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I. VAN SLYKE, Editor and Pnfcltahtr. Mo HENRY, ILLINOIS ^ : 1 ' fA i : \ > ; ; A tALE OF A • CHICKEN BOLDFCJ B* BITOENK JR. HALL. 3 She sat in the car on the peat ahnad; Her hair was waxy! nd almost red; Her voice had a dale t tone; S %' Her face wa< lovely, her look was bland, She held in her pretty and a ender hand- ^ A savory chicken bone. .f: Her te th wore perfect and white as ndl^I ;) Her ladies lon<r and soft as silk, And her eves with splendor shone. %? Pemitlfnl, jelly and full of fnn, "With laugh, with giggle and Kirlish^pnn, She nibbled her chicken bone. She shook her head and she tossed her chtft; She twisted her red tongue out and in; - She pouted .her lips, s > sweet; She t lted up her pre; ty nose; She showed the si ripen of her brilliant hOBS, And patted the floor with her feet. Greasy and brown with her finder tips, She brought the bone to her lovely lips, With a sly glance sideward thrown At a youth who looked at her while she lunched, Who sat and sighed while she munched and munched « The meat from the chicken bone. Awkward and shy, of a rustic mold, Wit : a scanty mustache of flaxen gold, - He spoke in a piping tone. He'd a longi ig look and a languid air; He whispered low. with a wistful stare; "I wish I'se a chicken bone!" I broadly smiled at the odd conceit-- A novel subji ct To cook and eat, To munch with a maiden's jaw! To be stntted and do >e to a royaS brown,, $» be nipped, to te gnawed, and then swallow- < ed clown, .... v " tike corn In a chicken's craw. Ms heaved a couple of dismal slphs, % . With i<is very soul in his yearning eyes, As she upward gaze 1 at him, With a lauuh and toss of her thoughtless "Wiiat a silly goose you «re," she said-- "I've promised to marry Jim!" C, gay coquet of the auburn hair! Q, yearning youth of the wistful stare! You will me: t my gaze no more. There is many a love that is never told; There are millions yet to be sadly sold by the flirts whom they adore. His WIFE'S FRIEWP. , When Phil Partlow married Florence Tragmer, his friends said that in select­ ing a wife he had been true to his busi­ ness habits, for he was a note-broker, who dealt only in what is called "gilt- edged paper," and Miss Tragmer, like the notes which Phil bought and sold, was of the best origin and amply en­ dorsed. Like many other popular busi­ ness men who are in society, Phil knew no more of music, art and literature than he was obliged to do, but as it was ttoe proper thing, when he was looking for u wife, for a lady to analyze an -opera, criticize a picture and talk well about poetry and novels, the young man •did not fully commit himself until he was assured that Miss Tragmer was the envy of all her friends who were afflicted with the aesthetic craze. Young Collignon, whom Phil pronounced the greatest fool he had ever known in business, but who was believed to know *11 about music, declared that no pian­ ist he had ever heard could interpret Chopin as skillfully as Miss Tragmer. Collignon also said that he had never known another lady who had read Goethe's "Faust" in the original Ger­ man. As for art, did not the two or three painters who were patronized by •some ot Phil's society friends always aeem at their best while chatting with .Miss Tragmer ? So Phil made love to Miss Tragmer, "who really was as accomplished as he believed her, and quite handsome be­ sides, and in his persistent, business­ like way he strove as hard to make him­ self conversant with the subjects in which the lady seemed most conversant, (bat his suit prospered linely. Mws Tragmer believed him to be all he seemed, just a3 any other woman should have done, and just as Phil honestly believed any woman would have been justified in doing, and as Miss Tragmer &ad as much heart as head.1 she was so -deeply in love when Philip proposed that she did not even protest against the early marriage which the young man, still prompted by his business habits, suggested. And what a honeymoon they spent! The bride, who had always been of too strong character to be given to gush­ ing, wrote two or three young ladies who were engaged that she pitied them from the bottom of her heart--that they didn't know anything whatever about love. As for Phil, who had al­ ways been an enthusiast at billiards, he confessed to his friends on his return that he hadn't touched a cue since his marriage. And how the couple roamed About together while furnishing the house which Phil bought for his bride! Florence, like all persons of aesthetic "taste, detested all things conventional; so, by laying a dozen upholsterers under contribution for the carpets for twelve rooms, and buying a single article of furniture at a time, and studying effects ot papers and hangings, and having a piano case so made that by no possibil­ ity would it leok like any other piano case, the bride enjoyed many hours of bliss, all of which her husband shared. But lovers have appetites, and furni­ ture bills have to be paid, especially when incurred in New York, so Phil soon became restive to return to busi­ ness. Once back at his office the force •of habit made itself felt; he threw him­ self into his work with energy renewed l>y long rest, and from that time for­ ward he thought and talked busi­ ness whenever he was awake. He was always affectionate when he was at home; he could not help being so, with a glorious creature like his own Flor- «nce, but neither could he help being •suddenly inspired, in the midst of a con­ jugal conversation, to occasionally take * memorandum book from his pocket -and make a business entry. He fre­ quently had to "just run around for a moment" to a hotel where business men were congregated at night, and the min­ utes which did not lengthen into hours were rare. He persisted in telling bus­ iness incidents to his wife, he had al­ ways talked business, after the day was •oyer, to his male friends, so why should he not do so to Florence, who was now his dearest of friends? He was fre­ quently prevented from keeping his en­ gagements with his wife for parties, or •operas, or drives, (and he mourned sin­ cerely when he found that such failures & always caused great disappointment, •®d that his explanations never seemed *ceptable as excuses. entirely This troubled liis honest heart so much that one afternoon--a few hours before the first performance in New- York of "La Gioconda," which he had promised to hear with his wife--he was made entirely miserable by the neces­ sity of investigating for himself the tnmor that a firm whose paper he had liandled largely was in trouble. He VH at first inclined to let the firm and their AOtes go to ruin rather than have his wife disappointed; then he realized that money was money, and that Flor- «nce wou d certainly be sensible enough to understand when he should tell her what to do, Collignon sauntered into the office. "Col," exclaimed Partlow, "don't you want to take ray wife to the opera to­ night? 'Twon't cost you anything. I've the tickets, carriage--everything!" The dawdling youth answered in the affirmative as soon as he could catch his breath. To be seen at the opera with a handsome woman was a delight which seldom fell to his lot Phil wrote a hurried explanation to his wife, and went about his work with a much lighter heart than he expected to carry. He felt still happier when, receiving his wife on her return from the opera, he learned that Florence had passed a very enjoyable evening, and that Mr, Collignon had really been very good company. Then she told Phil a great deal about the opera, and might have told him a great deal more had he not dropped off to sleep while she was talking. After that, Phil frequently offered Collignon as a substitute. The fellow had nothing in particular to do, and he was glad enough to enjoy himself in good company at some other man's ex­ pense. Some of "the boys" joked Phil on the subject, but of course they did not mean anything, 6aid the busy young broker to himself; no one would be fool enough to imagine a splendid wo­ man like Florence being more than courteous to a rather viper, insignifi­ cant fellow like Collignon. As for Mrs. Partlow, ̂ he talked a great deal to her husband about Collignon, and seemed to discover in that uninteresting being many good qualities of which men had never suspected him; but Phil attribut­ ed this to his wife's admirable character­ istic of discovering, through her sym­ pathies, whatever was good in any one; that she told her husband all she thought of Collignon, was to Phil sufficient to prevent suspicion. Indeed, the principal effect was to amuse the young husband and cause him to throw the two people oftener together, so that he might hear more that was new and astonishing .about his stupid acquaintance. So Phil dropped into his old busi­ ness ways again, making the business day last until nearly midnight, and not always succeeding in dining at home. When Florence protested, Phil always explained that there was a great deal of money in his work, which they would spend in the good time coming, when he would not work so hard and they would be together more. "Besides," he would say, "you shouldn't feel lonesome, you know, for Collignon will be sure to drop in." And Collignon usually did. Other gentlemen called occasionally, but mar­ riage generally puts most of a woman's admirers far from her; so from being Mrs. Parti ow's occasional resort, Col­ lignon became a frequent visitor. .He played on the piano for her and with her; he brought her new books; he read to her, he talked with her on any and every subject she might introduce. Phil, too, was quite willing to talk when he was at home, but the honest fellow had such a way of thinking aloud that his conversation was large­ ly about what business he had done during the day, and such of his custom­ ers whose standing threatened to change, and what some acquaintance 1on the street" had said or done about a horse, or a dog, or a yacht, or a girl. From one of these brilliant conver­ sational flights Phil was roused one evening by his wife saying: "Plul, I want to go to Europe--at once." " "Bless me!* exclaimed Partlow; "what for?" '"Because I want tb--that's all, Isn't that reason enough?" "Why, certainly, dear girl; but I can't bear to think of your crossing the ocean alone." "I haven't the slightest idea of going alone. You must accompany me." "Oh, Florence! You know I can't leave the business--not at such short notice, at least. I should lose lots of money," • Would there be any left ? ' If there would, let's lose the rest I'd rather loste money than lose my husband--I don't have any husband nowadays." "Why, Florence, dear, I'm afraid you've got the blues. No husband? Ain't I home every night and morning? I solemnly swear to you that no other woman ever enters my mind." Mrs. Partlow rose from her chair, leaned over her husband and kissed him repeatedly. Phil looked into her face, and it occurred to him, suddenly, that she had not looked so charming before in months. He put his arm around her and seated her in his lap; he caressed her and called her tender names. Finally he said : "I've been a brute. You need a change. You shall go to Europe." Again Mrs. Partlow kissed her hus­ band repeatedly. She did not seem to know how to stop, but stop she sudden­ ly did when Phil continued: "I can't go with you, but I know Collignon would be glad to make an excuse to go over on the same ship if I were to buy a ticket for him. Then you wouldn't be lonesome you know." MrB. Partlow arose with an abrupt­ ness which startled her husband, and the manner in which she said "Very well," startled him still more. She re­ tired to her room, and when her hus­ band followed her and endeavored to renew the conversation, Mrs. Partlow complained of extreme weariness. Phil devoted most of the night to thought. He tried in many ways, but without success, to devise a plan of getting away for a month or two and going abroad with his wife without let­ ting his business suffer. Of one thing, however, he was sure--Florence should have the very best state-room that monev and influence could secure. He would attend to it before he done an­ other bit of business. Full of this idea he left the room before hiB wife was awake, and an hour or two later he as­ tonished her at her solitary breakfast by exclaiming: "Flo, I've got you the very best state­ room in Saturday's Cunarder; I paid a fellow a tremendous premium for it" Instead of looking pleased, Mrs. Partlow turned very pale, but in a mo­ ment she said: "Thank you." Then Phil felt provoked and pnt on tin injured air, and said: "I wouldn't have imagined it, if you hadn't said it." "Oh, Phil, dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Partlow, springing at her husband, and nearly strangling him with her arms, "Do go with me." "Flo, it's impossible--it really is. You shall have all the money you want to spend, though, and I've been as good as my word about another thing--I've already made Collignon promise to go on the same steamer." "Oh, well." said Mrs. Partlow,and her arms dropped like lead from her hus­ band's neck. Then Phil felt that he was indeed an injured man, and he stood on his dignity and remained there so persistent^ thft dutthe remainder ̂ miserable husVandin all New On his wife's sailing day, however, Phil relented, and was so affectionate that Florence declared she would not go at all, upon which Phil urged her not to lose heart; then Mrs. Partlow grow frigid again, and remained so un­ til her husband escorted her into her room on the steamer, when she burst into tears and clung to Phil and kissed him wildly and begged him not to leave her, until Phil feared a scene, and so made a business excuse |o hurry ashore. As bo walked up to the pier, however, his heart smote him; it seemed unman­ ly to leave his wif,* in such a state of excitement, so he hurried back. As he entered the state room, be saw his wife in Collignon's arms. Florence saw her husband, who abruptly retired. She sent Collignon away. Phil saw him depart, re-entered the room and gasped: "What were you doing in that manls arms?" "I was where you put me said his wife her eyes flashing and her lips rigid. "For months you have sent him to me when I hare wauted you. You have insisted in putting him in your place. He has been to me nearly every­ thing you should have been. Finally he fell in love with me--I saw it--and God forgive me--I feared I should fall in love with him if business continued to divorce you and me, I wanted to go abroad to escape him and regain my husband again--you arranged that ho, instead of you, should go with me. A few moments ago you left me the most wretched woman alive, he found me and tried to comfort me, and I--I was desperate enough to be willing to be comforted by anybody." "Flo," said Phil, "I am a villain, but tell me one thing more. Was this-- the--first time?" "Do you doubt it?" proudly asked Mrs. Partlow. "Then it shall be the last!" exclaimed Phil. "I'm going over with you, my darling." "How will you manage about the business?" asked Florence. "By some straightforward lying," said Phil. "Unloose me;--just a mo­ ment, dear, until I can get a sheet of paper and an envelope--I promise you I wont leave the vessel." Phil was greatly missed by his part­ ner that morning, and still worse in the afternoon, when a letter sent back from Sandy Hook announced that Mrs. Part- low had suddenly been taken too ill to remove from the steamer, so that hu­ manity had compelled her husband to remain with her. Collignon, who had discreetly hurried ashore, made himself invisible, so there was no one to deny the story, wliicli consequently was cabled to Europe^yr anxious members of the family. Ond .fidnsequence was that several friends who happened to be in England went to Liverpool to receive the invalid, and were amazed to find Mrs. Partlow healthier and hand­ somer than she had ever before been in her life.--The Hour. • He Didn't Collect the Bill. There was a woman residing on Croghan street who has been owing a down-town firm a matter of $14 for three or four years past. One collector after another has worked every sort of game to get hands on the money, but in vain. To one the widow was "up the lakesto another "gone South lor her consumptionto a third "would pay next week," and soft talk or threats failed to reduce the amount by one single cent The other day a collector, noted for his cast-iron cheek and silver- plated perseverance, took the bill with the understanding that he was to have half for collecting. He gained admit­ tance to the house under pretense that he was a census-taker, and when he in­ quired for thp widow was told to walk up stairs. He had ascended about half way, when a voice commanded him to stop, and he discovered the widow and an old bureau at the top step. The widow was behind the bureau, being evidently about to "tote" it down stairs, "What do you want?" she asked. "Ahem--well--I called, madam, to--- 99 * "To what?" "About a--a little bill, madam.* Can't pay it this week." "But, madam, this bill has stood for several " - "Can't pay it, I say, I'm getting awful tired of holding this bureau!" "Madam, the bill is for $14. If you could pay me half to-day I would call next " "Can't hold it more than a minute more!" she.interrupted. "While our house aims to deal in the most lib ." She let go of the bureau, and his first jump landed him in the hall. He was about a second ahead of the furniture as he shot out the open front door, but it caught up with him on the steps and took a heel eff his boot and rolled him over on the grass. He thought the bureau would stop there, but it didn't. It pursued him down to the gate, bump­ ing his back at every jump, and he thought he was half a mile away before the knobs and casters quit whizzing past his ears.--Detroit Free Prens. Snobbery. All visitors to the Scandinavian pen­ insula are delighted with the freshness and innocence ofAhe Sweeds and Nor­ wegians, in the art of fleecing foreign­ ers. Bebjravia tells a story which illus­ trates not only the simple-hearted, Democratic equality which prevails in the dual kingdom, but also the differ­ ence between true nobility and snob­ bishness. The scene is on a vessel bound from England to Norway. An English gentlemam in the tea business--wholesale, of course--took me into his confidence, and complained of the extreme familiarity of "these people," the steward having shaken hands with him when he entered the saloon in the morning. He was very indignant when I sug­ gested the possibility of the steward re­ garding the passengers as his guests, and himself as their equal or there­ abouts. Among our fellow-passengers was the Duke of Itoxburgh, spending his seventeenth summer in Artie Nor­ way. When the Duke was leaving our ves­ sel to tranship on the little Lofoden om­ nibus packet, I directed the attention of the tea-merchant to his proceedings. All the crew, who were old friends, shook hands with him, the engineer and stoker coming on deck and wiping their fingers on cotton-waste as a prelimin ary to the hearty farewell greeting. The tea-dealer was speechless. Boys and Their Fathers. A companion piece to the song, "Where is My Boy To-night?" has been issued, entitled: "My Boy, Where is Your Father To-night?" This is wrong, very wrong. Boys should not go to inquire too much where their fathers are. Fathers are liable to be all right if tlin. hAcn ayn •StAffr > . w i F w r w i r v v f a i ' ' ^ Tmsroots of an acre of good clover ar)i estimated to contain as much nitro­ gen as 800 pounds of Peruvian guano. THE cipYant is a fruit well adapted to be grown with other fruit, since par­ tial shade is desirable for them. A rich soil gives the best results. A FARMER who has for three years practiced sowing the largest and plump­ est kernels of wheat says he knows for a certaiuty that his crop improves. THE plum curculio setB its peculiar mark upon the apple crop when the fruit is frciu half an inch to an inch in diameter. The jarring recommend­ ed for saving the plums will prove as successful with the apple. PBOF. BCDD is of the opinion that cellars in which frfait is stored between picking time and the setting in of win­ ter should be opened at night, instead of the daytime, as is usually done. The reason assigned is that at night the air is Cooler, while the warmer air of the day­ time has its moisture preciptated by the cool temperature of the cellar, which engenders dampness. PROF. A. NANTIKR has been trying the effect of various manure upon potatoes, beets, and maize. Superphosphate and precipitated phosphate were most effi­ cacious in increasing the yield of pota­ toes. Precipitated phosphate proved in every respect more beneficial than the superphosphate with beets. The best crops of maize was raised from land treated with the manure of the farmyard. HENRY-LANE says: "All meat ani­ mals, whether cattle, sheep, or hogs, make the most gain and give the best profits on the food consumed the first year of their growth, and the profit or gain is lessened gradually the longer any animal is kept, and after this, if fed too long, is fed at a loss. It .does not pay to keep highly-fed steers at a greater age than 30, or at #most 36 months. What he gains after this costs more than it will bring. In feeding an animal for the production of meat the farmer's motto should be, "Feed well from the first, and market animals while they are still fed at a profit" THE Rural New Yorker says Kerry cattle are a race of Irish cattle which are small because they have been poor­ ly fed for generations and even centu­ ries back. They will endure consider­ able hardship, and are coarsely built, and pretty ravenous eaters. Some of them give rich milk, as all small cattle do, and some give a proportionately large quantity. But they are not con­ sidered fine or even valuable in any particular. They are very far behind the Jersey in every respect. A Kerry cow may be fed precisely the same as a Jersey, but do better on coarse food, such as straw, and make more milk with it thau a Jersey. DR. J. E. MORRIS says in regard to trichina in swine that it is a well estab­ lished fact that the real source of in­ fection in swine lies entirely in the rat. A committee of Vienna physicians found in Moravia 37 per cent. * of rats examined, trichinasis;in Vienna and its environs, 10 per cent.; and in Lower Austria about 4 per cent The well- known voracity of the hog and its spec­ ial fondness for meat causes it to leed upon the flesh and excrements of other animals iufested with these parasites, and especially rats and mice. To pre­ vent trichina in swine it is highly im­ portant to cut off all the sources of disease in the diet of these animals. SAYS one of the leading writers on dairy topics; "The art of butter-mak- ing will neve* reach perfection until we stop putting salt in the butter. It is a depraved taste that requires a salt taste in butter. The most critical judges in the old country never think of allowing salt to come near the but­ ter, and alter getting accustomed to it there is all the difference between the two that there is between salt and fresh fish, flesh, or other dried or prepared food. The pure epicure could eat a pound of unsalted butter at a sitting. It will be money in the dairyman's pocket when salt is abandoned in the dairy." This will be fresh matter for many people. LARGE OE SMALL POTATOES FOR SEED. --We are forced to the conclusion that it makes no difference whether small or large tubers are planted; that the size of the tubers used for seed is not likely of itself to have any influence upon the plant or its yield, and this conclusion is made all the stronger when we con­ sider other circumstances affecting the crop. Granting, for the sake of argu­ ment, that large tubers planted will make more vigorous plants than small tubers, and that this greater vigor will be retained during all the season of growth, it does not follow that the yield will be bettered in either quantity or quality. The substance of the po­ tato is an excess of matter drawn from the soil and assimilated by thd plant, and it is true that the more vigorous the plant the greater the amount of substance thus taken np and changed, and the greater the excess is likely to be. But the season may be such that the potatoes will "go all to top;" that is, the plant will be encouraged to use this excess in increase (growth) of stem, foliage and root, and when it is readv to deposit the excess in its underground stem and produce tubers, the condi­ tions may suddenly change, and the excess be so small that the crop of tubers will be very small. Again, the new plant may be weakly and the con­ ditions unfavorable; it will not make a heavy growth; but just as it begins to deposit matter in the underground stems the conditions become favora­ ble ; the excess is large, and the farmer is surprised to harvest a crop of tubers large individually and in the aggregate. The conditions are dependent upon the state of the soil and the weather, and these cannot be affected in any way by the size of the tubers used for seed. There is one point to be observed. Some seasons the number of potatoes is large, but their size is small. The deposit of the excess in a few large masses, or in a greater number of smaller masses, appears to be simply a matter of caprice on the part of the plant, and yet I am of the opinion that it is the result of circumstances which may not be understood. At the be­ ginning of the season of deposit thp conditions may be very favorable, and the plant may begin the formation of many tubers. Then the conditions change, and the supply is cut so short that the tubers are small. The size of the tubers used for seed cannot have any effect upon this. In view of these facts I assert that to a considerable ex tent the quantity and the qjpality of the crop is beyond the control of the farm­ er, and that what influence he has must be exerted through the channel of til­ lage, and not in the least by the selec­ tion of tubers of a certain size. The man who thoroughly prepares his ground, manures it, and cultivates the plant properly, will raise a good crop, unless the season or enemies prevent; and the man who does not do these '**7 not matter wnat size are the tubers he planted. As good a crop of potatoes as I ever saw was raised from parings used for seed.-- Writer in New England Farmer. HOUSEKEEPERS' HELPS. BANANA Fritters--To make banana fritters, choose red bananas, sliee thin, stir into the following mixture: Four eggs, one pint of milk, a little salt and flour enough to make a light batter. Fry in hot lard. A GOOD way to prepare old potatoes eo they will lie eatable: Mash the po tato after boiling, season it with pepper and salt, then with the yolk of an egg-- or more if necessary--make the potato into cakes, fry them delicate brown in butter and lard mixed; have the fat very hot and then the oakes will not be greasy. CUCUMBERS are sometimes served as an entree when prepared thus: Take some good sized ones find peel them and slice them lengthwise; dip each slice into corn meal seasoned with pep­ per and salt; fry them in hot lard until they are a delicate brown. If you choose you can vary the dish by dip­ ping the slice into beaten egg and then into flour or very fine craoker crumbs before frying. ROLL PUDDING.--Mix five ounces of suet, which you have chopped very fine, with one pound of flour, salt to your taste, and mix with water enough to make a light dough or paste; roll it out until it ^s about an inch thick; spread over it a mixture made by tak­ ing the juice and pulp of three lemohs, and making it sweet with sugar; boil it for about twenty minutes; it should be cool before it is spread over the crust; roll this up, put it into a cloth, and put it into boiling water; let it boil for two hours. Serve with sugar and cream. PICKLED LEMONS.--Cut the lemons in quarters, not entirely apart; and put a teaspoonful of salt in each one; put them where they will dry, either in the hot sun or by the stove; when they are so dried that they are black, and look good for nothing, prepare the vinegar with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger root, onion, and a little mustard seed, and pour it boiling hot over the lem­ ons. Keep a year before using, when they will be found equal to the West India lime. They require more vinegar than other pickles, as the lemons swell to their natural size. SUMMER MINCE PIES.--Two cups of chopped apple, one cup of dried bread crumbs, rolled very fine; dry the bread in an oven until it is crisp without be­ ing brown; one cup of raisins, one cup of vinegar, one cup of molasses and one cup of brown sugar; spice to your taste. Put little lumps of butter in the pies just before putting the top crust over. The apples are to be quartered, and the cores and all spots carefully cut out,but they are not to bo peeled. A little jel­ ly or jam is an addition, and gives good flavor to the pies, and it is a good way to dispose of small quantities left over from tea. SWEET PICKLES.--Eight pounds Of fruit, four pounds of best brown sugar, one quart of vinegar, and one cup of mixed whole spices, stick cinnamon^ cassia buds, allspice, and cloves; less of the latter than of . the former. Tie the spices in a bag, and boil with the vinegar and sugar. Skim well; then add the fruit. Cook ten minutes, or till scalded and tender. Skim out the fruit, and put into stone jars. Boil the syrup five minutes longer, ahd pour over the fruit. The next day pour off the syrup and boil down again, and do this for three mornings. Keep the bag of spices in the syrup. Sharp-Sighted Indians. One of the most curious traits of the Ayan Indians is their power of seeing the motion of a fish in water. Tho Yukon is very muddy, so much so that when an ordinary pint cup is filled with it nothing can be seen until the sedi­ ment has settled. The water is ten to twelve feet deep and the river wide. Yet when a solitary salmon comes up this river, its coming is notified, its position identified, and it is often caught in a hand-net. Some person, generally an old squaw, is on the lookout in front of t^je huts on the bank. At her call a man runs to the beach, picks up his canoe, paddle, and net, and guided at first chiefly by the advice of the Indians who gather on tbe shore, but as he ap­ proaches relying more on himself puts the canoe into the proper position, and while he regulates its movements with his left hand, he plunges the net to the bottom with the right When it is remembered that the mouth of the net has an area of only about two square feet, the power to catch a solitary salmon by thrusting it directly into its course, seems most mi­ raculous. No white man could see any evidence of the motion of the fish, yet the natives assert that motion is com­ municated from the bottom to the top. Out of seven attempts watched by Lieut. Schwatka, two were successful, though the fish were swimming from 250 to 300 yards from the bank. Sev­ eral hundred fishes caught in this way were in their houses and cm their scaf­ foldings.--Lieut. Schicatka in Science. A Marked Change. Jim Webster is an Austin colored man, who is very much addicted to in­ sobriety. His spiritual adviser, Rev. Anaimdab Bledso, at the request of Jim's wife, had a long talk with him on delirium tremens, and kindred topics. Meeting her the next day, the color­ ed prelate asked: t-Has yer obserbed any improvement in Jim since I talked wid him." 'Indeed, I has. He has changed his bad habid mightily, since you talked wid him. Parson Bledso." Praise de Lawd! I'se glad to hear you say so. He don't come home drunk no moah at 12 o'clock in de night" "No, indeed he doesn't. He comes home drunk befoah 9 o'clock ebery ebening, since you talked wid him."--- Texas 8 if tings. No Gentleman. Lize. why didn't yer let Bill Thomp­ son take yer homo from the ball las' night ?" "Kase, Moll, he had done gone an' swow'd hise'f a coward, that's why." "An* how did he do dat, Lize?" "\\ hy he had two razors in his pock­ ets, an" I says dat any feller whut carries mor'n one razor to a ball wid him am a coward, an' ain't no gen'leman, I does." •--Kentucky State Journal. THE boy who doesn't leap over seven hitching-posts, kick a lame dog, snatch a handful of navy beans in front of every grocery store, knock over a box or two, and work tbe handle of every pump on the sidewalk on his way home from school, is'either lazy or does not feel well. THE invenJtor of the long-handled shovel died unlamented because 1m oouldn'i attach a-rocking-chair to % * *•* SwatM* Md CaagicMScB Who Unbtddmk Into Uurntty. °' the moat prominent was the •wide of the Hon. Preston King, who for many years represented the State ol .New York in the Senate of the United States. He was a large man in figure ana heart; a sort of David Davis, in person, at least, and, like most men of large weight, was tender-hearted and sympathetic. He was appointed by President Andrew Johnson collector of the port of New York after his retire- ~om ^©oate. The duties of that office and the annoyances of its ad­ ministration, particularly the appeals for position, bore upon the mind of Mr. King, and one day he was found missing. Efforts to find him were after a week successful, when his body was found floating in the river, attached to which was a twenty-five pound bag of shot. The tender-hearted collector, driven to desperation by the appeals of office-seekers, had sought death in this manner. The suicide of so prominent a man created quite a sensation at that time, and it is^well remembered by old ^eir Yorkers in the government service here yet. Another suicide of note was that of the Hon. Thomas Jefferson Rusk, of Texas, who was a member of the Senate in 1835, and who committed suicide just after his retirement from that body by shooting. Whether the story of Senator Rusk's suicide is as accurate as that of Senator King is un­ certain. It can only be given as gathered here, and is not a matter of historical record, as is the case with Senator King. Senator Rusk was very prominent in Texas, which State he represented in the Senate. He had been secretary of war in the republic of Texas when it was a republic, and had held other prominent positions there. In the early history of Texas many of its citizens were, so the story goes, men who had found it convenient to leave their former residences on ac­ count of incidents which law and good society did not tolerate. The story that this was the cause of Mr. Rusk's removal from South Carolina to Texas has never been verified, but there is a story of this sort Anyway, be the facts what they may have been, it is alleged that his suicide was the result of having this sort of charge thrown against him in the Senate during a debate. His suicide was by shooting, and occurred at his home in Texas soon after leaving the Senate. Congressman Hise represented Ken­ tucky in the Thirty-ninth Congress,and had been elected to the fortieth. He had also been United States minister to Guatemala, and had likewise taken a prominent part in negotating a treaty between the United States and Great Britain immediately preceding the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. His suicide was supposed to have been the result of monomania caused by overwork. Still another Kentucky suicide was that of James L. Johnson, who was in the Twenty-first Congress. He suicided at Owensboro, Ky., during a fit of des­ pondency caused by illness. The case of a man more prominent than any of those already mentioned was that of Lincoln's most prominent cabinet officer, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. He is printed in history as having died suddenly. Old residents of Washington, however, who were here at the time of his death, and were, in a position to know by reason of their intimacy with men prominent in publio life, say that Mr. Stanton died from an incision in the throat made by his own hand in a fit of insanity caused by over­ work and the mental strain of this the most responsible position in the greatest war this country has ever seen. Whether Mr. John Ewing, who repre­ sented Indiana in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fifth Congresses,committed sui­ cide is not stated in history; but his death was at least a curious one. He was found sitting in his chair ,at Vin- cennes dead, and the following couplet freshly written lay beside him: "Here lies a man who loves his iriendn. His God, his country, and VJncennes." His death occurred in 1857. Felix McConnell, of Mississippi, was one of the, most brilliant orators in the Twenty-eigth and Twenty-ninth -Con­ gresses,but Felix had a weakness for liquor, so the story goes, and after a long spree cut his throat at the Charles Hotel, in this city, and died. John D. Ashmore, of South Carolina, was in the Thirty-sixth Congress, and was also in the confederate army. He blew out his brains in 1871 at Sardis, Miss. Williamson R. W. Cobb, of Alabama, was a member of congress from 1857 to 1861, when he withdrew on the secession of Alabama, and became a member of the confederate Congress. His death occurred from a pistol shot, the weapon being held in his own hand, though that it was intentional suicide is not certain, the supposition being that the discharge of the pistol was accidental. James H. Lane, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., was a senator from Kansas from 18<51 to 1866, and shot himself at his home in Kansas soon after his retire­ ment from the senate. Sobeisk Ross, who was in the Forty- third and Forty-fourth Congresses from Pennsylvania, suicided shortly after his return from Congress by shooting .himself in his barn at his home in Pennsylvania. Loss of health and con­ sequent despondency were alleged as the cause. John White, of Kentucky, who was in the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth,' 'xwenty-sixth. Twenty-seventh, and Twenty-eighth Congresses, and was speaker of tho House in the Twenty- seventh, committed suicide at Rich­ mond, Ky., by cutting his throat. Jesse B. Thomas, who was in the Tenth Congress from "Indiana Terri­ tory," and who was later on a Senator from Illinois, suicided in 1850 by cut­ ting his throat with a razor because of mental aberration. Alfred P. Stone, who was in the Twenty-eighth Congress from the Columbus, O., district, was afterward appointed collector of internal revenue, and, having engaged in some contra­ band cotton speculation, became a de­ faulter, and suicided upon the discovery of this fact by taking poison and dying upon the graves of h s two children at the cemetery, near Columbus, in 1865. Bottled Tears. The old custom of bottling tears is still continued in Persia, says the New York Dial. It must be very old, as it is alluded to in the Psalms of David. As the mourners are sitting aronnd and weeping, the master of ceremonies pre­ sents each one with a piece of cotton, with which he wipes off his tears. This cotton is afterward squeezed into a bottle, and the tears are preserved as a powerful and efficacious remedy for reviving a dving man after every other means has failed. It is also employed SB a charm against evil influences. The praotice was once universal, as is evi­ denced by the te#r-bottles which %ra found in almost every ancient tomb, YOUHG lady physicians are multiply­ ing in Germany, and as a result it is snid the young men are'becoming more sickly than they used to be. A COOK and housemaid had a little difficulty in the kitchen the other day, and presently matters became so quiet that you could hear a rolling-pin drop. THE BODY of « man with a pencil be­ hind his ear, a pair of shears in his right hand, and his pookets filled with gold, has been excavated at Pompeii. He is supposed to have been a tailor who advertised well. A NEWSPAPER says that there have been comparatively few marriages th« year within the field of its observations. It being leap year, says this journal, the ladies are afraid to marry lest it should be thought that they popped the question. WHEN Rothschild heard that the head of the Agnade family was dead, "How much does he leave?" he asked. "Twenty million francs." "You mean eighty?" "No, twenty." "Dear me, I thought he was in easy circumstances," remarked the modern Croesus. PUGNACIOUS, audacious, voraciocu He twist, and he twitters and t\ A vulga', nnscropnlo s robber, There's trouble wherever tie fi ts. No winter can kill him nor chill KW«. / • No poison can worry his throat; Some day he will call for the ballot. Ift" The high-tariff ticket to vote. ---Louisville Courier-Journal. AN INGENIOUS mother who has long been bothered by the fastidiousness of her children at table has at last dis­ covered a way of circumventing them. She places what she wants each child to eat before its neighbor at table, and of course each cries for what the other has, and the ends of justice are pro­ moted. "I HEAR you intend to send your two sons to college ?" said Alpha to Omega. "Yes," replied Omega, "I have entered them at X College." "Why,gracious man!" almost shrieked Alpha; "you might as well throw your money away! X- College is only a fourth-class in­ stitution. It has never won a boat-race in the whole course of its existence, and cannot boast a base-ball nine. "How glorious it is to be engaged in a purely intellectual occupation," mur­ mured a Boston maiden, gazing raptur­ ously into the admiring eyes of a country editor; "your own mental faculties for tools and the whole universe for a workshop. Now tell me," she added, "what do you find the* most difficult thing connected with your noble profession?" "Paying the hands," said the editor. AN INVALID from Boston came to Austin for his health. He was confined to his bed at first, but soon recovered sufficiently to take a ride in a hired hack from Monroe Miller's stable. The hack driver was very polite and atten­ tive, and when he helped the invalid out on their return to the hotel, the latter said: "I am very much obliged. I think I shall require your services again pretty soon." You bet you will. I drive the hearse."--Texas Siftings. A CONFIRMED stutterer went into a restaurant and met a few casual ac­ quaintances, who at once commenced chaffing him most unmerciful respect­ ing the impediment in liis speech. At last one of them, a cocky little fellow, who had been making himself rather conspicuous by his remarks, said: "Well, old man, I'll bet suppers round you can't order them without stammer­ ing." "D--d--d--done,*' says Brown, and to the astonishment of the company and the discomfort of the challenger (all of whom were unaware of hi* being, as is often the case with stutter­ ers, a first-class singer) he beckoned to the waiter and sang the order without the slightest hitch. Then turning round to his tormentor, said: "N--n--n--now, y--y--you c--o--c--c --can p--p--p--pay." Some Prominent People's l)olng». ANTICIPATION AND REALIZATION. "I began life as a lawyer." said Shir­ ley Brooks, "passed my examination before the Incorporated Law Society, with hopes of becoming Lord Chief Justice, of course. I drifted into liter­ ature, and ended by writing immoral novels." MANY PARTS, BUT NOT "ROLLA", "Well," said Webster,"I alwsays meant to be an actor, the part of 'Rolla* first firing my ambition. I bought a sword for the part, and ran away to go on the stage as a boy. For weeks I was 'half- starved; sold everything butthe sword. It nearly cost me my life to save it. Since then I have been my own master, and had my own theater for many years, and have played many' parts, but never 'Rolla.' That's odd is it not?" GEORGE SAND'S POVERTT. Though she always worked hard Mme. Sand was always poor. "So you have money difficulties," she said to Flaubert. "I don't know what it is, since I have nothing more in the world, (she had disposed of all her lands for her children.) I live from day to day like a working man; when I shall no more be able to do my days work I shall be shipped to the other world, and then I shall need nothing more.? She really felt the want of money. THE TRIUMPH OF AN HOUR. G. W. Lindquist, one of the surviv­ ors of the Polaris Expedition, declares * that no Arctic voyager need expect to be made a hero of very long after his return. He holds a master's certificate and was once toasted from town to town, but now, asv he laughingly admits, is able to find lio better position than quartermaster on a coasting steamer. Nevertheless he is in favor of .polar ex­ peditions and is quite sure that they are productive of good of several Borts. " BI1XY MANNING'S LAST JOKK. Talk about the ruling passion, Billy Manning joked with his last gasp. The story of his death is full of puns and of side remarks that force a smile. Those who stood about his death bed, sad as they were, laughed through their tears. Several of his old companions in min­ strelsy called in to proffer assistance to the sorrowing wife. Calling his wife by name, Billy said, in a voice husky and halting: "Set--the gentlemen- some--chairs--and--take--their --hats --and--don't--forget--my--size." Two. hours after the undertaker was called A Left-Handed Compliment. • '•3; They were lovers, and were all* walking and talking together in a very affectionate manner, and she no doubt intended to pay him a compliment, but somehow or other he did not take> it as such. "If you don't stop flattering me so much, I'll have to put my hands over my ears so as not to hear your compli* ments.,* he remarked. "Pnt your hands over your ears I* exclaimed. "Why, your* hands are half big enough." He is not quite sure BOW whether it is his small hands or large ears, of ^rhieh he is so proui--JusM Siftiug** •t,f I. •