THE FIRST FLOWER. Meek flower! thro all the wintry days W hen cruel winds wore blowing, Unaided, thou by sun's kind rays, Hast hopefully been growing; Not murmuring once that fuirgs skies Didst fail the while to bid thee'rise. Throughout those dark and dismal days, My by-gone life attending, When oft the sun refused its rays, The clouds dire storms portending, Had [ but held thy faizh, sweet flower, That time would brimg its brighter hour I had not mourned so deep my lot, Nor cursed my days repining. But be my lesson ne'er forgot, That o'er the sun iz shining That tho to-day be dark with "sorrow, A brighter day may dawn to-morrow ramp fA ——— Country Roads. —p— ‘In older countriés thian ours, and be- fore the advent of railroads, great pub- lic highways were things of State im- portance. Some of these works were of considerable renown. Even as far back as two thousand years highways were constructed in the Roman Empire on such a durable plan that their re- mains are visible to this day” England and nearly every country on the Conti- ment are at this day well provided in this respect. But in this country road-build- ing cannot be said to have kept pace with either commercial advancement or the rapid development of material pros- perity We fortunately, in the possession of many rivers, and we have supplemented these here and there with costly canals, and, until the éra of rail- trade and population naturally clung to their But the inte- rior progress of our country, especially within the past twenty-five years, has been largely te-the ex- pansion and improvement road system. This is not only the fact as those far inland systems which open new regions and facilitate the march of a pressing population, but is particularly true of thickly settled States that are possessed special water facilities. are, roads, borders, marvelous of our rail- due 10 os F £5 But at some tithé there must be a limit to the multiplication of these feeders, which in turn must themselves be fed by the public highways. In fact, the country roads ought to be considered as an essential corrective of the railroad system. It must be acknowledged, how- ever, that while railroads are constantly improving, making quicker time and towering the cost of transportation, the common roads of the country have scarcely kept pace with the actual re quirements of the public. We have been 80 absorbed in the construction of artificial lines of travel that the natural lines. the common highways, have been neglected. Near cities and large towns there are of course many exceptions to this remark : but elsewhere the situa- tion is not much better than it was a guarter of a century ago, . In many sections these roads age so boggy in wet seasons as completely blockade the transmission of produee to the milroads, effecting often a serious disturbance of general trade. This was notably the case. it will be remembered, during an excessively wet spring four years ago, when the farmers in Southern Illinois and other Northwestern States were for several weeks in a state of mud block- ade. and, utterly unable to drive their teams 30 the railroad stations, vast amountsof produce were left unmarket- ed at a time when it could have been sold to advantage. Experiences of this character, however, are pectliar to no particular season, We rarely take up a country newspaper that has not 8 com- plaint to make as to the losses incident one way or another to the impassable condition of the public highways, An intelligent sense of self-interest, it seems to us, must soon apply the proper rem- ody. We look to the farmers to begin the work. [If the dirt roads were well graded, drained and solidified, teams could earry double what they now do, and do it in half the time, thus saving much to the producer as well as causing a more even current of commercial circulation. Bad methods ought to be remedied as well as modern improve- ments introduced, “There is also another ‘phase of the subject. Not only would such high- ways as all our railroad traversing States ought to have been an advantage to pro- Auecers and a boom to the railroads and to commered, but they would immense- 1y enhance the value of lands and hones; just as the railroads have increased the value of lands through which they pass, Roads well laid out and kept in econ- stant repair make an attractive country, and a community can maké mo better investment than, in every possible way, to push their construction. ~Bryn Mawr (Pu.) Home News. to Lni———— I A There are many flat metal buttons ‘the size of a silver half-dime, sous of which are polished blue steel gray steel rim, or they may have . bronze ground, with a gilt crescent moon showing the profile face of a man in it, with tiny gilt stars beyond, or else the jet black surface may be dot- ted gilt, or jet beads; bone and ivory buttons of various ior av also how in 2: Good Humor. os——— **Are your domestic relations agree able ?' wus the question put to an un- happy looking specimen of human- ity. *Obh, my domestic relations are all right ** was the reply, “it's i my wife's relations that are causing the trouble.” An English servant gis], who had re- urned from the United States to visit her friends at home, was told she “looked really aristocratic,” To which she responded : ‘Yes, in America all class, Another case in which a soft answer | turned wrath inte merriment: Ata! of an angry dispute, threw a bottle a his opponent's head by way of emphasis- who was pre- sent, immediately picked the missile up and laid it on the table, saying, ‘‘ Friends, if you pass the bottle as quickly as that you won't be able to stand the eve- ning." Map or ATHENS: Maid of Athens, we must part, I hear your father—I must start ; He's broken of his midnight pest ; Discretion on my part is t d hettar git Maid of Athens, ere I go, Kiss me once, for luck, vou know | Your father's foot ison the stair None butthe brave deserve the fair The gas ain't lit Maid of Athens, just once more Little ships must hug the shore; Hark! the dog has broke his chain Zounds! I'm in hard luck again Great Scot! 1'm bit! On the day before the reception ten- | dered her recently, at St. George's, Bermuda, the Princess Louise went for a solitary stroll along the shore; and, | after a time becoming thirsty, ped for a drink at the cottage of a ne- | but | she | she stop- | gro fisherman, No one was there “auntie,” could man" to wear at the reception. The princess, asked for a drink. ‘‘I'se no time to bodder getting water fo’ you," was the reply, ‘‘I'se fea'ful busy, for I'se bound to see de queen’s chile to-morrow.” “But, if you'll get me a drink. I'll iron while you do so," said the thirsty The offer was accepted, the princess finished the shirt, and got her drink, and then revealed her indentity. ‘‘Fo’ de Lo'd, homey!" exclaimed ‘‘auntie,’’ when she recov- | ered from her surprise. *‘Ole man | no’ no one ever wear dai shirt again, | nohow."’ and she was busy as be ironing a shirt for her ‘“‘ole princess, The Transvaal Republic in South Africa Has completed its reorganization by the election of Paul Kruger to the Presi- | Although the news of the result | has just been cabled to this country, | the jon was February. | Previous advices stated that never in the history of any country hadian appeal | to the people on such a vitally import- | dency. elect held in ruler elicited so little interest as on this i occasion. A profound indifference and apathy pervaded all classes of the people. | There was no enthusiasm and no excite- ment in any district. The rival candidates were Paul Kruger and Piet Joubert. The popular voice in the | towns and villages was from the first | rather in favor of Kruger, who was regarded by the more intelligent class of voters as being the safer man of the two candidates, and less likely to run the country into difficulties through person- al ambition than his competitor. The result of the election, therefore, is likely to be regarded with marked disfavor by the Jingo party in England, who have been longing for such evidence of an aggressive disposition on the part of the Boers as would render necessary a fresh interference by the British. Onkle Paul, as Kruger is affectionately called by his countrymen, is a man of sixty, of middle height, a thick-set figure, very active, and wearing a short-clipped beard. Joubert is a representative of the better-educated element of the Boers, while Kruger belongs to the class known as Doppers, who are only half educated and half civilized. When he made his first visit to England on behalf of his countrymen, he wore the broad felt hat, the shert jacket, and ‘‘veldt schoon’’— shoes of untanned leather—which form the usual and recognized costume of a Dopper. On His return he met the astonished gaze of his friends clad in a high hat, a long black cloth coat, and the boots worn by ordinary civilized men. “England was well enough,” he said, “and there were fine houses, but if a man wanted to go and smoke hy himself, even away from London, every plece of the veldt seemed to be owned by some one or another, and Jif you sat | down to smoke undef 8 uree, you hadn't taken two whiffs before a man would come up and say that land was his and Joubert, but his forte is declamation, His speeches, like his Jetters, are of Bible texts, and his account of the kop battle reads not unlike pnd King William sent to Queen Augusta at the outset of the Franco-Prussian Kruger came into notice by his energy and his skill as & marksman in — the wars against Mopoch and Malow, two border chiefs, in 1864-85, and ever since then he has been a leader of his people. Aft the time that Sir Theophi- lus Shepstone issued his proclamation annexing the Transvaal Republic to the British Empire, he was Vice-President of the Republic, At the agitation meet- ings in December, 1879, he was nomi- nated as President of the Independent Volksraad, which the Boers informed the British administrator they had re- solved to establish. For this (Kruger was arrested on the charge of high treason, but the charge was eventually {dropped and Kruger, together with | Joubert, went in June. 1880, to Eng- however, did the rising take place than Kruger and Jou- bert took the direction of affairs, the the latter Commandant-General of the Boer forces, these two, together with Pretorius, forming a reigning Trinum- virate, which issued a Proclamation of Independence, and whose authority was recognized as supreme in the reconstituted Republic, Under bert’s leadership, the Boers defeated the British, with great loss, at Spitzkop, on Sunday, February 27, 15882, Si George Colley the British commander, The Liberal the independence of the Transvaal, and now the little Dutch again in working order - Pious Sentiment. as 1 ght ht $s iii Old life, itd i Lili, Ii 2 for age is the night of full of magnilicence ; and many han the day, A man should th the wrong, which is words that he wiser to-day than he was yesterday. Pope. is Beautiful feet are they that « The work of the nobl Busy for them the lon Beautiful feet are they that g Swiftly to lighten snother's woe, Thro summer's heat and winter's snow A firm faith is the good life is conscience is the best divinity ; the best philosophy a . & clear honesty the best law ; is policy ;: and temperance The life of a true christian is like 8 : it flows on in a steady, storm of life may but the deep under- Now. Arisa! for the day is passing While you lie dreaming or Y« ar Diath are cased in arm And forth to the Baht Aare gone Your place in the ranks sw ails ¥ Each man haz a part to play The past and the future a ot} In th $ face of tern Lo Arise! { ir is passing The sound that you d Is your enemy marching Rise! fon 1a Stay not to brighten your weapons Or the hour will strike at last, And from dreams of 8 coming battle You will waken and find it past ne the s or the hot n rise! for the pr Here PoeTRY AND RELIGION. -Poets to be great must be christians. True, Homer and the Greek dramatists, Pin. der and Virgil, were not so; but they had instincts identical with those of christians. They had a reverence for the unseen world and for divine author- ity. Unbelieving poets have to write like christians when they would become great and make a deep impression. Mr. Alfred Austin has never written any poem one-half so beautiful as the “Madonna's Child.” This is equally true of art, Poetry and painting alike crave after an ideal, and without a God an ideal is a contradiction in terms, .- Karle Grain Prospects, For quite a while the newspapers have been endeavoring te write down the prospects of grain, and especially of wheat, and some of the most ridiculous prognostications have been given the public. One of the largest and most respecta. ble metropolitan journals of the country, more than a month ago gave out dismal accounts of the prospects of the crop of spring wheat in Dakota. How ‘was {t possible then to foretell the crop prospects from spring wheat, the seed in the granary and the ground not ploughed? It was not even possible a that time to predict the yield of win- ter wheat, except where cold weather with frequent thawings and freezings n the absence of snow] had thrown up and destroyed the rootlets of the tender grain, 1t may be depanded’ pon that from nothing now known we can safely predict 81, average crop all over the FE a Child Life One Hundred Years | Ago: One hundred years ago a little girl | named Mary Butt was living with her | parents at the pretty rectory of Sanford- on-the-Terne, in England. She was a | bright and beautiful child, and when she | grew up she became Mrs, Sherwood, the writer of a great many charming stories for young people. But nothing that she wrote is so en- tertaining as the story of her childhood, | which, when she was an old lady, she told to please her grandchildren, I wonder how the girls who read this paper would eudure the discipline which little Mary submitted to so patiently 1782, From the time she was six until sh was thirteen she wore every day an | iron collar around her neck, and a back- board strapped tightly over her should- ders, This was to make her perfectly straight. Perhaps you may have seen bere and there a very stately old lady who never was known to lean back in | her chair, but who always held herself , a8 erect as a soldier on duty. was taught, vou may be sure, herself that she to carry Was If so, in little girl, Poor Mary's in the momming, until dark, says, “*1 standing way when she a iron collar was put on and was not taken off that, all my and, worse than she iid with generally « lessons in stocks, collar i { i | the neck. | sat my mother’s and can count on the fin- around my never on a in presence,” Hen readers, but brother herself were great YOu Lhe ¥ had "Iwo sets ‘The Little 4 Esop’s the books ai * Robi nson 4 TSO, “rr Tales,’ Academy.” afry Female Fables *’ library, Crusoe’ of the two heads bent and the entire juvenile used te take ** Hobinson and seat themselves at the bottom wide staircase, over the page together, turned a, until they they began to go down again. Whenever they leaf, they ascended reached the U Pp a step, and then Little Marten was not very persever- ing with his Latin, not then 80, although it was the fashion for girl’s, Mary's begin wu decided that she should the study in order to encourage him. The sister soon distanced the brother, she was twelve h fifty she stood and bef task of Virgil, ure regular lines of the 1 & mormin WARS Ig Y translated as You little girl was allowed to wear one hun- In had cambric.and in winter linsey-woolsey or stuff gowns, will ask what sort of dress this dred years ago. summer she with a simple white mus- Her afore, lin for best not} alwavs in- LL 6 ] a great worn over evervthing else, sisted on a pin which was loose apron and enveloping her from head to feet, it is quite refreshing to find that neither the blackboard nor the Latin took from the child a love of play and of Her special § she dolls, wit was a huge wooden doll, the with # string to her waist, after which carried to woods her, tied by that A friend presented her with a fine gauze the grown people had decided she was too big to care for dolls one day cap, and she ever possessed as a child, I think the this was the only crnmment little girls who compare h 1752 must be thankful they were not born in the last century. | know that I am. Yet little Mary Butt was a very happy child, spending, when permitted, hours of great delight in the woods aud groves, and listening eagerly to the talk of the learned and traveled visitors who came to Stanford Rectory. I8RZ wit --— The Tax on Tobacco. The tax on all kinds of Manufactured Tobaceo is 4 cents ¥ 1; Snuff, | cents ¥ Bb; Cigars, $ P thousand ; Cigarettes weighing not over 3 ™ ¥ thousand, 50 cents ¥ thousand ; Cigarettes and Che- rootes weig..ing over 3 th ¥ thousand, §3 per thousand. The duty on Foreign Cigars is 2.50% Bb, and 25 ¥ cent. ad valorem. Cigarettes same duty as cigars. Imported Cigars, Cigaretlies and Cheroots also bear the prescribed Internal Revenue taxes, to be paid by stamps at the Custom House. The im- port duty on Leaf Tobacco is 356 cents ¥ ib; Leaf Tobacco stemmed, 50 cents ¥ Bb; Manufactured Tobacco, 50 cents ¥ ih; Scraps, 60 cents ¥ bh, Manufact- ured Tobacco and Scraps are also sub- ject to the Internal Revenue tax of ® cents ¥ 1b, and must be packed in con- formity with Internal Revenue law and regulation. Scraps and cuttings, how- ever, may be withdrawn in bulk for use in a tobacco, snuff, or cigar manu- factory without payment of the Internal Revenue tax, On Sumatra tobacco the import duty is 30 cents gold ¥ I, Pipes and pipe bowls, 75 ¥ cent. ad valorem, and $1.50 ¥ gross ; common clay pipes 36 ¥ cent. ad valorem ; parts of oF vipes, 75% cent. ad valorem ; all * articles, 75 ¥ cent. ad valor snuff-boxes and chewing-to- Hineco onc, 3 ¥ cot ad a orem. Hi Monopoly. The manufacturer is buried almost by the mountains of oblogquy and epi- thetical denunciations that are being heaped upon him. The railroad mag- whose energy and tact have massed successful corporations upon the country, is anathewmatized from with the work-ever fellows, These loons seem to imagine that all can do well, Why don’t these superficial states. men sail into the profitable waters of the seed business and other mediums of | profit other than manufacture ¥ Take first the seed trade. Suppose we tell them that a seedman buys from the far- wmer—and he can raise them much lower if he has a farm in connection with his establishment—a bushel of cucumber seed for which he pays $1.50 cents per bushel. Thereare 32 quarts in a bushel, and a quart of this seed is supposed to weigh eight ounces, GSuppose the seed - man sell the half ound paper of cucurn- ber seeds for 5 cents per paper ; note his profit : 32 quarts 8 A456 ounces or 512 half ounces, at 5 cents, $25.00 cents, for what cost $1.50. “Do We don't know, but if the same profits as cited extend through all the ramifications of their ounces each, seedmen get rich?” race for is that least those that are the We cannot see how it line of those who are in fortune, wise men, at Coney sidered so, will { the verge of ruin. cling to the belief that brought to the manufacturer | Thi 1% entire country is %% that the can realize his 831 per cent, y ha Ve those ghest profit we hea EL ae $y $4 x ne i ever claimed for them who them. Th country operating between media the and producer who invests destroy the I8 nol A in consumer a similar amount with the manufac but realizes a larger profil pays his workman sixteen tie for services $30, and of all middle men printers are eral and the most ker steps and without cures a profit, goods from 2, same the illy paid. The in between buyer investment or risk se- The merchant buys his first hands, and makes his 30 or 100 per cent. Bosses in each make a handsome profit for their And so on all through the ramifications of trade, mechanism, jobbing. conty racting, or in the professions. The rege fee, for the work done, trade As Com pensation supervising work, barter, awver cl 8 a so-called exorbitant ie midnight the vigils, the wear and not but ti lamps trimmed, tear of a quarter of a century, that have to learn what he mm nto it . but for rule been used practice is not altogethe what he does The We surgeon who performed knowing hoy Ale applies to the remember a lady asking an eminent a slight opera- tion for her, whose bill was $25 for work, “1s it not occupied 7'' “I o the operation, knowing how.” life » much seconds the time dollar for tional §2 man wiil the him with fame or wealth, and yet his profits are denied by ignorance, who no labor excepting in the efforts to saw or split wood, and who never did, de not, harge niy «ol the addi. A one was ; risk health and knowledge that 18 to ennch “op nor never will appreciate brain work, simply because their own defective or- ganization renders them unfit criminate between and force, brute brain # future of wealth or distinction we de- stroy all incentive to action, thus clog- ging the wheels of enterprise, discovery and improvement, the followings of which would be disorder, disruption and ruin, It is only through the hopeof a future of profit, the per cent. not deter- mined, that ambition is stimulated to deeds of valor, or of habits of depriva- tion to secure opulence, The man or men who fail to comprehend the mean- ing of the logic we present is the veriest dolt. Why does the agitator run the gauntlet of opprobrium, social ostracism and risk life in his opposition to the order of things ¥ Because he seeks dis- tinction in some shape that is in har mony with his hopes or expectations. Did he not have this irritant or goad to urge him on he would soon become as useless as an exploded bomb, as his powder as soon as reached with a fus corresponding with his length of temper, would soon explode, leaving the Vesa. vian thunderer altogether ‘broken up. Man cannot, will not bring his natural forces into action without some stimu. lus to lead him to energize them for future compensating rewards: and henee, led as he is by this hope of future reward, he drives on to success, which when attained leads to monopoly in this wise : when one man unites with an- other, and pooling their capital,embarks the loss as deducted from the whole of the losers, yet not injuring society as a whole, as the profit mentioned is redis- tributed, merely seeking other channels, or in other words, changing owners, These men are so-called monopolists, ES —————— Monopoly is nothing more than ten men using ten millions and employing ten thousand men, instead of 1000 anti-mo- nopolists employing ten millions and employing 9000 men, It is really, argu- ing from the whole, & distinction with- out a difference. Hevolution may de- stroy these comigon sense and natural conditions of ‘financial society, but it would be but 4 few years at the longest when the same state of affairs would again be a source of annoyance to the ( unfortunate hewers and drawers, Ifa ( man is to be destroyed because rich, | then on the converse of the proposition : a man who is poor ought to be lng for his poverty. ILisa poor rule that wont work both wave Thoroughbred Block Jouwrnal, - Marshal Canrobert's Romance. Marshal Canrobert inhabits a small hotel in the Rue de Marignan. Like most French soldiers he is careless of luxury, and busies himself but little about the fine arts. The thing that strikes one on entering is a little peram- bulator hidden away under the staircase; covered with the most modest engravings, water-color sketches and photographs, which do not speak well of the Marshal's taste the walls are in les beaux arts, And now 1 would say Madame le Marechale, | the Crimean campaign, | a reception held as Marsha A young a few words of At the close of une evening at Ministere des Canrobert entered at the NANCeS, whose remnark- little lady, able beauty enhanced mple | came with shy boldness up to the hero Was nolL a $1 iw her si tulle, dress of plain white and said : “Monsieur le Marect i | ashedid w do With me ith the Russians, and makeme wal will | dance ¥*° “You forget, Mademoiselle, that there armistice now!” | “And a free pardon and amnesty for | my boldness, I hope ?”’ Without replying, the Marshal offered | the young lady hisarm, and, bringing ber | up to a young officer who happened to be tanding near, said ; “Tenez, Monsieur! Dance this quad- rille with Mademoiselle, and bear in mind that to-nighta Marshal of France envies a sub-lieutepant I’ Before many vears had passed the young and beautiful Miss Flora Mac- donald, who had aspired to dance with the condjutor of Marshal Pelissier had Madame ia Marechal Can- 8 an i become robert After having waited a few minutes in the salon above mentioned, a servant announces that M, le Marechale is ready to receive you, and mounting to the secord floor, you are ushered into the presence warrior in his den; a simple room, without any ornament, but lit- tered with books bearing on military matiers, newspapers, maps, ete. te. Marshal Canrobert is about seventy, and of height. His gray hair and the ensemble of his face forehead being and the glance keen, brilliant of the old medium is very © uri, tis most agreeable, the { high and intellectual, from his eye kind | and penetrating. His carriage is stern resolute, but the Sack 1s a little bowed, and the head inclined to one side when the Marshal speaks, The lone of his voice is splendid : it rings, and the slight southern accent lends an irresistible charm to the bold, frank, soldierly words of greeting with which vou are made welcome, but and Waterproof Bricks. Waterproofing is a process which has been brought forward with varied claims of superior adaptation as compared with ordinary bricks, and these claims have lately been subjected to investiga- tions of a practical nature. In order to ascertain what amount of water the brick would absorb in their natural condition, two bricks of the same kind as those that were treated with the waterproofing were immersed in water, and at the end of an hour one hrick had absorbed nine and seven-tenths per cent. of its weight of water, and the other ten per cent. ; as their weight did not increase after several hours’ immersion, this was all that the bricks would absorb, To ascertain the effect of freezing upon the saturated bricks, one of them was exposed for a few hours to a temperature somewhat below the {reezing point of water, and the freezing of the water in the bricks burst a piece of some three or four square inches in area, and about one- half an inch thick at its thickest part out of one face of the brick, A A SU The damage at Denver, Colorado, by
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