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* * mmimm 77/fr *;w ** f "**' ' >>v v-r?m--/ *» vW"'jnw;^i^frR??i^^^^pf^W!^^ ' • * t r j y J- ' ^ > } » v > , • Y -*r j;:-\ -% w;fr 4 **- - *• -1 **<v%v/; |V?^ #3&f^'"C ' " * • ' - • v 4 : v > ; • > " t , ' * > * • ' - * v - / ' ' ; ; * J - . . (V;n'v;^ jn--*^ M! Nr; t,-?< J'"r^?* 3 '** ^f' St * .' ' 0 ' "<Mt , t TBI MOTHKR-IN-LAW. BT ELLA WHKKI.KR WILCOX. gb« w*a my dream's fulfillment Mid my jPT, This lovely woman whom you call your Wire. You sported at your play, nn idle l»oy. :^;*jSy1 WhPii I first felt the stirring of her life |, • '•' " * ' Within my startled being. I wa« thrillej , "' j With hucIi intensity of love, it filled ' Ji : . ? HM very universe! But words ape vain-- ' Ho man can comprehend that wild sweet pain. Yon .smiled in childhood's slumber while I felt Hie agonies of lai>or; and the nights L weeping, o'er the little sufferer knelt. You, wandering on through dreamland's Mtt delights, ' " Flung out your lengthening limbs and slept ana While L^weike, saved this dear wife for yon. She was rax heart's loved idol, and my pride. I taught her all those graces which you praise. I dreamed of coming venrs, when at my side Bhe should lend luster to my fading days, Should cling to mo (as she to you clings now,) The young fruit hanging to the withered bough. But lo! the blosom was so fair a sight, You plucked it from me--for your own delight. Well, you are worthy of her--oh, thank God--* And yet I think you do not realize How burning were the sands o'er which I trod To bear and rear this woman you so prize. . It was no easy thing to see her go Even into the arms of one she worshiped SO. How strong, how vast, how awful seem* the power Of thi9 new love which fills a maiden's heart, For one who never bore a single hour Of pain for her; which tears her life apart Of all its moorings, and controls her more Ulan all the ties the years have held before; Which crowns a stranger with a kingly grace-- And gives the one who bore her--second place. 8he loves me still 1 and yet were death to say: "Choose now between them 1" you would be her choice. God meant it to be so--it is His way-- But can you wonder, if while I rejoice In her content, this thought hurts like a knife-- "No longer necessary to her life ?" My pleasure in her joy is bitter sweet, Your very goodness sometimes hurts my heart, Because "for her life's drama seems complete Without the mother's oft repeated part Be patient with me! She was mine so long. Who now is yours. One must indeed be strong To meet such loss without the least regret* And so forgive me if my eyes are Wart. { --Brooklyn Mugosine. ;f LOTS LOVE AND TRIALS. BY CHARLES WETHEBIUI. •What is the matter. Lucy?" "Nothing, deaf aunt," replied Lucy Free- line, who, from long babit, thus addressed Mrs. Lawson, although they were but dis­ tantly related. "Why do you ask?" "I thought you had been crying," re­ tained the other; "your eyes look verv red." -My eyes ache rather, as they often do now. That is why I have pat away my work so early." The scene I would paint was a neatly - furnished, comfortable-looking room in one of those thousand streets of London, which, without having any pretensions to consequence or consideration, are, never­ theless, thought very eligible by a large c&ss of people either for some individual or general advantages. In one corner, as if to be oat of the way of the other occu­ pants of the room, sat a young man of about four-and-twenty working diligently at his ordinary employment, that of a watch-maker. Various implements and particles of minute mechanism, whose uses are incomprehensible to the ignorant, were before him, and the strong light of a par- tiallv-shaded lamp fell precisely on his work. Jasper Lawson was not a common character; and perhaps his employment, which, while it required patience and a certain degree of attention, like women's needlework, afforded much opportunity for the self-instruction of thought and re­ flection, might have something to do in molding his disposition. He was "the only son of a widow," to whose comfort, oven in the matter-of-fact respect of pounds, shillings, and pence, he largely contributed, his mother' having no other dependence except a small annuity, se­ cured to her from some benefit Bociety, to which her husband had belonged. Lacy Freeling was the daughter of a dis­ tant relation, and half been left an orphan in early childhood; but the widow had so tenderly fulfilled the offices of a parent that Lucy had scarcely known her loss. The interest of a few hundred pounds, which should have been hers when she be­ came of age, might have sufficed to bring her up in the station to which she be­ longed; but for a few years Mrs. Lawson had exceeded these limits for the purpose of giving her increased advantages for education, and when she arrived at the age of 17 had paid a sum of money to place her for two years with a milliner and dressmaker. Although she was not old enough to make a legal contract, it was perfectly un­ derstood and relied on that this advance, •o-judiciously lijade, would be refunded when Lucy attained her majority. Alas! before that time arrived, the trustee, in whose hands her little fortune was placed, became a bankrupt, and that from such unexpected cause, that the circum­ stances of Lucy's money being engulfed in the general ruin arose less from fraud than from imprudence. But the eighty pounds debt which had been incurred was now a dreadful burden to those who had such slender means of re­ paying it. Nevertheless, the right-minded girl set bravely to work, determining, bv the exercise of an art in which she had been BO prudently instructed, to make up the sum by small degrees. The widow- had also put by from her little income, and Jasper had worked hard to help out the re­ payment; and now the straggle was nearly over--a few more pounds were all they re­ quired. Lucy not unfrequently worked at home, instead of at the large establishment where she was employed; for her home was cen- tricallv situated, and she lost very little time in going backward and forward. This had she done on the evening on which we have introduced her. But there was another person in that neat and comfortable room, and one who was now a frequent truest. Ralph Ashton was a lawyer's clerk, and on the strength of a situation which he considered rather above that of a journeyman watch-maker, he thought in his own heart that he sotae- what condescended in joining their tea and BU].per-table three or four nights a week. Not that such a feeling was by any means evident from his manner; on the 'Contrary, the most casual observer might have felt pretty sure that lialph Asbton was doing his utmost to muke himself agreeable to Luey Freeling; -and to have betrayed his own self-conceit, or certain other attributes of his nature, would have been a mistake unworthy of his cunning. J® *as good-looking, so far as a ctftrse "Mother," he exclaimed, after a pause, and in a voice that trembled perceptibly, "I suppose it is all settled? The attempt is vain," he added; "I cannot hide my feel­ ings from you." And its he spoke, he leaned his bead within his hands, perhaps to conceal the tears, if they actually flowed. "I am afraid it is," replied the widow; "though Lucy has made no acknowledg­ ment to me of her affection. Poor girl, she must suspect that the cheice she has made is the overthrow of all my hopes for my old age." "Don't blame her, mother; perhaps she does not know all thiS, Low$j ago 1 should have given myself a fair chance, and let her know that I love her better than with a brother's love, instead of weighing words and looks, and smothering every expres­ sion of my feeliiigs, from the romantic no­ tion that I would not ask her to marry me until 1 was in business for myself, and could place her in the position of a pros perous tradesman's wife. Idiot that I was, not to be snre that I should be. fore­ stalled." "And now that yoa are so near the sum mit of yoar wishes!" apostrophized his mother. "To my astonishment! The offer of Monson to take me [ into partnership is a most extraordinary piece of good fortune." "He knows there are not half a dozen such workmen in London, and that a fortune is to be made by the improvements you have suggested," replied Mrs. Lawson, with pride. "Wall," sighed Jasper, "from whatever cause it is, it comes like a mockery now. I doubt if there will be an more improve ments of mine. I have little heart for any­ thing." "I can hardly forgive her for this, Jasper; and so much as I have always said against him--" "There it is, mother," interrupted the young man, almost fiercely; "if she loves him in the manner that I love her, the more he is blamed the more she will cling to him. Why, I feel if she were plunged into want and misery, her beauty gone, or with evil tongues like harpies darting at her, such an hour of woe would be the one in which I' would show my adoration most passionately, most madly, if you like to call it so--she would still be herself, and it is herself that I love." Poor Mrs. Lawson was awed and pained by her son's enthusiasm. Like many other excellent-hearted and shrewd per­ sons, she was quite incapable of folldwing those subtle emotions which are the most real in the world, and more than any others, influence human destines; and yet are scoffed at by a large number of persons as "mere imagination," "romance," non­ sense," and a long list of et ceteras. We must take the reader a littie behind the curtain. Ralph Ashton* was quite as much in love with Lucy Freeling as his nature permitted him to be; but his was that common passion, a purely selfish one. He admired beauty, and would be proud of a wife thus endowed, and with mental ac­ quirements something beyond those com­ mon to her station. But his cunning brain worked upon two ulterior objects which had nothing to do with these personal qualities. It so happened that a great deal of the business connected with the affairs of the bankrupt trustee had passed through the office in which Ashton was employed, and he knew enough of it tu form an al­ most positive opinion that Lucy would ultimately recover her little fortune. How­ ever, he took care to keep this knowledge to himself, and wooed her apparently with the most disinterested affection, not even at present hinting of the plan which in his own mind was well-nigh matured--that of establishing his wife at the West-end of the town as a fashionable milliner, well knowing that her taste and skill, and superior manners, would be sure to raise her to an eminence that must contribute greatly to his ease and comfort. In short, he planned to himself becoming something like that very contemptible creature of deathless memory, Mantalini. A few weeks passed over, and Ralph Ashton and Lucy Freeling were engaged to be married. In justice to the latter, we must Bay that she had only very lately sus­ pected the deep feelings which her life­ long companion, Jasper Lawson, enter­ tained for her, and the discovery made to her by his vexed and disappointed mother pained her deeply. It is true, Mrs. Law- son had sometimes hinted at her hopes for the future, in phrases sufficiently intelligi­ ble to Lucy; but, alas! Jasper concealed his affection but too well. The time had been, she knew, that he mij^ht have won her; but it was gone by, she said, and she could but regard him as a dear brother. They were engaged, and all seemed fair before them; and Ralph even ventured to hint one day, from intelligence which he declared he had received but a few hours before, that perhaps, after all, Lucy woald have her money. He did this advisedly, for he knew it was very likely that the news would reach her in a day or two from another quarter. Sorrow was coming, however, as it generally does, from a quite unexpected source. The "aching" of her eyes, of which Lucy had complained as the result of excessive application to her needle, became more distressing, and on medical advice being obtained, the most •alarming symptoms were discovered. With all the horrors of threatened blindness be­ fore her, Lucy was confined for several weeks tc a darkened room; and months must elapse before there was any hope that under the most favorable circum­ stances she could apply herself to her or­ dinary occupation. During this time Jasper became a junior partner in the establishment to which he had belonged, and, through his mother, his increased in­ come contributed to the comforts and qiedical attendance of the poor sufferer. How could the poor destitute orphan re­ fuse help from him who asked to be called "her brother?" She did not refuse it--nay, she felt that Bhe would rather be assisted by him than by her betrothed. How strange are the intricacies of human feel­ ing! During these months of Buffering, the affairs of the bankrupt trustee had been thrown into chancery, and there was little hope now for a settlement of them for years. Poor Lucy! little could she have thought that the day would come, and that soon, in which the loss of her money, months of suffering, partial blindness, and Eersonal disfigurement, would appear to er like so many "blessings in disguise," that had combined together to save her from a gulf of misery and ruin. When the cure, so far as it could be ef­ fected, was complete, a white film still re­ mained to mar the beauty and obscure the vision of one of those deep blue eyes which had seemed like stars of light and love to poor Jasper Lawson. Moreover, the oculist , . . ~ --07 -- -- -- ~ .TU : declared that the preservation of the other Kind of regularity of features and a bright j eye depended on the most careful abstain- aark eye might constitute good looks; and | ing from anything like straining the visual he had a smattering of superficial knowl- I organs. edge, and a certain speciousness of man- j Only a few days had lapsed since this ner, which were likely enough to deceive a ; fiat went forth, and but once had Ralph simple-minded inexperienced girl like 1 Ashton seen Lucy since the bandages were - T I removed, when she received a letter from *eii rS superior in every re- ' him dictated by that one virtue, which vpect, but diffident to himself, endowed by , those who possess no other are ever ready womanly delicacy of , to put prominently forward--prudence. changed, and throwing himself passionately beside her, he twined his arm around her waist, and pressed her to his breast with an impulse that wonld not be staid. "Lucy," ho exclaimed, "there is one whoso heart has been tilled with thoughts of you for years; to whom you are the same in sickness and in healtb,rich or in poverty; with beauty perfect, or with beauty blem­ ished; his heart does not feel the differ­ ence; it is yourself he loves--no conjured image of youthful fancy. Mother, mother, did I not tell you this when hope was dead within me?" s Is there much wonder that Lucy's heart, released from the sway of a phantom love, clung now and forever to the tried and the tru«? . In a Dutch PrNon. Aprison in Hollond is rather MI em bellishment than a disfigurement to a town, at least such is the fine new pen­ itentiary at, Leeu warden, one of the most famous prisons in Holland, and model of its kind. It is completely built of stone, bricks and iron, conse­ quently fireproof; staircases, halls, and workshops are built with mathematical precision and such manner as to permit of constant surveillance. The yards are large and spacious, all the rooms whitewashed from top to bottom and well ventilated, the inner and outer walls ever bearing witness to the pro­ verbial Dutch cleanliness. The steps and passages are equally clean, and you would look in vain for a soiled spot or a grain of dust. Not a cracked or a tarnished pane of glass can be found in the whole building. Everything is washed, brushed and waxed with a^care we might well envy in many of our American homes. The dormitories are regularly scrubbed every day and well ventilated. Their aspect is, however, curious. Each consists of a large white-washed, asphalt-floored room, in the center of which is an immense iron- trellised cage, armed on the inside with spikes. This cage is divided into over one hundred cells, each separated by sheet-iron walls; each has its bed, con­ sisting of a thin mattress, a pillow, a pair of sheets of coarse texture, and two coverlets. Each night the prisoners are locked in these narrow cells,, and thus repose perfectly isolated from each other. All around the dormitory run iron water- pipes, with taps fixed at intervals, at which the convicts are supposed to per­ form their ablutions. Water is general throughout the whole prison, and is to be met with on each story. Baths, which the prisoners are compelled to make use of at stated times, are on the ground floor. The prisoners have three meals per day. In the morning, luke­ warm milk and water and a piece of dry bread; at midday, a soup composed of vegetables; in the evening, coffee and brown bread. Sometimes they are allowed a small quantity of meat, but more often bacon. The prisoners, however, can improve upon this food by the money they earn. They have, in fact, a small interest in their work, four-sixths of which is at their disposal, the balance being very properly capi­ talized and handed to them on their dismissal. Everything is conducted with military discipline in a Dutch prison, which allows neither of ill-will nor question. The dungeons, a kind of subterranean cells, are for the unruly, and iron for the mutinous. No conver­ sation is allowed between the prisoners, during hours of work. Perfect order prevails, as a rule, and attempts at es­ cape are events unknown.--Brooklyn Magazine. SARCASM OF NAMES. sentiment and tenderness of feelmg, had been»cauKht by the outward seeming, and though tbe knowledge racked him to the heart's core, did not wonder that Lucy re­ garded him vythinterest. Not so the wf86w.~f rom the first mo­ ment of Ashton's acquaintance with her •An, he had been disliked by her; although when pressed hard for her antipathy, she could seldom find any but the * most trivial «Des. There had been a whispered conference between those who were all but acknowl­ edged lovers, accompanied by downcast looks and flushed cheeks on the part of JLucj; but Ralph Ashton had left somewhat It pointed out some facts which she really must have known before, and among them tbe great change in their future prospects her affliction had made; hinted verv intelli­ gibly at the wisdom of a separation, tiad concluded by mentioning that unless she desired to see him, he should refrain from calling again, and signing himself "e her sincere friend." Lucy Freeling was for a while stunned by the blow; but though her young and susceptible heart had been caught and led astray, it was of a nature too fine to be broken by mockery--a falsehood. "Do not tell me not to weep," she ex­ claimed a few days afterwards, as she sat «erlier than usual, having several letters to ' between Mrs. Lawson and her son, with write for his employer be tore morning; and ! hand in one of each; "I know vou wonld 3twcy, pleading more than ordinary fatigue, (•tired lo rest, leaving Jasper' and his Bother alone. He had extinguished the lamp by which he worked, and only the light of a single Candle remained besides that of the sinking lire, which it was too late to replenish. He was leaning upon the mantelpiece, lookihg 4own. apparently watching the flickering •embers; but the expression of his counte­ nance was sad almost to solemnity. Holmes and Proctor. When I first visited America, in the autumn of 1873, I called on Dr. Wen­ dell Holmes in company with Mr. Wilkie Collins. As naturally "a ner­ vous, shy, low-spoken man"--like the celebrated coxswain of the Mantlepiece, for which the reader will overhaul his "Bad Ballads, "'and when found note-- I was disposed to take but a small part in conversation, "lying low," as it were, while the great men conversed. But I am sorry to say that Mr. Wendell Holmes, whom I take to be far and away the greatest humorist of the age, knocked the distinguished novelist "all of a heap," after the manner of speak- ing, by placidly remarking: "I make a point of reading one novel year--never less, but also--never more." He then turned on me in that brisk, birdlike manner which all who know him know and love. I expected to be touched up in like live sort, and rather rejoiced that I had cultivated the habit of enjoying a joke at my own expense. He began: "I found you out years ago;" and I began to tremble, wondering Which of my iniquities his eagle eye had dis­ covered and what castigation would be meted out to me. -But he went on ; "I found you out as a student of astronomy who had something of his own to say, and meant to say it and show it to bo worth listening to." Judge as if as a young writer and a young student of astronomy, for my first work then was but eight years old, I was not warmed by the kindly enoour- agemept of America's great humorist, who might, had he chosen, have stood first--among her poets also. Only a year lie fore lie had written "The Poet of-t'-e Breakfast Table," and the hero of 1 bat poem is, as we all know, a young astronomer, with all whose thoughts alike as students of science and as philosopher my own thoughts are in harmony--though in that work the melody is given compared with which my own teachings, explanatory and expository resembled rather the steady but necessary accompaniment. Prof. Ji. A. Proctor. comfort me as a dearest mother and brother might. But do not tell me not to weep. It cannot be that man whom I have loved; and with these foolish tears there seems to pass away some dream--some folly. Better this --better this a thousand times--than to have been his wife! I feel it so; believe it, I do indeed!" A. sharp, irrepressible cry escaped Jasper Lawcon, and both his mother and Lucy turned towards him. One look was ex- --^ Female Curiosity. The servant girl of a boarding-house went to the door to get tie mail. Letter-carrier--Here is a letter for Judge Penny bunker. ' Does he live here ? Servant--Yes, he has the front room. He is a rich old bachelor. Is the letter addressed in a female hand ? "Yes. here it is'" "Good gracious! So it is, and as sure as I am born there is a photograph in if." "Here in another letter for Judge Pennybunkeir." "Addressed in a female hand, too?" "No, this one is from Partem & Squeal, the great divorce lawyers. Their name is printed on the envelope." "Well, that settles it." "Settles what?" "Nothing, except I was going to quit this boarding-house on the 1st, but now I'm going to stay right here and see this thing out."--Texas Sifting8. THE ultra-violet or heat rays, of the spectrum, invisible to human eyes, ap­ pear to be plainly perceptible to the eyes of ants, according to the investiga­ tions of Dr. Forel, the distinguished Swiss entomologist ' THE main strength and force of a law consists in the penalty annexed to it.-- Blackntone. Some Kxamples of Anything but Approprl- atoneas. What funny names people give to their chilren, anyhow, writes Bob Bur- dette. Not the high-sounding, or fanci­ ful, or romantic names; they do well enough, although they do harmonize ill i with red hair and freckles sometimes. : ftj^t real good, sensible names, even family names, I mean. Now* one of the bovs with whom I went to school was named Newton, Isaac Newton. His ideas of heaven and mathematics were equally well founded. I shall never forget his amazement when the teacher assured him that two and two made four. He stuck out for seven for a long time, and at length agreed to leave it to the class, and when we unanimously decided in favor of four he said it was the beatin'est thing ever happened to hiia. The day he learned that an apple, loosed from the tree, would fall down instead of up, he sat without speaking a word all day, dumb under the overpowering burden of this revela­ tion that fell upon him like the world- renowned clap of thunder out of a clear sky. And one day overhearing the teacher declare that the sun was more than twice as large as the earth he gathered up his books and said he couldn't stand any more of this non­ sense. He never came back to schooL He got a place as clerk in a coal-yard, where his immovable faith in the doc­ trine that two and two make seven, and the attraction of gravitation makes things fall up, so that the lighter any­ thing weighs the heavier it is, paved his way to a partnership and great wealth. He kept on knowing less and less every day, until now he is a most eminently respectable citizen, who thinks politics is vulgar and debasing, never votes, and is a member of the Board of Education. Then there was young Solomon Wise­ man. He stood at the foot of the same class five years; that was the lowest class in- school. He never got out of it. Said the teacher: "Can fish live on the land, Wiseman ?" And Solomon thought a moment and said: "Yes'm." Then she said no, and explained why they couldn't, and then asked, "Could they live in the air?" and he said, cheer­ fully, "Yes'm." But she said no, and explained why, and then asked. "But they could live in the water, couldn't they?" And young Wiseman said, very confidently, "Nome." She said they could, and this discouraged him. He never came so near answering a ques­ tion correctly again. He staid in school five years, during which time he drove two teachers to suicide. He is a rich man now and a member of a local board of Qivil-sejvice reform. When he left school he got a place down at the gas works, and his unfailing capacity for making everything mean exactly what it didn't say led to the invention of the gas-meter, and so he sped on to fortune. Why, do you know, I could give a dozen instances of these misnomers. There was Jerry Blackhart, not; Jere­ miah, but Jeroboam. He was a half- breed Indian, son of Col. Blackhart a miserable old thief of an Indian trader, who called this boy Jeroboam to spite the chaplain of the post. That boy just loved his worthless old father, and he wouldn't have his name changed for anything, though everybody shortened it to Jerry. But he was the whitest boy in that school. He never used a word or an expression that he couldn't have used, in Sunday-school. He was the soul of honor, and was religious clear through. He got up a noon prayer-meeting in school and it led to a revival, and he is a missionary to-day, working among his brethren in the far West. And there was Nick Doolittle; he was the busiest boy in school. He read by firelight until he was bald at 17, studied himself into brain-fever at 18; then he becanil a civil engineer; laid out rail­ roads faster than the Gould family could gobble them up, and every time he gets unusually busy he discharges two or three clerks because, he says, they get in his way and retard his work. Fact is, you can't tell much about a boy by his name, excoptin the old-time Sun­ day-school books, where the good boys are always named John and Charles and the bad ones are called Bob and BilL A Gypsy Wedding. Few things are more simple than' a marriage ceremony among the gypsies, and a description of a wedding as re­ cently witnessed by the writer will not, we believe, prove uninteresting. There were more than a score of tents at the encftmpment, where we were temporary guests, and at the opening of each a fire was burning, crackling, and blazing away as early as t> o'clock in the morn­ ing of the day wliich was to witness the marriage of one of the favorite young girls of the camp. An hour afterward and an old gypsy man Avith silvery hair and bronzed, wrinkled face, with but one eyo, stepped on a little mound and began playing the violin, which had but two strings on it. The player's opening piece was the well-known tune, "Haste to the Wed­ ding," to which the younger gypsies were soon dancing with great hilarity. While some of the elder women were watching the dancers, others were en­ gaged in culinary preparations. At the opening of one of the tents stood the swarthy-looking masculine gypsy chief, with his hands in his pockets, steadfastly gazing upon the dancers. At a given signal from the chief the music and dancing ceased. Two rows of gypsies, with about twelve or fifteen in each row, were formed, standing face to face, being between four and six feet apart. Half way down between these rows two gypsies held up a broom­ stick about eighteen inches above the ground. All being thus far in readi­ ness, the chief called out the name of the bridegroom, who was a very liand- some gypsy man about 22 years of age. His hair and eyes were very dark, and the conformation of his faco strongly indicated the race to which he belonged. He wore an olive-colored velveteen coat, red waistcoat, and a glaring- colored handkerchief round his neck. In person he was tall, muscular, and well made. In obedience to the chief's command he came from a tent at one side of the encampment, walked be­ tween the rows of gypsies, stepped over the broomstick, turned round, and then stood with his arms akimbo waiting the arrival of his intended wife. The chief then oalled out the name of the bride, who came from a' tent at the opposite side of the en­ campment. She was about 19 years of age, rather short of stature, apparently of a healthy and hardy constitution, while the pearly luster of her eyes and long, dark, glossy hair seemed to identify her with the purest remnant of the gypsy race. She also walked be­ tween the two rows of gypsies, tripped very lightly over the broomstick, which she had no sooner done than the young gypsy man, in the most gentle and gal- ^lant manner imaginable, took Lrer in his arms and completed the ceremony by giving his new-made wife some of the loudest kisses we ever heard in our life. Then the music and dancing were re­ sumed; the wliolo of the members of the encampment had suspended busi ness; preparations for a good feast were going on; every face looked bright, and every heart seemed joyous. The men smoked, the women talked volumes, the children shouted and frolicked, the old horses grazed by the side of the banks, the donkeys nibbled th§ir coarse food with a self-satisfied air, and looked as if conscious thej were to have that day's respite from their weary toils; even the two or three dogs that were there wagged their tails, as if in anticipation of an extra feed or of better and a larger quantity of ra­ tions than usual, even without the trouble of having to hunt before any dinner could be allowed them.--Brook­ lyn Magazine. Take Cfere of the Feet, Ladies whose feet have become mis­ shapen from excessively narrow boots can do much to remedy the difficulty by care and pains. Select easy, roomy shoes, and stockings of soft fabric. Bathe the feet thoroughly in water com­ fortably warm, never allowing it to grow cold enough to feel chilly, and wipe them thoroughly dry with a soft towel-- coarse crash is almost poison to sensitive skins, and often causes irrita­ tion and a small eruption like rash. Then rub into them thoroughly about the joints or injured parts either cold cream, or what is better, glycerine, per­ fectly pure, and mixed with double the quantity of water. Especially should it be diligently applied to the joints of the great toes if they are enlarged or painful. Wipe off with a damp cloth and dry carefully, after which powder the feet thoroughly with rice flour powder. Brush off all that comes away easily and put on the stocking, being careful that no semblance of a seam comes over the sensitive joints. Adjust the shoe carefully--never "jump into" any article of wearing apparel--smooth the boot over the foot and ankle, if it is a high top, and be certain that it is comfortable. These cautions may seem trifles, but the feet are ill, and all conditions of re­ covery must be absurd. Take care that they do not get very cold or in the least damp. The ankle should also be pro­ tected by gaiters or leggings, if there is ally necessity for goin^ out in wet weather. The difficulty is an inflamma­ tion of the joint membranes, and has» had many serious results. At night the feet may be wiped off with a damp cloth, and the glycerine and powder repeated. Ladies who adopt this plan will never find soft corns coming be­ tween the toes. For hard corns there is nothing better than a little judiciously applied caustic, which should just touch the hardened part of the corn, never the surrounding flesh. Repeat every other day, first soaking the feet in warm water and gently scraping the surface of the corn until it will finally come out altogether. Great care must be taken to keep the caustic from the whole flesh, and the foot should never be damp, as the application will spread rapidly. Such a course of treatment, patiently followed, has in several cases restored to quite passable shape and comfort feet that were considered as hopelessly deformed. -- Demorest's Monthly. . A Study In Mpat. The majority of people who buy meat depend, as to its quality, upon the statement of the man who sells it to them. A rich piece of meat, in their eyes, is no different from a poor piece. A tough steak or roast is not discovered until it comes on the table. And yet quality of meat can easily be told by running the finger over it. People can educate themselves in meat as well and as successfully as they can in art mat­ ters. If people would investigate this sub­ ject," said an expert, "they need never ask a butcher's opinion. Iiegard should be had for three things--color, grain, and the lines of fat. The color should be bright and red; the grain close, so that when the finger passes over it, a smooth, even surface presents itself, and the fat lines should lie fine and run all through the red flesh. "The flavor will be preserved and the tenderness and juiciness can be relied upon. The cook, however, often fights the butcher, and never fails to knock him out when he calls to his aid the seething-pot and the fryingpan. "Taking beef as the standard for butchers' wares, the best meat comes from New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, and Iowa. In the last three named, the cattle have good feeding and care and a short ride to the slaughter-pen before being dressed and sent East. A .Colo­ rado or Texas steer furnishes the poor­ est and least desirable meat that comes to New York. Yeal and mutton ? Well, veal properly cooked is as desirable a meat as ever finds its way into market, although it is generally considered to afford little nourishment and to be hard to digest. Mutton, when it has been allowed to liang three or four days, is also a wholesome meat. The antipathy of some people to it, I believe, results from their having at one time got hold of a leg of strong old sheep. While an old sheep is always rank, a young one is never so. There is also a great dif­ ference as to the kind of a sheep it is --a ewe or a wether. The wether is always the tenderest and the most finely fla­ vored; it stands in the same relation to mutton that capon does to poultry."-- New York Mail and Ea*press. Looking Into Politics. "A party leader," said liollo, looking up from the paper; "is he the man who leads the party?" "Well, something like that," said Hollo's Uncle George; "he is the man who lies awake nights trying", to guess which way the party wants to go, and when he finds out lie scoots across lots and tries to get there first; he leads the party unless the party should happen to change its mind and go tho other way; he leads the party the same as the leader in the stage team leads; he goes ahead, but lie goes the way the man on the box with the reins and whip tells him to go." Hollo said he thought he was begin- ing to see into politics as through a glass darkly, and Uncle George said that was the way old politicians usually look into 'em.--Brooklyn Eagle. How It Struck Hint. It was a little newly-arrived sister that nurse held in her armtpand 7- vear-old Bobbie stood jealously inspect­ ing her. To his mind she looked smaller and less attractive than any, little sister of the other boys that he could remem­ ber, and he felt a keen thrill of disap­ pointment. $o he put his hands deep in his pockets like papa, wrinkled up his nose, and regarding the new ac­ quaintance savagely, said: " Well, I call that pretty near a fail­ ure.--Detroit Free Pre**. A Hachine to Hake M««r- I turned the cows out, and as old Bess was a little slow in going I just caught her by the tail and gave her a switch with it to hurry her up a little. .I've been feeding old Bess off and on for five years, and I thought that she honored me and respected me, but suddenly in the twinkling of an eye and with malice aforethought she raised her hind leg and let fly at me with all her might. She hit me on the shin- bone, and you might have heard the collision for fifty yards. It hurt so bad I let go her tail prematurely and hol­ lered. It was a cowardly act of hers, but nevertheless I shall ever hereafter let those cows' tails alone. I thought from the report that the bone was bro­ ken, and I took on powerful and let Carl help me all the way to the house, but when I examined I found the bone ail right and only the epidermic cuticle abraded. I've lost Confidence in cows. They have no gratitude and no emo­ tions of an exalted character. They are not fit for pets. A horse belongs to the nobility, but a cow is a scriib. She has about as much aftection as a mule. She is a machine to manufacture milk, and that is all. Nevertheless I never like to sell my cattle to the butcher. I never kill one for my own use, and I never want to eat a beefsteak that comes from one of my own raising. Now, hogs are very different. I have no lingering affection^ for a live hog. I can see a fat one killed with perfect indifference. It is his nature to be killed. He had just as lief be killed as not. There is no at-? traction about him, no beauty or come­ liness, no traits of character, but after he is dead and dressed and dis­ sected there is a greater variety of good things about him than about any other animal. There is backbone and sparerib and sausage and hog's feet and hog's head and brains and jowl and tur­ nip greens and souse and lard and cracklin bread and middling and ham and shoulder, and they are all good and yet all different in taste and satisfac­ tion. Well the other morning I went down to feed the hogs, and as I was throwing the corn over in the pen the old cots- wold ram jumped in to divide the breakfast, and as he was butting the hogs around lively I picked up a little stick and climbed over the low fence to chastise him and make him depart those coasts. I had some little hesitation about this business, and proceeded slowly and shook the stick at him. He just stepped backward a little and bowed his neck and doubled up his fore-feet and made a lunge at me, and would have knocked me clean over the fence, but I (was over before he got to me. I was as mad as Julius Caesar, and I grabbed up a fence rail and stood out­ side and punched him until he jumped out where he jumped in. The Good Book say that man shall have dominion over the beasts of the field, but it looks like mine are in a state of rebellion, and are trying to have dominion over me.--Bill Arp. in Atlanta Constitution. Going to Bed. Speaking of how a man goes to bed, an exchange says: "There's where a man has the advantage. He can un­ dress and have his bed warm before a woman has her hairpins out or her shoes untied." This is how it looks in print, and this is how it looks in reality: "I am going to bed, my dear, it is 10:30." No reply, "Now, John, you are always late in the morning. Do go to bed." "Yes, in a minute," he re­ plies, as he turns the paper wrong side out and begins a lengthy article headed "The Louisiana Muddle." Fif­ teen minutes later she calls oiit from the bedroom; "John, come to bed and don't keep the gas burning here all night," and, murmuring something about "the bill being big enough now," she creeps beneath the cold sheets, while John sits placidly on, his feet across the piano stool and a cigar in his mouth. By and by he rises, vr vns, stretches himself, throws the paper on the floor and .proceeds to that vigorous exercise, shaking the coal stove. Just at this stage a not altogether pleasant voice inquires: "For pity's sake, ain't you ready for bed yet?" "Yes, yes, I'm coming; why don't you go to sleep and let a fellow ajone?" Then he dis­ covers .there is coal needed. When that is supplied and rattled into the stove he sits down to warm his feet. Next he slowly begins to undress, and as he stands scratching himself and ab­ sently gazing on the last garment dangling over tho back of the chair, he remembers that the clock is not wound yet. When this is attended to he wants a drink of water, and away he promenades to the kitchen. Of course, when he returns, his skin resembles- that of a picked chicken, and once more he seats himself before the fire for the last warm-up. As tho clock strikes 12 lie turns put the gas and with a flop of the bed-clothes and a few spasmodic shivers he subsides--no, not yet; he forgot to see if the front door was locked, and another flop from the bed-clothes brings forth the remark: "Good gracious, if that man ain't enough to try the patience of Job! Set­ ting her teeth hard, she awaits tho final flop, with the accompanying blast of cold air, and then quietly inquires if he is settled for the night, to which he replies by muttering: "If you ain't thfo provokingest woman"--Eastern Argus. Evidence Indisputable* Winks--Do you believe the spirits of the departed can communicate with the living ? Jinks--Yes, I have had absolute proof JBFIWW. IOC A FORD WARPS\ ROCK- FORD FLOUR, ROCK- FORD HOSIERY. sure as I'm alive she gave me amessl from my wife's first husband." "In his writing?" "Oh, no!" "Did you see him or hear him talk ?" "No, the medium just told me what he said." "Nonsense; then what proof have you lhat the communication was genuine?" "He said he was sorry for me."-- Omaha World. IN his youth Labouchere was in the diplomatic service, and was for some time the attacho of the British Legation at Washington. A visitor called one day at the legation to see the British Minister. "He is not in," said Labouchere. "Never mind; I'll take a seat and wait till he comes." The vis­ itor was handed a chair, on which he sat for about an hour, when he became rather restive and consulted his watch. "Look here," said he, "I can't wait for­ ever ; how much longer will he be?" "Well," said the impudent attache, "he left for Canada this after­ noon, and I expect him back in about six weeks." HTH ASP POISE A BIBB, wagon--a hearse.'. f •, LIGHT labor--cleaning latftpK A GAME leg--hindquarters* of vensioa. THE bounds of reason--jumping atH; conclusions. THE telephone Operator hu a perpefcf- ual holler-day. THE mathematician's favorite season is the sum-mer. The miljtman's is the •pring. 5 THE young lady who habitually uses powder on her cheeks is in danger , of having them blasted. THE fashionable overcoats and their wearers remind one of the se&ihore--^ capes and heavy swells. • You may set a thief to catch a thief; but if you set a hen you expert some day to catch a spring chicken. • ONE of the queer tilings of life .is that the man who knows it 0*11 seldom can tell any of it to anybody's satisfac­ tion--Journal of Education. HE makes faces and busts," says somebody to the- Judge, speaking of an artist- Having seen some of the faces should think he would.--The Judye, , THEBE are nine muses known to taiaS.. , But when a ball clnb of a game Become the losers, " ' > there, just the s*m«u -,,1nhfe nine muaer®. ; r ». « -*Tid Bits. • f! tjfcl'AHDi.ADY on tho Wabash * ; * 30n a barber was making a math: ii But whew! she was mod, , ' •< And the boarders were gMwt . IT there is one thing a woman cannot do besides throw a stone it is to tell a conundrum without forgetting either the question or the answer.--Lowell Citizen. SAILORS should always carry a little Western Union stock about them. Then if they get wrecked and without water they can squeeze the stock. -- New Haven News. Or the 408 men who make up Con­ gress only 288 are connected with churches, remarks the Advertiser. A great responsibility has been lifted from the churches.--Lynn Bee. AN up-town merchant said to A farmer: dollar will go further than it used tp." "Yes," the farmer quickly replied, "and it makes the distance in quicker time."--Hudson Republican. "IF there is anything I like better than classical music," said Maj. Bran- ningan in a high voice, as he moved with the throng out of the QQncert-room, "it's lemons. They both set mv teeth on edge. "--San Francisco Post. SHE (at a ball)--How gracefully that foreign-looking gentleman dances, and how genteelly he crooks his little finger in the air. He---Yes, he gets that crook from his profession. She--Is he an artist? He--Yes, a tonsorial artist.-- New York Sun. KLINKS--Did you go to the charity ball ? Blinks--No, I was very anxious, indeed, to help the poor, but found I couldn't afford it. "You couldn't?" - "No; after paying $100 for a suitable /sostume I hadn't money enough left to buy a ticket." "But, if I remember, that was your trouble last year." "Just the same." "What became of the dress suit you bought then?" "The moths ate it up."-- Omaha World. AN old farmer in Beadfield had a rough family of boys many years ago. One day when he had some company in the fore room a tremendous uproar was heard in the kitchen. It was evident that a fearful row was in progress. A boy broke into the room crying: "Father, Jim is killing Bill!" The old man waved him blandly away with his hand, saying: "Let the lambs play! Let the lambs play!"--Dexter (Me.) Gazette. THAT fine old Anglo-American or Americo-Englishman, R S-- used to tell at his dinner-table in Lon­ don this story of a very celebrated Eng­ lish General. 1 The military hero was once dining with Mr. S when a stray mouse was seen running to and fro, looking for a hiding place. With one spring the General was on his chair-- with another on the table. Amid much laughter the host rose and proceeded in the direction of the mouse. "Oh! stop, S ," shouted the man of war; "for Heaven's sake don't exasperate him!" --Harper's Bazar. Medicine for tbe Mind. , ; It is easier to believe an ill report than to inquire into the truth thereof. Sorrow seems sent for our instruc­ tions, as we darken the cages of birdj when we would teach them to sing. It is sometimes difficult to say which works more mischief, enemies with the worst or friends with the best inten­ tions. As the medical properties of some plants can be adduced only by distilla­ tion, so our good qualities can only be proved by tria^. Life at the greatest and best is but a forward child that must be humored and coaxed a little till it falls asleep and then all is over. Apathy is one of the worst moral dis­ eases ; it incapacitates ns from combat- ' ing the encroachments of vice, and closes every avenue of our seuls to the approach of virtue. When we are laboring under a physical malady we see everything through a distorted medium; we are no longer masters of ourselves, but the victims of a distempered imagination.-- Good Housekeeping. Instinct* Prof. J. S. Newberry gives a most marked illustration of what appears to be development of instinct approaching reason in one of tho low forms of life. The grub of the seventeen-pear locust buries itself deep in the ground, and only emerges after its period of seven­ teen years is ended. At Ran way, N. J., a house had been erected above a spot where 'some of these grubs had buried themselves. At the expiration of {heir period the grubs started on their way to the surface, but emerged into the cellar, where they were yet in the dark. In order to reach the light they com­ menced building small structures, and when first noticed the floor of the cellar was found covered with small, cones, some of them more than six inches high, which these cicades had built in their evertious to traverse the dark cavity to the light above ground. At the Yariety Show. He--Yes, I think men are more con­ siderate than women. She--What makes you think so ? He--Well, you see that young lady in front of us? She wears a high- crowned hat, and the man behind her can't see over it. She--1 see. He--Now you see the qaan in front of her who is so earnestly watching pretty girl in tights. She--Well? He--He is so considerate of those lie- hind him that he does not even wear his hair, let lone his hat.--Boston Courier. , - * * V, T