FAMOUS FIATS OF STBKNOTH.
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Among the Greeks the successful ath
lete was crowned with laurels and
loaded down with wealth and hon
ors. When Egenetus, in the ninety
second Olympiad, triumphant in games,
entered Agrigentum, Ids native Lome,
be was attended by an escort of 300 cha
riots, each drawn by two white horses,
and followed by tt\e populace, cheering
and waving banners. Milo six times
won the paim at both the Olympic and
Pythian games. Ho is sain to have
run a mite with a four-year-old ox upon
his shoulders, nnd afterward killed the
animal with a blow of his lis*, and ate
the entire carcass in one day! So great
was his muscular power that he would
sometimes hind a cord round his head
and break it by the swelling and pres
sure of the veins. An ordinary meal for
Milo was twenty pounds of meat, as
much bread, and fifteen pints of wine.
Polydamus, of Thessalia, was of prodig
ious strength and colossal height, and,
it is said, alone and without weapons,
killed an enormous and enraged lion.
One day (it is so recorded) he seized a
bull by one of its hind feet, and the ani
mal escaped onh by leaving the hoof in
the grasp of the athlete. The Roman
Emperor Maximinus was upward of
sight feet in height, and like Milo, of
Crotone, could squeeze to powder the
hardest stone with his fingers and break
the leg or jaw of a horse by a kick. His
wife's bracelet served him as a ring, nnd
his every day meal was sixty pounds of
meat and an amphora of wine. .
While a prisoner in Gerinany, Richard
I. accepted an invitation to a boxing
match with the son of his jailer. He
received the first blow, wiiieh him
stagger; but. recovering, with a blow
of the fist killed his antagonist on the
spot. Topham, who was born in I/on
don in 1710, was possessed of astonish
ingBtrength. His armpits, hollow in the
•use of ordinary men, were with him
full of muscles and tendons. He would
take a bar of iron, with its two ends
held in his bands, place the middle of
the bar behind his neck, and then bend
the extremities by main force until they
met together, and bend back the iron
straight again. One night, perceiving
a watchman asleep in his box, lie carried
noth the man and his shell to a great
distance, and drposited t hem on the wall
of a churchyard. Owing to domestic
troubles, ho committed suicide in the
prime of life. The famous Scanderberg,
King of Albania, who was born in 1414,
was a man of great stature, and his feats
in sword exercise have never been
equaled. On one occasion, with ascimi
tar, he struck his antagonist suca a terri
ble blow that its tremendous force
•leaved him to the waist. He in said to
have often cloven in two men who were
sladjin armor from head to foot. On one
occasion the brother and nephew of a
oertain Ballaban, who had been con
victed of cruelties toward the Alban
ians, were brought to him, bound to
gether. Transported with rage, he cut
them in two with one stroke of his wea
pon. Maurice, Count of Saxony, the
hero of Fontenoy. inherited the physical
vigor of his father, and was especially
noted for the surprising muscular power,
or " grip," of his hands. On one occa
sion, needing a corkscrew, he twisted a
long iron nail round into the inquired
shape with his fingers, and with this
extemporized implement opened a half
dozen bottles of wine. Another time,
when stopping at a village blacksmith
shop to have his horse shod, he picked
up a number of new horseshoes, and
with his hands snapped them in two as
readily as if made of glass, much to the
surprise and disgust of the smith.
If history is to oe believed, Phayllus. of
Crotona, could jump n distance of fifty
six feet. The exercise was practiced
at the Olympic games and formed part
of the coarse of the Pentathlon. Strutt.
an English authority on games and
amusements, speaks of a Yorkish jumper
named Ireland, whose powers were
something marvelous. He was six feet
high, and at the age of eighteen leaped,
without the aid of a spring-board, over
nine horses ranged side (>y side. He
•leared a cord extended fourteen feet
from the ground with a bound, crushed
with his foot a bladder suspended at a
height of sixteen feet, and on another
occasion lightly cleared a large wagon
eovered with an awning. Col. Iron
side, who lived in India early in this
scntury, relates that he met in his travels
an old white-haired man who with one
leap sprang over the back of an enor
mous elephant flanked by six camels of
the largest breed. A curious French
work, published in Paris in 1746, en
titled " The Tracts Toward the History
of Wonders Performed at Fairs," men
tions an Englishman, who at the fair of
St. < iermain in 1794, leaped over forty
people without touching one of them.
In our own day we are familiar with
many remarkable expositions of strength
and endurance. Dr. Winship, with the
aid of straps, lifted a weight of 3,500
pounds, and with the little finger of his
right hand cjuld raise his body a con
siderable distance from the ground.
Diner With Arrapahoes,
My first dinner with the Arrapahoes
was by invitation of Six Feathers, a very
hospitable and friendly Indian. It was
served upon common white china, and
'•qmprihed stewed dog,' boiled rice,
slightly sweetened, bread baked by re
flection, and tea. Observing that my
host shook the contents of a perforated
'in box into his cup, and supposing it.
was sugar I followed his example, and
found it was black pepper—not, how
ever, an unpalatable mixture in ex
tremely cola weather. Dog meat is
co: sidercd a great luxury, and is re
served for feast* and special occasions.
After dinner Six Feathers seated me
upon a couch of buffalo robes and bright
red blankets, spread upon a willow mat
that lay upon the ground and against
two poles of a tripod, to which could be
given any inclination. This formed a
support for the back when sitting, and
for the head when lying down. My
hostess now presented me with a pair
of moccasins uniquely embroidered with
colored porcupine quills, which 1 was
gratified to observe fitted perfectly, and
I expressed my pleasure and thanks to
the dusky donor in my choicest Arra
paho. Cigarettes, of which they are
exceedingly fond, being produced, we
complacently smoked, while the fire
■nirned brightly in the center of the
lodge, maintaining a comfortable and
uniform temperature, and tho smoke
gracefully curled through its appointed
— I,U>utennrd H. D. Ltmly,
U- S. A., in Harper. *
The universal material for men's and
boys' suits in Sootland is the celebrated
" Bannoekburn cloth," so called from
we factories which now turn it out in
immense quenttties on the site of the
famous fttte field.
A Deg with i Diamond Cellar.
An advertisement in a New York
paper offered a reward of $6OO for the
return of a " black and tan, with a dia
mond collar," and a city reporter ob
tained the following facts in regard to
the loss of so valuable a canine: No.
939 West Thirty-fourth street is the
residence of Mr. John Lynch, tho well
known diamond merchant- A ring at
tho door- bell by the reporter brought
out a pretty, dark-eyed llttlo miss of ten
or twelve, who inquired eagerly if Nel
lie had been found. When answered
" No," she looked very sad indeed.
From a member of the family the fol
lowing history of the lost dog and col
lar was obtained:
A year ago last fall Mr. Lynch's little
daughter, Miss Irene, was at a board
ing schoel in Paris. Among her school
mates was another little girl, the
daughter of a wealthy merchant of
Chicago, named Madison. The two
children becoming fast friends, Irene
confided to her companion the fact that
there was one thing sho wanted more
than dolls' dresses, sweetmeats, or any
of the other things that little girls
usually liko, and that was a small
black and tan dog, with crimped ears
and a gold collar, sucli as tho ladies
carried on their laps as thoy drove out
in the Bois. Miss Madison remem
bered that her father had one of these
pet dogs at home, which had shortly
before had a litter of puppies, and
promised Irene that when sho got
home she should have her pick of tho
lot. Last year Irene returned, and
when Inst Novemlier, her brother,
Afr. George Lynch, went to Chi
cago on business, sheromind< d him that
he must be sure and stop at Mr. Modi*
son's and get the little black and tan,
Mr. Lynch did so, and picked up Nellie
then eighteen months old and weighing
one pound and twelve ounces. She was
so small that he could easily stand her
up on all fours in the palm of his hand,
and carry her in his overcoat pocket.
Nellie's ears were duly crimped, and site
was provided with a collar in the form
of a gold chain bearing a gold shield
with the letters of her name in small
diamonds. At the topof the shield were
a rubv and diamond, both of large size
and the finest water, and at the bottom
was a sapphire, tiiis making the three mw
tional colors—red, white and blue. The
dog was also furnished with a receptacle
or nest lined with blue velvet, into which
it crept at night, and was carrier, round
durinv the day. Mr. George M. Lynch
took Nellie with him in ids overcoat
pocket on a trip to Leadville, returning
by way of Cincinnati and Pittsburg.
While at the latter place he went to the
opera, having Nellie with him as usual.
Some unexpected noise aroused the little
creature, and itbogan barking fuiiously.
No one could find the animal, and the
people around began to think the
stranger a ventriloquist, until he finally
displayed the animal on the plant of his
hand, and exposed the cause of the up
roar.
Nellie was lost while the children were
at church. Irene almost cried her eyes
out when she returned home and found
the little creatuie gone, collar and all,
and nothing hut its empty velvet nest
left. It is supposed that Nellie being so
small, crept out under the servant's
dress while the latter was answering a
ring a>the door bell. Mr. George Lynch
said that it wns quite possible that pro
fessional dog thieves had caught sight of
Nellie somewhere in public, tracked her
to the house in West Thirty-fourth street
and then laid their plans for getting her
away unnoticed in the absence of the
family. The jewels in the collar were
worth ffioo or $7<K), but he valued the
canine mite chiefly for the reason that it
was his sister's pet.
The Diamond Widow.
Altogether diamonds are very much
( like a jealous beauty, exacting much
'more attention than they give comfort.
Once at a big up-tnwn botel where lie
was rooming, the AVic* reporter noticed
a stout old lady with a brown wig. who
always carried a leather satchel. They
were inseparable. No matter where
she was, tncre was the satchel, too. It
lay under her feet at the dinner table,
and in her lap in the parlor. Bhecarried
it to the hath with Iter, and when she
stepped out into the hall to call a pass
ing servant she gripped the bag with a
firm clutch.
It contained, the reporter learned, her
diamonds. She had lived at the hotel
nearly two years, and had never been
seen without it. When tho servants
cleaned her room up she grabbed and
held it till they were gone. Once, when
she had been sick and a doctor had been
called in, she had clutched her precious
satchel with one weak hand, while she
held the other out to have her pulse
counted. At various weddings and even
ing parties at the hotel she had appeared
wearing some ornaments of antique
shape, but considerable value, hut she
stiii carried the bag, so tiie report had
got abroad that she owned a large num
ber of dinmondsof immense value. The
proprietor endeavored to induce her to
deposit them in the office safe, hut sho
stubbornly relused. So at last the dia
mond widow, the servants called bar,
and her bag bcoame familiar fixtures of
the hotel.
Late one night a firo broke out in a
building adjoining the botel, and a pane
among the guests ensued. Among the
first guests to uppcar in the hall was the
diamond widow. She had not gone
through any formality in the way of
costume, but she bed the bag safe. After
h short tims, the fire died down nnd the
frightened guests, who had gathered in
the hotel"parlor, were informed that they
could return to their rooms If they
wanted to. This information wm hardly
imparted, when the diamond widow
gave a shrill shriek and fainted.
She had been listening to the land
lord, her neighbor said, with her satchel
In her lap, when her eyes had fallen on
it, and she had screamed, " My God t it's
the wrong one?" and tumbled from her
chair.
And it WM tho wrong one. In her
fright, she bad seised a valueless bag
and left the other behind. And what
is more, some one had found it out, for
her room had been entered in tho con
fusion of the panic, and tho empty
satchel was afterward found down one
of the hotel ash shaft*.-- New York
Newt.
A carpenter who was always prog
nosticating evil to himself was one day
upon the roof of a five-story building
upon which rain had fallen The roof
being slippery he lost his footing, and as
he was descending toward the < avea, he
exclaimed,. "Just as I told yooi"
Catching, however, in an an Iron spout,
hs kicked off hia shoos and regained a
place of safety, when be thus delivered
himself: " I know'd It; there's a pair ef
hoes goneT
A Brave BaclUh Woman.
A Constantinople letter to the Phila
delphia Ttlegrnvh says: The quiet Greek
village of Kadekem, on the Asiatic shore
of the sea of Marmora, some four miles
from here, was the scene the other night
of wild excitement and alarm. At
dusk, while the family of Mr. 8., a re
spectable English resident, were about
sitting down to a comfortable supper, a
knock, timidly repeated after an instant,
was heard at the door. Tho wind was
how ling around the angles of tho house,
and as Mr. B. opened tho door, a gust of
sleet and rain took him in the face and
almost prevented him from perceiving
his nocturnal visitor. It was a
wretched woman, bent nenrly double
with age and clothed scantily with
filthy rags, who, in quivering accents,
beggod food and shelter for the night.
After some hesitation tho spirit of the
good Samaritan prevailed over the natu
ral suspicions aroused by such n visit.
The hag's story was a plausible one.
Having, owing to her infirmities, missed
the last steamer back to town, and
being left with only her return ticket in
her pocket, she was exposed to pass that
bitter night out in ttie open air unless
some charitable person lent his roof to
shelter her. Already she had been
turned away from several dwellings
when she knocked despairingly at Mr.
B.'s door. Thus ran her talc.
Resolved, when once "in for it." as
Mr. B. said, " to do the tiling up brown,"
hot food and drink was given to the
wanderer, who, complaining soon after
of great fatigue, wa* led into an empty
room on the third floor, where a sort of
shake-down was provided her. The
family stayed together some time after
in the parlor, cnatting over the fire
about the incident, then separated for
the night.
A mysterious anxiety, however, hung
over Mrs. 8., kept her awake and cul
minated in a determination to visit the
guest room and see how the guest was
filing. Arriving at the door, which, as
a precaution, had been locked, noise
lessly in her bare feet, a narrow ray of
light stream ing from the keyhole aroused
her suspicion, and an unwonted noise of
steps. Peeping in, the first object that
met her gaze was a bundle of rags, sole
relic of the pitiful hag that they had"
i rescued from the elements, while in her
I place stood a tall, brawny Circassian in
I full dress, his leather belt st ;tk full of
, pistols, while he tried on his thumb the
j edge of a " cama " or long, curved dag
| ger. His face was turned toward Mrs.
8., and she saw in his set mouth and
. rascally face such murderous purpose
| that she with difficulty restrained a
j scream of fright. However, she crept
! down the stairs, trembling with excite
ment, aroused her slumbering lord, and
told what sho had seen. A short con
sultation followed, in which the strange
decision was arrived at that the husband
should run at once to the nearest corps
de garde for policemen, while the wife,
armed with fier husband's revolver,
would stand behind and hear the at
tack. A few minutes after B. had slip
ped on his clothes, and closed the street
door, that sound found its echo upstairs
in the crash of the guest room door,
which yielded to the battering-ram
blows of the Circassian's shoulder.
Heavy but rapid steps came down the
stairs. Mrs. B stood, with a dressing
frowa thrown over her, admirably cool,
icr right hand grasping a revolver. The
steps came nearer, and the ruffian, after
trying the door of the parlor in which
the lady was standing, hurst it open, and
rushed in. His headlong course was
stopped by four shots in rapid succession,
two of which took effect in bis arm and
neck, and rolled him on the ground al
most at Mrs. B.'s feet. Tho nouse ser
vant then appeared, aroused by the
fir,ng. and Mrs. 8., for whom the air
was just then full of Circassian murder
ers. greeted him with a flesh wound in
the leg. Luckily for the rest of the
household, who began pouring in, the
inevitable revulsion of feeling came, and
the courageous woman fainted. Just
aliout then the husband, with six zap
tiebs or poliesmen, arrived, as usual, too
late to be cf much use.
How Girls Go to Sleep.
We had wandered out under the
moonlit larches, and we all talked and
laughed at nothing, in that silly, happy
way young popple have. We told rid
dies and sung the old college songs till
finally sleep, with his bright colored
mantle of dreams called us. and we re
tired to what we /ondly supposed would
be repose. But if you have ever oc
cupied a room with six girls, you will
know that sleep is not always to be ob
tained at once. One young lady was an
hour and a half by theciocx in brushing
and braiding her hair, in putting up her j
crimps, in cleaning and polishing her
finger nails, in running a piece of silk
floes between each pair of her thirty-two
teeth, in polishing each one with a little
stick and some powder, in giving them
a vigorous brushing with sonp and
water, in washing her hands slid in ap
plying glycerine to them, in putting on
a wash good for the complexion, in
reading her Bible, in kissing everybody
good-night, and in getting into her ham
mock, which everybody who has ever
tried it knows isa work-of time.
.Just as we thought we were almost
asleep she recollected that sho had not
taken her mix rnmicn, and she argued a
long time with another young lady to
try to got her to take mix vomim, quoting
at great length from I>r. Pulte and other
eminent hommopatic physicians to
prove that she and everybody needed
mix vomica occasionally. When, to get
peace, the poor girl swallowed the glob
ules, we thought that we bad earned
repose; hut then another young woman
remarked in a cheerful tone that she
was cold and one of the windows must
come This occasioned what
seemed to the sleepy ones an endless con
troversy, an somebody else " was burn
ing up with heat" and wanted another
opened. This was finally settled. Every
thing wan quiet for at least five minutes,
and we were all at length giving up to
"tired nature's sweet restorer" when
suddenly an awfal sound was heard.
A great weight fell suddenly on the hare
Door, the shrill shriek of a woman
leaped upon the midnight air, quick
questions and exclamations were heard.
A light was struck, and it was discov
ered not that robbers and murderers
were upon us, but that somebody's ham
mock had broken down. This was re
constructed, and again we addressed
ourselves to persuading Morpheus to
knit up our sleeve of care, which by this
time was very much raveled indeed.
Ten minutes of utter quiet passed
away; nothing was beard but the gen
tle breathing of tha sleepers, when on<
affectionate girl, turning over, called
ont. " Well, I'm going to sleep; good
night everybody. UppsnroMs Maga
rfn*.
la * Ftt WMI flmoklag-Car.
Mr. Snla, the English journalist,
writes as follows about his experience
in a smoking-car during a trip from
Chicago to San Francisco: As misery is
said to make a man acquainted with
strange bed-fellows, so the habit of
flbtoking brings all sorts and conditions
of people together, and I have made the
oddest of acquaintances and listened to
the drollest of conversation among the
omnium gatherum of humanity horded
together in an American smoking-car.
As for the possible "rough," therelsnot
much need for you to troublo yourself
any about him. If you refrain from
adopting the asinine practice of carrying
a revolver under peaceable conditions
of traveling, it is with the extrcmest
rarity that you will find a revolver
drawn upon you. It is. as a rule, those
who needlessly talk about shooting who
run the greatest risk of getting shot. It
is not by any means certain that you
will get into a quarrel by refusing to
drink with the first possible rough who
accosts you, whereas I have been told
over and over again tliat to accept a
drink from a total stranger is a sine qua
non in the West. It is a case of "inside
or out," I was assured. Either you
must swallow the dram or i un the risk
of ulterior consequences in the way of
steel or lead. Frequent experience,
however, leads me to the conclusion
that if you civilly tell your unknown
friend that you 1 ave "sworn off,"or that
"you are not equal to anything else lie
fore supper," he will take your refusal
in thoroughly good part. Of course
there aiv exceptions to the rule, but of
one tiling lie certain, that if by ill-luck
you do fall across a rough American
who is wholly or partially tigkt, and
proportionately fractious or prone to
exhibit tendencies of an ugly or violent j
nature, the vast majority of your fellow
travelers will lie peaceable and law
abiding persons, whose interest lie in
the direction of the rough being "run
out" or "chucked off" at the earliest
oossible opportunity. Be not afraid,
then, to mingle with the many sr>ntcd in
the smoker. Keep yourself to yourself
as reasonable discrimination shall die- 1
tatc, but speak when you are spoken to
shortly and courteously, and you will j
get along very comfortably. You j
may or may not be somewhat of a j
physiognomist, thus you must use your
own discretion in the application of
Juvenal's warning against trusting to 1
facial appearance, but I would entreat
you not to judge traveling A mericons
in the West from the clothes they wear
aboard the cars. For example, in the
"smoker" between Chicago and the
important manufacturing city of Cedar
Rapids I was addressed its "partner"
and offered a plug of " tcrbackcr " by a
gaunt youth, seemingly of some nine
teen summers, with lank, hay-colored
hair, whose coarse, homespun coat and
vest, red flannel undershirt—overshirt
he had none—misshapen felt hat, and
pantaloons tucked into boots reaching
knee-high and quite innocent oi black
ing ostensibly bespoke him to lie a
rough of the roughs. He wu nothing
whatever of the kind. He was a grad
uate of the university of his State, iiad
taken high honors in the department of
minerslogy and was now on his way
far West, with a view to " prospecting
around" in the mining regions. He
thought that he could get a job, he
told me, nnd from his sul>sequent oon
vcrsUion I WAS led to infer that he was
ready te inspect and report upon any
new metalliferous deposits which he
might encounter, to form a new mining
company, to speculate in mining stocks
or to become the conductor of a freight
train. In fact he was ready for any
thing in the conduct of which pluck,
energy and pracli. al knowledge coul 1
be made available. He had an elder
brother, he casually mentioned, who
was doing very well as a portrait
painter somewhere in Nebraska. His
parents had in the outset strongly ob
leoted to this young man's following
the arts and had placed h'.rn in the
office of a lawyer—wishing, as his
brother tersely put it —" to bring him
up to something respectable." hut the
apprentice of the Jaw could not abide
tne profession cbslked out for him;
so the old folks at home, making the
best of a bad barg-vln. mortgaged some
land and with the proceeds sent the
artistic young hopeful to study for two
or three years in Franc* and Italy.
Then he had gone West, and was at
E resent getting as much as t75 for n
all-length in oil. "It wasn t a very
good trade," luy informant added apolo
getically. " hut some day, perhaps, his
brother would bo able to get up to
'Frisco and start in the photograph line,
and so make bis pile." I hope ke may
make it with all my heart.
Light in the llomr
The eminent English writer, Dr.
Richardeon, ha* wri.tonau articlecalled
" Health at Home," which is replete
with wisdom. A most important point,
and one on which he dwells, is the fact
that so many people are afraid of the
light. "In a dark and gloomy house
you never can see the dirt that pollutes
It. Dirt accumulates on dirt, and the
mind soon learns to apologise for this
condition because the gloom conceals
it." Accordingly, when a house is dark
and &ingy, the air becomes impure, not
only on account of the absence of light,
but from the impurities which sre ac
cumulated. Now, as Dr. Richardson
cleverly pats It. we nlnce flowers in our
windows that they tnay have the light.
If this be the case, why should we de
prive ourselves of the sunshine and ex
pect to gain health and vigorP Light,
and plenty of it, is not only a purifier of
things inanimate, but ft absolutely
stimulates our brains. It is in regard to
sick rooms that this excellent authority
Is particularly impressive. It used to be
the habit of physicians in old times to
sedulously darken the rooms, and this
practice continues to some extent even
to-day. In certain very acute cases of
nervous diseases, where light, the least
ray of it, disturbs in over exciting the
visual organs, this darkening of the
room may be permitted, but ordinarily
to krep the out of the room is to
deprive the patient of sne of the vital
forces. Children or old people con
demned to livo in darkness arc pale and
wan. exactly like thase plants which,
deprived of light, grow white. Bare
ness in the daytime undoubtedly makes
tho blood flow less strongly ana checks
the beating of the heart, and these con
ditions are precisely such as bring con
stitutional suffering and disease. The
suppression of the light of day actually
Increases those contagious maladies
which feed on unclesnllness. Dr. Rich
ardson states: " I once found by experi
ment that certain organic poisons,
analogous to the poisons which propa
gate these diseases, are rendered innoc
uous by exposure to Ught."
Beefsteak.
r T, he York Obntrvtr says: If Miss
Juliet Corson succeeds in teaching this
feneration bow to cook a beefsteak ton
er and savory, she will deserve a
monument more durable than bronze or
marble, and every one who frequents a
hotel or boarding-house, and every one
who lives in a farm-house, should con
tribute liberally to it. If the following
directions, which she prepared for a
meeting at Willimantic, Conn., will
produce the desired end—a tender steak
—she will at least secure the gratitude
of thousands, whether she ever hears of
it or not. We hope our readers will see
what can be done in this way, and so
help on the desired reform:
HOW TO rUCI'ARK A STEAK.
We hear a great deal about that
" abomination called fried steak." I
will tell you how to make tough steak
tender, and how to fry it so that it will
be juicy, I)o not pound it, either with
a rolling-pin or a potato-masher, or even
with that jagged piece of metal or
crockery ware wiiich house-furnishing
dcalcra will trv to delude you into buy
ing. If you do pound it you will only
batter its fibers and let out all ita juices.
Pour into the bottom of a dish three
tahlespoonfuls each of vinegar and
salad-oil, sprinkle on them half a salt
spoonfui of pepper (and a tahlespoonful
of chopped parsley, if you have it). Do
not use any salt. The action of the oil
and vinegar will be to soften and dis
integrate the tough fibers of the meat
without drawing out its juices. The
salt would do Unit most effectually and
harden the fibers beside. You may add
a teaspoonful of chopped onion if you
like its flavor. Lay the steak on the oil
and vinegar for three or four hours,
turning it over every half hour, and
then mule, or half-fry it quickly; season
it with salt after it is cooked, and serte
it with a vry little fresh butter, or with
the gravy from the frying-pan. If you
follow these directions and do not try to
improve upon them you can have ten
der steaks hereafter at will.
now TO BKOII. A BTKAK.
Do not season it before cooking, as the
action of salt upon its cut fibers is to ex
tract their juices. Have the lire hot and
clear, the gridiron perfectly clean, and
after the meat has been put upon it. tip
it towards the hack of the fire (unless it
is provided with a ledge to hold the
drippings); other vise the fat dropping
directly under the meat will burn up and
blacken it with smoko. Expose one side
of the meat lo the fire, as close as it is
possible to hold it without burning, un
til the surface is so completely seared
that the juices do not escape; then turn
the meat and carbonize or scar the other
side; after that finish cooking it at a
little distance from thecoals. until it has
reached the desired point. To ascertain
this do not cut into the meat, or yon will
let out the juices; press your fingers
upon its surface, lightly and quickly; if
it is ijuite rare, the fibers will still be so
elastic as to spring up qnickly the in
stant the pressure is removed; if it is
medium rare, the fibers will be so far
hardened that they will partly resist the
pressure at first, and when the fingers
are removed,will rise again very slowly;
If it is well done, it will seem quite firm
under the touch, and will not rise again
when the fingers are lifted. In turning
the meat do not stick a fork into it, be
cause the holes ma le by the prongs af
ford an outlet for the juices; use a
double gridiron or broiler, so that yon
can turn that and the meat at once; if
the gridiron is one of the open kind,
take the meat between the blades of
two knives or spoons to tarn it; or use
steak tongs, if you have such an instru
ment.
A SEd Rtery of a Wrecked Life.
The most thrilling and sadly sugges
tive temperance lecture is the sight of a
once noble, talented roan, left in ruins
by intoxicating drink. A Washington
paper tells oi a ragged beggar, well
known in the streets of that city. who
once held an important command in the
army, having been promoted, for per
sonal bravery, from a cavalry lieutenant
to nearly the highest rank in military
service. One night recently, when he
had been too successful In begging
liauor to sate his craving, and while
lying helplessly drunk in the rear part
of a Third street saloon, some men
thought to play a ioke on him by steal
ing his shirt, and proceeded to strip
him.
Underneath his shirt, and suspended
by a string from his neck, was a small
canvas hag, which the men opened and
found it contained his commission as
brevet mgjor-gencral. two congratula
tory letters—one from General Grant
and one from President Lincoln—a
photograph of a little girl, and a curl <>t
hair—a " chestnut shadow" that doubt
less one day crept over the brow of some
loved one.
When these things were discovered,
even the half-drunken men who fonnd
them felt a respect for the man's former
greatness, and pity for his fallen condi
tion, and quietly returned the hag and
its contents to where Uiey found tbem.
and replaced the sleeper's clothes upon
him.
When a reporter tried to interview
the man, and endeavored to learn some
thing of his life in the past few years, be
declined to communicate anything.
He cried like a child when told how
his right n me and former position were
ascertained, and with tears trickling
down his checks, said:
" Far God's sake, sir. don't publish
my degradation, or m.v name, at least, il
you are determined to say something
altout it. It is enough that I know my
self how low I have become. Will you
promise that muchf It will do no
good, but will do my friends a great
deal of harm, as, fortunately, they think
I died in South America, where I wont
at the close of the war."
Intemperance and the gaming-table,
•he said, had wrought his ruin. -
The Sellable San.
The reliable man Is a man of good
judgment. He doee not inmp at con
clusions. He is not a frivolous man.
He is thoughtful. He turns over a subject
in his mind and looks at it all around.
He is not a partial or one-sided man.
He sees through a thing. He is apt to
be a very reticent man. He does not
have to talk n great deal. Ho is a mod
erate man not only in habits of body,
but also in mind. He is not a passionate
man s if so by natnrc. ho has overcome
it. He is a sincere man, not a plotter
ir schemer. What he says may be re
lied on. He is a trustworthy man.
You fel safe with vour property or
the administration of affairs in his hands.
Ho is a brave man, for his conclusions
are logically deduced from the sure
basis of truth, and he does not fear to
maintain them. He is a good man,
for no one can be thoroughly boneet and
truthtu 1 w'thout being good.
wi ni ym i
A ChiatM Bnitir la Putt.
The wile o! tne Chinese ambassador
appeared at a ball in Parte for the firet
time unveiled in any European assembly,
describing her appearance a correspon
dent iave: A little, quaint woman,with
her hair plastered down to the aides of
a whitewashed face, was seen blinking
n the gaslight as bate are said to blink
in the sun. She tottered through the
rooms on her small, mutilated feet, won
dering even more than she was won
dered at. Never before in Chinese his
tory had the wife of a high official been
seen even by her own countrymen, mncb
less by the foreigner. An Ameriean
may take credit for the conversion of his
excellency to common sense, Mr. Hilt,
of the American legation, having pre
vai'ed upon the ambassador to visit his
house to see the great feU of the repub
lic.
The sight of this Chinese beauty was
a little disappointing. Bhe was very
handsome or the reverse according to
your way of looking at it. I have heard
the most contradictory verdicts from
different people. Her oily skin was cov
ered with powder laid on as thickly as
if it were a clown's face at pantomime
time. SJie toddled about the rooms for
a short time on her poor mutilated feet
and then went home, no doubt to dream
of what the sun and moon and morning
Itars would say next day on this awful
innovation of all the Confucian proprie
ties. The great anxiety of the minister
here is to do as the rest do, to follow the
immemorial customs. Sitting at dinner
the other day, he was observed to do
precisely what was done by the gentle
man who sat next to him. He ate of
the same dishes in precisely the same
proportions, and when the other asked
the servant for another piece of bread he
made a sign to h ve bread, 190. The
European—something of an amateur in
porcelain—at length turned up one of
the dessert plates, just to sec the mark
of the fabric. The Chinese minister im
mediately did the same.
gram Jennie June'iß.n York Faahisn
Letter.
The basques, jackets and the like fol
low the outlines of the "Jersey," an
artistic bodice of silk which is woven
to fit the form, has no scam, and adapts
itself to any skirt or ur.derwaist. In
England tins bodic has become a rage,
ancfit is used to complete costumes ny
attaching it to a short kilted skirt and
draping a scarf about it. The Jersey is
simply a woven bodice of what is called
"spun" silk, and looks likp a silk under
vest in color. It is finisned w ! th deep
fine elastic ribbing at the throat and
wrists and requires a trimming such as
a circular collar of finely plaited silk or
lace at the neck and wrists to cover
and supplement the ribbing unless the
wearer prefers, a- some ladies do, tin
pure outlines. T.e price is twelve dol
lars, which is not ,-reatly in advance of
the cost in London, duty added. This
settles the question of hoops and hustles
and bunchy draperv. The styles will be
varied, of course, but the natural out
lines will still be preserved, and drapery
will be low. caught to one side and ir
regularly rather than festooned on both
sides like window curtains.
Ught tints in contrast with dark rich
stuffs are in demand, and the lighter,
the nearer the white, the more elegant
they are. Ivory camel's hair cloth is
made into a skirt with mountings of
hroeaded stuff, striped in red, gold and
blue, upon an olive ground. This bro-
I cade forms 'the jacket, which fits close
I to the figure, has collar, pocket and ruflfc
I of the same, and no contrast in color or
I materials save buttons, which are of
riridescent pearl.
Ol course, popular costumes will be
made of dark materials—gray, brown,
shades ol mastic and stone, or gensdarme
blue; but the combinations arc always
Indian or Persian mixtures, and they
are • used very much as last season, as
bands, pockets, vests, scaifs, diagonal
folds, half cuffs, half pockets, collars
and the like.
There is this difference between wool
and cotton costume materials; that
whereas, the body of the woolen 00s-
I tume is plain, and the material for trim
ming figured, the new drees cottons are
all figured and represent expensive
brocaded fabrics in pattern as well as
blended coloring.
Among the novelties arc ootton crapes;
a rronkled, almost transparent cotton
fabric; figured in colors upon light and
dark grounds, but principally dark.
ThereTs, also, a new cotton *• faille," a
silky sort of corded cotton, printed in
delicate colors upon light tinted ground,
and exactly adapted for making up
into dainty summer costumes, with
white lace and ribbons for garden
parties and such. It is comparatively
expensive, though—seventy-five cents
per yard; and its appearance after pass
ing through the hands of the ordinary
laurdrrss is problematical, for if colon
would stand such a test, texture might
not
Brown sateens and " momic " cloths
reappear in very much the same designs
and coloring of isst year, hat the Madisr
ginghams are in charming blue and
white checks vrry suitable for the wear
of children and young ladies, and there
is a novelty in Cbambcry striped cotton
which is striking, and considered by
some very stylish, though the brown
stripes on the unbleached white is more
suggestive of bath towels than any
thing else. It is, however, to be used
in conjunction with sheeting, as well as
by itself, and when rat on the bias and
employed as a trimming for a "fish
wife" tunic. It may seem to he quite a
part ot the natural order of things.
Summer fans have made their appear
ance, and brown stems sad fibers
thrown half way across the outer edge,
the tiny leaflets or blossoms, the bi
sects or birds flyinf toward it or near
ins the center.
Straw bead-wofk and straw trimmings
generally will be a feature of the spring
millinery, and suit well the pretty prim
rose, heliotrope, and mulberry tints
which appear in silks, satins, game,
lace and crepe.
Street garments are at two kinds.
They are either very long or very short.
The stylish raglan rsanhss In toe basis.
The fichu cape scarcely covers lbs
shoulders. B'tweea these is the jacket,
very plain but well out into the Agora
ana with a strait Jersey skirt.
It is praph'Sied that summer drosses
of muslin will be very simplo. A single
skirt flminced, a straight bodice, a
wtsh or libbon belt, sleeves half short,
and a lace or muslin fiohu with ends
fastened in the belt.
Speaking ot diflcolMss, the Modem
Jrpa says that a wasp or a well-organ
ised hornet is the only chap on record
that em (jack out of aeerions difficulty
: At hie own sweet will.