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THE VIOLETS. Bbow in the air, and snow on the fields, and snow, cold snow, on the hill. Calmlv the lilies are sleeping yet, and violets sleeping still. Time ye were waked,'tis time ye were stirred; we wait your promise of May, And the modest sheen of your purple and green thrusting the snow away. Yet shall the violets wake, I know, and earth shall be glad once more; Bat, oh! for a spring to re^sit the souls whose sj ringtime once is o'er. Hever a flower or a bud for them, but only a wintry glow; But only to sit with hopeless eyes and gaze in vain at the snow. Yinlpts rmrswl hv Snrinc's soft hand, theil fall'n by a despot's sway! Bot of themselves did tlie violets die; souls of themselves decay. Sweetly the violets lived their lives.contented in sun and in rain, Who helpless were made to blossom and fade sweetly shall blossom again. Knee not your winter yourselves ye brought, violets: rightly ye wake. Sight, too, alas: that souls should sleep?souls . which their winter make. o violets gay may laugh at decay, with man}* a spring time in store. bo fceep your spring while ye may, ye souls; once passed it shall come no more. ?St. James's Gazette. THE WITHERED HAND, A STORY FROM THE FRENCH. There was quite a crowd around Mr. Bermutier, thcgieat criminal lawyer, as ke discussed :lie mysterious St. (J.oud affair. For a month this inexplicable crime was the sensation of Paris. JXobody could make anything out of it. Mr. Bermutier, with his back to the iieplat e, arrayed proofs and cited different opinious, but drew no conclusion. Several ladies had risen and drawn ear him, and remained standing, with their eyes fixed upon the smoothly haven mouth of the attorney, whence fell such weierhtv words. The women ihivered, chilled by their inquisitive fright, by that insatiable hunger for the dreadful, which haunts their souls. One of them, paler than the rest, exclaimed: "It is frightful. It approaches the supernatural. It will never be cleared ?p." The great lawyer turned toward her: "Yes, it wiil probab'y always remain mystery."he said. "Hut the word supernatural, that you used, is hardy called for. The matter we arc discu3s*?g is a cleverly devised, cleverly executed crime, so enveloped in darkness that wc cannot disentangle the impenetrable network of circumstances that surrounds it. But I cenfcs>that I was onc e called upon to follow a case which really seemed to ha.e some hint of the Zantastic about it. We were, in fact, compelled to give it up for want of data on wh'ch to proceed." All the women cried with one voice: "Oh, tell us all about it?*" Mr. Bermutier smiled gravely, as a great criminal lawyer should smile, and continued: "I do not myeelf admit that there can be any such thing as a superhuman agency. I should substitute the word inexplicable' for 'supernatural.' "Iu the story I am going to tell, it was the surrounding or preparatory circum tances that impressed me. The facts were as follows: At the time I spea'? of, I was examining magistrate at Ajarcio. My business was principally the prosccutiou of <a<esof vendetta. In Corsica, as we all know, this sort of family ven<?e- | ance has given rise to superbly dramatic, highly heroic incidents. For two years I heard of little bes:dc the avenger f blood?the Corsiean code that revenges nurder on the person who commits it, otitis descendants and relatives. I had seen Id men, children, and distaut cousins | massacred; my head was filled with such icings. U1 heard one day that an Englishman kad tented a villa on the gulf for several years. lie had a Freuch servant, engaged at Marsei.les, 0:1 his way to Ajaceio. Soon the whole place was taking an interest in this odd individ: al, who fired alone, and only went out to shoot w nsn. ne spoKe to noooay, never came j to town, and practiocd shootiug at a mark every morning for an hour or two. 4'8tories began to be told about him. It was said that he was a man of high I kirth, who hud lied li s country for politic al reasons; the rumor run that he i was in hiding on account of some dread- I fol crime he had committed, of which j pccially horrible details were given. j '-As examining magistrate, I desired : to obtain some trustworthy information j ibout the man, but 1 could !ea:n nothing. He gave Sir. John Rowcll as his | mame. 4iI had him watched, but nothingsus- . yicious about him was reported. "Still as gossip about him grew more general and more cxtrao. dinary, I deter- ; mined to see him for myself, and took to | iontinginthe neighborhood of his estate. ' The occasion presented itself upon jay killing a pa:tridge under the Kng- 1 fishman's very nose one day. My dog , brought me the bird, which I at once presented 10 Sir John Howell, apologiz- | mg for my intrusion. He was a large, man with red hair nnd beard, tall and 1 trong, a placid, polished Hercules. He 1 lad none of the so-called British stiff- | ess, and thanked me in French, but } with the decided accent of the othcrside ; f the Channel. With:n the month we iad chatte:! together five or six times. I 'At hist, one evening as I passed his j eate. I saw him smokinor a nine, sitting I stride a chair in his gaiden*. ' 1 bowed, and he asked mc to come in. . I did not ait to be urged. He re eived rae with the scrupulous courtesy of the English, and began to praise France nnd Corsica. "Then, with the greatest precaution, aiasking my curiosity under the form of a deep interest in him, I asked a few questions about his life and his plans, lie answered with unembarrassed fiank?es?, told me he had traveled a good deal, in Africa, the Indies, and in ; Ameri a. He added, laughing: " 'Oh, yes! I've had a great many adventures.' ' I began to spc;ik of hunting, and he j favc n.e the most singular details of ! ippopotamus hunting, tiger aud ele- | _i t i- i ?:? I jjuuul ouu gitu^vu.ia iiUUllUg. "I remarked that such animals were dangerous game. "He smiled: 'Oh, no! man is the -worst.' Then he laughed outright, a : Vig Englishman's laugh. 'I've hunted sen a good deal, too,' he said Then he j spoke of weapons, and invited me into his house to show me different kinds of guns. "His parlor was hung with black silk, embroidered with gold. Great yellow flowers sprawled over the sombre material, as brilliant as fire. He announced that it was a .Japanese stuff. "But in the middle of the largest panel a strange thing caught my eye. On a square of red vdvet Vhere was a klack object. I drew near; it wa3 a, hand, a man'!} hand. Not a skeleton hand, white and clean, but a dried-up black hand, with yellow nails, starting musclcs, and traces of blood that was like mud on the cleanly cut-off bones, severed as with an ax near the middle of the forearm. Around the wrist an enormous iron chain, riveted and soldered to the uncleanly limb, fastened it to the wall by a staple strong enough to hold an elephant. "I asked what it was. The Englishman coolly answered: " 'That was my dearest foe. He came fiom America. That was cut off with a sword, and the skin scraped off with flint and dried in the sun for eight days. I Prettv sood for me, wasn't it?' "I touched the remnant of humanity, which must ha c belonged to a Colossus. The immoderately long fingers were attached by enormous tendons, to which shreds o: the skin still adhered. The j hand was frightful to behold, flayed as it was; it naturally sugges ed a barbarous i revenge. " 'The man must have been very power- i ful.' said I. " 4Oh, yes,' said the Englishman, | gently, 'but I wa* stronger than he was. I put that chain on it to hold it.' "Thinking he wa9 jesting, I said: " 'The chain is rather useless uow. The hand won't get away.' "Sir John repliid, seriously: 'It's always wanting to get away. The chain is necessary.' "I gave him a quick look, wondering wliptlmr hp w.-i* a madman or a nractical joker. But his face remained unmoved, calm, and kindly. I changed the subject, and examined his guus. I noticed, however, that three loaded revolvers lay in different places on the furniture, as if j the mau lived iu coustant fear of an attack. "I called on him several times, and then went no more. Kvery one had grown accusiomed to his presence, and consequently wh >lly indifferent to him. "A whole year wont by, when one morning mv servant awakened me with *1 c:.. IJrv.voll i1!Wi K?p? I ill' liC?a II1UC UK UUUU 11U1IWU iiuvt vwv? assassinated in the night. Half an hour later I entered the Englishman's house with two po ice officials. The French valet, frightened and overcome, was wringiug his hauds at the door. He was the man I first suspected, but he wa9 innocent. ''The murderer was never discovered. ' Entering Sir John's drawing-room, I at ouce perceived his body lying stretched on the tloor in the middfe of room. His coat was torn, one sleeve was wrenched off and hanging, everything gave evidence of a terrific struggle. The Englishman had been strangled to death. His black, swollen face expressed the most horrible fear: he held something between his clenched teeth, and h's throat was pierced with five bleeding holes as if made by iron points. A surgeon joined us, and examined the finger-marks in the fiesh. He uttered the singular words : " 'I should say he had been strangled by a skeleton.' "I felt the chills run down my back, and glanced up at the wall where I had seen the horrible fiayed hand. ' It was there no longer! The chain hung brokeu. 41 bent over the corpse, and fo ind in ifo tpprh nn^ nf th^ tinkers of the van ished hand, < ut, or rather shaved off by the teeth just at the second joint. "The in<jue9t was held, but nothing was d seovercd. No door had been forced, no window opened, no furniture displaced. The two watch-dogs hud not wakened. ' The servant's testimony was about as follows: For a month past his master had appeared troubled. He received a great many letters, which he burned as last as they came. Often, picking up a riding whip in a rage that approached insanity, he would lash the dried hand that was fastened to the wall, and which had been removed so mysteriously the n:glit of the crime. He went to bed very late, locked himself in carefully, and always kept weapons close at hand, lie would often speak out loud at night as if he were q- arreling with some one. On tlie night in questiou, as 11 nappeneu, ae made uo sound, and it was only when the servant came to open the wiudows that he discovered Sir John had been assassinated. He had no suspicions of anybody. I reported the whole matter to the proper authorities, and the island was minutely searched. Nothing came to light. ">ow, one night, three months afrer the crime, I had a frightful nightmare. I dreamed I saw the h:ind, the hideous hand, running like a scorpion, or a spider, up anu down my walls and curtains. Three times I awoke, three times I went to sleep again, and three t'mes I saw the tleshlcss horror crawl around my room, moving its lingers like legs. Next day the thing itself wa< brought to me. It had been found 111 the graveyard on Sir .'ohn RowelPs tomb. He had been b :ricl there because his family could not be traced. ' The hand 'acked its first finger! "That is the story, ladies. There is nothing more to it." The terrified women were pale and trembling. (>ne of them exclaimed: "That is not a solution, nor an explanation. We shall none of us sleep to-night unless you tell what you think really took place."' The magistrate now sm'led seven lv. 44/*l, 1 cslioll nnrtoinltr cnni 1 vnnr for VIJ, A ouau vviiuiuii .7i/v? JVU* kV4 rible dreams, ladies,'' he replied; "I simply think that the legitimate owner of the hand was not dead at all, and that he came to get his severed hand baeK with the one he still possessed. But I certainly never discovered how he managed it. The whole thing was a vendetta." One of the women murmured: "I don't believe it was that way at all." And the great lawyer, continuing to smile, concluded with: "I warned you, you know, that mv explauation would not suit you. TrumlaUd for the Arjunaut. ?f-i M'.A r m i. l.? noi nait-r lor j><?vk Then; is a world-wide superstition that as soon as a man gets a black eye he must use cold applications for hours, and that the best cold applicition possible is .raw beef. I call it a superstition because it is without reason and against reason. Everybody knows that what makes a discoloration of the skin by a bruise is the congestion of the part with the blood that cannot get away again, so that it decomposes and chaugos its t olor, and everybody ought to know that the way to p: event >uch a result is to facilitate and stimulate the circulation in the bruised part. A cold application retards the circulation, and the best thing to stimulate it is hot applications. Twice in my life I was threatened with a black eye. On the firs: occasion I applied raw beef and othei -u is?l-. a CUiu u.ituuus iimi autttcutu ?u |/.^during the blackest eye I ever saw. On the second occasion I got some hot watci right away and bathed the eye for about half au hour in it. The result was that there was not the slightest discoloration visible at any time. These hints are we'.! worth pasting in the hats of some peoplt in Chicago. ? Chicago Journal. ma il hu b WOMAFS WORLD. PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR FEMININE READERS. A Useful Duchess. The Duchess of Hamilton is determined to make herself useful. She has opened a retail butter shop in Ipswich, Norfolkshire. Kngland, anddiives a prosperous business. The location is near the White Horse Ion, which is named in the Pickwick Papers. The Duchess is the wife of the I'remier Scotch Duke with a v i i ____ - -4.J 1_j C'l. _ ? r rerun uuneuom aicacucu. rue is ji rather handsome woman, with eiein?cut features and a brisk business look. Many British aristocratic ladies, and perhaps some wives of millionaires in America, may imitate her example.? New York Mercury. A Chinese Coquette. The Chinese, says Thomas Stevens, as a general thing, are horribly matter-offact and realistic. But there are coquettes even among the heathen Chinee. 1 had quite a flirtation directed at me by a not unhandsome golden lily one day nn in the nrovince of Duansr-tsi. She was all the more interesting because I had up till then seen little disposition among her co intrvwomeu to flirt. She was at a roadside teahittim, where 1 halted for refreshments. The golden 1 ly, her tiny feet bandaged prettily with red and blue ribbon, came and sat beside me. and helped herself to tea and peanuts, sunflower scid cakes and sweetmeats. and smiled and chattered like a Celestial parrot. I stayed there alout half an hcur, during which time the golden lily had chattcred and giggled incessantly, and when I finally moseyed off. she waggled her hand good by and "chin-chinned" till I was out of sound and hearing. Greek Peasant Girls. A Greek peasant girl takes an active part in household duties, and helps to spin, card, wind and weave or knit the wool, flax and silk used for the garments of the family. She leads her father's flock to pasture, and under the title of J Yoskopoula, steals the heart of shepherd swains, and is by them immortalized in rusiic song. On Sundays and feast days she rests from her toil, and, with her companions, dancc3the antique syrto, or long drawn dauce on the village green. Tf then? is more than one daughter iu a peasant's family she is sent out to service in some neighboring town. Very frequently, if the girl is well conducted, and especially should she happen to be an orphan, she is adopted as a member of the family into which she entered as a p?,chopai?at or "soul child." In that case, if still youDg, she is sent to school for a year or two, is clothed and cared for. She receives no wages, but when she arrives at the age of twenty-five or six she is dowered and married from the house of her adoption. An Important Question. "What is the most interesting age in woman?" was a question recently discussed by an artist, an author and a woman of society. The artist said that he did not like to paint the portraits of those between the ages of twenty-five and forty years. Before twenty-fire the face has an expectancy which charms. It is looking forward with joyous freshness and hope, and is full of puzzling j promises. At forty years the character i is formed, and the lines of the counten- : ance are strong for the painter's study; j but in intervening years ihc face has lost' its expectancy, is apt lo be indifferent j and has no particular interest. The author differed from the artist. | He liked to study women between the i ages of thirty and forty. They had then ' the experience of the world and the j joyousness of youth. In those ye.irs; they were brightest and most iuterest- j ing. The society woman thought that | it was impossible to make general answers to the question, as individual j women differ in regard to the most at- [ tr.irtivp acre. Some are most charming; at sixty years, while others have passed their prime at twenty. The best auswer would be that women arc always beautiful to the frier.ds who love them.?Boston. Journal. The Origin of Ear-Rings. According to the Moslem creed the' reason why every Mohammedan lady J considers it her duty to wear ear rings j is attributed to the following c.iriou3 legend: Sarnh, tradition tells us, was so j jealous of the preference shown by Abra- ' ham for Hngar that she took a solemn J vow that she would give herself no rest until she had mutilated the fair face of i her hated rival and bondmaid. Abraham, who had knowledge of his wife's i intention, d'd his utmost to pacify his 1 embittered spouse, but long in vain. At length, however, she relented, and de-, t ided to forego her plan of revenge. But' how was she to fulfill the terms of the vow .-lie had entered into? After mature reflection she saw her way out of the j difficulty. Instead of dis'igurirg the j lovely features of her bondmaid she con-; tented herself Willi boring n hole in each | }[ the rosy lobes of her cars. The legend does not inform us whether Abraham ' afterward felt it incumbent upon him to I mitigate the smart of these little wounds I by the gift of a costly pair of ear-ring.', j or whether Hagar procured the trinkets for herself. The fact remains, however, J that the Turkish women, all of wnom j wear ear-rings from their seventh year, derive the use of these jewels from. Hagar, who is held in veneration as the mother of Jshraael, the founder of their race.?Jeiccl.ra Hivleic. The Horse Queen of Idaho. Woman's business development in an unusual direction is in the ca<e of Miss Kittie C. "VVilkins, called also "The Horse Queen of Idaho." She was started in business, she says, twenty years ago in C ^rnrrnn Tt?V*/*n oV?? woa twn rpnrc nlfj nnfl her family was about leaving the Territory to return to California. Their friend* were giving them various parting presents, aud "the little one'' was given $.'0 apiece l>y two men, with an injunction that it be invested for her benefit. 3omo time afterward her father went to Idaho aud into ihe stock business. He bought once a lot of horses.and when he had picked them out, saw a fine filly left, and thinking of "the little one's" $40, offered that much for the horse, and finally got it for that along wilh the rest, although the owner first wanted $30. The inc rease of that filly was tiic basis of her fortune. After an education got at San Jose, she traveled lor some time in the East, and then returned to Idaho and settled down to run a horse farm, for the lack of something better to do. ThcWilkins Company of Idaho does business in both horses and cattle, but her private specialty is horses, of which she owns 700 or 800. She has sold many hundreds of them. She raises rercherons, Morgans, Normans, Ilambletonians, and other breeds. She says that it is much more profitable than cattle raising and less risky, and besides that she calls it fascinating and uicc. She iives on the Bruneau River, in Owyhee County, fifty W'tM 4 miles southeast of Boise City and civili zation, and twenty-two miles from Mountain House, the railway station. Her "farm" is a matter of seventy-five mile? away from the house, but such little distances as that don't count: in Idaho. She goes there herself every year to oversee the bringing in of her stock, but claims that she does not herself participate in the round-up, although she rides a great deal and shouts like a veteran hunter. Miss Wilkins is described as being tall and blonde, with regular features and a high forehead. She is only twenty-three, adores Idano. and swears that she loves no man but the man in the moon.?New York Sun. A llaii road t naperon. There is one woman in Philadelphia, says the Press, who has a position that has made many of her woman friends turn green with envy. Her name is Mrs. H. F. Bender, and she is employed as a "chapeion" by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. If is the only position of the kind in the country. Last fall the Pennsylvania Railroad inaugurated a series of special tourist trips. It was determined to have everything about them in first-class style, and when it was suggested that many ladies might desire to go on them who would not be accompanied by gentlemen, it occurred to George W. Boyd, of the Pasonn rrnr T~)r>nnrtmf>nt tllflt it WOllld be an I excellent iclea to have a lady employed by the company in the capacity of chaperon, who would look after unprotected ladies and by her knowledge of the route over which "the party intended to travel would be of invaluable aid to the other ladies. Mrs. H. F. Bender was the oue chosen, and she told her story yesterday in a manner that showed she fully appre! ciated the pleasant lines within which her lot has fallen. She is a pleasantlooking little body of medium hight with a sweetly modulated voice and seems to be cutout by Dame Nature for the peculiar position she occupies. Her husband is employed in the Fourth street office of the Pennsylvania Road,and they both live at No. 1386 Spruce street. Last September Mrs* Bender passed a I civil-servi' c examination for a position j iu the Pension Office at Washington. *'I j haven't much faith in civil service," she chatted yesterday, "and I was much | surprised, although my average was over .ninety, to receive the appointment to a $!)00 clerkship. Mr. Boyd heard of it | and sent for me to come and sec him. I He told me of the position they intended to make, and said if I would take it they would pay me more than the Government would. It is needless to say I accepted his offer. My salary is h month and my expenses paid, and my work is to go off on these delightful trips all over the country, when other folks have to r.av. This position is entirely a new one, and it is a hard matter to give just yet a detailed description of what the duties really are. Still, I think I can give you some idea of them. These trips ns a general thing begin at n:ght and that evening I go through the train, which is always a vestibule string of Pullman cars, ; and iutroduce myself to the ladies. I I tell them where they can find me if I am wanted, and explain that I am here to give them all the help and information in my power. The next morning, after they i have had a good breakfast, I visit them [ again, and by evening I generally have ' them all acquainted. Before we start out ou a trip the tourist agent, Mr. Draper goes over the route, gathering up all the needed information. He gives me points about the trip beforehand, and I inlorm myself of everything that will be of interest to the Indies. I ascertain where will be good place"} for them to shop in any of the towns we stop at, where they can sec the prettiest views, and especially do I devote myself to those who have no escorts. Fashion Notes White with terra cotta is a very stylish mixture. Skirt draperies falling in straight lines are iu iiigii lavor. Pinking is used to edge draperies upon all materials that do not fray at the edges. i)ull blue and tan color promises to be a very stylish combination for street costumes. Green and red costumes are likely to supersede the time-worn combination of blue and red. The newest hose show a great variety of colorings in stripes, solid colors and changeable effects. ? ? " !i _ *1 i_:? Tinsel enecis prevail in me new trimmings. many of which are quite the reverse of handsome. Some changes in hair-dressing are promised, and curls and puffs are likely to be again favored. Entire mantles and shoulder capes are again shown, made up of jet, Suede, iri de-cent and bronze beads. The polonaise, which always was a favorite mode, seei?3 now on the high road to popular favor agaiD. Albatross, cashmere, veiliujrand surah will be the favorite materials for little girls' wear the coming season. It is predicted that flounces, pla'n aiid plaited, will again be an important feature in dre.'ses of all kinds. Braided cloth mantles linve all-over designs which nearly conceal the mate- ' rial of which they are composed. A new design for a lace pin shows twelve tiny forget-me-nots which arc set , between two rows of gold twist wire. Among the novelties in wool goods is j one showing all-over design iu ra:scd , uncut velvet closely imitating soutacho , braiding. J Lace is again used at the neck and . sleeves of dresses, and lace jabots in a , single or double frill trim the upper part ] of waists. , The new polonaises are without ] drapery, and in their classic line- and , severe effects resemble the Directoire ] coats of several seasons ago. , The redingote polonaise is much ad- 1 mired for dressy costumes. They are 1 mode of plush, velvet or wool, with i skirts and accessories of faille or moire, t A corsage wholly covered by orange blossoms is the latest thing for bridal s co*tumfS and presents a very striking ' effect, quite soft and becomiug to a 1 youthful bride. J ? -i-.t- -/ - 1 Home spun CIIUIU ui a uuurac, iuuyu texture are to be worn again nud have a very durable look. For children ' particularly; they ate liked for school and rough wear generally. Flouncing is seen on some of the imported models. This fashion, if revived to any extent, should be kept exclusively for house dresses as the flouncing adds so much to the weight of a skirt. The bulbs, suchft3 jonquils and Roman hyacinths are much sought tor by young girls who carry them for bridesmaids' bouquets as well as for corsage bouquets, and they arc more in favor than roses. A plain b!ack silk is a thing of the past and if it be at all in style, a vest and cuffs of gold or silver braiding must accompany it, with sometimes a panel. The braids arc always on a background of the color of the braid, thereby making a very nice effect. _ budgeTof fun. ; HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM ' VARIOUS SOURCES. ' Couldn't Say No?Encouraging In- i formation?A True Soldier?A < Horrible Possibility ? He t "Was From Boston, Etc. 1 "You know Tompkins can never say no,'' said Lighthead. "Well, he's gut himself into a nice fix." . ^How's that?" "It's leap year. Three girls proposed to him and he s:iid yes to each of them/' ( ?New York Hun. J Encouraging Information. T /?1? II : in \ juues ^wuu la awauvwmy vjaic 10, iv opener)?"You can tell a bad egg the | moment it is cracked. Can you tell a bad oyster the moment it is opened?" ^ Opener?".No." . J.?"How can you tell when an oyster is bad?" O.?"When you swallow it."?Boston ' Courier. , A True Soldier. , "Yes, gentlemen," said the Colonel, j as he returned his glass to the counter, \ "the true soldier is never averse to discipline. Ko matter how objectionable j orders from a superior officer may be, they must be obeyed promptly and with out question. The true soldier never ( n V ooM PnlAtiol'a 1 iff 1a hnr opening the door, "ma says to come home right away." "Gentlemen," said the Colonel, "good day."?New York Sun. He Was From Cultured Boston. ( A tramp applied at the back door of a i house on U street for something to eat, and the mistress of the establishment ] let him in. " Madam," he said, with a formal bow, ] "I crave some nutritiou* aliment." < "Hester," ihe called to the cook, "there's a man here winta something to ? cat. Bring out that plate of pork und \ beans." i < ?li \fadom " )i(i snirt tnlnnf* the I . dish as a soft light shone in his face, "a j fellow feeling makes ouc wondrous kind. ] I used to reside in Boston myself."? ] Washington Critic. I A Horrible Possibility. Dear Friend?That gentleman who 1 boards at your house seems to be very atteutive to you, my dear. i Sweet Girl?He is, and I?I love him, but O, what a risk I am running. We i are engaged. < 4'Risk?" i "Yes. it nearly breaks my heart when the thought comes to me "that he may not love me for myself alone but?boo, hoo!" i "Calm yourself, my dear. Why j should he marry you if he does not love ( you?" "Ho?he owes motner tnree monina board."?Omaha World. ( A Mean Man. The meanest man on record jumped ' aboard a Woodward avenue cur the ! other afternoon. Every seat was occupied i and what did that man do but look out i of a window and whisper something | i about a dog tight. Of course no man ! ] could keep his seat under such a provo- < cation. When Brown had looked in ; 1 vain for the dog fight, he also looked in ' vain for his scat. It was completely ] hidden by that mean man, who was so < deeply interested in his paper as to be j 1 wholly oblivious of everything else. But I Brown had his revenue. A lady soon j t entered, and before any one could offer , < her a sent, he punched up the mean man < and said: t 'Will you please give this lady a seat, \ sir?" t Then they hung on the straps and t glowered at each other until their brows 1 ached.?Detroit Free Press. ' 1 Kcpartee. 1 There is no weapon in the armory of ? wit more effective than repartee, and the j 1 French, from which the word is bor- t rowed, excel in the use of the missile. An i ? anecdote in point occurs to us. Talley-1 rand had a crooked leg. Madame l)e ' i Stael squinted. The two hated each ? other cordially, and meeting one day in ' ? an ante-room of the Palace of Versailles, 1 the following passage at arms took place j 1 between them: |1 "Monsieur," said the lady in a tone of: 1 mock sympathy, "how is your poor leg [ 1 this morning?" t "Crooked?as you see," was the quiet 1 reply. ^ v,??-* .. t That wa3 what might be termed a s palpable hit. It took the authoress of jr "C'orinne" completely aback, and before , 1 she could frame a rejoinder Talleyrand s had hobbled out of earshot.?Stftingt. 1 ? The Magician and the New Ping Hat. f Prof. Irvink, who monkeys with cards 1 +V./1 < ? >!r.r hrio-n-hrjin that 1*063 tO 3 ?uv* o make up the outfit of the professional t sleight-of-hand performer, gave an exhi- J bition at a hall in Frankfort the other i night. The professor is all there with ' t his tricks, but somewhat shy on his ora- j I tory if he gets out of the beaten palhs ! ^ of his hanky panky. This time he acci- j11 dentally strayed and got badly mixed up I iu a byway. f Smiling like a crack in a rocky moun- c tain range the professor ambled down t from the stage and borrowed a silk hat a from a fat man in the front row. It was c i brand new eight-dollar hat, and the e professor looked at it affectionately as he made his way back to the stage, whic h sva3 reached by a short step-ladder placed there for the occasion. The pro- r fessor hadn't been drinking, but he was L nervous. The ladder slipped from under 1 t him and hi tobogganed on the hat sev-1 f .i fr.nt iiiA fhp atftcrft. As he nicked I a O? Ir -- - . aimsclf up and looked at the crushed i f stovepipe ia blank despair the audience 1 a oared. No one laughed so heartily as ! n :he fat man who owned the wreck. Ir- j I rink looked at the hat, the spectators ! d lud the wings. "Ladies and gentlemen," he finally r stammered, " this was an accident. If I L :he gentleman who owns the hat will. ii Evait until to-morrow I will try to buy s lim a new one out of the box receipts, ii [ie;illy I d!d not mean to fall. I " v His voice was drowned in laughter and ! a lpplause. o ';Isu't he an excellent actor?" ex- ii claimed the fat man, between convul- g lions, to his neighbor. 4'Never saw any- tl :hing to beat it." 2 The Professor turned his scared face t< ibout the stage. Escape was impossi- h Thp more he tried to tell his audi- p ors that the crushcd tile was not a trick, I 0 iut a good, wide, and all-wool reality, b he more his auditors didn't believe him. v [Ic went down into the orchestra and ,vhispercd to the owner that he did not nean to fall on the hat, and that he vould make restitution as soon as possijle, but the owner wiped the tears off he end of his nose, and found breath :nough to remark that lie knew all about t; this wasn't the first time he had been ;o a sleight-of-hand show. At last Irvink carried the cause of hia MnWiMii misery back to the stage and ended hia ict by flight. While a young man was singing something about a girl who iidn't want him, the Professor hunted jp a notary and came back before the curtain fell with an affidavit that he did ;rush the hat aforesaid, without malico iforethought and without afterthought )f making it as good as new again. The uidieuce, including the fat man, beieved him then,?Philadelphia Call. The Fox-Hunting Judge. Rather a good story ^ised to be told oy Justice Porter, a well-known legal jonvivant of Dublin. It concerns a rare >ld Irish judge on the northwest circuit, who loved the hunting field more than ae did the stupid, sleepy court-room. His clerk was like minded, and a joyous pair they made. One line morning the clerk whispered io the judge: "Yer honor, old Billy Duane's meet's - ^ .. . 11 __ __1 f to-aay at uaiiyKiiimuiugau, au mey ve i fine dog fcx." ''How many's in the dock?" asked the judge, excitedly. "Twenty, for rioting and breach of promise, yer honor." "Tom," said the judge, "do you think pou can ?et the first fellow to plead sjuilty without a jury trial, and me to let him off with a week in jail?" "The easiest thing in the world," mswered the faithful clerk. "Make haste, then, and bring the whole gantj; and, I say, Tom, tell Jerry to saddle the mare meanwhile." The twenty Fenians were brought into the court?a defiant gang, nineteen 3f them prepared to fight with counsel 4-Viia KiHof onH Thft )UU .I141 J IU buv hribbVi vw?t twentieth had been interviewed by the clerk. He was called. "Guilty or not guilty of the crime charged?" demanded the judge, with a propitious smile. "Guilty, yer honor," said the crafty prisoner. "Well," said the judge, glancing benevolently about the room, "I fancy I can let you off with a week." The man thanked the judge and itepped down to the bailiff. There was a terrific sensation among the other defeudluts. Why, none of them expected to jet off with less than five years in limbo. &ere was a chance to profit by "his iionorV' pleasant mood. One and all mnnifpatpd sn pumfist degire to follow the example of their comrade and acknowledge the crime3 in a batch. "Do you all plead guilty?" demanded the judge eagerly. "We do!" shouted the enthusiastic ainetecn, in chorus. "Fourteen year's transportation xpiece," exclaimed the judge, with a slick of his jaw?"Jerry, is the mare iaddled yetr"?Farmer's Voice. An Accomplished Fish. As a vaulter the tarpon is unequalled, ind his aerial feats must be seen to be appreciated. On one occasion, says a correspondent of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Kews-HirabJ, my friend G. and a com panion were rowing through Salt River [a tributary of the Homosassa) in a jixteen-foot Whitehall boat. A tarpon wns sunning himself in the grass, and, beinsr disturbed, made for deep water. Finding the water shallow and the boat in the way he endeavored to clear it at in angle. The head of the fish came nto contact with the side of G.'s companion, which deflected him from his jour.se, and he passed under one of the aoat seats. A pocket knife was used "to settle his hash," but it would not ?-i r.u.h'A aenetrate tne ivory-use aimurui iuc usu. Jars were used to despatch the prisoner, jut it was found that, if he were in:erfered with, the boat would suffer from :he vigorous blows of his head and tail. 3. seated himself in the stern and his jorapanion in the bow, and for the time he tish was awarded the post of honor iumolest:'d. When peace was declared he gentlemen resumed their oars, but he one who deflected the silver king in lis course found that he could not 'paddle his own canoe," for several of lis ribs were fractured. G. rowed the joat to Jones's Lauding on the Homolassa, and the tarpon was weighed, tipjing the scales at 153 pounds. The ibove statement is not in the least ex IggCI-UlCU. Among other instances cited, one in jvhich the captain of the Water Lily suffered is remarkable. The captain was leated on a chair in the centre of the 'orward deck with his back to the pilot louse on the steamer while en route rom Jacksonville to JVIaysport. As the joat was passing St. John's bluff a frisky arpon leaped from the water, eleared ihe guards and landed in the captain's ap. Th^ captain was knocked over by he shock, Dut the briny va;iltcr was tecurcd, weighing sixty-eight pounds. The capture of a tarpon with a hook aui ine is a difficult undertaking. Every mmmer many are hooked, but few are anded. "I have had on mauy occaiions," writes Dr. Ken worthy, "these ish seize my bait and run withlightningikc rapidity for twenty or a hundred rards. then leap into the air and shake * v j_ iii i?| neir neaas, u&c u u-mci sunning ? md expel the bait. The colored fishcrncn have le.irned by experience never o interfere with a tarpon while in hi3 ilayful moods, for one of their number, vhile fishing in Trout Creek a few years igo, had the sinker thrown at his head >v a frisky member of the family. The ish bid taken the bait and rushed o3 inly a few rods, when he vaulted into he air and threw the bait, sinker and ill clear into the boat, striking the man in the head. He never attempted the xperiment again." Isinglass. Tcinoiats rnnaiafs of the dried swim riiug bladder of different fishes. The ladders vary much in shape, according o their origin, and they are prepared or the market in various ways. Some re simply died while slightly distended, orming pipe isinglass When there re natural openings in these tubes, they ,rc called purses. When the swimming (ladders are slit open, flattened, and Iricd, they are known as leaf isinglass. The use-; of isinglass are not very valed. The largest quantity is used by irewers and wine merchants for clarifyng their goods. There seem to be only ix isinglass cutters, all being domiciled a London. The machines for cutting are cell and accurately made, and are so d .usted that they slice pieces off a sheet t J ? rvr Kon rl ?n CT it I I paper wimuub otu iiU? .. i the least. For the "line cut" isinlass in which chemists arc interested, licse machine? are run at great speed. 000 to 2500 revolutions, making 10,000 a 12.000 cuts in a minute. It takes an our to cut 5 lb. or 0 lb., so that each ound would contain 100,000 to 125,00 separate libers if none of them waj roken. The actual number must be cry much greater.?Scientific American. A Joke's Fate. It ever is the poet's dream, That somothing he has put in rhyme, May live beyond his little day, And 'scape the hungry tooth of time. One little joke that once I wrote Is safe within Fame's portal, The negro minstrel took it up? And now it is immortal. ?Mei'C/iant Traveler. : ^ ,-.r5-' <&&&% , . J[ " - v.- >?? %-*? r& ' ' ? -\ ;. >.? TVOfiDS OF WISDOM. I Conscience 13 the pulse of reason. Cheerfulness beats a whole apothecary shop. Make good use of to-day; you are not sure of to-morrow. He that speaks doth sow, but he that holds his peace doth reap. The greatest misfortune of all is not to be able to bear misfortune. A helping hand at the right moment would save many from ruin. Where there is no want of will there will be no want of opportunity. Fame comes only when deserved, and then it is as inevitable as destiny. The world is full of prophets who foretell things after they have happened. The hypocrite would not put on the * appearance of virtue if it was not the most proper means to gain love. A law may be reasonable in itself, although a man doe3 not allow it, or does not know the reason ot tne law givers. The most agreeable of all companions is a simple, frank man, without any high pretensions to an oppressive greatness. The natural progress of the works of men is from rudeness to convenience, from convenience to elegance, and from elegance to nicety. ^ He that would make a real progress in knowledge must dedicate his age as well as youth, the latter growth as well as the first fruits, at the altar of truth. How black and base a vice ingratitude is may le seen in those vices which it is always in combination with?pride and hard-heartedness,or want of compassion. If we hope for things of which we have not thoroughly considered the value, our disappointment wilbbe greater than our pleasure in the fruition of them. Happiness must not only be prepared and fitted for man, but man for his happiness; he must become a rational creature before he can enjoy a rational pleasure. A just and wise magistrate is a blessing as extensive as the community to which he belongs; a blessing which includes all other blessings whatsoever that relate to this life. The Loneliest Spot In Europe. One hundred and forty miles from the northwest coast of Scotland, and forty miles from the nearest laud, the extreme point of the Hebrides Islands, lies a little archipelago or group of islands, called the Hirt or Hint, aud more commonly known by the name of one of the island*, St. Hilda. St. Kilda is almost a lost island, so far ia it out on the broad Atlantic, so completely deserted by the rest of the world, and so wildly beaten upon by the storms. But in spite of its remoteness, and the fact that the island has but a very small extent of cultivable soil, St. Kilda is inhabited by 10 families, numbering in 1881, seventy-seven souls. The sfrange and lonely life that these people live here is a matter of pity even for the poor and almost deserted inhabitants of the Hebrides, who have a large and populous region compared with St. Kilda. But not only is the population of 8t. > Kilda as large as it was in the middle of the last century, in spite of the unheal thiness of the people's way of life onr? n vnrtr hi<rh death rate, but the I uuv. .. ---j Q? , island has sent a few emigrants to Australia. The children all are subject to attacks of tits, brought on, the doctors believe, by the peculiar food given them. From the day of their birth they are made to swallow a decoction of oil taken from the petrel, mixed with port wine. Out of every nine children born, five die in infancy. St. Kilda is formed almost wholly of steep cliffs, rising to a height of 1220 feet, and access to it is only possible through a cleft in the rocks. \ essela approach it only during the three months of summer. Only during these three months are any mails received on the island, and formerly the ca e was still worse. lor rne loyai suujetw ox mc iju?u at St. Kilda did not hear of King William IV.'s death, and Victoria's accession to the throne, until three years after the event. Some time ago a dreadful tempest raged at St. Kilaa, and the inhabitants having lo3t much of their property and being in distress, and having several months to wait before the mail would reach them, wrote the story of their sufferings, put it in a bottle as the sqryjvors of wreclc qt sea sometimes do, and threw it into the water. The bottle was picked up, delivered into the hands of the directors of the Free Kirk of Scotland, Edinburgh, to whom it was ad " -A frt drcssca, ana a sinnu sieumvr m? ^u? ,v _ St. Kilda with supplies, -f'} H The life of the St. Kilda people is so I primitive that only lately have tea, sugar I and tobacco been sold among them. H When the merchant who went there from I Scotland to establish this tiade arrived I at the island, he found that the St. H Kildaites were three hours behind the H rest of the kingdom in time, as the pas- 9 tor's watch, the only timepiece on the H island, had lost that amount of timedur- - H ing the nine months that intervened H since a vessel had been there. Hg The less than lourscore peonie wu? _ live at St. KiMft are so influencea by the H lonely life they lead, that the arrival of H a vessel with sailors and passengers suf- 9 fices to produce a sort of violent cold in ' H the head, which the natives call the "boat cough," or "eight days sickness," H which is dangerous and sometimes fatal. B In spite of their hard struggle for ex- K istence. the people of this loneliest place H in all Europe think that there is no isle H like St. Kilda, and would not exchange H it for an earthly paradise. ?Youth's Com- H panioti. Treasures of the Ash Barrel. H A New York Te'er/ram reporter had |H occasion to pass by the rear door of a M millionaire's mansion on Fifth avenue, near Fifty-seventh street, and seeing an H old woman ragpicker head downward in the -'tonv" folks' ash barrel, was prompted by curiosity to stand by and RB await developments. Hi In less time than it takes to tell it the Sfl ash barrel developed the following arti- mH cles, the old woman fishing them out aa a sleight-of-hand man might fish nursery articles out of a bachelor's silk hat: "One lace curtain with embroidered monogram, a broken-headed bottle half 3| full of champaign, a loaf of cake, a high- M heeled shoe almost new, a small picture H| of Mary Queen of Scots, a good bright dishpan, a full dress shirt protector of 29| blacK satin, somewhat stained in front, a wire bustle, a large black stone (evi- BH deutlv an ornament thrown out among IB the coals), a cuspidore, half of a roast |9 fowl, a battered case of cigarette?, a green pctticoat, a bundle of newspapers with a string run through them, and a bunch of withered rosea." The old H| woman hnrriedly clapped the best of the traps into her bag and made off in great RB glee, evidently fearing that the reporter was envying her, so eagerly had he Hfl watched the proceedings. B|