Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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. 4 '_' Lr II 41' T1RI"WEEKLY EDIT ION* I-~J~iIA318 , SALSE 88 Then and Now. I was oun in tb6se d y4h ob, ay garfugi With tin gfair heads at my. knee; We were .young in the bIlte summer Of riim golden'sands bye $ Yet there, in the sweet, soloekiint:light, A dream comes to me. The small heads oti pillows 'were lying, f~.~ i bar iu~ poppies~ At reAmland Were pressed to the innocent lipq, -And y .e wet Mnds, wbi& atchIng thought, as they passed like a vision, . And.slowly sailed out in the night, How 8 1 t oul Ide onward str e anT t. I heard the soft words of the lovers . Th old wodg'stlit. ever are- now; Thi-deafhame-as dreary acLa empty, Save, darling, foi me and for you. iIrero,to.yqut hetrt in mf' weeping, So tried and so true. am old in those days, oh, my d4ktingl Too old for the world and its iye; U sit all alonO in the twilight, Au4 waoli the oak logs as they blaze. "She's growing so old the dear motheri" The sweet daughter says. MY darliieg, th horme nest is empty; watched every-bird as It flew; Whe whole-would in emnty andl dreary, lereTt'f tbe~odi lov So .true, X.weep widli no diroug heart to lean on, - And -long, dear for you. MISS VANSTONE'S VENGEANCE. Miss Ethel Vahatone could not make up her mind for a long tine:-whether Ishe preferred Jack Benson or Lord Dar ley. Jack was certainly the better looking,. and lie possessed the romantic ottroction of being a briefless barrister, wiithOut 'means or expectations. Migs mstone affected to despise swealth and oiteion, whichshe could afford to do, being an heiress in her own right, with no other relative than a rich, weak minded uncle, who doated upon her. But,th9ugh L.ord Darley was the son of a peer, and' would one day succeed tO the fimily honors and estates, lie was meanwhile delightfully impecun ious,'and if he was not handsome, he ay excMedingly quaint .and amusing. outomidizimpossible to dIdide jhi,ch 'he: liked the: better, and, to complicate matters, her admirers were old friends, and each seemed to hang -back o t of deference to . the other.. .oWgvgrm ie young ladys uncertain ty ly aiose "from doubts as to which. Waold, eventually propose, for when Jack Benson at length avowed his affection he.Was~ i'ccepted Mihout lies itatien. The engagement . appeared likely to secure the.permanent happiness of both the ybung people, but before long there arose. the proverbial littk .oud *hich threatendd to wre-cle thei: happiness. It came in the shape of vague whispering and head-shakino; the meaning of which Miss 'aistoe. was at a lo. a -.'1t. H-er friends 0 1:616119iciusly WMbfi' she refrzid~ Jack, until she could not, ie1 Oi iing iat some unpleasant secret was being ransparently concealed *from her. Her pride prevented bow ~ rot derna1ik$kpxlaitatfo or~ he more especially au .JuclC .yowed ani declared li'~teleidW' as clear as the noonday sun. Buit; though she 1mplH Emtly believed in him, she felt troubled .*4 die .inPilnof 'lieself,' ajid dreade4 that some Qisagreenible revela t ion WNif hi store' fbr her. This fore. boding, not' unnaturally, proved cor rect, for one dlay she received an Jack an ord Darley had tossed up a. penny piece in a. public'rmom at the Blenh'eim Cliii to ldecids thich should propose to her, nd that her engage men4 was-reganlded aan :eXveftnt joke. "New Miss Vanstone was a very way ward young lady,t and -she had almost resolved to forgive Jack any delin, - quency be might have been guilty of rather -tby bxealg opit the engagemient out of deference to public opinion. B3ut the-startling 4tid unlookid-for nature of tii eduation which had-been- brodght - againmst hefi lover complletely upset all her precoiebi~d abitefitions.. The dis covery that sh~e had been- made to ap peat.tidicuop endered her absolunte2 <furious; independoi~tly of the unpleas ant suspicion which naturally presented itelf .regarding Jack?s sincerity.- She c~nsid~emed that.she~ad bee'n insulted in , mannhr whteb admitted, of no excuse ~ote1iition,. anQl, unfortunately -for ld~ilt, Jdek 1eeson ,came to..call, whenl *her indignation-was at its h1eight. "Wh~at is the meaning of this, Jack?"' she inquired, sharpily, as he enteged the room. "htsup?'" demanded Jack, ap.. prehensively. "Rfead and tell mne If what this note says is true,'" said Miss Vanstone, witih thb air of a tragedy queen. - Jaci O. 7jly -lOking very md .. urie . He 16 seemed less sur rised t~ comfused as he glanced v fedenj and fiss 'Van stofe ahgp t e .woufd meet the ace' ongith.An indignant denial ~~'u 1 ~~ti go ig to take any no. tic ofthi ithl?" lhe 'said with. a lu dicrous attempt at seorliftil hidiffer ence. "Not if you will tell me what it says kis fal#, In that case I wi~ll throw 'it into the fire and think no mbre about It. "It's a cowardly stab in the dark," exclaimed Jack, crushing the note in. his 4tnd. 4 ' "N6 do bt; but you haven't an sweredoxny -"uestion," said Miss Van stone, compressing her lips. "Well, I can't deny it altogether," said .Jack, in desperation. ".But. you know what Tennyson says about a lie .that is partly truth?" "Did you and Lord Darley toss up a p0nify piece to delide which should pro pose to me?" began Miss Vaustone, categorically. "I ca ' deny it. It wasn't a penny piece? q#A ivas' adorilAn,'aiad Jack, clit at asti a*. 'Did this chivalrous transaction take place in a public room at the Blenheim Club?" inquired the young lady, ruth lessly. "Yes it occurred at the Blenheim. Of course, all the rooms of the club are public rooms in-a sense,"' said Jack, "but nobody observed us. We were alone to all intents and purposes. That is where the letter lies," he added, flinging it viciously -into the fireplace. "This letter is evidently tiue in every particular,'" returned Miss Vanstone, quivering with temper and indignation. "The story is in every one's mouth, .and all my friends are laughing at me. You must have boasted-" "No, Ethel, I will take my oath I have never said o6 word about it," in terrupted Jack, 6agerly. "It was a foolish business, I admit, and I wish It had never halpened. 'What took place was this: Darley and I, as you know are old friends, and both of us being in love with yqu, the situation was extremely awkward, for, of course, neither liked tQ steal a march on the other by pro posing first. We finally agreed to toss in order to decide which should havn the advantage of the first word with you. No slight or insult to you was intended, our only idea being to settle amicably and fairly a very, delicate question between us. Oh, Ethell For heaven's sake, don't do that!" he ex claimed, with a start. But .Jack's plaintive remon-trance was disregarded and the engagement ring which -lie had almost pawned his imUmaculto WI 'AC sown- to pu chase was flung coitemptuously on tie car pet at his feet.. .Before he could fild words to express his grief and dismay, Miss Vanstone had rushed~ from the room, thus manifesting her intention of terminating the engagement. Jack had no alternate but to leave the house, ap prehending the worst, anid within half an hour he received back his presents, together with a letter which banis). his last hope of a reconatdiiiiar, Miss Vanstone 1rad felt no coipunc tion abouit dpramsing her lover. -At the monient,Aidded, she experienced a sav age ro-sfactioft in treating hin as she u:-sidered he deserved.*. It was not un-, til a day or two later that the reaction commenced, and eyen then she did nt. exactly regret what she had done.. But she expbrionced an intense antipathy toward Lord Darley, from the convic: tion that it was he who was to" blame& for what had' occ'arred. She believed Jack when'. he 'said he had not given currency to the -story of the tossing, and it therefore followed that Lord Darley must be the culprit. Such grave indis-; creation was more likely to emanate from a .disappoiinteil rival than from a for'tune 'loydr, and it was impossible to avoid arriving~ at thme' c'nclusion that .Jack('s friend had committed a breach .of'confldence, possibly with the view of doing him:a serious injury. Therefore, wilthout rep~enting of her decision, Miss .Vanstone. mentally accused Lord Dar Icy of having frustrated her happiness, and resolved to show her disgust at his .treachery In a very marked manner on the earliest opportunity, She had not long to-wait for this, for in order to conceal the secret anguish which she suffered owing to her separa tion from Jack, she mnade' a point of showinghlersel in 'socieff as much as possible. As a natural consequence she me~t Lord Darldy within a fewv days of the momento'us interviewv which termi nated so' fatally for his friend. -He camelupon her una~vares in a crowvded ball-roonm before she had tim'e to col lect herself snfilciently to give him the "cut direct." Ho (lid not offer to shake hands'wh~h her, possibly aniticipating a snub, though her manner was as usual calm, unperturbed and langluid. "Holy do, Mfiss Vapstone?" lie re miarked; strolfing up-with the most un cowcerned aih;in the world. . . "I am very well, Lord Darley," she replield, turniing away her head from him qa' she spoke. '-'I want to have a clhat with you," lie said, holding out his arm toward- her, "shall we come outsido into the con servatory?" * Miss Vanstone was .beginning to sus pect that Lord Dam:ley declined to Le snubbed, and at alil events he showed no sytoms of unimsiness at hercold man neo'. When a 'man is thick skinneod, plainness of speeoh is (hi only effectual method of conveyig conitenipt og dis pleasure. Miss. Yang~tone wvi1s deter mined that Lor'd'-llery shoid know whiat she thouglht of li f'reaclierous conduct, and she therefore acceptell his invitat on, and accompanied him to the adjacent conservatory. "1 wonder at your having the temn erity to addreas me, Lord nariney shen lamed, haughtily, 4s soon as tWey were alone. FrQm .wlat Mr. Benson aid to me. I Imagine it was you- who ipread this scandalous story abouk". "Well, yes; It was," he replied calmly. "I d~idn't-mean to, but it slilpd but after dimidr one diay. I only toad. 1nt' rellow, "nd begged him not to say a word, but; of course, I might as Well have proclaimed it from the housetop.". "Have you admitted this to Mr. Bensonf?" Inquired Miss Vansitkon in voluntarily. "Yes. Oh! we've had a deuce of a row. I offerediim every satisfaction." "The mischief was done;" said Miss Vanstone, impatiently, irritated at his lordship's coolness. "No doubt.. Th'at Is why I thought he might like to -have a shot at me. I would have fired in the air," said Lord Darloy, in a matter-of-fact tone. "You know, of course, whtit thd, re sult has been," said Miss Vanatone, iII tent .on extracting from Lord Darley some expression'of remorse for his con d'ict'. "Yes, that's is why I came to-night," said his lordship, setting his glass luhis eye, and assuming a business-like air. "I wish to make a very urgent appeal to,you." "Pray spare yourself and me," said Miss Vanstno. hastily, and In some confusion, thinkink he was about to in tercede on Jack's behalf. "I would rather not refer to the past." "I am not going to refer to the past," said Lord Darley. "Jack had his chance, and has made a hash of it. It may have been my faiult,' but that was a pure accident. According to the original agreement it is my turn now." "Lord Darley 1" exclaimed Miss Van stone, completely taken aback. "I told Jack I should try my luck now he has failed, and, of course, :e could raise no objection," said his lord ship. Without furthiegpreface, Lord Darley proceeded to miak' a foimnal offer of marriage, laying ;considerable stress upol his social position and prospects, and speaking with the air of a man who felt assured of *success. Miss Vanstone sat speechless with mingled. indigna tion and amazement. Her natural im pulse wias to decline to listen to him, and to express hey scorn and contempt she could not find adequato words in which to convey her sentinents, aid while, in her agitation, she was vainJy seeking them, Lord Darley contrived to achieve his proposal without interrup tion. Finding that he was calmly waiting for her answer, Miss Vanstone was seized. with a sudden mlisgiving that anythfing she might say at this jumicture would sound tane and spirit less. She realized now that it was too Into, that she ought to have stopped him at the outset by a peremptory word or gesture. As a matter of fact, her furious indignation had deprived her of her .j'reseice of mind, . and though her plifts.wns fagliig *fichin her she dared not trust herself .to speak. "Lord Drloyxreplaced his glass, which ho had droppd from his eye- in the fer of :3s lratioiaad glanced at ~a ith Svldem~t perplexity. Abother pomeiit and she would have beon diced, frain ser emni arrassmnent, t66)rea pildeice, but, t. hdt heartfelt relief, theeintete a tte ivas.:imterrupted by the gentlmati jo whom slhe had promised .the nextignci Miss Van stone l'ose immedintely and left the con servatory, Wthout deigning ,to bestow a word or a look at Lord Darley, iho, however, contrived to wvhislei' as she passed him: ,"Unless I hear from you in the mean tfnme, will call-on Monday for' your re ply." No doubt Lord Darley had awakened to the fact that the youing lady was not prepared to accept him off-hand. It may be that her silence had led 1im to anticipate a refusal, for he did not at tempt to approach her again during the evening. Probably lie preferred that she should have leistre for ro(lection, lest, being pressed, she should give an uin favormble response. At all .events, when Miss Vanstone was leaving the house an hour later, she lieard thie link men baivling for Lord Darley's car riage; and caught sight of him as he vanished doewn the stips. Miss Vanstone was no less furious with herself than with Lord Darley. Her projeet of -unercifully snubbing hin had Sgnomnhgiously; failed through lier own wveakiness. Sh6 was'mnore than ever convinced of his meanness and treachery toward .Jack, and yet she had suffered him to make a proposal of mar ringo unchecked. The worst of the. matter was, his offer wvas still undlis posed of, and she had ne alternative but to write to him. She instinctively guessed that a refusal contained in a letter, however severely wvordled, would afford no vent for her outraged feelihgs. On the other hand, after her past ex lperienice, she doubted whether she couldl do justice. to her in(hignant sentiment at an inter'iiew. If lie hind not ex pressedl his intention of cealling-upon~ her on .Monday she would probably hiave decided 'to treat his offer with bilent contempt:' But she felt that 'this plan was oust of the question .under the cir cumstainces, and besidesilf Lord' Darley were persistent, she wvould be forced to give him an answver sooner or -later.. The truth was that Miss Vanstone was consumed by an intense desire to be revenged upon TLori narly She md to mak6 n feel i ied. [uim for his cqpdqo . so cara ried. avay lI hiY u.il i pulsg that slgermqyet rented *b@had de viseda means ot-d ppose. TIeddea withwhich vio igna U in 3pired hmorl wits bo0 thu tlihlg that it almost took i 3j Waf. By degrees, u)61 4,e com Plttely receodledA Ic1 she finaly rsoyd The initial t was fr it gonsisted of oiib. _Volab an wutent note to Tok-11 1 him to call upoh lierl . Jack came, oft c6i h is heWt Ir his ooth, scapi j o ati lpate the good'Wilah v~yited . . But he w04 og eme'd by ghe loybu surprige with - he learned the conditions impose y Misa Van stone. She stipulated r a private wedding to tdke pla ithin f'k lays--namely, on the wrly Mon day. Miss 'Vnsyone gt vr pleutible reason for this unorth a rrangemqent, maying that after. what Jad passed Ahe thought the best way. I silencing tl1e gossip.would be to get. Arried withoit more ado. Jack was rdly surprIAk that Miss Vanstone ould prefer 'to avoid the awkwardneoof a re-engage ment, and for the rest%6 was not in alined to be hypercriti'pl. The weak minded old-uncle, it is irue raised fee ble objections, which were easily over come, but there was practically no one to be consulted on either side. The consequence was that, special license having been obtahied,: Jack and Ethel were quietly married without fuss or ceremony, while their friends were still talking of the rupture of their engage ment I When they were on the point of starting 6ff for the honeyfnoon Jack noticed that his wife handed the butler an envelope, and gave hin some direc tions conderning it 4" an. undertoie. The envelope containOq a glazed card with the names of "Mr. and Mrs. John Benson" Inscribed thereon, and when Lord Darley called the' same afternoon, asking for Miss Vanston, this enigma tical missive was to -i placed in his hands. a good deal to be present in order to see how.Lord Darley wore the shook. This was her scheme of revenge, and she did notV doubt that it would prove effectual. To learn that sh4 had, after all, mar ried the rival he had endeavored to sup plant, could not fail to be most galling to his Lor.,abipfs self esteem, not to meyfiohi Ils own -blighted hopes. It must be confessed that a more humilia ting way of refusing an offer of .mar riage could hardly have been conceived. Jack knew -nothjig of all this, his wife being-coitent to chuckle over her triumph in secret. Beyond making him promise to keep secret their projected miarriage, she-had given no clew to her real motives, and finding that he had no suspicion that Lord Darley had proposed to her, she generoubly forebore to en lighten him. Having achieved her ob ject', Mrs. Jack Benson 'did. not suffer her mind to d well- with !Atterness upon Lord D~arley's behbavior, and under the soothing -influence of the honeymoon her resentment began to evaporate. Tis magnanimuity was chiefly owing to her husband's sturdy championship of his friend, for Jack scoffed at the idea of Lord Darley having deliberately sought to injure him, ahd declared him to be one of the best fellows that ever breathed. Mrs. Jack Eistened in silepce to these eulogiums, lmowing that his lordship lhad meanly soughit to take ad vantage of lisa own strong. On the day of their return to Len don, Jack received permission to stroll dowvn to the-club for ai- hour or two, imd when he came back his wife coukd not restrain herself from asking if he had met Lord Dailey. "Oh! yes. ,I met Darley," answered Jack, with rather a queer smile. "Was lie-did he' seeni -at all de presscd? You know lie used to be al most as fond of me as you were,'" ad dled his wifo ingettuously. "H~e was juet tlie same as ever. As for being depressed-well, you see, lie won a lot of money over your marriage," said Jack. e "WVhat1" eleIined ,Jlig Wfe, open ing her oyes to the wfiest extant. "lie is a queer fellow,.Darley is. It rippears that, when he heard otir en gagement was broken off, hie took adds alli over the place that it would conic right. They say lie won ?5.000," said Jackc,.laughing a little awkwardly. "What! oh, Jack! Ije is a heartless; wicked, bad man!" cried Mrs. Jack, with sudden energy. "Jho' you know that, attei' you and I had. quairrelcd,.he. actually wanted me to marry him?" "The .deuce he did! Thena.was that wvhy~ you agreed to' marry me -of tr suid lon?" cried Jack, with a start. "Yes, But--but, of dourse,'I alwvays loved you, Jack. You mustn't think.' I only married you .out of. pique?" M~id his wife, evidenitly repenting'of huet pre cipitation.. "As for-Lord .1Mrley, he is1 um wretch. I forbid you to assoiate with him, Jack. IUe is not worthy of you." "On the contrary, my dealrr Darley is 1 the best fellow in the world, as .I've of ten tried to. convi400 yo'iu," cried Jack, exaitedly.. "Ndw I undertandu~ sverything. Hie was awfully cut up at having been the cau of our quarrel, iid. deolirOil -he would set things itraight... He never told me he had iroposed to vou, but I see now.tlhat he lid so; perceiving What would probably iplen~ Parlo is-one of the 8hrewdest tellows Iko11 w. Gobd graclotist Don't. 3r, my love "Oh,- JakI If I had only guessedl" Wclahned his Wife, with a paroxysmA of PIan W1thell -it would :Aot ae ma rence, I hQpe," c'ried Tack, as:his counteinace fell. "'Kiss me, JaekI Yes, it would. We SCotik Wl kihathebatidla 41 ye rest FO OOUNTA X HISTORY. bho Country Store of the Past and Its -Influence. .8attid tl)rouig the iural districts of his country.are splacestof resort which, in their reflex'influence, are widely -and koplY.felt. When the first sharp frost 3i0e en4 the Docember .woods.. s.tand iaunt and naked oxfie hillsides, a new', rresh life, as of spring tiue,. blossoms rorth In the -country store. The' sum mer's' accumulation of dust is, swept iedtdy back b6hind the barrels, and a' 31lanoat of savdust is spread' in the inclosure in the middle of, thetfloor, and i jolly wood fire crackles hospitably in bhe great cylinder stove, for the pro prietor knows that six days in the week for the next three ionths a large por blon of the male population of the vic inity will be his daily guests. The social Instinct-is universal. The same subtle magnetism that fills the cafes of France, the beer gardens of Germiny, the lpublic rooms in England's ruralinns, and the 3lub-houses of our American cities, draws men out in Erie county, and all the counties of the state, during. winter months, into a yicturesque and cosy rroup.around the stove of the country 3tore.. -It Is, to some extent, impossible to understand the historical development, riot of Erie county, Pa., alone, but of ti e whole state of Pennsylvania, without aking Into consideration the part which these country stores have had in shaping It. It can hardly be disputed that It Ims ben the tiopght and sentiment - of :lwellers that have given distinctive ,olor both our county and state his ory. And it is not too much to say hat up to a recent period few laws wore placed upon the. statute books that had aot been first discussed and approved in dountry stores. Before the days of larmers' clubs and newspapers in every iouse-and even now In the remote 'owns-they were the only place' where ;he townspeople could get themselves nto the current of human thought. There they met to talk about everything. Nfcn like Associate Judge Vincent and Jap. Strong, of Waterford; John J. and Richard Swan, of Fairview; James Miles md Henry Teller, of Girard; and the B1rowns, McCreary's Loves, Evanses, Russells, Parkers, Eatons,: Goulds, Devores, Dnnns, Wilsons, Chatnberses, B~laines, Wagners, Moorheads, .Salts nans, Warfels, Shenks, Burtons, ect., >f various localities, were heard with at ention and their utterances (duly consid.. red. Scattered and unformed opinions ~rystalized and took shape in the- do 3ates around the stove, leading to a asting force in our cival polity. As thd brown winter twilight deepens o darkness the old men, one by one nuffle up their faces, and with reluct mit-feet leave the wvarm and cheery store or home. By and by, when the chores ire done, young men, from neighboring armns come in te occupy the vacaited ~hairs. But they uannot adequately ill them-the life and wit and wisdom >f the store have gone with the old ones.. ['hey sit around in heavy silence, these ouths with pipes wedged tightly in the :ornor of tlilr mouths, or chewing obaceo with bovine stolidity. Now md then there is a bit of buffoonery, a lttle talking of traps and guns, aiid p~er maps a story of dubious taste and more loubtful age. But the conversation no onger glows: Is dnly smnoulders. Over hese fellows, as over many y oung men m ~farmns at this period, 'a glamour, as >f Medusa's head, has fallen, turning ~hem all to stone. So the early evening iours pass dully, and othe venerable wner 6f thre store, who li'fes chiefly in he past, withidraws deeper intO his cor icr among ther tall fil'ckering shadows ,bat the- single lampi casts. At length he little clock "sharply . strikes nine imes, whein those w~ho compjose the ~athering knock thme asihes from their >ipies andl stride duLinhto 'iho ken ir,. omeowha.t to .thle'relfof of their indulgenit ost, who at onide .rakes the tire, eInliptiOs, he mnoney-b0% into his- pocket, hooks he door, and trudges brisklyflomeward lown the wvlite, frozen road. The illon, hat fromnthe eastern sky, shines lirJgat y across the.Valleytand-Imnparts to thre rluster of locusts over the way- a spec-, ,ral and grisly aspect, -Is perharps'now, it pi'esetit Writing, 'ill~uninating. hjte. treet and its n19ying throimg,, u3m ;put here the day's life 'Is oyer, for the ~ountry store has closed. Lieutenant (Jea has Mriled at a irm conviction that Ice in tlhe.eeanever orms to a depth of more thaln (lve feetr .0 tg-n fe.d. -The flor'bergs and~ iehergs f great thicknesrs.thrat are encountered loating ouit at sea, lhe maintains, are nare detached portions of the great oiar ine can. The Stingaree and the Whippare. Those who have never visited the Indian River, In'Southern Florida ard not familiar with the vicious Stingaree. They ire.something Ilk' the mosquito dailing'on a small boat down the Niver one thinks there are millions of these little vampires about him. The shrill ,ory ai~d the bold advances of the few that 6ndIrcle your head, give you an impres Sion that the country is aliv' with th9m. If I were a poet, I would try to make .yu fbrget the wnosquitos 6y -'ving dh painted water ai i ro ken upa nd twisted:ntoa mi4ion aug ers and corkscrews by the night breeze that is springing -up,' and ' would * point to the whip-poor-will - or bull-bat, sweeping down almost to the water, with a croak that is echoed doWn the River. The water beneath us is clear, and we can see the curious creatures walking and crawling on the bottom. We can see horse-shoe grabs, sea-porou pines, tarpons, saw-fsh, sharks, and many other things very -distinctly. There is a 6tingaree right ahead. He darts about so actively you can hardly see him, but when he is speared and brought into the boat lie answers our purpose better. This is a small spect men, only three feet long. The body is about one foot across, and nearly round. It is slate-colored, and three inches through in the deepest part. On each side it slopes to a thin edge. The tail is round, an inch In diameter, tapering to the size of a lead pencil, and 'has a rough, gristly' surface. The eyes are situated about three inches from the nose, and are close together, small and very, wicked looking, Ito mouth is un derneath the front part of the body. The peculiarity which gives the stinga ree such importance is the sting. It or naments that uart of the back where the tall joins the body, tapering to a. very fine point, and is covered with stout fibres, Which point downward, so that it is difflcult to extract from a wound. The sting of the average specimen is fou inches long. . A wound inflicted Is very painful, and is a long time in healing. --The whipparee Is very much like the stingaree. The only difference is, that the tail' is somewhat loniger, and the sjing is lacking. The ta il is-very tough aP.2- .eA aO ok iG a-'. Sy-whip, and as such, will- stajid many years of hard service. -These hideous creatures are very often eaten. People do not eat the whole animal, but the thinedgesof the body, commonly called "wiegs." But in a region where there Is such a boundless wealth of fish and fowl, they are really delicious eating, the whipparees are not eaten, except, as a last resort by starving natives. The Bilsmarckian Dynasty. Count Herbert von Bismarck is the eldest son of the famous German Chan' cellor, and was born at Berlin on De cember 28, 1849. He'is therefore but thirty-six years of age. He entered the. military service nominally -at an early age, and at present holds the ranki or captain of cavalry. He entered the diplomatic service eleven years ago, be coining an attache of the Prussian Le. gation at Dresden in Januiary, 1874, In January 1877, he was appointed Secretary of Legation at Vienna, but *In April left -that position to become 1his. father's assistant in .the Foreign 'Oflice at Berlin. He was subsequently -attached to the Embassy at London as Councillor and in January, 1884, was itransferred to St. Petersburg as Secre tary. In July following he was sent to. thre Hague as the German Minister, and ,has rInmained in that poslilon up to thE 'present time, although- lie has several times been sent to England on special m'nissions--notably last sprmng, when he succeeded in bringing ab~out the acqul escence of Great Britian in Germany's African colonial schemes As succes -sor to Coint Hatzfeldt he now becomes the right-haiid mah and chief assistant -of his father. (Iount Hlatzfeldt has for years past been practically the Minister in residence at the Foreign Oflice at 'Blerlin to carry out the decrees (of Var zin or Friedrichsruhe. Count Herbert's promotion to that position miakes him ,the most important olicial in the Eai pire after Prin'ce Bismarck, and In the direct line of the successioh to tise fa tiher on the latter's death, Count H1er bert has been a wild-sort of youth, get .tlng-into all 8orts of scrapes, and fig~ht lng s. number of dfeels. In Mtlrch, 1881 lie' distinguished himself by i'unning away with the wife of' Prince Charles of Carolath, nee'Countess Hertzfeldt, a woman who was several years his span ior; add Who had a daughter fourteen years old at the time. The injure i hus~band -promptly 'secured it 'divorce. And it Was anmoudeed that young .13is marek'propo'sed fonmarry her,'but nothr -ing has since been heard of' the affair. The elder Bismarck' was very wroth wIth' hideoh for' tIs escaplade, but they soon becamie reconciled. Krupp,'s famous works at Essen have turned out a largernunrb'or of gunscdur Jhg- bihe last:' three mntiils than ~are asnalfy~ proddced in A Whole year. The heaviest delivery was made -to Turkey, after Which camne Greco and Servia. Mr. D. G. Doad~e gives the following simple experimaent as of interest t4 aiateurs witth the microsool-e: :MUpoi, sa allp of' glass r'46 a drop or llq'ild 'iuric chiot'ide or argontic nitrate, with halfr a grain of metallic zinc in tho auricchior ide,* and copper in the silver. A group, of exquisite gold and silver ferns will grrow beneath tha eye." Turkish Wonien. Small parties of Turkish women are mecountered picking their way along the streets of Galata in charge of a male at tendant, who'ivalks a little way behind, if of the better class,. of poorer people, 3arrying small Japanese lanterns. Some times a lantern will go out, or doesn't burn satisfactorily, and the whole party halts in the middle of the perhaps orow ded thorouighfare, and claters around until the lantern is readJustpd. The Turskish lady walks with a sledcby gait, 64er abrqud4ie bbss.,adding e to the ungracefulness. M te I te wise s'circely to be improved by ing two paits of shoes, the large, slippi--like overshoes being required by etiquette to be left .on the mat upon' entering the house she is visiting; and In the case of a strictly orthodox Mussulman lady-and doubtless, we may also easily imagine, in case of a not over-prepossessing count enance-the yashnmk hides all but the eyes. The eyes of many Turkish ladies are large and beautiful, and peep from between the white gauzy folds of the ya-htak with an effect upon the obser vant Frank not unlike coquettishly ogling from behind a fan. Handsome young Turkish ladies with a leaning to ward western ideas are, no doubt, com Ing to understanid this, for many are nowadays met on the streets wearing y-shmaks that are but a iingle thickness of transparent gauze that obscures never a feature, at the same proeucing the de cidedly interesting and taking effect, al")ve mentioned. It is readily seen thlat, the wearing of yashmaks must be (ilite a charitable custom in the case of a lady not blessed with a handsome face, s. :ce it enubles her to appear in public Lhe equal of her more favored' sister in commanding whatever homage is to be derived from that mystery which is said to be woman's greatest charm; and if she has but the one redeeming feature of a beautiful pair of eyes, the advantage is obvious. In street-cars, steamboats, and all public conveyances, board or c ivas partitions wall off a small con p iritment for the ekelusive use of ladies, were hidden from the rude gaze of the Frank, the Turkish lady can reinove her yashmat and smoke cigarettes,. The Hor m Will Know Better Next It was eight degreei belqw zero and the rost was nipping bot.. A horse belong ig to a city ollal wats hitched to a ,st on the west side of City Hall, Do oit, and although he was covered with buffalo robe and blanket lie humped . mself together to keep warm, and had look of disgust on his face. resently a. bootblack came along. t some time in this boy's life he. had uched his tongue to a lamypost on a .Id morning. Seeing the horde's nose :ithin a. foot of the iron post made him 'rget the cutting wind and the cold agstones. lie was chewing away on a ,ig hunk of molasses fcandy. - He re oved it from his mouth and held it to he horso's nose. Out came the animal's tongue for a lick, and the boy then rub bedl the hunk over, the post and skipped across the street into a doorway, Hie wvas hardly in the place wheri the horse slipped six inches of his tbnguo out af t r more sweetness. It hit tihe p~ost and stuck there. For a minute he thought there was some mistake, but then camne the realizing sense that he had been played a sucker and caught on a blunt hook.' Ho set back and pulled, lurched forw~ird and squealed, and -then lifted his heel and made splinters of everything within reach. Pedestrians run to stop him, but with a terrible wrench he loosened his tongue and set off at a gal lop, slewing the dutter bottom up and knocking it to pieces as it went down Fort strest. The boy went un the street, saying to himself: ..:. - . "If,- :iwas a hiorse, do you suppose anybody could got me to lick molasses off an axe on a cold day?" What "Maverick" M(ea. The word "Maverick" is derived from a man of that name. A fewv years since Sam Maverick went from Massachu setts to Texas, where he entered largely. into stock business. After b~uying several herds lie neglected his range and~ ' left his stock to shift for themselves. Mr. Maverick, withl humanitarian feel lng refrained from branding his young stock, believing in the implicit,.honesty of his neighbors. Whmen . the genuine stockmen of the, region ran. across an ubranded animal on the round lip they would say, "There's one of Maiverick; let's brand it." The word Sprang into pop~ularity, and it.4 limited meaniingivas broadened and enlarged by conistani use0 throughout the-cattle ranges and miliig camps of the frontier, If a ma.,as unprononnided in his .opinio96n any subject, people would say, "Hie holds Maverick views," me~uIng that 2his views weretintaintedby any pah.isan ship in the matter. ~ 'I.'hgoi-d has not yet been intfoducet into the laiguago. The cleaning out of kitchen boilers is seldtom, if ever, thought of. All 'edi mont cocks should be left open at least dnce a week for the space of 15minutes, so as to clean and wash outahi foul sedi ment. Oftentimes when complaint hs made that the water smells, or that it don't heat properly, the real cause will ' hv' found to arise from thisi neglect alone.