The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, February 20, 1889, Image 2

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Wj&GR M'* . .. ?^> .*< THE VALENTINE. At a counter richly laden With St. Valentine's choice sonnets Stands a very charming maiden In the shaggiest of bonnets; Her love-locks and her tresses Appear a halo golden, While the style in which she dresses Is extremely quaint and olden. She inspects the glowing treasures, Silken, fringed and satin banners, And scans their ardent measures In the gracefulest of manners. Now and then a saucy Cupid Pleases this bewitching critic, But the verses are too stupid For a taste so analytic. O'er forget ir.e-nots and rose3 Like a butterfly she wavers, Till the honey one discloses Proves the dantiest of flavors. With this nectar Love insnares her, And he holds her in possession, And he tempts her and he dares her To the following confession: "If I had the brush of Watteau, An I the wisdom of the sages, I eculd paint a worthy motto On this loveliest of pages; But no truer heart is beatin? Than the heart which beats for you, love; So I send a simple greeting, And I sign myself your Trua-love." Satisfied with her selection, As the clerk she reimburses. For the missive of affection, From the prettiest of purses. While she fastens furs and plushes, Unaware of admiration. In a conscious way she blushes, Tfc inking of its destination. With a certain hero wonder, Ere the trusty seal is broken, If his fate is bidden under Shelter of this tender token? Will he, when his heart discovers Who has sent this timely warning Be the happiest of lovers On Bt Valentine's owu morning? ] ?Martha Caverno Cook. < BILL BUSHNELL'S LASS, i BY A. 3. BURROUGHS. Josh Fields and Tom Willis were both ,! dead in love with Bill Bushnell'a nrettv lass, Mol. I . If there was anything peculiar about: ] this circumstance, it was not in the fact | . of their infatuation, however, but in the ] fact that Josh and Tom were partners? joint owners of a mining claim?and to see a couple of boon companions develop , Into rival lovers struck some of us old ( miners about the camp as mighty queer . business. , * They were such brotherly chaps that, ( if it had been anything but a love affair, I reckon either the one or the other , would have given up to his chum; but} , they didn't in this case. Neither seemed ! ? inc.ined to budge an inch, and, in this j, vuauuci, oociui 1UUUIU3 ncuu ujy m uu i , each one doing his best to make an everlasting impression upon his inamorata. . At last, however, Josh made up his < wind thar, the matter had dragged long enough, and, not wishing to hurt his : pard's feeling by rushing ahead impetuously, be decided to take him into t his confidence. Tbe time cho-en was just before they j . were going to quit wurk for tbe day, t and while the scattered tools were being ; a gathered up and put away. j ^ 4'Tom," said he, "you an' me hcv bin j j pards since we was boys, an', not only t pards, but the closest sort o' friends. v There's never bin a hitch b'tween us on ? enny point, an' I hope thero never will ' a be. l''ur them reasous, I'm goin' to |} epeak right out in meetiu', so's to make I t myself understood. The fac' is, Tom, 8 jouan' me hev bin so onfortunate as to ,j fal: in love with the same gal?old Bill iiushnell's lass?an', as it's ag in nature ^ fur us both to marry her, we've got to 'j figgcr out some way out o1 the muddle. How can we do it, Tom, so's to keep ^ equar friends an' do jestico to each a feller's love an'to .Mol?" v rr^ >_ r 1 ] .1 J.J ii v J' iumjs iutu Kinu u ciouueu, as mougn c he wasn't ovcrglad that the subject had : a been brought up, and fell to thinking ! E and pulling at his pipe, without making 11 any immediate reply. a "It's a hard nut to crack, Josh," said c he, at length; "what would you sug- r gest?" j "Well,"'answered Josh, "since something's got to be done, an' done ou the equar', suppose we draw lots. The . j feller as gets the long cut has the hist a chance to ask fur the gal; if he fails, !0 then the lo*er can try his luck. "What r d'ye say'r" | s Again Tom meditated, and puffed : vigorously at his pipe. i 1 "It's about the only thing to be done, i 1 recKon," Jie saict, alter a long silcnce. ! r "You're satislled with the plan, ain't; 3 you?" js "Oh, yes." I j "Well, then, you i:x the cuts; a short j ? one an' a long one, an' I'll try my luck on the draw." ! Tom set to work, slowly and thought- | fully, and, after cousideraule delay, held up the two twigs lor .Josh to eliouse between. | "Well," said Josh, as he put forth a rather nervous hand, "here goes! 1 don't -wish you eouy harm, pard. but I hope I'll get the long oue." "i'ou don't though!" cried Tom, triumphantly, casting the remaining stick to the ground. "You've got the short j one, an' lose." j "Hold on! "What are you throwin', that cut away for. afore I see it: Bet j jer life, I'm goin' tocompare them sticks afore I give in." exclaimed Josh. j "Ob, well," said Tom, impatiently, j "heie's the stick I throwed down, an' ! you see it's half an inch the lougest." j "^o you don't, Tom Willis." cricd , Josh. "That ain't the one you rung away. Here it is, an' it's shorter'n mine ; by big odds 1" : "Bah: 3ou can't comc it over me like j that, Josh Fields!" returned the other, hotly. '"I'd i.?e a man if 1 war you, an'i * _ 4 a I.a.lr .*1 4 l> A 4 Vl ! ? / ? * Vi .. UUI< IT} IU 5UCill\ UUb U lUb luiug lu lliUL way !'* j i "See here, Tom," said Josh, "maybe i you didu'r mean to irick me; but your < wrong, Jest the same. I'll tell you how I know it: When 1 was tin erin' the two ' < cuts afore 1 draweu one out, I crea-ed 1 the other one with my thumb nail, so's ! 1 I'd know it a^ain. Well, here's the < mark on the short stick, which proves j my side of the (ase." 'tou lie, cuss yon!*' retorted Tom. ' boiling over with anger, "lou hain't1 the sand to acknowledge you're beat, i, an' ye're tryin' a sneakin' game on me!" j , " l oil talk like a 'tarnal fool!" blurted | Josh, also losing his temper. "Youtried ! J a robbin' game y'self, an' now, wheu , you're caught at it. you squeal!" "Liar!" hissed Tom, seizing a hand drill lying at his feet, and raising it, menacingly, over his partner's head. "Say that again an', pard or no pard, 1'il brain ye!" "Well, you did,an' you know it! You I hadn't the Derve to " The sentence was never rinished; for, ; at that injtaot. the drill descended with . ' ' .'v.V'; >v a crash upon Josh's head, and he fell like a log to the ground. For a moment Tom, frenzied with rage, stood over the prostrate form, an almost devilish glitter lighting up his coal-black eyes, but presently a sudden change took possession of him. "My God!" gasped he,his eyes riveted in horror upon the white, upturned face and gory locks of his victim. "1 have killed him I I have murdered my pard! Oh, how could I do it?how could I forget m'self an' do such an orful deed!" A new ihought seemed to force its way into his perturbed mind at this juncture?a consciousness of his peril? and he cast a furtive glance around him. "I must not be caught here,"muttered he, "or my life won't be wuth a burnt match! I must get away?but where!" He thought a moment, and then resumed his distracted soliloquy: "No; 'twon't do to ledvc, for that would only convince 'em o' my guilt, an' a posse'd be after me in uo time. I'm in a de6p'rit bad fix, that's sure, an' I'll have to cover up all the traces o' the crime, an' say .Josh has skipped. After another searching glance aoout, to make sure that his movements were not being watched, he stooped down, lifted the limp form into his arms, and then slung away with his burden toward an ynused part of the mine. He paused, a moment later, at the brink of an old, abandoned shaft, and, after once more looking and listening, dropped the body into the murky pit. A splash, as the burden struck the stagnant water at the bottom of the shaft, was heard immediately after, and then, with a blanched face and a haunted look in his eyes, Tom stole back to where the deed had been committed. "I'll go back to the place after dark,'' muttered he to himself, "and fill the old shaft up with talins and rock. No one will then ever run across his body, an' pounce on me for bis murderer." All traces of th3 bloody deed were carefully obliterated in the mine, and then Tom went home. A fire was kindled and supper pre parea; out ne cuuiu uui eau mcio *?aa a gnawing sense of horror hovering about him, which awed and desolated his very soul. 1 eace was out of the question, and in his great anguish of spirit he sought solace in frequent and copious potations of fiery liquor. This brought partial relief, and nerved him to put into execution a number of supplemental plans which he regarded as necessary to his safety. All of his partner's personal effects were carefully guthered up, tied into a bundle and carried to the old shaft, in which they were thrown, and buried beneath a mass of brushwood, stones and sarth. Tom had brought a flask of liquor with him, so as to keep us his waning :ouragc during his labors, and by the time the task was completed, he was in that reckless mood which is begotten of continued indulgence in st.-ong drink. "I'll go over an' see Mol," quoth he, 18 he made his way back to the cabin. ' I'll tell her Josh has gone, an' when | iVio fir\rlc iViorfl'ii n/? hnnp. rtf nfcttin' him in' that I'm the sole owner of the claim, ihe'll say 'yes'quick eoough, I reckon." With these, and a host of other lcs3 feasant thoughts rushing through his shaotic mind, he turned his steps toward the settlement, and shortly afterward was at Bill Bushuell's cabin. Mol was at home and readily accorded he wooer an interview. ".Mol, my lass," said ho, after a few jreliminary words had been exchanged jetween them, "there's somethin' i-preyin' on my mind, an' I want to tell rou all about it. I reckon you've got an dca what I'm drivin' at, but I'm going' o come right out plain, an' not be misinderstoou. Josh an' me hev both bin .urty sweet on you for a long time, Mol, >n' I'd a spoken erbout it afore this if it ladn't bin for kiod o' treadin' on his oes; but cow that .losh has pulled up takes an' struck out for other dig[in's" "What is that you say? .Tosh Field las gone away?" cried the girl. "Surely, ["om, you do not mean it!" "Course he's gone; I thought you :nowed it. lie come to me this mornin' n'. savs he: 'Tom. I'm sick o' these I >arts an'am goin' to light out for other j liggin's. Buy out my share of tbenune | ,n' we'll call it quits.' He wouldn't say 10 inure, an', as he put a low figger on lis half, I bought him out an' he went way. So you sec, lassie, bein' sole iwner o' the mine now, I can offer you a mrty scrumptious sort o' a home. Will rou hitch with me, Mol?" "Hut Josh might come back" "Deuce take .Josh!" cried Tom, impa>atiently. "He was no great shucks my how, an' I don't see what you want i' h'.ui! I love you a hundred times nore'u he did, an' I'd make you a blame iglit happier than that onery chap." ""But I always thought a great deal of i'm, Tom." "i'cs, 1 reckon so; a plagued sight nore'n he did o' you, or he wouldn't hev kiuned out so suddsnt without even ayiu' gooCf-bye to you. 'Twixt me an' ou, Mol, I rcckon .losh's conscience rasn't altogether easy, for a chap as has >een a criminal back in the States is apt o be jest a little skerrish " Just at that juncture there was a step leaid in the inner room of the cabin,and , moment later a familiar voice rang out hrough the opcu door: "Hold on, Tom Willis! lean stand bout as much as enny bein', but that's a ie I'll take from no mau!" Tom started violently, and turned a errilied facn toward the door. Before him, with his head swathed in >andages, and supporting his trembliDg orm against the door-faciug, stood no >ther than Josh Fields. "You see, I ain't quite as dead as ye ook me to be, Tom Willis," continued ie,casting a contemptuous iook upon the lowering wretch. "It happened that, vhen you doused me in the old shaft, he water brought me to my senses, an' ifter a little, I was strong euotigh to' :rawl out an' drag myself liere. MoL las already promised to be my wife, au' is I dou't cure fur morc'n one partner; pou ran take the trail fur other parts ifore your crime is found out. Here's a ew ounces o' dust," added he, flinging liin a buckskin bag of gold, "an' 1 adrise ye not to be found in camp to morow moruiu\ or ye m:iy be treated to a lose o' hemp." Tom sneaked off, only too glad to escape thus lightly, and, though Josh and Bill Bushnell's la?s have been partners :or many Ion?, happy years, neither have ;ver heard of ihe would-be murderer.? Yankie liUd\ Cold Cycle?. Fcjavding the icc question, the Worcester (Mass.) Hp;/ has this: "A veteran cutter between here and Boston is reported as saying that the cold cycles change every live or seven year.;. The prediction or opinion has been more than verified within the past thirty years. That is to say, in ISoij ice was not tit for cutting till the latter part ol February, and the season lasted into March; then came the year IStKi, fiv< years intervening; then 1S70, seven years intervening; then 1874, four years intervening; then 1881, seveu years intervening, and now we have the seven years from 1331 to 188S." BUDGET OF FUN. HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. Her Valentine?How Many??Things Better Left Unsaid ? Muttou With Capers ? The Modern Plan ? TIic Reason Why. Mary got a valentine All lull of love and woe, Anil thought it came from bashful Jones, Afraid to tell her so. She kissed it fifty times a day, And dreamed of it at night; And talked about the wedding day It mentioned, with delight. She showed it at the skating pond To Jones and blushed wita art. "Oh, dearest George, who do you think Sent me this bleeding heart*" "I know,"smiled Jone3,and then she sighed, "Of course; but first ask mother," And got real mad whan he replied: " 'lis from your little brother." ?H. C. Dodge. How Many? "Pa, do you know your tables?" "Fairly well, Johnuie. What do you 1 wish to know:" "How many busheh make a henpeck;"?N<.w York World. Thing* Better Left Unsaid. "You can't go home when it's raining ' like this. You'd better stay and have dinner with us!" "Oh! it's not quite as bad as that!"? ! London Punch. Mutton With Capers. Miss Giddyspinster (coquettishly)? "Dear Mr. Timid, don't you like mutton j with capers?" Mr. Timid (who has been trying in vain to cut his meat for the last ten minutes)?"i es, when they are properly mated; but my mutton is too old fcr capers."?Boston Beucon. The Modern Plan. Editor?'"This poera, sir, is miserable i trash." Amateur?"Oh, never mind that. ; Publish it and I'll see that it is copied 1 all over the country. I have arranged j with a friend of mine to claim the ! authorship, and then he and I will get into a hoiling hot controversy over it. There are no flies on us poets nowadays." ?Philadelphia Hecord. The Reason Why. Yeast?"Where's your overcoat?" Crimsonbeak?"Atray uncle's." "By your uncle's do you mean the pawnbroker's"}" "Precisoly." *'WKn A tam AQII WAH* " ?J J-.. ...4 U!y> j??. I "Because he's a clothes relation of , miae."?Statiiman. Man and Horse. Street Car Driver?"Me and that off harse has been workin' for the company j for twelve years now." Passenger?"That so? The company : must think a great deal of you both." "Wall, I duuno; last wake the two of us was taken sick, and they got a docther for the harse, and docked me. Gidap, thare, now, Betsy." ?New Yoik Tribune. A Father's Knowledge. "Papa," said the inquisitive youth, "what causes malarial fever/" "Don't you know that, Johnny?" "No; papa," said the boy, adding with some suspicion, "do you?" "Why, certainly, my son." "What is it?" "Malaria, of course."?Merchant \ Traieer. | Free Medical Advice. "Doctor," said a citizen as he overtook him on the street, "wb.it do you ; do in case of a goDe stomach?" "Weil," replied ihe doctor, thoughtfully, "I've never had such a case my- : self, but I would recommend you to ad- I vertise for it and then sitdowuiu a largo j easy-chair and wait until somebody j brings it back.''?Life. The Article was Accepted. !. 0!Fce Eoy?"We just received an ar- i tide from the pen of Mr. Way back." ; i Editor? "Nonsense! .Not Wavback, j the farmer?" O. B. ? "Yep." Editor?"What is the article?" j O. 12.?"It is a ten-pouud ham." ! The 0. B. just misses the paste-pot as he sneaks out of the door.?New York World. Catch ins a Tartar. Physician (arousing a tramp one morning from a nap on his doorstep)?"Here, what is the matter with you? Can't you move more lively?" Tramp?"I'm feeling pretty bad, boss, and can't be expected to move in a hurry." P.?"What's the matter?" T.?"I've been at death's door all night."?Baton B tdget. Part of the Business Completed. "Lulu," he said (he was a young man who had great confidence in himself), and he bent toward her tenderly, "I have loved vou lone and tenderlv. Will vou ! name the day?" 'Oh, the day is already named, Mr. , Harris," answered the girl, blushing. : "George w&s so pertinacious, I finally told him the third of next month. The , cards will be out in a day or two."? Bazar. , i Class in Composition. Teachcr?"Now, children, I will give i you three words?Boys, Bees, and Bears; and I want v?u to compo-e a sentence which will include all three words.'' i Small Boy?"I have it." Teacher?"John McCarthy, you may ( give your sentence." .John McCarthy?"Boys bees bare whin they goes in swirumin'." ?Harper's /.'tzar. A Sublimated Dade. Wilkes?"Young Tomson is the most ! onVilimA flnrlp T f>vnr llf?:ird of." Jacques ? ' How so?" Wilkfts?"Why, he p its on his dress j suit when he writes to his best girl." .la -fiuea ? "Ah! That reminds me of j of something 1 heard about him." Wilkes?''What was it?" .Ta <|ue3?''He rinses his mo.:th whenever he pronoun es a word wrong."? Indianapolis Newn. The Wronjj Jfonse. Tramp (thinking to obtain sympathy1) ? ''1 say, mum, I ain't got nowhere thai ' I kin call homo, and I ain't eat nuthin' i all day. Would you mind it, mum, if IJ slep' in the snow here until raornin'?" i.ady of the House (who knows 'cm) j ? "No, I ain't got any ob crtious. You ! ean drop down there anywhere; only remember, that as 1 don't charge you anything for your lodgin', Ishallexpec' you to shovel the snow away from the house in the mornin'."?Life. V i Such is Fame. "William Henry, you have, the elements of greatness in you. and if you were not so indolent you might be a famous man." "I dou't want to be a famous man." "Why not?" 'Well, as I am now, people address me respectfully as William Henry." "Yes." "And if I were famous they would slap me on the back aud call me Bill." ?Nebraska StiU Journal. Its Value Fell Suddenly. Auctioneer (at close of church festival;?"Here we have another fine cake. How much am I offered for it? Start it along lively. How much?" jVJi. Grindstone?"One dollar." Mrs. Grindstone?(whispering delightedly)?"That's good of you, Jonas. I made that cake myself." Auctioneer?' One dollar ? dollardollar?going at a dollar?do I hear the II Mr. Grindstone?"I didn't say one dollar. I sa d one dime." (The hardened wretch;. ? Chicago Tribune. His Final Farewell. He had been wondering for sometime how he could escape from the toils that were gently creeping round him and break the spell of soft converse and witching eyes. An opportunity came at last. As she ended a spirited description of her journey through the Alps she said impulsively. ''Oh, Mr. Slowpace, I think you ought to travel!" He looked at her rigidly, rose slowlj and grasped his hat. "No woman shall say that twice to me," he remarked with a firm and desperate voice; "I knew it was after eleven o'clock; but I thought ?that is?I hoped?no matter. Farewell, Miss Phineweb?I will travel!" And he did, with alacrity.?Boiton Buigel. Avoiding Publicity. Eminent Statesman (walking up to reporter)? "My face is familiar to you, ] presume?" Reporter?"I have certainly seen you somewhere, and yet I cannot exactly?" Eminent Statesman?"There is no use in trying to keep anything from the watchful eye of a reporter. You recognize me, of course, as Congressman Blank?" Reporter?"Why, so it is! May I inquire, sir, the object of your visit to oui locality?" Eminent Statesman (with dignity)? "You may say, sir, that I am traveling through here in a quiet way, and as far as possible avoiding publicity." ? Chicago Tribune. The Huckster's Rase. "Strawberries! Strawberries! Nice, fresh strawberries^" cried a street huck ster from his cart on a street in Easl Boston the other day. Up went windows, doors flew open and eager women's faces appeared everywhere, attracted by the cry. "What's that? Strawberries!" cried one woman, as the cart drew near. "Excuse me,raadame," said the huckster, blandly, "I was about to say when you interrupted me, that rice Jresh strawberries are not on the market at * * :i in is time 01 tne year, out ji you mo m need of any nico, fresh flah, I hare here some fine ones which I am wiling " There was a sound like another Mercantile etreet explosion, but it wa9 only a window closing suddenly.?Boston Globe. An Unfortunate Recognition. The minister's wife sat on the front porch mending the < lothes of one of her numerous progeny. A neighbor passing stopped in for a social dbat. A large work basket, half full of buttons, sat on the floor of the por;h. After various remarks of a gossipy nature the visitor said: "You seem to be well supplied with buttons, Mrs. Goodman." 'Yes; very well indeed." "Mygra*ious! If there ain't two of the same buttons my husband had on his last winter suit. I'd know 'em anywhere." "Jndeed!" said the minister's wife, calmly. *1 am surprised to hear it, as all these buttons were found in the t ontributicn box. So I thought I might as well put them to some use, so I?what! must you go? Well, be sure to call again."?\\c?t Point Alliance. A Famous Actor's Joke. One day the elder Sothern, who was a famous practical joker as well as aa actor, rrrnnf TOlth AT r? WrtOfl into Rtl lTOn monger's shop and asked for Macauley's "History of ?ngland." ' We do not sell books, sir," said the assistant. "This is an ironmonger's shop." "Well, I'm not particular," said Sothern, pretending to be rleaf; "I don't care whether it is bound in calf or Russia." "But this is not a bookseller's," shouted the assistant. "All right," said Sothern, "wrap it up neatly. I want to have it 9ent down to the hotel. It's for a present I wish to make to a relative." "We don't keep it," shouted the assistant, getting red in the face. "Do it up as if it wero lor your own mother. I don't want anything better than that," said Sothern. "I would like to write my name on the fly-leaf." ' Sir " hftwled the assistant at the ton of his voice, "can't you see that we do not keep books?" "Very well," said Sothern, quite undisturbed, ''I will wait for it" The clerk appealed to his master and said he thought the customer must be off his head. "What is it, sir? What do you dedesiroif" he said to Sothern. "I want to buy a tile," said the actor. "A plain file, four or five inches long." "Certainly," said the master, casting a withering glance at his ussistant. Chinamen Masqncratle a9 Sqnaw3. The smuggling of Chinese men and women from liritish America into United States territory is a very lucrative business at various points along the border from Vancouver to Winnipeg. If the venture fails at one place it is renewed at another, and sooner or later the pilgrims get in. A new trick, just discovered at Whatcom, Washington Territory, L-.? Alrtns* I/nn nnrur fliu KrunfK r\f f Kit LlilB ttlLUl'OO tU" unaj iu& ?/* wuiu wi wuu Federal officials, for they know that it must have been very successful for a time. The large number of s -;uaws coming into the country from British Columbia finally attracted the attention of an official, and he took a party of them to jail. On close inspection it was found that the creatures were not squaws at all, but able-bodied Chinamen who had painted and otherwise disguised themselves so as to resemble the typical Indian squaw of the frontier. In one instance two young and rather comoly Chineso women came ucroes in the garb of American womon, but closely voilcd. An ungallnnt o.llciul lifted their veils and found them out. Thoso girls wore billed through to San Francisco, acd were worth to their owr.er about $?000 apiece. WOMAN'S WOTILDT PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR FEMININE READERS. Love Letters oa Five-Dollar Bills. The Buffalo (N. Y.) man, who won a gweet girl by writing numerous love letter) ou five-dollar bills, has started a fashion that will make courting harder than over. Not only will the dear creatures refuse to return such missives in case of quarrel,but they will insist on bills of larger denomination being used. The world will seem but a dreary place to a man who has been using five-dollur bills as stationery for his love letters when he gets a note like this from the adored object: "Another young gentleman is writing to me on teu-dollar bills. Unless you employ twenty-dollar bills a!l is over between us."?Philadelphia Record. Women Street Car Conductors. ''It is amusing to watch a stranger on one of the street cars in Valpariso," said Bishop H. C. Kiley, of Santiago, Chili, who recently arrived in this city, as he was speaking of the customs of his native country the other day. "Tliu stranger first gazes all around for the conductor, and then a look of surprise steals over his face as he sees a pretty young woman coming down the aisle and collecting the fares. The fact is that in the recent wars in which Chili has been engaged all of the able-bodied men, including conductors, were pressed into service. The conductors' places had to be supplied by girls. They made themselves so popular that, although the men have since been mustered out of service, the girls have continued to hold their positions as conductors.''?New York Tribune. A Bracelet. Made of a Name. I have a friend who comes to town at intervals. He is happily married, and when his wife does not accompany him always takes back some sort of a present to her. Of course, he is hard pushed sometimes to hit upon something new. He was over here this week, and last night he strolled into the Hoffman House. He saw the bracelet man at work. ''The very thing," he said. He gave the artist in wire the name. That nnorntnp fnntr IIn snmfi wire. cliDDed Oit a sufficient length, and thea began to twist it this way and that with a pair of tweezers, and in a brief time, as a result of his deft manipulations, there was a bracelet with the name clearly written in wire. "Wonderful!" said my friend, as he pocketed the trinket. So it is, and makes a fellow wonder what some other fellow will next hit upon wherewith to coax the coin from his fellow man's pockets to his own.?Neva York Star. Did Penance as a Hermit. For eight years Mme. Peynand, an old Frenchwoman, has lived in a hut near Catonsviile, about fifteen miles from Baltimore, Md. No one knew her except a Catholic priest. Her only companions were cats, dogs aud birds. She prayed a great deal, and was zealou* in all religious devotions. The other night she died, and the mystery of her hermit life was explained. She formerly lived in Paris. Herhuson/1 lmrvn fiia uauu was a uai u&> j auu u^/vu uvm^u left her a receipt for beautifying the complexion. She started an establishment, but trade not being brisk she! adopted a new plan, She advertised extensively, promising astonishing results. When her victims came she charged them large prices for the lotiou. | The lotion, however, brought out ugliness and blotches instead of beauty, and she then demanded exorbitant prices for < removing these blotches, the made a great deal of money, but in lsfo she was arrested, tried, and convicted. She managed to escape to New York, where she lived quietly for a time. J eraorse overcame her and she consulted a priest. ; He counseled penanc?. She came to this State and began tho hermit life which ended a few nights ago. Her only visitor was a priest. It is expected that the Catholic church will get her money.? New York Tim,:s. Mrs. Cleveland and the Gamin. j At half-past twelve o'clock, says the Washington /W, Mrs. Cleveland rode slowly down the street in an open car-! ?2??? ?1 A 1 kftwfc lia nrlrtnfl tit o a n n riug? aiuuc. aU'Clw uantuuo iiwg v/u the box and the seal browns in front. The carnage stopped at the Palais Koyal. Albert wound the reins around the whip in proper style, and alighted and helped Mrs. Cievelann do the same. As she stepped across the sidewalk a ragged little boy with a basket of lavender beld up his good* and said: "Please, lady, buy a paper of lavender." "What is your pricc?" asked Mrs. Cleveland. "Only five cents," was the reply. Mrs. Cleveland took a paper of lavender seeds aud put them in her bag. Then she hunted her portmonnaie over and put a dime in the dirty little paw of the small boy. "If you'll hold my basket I'll get you the change," said the soiled urchin. Mrs, Cleveland laughed a merry, girlish laugh, as the "funnyness"of the idea - . ? n - r it. - 1 J j: . of t&e rrst lauy 01 me muu uuiujojj a basket of lavender seeds on the sidewalk of Pennsylvania avenue struck h?r, and she passed into the biff store and out of sight of half a hundred people who had paused in the promenade to watch her. Another street Arab, with a string of the "missing link or Whitechapel mystery" puzzler arouud his neck, said some-! thing in the ear of the lavender Arab. '*iNO!" gasped the lavender Arab. "Sure pop," said the puzzle Arab. "Well, dog gone my buttons," said the lavender Arab, looking regretfully at the door where Mr?. Cleveland had disappeared, and then at the dime in his black paw. "If I'd cr knowed that I'd have gev it to her fer nothinV' A Green Mountain Pattl. Miss Marie Howe, the Vermont girl who went from Brattleboro, Vt., to Berlin, and took the town by storm, has just been heard of in Paris. She is a new niomluirnf t.hft fnlonv of elever Ameri-' cau womsn who will keep the French capital gossipingthe coming year. With Sybil Sanderson and Blanche lfoojevelt, she completes a notable trio, though Miss llowe is distinctly unlike either one of her American sister*. It was of her that Director Engel of the Berlin Opera House, said: "At nineteen years of age she shows more signs of being a second Patti than any woman in the world." A little information about her experience abroad has come to a writer for the bun through a letter from Brattleboro, Vt.. aud permission has been given to make it public. .Miss Howe's devoted admirer, preceptor, and manager is her brother Lucien. When he took his sister to Berlin to study it was hard work to get even enough money for the trip over, and once there the Lrother taught music and worked in every possible way to secure his sister's advancement. After her tremendous success in Berlin, the Howe* returned at once to Vermont. The girl lived quietly in her country home for a mouth, and then the brother took heron a concert tour. He gave eight concerts, | ':?T '*.' : \-J '' ' ' f '" \ and netted nearly aa many thousand doU < lars. First he paid oflf every penny that he had borrowed with the utmost care, and then, without losing a moment, he I took his sister to Paris. 8he has been inundated with offers, but she refers erery' thing to her far-seeing and shrewd I Yankee manager. Thus far none of the m&nagars have been able to get near the coming singer. The brother discourages all attempts to get his sister's name in tho newspapers. Tbey are living on the ! $">000 that wan paved, after all debts were paid, from the concert tour.?New York Sun. Dexterous J-jiamose Dancers. I Poised on tiptoe, bending their arms and limbs back as far as they will reach and picking up bits of straw with their eyelids, the dancing srirls of Bangkok, I biam, ure always exercising in the royal gymnasium. The new volume in the I /.igzag series, "Journeys in the Anti; podps," gives a very graphic description of the wonderful physical training of these girls, whose ages vary from five to . twenty years. The curious and subtle feat of picking up a bit of straw with the eyelids can be learned only by the youngest of them, who are made to practice it in order to render them flexible in every part of the body. There are two long rows of benches, one a little : higher than the other. On the lower is a row of little girls and on the upper bench are laid tine polished bits of straw. At the sound of the drum the little girls all together bend back the head and neck until they touch the bits of straw, wlrch, with wonderful dexterity they secure between the corners of the eyelids. The cup dance is the most graceful and poetic of their dances. A row of young women, with a tier of cups on their heads, take their places in the center of the gymnasium. A burst of joyous music follows. On hsaring this they simultaneously, with military precision, kneel down, fold their hands, and bow their heads until their foieheads almost touch the marble floor, keeping the cups steadily on the heads by some marvelous jerk of the neck. TheQ, suddenly springing to their feet, they describe a succession of rapid and intricate circles, keeping time to the music with their arras, head, and feet. Next follow a miracle of art such as may be found only among people of the highest physical training. The music swells into a rapturous tumult. The dancers raise thsir delicate feet, curve their arms and fingers in seeming impossible flexures, sway to and fro l'ke withes of willow, agitate all the muscles of the body like the flutter of leaves in a soft evening bree e, but still keep the tier of cup? on their heads. At other times a cup full of some liquid is placed on the floor in the center of the halL A girl will spring to her feet and dance about it in round, wild eddies, and,suddenly laying herself down, keeping her arms folded tight on her breast, will take up the cup with her lip t and drain the liquid without shilling a drop.? Philadelphia News. Fashion Notes. India silks continue to have a great run. Cloth shoes and boots are coming into into fashion again. Silver and gold embroidery is more and more used on reception costumes. The richest costumes seen this season are those of matlasse silk, with the figures outlined in embrodery. Sleeves are now worn in almost infinite variety, but all of tbem somehow attain a V>5 .li.qhrmldppp.d enect. Velvet robes of the most sumptuous kind arc much affected bj matrons this season for full dress occasions. Of the eight grays now fashionable, steel, stone, mouse and elephant are regarded as the most fashionable. Frmino, the fur of royalty, which has been out of fashion for a dozen years or more, is now the favorite lining. Hust, copper and coral reds and peachblossom pinks are the rosy hues just now most in favor with good dressers. In default of monkey fur, dealers have had recourse to coon, which is dyed a line flossy black, and not half bad as a substitute. The blues are simply numberless, but sky blue, paper blue, king's blue, soldier blue and navy blue are the tints most in use. London's favorite stuff for evening cloaks is brocaded velvet, in scroll patterns, so elaborate that they cannot be copied and vulgarized in cheap stuffs. Au effective garniture for a bonnet of green or black velvet is a bunch of green carnations or pinks, enclosed in their <rri?en calvxes and showiug long stems. Q ? ? Stylish short capes of fur have wired collars which project outward in true dirc-toire stvle. Such collars are always faced with a different kind of fur. The round, ball-shaped fur muff seems to go with the fur boa, and has superfluously long ends of ribbon hanging down on either Bide to flutter in the wind. Color combinations in dress are more eccentric than artistic. The most inconsistent and violently opposed hues and shades are consolidated in remarkable style. There are many new shapes in collars, fichus and jabots of lace for dressy wear. Indications of a return to flat shapes are shown in the wide collars of plaited lace, some of which are large enough to cover the shoulders. A made trimming of ostrich phtmage, intended to trim a broad-brimmed hat, has three long plumes of equal length, and at the <)uill end is set a full bunch of tips, the entire trimming being mounted ready for use. The favorite colors for wool dresses for small girls are copper red, bright scarlet, Gobelin blue, tho new green shades and French gray, the latter brightened by blue or Veronese red velvet, cords, gimps or ribbons. America's First Rolling Mill. The man who built the first rolling mill in the United States is in Atlanta, Ga. In lS'JU Major Walton built at Iiunton, N. J., the first rolling mill in operation in this country. He was then a voung man, liavinc been born on the Isle of .Wan in ISO?', and had just finished his apprenticeship in .New York. In the , same year he built at Plumpton, N. J., J the first blast furnace, wn:ca is sim there. In 1S2T Major Walton also built at I.u-kige, N. Y., the first mill for manufacturing implements and articles sold in hardware stores. The Major has been in the iron business ever since he was fourteen, except such times a3 he was fighting Indians, Mexicans and Federal soldiers.? Cnicngo Herald. An Epitaph. Ar. epitaph's a "recommend'' 1 h :y sive to folks, when starting To make their way in parts unknown. And sootbo the pons* of partite. It trumpets all their virtues forth, For fear you should n't And 'em; Good character to tak* ahead, And leavo the bad behind 'em! ?Eva Louelt Carson, in Push. ! I I - _____ - M CLBIOtS FACTS. fl The nary in Italy has charge of fh^E coast defences 1 III England burglary was ft capitaffljjj offeaco until 182'J. |9 Omnibuses were first introduced New York in 1830. HI The ourfew bell was a law only tU^B the accession of Henry I. j^B A kitten in Norfolk, Va., has beei^B trained to drinK millc through a straw^^K There arc more than 4000 people the United States who are over lOOyea^H of age. A South Carolina cat swims a every morning and evening to go to |HH feeding place. flH The weights assigned by the best thority for cavalry horses to carry ar^^J age 252 pounds. . a Several quite respectable pearls ha^H hprn fnnnri in tlie tresh-water clams l^N Kentucky River. In France they propose training horsje for artillery purposes as soon as they at broken to harness. \ Two hundred and fifty is the atrengil of a company in the Continential armie and 120 in the English. M. Jules Simon recently declare* French to be the most difficult languag in which to talk nonsense. More or less difficulty is being met wlfl in getting a sufficient number of nav? cadets for the English navy. A fish dealer at Apalachicola, Fla,, one day recently had no less than twenty four varieties of fresh salt water fish to sale. The Turks always cut open the oute corner of the eyelids of a girl, if ha eyes are not large enough to tfuit theii idea of beauty. There are said to be about a dozen colored physicians iq Brooklyn, some ol whom have been in active practice foi fully forty years. The first imoeachment bv the Englifl Commons Hutise of Parliament, and' th first of a Lord Chancellor, Michael de 1 Pole, Earl of Suffolk, was in 1388. < The Goldsmiths' Company, one of th< earliest of London guilds, was forme< about 1827, and was incorporated ii 1802. The first bankers were Goldsmiths. A lease of 999 years, made in the day of King Alfred, has ust expired in Eng land. The land was leased by the churcl to the crown, and reverts now to thi Church of England after a millenniun Of years. ; ' Blue Jeans" Williams, once Gorernoi of Indiana, never wore a suit of tailormade or store clothes in his life. Hit clothcs were made from wool sheared on his own farm and spun and dyed, by his wife and daughters. Mr. Ismay, President of the White Star Steamship Company, is one of tbi most successful of merchant princes o Liverpool. It is said that he won tlu custom of the Americans by the iogeaioui idea of supplying ice water gratis -at table. A Camden (N. J.) cat has a toad for i play-fellow. She sometimes spend) hours at a time tossing the toad into th< air and catching it like a ball. When tired of the sport she carries the toad tc its corner and lays it down where she picked it up. A cat crawled into the muzzle of I loaded cannon in the British barracks at Cape Colony a short time ago. When the evening salute was fired she wa? thrown a distance of 200 feet, but, Strang* to say, lived for two hours after her in* voluntary flight. At the Dudley (La.) Poorhouse , a woman named Sarah Wright, who has been a pauper for thirty years, died recently at the advanced age of 110 years. Her mind was lucid and vigorous Until her death. She leaves a daughter 01 93H years, who bids fair to keep up theH family record of longevity. H A peculiarly novel letter has just beenH sent by an inhabitant of Hath, England, H to a friend at Trowbridge. It was writ-B ten in shorthand on the back of a post-H age stamp, the address being in ordinary.^| writing. The missive was dropped into^a the letter box at the general postoffice, H and was duly delivered at its destinarH tion. H Real and Bogus Epsom Salts. 9 Fpsom salts is the .name given inH pharmacy to the hydrated sulphato ofHj magnesia, which wa* obtained over twoH hundred years ngo by evaporating theHj waters of some mineral springs at Epsom, H England. tea water was afterwardH found to contain it, the brine remainiogH after tho separation of the common salt,^a consisting of the sulphate of magnesiaH and the" chloride* of magnesium acdB calcium. It was readily obtained byH collecting the first crystals which formedH anfl washing them with a strong solution H of the same salt. An excellent quality^! is manufactured at Baltimore and in this H city from the mineral magnesite, a sili- H cious hydrate of magnesia, which ul found in the serpentine of this region. H The mineral, reduced to powder, is dis-H solved m sulphuric acid. The product, H after drying, is calcined in order to d8-H compose the sulphate of iron. It is then^B dissolved in water, and any iron presentH is precipitated by sulphurat of lime.H The crystals of sulphate of magnesia aroH separated and dissolved again to com-H plrte their purification.? N<.w York patch. H A Substitute for Beeswax. B The first carload of mineral wax th&tS is to take the place of beeswax and toH be used largely by electricians has ar-H rived in this city. It is called o/.oceriteH aud is found about one hundred andH fourteen miles east of Salt Lake City andH is the only source of supply yet known, except that in Galicia. Austria. fl| Ozocerite contains from 75 to 05 per H cent of pure wax. Its co or varies from Hj a light yellow to a d.irk brown or black. H It requires from l'.'.'t degrees to 1!>0 de-^B grees Fahrenheit to melt it, and it isH claimed to be the best insulator known. It possesses toe greatest; resismnce uj au electrical substance aud U acid proof. It has been used by blacking manufacturers and in the manufacture of scaling wax. When it is refined it is called ceresin and can be used just as beeswax is used. It costs just one-third as much as beeswax. Candles and dolis can be made with it.?New Y^rk Mail and Expre-t. The Three Great Armies of Europe. In Russia, on a peace footing, there are 28,(540 odicers aud 735,21$ men; oa a war footing, 44,753 o.'Ecers and 2,140,004 me'u, not counting non-combatants with the colors. The total available war forces amount to about :J, 250,000 men. Germany has less of a paper army than any other nation; in peace she ha* 492,000 men: in war, 1,507,000 men, with reserves (La.-idsturm and one-year men) or 1,00>i,00o men, making a thoroughly trained body of fighting men of 2,050,0t?:\ France has in peace a nominal army of 52">, 711 men,with reserves,also nominal, of i.l",000; its force in war, on paper, amounts to 2,500,000 men.