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F ?>*.' OUT ON THE PLAINS Boom! Room to turn round in, to breathe and be free, And grow to be giant?to s-ail as at sea With the speed of the wind oa a steed with his maue To the wind?without pathway or route or a rein. Room! Room to be fres where the whitebordered sea Blowsa Id s to a brother as boundless as he; And to east and to west, t j the north an I the sun, Blue skies and brown grasses are wielded as one, Ami the buffalo coma like a clou 1 on the plainPouri ug on like the tide of a storm-driven main; And the lodge of .the hunter to friend or to foe Offers re^t, and unquestioned you come or you go! My plains ot America' b'eas of vvild land! From a laud in the sea* with a raiment of foam, That has reached to a stranger the welcome of home. I turn tc you, lean to you, lift you my hand! ?Joit'iuin Miller. AN ELOPEMENT. . rBT SUSAN ARCHER WEISS. It was while on a summer excursion amon^ the mountains, not very many years ago, that 1 met with my fate, as my rcade-s will'esruif they have j>a neiit'U LU uu.u mjr oivtj. I had ju-a concuded my college course :ind my fond parents, proud of their s n, but uneasy on the score of his health vtliey never k iC\v, nor did the professors, how much I paid poor Jack Harding for those Greek and J.at'u exU." erci&esi insisted uponiuy "recuperating'" before entering upon my low practice. So up into tLc mountains we went, I and Sancho. for a fortnight's eujoyrnentof country air and hunting. ban-.l.o was my dog. a fine, handsome fellow, who, from a certain sturdy obstinacy, which foraied one of his traits, must have had a strain of bull dog in him. I had purchased him iu my college days from a student friend, and had taught him mauy clever and interesting tricks, such as to red across the room, to h >wl iu chorus to a s:>ng, and what was more useful if not so orna nental, to puard auy articlc entrusted to his keeping, such as a huudker Uief, a book or a lettir, and fiercely resist any attempt to interfere with the same. This accomplishment I now found useful, as in my bathing and swimming excursions I could fearlessly leave my clothing, guu and watch iu ^ancho's chargc, sure of finding them safe on my return. Only once had i any one dared intereferc with "the dog on these occasions, and he had borne the marks of Sanclio's teeth for many a day i after. I had been about a week iu ray country j retreat, a dull little village in a mountain j gorge, when I o e day set forth on a | gunning excursion, now and then uiak-1 ing a sin cc sful shot, which Sancho | hailed with the wildest enthusiasm. At1 ?*? 1% * I a nflooin ce tlirrmnrn ft fliinnv j ICUglll, ?u?v j glade; of a beech wood, my eye was caught by a sin ill object bobbing in and out behind a huge tree trunk, and which, on lojkin^ closcly, I discovered to be a bird of peculiar colors--white, black and crimson. JJngCi- to securc this ornithological prize, 1 raised my picje, took deliberate aim and fired, when instantly the report was followed by a clou 1 of feathers, and?a woman's shriek. Running toward the spot I discovered a beautiful young girl, pale with fright, while at her feet lay a sketching portfolio und a straw hut, the latter ornamented with the remnant of a stulTed bird, which at oncc explained to me the nature of the catastrophe. Overwhelmed with confusion, I stood dumbfounded, while the young lady, after bestowing upon me one reproachful look, sank upoa the mossy bank and burst into tears. "How could you haveb?en so cruel?" ?he sobbed. ''I am sure I?I?never ?% harmed you." "Indeed,I beg ten thousand pardons. "' so- I said, earnestly. l,It was a most stupid ana unioriunaie uiuimer yii mv |>un,; uut you were hidden behind the tree, and I only saw the bird on your hat." ' Are you sure that you didn't do it to frighten me?" she answered, looking up doubtfully. "Certainly. Good l.cavcns! yon can't pos-ibly imagine that I could have been so brutal? 1 only saw the bird, which I took to be a live woodpecker, and--" "A woodpecker!"' she interrupted disdainfully. "Why, it was an oriole. As if I would wear a woodpecker in ray hat! And you camc near killing iue:''she dded, with afresh burst of tears. These woids ;md the sight of her distress went to my heart. In fact, they brought me to my knees, literally. I plumped down in the moss at her feet, intent upon pouring out my (ontrition and imploriug forgiveness. 1 ut u:ifortunately the mo3s concealed a shallow pool, and I came down with a splash which sent the min-y drops Hying on all sides. Here whs a second awkward blunder. I felt the blood rush to my face as 1 realized ihe lud crousnes? of my position. My fair coraj:aui'>n redi/.ed it tiso?lor sne DroKCinioa rainer Hysterical lit of laughter, iu whi h 1 was presently competed to join. So there were we, two entire strangers, facing each other and laughing aw:iy, I must i-ay it, in the most id otic uiann r. I was the first to wcov< r composure. I picked up the scatteie 1 sketches, took from Sancno the remains of the unfortunate oriole, and placing them by their fair owner's side seated myself on a root of the tree to await her recovery. Thereupon fclie wiped her eyes, pushed back her disheveled gulden lia r, and said, half apologetically: ' You must tliink me very silly, but it is all 'oo funny." Then she noticed Sancho, who had 8tret< hed himself at her feet, and praised v~ him and ask'd his name; and so by degrees we got into an easy talk in which we learned a great deal about each other. I let her know who I was and that I had iust honorably nassed mv colleye exam ination, and she confided to me that lier name was Cora Mad; I en, and tiiat she was ward of her uncle, vSqui.c Madden, upon whose gro nds it appeared I was it this moment inadverdently trespassing. and that she was just home from the Mis us ."picks' Select Academical School. Fli had h itfd tin place, hut would prefer returning there to living at Madden Hall, where was no society nor amusement of any kind. Of course I sympathized with her, and before parting had asked and obtained l ermission to call upon her at the Hall. From my landlody I that evening lea: ned something more about Miss Madden. She was nn heiress?"a real heiress ' Mrs. Chubb assured me?and her uncle was doin# his utmost to secure her and her property for his only son, a young man of no great brilliancy, but of ery expensive habits who resided in k the same town with myself. This pre pared me for the not over-cordial recep- j tion which I met with at Madden Hall, where the Squire greeted me gruffly and his maiden sister, Miss Penelope, sat during my visit with a piece of knitting in her hand and a forbidding expression of countenance, apparently Resolved not to leave the parlor while I remained. Tiiis occurre I again and again?until it is no wonder that I took to watching the fair Cora in her strolls and sketching ex pe titions about tha grounds, or that wc I both found a ramble down to a secluded lane or a chat under the beech tree wliere j we had first met more interesting than the still parlor visits with Miss Pene- I lope as a third and the old Squire scowl- J ing at a dUtancc as I took my departure. In one of these interviews Cora assured me that she cared nothing for "Cousin 'i'om'' beyond a cousinly regard, and that if she had ever for a moment given him encouragement it was only because ?because, no one else had offered whom she could love. This naive confession brought matters to a crisis, and the re- I suit was a: d-nt vows and a solemn pledge of engagement, with a promise on her j part that she would marry me .just as soon as I could make some arrangements i and return to eiaiin her. "Wc agreed that an elopement would be best, as securing ourselves against the annoyance of opposition aud perhaps persecution from her relatives. This would require some I necessary preparations on my part, in- | volving a week's abscnce, and "so, with ! many fervent vows, we parted, I bestowing upon her-as au invaluable token of ray ardent allcction, my dog Sancho, to whom she had taken a great fancy, of' wli ch the f.iithHI fellow manifested a grateful appreciation. "He will be a protector to you." I said,' tenderly, "in your lonely walks, and especially, should there occur any difficulty in y >ur oining me when I return. No one will dare to interfere with you or with anything belonging to you where Sancho is present." It was over a week when I returned, armed with money, license and everything else that was neccssary to the carrying out of our plans. At the hotel I heard that .Mr. Tom Maddcm wai at home, and that he and Miss Cora walked and rode out every evening together, accompanied by Sancho. Thereupon I wrote to Coia, requcstingthat she would meet me at some time and place of her own Minncinrr wllfrft \VA micrhfc flnallv | arrange our elopement. This note was . conveyed by a little cowboy in her uncle's service, and who on the followin}; morning, in taking hi9 nerd to pasture, delivere.I to me the following reply, written in a trembling hand: ' This evening at G you will find a letter from me at the foot of the b e; h tvee where we first mot. If you lavo mo do not miss it. Everything <iep3nds upou yoar.getting it in time. Your own, C." Thi3 brief and emphatic not( rather alarmed me. What had happened or was about to happen that she should be io earnest and so mysterious to me? However, of ( ourse. the letter would explain, and so long before 0 o'clock I was on my way to the appointed place. The beech stood not one hundred yards from a f< nee forming a division line between the Madden estate and the one adjoining. Passing thr -ugh by means of a 1 >oso plank of which 1 had before made use, I came in sight of the tree. >Iy breast give a hound, for there I saw pinned down low upon its trunk a patch of white paper, and b 'side it, with head erect and watchful eve, lay that noble and faithful creature Sancho, jealously guarding the treasure entrusted to him by his fair mistress At sight of me the djg looked curiously and doubtfully wagged his tail. I called him, but he rcfu-cd to move, and as I conti mcd to advance he raised his upper lip and uttered a low snarl, "Why, ?a:icho, ol I fellow," I said soothingly, '-don't you hnow me r'' Sancho slightly wagged the tip of his tail in a'linnative, but at the same time showed his teeth. I knew him too well not to h'/el these signs; but what on earth had set the animal against me? Ilad he lost all sense of his pist allegiance, or what was more probable, was his sense of honor and nttachmcnt to his new owner stronger than any remembrance of past obligation to me? In vain I coaxed, in vain I threatened. When I called him he wagged his tail, but refused to stir; when I picked up a sti. k he cowered little, but kept his place. It was only when I ventured to approach toward the letter that he rose to his feet and with bristling neck and gleaming teeth and eyes warned meolf. What was I to do? I knew that if I nerai ted the doc would certainly seize me. Tiic unprateful beast! A thousand times I cur ed the trick that I had taken such pains to teach him, never dreaming that it would lead to my own undoing And lure he would lie till midnight, perhaps, keeping that letter out of my reach. No matter. I would stay, too, and tire him out. So feigning a retreat I sat down on a rock at some distance to await the result. For three hours Pancho kept his post, only occasionally moving uneasily around. H-; was hungry and wanted his s ipper. i At last, after apparently a long deliberation with himself, and in an evidently distressed state of mind expressed by more than one pla:ntivc howl,he walked i several times nround the tre.', scratched a little moss and dirt over the letter and tiotted ofT home. Now was my time? and seizing upon the precious missive I litirriorl limrw-wjirfl fiflnrer tf> nfTUSO ? ? "? O A its contents. It was nearly 10 o'clock when in my room at the hot el I opened and read the note which was as follows: ".l/i/ pmims IJitrry: "I fear they have discovered our design, 1 for they are makiug preparations for our all going to Europe immediately. We are to go on tlio Servia which sails Tuesday. Uncle lias just told me that we must leave here tonight by the 10 o'clock train. If you love me, Harry, l>e at the depot when we arrive, an.i watch at the cast door of tha la lies' waiting room. We can slip off iu the dark and take the southern bound train. If you fail I shall Know that you care nothing :or "Your ever devoted "Coiia." Need I tell of what followed?of how I madly rushed for the depot, in time to behold t ie train moving away with a mocking sh ic-k, while Mr. Tom Madden stood smiling 011 the platform? Of how i I followed on the; next train to New I ? ?.. 1 ? ?? .1 :.j i ori\, nuu luauui^ iu iuu ]jiu? iuu af;ir o!T the Servia di-appearing upon the wide waste of waters? Even then I would have followed on the next steamer had uot my friends dissuaded me and urged me to w.iit Cora's return, when, they said, the matter could be amicably settled. J>ut, a1a>! when the Maddens returned from their four months' trip I read on the li-.t of the sam-j Servians passengers the names of ".\lr. .John Madden. Miss I'enelcpe Madden and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Madden," and I knew that Cora Wiis lost to me forever! It is not long since I pa=scd her riding on the avenue in an elegant turnout, looking very handsome and, I must say it, very happy. There wa< a liveried footman and coachman and on the box beside the latter sat that treacherous and ungrateful dog, Sancho, reveling in a silver collar and, as I could almost swear, turning up his nose at me as I passed.? Detroit Free Press. r FREDERICKSBURG. STORY OF THE BATTLE BY A PARTICIPANT. Moving Toward the Front?Fi:jht Between theJFederalsiiml a North Carolina Bri^afle ? Retreat Across the River. A writer in the New York Commercial i Advertiser who was a Federal soldier at | Fredericksburg gives the following acI count of that battle: Our corps, the First, under General John F. Reynolds, who was destined to a glorious death at Gettysburg, and the bixth corps, under General "Baldy" Smith, formed the left grand division, commanded by General Franklin, and we held the left of our line. It was dark when we bivouacked in the fields below the city. A mile in front of us we could fee the dim outlines of the woods, sparkling with countless campfires. We were not allowed to light our tires, because they would ha.e served as targets for the enemy, s>o we rolled up in our blanket* and slept as tired men only can. In the early dawn some batteries to our left favored us with a vigor! ous shelling, but I slept through it all, and was only convinccd that it had occurred when I saw its effects in the shape of dead and wounded men and hordes. About 0 a. >r. our brigade moved further to the left, and toward the front. In my company were a'xnit thirty recruits?country lads, who had never been under fire. As our column reached the crest of a little hill, over which the rond r>as.scd. a sudden sputter broke from a Confederate battery"near us, and a storm of canister whistled high over our heads. We were on vary muddy ground at the moment, but those recruits dropped flat in the mire, like sd many ninepins. A ronr of laughter from the older soldiers probably convinced them that they hid not been killed, and they fought gallantly to a man before the day ended. A few moments later one of our light batteries, the horses at the gallop and the guns and caissons jumping and plunging, dashed across the head of our column and came into battery clo>e by us. As we looked at them a Confederate shell,fatally well a med, struck one of the caissons and exploded it. There was an awful roar, and as the smoke lifted aconiused mass of mangled bodies of men and horses was all that remained of the caisson. We were posted in a sunken road, running parallel to the railroad. Ilere we were perfectly sheltered from the enemies' fire, and here we remained for some time, listening to the noise of battle ou our right. After a time it seamed nearer, and there was sharp musketry firing in our front. Then a stal officer galloped up to our colonel, who commanded the brigade, and we were called to attention. My company was on the extreme right, ?ind jiq T was a tall, lathv vounjrster. I was in one of the tiles on tho right. I remember looking down our l:ne and noticing the dilferent expressions on the faces. Here and there were the born soldiers?eager, excited, but fearless; others, seasoned veterans?the}', preparing for the charge, in a cool, businesslike manner, many of them biting oil a fresh chew of tobacco. There were paie faces and stupid faces, but I saw none that looked like coward faces. At the word wc climbed the embankment and emerged into the open ground. Iu front of us was a level field that had been covered with corn, but it was entirely bare, except for occasional heaps of corn-stalks piled up for fodder. A few hundred yard; before us was a brigade of Massachusetts men, just closing its ranks to retire, and we moved rapidly up to take their place, and then were ordered to lie down while they uncovered out front. Fioin the front a sharp musketry lire was kept up, and as the brigade before us moved off by tl e flank I could see the men drop off here and there,and 1 could hear their o'ficers as they closed up the broken files. Very proudly th.y marched by u<, keeping step and dressing their sets or lour as 11 marciung to parade, and apparently indifferent to the bullets singing about their ears. They were ordered for\va:d again. In front of us, and parallel to our charging line, was the railroad track, and from the ditch on the further side a brigade of North Carolina troops kept up a lively fire, but did not ch ck our advance. Breaking into a run, wc reached the first ditch and sprang over it to the track. A large pirt of the North Carolina brigade had already started toward the wood in their rear, but as I looked up and down I saw hundreds of the gray-coated fellows, crouched in the bjttorn of the ditch, offering no resistance. Many of them displayed white handkerchiefs on bwurd or bayonet points in token of surrender, but in the excitement of the moment ] saw some of our men tire tnmr rules along the line of the captured enemy, an I such a shot could hardly fail of a human target. The open space between the railroad and the wood was doited with the broken fragments of this brigade, and I though our line halted and opened tire, J a number of our men rushed forward, and as a result we took many prisoners. I Jt was only necessary, as a rule, to run up close to one of the stampeded graycoats and call out: "Go to the rear, Johnny!" to induce the man to drop his rille and turn back to our line. But this was not always the case. I ran up neai a handsome young officer, who was trotting leisurely toward the woods, and | gave him the usual hail. He turned his i head toward me, and with a bright, I good-natured smile, replied: "Oh,no!" j 1 halted and covered him with my rifle, | and called to him again: "Go to the I rear, or I'll shoot!" Again he looked I around, fearless and smiling, and shook j his ln'ad. My eluty was plain?he wa? I not thirty feet from me, and I uuuht tc [shoot him?but Icouldn't do it. I tired i away over his head; he waved his hand ; to me and plunged into the woods. I The edge of the woods was skirted lij ; a ditehfor drainage, end those of as win, ; had advanced ahead of the brigade ! found shelter there for a few moments, j Then our line came tip to us, and the en| tiic brigade entered the wood, advanced some distance and became hotly engaged with :i Confederate line. There was little underbrush and the timber was large, and our fellows a< copted the shelter it : offered. I found an cnormo :s stump : which covered two of m very well, and ! there we worked away vigorously, tiring I ut the dim gray line in front of us. Once, j while loading, my ramrod was knocked away by a bullet, and I fouud anothr rifle in consequence. ****** Under the shelter of the sunken road we rested and reckoned up our losses. They had been great, of course, but the woods had protected us, and we had not suffered as severely as many other com: tnands. Now, however, after the ex1 citement of the battle, we suffered much from hunger, and mere from thirst. The saltpetre from the powder cra:ked our lips and added to our thirst, and I saw men drink greedily from tho muddy water that stood in the ruta made by cannon wheels, Soon after, eomo of us were sent out to for:n a skirmish line in 1 the cornfield, but after lying under a, desultory fire for an hour or two we were recalled, and the brigade was posted in a . meadow still further toward the left, llerc we were allowed to send out a party with c:in :eens, and we found plenty of water That night,ns we lay under our blankets, the sKie< were illuminated by the most gorgeous notheru lights I have ever seen. Not the more nasties 01 yenow light, but superb shi ets of crimson and gold that waxed and waned slowly. A more memorable occurrence to us, how1 ever, was the arrival of some big sacks < of hard tack and bacon. It is my impression that I devoured two days' rations before I slept, and I also remember that the next morning I found that the hard i tack was especially "wormy"?I counted, in fact,several species of bugs and worms i in one cracker. All the next day we lay in the open fields under a lazy fire from distant batteries, which didn't do much damage, 1 but was by no means pleasant. We an> ticipated another desperate attack on the enemy, but, in fact, General Burnsidc was occupied in planning our retreat across the river. As soon, indeed, as the short December diy ended, our troops j were hurried over the bridges. As our brigade was near the extreme left we i knew nothing of the retreat until the la t moment, and our men had rolled up . in their blankets. Wakeful myself, I was sitting up, and looking toward the wco;led heights, I i could see by the light of the enemies' ! fires, long columns of troops moving ! rapidly from their left towaid their l centre, and I think, in the morning, we i should have received a crushing attack on our c.-ntre, which might have ended i in a terrible, if not irremediable, disaster , to our army. As I sal there in very unquiet moud. an o Hccr ca-r.e up and noisei lessly aroused our men. We were ordered . to fall in without a sojnd, and were n or. Vip/l hit k tn the rivdr and urn i iluij ii ~ ? aross the bridge. Th; entire army was ; crossed in this manner, without los3, and . I think every man rejoiced, ns I know I . did, when his feet srnk in the mire on the northern side of the bridge. The Monarchs of the Sen. 1 Ocean travel, writes Frank G. Car1 penter, is rapidly changing, ard the , ' steamboat ii improving as fast its the j railroad train. The first ocean steamer was built near New York in 181 it, and j she made a trip across the Atlantic one ' j year later. She was Darned tha Savan!jnah; slie was of :ibO tons burden, and ' I when she came into Liverpool, after a ', passage of twenty-live days, she was the 1) wonder of all the world. The big ocean steamship of to day is of from 4,000 to ! 8,10J tons, ar.d she makes her pas-age 1 fiotn New York to Queenstown in from j 1 six days and a few hours to twelve or I thirteen days. Some shipowners now i j assert that the passage across the At!an- i . ! tic will soon be made in four days, and I j the engine, r cf this vessel tells me that i fast ocean travel is fully as safe, though | ; j saw the blaze of their entrances, ieit inc ' I consuming heat of their surroundings,and | j talked with the sweaty, sooty men who j were kept at them all day shoveling coal, 11 Dante's Inferno did not seem very far of!, and Hades was personified before me. The faster steamers have 100 men to atteud to their furnaces. They must bo I kept going night and day, and the labor j is very hard. The furnaces are so hot I that the men must drink great quantities j of water, arid here they mix the water .! with oatmeal, and each man consumes j gallons daily. This is necessary to keep II up the inspiration. In such a heat if a j man cannot sweat he will die. i _ . A Unique It ail road. There is a little, narrow ^auge rail* J road in central Illinois which is rather ; amusing. It runs through a rich farming country and is owned and managed 1 , -1 * rru ~ by weaitnv larmera. mc tuiiuugiui.i, I engineers anil brakemen are farmers' | sens who have grown weary of raising cattle and corn and who have taken to ( "railroading" as a relief. The various . stations along the line of this little raii| road are ol" no consequence whatever, except to i:hcir score or more of inhabitants and to the farmers of the , neighborhood. A train starts fro.11 each end of the road every morning after , breakfast, runs to the opposite end of the road by dinner time, returns again , for ten, and tics up fur the night. As there is no t elegraph line connec ted with the road nobody at any of the stations ( ' knows when a train is coming until it ( I arrives in sight. As the rails are laid on j ties placed 011 the flat prairie an I as no J grade exists from one end of the road to . the other, the tall grass has an awkward , habit of getting under the wheels and I stopping the train. N->t infrequently ' also the light rails spread apart and the I now rim ntt tlw> trnr>k :inil itO tlimblin!? along on the virgin prairie. Whenever I a little accident of this kind occurs the | engineer, conductor, brakemen and passengers jump to the gro.ind and lift the cars into place a^ain. The passengers ride in a car reserved for them in the rear of a long line o' freight cars. Half of this car is partitioned oil in order that it may also serve for carrying moil bags, i express matter and baggage. Not infrequently passengers walk into ft village ; ahead of the train and announce that the cars will follow tliem in an hour or two, providing they can be kept on the track long enough. Sometimes a locomotive gets stalled on some one of the several gentle hills along the line. The traini men thereupon quietly wait until the other engine appears. Then the two engines draw the train up the hill. Notwithstanding the oddities which exist in the management of this little railroad it hauls large quantities of freight, and is making money for its stockholders.? Chicago Hews. CRIMINALS. I < THEIR WAYS DESCRIBED BY 1 A CHIEF OP DETECTIVES. Extracts From Inspector Byrnes's Book?Methods of Bank Burglars? Robbing Country Banks?Hotel Thieves. ( l r Inspector Byrnes, chief of the New s York detectives, says in his new book, i ''Professional Criminals of America:" x "Qnmft 1 vn rot n m o bo flirt?** nnrn T uviu^ uui^ioio tucia^ tiiuii wnti uui,- fit, but almost any blacksmith will make t any tool he is called upon for, if its con- r. Etruction is within his capacity, without } asking any questions about the uses i to which it is to be put, provided he gets } his price for it. It is, of course, more i than probable that he guesses the use for t which't is intended, but that, he thinks, i is not his business. The making of I s:ich implements is, as a lule, confined to s those mechanics who are actually in a league with the criminals who expect to I use them. The heavy and unwieldy a tools of years ago have bsen abandoned i by the modern bank robber with his new t inventions. While some bank thieves * us*? the spirit lamp and blow pipe to < soften the hardened metals and take the 1 temper out of the steel vault doors or i eases, others use only a small diamond ^ pointed driil. Then again, others, who r rlc not care to spend time manipulating t !lhe intricate combination, use a simple port of mechanics, technically called the * ' drag" and "jnckscrew." The former, t isimtile as it looks, is extremely powerful f And so quiet. By means of a bit a hole t is bored through a safe door; a nut is set ' Inside; the point of the screw passes i through the nut, wiiich rests inside the t surface that has been bored; then the ? Fcrew is turned by a long handle, which f two men can operate. As the screw turns, the nut is forced forward further 1 and further. It is a power that hardly 1 any construction of safe can resist. 1 n *.1. _ -1_ i.1. _ r l ~i. < Ciicner wie uaca. or me iruut must give ? ?vay. "The jackscrew is rigged so that by turning it will noiselessly force into the crack of a safe door a succession of steel wedges; first, one as thin as a knifeblade; soon, one as thick as your hand; and they increase in size until the hinges give way. Where the size or the location of the safe or vault to bs forced precludes the use of these machines, and explosion becomes nccessary, dynamite j and nitro-glycerine are ussd with the greatest skill, and with such art in the deadening of sound that sometimes an explosion which rends asunder a huge safe cannot be heard twenty yards away from the room in which it takes place. "The patient safe robber is aware of several ingenious ways of picking combination locks. In following their nefarious calling thc?e men attain a delicacy of feeling by which they are able to determine to a nicety the exact d:stance i necessary to raise each tumbler of the ! lock. The burglar masters a combination with almost mathematical accuracy, and manipulates its complex machinery with the same dexterity and precision that a music-teacher touches the keys of a piano. He i9 trained ! to detect one false note in a ] swelling chorus prod cad by the click 1 of reverberating ratchets within the 1 lock, and marks the period and duration * of the drops. When they come across < some new kind of lock, they will man- 1 age to get possession of one, whatever its I! cost, and whatever round-about means j] may be necessary to get hold of it, and, |1 taking it apart, will study its construc-1 1 tion until they know its strong and weak ] points, and how to master it, just as well as its inventor or maker could. They * are always on the alert to utilize for 1 their purposes every new appliance of ( power." ] The Inspector's chapter on bank sneak < thieves will probably have a mournful J interest to the cashier or the paying i teller of many a country bank, and there i are some bank employes in the cities 1 who will projt by a careful perusal of ' the methods of these slippery gentry. ' The Inspector says: "In robbing country banks, where the clerks are few, and generally during the dinner hour the casliier or paying teller is the only man left in the institution, ; sneaks have a simple and easy scheme , for plundering. One tirst enters the bank and engages the cashier or teller in conversation upon a subject in which the latter becomes deeply interested. While j fVi'o ia rrninrr nn a rnrriace halts at the ! ?.?*.? 6"-"& " ? ? o door, and the driver is sent in to tell the official inside that a gentleman who has hurt his' leg and is unable to walk desires to speak to him outride. The unsuspecting cashier or teller excuses himself .to his first visitor and goes out to speak to the injured man, and in his absence the bank is ransacked. l?ob- : beries of this kind are committed quite ! frequently, and gangs of sneaks travel; all over the country with a circus or; wil'l beast show. In th1 towns aid small j citie3 the parade of tne performers | creates considerable excitement, and when the cavalcade happens to pass a ! bank, the clerks, cashiers nnd paying j tellers seem to forget themselves and run j to the windows to look but. The sneak thieve3 tako advantage nf fV>o Aitnnrlnnitv nnd ouietlv ! vi ~rr~; j t y I slip into the institution. In a twinkling ' their work is complete, and before the | procession has passed they have escape\ ' with whatever they could lay hinds on. ! "If, while watching about a bank, a i large chock is cashed and the customer turns aside to a desk to count the money, the rogues generally succeed in getting a portion of the (ash. The thief will d:op a bill upon the floor, and a3 the man ha? arranged liis pile of note?, the I criminal will politely tell him that he ' has dropped some of his money. "When ! the former stoops down to pick up the j greenback, th: sneak will steal a portion | of the cash upon the desk, a'id walk off ; unquestioned. They are not greedy in , ventures of that sort, but they secure j eno.igh, with almost comparative safety, I and arc content. Heated argumeuts invaribly follow thefts of this 3">rt. After counting his money, the depositor goes back to the teller and insists that lie is short. The teller is equally positive that he paid out the proper amount, and in most cases a disruption of commercial relations is the culmination of tho dispute. "Writing about hotel thcives, Inspector T> . UJfl.loiDi.ja. ' When the unsuspecting prey, fatigued by travel,gives proof of hi* unconsciousness by deep stertorous breathing, the hotel thief steals silently fro n his hiding place. A slight push raiy let him enter the apartment, or it may be necessary to use a gimlet and a small piece of crooked wire to slide back the bolt, or a pair of nippers to turn the key left 011 the inside in the lock, from the corridor. Sometimes as many as a dozen rooms in the same hotel have been plundered in one night and none of the watchmen saw or heard the thief. The old style of climbing through transoms or unkeyed windows is at present not much in vogue. The hotel thief can carry his entire outfit in his vest pocket and can laugh in his sleeve at the commoa bolts and burs. rhe much boasted of chain-bolt can now oe drawn back from the outside with >nly a piece of silk thread having a natch tied to one end of it." Young Orange Groves. An article in the Chautauquan by 0. VI. Snyder gives a pleasing view of or inge culture, and of native orangejrovcs: In the hummock lands of Florda the native orange-groves arc found. These were originally so dense that in ioine places it was almost impossible to nake way through them. Some of the nost profitable groves were made by thinling out these sour stumps and budding hose remaining with the sweet orange. Those taken up are re-planted on pine>inc land, and budded. A natural grove n its wild state, says Mr. Snyder, is a jeautiful sight, as it is generally found n the heart of some heavily wooded secion, where through the veils of hnnging noss with which the tress are covered, >eep the golden fruit and snowy blosoms. The native orange tree is an unymmetrical growth, probably so from )eing crowded and shut up amon<* larger md overhanging trees. From the time t is budded, however, and receives light, :irculation, and room to expand, it nakes the shapeliest of trees. A bearing >rauge-tree is about equal in size to our arger apple trees, and can be easily nade to grow in a globular form so that, vhen a number of them are systematicilly arranged, the effect is most beauti:ul. Hummock land is frequently selected or the planting of an orange-grove, as ;he soil will not require enriching for ive or six years after setting out the rees? a great point to the orange-grower. The most satisfactory groves,however, are 'ound on pine lan-is, where, although ;he soil ha9 to be fertilized, are to be seen iome of the finest a..d most profitable ?roves of Florida. Ia making an orange-grove on pine and, a strip of ground is selected on which there is a fair average of large pines. This is cleared, fenced, ploughed ind planted, at a cost of about eighty iollnrs per acre. The trees are planted n rows, Irom twenty to forty feot apart, ind th'.n commences the slow and often ;edious proccss of nursing the seedling :rees into maturity. When five-year old (weet stocks are used, careful cultivation will bring the grove into bearing within ive or six years from the planting; and fvhen five-year old sour stocks are planted ind budded, a grove can be made to bear ib ut two years sooner. ' While the care of a growing grove is interesting and delightrul work to one svho enters into it earnestly, it is also unremitting, or must be when good and jpecdy results are reached. The plough is kept lightly going between the rows, ind is followed by ihe harrow, for it is accessary to subdue the grass so that all ivailabh nourishment may be absorbed by the tree. Wheu the ground is thus kept clean, the roots reach out more rapidly, and tho tree will show in acjeler jtcd growth the difference between clean ind negligent culture. A great many ) range growers mulch heavily by making i covering of pine-nccdles about the roots of the trees. During the latter part of February the roves of Florida are in blossom?a period never to be forgotten by those kvho have experienced its delights. The neather has not yet lost the agreeable :emperateness produced by the influence jf lingering winter at the North, and this, together with the countless blossoms, so perfect both in formation and fragrance, forms one of Florida's most attractive features. The fragrance from i large grove in blossom is almost overpowering. The most interesting event in connection with an orange gro^e, for more rcajons than one, is when the fruit begins to ripen. Certain varieties ripen in the latter part of August, but the majority Df the crop is ready for picking from the last of October until January. This is the period selected by shrewd land igents for bringing investors to inspect i grove: for if ever one desire? to own what his eyes behold, an orange-grove with its golden crop certainly prompts the desire. t _____ . Cariosities of the Human Yoice. It has long been known that the inhalation of various volatile substances is capable of producing cert lin modifications in the human voice; and of lata years attempts,more or less legitimate in their application, have been made to give -this kuowlcdge a practical form. Au interesting series of experiments bearing on this subject have been made before the Societe Medicale du Pantheon, Paris, by Dr. Sandras, in which, by means of different inhalations, varying from one to twelve, he produced marked I variations in the intensity, tone and timber of the voice. He could not only confer upon the persons so treated the peculiar voice of the confirmed inebriate, out, what is more to the point, he could ?temporarily at any rate?remove it J when pK-aflftot. The uQf$ produced b^ iue same larynx were i2dd<} of high or i low pitch at will; and the ra:ige of the j voice could bo notably increased, wnue | harshness or sweetness could be made to alternate. The substances employed for this purpose are not ne\V; it is only their i application, which may be said to bo novel. Tar, water, alcohol, ether and various essent'al oils constitute the ^battery" for inhalation purposes. The most | curious part of the experiments i? the! accuracy which certain well defined effects are said to be obtained. Thus, a certain number of inhalations of ong kind will diminish the compass by so many notes, while another will confer an addit'onal eight or ten; some even liinilj the range to live or six notes.- Britisi Medical Journal. t " Ninety and Nine.'' Sankey, the revival singer, tells of hh favorite song and the way it originated: "The Ninety and Nine'' I place at the head of the list. I well remember how I came to compose the music to tha words. It was done on the spur of a great and exalted feeling. When I was going from Edinburgh to Glasgow I picked up a paper on the train and came across the words. They atoncestruck me as bcin;j full of feeling, so I hid the paper awaj in my pocket. The words rang in mj ears. At Glasgow we had a glorious ' " - >T- ..Ma/ilin/l ItAm ftm meeting. :ui. .uujui jiamuvu i..? twenty-third psalm "of David. Ho touchcd the hearts of the people. When he was about to close his sermon I di<| not know what to sing. I wanted to select something appropriate to th; sermon, but I found nothing suitable. Those grand words, full of poetry, simple, yet beautiful: "lie makcth me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul; lie leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake," as Mr. Moody closed with them, acted as an inspiration. I hastily pulled the crumpled newspaper from my pocket and sang the words of ''The Ninety and Nine" to music that came to me then and there. I did not know how the accompaniment would go. The feeling of the moment carried me through, and I afterward wrote the music. " - .. : " HOUSEHOLD MATTERS. . r , Two of a Kind. It i3 requisite that in every kitchen there should be two frying-pans and two 1 gridirons instead of one. One fryingpan should be used for cooking things of a savory nature, the other one kept ex- - clusive'.y for pancakes, omelets, etc. One gridiron shou'd be used expressly for ?3h, the other for ( .hops, s'eakN, etc. The frying-pan that is used for sweet purposes' ought never to bo washed, only ^ rubbed thoroughly, while hot, with a t clean damp cloth. This rulo may be followed with respcct to tins used for baking cakes, biscuits, etc.; they should j pever be washed. Then, again, there ought always to be, at any rate, one enameled saucepan, for boiling milk, paking custards ami such things. It is very risky to attempt using an ordinary pan for these purposes. The Rnflaio Bug, Corrosive sublima c is the only thing known which has any effect on that mysterious little round b ack buffalo, or carpet moth, which cat* in straight lines, not only across ca pet?, but dresses, silk", velvets etc. Wl.e 1 they arc susp cted, the floors and ciacUs should ba thoroughly saturated with tub imate of double strength?on tr.blespoonful in a quart of boiling wat r. Tncn the carpets should be bru?hcd with the weaker solut:on. This with great vigilance in watching for and destroying them will finally exterminate them. Buffalo moths do not come from the 1 Itle white millers, as many e:roneously suppose, but from a curious little beetle, which is, in shape nnd habits, like a lady-bug. The ladybug, we all know, is red, with black spots; but the little bug which causes the buffalo moth is bl ick, w.th rea ana white spots, or red spots, and a wh'tish line down the midd'o of its back, and is rather smaller thnn n lady-bug. .Early in the spring they bg'n to creep out on the sunDy window s;l!s. If you watch for and carefully destroy them you will be saved much after trouble, ai the little, round, black furry creatures are far more destrucsive t' an th2 common moth9. Dresses or clo hes in closets most be taken do.vn and b.ushed thoroughly two or three time* a week. They seem to haunt particular spots, though one can find no reason for t.iat particular spot being choscn. Turpe. tine or benzine only scatter them, but strong solut'on of corrosive sublimate destroys them. Recipes. </-Cream 8law.? Shave fine ono-half head of cabbage, take three tablespoons of thick, sweet cream, three tablespoons of sugar, salt and pepper to taste, onehalf pint of vinegar. Mix thoroughly. Doughiujts.?One cup of sagar, one cup of sweet milk, two tabiespoonfuls each of butter ar.d lard, three eggs, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, flour enough to roll well. Cut into shape and fry in boiling lard. Chocolate txrtf.?Chocolate tarts can be made by the following recipe: Take one coffee-cup of granulated suger, mix with three-quarters of a cup of fine grated chocolate, and a heaping teaonnnnfnl nf nnrn fttnrrll Add the Well beaten yolk of an egg and a cup (scant)* of sweet milk. Boil three minutes, stirring constantly, and then add a teaspoonful of butter and one of vanilla, and boil four minutes more. Fill your shells with this while it is yet hot. "Welsh Custards. ?One cup of dry grated cheese, four eggs, one cup of milk, one teasnoonful of butter, two teaspoonfuls of prepared flcur mixed with the milk, bit of soda the size of a pea, half a tenspoonful of salt and a pinch of cayennc, Heat the milk, ttirring in the soda, butter, salt and pepper, with the Hour wet up with a little fhilk, and pour it scalding hot on the eggs, beaten light in a bowl; add the cheese, beat up for a mi mte. pour into buttered custard cups and buke in a brisk oven for about twenty minutes. They should be puffy and lightly browned and Eerved instantly in the cups, as they soon fall. Pass the wafers with them. t? tlnnwv urcad.?Put one auart of yellow Indian mcil in an eartfiern bowl; pour over it sufficient boiling water to entirely moisten ir, and let it cool to blood heat; when it is cool mix with it one quart of rye meal, one cupful of home-made yeast or half a cupful of baker's yeast, "one teaspoonful of sail dissolved in a little water and sufficient luke-warm water to make a ar>ft paste; ; after thoroughly m'xing those ingredients put thi dou^h into a butter, d earthern or thick ir?n fan, smooth it on top with a wood n sp^on wet in cold water, cover it with a folded towel and set it in a moderacly warm p'ace to rise; when the surf ce begins to crack open put it into a moderate oven w.tb another pan tume 1 over it, for foui hours, or steam it five hours, and then dry the crust in the oven. Chicken Cue?Pluck and singe J a chicken, wipe it with a wet towel, ! draw it without breaking the intestines, i cut it in small joint*, put it over the Am j with enough water to cover it, anal little salt and pepper, and stew it gently 1 until it is tender; meantime peel and * * - ' * ? ?..J a..4 in amoll i slice a pint 01 on:ous, auu but m OWttM j dice a quarter of a pound of pork; fry the pork brown, take it up, and brown I the onions in the dripping', and then | take them up; when the chicken is tenI der put it into the drippings in layers | with the pork and onions and half a pound of sea bascuit; mix two table* | spooniuls of Jour with a cupful of the I chicken broth, stir it into the rest of the broth, let it boil, and pour it over the chowder. Season the chowder palatably with salt and pepper, let it boil for fifteen minutes, and then serve it with a ! plate of dry crackers. Two Kinds of Newspaper Readers. Did you oversee any thing more amusing than the absorption of the woman over the marriages i An eaithquake wouldn't disturb her. She invests every couple with the romance of her own courtship, and goes o f into speculition on the groom's prospects and the style of the bride's wedding outfit. As for the etiquette coliimu, that always makes her chatter. "Here,she says, "is the most absurd young woman who writes to the editor to know whether she ought to go to the theater with her young man without a chaperone. I remember the first time dear Ilenry took me to a theater," and so on. After she has w.ided through this column she throws the paper aside, and that night when her husband come* home she tells how much she was inter csted in the newspaper. ' i es, ne say?, ' the papers arc mighty readable now. That was an nwful catastrophe, wasn't it ?" His wife looks up at him and says: "What was that, dear?" "Why, th* earthquake." "Well, there, that stupid old paper didn't have a word about it.'' The husband goes and gets the paper and shows her a 'six-column article on the first page. She had not seen it, of course.?Brooklyn Eagle. It is more from carelessness about truth, than from intentionally lying, that ? there is so much falsehood in the world.