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, 1 - w ; ' - " ' " i ' * " * 1 ' • „ v > . . " . I V § 7.r ?. "ftp# rt if, <2*. ..A « •• * . < ..••Tt'." .*T -• : * 5 " r.«iv • ^ ̂ *v PIDDtE. :'Mb fiddle? Welt, I kind o'kee» fear baddy, don't yon know? Yhougt) I *iu t BO IUNO>I In-IM to tramp the ' ;d «tr;nes and swit h the bow WI **' before the timber of inv elbowa got ao dr.*. And my Angara was more limber-like and caper- Y lah aud spry. Tat I rati picnic and r'onk and pUnk, Anil tune lier up a?i<i plav. And jewt lpttu back and lau«:h Hud wink At every rainy < ay. My playin'B only midd in'--tunea 1 picked up ^ when a boy-- wbe kind o' sort o' fiddlin' that the folka call i oordsroy; ,'-1Ww Old Kftt Gall" and "Rveatraw* and "My :w Sailnr'a On the Spa," •I th»» • owtillious that I saw when the oh'ioe ia lefi to me. * And so I plunk Mid p ong and plink* J And rosuro up my bow, Aad play the tuno* that make yoa think The devil's In your toe. how this h»ra old fiddle's won my haart'a indurin' love! wtam the string! across her middle to the ^ 6oro"chin' keys above-- «xwn her aporn. over bridge, and to the ribbon > round hf r tbroat, •>e'a a wooin'. cooin'pigcou, aingln' "Love me* every ncrt'! And ao I pat hor neck, arni p'ink ; ; f " -v Her atringu wiih lovin' hands, :A:•"•• s'S . And liat'nin' clost. I acau times tlxiiH' Bhe kin-t o' understands! Vt? | J -•Jatnea Whitcomb Riley. CfHE TALE OF A SHIRT. C-; . ^ % BY MRS. W. E. WMITH. - "Dear me," sighed Mrs. Eastman, as f e looked at the clock, and then anced around at the amount of work awaiting to be done, "I do wish Jessie took an interest in house-work, I'm sure I don't know what she will do if she •ter has a home of her own." "I shall be sorry for her husband if she ever has one," replied Mr. East man; "she will be a wretched house keeper. I don't see why it is: her mother was a great worker, and I am sure you hare set her a good example all her life." * "One reason it grieves me so, John, is that I a EL afraid people will blame me, and say if she was my own child it would be different." "No one will say so that knows yon. Ha trie, her own mother never would have been as kind and patient with her as you have been, and I think the time is coming when she will see she has made a mistake in not trying to learn while she had so good a housekeeper to pat­ tern after," and with a look that showed how well satisfied he was with that housekeeper, Mr. Eastman left the room. Mr. Eastman was a farmer, and was what his neighbors called "well to do." His first wife had died when Jessie, their second child, was a baby, but neither she or Tom, two years older, had ever missed their mother's 6are since Mr. Eastman brought home his second wife, who petted, loved, and humored the children as If they had been her own. Tom was attending college now, but Mr. Eastman considered it better for girls to learn good practical house­ keeping than Greek or Latin. So, after Jessie had graduated from the little seminary in the adjoining village she had come home. But BO far as learning to be a house­ keeper was concerned, Jessie might as well have gone to college with Tom. Bhe had never liked house-work, and she would not try to learn, and Mrs. Eastman, finding how • unwilling she was to help about anything, soon stopped asking her, fearing Jessie would think she was trying to make her work more than her own mother Would have done. Mr. Eastman would speak to her about it sometimes, and say how bad it would ba lor her when she had a hom Of her own; but Jessie would only laugh and say: "You talk as if housekeeping was a very difficult matter; when I have a house I shall take an interest in the work, and you will find I can be a good housekeeper without fussing over it all the time before-hand." Time went on, and Mrs. Eastman did tiie work alone, while Jessie played on the piano, or read poetry in the ham­ mock, with no thought that the time would ever come when she would be willing to give her knowledge of music •nd poetry both for the least insight iWto the much-despised art. One afternoon Tom and his friend aad fellow student, Walter Herndon came down unexpectedly. "Prof. G was ill" Tom said, and •° was glad to give them a couple ef days* vacation, a id he had coaxed Wal ter to spend tbe time with him. To tell the truth, he had not needed mush coaxing. He had been home with Tom a few times before, and the remembrance of the hours •pent in Jessie's company made him accept Tom's invitation at once. The evening passed very pleasantlv aad Walter resolved that, before his visit was over, he would ask Jessie to be his wife. Early the next morning Mr: Eastman received a telegram. Mrs. Eastman's only sister was •ery sick- They must go at once if they wished to Bee har. Mrs. Eastman thought of Jessie, •Ten in her grief. .•;•> "How will she get along with the «ork," she said. J : "Don't worry about the work," Tom. "Walter ond I will help her." "1 think I had better help her by returning to town to-morrow," said , Walter, but neither Tom nor Mrs. - Eastman would hear to that, and tagged him to stay. "We shall be so lonesome with every ' one gone," said Tom, and as Jessie added her entreaties he promised to re­ main. When they returned from the depot, after seeing Mrs. Eastman on the train, they found Jessie in the kitchen. She did not--as yet--doubt her ability to do the work as it should be done', so made no objections when they proposed coming to help her, and they oflered to •hell the peas for her, while she mixed the bread Mrs. Eastman had set the » Wight before. She never thought of putting in any •alt, or more water, but mixed it up fast as it was, blushing as her inexpe­ rienced hands scattered the flower down |he front of her dress and on the floor, jmd she saw that Walter was looking at Her. At last the rough, lumpy looking dough was as hard as she could mix it, ' and with flushed cheeks and aching arms, Jessie set it aside and -prepared i to clean up the flour she had spilled, / feeling more awkward than she ever had in her life. It was not as hard to make the beds Wi , «bd rearrange the parlor, and when that v, " was done she returned to the kitchen. Knowing Mrs. Eastman'B bread was al- - , ways baked before dinner, she at once built up. the fire and prepared to bake hers. There did not seem to be as much of it as her mother made, and she . oould not make nicely shaped loaves, bo* she got it into the tins, somehow, a&d put it at once into the oven. t i- ' Oh, that dinner! as long as Jessie lives she will never, never forget how mortified and embarrassed she felt as she sat at the table and! listened to Tom's surprised remarks as he tried the various articles of food she had pre­ pared. The peas were cooked into a thin j batter, while the potatoes were only i halt' done, the meat was burnt on the . outsi le, aud raw in the middle, and the I bread was--as Tom said--"fearfully 1 and wonderfully made," being heavy | and hard, and spatted here and there i with lumps of unmixed flour, and ! smelling strongly of yeast. There was nothing she could say, no ! excuse she could otter, and she sat still I trying to keep baek the tears, while the young meu made their dinners off stalq bread and crackers, and tried to lesse:l her embarrassment by appearing nol to notice it She was thankful when they wero leaving the dinner table to h^ar Tom ask Walter to go for a boat ride, nevei dreaming that his doing so would make her still more trouble. She had just got the dishes washed, when they returned. Tom was laugh­ ing, and Jessie could not help joining him when she looked at Walter. In pushing off the boat Tom's paddle had slipped and sent a shower of muddy water all over his friend. ( "Get one of father's shirts for him, Jess," said her brother as soon as ha Could speak; "we expected to go back to-night, so did not bring anv exttrs clothes with us." Jes sie returned from her father's room after a prolonged absence, with s colored shirt hanging over her arm. "He has taken all his clean white ones with him, I guess," she said; "thie is all I can find." 1 "That will do just as well, thanks, said, Walter. "Now can you tell me where I can find a laundress "There is no one around here do^s work of that kind," said Tom; "any of our neighbors would bo offended for life if you asked them to wash a shirt for pay. Jess will do that tip for you; you can't go back to town in that colo«*ad one." ' i Poor Jess! Cpmmon politeness de­ manded she should offer to do up tbe shirt, and she did so, bloahing • little as Walter said: . I do hate to make you so much trouble, but as there is no laundry here I suppose I shall have to. I see by your own collars and cuffs I am giving the task into skillful hand?." Washing the shirt was easy enough, and Jessie felt quite victorious, as she saw how white it looked in the nnsing water. I wonder how much starch it will need," she thought, as she took down the package; "men always have their shirts awful stiff, it must take lots." So she poured about half the package into a pan and prepared it according t*> the directions on the box. They went for a drive while the shirt was drying, and in discussing the scenery, Jessie forgot her discomfiture over the dinner, and appeared as light- hearted as ever. But even the pleasant- est ride must come to an end, and as they drew near the house, the thought of getting tea ready began to weigh on her mind. She did not anticipate any trouble ironing the shirt. She had seen Mrs. Eastman iron them often, and it looked very easy; so she was sur­ prised, as well as dismayed, when the starch stuck to the iron and onto the cloth, in great black patches that would not rub off, in spite of all she could do. There was something wrong with it, but she could not tell what; it was surely stiff enough, she could hardly break it. She worked away desperately, scraping with a knife, and rubbing it with a wet rag, until she saw she was making it worse instead of better. It was a curious looking gar­ ment to be called clean, and Jessie stood looking at it wit]) her eyes full of tears, wondering what she should do, and what the fastidious Walter Hern­ don would say when he saw it, when •he heard Tom and him coming. She would have put it out of sight be­ fore they got in the room, but she was too late. Tom spied it, and burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, in which Walter, in spite of his pity for Jessie, soon joined. "Oh, Moses!" gasped Tom. "She's starched the whole shirt!" Jessie glanced from Tom's laughing face to the shirt, and realized in a mo­ ment the mistake she had made. Tears, of real mortification filled her eyes, and she hastily left the room, just as Mr. and Mrs. Eastman came in at the gate. They had found Mrs. Walton much better, entirely out of danger, Mr. East­ man said, and Mrs. Eastman, feeling worried on account of the work, had in­ sisted on coming home, but where woe Jessie, and why did she not come to speak to them ? Tom soon explained matters, and al­ though Mr. Eastman felt very sorry for his daughter, there was a merry twinkle in his eyes, that Tom nor Walter did not understand as he eaid. "Do not think me hard and unfeeling, if I/say I am very glad this has hap­ pened. It is better for Jessie to feel mortified and humiliated for a few hours now} than to ruin her own and her husband's happiness, if she ever has a home of her own." Jessie could not be induced to par­ take of the tasteful supper Mrs. East­ man prepared, and she did not come down stairs the next day until Tom apd Walter had gone. But she profited by the lesson she had received, and the next Christmas when Walter again went down to the farm-house with Tom, Mr. Eastman told them, with pardonable pride, that every article of food on the well-filled table was prepared by Jessie's own hands. Jessie is now Mrs. Walter Herndon, and is a model housekeeper, but her father declares she would not have been if they had not left her to keep housa the time Mrs, Walton took sick, nnd although Tom is now a grave jr. lge, he often laughs at his sister about her way of doing up shirta, POPPING THE QUESTION. Praise lour Wife. Praise your wife, man; for pity's sake give her a little encouragement; it i won't hurt her. She doesn't expert it; it will make her eyes open wider than ' they have for the last ten years; but it i will do her good for all that, and you, i too. There are many women to-dav j thirsting for a word of praise and en­ couragement. You know that if the : floor is clean, labor has been performed | to make it so. know that if you can take from your drawer a clean shirt! whenever you want it, somebody's fin- 1 gers have toiled. Why don't you j come out with it hearty, "Why, how i pleasant you make things look, wife," or "I am obliged to you for taking so I much pains." If you gave a hundred and sixtietn part of the compliments you almost choked them with before riiey were married; if you would stop the badinage of whom you are going to have when number one is dead (such things wives may laugh at, but they sink deep sometimes), fewer women would seek for other sources of happi­ ness.--Columbus Telegram* PMpowit and What Induces Him to Do So, [Chicago Tribune.] This popping the questioh i» fanny business. Another queer thing is that almost any girl will freely oonfess, with a lit­ tle urging, the number of proposals she has had, and a goodly proportion of sobered matrons even are not averse to recounting the conquests of their youth. But ask a married man how he hapj>ened to propose to his wife, and in nine oases out of ton he will only answer with an uneasy laugh and look as sheepish as if yoti had found him out in the one inexcusable folly of his life; and, as for unmarried men, who hai e#er known one who would acknowledge how many times he had been in­ duced to offer himself and his mere or less tempting prospects in a matrimo­ nial way? To a woman a proposal very rarely comes unexpectedly. Not that women, as a rule, are given to looking upon every eligible man in the light of a possible lover or husband, as one young lady declared to bo the case with herself ; but for the reason that the majority of men very naturally dread a refusal,* an.l•consequently postpone the critical moment until confidence is in­ spired by a kindly encouragement of the guarded advances they venture to make. It is an open secret that'a lit­ tle diplomacy is often employed to bring a cautious admirer to the point, and clever is she who so skilfully man­ ages the delicate task that the effort is not to:» manifest. All the world knows how-liuth schemed to capture Boaz; and she was a right modest and proper damsel, too. But Buth was a widow, and she had had experience, and was level-headed enough besides to see the advantage of standing by her mother- in-law; so her success is not to be won­ dered at. Maud Muller tried very much the same dodge later on, but it didn't work quite so well; and all the feminine world has been devising other and equally harmless little schemes ever since Ruth's triumph--and proba­ bly before--down to the famous French woman who revolved before her partner at a ball and frankly said: "Monsieur. I desire a husband. Do you not find me beautiful?" "Mademoiselle, we will be married to-morrow." . This was about as direct a proposal as that of a prominent man in 'the North­ west. whose courtship had been rather long drawn out. "I am going to the Rocky Mountains," he abruptly re­ marked one evening, "and if you want to go as my wife be ready next week." And she was ready. Equally matter-of-fact was the fol­ lowing, written by»a Yale man on a gilt-edged invitation oard: MY DEAH :--You will probably not be g: eatly surprised at receiving a pro­ posal from me. Tno fact is it is the proper thing to be engaged junior year, and as it has always been understood that we should be married some day ws may as well come to an agreement now. Of courso you know that I love you and all that, and if you Accept mo I shall write to you regularly, initiato you into tli 3 elasn secrets, and tell "you all about my affairs. Anxiously awaiting a favorable reply, yours devotedly, ^ . The depth of devotion which prompted this remarkable epistle may be questioned; but it stands as a unique example of a college boy's first fftort Very few people fall in love at first sight, and propinquity is doubtless the commonest cause of marriage, though occasionally an unpremeditated act or heedless jest develops into a serious at­ tachment, Master Cupid lias a roguish eye, ever on the watch for unwary game, and frequently sends his arrows in unexpected directions. Circus goers of twenty-five'years ago, will remember Herr Driesbach, the cel­ ebrated lion-tamer, but probably have never in their lives connected him with a romance; and yet he not only had a veritable romance in his life, but one that blossomed out of a dish of onions; and it was through the medium of that most plebian vegetable that he won his lovely wife. Persons who knew Mra Driesbach before her marriage re­ call her as the belle of Worcester, O., of which place her father was a wealthy resident Accomplished as she was-- beautiful, witty, and full of pranks-- to meet her was never to forget her. Happening to be placed with a part ,- of young people at a hotel table where Driesbach was sitting, some one dared her to pass him a dish of onions. Imme­ diately seizing the dish, she not only passed it, but inquired if he would have an onion. He said he would, and took one; and from so small a beginning sprung an acquaintance that in three months ended in marriage. It was a singular marriage, and people long wondered whether the dauntless lion- tamer would have equal success in turning his wife. The Octroi Mnsenm. Under the guidance of our cicerone we began an inspection of the curiosi­ ties about us, and remarked with aston­ ishment among them an enormous block of white marble which must have re­ quired almost superhuman strength to move, to say nothing of the cost. We tuAed inquiringly to our gnide, who smiled and asked us to touch the block of Carrara with our fingers. We obeyed, and imagine our surprise to find that the enormous mass weighed less than a bundle of feathers: Its history is as follows: A freight train arriving one day from Italy, and carry­ ing six such squares of marble, a cus­ tom-house officer remarked an unusual indentation in one of them, and, sus­ pecting that something was wrong, had the bright idea to break off a corner with the aid of a hammer, when, miracle! the marble was sheet iron and hid 25,000 francs worth of Venice lace! Here in this corner is a pile of logs, ready, to all appearances, for the fire. Error. These logs are of metal, clev­ erly covered with bark, each end look- ing as if it had been sawed ofE They itere found filled with cigars. Farther on rolls of linen; hit them with your cane, the sharp metallic sound will prove that they are simply cans for alcohoL Our guide now drew our attention to a quantity of dinner plates, four dozen in each pile, only the upper and under twelve being in­ tact, the remaining twenty-fonr having no bottom, and fitted into this long hole for a zinc can for spirits. "Look at these mill-stones," said our friend; "they are tobacco boxes. As to this pumpkin--a present from an oc­ troi in Normandy--it passed to and fro every morning for three months under the noses of the octroyens among other vegetables when its honest proprietor went to market. Unfortu­ nately the peasant omitted to change his fraudulent vegetable at the end ef the pumpkin season, and it was discov­ ered one day filled with cider brandy." As our interlocutor spoke we stopped, much puzzled, before an ordinary- looking coffiif, on whioh was pasted a railroad bulletin. i "Ah!" said our friend, suddenly, "you [ notice that curious dbjeot from Mar­ seilles? During the oholera epidemic1 of 1884 the employes of the administra­ tion noticed a cart on which was a coffin eovered with a heavy pall p»ss the gate, every day. The men un­ covered Respectfully before this victim of the terrible disease, and drew back, j holding th'iir noses out of fear of the microbes. Time passed, the cholera also, and still the cart, with its sad bur- ! den, made its appearance daily and at | the same hour. This regularity aroused I suspicion at last, and, the fear of con- ! tagion hav ng flown with the causc, one I of the guards lifted the pall and dis­ covered, not a corpse, but a mummy composed of cigars."--Paris Figaro. The Geography Lesion. The lesson of the day too often con­ sists in the repetition by rote of so many sentences or paragraphs from the class book, which are seldom expanded or made more attractive and intelligible by elucidation on the part of the teacher. Such instruction, if it may bo so called, is bad for the teacher and worse for tbe taught. It is cspeciall v pernicious to the children in the earlier stages of their geographical studies, ror it tortures their memories and brings no compensating advantage. It fosters idleness aud listlessness on the part of the teacher, who, instead of ex­ erting his faculties to invest the sub­ ject with a living interest, becomes for the time a mere machine, mechanically acting within the limits prescribed in the class-book. In dealing with the young we should try to feel ourselves young again, to see things as they are seen by young eyes, to realize the difficulties that lie in the way of children's appreciation of the world around them, to be tilled, with an abounding sympathy which subdues all impatience on our side, and calls out on the side of the children their confidence and affection. Mutual sympathy and esteem are a pledge of enduring success. To cement this bond of union between teacher and taught there should be no set tasks for some considerable time. The lessons ought rather to be pleasant conversations about familiar things. The pupils should be asked questions such as they can readily answer, and the answering of whi;-h causes them to reflect, and gives them con­ fidence in themselves and freedom with the teacher. The objects in the school­ room, in the playground, on the road to the school, should be made use of as subjects for such questionings with the aim of drawing out the knowledge ac­ quired by the pupils from their own ol>- servation. Every question should be one which requires for its nnswer that the children have actually seen some­ thing with their own eyos and have taken mental note of it. The putting of such questions stimulates tbe observ­ ing faculty, aud not infrequently gives a chance of distinction to boys and girls whose capabilities are not well tested by the ordinary lessons of schooL-- Popular Science Monthly. The Rings in Trees. B. W. Furras, an agent of the United States Forestry Department* who has given much attention to the age of a tree as indicated by rings, as well as to the period at which tree* of different species stop growing, and that at which wood is at its best, has reached some conclusions of genera) interest. He says; "Concentric or annual rings, which were once ac-opted as good legal evi­ dence, fail, ex'-opt where the climate, soil, temperature, humidity, aud all other surroundings are regular and well balance I. Otherwise they<? art mere guesswork. The only region witliiu my knowledge where either rings or measurements were reliable indie itions are in the secluded, even and regularly tempered valleys of the Southern Pacific Coast." Annual measurements of white elm, catalpa, soft maple, sycamore, pig* hickory, cottonwool, chestnut, box elder, honey locust, coffee tree, burr, and white oak, black walnut, osage orange, white pine, red cedar, mul­ berry, and yellow willow {nineteen species), made in Southwestern Ne­ braska, shows that "annnal growth is very irregular. Sometimes scarcely perceptible and again quite large," and this he attributes to the difference in season. As trees increase in age inner rings decrease in size, sometimes almost disappearing. Diminished rate in growth after a certain age is a rul,e. Of four great beeches mentioned in London there were three, each about seventeen feet in girth, whose ages were respectively 60, 102, and 200 years. Mr. Furras found twelve rings in a black locust six years old, twenty-one rings in a shell-bark hickory of twelve years, ten rings in a pig hickory of six years, eleven rings in a crabapple of five years, and only twenty rings in a chestnut oak of twenty-four years. An American chestnut of only four years had nine rings, while a poach of eight years had only five rings.--Lumber World. ^ Chinese Rewards for Domestic Virtue*. Among the large number of mem­ orials presented by the provincial offi­ cials of China few are more curious than those praying for imperial re­ wards for persons who have performed in some conspicuous manner their duties toward their families or kindred. In a recent number of the Peking Gazette, the Governor of Honan Province re­ quests the bestowal of an "honorary patent" on a young lady who "since her childhood had been devoted to lier l>ooks and is imbued with high ideas of duty." The youth to whom she was engaged having died, she gave way to violent grief, which nearly cost her her life. She went to Canton (where he died) to invite his spirit to return, and to offer oblations to his memory, apd she is now waiting till one of her hus­ band's brothers is married in order that she may adopt one of his sons, and thus continue the line of succession. She is now 24, "and fully resolved to lead a single life, and be a rare example to her sex." The Governor expresses his sympathy with a girl of distinguished family who has been so suddenly de­ prived of the light of ner existence. "Her's is not a case of merely remain­ ing unmarried for the ten years pre­ scribed by the yi-ching; but, in the lan­ guage of the odes, she has vowed that till death she will have no other." In the same issue a magistrate aud mili­ tary officer are degraded for beheading a prisoner who was sentenced to be hanged. The officer excused himself on the ground that the soldier em­ ployed at the execution was drunk. FINANCIALLY, the few oil companies retaining a separate identity are of lit­ tle importance when measured by the present Standard. AN English chemist has devised an economical process of reclaiming soap from washing solutions. IT is the shop pie that often furnishes the pie ;e that passeth understanding,-- Alta California, Yfora on the Jordon. Bapid, turbulent and dangerous as is this historic river, rich beyond all others in sacred associations, it has, notwithstanding its numerous violent rapids, intervals of quiet beauty. Unique, like the Dead Sea, in which it finally loses itself, this remarkable stream is well worth attentive con­ sideration. Well calculated in its physical phenomena for the symbolic use it has served, its singular features as studied by the traveler are strongly illustrative and suggestive in connec­ tion with sacred story. Actual distance from the place where the Jordon emerges from the Sea of Galilee to its final destination, where it is merged in the Dead Sea, is only sixty miles; yet so multitudinous are its doublings and windings that measurements proves its crooked course to be not less than 200 miles. Not in slow and graceful curves is the distance run gracefully from its rise, about 600 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, but turbu- lently plunging its muddy torrent over a series of violent rapids, there being not less than twenty-seven suoh rapids'! between the Lake of Tiberius and the j Dead Sea, it descends to a depth of 1,300 feet below the Mediterranean where it merges with the Dead Sea, and its rapid. torrent and frequent floods make it a terror rather than an object of delight to those who dwell along its circuitous shores. Only from twenty to thirty yards in breadth, the few and dangerous fords and the sud­ den terrible floods which rendered bridges useless even when possible, all tended to make this remarkable river an excellent barrier between the Is­ raelites and licentious idolators from whom they were to be cut off. No wonder (hat Naaman, the proud Syrian, in view of the peculiarities of the Jor­ don, exclaimed when directed to b.ithe in it3 waters: "Are not Abani and Pli&rpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?" The present bathing place of pilgrims is the traditional site of our Lord's baptism, the famed "fords of the Jordon," sought by all travelers. Deeply cut in the marly soil is the channel of the river. Its waters throughout most of its course ara hidden from the eye. From an elevation, however, its flow may be determined by" the thick green foliage of luxuriant oleanders, willows and tamarisks whioh cluster on its banks. It were easy to point many a moral as we glance with the mind's .eye along the Jordon's course. Each can do this best, however, for himself. Memories of the sacred word bring their own rich suggestions. Necessity of Sunlight Instead of excluding sunlight from our houses, lest it fade carpets and cur­ tains, draw flies and bring freckles, we should open every door and window and bid it enter. It brings life and health and joy; there is healing in its beams; it drives away disease, damp­ ness, mold, megrims. Instead of doing this, however, many careful house­ wives close the blinds, draw down the shades, lock the doors, shut out the glorifying rays, and rejoice in the dim and musty coolness and twilight ol their apartments. It is pleasant and not unwholesome during the glare ol the noontide to subdue the light and exclude the air, quivering with heat, but in the evening we may freely in­ dulge the sunbath, and let it flood all our rooms, and if, at its very fiercest and brightest, it has full entrance to our sleeping-rooms, so much the bettei for us. Wire netting in doors and win­ dows excludes not flies and mosquitoee only, but all other insects, and those who have once used it, will continue to do so. With this as a protection from intrusive winged creatures, one may al­ most dispensed with shades and shut­ ters; and enjoy all the benefits of an open house without any of the annoy­ ances so frequent in warm weather! But better tlie^ annoyances with sun­ shine than freedom from them without it. Statistics of epidemios have shown that if they rage in any part of a city, they will prevail in houses which arc exposed the least to sunshine, while those most exposed to it will not be at all or very slightly afiected. Even in the same house, persons occupying rooms exposed to sunlight will be healthier and repulse epidemic influ­ ences better than those occuping rooms where no sunlight enters. " • Increase of Tea Production. The statistics of the export of Japan­ ese tea show that while the annual quantities sent abroad (mainly to the United States) have i|apidly increased, the prices are still moke rapidly dimin­ ishing. In 1859, the first year Japan was opened to foreigi^'irade, the export was only 20,000 pounds, while in 1878, the last year for which the compara­ tive statistics are given, it reached 22,- 500,000 pounds. For the most part the increase was a steady and regular one, showing few and trifling fluctuations. Not so, however, the prices. In 1866 the average price per picul (133$ pounds) was 23, in 186y, $30, 1870 $32, 1871. $38, 1872 $37, and then it declined until in 1878 it was only $18? or less than half that of 1872. As in China, the cause of this enormous decline in value is depreciation in quality; the tea-growers, being anxious to get the leaf rapidly and in as large quantities as possible to the market, do not give it the time and care required in the delicate operation of producing high quality tea. From a report made by the Assam Secretariat to the Govern­ ment of Bengal it appears that in 18S6 there were in the Brahmapootra and Surma valleys 883 tea gardens of over 934,000 acres, of which only an area of 204,000 acres was under actual cultiva­ tion. One-sixth of this area was added in the last four years. The total yield was 61,000,000 pounds. The first sam­ ple of Assam tea readied Mincing Lane in 1837, when, according to the Pioneer 488 pounds were sold at ID shillings per pound. In 1886 37,000,000 pounds came from the Brahmapootra valley and 24,000,000 pounds from the Surma valley, being at about the rate of 360 pounds an acre. Wonder fill Perceptive Powers. Mr. Lushly had been out late, as usuaL He had, after patient investiga­ tion, discovered that he couldn't unlock the front door with his pocket knife, and sat down on the front steps to con­ sider. At length his wife put in an ap­ pearance, and, as she opened the Hoor to a very slight extent, said in terror- inspiring tones: "Are you drunk again, Lushly ?" "Begsh pardon!" "I say, are you drunk again?" " 'Sh very 'markable. My dear, you're won'ful woman; allush knowsh whash I want 'for I can tell it. Ash very qushun I came clear home ter ashk you--hie-- my dear."--Merchant Traveler. IT may seem paradoxical, but a man must have some push to him to pull through life with more than ordinary woeosai AJbest Marrlage-Tles. The Roman husband took his wife not as her husband but as her father. She came into his family the same almost as an adopted daughter. Orig­ inally the husband had absolute and oomplete control over her property. Even after his death she was subjected to any guardianship that he might have had appointed for her during his life­ time. But a change came in her con­ dition, and came as changes usually come, from one extreme to another. The wife was now subject to the tute­ lage of guardians appointed by her own family. This tutelege gave her a very independent position as to her separate estate and person. If the Romans did not countenance polygamy the Hebrews did, and they had a more peculiar custom. There was a law among them called the Le- virate, which means brother-in-law, and, according to this law, at the death of the husband the next oldest unmar­ ried brother-in-lavt of the widow mar­ ried her, if there were no children. In this way the wife of the eldest brother might, in the course of time, have been the wife of all the brothers. This custom afterward extended to many of the western nations, but the marriage took place whether there were any children or not Pioneer marriages in this eountry, not a century ago, has some resem­ blance to a Hebrew wedding. In those days the marriage was the cause of great excitement, and the whole neigh­ borhood was usually invited. As the houses of the bride and groom were generally far apart the groom started early in the morning on a horse as highly caparisoned as tho times would allow. The marriage generally took place before noon, to enable the whole party to return to thg groom's home before dark. The marriage was always celebrated at night and the bridesmaids were pro­ vided with lamps to meet the bride­ groom when he came. On his arrival he found the bride, bridesmaids, and company awaiting him. As soon as the actual ceremony was over the entire party returned to the bridegroom's house with great rejoicing. When they cached the house they partook of the wedding feast. The festivities usually lasted fourteen days. The groom not only furnished the feast but the robes of those who took part in the cere­ mony. There is in the Boyal library of Paris a written contract made in 1297 between two persons of royal birth in ArmigaL The husband and wife were bound to each other for seven years. It was also agreed that the parties should have the right to renew the tie at the end of that time if they mutually agreed; but if not, the children were to be equally divided and if the number should chance not to be even they were to draw lots for the odd one. Thei e was another kind of marriage called polygnia, and like the Levirate, it extended to the western countries. This, however, did not gain much foot­ hold among the Hebrews. Polygnia wife simply polygamy reversed. Ac­ cording to it the woman was the head of the house, and might have as many legal husbands at one time as she pleased. Her children bore her name and recognized her as the head of the house. The Roman Church alone regarded marriage as a sacrament, but all the other churches recognize it as a divine institution, and, accordingly, every de­ nomination has provided religious serv­ ices for its solemnization. So strong a hold did the church in England gain upon it that for a long time the regula­ tion of marriage and divorce was almost exclusively under the church's jurisdic­ tion. Some of the customs attending a Hebraic marriage were peculiar. The bridegroom dressed himself in the most gorgeous style he could command. He next perfumed himself with frank- fncense and myrrh. Then he went forth covered with garlands, or, if he were rich, he would wear a circlet of gold and ride a gayly caparisoned horse. The Quakers. I do not believe that any other con­ clusion can be reached than that true Quakerism is an exact equivalent of true goodness. I believe, too, there is little else among Quakers than true Quakerism. A good deal is usually needed to start one right in just analyzation of the credal first principles of any sect. But any one's study of this people may be wholly simplified by knowing, in ad­ vance, what the amplest knowledge will tho more emphatically confirm, that the Quakerism of Fox and the Quakerism of to-day means just this and no more: 1. Unqualified, universal charity to all other men and creeds. 2. Devotion to God proceeding from the heart, and in adoration or supplica­ tion too sacred for set phrase. 3. Unvarying exercise of humanity, simplicity and temperance in thought, expression and act, is requisite for highest attainments in civil and relig­ ious life. These form simply my own best crystallization of what has seemed to me to solidly underlie all Quakerism. No Quaker may thank me for so put­ ting it, but admitting it to be measur­ ably fair, concrete expression of that rliich has made them so distinctive and distinguished a people, all the apparent oddity and quaintness of their ways become at once consistent We are drawn to their seeming austerity with more than loving tolerance, and some­ thing like a very hallowed charm breathes from their simplicity and humility.--Edgar L, Wakemaru Fifteen Thousand Wild Bucks Shot in a Day. The best record ever made in the Susquehanna fields was about eight years ago, when on the opening day, William Dobson of Havre de Grace, an expert gunner, killed from a box 540 and burst a fine gun before he stopped. He kept two men bnsy all dav picking up doad ducks. His seoond got at times too hot to hold. Ten or fifteen years ago 15.000 were killed in a day's shooting. In an average season there are here abcut fifty boxes and 150 bushwhackers. The capital invested in the business is from $75,000 to $100,- 000. This includes boats, decoys, boxes, guns, etc. From 25,000 to 35,- 000 ducks have been killed in a season in latter years. They are sold every­ where. The best prices are given in New York, Washington, Boston, Balti­ more, and Philadelphia. No wild fowl can equal in flavor a Susquehanna cau- vas-back duck.--Baltimore American. THK setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun. The brightness of our life is gone. Shadows of even­ ing fall around us, and the world.seems but a dim reflection, itself a broader shadow. We look forward into the coming lonely night The soul with­ draws into itself. The stars arise, and the night is holy.^Longfellow, . . . V . t / * V , j .*1" PITH AND POINT. A DABK SKCRET--Origin of tbe black race. ST. LOUIS girls claim they are noi a* bad as they are painted! THERE is language in .colors, though some are much louder than others.-- Texan Siftings. BECAUSE a man nods and sighs, that doesn't prove that he belongs to a synod.--Texas Siftings. SOCIABILITY in a beer saloon is ac­ counted for by the fact that man does not like to beer alone.--Carl Pretsel's Weekly. A SEWING-MACHINE man, who has just got into jail for swindling widows now knows the difference between the lock­ stitch and the lock-step. AFTER an argument between them the man is generally silenced, but not convinced; the woman is often con­ vinced, but rarely silenced. THE man whose step-ladder collapsed when he was hanging his father's por­ trait, bringing the picture down on the top of his head, says it is a striking likeness of the old man. M;8TRF8S (arranging for dinner)-- Didn't the macaroni oome from the grocer's, Bridget? Bridget -- Yis, mum; but Oi sint it back. Every wan av thim stims was impty. IF people should stop suddenly some evening telling what they think about other people and tell what they know about themselves, what a stir-up there would be in modern society. DAME--What do you think? I have a girl who gets up in the morning with­ out being called. Chorus of voices-- Impossible. Dame--But it is true; she's in love with the milkman. "I AM feeling very blue this morning." Doctor--"What's the matter?" "Every time I feel my nose it hurts me." "But you are not obliged to feel your nose." ° "But how can I tell whether it hurts unless I feel it?" "DEATH has played a dirty trick on this town," says an Arizona paper, "by sneaking in upon us and bearing off the only bartender who knew how to mix a Tom and J^rry to circulate through the system."--Detroit Free Press. A PIOUS father entered a saloon one night with a horttewhip, and found his son playing euchre. He tanned the young man's jacket and sent him home, and then sat down and finished the game himself.--Texas Sif tings. FIFTY-TWO thousand pianos were manufactured in this country last year. No wonder the asylums for the insane are overcrowded! Think, too, of the 10,000,000 cats in the United States! Who says we are not musical people.-- Areola Record. "OH, ma," said Johnny, excitedly, "I've won a bet off'n Jimmy Green." "It is wicked to bet," replied his mother. "What were you betting on?" "Why, I bet that mole on your chin against a wart on Jimmy's mother's nose that his dog couldn't lick mine, and my dog eat nearly all the hide off'n his dog. The wart's mine, ma, but you can have it"--Newman Independent AT the Club. "Ah, there is Gribble, the great humorist Did you eve# hear him recite? "Yes." "Wonderful, isn't he?" "Very." "Greatest humorist, I suppose, this country ever produced" "Who is that fellow sitting over there alone ?" "I've forgotten his name. He doesn't amount to much. He wrote the stories that Gribble recited last night Look at Gribble. Look at that expression of countenance. Charm- . ingly ridiculous."--Arkansaw Trav eler. , The* Lever of Civilization. Proprietor Political Organ -- Well, gentlemen, we must lay out our edit­ orial page to-morrow. Have you se­ lected a subject Mr. Scribner? Scribner--I thought of writing on "Closer Commercial Relations with South America." "Good subject. Direct the attention of workingmen to the effect that South American beef is far superior to the native article. What topic have you selected, Mr. De Map?" De Map--Future Expeditions to the North Pole. "Very good. Try to ring in some­ thing to please the workingmen. Tell them these expeditions should be en­ couraged because they furnish such cool, refreshing reading for hot sum­ mer evenings. What is your subject, Mr. Metaphiz?" Metaphiz--Esoteric Buddhism. "A sort of religious topic, isn't it?" "Something like that." "Very good. Just mention the fact that this is a free conntry and if work­ ingmen want to embrace Buddhism they have a perfect right to we'll stand up for 'em through thick and thin. What have you fouud in the foreign exchanges, Mr. De Tongue?" De Tongue--The Frenoh papors are having a remarkably interesting dis­ cussion on "Hyphotism." "Well, that will da Throw in a suggestion to the effect ^that the rea­ son so many workingmen think they are contented is possibly because they have been hypnotised by their con- Bciousless employers. The rest of you who have not seleosed subjects can write as usual on labor and capital. Sub editor--Yes, sir; of course, of course. "By the way, my wife told me this morning that she and all he daughters must have sealskin sacques this season, so you will each have to accept a re­ duction of $10 a week." -- Omaha World. Han Tu and the Alligators. Han Yu was banished to Kuangtung and appointed Governor of the semi- barbarous . district of Chao Chou. When he arrived there the people oom- Elained to him that their flocks and erds were being destroyed and them­ selves ruined by the ravages of a qual­ ity of alligators, Ngo, which lived in a lake not far from Chaovnng-hwei. Haa Yu went to the lake and ordered a pig and sheep to be thrown to the Ngo, and when they were assembled he made them a speech aud said: "Under former rulers you have been allowed to remain here, but under the reign of our virtuous Emperor you cannot be tolerated, and you must leave tho em- - pire. At the south of this place is an immense sea, in which fishes as large as whales, as well as those as small as shrimps and sprats, can live in peace. You can easily go there in a day, but I give you from three to seven days to go. If, after that period you are still found here I shall be compelled to bring with me some good archers with strong bows aud poisoned arrows, nnd declare against you a merciless war." In the afternoon of that day a violent storm arose, with thunder and light­ ning, which lasted some days, driving the waters sixty li eastward, so that the lake became dry, and no alligators have ever been seen there sinoe. North China Herald. CHOOSE such pleasures as moraata mooh and eost little.