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I0YF8 WELCOMX BT HEDDIK F. 3112X3. 3BIoom oat. oh, bonnie bright blossom of gold, Tling thy bright pennons oat, (old upon (old; Spring into blossoming roy&l and red, . Sweet roses o( snmmer that hang overhead; Chimes o( the bluebell, ring out loud and clear, , Sho cometh I She cometh 1 My darling is near 1 I Spring up to welcome her, clover-bloom sweat, 1 Send to her footsteps and kiss her light (eet 1 f Twine o'er her pathway thy fingers, oh, vine I Breathe to her, sweet-scented tassels o( pine! Blend earth, air, and heaven to welcome my dear: She cometh I She cometh 1 My darling is here I ? TWO LITTLE OLD LADIES. Two little old ladies?one grave, one gay? In the seU-same cottage lived day by day. One coul i not be happy, "because," she said, "So naany children were hungry for bread AQU UUtf lUHliy UWI UUb UIO ucmv I.\J omuw When the 'world wag bo wickeu nil the while. The other old lady smiled oil day long, Aa she knitted or sewed or croonea a song. She had not time to be sod. she said, Whea hungry children were crying for bread. Co she baked and knitted and gave away, And declared the world grow better each day. Two little old ladies?one rrrave, one gay. Ifow which do you think chone t*ie wiser way? --H. Maud Merrill, in St. Nicholas. LOLA PULASKI; OR The Victim of Circumstantial Evidence. * A Story of Nihilistic Plottings and Crimes, j BY LEON EDWARDS. CHAPTER IX. bt okder of the czar. Leeza, who waited on the people in the strange tenement in which Lola k and her father lived, was surprised to b see the young lady, to whom she seemed " to be much attached, come home so early. l'et Leeza was too good a servant to express her curiosity in words. Seeing her anxious expression, Lola *aid, with affected cheerfulness: "I have left my school for the pres? a t tt?:m exit, jueezt*. jjluw 13 mtuci "He appears well, my lady. I saw him a few minutes ago when the mes" aenger brought him the strange package," said Leeza. "A strange package, Leeza?" "Yes, my lady." ' ""Who was it'{" "I do not know." "I shall soon have my curiosity gratified," said Lola, ascending the stairs, tip which Ivan had preceded her. In going to her own quarters she had to pass Madame Berger's apartments, and she was not a littie surprised to find that lady and the fair Elizabeth standing in the door. Ivan had hurriedly told his mother and sister of Lola's fresh troubles, and the kind-hearted ladies were waiting to condole with her. They kissed her, and as Madame Berger drew her in and closed the door, she said: "My poor child, there is a higher king than the Czar; lookup, look up!" "I have not lost heart," said Lola. "If driven to it, I can raise enough money to take my father and myself to Paris, and there we can at least live, and in addition to living, be free." "Make no plans now, my child," ?aid Madam Berger. "And believe this," said Elizabeth, ^ coming over and encircling Lola's neck with her round, white arms, "that bo long as we have a loaf and a roof they are yours and your father's. They cannot keep us crushed forever. Our day is coming, Lola; take courage from the thought that our day is coming." "It must come soon," said the gloomy Ivan, "or I shall think this an eternal night of affliction." "And what reason did they assign for this cruel act?" asked Madam Berger. "None," replied Lola. "How were you informed?" "Bv that monster, Count Linwold. He met me with a bow and a stereotyped smile, and said, ' Miss?MissMiss.' I prompted him by saying, 'Pulaski.' " 'Ah, yes; I forgot, Miss Pulaski; I regret to have to inform you that by order of his Imperial Majesty?an order that her highness the Princess Dag mar concurs in?your services as under governess to the royal children are dispensed with from this time on.' " With inimitable action and intonation, Lola rendered the voica and manner of Count Linwold, so that for the moment all forgot their sorrow and actually laughed. "As I descended the great stairs," continued Lola, "I saw your friend, Count OrlofF, to whom I hurredly explained my trouble, and the noble gentleman looked for the moment like a Nihilist." "If he were one," growled Ivan, "I should like him better." "Elizabeth could not like him better," said Lola, gaviv, "no matter what ^ bfewas." W Elizabeth blushed, and Lola, leaving J a good impression of her spirits behind her, went to seek her father. General Eulaski was surprised and delighted to see his daughter so soon. While he was by no means an imbecile, he never asked her about her work or remuneration, though she, like the loving, dutiful daughter that she was, never had a secret from him, unless it might be her love for General \ Paul, and this she hardly dare to think of herself. "I have been much perplexed, Lola," said the old gentleman, taking a large wallet .torn the table. "This, with an unsigned note, was brought by a man. j who left it and hurried off without a j word." "What is it?" asked Lola, in aston- j ishment. "Money," replied her father. "Money!" "Aye, five thousand rubles,"* said ! the old man. Lola glanced at the bank bills which her father held before her gaze, bufc ; ehe did not attempt to count the money ?she did not even touch it. "You do not seem to be delighted, Lola," he said, as if he were hurt by her manuer. The ruble, sometimes written rouble, is In ! Eaasii worth about 75 cents. "We need money very much," Ae Baid, in her quiet way, "and this, dear father, would make U3 comparatively tich?if it were ours. Where is the bote that you say accompanied it ?" "Here it is," said her father, "but it contains neither date nor signature." fjg Lola took the note from the old In - jman's hands, and read as follows: ICount John Pulaski of Warsaw: ; ttONOBKD bis?i send nerewitn Ave thousand rubles. If I made it a thousand times kg much. I could not repay the debt I owe J you. Do not refuse this with the thought that 4t is either a gift or a charity to you; it Is pf;-; Neither. I H:' - V- j; ?.y > V ; -V J V- # The money is rightly yours. It you doubt it you have only to recall the many good deeds done in the days ot your prosperity, when the poor never left your castle gates empty-handed, and then tliink that one of these good deeds was bread cast upon the waters, which has returned to you after many days. But I will not ask you to recall any of your good deeds, for men like you do not remember such things. Let me assure you i vvOulu scrt send you this part of your property if I could not afford it. If you refuse it, give it to the poor, for any attempt to discover me at present will be unavailing. Suffice it to say. that I am now and alj ways shall be, your warm well-wisher and friend. Lola read this over aloud a second ! time, not so much to familiarize herj self with the contents as to find out, if possible, the sender by the writing. There was nothing official about the !paper; the envelope was a plain one, and the handwriting was of that smooth, flowing kind which clerks delight in, and nobles never can acquire. "How long has this been here?" asked Lola. "About an hour, less perhaps. Do i you know, Lola, I think it comes from some of the young men whom I I -i.? A..3 l ? oo,M nan. scartb-u JIU UUUUCOSiuuga^u, Diaiu UVU eral Pulaski, eagerly, for, from his daughter's manner, he was afraid she would refuse it. "I hope so. Hark! wnat noise is that?" She hastily concealed the letter and wallet under a cushion on a chair near by, and turned to the door. "Men, soldiers!" replied her father, as the clatter of arms and the rhythmic step of trained men could be heard on the stairs, leading up from the lower hall. Lola was about to open the door. Her heart told her that these were police after herself or Ivan Berger, but just as her hand was on the latch a harsh double knock, as if made by the hilt of a sword, sounded on the other side. She stepped back and called out: "Come in." The door opened and in marched twelve armed men, with a subordinate officer at their head. "Who are you," demanded Lola boldly, "and why come you her9?" "We are soldiers," replied the officer, "and wo come bv order of the Czar." "What to do?" "To find one John Pulaski, a returned exile." "I am John Pulaski," said the old soldier, coming forward and facing the officer. "John Pulaski," said the officer, reading from a paper which he took ? ? " ?- 3. 1 t I Irom ms oeit, "i am commanaeu uy my general to arrest you." "To arrest me," repeated the Count. "That is my order." "And "who gave the order?" asked Lola, stepping between her father and the officer. "It came from the Emperor, I presume ; I am sure that it -was handed to me by General Paul," said the officer. CHAPTER X. IN DISTRESS. "And General Paul sent you here ?" said Lola, to the officer in command of the guard. "He is chief of the secret service," said the man, "but I guess he has to do as he is told, like the rest of ui." General Pulaski, quite overcome with the shock, dropped into a chair, and covering his face with his trembling hands, he swayed his boly back and forth, as if to still his emo;:on. . Had these men come to arretfc Lola, she would have been comparatively calm; certain it is, she would not have lost that presence of mind that always distinguished her. But now Lola was thunderstruck. The announcement that General Paul was a party to her father's arrest cut the last piece of solid earth from under her feet, and she was adrift and being swept into an awful maelstrom. . A frenzy took the place of her habitual calmness, and thrusting her hand into her brear.t, she clutched the hilt of the Nihilist dagger and shouted out: "Back, miscreant! back, tool of the heartless tyrant, and do not dare to touch a hair of that old man's head!" The officer stepped back. For years it had been his duty,- by the Czar's command, to drag innocent men from the bosom of their families, to part lovers, and to tear the strong arm of the son from about the widowed mother whose sole supDort he was. and consign to his exile. But familiarity with suffering does not always breed contempt. It intensities generous natuxes. It makes more susceptible quick sympathies. "I am not to blame," said the officer, with unexpected emotion. "Not to blame!" cried Lola. "Are you not the tool of these inhuman monsters ?" UTC T f 1. -I.--. **. XI x reiUBO lU uue/, iu nuuiu uicau poverty to my family, and the prison and knout for myself." "And you do this inhuman work foi bread?" Bhe asked, with madness and scorn. ~ "No, not for bread; for life. What * I refused ? A million of men, less considerate, my lady, are ready to take my place. Your father, I have heard," said the officer, turning to the old man, i "was once a gallant soldier; ask him , and he will tell you that I mnst obey at the peril of my life." The officer's words touched General Pulaski, and at the name "soldier," all his manliness was stirred up. ' "This man is not to blame," he said to his daughter. "He is simply doing his duty. Duty has been a precious word to you and me, Lola, and we must not check it in another." On hearing this, the officer and his onards saluted, and Lola's hand fell from her breast and hung nervously by her side. "I will go with you," said the General to his guards. "It may be that the charge against me will be easily explained, and that I shall be released at once." "Where are you to take him to?" asked Lola, somewhat calmer, for she felt the force of her fathers reasoning. "To the Neva prison," replied the ofTcer. "Then I shall go with him," she said, putting on the cloak and hood Bhe had taken off. "It would be better that you remain here, my lady; you would n^t be admitted. And again, you could do no good. My orders are to treat the prisoner with all consideration. He will not even have to walk, as a sleigh has been sent to the door for him." Though the officer's words did not reconcile Lola to the awful separation, they recalled her to a sense of her own duty in the case. She hastily packed a sachell with such articles as. her father. would need V; * ^ . : y.._. . at once and asked the officer to take charge of it. "I may say, my lady," said the officer as he opened the door preparatory to marching out with his prisoner, "that you will be at liberty to call on your father to-morrow, but it will be first necessary to get an order." "From whom do I get it?" asked Lola. "From General Paul," he replied. The old man rcached out his armd 'and caught Lola to his breast and kissed her. With a piercing heart cry she clung to him. But gradually her grasp relaxed, her eyelids drooped ana a deathly expres? ision came over her face. She would have fallen had not the officer, who was but too familiar with such scenes, caught her in his strong arms and gently placed her in a chair. Madam Berger and Elizabeth appearing in the door at that moment, the officer told them to care for Lola, and then marched away with his old prisoner. Madam Berger and Elizabeth, with fcries of alarm?for Lola looked to be dead?rushed to her aid; but long before they had restored her to conscious-* ness her father and his captors were cone. Like a hunted animal, Ivan Berger was always on the watch. The instant he heard the police at the door?and he was the first to hear them, he very naturally believed that they were after him, and with the lightness of a shadow, and the speed of a startled stag, he whispered a word to liis mother and sister and started out. Like many other Nihilists, he was' an adept in sudden disgui3es. As he flew down the back stairs, he turned his coat inside out, reversed his hat, and as he did so the long hair and beard of a mujik fell over his face. The man at the head of the stairs was young, tall and handsome. The man who shuffled out the back door, though not what might be called old, was a common laborer, with the heavy step and ungraceful gait of one whos'e elasticity had been crushed by great labor and heavy burdens. "With some haste, yet not enough to attract the attention of the few people he met, Ivan went round to the front of the house where some of the mounted police were guarding a sleigh and holding the horses of those who had gone inside. He mingled with the crowd that gathered on the other side of the Btreet, their curiosity excited to learn who it was that had excited the anger or suspicions of the Czar in the gloomy house across the way. Ivan heard muttered curses, the very lowness of the tones in which they were delivered adding to their intensity, and showing the smoldering hate for the tyrant in the great heart of the working people. As he listened, his attention was attracted to two men talking in a door wnv behind him. He recognized the voices as those of Peter the student and Dr. Mulek, but he was far too shrewd to confirm with his eyes the evidence of his ears. To avoid being understood by the rabble about them, the men spoke in French. Ivan understood them as well as if they talked Russian. "Who can the police be after?" asked Dr. Mulek. "I shouldn't wonder if it was Lola. An arrest usually follows a dismissal," said Peter. "You think, then, she is suspected ?" "No doubt of it, Doctor." "I don't. I think it has been discovered in the palace that the Grand Duke Alexis is making love to her, so the Czar sent her off," said Dr. Mulek, with the confidence of a man who was very sure ui wuat ue was "Nonsense! If the Czar arrested every pretty woman his royal relatives make love to, the jails of St. Petersburg would be full of them. 4 By St.! Peter!' I should not be surprised -if they were after Ivan Berger. Ah, the forty-eight hours are up, and he has not 'kept his word. I thought the fel-. low hau nerve, but he is a coward." ! At Peter's words, Ivan half turned, to knock the slanderer down, but! checking himself in the act, he bit hirf lips and fastened his eyes on the house across the way. The curiosity of the people was soon gratified." The jingle of scabbards and the measured steps of armed men came irom tne stone stairs tnrougn tne open door, and then appeared the police; with the old white-haired man?the returned exile, in their midst. "Pulaski of Warsaw!" gasped the crowd. They knew of the gallant Pole; his name as a lover of the people was familiar to them, and now their hearts went out to him, and had there been a leader who could show them hope of success they would have gone to the rescue of the noble old man. General Pulaski held his head erect and walked with a firm, resolute step, that surprised Ivan even more than it did the other on-lookers. The officer and his prisoner entered a sleigh; the soldiers mounted, drew their swords, as if the General was a most desperate character, and forming on either side, they dashed away in the direction of the Neva prison. Still the crowd did not leave, but remained looking at the house as if fascinated. "Ha!" exclaimed Peter, the student, "that settles it. That will rouse Ivan Berger if anything oin." "Why so?" asked Dr. Mulek, <itt_ * _ j. _ i -t *V.^ no ia a great uumirer ui i>uc mu man." "What if he is?" "He also knows by whose order tne arrest was made." "It was made by order of the Czar," said Dr. Mulek. "Oh, everything in Russia is said to be dono by order of the Czar; but you know and I know, aud Ivan Berger must kuow, that these men are under the command of General Paul, and that they are carrying out his orders. But let ua get back to the hospital," 6aid Peter, takiue his friend's arm. "First, 1 must see kola." "But why, Doctor?" "I want to find out how she takes it, and then," said the Doctor, with a sly wink, "the visit will give me a chance to see the fair Elizabeth." The two men walked across the street, and Ivan watched them till the weeping Leeza closed the front door behind them. Ivan's first impulse was to follow these men, whom he had now good reason to think doubly dyed traitors, but again resisting the impulse, which If carried out might lead to trouble, he turned into the by streets and, by a short cut, hastened to the gloomy Neva prison.. He succeeded in reaching there just as General Pulaski was alighting from the sleigh. As the prisoner was entering the gloomy portal, that had shut out the world from many a crushed life?by order of the Czar?another sleigh drove rapidly up, and from it alighted General Paul. The young soldier looked pale and troubled as, ignoring the salute of the soldiers he strode into the orison. [TO BK CONTINUED.] Orchards in Old Mining Camps. One of the curious results of the decay of placer and hydraulic mining in the foothill region is the development of orchards where it was once thought the only valuable thing the earth produced was gold. In Butte, Yuba, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Calaveras, Stanislaus and Tuolumne?the seat of the richest early placer mining?the chief industry now is fruit-growing. These steep foot-hills, which were once lookec upon as worthless, are now being planted to vines and the choicest fruits. It is found that this land, which has received for ages the wash from the tops of the mountains, possesses some peculiar properties in which the richer valley soil is deficient. For choice European wine grapes it is unsurpassed, and for all kinds of fruits it is specially fitted, as it gives a flavor that can never be gained on the i_ _ 1 J1 A : ...T irrigaieu lanu. An uiu miucr wuu nos worked in any of these counties fancies he is dreaming when he revisits his old haunts. When he left, the places where ho had worked presented a good subject for a picture of the abomination of desolation. The hydraulic miner literally tore up the surface of the earth and left as complete destruction in his path as an army that intrenches itself against attack. Wherever he worked hills were laid low, and great unsightly pits yawned where he removed the pay dirt clear to the bed rock. In other places great ugly heaps of gravel and cobble stone showed the fruits of his activity. Nature, however, has been kind, and chaparral covers most of these scarred fields, while others are smiling with orchards and vineyards. It is one of the modern miracles in California ?as great a wonder as gathering figs from thistles. ? Globe Democrat. Crows Attack an Eafflc. A gray eagle which had its nest in the Fishkill Mouutains, N. Y., has been seen to alight several times in the asylum grounds, Fishkill, presumably in search of prey. A great flock of crows had chosen that locality as a feeding ground and resting place, and they evidently looked upon the advent of the eagle as an intrusion. The crows apparently de Ciaeci to give me mujesuu uiru m uuderstaud that it was poaching. At any rate it is a fact that a dozen or more of the crows attacked the eagle while it was soaring over Rogers's fields and put it to flight. The battle lasted half an hour or more. The crows which did not participate kept circling around and around the combatants and cawing incessantly. The fight was witnessed by several persons who picked up many blooii -stained feathers from the ground.?New York Herald. The High Collar and Long Sermon. Showing Deacon "White during the first fifteen minutes, second fifteen min ' utes, third fifteen minutes and fourth fifteen minutes.?Texas Siftinos. A curious gastronomic entertainment was an oyster feast recently held in Colchester, England. The celebration is of very ancient origin. Ten thousand Colchester oysters were consumed on the last occasion by the Mayor and his guests. Coal dust is no longer regarded as waste. It is made up into blocks for fuel and found to burn readily, giving an intense heat, with entire absence of clinkers. Henry Smith, of Brook Center, Conn., was in the highway on his way to his day's work in the fields when he suddenly beheld in the road what seemed to him a curious circus. A blacksnake, a six-footer, was curled on the ground, but instead of having a head, as the serpents Mr. Smith had been familiar with all had, this snake ~ ^a avtj ATk/1 in fl beeiiieu iu uuu ouu iu iauo. Eager to know the mystery of his queer construction, if possible, Smith picked up a stone and hurled it at the strange reptile. He didn't hit him, but the mystery came apart in the middle. The big black fellow had swallowed about half of another one that was nearly as large, and of the same species, but instantly he disgorged him when the stone struck the ground. Both snakes were lively and slipped into the roadside wall before the man could find another miisile. Henry Exall, of Richmond, Ya., claims to have suggested a tower similar to that now known as the Eiffel tower as long ago as 1875. He says: aI have yet my plans, and only last' year proposed to the Mayor of Chicago to put them in the hands of some of the rich and enterprising men in that city, where the tower would make a grand show near the edge of the lake, and over a large extent of country. at 41,? llic 1UUJUI I t;|?UUU LUUb bUC UlbJ emnient could not enter on such a scheme, and he did not propose to fa! vor it so much as to propose it to tho citizens." A ccriocs ferry-boat is being built for the River Clyde at Glasgow, Scotland. Instead of requiring movable lancing stagr* or bridges to meet the rise and fall of the tide, the deck of the boat itself will be movable, carried on six hydraulic elevators by which it can be raised or lowered. The boat will be a double-ender, one hundred and fifty feet long, of fifty-five feet beam, and twelve feet six inches draft. SCENES IN JAPAN. CURIOUS CHARACTERS IN THE CITY OF YOKAHOMA. The Blind Shampooer and the Pict* uresque Bread and Cake Seller? A Newsboy in a Queer Riff? The Children's Friend. HERE is nothing, perM n Jf haps, more characteristic of scenes in Yokahoma, Qbjfal *Jl /aM. says Frederick Stearns Kp^MM^cMLin the Detroit Free 1/4 ^rmi t^ian numbers 1 persons who pursue 1 minor industries in the ^^j&^j^^^streets, carrying their little workshops with them, generally in the shape of small wooden cabinets, two of which, to balance each other, are slung from the ends of a short shoulder bamboo pole. Not only the form of the cabinet is indicative of the trade, but some sort of cry is continuously and monotonously called to attract attention. To these belong a numerous class. They are persons born blind or who have become so from the effect of small-pox; are of both sexes, who walk the street slowly, bamboo staff in hand, feeling their wav along and blowing, at short intervals, a plaintive note on a bit of bamboo reed. They are very much employed for massage or hand rubbing, generally in the evening, the treatment being considered a relief and cure for rheumatism, pains, fatigue and many ills. The treatment consists of vigorous kneading and rubbing the whole body from head to foot. The process requires about an hour and costs one and one-half cents of our money. How these poor creatures find their way around the streets at night without getting into the canals or being run over is a marvel. In the quiet stillness of the night the plaintive whistle of the amma may be heard from many directions at once. The amma, or rubbers, do much dry shampooing or rubbing of the head. BREAD AND CAKE DEALER. Every day a little chap brings to the otond in frnnfr r?f thp Vlfttfil his jiuiirvioua oiuuu ?u *4vu? v* <.?v ... ^ little square cabinet, containing fire, diihes and food, which he sells to the men. It is a kind of macaroni made of glutinous wheat. This is ready-cooked and served in bowls with a dish of sauce made of water, soy, and sh reded bonito. The merchants name is Udon-uri, taken from the Dame of the wheat which furnishes this kind of food. A good bowlful costs two sen, equal to about one and one-half cents, and it forms a substantial mid-day meal. Then there is a pan-ya, or bread-seller ?generally two together. They sell sweet leavened cakes, like our cookies. These pan-ya are often dressed in European costume, the hat being made of tinned iron, varnished black, the form of our silk-dress hat. Each carries in front of him a bass-drum, shaped cabinet, highly colored, the sign "Sei-yo-KwaShi" (meaning cakes made in the west) being painted on the cabinet. Lanterns and flasks hang from the top of the cabinet and a large awning-like sunshade rises up his back, spreading over his head and looking ruaeiy line a roosicr a tan. His cry is "Pan! pan! kimuray a no pan!" at the same time striking on his metal cabinet as if it were a drum. The shimbun-uri, or newspaper boy, wears tight trousers over which is a hantem or robe, decorated with the mon or iaiajng i BLIND MAN SHAMPOOING. crest of the small newspaper merchants who handle the whole edition for the newspaper. The folded papers are carried at the ends of a bamboo pole, resting across the shoulder, one end having a cabinet for extra papers. Besides this, the number of flags or bell give notice of his approach. One often hears the sound of a little bell or triangle and hears the cry "Aniai!" "Amai!" (sweets! sweets!) or "Arnai to Karai" (sweet and biting) and finds a street merchant of great artistic skill, whose material is a sweet, yellowish, plastic kind of sugar called "Ame." He no sooner makes a stand than he is surrounded by children, to whom he never fails to l?e a source of delicrht. For j penny, or even much less, he will make j toys, figures of animals, flowers, balls, bottles, gourds and imitations of any object, and he does this with such rapidity and artistic skill as to seem really marvelous. The pleasure the children take in seeing this done is shown in their rmen months and words of approv I - ! i al. The finished object is carried off in triumph, played with for a while and finally disappears down that universa pocket of a baby?his mouth. Ame is a fnrni of extract of malt, such as we see so much of in America in medical use. In Japau it is made from millet (awa) auiMrora a glutinous sort of ' ""; rf>: rice (mochi-gome), which, cooked and mixed with barley malt, in about six hours converts the starch into sugar. The fluid part is drawn off and concentrated by heat to a stiff, white mass, which is afterward drawn out as sugar candy is pulled till it appears of an ODaaue white, which does not stick to the fingers. Where the concentration is not carried so far a fluid ame (midzuame) is produced?a thick yellow syrup which in housekeeping often takes the place of sugar, and has various other applications, among which is the making from it of a sweet alcoholic beverage called mirin. much drank in every house durinc New Year congratulations. Midzu-ame is also much used as a diet in consumption and finds much flavor with the foreign physicians in Japan. A JAPANESE NEWSE07. There is a rush widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere.' Its leaves are made into mats in many regions, but nowhere is it so important as in Japan, where it is called I or igusa,' meaning foot-mat grass. Many a custom and household usage in Japan is associated with this plant. Not only the size of the Japanese room, but} the house itself is determined by the floor-j mats, as these by law are made of one| size throughout the Empire. They are; six shaku or Japanese feet long by three shaku wide and one-sixth of a shaku; thick. The shaku is 30.33 centimeters.1 The rooms are named according as they contain four, six, eight or more mats. These tatami consist of a foundation of rice-straw (wara), closely bound and braided; over this is a cover of the beautifully and finely woven rushes (the igusa) Nothing can be cleaner or sweeter looking than a floor of this matting raised slightly above the street with a little re-, cessed-like vestibule where callers or customers leave their sandals or wooden shoes, never stepping on the mat except in stockings or bare feet. The houses being opened during the ! day, both front and back, all the family life is seen working, cooking, eating, sewing, spinning, weaving, all the industries ; and some one industry is conj ducted in every house. All that is | going on is open to the view of every passer-by. One has only to make a single j3tep and he can sit down upon the edge of the raised matted floor. The babies lie around or play in unconscious nakedness. A child at least four years old will stop its play, run to its mother i who, naked to the waist, is busy at some household work, and he will take a strong pull at her breast and then go on j | playing again. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, all work in their houses open to the street, pursuing their trades entirely unconscious of clothing, save a small white cloth wrapper about the body. A California Babbit Drive. Onr illustration represents the result of a rabbit drive in March last at Wildflower, Fresno County, California. The mound of slain at the end of the drive was five feet deep, twenty feet wide, and forty feet long, and contained 12,000 dead rabbits, the lnrgest and most successful drive ever made in California. These vermin have become so numerous and destructive to the farmers, that the wholesale extermination of them is imperative. It is estimated that five rabbits -,aaagjy*s"-e? .I, r consume as much as one sheep. They are particularly fond of young grape viues, fruit trees, corn and other grain. This drive was made by stretching fine wire netting about three feet high and seven miles in length, V shaped, terminating at the smaller end in a circular corral into which the animals were driven and readily killed with stout sticks.?Scientific American. Nourishing. Dick?"Say, Tommy, why don't you I get a donkey?" Tommy?''Oh, it costs to much to feed it, papa says." Dick?"No, it don't; I make my donkey eat old newspapers."?Argosy. The great-crested fly-catcher and several other birds adopt an exceedingly novel method to frighten away other birds or lizards that would prey upon their eggs. They wind into their nest one or more of the old skins which have been shed by snakes,so that these appeal to be live snakes oniled about the nests. In Cashmere 30,000 shawls are made yearly. It takes three men a year to weave a pair. It takes ten goats to furnish the matarial for one and a half yards square. SABBATH SCHOOL. INTERNATIONAL! LESSON POld DECEMBER 8. ___ Lesson Text: "Solomon and the' Queen of Sheba," I Kings x., 1-18? Golden Text: Matt, ill., 42 ?Commentary. This lesson presents to uarfiolomon at the very summit of his prosperity; be bad asked' for wisdom and God had given Mm wisdom' which excelled the wisdom of all the children of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt, so that people came from all Kings of the earth to hear his wisdom. (I Kings iv., 30,34.) His great wealth and some of the uses he made of it is described in the portion of this chapter which follows our lesson and in Eodee. iu 1. "And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the of the Lord, she came to prove <bim with' hard .questions." The fact that this visit is i fully recorded both here and in II Chron. ix., and that our Lord Jesus Himself referred to > it (Matt, xii., *42) marks it as an event of more ? J than ordinary importance; and our Saviour's .1 reference to it points to a time and signifi- ? cance yet future. Sheba was evidently the uttermost part in one direction of the then known world, a country lying around the . extreme south of the Red Sea. To this remote land the fame of Solomon concerning the name ofJehovah ?| had been carried. Observe here throughout the lesson that it was not Solomon, but Jehovah, whose name and glory had thus spread abroad; Solomon being only the human and visible channel of this great glory. a a .'i-t. il.I <6. OLie LUUlIiXUUCU W1LU LULU UL ftU LIIXU WHS * JJS in ber heart." She came with a great train of camels bearing spices, very much gold and ^ precious stones; somewhat as the wtaemea from the East came long afterward to the King of the Jews, bearing gold, and frank-. incense, and myrrh (Matt, ii., 1, 2, 11); and' as all nations will yet do when once the glory. of the Lord is risen upon Israel (Isa. lx., 1-6).! Jj 3. "And Solomon told her all her que?tkms." The first verse says that she came to' prove him with hard questions, but now; that she sees and hears him, every question; is answered. Seeing Jesus is the way out of every difficulty; and the many things which V;: now seem to us so hard, dark and mysterious will all be cleared up when we see Him as He is. 4, 5. "And when the Queen of Sheba had seen * * * there was no more spirit is Jjj her." She had seen the Wisdom of Jehovah' through him as he answered all her hard jj questions, and now she beholds with her %yea his house, his table, his servants, their standing, their apparel, his cupbearers and his ascent to the house of Jenovah; and as she $ looks upon this seven hued rainbow of glory, * all sense of her own importance is gone with- ^ out an effort. A sight of the glory of God in the face of Jesus will effectually blind us - al I to the importance of self and to the attractiveness of this present world. 6. "It was a true report that I heard." So must all those have said who, having heard v of the fame of Jesus, came to prove Him; every question was fully and wisely answered, every case of disease completely cured. ? uuwuciui uuucvcuuv;b iuu nviua. uuv must have believed something, or she would ; Vrsl not have come on this long journey; but she did not believe all she heard, for it seemed : v too grand to be true. Israel's oppression by ' ,{ the enemy was always because 'they believed not in God and trusted nof in His salvation.'' Zacharias was deaf and dumb for a season, because he did not believe God; and we are warned to take heed lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief, and lest we thus come, short of our rest. (Ps. lxxviii., 22; Luke i., 20, 62; Heb. iii., 12; iv., 1-3.) Notice, on the other hand, the blessings of faith as seen in Abram, Daniel, Mary and others. (Gen. xv., 6; Dan. vi., 23; Luke i, 45; Acts zxvii., 25). '" * v3 ' Behold, the half was not told me; thy wis dom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard." It is impossible to tell the half of the hundredth part of the goodness of God, s either of that which has been manifested in the gift of His dear Son or of that which is laid up for those who fear Him (I John iv., 9; Ps. xxxi., 19). "Eye hath not seen.nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him, but God oath revealed them unto us by His Spirit" (I Cor. ii-, 9,10); and yet how few believed the things which are revealed. 8. "Happy thy men, happy these thy servants which stand continually before the?, that hear thy wisdom." This was her estimate of the privileges which they enjoyed. ana we ao not imnjc sne saia coo mucn; out whether those who enjoyed these privileges thought as much of them as she did is another matter. 9. "Blessed be the Lord thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of. israel." In II Chron. ix., 8, the throne is called the throne of the Lord, and Solomon Is said to be King for Him. Such is the statement also concerning this most wonderful of all the thrones of earth, in I Chron. xxviiL, 5; xxix., S3, pointing us forward to Jer.. iii., 17; Zeph. iii., 14 15; Luke L, 33, 33. ... 'Because the Lord loved Israel forever," or, as in 11 Chron. ix., 8, "To establish them forever.'' The unsearchable and unchang?able love of God is the reason of all His deals ings with Israel, or with the church, or with' nations. U >; gg 10. "There came no mora such abund-- :~t anceof spices as these which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon." Gold worth; i three million of dollars, precious stones and fl of spices verygreat store; suet was her of-J feriug to the King because of the narae-of Jo-. SB liovab. What lira from the dead it shalLbe U when the kingdom is restored to Israel, and' ^ the wealth of the nations is poured in upon ' them because of the name ^f Jehovah-. % ,t-?? _ u. T? 11 D ir \ | ir.ULU. ii., u, xsa. li., XX, xh ? ./ , __ 11, 12. "No such almug (or algum) trees; :J were seen unto this day." The navy of Hi-: M ram brought not only gold and precious' fl stones, but a great plenty of these trees: S which Solomon seems to have used chiefly for musical instruments (II Chron. ix., 11). ^ Thus we have the Gentiles supplying the m&- < \ terials for prayer and praise, inasmuch as incense was a symbol of prayer (Pi czli, 2), and the musical instruments were to praise God with. 13. "And King Solomon gave unto tha Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked." Besides that which he gave her' of his royal bounty he gratified her every desire. He gave as a King, royally andcheerfully. Do we in any measure Tsalize . ' chat we are joint heirs with Christ, that Ha will fulfill the desire of them that fear JEQnv that He is saying: "If ye shall ask anything in My Name I will do it," and that we are even now blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him, while He eagerly longs to show us all His glory? (Ps. c.tJv.,.19; John xiv., 14; xvii., 24; Eph. i., 8). A full surrender to Him will cause us to enjoy all these things and Himself as including thorn all; but there is no other way. "So she turneAand went to her own coun-. try, she and her Servants." She came thinking a good deal of herself, and laden with presents for the far famed King; she returned emptied of self and laden with his favors. Jesus will cheerfully receive whatever wo willingly bring Him, but if we come with any sense of our own importance, and get anything like a glimpse of Him, we shall wonderfully fall in our own estimation and be glad to receive graciously from Him, instead of thinking that we can give Him anything.?Lesson Helyy. There used to be a singular custom at Holland House. The late Lord Holland shot himself. It was the tra"t-L * 4."U-. llO/l Vi/^ATl CllliOU UI we tuau uc MV._ shot, and every night for years, puno* tually at 11 o'clock, a gun was fired from behind the house, for the purpose, as the vulgar said, of scaring the conscience of the murderer. The gun has not been heard for some years now. There are between 500 and 600 Chinamen in Sunday schools and missions in New York. They are there chiefly to learn English, for there are only fifty-three of the number who are out-and-out Christians, that is, members of the churchss. A reb'gious worker among the Mongolians says the church people have got to realize that the Chinaman is a pretty hard subject to christianize. j