What Will the Sew Year Rrtngf • Oh, what will tho New Year bring mo?" Bang a bright-eyed little boy. As ho |*WRcd 'mid his childish playtlilu|o The Houroo ol many a )oy. Say quickly, mamma dear; Will it bring mo toys and candies, As it firings mo every year?" The mother glanced at her darling, And breathed a silent pray or That tho New Year's gilt lor hoi darling Might be unmixed with care. " Oh, what will the Now Year bring mo?" Bai 1 a timid happy bride | And she glanced with n look ol pleasure At tho huslmtul by her aiilo. " Oh, what will the New Year bring mo As it spoedeth on itn way ? Will it firing fresh |oys and roses For each succeeding day ?" But the mother's look was tearful, As she glanced at her dnuglitor lair, For "ho know, in tho outward |*illiway, Was hidden many a snare. "Oh, what will tho Now Year bring mo?" Said a feeble weak old mnn; " I've tasted all earth's pleasures, And lilo is hut a spun. Oh, what will the New Year bring mo, Now 1 am growing old, And lew are tho charms that hind me, For my days are almost told ?" All' what the New Year hringeth Thy eyes may never soe; For u narrow tnound on the hillside Is the only gilt to thee. NANCY HILL. CHAPTER I. The night set iu dark and chill. All day iong a fine, frosty sieet had fallen, which as the wind rose in lengthened gusts, changed to fast-falling snow flakes. All day the note of preparation had sounded in Abraham Plum's kitchen; for it was the day tfore Christmas. Mrs. Plum shoved the ,ast quartet of pits into the oven, shut thq door with a clang, and began to clear away the sup per table. She was a short, fat woman; yet she was brisk in her movements this evening, and as she swept into the pantry laden witli blue-edged plates and teacups, an air of pride was visible. She lingered to look at the result of her toil, and to count, for the twentieth time, the row of pies on the shelf before the win dow. "Three plum, two gooseberry, four hlacklierry. eight apple, fifteen mince, and a great platter of cranberry tarts!" Mr. Plum came in also, an admiring expression gradually stealing over his face- " I vow !il you haven't got a show! Why. you haven't counted tin m in the oven!' "So I didn't!" ejaculated his wife. "Them are mince. They aiways gooff faster'n any other." She broke off a bit of burnt crust as big as a cent Very carefully " Come, mother, you've looked at 'em enough for one day. You've got all day and to-morrow, too, to see 'em in." "No I hain't," broke in his wife. Dear me! what a sight's to be done to morrow . I hope Sarnh'll come over early t'help. I rather looked (or Nancy to-day." Her husband drew a chair to the stove and seated himself. " I'd gone after her," said he, "oniy I knew Sam was just cross-grained enough not to let her come if I did. She's got to take him in the right mood, you know." Mrs. Plum sighed and sat down to rest. This Nancy of whom they spoke was the youngest of her flock, not five years a wife- She was also unhappy in her marriage—which accounted fr her mother's sigh. Samuel Hill had been a gay youth, anrt a handsome one. Courted by ail the girls of the village, he turned from their too evident homage to little Nancv Plum, the most serious-minded damsel Of all. He called her tenderly "the little psaim-singer." She, in her turn, was flattered by his preference, ntl ,i she yielded up her heart to his keeping, >n spite of parental objections. It proved to be an act of folly on her part; he M a careless keeper. More than that, he was at times unkind. Her parents read the eloquent signs of misery in her face at every visit, but she never complained of him. Something in her looks forlstde direct inquiry—a look as If she had de liberately counted the cost of existence and nerved herself to endure it- llow many inwardly wished her self a girl again at home was known only to herself. They had not been married two years before he drank openly instead of in secret. Whole days were passed away from licr—where P Site knew—and crird over the know ledge. Mr. Plum looked thoughtfully at the •love. " He's a poor worthless coot, that's a fact. I used t'tell Nelly that •he'd sup sorrow if she'd marry him, but she would have Iter own way." "Law! it don't do no good aftsr the th'ng's done t'say • I told you so.'" The I expression of excited anticipation had " faded from Mrs. Plum's face; she put lier feet on the stone hearth and rested brr elbows on her knees as she mused aloud. "It's all a lack an' by chance business anyway. 'Cause some occasion ally git cheated, 't don't follow that they're t'blarae. None of us are very sharp-sighted in such matters. I wamt. I abet my eyes and said' Yes.' knowein' no more'n the man in the moon whether I should repent or not," "Well, have yooP" asked her bos band, archly. She smiled mischievously. " S'pose I'd own it ii I thought I'd oome off splndngoP" '•That's jist like wimniin," said ,dr I'iuu) ; "they're so queer. Own it? Yes. I'd proclaim it from Dan to Beer shclm, anri HO serve as a wamin'." His wile laughed. " All witumin are cut in the same pattern, I b'lievo. There's Nancy, now! I'xpcct she'd eat h< r tongue sooner'n step up t'me 'n say. Father, Sam abuses me.'" " It'll be sleiKhin' to morrow, I guess." Mrs. Plum rose and went to the window. "Why, the ground's white already "—shading her eyes with her hands and peering into the darkness. "That's like wimmin, too,"chuckled Mr. Pluiu. "When you git the better of'em in an argument they allers change the subject." The morrow came, and with it all ol the married offshoots of the house of Plum. Fiist came Sarah, with children three—husband to follow when the choreswere done. She bore a special com mission Reserving maid from bermother, and she smilingly accepted the honor. The kitchen and keeping room were crowded with happy laces long before noon. New dresses were displayed in small knots ot mutual admiration fares, loud voices and impromptu jests were the order of things, crowned by hearty nursts ot laughter. In the midst of it all the mother and grandmother moved with ar anxious face, lest some unto ward happening spoil the fun. (Inrnd fatiier constituted himself a bull for the childish mirth, and iiis ringing laugh sounded younger than theirs. Twelve o'clock struck. The matrons came hack from the church. The big turkey resisting in the oven begun to steam fragrantly; the fat sparerib in the other began to hiss and sputter sis the mistress of the fesist turned it over with sprinklings of salt and pepper. The children were made hungry by the smell and clamored loudly for dinner, and were appeased with thick cuts of ginger bread. which they went around munch ing—witli copious crumbles—to sidults' dissatisfaction. Two o'clock struck. The long tables assumed the functions of spring, and leaved out with astonishing rapidity. Children were thrust into an sidjoining bedroom to !>e got out of the way. when they set up a series of agonizing chorusc,. The blue-edged crockery kept ignominiously in the pantry, while fair, white china arranged itioif on the board, l'iekles and preset vescrept side by side; "cold slaw" brimmed huge bowls; jelly quaked and quivered; hearty " brown bread "did not disdain to iie alongside of its paler relative. " We may's well give up scein'Nancy fust as last," sighed Mrs. Plum, :ut she beat up the lumpy squash with butter. " I've k< p' hopin'she'd get here yit, out she won't. I know she's feelin' .ik** death about it, a thinkin' of ye.u uii iiere, 'xcept herself. 'Juey look ..ut for your dress, dear! You'll burn it 'gainst that stove." " She has not met with us in three years," answered Sarah, rather resc.it fnily, pounding the turnip. "T'aint her fault. Sam always has some excuse. Last year it was 'the baby w.urn't old enough to bring and they couldn't leave it'—though Min ta brought hers, which was two months younger. " It's my opinion," rejoined Sarah, with an emphatic toss of her bead, "that he's ashnmed to face u* alto gether; he's carried on so that he must feel guilty, if he's got any conscience." Three o'clock—and the magic word, "dinner!" eehoed through the crowd. The mother's eyes glanced at Nancy's chair and filled. She would let no one occupy It, " Her heart is here,' she snid, in a low voice, "if her hotly Is not." CHAFTER 11. " It is Christmas day," ssid Nan.-y Hill, at breakfast. " I suppose we are going home to-day; they'll all he there." "Letthem. Where is home, I won der, if not here P" Her husband ate hi breakfast sullenly. "But I told mother we'd go," put in the wife, feebly. " I can't ho p that. Am I responsible for what you say P I'm not going one step. I don't care a fig lor all their meetings." "Well, I can take the horse and go alone. I can drive, you know. And it's only eight miles away." " I'm going to use the hone; I've got an engagmnt at Stanton. I shan't be back to dinner." " You ear, drive me over first. I must go," pleaded the disappointed creature. " Bell will be there with her children. She has just tome from Minnesota, and I haven't seen her since before I was married." " Bother!" Mr. Samuel left the room. Bbe heard him presently at the cider barrel. And then her wrath rose. It was un just, this state of servitude to a brute who despised her and her kindred. Her anger mounted on the wings of dis appointment. She who had hitherto shown a mild spirit, and submissively yielded to his exactions, now rebelled. Instantaneously, all the Instances of hit direct unkind nets flashed vivh. y Into her recollection; snger aggravated the stings. Succeeding this rose her long forbearance, magnified by her resent ment into martyr-like virtues. Indeed, tier life was a martydois. Rut she wks powerless to quit It. Ob yes *he was powerless! The tin, however hateful, wsn binding until death. " Would that death would node and take me and give me rest!" the wept. There was something :in hlB wife's tenrs very inflammable to tho pnraion of Hamuel Hill. Ho always met them with ahnse. He had lieen <'rinting now, and was more innu.ting than even before. Hard words followc.l; am for the first time in his miserable married life, he struck her. She crouched frightened, beside the cradle where her boy lay sleeping. There are some nuturcs which the sign of fear in others determines to aggres sion. It seemed iw if with that otic blow a whole rabble of evil instincts rushed out to follow after. I do not think he was conscious of what he (lid. The whiter she grew the louder his voice became. Even in his passion Nancy noted how handsome lie was; and, through her abject fear, crept a few trembling thrills of love for him still. Her anger utterly died for fear. If he would only stop she would say no more about going home; this would be no lonelier than other days. .She would sing to her baby, and sew, and preserve silence toward him. Fate Baid (< in person of her husband, "Not so." She looked bewildered at first; she did not comprehend his mean ing. He made it plain to hu*-. "Since you are so anxious to go you shall; and you need not trouble yourself to come back. I really insist upon it. I am anxious for your enjoyment." And the villain laughed mockingly. lie took up the infant and held him forth to her. " I must dross myself first," she said soberly. "Indeed you shall go a* you are. Here's a shawl! Start!" "Are you not going to take us?" she faltered. At wiiieli his loud laugh rang out. "Not I. 'Taint a fruit season; besides, 1 don't like plums." " I won't stir one step in this way; I'il call the neighbors," she declared. " Do. if you dare." She wn too afraid to perform her threat. Then seeing she did not start, he took her by the wrists, and she found herself and baby out in the coid. She crept under the wood-shed, and sat down on a pile of boards and cried Misery had shown her a boid front be fore; now it overwhelmed her. Her boy stirred in her arms, and she wrapt the shawl carefully about trim. She sa shivering. It some team would only come by and take her. just as she was, to her father's house! She would spoil the merry-making, of course, hut they would not care for that. But no one came. "Everyone is happy but me," she thought, with suppressed bitterness " What have I done to deserve it?" Her husband came out presently and loc-xi d the door. T ion he looki dup th< road and down. She shrank into a cor ner t hind the boards; lie did not <* h'T nnd passed to the barn whistling. She t rf.rd hitn .wear at the horse ax he add d it. Then lie mounted an went off't rough the snow. She cfept out of the shadow. How to ; t into the house was the question. He would not be back before noon she kn< w. Sh? tried the doors; tbey were all fastened. Tho windows raised with difficulty from the inside; it was a hope less task to open thcui from the outside. Besides she could not put her baby on the snow to make the attempt. Hit lit tle hands were cold; he woke and cried, and she was too chilled to soothe him. last she thought of the dining room window. Beside it was a door opening on the piazza; a fragment of glass had fallen from one of the lower panes, and if she could thrust her hand through she might unbolt the door. No! it was too small a fissure. Away she went bo the shed again, and she found a broken barrel hoop, with which she sped back as fast as her benumbed limbs would carry her. This happened to hit the bolt; she gave a vigorous push and heard it slide. She rekindled the fire and sat down to think. After this experience she must leave him; it was evident that ho wished it. But how mortifying to go back so! Turned away by her husband with scoffs and jeers! She dressed her baby carefully; the was tliue enough. He should look his best at the Christmas feaat. if lie was the heir to an unhappy home. Then she •onned her own best garments and made UD a bundle to carry with her. As slio busied herself thus her heart felt lighter. It seemed to her as il she had shaken off an incubus which had hither to weighted her with iron. "Come, baby, we must start!" she sang to the child, who cooed in return and made a dive at IIPT bonnet with his fat fingers. She walked along the snowy road with light footstep* until the first two miles were passed. Then she began to turn her head and wish tome team would come along; she should beg a ride. But she saw none. The sky waa blue overhead, the sun shone brightly. The leafless branches of the trees were freighted with soft snow which glistened in the clear sunshine. The air waa crisp and cold, hut still. It stung her cheeks Into ruddy flame as she walked. It wa* hard walking. The road was indicated only by a plow line, where boofa had been before ber. The snow ttovercd her ankles, incrnsting her stockings with considerable pieces, which she paused front time to time to pick. It was a pleasant day to those who walked or rode f r pleasure. As for Nancy, the recollection of the morning clothed her spirit with darkness, dash enlng ber whol# future. Th* short afternoon waned, night tall are site reached the village. Her father'? farm lay a mile beyond. Her limbs wood with cold and fatigue; her boy cried ; .she had eaten .nothing since morning. Her whole soul seemed poising itself on the wings of despair. Always when wo think our last agony is reached there glimmers a respite be yond. We cry out in our extremity and make our frantic plunge, and lo! we have waded the hro.ik. Wogropea'.ong blindly; and it is only when we calm our fuintirg fears to look back that we see the method which has guided us to a surer footing. A light now became visible to the stricken wanderer. It came from her father's many windows, ray after ray, which urged on Iter weary feet. I)is tance shortened itseli unaccountably. She stood before the door! What a plight she was in! Should she spoil their sport? She looked over the snowy fields and shuddered. They were playing "blind man's bull'" in sit.c. I'eal after peal of laughter came to her, cold and silent on the door-stone. She was ashamed to go in—asoamed to say that iter husband had sent her fo. The door suddenly opened. Sarah's little Ixiy looked out, and with a cry o fear slammed it to again. He thought he had seen a ghost. How they started when she stepped inside. Old and young thronged around her, crying for sorrow at her distress and for joy at her appearance. " I have come to spend Christmas,' said Naucy, amid team, as she sank into a chair. "And you are heartily welcome, daughter," answered Mr. Plum, in a broken voice. " i/1 it he for always.' And then 'hey all cried again—the children Is cause their mothers wept. " Hooray!" shouted Mr. Plum sudden ly. wiping his eyes with hi* yellow silk handkerchief. " .Mother, are those mincc pies gone?" "I hope not," answered the dame, briskly. " Any cold turkey and things?" " l/ct us all help!'' was the general shout, and a rush was made for the pantry. The long table came out again with dispatch. On it marched the nrtuyol plates and i ut>s and saucers. And though the second dinner was cold ft was complete; there wax no vacant chair. "Ah. Nancy," s.ald Mr. Pium, when the guests had ail gone and only the three ant round the stove talking, "this lias been a better Christmas than the iat to me, for then I did not expect t< ever have you back." The mother only looked at her. "For me too," rejoined Nancy; "for now i krow that I have a home." " My !x>y wU be some trouble to you," -he added presently, in a low voice. Mr. I*.urn's smile w.is more elegant than wotds, as he reached forth hi* hand and rocked the cradle—the HID? old cradle. which had held them all, an.t which had been brought from the garret, iate as wa the hour, that her boy might miss no accustomed comfort. Agriculture In Hnssin. The recent importation of American rye into some of the Baltic |*>rta lias created alarm nil over Ilu.sia, and elaborate articles on the comparative agricultural resource* of the two coun tries have appeared in almost every Russian newspaper. The unanimous conclusion is that thd cause of the un favorable resu.tof Russia farming lies not in the soil, but in the ignorance and •amine** of the Russian peasant. The wages of tiie isborer in Russia, arc lower than in any country, but it takes three Russian tuoujiks to do the work of one farm hand in France, Great Mritain or the United State*. Another reason of the backward con dition of Russian agriculture may be found in the fact that scarcely any machinery is used in the field. The ■mall landowner* have neither the nuans to buy machines nor the neces eary knowledge to use them. Only a few great landowners, who managed to remain rich even after the emancipation of the serfs.are able to order agricultural implements from abroad, and when they get them upon their estates they find that foreign skilled labor is necessary and that srmed force is often ne-ded fo protect both labor and machinery, for the* moujiks arc dispose*l to "go for" Hie imported maehinery as well as for jthc imported farm hands. An adoitlonal drawback lo any pro gress in agriculture Is d*e to the wut of country banks. The distances to tide water from the grain-growing district* is in some casss greater than from Mil waukee to New York. Ths railroads being as few and a* far between as the freight rate* are high, the peasant is Utterly unable to staad the expenses of the shipments without borrowing money; and a* h* ha* no ban kto borrow it from, th* local speculators hay up hi* whole harvest at a mars aoniinal price •nd grab all the mnnsy that is to be made. The conaeguenoe of this skate of affairs is that the naturally laity and drunken peasant nets ooßspletcly dis couraged and becomes sa utterly un manageable brute.—-Afar York Hour. Mount Baker, Washington Territory, has now joined the array of voioaaoas, headed by Mauna and Mount Yesuvias, in active operation in various parts of the earth's surface. Whether theve is anything more than an accidental con currence in their apparently concerted outbreak the scientific people must b* ifl/t to tell. Rib tied plush is mora becoming tfcaa plain. FAITM FOR THE LTKIOIH. Tho entire Joes of the German armies in IH7O-76 was 63,000 men. Cologne water was first so culled in 170W, when nn Italian citizen of Cologne named Johann Maria Farina prepared it. Since that time genuine oau de co logne has been manufactured by the de scendants of Farina. A few years ago a .Japanese publisher brought out a life of Washington in forty-five volumes, with illustrations in which the father of his country is repre sented in modern dress, wearing a heavy mustache, carrying a cane, and accom panied by a skye terrier. When Napoleon 111. went to the front in IH7O his mass of baggage looked like a traveling hospital. It included three kinds of bathtubs, a large medicine chest, an invalid's easy chair and a pe culiar sort of stretcher. The emperor took several very gentle horses and ha/1 double wadded,snddlea, with extra pad dings in the back. Thus they make new potatoes at l'aris: Old potatoes, small and cheap, are taken . > ; Voltaire composed "Zaire" in three weeks and "Olympic" in six days; Dry den wrote Lis "Ole to St. Cecelia " at one sitting, and Mrs. Browning's "The Lady Geraldine's Courtship " was the work of twelve hours. Shakespeare, Dickens.Wordsworth and Moore,on the I other hand, were slow work< ts. Hep worth Dixon rewrote his "Two (Queens" eight times, and Kingiake' "Kothen" was rewritten five or six times. Cardinal Antone.fi was very fond of ' canary birds, and at one time had more | than 9of> of them, which had txen pre cnte.l to him. The atmosphere of the Mosque of St. Sophia, Constantinople, is filled with tHo odor of the tnusk with which Jut tininn charged the mortar when he re built the church in 53-A. I>. The statistic* of the French war of fice show that during the first half of the eight/ nth century, ending five yr are after Fontenoy, 450.000 Irishman died in the French service, nnd during the , .ast half 15/1,00(1. Glass tablecloths are on exhibition in N< w York. Their manufacturer says that they are strong and durable, and can be washed and ironed. Almanac*. Almanack is the Arabic for " dairy." and hence it may be inferred that some notion of this kind obtained among the Aralis. Manuscript almanacs of a rude | character and dated a century before the invention of printing are still in ex istence. The earliest printed almanac was issued in 14fi0, being next to the Bible in early date. Fifteen years after ward almanacs so d for ten crowns in ! gold, and hence were only in the hands ( of the richest class. How strange this seems at the present time when one gets | an almanac shoved on to him gratis at ■ very drug store. Notradamus, the astroioger, who flourished three ccn j turies ago. was the firs', that introduced predictions concerning the weather, which still continues to be one of the almanac's amusing features. For a cen tury and a half almanac making was n government monopoly in Great Britain, and fis alvolition was a matter of such difficulty that it required the eloquence of Krkxkine. It was accomplished about the time of tho declaration of indepen dence. The most such pub lications in America waa Poor Richard's almanac, which wna iasued by Franklin for twenty-six years. Its sale was enormous. (wit dilion being about 10,- 000, and yet it *< i became very scare*. A century after wsrd copies were sold at #l3 apiece. The longest series of aimanso! in this country was issued by Ittiah Thomas, of Worcester, Mass., and bis successors. It was continued for forty-five years. and was highly prized for its apothegms and sententious wit.— TVny Tun**. Heart Piaster. The fk%enttfc Anurictn gives the fol lowing directions for making this useful article: Soak isinglass in a little warm water for seventy-four hours; then evaporate nearly all the water by gentle beat; dissolve the residue in a little dilute alcohol; and strain the whole through a piece of open iinen. The strained mass should he a stiff jelly when cold. Now stretch a piece of silk or sarsenet on a wooden frame, and fix It tight with tacks or pack-thread. Melt the jelly and apply it to the silk thiniy and evenly with a badger hairbrush. A second coaling must he applied when the first has dried. When both are dry. apply over the whole surface two or three .coalings of the balsam of Peru Plaster time made is very pliable, and a ever brash*. HUaOROCM. Triekett way* Hani an in a bud egg— because Ik; can't be Mat.—7 oronlo (hit. A man never knowa the exact length of hia thumb until he jam be the end of it.— MeriiUn Recorder. When man hhvh lie in armed to the teeth it in a nign that hehfut been gcttin g a new plate put in - New York (termer rial. " This in an off year," a* the barber Haid when his razor slipped and took of) a customer's auricular appendage.—Keo kuk, (laU. (Sty. 'JI < ii I. mi i Niv, Y< k inlir.d givin Sarah Bernhardt a reception Ik cause of her appearance in French roles.—/tofk rnor) Kv< ry Saturday. Pawnbrokers may la; a hard-hearted set, hut it must be admitted that there i > one redeeming feature in their busi ness.— Yonkcrs Htatennvan. A returned B.ack Hilia miner assures us that Buffalo Bill has scoured the prairies so much that they are shiney like a giass bottle.— Rock,boot (Jouricr. " How slim 1, Sarah IkTijlatnlt pa, Thai shallow ola sluele? " "My lioy, she s just about as thin As picnic lemonade." —Cincinnati Star "This world is ail a fleeting show," but it takes mighty lively woik forsotnb of us to keep a grip on our tickets ol nd mission, however poor the show is.— JlO'ion Olobe. The first duty ol u sailor is to learn all the ropes. It is a remarkable fact that many of the ropes have to be taut, also, before they can be of service.— Yawcob Sir aunt. Now, by Jove, we've got it ! We're going to reform this theater nuisance. Announcement! A big hat makes a wo -1 man .ook twenty yearso.derthan she There !— fin.'ton Font A Boston artist claims to have painted an orange peel on the sidewalk so naturally that six fat men slipped up on it before the deception was discovered, — Hartford hxening Pott. " A man never realizes," remarks a commercial traveler, "how plentiful mustard is, and how scarce is broad and '>utt< r unti. be tackles a railway refresh ruent-saloon sandwich.'' A man .ys a great many things which wou.d r.ot . Kjk wi.; in print, when he addresses a few cogent remarks to the party who leave- th door open at this season of the jeor.—Hculxnvtflc If'raid. Science iz a grand thing to studdy. hut when a man -ets down in a washlub and f-xp ktsio lift himself up by the han d,< .he hnz und>:t• ■k< n a kontrakt that -< ienec knnt he lp him fill.— Joih liiiltngt. Physicians are unanimous in dis couraging t!i< practice of sitting on the paVUBMBt BMMt than two seconds nt a time. The harder the fall the shorter •■lii uid be the siesta— Roc holer Demo 'rat. Contentment is ever so mu h better than riches; but somehow the stupid world never fails down and worships the contented man. nor do mammas with marriage able dnughU r run after him.— Picayune. Tlie wool clip of the world in IW was nearly five time* as great rs in I*3o. The fact is not offered in proof that barbers wi re that much better patron ized in the latter year.— Fond du Dae Ik iwrlcr. " WeiJ, I have done a good deed to day," saidlbiiington. "What's thatf aked his friend. " I have given a peior, deserving man an overcoat," replied Biliington. turning about; " how does it j fit Potion Journal. Alcohol is recommended for cleaning silver. It cleans bank notes equally as well—in fact, any kind of money it j cleans with a surprising alacrity. For saie by all druggist* everywhere.— 1 isonvlllc Sentinel. He called in at the back office and ied to sell the foreman a bottle of his wonderful lightning eradicator, but the orrman told him he didn't have any lightning that lie wanted eradicated, and sadly he passed out the door.— Rockland I Courier. A Mr. Hutch ins, who was sent to investigate the condition of the new "Connc-usra Colony," in Northern Min nesota, reports fearful suffering among the colonist*. He found the children almost naked and suffering from the old. The people had no wood and were obliged to resort to hay for fuel, of •vhi> li they had very little. The peasant* seemed haggard and vurn. Some ol I them said that they wm better ofT in Ireland, where at least they had plenty of potatoes, more than in ths new colony. Mr. Hutehins •enumerates a large number of individual cases of suf fering. _______ A sample of Chinese tea has been raised by Mr. 8. P. Odom. of Dooly county, G*.. from plants furnished by the national agricultural department. He say* the plants are now three yean old, In a very healthy condition and bearing profusely. Mr. Odom is satis fied that tea raising could be made a success in this country, and of great profit, if the proper attention weee given it. The little city of Weimar, where (oaths resided, is ordinarily as quiet as a country Tillage. Pianoforte playing, however, is universal, and the noise of persons practicing on that instrument is something intolerable. The authorities have therefor* passed an ordinanoe that no piano shall be played in a room, the window* of whieh are open, under pan Kg of u la*. a