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RESOLVE. As the dead year is clasped by a dead December, So let your dead sins with your dead days lie. A new life is yours, and a new hope! Remember We build our own ladders to climb to the sky. Stand out in the sunlight of promise forget ?us Whatever your past held of sorrow or wrong; We waste half our strength in a useless regretting ; We sit by old tombs in tbe dark too long. Have you missed in your aim? well,the mark is still shining. Did you faint in the race? well, take breath for the next. Did the clouds drive you back? see out yonder their lining. Were you tempted and fell? let it serve for a text. As each year hurries by let it join that pr> cession Of skeleton shapes that march down to the past, While you take your place in the line of pro gression, With your eyes on the heavens, your face to the blast. I tell you the future can hold no terrors For any sad soul while the stars revolve, If he will but stand firm on the grave of his errors, And instead of regretting, resolve, resolve! It is never too late to begin rebuilding, Though all into ruins your life seems hurled, For look! how the light of the new year is gilding The worn, wan face of the bruised old world! ?Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in New York Sun. Ladies of the White House, The Philadelphia Times prints an interesting account of the different women who have presided at the "White House," as "nrst lady ot tne land," since the days of President Washington. Says our informant: Washington, -it is well known, married long before he became President, or even Gene al of the Army. He met the lovely : Widow Custis at Williamsburg during his service as a member of the Virginia ; Legislature. Mrs. Washington presided i over the Executive household at the scat of government, first in New York, then in tiiis city, with a good deal of formaii- i ty. Their house in this city was one 'rentid from Kobirt Morris, on Market street, between Fifth and Sixth. It was here thj Friday levees were held, and the rules were very rigorous. u??:< ? u jl .UA5 uiov jl iQiuuuia wnc was uui ii a I Jones, that of the second a Smith?Abi- j i gail Smith?so the republic, as far as the ! i domestic head of it was concerned, was ! < ushered in with a certain democia ic simplicity. John Adams married h's wife ' when she was twenty, and her father, who was a clergyman, preach-d a sermon ! on the Sunday after the wedding?so an historic old chestnut relates?from the i text: "John came neither eating bread . nor drinking wine, and ye say he hath a < devil." During Adams's term of office, i in 1800, the Governmei.t was removed to ; Washington. Mrs. Adams was the first i lady of the White House, but she never liked it, and lived there altogether but < four months. Her picture, by Gilbert i Stuart, represents her as a cheerful and not unhandsome-looking woman of fitty, , with cap, and ringlets of curls wreathing . the edge. Jefferson went into the White House a ( widower of nineteen years' standing, and i , his d:ary, lately publish'd by John Bige- j, low, shows he under.-to id thoroughly the domestic economies which were necessary in the matter of providing for the wants , f the mansion and its hospitalities. His wife w.is the widow of Bathurst J-kelton, 1 a Virginia gentleman, and the daughter , of John Wayles of Charles City county, Virginia. She was said to be a beautiful j woman, and Jefferson to have won her I ; over other suitors through his musical i voice and ability to play the viol'n. Dolly Madison was one of the most j popular of the White House women, if , we believe tradition, and yet she cer tainly was not pretty, if Prudhomme's engraving from the picture of Herring is to be accepted, with the queer turban, ; profusion of ringlets, large nose, and !. positive mouth. There is, however, a ! glimpse of a prettily rounded arm and a ! classic neck through the lace and drapery 11 that perhaps may have combined Y/tf?z * her well-attested tack and vivaciiy to have given her the reputation sh.* certainly enjoy3 among the President's wives. She was an F. F. V., Dorothy Payne, although born in the Pine Tree Sta'.e, and in early life h r parents lived t here and Dolly artially joined the So-I ciety of Friends in this city, althou ;h no j doubt a rising young Quaker lawyer, ! one John Todd, whom she afterward married, had something to do with this. : Todd died and left her a widow with j one son. so Dolly set her cap for some of ; av ~ ix i : * i ./ i.!.. I me ui:e-iuiituug yi-'uujj inemuers 01 tiie i Congress then wont to come to Philadel- j phia to transact the public business, and in 17U4 married James Madison, one , of the most talented of the body. Mrs. Monroe was the daughter of a British army officer named Cartwright, ! distant relations of the Philadelphia | Cnrtwrights, who settled in New York i alt3r the peace of 17S3, She was one ! of four girls. One of thes-: married Mr. | Heyliger, Grand Chamberlain to the , Kin? of Denmark; another a Mr. Knox of New York city, whose only daughter was he wife of the late Alexander Hamilton. son of Alexandfr Hamilton, the fir?t Secretary of the Tre.isury; a third married Nicholas Gouverneur of New York, and the fourth Senator James > Monroe'f Virginia, afterward President. The first White House wedding was that of President Monroe's youngest j daug'iter, who married her <ousin. Sana el I.. Gouverneur, in 1820. It took ! place in th<? Enst Koom,ar.d was a Knick- : erbot'ker aff.iir, stylish and high-toned j for the day. A number of brillmnt re- } ce;>tions in Washington were tendered to the l-ridal couple, and the cards were out j for a very swell one by Commodore "Es- j sex ' rorter ana wile, wh -n it had to I e given up. owing to the untimely death o;'j Commodore Decatur, kilL-d i?y Jinrroa j in n duel. The dea. I o ticer hud given ; the vi;u )g couple a brilliant party but a | few days before at his own home. An j older daughter of President Madison j married .Judge George Hay of Richmond, j llortensia Hay, a beautiful <>irl, daugh- i ter of this match, was the wife of Lord j Rogers, of Baltimore, whom old society j people of this city remember. Lady | Rogers died in Paris, a::d is buried in Pere j la Chaise. Most persons who have read the voluminous diary of the "old man eloquent" know more or less of Louisa Catharine Adams, his wife. Phe was the daughter of a Marvlnnder named Johnson, who jived in Lou .ion during the Kcvo.uthn, where she was born. Charles Francis Adams was her third son. She accompanied her distinguished husband during much of his diplomatic and official journeying abroad, and did honors during his Executive term, and was a woman of varied accomplishments. A fine painting of her by Leslie is in possession of the Boston family, and represents her as a pretty woman, elegantly robed, a jeweled tiara in her hair,necklace ornament, and lace shawl, with a handsome ?Own, cut far more decollete than Rose Cleveland could possibly approve of. Mrs. Adams died in 1852, and is buried with her husband at Quincy. General Jackson's wife died before he went into the White House, and, as he had married before she was formally divorced, the iron-heai ted old Democrat was, with her, often the subject of pitiless political calumny. She was a plain woman, but undoubtedly possessed the undivided affection of the great Presi- ; dent, who never was so happy as when praisiug her memory or defending it i from slander. Van Buren married a woman who, like himself, came of Dutch stock, Hannah ' Hoes. She died early in their married 1 life at Albany, and her brilliant husband 1 never after took another partner. The < wife of Major Van Buren wa9 the lady of 1 the White House during her father-in- ! law's tenure, and ably tilled the place. Ann Symmes was the wife of General < Harrison and was a Jersey girl, born 1 near Morristown, her father being a Continental army officer. She never entered the "White House, for when the President came East in 1841 to be inaugurated her health was precarious and would not permit the journey, lie died a month after he became President, while she lived until February. 1 '5 k President Tyler's ?ir-t wife was Letitia Christian, daughter of Robert Christian, of New Kent county, Virginia. Tyler was at the time of his marriage a young law graduate from the office of the celebrated Edmund Randolph, but his political prospects were bright, as the son of Governor John Tyler, and to this honor the son succeeded, and from thence to the Presidency. Miss Christian was a noted Eastern Virginia belle, and when lier Husband became rresiaenc assumea i the White House duties. Her health was ] feeble at the time, and she died there in September, 1842. Elizabeth, third daughter of President Tyler by this union, was married in the White House to a Southern gentleman named Waller. Three grandchildren of this President, sons of Lightfoot Jones, who married the eldest daughter, fought in the Confederate army. One of them, Robert, received three wounds at Gettysburg. Mrs. Robert Tyler, a daughter-in-law of this President, acted as the White House mistress after his wife's death. She ' was a lady of great culture and manners the daughter of the tragedian Cooper. Her eldest child, Letitia, was born in the White House. President Tvler remained a widower, < but u short time, paying the Johnsonian t compliment to his first spouse by soon c selecting another. Miss Juliet Gardiner, j of New York. She was the d mghter of ] the wealthy gentleman who owned Gar- 1 diner's Island, familiar to many naval ^ people as near the roadstead in east Long \ Island where the naval practice squadron, with the Annapolis cadets, spends much t of its summer cruising and exercising. Although Mr. Tyler was the first Presi- a dent?and so far the only one?to marry c in the high office, the ceremony was not c performed in the White House, but : t the Church of the Ascension in New g York, June, 1844. After the wedding a ' c srrand reception was given in the execu- c tive mansion. Mrs. Polk, now living at an advanced i c ige in Tsaihville, was one of the most | "* admirable mistresses the White House I f Iioj Viofl Shp wis "Miss Sarah I I Childress, born near Murfreesboro, and married Jam s K. Polk, then a member; I of the Tennessee Legislature, in hrjrnineteeuth year. He went to Congress the t following year, and for fourteen sessions j c continued there, being elected speaker in j t 1836. In 1839 he became governor of i i Tennessee, and Mrs, Polk presided with | grace at the State executive mansion, so j \ that when in '45 they came to the White ! s House, she proved one of the most agree- i 1 able :;nd popular of hostesses Many j innovations, or rather changes, in old cus- I s torns of receiving were introduced during ' c Mrs. Polk's residence at the capitol, \ c notably the one of dispensing with re- j t freshments during the levees. j f The wife of old Hough and Ready \ was a member of the extensive family of i t Smith>?Margaret ^mith, a Maryland girl i ?daughter of a plain farmer of that' s State, and their m irrcd life for many > \ years was the prcsy one of an army couple , 1 on the frontier. The tirst home they had ; <*eally was when in 1840 Colonel Taylor went to the United States barracks at! Baton Rouge. It was while stationed j c here that Jefferson Davis met and woo^d 1 c old Zach's second daughter, much i against the father's wi-hes, who disliked : ] to see his children subjected to the same ' I wandering existence he ha l le:l his; 1 SJJUU5U ' 5 (111 ailllY UliiV/t-'i. Jjiv. utv.nauw J Davis wa; then a handsome voung sub- < ? o J c alte:n, and the seceding element was so 1 strong in him even at that time that he i ran away with Miss Taylor, who died 1 shortly after their marriage and before the < stem old parent had become reconciled < to the elopement. : < Miss Betty Taylor, the youngest daugh- ! j ter, was the mistr^s of the White House j 1 during President Taylor's short incum- i < ? - - - .i benc-y. She became the wife of Major j; Bliss, Taylor's Adjutant-General in ; ] ^Jj.xico, and was a chaiming woman, i well known in her youthful days in this 1 city, where she went to school. The j 1 wife of the President never receivid or i 1 went out much in Washington society, < and, like .Mrs. Garfield, never liked the White House or enjoyed the life there. ! i Millard Fillmore married a New York j ] school teacher, Miss Abigail Powers, be- I; fore he became, like Cleveland, a Buffalo ] lawyer. She performed all the public j social duties devolving upon her by: 1 reason of her hus'. and's political cmi-1; nenee with great grace and intelligence. ! When he became ( hief Magistrate she j ] was not in very good health, and i; a f w we -ks after the clos of i A\..A ot WillarfV< Ilnt.-I Wndi. I , iWO lAAilA, UH-Vl ?i. *1 tfciifttv* .. AAW.V.J ?. ??. , ington, of an illness probably much | hastened by her attention to the oner- i ous requirements of her station. Presi- ' dent Fillmore survived his wife twenty- i' one years, dy ng in 1S74 at Buiralo. :ind i b:>th lie b iried, with an only daughter, [ ] in the beautiful Forest Lawn Cemetery 1 of that city. j' Franklin Pierce?pronounced Perse:] up in Boston?was a classmate of Haw- j thorne's ;it Bowdoin College. The Pres- j i ident of the college then, and for many ; : years, was the Rev. Jesse Appleton. I' Jenny Appleton, a (laughter of this col-' ; lege President, became Mrs. Pierce, and i . her husband, at the time of the mar- ,< riage a young New Hampshire lawyer and Congressman, became afterward ' President of the United States. The first lew years of official life at the White ; House Mrs. Pierce's life was shadowed i with grief, owing to the death of their i only son a few weeks before the the in- < auguration in a frightful railroad acci- : dent, in which Mr. and Mrs. Pierce i were also injured. This cast a gloom . over the eariy years of the social regime of their term. Many living persons remember the incidents of society life of this period, the quiet, graceful manners of Mrs. Pierce and the hearty cordiality of the President at the levees and state receptions. DlAfAA A V* y-1 r\TTAt? Moca JJJLIO. A. UitU Ab XLIIUUTC1) Hiwuw.j during the war, and the ex-President at Concord in 1869. Both are buried in the cemetery, not far from the spot where the embattled farmers fired the shot heard round the world, in that pretty New England town. James Buchanan was a bachelor, and everybody recalls the presiding lady of his stormy career in the White HouseHarriet Lane, his niece?who was well known in her youth fn the society of this city, Lancaster and Pittsburg. It was at Bedford Springs she met the young Baltimorean, Johnston, who married her at Wheatland in 1866. The White House never had a more accomplished domestic and social head than this young Pennsylvania gill. It was while she was hostess that the Prince of Wales visited the United States and was entertained at the President's mansion. Albert Edward bore away with him, so the story of the day comes down to us, warm appreciations of the grace and beauty of Miss Lane. Of Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of the 3reat Emancipator, of Mrs. Johnson, who was Eliza McArdle, and of Julia Dent Grant, the wife of the Silent Cap ;ain and President who has so lately passed away, the public of to-rlay is faniliar. Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Grant 3oth took part in the social duties of ;heir stations, as did Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Garfield?the former Lucy Webb, laughter of Dr. James B. Webb, of Dhillicothe, Ohio, the latter Lucretia Randolph, daughter of Zebulon Ranlolph, of Garrettsville,in the same State. Lincoln lost a son, his favorite Tad., in ;he White House, Nellie Grant, the Gen;ral's beloved daughter, was married?a jrilliant wedding?in the same place. President Arthur assumed the Chief Magistracy a widower, and, although umor was very free with his name durng his term, he did not marry. His deceased wife was a daughter of Captain lerndon of the United States Navy, the jallant officer who went down on the Central America. James Buchanan and trover Cleveland were the only two >achelor Pre-idents, and if the latter narries Miss Folsom this year, it will eave the Pennsylvania President alone n tne ceiiDate use 01 uniei juagisi.rui.es. ^our Presidents were widowers at their nauguration?Jefferson, Jackson, "Van Bnren and Arthur. Sixteen were marled when they went into the White iousc. One alone, President John ryler, married while holding the Execuive title. To Make Timber Plentifnl. Ben: Perley Poo re says in the American Cultivator: Far better than the imported waddle published by some of our arbori:ulturists, is the following practical idvice by Professor Lazenby, of Cornell Jniversitv. To make timber plentiful, ie says, and to render our climate more jenial, we must rc-clothe all rugged, >roken land and rocky crests, in fact, svery acre that is not cultivated,or is culivated at a loss, with valuable forest trees. First?All ravines and steep hillsides, ill land too rocky to be thoroughly :leared of stone and plowed, should be Invoted to trees. Second?Protecting belts of timber hould be planted wherever buildings, >rchards, gardens, etc., are exposed to sold, sweeping winds. Third?The banks of streams, ponds, ip n ditches, etc., should be so planted vith trees that they will be protected rom abrasion by floods and rapid curents. Fourth?All public roads should be )elted by graceful, stately trees. "We should preserve, improve, and exend our existing forests by keeping up a :onstant succession of young growing rees of the hest varieties. To do this it s necessary: First?To allow no sto-k to run in voodlots for purpose of forage. This hould be a rule inflexible and relentess. Second--Young growth in forests hould be thinned moderately and judi:iously. Worthless varieties should be cut >ut and the valuable sorts should be rimmed up so that they will grow tall, orming trunk rather than branches. TlmUfti* oKAnl/1 nnf wifh in. X lill U IIUIUCI OllVlilU k/V VUV ITAVM .M elligent reference to future growth. Vallable trees that you wish to propagate hould be cut in the spring. Those that 'ou wish to exterminate should be cut in lugust. A Strike of Soldiers. Dr. Felix L. Oswald says, in the Cincinnati Enquirer,that the pluckiest strike >n record is certain'y that of a Prussian nfantry company, who some thirty-tive rears ago took their lives in their, hands ind deliberately suspended their military 'unctions in the hope of provoking an nvestigation that would help them to jet rid of the preposterous tyranny of ;heir commanding officer. He had harassed them for years in a way that would lave secured his conviction before a commission on lunacy, Lut seeing no )ther redress, the men agreed on a strike in masse; and on the next pnrade day, it. a preconcerted s:gnal, came to an "order arms," grimly disregarding the Captain's counter orders. The shrieks ind blasphemies of the incensed martinet failed to shake their apathy, but the moment a superior officer appeared on the scene they obeyed his commands with cheerful promptitude. Suspecting the motive of their conduct, the Ma,or ordered up four additional companies, which then formed a square around the mutineers a'id marched them olf to prison. The consequent investi^at'on proved that the Captain was decidedly more than half cra/.y; nevertheless, his victims were sentenced to penal servitude for periods varying from five to fifteen j years. To a man they rc -eived the | verdict with cheers, declaring that, com- | pared with the misery of the last two I i>viirs. rt Prussian fortress, under a sane | commander, would be a welcome harbot 3f refuge. Rnge Virus. The tragic fato of Dr. Warner, the Baltimore physi< ian who tried to baudage a wounded dog and paid for his kindness with his life, is being ascribed ' to the influences of an excited imagination, but the true cause may be the virulence which rage imparts to the bite ol tortured animals. The cur had been run over by a street car and was picked up stunned and bleeding, but revived in tha hands of the kind doctor, whom he probably mistook for the author of his woes. During the last Russo-Turkish campaign a Hussion surgeon was bitten by a dyins Baslji-Ba/ouk, and two days after his hand and wrist began to swell in a waj that his colleagues decided to amputate his arm at the elbow. The saliva virus of agonized creatures of the mammal species has occasionally caused the death of innocent victims, b:;t nature's original intention was probably to protect hei children by milking cruelty perilous.? Dr. Oswald* THE BANANA TRADE. HOW THE FRUIT IS GROWN AND PUT ON THE MARKET. What Constitutes a "Bunch"?Harvesting the Fruit?"Horse Bananas"?Growers Bringing the Fruit to Market. The traffic in bananas has grown enormously in past years and it has become one of the most important branches of the fruit trade. Millions of dollars of capital are invested in it. The details of the traffic and the manner in which the bananas are grown are not generally known, and as they are in many respects interesting, the following facts relating thereto, obtained from one who has had personal experience in all stages of the business for several years, may be worthy of the attention of the reader. The banana plant is bulbous. The sprout starts up from the ground and grows somewhat after the manner of the sugar cane. Generally in one year after it begins to grow its fruit is ready to cut. Each tree bears one bunch of fruit, which grows at the top. The stalk is really compos'd of successive layers of leaves, formed by the top leaf coming off and those around it also, which die and dry up around the tree, thus making the stalk. There i;re generally four or five leaves always at the top, new ones springing forth ns the old ones die. The leaves are of a red color. The end of the stalk blossoms in a manner somewhat similer to that of the caila lily. This blossom is exposed in a pad almost the size of a cocoanut, which is composed of a succession of leaves. As the pod expands, the leaves drop off and under each of the leaves is a "hand" of bananas, or what we recognize as one of the clusters on a bunch of bananas. The developing of these successive "hands" or layers of bananas constitutes the bunch. As these successivo layers are developed, the bunch increases in weight and bends over. When the bananas are fit to be taken off, the tree is cut partly in two about half way down the stalk, and then bent over and the fruit gathered. The tree is then bent back again into its regular position. The tree is not completely cut off, but is thus bent back into 4-Vw* w "lwrtAPO ryf lis lUllllCi pusibiuu 1U1 UUC p .ii ut |ill< venting the water in the rainy season from going down into the roots and decaying them. After the rainy season sprouts begin to shoot up from around the bottom of the old stalk, and then the latter is cut off close to the butt. These shoots grow into new trees. Sometimes there will be four or five shoots, but ordinarily only one or two are left to grow. The best banana land is on the west side of a hill or mountain, or on bottom land. The banana tree needs considerable moisture, and if on the east side of a hill the sun soon dries off the dew, and the soil becomes dry. If on bottom land the soil is enriched by the washings from the hill, which makes the conditions thus favorable to the growth of bananas. These banana trees or sprouts are set out in rows similar to peach trees, ten or twelve leet apart. They require considerable care. In bottom land, at a distance of about every three rows, the land is ditched, so that in the rainy season the soil will not become too wet. There is no fertilizer used. If the season is very dry the fruit ripens later, and is smaller in size. Hurricanes, also, are liable to blow the tree down. The soil abounds in land crabs, which are similar to the water crabs caught along the shores of our bay. They are about the size of the palm of the hand. They dig holes in the ground around the roots frequently, and thus hinder, by destroying them, the growth of the trees. The red bananas require a richer soil than the yellow. "When the red bananas cease to grow or "play out," as it is familiarly termed, the pellow fruit can be cultivated to advantage. The red banana is a closer grained fruit. Seme persons say that the red bananas are really bananas, and the yellow ones are plaintains. But the plaintain is altogether a different fruit from either. It is true that the trees are similar, both as to their leaves and their blossoms and the couditions of growth, but the "hands'' of the plaintain grow farther apart, the fruit grows larger and the taste is tart, and they are used only for cooking. Very few of them come to this country. A banana and a plaintain will sometimes mix, and the result is a fruit that is good for nothing. This kind of fruit is ordinarily termed "horse banana. *' Vinegar is made out of ripe bananas by the natives of the islands where they grow, and good flour that will make fine bread is also produced from the green bananas. An average bunch of bananas contains about 140. There arc some, however, that have as many as 250. Most of the yellow banana-; come from Jamaica, Aspinwall and the coast of Honduras. The red bananas are only grown to any extent on the cast end of Cuba, and are shipped from Baracoa. Bananas grow mostly along the coast on the north side of the Island of Jamaica. The principal shipping port is Port Antoine. The large fruit houses in the United States and England have Agents then; to attend to the purchasing of their fruit.. After a steamer has 3tarted for Jamaica, about two or three days before the expected date of her arrival there, these fruit houses send cable messages to their agents informing them as to when they may look for a steamer and how much fruit they desire to have purchased. The agent immediately sends out notices all through the country where the fruit is grown that a steamer is expected on such a day and telling the growers to bring along their fruit. On the arrival of a steamer in Jamaica a bu^y scene presents itself. The natives will be seen coming from all directions loaded down with bananas. Some will l)f> sc(>n :innro;iehiii?r alontr the cous-t in "II O o boats filled with the fruit, much of which is brought from a long distance. Others will drive into the port from the country in two-wheeled. cumbersome vehicles loaded to overflowing. A great many of the natives will bring them in on their heads. It is no uncommon .occurrence for ,\ negro to b'; seen approaching with two large bunches on his hend, having walked a distance of ten or twelve miles with his load. S^me of the natives will be seen coming in with donkeys; across the backs of the animal* are four sticks arranged so us to make four '\-awhor.ses," across the top of each of which is a bunch of bananas and two on each side, while the fellow leading the donkey will have sometimes one and sometimes two bunches on his head; very frequenty he is followed up by his whole family, each member having a bunch on his or her head. They will thus be seen coming into the fort from all the surrounding districts. They bring their bananas down to the landing, where a man inspects the bunches. If the bunch ha; eight clusters it is No. 1 fruit; if seven -lusters it is No. 2 fruit aud brings ha!.' price; if six clusters, and there is a dc and for it, it brings onethird price; but bunches that have less than :i:; darters a~e generally not sala ble. Some of the bananas are brought from ports along the coast, even 100 miles away. No. 1 fruit brings generally from three to four shillings per bunch. It will thus be seen that a native who is willing to walk twelve miles with two bunches of bananas on his head for six shillings, must be very desirous of getting money. Help, in fact, on the island of Jamaica is very cheap, and common laborers may be hired for forty cents per day. Some of the banana groves are as large as two or three hunI /Irorl finrpa liilf thor rein era in ai?o nil tVlf* MAV.U IIVA VUj WUW mow W'% v**w way from a grove of ten trees upward. The very largest groves are owned by Englishmen and Americans, but the ordinary and smallest sized ones are owned and cultivated by the natives themselves. The natives eat scarcely any meat, and their chief articles of food are bananas, bread, sugar-cane, yams and "star" apples, which grow there, and are round, of a purplish hue, and full of a milky substance which is very pleasnnt to the taste. It should be stat.'d that the fruit is picked in a green state, about three-quarters grown. If l__J 1 a 1 J 21 U?? picKea wnen ripe 11 wouia spun uuiuie reaching the great markets. ?Providence Journal. The Small Boy. One day I sat in a car seat on the Sau? j gus branch of the Eastern road behind a j pale, careworn lady, who was taking a I little boy from Boston to Maiden. As the little boy was of a very inquiring mind, and everything seemed to attract his attention, I could not help listening tc some of his questions. "What is that, auntie?'' the little boy commenced, pointing to a stack of hay on the marsh. ' Oh. that's hay, dear," answered the careworn lady. "What is hay, auntie?" "Why, hay is hay, dear." "But what is hay made of?" "Why, hay is made of dirt, and water, and air." "Who makes it?" "God makes it, dear." "Does he make it in the daytime or night?" "In both, dear." "And Sundays?" "Yes, all the time." "Ain't it wicked to make hay on Sunday, auntie?" "Oh, I don't know. I'd keep still, "Willie, that's a dear. Auntie is tired." After remaining quiet a moment little Willie broke out: "Where do stars come from, auntie?" "I don't know; nobody knows." "Did the moon lay 'em?" "Yes, I guess so. Don't bother me." Another short silence, when .Willie I broke out: ' I "Benny says oxin3 is an owl, auntie; is theyf" "Oh, perhaps so." "I think a whale could lay eggs? ! don't you, aunties" I "Oh, yes; I guess so," said the shame; less woman. "Did you ever see a whale on his nest?" "Oh, I guess so." "Where?" "I mean no. Willie, you must be quiet; I'm getting crazy." ] "What makes you crazy, auntie?" "0 dear! you ask so many questions." "Did you ever see a little fly eat sugar?" "Yes, dear." "Where?" "Willie sit down on the seat and be still or I'll shake you. Now, not unother ' word!" | And the lady pointed her finger at the | little boy as if she were going to stick it ! through him. If she had been a wicked woman she would have sworn. There are 8,000,000 little boys like Willie in the United States, and half as many in England.?Boston Record. People Who Use Snuff. "Of course I sell snuff," replied one ol the leading tobacconists of Washington j to a question from a reporter, who had I been gazing with great curiosity at a row ! of tin boxes on a shelf in the rear of the (store. "There is a very good demand ! for snuff and I always keep it in stock, j But I sell to very few men. The fact is, ! that I know but one or two men who use snuff." "Who in the world are your customers then?" inquired the listener, with con "I 1- \ - - -1. -.! 4> siuerauie astumMimeut. "Why, the ladiea, of course," was the j reply, "Nearly all my customers are women, and I have quite a good trade. ! There are a certain class who use a great ! deal of snuff, but then the habit is not confined to any particular class. I know wives of members of Congress who are fond of tobacco in this form, and use a great deal of it." "I should think that their vanity would keep them from such a habit," said the reporter. "It makes the nose larger, | does it not?" J "They don't all snuff it. A great l many dip snuff. You know that habit I is very prevalent, especially in the Southern States. My customers, however, are not from any particular locality, but from all parts of the country. I think that the majority of people who use snuff dip it; that is, rub it over their gums with a small stick." "Is it an expensive habit?" "Not very, was the reply. "It don't cost as much as smoking and chewing, and in my opinion is much cleaner thau the last. The best snuff is Martinique, ! which costs about $1.25 per pouud. But | the article usually purchased costs fifty , and sixty cents per pound. There are ! not as many varieties made now as there j used to be when the habit was more i prevalent. Only standard brands are in j the market, and it may be said that the trade is dying out." The Army of the Revolution, | 1L IS liU L JJUM UV n V R.IIUHU nv/w umui j men from the colonics served in the war. ! The official tabular statement indicates a j total of recorded years of enlistment and | not a total of the men who served, j Hence, a man who s rved from April i 19, 1775, until the formal cessation of hostilities, April 1!), 1783, counted as eight men in the aggregate. In this basis of enlisted years, the following i table gives the contributions of the various States: New Hampshire 12.497 Massachusetts 09,1)07 j Rhode Isltui'l 5,DOS I Connecticut 31,1)3'.) j New York 17.7S1 I New Jersey JO,7:2 > Pennsylvania 25,0 7.S Delaware 2,3X0 Maryland 13,1)12 Virginia 20,078 North Carolina 7,21)3 South Carolina 0,417 Georgia 2,079 Total 233,771 ?Inter Ocmn. Comedy of Ages. ACT I. Merry age. ACT II. Mary age. ACT III. Marriage. ACT IV. Mary rage. ?Detroit Free Press. HOW TO GET STOUT. METHODS BY WHICH THIN PEI SONS GROW PLUMP. Leanness Hereditary in Some?Pe< pie Who are Obstinately Thin? Proper Food and Drinlc for the Meagre. Incomprehensible and improbable i the fact will naturally seem to fat mei there are in the community, says th New York Sun, persons who desire t become fat, who deplore their maciler plight, and yearn for adipose tissue. A eminent physician, to whom this questio has been submitted: "Can lean person be made'fat?" replied: "In nearly a cases where the person is not the victii of an emaciating disease?tabes, for iu stance?I should say yes, and even th sick are curable if they have not to much medical advice. But it is unden: able that there are those in whom th leanness is hereditary, and even those i whom it seems to be an unconquerabl condition without any inherited predij position. "As a rule, those who are obstinatel lean are persons of nervous, restless dis position, whose chronic inquietude is a insurmountable obstacle to their acquisi tion of adipose tissue, no matter what o how much they eat or drink. Nothin ? o rmArnnfoT" r\-f KOQ1 fTT fof u iO OO gyuu Ot puuiunbl \jA UV.M1WJ.j AUW u contented placidity of soul and easy, rest ful life. The man who worries abou things always is liable to look like starveling. A primary requisite, thee for the lean man who wishes to mol his straight lines and angles into seeml j curves is to take the world easy, t ; be guilty of nothing that will bring hai rowing remorse, and cherish no project that involve the fever and anxiety of an bition, to sleep much and well, to be call in waking hoars?letting the other f J low walk, if necessary?and imbue hi soul with a cheerful faith that everythin is for the best, and it is a very delightfi world that he lives in. Thus far, pei haps, the bachelor has better chance tVtA** 4-1?a Vmoknn^ Knf in fTio rfiaf rtf fli treatment they are equal. "The next thing to consider is die! In a general way, I should say that i would be a good idea to almost wholl reverse the dietectic system prescribe' for the reduction of corpulence, consum ing just the things that fat persons ar told to avoid. Plenty of sugar and stare would be desirable, and all the water drinks that the patient desires. Le him take potatoes, beets, turnips, bread honey, sugar, candy, pastry?if it is we! made and his stomach will stand itpoultry, beef, mutton, but little if an pork, for, though it is fattening meat, i really should not be eaten. I would no recommend to the fat-seeker either stron; coffee or tea, particularly the lattei Chocolate would be much better, an plenty of water, or milk with a littl lime water added, the best beverage c all. Oysters he should eat, and salmo: is the best fish for him. All sweet fruit* bananas especially, will do him good I In fact, the man who wishes to gain fa I can .have an infinitely varied bill of fare in which respect he is vastly more forte nate than he who wishes to lose fal whose diet must be limited to compara tively few things. Almost anythin and all he can eat of it, so long as h does not eat his way into a dyspepsit will help on the gaunt man's covete rotundity. "Of course he should exercise, jus enough to keep him healthful, to culti vate an appetite that he may eat mor and to promote digestion, that that whic, he eats may do him good. Not for hit the long, tiresome trot in flannels, th ever unsatisfied hunger and thirst, th hot baths, steaming and vigorous rub bing down of the pinguid person. Al he has to do is to study his comfort Ah! the man who intelligently undei takes to get fat has before him an exig tence that is to be envied." Another expert said to the Sun represen tativo: 4 'I would recommend the lean mai to take plenty of sleep and to avoid a] mnyr-rr +r/-mkla nnrl odrprp mental exei ! cise. Physical exercise should be planner and directed so as to gently work th whole body and limbs, taking one set c muscles after another in easy, regula order. That is the only true system o physical development, and is equal! : adaptable to all. That which reduce i the fat man will put weight on the lea 1 one, proper regulations of diet being aj I plied in each case suitable to the end 1 i view. I would not advise Turkish o j Russian baths for a lean man, but plair I ordinary baths, at summer heat, say sixtj I five degrees to seventy degrees, after es ! ercise, followed by friction enough t | keep the skin healthy. Weak tea doesn do any particular harm or any goo either in the matter of taking on flesh In training, cold, weak tea seems to hav ! rather a beneficial effiect on the throe sometimes, but the usefulness of it is nc conspicuous enough to constitute it aD part of my system. I would rather see i used in summer than ice water. There i j no particular difference, in training, b( ! tween the effects of tea and coffee, an j both, if taken at all, should be not to ' strong and consumed in moderation. Th i use of tobacco has a tendeney to keep I thin man thin, but the tiouble about i j is that persons addicted to its use are ap to carry it to excess, and then it has a injurious effect upon the heart. It i therefore best to let it alone if one wishe ^ - ii _ i. :ui~ ?^ j 10 attain iiitj t pus&iuiv; physical development. I "In practical experience, directing a i I do the physical training of a gria j many men, I find that almost every ma I get to put in condition, who is inclinci to be thin, in the course of six or sevei months gains seven or eight pounds o good muscle. That may seem smal when put on paper, but t ike a man o 125 pounds and bring him up to 132 o 133 pounds, with well placed muscle, am the difference it will make in his appear ance will be astonishing. The lean raai has one consideration to cheer and en courage him in perseverance that the fa man has not. That is that the results o his work continue, and are not lost a soon as he stops the process by whic] they have been attained. The fat irai who has worked .-:nd dieted until he ha got rid of his corpulence muse connnu to diet and work, or the fat is likely t come rushing on him nnch faster thai he got rid of it; but the muscle that tli lean man ^ets comes to stay, and hi continuance of the training that procurci ! if fni- liim ic nnlv :i matter Of his O'.V] choice for its increase. Between thirl; and forty years is the age at which, if man is ever going to take on flesh, he i most likely to do so. 'Would I reeom mend exercise or lonir walks bcfor< breakfast?' No; decidedly not. Tha notion is all a fallacy. Some men maj endure such treatment of themselves, bu nobody is likely t:> be benefited by it A little light calisthenics before breakfast may be permissible, and long breath of pure fresh morning air are advisable but real work, with an empty st omach is folly. It is as bad as violent excrcis on a full stomach. Nature rebels againjs it." ' - vt . . ... . THE ENGINEER'S STORY. Han'som, stranger? Yes, she's party an' ? peart ez she kin be. i* Clever? Wy! she ain't no chicken, bat she's good enough fur me. What's her name? 'Tis kind o' common, ytt I ain't ashamed to tell, _ She's ole "Fiddler" Filkin's daughter an' her dad he calls her "Nell." I wuz drivin' on the "Central" jis* about a year ago, . ' ^5 ^ On the run from Winn emu cca up to Reno, in Washoe. , ... jip&jt; u There's no end o' skeery places. Tain>fc a road fur one who dreams, With its curves an' awful trebles over rocks .e an' mountain streams. - 'Twuz an afternoon in August we hed got 11 behind an' hour i2lr^ n An' wuz tearin' up the mountain like a snron mer thunder shower, !3 Round the bends an' by the ledges Txmt ? 11 fast f>7. we could co. * With the mountain peaks above us an' tha river down below. e Ez we come nigh to a tro3'le cros't a holier, 0 deep and wild, Suddenly I saw a baby, twuz the station* l" keeper's child, _ e Toddlin' right along the timbers with a bold n an' fearless tread 0 Right afore the locomotive, not a hundred rods ahead. ' I jist jumped and grabbed the throttle an'I y fa'rly held my breath, Fur I felt I couldn't stop her till the child wax - crushed to death,. Wnen a woman sprang afore me like a sudl" den streak o' light, r Caught the boy an' twixt the timbers in a g second sank from sight 18 Ijist whisTd all the brakes on. An' to r^j worked with might aH' main '/, it Till the fire flew from the drivers, but we a couldn't stop the train, ! An' it rumbled on above her. How she ? screamed ez we rolled by, a An' the river roared below us?I shell heap it 7 till I die! -" Then we stop't; the sun wuz shinin'; I ran back along the ridge s An' I found her?dead? No! lirin'1 She L- wuz hangin' to the bridge ri Where she drop't down throT the croae-tias [. with one arm pbout a sill An' the other round the baby, who wuz yellin'fur to kill! (J . il So we saved 'em. She wuz gritty. She's es r_ peart ez she kin be? ' Now we're married; she's no chicken, bat she's good enough for me, 6 An' ef any ask who owns her, wy! 1 aint ashamed to tell? ; She's my wife. Ther1 ain't none better than nla USTbin'a /Iniio-htor NaII." y Eugene J. Hall, in the Current PITH AND POINT.ifi * ? y About face?Whiskers. it A kite ought to be made of fly paper. . SI The greatest bet ever made?The al11 phai,etGoes without saying?A deaf and * m J dumb man. )t A sailor who received a blowing-up ' from his girl calls her a wind-lass. A tunnel under the Irish Channel is i now talked of. The distance is twentye two mile3. if He?"Jove! Td like to be one!" She? a "Une wnatf" we?**uensus. u em?, braces 17,000,000 women."?Life. ' Customer?"What have you this moriing?" Waiter?"Heefsteak and fish; !> fish all gone. "What'll you have."? l" Judge. '* Rev. Sam Jone? ha? life insurance in various companies to the extent of $12,^ 000. All fire risks he takes hinueU.? . e Free Press. A Rondout man of small stature pives as a reason for his stunted growth that he was brought up when a baby oil [_ condensed milk.?Kingston Freeman. e "Too much absorbed in his business," h was the comment of a newspaper on the n ddath of a brewer who was found drowned e in a tank of his own beer.?French Joke. e "My pa," said one small boy, "is a preacher, and is sure to go to heaven." "Huh!" said the other boy, "that aint nothin'. My pa is a doctor, and can kill your old pa."?New York Sun. l" It is reported that a theatre hat for ladies has been invented which folds uo. " Let us protest against this innovation. "What we demand now is a bonnet which ; will fold down.?Boston Transcript. ^ "Do you believe this story told by the e police that they are n > gambling houses running in. Chicago?" "Yes. Why r should they run? There's nothing for them to be afraid of."?Chicaqo News. y A good deal is being said lately about a the ability of young wives to cook. The a ability of young husbands to provide >- them with someth ng to c;ok ought not1 n to be entirely left out of the question.? ir Call. i, A little Rochester girl drew the picture r- of a uo^ and a cat on her slate, and call> ing her mother's attention to it said: "A o cat oughtn't to have but four legs, but I 't drew it with six so she could run away d from the dog." ' ' - . m *+ * n 1 1 f X ( ' A petrinea aog was exnumea irom ine e remains of a prehistoric village in Switzerland recently. How long it had been there scientists were unable to say, 7 but it is supposed to have belonged to the sausage.?Lowell Citizen. is ? >. Judge?"You attacked this gentled man; you knocked him down and robbed o him of his watch."- Prisoner?"Your ,e Honor is right. But if I had not taken a the initiative who can tell but that he it might have done the same thing to me?" it ? Graphic. n The word salary comes from the Latin is salarium, literally salt money, from sal, is salt, which was part of the pay of Roman >f soldiers. This will probably explain why certain young ladies regard young .s men who receive meagre salaries as be;t ing entirely "too fresh."? Norristmon n Herald. A lady paying a call brings a baby 11 snmft chocolate drous. On leaving she | asks if hehaseateif them all. 4'I kept | some of them," replied the sagacious * child. "How considerate I You wanted F tnem for your little sister, r.o doubt." "Oh, no! I wanted them for to-morrow." ?T'id-Bit s. a Three-year-old Maggie had never seen t any one who was quite bald except her f grandfather, whom she had once or twice s visited. A gentleman called one day to b see her father, an.t taking off his hat, i) showed a very bald head. Maggie re* - i i - * l.: 1 j s j garded Inm wonaenngiy ior u wuue, aim e ! finally venturing nearer, asked, curiouso ly: "Is that your huad?'?Harper's a Bazar. o ''You can't avoid a stroke of lightning s by dodging," say* a newspaper item. 1 This is a very long-headed statement,and n will probably cause a sensation when it 7 gets out. It is equally impossible to a avoid a stroke of lightning by going out ' 11 1 I- -3 ~ ' 4- ~ 1 ii fUja n i ti r* a K/mt * ) TUG DUUK UUUl anu IClJliig iuc umv*/ - to say you are off on a fishing trip and i won't "be back for two weeks.?EsteUint t {Dak.) Bell. '' These liveried coachmen in Boston look extiemely dignified, sitting Hke statues and holding their whips at the ~b most recherche angle against tkeir knees, !but they act very rnucn nice ordinary mor'? tals, after all, when the irreverent small l' boy across the street gets a bean blower e and sets out for his own satisfaction to "find out whether it is alive."?Somerville Journal.