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THE SUMMER DAYS. The summer days are long and sweet Oh, sweet and long! We ait and list at Nature's feet Unto her song. "Wa dream and dream through days so rare, Oh, life is sweet! With birds and flowers and tender air, And sunshine deep.# Pair youth an<l love go hand ill hand, 111 life's bright spring; Love uses well his magic wand Sweet spoils to bring. Young hearts, be happy while ye may, For youth is fleet; The path lies not again this way For thy swift feet. Then dream and sing thy happy song Through summertide; Mirth, inrocence and joy belong And with thee bide. ?Sarah P. McLean, in the Current. K SONG OF THE SUi'JSET LAND. In the far-off hills of the sunset land; In the land where the long grass bends and quivers, Where the ghosts of night and morning stand By the gleams and dreams of the lonely r.vers, Where the brown sedge waving, stoops and shivers At the water's edge in the sunset land. Through the trackless paths of the sunset land; Where the silence broods in a dream unbroken, And the days slip by like grains of sand, Where the song unsung aud the word unspoken. Seem like a part of a namless token Of the wild gray wastes of the sunset land. j On the snow-clad p?aks of the sunset land; As they rise in tiie ciouas so near to neaven In shadowy vastness, stern and grand, Where gaunt o!d pines by the lightning riven, Moan in the wind, through their branches ! driven, On the crags and cliffs of the? sunset land. 'Mid the rolling plains of the sunset land, Where the echoes drift on the tufted heather In the wake of breezes sweet and bland; Where the shadows go in a troop together Across the haze of the fair June weather In the grassy dells of the sunset land. By the wand'ring streams of the sunset land, Where the ripples rise 'mid the tall reeds bending And float away to an unknown strand; And the shade and the sunlight slow descending Pall where the voice of the waters blending Sings of the sunset land. ?Ernest McGaffey. tit Inter-Ocean. * T T TITTm TT 1 "*T fi T"l T\ , iLLili JDU1 JCLAIN IjliU. The story of a man who is reprieved "While standing on the scaffold with the noose about his neck, must always thrill. The fact of any one standing in the presence of death for a moment has a strange fascination about it, aud his fellow men are anxious to know what his thoughts and feelings were as he expected to be ushered into eternity. It has been my ill luck to look squarely into the eves of grim death on several occasions, and my good luck to preservi my life aga'nst the fate which seemed to hunger for it; and some of the incidents may prove interesting to the general reader. During the siege of Yorktown by McClellan I was detailed from my company to do scout work. While my reports no doubt went to the commander himself, I reported directly to a division commander, whom I never met without being forced to notice the fact that he was the worse for liquor. Later on in the war there was a chief of scouts, but at this time there were half a dozen of us taking orders direct from this General and reporting back to him in person. On my third trip I was very nearly captured by the Confederates, and in the squeeze j T rvf oil mtt nonArs inolllHinff t.VlP ' Xgvsunvi vr* "O pass which gave rae entrance and exit | to the Federal lines. Therefore, when I I finally reached the Federal picket post I had nothing by which to identify myself. The officer in command of the reserve picket post was a smart Aleck, who thought to add to his importance by refusing to believe my story and sending me to the headquarters of the brigade. There I was regarded as a veritable Confederate spy, and the General in command was extremely pompous in his demeanor toward me. I can remember the conversation as vividly as if it took place yesterday. By the time I reached j his tent my arms had been tied behind ' me, and I was looked upon as a very dangerous fellow. "So you arc the spy captured down j there at the picket!" shouted the General as I stood before him. "I am no spy, sir," I replied. "Oh, no, of course not; but don't you talk back to me, you infernal tratror! j Who sent you spying into our camp?" I "I am a Union soldier, sir, and be- ' long to " "Shut up, you scoundrel! Don't ! think that you can stand there and lie to me. What rebel command do you belong to?" "None, sir. I am a Union scout, and was detailed " "Stop!" he shouted, while his face grew crimson. "While the truth may not help, you, I hate to see you stand in " ,v _ r j ii. !i.i. _ i ine presence ui ueaui wicn a ue upon your lips. Guard, remove him." I was taken away and confined in a gnard house, but not for long. In about an hour I was taken to another tent in the same encampment, and I entered it to find four or five general officers present. It was to be a drum-head court martial. As I afterward learned, a report of my capture had been sent to headquarters, and McClellan had replied: 4< Try him by drum-head court martial, and if found guilty hang him at sunrise." A drum-head court martial is a dignified farce. It is convened to convict. The idea is that the victim is guilty, but must be disposed of according to the regulations of the War Department. The fact that I openly and boldly approached the Union picket, and that I was coming from the Confederate lines, carried no weight in my favor. The officer of the picket said I was certainly a spy, and that settled it. When they finally condescended to hear my explanation. I gave my name, and stated that the Geneial to whom I made my reports would identify me. I stood in neither awe nor fear, knowing how easily I could be identified. Some of the members of the court were opposed to giving me this chance for my life, but it was finally decided to despatch an orderly and adjourn the court for an hour. I was conducted back to the puard house to w;iit, and when agiin taken before the officers I expected 10 be disc' sirred w.rhout 1 elay. \ou can therefore imagine m.: rVv'^ii 'i.aa'aatiat. ,/..a. feelings when I was informed that Gen. utterly repudiated me. My regiment and company were a dozen miles away, and I felt that it would be useless to ask farther delay. In ten miuntes I wa9 found cruiltv. and sentenced to execution | at sunrise, and before midnight a scaffold had been prepared. Why had Gen. denied my identity? The only excuse I could offer for him was that he was drunk when the Messenger reached him, and such proved to be the case* Roused from his stupid sleep, he had winked and blinked at the communication and made out a portion of it, and then flung it down with the assertion that he knew no one of my name. The i gallows was erected within a few rods of j where I was confined. Some beams and hr>fiivi? uorp taken from an abandoned I house, and the structure was a very rude affair. I could plainly hear every blow struck, and the fellows engaged in putting it up seemed to want ine to overhear their unfeeling remarks. About an hour before daylight a curious change took place in me. I began to wonder if I was really the man I claimed to be, and it wasn't fifteen minutes before I had come to the conclusion that I was some one else?in fact, a confederate spy, as they declared. This idea took such firm lodgment in my mind that I would have honestly denied my real identity. I felt that I had been fairly tried and" honestly convicted, and that I ought to suffer death. There was no particular terror in the idea. The only thought about hanging which made me cringe was the fall tVimiKrh tlip tm?v Tt seemed to me as I reflected on it that the pain would be something awful, but I was consoled at the same time with the reflection that it would soon be over. Half an hour before sunrise I was brought out aud escorted to the foot of the gallows. If I remember right there was about half a company of infantry on the ground. Only a few of the soldiers in camp were out to witness the proceedings. They had graciously provided me with spiritual conso'ation in the presence of a chaplain, but, though the good man talked to me for ten minutes, I did not hear one word in twenty he uttered. I was all the time wondering how long before it would be over, and every minute of delay made me impatient. When the time came for me to mount the scaffold I was really dad of it. There was nothing in the sight of the dangling rope to chill me. I took my place on the trap, the chaplain uttered a prayer, and then a soldier quickly tied my elbows aud ankles and pulled a cap over my head. It was a matter of seconds now, !ind T said tn mvsHf! "It is comiug now?good-by to all?it will soon be over." Tliey had to cat a rope underneath to spring the trap. My sense of hearing was so acute that I located the man who stood with an axe ready to do his service at a given signal, and I heard him whisper to himself: "Why. in God's name, do they keep the man so long in suspense?" "Then I began to count one?two? three, and so on, and had got up to nine, when I heard a shouting not far away, aud mingled with it the sound of horses coming at a gallop. "Don't cut that rope!" commanded the officer in charge, and I said to myself : "Something has gone wrong, and there will be a further delay. Perhaps I am to be shot. That would be an easier way to die.1' There was some loud talk around me, two or three people came up the ladder to the platform, and directly a hand pulled the cap off my head and a voice said: 'Captain, there is some terrible mistake here. This is Roberts, one of my scouts." ';But you did not know him last night?" "I know him now, and you will release him at once." It was Gen. . As he awoke from his drunken sleep at an early hour a dim remembrance of the message crept into his mind, and he rolled out of bed and found the inquiry sent by the court martial. He could" not remember what . word he had sent in reply, but he jumped into his clothes and then into the saddle, and he came just in time to prevent a military murder. What was the effect of this close call? Well, I went to the hospital for two weeks with a fever, and it was a full month before I was positively certain of my identity.?New York Sun. The Giant's Causeway. The Giant's Causeway is a series of columnar basaltic rocks in County Antrim, on the northeast coast of Ireland. For eight miles along the coast the land abuts on the sea in cliffs of basalt, many of them made up of rude vertical columns, and the appearance of these columns from the sea suggests a partial resem| blance to architectural forms. The name Giant's Causeway is often applied to all this coast range of cliffs, but it properly belongs to only a small part of it, which i 1 1* 15 (I pmiiuiiu ui Urtoau ill vivavij uiiuu^vu columns?from fifteen to thirty-six feet high?which extends from a steep cliff down into the sea till it is lost below low water mark. It is divided across its breadth into three portions, the Little, Middle and Grand Causeway, these being separated from each other by dikes of basalt. The columns are generally hexagonal prisms, but they are also found of five, seven, eight and nine sides, in almost every instance being fitted together with the utmost precision, and it is said that even water cannot penetrate between adjoining columns. The name causeway is given to the platform, as its columns terminate at so nearly a uniform height that it presents an almost smooth area extending to the water, seeming to the primitive imagination a road that had been prepared for the convenience of giants.?Inter- Ocean. Silver on Their Soles. The workmen in Mexican silver mines become so skilful in stealing silver that the owners employ detectives to work with them. An owner tells this story: | "One day a detective came to me and said when such and such men came out I tn uvomino eon/lolo f Tio/1 fhnf I done. On the bottoms of the sandals was what appeared to be mud, but when it was scraped into a pan and worked I found that it ran at the rate of $3,000 to the ton. My miners had plastered a thin layer of mud from the mine over the leather, andthen sprinkled on the particles of silver, and over all had put an> other layer of mud. They were working for 37? cents a day, and carrying out | fifty cents worth of silver on the sole of each sandal." A Great Poet's First Effort. A certain traveling man recently discovered that he is a great poet, and this is how he found it out: Oh, little girls, always practice economy, Even your slate pencils, save them up with care, l For some day when you no longer need them to do sums with, You can use 'h?m heated to curl your soft golden' a'r. ?Merchant-Traveler. AGRICULTURAL. TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. Missed Seeding of Grain. It often happens that strips of land through grain holds are accidentally left unseeded, and the mistake is not discovered until the grain is up. In most cases little is gained by trying to seed after the main crop is above the surface, especially "with spring grain, which matures so quickly after sowing. The entire width of a drill for a short spacc will at harvest time scarcely be noticed, as the grain on either side will spread so that the tops nearly cover the vacant space. Usually if the stoppage has been from the grain giving out, some tubes will run most of the way across the field, and these will help fill up, often suggesting that far less seed is required for a good crop than is generally supposed. A failure of grass or clover seeding is really a worse evil than the loss of a strip of grain, and if there are many bad faults in the grass seeding it were better to plow all up and try it again. For where clover and grass fail to catch the vacancies will certainly be filled with weeds. Floral Hints. In hot. drv weather, gladioli will re pay the attention of a mulch of rotten manure over the beds, and applying water freely if thought needful. It is the right course to place supports in the earliest stages of the spikes, as the broad leaves are much acted upon by gales of wind, and if the roots get loosened the plants soon suffer. Thvsc having spots about the home so shady that grass will not grow, may rely upon the hardy ferns for embellishment. Wild ferns abound in all parts of the country, in woods and waste places, and can usually be had for the digging. Many persons gather seeds for the season all in one day, and that far along in the season. It is better to commence with the first flower of spring, and keep it up all through the season. A correspondent writes that she usually carries in her pocket a small ball of twine, and when she sees an extra tine flower from which she would like seed, she ties a bit of twine around the stem, and when among the flowers she is glways on the I i j. e it.. ?J /]? iuuiyuui iur lug rijiuucu aucua ui suuu. These she gathers and ties up in the corner of her handkerchief, or in chcese cloth, narrowly hemmed for the purpose, which she has provided expressly for, gathering seeds in. Phlox and pansy seeds must be covered with something to admit air yet retain the seeds, else they will fly away while curing. Morning glory, phlox, and other kinds with heavy seeds and light shells can be easily cleaned by putting in a cup, shaking this and blowing iuto it slightly or hard, according to the kind of seeds. Fine seeds with coarse husks can easily be separated by sifting, and still others, like scabiosa and calendula, require no cleaning.?Cultivator. The Thinning of Fruits. Perhaps no other horticultural operation has been so much written about, or has been so eloquently advocated at the meetings, as that of thinning of fruits, by which we mean the removal of a portion of the crop that sets, that the portion of the crop that remains by having double rations plant food, may be larger and better; yet in spite of all this expenditure of ink and eloquence, how little is there to show for it? Who thins fruit upon any large scale? It can be shown by figures, that the o:ae way to make fruit-growing pay is to sell good fruit at large prices, and that the one way to have | good fruit, is to throw away one-half or | two-thirds of it while it is still young, j This may be done before the flowers have ! bloomed, by the operation of disbudding. ! This rarely removes enough, and as soon 1 as the fruit has set a large share is re- j moved. If it appears tha t too much still! remains, the number may be reduced wheu it is half grown, ana still more, if need be, just as ripening is about begin-, ning. So with giapes, a certaia number j of clusters of which is apportioned to the age and strength of the vine. Of course precision like this is not; looked for in i market culture, but an approximation to \ it may be attempted, but let nothing be j carried beyond tne point of profit. If a fruit grower be desirous of testing the matter, let him select two trees or the Bame. kind, peach, pear, apple, and also two grape vines of each kind he proposes to grow, at the same age. etc. Allow one of each kind to go in the usual way, and with the other, thin out from one"-! half to two-thirds of the fruit from the tree soon after it has set fairly. If when : half-grown, it appears that more thinning j will be profitable, do it, keeping an j accurate account of the cost of doing it. ! With vines, left to themselves, each shoot j usually boars three clusters, sometimes! more, they leaving two clusters and, also one, on each shoot, and also in , pinching the cane back to three, two or one leat beyond the bunch or bunches. It is expectcd that the increased value of i the fruit, the price at which it is sold, j will leave a handsome profit.? American : Agriculturist. I Summer Soiling. There are several ways of economizing | grass used as pasture or other pasturing , crops. The great waste of pasturing is in the tramping of the stock and in the fouling by the excrement. This loss is a very large item where land is high in j value and where it costs a large sum to get a well set pasture. In such cases there is a large economy in soiling. This ' may be done not only by cutting the fod- j der and feeding it in stables and yards, j but also by tethering the cows, and with j sheep by providing light movable hurdles or fence panels, which may be set up or taken down and removed with great ease. The movable fences may be used for confining co .vs as well as for sheep. There are several kinds of them in use. The cattlc of the islands of Jersey and j Guernsey are all tethered, and it is to this economical management that the small! farms of those fertile islands are able to ! support a cow on less than an acre of j land. This method is also extensively J used in the western part of France, where j the farms are small and yet keep a large number of cattle. Small fields of colza : (a variety of rape) and of clover may be ; seen there, with the cows tethered in i ranks, each one having so many feet of fodder to consume each day. The cows are secured |>v strong leatherneck straps, having rings sewn in them, and a chain or rope with a snaplock at one end and a Vorrrn i*?nrr of /\4-V?a? Tlio Cnnnlni'L* is fastened to the ring in the neck strap, ! and the large ring is dropped over the tethering stake. When feeding down ! Jhe grass on the lawn and under the fruit. trees in the orchard the writer has useci a light chain about twenty feet long, with a swivel in it, and attached to a revolving ring or clevis in the head of an iron pin, which is driven into the ground. Tethering chains of the same kind h&ve j been found very useful in feeding down j green clover in the fields, giving the cows a strip about six or eicht feet wide, in the shape of a curve in front of them, for their meal. There is some little difficulty in placing the cows, and when ten or twenty are kept it is better to have movable hurdles for enclosing them and pro tecting the crop. But where a single cow or two or three are kep t this method is quite pr;rcticable and convenient. The best hurdle is a simple panel nine feet long, made of light narrow boards, just as a board fence is made, and with upright bars of the same material. The ends of the boards project beyond the end bars about six inches, so that when two are placed overlapping, a fence wire ring; can be slipped over thusc ends and secure them. Stakes are driven down, three to each panel, and the panels arc held by them quite firmly by driving two on one side and one on the other alternately. A. very good hurdle has been made of round poles sixteen feet long with stakes or spokes fixed in tfiem in noies Dorea through, thus forming rows of strikes on both sides about twelve inches apart the whole length. A second set is put in crosswise with the first row. This hurdle is turned over and over as it is required to advance it. But for moving a distance it is not so handy as the plain board hurdle. It is impossible to keep cows or sheep whh economy and profit unlew some provision is made for Summer feeding, and for this purpose the annual plants, which grow quickly, are better than grass. They yield a large product to the acre, i and may be changed from one year to ' anDther. And these annual forage crops must be a considerable dependence also for the Winter feeding as cured fodder. ?New York Times. Farm and Garden Notes. Feed the young chicks early, late, and often. There are few plants that start from seed as readily as lilacs. A farmer's wife whose hens have paid well calls poultry the woman's friend. The finest stalks of asparagus are raised i by giving the plants plenty of room. From analysis, oat straw appears to be, as a rule, superior to wheat straw for j feeding purposes. j Mineral fertilizers, notably marl, are best for peach trees. Stable manure on young trees is deleterious. Foremost among birds that never do us any harm are the wren and bluebird, according to a fruit grower. Oats and peas sowed together, and fed as soon as the crop is high enough to cut, is convenient feed for a cow or two on a farm. When fungus appears on roses, carnations or other sodden plants sulphur exposed to the hot sun is among the best remedies. Remember that sheep are close grazers and ought not be turned on backward pastures or on fields not well covered with grass. Lampblack mixed with strong vinegar will mark the sheep so that it will remain a year, and will not injure the wool as do tar and paint. Wi?o nnffin r* fnrA.innli moaVi i c ooi/l now to be cheaper than boards for fencing poultry, and more easily arranged with less labor. If stock of all kinds could have a dark shelter to flee to in the hot part of the day, to get away from the dies, it would be a great saving. Absorbents should be freely used to prevent standing water about the yard 01 barn cellar as a sanitary measure and a saver of fertilizing material. Some recommend to sow pasture land with clover and a variety of giassjs, that herds of cattle with different tasles may separate over the entire pasture. The common red clover is better than the large for general purposes. The latter is aifficult to cure, makes coa-serhay and is more apt to become musty. Buttermilk is cheap food for the pigs, and they will always do well when buttermilk is made a portion of their food; but it should not be fed exclusively. When a brood sow proves a good and careful mother keep her, aud do not discard her for a lighter and younger one, because the old is large and heavy. Lettuce seed should be sowed on a finely-prepared bed, made rich, and the largest plants used as they grow, which will avoid the necessity oi transplanting. Undertake to cultivate no more than you can manage well, and increase your acres as you increase in ability, and your acres and ability will advance step by Step. If new grape vines are wanted, lay the last year wood in a trench before the buds start much. Rub off half the buds and fill gradually with mould a3 the shoots grow. It is claimed that more damage is done by the gentle bull than those that are vicious, and the advice is to watch them, as the gentlest of bulls is a treacherous animal. It is too often forgotten that the teeth of aged animals, like those of old men, arc defective, and food should be ground and made soft accordingly, in order to feed them with economy. Au exchange says if farmers will drop ~ T-w-w*? aw fr\rr\ in noKill nf T\nf,n. tt SUUpUCUU vi l/??v Ail vuvm ***** v?* jswrti. toes when they plant them the pesky potato bug will never bother them. There is a smell about the bean the beetles dislike. If by the ensilage system, a greater number of cows can be kept, the farmer will have a larger arta of land to be cultivated. Every acre of pasture that can be cultivated and made to yield a crop Ls a gain. With an ample supply of sweet, tender grass and clover, no; only cattle and sheep, but hogs, would steadily lay on flesh and fat till the frost appears in tho fall. A variety of grass ana clover is absolutely necessary if a farmer would produce beef, mutton and pork at a very small cost. A correspondent of the Country Gentleman dilates on tho advantages resulting from bagging grapes. It much more than pays for tho time and trouble devoted to the work, and assures the ripening of several varieties which, if not bagged, would be worthless. The big should be slipped over the cluster before the grapes become large enough to be stung by insects. The Face at tho Window. Here is an item for the lovers of the -_j. i? marvelous: "A young woman uui, iuug ago was married to a soldier stationed at Fort Uniou, New Mexico. After the marriage he returned to his post and she resumed her duties as a domestic in a Denver family. A few nights ago, while sitting in the kitchen, she heard several distinct raps upon the window. Looking up she saw the face of her husband. She ran to the door, opened it, and, calling, found no one on the oufciide. Th?n she fainted. Soon after she received a telegram saying that her husband had died at Union just about the hour when she saw his face at the window." ~ I [ HOHENZOLLERNS... THE HOUSE FROM WHICH GERMANY'S RULER SPRINGS. The Hohenzollerns Splendid Physical Spcimens of Humanity ?Habits of the Aged Emperor William. "When the subject of a marriage between the Crown Prince and Queen Victoria's eldest daughter was first broached writes C. W. Mcllvainein Harper's Weekly, Bismarck was reported to have expressed his disapproval of the match in these terms: ,4It will spoil our handsome Hohenzollerns." The House of Hanover is ? physically weak and undersized stock, while the Hohenzollerns are, as a rule, f-p'.endid specimens of humanity. Bismarck's fears were realized. All the Crnwn .Princess children with the exceo tion of Princess Charlotte, are commonplace in appearance. Princess Charlotte, who has a subdued likeness to the Prince of Wales, gave no promise of beauty in her early years. The Emperor is said to have jestingly remarked to her: "If I had known that you were going to turn out half so beautiful,I would not have married you off to Saxe-Meiuingcn. You might have caught a king!" Prince William, the oldest son, is short and slight; and although military training has given a certain hauteur to his bearing, he yet lacks the kingly dignity and impressive eyes of his equally small-sized ancestor, Frederick the Great. One of his arms is unsymmetrical with the other?a deformity which is carefully concealed by the tail| or's art. Although a coutrust to his | grandfather in appearance, he is singuj larly like him in mental cl aracteristics, and if the liberal tendencies of his father do not forestall him in an intermediate reign, he will stoutly maintain all the royal prerogatives like the present Emperor, as he has already like him become the general favorite of the army. Bismarck's vexation at the thought of introducing Havoverian blood into the antral cnofincoinn is hilt An PXHrGSSion Of the pride which all Prussians feei in the splendid physical development of their line of kings. The Emperor William himself is every inch a Hohenzollern of the traditional type. He is considerably above the average height, and although age has bent his head, his figure has still an erect, military bearing. His thin gray whiskers, wrinkled brow, faded, almost sallow, complexion, the failing lustre in his quiet gray eyes, and the involuntary languor which creeps at times over his face, betray, while his activity and mental vigor are unable to conceal, the real condition of his strength. His face, as a whole, is ordinary. A reader of physiognomy would be inclined to credit the belief that in affairs of state he often retires behind the Chancellor. His commanding presence, however, is an outward sign of the dignity with which he conceals this fact from the world. Whether it is due to the traditional economy of the Hohenzollerns or to the strict^ military training from early youth, his palaces and general habits of life befit an officer rather than an emperor. He always appears in uniform, his business and his pleasures are ordered with military exactness, and he even sleeps on the same kind of camp bedstead which he has used on Ins cam paigns. It is amusing to hear the comments of peasant visitors to the palace when they arc shown the royal bedroom. Their own feather-beds, they think, are more comfortable than the imperial couch. It is only in the grati6cation of of his appetite that the Emperor allows the slightest relaxation of military discipline. His guests at dinner, however, do not all share the benefits of this indulgence, for, according to etiquette, the Emperor is served first, and as soon as he has finished the course is changed, often before those lowest in rank at the table have had time to partake; so many an officer anticipates a royal "feast" by dining first at some restaurant. Visitors at the summer palace of Babelsberg, near Potsdam, have often wondered what the shrine-like frame on the Emperor's desk contains. No fee to the guides will open its doors. They conceal to all but the Emperor the likeness of Elise Radziwill. The Empress so far respects this first love of her hissband that she often deck the shrine with flowers. When he was still the young Princc William of Prussia the Emperor fell desperately in love with the beautiful Elise. Unfortunately it was a statute in the royal family that none of its scions should marry except into a reigning house. Lawyers tried to prove mat ine P&dziwills were descended from an old Polish dynasty as royal as the Hohenzollerns. It was proposed that Prince Augustus, an unmarried brother of the then king, should adopt Elise. But no ltgal qubbling could prove her of royal birth. Meanwhile Prince Charles, younger brother of the present Emperor, married a daughter of the Grand-duke of Weimar. The latter declared that if Prince "William should insist upon marrying Elise, he would claim the throne for the issue of Prince Charles. It was only to prevent the possibility of a war of succession in Prussia that Prince William finally consented to forego the dictates of his love. Elise died soon afterward, and there were not ?1- - 1 a lew senumciuausis wuu cmuucu uui i this wns due to a broken heart. Next to the constancy of his love for the lost Elise, the most touching trait in the character of the aged ruler is his fidelity to the memory of his mother. Every year, on the 10th of July, the anniversary of Queen Louisa's death, he goes to the mausoleum in the quiet park of Charlottenburg, and there with his family holds silent communion with the dead. A long experience in the great capitals is not required to convince the visitor that the Emperor is the most popular monarch in Europe. Evidence of this is given upon every appearance of his in public, whether it is at the historic corner* window of his palace, where knots of people gather daily to greet him, or whether it is in his afternoon drives, when the stray soldiers on the street line up to give the military salute, civilians raise their hats, and perhaps some lady in high society makes the profound court courtesy. Often a lady will be seen rush ing up and laying a bouquet in the carriage, while the Emperor nods his pleasure at the attention. Pedal Measurements. The size of the foot varies in individuals within wide limits, but the average length among different peoples is pretty constant, and would appear, with certain exceptions, to be an indication of the degree of civilization to which the community had attained. Thus, according to a series of measurements collected from various sources, we find the proportionate length of the foot to the height of the individual, represented by 100, to be as follows: Parisians, 14.8; Russians, 15.5; Hungarians, 15.4; Chinese, 15.1; Australian aborigines, 15.1; Algerians, 14.8. ?Medical Record. West Point. North and east the Point is hemmed in by the mighty river, west and south by the rock-ribbed Highlands. The plateau, little by little, has been leveled and graded, until to-day it is a broad, beautiful, grass-grown plain, bounded on the west by the cosy homes of the officers and professors, on the south by the stately barracks, the grim, old-fashioned "Academic," tne urccisn cnapei, ana the domed turrets of the Library. Skirting the precipitous river banks, a broad, graded road encloses the plateau on .the north and east, and others, as level and carefully kept, border it on west and south, and nearly bisect italong the meriJ:? /-.? 3 ?:,i, 11 UlilU. VUrcit'U ?>nu r>cii-viu|/|yvu wui?^ the western half of the "plain" is devoted to infantry drills; the batteries and the crunching hoofs of the horses are limited to the gravel of the eastern half. All around are the rocky heights, trimmed with pine and fir and cedar, with here and "there a peep at the stony parapet of some old redoubt or battery thrown up in the days of the Revolution. The square built hostelry, once and foi years known as Roe's, stands perched at the northeast limit of the plain. Statues in bronze or marble gleam here and there amid the foliage, and tell of deeds of heroism and devotion on the part of the sons of the old academy. The tall white staff glistens against the dark background of the Highlands, and throws to the breeze, high over all, the brilliant colors of the Stars and Stripes; and on the easternmost verge of the broad plateau lies the camp ground, the summer home of the Corps of Cadets. Laid out in mathematical regularity, with well-graveled pathways, sentry posts and "color-line," and shaded by beautiful trees, the encampment, like everything else at West Point, is so exquisitely trim and neat as to leave little lesemblance to the "tented field" as seen in actual service on thefrontier. The white tents gleam in accurate ranks as though they were pitched by aid of the "straightedge" rule. Farthest to the west are the guard and visitors' tents; then comes an open space between them and the color line, along which the arms are stacked every bright day. It is in this space the camp ceremonies?guard mounting, dress parade, and the weekly inspections ?take ulace. Immediately behind the color line are the tents of four companies, two inward facing rows to each, with a broad alley, known as the "general parade," separating the right and left wings. The company streets run east and west perpendicularly to the color line, and the tents of the cadet officers are pitched looking west along the streets of their respective companies. Behind the rows of company officers' tents, and opposite the right and left of camp, are the larger domiciles of those cadet magnates, the adjutant and quartermaster. Back still further are the double tent3 of the four army officers who are immediate commanders and instructors of the four companies: ind behind them all, at the rear of camp, is the big "marquee" of the Commandant of Cadets. ! Dotted about the rear of camp are the j little tents occupied by the drum boy "orderlies," the boot-blacks, varnishers, j etc., and around them all, day and night, ! paces the chain of sentries, which, posted in mid-June, is never removed until the aimtilfitnunn: fall of PVflrT tent On the OUUUUUUWUV 4.... w. ?J " 28th of August.?Harperi Magazine. A a Edible Lizard. The tail of the iguana in a state of (nature is loDg. slender and brittle. It | snaps off like candy sticks at a rude touch. The iguana is an edible reptile, and among the Indians and negroes of tropical countries it is a deadly insult j to offer a guest a baked iguana with its | tail broken off. It lives on grasses, herbs and insect*, and its flesh is white and solid, with the flavor of a turkey's breast. As a stew it is fine eating. You see them alive in all the markets of tropical America, with their jaws tied up or sewn up, for they have teeth that make an ugly bite. The iguana is believed to have originated the fable of the chameleon, that feeds on air and changes color. I have seen them among the grasses of the open country, green as the grass itself, ana in the woods of the color of the tree trunks. The change appears to have come from the difference of feeding, though tne sunlight may have some effect in bringing out the color,and is useful in aiding theii concealment from the hunter. They are susceptible of quite an amount of petting. I shot one in Costa Rica, wounding it only enough to bring it down, and carried it to the abandoned cabin where the expedition I was attached to was encamped. It did not die, so I kept it i tied up outside the house and gave it fruit and buds to eat. After a few days it gnawed the withe that confined it through aud escapcd, but it remained I aronna the cabin during the three months ! we held Qarap (here tjgd allowed rpe to approach it. Our paHy went into the mountains and was absent for seven months. Returning, we slung our hammocks in the old house while the boat9 were gettiug ready to take us up the coast, aud next morning the iguana was sunning himself on the same old log out I side. He was shyer than before, dux j soon tamed again and aeeraed to know me quite as well as before.?New Tori Times. Twelve Great Classes of Plants. Twelve of the great classes of plants are classified by botanists as follows : I. Crowfoot or Buttercup Family.?1. But taicup. 2. Columbine. 3. Larkspur. 4. Blaeh Snake-root. 5. Anemene, 6. Virgin's Bower II. Mustard Family, or Crueiferae.?1 Water-Cress. 2. Mustard. 3. Shepherd's Purse. 4. Radish. 5. Turnip. 6. Sweet Alyssum. III. Pink Family. 1. Pink or Carnation 2. Soapwort. 3. Bladder Campion. 4. Core Cockle. 5. Chick-weed. (J. Sand Wort. IV. Pulse Family. 1. Pea. 2. Bean. 3 Clover. 4. Locust. 5. Sensitive Plant. 6 Wild Indigo. V. Rose Family. 1. Plum. 2. Cherry 3. Five-Finger. 4. Strawberry. 5. Bram ble. 0. Ro3e. VI. Parsley Family. 1. Carrot. 2. Parsnip. 3. Poison Hemlock. 4. Sweet Cicely 5. Water Hemlock. 6. Black Snakeroot. VII. Composite or Aster Family. 1. Aster 2. Daisy. 3. Tansy. 4. Marigold. 5. Sun i flower. 6. Chamomile. ] VIII. Mint Family. 1. Mint. 2. Thyme , 3. Sage. 4. Cat-Mint. 5 Horehouna. ti . Skull cap. IX. Nightshade Family. L Bitter-sweet 1 2. Ground Cherry. 3. Tomato. 4. Potato ( 5. Tobacco. 6. Thornappleor Jamestowi j W1 66(1 I / X. Oak Family. 1. Oak. 2. Chestnut 3. Beech. 4. Filbert. 5. Iron-wood. 6 I Chinquapin. _ ^ t XI. Lily Family.?1. Lily. a. ouiohivus j Seal. 3. Asparagus. 4. Star of Bethlehem 5. Onion. 6. Garlic. XII. Grass Family?1. Meadow Grass. 2 AV heat. 3. Barley. 4. Rye- 5. Oats. 6 t Broom Corn. f :. 5 A certain amount of opposition is a c great help to man. Kites rise against and t not with the wind. Eveu a head wind i< ; ] better than none. No man ever worked i his passage any where in a dead calm. Lef i no man wax pale, therefore, bccause ol t opposition. ( 1 ii A San Francisco exchange tells that in California there are at least 4,000 vinegrowers, and the area planted in vines ii a n )t less than 160,000 acres. v . v : ' " . ' WORDS OF WISDOM. We covnt words as nothing; yet eternity depends upon them. < Trials wear us into a liking of what possibly in the first essay displeased us. When desperate ills demand a speedy cure, distrust is cowardice and prudence fnlltr Poorness of memory every one complains of, but nobody of the want of judgment. . vp He who thinks too much of himself will be in danger of being forgotten by the rest of the world. A man must be excessively stupid, as well as uncharitable, who believes there is no virtue but on his own side. Those that place their hope in another > > n trn in a mnnotirO OATI "v/itu uoro iu a iuvucuiv wu quered dread of death and unreasonable love of life. Life often seems like long shipwreck, of which the debris are friendship, glory and love; the shores of existence are strewn with them. The heart is a small thing, but desircth great matters. It is not sufficient for a kite's dinner,yet the whole world is not sufficient for it. If doing what ought to be done be f made the first business, and success a 'v secondary consideration, is not this the ^ way to exalt virtue? No soul was ever lost becausc its fresh beginning broke down; but thousands of f souls have been lost because they would not make fresh beginnings. Death docs not destroy, but catches, crystallizes, and makes permanent the character of a good man, leaving it ft priceless bequest to society. It seems to me we can never give-up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain thing*- ]:M we feel to be beautiful and good, and we ' must hunger after them.Early rising not only gives us more life in the same number of our years, but adds likewise to their number; and not only enables us to enjoy more of existence in' the same measure of time, but increase* also the measure. : A Short History of Natnral Gas. The earliest use of natural gas on rec? . ord is in China, where for centuries it . s. has been conveyed through hollow bamboos from fissures in salt mines to the surface for burning purposes. Near the Caspian Sea, in Asia, there are also placet where natural gas is seen to exude from the earth, and a similar phenomenon is to be seen in the Szalatua *alt mine in Huo? gary. Natural gas was first discovered in this country in the neighborhood of fkrtutonnnn /wnnftr "V Y . t'l JL1 ICUUUIH, vuauiau^uu VWUU.JJ ?.y early in the century. Here it was first ^ put to use by some enterprising citizens in ^ the year 1821. A small well was bored in the village to the depth of twenty-seven feet, and the gas wat ... conducted through pipes to the , houses, where it was used for illumin ating purposes alone. It is said that in 1824, ,on the occasion of Lafayette'9 visit, the village was illuminated with natural gas. This well, which was drilled in 1850 to the depth of only seventy feet, continued to supply the village with illuminating gas until the year 1858. It is s noteworthy fact that although this interesting discovery was widely known it did not lead to any further experiments, either in the neighborhood or in other places, till fully twenty years after 1821. In the early part of. the present century VJ it was found that the wells which were bored for salt in the Kanawha Valley yielded large quantities of gas. In .1841 / this gas was first used as fuel for boiling I the brines obtained from the wells. Wuai-lw oil tVio k drilled for the Dur pose of obtaining petroleum afforded natural gas in abundance; it Was,in fact, a considerable inconvenience to tho=e engaged in sinking the wells, and often a source of serious danger. In 1865 a well which was sunk for petroleum at West Bloom field, N. Y.t struck a flow f. of natural gas. An effort was made to utilize this, and it was carried in a wooden main to the city of Rochester, a distance of twenty-four K miles, in 1870, for the purpose of illuminating -the city, but the experiment was a failure. So, though it was obvious that this gaseous product constituted an inexhaustible supply of excellent fuel, rit> attempt was made to put it to use in man- m ufacture until during the past decade. . I In 1873, a well in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, was so arranged that the I gas could be separated from the water I with which it was discharged, and con veyed through pipes to several mills in I that vicinity, where it was used in the I manufacture of bar iron. From that time > to the present day the use of natural ? gas has increased very rapidly. It is vl estimated that the gas used in 1883 for heating and illuminating purposes was . equivalent to 3,131,000 tons of coal, having a value of $4,85*7,000. The con- fl sumption of gas during the last calendar I year very much exceeded this quantity; H the total value estimated on the basis of H the coal which it has displaced, proba- H bly amounted to more than $6,000,000. I ?Inter Ocean. i ??? How Cabinet Meetings Are Conducted. fl An ex-Cabinet member was asked by a H newspaper interviewer: H "What is the process in a Cabinet H meeting of beginning the business? Does H the President go through his Cabinet with " - H l? inot to'iIL- Jirniind and u sw5ll-|h,ui uy iuvj juwv have a confab?" H ' No," was the reply. "President Arthur, when the time arrived for Cabinet conference, took his seat at the head . the table. He would turn to the Secre-" H tary of State and say: 'Mr. Secretary of H State, is there anything in your depart- - IB ment requiring our attention?' If the H Sprretnrv of State passed, he would say: 'Mr. Secretary of the Treasury,'or 'Mr. , Attorney-General, have you something H we should attend to?' In that way he flB went the rounds,' calling every man by , his official title. Sometimes the first man asked would bring up a question that would take the entire time of the meeting up. At other times there would [>e no questions in any department requiring attention. Often polftical quae:ions would take the place of mere official msiness. A Government is much more )f a political organization than outsiders jelieve. The President invites to his Cabinet those men who represent their |H wrty as well as their country. Of course, he political discussion is in the light of Hfl )udiic Dusmess uswuu. ?? Statistics show that the churches of [[ he United States have communicants as ollows: Methodist Episcopal, 4,340,116; Roman Catholic, 4,000,000; Epia- Hi opal, 430,531; .Moravian, 10,(380; Bapist, 3,682,007: Congregationalism 436,(70; Christian Union, 120,000; Friends, 05,000; Adventist, 97,711; Methodist, bM 8,750; Presbyterian, 1,082,436; Lu- VH heran, 930,830; Reformed, 259,974; ierman Evangelical, 125,000; Mennontea, 80,000; Church of God, 45.000. Tennyson is reported in failing health, nd discussion is already rife as to whs Hflj vill succeed him as Laureate. ' I