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* A plan lias just been formed for laying a cable between England and Germany. In spite of the close inter ests of the two countries, there has hitherto been no direct means of com munication between them, bul two officials of a German port were in London recently, consulting for the carrying out of the project which is now considered as having been defi nitely settled. From statistics recently gathered, it •eem that while American women may be more advanced in their ideas than their European sisters, the num ber who have to work for a living is comparatively small. In the United States it is estimated that there are 2,700 000 working women; in Eng land, 4,000,000; in Franco, 3,750,000; in Germany, 5,500,000; in Austro- Hungury, 3,750,000. English newspaper correspondents who have attempted to penetrate into the interior of Russia to feel the senti* ment of the people have in every in stance met overly polite officers who turned them back and accompanied them to seaport towns to see that they didn’t stub their toes and fall down on the way. ‘‘No other Kennans will ever got into Russia,” predicts the Detroit Free Press. A preliminary summary of the population of the Hawaiian kingdom has bee t made, giving a total of 90,- 046. The net increase is seen to be 9478, or almost exactly 11 3-4 per cent. It is learned that for the first time in the history of the kingdom the native Hawaiians, including all of either pure or mixed blood, are an ab solute minority of the whole popula tion. This is due partly to the de crease of natives, who have fallen oil about eight per cent., but still more to the increase of Hawaiian born for- einers and foreign born, who have gained over 13,000, or about thirty-six per cent. Says a correspondent of the Seattle (Washington) Post-Intelligencer: “la the matter of the sale of poisons by druggists, the method adopted by a friend of mine many years ago, and which I had the pleasure to recom mend to the Legislature of Georgia, when considering a bill of this charac" ter, will make the law absolutely per fect. The law as to colored paper 9 and labels and the word ‘Poison’ is all very well for persons who can read, and in daylight, but if the present law were amended to make it obligatory that every druggist should put poison in a three-cornered bottle (the cost is no greater), bi If We Could Know. ■Whither do our footsteps tend? More and more we yearn to know As life's shadows longer grow. And the evening hours descend, And before us lies the end. When the door shall open wide, And behind us softly close, What to our expectant eyes ■Will the future life disc’ose? Shall we see a morning Break, Fair and fragrant and serene, Seeming like the blessed dream Of some unforgotten eve? Shall we walk in gladness on, Under smiling skies of blue Through an ever deepening dawn, Into wide fields fresh and new? Meeting those who came before, Knowing each familiar look And each well remembered tone, Though so ma'iy years had flown, Since each other's hand we took. Saying farwells o’er and o’er? Shah we talk of earthly day , Speaking low, with bated breath. Of the awful mystery Of our human life and death; Shall we wonder to recall How our hearts were prone to fear, How we scarce y dared to hope In any heaven, so fair, so near? Ah! if we could only know, As the shadows deeper grow. Whither our swift footsteps tend, As they surely near the end! FEE NUT-BROWN MAID. BY MAKY C. PRESTOX. Never had the world looked so love ly to Inez Kent—never had life teemed so well worth the having, as when, turning her pretty pony’s head, the rode homeward with Vane Carrol, tier distant kinsman, whose mother's jucst she had been fora whole mouth. He was so tall and princely; so graceful, courtly, polished; and then die only son of one of (he richest wo men in the state; and Inez, with all ier beauty and her grace, was not over burdened with worldly gear, nor had so eligible a party ever shown such pleasure in her society; and Inez Kent was very worldly and practical* lespite of a piuk-and-whitc daintiness, a delicate ethereal softness of ’ace and manner, which made her :hief charm. “Of what are you (hinkirg, little unisin?” Vane questioned, with a unile, as they cantered side by side. “Your face is full of sunlight. Is •.here some lover who is responsible for those dimples?’’ “No,” she answered, with a blush ind a shy, swift glance into his laugh ing eyes. “I have no lover,Vane, and [ was thinking only of how happy I am here.” He smiled very kindly—almost, she thought, tenderly—at her. “You have brightened our house,” All around him. were wan, white faces, weeping women, wailing chil dren, and more than one man's eyes were dim, as he watched a little home, reared so slowly and with such toil swept away by the flood. “My friends,” Vane called out, as he sat like a young prince on his horse, his face showing pale and grave in the gray light, “I am truly sorry for your misfortunes; but if no life is in dan ger, all else can be borne. Now, let tbe women and children all go (o my mother. She will shelter them gladly, and we men will save what we can.” A few broken voices breathed bless ings on him as, dismounting, he went among them, saying cheering words here and there and sending all the wet shivering women with their frightened little ones to the great house on the hill. Suddenly he saw that a couple of men were about to venture ou the swollen waters iu a small boat. “If all are safe, why risk your lives?” he asked them. “All are not safe, sir,” one replied, hurriedly. We never thought of old Mr. Glaviu and his niece, and their house is surrounded by the water— has been so for hours. The old man is a paralytic, the niece only a slip of a girl. They’re in danger, sir, and we’re going to try to get them.” “I’ll go wilh you,” said Vane, stop ping into the boat. And in a moment they were out in the rush and swell of the current, un able, for nil their six strong arms, to guide the boat. Several times they were caught among floating debris; they were swung round and round; the boat was dashed forcibly against some building which the water sur rounded. At last, with infinite trouble, they secured the boat at an open window in the second story of a cottage, of which only that floor and the roof were visible above the surface. With a ringing cheer one of them leaped over the sill, and Vane looked after them. In a great chair, with shawls wrapped about him, and a shrinking terror in his large eyes, sat the paraly tic; beside the chair, slight, pale, but firm as steel, stood a girl, with eyes like stars and lips that began to quiver as she saw the help that had come; while at her feet, with his low whines changing to joyful barking, crouched a great black dog. The chair was wheeled to the win - dow, the helpless man lifted into the boat; then the girl put out her hands to Vane, and, as his closed on (hem, lie drew her over Uic sill, s love she felt] chagrin arej and they wi From herl Vane and the gr< grave, hers about the vij “1 will gt said to hersi And on tlj And wh( placed licfl and vowed knew that it not bis bro: Night. A D The nov physician son fromoi at the “Z) crowd of spectators tauce, for viciouslj# a of intense Just wl poison af sional seer It is used of nervou as a conn worth sc\; water d The riie >ut disappointment ami | . pTjy fvc TpUpTCC: >t pleasant companions, ri VII I UF I .piVi 1 L.CO. with her. | Such is Benares, India’s Refuge for Idolatrous Pilgrims. I Besides the Temples There are ' Sacred Bulls and Monkeys. riudow she could see ^trice walking slowly iu his face earnest and lyly beut, wilh ainiles I d lips. nome to-morrow,” she morrow she went, the “nut-brown maid” I .le olive hand in Vane’s, im love and honor, he was himself she valued, osscssious. — [Saturday of Rare Poison. ^spectacle of a well-known jf this city extracting poi- Irt of the deadly rattlesnakes l’r was witnessed by a large ivisito.s yesterday. The tood at a respectable dis- |ie hideous reptile hissed I d showed every evidence age. the doctors do with the they r get it is a profes- Tiat has never leaked out. a medicine in some kind diseases, so it is said, and {nsreial product the poison is cal times its weight iu first ijonds. aod of obtaining the poison |iing and exciting. The doc- Jiy assisted in the operation Keeper Byrne,who thorough- [t.uids the habits of all the It the “Zoo.” is iutenj tor is us\ by Head ly under! reptiles The do ctor approaches the rattle' snake ca«'e with a stick about a yard long, on one end of which is a stout leather loop that tightens when the stick is raised. This is inserted at the top of the cage, and instantly every snake coils himself for a spring, and warning rattle, is deftly slipped over the iptile before it has had a to spring, and the stick is quid# - withdrawn with the snake dangj'g from one end of it. No time : is losfia pulling the snake out of the cage^ 9 the other enraged snakes are sink their poisonous fangs body of their dangling com ic assistant then holds a large of glass in front of the snake, doctor dashes his hand against Ur side of the glass until the rdpile is beside himself with rage. The snake, after sending forth the vvfniiig rattle, dashes his head against tlb protecting pane, and invariably V re is left a tiny d^M^^^son ou glass. This a he Although the temples in Benares are numerous, they are, with scarcely an exception, modern. Many of them are believed to bo on the sites of ancient temples that have long since passed away. Probably not one of them dates earlier than the Moham medan invasion of India. The temples of Benares and nearly all of them in Northern India are small and uuira- posing when compared with the grand and stately temples of Southern India. The temple of Bisheshmar, Lord of the Universe, known also as Mahadcy, is probably the largest, and certainly tbe most popular of all the sacred city’s temples. It occupies one corner of a large square, the greater portiou of which is an elevated platform. On one side of it stands the principal mosque of the city. It is built on the site and partly with the materials of the ancient temple of Bisheshmar, which was destroyed by the order of Arungzeb. A high and massive wall surrounds the temple, and in the midst of the quadrangle is a raised platform with a roof, above which arc images in sandstone, marble, and brass of va- I rions gods and goddesses, who form, as it were, the court of Bisheshmar. The India metal workers and those of their craft have their shops near the gate of the temple. There idols can be bought according to weight, or workmanship, and not a little wrang ling may be heard as the seller praises and the buyer disparages, the image . of the god that both of them worship. At all hours of the day, but specially i from 5 a. ra. to 12, crowds of wor shippers pass iu and out of the temple. Each one comes at the hour most cou- | venient for himself, as there is r.o appointed time, and worships any or all of the gods as ho may please. Each worshipper in this temple must of necessiiy pay homage to Bisheshmar, the presiding deity. Many women of middle life or aged are to be seen in the temple. Bands of pilgrims who speak strange tongues arc conducted through the temple by a paid guide, who directs them in the ceremonies that must be performed, and insists upon the offerings that must bo made to insure the full spirit ual benefit of a visit to the sacred ' £Oi ; Men and women move around Plwscdly, noisily, muttering pray- icrs, proclaiming the^j; ^ jnversini tween them. The natives of Muttra are not able to distinguish the monkeya of one colony from those of the other when they meet any of their simian fellow-citizens- Not so with the mon keys, however, for if any member of one colony ventures to invade the ter ritory of the others, a desperate battle begins, in which all the monkeys of the two colonies engage. — [New York Times. Training Elephants. “The training or elephants,” says “Elephant” Bill Newman, the veteran trainer in charge of Barnum’s herd, “requires a vast deal of patience and much care. For instance, to teach one of them to stand on his hind feet re quires a heavy block and tackle. Just back of the fore legs is the rope which runs over a block and to which is at tached another elephant. Elephant number two walks away, elephant number one lifts his fore legs from the floor. Sometimes this has to be done for days before the beast real izes what is required of him. Then he is quite willing to try it himself. At first lifting his feet a few inches from the floor, l.e is finally persuaded < rv «4 3 * -- ' J ^ to stand erect on his hind legs. This simply illnstrates the ponderous diffi culty and the great amount of patience required for training the animal. But once taught he generally remembers it. I spent several months once, though, trying to teach “Don” to write his name. He learned to hold the chalk correctly, and after tracing a capital **D” for several score of thousand times lie be came an adept in writing “D's,” but when he had mastered the small “o” we found that the construc tion of the letter “D” had entirely faded from Don’s mind ; so I gave it up. We have to be fertile and imagina tive in devising tricks and schemes. The entry of the keeper ou a chair placed on the tusks of an elephant is an idea which Hashed across me some few weeks ago. I tried it and feund that it worked, and it has been one of the most sensational features of our act this year. Very often tricks on which we have set great store do not “go” at all. It is exasperating, but j then if we trainers are not gifted with | patience we have no excuse for being j trainers. “Yes, I have trained all sorts of birds and beasts, but I never found any animal so docile, patient or obe dient us an elephant. They are the only animals that will answer to their names promptly and without mistake. But it is a long, tedious piece of work. Only a natural love for the au^ could persuade any npu 1 Our Choir. There’s Jane Sophia, And Ann Maria, With Obediab, And Jedekiab, In our choir. And Jane Sophia, soparno, sings So high you’d think her voice had wingl To soar above all earthly things, When she leads off on Sunday; While Ann Maria’s alto choice Rings out in such harmonious voice That sinners in the church rejoice, And wish she’d sing till Monday. Then Obediah’s tenor high Is unsurpassed beneath the sky; Just hear him sing ’ Sweet by and By,’' And you will sit and wonder; While Jedekiah’s bass profound Goes down so low i. jars the ground. And wakes the echoes miles around, Like distant rolling thunder. Talk not to ns of Patti's fame, Of Nicolini’s tenor tame. Of Cary's alto—but a name— Of Whitney’s ponderous bassol They sing no more like Jaoe Sophia, And Ann Maria, Obediab. And Jedekiab in our choir. Than cats sing like Tonnnnao I — [Musical Record HUMOROUS. Full measure—Ten dollars or t« days. Natural philosophy—Taking care < number one. Welcome converts stale bread int hot biscuits buttered. The detective’s business should bo successful following. Now a tack combine is forming Who will be brave enough to “si down” on it? The office may seek the man; bu the boy looking for a job comes dowr on it like a mob. Customer—Are you sure this bread is fresh, baker? Fresh baker—Well, I should say so, it’s tomorrow’s. There is no solitude so miserable as that of the man alone iu a . oisy city, unless it be that of a man mo with a noisy baby. Soberly—Do you believe, Sprat by, that there is luck iu hor- . Y>cs? Sprathy—If there is it stays 'em. I never knew of any cornin’ out of I ’em. Painter: Doctor, I should like to : present this painting to some public institution; now which would you recommend? Doctor: The Blind Asy lum. Caruthers—It takes a good deal of urging to get Miss Pruyn to sing. Waite—Yes, but it can bo done. What I want to learn is how to stop her om~» she gets/ 1