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skating song. * Oh, come on the ice with me to night 'Tis smooth as a polished crystal sheet, The moon is at full, and by its light i Y/e dance to the ring of steel-clad feat; And wo laugh?ha! ha! And wo shout?ho! ho! While swif5 as a swallow's flight we go. Oh. not in the close and crowded rink, With huudredvof staring eyes to see, And jostled aad tripped, w.th click and clink, But out on the river, broad and free: And we laugh?ha! ha! And we sh-jut?ho! ho! While swift as a swallow's flight we goThen on with your blades of polish?d steel, As keen as the mowers whettod scythe. And iirra as the sole from toe to heel. They ring o'er the iie with music blilha; And we laugh?ha! ha! And we shout?ho! ho! While swift as a swallow's flight we go. Around and around, or right or left. In sweeping and graceful curves we P^y, Or straight as the line by arrow <jleft We speed on our course for miles away: And we laugh?ha! ha! And wo shoiit?ho! ho! While swift as a swallow's flight we go. And oh, for the glow on brow aud cheek, The tin ;Ie anri thrill of frosh, keen nir; It bring-; us tbe vigor atid health we seek, And purest of pleasure, free from care: And we laugh?ha! ha! And we shout?ho! ho! "Whileswift as a swallow's Sight we go. ?D. Ur. Browiitll in Youth's Companion. ARTIST AND BURGLAR. Owing to the difficulties surounding the --tudy of burglars few people may be dnsMcred competent to write upon the subject. The birgl.ir is a modest, retiring beast, whose habits an: not familiar to the general public, lie is nocturnal and generally very icticent when the eyes of the world arc upon him,and those person? who hive survived a midnight visit from him have in most cases been incapable of a conscientious, scientific scrutiny 01 ins mannerisms ana moae 01 action. The real dramatic quality of an interview with a large, live, rampant burglar has been heretofore unappreciated and the whole sub ect is involved in a d?.ep, seal-brown obscurity. I may be, therefore,excused when I say that I had Ixen a total disbeliever in the cxixti-n e of this ereat ire, and was more or less inclined to think tho whole thing a sunmyth of the old Greek mythology handed down from our ancestors. I awoke one ni ht an 1 saw a short, thick set man with an old-go'd beard standing at my ebony dressing-case. lie was so intent in his scrutiny of the contents of iny jewel casket that he did not ob erve that I was awuke and regarding him ivith great curiosity. I had a big seven-shooter in my overcoat pocket, but tint was hanging on a chair beyond my reach. I concluded, with that quick mentil action for which my friends admit me famous, that I would preserve the peace and use mild measures, as I noticed he hai a pistol himsel. After I had studied his physiognomy a while I coughed a slight apologetic cough to draw his attention to th'j fact that I was noticing him. lie started slightly and pointing his pistol in a cursory manner in my direction, siid: '*Ah! good evening. You will pardon me for disturbing you. I assure you it was quite accidental. Nothing, sir, was further from my thoughts." "'Who are yoaf' I inqnircd. for I began to realize liis painful situation. Ht; struck a match on the rosewood bedstead and lighted the gas. Then ho handed me his card very politely ynd with the erace of a Duke. I look it, and -sitting up in bed, read as follows: ; T. Mauhice Float, : ; PROFESSIONAL BURGLAR. : : OfDco Hoars froai 12 to 3 a m., : ; Sun lays Excepted. : "Oh,"' said I, "you're a burglar, ch! How d d you get in?" ".Just opened the front door w.th a key and walked in. You don't suppose I was tired in a sky TOCKet, ao you l copie sevin iu imvu such strange idea*. Still, as there are somo twenty ways to enter your house I'll ovoilook your i?noran. e. "Worst guarded house I ever saw," he went on, "but it's large; affords scope to a mind like mine, which delights in breadth and > ^ space. May I trouble ycu to tell me N where our watch i<?" I told h;m and he placed it in his pocket w th a deferential bow. "You don't seem to have much plunder 'or me." lie le-umcd. "Hain't you any bonds?" I told him that I was just out oijbontls and th-it the house had been burg ari/.ed the week before "Ah!" >aid he. "I thought so, and a poor job they made of it, too! 1 never saw a more bungling piece of amateur work. 8'>me m 11 seem to have no idea of finish and delicate techuhjue. They lack enthusiasm. sir. Where did you hint ihat your diamond studs wero, or didn't you pay? Thank you, don't disturb yourself. I'll get them." And he opened the bureau drawer and took them. I felt had about his taking the studs and watch because I noticed that he already possessed those necessary articles. "I meant to a-k you, but Iliad forgotten it in the press of busings," he resumed. "Have vou a do^'?" I told him that the dojj was in the cellar, ile smiled, and Njudded: ' I'm gbd of that, as I am not fond of docs and generally avoid them." "lou will pardon my niriosity," I , said, after"a pause, during wh ch he put the alarm-clock into his overcoat pocket; "U t as 1 nevernaa an opportuuuy uc- ; fore of talking to n real burglar, I'd like j to a?k how burglary pays." "Well, ' ho replied with a si^h, "lliis has been a hard winter for burglars, but tilings are lo king up. i eople are be- j ginning to get v. hristmus presents in, I but a wedding night is the racket for | roe.' ICxcut>e my s<lang, please. It's a hard life tho i?h?you've no idea the trouble people make for us sometimes, and it takes the fine point of! th:- 8?n3ibilites of most natures. But. thank goodness I'm cot lost to all feelings of , humanity. I don't steal from babies in | the cradle." "What were you," I inquired, "before ' you became a b rglar<" "I was a policeman," he answered, haughtily. "1 don t often strike a house as poor as this," h-went on. "Was that silver ?AMA ?A? liorl 2 Wlitf WHUJI IUC UUIJ uug juu uw?i .. ..J you wear a gold one? And, by the way, have you such a thing as a gold lead pencil? I've wanted one for a long while and never could seem to come across it " I told him I had nothing but a stylographic pen It was in my vest pocket. He too'; it. He also took a bottle of dyspepsia mcdirine and mv tooth-brush aud stowed them away. I asked h:m if | he ever toox a fellow's clothes. "Oh, no," said nc quickly, "i maw tne line at clothes, especially such clothes as yours. I h:ive mine made to order in England," and he glanced proudly at his overcoat, which was Imed with sealskin. Then he ask'd rac if I had any wine in the house. I told him that I only had beer. lie didn't want beer, and then he said if I'd come down into the parlor he'd play on the piano and sing a song called: " Put More Wind in My Doughnuts, Dear I Mamma." I said heartily, and with perhaps superfluous emphasis, that I was puuished en H14I1. Then he wanted to know wnen the first train left for New York in the morning. He lingered around awhile and then picked up and opened a volume: "Mrs. James Brown potter's Select hecitations," putt'.ng his pistol in his pocket. This was the first chance. I waited till h'i bec.imo absorbed and re ached for my seven-shooter. Then I pointed it directly at his diaphragm and said in a slow-music sort of way: "Excuse me, bat I mu>t compel you to hold up your hands." He was quite surprised ?in fact, he looked very mortified, and I was afraid he felt that I was acting harshly, but he held up his hands. Held 'em up hard, too, for be seemed anxious that 1 shoulfl notice right off that they were up. I got up and took his pistol from his pocket and then I said: "Just shell out my watch and studs." He shelU-d. Then I remarked: "I'm afraid I must ask you to part with your own watch aud diamond studs, as I perceive they are better than mine." His watch wan a heavy gold repeater and the studs were about four carat-! each. I als > took his large diamond collar-button and a big ring. 4'I yearn for a seilskin overcoat," I remarked, "and yours will fit me, I think." He gave me the coat, and then I urged him 10 take of! hissuit. He was rcluctunt to part with it, but he felt that it would have been impolite, no doubt, tn refuse me. I gave liini an old suit that I wear when 1 go fishing,-and ail old army overcoat. I have a t nder heart. Some men would have sent him ea clishabillo into the cold, cold world, but I'm not that kiud of a man. lie looked like another man when he was dressed. I wouldn't have re.ognizcd hitn. After he was clad in ray secondbest suit of cl?thes 1 ushered him down stairs and opened the frout door. "I then remarked: "I'm so sorry that you must go, but I suppose you have other engagements." lie replied with much fc.'liiig, and there were tears in his voice: "Yes. I must leave you now, but I've had a real nice time; en oyed myself immensely. I3y the way, may I inquire what your busiue-:s is?" I told him I was a mere newspaper artist. His face fell. "(Jreat heavens!" he exclaimed. '*1 made a mistake and got in the wrong hou>e! Serves me right, by gosh! You won't mind mo asking you your occupation, but I kind o' thought you were perhaps a burglar yourself at one time. Good night." Call again," said [. "I will,"he replied cordially from the front gale, lust as liector, my big brindie bull-terrier got out of the ccllar and made a wild, soulful rush after him into the outer darkness. I heard the soft patter of footsteps for a moment and then all was silent. Hector returned a few moments later with a large section of the basement of my fishing trousers in his mou.h and I judged that he had overtaken and sampled Mio burglar. I countcd up the profits of the midnight visitation and and this is how I cauie out: Three gold watches, two chains, three diamond studs, one collarbutton, one pistol, two knives, one ring, oue silver tobacco box, one gold cigar cutter, one meerschaum pipe, one gold j match-box, one gold card case, one ivory J comb, one pack of cards, one paper chew- . ing tobacco, seven cigaiS, one silk handkerchief. one "Guide to Burglary," third edition; in silver, $330 in bills, fourteen government bonds, 64 cents in postage stamp*, one suit of imported clothes, one sealskin overcoat, and one pair of j rubber overshoes. It was a largo aud elegant night for me. 1 ki'cp Hector in the cellar now and alwa}-s leave the front door wide open every nigut. There is a beautifully worded motto just opposite the front door w th this legend in large, distinct red letters: : Burglars ord iall v welcomed at all hours.: : VV. H. "MCDouoall. : ?Nw York World. Tragic Use of a Telephone. If we arc to believe a story told by the Belgian correspondent of the friyaro, the ' telephone has recently been put upon novel duty in Urussells under cirtumf I- 4. m.% AIah stances 01 an exirciuuij nuynj uuauitiitii, i A young laily of that city mistook, it appear*, the civilities of a young man who visited at her parents' house for attentions ' of am >ro serious nature. To her great surprise and mortification, however, she learned some little time ago that he was engaged to cnc of hor friends. Shortly after she m ule the discovery the young mnu received a summons to place himself in telephonic npport with a friend who hud something to say to him. The friend turned out to be the young ludy who loved him u-it wisely but, as the sequel shows, , too well. Without waiting t me on pro liminarics, she a-ked him point-blank if it was true that he was going to m irry Mad i iuoLsello He replied that it ! was quite true. '' Then good bye forever " were the uext words which reached his care, and they were immt-di tely followed by the report of a firearm, The poor girl had lodged a revolver bullet in her heart. She had thus, with the aid of the telephone, made the man for whom she had sacrificed herself as-ist at her suicide, while putting it absolutely out of his power to do anything to j.reventit. ?Si. James's Gazette. A Story of the Princess of Wales. A pretty story is told about the PrjnWnlna TKft (tAonn ftt if. Wftd tl\P .Mansion House, the occasion a ball given some years ago, and to which, among other "invites,'' was a provincial Mayor, who had the honor of being in- \ troduced to the pretty I'riocess. The talc iroes, and the truth of it ia vouched for. that upon his worship asking,against all rules of etiquette, the Princess to grant him a dance, she replied with a t >uch of delicate humor: ;tI do n>?t know whether you will not be rathei afraid; some of my children are only just recovering from the measles. and y u might take th'm." The wearer ol the civic ch;iin, however, was e u;il tc the occasion, for bowing low, he replied 11 should bo delighted to take anything from so charming a source." ? _ The Age of Man. The soldier's age is cour-age; The shopman's age is till-age; Tho gamWers age is cribb-age; The doctor's age is pill-age; Tbe traveler's age is lugg-age; The lover's age is ooit-age; The lawyer's aue is dam age; The preacher s a ,e is verb -age; Tho ilrunkard s age is rumm age; The cook s age uiu^t be pott-age; The German's age is saus age; But the b st aud worst is mirri-age! ?TidrBitx. AGRICULTURAL. TOPICS OP INTEREST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. Winter Work in the Orchard. "When the farmer is drawing out manure from his yards to spread it where it will do the most good, the orchard should not be forgotten. A frequent mistake is : made by forgetting that the orchard is a permanent crop which pays well for | good treatment, and that the failure to I recompense the owner is mostly due to [ his neglect of his fruit trees. Just now, too, it will repay well the trouble taken to secure the trees against injury by rabbits and mice, and also by hogs and sheep which may have the run of the orchard. To wrap the trees with old newspapers and tie these securely will bo a safeguard against the rabbits and 1?* 1 * nVAtt]^ n<nr/ir ho mice, duc nogs auu succp auuuiu ui..v. permitted in an orchard except when the wormy fruit is falling, and then they will do good service and will not injure the bark.?New York Times. Cost of an Acre of Wheat. A contemporary indicates the cost of an acre of wheat under two separate systems, viz: No. 1, Not No. 2 Well lertilized. fertilized. Plowing $1 25 $2 25 Sowing and harrowing 50 6> Seed 1 70 1 70 Harvesting 1 50 2 50 Stacking..., 75 1 25 Ihieshing 1 10 2 60 Selling 1 00 1 00 Manure, barnyard, 12 tons 6 00 Total $7 80 $1? 95 The unmanured acre produces fifteen bushels at a cost of $y.80, or 52 cents per bushel. At 80 cents per bushel the crop would bring $12, leaving a profit of $4.2U. The manured acre produces, forty bushels at a cost of $K:.95, or 42.5 | cents per bushel. At the prico named the crop would bring $32, leaving a balance of $15, or a profit of nearly three hundred per cent greater than in the first instance. Nor is this all; the crop of fifteen bushels makes a straight hole I into the capital stock of the farm; that is, its stored fertility. It is like selling off a corner of the farm for cujrent expenses. The manured land, on the contrary, is as sound as ever, and is in some respects like its owner, a little richer.? Cincinnati Commercial. Marl as a Fertilizer. Professor James, of the Ontario (Can.) Agricultural College, in a recent bulletin considers marl In the light of a fertilizer. With statements made by Professor James that may be serviceable to farmers generally are the following: Marl is frequently found below deEjosits of muck or humus in swamps and ow land' sometimes quite near to the surface. It is then of a slate or bluish?L "x- ? ?n/1 anA?rtxr /3nrlronoH a Willie UUIUf, ncv ouu opuujjj, little on top from the overlying dark soil. Upon exposure to the air it dries to a wnite crumbly mass. In some localities the marl bed is found exposed high and dry ready for immediate application to land. When found lying lo , and soaked with water it ought to dug out and exposed to the weather. Fall is the best time for excavating. Let the marl lie in heaps until spring, when it will be found thoroughly pulverized by the winter frosts. To distinguish marl from clay pour apon it a small quantity of any acid, and if it be ma:l it will effervesce. To test its value quickly, place a small lump in an earthen dish and pour upon it a little hydrochloric acid; the less residue undissolved the better the sample of marl. The effervescence is caused by the setting free of carbonic acid gas from the carbonate of lime, of which marl is prin J mu-i 1 i;m(l CipallV composeu. lue|l.'Hiuuuailc vi UU( or calcium is the most valuable ingredient. In addition will be found small quantities of sand sili-a, oridcs of iron and aluminum, and occasionally small quantities of phosphate of lime. Marl, however, is a rine fertilizer, and is used is such. According as the lime, clay or sand predominates the marl is classed as calcareous, clayey or sandy. The Ontario marls are ca careous. As before noticed, marl is a lime fertilizer Phosphoric acid when present adds to its value slightly. Its effects are either physical or rhemical. I hysically,it seems to give lightness and looseness to soils, and thus rcnde.s them more workable. C hemically, it sorves either as a direct food to the plant, as in the case of grasses, or indirectly by its action in rendering available the organic compounds in decaying vegetation?humus for instance. The nitrogen of swamp muck is unavailable in its usual condition. Thoroughly d'ained the land and apply sixty to sevcnty-nve uusueis ui man poi auv. On light soils about twenty-five bushels per acre, sufficient to help the decomposition of organic matter and 3iipply lime to the crop-*. For grasses, aaa nbout two bushels of salt per acre and apply as surface dressing. .For clay lands, apply by the wagon load: har ilv too much cun be added ( se muck also, if available. Farmers having mirl deposits will do well to test their value on different lands. Small plot* in a couple of fields will bo sufficient. Those not having them should examine their swamps and marshy lands, and dig a few feet beneath black soils. Lime, in the form of marl or carbonate, should not be used with manures. In the changes resulting, ammonium carbonate is formed; this is a volatile compound. Lime, in the form of sulphate, i. e., gypsum or land-plaster, is best; it --1--1--1. _ .t.Ul. produces ammonium suipuaie, u unuio compound?in other words, it fixes the ammonia. The e is no market for marl at present established in auada It* value depends upon its situation and the nature of the I surrounding land. The commercial value | of lime :n fertilizes is sometimes plnced I at to per ton. At that rate, )ntarin dried i murls are worth from S*i to $: per ton. Rich marls are sometimes utilized for burnt lime.?New York World. Farm and Garden Notes. Save the best potatoes in the most prolific hills for seed. Don't waste food on cows unable to make a decent return. If you want the flow of milk to keep nn nlwAvs milk ciean. ~r% ? ?J ? If you starve your hens you will not fatten your egg basket. The quality of fond has much to do with the qualitv of mi k. Guinea fowl9 arj excellent sentinels agiinst hawka, cats and other "varmints. ' Make your b itter sn good a9 to carry it clear out ot competition with all substitutes. The richest mess of milk is not usually the largest, nor yet is it always the emalle t. Dnn't fo-pet that milking in u foul stable or vnrd allt;rts the flu.d ami imparts an in uri us taint. There is nothing so attractive ornamental an a shi ely, well-kept hadge, ?nd it add* va ue to the larin. ' Old, well-dried corn should be fed first, so as to give the new corn as much time as possible for drying. Know by test, and not by guess, which is the most profitable cow in your herd, and why she is the best. Weighing a cow's milk will not cause her to give any more, but may cause her lx. owner 10 suusutuie ? ucuur uue. Turkeys are profitable birds to raise, for they arc marketable, tn some extent, at fair prices throughout the year. Manure from the hen-house is the best fertilizer usually produced on the farm? equal to much of the commercial guano. Using a Y-shaped trough, with slaked lime in the bottom, for hog feeding, is said to keep off cholera from the porkers. Put yourbruiD into this winter's dairy management, and see if you cannot make it the best dairy winter in your experience. The farmer who gets the most eggs is the one who gets up earliest and secures to his flock a good, waim breakfast by daylight. In the matter of raising crops cheaply, it is safe to lay down the principle that large crops cost less to the acre than small ones. In foddering milch cows mix fine feed and coarse fodder together by giving a foddering of one kind and the next foddering of another. Ashes are best .for recuperating moss grown pastures, but bone m-ty be profitably employed where the pastures have a foir sod and a good stand of grass. Brood sows, with litters of pigs, require plenty of pure water to drink, with sloppy food, gras? .or cut hay steamed with shorts?middlings?twice aday. Many farmers swamp themselves by hiring more labor than they can proitably employ, but more lose money by not employing intelligent labor to stimulate the production of their farms. The m st successful shepherd of the future will have his mutton on the market as regularly and in as good condition au his wool. The same man uvill make both products as good as possible. A writer, whose head is level, savs: "Clover ie a great aid in cutting down the cost of a bushel of wheat. Wheat should never be sown without it. It ventilates the soil and tears it to atoms." Oats come the nearest to the filling of " * t?A . ail requisites 01 a comp etc iuuu. jcu, u they are crushed, the additiou of a little pea meal would be an improvement in cases where extra exertion is demanded. Winter is the time when young trees are injured by rabbits, micc, etc. A mound of earth will keep off the latter, and wrapping, above the roots with tarred cotton cloth will discourage the rabbits. Young stock, once allowed to run down, never fully recover from the effects thereof. Of inferior feed and lice the irst generally brings the second. Poor leeding is scandalou3; vermin abided it is brutal. The American Agriculturist remarks: No animal does as well as it should th t is not comfortable. Study th? comfort of all kinds of stock. Regular feeding, .wholesome feed, pure water and comfortable lairs are essential. The American Ponltry Yard recom- J mends a cross between the Langshans and the Partridge Cochins lor good laying qualities and rapid growth. A cross of T.angshans and White Leghorns is spoken favorably of for the same purposes. "Extra food will make cows milk longer," says the Germantown Telegraph. And yet there is such a thing as surfeiting old Sukie, and throwing her into a fever. Warm bran mashes and clover hay run through a cutting-box, mixed, will promote milk-giving. Horses kept in stables will be all the better for a run in the barnyard an hour every day, where they will not only exercise, but roll in the straw and clean themselves. Stable-kept horses need some extra gruouiiuj;, uuv Luciuuijuutcu condition under this management will repay it. In this country it ha3 been demonstrated to the satisfaction of many critical minds that a limestone soil has a benetici il effect upon animals bred and reared by physical tasks. A limestone soil bears on its bosom t!ie finest development of the humau. race, physically speak, ng. Do not allow stock, especially work horses and milch cows, to drink ice-cold water. To take the chill from water costs so little that it is hardly to be considered in the expense account. Some of the more advanced stockkeepers now i will not allow any of their stock to drink , ice-cold water. I Nothing is quite so good for young pigs as their mother's milk. When old enough to wjan take o f the best and put them in a separate pen, with abundance of good feed. Keep the remainder with the how one or two weeks longer, or until \hcy have evened up somewhat with the others. Stable manure should be protected from the weather. Exposed as it often is ill the open barn-yard, it is soaked by the rains and baked l>y the sun, and its own fermo itation burns up that which the weather does not reach. Barns with good ce lars under the stables can - ? ' I be best arranged ior toe proper vuic wi manure, especially the liquid portion. Where cellars are not, low pools in the barn-yard should be provided. A Blow from a Tiber's Pftw. A man-eater, which for six months had been the terror of the neighborhood, had been traced down, and was seen to creep ! into a ravine. The beaters were at once ordered o!f. as they could be of no scr?ice and might be charged by the tiger, 1 which had already been rendered furious I by a wound. L'nfo tunately these men are in the habit of half intoxicating ! th mselves with opium before d iving the tiger from his efuge, and one of them who had taken too large a dose refused to escape, and challenged the tiger, drawing his sword and waving it i defiantly. In a moment the animal j sprang upon hhn, dashed him to the ground with a blow of his paw and turn- d to bav. After a series of desperate charges he was killed. The hunters then went to the assistance of the wounded man, but found that he was past all aid; the lower pan of his facc. including both uws, having been carried away as if by a cannon ball. The ter ritic effect of the uingle blow indicates the power of the limb that struck it. Had the blow taken effect a few inches * " * * * ?1 iitaii]/) Ko c higner tno wnoie 01 mc wuu ,u , been carried away. By a similar b'ow n J tiger h;8 been known to crush the skull of an ox so completely that wh n handled the broken bones felt as if thej were loose in a bag. ? Good Words. J The amount of money in the United I State*, exclusive of copper and nickel, j was recently estimated at $> #,3e0,0 1: in gold, $ SO-,784,233 in silver, and $40,000,000 in paper; total, $1,48 , ' 101,20 . ! FAMOUS FASTERS. MEN WlIO HAVE GONE LONG PERIODS WITHOUT FOOD. A Man Who Reduced His Sire by a Diet of "Sea Puddinff" ?The Longest Fast on Record. The great publicity given to the question of fasting now before the world, j excited by ?ecent successful attempts to i sustain life. ha3 induced mc to state a I few facts not generally known in reference to this matter. That life can be supported and preserved and the ordinary dutios performed on a diet comparai tivcly simple and limited in amount, is an admitted truth and accepted by most persons who have investigated it. In I7ly there lived a certain Thomas Wood, born of intemperate pari-nts. Up to the age of forty he indulged himself to excess in meat of a fatty nature and in large quuill/ies Ul LLLUOO U1 tlWXCO Vi uigi wukaiuing fatty ingredients, such as cheese, butter, and sugar, his beverage being strong a!e. He gradually developed into a man of enormous dimensions, and complication after complication of disorders arising day by day, he became alarmed at the inevitable, which stared him in the face. He gradually cut down his diet by degrees, d.m.nisbing his beer to begin with, and then those diets containing bugar, and also animal flesh. He ultimately allowed himself only pudding made of sea biscuit. With this change of food all his symptoms disappeared, he became metamorphosed from a monster into a man once again. The curious fact is that he abstained from all drink of whatever description. Tee "sea pudding" was composed as follows: , three pints of skimmed milk; this being boiled, was poured on one pound of sea biscuit broken into pieces. This comEound being boiled in a cloth for two ours, it became a pudding of sufficient consistency to be cut with a knife, and on this alone he subs:sted for two years, enjoying splendid health, and with an absence of all those disagreeable symptoms before mentio: eJ. The quantity taken was pounds at five o'clock in 1 ' v:- 1 me morning us Ilia ureunmai., auu tuc same quantity at noon for dinner; after this hour he abstained from all food until the next day. The case of Wood is beyond all doubt, as two clergymen, two doctors and the church warden in the , parish where he lived all testified to the i truth of the facts. Tracing the history up of fasters, we come upon that of John Brown, a miner j in Ayrshire, lie li"ed buried in a coal j mine without swallowing anything but small quantities of chalybeate water sucked through a straw, this being sufficient to sustain life even in a contaminated atmosphere, the nervous excitability being thus diminished, and thus mitigating the cravings of hunger. This is a most interesting case, and bears comparison at the present time with the Italian fasters and their wonderful drinks. At Liege some colliers were shut up in a p.t for twenty four days, and sustained their lives with water alone from a fountain. Experiments were made and the water analyzed. It was found to contain upon evaporation nothing extraordinary, ( and only lime, or what is ailed '"calx." The same constituent is supposed to have e isted in the fiuid which supported John Brown, as before alluded to. Why should this not be the same in case of the Italians??water impregnated with lime suspended in solution. I only give it aa a theory, and I think a correct one. Elizabeth Woodcock : in 17ir.-, lived eight days on snow water. Cecilia Steers, in 1820,1 ved fifteen days also on snow water alone. This came from a well thirty feet deep, and which had been made for the purpose of obtaining chalk. Here we have another instance of the "calx." In 1705 we read of three women in Italy, buried for , thirty-seven days in the snow, living on snow water also impregnated with lime. ' In 17?5 a Yorkshire gentleman, aged sixty, absolutely was incapacitated from tak.ng fi;od for thirty-six days. When in health ho weighed 210 pounds, and on the thirty-second day of his fust hs was j reduced to 138 pounds in weight. Dr. | | Wilton rclat03 a case of an abstainer liv-1 ing seventy-two davs without nourish- j ment, on which day he died exhausted. ' He lived only on water flavored with ; orange-jui c. Henry "Welby, in 1037, j for forty years, though of great wealth, ! never tasted either fish, flesh, or fowl, j He died at the ripe old age of eighty- < four. J>uring the whule of his retirel ment his chief food was oatmeal gruel ! and a salad of cool herbs. The longest time recorded in the an- | nals of physic in whir.h a man existed without food was sixty one days, the , case being that of a young man driven j i mad from overwork. Alexander Benei dictus mentions a case at Venice where a I m;in lived forty-six days without food. | The history of France states that Louis ; . the Pious Emp ror of France, who died in 8<0, existed forty days without food or drink. Albertus Magnus gives us the record of a woman of Cologne, who lived for seven weeks only on water. It is J said that Democritus lived to the age of; 10</ years, and that in the latter part of ! i his life, for forty days, he lived on j smelling honey and hot bread. Kaulin j ' relate another case where fifty-two days I of fasting took place on water alone. ! The Me ical (Jazette lor -inly, 1833, contains two remarkable instances; one of j these, a patient, is stated to have lived I six years without f wallowing any food, I the mouth being occasiona ly moistened with water, tea or whey, ! waich was not swallowed, but spat ' out. In the other case, which j was originally recorded by Professor Iiicei, of Turin, ai inability to take food ! existed for three years. There are many traditions in all histories relating to the means employed by various individuals to support life during danger and privation. The Indians of Asia and America, when they are bound for a long journey whe:e there is a possibility of such a I state oi' affairs evisting, prepare them! selvesfor emergencies as follows: They I mix the juice of tobacco with powdered I she.Is in the farm of small balls, which they retain in their mouths. The gradual solution serves to counteract the unea-y craving for food, it haviug been proved by experiment that clav introduced into the stomach relieves hunger. Iu 1 i.O a woman living at Yarmouth ! created considerable excitement and - 1J amazement ia wie wuuu, uuc n?o imported to have lived for sev.n years and a half witho.it tasting fuod, her iipsonlv moistened with water. The manuscript department at the | British Museum contains a quaint descrip- i I tion of the f isting of Jane Hodges, i-ho j i lixed in the year l(i(5i). {-he suffered from hy-t-jrical aphonia and neither ate nor drank for nine weeks, so it is reported. She was undi-r a delusion, and stated that "she fasted for the sins of the people, and that she was the savior of the nations."' She ultimately recovered and touk food. In 18.0 we read of the 44 Lancashire fasting girl," Ellen Sud vrorth, aged ele en. This is. however, not one of clear abstaining from solid food, as she lived on liquids and soup3. ' \ V ??? i. We now come to Dr. Tanner, the Amed> can physician, who in 1880 commenced his fast of forty days' duration.. He apparently completed this, and was stated to have benefited to the extent of ?2>V 000 by it as a commercial speculation. ?Pall Mall Gazette. ^ Punishments Under Early Laws. Laws were established in Massachusetts earlier than 107ti, for at the first meeting of the court of assistants, at Charlestown, August 23, 1630, (before Boston was founded), they estab'ished "rules of proceeding in all civil actions and instituted subordiuate powers for punishing offenders." Curiously enough, the first law proposed was "for regulating the price of wages for workmen, under a penalty to him that gave, as well as to him who received, more than the limited price," which was two shillings per day for carpenters, bricklayers, sawyers and thatchers. Other laws were also adopted, punishing idleness, encouraging industry and requiring military exercise of every man. Nevertheless, the "subordinate powers" above mentioned?namely, the judges?had recourse to the "reason and understand ing which God had given t&ern. in punishing offenses they professed to be governed by the judicial laws of Moses," and they actually, as in Connecticut, made the "blue laws."' To illustrate thi3 state of things may be mentioned the following cases, taken from the public records, where many are to be found of similar character: John Wedgewood, for being in the company of drunkards, to be set in the stocks. Daniel Clarke, found to be an immoderate drinker, was fined 40s. [Moderate drinking was the custom. 1 Sergt. Perkins ordered to carry 40 turfs to the fort for being drunk. Capt. Stone, for abusing Mr. Ludlow, calling him "justass," is fined ?100 and prohibited coming within the patent without the Governor's leave, upon pain of death. Thomas Petit, for suspicion of slander, idleness and stubbornness, is censured to be severely whipped, and to be kept in hold. Hobert Shorthorne, for swearing by the blood of God, was sentenced to have his tongue put into a cleft stick, and to stand so for the space of half an hour. [An original punishment. J But one of the most remarkable and severe punishments was that of .Edward Palmer, who, "for his extortion in taking ?2 13s. 4d. for the woodwork of Boston stocks, is fined ?5 and ordered to be set one hour in the stocks," which he had made. There were various other rulings, coming under the same category of blue laws, no doubt, which were enforced, some of them probably only once, on the occasion for which they were made. Stealing from the Indians was punished in various ways. In one instance recorded, Josias Pkijtowe, for stealing four baskets of corn from the Indians, was required to return eight baskets, fined ?5, and thereafter to be called Josias, and not Mr., as formerly.?Boston Lerald. Persian Superstitions. There are many and curious superstitions in Persia. Without meaning to exhaust the subject I will give you some of the mora neruliar ones. The "baade khademwhich is approximately rendered in English by the term of evil eyet though literally it would be translated "evil step," plays the largest part in this line. The evil eye is believed in by every body in Persia, the highest as well as the lowest. A baby is healthy and pretty. A friend of the mother admires the little ODe in glowing terms. That would be "baide khadem"'?or evil omen?and would be taken as a diabolical design to injure the child if the phrase "JSenshlil-' lah" (may it please God; were not added to every eulogium. An old woman looks at the child from the right-h ind sideevil eye again. The child atumbles early in the morning?evil eye. The father, by accident, speaks first to the baby at sunrise?evil eye. A girl, pretty, wellmannered, healthy, with a gool dowry, is wedded to a man. The first business undertaking of the young benedict turns out disastrously?evil eye! Nothing could induce that man to keep his young wife. She is "baade khadem" to him, and she's got to go, willy nilly. As the divorce law is such that it virtually lies with the husband alone to keep or send away uis wife, and as the coremony it self is very simple, and requires neitner time nor money, he soon gets rid of her. Nobody blames him. "She was 'baade khadem' to him," everybody says in explanation. and that's enough. The Shah has appointed a very able and deserving man to an important position. for which his previous experience and his capacity eminently qualify him. On the same day the Shah happens to overfeed himself with lamb aud raw cucumbers, and has an attack of colic. The new appoiniee is blamed. He is "baade khadem," and incontinently gets the sack. Every thing is judged in this way. If a man has made n fool ol himself and run to too gre;it expense in entertaining a guest, for instance, the blame is put on one of the ladies of his andaroun, on his head servant, or somebody else, and that one is made to suffer. Astrology <moonadshim), the horoscope (talch). the rosay (tesbini used as an oracle, and the Koran, the poets, especially baadi and Hanz, used in the same way play also a most immio in f.hp liffi of the modern Persian. In all doubtful cases, called technically "istekharet," recoqrse is had to one or the other or to all of them. A man is in doubt whether to purchase a hor<e he desires. Dealer and customer resort to the nearest house of a mollah and the Korun is opened at raudora. If the eye happens to alight on such a passage as "Happy art thou, oh >on of the faith, for Allah will bless thee," the purchase is effected. If not, not. A Machine for Melting Snow. The London Times directs attention to a system of snow melting devised by Mr. P. Lyon, of London. When It is considered that a fall of snow six inchi'8 deep over one mile of road sixty feet wide amounts to 5,86(5 cubic yards, the impossibility of removing it promptly by means of horses and carts is at once apparent. 'J he principle of Mr. Lyon's in AitAin nnn Ko ^onlf VCOtlOU 19 IrliUb UiC OUUH V/C4U l/W uww?? I with in the roads on which it falls when it is in a light and tieecy condition, and therefore easily melted. The apparatus j consists of a wrought iron tube about s thirty-five feet long, having a furnace at | one end, and a short length of vertical pipe for a ch mney at the other. The tube is made in lengths of six feet, and each length is tapered so that they all fit into each other, and are closely packed for transport on wheels. "When a fall of snow occurs the apparatus is to be laid along the gutters of the roads to !:e cleaned, the width occupied being about four feet. A fire is then to be lighted in the furnace, the beat from wh ch will pass along the horizontal tube, which has a flatly arched top. The snow is then to be shoveled on to the heated tube, which will melt it, the resulting water i flowing away to the nearest gully. POPULAR SCIENCE 1 The proportion of land to water upon I the globe bu been usually reckoned a* I 1:2.?6. But exception is now taken to l these figures, as the amounts of each in l the vast unknown polar regions are too ' i ?aI anvtYiinflp lilro an 1 e&iciisive IU aumn W4 ?? accurate ratio being established. 1 An English w'gmaker has invented an ] electric hat which he claims is a perfect s cure for nervous headaches and nenral- I gia. The apparatus consists of a small I battery placed inside the lining of Vx ordinary silk hat, with the flat terminals cutside the lining, so that when the hat ^ . is put on a current of electricity passe* jv between the terminals and diftoses it- i , self all over tho wearer's head. } A letter from Decatur, 111., contains a ' ; brief account of the killing of birds by the electric light towers. Mr. J. H, Coonradt, Principal of the high school, has determined ten different species j among the thousand or so birds killed. The number killed is qaite remarkable.' nor less so is the variety of species, par-i, ticularly at the time of year (September)^ : when the event oct aired. A reindeer's antler pierced with alarg^L hole and beautifully decorated withca**-^* ings was exhibited recently by M. A. Gaudrv before the 1 aris Academy of sciences un ono lace are iwo tea lb, fish, and three twi s of plants. On' tho other are two eel like, slender animals, three indeterminable animals, and an insect. This is a fragment from the rein- . ! deer age and wjis discovered in the Jfl & ontgandier Caves, Department of Cha- ' - J! rente. The particular office of flies appears to i. be the consumption of those-dead and " .t! minute animals wh se decaying myriads would otherwise poison the air. It was '/ a remark of Linn ius that three flies ','i could consume a dead horse sooner than. a lion could. He doubtless included the families of the three flies. A single fly, the naturalist td s us, will sometimes produce 20,000 larwcy each of which, in a few days, may bs the parent of another / ?' 20,000, and tnus the descendants of tliiee flies would soon devour an animal much larger than a horse. A striking illustration of the fact that the least is known about the most common things is sho . n by some recent sur- ~ vcys of the Pyri-nces Mountains. A large lake hitherto unknown, and the largest - ;M among these mountains, has been discovered on their northern slope Ijing in ' $ a gap between two (hains of reaks, y themselves supi osed heretofore to oe one |:'; j and the samo. Also on the south and -f I southeast sides several ranges nearly ten . J thousand feet high were described, none j of which had e e- been noted on any geographical m:ip of this region. In a recent: ddress to the British Geo- ,g loerists' Association, Mr. W. Topley stated that the land-area of England if ' ^ probably a* great as 500 years ago, although certain coasts have been m^cft worn by the waves. On the coast of -S Bolderness ard Norfolk tnesea is gain- riJ ing on the land at the average rate of '{% from two to 1 hree yards a year, while during exceptional gales the loss in places has been many yaids in a single day. The eroded material is deposited elsewhere, as in the estuaries of the Humber and -'' the "Wash, forming new land quite equal "l in extent to that carried away. ' . Some Big Salaries. Curiosity, writes a New York correspondent to the Cleveland Uader, led me to make note of the salaries paid b; t the railroad and telegraph companies. 1 The New York Central Hail road pays I ChaunceyM. Depew, it is said, $40,000 * J? a year; the Erie paid <>:r. Jewett alike amount and presumably the present in-i /Jy cumbent is satis;>id wi.h no less. , The \ ?j| revenue which men like Jay Gould, and Cyrus lieW aud llusscll Sage derive :.'q from the position of directors of many A corporations, should be better, than a : * munificent salaiy. Each company pay? jjgfi its directors *5 for attendance at meetr > icings; this alone to a man with as many- " 1 runs ill ills lilt?aim uu mc jjiuuuu-m y, has Mr. Gould, cmoonts in a tear to princely si m. Alter the railroad Presi' v'^ dents, perhaps the best paid class of men are the Presidents of the large insurance * i companies. The President of the Equitable 1 ife and the New York Life each "*1 receive $00 per year. Tae poorest . v<! paid men are cn the daily papers,tae larg est salary in New \ork city of the.class-. mentioned being that paid to Mr. David M. Stone, editor of the Journal of . 4.'y Comn.erct, which is $l-,00< a year. The ministers of the gospel and the judges ,'Ji rank between the corporate o ticcra and the journalists. } r. Beecher, $~'0,i)0n a year; Mr. Talmnge, $12,00'f or $15,000, ^ for it has been several times changed. |j However, it must not be thought that the salary is the only consideration wwhich the minister receiv< 8, for I have :v heard it reckoned that Mr. lie-'cher'a receipts from marriage fees ha e averaged $10,000 per.year; >.r. Tairaage's half as ; v| much. They are both voium'nouiv I wrimni nnfl fluent lectti ers and should not be in want. The judges of the courts in New Yo:k, the supreme Court, 'i rec.ive $7,f>0(; per year, :o which in the $ county of New York it added $10,000 per year, making a judge of that court in ftcw "iork city the re ipient of "fl $17,500 for each year of his judicial - .J labors. 1 "I Need Thee Every Hoar." J "Preachers have edd experiences of which they say very little,said a Chir . *! cago minister recently. "When I insti- v tuted my Sunday evening meetings I attributed the lar?:e audiences to interest in religious services. One night as I an- <1 nounced the hymn 'I Need Thee Every -i] Hour.' 1 distinctly saw a young lady in I one of the front scat* nudge a vounggen- ' I tleman at her side. Three seats back I 1 saw a young gentleman nudge a young I lady, and t re seat* back I saw nnothez -M gentleman nudge a young lady. Theset J m- to thinking, and the next Sunday J night I gave out the hvmn with my eyei %jm wide open, and as I uttered the word* | 'I Meed Thee Every Hour,' 1 saw several I people nudge several other people, and 1 my notions'of the zeal of these ladiea I and gentleman changed They came to J church to be in each other's company.? I Chicago Inttr- Ocean. "A Cfone Sucker.'* I In a certain city in ( onneoticut there I lived a very email boy with a liberal V-pa share of smalt ''original sius." It chanced that one d;iy i.e wa> playing io 9 front of the house and overheard some ;jfl street gamins using s ang expressions -fl profusely. He ran oh is mother crying, 9 Mamma, mamma, ""-wlia's a 'gone Jfl sucker'?" > ow mamma did not in the J least Know, uuc as ucr son nan oeen , disobeying her that morning, she took advantage of the op;>ortu ity to point a good moral. "A go e sucker, my son t "Why, it meant anaugl tv little boy who doesn't miid his mother.1' Tint night, as . ohnnie was saying hi* p avers, the full measure of his s r. seemed to occur to him with awful sig ifica ce, and stoppi g short in the usual petition, he cried out in the abandonment of his reirorse, v "Oh, Ltrd, I'm a gone sucker . Harper1* Magazine. %