A Living Death.
A recent sensation in Parts was tho
caseof Jean Mistral,who has been forty
two years in tho private lunatic asy
lum of St. Remy, in Provence. lie
was, it is now admitted nil round, of
sound mind when his father, on u doc
tor's certificate and in virtue of the
( law of 1828, locked him up there. His
reason for Incarcerating his son was to
prevent him remarrying a Polish lady
whom, in good faith, lie had married
~ abroad. Tho marriage ceremony on
the petition of the elder Mistral had
ln-en set aside by a French tribunal be
cause there had been insufficient pub
lication and other formalities pre
scribed by the code bad not been ole
served. • Old Mistral was a very weal
thy manufacturer of jet beads. He
wnnted his only son to heap fortune
upon fortune in marrying the heiress
of a Marseilles ship owner. The Polish
lady was very beautiful, of honorable
life, but poor, and she bad been obliged
to turn an enthralling voice to merce
nary account by singing in theatres
and at concerts. Jean Mistral was
taking steps to marry her according to
French law, when his father one day
ran againt him in the high street of
Tarascon, in the year 184<>, and cried
out to a couple of policemen who were
with him to arrest the madman.
The son made a desperate fight for
his liberty, and soldiers were called in.
lie was subjugated and manacled and
sent off to an asylum near Montpelier,
where he still is. The fact that ho re
sisted Infarct pnbtique was taken as
confirmation of the doctor's Ifttre <le
cachet, or certificate, and ho was
treated for raging lunacy. Old Mistral
died soon after. The fortune that he
made in glass trinkets went equally to
the captive at Montpelier and to his
sister, Mine. Bernard. As it was a
great one, the 1! -rnards kept the al
leged madman in durance. His wife
(the Polish woman, who in law was
no wife) died when he had been a
score of years locked up. Her daugh
ter, after an interval of six months,
followed her to the grave. Old Mis
tral had caused the former to be ex
pelled from France on the ground that
she was a bad character, was disturb
ing the peace of a respis-tablo and rich
family, and had no visible means of
existence. Technically she was a vaga
bond, as she was reduced to go from
one small town to another to sing in
cafes. B<>on after she was turned out
of France she gave birth to a daughter
in Switzerland. Mother and child died
'n extreme poverty some years later.
The news of their death threw the
prisoner in the asylum into a state of
frenzy. The fortune inherited by Jean
Mistral from his father has gone on
accumulating at simple and compound
interest and has been very carefully
nursed by the Bernards, who are his
heirs apparent. M. Founder, who has
been exerting himself to get the pris
oner released from the asylum, is his
first cousin. According to an article
in the civil code a rich madman or
irnul woman is not to be confined in a
madhouse, but placed under treatment
at home, and is to be provided with a
domestic establishment corresponding
witli his or her yearly revenue. Mis
tral is an ordinary hoarder at the asy
lum, where h<* lias passed nearly half
a century, and is allowed one man ser
vant, whose business is not to minister
to his comfort, hut to prevent Ids es
caping.
He Got a Nickel.
A hotel guest was standing having
his clothes brushed. Dn finishing lie
handed a five-dollar hill to the hall boy.
He grinm-d from ear to ear. and nearly
broke his hack bowing and thanking
so generous a being. But Ids face fell
so quickly that he had some trouble in
catching it before it reached the lloor,
when the generous being said, in tones
not to be trilled with: "Get it changed!"
He went away and brought liack the
change—five one-dollar hills. Deliber
ately pocketing four, the generous
being handed the one remaining to the
duster. Again a sweeping bow from
the dust-broom, a " Thank you," and
a sudden convulsion as the guest
remarked in solemn tones:
"Get it changed !" Once more lie
4epartsl and brought kick two fifty,
cent pieces. One went into the trav.
eler's pocket, the other into the hall
boy's palm. He smiled, said " Thank
you," and was slipping it into Ids
pocket, when " Get it changed " again
rang into his ears. Two quarters
?amo back with him this time, which
he handed to the guest, who, putting
one in his purse, turned over the other
to the hall-ls>y. This time he was al
lowed to walk off nearly across the
hall, when, as if by an electric shock,
he was brought to a standstill, with
those terrible words, " Get it changed!"
This time two dimes anil a nickel were
deposited in the hand of tho guest, who
put the two dimes In his pocket,
handed the brush-boy a nickel and
walked in to dtoiy,—Detroit Free
f. 1
Snp-Sucker Shooting.
Several of the smaller American
woodpeckers are sap-drinkers; but
only one kind, tho one of which I am
writing, ever peeks holes for the pur
pose of getting at the sap. lie is
named by naturalists Centurus Caro
linns. Ho is a very cunning bird. One
of his habits is to move around, the
bole of a tree just fust enough to keep
nearly hid from you us you walk
around trying to get a good look at
him. This he will continue to do for
a considerable length of time, but
finally getting the tree-trunk fairly be
tween you and him* he takes to his
gay wings and flies in such a line as to
keep hidden from your eyes. Usually
ho says good-bye with a keen squeal as
be starts away.
Down in the mountain valleys of
Northern Georgia I used to amuse my
self with watching the little half
naked negro boys trying to shoot sap
suckers by means of their blow-guns.
.Such a blow-gun as they had is a
straight reed or cane about six feet
long, through the whole length <>f
which a smooth bore is made by
punching out the joints. The arrow
used in this gun is made of a sharp
piece of cane-wood not longer or larger
than a knitting-needle, with a ball <>f
cotton-lint bound on tho end opposite
tho point. The arrow is blown out
of tho gun by the breath from
the shooter's mouth. It flies
with so great force that I have
seen a bird killed at a distance of forty
yards. Sorne of the little negro loys
were very skillful in using the blow
gun and as sly as cats in creeping up
dose to a bird before shooting at it.
Many people in Northern Georgia have
China tree? on their lawns. The
1 terries of these trees intoxicate or
render drowsy the robins which feed
upon them, ami then the poor birds
are killed very easily by these blow-gun
Nimrods; but the sa|>-suekcr never
eats berries of any kind, so lm keeps
solter ami gives his persecutors gr. at
trouble, nearly always outwitting them,
for birds, like people, succeed better ly
keeping clear of everything int..\i
eating.
In our Northern States, when the
winter is very cold and all the niapUs
and ash and hickory tret-s are fror.cn so
that their sap will not flow into our
bird's pots, lie is compelled to depend
upon the cedar trees for food, since
their resinous sap is not affected by the
Cold. Often I have seen him pis-king
away at the gnarled pole of an ever
green when the thermometer's mercury
stood ten degrees below ZTI>, and the
air was fairly blue with winter's breath.
Kven in Georgia it is sometimes so cold
that he chooses the pine tris-s, finding
between their bark and the underlying
wood a sort of diluted turpentine upon
which he feeds. While busily engaged
pe<-king his holes on cold, wimlv davs,
he is not so watchful as in fine
weather. At audi times I have seen a
little negro " blow-gunner" stick
three or four arrows into the soft bark
all around the busy bird before it would
fly, and have been just as much sur
prised at the IKJJT as at the bird; be
cause, if it was strange how the bird
could be so busy as not to notice an
arrow "chucking " into the tree close
by him, it was equally strange how
that little negro could "stand it" to
be out so long in such a cold, raw wind
with nothing on but a shirt ! —Mauri'*
Thompson, in St. Ni'-hola.t.
A flock Which Does >ot Xced to he
Wound.
In .Septemlier last a new perpetual
clock w as put up at the Gare dn Nord.
Brussels, in such a position as to lie
fully exposisl to the influence of wind
and weather, and although it has not
sinee lieen touched it has continued to
keep g,„)d tilil" ever since. The.weight
is kept constantly wound up by a fan
placisl in a chimney. As soon as it
approaches the extreme height of
its course it actuates a break, which
stops the fan; and tho greater
tho tendency of the fan to re
volve so much tho more strongly
does the brake act to prevent it. A
simple pawl arrangement prevents a
down draught from exerting any effect.
There is no necessity for a fire, as the
natural draught of the chimney or
pipe is sufficient; and if the clock is
placed out of doors all that is required
is to place it alwvc a pipe, sixteen or
twenty feet high. The clock is made'
to work for twenty-four hours after
being wound np, so a* to provide for
nny tem|orary stoppage; but by the
addition of a wheel or two R may be
made to go for eight days after cessa
tion of winding. The inventor, M.
Auguste Dardenne, a native of Bel
gium, showed his original modeJ al the
Paris exhibition of 1878, but has since
considerably Improved upon It.
Seventy mills in the South now work
up 200,000 tons of cotton seed, making
7,(XX),000 gallons of oil, worth $28,-
,000,0^
a- I *
A (ieorgla Corn-Shucking.
The farmer who proposes to give a
corn-shucking selects a level spot in j
Ids lot, conveniently near his crib,
rakes away all trasli and sweeps tlio
plaeo clean with a brush broom. The
j corn is then pulled off the stalks,
thrown into wagons, hauled to the lot
and thrown out on the spot selected, (
all in one pile. If it has hgen pre- i
viously " norated " through the neigh
borhood that there is to be plenty to
eat and drink at the corn-shucking, !
ami if the night is auspicious, there
will certainly lie a crowd. Soon after
dark the negroes begin to come j
in,- and before long the place ■
will lie alive with them—men,
women and children. After tin- crowd j
lias gathered and been moderately
warmed up, two " gin'r'ls" are chosen j
from the most famous corn-shuckers on
the ground, and these proceed to divide j
the shockers into two parties, later !
| comers reporting alternately to one j
side or the other, so as to keep the
forces equally divided. The next step,
which is one of great importance, is to
divide the corn-pile. This is done by
laying a fence-rail across the top of
the corn-pile, so that the vertical plane,
passing through the rail, will divido
the pile into two equal portions. Lav
ing the rail is of great import
ance, since upon this depends *fhu
accuracy of the division; it Is occoin
pi-ui.iff with much argument, not to
s f wrangling. The position of tho
rail !%jng determined the two generals
mount the corn-pile and the work be
gins. The necessity fur the "gin'r'ls"!
to occupy the most conspicuous posi
tion accessible from which to cheer
their followers is one reason why they
get upon top of the corn; but there is
another equally important, which is to
keep the rail from being moved, it
lieing no uncommon thing for one side
to change the position of the rail] and
thus throw an undue portion
of the work upon their rul- >
i versaries. The position of "gin'r'l"
in a corn-shuck) r differs from that of
the soldier in that the former is in
greater danger than any of his fol
lowers; for the chancers are that,
should his side seem to l> gaining, one
of their opponents will knock the
leader off the corn-pile and thus cause j
a momentary panic, which is eagerly '
taken ail vantage of. This procoeiling,
however, is considered fair only in
j extreme coses, and not (infrequently
lead* to a general row. If it Is possi
ble, imagine a negro man standing
up on a pile of corn holding
in Ids hand an ear of corn and
j shouting the words of a song below,
and you will have pictured the "corn
gin'r'l." It is a prime rispiisitc that
lie should lie ready in Ids improvisa
tions anil have a go *1 voice, so that he j
may lead in the corn-song. The corn
song is almost always a song with a
chorus, or to use the language of corn
shuekers. the "gin'r'ls give out" anil
the shuekent "drone." These songs
are kept up continuously during the
entire time the work is going on, and
I though extremely simple, yet, wher
sung with fifty pairs of lusty lungs, 1
there are few tilings more stirring.— !
Century yfnyuzitv.
IH-inarck'* Album Verses.
Many a migbtv man, reluctant to !
make ii' of pen and ink, has Ixx-n
overeoine by the smiling importunities
i>l fair autograph-hunters, indexible in
their n-solve to enrich their collec
tions. If rcqnirt speak truth, for once
in away a titled lady has this year
succeeded in getting one page of her
autograph album fillisl by the sib-nt
Moltkc and by another great man,
who. although not an artist, rarely ex
changes Ids gigantic pencil for a pen.
More remarkable still is the fart that
I'rinee Bismarck lias commented upon
Count Moltke'n text, which deals with
the contrasts lietween pretense and
genuineness, truth and falsehood, and
with tlie distinction lietween inner
worth and outer show, so admirably
summarized in tho French proverb,
" Mietix vant etre. que paraltre,"
( Better lie than seem.) Count Moltke's
contribution to the lady's album :
" Hchein xergeht,
Wshrheit bosteht,"
may lie freely rendered thus :
" Bhnm* soon fade away,
Troth endures for aye."
Underneath this couplet are insert lied
the following lines, in Prince Bis
marck's handwriting:
" Ic,h gianbe dam in jener Welt
Die Wahrheit steta den Kieg behaelt |
Doeh mit iter Laege dieeee
Kaempft tumor Marsehail sol but t erg* liens.'
Of wlilch I subjoin a hasty para
phrase:
" I do believe, forsooth.
That is some distant' Happy Land*
The spotless virgin, Truth,
May oierciso supreme oomnmnd.
Bot on our worldly scene,
Where Falsehood and Tteoeptiira reign.
Lies are SO strong, that e'en
Our Marshal flghta with them in vain,"
-DmUmUUm-.
LAIHES' DEPARTMENT.
Iloukrrp!iig.
Anion# the varied employments
now fortunately open to women,
none may ever Hiipirlaiit that of house
keeping. And wnlle it is true that
there are women to whom no amount
of domestic training will ever impart
a genius for it, it is equally true that
nothing fits a woman with such grace.
Thousands have been moved by the
dignity of Lucretiu Mott as she pre
sided over deliberative bodies met to
discuss the cause of the oppressed of
universal peace on earth, good-will to
tnan. Hut the few who were privi
leged to sit at her teat aide have been
the more charmed by a hostess who,
while remembering the woes of the
world, witli her own hands wiped the
silver and china. It is not too much
to say that good housekeeping is a
compound of chemistry, cultivatod
taste, natural, mental and moral phi
nsophy, economy, and that most un
common article, common sense—sea
soned with grace. Then if the true
housekeeper feels all this to be inferior
to her ofllcc as homekeeper, if hers is
the spirit that calls into the house—be
it stately or be it simple—comfort,
trust, ambition, devotion, peace, then
not only may the heart of her husband
trust in her; so may the hearts of
children, servants and guests.—Chi
ciiijo Ad mure.
A lltiMffttrlnn limit!?.
The prize offered for the nio-t beau
tiful woman at the people's festival in
Hilda l'estli. Hungry, created a nation
al sensation and attracted an immense
multitude to witness the competition. 1
ti\i r I Mi women presented themselves
be fore the l>eneh of judges. They were
in.speeted one at a time, ,uid each can- (
didate, as soon as judged, was passed
on to a waiting-room. When the
whole number bad been reviewisl they
were again taken before the judges l
singly, and finally all were placisl te
gethi rin a line. Aft< r < ritical insjMs-.
tion the ten most txautifui ones were -
selected and tlie rot dismissed, anil
then fri>ni this number the two love
liest of all were chosen for the first
and second prizes. Hut this was a work
of dilllrulty, and was not settled to the
satisfaction of all. Tin- victor in the
tournament was Miss Cornelia
a maiden of sixteen, the daughter of
an official in the imperial household.
Her claims to lieauty rest upon a
charming transparent complexion, I
inciting brown eyes, a < small mouth, j
rich dark-brown hair and a form of ;
youthful grace; but her features are
not wholly regular, and the mouth and (
head are not perfect in shajie. Her
pliotograph, taken in a dress that is
ix-ing made for her by the first dress
maker of Hungary, is to l>e sent to all the
illustrated journals of Europe for pub
li eat ion. This competition is said to
have shown the Hungarians that they j
ran boast of every type of female love
liness, and they are taking advantage
of the privilege.
I nthinn
Fans rival sunshades in size.
Moires retain their popularity.
The jacket is tie* rage this fall.
Velvct.-cn is revived for ski.'ts.
Soutache embroidery is the rage.
Chenille fringes will Is- much worn.
Braided costumes will he much worn.
Velveteens are mueli worn in Lon
don.
Variety rules in fashions for every
thing.
Feather trimmings are again in
rogue.
Ficelle lace has lwen introduced into
lingerie.
Pelerines and shoulder caps remain
in Vogue.
There is a revival of plain stuffs for
costumes.
Pokes will be more in vogue this fall
than ever.
Jackets and peliasas are the loading
fall wraps.
Kedlprevails in watering-place toilets
for the fall.
Bonnets are worn tip tilted fur over
the forehead.
Brick-red long-wristed kid gloves
are all the rage.
Sailor hats are the rage at English
watering-places.
Mauve and blue are comlftned in
children's dresses.
White flannel, cashmere and veiling
are the favorite materials for lawn ten
nis costumes.
There Is a tendency to increase the
size of the sleeve alxive the elbow and
in the armliole.
Chenille, satin eord and braids of va
rious widths all play their part in new
dress trimmings.
Entire tabliers of netted chenille ap
pear on imported dresses and among
trimming goods.
Velvet flowers on woolen grounds
n strong contrasting colors appeal
among fall goods,
Flower garniture for wedding and
ball dresses will lie more in demand
this winter than last.
A fashionable London journal urges
l young 1 ailleis to lay aside tlie piano and
take up the violin.
White muslin or lace about the neck
easts reflected lights on the face, thus
clearing the complexion.
Two and three rows of small but
tons fastening the front adorn many
fall jackets and corsages.
Ruckles of all kinds, antique, moil
era, medieval, metallic ;ind jeweled,
will be very fashionable.
Silk jersey cloths come in shades of
white for the corsages of bride-maids'
and other white evening dresses,
A massing of color and a gentle
passing from one tone to another is
more pleasing than violet contrasts.
The richest trimming of the incom
ing season is velvet * bonds embroi
dered in open ill-signs with silk floss.
Darned work plays a conspicuous
part in embroidery and fiarnod work
and outline stitch usually go together.
Jet and metal buttons corne in hand
some improved designs that make
them suitable f• >r the richest costumes.
Elderly ladies will wear black cash
mere costumes trimmi-d with black
laces and brightened wifli nxl accesso
ries.
Standing military linen collars, fast
ened with a gold •or jeweled button,
are first favorites in plain nock lin
gerie.
Navy blue and rich re Is will lie
popular colors for fall wear; but
brown and rifle green will also lie
worn.
Coarse straw hats, white and black,
trimmed with lace and flowers, are
worn for the dose of tlie season in
Saratoga.
Bovs' sailor suits of blue flannel are
trimmed with yellow kid cuffs and
belt, and sometimes a kel waistcoat
appears.
Patent leather shoos are in fashion
for little boys, and foxing of this mate
rial is used with cloth tips for little
girl's button l>oots.
Large figure and flower designs
sparsi-ly scattered over plain self-col
ored grounds are the features of fall
woolens and silks.
PEAKLS OF THOt'liHT.
It costs more to revenge wrongs than
to liear them.
Early and provident fear is the
mother of safety.
Man cannot live exclusively by in.
tclligence and self-love.
The word " impossible" is the moth
er-tongue of little souls.
Youth is in danger until it learns to
look upon debt as furies.
Life, that ever nii-ds forgiveness, has
for its first duty, to forgive.
From tho lowest depth there is a
path to the loftiest height.
The trees that are not most in tho
sun bear tlie sweeli-st fruit.
Every day brings them, and once
gone they are gone forever.
It is less painful to learn in youth
than to |>e ignorant in old age.
We should not measure tlie excellence
of our work by tlie trouble that it has
ciwt us t< produce it.
To pretend to have many good
friends is a sweet illusion of people
who li-lieve that they merit the affec
tion of others.
In youth, grief is a tempest which
makes you ill; in old age it is only a
cold wind, which adds a wrinkle to
your face and one more white lock to
the others.
Our affections are like our teeth;
they make us suffer while they are
coming, after tliev have come and
when we lose them. They are not lew
the smile of our life.
A Curious I*et,
fn respectable native houses in Java
a |>et is made of a curious little crea
ture called the shooting fish. A small
stick is fastened in the reservoir con
taining the fish, projecting some two
fi-et above the level of the water, and
xrhen it is to exhibit a large fly at
other lnsict is lightly fastened on this.
The fish swims round the stick once or
twice to examine the object; then,
rising to the surface, remains for a few
seconds motionless, and suddenly ejects
a few drops of water at its intended
prey, with a noise not unlike that of a
squirt, generally bringing the mark
: down with the first shot. If this fails
! however, he repeats his circuit of ob
, Nervation, pauses again apparently to
i measure his distance, and then dia
j charges at the fly once more. This
curious pet is described as seldom
reaching ten inches in length, and be.
ing of a yellowish color, marked with
dark stripes.
¥
MOKAL AMI RKJJCHOCB.
fmrg\rrnrm.
It In quite easy to .talk BentlmcntallJ
about the beauty.ofhi forgiving
but who find themselves able so tofor*
give one who wrongs thern as t dd
him a favor? An English bishop garf
a line example of this Christian virtu*
when one of his clergy who had abused
him through the newspapers solicited
a favor. The. bishop promptly grantor!
his request. |llis astonished re viler r<V
plied: "My Lord, I must say 1 v*rj
muoh regret the part I have taken
against you. 1 beg your forgiveness."
The bishop promptly forgave his forv
incr enemy, who thenasked: M But how
was It you did not turn your back
upon me? I quite expected it." "Why,"
nobly rejoined the bishop, "you forge*
that I profess myself a Christian." Ha*
the reader an enemy? Let him also
try to melt his enemy in the furnaed
of kindness.— Zion't U'-rald.
MHlglou* New* nnil Voln.
Chicago has 400 ministers and lay
readers.
New York city has sixty Methodist
churches. •
There are thirty-t wo Episcopal news
papers in the United States.
The Hon. Jacob Sleeper has beerf
superintendent of a Methodist Episcc*
paJ Sunday-school in Boston for fifty!
I two consecutive years.
There are thirty-nine Roman Catho*
lie ch'tirthes in Philadelphia, and it Lv
estimated that the Roman Cathulia
population is about 200,000.
Many |M'<ipl- regard religion very
murli as they regard smallpox. They
desire to have it as light as possible*
and are very careful that it does not ;
mark them.
The converts to Christianity fr<un
among the Dakota Indians are gath_
ered into eleven ITesbvtcrian church,*,
. which together form a presbytery.
| eral of the pastors are full-blooded In
' dians.
rv large nunfber of the Japanese stu
dent- sent to America returned to tlo ir
native fountrv Christians, while m>t
one such case h:ts occurred am ug
those sent to Germany, France and
; England.
The Episcopal Clergyman's Insa
rance league in the last thirteen year*
has paid to the widows and
orphans of defeased elergymen, and of
this sum #15,552 was paid during tlio
past year.
During the visit to England of Cot
awayo, the cajitive king of the Zulus, %
former missionary in Zululand j>re
sent,-1 hiin with a handsome Bible
printisl in the Zulu language. He w.ts
much gratified at the gift.
An English journal says that "Mr.
Moody's evangelistic campaign will
not Is- forgotten while Scotland
stands." It regards his work in that
country as one of the greatest events
tn the history of Christianity,
During the past two years sixty-five
ministers of other denominations have
boon ordained deacons or advanced to
the priesthood in the Protestant Epis
| copal ehurrh. Of these lit were Con
gregatinnalists. 11 Presliyterians, 1 a
Lutheran, 2 Second Adventists. 17
Methodists, 12 Baptists, .1 Universal
ists, 1 a Unitarian, 1 a Reformed Epis
copalian, 1 a Moravian and 1 a Hebrew
Rabbi.
Training Tirions Horse*.
A new and very simple method of
I training vicious horses was exhibited
nt West Philadelphia recently, and the
manner in which some of the wild,*t
horses were sulxlued was astonishing.
The first trial was that of a kicking,
or " bucking," mare, which her owner
said had allowed no rider on her luirlc
for a period of at least five years. She
lxvnme tame in aismt as many minutes,
and allow,si herself to l>e ridden als>ug
without a sign of her former wildmw*.
The means bv which the mailt waa
accomplish,si was a piece of light ropo
which was passed around the front of
the jaw of the mare just alwive the
upper teeth, crossed in her mouth,
thence secured Iwck of her neck. It
was claimed that no horse will kiclo
or Jump when thus secured, and that a
hoiw, after receiving the treatment a'
few times, will abandon his vicious
wave forever. A very simple method
was also shown by which a kicking
horse oonld be shod. It consisted in
connecting the animal's head and tail
by means of a rope fastened to the tail
and then to the hit, and then draw n
tightly enough to incline the animal's
head to one side. This, it is churned,
makes it atwolutely impossible for a
horse to kick on the side of the rope.
At the same exhibition a horse which'
for many years Imd Co be ltound on tha
ground to lie shod suffered the black,
smith to operate on him without at
tempting to kick, while secured in the
manner described.
Naturalists say that • single swaN
tow w ill devour <5,000 flies in a day. •*