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; ABBEVILLE PRESS AND BANNER^ . I: ,%>tM k __ ' fr&ri&j * ? ?? ?_____________ ??? ? 1 ? - - " BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C.. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28. 1883. NO. 37. VOLUME XXVII. ? r ? 1 Ever and Everywhere. Say not of me when I am in my crave I only wounded where I should forbear; ?Twas that I drank from sorrow's bitter wave Ever, and everywhere. Say not of me, calm voiced, when I am gone That I have marred your life that else was rfair, I walked with sunshine from my own withdrawn Ever, and everywhere. Say not of me, as colder hearts will sny When I am dead, that life has proved a snare. Because misfortune followed on my way Ever, and everywhere. When I am gone, then kindly speak of me. Say that ray heart was frenzied with do spair; I loved thee from my soul, if bitterly, Ever, and everywhere. ?From the Polish. THE SOX 01: A KING. Sometimes she was positively handsome, and sometimes very plain?can you understand it? I never could. I had known Miss Minty Robarts from my childhood. She wrote poetry taMMMt-cultivatert pinks. Ah! that was a lovely garden of hers, just opposite the barracks, and where could be seen glimpses of the blue river, llow often have I sat on the rose-embowered porch and listened to the band, headed by their handsome and accomplished leader, John Brigson. To look at him alone was a pleasure. Tall, straight, svarthy, with Hashing black eyes, straight eyebrows, and red,- sensitive lips under the thin mustache, and a hand as taper and delicate in shape as that of any lady, he was always the cynosure of every eye. Miss Minty had a great many Indian relics. She was ten years my senior, and seemed old to me. The captain was in the regular army and a martinet still, though retired from active service. Miss Robarts was generally called plain by the people of Wallburg. They did not see her when her eye flashed as she spoke of her life on the frontier, nor the lovely rows of ivory-white I teetli when she smiled over some oleasant recollection. She alwavs dressed in blue?blue wraps, blue dinner-dresses, blue ot a darker shade for the street?and she was a splendid horsewoman. The old captain was very quiet, though military in all his ways anil thoughts, and forever poring over old musty books. In one hand he carried a cane, and his left arm was propped by a crutch. Everybody honored him because he had done his country good service, and the old man liked to light his battles over again with whoever could be found to listen. Once when 1 was there old Josiah Pegford, who prided himself on being one of the "melishv," made a r;ish speech. "Them red Injuns is the despisablest things in all creation!" he said, his narrow brows contracted into countless wrinkles. "I sh'd think your father'd despise 'em." "My father never despised the Indians," said Miss Kobarts, kindling in a flash, her cheeks as red as roses; "he is too just for that. People hate them without reason. I've lived among them and I ought to know. My father had Indian friends as noble as any white man could be." "Law sakes!you du take up for'em don't ye?" said Josiah, looking at her admiringly. "Wall, now, they do say Urigson, over har, the leader of the i j v. "h; T UilllU, n 1'L. jliijnil uiuyu 111 nun. jl s'pose that's what makes him such a favorite of the ladies." 1 happened to be looking at the captain's daughter, and saw a slow red ; flush creep all over her face and up to the very roots of her fair hair. "1 have not the acquaintance of the band leader," she said, in a high, grand voice, turning away. ' Course not; cap'in's daughter couldn't associate with sich," said the old man, in his grave fashion. " Hut Idu declare for his singing in church kinder sends the cold shivers over me, and they du say some operatic chap has offered him?well a sort of little fortin if he will go with him and sing in opprev." Again I was looking at Miss Robarts, and I saw her turn as p<de as death. "Of course we can't expect to keep r"1 him here, lor ne s a man oi uncommon parts. Kind o' queer why he ever come here, too, in a small garrison town like this." " How people do hate the poor Indians!" said Miss llobarts, with sparkling eyes, after her visitor had gone. "You have lived among tliein, have you not ?" I asked, determined, with the audacity of a girl of eighteen, to get at her story?if story she had any to tell. " I was born in Indian Territory," she made reply, " and my nurse was an Indian woman," " How strange!" I said. "Oh, dear Miss llobarts, please tell me something ?" I asked. ? She looked up with wide-opened eyes. I thought she seemed startled. "What do you mean? Tell you something about what?who?" she said. Oh, about yourself," I said, trembling at my own boldness. " Haven't you had some little romantic episode in your life among the Indians ? I have always felt a secret sympathy for them, and you have been among them so much." " I never like to tell of myself," she said, turning her attention to some pretty fancy-work she had in hand, " for sometimes you must tell tilings that look like boasting, and one don't like to be conspicuous, even to one's self; but then acain"?and she smiled a little sadly?"I sometimes think I should be happier if I could talk over the old times, even if there were some heartache in them." She placed her work aside, and rose j as she said: " i jjiive suuicuiiug i WISH iu , you first." She went to an old-fashioned cabinet, i and from one of its nooks drew a small j package, which she unwrapped, handing me a picture framed simply in four j s',rips of Indian berk. " Why, yours, of course -and it is j v ry good?only the dress is?so mi -.h?" " ,'ounger," she said, smiling. "Yes, I was only sixteen when that was ta/en?twelve years ago." "But your face has not grown a minute older," I said, bluntly. "You think so, perhaps, but 1 know better. I am no beauty, and flatter myself I know just how I look, and, certainly, my face is not as fair, my eves as blue, or my cheeks as red as they were then. Still, plain as I was, I was always a favorite with the Indians. More than one brave, more than one chief, has offered my father .... horses and wampum and land in exchange for me, even when I was scarcely more than a child?and when 1 grew older I was never allowed to go anywhere unattended. The picture you hold in your hand was painted by an Indian." " How strange!" I said, with a secret admiration of the delicate work. " "Why strange?" she said. "There is a great deal of talent, even genius, among them, if it could only be cultivated. They are much like other people ; poverty and ignorance keep them iown." Then she plunged into the story: "When I was a child there was a rumor rife that some Indians of Mad River had murdered one of the agents under peculiarly aggravated circumstances. Nobody could prove it for a certainty, though it was probably true. One night several white men belonging to the post surprised a small camp of that tribe, and not only tortured, but murdered them, with their chief. ,J u?t then some soldiers rode up, headed by my father. The murderers then had the chief's son, a lad of only ten years, under torture. My father not only expostulated, but arrested the ringleaders?there were live of them ?and, speaking kindly to the boy, who had thrown himself upon the old chiefs body, he did everything that could be done under the circumstances, and sent him to his tribe under guard. Meantime, the men who had practiced such needless cruelty were tried and punished, hut eventually set at liberty. One year from that day not one of those guilty men was living, save a sutler who had taken almost superhuman precautions to keep out of harm's way. Onebyone | they had been singled out, some at their hearthstones, some on their routes | of business?one after the other asthey took precedence by age?till only Gregory, the storekeeper, was left. " One (lay I heard a great hue and cry. My father had sent me to one of the lieutenant's quarters on some simple errand. I wjis a well grown girl of twelve, and tall for my age. Looking up, I saw a cloud of dust in the distance, and heard pistol shots in quick succession. I ran back to my father's quarters, but before I reached them I saw an Indian lad covered with blood and Hying before a small army of pursuers. Ilis strength was evidently failing, for he ran unsteadily, and in another moment had (led into the quarters where we lived. My first impulse was to shield him, and I tried first to lead, then to drag, him into the house, but the effort was unavailing. lie was too weak to move and his pursuers were upon him, apparently thirsting for his blood, and crying out, 'Shoot the Indian devil!' "Finally?it was all I could do?I sfnnfl mv around and covered the bov ' ...J n- v as well as I was able. They dared not fire for fear of .wounding me, and presently my father came out, dispersed the crowd, and had the boy carried indoors, where the surgeon attended to 1 his wounds." 1 " Did lie die ?" I asked, as she paused, looking into vacancy. "Xo, he lived; though the only man who had been spared, as yet, of all who 1 belonged to that murderous band, ' thirsted for his blood. Singularly ' enough, however, the very next day he was thrown from his horse and killed." 1 "Is it possible," I said, "that this 1 boy had avenged with his single hand the murder of his people?" i "Xo; but he had tracked them out, and followed them?so he confessed to my father?and delivered them over to justice. To my father he was most grateful, for he remembered how he had saved his life, and an Indian is as grateful for favors as he is revengeful for injuries. For a long time after his capture he was an invalid; but as lie begged of my father to keep him, lie lived with us six years and became quite civilized. It was only when in the saddle he reminded one of a savage He subdued every horse he mounted, no matter how unmanageable with others." "And what did he look like?" I ventured to ask. "A very handsome young man, with flashing black eyes and a lithe slender figure. I have never seen a handsomer man." 14 Ah, Miss Minty! I know how it ended, or ought to have," I said. " You couldn't dream how it ended," she said, simply. ?_i i- - i .?:_i. "^vna ne uecauie u pium-ei: j i "Xo, I don't think he did, though |1 he hud much talent. An old sergeant j * took a great fancy to him, and taught i him to read and write, particularly to j play the piccolo. The painting came :' quite naturally. I have some sketches j * that you shall see some time. I never * have shown them to anybody but my * father." 1 " That's not the end," I said, em- { boldened by her kindness. 1 " Xo, that's not the end." ( "And you! he must have felt that 1 you were the preserver of his life." " Yes, of course he did. I saved his * life," she replied, simply. 1 " And then?but that's a shocking j thought?he wanted to dedicate that J life to you." J "Why a shocking thought?" said , T>wf ? linr AVAO nl ivwuait^ 11^1 tjw <n- j most flashed. " I * tell you lie was IA noble in every respect, and as delicate ^ {is the most refined gentleman. When ( my father forbade him even to speak j to me, he obeyed him; but from that r hour he rarely spoke to any one? ?, till?" 1 g "Oh, Miss Minty! did he die?" I!( asked, anticipating her speech. I ] "Yes?to me?he did," she said, j slowly, looking like one just come out j from dreamland. "That was years l ago." i "And have you never seen him since?" " Don't question me, child," she said, with gentle decision; neither did I ( have further opportunity, for at that j , moment her father came in. !! rm iji .1 i. 1 4 j ne om cnurcii waniens were nix- \ : trified, a few weeks after, at the news j; that they were going to lose their j tenor, and the band its leader. 1 had j never taken mucly 'aterest in John 1 Brigson, simply because he was a quiet j man who rarely lifted his handsome eyes, except when spoken to, and who . seemed never to care for anybody but himself, never going into society, nnlrss in a professional capacity. Everybody who looked at him admired him, and his wonderful singing voice j brought crowds to our little church, j for the way he sang was something j marvelous. Now we were going to | lose him?for rumor said he was offered ! a small fortune yearly?lie suddenly i gained in importance. I generally contrived to meet Miss j liobarts on my way to church, so on a 1 particular Sunday I said to her: " I suppose you have heard the j news?" " "Whatnews?" she asked, eyeing me j keenly. " Wp jtrp to lose the lender of the band. "When shall we get such another j tenor?" "Never," she said, quietly. " "What! lirigson going away ? I j never heard it," said the captain, coming to a stop. " That won't do, daughter," turning to her. "I suppose Mr. Brigson has a perfect right to go where he pleases," said Miss Kobarts, as the old captain stumped on. " "Well, well," muttered the old man, "I ought to die." "Father!" cried Miss Iiobarts, ap-j pealingly, and her lip quivered as she i ; spoke. 1 ? - * i xi. - i t ! That day n nappeneu mat, i g?ive up i my seat to a stranger, and took another i w here I faced Miss Robarts. I remem-! her exactly how she was dressed?old-1 gold ribbons tied under her chin, a' navy blue dress, light gloves and a j fan that she had painted herself. She always looked pretty to me, with her | hat on. I watched her through the service, and particularly when Mr. lirigson sang. It seemed to me that , she w;is growing pale, as if some j strange gray shadow was settling ; down upon her face, and just as the i tenor sang, in his wondrously clear | j tones, " 0 Lord, have mercy upon us j i ?have mercy upon us!" what I almost: unconsciously dreaded came to pass,! Miss Robarts sank back against her father's shoulder. She had fainted. Of course there was confusion, stir and wonder. I found myself at the door as they carried her out, and I I could hear the solemn tones of the ' rector and the choir singing again. They brought her clown the steps and carried her into the rectory, where, after a long time, she came out of her swoon. " What do you suppose made me faint V" were her lirst words when she came to consciousness. " 1 never fainted before in all mv life." The old captain was standing before her, his grim features working .is he looked down upon her. It was evident that he was very much frightened, for his only child was his idol. "Xever mind, father, it's all right," she said, rising feebly and throwing her arms about his neck. "Xo, it ain't," he muttered, half savagely; " it's all wrong." The next day I called and learned the captain was sick. " lie took to his bed last night," said the stout maid, as she stood at the door, "and he'll never git up." "Tell her to come in," said a voice, and there was Miss liobarts in the hall, as pale as ashes. " lie is asleep now," she half whispered, leading me into the parlor, where the old captain lay in a reclining chair, which was the onlv bed he ever I used. A screen stood in front of him, and Miss llobarts and I sat by the window, talking. " It was the fright on Sunday," she said, looking sadly out. "I nevei knew him to be ill before. Oh, what shall I do if?" Iler white lips trembled, then she sprang to her feet, for the old man called her. "Daughter, it is all right," he said, in a soft, slow voice. " Oh, father!" she half sobbed. "Yes?yes, it has been a false, wicked pride. I had nearly sacrificed you?but now?" "Father! lam not sorry. I am strong," she said, kneeling l?y the side of his chair. "1 know?I know," he muttered, " but I see things in a different light. I might have made you happier; it was a foolish prejudice. Xay, don't cry; a Jying man must have his way. Send for him?send for him !" he added, more emphatically. Miss Kobarts turned to ine. " Will you go to the barracks for me?"she asked?"only to the green tloor. Take this card." She wrote a single sentence. I followed her directions. The leader himself came to the door in h:.s uniform. lie looked imposingly hand ?ome, and as he read the card, he lifted liis cap and turned hastily away. " Say, if you ple;ise, that I will be there immediately," he said, and I returned with my message. "Don't go," said MissRobarts,lioldng my hand; " papa hasn't spoken since. Don't leave me alone." Of course d would not leave her. In ive minutes a step sounded on the travel walk. As the man entered the jld captain came out of his lethargy. "John, my son!" lie said. The man came forward and bent ibove him. "Have I not obeyed you?" he asked. ' I said I would never speak to her without your permission."* " But you have taken good care to follow us up pretty well," said the old nan, with a feeble laugh. "I acknowledge it, sir; you put no jt.hcr restraint upon me but that one )f speaking." " Vou have been true to her for ;welve years, John; you will be true :o her for life?" ?? T TV-ill'" Ami tlia wmvls hail nil he solemnity of an oath. "Take her, then, with an old man's jlessing. You are a good boy, John?a jood boy," and his voice grew drowsy. Then I saw MissItobarts' face kindle nto positive beauty. In that exalted iiomentshe looked to me like an angel, so much of the good, true heart shone n her eyes. The man?the band-leader, was the lero of her story?the son of the wtchered chief. lie had loved her all his time patiently, silently, speaking ;o her spirit only with his ringing, vonderlul notes. From outpost to mtpost, from city to city, from station ;o station, he had followed, content mly to breathe the same atmosphere, ;o worship at a distance?to wait. "It seemed to me," MisB Iiobarts ;old me afterward, "that at last his latience was worn out, and 1 felt ;hat Sunday that I was listening ,o him for the last time. But the itory of the operatic star was a ruse? le never contemplated leaving while ny father lived." The wedding was a nine-days' Yonder. The blue blood of the army vas shocked until the band-leader Was >lTered a commission, through the inluence of friends, which at first he efused, but eventually accepted. Somebody said that somebody else had laid they heard him say that the son )f a king was good enough for anybody. [ should not wonder. The old captain did not die. Xo one it the marriage feast was happier than ie; and John Brigson worships his ivife.?Jlrs. 31. .1. Venison. Instances of Desperate Courage. At Alexandria, the other day, I heard )f a seaman who cut oil two wounded ingers (his own) with a jack-knife, md turned up for duty as usual. The jack-knife had been lately used for shredding tobacco, and, when the mutilation was discovered, this poor fellow's arm had fallen into such a state that tin* doctors reared tnev muse cut it off. A match to the sailor's plucky deed was that of Grimbold, a sergeant of Rajah Brooke's police. "When the Chinese attacked his post, after a gallant resistance, he jumped from an embrasure and cut his way through the crowd. A bullet shattered his forearm. Grimbold borrowed a native's sword, with which and a small penknife he amputated his limb at the elbow, tied it up and marched nearly two miles in an effort to join the rajah. In custody at the fort, when the Chinese appeared, was a madman. Him Grimbold armed and posted. But the maniac refused to crouch under shelter. lie swore that to hide was unworthy a brave man, and planted himself in the veranda, alone against a thousand. There Y*f\ ou"iv 1 ilrn H?n c'mrxt. nf in vulnerable epic heroes. AVhen Grimbold decided to evacuate the place, the madman, unhurt, obeyed his call. But I lie refused to jump from a window, and the others left him eageily unbarring a door that he might sally forth like a gentleman. ?This man evidently understood the danger but did not feel it. Some infirmities are great aids to nerve. I remember a war correspondent, stone deaf, whose recklessness in pushing under fire, and coolness where the bullets Hew thick, impressed the Turks, W110 Wilicneu mill ^ilii ;i .TLiLiuun feeling. "Wholly bereft of hearing, he could not recognize one-quarter of the peril, and the awful din of battle affected him not at sill. This gentleman made several campaigns, and was killed in Armenia, I believe. In the sum of military honor no army is so punctilious sis the German. That superb machine is braced and upheld by a code of such minuteness and severity as no other people would carry out. Crack regiments in the Russian service hold themselves together and preserve the honor of the corps with strict vigilance, but their rules are fantastic, and still more so the execution of them. The doom of suicide has been passed upon a German officer, if stories are true, but in Kussia it has been pronounced not once, nor a hundred times. For some terrible scandal a cavalry regiment was exiled to Central Asia It held an inquiry upon the officers implicated, and the one found guiltiest was significantly told that a man of honor would not survive the ' ' ' . . ?Tr W-. * ..." ' S L .. _ .. 1 . / shame of bringing disgrace upon his uniform. In such a case a German would, perhaps, have taken his own life quietly, but the Russian did nothing of the sort. On parade the next day he charged the colonel with drawn sword and was promptly shot. I have been told that the proportion of otlicers who die a violent death in time of peace in Central Asian stations is enormous.?All the Year Hound. Meteors. Meteors may be divided into two classes, says Professor Young. The majority of those actually seen to fall are stones; but now and then we find ;i lump of almost pure iron. It is a common idea that most meteors are pure iron. That is not so; lor of the uOO or GOO specimens which have been seen to fall, only ten, so far as I know, are iron. There are not unfrequently large masses of iron picked up, which cannot be accounted for, and which scientific men have generally held to be meteors. But I must confess to some skepticism about that. Those great masses, from Greenland, shown in the Centennial exhibition, I am inclined to think at least doubtful. As to ihe other class of meteors, you may go out and look at. the sky any evening, and you will see after a few minutes some little star shoot across the sky and fade away. If you watch the whole sky, if you have eyes big enough to do it?and if not you can get a group of friends to help you ?you will find that there are forty visible in an hour at a favorable time, in any one place on the surface of the" earth. And you find this also: that there arc about twice as many in the morning?between 5 and 6 o'clock?as there are between 5 and G o'clock in the evening; and a little calculation as to the distance at which we see them and the height at which they appear shows this number wo\ild h.junt up to, not 200 or 300 a day, but something like 7,000,000 or 8,000,000 a day striking the earth. That is Professor Newton's ; estimate?7,500,000?while some com- , pute it at as low a number as 3,500,00 and others {is higli as 10,000,000 a day. There are little bodies of matter Hying through space with velocities like those of the comets, and the earth ; encounters more in the morning than . in the evening, for the reason that we ( are then on the headlight of the loco- , motive, as it were, or on the front of the earth as it moves around the sun, ] while in the evening we are in the rear, and we see only those which . overtake the eartli and strike it from j behind. And so, as they are moving ] in all directions in space, we do not ; experience as many of the phenomena ] as when we are in front, or during the , morning hours. These meteors are . some of them very bright, and I am j nrtf. snrp t.liat. t,hf?v fan be distin- . guished from those that send pieces to the earth. On this point scientific operation is divided. A great many scientific men claim that these shooting-stars that we see all the time are precisely the same as the larger meteors that drop pieces on the earth, except as to their magnitude. Many of these are so small that they burn up entirely in the air, according to that view of the case. Others hold to the contrary, and I am rather disposed to think with them, for this reason : that when these meteors are exceedingly numerous, some being brighter than Venus or Mercury, we never see them come to the ground nor hear from them at all; as, for instance, in the great star-shooting showers of 1833 and 1867 nothing came down, although the sky was full of stars. My father has described it as like a snowstorm, although in place of the snowllakes it was snowing stars. As for the distance of these from the earth, they appear at as great an elevation as seventy-five to eighty miles, and disappear after shooting about forty miles through the air. Their velocity is about the same as that of other meteors, averaging perhaps a little less, as they are more checked by the air. As for the materials in them, we cannot get hold of them to examine them. It is only occasionally that we get a shot on the wing by means of | fho un?ffrnar>mip which shows linpts nf I . sodium and magnesium, easily made , out, and occasionally iron. There is, , in fact, a good deal of reason for sus- \ pecting the presence of consider- , able iron in many of them. j ] Submarine Diving. 1 The first sensation of a diver in de- ' scemling is the sudden, bursting roar * in the ears, caused by the air driven into the helmet from the air-pump. | The flexible air hose has to be strong ' enough to bear a pressure of twenty- 1 live or fifty pounds to the square inck. 1 The drum of the ear yields to the strong ' external pressure, the mouth opens in- ' voluntarily, the air rushes in the tube ! and strikes the drum, which snaps back ' to its normal state with a sharp, pistol- ' like crack. Peering through the goggle eyes of glass in his helmet, the diver sees the strange beauties about ] him clearly, and in their own calm ' splendor. Above him is a pure golden j canonv. while around and beside him are tints and shimmering hues, including all colors, which are indescribably elegant. The floor ot the sea rises like a golden carpet, inclining gently to the surface. The change in familiar objects is won- : derful. The wreck of a ship seems studded with emeralds, glittering in lines of gold ; piles of brick assume the appearance of crystal; a ladder becomes silver ; every shadow gives the impression of a bottomless depth. An instance of cool determination and courage in overcoming unforeseen dangers occurred to a diver who was engaged in the recovery of the dry dock at Pensacola. It had been con, structed in water-tight compartments and it was necessary to break into the lower edge of each to allow the water to flow evenly into them. Huge beams and cross-ties formed a network so close that tne passage ueiween uureadmitted the diver's body. Through an aperture the diver had crawled, tearing off the casing and prosecuting his labors until time to return to the surfave. He attempted to back out, but could not. The armor about his head find shoulders, acting like the barb of a hook, caught him ; lie could go ahead but could not retreat. In vain attempts to twist himself out he spent so much time that the men above began to be alarmed, and increased their work at the pump. This swelled up his armor and increased the difficulties and dangers of his position. lie signaled for the pump to stop. The cock at the liia linlmpf tr? 1 f.f. th*? nir nut i was beyond his reach. His only chance was to open his dress around the wrists. At this point lie found himself affected by breathing over the air in his armor. The carbonized air made him dreamy, creating an intense desire to sleep. This he overcame by a strong effort of his will. His efforts to loosen his dress succeeded, and with a supreme effort the diver escaped from his narrow limits and was drawn to the surface, dazed and only half conscious of the peril he had undergone. Europe contains 1,457 theatres. Italy heads the list with 358; next conies France, with337;Germany, 184; Spain, 1G0; Great Britain, 150; Austria and Hungary. 131; Russia, forty-four; Bel gium, thirty-four; Holland, twentytwo; Switzerland, twenty; Sweden and I Norway, eighteen; Portugal, sixteen; Denmark, ten, and Turkey and Greece, I four each. | In beating butter always take the J (back of your spoon. AN INHUMAN POTENTATE. A JFREXCH PAIXTER'S EXPERTEXCE IX PERSIA. A Uiiler Who Cut Off IIIn SubJcrliT Hamlx. knrm nnil Nohcs nnd Put Out Tliclr Eyes to Kxtort Money?Why a Slave was Killed. Among the many who were engaged by the shah of Persia to go to Persia was M. Ernisto I'elletier, a young French painter of great promise. M. I'elletier had to go by the tedious route of Trebizontle and Tauris to Teheran on mules, tlie journey lasting three months and ten days, during which he not only contracreua dangerous fever, but also had the misfortune to fall into the hands of Abdoul Ilamman, the notorious Persian brigand, who robbed him. On his arrival in Teheran he went straight to the palace, and, not knowing a word of the language, and consequently being unable to explain himself, lie was seized by the guard and thrown into prison, where he remained nine months suffering the most awful indignities and priv.itions. Through the intercession of Prince Moskin IIan, the grand vizier, M. Pelletier gained his release and received permission from the shah to paint the palace. The shah had previously repudiated all knowledge of having made any engagement with the young painter, and it was only through a stratagem ol" the grand vizier that he ' obtained entrance to the palace. A very comfortable apartment wa3 assigned to him, and he set to work. In three months he completed the decorations of a small trick-track room, which so pleased the shah that he sent for him. and pave him a nurse of cold, ' anil from that day his majesty used to ' sit for hours "watching him paint. 1 The Persian day of rest, like that of j all Moslems, is Friday, and on Fridays, when th<2 painter wanted to rest, the shah made him work, saying: " This is my Sunday, not yours, so you must 1 work," and on Sundays lie would say, ] " This is your Sunday, but not mine, ^ so you must work." and as the artist j could get no rest and recreation he fell ill, and remained so for a long time. ' The shah often sent to inquire how he J was, and during his convalescence placed the only carriage in Teheran at j his disposal, and otherwise paid him a great deal of attention. On Wednes [lay the shah used to sit at the window of his medglis overlooking the palace ' pard, and from there try the prisoners * below. c One Wednesday he invited the young ! foreigner to sit by his side and see , liow he judged his subjects, and the j uorrors 10 which jie was witness can- | not adequately be related. A treni- f bling baker was in the yard between j two soldiers, charged with selling lightweight loaves of bread. A cadi made the charge. The poor wretch made some defense. " Kess kopegoli" (cut ihe son of a dog), says the shah, holdng up his right hand, and in a second ;he executioner seized the man, and ;hen and there cut off his right hand, fhe feelings of the artist can easily be magined, but knowing what awaited lim if he interfered he kept his seat in silence. The next prisoner was a ivatchman in a store of the bazaar nto which robbers had entered witli)ut his hearing them. "Kess topegoli" quietly said the shah again, -his time holding up both his ears, md in an instant the poor watchman's ?ars were cut off. In three hours, luring which M. Pelletier assisted it this awful day of judgment, two ! nen were beheaded, one woman j inu six men lost, ;i nana eacu, ;i , nuleteer who had already lost one J land had the other cut off, and in ' ;en cases were the prisoners de- J irived of their ears, eyes and noses. In J nany cases, however, the prisoners ! jotight themselves off immediately * ifter the sentence was prpnounced, but ? iefore it could he executed, by shout- s ng out the sum they were willing to ? jay his majesty, and after a deal of bar- , gaining between the sovereign and subect, the latter went away accompanied J jy an official to whom lie was to pay the lioney and by a soldier wlio saw that ( ic did not escape before paying. M. ( Pelletier subsequently discovered that { whenever the shah wanted money he . ised to order the arrest of wealthy citi- ! tens, and the cadis had instructions to iccuse them of crimes they had never j committed. The shah would then sit : it the little window of themedglis to ; ;rythein, which really meant to extort ; fKnm 11 rnlar ' urge DUillD U1 IIIUUCJ nuiu ujx^iu uiiuvi . ;he threat of cutting oft their ears or lands, or, what was still more serious, c ;heir heads. 1 The artist used to spend his leisure J ;ime, of which he had enough after his J illness, in going about Teheran, ind in painting in his apart- 1 inent on his own account. lie ' liad finished a life-size picture of the head of St. John the JJaptist being pre- * sented to Ilerodias' daughter in a * charger, and with which the painter lias since taken a prize. } Ilis friend the grand vizier, Prince Moskln 1 Ian, who had always been very partial to him, and who took lessons in f painting from him, thinking to do him ( pood, told the shah that the young Frenchman had painted a magnificent picture referring to the religion of the infidels, and that he prayed to be al- ] imvpii t.n pvliihit. it to his maiestv. to ' which tl:e latter cons' nted. On the < following day the painter took the pic- < ture to one of the shah'i private apart- ' rnents, but the moment he saw it. he ? told the artist it was faulty. The latter J asked where the fault was, but for all <" reply the shah demanded how many minutes were supposed to intervene 1 between the head of St. John being cut < off and its being presented to Hero- < dias' daughter, to which the painter ] replied that he allowed two minutes to i pass, when his majesty, walking up to ' the painting and closely examining it, i said in that case the lips ought to be i ashy white and wide open, instead of < liai'rwr r?inl- anil pnntrrU'fpH !irwl HS 1 the sirtist was unwilling to i he convinced, the shah clapped his ' hands once (this being done in the i East to summon servants instead of i ringing a bell) and, upon a slave appearing to answer the call, his master 1 drew his sword, and, to the dismay of M. Pelletier, with one tremendous sweep severed his head from his body, lie then pulled out his watch and called the trembling painter's attention to the time. Exactly two minutes after he stooped down and picked up the bleeding head and walking to the picture he held the real head by the side of the painted one, and said to the Frenchman: "Monsieur, you can see for yourself that the lips ought to be ashy white and wide apart, and you will learn to believe the shah in the future," when he tossed away the head and calmly walked out, leaving the painter more dead than alive to take himself and his picture back to his own apartments. This shock was so severe to M. Pelletier's nerves that lie became quite hysterical, and the shah seeing that he remained so for months and was unable to do any work, conferred decorations and titles upon him, which cost nothing, and giving him just enough money to take him home, allowed him to leave Persia, and he now occupies a studio in the Palais Royal in Paris. The product of tea in Japan now reaches upward of 90,000,000 of | pounds annually, the production have i ing largely increased within the last eix years. For chapped lips, mix two table spoonfuls of clarified honey with a few props of lavender water or any other perfume, and anoint the lips frequently American patent medicines are in great demand in Belgium. PICTURES OF PRIVATION. HARDSHIPS EXBURED BY THE XAILJIAKERS OFEXGLAXD. Men ami Women In tbc Hlark Country Working Long Ilourif lor n Pittance to Keep Hotly ntul Moul Together. About 24,000 people are engaged in this dismal part of Great Britain in making nails and rivets. It would not be so much a matter for surprise, even for the lowness of wages that they earn, if they were all men and youths who are engaged in this industry?one of the worst paid in any part of the country. But It so happens? and here arises the social degradation of the traflic?that there are at least 16,000 females engaged day after day in the occupation. They are not all mature women either; daughters work by the side of their mothers?daughters who, in their tender years, ought to be either at home, if they have any home, or in bed, instead of working their weary arms in shaping, in the still small hours of the morning, molten iron into the form of nails for the beneiit of what are called the " foggers." Here is a picture of what may be seen any night in this district ?except, perhaps, Saturday nights. In the middle of a shed which adjoins a squalid-looking house there is a whole family at work in the production of these nails; father, mother, sons and daughters?daughters, too, very young in years, but with that sad look of premature age which is always to be noticed "in the faces of childworkers. The gayety of youth, its freshness and its gentleness, seem to be crushed out of them. In the center of the shed, with its raftered ceiling? n bleak and wretched building, through the walls of which the wind readily finds its way?there is a " hearth," fed by "gledes" or breezes. Probably there is a girl or woman blowing at the bellows, while the strips of iron from which the nails are made become molten. Or, to take an actual case witnessed by the writer a few nights since, close upon midnight: In one of these forges were a mother and several children. The mother was a woman probably forty years of age; her youngest daughter?a flaxen-haired jin, wnn <l sweei unu wuiauuit; iciue? | jvas certainly not more than twelve ; fears of age. By the side of the jeartli there was "what is technically jailed the "Oliver"?a barrel-like conduction, on the top of which is iixed ;he stamp of the particular pattern and size of the nail required to be made The workmen and workwomen, by neans of a wooden treadle?an indus:rial treadmill it ought more strictly to Hi called?shoot out the nails from the slot into which they are fixed. They lave previously hammered the top of he incandescent metal, with masculine irmness, so as to form the head of the mil. The women and girls seem to -vork with more vigor than the men? ?'ery often, indeed, they support their nisbands and their fathers, who may lave fallen into drunken habits; in )ther cases, this nail-making is the neans of supplementing the husband's y.iges. But what do the nail-makers earn a veek, may naturally be asked? The enumeration they receive is incredibly small. It is no unusual thing?on he contrary, it is rather the usual rustom?for a family of three or four Persons, after working something like 'ourteen hours a clay, to earn zl in a i .veek. ]Jut out of tliis money there ins to he deducted Is. 3d. for carriage ' ,o convey the nails to the " gaffers," as i hey are termed in the district; then | here is allowance to be made for fuel J ind the repairing of the machinery, vhich reduces the ?1 to about lCs. 9d. or three people?for three people who lave commenced to work every morn ng at half-past 7 or 8 o'clock, ind who have worked on through ill the weary day, with no subitantial food, until late at night. tVho is it that reaps the benefit of all his terribly hard work? Certainly lot the laborers; for it is a well-known 'act that they rarely taste meat from >ne week's end to the other. In the ;xpressive but simple language of one joor workman, this is how they fare: ' When the bread comes hot front the jakehoiwe oven on Saturday we eat it ike ravening wolves." The "fogjers" or "Tommy shop" men live ives of contentment, profit and rest at he expense of the poor nail-workers, rhe "fogger" is an intermediate igent between the worker of nails and lie buyer. Out of the bone and sinew )f these poor people he makes a: ,-ery line living?and he does not | vork. He has a huckster's snop at;ached to his dwelling; he supplies, at ;he beginning of the week, the nail.vorkers with their sixty-pound bunlies of iron, and when they return the jundles of iron in the marketable shape of nails?out of which he makes it least twenty per cent, profit?if ;hey do not buy his high-priced provisions, they get no more work from lim. These are the men who, by cutting down the workmen's wages to starvation point, are at the root fcf the jvil.?London Standard. Marriage by Capture. "When an Esquimau youth has killed a polar bear unaided, and so proved himjelf capable of providing for the wants :>f a family, lie is sent fortli at night to jbtain a wife by seizing the first girl li can surprise unawares. She screams, course, bringing out the whole village population, and an appreciative mdience secured, sets upon her captor with tootii and nail, releases herself L'rom Jus clutciies, and uarcs among me j srowd. He follows, pushing aside the old women who attempt to bar his i progress, heedless of the sealskin scourges they Jay upon his shoulders. Should he catch the flying lass, more scratching and biting ensues, and, perchance, a second escape. The j chase is then renewed as before, only the wife-hunter is inspired by knowing that, if a third capture is effected, there will be no more maddening struggles, the girl accepting her fate and allowing him to lead her away amid the applauding shouts of the excited spectators. The aboriginal Australian adopts a more summary process when tired of single blessedness. lie looks about for a likely helpmate, and, finding one, waits his opportunity, knocks her down and carries her home. In Singapore the winning of a bride depends upon the matrimonial aspir ant's lleetness of foot or skill in paddling his own canoc. In the first case, a circular course is marked out, half of which is traversed by the maiden ere the word given for the would-be possessor to go in pursuit, in the hope of overtaking her before she has thrice compassed the circle, that achieved, she has no choice but to take the suitor for her lord. In the water chase the damsel takes her paddle until she has obtained a reasonable start, when her admirer sets off after htr. The contest is usually one of short endurance, the pair having come to a proper understanding beforehand; but should the girl have no fancy for the suitor, and possesses sufficient determination and strength of arm to gain the goal first, she is at liberty to laugh at the disconsolate loser of the match, and reserve herself for a claimant more to her liking. A vessel sailing for Rio Janeiro, instead of going directly south, usually steers east half-way across the Atlantic nffpmnt.ircr to fro flirwtlv nn her ~ o ? O J voyage. Then she strikes the trade winds and takes a southeasterly direction. The sailor loses sight of the great dipper soon after crojsing the equator. Then the southern cross is visible early in the evening, and the scorpion is directly overhead, teg /. FACTS AND COMMENTS. Nearly every farmer has the necessary intelligence unci a practical management of all branches of his business to place himself on an honorable level with any man. He needs but a few elementary books on the sciences in connection with his business, added to some practical works, in addition to his agricultural newspapers, to guide him in all important operations on his farm, or in the marts for the sale of his produce. Three women are making more money this season on the American stage than any ten men. It is impossible to get at the precise figures, as the pay of performers is so exaggerated, but it is asserted that Patti receives $4,000 anight. As she is to sing thirty times during her tour through the States, she will therefore receive $120,000. Isilsson will get about $100,000 for fifty concerts. Mrs. Langtry is said to receive one-third of the gross receipts, and will get about $75,000. Dr. Mulhall, of the St. Louis Medical college, adds his opinion to that of many ~4.1 4.4 ? ir, i-n UU1UI3 tIJctb UlgcliCLLC aillUlWlig 10 JXAJUrious, because the inhaler inhales the smoke. He is satisfied that smoke in the process of inhalation comes in contact with four times the extent of mucous membrane that it does in ordinary smoking, and hence the absorption of nicotine is excessive. The doctor remarks that about all cigarettes manufactured in this country are cheap and vile. Notwithstanding many opposite rumors on the subject, it is now announced positively that the coronation of the Czar Alexander III. will be celebrated in the usual historical manner and with all due pomp some time in the spring, and in .ill likelihood as soon as possible after the thaw. In view of the coronation, it has been decided that the building in which the Moscow exhibition was recently held shall be kept standing; and it is apparently to be made the scene of festivities. Statistics published in England give the following valuation of natural wealth of the countries named: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, $44,400,000,000; France, $36,700.000.000: United States.$32,000,000, 000; Germany, $22,000,000,000, and llussia, $15,000,000,000. The average annual income of citizens of the United Kingdom is $165; of the United State?, $165; France, $125; Germany, $85. The annual accumulation of wealth is $825,000,000 by the United States; $325,000,000 in the United Kingdom; ; $375,000,000 in France and $200,000,000 in Germiiny. Puyallup valley, in "Washington Ter- : ritory, located about ten miles east of : Tacoma, is the great hop-producing section of the Pacific coast. This ! season, in consequence of the hop , famine in Europe, the price has ad- , vanced 400 to 500 per cent. The hop- , growers of Puyallup are in high clover, so to speak, some of them clearing $50,000 on their crop. Before the picking season opened they sent a t messenger up tne coast to notiry tne Indians of an advance in the price of ' picking hops, for all the hop-picking is done by Indians. This welcome news i had the effect of bringing Siwashes from the northern part of British Co- ; lumbia, and the sound was completely | dotted with their canoes, all heading for Tacoma. Many of the canoes were loaded down almost to the water's edge. The squaws and the children do most of the hop-picking. The New York Herald says, editorially, that "no more important ' subject has of late occupied the attention of stock and dairy farmers in this country than the French ; method of preserving fodder by ensilage or continual pressure. The cost of fodder for cattle during the lengthy winter season is so great that the handsome profits of the milder months, when the pastures are available, are seriously eaten into. Through the use of silos, fodder is not alone stored at a time I when it is exceedingly cheap, but it suffers little deterioration throughout the winter and is served to the animals almost as fresh and tender and juicy as when first brought in from the green fields. Our farmers are slowly realizing the value of this system, already thoroughly well established in France, and when they have learned how cheaply a capacious silo can be built its adoption:will be general. To be a high Chinese dignitary cannot be much more pleasant than to be a Chinese menial. The etiquette of Chinese rank in Washington is thus given by the Herald of that city: "Kin-tan and Chang-Hansen, the two sons of the Chinese minister, continue to attract a great deal of attention at Professor Young's school. Hansen is of a superior rank to his younger brother, and when the two set out for school Hansen always goes first. Kintan follows a few moments after, carrying all the books. The two never walk together. Hank carries with it isolation, according to the Chinese etiquette. "When the Chinese "* nnmaa nilf nf his TOOTD IlllUlOkUl VV111VU V.MW at the legation all of the members of the legation, including his immediate family, must lly from his sacred presence unless he indicates a wish for them to remain. The moment the minister comes out for a walk about the house there is a perfect clatter of slamming doors, as every one must get into the nearest room and hide his insignificance as soon as possible. The members of this legation are very fond of looking at the American ladies. Sunday afternoons they hang upon the balcony overlooking Connecticut avenue, perfect pictures of oriental delight ;is they gaze rapturously upon -rl 11 >> uic lauy pruuiL'iiiiucis uciu?. Japanese Artists at Work. I low a young man made a drawing of a Hying duck is very clearly described, and with much graphic power, in the following extract from Dr. Dressner's work on Japan: "A brush of considerable breadth was dipped in water and drawn between the lingers of the artist till nearly dry. It was then dipped in a thin wash of India ink, the central portion of the brush being bent outward, so that the hairs of the brush assumed a crescentlike form. The convex or center portion was now hastily dropped into dark India ink, and the brush allowed to straighten itself. Two or three hairs were separated from one side and dipped into dark ink, but fhpsn rpmuiiu'd detached from the other part of the brush. By a dexterous movement the artist produced, with one stroke, the shaded body of the duck and an outline, the few separate hairs forming the latter, while the shading resulted from the darker ink of the center not having fully spread to the sides of the brush. A bill is now drawn, then feet and then tail feathers. An eye is added, then follow a neck, legs and a few finishing touches, when an admirable sketch of a llying duck is before us." A French scientist, explaining why fish eaten in Holland are superior to those, eaten in France, says that the Dutch fishermen kill their fish as soon as taken from the water by making a slight longitudinal incision under the tail with a very sharp instrument. The French fishermen, on the contrary, allow their fish to die slowly, and t his slow death softens the tissues and ren1 ders them more liable to undergo change. THE GREATEST OF BLIZZARDS. Rcmininccnccg of the Great Three Days' Snowstorm In Minnesota. Tlie great storm of 1873 was the most violent known in the Northwest for fifty years, as the records kept at Fort Snelling showed. It was a violent electrical storm, extending over the whole Northwest, so that the telegraph wires west of Chicago refused to work. It struck Minnesota on January 7, 1873, and raged for three days, the wind blowing a gale, the temperature being about eighteen degrees below zero, and on the prairies the air was filled with snow as fine as flour. Through every crevice, keyhole and nail-hole the snow penetrated, puffing into houses like steam. The number of human lives lost in Minnesota was about seventy. The morning of January 7, 1873, was beautiful and bright. The air was mild and still, and farmers set out for town or went to neighboring farms with their teams. Generally it was thought that a "January thaw" was imminent, but Professor Ilumiston, who had a good aneroid barometer, foretold a storm. The barometer naa been falling for twenty-four hoursj and never was known to fall so low before. Between 12 and 1' o'clock a white wall was seen moving up from the northwest upon Worthington. The front of the storm was distinct and almost as clearly outlined as a great sheet. "When . it struck the town faimers began to scatter to their homes. A number, however, remained, and were housed up for three days. Persons visiting in the village, only a few squares from home, in some instances remained until the storm abated, not daring to venture out upon the streets. J. II. Maxwell drove four miles against the storm, and then took refuge with a neighboring farmer, not being able to reach home. The Rev. Mr. Stone walked five miles facing the storm this side of Jackson, and finally took refuge in a sod shanty. A party of Worthington men, among whom were Dr. Langdon and Cornelius Stout, were caught on the road between "Worthington and Jackson, and also remained snowed up in a sod house. A man north of Worthington was caught on the trackless prairie driving an ox team. He unhitched and unyoked the team, then took hold of one ox by the tail, and by twisting it kept the animal on a trot. The other ox followed, and the man brought up against his own woodpile. The school in Indian Lake Township was taught by a young lady in a log school-house. The snow drifted in through the crevices and soon covered the floor. The supply of wood was soon exhausted, and then teacher and scholars split up furniture and eked out a scant fire till the storm abated. To keep up circulation they formed an Indian file and marched around the stove through the dreary days and long nights till, on the third day, they made their escape. Joseph Poots was caught in the storm in the western part of the county, and lay for several days in a 3now-drift. Unfortunately his feet became exposed, kicked the cover off, so to speak, and both feet were frozen and had to be amputated. A Mr. Small, who lived four miles southeast of "Worthington, started from town with an ox team and sled just after the storm struck us. He drove within a few rods of his own door, and wandered over the prairie till he came to some bay stacks, around which a rail fence had been built. He evidently attempted to climb the fence, but was too near gone to accomplish it. When found, the day after the storm, he was standing with one hand on the fence, covered ^with ice and as stiff as an icicle. A Mrs. Blixt, who lived a few miles beyond Mr. Small, went to the stable when the storm came on to turn the cattle in. In attempting to return to the house the snow blinded her, and she wandered off on the prairie and perished.? Washington (Minn.) Advance' Aboot Thermometers. "The greatest demand for thermometers," said a clerk to a Minnesota Tribune reporter, " comes in the depth of winter and the middle of the summer. In the spring and fall, when the temperature is such that nobody thinks about it, the thermometer trade is dull. But it gets brisk in the winter time, when one's nose and ears get frozen, and the water turns into ice in your bedroom. The cheap thermometers that we sell are made in this country?in New York city, Troy and Rochester, X. Y., Chicago and Cleveland. The finest?that is those used by scientific men?come from T TllOrO in nTlfl TTIlltpr X~iH.lv> tlliu JlJUliUUll. XUV1V AM VMV of fine instruments in Xew York city. The Fahrenheit scale, which is so common in the United States, receives but little favor at the hands of scientific men, who use the centigrade scale. The zero of the centigrade scale is freezing point; boiling point is 100 degrees above freezing. "We are used to the Fahrenheit scale, it is true; but if I tell you this morning that it i? 20 degrees below zero you have to do a little sum in arithmetic before you find out that it is 52 degrees below the freezing point. This calculation is not necessary in the centigrade or decimal system. In that 20 degrees below zero means 20 degrees below freezing. The English folk, in their method of talking about the temperature, are struggling toward the centigrade system. For example, they never say that it is 10 degrees above zero, but 22 degrees below freezing; not that the thermometer stands at zero, but that there are 32 degrees of frost. Zero is the point at which salt water freezes. Mercury congeals at 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and to register below that, spirit?alcohol or ether? must be used. But spirit is rot as sensitive as mercury." How a " Forty->'iner" Made a Fortune. Mr. Henry L. Goodwin, of East Hartford, Conn., made a good share of his large fortune by a curious sort of monopoly. lie was a California "Forty-niner," and in those early days, when San Francisco and its vicinity had a wretchedly poor supply of drinking water, he was one evening charged half a dollar by a man who owned a well for a drink for his oxen. That made him mad, and he resolved that he too would become known as Man-Who-Owns-a-Well. witn tne aid of his partner, an engineer, he bored eighty feet deep on his own town lot, and there struck an inexhaustible supply of the best water yet found on the whole coast. Then he established a free drinking-fountain for all passersby, but for all other purposes he sold the water, six gallons for a cent. Cattle-owners could have their stock watered for liftv cents a yoke per week. For a long time every one who wanted pure water had to go to Goodwin's well for it, and a handsome fortune was realized therefrom. Horned Men. The last alleged discovery is that there are horned men in Africa. A I Captain ,7.?S. Ilay recently read a I paper before the British association, ! in which he stated that he had seen them anil exhibited sketches of them. He thought they belonged to the class of malformations of which there was a noted example in the case of the " porcupine man," who had horny plaits on various parts of his body. It was remarkable that the horns were peculiar to the male sex. Most anthropologists think that the gallant captain i3 either joking or romancing. Signs of Prosperity. Where spades grow bright, And idle swords grow doll; Where jails are empty, And where barns are full; Where field paths are With frequent feet unworn. Law court yards weedy, Silent and forlorn: Where doctors foot it, And where farm are ride; Where age abounds, And youth is multiplied; Where poisonous drinks Are chased from every place; Where opium's curse * No longer leaves a trace? Where these signs are They clearly indicate A happy people, And a well-ruled State. ?From the Chinese. ?? HUMOR OF THE DAY. ? ?2 Bright days in store?When there is " ? a rush of customers. Men who get credit'for their good works?"Watchmakers. Seasick passengers are most inclined to heave when the vessel heaves to.? Lomll Courier. Even an armless man can take a hand in a game of foot-ball.?New York Commercial. There sprang a leak in Noah's ark, And then the dog began to bark; Noah took its nose to stop the hole, Hence a dog's nose is always cold. ?Humane Journal. It is related as a singular fact that fat men never commit crime. It doesn't seem so singular when you reflect that it is difficult for a fat > man to stoop to anything low.?Lowell Citizen. A pretended ghost made its appear- , ance in a "Western town, the other night, and accidentally ran against a bulldog. The result of the encounter established, beyond all doubt, that there was nothing superstitious about the dog. The president of Tufts college was recently made a happy father, and the following morning at prayer in the chapel he introduced this rather ambiguous sentence: "And we thank " thee, 0 Lord, for the succor thou hast given us," which caused a general smile to creep over the faces of the class.?Haverhill Gazette. The sad news comes from Van Bulow, the great musician, that it has been found necessary to place him under treatment for incipient insanity. * "We trust this paragraph may strike the eye of the youth who owns the doublebarreled accordion, and who seems to think he holds a mortgage on the air in the vicinity of our humble domicile. ?Statesman. Explaining the tracks: Mistress (who has long suspected her servant of hav- . ing a follower and thinks she has caugni ner hciuslj?- jrvux mooter wishes to know the meaning of those large footmarks; can you explain?" Mary?"Oh, yes, mum! my sister's been here, and she's got tho gout so bad she has to wear big boots." ?London Judy. " Thomas, why have you not learned /?$ your lesson V" asked an Austin teacher 0, of a pupil who was noted for |his impudence. " Because I did not feel like V it." The reply pleased the teacher im- . v mensely. It was really refreshing to hear a new excuse, so he said: " Tommy, I'll give you a good mark for. your truthfulness. Now, Billy," turning to the next boy, " what is the reason you did not learn your lessoi#?\ ;. "Because I didn't feel like it," replied > Billy, thinking he, too, would get a good mark for his truthfolness; but, instead, the teacher took out a strap, and said: "Billy, I'll have to punish your plagiarism. You stole that answer from Tommy."?Texas Siftings. ' FEMALE FIGURES. Sometimes, by flattery, she's L Sometimes she is 2, too; ^ She's often 3-ling and, my son, Sometimes she goes 4 you. ' 3 Sometimes she is 5-acious quite; Sometimes, alas, she's 6; , ^ Sometimes she's 7 to our sight, And doth our souls transfix.. :.t Sometimes, by cannibals, she's 8, She often is be-9; * Sometimes she is a 10 der mate In the domestic line. * Sometimes she gust amounts to 0, And cannot make a pie; 4 And then it is that we are taught That female figures lie. -H. C- D^gc. An Unsolved Mystorj.The smallpox ambulance of Chicago is driven by a stalwart but rtjntle Iiussian named Otto Guteknechfc,' who is said to be the only son of a living millionaire. . The mystery of his posi tion is not likely to be solved, for he meets every inquiry leading up to that subject with the rather perplexing exclamation, "Vat I care!" He appeared in Chicago about five yeareago,' i and at that time had considerable money in his possession, with which he rented a tract of land for a hunting privilege, but his money was soon gone, and, returning to Chicago, he accepted from the board of health the occupation which he still follows, lie carries the dying to the pest-house and the dead to the grave, and lifts patient and corpse into his ambulance as if lie coveted contagion. He onco had a mild attack of varioloid, and if he hopes to die of the disease which keeps him busy he is likely to be disappointed. "That he really is what he claims to bo * .. ii- ru.j ? ? IS prOVGQ," Stiyb lilt? VlllUft^u jlig/ut(U> "by the fact that at the German consul's oflice in this city is a standing letter of credit upon which he can draw to practically an unlimited amount, but he very rarely avails himself of it. Once he went to the consul and got $25, and at another time $10, but that is all." Fatal Baseball Accidents. An unusually large number of accidents occurred on the ball-field in 1S82, including three that proved fatal. Thomas Toppin, while playing in a game August 14 in Chester, I'cnn., was struck in the mouth by a pitched ball, fracturing one of his front teeth. IIo had the tooth extracted immediately. Two days afterward he was taken with V a severe pain the neaci, ami men m au. , hour. The coroner's jury rendered a verdict of death from compression of the brain. A fatal accident happened May 11 in Boston, Mass., while a number of boys were playing baseball. A boy named Charles Gould, twelve years old, was hit in the head and so badly injured that death resulted within ten minutes. It was claimed by some of his companions that he was struck by a ball, while others stated that another boy in jumping to catch a high ball 5.1. rirtlll/l nn tViO h PnA . (iOCIUt'll r>ti uta uuum vu vmv uv*<~. The coroner deemed an inquest unnecessary. Gustave Tischner, eleven years of age, was struck in the breast by a ball, while looking at a game played May 26 in Philadelphia, Penn., and died from the effects of the blow.? Clipper. Fire losses in 1882, the world over, were $400,000,000, of which this country furnished $115,000,000; Canada, $20,000,000; Russia, $105,000,000; and Great Britain, Germany and France $92,000,000. In a generation these fire losses, nearly all preventable, would pay off the national debt. It takes $150,000,000 to keep the hens of tins country in good enough spirits to supply the egg market. Spiral mignonette is used in great^^^ profusion for flower decorations.