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It pays to have a pedigree. Horseflesh sold in three counties of Kentucky the past year yielded *3.000,000 to the farmers. The Russian Emperor as he grows j older becomes in appearance more and more a typical Cossack; colossal iu figure, entirely bald, flat-nosed, and enormously mustacued and bearded. I According to the New York Tribune I the paupers of the Blockley Almshouse, Philadelphia, can't complain that their lives are monotonous. White they are sleeping the sleep of the pauper, largo nnd hungry rats nimble their toes, and while they are partaking of their dinners, the resident physician and other officials engage iu rat-shooting contests. According to a French newspaper" the Germans iu Berlin, under the direction of the editor, Paul ITennig, arc about to install a museum devoted to Bismarck, and which is to contain ouly articles which have been associated with the Prince, such as books, biographies, newspaper extracts relating to him, photographs, busts, statues, autographs, caricatures, utensils and articles of toilet which have been used by the great man. Another woman of respectable position lias been seized in a New York city dry goods store and bundled to the police station charged with shoplifting. There is grave doubt of her guilt, but be that .sis it mnv. it would be far more seemlv. dn the opinion of the Detroit Free Press. to aak a woman so suspected to step into a private room and give her an opportunity to explain before publicly disgracing her. "It is a fact beyond question that in certain New York shops the most honest and respectable woman may by reason of some inadvertence, absent Handedness or mistake of her own be just so placed. In one of these stores a lady was some tine since arrested and narrowly escaped being locked up because a lace handkerchief had caught on a button of her gown and she was quite unconsciously carrying it away. But then the floor walking private detectives must earn their salaries." Both North and South Dakota are having a hard struggle with poverty in their 'first days of Statehood. Great as have been reported the agricultural resources of these new States, at least 20,000 people are now destitute of food, and without means to buy anv. At least three ~ 1 counties of South Dakota did cot grow enough wheat for their own use, on account of frost. The failure was still worse in North Dakota. These regions will conic out all right in time, but their pioneers arc suffering, as did the early j pioneers in older sections, and actually j need help to-day. 1 ? I ! It is dangerous to let a man die in a ' / . 1 hotel in Paris. A queer French law enables the landlord to present his bill to , the relatives for the death. The sum of j Si40 was the item recently demanded | from au American family for the decease ' * I of one of its members in a well-known | hotel. This extortion would have been j three times as great if the person had died of a contagious disease, and doubled j if the deceased had been a Prince or a : member of any rich old aristocratic family. The allowances bv the Judges, I ? ' I however, are generally much less thau the claims of the landlords. The New York Tihics thinks "it rather reinarkabie tnat mis country suouiu hold the record' for the leaping of horses. This accomplishment comes into play only in hunting, and the hunting in this country is of course very trifling in comparison with that in the British islands. Nevertheless, Ac <? ;ican-bred horses have for some years beaten the records made abroad. The performance in Chicago in which two Canadian animals cleared a bar j six feet ten and a quarter inches from the ; ground is by far the most remarkable yet : achieved. Such a leap would be unusual for a horse at liberty, while lor a horse and rider it is wonderful. ]f the Canadians can succeed in breeding horses that combine speed and stoutness with the this capacity for jumping, the market for them in London will be practically un- j limited, and the prices what in Canada it- . self would seem fabulous." Since tho j foregoing was penned, one of the Cana- 1 dian horses referred to has beaten our record, jumping six feet eleven and threequarter inches. Through the generosity of various persons interested in this subject, the American Economic Association of Baltimore, >Id., has received the sum of $500 to be I awarded as prizes for the best essays oa j the subject of women wage-earners. The j money is to be awarded in the propor tion of $300 for the first prize and $200 j for the second prize. Any person is eii- j gible to competition. While the ex pericnce of foreign countries will not be excluded, it is expected that competitors will deal principally with the American aspect of the subject. It is desired to know the early and present condition of women wage-earners, their growth in numbers both absolutely and in proportion to population, the present extent of itheir sphere of labor, the economic and social evils connected with their various occupations as wage-earners, and remedies for these evils. The essay must not exceed 25,000 words, and must bo in the hands of the Secretary of the association previous to Nov. 1, 1890. Each paper must be type-written, sigued by a fictitious name, and accompanied by a | sealed envelope containing the name assumed as well as the address of the author. I MOT WITHOUT CARE. You may build you au elegant mansion And fence it around with gold. Set it all with diamonds and rubies; You may keep out the wind and cold. You may banish from it all intruders, Have music and levity there: You may shut out Discord and EnvyBut you cannot shut out Care. You may build you a lowly cottage, You may paint it all in white, Grow vines and shade-trees about it, Let in only sunshine and light; You may keep out the envy and malice That wrinkle the faces we wear, You may keep Love -inside, and Contentment? But you cannot keep out Care. V/vi mn** n-itVi tho vnira of mi nntrel. You may dance with a fniry's feet. You may laugh till your laughter makes ! music j For every oue that you meet; You may dance till your feet .seem twinkling. Till the roses fade in your hair, You may dance till the world dies of envy? i But you cannot dance away Care. You may smile in the face of women Who envy your very life, As you hide from their eyes all the burdens, j The weariness, heart-aches and strife; You may live so the poor will adore you, Live a life that the world calls fair; You may let love be conquered by Duty? But you cannotrlivcwithdut Care. " ?Ella Hi'jginson, in Demorest. A WOMAN'S STRUGGLE, j i'v ir.xEs r.rpvnnn. . U4I do not see why/' said Octaviu; but she said it dubiously. For a roomcut she thought Gilbert j Fralcby would laugh. She hoped he j would. The dogged steadiness with j which he met her resistance at every j point threw her helplessly back upon he:-1 self. If he had relaxed from his direct insistancc for one moment she could have j gathered her forces together lor another i effort at defense. He gave her no chance. ' All her arguments, cogent as they had j been, as she urged them against her own heart in her solitude, seemed to fall j scattered and impotent to the ground under the thraldom of the man's ovcrweeu- j iug personal influence. Her goaded ! sensibilities whirled suddenly and she j flashed upon him angrily: 4-Xo, I do not sec why a man should j not permit his wife to be an actress. I ! do not see why he should put a womau, if lie pretends to love her, to the alterna- j tive of choosing between him and a ca- ' reer for which she feels in every fibre of j her being that she has a vocation." "A man probably wants the woman he loves to himself." "Some men." she distinguished, with J the flush still on her cheek. "Not all men are selfish enough to wish to bury i away forever n spark of the divine live ! a woman may have received in order that they may possess her, as they imagine, the more fully." Octavia was trembling, but Gilbert j Fraleby only looked at her as though she ! were raving. "If you really loved me," she burst j forth again, "you would not ask such a ! sacrifice of me." llis silence seemed to put that question away as though it were not worth discussing. She could erect no barriers that his attitude did not throw down. When he left her Octavia had made no headway. Her problem stared her in the face, as uusolvablc now as it had been } for days and weeks. She had reached ' the point where aid of some sort must j come from without. If she should lay j her case before one who could judge of ' its bearings from the outside? She hastily put on outdoor apparel aud j left the house. Her purpose carried her strangely enough, it would have seemed I to some people, to a woman compara- i tirely a stranger to her. But Octavia'.* j instincts did not mislead her. She found >: in this woman, much older than herself, ' that wonderful quality of perfectly in- ; telligcnt human sympathy which is one of the rarest as it is the most sacred our race i falls heir to. She listened to Octavia in I a deep-eyed silence which gave the girl, ! as she went in with a tremulous eager- j uess, a sense of keen and absolute com- | prchcusiou and of that respect aud rever- , ence at the same time for the trouble of J any soul which is the keynote of the power for help that such people possess, j She had a varied experience. She had ; seeu life in many aspects. "My dear child, you put upon me a ; grave responsibility," she said. "I I should not feel that I could advise you. i We must all stand for ourselves." "Yes, I kuow what you mean. But ; generally?-impersonally " "Impersonally?generally- -my dear j child, when a woman hesitates between ambition and love *' "No, no, not ambition!" "Ah, yes," said the older woman, : gently. "There is ambition, too, though if may seem but the weaker part. I shall say, though, when a womau hesitates be- j tween the love of her art and the love for the one man who could make her' wretched or blessed " She paused J and Octavia raised her eyes. "Yes, ldo Jove him so, she murmured J beneath her breath. "Then, my child, believe me?marry i him. Yes," she continued, as Octavia j turned her face impetuously away, 1 "marry him. I know what is going on ; iuyour soul now. You are young; you I have beauty; I believe you have genius. If you choose this career that lies before , you, I also believe that you would win j its fairest and its greatest prizes. But j arc such things enough for us women? ! Out of my own experience let me warn j you, child?no! To some, perhaps, to , whom it is given to love lightly, there ! might be some compensation some day for what you would give up now. But | you are not, I think, of that order of souls." Octavia had covered her eyes with her J hands. "Yes, yes, I know I should suffer! Oh, | I believe I should suffer always if I gave ( him up. But such power as I feel in myself is surely a divine gift! It is rightthat I should suffer and sacrifice my happiness for its sake. I cannot fling it . away." She had ariseu to her feet, as though ' to escape from the counselor she had j sought. The elder woman's worn, ten- j der, placid gaze rested on her in that saddened patience with such exaltations | which comes to those who have seen toe i often the bitter ashes of dead enthusiauis. ; She kissed the girl gently and let .her go. Then she sighed softly to herself* "And thus it will be with women to ; the end of the world. Only in youth , they will never know how sad it is for ; womeu to sit by silent firesides alone and bear the nations praising them afar." t Octavia fled homeward as though trying to escape from herself. There she drew off her gloves with feverish haste and passed her hands repeatedly over her forehead. The thought, of Gilbert Frale!?y now only presented itseif to her in the light of an immense temptation. By just so much as she felt herself precipitated toward him by her love and the inexorable impetus of a woman's fate did she struggle against the tide that was bearing her away and fasten herself blindly to the one thought that tliis sacrifice must be made, laid on the altar of that divine gift of which she felt herself only the receptacle", the- rejjository. 'Many other considerations had entered heretofore into her battles with herself* The fear that Gilbert would thiDk it .u weakhearted shrinking from poverty withhim, an ignoble desire for the riches which she could command if she went upon the staire had been one of them. Now noth ing remained but a desperate determina- j t ion to hold fast to an ideal?such determination as might have inspired the vestal virgins, also custodians of a holy flame. And sitting down, without giv- j ing herself time for hesitation, she wrote | the few lines following with a flying j pen: H H Dear Sir?I have decided to accept your offers for an engagement. I should be glad to be able to see you, with a view to the settling ot" certain details, and with as little delay as possible. # j* ~ t. if * * * When Gilbert Fraleby left the office of Fielding, Homer & Co., lawyers, he left it a ruined man. A man whom one I speaks of as ruined is usually understood } to have fallen from some at least moderate I height. But this was not the case with Gilbert Fraleby. lie had always been a ! poor man and he expected to remain a j poor man. He had always had a saturn- i iue contempt for the greed of wealth. Walkiug-aJong the crowded down-towothoroughfare now he asked himself whether lie had been in his right mind ; ? i the past year that he had so far departed ! from the customs of his whole life as to | lie drawn iuto these speculative transnc- ! tions which, through the rascality of one | who had called himself his friend, had ! ' j suddenly left him literally beggared. It j seemed lo him that he must have lost ins mental balance. Well, the retribution for his folly had come upon him swiftly: lie thought of it with a half whimsical j bitterness, lie should have to begin again'now from the beginning. Gilbert I suddenly winced. Octavia's name had j confronted him, staring conspicuously i from a poster. It was not the first time. She was being well advertised for her first metropolitan appearance. He went 011 j blindly enough for a moment and uncoil- j scions of the surging crowd around him. He found himself at a ferry before he | realized the direction he had taken: ' Mechanically he passed his money through to th:; ticket taker and walked 011 to the j ferry-boat and lo the extreme forward, part of it. j It was at the crowded evening hour, | and the men stood closely packed to the j furthermost edge. A breeze blew stffly i in Gilbert Fraleby's face and the slanting j sun rays dazzled him. He leaned over J the railing and siarcd down at the churned ' track of white and green waters beneath, j A sort of daze had come over him. A j veil seemed to cover the future, lie! realized that his life, which had seemed to break sharply that day, had really j broken a year ago. It did not seem to I matter much how he ever took it up again. lie felt himself suddenly pushed froin behind, and the crowd surged forward. As he raised himself there was shriek , from the throats of the terrified women. A dark form had thrown itself over the ! edge. A glimpse of one outfiing arm, > of a tattered plaid shawl, rose above the water. Gilbert Fraleby,, tore oft his coat and plunged after it. There was a moment of wild confusion on board. A bell rang. The engines stopped. Gilbert Fraleby rose once to j the surface and again disappeared. The second time he clutched the woman. A j small boat had been put out. A rope j was lowered. The woman was dragged j up. Gilbert Fraleby, exhausted, sank ; again. As he came to the surface for : the third time, he struck, with head and ! shoulders, against the side of the boat, j Then followed unconsciousness. Life returned to him in the ambulance j and drifted away afresh, to renew itself j once more in the narrow hospital cot. ! Cleau, white curtains surrounded him, : and a tall, straight, middle aged woman, j with a stout face and a white apron and some white about her neck, hovered over | some bandages and bottles near his bed, i which was the last one in the ward. Then j everything grew confused, and intervals I of delirium followed sanity after what I seemed ages. j One morning, at lust, sinity remained. An ugly, snub faced, good humored looking young doctor was smiling broadly i down into Gilbert Fralcby's eyes. ; ' Well, you'll pull through now; that was a tine thing you did. The woman's case has got in the newspapers, too. : Guess I'll have to let the reporters know j you'll soon be on your feet again, as well, j Good deal of interest felt about it. ' There's been a subscription raised for the : woman. Guess she won't be trying to j make way with herself immediately j again.'' "Poor wretch! The best thing I could , have done for her would have been to let j her go down." The young doctor stared, then laughed ; at his patient's whimsicality. The slow hours dragged away. A dc- , termincd looking young woman, fashion- j ably dressed, waiked with a business-like [ pace through the ward carrying some j papers under her arm. She and the sister j in charge had a whispered chat by the i door and then the young lady disap- i pearcd. After a while the nurse came to j him and offered him a paper. An hour later she passed by. "The lignt is gcxung ramcr poor to ; read," she suggested good naturally. "I was not reading," said Fraleby. lie laid the paper down and turned his face to the wall. Another day of interminable hours j passed. Some vistors came in to sit by the bedside of mothers, husbands and I fathers. They talked little. They looked j about them with dull eyes. After a while Gilbert Fraleby closed ! his "Gilbert 1" He thought he was dreaming. Octavia's voice was in his ear, Octavia's face, tense with a passion too deep for words, leaned over his?after nvear. "Oh, Gilbert, Gilbert!" The ward was empty now, save of its patients. With a <juick gesture she pulled the curtains that his face and hers might be screened The tears had started now and were pouring down her cheeks. *'I have been rending about your triI umphn," Gilbert Fraleby said after a I pause. She started forward and the palm of I licr hand closed over his lips. ' My triumphs! I shall never act again!" She never did. She married Gilbert Fraleby. Thus ended her Woman's struggle. ?New York Mercury. Fish and Bird in a Death Grapple. A kiugfisher sat on a branch of a dead tree, on the edge of Lake Kcuka. the other day, near Fairchild's Point, N. Y., watching for his dinner. A black bass fisherman was in his boct in the cove only two/ or'tlirefi-rods -fitaeve the spot, where the bird was sitting. He quit fishing, and kept his eye-on the kingfisher, curious to sec the bird dive for its fish when the .time came. He had to * l r-_ - rtoU ,.?mn wait out a snort unit-, jur ? mu within the line of the kingfisher's vision, and the bird dropped like a stone into the water and disappeared beneath the surr'acc. It reappeared almost immediately with a fish impaled in its strong, spear-like beak. ThcAird's body had scarcely come to the ffil'acc, however, when it disappeared agfwi with a sudden ness that left no doubt mat it had been jerked back by something that had seized it. The kingfisher did not come up again, and the fisherman rowed to the spot where it had gone down to see if he could find an explanation of the bird's extraordinary disappearance. A dead pickerel, about eight inches long, was floating on the water. A hole through its body below the dorsel fin showed plainly enough that the pickerel was the fish the kingfisher had speared. The fisherman drifted about the spot for some time, but beiug unable to discover anything that would solve the mystery of the bird's disappearance, was turning his ,bpat to rajv back to the qQve when something came w the 'stifface 'near the shore twenty-five yards below. The fisherman rowed down to the spot, and to his surprise found an immense pickerel and with it the kingfisher. One of the kingfisher's legs was between the great jaws of the pickerel, the latter's long teeth ! --x xL L xl ?V, ,-f Thn UL']D?r llliUU^U miU ujiuu^u it. * ***, kingfisher's long, keen bill was thrust through the pickerel's body from side to side, six inches below the head. The. situation explained itself. The pickerel had seized the kingfisher as it was rising from the water with the small fish .and pulled it back beneath the surface, expecting to dine on it. The big bird had instinctively turned and jabbed its beak through the pickerel, inflicting u fatal wound. The pickerel, with the bulldog tenacity of its kind, had kept its hold on the bird's leg, and the two had died together and floated to the surface. The position of thojtwo was not changed, and they have been sent a Rochester taxidermist to be preserved and mounted as they appear in their death embrace.? -Y<?e York Svn. Marriage Among the Kadi's. Marriages in China and India are bad enough, but it seems the Kaffir brides have even worse hardships to undergo. A Kaflir having fixed his affcctious upon some female, acquaints his parents with his intentions. They apply to the firl's via rents, and if the latter flo not consent to the union a fight is inevita- j blc. If the parents agree, the next proceeding is to appoint*-two expert female negotiators who obtain access by stratcgem to the house, with the object of broaching the subject to the young lady. They carefully avoid any sudden or abrupt mention of the awful subject of their mission, but launch out in praises of the man who seeks her hand. They speak of his possessions, his courage and accomplishments. The girl, pretending to be affronted at these remote hints, grows refractory and runs away, tearing the ringlets of her hair as she retires. The female embassadors, having got the consent of the parents, drag her from her concealment and carry her by force to the house of her destined husband and there leave her. She is compelled to live here several days, silent aud dejected, refusing food, till at last, if kind entreaties do not prevail, she is made to submit byblows to the uuion. The Kaffir who has the reputation of having committed a number of murders of Mohammedans enjoys exceptional privileges; he is re- | spected by all the neighborhood, and ex- I periences little or no difficulty in procur- J ing a wife. The Kaffir woman is doomed to a life of toil and drudgery, and the husband can discard her whenever lie feels so disposed. They Live in Tree Tops. The natives of Ken Guinea live in rccInnnrnlnt* lmfc wllifh t.hcv build of tile "*"'J " j trunks of trees, bamboo, leaves and ribs of leaves and bast made of lianas. In the mountains, where rain is a frequent occurrence, the thick, high roofs of these huts reach almost to the ground, making them much more clumsy in appearance than those situated nearer the warmer coast. But the most astonishing peculiarity which strikes the explorer is that of the tree-houses," which, however, are not U3cd for habitations in the ordinary sense of the word, but serve as fortresses and places of retreat in case of war. It is scarcely safe to visit these i;castles in the tree-tops," for the weak, sky-high ropeladder.-, made of the bast of lianas would j scarcely inspire any one with confidence enough for the undertaking. In some parts along tiie coast me nuts arc built on posts, which is not done to j make them easily defensible, but to pro- i tcct them from the dangers of Hood. Toward the inland, these houses are unknown, and the villages are built upon high ridges of mountains, which arc almost inaccessible and easily protected against enemies. The water which they use has to be carried from long distances by the women, who occupy the place of slaves.?St. Louis Poit-DixpaV'h. Bismarck's Last Cigar. "Whit Bismarck did witli his last cigar at the battle of Konigratz Br. Kohut in a recent work has allowed hint to tell in his own words. 4'I honrded my last cigar during the battle as a miser hoards his treasure. I painted in glowing colors the delightful hour when, after the battle was won. I could smoke it in peace. But I had miscalculated. I saw a poor wounded dragoon. He lay there on the field helpless, with both arms smashed, and whimpered for some kind of relief. I went through my pockets but found only numcy, and that would not help him. But wait; I ha:l still a fine cigar! This I lighted for him and stuck it. between his teeth. You ought to have seen that poor fellow's grateful smile! No cigar ever tasted so good to ma as this one which I did not smoke."' THE SANDBAG. WORK OP A DEADLY WEAPON IN NEW YORK. Inspector Byrnes Talks About Sandbags?How They Are MadeOther Strange Weapons Used By Footpads. HE recent cuses ' irt4C$r$V ?* sandbagging SSEgj ffvl > iu New York city \W Ug . have caused a ra great deal of '7^^? WyU^comincht. Sonic weeks ago two \ men were stnick f ' //'} down in prorni/// I nent thorougliy/'l fares in the city ' ! I hy this silent ' *j A H weapon and died ^O' without being able to say anything about their assailants. Later two more men were assaulted in one evening. Police Inspector Byrnes was seen by a reporter for the Mail and Express. He said that these recent cases of sandbagging which have excited the attention ol the people of New York are but a revival of a form of crime which appears every fifteen or twenty years, and which is much more prevalent in other parts of the world than it ever has been in the United States. - j ' The principle of sandbagging," said the Inspector, "is thc.application of concussion to the human body in such a way as to produce a terrific shock without breaking or even abrading the skin. In America and England the back of the head and neck or the upper part of the spine arc and have-'been the favorite ppints of attack by the criminals who employ this style of assailing a man. The original sandbag was, as its name implies, a small bag filled with sand. The simplest one known to the police is a small .Mb* A VARIETY OF SANDBAGS. strong stocking filled ivith sand. The advantage of this primitive affair is that, the moment after it has been used, the sand can be thrown away and the stocking kept without exciting any suspicion. Soma oris made in the shape of clubs. The material used is cotton or woolen cloth, bed ticking, crash, heavj silk, sausage skins, eel skins, leather, and even snake skins. 'A number of famous sandbags, which have been captured by the police, arc worthy of mention. One was n handsome eel skin, tilled with sand,close up to the end, and thence with bird shot to the end itself. This arrangement gave the effect of a slungsliot to the affair and added to the strength of the arm which wielded it the awful effect of a swift rotary motion. "Another,owned by a French murderer, was of silk, handsomely embroiderer! and finished with silk-wound leather thongs. A third, of Spanish origin, was of tine sheepskin, so carefully finished as to be as soft .13 the best chamois. 'The most impressive quality of the sandbag lies in its not abradiug the skin of the person who is struck by it. There was a case only a short time ago where a man's skull had been fractured, and yet there was no indication of injury, so far as the cuticle was concerned, not even to the medical ey< The skull was very thick and hard, so that the blow must have required a terrific amount of force, probably representing the combination of a heavy sandbag and a powerful assailant. 1 f REVOLVER-DIRK AND PAN-DAGGER. "Sandbagging is not as rare as is commonly believed. Criminals, especially those of foreign origiu, carry these instruments of death quite frequently, i There is, however, a seeming periodicity | in their use, just as there is in other | forms of crime. There is something so i brutal, ferocious and cowardly in saudj bagging that it excites a feeling of disi gust in minds familiarized with crime. "The odd sandbags described arc but ! a few of the long list which are discovI crcd by the police. Recently an English : seamnn was arrested who was carrying ! about as murderous a tool as can be im| agined. It was a set of brass knuckles. heavier and uglier than usual. "At the top, opposite the thumb,there was attached to it a revolver, and at the bottom a sharp, double-edged dirk projected three inches below the lower Hue of the hand. Its owner could shoot, strike or stab in almost the same movement. "Another, a cauc, is so arranged with a knife blade in the handle that a slight jar converts it into a short spear. The same principle is applied to umbrellas, panisols and even fans, and enables a woman to convert her paraphernalia into i traveling arsenal. The most horrible weapon among the novelties is the creation of some American brain or freak, it is hard to say which. In external appearance the inilrument i.i a good imitation of a police club. It is made, however, of hollow metal, and not of wood. A handcuff at tachmcnt, with steel chains, fastens it to the owner's wrist in the firmest manner. "A spring in the handle operates a valve in the lower end of the club, open- I ing a scries of minute holes iu the handle and permitting the free escape of some ( red pepoer stored there with the pleasant intention of blinding the victim. A second spring in the handle throws a hundred razor-edged lancets from within the UMBRELLA SPEAR?PEPPER LANCET CLUB." . ' interior to varyiug position^ on the exterior of the club. "A man catching hold of the club would have his hand cut to rags the moment the spring was touched, and, if struck by it with even the smallest amount of force, would die from 'loss of blood ehsuing upon the opening of so many veins aud arteries." "The principle of the air-cane gun has been likewise extended in many direci* lions. 4 "VVe now have an air pistol, as well as disguised derringers and revolvers Df various sorts, and have them coh. sealed in as many forms as the cane spear ind umbrella lancc mentioned. Odd 9Iusical Instruments. No one would imagine that harmony could be produced from these curiouslooking affairs, but to the almond-eyed heathen fancy they "discourse most eloquent music." The Chinese instruments CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. resembles, respectfully, an hour-glass and an extracted molar, while the Siamese harp looks like the sk eleton of a gondola. I , These queer instruments are among the i rpnpnt additions to the Metropolitan ; Museum of Art in New York. I Too Stout to See His Shoes. "Want a shine. Boss?" ' "I don't know. Do I need it?"?Life. Both Hands Wore Engaged. a ^ -v ^| 1 Man in the Moon?"Pull down your ; vest!" _ _____ "A Brown Study." The meaning of "brown study" is ! given as "a gloomy reverie." Brown is j ; a dark color, being derived from the ' Saxon "brun," meaning "burned," and j 1 the adjective was given to the state of ' 1 mind cither because of its supposed dark J i and" brooding nature, or more probably i because of the shadowed aspect of the countenance while one is in a !'brown I I study." | A Paris shop-keeper, when he advertises goods 4iat cost." is promptly called upon by n Government official, whose business it is to sec that the merchant is doing what lie advertises, and if he is ! detected in fraud of any kind, speedy j punishment is inflicted. In other words, they will permit him to sell his own ; : goods, which he has paid for. "at cost," but if he is lying in his advertisement, or defrauding his creditors, they expose him. No one loves to tell a tale of scandal ( ! but to hint that loves to hear it. Learn, j theu, to rebuke aud sileucc the detract- : ing tongue by refusing to hear. Never ; make your ear the grave of another's I good name. I 1 WORDS OF W1SD03L Don't blame the world because tlic thorna arc found among the rosea. A sound discretion is not so much indicated by never making a mistake as by never repeating it. It has been observed that the man with the fewest failings is the man most tolerant of those of his neighbors. Beware of him who meets with a friendly mien, and, in the midst of a cordial salutation,seeks to avoid your glance. Although it is-dangerous to have too mnch knowledge of certain subjects, it is still more dangerous to Tje totally ignorant of thein. Conquer thyself. Till thou hast done that, thou art a slave; for it is almost as well for thee to be in subjection to an-* other's appetite as thine own. ^ Look not mournfully into the past ; it ^ comes not back again. Wisely improve .. | the present; it is thine. Go forth to meet i the shadowy future without fear and a manly heart. Nothing hinders the constant agree ment of people ..who .live together but vanity and selfishness. Let the spirit of' humanity and beuevdlehce prevail, ana discord and disagreement would be banished from the household. _ Life never seems so clear and easy as when the heart is beating faster at the 8ipfht ot some generous, self-risking deed." "We feel no doubt then what is the highest prize the soul can wiu, and almqet.be-.lieve in our power to attain it. r The Origin of " Hurrah." Writing to the London Timet, with reference to the remark of its Berlin cor- '' respondent that the exclammation "Hur- ' rah!"'")5 said to be of Slavonic origin, Dr. C. A. Buchheim, of Kiug's College, t . London, says. "I presume your corrc- '! spondent must have some authority for this assertion; but I hope you will allow rac to point out that,' as far as I iknow, 1 the record is of purely German origin. , -J. It is generally assumed to.be derived from the imitative interjection hurr, describing a rapid movement, from which word the v middle High-German hurren, 'to move ' rapidly,'or rather to hurry, has be^n formed. Hurrah is, therefore, nothing else but an enlarged form of hurr, and, as I said, of purely Teutonic origin. In Grimm's 'Worterbuch' we find the interjection '(juoted from a Minnesinger, .j It also occurs in Danish and Swedish; and .,.f it would.be interesting to kuow when it was first introduced in this country in the Angleeiscd form of 'hurry.' In Ger'1 * 'liiwn/v Iho many it was irequentiy uacvi u>UiUg ..... Napoleonic wars by the Prussian soldiers, and it also occurs in sonic political and t martial songs of those days. Since then it seems to have been adopted also by , other nations, even by the French in the form of hourra. That the interjection did not become so popular in Germany as a cheer at convivial gatherings as in this country is probably owing to the circumstance thatprefereuce was given there to the brief exclamation 'Hoch!' forming respectively the cud and the beginning of the phrases lEr lebe hoch' and 'Hoch soli er Jcben.' Of late the word hurrah seems to have beoome rather popular in Germany. It is just possible that the English reimportcd it three or that it was revived through the magnificent poem of 'Hurrah, Germania!'written by the poet Jauratc of German people, Ferdiqftftfl Freiligrath." ( Tea Tasting Extraordinary. V The managing director of a big tea dealing firm, who is a tea taster and blender of twenty-five years' experience, savs the Pall Mall GazMe, has lately stated that he once saw a leading broker have sixty teas, ranging within a penny per pound in value, weighed up in rlupH catc, the 120 pots numbered and mixed up, he then picking out the sixty duplicates without a single mistake. As regards educating the sense of smell, wiites the tea dealer, 4 4I am strongly of opinion that it is possible, with constant practice, to value teas as correctly by smelling the infused leaf as by fasting. I Live bought thousands of chests in public sale by smelling the infused leaf only, and have constantly valued public sale teas on the same plau. Nevertheless, for blending purposes, it is absolutely necessary to taste. I had fourteen years' experience in tasting on the market, and left it eleven years ago to enter the blended tea trade. I then had to begin to learn what I never knew before?the art of blending tea?and I am convinced that, for this growing department of the trade, it is not only necessary that a man should have a good palate and a keen sense of , smell; but that he should, by constant at- j ton+inn understand the art of selecting / .such teas as will blend with each other. A man may have ever so keen a palate and sense of smell, aud be able to value tea to a farthing per pound, and yet be no blender.' Having produced a blend successfully, the abilities of a blender are severely tried by his having to maintain r ' its quality and character, and nothing but constant practice, indomitable perseverance and skill will enable him to succeed." Proving His Sanity. A gentlemau from an adjoining towu, who passed through Milledgeville, Ga., the other day, says the Chronicle of that place, told our correspondent of a little scene in the Ordinary's Court of his native county a few days ago that demonstrates the truth of the assertion that '-great matters are often kindled from small fires." The case in question was against a young colored man charged with lunacy, and twelve prominent gentlemen were sworn to investigate into his mental condition aud give a verdict in accordance with the facts deduced. The foreman of the jury, though a prominent gentleman, had failed to gain enviable reputation as a paymaster, and u-Wrp. tin nine'.: came. In the cross-examination, usually attendant on such trials, the foreman propounded a few questions to the simplc-inindeci colored man that were readily answered. "I)o you know me?" asked the peer. "Certainly I do," was the quick retort. "Then, what, is my name and where did you know me?" The lad souzed at him with the air of confidence and then replied: "Your name is 3Ir. John Blank. J worked for you all of year before last, and I swar' 'fore God you has nebber paid me a cent for it. Of course, I knows you." In the laughter and confusion that followed, a verdict of "not crazy" was made, but 3Ir. Blank vows that he will never serve on another jury, especially to test the mental strength of a colored man, which lie likens unto gauging the kickiug capacity of a mule. A company has been organized in St. Louis to manufacture granite shingles. \