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3Efte fllaindraler. "• 1 1 " •' 1 1 11 3. VAN SL7KE, PUBUSHER. _JT .*>. tl - iicHENRY, ILLINOIS. A^RICULTUBALANB DOMESTIC. Around the Farm. PBOCUBE seeds early from the seed stores. The assortments are always the beet early. Do NOT buy fruit trees from the ex­ travagantly colored pictures shown by traveling agents. THE wingless female OF' the canker worm begins to crawl up the trees as ; soon a$ the ground thaws. PRUNING must be done before or wait till after the sap flows. Use wax or paint A *° cover the large wounds. A YOUNG farmer friend asks us what he will do to make money. Buy a sow and pigs and take care of them. IF young lambs are coming' along about these times those having care of them must recollect Mark xiii. 37. Cows should be dried off from four to six weeks before calving. Give them generous food of moist hay, but little grain. HORSES that have been kept on hay and corn fodder can now be grained * more thoroughly preparatory for the *. spying work. IF yom are going to set fruit trees in the spring it is time orders were made and sent to some reliable nurseryman, as near home as possible. SEE that plows, harrows, corn-markers, corn-planters, seeders, singletrees, har­ ness and everything needed in putting in crops, are in perfect repair. * MANURE, rich and well-rotted, is the one thing needed for the gardens, East, West, North or South. Have it ready in time before all hands drive afield. LET the boys, when home from school Saturdays, build neat houses for martins . blue birds and wrens, and put them up about houses, barns and fruit yards. INSECTS are to be fought at any time. Remove the eggs of the tent caterpillar before they hatch. They will be found near the end of the twigs, wound around like a neat band. AiiiiOW young calves to have the of the cow for four or five days. The first milk is medicinal, and it is neces­ sary the young animals should have it to make them healthy. FRUIT trees can be profitably washed with strong soap-suds or lye. It can be done any lame now until the busy season oommences. It kills dormant insects, removes mosses and lichens, and im­ proves the trees generally. THK peddlers of apple trees grafted on Canada stock are humbuggers of the worst kind. But the people need not be humbugged unless they want to be. It is a free country, and none of their nat­ ural rights should be taken. BREEDING SOWS should have potatoes or succulent food before farrowing. Put poles around the pen eight inches from the floor and the same distance from the sides, to keep the sows from overlaying their pigs. Give them clean, well-Uttered beds, but not enough to endanger the young. WHY in the olden times did men live to such immense ages ? It was not per­ mitted that meat should be eaten until after the flood. So, if you want to live long in the land it is time to begin prep­ arations for the early garden, for there is where many of God's blessings come from. IF fruit trees have been gnawed by mice and rabbits during the deep snows, if it does not amount to entire riddling, smooth off the torn and rough edges and paint thoroughly with grafting wax, or make a plaster of dry and fresh cow dung and cover thickly, and bind on with a cloth. CONSTRUCTION OF HOT-BEDS.--Al­ though fine plants of nearly all kinds of those vegetables that require to be raised in hot-beds may generally be found in city markets, it is better for every farmer to raise plants^for his own garden in hot­ beds ef his own. Mareh is the most suitable month for making hot-beds, for the rigors of winter have by that time passed away, and vegetation in the open ground has not commenced. Farmers have generally abundant material for a hot-bed, and glass is cheap--a few sashes, six feet by three, will not cost much; but, even without glass, celery, toma­ toes, cabbage, etc., may be grown in h»t-beds covered with oiled paper, cotton cloth or mats, and exposed to sunshine in mild, warm weather. Though a large number of plants may be raised in a small bed if they are transplanted from the bed before they have received damage from crowding, it is better to give the plants plenty of room by making the hot­ bed large and sowing the seed thin. Abont the HOOH. To KEEP MOTHS, BEETLES, ETC. , FROM THE CLOTHES.--Put a piece of camphor in a linen bag, or some "aromatic herbs in the drawers, among linen or woolen clothes, and neither motii nor worm will come near them. To PREVENT ink damaging metallic pens, throw into either the inkstand or the bottle in which the ink is kept a few nails, broken bits of steel pens not var­ nished, or any piece of iron not rusted. The corrosive action of the acid contained in the ink will be expended in the iron introduced. REMEMBER that mirrors should never be hung where the sun shines directly upon them. They soon look misty, grow rough or granulated, and no longer give back a oorrect picture. The amalgam, or union of tinfoil with mercury, which is spread on glass to form a looking-glass, is easily ruined by the direct, continued exposure to the solar rays. LIQCXD BLUE.--Take half a pound of best double oil of vitriol, mix one ounce of Spanish indigo pounded very fine, and scrape in a little chalk ; have an iron pot half full of sand ; set this on the fire ; when the sand is hot, put the bottle in, and let the vitriol, etc;, boil gently for a auarter of an hour ; take the whole off le fire and let it stand for twenty-four hours, and then bottle it for use. KEEPING PIANO KEYS WHITE.--It is said that piano keys will not turn yellow if exposed in a light room. Never close an instrument with ivory keys. Throw a sheet over when sweeping and dusting. Wet a soft cloth in alcohol and rub off all dirt, then expose as much as possible to the sunshine. If they are very yellow it will take a few weeks to restore the orig­ inal whiteness. To facilitate the pro­ cess, re-wet with alcohol once or twice, though they will whiten without in time. How TO CLEAN BLANKETS.--Put two large table-spoonfuls of borax and a pint bowj of soft soap into a tub of cold wa­ ter. When dissolved, put in a pair of blankets and let them remain there over night. Next day rub them out and rinse thoroughly in two waters, and hang them to dry. Do not wring them. This re­ cipe will also apply to the washing of all kinds of flannels and woolen goods. It is equally useful in washing lace cur­ tains and mosquito bars. Remember not to wring the article washed. Invariably use oold water. SPIRIT-LAND. News from the Other World--Messages from a Murdered Editor--He Still Wields the Pen. Stephen S. Jones, the editor of the Religio-Philosophical Journal, who was lately killed in Chicago, has been heard from in the spirit land. Jones' name still stands at the head of the editorial column of the paper as editor and pro­ prietor. His son-in-law, John C. Bundy, announces, over his own name as acting editor and business manager, that the course of the paper and its tone will be unchanged, and that Mr. Jones, being freed from the trammels of the flesh,will be able to do more for the paper than he has done heretofore. To unbelieving ears an editorial and proprietary interest in an earthly journal by one of the heav­ enly host sounds queer. If Spiritualism is what it is claimed to be this is certainly a rare chance to show its power.- Mr. Jones is a thorough exponent of the doc­ trine, one who has given his life to its unfoldment, and, now that he has reached that land, sends back word that his teachings were all true and that he will be " able to do twice, if not thrice, as much " as when in the flesh. The fol­ lowing communications are given as ooining from the great editor: DEAR FRANCIS : Tnis is kind of you to allow me a word, BO soon after leaving my mortal body, you and I having been so long and so in­ timately acquainted. I need not tell yon how wickedly the press - has traduced and vili­ fied my life doings, for yon no doubt have read it. Bat, thank God, my friend, you know bptter than they ao the object and aim of my life. While I was not immaculate, yet if 1 know my own heart, and I thought I did, it was to better my fellow-inan, and no man living knew that fact better than you did. Your friend and brother, 8. S. JONES. The following communication was then sent him, the object being to find out just how it seems to be transported to paradise: MY DEAR BROTHER JONES : What were your sensations when first awakening in spirit life ? In response he said: As to that, Francis, it was very like what I communicated this morning. When awakened to consciousness I looked about me and asked myself," Where am I ?" At that moment my son George was standing by me, probably to cSfch the first word spoken by me. I recog­ nized my son, and he advanced and we em­ braced as no one but a loving father and son could. I said to George, " Where am I, and what does this mean?" He replied, "Father, you are a spirit!" " Yes," said I; "yes; I now realize it." I looked about me and said to George, " All that has been told me of the sum­ mer land is true." Your friend, 8. 8. JONES. Then follows: DEAR BROTHER JONES : Have you found TH« statements vou made in your articles, " Well, What of Itrealized in spirit life ? In response he said : Every word and idea verified to a dot. The following was sent: DEAR BROTHER JONES : What celebrities have visited you since your entrance to spirit life? To which the editor replied : Mr DEAR FRANCIS : As to that I have not been able to meet many besides my own dear ones yet. I have been called upon by Theodore- Parker. John Pierpont, Joshua Giddings and Robert Owen, but above a passing salute nothing was said. I was too weak to talk with any one. By the by, I recognized-a spirit that I met in my early life. He lived in my native town in Vermont--Ira Day. 8. 8. JONES. The following inquiry was forwarded : DEAR BROTHER : Can you do as much for the Journal and reform in spirit life as you could in this ? In response he said : Yes, dear Francis, I shall be able to do twice, if not thrice, as much »H when with vou in the office, if I ean have the proper medium through whom to adviso. I do not want tLc. paper changed in tone, size or price. 8. S. JONES. The Casualties of War, The official statistics as to the number of killed and wounded in the German army during the war with France have just been published at Berlin. The number of officers killed and wounded was 3,319, and of soldiers, 60,978. The number of officers and of soldiers who were either killed or died of their wounds was 1,374 and 16,877 respectively. The proportion of the killed to the wounded was 1 in 3.44 for the officers, and 1 in 5 for the men. As a matter of course, the great majority of the killed and wounded belonged to the infantry, which lost 57,942, as compared to 2,236 in the cavalry and 4,266 in the artillery. Only 5,084 were killed or wounded by artillery fire, as against 55,862 by musketry fire ; and, though artillery had never been so much employed as in the Franco-Ger­ man war, 21 losses out of every 23 on the German side were due to infantry fire. These figures are interesting, for they seem to confirm the theory that the ef­ fect of artillery fire upon the battle-field is moral rather that material--that it frightens more sojdiers than it kills. Some instructive statistics are also given as to the seat of the wounds inflicted. Thus, it appears that, out of 64,897 men of all ranks killed or wounded, 12,717 were hit either upon the head or the neck, and this shows that the French troops must have fired very high. In the Crimean war, upon the contrary, the highest percentage of wounds were in the lower part of the body--a fact which is all the more remarkable as a large number of the men killed or wounded were serving in the trenches. "WOMAN'S ENTERPRISE.--It is a singu­ lar fact that the first daily newspaper in the English languaage was founded by a woman--Elizabeth Mallet, of London. It was called the Daily Courant, and appeared March, 1702, during the reign of Queen Anne. It was not devoted to woman's rights or wrongs, but was as much for man's relief as any body's ; for it was printed, as its frank and fair pro­ prietor stated, " to spare the publick at least half the impertinences which the ordinary papers contain." STORMING! THE ALAMO. OB»«# Santa Anna's Soldiers Tells the Story of that Bloody Day--Mew Statements Re­ garding the Dying Moments of the Famous Texan Leaders. [San Antonio (Texas) Letter to New York World.] The completion of a railway, by a Bostonian, from Houston, 200 miles, to San Antonio, in Southwestern Texas, has invested with fresh interest the memories of this ancient capital coeval with Phila­ delphia. Everywhere, in every city and hamlet of the United States, the play entitled, "The Alamo; or Death of David Crockett," has appealed to the passions of jthe multitude. When this railway was finished, last week, I went with a great throng to San Antonio and gathered the facts here detailed, which give the Mexican aspect of the old familiar story. The recital as given is a careful transla­ tion by Col. Ford, commonly known as "Old Rip," a frontier member of the Texas Senate. The old Mexican soldier, the raeontcu r, is named Francisco Buerra, born in Guanajuato, in 1810. He be­ came a soldier in 1828, was of the army that stormed the Alamo in 1836, and was captured by the Texans at San Jacinto. He became a citizen of Texas, served in the war of 1846-47 against his native country, and in the Confederate army in the war between the States. He is now an honored and aged citizen of Browns­ ville, and his recital of facts as seen by a Mexican at the storming of the Alamo has peculiar value in the eyes of your Southwestern readers. Santa Anna was joined at Laredo, where he crossed the Rio Grande, by Gen. Cos, who, in violation of the terms of his recent surrender at San Antonio, was forced tojoin Santa Anna and return into Texas. Tne movements of the Mex- can army were greatly retarded by fires on the prairie, which rendered the horses of the whole ferce almost useless. Deaf Smith, a famous Texan scout, was the author of this mischief. Santa Anna halted a day or two at Medina, when he was met by Senor Novarro and a priest, who gave the General accurate informa­ tion as to the strength--268 men in the Alamo--of the Americans in San An­ tonio. A sudden rain-storm and "norther" made the river impassable, and a forced march and immediate assault impossible. Next day he resumed the march, Gen. Mora in advance with orders to seize the mission of the Conception, a massive stone structure deemed by Santa Anna a more defensible stronghold than the Alamo. A cannon-shot was fired when the head of the advancing column reached the cemetery. The town was not defended, and Col. Mora was ordered to take a position north and east of the Alamo to prevent the escape of the gar­ rison. This was late in February, 1836. Santa Anna led 4,000 men and waited the coming of Gen. Talza with 2,000 more. A battalion crossed the San An­ tonio river and took possession of houses below the Alamo to build a bridge across the river. Thirty men of two companies sent the next day to make a reconnois sance were killed. A light earthwork was thrown up above the Alamo. The firing from the fort, now invested on every side, was ceaseless. An earthwork nearer the fort was constructed at night. On the 3d day of March Gen. Talza arrived, and the plan of assault was de­ fined and made known to the division commanders. On the 5th of March scaling ladders were distributed. At 3 o'clock in the morning of the 6th, ever memorable in Texan song and story, the the Battalion Matamoras was moved to a point near the river and above the Alamo. They were supported by 2,000 men under Gen. Cos, this wing of the army being commanded by Gen. Castrillon, Gen. Talza leading that below the Ala­ mo. Santa Anna spent the night in the earthworks near the Alamo. The whole force was to move siently upon the fort­ ress at the bugle-sound, and not to fire till in the trenches of the Texans. The bugle was heard at 4 o'clock. Gen Castrillon's division, after half an hour's desperate fighting, and after repeated repulses and unheard-of losses, succeed ed in effecting an entrance in the upper part of the Alamo, in a sort of outwork, now a court-yard. The fighting kad only begun. The doors and windows of the Alamo building were barricaded and guarded by bags of sand heaped up as high as a man's shoulders, and on the roof were rows of sand-bags, behind Trhich the Texans fought as men never fought before--muzzle to muzzle, hand to hand. Each Texan lifle-sliot ex­ hausted its force and spent itself in suc­ cessive bodies of Mexicans packed to­ gether like a wall of flesh. Muskets and rifles were clubbed, and bayonets and bowie-knives never wrought such fear­ ful carnage. The ceaseless crash of firearms, the shouts of the defiant, desperate, be­ leaguered Texans, the shrieks of the dy­ ing, made the din infernal and the scene indescribable in its sublime terrors. Each room in the building was the scene of a desperate struggle with fearless men driven to desperation, and conscious that escape was impossible. They fought even when stricken down, and when dying still struggled, not with death, but to slay Mexicans. In the long room used as a hospital the sick and wounded fired pistols and rifles from their pallets. A piece of artillery supposed to be that which Crockett had used during the siege, was shotted with grape and canister and turned upon the desperate occupants of this apartment. After the explosion the Mexicans en­ tered and found the emaciated bodies of fourteen men, torn and rent and black­ ened and bloody. Forty-two dead Mexi­ cans lay at the doorway of this room. Bowie, whose name tells of his fearful knife and deeds, lay stark and stiff on a cot in this room. He was helpless and in bed when the place was invested ten days before. Eleven Texans fired with terrible effect from the roof of the building,where they used three or four field-pieces, which they charged with nails and pieces of iron. Buerra. like all others, gives his peculiar version of the story that re­ counts the facts affecting the death of Travis and of Crockett. These two were found living, vet exhausted by death-dealing, and lying among the dead. When Travis was discovered he gave a Mexican gold, and, while conversing with him, Gen. Cos, with whom Travis had dealt most generously when San Antonio was captured by the Americans, appeared. Cos embraced Travis, and induced other officers to join him in ask­ ing Santa Anna to spare Travis' life. The President-General sternly refused. Then Crockett, from among the corpses, stood up, utterly exhausted by weary, sleepless days and nights, ana by five hours' constant fighting. Santa Anna was enraged beyond measure that his orders were not exe­ cuted. He directed the soldiers near him to fixe on the two Texans. Travis was shot first in the back. He folded his arms across his breast, and stood stiffly erect till a bullet pierced his neck. He fell upon his face while Crockett's body was riddled with bullets. The corpses of 2,000 Mexicans were buried ; those of the dead Americans were gathered and burned--a holocaust whose fires lighted the way to' Texan freedom. Victor Hugo. Yesterday was the 75th birthday of Victor Hugo, and yesterday saw the pub­ lication of his new poem, the second part of "LaLegende des Siecles." JLt is a little strange to reflect that France still possesses her greatest poet, and that in great age his lyric force is not abated. Yet it will probably be allowed by for­ eigners, if not by Frenchmen, that Vic­ tor Hugo is the greatest name in the roll of French literary worthies. Other countries must look back to some distant time to find the singer whom they chiefly delight to honor. England possesses in Shakspeare a poet whose place seems set above the reach of mortal ambition. Each generation has its favorites, whom new generations may accept or reject, but Shakspeare is always outside the risk of rivalry. In Germany a more recently developed literature finds her chief tri­ umphs in the plays and poems of Goethe, and of his far-reacliing tranquil knowl­ edge of men and tilings. In Italy no fifth name has for centuries been added to those of the four chief poets, and among them Dante holds the chief place, unchallenged and unapproaclied. But France has waited until this century for her poet of widest range, of most pre­ cious value, of most musical tongue, a " mighty-voioed inventor of harmonies." The din of the controversy in which French poetry awakened to a brief life in the restoration has fallen silent, the dust has cleared away, and the renown of Victor Hugo is as solid as his parti­ sans long ago were quarrelsome and noisy. We come, a later generation, and see and hear the poet as if with the eyes and ears of posterity. Foreigners are not tempted greatly to take one or other of the sides in which politics, religion, fashion had as much to say as pure ap­ preciation of literature. And foreigners find in Victor Hugo--we are speaking of him as* a poet--the qualities that Siey gladly recognize, and the other qualities whose absence they lament, in the earlier clnsBes of France. --London News. FOB THE LADIES. A Wasted Life. Christian Hanson, arraigned in the Police Court on a charge of attempt at burglary, informed the Justice that he made the attempt that he might get into State prison. Being asked why he want­ ed to go to State [prison, he answered : "Judge, I have only just come from Columbus, O., where I served ten years in State prison for burglary. I was par­ doned out by Gov. Hayes, now Presi­ dent of the United States. My original sentence was for twenty years. My life is wasted and I am a wreck. God knows I intended, when I came out of prison, to live an honest life. I was pardoned out the 5th of last month. I went to Cincinnati and tried to get work, but failed. From there I went to Pitts­ burgh, and met with no better success. Then I tramped it all the way to New York, where I had friends, trying to get work from farmers on the way, sleeping where I got an opportunity, and eating whenever charitable persons gave me a crust. My friends here, who knew me before I was a criminal, refuse to recog­ nize me. I can't get work. I have lived in the gutter and been kicked about I dread to kill myself, and so, with the horrors of prison life still before me, I am obliged to go back. There is nothing else left for me." Hanson, later, said the crime for which he was convicted was robbery of the First National Bank of Cincinnati of $40,000 in bonds and $5,000 in greenbacks. --New York Herald. TAKING THE END OF THE SKATt Grasshopper OIL Prof. J. H. Fowler writes as follows to the Des Moines State Register : One barrel of grasshoppers contains from three to four gallons of a fine grade of ma­ chine oil. There is none better for sew­ ing machines, printing-presses, reapers, etc. It will pay to propagate them for the oil that is in them. A rendering apparatus, the same as packing houses use, will be all that is needed, and the manufacturer can afford to pay 75 cents to $1 per barrel for hoppers, and there will be plenty of men and boys and girls that will contrive to secure the hopper. He says also that, if caught when young and put in good salt brine and left in for fifteen days, then taken out and smoked and boxed the same as herring, they could be shipped East and used for hop­ per soup, which has a fine flavor, and would sell as readily as shrimps or oysters. They feed on pure vegetable matter, and no impure thing passes into their composition, and, if you only think so, they are splendid for digestion. Also one spoonful of the oil before going to bed at night will cure the most cases of n digestion. Punishing Rebels In Japan. Eleven of the ringleaders of the late rebellion in Japan have been beheaded, while 241 persons have been sentenced to hard labor for life. Four men of high birth, wishing to escape the indignity of decapitation, made their way out of prison and committed the "happy dis­ patch," after passing a whole day in feasting, singing and dancing. There has since been another outbreak, but of a comparatively trivial character, and having nothing to do with the nobility. Two thousand farmers assassinated an obnoxious tax collector, and were about to besiege the Governor of the province in a Buddhist monastery, when troops arrived, and the rioters retired. A LONDON evening paper prints the following extract from the Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 24, 1754: "Married-- Robert Phillips^ Esq., of Wittington, near Hereford, brother of the celebrated John Phillips, the poet, aged 80, to Miss Anna Bowdler, aged near 80, after a courtship of sixty years, the marriage having been postponed in courtesy to some relatives who disapproved." The World of Fashion. Straw IN GLOVES.--Gloves LM>g on the wrist remain fashionable ; for street and visiting, from three to four buttons being most in favor, while for evening from four to twelve buttons are worn. As to coloring we observe no remarkable changes. Wood shades in much variety are shown, and by reason of their real beauty and delicacy of tint remain in vogue. Browns in every conceiv­ able difference of shade are again shown; light grays, the palest running into a clear lavender ; slates and drabs. Ivory shades, moreover, are again intro­ duced, nor is this surprising when we remember how really handsome and re- fined they are. NOVELTIES IN MILLINERY.--For early spring, rough-and-ready straws are pre­ sented in considerable variety as to color, and in shapes which for the most part fit closely to the head. Few are of one color throughout, the majority showing com­ binations of colored with white or black straw, the colorings sometimes running in diagonal lines across the bonnet, or sometimes in regular alternations of col­ ored straw. For dress bonnets, chip is in much favor, white being generally preferred, and here the shapes are quite elegant, with close-fitting brims, rather high crowns, and the fronts rising only high enough to admit of a niching be­ low. Flowers in general are lavishly used, and for the most part are placed on bonnets in the same heavy monture style as during tile winter. The «' Moth­ er Goose" chapeau has quite a piquant appearance. This style has a lace scarf fastened at the back; and the ends are brought forward, crossed beneath the chin ; the effect is blooming, and hence attractive for evening wear. FASHIONABLE DRESS MATERIALS.-- With the opening of spring, the dark shades become somewhat lightened in tone, but only to a slight degree ; while to the pale hues, which have prevailed, others have been added which are deci­ dedly brighter, Light woolen goods in very small checks, black and white, dark blue, or brown, etc., are shown, and to a certain extent will be patronized. Prices, medium width, 50 cents per yard. Per­ cales are in dark colors, chiefly brown or blue, and are either Bolid, with lace bor­ ders, or covered with figures. These are sometimes small, broken designs, flowers, or often rather conspicuous stripes ap­ pear in white, gold, light blue, or crim­ son on a dark ground. Prices are about 35 cents per yard. Linens for summer wear are much darker than they have been for some time past, quite a notice­ able change having taken place in this class of goods, which, whatever the nov­ elties shown, seem always in demand. Prices vary from 28 to 50 cents per yard. Beautifully fine all-wool plaided goods for children are pre­ sented in entirely new combinations, which are hard to describe, and, which really to be appreciated Bhould be seen. Soft interminglings of blue ap­ pear in plaids, something in Scotch style, while in broken bars upon them are showings of mode colors, fawn, pink, apricot, del, and fanst--the new red. This class of fabrics is called cashmere enfantin. Thin lawns and organdies are covered with britrht flowers, and some are provided in addition with bright borders in similar or contrasting styles, the latter being stamped in imitation of lace or fringe. Then again we find organdies showing stripes of gay color on dark grounds, something in the Btyle of the percales of which mention has been made, while a third variety displays twills of handsomely-contrasting colors. Gauzes for evening wear show stylish intermixtures of plush or velvet com­ bined with figures in the new designs, ftjid here in an especial manner, of course, the pftle evening colors are represented. Rich gauze fabrics also show the bright Oriental combination of color in Per­ sian patterns, and are, as may be sup­ posed, extremely effective in appear­ ance. SHOES.--The long winter, with its snow, ice and Blush, has been the means of inducing many ladies to adopt wide- soled, broad-lieeled shoes as a permanent article of foot clothing. At the first sight of wide toes, broad soles, and low ] hccia on a lady's foot, one is very much inclined to exclaim, "How ugly!" But, when the graceful carriage and firm tread of the wearer are obscifed, a second glance at the feet is the result, and if the shoe is seen to fit well and follow the natural outline of the foot, it is easy to reconcile the mind to so desirable a change. It is useless to argue that such shoes "are all very well for winter use;" they are equally desirable for tramps through shady dells, rambles over rocky hillsides, or long walks beside the sounding sea; and the foot that has once enjoyed the liberty of such a boot is certain to rebel, in the most emphatic manner, against being again incased in a narrow-toed, high-lieeled prison. Indian goat of the best quality is the favorite material with both makers and wearers. If used with ordinary care boots and shoes made from this can be worn for three months without being polished; simply brushing the dirt off with a dry brush will keep them in good order for that length of time. This eu- logium applies only to the best quality of this goods, as there are several inferior grades, and some very poor imitations. French kid has been held in such high favor that the production of it is unequal to the demand. American kid has been substituted, but the secret of dressing and curing it like the French article has not yet been divulged ; as a consequence it does not retain its polish so long, but aside from this objection it is a fair article only. Alive Yet. Dr. Louis, of New Orleans, who is some­ thing of a wag, called on a colored Bap­ tist minister, and propounded a few puz­ zling questions. " Why is it," said he, " that you are not able to do the mira­ cles that the apostles did ? They were protected against all poisons and all kinds of peril. How is it that you are not protected in the same way ?" The colored brother responded promptly, " Don't know about that, doctor; I s'pect I is. I've taken a mighty sight of strong medicine from you, doctor, and I's alive yet!" > A KEXKUCKY widow had so much pity on a poor tramp that she married mm and gave him a home. The routes to Kentucky are now almost blockaded. TWSR a morning clear, in the new-born When the frost wag holding revel; , The church bells* call, from the belfries Pealed forth o'er the town so level. "j'V. rs best Went to church on this Sabbath morning! • With thoughts fully bent on pious content. And the spirit's meek adorning. The church doors vide, for the •oming ? S a i d p l a i n l y a s w o r d s c o u l d s a y , - -- ~ ~ " You're welcome all, who hear thin tail • dome worship in here to-day." The coming throng, as they press along, Feel the joy of the sacred place. Till down the aisle thev walk ere while . And search with wistful face-- And search again 'mid the selfish train Who have token the end of each unat; 44 J nut one in a pew, no room for y oa,, Unless you vault over our feet." Will you leave the church, be left in ttWhwM) Or try the gantlet of thorns; Tread over the feet to get in the seat And crush their numberless oorns^^ If you a*e slim, your sails in trim, Your success may be complete; "?•' But, if yon arc large, 'tis a desperate charge, ' The attempt to get into the sent. Tin a terrible plight to be fastened tight, Your sleeves in some one's bonnet; Bat one more lunge, one vaulting plang*, At last you've surely done it. One good you get of this needless fret-- , , And you know revenge is sweet-- You've battered the nose and crushed the toea . Of the one in the end of the seat. But should there come a more timid one Who shrinks such notice to meet, Or a stranger attend, then heaven defend From the one in the end of seat. O what is the reason that every season Then* folks with stupor replete Will compel such search for a seat in charah White they sit in the end of the seat? PITH AND POINT. ^ A SCHOONER of beer carries many a mas hall-seas over. A SMART school-boy says it takes thir­ teen letters to spell cow, and proves it thus: " See O ! double you." You can tell a married man n«w every time by the agitation he displays at thtt Bight of an empty coal scuttle. VESSELS were generally spoken of as in the female gender, ana lately we have been missing them a great deal 'NEATH drowsy drone of pulpit ton* some listeners close their peepers, bat 'tis a very proper thing for laymen to b* sleepers. AN old restaurant keeper says that the way to get np a reputation for tender beefsteak is to keep sharp knives for cus­ tomers' use. WELLINGTON, it is said, was always fond of bestowing military names on va­ rious articles. He called his night­ gown a knap-sack. IN carving a turkey in the presence of strangers it is a breach of etiquette to stop more than twice to spit on your hands and get a new hold. "THE water we drink" is denounced at some length in the Baltimosc Gazette. In many cases it's the water we don't drink that hurts us the most. AN arithmetical peace-maker figura­ tively suggests to the politicians : " This is 0 a time 4 vi-2-per-8-ing. Let us be 1 country and 1 people at 10-rate. A IIIRRIIE boy came to his mother re­ cently and said, "Mamma, I phoulil think if I was made of dust I should get muddy inside when I drink coffee." " IT'S all for _ the best," remarked Blinks, with a sigh, as he paid for the hat he had lost. " Nay," interposed the lucky man, "'tis all for the better.'* ON a church in Delaware, temporarily closed, appears the following notice . " No admittens in this church unless the pennilty of the law ic enforcted. Keep away." WHEH three good little boys get to­ gether of an afternoon, the chances are that there will be either a fight, a win­ dow broken, or some stray dog will have a pan tied to his tail. MEDICAL adviser--" Now, first of all, you muBt not drink beer in the morning." Patient--" No more I should, old fellow, but it so happens there's not A drop <4 brandy in the house,' STABLE-KEEPER--" By the way, shall I put in an extra buffalo ?" English blood --"Couldn't you let me'ave an 'orse, you know ? Er-er rather not drive a buf­ falo first time, you know." AN Italian fruit dealer in Pottsvillc, Pa., has this sign at his stioet-coracr stand: "Fine good lady! Please non StiUeezee. Tek yes look, non squeezee. I love you non squeezee." " MAN," says Adam Smith, "is an an­ imal that makes bargains. No other an­ imal does this--no dog exchanges bone& with another." Not unless the larger dog happens to have the smaller bone. WHEN a Connecticut deacon nudged a somnolent worshiper with the contribu­ tion box, the sleepy individual awoke partially, smiled and murmured, "I don't smoke, thank you," and dropped off again. A MAN may run a good and even styl­ ish restaurant in this country, bat ne will find hard work to secure a man- waiter who will not clean out the tops of the catchup-bottles by running his little finger into the nozzle. HERE is a story of a barber-shop: One of the customers sees a dog of ungain­ ly aspect sitting opposite intently watching him. "Why does that dog look at me so?" "Why, sir, occasion­ ally my hand slips, and I am so un­ fortunate as to snip off a bit of ear." HE was sitting silently by her side one chilly evening last autumn, thinking of something to say. Finally he remarked: " How sad it is ; the frost has come, and it will kill everything green." Thereupon the young lady extended her hand and said, in a sympathetic tone: " Good by." DURING these cool breezy mornings, when the air seems fresher and the fields are bespangled with dew-diamonds, wheu all nature seems to invite man to a romp, how pleasant it is, just as the first streaks of daylight steal through the shutters, for the refreshed, rein vigora ted sleeper to turn over in bed and take another nap! I SLEPT in an editor's bed last night. And others may say what they please, Bnt there in one editor in the world Who certainly takes his ease. Wheu I thought of my humble cot awa|r I could not suppress a sigh; But I thought an I rolled in the feathery neat. How easy editors lie. Ix the opring the gentle Login sharpens Bp tua scalping knife, And th" Mormon aphrodisiacally takes another wife; In the KprMg the paragrapher whittles np a num­ ber two, *n<i the twet starts a sonnet with the nulasllim "Beau--"