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. ., ..,. ABBEVILLE PRESS & BANNER, fj BY HUGH WILSON AND W. C. BENET. ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1878. NO. 29. VOLUME XXYI^J The Coining of the Snow. in The clouds were oopper-dyed nil day, And struggled in each other's way, j . Until the darkness drifted down j To the summer-forsaken town. Said people, passing in tha lane, | M "It will be snow," or "'Twill be rain th And school- bairns, laughing in a row, j 01 Looked through the panes and winbed for | U' enow. I an The ewollen clouds let nothing full bo But gath'rirg gloom, that covered all ; ex ThAn r>#mA thA wind ?nd nhnnk liin wincrF. Stl And curled the dead leaves into rings. j otl inj He made the shutters movo and crack, | And hurtled round the chimney-Btack ; i tir Then he swept on to fhake the troeB, i to Until they moaned like winter seas. vo Boon he went whietling o'tr tho hill, And all the trees again stood still; ? Then, throngh the dark, the snow camo ^ down. be And muffled all tho slerpmg town. an The keen stars looked out through the night, | And fleoked tho bought* with fltkes of j i an light; | And moving clouds revealed the moon, j To make on eaith s f'iry noon. , ]a^ ! Itl1 Then winter went unto his throne, > p* That with a million diamonds shone ; ^ A crown of stars was on his head, ( pe And round him his rich robes were spread j At morn the bairns larghed with delight | .. ... .. .. ! Uo To see the fields and hedges white ; : And folks e&id, as they harried paBt, : ^ "Good morning?winter's come at last." j j ha A Rescue From Cannibals. ! ab j pr I mt A STORY FOR CHRISTMAS. , Hulda cnme down into the bowels of J the earth to find me, as Hhe usually was i ha oompelled to do. There was 110 necessity ; for her remaining amid the rust and ! 11 roaches, the gloom and interminable steam, of that cavernons kitchen floor , ca of ours on Brooklyn Heights. We had j ^ kept boarders now for years and years, ; *o( or perhaps the boarders had kept us, or ; en it might have been a mutual eking out j 'u: of existence. But I took care of the : 8P oooking, because in that the main :a 1 strength of success lay, and I didn't ! J? want to keep boarders all my life. When wo began it was to please Bro- r?l ther Bob. He was a well-to-do sales- "e man then iu the city, and used to come Sb down to tho dear old homestead with so j bi| many airs and graces about him that | we grew to look upon him with a sort of on awe, and wondered if this prinky he gentleman in the high hat and linen rai duster could be our Bob that used to kick all the bottoms out of the chairs, be and never had a whole knee in his fa breeohes ; that robbed the birds' nests, worried the schoolmaster, was nearly drowned in the millrace and had his leg an broken by a fall from the bay-rick. No- *a' body would dream he had ever a kink T1 in his leg, now that he had got to be a Mi commercial man. He was as straight ; B< and tall as the finest of our scarlet-run- I ner poles, and butter wouldn't melt in I be his mouth, he was that_ Bmooth and j fQI sleek and soft- spoken, How surprised WI we were when he proposed himself to : bj go Kid hear David Devine's first sermon, ^ holding the hymn book all the way, and : bo oarrying Hulda's best shawl on his arm! j a * I used to be his favorite in the good old 1 ?f days when he didn't know a Bnub nose j from a Grecian one, and Bob found my j a 1 oarroty hair and freckles mnch finer ! be than the silken locks and delicate com j 0D plexion of Huldo. He used to call Hulda i a milk-and-water baby, and 1 -was the j an one he came to in all his scrapes and j eQ short-comings. But, somehow, after he H got to the city I never could find much j B0 favor in his sight, and had no relish for J" a dead delight. The boy was gone from 1 ou me as utterly as if he lay in the old I to church-yard by Sister Betty's Bide. The ! memory of him was far sweeter than any *h present delight in his prosperity. a 1 I was always opposed to giving up the th homestead when father and mother died, i th and going to the city to keep house for j be Bob. But Bob persisted, and won over Hulda, as he always did. I think he had co a Breaking design from the first that ac Hulda should win the admiration of one ne of his employers?the bachelor member ! tie of the Ann of Marley k Brothers. He ag came out with Bob in one of the vaca- j pc tions, and certainly seemed to admire an WriMa ad mn mi0V1 f on-u rftTrpnnnalv > fVi He ate more in a quiet way than any per- H son I ever saw; and it seemed a very ; wi high oompliment, in Bob's eyes, that | dr while he was eating, his grave, owl-like j E' eyes were fixed upon Hulda, though why ! eh I oan't say, as I always did the cooking. j th I used to tell our young preacher, Davy no Devine, that he couldn't expeot the hot j an plaoe would have the terror for me it of had for others, seeing that I was used to se the hottest corner, and rather libod it. i la< David made some kind little reply in his j w( })leasant way; and I must say my choice j pe or Hulda had always been this hand- ru some, fair-worded, pure-hearted, God- ' a { loving young neighbor of ours. He had | er, always cared for her sinoe they were ! 11c children together; and I knew father and ! as ! ninth AT* wnnlrl Kava VkArm woll nAnfnnf frt i Tf have Hnlda the parson's wife in the old i ye Dutch ohnroli where they had gone to- I im gether yef^r in and year ont, and now lay oL resting oiose by. th Hul'ia was little more than a ohild, It but vas taking kindly to the wonderfully j lai plOteant ways of Providence just then; j of >ind after mother died she clung more ! en and more to me and David. He and I j be xued to talk the matter over, even to the ; m furnishing up of the old parsonage, : f never dreaming but that all would be j be I right. It seemed as natural to me a? : ai ' seed-time and harvest that Hulda should ; or marry David, and walk up the aisle in i to her plain silk gown and close bonnet, | and everybody should say what a sweet | ds wife was the young pastor's. But in the meantime Bob married a ! h< lashionable city girl, and in the het sea- th eons he brought his wife and children in home. I couldn't find much fault with d< the girl, though I tried to hard enough; M Bhe spent too much time distorting her 01 pretty hair out of its natural oomeliness, st and pnt as many queer artificial humps te about her as a camel; but she had a win- bi some, cheery wav with her, and I always or had a weakness for beauty, be it in man, woman or beast; and, besides, she al- lil ways had a good word for the young at parson, often luring Marley away with a\ her ooquetry and wiles, so that David a could nave a word with Hulda. fu "He's worth a dozen of that bald, ol blinking Marley," she would Bay, " and gc I'll do what I can Magda, to foil Bob's m plans." th She was such a good-natured ereature nc 1 wish it had been God's will to spare di her to her young brood, of which she bi waa over-fond ; but while they were jii three manikins the gay young mother of got cold and died, and nothing would do I but we must go to the city to keep house re for Bob. Hulda's tender heart was si] wrung for Bob's widowed and lonely bt oondition, but I could see under his stifl, gs hard, melancholy a bitter quantity of ni worldly forethought and speculation. at I knew what was ooming, and, indeed, tb was prepared for anything. What did a it matter now that the blessed old H homestead was out of our hold ? I had n< i skept some of the mahogany furniture, sh H much to Bob's disgust, who seemed to I HL cheapen the richest acres we had, and th : our dear old apple trees that every j xly knew made the fruit all the sweet- j ; Bob sniffed with disdain at my hold- | g the mortgage for my share of the tate. " Ready money would be much better, , ag.la," *he said; but I had my way, i auk God ! And I told Bob up and J wn I wanted it understood that there ; is to bo no obligation on either side? j alda and I would take the city house, j d he and the three children should >ard with us. To help along with the penses 1 took a few more boarders, and 11 a few more, for one bronght an- i her. I had a sort of faculty for cookand if there's one weakness in the iman race more prevailing and beset- j ig than another, it's gluttony. I used do my beet to tempt the jaded yet i racious palate of that yellow dyspeptic < arley, anJ gave him many a grim hob- i blin for company after he'd left my ' eet Hulda, for I couldn't forgive hie !! nning her consent to marry him, when !: i knew the core of her heart was ; other's. The coming to the city and j. <licg ont how pretty she was had j1 "Jja Hold a'b head. Bob's will and cunning were strong i d untiring, and anyway Hulda gave 1 i poor David Devine, and agreed to | ] irry that grim and greedy Marley. I 11 7 awake at night worrying about it? i 7 heart was so sore perplexed for poor 1 ivid, and wrathful against Bob, and i jtrustful of Providence. I grew des- < rate and wicked, but David stuck to I 3 faith, dear fellow, though he hadn't 1 rength to stick to the old spot where j had been so happy and so miserable, i 3 went out as a missionary to some of I ose cannibal islands, where I wonder < e women didn't eat him?he was so < ndsome and so good. i The very name of Marley became an < omination to me, and I forced a omiBe from Hulda that she wouldn't 1 irry for a couple of years, during i lfch time I hoped for heaven knows j lat that was strange or remarkable. I 1 d small doubt but that poor David was i --3 f ^r.V*o /\* A5r?r?iV>ola tf\r* I ( JU 1UI tuo UDUtO V/JL uuw vuumwwu, ? iad heard no -word from him; but I pt on praying and hoping for a hurriae that might sweep every Marley off e face of the earth. Whenever Marley ok Hulda out he brought a carriage, d as it wasn't Bob's way to waste any tury, he used very often to occupy the are 6eat?he and a sister of Marley'e, ligh-nosed, high-colored, big-toothed ung woman called Judith. I saw lat was coming, and I told Bob he'd ?ret it to his dying day, but he mar>d Judith Marley within that year, te disliked the trouble of housekeep j, so he brought her to board 1 th me. They took a suite of rooms the second floor, and before she had en in the house a month she began to ise Cain, as I knew she would. Of lich I was very glad. I should have en sorely disappointed if she had reed me to love her, as did the fond, jhty first wife of Bob ; for to hate the arleys had become my soul strength d tonio during the days of endless x>r and weariness of body and soul, le spite I had against the whole j arley race, that had spoiled my j )b for me, and wheedled my sister | to a perfidy that broke the manly art of David Devine?the spite I held r them one and all kept life in me len I should otherwise have fainted r the way. Bob saw that we couldn't re together, and toot a furnished 11 use down the street; for Bob was i jig man now, and one of the partners Marley & Brothers ; but before Judith ' >nt away she gave me what she called 1 piece of her mind. By the grace of i aven it so happened that Hulda said 1 e little word or two in my defense, j len the termagant turned upon her, i d, among other insults, accused her of ] trapping her brother into a marriage. ! alda did not reply, but there was mething in her face that frightened , idith. She tried to eat the mischiev- ( s words, but I knew that the Marley ( ik waB broken. Poor Bob took up his | fe's quarrel, though one could 6ee ( is second honeymoon of his had rather ( c>itter flavor. I felt sorry for him and j e three poor little step-ohltdren as ( ey went soberly down to their flue new mse. ] I had Hulda to myself now, and will \ nfess that I left no stone unturned to ! complish my purpose. I spared ither her suitor's age nor his inflrmi ' iB, and repeated, with many a shy ex geration, the taunt of Judith. So all 1 or Marley's entreaties, and the threats i id wrath of Bob, were unable to mend e mischief of one woman's tongue. < nl.ln r?om nn ATq* !ott orw? oofflo/1 /Innm i UIVIU O C ? **?v* uvvuvvi wv/nu < th me to old-maidenhood and the ' eary monotony of keeping boarders. j ?en Hulda was past middle-age when 1 e came down to me that morning on 1 e kitohen floor. As I said, there was ) necessity for Hulda's remaining < aong the rust and roaches, the clatter i the dishes, and the bustle of the black rving-maids. I had kept Hulda the j < 3y manager of the house. Her laces 11 ire real, while mine were any two- 1 rnny cheatery that came to hand ; she 1 stled in her silks, while I got about in i jingham gown; but we worked togeth i , Hulda and I, and the time had come i iw when we could shake the dust and | hes of this drudgery from our feet, i was growing hot for that season of the ar. I had been thinking all the morng of the budding larches out on the i homestead, and the tender green of e willow slips down by the meadow, seemed to me I could hear the young mbs bleat, and catch the milky breath the cows as they chewed their early id. It might have been the steam of the >arding-house breakfast that dimmed y eyes as I whispered to Hulda: "It's all settled. Tue boarders muRt s told to-day. We're rid of all this din id drudgery. I've paid the last cent i the homestead, and it's ours, dearie, have and hold forever." " And shall we live there alone, Mag- j if" she said?"only you and I?" "I shall take Cliloe to help about the )nse," I said ; " but as to living alone, at's what I thought we'd been workg and praying for. You certainly j >n't want to take any boarders along ? j tb. Post wants to bring her sick baby i it for the snmmer, and that young ! udent on the second floor back is pes- ; ring me to spend his vacation with ub; j it surely, Hulda, you would not begin ir new life with boarders ?" " No, Magda, no," she said, with that j ;tle melancholy, deprecatory, exasper- j ing smile of hers ; and as she went; ray she left thegerm after her of rather j bitter misgiving, which ripened into | 11 maturity when we got settled in the j d homestead, with all our household i x3s about us. These deities wore a ! leful and rusty air. There was Rome- i ing out of joint. It was Time himself, j > doubt The tall clock in the corner : dn't tick in the old ohoery way, ! it put Hulda in mind of some weary j jgle she had read, with the one refrain ; "Never, forever?forever, never." never could see, myself, the use of ading rhymes?either they are too lly or too grave?but Hulda had always what, thfiv railed roraantin. I he in to hate the approach of a moonlight ght, for she would sit out-of-doors id run the risk of the ague ; and when .e air grew chill enough to have comfortable fire on the hearth, ulda spoiled it all by begging me >t to light the lamps, and there 16 would sit in a blindman's holiday, began to get the rickets myself: and ough I wouldn't have owned to it for oat with mo Mrs. Post and ber baby, and the young stndent on the second floor back. For one thing, I hadn't enough to do. Chloe did all the kitchen work, Hulda attended to the bedrooms, and the cooking that was left to me wasn't worth mentioning. It was enough to break one's heart to see the dishes come and go untouched and nntasted. I would almost have been glad to see that greedy Marley come in for one henrty meal. There was nobody to brew or bake for ; nobody to mend or make for; and, ah me! what a bitter cry 1 iina one uay wnen 1 siupiajy stumbled into Bob's 6nuggery up under the eaves of the garret, and saw there the broken fishing rods, the old rabbit hutches, the bird traps, kites, marbles, and heaven knows what and all I I couldn't get the boy out of my mind, and began, now that I had plenty of time, to think that I might have been a little hard myself, and grew to wondering about the children of Bob's first wife that I'd given over to the clutch of Judith Marley without one word to cheer or comfort. The hard northern winter came on apace. All the little brooks froze tight, the tonler green of the larches and willows had given way to red and gold, and at last there was no color or substance left them but their skeleton branches against a leaden sky. The mow came down in whirling drifts, and 3ay in, day out, the clock ticked the doleful refrain. I got out some patchwork, but put it away again?for who would inherit my handiwork ??and made up my mind we'd have no Christmas dainties that year to stare us dolefully out of jounfcenance. Poor Chloe was getting iTonpntio nlrondv with overfeedinc. and ^"fvr*lw *> or aven her wool didn't tighten np in the )ld vigorous way. It was the third day before Christmas, when a storm set in of hail and snow and sleet, so that it was all we could do to ;et the dumb creatures about the place boused and fed. When all was done, I set the logs to blazing upon the hearth, ind happily kept a warm drink in the iahes for Chloe, who was still fussing ibout the kitchen. The wind roared iround the house, swinging the branches :>f the trees against the weather-boarding ; and said I, " Hulda, God save any poor creatures at the mercy of this storm to-night!" " Amen I" 6aid Hulda. At that moment we both heard something like a human voice strained to the utmost, and Hulda started to her feet. " Be quiet, Hulda," I said, myself far From easy ; "it's only the shrieking of the wind." But again we heard the voice, and igain we heard my name. I reached for my cloak and hat, and buckled on my rubbers, while Hulda stood trembling by, when suddenly the door flew open, md a great gust of storm and sleet came pelting in, driving before it a man and some young children he was huddling before him like sheep in a tempest, rhey were blinded with the storm and balf frozen, but the boy dragged his sister by the hand, and poor Bob held the pouDKefet child in his arms. " Don't you us, Aunt Mag ?" said the little fellow. "I'm Bob, you know, rhe wagon all broke down, and we're jolly glad to get lio-ome." Here the little man began to cry, for his brave bearfc was over-burdened, and the child in Bob's arms took up the refrain. Bob himself was white as the snow outside, md seemed dazed and bewildered. "See here, Mag," he stammered out, "I've brought the children to you to board for awhile. Everything's at sixes ind sevens in the city; Marley <fc Brothers have gone to smash; but I'll jet something in the way of a clerkship igain, and pay the children's board, you Snow; tney suan t oe a Duraen to you, Map." A burden ! It didn't seem much like \ burden. Such a glad commotion as those little ones created, Hulda and Ohloe putting dry clothes on them, and tricking tbem out as if for a baby masquerade. The hot posset was poured iown their little throats, and a bountiful supper was given them of hot miik ind buns. " There'll be something grand for breakfast," I said, looking upon them as crreedily as ever poor Marley did upon Hulda. How the old kitchen echoed with their romps and capers! They were all handsome, every one of them, with Bob's fine make and build, and beautiful eyes like their pretty dead mother's. "Bob," I said, choking yearningly aver the thought, "if you'll give them to me, the whole three, I'll spend my whole life in making them happy ; and ifter I'm gone, they shall have the homestead and every penny I've got in the world." " Yes, yes," said Bob, who had never 3saeed shiveriDg, and was now as hot and red as he had been white and cold, "I'll pay their board, Magda ; this is n fomrinrnrv iron hi a T Jinn a to cat, fi clerkship, quite a lucrative clerkship ; but little Bob will never get through the storm?never! Keep hold of your sister, Bob," cried my poor brother, in a loud voice, "and keep the tail of my coat firm in your other hand ; don't let go, my son, for God's sake, Bobby? don't let go 1" He got upon his feet, and seemed to be plodding through the storm, and as be made his way to the kitchen door I coaxed him on up to bed in his own old room, that I had kept aired and comfortable to lighten my own aching heart. When the morning dawned and the doctor could get to us, poor Bob was wild in delirium; the only words he muttered or called aloud were about bonds and bills, dollars and fractions of dollars. His long white flng6rs seemed to hold a pen, and scratch, scratch the weary figures upon the counterpane till my eyes and brain ached for very pity. For two wretched days and nights he struggled with this sordid misery, the fiend of commercial fret and disaster never letting go hiogrip; but Christmas morning dawned clear and bright, and before the eastern sky had quite lost its giory jboo ieu iuto a aeep, untrouuieci sleep. How white and wan he looked 1 How thin and bloodless were the once busy fingers that now lay limp and still! At noon-time the sky was all one blaze of cloudless sunny blue, and to keep the room dark I strove to fasten an extra Bhawl over the window. Suddenly I heard Bob whispering my name in such a strange voice that I got clown quickly and went over to the bedside, and was puzzled to hear a low laugh from his trembling lips. "Say Mag, he whispered, " don t let mother know. I crept in through the window, and left some of my pants on the gooseberry bushes below ; you'll patch 'em up, won't you, Mag ? And keep mum about it. Such a lark as we hud last night! Dave Devine and I painted the deacon's horse white and red ; but keep mum, Mag?not a word for your life 1" I kept mum. God knowB I oouldn't speak. I had got my boy Bob back again, but there was a sore tugging at my heart-strings. The doctor came and lingered long, then he turned to me? "My work is done," he said. "I was afraid from the first it would be useless ; a higher and better work has begun. There is some one down stairs?a stranger in these parts, but no stranger to you or me, or this dear lad lying here. I wcroldn't like to bring a new face among yon just now, but this one will do. Bob/ lie laid, leaning over my liUflHMH friend to pray with na on this dear day that Christ was horn." Then there came into the room a man j with brown skin and lusty growth?his hair was almost white, but his eyes had J a familiar loving glow dear to the olden J time. I did not care to question who I he was or whence he came, but knelt i silently at the bedside while he prayed, j Bob's lips moved, but only with some i It ' 3 1 I i uoyiHii inemury, uiiu uuui unci uuiu : went by. The day was at last waning ; i I was alone with my brother. I heard the light breathing of his children, and I mine now, in the room cloBe by ; the low j voices of David and Hnlda reached me once in a while from the lower floor. I might have been a hard and bitter woman, but as at last the day went ont and took Bob with it, I felt a grim delight in my sore and aching heart that he was beyond the reach of the Marleys. ?Harper's Magazine. John Jennings' Snake. John Jennings, of this city, says a recent issue of the Reading (Pi.) Eagle, has returned home with a black African boa constrictor sixteen feet in length. He is residing with his mother on Cedar street, near Walnut, and the snaka is stopping with h'm. Yesterday afternoon Jennings exhibited the 6kin <"f the reptile that had been shed during the course of the day. It was damp, fatty, and in two parts, having been accidentally torn. One piece was about twelve feet long and the other six. The skin was a net work of square meshes, finely wrought, and the lighter Bbades of it resembled the thin, knit texture of which ladieB' " olouds " or nubias are made of. Jennings rolled the clumsy substance into a ball, and was not at all alarmed in handling it. " It is not poisonous," said he, and he put one end of it in his mouth and bit into it. The monster snake is kept in the second Btory of the house in a glass case. Jennings is a circus performer, and he brought the reptile with him at the close cf last season's traveling through the West and South. "When you buy these snakes from Bnake dealers in New York," said he, "you buy a cat in the bag. They arrive in this country in the boxes they are packed in in Africa. From the time the natives catch them ; and box them until the retail customer purchases them, the boxes are not unpacked. On the outside of the boxes are marks indicating the kind of snake and its length. When it is bought the dealer sells it for what he purchased it. vr 1.~~ : 11..1 nu guuruiiiee la jjiycu burn tuo ouoat 10 alive, and there is no telling that the snake does live nntil the box is unpacked. "When this snake of mine was ; unpacked it jumped wildly from the box and it was some time before we could 1 secure it. Tt still has its teeth and j fangs. On the second joint of the middle of this hand the snake bit me, but i there iB no danger. They do all their execution by crushing. The muscles in 1 their body are very powerful. " It eats once in about every three j monthB. TheD it sheds its coat. Its feeding time was this week. I gave it j live pigeons. All I do is to put them in j the glass case. The snake watches its | chance and crushes the life out of the ; | pigeon against the sides of the glass. I, This snake is modest in its way, and won't do much killing if anybody stands near to watch. After the pigeon is ] crushed the snake swallows it whole, ; feathers and all. The snake gets into a ; coil and has the pigeon's feet pointing toward its tail. The bird is swallowed 1 head first. From five to seven pigeons make a meal. When the snake once j ! commences to swallow the pigeon it , won't stop, no matter how many people , j are near it. After it has eaten enough , j it will lie still for nearly three months, , i scarcely ever moving. They have a good time of it in their own way. All ! they want is plenty to eat at tho proper ! time, and the snake is all right. It sneus us coat wuu every meai, or, iu other words, gets a new suit about four , times a year. That's more than a good , many get; and it don't cost the snake anything. Just now its skin is as soft and glossy as black velvet. When it sheds its coat I sometimes help to take the old skin off. When its feeding time comes around it becomes lively and angry. Jt is as thick as a stove pipe, and weighs nearly one hundred pounds. I will keep the snake here until we start again on the road next season." Removing Iron Rust and Stains* A writer in the Country Gentleman says : " My practice for years is this : Roll a fresh lemon so the juice will express freely ; dampen the spot with the lemon juice, then spread a thin coating of fine salt over it, and lay it aside for twenty-four hours; then riEse off in lukewarm soft water. This always moves the rust, bnt it is rather a lengthy process. A friend told me another method, that I have tried successfully this summer, and it is less work and care. Dampen the spot with cold rain or spring water, and spread a thin coating of oxalic acid over the spot ; use either a penknife or a teaspoon handle to spread it on ; let it lie either in the sun or in a warm place by the stove fifteen or twenty minutes ; then rinse in pure water and the stain will be gone. , It will also remove the Btains from tablecloths and napkins, or ink spots , from clothing. It is always convenient, I and an ouuce kept in a tightly-corked I vial will do a great amount in the cleaning line. It is an important item to | have it carefully labeled and kept where j children cannot possibly reach it. Spir- j its of tnrpentine will remove mk trom thick fulled cloth and broadcloth, without damaging the goods, For removing wheel-grease or paint, either kerosene oil or spirits of turpentine rubbed on the spot and left a few minutes, then washed off with hot soapsuds, will take , off the substance entirely. On goods that will wash, apply lye soap to the spots, after soaking a few minutes in the kerosene or turpentinej and it will rub out without any trouble. For paint stains, clear boiling water, poured on the spot, will, with a slight rinsing, remove them entirely. For grass stains, warm sweet milk to soak in a few minutes, will take it all out; rinse in pure | water. For leather stainB on hosiery, | spirits of ammonia will be found very j effectual." How He Got the Sermon. The Watchman tells this sermonRfcflftlinc Kt.nrv nf fi vonntr mnn who strwid before a presbytery in Scotland asking ordination. Principal Robinson was moderator. The young man was rigidly examined, and asked to preach. The examination and the sermon were both satisfactory. The candidate retired, and the moderator said : "I feel com pelled to say that the sermon which the young man has preached is not his own. It is taken from an old volume of sermons long out of print. Where he found it I do not know. I supposed the only copy of the volume to be found was in my library, and thft candidate has had no access to that." The young man was called in and asked if the sermon he had preached, was his own. > "No," he frankly said. " I was pressed for time, and could not make a sermon in season. The sermon I preached was one which I heard Prinoipal Robinson preach some time ago. I took notes of it. And liked it so well that I wrote.it out frdpa memory, and have pre&ohed: to-day." A Corsican Custom. The Corsican vendetta is the theme of an interesting article in the Paris Temps. There are two sorts of vendetta ?the direct (as the eon avenging his father or the brother his brother or sister), and the indirect or transversal, where the fend is kept np by distant relatives. So long as there remains one member of the two contending families the field is open to reprisal. One writer estimates that in thirty years 30,000 men were sacrificed to this barbarous custom; another places the murders between 1369 and 1715 at 300,000. A report to the council-general in 1852 stated that since 1821 nearly five thousand assassinations had ocourred in that island, and the situation was so serious that Prince Bonaparte w.is the only person in the island allowed by law to carry a gun. Toward the end?of the second empire the prohibition was removed, and the vendetta broke out again wiih renewed force and barbarity, the murderers being absolved and even encouraged by public opinion. If the man who falls leaves an orphan in the cradle, hiB wife or sftter will keep for twenty years his bloodstained olothiflg to nerve the orphan's arm. The most crushing reproach that can be afforded to a Oorsican is to have failed in his obligation. In the middle ages any one who backed out was tined, and if he remained contumacious for a week, banished. In 1581 the person guilty of rimbeccare had his tongue slit. Sometimes the quarrel extended to villages. From 1815 to 1848 the RocaSeras and Ortolis of the village of Sarsene had their houses loop-holed like fortresses, and at timeB their inhabitants would have to stand a siege for months, when the man who ventured to the window or opened the door was likely to be potted from the premises opposite. Not long ago a priest, who never ventured out save with his gun on his shouliier and accompanied by his armed sexton, was shot dead at mass by his enemy, who was hidden in the oonfessional. The eminent Paoli studied during the last century in a darkened room, where the window shutters were lined with cork. He was besieged in a convent in 1756 by his enemies, and wonld have been killed had not the mother of another foe sent her son, Thomas Cannoni, to his rescue, sacrificing her hatred to her pattiotism. In 1794, Andrea Romanetti shot dead during the carnival festivities the son of Marrianna Pozzo de Borgo. The mother dressed herBelf in male attire, and, with a posse of friends, hunted the murderer so closely that he offered to surrender if allowed i--l- 1- A _ Al_ _ I to C0D1688 nimeeu. sue toon mm tu priest, knelt and prayed with him during his shrift, then tied him to a tree, and drew up her platoon, with their (funs aimed at him, end suddenly relenting, unbound and pardoned him. The action lives in Corsican tradition, less because of its generosity than for its singularity. There are Parolanti, a sort of peace-making magistrates, whose province it is to arrange such feuds, and their decisions once pronounced are tisually obeyed; but a meeting for purposes of reconciliation as frequently widens and intensifies the quarrel. The Dumber of men in a famiiy gives it an importance greater than the amount of wealth. Recently a young man declined to marry a rich girl, preferring to wed a poorer one who had " seventeen muskets in the family"?i. e., seventeen male relatives, who would be bound to defend the new member of the household in an emergency. I The Home Circle. The long winter evenings are here, and the question of family amusement and recreation is therefore a practical one. There are many ideas and opinions what games it is wise and morally right for children to play ; and on these and kindred points, people of equal intelligence and goodness will differ. But upon one point there need be no difference, and that in each family there Bhould be some sort of an entertainment provided for the children. Books, musio, cards, checkers, puzzles, not to forget nut=cracking and apple-eating ; take your pick, friends, according to your conscience and the degree of ignorance God has left you in ; but pick some of them or invent something 11 J J-4.? equally guuu tUJ tt uuty jrvu u vro w jviu f children. One of the very best games that can | be introduced into a family of children is chess playing. As a source of mental discipline it belongs to the higher branches of mathematics. The slowness with which it must needs be played, if it is played well, makes it a game that lasts the evening oat, and often several evenings. The chess-board and chessmen are comparatively inexpensive. Nearly every family can afford them. And the best of all, perhaps, is the fact that it oan be played in concert in a family of four children; father and two of the children taking one side, mother and the other two children taking the other side. After the tea things are cleared away they can gather to the table feeling that before them is a whole evening's entertainment, of the highest order. We have known a single game played thus between six people?three against three -where both sides were equally matched, and as a result the game was played cautionsly, to last three successive evenings, and the excitement and pleasure to grow stronger and keener still, to the culminating checkmate. Onfl of t,ho cood thincs in connection with chess playing is, that it most be played with the help of all the deliberative faculties. Haste, impatience, reckless smartness will easily be brought to recognize themselves in their true light at the chess-table. The reckless and hot-headed player will soon be taught to realize what a fool his impatience makes of him. I f there is anything that can put the brakes on feverishnees, and teach a wagging tongue the admirable art of reticenco, it is the discipline of this magnificent game. The game is readily understood ia its rudiments, and haa this further excellent quality about it, that it never "wears out," as the saying is.?Qolden Rule. A Complicated Case. Herr Bohren lived in Switzerland and married him a wife. He afterward left both her and his native land and came to this country. The wife heard nothing from him until word came that he was i dead. She then married Herr Zumbrunn. But a few weeks ago Herr Bohren re-1 turned and claimed her for his wife. By the law of that country it was not perfectly clear whether she was his wife or Herr Zumbrunn's. Herr Zumbrnnn refused to give her up, and she refused to go. A lawsuit wns begun, but, while it was in progress, Herr Bohren armed himself with a pistol and shot the second husband in the arm and chest, wounding him seriously. Thus a curious situation may arise. A civil court is engaged in ascertaining to which of these two men this woman is legally wedded, and a oriminal court will be occupied with the trial of her first husband for the attempted murder of her second. In the event of her being declared the wife of Bohren, and if, as is likely enough, he should bo condemned., to imprisonment for life, she will bej&j the unfortunate position of having m/k her second husband, and found Ler wMkl only to lose him, and without pos^bg FOR THE FAIR SEX. Fashion Note*. | Slate-colored bine is the new shade for gloves, ribbons and silks. New fans are painted with figures f only ; flowers are ont of style. New vails are of black thread net, and <] look as if they had been dipped in gold j dust. j Square silk handkerchiefs are worn f around the ncck outside the cloak this a winter. t Plain satin is in great demand for s dresses, and when used with striped velvet is very handsome. Velvet and silk are no longer combin- ? ed in one co?tume ; satin is used with the silk, and worsted material with v velvet. The fashionable street glove is of v brown undressed kid. Embroidery on gloves is pronounced to be in bad taste. e Dogskin, which has long been in favor c in England, is gradually ooming into 0 use here. p The newest slippers have one broad t strap crossing the instep and buttoning s on the outer side of the foot with one c button. Other slippers have duchesse bows of ribbon which entirely cover the instep. ^ Keys and snakes are just now the a favorite designs for jewelry; it would be rather hard to tell why. A fan chate- n laine is a t nake which coils around the 0 waist, and being pliable, hangs down at ti the side in very unpleasantly Bugges- d tive twists ; while earrings in plain dull Cl gold represent a look with the tiny key jj of gold. ti Amber is very fashionable. Amber g i balls are used as earrings, or several cut amber beads are strung together to form pendent earrings. Out glass beads in o: amber color are used to form a network a to trim white evening bonnets, for orna- ^ ments in the shape of butterflies or " flowers to be UBed with pheasant breasts fl on white bonnets. f" it Lady Doctors In Rnatla. The emperor of Kussia being an autocrat, has a right to lay down the law a] on that, as upon other social difficulties. ^ Not long ago he granted a oharter to a university for women, which has sue- w ceeded so far that the Russian war minister has now under his official consideration a plan for training lady tt doctors for the ozar's vast armies. It p is stated that, during the terrible war of 1877, actual demonstration was given si of the utter disability of the regular cl (male) medical staff to cope with the fc enormous number of sick and wounded, fc Instead of commissioning an increased cj number of dootors, it is recommended cl to emDlov doctresses to the required ex- | ai tent. With the least possible delay, so tl the czar's command is understood to bi ran, medical and surgical classes are to s| be immediately established in Bt. si Petersburg for the instruction of female b! medical students, who, on the comple- et tion of their term of knowledge-winning ai (so the German phrase puts it) will be tl regularly commissioned and attached to E the army. If this be properly carried pi out, the czar will be very popular?with ti the ladies.? Philadelphia Press. w A Sorry Fellow. ^ Girls, will you listen to a few words of advice ? Do not marry if you cannot is find a suitable husband, for a bad bus- jE band is infinitely worse than none, cf Never marry a fellow who is ashamed to tc carry a small bundle ; who lies in bed fr until breakfast, and until his father has k< opened his shop or office, and swept it out; who frequents taverns, bowling a saloons, prize fights, etc.; who owes his a tailor, shoemaker, washerwoman, jewel- L er, barber, printer and landlady, and <]< never pays hia debts; who is always T talking about his acquaintances, and d: condemning them; whose tongue is jr always running about nonsense; who s< thinks he is the greatest man in the ei neighborhood, and yet whom every one ol despises and shuns. We say never [e marry a feLow with all or any of these b qualifications, no matter how handsome e< he is, or how agreeable he can make w himself on occasion. He will make a si bad husband.? Lady's Journal. h b Oplom. ^ Opium is the dried juice of the poppy. 01 I It is prepared in Asia Minor, Turkey, s( Egypt and India, in which country the p j poppy is cultivated for the exclusive fc purpose of making opium. It forms a ai I staple commodity of many provinces in i India, in which the following is the mode of treatment commonly used. It is an object of careful attention to keep 01 the plants at a due distance from each P other. If the seed happens to be thick- a] ly sown, some of the young plants are P {julled up and used as pot-herbs, the " eaves of which when boiled have a flavor of peas ; but when they have attain- 111 ed eighteen inches in height, they are . unfit for that use from their intoxicating nature. The plant flowers in February J1 and the opium is extracted in March " or April, according to the period of sow- 01 ing. When the flowers have fallen and P1 the capsules assume a whitish color, P.( four or five incisions are made in them n with a three-toothed instrument which 7.' is drawn from the top to the bottom- ? The incisions are always made in the evening, as the night-dews, by their moisture, favor the exhalation of the 11 juice, and the opium is gathered fnext ni morning. The wounds in oach capsule are repeated for three successive days, and in general, fifteen days suffice to tc gather all the opium in a field. From jj( the incisions a milky juioo exudes, which thickens upon exposure to the air, and _ is carefully scraped off with a shell, or jj. a small iron instrument previously dipin nil Tf. in afterward worked in an iron pot in the heat of the snn, until ^ it is of a consistency to be formed into jj thick cakes of about four pounds weight. They are then covered with the leaves a of the poppy or some other vegetable to jc prevent them sticking together, and in a] this condition they are dried and packed ^ away for exportation. ^ i ei Revised Cook-Boob. p Sea Bass?A bald-headed trombone j player in a brass band. ' ft Indian Maize?United States troops j advancing on Sitting Bull. j " Hard Bake?Place your pastry in a ^ hot oven and forget all about it. ^ Open Tarts?Insert your knife care- w fully aDd lift up the upper crust. c.c Jam Tarts?Place your tarts in the tl hinge of the door and close briskly. p Honey Drops?Place your honey in a ir colander and watch the effect from beneath. ~ Corn Dodger?Husking for red ears jj to get a kiss. See if yon can make the ^ corn dodge her. jg To Collar Beef?Watch your oppor- 8i tunity, snatch up briskly, and carry jj home under your coat. Preserved Pears?Two couple of a vi fifty-five years' vintage " sitting alone on the sofa at night." Sausage Roil?Carry your sausage carefully to jbe^op of the nearest hill p - ^flrst ingredient o FOB TIIE YOUNG PEOPLE. Christmas Gifts lor 8mali Hands. RUSTIC EASEL, This pretty, simple littlejornament 1 i bracket or mantel is made of sev wigs or branches abont the same sia ind covered with gray bark and moi Che two nprights should be about eig nches in length, and the two crc rieces for top and bottom six. The r? or the picture should only extend as t a the frame crosses?not project li he cross pieces. Another twig makei upport, and is tacked to a strip abo wo-thirds of the way up on the bac Hue upon them, when fastened togeth irmly with beads, bits of moss, tii ones, sheila, beeohnuts and the se 'essels oi the maple that look, aft >eing exposed to the sun and rain i ummer, like some kind of a dainti pinged insect. Supporting a picture?one of Prang xquisite bits of forest or meadowlump of woodland violets, or a bum f bright-faced ox-eye daisies?this sii tie, easily-made ornament might be usi carry sunshine to many a chamber ickness, or home of poverty and di ouragement, TBEPOD f the same material is easily arrange y using three twigs of the same si: nd length, fastened near the top by it of wire, and ornamented in the san lanner as the easel. From the cent f this is suspended, by a silver wire, iny basket of moss, or a small gla ish for cut flowers. Sprays of the de] ate smilax or poet's ivy will keep fret 1 the water for weeks, and may I rained about the mossy twigs wil raceful effect. CORNER BRACKETS f this same rustio work are very pretl ad easy to make, as you have only 1 lake a triangular frame of the twigs I t the corner of your room. Then tac few pieces across to make the shel ad exercise your own taste and ingem y in making a fanciful top and bottoi I the same. Drape it with the lonj ray moss with which our pine foresl re filled, and you hav?, if tasteful] rraDged, one of the prettiest brackel ) be found. For the special benefit of the girls, ^ ill try to describe one of the daintiei HANDKERCHIEF OASES lat we have ever seen, as simple as it i retty. Cover a piece of stiff pasteboard, aboi x inches square, with common whlf oth, wadded upon the upper side t irm the bottom of the case. Then cr >ur pieces of white or silver perforate irdboard, each in the form of a half ci: e, five inches long on the straight edgi id two and a half at the center. Lin tese with bright-colored silk, an Ind with a narrow ribbon of the sam lade?this is for the cover. For th des, a yard of ribbon five inches wid lould be gathered at both edges. On Ige is sewed to the bottom of the cas< id the other to the straight edges c le four pieces designed for the cove: ach of the cardboard flaps must have iece of ribbon sewed to the center t e them together in pairs, and if yo ish it more elaborate a quilling of rit on may be Bewed about the flaps ov? ie binding. A TABLE-LINEN BASKET something that any girl with commo igenuity and taste can make, and whic innot fail to be an acceptable presei > her mother or the yonng marrie iend who has "juBt gone to hous< eeping." Secure a large box for basket, two an half feet long, twenty inches wide an foot deep, made of bookbinders' boar*' line Hub with pint camoric over a wac ed bottom scented with sachet-powdei hen cover the outside with bands of wid ress braid?green and white?wove i and out like basket-work. The gree juares should be crossed with whit mbroidtry cotton; and butterfly bow f green ribbon are used to hide tb istenings of the cover, as well as tb atton and elastic with which it is seem I. For the top, crochet a cover c hite tidy cotton, which, after bein retched and tacked over the top, shoul e stiffened with thiok boiled starch rul ed over the surface. When dry lould have several coatings of sheila* hich will make it look like bamboo. ] m be washed as easily as cane whe )iled or dusty. This basket should 1 laced on the sideboard or dining tabli >r the accommodation of the table-clot ad napkins in use each day. cloth cleaner. Here is something for the very lifct] aes to make, which, if not particalarl retty or fanciful, in bo useful that pap ad the big brothers will be sure to aj reciate it, even more, perhaps, tha ley do the embroidered slippers an noking caps that the grown-up girl ave taken so much pains to make. Boll a straight strip of black clot >ur inches wide, over and over, ver ghtly, till you have a roll about a lick as your wrist. Then sew the edg ?er and over very firmly, and with air of sharp scissors trim the ends oi srfeotly smooth. Sew a loop or larg ng at one end to hang it up by, am ju have one of the nicest things h ean gentlemen's clothes with that cai 9 found. Dip the end in a little am onia and water, and you will find tha removes spots as by magio, leaving 0 lint or specks h?ind. For the little knitters there are knitted napkin-holders 1 keep the baby's napkin in place, abon er chubby neck. Oast on ten stitches in blue worste< knit six times across in garter stitch len knit four in blue, two in white am ie remaining four in blue. Next tim iross on the right side, knit four i hite, and so on, increasing two eac] me, until the whole ten are white, the screase in the same ratio, thus makin white diamond on a blue ground. Kni inr times across between, of the blut -J onnHiai. ^iamrmrl Anrl nr? n iU II1C5U aUVVUVA ? atil the band is as long as you wish il line with bine silk, and finish at th ids with the clasps sold for that pui ose. A SHAVING-BOOK >r papa is easily made, if one of th [der ones will cut a heart-shaped pal srn for the little fingers to use as aide. Oat two pieoes for the outside < lick white or tinted paper, leaving hole space of an inch at the top, thr jnnecting the two parts. Ornamer le outside of eaoh with a pretty colore ictnre; then, with a small pinkinj on, pink all about the edges, not onl I the covers, but of a dozen leaves < ifferent colored tisane paper, that, ct y the same pattern, are to be faBtene iside by a ribbon that, passing beneat le whole space left at the top of eacl i tied in a bow, leaving a long loop 1 ispend it conveniently near the dresi lg-case in its owner's room. There are few things that the bat onld enjoy more than an INDESTRUCTIBLE FIOTUBE-BOOK, ad all the family can club togethe ad find rare fun in the making of il 'rocure of thick undressed can rio a yard eaoh of pink and gray. Ct ut the leaves for your book of the su bat you wish them to be, and work tl a pink and gray leaf to suit him or hei self, with pictures of animals, birds people, flowers?anything and everj thing that will be likely to please th !qt eye of the household pet. Sew ther en together when completed, and faste ,e them inside a cover made of thre thicknesses of the cambric pasted neal kj ly together. Tie it at the back with m bit of pink ribbon, and you have !8t book that the most " destructive " bab; 'ar that ever lived will find it next to im ke possible to destroy.?Oof den Hour a. 9 & ' _j. Brains' Worth Once and Now. Ul/ - ? k. 'Milton received $26 for "Paradip er Lost." Pope received 810,000 for hi ay translation of Homer, by the popula ed mode of subscription. Tennyson wa er paid $65,000 down and $15,000 a yea ill to write exclusively for Strahan. Som ly years ago Mr. Bonner, of the Ledger paid Tennyson $5,000 fora single poem l's Edgar Allen Poe received $10 for " Th -a Raven," his most famous poem. Di uh Holland has been paid $12,000 for hi n- " Bitter-Sweet," about $8,000 for " Ks ad trina," $5,000 for " Tbe Mistress of th of Manse." Dean 8wift was paid $1,50 is- for " Gulliver's Travels"TbeVica of Wakefield " brought Goldsmith $300 Dr. Johnson was paid $500 for " Raa - selas." Fielding" received $5,000 fo " Amelia," which is said to have beei ze "the only work published in Eaglarn a of which a second edition was called fo: *?- on the evening of the day on which th< er first was issued." George Eliot is saic a to have received $50,000 for " Danie p8 Deronda." Mrs. Radcliff was pau V $2,500 for " The Mysteries of Udolpho.' and Miriam Ooles Harris made $8,00( Jr out of "Ratlege." Augusta Evam Wilson, the author of " Beulah," hai made $100,000 in eight years ont of he: 'novels. Fielding received $3,000 foi ;y "Tom Jones." and Mrs. Mary Agnei ? Flemming $6,000 for "A Wonderfu1 Woman." Hawkesworthwas paid $30,' ,ir 000 for his account of " The South 8e? jf* Expedition." and Stanley haa already j! received 850,000 for "Through th< rjj Dark Continent." Murray paid Byror * 8"15,000 for his poetical works. 8h ta Walter Scott made 8259,000 by hit [? novels. Dickens received 815.000 foi ^ the oopyright on "Barnaby Budge' for six months; Goldsmith was paic r6 8500 for his " Deserted Village." Brel }t Harte received 810,000 for "Gabriel Oonroy." Charles Lamb contracted t< write for two years for the Londor, 18 Magazine for 8850?not that much ? year, but that much for the two. Brel " Harte contracted to write for James R, 16 Osgood & Co. for 818,000 for one year, ? if I am not mistaken. Let us look a! the remuneration of play-rights, " 8hakspeare got 825 for "Hamlet.' r" Boucicault received 8150,000 for " Th( 9 Shaughraun." Ben Jonson receivec | 855 for " The Page of Plymouth;" Brel Harte received 86.000 for " Two Met 6 of Sandy Bar." Gray received 87,55( 6 out of "The Beggar's Opera," whicb 6 was one of the most successful piecei e ever produced; while Rioh, the mana ger, made 820,000. Thomas Heywooc " received 815 for " A Woman Killed witl r* Kindness." H. J. Byron receivec a 85,000 for the American right to " Ouj ? Boys." And so it goes. Literary re u muneration is better nowadays thai ' when Jonson lived in the garret ii )r Grubb street. An Artrnl Rascal. A unique and thorough rascal hat ? lately been on trial in a Brussels court, h His name is Eugene T'Kindt Roodo if i l?-1- ~ - ????? tttIia fain vaari "" UtJUiiC, U J\JUJJg uiwi nuu u ?v/T. jw?.. " ago started in life as a clerk in the Banl *" of Belgium. The crime he is chargec with is having embezzled or stolen n( ? less than 84,600,000. He had not beer d loDg in the bank before he found a weal spot iu its system. When securitiei were deposited there no accurate not* r* was taken so as to enable them in eacl 6 case to be exactly identified with th< n names of the owners. It is related ii n the Telegraph (London) that this young e man, with a salary of 3800 a year, hac 8 sole charge of these securities, amount 6 ing in value to many million poundf 6 sterling. When he wanted money, h< r" merely took scrip or any valaable secur ity deposited in the bank. When a de 8 positor asked for the delivery of sorip, " ne blandly handed him scrip similar ir ?* kind and amount that had been deposit " ed by somebody elBe. As nobody tool '? note of the numbers of their shares, anc ^ as the bank kept no record of anything n but their amounts, nobody knew or 16 withdrawing his property that what h< got was not identical with what he had k lodged. One day tho bank was startled by an eminent financier who complained that 1,358 shares of railroad stock be> 1- longing to bim, the numbers of which 1 - 1 1.?J mfhnnf. Iti'a lrnnnyl. lie uau UUteu, uau, n?uvu. * edge, been taken from the bank and deposited in another establishment ol ^ which he was a director. Bnttbe young j clerk managed to recover the shares and > retnrn them to the financier as if nothing had been wrong in tbe transaction. So^woSjdid he defend himself before the directors and so artfully dwell on the ^ recbrd of the bank, that instead of having his accounts examined he was ac? a corded a vote of thanks. But he did not deem it wise to remain in the bank, 0 and took flight, intending to come to 3 New York. At Liverpool be was cap0 tared with 81,600,000 of other people's a money in his carpet bag. It never occurred to his worthy chief, remarks the 1 Telegraph, as odd that a clerk with 8800 a year could live like a lord and ? eDjoy life with the prodigality of a prince; that he could have a town house, a rural villa, a picture gallery, a box at the opera, a racing stable, and all sorts t of expensive lnxnries. Belgium is a cheap place to live in, and his chief 3 seems to have thought that his clerk had if a genius for thrift, aud could make the j income of a beggar go as far as the revee nue of a king. ? Words of Wisdom. a We become familiar with the outsidef g of men as with the outsides of houses, it and think we know them, while we are )f really ignorant of all that passes withir u them. t. As when we are in prosperity wo art e ready to think our mountain will nevei r. be brought low, so when we are in adversity we are ready to think our vallej will never be filled up. Honest and courageous people hav< A ?aa-o ahnnt AlfftAr fllAlP fWir, j YCijr HtllD VK' atmj MVWV*. ? | age or their honesty. The sun has n< a i need to boast of his brightness, nor th< | moon of her effulgence. j It is when oar budding hopes ar< a ) nipped beyond recovery by 6ome rougl l? wind, that ye are the most disposed t< ^ pioture to ourselves what flowers the; ** might have borneif they had flourished Every man takes care that his neigh y bor shall not cheat him. But a da; >1 comes when he begins to care that hi does not cheat his neighbor or himself 'j* Then all goes well. He has cbange< 111 his market-cart into a chariot of th sun. ? The recognition of virtue is not les 8" valuable from the lips of the man wh< hates it, since truth forces him to ac ^ * J? 2L * 4U/mt/yU Ua mni? Vv > Kuowieugu n; uuu I unwilling to take it into his inmost soul j he at least decks himself out in ita trap r, pin(?s. ;; Gratitude is the fairest blossom whic] i- springs from the aonl, and the heart o it man knoweth none more fragrant :e While its opponent, ingratitude, is ie deadly weed, not only poisonous in it le self, the very atmc I passed a pretty cdtaje on my homeuPMMH^B path one night, '^H| 6 And its windows flowed like cryatal In n mellow evening light; UMG D And between the crimson curtains stood airJj^H ,e infant bright and fair, a With my own dead darling's hazel eyes ao&|fllEJ a waving, sun tipped hair. J I paused to gaze npon him, and my heart wtl ^HHj l" filled with woe At thought of my dear one lying 'neath tht.g^H winter's frost and snow ; And I longed to kiss the sveet lips ;e pressed against the pane, J9H ? Pnr sakfi of tViA hnrinri 'nahv-lina that I MM ,r shall kiss again. '8 MB r Ob, babies with happy faces, and ejM e tender and trne, H *, May Qod in Hia mercy guide^you life's derlou*v|fl^H L windings through! IB e May never a shadow of sorrow, and never a &BH thought of guile, H 8 Chase the angel-light from your sunny ?yea, :nH ? nor darken your baby-smile! gj r Items of Interest. ' A muddy country road is something ~^9H to add mire. 10 T Sleight of hand?Refusing a changyflggj j ing young lady. fiB r A bouquet is a good soent-pieoe E the dinner-table. 1 Sunflowers originally came from Pani^jj fl 1 and were a sacred emblem with tajM n 1 devout. JH The highest navigable water on flrfMal 9fe ) oontinent is Chatauqua lake, Kev^ M ? It is claimed that paper barrels can ;'i H be made for one-third the ooet of good :JfWB wooden flour barrels. B "Do fishes go crazy?" Is a oonun->| x9 dram proposed by Seth Green. Sonte* ^^H times they get in seine. Students flnd_ it easier to graduate..'? B from college tban to graduate eitfatepg ISI their appetites or petty expenses. . % H " A 'tie wbioh is all a lie Can be met and foa?ht with outright; oH Bat a lie whioh is half a lie Is a harder matter to fight." : The Parisians have introduced M umbrellas. They'll be just as bad the other kind?never 'round when The heat of the earth increases rapidly '<%|jB as we descend into its depths. At 4,QC0 feet deep the temperature is 105 degrees Fahrenheit. M The repartee of a mule is said to he | fl un equaled, and the way to draw him .9 out is by pulling out one little hair; / ; B from the tip-end of iiifl stumpy tail, % B Chan Put Nam is the name of the fgH Chinese consul general who is to watAyK B over the interests of his countrymen in B California. He is no relative to old '; B Tsrafll Pnt Nam. - 3 Aunt Prudenoe, in the Palaaki Demo. orat, Bays: There is not a particle of 9 1 satisfaction in telling a man he i* ir 2 liar; for if he is he knows it, and if lie | isn't who does the lying? i The first time we ever ran for offioe $ we were beateu. It was while we were B i serving as "devil," and our employer ; i fonnd us playing marbles, and caughtue : fl before we reached the office. We were > :.'hB beaten badly, too.?Oowanda EnterA German paper asserts that prussfo >J? acid only causes suspension of life afr'JSM first, and that one who takes it can be- 5 restored to animation by the pouring of acetate of potash and salt, dissolved in water, on the head and spine. Babbits have been so recovered. 9 The magnificent recreation ground of . Epping Forest, 6,000 acres of green- '.'>39 sward and noble timber, within half an . n hour's rail of the poorest districts of London, is now secured to her citizens forever, mainly tlirongh the public I spirit of the corporation. 9 Three hundred and forty distinct 8 species of humming birds have been fl classified. These little feathered creatores are found only in America and its islands. These are humming, birds > irW which, when stripped of their fea^n^WPV are no arger than a humble bee. I i A rod of bnckworK is 'ZTJ snpernciai feet, one and a half bricks thick, or y $ c 4,850 bricks average work. One yard H I of paving is thirty-six bricks flat, or ; fifty-two on edge. There are 884 bricks ^2 t to a cubic yard, and 1,C00 bricks closely ' stacked occnpy about fifty-five cubux ,5h3 1 feet ? TBAcia or HrrcHiKo. 1 "Suppose," said he. in accent* aoft, '\~i " A felloe, jaflt like me - . s Should axle little girl to wed?. What woald the answer b? ?" The maiden drops her liquid eyes? Her smiles with blashen mingle? " Why seek the bridle halter When Yon may live on, Sur, cingle ?" ' * . ' ' > And then he spoke?"Oh, be my bride," V" I a*k you once again ; - * "* You are the empress of my soul, .* % And there ahall ever rein. ? f"' " I'll never tiro of kindly deedn . . . To win your gentle heart, / . An/1 uorMh* fha uhftff thufc TftTldl Our happy lives apart!" * *\ *' Upon her cheek the maiden felt * v The mautlin g blushes glow? .1 She took him for her faithful hub? ' S a To share hia wheel or whoa. vjfi ?M'Kean Miner. + ^ The Humming: of Telegraph Wires. As to the cause of the sounds frequently heard to proceed from telegraph wires in the open air, it has been cus-\ , % tomary to accept the wind?producing ' the sound by direct vibrations, similar to those of the M >lian harp. A writer in an Australian journal, however, calls at- ? > tention to the fact that one who gms close observation to both the wire and" sounds will find that the latter maKfe themselves obvious likewise when there . \ is a total absence of wind; and in u quiet i morning in winter, when the wires ap- ? J, pear covered with frost to the thickness ) of the finger, they nevertheless carry on -? * > i lively vibrations and swinging, while the air is totally quiet. According to this ? ) writer, therefore, the vibrationp are due, :># : not to the wind, but to the cnanges of atmospheric temperature, and especi' ally through the action of cold, as a lowering of the temperature induoes ) shortening of the wires, extending over +., 11 - 1 1 ' *' IUA AAn/ln/i^nr A . Tiio wnoie jengm ux iuc uuiiuuuw^* ? ) considerable amount of friction is pro- ,-\i 3 daoed on the supporting bells, thus in- I dnoing sound both in the wires and the1' 3 poles. "y Y| 3 - That's So. ? .^sal p The turkey is possessed of one gis- fiS . zard, though sometimes it has been * ^ - known to have two, and in rare instanoAg A j three. This is accounted for on scien- ; b tifio grounds, as follows : 1. The aggregation of bioplastic germs I evidence an irresistible tendency to cor- v e rellate their molecules in inverse ratio* * -J tc the capillary processed of differentia- . s tion. * o 2. This differentiation, when interi sociated with diatomic depl'logistication, , * e tends indubitably *to atrophio degenera, tion. Hence : 3. The formative processes are contraacted upon by the abnormal retardation a of the bathybianprotozoa; which *' f 4. Oircnmlocates and re-evolves in - polyformons superficies the corpuscles a in indurated and semi-gelatinous matter, its functional attributes rehabilitated;