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m m*JL ADORATION. £ our pink diamond known as ‘The light of Gnznee,’ with a view to pur chase, we should feel obliged if yon (Would send it to ns. Our Mr. Lamo- roek will call upon yon a few hours Cfter you receive this letter and will bear a note vouching for his identity. IWe shall be happy to undertake all risk and responsibility for the stone from the time it is intrusted to the custody of our representative, and we beg to remain yours faithfully. “(JONOLETON & CO.” When this production of his pen and brain had been carefully scrutin ized, our caligraphist composed another short letter, which stated that ,the bearer was Mr. Lamorock.the rep resentative of Coagleton & Co. He went out and bought half a dozen [Havana cigars, four of which he steamed open and unrolled. Smearing (the interior portion over with a dark, treacly liquid, he rolled them up again with expert lingers and put them into bis case. The first letter he had written he sent by registered post, going down to [Bristol by the same train that took the mail. But on his arrival there he .waited for three hours so as to allow of it being delivered before calling. He then went to their office and pre sented his credentials,the genuineness of which were not for a moment sus pected. The Bristol firm, who acted with great caution in all their business transactions, thought it safer that the stone should be under the custody of their own rep resentative, and determined that one of their partners, Harry Bonstield, should accompany Lamorock np to London, taking it with him. This, drowever, was a contingency provided for both by Lamorock’s cigars and by s neat little revolver that nestled in the pocket of his great coat. It was a bitterly cold day, and a bit ing east wind made them shiver in epite of their coats and wraps; so much so that they mutually regretted that the operation of securing a reserved carriage left them no time to pay a visit to the refreshment room. They had just seated themselves comfortably and the train was already iin motion, when an elderly gentleman yvith s jovial red faceaud black bushy Thine eyes are like the deep, blue, bound less heaven. Thy voice, the voice of one who rides the storm, Thy countenance Illumined like bright I Astra, Thy breath the fragrant breath of dewy morn. Amasing breezes daily sing thy praises, ▲wakening streams thy goodness speaketh each. Thlae arms, unarmored, prove thy great- nose. Thy lips, thy lips my own would teach. Thy brow is calm, serene and holy, Thy heart, unchastened, warm and strong. Thy speech the tongue of men and angels, Thy pulse, thy pulse brings life along, —Helen HoQuade Day, boston. Sheer Luck. $ When the great pink diamond of Gnznee reached Europe It created •widespread interest and took immedi ate rank with the historical stones of Ithe world. It was compared with the finest gems in the royal and imperial Tegalia, savants wrote learned dis quisitions upon its beauties, and the magazines and newspapers sppke of , [its value iu a way that made one’s mouth water. | Among others whose envy was ▲roused by the descriptions of the [atone was a Mr. Lamorock, a gentle man who had passed under many phases in his career, and who had only recently been released from Portland, [where he had been sequestered for mis taking the proprietorship of a check. 1 As he read of the great diamond his pyes sparkled at the thought of its [[Worth. There it was—£100,000—and prou could put it in your waistcoat |>ocket. < But how to get it? * The ex-convict, as he pondered over the subject, knew the task was not an easy one. The papers imparted the confidence that it was in Messrs. Bous- field Brothers’ safe at Bristol; but burglary was not in his line. There pre grades of refinement in all profes sions, and he looked upon burglary as (vulgar,besides which uight watchmen, ptrong rooms, aud electric alarms made such work hazardous and only fit for people better supplied with physical strength than braius. (i The first step was to obtain the con fidence of the Bonsfields. To get this? an introduction. How?—to forge ft! j t Without more ado he wrote a short potetoCongleton & Go.,tlvtscelebrated diamoqd merchants of Hattou Gardeu, •sking'them if they, would care to buy TsTtahl deceived • replj expressing their willingness to inspect them. After stutfionsly ex amining the ealigraphy of 'their letter with a magnifying lens he set himself to practising a number of curves and fionrisbes on a sheet of paper. An hour’s work seemed to satisfy him, and he then indited the following epistle: “Hatton Garden, Jan 4, 189fi. Messrs.Bonsfield Brothers: Dear Him As a client of ours desires to inspect he perplexity. anything else?” he “Why, my ordinary meals'” the lady.-Pearson’s Weekly. ’ said ‘▲Hate's L " v whiskers opened the door and bundled himself in. f . Bonsfield was annoyed and Lamo- rock disgusted; but ^ the intrn j er was profuse in his apologies, and it was too late to mend matters, they had to accept the situation with the best grace they could. After the lapse of a quarter of an honr he had talked their reserve away, and proved him self so amusing a companion that they all became qnite friendly; aud then Lamorock, who had grown suddenly amiable, pressed the others into accepting a cigar apiece. The jolly faced intruder was not to be outdone iu hospitality. He opened his hand bag, and with a merry wink produced a fiask of cuiacoa, which the inteuse cold made particularly acceptable to them all. Lamorock, indeed, found the liquor so delicions that he took two glasses. Before they got half through their cigars he noticed with suspicion that the conversation began to slacken, and that his companions showed a disposition to go to sleep. Bonsfield was the first to succumb to somnolence,'aud Lamorock even began to feel sleepy himself. He fought against the sensation by get ting up to admire the colored photo graphs beneath the hat-rails and by trying to fix his attention upon the passing scenery. He opened his cigar- case, counted aud examined the con tents, and looked puzzled. He was apparently satisfied that he not given himself one of the drugged cigars,for he puffed vigorously away at his stump, hoping that it would help to keep him awake. He once thought that the fumes of his companions’ cigars might be affecting him, and opened both windows. But he found the cold air had no effect. The in truder also began to look as if he would soon follow Bonsfield’s example. He vainly tried to look wide awake, but his lids would droop heavily, his head would sink down upon his*chin, and he would then pull himself together by a supreme effort and try to sit up straight. Their respective struggles to keep awake, however, grew more aud more feeble until the pair finally collasped in their corners, and slept as if they would never wake again. When the train arrived at Swinton J unction the guard discoyered them all asleep, ami after trying in vain to rouse them up, the conviction dawned upon him that it was foul play. The three patients were taken out aqd re moved to the hospital, arrangements being made by the ufflice that on their recovery all three sDould be detained iu enstody pending investigations. So,J when they had been brought round consciousness, they were taken to police station. Harry Bonsfield easily established his identity, and was set at liberty; but the information that the police ob tained about his companions, the revolvers they found iu both their overcoats, two tell-tale cigars,and two equally damning cigar stamps, the remnants of curacoa iu the fiask apd a very suspicious false beard, all these incidents led to their arrest, trial, and subsequent conviction. Scotland Yard keeps the fiask as a curiosity, for it has tw o compartments from w hich the contents can be drawn at the will of the owner by a slight pressure on a secret spring. Both compartments contained curacoa; but w hat Was left of one sample was found to be drugged while the other was pure. The jovial gentleman, like Lamorock, had hud his imagination fired by the accounts that the newspapers gave of the great pink diamond. He had wormed it out of a clerk in Messrs. Bonsfield's office that the junior part ner was taking it up to town, aud he thought t^e opportunity for which he had waited so long had at length ar rived. Tearing away to his lodgings, he had provided himself with a fiask aud a revolver, and was just in time to catch the train. When the whole facts were revealed in the police court, the natural astonishment of Lamorock aud the jolly gentleman was past de scription. It beat even that of Harry Bonsfield. All the three actors in this scene are now firmly convinced that one of the incalculable elements con trolling man’s destiny is sheer luck. London Hun. Dieting on the Side. A certain stout lady resolved to consult a physician about her corpu lence. Hhe had no previous experi ence with “banting” of any sort. The doctor drew up a careful dietary for her. She must eat dry foist, plain boiled beef, aud a few other things of the same lean sort and in a mouth re turn and report the result. At the end of the time the lady came aud was so stout she could hardly get through the door. The doctor was aghast. t “Did you eat what I told yon?’ asked. “Keligiously,” she answered. His brow wrinkled iu Suddenly he had a Hash of inspira tion. r “Did yon cat asked. A BEAUTIFUL NEl SILK. Madr tiy “Communal Bui Cannot Be Kpuj Home very remnrkab! ing hatched and reared| by the experts of tl bureau of entomology Most people would supj were enough insects in[ out resorting to artifiei but the fact is that thii tific work has 9 very ui view. This, too, notw| fact that the species set lea,” but It >t. mgs are be lt at present government ashiugton. ie that there istence with- pvopngtion; ind of scien- 1 .purpose in islanding the id for breed- hiloreD'i ing are the most pestif ons that can be found, says a writer Transcript. The bug hatchery, the Boston insectarv,’ v v icnlture. In es a green- as it is called, is a brie building close by the department of a construction it resen house, the upper part,! iug of glass, so as to admit plenty o ight for the insects. It is divided to two com partments, one of whic is artificially heated for the benefit c tropical and other species that rei lire warmth, while the other is cold. On shelves all around the interior, and on the Hoor as well, are glass rs aud queer glass-sided boxes contr ling a great variety of odd-looking The objects in the parts of plants, fruits, ejects, ass jars are ied-up vege Thl C-.r and Ca'in. lU | reMi P "“ EipoKtioo of 1900 lb their own pavilion which will cost $400,000. tables, pieces of bram es or roots, etc. One does not see »uy bugs at all, and the reason whj s simply that the vegetables, fruits a: the natural food of the , latter are either insideff them or else are “done up” in coc90iis for the win ter. For example, there is a huge cocoon nine inches long hangiag from a twig in a jar of exceptional size. This is the temporary communal dwelling built by the so-called “gregariousbut terfly” in Mexico. Here correctly speaking, it is the caterpillars—trans formed later into butterflies—that coustruct the cocoon for a resideuce while they are undergoing their meta morphosis. The cocoon looks and feels as if made of thick parchment, and at the lower end of it is a small hole that serves for a door. The labor employed in building it must be enor mous. Under a powerful magnifying glass it is seen to be composed of uu infinite number of shining and very slender silken threads, crossing each other in every direction. When cut into, the nest is found to contain one hundred or more chrysalids, attached to the walls on the inside—each one representing a future butterfly. The habit of combujfng together to build a house seems to be peculiar to this species among butterflies. The silk composing the nest' is exquisite, and from twenty to twlity-five sheets of it can be stripped joff from the great cocoon, looking I as if woven in a loom. If the silk cytmld only be spun, the “gregariobs butterfly” would soon displace fihe silkworm, and the silks and satinsjof commerce would be of butterfly 1 manufacture. Unfortunately, the difficulty remains unsolved, though many attempts in this direction have been made. Could a solution of the problem be found, silk would become at once enormously less costly, inasmuch as the cocoons of this kind of butterfly are to be gathered in immense numbers as a wild crop in the forests of Mexico. Th« Feet. A contemporary points out one or two facts regarding the feet that can not be too widely known. We all know that our feet spread, and take it quite as a matter of course; but it seems that, after all,there is no neces sity for their doing so. They spread be cause we do not know how to rest them properly. The feet do not grow, but by resting them in the wrong way the muscles have been permitted to take a wrong direction, and the foot flat tens. When a woman finds that the instep of the foot is tired, she should change her stockings for thin ones, and put on slippers with a totally dif ferent heel from that of the shoes she took off, either higher or lower, as the case may be. Then she should lie down, turn upon her face, and place a pillow under the in.-tejs’of both feet, so that every i ch of the breadth of her feet should rest npou the pillow. When this is done, the foot is at ease. The muscles rest and s rengtbeu, and the beautiful arch of the instep is pie- served. Possibly some may t link this is nonserse, but let them try the above plan of resting when very tired, and they will be snrp’ised to find out bow successful it 1 tally is.—New York Ledger. F.lettrioal Spanhlnir. Warden C. P. Hoyt ot Denver has designed a spanking chair for use in the Industrial School for Girls. It consists of a seatless chair on which the girls are placed. It is high enough from the ground to allow four paddles to be operated by electric wires. Straps hold the victim’s wrists to the arm of the chair. Af the ’ Girls’ Industrial school of Kansas, situated at Beloit, they have what is called a spanking chair. Bad girls are strapped in the chair, and an attendent presses the button and the chair does the rest. The Kansas authorities will be asked in a few days to explain the system,and if it is satis factory to the local authorities a spanking chair will be purchased for 1 the Colorado institution.-^Pittsburg [ Dispatch. A Happy Family. ’Twas a bitter cold morning; the new-fallen snow Had pierced every crack where a snowflake could go; The streams were all solid,the ice sharp and clear; And even the fishes were chilly, I fear. Almost all the wild creatures were troubled and cold, And sighed for sweet summer, the shy and the bold; But one thrifty family, as you must know. Was breakfasting merrily under the snow. Close by a tali tree, in a hole in the ground. Which led to a parlor with leaves cushioned round, Five jolly red squirrels were sitting at ease, Aud eating their breakfast as gay as you please. —D. H. K. Goodale. A Clever Ant. The president of the Agassiz associa tion, H. H. Ballard, recently caught an ant near its hill, shut it up in a box, carried it 150 feet away and set it free in the middle of a sandy road. What followed he thus describes: “It seemed at first bewildered. Then it climbed to the top of a ridge of sand, erected its body as high as possible, waved its antenna* for several seconds and then started in a straight line for home.” An Interegting Toy. A good deal of amusement may be furnished by means of what are know n as Pharoah’s serpents. A small, ob long capsule is filled with a chepiical compound, allowed to become dry, then a match is applied to one end, when a quantity of gray, ashy-looking material creeps slowly out from the capsule, twisting and turning in a was te suggest the writhing of a serpent. These capsules are made by dissolving in hot water a small quantity of gum- tragacanth. When that is completely softened, put it into a mortar aud add one graili of dry mercury sulpho- cyanide. Work it in the mortar with tnS gffmt! using only so mnch as is necessary to make it into a manage able pellet. This is then shaped into whatever sjze may be required. The pieces are dried upon glass. The most desirable shape to make them is quite long and slender. When per fectly dry, if the flamq is applied to one end of the capsule,the gray, ashy- Ipokiug substance at once begins to crawl out,-much to the surprise and amusement of the company.—New York Ledger. Story of Brave little Lottie. Once I knew a little girl and her name was Lottie. Hhe went to school each day, aud her teacher loved her very much. Ho did all the little girls and boys who went to school w ith Lottie. Hhe loved them all too, and the teacher as well, but most of all she loved her little lame brother Robbie. He was seven years old, and she dragged him to school in a cart sometimes, when his leg was real bad. But one day there came a great snow storm, and Tom Briggs, a big boy, took hold of the cart to drag Robbie through the snowdrifts. But it grew worse and worse when they tnrned off from the main street, and they had still a long ways to go. “I will go and get father's sleigh,” said Tom, “if yon will wait under this big tree, Lottie, with Robbie.” Then w-hen they were alone Robbie began to cry and say that he was cold and that his leg ached. Ho Lottie, like a good, brave little girl took off her shawl aud wound it around her little brother. But all the time Tom Briggs did not come, and the wind howled and shrieked aud bent the branches of the great tree. Jnst how long before the sleigh came I cannot say, for Tom and his father, who started with him, both got lost in the great drifts. But at last they found the two dear little children. Lottie had her arms around Robbie, aud both were just going to sleep, and it> was dark, ami Tom and his lather had lanterns. But five minutes later they were at home, where mamma and papa were awfully frightened. But the two children were taken to the fire and warm dry stockiugs put on their feet, and after snpper four little bright eyes, two black and two blue, were laughing as they told the story of being lost in the snow. And the next day a gold pen holder was given Lottie by the teacher and scholars for her bravely in giving her shawl to little Bobbie when they were under the tree.—Mary Bhiue, in the Bouquet. My Flying Squirrels. When Twas a little girl a friend of mine brought me one of his forest findings—a mother flying squirrel and her three baby squirrels, little things, hardly larger than a girl’s eye lids, and exactly alike. - After admiring them for awhile 1 hastened to the shop to buy a cage, leaving my pets in a paper box,through which I had riddled a number of holes; that the squirrels might have air. But, when the prettiest and roomiest of cages were ready.and well supplied with nuts and cool water, the little creature could not be found—they were not in the box where I had put them. I searched every nook and corner of the room, and finally opened thq top drawer of a high, old-fashione^ bureau, where I kept a small girl’s small belongings. There was no sign of anything unusual—uo squeak, no scamper of gray, fluffy figures. Just ns I was about to close the drawer, the ’ cover of my pasteboard ribbon box tilted to one side, and there, motion less as the dead, was the mother squirrel, her babes cuddled close to her side, all massed into one gray flu fly ball. ,t They were easily removed to the pretty new home, and the cage door was fastened. The next morning the cage was empty. The sqnirrels had gone. 1 Without waiting to dress I began a search for the runaways. Every drawer in the chamber was rumaged, but the wise mother knew better than to hide in a drawer a second time. The waste basket I turned upside down, the contents of my work basket —scissors, thimble; needle case, un finished doll clothes—were tnrned out on the floor, but yet no sign of the missing squirrels. (1 Then I tackled my bed. Lifting a pillow, I felt warmth and movement.1 I stripped off the case and brought to view the dear little fugitives. The devoted, liberty-loviug mother had brought her babies, one by one, from cage to pillow, creeping under, my shoulders and very face with such gentleness that my sleep had been un disturbed. The innocents had not reckoned on the morning shaking and “airing” of pillows. 1 When the squirrels were once more back in their cage I tied netting over, it, but this was a mere cobweb to the mother’s free spirit. In an hour she was out. Then began a hunt, aban-1 doned and resumed, off and on, until every drawer, every bag-holder, every! crack and crevice latge enough for a cricket’s body to pass through had! been examined, and the bed had beea! three times unmade, bat no squirrels w-ere to be found. That eveuing I put on my best frock, and, in pro viding a fresh handkerchief for the pocket, I found out the hiding place of the mischiefs. They had taken a fancy to the pocket of that particular dress. j But the flying squirrel wouldn’t stay “pnt.” The most alluring house; that I could construct with water aud food at hand she condemned, and de-*! serted for some queer thing of herowu, contriving. Once the little plagues' domiciled in my slipper. Ag in, we' found them all in a clock that stood high up on a shelf. To this day I cannot understand how the mother engineered her helpless family into the closed clock case. It must have been through the holes made at the top for the weights. But the queerest happening was in conuection with our baby’s rag doll, a beauty created from a cradle pillow, and girt about with a pink sash. It had been sitting all morning iu its tiny chair looking on with expres sionless countenance as we searched for the ever-missing squirrels. Our baby came along and caught up the rag doll in a loving embrace. Then, with a flying leap out came the mother squirrel from the rag brain. For days the plague and the play went on, while I delayed the liberty I had promised my mother I would give the interest ing wood folk. In the meantime, the heroic, undiscouraged mother squirrel made a supreme effort to be free. Be fore I had discovered her absence from the house I found the family in the cleft of an apple tree, which I was attempting to climb. 1 At sight of the little creature under God’s great, great dome, my heart had a touch of pity and tenderness from w hich it hasn’t yet recovered. t “Oh, you darlings!” I cried. “You are the dearest, the cunningest things that ever were made. I hate to give you up, I love you so. But you love the outdoors, and you shall never, never be taken into the house again. I wish you would stay in this tree or out in our nice woodpile. But go to the woods If you would rather, and make your own home, and do your own nutting, and drink from the pretty springs among the ferns and rocks.” And I know that the mother squirrel and her three little children wer* happier after that day, and I think I was happer, too.—Sarah Winter Kel- log, in Little Men and Women. Fort Jefferson covers twelve acres of ground on Garden Kev, the largest of the Dry Tortugas.