c. * . I TOEBANKERS^ CRIME; ?oa? tvDiamond Cut Diamond v fc\ BY NATHAN D. URNEB. N CHAPTER XVIII.?^Continued.) The guests, who had enjoyed them elves vastly from eleven in the morning, the hour at which they had assembled, were now in the midst of the luncheon, whioh was capitally served, regardless of - ?xpense, and forming a fitting top-dressing to the enjoyment of a well-seasoned day. "No?not another glass of wine at present, not even with yon, Madame Roncerille," Lord Squmderall was saying, in a load, boyish voice, as the dessert was bejng brought on. "Gad! but your luncheon ^ Is a jolly one, Bonconrt. What suggested the idea of that minstrel feature to you?" "I shall plagiarize it at the very next jibing that I attempt at The Seeches," woke in Sir Harry. "It's a Btunning ovelty!" , "But neither of you can,plagiarize the .marvelous imp who is presiding over it, JTU venture to say," said Boncourt, 1 ingh- I ;lng. "And would you believe it? Iti6to ithe imp's suggestion, and to his alone, Jihat yon are indebted for the novelty it elf.* i "You don't say so?" said Squanderall. "It is an odd little creature. Where did tyon pick him up?" . "By the merest chance?he may be said 4o have blown hither from the other side ; ^ of the world." "He shall dance me another of his In-eakdowns, as you call them, right off, jat all events," said Sir Harry, signing ijfto the minstrel. "By Jove! there must p. m so end to the seductiveness of these E- (Tanked minstrels. Don't you think so, t ; Wool?" I Noel nodded in the affirmative, but, to fc- t?ll the truth, he secretly looked upon the r feature of the entertainment that was Under discussion as in questionable taste, E though he had not failed to enjoy himself pf. ?n the whole. I { Squanderall, who hed been deeply im pressed with Miss Alworth's beauty from the very first, was now receiving a low;voieed sketch of her history from tha ( sailing lips of Madame Konceville, a) . whose left hand he was seated; and hit lace took on a look of positive amazement as he was being informed that the young lady W0> probably affianced to the old {lawyer who was doiag the agreeable at her tf: ?ibow. J ? "But, Lord! you can't mean it, you v %now?" gasped the young man. Adele nodded and laughed, as she reached out her fair arm to drink wine jvith her affianccd, who was Bitting di- ' r' jbectlv opposite. '' | "Wny, it's an outrage, you know!" broke .out Squanderall. "Talk about Beauty ' ^ nd the Bea6t?what! that squatty, ] L jrrinkled, knotted-up little money-bag? ]The deuce! It's like wedding a skylark & a toad!" : J 'What is, my lord?" asked Noel, with a . ' I'll give yon the point after awhile," replied Sqaandcrall, who had spok6n louder than he had intended. "I say, Bonconrt, are we to hare some -sards presently?" asked Sir Harry, who | 3md been gambling with Sqaandcrall half j the night before at the bedside of his instiled cousin, and could still think of but1 ? . little else. | f "Oh, yes, by all means I" broke in soy- j K- ?ral j oung men in a breath. | r "Anvthmcvon rlpsiro. of course." said 3 % JBoncourt, "though neither my sister nor | 1 ever countenance excessive high play." I * He had felt his way cautiously in the HiRhcombe society thus far, and was j 1 Rooked upon by most as rather giyen to j ? prudence and correct living, "Never mind the stakes, so long as it's ? carte or hazard," said Lord Squander- { mil, who then quitted his seat and strolled * down the table to chance the effects of a * lord's affability upon Miss Alworth'i 4 ^^SSbiuor.imeiit. ^ * "1 shall content myself with billiards, S Sf I can eecuro an eligible opponent, 1 jt^ Slid Noel, who never gambled. * J "Adele can match you in that, as in ^ ether things the reverse of antagonistic," ? ??!d Ponconrt, exchanging a significant J !X -*4gt - ii. ?ck/> 1 Uiance wuu ms simer. _ i " Countess de Bellevieu in Paris last win; , E-fe "!? :r"^I shall be charmed. "What! and you j r -really play billiards, Adele?" said Noel, c y~ v looking over to her in some surprise. s "Yes; it is becoming fashionable in both t &j- France and Germany," she replied. '"I s ?m glad that you do not take to gaming suHurally, as so many of your countrymen t I-- do. Noel." g L*It is a pit/all that I hare resolved never to stumble into," said the young i S min, gravely. "It was only the other day i (hat I read in a newspaper of a new ana i lancinating method of gambling which < acme foreigners have recently introduced in London; but, so far from being tempt- ] a, t caused me to be more disgusted t With gambling in tne abstract than ever ] fr"- before^" t ? "Is that the extract you wanted to road Ao me on Saturday evening?" said Aclele, '] with ill-concealed eagernesr.; for she bad ] !*~r. taken note of his wearing the same gar- < meets now as upon that occasion. "How 1 perverse I was, not to listen! Of course | jrou mast have destroyed the newspaper i p.; long ago?" " 1 "No, I have not; it is still in my pocket," 1 ?aid Noel, calmly producing a carelessly, folded newspaper from the left-hnnd in- j 1 side pocket of his co.;t. if t ^ "Let me take it, that I mny read tfc? nr. I ' tide ftt niV leisure," said Adele, reaching | j jfe* ?tet to him. , | 1 It "ffas, I'k-jwise, a critical moment for JJoncourt, who was lookiug on with an 1 Prr jfcnxiety that he could hardly disguise. j 1 ? CHAPTER XIX. J BAFiLEE 3CHIME3. \ Ho^ said Noel, l.ittghlnpVy, withholdhe nftwspapef ftQrr. tiie outstretched j ? ?.- lUnd, "it is so short I prefer to read it loud to you. It is ail about an exposure of the fashionable quarters of Monsieur and Madame do Mauleon, which threatened to even undermine the gambling clubs f tbeir creatineAnd he even bell yon ' nai Jt to n.e, you | revoking f?.i!ow."| ' ened *he. "I shall not t\%n (lay lill.aids *ith soa." "On, yes, but yon sorely will, Adele," P ne replied, with mock ruefulness, and then be went around to make his peace & with her. b This seemed to be tiken as a signal * Vint iVia lnnfthant war at an end. for e there wa? a general rising from the table. P The little incident described?of so ! much moment to both Boncourt and his sister for the time being?was, as a mat- . ter of coarse, of no special significance to any of the guests. . It had even been lost upon Gilbert ^ Marlowe and Croak, both of whom were ^ under the erroneous impreB6ion that the 1 missing confession was in Jasper's possession; and at the present moment the _ former had fiillen into a business discus- , sion with several shopkeepers, who^vere depositors in his bank, while the lawver was scowling at Miss Alworth's side, and silently nursing his wrath over yonng w Lord Squanderall's having altogether c monopolized her attentions. P The rest of the company,- or most of " them, were moving leisurely about the * grounds, while some of the younger gen- c tlemen were intent upon card-pl.iying ^ indoors, and there was yet another group around the agile Dip at the billiard room s entrance. Madame Ronceville gave the lad a significant look, as Bhe sauntered into the passage, clinging coquettishly to Noel's arm, and he received a second prompting of the same sort from his master shortly J afterward. "Come, Sqnanderall," called out Sir . Harry Wilding, pausing, with several .. other yonng men, on his way to the drawing-room. "Sha'n'tyou hold a hand ?. with us?" " "Not at present, thanks," replied the noble scion addressed, who was occupying a rustic seat beside Miss Alworth, with Lawyer Croak in an nneasy back- * ground, "and perhaps never at all?" , with an ogling glance at his companion, who was picking a bouquet to preces with . downcast eyes?"if I were only privileged jto hold a certain hand far lovelier than 1 was ever dealt from cards." And then he blushed and laughed a lit- ' tie boisterously, as if taken unawares by . his own wit. **' Sir Harry also laughed and passed on. " Half an hour later, while Boncourt was ?' engaged,with, a number of others at the ^ faru-tables Tliat TiTSQ "beTn set 6ut In th6 drawing-room, one of the doors softly e( rvnma/1 on/) Hi r*'o r?nm ir?n 1 rionnoH UOU, ?UU KVVfw? 0f in, with a knowing look upon it. Boicourt gave an imperceptible nod, rf and the face disappeared. a? Shortly afterward he found an oppor- ^ tunity to excuse himself to his companions, and, quitting them, he hurried away to his bedchamber, in which he found the ^ lad dutifully awaiting him. fc "I have only just been able to do aB h< you told me, sir," said the boy. "Maurice a was marking their game, end I could have quitted the sideshow sooner, but the h? young gentleman did not feel warm p] Bcough to take off his coat until a few _ minutes ago. I received it from him,' and went throught it before hanging it up." tl Ak he spoke he produced several nrti- ta cles, whicn his master eagerly seized and wi proceeded to examine without ceremony. S< A shade of deep disappointment, how- fe sver, soon clouded his face. Besides a silk pocket-handkerchief and i leather cigar-case, containing nothing as but cigars, there were but three folded Bh papers, which proved npou examination 'fc :o be of no consequence whatever?one aeing a note from Adole, another some penciled memoranda referring to Noel's risiling engagements, and the last only a -|S receipted saddler's bill of account. j^( "You've made some mistake, curse a. mi I" crmtvlerl Ttnnnnnrfr with nn nntVi. 'These trifles can't bo all that the coat w( )ock-.ts contained." m, "With due respect to your serene highless, I'll gamble my bottom dollar on it!" :onfidently replied the precocious youth, q, I went through every one of 'em, high tnd low, fore and aft, inside and out, QD ireast. tail, acd collar, likj a lor.d of a6 mcksnot?and there you are! Thehand- h0 ;erchief was in the left-hand tail-pouch; 0t he inside breast-pocket, right-hand, on ielded the Havanas; and I yanked the t0j [ocnmonts from the twin-receptacle on at he opposite side?the same from whic^ fr( he young swell took the newspaper that I le and my mistress had such a fight oyer I [0J ,t the lunch-board. There's mighty 1 qj, ittle that ever escapes my eagle-eye, my lege." lit "So it would eeem, or your tongue, ither!" said Boncourt, harshly. "Here; wl \place these things as dextrous'y r.6 you pn ibtained them. And, hark you! if I hould discover that you've not been horough or faithful in this matter, you'll ye ;utt'erlorit. Bogone, now!" to The lad took back the articles and dis- Ur ippeared, with a grin, while his master fe sunk into bitter and despondent thoughts. pr "By heaven!" he muttered, as he tilowly he eturned to the drawing-room. "If the no nissing paper is still in existence, Noel be nust still have it somewhere, though. It nc :an be nowhere else!" o* However, liis sister reflected his des- th pondency, when she once more found her- fe self alone with him, two or three hours later, the last of the guests haying taken ^ their departure. tt "inp was certainly thorough in his ex- hi ploration of Noel's coat-pockets, Al- th phonse," saic1 she. "He hud no sooner juitted the billiard-room, after receiving Et the coat from Noel, aud hanging it upon lo the rack, than I took hold of it, in seeming playfulness, during which I also ti searcned every one of the pockets, only pi to find them empty." ti "What then, can have become of the tc missing paper? exclaimed Boncourt, in a n< ipj-t of exasperation. aJ "I can oaly think wo have been wrong, ai n our theory o! Noot ?*er having had it h: n his fossesgion." "Nonsense! Le must have it. Jasper lasn't got it, that's certain. I haven't ?ot it, that is equally certain. Gilbert J( Marlowe hasn't seized and di-Btroyed it, !0r lie Is more alarmed over its disappear. . ince than any one else, and doubt''0g<, j vi imagines it (o le either in my po'""^tsssion. or in Jasper's. 1 bore is uo other theory 01 tenablo, 6ave that lyoel still in some way possesses it unawares." w Adele shook her head. w "By heaven! I won't give Tip the 0 search. My power over Marlowe?per- jj haps, even, the very consummation of y your marriage-depends upon my finding Sl end securing it." b "You may bo right," paid his sister, j gloomily. "I confess now to a feeling of y insecurity myself. Why, Noel almost ? quarreled with Lord Squanderall as to v which of them should accompany that [; girl and her old father home this evening, and that under my very eyes." n There was, at least, one other who 0 shared Boncourt's impressions concern- D ing the whereabouts of the missing pa- f, per. This was Jasper Marlowe, to whom was faithfully repoited everything that d had happened, a few hours later, t>y hie faithful follower, Dip. a "Ah!" w?s Jasper's self-satisfied exclamation at that time. "They have failed, B with all th^ir cunning, to be |ure. But i ( Noel must still have that paper, and I will v yet Becure itl" j CHAPTER XX. 1 tVB'o C un o !>?*?<* | When Gwendoline nnd her father re- c turned to their humble home in the upper t part of tho Marlowe manBioa, utter j spending the greater portion of tho day i c ht Boiicourt's oniertaiureeut, the former ! v R.-t neiseir at>our preparing tDeir modest even.u-c meal, arcorcliui; to her custom. And now an umvon'ed silence, almost t of sadness, po-hessed her while thus en- j y > ago ?. Her father, however. did not no- | li e it (,b 6 <1 ays of character-reading and ( penetration being pretty well over, poor i but went on ch .tiering and mut- | T tering enough for two, nn had latterly i f been his custom. It was pitiable to Bee. ' He teeme t to lo>t all that biunt- t ing ft ar of the future that had so over, j p burdened and dintres-ed him at the time j ? ol his di?uu&-:al from Mr. Marlowe's em* ' ? : - 'oyroent. He appeared cheerier t ban then, ! at the same time he seemed less dignied. He went on chatting ramblingly, nt chiefly concerning the entertainment, 'hich naturally led him into enthusiastic zpatiatioQB upon the perfections of Jasline Lodge, and on what a glorious thing : would be if he could once more call it is own. "Surely, Gwenny," said he, rubbing his ands, "there is not such another place of ts pretensions on the entire coast-line rom Dover Head to the Isle of Wight! Tot 6uch another?not such another!" he apeated, dreamily. "It is pretty enough?that is, without ntertainments of a certain kind, for rhich I have no fancy," assented Gweuoline, while spreading the table-cloth. "Ah, but you are right, Gwenny! There as no decent music whatever, ana there as altegelhor too much' drinking and ard-plttyiog, and that innovation of th? linstrel-sliow, with the ridiculous imp 1 attendance?that was in a taste which cannot countenance. But, bless you, bald! we were higk'y honored in being ivited there." "Doubtless." "What! Why, a few days ago I could ot have dreamed of such an honor! And len what sort of entertainment, how>ever questionable, could mar the beauty f those divine grounds? Never, in even ly reoollection, did the parterres look o ravishing as to-day. Oh, the flowers, be flowers! I felt like rolling among lem?like smothering beneath them? ke drinking in their odorous breathing* 111 died!" Her sidelong glance was full of proHind nitv nn clie saw him clafD his with red hands in a species of ecstasy. "And to think, he went on again, after pause, as if half speaking to himself, .0 think that bnt a little consenting word om my Gwenny'e lips would make thig iff-wonder, this patch of paradise, all are again! All ours again, with money ) support it in bocoming style! It seemi ke a dream?like a dream! He stole a timid glance at her M h? dished epe* kin fir, but she made so iut> irer. Bints of this kind from herfathe/ ad been giowing more and more fre* nent and explicit day by day of late, id, though they had not ceased to giv? er pain, she seldom answered them an] ore. But her silenco in tbe present instance semed to cause him more than usual un? isinesB. "Did Noel return to the houBe with the ?t of 'is this evening?" he presently iked, as though feeling forced to change le subject. "Only part cf the way," replied Gwen)line." "He went oil* with Sir Harry 'ilding. I hear that he will not be back ?r several days?that fiom The Beechel 5 will accompany sevoral gentlemen on trip to London before returning home." "That is odd. I should have thought >'d have como home first, to make some reparations. By the way, Gwenny, did did you not sadden him in some way?" "I suppose 1 did," replied Gwen, a iite abruptly, as she finished setting the ible and began steeping the tea. "Noel as put out because 1 preferred Lord junndeiall's escort to his. He's perctly absurd. Tea is re:idy, father." The old gentleman drew up to the table. "Might ?might I ask, Gwenny," he ked, with becoming meekness, "while e fastened his napkin under his chin, low he's absurd?" "What a question!" cried G^en, trying laugh, as she poure.1 out the tea "13 ! not notorious that llr. Noel Mftrlowe j 4 a Via f A ATnrJnr'u j CU^IIL;CU lU UC Uimnvu v v i jnceviile? Why, then, should bo make i pretense of caring for me, by fits and j arts, as be does? She remarked it as 1 ) were lending the Lodge to-day, and ust have felt mortified over it. And 10 could blame her for feeling 60?" "True, true; I didn't think of that, tvenny. I'm so forgetful, and you are ways right. How delicious this tea is. d even the toast seems better than ual. Yes, yes. By the way, Gwenny, w oddly one thing will bring on an' her! Do you know, there was some e else, as we were all struggling home Blether, who also seemed greatly put out . the attentions that you were receiving ' )m Lord Squnndernll, which, of cours?, ire without significance, he being a real 1 rd, and the grandson of a duke on his I jther's sid*?," Gweu made no answer, but looked i tie impatient. "I say, Gwenny, did?did yon not hear lat I 6aid?" he again ventured, after i use. "-Yes.xei." "But the perBon l rererrea to was .Lavr Croak himself, Gwenny. It is odJ see a man at his ago so hopelessly in re, I know. But then I suppose he els himself, by this time, somewhat ivileged with regard to you, and when i saw himself suddenly altogether igired, as it were, for the sako of that lardless lord.'ing, who, of course, could it dream of a marriage outside of his rn sphere, why, it 6eems but natur.nl at the poor, love-lorn old man should el somewhat desolate, somewhat " "Father! fathor!" burst out fro.ra wendoline, staitn>in? her foot nndc? ie table, and Ci-.Shlfig her eyes upon iai; "will you ha^e done? Or what is it iat you are raring about?" He looked up, somewhat startled, but ill retaining a modicum of hiB quertu usness. "What can you mean by speaking of tat horrid old man in connection with a rivilege regarding me, father?" connued the girl, striving to temper hci Km* "PrnV fin ilie, uui nun u?>~ "J ? | Dt encourage any more of his visits, ' id that will be the end of it. I'm weary I id sick of enduring him as long as I j nve." "But Gwendoline, my daughter, yon ' tally cujjuwi uiuoll?~ I mean just what \ ;uy> father, and if on doa 11*^ u<. u t0 keep nway. I shall." "Dear me! whnt -will become of ns? J *ve been cherishing the thought thai )u might really come to like him?that> trough you, we might become prosper, as and care free once more." "I presume you hove," she exclaimed, ith (:B nearly a tone of contempt as his eak senility and selfishness ever wrung ut of her voice, "but it is not my fault you hive been self-deluded. I told ou from the first that I would only conent to be complacent with him in the ope thfit it might permanently mollify Ir. Marlowe's harduess toward you. 11 ra< wrong in ine to go even tnai rar, uui u as nil for your sake, father. If eithex on or Mr. Croak have built fictitiously hereon, the fault does not rest with rue.'* "But Mr. Marlowe has remained and rill remain unmollified," complained the Id man, wringing his hands. "This will aake Croak as pitiless ns he?he'B a perBCt fiend when thwarted!" "And yet you would urse me, your own laughter, to be his wife!" "Ah, I am too oil to work anymore, nd we shall be turned into the street!" 'But 1 am not too old to work, fnther, nd we shnll net be turned into the street, iood old Aunt Joan says we can live nth her as long as ts choose, and that ou can help ber eons in mending fish lets for our 1 oe fury nor revenge of 6uch a man. If I were, indeed, decided to mnrry where I did not love, my choice at least should present the belongings of a gentleman?of such a one aa offered me his hand to-day." "What?what can you mean, Gwenny? Some one else has asked you to marry him?" "I should not have spoken of it," said she, biting her lip and reddening. "You have been trying my patience so muah; think no mcceof it." "But who made you that offer, my child? come, I am.your father, you must tell me." "Lord Squanderall." "You rave! He has just come to hia title ?a duke's grandson?a peer of the realmJ Ah, I understand. Boncourt'fl wine was strong, and you ore not responsible for your youth and beauty, my child." "You mistake, in several waya, father," ftfiid Bhe, quietly. "Lord Squauderall ii of ncf. antl thoronohlv contemptuous oi caste restraints. He was not under the influence of wine, either. He had been drinking at luncheon, but was perfectly sober and earnest, when escorting me home, at which time his offer was made." "Hurrah! I feel young again. What! a lord, a peer of the realm for a son-in-law? You're right, my darling child! Whistle old Croak down the wind?I'll help you! Tothinkof his presumption?the crooked, knock-kneed, hideous, deformed old brule!" At this instant, Mr. Croak himself entered the room. Mr. Alworth'B sudden hilarity had been so boisterous that no preliminary knock had been heard, if, tnat tne appearance ^ . Jt wai rather startling to Gwendoline and hez father. "Good-evening, good-evening!" 6nuffled Mr. Croak, smilingly shambling into the room, hat in hand. "I must have been expected, for it struck me that my name was being mentioned as I approached the door. Or waB it but fancy?the feathery outcome of a lover's teeming fancy? No, no; I see by your faces I was expected, and here I am." Then he coo'lly laid down his hat, drew a chair up to the tablo, and expressed the hope that Miss Alworth would not make his tea too sweet. [TO BE CONTINUED.! POPULAR SCIENCE. A machine makes 2000 corks an hour. The great Lick telescope reveals about 100,000,000 of stars. Snails have a sort of ribbon with which they rasp their food as with t, file. Palmetto is claimed to be the only wood that is proof against the attacks of the drcade'd teredo. To effect the respiration of a carp, 13.300 arteries, vessels, veins, bones, valves, etc., are necessary. xV German professor claims to have discovered the bacteria which causes baldness by destroying the roots of the hair. Sir "William Thomson condemns the single-wirs system of electric lighting on shipboard, on the ground that, in spite of every care, the compasses are affected. Rccent explorations in Greenland have developed the fact that north of the seventy-fifth degree the land in the valleys covered with ice 5000 to 6000 feet in thickness. Every year a layer of the sea, fourteen leet thick, is taken up into the clouds. The wind3 bear their burden into the land and the water comes down in rain upon the fields, to flow back through rivers. Analysis of individual beets indicate that maturity, more than size, determines the sugar contents of the beet. A high weight of leaves, as compared with the roots, was no evidence of higher sugar content, but rather the reverse. The heat produced from the light of a fire-fly is only one per cent, ot an equal amount of candle-light. The bug's light is produced by a chemical action, as it is increased by putting the fly in oxygen and diminished in an atmosphere of nitrogen. The size of an adult Englishman's head is said to average No. 7. The heads of Portuguese average from 6$ to 7; those of Spaniards are a little larger, and those of Japanese exceed the English average. Germans have round heads, Malays small ones. Two marked improvements have recently been made in the use of gas for lighthouse illumination. One is a proCCi3 of cnrioklntr nnri" Kit tbn nf 1>Va ! "j -.r- -j nrocarhons nad heated air, the other is the n6?v dioptric lens, It wns lCng thought that the water from melted snow wi/> ntprn .-mfl turn. four or more V"" "v ? > - j amidships, as may be needed. Theu the pumping upparatus is set at work on the wrecking tub, and it is claimed that the water in the pontoons can be forccd ' out through the outlet at the bottom at the rate of forty barrels a minute, aud that in eight minutes the sphere will be filled with air and be floating ou the surface of the water. The wrecked vessel is no{ raised above the water, but is brought near the surface. In this manner the vessel is towed to the nearest port and uiaccd in dry dock.?Ne c York Ucra'sl. ' An Opinion That is an Opinion. ilj! IBN S Wellington?"Do you think it will . - " .1-1. 411 rain before we get duck* ( Farmer?"IIoty loug are you going to be?" | Swcllicgton?"On, an hour or two." i Farmer?"Well, my opinion is that it I ngav anil it may not."?Argosy. "Why Milk ami Thunder Don't Mix. Professor Tolomei, an Italian chemist, concludcs that the ozone produced by electric discharges in a thunder storm I coagulates milk by oxidizing it and generates lactic acid. Mr. Treadwcll, of I the Wesleyan University, in discussing I this, states that the action is uot a mere I oxidation, but is in part produced by the growth of bactcria, which is very rapid in hot, sultry weather.?Philadelphia Etcord. The application of rubber to wheel tires has prove 1 a great boon to bicyclists, aud the incre;isc in this brauch of industry is remarkable. There are 100,000 bicycles made every year in this couniry, and 40,000 more are imported. As all these have tires of the best rubber, it can be seeu that ? good percentage of the world's suppl/ is absorbed in this way. 1 "WORDS OF TVISDOM. ^ Vices and virtues often live very cloflj together. A smart man can learn a good deal from a fool. People who think too little are sore to talk too much. V/\ 11 r>ar* foil Kir fllO TlATlAtr TJirhpTO fllAr bees have been. The lightning is as full of mercy as the gentle shower. Character is something that cannot bo burned up or buried. True faith never goes home until it gets what it went after.. The richest people on earth are those who give away the most. It is better to see "men as trees walking" than not to see at all. The only way to keep from backslid* ing is to keep sliding forward. The first effect of a blessing on a man is to make him more thankful. The more we do to help others the ii?i.x? i j? _:n iiguiur uur uwu uurucus \ym uctv/uio? There is a pleasure greater than making money, and that is in giving it away. , There are parents "who work for their children too much and talk to them too little. Where there is the right kind of faith. there is sure to be the right kind of works. The woman who talks about her neighbors is no worBC than the one who listens. If an alligator could talk he woold probably declare that he had a small mouth. *i The man -who seeks for truth will never find very much of it while walking on stilts. ? i fit. -11 Vf. ISO man can worts, wilu uu uu ucan. and soul for anything he does not believe to be true. The man "who never makes mistakes misses a good many splendid chances to learn something. About the only time some people speak well of some other people is after they are dead and buried. The man who starts oqt to be a reformer had better be well prepared for all kinds of roads and weather. If poor men knew how hard rica men have to work, and how little they get for doing it, they wculd be better s&tuk fled. The difference between a man's sphereand a woman's is that the woman does the most work and the man gets the mast salary. The man who knows that he was on&kind of a fcol yesterday very often has a suspicion that he is some other kind of a fool to-day.?Indianapolis (Ind.j Ram'p Horn. .... A Famous Ruby. Of the gems found in Ceylon the ruby is of most value, and has at times secured the highest prices. Rejecting as a traveler's tale the assertion of Marco Polo, that he saw a Ceylon ruby the sizoof a man's arm, says the Times of India^ it may be interesting to recall what is related of another Ceylon ruby, in connection with the pari played unwittingly ia the rise of a family tnat was or note in a subsequent period in the history of the Dutch Republic. A "Chetty" physician beoame the owner of a large ruby, said to have been the size of a small curry-stuff grinding stone. Cutting it into pieces and retaining the larger portions, he presented the' Dutch Governor of Colombo, Imhoff. with eighteen buttons set with the smaller pieces. Imhoff, not unmindful1 of gratitude, promptly exalted the donor to the proud position of First Malabar Mudalayar of the Gate, a title of honor still retained, and about equivalent to a Lord Lieutenancy of a county in England. This rise in rank, however, stirring into restless action the dormant energies of the Chetty, the Governor was at last glad to get rid of his protege by tranjS- : forming him into a dignitary learned in the law, and presenting him with a seat ' as Judge of the Supreuis Court in Java. This gentleman was grandfather to Dr. Quint Ondaatjee, alluded to in Allison's "History of Europe" as the great democratic leader. Whatever, however, the value attached to the Ceylon rubies in the past or the present, it should be noted that really valuable ones have ever been scarce, and they cannot vie in comparison with some Burmese specimens.Tito Desert Plants. A plant peculiar to this portion of the Colorado desert is a frail and supple tree,' almost leafless, but with a tender flower of a satiny bloom, closely set and backing each other. Two tiny petals are surrounded by four larger, which overlapthcmselves. They are not unlike the Santa Cruz immortelles, and like them scentless. What would at first appear tobe the leaves ot the plan* are in reality the starting of new twigs, and when they have rcached the length of two inches they rapidly develop these diminutive flowers in almost continuous clusters tothe parent stem. Most pleasing to the eye3 are the small bright green leaves of a dwarfish box plant with a flower as yellow as Scottish heather or the golden buttercups which enliven fat meudowlands. It is a gay little tree, aud its foliage and bark glisten as if freshly varnished. The leavesare thickly set, and their vivid green enhances the flaunting yellow of its blossom. It emits a peculiar odor and formsa singular contrast to the other shrubbery,, for it belongs more to the laurel family than to the sage.?San Franciico Chronicle. Two Military Giants. Comparatively few persons know that the Worth monument in Madison Square, besides being a monument to the 4tbrav- -. est of the brave'' whom "amor patriet ducit," is a tombstone as well. But it is: William Jenkins Worth, a gallant, and successful soldier, sleep? underneath the obelisk whereon his battles are sculptured, and hundreds of thousands towhom the monument is a daily sight know notbiu^ of the man to whom it was raised. At one time Worth waaaidc to General Scott; Scott was six feet four inches in height, Worth six feet two inches. Scott admits that he considered himself hsudsonu*; Worth was acknowledged tc be the handsomest man in the army. A glorious sight the two giants must have made as they walked in the gorgeous uniforms of half a centiry ago down Broadway to army headquarters, or sauntered among the bloods and fair j ladies of those davs.?New Tori: Sun. _