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FUR THE HOUSEWIFE, THE WRONG MAN. BY U. B. DUNHAM. When our foreumu went away to tho Northwest territory to iiDd a cat tle run^e unspoiled by settlers, Robert was put in charge of the ranch. This was equivalent to a promotion of Biddy also, for the Missourian, whose booy frame hud been built from the limostone waters of his native state, Was still the partisan and protector of the sappy youngster from northern Vermont. “Von are n Canadian pony and I am a Hambletoniuu," said Robert; “but if we like to trot together, 1 guess the other Losses on this range will have to take our dust.” The friendship between these two men was founded on complementary qualities, and only a woman could break it The woman in this instance was Miss Ikdl,the schoolteacher at the Bend. The burned child dreads tho tire, but a bird will return and again dash into the flames. Robert's encounter with the fair feuce*eutter was like flame to the bird. He sought an in* iroduction and forthwith became a suitor for her hand. Biddy, the only one in camp who took it upon himself to criticise any act of Robert’s, re- ni'uistratcd with him. “V<>n are a bird, aren't yon?” said he‘tho girl mesmerized you once, ■he’h oamboozle you for twice, and bounce you for three times. What do you mean to do?” “I mean to marry her if she will have me,” replied Robert, simply. “Yes, I know I told you plenty times "mSTWTlHM 1 Mill n I'l^ui'f **ar exception. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but I kuow I’m hit bard. 1 got to have her.” Ho Robert, big, hulking,forty years old, was in love for the first time in his whole life. If force aud earnest ness avail, he should win- Less forceful, less earnest, half as old, fiiddy was in tho same plight. HU advice to Robert to let tho girl alone was in good faith; ho thought it the best tbing—for Robert—but be bad a bad ease of “physician heal thy self” upon his ham|s. He, too, was resolved to win aud marry Miss Bell. He did not say so to Robert, so hard is it for most men to be open in a love affair, and for a time Robert knew mottling of it. Kvcryoue else saw it, and Hcotty told Biddy he hud better stand from under. “If you lock horns with Robert,” ••id be, “he'll get you down and walk •11 over your frame.” And Scotty added some reflections on the law of supply and deiusnd. “If there wore twenty school ma'ams round here you would not look at one of them, but because there is only one, you are fixing to get your skin so plumb full of bullet holes that the wind won’t whistle as it blows through.” Biddy laughed and went his way to rail npon Miss Bell and urge his suit. And R ibert wont his Way, which was the same way, upon tiie same errand. 1 do not know whether Miss Bell gave to either man any encourage ment, hut as tho dead-shot is s*id to add a notch to the marks on his pistol*grip for each man he drops, so it is siipposublo that about this time this youug lady increased her list of rejected suitors by the names of these two cowboys. It was done in her kindest manner, this rejection, and she hud said to each: “1 am sorry this has occurred, b it since you have so honored me,you must c out' to my wedding. 1 sm to be noirn-tl !u";t mouth in the chun-h at Hamm >;uL i shall ready fuel it if yon do not come.” And each imiu hail promised to be there. It had come to Robert’s notice be fore this time that Biddy was his rival, but with the hope ami intention of success strong within him, he had 'oceu affected differently from Scotty's forecast. Ho worn straight to Biddy and told him to “go in and win if yon can. 1 don’t want the girl unless I cm get her fair and hold her against all comers.” But when both had been refused, each man thought the other was accepted, and each waited for the other to broach tho subject. It was a difficult time. There were dark looks, hut no explosion. They avoided each other, and this little cloud, no bigger than a woman’s band,seemed about to cover tlm whole sky. Biddy asked for leave of ab- s'tice and got it. They did not meet again until the wedding day. That day found Biddy still storm ing at fate; but Robert, who had a simpler aud stronger nature, had put his own disappointment behind him and was looking forward with pride if not pleasure to his friend’s happiness. What fsllows is in Robert’s words: “I got there early and took a seat in the back part of the church. I wanted to he where I could get out if my nerve failed me. Many people camo in, and at last the bride, looking very beautiful, came out from a side door with three men and stood up in front. And 1 was proud for Biddy that he was going to have such a fine wife. But I couldn’t see him any where. And the preacher said any man having an impediment was to step forward. “Then 1 looked for Biddy, but ho didn’t come. I had never before been at a wedding in church, and I thought maybe it was the way to keep him corraled in the little room until the last moment, for fear ho would go buck onto the old range. “The preacher went on saying things, and 1 didn’t pay close atten tion, because I was thinking how pretty she looked, until a bold man in a Hereford shirt and low-necked vest took her hand, and the preacher said ‘I pronounce you man and wife.’ “Then I jumped up wild. ‘Great Hcott!’ I yelled, ’that’s the wrong man 1’ “At that instant somebody clapped a hand over my mouth and hustled me out of the church. “ ‘If you don’t want to get shut up for drunk and disorderly,’said Biddy, for feit was who dragged mo out, “ ‘What’s up?’ I^saldT^soon* as I could get ray breath. ‘Why aren't you in there getting married?’ “ ‘I am not in there getting riod,' said Biddy, ‘because wouldn't have me. I thought were to marry her today.’ “ ‘What, me?’ says I. ‘I never was within a thousand miles of it.’ “ ‘Why didn’t you say so, old man?’ asked Biddy. “ ‘Hay so yourself,’ said I. ‘You were dumb ns an oyster.’ “Then wo both laughed, and while the folks inside were crowding up to tho front to congratulate the happy pair, Biddy and me hud a hearty handshake ou the sidewalk, and wo went homo together.”—Argonaut. Captain Heard’* Kxploit. Tho speed of tho Baltimore clippers in days gone by made history redound with their exploits. Every boy and girl has read at sumo time or place of the piratical, long, low, rakish-look ing schooners that cruised the oceau ostensibly as privateers, but chiefly as pirates, in those days, mud have mar velled more or less at their astounding adventures. A good story is told of the late Captain Augustine Heard, that w hile in command of a fine ship richly laden, bound from China to New York, he whs overhauled by one of this kind, which came up under his lee, tired a shot into his ship, and de manded in “good English’’ that she should he hove to. Captain Heard watched a favorable opportunity, squared his yards, ran the privateer down, passed over her between tho masts, and when well to leeward brought his ship to the wind and re stinied his course. She had lost some of her head-gear, but austained no damage in her hull- Captain Heard left the “long, low, black privateer,” or pirate, to her fate, and had no doubt that all her crew perished. It was a daugi rolls thing to do, hut Heard relied upon tho good timber m hm ship’s how s to withstand t ho shock, although his heart grew sad at the loss of life. Still, as he put it, “My honor and life wore at stake, so ho had to go uuder. Harper’s Round Table. A Question oY I’roniiiiciatioii. Guest (sarcastically)—How do you pronounce the woid“oleomargarino?” Hotel Waiter—I pronounce it “but ter,” or I’d lose my job.—Boston Traveler. Beans as an Army fiat ion “Take it altogether,” said tho oil soldier, “I think I liked beaus the best of the army rations. Hard bread, of course, was essential, and wo ex pected to get that any way; but I am speaking now of the comparative lux uries on the army bill yf fare. I should prefer corned beef, if that is sued in tho army had been uniformly of a desirable quality; but often it was of a hardness more like that of quartz, and of a saltiness past belief by those who have never tried it “Salt pork—well, fat salt pork,even of the beat quality, is not desirable as a steady diet of food, aud we got more salt pork than any other meat, aud it was most always not of the best In fact, no old soldier will ever forget the salt pork of tho army, bat his recol lections of it will not bo surrounded by an aurora borealis of delight. “Not everybody liked beaus, but according to my notion they were the best of the army rations, all things considered. If we had a piece of pork to put iu the kettle, so much the bet ter; but we had silt any way,and beau soup, with hard bread to break into it and a cup of coffee made of meal that had decided elements of hopefulness in it. “It is true that sometimes when we had beaus day after day for days to gether some of the men would get tired of them. But you would grow tired of ortolans, wouldn’t you, if you had too many of them. ‘•I always used to be glnd when we had beaus ; and to this day I like now and then a dish of bean soup, and I never eat it without pleasant recol- lections of the army.”—New York Hun. y QUAINT AND CURIOUS* QUERN H COBONATXON KINO. Queen Victoria’s coronation ring is never oat of her sight, and is worn by her every evening. It is a band of gold containing a cross iu rubies sur rounded by white brilliants. A cor onation ring is supposed to symbolize tbe wedding of the sovereign with the nation. mar- she you Bicycles are taxed in France. Maine has a state photographer* A pound of phosphorus heads 1,000,- 000 mutches. Tho Isle of Man possesses many privileges and unique features. It has a music all its own. The ancients knew how to cheat. Loaded dice have boon found in tho ruins of Herculaneum. Twenty years ago there were only 328 miles of railroad open in South Africa; now there are 2,500 miles. The highest village in Switzerland is Inf, in the valley of the Avers,2,133 metrii above the iffi. But on the Rery, which lies twenty metres highn or. Sailors do not like cats. They have a saying when the cat is frisky she has a gale of wind in her tail, and • charm is often resorted to in a calm by throwing the cat overboard to raise a storm. Dentistry is one of the oldest pro fessions. It is known that the Egyp tians had dentists 5,000 years ago. Dr. Gelst-Jacobi of Frankfurt, Ger many, has written a history of den tistry from 3700 B. C. to the present time. There are 530 authorized guides in the Alps. One hundred and four of them have takeu a regular course of instruction in their profession and have received diplomas; 35 of them arc between 00 and 70 years of age, aud six are over 70. A Loudon thief has been doing a thriving business by providing him self with a hook attached to a line, by means of which he managed, from the flat roofs, to secure birdcages with their inmates, which he sold at a great profit on his investment. The largest mountain lion probably ever killed in the State of Washing ton was killed near Mount Baker two weeks ago by a hunter and brought to New Whatcom. Its body ia seven feet long, and with tail oiitstreched it is more than ten feet altogether. The “Drummer boy of Areola,” who saved the day for Napoleon, is not a myth. At least France docs not consider him a myth, and is about to erect a statue to his memory at Casta net, iu A aiicluae, hisbirthplace, where tie was known as Andre Etienne. King Humbert of Italy holds the record of having shot the largest ibex ever seen. The horns measure thirty- tive inches in length the circumference at the base is nine inches, and the dis tance between tho horn* twenty-seven inches. He hm also shot the second best specimen, whose horns measure thirty-four inches. 1 erhaps the most remarkable art exhibit ia the world is that of the lu natics in the \ ille-Evrard asylum in Fans. Most of the patients in the asylum have been painters or design ers, and the physician in charge inau gurated a “salon” of their works. The effect on the minds of patients is said to bo excellent. WOMEN AUTHOKS AND AKTISTS IN FBANCB. There are in France 2,150 women authors and journalists and about 700 women artists. Tbe provinces con tribute most of tho writers—about two-thirds—while Paris is represented in the same proportion among tho artists. Among the writers 1,000 are novelists, 200 are poets, 150 educa tional writers, and the rest writers of various kinds. The artists comprise 107 sculptors, and the others are painters, ranging over all branches of the pictorial art.—Westminster Ga zette. EXPLOIT OP A LADY. The Country Gentleman recently chronicled the exploit of a lady living near Norfolk, Va., who sold one- twelfth of an acre of chrysanthemums at wholesale for the sum of $350. Tho purchaser retailed them at such an ad vance that they should have brought him $1,000. The same lady sold $72 worth of sweet peas from a piece of land 16x15 feet; from still less area, under glass,she sold violets, altogether, from less than a quarter of an acre she sold $530 worth of flowers, doing most of the work herself. A FIELD FOB WOMAN S WOBK. An enterprising young woman is making a good income by tilling out- of-town orders for letter-)j»eads, call ing cards, invitations, et<. As soon as she receives Jhe order she sends a patrons c^oo8o|' the ty^e ^rici^fyte" they prefer. A very large order came lately from a Western town for fine paper aud envelopes, with monogram. She keeps the dies engraved with monogram or address awaiting further orders. She is employed by a num. ber of New York business men to at tend to the printing of their letter heads. circulars, notices of meetings and whatever printing and engraving their work calls for—New York Trib une. LADY MUNSTEB'S DOUBLE. Lady Munster tells a story of a young lady who went to do some shop ping one morning when a friend was expected to luncheon with her mother. This friend was a lady of somewhat notable beauty, aud, moreover, of somewhat distinctive taste in dress, as well as tho possessor of a very uncom mon surname. Upon entering the shop the youug lady, to her surprise, saw, as she believed, ber friend seated at a counter making purchases, al though she was not expecting ber to come ap from u rather distant suburb for two hours. But, naturally, she went up aud spoke to ber, using her rather unusual name. The lady said, yes, that was her name, but she did not know the young lady, and had no intention of lunching with her mother. Thinking there was some misappre hension, the yonng lady did not per sist at the time, but, after making her own purchases, went up to the lady again, and asked ber if she would go home with her to luncheon. Whereupon the lady rose iu high dud geon and repeated her former declara tion. The young lady then went home alone, to find that the lady whom her mother expected to luncheon had been with her for some time, but that she had not been near the shop in which her “double” had shown such perfect ly natural indignation.—Lady’s Pic torial. DKESS1XO THE HA IK. How to arrange the coiffure is not tho only problem iu fashionable hair dressing in these days, when color is such a potent factor in prodneing the up-to-date effect, and if yon would be quite correct you must invest in the “red-gold” tint, which can be had for the price a. any first-class hair dresser’s. However necessary it may be to pos-ess this adorable shade, there is nothing which so improves a woman’s appearance or disguises her apparent age as the becoming disposition of her locks, no matter what color they may chance to be. No universal mode of arranging the hair can be followed if she would have artistic proportion and bring out the best expression of her face. Ho it is a wise woman who studies her own defects. The medley of modes in hair dressing which are seen this season are certainly proof that women at least make an attempt to suit their coiffures to their heads. An extremely pretty fashion for those who find it becoming is to wave the hair slightly all around, like the heads seen in classical sculpture, and arrange a soft twisted knot directly at the back, a little above the nape of tho neck, and fasten it with a fancy dagger pin. Tho mystery of fashion able hairdressing is solved very effec tually at the hairdresser’s, where there are all sorts of valuable aids in the form of frisettes to give the desired pompadour effects and help out the full puff at the sides so muchiu vogue. These cushions, with additional puffs and fancy combs, and, for evening dress, other ornamental decorations of flowers, feathers, and ribbon, add much to the size of the head; but that seems to bo the one object fashion has in view this season. The pompa dour effect is decidedly the ruling style for evening dress, and the knot, which is arranged on the crown of tho head, must not tower any higher than the front, the extra height being given by the feathers, aigrettes, aud bows. The prettiest ornament worn is a white aigrette, with diamonds here and there set on tiny wires that tremble with every move of the head. The CANDIED SWEET POTATOES. Boil the potatoes until they sre cooked through. Do not, however, cook to a mushy state. Carefully cut away any blackened parts, blice them in thin slabs say one-fourth of an inch in thickness; place a frying pan over the fire and beat; drop in a good sized lump of butter; putin the potatoes and let them brown, sprinkle gener ously with sugar. Let them remain until the sugar has melted aud formed a brown candy coating. Serve piping hot. POT BOAST OF BEEF. Take a good compact piece of beef, trim it neatly. Put a couple of spoon fuls of fat iu a kettle, let it get hot, put in tbe meat and let it sear,turning it over and over till the outside is partly cooked. The object of this is to close the pores of the meat so that tbe juices will not escape. Then fill np the kettle with boiling water, bare- • ly covering the meat, and let it sim mer slowly till tender. Salt and pep per when half done. When the meat is done pour off the water, put a piece of butter in the kettle and let tbe meat roast or brown in this, taming it often. Ponr in a bowlful of the liquid in which the meat was boiled into the kettle, and thicken with a little Hour stirred smooth in cold water. A tablospoonfnl of tomato catsup imparts a very agreeable flavor. poured into warm bowls. It ia well Mane Antoinette coiffure, arranged* . , , . u _:.l A__ l . . .. , to have several cups or bowls in the ovep while the mixture of sugar aud wat^r is boiling: Jfow, quickly plunge £t with is char T T mi rge bowknot at the back, ing for some women, silver set witt^fanoy^flYOneg” are suit able ornaments. No one need to fear an excess i)f decoration, for three or four side combs and as many fancy pins are only a beginning toward the complete fashionable coiffure. Mer cury wings in spangled gauze or set with preciouA stones are very effective when they crown a Madonna-shaped face, and silver set with ordinary bril liants is very showy. A dainty decora tion worn by young ladies is a narrow wreath of violets, or some fine flower, around the back hair, aud fastened at the top with an upright bow of white satin ribbon. The fashion of waving the hair all around seems to have eome to stay, but it must be done in the large soft waves, not tho close crinkled ones of last season.—New York Sun. FASHION NOTES. The double cluster ring suggests a lovely way to utilize earrings that are out of fashion. Linen underwear is undeniably beautifying to the skin, and is more hygienic than wool. Satin belts in corselet form are add ed to all the gowns that need • little freshening up at this season. Coats will be braided on revers and cuffs and many of them will have heavy lace appliqued on flatly to the cloth surface. Trains and demi-trains are taking, in a great degree, the place of shorter skirts, except for street and strictly utilitarian gowns. Tbe girl who has been swathed in furs for the last three months is be ginning to look npon chiffon capes and monsseline boas with an eye of favor. Some of the new capes are not cut on the old circular lines,but are deep, square yokes, trimmed with volumin ous flouucings of the thin material. Round capes, however, will still he popular. Fashionable modistes say that they make nearly us many fancy Zouave bolero aud Spanish jackets or jacket effects for stout as for slender women. These jackets interfere in no way with the outline or size of the waist, and the rather broad effect imparted by the jacket makes the waist look small er by contract, and at the same time tones and conceals the over-full out lines above it. HOMEMADE FRUIT GLACEB. Of the 1,200 varieties of candies, fruit places are the most expensive and most popular. But they can be made at home just as well as at the factory. There seems to be only one method, as follows: Take two cupfuls of granulated sugar and one cupful of cold water. Ponr them into a large bowl and stir them np thoroughly. Do not stir the sngar and water after it is on the stove. Put the mixture on a very hot fire, and allow it to boil until—here is the point—until a spoonful of it dropped into cold water will shatter aud fly into tiny pieces like brittle glass. This is the crucial test. There comestonly a certain stage when tbe mixture gives this sign, aud immedia tely it must be taken off the fire, and Tokay grapes or'figs into the burning syrup, and as quickly pall them out Then spread the fruit over tin pans which have been thinly buttered. Take care tbe butter be not too thick, else the candies may savor of it Fi nally, lay the tin pans with the frnit away in an iee cold place, or in tbe open air on a winter’s day. When the fruit glaces are cold, they are ail ready for Miss Flora McFlimsey and her. schoolgirl friends. The whole operation should not take over half an hoar,and then you will have candied frnit,freab, and at a small cost—New England Homestead. HINTS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD. If tin vessels and sancepans are oc casionally rubbed over with paraffine oil they will retain their brightness longer. Soft paper or old newspapers crumbled ap and made soft with the haads are more effective for tbe pol ishing of mirrors, windows and pic ture glass than ohamois or linen. To remove rust from steel articles rub them with kerosene oil and let them soak twenty-four hours. Make a paste of emery dust and kerosene, and mb this on with rotteostone. To keep a spoon into position when desirous of dropping medicine into it and requiring both hands to bold tbe bottle and cork, place the handle be tween the leaves of a closed book lying upon a table. Custards, creams or any dishes that are to be frozen or hardened re quire to be made with an extra amount of sugar and seasoning, for the pro cess of freezing takes oat part of the sweetness and flavor. Do not overdo the matter when ar ranging decorations for a dinner table with ribbons, satin, gauzes, or tulle aud natural blossoms. Have a careful eye and a sparing hand or the table will look as if one had utilized an old ball costume for decoration. A coarse sponge also may be sus pended by a cord iu a window. Dampen the sponge and sprinkle with grass, clover, mustard or flax seed. Before many days the sponge will bo a pretty ball of living green. The sponge must be kept very wet, aud when tbe grass grows brown in spots, pull it off and sprinkle the place with fresh seeds.