BACK INTO THE CBYPT. M. MATHIA9 S STRANGE TtrSK TO TEST THE FIDELITY OF HIS WIFE. When they heard of th death of M. Mathia in the little city of Lyre-sur-Ys, there was a feeling of great surprise A man scarcely 40 yearn old, robust, straight as an arrow, married only two years to a young and rhnrming girl he adored, all exclaimed, "What mischance!" Naturally, now that SI. Mathias Tvas dead, they only discussed his virtues while living. II was no longer called a skinflint and miser. They even forgot the story of his famous marriage, which was not at all to his credit. Only a few recalled the vague dislike this groat man had always inspired with his sly, treach erous ways, or the strange stories that, rich and retired from business, he em ployed his leisure hours in concocting and manipulating poisonous drugs, with which he experimented upon dogs and animals. But now these are idle tales. Up is dead. Peace to his soul. In carefully reflecting upon his death, was it so very extraordinary ? Evidently 31. Mathias had a presentiment of his de mise. He had but lately constructed a family chapel in the cemetery, which awaited his remains. Moreover, for a long time he had appeared unquiet and restless, wandering around his house as if tmfcpicious of mysterious robbers. For whole weeks he would shut himself up in his laboratory, and the chimney would roar and flame all night. "Premonitory symptoms of cerebral excitement, " said Dr. Dabarre, "which will suddenly end in fatal apoplexy. " Well, to be brief, M. Mathias had a magnificent funeral. Scores of the population attended him to his last resting place. But I must confess there were many dry eyes. When the great oak coffin was lowered iuto the crypt of the funeral chapel it seemed truly mon umental. Two men of his size could have slept in it easily. On returning from the funeral, every body was saying, "I wonder what the charming widow of M. Mathias will do?" Now, to tell the truth, M. Mathias was not dead at all. Two hours after the ceremony you could have witnessed a strange scene in the underground vault, where the bier had been placed. little sharp sound was heard, like the click of a spring ; the cofiin opened like a cupboard. M. Mathias raised up, stretching like a man just awakened from sleep. A dim light from a grating in the upper part of the wall enabled you to see M. Mathias step from his coffin and rub his legs, which were a little cramped. Otherwise he felt very well, very com fortable, indeed. The narcotic potion he had swallowed, after careful measure ment, had produced the exact effect he desired. They had believed him dead, had buried him ; so far, so good. For a long time M. Mathias had taken every pecaution in preparing for this event The vault in the chapel had been constructed with Ike most wonderful in genuity, workmen had been brought from Paris to build it, secret places ar ranged for suitable clothing, eatables, and a few bottles of good wine, coot anil fresh, as you may well suppose. By this time M. Mathias realized that nothing hollows the stomach more than being buried; so comfortably seating himself on his coffin, he complacently ate his rations and drank to the future. Now it is time to explain why M. Mathias is sic feet under ground of his own free will. As always, there is a woman in the case. M. Mathias, formerly a druggist, en riched by pills and cataplasms, had fallen in love with the niece of the receiver of taxes for the city of Lyre-sur-Ys. He quickly proposed to the young girl, and she as quickly refused him, which ren dered him as madly in love as an imbe cile pardon as a man 40 years old who had never been in love before. Treacher ous and dishonest by nature, he in veigled the receiver of taxes into a plot so skillful the unhappy man at the end of the year, knowing the government coffers were not intact, seriously con template! suicide. Then M. Mathias ap peared as a savior, imposed his little con ditions, and the niece sacrificed herself for the uncle who had always been as a father to her, although she loved and was fiancee to a young notary of a neighboring city. She, unhappy victim, submitted to all the consequences of this unfortunate marriage. But M. Mathias had the con viction tliat she hated him ; from that it was easy to believe she deceived him j and this suspicion soon degenerated into positive monomania. His wife never went out, no one ever visited the house. No matter, M. Mathias felt that only his own obtustmess, his want of finesse, prevented him from dis covering her infidelity. Then this luminous idea surged in his brain. He would similate a journey, not to Havre or Versailles, like the husband in a comedy, but a longer journey, from which it was far more difficult to return. But he would return, safe and sound, one of these nights and confound his unfaith f ul spouse. He had given himself three days to re main in the grave. Thinking of his nearly consummated plan with great sat isfaction, he comfortably retired to rest in his cofiin. The third day was nearly ended. M. Mathias was becoming restless, and impa tiently waited for the cemetery clock to strike 11, the hour he had appointed. His plot was well arranged. The walla of the cemetery adjoined his property. He would dress himself all in black, a spectral druggist, take his winding sheet to throw around him while in the grounds through respect to the locality, pass through the gate, go straight to his own house, and then he would see. M. Mathias made his toilet; all things being in readiness, lie pushed aside the stone which closed the vault, climbed to the upper chapel, opened the door, and was outside with his winding sheet under his arm. He unfolded the great white cloth and tried to throw it about him ; it was heavy, he missed the mark, and was struggling to adjust it when he was startled by a voice behind him saying! "Let me assist you. " Now, to be found in a cemetery at mid night trying to put on your own shroud is not a pleasant position, so you can im agine how disagreeable the surprise was. The one who spoke was Father Orim bot, the guardian of the place, an old originaf, well known to all the surround ing wineshops. He approached M. Math ias, looking at him with a pleasant smile. "How! is that you, M, Mathias, al ready?" M. Mathias, very much embarrassed, tried to distort his features, thinking a sinister appearance would rid him of this troublesome fellow. Hut no, Grimbot gave him a benevolent pat on the shoul der, dexterously arranging his shroud. "I have just come from my tomb," caid M. Mathias in a sepulchral voire. "Ah, that is plainly to be seen," inter rupted Orimbot ; " but you are in a greater hurry than the others. " M. Mathias never stopped to listen, but walked off with long strides on the tips of his toes, like a phantom. Orimbot, marching by his side, continued : "Yes, the others never came out so soon al ways waited a month or two. " M. Mathias turned suddenly upon him, waving his winding sheet in the air. "Go," he cried in a hollow voice; "leave me ; this is sacrilege, " "There now," said Grimhot, becoming fatherly, "1 won't worry you; you only want to take a little promenade, like tho others. " M. Mathias, very much annoyed, went ntraight on, disdaining to reply. He saw the entrance to the cemetery just in front of him. Being a man of precautions, he had some louis in his pocket. "Say no more," said he, holding out the pieces of gold. "Give me the key. " Orimbot drew back a step. "The key you want the key. Well, that is a fancy. " "Four guineas," groaned M. Mathias, extending more gold. Orimbot pushed aside the proffered handful, and said; "You know, now that you are out of the chapel, I will not oppose your taking a little walk like the others. "' "The others ? What others ? " Orimbot made a sweeping gesture. "The dead." "The dead! What dead are you talk ing of? 1 am living, don't you see?" "Bless my soul, this is a good joke, but I am a jolly follow. Come and take a glass with me." His hand fell like pinchers on the wrist of M. Mathias. He dragged him to the little building where he lodged, and pushed him into a room on the ground floor. M. Mathias was actually dumfounded. Grimbot closed the door, took a bottle from the table, rilled two glasses, and holding one up said, "Your health, M. Mathias. " "Listen to me, my good man. You love a joke; that's all right. Only there's a time for all things. For personal reasons I allowed myself to be interred, but now I want to go out. It is a seri ous affair. I will pay you well; you shall not lose by it. " Whilst he spoke, Grimbot turned away from the table and placed his back against the door. "You talk well," he sneered. "Ah, you are not the first one. I have heard them talk like that before, you see. I love my people. Every night one or two of them come and take a glass with me. Yesterday it was the notary Randal you know him well, he is your neighbor; the one with the broken column on his Krave. Day before yesterday it was Mme. Claudine, a beautiful woman. Ah! I am a good fellow. I allow them all to come out and take the air. " M. Mathias turned pale. Grimbot spoke with such perfect sang froid, the firm responsibility of a functionary not to be in fluenced. He was a broad shouldered, thick set fellow, with the hands of a guerrilla, his eyes burning with a smold ering fire. M. Mathias shuddered. This man was evidently mad, tilled with strange hallucinations. He believed his cemetery was peopled with returned spirits, and held high carnival with those phantom beings every night. He lived in a fantastic world created by his drunken imagination, and actually con founded the living with the dead. M. Mathias begged, prayed, protested, finally became coaxing. How oould the intelligent Grimbot mistake him for a dead man? It was absurd. " Come, "said Gambot in a decided tone. "Enough of this. Be reasonable and re turn. " "Return where?" "To your place in the angle of the third division. " " What ; to my tomb ? Never! " " You will not ? Well, we will see. " M. Mathias looked at those enormous hands aud shook with fright. He glanced around, seeking some way of escape; only one, the door, and before it stood Grimbot like a buttress. No matter, he must pass it, at any price. He made a ruHh. Grimbot coolly stretched out his open hand and seized the throat of his ag gressor. M. Mathias, gasping and strug gling to be free, hung from the end of those sinewy arms, his legs dangling, his body writhing in convulsions. The clutch of those enormous hands tightened a gurgling, sinister sound then all was Still. Grimbot, who had seen so many others, threw him across his shoulders and car ried him with the firm and dignified step of the faithful guardian to the chapel, cast him into the crypt, replaced tho stone with a turn of his foot, then con tinued his way across the tombs, mutter ing; "He will not come out of there again coon. Not if I am here. " And thus the charming widow of M. Mathias was able to marry the one she had always loved, Translated from tho French of Jules Lermina by M. E. B. The Corcoran Art Gallery, of Washing ton has bought a large pastoral painting by G. S. Truesdell, called "Going to Pasture. " It is 7 feet by 0, and shows a French peasant girl leading a flock of sheep to pasture in autumn, KATIE GOT THE HOOK, No One Will Dm? That It Was th Writ Knt-n.d Reward ofa Gnml Story, Katie was going to bed, uftor a day of toil minding her sick ynd maimed dolls chronic invalids ftll of them and her b-e-a-u-tiful duck, the one old quacker that traveled with the hens because he had no better company. The robin that had been watching lvr out of the corners of his bright eyes, as he ran over the lawn and listened to her prattle, was asleep already, with his head under his wing, and Katie's huug heavily on mother's shoulder while she was undressing her. "Now I lay me" had been said, with many yawns in between, and mamma's pet had been tucked in snugly; but just as the sleepy eyes wero closing, she sat suddenly 1ml t upright. "Mamma," she said, "I want Johnny's picture book that with the lambs. " "Hush, Katie," said her mother, tho least bit wearily, for the little feet and the littln tongue had never ceased going one moment all day, "Now we will go to sleep. " "But, mamma," and the big eyes pleaded oai-nestly, "can't I have Johnny's picture book this onst?" "Not to-night, dearie; it is too late." "Mamma," said Katie, sitting up very straight and looking very solemn indeed, "I heard a story of a little girl she was a good little girl that aked her mamma onst, when she was put to bed, for the picture book with the lambs, and tho mamma told her Bhe couldu't have it, and and" tho baby voice fell to an awed whisper, aud tho eyes grew very big " in just nbout two minutes she was dead!" "My, Katie! And what killed her so quick?" "Because," said Katie, with conviction "because she didn't get the bonk. " She got it, and in five minutes wa3 asleep with it in her arms. Imposing, Rot Jolly. After the marriago of Napoleon and Maria Louisa the city of Paris gave them a splendid banquet, which Captain Coig nut describes in his "Narrative. " He was on duty at the Hotel do Ville, where the banquet was served, with a squad of 20 grenadiers. The table was horseshoe shaped, and around it were placed urmchairs. The dishes were of solid gold. When the mas ter of ceremonies announced "Tho Em peror, " Bonaparte entered, followed by his wife and five kings. Having seated himself at the table, the emperor made a sign to the guosts to take their places. As soon as all were seated the table was cleared, as is usual at great dinners, and every dish was carried into an adjoining room, where the carvers did their work. Behind each king there were three foot men about a step from one another. Other footmen communicated with carv ers and passed the plat'H without turn ing more than half way round to get them. When a plate came within reach of a king the head footman presented it to him, and if he shook his head the plato was withdraws aud another brought im mediately. If the head did not move the footman placed the plate in front of his master. Not a word was spoken. Each napkin as soon as once used dis appeared, the footman slipping in an other. When the banquet was over a pile of napkins lay behind each chair. No one was permitted to speak except when the emjmror addressed him. "That may be imposing, but it is not at all jolly, " is tho captain's comment. Chivalrous Drvotion. At the most extensive aquarium in England, the Brighton Zoo, tho female lolwter recently cast her shell. Sho Bcruwud herself up together on the toes and tail, and suddenly bent her body. Snap went the shell in its center, and the case of the back came away in one piece. The claws were her next care, and she worked away at them for a long time. It was a procoeding of extreme deli cacy, considering that all the flesh of the great claw had to bo passed through the small base. During the operation one claw came off altogether, aud this must have seemed to the lobster lady a serious misfortune, as it will not grow to its full size again until the second year. The tail and legs gave very little trouble, and the body, when thus undressed, proved to be of a pale blue. The shell casting over, tho lobster sank on the sand, and this action seemed a sig nal for the attack of every creature, in the tauk. The defenseless victim bade fair to suc cumb to the fury of her enemies, when the male lobster suddenly came to her rescue. Standing over his shelloss better half, he fought her assailants relentlessly. Day and night did he watch over her un til her shell was sufficiently hardened to protect her in fighting her own battles. When this happy moment arrived ho deliberately picked up the old claw, broke it in his nippers, and ate the meat. He then dug a hole in the sand, placed in it the broken bits of shell, buried them, and piled a number of small stones above the grave. He Wii Queer la the Head. The late archbishop of York, Dr. Thom son, used to tell a very amusingstory about himself which occurred while he was bishop of Gloucester. Having one day a very severe toothache he tried as a remedy a piece of cotton wool steejed in chloroform. After doing so Mrs, Thom son reminded him that the drug usually made him "queer in the head, "and ad vised him to lie down immediately and sleep off the effects. lid accordingly disappeared to do so, but about an hour after he suddenly burst into the room in which his wife was quietly working and in an excited manner Baid to her, "Zoe, what do you think? I have been offered the archbish opric of York!" "Now, my dear," replied Mrs. Thom son, "do go and lie down again till you have got rid of that horrid chloroform.. You don't know what you aro talking about!" Of course, Washington couldn't lie. But he never had his farm laid out in town lots. Columbus Post. PIANOS Dl I M in n Ann i U1M J. SALTZER'S wm mm & n machiie mmm With many years experience in buying ami selling musical instruments and sewing machines I can guarantee to my customers the best in the markets Pianos and Organs purchased of me, can be lelied upon. If anything get. out of order, it can easily be corrected, and a great deal of annoyance saved. Instructions given to all purchasers of Sewing Machines, how to operate them successfully. The STECK PIANO ia the best made. Its toue is surpassed by none. You make no mistake if you buy a fcsteck. We have also the ESTEY and the STAKR PIANOS, And The ESTEY, MILLER and UNITED STATES OttGANS. We sell Tianos from $250 to $600, and Organs from $75 to $175. In Sewing Machines we can We sell the best Sewing Mach ine made for $19.50. F. Saltzer, BlQQm&hurgi Pa CLOSING OUT GOLD PENS AND PEN CILS AT COST, at X- C3-. WELLS.' Bring Your Watch, work to J. EYES FITTED FOR GLASSES FREE OF CHARGE AT COLUMBIAN BUILDING. C. 1. BOBBINS, DEALER IN Foreign and Domestic WINES . AND LIQUORS. Bloomsburq. Pa. A CITY LUXURY. Just as the city looks to the country for most of the luxuries used on its tables, so the country must turn to the city for those conven iences which are justly termed luxuries for the hard-working house wife. City housekeepers have learned to realize that to save time is to lengthen life. is one of the best known city luxuries and each time a cake is used an hour is saved. On floors, tables and painted work it acts like a charm. For scouring pots, pans and. metals it has no equal IF YOUR STOREKEEPER DOES NOT KEEP IT YOU SHOULD INSIST UPON HIS DOING SO, as it always gi -es satisfaction and its immensa sale all over the United States makes it an alwost necessary article to any well-supplied store. Everything shines after its use, and even thy children delight in using it in their attempts to help around the house. i MniiTi-m 11 i mttniv ii give you the Celebrated 'v iii it 1 ( "WHITE" The best Machine in the world. The jgj NEW DOMESTIC, The ROYAL ST. JOHN, The STANDARD ROTARY And the NEW HOME. Clock, and Jewelry G. WELLS. J. G. WELLS, Spring clays are at hand and premonitions of vvarm weather bring with them a desire for tooling dishes. We shall keep Ice Cream of many flavors from now on, and will serve it in our parlors clay or night. Families and parties sup plied. Get our prices. The Cafe is open, and the kitchen is in charge of an ex perienced cook. Catering for parties, lodges, weddings, etc., a specialty. Fresh bread and cakes daily in the bakery. M. M PHILLIPS & SON. Proprietors of "PHILLIPS' CAFE." Bloomsburg, Pa. KESTY & HOFFMAN, Practi II W'c repair Engines, Boilers, Saw Mills, Threshers, Harvesters. Mowers and all kinds of machinery. WE HANDLK STEAM PIPE FITTINGS, VALVES, STEAM CAUQES. And all kinds of Repairs. TIPE CUT TO OllDEIt. AGENTS FOR Garfield Injector Co., Garfield Dcubla Jet hjoctor, Automatic ar.d Locomotive Injector. All work done by us is guaranteed to give satisfaction, and all woik in our line will be promptly attended to SHOPS - Oth and OENTBE STBELTS. OLLEGE M'MIXEMN MAKES THE LIVING. Practical business training Is tin moat vlUl pari of education. The luxuries of know-lodge may be acquired at convenience. Thorouirli training, attractively (riven. Is the stromr puiut or this school. Comieient faculty; ample facil ities. Itest system or nook-keeping. Bhortbancl, tonal iitratt PcumanHhlp and Tvpe wrltlnir. For both Hexes, Knter at any time. Writ fur particular. i. LEWIS BALDWIN,) pHi.i. May 8 lyr. A. W. Jloss, f Principals M'Killip Bro's. Photographers. Only the best work done. Fin est effects in light, and Shade; negatives re touched and modeled for sup erior finish. Copying, view ing and life size crayons. Over H. T. Clark & Son's store. ULOOMSBURG. ontrmplato at- g Commercial MellOOl. 1r. will lnv vral Jo visit, the ItOt'IlKHTKK Ill'MINKHH I'NIVKKH. 1 1 before decldlm; whore, thouirh you may live a thousand miles away. Jt stands at the head of Mm list of commercial school In lis charact er as an educational force, as a medium for bui'Ihmiik me utisineHS men 01 the country wit h trained and capable, assistants, as a means of lilaclntr ambitious yoiimr men ami women 011 the I1I1I1 road to sucuess. and In t i uvt.int. : eli'iriince and cost of Its equipment. Thorough t'D.M.M KHCIAL, 8HOWT11AXI) AND l'ltAC'TI ' CA I. KNdl.IHll corKNEH The Twenty-seventU j Auuual Catalogue will be mailed to any address. I Williams & Rogers, rill tests aW -samswa W 1
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