Drifting Ont,
Evermore we ape drifting out with the cease?
less tide,
And we dream of a bound to the ocean-a
home on the other side;
That somewhere there is a Gilead sweet
with the healing balm,
And the storm may ra?e, but the rainbow is
arched in the skies of calm.
Windeth tbe-river weary, through forests no
mau hath trod,
Where the darkness is shut from the shining
of the lamps in the windows of God ;
Bat out from the gloom it flashes in the
fight of the day to be.
And mingles in lonely waters with the
mother-tides of the sea.
Weare not hopeless, homeless-wherever
our feet may roam.
We are going like little children to the gates
of a Father's home ;
And though dark be the way and dreary,
- when life with its storms is past
We shall enter in at the portals and rest in
the fight at last!
-[Frank L. Stanton, in Atlanta Constitu?
tion.
"Love Me, Love My Dog."
The little bow-wow took an im?
mense interest in mc at first sight. He
was such a poor and friendless
creature, and it was snch a cold and
blustering night that 1 had not thc
heart to shut the door in Ids face, as
lie stood wagging his tail in the stream
of light from the open hall and look?
ing upon me appealingly, with big,
innocent brown eyes, from under a
silky fringe of hair that appeared to
hint of Skye descent, though rather
more than loss remote.
- Yes, he is certainly mongrel, this
Artful Dodger of mine; perhaps if he
had been of good honest Skye strain
this talc could never have been told of
him.
s However, in he came with mc that
night aud ont he went with me the
nesf. evening, for the first of our mys?
terious walks abroad.
It was only round a couple of cor?
ners on an errand to the green gro?
cer's about the morrow's list which
had not properly been made np ; but
?When I palled my glove off at the
home door to grapple the better with
the difficulties pf the latch-key, I felt
a cold nose thrnst into my hand-nay,
more than a cold nose-an apple,
which, so red and glossy as it was, 1
was quite snre my provident friend
had selected from thc very basket of
apples I had just ordered home from
under the green grocer's counter.
That was excusable enough, per?
haps. But what followed day by day
exhausted ali my stock of apologies
for my poor kleptomaniac.
F?.r day by day. there was some?
thing of my neighbors' goods laid at
my door.- One morning it would be
a prime beefsteak fresh from the
butcher's stall ; another it would be a
dainty handkerchief thrust into my
. hand as we walked together along
Chestnut street. I soon learned to
a
eschew the?shopping quarter, how
?ever, when we two went out together.
But my Artful Dodger was too much
if or mc. One snowy day all the
neighbors' doormats were piled np in
Dar Testibnie,aud my poor little fellow
crept ont from among them, wagging
Ids tail wi:h a delighted conscious?
ness of merit, as I mame up the
feteps.
Some Fagin had trained him ; there :
.Was not a doubt of that. It was the
part of a Christian moralist to reclaim
him, not to tarn him adrift iu his
evil ways, I argued. I seemed, how?
ever, to be the ouly Christian in the
house; or indeed, in the whole block.
I faqcy they would have left my poor
little fellow to go to bad altogether, in
another neighborhood remote from j
theirs. Bat then ho never looked ap j
at them; with his big, innocent brown
eyes brimmiug with love and trust, as
he did at me.
'? ?Love me, love my dog,' " I said j
to Hngh one evening, as I stood with 1
him in the vestibule, and thc Artful
jDodger whined so piteously on the |
other side of the closed door that I j
was obliged to let him ont to walk j
with ns. Then I could feel myself ?
blush farionsly, for though Cousin
Hugh and I were-well, it is hard to
say what we were ; but this unlucky
speech of mine was certainly the first
word of love that had passed between
ns.
I was glad to go down on my knees
to the little fellow leaping about me
to escape the eyes of the big fel?
low stand i tig over me, for I felt
sure there was a laugh in them.
"When your dog is as honest as you
are, Kitty," said Hugh, "I may per- j
haps begin to love him as"
"As I do?'' I answered, my dog
andi springing down the steps to?
gether g?yly. "I wouldn't advise
you to; evil communications corrupt
good manners, to quote still another
proverb; and my Artful Dodger may
teach me as much as I have failed in
teaching him, poor boy !"
"At that rate, is as well I am taking
yon both to a poor quarter of thc
city," said Hugh. And indeed I felt
that the do? might help to cheer the
little crippled lad he was taking me
to see.
It was not thc first time Dr. Hugh
had carried mc o? to see some patient
of his. Elizabeth had a malicious
way of hinting that he had
me on probation as a model
doctor's wife. But Cousin Hugh and
I had been comrades ever since I could
remember; and when I was out of
reach of Elizabeth^ sharp tongue there
was seldom anything to remind me
that wc had not been boys together,
instead of girl and boy.
The one step from the sublime io
thc ridiculous is a short one in my
neighborhood, and we had taken it in
a turn ronnd the corner from the
stately terraced street whero was my
home. The absurd little box^s in
which the people here were housed
might be an improvment ou the great
tenements of other cities, bat to take
them seriouslv as homes was rather 1
difficult. "That one yonder is a me
geranium pot," said I, nodding wi
a gesture towards a tiny red bo^
window filled with those great r
and green plants.
Of course, there was "dressmaking
on the modest placard on the doo
and equally, of course, there was tl
dressmaker's small, pale face at tl
window, where the florid roar
bunches of blossoms seemed to hw
drained all life and color from her.
"It is a case of Rappaccini's dang!
ter reversed," I said. "Instead <
i giving her their bloom the flowe?
have taken all hers to themselves,
never see a big coarse hedge-row life
that one without knowing that thei
a fadiug lily of a woman behind
stitching and stitching her heart ou
Cannot you make au excuse, Di
Hugh? Mistake the house, or sore
thing, aud let ns knock and see if on
faded lily won't come out?"
But just then the door opened; th
dressmasker was letting out a custom
er. Who or what that was I neve
heeded, for from where we stood ove
the way my dog had dashed across, u
the lew steps, and was fawning o
thc little woman iu ? transport o
********
She did not stoop to meet those eag
er caresses; those sharp little canin
cries of delighted secognitiou had n
response. Only, as wc came up, sh
made a hurried, groping movemen
for the handle of the door as if sh
would have shut it iu our faces. Hugl
was too quick for her. He stepped ii
across the threshold, where she stoot
leaning pale and quivering against Un
wal!.
"We owe it to ourselves," he said
"to make some explanation. Of cours<
the dog is yours."
She made a hasty motion ot dis
claimer; but Hugh went on:
"Of course the dog is yours; w<
have had him so long in our keeping
because he was found one night lasi
winter, and this lady kindly let hine
come indoors with her ont of the bit?
ter weather. Bat we have no idea ol
keeping tho little fellow from you
unless, indeed, you would care to part
with him''
This la9t tentatively, for it had no!
escaped Hugh any more than it had
me, that as between dog and mistress
the affection was certainly all on one
side. The little woman-girl she was
rather-und retreated, sinking down
ou the steep box-stairs that almost
tilled up the tiny entry. Tho dog did
not feel himself repulsed, as we did :
but fell, dog-fashion, to kissing the
worn hands with which she covered
her face. It was in that same instant
that we heard a child's cry. She let
her hands fall together, the wedding
ring flashing out on the worn finger,
and then for the first time noticing
me with a swift sigu she led the way
into the back roora.
Tiie baby was just waking in his
cradle. She turned he% white face
round on us in the doorway, as she
dropped down on her knees beside
him. The -dog went sniffing about
the cradle, ronnd and round, as if he
could not understand, then stood
irresolute, his brown eyes flashing in?
quiry from the woman to me.
"For the cliild's sake/' she said.
"For the child's sakov
She caught her breath in a fright?
ened, gasping way that brought the
doctor iu, Hugh to the fore.
"Steady," he said gently. ?We
are not here to hurt you, but to see
what can be done for you."
She pointed to the dog. "Only
take Dash away. Leave us two
alone."
At the sound of his name the dog
glanced round at her, but at her
vehement repellent gesture he crept
nearer to me, his tail between his
legs.
*'Poor Dash! My poor, poor, Art?
ful DDdgerl" I whispered, stooping to
pat him. But Hugh was looking at
the woman attentively. <4Ibeg your
pardon, but I think I have seen you
before,'-* he said.
She threw up her hands with a
sharp cry. "I knew it! I knew that
dog would ruiu me!"
"Then you tried to lose him, to get
rid of him?''
She made Hugh no answer, only
]Ooked at him half fearftilly, half de?
fiantly.
"Come, Kitty," he said to me,
"since the dog's owner is willing to
part with him we will take him home
with ns." He laid a couple of bills
on the sewing-machine as he spoke,
disregarding her gesture of refusal.
"Otherwise wc. shall not feel that we
have a right to keep the dog," he said.
"And we will keep him; he shall
never annoy you again, believe inc."
Ile bowed to her respectfully as wc
three went out, closing thc door be?
hind us, for she never moved from
her knees beside tho cradle.
********
Of course I asked Hugh what it all
meant the moment we were out of
ear-shot, and I am afraid I was not in
a very amiable mood during the w alk
home, because he would not answer.
The next day, however, lie told me;
for the next day he went back to the
flower-pot of a house, and found the
little dressmaker had lost herself to
Dash again.
"And I hoping you would be herc
making your gowns, Kitty," he said
ruefully. "That was thc .eason I
thought I had better not tell you her
story until you had gotten interested
in the poor, young thing. But she
has vanished without a clew; and
Do you remember cousin Catharine's
writing to me here to look out for her
house last Summer, while you were
all out of town?"
"I remember mamma's being wor?
ried at hearing of so many burglaries
in town of empty houses."
"Precisely. There was a gang, it
was believed. At any rate, one of the
burglars was traced to his home by
[ means of bis dog. Ile was not tak
i without obstinate resistance; he got
bad wound, and I wa3 called in
the nearest doctor to stop the flow
blood before he coald be remove
He had a pretty little house; a pr?t
little wife of his owu, who, with
baby of a few weeks iu her ann
shrank stricken with shame and hoi
ror in the furthest corner of the rooi
It seems she never had so much
dreamed of her husband's ?busines?
which took him so often away fro
her at night. She appeared to shrin
away from him as if he was an abs<
lute stranger to her, as if he could n<
be the man she had known. What sh
might have done further I don't kno^
for the fellow died of his wound.
. "He tore the bandage off on the fir?
opportunity and just bled his Iii
away. People were interested in th
poor young woman, and ehe woul
not have lacked kindness, but then, t
now, she disappeared. There was
rumor that she was a shoplifter, s
many incongruous things were foun
stored away in the little house. Bc
[ believe myself the Artful Dodge
was responsible. He must have bee
trained unbeknown to her by tha
Fagin of a husband of hers. Now
what are we to do about your klepto
maniac, Kilty ?"
I put my hand under the Artft
Dodger's chin, and turned np his face
with ita brown, inaocent eyes.
"Love me, love my dog," I sail
again.
This time I had a right to say it
Thc right had been mine since yester
day.-[Philadelphia Ti mes.
A Tale of an Overcoat.
A story, said never lo have beei
printed, more than a thousand time
before, is of a certain Brooklyn wo
man who finds a peculiar significant
now in the words of the psalmist
"Pride goeth before destruction and
haughty spirit before a fall." Hei
husband is a man of prejudices, ant
one of them is against wearing ai
overcoat that costs more than $15.
This notion sorely tried his wife'?
aristocratic ideas, and wheu expostu.
lation and entreaty availed nothing she
resorted to strategy. Collusion will
his tailor, on the occasion of his
recent need of an outdoor garment,
permitted his purchase of a $65 coat
for his usual price, $15.
The wife duly paid the difference
and was happy-for a few days.
Within a fortnight an old friend
met her husband and at once noticed
thc unusual elegauce of his new over?
coat. "Why, how's this? You are
wearing better clothes than you used
to."
"Not?t all," he replied; "this is
one of my ordinary fifteen-dollar
overcoats. "
"It ia! Well, I'll give you $25 for
it,"
"It's yours," was the prompt reply,
and the bargain was completed on the
6J)Ot.
When the husband reached home his
wife was surprised at his appearance.
"Why, where's your coat?" she
asked.
"Oh," was the complacent repiy,
?.a fool down town offered me $25 for
it and I took it." (Curtain.)-[New
York Times.
The Commercial Traveller.
In some respects the American
commercial traveller is a potent in?
fluence. He carries with him the
latest city chit-chat, and if he be a
young man, perhaps the latest slang
or the newest funny story. It has
been said that a noted American after
dinner speaker depeuds largely on
that classs for most of his numerous
stories; at all events the commercial
traveller has studied the art of pleas?
ing, and he is a welcome figure at the
dreary country hotels where he pauses
for a little while in his rapid Jlight
through the sections remote from
the city influences. lu some re?
spects he is an oracle on mooted
points, and his dictum on many phases
of business or politics carries much
weight. If, for instance, the com?
mercial travellers of the country V,?VQ
unanimously to favor the repeal of
the silver-purchase law and the pas?
sage of the proposed bankruptcy
act, and were to back their opinions
with common-sense arguments when?
ever they should go, it is hardly too
much to say that in a short while the
demand for the favored action would
soon show itself strongly in all sec?
tions of thc country. Shrewd poli?
ticians of national fame have in the
recent past declared that popular
opinion in the West upou public
questions like thc tariff has been large?
ly affected by the commercial travel?
lers who have past through that sec?
tion, and there is a strong ground for
Bach belief.-[Boston Advertiser.
High Bidding for a Hindoo (?od.
An English gentleman at an auction
sale of East Indian relics paid $13,000
for the famous Hindoo god Lingara.
Liugam is only a trifle over a foot in
height, but he is said to be worth his
weight in diamonds. Thc base of the
figure is of pure hammered gold, and
around it are set nine gems-a dia?
mond, ruby, sapphire, chrysoteryl,
cai's-eye, coral, pearl, hyacinthe, gar?
net, emerald and moonstone.
The apex of thc figure, which is in
the shape of a pyramid, is encircled
with a pli nish set with small but very
fine diamonds. The pinnacle of the
pyramid is a topaz ono and tcn-six
teenths of an incl in length and nine
sixleeuths of au inch in depth ; this is
in the shape of a horseshoe, the centre
being a cat's-eye of oxceediug brill?
iancy.
When the "Bad Shah," last King of
Delhi, was captured and exiled to the
Andaman Islands, his Queen secreted
tii?s idol, and it wa3 never seen agaiu
until recent research brought it to
light, whereupon it was taken tc Lou?
don.- [New Orleans Picayune.
KID GLOVES.
The Great Majority of Them are
Made From Lambskin.
Process of Manufacture From
Hide to Finished Article.
The manager of a fashionable glove
shop up town fell to talking the other
day about the making of kid gloves.
"Only a small percentage of the
gloves sold as kid are such/* he said.
"Millions of kid gloves arc demanded
while comparatively only a few goats
are raised in the world, and of these a
large uumber must bc kept until full
grown for breeding purposes.
"A substitute for the genuine kid is
found in lambskin, which makes an
excellent grade of glove, and is easily
sold for kid. Genuine kid gloves can,
of course, be obtained at a high price;
but thousands of persons who think
they are wcariug kid have only the
skin of a lamb.'*
"Where are the best gloves made?"
"Well the French excel all other
Bations in the manufacture of gloves.
They are remarkable for elasticity,
and give when pressure is put upou
them by the hand, and retain their
shape for a long time. But an excel?
lent grade of glove is made in Ameri?
ca. The domestic glove sells well,
aud compares favorably with the im?
ported goods. In all the brandies of
theglove-makiug industry a high de?
gree of skill is required, and the
workmen generally learn their trade
in Europe.
"The lambskins are selected with
great care, and put into large tanks
at the factory. These tanks are partly
filled with the yolks of eggs and other
soft, sticky substances. Then the
skins are subjected to a thorough
pouading with a heavy stick that is
padded so as not to injure them. In
some factories men with bare feet
tread on them, their object being to
'nourish* the skin and make it strong
and 'healthy.' The skins arc kept in
these tanks for a long or short period,
according to the judgment of the
superintendent If allowed to re- i
main too long they become too well
nourished aud decay.
"After the work of nourishing is
over then comes the work of cleaning.
The skins are worked in tubs of fresh
water and washed thoroughly until all
traces of the useless substance is re?
moved from the surface. They now
become soft and iu col ou are a dull
white. Then they are laid ou a
smooth stone slab, with the rough side
down, and pressed and stretched un til
every wrinkle has been smoothed out.
"The skins being cut remain in this
stretched state and are then dyed.
The dye is laid on with a brush, and
the shade is always darker than the
one desired, for the dripping and
after treatment lighten it al least one
quarter. The greatest care is taken
to prevent spots of dye from getting
on the inside of the skins, as this
would produce a damaging defect in a
high-priced glove.
"After the skins have been allowed
to drip for several hours they are
taken to the dryiug room, the air of
which is kept ai a high temperature,
usnally by steam heat. It does not
take long for the skin i to dry out
hard, stiff and rough. Before they
can be used, however, they are made
soft and pliable again by lying for
several days in damp sawdust. Then
they are placed ou a machine worked
by a screw, and by a loug and gentle
y>ressure stretched to the utmost. If
there arc any holes, rough spots, or
cracks in the skin it is thrown away,
or should be. But not all the glove
makers are honest, and the blemishes
are often covered up. This accounts
for the sudden giving out of many
gloves.
"The delicate part of glove making
is the cutting, as the least variation in
the lines will destroy the symmetry of
the glove and make its fit imperfect.
Patterns are used for each size, but
even with these mistakes are often
made. In first-class factories, where
the skin is not properly cut, it is
thrown away or cut up into gussets.
Every skin is studied by the cutter so
as to make the greatest number of
gloves from it with the least waste,
and it is so graded that ihe largest
sizes are first marked out and the rest
is used for children's gloves.
Modern i uve n lion has enabled the
cutter, when blocking out the glove,
to make small holes ih the skin for
stitches. This insures perfect regu?
larity and uniformity ot stitching,
which are of great importance. If the
stitch is too light au uneven pressure
is put on the skin, which makes it
break easily, and if too loose it leaves
a bag in the glove. Linen and silk
thread are used, and the stitching is
done by wemen, who are fairly well
paid. When the gloves arc finished
they are thoroughly inspected and, if
accepted, are tied up in bundles ready
for the market. - [New York Times.
Labor Strikes in China.
There is an impression in America
that strikes are unknown in China.
My experience is quite to the contrary.
The Chinese have invented the mari?
ners compass, gunpowder, and
strikes, but thc only one of the three
which they have developed fully is
the art of striking. Whenever they
want anything they ask for it by an?
nouncing a strike. 1 did not appre?
ciate at first the importance of their
feast day, and when the first one came
round they not only struck, but 200
of them came up and mobbed my
house. No violence was attempted,
but the interchange of views was like
the chattering of 10,000 monkeys. I
yielded. The miners would strike if
they did not like their shift boss,
strike if they had a bad dinner in the
company kitchen, strike for any rea?
son.
Once wiicu mine, mill, and fuma
were in full blast, the miners J
struck for some insignificant cans
Tired of expostulation, I sent for tl
head men and told them gravely th
I had no objection to thc 6trike if tl
men wished it, but the mill and fu
nace could not stop. They had to <.
right on and it was very costly
keep them at woik without ore.
said that I did not think it was right i
make the company pay the loss an
that I should fine the workmen thr<
days7 pay for every day they were c
duty. The miners came to know
what the head man told them w<
true. They went to work the ne:
day, and striking was free in th;
mine ever after, but each man pai
for his owu fun. In the end, ho^
ever, they devised a more potent mod
of warfare. They went into the min
with delightful regularity. They pt
in their lime, but did not put outthei
ore, and our product fell off 75 pe
cent,- [Engineering Magazine.
He Was Dissatisfied.
?.Could you give me something t
eat, ma'am?" asked a tramp at a nous
on Lafayette avenue.
"No," answered thc woman at th
door; ??we've nothing for tramps."
??Thank yon,ma'am," and he turne
meekly away, drawing thc skirt of
wretched coat about him to keep ou
the cold, blinding storm.
*?1 might give you some old clothe
if you wait until I can pick then
out," said the woman, moved by th<
appearance of the forlorn figure.
He waited outside, with the thor
mometer near zero, waited a lou?
time and whistled ??Annie Laurie" fo
company.
Then the woman of the house rc
turned, opened the door a crack ant
handed him out a linen duster and ;
straw haf.
??Thank you, ma'am," said tin
tramp, gratefully; "there is just oin
thing more"
"We haven't any drinking water;
the pipes are frozen," she interrupted.
?'No, ma'am, but if I might make sc
bold as to ask for an old fan. Ii
would go so beautifully wilh this suit
of clothes."
But she said that she drew the linc
at fans, and shut the door in his face.
- [".Detroit Free Press.
The Original Breakfast CInb.
The original Breakfast Club of this
city was formed more than 100 years
ago and when there were only thirteen
states in the Uoiou. It was composed
of thirteen members, each represent?
ing a particular state. No more than
thirteen ever belonged to it at any oue
time, and there is still a pretense o?
keeping up the old organization at the
place of its birth, iu the old-fashioned
hostelry of Miller to the third genera
lion, at the corner of Madison and
Monroe streets, where the club and
its gue ti sit in the commou wooden
arm chairs, with towels spread oret
their laps, watching the cooking of
steaks and chops in the most primitive
style on a big gridiron thrust upon the
the live coals in the old-fashioned
equare cast-iron stove.
The steaks and chops are trimmed
down as fine as the butcher's art will
admit, cut iu small ?trips, soaked ia
melted butter, which also saturates
the toasted bread upon which they are
served to the expectant and hungry
throng, who must eat these delicious
morsels without kuife or fork.-[New
York Times.
Wanted Proof.
??I will never believe what I can't
fully understand," said a 6elf conti*
dent young man.
?'Nor will I," said a second.
??Neither will I," said a third, as
they all were together in a hotel.
?'Gentlemen," said a stranger, who
heard the remarks, "this morning I
saw some geese iu afield eating grass;
also some pigs eating the grass, and
some sheep and sows eating the grass,
all in the same field. With the geese
I the grass turned to feathers; with the
pigs to bristles, and with the sheep
j and sows to wool and hair. You be?
lieve all that, don't you?"
j "Certainly." was the answer.
"Yes," said the stranger, ?'you be
! lieve the fact, but no one of you un
j derstands how or why it is so."
And they were silent, as well they
might be. And so it is with a thou
I sand things that we all believe, but do
j not understand why or how they are
as we know them to be.- [Detroit
Free Press.
? Perfect Book.
Having recently come across a para?
graph in "The Stationer" to the effect
that a perfect book has never yet been
? printed, I should bc glad to hear what
thc readers of ??N. & Q." have to say
, upon the subject. By perfect is meant
free from any mistake.
The notice I read went on to say
that a Spauish firm of publishers once
produced a work in which one letter
only got misplaced through accident,
aud this is believed to have been the
nearest approach to perfection that
has ever been attained in a book. It
further stated that an English house
had made a great ellort to the same
end, and issued proof-sheets to the
universities with an offer of $250 if
any error waa discovered in them; but
in spite of this precaution several
blunders remained undetected until
the work issued from the press.
[Notes and Queries.
According to thc Result.
Passerby (to Tommy who has just
been fighting)-Wouldn't your father
whip you if he knew you had been
fighting?
Tommy-Well, that depends. If
thc other boy whipped me, pop would
whip me, too, but if I licked the other
boy, pop would say, "I wouldn't fight
if I were you Tommy.1'-[The Mil?
lion.
BANDITS OF GREECE.
Their Growing Power a Menace
to the Government.
Surprising Stories of Their
Daring Depredations.
The growing power of the bandits,
or "robber knights,'* of Greece has
become a serious menace to the gov?
ernment of that historical country.
Uuless heroic measures are adopted,
in the opinion of European papers,
grave consequences must soon result.
The spread of the quasi-romantic call?
ing has been traced by students to
various cause?. A correspondent of
"The Koelnische Zeitung," writing
recently from Athens, believes it due
to the small pay of the judicial officials
of Greece. "Neglect of legal prose?
cution in consequence,"" says the cor?
respondent, "has become so prevalent
that people who are to suffer punish?
ment of a few weeks' imprisonment
because of some slight misdemeanor
ofteu wait for months, yes, years, be?
fore they are brought to trial. Who
will wonder that they betake them?
selves to the mountains to escape such
possibilities? But these persons re?
cruit the robber bands which have
gained enormous power because they
all lurk in Thessaly. Surrounded by
mountains, this land oilers safety from
pursuit. Once the lords of thc moun?
tains, the robbers, uuited, soon be?
come the lords of the village.
"Under these circumstances it is not
surprising that they even become so
intimate with officials that they are
warned of approaching troops and
danger. Thus emboldened, they ex?
tend their depredations to the cities,
where politicians make veritable con?
tracts with them, lt has been proved
that the robbers acted as the tools of
well known deputies a. the last elec?
tion. Surprising and startling, in?
deed, is the manner in which they
carry on a campaign. Tney form
genuine 'terror regiments' to work in
the interest of certain candidates.
"Although they play this part dur?
ing the days of political stress aud
strain,the following days they become
merry tax-collectors. Thc notorious
Tsulis, a sinner sixty years old, called
'grandpa* by the Thessaliaus, despite
the fact that he cruelly murdered au
aged millionaire recently, enters the
various houses and coolly demands his
tribute. When the owner asks: 'But,
grandpa, is not this too much ?* he
answers: ?Nonsense. Yon have no
feeling of honor.' It happens that the
brigands give entertainments in thc
small villages, celebrate their mar?
riages there, and invite the local offi
tials to attend them. This happened
at the recent marriage of the bandit
Marghionis. Not less drastic was the
wedding of the daughter of the rob?
ber captain Stratos. AU the people
of the village were invited to the
marriage. Despite the nearness of
Fort Kardltza, the robbers did not
fear to fire salvos of joy in
honor of the eveut. The sol?
diers, however, answered the
shots by hastening to the village and
surrounding the wedding house,
where Stratos sat at the table. But
the robber escaped by a back door,
and from a near hill soon cried: 'Take
no further trouble, please, for I am
here.* Stratos has a right to talk thus,
as proved by the following story.
The bandit was seated one day in a
tavern, and made such a noise while
under the influence of wine that he
attracted the attention of the chief of
police and attendants who happened
to be passing by. The chief demanded
admission in the name of the law.
?Who is it?'came thc reply. ?First
lay who thou art," answered the chief.
'I am Stratos,' answered the man of
might. ?Then open the door, as I am
the chief of pjlicc,' sounded from tue
outside. It was done, and the chief
entered the tavern to take part in the
meal of Stratos and his companions.
The State-Attorney, hearing of the af?
fair, wished to prosecute the chief of
police. But influential politicans
forced him to liberate the official iu a
short time.
??This Stratos is a romantic fellow.
lu his early youth, he heard one day
that the loveliest girl of a village was
lo be married to a certain peasant.
Followed by his retainers, he entered
the church just as the ceremony wa?
about to be performed. With levelled
guns and revolvers they forced the
bridegroom to stand aside. Stratos
then stepped to thc altar at the side of
the bride. A moment later, and the
priest pronounced him the husband of
the village belle.
??The struggie against the brigands,
independent of their arrangements
with officials and people, is made dif?
ficult also by the disregard in which
they hold the soldiers, There have
been instances where the robbers
rushed upon thc soldiers and robbed
them of their guns without fear.
Once a sergeant declared a robber ar?
rested. But when thc brigand re?
plied: ?Thou calf! step aside!' the
soldier obeyed. Upon taking his de?
parture, the robber said that he would
see that the sergeant became a captain
for obedience to orders.'1
Table Etiquette in Japan.
In Japan the usual dinner hours are
4, 6 and 7. As soon as the guests are
seato 1 on the mats, two, and some?
times three, small, low, lacquered
tables are brought to each. On the
one immediately in front of him the
guest finds seven little colored bowls,
with next his left baud rice, ucxt his
right fermented bean soup, the others
containing fish, roast fowl, boiled
meat, raw fish in vinegar, and a stew
of vegetables. On the second table
will bc five other bowls, consisting of
two soups (ono of carp), more raw
fish., fowl and kurage-a kiud of jelly
fish. The third, a very small table?
should hold three .bowls of baked
shell fish, lobster and fish soup. Ex?
cept at great set feasts a beginning is
made with the rice, and here the eti?
quette is very strict,and as complicated
as the old forfeit game, "Here's the
health to Cardinal Puff" Take up
the chopsticks with the right hand,
remove the cover of the rice bowl
with the same hand, transfer it to the
left and place it to the left of the
table. Then remove the cover of the
bean soup and place it on tho rice
cover.
Next take up the rice bowl with the
right hand, pass it to the left, and cat
two mouthfuls with the chopstick,
and then drink (The word drink must
bc used here) once from the soup
bowl. And so on with the other dish?
es, never omitting to eat some rice be?
tween the mouthfuls of meat, fish,
vegetables, or soup. Rice wine goes
around from the beginning of the
meal. The most trivial breaches of
etiquette are unpardonable sins, and
they are gibbeted by certain names.
One is drinking soup immediately on
receiving the bowl of it without first
depositing it on the table; another is
hesitating whether to eat soup, drink
soup, or eat something else; a third is
after eating of one dish to begin on
another without going back to ihe
rice. For cakes the guest must be
provided with pieces of paper ad hoc
He should pick up the cake with the
chopstick8,place it in apiece of paper,
break it in two, and cat the right piece
first.
These minutia? are nothing to those
of tea drinking or cha-uo-you, which
properly takes place at noon, and the
ritual of which was fixed by a master
of the art who flourished in the
fifteenth century. One sosho, or
master of the polite arts, goes so far
as to lay down as theesssntial of a tea
party purity, peace, reverence, and
detachment from ali earthly cares.
"Without these," said the sage, "we
can never hope to have a perfect tea
party.''- [Food.
The Wili-o'-lhe Wisp.
"Seen queer things in my life?"
began K D. Loomis to the clerk of
the Laclede. "Certainly I have and
very strange things. The strangest
of all things that ever interested me
was the will-o'-the-wisp, that indis?
tinct, pale light that hurries over
swamp lands and down into forsaken
marshes. I was once an engineer on
the Pennsylvania road and on my
midnight runs across Ohio and In.
diana I have seen those strange lights
frequently. They are accounted omens
of the direst calamities and very few
engineers who have ever made their
acquaintance doubt the result of their
signals. Hushing through the night,
when all the inhabitants are at rest
and no light of any kind is visible, I
have sat and looked out over the still
fields for lack of anything better to
do.
"Then it was that I often caught
sight of these strauge phosphorescent
glimmerings away off in some fields
bobbing along much as greyhounds
leap, and the train would carry me
out of the range of their wanderings.
If they ever cross the path of your
engine, it's a sure sign that trouble is
ahead. I remember once one fol?
lowed my train for a distance of nine
miles before breaking company with
it. It was where the Pennsylvania
crosses the great Kanakee swamp in
Indiaua. The light came out from s
patch of brush and swung lightly
along side by side with the eugine
aud not over twenty yards to the left
of it. We were making thirty-five
miles an hour and that will-o'-thc
wisp seemed hardly to move, and yet
it was always beside us. After some
nine miles it disappeared again. If it
had crossed the track I would have
slowed up and looked for trouble be?
fore the cud of my run. You can't
see how a light could go thirty-five
miles au hour and not move,
can you? Well, it does it just the
same, just as the moon keeps up with
you when you run or walk, aud the
moon doesn't seem to move fast, does
it? "-["St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Clever Spiders.
I took a large spider from his web
under the basement of a mill, put him
on a chip of wood and set him afloat
on the quiet waters of the pond. He
walked ail about the sides of his bark,
surveying the situation very carefully,
and when the fact that he was really
afloat and about a yard from shore
seemed to be fully comprehended, he
looked out for tho nearest land.
This point fairly settled upon, he
immediately began to cast a web for
it. He threw it as far as possible in
the air and with the wind, lt soon
reached the shore and made fast to
the spires of grass. Then he turned
himself about and in true sailor fash?
ion began to haul in baud over hand
on his cable. Carefully he drew upon
it uutil his bark began to move toward
the shore. As it moved the faster, he
thc- faster drew upon it to keep his
hawser taut and from touching the
water. Very soon he reached the
shore, and quickly leaping to terra
firma sped his way homeward.
Thinking that he might be a special
expert and an exception in that line
ot' boatmanship to the rest of his com?
panions, I tried several of them. They
all came to shore in like manner.
[New York Advertiser.
The Chrysanthemum as a Vegetable.
The chrysanthemum is falling.
From the great glass flower-bowl into
thc salad dish it has* found its way,
and even into thc vegetable pot. The
Japanese chrysanthemum salad is
quite popular among Parsian epicures
and thc flower is boiled and eaten hot.
The blossom is also mixed with truf?
fles and cloves, steamed and flavored
strongly with pepper.
A FAMOUS BOOK.
The Danish "Flatobogen" toc?me
to the World's Fair.
To be Brought Here in State
on an American Warship.
In the Royal Library at Copenha?
gen, alone in a massive case by itself,
lies a book of great value.
lt is called thc "Flatobogen." It is
iu two volumes and was written most
neatly and artistically on very fine
parchment between the years of 1370
and 1380.
The authors were two Christian
priests, Magnus Thorhallson and Jon
Thordarson, who lived at Fiato, a
fiord in Iceland.
The book is about the Norwegian
"Kings' Saga" (saga meaning an old
tale or legend). One chapter speaks
about the Olaf Trygveson Saga, tell?
ing the Iceland legend of Erik the Red
and his son, Lief the Happy, and was
evidently written with a goose pen.
In the year 986, Erik the Red sailed
from iceland aud took a westerly
course, discovering Greenland. His
ton Lei* went back to Iceland and
from there went to Norway, where
the King, Olaf Trygvesou, persuaded
him to become a member of the Chris?
tian faith and then p.sked him to re?
turn and Christianize Greenland.
On this trip he was driven south,
aud in the year 1000 discovered what
is called "Wiueland" in the book.
It has been a question ot great
speculation among scientific and
learned men where Leif the Happy
landed. But two well-known stu?
dents and writers, independently of
each other have agreed, that it must
have beeu in a not more northerly lat?
itude than the forty.ninth degree and
further south than Newfoundland. In
this book there is certain proof that
Leif the Happy discovered America,
which may be of great interest to
Americans when the old book comes
lo the Exhibition at Chicago, as many
American scientific savants have
doubted the existence of this volume.
To make the exhibit of things at the
Columbian Exposition pertaining to
the discovery of America as complete
as possible, a request has been made
by the United States Government for
the book.
The Government has been in com?
munication, with the Royal Danish
authorities for the loan of the "Flato?
bogen,*' and the Danish minister for
Culius (Education) has given his con?
sent only after a heavy guarantee for
its safe keeping was made.
Aa American warship will be sent
to Copenhagen early in the spring to
bring thc book over. It will bc sent
in charge of Prof. Dr. Phil Vaityr
Gudmundsson, who will lecture about
it iu this country, his expenses being
paid by the Government.
The book will be in a separate
building by itself, ont on the lake,
surrounded on three sides by .water,
and will be guarded by soldiers night
and day. The Government insures it
for $20,000.
Wheu the American man-of-war
reaches Copenhagen the delivering
over of thc book will be of a very cer?
emonious nature. The Danish author
ties will preseut it lo the American
Minister, who will in turn hand it
over to the commander of our cruiser
with all due foam. A special train
will carry it from New York to Chi?
cago.- [New York "Work.
The Old and the New.
**I calied at a dentist's office today,**
said a Western Congressman. "I had
a hollow tooth that ached a gool deal,
so I thou?ht Fd have it upholstered,
but the dentist advised me to have it
drawn instead of filled, saying that
the process was almost painless and
thc satisfaction complete. I yielded
to his argument with fear and trem
hiing. I had never had a t otb pulled
since I was a bor, and the memory of
my last experience in that line was
enough to give a person bad dreams.
"I was surprised at the case with
which the fang was extracted and the
a hnost complete absence of pain. After
this IM rather enjoy having teeth
drawn. It was widely different when
I was a boy though. I remember the
village dentist quite well. When he
wasn't removing molars he was shoe?
ing horses. He was a large man and
thc muscles of his brawny arms were
strong as iron bauds. Ile used no
anesthetics.
??He simply throttled his victim and
inserted a pair of tongs into the un?
fortunate's mouth, atid then he
breathed hard and pulled until thc
tooth came out or the tongs broke or
he sprained his wrist. He generally
extracted three or four teeth before he
captured thc aching one, but he was
liberal and made no extra charges.
Oh, I tell you, the world has advanced
since I was a boy. and in nothing
more than dentistry." And the con?
gressman removed his spectacles in
order that he might see the paper he
held in his hand.-[Washington News.
Lizard Skin Utilized.
Lizard skin has for the past two
seasons or so been a very popular
material for card cases, purses, pock?
et-books and such articles, aud a large
business has sprung up in meeting the
demand fort he raw materis?'. Over
500,000 lizard skins were imported
from tho Mexican stale of Tabasco
alone, last year, and thc local govern?
ment's estimate puts the number of
lizards killed in that state during the
same year at full 0,000,000. Many of
the skins weat to Europe, and large
quantities are marketed in Mexico.
In France there is an nu written but
immutable law that a painting shall
not bc exhibited without the artist's
consent, no matter what the wishes of
1'ic owner may be.