PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY IN MUSSER'S BUILDING, Garner ef Main and Penn Bt*>, at SI.OO PEB ANNUM, IN ADYANCEt Or fl.tt if not paid in tdniw. Acceptable Correspondence Solicited. all letters to "MLLLHEIM JOURNAL." A Christmas Carol. There's a song in the air! There's a star iu the sky! There's a mother's deep prayer, An! a baby's low cry! And the star rains its sre while the beautiful sing, For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king! There's tumult of joy O'er I he wonderful birth. For the Virgin's sweet b iy Id the Lord ol the earth. Aye! the star rains its tire and the beautiful sing, For the uianger of Bethlehem cradles a king ! In the light ol that star Lie the ages impearle 1; Ami that song from alar Ha*swept ovor the world. Even* hearth is aflame, and the hoiutifid lii tho homes of the nations that Jesus is kins. We rejoice in the light, An.l wo echo the song That conies d iwn through the n ; ght From the heavenly throng. Aye! we shout to the lovely evangel thev bring. And we g cet in his cradle our Saviour and King. —J. G. Holland. THE GULDEN GOOSF. A CHRISTMAS LEGEND OF THE EARLY PAYS OF NEW" YORK. In the year 1609, two hundred anil seventy-two years ago, and eleven years before the Mayflower landed the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, Henry Hudson, an Englishman, in command of the Dutch ship Half-moon, entered the magnificent harbor of New York, and was the first European who navi gated the beautiful river now known by his name. The history of his voyage up the river to the present site of Albany is too familiar to repeat here, and it is sufficient to say that his discovery resulted in the Dutch claim ing the territory, which they named New Netherlands, and the present site Df New York they called New Am sterdam. The growth of the colony in New Amsterdam was not rapid; so that in 1G64, when its name was changed to New Y r ork by the English, who had taken it frcm the Dutch, there was a population of only fifteen hundred people, and speaking eighteen different languages; and njw the popu lation is 1,265,000, and all the known tongues of the world are spoken here. The prosperity of New York dates from the arrival in 1647 of the brave and honest Peter Stuyvesant, the hist of the Dutch governors. Among the many Dutchmen who came from Holland was one Peter Van Arsdale. a fur trapper, with his wife and a daughter, whose name was Wilhelniina, fifteen years of age, and instantly acknowledged to be the very prettiest girl in the settlement. Van Arsdale w as an independent and eccen tric man, and though poor, was very honest and very religious, and all his interest seemed centered in the happi ness of Wilhelmina. Soon after his arrival he purchased from Governor Stuyvesant a tract of land lying beyond the creek or canal, which is now Canal street, and erected a substantial log lut upon the exact spot where the St. Nicholas hotel now stands. Peter Van Arsdale pursued his vocation as a trap per of beavers along the creek and the shores of the Hudson, assisted by the beautiful Wilhelmina, who was his constant companion, unmoleste 1 by the Indians, who were his only neigh bors, for his hut was far away from the fort and the settlement of New- Amsterdam, which in those days did not extend beyond Bowliag Green. "When Teter had accumulated beaver pelts enough to pay for the trip, he would go down to the settlement with them for sale or trafhc for whatever he stood in need. On these trips he was generally accompanied by Wilhelmina, who bad attracted the attention of a young New Amsterdam merchant, and who had fallen desperately in love with her,and upontho declaration of his ardor was delighted to fmd that it was fully reciprocated by the lovely girl. Matters had progressed for some time between the young lovers, when Peter Yan Arsdale- was informed of the affair, and instead of raving, as some fathers would have done, he took a very sensible Dutch view of the case, and finding that the young merchant was worthy of Wilhelmina's affection, and that they really loved each other, he consented to their betrothal; but he was compelled to postpone the mar riage for an indefinite time, for the rea son that under the old Dutch laws no maiden could be married unless she was possessed of a dower, and Peter Yan Arsdale had no dower to give his daughter except an uncertain lot of beaver pelts, and they were not sufficient to comply with the legal standard of the Dutch dowers. This obstacle was a distressing dis couragement to the young lovers, but none whatever to the sturdy old trap per, who said he had faith in his patron saint, who was none other than St. Nicholas (or Santa Glaus), to whom he Lite lllilllteim Journal, DEINTNG-FR & BUMILLER, Editors and Proprietors VOL. LVII. vowed he would pray each night and morning until he sent him a dower for his daughter, and so faith fully did he keep this word that he never missed praying to St Nicholas each night and morning, so that it be came a matter of public notoriety to all the inhabitants of New Amsterdam, and many ridiculed him, ami among the most prominent sneerers was a certain dealer in furs named Jacobus A an Vechten, a close-fisted old fellow, to whom Van Arsdale sold many pelts. Whenever Peter went to dispose of bis stock to the old fur dealer lie would chafe Peter by tauntingly inquiring whether St. Nicholas had answered his prayer and sent him a dower for his daughter. "No, no," the trapper would answer cheerily; "but he will at the proper time. Wilhelmiua will be only eighteen next Christmas, and about that time St. Nicholas will send me the present of her dower." The hard-listed old dealer would sneeringly laugh and call Peter a fool, and tell him his prayer would never be answered, and that his daughter, in consequence, would die an old maid. Now. the old furrier Van Voohten had great dealings with one Andreas Van Terwilleger, who was an old miser and a money-lender, and who had ad vanced money to Van Vechten at large interest to buy furs: and to make up the interest and to get large profits in his furs, Van Vecliten, in turn, never hesitated to cheat the poor trappers who sold him pelts, and among his victims whom he had swindled most, was poor, honest Peter Van Arsdale. On the Ist of December, 1650, there was a large account standing In tween Van Terwilleger and Van Vechten, the latter being greatly in his debt, as he had borrowed an immense amount of gold from him to purchase pelts, and he consequently had a large stock on hand, because no ship hail been charter ed in many weeks to sail l'or Europe; so he had plenty of furs, but no gold. Besides owing the old money-lender, Van Vechten was also indebted io Peter Van Arsdale and others; and as matters were getting hot for him, he faithfully promised that if the other merchants would charier no ship, he would do so by Christmas himself, and thereby raise money and liquidate his debts by the new year. Peter Van Arsdale,who was a patient man, ua- one of the first who said he would wait, but he had in the mean time determined to call upon the old miser on Christmas Eve with furs enough to enable him to get money sufficient for him to purchase a Christ mas gift for "Wilhelmina and a few things for his good wife. So, when the day before Christmas came he made up his pack, and then kneeling, he prayed fervently to St. Nicholas to prosper him and soon send him a dowiy present for his daughter; and, kissing Wilhelmina, whom he request ed to stay at home with her mother, and telling the old lady to be of good cheer until his return, he set out with his pack of furs, assuring them he would be back in the morning with some good news, and they would have a merry Christmas. He started down the narrow trail, for there was no Broadway then, and as he trudged along he alternately sang about old Admiral Von Trump, who had swept the seas with his nautical broom, and praying that St. Nicholas would not forget about the dowry. Peter arrived in the settle ment which then clustered around the Battery, just as the tallow dips and rush lights were being lighted in the "Beaver Tail Tavern," theD the only resort for the wayfarer in New Amsterdam. After partaking of some crullers and lighting his long-stemmed pipe, and without wait ing for supper, he went directly to see the old miser and offered him his furs, telling him he did not wish to dispose of them to Van Vechten, because he could get no money, which he must have that night. The old miser cursed Van Vechten bitterly, and said if he did not pay him the money he owed him soon, he would be ruined, and then driving a hard bargain with Peter Van Ars dale, he told him he was going to surprise him by making him a pres ent. This announcement almost took the breath from the trapper, and this is the way it came about: The old money-lender said lie had sent to Jacobus Van Vechten that very morning for his money for the last time, threatening him with law, and that Van Vechten, instead of sending him the money, and to add insult to injury, had sent him a great, fat goose, with a message that St. Nicholas had told him to send it to him as a Christmas gift, and that he was so enraged at this deception of Van Vechten that he was about to cast the goose out in the road when the trapper came in, and he said that as Van Vechten had sent the goose to him in the name of St. Nicholas, as MILLIIEIM, PA., THURSDAY,DECEMBER 1.1, 1881. much as to say that he (Van Terwille gor) was a goose, it occurred to him at the instant to give it to Peter Van Arsdale as a present from St Nicholas as lie knew lie prayed to the saint; and so the goose, which was a big, fat one, indeed, was duly transferred to the possession of Peter Van Arsdale, who accepted it with words of true thanks. Peter was so overjoyed with his good luck that after purchasing some stuff for a gown for Wiihelmina and some trinkets for his wife, and after partak ing a hearty supper at th Half-Moon tavern, the night being cold and clear, he trudged homeward. When lie reached his cabin he was almost ready to fall down with fatigue, for the goose was the heaviest he had ever carried He found that his wife and daughter uere fast asleep, so he thought he would play a trick upon Wiihelmina, and instead of putting the stulf for the gown near her stocking, which she had hung up at the chimney corner for St. Nicholas to till, he placed the goose there, and wrote on a slip of paper, "St. Nicholas sends this goose as a dower and a nierrie Christinas for Wiihelmina," and with a merry twinkle in his eye and a happy heart, after thanking St. Nicholas for the goose, he quietly slipped into bed, and was soon in a blissful sleep, and knew nothing again until the early dawn, when he heard the merry voice ol' Wiihelmina calling him to come immediately and see the dower St. Nicholas had sent her, and her light laughter was such as lie had never heard before. So he soon arose with his good wife, and V ilhelmina ran and embraced them and kissed them, and wishing them a merry Christmas, and said she would soon be married, for St. Nicholas had at last answered her father's prayers, and conducting her parents to the kitchen she pointed to the great, fat goose lying on the table, completely surrounded by immense heaps of glit tering, gold coins. Peter Van Arsdale gazed in v.of used wonderment at the sight, as though in a dream, while Wilhelmina explained: "I found the goose this morning, with St. Nicholas" note, and so I brought it out here, thankful to have even such a gift, and I immediately commenced to prcpura it for our Christmas dinner. After I had singed it I placed it on the table, for it was very heavy, and when 1 thrust the knife into it something hard was hit. I made a long incision, and then lifted the goose up to see what strange thing had struck the knife, when out flowed not golden eggs, but all these heaps of golden coins, and so St. Nicholas has answered your prayer; anil I'll soon be married." Now, to end this true Christmas legend, which happened in old New- York two hundred and thirty-two years ago, it must be told how this goose came to give the shower of gold for Wilhelmina, and made her the happy bride of the young Amsterdam merchant. It happened in this wise: On that Christmas eve, Jacobus Van Vechten had succeeded in chartering a ship, and had received a large advance in gold on his stock of furs from the old Dutch skipper who commanded the craft, and Jacobus thought he would give the old miser, Andreas Van Terwil leger, a genuine surprise, and so he bought the biggest goose he could find in all New Amsterdam, anil when he had had it killed and drawn, lie stuffed it full of gold coins, covering the amount he owed the old money-lender, and then neatly sewed it up and sent it to him with the pretended message that it was a gift from St. Nicholas supposing that when the old fellow discovered the trick he would have a good laugh. The sequel shows there were surprises all around, and the de scendants of Peter Van Arsdale, w r ho live in New York to this day, tell the story of the beautiful ancestress, Wil helmina, and the golden goose, and the legend has passed into the truthful Dutch history of New Amsterdam, only the insignia of the Society of St. Nicholas, instead of being a cock, as seen on the weather-vane of the St. Nicholas hotel, should be a big, fat Golden Goose. Fcnr and Twenty blackbirds. There is often a great deal of sense in the Mother Ooose rhymes,if only we know what is intended to he taught by them. A writer in Goldai Days thus explains the story of the Tour and twenty blackbirds:" The birds are the twenty-four hours. The bottom of the pie is the earth, and the top crust the sky that overreaches it. The opening of the pie is dawn of day, when the birds begin to sing. "The King sitting in the parlor counting out his money," is the sun, and the golden pieces that slip through his lingers are the golden sunshine. The Queen in the kitchen is the moon, and the honey with which she relishes herself is the moonlight. The maid is the day dawn and the clothes she hangs out are the clouds; while the bird who "nips off her nose" is the hour of sunrise. A PAPER FOR THE HOME CIRCLE. qCEER Fisn. Tlrmlirri of the Fltiny Tribe with i* I'M 11 {unite A writer in the Philadelphia Times, writing of his experiences among the fishermen of Marblehcad, says: "Among the fishes hero that utter sounds are the dogfish, the cunner, angler, etc. The former, as might bo expected, utters a short bark, some thing like that of a dog. Ia all about fifty fishes are known that have a lan guage. Our skipper informs us that when he was 'a-whalin" he has heard w hales cry out, and that black fish utter a strange sound is a common belief along the coast, but as these are mamma's it might be expected. It is difiicult to determine how the sound is made. In some it is due to the action of the pneumatic duct and swimming bladder, while in others it may lie made involuntarily by the lips or the pharyn geal or intermaxillary bones. In the curious trigla that one of t party landed the swimming-bladder lias a diaphragm and muscles for opening and closing it. producing a gentle.nmr miuing sound. In the eat fishes, that are noted 'talkers,' the sounds are pro duced by their forcing air from the air bladder into the {esophagus. This i 3 also the case with the cel. whose voice is said to be the most musical of all fishes, having a metallic trill to it. Perhaps the loudest-voiced fish is the grunt -a fish of the genus Ho mulou —their noise having been heard two hundred feet away. " I hat fishes uttered sounds was well known to the ancients. Aristotle mentions a fish by the name ot choiros, or p g, as inhabiting the River t'litor, in the Mediterranean, and as being one :>f the fishes that have the power ot emitting sounds. On a visit to Uatto carla, on the north coast of Ceylon. Bir Emerson Tennent heard wonderful tales of musical sounds that were alleged to issue from the bottom of the lake, and on the lake, in a boat, on a calm night, he distinctly heard, he says, the sounds. They came up from the water like the gentle thrills of a musical chord or the faintest vibra tions of a wine-glass when its rim is rubbed by a wet linger. It was not one sustained note, but. a multitude or tiny sounds, each clear ana distinct in itself. In the days of old Rome eels were believed to talk, and the Emperor Augustus professed to understand their language. The loudest sounds are made by the pagonias, or drum-tish, and the prionotus, called the pig-flsh on the Jersey coast, because of the loud croaks it gives utterance to when drawn to the shore in rnts. Professor linird, who investigated this, has ex pressed the opinion that the sounds came from the belly of the Qsli. The inaigre makes a strange, cooing noise, not unlike a moan, accompanied by a sharp croak, which has been heard at a depth of two hundred feet. Another genus of this fish is called by the Ital ians orvo, or crow. The sound of a bell, which is occasionally heard from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, is attributed by some to the corvo, while others think that shelly inollusks pro duce the*© singular sounds. The sleeper iu his berth has often been startled by the peculiar noises made by the drum-fish on our own coast, and Sir John Richardson says that lie was prevented from sleeping by the noise made by these fish when off the coast of Carolina." Lieutenant John White also says that on his voyage to China, when his ship was anchored at the mouth of the River Camboya, the sailors were much astonished at the curious sounds that issued from the water, resembling the bass of an organ mingled with the tones of a bell, the croaking of an enormous frog and the clang of an im mense harp. These sounds swelled into a gentle chorus on both sides of the ship and were attributed by the in terpreter to a school of fish. A simi lar occurrence in the South Sea was described by Baron Humboldt. The sailors were greatly terrified at about seven o'clock in the evening by an ex traordinary noise in the air, like the beating of tambourines, followed by sounds which resembled the escape of air from boiling liquid. At 9 o'clock these strange sounds, which, it was judged proceeded from a school of seioenoides, ceased. The gizzard shad, known scientifically as the lorosoma, utters a distinct, vibratory, whining sound. The mullet utters a distinct note, often quite prolonged, and ac companied by a discharge of air bubbles. Tho Ocean Full of Life. The fact is revealed that everywhere in the lowest depths the ocean is full of life, as proven by observations taken ut three hundred and sixty-two stations, In traversing a route of nearly 70,000 miles. The physical conditions o f the ocean, as to depth and temperature, de termine the variety which may exist in any particular locality. Much valuable information has been gathered respect- lng the configuration of the earth's sur face, often refuting theories heretofore accepted as fact The coral islands of the Pacific Ocean are accustomed to rise in many instances from depths much greater than are found in the Atlantic, while the latter lias a great submarine ridge extending through it at an average depth of two miles, with a trough on either side from three to four miles deep. The Production of (ptinlne. The next step in the relief of mala rious sickness on the grand scale \\a the extraction of the alkaloid quinine from the cinchona-bark. The pow dered bark was not only very unpala table, but it was cumbrous to carry and dispense, and, although the princi ple of the remedy remained the same, it has proved of infinitely greater ser viee in the form of quinine, and in the form of the cheap alkalouhd mixture known in Bengal as "quinetum." The lirst extraction of an alkaloid was in the ease of morphia, from opium, in 1805; the discoverer was an apotheca ry of llameln, who was rewarded rath er better than the celebrated piper of that town, for the French academy ol Sciences voted him two thousand francs. Quinine was discovered in l v 2o by the French chemists Pelletiei and Caventuu. The sciences and arts ol botany and practical forestry, of chem ist i\ and practical pharmacy, are now all concerned in the production of this most invaluable of remedies. The commerce of the world has taken cin ehona in hand, and there are now plan tat ions of the trees not unworthy t<i be named beside those of eolTee and tea. The value of the crude bark im ported into England alone in 1822 was nearly two millions sterling. The orig inal and native cinchona region on the damp eastern slopes of the Andes in I'eru is still a source of wealth, and a still greater source of wealth are the new plantations on the. Andes in Bo livia. The Indian Government has suc cessively cultivated the bark on a large scale in the Xilgbiri Hills in Madras and more recently at Darjiling in th€ Himalayas ; while a crowd of private planters have followed in the same en- It-rprLsO ill ' OOtm.—n,l f.l-sY !<m. The Dutch Government, whe were the pioneers of cinchona culti vation, have found the climate and soil of .Java well adapted for the species and varieties of trees most rich in qui nine. Jamaica is the latest field tc which this new and ever-increasing in dustry has extended. The Created Earthquake. The most violent earthquake of mod em times was that which in 1755 vis ited Lisbon, the capital of Portugal The greater part of the buildings were thrown down, terrible chasms opened, and swallowed habitations and people. The city had then a population of 150,- 000. The shock was instantly followed by the fall of every church and con vent and most of the public buildings, and more than one-quarter of the shops and private dwellings. The event oc curred on a holy-day, when the church es and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped. The earth opened and shut like the jaws of an enormous vise. An ineffable terror seized upon those who were not instant ly killed. To add to the consternation, a conflagration broke out on all sides, and raged for three days. More than 30,000 people perished. The shock of this earthquake was felt away up among the .Swiss mountains, on the coast of Greenland, at the Barbadoes, at Gibraltar, and along the shores of the Mediterranean. Lisbon seemed to have been near the center of subterra nean agitations. It is remarkable that although Portugal had been known in former times as an earthquake region, the ground had been quiet for more than a hundred years. An Idyl of the Train. The poet laureate of the New York Morning Journal has perpetrated the following : "She stood up in a horse car, That maid, with careless grace ; And oft the bold conductor Appeared to scan her face. Iler eyes were large and dreamy, And golden was her hair; Iler crimson cheeks were creamy, And he was—passing fare. Alone she leaned that morning, Against the sliding door, And, all their glances scorning, She eyed the sitters o'er. While there she stood rellecting, The man with dimes and cents, Was busily collecting With industry intense. But in his pri vate pocket, No dimes he slipped that morn; And, listless from each socket, His arms hung down forlorn. 4 Whv does he gaze so wildly ?' The modest maiden thought. While, fumbling his cash mildly, He muttered 'I am caught.' His stare became so rigid, The maiden was in despair, And, with a glance most frigid, She sought the outer air. Why did her face burn hotter ? And why was he not cool'? He took her for a 'spotter,' Sba thought he was a fool," Terms, SIOO Per Year In Advance. PEABLS OF THOUGHT. Failure should be the stepping-stone to **,■-- trfio can answer where any road leads to? — Lucile. Stay not until you are told of oppor tunities to do good; inquire after tnem. The best rule for good looks is to keep happy and cultivate a kind dispo sition. Re always displeased at what thou art, if thou desire to attain to what thou art not; for where thou hast pleased thyself fljere Hum uhide.it. Cf all the gilts that nature can give us, the faculty of remaining silent, or of answering apropos, is perhaps the most useful. In enterprise of every kind, it i 3 hot ter to lose the game by a card too much than a card* too little; for it sounds better to be rash and daring than tim orous and cowardly. Success is obtained by mixing two parts of common sense with three parts of will, and stirring both in the bowl of ambition, with the spoon of perse verance. Laziness grows on people. It begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains The more business a man has to do the more lie is able to accomplish, for he learns to economize his time. Some there are, with an abundance of wealth and a thirsting desire for novelty, who indulge their taste in oddities. A wealthy New York lady last season wore a full set of furs of leopard skin, and not to be outdone, one of her neighbors secured a similar set of tiger skins, and since then both of these furs are in moderate use The tiger skin rose in price, and one season about two years since the mar ket was completely exhausted. Some gentlemen wear vests of this skin, thus following the eccentric style adopted many years ago by the far-famed Gen eral Sam Houston, of Texas. Our common wild cat is much used, being a handsome fur at moderate pri ces. As for skunk skins, in Europe they are readily sold for trimming tnufTs an * dresses, but here they must receive a new cnrisa nmg ueiuio oeiu# used to any considerable extent. Some times they bear the name of the Aus tralian mink, at others, any name to suit the fashion. The fur of the house cat is much used—black, white, Maltese and tor toise-shell having the preference. Last year the fur of over. 1,200,000 house cats was used bv the trade. Monkey skins are by no means over looked, and 42,ud0 skins were used last season by furriers. The fur of the Abyssinian Diana and black monkeys are preferred, they being mostly used in trimming. In the trimming of gar ments ofttimes a most incongruous set of animals are made to harmonize. For instance, monkey, skunk and cats are all side by side in a trimming known only to purchasers as IToang Ho seal. The skins of rats, mice, dogs, oppos sum, kangaroo and bay lynz are sal able, the latter finding much use in muffs and boas. The coon hair finds special favor in Germany, where it is made into bats. Hair of the ox and calf is used in the imitation of woolen goods. Our skunk, white backed and striped, is in Germany dyed and made up into muffs and boas, and so dis guised we readily buy it as Alaska sa ble. Tartar sable dyed passes off read ily as Russian sable, bearded sealskin finely imitates leopard skin, while the beach marten copies the sable and fox skins pass for lynx. Three million muskrat skins were collected last year, and 15,000 American bear skins and the same number of buffalo robes were used. Every year there are used 5,(>00,000 rabbit skins, 0,000,000 squir rel, 3,000,000 lamb, and there is scarcely an animal that has hair but what is used in some way. The beaver saoques so largely sold in Canada are rarely seen here, as they are deemed too heavy for this climate.— Cincinnati News. There are 4,000,009 families in the United States. An exchange wants to know if anybody can conceive of the value of even a little improvement on each one of these farms in a year. It says that on every farm there should be "more thorough cultivation, better implements, and above all, better care taken of tliera ; better fences, better barns, better stock, better homes, and more home enjoyments, more social gatherings, more family picnics, in which the help are allowed to partic ipate ; more products about the farm for boys and girls to have a personal interest in ; more good books and pa - pers ; more smiles and fewer frowns ; forbearance; less impatience; more pleasant words at home ; more time and sunlight in the parlor, and no room about the house, nor anything about the farm "too good" for father, moth er, boys and girls to enjoy. NO. 49. Oddities In Fur. The F.irm. NEWSPAPER LAWS. If subscribers order the diseontmußtion of newspapers, the pnhHshers may continue to eoiul them until nil arrearage* are paid. If suliacribers refuse or neglect to take their newspapers irom the office to whioh they are sent, they are held responsible until they hare settled the bills ana ordered them die continued. If subscribers move to other places with out informing the publisher, ana the news- Sapers are sent to tne former nlaoa of resi ence, they are then responsible. ADVKRfISfS Q RATES: Ilwk. 1 mo. ISimw. | 6nos. Mm* •too SSOO SOO S4UO tM 800 400 I 0l 10 00 I 18 01 800 B 001 13 00 1 90 00 I 36 00 800 13 00 1 'oo| 35 w I BO 00 *Om inoh makes a square. A<smiumtr*kor* ami Eio •rotora' Notice# fi.so. Tranaient ndvcrMswmsnts and' locals 10 cent* tr tin* for ftrat Insertion -nl 6 oanti pa* < lint (or each additional inertu>n. Guests at Yale. JVorl.' JS/oel! Thus sounds each Christinas bell, Across the winter snow. Hut what are the little footprints all I'hat murk the path from the churchyard wall? They aie those of the children waked to- night From sleep by the Christmas bells at light: Ring sweetly, chimes! Soft, soft, my rhymes! Their Le Is are under the snow. Aoctf JVocl! Carols each Christmas bell. What are the wraiths of mist That gather anear the window*pane Where the winter frost all day lias lain? They are soulless elves, who fain would peer Within, and laugh at our Christmas cheer: King fleetly, chimes! Swift, swift, my rhymes! They are made of the mocking mist. JSToel! J\'otl! Cease, cease, each Christmas bell! Under the holly bough, Where the happy children throng and shout. What shadow set-m-t to flit about? Is it the mother, then, who dkd Ere the greens were sere last Christmas-tide? Ilush, falling chimes! Cease, cease, mj rhymes! The guets are gathered now. —Edmund. C. Sieadman. ~ J ■ ■ W HUMOROUS. Bovine (owns—Moscow, Stamboul and Lenox. The proper place for undressed kids is in the bath-tub. "Beauty is kin deep." remarked th* old beau, as he kissed his pretty cousin. The cat show is over, and aesthetic Boston has ceased to court the mewses. "Sofa so good," remarked the young man who couldn't get too close to bis best girl. First impressions are lasting, as the gentleman remarked when the trip-hammer came down on his fin gers. Now is the reason of shiver and shake, And prolific flow of the nose, When mortals jnmp ha*tiiy into bed. And cover their heads with the clothes. "Never try to take fencing lessons of a barbed-wire fence," said the joker, "it brings a man a little too much, ' up to the scratch.' • "Waiter, bring me eleven, raw ny ters." "We don't give eleven, sir; we give six, or twelve." "No, twelve would never do; we should be thirteen at table!" Mr. Spurgeon, the famous London preacher, being asked whether a man could be a Christian and belong to a brass band, replied, "Yes, I think he might; but it would be a very difficult matter for his next door neighbor to be a Christian." An oystey will live to the ag6 of twenty-six years—that is, in the sea he will In the restaurant the chance® are decidedly against him. Sometimes he lasts a long time in the restaurant— oh, a very long time! But he does not live nearly as long as he lasts. The Dally Life of Prince Bismarck. Bismarck does not arise until 8 or 9 o'clock, sometimes later, especially when the Reichstag is in session, says a correspondent, describing the daily life of the German chancellor. Then he sips brandy and seltzer, takes a short stroll, and on his return goes to his study, where he sips coffee, nibbles at hard brown toast and reads the newspapers, while his secretary is open ing the letters. Bismarck, so the under secretary told me, opens many of the letters himself. He professes to de spise newspapers and writers, but the servants all know that he looks at ev ery article. Breakfast is served short ly before noon, and the family dine at one table. Bismarck likes soft boiled eggs and fried eggs done brown, with thin slices of bacon done to a crisp, lie will dot eat white bread or any kind of fresh-baked bread. He drinks black coffee without cream or milk, anil if he has been up late he drinks four or five cups, with a small glass of brandy in the first cup. Mutton chops and rare beefsteak suit him, but he is a light eater. His wife and the child ren, however, must have dainty dishes, with fresh rolls, and remain at the ta ble an hour, chatting or reading the papers. Dinner is set out at six o'clock in the evening, and unless guests are present it is very plain, but at all other times it is a grand affair. Bismarck eats meat and vegetables and brown bread, but his wife and the children are fond of pastry and confections, Bismarck drinks Moselle, Tokay or Johannisberger wines, and occasional ly he has a mug of stock lager. Gen erally there are from five to twenty guests at dinner. Bismarck remains at home in the evening reading or writ - ing, unless the Reichstag is in session, or he has to go to some reception or conference, and tea is served at raid night. He seldom retires to his bed chamber until two o'clock. His room is not carpeted, but there is a mat in front of the plain bed."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers