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THE TRUE AND TENDER HEART. The world can give us gold, i A pr^ud and honored name, Can make us warriors bold And cover us with fame; But can it e'er impart A true and tender heart? Ah, no! In Him nijve That wondrous power lies. From Him, the source of love And all th-? good we prize, From Him, who knows all things, That priceless treasure springs. ?Michael J. Adams, in Current, TWO SOARS. Have another shy, sir? Three shies a penny! Won't have any more shies, sir, becos cokernuts disagrees with yer? Werry (rood. 'Any, the gent won't have no more shies, so count the sticks! He's a rum chap, sir, my mate 'Arry is. See'ow stiff be 'olds 'isself, like a 1 cokernut stick with the nooralgy in its neck. He's a old soldier, 'Arry i?, nnd ; he always 'olds 'isself like that, nud he 1 never says a word unless he's spoken to 1 fust, and then he answers yer wery short, : as though 'is tongue chargcd 'im three words a peunv. x.ut I ain't that sort myself, as am rather lo^quacktio'.is, and I ' could tell yer a talc about 'Arry as would urpnzc yer. Sit on the grass and have a pipe with yer while 1 tells yer about it' Cert'nly 1 ; will. Thankee, sir. It all come about along o' this p'tch. ] Now, maybe yerdon t know that in the ' three-sh.es a- [ enny-now's - ver - chanceknock-'em-oir perJcssion agieit dc.d de- 1 peuds on the pitch, which is the ground i where ver puts up the cokcrnuts. Aunt H?llr- ..n,l tV,r ... io '.VrMir /15_ I U""J OU.? ? |.VUUJ W wertin', innorcent, and 'ealthy rctrehation, but it ain't no manner o' use for to deny that it ain't often?at lea^t, as a regular thing?as we gets patternoi/.ed by such ti|> top swells as yerself, sir, abeggiu' \er pardon for savin' so, and opiu' 110 offense, which, the same were not my intenshing. Conse jUentially, we 'as to pick our ground according. >'ow, this 'ere is a model pitch. It's a i" <>d level bit of gnss as looks easy si.ymg, and a nice, lumpy, awk'ard bit of ground for the gents to stand on when they shy. I'm a-leltin' yer into some of the perfcssional secrets, becos I know yer won't go back on a feller. It looks nice and piivate, this 'ere model pitch does, the 'igh palin's there Bhcttin' o l the grounds of the Colonel's mau.-hing ; and there's the 'igh road whe e all these wans run to llepping Forest. '< It's about five years ago now that me s and 'Arry lirst went into partnership together. The m:in hing belonged iheu to an old lady as was wery kind to us. t She never interfered with us, but let us make this nlnfc a rr'c\ar nitrh at all h 'oliday time?:, and sich like. Many a 1' m rnin* she come out and give me and ' - . 'Arry a nice litlle bundle of pipe-lights ' ?tracks, yer know, sir?and she were s alw.iys pleasant and sociable like. One j mornin' she come out to us with the ,!; tracks, and as I was a-bowingto 'er wcry v perlite, and 'Arry drawiu' 'isself up like t s brick wall, a-salutin' of the lady, the I old girl says : "I believe," she says, "I ii have some sort of right over this pi .t of a ground as the owner of the matishing C and the park; but so loug as you behave yerselves and reads the tracks I shall u never disturb you,'' she says. fi "Thank yer, yir ladyship," I replies. "Three shies a penny, inarm," I says. ' *'is our reg'lar price, which 'Arry will o tall you the same : but any time, marm, a s your ladyship would like a nut, come ana have a shy for nothink, marm !" a But the next time we come round after b that bad noose was told ua. The old o lady "ad gone where they don't never n want no tracks. .She was dead, sir, and li the manshing and park'ad been took by, 1; ft peppery, yellow-fac-'d, fiory-tempcred t hold Hangerlow Hin.in Colonel, as was r frightening everybody about the place t He'd frightened the parson till he could a scarcely preach, and 'ad almost forgot li one day to make a collection; the trades n people trembled as they si-e 'is yeller c face a-cnlorin' the shop-winders, and the servants in the manshing "ad quite give I: *ap the lidikiilous idea of calling their a lives their own. t "The place ain't the same," says the chap as was telling us, "since he came i Into it. Cayenne j.epper is mild along- r side of the Colonel, and ginger ain't in c it with 'im. As sure as you're alive," he i says, "he'll march you two oT this pitch 1 in years before r.o time. He's death, he r says 'isself, on all w;igabones, tramps and wermii)8." s "What's 'is name?" I says. ^ "Colonel Rufus Pepperton." t I see a rum look come in 'Arry's face, f and I says: "Do yer know 'im, 'Arry?" I "Yes," he answers, aud I knowed it t was no use askin' 'im any more just then, beeos 'Arry werrvseldom says more than ' one word a hour at the outside. t The next mornin' was Saturday, and me and 'Arry got the cokernuts up in ' good time. We 'ad several young gents ( t-throwin' wery early that mornin', aud s after they had gone away 'Arry run up s to the cokernut end of the pitch for to throw me up the sticks at the other end t to hadd to the 'eap so as to be all ready 1 and 'ai:dy for the next customer, when he sees for the first time the Hangerlow 1 Hinjin. lie comes rushing out of the t park gates like a wild bull, shakin' 'is 1 fist, and 'is eyes tlashin' in :is yeller old t face. " s Soon as ever he comes on the ground I t see 'Arry draw 'isself up and begin salut- t in1; but the Colonel didn't see 'im, for he was coming straight on towards me 1 at the other end. Soon he reaches me. 1 and then he made a few remarks. "You 1 thieves, scamps, wagaboues, tramps, ras csls, knaves." 1 "I begs yer pardon, sir," I says, "but are yer alludiu' to me or to 'Arry?" I 1 says. ' ' To both of you," he hollers, quite 1 loud. '-Clear out of it!" he says. "Clear 1 out sharp, or I'll shoot the two of you like dogs. This is my ground, and off you go!" i I told 'im all about the old lady what I was there afore 'im, and how she never interfered with u*, and give us tracks; but I'd beiter 'eld ray tongue. ( ''Tracks!'' he shouts, "you won't get any tracks from me. What you U have i to do now I've come here is to makj tracks! Be o:F. you lazv thieves!" i Now 'Arry 'ad 'eerd all he said, and I Bee 'is face gettin' blacker and blacker. Just as the i olouel paused, Arry stood struiyht uj> with a n'cc knobby stick in 'is 'and, and a look in 'is face I'd never see'd there a ore, ah the time I'd knowed 'im. "Colonel," he "shouts out in a clear, loud, ringin' soit of voice, "Colonel, I'm goiug to throw these sticks up to my mate. Please march out of the line of fire. Once!" "How dare you," began the Colonel, not stirrin'. "Twice," sings 'Arry. "You audacious villain!" "Three times!" and swift and straight _orae the nice knobby stick. 'Arry 'ad said true: the Colonel was in the line of fire, a.:d the nice knobbj stick 'it 'im on the cokernut. Off rolled 'is 'at and down fell Col. liufus Pepper ton. "Carry off the wounded," calls 'Arry, preparin' to throw up the other sticksi but the next moment the Colonel was on 'is legs and makin' straight for 'Arry. The gnrdinger and two or three otliei men rushed out of the park at the sam< time, and 'eld the Colonel back, whil< one of 'em went and fctched the perleece. That evenin' ine and 'Arry was in jail, i and the last words of the perleeceman.as he lo ked the doors, was these, with t pleasin' smile: "This is six months' 'ard; that's whal it U!" 'Ere's a tarblow for yer, sir. Me and 'Arry afore the beaks. Three Justices on the bench. Pcrleecemcn in bloo. Court crowded. Old Co'onel Tcppcrton, look n' sava;er and more yellower than ever, with a nasty bit of a scar where the nice knobbly stick 'it 'is cokcrnut. Me and my mate in the dock. The evidence was all give, and I was discharged with a warnin' ne- er to be guilty no more. 1 didn't leave the court, but stood as close ns T rmilrl tn tho do 1c. where mv Door mate wa< standin'. Tilings looked wcry black for 'im. ' It's twelve months' 'ard." whispers the perleeceman to me; "that' what it is. Yer see,1' he ?ays "'ow bl o the Chairman's nose is. He always goes in for twelve months' 'ard when 'is nose is that ' olor. It ain't drink, it's undisgestion. It's a beautiful b!oo." says the perlce-eman. as I think must ha' been a bit of a hartist like; '"it's a beautiful bloo, and with the two red noses alongside of 'im, its is sittin' there, it makes awery pretty [)iitur'." The three jud^e? put their 'eads together, and the old gent as carried the bloo nose about says to 'Arry wery solemn : "Have you anything to say for yourjelfr" "He's nevera-goin' to 'ang 'im?" I says 0 the perleeceman; and then I ups and jays to the judge: "Please yer honor's worship, my lord," I pays, ''the reg'Iar harge is only three shies a penny," I says, "as no doubt your majesty have >ften 'ad a go at the nuts yerself at that irioe. as is not extravagant. Three shies 1 penny is the reg'Iar price, my lord, md 'Arry only 'ad one shy. Let 'im off sasy, my lord!" I says, winkin' wery esnectful. iney turned rae out 01 me court uw& md crop, but I erot in afore the row was >ver, and I 'ears the judge say again: ' Prisoner, ha e you anything to fay or yourself?'' 'Arry pulls 'isself straight up, puts 'is nnd to 'is 'ead, salutin', and says wery hort: "Yes!" "What, pray?" siys the proprietor of he b!oo beak. ' This," says 'Arry, and I wouldn't lave believed a^ ten million 'orscs could ia' drawed such a speech from 'im: "There stands the Colonel," 'Arry says, :and 'eel stand. The Colonel is 'ere to end me to jail, and I am 'ere to go to ail. -Vou sit there to sentence me to ail. and all the crowd of peopl" 'ere are raiting to hear me sentenced. There is he Colonel, and 'ere am I, face to face, ^ace to face, clo e. for the second time a our live j. Now, I'm just going to tell bout the fir-t time, and then let the io'onel send me to quod." "Prisoner," says the bloo nose, as was ndisge-tion, "thi3 is all beside the ioint." ' Sir Frederick," says the Colo el thfi man rrn nn. I berr of VOU." and n 'Arry went to s"ene the first, just like theyatre. "The place is a burnin' plain in India, nd the time is the Mutiny. An officer las fainted, and lies white and Vlpless n the earth, with the colors of the reei ncnt clutched close and ti?;ht in both innds. He lies apart from the torn and tattered ranks he's been tryin' to ho'd n<jother. A few rebels make a wi'd ush at the flag. The flag?the flag?is trenched from the fingers, and they ride .way. Then the officer comes to, and te groans, 'the colors! The colors! For oercy's sake, bring me back the colirs!' "He tries to stagger on fsot, but falls ack again, too sorely wounded to rise; nd again he sobs out: 'For mcrcy's sake, >ring me back the colors!' "A strairglin' soldier of another Britsh regiment, cut off from the rest, hurics by. I.ook! he hears the c:y, gives me look at the officer and one at the fly ? ?? ?< Vva ? A/3 ng ruucia wiiu taiij cuc "?*5? Ie springs on a riderless charger, gives ein, and goes for death or the flag! "The minutes pass on. and at last the oldicr ritles back with the colors Trapped round his 'eart and, as he puts hem once more into the oncer's white ing<v8, they are died ade per red by the flood which is flowin1 from a wouud in he soldier's breast. "Colonel, where is the scar I gave you >ecatise you treated me and my mate like hicvcs, and refused a fair warning?" Like a man in a dream the Colonel eld 'is finger to th; scar on 'is fore'ead. 'Arry fling* 'i? coat, tears open 'is hirt, and 'olds 'is finger to a big, jagged car near 'is noble 'cart. "And 'ere," he says, "is the scar of he wound which that common soldier jore for you!" I never knowed properly what 'ap>ened after that. But I remember getin' on a form and y lling "Ooray!" till i were again chucked out. I remember he Colonel springin' into the dock, ihakin 'ArryVand and callin"im''Com ;ide.'' Then I remember'im turnin'to he three no*e3 on the bench and sayin'; ''This gallant fellow's story is tr e. t tried in vain to find 'im after the dav ie's been telling of, but the fortune of ivar parted us." Then the Hangerlow Ilinjin turned ind took 'Arry's 'and a;?ain, and s tys: "Comrade, I am ashamed of myself. But it isn't because of a bad 'eart that I tm the cru ty, fero ious fire-eater you tiave seen me, but because I have no liver!" I don't know 'ow they squared it, but > [ know 'Arry was discharged in triumph, \nd ever since then I've kept the nice knobbly stick that 'it Colonel t.ufus Pepperton on the cokernut. lie wanted to pension us both off, and :lo all sorts of things for us; but 'Arry wouldn't take nothing except the free ?rant of this 'ere pitch whenever we want it. But I believe the Colonel is \ do n' something with the government for 'Arry and me, too, unbeknown to 'Arry; a-.id th; roarin' trade we do, sir, whenever we wisits this 'ere pitch makes me bjlieve as the Colonel bribes everybody about the place for to come and throw. 'Ow much to pay. sir? I ain't reckoned up 'ow many shies you went in for, but I'll soon let yer know, sir. 'Arry, count the sticks!?"The Lamp." General Washington was not a humor ist, but once at least he let himself write like a paragrapher. In a lately-published letter to his brother Samuel he speaks, for instance, of an agent of the British who "got exalted up a gallows at Philadelphia the other day." PRISON LIFE. A SING SING PRISONER NARRATES HIS EXPERIENCE. Entrance Into Prison ? Sleeping and Snoring ?Celebrating a Holiday in Prison?A Slim Soap Supply?S:t Free. One of the Thciss boycottershas added to the multitude of books his experience in Sing Sing State Prison. As the bovcotters were the pioneers in a new line-.of crime, the old-time murderers, sluggers, robbers and everyday thieves looked on them with interest,and when they entered the gates where so much of hopes is generally left behind, the whole prison, or as much of it as possible, stopped work to see the men. Two of the boycotters were sent to the small laundry; the historian and another went to the stovemounting shop. The author says: "After I and the other prisoner arrived nfc t.h? mount-in? s-hoD. we were aaain asked by the keeper for our names ani how long a sentence we had; theu ha told us to fac e the d?s!i and fold our arms. There we stood like statues. It was about 10 a. m. when we were led to tbe shop. At 13 o'clock a whistle blew, we fell in line with the other convicts and marched to the mess-room. Many a curious eye looked at us, for the news went around the prison like lightning that the boycottcrs had arrived,and new arrivals can always be picked out on account of their new clothcs and their uncertainty in marching with the company." The literary boycotter describes the daily life in Sing Sing as a life not replete with pleasures, but still not unbearable. The author quarrels mostly with his sleeping quarters, the cell being but three and a half feet wide and the cot two feet. 'I hi? particular boycottcr was put in a cell with a man convicted of felonious assault, so his dreams were not always pleasant. He had been there two years out of his sentence of four years, and naturally his experience made him the chief personage in his cell, and he took upon himself the duty of shutting the cell door just before the keepers came around to see if any of the birds nad flown. At first the boyotter could not sleep, the snores of the convicts keeping hira awake, but he became used to the uproar and soon joined in the grand chorus. It was the day before the glorious Fourth when the boycotters entered Sing Sinsr, so they enjoyed the holiday within prison walls. The historian thm describes the fine time he and his fellow-sufferers enjoyed: "On holidays the prisoners can make as much noise as they waut to: it is a holiday privi.ege. It last?J until 7 p. M. I shall try to describe it. Anybody passing through the prision would think he had got into a lunatic asylum. Some prisoner gets clooe to his cell door and sings a song. Other men, notlikiughis song, would shout: 'Lay down! lay down!' Other convicts then would holler: 'Stick to it! don't give up!' with a good deal of swearing and profane language tht own in. Some favorite wou d sing theu. and the rest were as quiet as a mouse and listened. "When the song was iinisbe 1 they theu showed their appreciation by clapping, shouting and banging the cell door, in t .is style they carried on all day. A man out for a stroll (he must have been a stranger in the village) came along the road passing the prison: he was, of course hooted at. All at once he took to his heels; he must have got frightened. Well, you ought to have seen the delight of the prisoners. In this way the greatest holiday of the American nation was spent at the Sing Sing State Prison. At 7 o'c'o 'k the bell raug and e.crything was still." The nufhor complains of the scarcity of soap in Sing Sing. On the 1st and l(Jth of the month the prisoners receive a piecc of soap about one and one-balf inches square. The convict generally provides means for getting soap from his friends outside. Alnny a bank burglar, before embarking upon a risky job, makes his pals swear that if be goes to Sing Sing for the night's work, they will keep him supplied with soap. The soap given out by the authorities is made on the spot and consequently costs little, but it is as scarce as crcam. At last the happy day arrived when the historian and his companions were pardoned by Governor Hill. The prisoner, before beingdischarged.iswei^heil to see if he has got ahead of the irtate in the matter-of weight.- Somehow or other a prisoner always gtins, according to the keeper's figures,and as he is not told what he weighed wben he entered prison he has to take ihe keeper's word for it. The clerk would have it that one of the boycotters weighed but 145 pounds on entering Sing Sing, although that particular man knew his weight at that time to have been from 180 to 131 pounds. On the day of leaving prison he'weighed 185 pounds, and was congratulated by the clerk on having gained thirty pounds. ?JYi?to Ytrk Slur. Christmas in the Frigid Zone. A Christmas dinner in Ks juiniau-land, like all other dinners there, depends as to quality entirly on what you have to eat. I have felt perfectly contented and prouder than an Alderman with a first cours? of sea'-blubber and frozen weeds, followed by fro/e-n, rancid walrus meat, and afterward walrus-hide, cut into small pieces that could be swallowed without chewing. At other tim s. when iu winter quarters and access could be had to our supply of canncd pro\isions, our Christmas menu would not have disgraced a tiist-class restaurant i:i any civilized city. My first Arctic Christmas was in 1878, at Camp Daly, North Hudson Bay, and that dinner, seasoned with such an appetite as one gains only with exe:c'se and fresh air. still haunts me with pleasant memories. We hud a most delicious bo led salmon from a neighboring hike, fried reindeer-steaks, nnd lob-skowse ? all cooked over seal-oil lamp*. The food was delightful, but the snow-hut which serve 1 us for dining room was so cold lUUb U1C nvcis ill UIU MiJig*iuuiuii;o uuotered our lingers, and, though our meal was not shared with relatives around the familv board, wc had no end of friends. All the Esquimaux in the village crowded into our tent, their mouths watering with the aroina of the fragrant skowse. One circumstance I recollect concerning m lasses under conditions of extreme cold that was quite remarkable. After it had become too firmly congealed to run into a vessel held for that purpose, it would overrun the cup if you attempted to oc< upy the time while waiting for it otherwise than by watching. The head of the barrel was then removed and the mo a?scd obtained with a hammer and chisel. Before Henry, our cook, kne-.v that even when the molasses was brittle, like randy, a weighty object wouid sink and disappear below the surface, he laid his hammer and chisel on top of the hard mola ses and so lost them. He accused an Esquimau assistnnf rvf Viovinrr efulpn them, lint he vi<?:>r ously deniecTthc accu-ation. So strong, however, was the suspicion against the poor fellow that he was disgraced by being thenceforth forbidden to enter the cooktent. Inthe following summer his character was restored when Henry found his lost tools at the bottom of the empty molasses barrel.? W. H. Gilder. The buzz saw has an off-hand way with now acquaintances. Abuse of Tea. All drugs, wh:ch m small doses slightly stimulate, or tranquilize, are harmful in large doses. Paregoric is a mild sedative, but the terrible condition of the opium eater is well known. Chloral when introduced' was gratefully welcomed by physician and patient, bat tht excessive use of it has changed it to a *? iL - L curse. Hivcn cocaine, uie ami seemingly the most innocent of all, has already its victims. A law that holds good of all such j drugs is the following, viz.: that the de- j sired. clTcct does not continue to be de- j rived from the quantity which was at j first used, but that the system, becoming , partially habituated to its use, re juirce that the quanttty be steadily increased, | while the injurious results increase in | the same ratio. Hence, all use tends to j abuse. ! The above is true of that beverage ! which "cheers but not inebriates." We ! should expect it to be true of tea from ' its nature, and facts prove it to be so. j The abuse of tea in a multitude of cases, and the consequent injurious effects, are . vastly beyond what is generally supposed. When tea is analyzed, it is found to j contain two powerful principles, orcbar- | acteristic substances: tannic ncid und theine. The former is the astringent familiarly known a?tnnn'n. It is this, obtained from bark, which hardens skin into leather. Theine is a violent poison. ? --- - ? . _ S i I Xl_ - Probably both tlie tannic ajia ana me | theine concur in producing the efl'ect | which comes from excessive tea-drink- i in<r. This is twofold. It is partly on the digestive and partly on the nervous system?in the first case giving rise to \ at(.nic dyspepsia, and in the second to irritability, palpitation of the heart, wakefulness, and biain fatigue. Say9 the ltri'ish Meiicul ..ourttal: "The sufferers from excessive tea-drinking may be grouped into three classes: "(1) The large class of pure brainwo kers, who speedily discover that while ale hoi is ) ernicious to them, tea affords the stimulus they desire. They indulge in it without fear of mischief, and often to an unlimited extent. After a time, the neurotic symptoms make their appearance, and, in many cases, do much to impair temper, and to limit the capacity for sustained usefulness. "(2) The large (lass of women of the better classes who begin with afternoon tea often end by usiug their favorite stimulant in the intervals between all meals of the day. The result is that appetite is impaired, and the prostration due to insufficient nourishment is com bated with more potations. "(8) Factory operatives, especially women who, finding it difficult to provide a cheap and appetizing mid-day meal, fly to the teapot, and do a largo amount of physical labDr oil this miserable dietary."? Youth''a Companion. Cats and liirds of Alaska. Henry W. Elliott in his account of the seal islands of Alaska says that except for blue and white foxts and the lemming, the s?al is the only indigenous animal mammal known to th'.se shores. Among the .imported mammals is the cut, which.presents a most extraordinary transformation. After feeding upon seal meat for two generations it becomes "a stubby feline ball.'' Beside being thickened and shortened, it loses a part of its tail, and its voice is changed? woefully changed. Cats actually throng the villages. They seek shelter at night under biuffs and in the chinks of precipices, there to "make night hideous beyond all description." The bird life of this region is very wonderful. One of the smaller islands is fairly covered with sea fowl, and the bluffs of another are crowded to their utmost capacity. The variety is not so great, there being only * " nlnn normfta Vltlf tVw> niimhpril are countless myriads. A buld bl ff on St. George Lland may be seen for a di tance of fifteen miles covered with nesting gulls. On the north side of the island millions of choochkics fill the air with their cries and darken the light of day. After the dead silence of an Arctic winter the arrival of these feathered hosts in such a region of vast solitudes mu t be chvering enough. A ltazor Getting Tired. "Yes. I knew it," exclaimed the veteran barber. 4'I knew this razor was getting tired." 4\co'm I." said the reporter, with asperity. "I feel as if you'd been running a lawn mower over my face." "That's what I said," replied the barber. ''This razor is 'tired.'" "What are you talking about?" "O, razors often get that way. I have used this one for three years, and a better piece of steel was never honed. During that time it has been 'tired' just four times. What do I mean by 'tired?' Well, to all appearances this lazor is as sharp as need be, but it won't work. No matter how much I hone it there will be no improvement, and the only thing to do is to give it a rest. First, I clean it with more than ordinary care. Then I open it and put it away iu a drawer with a good hone. I lock the drawer and leave it for five days. At the end of that time I open-the drawer and take out the razor. It will be ns sharp as any blade you ever saw."?Chicago News. An Automatic Fog Bell. A retired ship builder, speaking about marine inventions, said to a New York Sun reporter: "Of all the queer devices pertaining to a seafaring life that I ever heard of, the queerest is the automatic fog b.-ll that used to ring on l ace Point, Cape Cod, and I presume is there now. There was a big bell with a clock work that would mournfully toll whenever it was set agoing. The bell was under cover, but proji cting from the house was a long nicely-balanced lever with a big sponge on the outer end. There was a little roof over the sponge to keep the rain olT, but when a fog came on the moisture would saturate the sponge and wi iorht bearing the lever down would ~ "O start the machine and set the bell to tolling. If the fog soon disappeared the sponge dried out and the lever stopped the bell, really for the next fog, but if the fog held on the machine eventually ran down and had to be wound up again." The Groat Armies or Europe. The Kreuz-7.cltun.ij computes the military strength of the great Continental Powers as follows: Germany, on a peace footing, 445,424 men, in war 1,o 1 i>,00C men, the J andstnrm (levy eu masse), 1,000,000, of whom, however, only onehalf could render effective aid, say in manning fortresses; Austria-Hungary, 28f>,422 and 1,Or?,000 respectively, the Landsturm being also computed at a million, although in reality composed ol men without any military training; France,5J8,>-2i|and 1,950,000 men respectively, the levy en masse being supposed i to furnish 2,000,000 more; Italy, 215, 000 and 2.400.000 respectively, thelattei figure including reserves and citizens' organi ations of all kinds, Russia tO?,2!2 and 2,000,000 men respectively, levy en masse 1,000,000, composed of irregular troops and soldiers mustered out ol the srmv. i HUMAN HAIR. A DEALER TALKS ABOUT THI I TRANSPLANTED ARTICLE. j A Peculiar Business?Cost of Human Hair?Where It is Procured * U?U ?rrepaniijc mo **??** for the Market. i j "Times are dull nowadays," responded the coiffure artist, in reply to a repor torial inquiry the other day. "You see, ours is a peculiar business anyhow. Wt are the most abject slaves to fashion thai ever lived. Just now it's ebb tide will us. Coiffures are worn high, and a woman who hasn't got enough hair to covei the top of he; head is in a pretty bad tis indeed. Consequently not much false hair is required. Of course, there is s steady demand for standard articles, which are to take the place of the bereavements of nature, but what I mear to say is that the good old da_. s when t woman walked into my store and chos< her winter or her summer articles of hail apparel just a^ she would choose hei winter's cloak are past and gone!'' and the artist heaved a sigh which expressed regretful remonstrances. "What does human hair cost?" "Depends altogether upon the lcngtl and the shade. Length, of course, i; the principal item. For instaucc, at ounce oi a certain kind eight inches lone might only be worth fifty cent?, while ar ounce tress thirty-six inchc* long of thi same quality wou'd be worth $15. Th< average article is generally not mon I than tliirty-six inches long, u 11 is, i commands fancy prices. Hut the usua length is but eighteen or twenty inches The color is the other important item This isr of course dependent upoi scarcity. The ordinary common color that one sees every day of course are thi cheapest; but you take some of the un usual shades, such as gray, pale and deli cate shades of auburn, and you have go j to pay roundly for them. Why? Eecausi they are hard to get and the market i never fully supplied. White and gra; are the mo$t expensive." "Is this because old age is vain?" "Partly for this reason, but principally because old age, which possesses a hand" some head of hair, is loathe to part witl it except at a very high figure. See tha tress of brown hair in the window? Well I will sell it for $45, because it is a com mon shade; but that white one in th corner, I could not part with it for les than $225?same size though, you see.1 "Where is the hair procured{" "From everywhere. But it is gatheret principally in Germany, France, Russia Hollaud and Italy. The light blond) shades as a general rule come from Nortl Germany and tfolland, while the durlce colors nil come from the south of Franc* and Italy. The Southern climate alsi produces a finer and glossier variety. I is collected mostly by itinerant peddlers who visit the country fairs and indue some peasant maiden to part with he beautiful tresses for a piece of bright cal ico or some gaudy bauble. In othe places, where the value of human hair i appreciated, the girls and women of th peasant class are regularly sheared lik sheep. In Brittany, which is recogni e< as the country which produces the hai of the finest texture in the world, th< shearing of the women is carried on as i regular industry. La-jt year I saw tba the exportation of hair from France wa about 20,000 pound.*, at an e.stimate< value of $1,000,0JO. Of course in th foreign markets it is worth much more England imports about 20,000 pounds o hair a year alone, and America thre years ago imported nearly $1,000,00' worth; and I can assure you San Fran cisco is not behind the proportion in he purchase." "Is not some preparation needed be fore the hair is placed on the market fo sale?" ''Oh, yes, of course. In Paris, wheri there are several large hair-dealers t< whom the peddlers sell their collections the sorting, cleaning and preparation o hair forma an important industry. Yoi see, hair from all parts of the world an< of all shades, complexions, lengths ant previous conditions of servitude ar brought to these hair marts and laid out The women, whose powers of distin guishing color are exceptional'y acute go over them, matching all the differen colors of the same texture, no matte where they miy have conic fn. m. Thes strands are also matohed as to length until finally the hair is divided up int lots of precisely the ?ame,kind. Now see here," he gaid, taking down a tres from the window, "you might pe; h ip . upposc that all this was grown on on head. That is nonsense. I would no be surprised, if every hair could tell th story of its origin, that we would fim representatives from every race on th globe. I see some Chine-e represents tives here. You see Chinese hair ha been used to some extent. It is,of course very coarse ana straignt, dul in mru i is split to a fine quality and sul/ectcd t a preparation to make it glossy. Thei again hair is dyed to certain specifici shades. A groat portion of all the whit hair, to tell you a professional secret, i manufactured by bleaching. B ;t all o these preparations are virtual failures and nothing is so good as the genuta article free from preparation, although i is more costly."?San Francisco Call. Cold uud Tobacco Smoking. Dr. Chudnovski publishes in th RutskrtyaMedi'sina an account of a serie of observations made on twelve soldier in a military hospital, who were perfect 1; healthy with the exception of slight in juries, with the object of determininj the effect of cold applications to th epigastrium upon the rapidity of diges tion. The stomach tube was of coursi freely used, and the completion of diges tion was taken to be marked by tlu dis appearance of solid particles in the ?jastri< contents, as revealed by drawing then up through the tube. The author founc that when ice bladd rs were applied nex the skin over the region.of the stomach, digestion was retarded in nine out o! the twelve cases. Six of the men wer< ^mokers aud six non-smokers. In tin former the time required for digestioi averaged seven hours, while in tlio ca<< of the non smokers the mean period ol digestion was only six hours. Wished She Was. "I want your mother to let my affair! nlcne," said Brown to Mrs. B. "J won't have any more of her dictation.'' "You're always rinding fault witi mother," retorted Mrs. B. "I'll have you understand, Mr. Brown, that mj mother is an angel." ''I wish she was,groaned Brown.? Neu York Sun. A Prudent Suggestion. Young Artist it# farmer)?"Have yoi any objection to my painting the ole mill across the way. sir?'' Farmer?"No, I haint no objections ef you want to paint it, but it strike; me, stranger, it would look well 'nougl; whitewashed, an' would come cheaper.' ? ?New Y&rk Sun. -r"' ' * -i"" . 'r i. v--' ' :' a* ? HOUSEHOLD MATTERS. A Christmas Plum Pnddinjj. Three-qurters of a lb. of bread crumbs; ' 1 lb. of beef suet; 1-4 lb. of flour; 1 lb. of currants: lib. of raisins; 1 lb. of sugar; 1 ounce of candied citron peel; 1 i ounce of candio 1 lemon peel; 1 ounce of sweet almonds, blanched; 1 saltspoonful snlt* 1 small nntme/r. crated: 1 lemon; 8 eggs; 1 pint milk. ? Shred the suet finely; wash, pick and , dry the curants; stouo the raisins, and ' blanch and slice up the almonds. Mix the-e thoroughly with the other dry ingredients, and t: en boat and add the ' eggs, afterward the milk (adding only ' enough of the milk to moisten the mix1 ture into a stiff paste, too much will | make the pudding heavy). Put the mixture into a well-buttered mold, tie a : floured pudding-cloth over it, put it iuto ! boiling water and keep it boiling for six 1 or seven hours. As the wa'er boil-<away do not add cold water, but replenish the ' pot from another vassel of water which 1 is kept boiling for the purpose. The 1 adding of cold water makes the pudding ! heavy. When the pudding is done and r taken out of the boiling water it should be plunged at once into a vessel of cold water. Th:s will loosen the sides of the ^ pudding from the mold and render it less likely to break in turning it out.? Caterer. L i Stale Bread. 1 A great deal of bread is thrown away ? by those who can ill afford it, from lack 1 of knowledge how to utili/.e it. On the 3 farm, in most instances, of course, stale 3 bread is not wholly lost, for if wet a j; little it makes good food for the poultry, J or may be given to the pigi, but this is 1 not the best way to make use of it even by those who have poultry and pigs. Tnere are mauy ways to utilize stale 1 bread. It makes delicious griddle-cakes 3 when soaked in cold water. Three small ' slices with water enough to cover thera " should be sufficient, when the milk and * flour are added, to make two quarts of ' batter. Some prefer to put in one egg, e while others like them fully as well with3 out. When the bread is soaked soft, ' make it fine with a spoon, add the milk and sufficient flour to stiffen enough so that the cakes can be easily turned. II T sour milk is used add to the batter one * even tablespoonful of soda. If you do | not use .sour miik use twice as much ' cream of tartar a? soda. 1 rench toa3t, ? always a favorate dish with children, * can be made of thin slices cut from a u stale loaf and moistened in milk 3 and eggs?two eggs to a pint of milk?and then fried on a griddle with a mixture of butter and lard or 1 butter and bsef drippings, and maybe eaten with sugar or syrup, like griddleJ c ikes. Pieces of bread which are not too 1 hard can be made into a resemblance of r tin key dressing. Cut the bread into 5 ait houo a ?.ii!vntifcv of rravv I uiuc, 4? J ~ 1 J ? 0 ? " from which fut can be taken, left from 1 any kind of roast?though a piece of ' butter will do as well?tho. oughly grease e the bottom of a sp der.put in the biead, r with some little chunks of b.itter and " plenty of seasoning; then pour enough r boiling water on to moisten it. cover 9 tightly, and, in a moment, it will steam e through and you can stir it, and either ? brown a little or have it moist like dress1 ing. It should be eaten with gravy over [ it, and is a good substitute for potatoes. 3 The little dry, hard pieces and crusts * which always accumu'ate can be put on 1 a pie-tin in an oven t hat is just hot enough * to dry and make them a light brown, 1 then roll them tine and put away to use e in making croquettes, frying fish, etc. * Even these slightly-browned crumbs make excellent griddle-cakes with the ? addition of one egg and a handful of " flour and milk to a batter, fctale bread may be utili/ed in making a custard pudr ding also. The fact is, that where economy is the rule bread will not be thrown away. Uscfbl Hints. 3 To Polish Tins.?First rub them with a damp cloth; then take dry flour and f rub it on with the hands; afterward take x an old newspaper and rub the flour off, I and the tins will ihiue as well as if half j an hour had been speut in rubbing them e with brick-dust or powder, which spoils the hands. Cleaning White Kid Gloves.?Take ^ a piece of white flannel, moisten with t sweet milk, rub on a little white soap r and wipe the gloves. Then go over c them again with the flannel dipped in ,f milk, without the soap. Wrap them 0 loosely in a towel and let them remain , until dry; then stretch them. s Scouring Knives.?Place a quantity 3 of brick-dust on a board, and having the e knife perfectly dry, press it down hard t and rub it back and forih, crosswise of c the blade. When bright, turn and scour 3 the other side. Then wipe off with a e chamois leather. Knives thus treated >- will retain their brightness much longer s and have a new look after years of i, usage. 1 Furniture Polish.?One ounce of 0 white wax. one ounce of yellow wax, one-half ounce of white soap and one pint of boiling water. Melt all together e in a saucepan over the fire, and pour ? into a bottle. Apply it by rubbing a little on a small space with a cloth of ? any kind, rub w'th a second cloth and ? polish with a third. The economical housekeeper may have her furniture nicely polished for the holidays at trifling expense. To Preserne Steel Goods from e Rust.?After bright grates have been g thoroughly cleaned, they should be 3 dusted over with unpacked lime, and Y thus left until wanted. All the coils of . piano wires are thus sprinkled, aud will v keep from rust for many years. Table 2 knives which are not in constant use . ought to be put in a case in which quick2 lime is placed, eight inchcs deep. They . should be plunged to the top of the . blades, but the lime should not touch : the handles. , ?? 1 The Miser's Key. t Somebody told the story of Hugh M., who did in Durham forty years ago. He f was a determined man and very penu5 lious. He died at an advanced age. 1\- AKofi Vio Iront- Ilia rirrht hand ' v_/u 1113 UL'tiia mv ?*v|?v - -g ' closely clutchcd. As he drew his last J breath he tightened his h:>ld. Kveryf body there knew what lie held. It .was the key to the chest in which he kept his gold. As his nervele-s baud unclosed the key dropped from it and clattered against the bedside. As if to hold it ? even after his soul had passed away, the miser had tied the key about his wrist by a stvong cord and had grasped it as \ long as life remained. He had wanted ' to take his gold with him. They buried him as he was, with the key to his money chest dangling about his wrist, and today the key is in his grave, turned to rust probably. "And what became of the gold.'" "Oh, the heirs took care of that just the same. They split open the i chest with an ax and divided the gold I and let the miser sleep on with the key about his wrist.'"?Lewiston {Me.) Record. ! i ! A correspondent of the New York 1 Christian Advocate calls attention to ' Catharine Rood, of Hinesburg, Vt., aged | 103, as the oldest Methodist in America. I - -..7" -.- -sSfts FACTS FOR THE CURIOUS. * The Boston Latin School is the oldest .. institution of the kind in America. It originated in 1034. An oyster weighing 3? pounds and measuring ten inches by six, was taken at Huntington. L. I., the other day. It was anciently one of the customs of a the chase for nil the huntsmen to" stain J their hands in the blood of the deer as a *? trophy.Instead of the few simple varieties of lettuce forme ly grown, not less than sixty-five varieties are now known to horticulturists. One of the best profile rocks in Colorado, is near the summit of Long's peak. It points its nose heavenward. Where the eyes should be is a pile of snow. The nose, lips, and chin are very distinct. The choice of an ancient Athenian citizen was limited to Athenian women. Only when thus married could his children possess the right of citizens. An Athenian woman was likew'se not allowed to marry a foreigner. The penalties for seeking a spou e beyond, the national boun inries were severe. In the rotunda of the Richmond, Va., capitol there is an old stove made of iron, which is said to be one of the old-' est stoves in e istcnce. It was. made a present to the colo 15 of Virginia in 17^0, ' i and was spoken of at that time as a warming machine. It is seven feet high, and has as much ornamentation as a Queen Anne house. ^ In climates having a difference of seventy degrees in temperature between - . V the hot and cold s :ns3ns, a railway track '*.= of 400 miles is 3 -8 yards longer in summer than in wint.t. ( f course the length of road remains the same, but expansion forces the lengths of metal closer to- > gether, making an aggregate closing ' * up of space between the rails of nearly & a v. yard in each mile. Edward I, on the day of his coronation was welcomed with the greatest joy -7 ? and honor. The streets were hung with - ^ rich cloths of *ilk, nud arms and tapestry; the aldeimcn of the city threw out of their windows handfuls of gold and ^ silver; the condu'ts ran plentifully with white wine and red, that each might drink his fill. Resides the aldermen's "M gold and silver 500 great hordes, on some of which Ed war I had ridden to the \ banquet, were let loose among the crowd, any one being at liberty to take one for . his own if he could. The first silk stockings made in England were knitted by Queen Elizabeth's silk-woman, Mistiess Montague, who Eresented her majesty with a pair of lack silk ones, which she liked so well that she kept the donor knitting silk stockings as long 'as she lived. Before the end of her reign stockings were made '51 of silk, jarnsey, worsted, crewel, or the finest yarn and thread that could be had, and Stubbs remarks that the ladies were "not ashamed to wear hose of all kinds of changeable colors, as green, red, white, russet, tawney, and else what not, cunningly knit and curiously indented in every point with quirks,clocks, open seams and everything else ac- ' cordingly." Beecher on Gladstone. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher heard ex-* Premier Gladstone speak at Liverpool,' and writes h's impressions of the great English leader for the New York World as follows: Taking the address as a whole, and comparing it with the elaborate efforts of such an American as Dani.1 Webster, or with some of the old Greek orators, it could scarcely be said to have the form and finish that applies to many of the masterpieces of eloquence. Judging of its effect on myself, a stranger, a foreigner, one not well versed in the details which he d;scus:-cd, I found myself, nevertheless, glowing with the sympathy of the auction: o una in 11111 aumirauou ui this remarkable man. W'h tever may be the issue of the great question upon which he ha; expended his genius, which he regards as his last great life's work? the cmancipat on of Ireland?there can v be no doubt that Gladstone is pre-eminently the central figure in tbe politics of Great Britain, and that he als > is or Iias been a leading fi^u e in the affairs of all Europe. His versatility is proverbial. His ? knowledge of classical languages and of modern languages, which is not so profound or so minute as that of many other men, is, nevertheless, remarkable. There AT-* few subiectswhich inte.est thinking men to-day about which he cannot wisely and instructively discourse. His memory is something prod gious. His command of material~very strik ng; his accuracy in statement marvelous. He impresses one as far-seeing and" comprehensive statesman, void of the arts of politicians, in deep earnest and with strong moral convictions. Mr. Gladstone seems to be a man, I should say, of about five feet ten inches in height. He is active, supple and erect; capable of enduring great fatigue, quite elastic in spirits, genial and sooiaL His head is said to be a Websterian head, but in my judgment it will hardly tear that comparison. 'I he lined upon his face are strong; his features are large, and, being nearly bald, the impression ' of the height of his foreheap is apt to be exaggerated. A strong nose, a mouth fine, but very firm, the chin only moderately full. Altogether a striking head and physiognomy. I met him subsequently at bis own dwelling in London at a breakfast. He was very simple and unpretentious in his manner; grave and very dignified, yet familiar. I cannot say that he is a good conversationalist, b.it he is an excellent talker. Although there were several gentlem in present, pretty much all the discourse fell from his lips. ??Mr. Gladstone has not e caped very bitter detraction. The hatred of, him on some sides is intense and even malignant. Even his personal morality has not escaped virulent criticism. It is probable that no statesman for the last hundred years has been subjected to greater abuse aiid vindictive misrepresentations. To me he seemed like a great man seeking great ends and by very noble measures and from pur? motives. Whatever may be the outcome of the present struggle, I think it beyond all controversy that when the rights ol Ireland are acknowl dged and established all men will see that the redeeminc: measures must be traced back to th? wisdom of William E. Gladstone. Tae Ca'ifornian Slieep. Californian wool always reminds mt of the time when the gold diggings wer? first discovered in California. At Oxford it used to be the custom at Christmas time for the butchers to exhibit th? prize sheep which they had bred and purchased. One butcher procured ? very fine sheep, dyed its wool purple, gilded its hoofs, and exhibited it as ( California sheep. It seems hardly credi. ble, but numbers of persons went awaj in the firm belief that all Californii sheep had purple wool and golden hoofs. ?Longman's Magazine. Three tons of yam are yearly used in the manufacture of baseballs. ? i