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1 !iW: »t *T;TTWN"T>KR AX0KBSO*. - i * \i'••}:•"[ »""•> •**« """J «lIkMt & 5i, _Jw»S«n mir ch?eks<M in the heather fit lur Ifcat happy lamooa ,f, k] , On Yarrow braes todstber. . •wt» bMow wis Tuibv nunii a lto little wooMurt hiding y.it, like a silver (luM, stream itnelt «u gliding. nt up ito grayer lipht "tfowtiie Jena" lay in their I onlx half made out to sight •pots of corn and meailow, ; And Tinnia bill rose huge and steep, .1 Eta ridge against the sky recoiling; f, ui>on its breast the sheep ^ Bj two* and threes were feeding; < Westward from Yarrow kirk, within .V? A field that speaks of love and lofriilg; single atone was seen to win > The eye from all its roving. t Jib! well it might, for round that stone Suchtender consecration hovers, That COTS in eht jest his cheeks thereon Anil weep for hapless lovers. ( Jksd in the wind that came and went, !We hea*d a music weird and lonely; Vbo past was in his tones and blent ";^With human sorrow only. . Jfcad pity for all things that love 4,; ' „.5 s- ; i iHas set in legendary story '1 Ito haunt gray crag and hill, and MOT® 9 >w>ond ruins bleak and hoary. % dim old world of song that sings • Of tender love iu old romances, with us, touching all the strthgS . •; ,*. JThat woke our sadUest fancies. •' •£ • . " IVe heard the sounds of wail and pain, c '* ,?* * " <- iFaiut from that far-off time of sorrow; mist? years came back again. And looked with us on Yarrow. e.t " Jill this, and more, that summer day, ;s_ "Was with us, as among the heather, ;' "* A ballad on our lips, we lay On Yarrow braes together. wOoai IKonfa. whether A Blltltt Hit The long-tongued clock in the square was striking 6 as Mr. Jnck Poineroy left bis gondola at the "Hotel Damilli," in Venice. The world said, and for once was tight, that "he was an excellent as \yell as fortunate fellow; heir to half a million of money, and all the good looks of his family." Above stairs, Miss Constance Foraytbe amuses herself with the harmless game of battleddre. She is in disgrace with her decidedly fussy step-moth( r, and in conseqnence remains at home with the rest of the nanghtv chil­ dren. "It is a bore, but not wholly undeserved," she thinks, as she bends, and springs, and darts here and there through the room. *• Fifty-one--fifty-two--three--four--five-- six-- The door opens; an incoming head dodges hastily as the little feathered shuttlecock strikes fairly between the eyes. "That was a center shot," says Mr. Pomeroy, lazily sauntering into the apart­ ment. "Is that the way you assault all the friends of the family, mademoiselle?" There is a brief pause. Jack is puzzled, and Constance embarrassed. Mr. Pomeroy says, "I came to see Miss Forsythe: the servant brought me here." "I am Miss Forsythe--Miss Constance Forsythe. It was very stupid of the servant; but I daresay that is the way the mistake occurred." And Constance pushes forward a chaii^ into which the gentleman sinks ^rith a feel­ ing of satisfaction. Mc. Pomeroy giving no sign of speedy departure, Constance accepts the situation; the tide of conversation flows smoothly on, and Mr. Pomeroy takes his departure with a strong determination to return at the earliest moment. "It will be absolutely necessary to make his peace with Mrs. Forsythe."hetells him­ self, as, skimming over the moonlit waters, he fashions airy visions with the haunting eyes of lovely Constance Forsythe; and even ii) his dreams that night Mr. Pomeroy still listens to the sportive bump, bump of a tiny, fluttering plaything. It was a week after the meeting of Mr. and the young lady in question. Constance sat at the window, watching the plashing oars of passing gondoliers. (Sud­ denly a thought strikes her. She hesitates but a moment, and signals Petronelo, the Forsythes* own special gondolier. Con­ stance settles herself on her cushions, gives a brief order, and glides majestically awag in her Adriatic carriage. "To the market?" says Petronelo. , "precisely." And ten minutes later Miss Forsythe stands among the crowd of boats and barges waiting at the ferry. A few words of voluble bargaining, a transfer of small win, and1 she takes possession of an un- wieldly fish-boat. Petronelo stands aghast as the scheme unfolds. But Constance brashes him aside as if he was an intrusive fly. st^ps into her craft and paddles gaily away. An accomplished canoeist on the calm ripples of artificial ponds, she is now confident, serene, and ecstatic, but a strange sight, alone in her boat, her graceful figure swaying to the vigorous stroke of her rounded arms. a Presently Miss Forsythe stops to rest, said looks about her at totally unfamiliar landmarks. She turns to retrace her steps, and finds that, as far as her knowledge of the route goes, she might as well have been afloat in the Pacific Ocean. Constance tries the trip ahead. For awhile it is plain sailii_. She turns a corner, and lands in the wme lagoon, with an open outlotik to the bltje and distant mountains.. Miss Forsythe begins to have qualms, as •he scans the soundless prospect for a mov­ ing object. Yes; there to the left toners a white expanse of rustling canvas. If she teaches it, it is almost sure to lead her into frequented thoroughfares. Once in the Cfrand Canal, she will be all right, and Constance settles to the work in hand, de­ termined to overtake th&Lxaai^f it crip- vhirl- »f small upon le s un- _ . Bhe -- her course, but the boat is beyond control. The paddles whirl out of reach, a strong arm seems to drag her out to sea, the wash from the de­ parting ship helps the mischief, and, with a scream of horror, Constance realizes the Seni or Petronelo'a '•hidden currents" as er tiny ship races madly into the open lagoon. At this moment Mr. Pomeroy stands on the deck of his yacht, Gerlina. He is chinking of that mischievous Miss for­ sythe. Presently he shades his eyes with bis hand, whistles softly, and peers in­ tently at a strange object whirling rapidly on in the wayward tides. "Hang me if I can make it out," and he leans far over the rails in his effort to see. In an instant, as If shot out of a cannon, Mr. Pomeroy pro- p€iB himself across the deck, gives a wild ahont of alarm, and swings himself over the side by the overhanging chains. In obedience to the instinct of self-pre- servation, Constance, as her vessel rushes out into the tossing waves, thtows herself »on t^e Beat an<i clutches tightly the boat s sides. Every instant in- SSTi. 5r &eril- with » m°an of anguish she faces death. Then, at the very climax «fa^r>, ,iT!8cri and abirm, a friendly hand Stays her trail cockle-shell, a friendly voice •ncourages her, and a stalwart arm lifts u£lOUi, d®?Pair to the yacht s deck. lhank God, my darling!" cries Mr. Pomeroy, reckless of the few brief weeks •ince he and Constance have met, and totally regardless of the astonished faces Of the sailors who gather about them The secret was out; the whole city may know it Cor aught Jack cares. „ While this last adventure of the madcaD Constance is running briskly along, the un­ conscious Mrs. Forsythe and her own daughter, the well-regulated and only bloUNMn of the lady's second marriage, ait t fo private box at the opera. Mrs. F. settles her fiouuees, and secretly wonders why Constance is so late, as she henrs the csll-bpy's shrill treble shouting, "Overture, en, ladies--overture on." Where she be, Ml*. Forsythe dared not speculate.'"She it W 1; ft = $ •*.u.ilHigly over the sws of facw. F. is uneasy--qoite nervous, in fnct> though not for a gold mine would she betray emotion. C&mpaniiii sings, consequently the patrician world of Venice- h vs turned out in force. From pit to dome iLa house is crowded; the prompter's bell jingles, the curtain rolls lingeringly up, the director's baton wavers, as a shaking blind is aid on Mrs. Forsythe's shoulder, and wretched Petronelo stammers out his terrible tale. "The Siguorina--the Lady Constano* is missing--has been missing for hours." And he turns for confirmation to the ^whimpering fisher lad behind him. Screams, smelling-salts, and a jargon of jEnglish, German, and Italian follow this announcement. Then a crowd of sympa­ thizing friends and a frantic race to the "Hotel Damilli." With all her faults, Mrs. Forsythe is a tender-hearted woman, and truly mourns t<ver this cruel blow. Ghastly visions of a tlead girlish face ri6e in the rippling waters. She weeps, and drives poor Petronelo wild %ith reproaches. Through the fleet of boats aud gondolas that throng the Grand Canal they fly like a whirlwind. Under the Bridge of Sighs to the hotel entrance. I>imp with woe. Mrs. Forsythe, supported by Petronelo, totters up the stairs, goes sorrowfully to her room, and stops, trans­ fixed and dumb, on the threshold of the Open door. "Here I am, mother mine," says Con- •tance, in unruffled tones. "It was cer­ tainly a narrow squeeze, but lit. Ponieroy's acrobatic ability Baved me." And, with her piovokingly indifferent air, she waits for the gentleman to explain. Judging from the warmth of her step­ mother's kiss, some time later, it is clear that he does this satisfactorily. Ample means, an irreproachable son-in-law, and no wonder that Mrs. Forsythe's wrath Inelts like snow tinder an August sun. "Yes," she tells a confidential friend, when discussing the coming marriage, "I have always said that Constance would secure a suitable establishment." This is precisely the reverse of what Mrs. Forsythe has either said or thought. As they listen to this change of opinion, Jack and Constance exchange glances, bat are too genuinely happy and content to contradict harmless inaccuracies newly-risen prophet. f i - OF LQW0L2*. Corn Popped on the Stalk. 'I don't remember having experienced a particularly hot day," said Amos Lester, pulling a piece of tin out of his right foot, "but I'll tell you what I have seen. One night, three years ago this fall, I was camping oat in the big woods of Wisconsin. The day had been pleasant, but along about mid­ night I experienced a peculiar sensa­ tion. It was with great difficulty that I could breathe. My throat and nose felt as though they had been choked up with something strangely disagree­ able. A hot wind blew through the pine trees over my head, and the balsam boughs upon which I was lying burned my flesh like red-hot gridirons. I tried to move, but without success. I had lost all control over my muscles, and there I lay a helpless prisoner, listening to the ground cracking for miles around. After an hour of most excruciating agony I heard something patter upon the earth. It must be rain, I said to myself, closing my eves. Then fell asleep. When I awoke next morning it was freezing cold. I tried to get up, but I could move neither limb nor muscle. I was pinned to the ground. "What was the matter with you?" in­ quired Moses Fishback, catching a drop of perspiration as it fell off the end of his nose. "It had been so hot," continued Amos, "that it had started the gum out of the pines, and this beastly stuff had fallen upon me, drop by drop, until it covered all my clothes and ran out upon the ground. Then the weather turned cold and froze the stuff, and there I was stuck fast to the ground. I had to lay there until the sun got hot enough to release me. The next day I passed lots of farms where popcorn had been popped on the stalk, and a prettier look­ ing sight I never saw. The stalks looked like huge sprays of white flowers."--Chicago Herald. Terms Used In Perfumery. A few terms used in perfumery are so confusing that a word or two of ex­ planation is necessary. "Extract," "es­ sence," "spirit," and "tincture" are practically the same, viz., an alcoholic solution of a pleasant odor. A "tinc­ ture," strictly speaking, is an extract prepared by treating dry substances, such a6 musk, oris, etc., with alcohol; but in perfumery, at least, the distinc­ tion is not necessary. If the term "ex­ tract" alone were used to represent all these, there would be a great gain in simplicity without any loss through am­ biguity. Some manufacturers, too,make a distinction between "essence of rose" (prepared from pomade) and "spirit of rose" (prepared from otto). A better way to distinguish them is to name the former "extract of the latter "extract of violets" terms Bometim thing, but "pomade odors odor an leet is us it migh ornade," and "Extracts orris" are e same so. A ing certain e delicate in this way; factorily be col- r. The term "otto" to oil of roses, but advantage be extended to • f r c t a t i i c e r f t t t t t ' a n O l d { C o m p o s i t o r Who Knew Hhe la iprlagflaU. [IjooiirvtMe Mmea.] Mr. Lee 8. Johnston, a well-known printer of this city, now foreman for Morton Bros., was at one time rather intimately associated with Abraham Lincoln, at Springfield, 111., and talks most interestingly of his experience. "I went to Springfield when I was 28 years old," he said to a reporter, "in the winter of 1858, to take charge as sub-foreman in the office of the Illinois State Journal, which was owned by Messrs. Wm. Ballache and Edward Baker, the latter Lincoln's kinsman He was his nephew, I believe. I stayed there till February, 1861. Dur ing that time the Chicago convention which nominated Lincoln was held, and he was elected and inaugurated. I tell you there were some stirring times in Springfield. "Lincoln >used to hang nround the office a good deal, and I got to know him pretty well. I remember we young fellows used to play an old-fashioned game of ball resembling cricket, and we got the old man into that. He was slow to get around, but a sure hitter, and when he would bring his long arms around with a swing he was sure to knock a three-bagger^ as they would call them now. He was a good man" for either side. That was in the sum­ mer of 1859, < "The day of the convention some of the boys and myself had gone fishing on Sangamon River. We heard the bells ringing, and the boys knew what was up. They were wild to go to town, and I had to follow. I was a Demo­ crat, you remember, and wanted noth­ ing to do with it. I would have hid 'my deformed head,' but couldn't. I liked him, though, for he was a good old fellow. However, I could not vote for him. Jim Gallagher, the foreman, told me Lincoln sat by him all day, reading the telegrams sent to the State Journal from the convention for the extra they were going to get out. He seemed very cool about the whole matter as he took them in. Finally, when his nomination was announced, he quietly stuck the telegram in his pocket, saying: 'Jim, there's a little woman that would like to see this mighty well.' Seizing his hat, he struck out. Before he had gone a block the result had been announced on the street, and such whooping and yelling you never heard. This was what disturbed our fishing. Every­ body took up the cry and became so boisterous that he sneaked around through the back alley and through the back gate into the house, so that the little woman would not get an ink­ ling of the news till he told her from his own lips. Every church, and school, and fire bell in the city was rung, be­ sides all that coyld be secured from the hardware stores. The Journal had l>een advertising the old Clyastnut Grove Kentucky',whisky, and there was barrel and a box filled with quart bottles, which had been sent to the office as a present. It was set out on the pavement in free Kentucky style, and every man who was intimate with John Barleycorn helped himself. bouquet was fine. « We had some lively times between the nomination and the inauguration. I remember a funny blunder in our office which convulsed everybody and came near getting one man perma­ nently discharged. Jim Gallagher was called away one night, and I was acting as foreman. Ed. Baker wrote an ar­ ticle in regard to Lincoln's early days and wrote a big display headline about the distinguished rail-splitter, which was the key to the whole article. The compositor in setting up the head, by putting in a wrong letter, m,ade it ridiculous, if not equivocal. The proof­ reader marked the error, but by some means it was neglected, and, in the hurry of making up the forms, was lost sight of. I was rather a new man at making up the paper, and did not notice it. The whole edition was run ofi and the greater part delivered before the mistake was discovered. Some one ap­ proached Baker on the street about it, and he was furious. He came up to the office, paid the printer and dismissed him. At 9 o'clock the next morning Lincoln came to the office. We knew something Was up, for he was bound to hear of the matter. He happened to know the compositor as a good man and friendly to him. He seemed much worried at his discharge. Baker stepped into the room in a few minutes/ and at once started to explain the matter. Lincoln kind o' smiled out of one eye, and nearly choked him by laughing at the matter, and asking that the man be retained. The man came back the next day, and was a hero after that." While cc«iifea%' hwwwwl on their x*- serves by the intmxaftp&s of titlevish Crces nnd-cthlir ttho rob feem of their horses, jMg fcftbear to retaliate, and honorably abide by the tetms of their late treaty, which binds them to leave the redress of such grievances to the Canadian authorities.--Popular ScienqeMonthly. . g ; 1 / all the essential oils. These oils are generally obtained by distilling the odoriferous substances with water. The oil distills over with the water, and then readily separates from it. "Simple essences" contain only one odor dis­ solved in alcohol; "bouquets," or "handkerchief perfumes," are mixtures of two or more "simple essences. A Eat Skin Suit. An ingenious inhabitant of Liskeard, Cornwall, exhibited himself some years ago in a dress composed of rat skins, which he wits collecting for three years and a half. He made the dress en­ tirely himself, consisting of hat, necker­ chief, coat, trousers, cape, gaiters, and shoes. The number of rats required to complete the suit was 670, and the per­ son when thus dressed appeared ex> actly like one of the Esquimaux, as described by Ross. The cape was com­ posed of the pieces of skins immediately round the tails, containing about 600 tails. A lady in Glasgow had a pair of shoes of exquisite workmanship, the upper parts of which were made of the skins of rats. The leather was exceed­ ingly smooth, and as soft as the finest kid, and appeared stout and firm. It took no less than six skins to make the pair of shoes, as the back of the skin is the only part strong enough for use, The commercial value of the kindred Chinchilla is well known. " A Chestnut. "Ha, Cholly, me boy, I've got % conundrum for vou." > "Out with it." « "When is a man like a pon "Give it up." "When he's a little hoarse." "Pshaw! That hoarse chestnut chestnut, and a that." -- Boston The Blackfoot Indians. The five tribes were reckoned, fifty years ago, to comprise not less than 30,000 souls. Their numbers, union, and warlike spirit made them the terror of all the Western Indians. It was not uncommon for thirty or forty war- parties to be out at once against the hostile tribes of Oregon and of the Eastern plains, from the Shoshonees of the South to the Crees of the far North. The country which the Blackfoot tribes claimed properly as their own, com­ prised the valleys and plains along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, from the Missouri to the Saskatchewan. This region was the favorite resort of the buffalo, whose vast herds afforded the Indians their principal means of subsistence. In the year 1836 a terri­ ble visitation of the small-pox swept off two-thirds of the people; and five years later they were supposed to count not more than 1,500 tents, or about 10,000 souls. Their enemies were then re­ covering their spirits and retaliating upon the weakened tribes the ravages which they had formerly committed. In 1855 the United States Govern­ ment humanely interfered to bring about a complete cessation of hostili­ ties between the Blackfoot tribes and the other Indians; The commissioners appointed for the purpose summoned the hostile tribes together and framed a treaty for them, accompanying the act with a liberal distribution of presents to bring the tribes in good humor. This judicious proceeding proved effectual. Dr. F. V." Hay den, in his account of the Indian tribes of the Missouri Val­ ley, states that from the period of the treaty, the Blackfoot tribes had become more and more peaceful in their habits, and were considered, when he wrote, the best disposed Indians in the North­ west. He remarks that theiir earlier reputation for ferocity was doubt­ less derived from their ene­ mies, who always gave them ample cause for 'attacking them. "In an intellectual and moral point of View," he adds, "they take the highest rank among the wild tribes of the West." The recent reports of the In dian agents and other officials of the Canadian northwest confirm this favor­ able opinion of the superior honesty and intelligence of the Blackfoot tribe*. Army Contractors. The manner in which Uncle Satt TOks robbed by contractors during the war was something positively appalling, and the wonder was that so few of them Were ever called to account. In cases where it was suspected that the district or local inspectors stood in with the contractors and got a whack of the profits, the services of our bureau were requested to help work up the case. One of the first cases I took hold of was that of a New York contractor who was furnishing hospital stores and medicines. An inspector appointed by the Government was supposed to ex­ amine all goods, and to have a certain standard to which they must be graded, but complaints from surgeons and hospital stewards kept coming in until it was deemed necessary to make an in vestigation. I first began work on the inspector. I knew what his salary was, and within a week I knew that his expenses wera double his supposed income. When this fact was established it was reason­ able to believe that he was engaged iu some sort of speculation. I discovered, also, that his brand of "Approved" was being pieced on boxes and pack­ ages during his absence from the ware­ house. In fact, he was visiting the place only in a formal way, and could know nothing of the quality of the goods sent out. After making a report of this I was furnished with the services of a chemist and made a seizure of stores about to be sent away. Then some strange discoveries came to light. There was nothing in the shape of drugs which was not adulter­ ated 50 per cent., while the quinine was "doctored" up to the tune of 75. Even the blue-mass pills had to take their share of adulteration. It was just as bad in regard to the stores. The lint for wounds was not half scraped; the wines and cordials were the vilest of stuffs; cans labeled "chicken" and "turkey" were found to contain pieces of beef and pork to help fill up. His contract called for castile soap of the finest quality; he was shipping some stuff which would almost take the skin off a farmer's hands. In the matter of sweet oil he was furnishing an article adulterated fully 90 per cent; The soldiers suffering with wounds of sickness were the direct sufferers b^ this contractor's cupidity, and he de­ served a heavy fine and imprisonment. He was a man of political influence, however, and he had friends pretty close to the Cabinet, and the only step taken against him was to cancel his contracts. I had another case against a pork- and-beef contract^ in Ohio. At least a dozen soldiers in a particular division wrote letters of complaint to President Lincoln regarding the meat, and one The day some samples eame by express. They were such tough-looking speci­ mens that I was detailed to visit the contractor and see what could be seen. There was an inspector here, too, but he visited the packing-house only once a week, aud then simply to draw his commission. On every barrel going out was his brand of "Approved," and the Government was, as I soon ascer­ tained, being beaten in a most shame­ ful manner. I gained admission.to the packing-house as a person wanting em­ ployment, and I worked thera a whole week. During that time I saw cattle so poor that they could scarcely Btand up slaughtered and packed for the soldiers, and hegs which I knew were af­ flicted with epidemic were received and, killed with the well. There was a car load of hogs received one night which did not contain an animal able to stand on its feet. Some were frothing at the mouth, oth­ ers were stone blind, and others were twitching and jerking as if in a fit. When that car load had been killed, packed, and the barrels branded "Ap­ proved," I made myself known. The contractor was rich and defiant, and even sought to secure my arrest, but when I got the case fairly before the Government he had to sing very low. We opened barrels of his meat which gave out such an odor that we were driven away, „and we took from other barrels huge bones which had been put in to fill up. He had not only cheated on his pork and beef, but was stealing at least half the salt required for every barrel. He had rqade $100,000 out of Uncle Sam by filling his contract in the manner described, and for a time it looked as if he would be properly punished for his offense. Political in­ fluence bobbed up again, however, and the* Government canceled his contract and dropped the whole matter,--De­ troit Free Press. Idiosyncrasies. A medical journal says: There is a well-known practitioner in Philadelphia who is most violently affected by the odor of hyacinths. We have known a single sprig of hyacinth, put in his room without his knowledge, to cause in a few moments sick stomach, followed by violent, repeated retching, and great general depression, amounting almost to syncope. It would appear as though, if he were shut up in the room with a single hyacinth bulb in full bloom, it would cause his death. Another very curious idiosyncrasy that has come under our notice is in a lady who is thrown into fainting fits by eating the smallest piece of butter. We have known her tried by those who thought her condition was purely imaginative by placing a small piece of butter in a dish of mashed potatoes and giving her a table spoonful, after telling her that there was no butter in it. In a very few minutes she fell ofi her chair in a condition of swooning. Some years ago one of {he residents of the Pennsylvania Hospital was forced to resign, because the moment he went to work in the surgical wards he be­ came afflicted with a crop of boils which would have disrupted the heart of Job with envy. It was only years afterward that the unfortunate doctor discovered that the boils were pro­ duced by the emanations of turpentine, which was, at that time, used in the wards for cleaning off the skin of pa­ tients to wliurh the adhesive * ' had remained. " Senator Col. Butler, and cne o» _ were seated in Secretavr Lamar's ofBoe one morning when the conversation turned upon the joint debatrf between; Gordon and Bacon, the rival candidates! for the Governorship of Georgia. "It reminds me," said Secretary Lamar,' "of an incident that occurred during a similar debate between Gov. Alcorn and myself when fre were making the; race for Congress immediately after the war. Alcorn, if you remember, was a very finicky person about his dress, and I have no doubt if the term 'dude' had had an existence in those days it would have fitted Alcorn exactly. We Were speaking one day at Hazelhurst., I saw that Alcorn had made a good im­ pression and that it was necessary for me to counteract it if possible. There was probably a thousand people iu the audience, most of whom ^ere a rough, homespun class, and it occurred to me that by appealing to their prejudices I might hit Alcorn a good one un­ der the belt, so to speak, that would be more effective than anything I could say. And so, after I had got along pretty well in pay speech I turned to Alcorn and asked the audience if they wanted to vote for a man who was so notoriously tain that he had to be dressed like a tailor's dummy before he allowed people to see him. 'While on the other hand, fellow-citizens,' I continued, 'I, who ask for your suffrages, am a plain, unassuming man like yourselves. I sport no fancy scarf- pins or patent-leather boots, but, to again institute a comparison between us, I wear the hickcry shirt of our an­ cestors, and cjothes of the same homely material.' The crowd cheered the sen­ timent, and I saw that Alcorn looked provoked. At the conclusion of my re­ marks Alcorn arose.. 'My opponent,' he said, 'has seen fit to criticise my style of dress and compare it unfavorably with his own. It is true, ladies and gentlemen, that I exhausted all the re­ sources of my wardrobe to appear be­ fore you to-day. I felt that it was the highest compliment I could pay you. I did it as a matter of respect for you. If I did not entertain these sen­ timents of high regard for you I would come among you as Lamar has--un­ shaven, unkempt, and shabbily attired. I leave to you to judge which of us de­ serves the most at your hands.' "If the audience had indorsed my sentiments they fairly howled their ap­ proval Alcorn's. The women were es­ pecially enthusiastic. I saw I had made a mistake, but itflkas too late to correct it, and so I laughed it oft as best I could. But Alcorn's ready wit saved him, for In the election which followed a few weeks later he defeated me by a small majority, and an analysis of 4he vote showed that in the town of Hazel­ hurst they had supported Alcorn al­ most ft man." The oustomed to ot sfivar, and Narrow T " ^ "I hear that you were completely burned out, Bigfigger. Lost every­ thing, I suppose ?" "Oh, no! House, of course, but all my furniture and personal effects were saved. Everything, in fact, except the piano." "Why wasn't that saved?" ̂ "Because none of the firemen play on it!"--Philadelphia, CalL^f- Yioe in Brussels. Go from the cafes to the hotels. The proprietor will \ftiit and fawn upon you --if you be well-dressed and, have a few diamond rings on your, fingers-- just as his Parisian confrere does. Here you will find those roo; they call them, cabinets particuliers- that are, by the by, mere imitations of the class at the Palais Royal in Paris, where gallants eat aty! drink tete-a-tete with the fashionable female tatterde­ malions of the city, and where married women forget their nuptial vows in the arms of dudish dandies. On the streets after nightfall we meet with the same disgusting sights so common at the same hour on the boulevards and Fau­ bourg Montmartre of Paris--the rouged and powdered battalions of smirking vice, flaunting its gaudy dresses, and staring you immodestly out of countenance. Stroll into by-lanes and into alleys, where you will not need very much discrimination to see that Brussels even exceeds Paris, propor­ tionately speaking, in the number of its dens of corruption tolerated by the statute book and patronized 'by many who have something to do with the manufacture of statutes. Go into society, fashionable tea parties, dance at fashionable balls, and eat and drink at midnight suppers, and what do you find except that same strange sameness of habits and ideas so prevalent in the city by the Seine--the same fashionable dictum, if not openly expressed, at least secretly implied and acted on, that a married dame who does not afford herself the luxury of a paramour is the wretchedest of sottes; the same prurient, practical philosophy that ties respectably brought up girls to their mammas' apron strings till the nuptial day--a philosophy which makes the minxes hypocrites before marriage, and God knows what after it; the same simpering civilities exchanged between men and men or women and women who have no more regard for each other than in Irish dynamiter has, or is sup­ posed to have, for the hide of the av­ erage Saxon.--Letter from Brussels* Who Are the Grcnt Tea-Drinkers? The popular idea that the people of Great Britain consume more tea on an average per head of the population than any other country in the world is now shown to be erroneous. The Austra­ lian colonies and New Zealand (accord­ ing to one of the East Indian journals) drink far more tea per head of popula­ tion than the British Islands. The Australians come first, with 7.66 pounds per head; the New Zealanders next, with 7.23 pounds per head; while the people of Great Britain, though appearing third in the list, consume only 4.90 pounds each. Newfoundland and Canada come next, while in the United States the consumption is only 1.30 pounds per head; and in Russia, which is always regarded as a great tea- drinking country, the consumption is only 0.61 pounds per head. Belgium, Sweden, Austria-Hungary, and Spain consume less than the other European nations, but there is not one nation on the continent, with the exception of Holland, in which the annual con­ sumption exceeds one pound per head. Unfair Triumphs. The Emperor Commodus now and then entered the arena against a bar­ barian warrior, whom he compelled to fight with the leaden foil, and with re­ sults which the courtiers of his majesty commemorated by statues and bronze coins. Some of those medals have been preseved in several European museums and ought to be awarded to the government orators of the Prusiaii reichstag. As a last resort, those champions never fail to retreat behind a code of parliamentary regulations which handicap their opponents with all sorts of unfair checks that can be evaded only by deft innuendos, while the bullies of the ministry indulge in un­ hindered swash-buckler tirades of per­ sonal abuse. MULTITUDES of words are neither an argument of clear ideas in the writer, nor a proper means of conveying clear - .Adam Clarke, notions to the reader.- S'Q&i. with their hettcL ' Moat ot all -were mask-like. deads p.---. within the outer wrappings at the top of the mummy paek. Mr. G. H. Hurl- but of Chicago, has recently obtained such a head from T/im* it is interest­ ing chiefly on account of the hetero­ geneous collection of ornaments and trophies with which it is bedecked. The heid is of heroic size, the face only being made of wood. This is strongly curved, having a prominent nose and wide firm mouth. The eyes are formed by excavating oval depres- idons, and setting in pieces of shelL First, oval pieces of white clam-shell are inserted, which represent the whites of the eyes. Upon these, small circular bits of dark shell are cemented, form­ ing the ^ pupils. Locks of hair have been set in beneath the shell, the ends of which project, representing the lashes of the eye. The wooden paTt of the mask is flat behind; but the head has been neatly rounded out by a hemi­ spherical bundle of dried leaves, which is Jield in place by an open net of twisted cords. Besides this, a great variety of arti­ cles have been attached to the margin of the mask by means of five pairs of perforations. Upon the crown, a large bunch of brilliantly-colored feathers have been fixed. Behind this, extend­ ing across the top of the head, is a long pouch of coarse, while cloth, in which a great number of articles had been placed--little packages of beans and seeds, rolls of cloth of different colors and textures, minute bundles of wool and flax, bits of copper and earth care­ fully wrapped in husks, bundles of feathers, etc. Encircling the forehead are long, narrow bands, or sashes, one of which is white, the others having fig­ ures woven in brilliant colors. The ends of these hang down at the sides of the face. " Attached to the left side of the mask by long, stout cords is a pouch resembling a tobacco-bag, about six inches square, the fabric of which re­ sembles a coarse sail-cloth. Attached to the lower part of this is a fringe of long, heavy cords. From the opposite side of the head, a net was sus­ pended, in which had been placed a variety of objects--a sfing made of cords very skillfully constructed; bun­ dles of flax and cords; small nets con­ taining beans, gourd-seeds, and other articles; copper fish hooks still at­ tached to the lines, which' are wound about a bit of cornstalk or cane; neatly made sinkers of dark slate wrapped in corn-husk^, together with many other curious relics. These articles were doubtless the property of the departed, so placed in accordance with the established cus­ toms of the rac£ to which he belonged. The mask-head was probably in itself an object of much consideration, al­ though we are at a loss to determine its exact use by the living or its signifi­ cance as a companion of the -dtiad Science. ' v Cooper the HovelLst. --- The frailest thread will draw a man to his destiny. Cooper became a novel­ ist through his wife's challenge to make good a boast. One evening, while he read a new novel descriptive of English society, he threw it down, saying, "I be­ lieve I Could write a better book my­ self." "Let me see you do it!" said his wife, with a smile. In a few dayB he had written a few chapters, which she and several friends approved. Their en­ couragement caused him to complete the story, which was published at his own expense under the title of "Pre- caution." ^ The novel attracted little attention from the reading public, but it gave the young writer an inkling of his capacity for story-writing. During the following year he wrote and published "The Spy," which appealed so strongly to the patri­ otic sympathies of his countrymen that it became at once a general favorite. The wife's challenge--intended, doubt­ less, to spur him to use the talent she knew he possessed--made him the au­ thor of thirty-two works of fiction, five more than Scott wrote. Moliere used to read! to his house­ keeper portions of the comedy he Was writing, that he might learn, from the effect they produced on her, whether or not the piece would please the public. If she seemed to be uninterested, he did not charge her with stupidity; he erased the passage. If she laughed at it, he let the lines stand. Sir Walter Scott read the hunting scene of the "Lady of the Lake" to an old sportsman. "He will spoil his dogs," said the critic, and Scott profited by the criticism. ' While "The Pilot" was passing through the press, Cooper read a por­ tion of it to a shipmate, with whom he had been associated when a midshipman in our navy. When he came to the description of the ship's beating out from the "Devil's Grip," his shipmate became restless. Rising from the chair, he paced up and down the floor. But in the midst of his excitement, he retained the seaman's instinct. "It's all very well, my fine fellow, but you have let your jib stand too long!" he exclaimed, as if addressing the pilot. Cooper accepted the criticism, and blew his jib out of the bolt-ropes.--Youth's Companion. No Use for Live Men. "Come up to the hotel with me,"said a friend to the Coroner of a Western county, "there is a man there that you would like to meet." "When was he found?" "What's that?" "How long since he was discovered?" "I don't understand you." "Why, you said there was a party I would be pleased to meet, and I was only trying to get at the particulars of his death." "You blamed fool, you, he isn't dead." "Then I must decline to spend my valuable time in -running around to see him," replied the Coroner with dignity. "When your friend is found dead under suspicious circumstances let me know and 111 come aud render a verdict in accordance with the foots in foe case." --Estelline Bell. " / Spirit Willing'; Scales Weak. Chicago Girl--Oh, Mr. Cornstarch, I want to get weighed. Polite Grooer--All right. Miss Doubledollar. Just sit on this chair and rest your feet on this box beside SC&IGS Chicago Girl--Why, Mr. Cornstarch, what an idea! Of "course I want to have my feet weighed too. Polite Grocer--Well, I declare, I'm awfully sorry, Miss Doubledollar, but I shall have to disappoint you. The hay-sefdes have been out of order ftU, the week.--<Somerville Joturimk ^ j" * 'X " j BBIVES to «h^jk-^M^ corksow»ir, Sou* again--aecohd-hand articles. ? ̂ QUICK at figures--$HE dancing M||^ ter. An apimal- to make - light ff--•jtjgT tapir. „ SAID a witness; "Myfriendoonduotad his future wife to the altar, and thera his leadership came to an end. IT isn't kind to ask a volunteer, who served thfee months during the rebel­ lion, whether he was ever wounded. • PEOPLE hire lawyers for two reasons. One is for the settlement of dispute* and the other to dispute settlements.^ J , THE Indian is a firm believer in Ro­ man's rights. For instance, he neveir disputes his squaw's right to do all the work for the family.--Somerville Journal. COCNTBY cousin, admiring the el$|P trie lights and the wires on them*-- Well, I be blowed, bnt they be offul small gas pipes, considering the light they give. SHE had false teeth and false hair, but she was peachy-cheeked, bright- eyed, and prettily-formed, and had aa * angelio temper; so he said: "With all thy false I love thee still."-- Boston Courier. "DuJ you ever ask anyone else to bo your wife?" she queried, in much doubt. "No, darling," he answered tenderly. "I assure you title is my maiden effort." SHE--James, do you know you put three buttons on the plate in church to­ day? He--Yes, I knew what I was about." She--James, perhaps you don't know that I bought those buttons yes­ terday for my new dresB,. and paid {$ cents apiece for them. He--Alasl What have I done.--Tid-Bits. i "How DO vou like your new hat?" asked Lucy of Georgiana. "I am not pleased with it at all," pouted Georgi­ ana.^ "Why not? It is certainly pretty, stylish, and the most becoming hat you have ever worn." "That's"just the trouble. I had rather it were ugly so the girls 'would make remarks about it."--Tid-Bits. . AN ENGAGEMENT BBOKE& %|ie maiden took her chewing gui : " placed it on a chair, • ' Mpr she had heard her lover comic \ ' With swift feet up the stair. * 1 il l&on the chewing gum he sat-- T. ^ ' .iThe joyous hours flew past, ,, ; i 'Bnt when he rose to take his hat, found himself stuck fast. • " "Oh! worse disaster never was;" She cried as out she ran; "I ne'er eon marry yon because You ^re a fast young man." \ •" --Boston Courier. . SOME of the Paris physiciaul^MUy recommend for the treatment of obesity the drinking of sea water, combined with a residence at the seaside. We should think a few swallows of sea wa­ ter would go right to the spot, and re­ duce the patient's weight about thirty pounds in a very brief length of time. It might also saturate him with a yearn­ ing for death, but he should remember that desperate diseases require heroic treatment.--Norristown Herald. "MA can't see you," said a Cass ave­ nue girl of 10, as a peddler ascended the front steps. "Is she at home?" "Yes, sir, but she's very busy." ".Will you ask her to step to the door?" "No, sir; she's upstairs trying on her bath-, ing suit before the big mirror; when she gets it on she's going to pose; if she looks statuesque we're going to the seashore; if she just seems to be com­ mon we're going out in the country to Uncle William's. Please go away and don't disturb the poses."--Detroit Free, Press. THE SCIENTISTS IN CONVENTION. "f' \s Now the savants scientific with a purpose SS - J specific Come together on a. preconcerted plan, 5 And with paper bioplastic and a wisdom thifl Socratic Teaoh the genesis of Prehistoric Man. Anthropology, Mechanics, Economics, Mathe­ matics-- They will rake the field of science fore and aft. With voluminous statistics they will mystify the critics, And will air the wondrous learning of thaftr craft. Entomology, Biology; the science of Geology-*, * Not a bug or stone or star will they neglect. With their microscopes and trowels, they tigate the bowels v:: ;1 . Of the earth, and not a single fact reject. --Buffalo Express. ATTORNEY--May it please the Court, I would ask for an adjournment until to-morrow morning, as I have lost some important legal documents per* taining to this case, and desire time to hunt them up. I took them home last night to look over them and this morn­ ing could not find them. (A man is noticed among the spectators, and m fashionably-dressed lady approaches the. attorney.; ' Eh? What's that? You wish to speak with me, Mary ? (They converse apart.) May it please the Court, I think an adjournment of an hour will be sufficient. My wife will at once return home, and send her bustle back by special messenger. I regre^ your honor, that such an accident should have happened. Trial by OrdeaL The ordeal trial prevailed in Frauds from before the time of Charlemagne down to the eleventh century. The ancient Germans, too, were in the habit of resorting to divination, and their superstitious notions, writes Mr. Gibson, led them to invent many meth­ ods of purgation or trial now unknown to the law. It should be added, also, that the Germans were special ly tardy in throwing off this relic of barbarism, for, at a period when most vulgar ordeals were falling into disuse, the nobles of Southern Germany estab­ lished the water ordeal as the mode of deciding doubtful claims on fiefs, rind in Northern Germany it was instituted for the settlement of conflicting titles on land. Indeed, as recently as the .commencement of the present century, tlirf populace of Hela, near Dantzig, twice plunged into the sea an old woman reputed to be a sorceress, who, on persistently rising to the surface, was pronounced guilty and beaten to death. Grotius mentions many in­ stances of water ordeal in Bithynia, Sardinia, and other countries, having been in use in Iceland from a very early period. In the primitive jurispru­ dence of Russia ordeal by boiling water was enjoined in cases of minor import­ ance, and in the eleventh century we find burning jron ordered "where the matter at stake amounted to more than half a grivna of gold." A curious sur­ vival of ordeal suj>erstition still pre­ vails to a very large extent in Southern Russia. When a theft is committed in a household the servants are summoned, together and a sorceress is sent for. Should no confession be made by the guilty party, the sorceress rolls up as many little balls of bread as there are suspected persons present. She then takes one of these balls, and, address­ ing the nearest servant, uses this formula: "If you have committed the theft the ball will sink to the bottom of the vase, but if you are innocent it will float on the water." The accuracy of this trial, however, is seldom tested^ as the guilty person invariably con­ fesses before his turn arrives to undergo the ordeal.--Chambers' JcumaU * •4 i * v - «. _ A '