Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, March 11, 1891, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

lewis m. grist, Proprietor, j %\\ Jndepctulcnt Jamilj Jjtacspapfr: Joi] tltE; fromotion of thij |olifii[!tI, jSoqia!, ^prultuijal and (Jontmeijcial Jntcrcsfs of tin; jSoullt. | TERMS?$2.00 A TEAR Df ADVANCE. _______ _ . YORKYILLE, S. C? WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1891. USTO. 5. ' ' '' ' ? ? I PART n?CHAPTER IV. THE RACE FOR THE FLAG. & Jonathan give* a fierce ruth, lap* the mare and passe* her with one bound. The applause and flattering kerchiefs had not moved the quiet soldier, absorbed in the trial to which he was going unprepared, tor honor'tsake. But the familiar war cry of his old foes brought a flush to his cheek, and his eyes glowed with deeper light. Cameron was at his horse's head. He swung lightly from saddle, and HoyneCecil met him with outstretched hand, saying bluntly: "General Everett, permit me! HoyneCecil, of the Guards. Your name is known on both sides of the pond, really. Consider it an honor to ride against you today." But De Chavirac, who had been keenly noting Jonathan's points, turned abruptly and, without introducing himself, said in French: "Are you very sure, monsieur, that this horse has no record?" Everett's eyes flashed into the Frenchman's an instant.. The challenge he had just publicly accepted was unmistakably plain. Then he answered quietly: "The horse has one record, Monsieur le Comte?a war record." Chavirac turned crimson, for he had been military attache while his regiment was oat to pieces in AJgena. Jtsut just then the bngle sounded thrice; every man sprung to saddle, and the gallant, curveting quintet stretched into a warming gallop ere they bunched for the send off. As they passed a keen gambler sitting on the gate cried out: "One hundred to two hundred on France against the field! Nine to four against any named man!" '"Taken both ways!" cried a clear voice behind him. It was the Pierrot "Show your face," answered the gambler, gruffly. "Who the devil bets with a mask?" "These are not masked," retorted the Pierrot drawing a roll of bills from his breast "Cover them in the hands of M. Pietro Bartol yonder. I name the Tan kee." The bet was made, and Adrien Latour whispered a few words in the willing ear of M. Pietro. Before the drum had tapped that worthy had set his tipsters to work and covered several thousands of fKn /vlila Turning near the distance flag as evenly as at parade, the five soldiers gave head and rushed down the home again, closely bunched. The Mexican led slightly, Everett and De Chavirac nosed on his quarter in mid-track, HoyneOedl at the fence, and the German close behind him, outside. So they sped by the stand, going evenly. CoL Campbell gave the word, the drum tapped and they were off. The course to be ridden was the track, itself and a figure eight on the infield, entered by a hurdle at the first quarter. Thence a long straight pull, with hedge and blind ditch, led to the second gate on the track, where the course doubled' down the back stretch and re-entered the infield for a quarter mile pull to the home quarter on the track. In this straight chute was the water jump? sixteen feet of water, scarped and show-i ing full twenty-eix feet of clear jump to it. Once over this, it was fiat racing home, save the fourth and last hurdle, thirty yards beyond the distance flag. The speed had picked up at the first hurdle, the Mexican taking it first and gaining a length before Jonathan and j/Empereur rose together and skimmed it almost in their stride. The chestnnt got over two lengths ahead of the roan, who lost ground in gathering for the jump. Down the chute in the infield they went for the heavier jump at the hedged ditch?which was taken in the same order, though the Englishman pulled farther away from the roan and crowded the black closer. But the steady Mexican mare, seeming bent on making the pace killing, widened her gap on the French horse at the second hurdle, though he took it easily and followed her down the back stretch in a splendid rush. It was plainly nobody's race, the horses not yet having shown their best, and the men all riding well in their differing fashions. De Chavirac sat rather far back in his saddle, showing iron grip of calf and knee, but evident use of his stirrup. He rode, too, with a heavy hand, lifting the willing horse to his jumps by strong use of the bit. The German rode with heels down and short stirrup leathers pulled taut; but he sat his horse, and swung to the motion of the heavy brute. HoyneCecil's was the English cavalry seat?the bent knees and feet thrust to instep in the irons. He rose to the leaps with his horse, till daylight showed under him, leaning far forward with the swing, as thongh to help the jumper over. Everett and the Mexican rode almost alike. Each sat well down in liis saddle, erect and easy, the leg dropping straight down, and holding only by strong knee clamp that left calf and ankle free. Both carried the foot level in the long stirrup, whose solo use seemed to be support for tha uralirhfc nf tVifl lnwor laor nnt do ono r"v " ""O"" " ,V5I "" ? * / aid to the seat. Bat it was in light, flexible feeling of the bit that both differed moat from their transatlantic rivals. The latter held their horses and lifted them at every jump, not doing the light "wrist riding" that guides by barely feeling the mouth and keeps man and beast in perfect sympathy. Just within the track was the third hurdle; gleaming beyond it showed the wide water jump, the test leap of the race. Everett fplt it time to close the gap on the gallant little Mexiean and shake off L'Empereur. A pressure of his foot, not of the spur, and a slight shake of the reins, were answered by a splendid rush of the black, that sent him to the mare's flank as she rose to the fence. Almost side by side the black and the white took the leap, skimming it with ease and without lifting to it. Then, with a quick backward glance, Dale Everett took in the field. Close behind him?so close he could almost feel the hot breath from the crimson nostrils? thundered L'Empereur, his lank head straight out, his eyes glowing as fiercely as those of the rider with set lips, who plied spur and whip ut every bound. Behind, in easy reaching distance, HoyneCecil's horse was going steadily and fast; thirty yards behind him Von Schlegen pounded on, practically out of the race. Then, for the first time, Dale Everett spoke to his horse, and, to the amaze of ? Puritan By J. <?. DE lEOJ'l, thor of "Four Years in Rebel Capitals," "Juny," "Cross Purposes." EDICATED TO HON. HENRY WATTERSON, | Memory of Schoolboy Days, Still Unforgot- i ten, as Our Shadows Lengthen Toward the Sunset. yright, iSoo, bjr J. B. Lippincott Company, and puDlisned by arrangement with th-em. Ch&vlrac, now thundering by his side, ' he checked rather than urged the horse. "So, boy! steady?so?o!' was his : quiet caU, and the bay shot by and kept i a length's lead down to the water. For j little by little the tremendous pace was > beginning to teU upon the mare. But j | she still kept her lead, and once safely j over the water there was a short quarter , only down the homestretch, j No let np now in the pace. Scarce j twenty yards ahead gleams the bright 1 water, and La Vega raises hin whip and swings it over the mare's ears with a 1 "whoo!" as he sends the crnel spars into j j her sides. ; With whip and spar and voice De ; Chavirac urges his noble hone. He, too, sees that the despised Mexican once across the water, the sternclxaae might not be long enough for stride and bottom to telL And what both knew could not be unknown to a rider like the American. Tearing as the speed was, he knew his , horse the freshest, and he fell; a thrill as ! he recalled that Jonathan's speed had j not yet been fully tested. With a sharp, quick word, and scarcely tightened grip npon the bit, Dale touched the spur to Jonathan and rushed ahead, to reach the water even with the : Frenchman and the white mare, gain- : ing on them at every bound of the now i well aroused black. Thirty yards, twenty yards, ten only, i : between the white's nose and. the water, j | the Frenchman lapping her flank, the ; black three lengths behind. With a wild, uncanny cry La Vega i raised the gallant little maro to the leap. I Rising lightly, she cleared the water, I bnt landed so perilously close to the J bank that its edge crumbled, under the | heels that spurned it into the water, | only the impetus of her rush keeping her steady. And as the white mare landed from ber leap De Chavirac?his tseth set, his eyes gleaming and his body bent forward as if to push his horse onvrard?drove both spurs into L'Empereor's sides and' I lifted him fiercoly with the bit. Dale Everett, thundering on, not three | lengths behind, heard the shsxp, clicking | sound of snapping steel. The terrible truth flashed into his brain, j even before his eyes beheld its confirma- | tion. The fierce tug of the eager French- ! | "i?n had snapped the right lever of the j ' bit; the heavy right hand was suddenly released and the whole power of the pull thrown npon the left, just as the grand horse gathered for the spring. Swinging half round he pawed wildly in air?once! Then, unable to recover, he rolled over and fell heavily on his side, square across the ditch. From the stands and partly from the track the full horror of the accident was seen?though its cause was not?before i the eurav of the huge Bplasli fell back ! into the ditch. Women turned away their heads, and a wild terrified yell of | Wafting went ont from & thousand I throats. But what could warning do then? What need, indeed, of warning to the ! man who had ho often ridden calmly in | the race of death? Thundering on, his blood now aflame, his terrible hoofs not five yards away? ! almost already trampling prostrate man ; and beast?on, closer, faster, thundered ; the massive black! And checking him neither by word nor bit?no, urging him hotly with voice and spur?his rider was as one blind to i the dread mischance before him, j "Now, boy! Up, boyl Up!" The bold, cheery cry rings out above ! tramp of hoof and shout oi! maddened i men. Clear and strong it f mts back to I them with message of cheer. And with i the words the firm hands steady on the ' reins; the lithe body swings back in the ! saddle, and as it sways forward both spurs go cruelly home. Up goes the gallant horse, five feet be- ; fore the leap is reached?up into a tre- I mendoos bound that straightens beautifully and sends him over prcatrate horse and rider?well beyond the water. Ho clears the leap gallantly, bat he lands In j the very tracks of the Mexican mare' The heavy hind hoofs are "well tip on j that treacherous brink, but the pounded i earth slips beneath them?once! The horse has done its best. Now for the man's turn! Again that quick intuition, fostered only in discipline and in active warfare, called upon sure agility, bred only in the training oi: the cavalry j school, and even as the horse's forefeet j struck the bank Dale Everett cast loose | his stirrups and braced himself lightly ! to the left. As Jonathan's hind feet touched his j master's hand pressed strongly on his neck, weH forward, and with wonderful > quickness the man had landed on the ; bank, his left hand grasping the mane, : his right the cantel of the saddle. Thus i lightened, the horse's instinct urged an- | other trial, the man's strength and , weight thrown into the scale; and, quicker than can be told, with scarce a break in his stride, the gallant black gathered for his next bound and took it just as the practiced hurdler swung lightly from the ground, using his rise for leverage, and dropped into the saddle he had quitted but the second before. No stopping for stirrup now, no finesse of hands or head, no ear for the , roar of voices, the distant clapping of j hands?meed for that grand leap! One thought only was in Dale Everett's brain?a thought that seemed to flash t down" the leathers and magnetize his horse. ne muse win mat mcei ne nau risked too much, for others and himself, to lose it now! And, ar.swering the thought, the black straightened his great : neck, stretched his lean muzzle level ont, and strained every muscle to overtake the mare, flying along full forty yards ahead. Scarce a quarter of a mile to do it, too; but man and horse were as one, and the longer kride told with every jump. Voice, hand and spur drove the black along now as he had not gone before. The gap was closing fast, ohreo lengths ?two?scarcely one! Once more La Vega called upon his mare, with v oice and spur and whip. With final effort she answered grandly, mending the great pace already made. Had Everett misjudged the stay and fleetne8s of the Mexican? Had he waited too long? A trifle pale, he shakes i.he rein loose and gives the black the spur. In a rush like the wind the steeds tear on toward the stand, a hundred yards uway. Closer . forges the black; he reaches the mare's flask, her girth, then laps her, hose and i nose, for twenty yards! The silence of death hangs upon the crowds. With bated breath and straining eyes women and men hang on that gallant trial. Suddenly the silence breaks with a wild yell. Just as the corner of the long stand is reached the little mare slip', inch by inch away from the black, almost showing daylight between! Thirty yards to hold that lead, and the race is hers! Everett never moves his eyes from tho maroVhead. Erect, easy aijd calm, he presses the spur lightly I on the noblo horeo under hi m. Jonathan j is doing his best! So they tear along; half the stand's length is passed, and Jonathan only hugging the white mare's girth. Again the wild yells rise from stand and stretch. 'Tis plain now'that-the race is won, and that the Yankee has lost it! Suddenly a white flash of the whip in Everett's hand rises high in air. Once, twice, it comes down with full force of that limber wrist full on the black's neck. Never before has he felt the lasht With a quiver of the nostril and a wild, human appeal in the eye, Jonathan gives a fierce rush, laps the mare, passes her with one bound, and rushes under the string with her nose at his steaming flank! So rapid is the pace, so sudden the change, that the shouting crowd scarce realise it before the flashing steeds are round the curve puHing up, and the English captain races in, a good third. Then they look up the home and see the roan just graze the distance flag, and, far acroes the field, men are running to meet the Count de Chavirac, as, streaming with clay and mire, he leads a limping horse toward the back stretch gate. PAST II?CHAPTER V. THE CREOLE CARNIVAL. Mardi Gras morning in the Queen City of Carnival! _ The great day of the ante-Lenten revel never breaks npon a sleeping pity, and New Orleans was early astir, with that nniqud buzz and flurry which so exceed buzz and flurry elsewhere, when once your Creole population does get wide awake. And nothing wakes her so very wide as the carnival festa. This one, after long abstinence, was peculiarly exciting; and far west into the Americanized city, away east through quaint old Frenchtown, carnival echoes rang and carnival sights greeted the eye on every side. The entire population, home and transient, seemed to have beaten the son out of bed, and before he wiped the mists from his forehead maskers thronged the streets in ante-bellum number and variety. For the carnival was on in all its general aspects, if not with all that lavish expenditure of taste and money which makes the displays of the Mystick Krftwe of Comns uniaue in brilliance and in beauty throughout the world. Public masques, singly and in groups, on foot or mounted in saddle or vehicle, would prevail; masquerade balls of every grade, from decorous dance to reckless romp, would be held, and universal levity of public revel, strangely restrained by influence of habit and blithe but rarely vicious temperament, on the hither side of licenso, would sway the hours from morn till midnight. But the first stroke of 13, in warning of Ash Wednesday, would drop the mask from sinner and Baint alike, sending all to their knees for a penitential season of the flood's duration, with Sundays thrown in pour lagniappe, as the Creole Baith. And, to crown the whole, the Mystick Krewe would give its first pageant through the streets in five long, somber years. Since its mysterious origin, in 1857, that venerable lodge of mummers had annually given entertainment, instruction and delight to residents and visiting thousands, in a series of masked processions, steadily growing in grandeur of conception and richness of display. But when the war cloud settled down upon all that was bright and gay in the southland its murk shadow hid the The Krcwc was coming. glories of the carnival as well, and the Krewe was but a brilliant memory to manv?an eacrerlv expected novelty to some. That singular society, so secret in its membership and methods, yet so beneficent and gracious in its results, was popularly surmised to embrace the fashion and highest culture of the Crescent City, as it surely did her wealth and her artistic sense. But they who composed it had lost riches, comrades, all save honor, in the stress and struggle of those bitter years; and they had not chosen "to make a Roman holiday" with the grass yet ungrown on graves of kith and kin. Indeed, to the present day those tasteful pictured emblems sent to their elect in many a distant city have borne blank circles with those years, from 1861 to 1866, when the only revel was the red one dedicated to Mars. But once again the great Krewe was to crown the carnival with one of its glittering pageants; and round that event centered the keenest and most curious anticipation of all the holiday. For, mysterious in all things, these unique mystic societies of the chief cities never advance the slightest hint of what that subject theme may be which they ever illustrate with a tact and taste and brilliance that can be appreciated only by being seen. But meantime the true carnival spirit ruled the hours. Grotesque costumes of every nationality known, of many designs quite unknown; bizarre monstrosities or cleverly imitated shapes of beasts, birds and even fishes, glittering armors and cheap dominoes wero met on every hand. Some went to their frolic singly, some in pairs or in groups of varying size. Most were on foot, but many a gallant cavalier curveted along, while vehicles of every sort, some richly decorated, bore merry maskers, all forgetting the grim past in the absorbing frolic of the present. Sidewalks everywhere were crowded early in the day, and from many a balcony and window?notably in the less pretentious residences of the American citv?peered piquant, pretty faces, in tent on the now novel revel and eager to lose no jot of it all tho long day. To these occasional cavaliers, more ambitious than their pedestrian co-maskers and habited in best regality of cotton velvet and glittering tinsel, waved gauntleted hands, checking their steeds long enough to toss flowers or confetti at the fair ones. And they would in turn receive perhaps a flower?more probably u tissue paper cartridge loaded with flour or a torpedo to explode before the horse's nose. Restaurants, cafes and wine shops threw wide their doors, receiving liberal patronage, for, numerous as were the maskers, tenfold greater was their al fresco audience. The entire population seemed turned into tho streets, and at any unusual squeak of tin horns, or louder beat of drums, patrons of cafes would rush to the doors, fork in hand and mouths full, to lose no point of passing fun. But of all lookers on none approached for wide eyed wonder and absorbed curiosity the federal soldiers of the city garrison. Composed of almost every nationality and coming from every city of the Union, save thoso where mummery was born almost with the century, this public masquerado was to them inexplicable as interesting. And very wistfully they gazed, too; for tho spirit of universal mummery has in it strong infection, and they could not yield to it. Strict orders had been issued that no soldier should mask, or disguise his uniform, under any pretext, and only officers off duty wcro permitted that privilege, after formal report of intention to their commanders. Tho general was a true soldier, and ho justly realized tho serious results possible to chanco from a mixture of differing and discordant elements, under tho tempta I Gods and novel conditions of Che incog - I hit?"By Jove! the general's head is level as , possible on all matters of discipline," our : irrepressible majorof the quartermaster's department enunciated' to a group of dis| gnised officers in Gen. Everett's garden aboatnoon. The major had removed his , ample mask, but ruefully regarded"its flattened nose, as he threw back the hood of a flaring red domino. ""Why, Arnold, suppose a lot of ignorant soldiers had 1 I been caught, as we were, under that balcony on Rampart street!" "I don't think the results would have ! been battle, murder and sudden death," | laughed the aid-de-camp, mopping his brow, after removing his mask. "But ! ; you should have seen the major bear himself, general. Ho is as great in pilot- > | ing green bands through a carnival as lie > ; is at ordering a breakfast." "Oh, I'm an old masker," answer**! the major, complacently. "When I was i a brevet at Fort Pike, in the forties, I i used to run down here and attend the j | masked balls at the old Hotel St. Louis! : Ah, my boy, those were days! Bnt that i was hot work under the balcony." "Rather," put in the junior aid. "Why, generul, the major led a charge J on a bevy of the prettiest girls and bombarded them till our flowers were gone, i Thev returned the fire with flour car tridges and torpedoes, and when we turned to retreat a crowd of a dozen harlequins charged us with bladder clubs and routed us utterly." ; "It was hot!" grumbled the major. ' "Look at the nose of that mask, sir! j And I believe those cartridges had pep- , per in them. One of the cursed things j got down my back, and it is tingling now." "Well, I've had enough of the fun," , said Col. Barnes dryly, wriggling out of a long gray domino. "I've read of car- : j nivals for years; but I never expected to , fly about in a mask and pelt strange j young women with flowers. Hang it! ) | if Mrs. Barnes gets hold of the story!" "Psliaw, man!" retorted the major, ; | "do not desert us. We've only seen the beginning of the fun yet. And, Dale, j are you not going in for a trial?" ! "Hardly in that way, major," Everett answered. "It is a trifle infra dig. to . ride steeple chases, and I may as well let i masking alone. But really I believe I ! enjoy the day better as a looker o:a. Like ! Barnes, I was most eager to see a Creole 1 carnival; but the reality exceeds any I fantastic thing I had imagined." j "Just wait till to-night," the major ; j said. "If the day interests you the ! Mystick Krewe will delight you. And j then the balls! They are something only | to be dreamed of. But you had better | try a domino before night just to see I how it feels." j. "I may take a turn among the maakers this evening," Dale answered. "Late i to-night, after the pageant, I join the ' general's party and take the ladies to j I the opera house and to the Kreweball." I j "Toujoure perdrix!" laughed the ma- ! , jor. "Always the ladies!" Everett made no answer, and Arnold j suggested that time was passing, and ' ! asked the major if he was rested, j "Like a giant refreshed," cried the vet- j : eran. "Give me another mask! Bind up ; my nose! Well, this will have to do. i : We'll meet here at 3, Dale, and tap that > I Cliquot I lqst to Barnes on your con- I , founded water jump. But I tell you, , ! my dear boy, I'd rather pay for wine j | enough to fill that ditch than have had ' Johnnie Crapaud beat you!" "I know it!" Dale answered frankly, grasping the major's not over clean . hand. "But the horse won the racenot I. Come, Barnes, we'll follow these j revelers at a distance and not lose the i sights outside." i "That is a magnificent animal of yours, i general," Col. Barnes said, as they fol lowed the maskers to the gate. "Singular name you gave him, though." "Oh, that was the Point name for my J chum," Dale answered. "The class j called us David and Jonathan, and the ! yearling colt was a graduation present from my mother. I named him after j Latour, and I have always been glad of j it when I mounted him for a fight" " Was your friend killed?" asked IJie ' colonel, who was not sentimental. "Nx>, thank God!" Dale answered j earnestly. "I heard yesterday that he | was safe and well, and he outranked me 1 when his side lost." "He was a rebel?" Barnes queried, in surprise. I "He was a major general in the Confederate army," Everett replied, with emphasis. Barnes made no answer. He was, as I he described himself, "Cape Cod born," j and he had his prejudices, underscored | by a Minie ball. But he was talking to : ! his ranking officer, and a passing rush ! j of maskers changed the subject apro poe. The carnival was at its acme now. | Even greater crowds than before j streamed down the cross streets ond ' i overflowed into C'anaL Costumes of | j every shape and color mingled 'svith the ; t everyday dress, making a shifting kaleid- j oscope in the bright sunshine, and oyer ! the tramp of many feet, and the shrill ! treble Assumed for better disguiie of the ; maskers, floated constat, happy laugh- i ter. Strolling along the two Federal officers j came in sight of the Clay statue. Around ! it a huge throng had collected. Colonels | of several regiments had ordered their I j bands to different points to aid the pub- > ! lie holiday; and the magnificent one of ' the Ninety-sixth infantry was ,?iving a : i concert here. Every age and color were ; j seen in tho unmasked faces?the ebon, i shiny skin of tho negro, the swart Diego, j and the bright lemon skin of the quadroon. Old, crumpled facpd French women led chubby children along; the j fresh skinned Irish woman dandled her j babe in vigorous arms; while jrale, i!air ! octoroons, tastefully and quietly dressed, leaned on the arms of dandy young men who might have passed for club men on Broadway, or petits creves on the : Champs Elysees. Maskers here, ;is every- i where, in numbers; and a goodly sprink- j ling of bluejackets dotted the crowd, ! the faces of their wearers ever showing j amused interest. The band was playing a popular waltz, the heads and feet of the music j loving natives keeping time. And here and there, in the limited space, fantastic ' dancers whirled in grotesque measure, aided by the Harlequin or Pirerot dresses j they wore. "A wonderful people, these," Everett said, quietly. "Who wculd think, to walk those streets to-day, that this population was just rising from the set back j of a terrible defeat? Who could dream of the material loss it has suffered?of i the agony and suspense endured.?of the hopes that are ashes and the future that j is?what?" "The mercurial temperament." Barnes answered, again from far Cape Cod. I "They aro French, and a Frenchman would dance on his grandmother's grave, j 1 I see nothing very wonderful, general, in their enjoying tho first holiday they havo had since the obsequies." "People that react as I have noticed these southerners do," Dale answered, "havo too much elasticity to bo conquered. Wo havo beaten them, but they will teach us a great lesson yet in their conduct under defeat. I don't think you appreciate them, Barnes." "Perhajw I do not," tho other answered dryly. "I have no friends in tho Con| federate army." Just then tho band broke into a medley of national airs. The "Marseillaise" swelled out, blending into "God Save the Queen;" that in turn losing itself in the new "Wacht am Rhein." Suddenly, picked up by the piccolo, "Dixie''?the tune adopted by Abraham Lincoln? shrilled out loud and clear. In u second, even before the crowd caught the infectious thrill, tho blue coated boys gavo voice, and then came cheers and cries from every throat in tho crowd to almost drown the music. Again "Dixie" swelled loud and clear; again tho wild applause rang out. dying as tho music softened and almost ceased, only to rise lond and defiant as "Yankee Doodle" trotted in upon his unmusical "little pany." This time the crowd needed no cue, thfi stilling voices rising into a roar louder if possible than before, and sustained until the brief strain died oat Again the cries swelled out, aided by hands and feet and shout of "Bis I" "Eicorel" and the rival battle pieces had to be played again and again. Everett slipped his arm into the colonel's as they turned away. "No, you do not understand, theue people. Neither dooa our general, 1 fear. If we will let i<*be so the war is over!" As night fell lire cagiivai was in fell blast, for all rocalled^that at 1he fist stroke of midnight m safes most be tossed aside and theoretic sackcloth replace tire mouey. Through the dusk many hued ccetumes filled the eye wtthcolor; tlie high, squeaking treble of maskers' disguise piped above music, laughter and the omnipresent tin horn; old time scenes of peace were re-enacted in tlie very center of warlike occupation^mid the evening air was glad with passi^niaskeni1 songs. And still the most iuxertsted and most j wistful of all observers were the Federals?men and officers off duty. Everywhere they mingled in the throng, giving and taking chaff with high good humor and equal regret that their general's order forbade participation. For in all that revived revel not one untoward incident, not one rude act even, had been reported; and the fears of the timid were wholly set at rest by the inborn courtesy and tact of the Creole. And now thei throngs began to form spontaneotisly in order, lining the sides { of Canal street in .dense masses, added j to each instant from ike emptying i houses and by fresh crowdi i pouring down ; the side streets. The Krewe was coming: Ushered in by rosy glow of distant, pulsing light and softened blare of j brazen march advanced that strange j procession so dear to creole tradition, so J little understood beyond i ts reach. Deep Bilence fell upon the massed j thousands; every eye striiued to catch j the first hint of the cunningly hidden theme of the night's display. Tben gradually through the rcsy cloud were seen the rich and stately forms, in antique guise, marshaling tlie mystic best, and next transparencies that told its subject theme to bo "Paat, Present and Future." Nearer, slow moving, came the brilliant and unique pageant, incarnating thought through deft design of form and color, lit by a thousand bright reflectors, toned to softer glow by coloied fires. The Past was typified, by imposing figures of war, destruction, conflagration, want, grief and terror?each a chapter of the moving epic, varying in suggestive shape, and each made clearer by congenial fo rms atteuc^nt. All were in classic pose and richly draped, with strict adherence to best models of antique art. And slow they passed, between the silent masses, all delighted with the glitter and the glory of 1;he show, all stilhd by memory of the recent past from which it drew its being. Then came The Present., more modern in conception, but allegoric still?personified by industry, commerce, ajjriculture, science, art and history. Plain ly recognized, each of these stalely shapes passed on, arched by its floating cloud of rosy light, each greeted by appreciative plaudits for its beauty and sympathy for its suggestion. And last rolled by the last division of the myBtic trilogy, The Future. Radiant and fair of promise showed her beautiful figure, the calm face grand and noble. And round Tba Future grouped peace and hope and love, simple and pure, as emblematic of the new life to follow that active Present born from the hot and evil Past! And again that sensitive southern populace, ever apt to read tho lessons of mystic allegory, clave the night with plaudits, loud, long and heartfelt! "Singular people, these Creoles!" the general remar.lced to a brilliant party on his balcony. "A pretty affair; but, poor as they are, I can't see why they throw away thousands on a useless show." "I hardly think it useless," Dale Everett answered qnietly. "It strikes me that this Krewe of Comus teaches deep lessons to ltspnblic, and that they not only enjoy but understand them." "I hope they do," the commander replied bluntly. "But is thero another people under the sun who, under such circumstances, would attempt it?" "Probably not," the Puritan soldier answered. "Hut is there another that, so attempting, could.so succeed?" [TO nK CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.] Self Supporting; Indians. "For the benefit of those people who think the Indian will not work," said Commissioner Morgan in u recent interview, "I want to mention the sum which we paid out last year for Indian labor. It was $042,000. This money was paid to agency and school employes, to farmers, interpreters, police, judges of Indiau com ts, for huuling supplies, for produce, hay, wood and other supplies purchased from them, for breaking land ou government property and for logs cut and banked by them. I contend that this is a very good showing for Indian labor, and the sum paid would be ten times as large as it is if there was work enough to give employment to all who wish it. "The Umatilla Indians of Oregon have been under care of the government for thirty years, and are practically self sup porting, and would long ago have been entirely iudependeut hud their lands been allotted to them in severalty. The total population is only 1,000, yet last year they harvested 350,000 bushels of wheat, cut 2,000 tons of hay, and other crops in proportion In a very short l ime, I think, this tribe, us well as others who have rich lunds and fair opportunities, such us the white settlers select for themselves, will Lhi able to staud alone. "TheUtes, who a few years ago were leading the life of nomad savages, haveOOOacres under cultivation, and raise goodly quantities of wheat, corn and oats. They have learned the art of irrigation by meaus of ditches. The Jicurillu A pitches show an inhoru thrift. Though the white senders have all the Lost lunds, and the Indians have no water for irrigation purjjoses, ihoy cultivated last year 350 acres with fair rej suits and cut 400 tons of hay. They have built for themselves, uud are now occupying, sixty houses, and have received very little help from the government." Struugu lteunlon of Two Agvd Sin tern. By the merest accident two sisters buve been united ufter long years spent without knowledge of each other's whereabouts. Iu the fall of 1825 George Gordon, of Xcniu, O., took into his family uu orphan girl named Rebecca Gates, thcu living at Bellbrook, the same county, uud ever since she has resided iu the family, growing to be j an aged woman, but never marrying. She ministered to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon in their life, old age and last days; witnessed the marriage of their duughters, and still remained in the family, sinct the death of Mr. Gordon serving us housekeeper for his two sons, who are now bachelors well advauced in yeaiv. Ali this time, or most of it, Rebecca supposed thut she was the only one living of her family, but the strange fact has developed in the past few days that she has a sister who | lias l>een living all these years no further away than Clermont county. The lost she iiad heard from any of the family wua a letter received from a brother in 1837. The sister iu Clermont county, who lives at Jmurel, and whose name is Mrs. Elizabeth llalphill, recently wrote to the ]>ostmaster at Bel [brook, asking him to inquire of some of the old settlers regarding the matter, anil one of the village's oldest inhabitants remembered the circumstance of George Gordon taking the girl to raise, *' - 1 ? UUU 11)0 Clew W)W huuu luiM/nvu. Joy of uii Octogenarian Father. Adam Oberhoizer is mi 80-year-old resldent of Wapakoneta, 0. A year or so ago . lie induced a young woman to marry him ! Ly giving her a large oil farm and $5,000 Mwh. The other day she presented him with a sou and heir, and Adam vented hia joy by going about the streets singing at ' the top of hia voice. fUsccltanmts fading. j THREE AUTHORS OF NOTE. A Student of American City life and Tiro English Novelists. Jacob A. Riis, author of "How the Other Half Lives"?a thorough and comprehensive study of New York tenements and j their denizens?is a native of Denmark, ' He reached America when about 20 years ! old, with no definite filans or purposes. , When his money gave out he worktSl at j anything that came to hand. In the fall ! of 1870 he wus employed at a brick yard near New Brunswick, N. J. He was in i sore straits at this time, and once slept in a graveyard. Another night he was com- i polled to seek shelter in a New York police station. Recalling those hard times, Mr. j Riis recently told a reporter: "Tbe nlgbt i slept in a ponce siauuu x had picked up near the North river a black and tan dog (poor little beastl), and I carried it into the station. I had one thing of value, and that was a gold locket I wore inside my shirt. It had a lock of hair in JACOB A. BI1S. j it. That night some of the lodgers took it from me while I was sleeping, and when I found it was stolen?the one thing that connected me with home?I made a complaint to the sergeant, who ordered the doorman to kick me out. 'Do you come in here,' cried he, 'and sleep, und yet tell me that you had a gold locket on your neck?' It did sound ridiculous. When I got outside with my dog I was angry enough to go back and demolish every one there. I wandered off a space, and while I was gone the dog had a fit in the street and fell down; a crowd gathered, and a policeman came aloug and clubbed the poor animal* to death before my eyes. It seemed to me | that was the very last link that had given away." Subsequently Mr. Riis obtained a posil tion in New York as a newspaper reporter. He worked until lOo'clock at uight on his first assignment, and w:is too proud to tell Hny one that it was the third day ho had not broken fast. When he reached the stairs to his room be fell in a dead faint His circumstances speedily improved, and I he was nmde police reporter. While doing | this work he gathered many of the facta conj tained in his deeply interesting book, whicJk i has been one of the literary successes of ! the season. America is soon to be visited by Mr. Farjeon, the charming novelist, upon whom it? was at one time expected the mantle of Charles Dickens would fall. Although this fair promise of his early years has not I been fulfilled, Mr. Farjeon is one of the foremost and most successful of English story tellers, lie was born in London ! about flfty-flve years ago, and early devel! oped the faculty of fiction writing, being in the habit of amusing his schoolfellows B. L. FARJEON. | with tales of bis own invention. After ' leaving school Mr. Farjeon served an apj prenticeship as compositor in a newspaper I office. When 2a years old he went to Aus; tralia, where he brought out his first book, ] "Grief," from which he still draws a royal A- anmn "Tnulllltt MflFVol" Afl/1 | bjr, JLUCU UtlllU VVOUIIM ?v. ~ | delightful Christmas story, "Blades o' ! Grass." The advance sheets of the latter i were bought by Harper Bros, for a good round sum. Since then Mr. Farjcon lias ! been paid as high as $1,">0U for advance proof sheets of his novels. Mr. Farjeou has muny ties to bind him to the United States. His father and mother rest in American graves, and he 1 wooed and won an American bride, Mar| garet, the daughter of Joseph Jefferson, i the famous Rip Van Winkle of the Ameri| can stuge. I Rider Huggard, another prominent En; glish writer whose wonderful romances of African life and adventure have been widely read in the United States, is on a visit to the western hemisphere. He arrived in New York a few days ago, accomj panied by his charming wife. After a ; brief tour of America, Mr. Haggard will i go to Mexico to study the shadowy history of the ancient Aztec race, with a view to j KIDEK HAUGAIiD. incorporating some of their mysterious surroundings in a new novel. In personal ! appearance Mr. Haggard is very tall and slender, and bears a remarkable resemblance to Cecil Clay, the husband of Rosiua I T_ 1. * 1 ... I....,T."- ...-.li.il. n/tma/ltdmia V OMT1, UIU UtiCilUCU I'iUgunu wviuvuivimvi FOR HOME ENTERTAINMENT. i How a Party of Friend* May l'as* a Very I'leaHunt Evening. The following will be found suited for a club or coterie of friends who desire to I make their meetings of intellectual profit ! as well as pleasure. Arrange a tourist ) party, the idea being for euch guest to repI resent in costume some country or provinces, and contribute appropriate selec! tions to the evening's programme. A TOURIST PARTY". If the entertainment is to be given at home state in your invitations whut is expected of the guests; if given by a club, of course the necessary explanations will bo made verbally to the members. Let each dress as nearly as ]>ossible in the costume of the country chosen. After the costume is under way investigation will bring to 1 light some description of the country or its people, some good story?not too long? which shall hit off the National characteristics, some interesting historical narrative, ! or a fine selection from a representative writer or poet. Select something of general Interest and to the point as regards the nationality represented. If one is a good dialect reader, a recitation or reading affording scope for that talent would help to make a pleasing variety in the programme. For a gentleman representing Japan the costume should be a loose silk robe extending from the neck to the feet, and fastened at the waist by an elaborate girdle. A loose wide sleeved jacket is worn over this. Of course sateen or any similar material might be substituted for the silk. The feet are incased in white stockings and 1 straw sandals. A selection from "The Ml- ; kado" would be an appropriate contribu- j tion to the programme. The costume of the Japanese women is ; very similar to that of the men. Paint and | powder arc used lavishly ror tne race, ana the hair, which is worn high, is plentifully adorned with ornamental pins placed at every conceivable angle. A typical Chinaman in the everyday walks of life wears short, wide trousers and a sort of sacque reaching nearly to the knees, the material being either cotton or silk. White stockings and toe slippers of silk or cotton and having very thick soles are also worn. A wig would be necessary in order to have the queue. The gentleman taking such a character might read the "Heathen Chinee." ^ * r The Chinese woman wears a costume of the same pattern, but the material is usually black. The hair is dressed like the Japanese with the same abundance of pins. A short sketch of the life or the teachings of Confucius would be Interesting. A good pianist might well wear the characteristic costume of Germany and play one of Mendelssohn's "Songs Without Words" or Beethoven's sonatas. France's representative would find a vast field for fine selections in the writings of Victor Hugo. Italy, the land of song, should surely be the chosen country of one whose voice gives pleasure to her friends. A varied programme and one full of interest might thus be arranged, aud the evening be most enjoyably spent. Descriptions of costumes, a few of which have been hinted at, may be found in books on the various countries, stories of travel or encyclopedias. J. D. COWLE8. IS HE A MARRIED MAN? The Borlons Side of a Joke Perpetrated by an Illlnola Lawmaker. Dan 6. Ramsay, one of the members of the Illinois legislature, confesses himself in a quandary; he is unable to determine whether he is a married man or a bachelor. The difficulty is an interesting one, inasmuch as it involves the-troublesome question whether a contract of marriage entered into in a spirit of fun is valid in law. tMr. Ramsay, who is himself an attorney in practice at East St. Louis, met Miss Bessie Caldwell of that town one day while she was laughing over the report that a marriage by contract entered into by a couple at JohnsDAN 0. RAMSAY. town, Pa., \vas regarded as binding. Mr. Ramsay contended that it was a lawful commou law marriage, and Miss Caldwell told him to draw up a similar contract. '"For what purpose?" asked the lawyer. "Never mind," was the response; "just draw one out." Mr. Ramsay clipped the contract in question from A newspaper, pasted it on a slip of paper, and signed it. The young lady attached her signature to it, and the document then read: Wo hereby certify that on the 1st day of December, 1890, we united ourselves in marriage at Johnstown, In the county of Cambria, having first obtained from the clerk of the orphans' court of said county a declaration that he was satisfied that there were no existing impedimenta to our so doing. Signed, D. 0. Rutair, Attest: Bessie Cain well. R. J. Long, J. P., Frank E. Millord. The fact that such a contract was in existence soon became public property, and the result was a spirited controversy ar> to whether or not the parties were man and wife. Mr. Ramsay contended that the affair was neither more nor less than a joke, and Miss Caldwell admits that she is ignorant of what its legal force may be. Mr. Ramsay is troubled, however, by the un pleasant notoriety growing out or tne matter, and is afraid that Miss Caldwell may bo injured by the joke. "There is really nothing in it," he explained to an interviewer. "Suppose we had signed our names to a deed to property which was clipped from a newspaper. That would not convey the property, nor do our signatures to this clipping, put there in a spirit of humor, make us man and wife. I have been the groom iu several mock marriages at church fairs and entertainments of that kind, aud I know that this Affuir amounts to nothing more than a joke which has taken a ruther disagreeable turn." "We never hud any idea of getting married," said Miss Caldwell, in giving her version of the affair. "Pshaw! it was just in fun. Once we went over to St. Louis together, and we joked then about eloping, and Dan always said afterward that he I had proposed to elope, and he had bluffed me clean out." It Is believed in East St. Louis that the legal question involved will be settled by another ceremony, aud that Mr. Ramsay aud Miss Caldwell will speedily be married in real earnest. No Waste In Sugar Barrel*. "The great majority of the sugar and moIbsou hogsheads which are exported in this city," said a well known importer to a reporter, "find their way back to the West Indies again. The hogsheads are [bought from the dealers by some enterprising firm, who take them apart, clean the staves and bind them up into shooks or bundles, and export them, together with their heads, to Cuba. One firm have a yard In SoutL street in which they prepare 2,000 hogsheaiia per week for export The export trude in new shooks to the West Indies is also an important one, these last selling at from 91 to 6L75, while the second hand shooks bring fifty to seventy-five cents. The stave trade of New York is in the bands of a few firms, and as more than 11,500,000 worth of cooper age stock of this kind is exported, in addition to what is used in the immediate vicinity, the business is a large one. The staves which are so largely exported from New York to the Mediterranean and to England ore white oak. They come from the West, largely from Michigan. Staves are usually exported in the rough or unfinished state and range all the way from $00 to $150 per thousand for hogshead staves and $.S0 to $2UU for the finer grades, such us are used for the higher priced goods, and are known to the trade as pipe staves.?Now York Mail and Express. She Owes Her Life to Cold Water. Cold water is a remedy long favored by those believing in the hydropathic treatment of disease, but now it would seem that it is also eilicacious as a deterrent to suicide. Recently Miss Jessie (Jilmore, a young lady of Augusta, Kan., having had a misunderstanding with her betrothed, wrote farewell letters to all her friends in ' ? i I-? i I lUWliaim net lUTfi 111 uui bv/11, buvut j unci started for Wuluut river to put an end j to her misery. She carefully prepared for i the fatal plunge, but llrst tested the water, and finding it too cold her nerve failed, I and she readjusted her attire and returned I home. The letters had l>een read during j her absence and a search party organized : to recover the Ixjdy. Differences were ad! justed, and now in place of a funeral there \ will 1x5 a wedding. I Wants the Old O Ulcers lie tired. The recommendation of Secretary Tracy that provision bo made for retiring navul officers when they reach a certain age is attracting general attention. The secretary \ , points out that under the present rules the day is not far distant when the whole I grade of lieutenants will be composed of I men between the ages of thirty-seven and ' 1 fifty-four. They, of course, will have only subordinate responsibility, although in the prime of physical and intellectual vigor, while their superiors will lie persons far advanced toward old age. It is for this reason that Mr. Tracy suggests a change in the regulations. He wants to see i younger men fill the ranks now occupied i by tlio graylteards. ( From Chicago to London by Water. At various terms during the last ten or a dozen years venturesome mariners have I sailed medium sized lake craft from Chi- j cago to London and back again. Now that the Wclland canal has lieen enlarged to a i*ermaneiit depth of nine feet capitalists have organized a through freight steamer line, and hope to make a success of all water traffic betweeu the British isles ; aud the metropolis of Illinois. THE WORK OF CONGRESS. . Washington, March 4.?At noon < to-day the 51st congress (in the opin- 1 ion of many veteran legislators the ] most remarkable since the war) came 1 to an end by constitutional limitation, i From first to last the sessions were in- < teresting and eventful, and for no long < periods were they ever characterized ] by the dulness which occasionally for i days at a time marks the proceedings < of nearly every congress, and especial- | ly of those congresses in which the i first session is usually prolonged. 1 The actual working time of the 51st 3 congress exceeded that of any of its predecessors, and the nominal working i time that of all except the 50th con- 1 gress, and in the number of measures brought to its attention, and the num- 1 ber, variety and importance of those J acted on, it likewise surpassed all pre- i vim in ennoreases. ( Three measures, any of which in intrinsic importance and popular interest would bo sufficient for a national issue, stand forth pre-eminent among all 1 others: First, the McKinley tariff bill, i which became a law; second, the sil- 1 ver bill, on which in the first session a compromise was .effected., baaed , monthly purchases of 4,500,000 ounces of silver, which in turn was followed by a more radical measure that failed of passage, and third, the Federal elections bill, which, after a protracted, bitter, hotly fought and intensely exciting preliminary struggle, failed in the senate to reach a decisive vote on its merits. Radical innovations in the rules of the house added interest to the proceedings, and a determined but fruitless effort to adopt the most vital of these innovations formed part of the i history of the last part of the sessions of the senate. Even in its mortuary record congress, was remarkable, the call of death having summoned no fewer than twelve of its representatives and three senators. Many of the bills enacted into laws appropriate an unusually large amount of money, and the expenditures authorized will exceed those of any peace congress since the foundation of the government. The total appropriations made by the 50th congress were during the first session $395,337,516, and during the second session $422,626,343, or an aggregate of $817,965,859, while appropriations for the first session of the 51st congress were $460,627,697, and those of the second session will probably bring the total appropriations for this congress to $1,000,000,000. . ' The comparison of the work of the congress just closed with that of its predecessor makes the following ex hibit: Bills introduced in the house in the 51st congress, 14,033, against, in the 50th congress,12,654; increase, 1,379; joint resolutions, 274; increase, 10. Senate bills, 5,129, against 4,000, or an increase of 1,129; joint resolutions, 169; increase, 24. Bills passed by the house, 1,748, of which 1,513 become laws, and by the senate, 1,305, of which 673 become laws?making the total number of laws during the 51st congress 2,186, against 1,834 in the 50th congress; increase 362. The senate also postponed indefinitely 616 senate and 18 house bills, this being equivalent to defeat. During the 50th congress 161 bills were vetoed and during the 51st fourteen, the most important of which were the act establishing the record and pension office of the war department and the acts providing for public buildings at Bar Harbor, Me., Dallas, Texas, "1- >T V A lft J1UUSOU, i>. l.t UUU 1 ustmuwa, inu. Out of eighteen contested election coses the house seated eight of the Republican contestants and declared the seat of Breckenridge, of Arkansas, vacant. Two cases?Goodrich vs. Bullock, from Florida, and McGinnis versus Alderson, from West Virginia, in which the committee recommended the seating of the Republican contestants?were not disposed of, and the elections committee itself never acted on the Eaton vs. Phelan (Tennessee) case. The senate disposed of its sole contested election case by seating the two Republican senators from Montana. As the result of the work of congress a great number of measures which have for years occupied more or less of the attention of the legislative branch of the government will be transferred to the executive and judicial departments of the government, there perhaps to become equally familiar acquaintances. Among the "old stagers" which are now laws are the copyright bill, the private land court bill, (to settle disputes arising over Mexican grants in Western States and Territories,) the postal subsidy bill, Indian depredation claims bill, timber and pre-emption law repeal bill, making general revision of land laws, customs administrative bill, general land forfeiture bill, bill to relieve the supreme court by the establishment of intermediate circuit courts of appeal, United States judge's salaries bill, and the direct tax refund bill. The Blair educational bill, for appointment of an alcoholic liquor commission and eight hours' claims bill, are measures which were defeated on a test vote ; while among those which after passing one house failed of action in the other and will doubtless be wrestled with by succeeding congresses, are the bankruptcy bill, the Conger lard bill, and army reorganization bill. The l'addock pure food bill, the Nicaragua canal bill, the Pacific railroad funding bill and the Inter-State commerce bill to permit limited pooling of earnings by railroad companies, r..:m,i ,? are among Hie measures ?un.ii iuiiv.il iw reach a vote in either house. Among the measures on which neither house acted, except in some cases by committees, were the sub treasury and farm mortgage lulls, service pension bill, Canadian reciprocity resolution, bill to encourage the construction of an inter-continental railway, postal savings bank and postal telegraph bills. Butler's bill to aid negroes to emigrate to Africa, woman suffrage and prohibition constitutional amendments, income tax bill and various other radical financial and political measures. "A UUOI) ITSTOMKK OF OI KS." When Rodney came into the club the other evening, one of the boys remarked : "Ah, Rod, you're looking pretty slick!" Yes, and I am feeling pretty slick, as you term it. My eye-teeth have come through since the last time I was j around here. One evening, not long ago. I dropped in at Brack's to get a j few bowls: and while I was sitting at 1 a table drinking. Brack, after shaking j hands with several convivial friends i and bidding them good-bye, chanced ; to come near my table. The old fel- j low that was waiting on me?the one i we call Bismarck?thought to pay me j a high compliment by giving me an : introduction to his master, and turn- J ing to Brack said : This is Mr. Rodney, a good customer of ours.' "Brack sat down and ordered the ' drinks. He was exceedingly jestful, j and laughed immoderately at some lit- j tie pleasantry uttered by himself, and 1 I attempted to be of good cheer, but if ! I smiled at all it must have been in a ; constrained way. for certain words lay , with shudder-inspiring clamminess on , my mind : : 'Mr. Rodney is a good customer of ! ours.' ' Many a time had I sat at that table, I studying the faces of the clamorous , crowd about me, and many an ui-epent dollar had I left there, bat never before bad it struck me that I had been picked out as a 'good customer of our*/ [ went out with the words still ringing in my ears, and meditatively strolled along Michigan avenue. Hundreds of resplendent equipages whirled past. A man gaily waved nis hand at me. He was driving a handsome span cf horses. I recognized Brack. 'A good customer of ours.' Good customers of ours had provided him with that striking turn-out. But where was my team? "I went home. My wife was cooking supper. We could not aflhrd to keep a girl.- My wife had said so, and [ had agreed with her. She had oftdn declared that 1 was working too hard, and that it was no nfbre than right that she should attempt to cat down expenses. I had agreed to all this, for I knew that I did work hard, and I prided myself that I bad never Dee* intoxicated, and yet?I was 'a gopd customer of ours.' We sat down' to Bupper. My wife?and how frixy she did look?sat with her arpSrestingoa the table. 'Aren't yowgoing to eat anything?' tasked. " T7ot nowv she'ans wered, 'I'm so tired that I haven't any appetite.' (< 'Mr. Rodney is a good customer of ours,' the tea-kettle hummed, and a cat, purring at the leg of my chair, seemed to repeat the words. A chill crept over me. " 'What have you learned at school to-day ?' I asked my little daughter. " 'I didn't go to school to-day,' she answered. "'Why?' "My wife looked up wearily and said: 'Her shoes are worn out. &he11 have to wait until we can get her a new pair. "Great God ! 'A good customer of ours.' "I went into the sitting room anfrlay on the sofa. A troop of reproachftil thoughts skurried through my brain. And then, old, villainous human nature tried to soothe me; 'You were never drunk,' it said, 'you have always been kind to your family. You drink of an evening when your work is done, but you need some sort of recreation. You spend money, it is true, but why does a man care to live if he cannot enjoy himself occasionally.'. Ah, how easy it would have been to yield, but truth, in a sad tone of repro val, waved aside the tempting scoundrel and said: 'The money you spend for beer would make your home a rest-inspiring and happy place. You say that you must have recreation. What recreation has your wife? Whose good customer is she?' "My wife came into the room and sat down near me. " 'Are you very tired ?' she asked, in a voice low and sweet with sympathy's music. /. /it_ af T ij . l.?l? U..4 " "i>0 r 1 L'UUIU UUl licip UUk Ubioiui, 'I am oot tired, but a good customed of?I mean that I am a brute." " 'Why, what do you mean ?' she asked in surprise. "' I mean exactly what I say?that I am simply a brute. I have wasted many a dollar that I should have brought home; my selfishness has kept you hard at work when you should have been reading some entertaining hook. In truth, I am a good customer at a beer hall and you are a slave?' " 'Oh, don't say that, dear,' she implored, gently smoothing back my hair. 'I am sure that your position demands the spending of some money. You must not be made to appear selfish.' "' Oh, no,' I replied bitterly, 'I must throw .money away?I must be a thoughtless brute at home so that I may not appear thoughtfully selfish among my town associates. We'll not discuss it, but we shall see.' "We have seen," Rodney continued . after a short pause. "We have seen a girl in the kitchen; we have seen my daughter, bright and well clothed, going to school?have seen my wife rested and cheerful, and especially have we seen that I am no longer 'a good customer of ours."' Definition of Bible Terms.?A day's journey was about twenty-three and one-fifth miles. A Sabbath day's journey was about an English mile. Ezekiel's reed was nearly 11 feet. A cubit was nearly 22 inches. A hand's breadth is equal to three and five-eighths inches. A finger's breadth is equal to one inch. A shekel of silver was about fifty cents. A shekel of gold was $8. A talent of silver was $538.30. A talent of gold was $13,809. A piece of silver, or a penny, was 13 cents. A farthing was three cents. A mite was less than a quarter of a cent. A gerah was a cent. An ephah, or bath, contains seven gallons and five pints. A bin was one gallon and two pints. A firkin was seven pints. An omer was six pints. A cab was three pints.?Evangelist. Vcir There are more ducks in the Chinese empire, says an authority, than in all the world outside of it. They are kept by the Celestials ou ** An every iunu, uu me puvmc vu the public roads, on streets of cities, and on all the lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and brooks in the country. Every Chinese boat also contains a batch of them. There are innumerable hutching establishments all through the empire, many of which are said to turn out about fifty thousand young ducks every year. Salted and smoked ducks and ducks' eggs constitute two of the most common aud important articles of diet in China. It is said that between the island of Madagascar and the coaat of India there are 16,000 islands, only 600 of which arc inhabited. In any of these islands a man can live and support his family in princely luxury without working more than twenty-five days in the year. In fact on some of these islands he needn't work at all, as Nature provides the food, and no clothes are required. It is strange that the great fraternity of lazy men have not drifted to these islands ; or it would be if they were not so lazy. Sidr A novel entertainment was recently invented by a country social club. The ladies were requested to bring thread, needles and several buttons ; the gentlemen, hammers. The ladies were given a block of wood with * * J J nails and a nummcr, anu urovu us many nails into their blocks in five minutes as possible; tho gentlemen taking sewing materials and sewing 011 as many buttons in ten minutes as possible. Prizes were given the successful competitors, and all had a merry time. BaT Here is a very clever pun from Rowland Hill: When at college Hill had a conversation with some of his companions 011 the powers of the letter h, when it was contended that it was 110 letter but a mere aspirate. Rowland took the opposite side, and insisted on its being, to all intents and and purposes, a letter and concluded by observing that if it was not so, it was a very serious thing for him, as it would occasion his being ill all his life. HaT "Mamma, where do the cows get the milk?" asked Willie, looking up from the foaming pan of milk which lie had been intently regarding "Where do you get your tears ?" was the answer. After a thoughtful silence he again broke out, "Do the cows have to be spanked, then ?"