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a -" ' - *n» <K v». - A Y * i & m si^iiS ')ii!f«l»«%5g| AffHJ^PJtlURSMW other porter man's •NOULO*'• PC WITHOUT ONE. _ common petkUsr, cb%»in' iuhbI Lfcs .... |h»pt you ae®, Wiiry-lor enif swajr withsvsry pooat t( - - ,< iiiat * (Hike of co»p. aioh m fcbojr tag 8t? f' Ifli bMatlfy a toiler's face an' msks his vhis- i" IWl MKOUt. Tfci <1 III In 1 reccmtnead ia one I twutM; DO fake nor bnnko snap, nor aow&Mt •" ivfodlc, : J: NO hon»o bhould bo witboat on*. . n> the ^ronderfulMt IbtcdUod that t fWlssr •ver struck, || Mb make the oMnrnt dig of tat* took like a r •traak of luck. St you're sunk down in tbedisxnals It ktaeoMl* round your heart. ton' make you mosey up a bit an' take aaotber start, II kin preach the strongest sermon--fen the noil j, plumb 011 the head, Tfct it doesn't know a single word a preacher evsr • m said. Ko hou#e should be without ona, :|i MB otake a worn an' fagged-out wife lwgh like a strappin' girl; kin set yeur ieat a daacia'--put your booms in a whirl. „ K the wolf should push the door in, or the Sheriff taka the Imb, $t>u feel so blaraied happy that you wouldn't give* darn; ; tkell you, boys, I've been thara, an' I know a • tbingortwo-- . ' But there s hu u>-e trriti' to tell yon what thia ; *n' ; mat cuieull c«n do. No house should be without «n% eon ia 2 years old to-day, an' wilts that proud an'vain, . 4p>» wonders how we fooled oarseivas an lived be;or« he c*me. _ He thongtot we was oonUinted, but then we didn't know 4be difiereaee iwixt'cmpty love an'neavan here ?•<' '•••-••': below. . v Itoeurehe's not a common kid, he seems BO v plagued -wise, . . B«t i B'po.-e every feller thinks hit dropped '" down from the sklea. ji'i' Ko h use shonld be without ona. Yj eiunian Mack in the Boston Ulobe. MUBFREE'S BURftLAB. * There is not a particle of heroism ; ibout you Ulysses," said Mrs. Mur- tree, as she brushed out her back hair ID front of the cheval glass prepara­ tory to retiring tor the night. "Not • particle," she emDhatically re­ peated. "What on earth your toother was thinking about when she tV- named, you I can't imagine. 1 am jur fure that I never saw a man more V:- nnlike his namesake. 1 have known r: fou to be positively cowardly at limes." s p, 1 Mr. Murfree looked up in a weary Way from the corner where he saU | »Tm sure, my dear--" he began. |- "No, Your're not," snapped his letter half, giving the pincushion a | frhack with the hairbrush to em ha- •jze her words; 4 vou are not sure; fou are never sure of anything--you - «nly think. Bah! I hate a man who |mly thinks," and she jerked the tangles out of a refractory auburn y, lock with additional force. * • "When Mrs. Jenks was speaking to-night at out that paragon of a hus­ band of hers I was simply consumed Vith envy. It shows how much to . believe in names. Look at you two then--look. I say!" " . "Yes, my dear," responded Mr. Murfree, pulling off his boots in a 5- / designed way, "I'm looking." Bah!" retorted his wife. "1 mean tag revolver. Mr. Murfree,, gathering himself for a grand effort ind nerved to a poiii 1 of desperation* made a flying leap, and landing with* terrific force upon the burglar's ahpulder's grabed the revolver, yelling "Police! thieves!-- oh!" Over he went, bumpety, bump, and found himself UnnSt Ate on the floor, with a chair and something soft and thick over him. "Oh! Ulysses! Ulysses!" screamed Mrs Murfree, tangling herself up in the bedclothes in her etTorts to rise. "Help! Where are you?" v Mr. Murfree was on his feet in a flash, holding in his arms the harm­ less cause of his fright and disturb- ' ance. Mrs. Murfree's fur cape, which she had bung over the chair back in front of.tbe dressing-table, and which, with its high shoulders and collar, t had looked in the dim light like a stooping figure. Men think t.uickly sometimes, and Mr. Murfree real Led the situation with remarkable speed, and, being on his mettle, determined not to he made a fool of. Knocking Mrs. Murfree's jewel case from the dressine table as be tied, he rushed out of the room pell mull, stepping on the cat, the author or the mysterious noises that had first awakened him. With a savage kick he sent her ahead of him, as he Hew down the front stairs and banged the iron door open and s ut» Then he panted breathlessly up again, sinking on the top stair, sorely bruised, and mad, just as bis wife succeeded in light­ ing the gas. • Burglar!" he gasped. "Where,ob, where?" she screamed, excitedly, half helpirg, half drag- ffing him into the room. "Gone," he managed to say: "knocked him over--got away--front door--see there?" pointing to the jewelry strewn around the floor. Mrs. Murfree gave one look, and thpn, with that faithful sense of ob­ ligation to the tradition of her sex, which the average woman seems to possess in an emergency, she pro­ ceeded to faint away. Mr. Murfee dumped her Into a chair. He was too weak to bold her, and besides, be felt a fiendish exultation in glorifying in his superior strength ot mind, so when she recovered he was pick.ng up the cleverly scattered trinkets with as bored an air as be could assume. "What are you afraid of9*' he said scornfully. "Man's gone, I'm here; I rather think 1 have protected you, even if 1 am a coward." A eritably the tables were turned. Mrs. Murfree looked at him a mo­ ment in a hysterical way, and then falling on his neck, alternatively im­ plored forgiveness and wept over her former severity, calling him her hero and all the delightful names which Mr. Murfree's soul was thirsting for. "I'll never say such mean things again, never, never!" "Won't I just gloat over Mrs. Jenks," exclaimed Mrs. Murfree.as she convulsively patted the pillow into a more accommodating shape. "Oh, Society Undent and* b} This. The little phrase ••not at home," used i i the conventional sense,simply means that one is not at liberty to receive her friends or acquaintances It does not mean that, she is out of the hou-e, and it is ndt so understood by people accustomed to society, ao- x>rd ng to a writer in Harper s I3a?ar. When tho maid bars the door to a caller, with the information that the lady is "engaged" and cannot come down, the caller, unless she is a very sensible woman indeed, is ant to feel that she has had a rebuff. "I'll not taice the trouble to go to her house again very soon," she thinks, and proi.ab y says, as she walks disap­ pointedly away. One use of politeness Is to ease the wheels of society and do away with needless friction. When everybody in a community adopts a certain for­ mula and its meaning is generally understood and accepted, there is no violation of truth in availing oneself of it, simply as a convenience. When we send out cards saying that on a certain day we will be "at home,'-' we signify to our friends that then we will he free to enjoy their soc ety. This may seem too formal to be done in a little village where old acquaint­ ances run in up^ n one another on their way to or from the market or the postottice, and where the de­ mands of life are not very insistent. But in town, w;tb its multiform and pressing engagements, a day at home Is almost a pecessity to those who would see their friends and still have time left for anything else. Of course if the phrase "not at- home" is crudely taken and regarded as a falsehood by the utterer and by the person who hears it, it lowers the moral tone of both. But this is not what is intended when it is used. The gentlewoman who is 4*not at home" is understood simply to be "not at home to visitors," and thus she has thrown up a forti­ fication for the day around the poem 6he is writing or the picture she is painting, the child she is nursing, the gown she is making or the dessert she is concocting. "Mrs. Will not be at home until after 3 or 4 or 7 p. m." is merely a variation of the form, signifying at what hour Mrs. will be disengaged. The only really needful thing in the matter is to have everybody un­ derstand and adopt what a few have adopted and fou:.d convenient and courteous--a conventional phrase to indicate that the occupations of the house cannot be thrown OV<T for the pleasure of a conversation with friends who may find another occasion for calling. To a multitude of over­ wearied women, interrupted until serious pursuits become impossible, and nerves and health break down, this little phrase, if accepted as coin current* would prove a blessing. The Poor Ticket Man. She caressed the great fur boa around her neck, with a cheek of richest blushes, and patted the floor nervously with a dainty foot as she waited her turn at the ticket win- jfiour names--Ulysses Murfree, Peter Ulysses, I'll tell every woman in the dow at the Union station. P III m' j Jenks--just think of the difference, ftnd yet Peter Jenks knocked a burg- tor downstairs this week with one Sst--one, I assure you, and you, you are afraid to go calling on the tmsongibbers after dark because ev keep a dog." was not disturbed again until fee .moment came for lettring, when, Contrary to their usual custom, Mrs, Murfree turnel the gas entirely out, ^leaving the room in darkness save 'frbere a streak ot moonlight came through the window, open for ven­ tilation. i "Are you never going to lie still j and let a person sleep?" snapped the j partner of his joys and sorrows as she Mounted over, dragging half of the] bed-clothes with her and thereby 1 ; causing isome chills to chase one an-1 other up and down her husband's ver- j ftebrar. I Mr. Murfree lay stilL He held his ; breath, figuratively, until the deep-- 1 not to say sonorous--breathing of his I amiable companion told that peace and quietude had folded their downy wings upon the bosom of Mrs. Mur­ free, Just as the city clock was striking I Mr. Murtree awoke with a start and looked in a dazed way into the darkness. "What's the matter with, me?" he muttered, a sensation of uneasiness creeping over him. "1 think--ha! what's that?"--and, broad awake now, with cold perspiration starting from every pore, be became conscious of a faint rustle in the 100m, street" Just then the ludicrous side of the thing struck Mr. Murfree, and he stuffed the corner of the sheet in his mouth and shook convulsively. '•What's the matter, dear?" cried his wife. "What's the matter, Uly?" As soon as he could speak he mut­ tered: •"Only a chiH--don't bother about it--guess ! took cold." "Shall I get you something hot?" asked his wife anxiously. "Nonsense,"' he replied, controll­ ing himself with difficulty; "just go to sleep--I'm tired." "All right, dear," responded she. "I do hope you won't be ill. It's very funny Ulysses, that the police­ man on our beat didn't bear any- ; thing or come running up to the I house when that dreadfuljnan made j such a noise at the door. £)ear me, if I didn't know you had a chill 1 | should think you were laughing." I And Mr. Murtree' was. --London Tid-Bits. ^ ^ The first half of the term ismeilt as a baby way of proodi^(firi«br, a pet nlekftiftme tor Ambrose, and the second half ,is simply a jingling wajd to fit itt • '.'-n •. Burns as a Onager* In his capacity of exciseman Burns was always humane and considerate, especially where offenders against the fiscal law were poor and needy. One clear moonlight morning, on being awakened by a clang of horses at a gallop, he started up, looked out at the window, and^ to his wife, who inquired eagerly what it wapi he whispered,-- "It's smugglers, Jean." "iiobert, then 1 fear ye'll be to follow them?" she asked. "And so 1 would," he answered, "were it Will Gunnion or Edgar; but it's poor Brandy burn, who has a wife and three weans, and is no doing ow e weel in his farm. What can 1 do?" She pulled him in from the win­ dow. On another occasion a poor woman, Kate Watson by name, an unlicensed vendor of excisable liquors, was of­ ficially visited by the poet "gauger." He motioned her to the doorway and earnestly whispered to her, in the hearing of Prof. Gillespie of St. An drewe,-- "Kate, are you mad? Don't you know that the supervisor and 1 will be upon you in the course of forty minutes? Good-day, at present" Needless to say, the poor widow was not slow to take the friendly hint She was saved a fine of several pounds, and the revenue lost, per­ haps, five shillings. Occasionally the poet's kindly consideration took a facetious turn. He and a brother officer once entered the shop of a widow and made a seizure of smug­ gled tobacco. "Jenny," said the bard, "I ex­ pected this would be the upshot" Then he turned to his brother of­ ficer and said, -- "Here, Lewars. take note of the number of rolls as I count them. Now, Jock, did ye ever hear an auld wife numbering her threads before the check reels were invented? Thou's ane, and thou's no ane, and tbou's ane and out Listen." The poet then proceeded to reckon on this principle, dropping every sec­ ond roll into poor Janet's lap, and Jock listened^ and gravely, made the memorandum as desired. OUTGROWING WAR. cause ol which the heavy portieres drapibg the alcove prevented him from ascertaining. Cautiously he reached under the :mattress for his revolver, and to his horror found that after cleaning it on the previous day be had carelessly forgotten to replace it in its wonted spot. "Ob. Lord! oh, Lord!" he ^battered to himself, trying too keep cool, "no revolver, no nothing, and a bu glar, sure as faie! baniantha was right. I am a coward: what shall I do? If 1 awake hamantha I shall never bear the last of it--she will nag worse than ever; besides she is sure to yell and then w^ will be murdered." and the Itoor man shook so that the springs creaked and sent hint into a fresh fit of trembling. Bustle, rustle, it came again, and then a soft thump and a clink. "He's got my trousers." ejaculated Mr. Murfree to himself as he cau­ tiously sat up in bed and tried to calm himself. Thump'. " , *4I can't stard this any longer," •aid Mr Murl ree in a whisper, begi'n- •Ing to get huffy. "I'm a fool. No wonder Samantha said so. I will cer-: tainly find out what is outside of those curtains and this time Ha- aiautha shan't bave a chance to brag over me. Perhaps I shall be able to do something for once." He carefully put one foot out of bed and as soon its he plucked up a sutlicient amount of courage he peered cautiously through the cur­ tains. With didiculty be repressed an exclamat on of horror. The moon's ratys fell across the A JPleasant Theory Not Supported la the Camps of Europe. The great and fatal^ argument against war is that it does not pay. There was a time when the force ot this plea was not generally recog­ nized, says Harper's Magazine. The mediaeval spirit, with its chivalry and love of glory, survived long after the 1 the bodies of the old barons had She car­ ried a shopping bag, and had evi­ dently come to the city to stay »s long as she could and still get back home before nightfall. At length she arrived before the window, and throwing her head to one side asked demurely: "When does the next train leave for W ?" ••Two-thirty-five^" replied the ticket man. • •Two-thirty-fl ve?" ••Yes, ma'am." "Will 1 have to go home on it?" ••No, you can get a train at 3:15." ••Well, I don't want to go back so soon," with a pout. i ••Well, you can leave at 4:27," said the agent with a deep sigh, as he be­ gan to look wild-eyed and terrified. "Are there any trains leave after that?" innocently. •Tes, 5:l?'." ••And after that?" He was about to say • 'sixty-three minutes after half-past 13," when the great string of impatient people te- hind her began to move slowly but firmly, and she whisked away mut- teiing something a >out "horrid time­ tables." while the poor agent smoothed his ruffled hair, readjusted his necktie, which had begun to climb up the back of his neck, and donned that stereotyped expression of bUnk- ness which all ticket men weat-- Pittsburgh l ost. dressing table, bringing out each ar* I their ability on too many battlefields ticte on it with a weird distinctness, ftwri just in the shadow before the ebeviil glass was the s too Ding figure Of a man. • - He was evidently searching the up­ turned to dust and their swords to rust. Passions were tierce, tradi­ tions strong, popular rights in em­ bryonic feebleness. The hope of conquest, the quarrels of dynasties, religious differences, all tended to obscure the dawn of the coming era--the era of the common sense, which balances the good and the bad of any given course and adopts the more expedient Did not Louis Napoleon, when Emperor of the French, once boastfully proclaim that the French nation was the only : one tbat would go to war for an idea? j Perhaps he was right. Alas, many ! thousand lives, many millions in | money, a mutilated territory, and I national pride nio?t bitterly humbled | eloquently attest that the mitrail- ; leuse and the cbassepot may not be i sufelv trusted to disseminate ideas, j however noble and however useful to ' mankind. But the Anglo-Saxon race prefers to express its preferences and to make converts in other ways. It is now in the ascending period. Its imiuence upon the world is vast and growing. The United States is the leading na­ tion ot a hemisphere and bids fair in a brier period to he the first of the civilized world in a population and general 'rosperity. Wc have all the territory that we require, so that wars of conquest hold out no tempta­ tion. Our go\ ernment is so free that revolution would border on the ; ridic tlous. Ho far as we may now foresee, there is no reason to apprehend such aggression trom other nations as to j i make armed resistance imperative. I The people of these states have proved • ••Serious Proposals to Ladies." Beally there is nothing new under the sun; even the .doctrine o' wo­ man's rights is not at alia nineteenth century idea, as the reformers would have it appear. Two centuries ago there lived the woman who was the first advocate of woman's rights. This good lady's name was Mrs. Mary Astell, and she published her theo­ ries in a little book called "A Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Ad­ vancement of Their True and Great­ est Interest, by a Lover of Her Sex" This book was printed in 1694, and therein the good lady implores wo­ men "not to be content to be in the world like tulips in a garden, to make a tine show and be good for nothing." She also says that women value men too much and themselves too little and that they '-should be capable of nobler things than the pitiful con­ quest of some poor human heart * j * * * For a woman should al- i ways remember that she has no mighty obligation to the man who makes love to her, she has no reason to be fond of being a wife or to reckon it a price (!) of preferment when she is taken to be a man's upper servant." Ye gods and little fishes! to think that radical sentiment was written two hundred years ago. And what a glorious woman's club president Dame Astell would have made if she were alive to-day! And still the fool­ ish mind of woman seems bent OQ "the pitiful conquest of some poor human heart," for which the gods be thanked; else how would there be any poor woman born to prate and prattle of the rights of their sex? Uke k Brave Man. John Weltzel was one the boldest poineers of West Virginia. "A man absolutely without fear," one of the chroniclers of those times calls him. The manner of his death was worthy of that eulogy. In the pursuit of his occupation, that of hunter and surveyor, he often undertook long journevs alone,--a reckless pro ced­ ing when time &nd place are consid­ ered,--and was never accompanied by more than one or two friends. One day while returning in acanoe with one companion from an excurs­ ion to Middle Island Creek, he was bailed by a large party of Indians, and ordered to put ashore. Without making any reply he headed the boat for the middle of the stream, and with his companion, made every effort to escape. The Indians fired on the instant, and one of the bullets struck Weitzel in the body. Seeing at once that the wound was mortal, he ordered the other man to lie down in the canoe, and then, with renewed vigor, though his life was ebbing fast, he gulled for the o:)) osite shore. The Indians fired another volley, but without effect, and before they could reload the boat was out of range. Weitzel expired soon aftei reaching the bank, and was buried by his companion. His grave may be seen, marked by a rough stone on which is traced in rude characters, "J, W., 1787." Not What Tbey Were. Since the veil has fallen into par­ tial disuse, the Turkish woman has also departed. Marion Crawford tells us: The yashmak is not what it was ten years ago, and has almost ceased to hide the face at all. Strict as the Sultan's ordinance is, there is not the slightest pretense of obeying it, and, in the great majority of cases, a thin white veil barely covers the forehead, and is but loosely drawn under the chin. The cross-band which used to cover the nose above the eyes has entirely disappeared, or is worn only when ladies appear in public at such places as the Sweet Waters, or in their kaiks on the Golded Horn and the Bosphorus. It must be admitted tbat, with the disuse of that old-fashioned veil, a great illusion has disappeared from the streets of Constantinople. There was something \Wy mysterious about it Black eyes never looked so black, and deep, and liquid as when seen by themselves, as it were, between two broad bands of opaque white. In those days, every yashmak veiled an ideal beauty, very different from the ugliness of the pale and flaccid feat­ ures which its absence now generally discloses. One is inclined to dohbt whether the mirror is in common use in the harem of to-day." to make their prudence suspicious. On the same principle that a tried duelist may refuse to tight because he hat; shown l is mettle, sword iu haud, nations with honorable records Weak Productions. The term "nam by pam.by," which has dome to be applied to a person of vacillating character as well as to weak literary productions, was orig­ inated by the poet Pope. He applied it to some puerile verses tbat had been wrlten by an obscure poet--one . • A Dog Story from Japan. * f n English sportsman, out for a few days'shooting in the interior of Japan, amused the natives upon the evenings of his arrival by putting his well-trained co -ker spaniel through a series of«clever tricks. The Jap name for dog is ••Come here," probably be­ cause that is just what the native curs won't do when so bidden. Jap­ anese dogs are a degenerate race,unfit for the purposes for which other dogs are used, and uncontrolled by their masters. Their home is in the streets and fields. The Japanese, these fore, look with wonder uj on the docile canine companions foreigners tfing to their country. The performance of the Englishman's dog amazed the unsophisticated Japs. This was shown when the guest retired to his room for the night. There was his bed duly made on the floor, Japanese fashion, with the wooden box-pillow at the head. But beside it was an­ other very diminutive couch. The Englishman could not make out what the second little bed meant. He called the host The latter explained matters at once. The second bed was for "the wise little foreigiL •come here."' Mr. Murfee gaspwi . ot ^y^ d*^ taay u* »low u> wratto. Ambroaft PhiUip. , a^dreaaod the mxif* Wonder rull/ (aiywwl; Bjr Cultivation. Ever since that eventful day In the Garden of Eden the apple has been Ziven a prominentplace among fruits, ft is undoubtedly the most useful And satisfactory of all the fruits of the temperate zones. The origin Of the common apple is to be traced to some of those hardy s. ec es which are sometimes found almost as far m.rth as the A rctic circle. The fruit seems to have a natfhral ability to withstand cold and it reaches its greatest per­ fection in New England, New York and Michigan where the winters are severe As it pears the eouator the apple retains its beauty but its fine­ ness of taste is lost. American apples stand at the lie;id, although they are not indigenous to this country. The early settlers brought apple trees with them and the Indians helped to spred the fruit throughout the country. Although the apple Is given such a prominent place in the B ble and is mentioned by Herodatus, Theophras- tus and other ancient writers, it is believed by authorities of the present day tbat other fruits were designated by that name. Even now the word ap le is used to designate a fleshy fruit, as the love-apple or tomato, pine apple add rose-apple The word has a curious de ri vatloc. The A nglo- haxon is "apl" and the German "a fel," of the same origin, probably, with the /end and Sanscrit >sab" or "ap," water, and "p'hala," fruit. The apple was undoubtedly of eastern origin but just what was its natal country is a mooted question. The apples Pliny mentions were probably crude varieties of those familiar to-day. He says, speaking of crab and wild apples, that they are sour, so sour as to take the edge oft a knife: but some, he says, are re- twenty varieties are mentioned by Pliny. It is probable that the Rom­ ans inmarkable for their smell. More than troduced the apple into England, but nothing is known of ts subsequent history until after the advent of Christian ty, when the monks and others planted orchards. Hencefor­ ward the fruit became common. Chemists say that the apple con­ tains a larger percentage of phosphor­ ous than any other fruit or vegetable. Phosphorous is that admirable adapted for renewing the essential nervous matter, ietchicin, of the brain and spinal cord. It is perhaps for this reason that old Scandinavian traditions represented the apple as the food of the gods, who, when they felt themselves growing weak and in­ firm, resorted to this fruit for renew­ ing their powers of mind and body. The physiological benefits ot apples do not stop here, for the acids ot the fruit are of great use for men of sedentary habits, whose lives are sluggish in action, these acids serving to eliminate from the body noxious matters, which, if retained, would make the brain heavy and dull or bring about jaundice ot skin erup­ tions. x No fruit-bearing plant seems to have as many enemies as does the apple tree. Years ago the fruit was perfectly fair and uninjured by worm or caterpillar in New England, as it is still in some parts of the west, but now the borer attacks the stem, per­ forating it> a little above the ground; the wood aphis attacks the tender shoots; the caterpillar builds its cob­ web nests and devours the leayes, the canker worm also devours all the foliage: the apple moth lays its eggs at the edge of the calyx and the larva when hatched enters the fruit; and the baric louse attacks the bark. But the orchardist is able to either destroy all of these pests or preyent their ravages, although to do so re­ quires constant care and watchful­ ness. Closely related to the apple is the pear. Like its cousin it was known in Pliny's time. But it could not have been very choice then for he observes that "all pears whatsoever are but a heavy meat unless well boiled or baked." Its excellence has been attained within a comparatively recent period. It is a native of the temperate portions of Europe and of the Caucasus, but that all the known varieties--something over a thousand --came from one stock is doubted by some. By some, however, all are be­ lieved to have descended from some wild shrub, specimens of which are occasionally found in the west ot France. The origin of the name is unknown. The pear, like the apple, has many enemies, the greatest of which is the bright, which will without warning destroy a large branch or a whole tree. Blight is probably due to a minute tungus. Who in the apple-growing regions of America is not familiar with cider? And who, even where pears are raised a in abundance, knows the taste of perry? Perry seems to be as distinct­ ively English as cider is American. It Is made from pears much the same as cider is made from apples. In England large orchards are devoted exclusively to the raising of perry peai^s. When well-made, perry brings a price equal to that of some kinds of wine. No fruit has been so much improv­ ed by cultivation as the peach. Originally a poisonous*almond, its fruity parts being used to poison ar­ rows, it has been rendered by trans­ plantation and cultivation one of the most wholesome of fruits. By some it ts lelived to have fir t grown hi China, whence It was carried to Persia, Turkey and other eastern countries. From Persia it was taken to Europe and the: ce to An erica and other parts of the world fitted for its culture. In no country is it cul­ tivated more extensively than in the I nlted States, and this is the only country in which it is brought within the reach of the masses. The fruit as we know it in America is beautifully round and fair, but in China t attains remarkable shapes. The peen-to has its fruit so singularly compressed that the two ends 01' the stone are only covered with the skin, the flesh being all at the sides. Another curiosity Is the crooked peach, In which the fruit is long and crooked and remark­ ably aweet. T1 ^ the oirner of that pair t railroad official; and lie with marked consideration. Despise Not tbe hay of Small Thing*. There was once a tiny grain of sand that had lain quietly for some years on the tar-and-gravel roof of a big building. One day a brisk breeze came along and said to the grain of sand: "Why don't you go out into the great world and get acquainted with the people? Nobody ever heard of you here. Come along and let ns have a good time. But the tiny grain of sand shrunk back and said: "I am such a iittta thing I should get lost I would rather stay here." "Your modesty does you credit," rejoined the brisk breeze^ **but mod­ esty does not pay in this age of the world. Come along " It was so urgent about It that the little grain of sand got up and went along with It And the brisk breeze carried it gleefully out over the cornice and down the street and round the corner and into the eve of a dignified citizen who was climbing into his carrage. And tho dignified citizen took out his handkerchief and rubbed his eye hard, and the terrified little grain of sand crept up between tbe lid and tbe eyeball, until it found a spot it could crawl into, and it put itself right there And all the rest "Of that day the dignified citizen rubbed his eye and Vha mrljgfetfo! Savage* of W« In America. . Nervousness has become tbe na- •/ . tional disease of America. Accord- k5U; ing to Samuel Weir Mitchell, presi-:. dent of the Medical Society of 'Penn-|Hl! sylvania, the proportion of nerve ' deaths has multiplied more thanj&^;; twenty times in the last forty years, ! and at present nerve deaths number . 4;; more than one-fourth of all tb - deaths re orded. And this fearful' lass of life occurs mainly among young people of both sexes, . % While the American climate is; chiefly responsible tor this painfull condition, there are two ot er form­ idable enemies to the national health, the dollar devil and the school fiend,* writes Edward Wakefield in Mc- Clure's Magazine The former at­ tacks particularly males, the iatt er females; but both sexes are more ori less exposed to the malign influence! of both evils. The flower of Amerl-I can womanhood is wilted by over- culture before It comes fully into| bloom. The long hours, the multl- plicit of studies, the number of teach­ ers--each striving to get the utmost out of the pupils--the craving riv- • airy to be well-graded, the ali-de- vouring ambition to command ar means of living, the hurried or ne­ glected meals, the want of exercise,. and the ratal irregularity that it en­ tails, the gnawing worry that mur­ ders sleep--it is these, and these! alone, that condemns tens of thou-f sands of American women to a lite of , misery and uselessnes-s before they ' have ceased to be children. Dr. groaned, and he lay awake all night! Mitchell deliberately maintains that and groaned, and the next day he went t3 an oculist. And the oculist hunted all over bis eye and scraped it and said it was a serious case and scraped it some more and bunted all over the eve again, and at last he found the little grain ot sand in its snug hiding place and pried it out and charged the dignified citizen $25. And the dignified citizen took the tiny grain of sand home with him, and glued it to a piece of white card­ board and put it in a gilt lrame and bung it up on the wall in his library, and he goes in there every day and looks at the tiny grain of sand and swears at it Never think you are of no conse­ quence, dear children, because you may happen to be little. * ' High-Presfinre .Lives. A medical journal comments on what may be designated as a recogn­ ized characteristic of our modern high-pressure lives. The affection is usually spoken of as "absence of mind," but it is more technically described as a lesion of memory, or, as the writer of the paper puts it, "a spreading variety of nerve dul- ness." Loss of memory is the com­ monest sign, or better, inability to pay attention. To futher follow the diagnosis, the tendency of the trouble outreaches the mere individual. It has become significant of the age. The affections are blunted; short stories are preferred to long ones; important works have to be condensed and cut down for the benefit of those who have become, through habitual inattention, unable to assimilate the originals; long plays, where the climax is led up to through an entire evening, are not welcome, variety entertainments and triple bills being sought instead--such are only a few of the indices that point to a wide prevalence of the condition. For the person who finds himself entering this dubious path, a chief remedy suggested is complete change. i*Sj Reweards of Matrimony* In order to prove to the Indians that marriage is not a failure, the Commissioners of Indian Affairs has evolved a scheme which he hopes will work successfully. He proposes to prove to them that they can get in favor with the Great Father if they will join in the holy bonds of matrimony. The reward for getting married is a striking marriage certifi­ cate on which the American flag Is displayed with an intensity of color­ ing that would be cheap at any price. The eagle presides over a marriage certificate in the usual form. The agents are to be instruct­ ed to make an exhibit of the scheme, and to use their influence in getting the Indians to come to the conclu­ sion that they will be out of luck if they refuse to get married. The agents are to show the certificates, which ha\e been prepared with the hope %hat they would have tbe "catchy" appearance, and to possess one would be the ambition of th^ average Indian; and this would last him until after the ceremony was performed. By the flash of the cei^ tificate it is hoped to prove that mar­ riage is a success. No "Monkeying" With the Register. That the cash register, either of the key-check or handle variety, may be "beaten" by dishonest manipula­ tors is proved by the fact that the sellers of these instruments furnish an additi nal safeguard to their pa­ trons. Each purchaser of a register is guaranteed the services of a de­ tective who is in the employ of the company selling the machines. This detective drops in occasionally and after getting a drink or a cigar takes note of the way in which tbe clerk or bartender "rings up" the amount of the various purchases. If he "monke.s with the machine" he is reported and loses his place. ltisstipulatedth.it the man dis­ charged shall not be given any rea­ son for his dismissal, the idea being to let as little become known about this novel detective service as possi­ ble Because of this espionage a num­ ber of first-class bartenders are now out of work, while others, less brfc. liant but more honest, have steady jobs.--New York Herald. A Distinguishing Mark. The story goes that whenever a Pullman porter finds out that, he has blacked the shoes of a railroad ofli Ask a man what wages he gets, and ! eial, and especially an official of the he will tell you what bethinks he de- : road upon which he is eniplojed, he Sal® fe,.SA_-rj4 i ' l l i l fA l f , . . . . . • . U*'« We Have All Observed it. ••One of the most s ngular thi. ,rs in life," said a ph losopher, "is the ease with which many men settle great financial questions when they find it so difficult to settle the gro­ cery Mil." Had Seen the Elephant? ••We paid our way and saw the ele­ phant" was the legend engraved in rustic letters on a sheet which cov­ ered some isomer's wagou recently Oklahoma for all the best purposes of female so­ ciety, it would be better that Ameri­ can girls were not educated at all un­ til they are 17, than that they were overwrought, as they are at present. < They study seven or eight hours a day, when two or three would be sufficient to keep their intelligence in training, and all for what? To spend their after years on a sofa or in a sick room, and to be a burden Instead of a help to those who are*/ dearest to them. It is a tremendous^ 1. saying, from one speaking with au-«u^?i» thority, that as much domestic un- happiness is caused in America by nervousness among women as ... dram-drinking among men. Yet; such is Dr. Wei»* Mitchell's verdict. v Me holds that every girl ought to bef ;• examined as to her nervous tempera- - ment when about to go to school, and at frequent intervals afterward; that leisure, exercise, and wholesome meals ought to be insisted upon; and that studies ought to be compulsor- ily diminished, or discontinued alto­ gether, the moment the well-known signs of overstrain appear. If girl^gl are maintained in nbrmal nervous condition until they are 17, they maj^v -; study almost as hard as they pleasd? attarwards without Imperilling thei»* ~ - woman's life. But let there be no mistake about it. Overwork and un- natural worry from 8 or D to 17 mean . . ruin and wretchedness from till early death. As for the dollar devil, its power is manifested in that wide-spread com­ plaint which physicians call cerebral exhaustion. The American malapp'Wf stands the racket of the schools mucq^Mv^ better than the female. He take$ more exercise and he has not the troubles of puberty to contend against. But he meets his fate very shortly afterwards. He goes to busi­ ness tar too young and he straight­ way consumes his vital energy till nothing is left but dust and ashes. It is often pointed out with pride that America is the country of younsf^; men; and so it is. tVe quite usually v see here labors and responsibilities, . - borne by mere boys, which nowherfli^ - else would be undertaken by man*^ • under middle age That is very strinking and interesting to the cas^ < ual observer. But what it means txp- such observers as Dr. Weir Mitchei is, that America Is the country o young invalids, young wrecks, yountipf drug victims, young inebriates, younjfp maniacs, young suicides. The pre^' matureness of business responsibility! the frantic haste to be rich and pow­ erful produce in plain sight what is nothing short of a frightful general social evil. The most appalling casef! of nervous disease that the doctop; meets with are those of young rneiy in the highest posts, who entere#^ business life too early, and suddenly encountered periods of excesslv anxiety and grave responsibility. would have been a mercy to them they had been street-sweepers or co; p irters instead of railroad presiden or bank managers. Wear and Tear or Loudon Bridge. What is the cost of London's toilet!!^ No statistician has yet Attempted tJj|V estimate it, and, indeed,] the whol* subject has been neglected. This is . a pity, since there are some wonder ­ ful figures about cleaning the street| J of tbe metropolis. The most start! ling, perhaps, are those relating London bridge. It is computed ths about 200, uOO pedestrians and 20, 0#; Vehicles cross that structure every day. kach leavesbebind a littlesboif leather or a little iron--just a trifle^ v t But when the litter and dust art ifc lded to these minute losses the wholit w fills between three and four carter The most surprising fact of all, ho^| ever, is that the incessant traiij# , across the bridge reduces to powder * j about twenty-five cubic yards of graij- ite every year.--Newcastle (iingff * Chronicle. •? •••• ' : h '• Chinese Abrevtation. = A lady in Hong Kong engaged i , Chinese cook. When the Celestial ^ V came, among other things she aske# his name • " .y name," said the Chinamam smiling, "is Wang Hang Ho.", * » "Oh, I can't remember all that,!?i said the Lady, "I wi.l call you John# Next morning when John came Uijk to get his orders he smiled all ove^;. and looking inquiringly at bis Wlff: . tress, asked: ^ j "What is your namee?" iff "My name is Mrs. Melville Lan» don." $: "Me no memble all that," John. "Chinaman he no savey Mrt, Membul Landon--1 call you Tommy.'* --Boston Globe. • For the Public Eye. , r.,. On a French tombstone-^-coii^ltt have been found on an? etherf-Jite tbe inscription: "Facred to (he memory of Mademoiselle Blank, wno died in her eigbty-firsti r • ^" ""V