From My Arm-Chair. TO THE CIIILDKCM OF CAM IUIIIXIE, Wiio pres-iiti d to me, on my seven! y-aooonil birthday, February 97,1870, this chair, made from tlm wood of the village blacksmith's chestnut troo. Am 1 a king, that I should call my own This splendid ebon throne ? Or by what roason, or what right divine, Can 1 proclaim it mine? Only, perhaps, by right divine of song It may to me belong; Only because the eproadiug ohostnnt tree Of old was sung by mo. Well I remember it in all Ita prime, When in the summer time, The affluent foliage of its branches made A cavoru of 000 l shade. There by tho blaoksmitb'a forgo, beside tho street. Its blossoms whito and swoot Xnticed the bees, until it seemed alive, Anil murmured like a hive. And wben the winds of autumn, wltb a sbont. Tossed Its great arms about, The shining chestnuts, bursting from tho sheath, Dropped to the grout il beneath. And now some frsgmrnts of its brancboe bare, Shaped as a stately chair, Have by my hearthstone fonnd a home at last, And whisper of the past. The Danish king could not, in all his pride, ltejiel tho ocean tide, But, seated in this chair, I can in rhyme Roll back the tide of time. 1 see sgalu, as one in vision sees. The blossoms and the bees, And bear the children's voices shout and call, And the brown chestnuts fall. I see tho smithy with its firos aglow, I hear tho bellow a blow; And the shrill hammers on the anvil beat Tho iron wbito with heat t And thns, dear children, bavo ye made for me This day a Jubilee, And to my more than threescore years and ten Brought back my youth again. The heart bath Its own memory, like the mind, And in it are eushrined The prccions keepsakes, into which are wronght The giver's loving thought. Only your lovo and yonr remembranoe could Give life to this dead wood, And make these branches, leaflose now so long, Blossom again in song. —// wiry W. /n^/Wiou>. UNDER A CLOUD. " Dili von ever ee© a sadder face? " It v.:,b the n murk of a lady to her friend, as Mrs. Loring parsed her win dow. Mr. Loring had ridden ont for the first time for monthn ; not now of her own choice, but in obedience to the solicitation of a friend, anil the positive command of her physician. Hhe was in deep sc-ttow, refusing sll comfort. Heavy clcudr wero in lor sky—black clouds, through which not a ray of son thine penetrated. " Fever,"answered tho friend, whilo s shade caught from Mrs. Loring's countenance flitted across hor own face. 'Who can she bo?" " Didn't yon recognize her? " "No. The countenance was, to mo, that of a stranger." "I can hardly wonder that it should he so," said the friend, " for she is aadly changed. That was poor Mrs. Loring, who lost her two children last winter from scarlet fever." " Mrs. Loricg !" The lady might well look surprised. " Borrow has in deed done a fearful work there. But is it right thns to sit nnder a clond ? right thus to oppose no strong barrier to the waters of affliction that go sweeping over the son], marring all ita beauty ? " It is not right," wsa the answer. "The heart that sits in darkness, brood lag over its loss, sorrows with a selfish sorrow. The clonds that shnt ont tho tun are exhalations from its own stag nant surface. It makes the all-pervad rug gloom by which it is surrounded. I pity Mrs. Loring, unhappy sufferer that she is; bat my pity for hor is al ways mingled with a desire to speak sharp rebuking words, in the hope to agitate 'the slumlreron* atmosphere iu which she is enveloped like a shroud." "I wonder," remarked the other, "that her husband permits her to brood so long in idle grief over the in evitable." "Hnsbscds," was replied, "have often tho least salutary ir fineree over their wives when bowed with affliction. Homo men have no patience with dis plays of excesaive grief in women, ami are, therefore, more ignorant thaD chil dren in regard to its treatment Bach a man is Mr. Loring. All that he does or says, therefore, only deepens the ancompassing shadow. A wise, nn •elfish man, with a mind to realize some thing of his wife's tmo state, ami a heart to sympathize her, will always lead her from beneath the clonds of sorrow upward to tho cLecrfal heights npon which the snushiuo rest*. If she shows nn willingness to ho led; if she ooarts the shadows and hide in the gloom of her own dark repinings, he does not become impatient. Ho lovos her with too unselfish a love for this. Aud so he brings light to her on his cwn oonnto ■once, tho sunshine of even affected cheerfulness that penetrates the mnrky atmosphere in which she sits, and warms ker heart with its genial radiance. Thru be wooea her with sanny gleams from tho dear sky that yet beuds over her, and that will make all again bright end beantifnl on the earth of her spirit, M she will hnt lift herself above the clouds. It is the misfortune of Mrs. Loring that sbo is not bleased with such C hnsbsnd." The subject of this conversation bad on that morning yielded to the solicita tions of ouo of her nearest friends, and Willi giest reluctance consented to go pet with her in her carria^k. I "I shall lie ranch la tter at home," Bis objected to the argent appeal of her pTiend. "Tuis quiet an its me. The ■tOlness of my own chamber accords beat with my feelings. The glsro and ksutle of the bnsy trorts will only dis tarb me deeper. 1 know it is kindness - la you; bat it is a mistaken kindness." To reason with her wonld have boon iseleas, and so reason was not attempted. I "I have come prepared to hear no objections,'.' m the firm answer. "The doctor says that you are injnring your health, and must go out. Bo got your self ready." "Health— lifo even I What are they to mo? I have nothing to live fori" WHO tho gloomy responses. "Come quickly tho time when I shall lay me down and sleep in peace." "A woman, and nothing to livo for? One of Ood's intelligent ercatnros, and nothing to live fori" Thero was so much rebuke iu the tone with which thin wan offered that Mrs. Loring won partly arousod thereby. "Come I Let uh no© whether thero bo not somotbing to livo for. Oomc I yon must go with mo thin morning." Bo decisive was the lady's manner—so impelling the action of the will—that Mrs. Loring found herself unable to re sist; and no with reluctance that was not oouoealod, she mode her preparations to go out. In dne time sbo was ready, and, descending with her friend, took a aeat in her carriage And wns driven away. Ilnnses, trees, public buildings, swept likea moving panorama before her eye's and thongh familiar objects glassed themselves therein, they failed to awaken tho slightest interest. The sky wab clear, and the bright snnßhiue lay everywhere; bather heart still sat nuder a clond, and folded aronnd itself gloom for a mantle. Her friend tidkod to her, oalliug her attention ovcry little whilo to some new palneo homo, or to some glimpse of rural beauty which the eye caught far in tho distance, lint nil was vain; the mourner's slender form still shrunk hack among the cushions, and her face wore its saddest aspect. Suddenly the carriage drew up before a neat lookiug hoiiH© of moderate size, with a plat of ground in front, wherein were a verdant sqnure and bordcra of well-tended flowers. Ere Mrs. Loring bail time to nsk a question tho coach man was at the door. "Why do you stop hero 1" she in quired. ' I wish to make a brief call. Come! yon mnat go in with me." Mrs. Loring shook her head in a posi tive way, and said " no " still more rxifli tivoly. " You will meet no light votary of fashion here, my friend." said tho lady, " but one who has suffered like your self. " Come I" Hut Mrs. Loring shrunk farther back in the carriage. "It is now only three months since she followed to their mortal rcstipg place two prci : ona lit Me ones, the la't of her flock, that, scarcely u year ago, numbered four. I want yon to meet her. Bisters in sorrow, y<>u cannot but feel drawn toward each other by cords of syuijiathy." Mrs. Loring shook her head impera j tivoly. "No—no 1 Ido not wish to see her. 1 I have grief enough of my cwu without sharing in that of others. Why did you bring mo here ?" There was something like auger in the voice of Mrs, Loring. " bix months, nearly, havo passed j since Ood took vonr children to Him self, and time, tiiat softens grief, has brought to yon at ieust some healing leaves. The friend I wish to viit—a friend in humble life—is sorrowing with as deep a sorrow, that is yet but thrso mouths old. Havo you no word to mpak to her ? Can yon not, at least, mingle a tear with her tears? It may do you Loth good. But Ido not wish to urge a sclflvh reason. Bear tip with womanly fortitude uqder yonr own sorrow, and s< ek to heal the sorrow of s sister, over whose heart are passing the waters of affliction. O.rne, my friend I" Mrs. Lcnug, so strongly nrged, stop ped ont npoc tho pavement. Hhe aid so with a relnctAuo© that was almost un conquerable. Oh, how earnestly sho wished herself back in tho shadowy solitude of her own home. " Is Mrs. Adrian at home?" was in- J qnired of the tidy girl who came to the door. The answer being in tho affirma tive, the ladies entered and wore shown into a small but neat sitting-room, on the walls of which wero jwirtrsits, in crayon, of fonr as lovely children as ever the eyes looked npon. The sight of these swoot young faces stirred the waters of sorrow in the heart of Mrs. Loring, and she hardly restrained her tears. While yet her pulses throbbed with a quicker beat, the door opened anil a woman entered, on whose rather pale face was a smile of pleasant wel come. " My friend, Mrs. Loring," sneh was the introduction, "of whom I have spoken to you several times." The smile did not fade from the coun tenance of Mrs. Adrian, but its expres* | sion changed as she took tho hand of Mrs. Loring and said: " I thank you for your kindnessXin calling." Mrs. Loring scarcely returned the warm pressure with which her hand wae taken. Her lips moved slightly but no word fonnd utterance. Not the feeblest effort at a responsive smile was visible. "We have have both lieen called to pass through tho fire," said Mrs. Adri an, in more subdued tones, though the smile still played aronnd her lips. " Happily, One walked with us when the flames were fiercest, or wo mint have been consumed." It was now that her voioo reached the heart of Mrs. Loring. The eyes of the selfish woman dropped to the floor, snd her thought wns tinning in npon itself. In the smile that hovered aliont the lips of Mrs. Adrian she bod seen only indif ference, not •" eet resignation. The words just spoken, but more particular ly the voioo that gave them utterance, nnvatled to her the sorrow of s kindred sufferer, who wonld not let tho voice of wailiag disturb another's ear, nor the shadow of her grief fall upon a spirit al ready nnder a cloud. The drooping eyes of Mrs. Loring wero raised, with a half wondering expresaion, to the face of Mrs. Adrian. Btill hovered the smile about those pale lips; but its meaning was no longer a mystery : the unite was a loving effort to aend figb and warmth to the heart of a grieving sister. From the face of Mrs. Adrian the eye of Mrs. Loring wandered to the portraits of her children on the wall. "All gone!" The words fell from Mrs. Lormg's lips almost involuntarily. She spoke from a new impulse—pity for • sister in sorrow. "All," waa answered. "TLey were precious to me—very precious—but God took them." A slight hnakiaess vailed her voioe. " ltcnntiful children I" Mrs. Loring ■till gazed on the portraits. "And all taken in a year. Oh how did you keep your heart from breaking ?" " He who laid iqion me BO heavy a burden gave mo strength to boar it," wan the low roply. " I have found no strength in a like affliction," said Mrs. Loring sadly. "No ntrength I Have von nought sustaining power?" Mrs. Adrian spoko with a winning earnestness. "I havenrayed for comfort, but none came," sain Mm, Loring, Badly. " Braving ia well; but it avails not, unless there bo also doing. "Doing?" " Yes, the faithful doing of our duty. Borrow has no antidote liko this." Mrs. Loring gazed intently upon the face of her monitor. "When tho last heavy stroke fell upon my. heart," continued Mrs. Adrian. shattering it, as it ecmod, to pieces, I lay for n little whilo stunned, weak and almost helplena. lint as soon as thought began to rnn clear, I said to J myself: 'ls thero nothing for my hands |to do, that yon lie hero idle? Is yonrs | the only suffering spirit in tho world ?' I Then I thought of my husband's aorrow, which ho bore so silently and manfully, striving to look awav from his own j grief that he might bring comfort to ! me. 'ls it not in my power to. lesson | for him the gloom of our desolate house j hold?' I asked of myself. I fell that it | was ; and when next he retnrnod home | at the day's decline I met him, not with 1 a fuce of gloom as before, but with oh i cheerful a countenance as it was in my i>owcr to assume. I had my reward ; siw ihut I had lightened his burden ; | and from that moment half the pressure |of mine was removed. Hinee tbeu I have ut vcr suffered my lit art to brood idly over its grit f; but in da : ly duties ! sought tho strength that never is given 1 to those who fold their hands in fruitless I inactivity. The removal of my children lightened sll home duties, ami took away I objects of lovejtliat I felt must bo in a measure restored. I had the mother's heart still. And bo I sought ont a motherless little one, and gathered her into tho fold of my love. Ah. madam ! this is the liest balsam for tho bereaved and bleeding affections that I can tell of. To mo it has bmnght comfort and re conciled mo to leases, the bare anticipa tion of which once made me beside my self with fear. Sometimes, as I hit with J the tender babs I now call my own root j ing on my bosom, a thought of Lcavcu j goes pleasantly through my mind, aud I picture to myself the mother of this adopted child as tho loving guardian of j my own babes, now risen iuto the spiritual kingdom of our Father. I can | not tell yon what a thrill of delight such | thoughts at times awken i" Mrs. Loring lowed her hrnd upon her I bosom and fat in silence for some mo ments. Then she said: " Yon liavo read mo a lesson from which I hope to profit. No wonder my | heart has uebed 011 with undiminished pain. I have been selfish in my gri d. ' There is nothing now to live for,' J have repeated to myself over sndovtr again, nn i! I b -lit vod the words." " Nothing to livo for I" Mrs. Adrian spoke in a enrprised voice. "In tho image and likeness of Ood we were all made; and if wo would have tbs lost beauty restored, we must imitate Ood in our lives. Ho loves every one with a ihv.no Umlcrnese, and is over seeking to bless as. If wo would be like Him, we mn.it love each other and seek each other's good. 1J 1 . given us tho alnlitv to impart Dn.Bsiiigr, and made true happiness to jepend on the exer cise of this ability; and if w© fold onr , hands and sit in idle rcpinings, happi ness is not possible. How fully have I proved this I" " And, (lod helping me, I will prove the opposite," said Mrs. Loring, speak ing from tho warmth of a new impulse. " Long enough have I been sitting under a cloud." "While the bright sop shone far blhtvo in UlO clear heavens," added tho ' friend, with, a smile of encouragement. 1 " May we ace this babe yon have called your own ?" said Mrs. Loring. The little one was brought, and, as she lay tenderly clasped to the boaom of her new mother, giving even more of blessedness than alio received, Mrs. Loring, after her lips hail touched, with a lingering pressure, the pnro forehead, said: " Your action has been wiser snd bet ter than mine, and yon have had yonr reward. \\ rule the waters of lovo s:sve grown stagnsnt in my heart, sending up mnrky exhalations to darken my sky, yonrs have l>een kept sweet and pure to 1 mirror the Ix-mlitig heavens, I thank yon for the lesson." Hhe wore a different face on return ng home than when she went forth so ro luetantly. There was s rift in the over shadowing clonds, and a few rays of sun shine came warmly down. Even the in ception of good pnrpoeeehod moved the Inng-pnlaeleea waters, and the small ripples on the surface wore catching the Hflbt. A few weeks of unselfish devotion to the life dnties awaiting her hand on all sides wrought a wonderful change in Mrs. Loring. In seeking to be nsefnl to others, her heart was comforted ; and when Into that heart, ever yearning with s mother's undying lnve| a balm left helpless and friendless In the world was taken, the work of consolation was com pleted, Bhesat nnder a clond no longer. Aliove her arched the beantifnl sky, bright through the cheerful day ; and when the night of grief for the loss of her precious one returned, as it wonld return st intervals, a thousand stem made beantifnl the atnre firmament, A Whale la a Soup-Hate. The members of the New York Acade my of Boieneea met recently to hear Prof. W. P. Trowbridge lectnre on "Animal Mechanics," A refcrcuco was made to a microscopic fish which the lecturer .once discovered swimming about in a drop of water. Its method of propnlsion waa by the motion of the tail, in the manner peculiar to the whale, and, so far as the observer oonld dis corn, the little fiah was very like an in flnitesimal whale. The lecturer had calculated that at the rale it was swim ming it oould have crossed Long Island sonnd in twenty years, and its full sized prototype would have made the same voyage in an hour. In one hour if might have reached the farther eosst of a soup plate. PUR THE PAIR HEX. Ilabr mid lb* Mirror. My baby-boy sat on tho floor, Ilia big blno oyea wore fall of wonder, For ho had never noon before That baby in tho mirror door— What kept the two, eo near, sounder? He leaned toward that golden boad The mirror-border framed within, Until twin cheek*, like roaea rod, I.ay aide by aide, then aoftly raid— * I oan't get out ; can yon— oomo in ?" —ManchrM. C'banning. Thin*, I vrrr Waiunn Wnnta la Kaotv. Hpring fabrics show a decided ten dcncy not only toward increasing bright neaa in oolor, but a mixture of shade*! an in the peacock colore. Blue is largely brought forward, and appears in dif ferent shades under the names of sap phire, n blno overcast with greenish tint; gendarme, a dark shade of mili tary blue, and other blues of milder typo callod blue dc Sevrcn ati l Baltic blue. Yellow iH represented in old gold, gilt, nlmond and ecru, and garnet, wine and dark plum aro still employed. All white goods show creamy tinges, and grays run tri m dark to light—a pale gray called "dust of shade " being quite new. Prints, jaconets anotlier cotton goods, notably tho new momio cloth, are out in pretty floral designs which repro duce styles IU pattern and coloring prev alent many years ago, Hprigsof flowers on delicate colored backgrounds and little dots disposed of in clusters at in tervals, aro arnoug leading styles, as are I foulard designs, (linghams of tine qnnl . ity show largfl plaids of quiet tone, and ; handsome Persian borders appear on ! solid prints. Htripes pervade all classes ! i>l new materials, sometimes alotM ami aguiu in combination with flower*. New summer silks come iu stripes ; also in small broken plaids. Finely-beaded passementeries as well ns line cord passementeries, both for bands and for trimming in pieces, are introduced among spring trimmings. Hilk friuges have by no means lost their prestige, though woolen fringes aro pa-Hie; hems and rows of maehine stitching taking their place in all-wool costumes. Htripcd or other figured goods of satin and silk or velvet and silk | ore employed as garniture for skirt, oolLar, rivers, cutis, vest, etc. The ! variety of buttons is undiminished, and j they como in round, flat or medium | shapes. (Strict costumes, as well as dresses having trains, are moderately bouffant | in tffi-ct, and are made with a trimmed ■ or princess skirt, i. r., one on which : the drapery is fastened. Basques and jackets, with and without waistcoats, form the popular bodice. I'or outside j wraps the walking jacket and sacqtie ; itSMimc* various shapes. Win u made to complete n co.dnme it la trimmed to match; otherwise it may be trimmed in tailor stylo or with galloon. M'difl catious of the dolman, shite*, scarfs and fichus will all be much worn. Ul sters remain popular for traveling pur- ] porr s. Bonnets, geuorally sneaking, o larger in size ; some are vsrtationref a the cottage shape ; others have flowing brims rising over tho forehead, with ' sides pressed flat to the head; H .ngh and ready str.iwa, braide i Hrows and j chips in black and mode colors are among the materials. In round hats j come the English walking hat and tnr . bans, with a variety of brovbbrimmed shade hats for country wear. Two- i faced ribbons, striped ribbona, Difton laee and flowers in profusion e institute leading trimmings iu millinery, as do ! striped and checke red silks. Tb. MMNAtaa Fashion is not a feeble goddess, and rarely yields to the attacks of sat re, by which she is so frequently assailed. Occasionally she seems to do so; but it ia only in so* ming, for when a fashion ! is abandoned it is not in defereuee to its assailants, but because its wearers de mand a change. But in all sgea, either with the pen or the brush, satirists have assailed fashion. In a manuscript ol the eleventh century an illuminator in troduces the father of all evil dressed in the prevailing style. He weais the long sleeves of the period, which hsd to be knottel to keep them from touching the ground, tbeonormonsly lengthened train and the drosa laced up In front. Trains, however, did not grow any shorter be cause of the "paper bullets of he brain" fired at them, for in the thir teenth century a satirist thus discourses of the ladies of the period: " They are like peacocks and magpies; for the pies naturally bear feathers of various oolor*, so the ladies delight in strange habits and diversity of ornaments. The vies have not long tails that trail in the dirt, ; so that the ladies make their trains a thousand times longer than those of posoocks and pies." Among other hits at the fashion ia found tho following announcement, ! which is called the petition of " one William (tingle, coacbmaker and chair• maker of the liberty of Westminster." He states " that for the service of ladies wearing hoop petticoats he has built a round chair iu the form of a lantern, aix yards and a half in circumference with a stool in the center of it; the said vehicle being so contrived as to receive the passenger by opening in two in the middle and closing mathematically when she ia seated." And further, that be has also invented a coach for the recep tion of oue lady only, who ia to be "let in .t tho top," And "that the said coach has been tried by a lady's woman, in one of these fall petticoats, who was let down from a balcony and drawn up again by pulleys, to the great satisfse lion of her ladt and all who beheld her." It is to be hoped that such ex tremes of fashion will not be revived in this century. A few years ago many of our ladies wore hoop skirts measuring four and a half yards around the lower edge, but when they had reached that size I)ame Fashion kindly declared should l>e laid aside altogether. An old poot tunce his lyre to the fol lowing song : Now drawn! In a rap, now In *00*; Now loon* In a mob, now rino* In * Jnnn ; Wltbeal hnndkrrrbiof now. mil now btirlnd In nf; Now plain •* n g*keen fined $5 for eavesdropping. A New Orleans woman, whoso bus band was killed by a pot hear, has sued its owuer for $65,G00 damage*. It is said that the wife of President Cirevy, of the French republic, can ride a steeplcchsfe, paint a landscape, oom pose a poem and play the piano like an angeh Clasaes are about to be formed in.Ht. Petersburg for the instruction of women in medicine; and when their studies are completed, they will be attached to Die medical staff of the Russian army. The late Mrs. Clarhoa C. Cook, of Davenport, la., haa left nearly $lOO, 000 to a home for the friendless in that city, and $50,000 to a fund for the sup- 1 Iort of the poor clergy and the widow* of clergymen. flaw Russia Treats Striker*. A Pans correspondent of the New York .SYor asys: As the Russian journals are forbidden to publish intelli gence of the cruel repression of a recent atnke in HI. Petersburg, the new* has been cjramnti looted to ua by travelers who have just arnved from the Russian 1 capital, and who speak of what had oc curred nnder their own observation. A ! strike took place at the new Russian cot ton mill, in the principal manufacturing district of the capital. A large number of atrikes have occurred there of late years, and the police have sometimes sided with the weavers. On this occa sion the work people struck for shorter hours of labor, thirteen and a half hours s dy being not unnaturally regarded as excessive. In the morning the weavers and spinners assembled in s crowd out side the mill, and the district police master bearing of the disturbance, sent some mounted police to reason with them. The gendarmes, however, pro duced no effect, and the strikers set off in s body from the new canal to lay their case before the czarewitch. Intelligence of this was at once sent to the nearest barracks, and as the crowd passed the place they were surrounded by a number of Cossacks, who drove them into a square in front of the barracks, using their sabers and whips freely among them. Many of the strikers ware cut about dreadfully. Afier the crowd was locked up in the barracks s police com mission was instituted to try them, the verdict being as follows : All the men above the age of nineteen (seventy tn nnrnber) are to be exiled to the province of Archangel, after receiving sixty laebes apiece; all nnder that age are to be sent back to the village whence they came, and are to bo kept there the remainder of their lives. All the women employed In the mill, and men who did not active ly join In the demonstration, are to be discharged and fined three roubles a bead ail round. In a word, tho entire working staff of the new cotton mill, about eight hundred hands, ia oleared away at the stroke of s pen and s frerh sot of people, to work from five m the rooming till eight at night, is to b en gaged to take their places. An admirer of Weston, O'Leary and other " tramps," purchased a copy of Walker's Dictionary, nnder the iraprea aion that it was a work oo pedestrian lam. Men Who bare. In thin country a few men wear cor- I acta, ami aeem to like them. Gottacbalk, Jhe pianist, and equally celebrated as a beau, always had on a corset. The male ooraet-wearera are those who take their coata to the up town tailor, whose adver , tiaement may IKS found almost any morn - ing in the /-rfx/jyer (Philadelphia). This ingeni on fellow has an arrangement which ho nuts into ooaU, by which one's shoulders are made to look as broad as a prize-fighter's. With one of i his inventions, and a perfectly-con strict**] oorset, the figure of a man be comes irresistible. It is a secret that the ladies know as well as ourselves, that the shoulders of all our ooats are more or less padded, that freqro ntly our vests sre ditto, so that with the ezcep tion of the hair of our heads, which is usually our own, there is about the full dressed man, almost as much aham as surrounds the frill dressed woman. But our male corset-wearers will not talk. They hide their corsets figurative ly as well as actually, and would deny , the whole thing, if they were asked ! about it. A daily newspaper reporter |is the authority for saying that the i tailor who makes heavy shoulders out ■ of slim ones, keeps quiet on the subject. Many attempts have been made, but all iin vain,to interview him. One must turn j to England to discover how a man feels to be tightly laced. Here is a gentle man who wears ladies' shoes because ho thinks them more oomfortable, and goes for his corsets to a store where there arc lady attendants, aa "I find them much more obliging than male assistants use 4 ually are." He is a connoisseur in cor sets for gentlemen. Listen to him : " I strongly advise to have the oorset made to open up the back only, as I find it i mucti more oomfortable to wtar ■ and lighter, than when made to open in front, in the now common mode. I can truly affirm, from my own exj>erienoe, that moderately light lacing (say three I to four inches; is not only not preju dicial, but, on the contrary, ia very , beneficial to the health. My occupa tion is of a sedentary nature, and I used to suffer much from pains in my side and back, and from indigestion ; but about a year and a half ago my aister persuaded me to try and wear a oorset, I and she alter**] one of her own to suit roe. I fornd it rather irksome frir the first few days, but the feeling soon pass**], and on my next visit to London I had a corset properly male to my own measurement. Since then I have had another one made, smaller in the waist and wider in the chest, which I am now j wearing. The pains have quite left me ' and my health is generally much better than it nsrd to be. Besides this, the feeling of I* ing tolerably well is laced very comfortable. From my own oheerv | ation and inquiries 1 find the practice of corset wearing by young gentlemen is becc ming much more usual, but we don't make any display of the fact." In France and Germany many more gentlemen affect corset* than in Eng land or America. Fitrney't Progrttt. A New Order. The other day, after a strapping young man bad sold a load of con) and potatoes on the market, and bad taken his team to a hotel barn to "fool," it lH**ame known to the men around the barn that he was very desirous of join ing some secret society in town. When Questioned he admitted that such was Ilia case, and the boys at ones offered to | initiate him into a new order, called | "The Cavaliers of Coveo." He WAS told 1 that it was twice a*'octet as Free Mason ry, much nicer than Old Fellowship, and the cost was only two dollars. In case be had the toothache be could draw five dollars per week from the relief fund, and he was entitled to receive ten ' dollars for every headache, and twenty five dollars for a sore throat. The young man thought be had struck ' a big thing, eod£ after eating a hearty i dinner, he wM taken into a storeroom j altove the barn to l>o initiated. The boys i purod cold water down his back, put j flour on his hair, swore him to kill his mother, if commanded, and rushed him around for an hour witbont a single complaint from bis lips. When they had finished he inquired : "Now I'm one of*the Cavaliers of Coveo, am 1 f ' "You are," they answered. "Nothing more to learn, is there t" "Nothing." "Well, then, I'm going to lick the whole crowd ("continued the candidate, and be went at it, and before be got through be had his two dollars initiation fee back, and three more to boot, and had knocked everybody down two or three times apiece, lie didn't seem greatly disturbed in mind as he drove out of the bam. On the contrary, hia hat was slant* d over, he bad afresh five cent cigar in his teeth, and he mildly said to one of the barn hovs : "Bay, boy, if you bear o(any Cavaliers asking for a C