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THE CARAVAN OF CHANGE. All day I walked the rough perplexing rouud With stifled hope and leaden cares op pressed, As sly decay, perpetual guard and guest, Bespoke through all the last, approaching bound: 1b wind and rain borne headlong to the ground My haughty woods let fall their crimson crest, Whose dripping rags a withered pomp confessed And mo ked the si.iftiug *ands that skirt the ! vast profound. Once more the dusk-pale twilight?once again! The lonely hawk rej>eats his minstrel cry, The forest sinks in murmuring mystery * ^i?o\ro r?on * Kr frrwt.V Jillfl fen; Tho6e silent watches merge the human ken, That mighty dark engulfs the restless eye, And forth from solemn porta Ls of the* sky The slow resistless stars look down rebuke on men. ?Dora Reiul Goodale, in Independent. i A MISSING LETTER. ' MY HKT.KN FORKKST liliAVKS. HI suppose I was (razy, or I shouldn't Juve thought of the thing!" mused young Doctor Porr. "Well, few of us but nave our fits of harmless lunacy at times. Let it pass. That little three-year-old lad who cried Lvt uight ut the hospital for the moon h:ul to keep on crying. The moo:i wasn't to be had. Why am I to gel my own way a;iy more than he had hiss" Hoc-tor Dorr had fought his way so far through life, nnd in the course of his hand to-hand eo:te?t with destiny, he had learned to be a philosopher. Ul>ut I loved her!" was his inward ery. ''There* is uo getting n*idcof tlmt. I loved her!" And at the .kamc time, littie Lois Yor?ey, dusting ;lic picturc frames at home, ?nd poli-hing oil the quaint m.iliogany tabic, was murmuring to ber?clf the.-amo iweit form of word * whi.h will prevail as long aa there are love iind youth aud beany iu the world: liI leve him?I love hiuil" While old Major Verney, glaring through his eye glasses nt the little piuk nvelope on the library table, fouud a kusky voice to say: "What's this, Mary Ann, eh? My niece writing letters?" Mary Aim jumped. 3lie stood in mortal fear of the grim major, who was said to hare killed three men in the Mexican War, and carried a bullet somewhere in the neighborhood of his left lung still. ' Please, sir, it's a letter Miss Lois gave mc to mail,'' faitered she; "but I j ain't cleaned myself up yet, and?" "Yes, yesl" said the major. "You are agood girl, Mary Ann. Hero is a dime for you. [ will attend to the letter." And Mary Ann responded: "Yi-s, please, sir!" f.ois dressed herself that night in her best pin-checked silk gown, with a pink ribbon in her hair that flung an answering signal to the color in her cheeks, and tat by the window all the eveniug. But no out came. Khft made a transparent little errand ; to walk past the hospital the next day. By a strange coincideucc it was the day of Dr. Dorr's attendance there?yes, the erv hour. He came out, and Lois' silly little heart begau to beat; but he only lifted his hat with icicle-like politeness and passed on. l.ois stood a minute looking after him, as if she were dazed, arid then and there the candle of hope weut out in her poor little heart. "If this is love," said Lois to herself, it's a very disappointing thing, and? ad 1 want no more to do with it. Oh, dear?oh, dear, I wish I were dead!" Uoetor j?orr wcm on with 111s worK in life. His sis-t. r. a bard f?r urcri m iideii lady, kept house for him, mkI there never lacked a button on his s-hirt, nor the proper ^eusoninjj to his soup. l.ois Vcrney, too, worked on; bulshc, : poor child, was at a disadvantage; for. the old major was dead and I ois had a hard time to keep the proverbial wolf from the door. "Please, mi^,'" said Mary Ann, one bree/.y April morning', "I've brought back them painted shells and plackets, ?nd things?' "Plaques, Mary Ann- plaques, "mildly eorrecting I.ois. "And the bookcellcr, miss, please, lie lays there jiin't no sale for no si.eh, and, please, he wants tlie window room for something rise."' "Very well, Mury Ann,'' said I.ois, ith a sigh deep as Avoi uus. "And, please, miss, the kerosens oil n:m siivs he has orders not to till the can *ntil the bill is paid." "Then wo must buru candles, Mary Ann," said Lois, "for wo havo no money to pay bills." "But the grocer, miss, ple:ise, he says he'd rather we'd patronize some other tore till we've paid something on actount." " Very well," said Lois, listlessly. She was uo Midas. She could not turn blank paper into money by the touch of ber fingers. "And j.lease, miss, what shall I tell the butcherP persisted Maru Ann. the ruthless. "Mary Ann, do ?o away!" wailed 1.01s. " now uo i miow: mure s my purse. There Hie two tea cent pieces in it, and that's a'l I've got in the world. ! And I don't see any chance of earning nything more. There's some oue knocking at the bascmnut-door. Go quick and ?ee who it Is." Mary Ann clattered down stairs in ilio inelasticmanner peculiar to female help. It was Mrs. Castleton's maid, with a j book which her mistress had borrowed of Miss Verncy. "And please, mis-us '".id like toborrv Pcveril of the Peak,'if M.ss VcrneyMl W hfr have it." Major Vcrney had been something of a book eclicctor in liis day, and ji!I the neighborhood were now |?roitiugb. it. As .Mary Ana remarked, "it did se-ui . -s*s it" it took one person's. t'Ui'i <o ran up '?nd down stairs with books sor thcai as borricd and returned.'" " Well, I 11 sec." aaid Marv Ann. And once more slic clattered up stairs. "Here's ' JaucKyro, 'mis*," ?iid she. MAnd Mrs. CastU-lon wants to bo; ry 'Pevcril's Peak.'1' "Let her have it. " said 1 oK Mary Ann advanced close to her mis- ' I U3?. "Miss. said she, in a cnnlirien-. tiaL undertone, "if it ain't waking too "bold, why don't wo keep a circulating library instead of a free lending place?! ! heer'l the bookselUr say to-day, while I was wrapping tip my plackets and [ things in brown paper, as he made more money out of h'ucirculating libraiy than j he did out of his regular business. Two j cents a day, miss -ten cents a week, j Tain't but a little, I know, but as the ; Scotch cook whe:e 1 onc^s lived used to! lay: 'Many a little makes a mickle!' " j 1 ois brightened lip. There's ?ome sen ?t? in what you say, II r nn." ?aid sh<i. iVoisey m "be & had in some way, and poor Uncle Verney'a books shall earn it for us. I'll cover and number them myself, and you shall give tlirm out and take them in." Mary Ann wat not a 1 ad busiuess j agent, and the circulating library business prospered in a small way. And between whiles, I.ois did law copying and mended the already twice | darned house linen. Anything?any; thing to escapc the pitiless demons of I thought and memory! " 'Clarissa Harlowc,' eh? That's num ber font teen." said Mary Ann to Betsey Roper, ft rouud cheeked, Kn?lish serving maid, who had stenncd around with her npron over her heacl and a bright silver dime tied in the corner of her pocket , haudkerchief. "It's the first call we've tail fur 'Clarissa llarlowc.''' I "I don't know much about 'un," said Betsey, blushing a vivid plum color; ' 'but my old unclc in Yorrukshire. he always ton Id mo to be sure and read 'un when I gotten a chauce. He said there were no such books writ these days as ' 'uu. I can keep 'un in the dresser drawer, and read 'un at nijjht when the bac k o' my work is broken." B* Isey Boper went away chuckling, j nritli tlio firaf vnlnmfi of "(*l?lMSS:i liar- ! lowe" under her arm, done up in brown paper, and neatly pack-threaded." Hut in her desire to cultivate a literary taste, Betsey had calculated without her j mistress. ;'Clarissa" had not lain under the napkins in the dresser drawer two hours when Miss Minerva Doit triumphantly | possessed he:-elf of it, iu the course of j a search after a missing Japanned trav. j "Ah:" said Miss Minerva, "novels, eh? : In my kitchen! Not i^I know it!' v i.'ii-? / ii-i-livl 'l?iris?i" un toher i brother's oflirc, without loss of time. "Just see li-'ie, David, if you please," said she. ?ji;i\rring all over with righteous iudignation. "And that English girl, too, who came so highly recomHK'udcd, hiding novels away in your kitchen! \\ hat is thii world coining to.'" Doctor Dorr glanced up from his writing with a smile. "' Why,'* said he, "I suppose houscmuMs like to read as well as other people." "I.ike!" repeated Miss Minerva?"a -in-- 1 Sill) 11UVUI lllvi; Lino t "An old English classic, Minerva," gently corrected her brotbor. "Not that it is my stylo of reading, but I see no harm in it." "I shall talk to Uetsey when she gets ba k with t!ie yenst,'' said Mis." Dorr, rigidly. ''In the meantime, you will please keep the book here." Miss Dorr descended ouee more into the MibteiTiUieiin regions, determined to "see. the tiling through." Doctor Dorr took up the book, aud j slowly turned the leaves over. '"Hello 1" ho said to himself, "here's! two leaves pasted together, with some- j thing between them!" Wft senfuated the sealed leaves deftly | with his ivory paper rut tor. A letter lay there, directed, in a delicatc woman's handwriting, to "Doctor David Dorr." lie opened it, with a strange, giddy feeling in his head. It was a letter that Lois Verney had written to luui tivo ye:trs ago?the letter that said, so innocently, so frankly: "1 love you. I will bo your wife." ltrwl ?\nf ill A l/?ffr/ir fllOrA iUn.UI t CiUUJI ium |iui uiv, ivtivi rawIt required more moral courage than he pos>c.scd to destroy il out and out; so he had compromised matters by hiding it between the leaves of "Clarissa Ilurlowe"?a book which nobody cared to read in this generation. And Major Yerueyhad died and made no sign! Poo'or Porr rose up hurriedly. He could ijuesH how it aH was. His heart l.-aj e I joyfully in his breast; all the ' world seemed ivttl n <! rose to him. -Mo took the letter in his haud. and j earned it straightway to the little, old house iu I'eufacola Street. Lois was at the window, watering her geraniums. She herself admitted him, with a jjfHVO, inquiring imu, " Lois?my little Lois!" 11 David:" The old words came back to their lips as if nil the past tive. years were blotted out. He took licr in his arms, and she let licr bend fall on his shoulder. " Look, love!" he said,holding up the letter. " I have never seen it until today. I found it, hidden uway with the seal unbroken, between the leaves of your une'e's old 'Clarissa Harlowo!" "Oli. David! Then vounever knew?" "Thai you had accepted me? Not until this hour, Lois. Oh, my darling, my sweetheart! what must you have thought in Her head dropped; (he bright drops sparkled into her eye*. 4 " I though'," she whispered, 14 that life was very hard. But?but I don't tlt'nk so now. I can understand it all. l ucle Vcrney never liked you. Ho wanted mo to marry old Judge Versifovle. lint In.- is dead now. We'll forget it all, David?won't we " For your sake, darling?yeO And in the general tidal wave of happiness, no one once thought of Betsey Roper, crying her eve- out behind the big kitchcu towel in Doctor Dorr's kitvhen. ' I never had no chauce to read 'un before," said she. "Aud now un's ^r-no. An' I iloan't know what L'ucle K/<a. in Yorrtikshirc, will say when he he.irs how 'un disappeared!" But Betsy wa? not di-cliargcd. Doctor i Dorr saw lb that.?SitiiriLnj Night. Costly Halls In New York House*. The; entrance hall is the biggest, the j mo>t imposing, the costliest anu by long : o>lds the handsomest apartment in a j modern New York house of the .first rank. New Yorkers of wealth and taste ; l'??n nntirali> a l\a nd.. t < <] tin* S.I r.'lirrlit' hull ' of the narrow block-house where the! stairs go straight up and the narrow pus- J su-iC to tlie back pat lor and basement stairs goes straight back. Instead they, have inailc the hull the central feature of j the establishment, !o which, if necessary, i everything tl?e is subordinated. The; new type of hall is elaboiute in its archi-' te.lur??l features, richly antique in its j I'urnbii n:r?. and if the mistress of the cs- j t.i'tlishment has any taste whatever fort 1 trge dccciaiive effe? ts it is upon the hall! that she lavishes them. The hall, in- 1 /lon.l w cn miwli nf hnltliv tlinf npd?lfl Iitrlti new houses in order to have halls. ! It is not an unknown th!n?j to give up ! llu ?> hole llrst floor to the hall, putting \ tli?; parlor on the sccon?l lloor. Whether i the hall l.?C big or i ttk. its furiiHing is J a thing; to which it< im-drc** i; giving much attention nowadays. To be quite pti feel it should be done up in old oak and have ''settles" standing about in | Tf- slmulii havfi a b!i?' oak table, a imalbr one to hold the sib j crsalver, on which a guest's card is, taken to the lady of the house, and its, ilo;.r should be of oak, polished till it shines. The hall is of quite as much consequence as tho drawing-rooms.? Nt :r York Litter. ; The man who has not anything to bihsst of but his illustrious anot-slors is like a potato?the only good belonging' to him is under groun I. ! BUDGET OF FUN. HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. A Broken Heart?Only a Cyclone ? Jnst So?Why They Shuddered ? A Domestic Scene, Etc., Eic. j j ''Papa,'' she sairl sis the old man camc ! | in late, "young Mr. Sampson offeicd ; : liimcj.lf tn nio tr?.nitrhfr nnd I refilled ! him. And oh, papa, I am ufrilid his j ! heart is broken." I I "He lo!d me about it," said the old l man. "Then yon met hiin2" "Yes, he is down at the Eagle p'aying billiards."?Xeto Yoik Sim. It Wus Only a Cyclone. "Did you ever sec a cyclone?" "I should say so. Out in Kansas last | summer, while I was eating dinner, a cyclone came along and turned the house completely upside down. Nearly killed i all of U3." I j "What did you think about it?" "Think? I think my wife had lost her temper again."?Nebraska biute Journal. Just So. Wife (pleadingly)?"I'm afr.iid. George, you do not love uie as well as you used to do." I Husband.?"Why?" W.?"Because you always let me get up to light the lire." II.?"Xonsense, my love! Your getting up to light the fire makes me love you all the more."?BMou Courier. Why They Shuddered. 44 Xo, Mamie," said the fair haired girl with au air of tender melaucholy, "I shall never love him again. It is all OVIT." "How can you any 30, Gertie? He is young, rich, "loves j'ou devotedly, und has such a beautiful, long, silked, heavy mustache '' "ilis mustache? (), don't sj.e.ik of it, I implore you. I saw him once, Mamie, just after he had takeu a driuk of buttermilk I" And the two friends shuddered at they sat close together, looking silently iu the fire, while their shadows danced fitfully on the wall and the wind moaued dismally through the ghostly trees on the outside.?G'ui-'ugo Tribune. A Domestic Sccno. The you 11 if mother sat in a low, e.i<y rocker before the lire, her babe slcepiug quietly on her knee, aud, although all was tierce and blustering without, everything was quiet and cosy within. Gentle peace reigned in the household that night. "Mv dear," said the lady, turning to her husband, who was calmly enjoying his evening paper, "isn't it a curious thing that swans should sing just before the.v are going to die?" "No more so," he replied, gazing ut his infant's face with anxious fear, "than that babies should smile iust before they arc going to raise the roof olf with, colic." And presently all was fierce aud blustering within.?Xcm York Sun. A Little Off. A Geimau professor was remarkably absent-minded. Whenever he was busily engaged in his studio solving some abstruse problem, his wife was in the habit of bringing him his dinner. His favorite dish was pa-.cake niul molasses. One day bis wife biought him a large pancake and a jug of molasses, and went down in to tlie kitchen. Pretty soon she heard the professor ring his be!l. ' Why is it, Grctehon, that you bring me nothing to eat except molassesWhy have you brought rao no pancake?" asked the absent-mined professor. "Ach Himrnel!" cxclaimcd the wife "you have lucked the pancake around your neck, thinking that it was u napkin."? Texas Hijtin'ji. Not to Ijc Frightened. Tram[)?"And you won't give me the price of a supper and bulr" Kich Man?"If I gave you money, you would not use it forsupperand bed." T.?"You're a rich in;in, ain't you.''' It. 31.?"Yei." T.?"Well, dyo know the Scripture says, its easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle thau lor a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'" R. M.?"Well, what of it?" T.? "WMlt ot Kf i on rc a ncn man , where do you expect to be when you're dead II. M.?"Where do you expect to be?" T.?"In Heaven,of course. I'm poor." R. M.?"Weil, after I'm dead I'll be as poor as you are. Ciood evening."? Boston Courier. The World ol' Matter. "Into how many chis-e; is matter divided?" asked a He'.roit teacher of a small boy Friday. Three." "What are they?" "Animal, vegetable and mineral." "Name an example of animal matter?" "Beef." "Of vegetable?" "Klectric lights." ' What do you mean by saying that electric lights are vegetable.' THat is nonsense."' "Well,I heard my father say that the city ought to buy an electric light plantand geiieiate its own electricity.-' During the piog ess of the same lesson a youngster, afttr the lines d-fining the three kingdoms had l ee 1 fully exI'lained, held up his hand. "What is it, Tom?' asked the teac'aer. 'Please, what U liask'1'?J)tirod Frio Press. Tin; Wav lo Brooklyn. A sun burned old fellow, with an oil rloth travelling bug, vras sitting on a bench in the Fulton Kerry house the other d:y." h-'uddenlv he aro?c from his seat, ac cos tool a passing "euilcwaa, and iu(juiml: ' "hh?kin you tell in1 wh it timo the boat !e tves'f" "Why, there's bo>ts leaving every few m;nulc* or *0," was the reply. i "Every few minute* rr so, hey? AV'l, whut's t!ie tc&4nu this boat djn't start then;" "What bout?" . | "W'y, this 'ere boat." "Mati alive! This ain't the boat; this ' is the ferry house!'' "Vow?don't?say so!" slowly ejacu- j lated tho suu-burncd old fellow. "The { ferry house," he went ou with a foolish j smile, "An' here I've been a-waitin' three j hours for the blamed thing to start for ; Brooklyn!" And ho rubbed his chin reflectively ; and walked on.? Trued* rf Magazine. A Grra: MI>tako. "Why didn't you get up and give her your seat or permit me to give her. mine?" said a woman to her husband. Thoy had just got off a car. The woj man's face expressed great anxiety of mind. "Why should we give her a seat?" | the husband asked. "Just because she ; was so richly dressed, I suppose," he j added. ' Is it possible, that you did not know j her.'" the wife exclaimed. "Of course. I am not supposed to know every - well-dressed woman who ccmes along." lOV. T.. rn/io clio ia Atir / nftlf ftrul 1 am afraid she will treasure up against us ! our lack of courtesy." "Why didn't you tell me?" the hus- | band exclaimed. The woman did not reply, but trem- j bling violently, leaned heavily upon his j arm. ?Arkan?;iio Truceler. A Change of Tune. "Will:am!" said lhe old gentleman at the breakfast table. "Sir!" "I am not pleased to see you so much in the company of young Jobson. He is a dissipated youi:? man, and he gambles. J I should prefer that you avoid his socie- I ty." J ' .? T TT? , "He gambles, lamer, i sujjjjumj. nc , enn afford to. He has just made $100,- : 000 in the wheat corner." "Well?still?you had better be care- i ful." After a little while William rises from j the table. "William'." "Sir!" "If Mr. Jobson is disenaged this even- | ingyoucan bring him up to dinner. Per- | hap9 a little good example may save him ?and, William, you can just tell him j something about the new mining com- j piny I am tloating."?San Francisco\ Chronicle. Hidden in Trees. Some wood-cutters in the forest of j Dromiding, England, made a strange i discovery. They began to fell a vener- J able oak, which they soon found to be ! quite hollow. Being half decayed it I speedily came to the ground with a crash, disclosing a skeleton in excellent I preservation; even the boots, which came j above the knee, were perfect. By its! side were a powderhorn, a porcelain i pipe-bowl and a silver watch. The teetb j were perfect. It would seem to be tue j skeleton of a man between thirty aud ; forty years of age. It is conjectured j that while engaged in hunting he climbed the tree for some purpose and slipped into ! the hollow trunk from which there was i 110 release, and he probably died of star- j vation. Another mystery was found in ! the heart of the oak. From a tree of j this kind a large block, about eighteen ' inches in diameter, that has been knock-! ing about in various yards and wood- j sheds, was split up lately, and in it was i found an auger hole about three-fourths! of an inch in size, containing a bunch ol > human hair done up in a piece of printed ) paper. The hair was near the centre of i 1 - -i J I trie DiOCK HtlU liisieut'll 1U wun a yiuc plug. It was apparently put in when the i tree was quite small, as the tree had grown over the plug to the thickness ol ' about lour inche?, with the gr.iiu per- : fcetly smooth and straight. A natural curiosity was shown in a | timber merchant's workshop. This was 1 the nest and skeleton of a bird imbedded ! in a picce of beech. The timber seemed ! quite souud all round the cavity, and | tliere was no sign of any aperture into it; I but the timber being sawed up, the nest | with the bird sitting upon it was found. The ne*t appeared to be built with mud, and the bird resembled a titmouse.' Probably at the looping of a bran h a cavity was formed, and the outside sub mm. ttnf Vxiw (-tin bird SClJUtHHj jjiunav/.v.. was inclosed seems difficult to imagine. In the center of a Tog of Honduras mahogany the saw revealed a large piece of honey-comb. The tinder says the wax with the cells was hard, and resem- j bled in color the appearance of a mummy. The remains of the bees were in- i cru-tcd in the wax. Another log of ma- j hogany was being cut in veneer by a cabinet-maker, when his attention was; attracted by a remarkable and striking profile of her majesty in a knot in the wood. The likeness was so true that nil who saw it acknowledged the resem- ; bianco. Had this curiosity only been discovered in the present year we might have had jubilee mahogany added to the never ending list of articles so distinguished. ifo often have toads been found inclosed in solid bodies that it is not sur-' prisinsr to read in a Scottish paper that a servant, while breaking a large piece ol eonl for the lire, was start'ed to liud in the center of the block a full-grown toad, i which appeared to be in excellent health and spirits. A less common discovery was, made in Birkenhead. A gentleman there was presented with a cow's tongue, which appeared to be perfect in every respect. After the tongue was boiled he! d'scovercd a pierc of sandstone imb.-ddeJ in ir about threc-miarters of an inch in ! leiiglli, half an inth in width, and a nuaiicr of an inch in thickness.?Chamb'. rifx Journal. How to Taste. Strictly speaking, with tho tip of the tongue one can't really taste at all. If you put a small drop of honey or oil of, bitter almonds on that part of the mouth you will find, no doubt to your great i surprise, that it produces no effect of any sort; you only taste it when it begins: slowly to diffuse itself and reaches tho t true tasting region iu the middle dis-1 lance. But if you put a little cayenne or mus- , tard on the same part \ou will find that it bites you immediately ? the experiment should be tried sparingly?while if you J put it down lower in the mouth you will kwuIIi.w it almost without noli-ing the , pungency c.f tho stimulant. The reason j is that the tip of the tongue is supplied ( only with the nerve- whi h nrc really nerves of t.cich, not nerves of tasle proper?they belong to a totally different j main branch, and ;hey go to a different ; center in the brain, together with the j very similar threads wl.irh supply tho 1 nerve of smell for rn in tard and pepper.; That is why the smell and taste of these ; pungent substance - are so much alike, a- j every hotly niu-t have m.tieed a good snifl j ntamu-tard pot producing ahno-t the : same irritating ?ff'.cts as an incautious i niuuthtul.?Jin.*!uu A f'niquc Merktic. Mr. A. -Mids-. n Cole, w!:o is the man- ! a^er of one of the large Chicago who!o n?!i! houses in (lie line of gentlemen's liiiuieiiings, .shows a novel necktie,which i he has just received from Texas. It. is a j rattlesnake skin made up in the form of; a four in-hnnd tic. The point rat;le is j set in the centre of the outer fold, to I scive the purpose of a tio-pin. As it I glistens and shows all sorts of shifting colors in the sunlight or gaslight, it; makes ft very attractive, if not exactly! conventional, tic. Mr. Cole says th.it it was sent to him as a sample, the sender raying that, as the stock of rattlesnakes in his country is inexhaustible, he can s ipply as many of thes:: strange ties as the Chicago house nr.y want?Chicago | WOMAN'S WORLD. | PLEAS A XT LITERATURE FOR FEMININE READERS. A Woman Floors a Corporation. The guarantee companies who make it their business to insure the honesty of employes require from the insured an application very similar to that used by life-insurance companies. It <ontains a great mnny questions relating to one's private life and which must be strictly answered. There is a young lady in St. | Paul who found it necessary to llli out one of these applications in order to re . tain her position. She answered all the questions oorrcctly until $110 tame to me one: "What is your age?" Hesitating a moment ?ho wrote in reply: "Irrelevant, immaterial, and impudent."??t. Paul Glof. . A Bride's Body Guard. Iu an old church in Gothland, in Sweden, a pile of lances is preserved, j Each of the lances is fitted to hold a torch, and it is said the weapons were used at oue time to give light and protec- J tion to marriage parties on the way to : chinch, the ceremony taking place at night, as a precaution against the bride j being taken away by some Lochinvar who claimed a better right to her than [ the duly recognized suitor. A recent' writer, aescnomg a marriage in ivnurdistan, says he saw a young man carry- j ing of! his bride, surrounded by a bodyguard of some twenty or thirty men. J These men were supposed to be protect- i ing the hnppy couple from a party of j young wonu n, who hurled pieces of j earth and tnmboos at tiie procession, and ! made show of rescuing the bride. As 1 soon, however,as the br d -groom reached ' his own vil'age with his charge the as- j sailants ran home screaming and laugh- ' ing. Among ourselves the term "best man " is said to be a survival of tlie time when the bride-groom had to get strong hands to aid him in securing the object i of his affections. There is probably also ' a surviual of the assaults that were then ' made on marriage parties in the showers of rice and old slippers bestowed so freely on the newly wedded. Expensive Equestrianism. It has been calculated that to put a New York woman on horseback in cor- * rect shape for Central Park costs, exclu- 1 -i? -e _ \ ?? ? kl-? 1 Bive Ul IIJC 11UI3U, nuiiiuiuiu^ IKVU 11 > K> hundred dollars. This explain* why 1 equestrianism Is not as common as women would like to make it. A habit consists ' of three pieces?trousers, skirt and j bodice?and, when made by a good tailor, of the best Melton cloth, costs ' about one hundred and twenty-five 1 dollars to one hundred and fifty dollais. With it the tailor furnishes usually j a special satin corset, which of course is charged as extra. The trousers are partly j lined with buckskin and furnished with, straps, being finished at the belt with a ! heavy quality of bla< k satin, the same material lining the bodice throughout. The boots arc made of patent leather, and cost from twenty-live to thirty dol- j lars, the tiousers being strapped down j over them. The English saddle and bridle, the spur, crop, stiff silk hat, and ' gloves, briug the whole bill p ctty well ' tnu/ftrrl half a thniiqinH Tn F.rrwlnnd. women who arc p:c!tv well sure of themselves and their position wear a pink coat , iu the huuting-ileld, but it has not appeared frequently here. The Empress of Austria and the Duche^e de Chartres, ; the two most noted horsewomen in , Europe, both affect dark green for their , habit", find sometimes indulge in a little gold braid to relieve the severe plainness of tli ir hunting dress, b;it in Kngland i such departures from .?trict conventionality s .ire very mu li frowned upou.? 4 I Lady Bcllairs's Advice to Girls. WHAT TO AVOID. A loud, weak, uiTected, winning, harsh or shrill tone of voice. Extravagances in conver-ation?9ueh phrases us ''Awful!;: this," "Beastly that," ''I oads of time.'1 "Don't you know," "llatc," for "di-Iike,"' etc. Such leu exclamations of annoyance, nrpri'c and jov?often dangerously approaching to "female swearing"?as "Bother!" "Gracious!" "IIow jolly!" Yawning when listening to any one. Talking on family matters, even to bosom friends. Attempting any vocal or instrumental piece of n.usic that you cannot execute with (asc. . i Crossing your letters. Making a sharp, short nod with the head, intended to do duty as a bow. WHAT TO CI.'J/nVATK. An unairectcd, low, ciistiuct, silver- . toned voice. The art of pleasing those around you and seeming pleased with them aud ali thfcy may ilo for you. The charm of making litt'e sacrifices quile naturally, as if of 110 account to yourself. The habit of making allowances for the opinions, feelings or prejudices of others. An erect carriage?that is, a sound body. A good memory for faces, and facta connected with them?thus avoiding , giving offence through not recognizing ' or bowing to people, or saying 10 them what had best been left unsaid. ! The art of listening without impatience to prosy talkers, aud smiling at V>? tifiVn-tolrl t:iln or 'okc. Syria's B.-mitiful SI:ivp?. There :ire grand women m Arabia: , woiuen of ability, keen insight anil won- ; derful capabilities. Tlie duties of the wife of a Syrian to-day arc as follows: She blinds all the water for family use j from a distant well. This is accom- ' El.shed by tilling immense jars and ; ringing them upon her head. She ri?es j early aud goi-s to the hand-mill of the village carrying corn, enough of which ' , for the day's bread she grinds by a slow, ,' laborious process. Thi-slie carries home , and cooks m an oven, wnjcu is made iu tho earth. Jt is u lound hole,lined with oval aud flat stones, and heated by a fire * built in it. When the bread is mixed with water and a little salt she rcm?ves thf! ashes and plasters pats of dough 1 against the hot stones to cook. Could < anything be more crude? She r?n?N I'o; her children?usually a ' larg: ia.n.ly -aud does all the rough j wyri; at intervals, while the husband , ' caluiiv HH'ikes his aigelle'" or sits cross- :' legged tip >n hisdivan or housetop in con- 1 verse with some equally hard working mC'IllUtr (>i rinu ^uwiuijr. Tlit> Iniii-os are nude of a coarse stone ! roughly hewn. The house tops are of !1 clay covered with coarse gravel. lu hot 1 weather I he sun bakes this in :d -formed j roof and large eracks appear. The rain i comes, and as a natural eon>e<|Uencc\ tiie , roof leaks. This is something of which j the fastidious inhabitant of the Bible land does not approve. It does not add to h's bodily comfort. lie remedies the difficulty?shall I tell you how ? Not by any effort of his own; j far from it. Hia wife c.trnes, ascend* to i v* v<-r.TV-j? : ? ^ v, V * the house-top, and in the drenching rain propels a roller of solid 9tone, backward and forward, much as we use a lawn mower. This rolls the sun-dried cracks together and prevents the entrance of water. These are only a few of the Syrian housewife's duties. Her reward is not in this world, surely. She can not speak to her husband in public; she can receive no caress before her frieuds. She goes veiled and scflntily clad. 8he has no time to make her own habiliments, for her hands must weave and spin and embroider artistically and abundantly for her husband and male children. In winter her feet arc protected only by open wooden sandals, and drops of blood i- ii.- e?r?f muitv. lilt; wity iu wuc ojcau wcu* v^* course this is among the lower and middle classes of society in Syria, but those who belong to a higher class are very few.?S'citi C'ro s. How Women Should Dress. Hcv. L. B. Wilson, of Strnwbridge M. E. Church, talked to his congregation yesterday morning about how women professing to be god iy ought to dicss. In doing so he touched upon various aspects of the female dress question. He said that taste and adaptability had a great deal to do with dress. Some women may be clothed in calico at three, four, and five rents a ya:d and look well and he as godly, and ofien more so, than others who vay from to $10 a yard ' for their drapery, and yet are not happy. To dress after the godly fashion does not imply carelessness, la;k of neatness, want of self respect or appreciation of; the proprieties of life, but it does mean not giving way to extravagance aud in- j dulging in the taste for grandness of | clothing one's self. lie painted a | rather gloomy picture, but a correct one, j of the hard worked clerks whose earn- j ings required < areful haudling in order j for both ends to I e met without embar- ! raiment, with a wife at home who used I his salary recklessly by buying clothes j too tine for his purse and sending in j bills that made his face long. Every | wife ought to learn how to spend money in the right way on dress and in the homo. It is not uncommon for women before marriage to take great naius with their nersotal adornment,and after ihey become wives neglect them- I selves and the hous . This discourages I husbands, aud sends them elsewhere to | look for chcerful pictures, if they can i find them. Men wear pretty much the j same sort of clothes, and at nearly the j same prices, from year to year, but the , stylei in goods for women and the cost! changes every season. This means, often-1 times, additional expense. Men wear! little jewelry; womeu considerably more. ! Extravagance in women's dress is wrong | anywhere?in the home, church or social j circle. It is often a woman's greatest curse to know some other woman who is rich. ?he of more limited means striveg to dress up to the mark of the richer,ana j in so doing wastes money without doing i auy good and separates herself from her i poorer companions. A little retrench- j mcut here and there in dress will put g od papeisand magazines in the library, brighten up the house, and the cost will not be felt. One dollar and a half saved on a pair of kid gloves brings the churc h paper, $4 or dow and then good periodicals. Twenty dollais for a bonnet! will cducatc and keep a girl in India for ! a year. One hundred and fifty dollars I is a low estimate for expenses for an | evening outfit, which, it may be, win oe ; worn but half a dozen times in one win- j ter, and never the next, because "that is j the -vime dnss -he had last season" will : be heard; but this amount expended in I htlp'ng the poor or educating the needy ; will do an incalculable amount of good. I Fine dressing in Church is out of place. In this city some of the best women | workers in the church go down in the i slums and alleys aud look after the needy I and unfortunate, but their silks and! satins do not help them in what they do. ! It rather hinders. There is something ! ju>t a little incongruous in seeing a finely dressed woman kneeling in the ! dirt and lifting a jeweled hand in prayer j for the heathen or those not so well off : in the world's goods as they. Extrava- ! trance in wearing apparel makes a gulf | between the rich and the poor. The j latter draw contrasts on conditions,nurse | rebutments, and the wives of the employer and employed sot the men agaiust; c:ieh oihcr. Itich people say they want t!:? poor to come into their line ehurchcs. , They welcome them freely; but as long I us they dress as they do they might as ! weii close ihe doors, lock them up, and throw the keys away. The poor will ! never come in. The contrasts are too j painful. Fine dressing feeds vanity, j S Iks and safns appeal to feminine pride , in n way that calico and cottons cannot, j Humility and godliness do not grow , well in expensive clothes. Even if ( women can afford to dress richly, it ia j wrong for them to do so; because what j is spent beyond what neatness, order, the 1 proprieties "of life and d-ie respect for j society require, might be used more j profitably. Tlie poor wo nave aiwajs, with us.?Jj'altiiaore Ameri an. Fashion Notes. Braided cloth jackcts are the caprice of the season. J.eather is now utilized for buttons on out-door heavy wraps. All the new hats have the trimmings heavily massed at the back. Kmbro'dercd crepe lis e is a favorite trimming f"r eveniug costumes. Cloth and fur combined make stylish c;:p >'cs for wear with tailormadegowns. Golden hair pins are the latest freak 1 and bid :':iir :o be tl.e most popular sort r?f ndormni lit for those who have fine hair tc. which attention may be drawn. ! A new arrangement of ribbon upon plain bonnets instead of the standing loops so long in vogue is to gather or phut it a Ion# cue edge and place it barb and forth three or fuur times Irom tin brim to the top of tiie crown. I're'tv blru-k velvet uxjues for young' ladies are trimmed with a single quiS ! which points forward from the back. The (piill may l?e It! ck or a grayish I white if to be worn with various dresses colored ones in tv be used and changed , :o har.r.oiii/c with any dre-s. A beautiful effect is given bridal drcsso i white satin or silk by having the front!: if the corsage different, that on the left! s'de being full and lapped diagonallj from ihe shoulder to the waist line of tin right side, which i* fitted smoothly, ano is et-mpleiely covered with orange bios jcms. An orange-flower gariand and a ribbon girdle eouline the l'ulncss to th? ..( i vi a oi uitv, Oupij. r>n ? star-lit eve the voting rector called, i S<it 0.1 the sofa ?iili merry Kate, Wliil-j under the sii'a listened Brss To the clo&cuintuunioti tero a-tete. "Purling, be mine!'' was the re.-tor's plea And ivaty's i-esi?on3C? .All, who can toll? : Lcyj's cnpii.e oft whispers nay for aye, ! Kut by ber blushes he pleaded woll. , 1 Headed well, and in truth had he won . A shy assent, frr m the maiden fair, When quo.st on from 'neath the sofa caine, "Toll me, is this an answer to prayer!" . ?Ca'lie L. Bonney, in Detroit free Presi. I 1 ' n i HBj CURIO I S FACTS. flB Peaches were introduced into England SB from Persia in 1562. ||Sg A Russian miser learned to bark in j&H order to avoid the expense of keeping % HI watch-dog. BUB N. Varole, a surgeon and physician of GSH Bologna, is said to have discovered the RH Dptic nerves about 1638. Uj Pope Leo ha3 received among hii jubilee gifts a woolen petticoat, worked by a poor woman and her crippled IBB daughter. The apricot was first introduced into fln Enclana. for cultivation. "from Asia Minor, about 1540, by the gardener oi Henry VIII. jflj The biggest tree in California? and it . HH is a monster, indeed?is the "Keystone ~ HH State," in the Calaveras Grove. It is HH 325 feet high and forty-five feet in cir- SB eumference. The oldest piece of dated cabinet- KH makers' work in the world is the throne ''CcSM chair of Queen Hatasu of Ihe Kpvpttaa -' '*HB Dynasty, B. C. 1C00. It has been pre- eeuted to the British Museum. B| A San Francisco man, who refused to pay a bill of $3H6.50 for twenty-two HH nourj' work put on his teeth, was sued . HH by llie dentist for the amount. The Ifl conrt cut the charges down to $70, which HH the defendant willing paid. .HE The first silver cc in struck in England ^H was th? ancic-nt silver penny. Until the HE reign of Edward I. it whs marked witli a flH| cro.j.s so deeply indenied that it could be nlfl easily separated into two for half-peace [^D and into four for farthings, hence the Mj names. Enm Pumpkins grown on the Hudson hare . HI a name in raised letters grown on each. The name is cut through the skin when Hflj they are growing, anil as it heals up leaves a raised scar in the shape of HH "Baby Aliue," "Dewdrop," "Jumbo, and l nccri lit inni fllH Great improvement has been made of * IH late years in the tools used for boring tunnels. In one month, recently, 440 v Hj feet were bored in the Cascade Tuunel in Hi Washington Territory, which is the HHH greatest distance ever accomplished in a single month in tunneling. hSh Division of lubor has I ecn carried to 9KH such perfection in this country that it is ... nnu' r>n?ihle sr? it. is s.iid. to make & Mffl complete sewing machine in a minute, or HH sixty in au hour, a reaper every fifteen minutes, a locomotive in a d .y, and three hundred watches in the same time. BH There is a printer with only one urm oa H one of the Los Angeles (Col.) dailies. His left arm is gone from tiic very shoulder, Hfl yet with hid right hand the brave follow H| sets type at a remarkably rapid rate, BK many of his companions with two hands not accomplishing so much work daily. He props his ''stick" on the case near the centre on an inclined piaue, and fills' HH it with remarkable rapidity. ' Birds of the Bahamas. |B At Fish Key we found a large colony M of the sooty terns, or "egg-bird," as the Hn natives call thorn, just beginning to MB breed. This is a collection of wildlooking rocks, rising ten or fiftoen feet 9H above the sen like a row of petrined B| sand-dunes, which in reality they prob- W ably are, and covered with low shrub- AMI bery, grasses, aud vines. When u long HB way off we noticed the birds hovering IB over the place, and on landing, their. numbers increased until she air furabove fifl and around us fairly swarmed with (ho gliding forms of this graceful tern, and Hj the strange' medley of their harsh cries, 99 together with the whirring of thousands of wings, was nearly deafening. They H| were nesting amid a tangle of shrubs three or four feet high, along a low, narrow ridge of one of the islands, a few yards from the water. Parting the bushes adde. we could see the old birds j^H sitting on tneir eggs, aud caught with our hands several which were snared in I the vines as they attempted to fly. This |H tern resembles a large and powerful ?9 swallow. It has a sharply-l'orked tail, snow-white ncck and breast, while the HB rest of the plumage ii a dead black. H They nest elo-e together under the BB bushes, laying a single egg on the ffB ground, without nest of any kind. Their eggs are c-nvilv distinguished from any fl others which we saw, being white or creamy and boldly spotted all over with |H ' 1 l!l ? Sn fVtnca rnmnfn WlD umoer unu m mwv * %u?v?v plat.es the number of sea birds ore being yearly lessened by the natives, H who persistently collect their eggs Jj for food. The rure l!;imiugo is now reduced to a colony of a few hundred on |H Abnco, where, as I was informed by an old [settler, they numbered thousands several years ago, and similarly the beau- M tiful tropical bird, which is hunted chiclly for food, is being gradually exter- fflj minuted. ' ^ Close beside this key there was a small fll rock a few yards square, with scarccly a fl| spear of grass upon it, which a party of KM the Wilson's t rn licld in undisputed ;|H possession. Their cone-tipped, olive H green and spotted eggs lay in tw03 and threes on the bare surfa c of the lime- H stone. Both this bird and the smaller H edition of it, the least tern, which has I similar habit*,- are called '"shanks" by the islander*, while on the North Carolina c ;u?t (where we fo'md both species breed* m| iug a month before) they arc known to |H the fishermen as ''great" and ''little HH strikers." The Wilson's tern has a wide range, and is one of the must beautiful of a large and exceptionally striking fata-' H ily. It his a prominent black cre-t and wH r.oral-red bill and feet. Like uwny of |9 our most attractive birds, -it is shot clown |m ?i. tn v-iriafv the widrsnrcad de- IB CtlUU ^cuovii ?v . .?. j m mands ol' h barbarous fashion. Its pearly ttl wings, or as oft n as the whole biru, usually raui'li d,\ oned by th: milliner, may be seen idmust any day in ilie streets, .H pinne<l ou to ladies' hats.?Po/>v!ar A ?- H (1.0 Monthly. Tlic Orange Diamond. H A large number of dealers and con- H nois-eiirs were attracted to Foster's ^allory, Fall Mall, Loudon, the other day, H when the new monster g-m that will be H known among notable specimens of .^1 precious stones ;ts the <>raugu uiamouu, came iiuier the hammer for the first time. It wa< the list lot offered for the day, an i was described hs ".V magtilicent tokred brilliaut, weighing' 115 carats (:ib nit ten carats heavier than the Koli-i-r.oor', mounted as a brooch, with a bonier of very large white brilliants." The s'one wis found in the Orange Kivir, and is uT a decided orange hue. It was e n i'i I ondoa and m-ide into a brooch, being ?nrronnded with a circle of sixteen l.irue white hritlknls. The appearance <:i uic t'tm ?>> ?iun.iu%. m- ? stead of sparkling and gl >wing, it seenu n to catch the light in large waves, which B it >end.s giidfng mid dancing over its Bj surface. It was examined with great in- B terest by tho?e present; but when Mr. Bj Foster attempted to find a purchaser no- B body offered a bid. As a tentative figure 9 .Mr. Foster suggested ?5,000, which, B amid discouraging silence, he sooa re- B duced to ?tf,0U0 and 1*2,000. Waiting B iu vain for a short time, Mr. Foster an- K9 nounced that there was no bid, so that fl the jewel would remain in the hands of B its present owner. B imI