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m tLTKE, Editor mi *.bU,Mf. ILLINOIS 9 CLOVER* FOUR-LEAF Bt HA.1MET MABEL mPAtnJWN#. i <ie!dv -were white withdow^ . »*M«v day long ri?», .• ni»>e«nlrtw« «overed over-. ......MB Itfi tufts of drifted snowii When the jMtba were atarred wltn ofcWwt V And tl»s Tiaes were twining "V*r . JfOaay reaCiilt, l»iti and vnlley, Ctwwud iith snowy flakes of clover-" .ton. Rwoetboart, <'0 you remember '« In the early morning'weather. • t«« we wandered through the rar^M Uptbs nuunv ro«iil, together. J w»rt>Hch»»il the pathway lending ••• t# tbe b*r« we cl«m«re<l iiver, Where the bcrt ies red wers gleuntfaS In tbe snowy fields of clover? Stoiec red and white and aolden^i, I*'4 w On the fur-off hill" were glowi _ *nd within the nleej>ing meiuio*^ Itosj r f-irtr still wert; growing, *•', By thefirase a covored over, ' • When 1 spied, half hidden, resting \ . At o«r f»efc, a four-leaf clover. * .SfWish !* Yon laid your hnnd in ilihM, y'si: Thrt>my pulse* swifi 1/ stealing, ? the thoitnln --<iaro I reveal i| rr>:;Tbat sw»>et hopemv soul wa« feeling? •• v-fiBni yer.r laughing eys* andvoioe £"• Tn'my heart repeated over: >*• g'f̂ Visli i Mio nmy yonr sweetest dWNUnJy-' SSs" Blaaeom In tbia Held of olover.' ; P 'S'lihen I t ook vowr hand i*i mine,' u • i \ And w dvep your chesk ww flashing ' thf» |»i<iR beside the hedge ' Airi tbe reddest rose seejnad bluahinj. year noswst *M, 1 kn">w, v ':"^ iVr 1 heard th« mendo-w* ringing »# Kit - . *C And the robin's raptured singing. Years have passed, but f;>nd and (aithld *y Miy t-hie you fit to-day, • ,%J|weutv tiui •« the fields have whitened W itli ibe mirly blooms of May. • * ;;3lat old Time can never alter ' Those deav wonis we whispered ov® • On ihut Mav d«v lonu ago, ' V\ lieu the tield> were sweet with ckrtW, MADELI.NE'S MISTAKE Jill the Barchester family had come to tbe conclusion, separatelyand col­ lectively, that Bess looked like a princess in her white dress with the straight, clinging folds, the V neck, and the knot of roses at the corsage that looked so cxactly like real buds and leaves. , Bess was very pretty, too;--one of those warih-cosnplexioned bl<jndes, with reddish-hazel eyes, hair lighted up with chestnut gleams and pearly teeth--who reminded one of Titian's studies and old Peter Paul Ruben's in his happiest moods. » ••Oh, Bess!" cried Honora, ••do wear your hair in a low coil at the nape of your neck, with just a few dinning little rings escaping." ••Nonsense!" said Eudora. "Do it In a fluffv mass at the top of your head with an amber dagger or a rope • of Roman pearls. The Greek knot is all out of date." "Will you hold your tongues both of you?"' sharply demanded Bess, stamping her foot. "Oh, dear, how nervous 1 feel! Madeline, dear, if this first 'evening' w^ have ever given should prove & failure, I--I shall commit suicide." •'It won't prove a failure," said Madeline, the eldest sister of alL Madeline herself was hopelessly plain. The hair that in Bess' case was Titian gold was In hers dull orange-red. Her weak, pale eyes were red-lidded and slightly crooked, her nose long and sharp. But, nevertheless, Madeline was a genius in her way. Old Judge Bar- Chester never could have tided over the rough sea of creditors, privations and triafs that beset him had it not been for her help "Don't fret, papa," said the pale- eyed diplomate. That idea of yours , of giving up this very handsome house ! fs all nonsense. Who cares what the landlord says? Let him wait for his rent. It won't hurt him if he never gets It. Let the tradespeople rage; they are simply a lot of sharks. Here's Bess, a first-class beauty, and If she has a fair chance she's sure to make the family fortunes. But what can any of us do with a chsap flat and cold mutton for dinner? Ope must have opportunities. Just let Bess and me alone and you shall see what we can do." £ Judge Barchester, always willing to j/ leave the problems of life for some one else>4to solve, flung the pile of dunning letters in the fire and but­ toning a costly fur-trimmed overcoat ' around his portly figure took refuge in the aristocratic halls of the club, while Madeline, lik?a fadecj-eyed bird. of prey, fluttered forth among the j milliners, dress-makers and modistes s>», for the benefit of Bess, the debutante, rv; .^Everything is arranged," said she, composedly. "I ordered the supper ot Yanesse. I had to pay something f on our back, indebtedness, but 1 too<c > t1 care it should be as little as possible. Steiner sends in the flowers. We've / never ordered flowers there before and the poor fools are anxious to secure ' our custom. Mr. Bapper, the funny loan, is to recit?; Mrs. Yivyan en- eaged him for me. And Miss Dale will sing a Scotch ballad. There are plenty of nicer people than Bapper ' v and Monica Dale, but every one else . Wants to be paid in advance." * Bess colored. f «'Oh, but we will pay them, Made-line, when we're able!" said she. ^ "k- '"We don't mean to cheat them." ; Madeline laughed. - i contemptuously, "ana very delight­ ful. Just the peroon to make a sen­ sation at your lat home,' under Mrs. Fitr-alan's eye and raked by the. tire of Mrs. Aubrey Rockingham'* loi#- ncttc! With his cowhide boots and pepper-and-salt trousers and his fringe of chin whiskers j|nd that chronic catarrh of his! My dear Bess, if we allow that old nuisance to cross this threshold on Tuesday evening it amounts to throwing up the game at once. He's written that he's comiug on that evening." Bess grew pale. "Oh, Madeline, jvhat ate we to do?" • •*" •• H'N Madeline laughed. •I've managed it," said she. .••I've ?written back to him thai we've moved to 14 Currant Court. I've told Cousin Lucv Ransom to make the best of the situation. She can personate you, if she chooses--she always had a turn for private theatricals. Or she can convince the Gear old bungler that he has made some mistake. Anyhow, he'll be safe until Wednesday morn­ ing and we jure safe, too!" "Madeline, what a contriver you are!" said Bess. "Butldo feel sorry for Uncle Zab!" Madeline shrugged her shoulders. •'It's poor policy to feel sorry for any one, " observed she. "And what does an old lout like that know or Ortre whether he's snuboed or /not, Bess?" Bess' heart pricked her a little; but was an apt pupil in the cold ^philosophy of her elder sister, and the arrival at that moment of a box of marrons'glaces for the supper tabledi- i verted her attention from the topic under discussion. At 14 Currant Court, however, the Widow Ransom was furious. "Depend upon it, Lucy," said she to her daughter, who did plainsewing for a livelihood," this is one of Made­ line Barchester's sly, underhand tricks and I've nothing to do with it. You personate Bess Barchester, in­ deed!' You're about as much like her as a pumpkin is like a parsnip. If Bess is ashamed of her relations let her say so candidly." "But, mother," pleaded meek Lucy, "what can we do? Madeline has got a good deal of work for me among her grand friends " "All that don't make it your duty ,to tell a lie, nor to act it, neither, to suit her whims," said the old lady. "Ancl they're to have a great party on Tuesday evening you know." "Well, suppose they are? Didn't Bess and Madeline and the two girls spend all the summer at Blackford farm three years ago? Uncle Zab- diel didn't niake any excuse for get­ ting rid^them then, did he? I de­ clare, they've no more hearts than so many slabs of granite." At this moment, however, there was a ring at the bell and two fair- tressed, slim young girls rushed breezily into the room, dragging a brown-faced old farmer between them. j "It's Dora and me," said Honora Barchester, breathless and red- cheeked, "And we have brought Uncle Zabdiel with us." "It's Nora and me!" put in Eudora, crowding herself into the foreground. "How do you do, Cousin Ransom and Lucy? We went to the depot to meet him and a good job it was, for he hadn't tbe least idea which way to go." "He was heading straight for the Weehawken ferry," giggled Honora. Uncle Zabdiel's round-moon face beamed all over. "I expect I be pretty stupid," said he. "But I guess I should a'fetched round all right if these 'ere girls had . voted for the amendment ote was then taken for the instrnc of the delegates for Mr. Eldredge the same result. ©'resolution presented by Mr. Young finally adopted, the name of Mr. djze being substituted for that of "Xo, girls," said he, "no! That ain't my notion. I've sold the eld farm to a railway and I have made,ft good bargain, &> folks say. I guess I'm what mf. cousin, Judge Barches­ ter, would call a rich man, and I was coming up here to end my days with my relations and leave 'em tgy money after I was dead. But everything's different no*#. I'll hire a house herc^ Phebe Ransom--here in Hew York-- and you and Lucy shall be my house­ keepers. And I'M adopt Nora and D«ra for my own. Yes, girls. I've no daughters and jou shall take: the place to me. "Oh, Uncle Zabdiel!" ecstatically shrieked Bor&jfthd' Nora wlth one ac­ cord. ' Bess Barchestcr's "At Home" was a very tame affair. The funny man did not come at alL Miss Dale had such a cold that her voice made no impression on the company. The wrong people all came ahd the right people stayed away. Altogether it scored as a failure, in spite of Made­ line's heroic efforts. "By the way, girls," said the Judge, as he opened the morning paper at,the late and insipid break­ fast, "you really must write for your old Uncle Cooper to come here and take soiBc notice of him. It seems he has sold the old place for a stu­ pendous priee to some railroad com­ pany, who are going to build up a monster hotel there, with a lot of mineral springs or some such money- making contrivance. Downes told me all about it at the club. They call the old man the 'Blackford Mil­ lionaire.' I don't think he has many relations but ourselves. See to it, will you, Madeline? You always were the family manager." "Yes," said Madeline, gloomily, and I begin to think I've %managed' all the life out of it." Uncle Zabdiel, however, declined to be "taken some notice of," and great was the wrath of the Judge and the two eldest daughters when they discovered the march that Dora and .Nora had stolen on them. "If your uncle wishes to adopt any one," fumed Judge Barchester, "there's Madeline has the family brains and Bess the family beauty." "An& Nora and Dora have all the heart and soul there is in the family," quietly observed Uncle Zabdiel; so I calculate I won't alter my arrange ments." • liiiroUnfltii to Haow. Shortly after the first rays of gray daylight succeeded in piercing the whiling clouds of the present amateur blizzard and illumined Mott street and the rest csf" the town, an obese Celestial weatlng a figured blouse land a little black c&p with a crimson knob upon it appeared at the door of No. 13, says the New York Commercial Advertiser. ' His sallow countenance and half closed eyes showed that he had suc­ cumbed to the fascinations of "dope" during the preceding night, and he swung open the portal with an air of great weariness. Although the con­ formation of his sodden features would hardly seem to admit of it, a look of strong surprise shot across his face. The sill of the door was hidden by a layer of spotless snow. He first touched it carefully witih the tip of his slipper. Two newsboys on the opposite side of the street sighted the Chinaman and developied sudden interest in his actions. Finding that his foot made an impression he reached down, took a little handful of the snow and ex­ amined it curiously. It melted from between his fingers and his wonderment increased. ow, den, soak him!" howled the of the two young gentlemen the way. Cfevrojcctile of very dense slush re- for ,1 the red knotted cap; a second Oggl with a vicious thump in the ,i.-^trical center of the figured uttle .Lucy, too/ Got to he a in. hain't you? Livin' with the e's folks, 1 suppose? But where's I Madeline and my little favorite, Bess?" Lucy and her mother looked hesi­ tatingly at each other, but Honora plunged into the question at once. "I'll tell you. Uncle Zabdiel," saki she. "Nora and I aren't fools, nor yet children--and Madeline and Bess have treated us shamefully and so we're go­ ing to be revenged by telling their secrets. They're going to have an •At Home' and they've invited a lot of grand people, and when they got yoar letter they decided they didn't want you." "Hey?" cried Uncle ZaboieL "Yes," cried Eudora, taking up the thread of the discourse, "the mean, ungrateful things--after all that dear, delightful summer at Blackford farm, that saved Bess' good-for-noth- ing life, they laughed at your cow­ hide boots and chin whiskers, and Madeline made believe to cough out loud just as you do sometimes and ft ^ "Well, I declare!" said Uncle Zab­ diel, relieving his broncMal tubes by the same identical cough and growing very red. "And so," again chimed in Honora, "you were to be made to believe that TffSIR BITES MEAN DEATH* Thi the TarMMia, th« Oontlped* and tl»# Seorplon. One no sooner gets into New Mexico than he begins to hear snake stories. Of course, the rattlesnake furnishes the subject for most of these, and not without cause, for it is naturally a very lively reptile, and the climate of New Mexico seems to keep him ift his liveliest mood. The one redeem­ ing feature of the "rattler" is that he gives an alarm by shaking the rattles at the end of his tail. This ia not due to any particular desire on his part to warn the approaching person of his presence,- but from a peculiar habit, seen in softie cats, for instance, of shaking the tail when excited. The bite of a full-grown rattle­ snake is in almost every instance fcital if no antidote be taken in time. It is attended with inflammation, swelling and severe pain. The hand­ iest and possibly the best antiseptic ts whisky. A man suffering from a severe bite has been known to drink 10ur quarts of whisky in three hours without feeling the effects of it in the usual way. The tarantula is more dreaded than the rattlesnake. His bite is more deadly poisonous and harder to cure; he has a habit of sneaking upon his victim at an unexpected moment,and he gives no warning when about to spring. Fortunately, be does not stay about buildings, as he prefers to hold undisputed possession of the open field. In appearance he is an overgrown spider, and When full grown his six legs can be spread out over an area five or six inches square. When the tarahtula has had an op­ portunity to bury its fangs deep in the flesh, unless skilled medical at­ tendance is promptly at hand, the bite Is always fatal. In cases of this kind a portion of one or both of the sharp stings break off and remains in the wound. These must be removed before there is a possibility of recov­ ery. The surgeon lances the wound, removes the broken fangs and applies strong caustic. In the meantime the patient has imbibed copious draughts of brandy and hartshorn. In cases where bite is not severe sugar of lead and oil will prove effective if applied to the wound, while whisky will not act as>an antiseptic. Another bite that kills is that of the centipede. Contrary to the hab­ its of the tarantula, the centipede seeks the habitation of man, and does not hesitate to intrude into the sleep­ ing apartments. It is usually found, under stones and about rotten wood, but feel * just as much at home in a lace curtain ot in the folds of a blan­ ket. The usudl length is from four to five inches, though specimens have been found that measured eight inches. The largest are not over one- fourth of an inch in breadth, and at every joint of the body is a pair of short legs. The scorpion is another objection to living in warm countries. His> bite often proves fatal. He is a curi­ ous little fellow, ana looks something like a walking lobster. The body is from two and one-half to four inches in length. When excited the scorpion runs very fast, and always with its tail elevated, ready to strike. When the sting is given while the scorpion lb at rest, it is administered by rais­ ing the tail over its back and striking downward, which drives the little thorn-like point into the flesnr'at the same time emitting a venomous liquid. If the sting be given while the scorpion is running, it has the effect of a scratch, similar to that given by a cat, only much more pain­ ful. To persons of robust health the sting is not generally fatal, but is usually so to children or debilitated people. What is lacking in deadli- ness is made up for in painfulness. we lived at 14 Currant court and kept Don't be silly, Bess!" she said, out of the way of the company." 'Every one in this world is more or "They needn't put themselves to j century to Germany, less engaged in cheating everybody all that trouble," said old Uncle Zab-! R;ithonow acquired .else*". v .1 1 diel, r letting his head drop on his "But, Madeline--" bur^tin a shrill, j two hands., "If they hadn't wanted W email voice. Madeline Barchester uttered an ex­ clamation of annoyance. * "You bera, Nora!" said she. "Lis­ tening and prying as usual. Leave the. room at once--and Dora, too." "But we want to see Bess,' new gloves and fan," pleaded the two tall «chool-girls. "Well, you can't, then!"^ Without any ceremony, Madeline pushed Honora and Eudora from the room- ; "Horrid little nuisances!" said she. "But here's a letter, Bess, that I didn't show yqu." "Another tormenting creditor?" -"Worse than that. It's from Uncle Zabdiel Cooper, down at the Blackford farm, where you stayed that summer you had the whooping- cough. Don't you rememher?" Bess' eyes softened.. A gracious dimple came out at thfecorner of her -- mouth. ' "What?*' old ;,|7iijcle - r i "Very dear*" observed Madelene, me, why didn't th„ey say so? I want no one to peril their souls by telling falsehoods on my account." Both the girls fiew at Uncle Zabdiel with hugs and kisses. "We love vou, Uncle Zab!" said Dora, vehemently. "We heard it all, even after Madeline drove us out of the room. We listened at the reg­ ister and we made up our minds you shouldn't be " "Deceived and put upon!" Nora struck in. "And please don't be vexed with us because we are Mace- line's and Be3s' little sisters! It's quite true what Dora savs. We do love you. We are tired of being scolded by the girls and snubbed by papa. Please, Uncle Zeb, mayn't we go back to the farm with you and be dairy-girls or milkiuaidsor something Of that kind? I'm awful fond of chickens and Dora can weed the on iocs and shell corn. Please, Uncle Zab!' The Old man suddenly straightened himself up and dashed th# ^ig drops from his eye-lashed v ; thai"1""" ceuter """Rats'" shireked the aggressors as they scudded eastward. "Mucka boi!" hissed the China­ man. It was his first-introduction to more or less beautiful snow. Kara Wore • Kmmm. Spectacle were invented 600 years ago. The use of glass to aid the sight of defective eyes is, however, much older. Nero looked through a concave glass in watching the gladitorlal games, and many other historical men of his day were dependent on similar devices for lengthening their sight. Till the latter part of the thirteenth century only the single glass was in use. In 1$90 the double glass was in­ vented, some say by Sal vino degli Ar- mali; others, by the monk, Alexander of Spina.- In the fourteenth century spectacles were used quite frequently by the very Wealthy and high born, although fcbey were still so scarce that they Were bequeathed in wills with elaborate care that marked the disposition of a feudal estate. The holy Antonius pf Padua, who preached to the fishes when men refused to hear him, gave to the poor, according to the legefid, not only his clothes, but also his spectacles. The flrsj spectacles, which were very expensive, were made in Italy. Somewhat later the manufacture of cheaper glasses sprang up in Holland, and it spread late in the fourteenth Nurnberg and fame for their glasses between 1400 and 1500. For many years glasses were used only as means of aiding bad eyes. First in Spain appeared the fashion of wear­ ing glasses merely for the sake of wearing them. It spread rapidly to the rest of the continent, and brought about the transformation of the old thirteenth century spectacles Into eye­ glasses, and eventually into the mono­ cle, "the cosmopolitan trademark of the dandy." - l*i»in r.nuujU. No thing is made for nothing. Every part of even the smallest ani­ mal's structure is, or has been, of use to him. Otherwise it never would have been developed. "Can you tell me, my friend," said an elderly gentleman to tbe keeper ol the menagerie, "what the hump on that animal's back is for?" ^ "What's it for?" "Yes. Of what value is it?" "Well, it'slotsof value. Be camel wouldn't be no good widout it." "Why not?'?, , • , . 4 'Why not? Ye don*t suppose peo^ pie 'ud pay to see a camel widout any hump on him. do yer?^ : V/ Warring Mat*. A correspondent to the Newcastle (England) Chronicle, describing scenes on the Northumberland coast, tells a curious story about rats: "What a scene of devastation did St. Mary's Island witness as the result of the breaking up of the Gothenburg City. I was on<* of a party that went on board the ill-fated vessel a few days before she broke up. and saw a sight to be remembered. I shall never lor-, get it. To all appearances, as we ap­ proached her, the vessel might have been sailing comfortably out of har­ bor, save for the absence of any ap­ parent life on board of her. But we had no sooner put foot on deck than we were immediately attacked in $uch a manner that such of us as had got on board had to make tracks tor the rigging, while the rest of us fell back into the boats. Rats! I never saw so many in my life and never hope to again. Great, hungry, lanky, lean-looking rats, many of them with their tails chewed off, swarmed up from below in never-ending thousands, squeaking and squirming over one an­ other in a manner sickening and hor­ rible to l>ehold, particularly to those of us up in the rigging. At last we cut off som6 loose ropes, knotted them into convenient lengths, and so armed we descended and attacked the rodents, eventually succeeding in beating a passage to»our boat. Any one would have supposed that they knew by instinct the impending fate of the vessel, for they no sooner saw us over the side than thyy began to swarm down the ropes And try to en­ ter thei Doat, and it was only with difficulty we were able to beat them off before casting-the boat clear; arid they squeaked in a horrible manner in their anguish and mad frenzy as we rowed away from the vessel's side. They were too far both from the island and the mainland to swim ashore. They could not feed on the timber and coal, so that was washed ashore to warm the shins of the coast- folk. While every other part of the vessel seemed to no to splinters, the deck-house, strange to say, came ashore on the island intact." piece of old parchment which son- tains a history of the horn. The pa­ per states that the horn was taken from the dead body of Gen. Wolfe at the battle of Quebec by Gen. Murray. In 1763 it became the property of MaJ. Gladwin, and in 1776 it fell into the hands of Gov. Sir Henry Moore of New York. Gov. Moore gave it to the famous Gen. Warren, the hero of Bunker Hill. After the great battle when Gen. Warren was killed Private W. M. Smith took possession of the horn and afterward gave it to Gen. Washington, who carried it through the remainder of the Revolutionary War and kept it until his death. After the death of the Father of His Country the horn became the property of Lieut. Richmond Soraers, who car­ ried it through the war with Tripoli. The horn was afterward given to Gen. Jackson, who carried it throush the war of 1815* Jupe 12, 1818, -it be­ came the property of W. M. H. Rose,, who in turn gave it to H. Y. Rose Aug. 19, 1831. The latter gave to his son, O. D. Rose, the present owner, July 1, 1860. At the battle of Bunker Hill the bottom was shot out and was replaced by a piece Qf brass.--Nebraska State Journal. ' Turning the Tablet, "You may think," said the King In exile, "that it is a glorious thing t? be a king. Listen, and I will tell you what happened once to me. You will then see how delightful a crown can be sometimes." llI was giving a dinner party to my ministers and my officers. At the moment of sitting down an aide-de- camp came hurriedly into the room. "'Sire,'he saftd, 'there is a dis­ patch, which must be signed at once. Pardon my disturbing you.' "I saw that there was something more than a dispatch, and I left th6 room with an apology. " 'What is it?' 1 asked. " 'Drink no wine,' he whispered. •It is poisoned.' " 'Who is the chief conspirator?' ' "'Your Prime Minister.' "I returned to the table, and dur­ ing dinner I drank nothing. After dinner the Premier proposed the pros­ perity of the country. I rose to drink it, my glass in my hand, my poisoned glass. I said that so deeply did I ap­ preciate the sentiment of his Ex cellency that in drinking the toast I would honor him by exchanging glasses. He turned white, he turned green, but he could not refuse. I drank his glass; he drank mine. "I assure you it was twenty min­ utes at least before his writhings--in his chair--were over. Then ttiey carried him out And yet youthink it is a fine thing to be a kiAg.'*^ * % ' : , , Beat Estate tn Cr««l*. The other day a Denver man stepped from the train, saw a lot he thought he would like and asked the owner, who, of course, just "hap­ pened" to be standing near, what he would take* * ; > "One thousand' dollars, " Was the reply. "Well*. I'll sees you again shortly. I want' to look about and get my bearings?" After inquiring the prices of various other lots he concluded to take the first one. He had been gone but an hour, and felt a satisfaction at being able to do a little business so soon after his arrival, and remarked to a companion: "This is a hummer, and no mistake." To the owner he said: "I've concluded to take your lot. Have the papers made out and we'll go up to the bank and get the money." "The price has gone up since you were'here. It is now $1,300," quiet­ ly remarked the owner. "Three hundred dollars an horn!" he easped, and was carried to the train. The pace was too killing. Such activity in real estate and build­ ing has rarely been seen even in Col­ orado. The buildings in Jimtown have arisen like mushrooms over night. An absence of a couple of days, and one would rub his eyes to be sure he was awake, so great is the change --Denver Sun. A ram one rondcr.Uorn. Mr. O. D. Rose, a resident of Lin­ coln Heights, is the possessor of aft ancient and interesting relic that has a most remarkable history. It is no less than a powder-horn 134 years old. The horn is yellow with age and con­ tains the following inscription: "Daniel Brooks, his horn, made at Lake George, October the 9th, 1758." Although made from a common steer's horn this relic lias been the property of Gen. George Washington, Gen. Wolfe, the hero of Quebec, and Old Hickory Jackson. , Mr. Rose When fire* Are Mo«t KommM. Do you know at what time fires usually break out? Is it during the busy, hustling hours of the aay or during the still, silent hours of the night? The report of the Fire Com­ missioners answers the query. The average number of fire alarms in a year in New York Cltv is a little more than 4,000, which is at a rate of more than ten alarms a day.. Less than one-qurrter of the fires start between lip. m, and 7 a. m., while about three-quarters start between 7 a. m. and 11pm. Oddly the alarms are rarest between 6 and 7 a. m., when fires for household and business pur­ poses are kindled generally. The busiest time for firemen is between 8 and 9pm., about the time that fires for household purposes go out. There is no-particular difference in days re­ garding the frequency of fires, except that they are materially fewer on Fridays than on any other day of the week.--New York Sun. - • A Matter or Latitude. "The whole thing is a matter of latitude," confides an old gentleman to Kate Field's Washington, and re­ ferring to street-car etiquet. "In Boston I never give up my seat on any account. There is nothing about a Boston woman--I say it in no spirit of disparagement--to suggest such, a course. She lacks that sort of ag grcssive femininity which makes man uncomfortable when he ventures further south, to sit still while a wo­ man is standing. In New York give up my seat to elderly women or women with children to care for or with their arms full of packages.' In Philadelphia I vacate in favor of any woman old enough to wear a bonnet in Washington my place is at the dis possvl of the veriest bud! and further south than that I never ride on a street-car at all, as I feel that I must get up for every school girl whether she has entered upon her teeens or not.** Kfflnod Ti*»t««. Along the Arctic coast men cut off the hair on their heads, so that they look like monks, the object being to avoid scaring the caribou by the Hut ter of their locks. The Esquimaux are fond of eggs not yet hatched. Jiut about to be. They are much addicted to liquor and tobacco, and it is a com mon thing to sec a nursing infant has a, with a quid of tobacco in its mouth. 4 TteeaXtar itteMMfte. A reliable authority on matters re­ lating to the aspect and surroundings of a house considers that no single tree should stand within some feet of it, ho garden within several yards and no woodland, with its carpet of decaying leaves, within at least half a mile. This last estimate might well, it is thought, be reduced by one-half, and perhaps twelve to fif­ teen feet might be taken as the smallest distance which should inter­ vene between tree and house. With this qualification the proximity of trees to a dwelling house is distinctly beneficial. To insure a pure and fragrant atmosphere, "you must," says a writer on the subject, "accept from nature those tall, green chim­ neys called trees, which imbibe and carry aloft into the air those hurtful gases which, if admitted to the lungs and bram might disease the former and obstruct the delicate movements of the latter." At various points in the Country may be observed houses which, in spite of faulty situation, are yet gen­ erally healthy, chiefly because they are environed with ^rees which shel­ ter them from the cold winds of Win­ ter and spring and in summer pre­ vent that sudden and rapid evapora­ tion which after heavy rains may generate disease. A most striking example of the use of trees in pre­ serving an< promoting health oc­ curred some years ago. As the story goes, a man, along the extremity of rSu rccciVcd no injury from its proximity, till, in an unfortunate hour, a thick row of eld­ ers which grew upon the bank was ^ cut down. Almost immediately low fever attacked the family, and not only reduced them to a state of great weakness, but returned at short in­ tervals, till they removed to another locality. 11 ow lM«n Carry Their Henda. •A sure indication of character I# found in the way in wfiich a man carries his hands," said C. G. Clark of Boston. "You notice men on the streets. See the young man with swinging arms and palms which are displayed to all who take the trouole to look. He is one of that clais whose heart is as open as his hands. He is frank, unsuspicious, a free spender, and a believer in the hon­ esty of his fellows. Notice the busi­ ness man more advanced in years. His hands are always closed so tightly that he gives you the impression he is ever expecting an attack. This is the attitude of men bent upon a cer­ tain object. It is the attitude wnich displays^the qualities of determina­ tion and fight. , In debate you will observe some of our law-makers em­ phasize a statement by hammering the desk before them with their knuckles, while others, apparently equally impassioned, are satisfied with the use of the palm You may rest assured that if sheer determina­ tion will succeed the man Who ap­ plies bis knuckles will win before his colleague who uses hfs palm. The way in which the thumb is held is also a true sign of character. The man who turns it in under his fingers is always weak. That is the position in which it is always held by a child. The thumbs of great men are large and point out conspicuously from their fellow-members. The Duke of Wellington. Napoleon, Grant, Glad­ stone, Salisbury, Morley, Blame, not to go any further, have the distinct­ ive peculiarity mentioned. I am pre­ pared to lay a wager that if I be given 100 men I will read their na­ ture and their power by a close exam­ ination of the manner in which they hold their hands."--St. Louis Globe- Democrat; ^ cog on 1 p. * There is a fog peculiar to some parts of Nevada called pogonip. A gentleman connected with the Nevada Mining Bureau writes this descrip­ tion: "In the White Pine Moun­ tains, the Toyabi, the Hyko and the Parranagat ranges, it is quite com­ mon to see the trees, houses, and everything ouo in the open gradually become white without any apparent cause. There is no perceptible fog, but the hot air from the valleys grad­ ually ascends up the mountain side, and, becoming crystallized, the mi­ nute crystals attach themselves to anything 111 sight. This phenomenon affects human beings in just the same manner, and when the fog passes by the frozen particles will adhere to the hair and clothing, producing a very grotesque effect. Hot Creek ^Valley is situated right in the center of the mining district, and is so called because of the warm springs that are always to be found there. These springs cause a pogonip in that dis­ trict every night, and for this reason: The wind in the valley always blows from one direction in the daytime, and after sunset it invariably blows from the opposite point. The effect of the cooler air passing over the hot valley is to force the heated air to rise. When it reaches a temperature of about 25 degrees the result is a pogonip." « Camel Knclnranoe. In a paper of the camel. Herr Leh- mann states that neither heat nor cold, nor extreme daily or yearly va nations, impede the distribution of the camel--each race of camels being, however, best adapted to the condi tions of its native climate. The dromedary of 'the Sahara e»joys its best health in the desert, though a day of tropical heat may be followed by a night several degrees below freezing-point*, and daily variations of 60 degrees occur. In Semipalatuck, again, where camels are found, tno annual variation sometimes reaches ::early 150 degrees.. But the camel is very sensitive to moisture, and desert caravans run much risk in entering regions of tropical rain during the rainy season. Costly rnra. In the reign of Henry VIII. the use of sable was forbidden to any be­ low a viscount. A pelisse of sables, the property of the late Emperor Nicholas of Russia, displayed in the exhibition of 1851, was valued at $10,000. A coat lined with sables is often worth from one thousand five hundrea to two thousand dollars. A set of sable tails can hardly be sold for less than two hundred and fifty dollars. THE Irind of reform we most need is that which does not go so far away from home to begin work. Cowards seem to be among the moral delinquents who get no sym­ pathy at all. We somehow fail to see both sides of the question when it in­ volves a man taking to his heels, or even shooting «ff a finger, tq avoid serving his country. Pat O'Brien did appreciate the unpopular side. In the midst of a brisk engagement he was seen hiding behind a stump. "What are you doing here, if*?" exclaimed an officer, gallopintrup. "I'm afraid you're a coward!" Pat drollv cocked an eye at his ques­ tioner, and retorted with true Hiber­ nian expression: "Faix, Captain, dear, I'd rather be called a coward sill the days of me life than to be like that poor craytur yonder!" The. "poor craytur" ih question was the mutilated trunk of a man whose head had been carried away by a shell. But all honor to those Who were afraid and yet fought their fear as unflinch­ ingly as they met the enemy? One poor little soldier was found by his Captain keeping bravely up to his file leader, while the bullets of the skirmish line, which, preceded a hot engagement, were cutting the air about his ears/ He was crying bit­ terly* though clutching his musket and never lagging a step. "Now, sir, what's the matter?" demanded hi3 irate officer. "Are you afraid?" . "No-o, I ain't afraid,"said the. lit­ tle fellow, in a broken voice- "but I wish I was in father's barn." "What would you do in your father's barn?" • • " . •'I'd go into the house!" - • t 'JM '?{• _ . ; ; ^ i . , -JtaeWni"'V«M.« In the description of a . dinner In 1350 there is no mention of the fork, and it is not certain that there was a knife for each person. The guests were placed in couples as far as pos­ sible, on the ground of their being mutually agreeable, which was the more necessary as in certain cases the porringer--a bowl with ears for the soup--had to serve two persons. If a person preferred not to use h!s spoon, or if one had not been supplied him, he drank his soup from the porringer held by one of the ears. Those pres­ ent at the table put their hands into the Common dish to take such pieces of meat as they preferred, though it was not expected they would explore the mass too thoroughly This will pass for a description of the way a meal was eaten in an aristocratic family in Europe 150 years before America was discovered by Columbus. This elegance of appointment i^d manners was not found lower down in the social scale. In families of less wealth hands were not always washed before eating, napkins were not supplied, and not only were meats taken with fingers from the common dish, but the soup was placed upon the table in a large vessel, into which every one dippe#. his spoon and con­ veyed the liquid to his mouth.--San Francisco Chronicle. ' ••• - : • Dress WMI. '• A young man cannot afford to wear shabby or ill-fitting clothing. It pays to dre3S well. If there is a grain of truth in the old saying that clothes can make a man, it applies with in­ creased force if the man who happens to be meant is a man of ability. A well- fitting suit of clothes is a magic key to society--not clothes by themselves, of course, but considered as adjuncts in the make-up of the man. If you were going to employ a clerk and there were six applicants, all equally intelligent, capable, and honest, but one of them well-dressed and tidy in looks f.nd the other five stuffed into ill-fitting garments, the chances are ten to one that you would select the first. No young man looking for­ ward to something higher in life can make a better investment than to buy good clothes. Much depends upon first impressions in the counting- room as well as in the parlor. Amazons ot Uahomey. The standing army of Dahomey consists of two bodies--a female corps, called the Amazons, known in Dahomey by the titles of,"The King's Wives" and "Our Mothers," and a male corps, composed of the palace guards, court criers and other officials* and the male Aults in Abomey, the capital. Behind these two corps is •he male population of the kingdom,, which is liable to be called out, iri part or as a whole, totjikepart in any expedition, and thus forms a sort of reserve. The female corps, or to use the common expression Amazons, was raised about the year 1729* when a body of women, who had been armed and furnished with banners, merely as a stratagem to make the attacking force appear larger, behaved with such unexpected gallantry as to lead to the forming of a permanent corps of women. The Human Body. The average of the pulse in infancy is 120 per minute; in manhood, 80; at 60 years. 60. The pulse of females is more frccjucnt than of males. The average height of an Englishman i9 5 feet 9 iAches; of a Frenchman, 5 feet 4 inches, and of a Belgian, 5 feet inches. The average weight of an Englishman is 150 pounds; of a Frenchman, 136 pounds; of a Belgian, 140 pounds. The average weight of the brain of a man is 3.V pounds; of a woman, 3 pounds and 11 ounces. A man breathes about 18 pints of air a minute, or upwards of 7 hogsheads in a d*y. The average weight of an adult man is 140 pounds 7 ounces. The weight of the circulating blood is about 23 pounds.--Philadelphia Press. Shines Worth Knowlnc.. A square mile contains 640 acres- A hand (horse measure) is four inches. Blotting paper is made of cotton rags boiled in soda. For every foot of stature a man should weigh twenty- six pounds. In Australia no news­ papers are published or railroad train run on Sunday. The first lighthouse: had tires of wood and coal kindled a the top of them. A gold coin d preciates 5 per cent, of value in sixj teen years of constant use. The no mal temperature of man is 98} d>.. grees Fahrenheit; that of fish 77 de-?- grees. A man breathes about eigh' een pints of air a minute, or upward^, of seven hogsheads a day. tM Is most novels girls are taugh how to be heroines, not how to be* ' • i L-"" v*. •*',