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Cruol nod wild the l>nttt«: ' - <treat horses plutig"il and raarrtl^ jiioo<l-ri><l with MinsoL's arifi">' •fiST Von ln-nr I th ? gun-shot's rattic, .Ami, in 'I hoof tramp an 1 rush, ' " j \ ^ The shrieks of women speared., . j,. ^ i- j; „* for It was lluss and Turkoman*-* if fio qnsrtor asknd or glvon ; , : '""'ijfc whirl of frenx'eJ hat<? and deliSI cross the desert driven. iO<)k ! the half-naVed horde rives *Vt r'l ting frantic without bnath. •:*. .? hope, or will; and on behind woopors Rt«->rm, in blootl-thir t blind, le, line a dreadful fountain-play. awonlR flaiii up, aud fa'l, and slay-- prnndsirt'H, bal>y brows and gray, roan after aroan, y. II upon yell -- r» men but ftenda, and ia earth hell? hi * great weight with her. I had always Uhcle Fetor with n candid familiarity which M«8 fluttering to me, if not to him, ?!! kr.orrn ns ens of ottr groat- est commercial men. Inn was just the kind of a woman Uncle Teter would be proud to welcome as his niece. I nervously watched the time until it reached 8, her appointment hour. I knew she would be there waiting for me. Mv Ttie Panrad DanehiB tilrla of the Far EM>- A Qttcer J^rforaiaiico In Queer Surrauud- - A night or two before I left Askot the BajaH gave a nantch at his house and I was invited. It was a verv little nautch, chiefly remarkable for tlie patriarchal simplicity of its ay, for out of the flight and fear ~nrsa Russian cuirassier; h'S arms a child he bears. little foot bleeds; stern she I t at the ruin of lier race. amall hurt rr. atnre sheds no tear, r^fv . otters cry; but cliutjiin! still i( this one arm that does not kill •tares back with her baby face, , f need round with ruined gear, , hurrying hors-man finds a space, ire, with faze crouched upon her knM^ . woman oow rs. You see him stoop nd rea^h the child down tenderly, hen dash away to join his troop. Sow came one puTse of pity there-- oe heart that would not Slav, but III nil that Christ-forgotten si^ht? Was there, tar north bv Nova's wave, Jlome Russian girl in sleep-rob ^8 white, ' Makinc her peaceftiS eveuinp prayer. That Heaven's great lhercv 'neath its CM Would keep and cover him to-night/ mmdmkhoiry Morektad, in On- Century. UNcHUfERYltE. & r ^ BY MINNIE L. .ARMSTRONG. It was two summers ago when Ned Land and I were sitting on the veranda of the Ocean House at Long Branch my fate was decided. Yes. my fate; for it Mas there I first saw Ina Klosking. one of those rare beings we read of but seldom find. Ned anrl I were down for the races., I will confess I felt a little, out of place, for TTncle Peter didn't approve of such things; but Ned knew all About stakes and entries, which helped me to lose the little money I ventured to put up. It was a gay week. The fashionable so­ ciety from the cities had congregated there for the purpose of betting or resting. At first I was somewhat shocked at the num­ ber of women Mho frequented the public places of gaming--M omen, too, of high so­ cial stanaiue. betting heavily at roulette. Ina Klosking especiaUy attracted my at­ tention: I learned her name from the clerk of the place. She alM ays sat at the sama table I did, watching the game with close attention. I noticed, though she watched the game with great interest, she never took part in it. When I had a streak of luck she would lean forward and laugh gayly. Her interest made me reckless. I played night after night at roulette, sometimes winning, but ofteuer losing. Beautiful! She was a dream of perfec­ tion, so perfect were her features and form. I was madly, passionately, jealously in love with her. I don't think a man ever made a bigger fool of himself than I did. The only thing I could learn of her was that she was Mealthy and of high social standing. Outside of that I could learn nothing. Her name indicated ber to be foreign, but her accent was purely English. I was not long in finding out her favorite hannts. and frequented them, hoping for a favorable opportunity of speaking to her. But she had that quiet dignity about her which prevented me from approaching her. At first Ned laughed at my infatuation; then he got out of patience with me, and plainly called me a fool, and ended by ask­ ing me "What will Uncle Peter say to you; throwing away your affections on a woman you know nothing about." "Uncle Peter be hanged," I replied, angrily. I knew her, or at least I thought I did, for there had not been a day for two Meeks I had not been almost constantly near her. At last I learned she was there for the "season. I wrote to my partner I needed rest, and would remain at the seashore for a month or two. I hadteken my fate in my own hands, and I gave myself up to dreaming, instead of practical work. At last fate favored me. We were in the grand saloon alone; the others had sought the tables. She was standing near the door watching the gay throng promenading in twos and threes in the garden. A bunch of Marechal Neil rases lay at her feet. She had unconsciously dropped them while I stood gazing at her. She raised her eyes to my face, started, and tamed to go. "Pray don't," I said. "Ina, yes, Ina; let me call you so. Here are your flowers," handing them to Iter. "Stay, won't you?" I pleaded. "You are Mr. Howard." Her haughty demeanor was all gone. "Don't you think these beautiful? They are my favorite flowers. Permit me," offering me ohe of the prettiest in the bunch. Was man ever more blessed? I took her offered flower and pressed It to my heart, muttering something about it not being as beautiful as she. The ice once broken we settled into a pleasant conversation. I told her I was there for the season. She was delighted and hoped we would be the best of friends. "1 am tired," she said, with the sweetest •mile. "Would you mind taking me from here?" I don't know what I said; I only knew her hand lay confidingly on my arm. My head fairly whirled with happiness. Yes, I would go to the end of the earth with her. I was only too delighted. Wre went into one of those quiet retreats off the grand saloon, where one can see all that is passing and still not be seen. The plants were thick and fragrant. I led her to a seat in the quietest comer. I wanted her all to myself; X wanted to tell her how she had grown into my life, and beg of her to let me always stay near her. "And you are sure you really love me?" She said slowly, after she had listened to my •arnest, passionate entreaties for her love. "Without you, life will be nothing," I cried passionately. "Ina, have I not given you my love without one word of en- conragement from your lips?" "Yes," with a merry twinkle in her eye; "that make matters so much worse. You love me without knowing who I am," flush-' ing slightly. "But isn't my love .enough?" I pleaded, lor it seemed a great deal. "Hardly. I have expensive tastes." ••But I have $5,000 a year," I cried rap- Mrously. * "Yes," demurely. *n<i p«ter has promised to do to® fair thing by me. He is rich, and liable to die at any time." "Uncle Peter?" "Yes; Uncle Peter Comstock. He never named. I haven't seen him for most five •ears, but I have the fondest affection for him. He is a fine old boy, Uncle Peter is and is good for a million, you know. Ina' will yoa be my wife?" * *Are ,T°" 8Ule ,yoa wi#h to be your wiler (his M-ith downcast eyes. "1 shall go mad if vou refoso." Was ever woman so cov? "Listen," she said, lifting. "I am con­ vinced yon love me. You have given me jour love without one word look en­ couragement-- hardly knowing who I am Meet" me here to-morrow. at this hour, and I will tell you about myself- After that I will leave it to yourself whether you still Want me for your wife." She held out her hand; I seized it and kissed it rapturously. I can't exactly remember all I did the re­ mainder of the night and next day. I know I visited all the places where I was liable to hear her name mentioned. supposing she refuses you?" said as I told him of In*. « i "Un»Wshe won't. Refuse me? Non- MBSel "When half the girls are dying for me. l ean marry any woman I choose, you know. * I had no thought of refusal. Her downcast look, her manner, all told 'meshelored me. a Ina refuse me! how $ of »t* ̂ ald "I hope it will be yes, old fellow,*1 Ned, as I passed him in the hall. "It will never be anything else," I replied gayly. Yes, she wus there--my beautiful darling. Great heavens! Uncle Peter with her, and J calling her Ina! I can't belie vo it, the old rascal. "Ah, you have come. Mr. Howard," with the sweetest of smiles. "Don't be con­ fused, Mr. Howard, it is oi)ly Uncle Peter. I am sure you Mill be delighted to see him." her eyes brim full of mirth. "He is such a fine old boy. yon know," said Uncle Peter, grasping my hand in a May I felt decidedly uncomfortable. "And has promised to do the fair thing ,\;:.fj-by you, yon know." said Ina with a merry ilaugh. "Really, Mr. Howard, his arrival is 'fortunate." Another burst of laughter which didn't sound so sweet as the night before. I stood looking from one to the other in speechless dismay. "Extremely so," chimed in Uncle Peter. "If I hadn't come as I did, I don't know but you M ould have carried off my wife." "W-i-f-e!" I gasped in spasmodic in­ tervals of breath. "Wife!" "Yes, allow me to introduce vou to Mrs. Peter Comstock, the Mife of your Uncle Peter, who ..is liable to die at any time, and for whom yon have shown the fondest affection by falling in love with his wife." It M as M ell the band was playing a lively air to drown the boisterous laughter of those t\ro. Uncle Peter fairly howled M-ith mirth. I protested, got angry at him for insulting me so; but he only laughed the louder at my passion. "Mr. HoM jird." Ina said, as soon as she had ceased her hilarity, "you don't w:mt me for your Mife now. do yon?" with great solemnity; "if vou do, I don't know but. Uncle Peter might--" "Die," chimed in Uncle Peter, "and he is worth a million." "Hardly," I replied, "nor the million either." "I must say the joke was rather a severe one, but when a man has a favorite nephew, it is Mell to knoM- how he spends his money." said Uncle Peter. "This is a scandalous shame--an outrage, to dupe a feller so. I--I--" "Will probably not make such an ass of yourself again over a woman," said Uncle Peter, laughing shamefully. "Nevermind, Tom; it's all right." "Hang it, no!" And I never will. Uulimited Powers of Memory. The folloMing ease, given by Dr. John Abercrombie, much abbreviated for want of space, shows most strik­ ingly that memory is a power unlimited in its operation, and that in its uncon­ scious workings it is most vigorous and overmastering where its subjects are least cultured arid nearest the condition of the-animal world. A girl of seven years, employed in tend­ ing cattle, slept in an apartment next to one occupied by an itinerant fiddler, a musician of considerable skill, who frequently spent the night in performing pieces of a refined description. She fell ill, was taken care of bv a lady, and eventually became her servant. Some years elapsed, and the family were often surprised to hear mnsic during the night. At length the Hound was traced to the sleeping-room of the girl, who, fast asleep, was warbling in a manner exactly resembling the sweetest tones of a small violin. It was found that after being two hours in bed she became restless, and began to mutter to herself; then, uttering noises resem­ bling the tuning of a violin, she dashed off, after some prelude, into elaborate pieces of music, which she performed in a clear and accurate manner. A vear or two passed awav, and she began to vary hef performance by imitating the sounds of an old piano in the house, and further on she began to discourse on a variety of topics. The jpstness and truth of her remarks on all subjects excited the utmost astonishment in those who were acquainted with her limited means of acquiring information. She was known to conjugate correctly Latin verbs and to speak several sentences in French. During her paroxysms it was almost impossible to wake her, and when her eyelids were raised and a candle brought near the eye she seemed insensible to light. About 16 she began to observe; those who were in the apartment, and answered questions put to her with great acuteness. This affection -went on for"ten or eleven years. She was, when awake, a dull, awkward girl, slow in receiving any kind of instruction, without any turn for music, or, appar­ ently, any recollection of what passed in her sleep. At the age of 21 she be­ came immoral and was dismissed. It is believed that she afterwards became insane. ... Dr. Moffat relates that after preaching a sermon on "Eternity" to some Africans he heard a simple-looking young man repeat it all over again to a group of natives with uncommon precision, the very gestnres being reproduced. On telling him that he had done more than the original preacher could do--repeat the sermon verbatim--the savage touched his fore­ head and said: "When I hear anything great it remains there."--The" Con­ temporary lleview. A (tap of Cold Water. There is nothing so conducive to Christian manners as the Christian thoughtfulness of the housekeeper and home-maker, who, by a little extra care, sees that the family table is prepared as it should l>e tor thfe enjoyment of the family meal. This she does by devot- five minutes or so to personal super­ vision of her table, aronnd which is to gather those whom she loves best in the world, perhaps for the only time in the day when she and they can meet for conversation. Not one of those who ate thus welcomed at this board will willingly disgrace it by a slovenly ap­ pearance, or by disagreeable habits, while there. The exquisite cleanliness of the glass tumbler will of necoasity make the one who drinks from it think of purity, of gentle manners, of A nicety of appointment that should cor- resj)ond in his preparation for the meal. Of course, thin delicate glassware is ver\ acceptable where one can afford it; but nothing could be more beautiful, it seemed to me, than a tumbler, thick and heavy it is true, that was handed me at a cottage where I asked for a drink of water one warm summer day while driving It was spotless and clear, and it had the odor of a thousand country scents, none of them intrusive, suggest- ing sweet, grass-dried towels. It made me think, as I drank, of the "river of wWater °* *'*6' c^ear 88 erystal." We can, those of us who are home- makers, help each other to be gracious by doing our little daily duties of care- taking and serving thoroughly; and if we give the cup of cold water,* see that . How the Mole Digs. Tlie mole has been gifted by nature with wonderful powers for digging. The conical head, terminating in a flex­ ible, cartilaginous snout, and unen­ cumbered with external eyes or ears to catch the dirt, constitutes an effective wedge in forcing its way through nar­ row apertures; the broad and powerful hands, whose fingers are united nearly to their very tips, and armed with long and stout claws, supply the means by which the motive power is applied, anil serve to force the earth away laterally to admit the wedge-like head; while the apparent absence of neck, due to the enormous development of muscles in connection with the shoulder girdle, the retention of the entire arm and forearm within the skin, the short and compact body, and the covering of soft, short, and glossy #ur,- tend 'to de­ crease to a minimum the fractional .re* sistac^e 'a««Kwt . t4e „ . . entourage. The heart M as joyous with the prospects of our ! nauteh (iiach) represents to the modern future ! Indian mind what the drama, the opera i and the ballet do to ours. There are J nantches and nautches. There are some j of them, acted before learned Pundits j and venerable Gurus, which saints and j seraphs might behold unabashed, and there are others from which the Muses and Graces, and in fact all ladies what­ ever, are verv* properly absent, at least when the mirth grows fast and furious in the wee sma' hours of the morning. Then there are tlie great performances in the cities where thousands of guests come in their best array, and all the English residents are present, the men in white cravats and swallow-tails, tlie ladies in what is ironically called full dress. On such occasions the guests are sprinkled with rose-water and have garlands of tfpwers hung afound their necks. They bring away more re­ membrances of the nirting and feasting, the social amenities between English dignitaries in blaek and native digni­ taries in white, of the Iwtnd that piays all the time from "See the Conquering Hero Comes" at the beginning to "God Save the Queen" at the end, than of the monotonous native music, and the ugly, oddly bedizened dancing girls that give a ?iame and an excuse for the evening's proceedings. But the Rajah's was something rural and pastoral, an hour or two of the Golden Age. It was in the court-yard of his palace. They laid Persian car­ pets over a rod or two of green turf and stretched a white awning above them; it was looped up a little at one corner, so that the Rajah's wives, who were gathered about the windows, might see what was going on, but they cruelly placed my chair in such a fashion that I could see nothing in that direction. There was also a chair for the Rajah, though I am sure he would much rather have "curled up on the floor" as all the others did. He came in at the head of his people, white from top to toe--tur- 'ban, rob# and beard. He could have taught deportment even to Mr. Tur- veydrop; there was not a line or a movement of his figure that was not venerable and majestic--and yet he was not 5 feet 6. Then they lighted up the place with eight lamps,--tall, twisted brass rods surmounted by a beaked sauoer of oil in which were laid four or five wicks that hung over the edge and sent up a bright, unsteady flame, bent by every breath of air. The musicians began to play a dirge or something of the sort--it is the way these people have of testifying joy." There was a variety of musical instruments; a long, gawky stick of a boy played a kind of flageolet of three parallel reeds. A stolid, white-bearded old man beat two drums--pumpkins hollowed out, with a sheepskin stretched over the open end --a short, soldierlv-looking man tooted a very shrill fife, and a grinning death's head of a fellow stood just behind tlie chief nautcli-girl, and bent down to scrape a bulbous three-stringed fiddle which he held against his knee. The only melodious sound among them all came from the great silver bangles which the prima donna wore on her ankles, and clinked now and theli most musically. She was a stout girl (all nautch girls are stout--stout as opera singers), with decided Mongolian features--on the whole ugly (all nautch girls are ugly)--but she was so bundled up in many colored silks and satins, so tricked out with gold and silver gems, that I bad some difficulty in making up my mind whether she was stout and ugly or not. She wore rings on each of her toes, and on an average four on each of her fingers, and one in her nose with a pearl in it; her earrings hung down "to her shoulders and weighed half a pound or so, her anklets appar­ ently weighed half a stone--but in India they are generally made hollow, other­ wise there would be no wearing them. She kept her feet still, except when she jingled those anklets. But she kept swaying her waist--such as it was --and nodding her head, and bending her arms, wrists and fingers into all sorts of impossible positions, and she stretched and streamed and fluttered a great gold-colored satin scarf with great effect. In India they call all this dano- ing. She was a graceful woman, as they nearly all are out here, but she was graceful only when she didn't try to be so. She sang, also, with rather a sweet voice,--singing in India is not so terribly nasal as it is in Western Asia and Southwestern Europe,--she sang with great expression both of faoe and gesture what I understood to be duets between a lover and his mistress, the lover's part being taken by the thin violin player, w ho grinned horribly just behind her. The two did not indulge in any mutual pantomime; nor did they even face one another, but sang it all to the Rajah and me. When our almeh sank down exhausted at the end of what I may call the first act, she looked natural and attractive for the first time. These nauteh-wallahs had come from Jumla in Nepal; they were making a tour about the country, stopping to perform at the larger villages on their road, and they averaged $5 or $6 a night, a good d^al of money to those poor people. I did not care so much for the nautch as for the people who watched it. They gazed with grave, fixed faces; it might have been enjoyment or suffering to them for all that their looks told about it. Yet I suppose it must have been enjoyment, seeing that they had come there night after night to see it--a ring of white crouched figures without motion or emotion. All the Askot world was there with its wife and children. The women sat circle wise in the dark outside the tents, only the stars above them, the dew dripping down on them. They kept a timid silence and I was hardly conscious of their presence.--Cor. N. Y. Tribune. through which it moves. . In fact, presents a most extraordinary model of a machine adapted for rapid and con tinned progress through the earth. Tlie mole does not, and cannot, dig a hole in the same sense as other mammals that engage in this occupation, either in the construction of burrows or in the pur suit of prey. When a fox or a wood chuck digs into the ground, the ante­ rior extremities are brought forward, downward, and backward, the plane of motion being almost vertical; while the mole, on the other hand, in making its excavations carries its hand forward, outward and backward, so that the plane of motion is nearly horizontal. The movement is almost precisely like that of a man in the act of swimming, and the simile is still closer from the fact that the mole brings the backs of his hands together in carrying them forward, always keeping the palmar surface outward and the thumbs below. Indeed, when taken from the earth and placed upon a hard floor, it does not tread upon the palmar aspect of its forefeet as other animals do, but rune along on the sides of its thumbs, with the broad hands turned up edgewise. He Had Consulted His Directors* A large proportion of the cotton-mil property in Spindleville is, as every­ body knows, in the hands of the Haugh- ton family, who got it through the mar­ riage of one of the daughters of the family to the man who started the mil5 business there. When he died, tht property, through a series of perfectly natural steps, passed into the control oj tire Hauglitons. Daniel Haugliton, the lirtid of the family, was a man of great natural shrewdness and strength o* character. His two brothers, Jacob and Jehiel, were always associated witl- him; but, while his business proceed ings were understood to be with tliei* advice and consent, Daniel always hac a sort of' veto power over his brothers, and nothing was ever passed over hi? veto. He is dead now, but the story ol the way in which he used to "consult hi* directors" is still told in Spindleville. One day a cotton broker called at tlu office of the mill of which Hauglitor was Treasurer, and offered him a big lot of cotton at a certain price. "This is so large a contract," said Haugliton, "that I really ought to con­ sult my directors about'it. They're in­ side, and I'll just step in and consult them." Jacob and Jehiel were in the inner offioe. Daniel went in and explained the proposition to them and said: "Well, Brother Jacob, do you think we had better buy that cotton ?" "No, I don't think we had, Brother Daniel; not at that price." "Well, Brother 'Hiel, what do you think we had better do about it?" "I shouldn't buy it, Brother Daniel; not by any means." "Oom!" said Daniel. Haugliton went back to the outer of­ fice, where the cptton broker was waiting. "Well, sir," said he to the man, "I've consulted my directors, and I'll take the cotton at the price you named!" There is a story of a similar touch of nature in the case of the senior partner of the cotton-mills at, call it Boothby, Connecticut. After his death one of the executors found it necessary to con­ sult some of tlie directors. He accord­ ingly asked Mr. Parks what action the board of directors were accustomed to take tinder certain circumstances. "I do not know," said the director. "Why, yes," said the puzzled lawyer, "voti must be able' to tell me something. A director for many years, you of course attended the meetings and assisted in the proceedings." Growing momentarily more embar­ rassed, the director leaned forward at last and frankly explained: "AH true; I ought to know, but the fact is I usually got notice of a direct­ ors' meeting the day after it had taken place!"--Exchange. Where Did It Come From 1 In the year 1877 some workmen who were engaged in building a bridge across Chappelle creek--a small stream rising near the town of Ashland, Ohio, and runhing through Erie County and into Lake Erie--found it necessary to excavate to the depth of some eighteen feet for one of the abutments, and when they had reached nearly the required depth struck a perfectly preserved red cedar tree, which had lain there per­ haps for ages, waiting the time when its little story should be told. The bark and a portion of the "sap" was decayed, but the colored portion (nearly the whole of the wood) vyas as sound as when it ceased growing. It was about two feet thick for something like forty feet from the root--the length of the section removed. The "find" caused a good deal of interest among the inhabi­ tants of that neighborhood, and a num­ ber of base-ball bats were made from the log, on account of the curious man­ ner in which it had been preserved no less than of the kind of the wood, red cedar being entirely unknown in that country. The point at which the bridge was being built is about eight miles from the shore of Lake Erie, near the village of Florence, and, of course, much higher than the present level of the water in the lake. The question "Where did it come from, and how, and when, and in what manner was it buried to this great depth?" is one which might engage the attention of some professor of geology. Advice to a Toting Man. Remember, my son, you have to work. Whether you handle a pick or a pen, a wheelbarrow or a set of books, digging ditches or editing a paper, ring­ ing an auction bell, or writing funny things, you must work. If you look around, you will see the men who are most able to live the rest of their days without work are the men who work hardest. Don't be afraid of killing yourself with overwork. It is beyond your power to do that on the sunny side of thirty. They die sometimes, but it's because they 'quit work at 6 p. m. and don't get home until 2 a. m. It is the interval that kills, my son. The work gives you an appetite for your meals, it lends solidity to your slumbers, it gives you a perfect and grateful ap­ preciation of a holiday. There are young men who do not work; but the world is not proud of them. It does not know their names even; it simply speaks of them as So-and-so's boys. Nobody likes them; the great busy world does not know that they are there. So find out what you want to be and do, and take off your coat and make a dust in the world. The busier you are, the less harm you will be apt to get into, the sweeter will be your sleep, the brighter and happier your holidays, and the better satisfied will the world be with you. •"MY wife's grand study," says a . French writer, "is to know what I4dnt soE2 meitidaa' lknow, ted to do what l cata't/do.*"* . . A WEIGH. \r btock 18 Complete, our prices are/0 entered the store with a charming •mile, /I i . 4 ... JAnri Kftiil ts\ tho olorlr "flh .... to be iouncl in tho market. We i ' Luxurious Employment of Wood Among the Ancients. The following i.. an cxtract fVr.m tho National History of Pliny Secnndus, who lived rather more than eighteen hundred years ago: Mount Atlas, on the northwest coast of Africa, possesses a forest of trees of a peculiar character. In the vicinity of this mountain is Maur­ itania, a country which abounds in the citrus, a tree which gave rise to the mania for fine tables, an extravagance with which the women reproach tho men when they complain of their vast outlay upon pearls. There is preserved to the present day a table which be­ longed to M. Cicero, and for which, not­ withstanding his comparatively moder­ ate means, and what is even more sur­ prising, at that day too, he gave no less than 1,000,000 sesterces (about $45,000). We find mention made also of one be­ longing to Gallus Asinius, which cost 1,100,000 sesterces. Two tables were •old bv auction which had belonged to King Juba. The price fetched by one vAs 1,200,000 sesterces, and that of the other something less. There has been lately destroyed by fire a table which came down from the family of the Cetliegi, and which had been sold for the sum .of 1,400,000 sesterces, the price of a considerable domain; if anyone indeed could be found who would give so large a sum for an estate. The largest table that has ever yet been known was one that belonged to Ptolenueus, King of Mauri­ tania ; it was made of two semi-circum­ ferences joined together down the middle, being four feet and a half in diameter, and a quarter of a foot in thickness. Tlie most wonderful fact, however, connected with it was the sur­ prising skill with which the joining had been concealed, and which rendered it more valuable than if it had been by nature a single piece of wood. The largest table that is made of a single piece of wood is the one that takes its name (Nomiana) from Nomius, a freed- man of Tiberius Csesar. The diameter of it is four feet, short by three-fourths of an inch, and it is half a foot in thick­ ness, less the same fraction. While speaking upon this subject, I ought not to omit to mention that the Emperor Tiberius had a table that ex­ ceeded four feet in diameter by two inches and a quarter, and was an inch and a half in thickness. A spot called Mount Ancoraius, in Nearer Mauritaina, used formerly to furnish the most es­ teemed citrus wood, but at the present day the supply is quite exhausted. The principal merit of these is to have veins (the grain or figure) arranged in waving lines or else forming spirals like so many little whirlpools. In the former arrangement the lines run in an oblong direction, for which reason these are called "tiger" tables; while in the lat­ ter the marks are circling and spiral, and hence they are styled "panther tables." There are some tables also with wavy, undulating marks, and which are more particularly esteemed if these resemble the eyes of a peacock's tail. Next in esteem to these last, as well as those previously mentioned, is the veined wood, covered, as it were, with dense masses of grain, for which reason these tables have received ttie ; name of "apiatae," or "parsley seed" tables. But the color of the wood is the quality that is held in the highest esteem of ali, next to which it is the size that is prized. At the present day whole trunks are greatly admired, and sometimes several are united in a single table. The Burning Bush. The age of miracles, we are told often enough, is past, yet there are many men who persistently behave as though it were still in the flower of its fullest development of wciiders. There is, for instance, that large class who expect exceptions in all rules in their be­ half ; who proceed upon the principle that they are endowed by nature with immunity from all Tier penalties. They violate law s of health, of happiness and well-being with a persistency and an obstinacy which are incomprehensibly at variance with their experiences, the penalties which they are constantly forced to pay seeming to have no effect whatever upon their conduct. Perhaps the most common type of this class is that in which the aim seems to be to repeat the miracle of the binn­ ing bush, which burned but which was yet not consumed. We see on every side people engaged in that pastime which is popularly known as "burning the candle at both ends," and who are, to all appearances at least, perfectly con­ fident that no ill effects are to be ex­ pected from their wilful defiance of natural laws. They are actuated by sufficiently different motives, from a de­ votion to the frivolities of fashion to a consuming zeal for knowledge. In some the reasons for their boldness in defy­ ing fate seems pitifully trifling, while in others it is pathetically important; there are those who simply wanton with health, strength, and happiness, wast­ ing their resources with a foolish and idle prodigality; while on the other hand there are others who with a des­ perate resolution lay these things down almost as a sacrifice for high purposes. Sometimes there is a conscious acknowl­ edgment that this expenditure of force and resources is irretrievable, but oftener the spendthrifts look upon themselves as veritable burning bushes wliich might flame never so hotly and brilliantly, yet which could never be con­ sumed. And w hatever the aim, whether noble or ignoble, whether for good or for ill, the end is the same and the fire works its appointed will on all things alike. The age of miracles cannot be recalled by longing for it, or even by assuming that it has returned. The accounts of nature must be settled to th/i uttermost farthing, and he who is blazing with brilliant flame had better consider in time that after the fire has burned out what remains is but ashes.--Boston Courier. A Bine Grass Beauty. The women of Kentucky have long had a reputation for beauty. An aver­ age type is a refinement on the English blonde--greater delicacy of form, feature and color. A beautiful Kentucky woman is apt to be exceedingly beauti­ ful. Her voice is almost uniformly low and soft, her hands and feet delicately formed; her skin quite pure and beauti­ ful in tint and shading; her eyes blue or brown, and hair nut brown or golden brown, to all of which is added a certain unapproachable refinement. It must not for a moment be supposed, however, that there are not many genuinely ugly women here as elsewhere.--Harper's Magazine. Making Egg-Shelb Transparent It is said that a New York scientist is devoting himself exclusively to the' discovery of some means of making the shells of eggs transparent without in­ jury to their membraneous lining. His object is to make a stu«?v of the changes and processes by which life is developed from the ovum.--Chicago Herald. Proof,. Reading. Few people not connected in some •vray v.ith ncv.-.-.p.-.^cr making have any clear idea of the details or the process of bringing the journal before their eyes. I once heard a little boy ex­ plaining to his companions the "art and mystery" of printing, as follows: "They take a big piece of wood and punch the letters on it, and from that they print the paper." I present this as an exaggerated figure of the lack of knowl­ edge on the part of that famous person­ age, "the general reader." Indeed, it seems to me that the paragraph quoted in the Evening Post the other day, giving specimens of the manner in which certain unprofessional but book­ ish people marked their "proofs," shows almost as great a want of knowledge as that of the boy I have cited. The in-' stance which particularly impressed me was that of a clergyman who noticed a turned letter, and wrrote on the margin: "ES, 'To Printer: Please insert a letter here which is not reversed." What vague ideas of the printers' "art" that 'worthy dominie must have had! It has occurred to me (being a sub­ ject rarely treated in the newspapers) that some of your readers might be interested in a sketch of the work of getting the paper ready for the presses, my principal object^ being to present to them a slight picture of the difficulties that mucli-maligned individual, the "proof-reader," has to contend with. If I succeed in extorting from any candid person the confession that the frequent remark, "How incorrect the newspapers are!" should be altered to, "It is almost a marvel that so few errors occur," my object will be accomplished. The mighty chief editor is a familiar picture to the imagination, of all em­ bracing wisdom, competent to instruct the public in theology or politics, science or etiquette. But even he (it is said with reverence) is after all but human, and 'tis human to err. Even the humble individual now being pre­ sented to the public notice--yes, even he it is Avhose part it is often to point out errors of his chief, inevitable in the hurry of producing "copy" for the daily- paper--errors which, if they appeared in print, the writer would be the first to notice. But I stray from the order of my subject. Before the proof-reader sees the editors' and other MS. there is in­ terposed another very necessary part of the machinery, the "compositor." This is he whose duty it is to place the "copy"- before him on a case containing movable types (I am thus particular for the benefit of those who, like our clerical friend just cited, appear to have but the vaguest notion on the subject), and translate the MS. (91* "reprint") into metal. The reason for the |)^nA ~ lrr» AND POIHT. ' $PBiS3 back yards yawn, podtkal •&&: court their mews.--National Weekly. THE call of duty--"Here, wife, sew an this button."--Arkanmw Traveler. A TONGUE that never talks scandal-- the tongue of a shoe.--Boston Cour­ ier. A COIXIDE-OSCOPIC view--looking at a railroad smash-up.--Arkansaw Trav­ eler. THE_ working horse takes his meals at tame d'oat and does his work a la cart. --Boston Commercial Advertiser. AN angel of light--the servant-girl who ascended in a blaze of glory, while starting the fire with a can of coal oil. "THE oldest and largest tree in the world is a chestnut near tlie foot of Mount iEtna." We knew it was a chest­ nut.--Boston Post. A STUDENT of human nature savs anything can be sharpened. JPut a lead pencil in a woman's hands and see.-- Binghamton Bepublican. A SOCIETY for the suppression of pro-, fanity has been started in the East. It is no doubt opposed to the importation of the banana.--Chicago Ledger. f IT is as difficult for a prohibitionist to pasie a soda fountain without winking as it is for a w oman to hold her mouth shut long enongh to have her picture taken.--Maverick. AN Eastern debating club is worrying over the question, "Can anything arti­ ficial calm a storm ?" Why, certainly. Didn't you ever try a new bonnet?-- San Francisco Maverick. "I'M going to do it or die," said a dis­ agreeable husband to his wife. "Take my advice and don't do it," she replied so significantly that he went away in .a, bad humor.--Merchant Traveler. "RUFUS, WUZ yer to de chu'ch dis mornin'?" "Dar's jis' wliar I wuz, Clem." "I hope yo' draw-ed in much profit f'om de sarbice, Rufus." "What yo' mean, sah? Jus'yo'take notice, Mr. Clem, dat w'en we plays keards in de qtiiah durin' sarbice we jus' plays fo' 'musement, an'nuffin' mo'."--Yonkers Gazette. REV. MOODY thinks that "kissing girls at a church fair for 25 cents apiece is too cheap." May be he never attended a church fair and paid 25 cents to kiss the jowl of a scrawny old maid. If he ever did, he would prefer to pay $1 to suck at the hole, in a wilted cabbage leaf rather than repeat the 25-cent kiss­ ing at the church fair.--Newman Inde­ pendent. DR. HAMMOND says we shall all be bald in a thousand years. If he is right the man who lives a thousand years hence will be alfead of the man of- to- error j day in one thing. His wife won't be -oWfrvTvin.n ^ nble to pull his hair. Moreover, he pn't need to go hunting over the house I the morning howling for the comb CQ-pjCS ]|j8 little boy has just dropped it of the window into the alley way. Boston Courier. nd said to the clerk, "Oh, CharMe,~My, .vo you a moment to spare for me, therefore our stock is ^d'e*m?akn"w.^°w°luch lwei?hr fine-thirty is what the figures say, rHow heavy I am ! Assist mo, pleas®." . jnd the grocer saw with his weather eye Call and see US, examine o^The yount! man give her a gentle squeeze. {Vho was the girlasked the grocer man. For a moment the youngster answered not, •1 « BniiaiRlint he softly said, in a bashful voioo, IK t•T• nnnliH «^F7r°h 1 i8 -he weigh 1 longhaye #°u8ht-" ikHlanflM wiw ••I ILoiveil Conner, 1||OT Archives> o{ st- Louis, uses JUST AS RErR'e telephone a great deal and gives the *• antral Office clerks much trouble. share of public patronage 'is resp<liere jf telephonic connections be- i , veen St. Louis and Chicago, and Sam plepliones to Chicago about fifty times Tb© Highest Market Price pida7- "Hello, Central Office," yelled gim about the twentieth time in an Iceury, III., Jii. 2>ti, ai fac simile of a proof Webster's Dictionary.)- »cu will find a in the back of -Exchange. Bill Nye's Advice to Lecturers. Bill Nye, the humorist, was asked by a would-be lecturer for his advice on certain questions. Here it is: "You need not worry so much about your costume until you have written your lecture, and it would be a good idea to test the public a little^ if possi­ ble, before you do much expensive printing. Your idea seems to be that a man should get a fine lithograph of himself and a $100-suit of clothes, and then write his lecture to fit the litho­ graph aud the clothes. That is erroneous. "You say that you have written a part of your lecture, but do not feel satisfied with it. In this you will no doubt find many people who will agree with vou, "Jou could wear a full dress suit of black with propriety, or a Prince Albert «0»t with your hand thrust into the bosom of it. I once lectured on the subject of phrenology in the southern portion of Utah, being at that time temporarily busted, but still hoping to tide over tlie dull times by delivering a lecture on the subject of 'Brains, and How to Detect Their Presence.' I was not supplied with a phrenological bust at that time, and as such a thing is almost indispensable, I borrowed a young man from Provost and induced him to act as bust for the evening. He did so with thrilling effect, taking the entire gross receipts of the lecture from my coat-pocket while I was illus­ trating the effect of alcoholic stimulants on the raw brain of an adult in a state of health. "Yon can remove spots of egg from your full dress suit with ammonia and water applied by means of a common nail brush. Yon do not ask for this recipe, but judging from your style I hope that it may be of use to you!" Pine in Russia. According to the bulletin of the So­ ciety of Naturalists of Moscow, the hitherto unaccountable destruction of pine forests is caused by the ravages of a species '.of mushrooms, which takes growth on the surface of the wood and afterward penetrates and destroys the trees. Maps are given in which the path of the destroying fungus is tarced through the pine woods of Russia. HAPPINESS is like wealth; as soon as we begin to nurse it and care for it, itis it sure sign of its being in a precarious _ imr one day last week. "Hello! /Mnime Chicago." "I'd like to give you •11." "All right, switch it on, same ng."--Texas Siftings. 'I AM doing a good deal better tjfian I ?d to do, sir," said a dissipated man a well-disposed gentleman who had trying to reform him. "Well, ,t's good, and I'm very glad to hear Have you quit using strong drink ogetlier?" "Oh, no--I haven't to say it; but I'm straightening up by de- jees, and don't get drunk half as much I used to, and in other ways I'm on e mend, too. I've only thrashed the [d woman twice this month, while last :ontli I whaled her more than a dozen nes, and I was in jail part of the time, o, sir."--Chicago Ledger. IT is reported that when a celebrated /and recently married prima donna dis­ covered that only a few seats had been sold for her concert in a Texas city, she caused to be advertised that every lady attending the concert would be pre­ sented with a piece of her wedding cake. The scheme was successful. About 200 pounds of cake were given away, and now the audience are wondering how large the singer's wedding cake was. They evidently forget that a wedding cake can be very heavy without being very large--especially if baked by the bride herself.--Norristown Herald. He Wanted 2 Cents. "Say! for heaven's sake lend me 2 cents!" he gasped, as he rushed into a saloon near the foot of Jefferson avenue yesterday. "Lend you 2 cents?" « "Yes, yes! All I want is 2 oents!" "See you Jianged first!" "Savl lend me 2 cents!" exclaimed the man as he rushed out the door and nearly upset a pedestrian with a sachel. "I'll give you two kicks instead!" re­ plied the man, as he recovered his bal­ ance, but the other had skipped across the street to importune the driver of an express-wagon. He was finally asked what he wanted of the money, and he explained: t "I was over at the depot. Fellow with a big neck rubs again me. I tell him to look out. He says he will lick me for 2 cents. I feels in all my pockets, but I haven't a red. Just imagine my embarrassment!" "You'd better drop the matter." "What! When 1 haven't had a fight for seven months, nor been licked for two years! Never! It's the cheapest- offer I ever had, and 111 accept it even if I have to steal the money." And he continued his way up the street and halted every pedestrian to appeal: "Say, if you have any mercy on a Soor, forlorn man, lend me 2 cents." Detroit Free Press. Railroad Finances. A inan was paying his fare on a Da­ kota train and had been assessed the usual extra 10 cents, when he said to the conductor: "Why is it you fellows always put on 10 cents?" "Them 10 cents is for the company, of course," he solemnly replied as he carefully put the $2-bill in his pocket- book and dropped the dime in his coat : pocket among the punched tiokets.-- Eh tell hie (Dak.) Ball WHAT man is deficient of in sense usually makes up in mulishnass. : 'I'M, ..Mi- tmd. .isS*: