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THEOLD-FASHION ED CIRCUS. lw» U fgain, with its gay cavalcade, 14 tkrew ill the r£st of the shows in the shade: ' 11» dow a wan «o funny, the t amblers »o , line, ; * tfcv pink lemonade and the peanuts di­ vine! . 4 • m one padded horse, in the old sawdust ring, Sbralgbt back thro' the yeprs win to memory bring, Aid once more I peep thro' the canrJu to see •" i: . Ae old-fashioned circus so dear unto me! The shouts and the laughter again now I . hear, 1 seem to inhabit some airier sphere\ Tfce ringmaster's whip brings a pang t& my soul When I think lion- the years in their flight onward roll, T)Ue clown with his song and his red- painted nose, ' j OKA comical hat and his breeches and hose-- Oh, where is be now? All his merriment o'er.- • ^ The old-fashioned circus beholds him no more! '" 1 ftMnk of the time when the canvas I raised, _ ' A»d under the tent I so timidly gazed! I think of the "Hey, Rube." who caught , • me, and oh! The shaking I got ere the fiend let me go! Tha band, a queer compound of string *. • /'j.'and of brass, "Twas music to me, and I thought It first- class: ;•/ Of rare entertainments, the great and tae small,;.-' v^;: •> . Tfee old-fashioned circus, for me, had the • call! , what would I give ju3t to see it ©see ' more? Oh. what would I give if but time could restore Its jest and its pageantry, spangles and glare? Oh. what would I give to be now seated there? To laugh at the clown and his comical leer, And watch, in my awe, the ringmaster austere? Oh, what would I give--well, to be quite precise-- An old-fashioned quarter, for that was the price! --New York Clipper. FIVE-STBINGED BANJO Miss Josephine Bannister, daughter of the well-known music seller at Sea- eHff, was a highly attractive, if ratber peri, young lady, whose good looks were the source of much male custom to her father's shop. You could have seen her during the Seacliff season be­ hind the counter, in her neat tailor- made costume, rolling up music with whlte^ bejeweled hands and flirting vig­ orously with her gentlemen customers. She was a sight for the gods--not for the goddesses, though. No female, hu­ man or divine, could ever have been Sound to say a good word for Miss Jo­ sephine. Ladies in Seacliff had even been heard to allude to her as a "minx," and to deplore the infatuation which led young men to desert charming girls of their own station for the vulgar snig- gerings of that shop girl down on the Parade. This criticism, however,'was »ot without prejudice, for the ladies w£o made these remarks liked a flirta- ~ n themselves--and had it, too,;*-hen ~j could get it--which was not, how- r always, for in Seacliff the ladies umbered the gentlemen by nearly two to one. But, although Miss Josephine flirted Indiscriminately with every man she met, simply because "it was her nature to," and she couldn't help it, she had ft certain small coterie of admirers, whom she treated with particular fa­ vor. This coterie consisted of five young men, and some wag, with more wit than was usually to be found in the Seacliff humorists, had evolved for her the punning and appropriate nick­ name of "The Five^stringed Banjo." ( * * * * * * * Oh, that silver string! How* truly di­ vine was its music. Many other ladies besides Miss Josephine had come under bts bewitching influence. The first time It intoned the prayers in Seacliff Parish Church a gross and a half of feminine devotees bowed the head and worship­ ed. Before the sermon was half fin­ ished that Sunday, 200 tender hearts were fluttering inside an equal number of smart summer blouses. 'Twas not merely the^evr curate's voice--not merely his looks--not nip rely the grace­ ful hang of his surplice, not the sub­ lime set of his stole--not merely the righteous fervor of his roaming •eye-- these, indeed, had their influence, but above all, a je ne sais quoi fascination in the man himself, which no male mind could appreciate and no female heart resist. When it became noticed--and you may be sure that this didn't take long In a place like Seacliff--that Rev. Braba*- xon A. B. C. Flitch was constantly buy- tog music in the shop on the Parade, the ladies of the place grew very angry. Now, if there was one girl in the place (excluding for the moment the Sve-stringed banjo), to whom the curat* could be said to pay attention, that girl was Tishy Bullock. Her full name was Letitia, and she was the daughter or a wealthy widow, who lived in a large house just outside the town. Tishy was a pretty girl, considerably prettier than her name, either in Its long or its shortened form. She was •u only child--the future heiress, ander settlement, of her mother's mon­ ey. The curate began by being polite to her. He was--there Is no doubt about It, though it occurred in the mod­ est society of Seacliff--in fact, encour­ aged to be more than polite. You see, Tishy didn't want money. She did want birth, refinement, a sympathetic helpmeet. And what man better ful- illed these requirements than Braba- aon Flitch? To one Bullock's banking account add one Flitch's blp&l and birth. What was the answer? Tishy totted,up the, sum and found it canib to social success. Mrs. Bullock check ed her figures and pronounced them correct. The result was that Brabazon Flitch/became conspicuously persona grata at Westcombe house. This, of course, excited remark in Seacliff. People soon had still more Interesting news to gossip about Bra­ bazon Flitch had been seen coming out of the five-stringed banjo's father's pri­ vate door, aud the five-stringed.banjo's father had followed him on to the step, with a red face and a choleric demean­ or. The inference was obvious. Bra­ bazon Fllteh had been <mlled to account by Bannister, Sr.. for trifling with his daughter's affections, and whatever ex- -plauatio® he might have given of his conduct had clearly not satisfied the indignant father. In church, next Sun­ day, Brabazon was observed to be nerv­ ous and depressed. On the left of the middle aisle, where the ladies sat, many eyes shone with watery sympa­ thy. Tishy was observed to turn pnle; Mrs. Bullock got .her smelling salts ready in case she should faint away. At present other people only surmis­ ed and guessed the faevs. Tishy and her mother knew them--from Braba- zon's own lips. The previous day he had called at jWesteombe house, and, discarding all reserve and false' mod­ esty, had poured the whole story of his trouble into Mrs. Bullock's! sympa­ thetic ear. He had been a little fool­ ish--he owned--to have gone so fre­ quently to Baunistcr's shop. , He had-- yes, he had been attracted, just at first, by Miss -Bannister's superficial beauty, and, no doubt, lie had talked to her more than, was prudent. Then he had a hint from a kind friend that his visits to the music shop were getting talked about. He at once discontinued these visits. And 'what had been his reward? He had been summoned by her father to an interview, in which he (the father) had adopted a high-liauded, bullying tone; had demanded whether he meant to marry his daughter-^whom he would as soon have thought of marrying as of flying over the moon. He (Brabazon) was quite at his wits' end to know what to do.. The girl's father hud given him a week to decide in and the week expired next'Monday. Unless by that day he received from Brabazon a written undertaking to marry Josephine, he should not only take the first opportunity of assaulting the curate on the street, but proceedings would be immediately instituted to re­ cover damages from him at law. "Either of these steps would be fatal to me," said the unhappy curate, "and both together would simply crush me. If you, dear friend, could advise me what to do for the best you would lay me under an eternal obligation." ' "It is a shameful, scandalous eon* spiracy," exclaimed Tishy's mother, with indignation. "I should be dispos­ ed to--to--simply defy the wretch." "But think what that would mean, dear friend. A layman might take this course, no doubt. But a minister of God--how is he to face it? The mere fact of having such accusations pub­ licly brought against fiim is^sufficient to ruin him, even though they be not substantiated. And these people, hav­ ing gone so far already, will not, I be­ lieve, hesitate to perjure themselves in support of their wicked claim." "Yet what else can be done?" an­ swered Mrs. Bullock, with a perplexed look. "If you do not defy him you must give in to him and marry that hussy, his daughter, which would be still more deplorable." "Alas! I am afraid, dearest lady, that I am between the dev--hem--on the horns of a dilemma," the curate hasten­ ed to correct himself. "But I could not--could not marry that girl, if for no other reason, because--because " He broke off suddenly, looking con­ fused and embarrassed. "Pray do not hesitate to confide in me," said Tishy's mother, gently. "dearest friend," said Brabazon. suddenly, speaking with determination and resolve, like a man who had made up his mind to a bold course, "I feel I have no right to conceal this thing from you. I never meant to have told it to anybody. It was to be a secret locked up in this bosom, because--be­ cause " The curate dropped his eyes and lowered his voice, humbly. "I knew that I was unworthy to men­ tion-it-to--to--her. whom it chiefly con­ cerns. But you have spoken so kind­ ly to me in my trouble, dear lady, that I--I cannot but confide the truth to you. Spurn me, ridicule me, if you will. It will only be what I deserve. I--I-- God help me to bear my cross and to recognize the futility of my suit. I--I-- love your daughter!" "Oh, Mr. Flitch," cried out the lady, extending both her hands to him, and smiling joyfully into his face. "Don't speak of unworthiness--of--of--futility. You have made me the happiest wom­ an, but one, in the world. For I am con­ vinced that dear Tishy alone will be happier about this than I am!" "But, alas! dear lady," said the cu­ rate, a cloud overspreading the radi­ ant felicity which had for the moment shone in his face. "Remember how I am placed. I--I--could not subject that angel to the shame of marrying a publicly disgraced man." "Pray do not talk like that, my dear Mr.---may I say Brabazon? You have dofie nothing wrong. Therefore, you have incurred no real disgrace." "But the shame of a--a--public trial --of a--a cruel exposure!" murmured the Unhappy priest, with a miserable look. "Perhaps that may be avoided," an­ swered Mrs. Bullock, after a brief re­ flection. "Of course, these wretches are mercenary. They must be, else they would never threaten to sue you for damages. I have no doubt that we can buy them off. Don't you suppose so?" "If I could offer them a large sum of money they might accept it as satisfac­ tion," answered Brabazon, rather dubi­ ously. Then he added: "But I need noi think about that, for I have not the money to offer them." "Brabazon," said Mrs. Bullock, who, with all her faults, was a generous woman at heart and had more delicacy of feeling than might have been expect­ ed. "Do not be offended, my--my hoy, ,at what I am going to say. I look upon you as my--my /son now, you know. And it would bfe hard, indeed, if a moth­ er might not help her son out of a scrape. You must--must--let me find the money for this purpose." "Oh, I could not--I could not!" ex­ claimed Brabazon, evidently overcome by her generous offer. "But you must," insisted Tishy's mother, with gentle firmness. "People would--would--think--think ^ie--me--contemptible for thus sp-- sponging on you," said the curate. "Be­ sides, if--if those--those people knew they were treating with a--a rich per­ son, they would--would make the most extortionate demands." "There is no reason why they, or any­ one else, should know of my connection with the affair," replied Mrs. Bullock. "You shall conduct alt the negotiations and the money shall be paid through you." \ Still Brabazon's scruples were not overcome. "He resisted the generous proposal a little longer. Mrs. Bullock, however, determined woman that she was, would have' her way. And the curate, half relieved, half ashamed, and wholly embarrassed by her : kindness, at length consented to accept her help --for Tishy's sake. * * ..* * * * * <, Bannister senior would not accept any less sum than £1,000. Neither argu- meht nor entreaty on Brabazon's part could induce him to abate those terms. The curate went to Mrs. Bullock, with tears in his eyes, and told her of the extortionate^ demand. She was not daunted, but at oiice drew him a check for the amount. Next day curate--and cash--quitted Seacliff.--London Truth. SAVED FROM A MANIAC. Coolness and a Watermelon Rescued a Child from a Maniac's Grasp, The man looked kindly enough, and he took the baby from its mother's arms like any kindly man would do, and the mother was proud to see her baby made much of, like any mother would be. She was a farmer's wife from Sampson and, being stout ' of arm, had carried the ehild all day, except when the hus­ band would sometimes take a turn, and the two had walked from the time the train got to Raleigh, for they were used to walking over the fields; but somehow city streets have a way of making those from the (cou"n'try tired, and so: the1 farmer's wife was tired when with the little 1-year-old and" the farmer busfeand she had gone afoot as far as the asylum for the insane. Over 700 of the excursionists had called on the good Dr. Kirby that day, and so there was nothing odd now about these two farmer folks among the others there. "To be sure the man is kindly enough," she said to herself, and so she let him take the baby in his arms. And then she was glad she was away from the city and its buildings and its museum whales aud shops that fret the eye that is used to traveling over fields of waving corn, and she looked out from the piazza way and she and the husband and the farmer friends looked upon the dark green swell of the home­ like hills and saw that they were good. Aud the baby was gone! "What did you do with him?" asked .Toe. the fafmer husband, in a man's way, that came like a bolt. She was in an insane asylum; it all ?ame to her in a way that things about their own young come to all mothers. And, too, the kindly man was gone. She listened and they all listened and looked, but her ear caught the first sound of the child. It was laughing somewhere from above*.. It was ever so' happy: for the man was tossing it up and up higher and higher, and its lit­ tle heart leaped for joy. and the eye of the kindly man gleamed with the cunning consciousness of a new experi­ ence and. perhaps, a broken shaft of what was once a home light eamo through the distant years to a braiu whelmed beneath troubled waters. There he stood on the edge of the roof, three stories up, tossing the baby. IIg was a maniac. And the ljaby was in a frolic and it was a strange sport for the man. "What will he do?" The woman fell under the horror of it in a dead swoon. Then the men counseled, while the baby went up and down, and the coun­ sel was not taken with waste of words; every word counted; for the baby was in a .frolic, as he kept tossing it away, up there in the air. Some suggested a feather bed in case*the little one should be thrown down. Dr. McGeachy sug­ gested ladders to creep upon the ma­ niac. but where is the sane man thai can creep upon a maniac even with ladders, the madman who sees every movement quick as an ape? The fire alarm was suggested; the words fell to­ gether helplessly and with despair. Meanwhile Mr. Crawford was not idle; he had gone into the office, and he ran out with a great slice of watermel­ on, and the baby was kept still in arms on the roof while the man looked down at Mr. Crawford. "Come down, colonel," said Mr. Craw­ ford, "and let's have some melon." He said it so quietly that the man look­ ed again, and they all wondered for an instant what he would do. He hesi­ tated--that was the supreme moment. "Come, colonel," said Mr. Crawford, coaxingly. e The maniac turned deliberately, walked to the manhole on the roof, came down with the baby, and his face had lost the wild gleam it wore on the roof. lie looked at the farmer mother in the same kindly way as he handed back the baby.--Raleigh News and Ob­ server. Old-Time Accomplishments. The following extract from the Bid- deford Times gives us an idea of the accomplishments of our grandmothers In household arts, of importance in ev­ ery girl's education: Mrs. Ann Emery, of Saeo, died last week at the advanced age of 93. When she was married, Tn 1S25, her accom­ plishments were stated as follows: She could cook all kinds of food in an ex­ pert manner; sew and knit, spin and weave cloth, make her own clothes from cloth made with ner own hands, make-butter and cheese, make soap and tinder--this was long before the days of friction matches--dip.candle, sing and dance. All excepting the last two were con­ sidered indispensable requisites in be­ ginning the married life, and w;hen to these were added the two last the bride was regarded as very highly accom­ plished. Relative Strength of Wood and Steel Dr. Robert H. Thurston, in a recent article, discusses various materials in which comparisons of interest are made. At the outset he gives the fol­ lowing generally accepted figures: Cast iron weighs 444 pounds W the cubic foot and an inch square bar will sustain a weight of 16,500 pounds; bronze, weight 525 pounds, tenacity 30,000; wrought iron, weight 480, tenacity 50,- 000; hard "struck" steel, weight 490, tenacity 78,000; aluminum, weight 108, tenacity 20,000. A bar of pine just as heavy as a bar of steel an inch square will hold up 125,000 pounds, the best ash 175,000 and some hemlock 200,000 pounds Wood is bulky It occupies ten or twelve times the space of steel. / COPPER WIRE. Will tlip WorldHFurniBh Enough tor 1 JSlectrlcal Uses? '•% • Only eight years ago Sir William Sie­ mens, jWMldng of the problem of trans- mitting!f«fe|itrlcally the water power of Niagara Falls, said: "A coppep,vrod three inches in diameter would lur ca­ pable of transmitting one thousand horse power a distance of, say, thirty miles." A copper rod of that size would weigh nearly four and a balf million pounds. It is easy to see that at this rate the supply of electric power to plants at considerable distances from the source would be limited to the quantity of copper available, and that the entire copper production of the world would not suffice to distribute more than a small proportion of the power which it now seems probable will be sent out to consumers within the next few years. Siemens was talking of the direct current, which then was the rule, though a year previously the Westing- house Company had brought out the alternating system for ^ Incandescent electric lighting, but had not developed it for the running of motors or the op­ eration of'arc lights. Soon after this Tesla made his wonderful discovery by, which alternating curreuts can be used for the transmission of power, his motor being driven by two or more separate alternating, currents, from which it is called the two-phase, three- phase, or multi-phase motor,- accord­ ing to the number of currents employ­ ed. This rendered it possible to effect an enormous reduction in the size of the conducting rod or wire, as .it was found that the copper required to car­ ry a given power varies inversely as the square of the voltage. It requires only a small quantity of copper per mile to transmit 20,000 volts with the alternating current instead of the 500 volts by direct current, the latter being the pressure now carried on trolley- lines. It is claimed to be entirely pos­ sible to transmit alternating currents with at least 50,000 volts and reduce it by a transformer at the farther end of the line to the smaller pressure de­ sired by the consumer. Some idea of the value of Tesia's sci­ entific work may be gathered from the statement that without it most, if not all, of the immense water power In the Falls of Niagara would have continued to run to waste, perhaps through count­ less ages, and the same is true of sev­ eral other vast sources of natural pow­ er that will be utilized by man before the close of the present century. With it two five-thousand liorse-power inul- ti-phase generators already are In op­ eration at Niagara Falls, their prouuet being contracted for by firms in the im­ mediate vicinity, and it is expected that output soon will be multiplied by fifty, the power being transmitted to Buffalo, Rochester, and other more dis­ tant places. The value of the new ar­ rangement is conceded to be so great that some experts are ejuoted as stating they expect the continuous current ap­ paratus will be entirely supplanted by the alternating one ere long. They base their ideas on the fact that the copper wire mains now used for the continuous current could be made to do not less than a hundred times as much work if rearranged to carry al­ ternating curreuts; and the latter sys­ tem now has been perfected' so that it is possiblg to operate motors, incandes­ cent lights, and arc lights from the same circuit. The saving of 99;-per cent on the cost of transmission is an economic advantage the importance of which hardly can be overestimated, since it would seem destined to lead to a complete revolution of existing methods, with an enormous cheapen­ ing in the cost of production of a vast variety of articles that minister to hu­ man comfort. The alternating current has so abundantly demonstrated its superiority over the direct for the use of man as to make it seem almost in­ credible that only a few years &go the great electrician Edison wrote in an article for the North American Review that if it were in his power he would prohibit the use of the alternating sys­ tem altogether. The fact simply illus­ trates the truth of an old-time remark to the effect that even the wisest among us may have much to learn. A Cure for Headache. "An excellent and never-failing cure for nervous headache," said an apostle of physical culture, "is the simple act of walking backward. Just try it some time if you have any doubt about it. I have yet to meet the person who didn't acknowledge Its efficacy after a trial. Nobody has as yet discovered or formulated a reason why such a proc­ ess should bring sucli certain relief. Physicians say that it Is probably be­ cause the reflex action of the body brings about a reflex action of the brain, and thus drives away the pain' that when produced by nervousness is the result of too much going forward. As soon as you begin to walk back­ ward, however, there comes a feeling of everything being reversed, and this is followed by relief. The relief is -al­ ways certain and generally speedy. Ten minutes is the longest I have ever found necessary. An entry or a long, narrow room makes the best place for such a promenade. You should walk very slowly, letting the ball of your foot touch the floor first and then the heel, just the way, in fact, that bnte should, in theory, walk forward, but which, in practice, is so rarely done. Besides curing nervous headache, there Is no better way to learn to walk well and gracefully forward than the prac­ tice of walking backward." A half hour of It once a day will do wonders to­ ward improving the gaifr of any wom­ an."--New York Evening Sun. Excess of Fat. The following Is offered as a diet for excess of fat: The patient may eat lean mutton and beef, veal, lamb, tongue, sweet-bread, soups not thick­ ened, beef tea and broths, poultry, game, fish, cheese, eggs, bread in mod­ eration, greens,' spinach, watercress, mustard and cress, lettuce, asparagus, celery, l'adishes, French beans, green peas, Brussels sprouts, cabbage cauli­ flower, onions, broccoli, sea-kale, jel­ lies flavored but not s\Veetened, fresh fruit in moderation without sugar or cream, pickles. May not eat fat bacon. and ham, fat of meat, butter, cream, sugar, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beet­ root, rice, arrowroot, sago, tapioca, macaroni,, vermicelli, semolina, cus­ tard, paltry and puddings of all kinds, sweet cakes. May drink tea, coffee, cocoa from nibs with milk but without cream or sugar, dry wines of any kind In moderation, brandy," whisky or gin in moderation without sugar, light bit­ ter beer, Apoillnaris water, soda wa­ ter, seltzer water. May not drink milk except sparingly, porter and stout, sweet ales, sweet wines. As a-rule, alcoholic liquors should be taken very sparingly and never without food. Colleges One Hundred Years Ago. Dartmouth College consisted of a wooden building 150 feet long, 50 feet wide and 36 feet high. At Dartm6uth English grammar and arithmetic were text books in the soph­ omore year. , Princeton, the greatest Presbyterian, college, was a huge stone edifice, its faculty consisting of a president, vice-- president, one professor, two masters of languages and seventy students. Harvard University had four brick buildings; the faculty consisted of a president and six professors, and in its halls thronged 130 to 160 students. Yale boasted of one brick building and a chapel "with a steeple 125 feet high." The faculty was a president, a professor of divinity and three tutors. The greatest Episcopal college in the United States was. William and Mary's. It was under royal and state patronage and was, therefore, more substantially; favored than most of bur American schools. At tljis time, it is said in a cut'ipus old state report, the college was, a building of three stories, "like a brick kiln," and had thirty gentlemen s t u d e n t s . ' • V , ! v : - . v : ' The students lodged in dormitories, ate at the "commons" and were satis­ fied with what we would consider pris­ on diet.. Breakfast, a small Cast of„ coffee, a biscuit, about an ounce of but­ ter. Dinner, one pound of meat, two potatoes and some vegetables. Sup-- per, bread and milk. The only unlimit­ ed supply furnished was cider, which was passed in1 a can from mouth to mouth. The days were spoken of as boil day, roasi day, stew day, etc.-- Chicago News. , Coarseness of the RotbscMlds. "The Rothschild family are really coarse people,7' says a lady who has figured in Parisian society. "By means of their enormous wealth they have con­ trived to get into the best circles, but they commit offenses every now and again that would not be tolerated where money is not omnipotent. I recall a reception several years ago in Paris, at which I was present in even­ ing dress. I had met Alphonse Roths­ child^ several times. On this occasion he shook hands very cordially with me aiuj at the same time laid his left hand on- my bare shoulder, It were impos­ sible to conceive of a more offensive liberty. Baron Rothschild meant no evil; he simply did not know any bet­ ter. He and other members of hia family are as amiable people as can be found anywhere, and the charities they dispense prove the real goodness of their hearts. But any of them is likely to make what we would call 4a bad break' at any time The Incident I have related is fairly illustrative of the coarse streak which, in spite of their excellence, runs through the whole Rothschild family."--Chicago Record. Tilden's Umbrella. Abram S. Hewitt, who was a great friend of Samuel J. Tllden, one day brought into his office an old cotton umbrella, with a broken rib or two and a few holes. It could not have cost over 50 cents. He placed it in the ac­ customed corner, beside a fine .$10 silk umbrella belonging to J. L. Haigh, his partner. When starting home in the afternoon, he walked off with Haigh's umbrella, leaving his own, which Haigh had to use, as it was raining hard. On opening the old /jotton affair, Haigh noticed a piece of white tape sewed on the Inside near the top, and on going to a light, read: "Samuel J. Tilden, Grammercy Park, New York." The next day he returned it to the same cor­ ner and said to Mr. Hewitt: "This is Mr. Tilden's umbrella you forgot last night." "Oh, yes," said Hewitt, rising and going after it, "I am very glad to get it back. Mr. Tilden is extremely careful about his umbrella." "But where is my silk one -that you took away last night?" Haigh asked. "Oh, I don't know anything about that," was the reply, and that was all the satisfac­ tion that Haigh ever got--New York Press. Why Two Ears. It was a saying of a wise man that we have one mouth and two ears in order that we may listen twice as much as we speak. A teacher once quoted this remark to her pupils, according to the Phila­ delphia Times, and not long afterward, to see how well her instruction was remembered, she asked: "Why is it that we have two ears and only one mouth, Frances?" Frances had forgotten the philoso­ pher's explanation, but she thought the question not a very hard one. "Because," she said, "we should not have room in our face for two mouths, and we should look too crooked If we had only one ear." "No, no," said the teacher, "that is not the reason. You know, don't you, Rosy?" "Yes, ma'am," answered Rosy. "So that what we hear may go in at one ear and out at the other." It Doesn't Pay. The great^ Manchester canal, which makes Manchester a seaport has not realized tlie^expectations of its origin­ ators. It cost $75,000,000, and Its net 'receipts last year were only $125,000. Instead of Injuring it has benefited Liverpool, that city having secured lower rates by railway, while Manches­ ter is obliged to submltto a heavy In­ crease of taxation to meet the Interest on the debt it has incurred In construct­ ing the canal. > Better Use for Their Time. Massachusetts has but seventeen farmers in its Legislature of 280 mem­ bers, while the lawyers number 49. There can be no explanation of this ex­ cept that farmers iire unwilling to fool away their time in an average State Legislature.--St. Louis Globel-Demo- •crat. ' . . C*. -- -- Vesuvius Is Growing. It Is said that Vesuvius is 150 feet higher than it was a few months ago. Land and the Improvements upon it constitute the first and most important item of our national wealth. . CHEMISTRY !N CRIME. One of the Most Remarkable Forger- ies on Record. « The Interest in questionable docu­ ments coming into court in one form or another, which lias been excited'by the mystery surrounding the character of the wiy of Judge Joseph Holt, in con­ nection with the. general suspicion that the sender of the document has.a sinis­ ter motive in concealing his Identity, brings to memory a rather remarkable crime which occurred In Williamsburg County, South Carolina, in t,he spring of 1879. At the spring, term of the (jourt of Common Pleas for Williams­ burg County, J. H. Liviii'gstone brought suit against W. W. Ward, the ex-Sheriff of the county, for. the recovery of $5,- 000, money loaned on Ward's sealed note. The court was presided over by Judge T. S. Mackey. By consent of parties, the case was heard without a jury. Livingstone, the plaintiff, proved the execution of the note, and closed his case; The defense set up the plea that the note had been paid, and produced a receipt signed by Livingstone, dated two years previous to t|ie trial, for the whole amount of the note, principal and interest; and a witness testified that he had. seen tlie payment made in $100 bills, and four $500 bills to Liv­ ingstone himseli, on the day named in the receipt- v \. • - The plaintiff took the witness stand "find, on examining the receipt, admit­ ted that it bore his true and genuine signature. He solemnly protested, how­ ever, that he had not received one dol­ lar from Ward, and had never entered Ward's house for any purpose. He de­ clared that lie was ruined, and tbat he and his wife would be made bmneless by a. false receipt which he cquld not explain, but which he had nevec)know- ingly signed. On cross-e^aHHnation, Livingstone, who was an ,eM man, "ad­ mitted that his 'fnemory \Vas very in­ firm and that on a previous occasion he had. received a payment of $200 from another debtor, which he afterward denied receiving, but which he recalled to memory when shown his receipt. The plaintiff andf, his counsel at this stage of the proceeding were in urtter despair, for their cause was apparently (lost Judge Mackey, who had made a close study of criminal history, however, di­ rected that the receipt be handed to him. He then ordered the Sheriff to proceed to the nearest drug store aad purchase a drachm of muriatic acid and a small piece of sponge. On the return of the officer with the articles named the Judge said to the plaintiff: "Mr. Livingstone, did you ever ad­ dress a letter to the defendant Ward, demanding payment of your money?" "Yes, sir," answered the plaintiff. "I wrote him many letters, but never re­ ceived a reply from him." Judge Mackey then said to the Coun­ sel : "I perceive that on the face of this receipt there are several peculiar brown spots, and the original surface or sizing of the paper has been removed, except in that portion of the paper where the signature was written. The body of the receipt is in the handwriting of the defendant. In my opinion the defend­ ant has taken a letter of the plaintiff and removed the writing with muri­ atic acid and then written th^receipt above the signature. I will now apply this acid to the writing on the back of the complaint in this case and it will be seen that the writing will instantly disappear and the paper will at once exhibit several brown spots identical with those on this receipt." The acid was applied to the paper, and as the writing disappeared the brown blots were seen upon the sur­ face, and the crime of the defendant was clearly revealed. Ward, at this juncture, looked as horror-stricken _ as Lady JMacbeth, when, gazing upon her fair but murder­ ous hand, she exclaimed, as she vainly rubbed it: "Out, damned spot!" The Judge Immediately rendered a decis­ ion in favor of the plaintiff, adding that It was the duty of the solicitor to have Ward prosecuted for his auda­ cious forgery. The next morning Judge Mackey left for Georgetown, forty miles distant, to hold court While there he received a letter from a friend, warning him not to return to WTilliamsburg, as he had promised to do in a few days, for tho purpose of hearing an argument in chambers, as Ward had solemnly sworn to kill him on sight. In five days, however, he returned to Williams­ burg, and seeing Ward in the street demanded if he had threatened to tako his life. Ward answered that he had, but had abandoned his purpose. Ward was indicted at the next term of court and placed on trial for forgery. W'lien the verdict of guilty was rendered, Ward rose and discharged his pistol at Livingstone, the prosecuting witness, and one of the balls passed through his coat He was instantly disarmed, aud sentenced to^a term of seven years at hard labor In the penitentiary, where several years after he died. Ward had been a man of wealth and high stand­ ing in the community.--Washington Post., A Sensible Verdict. A coroner in Nevada recentlj rea­ soned out a verdict more sensible than one-half the verdicts usually rendered. It appeared that an Irishman, conceiv­ ing that a little powder thrown upon some green wood, would facilitate its burning, directed a small stream from a keg upon the burning piece, but not possessing a hand sufficiently quick to cut this off was blown into a^nillioc. pieces. The following was the verdict, delivered with great gravity by the official: "Can't be called suicide, bekase he didn't mean to kill himself; it wasn t 'visitation of Gor,' bekase he didn't die for want of breath, for he hadn't any­ thing to ibreathe with; it's plain he didn't know what he was about so I shall bring in--died f<5r want of com­ mon sense." _...--' I -- i Artificial Pearl. The French artificial pearl is pro­ duced by boring a hole in the shell of the oyster, and introducing a small bit of glass, which the animal, covers with "nacre," or mother of pearl, to stop the Irritation!.' Such pearls are flat on one side, and of less value than those' produced naturally. Indicates a Coming Republic. The brutal butchery of 100 invalid" insurgent soldiers by tho. Spanish troops at a hospital in Santiago de Cuba is about the purest indication of a coming Cuban ijepublic that has been developed by the rebellion thus far.-- s A Sonif of Waitings -*•' I have waited for youi* coming as the blossoms In the blighted buds of winter wait the v spring; As the robins, with the red upon their bosoms, -«•' Await the sweet and lovely time to sing. I have listened for your footsteps as the meadows Low-listen for the dewfall in the nightj As the parched plains droop and dream toward the shadows-- As the leaves in darkness listen for the light!- ' . , . V. , 1 There is never any rose without the \ kisses „ . Of the spring upon its leaves of red and white;'.. - . There is neVer any meadow if it misses The dewfall on its bosom in the, night. There is never any robin's breast that, gleaming, ^ v ' ; Shall feel the thrill and flutter of • - wing; •:* -v And set the world to loving and to dreamt- V ing, •• •' ;• If there never comes a sunny, time to - siug! Let '.the dew the meadow's violets die- cover! . v •' - • Let the. robin sing Ms sweetest to the ' close! . • There is never any love without a lover-- You are coming, and the world blooms like a rose! •--Frank L. Sfantoo, i®Atlanta Constito» "tion. •> • ' • Sons; of a Sailor. Up sail! The breeze is fair; We'll leave the land a-lee; There's never a mesh of care On the broad, bright, open sea. What though the west wind veer, And the sky grow dim as hate, We'll whistle away all fear. And laugh in the face of fate. O, a free song For a sea song, With a tang of the swashing brine, That shall make the light In the eye leap bright Like the taste of wine! Once we have won the waste - Where never was man's foot set, Adieu to the stress of haste And the worn world's dream of fret! Now for a clearing eye, And the heart a-burst with glee I Over, the great, blue sky; Under, the great blue sea. O, a free song For a sea song, With a dash of the stinging brine. And every word A-wing like a bird In the amber morning shine! --Frank Leslie's Weekly. Kcliocs. I heard beyond the hills a clear voice rlng^ ing And rocky heights the tones were back­ ward flinging, Each airy summit towering there Gave forth an answering sound; : And yet so changed it was by oft repeat­ ing, It seemed some other self had caught the greeting And tossed it back with mocking air.---. And hurried, leaping bound. I heard a w°rd of gossjp, lightly falling, A little wor.i, but gone beyond recalling, So swift from lip to lip it Hew, Caught in the social gale; But when the echoing sound came back­ ward stealing Each voie* had added somewhat in reveal­ ing, So that u listener scarcely knew The author of the tale. --Anna B. Patten, in Boston Transcript. A Rose Soncr. A wild rose drank of the morning dew, A wild rose smiled at the morning sun, A wild rose dreamed the June day through-- A wild rose died when the day was done. And ever the rose was fair, was sweet, And ever the rose was shy; But a rose's -life, like a dream, is fleet" And a rose in a day Will die. It fell on a day that love once grew In the loam of the heart like a rose; Like a rose it smiled in the morning dew, Like a rose it died at the sweet day's close. b And ever the love was fair, was sweet And ever the love was shy; For the life of a love, like a rose, is fleets And love in a day will dip. --New Orleans Times-Democrat. Tw;Iiglit. Holding fast hands with daylight. Her face hid 'neath nighfs cloak, A sweet maid pays a visit Each day to us earth folk. She comes so shy and silent We never hear her knock, Nor know when she is going, Else we should turn the lock. But we know when she is near us, For the red poppy sleeps: The lambkin, with hushed bleatings, Close by its mother keeps. We know when she is with us, For the evening star shines lone; When tucked away our nod-heads, We know that she is gone. --Frances Fare Lester, in St. Louis Re* public. Rest. Rest is not quitting The busy career;; Rest is the fitting Of self to its sphere. 'Tis the brook's motion, Clear without strife, Fleeing to ocean After its life. v Deeper devo.tion Nowhere hath knelt, Fuller emotion * 0 Heart never felt. 'Tis loving and serving The highest and best; 'Tis onward, unswerving, And that is true rest •-Goethe. Bird-Song. When the first dawn-streak up the' east doth steal, The birds outburst with all their rap- j- turous art, Happy art thou if, wakening, thou can'st feel The same melodious impulse at thine heart. „• .y •--Xlhnton Scollard, in Lippincott's.