) Forty. & the hiyrtay of my yeart, when I thought the world KM young, And believed that I was old-at the very gstee of Life- It Beamed in every song the birds of heaven sung H>at i heard the sweet ID j unction : "Go and get to ihee a wife I" And within the breast of youth woke a secret desire; For Love spoke in that carol his first mys terious word, That to-day through ashen years kindles mem ory into fire, Though the l>irds are dead that sang it, and the heart is old that heard. I have watched my youth's blue heavens flush to angry, brooding red, And again the crimson palsied in a dull un pregnant gkom; lam older than some Borrows; I have watched by Pleasure dead ; 1 have seen Hope grow immortal at the threshold of the tomb. Through the years by turns that gave me now curses, now careeses, I have fought a fight with Fortune wherein Love hath had no part; To-day, when peaoe hard-conquered riper years and weary bleesos, Will nay fortieth summer pardon twenty win ters to my heart ? When the epriug-tide verdnre darkens to the smtnmer's deeper glories, And in the thickening foliage doth the year a lifs renew, Will to me the forests whisper once more their wind-learnt etoiies? Will the birds their message bring mo from out the heaven of blue ? Will the wakened world for me sing the old en chanted etng — Touoh the underflow of Jove that, through all the toil and strife, Has only grown the stronger as the years passed lone and loDg ? Shall I learn the will of Heaven is to get for me a wifef The boy's heart yearns for freedom, he walks hand in hand with pleasure ; Hade bright with wino and kisses he sees the face of Life ; He would make the word a pleasure for a love that knows not measure ; But the man seeks Heaven, and finds it in the bosom of his wife. ll. C. Hunntr, in Scribner'i. MRS. RAYNOR'S SYSTEM. Mrs. Raynor's neatness was a proverb in the locality in which she lived; her brother called her " painfally neat," and sometimes thought, when driven almost desperate by her system, that he wonld buy a farm for himself, and never again take any of his brother-in law's land on shares. But once when he spoke abont it while haying ia the field, Aaron seemed to feel so badly that ha promised not to make the oontemplated change for some time, anyhow. "Poor Aaron 1" thought Jack, when he saw how troubled was his brother in-law's faoe; "he is worried at the bare idea that I might go off and leave him to that rigorous system of Emma's. For his sake I'll wait awhile; I owe him some consideration, for if it hadn't been for me he wonld never have met Emma." Aaron Raynor was a very qoiet man, and never had much to say on any sub ject ; it was seldom, indeed, that he gave vent to hia views cn anything bnt the farm work, but be thought a great deal, and if Emma had only been able to read hia thoughts she would have been saddened, perhaps, by their de sponding and regretful tendency. He was, however, a faithful, kind hut-band, who did all in his power to lighten hia wife's burdens, and, had he not lived in an atmosphere of fault-finding, would have been both genial and affectionate. The unhappiness and regret which pervaded the atmosphere of the Raynor home had its rise in the system, that terrible system which was the one law which governed Emma's life. She ate, drank end slept by it, and never guessed that ahe made the lives of her husband and brother unhappy by her strict adherence to it. Every Monday morning the washing was done, rain or shine, and frequently on a rainy day Jack and Aaron coming into the big kitohen, wet and tired, and longing for seats by the Are, fonnd the stove surrounded by chairs, all filled with the damp clothes, from which a steam rose slowly, while across the room were stretched ropes on whioh hung the small pieces. It wasn't very cheering, certainly; bnt Aaron never complained, because it wasn't his way to oomplain about anything; and Emma never took any notioe when Jack found fault. On Tuesday the ironing was done, and well done, too. Every towel, no matter how old and worn, was faithfully smoothed and folded evenly; the shirts were ironed on both sides, and the neighbors often remarked that the linen worn by Jack and Aaron would have done credit to a Chinese laundry. On Wednesday the baking and churn ing were done ; on Thursday the home was thoroughly swept sud cleaned from garret to oellar ; on Friday the mending and little jobs were scrupulously at tended to, and Saturday was devoted to baking and cleaning generally. Deli cictua bread, oake and pies came forth from the oapaoions oven to be stored away on the pantry shelves, and the kitohen and hali floors were made marveloiisly white and clean bj vigor ous rooming. No matter what happened, the system went on as usual—nothing whatever Was allowed to interfere with that. Aaron never thought of suoh a thing as coming into the house without first removing his boots in the little entry by the kitchen door and putting on his slippers which were always in readiness in a neat bag ; and ho sub mitted to his wife's rale of retiring preoisely at 9 o'clock without a single word of rebellion. If Jack, in his careless indifference, sometimes crossed the white kitchen floor in his muddy boots, his sister, much to his annoyanoe, followed close behind him with a oloth in her hand end carefully wiped up his traoks, with an expression upon her face which spoke volumes, and distressed him more than a good round soolding would have done. Emma was unaware that her system was rapidly destroying her good looks. She had been a pretty, pleasant girl in the days when Aaron had courted her ; a little prim and precise perhaps, but not given to lectures on neitnees and order. She lived with two maiden aunts, who had t:tken pains with her bringing up, and thoroughly imbued her with their system of housekeeping. Mrs. Raynor would not have a ser vant, for servants were so "slack and disorderly," and she preferred to see after her household affairs herself, un conscious that her voioe was from much fault-finding beooming a fretful, queru lous whine ; that lines were marring the beauty of her white forehead, and crow's feet gathering around her eyes ; that her energy and elasticity were less with every day, and that she was dete riorating both physically and intellect ually. "If I ever marry," said Jcck, one evening, suddenly dropping on the floor the newspaper he had been read ing by the center table, " I shall insist upon my wife's keeping a stout girl to help her. You don't seem to be aware of it, Emma, but you are working your. self into the grave." Mrs. Raynor rose from her seat to pick up the newspaper, folded it neatly and laid it on the table. Then she took up her mending again, saying as she did so: " I could not endure a hired girl in the house, Jack. They are all, so slovenly and neglectful. Mary never could remember to rub off the kettle in the morning when she filled it; Bridget always forgot to hang up the broom, and Hannah used to upset things over the stove. I tried all three thoroughly, and decided never to have another girl." "Well, those are only minor evils when compared to you becoming a fret ful invalid or dying of overwork. Brooms are cheap, and what did it mat ter even if the kettle did happen to be a trifle dusty occasionally?" "Jack?" Emma's tone was one of horrified disapproval. "It's the prin ciple of the thing more than all else. I never could find a girl with any system about her." Jack smiled grimly. " And I will say this in my own praise," pursued Emma, " nobody could gather a teacpoonfnl of dust in my house after I had swept it, if they searched from garret to cellar." " True; it would be a waste of time to try," said Jack. Emma paid no attention to her broth er's saroastic tone, but said: " If you ever do marry, I hope your wife will be orderly and neat. You have no system about yon, and if she is no better I pity the house you live in— it will alwayß be at sixes and sevens." " I woul rather it should look like a pig-sty tbau that Fan—my wife—should overwork herself as you do in keeping it clean and neat. Aaron, you really ought to put a stop to Emma's perpetu ally trifling with her health and strength." Jack had expected only a smile and a sigh from his brother-in-law, but to his great surprise, Aaron spoke. "I've talked to her about it often," be said; "but it will be neoessary for her to have a severe lesson before she will learn oommon sense. I made up my mind a year ago that I would say no more to her on the subject." "Common sense!" said Emma; "I don't understand you. Would you have me sit with my hands in my lap and see the dirt rot the floors through and the stove go to pieces with rust ?" "No, but I would have you rest whe never you are tired. I would not have you polishthestovoevery Wednes day and Saturday, no matter how much else there ia to at'end to; and mop the kitchen and hall fl >ors at regular inter vals, even if suffering under a severe cold, which is liable'to be inoreased by any imprudence." " Why, Aaron, I never had a severe illness in my life I' " There is no surety that you never will have one, Emma." "No, bat I'm well enough always. I've often felt under the weather, of oourae, but I have always managed to work it off. There isn't a lazy bone in my body." "If you were taken siok the house would ba handed over to the tender mercies of a servant. That fact, if no other, should make yon prudent and careful of your health," said Jack. "And another thing; when we oome in at night you are tired out, and de pressed, and often fretful. Now, if you saved your strength you would feel bright and cheerful in the evening. WomeD who work as you do wear oui before they reach middle ago, or else go insane. And it makes such a difference to a man whether his wife is glum and cross or—" "It seems to me,"interrupted Emma, "that Jack has a great deal to say late ly abont wives. I hope he won't bring home one of those Hopson girls and ask me to weloome her." " And why not ?" asked Jack, with a sudden rush of blood to his face. " Tour eyes ought to tell why not," answered Emma. "Their house is forever littered up with all sorts of trash. Books, newspapers, birds and plants scattered all around the best parlor, ami no attempt to systematizs the work." " The family is large," said Jack, " and of course the girls can't keep things in such order as you do. But they are all amiable and full of fun— it's a treat to go there." " Less fun and more work would be better for the house," said Emma. "I don't mean to say that I ever saw soiled enrtainn there or rusty knives, but there seems to be no system about the work. Now, I should have eaoh girl perform certain duties on certain days—" "In short make herself into a patent machine to go by regular windings," interrupted Jack. "Perhaps, Emma, it is as well to tell you now as any time that I am engaged to Fannie Hopson, and we are to be married in May." "Jack 1" It was all Emma could say, so shooked was she at this piece of news. "Of course you pity me from the bottom of your heart," said Jack, "but no machine woman for met I have enough of systems, and I should hate Fannie if she followed me around to wipe up the tracks I made on the kitohen floor, or made a point of wash ing the windows at a certain hour on certain days of the week." With this parting shot Jack walked out of the room slamming the door behind him. The first thing Emma did when the door closed, was to set Jaok's chair in its own particular plaoe against the wall, the next to remark to her husband that she hoped Providenoe would inter pose to save Jack from the certain misery which would be the result of a marriage with a girl who had no system about her work. One Monday morning Aaron rose as usual at daybreak and went out to at tend to the chores. He left his wife asleep, as he supposed, and was glad that she she uld have the rest, for she had complained of a severe headache the night before. He expected, how ever, to find her at work iu the kitoheu when he came in with the milk; but she was not there and no preparation had been made for breakfast Surprised and alarmed he went upstairs to the bedroom. "Are you sick, Emma?" he asked, going to the bedside. She turned restlessly on her pillow, an anxious expression on her face. 1 -Don't throw away those soapsuds," she said. " I want them to mop the floor when I get these olothes out." Even in her delirium she knew the day of the week, and washed as usual. But the washings were done without her for many weeks to oome. It was Fannie Hopson who took charge of the house, claiming it as her privilege to do so, and Jaok and Aaron were very glad to have her instead of an ignorant domestio. It is to be feared that the stove was not polished quite so often as it had been under Emma's reign, and the kitchen floor was not quite so white, but Jack and Aarcn were made thor onghly comfortable every way. At last Mrs. Baynor was pronounoed out of danger, but it was long before she was well. There had to be months of weary convalescence more trying than her dangerous illness had been ; days when she could not hear a door closed without pain, and hour upon hour when she wept over the slightest jar to her quiet She had ample time to review her past, and recall to mind its mistakes and follies; more time than she needed to become convinced that she had acted without wisdom or dis cretion ; time to think of the wreck she had beoome through carrying out the system she had so thoroughly believed in; time to resolve to be a different woman and a better wife should she ever regain her health. She learned to love Fannie, who in May had quietly married Jaok, and con tinued her duties a if nothing hid oc curred, and bad long talks with her young sister in-law to whom she con fl led her most secret thoughts. In midsummer Jaok and Fannie moved to a home of their own, and again Emm t took in her hands the reigns of honsehold government. But she had at last learned a lesson. Her long and expensive illness had taught her that ■he could not trifle with her health M she had done, and muob thought during her convalescence had oonvinoed her that she had no right to trifle with her husband's happiness either. Many things were now neglected, the per formance of which had onoe been con sidered a sacred duty, and the servant, whom Aaron had hired to holp in the onse was not dismissed for allowing the dnst to gather occasionally on the kitchen mantel, or scolded for inatten tion to the rain marks on the window panes. In short (ho on the farm became truly a home to Aaron, and happiness reigned where onoe discontent had been king. No further lectures were needed from Jack, for Mrs. Raynor's system had taken wings to itself and flown away. Sardines. Sardines are little fishes preserved in oil. So mnch everybody knows, but few of the multitude who eat them know even whence they oome. The sardine is a little fellow of the herring family, taking his name from the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean. The best preserved specimens of him come from the French coast, not in the Medi terranean, bnt north from Spain to the English channel. Abont April 1 the old-fashioned smacks, manned by fonr men and a boy, begin work, and after May 1 the flsh move northward, increasing in size and giving its torn to eaoh station along the west coast. The process of putting up the fish is simple. After sorting they are put in baskets of twined wire and oooked in oaldrons of boiling oil; then they are packed " as tight as a sardine" in their little boxes, hot oil is poured over them, and the sealing, after oarefnl expulsion of air, oompietee the work. The near ness of the faotory to the plaoe where the "oatch" is, and the quality of the oil used, determine the quality of the flsh. If they must be oarried far before boiling, packing in salt is necessary, which toughens the flesh and gives tho tiny bones more con sistency and resistance than is agreeable to the eater. If the oil used is good olive, all very well; but if a cheap trade is catered for, or if the packer is greedy, he may use "arachidi" or peanut oil, or the cil expressed from ootten-seed, this disagreeable stuff being more or less sold as linseed-oil for pain's, and being largely used as a substitute for, or adulterator of, the much dearer olive. The eity of Bordeaux has a dozen large firms in the sar dine trade, and these support the great factories. In 1879, a year of remark able abundance for thi i fishery, a single boat not uncommonly brought in 25,000 to 80,000 sardines in a day, at from thirty to forty oents per 1,000 ; iu that year 600.000 cases, containing 100 " quarter-boxes," were produced, an l a part of this is still held in stock, being deemed of better quality than that of subsequent years. In 1880 and 1881 the packing was 450,000 and 350,000 cases of 100 qnarter-bnxes respectively, estimated as worth S3 per case. A savor e winter is always followed by a poor sea son, and a good season is therefore ex pected to follow the mild winter lately ended. Packers are thought to have been losing money of late years, the ost of the flsh having been high, although the market prioes of the oured flsh have deolined, in consequence, it is said of the superior quality of canned lobster and salmon from this country i which is becoming a favorite food ia Europe. In 1881 Bourdeaux sent to the United States sardines to the value of 8489,429, against 8676.356 in 1880. "1 nmUm ral Logan's Daughter." Mrs. Paymaster Tucker, nee Logan, was in the members 1 gallery one day, viewing the Senate proceedings, while directly in front of her sat two ladies, one evidently a Washingtonian and the other a stranger. The native was tak ing nnnsaal pains to make herself agree able, and as Mrs. Tucker was about to sit down said to her friend: "There, yon see that large man sit ting in the oenter of the chamber, with the jet black hair and large mustaoher" " Yes." " Well that is General Logan, of Illi nois. It isn't generally known, but he is half Indian." At this point Mrs. Tuoker oontd con tain herself no longer. So gently tap ping the lady on the shoulder, she said: " Excuse me, madame, bat you are mistaken when you say that Senator Logan is half Indian.'' " Well, I guess I ought to know," warmly responded the stranger; " I have lived in Washington all iny life, and the fact of his Indian blood has never been questioned before." " I think I ought to know something about the matter, too," quietly answered Mr 4. Tuoker. "I am General Logan's daughter." As Dundreary says, " The conversation is ended;" and with a let go-my-hair look at Mrs. Tuoker the stranger and her companion flounced oat of the gallery.— WaeMn/to* Letter The marine faaua ui tbe coral region of South Florida ia said to be a West Indian colony, engrafted on the North Amerioau fanna of the eaat and wet) ooasta of the peninanla. TOPICS OF THE DAT. There are in use in the United State* alone 200,000 telephones and transmit ters. New York, including Brooklyn, Jersey City and suburbs, has some 4 000 subscribers; Chicago and suburbs, 8,600; Cincinnati, 8,500; Philadelphia, 1,800; Albany, 1,200; Buffalo, 1,150; Balti more, 1,000; Louisville, 1,000; Milwau kee, 700; Lowell, 734; Springfield and Holyoke, 850. Portland, Me., has more subscribers as to population than any other oity in the world, having a tele phone to every fifty-cne persons; Springfield comes next, with one to each sixty-two person. The principa ci'ias of Europe have exohanges, and its progress has been retarded by the government teles raph monopoly. Lon don has bat 1,600. From the gaps left by the two masses of rook which last year fell from the Ruikopf upon the Swiss village of Elm it is estimated that they formed only a hundredth part of the whole mass of the impending earth slip. A Geneva correspondent writes that the final ca tastrophe oannoi be long delayed, bnt that neither the preoise timo nor the direotion of the inevitable fall can be foretold. Much depends npon the weather during the next few months. Meanwhile, although the people of Elm watoh the mountain with extreme solio itude and are always ready for tempo rary flight, they show no disposition to leave their homes permanently. A new oourse has been made for the Sernf, into which so muoh rubbish fell last year, and roads have been opened over the debris to the meadows and moun tain pastures that lie beyond it. Snow plows have been brought into requisi tion to push the rubbish aside—where it is not too deep—and lay bare the cul tivated ground underneath; and new barns and shippens are being built to replaoe those that were destroyed. Some idea of the rapid growth of the coffee trade of the world may be obtained from the fact that the total prodaotion, which was 675,000,000 poinds in 1859, has now risen to 1,300,- 000,000 pounds, or nearly doubled. In Europe alone the consumption of coffee is said to hare increased 240,- 00,000 pounds in the single year of 1879. As for the producing oountries, it seems that Brazil now holds the first place with a total of 560 000,000 pounds against 330,000,000 in 1870. The eman cipation of the slaves is, however, expected to lead to a falling off in the crop, unless the Ohinamen and coolies imported from Asia shonld prove un expectedly well suited for the work of cultivation Next on the list oome the Dutoh Indan possessions, which export about 15),000,000 pounds, the British East Indies, now exporting over 140,. 000,000, and Venezuela, producing about 100,000,000. On the other hand the Antilles Islands have long been declining in the scale. Jamaica does not supply half as much coffee as in 1805. Martinique has fallen still more entirely out of the raoe, and the Re' union coffee, which was onoe highly esteemed, and is si ill declared to be of exaellent quality, finds no longer any market iu Europe owing to the unfash ionable bitterness of its taste. In an artiole on the comparative growth of nations, the New York Tri bune remarks: About 800,000 inhabi tants have been added to the population of this oonntry during the past year by emigration, and 1,470,000 sinoe the last oensns was taken. During the last de cade the increase was 2 812.190 by emi gration, leaving 8 785,222 for the in crease by excess of births over deaths. More than half as many emigrants as were received during the whole of that decade have arrived within the two fis cal years whioh ended last Friday, and the popnlation of tbe United States mast now be about 53,800,000. Recent enumerations of popnlatioa in Great Britain, France and Italy enable us to contrast the growth of this with other nations. In ten years Great Brit ain has gained in popnlation 3,400, 000; in two years ihe United States has gained aboat 3 700,000. In ten years France gained 1.200,000, having lost tc Germany a population of about 1,600,- 000, or about 2,600,000 from other causes, so that tbe joint inoreasu of both Gjrmany and France, with 77,000,<>0C of ouople tei. years ago, has been less than one ha I ■ greater in ten years than that of the United States has been in the two v.-ars just ended. Austria gained from 1869 to 1880 only one 1,981,000 inhabitants, and Italy from 1871 to 1881 only 1,651,000, so that their joint inorease in ten years was less than that if the Uoited States has been in two years. Europe has been disturbed by wars, it is true. Bat this oonntry was also retarded in growth by a great oivii war daring the previoa# de cade. Looking book three decades whioh inolnde two of general peace and prosperity for each country, we find thai the United Statee has more than doubled in popnlation, while not one of the European nations baa inoreaaed as mnoh as thirty per eent in thirty years. Boee Leaf. Lsaf, Bos* lsaf, ROM Leaf, w* saZM Tor aha was, oh t so dainly-awMt sad bins som-ltke and fair I The flash of morning In her faeo, and la hsV eyes the evening; The red of roses In ber lips, Uw rammer |fl| her hair. Boss Leaf I Boss Leaf I Oar teoderest swv resses ' Were never half so tender ae her touches la reply; The fondlings of the fairy palate and pinky velvet fingers. The clinging of the dimpled arms, the illumined eye I (tone Leaf I Rose Leaf I The very aire at heaven, i. They loved her, and earns down to her, sad caught her in delight, And far away, aoroas a day of wailing antoma weather, She glimmered, wavered, swooned away, aafl drifted out of eight. —Jamts VT. Itiify, <* ffarpw't Bluer. PUNGENT PARAGRAPHS. When a doctor oures you for nothing he is one of nature's no-bill-men. Tho circus performer is the aesthete of the period now, for he is in tenia most of the time. The jokes of the eireue elown ritual be made np of kind words. For, yon know, "kind words never din" Even if a woman is afraid of a Jane bug, and oan't throw a stone as straight as a man, she oan pack more things in a trunk and chase a han farther than any man in existenoe. "Louise, dear, don't let the men octree too near you when yon ere courting." "Oh, no, mamma; when Charles is hem we have a chair between as all the time." Mamma thinks the answer wn rather ambiguous. "Dm't you think I have a good faee for the stage 7" asked a young lady with histrionio aspirations, "I don't know about the stage," replied her gallant companion, "but yon have a lovely faee for a 'bus." "Won't yon please play ua some* thing, Miss HammerandbangF' asked Fogg. "I should like to, ever ae mnoh," she said, looking at her watoh* "but really I have no time." "So I have heard," said Fogg, "but we will overlook that, yon know." The prize in-every-package tea stores are at present the snbjeot of a general crusade. When a man buys a fifty oenl package of tea expecting to get a five dollar prize, and takes it to the wife wl his bosom who opens it and finds therein a pewter spoon, he feels a yearning de sire to go ont under the silent stars, bj the each fenoe, and kick Limself. GOADED TO DWFEmATIO*. When fells the soulful mooalisew, Upon the back-yard fence, And tuneful feline chorister* Their serenade commence, The suffering esthetic, Bis uttornese forgot, Hurle madly through the midnight ak His too-too sunflower pot. "A youth to fortune and to fame un known" sent Damas the mannseript of * a new play, asking the great dramatist to become his eolaborer. Damas wag for a moment petrified, then seiaed his pen and replied: " How dare yon, air, propose to yoke together a hone and ng ass?" The author, by return of post: " How dare yon. sir, call me a horse V Damas, by next mail: "Bend me yon! play, my yonng friend," It was a youth ot modest purse Baid soft unto a maid: "Which would you rather taekl# nexh loe cream or lemonade V Ac rose tne mat ten's rosy cheek Fast flits a winning smile; " I'll order some of both," ahe said. Heaven help the young man'e pile. CLIPPINGS FOR THE CUKRIOCS. The thread which forms ttfe ooooon of ihe silk-worm is eleven miles long. Crabs possess oomponnd eyes born* at the extremities of highly movable stalks. The mean elevation of Colorado is higher than that of any other State ot Territory. A oatalpa tree large enough for font railroad ties can bo grown from seed in twenty years. A Japan etc fish, the ohaetodon, shoots flies wi'h unerring aim by meana of • drop of water blown from its beak. From the recent census in China it is estimated that the population of that oonntry is not maoh over 230,000,000. , Cases have been known where ail kit one of a starfish's arms have been re moved, and all the destroyed parts grew again. Assuming the average length of man-- kind to be a little under four feet, th bodies of all mankind, living and dead, placed end to end, would jut make* bridge from the earth to the snn. An ingenious S'.rasburg dentist lately extracted a molar, and finding it sound with the exoeption of the joints of th* roots, he sawed them off. filled the cavity wi'h gold, an