" Perhaps."
In woodland ways now strangled with the
snow
The blue, ewoet violets will soon be spring
ing,
The golden-headod aconites will blow,
And in the meadows robins will be singiug .
Then from the streets into the fields I'll go;
And my heart answered me. " Perhaps !"
• Or, if not then, whon strawlierrios are rod,
And flag flowers stand among the blowing
rushes,
When roses bloom, and iu the trees o'orhead
There is a dreamy melody oi thrushes,
My loet again the mossy turl shall tread;
And my heurt answered mo, " Perhaps! '
Or, better still, I'll sail the windy sea,
Full of largo music, billow to billow sing
ing,
And lie 'mid broken lights, and sea-drilt tree,
Hearing in dreams ol land tiro ship I Kills
ringing-
Yes, oceanward, when summer comes, I'll
flee;
And my heart answered me, " Perhaps!"
Oh, heart, I said, thine is the weariest way;
Why Wilt tliou over disenchant to-morrow T
Time is so niggardly with each to-day,
Surely 'tis well from future days to borrow.
Art thou afraid such droits will be to pay ?
And my heart answered me, " Perhaps!"
Then 'mid man's fretful dwellings, dim and
low,
ril dream ol peace, eternal flowers un
lading,
And of that tidelcss sea whose happy flow
Keeps not a note ol sorrow or upbraiding,
tome day I'll And that happy land, 1 know;
And my heart answered, " Thou shalt go!"
—Harper'i Weekly.
ADRIENNE'S STORY,
I was never happy at Aunt Browne's,
but there seemed no prospect that I
should ever leave her. I had come out,
BO to speak, as far as any one so repressed
could come out, but I might as well
have staid in. I only sat in corners,
talked with the chaperons, or listened
to some garrulous octogenarian Aunt
Browne's interest in me, such as it was,
died a natural death after my first sea
son—it had always been weakly—and
the result was a sad deficiency in my
wardrobe. She had married "off two
daughters without difficulty, but a
niece, it seemed, stuck closer than a
burr. However, it was not my fault
that I remained unmarried. I had done
my best to be fascinating. Though I
hated the idea of marrying for home or
position, yet I was sure I should not
find it bard to love one who was kind
to me, if only on account of the novelty.
I was thirty now, and not unused to
hearing the changes rung upon the old
maid, and the beggars who shouldn't
be choosers, by my younger cousins,
Susette and Anne. But I had had one
opportunity to change for better or
worse of which they had never dreamed.
The son of Aunt Browne's second hus
band, Cedric Browne, had asked me to
marry him, three years before, as we
rowed up the river in Juno for the rosy
laurel blooms to decorate the house and
niazzas for Susette's birthday fete. I
sometimes wondered what Aunt Browne
would have thought of the proceeding,
as she had set her heart upon marrying
Susette to Cedric. Perhaps I refused
bim because I was taken unawares, be
cause I was not enougli interested to
care about frustrating Aunt Browne's
plans; perhaps I did hot expect to be
taken at my word, but imagined it the
proper way to decline, in order to be
importuned. I believe all my favorite
heroines had conducted in this wise.
However, we rowed home through the
sunset, our boat heaped with the pink
flowers, in silence.
" You look as If yon wore laden with
sunset clouds," said Susette, who was
watching for us on the shore; but I am
certain that Cidric looked like a thun
der-cloud.
The next day was the fete. Every-
Itody brought presents for Susette.
Cwlric gave her an antique necklace of
turquoises: I was sure h' had meant it
forme. We had supper out of doors,
under the great pine-trees, and dancing
by moonlight. That day I began to re
gard Cedric Browne attentively. I had
mown him under the same roof tor
weeks at a time; I had laughed and
talked with him, believing him fore
ordained to minister to Susette's hap
piness, "as inaccessible as a star in
heaven," so far as I was concerned. He
had helped me with Adele's children,
who had come to live at Aunt Browne's
when their mother died. But that he
should regard me with any tender emo
tions I had never even dared to wish.
In fact. I had thought little about him
LKI to-day. I had never observed till
to-day tliat his eyes weve as tender as
stars, that his face was like that radiant
countenance of Mozart in the musio
room, that his smile was simply en
chantment. It was rather late to make
these discoveries.
He did not leave us at once; it seemed
as if he staid Just long enough for me
to know all I had lost. Since then lie
i..id been with us once again for a whole
month; but little Walter was ill with a
spinal affection tiiat kept him on his
back, and me by his side; and though
Odric used to relieve me often by day
and by night, I could see from my win
dow, ami from occasional glimpses into
! > ? drawing-room, that the balance of
iiis time was spent in Susette's com
ply-
"Aunt Susette's beau is going to
make me a kite," Teddy confided to
Walter one day.
" Who's be?" asked Walter from his
bti.
" Why, Cedric, ol course—Cedric
Browne. Bridget says so herse ! f," as if
• that put the matter beyond dispute.
Hie next day, when Cedrio came np to
amuse Walter wjili the affairs down
stairs. that youth dlmanded: "I say, are
you really Aunt Susette's beau, Cedric?
Adrienne's ever so nioer. When I'm a
map I'll marry Adrienne."
" Then you 11 be luckier than I." said
Cedric, winding up a top. and spinning
it on his palm.
It was a year since then. Ino longer
went out; I was fairly pnssee. Aunt
Browne had abandoned all hopea of mr.
I was a good nurserymaid, a cheap
fiovernesa, an inexpensive companion,
n the family. In the meantime I could
have tw rrb d any day, if I had chosen
to accept the Rev. Abel Amherst, i.nd
transfer my labors to the parsonage.
To be sure, this wouldnot have proved
the brilliant marriage my sunt had ex
pected of me, nor the romantic one I
had dreamed of myself, and it was not
till I caiue into postM-siion of a certain
family secret that I began to revolve
the possibility In my mind. It seems
that when my aunt married her Becond
husband, Mr. Browne—Susette and
Anne were both liowclls—they had sub
sisted upon the patrimony left to Cedrle
by his mother, and that alter his father's
death. Cedric' had turned in the same
yearly income from the estate for the
family use, and that I, Adriennc Lennox,
owed my daily bread to the men whom
I had refused, and who hod forgotten
me. Earning my own livelihood was
out of the question, drudgery was my
only vocation, and that was too badly
Said to he encouraging. I looked at the
iev. Abel Amherst often at this period,
with a view to installing him in Cedric's
place, if Cedrie would only vacate.
Oddly enough, Mr. Amherst renewed
las suit at this time, and pressed it with
the eiyorness of a lover, and for the first
time I began to hesitate. " The woman
who hesitates is lost," said Susette.
I had been out on the hills one day
trying to make up my mind to forget
Cedric, and marry Mr. Amherst; but
whenever I began to think with some
interest of going to paristi meetings, be
coming the president of Dakota'leagues
and sewing circles, visiting the poor,
and drinking tea opposite the Rev. Mr.
Amherst all the rest of my days, somo
how or other Cedric's face would slip
into the picture uninvited, nnd blot out
his rival s, as strong sunlight fades a
negative photograph.
"There is a letter for you, Adrienne,"
said Aunt Browne, when I entered the
house, " in the music room, on the top
of the dado, under Mozart's picture." I
went into the music room, but there
was no letter to be seen.
" Perhaps one of the girls has re
moved it." she suggested. ~ But no one
had meddled with it.
"Grandma cooked a letter over the
tea-kettle," said little Teddy, reflec
tively.
"Yes," said grandma, "I wrote a
letter to your pa, child. I hadn't any
blotting paper, but the fiic answers the
purpose quite as well."
At that time I had never heard of
opening letters by steam. Well,we ran
sacked the house for that truant letter,
but in vain.
"Who was it from, auntP" I asked.
" How should I know, child?"
" But the handwriting the post
mark ?"
" The postmark was blurred."
"Had it a foreign stamp?" I asked,
with sudden eagerness. Ccdriu had
gone abroad some months before, and I
had not heard of his return.
"A foreign stamp! No. Were you
expecting a foreign letter?"
"N-o: but it is the unexpected that
always happens, you know."
"It's awfully provoking," said Su
sette. " Perhaps it was only the recipes
Mrs. Clark was going to send you."
"Nothing more likely: hut what has
become of it? It's a prolonged game of
hunt the thimble."
"And supposing it's a letter notifying
you of the existence of a first Mrs. Am
herst." put in Anne, " or of a legacy left
by your forty-fifth cousin in Austra
lia—" And then the door-bell rang.
Welt, after that I suppose I must have
•accepted Mr. Amherst. Everybody be
haved as if I had. I received congratu
lations and a ring, and the parish begun
repairs upon the parsonage, before I
could muster courage to tell Mr. Am
herst all about Cedric and my mistake,
and how I wasn't at all sure I could ever
get over it, and care for anybody else,
but that I would do my best. And he
smiled in a sort of absent way when I
told him, but seemed content to take
me as I was, for better or worse; only
it did strike me sometimes that lie was
the most undemonstrative lover in
Christendom: but I hadn't much ex
perience in lovers, and perhaps they
weren't a* gushing in real life as novels
pictured. Housed to kiss my hand when
we parted; that was all. lie was very
gentle, but a little sad, I fancied, wi.h a
look which might mean that he was
afraid of ko much happiness, or that to
marry the woman he loved wasn't all
fancy had painted it; and often I thought
I had perhaps done wrong to tell him
everything about Cedric so unreserv
edly ; yet I had only meant to be honest.
But the day was appointed, and sud
denly Cedric appeared among us. when
I thought he was at the world's end,
and he and the girls decorated the little
church with white field daisies and
grosses for the occasion. You may be
lieve that I avoided the sight of Cedric
in the interval before the wedding as
much as possible, but somehow I was
always stumblingupon him; lie seemed
to le perpetually at my elbow ; he sur
prised me mote than once witli traces
of tears upon my face; the sound of his
voice made my heart turn and quiver
within me. If I had dared to witlidrnw
at this juncture, I'm nfrnid I should
have done so; but it was too late; and
though I felt like a hypocrite whenever
Mr. Amherst appeared, his looks of
sober satisfaction, which reminded me
of those lines of Mntthcw Hoyden on
Sir Philip Sidney,
" A lull assurance given hy looks,
Continual comfort in a face,
The lineament* ol gospel books,"
might have taught me that all was well
with him.
"Yon JUT the oddest sweethearts I
ever saw." gossiped Susette. "I
wouldn't give s straw for such a lover;
and as for you. Adrienne, you resemble
a ghost more than a bride.''
In short, a thousand years of purga
tory would ill tcprcsent my sufferings
during those last weeks before my wed
ding. Well, to crown the whole, Aunt
Browne said Cedric most give me away;
he was the only male relative, the head
of the family, so to speak, ana he could
do it so admirable.
"We shall see, said he. "I'm afraid
I bould make a poor figure at giving
Adrienne away;" and he stroked his
irirte mustache ss he spoke, and looked
at me just as be looked that day when
we gathered the laurel for Busette's fete
—I could have sworn he did. I didn't
answer, for fear my voice would be
husky, and the tears would start.
The wedding was to be auite private
—only relatives. Aunt Browne ar
ranged everything to suit herself and
the proirietles: it didn't become a
clergyman's bride to mnkc a great
parade. At the church, I remember,
my veil caught In the carriage door, and
an orange blossom tumbled from my
wreath, which Cedric picked up, and
Wore in his button-bole. Then he drew
my half-lifeless arm within bis, and
directly the wedding march pealed
forth in great resounding waves of
melody. My grandmother's India mus
lin blew out in abundant creamy folds
behind me, and Cedric and I were stand
ing be fort the altar, and Mr. Amherst
was rending the martinge service!
I believe that Aunt Browne fainted,
or she would have forbidden the banns.
" You see. it was impossible for me
to give you away, Adrienne," said Ce
dric, Inter, when wo were steaming out
of town. "Amherst is a trump; and may
he find a wife as sweet as Mrs. Browne!
If it hadn't been for him, I should have
been of all men the most miserable to
day. What do you think ho did?
Wiiy, he wrote mo all that sad little
story you thought right to tell him,
and added that no would not deny he
was making a sacrifice; that iu renoun
cing you he renounced all that made
life lovely to him, except his work; yet
lie felt it was.better one should fail of a
heaven on earth than two should suffer;
and that if I loved you. as I had once
said, would I take his place at the mar
riage, ami allow him to solemnize it?
It was a whim of his to have it so, ' to
avoid explanations,' he said. I couldn't
believe in my luck, you know, Adriennc.
We bandied letters to and; fro, canvass
ing the Huhject. I feared ho had made
a mistake, as T had renewed my offer
some little while before, but had re
ceived no reply; still a dozen tilings
happen to letters every day."
"Yes, and something happened to
yours," I said.
Years after, when Susette and Anne
were married, when Adele's husband
had taken the children home to a new
mamma, and Aunt Browne had gone to
" the land of the hereafter," whenCedric
was repairing the old house for u sum
mer residence, in ripping away th an
cient dado in the music-room, which
had always warped awny from the wall
in warm "weather, leaving a little crack,
the carpenters unearthed my lost letter.
Had it slipped down there, or had Aunt
Browne given it a push? We give her
the benefit of the doubt.— Harper's
Bazar. ____________
A Lively Hermit.
Living on the edge of a'pieceof tim
ber land near I'lum creek. Plum town
ship, Allegheny county, Pa is an odd
character who has by his eccentric
ways made himself a subject of curi
osity to the inhabitants of that Bection.
A gentleman related tiie following in
rcgnrd to the man to a Pittsburg THa
\ patch reporter. We have the man's real
name at hand, but for good reasons do
not think it advisable to give publiuity
to it at this time; at any rate we will
name him Jones in order to get at our
story better. Seven or eight years ago
Jones was considered a very wealthy
man. He was frugal in his habits and
accumulated money rapidly and
hoarded it up. But the waves of mis-'
fortune overtook him when he was in
the zenith of his prosperity, and in a
short time lie was left penniless. What
hastened his sudden breaking up, our
informant was unable to state. From
that day to this Jones has never been
considered his former self; the blow was
more than he could stand, and Ids
i mind became slightly deranged. He
would go about from place to place,
never noticing anybody or anything,
and ns silent as a sphinx. He was and
is yet very proud, and a proffer of as
sistance is sure to bring a look or a word
that plainly indicates that Jones' pride
rebels against his accepting charity.
He is now over sixty years of age and
almost biind. Some time since he
erected a little shanty, ten bv twelve,
out of rough lumber, on the edge of the
woods una far apart from any other
habitation, and with the idea evidently
of making his presence known to the
outside world as little as possible.
About a year ago he started in the book
peddling business, but Ills eyesight got
so poor tliat be had to give up the work
and at once retired to the seclusion oi
Ids little shanty, and entered upon the
life of a hermit. The room is devoid of
Iv. n the commonest articles of furni •
ture. and its condition, were it in the
city, would likely call for an investiga
tion from one of the city " smellers," as
they are sometimes termed. His bed is
an old bench, with a lot of dirty look
ing pieces of cloth for a covering. He
has a fireplace, where he docs his cook
ing, whenever there is anything about
the place to oiok. and that is very sel
dom. The floor is bare. A visit to bis
Erison at any time during the day will
nd him sitting almost on top of the fire,
with his head between his hands and ns
dumb as the live coals that cast a weird
glare about the dark, dingy apartment,
and give a coloring to his appearance
that mnkes him look like old "Hip"
himself. A year ago the neigh
bors made up a purse and liought
him a suit of clothes. They had
the greatest difficulty in inducing
him to accept the gift and to convince
: him that he was not lowering his pride
Jby doing so. The clothes are rags now.
1 and hang to his ghost-like frame in
tatters but he will accept of no offers to
replace the rags with garments more
; becoming this season of the year. He is
supplied with eatables by the farmers in
the vicinity, and has been tor a good
while baric. Were it not for this fact,
the old man would have " passed in his
ohecks"long ere this. He would not
visit any of their houses and ask for
food if he was starving, and his proud,
independent spirit says. " No, air. I will
not," to all suggestions that he be
placed in some charitable institution
where he can be properly cared for. He
is said to have relatives in this city who
are in good circumstances, ana who
could take care of the old man if he
would consent, but his answer to all
sucli propositions is generally an em
phatic " Not" and there he is to-day in
his little dinfnr hamlet, apart from the
world, awaiting the time when his old
tired frame shall be laid low with dis
ease and oil age, and grim death shall
step in and claim him for his own.
Cost or Koine In Parliament.
The British laws require every candi
date for parliament to make a return ol
his election expense*, and, although the
direction of the law is not so implicitly
followed as to result in anything like a
complete exhibit, it affords some indi
cation of the large outlay necessitated
by such a contest as that which is now
pending. The total expenditure by
candidates at the last general election
in 1874 amounted to $5,835,007. For
the 65-1 seats in the house of commons
there were 1,081 candidates. than
one-Uiird ol the whole number, 187
were elected without opposition. The
659 successful candidates expended 93,-
195,000, and the 490 unsuccessful ones
spent $8,040,000. The average outlay
was largest among the Conservative
candidates, 96,450, and the smallest
among the home rulers, 91,975. In
the English and Welsh counties the ex
penditure was on a larger scale than in
the average constituencies, reaching
910,800 lor each liberal, and 97,000 for
each conservative candidate. In the
contested elections In these counties the
expenses of the conservatives averaged
915.010, and those of the liberals, 913,-
980. The largest sum spent in any one
county election was in tlieraseof North
Durham, where the four candidates
spent altogether 914IOIO; and the
largest sum in any borough or city ele
tion was in the city of London, where
six candidates spent 977 855.
TIMELY TOPIC*.
Cetywayo, the dethroned Zulu mon
arch, according to a South Africa paper,
is engaged in making mental notes. He
lias calculated that each charge tired by
the foreign men-of-war in Table hav in
snluting the fort was of the value of an
ox. He also concludes that it Ib more
expensive to keep up armaments in
Europe than in Zululand. His majesty
also rcfmrds the queen's conduit in not
answering his message of contrition as
showing a great lack of courtesy.
The island of Rotumah, which ha*
been provisionally annexed to the Brit
ish empire at-the request of a deputation
of the two hostile factions which inhabit
it, is situated a little to the north and
east of the Figi archipelago, and was
discovered by Captain Edwards during
liia search for the mutineers of the
Bounty in 1791. The island is only five
miles long and half as wide, but it has
a numerous population, the shore being
covered with villages, which touch ana
join one another. The soil is very fer
tile, and vessels often stop at the island
for supplies, while the inhabitants make
, good sailors.
According to the German imperial
statistics for 187* of births, deaths and
marriages, just published, the estimated
population being 44,9(¥),0(>0, the mar
riages numbered 340,000, the births
1,785,000, and the deaths 1,398,000. In
France, the number of births was 936,-
000, and of deaths 839,000, so that the
births exceeded the deaths by 97,000.
In Germany the excess cf births was
557,000 —that is to say, that while in
France the population increased in 1878
at the rate of .'27 per cent., it increased
iu Germany at the rate of 1.'25 per cent.
The number of marriages in Germany
line greatly fallen off since 1873, when
423,900 were registered.
A new stylo of barrel has been do
vised—one intended for the shipment of
produce, and which shall be capable of
transformation after the said produce is
delivered, so as to occupy a compara
tively small space, and be returned to
the sender at the rates of solid freight
and at a comparatively trifling cost.
The arrangement consists in a series of
staves, connected by hoops having
specially adapted fastenings, which en
able the staves to be disposed flat for re
turn transportation, or rolled up and
fastened to form a barrel. The sides of
the barrel are straight, and the heads
are held in place by lugs, alternating
when the barrel is set up on opposite
sides of the head. The heads are thus
of less diameter than the inside of the
barrel, so that the latter.when returned,
may be packed full at heads, and tie
rest of the barrel sides packed flatly to
gether.
The far W< st seems already tolerably
well supplied with means of livelih<x>d
for the scores of millions that will soon
dwell there, but a new one lias reccntlv
been mentioned in the California Acad
emy of Science. The gum which ex
udes from the creosote plant is known
to commerce as shellac,, from which are
made sealing-wax, varnish, and the
scarlet lac dye used for dyeing the Brit
ish red military coats. The plant is as
plenty as sage brush, from Southern
Utah to New Mexico, and from the
Colorado desert to Western Texas, but
chiefly plenty on the Mryavc and Colo
rado deserts. Calcutta exports f5,000,-
000 worth of shellac a year, which
brings from twenty-five to thirty-five
cents a pound, and almost as much of
lac dvc, selling still higher. The
United States have imported in some
years 700,000 pounds of shellac alone.
Yet it is all over the West, and can be
so < asily collected that boys could carry
on the business of gathering it. Proba
bly this product will now receive atten
tion in commerce.
Mr. Watberston, Rn eminent ln<l<>n
jeweler, gave an intone ting lecture
lately cm gem* ruul precious stones. HP
Hrttl that, with the exception of the dia
mond in the glass cutter's hand, they are
intrinsically worthless, their high esti
mation In olden times having been due to
their use as magical charms against evil,
while in later times they have been
prixed as concentrated expressions of
wealth and splendor. He said that the
Itraganxa, belonging U> the crown of
Portugal, and still in the rough, is the
largest diamond. It weighs 1,680, and
the Koh-i-noor, before being cut,
weighed 787 carets. There are cruel al
legations against the Riaganxa, to the
effect that it is only n white topax. In
this case a diamond be'enring to the
Kajab of Matan ceres to the top. A
governor of Ratavia offered $2,500,000
for it, but the rajah refused the offer,
saying that his diamond was a talisman
upon whose possession depended not only
his own happiness and success, but that
ofhis whole family; Of rubies scarcely
more than two can be deemed historical.
The first and moat famous is that in
Victoria's cress. It is believed, on tol
erably good authority, to have been
worn In front of the helmet of Henry V.
at Agincourt.
A thorough Investigation of evenr por
tion of the Winter pnlacc, in St. Peters
burg. having at length been completed,
and the police authorities having satis
fled themselves that no danger of another
attempt upon the exar's luc within the
walls of his town residence is at present
to be apprehended, he now resides in
the palace again, sleeping, however, in
a Hfferrnt apartment every night. The
life actually led by the Russian emperor
in his magnificent abode is pitiably dis
mal. No nourishment, either solid or
liquid, that has not been tasted in bis
prassiiex l> s une official personage ever
passes his hps. His bath is examined
every morning by the medical officers of
his household before he ventures to use
it, nd he seldom approaches a stove or
a fireplace, lest some explosive material,
concealed among the fbel, should have
been secretly introduced into It. Before
he retires to rest, his bedroom and dress
ing room, as well as the apartments
contiguous to them on the upper and
lower floors, are submitted to a rigorous
inspection. His majtwty appears ex
tremely nervous, takes no interest In
state business, and exhibits indifference
to the military details which heretofore
constituted bis favorite occupation.
There is hut one state executioner in
Russia and he is a pardoned malefactor
named Froloff. who committed three
successive murders, and was condemned
to penal servitude for life. When,
however, revolutionary more sees ren
der Win services of an imperial hang
man indispensable to the ministry of
justice, Froloff volunteered for the
office on condition that an amnesty for
his past misdeeds should be granted to
hitft. His offcr was accepted, and for
some time past he bss been a busy man.
For every " function " he receive* forty
■liver rubles—about (30— from the
RuHHian exchequer; but that official
fee by no mean* represent* bis total
emolument, for be is permitted to trade
upon the superstition still current in
Russian society respecting the luck con
ferred upon gamesters by the possession
of a morsel of rope with which a human
being has been strangled, either by the
band of justice or by his own. Imme
diately after young Mladctzky, a Nihil
ist, had been hanged, Froloff wu sur
rounded by Russian gamblers eager to
purchase serans of the fatal noose; and
he disposed of several down such talis
mans at from three to live rubles a
piece, observing, with cynical complac
ency, when he had sold his last rem
nant. that "he hoped the Nihilists
would yet bring him in plenty of
money."
Here is a scene from Loitrim county,
Ireland, as described by the correspon
dent of the Mansion House committee:
On visiting the sick a few days since I
entered the cabin of a poor old man,
who, I believe, is bordering on eighty
years old. I was grieved to see him in
the miserable plight he was in—hanging
over a fi w sods of turf, without shoe or
stocking to ward off the cold from a
damp floor. His hollowed cheeks, pene
trating looks and emaciated visage evi
dently tell a sad tale. I reached another
house on the same day: the inmates of
this comprised four individuals—the
father, an old man, unable to leave his
bed unless carried; the son, the only
support of the old father, and two sickly
sisters, one of whom is now far advanced
In dropsy, and I believe, is dying. Hav
ing asked the son why it was that one
oi the girls did not look for employment,
even if she were only to get her support,
bis answer was: "No one wants her."
In Honniconlan, county Mayo, two hun
dred families are destitute in a single
parish. They are in great distress—the
most of tlicm in absolute want. They
have nothing now to live on but Indian
meal, and not enough of that; some of
them without a drop of milk, without
fuel, and all without credit, having their
clothes pawned and their children half
naked.
Chewing Gum.
Chewing gum is a substance well
know to the youthful part of the com
munity. The qualities which it pos
sesses at the time that it comes from the
confectioner arc all familiar to the
youngest of us. It certainly seems to
be a very attractive edible. The reason
for this is not so hard to find. Think
how much eating there is in it in pro
portion to actual weight and cash value.
But there is more in chewing gum
than is dreamed of in juvenile phiioso
phy. One can easily comprehend the
main ingredients of candy, but who,
without being told, would suspect that
chewing gum is often only a refined pro
duct of petroleum? The lime was when
the fragrant spruce furnished the most
common material for that purpose.
But this is no longer the ease. The
reader familiar with the processes of re
fining coal oil is aware that the thick
brown liquid which comes from the
earth at one stage of its manufacture is
strained through heavy linen cloths.
The residuum left after this operation
is a dirty, brownish-yellow wax, that
smells abominably. That unpromising
substance, melted, bleached, deodor
ised and prepared lor commerce ap
pears in masses that weigh about 100
pounds, resembling oblong blocks of
clouded ice. It has noodor and no taste
except what belongs to any wax in its
purest state. It may be used for many
purposes, but it is not necessary to de
scribe them now.
The manufacturer of chewing gum
purchases these blocks ready-made to
liis band and at once melts them. To
200 pounds of wax he adds about thirty
pounds of sugar, and gives the mix
ture a flavor by the use of some essen
tial oil, as lemon or vanilla, and per
haps adds some coloring matter. The
meitcd mass is poured out upon a clean
marble slab, and cut in the various
shapes known to the masticators. The
youthful epicure rarely becomes so
luxurious as to demand balsam of tolu;
but if so the manufacturer is ready for
him. This resin, which is obtained
from South America, is at first in an al
most fluid condition. It is the product
of a tree known as—now hold your jaw,
for the name is worse than a whole box
of chewing gum-myraspprmum tolu
ferum.
This balsam is boiled by the manu
facturer until finally it is brought to
such n consistency that it can be ran
through rollers. It out in'the
shape of a little, slender rod, of a
brownish-yellow coior. which is cut
into pieces, each about two or two and a
half inches long. The bala-m may
sometimes be mixed with a less costly
wax, since its flavor is very marked.
The balsam of the "chicle" tree, from
Central America, is used in making
what is known as snapping-gtim. It is
very duevile when worked and moist
ened. and Uie process of making is simi
lar to that of pulling Uffy. The original
gum exudes from the tree and forms in
a mnas sometimes several pounds in
weight. Even in this natural state it
would be a very satisfactory substance
to keep the teet hat work It cannot be
worn out. — Cincinnati C.mmcreial.
On.- Piano Silenced.
Professor Weyse, the eminent Danish
musical composer, had been for some
time past painfully exercised by the
mournful tinkling of a superannuated
piano, the properly of a family resident
upon a floor immediately beneath his
apartments Morning, noon nnd night
Ills ears had been distracted by melan
choly strumming*. The other evening,
■s he sat in his study, deeply excogitat
ing a "Leit-Motive" for the second
movement of his new symphony, a burst
of discordant sounds from the instru
ment below r ..>mptcd him to desperate
enterprise. Attired as he was, in dress
ing gown and slippers, he hurried down
stairs and rang his persecutor's doof
bell. Admitted to the torment chamber
containing the abominable apparatus
which had wrought him woe, lie saw
there assembled a goodly nud joyous
company, which wsfoomed him wtUi
efftiskra, despite his unconventional
costume. After bowing gravely to Ills
host and hostess, lie sat down bfore
the open piano without uttering a wonl,
and played one of Ills own fantasia*, a
particular favorite of the Copenhagen
public. As soon as he had concluded,
he shut til* piano, locked it, pot the
key In bin pocked, and, again bowing to
the master and mistress of the bouse
with a sardonic smile, departed, as he
had come, in prof and silence. For!
the remainder of that night, at least,
the engine of his discomfiture was
mule.
* Words Upon Dying Lips
Queen Elizabeth, at the end of a most
prosperous reign,begun arnid danger r,rt
difficulties that were overcome by i*, h
measures and prudent councils, died ex
claiming: Ah, my possesions for i
moment of time." a
George IV. met death with almost
jest upon hi„ lips. Turning to Sir Waf
tern Waller, on whose arm he
he said: ' Whatty. what is this? !t jl
death, my boy. and they have do Vivid
U*.
The Danish sovereign, Frederick V
greatly beloved by bis subjects, crW
"There is not a drop of blood %n rny
hands," as be passed away.
Henry VIII., who altered the whole
course of monastic life in England o*
claims: " Monks! monks! monks'
Edward VI., the wan boy king with
hi* fading eyes, commended his *ou] y
God, "Lord take my spirit;" and Cro
mwell, as he listened to the discount of
those about him, said: "Then ] -mi
safe," and was silent forever.
The last word of Charieg I„ on the
scaffold to Archbishop Juxson was
" Remember," referring to big desire
that his son Charles should forgive ! i
fathcr's murderers.
Arne Bolcyn. in the game tcrrlb <
situation, clasped her fair neck, saying
"It is small, very small:" and Sir
Thomas Morp, as he yielded himself u>
the executioner, said. " For my coming
down let nie shift for myself."
Joan of Arc, at the stake, endod her
eventful, stomy life with our Savior's
name upon her lips, as brave as Genera]
Wolfe, who, dying in the midst of vie.
lory on the battlefield, and hearingfol
the enemy's retreat, cried, " What' do
they run already? Then I die happy"
or Sir Philip Sidney, after he had reiin
quished the draught of water to an
iiuml >ler comrade, though pan bed with
thirst, turned him round to die, saying,
" I..et me behold the end of this world
with ali its vanities."
Mirabeau desired to die while de.j.
cious strains of music floated on the air
| hut his last utterance was a demand for
| Laudanum to drown pain and conscious-
I ness.
Mozart's last words were: "Let m<
j hear once more those notes so long my
, solace and delight:" but Haydn, forget
ful of his art, cried, "God preserve mv
Emperor."
A lfieri's sympathetic nature displayed
itself in "Clasp my hand, dear friend, I
die."
Goethe cries, "Light, more light;"
i Byron, "Come, come, no weakness; let's
be a man to the last ; I must sieep
! now." And those who saw his em
j halmed body in when brought to
England from Miasolonghi, in the Flor
| ida, and removed to Sir Edward Knatch
bull's house in Great George street,
where the coffin was msiiif describe
the face as of marble whiteness, the ex.
pression that of stern quietude, lying
wrapped in his blue cloth cioak, the
throat and head uncovered, crisp, curl
ing locks, slightly streaked with gray,
clustering over the temples, tie pre the
of exceeding beauty.
Boileau congratulated himself, ah'
I nosed his eves upon this world, uj-on
j the purity of bis works, saying: " It is a
I great consolation to a poet about to dk
' that he has never written anything in
j jurious to virtue:" and Sir Walter
I Scott, little thinking his end so near,
said, " I feel a? if I were myself again."
Dr. Johnson, the rough," kind heart,
who loved a good hater, died as he said
to Miss Morris. "God bless you, my
dear."
Washington, at Mount Vernon, cried,
" It is well."
Franklin's last words were: " A dy
ing man can do nothing easily."
Slme. do Staci. whose trial was her
| enforced absence from her native land,
i died saying: "I have loved my God.
mv father, and my liberty."
llanuah More's last words were,
j" Patty—joyGrotius, "Be serious f
| Haller, "The artery ceases to
| Adams. "Independence forever:" Jef
ferson, " I resign my soul to God. my
daughter to my country;" l>ocke, to
I Ally Masham. who was reading the
Psalms. "Cease now;" and poor Lamb,
alter the most seif-saerifieine existence,
wrote his last words to a friend, "sir
bedfellows are cramr and rough W
three sleep in a bed."
Bishop Bmughton's last words were;
" Let the earth be filled with His glory:'
Archbishop Sharpe. " I shall be happy:'
Bishop Ken. "God's will be done;
Farr, Cranmor, Hooper and George Her :
bert, "Lord, receive my spirit!" ate
these are but few of many such.
The prince consort confirmed the im
pression that prevails that the* dying
have sometimes a foretaste of coming
happiness " I have such sw eel
thought*," were his last words.—Lon
don Qfobt.
Wasn't Feeling Tery Well.
W are told that the glory of a yount
man is bis strength, and in these derm
erate days the statement is emphat
ically true. laist evening a number
of young men whose glory is their
strength were in Whetstone's drug
store expanding and sprading tnem
selves with the kindly aid of a lung teste:
The utmost ltmil to which any one
could force the lung-tester was 240.
Several others were just a little below
this, and with all Uie pride of strength
the 940 man stood triumphant. Wbik
the contestants stood about filed
with raarvelings and envy, a young
man from the Aniish sett.ement step
ped into the store. lie was a strong,
healthy young man. Tlicy invited
him to try Uie lung-tester, md see if
he could not rival tlie two hundred and
forty man. He was willing to try. sad
at onec began operations although lie re
marked that be was not feeling very
1 well. However, be took a long breath
and began to blow. At once that lung
: tetter began to act as though struck by
an equinoctial storm. It expanded
' and swelled like a balloon at
! county fair. Before the start led
crowd knew what had happened, tw 1
thing registered two hundred and forty
and Uie young man wa> blowing w:Ui
terrific force. Fifty, sixty, seventy,
eighty—away it went an ! in a moment
! had ranted three hundred and wis
I jumping into tl tens and twenty
as though operated upon by the
bellows of a church organ kinsi v
the young man stopped when he hw
grown quite red in the fsoe and the
tester registered three hundred *w
sixty-two! As he went out he remarked
again that he was not feeling very well,
but ho would like to try the thing some
day when he was feeling bright and
cljpper.— iotnt (Vty Htpubiicam
San Francisco has become interested
in Uie organisation of a boys' and girls
cigar manufacturing company. It •
proposed to furnish employment for
t.OCO boys and girls within a month,
I and ultimately for 6.000.