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f' &PRTNO. BT FLORENCE JOBEPHDIB BOTC* The springtime is coming, The wild be? is humming, The brown earth is spotted with green; The robins arc singing, The warm breezes flinging Sweet odors the mountains between. Tile willows are dipping And nodding and dripping, Along whore the water cress grows; ? Bright s mi beams are glancing, Sweet wild flowers entrancing. On banks where the mountain-stream flows The crocn9 is creeping, And cautiously peeping, To learn if tne weather is cold; The daffodil, sighing, Ib every way trying To peep its head up thro' the mold The fern and sweet clover Think best to wait over Till lilies and roses appear; When skies will be clearer, And summer songs nearer. They promise again to be here. WAitsfietd, Vt. ' TEBANKERS CRIME; Diamond Cut Diamond. BY NATHAN D. UBNEB. - . CHAPTEK XXXVHI.?(Continned.) At this moment a diversion was occasioned by the rueful entrance of Manrice, who had picked himself up out of hit .mock-down at the head of the stairs, and came into Yiew with a most palpable nlargement of one side of his head. Indeed, he presented snch a profound* ly dismal appearance that his master, Instead of sympathizing with him, burst Into a laugh. A moment later there was a loud, crash* lag sound from somewhere below, and Dip came bounding up the stairs and in* : ' to the room. "What do you mean?" cried Boncourt, t angrily. "How dare you quit the gate -without orders?" "I didn't quit it till the police broke it 2D, sir," 'was ine laconic jnsiincaiion. < "The police?" Everybody turned toward the open dooi with more or lets excitement. Tea; sure enough two guardians of the night were even then ascending the stairs. But it was soon made known that theii -errand was not of a hostile, though of a Pud and alarming nature, "What iB it?" said Boncourt, slipping his weapon oat of sight and coming promptly forward. "Beg pardon, sir; no offense intended,* aid one of the policemen, touching hie /.' helmet. "Sorry to disturb you, and ouldn't well help breaking the gatechain. Man just picked up dead in the gtreet?dress and general appearance of a gentleman, sir?passer-by Baid he saw him come out of your yard-gate but short time ago?thought might have left some friends in here?brought the body into the yard for identification. No offense meant, "I know of no such person," said Boneourt, coldly; though it flashed upon him at once as to who the dead man might be. "It must be Rollingstone!" whispered Sir Harry, in a shocked, altered voice, to 4* JSfoel. TT^-^Ctfme; let us get out of this accursed plaoe. Leave the paper till another time; there is no proving tn&t tms uonooun procured it to be stolen, just now." He gave a significant ei.^n to the rest of his mends, and they all 6ilently withdrew, viewing with shudders the remaine >^9t |he unfortunate man as they passed through the yard? 1 Jasper was the last to steal away, and he did so unaccompanied, for he had now eome to be viewed with distrust and distike by Noel and hiB friends. As be was passing into the garden then vas a touch upon bis arm. It was given him by Dip, who had followed him ud? perceived. Hush!" whispered the lad, with hi? ^ finger upon his lips. "Boncourt has no mspicion of me as yet. I shall purloin the paper irom mm at me nrsi cuunue. Where shall I bring it to you, when I get it?" Jasper reflected a moment, and came to a sadden resolve. "I will do what I should have done ere this," said be. "I will have a competent lawyer accompany me, and face Gilbert Marlowe in bis own house 6ome time in ^thiB new day that we are entering upon If you obtain the paper, Dip, lurk about his house in the early evening till you Me me, when you can place it in my hands." "Do not doubt me, my dear master," was the soft reply. "It shall be in youi hands on the evening of this coming day," He then slipped back into the house. A moment later, Jasper was bending ?rer the remains of Eollingstone, which vere lying noar the gate, with a police-man guarding them. "This is the body of a man with whom -I was acquainted," said he to the police man. after a Dause. "His name was Eollingstone; he lived a long time at the Surrey Inn, Gresham street, Holborn. Here is some money. Have the remains taken to that address, and leave word that I will some time during the day call there, and attend to their disposition." The policeman took the money tenflpTpd to him. and said that he would I comply with these instructions. Then Jasper passed into the street, feellnc Bad and miserable. The hackney coaches hr.d both disap. seared, and the streets seemed absolutely deserted. He determined to returr to the ini leisurely on foot; CHAPTER XXXIX. A CHAPTER OF 6UHPIU6ES. It was a long distance from Burtoi treet, West End, to Gresham street. Bolborn, but Jasper was in the thoughtful, melancholy mood that is oftentimet incentive to a long and lonely ramble. On and on through the Bilent deserted Wilderness of streets, he kept the evex tenor of his way, with nothing but th< hollow echoing of his own footsteps ti break the stillness of the dark hours preceding the surest dawn, and wholly un. conscious of being dogged and shadowec -with evil intent. Yet, none the less was he being tracked After his summary ejection from th< Crystal Palace gardens, Wormer had per. latently lain in wait for his marked man, ?oa from bat moment had lost no oDoor tamity of persistently dogging his foot, cteps; and he was noiselessly following / him dow, in company with such ruffiani ?s he had suborned to his purposes. Be it was who had eeen, with revengeful satisfaction, the drunkard Boilingstone fall deadi n the street, and who hac subsequently given tbe policemen the information upon which thev had acted Be it was, with his attendant minions, ho was now following Jasper 6ilently, surely, with personal hatred, as well at the desire for gain, to stimulate the fet pursuit, and greedily studying every devi. at ion of tbe intended victim's course. ' ever}- swerve in tbe direction or tlx poorer aud more contracted localities. < which would be act to afford bim th? requisite security and advantage fox ^rhich he longed. JaBper was but little familiar with liontfon, though he had a pretty good general idea of tbe direction he should pursue. At last, after he had left the ultra fashionable quarter a considerable distance behind, he turned into a com"p parat vely narrow and dingy street, both si'.ies of which seemed to be occupied by shops of a respectable but unpretention?su.: , , , . . wnen ne had arrived rn iront of one of l#bose, in the vicinity of a poorly turning street-lamp, ana was proceeding leisurely, with his hekd si gb:ly lowered, be urae surprised by receiving a light touch . on the forehead, us if caused by a hand ! reaching steaitnny over hm irom befcicd. ( The first natural impulse under 6uch cir- i [ cumstances, even before the one to wheel around, is to throw back the head, in or der to look up in the direction whence the touch appears to have come. Jasper obeyed this impulse now. Almost at the same instant his throat was encircled from behind by what seemed a band of steel, the Adam's annle was crusnea inward witn stming rorce, a rigid knee was rammed into the small of his back, and he at once became unconscious. In other words, ho had been very skill, fully and expeditiously garroted. But two men were directly concerned in the foul deed; but, as they silently lowered the unconscious body of their victim to the ground, another came running to them from the opposite side of the street. The latter was Wormer. ?'Quick, Bug I" he exclaimed, in a low but excited voice. "Up these steps with him. and into yonder doorway. It is a cieep one, ana we can mere Bearcn nrs person at leisure, without risk of interference." The men followed his directions, and the three together then began their search of their victim with systematio expertness. They were all doomed to bitter disappointment. With the exception of a few shillings, Jasper had given all the money he had had about him to the policeman standing guard over Rollingstone's remains; and, of coarse, the objeot of Wormer's special search was not forthcoming, for the very best of reasons, "It's a sell?an infernal blasted Bell!" muttered Bug, with an oath, as his fellowgarroter and he arose from their fruitless, or almost fruitless search. "Look'ee, BilL Four bobs and ninepence?not another stiver! A healthy swag for the risk we've run, ain't it?" The second ruffian echoed the oath and the disappointment, and stood scratching his head, with knitted brows. "Sftv vounc fellerl what are you eoing to do about iff" he growledj turning grimly upon Wormer. The latter, having fully satisfied himself that he had wrought crime to no purpose?that the paper which he sought was nowhere to be found on the prostrate man's nereon, had arisen despairingly, and was" now standing in the doorway, white, and with great drops starting out upon his face. "I don't know what to do," he gasped, staggering out under the street-lamp again. "I?I suppose I've been on a false scent all along. Curse it all! I feel all npset!" And he began to move off down the street, "Hold on! That won't do, my little man!" cried Bug, following him, threateningly, as did also the other ruffian. "You promised us how we should find enough swag on that cove to pay us for our riBk, and we lookB to you for to make odd eveD." "Ha! that we does, my little swell!" echoed the other. "Blast you, don't try to walk us into society, or we'll slug you! Hodds must be made heven, so shell right out! You've got the needful, if the throttled chap was without it!" "What do you mean?" said Wormer, greatly frightened, and now as much intent upon reaching a less lonely locality as he had before been to avoid it "Come; let us hurry on, and talk it over as we go." isot another step!" growled Bug, suddenly hustling him into the mouth of a gloomy court that they chanced to be passing, while "Bill," as he had been : designated, gripped him by the collar. "Come; you're in with ua for that last job, bo you daren't holler. Fork over!" We have Been before this that Wormer's eowardice was in keeping with bis villainy. "Heavens! you wouldn't rob me?me, your hirer?" he exclaimed, in an agony of fear. "Stand off! Do you forget the ten pounds you've already had of me, Bug? Off, I say! What! you think me afraid to make an outcry? You think " A brutal laugh cut him short, and then two heavy blows, given in swift succession, felled him. It thug happened that the robber was robbed, and almost within a stone's throw of the doorway in which he had ruthlessly left the insensible form of his own victim but a few minutes before. Wormer had also been rendered senseless. He came to himself at abont daylight, and, rising with difficulty, Btaggered out of the court in which he had beer, left lying, stiff-jointed, bruised, with his clothing stained and torn, and to find himself completely despoiled of every remaining shilling of the hundred pounds be had received of the banker, and also of his gold watch and chain, his shirt-stnds, his cuff-buttons, and every other article of value that he had possessed. Nemesis had been Bignally exact and impartial in settling with him, and his despair ana moiciucuuuu vtvu w imagined. "Nothing left!" he groaned, surveying his plight most dismally. "Not a Bhilling ?not a penny! "Why, it's a wonder the hounds even left me the clothes on my xax back! Thev sooke but trulv in saving mat i an re a noi inaKe an outcry attne time. No; and I dare not do so now?I dare not even lodge a complaint against them!" Then he dolefully dragged himself away, trying, finally, to bring to mind some London acquaintance from whom he could borrow the price of a return ticket to Highcombe, The restoration of -Jasper to his senses was attended by circumstances much more agreeable, and scarcely less astonishing. The garrcter had not done his work bunglingly, but with neatness and dispatch; and the insensibility into which, the victim had, in this instance, been thrown was profound, but not dangerous. It was likewise soon after daylight when Jasper gradually experienced a return to consciousness. His first eensa lion was mai 01 some one opening ms shirt-collar, and otherwise ministering gently to him; and then he felt a soft hand applying water to his forehead. He opened his eyes and sat up, to find himself in a large doorway or veatibule, with his wants being attended to by young woman, evidently a servant, who had a bowl of water in h?r hands. "Where am I?" muttered Jasper, drawing his hand across his eyes. "Ah, I begin to recollect. 1 must have been choked and robbed on the street, and then dragged into this plaoe." "Yes sir; 80 it struck me when I found you here a short time ago." aaid tha young woman, who spoke with a slightly foreign accent. "I at once ran up-stairs and told znadame, my mistress, who is also accustomed to early rising. She is dressing now. I am to do everything I can for you, and then show you into our reception-room, until 6he comes to see if you need a physician." "Your mistress must be an extremely kind-hearted woman," said Jasper, getting upon bis feet, and discovering that, witn the exception of a' faintnens and a slight nausea, he had come to no great harm. "My mistress is Madame Lamont, the richest said most fashionable milliner in this part of London," said the youuy woman, with a touco of pride. "She is, moreover, the kindest and the best of ladies. But I see you are bett-ei now. Come in. Madame will maVe von some coffee with her own pretty hands, and then yon can go on your way." They entered a broad, neatly kept hallwav, when Jasper was ushered into a front parlor that was taBtily furnished, though some evidences of the milliner's vocation were here and there to be seen, and some folding-doors, slightly ajar, betrayed the interior of a 1 tiijer adjoining room that seemed fitted up as a shop or workroom. Ti.e girl signed Jasper to seat himself, and then, after saving a few more hastv words, quitted the room. In about ten minutes she relumed, smiling. "Here is madame, sir," she said, stepping back -with an air of pride, as a sin. nnlarlv attractive but melnncholv-lookinp lady of iniddle-age stepped past her, with a look of gentle concern on hei sweet face. Bnt as soon as her eyes rested npon the etranger she started back, turning very pale, while Jasper sprang to his feet in no leBS amazement. "Isabel, my wife!" he exclaimed. "What! do I meet you thus, and here? But no, it cannot be! This is happiness too great? too little merited!" "Jasper, my love, my husband!" she cried. "Ah, but heaven is too good to me!" And then, heedless of the wondering servant's presenoe, they rushed into eacfc other's arms. I will not attempt to describe the rap* tnres, the ectneitaof this marvelously for. tunate reunion of the long-sundered pair, or to more than glance at the nature of the explanations that ensued. An hour later they were smilingly seat* ed at breakfast, in an upper apartment, with Clarice, the servant, in joyous attendance. "You have forgiven me everything, my darling, and it Beems like a dream t? think that we still have love and happiness in 'store for us," said Jasper, "fiul my curiosity impels me to seek information upon one point as yet unexplained.* "What is it, my own? "I have hintod that the villain, Gilbert, succeeded in making me jealous?in making me think that you no longer cared for me. He showed you to me in intimate conversation with a gentleman whom I had never seen before. It was in our garden; the man was younger and hand* comer than I; you seemed to betray an attachment ?or him; I could even detect you in tho act of giving him money. Oh, Isabel, forgive me! I was wild. Itwai repref ented to me that he was your lover!' "He was my foster-brother, Jasper. Ton r.arried me. vou will remember. tinder the impression that I had no living relatives. Tcere van, however, this fos? ter-brothei. I did not wish yon to know of his existenoe, because he had become dissipated and even disreputable. I had still, however, some regard for him, through childish associations. "He took advantage of my commisera* tion to occasionally visit me, and solicit pecuniary aid. On the day you refer to. I was bidding him farewell forever, and had determined to never assist him again. His gambling scrapes had just compelled him to sell out his commission in the Horse Guards His story was a pitifrl one, but I remained immovable. 1 gave bim cn that day no more than his fare to London; and from that day to this Captain Bolliagstone has been unable to discover my whereabouts. At least " "Captain Bollingstone! he your foster* brother?" cried Jasper. Then further explanations took place. And, a few hours later, the most thor. ough understanding having beeu arrived at between the reunited couple, they sel out in each other's company to carry oul a line of conduct that had been determined upon, chiefly through the spirited Sood sense and clear-sighted advice of [rs. Jasper Marlowe, theretofore known for many Tears in her London environ* ments as Madams Lamontj the fashion* able and suocessful milliner. This was, in brief, to first make arrange* ments for the decent interment of thi miserable Bollingstone's remains, an! men sees competent. iegai uuvice ub n the beBt and most expeditions coarse to be pursued in bringing Gilbert Marlow* 'ana his accomplice, Lawyer Croak, tf justice; and ia 1 bis last regard it wat fortunate that they decided to place theii case in the hands of Mr. James Hart, well, attorney-at-lnw, whose name has ai. ready bean honorably alluded to in this narrative. __ CHAPTER XL. "I HATE NO XiONQEB A FATHER: YOU HATE Nt LONGER A SON." It is now about dusk in the evening ol the same day, which is Frid-iy, and yet, though the" incidents t>f our story haTt barely covered a space of six days, they ore already culminating to their natural and revealing close. Gilbert Marlowe and Lawyer Croak are seated in the private ofll.f<e of the former's banking establishment. Not withstand* ing that they have just dined luxuriously, they nr^both in a decidedly morose and uncertain 6tate of mind. The baffled and crestfallen Wormer has buf recently quitted'their presence, nfiei recounting'the miserable results of his London machinations, beside^ affording them several sufficiently disquieting hints, to the effect that Loncourt is probably ere this in possession of the long missing and deeply incriminating piece ol writing, which they have so much reason to dread, and fully prepared to make use of it, as an expression of his power, with but little delay. Then, during the morning, the bankej had received a telegram from Noel, partly to the effect that he may be expected home in the evening, but' otherwise ol such a tone ana nature as to occasion the recipient both anger and alarm. "What can the young marplot have frmrirl nnt do tou snnnose'/'' he had ex claimed, upon showing the dispatch to Croak, who had chanced to be present then, as now. "He s ijb that he bag found out Adele's true character, and summarily broken his engagement with her. Then he adds that Boncoort has turned out to be a common swindler and a thief, who has robbed him of a remarkable and accusatory paper that was in his possession. "And he concludes by saying that ha will require of me?of nie, his own father, the insolent young coxcomb!?a full explanation as to how I have conspired to entrap him into a marriage with uch a person as Adele, and a divorced vobm at that, knowing her to be such, before he can, with self-respect, accord me the duty and affection which has hereI Vmfiw -fnrn icViarl mo o mv rlriA Zounds! Is the pupp.v beside himself? I'll cut him off with a shilling!" "No, you won't," had been the lawyer's rather 'dogged reply; "and, as for what Noel had found out, it seems to me the dispatch is explanatory enough in itself, or we can supply its deficiencies. Be has, in the first place, all along had that tell* tale paper in his possession; we have, consequently, be?n altogether 'out' in accepting Wormer's ridiculous theory, and we shall doubtless soon learn from that self-sufficient ass of the entire failure of his machinations against Jasper." "Yes, and my hundred pounds will nnve gone for nothing," the banker interrupted, with a groan. "Let me go on. Then Boneourt has, by some sharp practice, filched the paper from Noel, who had doubtless theretofore mastered enough of its contents to lower both you find me perceptibly in his esteem. Then in his turn Noel has like* wise discovered the true character of Boneourt and his sister, has indignantly repudiate 1 her, as a consequence, and is naturally not very gratified with your paternal conduct in the affair. "ThiB is the whole thing in a nutshell, depend upon it. liesults. easily enough imaginedf ICoel coming back to Highcombe in a highly undutiful and unfilial temper; Boneourt also coming back, to press his advantage upon us, and especially upon you, in demanding the fulfillment of your son's contract with Adele, in Bpite of everything, on pain of Bealing your ruin and disgrace by publication of the infernal paper; and, like aK not, Jasntr also coming back (if not killed by NVormer's ruffians), perbapB with legal assistance, to contribute his share to the general upheaval. Oh, it will be a wakened wasp's nest for both of us!" 1 Then Mr. Marlowe had groined, Borne lively recriminations had followed, and these had been succeeded by painful hours, whose anxiety and ouspense were only to be aggravated by the ominous ar' rival of Wormer. who had fuiallv man. agea to peg a return-ride ot one of the railway guards, and even whose geniua for lying had been inadequate or unavailing to soften the rough edges of his report. So that now, at dusk of this momentous Friday, we find both the banker and hia confedernte in a decidedly gloomy condi tion, ana narajy Knowing wuai next reTerse to expect. "Well, well, Gilbert, we are together, we can support each other, and there is some consolation in that," said Croak, after a long and painful silence had ensued. "I will not abuse you any more for your madness, your idiocy, in ever having written that miserable paper; though, were it not in existence, we should now be easy and secure." "Say no more of it, then," said Marlowe, harshly. "What is done is done? we must face it out, and that is the end of it. I have an idea?or I am trying to get one. Let me work it up." He paced the floor lor some moments, while Croak remained silent, and at length exclaimed: - "I think I have it. Croak. Should tbe Torst come to the worst, old AlworfE himself is our only hope." "Alworth?" "Yes. We've tried raining, crushing, and brow-beating the old fellow, witnout helping ourselves; suppose we try a little tiiillation, by way of variety. How wonld it do to buy him up? A few hundred might suffice." "It -won't work. But even if it were otherwise, how would this rid us of your self-accusation contained in that paper?" "Of course, I am going to repudiate . *e paper as a forgery?flatfootedly. A piece of writing from old Alworth, expressing bis utmost confleence in me, would go far to support my denial." "It can't be got. The girl is with him constantly?he is completelp at heh beck; and she would absolutely refuse to treat with us." "Have you given up the idea of marry, ing tne girl?" Gad) I should think so, for the present, at least. She won't speak to me, or, even let her father speak to me. What am I to do? They've got a comfortable home there with Aunt Joan and her sons; I don't see bow I can deprive them of that shelter." But the girl is bo spirited." "She. nevertheless. aDoears to be ta Ing ber time about seeking employment Boncourt's sister privileged them to make free with the Jasmine Lodge grounds, and father and daughter seem to spend most of their time in wandering and dreaming among the flowers and shrubberies there. I saw them moving about the grounds even after dark laBt evening." "This can't last, you know. We must see to it that the girl obtains no employ* ment, and then Ha! If you cculd only buy out old Joan, or in some way deprive the father and daughter of their last place of refuge." "I've thought of it, I've thought of it," Baid Croak, rubbing his hands. "The girl shall be mine, if misery and misfortune can drive her into my arms, depend upon itl But there are certain things I cannot quite understand. I've told you about Mrs. Beane's unaccountable freak in quitting my service and roof, in spite of my threats. Well, there's something stranger yet. She, likewise, has taken np her quarter's at Aunt Joan's." "Is it possible?" "Yes. Curse it all! If the old fishwife should undertake to meddle with my affaire But bar*! 'mere is a ring at the gate." "What if it should be Boncourt, come already to flaunt that accursed paper in our faces?" They looked at each other inquiringly, and waited in no little suspense. But it was not Boncourt, it, was Noel Marlowe who entered the office, a moment later. [TO EE CONTINUED.] POPULAR SCIENCE. Systole Is the contraction of the heart The QDDosite term is diastole. Liquid oxygen turns out to be blae. Hitherto it has been described as coloiless. In the city of Petersburg, Russia, it begins to freeze at the end of October, and a general thaw rarely takes place before the beginning of April. The French Society of Physiological Psychology proposes to investigate the phenomenon in which one imagines he sees or hears an absent person. A number of observations by two Italian microscopists justify the belief that trees exert considerable influence in filtering out bacteria brought by the wind. Sometimes a spider's bite may be both unpleasant and serious. An antidote found efficacious is bruised plantain leaves spread with cream and often renewed. The last complaint of the great gun ships is that their weapons often miss fire, owing to the failure of the two-foot long tube, containing the firing charge, to carry the spark. A layer of compressed vegetable parchment is being adopted by German engineers as a lining for bearings. The parchment is impregnated with mineral oil after frequent lubrication, and last3 a long time. folnnoAno ronnnf 1 rr JL 1IC IICW Cl J UifrbUl itii vwiuiwv^/w ivwvui'*j mounted in Paris has its tube bent at a right angle and the image of the sky formed by the object glass is reflected to the eye of the observer. It is the largest of its kind in the world, its optical powers being very fine and the images of the planets remarkably distinct. With the introduction of smokeless powders for rapid-fire guns charges will result in a decrease in the size of the powder chamber and a strengthening ot the walls of the chase. Smokeless powder charges, even when smaller than charges of ordinary powders, give the same chamber pressure,but higher pressures all along the bore. The base of celluloid is common paper; by action of sulphuric and nitric acid it is changed to guncotton, then dried, ground and mixed with from twenty to forty per cent, of camphor, after which it is ground fine, colored ' -with powder colors, cast in sheets, pressed very hard and at last baked botwoen superheated rollers. Hafpikess ia the result of oonfceotraent. He who has the most desires which he i3 unable to gratify is most wretched. Yet desire leads to achievement and unrest; though it be the synonym of uuhappiness, it is naturally the incentive of every good effort. Every noble work has grown out of a morbid di>content He who has no desire seeks no fulfilment, has no aspirations, is content himply to exist in a mobile state. It seems that unrest is a virtue which should not be disparaged. It is dissatisfaction with realities that sets us to forming ideals, and working to attain them. The most unhappy lives have been those which have been lived to the greatest purposes. "Hayfkvkb," said the Hodentor, at the Influenza Convention, "may b< likened to a tie vote." "Hear, hear I" cried the audience. "The eyes and aow both appear t; ha ve it" ) t THE MOSQUITO. THE SUMMER PEST MINUTELY EXAMINED. It is the Feminine Mosqnito That Docs Most of the Biting?A Fearfully and Wonderlully Made Proboscis. "I stood on the bridge at midnight," the anything but genial "mosquito," "musketo," "musquito," "musquetoe," "moschito," "moschetto," "mosquetto," "muschetto," "mushetto," or "musquetto," sings on these cool, damp evenings St. Louis has been enjoying during the past week. For such a very little pest the"mosquito"has more names and in more languages than any other living thing. Scientists variously call her the cousin, the culex pipiens, ailex Americanus, the moucheron, and the "bumming gnat." The Century Dictionary describes the insect of many aliases as "one of many different kinds of gnats or midges, the female nf hiten animals and draws blood. Persons given to attribute to the female sex all the gentleness and amiability there is in the world will bear this in mind. Mr. Mosquito is an easy-going, gorgeously arrayed creature, with neither the disposition lior the ability to bite animals and draw blood. He is a sort of Turveydrop in the insect world, who seems to have no higher object during hia brief life than "to show himself about town." His life, to be sure, is a short one, but then it is full of indolence' and luxury. He is expected to pay certain delicate attentions to his infinitesimal spouse, which she rewards when tired of him by giving him a short, sharp and fatal prod of the remarkable larce which she caries concealed in her proboscis. He is not provided with such a weanon. and is as much at her mercv ? r J ? as a boxer at that of a skilled swordsman. He is of gentle and perhaps amiable character. He lives oil a strictly vegetable diet, which may account for the absence of the bloodthirsty and ferocious ^ THE MALE MOSQUITO. spirit of his spouse. She can, at a pinch lead the life of a vegetarian; but what she wants is gore, piping hot gore, human, if she can get it, but never overlooking any change. The toughest hide that ever covered a horse or a steer does not intervene between the lady mosquito and her vampirish thirst. It is even doubted that Colonel Mosquito is given to vocal efforts. If he ever does join his consort in a nerve-destroying duet he sings very low and his performance is entirely overlooked, when the restless human appreciates the ease with -which my lady takes high C and holds it until driven out of the room by the exasperated wielder of a wet towel. Less is known about the origin of the mosquito's name tban of his babits, and Americans have no monopoly of information upon this latter phase of the subject. All climates claim the mosquito as pest in chief. On the uppor waters of the Missouri mosquitoes, after a rainy season, are the greatest impediment to navigation met with. They swarm by millions. Cattle are driven iu 'the river, and they stand with their muzzles alone held above the water, which are black with the pests. Pilots on the boats are forced to burn smudge fires. They are of every conceivable degree of minuteness, and no veil has fine enough texture to exclude them. Arctic explorers all write of suffering at the hands or rather stings of mosquitoe?. In England mosquitoes are called gnats, and on the Continent of Europe, cousins, moucherons and other names. The gnat belongs to the genus cuter. It is found 4n most of the temperate and tropical portions of the globe where man has penetrated. About thirty species are known in the United States . ? ' 5 J TTIE FEMALE MOSQUITO. In the human family the female is the more ornamental as well as the more amiable animal. In the insect world, particularly among mosquitoes, the reverse is the case. There are mosquitoes which continue their activities to the daylight hours and lavish *heir carresses principally on the tender foliage of tree? and aromatic plants. These principally inhabit woods and marshe3. The other varieties make themselves heard and felt during the night chiefly. The greater portion of their active existence is passed in or near human habitations. These are the varieties with which man is most intimately acquainted. But in all the species of the mosquito family the male apparently is the superior being. In grace and elegance of architectural construction, as well as ia variety and gorgeousnesjs of raiment, the male mosquito surpasses the femal#. The male also enjoys privileges and preroga* tives to which the female can never aspire?ccrtainly can never gain. The function which she performs in propagation of the species compels her to consume more food than he dots, and all this food she is obliged to get herself. In every essential particular she has to make her own and the family's living without the slightest aid from him. Such food as he requires for himself, which is neither large in quantity nor varied in quality, he picks up. Beyond that he does little except to display his charms and enjoy life. It is the female of the mosquito fajoi'j with which the human spe^ \ ' : '/V"; cies comes in most intimate contact. The * iemaie aoes Dy iar tne greater portion 01 ] the biting done by the family, aad the i warblings of the mosquito are those of 1 the female mosquito alone. i The mosquito fi^t appears.in the form < of an egg. The eggs are deposited in j the water by the mother mosquito. < Before doing this she crosses her hind t legs in the shape of a letter X. As the ? eggs are dropped they are caught by the < crossed le^s, the glutinous substance at- { taching to the eggs and holding them j together. The number of eggs laid by i one female before rising is very great. These eggs are arranged in the form of j a raft and left to ride on the water, shal- i THE LABY^E OP THE MOSQUITO. c low, stagnant fresh water usually being jj selected. By the additions made to the ? number of eggs the raft is converted into j a sort of a boat, and when the laying ^ process is all completed the boat consists of from 300 to 400 eggs. This is the first stage in the existence of the embryo mosquito. After the last egg is laid and the boat completed, the mother'f function, so far, at least, as regards this particular brood, ends, and the eggs are left to shift for themselves. A few days after the egg boat is lauched the larv? appear. These are of . an elongated, worm-like form, and come \ out of the lower end of the eggs, leaving , the empty shells forming the boat lying . on the surface of the water. The shell \ is soon destroyed by the action of winds . and water. When the larvae appear the . eggs are hatched. Most country readers , of this article have seen these larvae in immense numbers on the surface of stagnant water during the warm months. They are vulgarly called "wrigglers." Suspended from the suface of the water, with head downward, they are enabled 1 to breathe by means of a sort of tube 1 communicating with the trachea. The * appearance of the larvoe may be said to complete the second stage in the existence of the mosquito. From ten to fifteen days after the ap .in. i it. ? .ui. :? pearance 01 uie istvhj me pupa* awiic u entered upon. They take on a thin skin and roll around in the water, their motions being directed by a fin-like contrivance at the end of the tail. The quick, seemingly irregular movements of the pupae give them the name of "tumblers." They, too, are familiar to persons residing in the rural districts in the spring and [summer. The change of the lai*v? into {the pupae completes the third stage. MOSQUITO EMERGING PROM PUPA SHELL. J Between five and ten days after the ( pupae appear the last and most critical stage in the entire metamorphosis of the egg i into the perfect insect arrives. About this period the pupa skin bursts J opeD, and the mosquito takes its first look i at daylight. The pupa shell is in the i form of a boat, the opening appearing on the surface of the shell which is further- ( most from the water. The insects rises i slowly and deliberately until it at length balances itself on its tail. A small gust < of wind now or a slight eddy and the i shell boat would tip over, when the mosquito's active existence would cad before it began. If the gust of wind or eddy fail to appear?and it is certain that they often do fail to appear?the insect slowly extricates its front pair of legs and places them on the surface of the water, still clinging to its shell boat; Then it slowly and deliberately spreads its wings. They at first strike the water, but are raised above it again, and the sun?lor these affairs invariably take place on sunny days?and air dry them. The hind legs are then slowly drawn from the shell until their ends rest on the edge of the boat, the body is stretched out, and the wings expanded. A moment afterward the winge flap, the shell is tipped over, the head is turned shoreward, and the mosquito is ready for business. Entomologists are by no means agreed as to the number of pieces in the proboscis, or ''sting," of the common mosquito. This is the instrument which punctures the flesh and serves as a sort of introduction of the mosquito to the human family. Some authorities declare that it has four pieces, others aver that it has six, while still others assert that it has but five. The average layman would be unwilling to place the number below twenty. The proboscis is tubular in form. The lances attached to it, whatever their number may be, are sharper than any instrument known to the surgeon. It is not ths size or depth of the wound inflicted which makes the mosquito's "sting" so painful, but rather the secretion which is injected under the skin by tbe proboscis. THis always produces itching. immstB ; THE MOSQUITO 8TING. A?In its sheath. B?Half torn off to show sheath. C?Sucker developed to show parts. D?Barbed point of one blade of sucker. There is no unanimity among scientists regarding the question of poison in the mosquito's "sting." No poison glund has yet been found in the head of any of these insects which have been examined. The wounds have been known to swell and become inflamed in many cases. In , some delicate skins, indeed, ulcers ore m .a ... > v" " # C>V^U<- ' . Ifcat? ???? . said to have been produced. but on this- \ atter point many etomologiats throw > InnVk+o T<- 4a rOrfain Oft milllAtlfL nf Tlfi" 4UUWWI AW AU VWtvwtuf MW .. :lms will very feelingly testify, that the-* rounds are often painful and always de:idedly unpleasant. The saliva injected , s believed to be slightly acrid. This- j juality, aggravated with the action of he barbed joint on one blade of the? , 'sucker," as shown in the illustration, :auses irritation, which is sought to be tllayed by scratching, but which in realty makes the wound the more inflamed tnd painful. Unhappily, the mosquito's 4,sti ng" i?lot so irritating to the victim's flesh as ts "song1' is to his nerves. Concerning he manner in which this sound is proluced the sataralist is almost as much in he dark as the most ignorant and honghtless non-scientist. The ordinary lerson, it is true, if questioned on the ubject, would unhesitatingly answer o??tand that it is made by the respiratory irgans, as the vocal music of man and oany of the lower animals is made. nafiiMli'af ^Aworflr nrtf. L iiv UclbUiaU4U| **V U V f VI | nvM?M **V? aake this mistake. For whatever proLaces this sound, it appears tolerably lertain that it has no necessary conneoion with the breathing apparatus. Kxr>y, a well-known British entomologist, ittributed it to the friction made by thth jase of the -wings against the chest in' lying. Other naturalists, equally skilled md observant, ascribe it to the rapid notions of the winglets, the motions of the poisers, or the vibrations of thebhorax caused by the contractions of the.3 muscles of the wings. The wings, inieed, move rapidly enough to produce* buzz of a fairly robust and pronounced character. One authority estimates that they vibrate fifty times every second while flying. Let 100 or 200 of ;hese songsters be flying at one time within a dozen feet of a person's head?ihd twice or thrice as many as that arojften flying within a space smaller than, that in a woods, besido a brook, on in JU garden?and it would be wonderful if" the air were not vocal with sound.??Qlofo-Dtnwcral. , > ?Mmrn^mMM \ The "Solitary Han." Here js a pioture of the 'Son of, leaven," the "Solitary Man," known ta> he outside barbarians as the Emperor oxJhina, as he appeared years ago when a; Prince Chum and His Two Sons. The Child) on the Prince's Left is the Present Emperor1* of China.] little child. The Emperor is never seen by barbarian eyes, although it is said' . that he has a very observant and intellir; gent interest concerning the ways off foreigners. He lives in the Kin OhingV or Prohibited City which is Bituatea' right in the centre of the Tartar City of; Pekin. This inner city is sacred ground,J and it is death for any foreigner to set foot on it. Very little is known of the Emperorspersonality. He is enveloped, in. mystery . ' and hedged about with divinity; He eats alone, and only of eight sacred dishes. Divine honors are paid him by. his family and courtiers. "When they * enter his presence they fall prostrate, strike their heads repeated upon the floor and crawl to the foot of the throne on their stomachs. This ceremony idcalled Ko-Taou.?Poit-Ditpatch. * Not In It. Mosquito?"This is what I call hard luck. I have bored through this in seven* teen places, and there isn't a man inndfl after all. "?Pud. Mate Pianos. Some patient grubber, after obscure statistics, furnishes the following remarkable figures. He says that there are 1,200,000 pianos in the United States, every one of which was made iu this country excepting 2000, that were imported; that there arc 250,000 piano? e old to households in which there is no one to play them, and that they, therefore, remain dumb and unopened throughout the year. He furthermore states that there arc 100,000 parlors in the United States where the furniture isnever uncovered because no company i* entertained. The parlor is simply kept as an adjunct of a well-furnished house, and not for occupancy or use.?New OrImjih Ti mrJi-Df. 11 ocrat. What is thought to be the tallest cen* turv plant in America flourishes at Orlando, Fla. It has reached the height of twenty-eight and a quarter feet, and has begun to put out the side stem* on which the flower will appear. Philadelphia has ordered a new town clock, with a dial twenty-five feet in diameter and a bell weighing 25,000 pounds, which is to ring chimes at the hours and quarters, so that it can b? heard all over the city. A family in Newport has Chinese mt? vants dressed in native cost unto. j