WOSTEBFWTCOI*. ̂ :: Tt wmiiii banlh be suppiist'll tliat so ^ large an amount as two million dollars in counterfeit silver and gold coin is : sow afioat in this country, but such, according to the estimate of Treasury experts, is the fact, and, moreover, the total is constantly increasing. This •*' spurious money passes througn thou sands of innocent hands, until finally it is caught in the meshes of the nets laid by the Secret Service or is recognized by a lynx-eyed expert in some large « bank. Then the unfortunate holder becomes the victim of the counterfeit er's skillful rascality. In order to imitate a coin success fully, that is, so that it will deceive, not the general public, because probably most persons never take a second look " ai the cuiu tnej receive, proviuou. Its appearance seems right, but the clerk or cashier moderately well accustomed •to handling money--the counterfeiter must regard both execution, size and weight. The last is most important in gold coin, because the least current weight of the latter is established, whereas in silver a coin of light weight, so long as the reduction is not mani festly too great, will pass. The stand ard weights and least ourrent weights of gold coin are as follows: lAtut <w- • Standard, r+nt freight. S dollar piece.. 616 grain* 513.42 dollar pieoe.....--258 grains 25671 6 dollar piece.. --.129 grains 12SJ6 2% dollar piece- 6L5 ^rraina 64.18 Any decrease in weight below the latter figures subjects the holder to a loss equivalent to the difference. This decrease may occur by wear, or, as is •very often the case, through sundry ne- ^anous processes, which, though not properly counterfeiting, nevertheless belong to that species of crime. These operations are perhaps the most dangerous to the community, be cause as a rule the coin preserves its appearance, is apparently genuine un- •der the acid test, and in fact is genuine •except in weight. It is impossible, for •example, to tell whether a coin has been "sweated" or not without weigh ing it, and by sweating is meant the ui8e of the coin as the anode in the elec troplating bath, the gold being ab stracted from it and deposited on an other surface. Of course a uniform quantity is removed from the entire surface, and the imprint retains its •original sharpness. As much as two -dollars' worth of gold is sometimes !• taken from the double eagle in this •way. A less scientific plan is one too •commonly adopted by conscienceless jewelers, who when they want a little .gold, instead of buying the precious xnetai, purchase a twenty-dollar piece, Jile off with a dead smooth file a suffi cient quantity, reburnish the place, and j pass oil the coin at full value. The »a»ost extensive fraud perpetrated on •gold coinage is "splitting." The Top- aerator uses a fine saw to split the coin ,„neatly id two. Then he gouges the gold oct of the center until only a thin outside shell is left, and sub stitutes a silver and platinum alloy for the metal thus abstracted. The two parte §re then joined with gold solder, .and the edge is rcmilled. In this way, we are informed, gold to the value of ^$15.50 has been taken from a single piece. The operation, however, gen erally destroys the ring or tone of the coin, leaving it, beside, either too light •or too thick. Another swindle is to bore into the edge, and it is said that John Chinaman favors this game, buy ing up the pieces, sending them to .^China, so that Ms dexterous com- »!patriots may there manipulate them in -3aftfiy, and subsequently reimporting them to set them adrift upon the un suspecting American public. The holes whence the gold is taken are refilled with silver, covered with gold solder, and the edges are neatly finished; but the light weight reveals the theft. From • 5 to 1\ dollars1 worth of gold has thus > 'seen taken from one coin, and the ^ Dieses of course have every appearance genuine. Real counterfeits-- that is, coin wholly spurious because Tinade of base metal--are almost inva riably below weight. An exception to this, however, exists in a $5 piece whieh is of the exact standard weight of 129 grains. It is composed of an alloy of gold and silver, and is worth from '"•*2.70 to $3.40, Its appearance and tone are excellent, but it is thicker than the genuine coin, and hence may be de tected by the gauge. Still it is one of the most dangerous counterfeits in ex istence. As we have stated, a silver piece passes current so long as the imprint is not badly defaced or weight greatly reduced. A hole through the coin, however, condemns it--a fact, we be lieve, not generally known. The low value of silver prevents any such pror ceedings as in the case of gold, as the amount which could safely oe abstract ed will not pay for the trouble of doing it. . Consequently all silver counter feits are true imitations, and there is hardly a date of dollar, half-dollar, or quarter which has not been copied with remarkable accuracy. The counter feiter either makes a mold in plaster from the real coin and casts from it, or he stamps his imitation in dies. As this last process is the same as is in use in the mints, the counterfeits thus produced are more difficult to detect, because, besides being more accurately finished, the compression which the alloy receives brings it nearer to stand ard weight. A large number of coun terfeit silver coins are made chiefly of metal. A very dangerous half- dollar is composed of silver, copper and zinc, and is worth about seventeen cents, it is from seven to ten grains too light. Spurious half-dollars have appeared which constantly deceive bank tell ers and other experts because they are of full weight. They are made of a compound similar to Ger- 4 man silver, and are so well plated with genuine silver that the acid does not affect them. They are, however, too thick, and the srauga. as usual where > the balance fails, "shows the fact" f' Counterfeits of the quarter dollar, I though very plenty, are less dangerous than those of larger pieces. They are ? -composed of antimony, tin and lead, : ̂ and are both too light and too thick, „ although they have a good ring. A peculiar composition has been em- ployed, to which powdered glass is ; n4nrni to give a clear sound; but this is 4- feat a clumsy expedient, as the coin is far below proper wejatefc^a faq^ appreciable by mere handling. It is a difficult maftfer "to lay dowfo any general rules for detecting coun terfeit coins, as it will be seen from the foregoing that the closest ocular inspec tion may be wholly at fault. In general the milling on the edge of the counter feit coin is always poorly executed as compared with the genuine, but wear of the latter often rendess the distinc tion difficult to draw. Another point worth remembering is that absence of clear tone in a coin is not necessarily prbof of it falsity, be cause it may and does happen that a crack or flaw is made in the metal dur ing the rolling, and this, just as in a bell, will of course ,destroy the vibra- tioAs and make the sound dull and flat. --Scientific American. Something for Ambitions StaMits to Read. Miss HENRIETTA HAMILTON, tine of the graduating class at the Normal Col lege, died on Wednesday of last week and was buried on Friday. In regard to the cause of her death there has been considerable discussion, but care ful investigation seems to leave no doubt that it was an undue application to her studies. Miss Hamilton was the daughter of Mr. William E. Dodge s coachman, and being bright, ambi tious and clever, had formed some years ago the design of obtaining as good an education as the public schools of New York afford, ana of devoting herself to teaching after she had com pleted her course of study. She was rather tall and slender, having grown very rapidly for the past few years, with a pretty and very pleasant face and intellectual -features. She grad uated from the Twenty-eighth-street public school befoie she was fourteen, years old, and as fourteen years, how ever, is the limit of youth, beyond which the Normal College will not go in admitting students, she was obliged to wait, although unwillingly, and en ter that institute with the next class following. At this time, even, she was less than fourteen and a half years old, and from the accounts given was far too immature to enter on such a cur riculum as that of the Normal College, No objection under the rule can, how ever, be urged against students who have completed their fourteenth year, and she was admitted, as three girls of the same age have been admitted this week. Her father, although he knew that she studied hard, did not suppose that she was seriously injuring herself thereby, and it was a surprise to him when she was prostrated by her last illness. She would very often, he said, pore over her books constantly from three o'clock in the afternoon till ten at night. When she was taken with convulsions and intense pain in the head last month he took her to Dr. Delafield, who had ordered her to give up her study at once and to rest. There was no doubt in his mind that the system of the Normal College was blamable, and that by the arduousness of the course of study there were many broken down in health. A call was next made on President Hunter, of the Normal College, for the purpose of learning what he knew of the case. Ex-Mayor Wickham, the Chairman of he Board of Education's Coirfmittee on the Normal College, was talking with the President and listened quietly while the latter replied to a question about Miss Hamilton's case. President Hunter said: "It does not at all appear that Miss Hamilton died of overwork. Paralysis of the brain is a disease that laboring men often have. But the fact of one of our girls dying is made the text for accusation against the Normal College, and physicians, when they cannot give a diagnosis of a case, at once say that the trouble was too much work." "I don't agfee with you," said Mr. Wickham. " I think it is very proba ble that among the girls we have here there are a good many who work too hard, and who suffer from it; and it is very probable that this one died from the effects of it. But I do not see that the school is to blame. ' The' patents who push their children forward, or the students themselves, are the ones., who are to blame. We take all the pains ;ve can ;lo keep them from over-study, but we cannot watch them at home."-- N. Y. Herald. ,AftDL,JajSUUft Baby's Grave, , There was a baby-funeral in Mount Elliott Cemetery, yesterday afternoon. There were but three mourners--the ' father and mother and a little girl--in attendance, but they wept abundantly, and appeared to concentrate in them selves more sorrow than usually ap pears in more pretentious funeral pa geants. The little, common black cof-' tin, holding so much of what was infi nitely more precious to these poor peo ple--they were Bavarians, evidently, and not long from fatherland--was committed to the earth, and the sexton commenced to shovel in the dirt upon the little form it took so little to cover. Suddenly the mother threw something into the grave, which fell with a jingle, and she turned away, sobbing as if ner heart would break. A News reporter, who happened to be present, looked into the grave and saw a little tin rattle. Perhaps it was the only toy the dead infant had ever had, and the mother, moved by the same instinct which prompts the Indians to bury all the weapons and implements of their dead warriors in their tombs, threw that toy into the grave of her babe to accompa ny it to the spirit land.--Detroit News. IN the way of JSifceiiiWmMlle millers of Stk Louis have sVigflpd barrels of flour direct to Rio ae Janeiro. MENTION is made in the London Field of a root of horse-radish eighteen inches long and two feet in cjrouqaference at the top. REPORTS show that 2,040 horses have been eaten in Vienna within the first five months of this year. Fully It) per cent, of the Vienna population live,on horse meat. s COLLECTOR HARVEY reports that dur ing the year ending July, 1878, 8,428,- 355.55 gallons of proof spirits were pro* duced in Chicago, and during the same period 1,984,285.31 gallons of . alcohol were exported. The showing com paratively a large one. DR. FOOTE, in his Health Monthly, ad vises those who bathe, to plunge in quickly when they are ready to enter the water. Many people make them selves sick by creeping in an inch at a time thereby chilling the feet and ex tremities and causing a derangement of the circulation. THE irregular paper which S. An- gier Chace, the Fall River defaulter, negotiated during the last four years, amounted to about $3,000,000, more than $700,000 of which was discount ed at New York, and more than $1,- 000,000 by one Boston banking firm. He carried in all, after he got fairly started in his stealing, about $500,000 of this illegal paper. Hi3 notes of five, ten, fifteen and twenty thousand dollars were maturing almost every day in the year, and to meet the notes that were payable in Boston he would extend his discounts in New York, and vice verm. THE report of the Suez Canal Com pany, just published, showed that the receipts for 1877 reached nearly $7,000,- 000, being an increase of $560,000 on 1876, notwithstanding a reduction of 12} cents ner ton on the tolls since April, 1877* The company is com* elled by its concession to expend $200,000 annually for thirty years in improving the canal. One thousand six hundred and sixty-three vessels passed through in 1877, being 208 more than in 1876. The rather ominous fact was elicited by a shareholder that the number of shares held in France had decreased by 50,000 in three years. They are, in fact, being absorbed by English buyers. . m Chapter of Woaders^ '̂ 7 Oft Iffy- way from Hudson, I'teH to wondering. I don't often wonder. Sometimes when I see a strange man walking rapidly toward me, I wonder which one of my business acquaintances has employed a new collector, and then I wonder what FU say to him, but as a general thing, I don't wonder at any thing. There's no satisfaction in it. But after the train left Toledo, it was too hot to think or sleep or talk. So I just wondered: Why it is light to steal from theGov- ernment? Why it is wrong to kill the man who says he told you soP • Why the boys who made the Fourth of July odorous and hideous with gun powder from 1840 to 1856 inclusive, are speechless with indignation at the de praved and vicious tastes of the boys who want to enjoy the same kind of a celebration in 1878? Why people always diBcussEuropean politics as though they understood them. Why a man should always get mad if you frankly and for his own good tell him he is making an ass of himself? Why it is so hard to find a man when you want to borrow money of him? Why it is so hard to borrow the money after you have found him? Why a man always wishes he had chosen some other profession? Why a man is al ways going to take a vacation " next summer?" Why people should consider it dis graceful to be sent to Congress* Why a man thinks every year thafc he won't be as big a fool this year as he was last?- And why he is, though, all the same? Why the tramps don't ask for some- think to eat, if they are hungry P Why a man never tnes t« heat down the price of a railroad ticket? ̂ , . Why everybody affiaet^' a profound knowledge of growing crops and erop prospects? • • ' < W hy raerialways lie i about the size of the fish they catch and the number of ducks they shoot? What a girl ever sees in, a great sel fish, deceitful hulking animal of a man to marry him for, anyhow? Why sp many foreigners should speak German or French, when it is so much easier to speak English? Why it takes five grown people to take one sleeping infant tothecirowsto "see the animals?" Why a man who doctors himself with patent medicines, three bottles for a dollar, always, in referring to his health, speaks of "his physicians" as though he were constantly attended by a retinue of fifty or sixty doctors? Why really generous men are always so ready to admit that you were in the wrong P--Burlinqton Hawb-Eyq. J'* " An Elephant's Revenge. • *>i --A minister was telling. his Sunday School all about Samson and his ex ploits. " With what remarkable weap on did Samson slay his enemies P" he asked. No one knew. In order to coach the school a little he tapped his jaw and said, "Children what is this?" It vras enough: Torpid memories were quickened and the victory was won. A dear little boy, who, if he keeps the promise of his childhood, will some day be a candidate for office, cried out, " 1 know--I know, sir." Elated at the success of his plan, the minister turned to him and said, " Well, my little man. it upon the cake, and then slopped to watch andmimic the grim aces ' in ade by the elephant when he swallowed it. The result was easy, to see. The poor animal, his mouth on fire, passed the day in a marsh trying to calm the thirst that was devouring him, and to appease the inflammation produced by the fiery dose he had swallowed. When evening came, the hour which Bennett brought the coolies from work, the elephant pounced upon him, picked him up with his trunk and pitched him headlong in a large reservoir or pond of water, which was thirty or forty ieet deep. Bennett, 'who knew how to swim, quickly swam to the edge. Dourga allowed him to climb up the bank, Wnon no piii|r«q '"|n> »p «g®iiS &g jf 55 had been a" wisp of straw, and threw him back in the water. This was repeated as many times as Bennett attempted to escape, until he Was compelled to remain in the water, keeping his head up as well as he could The affair would have ended with sure drowning for uennett of one of, the coolies had not come to nis rescue and forced Dourga away. The poor elephant hever forgot the injury done him, and rarely allowed an opportunity to escape to still further revenge himself upon the overseer* Sometimes he would throw a paw full of sand slap in Bennett's face; again, it Would be a spout of water thrown over him; at another time he would be pitched into a cactus bush, from which he would get out scarcely alive, so horribly scratched would he be. It was impossible to correct Dourga and make him behave. The upshot of the vrhole uffair was" that Bennett was obliged to leave the plantation, which was not large enough for him and Dourga together, and his employer val ued the elephant more than he did his overseer. Capture ef a Coimle of Swerdfishr- THE lookout of the Bounding Billow, a Gloucester mackerel schooner, lying- to about tWeftty-five miles off the fight- ship, early on Sunday morning, sighted two black objects, seemingly drifting logs, close upon the weathier-bow. These objects drifted nearer, and then the lookout saw that they were mon ster swordfish, far out of their latitude. They were basking, motionless in the sun. A boat Was lowered, and was soon within a few lengths of the swo-nt- fish. The harpooner hurled his har poon with unerring aim at the smaller swordfish. The keen steel sank deep into its body. With one slap of its tail, which is much like a three-bladed propeller, the swordfish darted awayr leaving a wake of foam. The lam pooner's line whizzed out from the boat until thirty-five fathoms had gene. Then there was a sudden stop. Sonne of the crew began to congratulate them- selves on the death of the swordfiabvbu& the harpooner cried out, " Look out;, he's coming!" y. The swordfish darted toward the bow 6f the boat direct. The crew backed water, but unavailingly. The sword off the fish pierced the thick oaken> plan-k ing of the boat as though it was-tissue paper, and the boat careened until wa ter poured in. The harpooner escaped by jumping backward. With a hatchet he chopped off the part of the sword then' •(*•» Ut*JJ?TER WARDS* til ym if* *141; V . t ---- . •. «»f'» "-lUilbwi IT was I that did it. Letty and Jane ""V;• Were busy stringing a lilac chnln; ;#I t ,4 And never noticed which way I want; So 1 wfclk«4 down to the garden «ato Where hid in the burberry buah she aate--' The little hrowa wren upon her nest, '•& « ' »}<; ml -ft The girls had told me all about it- How the birda had built there evefjr yetur. And what a pleasure it wa* to hear Their cheery chirp and chatter, and Me Them working together BO bnaily. It was half the Joy of the apring, said Jane, When the dear little nest was built again. And the place wouldn't seem the game witboQtit. I did not forget that; and I knew , , „ w. It was a mean, mean thing to do; " ' But still I wanted the eggs; and no.. • r \ I frightened ftway the poor little hitd1 And robbed the nest: and nobody heard. ( AiitHKigh ahe fluttered and flapped her wings. And called for her mate, and the two poor tSngtf Flew in their trouble to and fro. Nobody heard their cry of pain; r ' •' And nobody saw me. I«Uj and Jape, B ̂ lMruiging their lilacs, never guessed That l was stealing the eggs from the nest.->n! Next day I met them going to school, And they made me feel--well, worse thato a fool When I saw their eyes all swelled and pink, And beam tb€ words that came with a soift -JIH J; • " Oh, Tom! what do you, do you think? .. &>nttbod^*t been imwt enongh to rob m The poor little wren!" And then they criflgL And 1 longed for a chance to run and htdet^ " The poor little wrens that toefc HO rest/V-a 1 Said Lettj', " until they made that nes* t And laid the egim-and there isn't me •" *3 J>ft for the mother to sit upoa f Borne boy has done it, of course," she«ii<fe ® ml ^ Not you, with a shake of her curly neoqu "I know you would never, never do it! ; 1 }" But the boy that <iwill be found out . * , ,,ti Some day, and punished, beyond ?* doubt® - • Ooa saw him. and He wiU make him ru» Bo here I sit to-night by myself, ; * j. And if Letty and Jane could only see- ... t, ' Those speckled eges up there on the * I wonder what they would think of ,jn*f • ., Nothing worse, I'll venture to say, Than 1 think--O, if I could but piid*. t The whole world back into yesterday. Ana those wren's eqres into the bat berry bosh! But the wrong that s done in a minute or twfiy Forever and ever won't undo. it is. replied, sir!" itr«^ther )&wboiie '«& ass, •« •• y. tins •a- ELEPHANTS have so imtich sympathy with depraved human nature as to think, with Byron," Sweet is revenge." An anecdote of an elephant's revenge, translated from the French, is pub lished in the Christian Union: Upon one of the plantations was an English overseer named Bennett, an exceedingly cross and disagreeable man, who was employed by the master because of his great capability in di recting affairs. Upon the plantation was an elephant named Dourga, that Bennett greatly disliked,' ana upon whom he often played mean tricks. His employer, after reproving him several times for his unkindness to the animal, warned him that if he carried his tricks too far, Dourga Would pay him back with interest. Finally, the time came when Dourga's patience was tried beyond endurance. , ( ^ . ~»He was in the liabit of receiving every morning from his driver a huge corn-cake covered with molasses, of protruding through the side, and' he hacked the fish until it died. This flurry, strangely enough,, had not disturbed the other swordfishi The harpooner sent a harpoon well home just behind its head, and, after darting about and chnrning the water into a great expanse of foam, it died. The swordfish were sold to John B.. Lynch, of Fulton Market. According, to his measurement, the largest sword- fish measured from the tip of the sword' to the extremity of the tail nearly sev enteen feet, the sword constituting one- fourth of this length. Its weight wa» 365 pounds. The smaller swoudfish* Was only a few inches shorter andafew pounds lighter. An employe of Mr. Lynch said that the presence of the swordfish near the* entrance to ou? bay is probably, an in dication that whales are not far away, for the swoidfishis the natural foe of the- whalft. and is probably the only fish, that the whale dreads." In a duel be- fcw<4i«n' & '••» «ialer'aud><& 'Lhe» re sult is almost always a foregone con clusion in favor »f the lattBE;.---jVT, 3T.. Sun. stand up and tell the whole school what " , f " H e rose with great^Ijpiity, and whicn he was very fond. One morning *• IT?*R*-4A •' as this ( •RILRA WM hftinor chrifaA KI hi* as this cake was being cferifed to him on & bamboo hurdle, Bennett, who was Unfortunate CotaMtlr , STORY is told of a dashing '^oionel quartered in Brussels, whicn speaks more for the honesty and scrupulous obedience to orders than the brightness of his servant, The Colonel wasen^aged out to dinner; just as he was leavirg .home was seized with such a violent toothache that he was obliged to> send an excuse. "Take this note to Maaame W--, and bring me my dinner." The man delivered the note into tlie lady's hand, and, to her surprise, showed no signs of going away. On beiug asked what he was waiting for, lie answered that he was to take back the Colonel's dinner. The lady saw through las blunder, ordered the dinner to be sent, and added a half bottle of champagne to be served at dessert. Laden with saucepans, the worthy man returned, and proceeded to wait on his master, who found his dinner so much better than he usually got from the restaurant that he forgot his ailments, and en- ioyed the disnes one after another. At last came the champagne, and that necessarily led to an explanation. The poor Colonel was in despair; after a moment's reflection he gave his man ten francs, and told him to buy a bou quet and take it with his compliments to Madame W--. By-and-by he came back, and gravely placed ten francs on the table. <* What does that meanP Where does that come from?" "From Madame W-r-." .answered the man, with evident satisfaction " She paid for the bouquet." On receiving it she had given him five francs for himself, but he, careful of his master's interests, had replied: "It is not five francs, it's ten francs," and brought them back. The Colonel has taken to his bed, and the story has t about, much to the amusement of Tie lady ii a wi*- JJOt nis fellow-officers, ow. What nextf _ me that nobody Like this affair) is half redressed. 1 wonder which, after all, is best-- To carry the seoret fear about jr. tiii That Letty and Jane will find me ( "* And to feel my face burn hot and i Whenever I think of what they sail And to be afraid, as I am to-night,' • Of going to bed without a light" * •» < .• . Or--to take the eggs in my hand to-morrow And-My like a man, " 1 robbed the nest, * And here is the proof to my shame and sonw?"" --I think on the whole that's easiest-- ' I'll do it! »» Now 1 can put'out my (God hears in the dark, 1 guess; and pray AO be forgiven for yesterday. ! rll ---Mary E. Bradley, in Witic Story of an Army Mnle. ' £I>X>1£, who has for the past year op more been a constant reader of the Nursery, wants his papa to write, for its little readers, the story he told Eddie about an army mule. Eddie's- pap&i was an officer in the army, and stationed at Fort Ripley, in the State of- Minnesota, several years ago. At that time there were many sol* die ITS at Fort Ripley, and they had sev eral raaules to haul wood and supplies; for there were no cars or boats (ex- eepling ferry-boats) nearer than fifty miles. Among the mules was one kept tO' haul the cart that was used to clear up the dirt and rubbish around the post); and his working-hours were from "faticue call" to "recall." SoWiem don't bother about clocks ami watches. There is one clock at the guard-hooise, where the post-guard stays; and a drummer and fifer, or bugler, plays tunes to let the soldiers know when it is time to get up, when breakfast is ready, when to go on guard,, when to drill, when to work at cleaning rap tie post, when to quit w©»k and drill, when to go to dinner and supper, when the sick may go to the post-surgeon, when to go to bed, and when to put out the lights. The eaLl that tells them when to go to work is called the "fatigue call." Whether it is because they are likely to get pretty tired before they hear the " recall, which t tells them to quit work, 1 cannot say; but it always did seem to* me me that either that oall was misnamed, or some very jolly chap couldn't resist having his joke when he called it the^" fatigue call." You will Wonder what all this has to- do with the innle. Well, it is just this: that mule learned one of those calls- He didn't beaJ it on a drum, or blow it on a life OJr bugle; nor did he whistie it, or even boray it; though I suspect, f»o»aa the noise he made, when it sound ed, that he was a •bass.̂ ĉosâ animent. ... , .. S( . v Although there was aiiytliiiig but im&sic in Tns voice, he had a fine large ear for musie. He certainly had an ear 1ffor that one- eall. Could the readers of 'Nihe Nursery guess which call it was? It was the "recall," which told the soldier in general (and that mule in particular, it seemed,) that it was time to quit work. He paid no attention to any other call; but let the "recall" be s<mnded; at any time in the day, on drum or bu gle, and off be would go, full, gallop for the barn, banging the old cart around like a tin kettle tiecf to a dog's tail. The soldiers would give chase, bat that ©*kly made him run the faster. On he would go, he-hawing aJC the while, as much as to say, "The Srst duty of an army mule is to obey orders, and the recall' says ' quit work.'" Don't you think that was a smart mnle, and that he well earned his ra tions of hay and oats?--Nursery:. ~ • A Sermon for the little Felk*, "If ye know these things, happy am ye do them."--John xiii: 17. if y* I. "These things;" that is your du ties. You have duties, wherever you are:" .. r 1. At home, obedience and respect to" parents, and kindness to brothers, sis ters and servants. 2. At school, respect to teachers, and faithfulness in study, and fairness in play. 8. At church, be quiet, listen, wor ship, and give your hearts to the Savior. 4. On the street, good manners, mod esty. kindness, minding your own busi n e s s . , , , • • • » • • It. How should you do your duty? \. Not for pay. That is a low mo tive. Some always ask, "What will you give me?" from love» So the Savior did when a boy at Nazareth. So the an gels do God's will (which is only an other name for duty.) This will make you do it cheerfully. 8. Better every day. \ By trying tb do mi Igre skijL w Kg, writ»^ • Gf<§w your dtttiesyou wiilbeconuy ful. So you improve r in reai ing a^d tausitf Pe#-; says," FWf-" -;*M I "ih . , | J III. Doing duty mike# you JMg>i Sin cannot make you happy. Sin c not make Eve happy, nor Cqin, nor Judas. Disobedience at home does not make you liappy; idleness," uKklndnesi",*'*' bad mamutm, faojrf*d.o^ ilca»n you happy. But happiness comes from doing your duty. That is God's reward. Thft is the promise in the text. Think o£ this every day for just one week, and see how true it is. > * .T.r2\t!ien' 40 know your duty. Ufa"': faithful in duty in doing it for love to - < God and man; then you will tte haprir--' every day on earth, and forever happy m Hem--Exchange. , . Mm ̂Mamie j THEM were four flies upon the ftbreeni door. They were tired, and hot, hungry. They had been playing "tag" in the sunshine all the morning lon#J and now came to the door to see if din ner was ready. No one had called then** but they came--flies do not wait to be called to dinner. *! The table was all set, and no one Hy the room but Mamie. She was > stand*« * ing in a chair by a great glass dim full of beautiful red strawberries, wit£' snow-white sugar drifted over them. " She reached out her fingers and toojfc ? one--two--three--four. They were so large that it made a deep hole, ana ' * Mamie quickly tumbled the rest to-"' ' gether, and got down and came to tlMr door. Mamie did not feel good. Stiff* thought the strawberries must be bHM& Then she saw the four flies who wanted* to get in. She knew her mother had " not asked them to dinner, and did not want them; bwt the bad strawberries' made her ugly, and she took out her slate-pencil and punched a hole right through the wire-screen. In came thp flies, and with them one much larger than the rest, and very handsome, lift' ' fesd a very stylish, slender look, anAv wore a bright, yellow vest, striped wi% (1 Mack. ^ Mamie thought him the prettiest fNr she had ever seen. She thought he must be a fine soldier, or else dressed for a ball. She thought if she .could catch him and show him to her mothei^1 she would not think of strawberries, or-" anything but the beautafed fly. if „:j So the chase began*. The fly ducked, and dod buzzed, and grew angry, w! knocked down chairs, tore her apro% andi broke a castor-bottle. , At lask tired and very angry, the yellow-coated guest stopped on a window to rest. Now was Maamie's chance, and thfcT same two naughty fin gem that stole thfr strawberries caught hold of the hand* some fly! He must defend himself. Very haaghtily he drew his timv sword, and made a deep thrust into> one little: finger! * u Poor Mamie dropped him , anfi screamed. She held ner hand to her mouth, and jumped and cried umtu Pimfl and JMtpa* and many otheite well selected sttftiV.yi Groceries, and heTiafrlyirg w ,y have been a Chinaman/ or a fire-' man, or a soldier, or dressed lor a party,, and she wanted Mm, ana he--h£ --he--took his knife and cut off her fiiw ger, and1--" O dear,, dear! Mamie will never, never take ne nuflin again--n0 ' matter hew much sngar!" They looked at her poer little finger, and found; it all swollen and red. They wondered and hunted until they found" the-offended hornet staggering around on the carpet and trying to suck thft . • roses theue. Harry was going to kil| , ? him, but Mamie said: " No, >et him go. out de door again. * Dess strawberries dood, flies dood, and' ' no one he bad but Mamie own self. Le&m him go,, an' Mamie cry finger well, and den every ting be dood, an' never n a u g h t y n o m o r e , a m e * . " -- * C o m p a n i o n . . i : . w A M&T3EICS FOURTH W . OMATJON. •„ BANG! bang! bampety BAN#! Did e«er you hear sueh a direful clang? s Did ever you hear »«.ch< raeket find noise From two such, -wonderfully qraiet boys? I reaJly declare I am out ot my head, :' • -": Almost, before I am oust of nay toed! ,, , Ob! what shall 1 do to shut out this clang? Banc! bang! bumpety bang! ' s( - - Bang! bang! bumpety bang! ? I Veav the great clatter, the clash and claw--; •., I nufih to the door, hold on to my ears-- ,' ' ' 1 s c o l d a t t h e b o y , b u t w i p e o f f n i s t e a r s , ; . His father looks on. with eye* full of fun; He picks up the shot, and loads tip the snm« Isays: " Boys, don't make such a cutfcter clang." Bang! bang! bumpety bang! AB< Bana' bans! bnmpetvbang! Fram ffltxning till night this clatter and clang! A pause, now and then; then on with a whii-- Whirring, and jarring, and shaking one's phiz. "Boys will be boys' has always been said; . • ButkL men will be boys," when playing with lead, Or shooting, this Fourth of July, with a clang. Bang! Dang! bumpety bang! --Mr*, s. Van Bemchoten, in Chicago Inter- Otean. _ --Fourteen thousand new books, con-> taining 20,000 volumes, were published in Germany in 1877 by 10,000 authors. The total number of copies was 2,400,- 000, or one for every twentieth person in the Empire. The 8,000,000 almanac? printed annually are not included iifc '" this computation. Statistics show thafc"% the new books are bought by only 2 peg ; i cent, of the population, and herein is curious phenomenon that a Nation^ producing such an enormous number of books should buy, comparatively, sfr «' few, for at least half of every edition i§r " unsold or is sold outside of Germany.-*^; N. Y. Past. --Rev. O. B. Frothingham thinks there are no classes and no caste disr tmetion in tills coun^inf Jimt Iftt him put on a last year's winter suit and a- straw hat, and ask the hotel clerk to let him have a room on the parlor floor, that's all. He will learn some-j thing about the* infinity of distance thaf^ never occurred to him before.--Hawk- E y e . , - -- ' , w --Somebody has said, "A man de%w void of religion is like » horse without a bridle." ' 1