The Spider's Lessen.
A tyrant is my bonier dwells
In Austrian black and gold;
Wrought all in silver are his oells,
Fine-spun, a thousand lold.
His dwelling has no dingy root,
Nor dismal underground;
The snnlight gilds it slender wool
On fragrant bnshes bound.
And at his levee, every uiorn,
Such brilliants do appear
As ne'er in any court were worn
By Christian monarch dear.
No prison dungeon has this wreWh
Whero victims, out ol sight,
His cruel jealousy may letch
And keep in hopeless night.
Tel subtle stratagems he springs
On harmless passers-by,
Winds his solt silk about their wings.
And hangs them np to die.
I oame to sweep his work away
With awilt, impatient hand;
But bore the lesson of tho day
He teaches, as I stand.
The tyrant lnxniy doth so
Our winged souls entwine,
And binds us lettered in a show,
To mock tho tree sunshine.
The sabtile web afar I'll leave
Ot flattering deceit;
The gorgeous spider shall not weave.
His letters for my feet-
Hie eye that viows the heavens in lailh,
The hand with justioe armed;
Can see the snaro that binds to death.
And scatter it, unharmed.
Julia Ward How*, in Scriiner.
DELICIA.
She was so exquisitely beautiful, it
was actually provoking that there
shouldn't be the least romance about
her. Waves of pale golden hair rippled
away from her pearly forehead, and
were gathered Into a superb knot at the
back of her head. Such a blue gleamed
iu her sweet eyes, such a lovely pink
mantled her soft cheek, such a smile
parted her ripe mouth, that, well-bred
as you might be, you could not have re
frained from staring at her; and then,
thinkingof strawberries and cream, liave
longed for a silver spoon with which t
eat ner.
But for all this there wasn't the least
romance connected with her. Though
three-and-twenty, Delicia had never
had a lover. She lived in a quiet farm
house among the White mountains with
her father and mother all the year
round. She loved them dearly—was
happy with them and her horse, Joan
of Arc.
Joan was beautiful, high-spirited; and
Ddicia, who cared nothing for dancing
or flirting, and could neither sing nor
play,was passionately fond of borsebaek
riding. There was a spirit of pride and
daring in her which made her a superb
rider, and caused the young men of the
very bare neighborhood to call her
haughty. The delights of her life were
the pine-scented woods, the winter
landscapes of ermine MOW and glitter
in* ice. the dreamy sweetness of the
autumn orchards. At twenty-throe
Delicia had been content with an ex
istence lived in comparative solitude.
Then came a terrible calamity. Her
father was killed by a runaway horse,
and her mother, frail and unable to en
dure the shock, sank slowly but surely
until, one mockingly bright, beautiful
day. Delicia found herself entirely alone.
Outsiders then called her cold, for no
one saw her weep. She only trembled
so excessively beside the open graves
that old Aunt Thnnkful, who had
nursed her deud mother, wna obliged to
support her to keep her from falling.
Otherwise she was composed, only her
sweet eyes had a look in them pitiful to
see.
A change had come over Delieia's
serene life; the dear home-love was
gone, and the girl's content had gone.
With a native courage and reserve pe
culiar to her she made no complaint;
she asked Aunt Thankful rather wist
fully to stay and keep house for her, and
HMB turned to her books and horse and
maiden meditations. But Delieia's
dreams were troubled now. Life's grief
had touched her; she knew that sorrow
was in the world; she feared the future.
The strange, sad summer passed. One
fine November day. Bob, the hired man.
led Joan of Arc prancing to the door,
the side-saddle on tier back.
" I have to go to the village, miss, to
buy the new mileh cow. I'll not be
back till noon. You'll not mind letting
Joan stand with the saddle on a little
till I come ?"
" No," said Delicia, absently.
Her beautiful oval cheek was white
under her velvet cap. There was a sad
ness quite unmistakable in her eyes as
she turned Joan's head toward the hill
road.
Yet who, to have Ven her beautiful,
spirited figure Wiping along the uplands,
would have divined the rare heart of
the heiress of Wheatland*? She did
not, perhaps, understand herself, and
did not know she had asked her own
soul: "Am I to be all my life alone?
Will noone rreat and good ever ask me
to be his dearly-beloved wife? If not. I
shall perish off the face of the earth."
Yon must have guessed rarely to have
guessed how deepiy ran the still waters
of that idyllic life. You would not
have guessed it from anything in her
perfect proud face as she turned it to
ward a passing carriage. The occupants
were a bin**-looking man of thirty, per
bap#, and a very young aad pretty girl.
A single glanoe told the story— that
the young girl was toviag aad unhappy:
that the man, for soma reason, found
her desirable of possession.
He had hard black eyes that repelled
Delicia. yet the sight of the two seated
so closely gave her a vague, painful
feeling ef solitude and desoiatisn which
not long ago was utterly nnkaown to
her.
The carriage glittered by, aad Joan
loped softly along the woody road,
soundless with a thick carpet of pine
ttS6dl6S
She made a circuit, aad canoe hack to
Hie main road. i
Suddenly unusual sounds attracted
her attention. A crash and violent
screams reached her ear, and as she rode
forward, a strange sight burst upon her
view.
The carriage had gone over an em
bankment ana was a perfect wreck ; the
horses lay prostrate—one of them killed,
the other struggling desperately, but
unable to rise; and prone beneath the
broken vehicle was stretched the sense
less body of the dark, handsome man.
Over him bent the girl, screaming no
longer, but sobbing violently.
Delicia slipped from her horse, and
was at her side some moments before
! she realized her presence.
"Wallace! Wallace! For heaven's
sake, speak to nic! You cannot —you
cannot be dead? Oh, dear Wallace—
see, it is little Alta! Only speak to me!"
Then, with a despairing cry, the young
girl fell upon the pulseless breast.
Tlion, starting to her feet to look
about for help apparently, she saw
Delicia.
"Oh," she gasped, snatching at her
arm, "Ix>ok at him! see, is lie dead?
The carriage fell {upon him, while I —l
am not hurt at all. Oh, heaven, what
shall I do?"
The white, still face told Delicia that
the man at her feet would never breathe
again.
Hearing wheels, she sprang back into
the road, and encountered old David
Green and his son, the keepers of the
village hotel.
Su onioned to view the scene, they
disentangled the senseless body, placed
it in the carriage, and turned to Delicia
for further directions.
"Get a doctor immediately that you
reach the village, Mr. Green. I will
take this young lady home with me, and
bring her back to the hotel as Boon as I
1 can put Joan to the phaeton. Gome
with me, my poor child—l will take
care of you, to the petite, white-fat ed
girl; and throwing her riding-skirt
more closely over her arm, she led Joan
i by a short-cut through the fields, lawk
to Wheatlands.
By the way she tr'.ed to auestion her
companion; but the girl, almost trans
ported with grief, made such incoherent
replies that she could only learn that
she had been riding since the middle of
the previous night, that they were on
their way to Conway, that they intend,
ed to be married there
"Were you—were you," said Delicia,
gently, in involuntary amaze, " running
away from your friends ?"
Alta nodded.
"From my brother, Guy Vannevur.
He did not like Mr. Munroe. Yes, we
were to be macried against his will,
and now—oh. Wallace, Wallace!"
Throwing Joan's bridle over the gate
post, Delicia led the trembling girl to
the door. It was locked.
The key hung in the secret place
known only to the family, for Aunt
Thankfil had at last executed a piom
ise to visit a sick neighbor some quar
ter of a mile distant. Bob had not yet
returned, for it wanted still an hour till
noon.
To Delieia's consternation, the un
happy girl no sooner entered the warm
parlor than she fainted.
With the strength of excitement, she
lifted her in her arms and bore her into
an inner room, where, placing her upon
abed, she unfastened her dress, bathed
her temples and chafed her hands.
At length Alta Vennevar again drew
her breath.
Passing through the hall to procure a
restorative, Delfcia saw a man just in
the act of vaulting upon Joan. It was
not Bob, though the saddle had been
removed and lay upon the ground; it
was a man in a ragged coat, evidently
a tramp.
With n flash in her blue eyes, Delicia
stepped hack, and, snatching a silver
mounted revolver from a shelf, threw
wide the hail-door and fired.
The bridle fell from the man's right
hand, and Joan—three steps beyond the
gate—stooped.
To Delieia's surprise, the man in
stantly dismounted. and, turning quickly
toward her, lifted his hat.
" I'am effectually stopped, young lady:
but, believe me, I did not intend to steal
your horse, ami certainly left nn equiva
lent. though now in sorry condition."
Bewildered still more by the courteous
words and cultured tone, Delicia turned
in the direction the stranger pointed
with liia left hand, and saw within the
yard a dusty buggy and panting horse.
" I IUII try ing to overtake ray young
sister, who has eloped with a scoundrel,
snid the man, who was both young and
handsome, "and my horse broke down
hopelessly just before I reached your
door. Otherwise, in less than an hour 1
should have probably overtaken my
sister before she was married and her
life ruim-d. So npr the object of my
long and desperate drive, I could not he
balked of its object for want of a horse.
I knocked three times at your door, in
tending to beg or hire yours, which I
saw, fresh, standing at the gate, but for
some reason I couul summon no living
being. Knowing tlint my horse was
more than equal yours in value, though
now almost killed by hard driving. I re
solved to take him, and. after overtak
ing the man who is running away from
mo, to instantly restore your prop>rty to
you; but"—with a little hitter laugh—
"yon have effectually prevented tlint. I
think I am bleeding to death."
His voice closed faintly; the blood
was spurting from bis wrist. He sank
upon the step at her feet.
Delieia's cheek grew white, for she
knew the danger of that terrible bleed
ing. Unless it were slopped, the man
would in a few moments be dead.
Springing to the side of the now unre
sponsive stranger, who seemed unable
to utter another word, she snatched her
handkerchief from her pocket, and
tying it about the wounaed arm, in
serted a stick picked from the ground,
thus making an effectual ligattfrc. and,
to the abatement of her terror, saw the
frightful jetsof blood subside.
The stranger's white face, the deluge
of red blood, the sudden relief from
spurring terror, turned Delicia faint.
Then she struggled hard against a terri
ble reeling sensation, and neld her own.
She thought wishfully of the glass of
cordial upm the hall table, but her feet
refused to stir.
Suddenly steps sounded at the gate.
To her inexpressible joy and thankful
ness, Aunt Thankful and Bob appeared.
Delicia explained ft the former,
briefly, though her voioe sounded far
awav to herself.
" Wounded—hurt—bleeding awftilly!
Boh, ride for a doctor fast as you can
go!" cried the old nurse, instantly in
her element.
The wounded man was making visi
ble efforts to keep from swooning, but
when Aunt Thankful had administered
a cordial and bathed hia temples in cold
water, he rose and walked weakly into
Hie bouse, where, at her solicitations,
tie stretched himself upon a sofa, and
then unexpectedly fainted.
"I don't In the least understand who
this mania," remarked Aunt Thankful,
steadily applying restoratives, " but
such a ragged coat and fine shirt I
never saw together before. Wanted to
hire a horse, did he? What did you
shoot him for? Of all strange actions
II
The driving of the doctor's buggy
into the yard stopped her remarks,
when Delfcia returned to Alta Vanno
var to find her In a wandering delirium.
Three strange days were devoted to
nursing the invalids. A burning fever
made tlie young girl unconscious.
Aunt Thankful's charge was con
scious, but very weak and silent. In
deed, he seemed to himself to be In a
dream half full of delights, hut pervaded
by a great trouble which he could
scarcely name.
The radiantly lovely face of Dclicia,
the rustle of her drees, the sound of her
footsteps pervaded his consciousness
like a blessing, while his desperate quest
and miaforrtune were only half-realized
by him in the bodily weakness and in
action of brain caused by excessive loss
of blood.
" How long have I been here P"
Dclicia sat by him, having taken
Aunt Thankful's place for a few mo
ments, and started from a momentary
absence of thought to find Guy Van
nevar's eyes fixed piercingly upon her.
"This is the fourth day. Are you
better ?"
" I am notsiek.only in a sort of dream
which I cannot wake myself from."
"You are very weak.
" It was you I saw when I came here,
wasn't it ?"
"It was I who shot you," replied
Delieia. blushing.
"I—l remember. Oh, my sister
Alta!"—trying to rise upon his elbow.
" Ido down, please. You must not
exert yourself. I have something to
tell you," said Dclicia.
" I have been here four days, you say.
Good God! what will become of herr"
" Drink this coffee and try to bequiet.
Alta is safe."
"How can you know?"
" I have her in my care. Wallace
Munroe is dead —aceiaently killed."
"And they were not married?"
"No."
"Thank Gad!"
And then he asked:
"Are you sure of this?"
" Entirely sure."
He could talk no longer, but was visi
bly better in a few hours.
The next day, pale, wasted, but
strong, ira simple earnestness, he said,
quietly, to Delieia:
"How wonderfully beautiful you
are!"
Something in his eyes kindled hers,
and for the first time in her lile Delieia
felt within her pure breast the warmth
and sweetness of love.
Half alarmed by her emotions and the
growing power of the beautiful eyes
l>ent upon her, she rose frara her place
beside him.
" You can see Alta to-day, you know
if she is better. I will go and see."
Alta Vanncvar was better in body,
hut suffering in mind.
She looked like a living wraith in
one of Deliein's long white wrappers,
and turned from her brother's kins and
sat down in Delicia's lap like a tired
child.
" Oh, if I could die! I know you love
me. Guy; hut you did not love Wallace.
And he is dead. oh. Delieia, you
understand—you are a woman. I loved
him!"
Guy Vannevar looked down at the
two figures, buried in the great easy
chair, the serene woman folding the
suffering child to her bosom, and a look
Inexpressible filled his soft dark eyes.
And Delieia, glancing up, saw it and
knew it was for her.
I cannot tell you how in a few days
these two grew togrthor; hut when
Guy Vannevar had told her of his po
sition as a gentleman and the son of n
gentleman, and discarded his disguise,
which had facilitated his pursuit of
Wallace Monroe, tlie atmosphere of
mystery and suspicion was entirely dis
pelled, and as weeks and manth* brought
their developments and occurrences,
Delieia realized that the prayer of her
secret heart was granted—one great and
f;ood loved her, and had asked her to he
lb dearly beloved wife.
All hail come to her—love, romance,
marriage and happiness; but to-day
scarcely less beautiful than of yore, she
will tell you that few women add to
their history the experience of having
shot their husbands, which is hers.
What the Anti->arrinatlonlst* Allege.
It is charged In these statements: 1
That several terrible diseases, such as
syphilis, cancer, consumption and
scrofulous diseases generally are widely
scattered and communicated by vacci
nation. One vaccinator of twelve
years'experience is made to say, "If I
had the desire to describe one-third of
the victims ruined by vaccination, the
blood would stand still in Vnur veins."
Another, " I have seen hundreds of chil
dren killed by it." A medical journal
is quoted as saying that consumption
has widely spread since the introduc
tion of vaccination: which is very likely
also true as regards lawn-mowers and
Kdestrian matches. A physician to the
indon Cancer hosnital decla s that
many of the caat s of cancer treated at
that Institution originated with vacci
nation! A physician testifies before a
parliamentary committee that eleven
out of thirteen children whom he had
vaccinated became syphilitic. Another
declares that a large proportion of ap
parently inherited syphilis is really Im
parted through vaccination. A large
number of eases of various kinds arc
cited with full and harrowing details,
some of which have lecn subjects of
dircussion in medical circles during the
past twelve or fourteen years. 8.
It is charged that vaccination does
not protect It* suhjpot# from small-pox.
11 la pronounced "not only an illusion
but a curse to humanity;" " the great
eat mistake and delnslon in tlie science
of medicine;" " a fanciful illusion In the
mind of the discoverer, devoid of scien
tific foundation." It states that, out of
88,000 cases of smallpox treated in five
liondon hospitals in five years, 17,000
had been vaw lnnted; snd. furthermore,
that since mmpulsory vaccination had
been established, tlie death rate tram
smallpox had more than doubled. Sum,
in brief, according to these very valua
ble statements, hnvn been the results of
vaccination in England, and It is in con
trast with thpse statements that the re
sults of vaccination as practiced in the
•ity of New York are here presented.—
Itrpulnr Hrirnrr Monthly*
The painter who fell over with biz
ladder full of painla stent ('own with
colors flybig.— McGregor Newt.
Children.
Bless their hearts, how dirty they get
their facet.
A child with a clean lace hasn't hccn
absent from its mother's wash-rag five
minutes.
How pretty the hair of a child looks
just alter it has been pasted down where
it belongs by a couple quurts of soup
suds.
The little aprons of childhood, ain't
they sweet with their checks of blue and
big spots of tawtii P
I'lie children's shots, how cunning,
with holes in the to< s, run over at the
heel, and every button gone off on a tl v.
Hut their stockings, wudgctcd in a lit
tle wrinkled hunch between plump
ankles anil grimy knee*, with "this lit
tle pig went to market" wiggling
through the raveled tip; ain't they
cute?
Their little pudgy fists, half the time
grinding grief out from their eyes and
the rest—well, who doesn't like to tie
pounded by a child's weak list?
What royal little cooks children are.
Mud ties take on more flavor from the
loving pats of childhood than any vet
eran can produce with the spices of the
Indies.
What questions a child can hurl at
the head of wisdom. It can upset the
theology of the world with one effort.
How sweet the rosy lipsof children;
girl children sometimes retain this
sweetness
What an indescribable conglomer
ation ot sounds a child's voice can pro
duce, playing the most heart-rending
havoc witli the nerve-cords of grown-up
humanity.
The glories of children's laughter. It
is infectious as the measles, breaking
in spotsnll through the neighborhood.
The wonderland children all dwell
in; wouldn't you like to live it over
again, and have perennial fri-shnesscon
stantly with you? Perhaps it is.
Those childhood dreams, rooted in
overplaying and overeating, but blos
som under the guardianship of angels.
These celestial beings must have curious
fun crowding comical fancies into little
brains.
flow wopsical a child can get the bed
clothes. A lexaiidcr himself never could
have cut the Gordian knot, if it had
been a twisted sheet around a sleeping
child's curled-up form.
No diamond ever dug from the deepest
mine can show the luster in aclmd's
eye, that round, wondering opal of
brightness. Perhaps children's
are peeping through the cracks of the
"pearly gates."
How lovingly the little arms of child
hood twine al>out your neck and leave
a nice hit of bread and butter on your
coat collar.
How tenderly children nestle into
your lap, swing their feet and rap your
shins with their little boot-heels.
How pleasant children are at the
table; how deliriously wrong side up
do they go through the hill of fare. Pud
ding first, with a grand finale of bread
and butter—with sugar on it.
How remarkably quick children learn
—what you don't want them to. The
inmost secrets of the household they re
tail from the woodshed roof. Then you
feel around for the sensitive nart ot their
pyttem and blister the flat ol your hand.
The man or woman who has mover
loved, hugged, kissed, played with, lis
tened to, told stories to. or thorougly
spanked a child, has missed the cardinal
joys of life.—AYtc llnvert Register.
Running Aamrk.
During a recent Mohammedan festival
at Kandahar, capital of Southern
Afghanistan, a number of mounted
Chassis, as they are named, ran amurk
through the ltrillsh camp. General
Tyler and-sereral British soldiers were
wounded, and four of the Chaz.s were
silled. Running amuck is one of the
terrors of the East, hut it is far leas
common than it formerly was. Origin
ally a Malay ru.-tom, it lias extended to
other countries in which the Moham
medan creed is prevalent. The word
nmurJe is a corruption of otnoak . Javan
ese, to kill, and the thing is simply a
miscellaneous, indiscriminate killing.
The natives of those Eastern lands le
oomo from long continued excessive use
of opium ferociously frantic, and their
frenzy is often intensified by religious
fanaticism. Then, alwolutely mad, they
rush into the streets —frequently nude—
cursing, biting and stabbing, with a
knife which they always carry, whom
soever they encounter. They lire dread
ful to see, and still more dreadful to
inept. They look like animated, very
animated corpses, their features being
pinched and sharpened, their skin drawn
like parchment, their eyes glittering
with fierce insanity, ana their energy
bent on slaughter. As many as forty
persons have been killed by them betorc
they cjuld lie overcome. Their appear
ance is the signal for general alarm.
Everybody seizes the first weapon he
can reach, and sallies forth to hunt
down and exterminate the common foe.
Of course, there fs no reasoning with
them, no way of intimidating them.
They must be killed for the general
safety, and they are killed as soon as
possible. Ing spears used to be em
ployed altogether as weapons against
them—and they an- still employed—
being thrown at or thrust into them
until they expire. Fire-arms are now
the offensive weapons when these are
safe; but, in the narrow, crowded
streets of the F.nst. this is not often the
caae. Nothing is so formidable as an
aninek-runner, and it is not strange that
he is mercilessly slain. The Malays,
owing to their ferocity, treachery and
daring, arc the most dreaded of all,
especially when armed with the dagger,
or creese, their native weapon, with
which they have a deadly skill, and
which makes a terrible and very danger
jus wound. A European or A merman
who has seen an amuck is very apt to
remember it.
The Fanner as a Citizen.
Judge George, of Htarkville, Miss,
speaking of the farmer as a citizen,
says: I think tlie influence of agri
culturists ought to be Increased In pub-
He affairs. I would not like to see a
legislature eompascd ex'lulsvely of
farmers and mechanics, nor would it be
for the public, good that there should
b'Bo representatives of these interests
In that hody. There should be in every
legislature men skilled in the laws of
the Blate; their ought also to be there
an Influential body of men connected
with the lending industries of the State,
familiar witli the wants and wishes of
the great mass of the people. If they
should draft no laws. If they should In
augurate no new and untried policies,
still there would he that in the very at
mosphere in which such a b dy ol men
move which will influence beneficially
the action of the legislature."
TIMELY TOl'lf*.
The accident on the Tay bridge in
Scotland by which many people lost
their lives and none were left to toll tl e
talc of the disaster, i# the most dreadful
known in the annals of railroad travel.
It i# no use to speculate whether hum an
foresight could have prevented the calam
ity, says theN"w York (Ifuvtnpion, but,
with the thrill of horror which it flashes
through the world, will be forcibly re
cal."<l the scripiual warning—" In the
midst of life we are in death.
According to the Detroit Erie. IYeu
Japan i# now furbishing the French
market witli eggs. A cargo to the value
of fK'jO.OOO passed over the Union Pacific
and Pennsylvania Central railroads the
other day on their way to Havre. This
route in superior to the Sues canal
journey on account of the high temper
ature in the Indian ocean. The cargo
filled #ix freight eat# and was carefully
packed. Some cases were opened in
Jersey City irud the eggs found in good
condition. Owing to Che short crop in
France they are in great demand, and it
may lead to a regular trade between that
country and Yokohama. The eggs were
■ilk-worm eggs.
Ths taking of the next United States
census will hegin June 1, IHBO. On
that day about'2o,ooo enumerators will
commence their labors—those in the
cities being required to complete their
work in two weeks, while others will be
allowed the whot' month of June. I*< r
sonsalive on the firstof June, but dying
before the enumerator reaches them,
will be counted in the census; births
i subsequent to the first of June will not
|be counted. Special agents will be em
! ployed to collect statistics relating to
i education, mining, manufacturing, agri
j cultural and various other departments
j of trade and industry4l
j The aggregate steam power in use in
the world i# at present 3,500,000 horse
j f wer employed in stationary engines.
| r.'l 10,000,00( horse-power in locomo
: ive engines. Tl"- force is maintained
I without the consumption of animal
food, except by miners, who dig the
coals, and the force maintained in their
muscles is to the force generated hy the
product of their lalwir about one to
I,Oho. This steam power is equal to tin
working force of 25,000.000 horses, and
one horse consumes three times as much
food its one man. The steam power,
therefore, is equal to the saving of 75.-
000,000 human beings.
Martin, a Cincinnati sharper, was
waiting for something to turn up.
Knight, a visitor from Texas, advertised
in the <!az*Ue for a fifteen-year-old girl
to marry. Martin discerned a probable
cnonce to make money, and went with
Annie Loft us, a young and pretty thief,
to answer the advertisement. Knight
; liked Annie, and the match was quickly
made. Martin claimed to be a clergy
man, and in that assumed character per
formed a marriage eercmonv, using a
bogus license. While a wedding dinner
was being eaten at a restaurant. Martin
and Annie stole Knight's wallet, but
a vigilant detective arrested them before
they could get off with it.
The islands at the western end of I*akc
Erie and the neighboring shore# of
Sandusky bay arc argely devoted to
the production of (trapes and wine. Tke
Snnduskv RcgiMrr t annual report, just
published, for 1H79, shows that mere are
in this district 1,000 acres planted.with
vines, tfie yield for the year being in
round numbers 16.000.000 pounds of
grapes. The wine houses report a pro
duction of 1,526,400 gallons. The Reg
ister estimates that not more than 1,000.-
000 gallons o'purc juice has gone with
, the 1.500.000 gallons of wine. Some of
the dealer*, it says, make no secret of
thej fact that they use spirits, sugar and
water largely, and claim that this doe
tored stuff is morc acceptable to their
customers than pure wine.
The condition of Italy just now is sad.
The harvest was altogether deficient;
j (l.r Indian corn, on which a large part
of the population mninly depends for
food, was almost a total failure: the
potatoes are dlsearcd and very had and
near; the chestnuts, which are the chief
stapie of food in the billy districts,
were a poor crop; and now comes
winter, unusually early and severe, pre
venting all outdoor work. At Faenxn
there have been bread riots and the mili
tary had to be called out At Kavcnna
the bakers' shops have been sacked by
bands of hungry peasants; at Sermide
like scenes have occurred, and in the
provinces the pe-onle arc clamoring for
nrcad and employment. In Rome the
number of beggars is very much on the
increase.
Of the (ate Duke of Portland. Ix>n don
Truth says that lie left personal property
valued at more than $10,000,000. and
that though eccentric he was certainly
a model landowner. From the time
of his siieeesaion U the dukedom he de
voted himself to the improvement of his
immense estates, and properties in all
respects in better order could nowhere
lie found. Schools, eliurclics, form
buildings and colleges, he wa-> ready to
build ail on the most approved prin
ciples. wherever they were required;
and hia draining, planting and road
making undertakings were invariably
on the m*t liberal scale, lie made
Welbeck one of the most perfect aliodes
conceivable. He certainly was a prac
tical benefactor to tbc working classes,
as for many years be kept hundreds of
hands regularly employed at high
wages.
An electrician of Virginia (Ncv.) as
serts fhat the engine* on the ConisUx k
in the mere act of running generate suf
ficient electricity to not only light all
the mines hut also the whole town, pro
vided such engines were so insulated
that the electricity could be stored up
and J'-ilizrd. There is a good deal of
elceUi ii disturbance to no observed
about iie machinery of mills. Where
there are large rubber belts running,
wh< the liana is held near one of them,
steady and beautiful streams of elec
tricity arc to be seen. Three do not
pass from the belt to the hand, hut from
the hand to the belt. It is rather a
strange tiling lo see astream of fire dart
ing from the end of every finger on one's
hand without feeling the slightest sen
sation ; yet it is res! Srs. and would blow
up a powerful magaxine as readily as
would a spark struck by flint ud steel.
The taxing district of Mom phis is curs
ed with a large number of decayed and
broken wooden pavement*. The Aua
latfhe of that city, in speaking of the
effect of those pavements on the health
of residents, says: Until the era of
wooden pavements Memphis Was a
healthy city. The enormous filth ao*
cumulation of years in the vaults hast
however, become the greatest disc**#
breeding factor. W liil<> u,# vault*
going through the process of extinguish
merit, the wooden pavements, the '
nuisance in rank, must rot be forgotten
The wooden pavement Im darned t/
destruction. Another summer's
will never" shine down on that i DtUM 7#
death dealing. rotten wood T1,,,;
must bo no " if#" or " buts." Better L
be without any pavement# t| mn lonaei
to tolerate it. It was a pardonable „*j.
take to construct a wooden pavement „
tin# Nontheru climate, and now lite
doctors' mistake#, it should be ~,/t ~7,,
of sight a# soon a possible.
The Danes are beginning to tnnnifc t
uneasiness as to the fate which await*
their country. They anticipate ,„. ir £
sliced up at no distant date /or the i m
mediate benefit of I'russia and Swede*'
As Denmark can no longer defend tta
communications bet wen Jutland in#
the islands by the superiority of |,< T
fleet, JUS was the earn- during the form. r
wars with Germany, it ha# been decided
on principle not to defend Jutland and
tir island of Fuhcn, but to concentrate
the whole defense of the country on tl <
island of Seal and, where the greater
part of the resources of the nation'are
centered. The population of Cop< n1,.-ig, n
are said to Ik* profoundly impressed vr'jo.
llie conviction that at the first gives
opportunity Prussia intend# to oe.-uev
Denmark, keeping a# lier share of the
spoil the peninsula of Jutland and tl,#
island of Fuhnen, while Reaiand and the
surrounding island# are to revert t,
Sweden. This would be tantamount to
the final division of Denmark, begun fn
181. r by uniting Norway to Sw<d. n and
followed up in IW>4 by the occupation
of t be d uchies of B<Li lc# wig. 1 lolst< in mid
I .all en berg by Prussia.
Edison Outdone.
" I am willin' to admit," said Grand
father Lickshingle, ••that Mr. Edison
has invented a wonderful invention"
Several members of the family arose
and started toward the door.
" I was well aware,"continued grand
father, without changing his tone, •• that
some persons resist# any attempts at en
lightenment on scientific topics, an' I
therefore locked the door and put the
key in ray pocket. When I wa#"a young
man I was a great hand for cxperi
mentin' at one thing an* another, an'
spent all my surplus wages in workin*
on a new light. I didn't fool aroun'
with electricity, but went right for th<-
planets The sun. moon and Mar", the
real source of all light and heat, was
what your grandfather ta-"ki<-d. 1 will
give you the results themselves, an' then
you wili see that Mr. Edison is a told a
bly small specimen."
" Vour light wasn't sup<Tior to tit#
electric light?"
" Wasn t eh? My light was a# much
ahead of Edison's as a hou# ahp it
ahead of a lightnin' bug. Young ladies
could take my light and see their future
husbands as plain a# day."
" Tfiat was certainly very remarka
ble."
"Alongside of my light a streak of
lightnin' had no more color to it than
a rail fence, while aooupleof stna'l boys
smokin' cigar stulis lit from my illumi
nator looked like a torchlight proces
sion."
" It must fiave rreatrd a sensation in
the scientific world P"
" Yes. an' in the literary world, too.
It knocked iight readin' forty ways for
Sunday, By attachin' a ten-eer,t du
funny to your burner, it 'ud generate a
power that could be applied in any di
rection under the shinin' sun. It 'ud
run a wasliin'- machine, iron the clothes,
answer tlie door-hell, carTy in the coal
run errands—"
"Grandfather, ain't you mistaken?"
" —blacken your boots, cut your corns,
drive home the cows an' haul a freight
train."
" What has become of your wonder
ful light, giand fat her?"
" Bight there you will have to ex- u*
me. Suffice it to say I have it stored
away in a safe place, an' at the proper
moment I wi'l spring it upon the
country again. I will give you a pointer
in time to sell Edison stock short, an'
if you don't retire worth more than the
king of the Cannibal islands, don't
blame it on your grandfather."— O'ncta
nati Enquirer.
Household Perils.
Under this bead the Boston Journal of
ChcmiMry names several dangerou* pub
stances which find tlidr way into house
holds. There are two or tfiree volatile
liquids used in fafnilios which arc par
ticularly dangerous, and must be em
ployed, if at ail, with special care. Ben
r.ine, ether, and Strang ammonia consti
tute this class of agents. The two first
named liquidsnreemployed in elenwiiii
gioves and other wearing apparel, wi<s
in removing oil stains from carpet*. cur
tains, etc. The liquids are highly vola
tile. and flash into vapor so soon a the
cork of the rial containing them is re
moved. i'lieir vapors arc very combusti
ble. ard will inflani'- H t long distano-*
from ignited candles or gas flames, and
consequently they should never be used
In the evening wlien the house is
lighted. Explosions of a vsry dimer
ous nature will occur if the vapor of
these liquids is permitted to escape into a
room in considerable quantity. In view
of the great liaxard of handlintt these
iiauidn. cautious housekeepers wili rot
allow them to be brought into their
dwellings, and this course is oo unend
abie.
As regard* smmnnia, or water of am
monia, It is a very powerful agent, es
pecially Iho stronger kinds sold by drug
gists. An incident in its use ha* recently
come under our notice, in which a young
lady lost her .Ife from taking a few
drops through mistake. Breathing the
gas under certain circumstance* causes
serious harm to ths lungs and mem
branes of the mouth and nose. It is as
agent much used at the present tine' for
cleansing purpose*, HOI it I* unobjec
tionable if proper care is used in its <m
ployment. The vials holding It shouiJ
no kept apart from others containing
nicdietne#, etc., and rubber stoppers to
the vlsls should be used.
Oxalic acid is considerably employed
in families for cleaning hrsss and copper
utensils. This substance is highly poi
sonous, and must he kept and used with
great caution. In crystalline structure
it closely resemble* sulphate of mag
nesia or Bosom salts, ana therefore fre
quent mistakes arc made and Uvea lost.
Every agent which goes Into families
among inexperienced persons should be
kept in a safe place, and labeled prop-
Hy and used with care.
Mr. John B. Clay is tbs only child o
Henry Clay whs la now living. He ha#
a , < mfortable home at Lexington. Ky..
on nine 900 of the paternal aoroe and
tunny beautiful horses.