Resignation.
Beneath the sheltering fern full long ago
The violet lay faded,
And by the lireok-mnrgo now the asters glow,
By flaine-lenfed maples (haded ;
Withered the grass and flowers, fruit fallen,
branches bare—
But who will care ?
e'
From theie dark clouds, this dreary woodland
A scene,
With heedless haste receding,
Toward skies that ever einite, bowers ever
green,
The birds their flight are speeding;
Only the rook's harsh cry sounds on Uio
shivering air—
J , But who wilt care ?
Where joyous youth once loved and dreamed,
nnd nyo
Home high ambition cherished.
There lie but sadness nnd despair to-day,
And hopes forever perished;
Fires now withiu the heart leave only ashes
there—
But who will cure ?
Friends fail—a fieklo throng—and plutno
their flight
Toward fortune's happier greeting :
Their flattering tones are still, a gruesome
sprito
Alone is aye repeating
Despair, despair, despair! nnd yet again
deapnir !
But who will care ?
Who care ? Not I, forsooth'. Beside the
brook
A snowy shroud is falling;
Cpon the leafless hough th' uncanny rook
Censeth his dreary calling;
And weary hearts oblivion's peace and rest
shall share;
Then who will care ?
W. F. Jo'ixsoju
HALF A LOAF. •
I
•"Half a loaf is better than no
bread,' Charlie.'"
Little Mabel Castleton said this'
wistfully, her eyes, as she spoke, wan
dering to the cradle, where two curly
heads were lying.
"But when one has had the whole loaf.
May, one does not exactly relish the j
half rations you mention," said Charlie 1
moodily. But his eyes followed his 1
wife's to the cosy nest of the twin 1
babies.
"It is a bad time of year-to be out \
of a situation," said Mabel, after a long I
silence, "and many of whom we know '
are idle. It would not be very easy to
find employment now."
"You think 1 had better remain with
Mr. Milllin."
"I do. Tell meexactly what he said
to you."
"The substance of what he said was
simply this : Business is so very dull
that he is obliged to curtail his ex
penses, and he must discharge some of
his clerks. 1 have been with him fur
ten years, and he was pleased to say I
am very useful to him, and he is very
y.n willing topart with me. But heran
give me but half my present salary,
though he promises to raise it when
business prospects brighten. I don't
know what to do. AVe are none too
rich at my present salary."
"Yet we've saved something each
month. Besides, dear, we have not
tried to be economical There are many
ways in which I could save."
"And make a perfect slave of your
self." #
"Not a hit of it I have plenty of
leisure time now that May and Bella
•an arouse each other. Come, Charlie,
accept Mr Mifflin's offer. You may
hear of something better, even if you
remain there; 1 ut don't throw your
self out of a situation in the dead of
winter, for my sak* and the children s."
The last argument conquered Char
lie knew too well that it would be al
most useless tolook for a new situation
for the whole town was echoing Mr
Mifflin's cry of hard times. The small
nest egg in the bank would soon melt
away when it became the sole support
of four, and so. kissing Maliel, he
J) promised to follow her advice But it
™ cost his pride a sore wrench.
He bad entered the service of his
present employe' at seventeen, and
slowly, steadily gaining favor by dint
of fai til folly performing every duty, he
had wirn his way to the desk of hpad
clerk.' Not natil he had acquired this
r' position and the handsome salary
accompanying it would he ask Mabel
to become his wife, furnishing a pretty
cottage home from his savings, and
giving her a thoroughly comfortable
. income for housekeeping expenses. IB
was not extravagant, but it pleased him
to see his wife w ell dressed, to give her
an efficient servant, to have his twin
girls ever presentable, his table well
appointed. All this had been easy
enough upon his salary, and there had
been something added for three years
to the little bank fund.
But to do all this upon half the pres
ent income was simply Inipossil '*.
4 House rent must lie paid, and the sum
remaining each month would have to
be carefully calculated to meet all the
expenses, leaving but little for pleasure
or extravagance of dress.
"Then what would Will say?"
Will Castleton was Charlie's cousin,
who had ls-en his life-long companion.
Together they left the school room
for a business jaisition, Will entering
the grain store of Harvey A Russell at
the same time Charlie hml takes the
place in Mr. Mifflin's dry goods store.
Shoulder to shoulder the young men
had worked their way, till this financial
crisis bad brought all business men into
temporary difficulties of greater or less
magnitude.
Will had expressed the warmest In.
dignation at the proposal made his
cousin, strongly advising him to throw
up his situation and "see how old Milllin
would get along without him," and
Charlie, before seeing Mabel, was quite
ready to follow his advice.
He knew Will would think him men
spirited to remain upon half salary
and yet Mabel was right. Half a loaf
is better than no bread.
And while Charlie Cast let on was
thus weighing the pros and cons of his
decision, Mr. Mitllin was listening to
the counsel of his old friend and chum,
the senior partner of the lirm that had
been Gardner A. Milllin. and who,
though he had retired years before, was
still the friend and frequent adviser of
his former partner.
"It is a mistake, Milllin," he said.
"You had better send young Castletor.
about his business and engage an en
tirely new book-keepes. You will find
that half pay means half service, mark
my word."
"Hut I might search C froin^
end to end and not Und a clerk compe
tent to take his plact."
"Th'-a pay -.alary."
"I cRT.n. t do it unless 1 reduce the
in.i:.uv i ot salesmen, an 1 1 am short.
Ihan.icd now. There is but one way to
keep my head above water. You see
Clark's failure involves me very heavily
and—"
And the worried man of busines.
entered into explanations of his difli
culties not necessary to repeat here.
It toiielied Charlie Castleton deeply
when entering the counting house to
announce his determination to remain
in his old position, to see the face of
his employer brighten. Ami as Charlie
spoke the large eyes grew brighter and
he smiled pleasantly as he said :
"Thank you. Cherlie. It would have
caused me serious embarrassment to
lose you, and I am heartily glad you
will stay. 1 trust you will not longl>e
obliged to take a small salary, but cir
cumstances compel me to economize.'*
"You have been a kind employer to
me for ten y rs," replied Charlie, "and
if 1 am really of any more value to you
than another would be in my place, I
will not desert you."
And looking into the careworn face
that trouble was marking more deeply
than age. Charlie rcHovled to serve Mr.
Milllin more faithfully in his perplexi
ties than in his more prosperous days.
It w as not long before the old gen
tleman felt the sympathy of his young
clerk, anil looked to him as he never
did before for adv ire as well as service.
He admitted hint to confidential rela
tions, explained to him the d* Tu ulties
caused by the failure of other firms,
some heavily indebted to the firm c.f
•loel Milllin, others upon whom he had
depended for goods obtained mion
credit.
Day 1 y day, as the hard, trying win
ter wore away, the two friends grew
faster, and. so far from lessening his
work, Charlie found himself willingly
lifting some of his employer's burdens
upo'i bis own shoulders.
He gave more time to business, and
he was gaining an insight into it of
which an opportunity had never l*en
given him.
And Mabel at home was bravely
taxing her share of the diminished loaf
with a smiling face and a cheerful
heart, as far ;v might Is* she kept
from Charlie a knowhslge of her domes
tic economies, hut some of them wire
apparent.
The woman whose competent aid de
manded high wages was dismissed, and
a half-grown girl engaged to mind the
hahies while Mated cooked and washed
and ironed and sewed, meeting difficul
ties with a courageous heart. She had
never been a drone in the world's hive,
having lieen a busy little dressmaker
tiefore Charlie C'astb t >n won her heart
and took her to preside over his pretty
home.
But for three years of her married
life she had been much petted, and
there were many pleasures to put aside
( many dollars veil weighed before
they were spent.
It was with a heart full of pardon
able triumph that the young couple, at
the end of the year of reduced pay,
found they were still out of debt and
had not touched the nest egg in the
bank.
• You see, Charlie, we made the half
loaf go round." said Mabel, as they
went carefully over the year's expense
book.
"There are nocrumlis," he said, with
j a weary fare.
"Nevermind that; it was better than
Idleness."
"You are right: and there was more
than that. Maliel. i have tieen able to
help Mr. Milllin more than I could have
j done in our old relations to each other.
Hla complexitler made him long for
some one to whom ho could speak con
fldentiully, and when the lee was once
broken he took me fully into his busi
ness confidence. I eould often suggest
away out of difficulty that had not
occurred to him, and even when I .vas
not of actual use to hiin it was a re
lief to pour out his troubles to some
one who was in full sympathy with
him."
"But you have worked very hard,
Charlie. I never saw you-so tired as
you often have been this year, ami
your face is more careworn than it has
ever been.
"Well.it is somo comfort to know
that business prospects are growing
brighter. By closest economy Mr.
Mitllin has managed to meet the obli
gations lie was afraid would ruin him,
and there is a good lookout for the
coming year."
"Will he give you a whole loaf yet,
Charlie?"
"Notyet, I think. Nevermind. We
will not despond yet."
"Despond ! I guess not. lam go
trig to have some of those crumbs you
were speaking of next year. 1 have
learned some valuable lessons in sav
ing."
The second year was certainly not
an c.uy one to Mai el. A wee baby, in
:i in the three-year-old twins,
fc-tpt the mother's hands busy, while
thCTe ;e- no decrease jn the household
work. Many articles of clothing and
housekeeping, too, that lasted \vll one
year, were past service in the second,
and it was not so easy to replace then .
Often Mabel fear* I that the saving
for a "rainy day" must be broken in
upon, but she kept ail such fears shut
up in her own heart, and always had a
bright word of clu-er for tired Charlie
when be came home.
She never told hm that the late
breakfast that she ha t planned to let
ihe liable.* sleep while he ate his early
one, roinpri-cd none of the little tempt
ing dishes of his own meal, hut was
iitterally bread and milk six mornings
out of the seven. She never let him
know that the reason she suggested his
lunch down town, to save the long walk
home, was. really to save the price of
that meal toward the dinner, the dainty
little* parrel he carried never costing
the price of a regular meal for them
ull.
She did not tell him that she was
cutting up lor old dres.se s to clothe the
twin girls, and sewing busily every
leisure moment to keep all the little
ones tidy.
And yet there mine a day in June,
when six months of the second year
we re almost gone, when she j>cnt the
last dollar of the week's money while
the week as half gone. Charlie had
given h* r. hng la'ore, some signed
ehe. k* to meet sileh .111 emergency, but
it was her pride to think that not one
of them had lx-cn presented at the
bank.
she took one from the desk where
they had lain so long and spread it out
Ix'forc her. calculating, with puckers
on her pretty face, how small a sum she
could stretch over the nec - .try ex
penses.
"I hate to l>egin," she said half alond;
"if once we break in ujMin that money
it w ill inelt away like snow Ixtfore the
sun."
There was no alternative but debt,
and Mabel knew that Charlie would
never In* willing to owe any man a
cent while he had a cent with which to
pay hiin. .So, with a great -igh, she
dipped the pen in the ink to fill out tin
blank check, lb fore it tom bed the
paper, however, sin- pati--d. listening.
There was a step in the hall that was
not that of the nurse or her charge*, a
voice ringing out full and clear, calling:
"Mabel! Where are you. May?"
"Here in my room," she answered.
"Oh, Charlie, what is it'?"
For the face at the door was so
radiant that nil care seemed to have
slipped from it forever."
"Good news, May! And vet—per
haps I should feel sorrow, too, only I
did not know him."
"What areyou talking about?"
"Did you read this morning's paper?"
•Yes."
"Did you notice the death of Amos
Gardner?"
"No. Is that the Mr. Gardner who
used to lie Mr. Mifilin's partner before
you went Into the store?"
"Yes ; he has left his whole estate to
Mr. Miifiin except a few legacies. The
store will be closed till after the fu
neral, so we have three days' holiday.
May."
"I am glad you will lie nble to rest!"
"But that is not all. Do you guess
the rest ?"
"You are to have your old salary
again!"
"More than that, Mr. Mifflin took me
to his house this morning and told me
all his plans. He will enlarge his busi
ness and take on all his old salesim-n
who arc willing to come. He has given
me permission to offer a position to
Will Castleton, who has been nearly a
year out of employment because lit
would uot accept your theory of 'half
a loaf batter than no bread.' "
"1 know. Poor Will ! I am afraid
thai Maria hail aw orse year than ours
has been, Charlie."
"Nor is it all, May."
"More good news still?"
"More still ! Mr. Gardner, Mr.
Miffliri says, did mo some Injustice
some time by supposing that I would
proportion my work to the decrease in
my salary. To atone for thiH he has
left me 15.000."
"Oh, Charlie!"
"Hold on, liutc woman; he rdso ad
vised Mr. Miffiln in their very Just
interview to reward me for my faith
ful, disinterested devotion to hiin in
his lata difficulties by taking me as a
partner in the business."
"Charlie, oh, my Charlie ! I must
either laugh or cry," said Mabel, almost
hysterically.
"Laugh, then, by all means. The
new firm of Mifflin A Castleton must
not lie christened by tears, even happy
ones! Hurrah! who says after this
that baifn loaf is no better than no
bread?"
llont-Top Life in New York.
Wb.it do you think of the queer lives
led iy janitors' families? 1 know a
jariito: who has charge of a big btiild
ingdown Broadway who has four little
tots of children, and they don't get
down into the street more- than once a
veek or so. Two of them were born
in th- seventh story of an immmsc
iron building, just under the rrxif. One
of them to my certain knowledge has
never been down in the street at all.
That's a fact. It will be down some
day. It was born only last week.
Where do you think the children's play
ground ia? It is the roof, and a rare,
good yard it is, too, with flowers grow
ing on it, and everything just like a
good, big, paved yard. There is a
high ledge around the f->ur sides, so
there is no d inger of the youngsters'
falling <-ff. Ami there are < lothes-lim-s
there, and tubs standing alxiut, and
clothes-pins lying on the ground
everything so natural you might ea- ily
imagine yourself in sono-Lsly's 1 a< k
yard. The children seldom see any
thing of the world down below; and
their mother hardly ever does, for she
has her hands full taking rare of the
youngster*. There i* a nice secluded
life for you, with no danger of annoy
ance from prying neighbor*. There is
something attractive al*>nt it, too.
Just think of the janitor at dark shut
ting up the whole place and barring
the big iron doors with himself inside.
There he is, with lis* family alxiut him,
and all the world securely locked out.
It is,is g<>"d as fixing in a castle with
the bridge drawn op and the m i' full
of water. But even when the outer
d'>rs are I.x i.e. 1 the janitor* arc not
always shut in from the world. There
is a block of buildings in one of the
principal business centres of the city
all alecut the- ime height Each build
ing has its janitor, and ■ ach janitor has
his family. When the out- r cheers arc
shut and locked and no outsider can by
any possibility make his way in, the
janitor's families U-gin t > visit. The
roof* form their avenue* and Ixuile
vard*. their grand promenade. There
Is something slightly curious alxaut that
way cif fixing, isn't there; having your
nc-ighlxcr dropping in through the r<>f
instead cf entiling through the door?
It is something like the way of living
of the old cave-dweller* in the South
west.—-.Yew York Timn*.
Relative Longeritj in Various Occupa
tions.
An interesting exhibit of the mor
tality in the-d tii-rent walks of life was
furnished by the general rigitor in re
port on the death-rate of the whole
population of England in 1851. From
this it appears that out of eve ry thous
and persons Ix-t ween the- ages of twenty
five and fifty-five. forty died on an
average. Classified according to the
most favorable mortality, and increas
ing downward, we have the following
tables;
n*T/or TO* *****•■ uxor* TH maim
1. Merchants. 7. Miners.
2. Wearer*. 8, T. .lots.
3. Cobblers. 9. linkers.
4. Carpenters. 10. Botchers.
5. Blacksmiths. 11. Liquor Dealers.
fi. Laborers.
The mortality of the eleventh class
is so great that in gcxxl companies they
are only admitted with great caution,
and on short endowment or term
policies.
Mariners, also, are considered poor
risks, as thirty-five per rent, of the
deaths among them nre attributable to
accidents. Among miners twenty-five
per cent, among machinists fifteen per
cent., and among painters, well-diggers
and glaziers ten per rent, die in conse
quence of casualties. The callings of
brewer, typesetter, tinsmith, litho
grapher and stonecutter are also in a
measure detrimental to a prolonged
duration of life.
TOPICS OF THE DAT.
An important decision was rendered
by the Supreme Court in Illinois re
cently, to the effect that States have
the right to regulate rates of freight
on lines within their bounds.
It Is asserted that the results ob
tained at the French Palace of Indus
try in the experiments with electric
light in conservatories were not favor
able. The naked rays were found, as
discovered previously, to be injurious
to plants, and when passed through
glass globes did not appear to afToct
theui. The abbe finds no proof that
nocturnal illumination is beneficial to
| plants.
In reply to a suggestion that raw
! meat should be more generally eaten, a
lea-ling English physician points out
that at least seven diseases are known
to ho communicable from the lower
animals to man, and that eighty per
i cent, of the animals eaten in London
are said to Is* diseased. The unsound
meat cannot he distingui hed hy in
spection, ami cooking is the only safe
guard against infection.
The Marquis Tseng, the new Chinese
minister accredited to France and Fug
land is n-portid to have a fortune of
$ 100,1 ma year, hut lie 1 i \.-h without
ostentation, and his r- v.-nue* are
devoted to the support of his clnn in
the province of Hon-Naun. This obli
gation is imposed on all gri.it families
in China. His salary is regulated h\
the government upon the same scale as
that of the French ambassador at
I'ekin. !!•• has acquired great influence
at the Chinese court f<>r having con
ducted with so much skill the diplo
matic negotiations with Ku ua on the
subject of the territory of Hy.
In Germany, in 1 - -1. a census was
made of the condition of trade*. From
an atcstract published recently cif the
results of this statistical inquiry, it aj>-
pc-ars that women arc- taking a inorc
active part in trades and industries.
Most of the- fcunah- jx-ople are
engaged in the textile* (tranches, in
virtual trades, and in leather and paper
manufa' tures. 'l'hc age of those females
is between twelve and twenty-seven
year-. In all 345.753 female laborers
are engaged in the 93,554 German man
factories, which also give- employment
to 1 .h.'jb/tW men; There is no manu
factory in which female? w rkers ar
not engaged.
A foreign letter says that "thi*
■strange and horrible scenes enacted
nightly in some of the ordinarily fre
quented quarters of Paris would make
one imagine that the most civilized
people of the universe had suddenly
become more savage and law less than
the ku-klux klan of America. It is m-l
an uncommon thing for a lot passen
ger returning home from the theatre to
Is- staid in his pr imena-le I y a human
f-Tin thing fr in an upper wind w and
falling lifeless at his feet. Nor is it
rare to I>c accosted by a group of brig
ands who pinn n tloir M tun behind,
while the a< c umplice rill - his pockets.
Kven in the aristocratic streets it is
dang'-rou. to remain out late at night,
and the police are lx coming less and
less able to compete with the dangerous
organization of thieves who usurp the
pavement.
A strange accident, arising out of a
previous accident, happened m ently in
the Alps of I "pper Savor. The road
between Gicttar and I'lumet skirts a
deep abyss, known in the nrighlcor
hood a* the precipice of Bellavardaz.
Early in the year a man named I.an
sard, while walking along the road,
made a false step, fell down the preci
pice, and was killed. Thereupon, in
accordance with local custom, a wooden
cross was erected on the wayside, in
memory of the defunct and as a warn
ing to passers-by. On Octoler 4 a
gentleman named Ilibollot. a native of
Savoy, but a resident of Turin, was
returning by the same road from Flu
met to Gicttar. accompanied by two
Jesuit school-teachers from Clusaz.
Y\ uen they reached the cross, all stop
pcsl to look at the place where Lansard
lost hi* life, -I can not understand
what Lansard was doing to lose his
footing here/' said Monsieur Ilibollot,
"and still less how he should have
been killed. Why did he not see this
point of rock w hich juts out at the
foot of the cross?" As he spoke these
words, Monsieur llilwllot stepped for
ward, as if to examine the place more
closely, and, lieforn his companions
could raise a hand to help him, over
lalanced himself, and fell headlong
down the precipice.
In a recent sermon the Rev. Dr.
James.M. King, of New York city,
preachel on the subject of "Harmful
Literature." He alluded to a certain
class of newspapers which gave promi
nence to stories of crime and iinmortall
ty, putting startling headlines to them
to attract the attention of their readers.
Then there was the class of vile litera
tare intended especially for boys, book*
which either contain Improbable storie*
of Indian life, or make hero** of the
worst and most depraved characters in
cities. This was a matter which ought
to las fully discussed by the press and
pulpit. There was no <lunger of saying
too much on such a subject; the danger
was in saying too little. If the tender
| mind of youth is bent by the too ]opu
lar Iwiys' weeklies arid looks into chan
nels of vice, who will straighten tho
gnarled limb- and twisted branches of
the tree? lie urged parents and teacher*
of youth to use every influence to coun
teract the effects of the evil. The man,
he said, who places an obscene work in
the hand of your buy* or girls is more
than a thief. !!<• appealed to the young
to seize the opportunities offered them
of reading literature. There was the
right kind of reading in science, history,
literature and poetry. He had no con
demnation for rational fiction.
Owing to the widespread interest
created by the publication of the re
ports of the I'nited States consul at
Buenos .\vres concerning the introduc
tion of ostri'h fanning into the Argen
tine Jteptihlie and its possible introduc
tion into this country, the department
of state bTwnrded instructions to the
American consuls at Cape Town and
Algiers to investigate the subject and
report at length thereupon. The re
mit is a pamphlet, recently issued by
the department, entitled "Ostrich
farming iii the I"nit•- 1 States." This
eon tains full inf rmation << neerning
ostrich farming at the t ape of flood
Hope and Algeria, from the hatching
of the eggs to the export of the feathers,
together witti the i -tiinated exjs'tise of
imjKirting birds into tie I'nited
Mates and the probabililh s of
the experiment's success. In con
nection with the foregoing, it is inter
esting to note that recently a paper on
the culture and propagation of tho
ostrich was pad by Mr. .1. xetcbley,
of London, lx-fore the Farmers' club in
Cooper Institute, X. w York. Mr.
Scetchlev'aid that it was a very easy
matter to raise otn< he-. They arc
very healthy and few di-< i-<-s arc
known toexist among them. The mor
tality aue iigthein p only tin jx-r cent,
and they live to the age of eighty or
one hundred years. The older they
grow the latter they lay and breed. A
full-grown • strich i fr :n four to four
and a half feet in height, but the birds
can extend the la-ak to eleven f< > t above
the ground. The profits derived from
one pair of birds— valued at #l,ooo—
in four v ars The value
of feathers in four wa- # 1 J.t*>e. Each
bird lays from forty t > ninety eggs a
year. Ostriches Iwgin to breed at the
age of six years, and continue to the
age of eighty. The young birds are
Art pirn ked when i\ months of age.
Feathers are worth from f'inO to |7<(o
per jMiund. Six tin Hi ;i dollars' worth
of ostrich feathers are imported from
South Afn< a.
Pontine.
A tired hotisew ife complains that her
work is never done; that her days are
tilled with drudgery ; that even on Sun
day she has no time to rest, for the
children claim her attention ; and that
she is tired and discouraged. Very
likely ; but, my dear madaine, what is
every I * sly *s life but a monotonous
round of duties? Queen Victoria,ln
tensely weary of court ceremonials,
withdraws from the public eye, retires
to Balmoral or Osl>rne to get awav
from the dire drudgery of a queen's
life. Officials of every grade groan
under the irksome monotony of their
duties and take vacations whenever
they can. Employes who can't get
away from their posts make that defect
up by doing as little as possible, and
have an easy time as they go. Such is
life. What we haven't, we want;
what we have, we find unsatisfactory
and full of discounts. Now, what is
the course of wisdom? Is it not to
dwell on the sweet and ignore the hit
ter; to l>e thankful for the good and
resigned to the evil ? A keen observer
of human nature, and one who had
himself tried various forms of life,
I w>th from observation and experience,
said that he was satisfied that day
lalKirers are the very happiest class of
people. Why? Because they are not
tormented l.y aspiration for things he
yond their reach. L*Qtor gives them a
sharp appetite for their simple fare,
and their sleep is sweet. Content reigns
in their hearts, and restless ambitions
do not disturb their peace. They ac
cept without question the lot assigned
them in the universal frame of things,
and are happy in it Somebody must
do the drudgery of the world. Few
can ait idle with folded hands. Life
means work ; let us do it as bravely as
we can.
Six million yards of netting are an
nually used against the raids of the
lively mosquito.