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MEMORY'S PICTURE. I see her now, the fairest thing That ever mocked man's picturing. I picture her as one that drew Aside life's curtain and looked through The mists of all life's mystery, As one looks on the open sea. The soft wide eyes of wonderment That trusting looked you through and through; The sweet arched mouth, a bow not bent. That sent Love's arrows swift and true. That Bweet arched mouth! The Orient ha h not such pearls in all her stores; Not all her storied, spice-set shores Hath fragrance such as it bath spent. T nfatnre Vior ?s one who knew How rare is truth to be untrue; As one who knew the awful sign Of death, of life, of the divine Sweet pity of all loves, all hates Beneath the iron-footed fates. I picture her as seeking peace, And olive leaves and vine-set land; While strife stood by on either band, And wrung the tears like rosaries. I picture her in passing rhyme. As of, yet not a part of thesa. A woman, born above her time. A woman waiting in her place, With patient pity on her face. Her face, her earnest, youthful face, Her young face so uncommon wise; The tender love-light in her eyes, Two stars of heaven oat of place. Two stars that sang as stars or oia Their silent eloquence of song, In skies of glory and of gold, Where God in purple passod along; That patient, youthful face of hers Thit w >n a thousand worshippers! That silent, pleading face, among Ten thousand faces just the one That I shall love when all is done, And life lies by, a harp unstrung. ?Joaquin Mi.ler, in ^Boston Transcript. VEGETABLE RED. I am inclined to hope that I am the ' most nervous man iu the world. Like many shy men, i am comparatively happy i when 1 ain by myself. 1 was very happy j on a certain important but "ornery lookof?AKr\AAn An fl*c? T'n^orrrrnnn/I *"{ > uu<"? | Railway. My office in Whitehall street had left me free at 4 o'clock, and I had ; a new edition of "Sophocles" to read. I The Creek drama was always my sub ! ject, and I have, indeed, preprarcd an edition of "Sophocles'- on my own ac- j count in which my various readings are conclusively proved to be only correct ones; it will be published posthumously. ! Well, the new edition was one source of happiness, my solitude was another, j Moreover, one foot was resting on the cushion opposite and my other leg was crossed over that knee. I had only just begun a rignrette, and was secure in the rejection that I should not have to move for some minutes, when an event hap- i peued which would not necessarily seem ' of any importance; the door of the next J compartment (separated only from mine by a half way partition) opened, and two | lad es got in. They were evidently ' young ladies from their voices and'1 words. | < "Why, this is a smoking carriage!;; "With the usual horrid smell in it, too!" ! ' "Well, there's no one smoking in it 1 now. Mairsie. to ero on with vour tale. I i always thought that you rather liked ' him." "Liked hiru'i" the other voice (a pretty ' voice) answered. "Why, my dear May, i he is reu headed?has that vivid, veget , able red that I always loathed and de-: teste d!" ! i ' - Now, my hair is red, vegetable, vivid, i vile and detestable; of that color with < which only the invidious freckle loveth to abide. 1 don't like the color of my < own hair. If I could have braved the i sneers of some vendor of dyes, if 1 could ] have faced the unapproving silence of I my polite acquaintance, and the banter i of my office, then I should have very gradually changed the color of my hair. ; | But what was 1 to do uow? If I kept silen e I might overhear confidences " from this unseen "Maggie" concerning 1 her relations with and conduct toward i my companion in misfortune. This j would never do. So I coughed. The cough wjis evidently not noticed, ] for the young lady who_ answered to the i name of May said: ~ i "Look, Maggie, the partition doesn't < go up to the roof. I wonder if there is ] a man on the other side?" : j "I'll easily settle that, my dear!" Mag- i gie replied, to my horror. i There was nothing else for it, so I feigned sleep hs well as I could, while I i imagined and partly beard this dreadful i young woman getting on the seat, and : felt that I was being examined over the partition. Then it occurred to me with a sort of spasm that sleep with a lighted 1 cigarette in the mouth was inconsistent i and imnrobnble. Puff at the ciixarette I could not, and my nostrils were being < horribly irritated by the smoke that was < curling around them. I held on as long i as I could, feeling meanwhile that my i face was becoming more aud more con- < gested, until at last, hoping that my ob- ] server hud withdrawn herself, aud being ; utterly incapable of living longer without fre3h air, I burst out with a yelp, j curiously compounded of splutter, cough j and sneeze. I looked up at the parti- , tion. The interval between it and the rooi 01 tne carnage was a smau one, ana Maggie had been compelled to turn her j face a little sideways to get a good view ; of me. By means of her hat she had j j been imprisoned in this po3itioo, and h was now tugging and pulling to get free. ' It was a most uncommonly uncomforta-', ble situation, but, though I was devoutly j .anxious for the immediate and painless death of one of us, I was aware dimly, ; just then, that Maggie was a young person of considerable attractions. Her face was a beautiful oval, and she had a 1, brilliant color, partly the result of her position and exertion, I supposed. J j This state of affairs la ted, perhaps, a | good five seconds?seconds that I ( felt to drag lijce the centuries which J- i nrL-i a.a preceue a summer xiwuuiiy. iiat muus If I offered to help I could only advance matters by either pulling her hat off or squashing it back against the roof, i ( Moreover, I was almost certain to touch her face! No wonder that a girl with a j face like that "loathed and detested" j. "vegetable r<d hair."* Even thes.; rive seconds came to an end at last. With a great struggle the face disappeared, but (judge of iny em- ! barrassment and horror !j the hat fell at my feet in here I was standing in inuecisiou and dismay. "May," I heard Maggie whisper to her friend, "there wns a man there. Of I course he has red h:iir, and my hat has fallen over into his carriage." We were getting near a station, I was flad to see. As the train whirled in I j andcd the hat over the partition, and j said with as much firmness as I conld i command, in an aflair of such complicated discomfort: "Your hit, I believe; allow mo!" Then, without waiting to collect my ; gloves, mv umbrella and my new Sophocles, I sprang on to the platform. I am not expert in "leaving the train while it is in motion,'' at the best of times. This time which was by no means of the best, I sprang straight out at right angles to the line of the train, aud as a natural consequence, was thrown violently on to my hands and knees, tearing my nether garments at the knee and ' barking' the knee itself with more liberality tlmu discretion. However, I reflected, as I gathered myself and my hat together, they could not have seen me fall, so all was right. With the arrival of the next train the first part of my adveuture came to a welcome end. It left a great impression on me. however. I was pursued by aeon stant dread of falling in with "Maggie" again. To avoid this I availed myself of a route by 'bus to and from my office, which entailed waste of time and a cold in the head. For Maggie might be in but scarcely on a 'bus, and the weather was cold and capricious. Miss Jackson is almost the only lady I know upon whom I voluntarily make calls. She is a very old friend of mine; she is, in fact, one of the few women in whose company I do not feel shy. I went to see her about a fcrtiiight after the episode of the hat. The servantshowed me in without announcing my name. The room was lighted only by the fire, and as I walked iu I heard a voice that seemed somewhat familiar finish a narration with these words: "Luckily he got out at the next station,and I live .n hope that I shall never see him again." Mr f!arden to VOU. I Miss Hendcrsou," said ray hostess, who had risen to receive me. I bowed in the darkness, not without grave fears as to the identity of .Miss Henderson with the Maggie ot my adventure.. However that may be, sheir.tered some usuaj common phrase to which I replied: "Oh, yes!" jerkily, not being able to think of anything more original on the spur ol the moment. "Well," said Miss Henderson, after an interval in which I raked viciously round my mind for a remark in vain, "I think I must be going. Where do you think I put my hat before it got dark, Mis? Jackson? I've inade adisg.acefully long call; it was quite light when I cuine." "Miss Jackson lit a candle, while I hunted desperately about for the missing hat, not daring to look up at Miss Henderson. At last I found it close beside me on a low chair, with a furry contrivance which, I have since learned, is called a boa. It was so close to me, in- . deed, that to this day I regard it as a special mercy that that I had not sat upon it. I picked up the hat and the boa, and as I stepped over with them I said, without looking up, "this is your ; hat, I believe." Then I looked up, as ! was inevitable. Of course, as you have guessed. Miss Henderson was the Maggie 1 of the railway carriage. I had just time : to see her flush crimson before I lowered 1 my eyes. What happened before she ; left the room I cannot say, as I was practically unconscious. Well, after this I got desperate. It was of no use. it seemed, to flv from this hat and its wearer. I abandoned my 'bus route aud patronized the Underground agaiu. haunted by the dread of seeing Maggie, but sure that no amount ; of stratagem could long keep me from doing so. In the evening when I had just got home I used even to imagine 1 scenes in which I had crushed and humiliated her by the haughty politeness Df my manner at a chance meeting. I :an certainly confe.ss that the recollection of her face was constantly very vivid, and that I sometimes "visualized" it without any hat or frame of jfiitForl nait'tinn One liiie morning about 9:30 I was on ' my way up to ihc office in a smoking car- : riage. It was quite full of business men, jacli with his paper and pipe. I was enjoying a cigarette in that state of semi- 1 consciousness that the Underground favors when, just before the train left I 1 knew not what station, Maggie opened the door. "This is a smoking carriage," ' remarked the man next the door, who ' with the odious selfishness of his sex regarded the entiance of a lady as the violation of sanctuary. "I am sorry," ' Maggie answered, "but there is no time onnfliar T anil cfanil And rlifinrrp ' LV/ 1IIIU l>UU?UM. * " " 0~ , it the next station." I had known that . it was Maggie before I looked up when [ heard her voice at the door. The pro- ' pinquity of no other being would have icconnred for the sudden aura that passed 1 jver me. These nine dreadful, clean shaved and outwardly respectable city tnen complacently sat and allowed Maggie to stand in the reeking atmosphere . that ihey had contaminated with their j1 3moke. I am not a mau who loves to i push himself forward on such occa<ions j ' is this, but I could not take a share in j such conduct, and After a second's blush i, ing I extricated myself from ray neigh- j bors and olFcred my seat by a gesture of 1 the hand. It was not so to be; I was , bound to sp ak, as Maggie was looking ;1 at the window bv the bar of which she was holding. ''Prav take my seat," I I said, in a voice as srruff and. deep as I could make it. "Thank you, Mr. C'arden," Maggie replied, after a startled recognition. "It is a shame to deprive you of it in a smoking carriage." She bit her ! lip and blushed, but took the vacant place. I suppose I stood there for some three minutes in a state of agony, conscious of having rebuked the city men by my act ?ud of havinsr once more obtruded, as it were, my existence upon Maggie. At the next station I got out; so did she. "Mr. Carden," I heard her say close behind me. What now torture was I booked ; for, I wondered; but escape there was j none, so I turned and faced the foe, raising my hat and no doubt looking much ' surprised. "Mr. Carden," she said, "I wish to beg your pardon, if you please." "Beg my pardon, Miss Mag?Miss rienuerson i mean," i simnmureu. j, "What on earth for?" "You must know." Magg!e answered, i; studying tiie platform meanwhile, 'that ] I have twice been very rude to you; the ! first time when I disturbed you iu the ! train, and the sccond time when you ! Dyerheard me giving a vicious account of what happened tlieu to Miss Jackson. I made up my mind to apologize when and where 1 happened to meet you, and I hope that you will excuse me?" she queried, looking at me with a beautiful but troubled lace. "I beg that you won't mention it," I said, With a firmness and confidence that Lave astonished me ever since. "If I wasn't so absurdlv nervous it wouldn't have mattered at all." ( /'Iliope that you didn't hurt yourself in getting out of the train that unfortunate afternoon. My friend who was with me thought you must have hurt yourself seriously." "Oh! not at all," I stammered, "not all over; at least, not much?nothing to speak of." I bowed as Maggie moved , down the platform, and actually ventured . to remark: "The way out is behind you, j Miss Henderson." "Thank you; I am going on by the 1 next train," she said. "Then you really got out of the train to beg my pardon!" I asked, too aston- , ished to feel shy. I \ "H " Yea," she replied, and then her face dimpled all over as she added: "And I am afraid that you got out of the train to escape from me, as I see that you are not going out. Good morning." The train came in and we separated on our different ways. I called on Miss Jackson again soon after this occurrence, but of course did not allude to it. Miss Jackson was going to give one of her "evenings.'^ 1 had never been to one of them; I supposed that they were torture of the most dreadful sort. Miss Jackson begged that I would do her a favor by coining to this one. "Mr. Henderson is coming," she explained, "and he cares to talk nothing but Greek play. You are the only man I ? ?.I. ? />An V,Tt 1' n A TTT 1 T1 CT Ulh fl f MIUW >vuu Ittuucip iliU ijj j\lx\j H1U0 lie is talking about." "What! Is he Henderson, of St. Guido's, Oxford?" I inquired. " lie was. Now. he is Mr. Henderson, of London, and finds fewer sympathizers. Hi> only interc t in connection with anything of the present day is his daughter, whom you mef. here one afternoon. A charming girl; I am very fond of her." I promised to come to the "evening." I afterward repeuted of the promise, but kept it. I scarcely spoke to Maggie, but I had much conversation with Mr. Henderson, that is to say, I heard much of Mr. Henderson s ideas concerning me Greek drama. I am a good listener, and it transpired somehow that I was interested iu the subject. This impressed Mr. Henderson with the idea that I was an intelligent young fellow. At last he said: "Come round some evening?say Friday evening?and see us. We are a small family only my daughter Margaret and myself; but I have some old manuscripts that you might like to see. It is a rare treat to me to see people who take an interest in my subject." I went to see the manuscripts, of course. Since then I have been often. I astonished Mr. Henderson a week or so back by stammering out a request that I should be allowed to ask his daughter for her hand. He laughed, made an apt quotation, but raised no ob jection. A few days ago I was standing in his hall putting on my great coat. ''So you have really quite conquered your insuperable objection to 'vegetable red' hair. Maggie?" I said. "i'ourhat. I believe; allow me?" was her seemingly inconsequent reply.? London Belgravia. What a Blizzard Is. A bliz/ard is simply a strong, cold wind moving unchecked over leagues of light, unpacked snow. It sweeps up that which has previously fallen, carries it away in the color of a vast shaken fleece, distributes it so that almost each atmospheric atom has its little particle, and drives along all with a steady fury. Whether tresh snow is falling can seldom be dctcrmiued by people out in a real blizzard. As far as the eye can 3ee upward, and that is but a little space, the hurry of minute pellets hurling across an unrevealed sky prevails, and tne nuriying sameness ou every 3iue ia varied only by occasional tall and bending wraiths where the wind whirls in shifting columus. A confusion of the senses, comparable to none produced otherwise, appalls one submitted to the enormous and blinding force of such a show-filled wind, and scarcely a d'stinct thought re- 1 mains except that the awful cold forbids i crouching for rest and shelter. To our personal knowledge, one in such a storm keeps with dilHculty upon a railway track lifted three feet above the surrounding prairie, and may be lost by five steps I the wrung way alter stumbling down i from the embankment, which, being white, becomes instantly invisible. It is 1 recorded on good authority that bands ' of teamsters halting with their horses ] * J A. nave Deen snoweu over unity lcet uccp by blizzards, and have survived by beatiug out breathing chambers till the ces- | sation of the storm enabled them to dig themselves to upper air. The formation of a drift about a halted man, or horse, or sleigli, is sometimes wonderfully I speedy, and the drift, once established, I grows by virtue of its obstiuctiveness. 1 In some well authenticated cases lost persons have been found by tho drifts ' over them and dug out alive, in others 1 the spring has reve iled corpses still un- 1 thawed among the last white relics of < winter. In blizzards people have often I l>een unable to see across the street of a ] northwest town, and sometimes men lose their direction in trying to reach the opposite side of a well-built way. ?Toronto Globe. i What ?L" Means on a Gold Coin. When the coin is sent from the mint it 1 is overweighted | to 1 per cent, of its 1 iralue, which allows that much lo<s in 1 wear and tear while iu circulation. ^ When it fails to come up to the standard weight it is refu?ed by the United States freasury, hut before they pass it from their hauds is is marked with an "L" on the face, which signifies light weight, and also is meant to prevent its circula- , tion among the people for its full value. ( It is said that there are great quanti ties of ligut-weignt goia coins in circulation, and the bank teller frequently conies in conta-t with them. He is supposed to be well posted in the various grades of money in circulation, but notwithstanding hia experience a lightwe'ght slips in on him now and then. However, gold coin is very difficult to , handle, and in nearly all cases where it is . deposited in large quantities a loss in weight can be looked for. It has been several months, though, since such a loss . in weight as that in this last deposit has been sustained. Several months ago an . amount about equally as large as $3,zuu i was sustained on gold coin deposited by the local banks. This deficit, it seems, | made the teller more strict in accepting the coins and depositors were more careful, resulting in few light-weight , coins being presented. Encountering little t.lmble for some time, it seems the tellers have lifted their vigilance, and the 1 light-weight coins .slipped in on one of them. ?St. Louis Republican, The New Year in lfunnah. 1 The advent of the New Year in Burmah is celebrated with what is called the ( Water Festival, which furnishes a somewhat boisterous amusement for the population of Manduluy. Men, women and boys go about armed with squirts of fantastic form, which are filled with water at vessels provided for the purpose, and ?1isflmrw>d nt anv chance passer-by. , Foreigners are favorite ob cots of this I aqueous attack, and lucky is the Drit- J ish OlHcer who before starting out has ( dressed for sudden showers. , 'Tain't So. j Don't believe that the world is goin' to the j dogs? 'Tain't so! That all women are peacocks, and all men 1 are hogs, 'Tain't so! i An' if any man tells you the world to de- J spise, An' the honor of all men is sold for a price, Look squar' in his eye.? an' jest tell him h< l lies! j 'Tain't so! . For he thinks that the world is fashioned ] awry And made from the pattern they cut him out by! ?Yankee Blade. "\ / BUDGET OF FUN. HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. Earned His Money?Special TermsShe Had Read Up?A Familiar Face?A Leap Year Proposal, Etc., Etc. Patient?"That's a big bill you sent, doctor. You only looked at my tongue and prescribed quinine." Doctor?"You forget, my dear sir,that I felt of your pulse."? Texas Siftings. Special Terms. New member (to Washington hotel clerk)?"What are your regular rates?" Clerk?"Four dollars a day, air; payable weekly." New Member?"You have different rates for Members, of course f" Clerk?"Yes, air. Four dollars a day in advance."?New York Herald. She Had Read Up. Tramp?"Can't you give a poor man something to eat? I got shot in the war and can't -work." Woman?"Where was you shot?" "In the spinal column, mum." "Go 'way I There was no such battle fought."?Texai HiJ tings. A Familiar Face. Gue9t (to hotel clerk)?"I've met that gentleman who just went out before somewhere. His face is very familiar, but to save my life I can't call his name.' Clerk?"His name is Smith; he is one of the officials at Auburn prison. Your bill is $4, sir."?New York Sun. A Leap Year Proposal. Clytie?"Harry, you must have noticed that you have grown very dear to me. I?I?it is useless to longer conceal the truth, my darling?I love you!" Hurry (turns pale and trembles)?"It is so sudden, Miss Jones. Excuse my agitation, but I must have time to think." Clytie? "Then you bid me hope, my angel! Oh, rapture!" Harry (blushing coquett'shly behind his -whiskers)?"I have not said that. Really, Miss Jones, I must refer you to ma " Clytie?"Cruel, cruel one! Why have; you awakened this pleasing hope in my ' bosom if only to b'ast it? Consider, my j love. Will nothing move you to mercy?, Bestow upon me this little hand andl make me the happiest of maidens." Harry?"Alas! I l'ear it cannot be. I esteem you highly a< a friend, Missi Jones, but?forgive me if I pain you?I Iaifa ttah /JTrJrla nnt. ViJa luinrl I I UU UUU iUTt J wu. wwv ^ But I will always be a brother to you." She rushes out into the dark, dark world, convinced that leap year is a fraud. ? Omaha Bee. Life In Kansas. "There's quite a brec/.e sprung up within the last half-hour," said a Kansas man as he came into the house; "the roof has goue off the court house and the Kpiscopals' steeple just rolled by." "Has Dave Johnson's anvil blown out of his shop yet and tumbled past?" asked his wife. "No; nor there hasn't a drop of water; blown out of our new fifty-ioot well yet, either." "That's just the way it goes," con-j tinued his wife; "and I'll nev<?r take my more stock in the prophecies of the. weather bureau. Here for the last forty-! eight hours it has been predicting high wind for to day, and after all it is com- i paratively calm. Mary Jane, go right, i head and hang out the washing while 1 rig up the baby and take him out and jive him a little airing. ? Yankee Blade. At the Wrouff Window. A good story is told at the expense of , the Amherst College Glee Club. About ten years ago the club made a trip through New York State, and sung in Rochester at the same time that Kate Pcnnoyer, a pretty stage singer, was there. After the concert it was proposed to serenade the lady, and the club proceeded to her home and struck up the familiar college hymn, "Dear Evelina," paraphrasing the chorus: Dear Kate l'ennoyer, Sweet Kate l'ennoyer, Our love for thee Shall never, never die. After singing the entire song the boys rrrnSfsir) o IlMmpnt fllP ft ffiCO CT J) i Ll On Of uuittu u uivmvMv ??. ? ? ~ their serenade. Slowly a window in the third story was raised, later a man clothed in robe3 of white and with whiskers a foot long was seen, and then a bass solo svas wafted down to the collegians: Dear boys below there, Sweet boys below there, Your Kate Petinoyer Lives four doors below here. As the last words of his song died on the frosty air, the Amherst College Glee Dlub gathered themselves up like Arabs and as silently stole away. A Wife's Criticism on a Will. | An Irishman over the ^age of fourscore ind ten, who by strict economy had accumulated a modest fortuae and was ibout to die, called in the parish priest xnd the family lawyer to make his last will aud testament. The wife, a grasping, covctous old party was also in the room. The preliminaries of the will hav tng been conciuaea, it ueumue ucucasaij to inquire about the debts owing to :he estate. Among these were several of importance, of which the old lady had been in ignorance, but was nevertheless pleased to find that so much ready money would becoming after the funeral. "Now, then," said the liiwyer, ''stale explicitly the amount owed you by your friends." ' Timothy Biown," replied the old man, "owes me ?60; John Casey owes me me and " "Good, good?"ejaculated the pros-; 1:..? "lidtimml tn the last." i JJUUIH C Willi* . . ? "Luke Brown owes me ?'40," resumed the old man. "Rational to the last," put in the eager aid lady. ! 'To Michael Liffevlowe ?200." "Ah!" exclaimed the old woman, "hear him rave?" CiirliiK tlie Wroujf Man. An aimy surgeon wu9 one night annoyed by the coughing of the sentry outside his tent. I :;a!>le to sleep, he decided that something must be done for the man,' and so compounded liim a strong and very disagrci-ab.c dose of medicine. Then, going out, lie ordered the man to take it. The sentry refused, it tirst politely, and afterward angrily iind emphatically; but the surgeon sternly j insisted upon his rights, and the man ' was finally induccd to swallow the com-1 pound. The result was evidently satis- | factory. The sound of coughing ceased in fnmn nnrl the sumeon went to I sleep in the consciousness of having done ; a good deed. The next morning he was summoned by the officer in command, who said to him: "How is this, sir? I hear serious complaints about you in relation to the sen-' tries. One of them has reported that, ia the middle of the night, jou came out of your tent and abused him in the most dreadful manner. He says you made him swallow a drink which mu9t have been poison." The guard had been relieved while the surgeon was compounding his mixture, and he had cured the wrong man. ?Argonaut. The New Clerk. He had been recommended as a sharp, shrewd boy, and the grocer had been several times delighted at the way he scrimped the measure when selling apples or potatoes. Therefore, when he started down town the other day he felt that everything would go smoothly in his abscnce. When he returned, alter the la|>se of a couple hours, he asked: "Well, anything happen?" "Bought twenty bushels of potatoes," replied the boy." "But I didn't tell you to." "I know it, but when I can buy potatoes at twenty-five cents per bushel under selling price there's a profit in buying, eh!" "Did you get 'em for that?" "I did, ana good measure, too." "Then I shall raise your salary a dollar J>erweek. You are the boy I've been ooking for. Potatoes in the bin?" "Yes." Two minutes later the grocer came back to the front of the store with a potato in each hand and his face as white as snow, and after working his jaws for half a minute he managed to say: "You idiot! They are frozen as hard as rocks!"?Detroit Free Press. Thev Knew. A certain charitable mission enterprise connected with an important church, is presided over by a young assistant minister of the church, who is much admired for his personal graces as well as for his piety and zeal in good work. He had been assisted in the work of instructing, elevating and amusing the boys who resort to the mission by some good ladies of the parish, and particularly by a young woman whose benevolent interest in the mission work has been supposed to include the clergyman at its head. She has been indefatigable in her endeavors to teach and entertaiu the boys,and often addresses them in little speeches. The other Sunday this young lady was speaking to the boys in the presence of *v.n flim-ntrmon ftlio lmf? pvhr>rted them to be good and studious, to avoid bad company, profanity and other demoralizing things, and closed her little exhortati n with these words: 'I want you to be good boys and do all these things that 1 have asked you to because I love you all." "I know who you love most!" a small boy in the front row called out. "Well, who is it, Johnny?" asked the lady. No doubt she suspected some accusation of partiality among the boys, which she would* have been glad of an opportunity to deny. The boy pointed his small, grimy finger at the young clergymen. "Him!'' he shouted. The young lady's interest in charitable work is saiu to nave aecuneu. visiuiy iur some little time.?Boston Transcript. Towing Rafts at Sea. The recent attempt and subsequent failure to convey a raft of 30,000 spruce log? from Nova Scotia to New York City reminds us of propositions which were broached here long years ago in regard to transposing sawed lumber and spiles from Humboldt Bay to San Francisco m the same manner. But the idea of mov- j ing lumber in that manner, to evade high j freights, never met with much encouragement. The fact that two harbor bars thut are disposed to be ugly when they are not positively good had to be passed in the transit; tne turtner one or siow progress in the matter of towing such rafts, and that a heavy westerly swell was liable to be encountered at any season, finally brought the decision that the venture would be a dangerous and expensive one. A similar parallel was the project of rafting logs across Eel river bar to the ocean, and having the raft picked up by a steam-tug and towed into Humbolt Bay. That was a' andoned after the first attempt, in which the raft broke up before it reached the ocean, the logs being scattered and beached all the way -from Mad river to Coosky, on the lower coast of the county, by the currents. It is an f.if-h thnf it. ia mtirh pasier to transport lumber and timber in the hold of a vessel or on a railroad car than to trust to harbor bars or old ocean's freaks.?llu nhohll (Cal.) Standard. Cutting Ice Oil the Hudson. A glance at the ice fields is extremely interesting. I drove down the river for many miles as the cutting was just beginning. The stream at intervals was dotted with crowds of men and horses busy in marking out the great square, like a gigantic chessboard, upon which they might be taken as representing the pawns and pieces. Large open spaces of blue water already appeared, showing liow rapidly tne woik is none. The "marking" is done by a saw-like implement, with several huge, sharp teeth, drawn by a horse and guided by a man, who holds it like a plough. It marked a scries of long, deep stratches at intervals of about three feet, crossing them with o:her lines until an immense space is marked out. He is followed by men with long-hand led staves, who proceed to divide the ice into blocks with the reposeful motion and languor of men who work by the day. Then comes an army of men with long pole-hooks who deftly yank the cakes out upon the firm ic6 and then they are piled upon the carts if at a distance frum the houses. Arriving at the huge buildings they are hoisted, one by one, up an inclined plane, -1 nina an nnril<>ca-r>linin hnlt. ? 11111 lUUs) ... , to the top of the building and then lowered into its vast recesses, making a foundat:on solid and firm of opulence for its fortunate owner.?Neio Yo'-k World. A Deformed Prince. The Crown Prince of Germany's eldest son and heir to the throne is Prince Wilhelm, of whom the^ Countess von Krockow writes: "The Germans cannot forgive an heir apparent of the throne having been born mediocre in figure and imperfectly formed. Prince Wilheim has a crippled arm. The fingers are mere knobs. In the hussar uniform there is a pocket, and he wears it because ^f!m ltolnlACG mAmhnr (I1C llirur jjiii*i-ia ux i/uv nvi|;-v^. Miv.?Vv. cm lie hung in the pocket. Otherwise it hangs awkwardly and helplessly in its sleeve. His horses arc especially trained, aud before the Prince is to mount are ridden three-quarters ol' an hour to wear them down. He can just manage to hold the reins. "\Vc were together in a country house. I looked with the hostess at the fork with wiiich he cats. It is of silver, and not conspicuously different from others, but fixed to the under tine there is a sharp small blade. What the Prince cannot cut with the one hnnd and this blade he does not undertake to eat. The right hand and arm are large and of extraordinary dexterity, but the little finger is deformed by a growth which the Prince only imperfectly conceals by wearing rings nearly up to the third phalange/' 11 -i) -A** ? JjL,' ^ > '' fSv'V 'n 1 | POPULAR SCIENCE. A Philadelphia firm has been awarded a contract by the Italian Government for the construction of a Zalinski dynamite gun, which is to be forty feet long and to be made in three sections, ana designed to throw a prosectile weighing 000 pounds a distance of four miles. It will be used for coast defense. The extension of the Chinese telegraph system has involved the crossing of several large rivers?a matter of no small difficulty, owing to the enormous dimensions of the summer floods. The river ir. question, whose ordinary width is about half a mile, is swollen by the rains to a breadth of more than eight miles. Referring to the British birds that swarm in South Africa in winter, Professor Scebohm state9 that on the coast of Natal he must have seen hundreds o thousands of barn swallows,evidently collected to return to northern Europe. Swifts and other species were numerous. Many of these did not breed within 8,000 miles of tho3e[arts, and some not within 10,000. A powder is used in the German army for sitting into the shoes and stockings of the foot-soldiers. It is called "Fusstreupulver," and consists of three parts salicylic acid, ten parts starch, and eighty-seven parts pulverized soapstone (Speckstein). It keeps the feet dry, prevents chafing, and rapidly heals sore Tf io A Ka fn mountaineers, Mr. J. W. Collins reports in the Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission the finding of a knife of curious workmanship in the thick flesh of a large cod. The handle of the knife is of brass, curved and tapering behind, with a longitudinal incision on the concave side to receive the edge of the blade. The total length of handle and blade together is 61 inches. Professor Medeleef. in Engineering,has advanced the theory that petroleum is of mineral origin, and that its production is foing on and may continue almost inefinitely. He has succeeded in making it artificially by a similar process to that which he believes is going on in the earth, and experts find it impossible to distinguish between the natural and the manufactured article. Some of the inven'.ors evidently do not propose to give up the car stove. Several of them have invented and nateuted extinguishers in the shape of I . . water tankf, which, when anything happens, dro-.vn out the fire in the stove, tome of them act automatically, while other.* must be operated by pulling a cord, which is supposed to flood the stove and render it innocuous, so to speak. A paper made by Herr Ladewig, Germany, will resist the action of both fire and water. The manufacture is accomplished by mixing twenty-five parts of asbestos fiber with from twenty-five to thirty parts of aluminum sulphate, moistening the mixture with chloride of zinc and thoroughly washing it in water. It is then treated with a solution : of pure aluminum sulphate, after which ! it is manufactured into paper like ordinary pulp. Roburite (says Iwlustriei) promises to displace all other explosives now used in ' coal mines. The experiments made are | highly satisfactory. "In what is usually j mivhiM nf nil. and fips.dumn I ail CAplUdlvg lui.wui v VI Mil UUV4 ? V ?...?r J we understand there was no ignition. | Underground, both in coal and stone, it j gave results equal in power to ordinary J blasting gelatine, while there was not so j much small coal as with gelatine and ! dynamite. Probably it is not widely | known that roburite is an invention due partially to the action of the Austrian (.iovernment, which in 1882 offered prizes for the safest mining explosives. Koburite, carbonite and securite were three , out of twenty which were favorably reported upon, and the former appears to be the most satisfactory." Furs For Decorative Purposes. A Washington Jetter to the New York Graphic says: Going iuto a taxidermist's studio a day or two since to buy a pair i of owl's eyes?they can be had for from , fifty to sixty cents, according to the ex- I pression wished for?I noticed many j elegant furs lying in heaps upon the ' floor. They are used principally for j decorative purposes, although one sees much fur worn upon the streets of Washington. I asked the proprietor to give me a few of his prices. "Here," he . said pointing to a magnificent white ! polar bcm skin ten feet long, "is a rug, j handsomely mounted, for which I ask j $200. 1 had a lovely Oorean tiger skin : the other day, for which I got $300. These are rare. A lodv who visited my studio and saw this skin remarked that it must have been a pretty large buffalo I A royal Bengal tiger skin will sell for i from $100 to $150. The musk or ox skin, ! which a few years ago sold for $35 or $10, : xi_ 4I-A ? - T 1 IS DOW worm ii3 U Ml'lgiHUg iuug, X : have an eiderdown quilt, eight feet long j by five wide, beautifully pie'-ed, which is j worth $100. A good lion rug costs i $400. An angora rug can be had for from $6 to $20. I have just mounted as a rug for a Washington lady a biautiful monkey skiu. It rests on gold plush. Here is a lovely reindeer skin, which Greely carried with him to the North Pole. It came from Norway, and i can be had for $10." The Origin of heap Tear. The custom observed every fourth year of permitting the fairer sex to assume the right and prerogatives appertaining to j their brothers during the remaining j three is a very ancient one, according to j a New York World correspondent. When ; it originated is not deiinitely known, but 1 ? iniv nnnmnd hv the Parliament of Scot- I laud in the year 128S is doubtless the first j statutory recognition of the custom. That law was as follows: "It is statut and ordaint that during the reine of ller Maist Hlissit Megestie. hk fourth year, j( known as Le.ip \ ear, ilk maiden ladveof baitli high and low e-tait shall haci berty to bespeak ye man she likes: :ili;eit, gif i he refuses to tak hir to be his .vyfe, he j shall be mulcted in ye sntnme of ane duudis or less, a-; his estait moit be, ex- J cept and awis gif he can mak it appear that he is betrothit to ane ither woman, that he then shall be free.'' 1 n.tnmli^An'u L'olipiKnt inn A i/tiiigfii?ri o i u'/* ivuviviti Muluk Chaud, a peasant living in a 1 small village in Bengal, was accused of j | murdering his own child. He was found guilty on the direct testimony of hissur- I 1 viving daughter, who entered into min- j 1 uie details of the circumstances of the '> alleged murder. The evidence against ! ' Muluk I'liaud was so overwhelming that i the . sessions judire who first tried the ji case was absolutely convinced of his 1 TIUIU ruriUim&VIJ ?.% |iv??w of appeal to the High Court of Calcutta, i and a new trial was ultimately ordered. 1 In the further proceedings the prisoner's counsel succeeded in satisfying both the judge and iury that no murder had been committed. The sentence of death was therefore not carried out, and the prisoner was liberated. His daughter sub- 1 sequently confessed that she nad fabricated the story. * f ' . . ' t ^ \ CLEVER WOMENr DEVICES OP POOR WOMEN IN WASHINGTON. Teaching Novices How to Shine in Society?Arranging Bric-?BracFor the WealthyHired Chaperones. The Washington Star says that there are many women of reduced circumstances in Washington who manage to keep up appearances. They have all been reduced from some higher sphere. They are the wives or daughters of men who have beeD in Government positions, in the Army or Navy, or perhaps in Congress, and have died leaving nothing for their families. Some of those women so reduced have trod the highest walks of social eminence. Those of more common place qualifications hare surrendered their social position and opened hoarding houses or gone into the Depart- . meats. There is an ex-Representative still alive here in Washington who has two daughters in one of the Departments. "< 1 -*? : n Women of greater resources have contrived means of keeping np appearances and earning their own living at the same time. There are several who teach, etiquette to such as are newly cast into tVin WnaViinfyfnn whirl Thpr tpArh fchft wives and daughters of new statesmen ho v to shine. They take their hands and lead them through the dark passages and over the slippery places about the entrance to Washington society. They give a benovolent assistance to rich ladies who would like to shine in Washington society, but have been unable to break through the thin shell to the inner oircle. They supply taste and culture where their patrons have wealth only, and help them up the rugged way. They brush - ; aside the thorns with a hand in a velvet glove. One lady, it is said, still keeps up the establishment whic:h was the inheritance of her more prosperous days, through the "consideration" she receives for introducing ladies into society and for society news she furnishes contidently to certain papers. To be invited to, her house is to secure the entre to society. It means recognition and other invitations. The compensation for such a ser- ' vice is a matter of delicacy, but it is managed by the lady so that the patron rnav feel under deeo obligations, and not as if she was getting "just so much for the money. There are others who, when not engaged in social activities themselves, are occupied in showing some lady how to arrange her parlors and reception room;, how to hang pictures and the curtain); what to put in thia-room and what in that; how to arrange bric-abrac on the mantels, in cabincts, and on the floor; what to put here, what there, and how the whole should be for harmony and good taste. Then they show their patron where to stand and how to stand when receiving company, what to talk about and how to talk; or they, will show her how to give a dinnerparty, - ^ whom to invite, how many, how to decorate and arrange the table, what to put on it and in what*order, how to dispose of the guests as to precedence, and all the rest of it. This matter of precedence puzzles some of the best of the newcomers, and they are gltfd to find some one to relieve them of the responsibility. These fema'e professors of etiquette help * them out of all such embarrassment. They bring out the debutantes and help them to good matches. Some, it is saic? have particular talents for match-making, aud devote themselves to that. This branch of servicej is said to afford very lucrative employment to two or three amiable ladies of great tact. They bring young people together and introduce their "wards" into eligible society. Another employment sought by accomplished laaies of reduced circumstances is that of chaperone for young people. A chaperone is a very Important uj attachment for young people in Washington society, and one it is not always easy to get. It is embarrassing and besides generally inconvenient for mama's to have to sit in th$ corner or against the wall and nod. while their fair daugh ters whirl in the waltz and tread the mystic mazes that lead to premature old age. An amiable chaperone, who will go with the girls to the theatre, to balls and parties, and receptions, is cheap at most any price, and can find plenty to do profitably. Of course they do not'advertise: "Wanted.?A situation as chaperone." Nor do they ask Mrs. Pennyharvest if she doesn't want to hire a chaperone with long experience and good references. Not at. all. It all comes about very naturally. The lady is so accommodating: and Mrs. Pennyhar/est is so grateful,"that it all comes to be understood. Another occupation of fashionable ladies in reduced circumstances is that of reading to invalids, and entertaining them with all the Smalltalk of the day. All these means are resorted to by ladies who have by some misfortune been thrown on their own resources. Some perform these services openly with no pretense *t concealment of their necessities. Others manage to keep their occuration a secret between themselves and those they serve, each patron thinking that she is the only one so favored. "Washington is a place for the cultivation of clever women, and they are found living upon their sharp wits in all the walks of society. Many do a thriving business in the "lobby." The Length of Life Increasing. Statistics are very misleading, says a doctor in the Globe-Democrat, and I think it is susceptible of proof that the average of longevity is getting higher all the time. Epidemic diseases, which contribute so largely to the depopulation of thickly, settled districts, are becoming less and less destructive every year?almost in exact ratio, I may say, to the increase in therapeutical knowledge. Look how yellow fever was kept down in Florida this past summer, under conditions equally as favorable to its spread as those which obtained at Memphis in 1.S7S, when such fearful mortality prevailed. And, then, see what surgery has done. There isn't anything in the way of accident work that is not perfectly understood by the experienced surgeon, save, possibly, lesions of the brain and injuries to the peritoneum, Even the latter has, time and again, been succesfully treated by the prompt use of knife and needle. Surgery has been reduced, or maybe "raised ' would sound better, to the status of exact srience; md all that materia mcdica lacks is a better knowledge of the operation of remedies upon d fferent constitutions, md that knowledge is rapidly being acquired. The proportion of deaths to casesj off S'ckne-gs reported in all our medical meetings is growing sraaiierau the time, the same rule holding with the hospital reports These are some of the reasons why I say the people of this age have parsed the lowest point in their longevity record, and by the same token it can never get so low again until medical knowledge becomes retrogressive, which period is a long way ahead, according to my idea. / / -r . A