FOR TIIK FAIR HEX. Th< BcaonU BBd Mtwll. About two centuries ago a French navigator named Begon brought from Asia a now plant, which is still called after him, begonia. Fow readers would suspect the part this plant plays in the production of the handsome shawls so prised by ladies. The best by far of these are made in Cashmere, a beautiful district at the foot of the Himalaya mountains. The material used in their manufacture is the finest down from the Thibet goat- Every one has probably remarked the singularly graceful patterns with which they are ornamented, and perhaps won dered whether they were studies from nature or the production of the artist's brain. They are the former. Nature in the East supplies admirably graceful leaves on which the sun designs delicate ornaments, and the workmen of Cash mere imitate them, as the Grecian sculptors copied the curves of the ncan thus in the Corinthian capitals. These leaves are those of the begonia. When the French arrived in Egypt, at the end of the last century, they were surprised to see the Orientals wearing costumes, shawls, turbans,sashes, etc., of beautiful cashmere work. They greatly admired these dresses, which fell so gracefully on the human form. When the con querors of the pyramids returned to 1 France they displayed their rich booty, which immediately came into fashion among the ladies. From that petiod they have constantly remained in high favor. Their prices vary from S2OO to S4OO. Underthecinpire.no lady with any pretension went without a cashmere shawl. The taste for these articles, although not so great as formerly, has not entirely ceased. However, it is very rarely now that a person wears a real Indian cashmere; the articles in general use are the product of French manufacture. , Fashion Solli. Lace is not worn with the velvet col lars and cuffs in the dauphin style. The prettiest bags to wear with dresses are finished with three tassels. Puffings of white lace form the upper half of sleeves for evening dress. Stripes of colored gauze Ixirdcred bv satin are made up into pretty ties. Boots buttoned very far back at the sides arc the next novelty, it is said. Sultana shoes, laced on tho side to show the stocking, are in favor in Paris. Heavy black silk are preferable to the satin finished stuffs for half mourning. The Princess of Wales is wearing waves instead of little curls on the fore head. Very few basques are left plain in front. Somelare cut into points and some into curves. E.how sleeves arc now made with a cuff covered with white lace and slightly projecting. Side draperies are very slightly puffed when worn, and are fastened in a large bow in the back. Instead of alternating the satin and cashmere plaits in a skirt, they are now set in groups of three. Brooches of tortoise shell and feathers in the shape of fans are pretty and fash ionable. Kid shoes laced by ribbons embroi dered in gold, are worn over bright colored Lisle thread stockings. Colored chemisettes with black dresses,and black or white chemisettes with colored dresses is the rule. The large bows of satin fastened at the left side of the belt supersede the belt bouquets with many ladies. Sets of colored silk cuffs and collars trimmed with gold braid are sold to wear with dark dresses. The most fashionable fans now carried in I>ondon have shell sticks mounts of dark green feathers. The new blue has a decided tinge of purple in it, and is very rich in velvet and plush. It is called Malctot. Gold braid embroidered on blnck, dark green and plum color is the trim ming of many elegant costumes. Embroidered Chinacrapcis a favorite material for evening overdresses. It is worn either with velvet or silk. Brocade with velvet figures in lozen ges, half moons, or vermicelli patterns is liked as a trimming for black dresses White gloves embroidered with col ored siik and entirely covering the arm have superseded the long black gloves. PorcelAin buttons, with small land scapes painted upon them, are used to fasten the waistcoats worn with marquis coats. A Great Compliment t Edwin Booth says that the most gen uine compliment he ever received was on the occasion of bis playing lago in " Othello " for the first time at Grass Valley, Cal., then a new mining camp. The audience, who had not seen a play for years, were so mnch incensed at his apparent villainy that they pulled out their "shooters"in llie middle of the third act, and began blazing away at the si age. * Othello had the tip of his nose shot off at the first volley, and Mr. Booth only escaped by rolling over and over np the stage and disappearing through a trap door. A speech from the manager somewhat calmed the bouse; but even then Mr. Booth thought it best to pass the night in the theater, as a number of the most elevated spec tators were making strenuous efforts to induce the vifi lance committee to lynch " the sneaking COM." , 111 A LUFATIL"B CLUTCH KK. A USr'i Itarlllaii Ad*tar> la a Slaw Tork Murtlo. A New York correspondent snys: A few days ago, while a lady of our city, of artistic tastes and hanits, was walk ing leisurely along Fifth avenue, sho noticed a sign of an artist's studio, whereupon she entered an open door, aacended one flight of stairs, rapped at tho artist's door, heard tho words. "Come in," and entered a spacious room, oicga..tly furnished. Its high windows wero richly draped with heavy curtains, fine pictures were hung upon the walls, and standing on the floor was an easel, after tho fashion of most artists. In tho room sat a man alone, with overcoat and hat on, im movable, and with eyes glaring fiercely on his visitor, as if enraged at her in trusion, but not uttering a word. A few moments passed; she niadeacanual remark in regard to some picture, wiien he suddenly jumped Irom his seat, rushed upon her, seized her by the throat, his eyes glaring wildly and his features indicating the fiercest excite ment, and exclaimed, madly: "Now I have you! I have been looking for you for the last ten years, and now 1 have got you at last, and I'll kill you." At first tlio shock to her was terrible and overwhelming, and she became quite unconscious; but recovering herself a little, she struggled, screamed, and en treated, but to no purpose. He clung to her throat with one band, and with tho other tried to fill her mouth with her clothing. Finally, having loosed his hold, he rushed to the door, locked it, seized a large knile, and began to sharpen it on his shoe, telling her tnnt her time had come and she must prepare to meet her God; that ho was going to cut her into inch pieces. She fell upon her knees, prayed, entreated, told him of her husband ani child, and wept in the wildest agony, fully believing that her time had come, that she must die, but with no avail. He continued to make his preparations in the most violent excitement. He told hr that lie should put her body in the large stove in his room to burn it up. Finally, overcome by excitement, she sank upon the floor. At this the ra n of the madman seemed to subside a little. Still, he continued his threat and preparations. AfUr hav ing recovered :• little from her exhaus tion, having now been in the clutches ol the lunatic for over two hours, during which time she had suffered untold agony, sue now entreated him to give her some food or something to revive her. It was now about stx oclock in the evening. He then went to the door, saying that he was going to get something for himself, unlocked it, opened, went out. nnd locked the door behind him. Alone in j the room, she screamed, to the top of her voice, hoping she might bring some one to her rescue, but to no avail. He soon returned, still threatening her with instant death ii she was not silent. The fiend seemed to have no other purpose but to torment her or to tnke her life. Finally he told her that if she wonld take liia arm and go quiet lyjdown-staini she could go. Hope now dawned npon her. She told him she would do any thing. He accordingly made her walk down with him to the street. She felt inexpressible relief, having got out of prison. Here she strove to extricate herself, • bat he threatened to dr.sh her brains out against the walls of the building unless she went quietly. She told him she wanted to take an "uptown car." He said: " I'll go with jou. I'll follow you to the ends of the earth. '* He entered the car with her, sat down by her side, and apparently perfectly aane. He paid her fare, and never uitred a word till she got out of the car. He fol lowed her, and on arriving at her resi dence, said to bor: "You must beat my place to-morrow at eleven o'clock. I shall follow yon. You can't live with out me." She then opened the door and closed it upon him with unutterable re lief ; thus she was once more free from the clutches of a maniac, and had es caped impending death. The affair occurred near the Fifth Avenue hotel. The man was thin and spare, above the medium height, of sandy complexion, bald, wore a mus tache—the thinks—was richly dressed, wore diamond bosom studs, and nicely fitting buff gloves. These Lc put on carefully whenever he went out. The Fnrspean I'laz. He wasn't an old man, but be had an ancient look aronnd the eyes, and the moss bad got a good start on his back. He put up at a down-town hotel on the European plan, and was assigned a room and forgotten. He came on Monday. In the evening he took a few tarns around the office, looked hard at the clock and hungrily at the clerk, and went to bis room with a pocketful of apples. He was seen several times next day with that same hungry look on his face, and about seven o'clock in the evening be carefully approached the counter and said to the clerk: "Bay! I'm gnltin' all-fired hungry. Isn't it about time you had supperP" "Supperf Why we don't have any sapper here." "Then I guise I'll square up and quit. I didn't expect much on Monday because It was wash-day, and I let you offto-day because I thought the women folks might have a big ironing; hut I've got o hungry now that I must find some tavern where they hain't o infernally busy that they can't set (Hit at least one meal a day V'—Wall Street Newt. Chanel] by Bloodhounds. Apropos of the death of " Old Mount joy," a well-known English pedestrian, a correspondent of a I/ondon newspaper related a story lie heard from Mount joy's own lips, a story so discr' ditahlo of one of the chief actors that it were tc be wished that the other labored under adelußion. Hearing Lord W. boast that his blood bounds would track any living thing, by scent nlone. Colonel A. wager ed a hundred guineas they would not track a man, and asked Mountjoy to win the wager for him, assur ing the startled pedestrian there was no danger of til' dogs catching him, aa they were slow runners, and ho would take care suffi cient start was allowed him; the object being simply to test their power of scent. The trial duly came off over three miles of ground round Hampstead Heath. After the degs had sniffed at Mountjoy's legs, he made his way leisurely for half the course, when the flag was dropped, and the hounds set loose. They tracked their quarry splen didly, but were six hundred yards behind when Mountjoy reached the inn at the end of the course, and shut the door upon them, outside which they howled their dissatisfaction until re moved by their keeper. Disbelievers in the bloodhounds' scent were still unconvinced, averring that they had sighted the man for part of the journey at least; and to settle the point beyond dispute, another match was made, to be run at night, the dis tance this time being but a mile and a halt. Unsuspicious of foul play, Mount joy went gayly on his wsy, but had not accomplished more than two-thirds of the distance allowed him by the condi tions when his hair stood on end, as the baying of the dogs, hot upon his trail, reached his cars. They had been pur posely slipped before the proper time, without any warning. " For one second," said he, " I stood stock still as if I had been frozen, and then dashed away nnd ran as I had never done before, and have never done since. I was in perfect training and condition, hut the cold sw< at broke out from every pore and poured down my body, while my legs seemed like lead, and trembled ail over. Still I kept des perately on, while nearer and nearer came the deep, hoarse bay of the hounds as the scent grew warmer, and they knew they were running up to their prey. I thought I was lost. Those few seconds were like weeks, and I wonder ed whether they would grip me first by the leg or fly straight at my throat. Luckily, I did not lose my head, and after the first mad hurst I settled down and raced away at a pace which I knew would last the distance; but still closer and closer came the horrible cry, that sounded like my drath-knell; and, in sheer desperation, I put on ail the speed I could. At last I saw the lights of the lonely little inn. and my heart rose within me, but at that very instant the brutes broke out into a fierce, savage yeil, that told me that they had sighted me at last. There was a small garden in front of the bouse, and as I flew up to it I saw the gate was shut. How I did it I never knew; but, blown and exhausted with terror and the pace as I was, I cleared it, darted through the door, which fortunately stood open, and slamming it to, stood with my hack against it. The lock had hardly closed, when bang! hang! agsinst the panels came my terrible pursuers; and then they lay down and yelled sav agely at finding themselves baulked of thrir prey." As soon a? he felt himclf safe, rage took the place of fear; and seizing ho.d of a bottle, Mountjoy swore he would braiu Lord W. it he entered the place; a threat he would have fulfilled had not those present got him out of the room in time to prevent most justifiable homi cide. The Territory f Alaska. The report of Ivan Petroff, supervisor of the census of Alaska, gives the entire population of Alaska as 30.140. of which 330 are whites. Of the total number of In dian*. those in the northeastern portion are estimated at about 5,000. Counting white* and Creoles and all who mfaht become Americans, Mr. Petroff esti mates about one citizen to every I.WO square miles of territory. The south western portion of the Territory from Mount St. K fas is about 300 miles long and from fifty to sixty miles wide, measuring in outlying islands. That portion of the Territory is 18,000 square miles in area, and has a population of 5,000 Indians and 500 whites and Cre oles all combined. This, Mr. Petroff suggests, is just about enough of popu* lation for one smail county in a very large area. It is also practically dis connected from the western portion of the Territory, which contains 550,000 square miles, and which latter portion, immense as it it, contains only 139 whites, including four women and four children. Of the white population of Alaska about 900 are in Sitka " Matrimonial agents" do a very good business in Paris, and some of them have accumulated large fortunes. It is stated that some of these owe their suc cess " liberal advertising." One, for instance, sdvertises a " large selection of widows" and "eligible maidens" with fortunes varying from 940,000 to figures well up In the hundreds of thousands. It Is actually reported that some of these brokers have feminine attractions on hand with fortunes well nigh a million, who have been obliged to seek this method of getting husband* All the year round—The earth. "Johnny Tuesday." A imrcheadud man, with his thicg, gray hair matted into a tangled thatch, dripping with wet, walked through Fourteenth street. He had his hands deep in the pockets of his greasy kneed ragged pantaloons, and a tattered coat wns buttoned across his chest, with the tail of what had once been a dress coat protruding from beneath it. Whatever other covering his leet had was con cealed under a pair of immense arctics, which, ns he tramped along, sent the slusli flying as the tread of an elephant might. This character saluted the policeman at lite corner of Fifth avenue with a sharp nod, nnd the officer re sponded: " How de do, John; and how does this weather suit youP" John moved on toward Broadway without replying, and the Newt repre sentative naked the policeman who he was. To which the officer replied with some astonishment: "Why, it's Johnny Tuesday, to be Buro. Everybody knows him." The rejiorter humbly acknowledged that he was nobody, and prayed to be enlightened, whereupon the municipal official condescended to impart to him these curious facts: Johnny Tuesday has for the past ten yoars been a familiar figure of our streets. He is demented, and believes tiiat he is under bonds to a divine power never to wear a hat, because our Savior did not affect that article of headgear. During all that time he has been before the public here, in rnin or shine, winter or summer, he has never covered his crown with any but tije hirsute shelter provided him by nature, and which he never cuts or trims. It is in odd contrast with this queer mania that he is scrupulous in keeping his face shaven, carrying a razor and a little chunk of soap about with him for that purpose. Our station-houses occasionally pro vide Johnny Tuesday with a shelter, but as a rule he finds a place to sleep in some stable or wareh JUBC, whose watch man has a heart and compassionates the wanderer. In the same way his food is furnished him by the humble charity of the poor, among whom he is well known. He never asks alms, and when money is given him, as it frequently is. he accepts it and lays it out in candies and cheap cakes, which he distributes among the youngsters of the west side —where he spends most of his time. He does not talk much, and what little he does sny no one can make much of. But he is always cogitating profoundly, and conversing with himse.f on the grave topics the vulgar world could not comprehend if he did lay them befotejit Where he comes from and what his real name is no one knows. When be made iiis debut as a metropolitan curi osity some newspaper man wrote a squib alsiut him, and christened him in it Johnny Tuesday, the name being sug gested by that of George Monday, a historic I'liilaielphia eccentric now de ceased, who for many yeari traveled about the Quaker city without a bat, proclaiming some B-dlamite doctrines about the regeneration of mankind. Johnny Tuesday accepted the name con. ferred on him, and it has stuck to him since.—AVte York Newt. A Change of Opinion, While a New Yorker was at Mt. Clemens, Mich., last fall to try thecftSct of the mineral waters on his rheuma tism, he was one day npproached by a young man who asked: " Are you not Mr. , of New York city P" " I am," was the reply, "but I do not rcmemlter of having met you before." " Probably not, I am ftmitb, the comedian." "Smith—Smith." " Oh, you needn't try to remember me. Four weeks ago I flattered myself that all the world knew roe and admirer my acting. I came West with a com bination that busted in Wisconsin, and walk of 610 miles across the country I have come to the conclusion tha'. I never amounted to two shillings as an actor." " I presume you desire my aid to reach horocP" "Naturally I would, but If you will see that I have dinner I will let you off. Fact is, I h-ve been bitten by dogs so oiten, chased by farmers so frequently, and been outrun so many con stables that 1 have lost all ambition. Once I wanted thunders of applause at every hit. Now, when 1 do a good thing in the way of eluding a sheriff and his posse, I'm perfectly satisfied with even pancakes and thin coffee as a re ward ." WaJJ Street Newt. The I'oein Kept Him Warm. The French Canadian poet Frechette tells a story of how a single line of one of his early poems kept him and his chum warm during a cold Canadian winter. He and his friend were living in the attic of an old Quebec house, and depended on a stove-pipe passing through the floor from a lower apart ment for artificial warmth. It was not strange that a short poem written in this apartment should contain the due, " Shivering in my attic poor." But when bis landlady saw It in a local newspaper her good heart got the better of her pique, for when the young men came home on the following day they found a stove in the room, and were lec tured as follows: "Gentlemen, we are very Indulgent, oorsidering your noisy meetings. We are not very particular when rent day arrive*, and if you shiv ered In your room It would have been better to have said so privately than to have complained of it in the newspa pers." A Fearless Miuike Catcher. Signor D'Albertis, a recent explorer in New Guinea, is a remarkably bold seeker after snnkes. In an account of liis travels he says I bat at Yule Island the natives had found a large snake onib-r a trc, and all ran away from It, crying out. "At last I went to the natives," he continues, "and tried to ascertain the cause of their conduct, and they made me understand why they had lied. I then returned to see the snake myself, which in foot I did, although two-thirds of its length were hidden in a ho!e in th earth. His size was such that I concluded ho could not \ c poison ous, and I at once grasped him by the tail. While dragging him out of his lair with my two hands I was prepared to flatten his neck close to his head with one foot the moment he emerged, so that he should not have the power of turn ing or moving. While my plan suc ceeded perfectly, and while the snake's head was imprisoned under ray foot, I grasped his body with my bands, and, as though I bad vanquished the terrible monster, turned toward the natives with an air of triumph. They, struck with terror, had looked on the scene from a safe distance. I must confess that tte snake offered little resistance, although it writhed and twisted itself round my arm, squeezing it so tightly as to stop the circulation and make my hand black. I remained, however, in posses sion of its neck, and 8001 secured it firmly to a long thick stick I had brought with me. I then gave the rep tile to my men to carry home." This serpent was thirteen feet long. It was kept alive and became quite Uirne, and when tho natives saw D'Albertis kiss its head and let it coil round his legs, they howled with amazement and ad miration. Six week* after the capture he writes: "My snake continues to do well; it hoa twice cast its hkin, is well behaved and tame, and does not attempt to escape, even when I put it in the sun outside the house; and when I go to bring it in it comes to me of its own ay con!. It never attempts to bite, ev[osit the bones of General George Washington beneath the capitol.and a crypt was pre pared for that purpose. When it was completed a public officer was appointed whose duty it was to watch this crypt and prevent its desecration, and there he had been ever since, growing gray in the service, and wliLe Congress had ap propriated money to pay his salary year after year, nobody had thought it worth while to inquire how he earned it. Men With (oats of iiair. A short time ago a man a little over orty years old went into a New York museum and asked for an engagement. He said that he was a native of War saw, in Russian Poland, and had been condemned to the mines of Siberia for being a nihilist. A peculiarity of the atmosphere in the Redan gold mines, near Tobolsk, where he was confined for fifteen years, he said, was that it in time caused a thick growth fof hair on Uie bodies of tbe exiles, who, in the warm temperature, fifteen hundred eet below the surface, worked nearly nude. Nihilists being now somewhat in vogue, especially when hairy, he was engaged at a small salary, decked in a fanciful meriiwval costume, and seated on a platform with Barnum's veteran " What Is It," and the Spotted Boy. He gives his name as C. Ivanovics, end ays that while a medical student in Warsaw in IBA2 he was sent to Siberia for disaffection toward tbe Russian government. After a weary march of several months he and his companions reached their destination, and were re quired to labor eleven hours a day, with black bread and salt for their food and water for their drink. To avoid scurvy, onions and other vegetables were sometimes given them, but meat was allowed on'y once a year, on the birthday of tbe emperor. Rude Cossack soldiers were their guards, who spoke with invariable roughness, and freely used the lash if offended. Silence was enjoined during working hours, but not strictly enforced. When ae leisure they were not allowed to col lect in groups for conversation, lest they should hatch schemes for escape, and when not eating they generally found refuge from their weariness in sleep, lvanovics found over two hundred medical men in tbe mine, together with a number of Russians with titled fam ilies. The hair on his body reached its present thickncaa, he aaid, in four years, but others did not acquire a growth so speedily. He and eight others escaped in IKJ7, on the birthday of the emperor. The guards on that day were supplied with liquor, and they became intoxi cated. Restating the Dead. Professor Fort has presented the ques tion of premature interments to the French Academy in a paper on artificial respiration. One (act he mentions is. that he was enabled to restore to life a child three years old by practicing arti ficial respiration on it some fonr boors, commencing three boars and a half after apparent death. A similar case is reported by I>r. Fournol. of Billanuonrt, who reanimated a nearly drowned per son after fonr hours of artificial res pi ra tten. This person had been In the water ten minutes, and the doctor arrived one hour alter asphyxia. Profet'or Fort advocates also the utility of artificial respiration in order to eliminate tbe poison from the longs and glands. The length of time it is desirable to practice artificial respiration in any osse of ap parent death from asphyxia msy be said to be several hours. | North Carolina has filty-seven cotton factories in operation.