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wfclaraieater VAN SLYKE, Editor and Publisher ILLINOIS. McHKNRY, •now LAY MB SLEEP. BT EUUF.NE FIELD, 11 '̂̂ f 5',«» * •** ; 91Mfire apon tbe hearth is low, % ' And there is BtiUu^ss everywhere; L" Like troTililiHl spirits, here and thelS, ; Ithe firelight til)a<iows fluttering go. : iiJttd as the Rlmdows around me creep, A childish treble hrc»ks tbe gloom, » - • And softly from tbe farther room Vomes: "Kow 1 lay me down to sleep.* 4n<L soruehow. -with that litt le prayer, *hd that, sweet. treble in my ears, My thoughts go back to distant yoaM pnd lingers with a dour one there; And as I hear the child's amen, ;)il My mother's faith comes back to infc if Crouched at lier tide I serine*! to b* And my mother holds my lunula again. for an hour In that dear place 1 ; <=';? Oh! tot the {team of that dear time!;, •y*ia*. 'OI t^lat childish trust sublime! ' tn! for a glimpse of mother's face I Jk®et, as the bhsulowe iiround me creep, . I do not Beem to be nlone-- * ^ Sweet nmgie of that treble tone-- _AHd "Now I lay me doWn to bleejt* •-Chicago News. HOW WILL IT END ? of revenge, gwl that enemy was Bhola, tbe disgraoed soldier. The next morning tbe Serapis steamed out of Bombay on ber home- WMrd course, with the usual freight of passengers--colonels retiring in the prime of life, forced to inactivity by the new law which robs the army of some of it* best men; officers invalided home: .'mother* taking their children back to England; others off for a few months' leave, and the Fiftv-Qrst Regiment re­ turn ing a f t er f i f t een yoars in Ind ia . A l l <was noi^e and excitement on board, and ; |tlie inevitable bustle which prevails un- Jtil each one has shaken down into bis ,br her place. Among the steerage pas­ sengers might have been seen a black man, who kept aloof from those around him, making friends with no one, but always quietly on the alert. He came and went as he pleased. He was thought to be some one's servant, and he encouraged the idea. Sometimes in the evening, when all was quiet, and the first-class passengers were at dinner, Jie would steal stealthily on deck, and, hiding behind one of the thick coils of frope, remain there, listening to all that -went on far into the night, until the last straggler bad retired to rest Then "be, too, would pass quietly to bis quar- i ' o the Buying Pu| remained where she was, petrified w| fright, till, seeing a dark form foil the head and make toward her wi silent, rapid strides down the oorrid she, too, turned and fled after i friend, whom she found fainting on t floor. She knew the man was folio * ? Vt ; fk2\' T had been a piping day, such a day as can only be felt in I n d i a , a n d t h e officer's mess-room of the Four!eenth Native Regiment was the largest and generally the coolest in the sta­ t i o n ; y e t e v e n there the punkahs made very little difference to the beat and oppres­ sion of the atmos­ phere, and the officers were most of them in various stages of collapse. equal only to im- vlbing iced drinks of all kinds asd now and then breaking the stillness with forcible expressions of diagust at their discomfort. *1 say, Thesiger," drawled Simpkins, apale, freckled, sandy-haired youth, wha eesmed to find life "such an aw­ ful bore, you know;" "I wish tbe Colonel had chosen any other time of the year for his leave. Now that it is so hot, that horrid Thompson will be having us oat at all hours for extra drill, g« SS '<*»• seemed harmless enougli, but JSiTS? l»«* powerfully built m.D, aud few isoilt i* " would Lave cared to interfere with hitn •Don't trouble vcrarMlif, de.r W," , °r r<mM the • was the quiet reply; "vou can hardly call' . . IL . ..... it one of miik and roses now, and a little ' Ba^jngton Manor, from which the sun, more or less, will, not make much ' Bfna vl«'aK© near took its name of Bar- Having refitted the ye opened it with a vers tared her room iofetoh a few thti preparatory to rejoining Nellie, "IfljMkead, as wan her wont, under bed, for, she said, there in no know: one might discover a burglar there night. However, she saw nothing, o toward the far side, near the wall, th seemed a brown bundle of somethi ' She walked to the fire and stood thi ing, when it flashed across her that night before that brown bundle had been there. It is curious, she thotig I will look again, and once more taki the candle in her hand, she lifted valance and peered beneath the when two fiery gleaming eyes 'met he It was tbe work of a moment to dr the valance and run. She burst ii Nellie's room with a breathless "Nell there is a man under my bed, we mi call some one !r Hand in hand the two girls came ii: tbe passage, when to their horro; black, woolly head was cautiously j round Clare's door. Nellie gave shriek and mshed into her room. Gh square dealing, I can make it an] • Clean, Fresh Stock of Dlf H ^ ' ft I HATS. CAPS, BOOTS. SHOt ftiiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiijmmmtttttttiiiiiiamtt which 1 invite tbe attention of generally, confident that with go^ call and see me. y stock is complete in every depai Everything Usually Kepi Call and look ua over, whether yoj I Mctleiiry* July!, 1801, We will pay all lightning to bull* ave placed our onductors. Thes< H, §IK' DEXTEROUS MOVEMENT HE TWISTED XT FROM mttt. tte difference. fll ^ There was a murmur of disapproval £«' * from the offended Simpkins. p"f; v'< "The Colonel looks awfully fagged, and wante a holiday," went on Thesi- ger, "and • • • * Here . he comes," as a fine, soldierly-looking - man entered and threw a hasty glance l, around the room. X " H o t , b o y s , i s n ' t i t ? H a , T b e s i g e r , I want you; come with me," and link- ^ i' . ' ^g his ami through the young subal- § _ tern's, they went ont together, fef "fip nice to be the Colonel's pet," |sneered Simpkins, whose usual careless good temper h&4 been ruffled. "Trust the voitbg and unsophisticated for fe knowing which side their bread is but- ' tered!" But no notice was taken of his remark, for Thesiger was a great fa- ' 'h Torite' an^ t^le Colonel, though strict " *n t'ie discharge of his duty, waa be- jloved by all under him. ^ The two Mended their way toward V, ' the * Colonel's bungalow. They were • firm friends, and on many occasions ^ ' Colonel Hilton had acted a father's part to the young man when he had first f " joined, and. now another tie drew them f/ • *. together, for Alan Thesiger was en- %. g®ged to the Colonel's pretty daughter, , j$J Nellie, who, the year before, had re- tfc, turned to Ireland with her brother, jgp , "Andhowdid the court-martial end?" |p asked Alan. |t /; ' "As I knew It would," was the re- , ply, "as all attempts at insubordina- • non must end--in disgrace and dismis- aal from the regiment. Poor Bhola! ii / I felt sorry for him, for he was a fine SR. T FULL OF HATRED •fp%" 0* I'lV' w? f̂ >ecimen of a native soldier; but for the sake of discipline it was impossible to do otherwise. He ha« sworn to be revenged on me, and it is a well-known fact that these men rarely kill their enemy himself, for then, they eay, it would all be done with; but it is gen­ erally his nearest and dearest whom they attack, so that he may have the life-long misery of knowing he has been tbe cause of his dear one's death. It is a curious idea, and I am more than thankful my wife and Nellie are safe at home, or I should have been most un­ easy on their account. And now I must make my final preparations, for the Berapis sails early to-morrow morning, and there is Btill much to be done. I hope to be back again in six month's time and you must keep me posted up in all the news. Give me any letters you may have ready to go, and I will write out a few orders for vou to oiv« Thompson for me." Things were soon in marching trim aud Alan left go to his quarters. The Colonel came to the door of bis bunga­ low, as he said: "Good-night," in his cheery way: "To-morrow morning Alan, sharp 5 the vessel sails; I shall be on board be­ fore that, and I daresay I shall see you.* "All rjght, Colonel, I shall be there," and Alan went off whistling. The other, throwing away the end of his cberoot, re-entered. Had he glanced back a moment later he would have Men a dark form gliding swiftly across tbe compound and gain the bushes be­ yond. The Colonel would hardly have rested so easily had he known that his bomeward steps would be dogged by an •nemy, waiting only for an opportunity nngton, was a lovely old house which had belonged for centuries to tbe Hil- tons, one of the most ancient families in the County of Cork. It was situated on a hill surrounded on three " sides by shrubberies, and approached on the fourth by a long drive, which wound down the hill for some distance through a lovely park and terminated in an old ivy-covered archway and large iron gates, which always during the day stood hospitably open. The house it­ self had been added to at various times, and looked what it was--not overpower- ingly magnificent or evefi imposing, but a throughly charming and comfortable house. The entrance hall was perhaps the most beautiful part of it, having several handsome old carved oak pil­ lars, which supported an arched roof and the broad, shelving staircase jvas also of oak. It was a large house, with winding passages and long corridors with rooms on either side, but through­ out it all there was a feeling of homely comfort and cheerfulness which many a smaller house often lacks. The furni­ ture was cozy and suited to the rooms; nor had the occupants joined in the high art craze. Draperies arranged in every possible or impossible corner were, as yet, unknown in Barrington. The family party was a small one, consisting of Col. Hilton, already intro­ duced, and who had a few days since arrived from India, his wife, Mrs. Hil­ ton, Nellie, their only daughter, and Clare Featherstone, a young girl, and Nellie's greatest friend, who had be<*n spending a few weeks with her. These |wo were inseparable companions, though very different in character, for Clare was all energy and decision and Neliie owned that sweet, yielding dis­ position preferred by so many. • .* * * • In tbe meanwhile l*ow bad it fared with Bhola? When the Colonel lauded at Queenstown he, too, left the vessel and by a few judicious inquiries learned that the village of Barrington was about twelve miles distant. He wan in no great hurry, aud the next few days were spent in arranging his plan of action as tar as was possible without being actually on the spot. He made up his mind to walk the distance, as then his arrival would be less noticeable than if be went by train, and his small store of savings was nearly exhausted, so it be­ hooved him to be careful. It was a gloomy, dark evening when he reached the park gates, having passed through tbe village street with­ out meeting any one. A more favor­ able time he could not have wished for, and as he reconnoitered the grounds and noticed the many advantages and places of concealment his hopes rose high as he saw before him the vision of venge­ ance satisfied. Of the risk to himself he thought nothing. Bisk was natural to him, and he trusted to his native quickness to extricate himself from any awkward position. He had brought with him provisions enough to last a week, and early morning and late even­ ing saw him prowling about and ac­ quainting himself with tbe habits of the household. Nellie and Clare little knew that in their daily rambles their Bteps were dogged, and eyes full of hatred gleamed at them from the sur­ rounding bushes. It was All Hallow's E'en. The house­ hold had retired to rest, but the two girls were stivl talking over the library fire, relating all the most blood-curdling ghost stories they had ever heard of or read; now and then looking fearfully over their shoulders into the shadowy corners of the room, as if they had ex­ pected to see some ghostlv visitant emerge until at last, when *12 o'clock struck and they rose to light their candles, Nellie declared she was far too nervous to be left alone, and that Clare must sleep with her. Clare laughinglv assented. Though protesting that she herself was not at all frightened, she felt a secret satisfaction in the thought that, after all, she would not be left alone in her large and somewhat eerie room, where the wind roared so loudlv in tbe. chimney, and the old faded arras shook in tbe dim firelight As she en- ing, and she could only trust to Nellie's shriek having aroused the Colonel, whose room was not very far down the passage. She drew Nellie on one side, and prepared to face the enemy. In one moment he was in the doorway, and then commenced a terrible and almost hand-to-fight. He never noticed the unconscious figure lying there; all his fury directed against Clare, who de­ fended herself as best Bhe could by keeping him at bay with a chair. It was evident the struggle could not last many minutes,' and, feeling her stresgth giving way, she stepped behind a large table, holding before her the only chair left within her reach. It was war to the death, and she knew it! The man drew near, seized the chair, and with a dex­ terous movement twisted it from her hold. As the danger increased, Clare grew steadier, and her courage rosei It remained for her to keep tbe table be­ tween them, for it was too wide for him to reach across. Backward and forward they dodged, now waiting to gain breath. Clare kept a keen eye on every movement of the form before her, one slip, and she knew it would all be over. As much as possible she kept her ad­ versary's back to the door, so that, should help arrive, he migbt be taken unawares. There was a sound outside, and her eye brightened. An instant later Col. Hilton entered the room, and with one fell swoop the man dropped to the ground. Bhola," exclaimed the astonished Colonel, "how did he get here ?") But there was no time to waste, the house­ hold were soon roused, restoratives brought to the two girls, and Bhola wa» securely fastened to one of the oak pillarB in the hall. Reaction had set in, and poor Clare's feelings were diffi­ cult to describe. The shock bad been a very severe one, and it was months before she recovered ber usual nerve and presence of mind, and Nellie, nat­ urally timid, although she had been un­ conscious during the worst part of the adventure, was iu a terrible state of fright, and needed oonstant reassurance that Bhola was firmly attached to the pillar. And Bhola himself, when be recov­ ered consciousness and found be was a prisoner, made frantic efforts to escape, but they were of no avail, and he sul­ lenly resigned himself to his fate, and to the failure of his plan of vengeance. Tbe next day he was lodged in tho county gaol, and brought up at the fol­ lowing assizes when it transpired that he had followed the Colonel to Ireland, hidden in the shrubberies near the house, and watched his opportunity of entering unperceived. The mistake be made was taking Clare for Nellie, and even when he learned that she was not bis hated enemy's daughter still it was through her he had been defeated and he vowed that when his five years' im­ prisonment were over he would dog her footsteps until lie had wreaked his ven­ geance, The trial was over, and Bhola was shipped to India, there to undergo the penalty of his crime, and the Hil­ ton B breathed more freely to think they were safe from the presence of one whose creed and customs forbade the forgiveness of any injury whatsoever, and with whom the law of tbe vendetta was very strong. • • • # • The five years' penal servitude is just ended, aud Clare is wondering how it will end. There is no more fear for her friends the Hiltons, for it is to her Bhola has transferred his undying ha tred, and, for herself, she feels there is every fear, and 'bat unless something unforeseen occurs, her days are num­ bered. Such a man as that never for­ gets or forgives, and lives only to keep his vow. With ber. we can but ask "How will it end?"--Inter-Ocean. t ENOSHA, WISOOf' ':8 My ole man say "fie me to quit than fer vou to think I would slip. He ain't so overly settled iu iiis mind 'bout stayiu' here, no how." _ Her calmness and mystery of tbe situation completed my discomfiture, and afteT a rebuke that was tame in­ deed in proportion to the offense, I left her in possession of the field and my eggs. Her sinking feelings would have become monotonous if they had not al­ ternated with a "hard feelin'especially after gorging herself on "drop dump­ lings." In such an event she insisted that she needed "strong medicine," and remained in bed all day. This occurred so often that my lather, whose experi­ ence in such cases was limitless, sug­ gested a remedy which he called balm tea. He prepared it of a powerful emetic, disguised in sugar and pepper­ mint. Penney complained bitterly that after taking it she "could not keep nothin' on her stummick, but it always effected a eure>.--Memphis Appeal- Avalanche. The OMe»t City la th«r M'orUL The oldest city in Europe is Home, whioh is said to have been fouaded aJ)out 2,644 years ago; the oldest eity in Asia is Jerusalem, which was a. pop­ ulous place 3,900 years ago;. but the old­ est city in the world, which has never been even temporarily vacated ar de­ stroyed, is Damascus. According to the historian Josephus, Damascus was founded by Uz, the great- grandson of Noah. Whether it dates back quite so far or notr it ia certain that it was a plaoe of consequence in the- days of Abraham, and among the won­ derful stories told in Egyptian hierogly­ phics on the gigantic pillars at Karuak, near Thebes, is one to th* effect that Damascus vi-as captured by one of th& Pharaohs nearly 4,000 years ago. Per­ haps it is safe to give it continuous ex­ istence of forty-two centuries. As may be imagined, during sucb m. long life, Damascus has seen many vi­ cissitudes. During the Hebrew mon­ archy it was the capital of Syria, and it afterward passed successively under the rule of the Assyrians, Persians, Mace­ donians, Boman, and S&racens. In 1516 it was captured by the Turks, under Sultan Selim I.» and, with tbe exception of eight years--from 1832 to 1840, when it belonged to the Pasha of Egypt--it has remained ever siuce under Turkish rule. Under every change of dynasty and every form of government, unlike most cities, it has retained its prosperity. ^ The city proper is about six miles in circumference, and is partly surrounded by old turn bled-down walls. The streets generally are dirty and decayed, and so very narrow that a loaded donkey al­ most entirely blocks up the passage. The principal street, called "Straight Street," mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, is two niiles long, and is not straight at all. The houses, for tbe most part, are •very mean-looking structures, often pre­ senting to the street nothing but a dead wall, with a door-way in it, while tbe best have rough mud walls, with a pro­ jecting upper story extending so far over the narrow street that hands may be shaken from opposite windows. But Damascus is a striking example of the proverb that we must not judge from appearances, since the interiors of these miserable-looking houses are rich aud beautiful beyond description. Fine marble-paved courts, orna­ mented with trees, shrubs, and foun­ tains, rooms with arabesqued roofs and walls, most luxuriously furnished, are the common features of all the dwell­ ings of the wealthier classes, while even the smallest house has three water- ..... ly will be so far ______ France in population that the latter'a dtauws* fat victory in a war witl; the former single-handed will be small.-- Globe Democrat. ...Datifferoua. In one of the large towns of Pennsyl­ vania a suit was recently brought by a worklngman against the proprietor of a cigar shop, for permanent injury done to health and reason of his son. The shopkeeper, regardless of warnings and protests, persisted in selling cigarettes to the boy, a child of 10 years, until the use of them brought on*paralysis and softening of the brain. So common are permanent affections of the throat, stomach and nerves from the use of cigarettes by boys, that the State of Pennsylvania has made it a criminal offense to cell them to minors. In the records of insanity in that State for ten yoars it was shown that among boys under twenty the excessive use of tobacco ranked third among the causes of disordered intellect The lad who reads these words, if a smoker, will probably admit that there is but little pleasure in smokiug the cigarette. Certainly he will do so if he is frank. He smoked at first because he fanced it made him look like a man; afterwards because the habit could not be shaken off easily. Let us recommend to bis attention the story of the farmer's boy who in­ herited a bleak tract in Western Pennsylvania and worked it with scant results for twenty years. Then oil was found in it, in such quantities that the young man became rich. He did not try to educate him­ self or to spend his easily-gotten wealth wisely, but went to the city, and wasted it in the most absurd extravagances. At times he literally flung his money away to the passers-by. So insane was his extravagance that in a few years he had lost ail and was penniless. He died in the almshouse in Philadelphia. God has given to the average boy a capital far greater than wells of oil, health, a sound digestion, an active brain, the courage and happiness of youth. When he walks the streets pulling his cigarette he is in danger of wasting his capital almost as senselessly as did this poor lad when be flung coin to the passers-by. Judicious men and women who see him smoking are not moved to admira­ tion by his manliness, as he fancies, but simply regard him as silly ai.d un taught, and pitty him for the ignorance which may bring liim such incurable ill during his whole life.--Youth's Com­ panion. The il other m a Teacher of Art. • The perception of beauty, dormant in the babe, is easily awakened with the other growing faculties. The kinder­ garten teacher's efforts in this direction are constantly bearing fruit, but let a word be given to mothers who have not bad a kindergarten training. Gather about your children a few beautiful objects; talk about them; let' the children come, as they will uncon­ sciously, under their influence; let beautiful ideas and images grow into their lives. Perhaps you have a dainty head in marble; put it on a low table to be admired, on the window-seat to east a shadow, in the child's hand while he looks into the beautifully modeled face, at tbe smiling mouth, the wavy hair. Perhaps you have only a photo* graph copy of some masterpiece, a Raphael, a Millet, a sea piece by Turner, cattle by Bonheur, an etching by Farrer, something fine, though it cost but a trifle; let that be studied and loved. Take time to read and reread a gem of poetry, or to sing a sweet song to your children. Above all take time to study with your children the shading of the leaf, the bird, tbe bee, the stone, the pearls of dew on grass blade, the frost glitter, tbe snow crystal; take time to watch the trees in their grand­ eur, the stretch of meadow, the spark­ ling stream, the cloud mountains, tho sunset glory. Beauties will be revealed to you you dream not of. Even from our crowded city streets, to the eye that is opened and the heart* that is awakened, beauty has not fled. The flickering light and shade weave themselves into exquisite patterns on our wails and pavements, the trees throw their long, dark shadows, the mists rise soft and gray, tbe sun pours its flood of golden light down the long dusty streets; to tbe ear that is attuned, harmony rises from tbe discord of sounds. He who loves beauty and is looking for it will find it everywhere. And the mother who keeps ber en­ thusiasm, alive by working with her children, developing their perception of beauty and love for the beautiful works of nature and art, and reverence for the beautiful truths divine, wiil give them a blessed inheritance which will lighten their burden as they grow be­ yond her sheltering care, and bring more of cheerfulness, and hopefulness, and youthfulness into their lives.-- Swtan Payne Clement, in the Kinder- garten, Method for Controlling Nose llleml. The plan of arresting hemorrage from the nose, which I here describe, I have used for thirty years without one fail­ ure. My plan is not only effectual, but is easy of application and absolutely pain­ less, and can be probed in the smallest patients. The little device which I use is made of fifteen of the long threads of patent lint, size 3£ or 4 inches long, which I double on themselves and tie in the middle, and let one end of the string be 6 or 8 inches long so as to pull the plug but when necessary. When boubled on itself it looks like a "cbmet" in miniature with a nucleus and thirty tails (or twice the number of threads used). A probe, or soft piece of pine but little bigger than a match, is pressed up against the center, and it is passed back upon the floor of the nasal cavity and pushed on till you reach ithe poste­ rior nares. This will be known both by the resistance and the length of the •• Il'a Their Ox. The Michigan furniture men do not want the Ionia prison to go into furni ture manufacturing. When the prisons went into wagon-making, shoe-making, brooms, etc., the furniture men weren't saying a word. It always did make a difference whose ox was gored. ROME, in tbe days of her pride and power, had a circus that would accom­ modate 159,000 people. With such a multitude, if a boy crawled under tbe canvas it wasn't noticed. THE poorest man on earth is the one who has the fewest trials. >• • . • the garden, and a third for bathing. To the modern traveler Damascus is a most interesting city, both from its historical associations and its inhabi­ tants. The quaint bazaars, each de­ voted to a special trade, the oriental costumes of the people, the departing and arriving caravans, and the wild Moslems careering about on beautiful Arabian horses, make a picture long to be remembered. The lUm of tb* Nations. In ratio of growth in population the race is ifow between the United States, Russia, Germany and the United King­ dom, with tbe United States in the lead aud the other countries following in this order. The three European countries named are growing much faster than any of the old world, while France is practically stationary and Aus­ tria's increase is comparatively slight pipes--one for the kitchen, another for Pr°be, or the depth which you have reached. Then slowly withdraw the probe and plug the anterior nares and you have arrested the bleeding. These twenty or thirty ends floating in the blood at once coagulate it. The passage of the soft lint gives no pain whatever. In persuading children to submit to the operation, I often pass the lint up my own nose to satisfy them it gives no pain. If lint is not at hand I use the largest size spool cotton. Any sensible man can perform this operation. Many years ago I was wont sometimes to remain at the patient's house for hours, fearing a return of the bleeding, bnt I do so no longer. The plug is removed iu from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. It gives no pain and the patieitt is wilting for it to remain. The other methods are all painful in execution, and the discomfort while the plug remains is very considerable.--TC IF. Farker, M. D., in Medical Record. Y-hs - V-'-l* 'm.1 About 46015. C. the Xonians first in­ troduced the present system of writing from left to right, provious to the above date, from right to left prevailed. There are at least ten million nerve- £ bres in the human body. Three and a half millions of people are always on the seas of the world. One-half the people that are born die before the age of 16. A recent survey has established the number of glaciers in tbe Alps at 1,155, of which 249 have a length of more than four and three-quarter miles. A grain of musk will scout a room for twenty years and at the end of that time will not show it has diminished in the least. A grain of carmine or half a grain of aniline will tinge a hogshead of water so that a strong microscope will detect coloring matter in every drop, A luminous buoy has been invented, the light of which is produced by phos- phuret of calcium, and is visible two and a half miles away. The proportion of Anglo-Saxon words in the English Bible is 97 per cent, of the whole. The receipts of the French Treasury are larger than those of any other civil ized nation. It takes about three seconds for a message to go from one end of the At­ lantic cable to the other. This is about seven hundred miles a second. Only one person in a thousand dies of old age. An inch of rain means 100 tons of water on every acre. The smallest known insect, the Pter- atomns Putnamii, a parasite of the ichneumon,'is but one-ninetieth of an inch in length. The thickness of tbe human hair varies from the two-hnndred-and-fiftieth to the six-hundreth part of an inch. Blond hair is the finest and red the coarsest. The force required to open an oyster appears to be 1,319A times the weight of the shellless creature. It has been calculated that there are about 200,000 families living in London on about £1 a week. Dinner* Without Coot, I happened to be diniug in a #ell- known uptown restaurant last week when I noticed two men, both of whom were attired in the height of fashion, enter the place and seat themselves at a table not far from mine. One was of rotund proportions that indicated years of high living. The other was much smaller, and from dress and manner ap­ peared to be a Western man. They dii-po.«ed of a seven-round din­ ner and two bottles of wine. After waiting respectfully the usual time a waiter approached them and inquired: "One check ®r two, sir. Tbe stout man became intensely in­ terested in a newspaper he appeared to be reading, and the small man waited half a second for him to speak. He failed to do so, and the small one quietly said: • ( "One." ) The following evening I visited the same restaurant and: was surprised to see the stout individual of the preced­ ing evening enter the place with an­ other companion. His actions became interesting and I watched him quietly, and, a» I surmised, he went through the same performance that I had noticed. He became tangled up in a report on the silver question immediately when tde waiter appewed, although he paid no attention to it during the feast. When the clerk had been paid and the two disappeared I questioned a waiter on the subject "Do he come heah often? Yes, sah, he do. He's been comin' nearly a yeah, and he never brings the same fren' twice. "We's onto him, sah, an'he tips de wait ah foh givin' de check to de other gemmae." The waiter said that not once during the year the stout man had been visiting the restaurant had he paid for a meal. --New York Herald. Ohnraoterliitici of the Cowboy. Where tbe cowboy comes from is a mystery. He is often of Mexican ori­ gin, and more than half Indian. He is a democrat always; he lives tinder the flag of a republic, and knows it He recognizes no social superior in any man; but, on the ether hand, to those he considers his inferiors, as the Indian or negro, no aristocrat of aristocrats could be haughtier. He is brave to fool-hardiness, aud will take chances of his life that it would seem none but a crazy man would. He takes no manner of care of his health. When a long way from the camp of ranch, ne sleeps where night finds him on the open prairie, with only the stars for light He bathes when he has time, and eats and drinks anything he can get, and all he cun get He can be depended to do his work well, be it at camp or when driving in a big bucch of horses from the ranges to the ranch. He is strorig as an ox. has an unbounded love for gay trappipgs, and is generally gay and free from care. His chief characteristic is a profound contempt for the denizen oi the East, whom he calls a tenderfoot The cowboy might not shine on Fifth avenue, but he is found just the proper person for the ranch, and he is withal a very picturesque, very useful, and very natural man. The wages paid him are small, and are usually ex­ pended as the first opportunity presents itself. He thinks not of the morrow. He is a creature of to-day. He is the same cowboy that Mark Twain knew, and he is no different when driving the beeves in Kansas or the bunch of horses on the prairies of Dakota and the Northwest--Harper's Weekly. A Knowing Mule. A farmer of William abridge, on tbe northern outskirts of New York City, plows his land with a horse and a mule harnessed together. The mule has a hairless, stubbed tail, a drooping ear, aud a dead eye. But what he lacks in personal appearance he richly makes up in sagacity. The other morning, shortly after dawn, the farmer found that both horse and mule had been stolen out of the stable during the night After breakfast time the mule limped home, trailing for the most part on three legs. One of the rear fetlocks was badly sprained, and bis lips were flecked with blocd as though he had been trying to chew something too tough for ordinary masticating powers. Almost at the same hour a sorry-looking man with a $20 bill in his pocket was arrested as a suspicious person by the Carmansville police. He was covered with cuts and bruises, which he ac­ counted for by saying that he had been knocked down by a runaway horse, crushed by the wheels of the wagon be­ hind it, and mangled by a dog that was pursuing the turnout The farmer sus­ pects that the man was in contact with both ends of his mule, and that the $30 is the result of a cheap horse sale. THREE are two things that always make a man dream--mince-pie and love. Tfe* Bapitt l^iil «t jae«rt*l« Soiwm te _Experiment»*r# ^ow goto ft* on ift Germany, with electric currents of very high tension, whioh have a good deal of interest to architects who are called upon, each day more and more, to plan and direct the introduction of e'ectrio appliances in their building*. Every one will remember, says the American Architect, the somewhat acrimonioua discussion of a year or two ago about the danger of alternating currents at electricity at one thousand volts pres­ sure, and the proposition of a company in England to use a ten thousand volt current was looked upon as wildly reckless. Now, however, a line is in process of construction to carry a cur­ rent of twenty-five thousand voits. The line is to be about a hundred miles long, and is to extend from the Falls of the Neckar, at Lauffen, to Frankfort-on-the- Main, along the railway route, through . Heilbronn, Jaxtfeld and Hanau. It fa to be used to convey a force of about three hundred horse-power, obtained from the cataract by a turbine whee!» to the building of the electrical exhibi­ tion in Frankfort, and the object of using a current of such high tension Ii to reduce the cost of the wire, under the rule that the smaller the wire the greater the resistance, and the higher must be the electrical pressure of the"' • current to force its way through it. Th# current is obtained from a dvnamo which delivers it at a pressure of one hundred volts, and is passed through a transformer, which changes it into oae of much higher tension. On arriving at its destination, a second transformer changea the current back again into one of one hundred valts, suitable for actua­ ting motors and for feeding incandescent lamps. In the experiments which have already been made, the two transform­ ers were connected to dynamos, a wire about three miles long being stretched between them, passing in various di­ rections about the territory counectejl , with the station. On setting the dynar mos in motion, a current of thirty-three • thousand volts, as measured by n ;. Thompson voltmeter, was developed, *; which was reduced without difficulty t» 7 one hundred volts by the second trans* former. A trial was then made to de­ termine how ^reat would be the tea- ^ dency of such a current to leave the' wire, it having been asserted that a fair more feeble current would jump several feet from a wire, to strike a man stand* ing below. With this object, the wine * was cut, and the two ends cut brought ; slowly together. Under a difference of . tension of twenty-two thousand volts between the two pieoes of wire, np , spark forced its way across the int&|P> • < Toning space until the ends had been ' brought within twenty-two millimeter* : of each other--less than an inch* Another experiment was tried, to see whether the ordinary safety cut-off could be used with so strong a current, A ball of lead was interposed in circuit, and the effect of the fall of * - loose wire, or of a tree, was imitated bjjT dropping a piece of wire across the cir* cuit The short-circuiting thus cattsed;- -;" was instantly felt by the lead ball *1 which melted, with a flash and explosion, cutting off the current AnAMtonf^oU." Not many travelers visit Carrara, where the finest of marble is being •* quarried, as it has been for so many • centuries, but, once there, much may be found in the way of legend and scenery to oecupy the curious mind* - • \ Innumerable stories float about the. J place, says a writer hi Vornhill, con- *4 cerning the existence of hidden treas* > ures. Gold has often been found in the neighborhood of the town, and not very ' ) long ago a crock of gold coins was un* .It earthed beneath one of the streets. A most curious experience, however^ ' .A was that of a quarryman who, in one of ' his rambles, stumbled upon an old, de^ sor ted quarry , w i th in which , ha l f* <- ! buried in grass and brambles, lay a$ ; enormous block of heavy marble. Oh * •examining it, he found a number of let­ ters rudely cut, and half-hidden under crust of dirt With some difficulty . ' he managed to spell out the words, "Blessed is he who shall turn me over.? The man at once jumped at the con* , elusion that be had stumbled upo® hidden treasure, and that his fortunf was made. He rushed home and col» : : "t, lected some of his friends to aid him , in the recovery of the concealed gold* After some very hard labor they sucfc^SW® ceeded in turning the hoary giant over; * % Another rude inscription met theit 4 g eager eyes. ' Thanks, my friends. I was weary of reposing so long in one position 1" Call Mlft'a Attention to This. Charcoal recently burned is a super­ ior dentifrica Greece may be removed from silk by c applying magnesia on the wrong side. ^ S A thorough washing of the mica win» dows of stoves in vinegar will remov|i the smoke. For a grass stain on children'# clothes while it is freth, wash it out in alcohol. Damp salt will remove the discolora­ tion of cups and saucers caused by tea. and careless washing. ' When broiling steak throw a little salt on the coals and tbe blaze from th§ dripping fat will not annoy. A strong solution of alumn, to which has been added a I little glycerine and;, vinegar, is a cure for mosquito bites. Keep Nickel, silver ornaments and mounts bright by rubbing with woolen cloth saturated in spirits of ammonia. ' Suicide of m Little UlrL The suicide of a child is a very rare .s event, and the further details of thai of little Katie Hughes, at Wooster| = England, make it one of the s&ddest 011. - racord. She was but 12 years old, > i thoroughly healthy, bright, and beauti*. ful. She had been sent there to school by hor mother, who, unhappily, had n<* legal husband. She was provided with everything that money could furnish. But, in some way, the children and teachers at her school became aware that she was an "illegitimate child,* and "nagged" her about it It was her- fir;% knowledge of the fact, and the dis­ covery cut clean to her heart Then she stole away, pulled her dress down' from her shoulders, laid her neck upon the rail of the fast line, and held it there until the looomotive of an express train cut her head off. Took Him «t Ills Word. A lieutenant was promenading in full uniform one day and .approached 9 volunteer on sentry, who challenged him with, "Halt! Who comes there?" The lieutenant With contempt in every lineament of his face, expressed his ire with an indignant "Ass!" The sentry'e= reply, apt and quick, came, "Advance, ass, audgive the countersign."-- Moor fa, Collection. MEN who are constantly going around trying to borrow a quarter, should be interested to know that the Bank ot n England has reduced its discount ratea 8 per cent ' $ m till;