Bena aan
Bellefonte, Pa., April 3, 1896.
THE MASTER’S TOUCH.
“He touched her hand, and the fever left her.”
He touched her hand as He only can.
With the wondrous skill of the great Physician—
With the tender touch of the Son of Man,
And the fever pain in the throbbing temples,
Died out with the flush on brow and cheek ;
And the lips that had been so parched and burning
Trembled with thanks that she could not speak;
And the eyes, where the fever light had faded,
Looked up—bhy her grateful tears made dim :
And she rose and ministered to her household— |
She rose and ministered unto Hin.
“He touched her hand, and the fever left her.”
Oh, blessed touch of the Man Divine !
Ro beautiful then to arise and serve Him
When the fever is gone from your lite and mine:
It-may be the fever of restless serving,
With heart all thirsty for love and praise,
And eyes all aching and strained with yearning
Toward self-set goals in the future days :
Or it may be a fever of spirit anguish,
Some tempest of sortow that dies not down
Till the eross at last is in meekness lifted
And the head stoops low for the thorny crown :
Or it may be a fever of pain and anger,
When the wounded spirit is hard to bear,
And only the Lord ean draw forth the arrows
Left carelessly, erally rankling there,
Whatever the fever, His touch can heal it ;
Whatever the tempest, His voice ean still :
There is only joy as we seek His pleasure ;
There is only a rest as we sce® His will ;
And some day, after life's fitful fever,
I think we shall say, in the home on high,
“If the hands that He touched but did His bidding |
How little it matters what else went hy!
Ah, Lord! Thou knowest us altogether—
Each heart's sore sickness, whatever it he.
Touch Thou our hands ! Let the fever leave us—
And so shall we minister unto Thee !
— London Christian.
TECKLA’S LILIES,
BY GEORGE MADDEN MARTIN.
In the words of Mis. Perryto herself, ‘it
all came of her being taken with a clean-
ing fit.” She was not taken so often, it is
true, but when she was, everything gave |
way before her.
On this especial occasion Arthur Garfield
and Perkins Perryto, Jun., having been
turned into the street to find amusement,
Maud Ellen and the baby were piled upon
the bed, along with the chairs, the coal-
box, and other movable articles, and Mrs.
Perryto, having thus cleared the field, be-
gan operations.
She had gotten one corner of the floor a ;
! then laid her hand upon his knee.
nicely wetted, and her brush well soaped,
when her eye fell upon the dresser. This
article of furniture was in reality a wooden
box draped with an old curtain and sur-
mounted by a small looking-glass. Its cur- |
tained recess had long been used as a con-
" venient storing-place for the family’s odds
and ends.
As Mrs. Perryto’s eye rested on it she
paused, then laid down her brush and rest-
ed back on her heels. ‘“While I'm at it,
I’ve more’n half a mind to clean out that
dresser,’’ said she, and promptly forsaking |
’ y .
her bucket and brush, she began to drag
forth the contents of the hox and cast them
on the floor.
‘As sure as life,’” she went on, shaking
the dust out of the baby’s lost bonnet, and
disposing of a greasy bone by tossing it
through the broken window, ’‘Maud Ellen,
if here ain’t your onion flowers !"’
“My ! cried Maud Ellen, hanging over
the foot-board. *‘‘I ‘most forgot ‘em, an’
what would Teckla have thought?’
“Maud Ellen, how you talk!” cried
Mrs. Perryto. “‘Seein’ as Teckla’s dead,
how'd she be a-thinkin’ anything 2’
But Maud Ellen, fondling the lapful of
bulbs her mother had handed her, appar-
ently did not hear. “1 remember what
Teckla said jus’ as well as if ‘twas yester-
day.’” Said she, ‘Maud Ellen, I won’t be
here to go to Holy Innercents another Eas-
ter, an’ I'm going to give you my lilies,
an’ I want you to go an’ take 'em next
year fur me,” an’ I says. ‘I'll do it, Teckla,
sure’ : an’ s'pose now, Mumsey Perryvto, I
hed forgot it?”
**But there ain't no Howers about them
things, nor lookin’ likely to be,
Ellen.*!
‘She told me about that too, Teckla did.
‘Count up a six weeks afore Easter,” said |
she, ‘an’ put em in water, and set ’em on
the winder-sill.” When's Easter, Mumsey
Perryto?”’ aN
That lady, having so readily forsaken her
scrubbing, now did as much for her straight-
ening, and while twisting up her back hair
afresh, eyed her little daughter reflectively.
Had it been any one but Mrs. Perryto
whose gaze was then fixed, she might have
been wondering why all the Perrytos, big
and little, should have snub-noses and
white hair except Maud Ellen, who looked
from beneath a mass of tangled brown hair
out of dark eyes, soft and appealing,
which in turn surmounted as straight a lit-
tle nose as any one need wish for.
might have heen wondering why the plain
‘ma’ which fell from the lips of her other
children should be changed to Mumsey
Perryto in the case of Maud Ellen. All
this and a great deal more she might have
been wondering, but was not. It was not
her way. She accepted things as they came.
At present she wassimply trying to remem-
ber if she had ever known when ® Easter
came or what it came for—** 'ceptin’ eggs,
to be sure, an’ that made her think—"’
“Pin your little shawl over your head
an’ run across to Mis’ Tipping's, Maud
Ellen. She’ll know about Easter, seein’ ez
she allers get the egss ready weeks afore-
hand for the bakery winder."
So Maud Ellen handed the baby over to
her mother—who hy this time had forgot-
ten the cleaning altogether, and now step-
ped into the hall to pass the news of the
day with a neighbor, while her little daugh-
ter ran over to Mrs. Tipping’s bakery.
That lady, on being consulted, and, like
every one else, responsive to the appealing
eves of Maud Ellen, produced a yellow
almanac, and. with the help of the grocer
next door, made out that Easter would be
“six weeks from come next Sunday.’
Which point ‘being settled, Maud Ellen
went home and summoned an audience of
play-fellows. -
“Now, "said she, “‘yerall on ver, ‘ceptin’
them like Perkins Perrvto, Jun., what's
too little, remembers Teckla 2°
There was a unanimous murmur of assent.
“Well, here's what Teckla said ter me
jus’ afore she took an’=lied. ‘Here's my
lilies,” said she, ‘for you to march an’ carry,
an’ take ez many of the other children
as’ll go ’long.” Yer all on your remembers
how last Easter her father had to carry her
to Holy Innercents, ’cause she couldn't
walk. Well, Teckla tol’ me all about it,
‘cause I hadn't never heard of Laster, nor
Holy Innercents neither. The doors come
open sudden-like, she said, an’ in they
marched. children an’ children. more an’
.more, like to no end of ‘em comin’. A
-
Maud
Or she
| . . I .
| carryin’ flags, she said, an’ flowers, an’ singing, that grew and rose and neared, |
| until through every door, up every aisle,
| singin’ an’ marchin’. An’ all bein’ mostly
lin white, twas like angels, which Teckla
! says is the finest an’ most stylishest thing
| children can be. Her not bein’ able to
| walk, after ’twas all done an’ over, her
| father kerried her up to the front, an’ she
' laid her lilies down with the rest—Ililies off
| them same round things she give me. An’
‘a man who was a-standin’ there among
| them flowers, all white, even his dress, he
| put his hands on her head an’ he says, says
| he, ‘God’s blessin’ on yer, my child,” an’
| Teckla said with that blessin’ on yer, yer
| can go straight ter heaven ; an’ seein’ as
| this Easter she’d be there, we was to take
| her lilies an’ get the blessin’ an’ come on
up there. Now all on yer as is goin’ hold
! yer hands !”’
| that of Perkins Perryto, Jun., the young-
! est, to Katia Chapinski’s, the eldest, went
; up, amid a noisy acclaim of voices.
| “Then come on ter our room, as many of
[yer as can get in, an’ we'll plant them
i lilies. But see yer come quiet like,”’ cau-
tioned Maud Ellen, ‘‘ ’cause them’s Teck-
i 1a’s lilies, an Teckla’s dead.’’
Seventeen round smooth Japanese lily
: bulbs, and only a broken glass pitcher to
put them in! On learning this condition
, of things from a dozen eager voices, Mrs.
| Donigan, in the next room, generously lent
a clipped yellow howl, and yjelding to per-
suasion, Mrs. Perryto donated one of her
two tin saucepans. ‘It'll be jus’ as good
as ever after Easter,”” Maud Ellen had
urged. .
From the moment of planting, the Perry-
to apartment became the most popular in
| the tenement, and despite much well-meant
but injudicious investigation as to their
another sent up a slender green blade into
such sunlight as filtered through the smoky
atmosphere and dirty window-pane.
‘‘But we've got to sing when we march,’ |
“said Maud Ellen one day, then sat still a
long time, gazing at the lilies, with her |
; small chin resting on the edge of the yel-
low bowl. ‘‘She said there was music,
too,” added Maud Ellen to herself, quite
softly, stroking a green blad with a tender |
hand.
Herr Hoffmeister blinked his red eyes,
‘and cried ‘‘Herein,’” as a knock came at the |
| door of his room under the tenement roof, |
| and Maud Ellen entered.
! With the warfare between himself and
the tenement children in mind, Herr Hoff-
meister laid down his violin and regarded
| Maud Ellen with suspicion.
| day a crowd
tipsy musician to his very door, mimicking
‘and jeering him until he quivered with |
To-day, although sober, the
Only yvester-
of children had followed the
! helpless rage.
| testy little man had not forgotten it.
Maud Ellen, unconscious of his frowns,
shut the door and came close beside: him, |
“You |
| remember Teckla.’’ she began, confidential-
| ly, raising her soft eyes to the old man’s |
| bleary ones. :
who had loved the music of his violin so
| well—the little Teckla, who, drifting with
her father in his downward course from a
| different life from the tenements, had died |
in the dreary little room next the old musi- |
' clan's.
Teckla?”’ the old man answered.
Maud Ellen pressed close against his
| knee. es
“I wish her father hadn’t “a-gone away
soon’s she died, ’cause he could tell you
about it better’'n me. I can do the flower
| pant, ‘cause Teckla tol’ me how. But
| won’t you help to the singin’ part, Mr.
| Hoffmeister, an’ the fiddlin’ ?”’
And later, when the old musician went
| down the rickety steps on his way to the
. cheap music-hall where he played nightly
in the orchestra, he held Maud Ellen’s
"hand in hig, and as he left her at her moth-
.er's door, he said :
| “Und you haf the children on hand,
‘mein liebchen ; und it shall be like the
singing of the leedle vuns in der faderland
‘ven I was young. It shall be Luther’s
grand old hymn I vill teach them, the same |
as I sang it ven I vas von leedle child.”
Maud Ellen did her best, and daily mar-
‘ shalled her forces, with such of their inter-
ested parents as had nothing else to do, and
as the green blades of the lilies divided into |
. long slender leaves, the tenement advanced
in its musical education.
At the appearance of the first buds the
rapture of the tenement was great. But
when the lilies began to unfold their spot-
less raiment the question of garments suit-
able to march to Holy Innocents in assailed
the minds of the tenement, and its spirts
fell accordingly.
White was not to be dreamed of, save in |
the case of Maud Ellen, whose mother un- |
draped the dresser, and fashioned her a gar- |
. ment wonderful to behold out of the cur-
| tain. As for the rest of the house, it wash-
. ed its clothes, and contented itself with the
| consciousness of unusual cleanliness in hon- |
And this momentous
{or of the occasion.
question of the hour once settled, the rest
of the time was given over to energetic. re-
hearsals.
“Maud Ellen sez to come on.”
the tenement’s front door.
‘Take yer places,” Maud Ellen would
command, ‘‘just ’s if "twuz Easter an’ this
vere street wuz Holy Innercents. Now,
| Mr. Hoffmeister. play. - Gladiola, if yer
ain’t a-goin’ ter see ter them twins yerself
they sha’n’t march. Go on now ; I'm a-
goin’ ter march ter that hole in the street
and back. Arthur Garfield Perryto, sure’s
| yer tie that tin can ter Mike I'll tell Mum-
sey. Now-—no, wait till that fishman gets
by. Now, Mr. Hoffmeister, we're ready.
All on yer sing !”’
And they sang. They could do that
with a will, even if Perkins Perryto, Jun.,
did cause a halt midway by charging at
Arthur Garfield like a young billy-goat,
wrought to frenzy by that gentleman’s de-
termination to shout his part through the
tin can directly into the infant Perkin’s
© ear. -
Barring this, the procession proceeded in
safety, turned, and, singing still, marched
back to the tenement’s curb, where Herr
Hoffmeister was discovered dancing up and
down in helpless rage. ‘‘The tune—we ist
der tune ? Ofer again—ein, zwei, drei—
sing 17
Then they must stand still and try it
again and again, until Kitty Dugan, being
relieved of the care of the baby, ran over
from the meat shop to join them; and with
her righ sweet voice to lead, all went well
again, and Herr Hoffmeister’s gloomy brow
cleared.
On Easter morning at the church of the
Holy Innocents the music from the great
organ rose and swelled amid the vast arches
| as if struggling to carry its meed of praise
straight to heaven, or sank and beat at the
hearts of waiting congregation as if it would |
enter and bid them sing to God’s praise.
As the doors of the church were swept open,
| it rose to a glorious swell that shook the
| church, then died toa throbbing undertone.
And now came the sound of far-off voices
Every grimy hand in the company, from |
Herr Hoffmeister nodded, and his face | | ie 2 JR Bl]
ftened. Yes, ves, he remembered Teckla, | God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and
The |
word would speed around the neighbor- |
hood, and the forces would gather before |
| came processions of children.
“Jesus Christ is risen to-day,
| Alleluia !”
| air with heavy perfume, and their glisten-
| ing banner, rustling, fluttering, marked
| their course ; up, down, in, out, around
| the great church, marched the white-robed
| children, under the shadows of the masses
| of palms, into the jewelled lights from the |
| great windows.
‘“‘Allelulia !”’ they sang. They laid their
fragrant burdens down. The very air was
thick with blooms and carolling voices.
| “Allelulia, Amen !” and again the organ
swell died into silence, and the service be-
| gan.
But as from amid the palms a white-
| haired man arose and stretched out his
| hands above the congregation to pray, a
| single one of the heavy doors swung open,
| and music, the sweet clearness from a single
| violin pierced the silence, and, turning, the
| people saw an old man standing in the open
| door and playing. And again they heard
! the sound of many voices singing. A sec-
{ ond procession passed in.
| tain dress.
| her pink cheeks, and in her arms was a pot
| of Easter lilies.
| wealth of bloom, rose far above her head.
| To the memory of Teckla she carried it ;
and the old musician, playing as he had
not played in years, his eyes closed in rap-
"ture, he only could tell the price of how
fmany ‘‘beers’’ it had taken to buy it.
Behind Maud Ellen marched the children
of the tenement. One of Teckla’s fragrant
lily blooms was in each eager hand. Un-
| their eyes on the soaring lilies their leader
carried—how they sang !
“A mountain fastness is our God
On whieh our souls are planted.”
I It was Luther's grand hymn that fell from
their lips, and as they sang, the wondering
! congregation of Holy Innocents sat still and
listened. 2
“By our own might we naught can do:
To trust it were sure losing.
For us must fight the Right and True,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask for his name ?
Christ Jesus we claim
The Lord God of hosts,
The only God : vain boasts
Of others fall before Him.
Up the long aisle they went, and stand-
ing on the steps amid the palms, gazing
into the kindly face of the white-robed man,
they finished their song. And then Maud
Ellen, smiling up into his face, held out
her pot of lilies. Why should she be afraid
—was not everything just as Teckla told
her it would be ? So she smiled.
“We've come to get a blessin’, please,”
she said, simply, and looked up.
And the old clergyman, he whose life
lives and hearts of just such little ones as
i these, understood, and stretched out his
hands.
"head of Maud Ellen.
‘“The blessing of
{ the Holy Ghost, he amongst you and re-
main with you always—his children !
Amen !”?
! other offerings.
i of the tenement, who were scattered here
thrilled with something deeper than tene-
ment pride. But in the church ‘‘those in
“authority’’ who had at first wondered and
‘frowned, seeing what their minister did,
| come forward and found seats for the rag-
|
| palms, and the service went on.
i So was made little dead Teckla’s offering,
and Maud Ellen and the tenement gained
‘the blessing.” For a blessing the gentle
white-haired minister proved to be, gather-
| ing Perkins Perryto, Jun., and the twins,
and all the other toddlers in the neighbor-
hood into a wonderful place of cleanliness,
warmth, flowers, and love, that his’ pretty
! daughter, who had it in charge, called a
| sides.
Maud Ellen and Gladiola and Kitty, and
all that would, being no longer needed as
nurses and guardians, found there was a
place already provided for them called a
| things were to be learned, even to the judi-
cious cleaning up of a tenement room. And
they found also that the doors of Holy In-
nocents, and other doors still, stood open
‘for them wide, not on Laster day alone,
but alway.
A Paradise of Prunes.
| Anride in the Santa Clara valley, Cali-
fornia, through one of the vast prune
orchards when the trees are in full bloom
is an experience never to be forgotten.
Some of these orchards, consisting of 500
| acres, contain 50,000 trees, their ages vary-
| ing from five to ten years, and planted in
| regular rows about twenty feet apart.
Nor pebble, nor clad, nor blade of grass
can be found among the friable soil of the
mile long aisles which intervene, tessel-
lated by the flickering shadows of the
swaying snowy petals which project on
either side from flower laden
Bird and bee and butterfly are each alive
to the situation, and puncture the per-
fumed air of cloudless May morning with
song, huzz, and voiceless wing.
Among this embarrassment of beauty
i walks the alert, intelligent orchandist,
| watching with the trained eye of an artist
| the development of the tiny bud of the
! embryo prune upon the tree, until picked |
| at the prime of its perfection with the deft
| hand of an expert. In order to produce
| the desired uniformity of size and shape, |
| each fruit bearing bough is subjected to
' such thinning and pruning that there lie
| scattered around ‘the hase of a tree often
more rejected prunes than are left hanging
{ upon its branches. :
| As'the eastern plum pest, the curculio,
| is unknown in California, as scarcely a drop
| of rain falls upon the trees from May until
November, and as there is no scorching sun
i to shrivel the delicate skin of the prune
‘nor rough wind to mar its contour, a bough
of full ripened clusters represents one of
| perfect prunes.
© Inman area from six to twelve miles
square planted to fruit trees, 18,000 acres
are in prunes alone. -
They cover the billowy surface of the
majestic foot-hills, as well as the plain,
with a beautiful irregularity impossible t)
describe. At plucking time thousands d
busy hands are at work, chiefly those
boys and girls, preparing the luscious fruit
+ for curing under the rays of the midsum-
mer sun.
The average yield when the crop is ful
is about eight tons per acre. The averag
| cost of caring for the orchards, harvesting
{ and curing such a crop, is $30 per acm,
| leaving a net income per acre of $210.
{ —Harper's Weekly.
|
Jasser-By.—I thought you wer |
[blind ? Beggar.— Well, hoss, timesis # |
i hard, and competition is so great, that eve
! the blind man has to keep his eyes open, f |
| he wants to do any business at all. :
Rae rromtae
| they sang, while their garlands filled the |
Maud Ellen led—in the old white cur-
Her eyes were like stars above
The stalks, holding a |
progress, the lilies grew, and one after - mindful of rags or of congregation, with
had been spent in trying to get into the!
He put them on the rough little |
The children laid their flowers amid the |
The hearts of the mothers |
£0. va : birt what for vou wik me “of and there about the church, swelled and |
« yo yale IC " «¥ i
| ged little strangers on the steps amid the |
kindergarten, and into other things be- |
school ; a place where many wonderful |
branches. |
| the courts of record were as follows :
Compulsory Education.
| State Superintendent Schaeffer Makes an Address
Upon the Subject.
At a meeting of the educational and mu- |
nicipal departments of the Civic club, held |
in Philadelphia, Saturday, Dr. Nathan C. |
Schaeffer, state superintendent of public |
instruction, made an address on *‘Compul-
sory Education.’”
“The day of arguing whether we should
: have a compulsory act or not has gone hy,”
said Professor Schaeffer. “‘It’is simply a
question whether the present act shall be |
enforced or can be enforced. Iam not here |
to apologize for endeavoring to carry out |
the law which is my sworn duty to enforce.
If the law is a bad one, the best way to se-
| cure its repeal is to enforce it. If the law |
"is a good one, of course it should be en- |
forced. If it cannot be enforced, let us!
find out the reason why. If any of its pro- |
visions are inadequate or unwise let it be |
amended. Perhaps the mere attemp to en- |
force it will bring to light the causes which |
now keep children out of school. Every |
child has a right to an education ; not even |
the struggle for bread can excuse modern |
society for depriving any child of the
rudiments of an education. Moreover, it is |
a matter of self-preservation with the state |
to educate its citizens.
“It will be helpful to call public atten-
tion to the statistics recently collected by |
commissioner of education of - Washington.
From his report it appears that the percen- |
tage of illiterates to the total population |
ten years of age and over, in Pennsylvania,
is six and eight-tenths. In the German
empire, the percentage of illiteracy as de-
rived from the army recruits is less than
one-fourth of one percent. In all the |
countries of the German empire attendance
at school is made obligatory hy law. To
my mind, this is an unanswerable argument |
in favor of effective compulsory school leg-
islation, if we accept the proposition that |
every child has a right to be educated and
that it is a matter of the highest moment
for the state to see to it that all its citizens
shall be able to read and write.
Another argument in favor of compulsory
education that can be pressed for the pur-
pose of creating public sentiment is the
bearing of education upon the industrial
development -of a people and upon the
earning power of each individual. When
at the close of the World's Fair in London,
it was found that the majority of the pre-
miums had gone to the continent, a com-
mittee of narliament was appointed to in-
vestigate this result. When this commit-
tee made its report there was terror all over
England. The report said that the edu-
cated labor of the continent had wrested
"from England her supremacy over other na-
tions in manufactures. According to the
statistics of the report of the commissioner
h education, the percentage of illiteracy
in England is seven as compared with one
: fourth of one per cent, in the German em-
pire. A comparison of the statistics of
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania points in
‘the same direction. The percentage - of
illiterates among the native white popula-
tion ten years of age and over is three and
one-half per cent. in Massachusetts.
Among the foreign born whites and among
the colored population the percentage is
also in favor of the Bay state. With these
| percentages compare the fact that the
average citizen of Massachusetts earns more
money than the average citizen of Pennsyl-
| vania.
‘Certainly, if we look back over the edu- |
| cational development of Pennsylvania and |
the other states from 1870 to 1890 we have |
nothing to be proud of,”’ continued super-
intendent Schaeffer. ‘‘Reckoning upon the
basis of illiteracy to the total population
ten years of age and, Pennsylvania ranked
twentieth in 1870, twenty-third in 1880
and twenty-seventh in 1890. If we base
our estimate upon the percentage of illiter-
| acy to the native white population ten
years of age and over, Pennsylvania in 1870
| ranked twenty-second : in 1880, twenty-
| fifth, and in 1290, twenty-ninth. In other |
| words, if we conceive of a spelling class |
whose boys are named after the states in |
this Union, and who are ranked according
to the percentage of illiteracy, we are com-
pelled to admit that the other boys have
been trapping the Pennsylvania boy, and
that our boy is gravitating toward the tail
end of the class. It will not do to ascribe
our downward movement entirely to immi-
| gration from foreign lands. Many immi-
‘grants come from countries where the per-
centage of illiteracy is less than it is in the
United States.
“There are three elements in our popu-
lation—native white, foreign-born white
and colored. The statistics show that the
{ number of illiterates among the foreign-
born whites is greater than among the na-
tive whites. Practically that does not
| change the problem. The city of Philadel-
| phia is credited by the census of 1890 with
| 269,480 foreign-born inhabitants ; Alle-
i gheny county with 153,078 ; Luzerne, with
| 64,103 ; Lackawanna, with 46,399 : Schuyl-
( kill, with 31,533 ; the entire state with
| 845,720. These people and their children
| must be assimilated by our American life ;
: hence, their children should be educated.
“In one American city when they began
| to investigate the reason why children are
absent from school, they found upward of
| 120 who had never owned an entire suit of
i clothing. The compulsory education act
will help to bring all those conditions to
| the consciousness of the public. The
| sooner this is done the better.’
Crime on the Increase.
&
Figures Show a Bad Record for New York for 1895.
ALBANY, N. Y., March 29.—Secretary
| of State Palmer's annual report of criminal |
. statistics for the State of New York for
1 1895 shows a considerable increase in crime. |
There were 71,491 convictions in the State
last year, against 6R,146 in 1894, an in-
C crease of 3345 in one year. Of this num-
| ber 67,023 convictions were in courts of
special sessions and 4468 in courts of rec-
ord. The increase in the former courts is |
1857 and in the latter 152%. In the courts |
of special sessions 60,414 men and 6604
women were convicted.
The classification of the convictions in
For |
crimes against the person, 1086, increase
543 ; against property with violence, R76,
increase 42 : against property, 1913, in-
crease GG : against the Currency laws, 90,
increase 2 : offenses not under the fore-
going classifications, 611, increase 278.
How to Grow Sweet Peas.
Sweet peas should be sown very early in
the spring—in April, if possible. They
should he kept moist and cool at the root.
In order to secure these vesults, sow in,
trenches, at least six inches deep, covering |
lightly -at first. Draw earth about the |
plants as they veach up, until the ground |
is level again.—April Ladies’ Home Journal. |
I
——1I'm afraid your young man is not |
economical. Yes, he is, he asked me to |
go sleigh-riding to-night, and he wants to!
horrow your cutter.
| grazing place.
' Lake Van, a salt lake.
nothing but bridle-paths ; they ave infested
no inns. |
Geographical isolation is not the least of |
Armenia.
Armenia is a country lying about Mount |
Ararat as a central point. The country is
now partly in Russia,
partly in Asia Minor.
is about the size of New England ;itis a
mountain land, some of the Taurus peaks |
There are a few
valleys in which scant rice and cotton may |
rising over 10,000 feet.
be grown, but the high plateau is mostly a
As in the rest of the Otto-
man Empire, agriculture is in a pitifully
primitive state, and, though there are
abundant deposits, mining does not exist.
The climate is one of extremes of cold and !
and
also
heat The sources of the Euphrates
Tigris are-in Armenia, and there is
The
with brigands, and there are
the hardships in the present crisis.
The Armenians represent an ancient civ-
ilization, and have kept their individuality
through all ages.
an early king, Haik, a
Japhet. Armenia is mentioned several
times in the Old Testament ; for instance
(2 Kings xix., 37), when the sons of Sen-
nacherib are said to have escaped thither.
The best-known Armenian king, Tiagrenes |
I., was an ally of Cyrus the Great, and in
' Xenophon's Retreat of Ten Thousand we
have a description of Armenia as it might
be to-day. Then came Alexander’s conquest,
followed hy those of the Parthians, Ro-
mans, Byzantines, Saracens and Turks.
The latter over ran the country in the
| eleventh century.
The Armenian language is. like. the
Greek, an independent branch of the Indo-
Germanic. The Gothic Bishop Ulfilas was
the first to give form to the early German, |
by his translation of the Bible, and so did |
the Armenian Bishop Mesrob to Armenia ;
he invented the Armenian alphabet, and
then translated the Bible into that tongue.
The language is distinguished by two
characteristics :
words are accented on the last syllable.
There are about four million Armenians,
of whom only 600,000 are in Armenia—a
fourth of the entire number in all Turkey.
There are 1,250,000 in Russian Armenia,
and they are fairly prosperous there :
150,000 in Persian Armenia ; 100,000 in
Europe ; and about 5,000 in this country.
The saying runs that if it takes ten Christ-
ians to cheat a Jew, it takes ten Jews to
cheat an Armenian, and the cleverness of
the latter in trade is well known. They
go to Constantinople and the great cities
whenever possible, and often become
affluent. The stay-at-homers attend to
their flocks, tif’ their soil, make their
honey, and weave their carpets and rugs.
Half the population of Armenia is Mus-
lim, and it is made up of Kurds and Turks.
The former are by nature brave and hos-
pitable. But are still unsubjugated, and
have become brutal through comtact with
the degenerate Turk. Contrary to the cus-
toms of the other Mohammedans, their
women go about unveiled and enjoy much |
liberty. The Kurds are now organized in-
to guerilla regiments of the Turkish army.
According to the legend, the Apostle
Thaddeus founded the
according to history, St. Gregory the illu-
minator, in 289, when the king was bap-
tized and Christianity. became the national
religion:
the oldest of any national church. As they
were at war during the council of Chalee-
don, the Armenians did not attend it and
did not approve its decrees. This led to a
separation, and, about five hundred years
ago, a division in the Armenian church it- |
self occurred when a branch of it acknowl-
edged the Pepe’s supremacy. The highest
Armenian ecclesiastical dignitary is called
Katholikos. He resided near Erivan, the
capital of Russian Armenia, and at least
once in their lives all Armenians
journey thither.
and superstition, but the work of foreign
missionaries ix doing much to break
through the dry ecclesiastical crust. In
Armenia and Asiatic Turkey there are
about 250 Americans, who hold over $2, -
000,000 worth of property for religious,
medical, and educational uses.
ures do not cover our large commercial in-
terests there.
Until the Crimean War, Russia has exer-
cised for a hundred years a kind of protector-
ate over the Ottoman Christians, but in
1856 she was deprived of that protectorate,
and the Great Powers of Europe, in a col-
lective protectorate, took her place. Rus-
sia had always accomplished something
with the Sultan ; he had never forgotten |
that, with one exception, for two centuries
Russia had defeated him in every war.
Therefore he was delighted at the chance of |
escaping from dealing with one Power to |
dealing with a number, for what was'every-
bhody’s husiness was nobody’s business.
Furthermore, he was convinced that the in-
tegrity of his Empire was essential to the |
balance of power in Europe. The best
proof of this was the fact that Turkey had |
been admitted into the comity of nations. |
British preponderance was meanwhile grow-
ing, and in 1820 England bound herself to
defend the Armenian frontier against Rus-
sia, and to see that reforms were carried
out in Armenia. The curious situation is
that, should Russia decide to interfere with |
the awful iniquities which have been going |
under |
on in Armenia, the Sultan could,
this convention, call upon England to pro-
tect him. An added responsibility of Eng-
land’s as found in the Treaty of Berlin.
The sixty-first clause of that Treaty de-
clares that the Porte shall | carry
out the veforms demanded by local
requirements in Armenia. As a part
of that agreement the Sultan guar-
antees the security of Armenia against the
Circassians aud the Kurds, and agrees that
he “will periodically make known the steps
partly in Persia, |
Turkish Armenia |
roads are 7
Their name comes from |
descendant of |
there is no gender, and all |
Armenian church ;-
The Armenian is supposed to be |
These fig- |
FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN.
The Difference.
He couldn't write, he couldn't read.
¢ He little knew or cared
About the people's wrongs or need ;
How others lived he took no Liced
Nor how they fared.
The big saloon he couldnt pass
Nor pools of any type :
He couldn't live witl -. his glass,
And he was SI Halas!
Without his pipe.
On public streams, which’e'r the way,
He could do naught but-float,
And on the questions of the day
He couldnt think, he conldn’t pray,
Bus he conld vote.
! * # * * * x
She couldn't drink, she couldn't swear,
She could’t even smoke,
Nor could she open wrongs declare,
Nor with a ballot did she dare
The right invoke,
She loved the people and she knew
The questions passing hy
Were weighty: her conclusions drew,
And out of these convirtions grew
The how and why.
She kept herself outside the rut,
From leading minds conld quote :
She had opinions clearly cut,
Could read and write and reason—hut
She couldn't vote,
— Hattie Horuer Lonthan,
A rubber plant or a growing palm makes
a delightful Easter gift.
A young girl or budding woman is he-
“witching in a picture hat, buta woman
who is beginning to fade is made less at-
tractive by framing and thus emphasizing
her charmlessness.
The separate bodice, in spite of the proph-
ets, has not lost its prestige ; every con-
ceivable kind of waist is worn with every
conceivable kind of shirt—a fashion far too
pretty and convenient to.be readily aband-
oned.
——— 2
A pretty bedspread seen in a room where
pale green was the prevailing hue was
made of coarse wide bobbinet trimmed with
a loosely gathered frill or valance of the
same lace, which had been darned in a con-
ventional pattern with coarse green flax.
| The spread was lined with green silesia and
was made long enough to pass under the pil-
lows over which it was then brought and
tucked under them again. At the place
where the centre of each pillow would come
was worked in the green flax, in bold out-
line, the monogram of the owner of the
pretty room.
Considering discontented women of all
kinds individually, it is evident that they
must be dull women. They see only the
dull side of things, and naturally fall into
a monotonous way of expressing themselves,
They have also the habit of complaining, a
habit which quickens only the lower intel-
lect. Where is there a more discontent-
Led creature than a good watch dog? He is
forever: looking for some infringement of
his rights ; and an approaching step, or a
; distant bark, drives him into a fury of pro-
test. Discontented women are always ego-
| tists ; they view everything in regard to
| themselves, and have therefore the defec-
tive sympathies that belong to low organiza-
tions. They never win confidence, for
their discontent breeds distrust and doubt,
and, however clever they may naturally be,
an obtrusive self, with its train of likings
and dislikings, obscures their judgment
rand they take false views of people and
things. For this reason it is almost a hope-
less effort to show them how little people
generally care about their grievances, for
they have thought about themselves so
long and so much that they cannot con-
ceive of any other subject interesting the
rest of the world —North American Review.
must |
There is a belief in the |
worship of saints in the Armenian church,
but none in purgatory : there are ignorance |
Remember in the purchase of materials
for spring and summer gowns. Skirts are
| just a shade narrower than they were last
season. Five yards around is a very good
width.
Round waists continue to be worn, but
they are in the minority and will grow
more and more as the season advances.
Nearly everything is made with a basque.
The short, dumpy girl who looks best in
the shortest kind of a short waist, a la Olga
Nethersole is lamenting the advent to
‘‘those horrid hasques,”” but there are too
| many tall girls in the fashionable world to
| keep the basques and jackets out. Revers
have returned to us along with the jackets,
and we shall be all ready for the shirt front
and necktie of the summer girl when June
comes around again. The jacket, however,
is with us now, for it can be worn without
an vutside wrap, a great advantage in the
early spring when it is too cold to wear the
ordinary dress on the street. Make your
[gown any way vou please, with round
| waist or jacket, big sleeves or little, and
! then when it is done stick a fluff of lace un-
der your chin and you are in fashion. Cos-
| tumes also have lace flounces at the wrists
and a cascade of lace around the muff.
Box coats are decidedly the fashion, they
fit only at thg neck and wrists—but are
pretty. A particular jacket was trimmed
i to simulate a narrow yoke with'gimp passe-
menterie which also extended around the
bottom of the coat. There were epaulets
over the shoulders that looked like long re-
vers pushed up from the waist and away
from the front. Revers and epauletsare
- almost necessities to the spring costume.
The woman who borrows trouble and has
feared that the shirt waist would not re-
main in favor this season may possess her
mind in peace. That comfortable article
of apparel is already favorably considered
i by leading modistes. Tt is to be continued
lin the front and is to put on more attractive
Turndown collars of linen or of the fab-
taken to this end to the Powers, whe will and becoming airs than ever before.
superintend their application.” Not
hay Turkey announced@ny reforms ; there
have been none. In the Russo-Turkish
Treaty of San Stefano the Sultan had
bound himself to introduce reforms in Ar-
menia. and the Russian troops were to re-
‘main in that province until such reforms
were established. To her shame be it said,
England was the only Power insisting up-
on the submission of the Treaty of San
Stefano to the revision of the Congress at
Berlin.—7%he Outlook.
Dr. Catharine Houser has been made a
physician in the State Insane Asylum in
Kentucky. She is the first woman to hold
such an office there.
emcees eaeurmeeeems
The Joyous Time.
Same old robhin, same old song :
Same old cold wind blowing strong :
Same old c¢loudlets : same old sky :
Same old hrooklét habbling by.
Same old violets, same old blue ;
Same old grass-plot, same old hue ;
Same old look in everything :
Same old season: same old spring.
— Exchange.
. rie of the skirt will rival the standing col-
[lars and cuffs made to match. Ecru ba-
| tiste and the familiar grass linen will be
[used for shirt waists even than last year.
They are refined looking, are capable of
being semi-dress if well made do not
{show soil and are generally becom-
ing. The new grass linens have stripes of
color woven in, or else there is an all over
design of flowers embroidered in white,
cream-tinted, or in colors, or else lace de-
signs appliqued form their exquisite garnit-
ure.
A flaring cuff, slashed and turned back
is a stylish finish for a Louis Quinze coat.
Indeed, claborate trimming is seen on all
the new sleeves at the hand—doubtless to
make amends for loss of size at the top.
The imported mohairs are charmingly re-
fined and suitable for spring toilets. A
swell maodiste is making up a brilliantine,
checked off with fine red, green and blue
threads. Very nobby is the vipple backed
little jacket, with its-dining of apricot taffe-
| ta. Tt is to'haye a shirt front of imported
| batiste, rich with embroidery, and there
| za be a high stock of black satin added to
this.
—_—