ML IIS I LI I 11 tl II III III II II 114 13 B. F. SCHWEIER, THE CONSTITUTION THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. Editor and Pro p r-tot-oT. VOL. XLVI. MIFFLINTOWN. JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 20, 1892. NO. 18. A RACE FOR LIFE. A gun Is beard at th tttail of night, "UfeDoal ready I" And evpry man to tin" signal true Fights lor thf place In Ui eauer crew: Now, I. ids. steady t" First a xlancf at th shuddering foam, Kow a look at the lovm home. Then together, itn bated tireittl. They launched their boat in the gulf of death. Over the breaker wild. Little they reck of weather, tut tear tnel, w ijr Thro' Mlmllng sDrav, Hear the skl.per cheer and say : "l u nith tier. laos. and 11(1 her All touethurl" They see the ship in a sudden flash. Sinking ever; And trip tl Hr oars with a deeper breath. Now it's come to a tight with death; Now or i:fver. Fifty strokes and Hiey're at her side, K tr.ey live In the boiling tide. It thev 1 it thro' the awful sti ife; Ah. my lads. It's a rare tor Hie! )ver the lirenk-r-. wild. I.itile they rejk of weather, hut tear their av Tliro' bliiictinic spray. Hear the -kipper cheer and say, t p IT li her. lads, and hit her All lOKetherl" And lovlnn hearts are on the shore, llopirit. fear tig: Till over the sea thete comes a cheer, Then the dirk of the o.irs you hear Homeward steering. Ne'er a thought ol the danger past, Now the lads are on land at ltt: bat's a storm to the gall ant crew ho race for life and who wiu it, toot Over the breakers wild. Utile they reck of weather. Hut tear their wav Thro' Minding sprav. Hear the -kipper ciieer and say, -Up with her. la s. and lift her A. I Uge her!" Unidentified. ONE EASTER SUNDAY. "Christ the Lord is risen to-day, sons of men and anjri Is say, liaise your J vs and triumphs biuta. Sin ye heavens, and earth reply." " .Ve have never lost a letter before! never!'' "I mean to send John a telegram in the niorniug. but don't worry mother. He'll come all right." The small hoiiBe in Washington was still as sleep lt-eif. The noise-eon the s'reet were growing less and less. The clock on the mantel was striking twelve. A young g rl looked out the window to ward tue Capitol. The marble wall?, and steps, glittered in the moonlight. She locked the door, and turned to her mo' her. wit i a pretence of a smile. Pain and trouble had darkened the tine lines abont her eves, and anx ious thought! seemed to lie on her lips, unspoken. Ths little mother was a helpless in valid, and .lohn her only son and sup port, was in business in New York. He had a better offer, than in Wash ington, where his father had died some years before. l!ut it was hard for hu man love to be patient wttb circum stances like these. The weekly letter and remittance bad failed to come, bi.ls were due, and money needed. I know one little woman ho must be asleep in jubt fifteen minutes, letters or no letters!" "Yes dear," sighed themother "John has never forgotten, and we'll hear in the morning." William Baxter had loved Julia Holmes ever since he could remember. After her faiher's death, his devotion to her family was entire. He loved them with loyalty and unselfishness, and when a fine business was opened to him in Denver, he accepted it as a speedy way to claim them for his own. His love was direct, simple and sincere In its devotion. To-morrow he was to say good-bye, and to-iuorrcw John's letter was to come. The rent was due, the bills must be paid. Tlie intensity of the girl's thoughts kept her eyes from sleep, and her heart from rest, but tlie morrow came; with weariness and a keen sense of pain, she saw the sun rise, and the new day begin. Her lover thought he had never teen her ao beautifnl. The scarlet spots on her cheeks, and the intense light in her brown eyes, but her hands were hot as he held' them, and her scarlets lips were so tremulous. Better Oh better to love her a thousand miles away, than to be unable to give her a good home, and help care for the little mother! It was the best! The going was bestl His undying love, his help, his cour age, his strength, his life for her and hers spaces silences dial ances all would melt away in love for her, and bo they said good-bye. It seemed to the young girl, that life was too hard, but then God was very strong, and and His promises to the widow and the fatherlessverv faith ful. "Holmes? Holmes? They must have moved away; used to live here," said the old postman to the new; ".Mother and daughter. Fine people, too. But that was long ago." The Dead Letter Office is a queer old place and full of interest. A large room is surrouuded by wide gallery, supported by spiral columns An open staircase connect! it with the lower office. Women work in this narrow filace and are sadly crowded. In the urge room below sit elderly men, opening dead letters, which they are to re-direct. They are the most honest and reliable men to be found. Every year nearly 4,000,000 dead letters are received, and in one year 3,000 letters came in without one mark on the en velope! 3,000 blank letters! All day long, bummer and Winter, immense bags are tossed off the elevator, tilled with "treasures gone astray." If pos sible to trace the owners after the as sorting, they are returned, but vast piles accumulate, until once in fonr years they are sold at auction. The proceeds are deposited in the United States Treasury. There is no other place in our country so curions as these large closets, filled to the cell ing with precious keepsakes from the rich and poor, young and old: love tokens from over the seas, tiny packages from far off lands, coming only to find the dear one ,-dead or gone with no clue. Everybody attends these auctions, sadly, curiously and - with a strange in erest. Whole wardrobes for some dainty baby, precious tokens from mothers to wandering boys and girls, beautiful gifts for some happy bride, jewels of every description, with no end of dolls quilts, slippers, caps and robes. One great book lies on a table, filled with photographs of soldiers. During and after the war one's heart would break to see the pale, sorrowful women, searching- this book for their own. But this day, theam-ti m wenton and on. In the corner of thestiding, crowded room, a man stood leaning against the wall, watching the sales. He was slightly gray and his broad shoulders stooped a trifle. He studied the faces of the buyers, and looked at the old photographs as if he might have lost some one. Deftly and quickly, the packages were tossed about as the names were called, and the buyers paid for tbem. He had listened for an hour all strange names. "Julia Holmes! Miss Julia Holmes!" Did his ears deceive him? He sprang forward, as if strucK. He stepped close to the auctioneer. "Starts at a dollar, tfc diolnsa do I hew, three aouarsr Three dollars. Going, going, gvne gone at three dollars." The stranger held the package greedily and hurried to the street. He called a cab, and was driven to his hotel. When his room was reached and the door locked, he cut the string with his pocket-knife, and slowly opened his precious bundle. For some minutes he let it lie on his knee, both hands grasping the strong brown paper, and a flush crept up to his forehead. At last be lifted a dainty white shawl, a lace scarf, some hand kercmVfs, with "Julia Holmes," writ ten boldly in the corner of each, a pretty cap for an old lady, and two pairs of slippers; one for the little mother, the other for the tall sister. There was no littleness, ro weak ness, in the face of the man who held the long slender nhoe up to his face, and kissed it reverently, and pressed his bowed head against the bundle, and groaied aloud. It was only a sharp pang in the battle of life. "There must be some clnel some date, same sign! Oh Ood! Four years! but I wilt find her!" Every precious article was shaken cart fully. It flashed through his mind to go back to the office, ana again ex amine the records and the letter books. Money Utters have five different records before leaving the office, and are checked and counter-checked, so as to make thelt impossible. If not claimed at the en I of three months, the money is put iuto the U. S. Treasury subject to the call of the owner. Every cent is kept sacredly. For hours, the stranger examined with the proper officials. Index Books in the Money Branch. They went through the distributing offioes; note! all the records; and at last to the name of John E. Holmes, was recorded the sum of one hundred dollars. And that was nil. Back to the Return Branch; to the Appropriation C.erk, whose business it is to trace letters, give dates and information. They simply found that the money had been sent from John E. Holmes to Miss Julia Holmes, one week after the stranger hal gone to Denver. And that was four years ago. A late dinner at the hotel. A dreary lonely evening at the Capital wander ing up and down the avenues. He had made impossible inquiries at the old house, the whole street; had hunted up tho Doctor, the grocer and butcher, who had lived near the Holmes'. "Mrs. Holmes had suddenly died, and Miss Juiia had gone with the re mains to their old home somewhere. Never came back." People lived in the small house close by the Capitol, and children played by the open door. The summer birds chattered familiarly in the trees, and the stranger took off his hat, and wan dered up and down in the quiet strtet, like one looking for the dead. He silently prayed for the woman whose life had slipped away from him, and the summer sky the great white dome, the busy city at his feet, all reemed to him like silent witnesses of their solemn pledge for life for death, and now which wool J it be? He went to his room, tie smiled as if a little child spoke to him, as he un folded each article of the package again. He held them in his fingers and folded them more closely, tied them with twine and put them in his trunk. "How is it that one can fret and smother, and suffocate, such days as these? How roomy and cheerful the schoolroom is. Mrs. Porter is too good to me,the children, bless their noisy, good-for-nothing little voices and ways, they are just full of life life, the sort ot life one should have in such a world as this, the same life that chokes me so! Oh bow can I ever live? ever be worth living to anyone? and in this beautiful home." Some things can never be described. The longing and nnrebt in the girls eyes, the pitiful quiver of tho lips, and the uneasiness in the whole body as she loaned her srms on her desk, and buried her face in her hands. Ontside tho sun broke over the Maryland hills; the flitting clouds parsed over the blue sky. The children shouted and laughed; and their mother was singing a little song to the baby as he lay in his carriage in the sweet spring air; and the picked the golden crocuses in the garden beds. To-morrow would be Easter Snnday, Her pot of lilies stood ou the window silL The children brought them from market A big pitcher was on her dek, all ready for church in the morn ing. How swet t they were! How the birds sang and the buds of Spring were on the maple trees. But when the heart is desolate, how pitiful the hum of happy life I "iliss Julia, there's a man coming in the gate. Mama has gone to the garden and Mary is shaking the rugs, shall I go to the door?" Without lifting her head Miss Julia replied, "Yes PoLy, and if he askes for your Mama run and call her.'' Windows opened upon the wide ver anda, the school room was at its ex treme end. The clatter of little feet failed to attract the teacher's attention, for the children always played there. Polly pushed the window wide open, and exclaimed, "Miss Julia the man didn't want to see mama, he wanted you!" Pushing her tumbled hair quickly back, and starting to her feet, Miss Julia met the ttranger at the open window. Two people never exactly kne what was said in five or ten minutes! Mrs. Forier came leisurely in from the garden with her hands full of cro cuses for ber friend. Ou the couch lay Miss Julia, white as a snow drift, and a strange man was kneeling bes:de her, with her face on his breast, and astonishing adjectives were falling off his lips, and poor little Poll Hood crying with all her miffht, and a big camphor bottle was in her hands, that had evidently been asked for, but had been forgotten. ' Mrs. Porter stepped quickly toward the couch, laid ber hand on Miss Julia's cold face, and said, "It is William." The stranger replied, "Oh, it is a miracle, but liavo 1 killed her? Can joy kill any one? "No no let me take care of her, just a minute, she'll be better, see, the color is coming. Polly run for Mary, and some wter." They rubbed her bands, rolled the couch to the veranda window, and soon the blood leaped to the white cheeks and lips, and again the stranger held her in his arms, and she laughed and sobbed and clasped her hands about his neck, not once offering to EUnh him away. Little Pollylaughedand er mamma wiped away her own tears, as she laid her hand on the stranger's shoulder and thanked God that the lost was found. Kisses rained upon the girlish face, her eyas and cheeks, and mouth. They talked and laughed, and the strange story of four long years was incoherently told. The little mother died. The brother was unexpectedly ordered to Charles ton, where he was take a with yellow fever. After her mother's burial, J ulia went to nurse her brother in the hospital, and soon after his death was prostrated with the fever herself. Foi months the Sisters nursed her, and after long delirium, letters were sent to to Denver, but the address was wrong. "There was no such man to be found," and so she had lived with the Sisters, nursed, taught and struggled with lone liness and desolation. Mrs. Porter, year before had fcund the beautiful girl while in the South one Winter, and brought her to the lovely summer home on Georgetown Heights. Her lover had met Colonel Porter in some of his wan derings, and chanced to speak of Misi Holmes atd her miraculous escape from the terrible fever. Only chance. In the beauty and dignity of love and love's own fulfillment, two people at least, went into the pretty stone chapel to worship one Easter Sunday, The girl was yonng and fall of quiet grace and loveliness. On the bosom of her soft grav gown, she wore a bunch of Easter lilies, and carried one Ions stemmed lily in her hand. She looked radiant and the strauger walked and knelt beside her. His face was a reve lation of joyl It is quite safe to say they worshipped as they had never done before. The lilies were touched with bright ness from the sunshine through the gold and crimson of the windows. The voices of the singers were like in visible angels, and all sang together in God's house the old chant: "Now, Cbtlst !s risen, let all rejoice!" and by and by the service closed, the lit tle sparrows chirped in the eaves of the old stone chapel, and the sun shone on the glistening ivy, and they two walked out into a beautiful world, a neie world, with an Easter joy and glory in their souls "the world knew not of." The church bells dropped their notes like songs, the little children talked ip rhythm, and atrain they sang: "Clirl-t the Lord Is risen to-day, tSons of men and Ang- Is say. Raise your Joys and triumphs hlirh. Sing-, ye heavens, and earth reply." Maroabbt Spescek, April, I89:, Washington, D. O. Antiquity of the Carpenter's Plane. A very interesting discovery hat been made at the Kjuian city of Sil chester. The excavators came across s dry well, which, on being explored, proved quite a museum of antiquities. Some fiiteen feet down, a correspond ent says, the diggers found an urn shaped pottery vase, about a foot in length, quite intact, and curiously enough, protected by lumps of chalk built around it. The vase, which prob ably contained some precious aub stauca, was, however, quite empty. Above it were deposited a great num ber of iron implements, most of which were in a wonderful state of preserva tion. They seem to have been the tools of a carpenter or silversmith, with some miscellaneous objects ol blacksmith's work thrown in. The principal specimon is a carpenter'! plane of quite modern type, although unquestionably more than fifteen hundred years old, three or four axes retaining their fine cutting edges and quite serviceable, a number of chisels and gouges. of all shapes and sizes, hammers, adzes, saws, files, etc In the smith's department may be specified a brazier for burning char coal, quite complete; two or three an vils of different sizes and shapes, a fine pair of tongs adapted for lifting cru cibles, a curiou tripod candelabrum lamp, or candlestick, and several othei enrions objects, the precise use ol which have not yet been determined. In addition there are several large bars of iron. Probably more will be found deeper down in the welL This ii undoubtedly the most important find at Silchester since the discovery of the bronze Koman eagle, now at Stratb fieldsaye. some years ago. THE FLOWER CALENDAR. APRIL. I soften with my sunshine and my showers Ta heart of earth; with tho. gbu of love 1 e (Hide Irto the hearts of men; and with the hours Upon the Bull with wreathed horns I ride. I open wide the port i Is of the Spring To welcome the procession of the flowers, With their g-ay banners, and the birds tba sin Their song- rKngs from their aerial tower Tut PoeVt Calendar. LonafeVvw. Welcome, thrice welcome to this, the month of smiles and tears! e can for give her for tbe days when she hides her fare in clouds, for the sake ot the blithe days when the rain ceases and the sun shines calling the flowers from the ground. Happy children wander in the woodi gathering blue and pina hepaticaa, nodding spring beauties, bonny wake robins and feathery ferns and we turn to our garden beds and plan for the Hummer's campaign among the flowers. Here before snowdrop aud crocus be gin to wither comes the "Tulip race, where beauty plays her idle freaks." This flower grows naturally on tbe bunks of the tJosphorns and the Turks consider it tbe emblem of "Incon stancy. 'Another child of April is the beautiful Hyacinth, fabled to be tbe flower sprung from one of the mytho logical characters. Milton records the incident as fol lows "Apollo, with unwitting band, Whllnme did sluy his dearly loved mate, Young- Hyacinth, the pride of Spartan land, But then transformed him to a purple flower." By cultivation, the hyacinth exhibits many shades and gradations of color from the deepest purple through tints of red and blue to pure white. It is one of our most attractive garden flowers and very desirable for cuttings and for house culture, its exquisite per fume scenting the room. These are the principal flowers of April, the bril liant tulip and the odorous hyacinth. TrrE treasures of the Metropolitan Museum in New York are guarded by electricity. Underneath the lid of each case are wires and if any one should try to lift or disturb the lids in any way a bell will give warning in the hall and inthe office. The Imperial train which has just been completed for the German em peror and sent to Potsdam for approval, has cost the Prussian exchequer nearly four million marks, and has occupied more than three years in construction. Its eleven carriages, connected by cor ridors, include a study hung with real Gobelin tapestry from Charlottenburg, a salon upholstered in white satin, a nursery, a reception-room adorned with marble statuary, an oak dining-room, a kitchen and bed-rooms for several guest. There is nothing like it in the world, and a great many of the details have been planned by the emperor himself. MARJORIE'a PARTY. BT ELIZABETH S. CBANSOH. In a lonely Western farmhouse Where Dakota's forests use. Dwells a winsome Utile maiden. Kondnxt heart and brightest eyes. Far away from other plat mates, Happy, busy, all b day; Mothers belp In household duties. Father's "sunshine." blithe and cay. Reads the of the world's eay doings. Children's parties, picnics, balls. "Mother, can have a party T" Wistfully tbe tweet voice calls. "Party I why. my precious maiden. Where will be the company?'' "Ah! but that's my birthday secret; Vou niust make the cakes and tea." Merrily the brown eyes twinkle At my puzzle and surpilse. But we work at tempting dainties, Marlorie looking very wise. Then beiieatn a spreading oak tree on the grass the clotb Is laid. Flitting 'twixt the house aud garden, back aud forth, the busy uild. 'Walt until I alve tbe signal. When we're seated come and see.' Then we hasten, wondering, guesting, Who this "company" ein be. At the head sits Marjorle. smiling, With her dolls on eiih r hand. Bailor Jack and blue-eyed Oretcben, And around a curious baud. Clothes pin boys and egg-shell babtca, Jumping Jacks and thistle girls. Hickory nuts in g irb of qu.ikers. Paper dolls wUh lissua curls. Marjorle names them all demurely; I -Cinderella." fa r Boy Blue," 31v "Miss Mullet." brave "Prince Cba'mlng.' I Goody Two Shoes," "Bo Peep," loo. i Knights of old with good King Arthur, I "Beauty" and her loving "beast;" Heroe- of rouu ce and story ' ti raee our darling's birthday feast. Breezes murmur, nowert oioasora, Birosstni! in the waving trees: Sun ight smiles oi Held and meadow, XrU.s the locust, bum the beet. Truly 'twas a royal banquet A d the willing servants, we. Proud to least. In far Dakota, uch a gallant company. IS IT CATCHING? Bennie Blaine is a bright, clever boy fourteen years old. He has just left school, and his father was askirg the principal the other day if be could recommend Bennie to a situa tion. Well," replied the 'master, "I do Know of a place that I believe he would like, and where he would just about suit, but, you see, his stammer ing would stand so very much in his way! He tiiuxt get over that impedi ment before I should be able to do anything for bim. No one would take a boy who cannot talk." How grieved was Mr. Blaine on hear ing this, and how mortified did Bennie feel when his father told him. lie had not always stuttered. When he was quite a little fellow he could speak aa dearly and easily as anybody, but he once spent a month at the sea side with a cousin who had an impedi ment in her speech, and he nsed to imitate her. Not in derision, he was too kind a boy to do so mean a thing as that; but "just for fun." People warned him that if be picked up this sad habit he might not find it so easy to lay down again. But he thought differently, and only laughed at the idea. Now he is sorry enough, for it Las grown upon bim so that every year ne gets worse. Whether or not he will ever be able to speak plainly again no one knows. But, bad as stammering is, it is not the worst habit that girl or boy may learn of a companion. Some have learned to cheat, tell falsehoods, to eamble, drink, or use bad words, simply through association with those who do so. Evil of every kind is so terribly catching. If you knew that among a number of young people in a park or field where you were playing was one barely reoovered from scarlet fever or small pox, I don't fancy any of yon would choose him for your companion, walk arm in arm with him, or sit close be side him on the same seat. I think you wonld give him as wide a berth as you possible could without seeming unbind. Bnt wicked ways are more dangerons than any infectious fever, for they hurt not the body only, but .he soul. It is so much more easy to fall into (he bad habits of those abont os, than by our good example to get them to do better; and it is rarely safe for young folks to remain in the soci ty of those whom they know to be badly behaved, with the idea of possibly helping tbem to improve. If God so places us that we cannot escape from jinful company without running away from our duties, we may trust Him to preserve ns from contamina tion. Bnt if we seek it carelessly, let us beware; and if we find we are begin ning to like, or even tolerate it, let us flee s we would from the ancient plague. If we have not already "caught" the disease, we are on the verge of doing so. and nothing but im mediate escape into purer air can save as. We have written "Evil communica tions corrupt good manners" so often in our copy-looks that perhaps all we think about the maxim is that we must do a bold capital E at the beginning, I without getting the "manners" cramped I at the end. But the truth of the say I ing is as fresh as ever. If ever yon I are tempted to think yon may consort . with those who do wrong without imi t tating them,- or imitate them without i being hurt by it, remember Benny Diaine. . a BURIED SUNSHINE. Bit SARAH S. TODD. Outside, in the darkness, the winter wind sent the snow and dead leaves fl r- ing past tbe window. Inside, the coal- . Are warmed the air ana lighted the I room for our evening talk. We children sat in conwfortable I jhairs around the fire, wondering what . our dear story-teller would have for us to-night, our gray-haired uncle, who knew so much, and had seen so many strange countries. We Harold, Elsie, and Bess watched him anxiously, try ing to be patient By and by he be gan: I "Ages ago, before any children were ' acre, and before Adam lived in Eden, long before the great elephants and birds and reptiles, which have left their skeletons for us, were on the earth, my itory begins. No flowers bloomed.and no fruit-trees grew. There were only tall trees, like our pines.and great ferns. Deep mosses covered the swampy round, and everything grew very fast in the hot, moist air." "Wasn't there anything then like chat we can see now, uncle?" I "Yes; the same snn shone, and for xing years these plants lived on the lonely earth, and drank inthe sunshine tnd moisture, growing great in every "And how big were the ferns?" asked Bess. I "Oh! ao big that, if we could have been there, they wonld have towered above oar heads as trees do now. Their leave would have made beauti ful tracery against th aky. They ( war aa the faraa now ara to the little ants which run along the ground. Welst though these plants and trees were so great, they could not always live, and. after their death, others like them grew up and died. So, as time went on, the swampy ground was incked so heavily that some of it sank into the sea." "With the green things all growing on it?" "Yes; and the sand settled upon this drowned land, pushing it farther dowa, where it lay for long years. "Sometimes the earth seems weary, and draws a long breath. Her breast heaves, and the land and water change places" "la that an earthquake?" "Yes, Elsie. So it was then, and the ground under the water came up into tbe sir again; and upon the hidden ferns and trees more of the fame kind grew. They too in time weighed down the soft ground, until it sank, as it had before. Imagine, children, the first tress and ferns and mosses sinking down, down, and becoming harder and blacker! Of what nse were all the years of life in the sunshine, when the ages were crowding them farther out of the way? Up above, the birds, tbe flowers, and giant beasts had come. Then man came too, and tbe old earth seemed to be young again, and to be really alive. Did the ferns ever dream of such days?" "Uncle, what was it all for?" asked Harold. "Can you guess, children?" We were all silent. "Let your thoughts jump over the long, foDg time before man found, down in the earth, a hard, black, shiny something, found that it would burn, and named it " "Coal!" shouted two voices." ''Yes; the ferns are at last free, and the sunshine they stored away ages ago is given to ns. Our rooms are lighted and warmed with something which was once green and growing." We children thought over the won derful story, and uncle looked thought fully into the fire. By and by he said: "I like to think that we can learn patience and hope from the story of the coal. We too grow through the sunshine of happy days aud the pres sure of sad times, until our lives are made happier than we ever dreamed they could be." We were too young to fully under stand this, but we longed to be good, and we watched tbe glowing coals, while we made in our hearts many resolution about loving our homes and being patient nnder trials. A STRAY SUNBEAM. Once upon a time there was a sun beam that lived up in the sky with the great, beautiful sun. She was a very young unbeam, and had never been allowed to go away from home; but she was so impatient to see the earth, that she made up her mind to run off by herself. It was a rainy day when she started, and when she got to the clouds she found them so thick that she could not pass through. She was very wet and tired and homesick, and she sat down on tbe edge of a clond and cried. "What is the matter?" asked the cloud. "I want to go to the earth, and I can't get through," sobbed the sun beam. "Oh, well, you will have to wait," answered the oloud. '-We are going to stop raining after a while." The cloud paid no more, and pres ently the rain ceased, the sun-light broke through and it was a clear dav. Then she ventured forth and stole slowly towards the earth. She was afraid of being seen, and she bad to hide behind walls and around corners until she was quite worn out. She did wish that she had never left home; some flowers asked her to shins on them, bnt she answered them crossly and moved away. "How strange!" said the flowers to each other. "I never knew a sunbeam to be disagreeable before;" and they closed their petals and drooped for lack of sunshiue. In the meantime up at the sun she had been missed. Messengers were sent to the earth, and after a great search, they found her, hiding behinc a big rock and crying. They took her back, and though she was very glad to ff. home, she was afraid that the snn wonld scold her but he only looked very grave. "My child," he said, "have yon been happy to-day?" "No," said the sunbeam. "Have you done good to any one?" "No," she answered again, thinking of the drooping flowers. Then the sun talked kindly to hei and told her that sunbeams go to the earth only to make people and thingi happy, and then they are happy themselves. QtTARTTCH, the noted London book dealer, intends to send to the a'xposi tion an autograph letter of Christophei Columbus for which he paid five hundred dollars. MOVING A COCOANUT TREE. A oocoanut tree that weighs six tone is to be transferred from Honolulu t the public park in San Francisco. In a trench around the tree, which stood in a grove near Honolulu, a massive box was built to enclose the roots. Above the box was a frame that had jack screws for lifting the entire mass. After the tree had been raised it was canted, and its long leaves were gather ed together and tied. The nuts were wrapped'in soft packing. By hydrau lic power the mass was. raised on a truck that carried it to the beach, where it awaits shipment. Thk French have planned works at Havre for utilizing the ebb and flow ol the tide to work Turbine wheels to generate power for tbe dynamos tc supply Paris with light. Therk is a tradition that Erichthon ius of Athens built the first war chariot about 1586 B. C. At the time of the Exodus (B. C. 1491 Pharaoh had COO war chariots. APRIL. BT HELLA H. CHAPXAH, Fair April skies through tearful mists teem smiling on the lea; Warm breezes sweep with balmy breath across the troubled tea ; The tweet aroutus stars the wood, the tun and tangled sedge: An oriole is calling softly from the leafltis bedge. Gay daffodils are nodding In their robaa ii tattered gold ; The violets are budding, fragrant cherry blooms nnfoid; Pale willows flaunt their filmy green above the meadow brook : The ferns droop dank and dewy, deep within tome sheltered nook. - Bright ecw-sltps gleam and glimmer like atrav sunteam In the morn ; TtM blae ubimes are waving, snowy garlands neatSi the thorn; Bongs long alune to sorrow, rite In notes ot bope and ebeer. And burdened hearts grow lighter with the. waking ot the year. The Dlvorea Efit J The demand for a uniform divorce aw which Is so persistently made un loubtedly conies from those who hon ;stly believe such a reform a deslr ible one; but it is about as illogical a lemand as can well be conceived. There is no evidence whatever that ihe worst of the evils of our divorce lysteru spring from a lack of uniform ly of the divorce laws of the several . states, or even that the evils which lo spring therefrom are very serious. The objections raised to a lack of ' uniformity are based for the most part on the uncertainty which some times arises as to the legal status of iivorced persons or their right to aiarry agaiu, and this Is certainly a minor evil compared with some of those which are traceable to our dl rorce system. If uniformity could sure these evils without inflicting worse ones on the community there aould be no objection to it beyond the strong objection there is in a gov irnment like ours to giving to the federal power control over the mat ters which belong to the States. The anfortunate probability Is, however, that uniformity would Inflict worse evils than it could by any possibility :ure. Any uniformity which could be secured by the consent of three fourths of the State? and no uni formity is attainable without such consent would almost inevitably embody the worst features of the ex isting State laws; or it is not conceiv able that the States which have taken iuch pains to make divorce easy would assent, merely for the sake of having a uniform law, to more severe strictlons. The real evil of our divorce system a not lack of uniformity but laxity In the matter of granting divorce. The ease with which the -marriage tie is dissolved Is the crying disgrace if the country; and while there are rases, no doubt, where a good deal of wretchedness is saved by the inter position of the courts, it is not haz arding too much to assert that Ihe sum total of human wretch ;dness would tie materially lessened if there were no such a thing at livorce from the bonds of marriage. It Is almost absolutely certain that if such were the condition of our laws there would be far fewer of the Im provident and reckless marriages which are the sure precursors of di vorce. It is true, probably, that the infractors of these marriages do not ay to themselves in so many words that there is less need for care and prudence in marrying because the law affords an easy relief from an unhap py marriage, but there can be no loubt that this consideration is verj )ften present in the minds of one oi both of the parties. Apprise them that there is absolutely no release and there will certainly be greater :are and prudence in assuming the narried relation. It is certain, moreover, that the dissensions of the married which are sometimes so bitter, and which end frequently in tragedies which startle the community and blight tbe lives of whole families, would oe far lesa frequent than they are if the courts did not stand open with a promise oi relief. It is notorious as any lawyet who has done a divorce business will tell you that in the vast majority of cases where divorce is sought on the ground of cruelty or incompati bility of temper the parties have man aged to endure each other with great fortitude until the "other man" ot "other woman" appeared on the icene. Then the cruelty becomes in tolerable and relief is sought in the livorce court. Notify the married that they must settle their differences tnd disagreements among themselves tnd that there can be no absolute di vorce which will permit new alliances and five-sixths of those differences will be amicably settled. It was so in the old days before divorce was made so easy and became so common. There were cantankerous men and ichrewish, aggravating women in the days of our grandfathers and grand mothers, and they used, no doubt, to harry and nag one another at times In the most exasperating way. But becase they knew that they must put up with one another they did it and settled up their quarrels without scandalizing the public or theli families or shooting anybody. Theii iescendants would do the same U they were compelled to. It is too late in the age, perhaps, co abolish, divorce altogether; but it would be a great boon to the com munity if the province of the abso lute divorce were very greatly re stricted, and if in every case where it Is granted the divorced were re trained for a considerable period from remarrying. For a large ma lority of the cases in which relie! from cruelty is asked and ought to be granted a divorce from bed and board would furnish the relief without offering any inducement fot magnifying the necessity of protec tion. It would furnish, moreover, the opjtortunity which ought to be jiven in every case of marital dis agreement for reconciliation. This is the reform, rather than a uniform divorce law, which the coun try needs. If the advocates of uni formity will turn their efforts and their earnestness in the direction of ; securing In the several States such a modification of existing laws as indi ;ated they will bo doing a better work than that in which they are now engaged a work in which sue- less would be of immense beiief-.to society and to the institution of the family, which Is seriously threatened by all this laxity of divorce. Free uress. He who gives himself airs of im portance exhibits the credentials of impotence. Lavater. How can we expect a harvest ol thoughts which have not had the seedtime of character? SorENTiFio temperance instruction is supposed to ne given to twelve mil lions of American children. The worth )f it depends very much upon the char acter of tbe teacher. A knowledge of the physiology of tbe human larynx has made it possible to supply artificial voices to people rho Lave been deprived of the one aature gave them, and a nan ber of sases are on record where the oavity has been opened and a larynx, made oi suitable material with rubber mem branes, has been inserted and become oi practical use 'n speech. HEAVEN IN THE STARS. lurlous t-alth of the Aasajree They tSom lleve ie m I'revlons CxisteiAxh The belief in metempsychosis is ,ery curious among the Ansairee. Ordinary Mussulmans, they say, pass nto jackals after death; an4 it is a sonimon saying among them, when ihe jackals howl at night. "Listen to the Mussulmans calling to prayer." Bad men after death have to "walk n low envelopes " as their expression foes, making use of the Arabic word "kaniees" for the envelope ef tbe xxly, which exists among us in the arord "chemise." For what reason I (now not, Christian doctors are sup posed to go into very low envelopes, indeed, and become swine when this Ife is over. Jewish rabbis become ipes, and so forth, writes a traveler. The stars, they say, are "envelopeg ,t light," the destination of the great, tnd good Ansairee who have distin guished themselves in this life by sheir charity and integrity; and there ire 50,000 of them who form the treat "light word," or the inhabitants f the seventh heaven who surrouna All. and are perpetually illuminated by his presence Most Ansairee pretend to a knowl-.-dge of what they did in a formei txistence, whether as animals oi men; and at Tarsus It is a common theory amongst them that the Frank Ish travelers, intent on archaeological research, come to look for treasures which they reuiemtier to have seen in these spots during a former existence. A man, they say, who has not acted i-ightly ia this life may be punished In the next existence by being born a woman, and a woman who does hei luty in this life may be rewarded in the next by beiim born a man. Womankind is considered by them a sort of probationary step between the inlmal world and the lords of cre ation, and their women are treated by them with great contempt and never permitted to participate in the sacred mysteries of religion. One of the most curious features ot Ihe Ansairee faith is their belief in Ihe Trinity: All, the Father; Ma homet, the Son, and Salman el Farl, the Holy Ghost. Ali, the Father, be :ame man through his veil or repre sentative, Mahomet; and Mahomet tppointed Salman to superintend tbe affairs of this world after his return to his father's kingdom. This mys tery of a Trinity is the second item in the Ansairee religion, and is uni versally believed in by all the fout sects: it is called "the mystery of the A. M. S.," from the Initial letters )f the three individuals of thet' Trinity. An Ansairee or a Nasari, as theii sect is more commonly called In the North when taking an oath, will al ways swear bv his "faith In the mys tery of Alo, Mln, Sin;" and one ol the most common forms of prayei among them is to say the words "Ain, Mln, Sin," 500 times in sue- session. Tba Teople or the Sartb. Exactly how many people there are in the world it is impossible to say, since no census is taken of many populace countries, like China, while the number of people who live in the lungles of Africa can only be guessed it As long ago as 1966, Behm, a leafi ng German authority, estimated the population of the earth at abou' 1,400,000,000. In 1880, the same authority set th figures at about 100,000,000 more. He did not base this new estimate on the natural increase of the people of the wo"ld, but explained that more ac curate figures and estimates had en abled him to guess more closely. Two years later Mr. Behm esti mated the earth's population at 22, 300,000 less than In 1880. the de crease being accounted for by the fact that new investigationshad com-jK-lled the reduction of the estimated population of China from somethtnfi aver 400,000.000 to about 350,000,000. Probably the estimate for Che yeai i891, made by a learned German sta tistician, is the most nearly accural jf any yet made 1,480,000,000. It is lielieved that the world's popu .ation is increasing at the rate ol nearly 6,000,000 a year. The most populace country in Asia, hich contains two countries Chius aud India whose swarming million) outnumber the people of all the othei countries of the continent. The most densely peopled continent a, of course, Europe, The nurubei of people in Europe is known with t great degree of accuracy. There ars about 300,000,000; and the coiitinetri which accomodates all these people i to small that there are upon it as average of ninety-three people to th square mile. The people upon the two continent) jf North and South America, with, out tbe Artie regions, are less than 122,000,000 in number, or only eight to the square mile. When America is as densely peopleq as Europe, this half of the world will have a population of nearly 1,400, 000,000 practically the same as thai of tbe whole world at the presen' time. Youth's Companion. Tho Facta la the Casa. He was up tie fore a Western jus tice for playing poker for money. 'So you were playing cards? jueried the court, sarcastically. 'No, your h'Mior, I was not," wai ihe prompt reply. "Not playing cards?" and tht court's amazement was plainly visi ble. "Why, the officer arrest! yo at the table." "I know it, your honor." "Then why do you say you wen not playing?" "Because I wasn't, your honor. Tht jther fellow was doing all the play ing." Detroit Free Press. The Creede miners get 13 a day. jorxu will not take us to heaven, but jot doinr may keep us out. A kind of bituminous rock, which ii found in several places in California, ii eing extensively used for street pave ments in that State. These pavement ire very like asbphalt, Cbeau Sauce. This is also made ike white sauce, wh the exceptio iiat cream is nsed instead of water. Consuls were firtt appointed In 1185. New Mexico has a messenger boy lamed Gallop. NEWS IX BRIEF. Knvel' pes were first used in lri39. ALttthebia was discovered In 1844. The Franoiscans arrived In England ia 1224 Tlie Drsi. horse rahroaj was built in 1820 27. A Cafasauqua (Penn.) man roasts and ets cat its h!s only meal. --Queen Victoria's cook ge's $3500 a year. Thirteen tons of postage stamps are said t j have b en sold in New York City last year, Condensed m!lk frms an Import ant Hem In the supplies of the average winter resott hotel. All the quicksilver produced in tbe United States comts from California and one mine in Oregon. El ory Is plentiful enough in- some parts of Mexico to ba usod for fire w od. The paper tree or tbe South Seas is a kind of mulberry, with an Inner bark of peculiar delicacy and softness. Callfronla hag ten peak over 10, 000 feet high, and scores of high water falls, glaciers and b!g trees. John Carney, a Kanfas farmer, re cently plowed up a gold ring which his dauater ha J lost seven years pie vlous. The troub!e In lighting by storage battery heretofore has been the great weight of the batteries and the cost of charging. It apppars that the electrical smelt ing furnanue. sometime since invented in England h is given very satisfactory rtsults ia worsting. Marching is hard work. Accord ing to the sc entist, walking ten miles In line Is as exhaustive a) walking twenty at a go-as-you-please gait. Grasshorpers attain their greatest fiize In t-outti America, where they grow to the length of five inches, and tUeir w ings spread out ten inches. Tfce first telegraphic Instrument was successfully opt rateJ by 8. F. B. Morse, the investor, in 133, though tlie utility was not demonstrated to the worlJ until 1842. A penman of Vienna, Austria one wrote 400 Hebrew letters on a single grain of wheat. At another time he wrote a Hebrew prayer on the edge of a visiting card. It is a matter of record that 19,570 Jo'lars were coined in 1S04, yet only eight samples are known to exist, and those that- are in good condition are valued at UXH) each. SuLterr-me au una lu the coal de posits of Wyoming, which have been raging for twelve years, recently gen erated gases which exploded and dis placed 150 acres of surface. A scientific statistician has figured it out that light travels more thau 11, 000,000 times as fast as au express train rushing along at the rate of sixty miles an hour. Almost any p'ace lu the Sahara desert one cau find gla-ia sticks or tubes from one to three fet t in length, caused by lightning striking the pure sand and instantly converting it into that fragile substance. The La Plata was discovered b) Juan Diaz de SjIIs In 1510, who took p isse-sion of the country for the orowu of Spain. Buenos Ayres was founds 1 by lion Fedro de Mendoza, who be came governor iu lyi-"i. Circassian boys and girls may stilj oe bought lu CoiiPtantinople, Turkey, at fair prices. This Is due more to the fact that t.ieir parents are eagr lu sell them than to any real existence ol slavery. There is a uiau HvlLg in Calhoun. ja 70 ye.irs o'd, who bo;nts that h( never wore a pail of boots, bought s suit of clothes, white shirt or any store clothes lu his life, or wore a collar oi necktie. It is to Italy t!at the world oweslti ice cream, though doubtless Italy got the idea from tl e sherbet of the Per sians. The peddling of penny Ices hat loue beu a distinctive industry of ihi Italian peasantry. Tbe I'Lcon'cians were acquaintec v i h the use of extremely hardened lrou (proierly speaking stee'), as theh numerous and beuuti? ul works in orna mental metallurgy, and the cutting and engraving of precious atones show It Is interesting to learn that inthe Ninth tiitury European Kings won wooden shots. In those days, lu tact, a monarch did not posess one-hall the treatute comforts aud luxuries that the h Jiubleat pe tsaut can aow ob 'ain. The Grand Duke Paul of Russ'i carries bis bed about with him whet he travels, not a in tbe case of Queet Victoria beoausa she prefers it U ot:.ers, b. t because he is so tall that he cannot s'eep in a bedstead of ordinary proportions. It is recorded t1 at in the time oi Kin? W.ll a:u II. ttieie occured lu Eng land a wonderful shower of stars, whict "seemed to fill like lain from heaven. An eye-witness Ft Ing where an aero lite Ml, cat water upon it, which wai raised in bteam with a great noiee ol boiling." Fijures furnished Concerning the salt product of t'.e United s-tates mike the i ro Inctloii dming the year 189 10,229,091 barrels. Aiwut four-tentm of this is from Michigan, fotir-t -ntiis from New York, not quite one-'entt from Kansas and t'te remainder from Ohio, Wett Virginia. Ljuisiana, Utah, X &vau a aud Texas. One of the earliest accounts ol star-showt-rs is that which relates how, iu 472, the sky at Cons antiuoi le, Tur key, appeared to l.-e aUve with fly.nj stars aud meteors. In some Eastern annals we are told that In October, 1292, "'.he stars appeared like wave upon the sk. They flew about like grasshopirs. aud wtre dispersed from left to right." In Irelaul a favorite remedy foi iivery kind of internal pain is hot vine gar punch: Indeed, vinegar taken elthei cold or hot Is cojsidered almost a speci fic for everything. It must be com forting in snme cases! It is much nsed for a 'suqBezia on the hart," which Is tbe commonest complaint of alL Lobateb Sacce. Add two or three ta' lespoonfuls of the meat of boiled lobster, chopped, to a white sauoe. Toll bridged "till exist In Kentucky and in Maine. Eighty per cent, of college editor adopt i jurnalism aa their profession. A V
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers