Echo, f
Oomo to mo in tho oilouoc of lb !
Gome In tho speaking sltonoo of a ilroam ;
Oomo with aof rounded chock# and ojos an
bright
As sunlight on a stream ;
Come back in tears,
Oh, memory, hope, lovo of finished years.
Oh, dream, how sweet, too sweet, too bitter
sweet,
Whose wakening should liarn been in I'ara
diae,
Wliere souls brimful of lovo abide and meet;
Where thirsting, longing eyes
Watch the slow door
That opening, lets in, lots out no more.
TeC come to mo in dreams, that 1 may livo
My Tory lifo again, though cold in death ; .
Come back to mo in dream*, that I may givo
Pulso for pulse, breath for breath;
gpoak low, lean low,
As long ago, my lovo, how long ago!
—Christina A. lioturtli.
"ADOPTED."
" It's very strange," muttered Blanche
Penroy, slowly weaving together tho
wreath of scarlet antumn leaves with
which she was decorating her broad
brimmed straw hat.
She made a beantiful picture sitting
there all alone in the mellow glow and
color of the October woods, a crimson
shawl drooping from her shoulders, and
the sunshine lighting up her bright
auburn curls with glittering threads of
gold, while npon tho fallen tree trunk
that formed her impromptu seat lay a
tiny branch of ferns and autumnal flow
ers. She was transparently fair, with
purple veins iu each waxen temple and
, a faint pink bloom on her cheeks, while
her eyes, large and brown, seemed to
look at yon with the grave, tender ex
pression of an infant.
"Yes, it is very strange," went on Miss
Penroy, musing within herself. " I
know so little about him; I havo only
known him abont ten days, yet when ho
spoke abont leaving Elm Point lost
night it seemed as if all tho sunshine
was leaving tho world for me. Ob,
Blanche— naughty, nanghty, naughty
little Blanche I" she added, leaning for
ward, and apostrophising the fair face
mirrored in the stream at her feet. "Is
it possible that yon'vo allowed yourself
to fall in love with that tall, black-eyed
young man 7 Ten days ago I had never
seen him—and now I"
The roses mounted up in her cheek as
she wondered within herself whether
Mr. Evering cared for her,
" 1 wish I knew!" she mattered alond.
"Knew what?" demanded a calm
voice, and Mr. Gilbert Evering took np
the bunch of flowers and coolly seated
himself beside her—a toll, handsome
man, with brilliant dark eyes, rather ir
regular featnres, and a deep color glow
ing through his olive skin.
Blanche dcmnrely looked np at him—
ahe was not to be taken by storm thus
easily—and asked:
" Do yon think it will rain to-morrow.
For our picnic I want to wear my white
India shawl 7"
" Oh, the picnic! I had forgotten
that when I spoke of leaving to-morrow.
Of course, thongh, my presence or ab
sence will make no great difference 7"
Blanche was silent. Somehow that
scarlet and brown spotted leaf required
a good deal of adjustment in that ribbon
of her hat.
" Blanche, shall I go or stay 7"
"As yon please, Mr. Evering, of
course."
"No ; as somebody else ploases. Yes
or no I And I forewarn yon that yes
means a great deal."
"How mnch does it mean?" ques
tioned Blanche, half archly, half timor
ously.
" Everything I"
" Then yon may stay."
" My Blanche—my little daisy 1" he
whispered, bending his stately head
over the slender hand that lay on the
autumn leaves. And Blanche felt that
in the golden stillness of that October
evening she had turned a new page iu
the book of her life 1
She was very, very happy, and all that
day she seemed to be walking through
the bright mysteries of a dream. But
with the morning came other feelings;
alas! that shadow shonld always follow
snnsbine in 'his world of ours.
"I'm not disposed to bo unreasonable,
Blanche I" said Gilbert, in a whisper, as
he arranged her white lace shawl for
ber, amid the merry tnmnlt of the pic
nic ground, " bnt I do think yon have
Waltzed quite often enough with Mr.
Birmingham I"
"Jealous already, Gilbert 7" taunted
the girl, flashed and rosy with the
triumphs of her beanty, and the irre
sistible instincts of coquetry.
"Of coarse you'll do as yoa please,
Blanche; only 1 ware yen, it's A choice
between Walter Birmingham and ma
Yon oance with him again at yonr own
risk t"
'At the same instant ho came np.
"May 1 have the pleasure of the
polka with you, Miss Penroy 7"
And Blanche, defiant, willful and a
kt/ little piqued, answered, " Yea."
w Hhe glided away with her hand on
Walter Birmingham's shoulder. Gilbert
*■ " ,*Vi .. < . ' /
had no business to bo so unreasonable.
His grave, stem face rather startled
her as she came onoo more to tho rustic
seat of twißtod bonghs, whon tho band
was silent, and Mr. Birmingham had
gone to bring her a glass of ioed lem
onade.
"Gilbert I why do yon look so cross?"
" Because I havo reason. lam sorry
yon pay so littlo attention to my wishos,
Miss Ponroy."
Bho drew herself np haughtily.
" Yon are beginning to dictate early,
sir I"
" Have I not the right?"
" No, Mr. Evering."
"Bo it so, Blanche," ho said, in a
voice that betrayed how deep tho arrow
rankled in his bosom. "I givo up tho
right now und henceforward."
Blancho was startled. She would have
said more, but Walter Birmingham was
advancing toward her, and whon next
she hod leisure to look ronnd Gilbert
was gone from her side.
" What have I done I" she thought,
in dismay. " I'll see him this evening
and coax him into good humor once
more. Ho surely can't bo vexed with
me for an idle word like that."
Ah, little Blanche, it is not the well
considered sentenco that does all tho
harm in this world—it is tho idle word I
" Such a charming day wo have had,
Mrs. Traino," said Blancho, as she came
in, smiling and radiant, as if the worm,
remorse, was not gnawing at her heart.
" Yes," saidtlieblooming matron, who
was reading in an easy-chair under tho
shadow of the vines. " Bnt what sent
Mr. Evering away in such a hurry 7" 1
" Sent him away 7"
"Yes—by tho evening train. Ho
camo home, packed his things and drove
away as if there was not a moment to
lose. I am very sorry; wo shall miss
him so mnch."
Blanche went slowly upstairs and sat
down by her window, looking ont at the
purple glow of the evening landscape as
if it were a featureless blank, So he
was really gone away; and by her own
folly she had lost tho priceless treasure
of Gilbert Evering's love.
"And I cannot oven write to him, for
I do not know his address," she thought,
with clasped hands and tearless eyes.
" Well, it is my own fault, and I must
abide the consequences as best 1 may.'
So Blanche Penroy went homo from
tho gay, fashionablo place a sadder and
a wiser woman, and the November mists
drooping o'er the brick and mortar
wilderness of her city home had never
seemed half so dreary to her as they did
now.
"I suppose I shall le an old maid,"
thought Blanche, walking np and down
in tho fire-lit darkness of her room,
her dimpled hands clasped behind her
waist. "I never cared for any one as I
cared for—for CHllx>rt; and I dare say I
shall keep a cat and grow fond of green
tea. Ah, well-a-day! life cannot last
forever."
A dreary comfort that for a girl of
nineteen summers.
She rang the bell with an impatient
jerk.
" Are there any letters, Sanderson 7"
"One ma'am; it camo by the eveuing
post, abont five minutes ago."
" Light the gas, then, and give it to
me."
Blanche sat down by the fire and
opened the letter, suppressing a yawn.
" Black-edged and black-sealed 1 Bo
poor Mrs. Marchmont is gone at last!"
It *W from the executor* of MIA*
Pcnroy's distant cousin, formally and
briefly announcing her death, which
had taken place in one of the West
India island* some months since; bat
of which the "melancholy news," as the
letter ran, had only jnst been received.
It was not entirely nnei|>eeted, as Mrs.
March mont had been for some years
slowly fading ont of the world, a vic
tim to hereditary consumption.
"Leaving one child, a son," slowly
repeated Blanche, leaning her cheek on
her hand and looking down into the
11 cry qniver of the whitening coals.
" Poor little fellow I he must feel
nearly as desolate as I do! Only I have
one advantage—l have at least a suffi
ciency of this world's goods; and this
orphan child mast !>e thrown penniless
and alone on his own resources, for, if I
remember aijight, Mrs. Marchmont for
feited all the wealth of her first mar
riage by her second alliance with the
poverty-stricken lawyer whose death
plnnged her into such bitter mourning.
That was a genuine 1 ive match, yet how
' leaving one child—a son!' Why
should I not adopt the stray waif, and
mako it the business of my life to cher
ish and comfort him ? I have no object
in existence; here is one that Providence
itself seems to point out to me."
Once more she rang the btll, with
fresh color glowing in her cheeks and a
new light in her eyes.
"Bring in my writing-desk imme
diately, Henderson, and get ready to
take a letter to the post for me as soon
sir possible."
The old servant obeyed, wondering at
i his in is tress' unwonted energy, and
yet well pleased to see some of her old
animation returning.
" <ihe do look more like haraelf to
night, do Miss Blanche, than she has
for a long time," be said to the house
koopcr M ho camo downstairs after
obeying tho summons. " I only wish
Miss Blanche would take a fancy to
somo nice, properly-behaved young
man; it don't soeui right that alio should
livo all by herself in tbii big house, so
forlorn-liko."
Tho Housekeeper nodded aagaciously
to old Mr. Banderaon's proposition.
She fully agreed with him.
" Only Mias Blanche waa too willful
ever to listen to a word of advice."
It waa a very wimple lot tor that
Blanche Penroy wroto to her " far
away" cousin's oxocutors, dictated by
tho fullness of her heart.
" I shall never marry now," she
wroto, "and it seems to become my
plainly indicated duty to undertake) the
caro of this orphan child of Mrs. March
moat. With your approval, therefore,
I proposo to adopt him, and endeavor,
so far as is in my power, to supply tho
ploco of his lost mother. Yon may at
first deem me rather too young to un
dertake so grave and serious a respon
sibility; but I am nineteen lost month,
and I um very, very much older in
thought and feeling than in years. Of
conrso at my death the child will in
herit tho property which was left to mo
by my deceased parents."
"I hopo my cousin's executors are
liko the nice, white-headed old lawyers
one roads about," said Blancho to her
self, as she folded the little sheet of
paper, "and not cross old fudges, talk
ing of ' expediency' and ' appropriate
ness;' for I do so much want somebody
to love and caro for; and I've a sort of
premonition that this littlo fellow will
bo nice, rosy and lovable. I think I'll
teach him to call mo 'Aunty.'"
Exactly a week subsequently a prim,
legal note was received from Messrs.
Adas and Corpus, tho deceased lady's
executors, stating that " they saw no
valid objection to Miss Penroy's very
laudable projects, and that in accord
ance thereto tho child of the late Mr.
Marclimont would arrive at Miss Pen
roy's residence on the following Hattir
day."
" Saturday, and this is Friday," ejacu
lated Blanche, with tho now brightness
dancing in her hazel eyes. "Oh, how
glad I shall bo ! Sanderson, te.ll Mrs.
Brown to have the bine room fitted np
immediately for Master Marchmont,
and yon had better go yourself to the
station with the carriago at fire to-mor
row afternoon to mckt him."
" Yes, ma'am," said Sanderson,
stolidly.
The apparition of a great nnrnly boy
tramping with mnddy boots on the vel
vet oar pete, and disturbing tho lionse
with balls, marbles and haloos, did not
possess the charm in Sanderson's eyes
that it seemed to liaTe for his mistress.
And even patient Mrs. Brown r marked
with a species of exasperation that "she
didn't see what put this freak into Miss
Blanche's head 7'
Saturday was a day of hail and temp
est and softly falling snow, and by 5
o'clock tho drawing-rooms were lighted,
and the crimson silk curtains closely
drawn to exclude the stormy darkness
without.
Six times within tho last fifteen min
utes had Blanco Penroy looked at her
watch, as she stood by the fire waiting
to hear the returning carriage wheels.
She was dressed in a rich China-blue
silk dress with pearl pin and ear drops,
and a little point lace at her throat and
wrists, and the color in her cheek, and
the golden tinge in her bright hair
mode her, nneonsciously, very fair to
look upon.
"Oh, I hope—l hope ho will like
me," thought Blanche, with that dis
tinctive yearning for love that enters
every woman's heart, as tho door
opened.
" Here's the young gentleman, miss,"
saiil Sanderson, with a half-suppressed
sound Imtwcen a laugh and a snort.
But instead of a child of seven or
eight years old, a tall apparition walked
in, something over six feet high, with a
black mustache, and merry hazel eyes
brimming over with mirth. For an in
stant Blanche stared at him as if she
could scarcely credit tho evidence of
her own senses.
"Oilbertl"
"Exactly. You wanted toadopt me,
and here 1 am."
" No, but, Gilbert—"
" Yes, but, Blanche 1"
" kon are not Mrs. Marchmont's aon I"
"lam—by her first marriage. And
although lam by no means the penni
less infant yon seemed to suppose, as all
my father's wealth. comes to me, I am
qnite willing to be adopted—particular
ly as yon are not married to Walter Bir
mingham."
Blanche struggled with tears and
ianghter, uncertain which would tiest
express her feelings, bnt Gilbert Ever
ng drew her tenderly toward him.
" If you adopt me, dearest, It mnst be
tor life. Nsy, do not hesitate—onr hap
piness has already been too mneh at the
mercy of trifles. You will not retract
your offer 7"
" Well—after all," said Blanche, de
murely, " all I wanted waa somebody to
love and oare for, and—"
"Audi shall do very well in that
capacity, eh T'
And Sanderson, who bad been listen
ing earnestly at tho door, crept down
stairs to inform Mrs. Brown that " they
wore going to have a new master I"
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
Soda put into sea Water m ikes it fl'.
for washing clothes.
Tho nearer a rain-cloud is to the
earth, the larger tho drops.
Under-Hhot wheels require a much
larger body of water than over-shot.
Tho diamond is rather more than
three and one-hulf times heavier than
water.
Leeches may be induced to bite more
readily by bathing tho surface to which
they are applied with milk.
A body which weighs one pound at
our equator would weigh five ounces
Bix drachms at that of the planet Mars.
The largest bitnminons deposits in
the world are in Asphaltic lake, or Dead
sea, in Judea, and Tar lako, in Trinidad.
Pencil marks can bo rendered indeli
ble by dipping tho jper in skim-milk
and ironing on the wrong side after dry
ing.
Paper can lie made transparent by
spreading over it, with a feather, a very
thin layer of resin dissolved in alcohol,
applied to both sides.
Wo cannot dotermine tho sound of a
string which makes less than thirty
vibrations j>er second, nor of one which
makos more than 7,552.
Tho icebergs of tho Southern hemi
spheres aro much larger than tboso of
the Northern, and frequently attain a
heighth of one thousand feet.
The diamond is tho purest crystal
carbon found in nature. Plumbago, of
which lead pencils are made, is the
next purest. Goal is crude carbon.
A good microscope may be made by
boring a small hole in a piece of tin
and filling it with ono clear drop of the
balsam of the common fir. It will mag
nify seventy-five diameters.
Nitrate of soda has been found in ex
tensive Iteds near Brown's Station,
Nevada. Tho bulk of the supply has
hitherto come from South America. It
is largely used for curing meats.
hilling Cattle.
The al>attoir in the rear of the stock
yards in Jersey City, N. J., are interest
ing to persons who do not mind the
sight of blood. Farmers, who are ac
customed t<> think the killing of a bul
lock a day's work, are always astonished
at the celerity of tho work in tho abat
toirs. The cattle are driven into pens
of iron railings, extending throngh tho
center of the building, while tho butch
ers have a large open space alongside in
which to work. A rope is fastened
around the hind leg of an animal, and a
mau at a windlass draws the bnllook out
of the pen and hoists him into the air.
A practiced hand and a keen knife soon
do their work, and the creature bleeds
copiously into tho vessels set to catch
the blood. They die with scarcely a
struggle. One is struck by the silence
with which tho work is done. "A sheep
before its shearer " is not always dumb,
indeed, he is rather apt to observe "Ba ;"
hut the ox led to slaughter resigns him
self with a quietness that is pathetic.
Occasionally a lot is too wild to be easil v
inanagcd with tho rope, when a blow with
an ax from a man standing on a hoard
over tho pen suffice*. Once in a groat
while a sWr, with "blood in his eye,"
goes tearing down tho gaogways and
avennes and sweeps a wide path with
his horns, as tho men vault over the
fences.
The abattoir has a grisly aspect, with
a score of carcasses in all stages of
dressing, tho floor slippery with blood,
and hides, horns and hoofs lying almnt.
Two " dressers," eight " helpers," two
"hide-droppers" and one "boister"
will kill and dress eighty bullocks be
tween 9 and half-past 4 o'clock. The
meat, hung on hooks which run on roll
ers, is shoved hark out of the way of
tho butchers as fast as dressed. Tho
blood is saved for fertilizing or for re
fining sugar; the fat goes to make oleo
margarine, the hoofs aro sent to s glue
factory, the bides seek tho tanner's, the
tongnes aro pickled by a New York firm,
and tho horns, which have the longest
period of usefulness, are made into vari
ona articles. Very little is allowed to
go to waste.
The Oldest Translation.
" What is regarded as the oldest
translation of the Bible 7" we have been
asked. The oldest translation or ver
sion in any language of which there ia
a record iu the Septuagint, written in
Greek, and prepared in the city of Alex
andria, in Egypt, about B. G. 28fi-290.
It ia aaid that the oldeat known oopy of
this version is written on thin vellum,
and contains tho whole Bible, and that
it is dated in the fifth century, and is
now in the British Museum."
The " whole Bible" iu the above ex
tract must mean the whole Old Testa
ment, for the Bnptnagint version conld
not contain the New Testament which
was written 300 years or more after the
Bsptnagint version was msde. —bibb
Brmmr.
.
LADlfcK' DEPARTMENT.
An Arpnllln* Pact,
Mrs. Lucy Stone Blackwoll talks
plainly to the ladies. Sho sajs "tho
waste of time, tho waste of strength
and tho waste of health which women
accept on account of fashion is appall
ing. The shoes of women have pegs
for heels, half way under the foot, on
which they walk with a tottering, hob
bling gait, like Chinese women. Frills,
fringes, cords, straps, buttons, pull
backs and flounces, supposed to be or
namental, but which havo no other use,
burden and deform oven our young girls.
If the rising generation is to be healthy,
there must be a return to the simpler as
well as more becoming styles. We need
artists who canMevise simple and beau
tiful drosses, which shall secure to tho
wearer tho free and untrammeled use of
the whole body."
Il'-allhr ('lnk.
A correspondent in Scotland writes :
Wo Were greeted by really cold weather
in Scotland, and wore our winter flan
nels and overcoats with great comfort.
The peojilo seemed to retain their
winter toggery all the time, for I saw
few stores anywhere for the sale of light
fleeces pv-rtaining to the summer months.
The belles of the peninsula wore hats of
brigandish pattern, eomj>osed of black
velvet piled high upon tho head and
hiding the "bang "in front. I find the
proverbial beauty of American women
verified. If yon are a traveler you may
here and there find really handsome na
tive women, Scotch, or English, or Irish,
maybe; but, if it were America, it would
be in ten times as often. In this Ido
not speak of any provincial or national
type (which might bo a matter of con
troversy), bnt in the legitimate classic
sense, of mere comeliness of outline.
In this sense I suppose there are more
American beauties than English beauties
on the soil of this islmdat this moment.
But in color the English infinitely eur
pass u.. Never before did I behold faces
so full of s healthy pink. On the little
Loch Lomond steamer, shadowed by the
heights of Ben Lomond and tho crags
of Üboderick Dim, in house doors,
where we catch fleeting glimp>es, on the
railway trains, in the fashionable drives
of Hyde park, and in the humble skip
pers called "steamboats," on the
Thames—everywhere they carry at least
the colors of loveliness.
Krwo and \mr far Um r.
A lmrber shop at Jackson, Mich., has
four girl apprentices.
Marian Borland, tho novelist, is the
wife of a doctor of divinity.
The late czar was the first sovereign
nnder whom women wrro freely allowed
to practice medicine in Europe.
Three Newport (11. I.) belles, now
married, were once known in society
as "Battle," "Murder," and "Sndden
Death " —their names indicating their
style of conquest.
The Princess Bismarck, who has
homes and carrisgfs enough for a regi
ment, took a fancy to drive in the streets
of Berlin in a" growler" the other day,
and left her diamond brooch in it.
There is a twelve-year-old girl in
Itowan county, X. C , that is four feet
eight inches high, and measures four
feet four inches around the waist, and
four feet two inches serosa tho shoul
ders.
A New York bachelor makes the per
tinent and rather novel suggestion that
a number of thrifty women might put
themselves in tho way of a fortune by
opening a shop for mending men's
clothing, sewing on buttons, etc.
One of the boats on Chatanqua lake,
is piloted by s handsome woman. It is
said that she never fails to excite the
admiration of the boys as she skillfnlly
guides the craft through the tortuous
Jamestown inlot. Gmtra AdmrtUcr.
It is stated that an Albany shoe fac
tory received a diagram of a girl's foot
from Sandusky, Ohio. The girl placed
her bare foot upon a sheet of paper, and
a pencil-mark was drawn close around
the outline. This foot, as shown by the
diagram, is exactly seventeen inches
long, 7 3-8 inches wide at the widest
part, and conld take a No. 20 boot,
though a No. would bo juat the
thing. The ball of the foot is nineteen
inches around, instep 18 1-2 inches, and
the heel measures twenty-two inches.
The afikle measures 10 1-2 inches.
This imwense pedal adorns the person
of Miss Mary Wells, of Sandusky, Ohio,
whose weight is 100 pounds, and she is
bnt seventeen years old. The diagram
was sent to the manufacturer as a curi
osity.
l a .lataa \acr.
Small velvet mantillas will ba worn
this fall.
Oorded atripea are among the coming
noveltiea in ailka.
Shirred gatherings are mneh used
when the fabrics are fine and supple.
Stamped satins iu varied designs are
among the early autumn importations.
Copper-red and yellow-green with a
tinsel thread or two make up one rather
showy combination for the autumn.
Black crocheted trimmings, both fiat,
designs and cords, will he much won.
next winter. The cord* are almost a*
big ax cables.
Black relvet bracelets fastened by
tiny buckles of old French paste are
again fashionably worn with delicate
evening dresses.
Plaid velvets in Madras colors appear
in tho autumn trimmings. They are
to bo used but sparingly, and employed
either on black or dark dresses.
! The designs of aome of the new bro
-1 eadod gauzes, which come in colors of
I cielblue, corn and sea shell pink, are
| outlined with fine threads of silver or
, gold.
Spanish jewelry, showing large leaves
i and flowers tinted in colors of pale pink
I and emerald green, and studded with
fine sparking gems, is just now in great
I demand.
j Mauve-tinted Spanish lace bonnets
are trimmed with short white ostrich
1 tips, powdered with gold, and f ale pink
rosea held by large gold buckles set
j with pearls.
The Ratin pipings which were intro
| duoed into gimps last year are now used
| to make entire trimmings, being fash
. iooed into numberless designs, and even
into fringes tipped with satin balls.
There is little hope for emancijiation
from l>ea<lH, either upon bonnets or
gowns, next winter. They are coming
again in blue, green, yellow and red, in
solid masses and in shaded colors and
j in jet.
lairge buckles of Irish diamonds are
much used on white and tinted silk
evening dresses. They fasten the bows
| of satin on tho shoulders, and hold the
ncarf drapery in place on the sides of
the drees.
Btripen of brocade on a watered
ground are seen in the newest stuffs 'or
i evening dresses. The pattern of the
brocade may be lilies or sunflowers or
hollyhocks, or the smaller blossoms of
; ordinary brocade.
A great deal of gold thread forms
part of the texture of the new woolen
stuffs. It is introduced in snch away
as to form a stripe which is sometimes
liar? ly perceptible, and sometimes
formß a wide, bright !>ar.
The agrafe, highly polished hooks
and eyes, in steel, gilt or jet are used
to fasten the front of corsages; small
books and eyes underneath, or con
j coaled buttons, are necessary to hold
j the waist in perfect shape.
There is nothing new in the new
! French fashion plates that have come
• over here for the autumn, except that
I the ends of the pelerine cape are passed
under the vest piece wLiob extends
from tbc throat to the lower edge of the
polonaise. This vest is to be of a
striped stuff made up crosswire.
j Four kinds of striped silks are shown
in New York for the autumn, according
to tho Batar. One has watered and
; satin stripes two inches wide in the
aameeolor, s second in contrasting hues,
a third in different shades of the same
| color. The fourth variety has stripes
of black satin and white watered silk.
The Magnitude of the Rag Trade.
Tho Paper World savs that few per
sons have an adequate conception of
the magnitude and importance of the
rag trade in this country. Bags seem
to tie so cheap and insignificant a oom
j modity that it is surprising to learn
that, with the exeeption of the staple
| products of the West, they are more
1 largely transported by the railroads than
i any other article of merchandise. At
J Chicago the Michigan Central railroad
has erected a special building for this
kind of freight, and it is estimated that -" *
not less than one hundred car-loads of
rags leave and enter.Chicago dsily. A
good idea of the extent of the trade was
recently given a Chicago Tribune re
porter by a wholesale rag dealer. Saul
the latter: " There are fifty millions of
! people in the United States, and it is
j safe to presume that every one of them
| discards, on an average, of five pounds
|of clothing every year. That gives us
1250,000,001) pounds of rags to start
! with. Then there are the tailoring
establishments, big and little, whose
cuttings are net much less in quantity
in the aggregate than the cast-off clothes
of the nation at large, while their qual
ity, as rag*, is greatly superior. Then
there are the carpets, and bedding, and
curtains, and other domestic articles of
cloth of some kind, which make up a
goodly bulk iu the course of u year.
These different article* combined make
up another two hundred and fifty rail
j lion pounds of cloth material which has
! boon discarded from use, and which
j eventually finds its way into the rag
man's bale."
Notions About Robin Redbreast,
In many parts of England the robin
j redbreast is regarded aa a sacred bird,
| just aa the dove is in this country.
"Do not steal robins' eggs, or your
legs will be broken P is a saying in
Suffolk, England. A small boy, who
was taken to task for his lmd writing,
said to his teacher:
" A robin died in my hand onoe, and
o it will always shake I"
There are no snch belief* in America,
lint, at the same time, onr robin -which
to much robin—