REALITIES, To live the eager life of men, To burn with deathless courage when, Full of a noble faith, they praise The glory of our later days Or when, with prophet-sight, they try To pierce the wonder of the sky. To watch the consecrated face Of nature, till each simple grace, Each winter glow or tropic bloom, Each shadow, hinting of the gloom, Translates its meaning into words Like sound into the song of birds, These are realities, whereof I speak as one may speak of love; And these, like precious things, are wrought Into the masic of my thought, Which may be wild and sad, or fill The measure of a whippoorwill. TSE ER. A NARROW ESCAFPE. Colonel Augustus Chopleigh, late of Her Majesty’s Indian Army, lived In stately retirement upon his snug little estate in one of the pleasantest of the home counties, From an outsider’s point of view, the Colonel seemed to possess most things which are generally considered to constitute mundane hap- piness. His liver had survived pawnees, curries, and a tropical sun intact; his income was ample; he belonged to two er three good London clubs; he had an excellent cellar of wine; he was a J. P., respected by his neighbors and wor- shipped by his tenants; and he rode to cover on the best of cattle. Yet with all this, the Colonel had two eternally grinning skeletons in his cupboard. The first was the possession of a ne’er- do-weel son, and the second was the non-possession of a wife. Augustus Chopleigh junior, although a ne’er-do-weel in the eyes of a parent who was more rigid and precise than are most gentlemen who have breathed the atmosphere of barracks and canton- ments during the best parts of their lives, was, after all, but an ordinary, “every-day young man.” Ie betted a little, it is true; he belonged to a club where play was sometimes high of an evening; he could drink his claret like a man; he was a connoisseur in cigars; he possessed two or three long bills; and he was given to staying in town sometimes for a week at a time. Still, after ail, what could be expected i tailor had received a first-rate education. was therefore unfitted for any serious walk in life; who was good-looking, who dressed well, who found life at stately Dum Dum Hall a little monot- onous at times, and who had a hand- some annual allowance? But in the eyes of the Colonel these little peculiarities were heinous crimes, and the poor old gentleman, as he pondered in the solitude of what he called his “study,” saw very clearly that unless the young man was settled in life with a well-bred, well-connected girl, he would infallibly follow, at head- long pace, that broad road which leads to destruction. Often alone at Dum Dum Hall, prived of the society of his son, and not caring very specially for that soci- ety when offered, it was hardly to be wondered at that the Colonel yearned for a suatable partner in his exile, The memory of the departed Mrs, Chopleigh could hardly be said to be yet green, for she had succumbed to an aggravated attack of jungle fever some twenty years before, when Augustus, junior, was but a stripling mm plaid dresses and bare legs. It might be said that the remedy was easy. Why didn’t the Colonel take unto himself a second Mrs, Chopleigh? There were plenty of eligible spinsters who would have jumped at an offer from such a fresh. faced, active, wealthy gentleman, who was but little beyond the prime of life, There was, however, an almost invine- ible obstacle. Unlike most military men, Colonel Chepleigh was painfully shy; perhaps remembrances of the de- parted Mrs. Chopleigh, who was known as the Dum Dum Tartar, had driven out the youthful assurance which had won her; at any rate, the flutter of a petticoat awakened feelings within the gallant Colozel’s breast which were not to be stirred by a horde of yelling, mutinous Sepoys, or by the stiffest bull- finch in the county, He had loved at a distance a score of times, but had never placed himself within speaking reach of the various objects of his affec- tion. Suddenly matters took a different turn. A young lady of ctrikingly preposs- essing appearance—Millicent Vanjohn, only daughter of the Rev. Aloysius Vanjohn, the only vicar—had been es- pied by the Colonel proceeding up the lane which ran tarallel with his grounds, as he paced along his favorite shrubbery walk. Being on his own property had inspired him with courage; he had gazed at her, and she had blushed and looked down. He hurried into the house, and shut himself up in his study, “1 am fifty-five,” he said to hunself, “I am—well, I am well-looking; my walist-coat is of decent girth; I have a good complexion; and a man is only as old as he feels, Why shouldn't 1? I may be called an old fool. Well, there are plenty of older fools in the world, I —yes--1 willl" Miss Vanjohn was walking at the identical spot at the identical hour the next dav after that, and so on for more than a week, and each day the same all de- little dumb comedy was played-—sheep’s- eyes on the part of the Colonel, blushes and lookings-down on the part of Miss Mellicent Vanjohn. Did Miss Vanjohn walk up that lane so regularly with a fixed purpose? Of course she did, Punctually at 4 o'clock every after- noon, Mr. Augustus Chopleigh Jr, met her at the top of it, It was rather an odd thing to do—the daughter of a well-known parson meeting sub rosa the son of an equally well-known colo- nel. The following conversation ex- plains it: “On, Gus! Y begin to feel so awfully guilty, meeting you like this] Why can't we love each other openly? There's nothing to be ashamed of in it.” “Fer more than one reason, ny dar- ling. I've a bad reputation down here; all fellows have in country places who go up to town, belong to a club, drive down to Ascot, take medicinal B-and- S.’s, and so on. If the old man were to know that I was spooning you, he'd rush off to your father and warn him, If your father were to know, he'd rush off to mine and tell him that I wasn’t a fit aspirant for the hand of his daugh- ter.” “But is your father such a terrible old gentleman, then? What is he like? I've never seen him.” “No, I don’t suppose you have, He fights shy of anything with a petticoat on it like the plague. I've known him cut a good run short because there were ladies alone with him in the same field, and he was afraid in case of an accident he'd have to assist them, He's a tall old fellow, with a fresh complex- ion and a gray moustache, and always wears shepherd’s plaid trousers, Sum- mer and Winter, Why, what's the matter?” “0 dear! O dear! please ing!” “hy, what ist t there to laugh at in it, Millie? a temper you womldn don’t die of laugh- (us, £0 on, don't, or I shall By Jove, if you saw h 3 vty t MAUL i in “Why, my dearest Gusl-—he' y i 143 fer in love with me! “The old boy—my fa with N onse sense, |» Why, he’s more afral ran WOve ther—in you? nse. my dear—non- i of earthquake, or a What on x $3 3 ’ % $ : $ % “h 1akes you think he’s in love with of agi nof an boa-constrictor, or anything. earth n your" “Why, along here | Gus, every day I've always tal or the steward, some one, and he makes sucl at me, Oh, you'd laugh if see him. I try not to, but blush and look awfully silly.” “By Jove, Millie, matter—that it isn’t, his rival in lovel” That evening Mr, Gus appeared at home at an unusually early hour, © yes you could I know I it’s no laughing A man’s father “Well!” was the greeting of his par. “You're 1 with that goody-goody nothing, I'm sure, When you turn u ner I know you want something out of me. But mind, not another halfpenny do you get. I've already advanced your quarter's allowance, and if you've been squandering it on actresses and race-meetings, and unlimited loo, and dinners at the Bristol, I don’t help you, And not only that, sir, but I'm going to put a stop to it. Once for all —and Augustus Chopleigh’s a man of his word—I don’t care if Stuity, or Golding, or Moses, or any of them come down and dun you at this very door, nota rupee do you get out of me,’ *“What a deuce of a hurry you're in, father!” said the young man. “Idon’t want any money.” "Well, what the dickens Is it then?” said the old gentleman, seeing that his son looked confused. “Why-—well, I'm in love, that’s all,” replied Gus; and I'm going to be mar- ried to the best girl in England—a per- fect lady, well bred, well connected, and" The effect of this speech upon the old Colonel was electrical. He jumped up from his end of the table, almost up- set Parker, who was handing him the chilies, rushed towards his son and shook his hand heartily, his face beaming with excitement ard pleasure, as he exclaim- ed, “You're sure of what you say? It isn’t Fifine of the Jolity, hey? A lady, well bred, well connected —? “I've been a bit of a scamp, perhaps, father,” said the young man; “but I've never gone in for low ferm, so, when I tell you she’sall that could be wished for you must believe me,” “Of course 1 will; of course I dol” roared the Colonel, *“*Who is she?” “Well, I don’t want to give you her name just now, for many reasons, but you may take my word for it that she's nobody to be ashamed of,” said Gus, “*All right, all right; I won't ask any more questions. So long as you are go- ing to steady down with a good, lady- like wife, I don’t care,’ said his father. “By ga, Gus, I thought you were go- ing to be a millstone round my neck for the remainder of my life. And now, my boy, you've astonished me, I'm going to astonish you. What do you think 1s about the most unlikely thing I should do?” “Give up hunting?’ replied Gus, “‘or sell your orchids? or put up for the county? or--" “No, no; nothing of that kind.” said ent. ot bere 80 precious ear- for Yi 3 1 11 ¢ - t you young amp. Te iy, face, p punctualiy to din- the Golonel, chuckling, “I'm-I1'm going to be married too,” The son affected the greatest aston- ishment., The Colonel continued: “But look here, my boy, it won't in- terfere with your prospects, and—and when I say I'm going to be mar- ried, I mean that I have my eye on some one, and I rather think, ahem! that some one has a reciprocal eye on me, I'm not such an old bird, eh?” “*Not a bit of it,” replied Gus; “and may I ask who the fortunate object of your attentions is?”’ “Well,” answered the Colonel, laugh- ing, “I've a good mind not to tell you, you dog, as you keep me in the dark about your innamorata. But I will, Do you know Miss Vanjohn?”’ “Tall girl, brown hair, brown eyes?’ asked Gus, innocently. “Yes, yes—that’s the one! 8he’sgo- ing to be Mrs, Chopleigh the second,” said the Colonel, rubbing his hands gleefully, I think—abem! that if I can screw up my pluck, I shall speak to her to-morrow.” That evening the Reverend Aloysius Vanjohn received an unexpected visitor in the shape of Mr, Augustus Chopleigh. Urged by the desperate aspect of mat- ters, the young man had resolved to face the terrible parson, as he believed him to be, and to lay the state of affairs before him. To his glad sur- prise, the reverend gentleman, who was really a good fellow, and thought very well of Gus, laughed heartily at the no- tion of the Colonel's suit, and promised Gus that Millicent should marry him when and where he pleased, “1 say, Gus,” roared the Colonel, as they were leaving the for bed; “promise me you'll bring Mrs. C hopleigh here directly after you're married,” A few day after, Millicent Vanjohn was quietly and unostentationsly made Agus tus Chopleigh in L his word the his fa ig him in down on the foll ce his bride tb whole smoking- room mdon. young man wither of his mar- that he should wine daw OWiLg aay u in fortul ng riage, and tellin ber ney say, what with hi and the eage he awaited $i t $ daught er-inlaw, una ited every dish nswer d movement, '' he said; surprise to the last.” Crus entered. “Here I am {athe “Yes, but the Colonel impatiently, Gus went out, Millicent. The Colonel ri’ he said. yes; where's said and reappeared with staggered at something like a frown gathered on his But he himself, and ‘ith a smile that illu his whole cent: first, and brow, recoversd minated | ald, addressing Mill de lig! Lited 0 as a-—daug 118 Bon he ily welcome hte I. added, you've monly narrow escape!” had an uncom- III RST A Woman Gambier, “What man has done man may do," has long been a favorite maxim of the moralists and the copy-books, but it is reserved for the philosophy of the min- ing camp to demonsirate that “what man has woman may do also." Amid the general din of the saloon, and rising above the general confusion, the clink of glasses against bottles, and the tinkling sound of ivory chips may be heard the words, “queen high.» “pair kings.” “bet two beans,” and the like, uttered in a soft but penetrat- ing volce which attracts one on enter- ing the door. Making my way to ; corner of the room, and elbowing a path cautiously through a pack of men, I saw a remarkable sight, Before one of the ordinary poker tables sat a wo- man of ordinary beauty. The traces of refinement had not yet been obliterated by coarse associations and reckless dissipation. She was dressed in a tight-fitting gown, fitting about the bust like the waist of a riding- habit, and adorned with a double row of startling gilt buttons, On her head was a jaunty jockey cap of blue, but its little visor shading a face whose delicate lines and marked individuality would in any other place have secured for its possessor immediate notice as a cultivated, intellectual power, Yet there she sat, dealing the cards with a graceful ease born evidently of a long practice in similar scenes, Careless of the rough talk and ribald jokes of the men, the female gambler dealt the cards, raked in the chips, paid losses, replied to the sallies of the men and attended to business with a devilish insouciance and calmness that was simply horrible, A more painful sight I never saw, for there was a refinement of wickedness about the scene which robbed it of the vileness of the slums and invested that woman in the corner of & mining-camp gambling house with a horror that #as siraply satani- cal, done no API A good amile is the sunshine of wis. dom. Conscience is man’s most faithful riend. Art of Grafting, Every farmer’s boy should learn to graft. Few occupations wive more pleasure or a greater reward. To con- vert a wild and thorny tree into one bearing large and delicious fruit is a wonderful and fascinating process. Grafting need not be confined to fruit trees, Ornamental trees and shrubs which are nearly related to each other may be grafted, Several kinds of roses may be grown on the same bush, and differently colored lilacs may be mixed on the same stock. Grafting 1s an easy art to acquire. Simply making the scions live is but a part of the operation on fruit trees, however. One must plan for the future top of the trees. He must graft such limbs as should make permanent factors in the top he is building, and while he should avoid grafting too many limbs, he should likewise avoid grafting too few. In either extreme too much cutting for the good of the tree will have to be done, If too few limbs are grafted, it will be necessary to cut too many branches off entirely during the process of grafting. If too many limbs are grafted, it be necessary to cut many of them out in a few years to prevent crowding. It must be remembered that a grafted branch will occupy more room than a natural branch, for the secions branch and bush out from the point of their insertion. How many limbs, and which oues, to graft will must be perience and judgment The kind of learned by ex- grafting most be practiced on the farm is that as cleft grafting. The simple one. off grafted where it isan inch or less in diameter; trim the edges of the ‘stub’ likely to known process is a limb to be SAW the smooth, and split it with a large knife, or a cleaver made for the purpose, The cleft should not be more than four inche is sel into care that The scion ising great of the bark in the n exactly matches the inner surface of the bark stub, A line tween the bark and the wood may be This line on Wn, in other words, should mateh this line on Wax the whole care- and thorot eave crack which is pretty hard, and whic! worked and applied with the hands is commonly best We several good recipes for grafting wax. We would recommend that grafting be not con- fined to the orchard. Experiment, Try pears and apples on wild crabs and thorns, One must not look for success on trees much different from the scions, but there Is room for experimenting, and more light is needed. axerc inner surface thin On Gu Doe olserved. the sc the stub, over Do not Wax 1 must be fi aghly. exposed, sly any have given ai—— Fiagetiation Sul] Practiced. The church of the Penitentes, in Santo Dominge, Mexico is 250 years old, and in it flagellation is still practic- ed by the remnant of the Aztecs that worship there. The day of flagellation is Good Friday. Although the peni- tentes are all Catholics, all the Catho- lics are by no means penitentes. In- deed, it is said they are discouraged by the priesthood, They strip their bodies to the waist, and having provided themselves with scourges, they beat themselves and each other over the shoulders and back with them until the flesh is terribly lacerated. This is done walking in procession, one of their number voluntarily leading us bearing a heavy wooden cross bound 10 his neck, under which he staggers nearly bent double, his flesh lacerated by the scourges of his followers, Many have died of exhaustion under this penance, If the victim lives to reach the church, the cross is suspended therein, with the bleeding sufferer still bound to it, where he remans until he faints under loss of blood. The peni. tente often pays the penalty of his life in this vicarious atonement for his sins, Every farmer in reading a paper will often see something in it which it would be of service to him to remem- ber. He will perhaps see suggestions the value of which he would like to test or hints by which he would like to be governed in his future operation, but after reading it the paper is thrown down, probably never to be seen again, To avoid this he should clip from the paper the article he wishes to preserve and remember, and paste it in a scrap kept for the purpose, Such a book at the end of a few vears would be both interesting and valuable. Ex-Oueen Isabella. Says a popular lady writer: 1 do not think that Queen Isabella at any period of her life could have been considered handsome, Bhe in no wise resembled the dark-eyed, imperious beauty, her mother, But in her young days youth and freshness, joined by that divinity that doth hedge a sovereign, undoubted- ly caused her to be credited with a cer- tain degree of personal attractions. Up to the present season the Queen has resided in France ever since her de- thronement. It was in Paris she signed the act of abdication in favor of her son, now King of Spain. Her ponder- ous figure and good-natured face are as well known at the opera or in the Bois de Boulogne as were those of the Em- press Eugenie in bygone days, Her embonpoint is really extraors dinary, and she increases her apparent size by always dressing in pale, delicate tints, pear] gray in the daytime white at night being her favorite colors, Her features are large, her eyes blue, and her complexion florid At times her skin bears the marks of the heredi- tary Bourbon malady, serofula, frem which the entire royal family of Spain are great sufferers, Her charming, No Princess in Europe re- ation with a more admir- able blending of courtesy and dignity or receives a visitor with more royal grace, During her Queen Isabell mented with and manners are turns a salut France much ial difficulties, is as extravagant in her charities as in her personal expenditure, used when she first came to Paris to bestow +2) on every beggar that of her. When remonstrated with BUSWEr Was: ould a residence in a has tor- Rhea ] been ii i inanc She MW 3 8 $20 asked alms her Queen give fond Gaal ght i ordered part o Lroussean wned king ving all her Madrid. Snnssba panish years was a reigning wg favo Madrid ing-room and ante cl ally with a costly plants by order of t , Bees her draw vs } 11 . § amber filled annu- ¥ H collection of choice and he Royal lady, who was once of ber hearers, allention i § i among the most assid And this graceful and Wak uous kindly maintained all thro ug rh niary d ities, These, } as Alfonso XI1L ascended the throne of Spain. The with her nd he period of Queen Isabella's pecu IOWever, came to an end so soon Queen does not get al w daughter-in-] ans wiki TY Haga thorou gh Austrian in She detests the nationa Bei suntrywomen she made many respects, pastime of the bull-fight. once by one of her own © how she could endure it, SWer: “You know 1 am terribly near-sight- Well, somehow I always forget to take my eyeglass with me.” On the other hand. Queen Isabella is a most ardent patroness of the sports of the Spanish arena. This point of difference, united to a multitude of others, has hindered the two royal ladies from becoming fast friends, They keep out of each other's way— that is all, ng asked ati- ed, p— UA i ndeatston. Of the many causes ‘which hinder men from attaining success, indecision is undoubtedly one of the most potent, Without any determined course marked out for themselves, youth launched out inte the great ocean of life, depending more upon chance than any fixed laws whereby a definite result might be ob- tained, Thinking to