Hi* Orlgta of luiiaa Con.
Ha nM that ever so long ago
A young maid walked by the river aide,
Singing sweetly, soft and low,
To the mnsicot the tide.
And the little maid was passing (air,
With eyes ot tender, sunny blue,
With rosy lips and floating hair
CM a wondrous golden hue.
Her fairy step on the velvet sod
Was light and solt as the tailing snow;
But it reached the oara ola river-god,
Who lived in the waves below.
He saw tho maid, with hor floating hair,
Her roey lips an '-er rounded iorni,
Her teeth like peai . At tho vision rare
His heart grew bold and warm.
<BO (air a sight has nevor mot
My eyes belore!" said tho ardent god,
"Theee mossy banks have novcr yet
By one so iair been trod!
The river maids arc lair to see;
But never one shall my eyes behold,
Though I live a thousand yours," said he,
" Like this maid of mortal mould."
So said the god. " 1 will seek her side;
I must bring her home to live with me.
She trust be mine, whate'er betide,"
Said this vain god, boastfully.
Then, with a leap,die left the flood,
With never n care for right or wrong,
And sought the maiden where she stood,
Singing her little song.
Fear lent her wings. Aiar she spies
A bank ol reeds, tall, dark and dense;
And in the sorest need she flius
Swilt to their (rail defence.
She said: "Oh! reeds, I pray you bide
Me sate and sure trom his cruel art." .
They crowded around on every side;
Each reed had a tender heart.
They wound around her trembling tonn,
They twined themselves in her sunny hair;
To save the maid Irora threatening harm,
They wrought a marvel there.
For lo! when he parted the slender wall—
He looked on the simple power with scorn—
There in the midst, iair, straight and tall,
Stood a stalk ot Indian oorn.
This is the reason that night and morn
A gentle sigh, as of one who grieves
Over some loss, Alls the fields of corn
And flutters its haunted leaves,
This is the reason it whispers so;
'Tis the soul ol the maiden prisoned there
That night and day, with a murmur low,
Burdens the summer air.
—Cartotta Perry, n Independent.
Polly's Pumpkin Pies.
Great golden pumpkins,ycllow enough
to be apples of the Hesperides, were
lying about the kitchen floor, and Polly
at the kitchen table was making pump
kin pies.
Her thoughts ran in this wise, as she
measured out ths ingredients: "One
and cne-half pounds of loaf sugar, one
half pound of butter, two quarts of
cream—no, one quart. So Melissa's
really engaged to the minister. Dear
mo, some people have everything in this
world. I wonder if they are soTuegy in
the next? How gravely he would look
at me if he were to hear me express such
a frivolous thought. He has a stern
f ace; but how kindly he can look out of
his blue eyes. The other night when I
burned my arm at the candy-pulling, he
dressed it as carefully as a woman, and
looked so kind and sorry that what with
his sympathy and the hurt, I could
hardly keep oack the tears. He said I
had already learned one of life's hardest
lessons—' patience under affliction.'
'Do you call this affliction?' I said,
laughing. ' I will be happy, indeed, if
I never have any greater affliction than
this.' And he answered so gravely that
it silenced me: 'I pray you may be
happy, dear child.'" Hen; Polly broke
out in a warbling little melody that
started the canary in the sitting-room to
singing with all his might, and caused
Aunt Phoebe to exclaim in tones sharp
enough to sour the incipient pies:
"Can't you stop that noise, Polly!
You and this abominable bird will run
me crazy yet; every nerve in my body
is just a tingling now." Then she added
in tones not too low to reach Polly's
ear: " I will get rid of you both some
day, and then may be I will have some
peace of my life."
There was silence in the house after
this- Polly turned aside her head that
her tears might not fall in the pastry
she was working, and the sympathetic
bird bushed its song and drooped its
bead.
Polly's reddish-brown curls were
caught up high on her head and fas
tened witli an old-fashioned shell comb
of her mother's: she had on a fresh,
dark calico, and her rolled-up sleeves
showed white arms, made whiter by the
flour dusted over them. She was a
pretty picture as she rolled out her pas
try and cut it in delicate, curling strips,
but she was so engaged in repressing the
ugly angry feelings that flushed her
cheek and heaved her breast but found
nootftletat her Hps, that she was un
roncioua of a spectator until, hearing a
movement, she raised her eyes and met
the minister's.
He wan standing in the daotway be
tween the sitting-room and kitchen, and
Polly's first thought wss that her aunt
hsd maliciously sent him to seek tier,
thinking ffkus to embarrass her. This
Uiought came to her assistance, and
smiling and dimpling in spite of her
annoyance as she met the sunny gaze of
his blue eyes, she motioned him to a
chair with the air of n princess add
went on with her work.
He brought the chair and set it a*
clone M possible to the table, so close
that Folly trembled lot some of the
(lour soould (all on his immaculate black
clothes.
"You are miking pumpkin pies?"
was his commonplace question, but it
was asked in the tones which thrilled
poor Polly's soul like rich music.
Hhe smiled an affirmative, and he went
on, looking up in the fresh, sweet fare:
" Have you ever heard the tradition
respecting pumpkin pi'sP It is said they
are a sort of moral thermometer of the
temper of the individual by whom they
are prepared. Pumpkins, you know,
are nourisi ed in the sunshine. Tliev are
gathered in the glowing autumn days,
and brought in the home, golden re
minders of the summer sun. If the pies
are made by one of a sunny disposition,
tliey will be sweet, juicy and delicious—
in short, such an essence of sunshine,
sugar and spice as those you are making.
But if one ill-natnred thought is hnr
.,)i*d during their preparation, they are
soured and ruined."
Polly blushed crimson at this out-and
out compliment, and in her confusion
mistook the pepper-box for that which
held the epioe, and dusted the piee
freely. Then she calmly poured in half
a bottle of lemon extract, while the min
ister thought lie had never seen so be
witching a little housewife.
As ho rose to go ho said, laughing:
" I believe I am to take my dinner
with you to-morrow; so, Miss Polly I
shall have an opportunity to gauge your
disposition by your pies. '
Polly shook a spoon nt him, and an
swered confidently that if that was to be
the only test, she was not afraid.
As tlie front Moor closed on the minis
ter, Aunt Phoebe, bristling with indig
nation, stalked into the kitchen
"If you think I am goiuv to have
such disgraceful performances in my
kitchen you are mistaken, miss! I
asked the minister in the sitting-room
while I went to put on my other cap,
and he walked deliberately out here,
and here he stnid. You enticed him
out; you know you did, you ungrateful
minx! And you flitted with him over
my table and over my pies, nnd under my
very nose, fori was watching you behind
the door. I consider it my duty to report
the minister I shall have his name on
every tongue in the town. He shall be
drummed out of the place—and you—
leave my house this night. I have put
up with your nonsense .-ta long as I in
tend to. You are not fit Tb stay in a re
spectable family."
"Oh, aunt!" moaned Polly, with
white lips; but Miss Phoebe went on,
though in a more argumentative tone atf"
her wrath cooled.
" No, you needn't leave to-night,
either. 1 have so much company in
vited to-morrow that you shall lielp me.
I might as well get what I can out of
you, though if you were to work
your fingers to the bone you couldn't
repay me. You haven't any claims on
me now; you are big and strong enough
to work for yourself. I wouldn't have
turned you out when you were little
and helpless, but I've done my duty by
you now—"
Polly stemmed the torrent of words.
"It is not necessary to say anything
more, aunt," she said in a clear voice;
" I will go."
The next morning was clear and cold.
The stubble sparkled with a million
frosty diamonds when Polly crossed the
fields on her way to church; some
hardy little English sparrows were
chirping thanks that the snow hnd not
yet covered the bits of (catteitd grain
which remained for them, and Polly's
heavy heart grew lighter as she watched
them cheerily picking and finding sus
tenance in the barren field.
" Behold the fowls of the air; for they
sow not, neither do they reap, nor
Fither into bams; yet your heavenly
athcr feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?"
These words of comfort coming into
her mind warmed her cold heart, and
with a light step she obeyed the sweet,
silvery invitation of the church bells.
A holy calm fell on her spirits as she
entered the peaceful little church, and
walkins up the dim aisle she took her
seat where the crimson light from a
stained-glass window fell athwart her
pallid face. The words "outcast, or
phan, homeless," had been ringing in
her brain with a dull, maddening repeti
tion all night, but now, as th deep tones
of the orpin rang out in glad thanksgiv
ing to the Giver of all good tilings,
Polly felt herself uplifted, for the mo
ment, above the miserable annoyances
of her life; and when she glanced at
Melissa, looking pretty and fresh in her
feathers and silk, she felt almost thank
ful for her, that she possessed the love
of a great and noble soul. Polly led the
choir, and when the minister's ear
caught the sweet, clear tones, in which
there was no guile, he also thanked
God.
With the inconsistency of human
emotion Tolly's mind wandered several
times during the service to the pumpkin
pies on the shell at home. This was be
fore the sermon. When onec she felt the
magnetisnvof his voice she listened spell
bound until it ceased. She never wept,
as those around her sometimes did at
some touching recital. She sat motion
less, with dilated eyes, and almost held
her breath until lie had finished. To-day
she kept saying to herself: "The last
time! The last time! When next he
speaks here God knows where I shall
be!"
Once the minister caught the expres
sion of the wild brown eyes, and there
was such misery in them that for a mo
ment lie lost his self-possession.
After church Poily hurried home to
set the table, and the minister followed
with Melissa, whom, fot reasons of her
own. Miss Phwbe had also invited to
dinner.
At dinner Melissa was placed next
the minister and Polly opposite, a small
handmaid being behind for the occasion
to wait on the table. Polly could not
help thinking what a handsome couple
tliey would make, as she glanced from
his strong, dark head and brilliant,
bluo eyes, to Melissa's cold, clear-cut
face, and graceful figure, draped in rich
black silk. Polly* face was flushed
from bending over the stove, and her
hands trembled with excitement.
She did not know at what moment
her aunt would come out with some
thing about yesterday's " performance,"
and Tolly felt that before all the As
sembled relatives, anil especially liefore
the minister and his betrothed, she could
not endure it. But Miss Phosbeseemed
in a particularly gi.od humor, and her
acrid fai e dissolved itself Into some
thing approaching a smile.
Once Melissa, smiling at Polly, said:
"I have livard you were a good cook,
but I had no idea you were so accom
plished."
" Polly didn't make anything but the
pumpkin pies," Aunt Pheebe answered,
smiling grimly, and she ordered the
maid to bring them on.
" I can testify that they are every
thing that pumpkin pies should be,"
said the minister, with a laughing glance
which caused Tolly's face to blase,
caused Melissa to give her a cold, sus
picious look, and made Aunt Throbs
draw down the corners of her mouth in
a very significant way.
In the hurry of the morning Polly had
neglected tas'iag her pies, and with
some anxiety, she watched her neighbor,
a farmer cousin, cut ids piece. lie took
one enormous mouthful of the yellow
luscious-looking stuff, then seised his
g ass of milk and gulped it down. He
set his glass down with an exclamation
and a very wry face. To her dismay
Polly saw everyone down the table do
the same thing. Crimsoning, she
glanced furtively over at the minister;
he and Melissa were talking and toying
with their forks, hut neither of them
was eating.
Aunt Tlx*be waited till there was
painful silence about the board, then
executed tier next flank movement.
" Sarah," she said, turning to the girl,
" bring tlie cake off the dn eser. " When
a large, beautifully browned plum-cake
wu set before her she said suavely to
her guests: "This cake, my friends,
was made by Melissa's pretty hands,
and I do not think you will find it sea
soned with popper and vinegar, as my
poor, high-tempered Polly seasoned her
pies."
It had flashed through Polly's head
what, perhaps, she had donei but to
have it insinuated that she did it on
purpose was too much,and with a choke
in her throat, which she was afraid
would break out in a sob, Polly left the
room.
Miss Phoebe had never loved her or
phan niece; nay. more, she had always
disliked her; hut since the advent of
the minister in the village society she
had seemed to hate her with all the
venom of an embittered nature. She
lind fed and clothed her since infancy
because she had promised her dying
brother she would do so, and "duty''
was Miss Phoebe's watchword. The
little lonely thing had won no place in
iter heart, because from the very lirst it
Itad turned from her and called her
ugly and cross. M!bs Plncbc asserted,
upon what foundation was questionable,
that butfor this encumbrance she would
now be the wife a wealthy farmer in a
neighboring county.
So all that had been done lor thechild
had liecn done grudgingly, but notwith
standing she grew up beautiful and
bright. The town's people, with whom
Miss Phoebe was no favorite, whispered
that she would never forgive Polly for
being so pretty—it was a continual cross
to her. And perhaps this was so, for at
one time? Miss Phoobe's eyes were cast
on the minister, but finding there was
not a shadow of a chance for her, she
determined, to use her own expression,
that Polly should not '' entrap him,"
and she st to work accordingly.
Mr. Thompson Jones, in other words
Tom Jon< *. and his young wife inhab
ited a handsome brown-stone residence
on Twenty-fifth street. The street lamps
were lighted nnd glistening witli frost.
It was dusk of a snowy night in the lat
ter part of November.
Mr. Jones and his wife chatted and
laughed over a cosy tea-table.
"llow do you like your new girl,
dear?" queried Tom; "I never saw a
better-cooked steak; must he a good
cook."
"Good," eelioed Mrs. Jones; " I think
she U: she is a jewel, a treasure. And
Tom," she continued, enthusiastically,
" have you seen her? She is a perfect
beauty.
" Yes," said Tom, absently, " but she
only struck me as looking too young to
know much. By the way. I heard from
Frank to-day; he will take dinner with
us to-morrow. By Jove, won't I be a
happy man! A new house (paid for), a
pretty wife, A good cook, and dear old
Frank to fit at my board. Do you know
he has had a call here—"
"Of course he will accept it!" inter
rupted Mrs. Jones. "Itis a shame for
a man of his talent to bury himself In an
obscure village."
"Of course he will. I wrote to him
that I would show him a perfect heOM
to-morrow. Mrs. Jones. So he prepared
for explorations of all your premises;
every water pipe will he examined. Of
course they are nlways spotlessly clean,
hut I thought I would warn you—and—
keep your pretty rook out ot the way. for
I want Frank to think Mn. JoMS thfl
prettiest woman in the house, at any
rate."
The next day dawned bright and
clear. *
Polly looked wistfully out of the ease
ment window of the house in Twenty
fifth street. She would have liked to
join the throng of richly-dressed people
crowdi ig to hear the new minister, called
to the church around the corner.
The dinner hour was fire, so she
could have found time to go, but sinca
she had been serving in her new rapacity
it was only by a great effort that she
compelled herself to go out to buy neces
sary clothing. She watched Utile Mrs.
Jones trail down the steps in an elegant
velvet wnlking suit, leaning on her hus
band's arm. Polly wiped a mist from
her eyes, and, concluding the front win
dow was not good for her, she went back
to the kitchen and warbled a little song
to cheer herself. And the canary in his
cajjc took up the song, and no harsh
voice silenced them. The poor child
always comforted herself with the
thought that hor present "menial posi
tion was only temporary; she only
assumed it until she eouid find some
other way to make a living. Mrs. Jones
was very sweet and kind, kinder than
any one she had lived with during the
year. She really had something to be
thankful for.
Feeling that she must not indulge in
repining on such a day, Polly summoned
her brightest thoughts, and even a dim
ple or two peeped out as she thought of
that happy morning over the pies, and
ot her absurd mistake a year ago.
" I suppose he and Melissa are mar
ried long since. Oh I if I could only
hear him speak once more!"
The morning slipped away, and Polly
was surprised when she heard them
coming home from church.
Again she was making pumpkin pies.
Mrs. Jones had said: Oh! do you
make good old-fashioned pumpkin pies?
Mr. Jones thinks there is nothing more
nelicious, and I know he would like to
have some."
80 now the new cook stood beside the
table witli her curls tucked under a
somewhat coquettish little cap. a long,
demure apron on, and her sleeves rolled
up. Presently she heard steps and
laughing voices in the passage, the door
opened, and she looked up surprisni,
with her sifter in her hands. Mrs.
Jones was holding her long velvet skirt
around her, and saying: " Tom is such
a goose; he thinks nobody ever had
such a house, and he will drag you from
garret to cellar. I hope you don't
mind."
Receiving no answer, she turned and
looked at lier guest. lie was standing in
front of Polly, who, erimson and trem
bling. was letting the dour dribble down
on the floor. " Can It be possible!" lie
said, huskily; ' ran it be possible that I
have found you! Oh Polly! thank
heaven, I have found you! I had almost
lost hope." And right there, before the
astonished eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Jones,
the floury arms of their new cook went
round the minister's neck, and she was
cobbing on his immaculate coat. " Hut
aren't you ra irried to MelissaP" came
from the depths of thecoat. The minis
ter smiled at this well-timed question.
"I hare never contemplated such a
thing for a moment," he answered; " I
have never loved any one but you, Polly:
since the morning I overheard your
aunt abusing you, nnd I caused you to
put pepper in the pies. You bore it
a.l so meekly nnd patiently that,
though I had only admired you before,
I loved you from that moment."
" Isn't it the most romantic thing you
ever heard of?" said little Mrs. Jones
that night to her husband. "Just
think of our cook marrying Frank," and
she laughed gleeftilly. "But site was
alway such a darling, I felt like kissing
her the first time I ever saw hor. She
shall be married from here, and the
parsonage is ever so much handsomer
than this house."
" I think it is the most charming
thing that ever occurred "
Tom, selfish man, made a wry face—
" I can t say I am altogether delighted.
Some other woman might have suited
Frank just as well, and 1 am afraid we
shall never find nnothcr cook who can
make sucli glorious pumpkin pies."
Cuban and the Cubans.
A New York paper says: Cuba is
once more in a state of insurrection.
The Kvcr-fuithful Isle, the name applied
to it.is as ironical as any name could lie,
considering that Cuba hns been in
almost continuous rebellion against the
mother country for the last thirty or
forty years. It was originally so-called
because in the first quarter of this cen
tury every continental part of Spanish
America threw ofl its allegiance and es
tablished its Independence; but Cuba, |
along with Puerto Principe, remained
loyal, ami profited by its loyalty; for
when the old Spaniards were expelled
from the main land, many of them j
naturally took refuge in that island, and
benefited it by their energy, skill and j
capital. During this generation, how
ever, the Cubans have been actively and
lllUlllf llllj disloyal, and Spain is di
reetly responsible for their disloyalty.
The present population is about 1,500,-
000, of whom some 750,000 are whites,
38,000 Chinese and Hindoo coolies, and
050,000 negroes, or of negro origin. Of
the whites, some <IOO,OOO are (Tech's, or
natives of the island, while 110,000 to
150,000 are natives of Spain, called pe
ninsulares. Although of the same
stock, the difference between the Creoles
and peninsulares is so very great as to
be oliscrvable at a glance, as visitors to
Havana must have noticed. The pe
ninsulares are vigorous, energetic and
aggressive. These, mainly from north
eastern parts of Spain, go to Cubs as
traders and mechnnioe, and ( htain most
of the employment and wealth of the
island. Though largely in the min
ority, they, from natural causes and the
favor of Spain, control the government
of the island, which has been, and is
scandalously unjust. They treat the
ereoles 'with undisguised contempt, and
are most cor lially hated in turn by the
weaker race, who are always proclaim
ing the doctrine of "Cuba for the Cu
bans," and are most anxious to get rid,
at any price, of ilie adventurers ever
preying on their substance. The ereoles
are ready at any time to join witli the
negroes, whether free or bond, to oppose
the Spaniards, counted as their oppres
sors and natural foes, which they really
are. Since the close of our civil war
the Cuban sugar trade has vastly in
creased; the quantity recently exported
having been valued at from $0.000,000 to
$100,000,000 annually, three-quarters of
it coining to this country. This is due
not to the enterprise of the inhabitants
or the excellence of the government,
hut to the great demand for sugar from
the United States. Spain has always
drawn heavily on Cuba,which has regu
larly supplied Madrid with a very large
revenue, receiving no equivalent there
for. No wonder the Cubans detest
Spain and Spaniards. Despite their
feebleness, they will be pretty certain,
in the end, to achieve their independ
ence. though Spain will resist It to the
last, because Cuba is the richest of her
transmarine possessions.
The Sacred Dogs or ISIABI.
No one who has lived in Turkey can
fail to have been perplexed by tne cir
cumstance that hydrophobia seems but
seldom to affect the nogs of Islam, al
though millions of masterlcss curs in
fest the st reels of Moslem towns and vil
lages. It appears, however that an un
usually long and hot summer season,
attended by drought, resulted, some
weeks ago, in an outbreak of hydropho
bia aonmg the canine scavengers of Sam
sun, on the Black sea coast. 'At first
smnll notice of the calamities caused by
the afflicted dogs was taken by the local
authorities; but by and by, as rabid
Samsunites became daily more and more
common in the town, a deputation of
citizen* waited upon the Vail to implore
that some steps might be taken to save
the rest of the inhabitant* from the hor- •
rors of hydrophobia. Hi* excellency re- j
plied that" lie would think about it,"
and a few days later lie promulgated a
decree, of which the following is a lit- !
eral translation : " In consideration that:
the dogs of Samsun are intrusted with
the cleansing of our town, in virtue of
which function they cryoy *rtnin civic
right* which cannot be contested by any
sane person, the governor deems ft of
ligatory upon him, ere he proceed to
stringent measures condemned by his
conscience, to submit this matter and
the grave facts connected witli it to the
superior religious authorities in Ktam
boul." This decree was tardily followed
by'a fetwali from the Sheik-ul-lalam,
sentencing the dog* to life-long exile
from the town. Next day the offending
scavengers were collected, bound, and
conveyed under a strong escort to a
teharehenibe some miles distant from
Samsun. Delivered from tlieir persecu
tors, the Samt unites breathed more
freely; but not for long! A day or two
later the banished dogs began to put in
an appearance, by twos and threes at a
time, in their old familiar quarters;
whereupon pious men exclaimed : "See,
the finger of Allah, who protects op
pressed innocence!" and the persons sub
sequently bitten were comfortably re
garded by the orthodox vali as "phau
tasU and visionaries."
An Experiment In Hanging.
In the !<cadville (Col.) Herald is a
thrilling narrative, descriptive of an in
cident at a mining shaft on the Big
Evan*. While the miners were at din
ner, one of them-a young fellow—bet
vc dollars lie eouhl bear to be lifted
from the bottom of the shaft by means
of a rope. He claimed that it would be
fvessary only for him to hold his head
n nh a position tlmt theforessure of
the noose would fail upon tne hack of
•lie *knli. Tying the rope around his
neck, he went down the shaft and sig
naled to he drawn up. In two seconds
• lie foolbh young man felt Ids terrible
mistake. lie tried to call out, hut the
rope light* ned and the blood tilled his
head almost to bursting. The men at
the top of the shaft, having no faith in
his rlaim. hoisted him up ns fast as they
could. When he reached thesurface his
eyes were starting from their sockets.
Ids swoollen tongue hung from his
mouth.And he had.heen hung literally. It
was only by the most vigorous ana un
wearying treatment that he was at last
restored to life.
•
TIMELY TOPIUM.
Next February will have twenty-nine
days. Except in leap year, February
never has more than twenty-eight days.
It is true that next February will have
five Sundays. They will fall on the
first, eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second
and twenty-ninth. This occurs once in
every twenty-eight years. Its last pre
vious occurrence was in 1852, and after
the next year it will not occur again
this century. The same is true of every
other day of the week. For instance,
February lias five Mondays once in
every twenty-eight years. This was
last the case in 1804, and it will occur
again in 18112.
Washington's headquarters, at Valley
Forge, in Pennsylvania, are likely,
through the combined efforts of a few
patriotic residents of that locality, to be
come the property of an association
which will preserve it for all time as a
memorial of the heroic sufferings in the
camp of the Continental army. In order
to interest the public in the movement,
the projectors nave issued handsomely
prepared certificates of stock at $1 each.
When the purchase of the iiejidquartcrs
is effected, it is designed to make it an
attractive spot, to collect there relics
and valuable papers relating to the pe
riod, and to lit up the house in colonial
style with furniture of a century ago.
The increase in the cotton crop South
is reported at 500,000 bales more than in
any preceding year. The increase in
COttOO is expected to yield $20,000,000
more than last year. 'I lie tobacco crop
is 12,000,000 pounds over last year, ana
the sugar 200,000 hogshead* greater.
This surplus is valued at $10,000,000
over the product of last year. On the
other hand the West is thought to have
20,000.0000 bushels o' wheat and from
80,(KM),000 to 100,000,000 bushels of corn
moro than ever before, and, the hay
product is also larger this year than for
many years past. Cattle will also prob
ably go over previous years' produc
tion. tne price of grain is large, and meat
productions realize fair value.
The foreign medical journals fjuite
generally notice the successful treat
ment of scarlet fever by Dr. 11. Pigeon
bv the use of sulphur. It appears that
a.l the cases in which he employed this
remedy were well marked, and the
epidermis on the arms in each case came
away like the skin of a snake. The pa
tient was thoroughly annointed twice a
day with sulphur ointments, and live or
ten grains or sulphur jjiven in a little
jam twice daily. Sudleient sulphur was
burned three times a day. on coals on a
shovel, to fill the room with the ftimes.
and. of course, was thoroughly inhaled
by the patient. I>r. l'igeon asserts that,
under this mode of treatment, each case
improved immediately, and none were
over eight days in making a complete
recovery.
A recent traveler had a curious ad
venture on the Coco Islands, which lie
will not easily forget. As soon as the
sun hnd gone down and the moon risen,
thousands and thousands of rats, about
the sise of a bandicot, bore down upon
him and made a raid upon his provisions,
refusing to be frightened away, and d"
vouring everything in the shape of grain
or biscuit, but not touching anything
in the shape of meat. When the iwigs
were hung up in trees, the deon-dators
swarmed alter them, and woukl prol a
bly have caused a famine had not the
convicts turned the tables upon them by
killing and eating them in great num
bers, saying that th< v were exceedingly
sweet. These animals, winch are some
thing like the marmot, are often called
the bamboo rat.
A remarkable suicide was brought to
light in Cincinnati A Abort time ago.
James C.ibner was found in the cellar of
his house <lea<l from strangulation by
his own hand. He had gone to the
cellar, seated himself on an upturned
tub, tied a red silk handkerchief around
his neck, inserted in it a piece of broom
stick about eighteen inches long, and
proceeded to employ this impiovised
tourniquet to choke himself to death.
As the process of suffocation proceeded
he fell over backward, and his head
striking against the partition behind
him, the stick caught against it, and
thus prevented the handkerchief from
untwisting, as it would hare done, if
unobstructed, the moment the man
frew so weak as to be unable to hold it.
Ir. (lihner was sixty-stven years old,
and leaves an invalid wife.
Miss M. F. Austin, of the Central col
ony. Cal., has twenty-eight acres of
vineyard, twenty in hearing this third
year from cuttings, from which she has
already made, aecording to the Ihtcifr
Mural fVess, fi.ooo pounds of raisins, and
will add y.flOO pounds more during the
season. The Muscat of Alexandria and
Muscatel de Uorda Blanco are the varie
ties of grapes used. Mss Austin em
ployed this season i.OOO platforms dur
ing the curing process. Her vim-s
yielded an average of ten pounds each
of grapes the first season of hearing.
Her grape product this season will pay
ail expenses of the vineyard, pay for the
platforms, boxes, etc., which can he
used successive seasons, and possibly a
small margin above. She is vcrv justly
proud of her success and entliusiastic
over the future prospects of the raisin
industry in this country.
An association hns been formed in
Westphalia for the extinction of pov
erty throughout the world. The Hieorv
of it* promoter*, who are not Socialists,
is that the wants of mankind have so
increased of !ate years that luxuries are
now looked upon even by the poorest
classes as necessaries. Life, it is urged,
may lie sustained and comfort insured
at a trifling cost by simply putting aside
the superfluities of modern existence.
Tliis object can only bo attained by a
complete revolution in our social and
domestic habits. Children should he
trained from their earliest infancy to
look for no other shelter than that
afforded hy wooden huts. Tlitir food
should consist only of bread nnd vegeta
hies, and tlieir drink of pure water. The
style of modern clothing, aa regards
'with men and women, is condenfttcd as
extravagant, barbarous and unwhole
some. One thick garment of good ma
terial for winter, and one of slighter tex
ture for summer, is ail that is required.
It is estimated that under good man
agement on the new system SSO a year
will be sufficient in-ome for any person
to exist upon comfortably, and will leave
a small margin whDh, If laid aside an
nually and carcftdly invested, will
amply provide for all the reasonable
wants of old age.
The Australians seem to take a great
pride in the Sydney exhibition, |which
opened formally last September. The
project was set on foot by the Arrieni
tural society of New South WalelTonll
a year ago, and the government a
pointed a committee of leading ooioni.t.
which ha* since had exc.lunhe
The building called offlciall,^ T&
Garden Palace, cost about $1 Oooixio
and was erected under the direction , i
a contractor, who received a commit
•ten of five per cent., the governm4t
finding labor and materials. It* areai.
is about seven and a half acres, inrjud
in* all the galleries and basement in
size it of course falls sliort of the p|,i
delphia exhibition- the main building
of which covered twenty-one and a had
acres—hut it is al>out one-third larger
than the london exhibition of i',i
wiiich was considered a jrreat enterprise
at the time. In shape, the Garden pa lac
is cruciform ; it lias four towerx and a
central dome 100 feet in*diametcr ,,H
210. feet high. Japan and Ain<rj-,
occupy the space opposite Great Hritair,
and fronting the nave from the dome to
the north tower. The American and
Canadian displays were incomplete on
the openintfday. hut rapid progress WVj
being made witli them. Next year Mel
bourne will hold an exhibition, which
will probably eclipse this in splendor
and variety, hut Sydney lias reason to
feel proud of .the enterprise she has dis
played.
Honest country-folk am warned by
Harper'x Weekly to well bear in mind
the fart that in these dnjs there :tr ,'.
" swindlers "and " sharpers, ' AS W< I, : , S
tramps, roaming over tie- country tVr
ingtoget money l>y deceiving the un
wary. Indeed, it has lately come to
light that there is a bold and well
organized gang of "sharpers" who am
carrying out a scheme of systematic
swindling, and many New England
farmers have b<-en victimized. Various
means art used by these rascals, and
strange devices are their " stuck in
trade." Sometimes it is an improved
washing-machine they wish to oil,
sometimes a patent saw. Whatever tli<-
article is, the scheme in some way en
tangles the simple-hearted countryman
who finds himself, a few weeks later, in
trouble. The law cannot always get
hold of "swindlers:" hut people can
exercise greater caution in dealing with
strangers, and especially tliej shou.d
invariably refuse to put their name to
any paper presented to them by thos
personally unknown.
From the annual report of Albert J.
Myer, chief signal officer of the United
States army, we learn that on* hundred
and seventy stations of observation of
the anproach of storms and otln-r m< -
tcoric changes have been maintained
during the past year. The course of
drill in military signaling, telegraphy,
meteorology and other aitrnal service a:
Fort Whipple, Virginia, lias been mue)
improved ouring the year, and a larg*
number of men have received instruction
as assistant-observers. The whole ae.
live tor< eof the signa. i j<. ir i : •
at this post in the genernl driii in arms
and with telegraphic equipments. Kx
amination of the daily forecasts or '■ in
dications" of weather for the past year
shows a percentage of 'JO.7 of 1 hem veri
fied. On occasions of supposed especial
danger cautionary signals have been
systematically made at ninety-four
different sea and lake jorts and cities.
No leas than 80.1 per cent, of the whole
number of cautionary signals displayed
have afterward been justified bv storm
or wind of dangerous violence. The
telegraphic lines of the signal and life
srving service are on the immediate sea
roast, and sueh reports of wcatii. r <• n
ditions as are not otherwise attainable
arc received by them. Passing vessels
are promptly warned of approaching
danger. During the year a telephonic
line connecting the intermediate life
saving stations has been extended from
Kitty Hawk ta Cape Henry—a distance
of about sixty two miles. "<)n June 30,
IH7B, no less than t,47 miles of tele
graph lines, including ">l3 miles on the
sea-coast, were in operation, and main
tained in the care of officers and enlisted
men of the signal corps.
How General Splinter fnreste<l Frac
tional t'arrenry.
The origin of the fractional cuirency,
which has been in the past few year*
superseded by fractional silver. is some
what peculiar an<l not generally known.
The appearance of this currency, which
at first was always spoken of as " postal
currency," was due to tlie premium on
I specie. In 1*8 small change became
I very scan*. Gold beinjt up and taking
with it silver, these coins disappeared
from circulation. Stockings were
brought nut and the precious metals
found their way to their heels and toes.
It was more than a day's search to find
a five-cent silver piece or any other
small denomination of that coin. l'eo
; pie could not find exchange for small
transactions. In buying a dinner in the
| market change had to be taken in beets,
cabbage*, potatoes and what not, <cn
eral Spinner was then treasurer of the
; United States, lie was constantly ap
pealed to from all quarters to do some
thing to supply the demand for small
change. He had no law under which he
ooulo act.but after buying a half-dollar's
worth of apples several times and re
ceiving for Ilia half-dollar in change
more or less of different kinds ol pro
duce he began to east around for a sub
stitute for small change. In his dilemma
fie bethought him of the postage stann.
He sent down to the postofliee depart
ment and purchased a quantity of stamps.
He then ordered up a package of the
paper upon which government securi
flic* were printed. He cut the paper
into various' sixes, tin tlie pieces lie
pasted stamps to represent different
amounts. He thus initiated a substitute
for fractional silver. This was. not
however, a government transaction in
any sense, it could not lie. General
Spinner distributed Ids Improvised cur
rency among 'lie clerks of the de|art
ment. They uiok it readily, and the
trades-folk more readily. The idea
spread; the postage stamps either de
tached or pasted upon a piece of paper,
became the medium of small exchange.
It was dubbed " postal currency " From
this General Spinner got his idea of frac
tional currency and went before Congress
with It. That body readily adopted it,
and but a short time alter General Spin
ner had commenced pasting operations a
law was on the statute-book providing
for the issue of the fractional currency
which became so popular. The fsc
simile of postage stamps was put on each
piece of currency, and lor a long timeit
was known as " postal currency " The
introduction of postal stamps as money
entailed considerable loss to those who
handled them. In a short time they be
came so worn and disfigured that they
would not take a letter on its way. and
were therefore worthless.- Weut*eto
fHar.