McHenry Public Library District Digital Archives

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 1 Aug 1877, p. 6

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, RS".V.* «NAP_^* BU i- N voor IAMOOU. ' I do not own an inch of land, j> ' ... But alt I see is mine-- i. ' The orchard and the mowing • ?Tr;»EVF-»fJ The lawns and gardens fine, - V~r'~"iThe wladwaiy tax collector* T. w They bring me tithes diving Wild scents and Biibtlo t'fwendili vs. 4 tribute rare and free; •i i A And, more mumHtont thau My window keeps for me ^V; . A glimpse of bine immensity,^: A little strip of sea. fiioher am I than he who owj Orfat fleets and argosies :| . Tfhavc-» chsro in every ship Won by the island breeze •"To loitev on yon airy road Al>ovo the apple trees. _ .JLjt I freit:hr them with my untold di , &£ k Each bears my own pickcd crew; r,: And nobler cargoes wait for them Than ever India knew-- My ships that sail into the Eastj Across that outlet biue^ Sometimes they seem like living shapl»-- The people of the sky-- -Guests in white raiment coming dowfr- - - From heaven, which iaelos^nf, , I call «i m by familiar aaswy An one by one draws nigh. So white, so light, »-o spirit-like, From violet mists they bloom! The aching wastes of the unknown Are half reclaimed from gloom, St'ice on life's hospitable sea, All souls find sailing room. Th<> sails, like flukes of roseat« ̂ Float iu npon the mist; "The waves are bvoken precious ( Sapphire and amethyst. "Washed from cektiial basement walls, By s\tas unsetting kissecl. Out'through the utmost gates of apace, Past whore the gay stars drift, To the widening Infinite, my aoul Glides on. a vt ssel swift: "Yet loses not her anchorage, In yonder azure rift. "Here sit I, as a little child; The threshold of Ood ̂door Is that clear band of chrysoprtM; Now the vast temple floor, The blinding glory of the dorne* I bow my head before ; "'The universe. O God, is homo, In height or depth, to me; Yet here upon thy footstool groan Content am I to be; -Glad, when is opened to my need Some sea-like glimpse of Thee.£ BELL'S MATCH-MAKINti. 7 J« L: :ir •&r v* v» "My dear Flora," wrote Miss Ray- " It is a long time since we have met. Why can't yoti pack your trunk, and make up your mind to spend the summer with me in t£ris green and quiet «orner of the earth? You shall diet npon locusts and wild honey, if such be your pleasure; you shall put in an ap- fpefurance at parish picnics, or sit in the wbor and embroider while somebody steads Tennyson aloud--in short, you shall do as you please, if you will please to come to your rural friend, BELL. " Miss Raymond regarded it as a wise and far-seeing policy that she had for­ borne to mention the name of the Rev. Clarence Gascoignc--a poor but promis­ ing young clergyman recently Bettled «fl*et the parish of Haphazard, whose •welfare she had chiefly in view in issu­ ing this invitation to "dear Flora," who was nothing less thfin an heiress and a l»eauty. Miss Raymond herself, being neither, naturally set a greater value «pon these things than they deserved, and devoutly believed that Flbra would carry all before her own sweet will. She remembered, when they had been at Madame Buhl's finishing school to­ gether--before adversity had visited the Raymonds' roof--that Flora had been •yif cynosure of all the neighboring *yes at Dr. Creed's theological seminary, "that she had been deluged with valen­ tines, surfeited with bonbons, and em­ balmed in sonnet and song in the poet's corner of the local daily. But appar­ ently these things had not availed. Miss .Flora had already survived several ;Beasons, and was* yet Miss Flora, and •uutrammeled. Whether she liad flirted too hard, her heart had remained un­ touched, or she had never inspired her lovers with anything stronger than a passing fancy, nobody but Flora knew, lless Es mond's family consisted merely -<of herself and a widowed aunt; and, as 3kex income was small, she usually filled ?tift, roomy old homestead with summer 1 bea&lers. But, since the new rector of the flMurish had taken up his abode un­ der Uec roof-tree, and Aunt Milly was in flomewhrl failing health, she had de­ rided "lot to add to her cares, but'to her .pleasure*, in begging Flora to spend flie -mtmm at Haphazard. And Flora -was tiioi&dng loth. She stepped from llnmbcring old stage late on one Hmcmer afternoon, in the jauntiest of traveling toilets, with the most killing of Jhafc peeked upon her shapely head--a *vwy Wwiteiiiug picture of a girl of the 7,period, the soft, fluffy curls upon her -white forehead, the dark eyes shining wiHk mischief, the wild rose blushing mpwn cheek and chin, and a ready smile vd&out the mobile lips. Bell felt sudden­ ly old and faded and dowdy beside her, and upbraided herself smartly for the •eosation. She went up to her guest's room with her, threw open the blinds, pointed out the views, and helped her jnnpaek. WI <do hope you won't find it stupid "here, Flora," she said; " that time will • not hang heavy upon your hands. So­ ciety here is rather chaotic, to be sure, •"I suppose there isn't such an article -aa a gentleman within ten miles," yawned Flora. "Well, they are not as plenty as I could wish, for your sake, I confess. We are always living in hopes that the naster of Pine Hill will return and en­ danger our monotony --you can see the tewt'-rs of the mansion from this window, tfaere, behind that belt of pines ; but he •rofers the gay world. And then there's # ^nr rectory he is very good company." "Oh, spare us! I had theology «nough, thank you, at Madame Bulifs. If there's anything I detest, it's a Bay, Bell, who is that splendid appari- v j|Mn coming in at the gate 2" 'That? 'laughed Bell--"that is the 4flfoxesaid rector." " Is he coming to give you ghostly k «ounscl ? I shall be getting a change of Jkeax%, depend on't." " He's coming home to tea. He boards " 4 There a divinity,'" quoted Flora. '*•1 thought, to be sure, it was no less 'fSuui the master of Pine Hill coming to 'fcis estates just in the nick of time. How :*mg has his Reverence been here, may it ask?" " Only three months." Well, I wonder you haven't fallen in love." " I---where would be the good ?" ** Wbo ever stops to think of that?" "At least one must have a little en* «^nta.gement to begin with." " And hasn't he given you a particle ? Ton just hand him over to my tender mercies." " You sha'n't flirt with him, Flora; he's too good and innocent; he would think you in earnest." *" Sha'n't' is in the imperative mood, I believe. Are you the guardian of his ybung affections ?" A na then they descended to the tea table, and Flora and Clarenoe Gasooigne shook hands and chatted familiarly--no= body oonld resist chatting familiarly with Flora after the first half minute-- about his ocftisins, the Gascoignes of Newport, and a dozen people, of whom Miss Raymond had never heard, and of whuui jucvoi to have heard seemed sud­ denly to prove her a person of the least oonaequence. After tea the trio strolled in the garden, Flora leading the conver­ sation, and waking the echoes with her anick laughter; and they sat a while on le rustic bench beside the syringa bushes, and Flora sang snatches from the operas and spiritual hymns; and Bell marked that when she dropped out of catch or chorus nobody seemed to'miss her, and presently she stole away to look after her housekeeping, congratulating herself that everything promised well for her scheme. Flora was perhaps a trifle giddy and girlish for a clergyman's wife, but she would outlive ail that; and what an excellent thing it would be for Mr. Gascoignc, whose abilities would never have fair play if he married any poor girl about Haphazard, and lived from hand to mouth, so to speak, with none of the opportunities which money could offer; and, as for Flora, she might bless her stirs if he preferred her, if he had no inconvenient scruples about mar­ rying a rich woman. The summer weather was fine at Hap­ hazard, and, if Mr. Gascoigne begged the ladies to visit some poor or invalid parishioner in his company, it usually ended by Flora going with him alone, Bell having found some urgent duty to detain her at home at the last minute; and Flora developed quite a talent for cheering the sick-room and dispensing luxuries to the needy; it was a role of which she relished the novelty amaz­ ingly. "You were plainly intended for a clergyman's wife," blundered Mr. Gas­ coigne, in a moment of grateful enthusi­ asm ; and then he colored, and added, hastily : " The lame, halt and blind are all singing your praises." "What a discord it must be!" re­ turned Flora. " I think 1 should prefer a solo." The claims of the parish, however, were not so exacting but he could devote some leisure to the poets, sitting in the vine-covered arbor while Bell and Flora worked and listened--except when Bell remembered she had omitted to leave orders for the grocer, or had neg­ lected some important household affair, and excused herself for a long half hour, begging them to go on with the reading. And, when she returned, she was always pleased to find that the book had. been closed for the nonce. If he had not been reading, then, of course, he had been doing what'he liked better. And he would say, "We have been waiting for you, Miss Bell"--he had fallen into the habit of calling her "Miss Bell" during these familiar seances. '41 sha'n't dare to run away, if I am go­ ing to spoil your pleasure so," she re­ plied. " You certainly do spoil it when you leave us," he would gallantly retort. If they went for an afternoon's picnic to the top of Chrome cliff, with their supper packed in a hamper, Bell fell to sketching a bend of the river, with the willows dipping above it and swallows skimming low, and Flora and Mr. Gas­ coigne were naturally left to their own devices. If they went out for an even­ ing's entertainment--which even Hap­ hazard afforded at times when summer guests were plenty--Bell remembered the latch-key as soon as they were beyond the gate, or she had left a window open where burglars and showers might en­ ter, or she never failed of some valid excuse for falling behind, for refusing Mr. Gascoigne's arm--either both hands were necessary to keeo her skirts from the mud, or the country sidewalk was too narrow for three abreast. And yet there was nothing obvious or awkward in Miss Raymond's scheming. It all came about as naturally as if fore-or- dained; and, if Mr. Gascoigne was some-: times a little vexed that he could not be trusted to find the latch-key, close the window, or fetch the umbrella, Flora would say, " It's Bell's way; she was just so at Madame Buhl's--always would wait upou herself." It had never been Bell's way, how­ ever, to linger in the vestibule after church; but now she found it convenient to ask old Mrs. Ross about her rheuma­ tism, and Martha Meeks about her grandson fishing at the Labrador. And by that time the Reverend Clarenoe had put off the gown and made his way to the church door, where Flora welcomed him; and Bell nodded and begged they would walk on, and let her overtake them; she must speak to the sexton about his sick child, or see the treasurer of the Mite Society--only she never did overtake them. The treasurer had proved garrulous, and the sexton had set his heart upon showing her the head­ stone he had got up to his first wife. If she found them sitting alone in the em­ brasure of the open window, studying the constellations, she moved softly away. Who could tell?--it might be the decisive moment. tt so happened that just at this time Mrs. Raymond fell ilL Flora proposed going home, but Bell stoutly vetoed the proposition. "It will be so lonesome for Mr. Gascoigne," she said. "And Aunt Milly will be up again soon. No; do yon stay, and pour the tea at table, and play at housekeeping, and make it a little iike home for the poor fellow." " Seems to me you are very anxious about his welfare," said Flora, but staid us she was bidden, poured his tea, wliiled away his leisure hours, beat him at chess, visited his sick, lis­ tened to his views, filled the place of the absent soprano in his choir, and borrowed his old sermons tor private reading, while Bell spent her time ad­ ministering hourly doses, concocting gruels and dainties to tempt the appe­ tite, and waiting in a darkened room by day, after broken nights. Perhaps it was the effect of overtaxed nerves and depressed spirits, or perhaps Miss Ray­ mond had misunderstood her interest in Mr. Gascoigne, but, as she leit her pa­ rent dozing one night, and paused a moment, leaning out of the hall window to commune with the evening star and the last tender effulgence of sunset, the sight of Flora and Mr. Gasooigne pelt­ ing each other with roses in the garden below smote her with a sense of some­ thing alien and cruel. Her absence did not affect their enjoyment; they had for­ gotten her in the delight of being to­ gether ; and for the time a selfish sorrow stirred in her heart, and filled her eves with sudden tears. "Did she grudge them their happiness?" she asked her­ self. "Was not sucoess enough for her?" When Flora had gone to her room that night, Bell knocked at the door and went in. " Haven't you anything to tell me V' she asked. "Has nothing happened?" "What should happen, you dear old sleepy owl, you? Ohs yes; I broke your Indian china bowl. A sin confessed is half redressed. We meet, but we miss you; we linger to caress you--at least I do. By-the-way, I'm afraid the Reverend Clarence is getting horribly bored with me!" " What impossible nonsense, Flora J" Was love teaching Flora to prevaricate ? The following night, as Bell was going softly down to the kitchen for mustard, the door of Mr. Gascoigne's study opened, and the draught blew out her candle as he closed it and came forward. "You keep late vigils, Mr; Gab- ooigne," she exclaimed. "It has just struck 12." " The truth is," he exclaimed, " I had gotten beli indhand with my sermon. I've been dissipating too much, I'm afraid, with your lively friend." "And of what do yon suppose Flora is afraid ? That you are getting bored with her!" "Bored with Flora?" he repeated, smiling broadly. " Can't, you imagine who never bores me ?" " Is it a riddle?" laughed Bell, with a sob in her throat. " I suppose I might guess with a great effort of imagination 1" Why did he torture her with his confi­ dences ?" " I should think yon might," he pur­ sued, still smiling, but not so confident­ ly. "During your absence at Mrs. Ray­ mond's bedside I have become confirmed in a sentiment whose existence I had only suspected before. Is there any hope for me, I wonder?" " Any hope ?" she answered confus­ edly--" any hope ? I--how can I tell ?" "Don't you know?" he asked, mourn­ fully, his great dark eyes shining appeal- ingly in the dim light. " Couldn't you find out, dear Miss Bell ? Couldn't you give me a morsel of encouragement ? " " 1 could--I will find out--if you wish. I would give it now--this min­ ute--you know I would, don't you ?--if I could--if I dared--if I were certain--" Did he doubt that Flora loved him ? " Bless you ! " he said fervently. " I am willing to wait; it is so much better than despair dealt at one blow." Then he lighted her candle from his own, and left ber, with blank dismay pictured upon her face. There was no question but her match-making had succeeded, and she herself was in love with Clar­ ence Gascoigne ! Another woman might have played false at this unexpected crisis, and deemed that all was fair in love, but Bell Raymond was of finer Clay. "You dear old go-between," cried Flora, when Bell made her revelations, " the Bishop "Valentine himself couldn't hold a candle to you. It's too good to be true. Do I love him? Don't II ' Confirmed in a sentiment whose ex­ istence he had only suspected before Mrs. Raymond's illness,' is he? Well, I must confess I hardly expected such good fortune. He's so reserved, I sup­ pose, and--and-- Why, he has never so much as kissed my hand, or pressed it, though he has had plenty of oppor­ tunity. Well, you can go tell him that the adage, ' Faint heart never won fair lady,'is disproved. I'll wait here." Somebody knocked faintly at Mr. Gas­ coigne's study door. " Come in," he said, mistaking it for the maid. " Flora is waiting for you in the par­ lor," began BelL " Waiting for me ?--Flora?" repeated Mr. Gascoigne. " Yes. I hare told her ; sho ia wait­ ing to confirm your hope, MR. Gas­ coigne. She bids me say that the adage, • Faint heai't sever won fair lady,' is disproved. When you intimated to me the other night that you loved her, I suspected that it was not in vain, but I could not be certain, you know. Now I know she loves you with all her heart I am sure of it. Don't let me keep yon an instant; it must seem like an eternity to Flora. She is waiting for yon--in the parlor. Go! Why do yo« hesi­ tate? Don't yon believe me ?*" Mr. Gascoigne had risen, deathly pale, with a solemn, wounded look in his shining eyes, and great circles growing beneath them; his lips moved without forming words. His wnole attitude was that of one overcome with unexpected happiness, it seemed to BeU, as he steadied himself by grasping with trembling hands the chair beside him,. "Youtold Flora that I loved her?" he gasped. " You told her that I loved her?" " Why, yes; I told her you had been confirmed in a sentiment whose exist­ ence you had only suspected before you were thrown together so much by Aunt Milly's illness," repeated BelL "And you say that Flora loves me? You are sure of it ?" " I am sure. Go and ask her;" and Bell went slowly out; but it was some time before Mr. Gascoigne obeyed her. " He is the oddest lover in the world," confessed Flora, later. "Nothing spooney or gushing about him. I sup­ pose it wouldn't be dignified for a clergy­ man. Why, he only kissed me twice, if you'll believe it, Bell, and looked as solemn as an owl, and said he hoped he should make me happv. Goodness! I'm happy already, ana I told him so. Do you know, Bell, I never had an out- and-out offer before, though I'm 27." Miss Raymond offered thanks when Mr. Gascoigne took his vacation to the White hills, and Flora went home to ac­ quaint her friends with her new pros­ pects, and to join her lover, with her mother, at the Mountain House later. Bell's summer's work was ended ; there was nothing more for her to do but to sit down and count the cost of match­ making. Iu the mean time Flora wrote her friend long confidential letters from the mountains. " Such larks I We do nothing but enjoy ourselves. Who do you think we fotind here but his 1! igh-and-mightiness the heir of Pine Hill, Mr. Chester Cal- lender, of Haphazard. And such a swell! He danced with me five times at the hop last night--and didn't the other women look daggers ! One dared to say it was because I'm engaged, and it's so safe flirting with engaged girls--all the fun and none of the danger! Let them rave! If I weren't engaged--who knows?--I might fancy living at Pine TTil1; with a retinue of servants, driving in my carriage, and crackling in my silks. I didn't tell you, did I, that the stocks in which my money was invested have declined most shamefully? So Mr. Discount, my business man, writes me. But there's dear eld --do you know, he isn't a particle jealous !" While a later date ran, " Mr. Callerder and I are just in from a climb up the mountain with a small party. Clarence went with some gentlemen last week camping out, and didn't care to repeat history. We got separated from the others, Mr. Callender and I, and lost our way; and we should have been there now, for all I know, if Clarence and a man hadn't come to our rescue with lan­ tern and torches. Mr. Callender is tak­ ing my picture, in crayon--I sometimes really believe he is sweet on me, in spite of Clarence. Mr. Callender's eves axe blue and small, and his mustacne" ia-- well, lemon-colored, maybe; but his figure and manners are perfectly stun­ ning. He always makes you feel as if you were the one person of all the world whom he delighted to honor." And after that, Bell heard no more, and a fortnight later Mr. Gasooigne was at home again, and settling to his parish duties. He found Bell at twilight the day after his return, with her Sleepy- Hollow chair wheeled before the window, watching the stars come out in the even­ ing sky, and listening to the crickets' sing-song. "Star-gazing?" he asked, resting an elbow on the cushioned back of her seat. " A penny for your thoughts." " I didn't hear vou come in, Mr. Gas­ coigne," she said. "I am thinking about--about Flbra! How did you leave her ?" "Flora! Haven't you heard?" " My last letter is a month old." " And nobody has told yon about her?" " Who could tell me about her so well as yourself?" Mr. Gascoigne laughed. "Well, Mr. Callender, perhaps." " Mr. Callender J What are you talk- ing about, Mr. Gascoigne ?" "Flora and Mr. Callender." "What of them?" " They are married--that is alL" "Married! Flora married to Mr. Callender! Is it true? Oh, Mr. Gas­ coigne ! How could she be so wicked ! Oh ! oh ! oh !" and she staggered to her feet and held out both arms, not know­ ing what she did. " Wicked ?" echoed the young rector, taking the proffered hands, and holding them firmly--" I don't know about that. It isn't wicked to marry the man you love best, even at the risk of breaking another's heart, is it? And then my heart is in excellent condition; I assure you, Flora hasn't been able to effect a flaw. It was all a mistake, you know, from first to last--Flora knows it now herself. My dear Miss Bell, you rather overdid the match-making business, did you not ? And I--I was weak and Quix­ otic, I grant you; it was unpardonable, I admit, now that I look back upon it. But if the girl really loved me; if I had unwittingly won her heart; if yon had led her to believe, thanks to my own stu­ pidity, that I had been such a blockhead as to confess my love for her to you-- why, it was only right that I should abide by my own awkward mistake. I must have been miraculously obscure that night, Bell, and you must be the least-conceited woman in the world, or you would have understood that I loved vou. and not Flora." " O--h," said Bell, with a little sigh, "I wish I had understood !" "It isn't too late, is it? If yon had understood, what should you have said. BeU?" " I should have said ' Yes.'" " My dear Bell," wrote Mrs. CSaUeiwie# to Mrs. Gascoigne on her wedding morn­ ing, " allow m.e to congratulate you on your talent for match-making."--Har­ per's Magazine for Augnnt. , _ Circum.T*nting the Husband. What it calls an amusing incident, re­ cently occurring in its city, the Water- bury (Conn.) American thus describes: " A son of Erin has a drinking wife who was fast becoming the 'plague of his life.' All his efforts to prevail upon her to give up whisky were unavailing, for every evening he would find her drunk upon his return from work. He hit upon plan--what he considered a happy plan. Before going to work one morn­ ing he fastened down all the windows and locked the door after him, leaving his wife a prisoner. He proceeded to his daily toil, chuckling to himself that she would be required to keep sober one day at any rate." In the course of the forenoon one of his wife's whisky cronies called at the house, but, of course, found the door locked. She called to the in­ mate to admit her, adding that she had a quart of the best !' ' Begorra, I can't let ye in, fur it's looked in I am meself!' was the reply. 4 Howld on a bit,' came from the one outside. The woman vanished and in a few minutes returned with a clay pipe with a long stem, which she stuck through the key­ hole into the mouth of the prisoner. She then slowly poured the whisky into the bowl of the pipe until the other sig­ nified that she had had enough. The surprise of the husband upon finding her lying drunk on the floor when ho re­ turned home can be imagined." Cremation in France. The Municipal Council of Paris will shortly be called upon to discuss the subject of cremation as a method of dis­ posing of the city's dead. The plan pro­ posed for adoption is the authorization of a competition, to close Dec. 31, 1$77, for a process which shall assure the transformation of organic matters with­ out odor, smoke or deletereous gases be­ ing produced, shall be economical and expeditious, shall render possible tlie preservation of the ashes of the corpse and admit of the celebration of religious ceremonies by those of any belief. Prizes of 25,000, of 15,000 and of 10,000 francs are to be awarded for the processes that are deemed best to fill these conditions. A DEMON JfUKDKB. Btmy of an Extraordinary CrlOM to Haimchmetts. One of the most extraordinary mur» dew in all the annals of crime wa« re­ cently committed at Auburn, a village near Worcester, Mass., the following particulars of which we glean from the local papers: In a little hut at Aubura there lived an aged Sootch couple IHMWATI Campbell. ^ The man has a pension as a soldier, and tills a small piece of land. The woman has been bed-ridden for some time with rheumatism. Between 6 and 7 on the morning of the tragedy, the old man went to work in his potato patch, leaving his wife helpless on the bed. A short time later he entered the house and found her on the bed in a horrible condition, mangled, bruised and bleeding, her skull fractured, all her limbs broken, and lying naked in a pool of blood and water which had been thrown over her. She was still alive and sensible, and said: " Frank, where were you while Jim Wilkins was murdering me ?" The old man is very deaf, which accounts for his not hearing the oonflict. Before an hour had elapsed the murder­ er was in custody, and before 11 o'clock the victim was dead. Jim Wilkins, whose real name is Mulchaey, was walk­ ing down South Bridge street, with no coat on, when arrested. On being taken to the police station he told this horrible story. He says ho spent the night at his father's house in New Worcester, and, rising in the morning, said his prayers, took a bath and went out to walk toward Auburn. While passing along he was accosted by a fiend, which was hid from mortal sight in the grass. In a loud voioe he commanded the fiend to be gone; but it appeared several times, till it desisted. Afterward it came to him in the shape of a dog. Thus harassed by the evil spirit and commis­ sioned by the Lord to destroy, he went to the hut of the Campbells and entered. Mrs. Campbell, over 70 years of age, was in bed as usual, and, as Muchaey says, he went up to ner and asked her what she would give to be cured so that she could arise and walk to church next Sun­ day. _ He says the old lady threw up her arms in delight and exclaimed that, she would give all the world. He then says he took off his coat and began rubbing her to dispossess her of the evil spirit. He then grabbed one leg, bending it across his own knee, and broke it in sev­ eral pieces. In the same way he broke the other leg and arms, and men seized the body and threw it on the floor, then jumped on it with his heavy shoes until, as he says, not a joint in the body was left unbroken. He then took pails of water and threw them over the mangled body, alleging that no evil spirit could survive the drowning process. He then took the body and laid it back on the bed, covering it up carefully, and started for this city. He went on with a lot of crazy talk, calling himself the prophet of the Lord, and saying that he was fully aware of what he was doing, but did not think it cruel or wrong, as the fiend which had possessed the woman had been so bad to him and his friends. He declared that the woman could not die, as he was not dealing with her, but only with the evil spirit. Mulchaey is 89 years old, has been a shiftless, drunken tramp, and has been drinking very hard of late. Some time ago he was a lodger at the police station, and then showed some signs of insanity, so much so as to attract the investigation of the officers, bnt was at length allowed to go. The Cossacks and Science. An English writer shows how the Cos­ sacks may apply science present in the war, as follows : "In a belt around their waists they carry a few pounds of gun-cotton or dynamite, and with this highly de­ structive explosive they may work incal­ culable harm. A small charge of gun- cotton placed simply upon rtuls and fired with a fuse suffices to blow several feet of the iron to the distance of many yards, thus rendering the railway un­ serviceable on the instant. A trooper may dismount, place a charge at the base of a telegraph pole, fire it, and be in his saddle again within sixty seconds. Wires may thus be cut and communica­ tions stopped in the heart of an enemy's country by fearless riders, while lines of railway are entirely at their mercy. Even light bridges and well-built atock- mlea may be thrown down by the violent detonation of compressed gun-cotton, and forest roads considerably obstructed by trees thrown across, which are never so rapidly felled as when a charge of thin explosive is fired at their roots. The Credit Business. After having inspected a pile of calico in one of the Woodward avenue stores yesterday, a somewhat rusty-looking man blandly remarked to the clerk before him: " Credit must be given me " "No, sir--we don't trust," was the reply. " I was going to remark that credit must be given me for " "We couldn't do it, sir. The rule ap­ plies to every one." " Couldn't do what ? " asked the man. "Couldn't give you credit." " You are very uncivil, sir, very, but yet I will say before I go out of here that credit must be given me for being honest and impartial, when I say that I never saw three hitching poets look nicer than them out there. That's all, sir, and I wish I hadn't said that much."--Detroit Free Press. The First English Printer. At the exhibition recently held in En­ gland to commemorate the 400th anni­ versary of the production of the first printed book in England by Caxton, there were 192 specimens of his own press, representing over eighty distinct works. Such a collection was never be­ fore brought together. Nineteen speci­ mens were sen t from the Cambridge University Library and eighteen by the Duke of Devonshire, while the Bodleian Sion College, the Archbishop of Canter­ bury, Earl Beaucliamp, the Marquis of Ailesbury, Eton College, and the Earl of Leicester are contributors of smaller numbers. Deceptive Illustrations. Why is it that none of the cuts of the " magnificent dining-cars " on the great railway lines represent a man pouring a cup of hot coffee down hitj shirt front, while the lady opposite him pours a pint of milk into ner neighbor's lap ? The artists appear to miss all the thrill­ ing incidents. --Burlijigton Hawk-Eye. A WOMAN'S AN8WEB. * brini*nt talents as a poetess and pianist, - - r f̂oerenrtotta backwardness and modesty as towner and beef-cooker, was once asked t*'gentleman, who wanted a good houae- J\ wo»Mbe his wife?" The lady, something aldn todlagvat at the man- ZTrtZ.r asked for tlii* jurlceleM thin#, Aa J. child might ask for a toy ? I>«uanding what others have died to win, , with the reckless daeh of * boy ? t̂ten my lesson of duty out-- Manlike have you questioned me: f„ P . ** f*® bar of my woman's aonL Until I shall question thee. Vou may require your mutton shall always be hot Your socke and your ehirta be whole • I require your heart to be true an God's' stars Ana pure as His heaven your soul. ' You require a cook for your mutton and befer I require a far greater thing; * A seamstress you're wanting for socks and lor shirts I look for a man and a king. A king for the beautiful realm called And a man that the maker, Clod, . Shall look upon as he did on the llikt. . And say'rIt is very good." r v I am fair and young, but the rose'win fa<j# . <•. soft y°"ng cheek one day-- Will you love me then 'mid the falling leatw, AB you did 'mong the bloom of May? , • Ia your heart an ocean BO strong and deep I may launch my all on its tide ? A loving woman finds heaven or hell On the day she ia made a bride. •od trite, I require all things that are grand 1 All things that a man shomd be; If you give this all I would stake my life To be all you demand of me. If you can not be this---a laundreaa and cook Y011 can hire, and a little to pay • But a woman's heart and a woman's life Are not to be won that way. PITH AND POINT. MEN whose business drives them the wall--Bill posters. WHEN is a man's motive like hia moth­ er? When it's apparent. . WHAT part of " Massanniello" could dog execute ? Bare- a-role. WHAT does a husband's promise abouj giving up tobacco generally end in Why, in smoke. * A OOBKESPONDENT writes, " What ale the politichens?" Well, we suppos the lager beer saloons, if the "politil chens " credit is good. HOMES, who is supposed to have wri^ ten nearly 3,000 years ago, alludes t the use of the razor, and yet we are tol he did not live in age of barbarism. "Do YOU ever have malaria here! said a lady to an illiterate hotel mei "Yes," said he, " we'll have it every dai for I've got the best French cook in tr city." THE public have been 4 warned of new loan that is 4th coming, and tlw is but little doubt they will be 4 arihj very soon after the 4 said loan is reaf 4 delivery. " KEEP your temper, my dear si:J said an old Judge to an irritable youf lawyer; " keep your' temper--it is WOM a great deal more to you than it is| anybody else." A GENTLEMAN, on walking out Sunday evening, met a young girl whj parents lived near his house. "W1 are you going, Jenny?" said he. "Lc ing for a son-in-law for my mother, s] was the reply. How WISE is the tramp who sleepy the fence corner, and has no fear of hj fires and six-story leaps to stone p( ments. Go to the tramp, thou ai tect, consider his ways, ana be wis^ Detroit Free Press. A COUNTRY girl wrote to her lo " Now, George, don't you fale to b the singing-school to-night." Ge wrote back that " in the bright lexi of youth--Webster's Unabridg there's no such word as fale." CONTRADICTORY. --It may seem stra but it is a fact well known to those have but a slight and superficial quaintance with science, that if you a fire thoroughly coaled you will pjj bly keep yourself thoroughly warmi IT was Richard Grant White whc| nally remarked that " he who can J what is worth the reading may malt own grammar." Whereupon tlief able mocker of the llawk-Eye reap " Those is which we has always Mr. White." IT is very fine to laugh at a wo " tantrums " when a mouse makes" pearance near her skirts; but a merriment should be reserved ftj man who " plays circus" while a bug is walking up the inside ( clothing with the slow and met| steps of a day laborer. A LEARNED lawyer was once a* of having disgraced the bar by silver from a client, the etiquette profession requiring that his fee be in gold. " I took silver," he r< " because I could not get gold; took every farthing the fellow had world, and I hope you do not « disgracing the profession." TURNING THE TABLES.--Young (applicant for housemaid's " situt --" May I ask, sir, if you keep a Old gent--"A boy! No! Why?" person--" Oh, to clean boots and carry up coals and--" Old gent- may I ask--can vou play the j Young person (dubiously)--"N< Old gent--"Ah, then, I'm afrt£ won't--that is, we shall not suit yo# my wife always carry up the ctl wash the dishes, and all that I thing. All we want is some onel on the piano!"--Punch. Evil Effects of Tobacco, The French Anti-Tobacco Ass has illustrated the evil effects ing in a striking manner. A twins were growing quite satis and were about 4 years old, whe them was taken ill with some tri ment. A friend of the twins nately placed in the infant's ha plaything a lighted pipe. The ( mediately puffed away at the j appeared to enjoy it thorough amusement soon became a liabi necessity, until the child was eo worrying the neighbors, and ev era, in the streets, to give hin The effect of incessant smoki constitution was disastrous, brother rapidly shot into man premature smoker remained in his development. He is at ent moment in reality a young in appearance a puny infant, r, in intelligence as he is in statu

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