ITindloss Ruin.
The rain, the desolate rain!
• ceaseless and solium and chill!
Bow it drips on the misty pane,
How it drenches the darkened sill I
0 scene of sorrow and dearth!
I would that the winds awaking
To a fierce and Ktisty birth,
Might vary this dull refrain
Of the rain, the desolate rain.
For the heart of the heavens seems breaking
In tears o'er the fallen earth,
And ngnin, again, again.
We list to the somber strain—
The fnint, cold monotone.
Whose soul is a mystic moan
Of the rain, the mournful rain,
The soft, do (pairing rain.
The rain, the murmuring raiu !
Weary, passionless, slow;
'Tis the rhythm of nettled sorrow
The sobbing of careless woo 1
An 1 all the tragic of life,
The pathos of long ago.
Comes buck on the sad refrain
Of the rain, the dreary rain;
Till the graves in my heart unclose,
And the dead who are buried thoro,
From n solemn nnd weird repose
Awake, ahd with eyes that glaro
And voices that melt in pain
•On the tide of the plaintive rain,
The yearning, homeless rain.
The long, low, whisjiering rain!
—Paul 11. Ilnynr.
SAVED BY A PIGEON.
It was the sweetest little thing yon
ever saw—a wee carrier-pigeon, with
pure white breast, its wings a soft
pearl-grey, and its arching neck gleam
ing with iridescent hues.
A boy had brought it over from Kim
wood that morning in a dainty willow
basket, limil with pink cotton-wood,
and its handle adorned with bows of
1 ink ribbon.
"From Larry, of courser' cried Aunt
Judith, as 1 entered the breakfast
room. "I don't believe earth ever pro
duced so gallant n lover!" she continued
in her teasing way. "I believe he
sends you a present every day. Yes
terday it was a beautiful lioquct of
flowers, the day licforo a box of lmn
bons, and the day before that—well,
let me sec— he came himself! And
what have you now, prav, a turtle
dove?"
"Xo; a carrier-pigeon, and Larry
savs it is a traimsl one, too," 1 replied,
referring to the letter, a dainty billet
which had accompanied the gift.
"Aha! Now wo shall have tender
missives living over our heads, I pre
sume! Away with prosaic postage
stamps, and all that!"
"I wish Larry had sent her a big
bull-dog instead of the bird," said papa,
as he heljxsl himself to the toast.
"Why, papa!" I gasjwd. "How un
poetical!"
"Very useful, my dear. Especially
just now when th'-re are so many
burglars almut."
"I hear Mr. Say re's house has lieen
robbed, and Gulden's jewelry store,
too," said Aunt Judith. "Goutiness
tne, I hope they won't come here!
We're in such a lonely, out-of-the-way
place, too! Thomas!" turning to my
father, "don't you think that you had
better take the spare silver and the
family diamonibi to a more secure
place ?"
"I've been thinking almut that very
thing," said papa. "We shan't need
them till Meg here," turning to me,
with a smile, "becomes Mrs. Lawrence
Carroll. So I might as well take them
down to the bank and lock them up in
the safe."
"But what if they break in the
bank?" I asked.
I'apa laughed derisively. He was
always boasting of the safety of the
bank.
"They couldn't open the safe unless
the cashier and I wore both thru. It's
one of theln-st combination locks male,
I'm positive that anything put in that
safe is perfectly secure."
Poor papa! "How little he thought
But there, that's just like ine, al
ways getting ahead of my story!
Larry didn't spend that evening
with me, and so I went to bed quite
early. I soon fell asleep, but somehow
I didn't nsst very well, and was glad
when I awoke, for I was dreaming that
Larry and I had an awful quarrel.
But the siek. wretehed feeling didn't
pass away with rny awaking. I had a
smothered, suffocated feeling that made
me actually gasp for breath. Think
ing that the Ijcdclothes were lying
across my face, 1 reached up my hand
to draw them away, and found there,
instead, a handkerchief saturated with
a subtle, overpowering scent.
Chloroform! Yea, that was it. But
what did it mean? .Shivering with a
nameless terror, but with my senses all
aroused, I sprang from the lied and
went to the door.
It was slightly ajar, and through the
opening alight shone faintly. I crept
softly out into the hall, and leaning
over the railing, looked down. Oh,
heavens! what did I sec?
Four strong men, wearing black
marks, and armed with revolvers,
dragging along my dear old father!
"You villains! What is the uso of
this ?" I heard poor, dear papa say. "I
shall never,never doit!"
"You won't see the suu rise again,
then!" said one of the men, with on
oath.
"I'd rather die than have yon suc
ceed in your nefarious plan!" was
papa's reply,
"That's game, boss," said another
rough voice. "But wait till wo get i
there. We've got the cashier in our
clutches, and when ho caves in you
will, too."
"(lag him, boys, before we put him j
in the wagon!" ordered the leader.
Papa's struggles were of no avail, 1
and gagged and bound, he was carried
out of tho house, and soon I heard
wheels rolling away.
Two of tho burglars staved behind to
ransack the house, I supposed. Hear
ing their voices, i turned and fled into
my room, locking the door behind me.
Oh, what could Ido ? At that mo
ment I realized how weak a woman is! f
Oh, if there were only some way
whereby I might save my father from
death or infamy!
Crouching upon the floor, I wrung
my hands in agony of spirit, stri\ing
to think of some plan.
Footsteps were heard coming up the
stairs. I held my breath in suspense.
Would the ruflians try tho door, and
finding it locked, force it open? No,
the parsed on.
Just then a little rustle in one corner
of my room made my lu art beat with
renewed terror; but relief came in
stantly, when I perceived that the
noise was made by my little pet, the
carrier-pigeon.
I knelt down beside its cage, sole
bing softly.
"<>h, von poor, little thing!" I whis
pered. "Helpless and tiny as you are,
you are safer than I am!"
Suddenly, like a divine revelation,
there came a thought:
Could not Bijou, the pigeon, ram a
message to Larry? Larry had said
that the little creature could do such a
thing. Why not try him?
With trembling lingers, I seized pen
cil ami paper, and wrote the following
words;
"Larry! Larry! for God's sake g" to
the bank. Take plenty of nun with
you. Burglars have carried papa
then*to compel him to open the safe.
Hurry! Your MEO.
"P. S. I send this bv Bijou."
This I put in an envelope, and tied
the latter around the bird's neck. The
little creature did not seem the least
1 it frightened, but looked intelligently
at me with it.- bright, gentle eyes. As
quietly as possible, I opem-d the win
dow and set the bird on the -ill.
For a minute it stood there, turning
its pretty head irresolutely; then
spreading its wings, it slowly rose and
sound away, oh, heaven be thanked! in
the direction of Flmwood.
Just then there was a violent racket
at the door, a succession of kicks,
which soon splintered the panels.
An instant later, as I stood there
paralyzed by terror, the two burglars
burst into the room.
"Curse it!" ericd one, "that chloro
form didn't tlx her, after all."
"Bind and gag her like we did the
old lady; then she'll be safe," said the
other.
***** *
\\ hen my senses came to me, J found j
myself lying on the couch in the sitting '
room down stairs. *
It was bright daylight, and the soft
summer wind, laden with the breath of
flowers, was stealing in at the open
window. Larry's face, kind, loving
anxious, was bending over me. Then
I heard dear old Boctor lingers' kindly
voire say, "Brink this, little girl, and
and you'll feel U-tter," pressing a tum
bler to my lips.
"Where's papa?" I murmured,
faintly.
"Your father's all right, darling."
said Larry.
"And did Bijou mnietn you? Oh. I
prayed that the bird would carry the
note! Hid you get it?"
"Yes, love; but never mind it now.
I'll tell you all aliout it when you get
Ist ronger."
"Tell her now, Carroll. She is all
right. It will do her good to hear all
atsiut it," said the doctor, patting my
check; and he continued: "I'll leave
you two together, while I go and see to
Miss Judith. Oh, you needn't bo
frightened!" seeing tny anxious look.
"There isn't anything the matter with
your aunt, only she's been pretty
badly scared, that's all!"
"Well, you see, .Meg," Larry legan.
when we were alone, "I happened to sit
up rather late last night. I had lieen
away all day. and when I returned home
at tea-time, I found some law business
awaiting iny immediate attention. As
I sat writing in my room, it was after
! midnight 1 think, suddenly I heard a
, tapping at the window-pane. At first
I paid no heed to it, thinking it to be
t only the wind blowing a twig or bit of
, vine, but as the sound continued, I
arose and went to look,
f "I beheld something white fluttering
I against the glass. What was my sur
prise to And that it was little Bijou!
i, I opeued the window and hurriedly read
the letter he brought; and it wasn't
ong before iny father, Uncle Henry,
the three men-servants, and a couple of
policemen and myself, were hurrying
down to the bank.
"We reached there just in time, too;
had a grand aeullle, in which we cairn
out victorious, I'm glad to say, and,
well, tho result is that four of the
burglars arc in jail, and the other two,
j whom we found here, have gone to
i render uptheir final account. The safe
I is unharmed, and none of us are in
; jured, except a few| scratches and
| bruises."
I I will end my story by saying that
Larry and I have la-en married two
years now. We are keeping house in a
cozy, comfortable way, and most im
portant of all our articles of furniture
is a cradle; but, after all, 1 don't know
which is the greatest pet, baby or my
little feathered postman, liijou!
Fishing With Cormorants,
In XieuhofT's account of the embassy
of I'eter de (ioyerand Jacob do Keyz.er
from the Dutch Kast India Company
to the Emperor of China, in IGG">, it is
related that at Ni-ning-ohew, in the
providence of Miantong, on an artificial
chanm-1 of the Yellow river, the em
bassadors witnossed the natives llshing
with cormorants. Here they saw them
catch fish with a bird called Loii-wa,
somewhat b"-s than a goose and not
much unlike a raven. It has a long
neck and a bill like an eagle. They go
out in small boats made of bamlioo
canes, placing the bird on tin- outside,
which on sight of a lidi shoots down
and swims after it under water. As
-•-oil as she lias caught her prey she
ri- -. and tin- fisherman, having taken
it from her, sends tier out to seek more-
To prevent the bird from swallowing
Ikt prey they put an iron rnigi ')
about In r neck. If the fish is too big
for her to bring up she makes a noise
in the water for the master to come to
her help. When they have < aught
enough for their owners the ring is
taken off, and they are left to li-.ii for
themselves. In i-.tse they are averse to
diving they are brought to it by Invit
ing. The fishermen pay a yearly tri
bute to the Kmperor for the use of
these birds, whi'h are mm-h xalmd bv
the Chinese, fine of thos,. which are
Well taught is often Sold for fifty t.'iel
of silver, which is about l.V> guilders.
The Chinese method if lishing with
cormorants differs but little from that
employed by Kuglisii and French am.
teiirs at the present day. Iti China
however, the bird*, smaller than ours,
and of a different sjM-cics, < albsl by the
Chinese "Lcutze," are • irri<*l on ligtit,
shallow punts or rafts, and are mm.
inoiily employisl. not as here for amuse
ment, but as a matter of business to
supply the markets with fish. Twenty
or thirty cormorants, it is said, will
i ati h six francs worth of fish a day
fish lcing very cheap there. Their
owners club together, their resjHs tive
birds being marked, and divide the
profits jiroportionately. A cormorant
may )• used until t n years old, and,
when well trained, th-y fetch as much
as sixty taeis, or liO francs a pair.—
Lontiun Firlrt.
How It Feels to Fall IJKMI Feet.
With regard to the recent sad sui
cide of a girl by leaping from one of
th>> tower* <<f N'ltro Pari*, Ir.
Uronardeli's -xview that it*- !
phyxiution in the rapid fall may have
been the cause of death, ha* given rise
to home correspondence in Xaturr. M.
K mtetnpt* joints out that the depth
of fall having been about sixty-six
meters, the \elocity acquired in the
time (less titan fotir seconds) cannot
have lieen so great a* that some'oi.es
attained on railways, t. g. thirty-three
meters per second on the line between
Chalons and Paris, where the effect
should ho the same ; yet we never hear 1
•if asphyxiation of engine drivers and !
stokers. He lonsiders it desirable that
the idea inquest! n should le exploded,
as unhappy purs n may IK? hsl to
choose suicide hy fall from a height,
under the notion that they will die lie- '<
fore reaching the gnwind. Again, M.
(Jossin mentions that a few years ago
a man threw h'mself from the top of
the Column of duly, and fell on an
awning which sheltered workmen at
the pedestal; ho sufTtred only a few
slight contusions. M. Hemv says he
ha* often *-en an Knglishtnan leap from
a height of thirty-one meters (say UK!
feet) into a deep river; and he was
shown in 1852, in the island of Oahtt,
hy missionaries, a native who had
fallen from a verified height of more
than 300 meters (say one thousand
feet). His .11 was broken near the
end hy a growth of <erns and other
plants, and he had only a few wounds.
Asked as to his sensations in fa >'ng,
he said he only felt dazzled.
Mr. Farnach, of Kaleigh, N. C., re
ports that in April and May, he, with
his daughter and an ordinary laborer,
gathered a crop of 200 dozens of silk
worm eggs, worth SI,OOO, from a four
years' orchard of 3,000 white mulberry
plants.
t A NIGHT IN PEKIN.
t nrlon. Nlsbla In n Chinese Clly.
if At set of sun life in Peking, as far
as the streets are concerned, ceases to
exist; doors are closed, shops shut, arid
>; tho inhabitants retire within their
' houses. Nut even tho most Important
I, thoroughfares arc illuminated; at cer
e tain corners, where the police have
, their stations, miserable dirty paper
o lanterns are lit up, which shed no light
e whatever. Kvery one who g<>"H abroad,
i- whether on foot, in Ni-dan-clnir, or by
d cart, must carry a lantern. The streets
of the Imperial and Tartar cities may
f be said to lie entirely deserte'i; it is in
0 the Chinese city only that there is
a anything going on at night. Kaeh city
is shut off from the others at sundown,
e and the gat s are not again opened un
v dor any circumstances until daybreak.
Y I resided in the Tartar city, and it was
in the Chinese city that I wished to
make my nocturnal ramble, mo that
there wiii 110 remedy but to make a
night of it. My companions declined
to accompany me, so I had reluctantly
to undertake the excursion alone.
s
~ My gui iehired a i-art for the whole
1 night, and w e started from our hotel at
about half-past in the afternoon.
f It was nei e-sary toset out thus early in
( order to pa s through the gate before
it was looked. J had lint yet dined, so
t I I directed my interpret< r to conduct
i me to the lust hotel in the place, and
, gave liiin carte I.lam in- to order i>>r me
, and hiuis-df tin- |e-t iliimer procura
ble. I need scarcely aid that all If llt
| <if European character was entirely
"'.it • f the ipn-.1 i ui; tie- only Euro].can
hotel in tlie whole of Peking Is that
kept by M. Vrard. in tin- Tartar city,
w here I wa.-stay ing. I knew this pi-r
--: fei tly well, and had made up my inind
fur a Chiiu ri j.lt, m rvi-d m • Din- -c
i i 1
fashion. It was in the narrow court
yard, then, of a thoroughly* native rcst
i In ui i ■ that tin-• art stopped. My ion
j din tor, a most excellent and thought
ful fellow, had taken !!.•• precaution •>f
i bringing my travelling-rugs, wlm h, if
; useful to alleviate the bruises causeil
bv the jolting of the cart, w re now
j I'pially -o to obviate the hardn- •
| the brick enindi in th- x> -t-hmise. He
! spri ;iil tiielli llii ll oil t tie kang, and 1
j was not sorry to lay me down and take
jj a h- rt ri pose after a long rib". With
iik and < igar I wlubst away tie tine
until IUV dinner should IM-ready. In
' ibout l.alf an hour it was served, ;i j.d
i eopi..us < iv ugh it was in its way; fish,
chicken, mtuiiinmna, htcht dt m >r (a
poi us . f edible a Wf-i-d. bruiiglit, I
tM-lieve. frmn Japan, of which the
j Chinese are exceedingly fond), all in
' -• parate ilish'-s, or ra'her small 1 . n,
with two - rtsof gravy in little Imwls,
two kinds of pickles, and soft, un
loav. ntsl rolls of white tloiir, ipiite hot.
Th- drinkables were mmnhu of two
' difTerent strengths, the one to imbilx
while eating, the ofh< rat dessert the
r | former was flat, milil. and rather I'a
: vorb-is, the latter rough and j intent
Uith, to my palate. lUaagrivable. ,Satn
-1 ihu is a spirit dint died usually fr<un
• rice, although it may l* made from j* >■
1 tat'x-s, D-atis, or sugar-cane; it is of a
whitish color, and not altogether unlike
had whiskey much under proof. It
serves the t'him-se in lieu of wine,
whi< h they never make from the grajw-.
Nunc fruit was brought, and the rc| ost
concludi-d with the inevitable tea.
Ch"jisti< k* were the only implements
supplied, hut a.* I had already IKTOIIIC
tolerably adroit in tl;ir manipulation,
I was quite able to get my victuals into
my mouth without the u*eor any other
instrument, I can n<* nay that I en
joyed my meal. It was not the first
time that I hail tasted pure Chinese
cuisine, HO that the fiul was n<?t alto
gether fircign to me, n<?r were the
viands in their way badly cooke<l, but
the taste of almost everything one cats
| is inore or loss arquinsl, and a matter of
education; as my tongue was unschooled
| in the language, so my palate had not
yet. liecn tought to appreciate the
' cooking.
Anything more primitive, strange,
and wrlrd than the Chinese quarter of
Peking by night can hardly IK- imag
ined. "Htm darkness" in the tortuous
streets, unbroken by a single ray from
the sombre houses, and unrelieved by
the paper JH>IH "-lantern*, posted at rare
intervals, looking in the distance like
j spectres, or by those of the few pedes
trians, w hich, bobbing up and down in
i the olwrurity, have the appearance of
i so many will-o'-the-wisps; the rumb
ling of an occasional cart, for which
one ha* to make way at the risk of i
falling into a yawning cess-pool, the I
black depths of which, as I held my
lantern over the brink, looked still j
more horribly black in tho gloomy j
night; the monotonous sound of the
watehmen striking together the pieces
of bainlioo with which they announced
their presence; the groans of the men
dicants crouching in thedoorways; the
cries of the ambulant venders of food j
who wander through the street, or at- 1
'ract stray passers-by to their tempor
ary stalls, pitched for the nonce in ;
some out-of-the-way n<x)k or corner— j
all these strange sounds and appari
tions suggestod to my mind a home of
evil spirits, the departure of demons
after a Sabbat meeting, or the breaking
up of pagans on a dark Walpurgis
night. A thunder-storm now burst
. upon us, and added its effect to the
lugubrious scene. The lightning was
vivid in the extreme, and the rain
came down in such torrents that the
thoroughfares were soon converted
! into muddy water-courses, ami fur
ther exploration wits rendered impossi
ble. My conductor proposed that we
should return to tin- rest-hoic. hut as
it was already long past Ktldnight, I
ordered a trial at the gate. My sug
gestion proved to he good. A Mandarin
on his way to the palaro had just
passed through, and the custodian,
earing more for his comfort than for
orders, or,thinking perhaps that no one
would Is: stirring in such terrible
weather, bad omitted to close the por
tals after the oflieia). We got through,
then, without hinderanee. The storm
had rendered the morning air very
chilly, and I was not sorry to regain
my hotel and creep into bed.
The Hospitable Poles,
The Poles are ext ranrdinurily hospit
able. They entertain without grudge.
At every table in tin- large houses some
extra places are laid ready for unex
pected guis-ts as they say, "fur the
traveler that < • m - •>■. ■ r tie It
is p -sibii- in Poland to go uninvit'd
to v,-;t your tre nd, t ■ king your chil
dren, your itv ants and leu ■ -. and to
staytivi orwe. i s without p "iving
any hint to go. The I'.di - are fond of
gaiety, uf amusement and of s- ,etv.
Tie y love jib a-ure in all its hriglit and
charming forma, Tho country house*
arc const mtlv full of \i .tors, and in
tie winter tie re is often tin-- Kulig,"
a gathering which lie r. . •- a- it go. s
1 r-.ni hou-e to house. It i- taken frmn
a pa ant i ;v au. and tin-nobles, when
they g. t up a " ktilig." wear the j .LS
ant i ostuii.es, very la a ati fully made,
I ley go over the xunw 111 sledges from
house to house, daieing f..r two or
three days at one and tie-n g mg on to
another, taking the pc*,pl<-of tie- house
winch tle-y have w;ih tlii iu. At la-t.
tln-re are perhaps twenty sb-dgi-s all
full of pi-.jib . dri -cd in bright colors,
all i -.ng.lig the -"iig-s of the *• Kullg."
\t every hoiis. they dance tlie . oara -
11-r. -t I • dames of the I US'iv-. on tlie
Krakoii.. 1i.., the M.u'ur arnl tin- Olien k.
'1 he nr-t is a very pretty and ja-cui.ar
dance, in which the partner* continu
ally torn aw ay f: -in ea-h utter and
then • .nie face to fare; t.hc M.izur is
aiiiiething like the ijuadrille. Uiougli it
i- by no lie an- the same; the Olm rek
resembles a XX. lit/ li.'llinsl the reverse
xx.,y and with a very pretty and xhar.ac
teristic figure, m xx he ii the man km-els
on one knee and kis-i-s his partner's
hand. Tle-se are all most charming
and jirettv. and the I'-.les ■ Lance with
enthusiasm as xxcll as grace. Th<y
have many national customs ami cere,
monies which are occasion* for dancing
and pleasure. Then, in the autumn
and winter, there is bear-hunting. In
this way, xx.th these varied amuse
ments, the time pa.-s.-s in the cxiuntry
houstsx, and x iib rs will stay six
xxc.ks or perhajis six niontlis. 7Vn;>/
/(nr.
Masiuline Jewelry In Knrote.
Diiserving Aincrii uis note a rixiva
of rings, )ir.e • lets iuul lavish odors in
continental M-ciety. Yxwng men at
the theatres are conspicuous w hen they
stand, as is the custom on the conti
nent, with tluir ojM-ra ghvsses leveled
at the house, for bracelets on their
wrists, jewels on tlwir hands, with the
slender golden chain which Ix-came the
fashion among Lailies not long ago. In
the revived frescoes of Pompeii the
same thing may lie se-n. Young lto
mans fastened theslex-ves of t heir togas
with gems, and covered their l>are arms
frmn the wrist to the ellMiw xxith fillets
of gold and jewels! The craving am
bition of every man under a monarchy
is for a decoration. A meeting of par
lianient is a spectacle of such personal
Iw-dizoniucnt as the wildest caricature
could not surpass. So great a mind as
Disraeli's could not l> weaned from
the craving for adornment. Asa youth
he was plastensl xxith jewelry in the
house, as an earl he w as covered xx ith
the most outra insignia of his order in
the peers. A w-ssion of any one of the
great orders of the Hath, the Thistle
the darter, the Golden Fleece, St.
George, the Hlack Eagle, or the hun
j drsl wore different companies invented
l>y sovereigns to stimulate the ardor
! and flatter the vanity of the noble and
aspiring, presents more theatric gorge
' mimtess than an oriental pageant.—
1 1'Mltulflyhia I'rrtt*.
A new lwok is called "How to Keep
a Btore," It ia a work of several
hundred pages, and life is too short to
read it. The I .est way to keep a store
is to advertise Judiciously, and thus
prevent it falling into the hands of the
| rheriff.
Ellsshetta Kiranl.
Among the followers of Gtiido Reni,
this young woman, who died when hut
twenty-five years old, is conspicuous
for her talents and interesting on a/>
; count of the story of her life. She was
the daughter of a reputable artist, and
| was horn at liologna about 1749. She
i wits certainly very industrious, sineo
j one of her biographers names one hun
dred and fifty picture* and etchings
1 made by her, and all these must have
l*tn done within a neriol of about ten
• years.
Much hits been said of the ease and
, rapidity with which she worked ; one
i anwdote relates that on an occasion
| when it happened that the Ituehess of
lirunswiek, the ItueheH-;, of Miramlola.
i and Ihike Cosfmo de Medici, with
j other persons, all met at her studio,
she astonished and delighted them hy
the ease and skill with which she
sketched and shaded drawings of the
subjects which one after another named
to her.
Tin* story of her life, aside from her
: art, give* an undying interest to her
; name, and insure* h<-r remembrance
i for all time. Jn person she was lx-au
tifill, and the swe*tn<-*s of her char
a' t< r and manner won for her the love
of all those who were associated with
lor. She was a! ■<a ' harming singer,
and v.as ever ready to give pleas
ure to h<-r friends. ibr ad
miring biograplier- al> >c<>minend b r
tacte in draw, which was very simple;
and they even g, so far as t j rai-e her
lii'Xß ration in eating! She WT.S well
skilled in all d"ine-I:<■ matters, and
would ri-' at daybreak to j -rf rm her
• lowly household duties, never allow*
ng to r art to dis|<! o •• the homly ocnj
i atioas w hieh pro] . rty. ** she thought
made :i j art of hr life.
Klieabetta Hiram's name has come
down through two hundr- land *<\en
ti-tii year. a.* one whose "d'-voted t.lial
afie'tioa, feminine grace, ami anb-ss
btiOignltv . f manner added a lust<-r v>
h'-r great talent •. and completed a per
sonality which h< r friend* regarded a*
an id' ;il ■ f ]" rf* ti"M."
The sud'Uri death of this artist has
added a tragic element to her story.
The cause of it has never )x-cii kli -wn,
but the theory that she <li<*d fr-.rr*
poison, has bwo very generally ae
<' p'ed. >.-1 er.d r- a- 'lis f,, r this < rime
| base been given : one !-, that she was
••a r.ric-1 t" the ;< .aloiuly of other
nrti-ts, a* I"iii"m' !r:io had Ix-en :
another belief was that a princely lover
whom si '■ ha 1 tr<it<*l w.th se<,rn. had
taken her life because she had dared to
place her-udf, in her lowly ststmn,
alsjve hie r.n.k and power.
As rvant girl named Lucia T"b~
m* Hi, whoha l turn long in the ser
s'-r\dee of the Sirani family, was sus
]x-eted andtrieil for this crime. >he
was sentenced to banishment; but,
after a time, Elisalx-tta's father |re
q uesl*l that Lucia should lx- allowed
t> return, a* he had n<> reason for I>©-
lies ing her guilty. And so the mystery
of the cause of her death has never
ben solved ; but its effect upon the
whole < ity of liologna, where it oc
curred, is an exact matter of history.
The<tire jxx.ple felt ;i personal loss
inhei death, and the day . f hg**inria|
was one of general mourning The
ceremonies of her funeral w ere attended
with grent pomp. and she was buried
beside her master. Guido Reni, in the
rb.i]xd of Our Lady of the Rosary,
in the magnificent church of the Do
minicans. Poets and orators vif*l with
one another in sounding her praise*.—
<Sf. Siaiiola*.
CLIPPINGS FOR THE rcßiors.
Professor Virchow of llerlin owns
nearly d,OK) human skulls of all ages
| and nationalities.
The wealthiest man in Mexico Is Ta
tricio Milmo, an Irishman, whose ca
tatc is valued at #10,000,000,
A mosquito has concealed in it* bill
six complete surgical instruments,
each so minute a* to be indiscernible
to the nakad eye.
Ablte Moige, of Lcs Mondes, lelievcs
that the ancient cubit, which is ascer
tain'*! to lw the ten-millionth part of
the |>olaraxis of the earlh, is prefera
ble to the metre a* a standard of meas
urement.
Continuous baths, as carried out in
Vienna are report<*l unofficially by M.
Lenoir a* very efficacious in the IrcaU
mentor skin diseases, and he warmly
recommends their introduction into the
hospitals of Paria
fsaheau of llavaria. queen of Charles
VI., sent a collection of dolls, dressed
in the latoet French styles, to tbs
queen of England, thus introducing tha
latest French fashions in away which
has leon imitated of late years as a
novelty.
In Russia on March 9, the day on
which the larks are supposed to arrive,
the rustics make clay images of those
birds,smear them with honey, tip their
heads with tinsel, and then carry them
alxiut, singing songs to spring, or to
Lada, their vernal goddess.