The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

fcwr ' ,± /*. - .> . „ 'V ;i?V -'? ?v -M ™..' ' : • " v:-; 0W-'^id'r;C:}: yVt.- Youths' Department. jl^rapy JJkklealw, , J. YAS SLYKE, Kditor * PeMIsker. McHlSNRY. "1 I ILLINOIS J i- isv riro ,; THE following exquisite poem, one of the most 'beautiful of the many written by the late Will­ iam Cu lien Bryant, is not contained, sa^s an ex­ change, in any edition of his publishe 'Twaa evening, and before my eyes " 4£There lay a l»s<to«ee gray atod di Jflds faintly seen, and twiijiht ski Mid clouds that hid the horizon's 'i j? isww--orwaa it that I dreamed?-- waking dream ?--I cannot nay;" 9% every shape aa real seemed . j,s JVs *h»t my eye to-day, •'- "Through leafless shrubs the cold wind hisnod The air was thick with falling snow; And onward through the frozen mist, 1 saw a weary traveler go. : JDriven o'er that landscape bare and bleak, , Before the whirling gusts of air, i *'t snow-flakes smote his withered chgofc, And gathered on his silver hair. 'let cn he fared through blinding anows, " nd murtEuritig to himself he said: : night is near, the darkness grows* \er rise the drifts i tread. ance, and then the compliments begin. "Mach Allah! (Allah's marvel) lady, your daughter is like a full moon What eyes, what plumpness! If she were" a slave she would be worth a thousand purses" -- and so on. When these civilities have been fol­ lowed by suitable answers from the mother, who will perhaps descant on her daughter's accomplishments, the interview ends with a mutual assurance that " if fate so wills it" both ladies will be happy to arrange a marriage. This may lead to nothing; but suppos­ ing the geurudji to mean business, she will go home and inform her son of the lovely bride the has found for him; and if his imagination should be inflamed by one gives the bridegroom time to get his feelings under control. If the first impression be very favorable, it is said that " the stars of the pair have met;" if, on the contrary, there be dis­ appointment, the bridegroom will pos­ sibly confess on the morrow to his mother, " Yililizim bariehmadi" (Our stars did not meet); but he will be sure to add, with commendaole philosophy, " Basinet!"--it was written. T" What the Box Contain!!* Deep, deep each Autumn flower they hide; Each tuft of green they v. helm from sight; AlSii they who journeyed by my side •: Are lost in the surrounding night. ^ •VI loved them, oh, no words can tell ' siThe l°ve that for my friends I bore; We parted with the sad farewell ; Of those who part to meet no more. ""And I, who face this bitter wind, .f tjlnd o'er these snowy hillocks creep, Must end my journey soon and find .. . - A frosty conch, a frozen sleep." Aft thus he spoke, a thrill of pain Bhot to my heart: 1 closed my eyes. And when 1 opened them again . I started with a glad surprise. "TPwas evening still, and in the west < A flush of glowing crimson lay, ! - A law the morrow there and bleat r {That promise of a glorious day. , ;®ie waters in their glassy sleep '^fchone with the hues that tinged the sky. - Ar»d rugged cliff and barren steep Gleamed with a brightness from on high. Aiid one was there whose journey lay - 1 > Into the slowly gathering night; ,W'th steady step he held his way _ . O'er shadowy vale and gleaming height; j 'JL.marked his firm though-weary tread, ;» *?The lifted eye and brow serene, Aftd saw no shade of doubt or dread i 1 * rpaaa 0'er that traveler's placid mien. Afid others came, their jonrney o'er, ; • (tVAnd bade good-night with words Ttr-morrow we shall meet once more; 'Tis but the night that parte us here.?* , • < v And I," he said. " shall sleep ere lonjf-^ - * sThese fading gleams will soon be gone-- Bfcull sleep, to rise, refreshed and strong, , In the bright day that yet will dawn. „ ..Xheard: I watched him as he went, A lessening form, until the light Of evening from the firmament Had passed, and he was lost to sight. A TURKISH WEDDING. A WRITER in the London Pull Mull -Gazette says: A Turkish proverb thus defines wom- ;an at the different periods of her age: "Ten to twenty, a rest to the eye of the beholder; twenty to thirty, still fair and full of flesh; thirty to forty, a mother of many boys and girls; forty to fifty, an old woman of the deceitful; fifty to sixty, slay her with a knife!" This sounds bad; but the very atrocity of the sentiment marks it as one of these impotent protests wherewith a Turk seeks to revenge himself for the meddlesome part which old women play in hisdomestic affairs. He would not be so bitter against the race if he had not found by experience that old women are more than a match for him; and, indeed, a Turkish lady is so far from having ended her life at fifty that she may be said to inaugurate at that age quite a new career of activity and usefulness. She becomes a chartered gossip, and retails the talk of the town from harem to harem. Having mar ried off her own children, and being comfortably settled in the bouse of one -of-her sons, she can give all her time to the business of other people, and oc cupies herself in arranging marriages. She is treated with great respect, for young women look up to her as a shrewd adviser, and men are afraid of Iber tongue; beside it is a precept of 4he Mussulman religion to regard gray hairs as a crown of honor. It should be added that the doting fondness of Turkish mothers for their sons is al­ ways requited when they grow old by a deep attachment on the son's part. A Turk looks upon his mother as his tru­ est friend; he pet? her tenderly, goes to her for counsel in all his difficulties; and he knows that while out gossiping she will always be on the watch for op­ portunities to advance his worldly af­ fairs. In the bygone bow-string days • old ladies had the chief hand in the palace plots which deposed rulers; and their influence as political intriguers is still as great as that of dowagers in 'Western countries. But, as above said, the main business of their lives is match-making. They talk of duyum (weddings) wherever they go; and, as they have their allotted parts as nego- ' tiators iii all the preliminaries of a mar­ riage, they need affect no secrecy in -discussing this favorite subject. The old lady who visits a harem with - a view to finding a biide for a male relative is called a geurudji (one who inspects); and certain ceremonious ob­ servances always attend her coming. Khe may be a stranger to the house, but it is enough that on removing her veil and feraoje (cloak) she should an­ nounce her matrimonial mission, and any marriageable girls whom there .may be in the house will be at once * ticked out for her inspection. It stands tdi reason that the mother of a trades­ man will not go and call as a geurudji upon the wife of a Pasha; but if she did so she would be made welcome all the same, lor what we call social dis­ tinctions are almost unknown in a . country where street porters and water men have often risen to the highest • dignities in the State, and where the greatest ladies see no disgrace in own- l*i (r thiit: t,hev are the daughters of Cir­ cassian slaves. A Turkish lady will show her daughters to all who present themselves as geurudjis, just as an En­ glish woman will allow her girls who ^ Jare " out" to dance with strange, im- ttecunious bachelors; and, in fact, the armality is merely a recognition of the c ircumstance that the young lady is Marriageable. So soon as the geurudji been made comfortable with coffee, l-omes the Turkish missy in her best [thes, and performs a modest obois- wonderful word-painters--the next step will be to ask the consent of the girl's parents in writing. The letter is gen­ erally sent with a present of fruit and flowers, and then a day is appointed when the lover shall ride by the young lady's house and be examined by her through her window-grating. This very trying ordeal spmetimes produces the intimation that" fate is not propitious," Ate way of conveying that the young lady has seen her suitor and does not like the look of him; but in most cases where the preliminaries have been adroitly managed the geu­ rudji receives a favorable reply, and greets her son on the morrow with the cry, " Mudje, mudje! We may prepare our aghirlik!" Mudje means good news, aghirlik dower, or literally weight, as derived from the notion that a bridegroom ought to purchase his bride for her weight in gold or silver; but this precious custom, if it ever ex­ isted, has fallen into disure, and a rich Turk now hands over in a silken purse about £200, which counts for his bride's first installment of pin money. A week after this the betrothal takes place at the bride's house in the presence of an iman (priest), who, however, is only invited for good luck, marriage being among the Mus­ sulmans a purely civil contract. A Eroxy and two witnesses represent the ridegroom, and a like number of male relatives appear for the bride. When the question of settlements has*been ar­ ranged, all present sign the contract; and then the iman, going to the door of the harem, which stands ajar, asks the bride-elect, who is out of sight, but within earshot, if she will consent to become such a one's wife. She must answer d is t inc t ly th ree t imes : 4 * I wil l ' and from that moment she is virtually married, for the wedding which takes place a few days afterward is merely a merry-making without civil or religious ceremony. In the interval between be­ trothal and marriage the bridegroom may send presents to his intended, but is not allowed to see her; and he must fain nurse his fancy with the descrip­ tions which the geurudji has given him, trusting the while that this person Will not prove to have been " an old woman of the deceitful." Mothers blessed with capricious sons often delegate the difficult functions of geurudji to some old lady not of the family, who will re­ main unmoved by the bridegroom's maledictions if the bride should not fulfill his expectations. There is a special name given by the Turks to the imaginative passion which a man feels for a girl whom he has never seen but whom he has heard described as a marvel; they call it achik, as distin­ guished from alaka, the more sober love felt for a woman whose features have become familiar. MILTfADS 8 PAYS OFF A# OLD SCORE. WHEN the lightning express train from the city reached Reno last even­ ing the baggage was at once trans­ ferred from the Virginia & Truckee by her description--v^hich it generally Railroad Company s cars to those of is, for those old Turkish ladies are i the Central Pacific Railroad Company, ! which stood on the track in front of Chamberlain's Hotel. A wooden box, sixteen inches high, thirty-two long and twenty-two wide, which had been checked to Reno, remaned on the Vir- finia & Truckee car until the baggage ad been loaded on the Central Pacific train, when the railroad hands re­ turned, and no one appearing to claim the box, it was carelessly thrown on a t ruck ts ikf iu to thv b** ̂5-room of the Virginia & Truckce°Railroad Company. There it was transfered to the care of A. J. Hartley, Station Bag­ gage-Master of the Central Pacific Railroad at Reno, who stood it up on end and rolled it out to the Central Pacific baggage-room, about 100 feet away. There the box (which had been banged about in the way for which baggage-smashers are noted the world over) was thrown on the scales and its weight ascertained to be 182 pounds. The box having been stood on end on the scales, it was rolled off carelessly into a corner and the baggage-master turned to leave the room. As he did so he heard a faint moan proceeding from the box. Thinking he must be mistaken, he listened for a moment and heard another moan. This led him to examine the box more closely than be­ fore. He saw two round holes about three-fourths of an inch in diameter on one side and two similar holes at each end, while on another side, on which there were no holes, chips of wood about a fourth of an inch thick had been inserted evidently to keep the cover from closing tight. Upon ascer­ taining these facts Mr. Hartley no lon- Ser doubted that the box contained a uman being. Hartley at once opened the box, when he ascertained that the contents consisted of a very pretty Chinese woman in an insensible con­ dition, in consequence of her having been stood on her head while the box was being banged about the depot. She had a blanket with her, which was spread on the floor, and she was put upon it, when the cool air soon revived her, but she refused to answer any question. The door of the baggage-room having been left open to admit fresh air, a Chinaman walked in. As soon as the woman set eyes on him her face became Wreathed in smiles and she stepped forward as if to throw herself in his arms. The Chinaman, however, took a step backward and uttered Chinese word which was interpreted by those present as a warning. It was evident that the two understood each other, and attempts were made to en­ gage them in conversation, but they met with no success. Ah Jack, the Chinese interpreter, was sent for, when the woman and man told him their story without restraint. The woman said she was not yet eighteen years old, and was brought from China about a year ago. A few months ago she came to this city and became enamored of Ah Kim, the young Celestial with her, who tried to purchase her freedom from the agent of the Sam Sing Company in this city. The agent demanded $300 cash for the girl, however, and her lover being unable to pay that sum, she agreedithat she should be boxed up and shipped1 in the manner detailed above, unknown to the Sam Sing Company's agent. Her destination was Auburn, Cal., where one of her uncles owns a small store, and the Chinaman wanted the box checked to that place, but the Virginia & Truckee employes in this city refused to check beyond the end of their line, and when the train reached Reno the lover was not sufficiently up in the customs of the road to have the box rechecked. This explanation, which was made bjf Ah Jack on behalf of Ah Kim and Ah Youm, the young woman, was deemed satisfactory, and the west­ bound overland train having arrived, they proceeded on their way to Auburn in the smoking-car. A. Meekins, the baggage-master at the depot in this city, says that the box was brought to the depot last evening by two China­ men just as the train was about to go. He put check No. 310 upon it and handed it up to the train baggage-man, the Chinamen watching every move and requesting the baggage-man to put it "Dis way, sabbe?" The bo^came from the Sam Sing wash-house on South C street, near the Divide.-- Virginia (Nev.) ChronicldS'^ OS* 8ataiday meminr-'twtttwy warn westh- «r -- As our heroine and hen), out walking together Game down the road slowly, the latter stopped short As if suddenly struck by a stupendous thought; And he looked at Miss Muslin and, winking his eye, Said he: " Yonder lives old Mr. Solomon Sly, Wbom you never hare heard of perhaps--but I know him! And 'tis high time I paid off a"finidge that I owe him! A Turkish marriage gives occasion for much ostentatious display on the part of the bride's parents. The house and grounds are thrown open, and a mob of men and women flock into the garden to see the bridegroom arrive. He comes on horseback, dressed in a blue frock coat, a fez and yellow gloves, if he be a native of Turkey in Europe; in a turban, tunic and kaftan if he be an Asiatic. A number of porters pre­ cede him, scattering fruit and small coin among the crowd, lest they should make disparaging remarks upon his stinginess; but even a generous bride­ groom will not altogether escape a fire of small chaff; for there are sure to be some who have picked up nothing in the scramble, and these (especially the veiled women) delight to hurl facetious epigrams. However, the bridegroom rides by with native stolidity, wad, alighting at the door of the house, at once ascends the staircase between the two rows of the friends of both fami­ lies, who proclaim their good wishes very noisily. At the top of the stairs his bride is waiting for him, all veiled in pink gauze, and escorted by two yenghie cadines (duennas.) No word is spoken, but the bridegroom makes a low bow and conducts his bride by the hand to a saloon, where, having in­ stalled hef under a dais, he retires. Then an interminable concourse of women, of all ages and conditions-- friends, neighbors, beggars--burst into the room and file through, staring at the bride, who has meanwhile lifted her veil. She must bear this visitation as she can; for it is customary, and etiquette forbids her to express any annoyance if some of the intruders should be too free in their remarks. As a matter of fact all will g* oftV well if the bride's parents have been liberal iri supplying refreshments to which the chattering women may help them­ selves gratis before leaving the house. As weddings take place in the after­ noon, dusk will have come on by the time the bride's levee is ended, and now the voice of an iman will be heard in the garden calling the faithful to evening .prayer. The bridegroom, his friends and the beggars will join in these devotions, which last but a few minutes, and then will be the moment for the bridegroom's bachelor friends to take leave of him with thumps on the back and a volley of old shoes. Escaping from these marks of .good will, the happy man will fly into the house and be conducted straight to the harem, where at last he will enjoy the privilege of asking his wife to show him her face while dinner is being got ready. Anxious moment! The Turks attach such fated importance to the impression produced by the first glance at a bride's face, that in order to break the shock, as it were, the lady always takes care to gum on her cheeks a number of -little stars and flowers cut out of spangles. The few minutes which it requires to remove these one * Jnst over that fence there--the next lot to this, As I happen to know, are some melon* of his-- • Some ̂ early musk-melons, of which some at Moat be ripe before this. What say yoa to a Twmild do no good to ask him. 13m greedy old miser. But we'll just help ourselves; be will be none the wiser. He has probably gone off to market to-day Ann won t be home till night.--Come! l'liihow you the way!" So savin c. Miltiades Peterkin Paul Assisted Miss Muslin to climb the stone wall; And then, cautiously giving one more glance about To be quite certain no one was on the look­ out, Hs got over iuiiim-if nnu At once leu Ciit" way Toward the place where he knew that the mel­ on-patch lay; And t=oon, having stealthily crossed the first lot. They arrived--unperceived, aa they thought-- - at the spot. Bat, alas for thai r fresh-budded hopes! far some reason, - (It was either too early, as yet, in the season. Or some one had been there and picked them though green i. Not a single ripe melon, at first, conld be seen. " Well!" Miltiades grumbled, "as sure asagun Hi has picked all the ripe ones, and not left ns one!" " Yea," responded Miss Muslin, of Quintillion Square, " Some folks are too stingy to Uve, I declarer' But at that instant, lo! with a cry of delight, Miltiades suddenly held up to sight A melon so ripe and HO yellow, like gold, it Made Miss Muslin's eyes fairly dance to be­ hold it. " Ho, ho!" cried Miltiades Peterkin Paul, M The old gentleman did leave us OR*, after all! And a luscious one 'tis, too! M by, look! Don't you8eer He has it--a sure sign 'tis ripe aa can be.' And, with theae words, our hero, without more ado. . • Took his foor-bladed Jack-knife and out it in two. lhen, Miss Muslin receiving her half with de­ light. They each of them eagerly took a huge bite; Bat the next instant j umped up together, and uttering A cry of dismay, began spitting and sputter­ ing, While the tears filled their eyes. Poor Miss Muslin screamed " M urder."1'1 So loud that the Man in the Moon might have heard her. " Why," cried she.44 it tastes just like hot coalt! Oh! Oh! Oh!" While Miltiades' throat and his mouth smart-, ed so (He had swallowed a dread/ui big mouthful, that he • Could not utter a word. And just then--O, dear ma! They heard a low growling; and then Cnpte Spl, With his awful dog Towser, Jumped over the wall. Yon're as aa precious a pair as I ever heard tell on!" Cried he. " Well, I hope you're enjoying the melon. I seasoned that one just as strong as I could With fresh CayenM pepper!--It ought to be good. Yon don't seem to find it, though, quite to your taste. What is that? Had enough? But I can't have such wftstc You will iinish that melon, sir! ThaVt what you'll do! Or Fll let go old Towser, and make him eat JTOM/1' It was quite clear that Uncle Sol meant what he said. And with Towser there, showing each tooth in his head, They'd no choice but obey him and eat up the rest,-- Though 'twas no easy matter it must be con­ fessed. Then Uncle Sol grimly bowed, when they had done. And dismissed them. And, smarting in more ways than one. They took their way home like a pair of young felons' And 1 dou't think they ever stole any more melons. ~VoA» lirou njohn, in Wld4-At4tttot. --An English medical authority says that persons who blow the big horn in a band rarely live beyond a periods of three years. The same may be said of the persons who swallow big horns in a whisky saloon. Even the Big Horn country and the horns of a bull are dangerous. Avoid all " horns"--even those of a dilemma.--Norristown (/*«.) Herald„ --" Anything new or fresh this morn- ing?" a reporter asked in a railroad office. " Yes,", replied the lone occu­ pant of the apartment. " What is It?" queried the reporter, whipping out his note-book. Said the railroad man, edg­ ing toward the door: " That paint you are leaning against." --We are informed that " the price of diamonds was never so low as at present, and now is a favorable time to purchqise them." This is welcome news. We shall take our market basket this evening and go out and purchase our next winter's stock.--Oil City (Pa.) Derrick. __________ . --A young lady ask^us if it is wicked to flirt with a gentleman. We don't know; we never flirted with one our­ selves, and never heard of a "gentle^ man" that indulged in the practice.-- Keokuk Constitution. e thrown of Russia: Turkey* TAB MARBLES. ALMOST all boys, at some period of their lives, devote their spare time to playing with marbles, ana I certainly was not unlike other boys in this re­ spect. My fondness for marbles began very early, and when I was about seven years old led me into a curious ex­ perience, which I am about to relate. A great rivalry for acquiring marbles arisen at that time among k great rivalry iaa suddenly ai the boys of the town, and to possess as many of the little round beauties as my oldest brother owned, soon became the desire of my heart andthe height of my' ambition. I had already obtained a large num­ ber, when one day I overheard my old­ est brother telling one of his school­ mates that he had made the important discovery that marbles could be formed from coal-tar, of which there was a large quantity on a certain street in a distant part of the town. He did not condescend to explain the process of manufacture, but he showed the mar­ bles he had made--black, round and glossy. The sight inspired rae with ardent desire to possess an unlimited quantity. My brother told me just wljere the coveted treasure-was to be found, and, in the afternoon, I started off, without confiding to anyone my intention, to find the spot and lay in a supply of the raw material, which I could convert into marbles when I had leisure. It was a very hot July afternoon, and was in a violent heat; but the sight of the heaps of coal-tar put all thoughts of anything unpleasant quite ont of my head; it caused me to forget also that I had on a suit Of new clothes, of which I had been cautioned by my mother to be extremely careful. I need hardly remark t^at • I was not very well acquainted with the sub­ stance I was haiidling, and' my only idea of its qualities was, that it coula be molded into any shape I pleased, was not aware that it has all the quali­ ties of .ordinary tar--melts with heat, I and becomes the toughest, stickiest, most unmanageable of substances with which a small boy can come into con­ tact. I fell to work to collect what I want­ ed to carry home. I filled the pockets of mv pantaloons, and of my jacket, and lastly, when these were stuffed to their utmost capacity, I filled the crown of my hat so full that it would hardly go on my head. The place was at some distance from my home, and I did not wish to have to return immedi­ ately for more. With a heart filled with triumph, I started off toward home. By this time 1 began 45 realize that the weather was not cool; It had been a long walk, and I was pretty tired, but I was also in a great hurry to begin making marbles, so I walked as fast as I could. After a little time I began to be sensible of a disagreeable feeling of stickiness about my waist, and a slight trickling sensa­ tion in the region of the knees. A cloud not bigger than a man's hand flitted across my horizon--per­ haps coal-tar might melt? A very slight inspection of my two pockets satisfied me that coal-tar was capable of becoming liquid, and, if I needed further evidence, the sabte rivu- less that began to meander down the sides of my face gave ample corrobora­ tion of the fact. I tried to take off my hat, but itwould not come. I looked down at my new trousers with feelings of dismay. Ominous spots, of a dismal hue, were certainly growing larger. I tried to get the tar out of my pockets, but only succeeded in covering my hands with the black, unmanageable stuff. That I should get a whipping for spoiling my new suit, if I could not manage to get the tar off, was quite certain, and 1 had had no permission to go from iiOuiC, and on the whole tho outlook was not cheerful in that direc­ tion. Quite driven to desperation, 1 seated myself on the ground and tried to scrape off the black spots, which had now extended to formidable dimensions; Avhile I could feel small streams coming down inside of the collar of my shirt, and causing rather singular suggestions of a rope around my neck., Mv labor was all in vain. I got a good deal off, but there seemed to be an inexhausti­ ble quantity on. I gave it up in despair, and burst into uncontrollable sobs. The flow of tears thinned the lava-like fluid, and it now resembled ink, which covered my face like a veil; but in the extremity of my anguish a hope dawned upon 'me. I found that I could wipe off with my hand this thinner solution, and if water would do it, water was plenty, and I would wash it off. A cousin of mine lived not very far off, and I knew that in the yard of her house there was a pump. Inspired by this idea, I set off at a run, and did not slacken my pace until 1 reached the spot. Here another difficulty met me. I could not reach the handle of the pump BO as to get the benefit of the stream from its mouth, and it was only a complete shower-bath that would re­ store me to respectability. I set to work to find a rope, and •fastened to­ gether quite a complicated piece of machinery, as I thought, by which I managed to pump the ice-cold water upon my devoted head. The effect was not as immediate as I had hoped. But I had faith if a little was good, more must be better. Creak--creak--creak --went the pump-handle, which did more work that afternoon than in half a dozen days'washing. Creak--creak--creak! But the tar only became harder and harder, until I was encased in sheet-armor, like the famous Black Knight. Presently, my Cousin Jenny, an especial friend of mine, hearing such continual pumping and becoming anxious for the family supply of water, came out to see what was the matter. Seeing a small figure curled up under the spout of the pump, drenched to the skin and black as Othello, she stooped down to investi­ gate the phenomenon. Oh, what v;as my despair when she discovered who it was, and in what plight! To say she laughed would be to give a feeble idea of the peals of laughter that succeeded each other as she stood and looked at me. She would try to control her merriment for a moment, only to. break forth afresh, until she was obliged to sit down from sheer ex­ haustion. Every time she glanced at my woe-begone countenance, and drenched condition, she would go into fresh convulsions of fun. At last she recovered breath enough to inquire in­ to my case, aud to assure me she would do what she could for me; but she soon found, to my despair, that what she could do was not much to my re­ lief. The clothes could never be got off, and certainly they could never be got clean. She did manage, with a strong pair of shears, to cut off the pockets in my breeches, and then, fear­ ing my mother would be alarmed, she bade me go home, and she would promise toisccuro mo against, a whip­ ping. I fancy she thought this last promise would be easily kept. Somewhat comforted, I took^hp my line of march toward the paternal roof, but, as I went along, my heart be­ gan to sink again; visions of a rod, with which my too saintly character had made me somewhat familiar, loomed up before me; but worse than all, the thought of my brother's ridi- condition to be hilarious. Plastered with tar from head to fool; streaming perspiration at every pore; my with _ clothes drenched; my hair matted to­ gether, and my straw hat, soaked with 1 water, fastened upon it, and falling limp and wet about my eyes; I was not V rendered more comfortable by the fact " that 1 could not move without taking ^ •" pillow and bed-clothes with me, as, in ' my desperate desire to conceal myself from view, I had become enwrapped in K | the bed-c lo th ing l ike a ca te rp i l la r in i t s chrysalis; and X was conscious of a dim J fear that if I sat up, with the pillow ' ' -%-M stuck fast on the top of my hat, the sight of me might produce fatal results ' upon the already exhausted family. J At last the point was reached where I thought patience ceased to be^ vir--^-^,^S tue, and I rebelled against being any ^ - •*; longer made a spectacle. w 4 I declared if they would all go away . ̂ but mother, I would tell her aa about a i it. The crowd retired, commissioned to send up a crock of butter, a tub of hot water and a pair of shears. Mater­ nal love is strong, but I doubt if it was often put to a severer test of its long% , . suffering than was that of my mothex| \ that nignt. , £;" Suffice it to say that, after myclotlies^^'t}:- .^ had been cut to ribbons, the sheets !or»V.5 ; ,5 up, my head well nigh shaved, and myt- "> whole person subjec ted f i r s t to an Afr i - f - „ can bath of melted butter, and after-%;'.** • ward to one of hot soap-suds, I had had:? * - my fill of bathing for one day, and was* .3 shortly before midnight, pronounced toF" ^ be tolerably clean. P. Si--I never made any marbles of coal-tar.--St. Nicholas tor July. cule made my sensitive spirit quail. I thought I would evade all for that night, however, by going quietly up the back stairs, going to bed, and "playing sick." Fortune favored me I reached the bed-room without being seen; and, just as I was, with my hat on, for it could only have come oft with my scalp, I got into bed, and covered myself entirely up with the bed-clothes. It was now dusk, and I felt for the mo­ ment quite safe. Presently my aunt came into the room to get something for which she was looking, and I coula hear her give several inquiring sniffs, and as she went out I heard her say: "1 certainly do smell tar; where can it come from?" An interval of peace followed, and then in came my mother. "Tar? Smell tar? Of course you do; it's strong enough in this room. Bring alight." It was the sound of doom! My mother soon came close up to the bed, and held the light so that it fell full upon me as she tried to turn down the bed-clothing. Probably, if it had not been for several previous scrapes in which I had been involved, she would have been much frightened; but as it was, the sight of her young blackamoor had much the same effect upon ̂ her as upon my cousin. Her exclamations and shrieks of laughter brought every member of the household successively to the room, and as one after another came in, fresh zest seemed to be given to the merriment of which I was the unfortunate victim. But every renewal of the fun was an added agony to me, for I clearly fore­ saw that it would be rehearsed by Jack The Late Mr. Bryant's Mode of JLife» THE following letter, written by Mr. Bryant several years ago, describing the habits of his life, to which he partly ascribed the wonderful preservation of his physical and mental vigor, will be reaa with interest now: '• NEW YOBK, March 90,1871. "To Joseph H. Richards, Esq.: "MY DEAR S IR--I promised some time since to give you some account of my habits of life, so far at least as re- fards diet, exercise and occupations, am not sure that it will be of any use to you, although the system which If J have for many years observed seems t<» answer my purpose very well. I^havd reached a pretty advanced period at life, without the usual infirmities of ol& age, and with my strength, activity an^t bodily faculties generally in pretty* good preservation. / How far this mar be the effect of my way of life adopte# long ago and steadily adhered to, || perhaps uncertain. "I rise'early, at this time of the year about half-past five; in summer, half an hour or even an hour earlier. Im­ mediately, with very little incumbrance of clothing, I begin a series of exef* cises, for the most part designed to ex­ pand the chest, ana at the same tinie call into action all the muscles -and ar­ ticulations of the body. These are {»erformed with dumb-bells, the very ightest, covered with flannel, with a pole, a horizontal bar, and a light chair . swung around my head. After a full hour, and sometimes more, passed in. this manner I bathe from head to foot. When at my place in the country I sometimes shorten my exercises in the chamber, and, going out, ocoupy my­ self for half an hour or more in soma work which requires brisk exercise. After my bath, if breakfast be not ready, I sit down to my studies tillX am called. ' " My breakfast is a simple one--honi?- iny and milk, or; in place of hominy, brown bread or oat-meal, or wheat on grits, and in the season baked sweet apples. Buckwheat cakes I do not de­ cline, nor any other article of vegetable food, but animal food I never take at breakfast. Tea and coffee I *never touch at any time. Sometimes 1 take a . cup of chocolate, which has no narcot­ ic effect and agrees with me very well. At breakfast I often take fruit, either in its natural state or freshly stewed. " After breakfast I occupy myself for a while with my studies, and the®, when in town, I walk down to the of f ioa , of the/Evening Post, nearly three milee distant, and, after about three hours, return, always walking, whatever be the weather or the state 01 the streets, lift' the country, I am engaged in my lit­ erary tasks till a feeling of weariness drives me out into the open air, and I go upon my farm or into the garden and prune the fruit trees, or perform some other work about them which they need, and then go back to my books. I do not often drive out, preferring to walk. In the country I dine early, and it is only at that meal that I take either ' meat or fish, and of these but - a mod­ erate quantity, making my dinner riib8tly of vegetables. At the meal which is called tea, I take only a little bread and butter, with fruit, if it be on the table. In town, where I dine later, I make but two meals a day. Fruit makes a considerable part of my diet, and I eat it almost any hour of the day without inconvenience. My drink, is water, yet I sometimes, though rare­ ly, take a glass of wine. _ I am a 11 atu- ral temperance man, finding myself rather confused than exhilarated by wine. I never meddle with tobacc<& except to quarrel with its use. " That I may rise early, I, of course* go to bed early; in town, as early aa ten; in the country, somewhat earlier. "For many years I have avoided, in the evening, every kind of literary oc­ cupation which tasks the faculties, suck as composition--even to the writing of letters, for the reason that it excites the nervous system and prevents sound sleep. My brother told me, not long since, that he had seen in a Chicago newspaper and several other western journals, a paragraph in which it was said that I am in the habit of taking quinine as a stimulant, that I have de­ pended upon the excitement it produces in writing my verses, and that in conse­ quence »i using it in thai way I had be­ come as deaf as a post. As to my deal* ness, you know that to be false, and the res t o f the s to ry i s equa l ly so . I abom ­ inate all drugs and narcotics, and have always carefully avoided everything which spurs nature to exertions which it would not otherwise make. Even with mv food I do not take the osfll I condiments, such as pepper and the and Tom to all the boys in the neigh- I 1W ^r,lrnXy yours, ^ borhood. BesidetthisvI was not in a