Tw* DTUUMTI.
A LMOn or TH BOAS.
u two rival firummsrs
The merit# that did blow
Of safes wore in Ht. Louis mode
And MfM from Chicago
They chanced upon A merchant
Who fain a *af e wo old bur,
And in the praise of their booaaa' wares
The drummers twain did Tie,
Each striving to see which ooold coo street
The most soloeaal lie.
Up spake the St. Louis drummer
" Ones a man a eat did take
And locked the animal in a safe
Of our superior make.
" The; made a bonfire round the safe
With tar and kerosene,
And for four- end-twenty boors it blaaed
With raging heat, I ween.
"The fire went out, the safe was cooled,
And I will forfeit fire
Hundred good dollars if that eat
Did not some oat alive."
Then mild npspake and answered him
The Chicago safe agent:
" With ear safe one da; we did eesa;
The same experiment.
'* Wo placed the safe selected on
Of ooals a fiery bed.
And pitched-pine we heaped in soaloil
steeped
Till the iron glowed bright red;
And in forty-eight hoars we ope'd the eefe
And, alas! the eat was dead !"
" Was dead ? Aba !" bis rival eried,
With a triumphant breath;
But the Chicago man replied:
" Yea, the eat was frosen to death !"
No word that Bt. Louis drummer spoke.
Bat silent he stood and wan.
While the Kansas merchant an order gave
To the Chicago man.
Better Late Than Never.
\
His name was John Holt; anil, more
over, he looked like his name, or like
the image which the sonnd of his name,
in a musical ear, vronld call np in the
mind. Physically he was so well pro
a portioned that his weight conld scarce
be gneesed, and so broad-shouldered
at yon had to set him beside another
man in order to realize his superior
height. His skin was fair and his eyes
bine, but the hair, which had been tow
colorcd in his childhood, bad deepened
to brown. John Holt's fsoe wss not
one of those which are called expressive,
but wore, in repose, pretty nearly al
ways the same look.
Mrs. Holt bad a large and valuable
farm just on the borders of the town.
Htreets had crept gradually about her
fields and surrounded them on three
aides; on the fourth woodlands stretched
back toward the east. Why she should
five the control of this plaoe to John,
instead of to one of his sharper brothers,
was a puzzle even in her own mind, j
The only reason she oonld give was that
John was steady and more likely to re
main at home than the others were.
John wss in love with pretty Nellie !
Cramer, a neighbor's daughter ; but one
day when he started to tell her of his
passion she stopped him short with a
laugh and a " Nonsense, John !"
He never got angry with her. How
ooold he 7 But sometimes a shadow
wonlil drop over his face, and he
wouldn't have mnch to nay to her for a
time. Then, when she went to him with
her coaxing ways, and laid her little
band on his arm, whispering:
" Now, don't be vexed, John; I like
yon so mnch; bnt I don't want yon to
talk 00006080," he would look down and
■mile, thongh not very brightly, and
promise to try to avoid nonsense in the
future ; ending his promise with a sigh.
" Dear me! I do wish yon wouldn't
sigh so, John I" the girl would say, pet
tishly. "It makes me feel melancholy
to hear yon. One would think I had
done something dreadful to yon."
Then John Holt would smile again,
still leaa brightly, and promise to try
not to sigh any more.
Such little scenes as this were mere
asides, however. Nellie nsnslly paid
bnt little attention to John, being chiefly
occupied ia dancing, flirting and quar
reling with his more showy brother
Prank, or with any other gay fellow who
was so unfortunate as to be taken with
her pretty face. For Nellie was an in
corrigible flirt. It was only when she
had no one else to talk to, or wanted to
piqne some other lover, or when she
wanted some real service, that she went
to John, who was sometimes pleased and
sometimes hurt to see that she came to
him only when she wanted help or
Advice.
" Ton are a sort of grandfather, you
know," she said one day, giving his arm
s squeeze. " I have an idea thai yon
are about seventy-five years old. How
old are yon, John?"
" I am only one third of that," he
■aid, smiling. " I am only a month past
twenty-five.
"Possible? Well, you mnst have
been very old when yon was born. Be
sides, twenty five is old to me. I am
only nineteen. Now yon come and hear
my story and tell me what to do. I came
over here on purpose to see yon."
John followed her obediently through
the garden and doom to a bench under
the shadow of the beech grove on the
lawn; and when she took her seat there
he leaned against the trunk of a tree and
waited, loo! iug down on her.
" Ton see, John," aha began, " I've
had an offer."
John Holt was tanned that summer,
bnt through the brownnees one might
have seen a faint blush ran over nia
face. Nellie didn't see it, for she was
looking down and rolling her apron tas
sels, s very bright oolor in her own
feme.
There WM s moment's silenoe sftei
this announcement, and seeing that he
was expected to say something, John
said "Tee;"
" O' , if y-fi don't waut to advise me,
I w Ta't trouble yon," the girl flung out,
rising in s Pi
" Gome back, Nellie," he said, kind
ly. "I am not oroas, only tell me what
you want."
Bhe seated herself again with a little
ontver in her lip.
q " I want yon tell me what yon think
of Jamoa Lee. Tell me if yon think I d
better marry him. Tell me if yon think
he cares enough for me to go just where
I say and live where I wish."
The oolor waved again in John Holt's
face, and he drew a quick breath. Borne
impulse to speak seemed to oome upon
him. Glancing np for his answer, Nellie
saw the ohange and added a word:
" Ton soe, John, I like Albert Leigh
ton better than I do James."
The oolor and light droppod ont of
his face again, and a rim of even, white
teeth preeeed for an inatant his under
lip.
"Then why don't you marry Albert
Leighton 7" he asked, looking np into
the tree that spread over his head, and
reaching to break a slender twig.
"He never asked me to," she an
swered demurely.
" I suppose ho mouns to, doesn't he 7"
asked John, looking at her with aglanoe
that might be called almost haughty.
" How can I tell 7" Nellie pouted.
" Hen are eo queer. The most of them
would rather wait to be asked, I think."
"If yon want iny advice, I will give
it," John said, twisting and flinging
away the little twig in his band. "If
yon like Albert, don't keep James Lee
in suspense. Ton have no right to do
it You can't aerionaly think of mar
rying one man when yon nrefer another.
If Albert likes yon, as I believe he
does, take him. He's a good fellow."
" You think sot" the girl said, look
ing up suddenly.
"I think so," he repeated, turning
away. " Now let's go np to the house."
Hho rose and walked quietly up by
his side, her fair, girlish face a little
pale, her eyes downcast. At the gate
she stopped.
"I will not go in, now," she said, in
a low tone. " I will go home."
He merely bowed, and looking hack
after a few stops she saw that he had
not entered the honse, but was stealing
off toward the barn.
The next week James Lee commenced
a violent flirtation with Bessie Holt,
John's sister, and in a month the two
were engaged. Nellie langhed and
turned the light of her smiles npon Al
bert Leighton, a handsome, dashing fel
low, who had been crazy about Lee for
the last six months. John Holt said
nothing, but wss rather 000 l about his
sister's engagement
" Yon see, suspense would have killed
him," Nellie whispered, miscbievonsly.
" I hope he isn't marrying my sister
out of piqne toward you," John said,
ooldly. "If I didn't think Bessie loved
him too well to give him np, I'd tell
yon."
"ADd betray my confidence, John
Holt," Nellie exclaimed. " I tell yon
1 he is like most of you men—purely self
iah. He didn't care a fig sbont mo. I
think he seems to like Bessie."
"When are yon going to get mar
ried ? " he asked abruptly.
The question came so suddenly that
for once the girl lost her composure. A
: crimson blosh swept over her fsoe, and
she dropped her eyes without being
able to speak a word.
Of coarse, sbe recovered herself in s
minnte, and protested that she bad no
thonght of marrying. Any woman would
' have done the same. But the blush had
' convicted her in John Holt's eyes, and
he scarcely heard a word that abe said.
It was winter, and while they talked
they were waiting, with half" a dozen
others, for a large sleigh that was com
ing to take them ont to a party given by
a friend seven or eight miles off in the
oountry. Even before Nellie's binab
hail faded, the trampling and jingling
at the gate attracted their attention, and
Albert Leighton pnt his head in at thr
door to call them. Bessie and her lover
came forth from an adjoining room, an
other group name np from a distant
window, and they all ran gsyly out and
and bundled into their placer.
The party passed off as such things
nsnally do. All seemed to enjoy them
selves ; Nellie wsa lovely as a pink and
fnll of mischic*, Leighton waa attentive,
and John Holt was cheerful and kind to
everybody. He was fnlly as quiet as
nana), to be snre, and rather avoided
Nellie Cramer, bnt it ia doubtful if any
one but herself noticed that.
It was twelve o'elnck when they start
ed to go home, and the moon had set.
At first their gnyety held ont, bnt after
a mile or so fatigue and want of sleep
liegsn to tell npon them, and one by one
they fell into silence.
"John," Nellie said, "there is just
room for me on the seat with yon. Hay
I come there 7 It is cold here."
He made room for her in silence, and ,
she left her discomfited escort and took
her place next that strong shoulder.
Then silence fell again ; bnt after;
awhile, in the darkness, John Holt was;
aware of a light pressure against his
arm, then a soft, plaintive whisper stole ,
into hi* car.
" I am so sleepy, John I"
He turned s little—why not 7 they
were old friends—and lifted his arm to
the back of the seat, took the head softly
and tenderly to his bosom. And so she
lay in that faithful and tender clasp till
they drew near home; then, with one
whispered word of loving gratitude,
" Nobody is so good sa yon 1" she drew
away, and took Albert Leighton'* hand
to step out at her own door.
After a stir in his own mind, John
Holt oonelnded that Nellie and Albert
had quarreled. He sighed, since she
could not hear and so be annoyed,
pitied the girl, and then went steadily
about his work. The waters of his soul
were too deep for babbling.
When spring came, for the first time
in his life John electrified his friends.
He wis going to California, The an
nouncement was mads quietly bnt firm
ly, and he stood tike a rock, against
which expostulation beat itself to spray.
He gave good reasons, and absolutely
maintained his right to choose for him
self.
" Ton have always as id, mother, that
you wished I were more venturesome,"
he said. " I am going to please you
now,"
" Bnt how is the farm to get along
without you 7" she objected.
" Frank understands everything and
can manage."
Mrs. Holt took oottnge, and, breaking
ower some tittle awe, which, in spite of
her talk, sbe felt for her son, spoke out:
" John, has that Moll Cramer jilted
you?"
" Jilted me I" he aaid, flashed aa mnoh
with anger u with surprise. "What
do you mean, mother 7 We hare alwaya
been good frienda, bat never any more.
I never gave her the chance to jtlt me."
" Then, why don't you give her the
chance 7" persisted his mother, who did
not ehooee to give op now that the ioe
was broken. " Nell ia a good girl, if
she does flirt a little. I always thought
that she liked you, only that yon were
too slow to sec it. Then, Noll has got
a little money of her own that wouldn't
lie amiss."
" You are entirely mistaken, mother,"
he said decisively. Don't let ns say any
more about it."
" Oh, you great fool !" muttered the
mother, looking after him as he went
out. " Was there ever a man so blind I
He is no more fit to live in the world
than an angel out of heaven is."
Then, seeing Nellie Cramer passing
the street, she lifted her voice and called
Imr in.
The girl came in, wondering at such
a peremptory summons.
" Come and sit bv met" commanded
the matron, and Nellie obeyed.
Mrs. Holt scanned her from head to
foot; the neat, trim figure, ia its nnugly
tltting paletot of dark gray, the green
bonnet, that brought out her fresh,
clear color with a new luster, aud the
fair, bright face.
'' Did you • *i >w that onr John is go
ing to California?" said Mrs. Holt,
abruptly, her keen eyes on the girl's
face-
All tin' color foiled out of it in an in
stant, and Nellie Cramer dropped into a
chair an suddenly an if nho hail been
shot. Hhe sat there and looked at the
other with her (drained eyes, but raid
no word.
"Yea," said Mrs. Holt, unable to re
press a slight smile of satisfaction at
this proof of the correctness of her sur
mise, " yea, he's set on going, in spite
of all that I can say. Ho is going in a
month or six weeks. Let mo see; this
is the middle of April. He says be
shall start by the first of Jnne at far
thest."
That amile of Mr*. Holt's was an un
fortunate one. Nellie had always feared
those sharp eye*, and now the thought
flashed upon her mind that John's
mother waa trying to expose and morti
fy her. A woman's pride will do s
great deal for her, even when her heart
ia breaking. It brought the color to
her face again, and strengthened her
trembling limbs. It • toadied her voice
and her eye*. Mr*. Holt was puzzled
and disconcerted by the sodden change.
" I'm so sorry I" Nellie said, in a tone
of fearless regret. "We can scarcely
' get along without John. He seems such
a stand-by. But men ought not to be
tied at home, I think. If they choose
to go, they should be allowed their own
way. There he is now, in the garden. I
am going out to speak to him of it."
| "Try to coax him to stay, Nellie,"
I said the mother, in a tone of more en
treaty than perhaps she had ever n*ed
in her life before. "Heia a good son,
and I can't get along withont him. I
think yon can keep him if yon will"
This prayer weald have been effect
ual, but for the memory of that smile
which rankled in the girl's heart Had
i she not given John Holt every encour
-1 agement, if he had oared about her T
Had she not said and done things so
affectionate toward him that aho had
blnshed with shame thinking of them
afterward t John was no fool, and if he
I ba<l can*! for her, he might have under
stood. He had probably been trying to
| put her back.
With those thoughts burning in her
, heart, Nellie Cramer went directly to
John Holt a* he walked up and down
the garden. He stopped, seeing her,
and looked wistfully into her face,
' Though he had denied his mother so
! decidedly, her words had not been with
out weight. Women understand each
other. Could it be possible? And
there was Nellie coming down the walk.
Her head was erect, and ber face per
i foctly composed, though slightly pale.
"fam ao sorry," she began. " Your
mother has been telling me your plans.
Of or.utse, you know beat what is good
for yon, and I have been telling her to
let you have your own way. But we
shall all be sorry to lose you, John."
That was all. Ho gave a last grasp
, at his self-command, and held it. There
was a short forma) conversation ; both
so engaged in making a pretense of be
ing kind and friendly, and juat as usual,
that each could not* perceive that the
other was also making a pretense ; and
four weeks after they parted with tol
erable composure, and John Holt went
to California.
He stayed there five years, and sent
bis mother her gold spoon. He stayed
three years longer, and then came home
himself. Nellie was Nellie Cramer still,
they told him, and was much sobered.
Home way she hadn't seemed to care
much about flirting for several rearm.
Her father and mother were dead, and
j she was keeping house for an unmarried
, brother. There were bint* that the new
; minister went to see her very often, bat
Mrs. Holt didn't believe that Nellie
wonld look at him.
John listened, and, when evening
came, took his hat and went out for a
walk. No one bnt his own family as
yet know of his retnrn, and be was re
solved to see himself the effect of his
coming on Nellie. The soft spring twi
light was settling down when be reached
her bouse, and as he walked quietly np
the path a slight flgnre sat in a window,
looking oat, singing lowly to herself in
a monrnfnl reverie. Bhe did not see
him; bnt when he came nearer he saw
her face clearly. The round outlines
and bright color were gone, but he was
forced to own that ahe bad grown far
more beautiful. The chastened luster
of the eyes, the firmer, sweeter closing
of the month, the purer end more per
fect outlines-all belonged to one who
had eaten of the breed of sorrow, and
had fonnd a blessing in the bitterness.
Something swept over his heart with
passionate force—aome regret, some
I"! j-inp. be scarce knew what. If he
had suffered at losing her eight years
before, he felt that such s loss now
would kill him. Be quietly entered
t'.io open door, paused on the threshold
of the room where she sat alone. Bhe
still sang softly, bat, a* he looked,
stopped, sighed, and became silent.
" Nellie rbe wonld have said, but
hU voice was only e whisper.
He went forward into the shadowy
room.
"Ia it you, James ?" aha said, half
turning, expecting her brother.
John took a step nearer, and this time
his voice did not fail.
" Nellie I"
Hhe started, half arose, hesitated,
then, as he took One step nearer, sprang
with a glad ory into his extended arms.
" I thought you would never come,
Jobu I" she sobbed.
"Were you wsiting for mel" be
ssked. " Did you care for me before I
went away 7"
"Then and always. John. How
could yon be so blind 7
John Holt smoothed ber hair tender
ly, for one moment of silence; then ex
claimed, as though some great truth
had suddenly dawned upon him.
" I deserve it ! I always thought
them wrong, hut they were right. I
was, indeed, a great fool."
Prices Paid lor Furs and Hkias.
In its latest report, the New York
Tribune says the catch of aknnks con
tinues very large, but speculators sre
taking them at better prices. Trsp
pers and collectors show more willing
ness to dispose of their skins ss prices
advance. Quotations below are for
prime skins only;
Boar, Northern black, for aire
and quality, prime 25 00® AS 00
Hear, Houthern and Northern
yearling* 8 #o® 4 00
Beaver, Northern, per akin 76® 3 00
Heaver, Weetern and Houthern.. V'fa 200
lladger 76* J 00
Cat, wild 15® 40
t>eer. atimmer 20# 23
Kirber, Northern and Eastern,
each 6 (KwSe 10 00
Fixber, Southern and Western . 4 000r MOO
Fox. aUver 10 00® SO 00
Fox. cross. Northern and East
ern 2 006* 2 50
Fox, rod, Northern and Eastern 1 4floe 1 50
Fox,red. B.Penn., N. J., N. Ohio I 00® 1 20
Fox, red, Southern and Wextern 80® 1 00
Fox, gray, Northern and East
ern, cased 75® 1 25
Fox. gray. Southern and West
ern 60® 1 00
Fox, kltt 0 ® 60
Ooat, American, fh 10® 16
Lynx, each 1 00® 3 00
Marten, State* 1 00® 1 50
Mink. New York and New F.ng
iand 1 00® 300
Mink. Canada. Michigan and
Minnesota 10® 20
Mink. New Jersey. Pennsylvania
and Ohio 40® 60
Mink, Maryland, Virginia, Ken
tacky. Indiana, Wisconsin
lowa 30® 40
Mink, Missouri and Southern 25® 35
Mnxkrat, Northern and Eastern.
fail and winter 11® 14
Mnxkrat, Weat Penn. and Uhio.
fall and winter ... 10® 12
Mnskrat, South*m. fall and
winter 7® 10
Otter, Kentucky. Virginia,
North Carolina, Kanaax. etc. 3 00® 325
Otter, Northern sod Eastern
and Northwestern 3 00® 6 00
Otter,Pennxylvanls.New Jersey,
and Western 2 00® 3 00
Otter, South Carolina and Geor
gta 2 00® 2 50
Opossum. Northern, cased 6® 15
Opossum. Southern and open
Northern 3® 8
llar-oon, Mich., N. Ind., N
Ohio 75# 80
Raccoon. 111., lowa, Wis, a-d
Minn. 60® 70
Raccoon. V and E. Stat®
and N. Penn 60® 70
Racoon. N J , h. Penn., Ind.,
Mo., Neb., and Kan 35® 45
Raccoon, Md.. Vs., Ky.. Twin..
V and H. Car , Oeo., Ark..
Fie., and Ala 25® 35
Skunks, prime hack, No.Leased 1 30# 150
Skunk*, prtmx blsck, No. 1, open 1 10® ] 30
Skunks, prime one half white
streaked 50® (0
Skunk a. whole streaked 10® 20
Sheep, wool akin 20® 75
Wolf akina, mountain, large ... 1 50® 300
Wolf skins, prairie, prime. 50# 00
Jics York's Big Fire.
The recent destructive flres in New
York recall some of those noted con
flagration* which have become histori
cal in the annals of the city. The first
historic fire wsa in the beginning of the
revolution. Trior to that there waa the
incendiary panic, but it was not accom
panied with severe damage. The Are
referred to took place soon after Waah
ington's retreat (Hep tern ber, 177(1), and
destroyed the beat part of the city, in
cluding the first Trinity church. Nearly
400 buildings were laid in ruins, and the
burnt di*trie* waa not rebuilt in twenty
year*. Trinity church waa not rebuilt
until the beginning of the present cen
tury, and was so inferior in its construc
tion that in forty years it was consider
ed nnsafe and was therefore demolish
ed. No one who sees the present
Trinity can regret the change.
The burning of the Park theatre, in
IWK), was the next fire of note, and oth
er minor casualties! occurred, bnt noth
ing of a startling natnre until the great
fire of December 15, 1836, which had
never been equaled on the continent.
The previous aggregate damage, occa
sioned by all the Area that had ever oc
curred here, wi* less than that inflicted
by this vast and crashing catastrophe.
It destroyed the heart of the bnsiness
district, including 700 buildings (chief
ly stores), with an estimated loaa of
ta0,000,000. The extinction of the
large amount of capital waa one cause
for the panic and pressure which aet in
the next year, and which is still re
membered.
In 1845 the bnsiness part of the city
waa again ravaged by what may be
culled the great fire. Unlike the last
above mentioned, it ooenrred in the hot
test part of the summer, and waa mem
orable for that mysterious explosion
which waa proof against all investiga
tion. The burned area waa not leaa than
twenty acres, and waa rapidly rebuilt.
The fire thus proved a permanent bene
fit, but a number of insurance compa
nies ware ruined. Several very extern
■ive " tea firm," as they were called,
have occurred, one of which waa the de
struction of the Smith warehouse, with
a loaa of nearly $1, 000,00a Tea makes
a heat ao intense aa to prevent an sp-
S roach snfflciently near to cope with the
estractive element. The recent Broad
way Area are more extensive in point of
loss than any which have occurred since
1846, and havegiven insurance stocks a
heavy blow. The companies in many
instance have lost their surplus, and
the stockholder* most not expect their
usual dividend*.
At an English wedding, which took
place not long ago, tbe bridesmaids
win* three bends of silver braid aronnd
their heads, with a lily at the aide.
The onion originated in Europe. Bo
important facta Wk ont on# by one.
JORDAN AND THE DEAD MEA.
Tax Sursl aaS raami Waters #f gales
ties.
The following extract is from " Hyrian
Sunshine," by T. O. Appleton: The
Nile ia a sacred river, and the Tiber is
famous, but the most sacred and most
famous river of the world ia the Jordan.
From the beginning to the end, it has
that mystical character which befits
such lofty pretensions; its life is the
most vivid and oomplete, and its death
the most sudden and mysterious that
can be imagined. It is torrential, and
it leaves the baDks of the Hermon and
the many fountains of its tributaries
with an eager precipitation, as if it bore
a mission. From its greatest height,
some hundred feet above the sea level,
it leaps downward till it disappears
ia the Dead sea some thirteen hundred
feet below it. It hides itself among
oleander,tamarisk and willow, and many
an unfamiliar Oriental tree, as if wish
ing to keep from profane eyes the secret
of its errand. It does not stop long to
overflow its banks and fertilise the val
ley, for it has a purpose too mystical to
waste itself even upon acts of benevo
lenoe. It is only willing to become a
living barrier between the desert tribes
and the favored nation which loved it.
No boat lives on its bosom. No fisher
men dwell by its margin; hut it moves,
one headlong column of sacred waters
from its cradle of snow and cloud, high
in the heaven, till it dies in a fatal lake
marked by the finger of God, and for
ever a subject for man's curiosity and
reverence.
It would seem a thing apart and not
to IM- confounded with vulgar water*,
which lose their personality in the bosom
of the mighty sea, but exhaling to
heaven like some holy messenger
who perished in the fulfillment of his
duty. It* birth and its death alike
separate it from it* sister rivera of
earth, and only the voiceless mounds
of perished and nameless cities, tribes
stationary as if bidden to halt by some
supreme destiny of the past,or the awed
and questioning stranger from the many
Christian lands whose Imptism drew it*
authority from the sprinkling of it*
waterw, are seen upon its banks.
And then we wandered through rnanj
whispering reeds, through a kind of
jungle where sterility and the river had
fought for mastery, and which showed
traces of both; a tangle of bushes a* it
w< re, fighting their wayj up, and great
space* of barrenness which the summer
would soorch to lifelessness.
And at last the Dead sea. Though
we know that it is of volcanic origin,
and fed by mines of salt, the imagina
tion now, M ever, is content to sec in it
a thing accursed. There was a fresh
breeze; and a reluctant lift and heavy
tnroble of its tiny breakers male them
unlike other waves, bnt rather like
those of Dante's Infernal sea. There
wu a breath hearv with doom in ths
air, and we were fortnnste it was not
more stifling. Was it the breath of
those lost or tortured there ? And be
neath thai saline rbeet, did we not see,
as in the picture of Delacroix, the ago
nizing and twisted figures of the con
demned ?
We did not bathe tn the Dead sea.
Others have done so, and report of its
Imoyancy the same tales that are told of
onr own Ball lake. There is a whimsi
cal coincidence in the geographical re
lation of the Dead sea and the home of
the earlier prophets, and Mr Brivhsm
Young's persona] continuation of the
old dispensation, with a private Dead
sea of hia own, in his immediate neigh
borhood. The poorest swimmer keeps
his beat) above water; and persons have
said to me that their legs seemed to fly
np from nnder them. All speak of it*
wslers as refreshing after the great
heat of that tropical valley. Birds are
said never to fly over it, which ia the
merest superstition, for they are really
often saen to do ao. This lake certainly
has s brand upon it, as of divine ven
geance. The waters are heavy with
■in, the shores around blessed, and the
very site of destroyed cities upon its
banks unknown. And here are still seen
the apples of Budotn, smooth and pretty
to the eye and tonch, of a pale yellow,
like a small orange, bnt within, aa
Josepbns says, still retaining the ashes
of Kodom in living perpetirity of the
divine punishment, They are like lit
tle oranges to the eye and tonch, bnt
when pressed are like oak apples, and
explode like these, a puff of air leaving
the shell hollow, with only a slender
ponch holding fine filaments like silk,
which the Arabs use as matches for
their guns.
"That Fre Dag."
A noon yo*lerd*y there *u a piece of
txdcord, a dog and • man on the Wood
ward at anna portico at the city hall. If
the dog oonld have bed bia ear about it,
he wonld probably have offered the man
foraale at a low figure; bat doga in thia
country are dumb. It we* the man who
explain id:
"Tea, thia 'ere dog ia for sale. I
kinder thought wh( tr I left heme that I
wouldn't take leae than #lO for him, but
I find, on gittin' here, that moat every
body own* five or aix doga apieoe; and
ao I 'apoae I'll have to oome down to aix
or aeven dollar*. I hate to do it, though.
If the old woman waan't wearing a borae
blanket for a akirt, and the children
barefooted, I wouldn't part with thia
dog, even up, for the biggeat rhinooero*
in ltarnom'a ball oolleokahun."
" Any mean trait* about him ?" in
quired the citicen.
" Waal, no," alowly replied the owner;
" nbt any downright mean trick."
" Then why do you wiah to sell him V
" Waal, I can't lie, even to eel] a dog,
and aa bad aa the old woman waata a
new akirt. The fact ia, we've kinder
loot confidence in Boxer, and the old
woman, in pertiekler, ia down on him."
" How waaitr
" I don't keer about the dog'a hearin*
what I aay," replied tlie man a* be low
ered bia voice and drew off a lit le,
" Ton aee, be took the durndeat atreak
on you ever beard of. One day he left
home and oome book with a wallet in
hi* mouth. There waa #6OO in 11 Next
day he brought home a diamond ear
ring. Next night be eame home with a
gold watch and chain, and on hi* next
trip he brought home a thousand dol
lar* in greenback*. In the course of
the paat moatb this 'ere dog haf
brought home over ten loat pock etc
books, seven gold watchea, five diamond
rings Mid six wolf robe*."
••O6od gracious I but ia that so?" ex
claimed the citizen, looking the dog
over anew.
" Tee, that in no; end tbat'e why
we've loet oonfldenoe in him, end why I
went to eel! him, I'm afraid be don't
oome by those thing* honestly, end they
ere e harden on my ooneeienoe. The
old women bee tamed everything own
to the sheriff to be restored, end nhe
Bey if we keep the dog we're siding end
abetting robbeiy."
"If I take this dog i shell simply
keep him in the hern," observed the
citizen.
"Justso. If yon let him oat he'll
find e lost wallet, sore."
'' 1 shell see that be remains locked
np day end night, my honest friend,
end, by the way, let me compliment
you on your rare display of ooneeienoe.
Yon deserve the thanks of every honest
man. Here are $7 for your dog."
"Thank yon," wee the bumble re
ply, and that meek and humble look
didn't leave the men's feoe until the dog
end his new owner had tamed e corner.
Then he didn't say anything. He merely
gave vent to a chuckle which sonnded
like ice breaking off a mansard roof in a
thawing day and ooming down on a lot
of scrap-iron. Detroit Frr.t Prut.
K Counterfeiter's fttory.
Lodged in the Newark jail are tws
notorious oonnterfeiters who have float
ed more " queer " money and given the
authorities more trouble within the last
ten years than all the other counterfeit
ers combined. These same two gentle
men have romantic histories that engage
the attention of the public, and would
no donbt win a few sympathizing words
from the press were the latter not oon
scion* ♦hat it is always the habit of such
dangerous criminals to beguile sod
touch the soft side of the public with
just such tales. Charles Cinch, one of
these knights of " spurious plates.'
told his story in the United Btates com
missioner's office, and in brief it is ss
follows: Born in Prussia, at the age of
fourteen he was apprenticed to an en
graver and beoame very akillful at the
business, a fact that hundreds of thou
sands of our citizens have no reason is
donbt. To avoid a draft he went to Eng
land and subsequently came to this city,
where he and sixteen others were in
dnoed by an English officer to take ser
vice in the Crimea. Ulricb was drafted
into the famous Light Brigade, and was
one of the gallant six hundred who mads
the historic charge at Balaklava. He
described bis feelings when the brigade
dashed at the Busman lines. He said
be was carried away with the excite
ment, as were his fellows, and be did
not think of danger. He was struck on
the head with a musket by a Russian
soldier. His sknlJ was crushed, his
side was pieroed by a bayonet, and he
was left for deed on the battlefield,
where be lay helpless for thirty-six
hour*. He was then carried off by the
English trops and placed in a hospital.
II•- recovered, and was sent to England.
In supjiort of the above assertion he ex
hibits scars on hi* head and body. After
a short residence in England he return
ed to this city and fell in with Jim Col
vert, a partner of Cole, (who is under
arrest with Ulrich), and Col vert induced
him to engrave a vignette, not telling
him for what purpose it was to be used
By this trick, be said. Cole got him in
bis power, and he was forced to engrsve
many plates for him. At one time they
issued (50,000 in (5 banknotes, and at
another (300,000 in (50 notes were ship
ped to Hamburg, Germany. Tbess
notes, be said, were given by brokers in
Germany to emigrants who were ooming
to this country, and on tbair arrival the
emigrant passed the notes for railroad
fare. In this way the United Htates
officer* discovered that counterfeit (50
notes were being circulated in Europe.
—Nm York Mail.
Oeta arc not supposed to have the in
-1 Iclligenre of dopa, tin an exchange,
and yet if we observe them we find that
they are capable of a great degree of
reasoning. A oat belonging to a* bad a
| kittrn, which, when it bad learned to
[ drink milk from the aanoor with ita
mother, wan given to a neighbor. For
many day* after the old oat never drank
more than a certain qnantity of the
milk given to her, leaving the real for
the kitten, which ahe hourly expected
;to retnrn. After a time, finding the
kitten did not come, abe reatimed her
| habit of drinking the whole of the milk
! placed in the aanoer. We were calling
| at a cottage when an old cat came in.
" Ah t" aaid the woman of the bouse,
"abe ha* been to aee what onr neigh
bor'a oat haa got for bar. She ia too
old to hnnt for beraelf, ao onr neigh
bor'* cat will keep a mooae or a bird
tor her, and ahe goes regularly every
morning to aee what there ia for
ber." Another cat we have seen
who baa been taught bricks in the same
manner aa a dog, and if ber mmtar
places her on the table and aaya " Die,"
abe will lie qnite motion Ice*, and not
move a paw or her tail until be tells her
to get np, when die jnmpe ap immedi
ately and ia aa friaky aa ever.
Bird* asf Hard Winters.
The tendency to angnr a hard winter
from the arrival of bird* which nanally
winter in conntriea far north of ua, is,
we think with the Bev. 1\ O. Morris,
himself a great observer of the habits of
birds, generally a mistake. What such
arrivals do prove, ia not what in going to
be so much aa what haa already happen
ed in these northern regions—the birds
flying before the odd, rather than taking
precautions against it before they feel
it No doubt this may imply a severs
winter for ua, as well aa for these north
erly regions, especially if northerly
winds prevail, an they are very apt to
do wben there is nnnsnal cold, and,
tb erf ore, an unusually dense atmos
phere to the north of na, which rushes
in on the rarer atmosphere of onr more
bnmid climate. Rat that it only saying
that the birds fly from weather which is
not likely to extend itself tons, not that
thoy anticipate severe weather before
they feel it. When robin* come into
onr boose* we do ant take it as proving
that a long treat is oomtng, but only that
a hard boat is already there; and we
suapeet that the northerly birds fly
south for precisely the same reasons for
which the robins acker our bouse* when
they find the oold insupportable ont of
dootn.—Lmv&m