, the high and the low r , and not till he is the happy owner of such an institution does a young man set about in searcli of a life partner, willing to share with him the eomfoits offered by a room somewhere under a staircase. The word “samo var” is composed of the pronoun “self” or. “itself,” and the verb “to boil,” and literally means “self-boiler.” Tlie samo var is made of brass, has the shape of an egg, and holds from one to two pails of water. The lower end rests on four feet, the upper is flattened, and it has a funnel for charcoal in tlie centre. The top of the funnel is finished off by an object resembling a crown, and w : hen the w’ater boils on your tea-table you fill your tea-pot, put it on the crown to draw, and your toe, is ready. The four men were attending to their duty in religious silence, the only time they opened their mouths being to in form me-that there was to lie an extra meeting on some important business, and that it was on that account they were making the tea. Now the gentle men who compose those meetings come together at 2, leisurely sip their tea, relate the latest news, and go home to their dinners at 4, leaving a kind Provi dence to attend to their affairs, unless, indeed, the question be one of politics— “political unreliability,” as they call it here. Then these same jovial, easy going gentlemen will instantly lie transformed into stern, unfimehing judges, working day and night and to the best of their abilities, iu their en deavor to please the head of the coun try and thus earn stars and ribbons, or a more exalted “chin” or rank. The present Emiieror, in ordering a revision of the laws relating to the Jews, has taken one step further on the road trodden by his father. When Alexander II. freed the serfs he at the same time tried to better the condition of his Hebrew subjects. Previous to 1861 no Jew was alio well to remain in a Russian town longer than a week, except in Poland and the South, which were overrun by them. In Poland they were even so numerous and no powerful once that a Polish King was on the point of marrying a Jewess. Russians knew only tlie peddling Jew, by no means the best representative of the race, as the persecutions by his Christian brethren had made him un scrupulous and cowardly and had over- developed his natural shrewdness. Even where they were tolerated they did not dare to betray any outward signs of thrift; they would not long have re mained unmolested if they had, so they remained ragged and dirty, and to all outward appearances in abj'-ct poverty until they became a by-word and a reproach, while in reality tney held the purse strings of the country. They carried on a pitiless and most unre lenting usury, sucking the life-blood of their victims like so many leeches and keeping the people, who Haltered themselves tliat they were their masters, in the most absolute and humiliating dependence. And the two races hated each other most thoroughly. Unce iu a while the Christian slave rebelled and inaugurated a love-feast, similar to those of the Vandals and the Gotlis, but his resistance only lasted until his long accumulated energy had spent its elf, when everything went on as before. Cheap Eating in Washington. The daily opposite the Treasury is a great resort, where may be seeu not only many bureau officers and men of con siderable position in the goverment ser vice, but a great many others w ho do not want a cheap luncheon, but a light one, and know that if they once settle into a restaurant chair the result will he a spoild appetite by dinner time. Sec retary Chandler is one of the frequent visitors, and often nay be seen standing in a crow'd of Treasury clerks, drinking his mug of milk and munching his two cent biscuit—that is it Is two cents if he takes a buttered biscuit and only one cent if it is unbuttered. It will be seen by a slight intellectual effort that the salary of a Cabinet officer for one year would purchase 800,000 unbuttered bis cuits. The Secretary’s future may be regarded, therefore, as reasonably se cure. If the Secretary takes a mug of milk and twp unbuttered biscuits the total cost of his luncheon is the magnifi cent sufn of seven cents: two buttered biscuits will raise it to nine cents, and if he should take a piece of pie—whicli he probably. would not do—as he comes from New England, where pie-making is a religion and not a sordid pursuiir— tue cost will icmyi fourteen cents, mis is regarded, however, as extravagance only to be justified in a Cabinet officer. —There are in the treasury 8105 251, 198 in silver and 8179,685,006 in gold.. Purchase the Florence knitting silk. It comes in all colors. The size of the steel needles used will depend upon the fine or coarse quality of silk that should be selected. Stocking knitting is easily learned. The majority of old ladies know’ all about this sort of in dustry, in a plain way, to be sure, since art decorating is of rather recent date, and especially in the manufacture of fancy hosiery. However, the grandmas of to-day are familiar with the rules for shaping a stocking, and when this is learned the artistic embeilishings are easily controlled. In personal beautify ing, doubtless a prettily dressed foot is quite as much noticed as any other part of the toilet. And especially is this the case during the summer season when fashion's disciples are rusticating in point lace and diamonds at an ex pensive watering place, where the ex travagance of dress is sometimes extended to the bathing suit, and heavy silk stockings are worn to protect the satiny whiteness of shapely limbs. Knitting silk stockings is a charming industry, a work easily laid down or taken up, and when rusticating, the knitting can be carried about in tlie dress, pocket, ready for use at any mo ment, when the occupation may be re sumed with marked effect in displaying valuable jewelry—the hands are held up to view, innocent; of course, of any in tention of exciting envy, or seeking admiration for beauty of lands, mani cured nails, and costly gems. There is something very fascinating in fancy knitting, and then there is a great satisfaction in an industry so lucrative. A handsome pair of silk hose are well worth from 810 to $30, the value de pending upon the amount of fancy work with which the hose may l>e dec orated. Domestic made silk half hose for gentlemen gives a pretty and ex ceedingly satisfactory occupation for young girls aiql misses, who take pleas ure in giving their male relatives pres ents that are handsome and useful, and are also such positive evidences of in dustry and artistic taste. A silk knitted smoking cap can be richly designed, showing a rainbow of color effects. Dressy little silk sacques for babies are knitted or crocheted in colored cord forming a very useful aud ornamental garment. Embroidery has become so fashiona ble that it is lavishly employed on some garments. Now much of this w’ork is wrought at home, thereby sav ing large sums ol money, ami still indulging iu the preferred dress decora tion of the season. A pocket handker chief embroidered by a young lady only “brought out” this Winter just past coidd not be bought at one of our large stores for a cent less than $50. A little schoolgirl of eleven Summers has em broidered hi colors within four months’ time a lawn tennis apron, a i>erfect poem of dainty conceptions in the in termingling of blossoms, buds, and climbing plants, all so ingeniously exe cuted, and so exactly copied from nature, they api>ear to be oidy laid on the hi.ndkercluef, to be gathered up and put into a vase of water. One of the richest pongee costumes that will be seer at Newitoxl this Summer was em broidered during this Spring by a wealthy society lady, noted for her charitable deeds to the worthy i>oor, who, however, does not believe in favor ing both finery aud idleness. For Summer use in a country cottage gray-lined curtains with edge embroid ery are ornamental and afford ‘an admirable shade to a room exposed to tlie heat of the noonday sun. A door curtain formed of tarletan in ample folds is picturesque, imparting an air of breezy coolness to the rooms. Edge the curtain with tinted lace and hang a holland shade of corresponding color; to be drawn down when seclusion is required; loop back the tarletan near the centre with ribbon bows. There is another effective style of door cur tain which is easily constructed. Pur chase a few yards of dotted Swiss muslin; between the dots on both sides of the goods sew tiny spangles; edge tlie curtain with narrow gold lace, and a fairy-like effect is given, especially if two palm plants or itots of flowers are placed on either side of the door. A showy piano cover may be secured at very little expense. Applique ou green serge or maroon tinted camel's hair cloth, a variety of quaint figures, not exactly grotesque, but selected with taste, and presenting in a pointed man- mer some sort of suggestion relating to music, both vocal and instrumental. Origiiality expressed in designing decorations for a piano cover is sure to awaken great satisfaction if artistically executed, and there must also be given proper proportion, breadth and reitose to the work. The designs wrought on an organ cover should harmonize with the general characteristics of this in strument. There should be no crowded details in needle work, even when the pattern is large, and the article embel lished presents' ample breadth for a decoration of liberal dimensions. In Order to secure a pleasing effect in hand-made home decorations, be care ful that detail is always subordinate to the design; and above all be sure not to dei>art from truth wiien me designs are intended to be copies from lature— every flower should lave its own foliage, and the whole made as perfect as possi ble. Glaring inaccuracies in this direc tion destroy the desired effect of most skilfully wrought out productions, and at tlie same time it is obvious tliat the fair artist is in i>ossession of considera ble ignorance. lari —There are 18 societies of Shakers in the United States. —The dot now placed over the i dates from the fourteenth century. —Armorica, which is now Brittany, was conquered by Cresar 56 B. C. r —The first recorded plague iu all pails of the world occurred 767 B. C. —The celebrated mineral spriiig at Clieltenham was discovered in 1718. —There are 1,500 square miles of ice in the Alps, from 80 to 600 feet thick. —It requires 10.296 gas and 2,368 oil lamps to light the streets of Boston. —A single grape vine at Cajon, Cali fornia, is said to bear five tons of fruit. ruarv i to the calendar by Numa about 713 B. C. —Conchology was first reduced to a system in 1675 by John Daniel, Mayor of Kiel. —The uractice of using a baldachin In churches was introduced into England in 1279. —The French Government intends to hold a grand international exhibition at Paris in 1885. —The hyssop of Scripture is the caper tree which abounds in southern Europe, lower Egypt and Syria. —Chicago is said to w aste 46.000,OW**"* gallons of water per day, and Cincinnati 5,000 000. Paris has 65,000 houses, Loudon 460,000 more than Paris, New York and Berlin combined. —The shipmen's of petroleum and j»etroleum products from this country for January were valued at 83,056,953.' —By the new census there are in Ire- / land 3,951,887 Roman Catholics and 1,-/ 198,842 Protestants of all kinds. s' —The debt of tlie United States p/u>r to the war was about 890,000,000. /The debt of the Australian colonies /s al ready fiveflffld that. —It is estimated that the 700 luests at the Vanderbilt ball representMl 88, 000,000,000, or 10 times the total Yalua tion of Boston. -Janies I. of Scotland w r as mtuttered at the Black Friars’ monastery at laerth, in 1437, by Robert Graham and th of Athol H —The revenue of the Dominion gov ernment for the first nine months o^Mie present fiscal year was $26,381,685, a? the expenditures $18,902,149. —In Western China the mountain Omi, which has a “halo,” and which is in height 11,000 feet, is almost exclusive ly inhabited by Buddhist monks. —On the Colorado desert a species of tortoise grows to a weight of twenty- five pounds, and the meat of this is con sidered a great delicacy among the In dians. —A man recently sold the timber- riglit on a tract of land in Cambria coun ty, Pennsylvania, for ,$45,000. He bought the land and trees a few years ago for $1,000. -Pisistratus founded a public library in Athens 540 B. C., and this is the first institution of its kind of which history gives any account. Ptolemy Philadel- phus founded the second 284 B. C. —The cost of the Vanderbilt ball is estimated as follows: Costumes, $155, 730; flowers, $11,000; carriages, $4,000; hair-dressing, $4,000; supper and extra servants, $25,000; making a total of near ly $200,000. —Ice men of the Penobscot river say that the present season has been a suc cessful one to them. They have har vested some 189,500 tons, and they had alrout 50,000 tons left over from last season. —It is said that Stonehenge, the ancient monument on Salisbury Plain, was built in accordance with Merlin’s advice by Aurelius of Ambrosius, in memory of 460 Britons who were mur dered by Hengist. —The virtues of Peruvian bark were discovered by a Jesuit in 1585, and it was used hy members of the Society of Jesus from that time. In 1649 it was intro duced into France, and Sir Hans Sloane carried it to England in 1700. —A contract was entered into at San Francisco a few days ago by the Texas and Pacific Railway Company for the transportation of seven hundred car loads, being about .‘W0,000 bushels, of California wheat to go to Europe by w r ay of New Orleans. —The five copper mines in Michigan, which have declared dividends during the past year, have a paid-up capital of $2,500,000; and the dividends paid amount to $2,900,000. The Calumet and Hecla, which hasa capital of $1,200,- 000, paid its stockholders in the last year $2,000,000. —The Western Union telegraph lines in Texas have increased from 2,300 miles of poles arrd 4,600 miles of wire on Jan 1,1880, to 4,300 miles of poles and near ly 9,000 miles of wire on Jan. 1,1883, thus nearly doubling its facilities within three years and still building. —One of the industries of Australia is the cooking and canning of rabbits, which are so plentiful iu some districts that whole crops are sometinres destroy ed by them. One firm during the last season, which lasted twenty-five weeks, canned 675,000 of the animals. —In the Second revenue collection district of Georgia, from December 1st, 1882, to March 31st, 1883, there were seized 105 illicit distilleries; destroyed, 60; removed for forfeiture, 26. There were 13,150 gallons of beer destroyed, and 1776 gallons of low wines and 36i gallons of whisky seized. * —The mining receipts at San Fran cisco for the first six months of the year- amounted to $16,260,000. of which $2.- 099, 421, was for the month of June. Of this sum the California sent 81,856,292; Eureka Consplidated, 81,562,500;-Con- solidated Virginia, $1,494,571; Rich mond, $1,200,000, and Oplrir, 8723,000. —The first annual report of-the New Jersey railroad commissioners says there are 1800 miles of road in the state; capi tal invested, 8214,068,349; cost of road and equipments, 8168,618,355; gross earnings in 1881, 831,845,802; net earn ings, $11,509,911; interest {aid on bonds, etc., $6,596,338; gross earnings for 1881, $26,000,000; net income, after deducting all expenses, $15,000,000. —It is well known that the wine har vest last year was scanty in Italy, but compare! to that of France there is no reason to complain. In France scarcely 30,886 ? 352 hectolitres were obtained, while m Ita»y there were 32.562,448 hec- less by 3,252,383 hectolitres than that obtained there in 1881, while in Italy it was greater by 5,023,799 hectolitres, than the average production, though below the production of exceptionally gorq yeata. ' la ■ V • .. • •••-, ... -r • r.. ■ ' v . " : - ' ' - . . . " . ■