University of South Carolina Libraries
fr V"-* "' ' ' .'-r- -- '-' * * / ' ' ^ % . . . . --0"' ..-v. > ' . ^ .:-^-;-^.y~rr- ^r^^S^SSEac ; ''' -. - r... ;'V." .-*' >J" ." ^ "4?^ * ' ;%' 'V "w v ^ V > ' ' ' ' ": _ v> ? . " ? ? - - - * ~ 7 %*i-j * WINNSBORO, S. C., WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1885. " ; __ | Parting Lovers. Winding upward rose a slender vine tree, ft Winding upward round the fort of Buda. j i^T Ah. no vine tree was it winding upward. But a loving maiden round her lover! Early had the twain begun their loving. Loving ever since their days of childhood, I Now they had to say farewell forever. ] To the maiden thus mc einpnu^ mm c?. i "Three broad rivers, maiden, run before * thee: Sigh, the third a garden green is growing; In the garden blooms a tree of roses: From that rose tree pluck a rose, O maiden, | Lay it near thy heart, within thy bosom; P Faster than the rose leaves lade within it, fc' _ ^ Faster fades my heart for thee, beloved.;" To the stripling thus the maiden answered: Iggjggy Three high mountains, youth, arise before j From the third there fiows a quiet fountain; Nigh the fountain lies a block of marble; On the marble -tands a silver chalice; Jn the silver c-ualice lies a snowflake. | Bear away the snowflake from the beaker. Lay it near thj- heart, upon thy bosom; Faster than the iiake of snow dissolveth. Faster melts my "ncart for thee, beloved!" ?The Academy. AN ODD MISTAKE. Mr. Grey was a man who had committed a great blunder. He had retired! And now time hung heavily on ' his hands, and he knew not what to do with himself. So. for lack of better occupation, he took to calling on a certain plump widow of his acquaintance, who had a remarkably pretty daughter. Bessie Peploe was a younger edition of her mother. They had the same black eyes, rosy cheeks, and wavy hair, and. truth eompels us to add, the same quick temper. "I'll never marry old Gray," Bessie * told Mrs. Peploe, defiantly, after the manner of the young lady who refused a man before he "axed7 her,'1 for Mr. ^ v J - j urey flao. not yet pruposeu, iumuu^u every evening he presented himself at . the widow's dwelling, and sat by the A fireside, in the most'comfortable chair w in the room. l "We shall see," returned the elder r lady, and her bright eyes Hashed, for she had set her mind upon the marriage, and already regarded Bessie as the mistress of Mr. Grey's comfortable house, in the High street of the comfortable little town in which they resided. k "Yes; we shall see," muttered Bessie, and putting on her hat, slipped out to have a walk"with her admirer, Jack Wilkins, to whom she confided her trouble. Jack was poor, and for that reason had refrained from offerin?; his hand to pretty Bessie; but when she told him that old Grey was alter Jaer, tie coma no longer disguise his feelings, and before they parted the girl he loved had consented to be his wife. 'What will mother say?" thought Bessie, with a si^h, as they parted at the gate of Mrs. 'Peploe's little cottage. "That horrid man will be there." That horrid man was there, in an armchair, opposite Mrs. Peploe. He smiled at Bessie as she entered; but Bessie frowned at him in return, and his face fell. That evening the girl was absolutely sullen; she spoke in monosyllables, and ill-temper deprived her pretty face of half its beaut}*. "I am afraid her mind is set against it," Mr. Gray toid himself with a sigh, "and we might all be so happy, if she could only look at the matter in a proper light; bet 1 suppose it's natural." And he redoubled his efforts to be agreeable?poor little man! for he had i an affectionate heart, and his big house was dull and lonely. Bat Bessie's face never relaxed its set expression. She hated the man, and meant to let him sec it, in defiance of her mother's angry glances. What business had a man old enough to be her father to come courting her? "You have behaved disgracefully," her mother said, when Mr. Grey had taken his departure. "It is so wicked to trifle with the love of :;ny man." "I have never trifled with his love," retorted her daughter; "he must Know that I-hale i;im. 1 have never attempted to disguise it?now, have I, rrother?" "You are a fool," said her mother, bluntly. "Mr. Grey is the best chance you have ever had, or ever will have, and I insist on your saying yes when he asks you to be his wife. "Mother," cried Bessie, impulsively, throwing her arms around her mother's waist, hiding her face in her bosom. "Mother, I have already' said yes to somebody else?somebody I love very dearly." "What!" gasped Mrs. Peploe, freeing herself from her daughter s embrace. "What!" "It is true enonerh." said Bessie, in a faltering voice. ''Jack has asked me to marry Mm, ami I have said yes." 4?~ "Without consulting me!" exclaimed her mother, angrily, looking at her with a stern, reproachful face. "I love him," returned Bessie. "He is the only man in the world that I ' could ever care for." "Stuff and nons'ense!" cried Mrs. Peploc. "Even if I liked the youug man?which I don't?your marrying would be out of the question. He can't afif>rd to keep you." "I am not afraid of poverty," said Bessie, bravely, "besides we are not groing to marrv in haste. We can O . S. wait "Poor fool!" and Mrs. Peploc's lips "v curled. "I know what this waiting , means for the woman. She goes on +w,c-fTnrr orvr} Vi/VIicnrinor in liic nrnmicrx; ?iUl?UU^ VkiiM, k/V?4V f and then when her beauty has faded, he turns round and marries soifteone else. That's how it ends." "Even then," said Bessie, "the woman is better off than if she had tied herself to somebody she could not love." "Oh, yes, you are mad?quite mud," returned Mrs. Peploe; "but, thank goodness, you have a mother who won't allow you to make an idiot of yourself. You will marry Mr. Gray, and forget all about that misguided young man who ought to be ashamed r of himself." "What for?" asked Bessie, with resen t men t. "For proposing to a girl whom he Vine r>r\ niMnc #vf IrA/vninor in comfort." returned Mrs. Peploe; "a strait-waistcoat is what he wants. You are a pair of lunatics; but, fortunately, I've some sense left, and I won't stand by and see my daughter ruined for life." And she flounced off to bed without S'ving Bessie the usual good-night's ss. Poor girl, she missed it sorely, and sobbed nerself to sleep; but she meant to be true to Jack all the same. Not even her mother's anger would induce her to give him up and marry old Grey. She treated the object of her dislike with the greatest coldness on his next visit, and succeeded in making him look thoroughly miserable. But he brightened considerably when Mrs. Peploe, to atone for her daughter's rudeness, sought to engage him in conversation. Indeed the grateful little man ventured to give the elder ladv's hand a gentle squeeze when he rose "to ? take his departure; and, to his surprise and ioy, it was warmly returned. ' V.?-,.- . . ? i [ "Xow, if Miss Peploe would only get j over her objection, how happy" and comfortable we should all be," he thought,as he trudged home."Hulloa," coming suddenly face to face with a handsome young fellow in a rather shabby ulster. "How are you. Jack Watkins?" "Oh! I am all right, thank you," VI UiilfUVUiUVUV) AXV vv\?*v? ??? ? ?suspense no longer. When he arrived at the widow's cottage that evening Bessie was not at home. She had gone out to tea with some friends, Mrs. Peploe said, but failed to add that she l;ad wilfully absented herself because the sight of Mr. Grey was distasteful to her. "I'm glad she is not at home, dear Mrs. Peploe," said Mr. Grey, looking very red and nervous. "I am glad she is not at home, because it gives me an opportunity of saying something that is very near my heart." He edged a little nearer to the widow as he spoke, and she smiled at him in an encouraging way. She was a handsome woman, and her smile revealed the whitest teeth in the world. "Pray go on, Mr. Grey," she said. "I am all attention." Mr. Grey coughed, and looked excessively uncomfortable. He Wished that the widow would avert her bright eyes from his face; her steady gaze confused him, and he scarcely knew what he was going to say. He hardly liked to risk popping the question, for a refusal would mean banishment from the cheerful fireside where he had spent so many pleasant hours. But the widow was waiting for him to speak, and he could not back out now; he had gone too far. Poor little man! His heart was beating like a sledge-hammer. ^iow still the room was. He started as the ashes dropped upon the hearth. This awful silence must be broken, or what wcuid the widow thins ot mm." He must say something. "You must have known my object in coming here so often," he blurted out at last. "Well, I think I have guessed it," returned Mrs. Feploe, continuing the stitches in the stocking she was knitting. "I thought you would," observed Mr. Grey, considerably embarrassed by her reply, but relieved at the same time, for it saved him from the ordeal of a long explanation. "Well, since you have guessed my secret, can you give me hope?" The widow was silent for a few moments, and Mr. Grey gazed at her in the deepest anxiety,"his heart throbbing with mingled joy and fear. The house in "the High-street would seem more lonely than ever, if he returned to it a disappointed man. "I will be frank with you," she said presently. "As far as I am concerned, tliorn ic nn nnccihic tr? tVin marriage: but Bessie is so young and foolish that " "Ah! yes! I thought she would object," said Mr. Grey, rubbing his face with a red silk pocket-hanakerchief. "But don't you think you could bring her round? I'd be so kind to her, that I'm sure she'd get over her dislike of the idea. Now, couldn't you induce her to be more reasonable?" "I have tried my best," said the widow, with a deep sigh. "But the girl is wild and headstrong. I seem to have lost all influence over her." "Then, after all, there is no hope for me," said Mr. Grey, looking terribly crestfallen. "1 thought we would be such a happy family?we four." "We four!" repeated- Mrs. Peploe, staring at him as-if she thought he had taken leave of his senses. "Yes!?we four! Why not?" asked Mr. Grey. "Ikuow Jack Watkins is very fond of Bessie, and I fancied we should all be happy together, if I could onlv induce you to say 4yes.' " "JLJLUJU It IS UUt JDUSSItJ VU11 \v iiiil? said the vidow, dropping stitches in her stocking, and blushing like a girlr as the truth Hashed through her mind. "Bessie!" exclaimed Mr. Grey,laughing heartily. "What would I want with a child like that? Didn't you know," here he grew suddenly grave, "that it was you I wanted, Janet?" "We all thought it was Bessie," stammered Mrs. Peploe. "Oh! what a fool I have been!" "Don't say that," returned Mr. Gray, in a sad tone of voice. "It is I who' have been a fool to think yon could ever care for me." The widow made no reply to this, but gave him a glance that spoke volumes. In another moment his arm was around her waist, and he had stolen a kiss. j "And you think that Bessie won't ! object?" he said, anxiously. "I am sure she won't," returned Mrs. Peploe, with a twinge of conscience, as she thought of the way she had received Bessie's confession of love for Jack Watkins. :'I don't know so much about that," said a merry voice from the doorway, and Mr. Grey hastily drew his arm from the widow's waist as Bessie entered the room. ItUU i *i The kiss had opened the young lady's eyes as to the real state of affairs, and she knew in a moment that her mother had been the real object of Mr. Grey's oflrorRiit- ti-VIT- Vior? cVio nnf eppn it before? She was angry with herself for being such an idiot. What in the world would Jack say? Would he be pleased to find that Mr. Grey was an imaginary rival? Bessie pulled aside the blind and looked out to see Jack, who had escorted her home, standing on the opposite pavement with his eyes fixed on the cottage. Mr. Grey followed her, and, after peering over her shoulder, vanished from the room, while at the same moment her mother called her away from the window. "Bessie," said Mrs. Peploe, between laughing and crying, "forgive me for all the hard things I said to you." "I will, indeed," returned Bessie, heartily, as she kissed her mother; "but what fools we have been! We must have been as blind as bats not to see that it was you that he wanted all the time." "Who would dream that he would have looked at me when you were near," returned Mrs. Peploe, stroking her daughter's rosy cheek. "Oh! mother," began Bessie, but paused abruptly, as the door opened, and Mr. Grey entered accompanied by Jack Watkins. Tho fnnr TnoVfid af, e.mh ohher in si said Jack, sulkily, and strode on witbI out another word, while little Mr, | Grev stood gaxing after him with a look of comprehension on his face. I "I suppose she has been telling him all about it," he said to himself with a sigh. "It's natural, I suppose, but it's selfish, too. Yes! It is a little bit selfish of them.'" And, shaking his head, the old gentleman knocked at the door of his house in the High-street?that large, gloomy house that had never seemed homelike since the death of that sister who had been his right hand. When we think we are going to make people happy, it is hard to find that we are regarded as an enemy, and Mr. Grey retired to rest in rather dismal spirits. He arose the next morning with the determination of putting an end to his suspense by offering himself and his home in the High-street to the object /vf Kio ntfontimont- hrt nnilliT hADT thn lence for a few moments, and then, tickled by the absurdity of tbe situation, Jack went into convulsions of laughter. His mirth was contagious, and all laughed heartily, although Bessie tried to look indignant "All's well that ends well," observed Mr. Grey, rubbing his hands, and then he bent forward and audaciously kissed Mrs. Peploe right before the eyes of the young people. It was not long before a double wedding was celebrated, Mr. Grey having lent Jack the money to start in business for himself, and from that day to this the couple in the big house and the couple in the cottage?a wedding present from Mr. Grey?have never regretted their choice. Andrew Jackson's Home. The proposition which has been made, and which is now before the legislature, to tender the Hermitage farm, a first-class tract of some 500 acres, the property of the state of Tennessee, to the United States government, for the purpose of having built thereon a home for the soldiers of the war of 1812, the Floridian war, the Mexican war, and all wars prior to the late Confederate war, is now before the Tennessee legislature. The other day a legislative committee went out to the Hermitage to "spy out" the property, and their arrival and their presence quite completely broke up the quiet colored people located on "old marster's farm." They came to town to see Gov. Bate about it They had heard that the farm was to be sold, and its occupants turned out to shift elsewhere. The speaker of the delegation was Uncle t A TAnl.e?An nrtw ruorj rjr? nnA I .TklUCU l/av^aova, JiV?i W? jv ?**.? -v ?f - ?y of Gen. Jackson's old-time servants. He was in great trouble. He said to the governor: "Gin'l Bates, Idone heard dat you're ! gwine to turn all us old Jackson nigj gers out, and I come here for to find I out about it" "Pshaw, Alfred! Somebody has been fooling you," said Gov. Bate. "Don't trouble yourself;, go home and. resfc.con tented. You can live at the 7Termitage a long time yet, and I jvili ee that you are not disturbed."; The old darky took the governor's assurance 'with such good grace, and seemed so well satisfied with the turn lot-on fho H'nrlfl voiirvrt'or LJLUil^O JLLiiVU. bUUVU) vuv " V" vw 4V^V..V? ventured to pump him as to Gen. : Jackson's peculiarities. "Uncle Alfred," said the reporter, "wasn't the general pretty high-tempered!" "Well, young marster, dat depins on de circumstances. He wouldn't allow no man for to cry him down. He were jokey and full of fun, but whenever he said 'By the eternals God!' den everybody knowed just what he said." "Dis here statue out dar,"said Uncle Alfred, pointing to the bronze general rampant, "dis here statue looks like him a"bout the head and face, but do one at New Orleans is de best I was dar at home when Mr. Healey and Col. Earle painted de portraits of de general." "And you remember their visits?" "Ob course I dose. I ain't lived wid any odder white people. I were born at de Hermitage in 1803, and I were 12 years old when old marster left JNasnviiie lor to ngnc ae Datxie 01 der New Orleans. I remember when old marster died in 18-15, for I wer standin' right dar longside of his bed. H.8 wer de greatest man what ever lived; everybody said so, and all of his black people believed it."?Nashville World. Drunken Poetry. It was itt the dark days of the war, and Governor Curtin, who had been called to Washington to confer with president Lincoln on the disheartening r.ews from the front, arrived at the national capital frill of foreboding for the future of the Union. Early in the day he met Colonel Forney in the drawingroom, and they sat down by the window to discuss the gloomy situation. While they sat there the inner door opened and Thomas Buchanan Read, the brilliant but erratic poet painter, pushed his way in and staggering across the lioor, threw himself into a chair by the table- Without a glance at the earnest mea by the window, he dropped his head on the table and fell into a heavy sleep. Quietly the great war governor and the great journalist talked on the terrible losses in the South, the sickness, the disaster and death among the boys in blue, the heartrending scenes in the North when the news of battle filled every home with dread, and the dying hope of ultimate success in the suppression of the fratricidal war of rebellion. Suddenly, as if by inspiration from heaven, the sleeping poet raised his head from the table, and with a gaze that seemed to penetrate to the far-away field of the Southron, said in a voice that quivered with emotion r Oh, that some bird from the sunny South Might build its nest in the cannon's mouth. And stop its terrible roar! Then, like a weight, he fell back into the chair?his head feil forward on his hands, and the poet was again asleep? insensible. ?Pittsburg Telegraph. The Origin of Roller Skates. In view of the fact that roller skating has played such havoc with theater patronage, it will be interesting to the stage profession to know that it was out of the demand for stage effects that roller skating was -invented. A Mr. Kobbe writes to the French press to say: "I am told by Herr Hock, the stage manager of the Metropolitan Opera House, that all who enjoy roller skating are indebted for their sport to the famous composer, Meyerbeer. When his opera, 'The Prophet,' was produced in Paris it was almost decided at one time to cut out the skating scene in the third act, as the manager saw no I way of converting the stage into- a ! sheet of ice. In this crisis an ingenI ious stasre hand came forward and sug I gested that ordinary skates might be i placed on wheels. The Grand Opera | House at Paris, therefore, was the I first roller-skating rink the world has | known." The length of the wire used in the construction of the submarine cable, now in operation, is computed to be ten times the distance from the earth to the moon. The total length of the cables now used is 68,000 miles, each i cable containing an average of forty | strands of wire, and making over I O fWl I *?vvv,vvv muv-s. J SOMERRY'S SUCCESSI never lag behind in my pursuit of the nimble and exclusive dollar but I think of Silas Somerby, and straightway push on refreshed. In the hope that it may encourage some fellowtoiler, I will briefly set down the story of his great success. He began his business life in the employ of his father, in whose establishment he still remains, universally looked up to and honored by all whose position in the house is inferior to his urn "!f xxr?c oT-rantrpr? in the be<rin ning chat he was to live at home, and that he was to receive a salary of $10 a week, half of which w as to be deducted in payment of his board. His father designed thus not only to give his only son a good start, but to inculcate at the very outset sound principles of economy, and to accustom his offspring to the now almost obsolete practice of laying aside a certain fixed percentage of i his income to meet living expenses. The son repaid the fatherfs kindness with earnest effort, and at the end of six months he was one day summoned into his progenitors's private office, and thus addressed: "Silas. I have observed with great pleasure your diligent attention !?o business, and have decided to raise your salary in practical recognition of your increased value. After to-day vou will draw $15 a week, instead of 0, as heretofore. And by the way," the ' father added, as Silas turned to go, "as your living will now be, naturally, tipon an increased scale of expenditure more in keeping with your augmented income, I shall hereafter deduct $10 a week, instead of $5, for your board-1' Filled-with a gratitude too deep for expression, Silas left the paternal presence resolved to deserve hi3 kindness or perish. He redoubled his effort, and in six short months more he again stood one day, by particular request, before his father, who said, with a broad smile of satisfaction draped about his benevolent countenance: 4'My boy, you are exceeding my fondest anticipations. Such endeavor as yours shall not go unrewarded. I have decided to raise your salary for the second time. Twenty-live dollars is the figure of the future, and may os\a vilnv?e ttaii " UUU i/iVOO J VVi. Here the old man paused; and in a voice trembling with genuine emotion Silas stammered forth his thanks. As he leaving the room his father added, without raising his head from some papers over which he was busied: "Oh, Silas, one more thing. I was about to add that this change in your circumstances will make a great difference in your mode of life. You will eat more, drink more, in fact, lead a broader and fuller life in every respect I shall, therefore, charge you $20 a week for board after this date. Good morning." In the next six months Silas surpassed himself, and boomed things to a perfectly phenomenal extent. He was not, consequently, wholly taken by surprise when he found on his desk one morning a note in his father's familiar hand. Hastily tearing open the envelope with hands trembling with pleasurable anticipation, he reaa as follows: My Dear Son?I can not express to you1; my deep satisfaction in your wond&ldJ"? progress, nor shall I try. Words are cheap, Out cash is, in such cases, the most accomplished conversationalist. Continue vour efforts at double your present salary. Inclosed please find ck. tor this week. Your affectionate Fatheb. The inclosure bore in the lower righthand corner the flowing signature of the senior Somerby, and in the upper left the sjinbol $, followed by the figure 5. In an ecstasy of gratitude Silas pressed the letter to his lips. As he did so he observed the legend "Turn over" obscurely placed in the lower corner, and following instructions he read as follows: . P. S.?Your pecuniary circumstances are now such that you will no longer feel the need of economizing, a variety or mua extravagances, hitherto made inaccessible by limitations of income, are now within your grasp. You will feel like branching out in many dire tions. Men in your circumstances smoke l>cent cigars, -and drink wine?upon occasions. Their board sometimes costs them as high as S45 a week. Yours will cost you precisely that amount. Stimulated by these practical proofs of parental pride, Silas fairly humped himself, so to speak, during the next year, and, despite the distracting influence of a large income, attended more strictly to business. One day toward the end of the year he received a summons from his father, whom he found standing before the fire in his private office. Judge of his surprise when the good old man, laying his hand affectionately upon his son's shoulder, said: "Silas, my boy, you have been doing nobly. I have long intended .to more substantially reward your eflorts than by mere words of praise, and I have decided to let that reward come in the ? ? ?? * ? ? ' T dTTTOVfl lorm Ui I~lkl5C Ul 5>ill&Lj, x am an<uv that a salary of $100 a week will place you in society to which your poor old father can hardly aspire. It will be your proud privilege to give suppers to the ballet and to assist in booming the hack and liquor interests of this great metropolis. L, alas! on account of deficiencies of early training and education, and lack of funds, can not tread these flowery paths with you; but the father is content to live again in the son, and to enjoy hi* triumphs in a back seat I can scarcely hope," he continued, his voice trembling slightly, and a big tear running down nis cheek, "tn Vcp-n vnn at home with us anv Ion ger. Your new life will be at variance with our simple ways. You will, no doubt, feel like going to one of the principal hotels, and, perhaps, pay as much as $95 a week for board. We can not compete at home with the crockeryware and silver they will give you there to eat, nor with the maniiold discomforts of the place; but, my boy, we can give you good, wholesome food, plainly served, and a hearty welcome, at the same price, and, by heavens, we will!V And they did. And Somerby still has a place at their fireside, despite his altered circumstances. Happy in their son's success, the old folks never murmur, but put up with his late hoxirs and altered way of life with a selfnafmnrtQ io rorp 1T1 HPPf?. ? uciting W? ~ ? Puck. Lord Wolseley has the sight of but one eye. When he was doing duty in the trenches before Sebastopol, a shell exploded in a gabion full of gravel, in moving which he and two sappers were engaged. The sappers were both killed outright; Wolseley got so severe a peppering with the gravel that he was literally stuck full of stones from head to foot. There was not a square inch of his face that had not a gravel pellet embedded in it; part of his shinhnnp. was carried awav. and his eve sight was in so great danger that for weeks he was kept in the gloom of & cave near Balaclava, and so missed being present at the fall of SebastopoL *o * m The walls of several of the British ! war ships are constructed of paper. ' > ^Gimme a Lub Powdah!" An aged and dilapidated looking negro shuffled into a down-town drug store the other day, says the Detroit Journal, leaned nervously against the soda-water fountain, and ejaculated in trembling tones the one word: "Boss!15 "What can 1 do for you?" inquired the druggist, politely. | The dilapidated negro glanced hur| riedlt' about the store. \ "Jffoss, I wants a li-^ents wuth oD lub powdahs!" "Love oowders! What'n blazes d'vou want with love powders?" 'Colonel, I wants dem powdahs fo' my ole 'ooraan. She's done gone back on mo an1 I wants tcr make her lub me again. Dat's so, Colonel?true's yo' lib."-:.: "Can't put up any love powders for less'fedifty cents,"'replied the druggist The dilapidated negro hesitated. Slowly5 his hand descended into his trousejs pocket and slowly it returned. Between the .fingers was a bright halfdollag^The negro gazed upon the coin wistfully. "Gness it'll hab ter go," he signed. Then'he threw the coin upon the counter. ^The druggist picked it up. <?ank yo\ boss! t:irk yo', sah!" said the negro, as he shuttled off with the little package the druggist had given him. "What was in that powder?" asked a spectator. "Magnesia and white sugar. Won't hurt the old woman," replied the clerk, carelessly. "Have 'em often?" "I;should say so. Quite astonishing. Coming all the time. Most of thera are ignorant, but some look quite intelligent.-and well off in Ilia world. All of them are ugly, and most past the heyday of youth. Some, like this fellow, wanti to regain vanished marital affection.'I usually say 'I don't keep them.' Saves the trouble of explaining. I thought just now that 50 cents would frighten that old bum, but it didn't Superstition's strong, you know, and tbis's a mighty old one. Nearly as old as ghosts, I reckon. In those old times it wasn't white sucrar or magnesia thev usedi Oh, no! T^hose old alchemists used' to have strong, powerful, and dangerous potions. They called them 'philters,' which means, 'I love.' Of course they didn't excite love. Sometimes they cause death, sometimes insanity, but the superstition has stayed right with us. I recollect one day a nicely dressed, intelligent-looking wo- ; man, who might have been a prosperous farmer's wife, dropped into my ' store and asked my assistant for a love powder. The clerk laughed at her and said there was no such thing. Then she asked for me and was snown into the office. 'Mr. Dash,' said she, 'my husband seems to have lost all consid- i eration lor me. Me stays away irom 1 home and drinks fearfully. He loved me once, and now I want you to give me something that will win back his regard.' Of course, I told her I could do 1 nothing, but she insisted. . 'I know there are such things,' she said. 'They may be expensive, but I must have one.' Well, I retired and put up some . Jfchirmless powders. ~ These I gave her "frith directions to administer one each day in the husband's tea. 'Jfou must be very kind,' I cautioned her. 'Make the house as pleasant as possible, and, above all things, never say a cross ! word. One cross word would spoil ev- I crything.' She offered me money, but : X told her to wait till the medicine acted. About a month afterward my assistant came into the office. "Your love woman's outside. Wants 1 to see you,' he laughed. ; "Well, sir. 's soon as I set eyes on that woman's face I knew the husband. . had come out all rtehtaud such proved to be the case. Whether it was the ' white sugar or the wife's kindness that did it I needn't say. I suppose it's those occasional chances that keep the superstition alive. Chances will hap- ; pen, you know." ? ? I - W The Mecca of a 3Iother. It may be only a Barlow knife with a rusty blade and a broken point, or it may be a peg top half split down in the middle, or only half a dozen battered spools on a knotted strin But there it lies, whatever it is, stowed Carefully away in the far-off' corner of the bureau drawer, under a yellow pile > of little linen and stockings, patched and darned at lreel and at knee. But all the gems of Golconda cannot buy them; no, nor the gold of all the wide ] world size their prcciousness. For they ara the holv of the holies. It is not oft- | < en that she goes to that drawer, not often she looks upon the treasures there. But once in a while, sometimes, the time when a knock come to the heart, that comes to mothers' hearts alone, like the famished and thirsty she goes to the nest of her jewels. ] Slowly, with soft hands, the little ; linens are laid aside, and slowly, with ] trembling hands, the knife, the top, or I the string of dingy spools are drawn j forth. Ah, how gently they are pressed to the heart and lips! What words ! are they saying, what sad, sweet songs j are they singing? Kissed and cried on, ( | and cried on and kissed. Then yearn- ' I ingly, reluctantly, clingingly back they 1 go to their nest in the far-off corner, j t and the yellowing little linens are put ' I back one by one. ah aione, jeaious i that mortal eyes should see her wor- s ship at the shrine, the drawer is closed, and she who knelt before it comes to 1 earth once more.?Pittsburg Chronicle, j One Tbing He Can't Understand. ( t "One thing I can't understand," said a young husband to-day, "is how quick \ a woman can forget some things. A ] year ago, when 1 was courting my wife, I had only to say music, and she was j ready to knock a spavined old piano 1 her father owned clear off its legs; but ] now that she has a $600 article I bought her with a contribution taken 1 i up among the Blaine boys last fall, I ; can't get her to play even the simplest tune. She's 'so out of practice, and ; can't remember a note.' She remem- ! i bers all the fool things I used to say to ! her, and throws them at me pat enough i [ when I don't happen to agree with her j views of life, but when it comes to re- ; memberin? the accomplishments that j brought out the compliments, she can't i be depended on. What a pity it is that : young people can't go on courting al- i ways, resting satisfied with the assur- ; ance that their respective parents were . married."?Milwaukee Journal. A serious epidemic of whooping cough has run through the islands of the Fiji group. The malady has carried off all* the very young native children, and left a decrease in the population of 3,000. A few years ago 30,000 persons in Fiji died from an epidemic of measles. Since then the (wivernmAnt hitvfi done much to i JjV I instruct the people in the laws of ! health. Female Plumbers. A book has recently been published in which it is said that the author advocates the right and duty of admitting women to the plumbing as well as the medical profession. It is proper that women should study medicine in order to be able to take care of their own health and that of others of their sex it is equally proper that women should study plumbing in order to protect the health of members of their own household. Doubtless this idea will meet witn iavor among progressive women, and before long we shall have female students of plumbing as well as female students of medicine. There is no insuperable physical obstacle in the way of the practice of plumbing by women. A woman could call at the house where pipes are frozen, and inform the household of her acquiescence in the theory that frost will freeze water pipes almost as well as a man could accomplish the same feat. She could send an assistant female plumber to the shop for tools; she could go home to dinner as soon as the tools arrived, and later in the day she could tear up the floor in the bathrroom, and break the plastering in a businesslike way. The matter of "wiping a joint," or of soldering a faucet is not beyond the physical ability of woman, although, of course, she would burn her fingers and set the house on fire with greater ease than a man. She could not take longer to do a job than does the male plumber, and in all probability she would be less densely ignorant of all the laws of hygienic plumbing btill, a woman could not be a successful plumber, for the reason that no person possessed of less than $1,000,000 could afford to employ her. Woman has far more imagination than man, and in making out a plumber's bill she would give free run to her imagination. Already the bills of plumbers represent the highest flights of the masculine imagination, but they would be left far behind by the bills of female plumbers. The male plumber has in his opinion, reached the utmost limits * * ^ in tne invention 01 nems wuu wuiuh iu swell his bill, but lie still adheres to the rules of arithmetic and adds up his columns correctly. The woman who can add up a column of figures correctly has not yet appeared, for the feminine conception of the sum of twelve and fifteen is thirty-six. In other words, a woman adding up a column makes the result at least one-fourth greater than it should be. A woman could take the bill of items presented by a male plumber, and by simply adding the items together could increase the total amount felly one-fourth. It is this peculiarity of the feminine intellect that will ever prevent women from succeeding as plumbers, for the feminine plumbing bill would in all cases be so enormous that a householder, sooner than run the risk of having it presented to him, would tear up all his water-pipes and substitute beer for wa ier, UOIII IXS U ucveiii"c uuu ? a uicauo of cleanliness.?K Y. Times. An English Scandal. There has been a scandal within the last ten days which, though not yet taken up by the press, has created a whisper sensation and slightly stirred/ tea circles!" Col- Fitz George, a 'son of the Duke of Cambridge by his morganatic marriage, has allowed judgment to go against him by default as co-respondent in a suit for. divorce by a brother officer. There are three of these young men in the British army, and they are generally regarded?two of them were for some time in Canada ?as rather good and gallant fellows. JL lieir motner, J?rs. r airoroiner, was a very beautiful girl, specially remarkable for the magnificence of her locomotives, when she attracted the admiration of the then Prince George, and has, since the alliance, been remarkable for the loyalty of her love and quiet, feminine virtues?qualities which have won for her the respect and regard in private of her royal relatives. When the late duke, she often told, heard of the alliance, lie drove to her home in Bolton street to see her, and when she, with some hesitation, entered the room asked her brusquely: "Do you know whom I am?" "Yes, your roval highness." "Do you love my son?" "xes, indeed." "Does he love you?" "I an " "Woll T QTV1 Tiof. STimri?Pli Come and sit near me and kiss me. Always kiss me when I come, and if George behaves badJy come and tell me." He was a most singular old fellow, and used to ?ive intense amusement to the attendants at St James' chapel, in Jermvn street, where he was to be found in his pew as regularly as at his box in the opera, where he always accompanied the singers in an audible hum. When the clergyman at St. James' said, "Let us pray" he always broke in with, "Certainly?by all means," and when he asked in the Lord's prayer to "give. us our daily bread," with "and butter."?London Echo. Over 200 Per Cent. Profit. As the crowd of passengers on the jarly morning trains come surging iown Park row from the City Hall ele- rated station, the familiar cry of the street-venders scattered along at short ntervals attracts very little attention, in old man with a voice which dies iway in a sweet cadence, sings out: "Fine leather shoe-strings, five cents a pair." He has stood '.-.re for years ind offered for sale nothing but long leather shoe-strings. He pays a license :o peddle on the streets and has a right :o select his locality. "How is the shoe-string business Oil -1--J - TO. CtOWr ilS&CU ~d iUtttSt 1WO IV" porter of the old man. "Not so good as it was ten years igo. Too many button and elasticfastened shoes are made nowadays. Poor people are getting high toned and wear button shoos. Times are said to be hard, sir, but I manage to live well and support my family. "Then you must sell a great many pairs of shoe-strings a day and make large profits?" "Well, no; I don't sell so many, but . oiy profits are large. I buy the strings by the wholesale and make over 200 per cent, on them. I don't have to pay any clerk hire, * gas-bills, or rent; everything is clean, clear profit. Some rainy days I dou't sell any, but on fair days I make up generally. Saturday afternoon is my best day."?New York mail ana express. Irish wit never found happier expression than in the following, which we have just received from the Soudan by private wire: An Irish soldier,was bringing in an Arab prisoner, when the latter said: "You blow Arab man's head off, I suppose?" "Faix," replied the soldier as he wiped the perspiration off his brow, "I'd rather blow the head off a pot of porter this minute than the heads of half a dozen of the likes of ye." Rats Are Truly Wise. A house that I and my husband tenanted in St Martin street Montreal, several years ago, says a lady to a Philadelphia Star reporter, became for some unexplained reason the headquarters of the rats of the neighborhood. At first they manifested their presence in the usual way, by gnawing holes here and there,in pantries and in kitchen wainscots, destroying what food lay about uncovered. - The rats quickly increased in numbers, however, and it became necessary to cover securely every article that would be devoured by the hAsiecrin<r arm v. ? 0?0 J One morning upon going into the store-room I perceived tSe cake-box on the ground, its place being on the third shell, some sir feet from the floor. Reproving the maid for leaving it about so carelessly, she declared that it was in its usual place the night before, but as onlj she and myself had access to the closet I passed the matter by,merely thinking she had removed it and had forgotten to replace it The next day, however, I found the box on the floor again, this time bottom up. A little . annoyed, I spoke to the girl, but she,as before, positively denied having moved the box since I, the day previous, had returned it to its place. I had heard of the strange doings of certain spirit rappers, and I began to think that some of those queer folks had selected our house as the base of their operations. Before retiring that night I made a careful inspection of the spot, locked the door, and took the key with me to my room. But notwithstanding, on a visit to the closet next morning I disf Ka A/Toin An WYCICU iuc ^oa^uu.\ agaiu va vu\> ground, and looking much the worse ior its rough-usage. - While I was examining and wondering at its scratched appearance, a noise behind me caused me to turn, and there, looking at me inquiringly, stood, quite fearlessly, a big rat, and just behind, coming out of a hole, was his companion, apparen tly equally interested. A momentary start, and then it flashed upon me the" cause of the change of base of our cake-box of late. The rats had evidently known of its contents, and, finding that they were unable to gnaw their way into the tin, had held a consultation, and finally decided that concussion was the best means to that end. As the box was a foot square, and hfeld faw V>oVfl ill LUC UUiV XUiij tvu j/vuuu^ vi those intelligent little beasts must have worked in concert to have pushed the box off the shelf, and finding that one attempt was not enough, they-repeated the operation agaia and again until they succeeded. Fond of Life. Charles Langheimor.'who' was for over forty years .in inmate of Cherry Hill prison, in Philadelphia, and during his imprison*rcnt was made famous by Charles Dickens in his "American Notes," in m:my respects has his counterpart in the person of '"Doc" Vanscoy, until a few days ago a convict in the Colorado penitentiary. Langheimer's cell was always left fnr it WM only a question of time when the old man, in later years known as "Dickens' Dutchman," would again be sentenced to another term of imprisonment Vanscoy on last Friday finished serving out a three-years' term in the penitentiary at Canyon City for the crime of horse-stealing in Park county. Next day after his release he was again at his old trade of stealing in Pueblo, where he had immediately gone after leaving prison, and now Vanscoy is confined in jail at Pueblo, awaiting trial on the charge. Vanscoy is a man about 50 years of age, and has for seventeen years been confined in the penitentiaries of various states. His hair has become gray, but he shows no other signs that his prison life has been detrimental' to his-welfare. He is a man of. trausually large proportions. He has the. form of an alderman in prosperity, and strides his cell and the prison walls with as much dignity as a banker behind his counter. He is jovial, keeps well informed by reading the newspapers and is a man universally known in the prison. He says lie gees into prison oecause ue liKes it better than "roughing it" on the outside. He has served sentences at Sing Sin& New York, Columbus, Ohio, Jackson, Mich., and at a half-dozen other penitentiaries. Horse-stealing is his principal mania, and, like Charles Langheimer, "Dickens' Dutchman," he is no sooner released than he is imprisoned on a similar offense. It is natural for him to steal. With him it is a kind of mania. The experience of seventeen years?in various state prisons has not in the least quieted his kleptomaniac tendencies. . i An Atlantic Oasis. Out in the Atlantic, over twelve hundred miles from Land's End and about six hundred miles due west from Lis bon, lies the beautiful island of St. Michael's, the largest of the nine islands forming the archipelago of the Azores. It is beautiful in itsvariety of mountain, lake, and valley scenery, in the rich verdure of its cultivated lands, it's equable, mild climate, and in its wonderful thermal springs. The principal commerce of St. Michael's is the orange crop. The mode of picking and packing remains unaltered since early days. The city of Ponta Delgada, the capital of the island, is set in the midst of orange gardens, and the air in the early mornings or late in the evenings comes laden to you with the fragrance of the orange blossoms. Either in the town or suburbs you see the gates of many orange gardens invitingly open, and you will be politely invited to walk in and help yourself to flowers and fruit. If you are a stranger the "eabeca," or head man of the garden, wiil bring you a bunch of lovely camellias and a branch on which hang clusters of ripe oranges, and invite you to be seated ou a garden bench for though it is the month of February you can enjoy sitting out of doors. There you can watch the juvenile toil ers sorting the fruit and the dried leaves of the Indian corn. The picker can eat as many oranges as he pleases, and tafce away every evening a bag or basket full of fruit that has Fallen from the trees, which he sells at thirty or forty for a penny.?Leisure Hours. An 8-year-old in the Lewiston grammar school was, with the rest of the class, in the hall the other day, getting ready for the Longfellow exercises. One of the boys who was to take part in the exercises^ was absent, and the teacher desirous to know what part the absent boy was to take in the exercises, looked down the class and asked: "What did Jfcmes have?" Out of the row spoke the 8-year-old, with a loud voice that came right out from beneath a pug nose and honest eyes, and said: "James had the mumps, ma'am."? T^niotsvirm. t Mp .Tmtrnftli ' : GLEANINGS. This season's orange crop in Florida is the largest ever known. Philadelphia claims to have now & population exceeding 1,000,000. There is said to be only one book to every 10,000 inhabitants in Russia. N Penjdeh is accurately written and J VAmi)L'VtiAonc prULLUUUCCU. X UUJUCU, auu wwu villages." ' 1 Of the works called for in the great library of the British Museum, less than 10 per cent are novels. The foreman -of the Ann Arbor Courier office has jost completed his first half century at the case. _ . The largest vineyard in the world is in California, and contains between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000"fines. The southern part of Africa has 70,400 tame ostriches, producing $3,000,000 worth of feathers annually. The Black Hills tin region is found to be much larger than was supposed. New locations are constantly opened. rigation have reduced Tulare Lake/in ~ California, from a length of forty-two miles ana Dreaata ox ivvsuytttu uiu*? ^ to a length of twenty-two and a width of fourteen miles; Prof. Boremus, it is said, makes $25,000 a year from chemical analyses of patent medicines and other similar articles.' He does all hiis work with his left hand, his right arm having been amputated in youth. The only goose ranch?a farm devoted to the breeding and care of <*eese?in this country is- located on the eastern shore of Virginia, and -covers nearly 3,000 acres. Its flocks number in the neighborhood of 5,000 birds. It is alleged that Miss Cleveland speaks four languages fluently. Her : brother, the President, however; seems to be proficient in holding his tongue in one, his native English. The latter * must be regarded the superior accomplishment in these days. " ; ' WoT-mr- Navf/m "Titinc the average human life, he would be a bold man who, rightly weighing the manifold daily blessing? which come like the sunshine and the dew, would venture to pronounce the lot of man "\ rather of pain than of pleasure." So acute is the sheep's sense of hearing, it is said, that it can distinguish the cry of her own lamb among a thousand others, all bleating at the same time; and. the lamb, too, is able to recognize its mother's voice, even though it be in the midst of a large flock.' Thirty-one years ago a gypsy fortune teller told a young woman in Rockland, N. Y., that she would be married within a year, and before '.he thirtieth year of her marriage would have fourteen children, three of whom would die before the birth of the fourteenth. The prophecy has been fulfilled to the letter. y;. * It is reported that Riehard Gird, of San Bernardino county, proposes to donate the Ckico Ranch to tine State, and erect thereon a State Industrial School at his own expense. The ranch embraces 87,000 acres, and has upon it 10,000 cattle and 500 mules and horses. / The gift, if made, will reach the munificent value of nearly $1,000,000.? ? Vi&Uia (Cal.) Times. . ' 3 It is not generally known that Ver- mont has a 2old mine. It is called the "Rooks" and is located at Plymouth. From an annual report it appear* that the mine produced from September, 1883, to January, 1885, $68,670 in _ gold, and paid four dividends aggregating $46,000, the yield varying be- ' ' _ tween $33.88 and $50.59, while the cost declined $10.15 to $7.20 per ton . * ' _ for mining and miKingr O O In a poor family of Goffstown, N. H., the mother recently died. When the undertaker came to perform the duties of his office the father was asked the name of his JBafev. ^Thp! only reply came, "Mother.'1. : No other name could be recollected. The daughters were called in and the same answer was received. They had never known their parent by any other name than "Mother." This is a literal fact, according to the Kashua Telegraph-' A #n??rr fAmn X pOOOUCi A 1UUUJ wnu vuw other day," said a gentleman yesterday, who* is just home from ibe South. "It was a place called Fulton, on the Illinois Central Railroad, and is built ., right over the dividing line between Kentucky and Tennessee. The main street of the town is* the' dividing line. Oil the Kentucky side of the street \ local option is in strict enforcement, but you may cross over to the Tennessee side and find a dozen saloons in full blast "?Lo-uisviUe Commercial. A St Louis bachelor sat down to a table in his room to write a letter, when an immense black spider advanced toward him upon the table. He took a. straw from a broom and drew / it "gently'over the spider's back and legs for ten minutes, when it went away. The next evening the spider reappeared and went through the same antics with the broom straw, to his evident pleasure:" 'This was kept up all the winter, the big spider coming out regularly every night for a frolic with the broom straw. 1 \V; A Baltimore gentleman owned a Skye terrier which recently proved that it could feel ashamed of a dishonest act At the time in question the gentleman was seated at his table. The little Skye saw a cutlet near the edge of the board, and yielded to the temp- * tation to steal the meat The cutlet was slyly seized and taken under the ; . sofa. The gentleman pretended not to see the act of theft; But the conscience of the little terrier soon got the better of its hunger. It brought tha " MTtlAf hark, laid it at the feet of its master, hung its head iarshame and slunk away. A queer triaLjShoiting how a small boy got his tobacco came up recently at Aurora, Ohio. The defendants were all small boys from 10 to 12 years of age and possessed of the average American boy's, idea of fun., When the trial proceeded the fact of the windows being broken by the boys was developed, but the further fact was shown that Dick Ray, the grandson of Mrs. Hill and of about the same age as the other boys, had a fondness for chewing tobacco, and had proposed tc the defendants that if they would accommodate him with a chew of tobacco he would grant them the privilege of throwing twenty-five times at the glass in his grandmother's window. The boys accepted the proposal and fur- - nished the young hopeful with his wished-for tobacco, and then began the fusUade of stones on the old woman's windnws while the orandson stood bv counting the throws and chewing his tobacco with a satisfied air. So accurate was the aim of the young sports that "^nty-onc panes of glass were bre"j= .Tin the twenty-five throws. . f