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VAH SLYKE, Editor and Pub. ILLINOIS THE NIGHTINGAUTS SONO. !*»• eve was culm and still, •Mm u-isrts ltuiiLeil t«m$ QtMmoo.i iu JiiBd UkJ till Gleamed oh t he silver VtH' ?C:" C*«r the drowsy earth, . • Umier the i:i<!onb<>aHi6 pal*, A J»fftlc Bong iiaii birth. " " !» In the b«nrt of tlae nightiOfft)*, ri -f |jjk« a batd inspired she sang i Of love and iha heart's unFMt, f tike a moruing carol rang j y" *.< The thou slits of her jo.voixB brsasfc While the <iov ou her nest was bright, And the In ifiht stars burned abov% She sang to tlie infant night Of the golden dawn of love. And I said to my beating heart, •'Be still!" for"the minstrel Bird '; Bad torn its wound apart,. And its gushing fountain stirr'd 'y ; •'Ah, l ove, I/ove, Love!" I cried, Under the moonbeams pale. When -that mystic music died In the throat of the nightingale. ^-Longman's Magazine. A QUEER BARGAIN. ii |£ "Well, y°u fee, said Cousin Sally »i<«n tho rnilr/Md Wntll* & h - tame along here with their queer |V 'lookingmachines, a-layin' out the I * »ew track, we were all mightly exer- tM t fcised about it. Some took one view k t and some another. Some was pleased, ;i( , **" fcnd said 'twould open up a market V/" to us and increase the rally o' land, While others allowed that the farms would be ruined, the wheat fields set tiliie, the cattle run over and killed, and the noise itself be an abidin' Boosance. : ^ "I tell you some of 'em was real Jihad, but the maddest of the hull lot *as ondeuiably Betsey Ann Simcoe. - She was a single wo&an, about ibrty or more, and lived on a poor little place of her own, just a bote the C.oss Keys tavern. , 'Twas only two or three acres of gravelly land, with a two-room frame House on it. Folks said she had a Jeetle money hid away somewhere, for she was powerful sharp at making bargains and held a titrht grip on all •he cot hold of; but. all the same, she made a great talk about poverty as an excuse for hot giving more to (he m ssionary society and for repairs to the meeting bouse. Still she seerued to <ret along as Well as anybody with her garden and her mind to something she didn't choose to talk about just yet At last the road was finished, and on* day everybody turned out to tee the Injlne for the fust time as it tore and screeched up to Cross Keys, Betsey Ann Simcoe looked on with a smile of triumph as if the hull con­ cern belonged to her. Every tiqie the train passed she came out and looked at it till *he got used to see- tntr it. and hearing its unearthly noise. And then one day she tyk her little white heip along, and got aboard the cars and roae to tbe next station, as she said to see how It felt and how she like 1 it. Next week she Went again as fur as Cloverdale, and a lit­ tle while arter made another trip, 'long with her cousin, Lucindy Parks, clear up to the city. Purty soon she got to be known to all the railroad folks along the line, and there was no end to the jokes about her. - ^ "By gosh " says old Mr. Potter to one of the conductors one day, "I'm thinking you'll hev to tlx up a car for her special 'commodation, if it goes on this way much longer." The conductor smiled. >'• ••Oh," be answerd, "it'*a novelty to her at present, but we don't objec'. When her curiosity's gratified she'll V\t\ r • r»r\> trs <* ot 11 r> Hrv**?r\ n * Vinmrt again, and talk over her travels." •'Well, she did stay quiet for a week or two, and then toon again to rid­ ing on the rail. First she went to Cloverdale to buy a tin kittle for 10 cents, whifch, she said was Ta saving of 5 cents from gittin' it at Cross Keys. Then she lett her gai at home and tuck Lucindy Parks along all tbe way to tbe city to sell her eggs and buy a caliker gdwnd; and so it went on all summer. '•Oh, never mind," says the con- ] due tor, smiling a hard kind of smile, •'she'll get tired of traveling after a j while." But she didn't seem to get tired. On the contrary, she took to making ! regular trips, taking along first one i person and then another, until the conductors got to looking as grum as bears; and even the firemen and en- jineers scowled or laughed time she appeared One en ineer used to let off a fearful screech o' the b'iler when he seen her comin'; but after the lust scare she got used to it and tuk no notice Once when she was late, aud 'the conductor started the train just as she and Lu- golng a hraband Keys? BeMe^ Ann Wells never went on the raila attain except onoe or twice with her husband, paying her own fare. •• Once she told the conductor that, spite of everything the company had done, she'd got the best of the bar­ gain--a good husband and money enough to make him and her com­ fortable for life --Waverly Maflranine, HE~S TRUCK OIL. ONCE. Wittea Kxplittns the Itoet a* Now m * Fortune IVparly Uncountable. "I see petroleum has been discov­ ered up in Marin County and a com­ pany is buying up all the land in the neighborhood," remarked a rancher at a down-town hotel last evening, and it was noticed that there was a tinge of incredulity in his tone* "Yes; I believe they have struck oil vp that way," was the corrobora­ tive evidence of one of his hearers. ••Well, I'll believe It when they commence piping it into tanks, and before. 1 struck oil fcer cow and her poultry, and the lit- f'0<ly, p"k? ' .!h° <r:i1 ciw* .nLtiili t.hfl ! threatened to sue the company if it happened again. They knew she'd keep her word, so they were obliged to be on their good behavior to her. So she kept it up all the first year or two. Her way was to get aboard with her female companion, whoever it might be, and jea* fix brself com­ fortable near the stove or at a win­ der, 'cording as it was summer or winter, and thar sit and knit the tie gal she'd 'prenticed from the itty's poorbouse to help to do chores. She wasn't a bad-tempered woman in gen'ral, but 1 tell you she was mighty riled up the day the railrcad folks come to her house and told her they were surveyin' the track and that it would hev to run straight through her house. She tared up to them and 'lowed the property was hers, and nobody . , . „ . had a right to so much as set a foot; wbole journey through , . ^ I Sho'n oarrv nnn tvnm «m it without her consent. They were civil enough and explained, and the) said they was willing to pay Ifouble the vally of the hull property |or the privilege of running the rail- V toad through. She wouldn't hear it, but out o' aheer contrariness refused every offer, though everybody could see that her •aouth watered at the very mention • #1 the money. 1% She said she'd never give up her j tome and if they run their injine j ^hrouRh the house t'would be over ! ;M--;|ker mangled body. And she wound * *p by threatenine if they didn't quit i|n a short time, she'd have them ar­ rested for trespass on her premises. • ^ Well, the next day she went down to Hobb's Holler to see her cousiu, j ' I, * <$jucindy Parks, and talk over the j' ~ y\ |ai,lroad business. Lucindy and the I jut / rest tried to convince her she'd get I - I* ^ the best o' the bargain by letting the | §£ 4 railroad company have the land, but §f« w she 'lowed she'd not be turned out 4 ^oors 'commodate a passel o' k» sassy men folks that cared for noth- jfe ^ jng but their own good." She stayed days at Lucinuy's, and then w. nt "-hack to her own house at Cross Keys. • t lieastways, she went to where she'd ~ • - left her house standing, but when L - ^Kshe come in sight of it,'twas gone, ; , 4 /w-and nothin'of it left butraloto' ^. ,'^.;."burnt wood and ashes. ' Then there was a row! Betsey Ann I? 1 f '^accused the railroad folks of burning K; i ̂ ^ tier house, and threatened to perse- 5 cnte 'em by law. They said they could prove it by tbe neighbor? that accidentally by a Ipassel o' tramps who camped on the j sensible wife he'd always wanted, it she couid only bring herself to fancy fancy him as he did her. •J ' Si f -It had been done 0$' ' '4a jplace the night she was away, and |gf v Wade a tire in the woodshed to roast ^ v( Koine of her chickens for supper. The v f' ^ chips had caught and set Are to the ' house, then they got skeered and ^ i; made short tracks out o' Cross Keys. g|; ff r , Betsey Ann was convinced the rail- fp I i ,-road folks knew more about these ir v vtramp3 than they phose to let on. But she didn't say much--only ; 11 dropped a little hint that she'd be :V . even with them bimeby. They offered to build her another liouse if she'a give up the land. She said she'd consider of it and let 'em Iknow. Purty soon they come to an ^agreement by which, besides paying well fdr the land, they was to build her a twu-story, four-room frame 'house, and likewise allow her to " ^travel free on the road for the rest of 3ier life whenerer she wanted to, with "|a female companion along. At first they objected to the < com­ panion; but when she explained that she was a lone woman and couldn't think of exposing herself to the at­ tentions of strange men by travel­ ling unprotected, they laughed and ; agreed to put in that in the condition , too, which was done, and the papers made out and signed and sealed ac- i cording to law. Yon see they heard the neighbors laughing at the idea of Miss Simcoe ever traveling on the ! railroad--she that has hardly been I farther from home than Hobbs' Hol­ ler or Bowling Green meetin' house ' in all her life, and wasmost afeard to i trust herself out o'sight of her own ! ?;k- A /$$§&' house. i Well, the company kepttheir word, 1 and run up a two story, four-room frame house for Betsey Ann---sech as it was. She declared that 'twas' nothing better than a shanty, that wouldn't keep out the summer's heat nor the winter's cold and was liable to be blown away by the first high wind that came along. The company aid they hadn't stipulated for the act way the house was to be built; they'd done the best they could afford d, and she ought to be satisfied, shut up then, aud sot her jaw in She'd carry one woman up, maybe, and bring another down, and at last it came out that she was making a regular business of it. with folks that wanted to visit the town or country, they paying her half or a quarter the regular fare on what was passed on on the railroad folks for a free trip. The company interfered then, and said something about stopping it by law; but she 'lowed they hadn't stip- erlated about any business matters o' hern, and she was keeping to the let­ ter of the agieeaientk Then they tried to buy her off. but she said she was satisfied as things was and wanted no change. Still, it was clear that she was not only mak­ ing money for herself, but keeping the company out of it There was one injineer named Wella on one of the train , and bime­ by, when this had been going on a matter of four or five years, Betsey Ann himcoe noticed that he always tetched his cap and looked at her in a soft, spoony sort o' way when­ ever he seen her. One day, when she was standing on tbe bank h^ Hung a bokey of pinks and bachelder buttons to her feet, and another time pitched her apoupd of candy. Then he handed her a newspaper with some verses in it marked with charcoal--something about bis heart beintr captivated by a lady •'over tbe way" that he'd never spoke to; and at Jast came a letter, saying as how he'd been interested in her ever since he'd seen her so olten on tbe cars, and he was sure she would make him the good, clever, not a minute once " "Is that the way you made your fortune?" ? « ••Yes, that's the way I made my fortune, which at the present time just lacks $2,000 of being a blamed cent. Those are my liabilities; as­ sets nominal, as the papers say." ••How did it happen?" » ••Well, it was this way: Jl bad a mineral spring on my ranch up»in Lake County, ana the gas that came out of it used to kill little birds that came to drink. 'Natural gas,' says 1 and commenced poking around a little with a spade. Then a yellow, jrreasy scum formed on top of the wa­ ter. 'Coaloil,' says I and commenced dreaming of tanks of petroleum and barrels of money. 1 got a cheap drill­ ing outfit and bored a hole down about eighty feet, and all the neigh­ bors sat around laughing at me, but 1 reckoned on having the last laugh. • •One morning when I went to work the hole smelt awful strong of coal oil, and the first lift brought up a lot of oil that burned for half an hour. 'I've struck oil,' says 1 to my- j self, but I kept it quiet. I let a few j of my friends in, we organized a | company, bought up all the land j around there, got an expensive out- i fit, and commenced drilling. We j punched the ground full of holes for about six months and couldn't find enough Oil to make a grease spot on a silk dress, it broke tbe whole crowd of u&" "How did you chance to strike that little pocket of oil in the first place?" "1 just found out that one of tbe neighbor's boys poured a live-gallon can of coal oil in the hole one night to make me feel good, and, if any­ body should ask you, you can tell them that I am feeling a blamed sight better than he is right now, for his dad went broke on It, too, and we took turn about walloping him." --San Francisco PosU ®if Well. 6he answered theletter,and a meeting was fixed; but meantime one o' the railroad chaps stepped in and told her that Wells was getting so dissipated that the company talked of discharging hlni, but that she might be able to save him by stiperlating that she'd marry him only on condition that he'd give up going to barrooms He considered of It and said he would if she'd promise likewise to give up her railroad traveling and stay at home and uaake it comfort­ able and agreeable for kto and her. So they both put It down in black and white, and got witnesses to itr and took oath to keep their words, and then they was married. Of course Bet,gey Ann Weils stayed at home now, and set about doing all she could to make it pleasant for her husband. She had plenty of time to do it in, for h& didn t make his ap­ pearance, there once a month,skeerse- ly; and at last she found out that it was ail a put up job of the com­ pany's who'd bribed Wells with $000 to marry her and get her off the road for good. He was a rectcless sort of a chap, but not baJ, and bad always been as sober and free from barrooms as a judge. Betsey Ann was awful cut up when | she found it all out, for she'd set her I heart on him, as old maids are apt : to set their hearts on the first man i that pretends to keer for 'em. V She didu't say nothing, even to ; Lucindy Parks, but went right along j doing the best she could to make it I pleasant for her husband whenever he came to see her. And at last, when he met with an accident from a collision on the road, and had to be laid up for weeks before he got well attain, she bad him from the hospital and nursed him as tender and keer- ful as a mother does her ailing baby. And would you believe it, that In time she brought the man round to be ashamed of the trick he'd played Tbe Dos ana the Breeches. In the Sportsman's Annual it is re­ corded that a Suffolk gentleman, being on an excursion with a friend, and having a Newfoundland dog also ac­ companying him, the animal soon be­ came the subject of conversation, when his master told his friend that tbe dog would, upon receiving the order, return and bring any article' left at any distance. To confirm this assertion a marked shilling was put under a large stone by the roadside--having been pre­ viously shown to the dog. The two friends then rode tor three miles, when the dog received his master's signal to return for the shilling he had seen put under the stone. The dog turned back, and the gentlemen reached home, but to their surprise and disappointment tbe hitherto faithtul messenger did not return during the day. It afterward appeared that he had gone to the place where the shilling was deposited, but tbe stone being too large for his strengeh to remove, he ha:l stayed howling at the place till two horseman, riding by, and at­ tracted by his seeming distress, stopped to look at him; when one of them, alighting, removed the stoue, and seeing the shilling put it into his pockct, not at the time knowing it to be the objecc of the dog's search. The dog followed their horses for twenty miles, remained undisturbed in the room where they supped, fol­ lowed tbe chambermaid into the bed­ room, and secreted himself under one of the beds. The possessor of the shilling hung his breeches up by the bedside; but when the travelers were both asleep the doz took the garment in his mouth, and, leaping out of the win­ dow, which was left open on account of the sultry heat, reached the house of his mastor at 4 o'clock in the morning with the prize he had made free with, and in {he pockets of which were found a watch and money, that were returned upon being advertised; when the whole mystery was unraveled, to the ad< miration of them all. AN IMPORTANT RULINO, IBuqr Chlldne State* by sad BAM. flame TlettiaM'UftMi Mattered Car and Wide. Employer &l»bl« for Dam**** tojareil by Another's Vara* Two trains on the Erie approaching each other froar oppo­ site directions, were both grtitljr be* bind time, and were running qq special orders, from station to sta­ tion, sent by the train dispatcher at Hornellsville. About as the day dis- was leavlmr jiftd rhn flight- dispatcher was coming on, both trains were waiting at different sta- j tions for orders. The night dls-1 patcher asked the retiring day dis- i patcher to give the orders, which was j small oxen a poor man Only for Royal Person aael:|-; There seems to be a enrious restH& tion existing in Berlin to hamper the designers of monumental sculpture. Only lloyal personages are allowed to be commemorated by equestrian statues; meaner mortals have to be content with being on foot. Atten­ tion has been called to this matter in consequence of the wish expressed by members of the committee responsi­ ble for the erection of tbe national j tribute of regard for Bismarck, that their great fellow-countryman should be represented mounted on horse­ back. Some <£60,000 has been col­ lected for this moument; and there is naturally a desire that it should be made as important as possible; but the regulations appears to be im­ mutable, and no departure from the usual custom is to be allowed, > done. At a later hour the night dis­ patcher, having forgotten the ordjsr sent by the day dispatcher at his re­ quest, directed one of tbe trains to proceed beyond a station where it' was waiting to meet the other. The order was obeyed, a collision resulted, and the fireman was terribly hurt, losing both legs and suffering other injuries. • r - The old doctrine of law Is that a master-la not responsible for injctrlea caused to a servant through the neg­ ligence of a fellow servant. This is still held to be the law where the servants are of equal rankand neither ts working under t,he orders ot t.he other. If six men are handling a bar of railroad iron, and by the care­ lessness of one it f^lls and smashes the foot; of another, the employer is not liable. But in several States it- has been held that--where the employes are not equal in rank, but one is work­ ing under the orders of another--if tbe inferior employe is injured through tbe negligence of the su­ perior, the employer is liabla The superior employe represents the em­ ployer, and his act is the employer's act. The boss of a gang of bands in the "vice principal" of their common employer, to use a technical term in law. 4 • In the Brie Rail road case tbe train dispatcher sent the order, signing the division superintendent's name over his own initials, according to the usage of the company. He repre­ sented the company, and was the su­ perior of the fiieman who was in­ jured. His act was the company's act. This decision derives additional in­ terest from the fact that the opinion was written by Judge iiufus W. Peck- ham, who is regarded justly as one of the ablest and most enlishtened jur­ ists in tbe United States. He de. clared that the doctrine was not free from diiriculty, especially in many cases in determining whether one employe is superior in authority to the other. But this he regarded as mainly a matter of fact to be settled by the jury. The principle was cor­ rect. In some ten States of the Union the highest courts have held to this rule of law, and in one case it has been affirmed by the Supreme Court pf the United Stales. In the case of" a claim for damages against a Wis­ consin railroad company a locomotive engineer, having been injured by fol­ lowing the orders of the conductor of the train--a superior employe--the federal Supreme Court gave final judgment against the railroad com­ pany. In Illinois and other S tates there have been repeated efforts to procure legislation making employers liable in all cases for damages in case of In­ jury to employes caused by the negli­ gence of co-employes, even if of equal authority. But it has been thought that this was carrying the principle too far. Of course, if it should be embodied in a law it would apply to all employers alike, individuals and firms, Ss well as corporations. The Eccentric Passenger. v A grisly story was related yesterday by a guest at the Weddell House, Who bad just returned from a trip across the ocean. He was G. C. Koh- ler of Akron, who has spent the last months iti Enrope. Mr. Kobler re­ turned last week, reaching New York by the L/loyd steamer Maasdam on Saturday. "It was on the return trip," he said, ••and among the pas­ sengers was a man whose intellect bad suffered impairment, and who was .constantly watcbed|by an attend­ ants It was bis custom to sit at table, during meal time, and gaze at the ceiling for long periods, occasion­ ally taking a mouthful of food. The iast|meal we took with lilm was marked by a circumstance which was far from being pleasant •The dinner was over and the ladies had left tbe table, a few gen­ tlemen remaining to smoke and have a good time together. The strange passenger was at his uspal recreation, evidently trying to look a hole in the ceiling. The enjoyment of the little party was long continued. The stew­ ard entered the room presently, and after waiting at one side a short time asked us If we were not ready to leave the saloon, as we bad evidently finished our dinner. One of the party answered that 6o far as he knew we were willing to remain at the table for some time yet. 4Very well then,' said the steward, 'we will do what we came in to da' ••He motioned to thedoor, and sev­ eral men came in with a mattress, which was laid upon tbe floor. What did they do then but take hold of our friend, h; of the disturbed intellect, and lift him out of his chair and lay him on the stretcher. They com­ posed his limbs and covered bis face and carried him out of the room, while we stood speechless Then we discovered that he had died during the meal, sitting bolt upright in his chair, and as it had been thought that no one would notice the fact he had not been disturbed until the room was nearly empty. We did not continue our jollity any longer that day."--Cleveland Leader. if irn In UN*nda, wbeIff no recently .extaUd, aha may obtained for half a do*en needles, or a coat, or a pair of shoes. An or­ dinary price is a box of percussion Daps. In other pasts, a goat or a couple of buckskins will buy a glrL Passing to Asia, we find her price is sometimes five to fifty rouples, or at others, a carload of wood or hay. A. princess may be purchase for 3,000 roubles. In Tartary, a woman can be obtained for a few pounds of but­ ter. or where a rich man gives twenty may succeed M with a pig. In Fija, her equivalent Is a whale's tooth or a musket These, aqd similar prices elsewhere, are eloquent testimony to the little value a savage sets on his wif» > Turkish Women. The lives of Turkish women are dull and monotonous in the extreme, but Friday, being the day they go to mosque or to visit their cemeteries, they often take that opportunity to look at the soldiers passing by. writes an American tourist On the Bech- iktache road you see numbers of them squatted on tbe curbstone, where they remain for hours, chatting and a.hnnt, fch«nv Tho'r wv«r» «* pretty picture en masse, with their bright dresses of every hue--harmony of color is unknown in Turkey--and they carry parasols, which are also of tbe gayest colors. They must be much attached to their parasolf, for you never see them --even as late as 8 or 9 o'clock at night--but they have their parasols open, getting shade from something. It cannot be the sun. No flatterer could call Turkish women either pretty or elegant for they are simply a mass of clothing without shape, They have very large feet, clad in white cotton stockings, and they walk badly; so that their charms--no doubt they have many--only become known on acquaintance. The "yash­ mak" is a very handsome addition to their attire; it makes the plainest woman look nice. You sometimes get rather a shock when it is taken off, so many women bear the traces ot smallpox. Their bills for cosmetics must often be a little startling; hands, feet, hair, eyes, and complexion arc generally "improved," according to their ideas. To see the soles of their feet, the nails and palms of their bands, dyed brown with henna, is the reverse of pretty, and the beauty of orange-col­ ored hair i fail to perceive. They al­ ways tell Franks that only in Tur* key 40 you see beautiful womwfc Affection of Animals.' At Beyrouth was noticed for some time that two goats always kept close together, one being especially watched and guarded by the other. On in­ spection it was shown that one goat was blind, and its companion, evi­ dently knowing this, attached itself to its poor, afflicted friend and acted as its guide, showing untiring watch­ fulness and care. If any difficulties had to be overcome, or any precipices to be avoided, the faithful friend was certain to be seen at the side of the blind goat, tenderly guiding it. This went on for several months. But one day it was noticed that the blind goat was left to its own devices and quite forsaken by its former compan­ ion. How was this? Had the faith­ ful friend in affliction grown weary of its self-imposed charge? No, the blind goat had recovered its sight, and therefore aid was unnecessary. In the same neighborhood trout were reared, and they were trans­ ferred, according to their age, from smaller reservoirs relreshed by a run­ ning stream. A naturalist took great iirterest in these fish and fed them from a long handled spoon. Soon all the trout regularly waited bis arrival and stormed the eagerly- looked-for spoon. But there was one poor fish wh ch was either pushed aside or missed its way to the point ot attraction. It was blind. At last one of its companions took pity on it, led it up to the ladle, and saw that it obtained a share of tbe feasU--rCM^at Thoughts. * Practical. Sweet is sympathy, and thrice wel­ come are kind words, but there are times when the heart craves recogni­ tion more substantial. In a Western city, not long ago, a gentleman was surprised to recognize tbe face of a person who was bawx- Ing shoestrings and button-hooks on a street corner as that of one of his rem mental comrades In the war. He went up to tile man, greeted him warmly, and assured him of his sym- pithy. He was much grieved he said, to see an old soldier in such a case. When he had expressed himself at some length in this manner, he was suddenly interrupted by his former acquaintance. "I'm much obliged for your pity," he remarked dryly, "but how many pairs of shoestrings will you buy?" The Salary or Queen Victoria. The Queen gets about the smallest salary of any sovereign o* a great power. All told she receives from tbe State £38p,000, or about $1,925,- OOOi Sixty thousand pounds of this go to the "privy purse," which, how­ ever, is drawn on for other than pocket money. The salaries of the "household" come to £131,260, and their expenses to £172,500; the royal bounty amounts to £13,000, and con­ tingencies £8,040 allotted to them, so very little of the Queen's salary is at her own individual disposal. She is believed to have a large private fortune, though the members of tbe Parliamentary Commission which ex­ amined into the matter say that it is not so large as they had expected, and is really not so much for a sovereign to own, after all. y she had when she'd made up ( her and to be jest as steady and easy Stump Speeches. | Just after the last Russo-Turkish war, the author of "An Englishman in Paris" happened to have some bus iness to transact with a well-known maker of surgl;al appliances and, while be and a friend were talking to one of the members of tbe firm, they noticed a number of wooden legs be­ ing packed for consignment to Con­ stantinople "Rather an eloquent protest against tbe war," said the member of tbe firm, pointing to the cases. "Yes," replied Mr. Vandam's friend, "they are stump speeches." IT is a good plan while waiting for your ship to come in, to kill time by going to work to earn something. . • 4 THE caoitol at Washington, it is said, has cost the country $30,000,000 to build and keep in repair. girl boy The Price or a Wife. Ib the earliest times of purchase a Woman was bartered for useful goods or for services rendered to her father. In the lattor way Jacob purchased llachel and her sisier Leah. This was a Beena marriage, where a man, as in Genesis, leaves his father and his mother and cleaves unto his wife and they become one flesh or kin-- the woman's. The price of a bride in British Columbia and Vancouver Is­ land varies from £20 to £40 worth of articles. In Oregon an Indian gives for a wife horses, blankets, or buffa­ lo robe ; In California shell money or horses; in Africa, cattle. A poor The hight of a. full/ grown man Damara will sell a daughter for one { should be three and a half times that cow; a richer Katfir expects from I at his birth. IN buying presents, give something she can wear, and something he can eat A WESTERN man never thinks he iB doing well unless he has an offset to every bill he owes. - ^ aS ll has dona ftWBi the ifeitoiijiir ̂ his­ tory. Children have thtt* iicolar market price, which varies according to the prosperity or adversity of tbe times. In general, a small boy be­ low the age of 10 will bring from *5 to 825. while a little ajyi nf t.bc sa?;;c age will command from SiO to ijOQ. In warm climates little folks do much of their playing after tbe sun has gone down and the intense beat of the day is over. Then is the time for the pirate child stealer. The trade flourishes chiefly ou the larger streams and rivers where the children are stolen, apd in the great cities, Where they are sold. The fate of these poor little cap­ tives is not so bad as might be sup­ posed. Most of the boys are bought for adoption by Chinese families who have no son, and who, in adopting them, give them(all the rights which a natural son would have. Others are sold as man servants, who, In the main, are very well treated. The female children do not have as happy a lot One-third are sold to be­ come ladies' maids and house slaves, to bo hmnrrht. nn . bines, and one-third for the most im­ moral purposes. There is hardly an abandoned woman in all of China buc what owns one or more of these so- called "pocket daughtera." The penalty for child stealing is decapitation-, but it is very seldom in­ flicted. The pirates who are arrested generally get out upon the plea that the child was lost or sold to them by some impoverished parent. This, with the addition of a handsome sura paid to the magistrate, together with the lack of positive proof on the part of the prosecution, usually insures their acquittal and honorable dis­ charge. Now and then they run across an upright judge who cannot be cor- rupted nor intimidated, and then it fares hard with them. One of this sort, is the present Hat-fang-tin of Amoy city, who on one occasion be­ headed five pirates found guilty of child stealing, notwithstanding they were men of considerable influence and wealth. After they were be­ headed their features were e <pused to public view on the city gate, across one of the great thoroughfares of the place, with the simple statement be­ neath, on a red placard, reciting their names and offense. Another inexorable judge was the late Admiral Fung of bwatow Fu- klen. On one occasion his men raid­ ed an establishment in which there were thirty inmates, men and wo­ men, and twelve or fifteen little chil­ dren. The Admiral tried the case with unusual celerity, and the mo­ ment that the testimony for the pros­ ecution was in he turned to the cap­ tain of his guard and said: "Take all these people out in the hack yard and chop their heads off. I see they all want to talk to me, but my time is so important to tbe State that I can­ not afford to waste any of it in listen ing to their remarks." - Carrying Gold at Sea. The specie locker on an ocean steamer is a carefully constructed vault, and is located in the stern im. mediately over the screw. It has the shape of a half oval, following the contour of the side of the vessel, and is generally about six feet in its ex­ treme from top to bottom. Some vaults are fifteen or twenty feet in length, fore and aft. The interior is reached by a door or hatchway from the topt simply large enough to give convenient access. This door is of steel, and has a combination lock, which is known only to the purser. Over this hatch is also fastened three bars of steel two aud one half inches thick, which swing at one end on hinges, and are locked and also bolted at the other. The locker it will be seen, is in the most suitable location in the ship away from the crew, and cannot be tampered with, as on three sides of it is the sea. The purser re­ ceives the gold, carefully examines tbe seals, then checks off the weights and assumes the responsibility for it. Gold is shipped in bags holding $5,0(;0 or in kegs of $.50,00. When in bars the size varies. Silver generally weighs 125 pounds to the ingot. Monkeys in th£ Rigjciqtjr. Among other persons and things which Capt. Rogers brought with him from Africa on the bark Liberia, which moored at the Empire Stores, foot of Main Street, Brooklyn, yes­ terday, was a number of monkeys of all shapes, sizes and ages. The cap­ tain went ashore to report, and on returning saw the monkeys be thought safely secured below in boxes up in the rigging, some grinning, some laughing, but many of them crying with cold. They had been locked up all night sure enough, but had escaped through a broken pane, aud there being no cocoanut tree In sight, climbed up the rigging and stays to take obser­ vations. The Llberian also brought snakes, pigeons, and boa constrictors in large numbers, and also many col­ ored people the missionaries had in­ duced to go out andsettie in Liberia and help Christianize it, but who re­ turned in disgust, saying that the country was no good. They had to work hard to support the converted, who insisted upon loafing, while as for money, they never saw a red cent in the colored republic.--New York Advertiser. When a Trout Is Hungry. A curious incident^ showing that trout will not be easily frightened from a hook when they are hungry, is told by a Maine sportsman. He felt a good bite, but before he could haul in the fish it broke loose and shot away. He readjusted his bait and made another cast. In a minute the hook was again taken, and he pulled in a two-pound trout It was hootced in the side of the n>outb, while upon the other side a piece more than an inch long had been lorn from the jaw, and the wound was still bleeding. This showed con­ clusively it was the same fish that had just taken the hook and bad got away. Tbe singular part was that a fish so badly wuunded should bite a second time.--Bangor News. A new scrubbing machine is whirled over the floor like a lawn mower. It soaps, wets, rubs, and dries the floor, and two or three movements of the machine make the boards shine. The man who told the story be* . tween the puffs of his cigar was from Texas, says tbe Kansas City Tine* ••Clay Allison's life was a romi^Ma^t iU*'fej he began. "Clay Allison was a perado. He lived in the Bed River ?;f country in the panhanula His ger linger was tiie busiest in uh «vuj '8bs. His record was twenty^M|:^'f|5g He qpasted of It. Twenty-one dead men, whose graves were scattered „^ 'G from Dodge City to Santa Fe. I'. myself saw him kill Bill Chunk, a bad«man, who shot people just fof . tbe fun of Beeing tbem falL Th« ^ two men bad no cause ior quarrel* j. They were tho prize killers of th$./ * same section of the country. It wai . a spirit of rivalry which made tbeut „ ' f; swear to shoot each other on sight* , r Their friends bet on the result of^ y" \j their first chance rencontre. Thejr -V met one night at a cross road inn ii|;5- 'J •*' New Mexico and sat down at tabled *$' \ opposite each other, with drawn six* ' ^ shooters resting on their laps beneatlji s their napkins A plate of oysters 0$ the shell had just been set befor^f if Chunk, wnen he dropped his hand, la a careless fashion, and sent a ball afr • -Aiuaoii oeueacu uin taoie. af ;'; a leap of lightning Allison's gun re^i plied. A tiny red spot betweeijpj Chunk's eyes marked where the bulled | entered. The dead man rolled ovef on the table and was still, with hif face downward in the dish of oysters.' s "Allison was a large cattle owner*- Be went on a drive to Kansas City once, and while here fell in lovej,!f5 married, and took the woman to hi# home in the west to live A chilq|^^|i w a s b o r n t o t h e m -- a c h i l d w h o s e f a c # . . ' i was as beautiful as the face of ft • cherub, but whose poor little bod* - was horribly deformed. Allison loved. ^ the child with the great love of his passionate nature. In the babe'$ ' m i s s h a p e n a n d t w i s t e d f o r m h i s s u p e r * ^ stitious mind read a meaning as sig. ^ nitlcant as that of the message whlcft^ ' - | tbe Divine hand wrote on the palacft , 1 - : walls of the king of old in Babylon. God, be thought bad visited a cure® , v upon him for his sins. He quit hii* A ', wild ways. He drank no more. N<» ^ v ; -•i v X3® A man ever after tbe birth of his child fell before his deadly pistol. He waa completely changed. In tbe new liffljr ; ssf which followed he devoted himself . ^ with absorbing energv to his business, • - - interests. He became rich in time. . >/ • Ten thousand cattle on the Texa#' J ̂ ranges bore his brand. A few year$ 1 ^ ^ ago he was driving from his ranch ii| aheavyroa l wagon to town. The | front wheels jolted down into a deej>J - ' * ruu Allison was pitched head I ore* v * most to the ground. His neck wa broken. The team jogged on int# ; the distance and left him lying ther# r ^ dead axjid alone on the prairie. f' Writing by the Lietter. j ^PSe trade of writing for the pres# 1 "on space"--that is by the page, cal» • 1 umn, or line--has given rise to man| expedients to Oil space with as littlf | effort as possible. Many followers of ^ ; this occupation have shown great in* t A genuity in getting as large an ac* ^ c count of white paper as possible t<| ^ , their eredit by making frequent pari i" 1 agraphs in their "copy." A French;* . ' • author who was once employed to /> contribute a continued story to a ? newspaper, and who was paid for hi$ , ** j work by the line, was in the habit of . introducing very frequently such pas* * J sages as this into his siory; j "Have youmyUiiixU" ' • • "1 bava." ••No!" "Yes." ••Where?" "Here." . "When?" • •To-day." ,, '•Then he lives?" "He does." ••Ah!" - v ' \ The publisher the; JMWsplper'afc, length rebelled at what he regarded! as an attempt to make money out of * him by sharp practice* He sent fofr. , ^ j the writer, and said; ^ ^ "1 must have a new contract Wa i'f;J will pay you hereafter by the letter, t | and not by the line." ' *1 "Yes, but your contract does not l. ' v] pay that I shall pot end the story* • : when 1 please. If you do not con* t' ; sent, I shall put the words "Th4, ( End" at the close o: the next install^ I ment of your story, and print mora of it." The author pondered a minute. "Very well," said he. "1 will takft my pay hereafter by the. letter, pi * mr % V , .•'<i 'W < * i n*.;* /,:• « I t 'km 1 *=• M vided you let the story rVn cn until have quite finished it." "It is agreed," said tbe publisher.. When the publisher came to reaqp the next instalment of the story, hf|i found that tbe author had intro^ duccd two new characters who stamlf; mered dreadfully, and whose talis,- ran after this manner: '•Oc-c-c-c-c-c-c-canyou not b-b-b-bw - b-break the d-d-d-d-d-dreadful newi g-g-g-g g-g-gently to our m-m-m-m* - * | m-m-m-master?" ^-1^1 "N-n-n-n-ne e-e e-e-e-ver, G-g-g-g»f ^ gaston," murmured thegrief-st'ricke^:.^^:^ Valentine. "I should r-r-r-r-r-r-iS^C^ rather b-b-b-burst upon him s-s-s-s-sft^ ^ B-s-s-suddenly with the ann-n-n-n-n^' • nou-ou-ouncement and not prolong his s-s-s-s-sufferings with sus-p-p-p-p*: p-e-e-e-e-ense!" The horrified publisher»saw before him, in this sort of dialogue, the pos* sibility of the indefinite continuance of a story, paid for by the letter. which was little less than a dreadful and terribly costly alphabetical pro! cession. He sent for the author, an<|^f restored the old arrangement. J ^ As soon as the author began agaii| ' to collect his piy by tbe line, poof - J stuttering oaston and Valentin^ "" ; were overtaken by an untimely fate£7 and the short paragraphs were re|." i ; \ sumed. i ---------------- , * * S, ' 4 Victoria's Fear of Fire. , ^ ! Queen "Victoria has a great horror^. ;ii 1* of fire, and has arranged quite a com*' ^ plete fire brigade among her servants^ ; 1 so that it is at hand whenever she if . 1 in residence. They had a very suo» • cessful "false alarm" lately at Osc ,4"^ borne, and every one was at his post^ according to order, as ir aboard a ' ^ vi ship. Prince Henry, among his othef"., useful domestic roles, is chief of tha V-i I little brigade. The Queen has takeif " V the greatest interest in the whole - j concern, and frequently amuses ber* self by watching the drill. The fire* ; men are chiefly stalward young stable*- ^ men, grooms and footmen, but there ^ are also two juvenile French cuoke « who burn to distinguish themselves. ,v:;