Wonder* of Plant* mid Fitter*.
Most of the flowers sleep during the
nipht. The marigold goes to bed
with the sun. Many plnnts are so sen
sitive that their leaves close during the
passage of a e loud. Thedamlelion opens
at live or six In the morning, and shuts
at nine in the evening, the dnisy opens
its day's eye to meet the early beams of
the monifng sun. The ivy-leaved let
tuce opens at eight in the morning and
closes forever at lour in the afternoon.
The niglit-flawering cereus turns night
into day. It begins to expand its magni
eent sweet-seented blossoms in the
twilight, it i in full bloom al midnight,
and closes forever at the dawn of lay.
In a elover field not a leaf is open until
after sunrise. There are some plants
that may he used as went in T prophets. ;
Vb.> pimpernel spreads lis leaves al the
end of wet weather, while the different
sneeies of elover eontroet theirs, if the
ehiekweed droops and its flowers are not
open, there is rain in prospect. The J
crowfoot anemone foretells the eoniing j
of rain by elosing its blossoms; the anc- i
mono nientaisa carries its flowers ereet
when tlie weatJicr is tine, and drooping
when overcast. It will rain if the whit
low grass lets its leaves hang drooping,
if the gallium verum swells and exhales
strongly, also if the birch scents the air.
The sensitiveness of plants to light,
heat and moisture was made by l.innn-u.s
the great botanist, the basis of many
experiments and observations, resulting
in the arrangement called bis "floral 1
clock " It is a curious fart that there
are twenty-four varieties of plants whose
blossoms open successively at the differ- .
cut hours of day and night. The flow- !
ers of the water lily close and sink into
the water precisely at sunset, rise again |
to the surface and expand with sunrise. j
Pliny described the lotus of the Ku
phrates, which followed thesame order;
and the reverence which was paid to
the lotus by the Egyptians is supposed
by some to be from ibis association with
the sacred sun. Flowers and fruits of
the lotus are engraved on Kastern toiubs
and monuments, and adoi n the heads of
their sculptured deities. Besides the
" floral clock," there is a floral calendar,
in which each month is marked by its
own loyai flower.
It is well known that plants sleep at
night; but their hours of sleeping are a (
matter of habit, and may tie disturbed
artificially, just as a cock may be waked
up to crow at an untimely hour by the
tight of a lantern. A French chemist
subjected a sensitive plant to an exceed
ingly trying course of diseip.ine, by com
pletely changing its hours, exposing it
to a bright light at night, and putting it
in a dark room during the day. The
plant appeared to be much puzzled at
first. It opened and closed its leaves ir
regularly, sometimes nodding in spite of
the artificial sun that shed its beams at
midnight, and sometimes waking up,
from force of habit, to find the chamber
dark in spite of the time of day. Such
are the trammels of use and wont. But,
after an obvious struggle, the plant Mib
p no it ted to the change, and accepted the
night for the day without any apparent
ill effects.
We noth * tliat an Italian chemist lias
recently made some experiments which
have resulted in the discovery that vege
table perfumes exercise a positively
healthful influence upon the atmosphere
by converting its oxygen into ozone, and
thus increasing its oxidizing influences.
The essences found to develop the largest
quantity of ozone are those of the cherry,
l&urc), clover, lavender, mint, juniper,
lemon, fennel and bergamot: those that
give smaller quantities are anise, nut
meg and thyme. Flowers destitute of
perfume do not develop ozone, and those i
which have but slight perfume develop
it only in small quantities. Reasoning
from those facts, the professor recom
mends the cultivation of flowers in
marshy districts and in ail places in
fested with animal emanations, on ac
count of the powerful oxidizing influ
ence of ozone. The inhabitants of such
regionssbould.be says, surround their
houses with beds of the most odorous
flowers. There is a mystery about per
fume. It eludes the most subtle analy
sis. So fine, so subtle, so imponderable,
it lias eluded our most delicate measures
and our stropg-st lenses. If we could
come to the essence of each Valor we
would make an enormous stride in hy
giene and in chemistry, and no profession
would profit so much by it as the mod', j
cal profession if it could lie conclusively
demonstrated that such an odor pro
occded from such and such a cause, as
we already knowot sulphur, suljdiumtc
hydrogen. ammonia, and 'he like.— Jn
dmnap Jit Journal.
F.lectrlc Lights,
Introduction of the electric light is be- I
♦oming so general in Tans that it now
attracts very little attention. The pro- 1
prietors of hotels, restaurants, theaters,
and even stores, are ▼rectina electric
candles in front of their establishments,
and there arc quite a number on the
steps and around the Madeleine. All
the public gardens and squariw have a
dozen or more lights, and the Place
POpera literally blazes with them, mak
ing the gns jets look like farthing can
dles. Tlie Arch of Triumph has twenty
electric candle* around it, and where
ever it was ntrodueed by the authori-
lies to add brilliancy to the great illumi
nation it remains as a permanent illumi
nating process. In nearly all the great
centra! plaef sof Paris electricity is grad
ually superseding gas, and wherever it
is extensively used the gaslights are ex
tinguished. whether it will ever be used
for indoor lighting is very doubtful, as
it is too glaring a light when very close
to it; it in shaded out of doors with
large and heavy frosted shades. For
railroad stations and all central public '
place* it is superseding gas, but it re
quires motive power near at band to the
candles to keep up a steady current of
electricity.
A Cooking Contest at a Fair.
Mias Corson, the scientific cook, having
pass-d through Ohio some months ago,
m the young women of Hamilton county,
in that State, got an idea that it would
be awfully nice to have a cooking con
test at the county fair. So a space in !
the grounds was inclosed by means of a
rope, and in the midst of a thousand
spectators, who pressed the lines from
every point of the eompa*s, Miss Mary
Leehy.of Wyoming, rolled up her sleeves
and pltclif •cl in. in# judges [ladies, of
course) pulled out their watches at the
moment when the water began to boil
in the kettle, 12.43 v. and sixty-five
minutes later six persons sat down to n
royal dinner prepared by Miss Mary's j
9 hand. At the same hour the next day !
Miss Mary's contestant, Miss Mitebe
Hill, tried her hand, and in exactly fifty
four minutes rang for the feast. The
judges awarded the prize, an improved
snn the most valuable stove made, to
Miss Leehy, becouse Miss Phmhe's din
ner, though ready eleven minutes earlier,
was inferior in quality.
flow Coffee Is Raised.
Coffee is a plant of Turkish origin or
discovery. Many years ago some person
ivith a speculative turn of mind begun
sxperimentiiig with the seeds of the
plant, which were discovered to bo
growing in great profusion in Southern
Abyssinia, in the ilistrlct of Koffa, from
which the name Coffee. The plant also
grows well in many places in Western
Africa. It thrives only in warm situa
tions upon the slopes oi hills and in soil
not retentive of rain, its cultivation is
now carried on in nearly all the tropical
countries, especially in Brazil, Java,
Ceylon, Sumatra, the Isle of Reunion,
along the western coast of India, Arabia,
Abyssinia, West Indies, Central Amer
ica, Venezuela, Guiana, Peru, Bolivia
| ami a few of the Pacific islands.
The coflcc plant reaches a height vnry
; ing from eight to thirty feet. '1 lie trunk
is covered with a grayish bark, some
thing like beach. White flowers put out
j in thick clusters around the branches,
then comes the fruit, the seed or the
j h rry in like clusters. The plant is
usually kept down by pruning? so that it
j does not rise more tlian five feet in
height. This increases the productive
ness and adds to the convenience in gath
ering the lierries. The slender, pliable
branches spread out and bend down like
those of apple trees. Tit • plants are
raised from the seed in nurseries, and
when a yearold are transplanted and set
out in rows. In three j cars the young
plants begin to yield fruit, but they are
not expected to do their best until live
year-, old, when they may be counted
■ upon as valuable, and for tlie next twenty
years, with proper care, give fruit. Tie
oi.int itself is an evergreen, with the
j leaves always flesh. At certain seasons
; the blossoms extensively appear, scat
tered among the leaves likesnoW: but
i they arc hardly ever absent from the
| trie itself, which may be said to be a per
; petual bearer. So it is that the coffee
plant is putting forth blossoms while the
i ruit itself i* coming to maturity, as
those berries which ripen are gathered
almost any and every season of the year,
though the great harvests are gathered
j at intervals of twice or three timies a
| year.
The fruit itself when ripe resembles a
cherry, the th-shy portion surrounding
1 the seed being very sweet and palatable.
It is at first red and then dark purple,
the bright red showing in sucli contrast
• to the green as to make the fields look
very beautiful. Every one of these cher
ries or fruits contain two seeds, their flat
sides b-ing opposed to each other in the
center of the meat or pulp, and are sep
arated by a thin layer of something re
sembling tissue paper, but which is a
very tough membrane, and •which not
only separates the seeds, but still wraps
around theni to hold tfieni close together,
'flic fruit is picked as are cherries and
dried, when the pulp itself becomes a
pod, which must be removed before the
seeds are ready for mnrk"t. In some
countries the fruit is packed by bund at
j intervals during the seasons of harvest.
In Arabia and oine portions of Btazil
it is allowed to remain on the tree* till
tliorougly ripe, when the tnx-s arc shaken
and the fruit falls upon cloths spread
upon the ground. Tlie twos eds inside
| the pulp are male and female, the male
seeds when planted producing more
tries, while the female seeds bring forth
nothing.
In Brazil and *ote portions of India
: the curing and preparing of coffee for
market is performed by spreading the
fruit to the thickness of several inches
on smooth bed* or surface* under the
beat of the sun. so that fermentation sets
I in and the entire mas becomes anything
but pleasant to ta-te or smell. Altera
time the fermentation censes, th n moist
ure disappears, when the dried fruit is
i shoveled or passed between wooden roll
' ers, and sometimes pounded as clothes
:rre pounded in a barrel, with wooden
pestles, until the pulp is broken, after
which it is entirely washed away. Next
comes the separating eif the tough mem
brane so that the seeds can be separated,
which is done by pa-sing the seeds be
tween heavy rollers which tear and
prick and pull tills membrane to pieces,
so that it become* as chaff, which is re
moved by winnowing, as wheat is
i cleaned by running it through a fanning
, mbl.
An American Ilrama.
ACT ONE.
Coi'NTILT EDITOR (to Well-to-do mer
chant) —" Wouldn't you like to take my
paper. Mr. Blank?"
MERCHANT (with great cordiality)—
"Of i-our-e I would! Have bism in
tending to suliserih.) for a long time.
I Send it up, by all means."
AIT TWO—THREE MONTHS I.ATKR.
EXTRACT, from leading editorial in
the W 'cr.kly [fugle —" We must urge upon
our readers the necessity of prompt set
tlement of their subscriptions, many of
which are largely in arrears. I'lease bear
in mind that it costs us a large amount
to print our paper. Country produce
received !t t ruling market price*."
MERCHANT (alter rending leader)—
"There! I must call in and pay Bangs
that 92. I'erlmps he needs it. But there
can be no particular hurry. Two dob
; lnr* isn't much."
ACT THREE—THREE MONTHS LATER.
DEVII. from [fugle office (presenting
biU to merchant) —" I'lease, sir. Mr.
Bangs wants to know if you won't pay
this to-day, as he has got to raise some
money to pay his hanils."
MERCHANT F somewhat nettled)—" Tell
Bangs I'll call in: am pretty short to
day. [Exit Devi 1.1 Bang* needn't be
so mighty sharp with his bills."
ACT FOI R —THREE MONTHS LATER.
EOITOR (with a sick and weary smile)
—" Good morning, Mr. Blank."
MERCHANT (slmrtly)—" Morning."
EOITOR (weakly)— This little bill
! that—"
MERCHANT (fiercely)—" How much is
j it?"
EDITOR (softly ) —"Only 92. I wouldn't
trouble you if—
MERCHANT (in a great rage)— "There's
j your 92, and I want you to ptop the
paper. I ain't In the habit of lieing
dunned to death for a mean paltry sum
as that. Now stop your miserable sheet
! and you hoar me!"
Tlie poor editor, with a careworn face,
feebly staggers out the door. Having
i first gathered up the 92.
N. B.—Plot taken from real life, and
' is not fictional .^—UocklatulOtmrier.
I The fastest run on record of a steamer
was that of tlie Durban, from Table Bay,
Cape of Good Hope, to England; 0,000
miles in eighteen days, sixteen hours, of
nctual steaming, an average of 13.1
knots an hour. It is far eaaier to run
3.000 miles in nine days than t.OOO in
eighteen days, because ol the extra
weight of coals that must lie carried.
A Father's Sacrifice.
Not a great while since a prominent
physician of Denver, Col., was called t®
attend a patient in tlie last stages of
what appeared to lie consumption, but
| which, upon examination, proved to be
I simwly a wearing away of life—a decay
lof the energies of mind and body. Af
' though well supplied with money, the
stranger was seemingly without friends
or relatives. He wrote no letters anil
received none. An alien to tlie tender
ness and charities which sanctify the
affections, he seemed to be drifting out
of tlie world, in which, for liini, all the
flowers of the heart had perished—h
bleak and desolate old man, hastening
out of the sunshine into the winter of
the grave. After inuking a thorough
examination of tlie case, the doctor told
him tluit although lie could llnd no or
ganized disease, yet lie was dying.
" 1 know it," replied the patient.
"Hut have you no idea of what brought
you to this plight?" inquired the inter
ested man of science,
"It is a curious phenomena. You have
heard a great deal about cases like mine
—more as a visionary < xaggrralion of
the fancy than a* an actual occurrence—
hut, strange as it may appear, 1 am 'ly
ing, as you say, of a broken heart."
" You surprise nic!"
"Yes, I surprise myself. I did not
come to your fp uiUi-giving climate as
others do—i.i search of a longer lease of
life—hut to die in peace, and alone."
" Hut have you no friends?" asked the
doctor.
"None that lean claim. My past is
sealed with the shadow of a crime, and
over my nameless grave not even a inerii
>rv must bower. lam alrt luly dead to
all whoever knew my. name."
" You say you are a criminal!" pur
sued the doctor.
" No. I am none. Hut I assume the
stigma to shield another."
" And that other."
" Was my son!"
" What was the nature of his crime?"
The physician's ruiiosity had got the
both rof liis prudence. The shadows of
twilight were falling around tiiem.
Through tlieopcn window streamed the
soft brilliance of the dying day. Clouds
of amethyst and purple floated lazily on
the far-off hill*. Hut in the chamber
where tlie fevered breath was drawn
quick and short there was a hushed still
ness which seemed in keeping with the
ghostly shadows.
" It was murder!'
" And was fixed on you?"
"On me—l assumed it. and then e..
cnp'il—but not to evade the vengeance
of the law. but to spare to him I loved
tin* stigma of a felon's death."
" How long ago was this?"
" Twelve years."
" And have you la-en a wanderer ever
since?"
" Ever since!"
Tlie feeble pulse was fluttering—the
glazing eyes sheathed under waxen lids,
and the shattered form was growing
rigid momentarily.
" Will you tell nie no more?' whis
pered tlie physician.
" It is ail I have to tell!"
The next instant the man was dead.
He had kept his secret, and sacrificed lii
lifein keeping it.
Walking on Snnrinr.
It is somewhat unusual to find a court
of law engaged in determining whether
walking in the open air on Sunday tor
exercise is illegal. Tills question. It >**-
ever, arose in a recently reported case
which was argued in the Supreme
Court ol the State of Maine. The plain
tiff brought an action against the city of
Portland for damage sustained hy him
owing to the defective stntc-of tlie high
way. He was in charge of tlie eity water
works, and. wishing to vary tlie mono
tony of las employment, went lor a two
hours' walk for recreation one Sunday
afternoon. This was in tlie winter
After setting out he called at an inn and
drank a glass of ale. Then lie resumed
Ids walk, but before returning slipped
upon a quantity of iee which lay on a
much frequented sidewalk, and brok
one of the bone* of Ills right leg. A
statute in force in tlie State of Maine
prohibits "traveling on tlie f/ird's
Day." Tlie defendants made a j>oint of
this, and likewise urged that it was il
legal to walk on Sunday for tlie purpose
1 ol |purchasing and drinking ale. N<> such
purpose, however, was proved. Tlie
judge at tlie trial told the jury that
walking on Sunday for recrmtion was
not illegal, and that although the step.
I>ing aside for the aic under the rirrutn
stnn*-os might he illegal, yet if the ad
did not contribute to produce tlie dam
age, it would not prevent a verdict for
j the plaintiff. The jury accordingly
foiim' for the plaintiff: whereupon tlie
defendants took exception to the ruling
and appealed. Tlie Supreme Court, aft
firming the proposition that walking on
Sunday for exercise in tlie open air was
not illegal, distinguishing between
walking on Sunday for tlie purpose of
buying ale, which would lie illegal, and
cases .where the intention at starting
was merely to obtain exercise and re
creation. In tlie latter case a person
who drank a _• is* of ale and then re
sumed his waik. and therein suffered
damage from a defective highway, was
not, hy the laws in force in Maine, pre
vented from recovering for the damage
unless he contributed to it. Tlie appeal
was consequently dismissed.
Tussle with a Mad Elephant.
Among tlie elephants that swing
around the circle with Forepaugli is one
known a* " Dick." This young mon
ster got to sulking at Lsniwter, N'. 11.,
the other night, nnd rifWcd to trot
along with tlie others. Young Adam
Forepaugli, tlie old man Adam's son,
rode up to Diek and gently tapped him
with liisriding whip. Dick lunged for
the lad nnd unhorsed him. Aihvm was
stunned hy tlie tail and lay hut a few
feet from (lie enraged beast, whose ter
ribie bellowing indicated tliat lie was
thoroughly aroused. It seemed impos
sible lor any one to rescue young Foro
patigh. The keepers and trainers knew
that the least motion would hasten the
hoy's death, and so st'iod speechless nnd
aghast. Hut old Rett*, the monster ele
phant of the herd, acting witli wonder
rally human impulse, ran with a speed
that seemed incredible, considering he
enormous bulk, and threw the force of
her fotlr ton*' weight against tlie side of
the advancing aid murderous Dick.
Tlie shook of tlie c dlldlng elephants was
fearful, upsetting bad Dick and throw
ing liirn on his *r c. Quick as a flash,
Forepaugli'* son was upon his feet. Old
1 letts threw dowp ner trunk at the signal,
just as she does in the performance, and
lifted her master upon her head. Every
time tlie recreant Dick ar<se ha was'met
hy eight thousand pounds of elephant
flesh against his ribs, until lie laid down
and trumpeted signals of distress in ac
knowledgment of defeat.
A Kcniarkiible Nnukc Cirrus.
Mr. John J>. Merton, n well-known
traveling salesman, had occasion to drive
from Conneautville, PH., to Ashtabula,
Ohio, via Jefferson. While driving lei
surely along through East or Southeast
Denmark, Mr. Merton lieurd a strange
Hound issuing from a dense undergrowth
at the hide of the road. The gentleman
got out of the buggy to investigate the
cause of the noise, heing of a curious turn
of mind. Hitching hi* horse he cautiou*-
ly parted the bushes and stealthily mode
Itis way Into the thicket lor perhaps the
distance of one hundred feet. 1 fere was
a spot of ground about twenty feet in
diameter, which wassueli a plnee as one
would imagine for a fairy's ball-room.
The slieks and brush were all cleared
away in the space, doubtless by lite
burning of a brush-heap. Notwithstand
ing the gentleman had made his way into
the brush ho quietly all sounds were
hushed at his approach save the chirping
of a melancholy cricket or tin- drowsy
singing of a distant harvest fly. Mi.
Merton. not to lie nonplused, sat down
upon a log in full view of litis arena and
awaited developments. He had hut a
short time to wait, for not more than a
minute had passed ere a small striped
snake darted out of a hunch of grass at
thesideof the arena and commenced run
ning around tit • space in a circle. An
other snake a little largi r soon followed,
and then a rattlesnake about two feet in
b ngth joined in what seemed to lie a sort
of snake jubilee; every one after that
seemed to bring a new-coiner of some
kind. It wits a noticeable fact that
striped snakes, milk snakes, rattlesnakes,
black snakes and water snakes nil joined
the throng in the greatest harmony.
When perhaps seventy-five or eighty
snakes had entered the space a cur lolls
combination of purring, rattling sounds
arose at one side of the circle. A glance
in that direction disclosed live large
snake*— two rattlesnakes, n striped snake
and two biack snakes—lying stretched
upon a log. The rattlesnakes were slink
ing their rattles violently, and each of the
three remaining reptiles nad a frog in its
mouth which it was torturing into
croaking and making noim * frog fashion,
apparently for the amusement of the
snakes in the ring below. The rattles
and the croaking frog* made tude music,
which furnished very fair marching time
to the squirming mass of serpents, unit
our informant says t ley kept very fair
time with the music, their head* all
swaying in unison from one side to the
other. The gentleman wan thunderstruck
at tlie wonderful sight, and could scarce
ly believe it was not aciream. He said
to us "Of eourse you will think it an
improbable, ridiculous story, a* I would
myself if anyone told the same to me;
hut my own eyesight is theonly evidence
I want." After watching this scene for
perhaps a quart' rof an iiour. Mr. Mi
tie-light it would be a mtleb safi r place
out on the road, and stait'-d to move in
that direction. No sooner had lie made
a stir than the music ceased, and every
serpent disappeared a* if by magic, it
was a scene Mr. Merton will probably
remember to his dying day, and such a
one as no other man ever witnessed. In
telling us the storv, Mr. Merton would
involuntarily shudder every few minute*,
a* though the mass of reptiles w its before
him. — Jcfftrmm (Ohio)
A Remarkable Recovery.
The recovery from a wound generally
pronounced mortal, nnd the restoration
of the organ wounded to healthy action,
occurred in the Ouachita country, in the
ease of an eminent citizen who filled the
highest political others in the State, and
was always regarded as a leader of the
dominant political party. We refer to
tlcncral Solomon W. Downes, who once
represented tlii* State in the i'niteii
States Senate. In a duel let ween Gen
crnl Downes and tlcncral Morgan—the
weapon* being ritb-s—General Downes
was shot through the lungs. The |>a]l
which penetrated his Issiy carried with
it a piece of cloth in which it was the
'•tistom to wrnp the twills used in the
old-fashioned rifle*. The tnall was ex
tracted. hut the cloth remained and pro
duced inflammation, which gave great
pain and distress to the wounded gentle
man. His lungs, which had Iwcn pro.
nounecd before in* was shot as in a very
unsound condition and had elicited the
most gloomy apprehension of his early
decease from consumption, were much
infl.uipd and irritated by the presence of
this cloth, which had pcrfornt'd tlc-m.
and thus increased and aggravated the
violent coughing to which he had lcen
subjected. His physician thought
there was bu'
cry. and tlie g<
parations for the
tal career.
(>ne day, in a spasm of violent
ing and copious hemorrhage from the
lungs, the wadding was thrown up. and
carefully examined by a surgeon from
this city, who astonished the afflicted
f "tenth-man by cheerily congratulating
lim on the event, as not only a relief
from a cause of great suffering, hut ns
furnishing grounds for a hope and be
lief of the restoration of lia lungs to a
sound snd healthy condition. And so
it proved, for General Downes lived
thirty years longer, and was one of the
most active and ooniylcuousof our pub
lic men and one of the most vigorous
and successful political and parliamen
tary speakers and advocates in the StaU*.
,\7 w ftr/e/ias Democrat.
A Urate ttsbbit.
The common opinion is that a rabbit is
too timid to bo aggressive. A writer in
/•bred arul fllream tellstliestory of a tight
between a rabbit and a snake, which
shows that, when a mother, the gentle
rabbit can l>e tierce and brave in defence
of her offspring:
During the morning, one of my chil
dren came in with a very white face, nnd
an account of a large white snake, just
seen in the buck ynro.
A few minutes later, a peculiar squeal
ing or crying in the corner where the
snake was reported attracted my atten
tion. nnd running hastily in that direc
tion. I was astonished to seethe last half
of a long chicken snake projecting from
under a picket-fence, and a wild rabbit
biting and stamping on it, apparently
making a determined effort to hold on
and prevent the snake from going en
tirely under.
A second later, and before my presence
seemed to be noticed i.y the combatants,
the cause of tlie rabbit's efforts and of the
peculiar noise wa on i Tested hy tlie ap
pearand on one side of tlie fence of tlie
snake's head willi a tiny rabbit in its
jaws.
The little rabbit was held hy the hind
quarters and was struggling and crying
vigorously for tlie liberty that a blow
from my stick, administered to the hack
of the snake, secured to it.
Tlie Httls fellow seemed unlpjured,
and ran off a md or so, when the mother
rabbit, who liad retreated a little at my
near approach, joined it, and leading the
way at a deliberate gait, took It to the
woods near bv.
TIMELY TOI'ICH.
Cabul. tlie capital of Afghanistan,
where tlie massacre of Cavagnari and
tlie English embassy took place, is not a
eity whose palace* and public institu
tions would allure the sightseer to any
lengthened stay in its vicinity, for with
out exception a more neglected or tum
hled-down collection of houses, without
the slightest pretence to sanitary
arrangements, can hardly Is- found in
Asia. The only sliopsot any inU rest are
tlie leather andiron workers and others
dealing in skins and stuffs peculiar to
L'abul. The fruit stalls in tlie autumn
are crammed from tip- ground to tlie
roof witli every kind of both ripe and
raw fruits.
The X club is a society offline dis
tinguished llritons—Sir John Lubbock,
Mr. Herbert Spencer, Sir Joseph Hooker,
I'rols. Tvndall, Frank land. Husk, Hux
ley and Hurt, and Mr. William Spott-
Iswoode. The invitations to the club
meetings are very mid, displaying mere
ly the letter X linked to the date of
meeting, thus: " X—9." Sometlmes
but rarely—the wives of the member*-
aie permitted to grace the least, and
then the card reads: "XxYVS— u."
I'rof. Huxley and. Mr. Spottiswoodc are
reported to Ic the Ufe and soul of these
hilarious meetings, the only mcnibcrwho
; approaches them in vivacity Ix-ing Mr.
I Herbert Spenc r.
We may yet travel hy lightning as
well as send our messages by that agency.
They have n electric railroad in Berlin
that works wonderfully w-11, and many
scientific people think the electric loco
motive limy yet pull real trains along
our present railroads. The Berlin loco
motive draws three carriages. Each
carriage bold* from eighteen to twenty
persons, and all thri-c arc drawn in from
. one to two minutes round tlie eirculai
.railway of three hundnd meters in
length. The locomotive was originally
made for the purpose ol drawing up coal
I out of the pit. Nevertheless its per
, formanecs are very remarkable, and ren
der it certain that tli'-re are many case*
: in which electric locomotives may be
employed with advantage.
One ol tin-novelties at an Idaho fair
were exhibits made |,y the Indians on
the N< r. Pcr< <• reservation at tin- Ixtpwai
Agency. Exquisitely point'-d ar
! row-head*. Isad-d moccasins and em
broidered scalps, does one surmise? Not
!at all. The exhibit* consisted of choice
vegetables, corn ol large grain and luit
j tcr—actually gilt-edged butter. This
?■ car the Indians around Lapwai have
iarvesU-d 46,000 hushcis ol grain from
I.IQP acres, an average of over tiiirty
, six bushels to the acre. 3,170 acr<-* of
Land are cultivated hy them, most of tin
land being along the creek bottom*,
; where tlu-re is a very rich loam. The
vegetable* this year will Im- about a*
three to one of last year's tillage in
quantity and the reservation ag< nt is
tickled that hi* red men are self-sus
taining.
The fir-t gold bullion from Alaska
recently left Sitka in the steamer Cali
fornia for the Son Francisco mint. For
many months it ha* in-cn known that
gold existed throughout various por
tions of the territory in paying quanti
ties, and various explorations for it have
been conduct's!. During the Russian
occupation of Alaska the Indians from
th" interior frequently brought to the
frontier trad ing-post* specimens of pure
native gold, and the explorations ol the
country as have since lecn made have
resulted in substantiating the opinion
that the country wa* rich in placer
mine* nnd probably in quartz mines.
The placer mines are said to be extraor
dinarily rich, and certain indications
lead to the belief that discoveries equal
to those in Australia during tlie earlier
period* of tlie gold excitement there will
ere long be made in Alaska.
The great importance which ostrich
farming lias acquired in South Afrha
may Iw seen from an ostrich auction re
cently held at Middlehurg, Cape Lor I.
Tlie lowest price paid for one pair of
the*e bird* was s'■♦oo. nid several pai *
fetched ll.tlt. A rets year* ago
triohe* were obtained by hunting onh .
and at that time a good bird could ' •
caught Torn menagerie or a zoolog" .tl
garden at a moderate price. Hut ;nee
their domestication an<l -he development
of ostrich-farming as a* industry, tlieir
enormously. At 'present
' ,% i < * ar^f ' n > n own*
- ostrich. From the Cape
ST 8.3M7 pounds of ostrich
Iff' export'*! in I*oo. at a
hut in 1*73 the expor-
yen to 31,5*1 pound*, at a
value 2f1,35, and recently a hunch
of picked blood* were sold at I'ort
Elisabeth for $337 .60 a pound, is,
about $3.60 a feather.
Tlie disproportion between the cost of
collecting tlie t'niled States internal
revenue and the customs revenue is very
great. Some interesting facts appear
from a study of tlie amount of rcv-nii*
derived from customs and from inter
nal revenue and the cost of collecting
tlie ame resp<s tively from tlie year 1*63
jto I*7B. Thus during the closing years
I of the war. when the internal revenue
service had just been organized, the cost
of collection rangi-d only from 0.18 to
0.3 per cent, for amounts increasing
from $37,610,7*7 to $308,464.215. while
the cost ol the customs revenue was
from 4.00 to 6.39 per cent, in '-olleetlng
from $00,659,643 to $103,316.153. Then
the cost of collecting the internal rev
enue ixise as high as 5.30 per cent, in
1871, but fell afterward to 3.1W and 3.00
percent, for 1*77 and I*7B. the amount
collected being $118,630,407 and $llO.-
581,634 respectively. Meanwhile the
cost of collecting tlie customs revenue
lias for tlie last five years ranged le
-tween 4.47 and 4.1*0 per cent., while the
amount collected each of the last, two
years has boon about $13(1.000,000.
Hu*ia is at present unrtcr a state of
siege from St. Petersburg to Moscow and
Warsaw, from KiefT to K backoff and
Odessa. An army of porters almut
15,000 strong, watch tlie streets of the
capital, day and night, and policemen
are set to watch the .watchers. General
Gntirkn, the erosaer of tlie Balkans, who
is now Vice-Emperor, is invet<d with
unlimited power*, in the place of the dis
heartened Czar. Tlie Tory Grand Dukes
are under his order*. Arrests among
officer* of the army have been the imme
diate consequence of General Gourko's
satrap rule. In several cases compro
mising letters and prints were discov
ered, and executions loth of officers,
like Lieutenant Duhrovln. and of pri
vates, have followed. The gallows are
in permanent activity. But perhaps the
most significant feature—and a promis
ing one too—is the order issued, under
court-martial law. that In all the bar
rack* a lint of the soldiers' arm* j to bo
drawn uti and to Iw: handed over to the
police! Thin is the strongest sign of a
suspicionagainst the army it*e-lf; and on
the army the whole power of Czardom
repose*.
In an article on the Kusaias a<lvanoe
eastward, the (Jotsynr duHk estimate*
that 17,000 Humdrum are ercry year han
i ''! to or sentenced to penal servitude
in bilx-rm. I'easariU from the central
and western provinces, who from vari
] causes find life in their own home*
i unbearable, utt tiie latter to migrate to
; the Dorado beyond the Volga, where
they have been taught by the traditions
of their forefathers that they will find
1 free land and a free Jife. Arrived at
1 their destination, however, these emi
grant* only find themselves exposed to
hitter disappointment. There is land
enough UiNupjKirt thousands upon thou
sands of families, hut it has been for the
most part lajught up, often at merely
nominal prices, by offieials and specula
tors, and the emigrant, on arrival, eon
s' (|U< ntly finds himself compelled to huy
c<r pay a high rent for the groun'l he
would cultivate-. The result is that
everywhere a beginning has heen inaide,
hut little more- has Ixen done. Villages
are to he found in the middle of forests,
and here and there, in otherwise waste
and desolate distric ts, a settlement has
been made and a chapel has been built
I Icy a party of dissenters. Ileyond this,
little progress has been made.
In a report recently issued in fler
innny some interesting details are given
respecting the distribution of the Jcvi
all over the- world. The total number
of tin- Hebrew race to-day is about what
it was in the days of King David—be
tween six and seven millions. There
are in Europe, according to the latest
statistical infecrmation, about five mil
lions; in Asia, '/on,000; in Africa, over
H0.O00; in America, from a millien to a
million and a half. More than half of
the European Jews (2.021.000) reside in
Itumda; 1,375,000 in Austria (of whom
575,000 are in tlie Polish province of Hali
eirt); 512,000 in He rmany (61.000 in tha
Polish province of Poseni; Rou mania is
, credited with 274,000, ana Turk'-y with
100.000. There arc- 70.000 in Holland;
50.(50 in ling land, 40,000 is Kran<e. 35,-
000 in Italy; Spain and Portugal have
between 'J.nno and 4,000; 1.1400 in Sweden,
twenty-live in Norway. Nothing is said
I tbout Denmark or Switzerland. The
nunilw-r of Jewish re sidents in Berlin is
given at 45,000 —nearly as many as in the
whole of France, and more than in Italy,
Spain. Portugal, and the Scandinavian
peninsula altogether. The majority of
the African Jews live in the province of
Algiers. But they are to V>e found in
Ahvssinia and all along North coast,
and even in the- Saharen oases, frequent
ly acting as intermediaries between
the Mohammedans and Christians. (M
the Asiatic Jews, 20.000 are assigned to
India and 25.000 to Palestine. The jxipu
-lat ion of Jc-rusaleum i given as 7,000
M ohnmmedans. 5,000 Christians, and
13.5410 Jews; tliese last are classified as
Herman, Spanish, or Arabic Jews. The
report gives no details concerning
America, except that in New York
there are thirty synagogues.
A Centenarian's flventfal Life.
Just leyond the M'cosic mountain*, a
Jew miles northeast of Scranlon. Pa., in
the village of Salem, there lives a cen
tenarian whose- history reads like a page
plucked froi.l one of the Iwattier-stock
ing romance*. Abraham Johnson is
now 106 yarn old—hale, hearty, unim
paired in intellect, and eifted with a re
markable memory. His family records
shows that he was born in the State of
Vermont early in the year 1773, near
I<akc Champlain. His father was a
Hevolutionary soldier, and was killed at
the battle of Stillwater, a short time be
fore Hen. Burgoyne's surrender, Oetolier
13, 1777. Abraham Johnson was cap
tain of a c ompany of Oneida Indians in
I*l4. under Hen. Macomb, who com
manded at Plattshurg during the ab
sence of Hen. Izard. He refers with
gTcat pride to the battle of Piatuburg,
and shows two wounds which he re
ceived on one occasion. One of them
is a bayonet thrust below the knee, the
other a sword cut on the neck. He says
that after he was struck down by a gi
gantic "Red Coat," another thrust a
bayonet through his leg to ascertain if
lie were dead. He says he bore the pun
ishment rather than suffer the indignity
of being taken prisoner, and was accord
ingly left for dead. The Indians earriod
their bleeding and battle-scarred com
mander to their Tillage, when he was
nursed and cared for by Oneida, the
beautiful daughter of an Indian chief,
whose gentle care soon restored him to
health and strength. But while she
healed his bodily wounds, she inflicted
one still deeper on the warrior's heart,
and he fell desperately in love with her.
She eventually returned his affection,
and they were married after peace had
leen restored between the United States
and Hreat Britain. They made their
home in Sussex county, N. J., wtiers
the dark-eyed daughter of the forest
taught her soldier-husband bow to earn a
livelihood by basket-making. A daugh
ter was born to them, and tbey named
her Martha. She is at present known
as Mrs. Ellsworth, and lives in Madi
son township, I-ackawanna county. As
years went by, Abraham Johnson's In
dian wife began to pine for her old
home and the- rude associations of her
childhood. She gradually failed in
health, and. finally, in reponseto tier re
peated longings for her people, her hus
band earned her back to the Oneidas,
where she died and was buried as be
came the daughter of an Indian chief.
I.iUle Martha iound a home and shelter
for a time with an uncle in Sussex
county, but when she grew up she
joined the OncidA Indians, and lived
among her mother's kindred, where she
married a man widi the unromantic
name of Brown. After his death she
married Ellsworth, her present husband,
and returned to civilization. She is as
proud of her princely ancestors as if
tliey I wire the proud name of the Plants
gencta, or owned the high and haughty
spirit of the Tudors. Since the loss of
his Indian wife Abraham Johnson has
remained single.
Two beggars stand on a Boston corner,
one. according to the sign on his bosom •
deaf and dumb, tlie other blind, with
three ehillren, an invalid wife and a
paralysed mother-in-law to support.
The other day the de%f and dumb stood
alone with a bunch of shoe strings
around his n< ek. eyes shut tight. A
gentlemen dropped a nickel in the hat
and heard the deaf and dumb man ask :
" lton't vnu want your shoe stringsP"
" How la this? I read you were deaf
mil dumb!" said the gentlem en.
blind man immediately opened his eyes
ind exclaimed: " Why, carat snakes.
Pre got the wrong sign aaP