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vsr imfiTiTEifs rRomaa. A dark «n'l dro*r«, garret, OVr a flirty T/ondnfi Mntn. Tfiio... Ill# Id-ewed light of hot|TW» V -it- Ami tae stmsliino seldom come, ' . amidst this vrant and oqualor-- « . * * * T h i s a b d k l c o f B t u m i l c a J r e -- « » ' • '48M»? * iittlo c 'y arab. (v. Breathing out bis so tall life tiMM- l»,t i .AH alonnfare one-- hie • "YonnRer *tiU than he, who tried) ^ ̂ juAU in v&in, to drive the anguish • •. ' From his aching back and Bid#. ' .Still she bent o'er hiin, caroaeiut F V * ' i.P V And the while, in accents mlM, 1;®, • fe' With a faint and foebln utterance, f ' •* 81owly spoke the dying chilai-- "I ant dyifcR, Hint** Nellie: ' ,, rijfc And when I am cold and dea^;< «, ' 'Si •hall be at rest in heaven, . "'i&'i'm -Aa th« etergyman has said. W- »;*• *».••*•.* _ /JpBat yfn'll coma soma <lny, my atet«Mfc r • '••••Ml There is rooul for ma and you; .. I'Mlt tronJtl net l»« kMnn, N<»1H», If yon did not ootna there too. . "Ajad if father cornea to-morrow When he sees me lying dead, J ••He'll know, then, that I am no* jahamnnlngj • '; .T As, you know, ho always sai«i .> ' •:• Don't yon bo afraid hell beat yoa t it 'X When he comes to-morrow rao*B J ' ' Ife«l sure he will be kinder. Mall, ha looks so doll and worn. s* , "We have been good friends, my sister| s ' in our short life's pain and woe, Though m h**Ted it both together, • -rl..) You naust Stay while I n.ust go. • | 1 am not afraid of dying. To be fated from alltnia pain, •Zh : wflBnt 1 wish for yonr sake, Nelliat I was well and strong again. LA H Doat cry so, my darling siaterj * 1 - * Though I'm going far away, : i J f>hall be a shining an el ! "* ' £. . - la ft land of endless day; p4?., i.And I'll always watch yew, NeSifcb . From nay place ia b**ren alavQ •' • I will ask dear God to let me. And I know He is all lova. *Eo. when I am up in bearan. In that place so fair to »ee. *1 wili lec.k down, dear, upon yJJfc Though I knr»w yon WORM -4jAnd "hen all if! hashed and K.IMV And the stars clean; in ttoe ik% "i will know T'ir. l.ioVir.s N• V "' .i And be g>ad. aud «... u^t cry." 1b a damp and dismal frrareyai^ Wkci* the bae«i o! maper* M% Midst a crowd oi idiera, Pa««T-d a little fucrraJ T'-y. But the i nly one wbo ecnrowe^ On y mourn«r tf ttaeui all, Was a little ra«e*d maiden. Sobbing o'er a coffin small, if's Famiiy Maga-in* AN EPISODEJLTHE MINES. VT AKTHONT P. MOItRIS. •Oh. if yoa only did not have to go to work to-day ! Somehow I am feeling so' very wretched," cried tho quivering lips oi the j»jung wife as she clung tightly with both arms to the robust neck of her miner husband. It was scarcely daylight yet. The lamp On the table seemed to burn with an un­ wonted dullness this morning as the sturdy young husband, with tightened bel^ stood ready to start for the mines that were fully • mile distant. "What s the matter, Nellie? Not sick, I hope T "It's not that. Will. I feel--I feel at if Something were- about to happen.'" "Oh. nonsense !" "But it isn't nonsense. Remember, it was only three weeks ago that the whole TOoting of a chamber fell in the Delta Com­ pany's mine near Lonaconing, and' three men perished there." "Ah, that's so. Poor lads ; i "Every time you leave me now, I feel •trange; for who knows but some such cruel fate may take from me my own dear Will ?" "Well, well, Nellie, a miner's life is one of danger--yoa knew that when we mar­ ried. So be cheerful, and don't keep me longer, for there'll be a new boss at the Gresgo Mine, commencing to-day." "A"new boss! Where from 'ip "Up 'round Frostburg somewhere, I didn't hear just where, and haven't seen him yet." "What if it should be Blake Burrows?" "Well, I'm not afraid of Blake Burrows, *he did send a curse after us instead of a •lipper on our wedding day. I was happy •nough to forgive anybody, and I have not thought about it since. Ha ! don't keep me • minute longer, Nellie." he exclaimed, as fee little clock on the rude mantelpieco be- fgan striking an alarm. As he forced himself away from her and passed out at the door, he called back, re- atiniiingly: "Be sure and bring my pail, Nellie, when it's time for the night shift. Good-bye." While she stood in the doorway, watching his receding ligure in Ihe first hazy gray of morning, a face was peering into the room through panes of the window behiiyl her-- • face with n heavy red beard and small, balefully-gleauiing eyes. 'To-night," muttered the owner of the face, iu a torn of hissing exultation. "She goes (o the mine to-night; that will be my chance." Will Farrel strode onward toward the Gresgo Mine. A sober man, a hard worker, and a good husband was he; a lovely wife and comparatively cozy home were his. He had fairly won lovely Nellie from all her ardent suitors among the miners at and near Frostburg. With but a single exception all had taken their defeat in reasonable spirit. This exception was Blake Barrows, who, On the wedding day, when the couple de­ parted for their future home in the vicinity «f the Gresgo. where Will was a popular miner, was heard to mutter, when some One cast a slipper after the parting car con­ taining &em: "Not a slipper, bat a curse I sen<l after you! Aye, curse yoa both! And I'll be #ven yet!" The gangs at the Gresgo had thinned out, because that company had been tardy in conceding the advance agreed to at the other mines. On this occasion the minor­ ity remaining were taking tarns at double •hift. It was Will Farrel's turn now to work both day and night shift, with a half day ofF. Nellie had detained him so ftomsually long that the day-shift were already enter­ ing when he arrived. At the mine entrance he saw, for the first time, the new bo B from Frostburg. A man with a heavy, red beard, muscu­ lo in frame and body, baleful eyes, who closely watched the shift going id and the •hift coming out. . ss "Where have I seen that man's eyes be­ fore V" Will Farrel muttered, inwardly. He soon ceased wondering, when, in Ihe busy hours, he worked in his dismal, black chamber, amid the grime and the peril of •verhanging coal. Slowly enough for the gnome-like toilers the day woreon; but night was near at la-t, and the new boss stood gazing steadfastly I J'ar(l a' Frostburg Will Farrel's Are yoa his tue Dearaed race, she became more assurea that she could not have known him any­ where before. "I've b;v,UgIit Will Farrel his pail. He's to go back again on the night-shaft; and" --she hesitated--"and can I take it to him?" "Why, there's over a hundred men in the mine. * You'd never find him. and maybe lost in«fhe bargiim. But I'll tell yon what I'll Jo." he said, looking at his watch. "In four minuti s the men who are going back on the niglit-shaft will be up here after their suppers, which I reckon are in the car that brought you np--" "Yea, sir. it's full of pails. Nobody bee sides me would come np, but I wanted to see Will." "Well, as there won't be any more cars to go down till the next 1 shift gets to work, suppose I show you where chamlier is. Como along. wife?" » "Yes." He turned off and strode through the burrowy way, his hat-lamp raying dismally ahead. Nellie followed him silently. As they turned aside into what appeared to be an interminable corridor of black, with pocderous natural pillars of black on eveiy side, the sound of a distant bell came in a'muffled way to their ears. Then, in the deathlike gloom, was dully heard the irregular tramp of many feet from sources impossible to locate--as if an army of invisible beings, heavy shod, were mov­ ing in their proximity, in semblance of half- smothered echoes. "Faster," urged the man. "Imust harry and get back." Nellie knew by the sounds that the day 6hift must be coming out. ^ But as sbo listened to the tramping foot­ step s she thought it singular that no miners passed her tfoing out, and her eyes were straining into the blackness beyond the radius of the safety lamp far a glimpse of Will. The sounds grew fainter and at last ceased as her guide hurried onward. Suddenly he stumbled and exclaimed: "Hang the luck! There goes my lamp!" They stood in total darkness. "Don't worry, "he 6aid. "lean find th> way to Farrel easy enough, and <then we'll have a light. Take my hand." "But why hasn't Will met us. I wonder?" Nellie murmured slond, and beginning to feel uneasy at the long tramp through the grave-like chamber of black. "H«'s \vaiting*for you. I reckon--" "Liar!" rung a voice not far behind. Another lamp--a safety lamp on a miner's hat--was speeding toward them like a rush­ ing star. """" T. "You're leading my wife into the old mine! What for?" Will Farrel, running at full speed, was upon them. The boss wheeled, with a curse, clutch­ ing Nellie fiercely by the wrist. In his hand gleamed a knife. "For revenge!" he snarled. "Revenga, Will Fairel! And I'll have it. too! You shall die here, and unless the girl swears that she will wed me, I'll pile her dead body on top of yours, and hurl you both into the drain chiuioel. Ha!" * • He was cut short by a cry from the young miner. "Bluk? Burrows, I know you now!" Instantly there was a terrific collision. Heedless of the upraised knife, Will Far­ rel sprang upon his foe. Tliwv was a hard "thuck" of knuckles, a painful groan, then darkuess and stillness like the grave. Nellie shrank back toward one of the somber pillars. She waited tremblingly for some sound to tell, her of the result of the encounter. The suspense grew at last unbearable. With a palpitating heart she groped forward. Pr< s ntly she came in contact with a pros­ trate body. With an indescribable shud­ dering feeling, she fingered the motionless, upturned face, and recognized her hus­ band by the touch. "Oh, heaven!" she moaned, "he is dead! Here is blood on his elothes. .Will, Will, my husband! Blake Buirows has killed him!" And with the despairing cry, she sank down unconscious. A blessed voice called her back to life. "Nellie, Nellie!" Quickly the faint spirit responded: "Will, dear, you are safe? You are not dying?" as her arm reached and twined about him. "I don't know how badly I am hurt. Nel­ lie. First, let me find my lamp. Ah, here it is!" The" click of the patent igniter soon sounded, and Will, with his lamp adjusted once more, glanced about him. Blake Burrows was lying near, insensible, and with an ugly re<jl gash' on one side of his face. "Let him stay there, the hound ! Come, Nel'ie. I want you to run over to the office and tell the superintendent to come here. Tell him to bring the doctor, for I am hurt, Nellie. There now, don't talk, but hurry." They were soon at the entrance; they must have been unconscious for a long time in the distant chamber, for there was no one now at the mouth of tho mine. The mule tied there, feeling himself neglected, was braying, and the signal was working from the foot of the plane to send down the cars. A loaded car was ready. "Jump on, Nellie, ami hold tight!" Will stepped to the brake, after giving the car it^ impetus, and then stood watch­ ing the cable paying downward its precioas freight. Suddenlyfhe was startled by a singular, thudding noise behind him. immediately succeeded bv an agonizing shriek. He wheeled, then recoiled, with a shocked exclamation. Almost at his feet Blake Burrows was lying. One side of hid head was crushed and mangled. He had been stealing stealthily up be­ hind Will Farrel with murderous tuUent. Brushing past the mule, with an accident­ ally tickling touch, the ^a'iiiraal had struck out furiously and high with its hinder hoofs. • . . . The iron shoes had crashed mercilessly through the skull of the murderous mine boss. Burrows expired within the minute, and just as the mule tender appeared to meet the empty car. Will hurriedly gave his theory of the oc­ currence to his fellow miner. "Thet thar mu-el wa'n't quite so sick as he 'peared to be, I reckon," was the com­ ment. The superintendent and doctor were soon at the mine, already apprised of Nel­ lie's serious adventure. Will had received an ugly but not dan­ gerous, wound, which was rapidly dressed, and he was sent home to anxious Nellie. 'Weeks elapsed ere he was again fit for work, and in the interim their only foe was buried forever from sight in the chapel EARLY BJARRIAtiES. :--.-- • ij j. Tfwl' and expectantly down a ong the groat in- ! dined plane which led from the base of the j kill up to the mine entrance. j A loaded car was goiug down, an empty was coming up. Not empty, either, for ue baleful, watching orbs of the man lighted strangely as he Baw therein the figure of lovely Ne!lie Farrel. ...» Hewakedb ick to the automatic brake, f^here the great cal»!e that governed the de- "•dending car was paying out steadilv. "Well, now. what's this?" he demanded " maa wbl> inst theu «»«ne forward from -ifjfce bowels of the hill, lesiding a mule. "A sic k anamile, zur, an' not fit fer work; •O I reckoned I'd bring im up where he'd . %e out o' the road o' t'others, scur, an' handy the veterinary." "Tie him to that timber, clear of the Ifack--ah!" The ascending car had entered the mouth the mine, and simultaneously came the ifanal from below to put down brake to a full stop. f N e l l i e , w i t h a m i n e c ' s r e g u l a t i o n p a i l i n •Hand, leaped frrtm the car and advanced to r4be man whose safety lamp, above the brim .«f his hat, cast an almost masked shadow Wver his face. "Aw you the mine boss?" sufv , "Yes. What's wanted^!! Nellie parted. Something In his tone The story of the almost fatal adventure got abroad among the miners, and Will and Nellie were lionized among the hardy lamp-wearers throughout their sectiou. It was not so very long ago, and to-day Will Farrel is the trusted and universally respected ' boss" at the Gresgo Mine. The World's One Sensible Han. A thoroughly conservative man is Judge G , an old resident of St. Paul. The other day an acquaintance of the Judge remarked: "Judge, if you were made supreme ruler of the universe, what would yotl do?" "I'd resign immediately, I would, by gad, sir. I'm not hankering after any more responsibility than I am compelled to bear."--New York Commercial Adver­ tiser. • MR. TENNYSON is an enthusiastic ad­ mirer of Poe. Tlio laureate is credited with estimating Poe as tho literary flory of America, compared with whom Iryant and Whittier are pvgmiea. Poo, he says, liad all the Greeks' appreciation of beauty aad mucli of their power of ex Dressing it in poetry. Jjtrnck her familiarly. I . , . i. * , came closer and saw more of] MOURN IN6 GLDRY--Widows' weeda. Soias- 'T- ••' zj. lock Till In The historian Milton has distinctly stated that fi'ee will was one of the con­ ditions of existence in the Garden of Eden. Eve was allowed to* View* the question of matrimony in connection with Adam, and soliloquize; "To be, or not to be." Suppose she liad been origiual and had decided in favor of single blessedness! What if she had established a retreat for old maids in the farthest corner of the garden, gathered to herself a qauary, cat and hobby, leaving Adam a victim of un­ requited love, to eomrnit suicide or found a bachelor's hall on the other side! Simply consider their situation. How uncomfortable it would have been for both. Think of the dodging Eve would have been obliged to do in that small inelosure, to avoid a glimpse of the old maid's nightmare--a man. and how unutterably lonesome poor Adam would have been with nothing but the beasts of the fields for companions. But more important than this, think of the effect upon the world's history! Eve might better have eaten a bushel of apples than to have followed such an erratic course of action; There would have been no liistory. „ The elabo­ rately prepared preface would have been printed alone, and would have passed through but one edition. Happily for Us. however. Eve was natural. Origi­ nality never saw the interior of Eden. Eve had no high ideas of independence, nor notion of her peculiar rights as a woman, no conception of the value of a side-saddle hobby, and she married Adam. She was very young. Accord­ ing to the history of, Milton again, scarcely aged an hour; Lat she was a precocious infant. She was wise aud extremely far-seeing for one of her ten­ der years. She beheld in Adam so much crude material. He was so much clay, and she the possible potter. She preferred to take it before it had hard­ ened into some disagreeable form. She proposed to mold him ,in accordance with her own ideas, and she succeeded in her undertaking, as was proved by the apple episode. When she said, "Adam, eat," Adam ate, and asked no questions. She brought liim up in the way lie should go, and history makes no mention of his ever departing from it. Here, then, is one great, all-suffi­ cient argument in favor of early mar­ riages. If a woman never intends to marry, that is all right--it is her own concern. The time has passed when the act of one or two women can seriously affect the weal or woe of humanity. But if a woman expects to marry there is no time like the present. The seeds of the harvest are sown in voutli. To say that the mau you would wed at '20 would not suit you at 25 is sophistry. He will not be the same man. You will harmoniously change together with the years. To be constantly flitting like a butterfly from one love to another, in search of the true and the lasting, pro­ duces life-weariness. "Nothing will sooner induce a feeling of satiety than a return of love. It seems transient, like all that returns." Handled first by this one and then by that, the fruit is robbed of its bloom, and rendered dry and tasteless before you settle down to subsist upon it for life. Mar­ riage is popularly supposed to render two mortals one; but marriage or any­ thing else is powerless to make a wo­ man of 30 and a man of 45 a unit. Two fossils brought together remain two in spite of everytliing.--Evening iris- cons in. Books and Reading. We are apt to wonder at the scholar­ ship of the men of three centuries ago and at a certain dignity of phrase that characterizes them. They were schol­ ars, because they did not read so many things as we. They had fewer books, but these were of the best. Their speech was noble, because they lunched with Plutarch and supped with' Plato. We spend as much time over print as they did; but, instead of communing with the choice thoughts of choice spirits, and unconsciously acquiring the grand manner of that supreme society, we diligently inform ourselves, and cover the continent with a net-work of speaking wires to inform us, of "such in­ spiring facts as that a horse belonging to Mr. Smith ran away Wednesday, seriously damaging a valuable carryall; that a son of Mr. Brown swallowed a liickory-nut on Thursday; and that a gravel bank caved in and buried Mr. Robinson alive on Friday. Alas, it is we ourselves that are getting buried alive under this avalanche of earthly impertinences! It is we who, while we might each in liis humble way be help­ ing our fellows into the right path or adding one block to the climbing spire of a fine soul, are w illing to become mere sponges saturated from the stag­ nant goose-pond of village gossip. One is sometimes asked by young people to recommend a course of read­ ing. My advice would l>e that they should confine themselves to the supreme books in whatever literature, or still better, to choose some one great author and make themselves thoroughly familiar with him. For, as all roads lead to Rome, so do they, likewise, lead away from it; and you will find that, in order to understand perfectly and weigh exactly any vital piece of litera­ ture, you will be gradually and pleas­ antly persuaded to excursions and ex­ plorations of which you little dreamed when you began, and will find your­ selves scholars before you are aware. For remember there is nothing less profitable than scholarship for the mere sake of scholarship, nor anything more wearisome in the attainment. But the moment you have a definite aim, the at­ tention is quickened, the mother of memory; and all that you acquire groups and arranges itself in an order that is lucid, because everywhere and always it is an intelligent relation to a central object of constant and growing interest. This method also forces upon us the necessity of thinking, which is, after all, the highest result of 'all edu­ cation. For what we want is not learn­ ing, but knowledge; that is the power to make learning answer its true end as a _ quickener of intelligence and a widener of our intellectual sypatliies. I do not mean to say that every one is fitted by nature or inclination for a defi nite course of study or, indeed, for seri­ ous study in any sense. I am quite willing that these should "browse in a library," as Dr. Johnson called it to their heart's content. It is, perhaps, the only way*1 in tf liich time may l>e profitably wasted. But desultory read­ ing will not make a "full man." as Bacon understood it, of one who has not John­ son's memory, his power of assimilation, and, above all, his comprehensive way of the relation of things. "Read not,4' says Lord Baoon, in his essay of studies, "to contradict and confute; nor to l>e- lieve and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to Ire tasted, books are to be read only in parts; oth­ ers to be, read, but not curiously f care- fttlly >, and srime few to be redd wholly and with diligence and attention. Some books may be read by deputy." This is weighty and, well said, and I would cajl your attention especially to the wise words with which the passage doses.--Jamea Rnaxell Lowell. • ,v ~ i? . How a French Proprietor Liwfc, When a peasant does live in a cottage on his land it is of the rudest descrip­ tion, generally possessing but two rooms, often only one. It is supple­ mented by a rude piazza before the door, shaded in summer time by the luxuriant,leaves of the pumpkin. Here the family oook, dine, and generally sleep during the hot months. Inside the adornment is nil. No muslin cur­ tain to the window, no' colored print upon the walls, no bright crockery, ho sconred pewter or brass, no clock. A mud floor, a wooden bench, brown and polished with use, b deal table never scrubbed, but brown with dirt and stains, some blackened earthenware cooking pots (amarmite and a casarole) upon a shelf, and a bedstead, perhaps two, is here the wife's sole glory. The sheets are fairly clean, the best coverlet a gav, patchwork; the mattresses are well sfc&ffed with dried maize leaves, and the bed is carefully made eVerv day. Sometimes there hangs above it the effigy of the Virgin and Child, but not often nowaday, for in the struggle for existence religion itself seems to have been pushed aside; tho peasant pro­ prietor has little time for church and prayer, and, though his superstition may remain, his faith has declined. A gay carnation may hang from a broken pot on a wall, but, once stuck in it, it is there because it groWs like a weed. The peasant most frequently in­ habits the little village or town that hangs on the mountain side or is perched upon a crag apparently inaccessible. Eza alid Roceabruna, on the Corniche, are well-known to all tourists and lovers of the picturesque, and their duplicates from Cestellar to Fontanna are scattered far inland among the folds of the mountains and over the frontier of Col de Tenda into Italy, as in Briga, Tenda, etc. i Everywhere the same story of the small peasant pro­ prietor massed into ancient tenements, so closely packed together that, seen from above, it looks as though a skil­ fully thrown sheet or two could cover all the roofs at once. Here the in­ terior condition is worse than in his hut; less space, more crowding and less air, and here he defies every sanitary law. Five souls frequently inhabit one room, five families one house, which originally was owned by one alone, whose de­ scendants have thus parceled it out among themselves, with the inevitable and deplorable result. Rooms origi­ nally intended for sleeping rooms have perforce become kitchens, and as a chimney had thus to be provided, the impoverished and parsimonious heirs adopt the expedient of knocking out a stone in the wall and inserting a short earthenware pipe, through which the smoke quietly ascends, obscuring the window directly above. The rights of "ancient lights" are not protected by any law in this country. Baby's English. Many infants talk at a surprisingly early age. Instances have been known of babies vet in their swaddling-clothes who would discourse on all manner of topics. To be sure, the drift of their remarks had to be interpreted by a fond mother, but no one would dare say that baby didn't talk. I myself heard a year-old child say a great many things the other day. I was calling on a friend whose son was just a year old. "Can he talk any yet?" * "Talk !" exclaimed the fond mother, with an injured look. "I should think so! He can just say everything, can't you ducksy daddle?" THE FOX MEANT BUSINESS. Chsslne a IXmi Into a House and I'p-SUlrs, bill Coming to Grl»f at Many curious incidents of the extraor­ dinary boldness 'of the foxes are re­ ported from all quarters. Near the Big canon, on the line of the Lycotning Valley and Pine Creek Railroad, lives a farmer, William Bunnell. Foxes had worked so industriously and skillfully, in spite of traps and dogs and guns, that they had taken all of Bunnell's chickens but one dominick hen. One morning Bunnell took his dog and went to a neighbor's, about half a mile distant, to join in a fox hunt. The1 companionless dominick hen was peck­ ing disconsolately in the door-yard when Bunnell went away, Mrs. Bun­ nell was boiling soap at the back of the house, near the kitchen door, which was open. Bunnell and his dog had barely got beyond call when Mrs. Bunnell was startled to see the dominick hen come cackling around the corner of the house and make .straight for the open kitchen door. The hen * had not vet reached the door when a big red fox followed her around the corner of the house. The fox paid no attention to Mrs. Bunnell, but kept right on after the hen. Mrs. Bunnell shouted to frighten the fox away, but he didn't frighten. The farmer's wife flung a diti|)er df httt Soap after him, but he disappeared through the open kitchen door before it reached him, and the soa]> spread all over the floor. Mrs. Bunnell followed after the fox and the hen, carrying her clothes pounder to beat the fox to death. The hen led the chase through the sitting-room into the front hall and up the front stairs. The fox followed the lien. Mrs. Bunnell and ffhe clothes pounder followed the fox. The hen ran into a bedroom and under the bed. The fox was close upon her, and be­ fore Mrs. Bunnell and the clothes pounder got there the former knew by the squawk that arose that the hen and the fox had met and that the fox hadn't suffered from the meeting. The farmer's wife and the clothes pounder reached the bedroom door just as the fox and the hen were coming out, the hen being slung carelessly but firmly over the fox's shoulder. Mrs. Bunnell yelled and struck at the fox with the clothes pounder. The fox retreated under the bed, and the farmer's wife knew from the subsequent sounds that he was not allowing the de­ tention tq| interfere with his dinner. The farmers wife didn't advance to the attack, but closing the bedroom door and making the fox a prisoner, she ran down-stairs, and then started at the top of her speed for the neighbor's, where her husband had gone, in hope that she might reach there before the hunting party left. She did. Her story was soon told, and Mr. Bunnell and the party started back to have some fun with Reynard. Revrtard, however, hadn't waited for them. A broken windowpane, to the jagged edges of which hung tufts of the fox'8 fur, told how he had made his escape. A trail of blood led away from the spot where he had landed in the snow, showing that he had not got out of his prison with a whole skin. By the bloody trail the fox was followed for four miles, where he was run to earth in a ledge. He was routed out and the dogs made short work of him. 'Boo, boo, bwe, ye, va!" screeched baby, growing black iu tlie face with the effort. "Hear him!" cried the proud mpther. "He said, 4I guess I can talk." This information surprised me a little, but I discreetly held my peace. "Now tell the gentleman your name," said baby's mamma, coaxingly. "Boo, boo, da, da, boo!" "Charles Edward Jones, just as plain as any­ body could say it, you little sweet!" cried the triumphant mother. My surprise increased. "Now tell mamma whom you like best in all the world." "Boo, boo, bwe, da, da!" "How cunning!" I exclaim. "Da, da, means 'papa,' don't it?" "Mercv, no!" . Didn't you hear the little blessing say that he liked the gentleman best. He meant you." I am flattered, of course, and amazed at my own stupidity. I th ought I was familiar with the "king's English," but the English of this little king is new to me. "Now, say 'Sing a song 'o sixpence, for the gentleman." "Yee, yee, boo, baa, bo,M sputtered baby. "O, noi deary!" says mamma, reprov­ ingly. "That was 'Little Bo Peep.' Now say the other." "Zee, Zee, boo, baa, be!" "That's it, that's it! You blessed old boy! I knew you could say it! And to think that the gentleman asked if you could talk any yet! I guess he won't ask it again." I guess not, too. Either that baby or I cannot speak the English language in its purity, and I am adverse to dis­ playing my possible ignorance.--Phil­ adelphia Press. Taming Horses In New Zealand. As everybody knows, Mr. Rarev's system of taming vicious horses con­ sisted mainly in throwing them down on the ground and keeping them there by means of straps. The New Zea- landers have a much simpler and more effective method. They simply decoy a wild horse into a swamp until all his legs are securely imbedded in it. The^ then proceed to "gentle" him. Weil may the author say: "Rarey's plan is nothing to this. There were no legs swinging about to hurt anyone; the colt could not batter his head on the ground; the very babies could jump on his back with perfect safety, and they were not slow to avail themselves of the opportunity." The women sat on him, the men got astride him, and then put a little log under his tail. "The women shook their dresses in his face." Best of all, when the horse was dug out he was qjiite tame. THE word "environment" now so pop­ ular, was introduced into sour language by Thomas Carlyle, who borrowed it from the French, they having used it for two centuries. The Discovery of Gunpowder. The popular belief respecting the dis­ covery of gunpowder is divided, some holding the credit of the discovery to be due to a German monk, Bartlioldus Sell warts (about 1320), and others giv­ ing the credit to Roger Bacon, who flourished nearly a century earlier. Careful historical research, however, while it has reached no certain conclu­ sion respecting the facts of its origin, has fully proved t&at neither of these worthies is entitled to the credit of the discovery. It is in the highest degree probable that the knowledge of a com­ position resembling gunpowder in its properties was known to China from an indefinite period, the discovery having probably been made by the accidental observation of the peculiar properties of saltpetre (which occurs abundantly in the soil of the vast plains of that country) when accidentally brought in contact with the charred embers of wood fires. It is well known, also, that the Chinese were experts in the man­ ufacture of lire works as early as the beginning of the Christian era, and probably long before. While this would establish the fact that they were familiar with the qualities of explosive mixtures resembling gunpowder, there is no evidence to support the belief that they used it for 'propelling shot in guns until they had learned the art from Europeans. The most judicial opinion upon the question of the discovery of the use of gunpowder in cannon, as­ cribes the credit to the Saracens, whose civilization was several centuries in ad­ vance of their European neighbors, and from them the knowledge of its use in warfare is believed to have spread into Europe. It has been well established that the Spanish Moors were familiar with it, and did actually use it in a species of cannon to propel missiles. The earliest reliable document relating to the use of gunpowder is dated the 11th of February, 1326, and gives authority to the Council of Twelve # of Florence to appoint persons to super­ intend the manufacture of cannon of brass and iron balls for the defense of the commune, camps and territory, of the republic, . How to Get Even. "Father," said a young man, "I have been married scarcely three months, and yet only yesterday I caught my wife telling a wilful falsehood." "Nevermind, mv son; never mind a trifle like that," replied the aged sire. "You can easily get even with her on that score." "(ret even with her?" repeated the young husband, in surprise. "How can I get even with a woman who has told me a lie?" "Give her a genuine surprise." "Yes, father, but how can I surprise her?" "By telling her the truth, my son; by telling her the truth once." -New­ man Independent; THE late George L. Lorillard made it a point, for a long time to give away about $40,000 a year to persons of merit others to be swallowed, and *K>jne; few whom he knew wo*ld be benefitted by to be chewed and digested; chat is, son^e j gifts. Xille. Thott's Betrothed. Queen Margaret, of Denmark, was a great match maker, and gave the high born Ivirsten Thott to her favorite, Jeppe Muus, a son of a rich burgher. The indignant bride, who was betrothed to another, presented lier husband w ith a gold ring, in which was incrusted a copper nail with this inscription: "Flourish, copper nail, thou liest in gold." Queen Margaret counted not on the vengeance of the bride's be­ trothed, Holler Munk, the Lord of Boi­ ler, who, to the rage of the Queen, picked a quarrel with the bridegroom, killed him, and married his widow next day. He Donation-Party at the Editor's. The editor of the Caratarphen Weekly Telephone, with a naturalized rather than native modesty, proposed to one of his friends that he work up a public sentiment among the Telephone subscribers in favor of ft donation- party for the editor. Ministers were given "donations." Why not editors,, who were quite as needy ? » "You must make it a complete sur­ prise to me, of course, Whilkins," said the editor. "Preachers sometimes are allowed to know what is impending over them. But we prefer to remain in ignorance, and to let this cloud-burst of generosity and good-will descend upon and overwhelm us with absolute unexpectedness. Remember, Wrliilkins," concluded the editor, "we know noth­ ing about this donation--not a syllable, not a breath--and the impromptu speech of thanks aud welcome, which I --we I should say--are going to pre­ pare (to get off on the spur of the moment) will strike our guests dumb with amazement." Wliilkins' arranged the thing admir­ ably, and kept the editor in an un­ equalled state of ignorance, by means of daily conferences about the prospects of the scheme. The night was set, the editor informed; and, all unbeknown to him, the dona- tion-party swooned down upon the poor, unprepared man. His speech was a wonder. So was the parlor ear- pet. when that company had finished dancing on it; so was the editor's larder when the donation-party had feasted upon it; so, above all, were the doha- rions I I wonder ? Nay! The donations were a marvel--a XXX marvel. The. editor printed a full list of them in the next issue of the Telephone. Here are some extracts: One box of fine Havana cigars--in ashes. Qne invisible bottle of humorous ink. One bottle of invisible wine, and one jug of No Brandy. One pair of cotton buckskin, button- less gloves--holes already' worn to save the editor trouble. ^ Six gros-grain towels--very gros. One all-wool fleece-lined coal scuttle. One vest-pocket waste-basket--do­ nated by local poets. Very rare, pf One liand-painted, worsted-worked, silver-plated door mat. Warranted not to rust or tarnish. One full purse, containing $1,000 in G. S. A. notes. One ticket to Albany--punched'.. One ticket to Sing Sing--unpunehed. One niustaclie cup--mustache miss­ ing. One ormolu, Louis Quartoze, Julius Ciesar, self-sustaining, wine-binder boot­ jack. Guaranteed to keep in all cl mates. One newspapier--mache, eight page fifty-six column coal-box--coal missing. One ivory-liandled, brass-mounted, wire-wove handkerchief One legless arm-chair. Highly re­ versible, being an armless leg-chair the other way. One elaborately shell-worked Charles the Bold cast-iron cushion for same. One blank marriage certificate. Ex­ tremely valuable. One $17 note given by the editor three years since. Not yet barred by statute of limitations. They are talking of, getting up an­ other surprise editorial donation down at Carstarplien in a month or so; but the editor of the Telephone says they can try it on the nameless and loath­ some creature who edits the opposition paper. He has rather soured on sur­ prise-donations himself. Prospects of African Civilization. The prospects of African civilization are aptly summed up in the elder Prince Gortschakoff's terse definition of the equally undeveloped vastness of (Siberia as "a good bill payable at a long date." Vast as are the results achieved during the last few years, they are as nothing to the work which still re- mains taJbe done; but the outer world is at aMx^piits beginning to learn for the lir.^M^Tne what Africa really is, and what she really needs. As lately as 1830, civilization hailed as a great discovery the announcement that "John aud Richard Landor, having voyaged down the Niger from Yauri to the sea, have satisfactorily ascertained that it is not the Congo!" Even after this amazing revelation, and, indeed, almost up to the date of Stanley's famous "finding of Livingstone," the few Europeans who thought of Africa at all, thought of it as a vast sandy desert, with a floating population consisting chiefly of hun­ gry lions and robbers more ferocious still, the latter being in the habit of "careering over the waste" on swift horses without any obvious cause for their liurrv, living comfortably where there was nothing to eat, and amassing stores of ill-gotten wealth where there was no one to rob. But the great tidal wave of civiliza­ tion which is now bursting into the Dark Continent has swept away these delusions at once and forever. The supposed "desert" proves to contain w ide traets of alluvial soil as fertile as the Cashmere Valley, forests vast enough to swallow up all the woods of Northern Russia, lakes to which Ladoga and Onega would be mere pools, moun­ tains as high as the stateliest peaks of the Al])8 or the Caucasus, and rivers forming a series of watery high-roads as magnificent as those of Siberia itself, with the Additional advantage of having no whiter to impede them. Indeed,the future history of Africa - will be written along the lines traced bytlie Nile, the Niger, and the Congo, as certainlv as that of Central Asia has followed the course of the Syr-Darya and the Oxus; and with these three great natural high­ ways any survey of Africa's develop­ ment must necessarilv begin.--David Ker, tti Haipei »s "^latyazine. Ice-water in Japan. ihe Japanese never stored or used ice until the advent of foreigners, but tliey have taken .to the use of it since then with alacrity, and are as bad as Americans for drinking ice-water. Men with portable stands slung over their shoulders perambulate the streets n i g h t a n d d a y , c r y i n g : " K o r i k n r i ! kori!" (Ice! ice! ice!) Their chief Eatrons are the jinrickisha men. who ave most ready money and are spend­ thrifts by nature. The kori man, when called, sets down his stand, produces a lump of ice, shaves it as fine as snow over a, plane. It is then mixed with sugar anil sold at two or three rius (an eighth of a cent) a glass to the panting jinrickisha men. This mixture, which they themselves aptly call shiro uki (white stuff or snow), is not bad, and the newly arrived foreigner, when out of the sight of other foreigners, is not averse to indulging iu it. THERE is a man in Oakland, CaL, so mean that when he is asked to join in singing "Old Hundred," churns off "Ninety-and-Nine" instead. He says he has got to make 1 per cent, anyway, these hard times. PITH AND POINT. A TRTR:-LIE(II8IEK? Tho careful proof reader.--Mmwrhk. r "I'M WELL backed with silver," as the looking-glass said.--Max'crick. "MY stars!" is a favorite expression with theatrical managers.--California Maveriqk. THE man who forgets to clean. Ids sidewalk never would be missed.--Phil- adelphia Call. BEES near a distillery stay drunk all the'time and make no honey. Bees are a good deal like men. They don't care for honey when they can get beer. MERCHANT--"Well, Porter, I want you to tell me all that happened during my absence. Here's a dollar for you. Porter--"The boys promised me $2 if I wouldn't say a word." -- THE HINOHAM GIRL. There was a young lady in^Iingham Who knsw lota of sont;s artS could aimg 'em, • But couldn't mend h By, And wouldn't wash clothes. Nor help lier. old mother to wring 'em. Vj'. --Boston Courier. "CAN I see th.e mayor?" inquired# member of the city council of the for­ mer's servant. "Not at present. He's at dinner." "But, my business is very important." "I cannot help it, sir. His honor is at steak." "THAT fallible person, the printer," says the Boston Transcript, "has much to answer for. Think of a composition by the immortal Beethoven being an­ nounced on a program as 'Fifteen varia­ tions with fudge,' as it was at a concert the other evening!" , - THE Squire--"Have you engaged your hew curate vet, Mrs. Whippvng- liam ?" The rectoress--"No; it's rather difficult. You see, Maud and Ethel in­ sist on his being a good lawn-tennis player, and they won't stand what they call a 'duffer.'"--London Punch. Miss POPULAR (to Prof. Pfeffer, who is showing lier the paper he is to read before the Scientific Club)--And you have these long, long papers, and before an audience! How I pity you! Prof. Pfeffer--O, zat is not zo much ze pity as to haf to listen to ze ozzerg.-- Harper's Monthly. - "Yor know what a large mAn that Mr. De Tompkins is ?" asked Ethelinda De Wliiggs of Annibel Le Diggs. "Yes, he is very large," was the reply. "He is waiting on Sue Fitzpercv." "Is he?" "Yes, and she has such an appropriate name for him." "What does she call him?" "Her Jumbeau." -r- Pittsburgh Chronicle. A BOSTON 8-year-old-who accompanied an elder brother to have a tooth ex­ tracted, at the tea table that evening, to the horror of his maiden aunt, drew upon his descriptive powers to celebrate the event. A younger sister asked if "the dentist gave Bertie anything when he pulled his tooth." "Yes," said Willie. "What?" "A cuspidor 1"-- Boston Record. "You have been married to your" present wife for the last twenty-five years, and now you are suing for a divorce," said Judge Noonan to the ap­ plicant for a severance of the marital tie. "Great Scott. Judge! Ain't twenty-five years long enough? If you knew the woman you would wonder why I didn't apply for a divorce from her before I ever married her."--Texas Siftings. STRANGER (addressing native)--"Wliat is the matter with that old, gray-headed mau? Is he drunk?" Native--"O, no, he < was never drunk in his life." Stranger--"Well, why does he kick up his heels that way!"--Native--"He's happy." Stranger--"Lottery prize?" Native--"O, no. His grandfather wrote an article foi a magazine and it has just been published."--Arkansaw Traveler. AT THE BALL. Her fnco was fair Beyond compare, , t oftanner haughtmo»s supreme, I thought, oud yet I can't forget. It things are rarely what they tfeen?. Three words sho f poke • Which, like tho stroke doom, in fragments rent my Oreajr. "You dance?" I said, Sho turned her head. And nuiliua answered, "I should scream." --New Haven News. M. AND MME. PRUIIHOMME find their new rooms ill-heated by the furnace, and decide to buy a stove |o keep them warm. M. Prudhomme reflects: "Stoves are sometimes dangerous. We must be careful not to run any risk of asphyxiat­ ing ourselves by coal gas." He reflects some more: "Ah! That's easily avoided. We will never light it." He smiles at his cleverness, and buys it.--Paris Figaro. A VISITOR partook of some excellent wine without praising it. The master of tho house then placed before him a bottle of a very inferior sort.. "This is good wine," remarked the silent drink­ er. "Why, that is ordinary stuff at one franc a bottle; the other was fit for the gods!" "I know," replied the guest, "therefore I abstained from praising it. It is this wine that wants recommend­ ing."--L'Indej/endance Beige. A Drummer s Logic. A smart talker will confuse a slow head--till the owner of that head doesn't know an identity from a difference. A glib Yankee about to divide game with an Irishman who had accompanied him on a hunt, rattled off as follows: "Now Pat, either you may have the owl and I'll take the turkey, or I'll have the turkey and you may take the owl-- which ?" Pat took the owl, and im­ agined he had his own choice. Mr Joseph Mulhattan, a Louisville hardware drummer, was engaged in selling a bill of goods to an old Dutch­ man in the South. "You sliarge seven dollar und a half a dozen for dot knife?" asked the Dutchman, in some surprise. "Yes, $7.50 a dozen. Razor steel, crocus ground, brass lined, stag handle, Sheffield make--" "But a Zinzinnati drummer only last veek offered me dot same goods already for six dollars." "See here, my friend," said Mr. Mul­ hattan, "you sell your goods at just double what they cost, don't you ?" "Ya; if I buys a thing for one dollar I sell him for two dollar; dot's choost one per cent." ,:. "Yes, well, that Cincinnati drummer charges von six dollars for these goods, and yon sell them at twelve dollars, and make a profit of six dollars. I offer hem at $7.50, and you get fifteen dollars, or a profit of $7.50. Just a dollar and a half more, isn't it ?" "Veil, yes," said the old Dutchman, scratching his head, "I guess maybe dot vas so." "All right. lTou just take my advice, then, and never buy anything of a Cin­ cinnati drummer, if you don't want to get swindled." Man's Work Is Done. "What? Women overworked? Fudge t Think of the men!" "Ah. but you know the old saying, 'Woman's work is never done.'" "I know it, and that's the reason she oughtn't to complain. Now, a man has to do his work or tee®, his job."--Chi­ cago News. • ,' „ : . u r. :