1 J HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL. DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum- VOL. XII. Through the Snow. For what should I watch when the snow lies white On the top of the distant hill? For what should I listen when all is hnsh'd And when even the brook is still? I wait for I know that my lore will coma, Un some errand of mercy bent, And my lady's face will be glad and bright With the charm of a sweet content. Bo I wait for the crackle of frozen snow, For a step that setteth my heart aglow, For a voice whose musio too well I know, As my lady comes through the snow. I know she will come, for the snow is hard When it lies at the poor man's door, And therefore my love with her gentle heart Thinks the lich should befriend the poor) Bo not vainly shall I for her coming wait, And perchance it may even be My lady shall learn from to-day to own That her pity Bhould reach to me. So I wait for the crackle of frozen snow, For a step that setteth my heart aglow, For a voice whose music too well I know, As my lady comes through the snow. And then when she comes through the crisp white snow, Will she meet me with clad surnrise ? Ah I then, shall I read what my heart would know In the gleam of her sweet bine eyes ? I know she will give me at least a smile, And my heart in its light shall glow, For love, in its warmth, can defy the cold, And can laugh though the north wind blow. So I wait for the crackle of frozen snow, Fjr a step that setteth my heart aglow, 3;'or a voice whose music too well I know, Asmv ladv comes thrnntrh iViA Rnnn. The Major's Vindication. "MissMnrble, I wish to speak with . foil a moment before you go." Katharine Marble or rather " Kit ty," as every one had called her for the last twenty years, the term of her existence paused as she was in the act of leaving the postollice, of which she was the sole clerical force, and turned toward her superior oflicer to meet the smile which always made at tractive the face of Major Wynne when he spoke to any one, friend or foe, though in truth the latter were few. The girl, a plump, pretty brunette, had been "assistant postmaster" in the village postollice for three years, though the affable major had held his position but a few months, since the death of the former incumbent, a man well burdened with ye;trs, who had presided over the distribution of let ters and papers for nearly two score of years. The noonuniu shadows had crept closely up beside the buildings as if to avoid the heat of the bright summer day, as Kitty turned with a question ing look. Major AVynne's smile was as bland as ever, but his voice had an uncertain sound as he continued a trille deprecatingly : "The tact is, Miss Marble, 1 feel compelled to state that the increasing duties of this oflice require that I should employ, not more ellicient help, for that" and his smile grew more bland, if possible "would be impossi ble to find, but some one who could assume the responsibility of the office to an extent hardly within the province of a lady assistant." Major Wynne's smile grew almost imperceptible as he met the amazed look which flashed from the black eyes of the girl before him, though her ripe, red lips uttered no sound. "I know this comes rather unex pectedly," he continued, finding that she made no reply, "and places me in a very disagreeable position. The oflice, as you know, will admit of but one as sistant, and there are various other things you could do equally remunera tive. You might teach school the coming fall and winter in district No. 8, if you wished." The girl fairly shivered, spite of the warmth of the day, as she thought of the dingy schoolhouse perched on the bleak hill, of the rows of tow-headed urchins and unmanageable girls, sharp voiced, critical parents and the dull life of country farmhouses comnared ... J f 1, 1. 1 - l . . 1 i. uui una, uicaauu iilo m liik . ; 1 1 j i. f , D uuu ...... yi net nnufrnro aa cua or i n i rr n c-......... i . A . n . . " Of PnilrflP Afr llrvnno T nnn (In1 ' . uut. a V 1.1 1 IlUlt iwinnvauLo iiiiau lumtr, auu lb IS quite necessary for me to earn a living at something I shall be thankful for any laulafnnnA linn I w. " ,1 J . ' i . less toward enabling irie to help myself." Her measured, even tones were totally unlike her usually quick, alert mode of speaking, and the color was gone from her cheeks. '"Who will succeed me?" she asked, fter a1 moment's uncomfortable rilence. "Mr. Rawley's clerk, young Gray; he is a smart, capable fellow, and will do his best to please the public. I am vary sorry that " "Please say no more on this subject," she interrupted, hastily. " When does my term of service expire?" " Well, I thought a month's notice would. De sufficient. Mr. Gray will come Alto the olllce immediately, and by tha time will have become familiar with the details of the work." She went out into the sunshine, scarcely heeding its brightness, for this dismissal was a severe blow to her. She had taken pride in her work; what would have been dull routine to some, she performed with pleasure; had the same kindly manners for young or old, rich or poor, and had come to seem part and parcel of the otherwise somewhat dingy nnd unat tractive postofllce. She walked slowly over the uneven plank sidewalk, her eyes cast down, looking neither to the right nor left. She took no notice of those she met, till a young man raised his hat and spoke pleasantly to her. Then she looked up. A tall, fair young man.only a year or so her senior, stood smilingly .Firfl tin "How do you do, Mr. Gray? she returned, In answer to his salutation. He noticed her look of discomposure. "Why did you resign at the postofllce?" he queried, with the familiarity of an old acquaintance, as he walked up the street beside her. Her first thought was to give him an evasive answer "I will tell you the truth," she said, quietly, "Mr. Wynne wishes more responsible help; in fact, wishes a gentleman assistant." The young man whistled softly. "I was given to understand that you were leaving of your own accord, though not in the same words," he returned, "or I should not have aceppted the major's offer." She laughed, a trille forced and un natural. " You are not at all to blame; I hope you will succeed, and 1 am con fident you will give satisfaction." With theso few words she left him, tripped lightly up a path to a door and vanished, while Allan Gray mused to himself: "I don't understand this matter. She is certainly more compe tent than I am, fully understands the work, and will work for f 100 a year less than the salary he has offered me." For the next month Kitty Marble and Allan Gray labored together sort ing letters and papers, filling mail bags and waiting upon the rough crowd who came from out of town, for Unionvillc had no rival po.stoflice for miles. And Major Wynne took a vacation during this month, return ing with a smile even more affable than usual. And Kitty, failing to find anything more promising, accepted the school in district Xo. 8, and strove with com commendahle zeal to instill some en thusiasm into the thick heads of the stolid crowd over which sho was in stalled as ruler. The schoolhouse was but four miles from the village, and during the fall term she visited home two or three times a week, meeting always a warm greeting from the business men and ! others who remembered her bright lace : and cheerful ways so well. And the ! village gossips noticed and commented upon the fact that Allan Gray was fre quently seen driving Major "Wynne's spirited colt, with Kitty Marbleseated in the buggy beside him. for the maior seemed well pleased with his new as sistant, and was disposed to favor him in all possible ways. Hut when the bleak Xew England winter came, and the snow lay piled in deep dritts, poor Kitty had "a lone some time indeed, for somehow the major had changed slightly toward Alien Gray and no longer tendered him tho '.iso of Mo rolt nor gave hlia 30 many holidays as formerly, though the young man, could not really say that Major Wynne ill-treated him in the slightest degree. The winter term of school was two thirds over and in another month Kitty would be at homo again. The committee had praised her, as she thought, more than she deserved, and ono of the village schools had been offered her, and the thought of being once more a daily resident of Union ville, to say nothing of a largely in creased salary, helped her to bear the monotony of her present life. She sat talking with the woman of the house wneie sue uoarueu tne evening atter ! this welcome news had been imparted ! to her. Her heart was light and her .... wnoie being thrilled with happiness. "Well," said the mistress of the house, whose husband was away in the lumber woods, " I'm mighty glad for your sake, though we'd like to have y'hero ag'in. You've done more good to these young ones of mine than all the other teachers put together. Zach, here, was al'ays called a dunce till you took him in hand, an now he can Ag ger an' writo an' read an' spell, an' land only knows what he doesn't know." The rude, unlettered mother smiled proudly upon her awkward, half-grown ! uoy as uiougn sno believed he would i be at least a college professor before i ted. The detective returned to Wash many years had elapsed, while Zach ! ington, and Major Wynne walked grinned bashfully and turned away to i nbout the village streets, smiling hide his confusion. The lad walked ! again, asserting that he had gained a over to a window and looked out. Then he started back quickly, all traces : or cratineci vanitv crone from his i freckled face. "Oh, marm ! teacher! there's ater' ble fire som'eres I" he gasped; "look out an' see !" Sure enough, when the startled women and frightened children looked from the windows the southern sky was Ad with the light of a conflagra tion not many miles away. "It's Unionville," said "the mother of Zach, when she had found her voice; "the hull town's agoiu'," and she sank back helplessly in her chair, while Kitty trembled with a new-born terror. If the town was burned up what would become of her promised school in me village with its attendant hap piness? Xearly the whole night long they watched the huge masses of liame brightened smoke roll up and surge away to the eastward, for a strong west wind was blowing. The next day they learned that over a dozen buildings of more or less mag nitude, including the postollice, had been swept away, the fire raging till nothing was left upon which to ex pend its fury, though an easterly wind wt nld have swept nearly the entire town. It was a couple of weeks before Kitty walked the streets of dearly-beloved Unionville and looked upon the blackened ruins of what had once been imposing walls of clapboards and shingles, for the village was built almost wholly of wood. Thepostoflice had found other quarters, though the lock-boxes, the boxes with glass fronts, the pigeon-holes, delivery-window and drawers, all so dear to Kitty from long association, were sadly wanting as the girl stepped into the unfamiliar place. "Was all the property destroyed?" she asked of Allan Gray, who was RIDGrWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28. 1882. Mone ia the impromptu office, his usually fair face whiter than she had ever seen it, and wearing a strangely haggard and careworn look. " Everything but what was in the safe, and what is worst of all, a num ber of hundred dollars and a lot of stamps which I was positive I put in the safe could not be found, and must have burned with the building. Some books also cannot be found containing accounts and returns to the department at Washington." There was a strange, half-frightened look on Allan Gray's face as he ceased speaking that caused Kitty to ask quietly : " They didn't accuse you of taking or " "Xo, no," he interrupted, hastily, his fair face tinged with color and his sensitive Hp quivered for an instant ; "Major Wynn could not have treated me better if I hud been his own son. He says the deficiency caused by the fire will have to be allowed by special act of Congress. But what 'troubles me is the fact that I "remember bo dis tinctly of seeing the money and other valuables in the safe." He turned wearily away to wait upon an applicant, after which he re sumed his story to Kitty who had stood silently meantime : "I wanted to resign my clerkship, but the major wouldn't listen to it. He said it was only a mistake, and that they would occur if all possible precautions were taken. I insisted upon leaving at first, I was so positive that I had put the things in the safe, but he said some might cast suspicion of wrongdoing upon me if I did, and so I staid." Kitty made no comments. She learned that Major Wynne had taken the safe to his house as soon as it could be cooled sufficiently, but, beyond the fact that he had declared that no money or stamps were found upon opening it, she could learn nothing. She finished her school in district Xo. 8. rested a few weeks, and took up her duties again in a village school-room to teach the spring term. A strangely sober, almost somber mood had fallen upon Kitty. Her in cipient flirtation or embryo courtship with Allan Gray was to all appear ances at a standstill. Though the young couple did not avoid each other, yet there was a certain reserve in their conduct not calculated to ripen friend ship into a warmer feeling. The post office had not been consigned to permanent quarters, nor would it be till the late summer or early fall, though appartments sufficiently com modious had been secured for the sum mer. The diys had scarcely reached their greatest length when another stir of excitement rippled through the current of life in Unionville. A detective from W ashington had appeared in the village to investigate matters at the postofllce. Strange rumors floated upon the air, and Allah Gray and Major Wynne became objects of much curiosity to persons at all tainted with gossipy propensities. Nothing could be learned definitely ; only tha$ a heavy deficiency was laid at the door of the Unionville postollice, which Major Wynne declared could be accounted for by the fire of the previous winter, though matters since that date ' o did not appear satisfactory to the government official sent to investigate the affair. Letters containing small sums of money were claimed to have been lost, ind discrepancies in the accounts were ferreted out, and now both the major and young Gray wore haggard faces and walked with un certain step. But neither was arrested, Major Wynne declaring that the matter would be eventually cleared up and that he believed Allan Gray was the soul or honor. So the major s bondsmen took the office under their immediate charge, ret aining young tiray, though sorely against his will, telling him that it would be better for him to remain till me matter was tnoroughly mvesticra- thread by which the whole matter could be unraveled, though what this new-iound clew was he could not di vulge for the present: But Allan Gray seemed failing in health and spirits, and oftentimes Kitty, whose school was not in session ut that time, was called in to assist or take the place of the dispirited young clerk, and sometimes Major AVynne was also called upon to render assistance. And not a few people had come to hint openly that the cause of Allan Gray's disquietude and failing health was due to a load of conscious guilt. The government detective had put in another unexpected appearance and was closeted in the evening with one of Major Wynne's bondsmen the act ing postmaster when some one rapped sharply upon the door. Mr. Marsh, the bondsman, opened the door and stood face to face with Kitty Marble. Her eyes wore a strange, intense look, and a vivid color burned in her cheeks. "I beg pardon for intruding upon you," she said in a quiet, even tone. " Mrs. Marsh told me you were en gaged, but I made bold to call upon you just the same. I want a favor." The detective eyed her keenly, while Mr. Marsh answered: "Certainly, Miss Marble, I will grant with pleasure any favcr that I can." " Do not make any rash promises," she said with a half smile, and then she continued, earnestly: "Mr. Marsh, I want some decoy letters sent through this office with money in them, and then I want you and this gentleman to watch Mr. Gray as sort the mail to-morrow evening. It can bo done easily from a flight of stairs which run up at the rear of the back office. The partition is merely of boards, and I will arrange that loop holes shall be made. Mr. Gray will be absent until evening to-morrow, and J will bo in the office alone. -Here ore some letters with money in them," and she produced some half-dozen letters, addressed In various styles of writing to parties out of the State, the fact that they contained money being apparent to an experienced eye and band. Mr. Marsh gazed upon her in up. . h less astonishment, while the eyes of the oflicer twinkled as he said: "Do as the young lady wishes; there is no harm in it, and there may be much good. I will take the stage for the north in the morning, and will mail the letters. I will return on the stage at night, and getoff out of the village a ways." " I've no objections to trying it, but, really, Miss Marble, why are you so in terested in this matter?" asked Mr. Marsh. The girl flushed and paled. "I have had more or less conncf-n with the business, and I know that letters have been lost recently, and if Mr. Gray is the guilty party I think he will be de tected by this means and, if so, I be lieve he will make a full confession, which, under the circumstances, would be due to Mr. Wynne, in justice to himself and family."i " AVhere is Mr. Gray going?" queried Mr. Marsh. " He is going out of town only a dozen miles or so , on the southern stage, and expects to bn back at 6 in tho afternoon," answered the girl, rising to take her leave. A few minutes after 8 the next even ing Mr. Marsh and the detective ad mitted themselves into a back hall of the postoffice building, a key having been furnished the former by Kitty early in the day. Part way up the stairs, which led to vacant rooms in tho second story, they found small apertures in the board partition by means of which they had a full view of the back oflice. A lamp, turned low, stcod upon the mailing table, but the room was tenant!ss. " I hardly like thh business," mut tered Marsh, but the detective made no answer. A footstep fell softly upon the step of the rear door, a key turned in the lock, the door opened, and the men on the stair saw a female figure glide into the dark hall, the door closed, then a match scratched on the wall, a weird, blue light flashed and sputtered for a moment.and then the features of Kitty Marble became visible as she lighted a small hand-lamp. She motioned them to be silent as she stepped swiftly and noiselessly up the stairs to the entry above. Here she crouched down upon tho floor, the lamp be: ide her, and fixed her glittering eyes with almost cat like intensity upon the two men below her on the stairs. " ,, Mr. Marsh could senroely withdraw his gaze from her. Could this be the bright, happy Kitty Marble whom he had known since her infancy ? But a noise in the oflice warned him that his services as spy were needed. The de tective seemed glued to the wall, and he applied his own eye to the gimlet hole before him. lie could hardly suppress an exclamation of disappoint ment. It was not Allan Gray who stood at the mailing table sorting let ters, but Major AVynne. All their contriving had been in vain when suddenly his heart leaped to his throat and he seemed suffocating. Major AVynne had actually taken up a letter and deliberately opened the envelope, putting it in one pocket and the con tents in another. And this act was quickly followed by a similar one. Honest Enoch Marsh had never in all his lifetime before witnessed a transgression of the law of any mag nitude, and to be thus brought into such close proximity with so heinous a crime as downright robbery deprived him of nearly all his strength. A cold perspiration broke out upon him as he drew back and turned his ghastly face toward the quiet, watchful girl only a few feet away. His eyes glared back at her bright orbs which had lost none of their intensity, but she shook her head and frowned, and once more he peered in upon the -ulprit, while the officer never moved a muscle. Several times he saw the man whom tho whole community would have trusted with their lives abstract money from letters, disposing of them as he had the first, and then the detective turned and whispered: "Let's slip out and go around and enter the office and arrest him with the proofs of his guilt upon him." Poor Major Wynne his bland smile was sadly wanting as the two men burst in upon him. He made no re monstrance against being searched, shaking his head and moaning, " My poor babies, my poor babies." It was the greatest shock Unionville had ever received, and hundreds came in the early morning to see the pitiful, broken-down man in his narrow quar ters in the jail. His wife sat with pal lid face beside hiin, and his three little children clung to his knees, scarcely realizing their father's misfortune, though with a vague, frightened look in their little faces. A great deal of sympathy was expressed for the major and his children, though the mother shared it in less measure, for to her well known extravagance the major's' dow nfall was attributed. Toward noon the detective and a local oflicer, armed with a search warrant, visited the ma jor's house, holding a conference with Kitty Marble shortly afterward. That afternoon an out-of-town friend brought Allan Gray home, still in igno rance of the developments of the night before. He looked so pale and feeble that his mother feared to break the news to him, and looked relieved when Kitty Marble came lightly up tho stens and greeted Allan warmly. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks glowed as sh6 said: ' Oh, Allan I the mystery is solved and you are freed from all suspicion. Major AVynne was the thief." Ilia eyes brightened at once. Her cheerlness was contagious. "But the money and stamps," he faltered. "I was sure I put them in the safe." His suuden cheerfulness seemed fading away. . ''And so you did," she cried, im pulsively, clasplig his thin hand, "and that horrid Major AVynne stole them out, and then lied about it. They found the books and part of tho stamps hidden In his house this forenoon," and she went on rather incoherently to tell him of her part in the plot' to capture the thief, Mrs. Gray leaving the room. AVhen Kitty had finished she was all of a tremble, for a strange look had come over the pinehed fce before her. Allan Gray rose to Ids feet, gifted yrith a suddea strength, and looked manfully into th black eyes which suddenly drooped. "Kitty," he demanded, "why did you take such an active part in this matter?" Their eyes met. The black eyes and the blue eyes asked and answered questions with lightning-like rapidity. "I could rot see you die," whis pered the owner of the black eyes, and he of the blue answered, softly: "You have saved my life and you must watch over it," which subsequent events proved that she was willing to do. Allan Gray received the postmaster ship and declared that the reason the major dismissed Kitty now Mrs. Gray was to be rid of her sharp eyes so that he might the better enjoy the "spoils of oflice." Springfield Republican. Door Knobs. There is hardly any ebject that everybody handles so frequently, finds so necessary and yet thinks so little about, as the door knob. A gentleman who has all his life kept up an inti mate business acquaintance with door knobs said recently concerning them: All the door knobs in England form erly were made of wood or cast iron big, solid, heavy things and for a time the American ones were the same. But that could not last in this country, where taste and inventive art are active in the combination of the useful and the beautiful for every use in life. AAre soon commenced to make our own door knobs, upon the old English plans at first, but ere long with other materials, and with an eye to improvement in form and color, begin ning a progressive course of improve ment that already puts us in this spe cialty, as in many others, ahead of the world in the production of goods that are at once beautiful, durable and cheap enough to be popular. It was about 1842 or 1843 that the manufacture of door knobs from clay was commenced in this country. Clays that would change their colors in baking were se lected and mixed together, after being very finely ground, pressed into molds, baked to what is technically known as biscuit, then coated with a fusible com pound called "glaze," and rebaked at sufficient heat to melt the glaze and give them a glassy surface. They had a dark mottled appearance, were known as "mineral door knobs," and sold as high as $18 a dozen pairs, They still have a place in the market, but they are worth now only eighty cent3 a dozen pairs the cheapest made. The greatest stride in the progress of door-knob manufacture was taken in 1873 or 1874. The material em ployed is bronze, mainly composed of nine parts of copper and ono of tin. Tho molds prepared for it are made with such extreme nicety and fidelity to their pattern that they reproduce lines as delicate as the veinings of a tiny leaflet, and the molten metal is forced into them by screw pressure while they are inclosed in a vacuum box. The articles made in this way are known as compression bronze goods, and a variety of claims to supe riority over other bronze goods are made for them, the principal of which, as far as the public is concerned, is their beauty. Some of them are plated with nickel and gold, nickel and silver, or silver and gold in various combina tions. The most expensive are those with combined decorations of enamel and gold, which mount up to $15 or $16 a pair. Xot a great while ago, a rich banker in Portland, Oregon, sent all the way here to Xew York for the door knobs for a magnificent mansion he was building. He wanted dozens of knobs, but the highest num ber of any one kindof the same size w.as three. In each room, however, the design selected for it was carried through largo and small sizes, wherever a knob was used. He also had the taste to select the three shades of bronze in which fine knobs are made, so as to harmonize with the prevailing hue of the woods or decora tions of the apartments for which they were severally designed. In some old European castles and palaces one sees door knobs of silver, and silver fhlaid with gold, but euch things are rarely if ever made now, never in this country. New York Sun. An Animated Calendar. Orange Bennett, colored, is an ani mated calendar, says the Elizabeth town (Ky.) News. Ask him what day of the month it is, or what day of the week Christmas or Fourth of July comes on, and, without a moment's hesitation, he gives tho correct an swer. Any date you desire within two years he will give instantly. AVhat makes it so remarkable is he doesn't know one figure from another. " You see, grandma, we perforate an aperture in the apex and a correspond ing aperture in tho base, and by apply ing the egg to the lips and forcibly inhaling the breath, the shell is en tirely discharged of its contents." "Dear me" exclaimed the old ladj, "what wonderful improvements thej do make. Now, in my younger days they just made a hole in each end and sucked," SCIENTIFIC NOTES. Man, the goat and the wild carnl fora are the only animals capable ot re sisting the tiietse fly of Africa. 1 A Belgian scientist concludes that the seat of the electricity of storms is not, as generally admitted, in the moist region of the atmosphere, but in the cold and dry superstratum. A German paper, speaking of bread making, says : " Fungoid germs may be introduced with bad flour into the bread, which will not be destroyed by the baking temperature of the inside of the loaf (212 degrees F. ). In the year 1840 an orange-colored fungus was often observed in France in the bread, and indeed often in such quantities tht red, evil-smelling dust particles would issw when the bread was broken." Experiments'made by J. Aitken con firm the usual notion that pure water has a blue tint; but he finds that the theory of selective reflection is insuffi cient to account for all tho variations as to tint met with in the case of nat ural accumulations of water. Whitish particles are suspended in the water of the Mediterranean Rnd the tint varies from deep blue to chalky blue-green, according to the proportion in which these particles may be present. A very faulty lightning-conductor may sometimes protect a building. M. Him tells of such a case which lately occurred at Colmar. A thin iron rod, about twenty-six feet long, had a conical brass point screwed on the top, and was connected below by means of a series of pieces of thin wire, having terminal eyes, with a block of iron about twenty inches long in the ground. During a violent thunder-storm lightning melted the brass point, but the current seems to have nowhere left the conductor. M. Him insists that the mere fact of a lightning discharge on the point of a conductor is proof of very imper fect construction, as, during more than forty years of observation, he has never aeen lightning strike one of the forty or fifty lightning rods of the factories of Loge-lbach, although he has found that currents are almost constantly passing through the rods in the pres ence of thunder-stooms. HEALTH HINTS. To relieve toothache apply to the troublesome tooth a tiny piece of cot ton saturated with ammonia. Live out of doors, well clothed, so as to keep warm. Out-of-door life is es sential to health, and particularly to its recovery. The laws of development demand that in infancy and childhood the bones be fed, in youth the muscles, and in adult age the nerves, bones and muscles all need feeding. It is stated in Dr. Foote's Health Monthly that tight lacing predisposes to red noses by interfering with tho free circulation of the blood and caus ing congestion of the capillaries of the skin. In an article in the Australian Medical Journal, it is observed that the tomato is a most useful plant. It has been found to be effectual in many diseases, especially as a preventive of typhoid fever. There are times in the lives of chil dren when colds are taken, no one knows how, and when toothache is al most unbearable, and yet it is not advisable to have the tooth extracted. One means of relief at such a time is to cut a largo raisin open, roast it, or heat it, and apply it around the tooth while it is as hot as can be borne ; it will operate like a little poultice, and will draw out the inflammation. To wet a flannel cloth with strong vinegar and then put a hot iron under it, and so to steam the face, will aid in reduc ing inflammation. Xilsson on Oscar AVilde. Mme. Xilsson, the singer, was Inter viewed in Chicago, and took occasion to give a pretty plain opinion of Oscar AVilde after this fashion : He ought to have been taken by the ear and taken to the boat and driven out of this country. AVhat right has he to come here and say that every thing American is all wrong? I think that your people are too good natured or they never would stand it. I know I shouldn't put up with his nonsense. You know in Europe he doesn't appear clad as he does here. That wouldn't be tolerated there. The ladies are taken by that lock of his on his forehead. The idea of a sunflower being pretty I It reminds me with its yellow color of paleness and sick ness. I like the lilies ; there is nothing more perfect than the lily-of-the-valley. But that sun flower if that is a:stheticism I am not sesthetic. That craze has been the means of accumulating a mass of worthless rubbish in lots of houses. I met Oscar AVilde in London once, where we were both guests, and he was to take me down to dinner. He commenced to talk his nonsense and pose to me as we were going to the dining-room. I said to him: "Look here, Mr. AVilde, Mme. Christine Nils son will put up with no such stuff. This is all put on, and there is nothing in it but nonsense." Mr. AVilde said : " Thank you. You are the first sensi ble woman and true friend that I've met." After that he acted as a man should, and talked sensibly. Some days after he sent me a volume of his poems, appropriately inscribed. But he is not considered a poet in Europe. Two years ago Aresson, Miss., was only a pine forest. It has now a cot ton mill employing 1,000 hands, and nearly 3,000 inhabitants. All nature is a vast symbolism. Every material fact has sheathed with in it at least one spiritual truth, NO. 45. John konnrd lMjne. lho letnauis oUIie actor, journalist. play wright and diplomat, John Hiward Payne,' are interred at '!'um, North Africa. Arrange ments me Loing perfected by W. W. Cor coran, the wealthy Washington philan thropist, to have those sacred relics of the author of " Hmie, Bwent Home," eihumed and transported to the United States for re interment in Oak Hill cemetery, in Wash ington City, where a suitable monument will be erected. O sacred Bhip, safe o'er the wandering foam, Bear the dear relics, of the wandered Payne, Whose weary soul oft sighed for rest In vain, O'er life's wide desert forced afar to rwtin, Arersed in affairs and men, no learned tome He filled, the applause of the Intellect to gain, - . But, for the heart, he sang one deathless strain .. . Homeless himself, the song of "Homo, Sweet Home." Serving hie ountry on a foreign shore, Death took him by the hand, and, whisper-' ing, said "Home I" and, rejoicing, forth with him he went. His dust give, Corcoran, to be moved no more, A home In yoer loved City of the Dead, And oarve his Iyrio on his monument. W. L. Shoemaker. BUJIOR OF THE DAT. A maritimo romance A wedding. Successful books Those bound to sell. Protection for home industries A lock and key on the pantry door. Waterloo Observer. The toothless man ought to be a sweet talker, for all his words must of necessity be gum drops. Earth has nothing softer than a woman's heart, unless, perhaps, it be a tomato in the prime of life. Lowell Citizen. " It a two-wheeled wagon Is a bicy cle and a three-wheeled wagon a tricy cle, what would you call a five-wheeled one?" A V-hicle, of course. Phila delphia News. The reason aesthetics so admire the stork is that he can stand for hours on one leg and look as though he didn't know unything and didn't want to. Somerville Journal. It is some two hundred years since punctuation came into use, but it will probably be two hundred more before the party who sends contributions to the local paper adopts the system. tioctiiana courier. The Rome Sentinel thinks it was not altogether inappropriate that a bald-headed man, in making a will, should devote his faculties to some wise provision that would prevent the heirs from falling out. No more the wildwood cheers our eyes With eglantiueand aster, No more the kine do kick the flies That tease them in the pastur', No more are rural maids employed In mashes with the "utter," But well they fill the aohing void With buckwheat cakes and butter. Home Sentinel. A story is told of an Englishman who was lately obliged to travel in Ire land a duty he approached with fear ' and trembling. His affrighted senses were startled on hearing a fellow pas senger in the railway carriage remark to another, " I'm just afther bein over to Kilpatrick." "And I," replied the other, "am afther bein' over to Kil mary." "AVhat murderers they are," thought the Englishman. " And to think that they talk of their assassina tions so publicly." But the conversa tion went on: "And fhare are you goin' now?" asked assassin Xo. 1. "I'm goin' homo aud then to Kilmore," was No. 2's reply. The Englishman's blood curdled. "Kilmore, is it ?" added Xo. 1. "You'd better be comin' along wid me 10 .ruiumauie. ii is reiateu that the Englishman left the train at the next station. " Speaking of owing men and feel ing unpleasant whenever you meet them," said Colonel Mickle, "brings up a rather unpleasant remembrance of a man to whom I was indebted. There were numerous men in Little Bock who had financial claims on me, . and whenever I met them I could not. help but feel a sort of shiver creep over me, but there was one man whom I liked to meet." " Didn't bring up any unpleasant memory, eh?" said Paxton, who owes nearly every man In town. "No, sir." "Didn't shud der when you met him on the street?" " No. I'd walk past him as though I owned the street." "I suppose you knew, then, that he did not need the money?" "Xo, sir, for I was well aware that he did need it." " AVell, what was the cause?" "He was blind." Arkansaw Traveler. A AVonderful Cave. A wonderful cave has been found near Sawtotho, Idaho Territory. One chamber which was explored is said to contain tho image of a man made of what had the appearance of silver. At tho head was a helmet of a peculiar pattern, in which were three imitation feathers made of gold or copper. From the mouth of the strange image pro ceeded a flame. A theory Is that the prehistoric race that erected it. had dis covered a gas-jet and that there is communication down through the body to the solid rock, from which the gas proceeds perpetually. On the walls were hieroglyphics, which, of course, could not be read. In one corner was a very large human skeleton, at least nine feet high, and by it a stone toma hawk and a large cross-bow, which, although it had the appearance of bfr ing perfectly sound, fell into a thousand pieces when an attempt was made to lift It A cit i . . . n .v. oiuiiD jiiunar coniaininir some very rich gold specimens was found, and also some large pieces of ruby silver. It is estimated that the liquor saloons of Chicago sell $10,000,000 worth of liquors per year. Of this amount 6.000,000 is uewfit, 1
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers