FIRST LOVE. Tow doos a womun love! Though life forever its loss deplore; Deew in sorrow or deep in sin, One king reigneth her heart within, Une alone, by night nul day, Moves her spirit to curse or pray, One voice only can call her soul Back from the erasp of death's control: Though lovers beset her or friends deride Yea, when she siniles another man's bride, Still for hor master her life makes moan— Onee is forever, and once alone, How does a man love! Once for all, The sweetest voices of life may call, Borrow daunt him or death dismay, Joy's red roses bedeck his way; Fortune amiie, or jest, or frown, The cruel thumb of the world turn town; Loss betray him, or love delight, Through storms or sunshine, by day or night, Wandering, toiling, asleap, awake, Though souls may madden, or weak hearts reak, Hetter than wife or child, or pelf, Once and forever, he loves—~himself. --Rose Terry Cooke. tl A A —— THE CONCEALED LETTER. “You, madam,” he said. “Yes you, If you please” for she hesitated and tooked about her. ‘May 1 beg you to ome this way?" Stiil the girl hesitated. “Madam,” said the hypnotizer, *I sed in you a wonderful subject. We have never met before, but if you will honor and oblige me with your pres- lully assist ma." Al this the girl arose and advanced with dignity. She was pale, and her features had the regularity of a Greek statue. Mr. Nouchette asked her soma gues- lions in a low tone. She seemed to ro- ply in the affirmative. Then Mr. Nouchette drew a large arm-chair to the center of the stage. wid gloves seated herself therein. ward?’ asked Mr. Nouchette. A sudden thought occurred to me. 1 would forestall the coming confederate, and offer myself. I rose to my feet making a joke. 1 expected to be de- clined with thanks, but on the gon- trary Mr. Nouchette smiled upon me. *“I'ne very man,” he said. ‘Ladies Comet, is known to many here uo doubt. Like many here, he never be- fore met the young ludy who has been vo kind ——" “Never,” I said, bowing first to the lady and then to the audience. **Never, upon my honor.” “Will you permit this gentleman to bold your hand, madam?” asked Nouchette. The lady offered me once. It was small, put a ring of any sort. “Now,” said he, ook at me, and aeither speak or move.” He placed the tips of the fingers ais right hand on my left eft hand fingers upon the her hand at white, and with- ti of his lady's right temple, ter of the forehead of each subject. | do not know how long he continued this performance, but at last he the dy : “Madam, tell Mr. Hallendine, if you please, what he has in his vest pock- of” The tones. “Sir,” she said, “I am very sorry, but I cannot tell you. I am not in the least a clairvoyant." “I am disappointed,’ he sald, evi- dently speaking the truth. “I will bry again.” As for me, my eyes were shut, and 1 tried in vain to open them. Yet I saw the lady plainly. 1 saw her from head to foot. Moreover, I saw not only the stitching on the outside of her coat pocket, but its interior aud all its ontents “Hullo!” said I. “I say, Mr Nouchette, something has happened to me. I see the lady's pocket, and all that is therein.” “Ah!” eried Mr. Nouchette. “Is it possible ?” You are the clairvoyant, then. Well, what do you observe ?” “I see a black silk purse with gold beads,” said L “Is that 50?” asked Mr. Nouchetta. “Here it 1s,” said the lady. The audience applauded. “I see a handkerchief and a letter,” 1 sald. The audience roared again. lady must have produced them. “And,” sud I, “I see a glove-but. toner.” " Again a roar of applause. “Anything more?’ asked Mr. chette. I kept silent. 1 saw something else, but astrange power forbade me to name it. 1 had read tho folded letter It contained these words: “To THOSE WHO FIND MY BODY: Lestan innocent person should fall under sus I. cion. 1 desire to stats that I have co t- ted suicide. 1 have no friends on earth. I must beg or starve, since I caanot get honest work. I believe that God will for- give me for coming to Him before Ha called me. “Estusr Grav.” In the same pocket I had also seen. a little bottle marked “Poligon.'’ Is was certainly not safe to let this young moman disappear. lady answered in regretful Nou- others rose to go, and | followed her rapidly. I felt us though I had koown this girl for years. In some strange way Whe maghetizer whom Thad be- lieved to be a mere trickster, and who I still believe had traised his confed- erates in their little snowballing seene, in their weeping and fighting per formances, hid placed me in en ra with the forlorn Miss Gray. 1 iow, new ber and of her vaguely. had listened 1 could not ; a8 1A J 0 a story am nterruptions. As I stood upon the corner of the street, J Savugit: From tas conntry an or s persecu y somé one, robbed.” Her memories had in a measure become mine. I y read them when I read the fol lets ter, as 1 held her hand. But they gave me no clew by which to follow y Chance did that. A white object lay upon the pavement It fluttered to- ward me. Iw and pinked it up. It was a lady's handkerchief, fine and old, and in the corner was s name. Esther Gray.” It was hers, for this wis the name that I Lad seen at the bottom of the letter I had read so twas. She Lal tara wo the rie then. I had this small claw, and 1 hur- »isd on more hopefully. Official duty ordered me back to the j office with my veport. Other duties, &nd those imperative, it seemed to me, commanded me to find the yubappy girl and save her, if possible, from de~ | struction. Happily, at this moment I saw thai { was at the door of a telegraph and , city messenger office, and hurrying in, i sent my copy to the Comet by a boy, and felt my conscience lightened. As 1 passed out of the door it occur j red to me to puta question to an owl- y eyed urchin who lingered thers, “Young fellow,” said I, “have yo. noticed a lady passing? a slender lady in brown?’ | **Awful white and scary?" asked the boy. | “She may be frightened, being { alone,” I said | “One like that turned wp alongside the new buildings there,” the boy said. | “Awful white she was.” | I gave him the first coin my fingers closed on as I thrust them into my pocket, and hastened up the street. flat houses, only partially finished. A ; thick-set old watchman, with stick. “Have you Slender, tall i” { ‘Pass?’ he answered. *‘Ah, sure, it { was a lady then!" { “What do you mean?” I asked. “Sure, said up and down, swinging a thick { “Good-evening,” I sald. seen a lady pass? | ever seen since I and didn't [ wake the whitest face I wus born, ghost? came. ‘Patsy geen a ghost. I'm in a trimble. “I've no orders in regard ghosts,’ says he, ‘but if it's a woman gps I, I've " Hogan," says “Where is she?’ “Up above,’ “] must find { “Which way?" “I'll go wid vou,” sald ha, “Wait Patsy has orders in regard to wimmin, t I'll call him.” He struck his club on the pavement. Another answered him from afar. policeman was with us in a moment, and the watchman's lantern shoue along the stairs other. I asked. said he. her at sald L once,” At last he uttered a cry. ‘*Here is the woman,” he said: crouched in a corngr, with terror | her eyes, I saw the girl for | was searching. . Her face was white, | heaven knows: her were pas i sionately clasped together j “Not even even here!” “What do you mean by this? Come along!” said the policeman, adv ancing toward her. But 1 interfered, “Officer.” sald 1, ‘this woman is slightly out of her She has run away from home. followed u little wh » her.” “And who may you be?” policeman. “Her husband. There is my card,” said I, offering one. “Ah!” said the policeman; *1 pose it's all vight” He held it 0 | light of the lantern, and added: “Lead ; the way, John. You might get a fall i here easy, and I don’t want one.” i Meanwhile, I stooped over the young wom n. “I lied for your sake,” I whispered; “1 didjpot shink you wanted to go to the station-house.” She made no answer, but suffered me to lead her down stairs Once in the street I kept fast hold of her. When we were out of heariog, I said: “Do you remember me?” “You were on the platform at the hall,” she said. “Yes.” I said; *when I fell into the curious condition in which I saw the purse, the handkerchief, and the let. ter, I also saw a bottie labeled “Poi- son,’ and the contents of the letter. In it you spoke of your intention to com- | mit suicide, and your faith in God. | God has chosen to answer by sending youa friend. Look upon me as one; believe me, that though there are vil- lians in this world, sn honorable man always stands ready to defend a lady in distress.” I took her hand in mine A strange thrill ran through me. “Miss Gray,” I continued, “command me." “How do you know my name?" she asked. “I read it in your letter,’ [ answer. led. “You are from the country; you i were robbed; some one insulted you. | Poor little soul! you are safe now.” “Oh you are so good’ she said, bursting into tears; ‘so very good to me!” At that instant, I. who had eaten a good dinner at six o'clock, began to { feel the moss torturing sense of hun- ger. I understood it at once. It was not I who wae starving, it was Miss Gray; and I now quite understood why she was so nale. “We must eat before we do any- thing else.” 1 suid, and shortly we sat together at the tuble of a restaur- “ot i I saw the color return to the sweet girl's face, I saw that she was herself (again. Suddenly she turned to me. i “I must tell you my s she #aid. “I don't want you to think me {an adventuress. I am the daughter of {Owen Gray, a clergyman, who died five years in Michigan. M | mother had already passed away and went to live with my married p from “Six months ago she died also. 1 never liked her husband, but I stayed with fio children until" ‘He offered himsell to you,” said L “Yes,” she sald. ‘Then I went to teaching school. He persecuted me, and I fled. I had some money with TE enn and in bands here!” she cried. “Not young mind. I have sight of her 1 will take charge her, but lost le ago. asked the SUD the “With n'' my credentials," on; “I cou 4d rot no work. | arein-law bud spoken falsely of me in ' my native town. I knew I must starve or beg. 1 preferred to die. There, ou have it Except that I was at the i lecture by accident. The door stood open. I entered and took a seat for ln was way yeury. No ove noticed n she went y broth- *Miss Gray,” I said, “will you me that Httle bottle and the ; " Tw yy “I will leave you here decent hotel attached to this restan. rant,” 1 said “Will you assure me that you will remain here until 1 see you again? I shall then be prepared «0 place you in a good position.” “God certainly sent you to me,” she said. ‘I promise.” Ileft her in the landlady’s care, and went post baste to the Comet office. In the early morning hours I sought my bed, and there the thoughts that had been floating through my brain condensed into a resolution that I would marry Esther Gray. And go I went to the hotel next day with a rose in my buttonhole, and found her fairer than ever, sweeter, more lovely. I wasted neither time nor words in placing proofs of my respectable posi- tion in life before her, and offering her my hand and heart She was startled but the idea did not shock her. Shortly I took her hand and held it, {and in the strange old fashion, read | that the influence that drew us togeth- er had the same power over her hear! | that it had over mine. i “You must write to people I will tell | you of; you must make sure I am what | I say,” she said. { But] only laughed and kissed her. | And so we were married that very ! day, and no couple could be happier. ! i It is a curious fact that I have still only to hold my wife's hand in order { to read her every thought; and it is a | delightful one, that knowing this, she is always ready to place her palm in { mine,—Mury Kyle Dallas, i a : Ideal Music, There is no sound where there are { Bo ears, we are told, and the sweetness {ol we call musie, oer tainly depends in great measures upon the susceptibility of the listener. In { Mr. McCook's "Tenants on an Old | Farm" there is a discussion about the | singing of crickets. Une good woman called the cricket's | musical effort a ‘discordant, ear- | piercing creak. “Oh, no," sounds, what On the contrary 1 love | chirrup, and think it very sweet music. { But there 18 no accounting for tastes.” This lust remark, though not espec- {ally new or original, made an imme- | diate impression upon Dun, the negro servant “Dat is jos’ so!" markin' dot t saved dar wahn't no m shell, Now. fer my sald he usc part, wen field, an’ barn-yard an’ blows dat conk fer dinna, an’ de 100.t00-100 a~roliin’ over de fiel's, it 4 inrs no music out ob Canaan swoeter'n dat. Dat's de kin’ ob nm de hear! dal suits my taste —jo dem times." -—Youth's Companion. of horn COmoes 0 me ot's eke seem - Persians Flower Worship. A recent traveler in Indin gives i the as practiced by the Persians in bay. A true Persian, !n flowing of blue, and on his head a hat Kar-Kal — would saunter in and and meditate over every fluwer he saw, and wiways as if half in vision. And iwhen the vision was fulfilled, and the ideal flower he was seeking uatil the setting of the sun, and then fold up his mat again and go home. {And the next night and night after night, until that particular flower faded sway, be would return to it and bring his friends in ever-increasing troops to it, and sit and play the guitar or Rule before it. and they would all to- gether pray there, and after prayer still | 8it before iL, sipping sherbet and talk. {ing the most hilarious and shocking i scandal late into the moonlight, and so iagain every evening until the flower idied. Sometimes by way of a grand {finale, the whole company would sud- (denly arise belore the flower and sere. nade it together with an ode [Irom i Hafiz and depart. —~Cassell's Journal, ; Co — - An Oklahoma Bomanes . There arrived in Chicago the othet day, says the Chicago Herald, Mr. and | Mrs. Sehoenzenbeck, Katrin: Freund and Haoneh Kritzlor, on their way to {Uginhoms City, Indian Territory, { Where the two unmarried women will marty two friends of Schoenzenbeck. {Some time since Schoenzenbeck and { his two prtners, who conduct a gener ial store in Oklahoma City, came to the conclusion that single blessedness iwas a failure. Therefore it was de { eided that Schoenzenback should go to Wurtemburg, Germany, for the pur- 0 of selocting wives for all three, I'tiis he did, snd married his own be- {fore starting back. When the party {arrived at Oklahoma City the marri- ages of the two German maidens were joyously celebrated. IAA, The Incandescent Bog. A somewhat singular inquiry has { recently been sent to the secretary of the treasury. It refers to the ques tion of whether an importation of lightning- bugs would have to pay duty. It seems that in Cuba these in A are large and very luminous, and it is in. TR ad : g i INTERESTING FACTS. There are 2,750 languages. A square mile containg G40 acres, Envelopes were first used in 1839. Telescopes were invented in 1590. A barrel of rice weighs 600 pounds, A barrel of flour weighs 196 pounds. A barrel of pork weighs 200 pounds, A firkin of butter welghs 66 pounds. The first steel pen was mads is 1830. A span is ten and seven-eighth inches. A bhaad (horse measure) inches. Watches 1476. A storm moves thirty-six miles per hour. A hurricane moves eighty miles per hour. The first iron steamship was built ia 1830. The first lucifier match was made in 1829. Gold was discovered in California in 1848, The first horse railroad was built in 1826-7. The average human life is thirty. one years. Coaches were first used in Englano in 1569. Modern needles in 15645. The value of a ton of pure gold is $602,799.21. Ouoe million dollars gold coin weighs 8,685.8 pounds avoirdupois. The value of u ton of sliver is $37,- 704.84. One million dollars silver ooln weighs 568 029.9 pounds avoirdupois Kerosene was first used for lighting purposes in 1826. The first newspaper was published in England in 1585 The first newspaper advertisement appeared in 1652, Until 1776 cotton splaning was per- fommed by the hand spinning wheel Glass windows were first lotroduced mito England in the eighth century. Albert Durer gave the world a prophecy of future wood engraving io 1627. Measure 200 feel on you will have a square inch. The first complete sewing machine was patented 1844, The firsg steam engine on tinent was brought from England 17563. is four were first constructed in first came into use each side and within av nore iin Eogland ib The first knives were use and the first i France in 1554, wheeled carriage The present natiosal colors United States ro Wi Hot a a Which Road. If vou could go back to the forks of the road mues oad ; Back to the place cide By this way or that abide; # through your life Back to the place where the future was fair If you were there now, a decision to make, Oh, pilgrim of sorrow, which road would you take! Then, after you'd trodden the other long track, Sappose tha’ again to the forks you went After you found that its promises fair Were but & delusion that iad 0 & saare That the road you frst traveled with sighs and unrest, Though dreary and rough was most gra ciously blest With balm for each bruise and a charm for each ache Ih, pligrim of sorrow, you taki which road would Chicago Herald it ian Some Curious Chinese Slseg, Some of the ordinary expressions of the Chinese are very sarcastic and characteristic. A blustering, harmioss fallow they call a “paper tiger.” When s man values himsell overmuch they compares him to "a ret falliog into a scale and weighing itsell.” Overdoing a thiag they eall “4 hunchback muk- ing a bow.” A spendihrift they com- pare 10 a rocket which goes off at vnoa Those who expend their charity on re. mots objects, but neglect their family, are sald ‘to hang a lantern on a rope, which is seev afar but gives no light below.” ——— we ——— So —— Clever Swindle on Jewelers, The great jewelers of Paris have just been the dupes of a singuisr frand practiced upon them with extraordi- nary success. The swindle has been sccomplished in the simplest way, and all it needed for its execution was ad- dress, audacity, and a little capital. French jewelers dress their windows with consummate taste, exhibiting as a rule, only 8 small portion of their stock, but of the Hightn gaality and they called in. dows the patterns of pieces selected to They were chiefly rings gEifss ji FE i 1 EE 4 5% ! f : 5 Fi 2 SMALL SHOES—BIG FEET. | - | FEMININE RUSES TRANSPARENT TO EXPERIENCED CLERKS. Marks That Mislead and Teles That De Not Deceive, “Yes, we find a good deal to amuse us in our line of business,” said a dap- per shoe clerk to a Washington Sunday Herald man, “even though our work is sometimes pretty tough on us. As in every other business, I suppose, it is easier to suit men than women in shoes. Naturally women take a good deal of pride in their feet, and one great difficulty we have is that they sre afraid we will think that their feet are large, and try to impress you with the fact that last year, or before they were married, they always wore shees two sizes smaller. 1 have sold shoes for many years, but have vet to sch a shoe to a woman that was too large for her. “A good method of marking shoes, and one that has often proved a god- send to the salesman, is that of the French shoes sent to this country. Here is one of them now. Notice the manner in which it is marked inside.” The reporter saw a double mark, 2 and 42, the first placed sbove the second, “When this shoe is shown to a lady,’ continued the salesman, “and the size inquired, she can see for heself thst | it is a number 2 shoe by reading the upper figure. But the salesman, who bas examined carefully the foot of the lady, knows the proper size of the shoe from the numbers below. Thus 2-42 means & number 4 shoe, 2.52 would | mean a number 3 shoe, 2-22 means the shoe is a number 2, and properly marked. Should a line be drawn be- neath the lower numbers, such as 2-52, that signifies the half size, 3 1-2, See?” « But I should think the size of the she e itself would give the thing away 7” “+ Not so: first, becanse a new shoe has { always an extremely neat and shapely . appearance that makes it look smaller; second, because the purchaser herself is willing and anxious to believe she | can wear smaller shoes than she really | does. Ladies with small feet fre- | quently come in and announce the size shoe they wear with much satisfaction, | but will often insist on trying on » half size or size smaller, “Ladies with large feet seldom If ever know the size shoe they wear, or { at least they never tell the clerk, and | he must rely upon measurements made | with the eye. Sometimes these ladies { with large pedal extremities state that they wish to buy a pair of shoes for a servant, whos? exact size they do not know, but will look at the shoes, and will probably know in that manner what will be suitabe; and isa 6or 6 1- 2 too small for the general run of ser- | vants' feet. They look them over care- | fully and critically, noting the size and frequently purchase these servan + | shoes at a cost of $7 or $5, “It is queer, but the shoes sold in Washington are smaller than in any i other country, as any big manufact- , urer ean tell you. What in Northern ! and Eastern cities are sold as boys’ | sizes are run in here for men’s. These | wizos run from 4 1-2 to 61-2 on an AVOrage. “1 have clerked in Eastern stores where the average was from 7 to 11, but have yel to sell a pa’r of shoes in size above 10 in Washington. With | the women here it is different. Their | sizes run as high as in the East, the { average being from 3 to 5.” «Where ate the largest men's shoes ! worn?" “Throughout the West. There the sizes to a Washington man would seem enorinous.”’ Another clerk who had been em- i bad large feet, replied that it ungues- | tionably was. The average sizes worn | were from 4 to 7 1-2. He also stated {that in St. Louis, Omaha and Kansas City, the averages would be about the same as in ° hicago. { ra ——— Visited by the Catacombs. FOOD FOR THOUGHT ns Am. Well began is half done, Eve didn't kpow the BeTPEnt was loaded, It is only they who stand that cu fall. The only cure for ce’ fishness is fice. Money by any otlier name would ge us fast, An honest man is the nobles: work of God, A silent tongue is an enemy to the fenst, A man who is full of himself is al- ways empty, Economy ‘s wealth of a very disagree able type. FACTS No man 1s a free man who has a vice for his master, All philosophy lies in two words, “sustain’’ and “abstain,” Why 1s happiness so rare? Too few engaged in producing it. Economy 1s simply the art of getting the worth of our money. Those who are greedy of praise prove that they are poor in merit, Ex ¢ ybody seems to despise a hypo- crite - God, man and the devil, The man who treats his fiiend often doesn’t always treat his wife weil A man who Is not ashamed of self need not be afraid of his early dition, hilm- CO The advantage of wealth the leigure It allows, Weare all Sunday, is In rich on A minister is excusable for more of the lambs of his flock than the doze, thinking of When the admiration of men becomes necessary to a woman she belongs to the devil. still of It cannot be denied that virtue some Uncture has of vice, and vice virtue, To be agreeable in society it is nec s- sary not tosee and not to remember many things. At a swell marriage curious people walch at the church door to see the Led go out, but like Vanity is often mistaken for wit, it is no more like it than gravily is wisdom, If wan would help some of us a little more, God would forgive usall the soon- ér perhaps, The only cure for unbe jel is to shake off the ague of doubt by doing Clirist’s bidding, The greatest and most serious fault of the modern chuch is ils Jemency to ward its members, 3 w The devil doesn’t care two staws for your profession, Ail that be is afraid of is your practice, Proverty 1s no disgrace to the trious, but itis hardly a git edged Lestimonial of ability, frac yas HC US. kind it Ecovomy is wealth, but it is a of wealth that the neh man fAods bard to transfer to his son. Wise men are like 2 watch - they have open countenances, but don’t sho v their works in their face. A man always trying to gel some- thing that does pot belong 10 him will go out and borrow trouble. The wealth of a pwson should be esl mated, not by the amount bie has, bul Ly the use he makes of it, The miser and glutton are two face tious buzzards—on + hides his store, and the olher stores his hide. Politeness is the sciencs of getting down on your knees before folke with- out getiing your pantaloons dirty. Our wise t thought is the one whict we always lack wordstoexpress. Fool sh tho ghis find easy expression. When you feel that you can't gel ac quainted with a man it is a sign thal be voesn’t like you, and never will, A willingness to divide with Las cap- tor has protected more thieves than the jaw has hone L men, On» way of congratulating a yo ng man who is to mary a girl for money is to Jet him have anything be wan #cu i } | Did I understand you to say yon { were in Europe this win er?” he asked | es } mer across the aisle. } “Yes sir.” | “Were your in Rome?” “I was there for a month, sir.” : ‘Ah! I am glad to have met you. 1 { wanted 0 ask about Rome. You visited the catacombs, of course?” “Didn't have to. They visited me.” j “How do you mean?” i “Why, I never stirred oul of the : hotel that they weren't striking me for { alms. Never saw such an infornal set in all my born days.” “Don’t you mean the Iazaroni?” lagyrony are the same thing, only toatacomb’ is the Italian of it and the other is the English. If you haven't been over I'd advise you to f you You don’t know how much a trip abroad will broaden and liberalize your mind.” And the other sank back and hia over looking pale for the next thirty miles. The Ohjec.ion ward, . Billus—Maria, I don't like to that dude of a neon the house. come to in? d en- {0 § - i credit, A loafer is a good deal lke cork. | that has been pushed into a bolle. It | does no good where It is and 1s not vorth | fishin; out, Men no doubtowe much of Lieir su - cess in this world to chance; bul chan. ces don't go for a man — the man wust go for the chance, euple have got LO be shivekad to wake | them out of old absured routine. 1's raralyzes us to a'most every injustice. | When people are shocked they beg nt 10 | think aud Ing ire | Don’t be Inquisitive about he affairs {of even your most intimate fitends. | PAow many veglect their own flekis to i inspect the farms of their neighbors, Work to-day, for you know not how much you way be hinder-d to-morrow Keep your heart che rial, and you will soon have a face to match it. The man who knowingly does wrong is the biggest of ull cowards, Charact r Is something other poop e% lives have brought out to us. A barefooted soldier 8 not wurh ac count in either marching « r Ceiling. He who causes his own Geath isa vic "tim who meets his executioner and kilk hw, Happ ness and is not to n at ourown fio wiles, pleked in strangers’ gar to be headstrong to understand 2
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers