™ : ,-- ~ eiF¥ PluilMuer. - 2 * * r r . . > M : J. ft* SLYKE, Editor *PsM»I»r. f • McHENRY. fiLLINOlS J^OJWA&r r f * *-- • l i I 4 bheart may well be {frond An honest tear so nhed; With loving hand 1 sew her abroad; The sroodold soul is dead. . ; Hhe died as she had lived--alone; Wa»foHPd he^-notone traqe Ritmshnini, i face. Iff, t I (ft^lwreall in _ Of bidding her good-by. Vow poor and olun she used to be! : _ How gencieaa. ind hew kinoj- - phe left* -bMteid memory • And three black go was behind. *fche little place she nsed to reaot r Will be a lonely spot* certain {{race her presence lent > J To house and garden-plot. ' Pit children swnnj ntmn • *»***/ nawuau lici ttufUOH uuL • And still, like some benignant Ftafce, She smiled upon them alL |m l>- ^fbe roses aa her window tree ,ip«+'4 v Were plucked before they bloomedt :*nd lavender and sanctity ' ^Ber Viniet rooms perfumed. '*y ^ i 'ZQ. %i j. ie rests at last, from pain and woe: . , • ' She sees God's perfect will; f^X, • • And yet, though free from care, I knmr ' v •»;, tj| She must be busy still. .»•' j V • perchance, while through the golden «lr. The heavenly music swells, r She shows some little angels when v/;3 .fo<t To find tire asphodels. : " . ,-jf *. . ' 1 *H0r. sent with mercies from the Aiei ' r \ /' K.1LJTO comfort souls unhlest, , * nhe flies, God's Bird of Paradise, •r « i ?« ; On wings that cannot rest. '"• IHad be her flight! She rises o'er », The cloud that round us lowers; **.' The tears shall fill her eyes no more ; i'i . That gather fast in oars. j •m-Mariun Douglas, in Sunday AfternOOth. - it»n ,, „ ,3;:; •>v f.b* of BOW, ' "fjirwO ' mi'/l-M -- { *• i. A fcfmjE <rf!b in " mother's room," A little face with baby bloom, ' i i i" i;. jj A Utile head with rurly hair, A little woolly dog, a chair. A little while for bumps and ones, _ ^A little while to make 44 mud pies," * J»lf doubting wonder when . A little pair of hands is clean. 'Jf ' * k l i t t l e A little rrm little A little A little little little little A I A little A little A little A little ball, a top to spin, " Ulster belted in, pair of paxitB.som6 stltlijt, bit of everything. Clustering, boisterous air. spirit of "don't care," tramping off to school, shrug at woman's rate. odor of cigar, twilight talk with ma, earnest study, then-- council grave again. A little talk about " my girl," A little soft mustache to twirl, A little time of jealous fear, A little tope the way to clear. Tjk little knowledge of the w«Mpl, i- jft little self-conceit down huaed, - W little thanly purpose new. A little woman, waiting, true. A little wedding gay at eve, - A little pang the home to leave, A little mother lone at dawn, ' A little sigh--toy boy was gone! --St. Xlcholat. H AUNT CALISTA'S HAIB. 44 SPLENDID!" " Magnificent!" 44 So long!" "So thick!" " And soft!" d glossy!'" e loveliest ritli just a tinge of golct!^ "And it waves so sweetly!" It was Edna and Alice Bristol who were praising their Aunt Calista's hair. Aunt Calista "pished!" and " pshawed!" and begged them to hush; but it was evident, after all, that she was pleased at their enthusiastic praise viflhat was her only positive attrac- * tipn. An attraction of which she, poor soul, had been heretofore but dimly conscious, for all her life thus far had rshe been so occupied in caring for oth ers, that she had no time to think of herself, whether she were a fright or othpr|i*i#e t though" ft fright she certainly was|n<ft% jtyr/her 8 complexion was fair and ̂ clear, and he* expression was one ,of great sweetness and intelligence, too, so what matter if her features were not all east in beauty's perfect mold. A qi^et, sober, and, at times, a sor rowful existence ^td bran Iters since #*her «arlie^- ^girlhood--she was now J. bordering Upon old-maidenhood -- when, for several years, she was almost Vthe sole 'bum® @nd companion of an invalid mother; and then, later, when death had removed from her clinging a thrift this loved charge, her father was sti4ekeft down with an incurable and lingering disease, and she was kept a close but not unwilling prisoner by his side for many more long, weaty years, until now he, too, was merciful ly taken to rust, and she had come to f, make her home for a while with an J^only sister, who had married and re moved far from her native place many years before. ^ . This sister and her two young daugh ters were gay and fashionable, ana it •eemed like being in a new world to her, quiet old maid as she was, and she kept within the seclusion of her own room as muoh as her lively nieces would allow her. Do not imagine, though, that she was either awkward or vulgar, for she was • nothing of the kind. Her father had » been a man of high mental culture and refinement, and the few friends who visited him occasionally during his long illness were gentlemen of like ^tastes and advantages; beside, too, she, with him, had been a constant reader of all the standard literature, as fast as it came before the public; so that, al though dreading society, and shrinking and easily embarrassed when com pelled to mingle in it, she was far from m being a person of whom her friends V need feel ashamed, had they been much more sensitive than they were. "Oh! Aunt Cally," pleaded Edna, " do let us dress your hair, just this once. You've no idea what a differ ence it wiH make in your appearance to HaVP it done fashionably. You might * be stylish if you only would. Why, your hair alone is enough to make your fortune!" " Makfe my fortune?" said Aunt Cally. " I don't understand. Sell it, you mean?'* ' y^afcefa ahus^Mid with ik, l mean," laughed Edna. "Ncnr, don't look so horrified, aunty! You must know that every girl and woman wants to do that --eaten a husband--whether they will own it or not." Aunt Calista wms horrified, quite as much as her looks expressed. "Catch a husband!" she gasped. "Girls of your age talking like that! Why, I thought it was women who were caught if there was any catching in the case. I didn't know that they hunted or fished for husbands!" "Well they do, Aunt Cally," asserted Aliqe, she, as well as Edna, intensely amused at their aunt's " country sim plicity," as they called it " Whv, half the women here are doing their very host. fe> natflh I.twjpr Chester "The bold, forward things!" ex claimed Aunt Calista, in great digust. "If ho has any senso, he won't nave any of them. I hope neither of you are included in the number." Alice tossed her hea^l, with a little sniff, saying: < "I don't care for a husband old enough to be my father, if he is rich and Modular: and uS for Edna Twith an arch look toward her sister), she has her fish already caught; so don't worry about us, but just be nice, and let us braid these beautiful long tresses and put them up high upon your head, in a lovely coil, and then you'll look young and pretty; and you shall catch Lawyer Chester yourself, so you shall, without trying one bit." "You make me ashamed, though I know you are only teasing. If I thought } ou were in earnest I should be angry with you," replied Aunt Cally. But the girls had their way with her hair, though they pearly had their labor for their pains; for when she escaped from them at last, and took a look at herself in the glass, she gave a half- frightened exclamation of, "Oh, my Eatience!" and unconsciously put up er hands to destroy the wonderful structure they had built of it. They both flew to the rescue, laughing, ana seizing her hands. "Don't, don't, aunty!" they both en treated; and Edna added: " You look- splendid, and you'll get used to it in a little while; so, now, please, put on your most becoming dress, and then if company calls, you must not run off and hide yourself as soon as the bell rings. You look ever so much like mamma now, only younger, and she's not thought to be a bad-looking woman, I assure you." Two hours later, Aunt Calista eame stealthily down-stairs with a volume of Bryant's poems in her hand, and her black straw-hat flat "upon her face." She said: "There was no other way to wear it." She wa3 going for a walk, mainly to escape the company which she was certain was expected during the afternoon. 44 Wait a moment" called'out Alice, who provokingly came through the hall, just as she thought she had es caped the observation of any of the family. "Wait a moment, and let me bunch up your overskirt a little more. You are determined to ruin all your prospects in life, and disappoint the cherished hopes of your dearest friends." Aunt Cally laughingly eluded her, and, darting through the door, disap peared around the house, and took her way across the garden and through the meadow to the brook, which skirted its farther edge. She strolled along its bank until it entered a wood, and then for some diftajnee farther, enjoying the coolness, the silence and the restful quiet. 44 Oh, this is lovely?" she said to her self. 44 And there is just the place I have been looking for! That spread ing beach upon that bank. I wish that clump of alders was not there, though; they hide the brook from me; but never mind, I can hear it ripple, and gurgle, and ' babble,' I believe the poets call it, and that will do quite as well as see ing it." So she climbed the steep bank, and seated herself with her back against the smooth stem of the beech, and, re moving hei* hat, looked about her for a few minutes, and then with a sigh of satisfaction opened her book and read: " Here are seen No traces of man's jwmp or pride; no silks Hustle, no jewels shine, no envious eyes Encounter; no fantastic carvings show The boast of our vain race, to cnange the form Of thy fair works. But thou art here; thou fillet The solitude. Hark! Was not that footsteps? It certainly was; and they were coming down to the brook. Now she was glaa of the alder screen. She would remain quite still, and the person, whoever it might be, would pass on, uncoloscious of her presence. There he came; sSe could peep through the bushes and see that it was a man; yes, a man with a fishing-rod-- a short, middle-aged man--"And, of all things! if he isn't going to stop right here! Well, this is a situation! I can't go away. He'd be sure to see me. I shall have to sit still and hold my breath. What if he stays here all the afternoon! I hope to goodness he won't catch a single fish, the* brute! I won't look at him!" for she had been peeping down through the branches of the al£ ers, while the gentleman was rapidly preparing for his cruel sport. It was rather an embarrassing situa tion for a timid spinster, to be sure. The gentleman was so close to her that, but for the screen of alders, she could almost have touched his hat with her hand. The alder-bushes were barely high enough to hide her from view, as she sat. The moment she arose she might be discovered. Besides the un pleasantness of the situation, she had a profound horror of fishing. " I won't look! I won t look!" she said to herself, over and over, and reso lutely bent her eyes upon her book. But tiy as she might, she could not take tne sense of what she read, and could not keep her eyes from stealing glances now and then through the leaves, down at the unconscious figure, sitting so motionless almost at her feet. How absorbed he was! She could not see his face, of course, for his back was toward her; but she fancied that his eyes were bent immovably upon his line, Watching for the least intimation of a bite or a nibble. Before she was aware, she, too, be gan to be interested. Luckily, or un luckily, she could see a bit of the line, just where it entered the water. There! did it not tremble a little? No, it WM only a ripple in the water that moved it. There, again! That certainty was something. Oh, dear, it was too dread ful! What if some poor, little, hungry, unsuspecting fish were to come along, Mid be caught on that cruel hook, de ceived by the tempting bait, and she should be obliged to witness the bar barous transaction? She would, not look another second. But, somehow, she couldn't stop looking, and every minute vibration of the line only in creased the fascination, and made her the more anxious for the result. Once or twice the hook was lifted out of the water for an instant, ant} each time she almost shrieked aloud. " If he should bring up a poor little; struggling ereaturc, I snail scream, I know I shall," she said to herself. " It seems as if I must throw something at him, the great, awful brute!" She had half risen now, and was peer ing over the tops of the alders with anxious, frightened eyes riveted upon the line, feeling, as she had just said, as though she must scream, when, all at once, there was a very perceptible pull downward, followed instantly by a most vigorous jerk upward, and she did vwioea, having canned eloquence out of season, as we nave canned peaches and tomatoes in winter. The introduction of a phonograph into an unsuspecting sewing circle or church sociable, where everybody talks at once, is a thing not to be thought of for a moment. A prohibitory law is needed immediately. The instrument nshould also be kept out of the* hands of bojs who have sisters old enough to re ceive attention from bachelors who would become benedicts; it too closely resembles the boys themselves ill its merciless accuracy. On the other hand, the instrument will be of incalculable service to lectur ers, who, instead of wandering like restless spirits anu sleeping in uuconi- fortable inns, will deliver their dis courses to a phonograph in their libra ries and furnish tinfoil eloquence to lyceum committees, to be ground out from rural platforms without the bod ily presence of the lecturers the ruse ves. _ These are only a few hints of the ways in which the phonograph is likely to work a revolution in our methods of doing thiags to every reader, and we frankly own that we contemplate life Tenths' Department. MIS8 MUSLIN APRIL-FOOLS FIDO. Day, almost time the son scream, for, good gracious! what was in the phonographic age not altogether itj tugging at her hair, as though the without misgivings.--jtf. T. Evening purpose was to take it all out by the „ „ _ „ „ , purpose was to take it all out by the roots? Her sereain brought the g&ntfe&ane to her side almost instantly. 4' Good Heavens, madam!" fce ex claimed, excitedly, 441 hope you are not hurt. What is it? Ah! lsee; my fish hook caught in your hair. How awk ward of me! However, be calm, mad am"--this, by the way, was wholly un necessary, for Aunt Calista was as quiet and composed, to all outward appear ance, now as she ever was in her life-- 441 can very soon extricate it, if you will allow me." And without waiting for permission with deft pliant fingers, he set about his task, talking volubly all the while; now a word or two of apology for himself, then a remark up on the beauty of the day, then her book --Bryant was a favorite of his, too-- then a compliment to her hair--he wouldn't have believed it was natural --until, at last, in a tone of satisfaction," and with a little flourish of the hands, 44 There we are," he said, 44 clear at last!" And Aunt Calista thanked him, without exactly knowing for what, how ever; and taking her book and hat, pre pared to return home. Half an hour later, her sister and nieces were electrified by seeing her walk shyly into the house, accompanied by Lawyer Chester, for it was he, and this is the way their acquaintance began. How it grew and ripened I shall leave you to guess from this slight bit of con versation which somebody overheard the following Christmas: " It was your hair that did it, after all, Aunt Cally "--it was Edna who was speaking--"and what did I tell you? Didn't I say that, properly managed, your hair might make your fortune? And hasn't it? You've got a husband, or will have one to-morrow." 44 But please to remember, miss," Aunt Calista replied with spirit* 44 that 1 was the one that was caught."-- RurafcNew Yorker. The ponograph as a Social Factor. Now THAT we have the phonograph among us, and have dulled the edge of curiosity concerning its nature ana the nature of its performances, by listening attentively to explanations of the laws of acoustics and dissertations upon at- mospheric waves and the vibratory ac tion of metals, all of which many of us do not at all understand, it is worth while to ask ourselves: What is to be the effect of this mechanical verbatim reporter upon our lives and characters? It is a new social factor, the exact rela tion of which to other social factors re mains to be determined. Like the freedmaa in politics, it has a future be fore it, and in that future every one of us is directly interested. Let us see what that future is likely to be. Let us see wha| promise and potency lie hid den witftin this new genie of modern life. Prediction in every such case must rest upon the moral character and the intellectual capacity of the being Whose course of conduct is to be considered, and in this case we find that certain Well-defined qualities afford us solid ground on which to build conjecture. The phonograph is, in its ultimate analysis, a reporter, and the reporter we know. He has been known to be wooden sometimes, but in his new form he is metallic, but the metal in his composition is not brass, as it has been supposed to be in the cruder human form of the species. The new reporter, unlike the old one, is incapable of see ing things that do not exist and hear ing things which are not said. It is not liable to that inability to read its notes which has overtaken shorthand writers sometimes. These are advantages of course, but they are not tutogether so. Tne new reporter is believed to be incapable of correcting the grammatical errors of the distinguished gentlemen whose speeches it has to report--an important function performed by reporters x>f the old sort. It is incapable also of re moving from the conversation of states men ill-chosen expletives, and it can not revise and polish their utterances as reporters for the press have been wont to do. Worse still, it is impossi ble to contradict the plodding machine, and the public speaker who finds that what he has said gives offense to the public cannot escape responsibility by declaring that the phonograph was drunk and misreported the words spoken. Members of Congress--it makes one shudder to think of it;--will have their speeches printed in the Record without the modern improve ments which their Private Secretaries have been accustomed to add to them. On the whole, there are positive reasons for objecting to the introduction of phonographs into the galleries of Con gress. On the other hand, men Who like to hear themselves talk, and who are nev er conscious of the absurdity of what they say, may be counted upon to favor the instrument's use, because they can put the tinfoil reports of their speeches into their pockets, and grind them out as often as they please after their re tirement from public life, fighting their battles over again, and listening, en tranced, to the sound of their own o AND FIGURES* ACCORDING to a paper in Bath, Me., forty trades are concerned In the build ihg of a ship. SOUTH CAROLINA now has 5,900 spin dles and 1,400 looms in operation, di vided among ten prosperous factories. THE First National Bank, of Helena, Bf. T., did not lose a single dollar dur ing the year through the failure of any of its patrons, and there was only $4,500 charged to profit and loss, of which $3,100 was the result of re duced premiums on $130,000 of United States bonds. The net profit of the Helena Bank for 1877 was $38,750. This is a pretty good showing for a capital of $100,000, indicating^ profit of 88J per cent. THEKK have been fifty-six Atlantic steamers lost during the jpast thirty- seven years, in which 4,4S0 persons have perished. Nine vessels were never heard from after leaving port, four were burned, thirty wrecked, five lost through collision with other vessels, and two by collision with icebergs, two foundered and two were lost in fog. Of nationalities, forty-two were British. five American, four French; four Ger man; one Belgian. PHILADELPHIA has forty-five news paper offices whose annual business equals $4,300,000; 108 job printing of fices who, each year, turn out work amounting to $2,176,000. The book- making interest in 1876^.came to $4, 193,000. The annuarwales of the paper mills average $4,049,000. The prod ucts of electrotyping, stereotyping, steel and wood engraving each year equal $1,500,000. ?our million dollars' worth of web paper it sold annually by its manufacturers. THE change that has come over the mining industry during the past year of 1877 is remarkable. The dividends de clared for the twelve months show a falling off of no less than £275,000 as compared with those of 1876. There is a reverse, however, to this dark picture. This year in round numbers the in creased yield of our wheat fields has en abled us to send away some 10,000 tons of breadstuffs, valued at £12 per ton. This represents no less than £120,000, while, again if we add" the value of wheat and Hour imported in 1876, we bring up the total to something over £215,000, an amount which will go a long way to compensate for tne loss of our gold yisHd.--Melbourne (Australia) Leader. BERLIN and the City of New York are about equal in population, but Berlin spends on municipal government but $9,000,000 to New York's $30,000,000. The New York World says of this: 44 The administration of the Berlin City debt figures in the budget at 6,517,660 marks. If we subtract this from the total of the Berlin budget, we have in round numbers a little more than 35,- 000,000 of marks, or $7,760,000, to be raised for local administration in Ber lin, as against about $16,000,000 raiseieaSlllJC® for similar purposes in New York, afte| Is gen» deducting tne city's share of State ex^ng the penses, tne interest on the city debt, }ie t,ag and the provision made for redemptioi' . and the sinking fund. In other words ^ it costs a million of people in the capi10 re£11" tal of the greatest military Empire i#ct that Europe less than half as much to geeded as their capital administered for a twelv. place-- month, as it costs a million of people ii^y^ the metropolis of the greatest llepublu j LINI^ Miss UDRUM, of Quintillion Saoare. • Wandered up and down-stairs, in the deptQS of despair. Here it was All-Fools' set. And no soul in the house had she April-fooled _ yet! Her mother and sisters and grandmother--all Cmly wwicrhed when she mentioned " That fly sn the wall;" ,. : And not even old Dinah, the cook, would be lieve In the •* chalk on her back," or the " mouse ap At length wandering down to tbf lower front hall,. ^ o _ -v 2£iss «we »il »'>>uuuv happened to tail. Upon Fido, her Spitz dog. asleep on the rug - (A handsome. Inst very ill-natured young pug). "Ah!" she jovially cried, "Sow' 1 know what I'll do, My dear Mr. Fido. Fll April-fool you/ Let me see--what s the Met way the thi«»g can be done? Ho, ho. hot Now Ihava it! Oh. won't it be fun! " I will tfo softly an to lay room, and nnscrew My lookuMj-glaas--just as I've seen father do-- And 1*11 brmg it and place it before Fido's nose; Then I'll wake him op suddenly outof h?s dose, on that, when he first opens his eye to look up, he Will see, right before him, another white pupny; At least, so ht'lt think. And in that way. you •P«, I shall ju«t April-ti>ol him as nice as can be /" So little Mis* Muelia. of Quintillion Square, She went up to her room v taking veiy good can That no one should gueta her intentions), and then, Having gotten the loolringflaas, crept bask again, And, by mean* of a hnsaoek set np on the flow. She was able to stand the glass upright, before Fido's nose. Then she stepped 'round and trod on his tail - A mode of awaking him not likely to fail. Poor Fido, thus roused from his blissful repoee, (Maybe docs dream as sweet dreams as tee do-- who Knows?) Started up with a giowl; and for just half a minute He stood bristling before the glass, looking straight in it. Then he one fieroe bark, and he made one swift, dash At the dothat he saw. Then there eame a load And behold! there the mirror in small fragments lay While £ ido in terror mn yelping away. And little Miss Muslin, of Quintillion Square, Astonished and frightened remained standing there. .While the family all, when they heard the loud clatter. Came hurrying down to see what was the matter. "Hoity-toity! cried grandmother, "here's a nice dido!" " Yes," gasped little Mist Muslin, " I've April- fooled Fido." " I should think," said her mother, " it might be more true. If you said, miss, that Fido had April-fooled yov --John Brownjohn. in April Wide Awake. UTTLE MARTIN CRAGHJJg'S 8AC- could. I ain't sorry I broogfet you the warning. Tm going back to poor old Rosa. If you get out safely, wd good- by for me to father and mother and little Eddie." Then, turning awar, he went to the C table where his mule. waa peacefully feeding at her stall, unconscious of any danger. Martin's lamp was still burn ing, and the smoke had not yet pene trated the wooden barriers between?' At first he felt in hopes he would be safe there. But gradually the noxious vapors forced their entrance. As he saw that suffocation must soon cpjpoe, he found a piece of board, and wrote with chalk the names of those that were dear to him. As he wrote, memory brought their presence before him--his tender moth er, who had kissed him such a loving good-by in the morning, and had looked so proudly at him when he told of his promotion and the better wages he would be able to earn. Then little baby Eddie, how he crowed and shout ed whenever Martin appeared. Would his father ever know that h® had sacri ficed his life to save others? It w&s hard to die, so young, so full of hope, all alone in the dark. . But, creeping back to his dear old Rosa, he lay down beside her, as he felt siok and faint with the stifling air; and God mercifully looked down on the little hero, and soon ended his suffer ings. The others escaped when the fire was extinguished. But there, close be side the dead animal, his body was found, and the memory of his noble deed is still cherished in those regions. --C. Cornwall, in Youth's Com panion. . ! Kail's Little LaMfc* WHO would have believed that the little pet lamb which followed Mary everywhere would now be helping to save the Old South Church? All chil dren know the old song: t Mary had a little lamb, - Its fleece was white as sno^r, .a 5 . '• And everywhere that Mary went SftM-... The lamb was sure to go. And many of them know that there is in Boston an old church, om Washing ton street, at the corner of Milk. The land upon which it stands is worth a great sum of money, and, as the prop erty was offered for sale, there was much danger that the house would be torn down to make room for a block of stores. The old church has been so famous in the history of Massachusetts that there was a strong feeling against tearing it down, and to save it a num ber ot women of wealth bought it, pledging over $400,000. For months they liave been hard at work in a great many ways to secure money enough to pay for it. For several weeks past " Aunt Tabitha" has held a spinning bee in the church. Three or four old famous spinners in A True Story. ABOUT six years ago, in one of the Pennsylvania mines, several chambers in the upper tier or vein were discover ed to be on tire. It was.feared that the flames, which were raging fiercely, would reach the shaft before they could !)eV.m ® be extinguished. Word was hastily *? .es' _ J , .. sent Wtlfe men in the working. beneatE to come up before all means of escape in America. A Yery Considerate Daughter. WHAT was intended to be a marriage up town Wednesday evening was spoiled because the bride at the last mo ment refused to have the ceremony per formed. Before beginning the cere mony the minister asked if the parents had consented, and neither answered, but when the two stood on the floor to- fether and the question was asked the ride, " Do you take this mac as your husband?" she replied in a firm tone. "No." The minister was in a fix, but as the lady persisted in her answer, he could only tell them that the ceremony could not proceed, and the couple went to the carriage and started back for home. Before they went the lady told the minister the reason for her action, She said that after he had asked them whether their parents had consented to their union, she thought over the pat ter, and had come to tne conclusion that as her mother was dead, she ought to get the consent of her father before she married, and as he so far had been op- Sosed to the match, she had made up er mind to see whether he would not relent, and if he did, then she would re turn at some other time and have the ceremony performed.--Kingston (if. Y.) Freeman. --A young woman of Woolwich, Me., aged twenty-three, married a man of eighty-three on payment of $1,000, which was the price he offered and she was sold for. --The marriage ceremony between Gen. Jackson and his wife was per formed three times in three different States. was cut off. Martin Craghan, a boy of twelve years, had been promoted to the posi tion of mule-driver the day before. He had just taken his mule to her dark stable, 900 feet under ground, when a comrade caHed to him and told him of their danger, urging him to huri!y to the shaft, for all the men were gone. With a sorrowful look at his mule, which he knew he could not save, Mar tin ran with his companion, till they stood on a Carriage waiting to be hoist ed up. Then suddenly it flashed upon him that a number of men were work ing in a distant part of the mine, and had not been warned of their peril. " Oh, Johnny," he exclaimed, "we must go tell them 'ere men in No. 4, or they'll never get out!" 44 There isn't time. The shaft will be on tire in a minute, then all the smoke and gas will rush down here and suffo cate us." 44 But it will kill those men, too,' and they've families to sdpport. There's poor Bill Craghan, my cousin, with an old mother and seven little children. If we run fast, we can get ba<?k before they hoist the elevator/' 44 You may go if yer sich a fool, but I'll not risk it, replied his companion. Almost before he had finished speak ing, Martin had rushed away through « ._!»,» chambers of t!ne Keyeaj Assessor, J. Brink; C< G. Smidt; Commissioner of H IS.,Pease. The Evangelist, Joseph Pel! preaching to full houses at ti*| Methodist Church. He Is a vej nest speaker. j If you don't And goods tosult Ferguson's store go to Tornisky pie of the missionary stationi ^ Woodstock--for the prloee willj VA||/uiaUUVl> UA " VllC utter hopelessness of escape by that one imperiled shaft, had rapidly employed the time in building a barricade of rock and coal, as a temporary protection from the noxious gases and smoke that were already beginning to fill the mine. By the time little Martin reached the barrier it was solidly constructed, for on that depended their only chanee to litra fil I tho Vinrn inrv oVi n#f nrAo av4-! n guished. Coming close to the wall, he begged piteously for admission, but the men persistently refused him. 44 Bill, Bill Craghan!" he cried, 44 won't you make them let me inP I would have been safe at home now but but for you! Tom Reese, your brother Johnny wouldn't come to tell you of the danger, and he was saved. Now are you going to let me die out hereP" The men inside trembled as they listened to the poor boy's sobs, ana many a rough black hand was drawn across their eyes; and at last tender hearted Bill rushed to the barricade to make an entrance for the little fellow. But strong arms pulled him away, while in hoarse, broken voices they said, 44 No, no, man. He's but one. We are many. To make a hole big enough to pull him through would be death to all." 44 But he risked his life to save as. Will ye let him die but a step away from us?" , . „ 44 Not if we could help it, you well know, Bill. But think of our wives and children at home. Would ye have us all perish?" . Martin heard this conversation, and, putting his lips close to the wall, said, quietly, " Never mind. Bill. I know you would all have saved me if yon torn to wear homespun garments, have had their hatchels, and reels, and wheels, and have spun for the people. A great many have watched tnem at their work each afternoon. To add to the attractions of the exhibition, the old ladies have been dressed in the styles which were common when they were young, and have worked in an old-time •< kitchen, with its open fireplace and glowinglogs. Among the visitors one day was the real Mary, who, when a little girl, had the pet lamb for her own. She was very willing to tell the story; suppose we listen with the rest. Little Mary's name was Mary Sawyer, and she lived in Sterling, Mass. She is now Mrs. Tyler, of Somerville, a vigorous lady over 70 years old. One morning she went out to the barn and found two little lambs, which had been born in the night. One was so weak and small that her father said it was of no use to try to raise it. Mary's tender heart pitied the tiny creature, and she begged her father to let her try to save it. He gave it to her care, promising if it lived it should be her lamb. Mary took it into the house, wrapped it up, laid It in a warm place, and fed it carefully with milk. All day she watched it, and night too. In the morning how glad she was to hear her father saj that the lamb would live! It is no wonder that the pet lamb loved its small mistress, and wanted to go everywhere with her. The day that it went to school and was turned out, it happened that a young man was there wiio saw the whole, and wrote out the story in the verses which the children know so well. The lamb lived and thrived; it ran in the fields with the cattle, till one day a cow with sharp horns, while playing, tossed it into the air, and it fell bleeding at the feet of Mary, who happened to be in the field. With deep grief she watched its life (go out. From the lamb's wool a quantity of yarn had been spun, and Mrs. Tyler brought some of it to Aunt Tabitha's bee, and sold it at twenty-five cents for each piece, so that up to last week Mary's little lamb had earned sixty dollars toward payingfor the Old South Church in Boston. This is the true story of Mary's little lamb.--Bos ton Advertiser. THE disclosures that have been made on one or two occasions lately at in quests on the bodies of children whose lives have been insured go to justify the prevalent suspicion of a close con nection between infant^ mortality and life insurance. At an inquest held a few days ago as to the death of two children atLow Spennymoor, Durham, which was adjourned for evidence as to the results of an analytical examina tion, a startling statement was made by Dr. O'Hanlon, medical officer to the local board. 44 In the last few years/' he said, 44 ever since there had been such an enormous canvassing going on amongst insurance companies, there had been a wonderful increase in the mortality among children." As a rule, he found that the children were always insured. The temptation to ^et rid of a child rather than maintain it is, to many parents, very great at all times; and when, in addition to being relieved of the burden of its maintenance they can actually gain hard cash by its death, the temptation may become ir resistible.--Fall Mall Gazette. --A new dictionary of the Yagkan language, spoken by the natives of Terra del Fnego, which will contain 15,000 words, »• being prepared by T. Bridges. " ^