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^^cntg §?lamdealer J. TAN SLYKE, EDITOR AND PUBLBBHEE. McHENRY, ILLINOIS OUR JUVENILES. f l < A Pleasant Response from Mr. Longfellow, [The children of Cambridge commemorated Mr. Longfellow* 78d birthday--on the 27th of Febru­ ary last--bf presenting to him a beautiful arm- •hair, made fij>m the wood of the .-village black smith's chestnu't tree. This pretty and appropriate tribute has drawn from the beloved poet the fol •iwing exquisite response, under the title," From ITylrin-Chair: *] "" ' Am I a King, that I should call my own This splendil ebon throne? Ot by what reason, or what right divine, ( Can I proclaim it mine? k ^ &rCfi*hapc, rigkt dirina <>* 4w 1 It may to me belong; Only because the spreading chestnut tree Of old was sung by me. |Kfl¥*einember it In all it* prime,; jj. ' * ' tffcttti In the sunimer-time • * - • The tffluent foliage of its branches made A cayara of cool shade,. fl^^jackspiith^ Its blossoms white and sweet Kntioed the bees, until it seemed alive, And murmuredlikea hire. And when the winds of autumn, with a shout, Tossed its great arms about, The shining chestnuts, bursting from the sheath, * fofopped to the ground beneath. And Sow some fragments of its branches bare, Shaped as a stately chair, H*v#by my hearthstone found a home at last, And whisper of the past. The Danish King could not in all his pride Refiel the ocean tid?. Bbt/seaMd-in this chair, I can in rhyme Roll back the tide of time. I see again, as one in vision sees, The blossoms and the bees. And hear the children's voices shout and Mil, And the brown chestnuts fall. I sep the smithy with its fires aglow, * I hear the bellows blow, <W And the shrill hammers on the anvil beat The iron white with heat. • And thus^dear children, have ye made for me TUtto day a jubilee, And to my more than threescore years and ten Brought back my youth again f Thel^art hath its own meihory, like the mind, And in it are enshrined * The precious keepsakes into which are wrought giver's loving thought. Q^By your love ahd your remembrance could Give life to this dead wood, And make these branches, leafless now so long, Blossom again in song. ' ' Triftie's First Tooth. Trixie was being dressed for Sunday- s^oof when she made an important discovery; one of her little white teeth was loose. "QhiI'm-so glad!" she cried. "All the other girls had loose teeth a long time ago, and once Jennie Potter had one, and She was eating an apple, and her tooth came right out in the apple. How soon * do you blieve I can have mine pulled, mamma? Will I have to go to the dentist? " 'Wet - mother said it was not loose enough yet, but when the time came they would make every effort to find some one fitted to extract the tooth in a sHllM manner. Although she said this very gravely, Trixie had a suspicion that her mother was laughing at her; so when her sash was tied she hurried off to tell Ned. BnJ J tffc&t young gentleman had been through the tooth-pulling operation so many times that it had ceased to be a novelty, and he did not prove a vpry agreeable confidant. But Trixie did not mind. She was as proud as if the whole world rejbiced with her. She felt the wee tooth every minute on their way to Sunday-school; but they were late, and, in the bmstle of get­ ting seated, the pleasant lesson, the singing, and the feet that her teacher lia<jl a new hat with a lovely feather on it, trixie forgot her new .dignity, and wjj.8 only reminded of it when her cousin, the librarian, brought the books to the infant class. He was a tall young man who was studying dentistry, and Ijis small kinswoman naturally thought he would be interested in the communication he had to make. As he was passing by she stood up and said, in a loud whisper, "Oh, Cousin Nelson, do you know I've got a loose tooth?": "Have you? M asked the youth, blush­ ing and conscious that the yeung ladies in the next class had heard the ques­ tion. "This da it--this one right here/' and,. 4s she spoke, she opened her mouth to its widest extent, and moved the tooth backward and forward. Cousin's Nelson's face was scarlet as he heard a suppressed laugh from Miss Montgomery and a faint titter from Miss Carlisle, and he hastily retreated to' his library, wishing that he could ottti every tooth Trixie possessed. iTsee," said the little girl who sat next her. so she displayed it again, but kept wondering why Cousin Nelson should hurry off so fast, not even giving her time to ask how soon he thought it might be pulled. Every day of the following week Trixie tormented the family about her tooth, and when her father came home from the store Saturday afternoon she said, "Papa, I just know my tooth is loose enoughnow.. I can't eat with a bit of comfort, and I wish you'd pull it out to-day." Her father looked at it and said, \ "Well, pass, I think it is ready to come out;" so she wheeled the big arm-chair , nearer the window, climbed into it, and watched him while he twisted some thread into ft cord. " Tell me when youYe all ready, He finished twisting, pawed the oord around the little tooth and tied it firm­ ly; then he said, "Now, Miss Beatrice, everything is ready." "Call in the boys, then " she replied with great dignity. * A few weeks before Ned bad a tooth extracted, and Trixie remembered that she had seen tears in his eyes. The fact hat it was a large double tooth made no difference to her. The Starkweather boys were over playing with Ned this afternoon, and she would show them all how brave a girl could be. No 'tears should be seen in her eyes! The boys came in, wondering some­ what at the invitation, but when they saw the little figure in the easy-chair they guessed the reason, for everyone in the neighborhood had heard of Trixie's tooth. So with many a chuckle they waited to "see the show." "I know Trix H holler!" whispered Ned. But it wasn't much of a "show" after sll; papa gave a jerk, and the little tooth was dangling on the cord. " Is it truly but? " gasped Trixie. " Truly"- and her father laughed aa he cut the string and gave the tooth to her. " What a cunning, little thing! I'm going to keep it always. And I didn't cry one bit, did I, papa?" she asked, with an exultant look at Ned. * Not one bit. Now for the pay." * How much will it be? " 'Twenty kisses" -- which were promptly paid with accompanying hugs, much to the detriment of papa's collar and tie. Trixie kept her tooth a long time, but one day her box of treasures upse|r pf men. y/LNCnSITT BELIEFS. " Jlx OLA F. M CHRISTIE. The ancient Persians believed in three gods, the greatest of which was Ormuzd, who made a perfect man with a giant head. An infinite distress caused monstrous head to burst with terrible anguish, when out stepped a beautiful Woman. The head shrank to a natural size, and they became the first man and woman. * Ther ancient Hindoos believed a mon­ strous serpent coiled upon the ocean. Upon "him Vishnu slept for long ages in inactivity, and died. Out of his depart­ ing spirit Brahma-arose, who created man by commanding. The ancient Assyrians believed some­ where in their country was a beautiful garden, into which God came one night and gathered particles of all kinds of dust, of which to form man. He fash­ ioned him after His own image. When sufficiently dry to be handled without defacing, he placed Himself mouth to mouth, hands to hands and feet to feet, and imparted life to the image. Sleep had possession of the man. Then God drew a glittering blade from His girdle, and, with infinite quickness, took a bone -r?of the 248 bones--from near the heart, and, placing the requisite female depen­ dencies around it, gave it to the num for his wife. The Aztecs believed that a Princess, being offended at her husband, obtained leave of Deity to depart from Paradise, On condition that she would go to earth and populate it. She started on her long and perilous journey. When once in sight of earth, she drew from her girdle a knife glitter­ ing with diamonds, and hurled it against the planets, breaking it into twelve pieces, whioh immediately resolved themselves into six Knights and six Princesses, from whioh sprung six races stagnation, their misdeeds are forced into light--there is no method of cov­ ering them up. Sinners are "found out," now-a-days, and cannot lead wiaked lives undiscovered. and the wee bit of ivory must ha#e rolled down a crack, for she never co o* find it. She regretted this very much, as she " always meant to keep it for lier grandchildren!" • FOR GIRLS ONL Y. Suppose, young, warm-hearted girl, as you lean on the broad shoulder in the half-lit-up parlor, thinking how nice it is to have somebody fond and protecting, and how dear you seem to be to him, suppose you should be made aware of all the cheeks that had rested on that shoulder, and all the forms that arm had encircled. It's fortunate you don't know these things. It might lead you, however, to keep yourself more sacred for some one who will love you as en­ tirely as you love this man, who "takes life as it comes," and by force of habit, if not by inclination, could not remem­ ber one woman six months if his happi­ ness depended on it. You are to allow no personal freedom from a gentlemen of your acquaintance. If a finger is put out to examine a locket or chain on your dress, draw back and take it off for inspection if you choose. The reason for this is cfear to., every one who comes to 25 years of age. A girl who protects her­ self from the freedom so much in vogue in society increases her own value, if she only knew it, with those she may have to repulse. I don't be­ lieve in prudishness or suspicion, but I do believe that, if men and women are not content with the friendship that can be expressed by frank and clear words one is not ashamed that the whole world should hear, they should know what intoxication they are sharing. GLADSTONE'S IDEA Of A HERO. Mr. Gladstone, in an address on "Dr. Hook," recently gave his idea of a hero. He holds that a hero is a man who must have ends beyond himself, in casting himself, as it were, out of himself, and must pursue these ends by means which were honorable and lawful, otherwise he might degenerate into a wild enthusi­ asm. He must do this without distor­ tion or disturbance of his nature as a man, because there were cases of men who were heroes in a great part, but who were so excessively given tocertain ideaffttnd objects of their own that they lost all the proportion of their nature. A to be a hero must pursue ends beyond himself by legitimate means. He must pursue them as a man, not as a dreamer. He must not give to some one idea a disproportionate weight which it did not deserve, and forget everything else which belonged to the perfection and excellence of human nature. If he did all this he was a hero, even if he had not very great pow­ ers, and, if he had great powers, then he was a consummate hero. A greater hero than Napoleon was the Captain of a ship which was run down in the chan­ nel three or four years ago, who, when his ship was quivering and the water gurgling round her, and the boats had been lowered to save such persons as could be saved, stood by the bulwarks with a pistol in his hand and threatened to shoot dead the first man who endeav­ ored to get into the boat -until every woman and child was provided for. A GOLDSBOBO' (N. 0.) lady sprained her ant by knitting. The ancient Egyptians believed two goils descended from the sun and alighted on the flowery banks of a beautiful lake in the morning, and planted the germ of a lotus plant, eaoh kissing it on opposite sides. The plant grew and ripened its fruits. The le­ gumes burst, and a beautiful man and woman, like the ripe corn from the husks, stepped forth in spontaneous marriage. The Asiatics of Egyptian descent be­ lieved in the center of a watery universe existed the Divine Power, which, slowly and silently for ages, collected a trans­ parent shell about him in which he slept. On awakening, by his own ener- gies, he burst the shell and arose to the surface, an immense turtle, covering millions of acres. He again burst his shell, the fragments of which became earth, mountains and rocks. A giant came from the mountains and slept be- Bide a placid lake. 1 From his head sprung a noble race^f thinkers; from his long' arms.stretched by his side, a race of workers^ from his legs, a race of travelers; and from his fingers and toes, the lowest race of alL CAMDKN, Ohio. IMPAIRED MEMORY. When a man is in danger of losing his intellectual power, the smallest symptoms should be watched with care. The inability to grasp a stick, the con­ tinual numbness of a finger, the loss of memory in small matters, are often in­ dications of the approach of serious cerebral disturbance. Even the use of a wrong initial letter, if persisted in, is a symptom of mental disturbance. If you hear a man continually saying "puo" for cup, "gum" for mug, or " tufle " for flute, without being aware of it. you may be pretty sure that his brain is affected. It often happens that such mistakes are made by the best of us in ordinary conversations, but we in­ stantly become aware of the error, and correct ourselves, and this is just the dif­ ference between the sound and the un­ sound brain. In other cases of mental disease persons have wholly forgotten acquired languages, and reverted to their native tongue; on the other hand, it is recorded that Dr. Johnson, when he was dying, attempted in vain to re­ peat the Lord's prayer in English, but did so in Latin. In the same manner cer­ tain events will slip out of the memory altogether. SOT GROWING WORSE. Is the world growing worse? We do not think so. All observing, intelligent men know that the world, however ap­ pearances contradict it, grows steadily better. One reason of the contrary seeming true is that we now have facili­ ties for gathering all the news in the world--and evil makes news while good does not--and presenting it in a single day. When we take up the morning journal the villainy of the en­ tire civilized globe is thrust upon our attention; whereas, only a few years ago, we got it in fragments, at intervals, and often but a small portion at most An­ other is that, during periods' of com­ mercial dullness and monetary pressure, men, driven to their wits' end to avoid failure in business, are tempted in a hundred ways that they would not be in prosperous times. Moreover, their irregularities are hidden by subsequent •access, while* with continued strain and * . * GEMS. \ Politeness is, in business, *hat strat- agem is in war. It gives power to weak­ ness. It supplies great deficiencies. It is invincible either in the attack or defense. Energy will do anything that can be done in this world, and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities will -nake a two-legged animal a man with­ out it. It is a great thing for a young man to find out early that he is of the mini­ mum of importance in the world; that, while it demands of him everything that he can do, it can get on admirably without him, Christians must give up thinking about (Christianity as only a means of escaping a future hell and arriving at a future heaven. To make a union of those who wish to fighfcior good against evil--this is still the true Church of Christ. The evening of every man's life is coming on apace. The day of life will soon be spent. The sun, though it may be up in mid-heaven, will swiftly pass down the western sky and disap­ pear. What shall light up man's path when the sun of life has gone down? He must travel on to the next world; but what shall illumine his footsteps after the nightfall of death amid the darkness of his journey? The more experience we have of the world, the more that experience should show us how little is in the power of riches; for what, indeed, truly desirable can they bestow upon us? Can they give beauty to the deformed, strength to the weak, or health to the infirm? Surely, if they could, we should not see so many ill-favored faces haunting the assemblies of the great, nor would such numbers of feeble wretches languish in their carriages and palaces. Officious people can never leave things alone. No one can possess his soul in peace to go his own way unhind­ ered by them. They stand at tbe cross­ roads of all men's lives, pointing out to them the path they ought to take* and, whether in religious faith or in house- furnishing, the choice of a wife or the pattern of a boot, have their word to say, their advice to give, and their fin­ gers to dip m, whatever may be the pie that is making. A BLIGHTED MUD. "This is the editor, eh? " said a weak and timid man, as he entered the sanc­ tum, removed his hat, and leaned his dyspeptic umbrella against a table. "It is, sir," affably responded the person ad­ dressed. "I have brought round a lit­ tle trifle that I dashed off last night," said the visitor; "the topic is seasona­ ble, and I thought you might like to publish it," and he produced a neatly- written manuscript. Of course it was an "Ode to Spring." The editor took it gently, and, having gazed upon it for an instant, said sternly, as he handed the manuscript back to its author, "I think, sir, you have mistaken the char­ acter of our paper. We can admit nothing profane into our columns, and I am surprised that you should enter the field of literature without having learned how to spell." "Profanity!-- how to spell?" gasped the astonished bard. "Yes, sir," continued the editor, pointing to a passage which had caught his eagle eye, or, rather, which his eagle eye had caught; "here you say: " How sweet In meadows green to view the lambs, Innocent creatures, frisking with their dams. "' Damns' is spelled with an ' n,' sir, and usuually written with a long dash. I cannot undertake to sully the pages of my paper with aught that will bring a blush to the cheek of the youngest newsboy. Good morning, sir! When you have mastered the rudiments of orthograph y and learned common decency I shall be pleased to consider anything you may bring."--Chicago Tribune. ACQUITTED. Gen. Bobert T. Burton, a leading Mormon jg£ Utah, has just been acquit­ ted, after a long trial, on a charge of murder. Joseph Morris headed a schism in 1862, proclaimed himself a more glo­ rious prophet than Brigham Young, and took 500 followers to a fort on Weber river. Some of these became dissatis­ fied and wished to return to Salt Lake, but Morris imprisoned them and confis­ cated their money. Burton, as a United States Marshal, went to the fort, accom­ panied by 300 militia-men, to serve a writ. Morris called on his men to fight, and was shot down by Burton. The acquitting jury was half Mormon and half Gentile. THE Glasgow Herald tells of a won­ derful dog in that city, which has adopt­ ed the practice of collecting pennies from the spectators of his clever tricks, and lately made a contribution, from his own earnings, of £4 to the Royal Infirmary. He saved his pennies for the purpose, instead of spending them at a pastry shop, as he had been in the habit of doing, and seemed to take a real pleasure in the benevolent object. ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE. H&TUBDAT, March 22.--SKHATB.--Senator Ford introduoed m amendment to the law in relation to tj» commitment of imano persona. --A large Amber of bilk were read a fiwt time and oommitted, after whioh several bills were sent to third reading. Hons*.--A bill for the appointment of in* epectors of food was reported back from the Committee on Municipal Affairs... .Yery little other business was transacted. , MONDAY, March 24. --SKNATK. --The only measure noticed during the day wafti bill which proviJea for the extinguishment of a debt by the foreclosure of a mortgage, which was fli»- cuBsed and referred to the Judiciary Commit­ tee. The vote showed no quorum present, when the Senate adjourned. HOUSE.--Bills introduced: By Mr. Frew, amending the Practice act; by Mr. Scott, au­ thorizing the Board of Appeals in grain inspec­ tion to be paid a salary instead of receiving fees as now....Bills passed: Mr. Day's House bill providing for the refunding of moneys collected for drainage purposes in Champaign county; Mr. Hamilton's nil! changing the time of holding courts in the counties of McLean, Ford, Fulton, Jackson. Ogle and Henry... .The Finance Committee re­ ported back a substitute for the Levy bill pro. viumg for the State revenue for lS7i)-'S0. This J™ -a ^ and collection of $1,100,- I 000 la $l,50ft,000 in 188(1, for general Purposes and utilizes $400,000 oi? the surplus In the State treasury by crediting it to th® gen­ eral fund. It also authorize# the levy and eol- of. *700»(w0 ̂ and $1,000,000 in ISX™ 8tate ®fh001 !mid. utilizes £500,000 of the surplus school funds In ths State treasury. TUESDAY, March 25.--SENATE.--No new bills or resolutions were offered, and. the Senate im­ mediately entered on consideration, on seoond reading, of Senator Dearborn's bill giving eccle­ siastical bodies power to receive articles of in­ corporation, with the right of perpetual suooes- After considerable talk it was ordered to a third reading....The first special order of the morning was then taken up, being Senator Kuykendall s bill to regulate the fees and sala- Sf? state officers. Circuit Judges, etc. This bill proposed ageneral reduction of salaries, and called out a great deal of wit and sarcasm from several members of the Senate, the sug­ gestion being made that Hie office of Governor be "farmed out" to the lowest bidder, and {fta* he "board around." The bill was *^4»nd«d all out of shape. Houss.--Several petitions were pre­ sented on various subjects....Mr. Mor­ rison, from the Committee on Judicial De­ partment, reported back a number of billn, mostly with an adverse recommendation Biila introduced. By Mr. Simuela,requiring tax­ payers to list their property uuder oath; paying for repairs on the Copperas creek dam The special order--being the pending drainage bills --then came up. On the motion of Judge Neal that all the measures be referred to a special committee for aftnalgamation, and that action be deferred till Friday, an extended debato oc­ curred, but the motion provailed... .Bills passed: Mr. Bisbeo's amendment to the Justice act; Mr. Jones' amendment to the act ia rela­ tion to landlord aud tenant; Mr. Lovoll'n, amending the Practice act; providing that the Mayor of a city may remove any officer ap­ pointed by him; Mr. Orooker's bill, to com­ pel all insurance companies of other States or countries doing any kind of in­ surance business in this State, other than life, to comply with the General Fire and Marine Iuiurauce law of this State; the bill to repeal a section of the Mayors' act....Mr. LovelTs bill, wliioh takes away fees from masters in chancery and provides for the appointment of Special Commissioners, was lost....Action on the bill reducing the rate of interest to C per oent was postponed. March time will be required to complete the copyiac of the field notes and surveys, stating that 22 work oould be completed within two years. JUS j. y*.,.}'• % : WEDNESDAY, March 26.--SENATE.--The special order for the day was immediately taken up, being the bill appropriating 000 for tha 6Kpen.es of the Illinois and Michigan canal for the years 1879 and 1880. The bill was amended reducing the amount to #60,000, aud ordered engrossed The Senate concurred in the House resolution to adjourn from Satur­ day until Wednesday next....A com­ munication was received from the Gen­ eral Passenger Agent of the Michigan Central railroad, protesting against legislation l o o k i n g t o w a r d a r e p e a l o f t h e S c a l p e r s ' ! a w . . . Bills were introduced: To pay citizens of Cairo $4,951, expenses of quarantine during the yellow-fever epidemic, and to amend the military code of the State. HOUSE.--A resolution was offered and adopt­ ed adjourning the House from Saturday until Wednesday morning, so that the Legislature can go home and vote Bills were introduced : Appropriating <5,800 for the maintenance of the Illinois Historical Society; to pay the Bur­ lington Manufacturing Company $8,750 for tiles for the State House... .Mr. Barry intro­ duced a resolution ordering an investigation into the report that a member had been bribed in his public capaci ty. The resolution was adopted, and Barry, Wright of Boone, Collins, Durfee, and Jones oi Christian were appointed an investi­ gating committee... .The pending Military bill was made a special order for one week from next Tuesday... .Bills passed: The Buy Carte Drainage bill; amending the act for the collec­ tion of taxes. THUESDAT, March 27. --SENATE. --The act taxing express companies was taken from tha Judiciary Committee and put upon the calen­ dar The Militia bill was read a second time. ....Taliaferro's Drainage bill was made the special order for next Thursday, and all the appropriation bills that are in the order of seo- <ttm reading were made the special order for Friday, April 4/.. .The Fee and Sakry bill was advanced to third reading... .A minority report from the committee on stock-yards at Chicago and East St. Louis was presented. HOUSE.--The committee appointed to inves­ tigate the charges of bribery and corruption in the House was increased this morning by add­ ing the names of Messrs. Halliday and MSSOIL The State Register, of Springfield, this morning makes a further charge that a member moved to table his own bill for the sum a! $500. The Register will be called upon to explain. The discussion of resolutions in regard to the RegMer brought out some very spicy discussion of a personal nature.... A bill introduced by the Judiciary Committee in relation to the rate of interest was Sassed. . . .The Revenue Committee iatro-nced three bills prepared by the Joint Sob- Committee on Revenue lie Committee oo license reported a substitute for the bill to prohibit treating, which was read and ordered to a second reading. The substitute prohibits any person from inviting another, under the penalty of a flue of from $5 to #10. Candidates for office who violate th© pro­ visions of the bill are made liable to a penalty of 150, and imprisonment for twenty days, or both, in the discretion of the court On the recommendation of the Committee on State In* stitutions, Mr. Reaburn's bill to repeal the acta under which the Normal Universities were es­ tablished was tabled. FBEDAY, March SA--SENATE.--The Commit­ tee on State Charities reported favoring the bill in relation to the commitment of insane per­ sons, and it was ordered to a second reading, a^ was Senator Ware's bill to exempt all employes of the Illinois Hospital from military duty.... Senator Bash introduced a bill to authorize county boards to organize certain territory as a town by authorizing them to construct or con­ solidate two or more towns, whose territory is wholly within the limits of a city, into one town. ... .The bill taxing express companies was or­ dered printed and to second reading... .On the , ^ ^ „ j THE WORKSHOP. "Wi- -®tl A good leather belt, one inch wide, has sufficient strength to lift 1,000 pound»- . * ijj; J The plates for saws are made of Ja- ' * gots of steel, carefully prepared to se­ cure uniformity, and reduced to the proper thickness by rolling. •' Silver is the most perfectly reflecting substance known, absorbing but 9 per cent, of the incident rays, while specn*. lum metal absorbs 37 per cent. ^ For fastening rubber plates or zings to metal or wood, use a solution of shel­ lac in ten times its weight of strong ammonia. Leave it to soften for weeks without heat. A gallon of ink may be made as fol­ lows: Twelve ounces powdered nut- galls, eight ounces powdered indigo, eight ounces copperas, two or three, ounces cloves, and^onr ounces of gam arabic. Begin to lace in the center of the belt, and take much care to keep the ends exactly in line, and to lace both sides with equal tightness. The lacing should not be crossed on the side of the belt that runs next to the pulley. * Mechanical compression greatly in- g creases the density of wood; this is I practiced in the case of tree-nails, % which are driven through metallic rings, smaller than themselves, into the ship's side, the fibrous structure remain- • ing undisturbed. ' < • -l Machines in a watch-factory will cut screws with 600 threads to the inch-- the finest used in the watch has 260. These threads are invisible to the naked eye, and it takes 144,000 of the screws to weigh a pound. A pound of them is worth six pounds of pure gold. Lay one upon a piece of white paper, and it looks like a tiny steel filing. Seasoned timber is but little liable to decay under the influence of a dry at- mosphere, -and will resist decomposi- . tion for an indefinite period when kept totally submerged in the water. The piles of old London bridge, driven 800 years before, were found to be in good condition when the new bridge Was erected in 1829, and those which served as the foundation for Trajan's bridge over the Danube, A. D. 105, are said, to be still visible at low stages of m/be/teW call of the yeas and navs, found to be present, and the no quorum was Senate adjourned. HOUSE.--Among the biils which caused much discussion was the bill for the protection of brook trout. Mr. Lovoll offered an amendment Erohibiting general fishing in winter through olea cut in ice. The amendment was lost, and the bill ordered to a third reading A number of bills were ordered to third reading, among them the bill to repeal the Scalpers law.... The Speaker laid before the HcAxse a com­ munication from Capt. Lawton, in response to A of ite House swing how much SPANISH GUfTARS. The*country which of all others has associated the guitar with its national expression in music is Spain, on whose romantic soil it was introduced at the tithe of the Moorish invasion. There always have the most tuneful guitars been manufactured To the Paris Ex­ position were sent guitars from a Span­ ish instrument-maker, the vibrations of whose strings could be prolonged twenty seconds when the air performed required it. The workmanship dis­ played on these Gonzales guitars is ex­ quisite, and the instruments were sold at the pr^ce of $200 each; The pro­ gressive development of sonorous power in music, which began in the second half of the eighteenth centnxy, has caused to disappear from the do­ main ol art one by one all instruments whose voices are not very strong. But, as recently as forty years ago, the gui­ tar was cultivated with passionate feel­ ing by a multitude of persons of musi­ cal tastes all over the world. Bossini, in "The Barber of Seville," gets a charming effect from it in the famous serenade. Still the days of the guitar, in any wide sense, were even then num­ bered. It has not sufficient volume of sound to hold a place in the noisy music of the present, not to mention that of the future. Spain is now the only country where the instrument con­ tinues to give active signs of life. Heard amid the stillness of the lovely moon-lit nights of Spain, struck by a practiced hand, and accompanied by a mellow voice, it seems in perfect analogy with the character of the nation itself--ten­ der, gallant, dreamy, secret and melan­ choly. On the minstrel stage it is likely to hold its own for many a year to oome. A potent cause will retain it there--it is a capital dummy. A vain-' able interlocutor or a desirable balladist who is not master of any instrument can always hold a guitar in his hands and pretend to be strumming while ths others play.--Oi ice I&gan, in Har­ per's Magazine for April. * , •*> * • ' 'i a ! - * "f i THIBTT-THBKE years ago a repre­ sentation of the MPassion Play" was enacted at Quebeo before an immense audience. It was looked upon by the entire community as sacrilegious and blasphemous; but, nevertheless, the theater was crowded to repletion. In the crucifixion scene, wherein the Savid* was nailed to the cross, the stage appli­ ances and curtains caught fire, and a general stampede occurred. Upward of fifty were burned or trampled to death. This, at the time, was looked upon as a special interposition of Divine Provi­ dence because of the profane character of the play, and, to this day, the singular conflagration is talked of with only shuddering thoughts. No "Passion Play" has been attempted in Canada ifjnna fVinf Hma.