Taking the Children Home.
At the Union depot yesterday fore
noon was an old, gray-headed man-in
charge of three children—two boys nnd
a gild. The oldest was about ten and
the little girl about live. The whole
party were dressed very plainly, and as
f to who they were the old man ex p nined
to the people around him:
" Waal, you see, I live down nigh
Norwalk, in Ohio. About a dozen years
ago uiy darter married a poor, worth
less eoot of a feller up here and they
never got along worth shueks. A few
days ago he threw her down stairs and
pounded her hiaek and blue, and she
come down tliar to me for a refuge.
These are the young 'uns. She left 'em
behind when she Hew. and I eomo on
g after 'em. I'urty likely set o' children,
ain't they?"
" Yes, real smart lot. I lave any
trouble getting them?"
" Waal, not much. When I got into
the 1> -use and told John what I'd come
for he kinder balked a little, but I took
him right by the windpipe and told him
what was what. Tell you. I don't a-low
any of the boys to climb me, if I lie up
ward of sixty. I'm going to take 'ent
down liotue and bring 'em up, and it
their father < ver comes within a mile ol
us I'm going to pick him right up and
break his hack across a stone wall!"
About ten minutes before the train
left the old man called the eldest boy to
his knee and said
"Now, young man. see here! I'm
your grandfather and I'm taking you
young 'uns home to Norwalg. We'll
get there with about seven cents to
spare, if no accident happens. Now,
then, when the !>y on the train comes
around with chestnuts or apples or
candy, I want you to look straight out
ol the window
"Why can't you buy some for me?"
asked the boy.
"Come over my knee!" exclaimed
the grandfather, as'he hauled the hoy
nearer. " Now, sir, do you want chest
nuts?"
" I —I—I want some, hut I'll wait till
next year!" gasped the hoy, as he felt
the spanking-machine making ready for
business.
"Very well. You look straight out
of the window at corn and pumpkins
every time you hear the train-boy yell
'chestnuts ' Here, Alonzo —you conic
up here."
Alonzo was the second boy. When
he was within reaching distance the
grandfather grabbed htm and said:
"When tlie train-boy comes along
with apples and candy and hickory-nut
meats, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to ask you to buy mo a
whole lot!"
" You are, eh? Come over my knee,
sir!"
"Oh! no 1 won't —I won't—l won't!'
shouted the bov as he danced up and
down and hung hack.
" Very well—you -co that you don't!
Now, my little girl, I want to say—
"Oh! grandpa, you needn't say a
sing e ward ntf 1 she interrupted.
0 ' I itul hat< .h sigbtof chestnuts and
< ami v, and just as -oon as w • get on the
cars I'm going right to sleep, and never
wake up once!"
If the train-boy tackled that family lie
didn't make a cent.—Ce/roit /We /'r< ..
W lint Bays Iln in Japan.
We have just had a foreign guest of
our house in.wbom we were all much in
terested—a young Japanese, the son of a
gentleman In northern Japan. He lias
tevn in California more than a year,
and came Mast witli the embassy, pass
ing some days witli them at Salt Lake
City, of whieli nlace and its people he
says many very tunny tilings. But what
we are going to tell you now is how flic
hoys sometimes amuse themselves in
Japan. He say that on his father's place
which is on a large plateau surrounded
by high hills—is an artificial fish pond.
In it are a great many fish of species he
has not seep, here, that are about a foot
long, and very beeutilu! in Color and
form. They are as playful and as tame
as the kittens tin our hearths. One of
his favorite amusements was going to
this pond and knocking on the edge of
the tank with some hard substance to
make a noise, whenever)- ln-ad would he
turned in the direction of the sound, and
every fin employed in making for him.
the fish expecting some treat from Ids
hand. If. to tease them, he threw noth
ing in at first, but put his empty hand
into the water with his fingers all spread
out. they would all gather round it and
seize his thumb and lingers in their
mouths, til! he had as many fish as lie
had thumbs and fingers, playfully snap
ping and biting at them, as we have all
seen pupnies do.
But this paradise n f the Japanese boy
was often rudely broken in upon, for it
was not kept expressly as a plaything
for boys, but was the source which sup
plied the fish for the table. Whenever
fish is wanted for the dinner, the cook
goes to the tank and knocks, and when
the poor unsuspecting things swim up to
her, she catches such of them as please
her. and before- they know where they
sre going, he ha them in the pot or pan
>n the fire.
This young Japanese expressed niu- h
surprise at seeing craniicrries eaten nt
table, and said that in the mountains of
Japan they grow very large and beauti
ful, hut are never cooked. Home old tunn
oceasionly goes up to the mountain and
picks :i l;rge baskc! of them, which lie
brings on hi shoulders down to tiie
town. Here the boys gather about him.
and lor a mal! coin purchase the right
to crowd their pockits with them. And
what use do you think they make cf
this otherwise useless fruit? The boys
blow the glowing berries through rattan
tubi-s. as our hoys blow white henns
through tin ones. That's what eranber
rire are used for in Japan, where they
grow in great perfection.
Alaska's Big Hirer.
Alaska explorers report one of the
largest rivers in the world, the Yukon.
■g :s navigable for steamers, and at .iOO
9 miles from its mouth it receives a very
large navigable tributary- The basin
formed by the confluence is twenty-four
miies wide. The Yukon is nearly as
large as our Mississippi. Indians are
everywhere, and war between the trllnw
is a fixed institution. There is snow for
six months, and without roads dog
sledges find good traveling, fiame
abounds. and Indians have an easy life.
From seven to nine dogs make a team,
the odd one being the leader. The driver
lias to watch this dog. If it gets on the
scent of game It is off. and the whole
7 team is demoralized. Off they scamper
through woods and thickets, upsetting
the load, smashing the sled, tearing the
' harness, and giving the bos* days ot
hunting to restore the statu quo. So vast
a country traversed by navigable waters
will soon tempt restless ana speculative
adventurers to explore it.
Looking for a Job.
Brother Toggles isaphilantropist, hut
is also a practical man. He is nlways
ready to assist the deserving, but detest*
tramps. Consequently he was not favor
ably impressed by the appearance of a
seedy-looking man who called upon him
tlie other day, whose hands had evi
dently not been soiled by lalnir, but who
earnestly protested that he wanted to
find work by which he might support
himself and his interesting family of two
wives and several children,
"Are you sure," asked Brother Tog
gles, as lie looked suspiciously at tlie ap
plicant. "that if you should find the
work you are looking for, you would
neither run away front it nor goto sleep
by the side of it ?"
" 1 tell you, sir, that am a worker:
and I never neglect my business when I
can find any thingjo do. The last job I
had I worked at so hard, sir, that I was
actually taken down, r, and had to lie
confined, sis. —"
"Toyota- bed—hey? i'oor fellow!"
ejaculnvil Toggles.
:is I said, for a long
time; and it is only two wicks since i
gat out. Turing that time I have con-
Jlantly sought employment; but every
avenue seems to be closed against me.
I have tramped the streets of this city
• lay and night looking a oh, but have
found nothing that I could turn my
hand to, while my wives and children
are hungry for sealskin saeques and
velocipedes: but I can do do nothing for
them, because I have not even enough to
drink!"
The poor fel.ow bowed his intellectual
head upon his delicate hands and sobbed.
"This is a sad case," mused Brother
Toggles." "They tell me that prosper
ity has returned; but this don't look
like it. Here is a highly- cresting
individual, doubtless capable of con
tributing largely, by his industry and
skill, to the world's wealth, hut wiio has
not even a two-spot dealt to hint in tue
great game of human progress. In all
this large city he can find no employ
ment suited to his capacity. Alas! for
the rarity of Christian charity, and all
that sort of tiling. I'erliaps I can
recommend you to somebody, my good
man, who will give you employment."
" I am afraid you can't," replied the
applicant. " I'eople don't sei-ni to want
to have anything to do with a man in
my lim of iiusiness."
"What is your line—profession or
trade?"
" Tartly a profession and partly a
trade. lam a burglar, sir : and if you I
can put nic in the way of a good crib to
crack f will be everlastingly grateful,
and you shall haven share of the swag."
How (lie Captain's Talent Worked.
Having piped all hands to splice the 1
main-brnce, the eap'n had the first mate j
of the farm tow out the horse and
wagon, and, ascending tlie quarterdeck *
of the craft, he took possession of the
tiller-ropes (as he styled the reins), and
said:
"Now. hoys, my invention is very;
simple—l might make a million dollars i
out of it tuebbe, but I ain't going to
patent it ; you ran nil Use it if you want !
to. I've simply fastened a twenty- I
fathom line onto the mizzen axle of the
craft, and put on a stout grapnel. I
shall bring this In re boss along the road j
under double-reefed topsails, and then i
one of you cusses scare him—open an 1
umbrella at him, or something; then. 1
when he goes tearing along about
twenty-five knots an hour and won't
answer to his helm, I'll just dron the
anehorand ride on the gale. Hit up!"
The horse eaine jogging gently down
the road, when, according to the pro- I
gramme, the first mate pushed out and
hit him a licit over the nose with a
blanket. The terrified animal stood tin j
his hind legs for a moment and then '
struck a course northwest by north witli
great celerity. Tlie interested spceta- :
tors beheld the fearless eap'n sitting un
moved, though the buggy bent and ;
careened before the breeze-; then, witli a ]
triumphant smile, they saw him hinve!
out the anchor with a tncrry "Yr, '
heave, ho!" The grapnel dragged for a
few moments in the treacherous sands of
the rend, then caught in a reek. Cap'n
< "ornwell rose into the air like a mrn on
the wing and sailed majestically for
ward. alighting on his ear; the horse
stood on his head for a second, and then J
resumed hi* onward eeiurse at the rate \
of at least seventy miles an hour, anil [
amid a frightful crashing, ripping, tear
ing hnd smashing, nil the wagon van- j
isiied into thin aii except a piece of the i
mizzen axle, to which the anchor had j
been fastened.
Cap'n <'ornwell can't precisely under-'
stand why, when the tackle lie],|. fie
wa-n't able to ride out the gale, hut is
not discouraged, nnd will repeat the ex
periment as soon as he has had a new !
buggy built upon lines of his own de
signing. Life insurdh' •• canvassers are
is-aring down upon him from nil quar
ters. and tlie liveliest interest is mani j
fested In the neighborhood. We wish 1
the gallant captain all success.— (Jhioaun '
Tribune.
Mop Scowling.
Don't scowl, it spoils faces. Before !
you know it your forehead will rearm, I
file a small railroad map. There is a i
grand trunk line now from your cowlick 1
to the edge of your nose, intersected by
parallel lines running east and west,
with curves areliing your eyebrows, and '
oil, how much older you look for it.
Scowling is a habit that steals upon W
unawares. We frown when the light is 1
too fstrong. and when it is too weak, I
We tie our eyebrows into a knot when
we are tli ink ing, and knit them more
tightly when we eannot think. There is
no denying there are plenty of tilings to
scowl about. The bahy in tlie cradle
frowns when something fails to suit
" Constitutional scowl," we say. The
little toddler who has sugar on Ins bread
and butter telis his trouble in the same
way when you leave the sugar off.
" Cross." we say about tlie children, and
" worried to death " about the old folks. 1
and as for ourselves, we can't help it.
But we must. It* rcflext influence
makes others unhappy; for faee hnswer
etli unto face in life as well n* In watvr.
It belies our religion. We should pos
sess our souls in such peace thai it will
reflect itself in placid countenances.
If your forehead is ridged with
wrinkles before forty, what will it be at
seventy? There is one consoling thought
about three marks of time and trouble
—tlie deatli nngel nlways erases them.
Even the extremely aged. In death often
wear a smooth and peaceful brow, thus
leaving our last memories of them calm
and tranquil. Hut our business is witli
life. Scowling is a kind of silent scold
ing. For pity's sake, let us take a sari
iron, or glad iron, or smoothing tool of
some sort and straighten these creases
out of our faces before they become In-]
; deiibiy engraven upon our visage. j
A Mad WolPn lUTage*.
About 7 A. u., the nctuuuil* from the
adjoining villages hao collected at a fair
which wax held at the settlement of
Barvcnkofl', district of Iz.unte, and the
male portion of the assembly had dis
persed to the drinking shops to make
bargains and drink each other's healths,
leaving the women and children in
clinrge of (lie carts. Suddenly there re
sounded through the square a heart
rending shriek for assistance, and then
all was quiet. The peasants rushed out
of the drinking booths into the street,
and before they had time to collect their
thoughts there appeared from behind a
buihtlngsituated on the edge of the square
an enormous wolf. Everybody rushed in
great confusion to their carts, shouting,
"Mad wolf!" Meantime the gigantic
wolf frothing at the mouth and witli ids
tongue hanging out, made for the carts.
A dreadful tumult occurred. The horses
and oxen dashed in all directions, hut
the majority, getting entangled, fell,
overturning the carts, while the noise
made by the pigs, sheep, geese, fowls,
etc., added to toe uproar and confusion.
The wolf when within a short distance
of the first group of carts turned round,
sprang on to a woman who was running
pest, and in a moment she was prostrate
on the ground, having lost her nose,
scalp and lower part of her face. The
wolf than ran further and attacked a
small lad of nlxiut seven years of age,
but just at that time a pig rushed at the
wolf and bit its tail. The wolf turned
on ids assailant, but not before it had
bitten the Isiy's face and hand. Leaving
the pig. the wolf ran down the main
street.and attacked awtmian with a baby,
then two boys about four years of age,
and having bitten their heads through to
the brain, rushed up the street, mid after
biting several other persons, turned off
on to the railroad. Bv this time a large
crowd, headed by the village elder, and
armed with whips, scythes, etc., gave
chase to the terrible animal. Tb< y catue
up with th< wolf about one mile from
the village, and a peasant, allowing it to
approach him within about fifteen paces,
shut the animal straight in itsonen maw.
Notwithstanding the wound tie had
received, the wolf sprang Up and at
tacked the peasant. Flic latter did not
lose his presence of mind, and struck the
animal witli the butt end of Ids gun,
which shattered at the blow, and the
wolf seized tlic peasant by the side, hut
owing to the man wearing three coats
Ids skin was only scratched. Tin* cour
ageous man then firmly gripped the ani
mal witli both hands. During this
struggle twtween a man and a mail wolf
the crowd which had conic up hesitated
through fear to attempt the rescue of
their comrade. Fortunately a local
policeman galloped up at this juncture,
and drawing his revolver shot the wolf
through the head. The wolf had bitten
no less than twenty-two persons, ten of
whom are in a dangerous stale. The
sufferers were isolated from the rest of
the inhabitants and medical aid was at
once administered to them. It isr-qxirt
ed.thal the wolf came from t he settlement
of Dovgenikoff (situate about eighteen
mil' s from HarvenkofF), where a mad ox
had died and had been buried, but so
carelessly that on the following morn
ing his txxly was found scattered about.
—.St. f'cUrmtirg Oolo*.
A Sad Mistake.
The Kcv. (Jeorge Trask.ol Massachu
setts, was noted throughout the State as
an able and eloquent lecturer against to
bacco atid all intoxicating drinks. At
one time lie had addressed a la?g' and
attentive audience, and. among other
things, said in his lecture that no man
habitually using totnrrco and whisky
could expect to live more than five or
six years after beginning to use them.
And so earnest and positive was he in
ids address, and so attentive his audi
ence, that at its close he confidently chal
lenged any reply, and invited any ques
tions on the supject. After a moment's
silence a man rose and said: " I like
what you have said. Mr. Trask, but I
would like to ask one question : One of
my neighisirs is an old man. some sev
enty-five year* old, and tie has used to
hacco and whiskey—all lie could get--
ever since he was thirty-five yean old
that is. for some forty-five year*. How
do you reconcile that with what you
said, that a man using I Kith tobacco and
whiskey couldn't iive more tlian five or
six years?"
Mr. Trask was somewhat startled, and
to gain time for collecting his thought*,
began asking some questions.
How old did you say this man
wa<®"
" Some seventy-five years."
" And he ha* been using both tobacco
and whiskey ever since he was thirty
five?"
"Ye*, using them constantly and
freely."
"Well, what kind of a man is lie?
Die s lie seem to take much interest in
business, or in anything that is going
on ?'*
" Wa'al no. I don't think he does."
" Doe* lie seem to love anybody?"
" Wa'al. no."
" Does lie seem to hate anyIHKIJ ?"
" No. I drdft think lie does ; lie seems
sort of indifferent to everything."
" Well," said Mr. Trask, who by this
time had gathered up his wit*, "your
old man has evidently lieen dead for
some forty voars, and the only mistake
you've made is that you did not bury
liim."
Amid the shout of laughter that rose
U|Hin the answer, the audience broke up,
and Mr. Trak was relieved.
The llemaining Public Lands.
The iand area of the United State* is
3,580,t!3H square nilies, or 2,291,352,230
acre*. If you add the water surface of
the gr> at lakes and rivers the total area
of the United State* is over 4,000,000
square mile*. The public lands in the
different States and Territories, leaving
out —been tine thev never had any—the
thirteen original States and the ad
mitted States of Vermont. Kentucky.
Tennessee, Maine. Texas and West Vir
ginia and the District of Columbia,
amounted originally to 1,814,780,910
acres, or considerably more than two
thirds of the entire landed terrltorv of
the United States, Of tiiis there had
hern. up to IK7H, surveyed 714,572.737
acre*, leaving unurveyed 1,101,197, 1H3
acre*. None of the unsurreyed iand
hnd been sold, and a great deal of the
surveyed had not been. It is estimated
that the unsold public lands of the
United State* amount to about 1.300.-
000,000 acres, 'xw# than half ol the
lands disposed of were sold for cash or
donated in small lota to actual settlers
under lb* homestead or pre-emption
acts. The remainder, aggregating up
ward of SAO,0(10,000 acre*, were donated
to railroads, other improvements.* to
States for agrietiltuiai colleges, etc. The
surface of unsold public lands exceed in
area by over 1,100.000 miles all Europe
outside of Russia.
Alaska lee Beauties.
A writer in the San Francisco llulictin
is enthusiastic over the great glaciers
near Fort Wrange), Alaska. Standing
at the mouth of the fiord, he says, the
water foreground is of n pale, milky
blue color, from the suspended rock-mud
issuing from beneath the grinding gla
cier—one smooth sheet sweeping bock
five or six miles, Wke one of the lower
reaches of a great river. At the head
the water is hounded by a barrier wall
of bluish-white ice, from five to six hun
dred feet high, a few mountain tops
crowned witli snow appearing beyond
it. On either hand stretched a series of
majestic granite rocks from three to four
thousand feet high, in some places hare,
in others fores ten, and all well patched
witli yellow-green eiiaparrel ami flowery
gardens, especially alsiut half way up
from top to bottom, and the whole built
together! in a general, varied way into
walls, like those of Yoseinite valley,ex
tending beyond the other, while their
basis are buried in the glacier. This is
ill fuel a Yoseinite valley in process of
formation, the modelling and sculpture
of the walls nearly completed and well
planted, but no groves as yet, or gardens,
or meadows on the raw and unfinished
bottom. The whole front and brow of
this majestic glacier are gashed and
sculptured into • maw of yawning
chasms and crevasses,and a bewildering
variety of strange architectural forms,
appalling to the strongest nerves, hut
novel and beautiful beyond measure—
clusters of glittering lance-tipped spires,
gables and obelisks, bold outstanding
bastions and plain mural cliffs, adorned
along the top- with fretted cornice and
battlements, while every gorge and cre
vasse, chasm and hollow was filled with
• iglit. Along the sides we could see the
mighty Hood grinding against the gran
ite with tremendous pressure, rounding
the outswelling Ijossen, decerning and
smoothing the retreating hollows, and
shaping every portion of the mountain
walls into the forms they were meant to
have, when in the fullness of appointed
time the iw-tool should be lifted ami *i-t
aside by the sun. Hack two or three
miles from the front the current is now
probably about 1,300 feet deep; hut when
we examine the walls, the grooved and
rounded features, M> surely glacial, show
that in the earlier days of the ice age
they were all overswent, this glacier
laving flowed at ah' igiit of from three
U four thousand feet above its present
.evei.
John Smjbert.
The first painter in America of anX
decided ability whose name lias come
down to us was John Watson, who exe
cuted (Mirtraits in Philadelphia in 1715.
lie was a Scotchman. It is to another
Scotchman, who married anil identified
himself with the rising fortums of the
colonics, that w- are, perhaps, able *
assign the first distinct and decided art
impulse in tlie United State*. We ow<
to Bishop Berkeley the most notahc im
pulse which the dawning art* received
in this country, when lie induced John
Kmybert t leave t/imlon, in 1725. and
settle in Boston, wlc-re ho had the good
fortune to marry a rich widow, and lived
prosperous and contented untii hisdeath
in 1751. Kmybert win rot a great
painter. If lie had remained in Eu
rope, his position never would have
IMK'H more than respectable, even at an
age wle n the art* were at iow ebb. Hut
he is entitled to our gratitude for per
petuating for us the lineament* of many
worthies of the period, and for the un
doubted impetus his example gave to
the artist* who were alxiut to come on
the scene, and assert the right of the new
world to exercise it* enctgies-in the cn
rourageraeut of the tine arts. It is by a
comparatively unimportant incident
that the influence of Kmvbert >n our
earlv art is most vividly illustrated. lie
brought with him to America an excel
lent copy of a Vaadyck executed bv him
self, and several of our artist*, included.
Allston, acknowledged that a sight of
this 'opy affected them like an inspira
tion. The most important work of
Symlxrl in this country i* a group rep
resenting the family of Bishop Berkeley,
now in the Art Gallery at New Haven.
Harper' M>ign.z\ nr
OldFahioned Garments.
My first recollection of fashion is that
oid men, especially those of the fwttcr
classes, wore short " breeches." a* they
were called, with knee buckle* and long
stocking*, closely fitting the leg*. Young
men and old men not governed by fash
ion wore 'pantaloons or brceehas. witli
legs den-ending to the ankle*. In a short
while pantaioon* supplanted breeches,
except in rare case* of old or eccentric
men. I'antaloons, made at first to fit
the limbs, soon began to lie cut accord
ing to the arbitrary dictates of fashion.
At one time the legs were of enormous
size- large '-nougli for mail bag* and at
another they were made of elastic stuff
and fitted to the limbs a* closely as the
skin. Boot* underwent change* quite
a* striking as did pantaloons When 1
was a Iniy old 808 WOT* fair-top Itoot*.
They were long enough to reach th<
knee, with a broad lielt of smcKith
leather, of it* natural color, around the
top. and the remainder polished with
blacking. They were pressed down and
rumpled alxiut the legs, so a* to expose
to view a considerable portion of the
*tK'king Is-lwwn the upper edge of the
Ixwil and the knee-hucklc. The dandies
wore hoot* of a different style. Their
legs were stiff, reaching rather more
than half-way to the knee, cut ul the
top anil in front in the form of a heart,
with a Mark silk tassel suspended from
the lowest point of tlie indentation.
They wen* •*! led " Surrow Ixxit*why.
I know not, nor am I sure that my spell
ing of them ia correct.— llecoUcfiiom of
Hen. Or. Jrlrr.
Paper Barrel*.
It is claimed that the new paper fiour
barrels are not only cheaper hut more
tight and durable, a* weft a* lighter,
than those of ordinary construction.
By an improved metliixl of manufacture,
these tmrrcl* are composed of straw, pa
per pulp, which is run into a mold madf
into the shape ol one-half of a barrel
cut vertically. The pulp is *uh|cctcd to
a powerful hydraulic pressure, and.
when reduced to the required thickness,
the ends of the lialvcH are cut off; the
piece* are then placed In a steam drier,
the side* are trimmed evenly and the
sulstanee thoroughly dried. It comes
from the drier ready for making up into
barrels. There are three heavy wixxlen
hoops and two hoops fa!cned together,
and, into groove* cut in the staves, the
paper halve*, which have an average
thickness of throe-sixteenth* of an in-m,
are *lid. The ends of the barrel are
made of paper <f a similar thicknn**,
constructed on the same principle a* the
sides. The barrel* are manufactured
entirely by machinery, anil the halve*
arc cut so true that two pieces of the
j <ame size will readily fit together.
TIMELY TOPICS.
Montenegro is a unique country in
regard to it* postal business. Until
lately tlie mails were not sent to any of
the cities or villages, hut every citizen
hud to go for his Tetters to the capitol,
Cettinje. There ha* now been estab
lished a postal department,'and the mail
is sent from Cettinje to four other cities.
The mail carriers travel to these four
cities on foot three times weekly.
Piece by piece have the relic-hunters
carried away the marble slab that once
was placed over tlie tomb of Gen. Dan
Morgan in Ml. Hebron Cemetery, in
W indiestcr, Va., until now nothing re
mains to mark tlie place of burial. But
the hero of the Revolutionary battle of
the Cow pens is not forgotten. It is pro
posed to erect a monument that shall
be a fitting memorial of the worthy old
wagoner.
Ostrich farming seems likely to fx' in
troduced in Kan Joaquin \ alley, Cal.
Dwight Whiting, of Boston, spent six
months on an ostrich farm in .South
Africa. He is convinced that the bird*
can be raised in California, and will in
very profitable. At the price of ostrich
feather* no stock will pay such interest.
He proposes to return to Africa nnd to
take t< California one hundred ostriches
to stock the farm.
The creditors of the Glasgow Bank
have received thejr tlaird dividend,
making 13*. Jd. on the pound out of the
total. That total is in round number*
JCI 1.000.000 (about $53,000,000), of
which jL'7, ton.noo is paid and £3,WiO t ooo
i* still to pay. There is every proba
bility that the 11 1.0TN1.000 will fx
liquidated to the farthing, but the in
terest is doubtful. Two of the directors
have emigrated to Australia; another
is living witli his family in a handsome
villa near the Italian lakes.
The Earlof Aberdeen is about to build,
at a cost of B'l7s,(Ksi, a line of railroad,
ten miles in length, through hi* Keotch
estate*. This young nobleman i* grand
son of the prime minister of bis time,
and brother of the late earl, who pre
ferred life before the mast to that of a
ix lted earl, and was lost at sea on an
American vessel. The present peer,
too, is somewhat queer, but was judici
ously provided at tlx outset of his career
with a very notable wife. There are
some half dozen noblemen and gentle
men in the United Kingdom who own
short line# of railroad.
Of the European nation* Germany
stands first a* to fighting trim. She can
put in the field at twenty-four hours'
notice |.>300.1*10 men of the line, the re
serve and the Lnndwehr. The grand
total of the German army is 2,200,000
men. exclusive of uoO.ooo not reckoned
on the field strength, but deducted a*
garrison*. Tlie strength of the second
Ixuidwchr nnd Landsturm is generally
exaggerated ; but they ar thoroughly
• ffiep nt soldiers, the lx*t in the army.
Frnnoi ha* a nominal *tr> ngtli of 3,500,-
000 men, hut practically it must Ix- re
duced to 2,000,000. ami even of this total
a very large proportion is still in pro
gress of organization. It is not be
lieved that France could place in the
first line more than I*oo,ooo men.
Italian newspaper* contain report* fo
audacious outrag'-s by bandit* on the
highway* and railroad# of that pictur
esque lountry. In one OSM a dOBSO
fellows brought a train to a stop by
hoisting a danger signal. They intended
U i rob the passengers, hut a large force
of soldier* happened to be on tlie train,
and when the bandits saw them they
started for covr. The military sent a
volley after them, and some started in
pursuit, but it was already growing
dark, and no captures were effected.
On the road from K- nafro to hernia
twenty-seven unarmed traveler* were
robbed by thirteen brigand*, and a law
yer who proved troublesome wa badly
wounded. Attempts were made to
throw train* off tlie track, successful
robberies are frequent, and the police
are utterly inefficient and untrust
worthy.
The wliol<-*ale and wanton destruc
tion of walrus by the whaling-ship
crews in the Arctic ocean, which ha*
been foing on for some time and i* in
creasing every year, i* likely to result
in their practical extermination, unless
it is spec-lily checked. The captain of
a Nejt'Bdfo*d whaler estimate* that
*n .staii 30.000 walrus hare been
kU*rt/ this season, only about a third of
which were secured. Oneof the results
of this needless and useless slaughter is
tlie death through starvation of many
of tic natives of the Arctic region*, who
depend upon the walrus for fixxl. In
one village of 200 people all hut one
man died last winter, and in other vil
lages from a third to a half of tlie popu
lation perished. Some of the whaling
vessel captains have been humane
enough tins year to refrain from killing
any walrus.
A correspondent of tlie Kan Francisco
f\nd. writing of the varied climate and
temperature* of < 'alifornia, says That in
the interior valleys he ha* Found the
thermometer as high as 114 degrees in
the shade, and at least I2Bd<grccs in the
sun, yet the air was so pure and diy
that he did not find it enervating nor
even very inconvenient, a- a lower tem
perature eal of tlie Rocky laouutains
certainly would have been, lie rode
twenty-five mile* on horseback in that
sun of 125 degree*, observing, question
ing. and making notes for ins news
paper, and felt perfectly well through it
all. A constant gentle breeze that is
never wanting in summer kept him
comparatively comfortable. The night*
were cool and pleasant, as they always
are in the hot interior valley* of Cali
fornia. The peculiar quality of Cali
fornia lieat is illustrated by the fact that ,
however high the thermometer rises,
sunstrokes are unknown.
I'resident Potter. of Union College, at
the recent Episcopal Cliureh Congress,
made an indignant protest against the
expenditure of so much money in
funeral pomp*, and in equally costly
and pompous monument*. lie' said lie
grieved " to be confronted by the sugges
tion that in the Ktnte of New York
alone a hundred million* of dollars
have in recent years been squandered
upon cemetery monuments—a glaring
crime against true memorial art. and
against tlie spirit of Christianity. To
what purpose is this waste? To n
purpose; to none of comparative worth
and endurance This cemetcrial dis
ease is taking *uch hold of the popular
heart, ministering so much to mere
emulation or vanity, and yielding com
paratively so little return In consolation
|or help to art.or in luccor to humanity.
that it should bo denounced, not simply
in the name ol memorial art, but in the
name of Christ. We need not merely
Papal bulls for the benefit of the poor
fulminated against tie- multitude of car
riage* at funerals, but Catholic and
Protestant denunciation of the mortuary
iruuinass, which, taking possession of
the American IIIIWM-H, sucks the life
blood from tiie heart of Christian char
ity and art."
The Countess of Dudley, who is said
to have recovered her long-lost dio
rnonds, stolen at the Great Western
station from her maid, some years since,
is one of the lovely daughter* of Sir
Thomas Moncrieife. Her husband
owned Her Majesty's theater, said was
Mr. Mapleson'r. first patron. Though a
good shot and horseman, an<l taker of a
first-class degree in classics at Oxford,
he was the victim of an extraordinary
delusion, fancying himself at time* in a
certain interesting condition, and then
silencing the street in front of his house,
and making all the usual preparations.
Tliis drove his first wife, tie beautiful
Miss De Burgh, away from him. and
she died witfiin the first year of their
marriage, at Nice, of grief. Since his
marriage with Miss Moncrieffe he lias
le-cn perfectly free from any eccentricity
until within the last year, when lie was
attacked witii paralysis. He is now in
Paris, and, in order to avoid the incon
venience of visits, he changes his quar
ters from one hotel to another every
day, to confound his friends. He only
opens his letters once a fortnight, an in
dulgence for which he had to pay dearly
the other day. He bought a fine service
of old Dresden for a fabulous sum.
Fifteen days later he opened a letter in
which the identical service was offered
him for less titan quarter the amount,
lie is sixty-two, and has ten children
by his second wife.
Local Advertising.
The virtue oi advertising Is of more
consequence, in a'general way, than it is
often credited with. A too contracted
view is so friquently thrown around
its salutary influences that those who
read a business card t>ce,n to think that
its import is of but little consequent*
to any one besides the advertiser. This,
however, is a great mistake, for the
community at large is ix-m-fittcd, ac
cording to our way of Uiinking, by
every business card of a town ston ap
pearing in the local papers. It needs no
very skillful reasoning to elucidate the
proposition, for their can If no better
method adopted to improve a village,
town or city, than that which keeps the
bulk of trace at borne. By so doing the
results of industry are widely diflTuwd in
the expenditures made, society becomes
CO-OJM rative to a considerable extent,
material improvements are encouraged,
and pride of place is fostered. Our live
store-keepers are beginning to under
stand the value of advertising, and our
residents fail not to r< ward them for
their enterprise. A eotcmporary puts
the matter in this wise: "When the
business men of a town fail to advertise
extensively they diminish the import
ance and trade of the place, and per
mit more enterprising localities to take
the latter from them.' 1 Although done
for their individual interest, advertisers
should be looked on by citizens of the
town where they reside, as in some
sense public benefactors, and they
should be encouraged accordingly. One
merchant who advertises extensively is
worth to his own town and its people
more than forty who never show them
selves in print, and should be for this
reason alone preferred, assuming that he
is, of course, a fair business man.—
Pr<Ulh>'Ury (N. Y.) Ncwi.
Cremation.
The idea of cremation seems to le
making reasonable advance both in this
country and in Kurope. <>ur conserva
tive neighbor, the Trtf'uur, speaks a true
word in its favor, in regard especially
to such places a*. New Orleans and
Memphis. Tiie Municipal Council of
Berlin has recommended the universal
adoption of tlie practice of cremhtion.
going back to the custom which, ac
cording to Tacitus, was in use among
tiie Germans a thousand years ago.
There are indications that the English
may also return, in no very distant
future, to the ancient usages of their
Saxon forefathers in this respeet. At a
ra<s ting of the National Soma! Science
society, held recently in Manchester,
the bishop of that diocese delix-erod an
address uion the subject of oduaction
and sanitary science, in which, while
ivmsidering the latter topic, lie stated
that "the disposal of the dead was a
prohiem which rmfst shortly be faced
more practically and seriously than
heretofore. Cemeteries were becoming
not only a difficulty but a danger in
English cities. The earth." he added,
significantly, "was made for the living,
not for the dead." Dr. Frar-cr (the
bishop) is a man of exceptional force o
intellect and strong practical sense. He
confessed frankly that cieination was
repugnant to his feelings, as it is to t hose
of most people, but alleged that it was
no longer a matter to he settled by sen
timental dislike, since it concerned the
health and life of the next generation.
The English papers,in
I lie address, are disposed to coincide
with the bishop's views on this point,
and regard the matter impartially, as
oneof sanila imparlance Netr York
Home •
A t'ounless* Strange Suicide.
Moscow society is considerably exer
cised by the suicide of one of its bright
est ornaments, tiie young and lovely
Countess Vera Koseheiefr. who a short
time ago suddenly disappeared from her
palace in the old Hussion capital, only
two davs after her solemn betrothal to
Count Ileimann, which had been cele
brated with festive rejoicings on an un
usually magnificent scale. No one could
imagine .whither she hail gone until her
steward received a letter from her.
written at her chateau in the Crimea,
wherein she informed him that "she
was going to imlhe in the river running
through her estate, and should not re- •
turn alive from her bath." She also de
scribed the exact spot near which her
body would be found in the water.
Search was of course made with all pos
sible promptitude, and it resulted in tba
discovery of the beautiful young coun
tess' corpse sewn up in a large straw
sack and sunk in the river. The seams
were found to he in tie interior of the
*ack. proving that Verm Kneebeleff had .
delitwrateiy sewn herself up in the sack
on the river hank and then cast herself
into the stream. In another tetter, ad
l reused to one of her uncles, and re
ceived by him orac time after her death,
she gave as her reason for enclosing her
self in a sack previously to drowning
herself, her extreme fear of crawfish
end water beetles.