THE FAMILY DOCTOR. Parenorto. If I were disposed to curse any moth er, by the "crossness," of her children, I might advise the free use of this fashionable article. It is used with the false idea that it will aid the moth er in keeping her babe asleep, or in quieting. Now, it will do no such thing, on the whole, but the contrary. No ono ever saw a babe that had taken * much of it, that w its not unusually "cross," fretful, peevish and very un amiable! To give it, is like borrowing money at an exorbitant rate, then at it higher rate to pay the ilrst, and so on till one is bankrupt. The sleep sup posed to be obtained, is not sleep, but stupor, which must so "unstring the nerves" as to increase the irritability and wakefulness. It constipates, locks the whole powers up, so to speak, so that natural action is impossible. It produces general disorder in the sys tem, including costiveness, which is relieved by physic, which as certainly aggravates the ditliculty, growing worse and worse by each application. (How long will it take to recover at that rate?) Hut, what shall be given? That de pends on what is the disturbance. If the babe is wakeful from pain in the stomach, let that organ rest for a time. If there is a pain in the bowels give an injection of warm water. If it is hungry—and you are sure, very sure of it, which may be doubtful, as chil dren cry from pain as well as hunger —nurse it. Remove the cause of un rest but do not stupefy a babe just for the purpose of having quiet, a chance to work! It is better for tho mother to sleep. If the babe h;is common sense, it need not sleep all of the time. It has a right to play and look about a part of the time, as well sis adults.— l>r. J. If. Hanaford. Scrofula. Mrs. E. X. L. writes to know what is the trouble with her little daughter six years old. The glands about her neck are swollen and very red and ten der, she has several abscesses in other parts of the body, and behind the ear, her eyes and nose are running all the time, she catches cold very easily, the eyelids are red and thh k ned, her head is covered with dandruff, there is a greenish discharge from the ears; has been affected this way for several months. The disease is undoubtedly scrofula and is to be treated by feeding the child on the most nutritious diet possi ble, giving plenty of nourishing food, milk, graham bread, Indian meal bread, fresh vegetables, rare tender meat, fruit, etc. For medicines a little sulphur will be found to help her. I'ut a sjHionful of sulphur in an ounce of alcohol; shake it up and al low the sulphur to settle, then pour live drops of this into a glass of water, and take a spoonful three times a day. This treatment must be kept up for a long time.— Dr. George 11. Talbot. To Flood Sahara. Fount de I.esseps has explored the route for himself, and he declares that the construction-of a canal to tlood the great African desert with the waters of the Mediterranean is feasible. There has been doubt as to whether tho surface of Sahara is higher or lower than the surface of the sea, but his triumphant communication from Tunis indicates that he has obtained information that to perform his feat it will not l>e nec essary to make water run up-hill. It is proposed to cut a channel through the narrow neck of land which separ ates the salt marshes south of Tunis from the gulf of Gabes, and thus pour an ocean into the vast basin of sand whose farther rim is the border of the Soudan—a land of the riches of India ami the population of the l*nitod States. France has been eager to bring the heart of Africa to the light of civilization and the wealth to the pock ets of Frenchmen, and Colonel Flatters expended three years of toil and $lOO,- 000 of treasure in the attempt to fulfill his ambitious prediction: "I will cross Africa with a railway." Since his slaughter by Arabs the scheme to pene trate the heart of the "dark continent" with a railway lias dropped from pub lic attention, and Count de Lesseps, the great uniter of the earth's waters, has laid his stupendous project before his admiring countrymen, with sule limc confidence in his ability to secure ** % $15,000,000 for the work by merely asking. The count is now nearly eighty years of age, and in his long and romantic career he has accom plished prodigious achievements, but if he restores to the burning sands of Sahara the waves which in a remote age rolled over them, the creation of an ocean and the civilization of a contin ent will 1 the climax of his career and the chief marvel of his fame.— New York Hull and Sjcjtreu. SMOKING OFIUM. A Urilei'a Vivid ft- tret Ktpetlrm r with til* Terr I ll r Ihiiu. The boss—"Smokee, John?" (John is the Christian name of all pale faces, so far as the Chinaman is concerned.) The writer—"Yes, if you'll give me a moderate dose." The boss Kvel smokee sometime alleady!" The writer—"Once. A long time ago." The boss—"Alice lightee. Fixee you." Tho writer—"Don't put more than a pound and a half in." Tho boss (with a grin that looked as if the side of tho house was coming in) —"Me llxee all lightee. Getteo up." The writer took possession of a private stateroom, while the bias-eyed son of the sun manipulated the gummy mass and tilled the pipe. "Now, smokee," said he; "blow through nosee." The writer inhaled several—more or less—puffs, and then began to experi ence a heavy, depressing sensation across the chest. At this commencement the ears were thrilled by softly wierd strains of such music JUS no mortal ever heard before, and at the same time the writer was led to a large gilded or golden platform, which towered aloft in the upper portion of the room, nnd was reached by stiiirs that dazzled the eye at first, but afterward soothed it and seemed to entrance the visitor. Ascending, the summit was reached, and, looking down to tho tloor lie had just left, a sight presented itself which tlio writer must acknowledge himself unable to portray. It was a hundred thousand fairy lands combined in one vast picture of loveliness and supreme beauty. Seated on a divan, and sur rounded by ;i bevy of bewildering beautiful minxes, whose ;mgelic voices and merry laughter made the brain whirl, the writer prayed that he might never again see the outside world, but that he might live to eternity amid ttiose scenes. His every wish was gratified on the instant. A request was scarcely made but it w.us fulfilled. He hesitated to give voice to his wishes lest they might offend, his every thought was interpreted even liefore it matured, and his desires were answered,and the rare wine and costly jewels were brought him and laid before him before he hud dared even hope for their possession. llelow me was a scene of dazzling beauty. Fountains of golden waters gladdened the eye at intervals about the room, while the perfume of rare exotics filled the atmosphere and en ervated tho br;iin. Thousands up>n thousands of pretty girls in Oriental costumes flitted here, there and every where, nud rante and went ;it the writer's command. Xo wish was un gratified, no desire unfulfilled. Jf was a paradise on earth. There was no male present hut himself. The China man had disappeared and the writer was alone in his glory. <>h, for the pen of a Dante! Oh, for the descrip tive powers of a Hyron ! Suddenly a shadow came across the room, and the pretty girls lisap|>eared one by one. Even those upon the dias withdrew. The Chinaman reappeared and informed the writer that a terrible storm was approaching, and that they must return at once. Even as he spike, the distant mutterings of thunder could he heard, and then the lightning flashes darted across the r<*>rn. It was a terrible storm. The attendant tore the costly lace from the writer's body, und at his command a hundred or more hideous looking creatures gathered around and aided him in tormenting the writer. They took off the top of his head w-itli ham mers and chisels, and picked his brain out piece by piece, grinning hideously the while. Then they began to tear the fb-sh from the lsines. and one more vicious than the rest grasped his tongue and kept pulling it out inch by inch, fisit by foot, until he could feel the very soles of his hoots give way arid start on their upward journey through his marrow. They then placed his head between two large re volving stone cylinders, and he heard the skull being crushed, as he was drawn into and between tho grinding wheels that appeared to he turning at the rate of one revolution in a million years. Each inch of diaphragm was subjected to years nnd years of this crushing process, and the prayers to he put to instant death brought forth maniacal laughter and jeers from the torturers. If the iirst scene was para dise the second was worse than Hades. Not for 100,000 worlds would the writer pass through the horrors of that torture again. Then came a noise like the bursting of hundred thousand bombs. "Look there !*' said one of the mon sters, pointing to a corner of the room. The writer slowJy opened his eyes, * looked in the direction pointed out, and saw the man with the 'cross country grin and the banjo head fea tures, sitting by tho tiro, sewing a but ton on ids trousers. It was nut until after tho expiration of nearly half an hour that the writer could fin/l tongue to speak, and then the words cams thick und husky. Upon asking how long he had been there, the man pointed to tho clock. It was twenty minutes past 10. When ho began smoking it was a few min utes past 8. Rolling from the shelf, (lie floor appeared to shelve upward, and he became Impressed with the idea that he was in danger of being cut in twain by the sharp corners of the room, which whirled about him with a dizzying speed. It was some minutes before be trusted himself on bis feet, and then his head pained, and the very blood in his veins seemed boiling. Kidding the proprietor of the place good-night, lie left tho den, de termined never again to participate in tiie luxuries of the bowl. Taklnir Tea with the Japanese. Says a traveler: "The great peculiar Ity of tliis tea drinking ceremony con sists in tho exactness with which every thing is dune. A spoon, cup, or what ever is handled, has to ho taken hold ol in a particular way, set down in a par ticular place, and touched in a particu lar part, and everything is done with the same strange precision. What 1 saw was part of the ceremony of 'thin tea drinking,' and part of tho ceremony of 'thick tea-drinking,' hut the whole is simply a lesson in those laws ol politeness which were formerly so rigidly exacted In every mansion and on every state occasion; and which arc still largely kept tip in the houses of the old aristocracy. Originally, the ceremony was of a secret character, and no servant entered the house in which it took place—-the master kindling the lire, (toiling the water, making the tea and, in short, doing everything for the guests; hut in later years it has become a mere ceremony t an extremely fash ionable character. One or two things in this service struck me as especially strange. Thus, both host and guests knelt from the time they entered the building till the time they left it; and even when the master tiad to go to a little hack room to fetch water, cups or whatever else he might require, he shuffled on his kness to the slide which served as a door, and then, having open/si it, shuffled through the opening till he was well on the other side, when he rose to his feet; but this he must nut do while in the presence of bis gui-ts. The chief guest, moreover, is the spokesman for the company, and no word is uttered save by the chief guest or h'-st during the service, be it ever so long. The / hief guest also de mands everything thus he asks f r tea and refreshment-, but the particu. lar moment at which , ich request has to lie made i- arranged by the code of etiquette. At opportune moments the chief guest also asks if he may look at t he tea-cuddy, a sjn*in, a how 1, or the tea pot. Receiving the necessary permis sion, he shuffles on his knees to the place where the object demanded Is, takes it, IMIWS his forehead to the ground, then rising, touches his fore head with the object received, and begins to examine it. Looking at the tea-pot, he asks if it is silver; then, who made it; then opening it and smelling the tea, what tea costs per pound; after which inquiries he passes it to the next guest, and makes a re mark to the host which should, if pos sible. lie at the same time a compli ment and a pun. After each gu/*t has duly inspected the object, the chief guest shuffles again acr/iss the floor, and returns it to its place. Object after object is brought, examined and returned in the same manner." Prophecies for the Crednlnn*. Hardly bad people recovered from the nerve-shattering soothsaying of Mother Shipton when the weird words of wind-compelling Wiggins is well rubbed from recollection, two ancient prophecies have heen unearthed for the present year. One is from the writings of Nostradamus, a French astrologer of tho sixteenth century, which may lie thus rendered ; "In eighteen hundred and eighty.three, When wooda in vernal green shall tie, Againat misfortune and mischance A lame man alioll protect our France." The Comte de Chamliord is lame, and may lie taken to represent the "boiteanx" or "lioiteux." The second hlood-curdler is : "When Kaaier (alia in nnr Cady'a lap To England ihall crime S great nii.hap " Now. Faster SumWV this year fell i for the first time in nliout a hundred years, on f Lady Day," March 15. We rtow manufacture another prophecy : Wlicji in one week tali Sundays two, t'luA-tic thymes may chance come tree. LADIES' DEPARTMENT. Oftrar N<|iae lr liril. A Washington letter says that Miss Huyard is not only very pretty, hut ex tremely bright. She was the young lady who astonished Oscar Wilde by her keen repartee to his patronizing remark : "Are you going to the Ger man, Mr. Wilde?" "Yes," drawled tho esthete, "if my lecture doesn't, fatigue me too much. Are you going, Miss Bayard?" "Yea, if your lecture doesn't fatigue me too much." Court Ktl/juatta. A Home correspondent of the Phila delphia Hull.tin writes : "JJut which of us escape criticism ? I hear now that the fact of Mrs. Aster's having sent cards of invitation for her reception to certain diplomatic and noble ladies, whose acquaintance she has not been able to make personally on account of her delicate state of health, instead of it being taken as it was meant, as an act of courtesy and civility, was re sented its an insult. Strictly speaking, 1 am assured that Mrs. Astor has com plied with the ordinary forms observed hy people in iter position ; hut say that It were otherwise, and that some trilling lapse of strict etiquette had heen necessitated hy her delicate health, it is quite evident that she evinced courtesy and offered hospital ity to these scornful ladies. I regret to add that those who complain the loudest and make the most fuss about these minute points of etiquette are Americans, married either to Italian nobles or persons in an official position about the court. It should be very gratifying to their husbands to observe how completely they cast aside th/ ir nationality and all old habits when they choose the occasion of Washing ton's birthday to mark their contempt for a gathering nt regulated, as they assert, hy the strictest court etiquette." Old I.are. Many Indies do not know wtiy old lace is often so much more valuable and generally so much more beautiful than new. The fact is that the valua ble old lace is ail woven in "lost" pat terns. It Is frequently as fine as a spider's tilm and cannot la-reproduced, i The loss of patterns was a severe check to laee-making in France and Belgium, and was occasioned by the French Revolution. Before that time whole villages supported themselves' by lace-making, and patterns were j handed down from one generation to another. They were valuable heir- | looms, for the mo t celebrated weaver- ! always had as many orders as they could execute in a lifetime, and they wi re bound by an oath taken on the Four Gospils to work only Tt certain •balers. When the Iteign of Terror i gan, all i usiness of this sort was in terrupted for a time. After the-Knii subsided the dealers and workers wer* far apart tome dead, some lost, and j some escaped to foreign lands; and such of the women as remained were Ixiund hv their oath to w >rk for but one. And this oath, in spite of Holies pier re's dodrinesi, was held hy the poorest of them to be binding, and j there are instances where they suffered ' actual want rather than break their word. Some, however, taught their children and their grandchildren, and many patterns were in this way pre served. Some of t! • daintiest and finest patterns were never recovered, and to-day specimens of those laces are known to |e worth their weight in diamonds. Athlon Chip bonnets are worn. Mitts have very long wrists. Spanish laces are no longer fashion able. F.very kind of plaid and check is worn. The newest coiffures show more of the forehead. Long jersey gloves of finest wool are much worn. In milliner/ flowers are almost su perseded by leaves. Chenille bids fair to hold its own a a popular trimming. All the Oriental laces an/1 darned laces are much worn. A new shade of velvet Is railed "llight of Fancy Blue." Pongees, plain, printed, and em broidered. are worn again. New hosiery comes in all the now colors to match the dress goods. Handkerchiefs are knotted about the throat in the "Pretty Peggy" style. Lace and embroidery Is as much the rage this season as it was last summer. As manyns forty-twodiflerentcolors hnd shades appear in the new spring {loves. Cock's-cnmb ribbons of two contrast ing colors arc used for corsage and heck liows. Ombre or shaded effects appear In some of tho new French millinery and dress goods. The lon# wrists of mitts and gloves have a fanciful finish of shirring, puffs and ribl/on. The loveliest shades of galmon, roue, corn blue and water green are seen in the new China crapeg. Cheviots come in plaids, checks, hair lines, wtripeg and mixture. Tho col orings are line and subdued. Hunt leg and crinolettes grow larger, while skirt draperies are made more ample to accommodate them. As many as eight different colore/1 ribl>on cocka/les with cock's-cornb ends are seen on some new bonnets. Jet sequins form the ornamental fringe of black tulle tabliers and dra peries /in bla/:k evening toilets. The mingling /if two or more laces in one fichu, ruche or collarette for the neck has become quite common. Mack silk stockings with gold thread chicks an/1 embroidery are among importations of fancy hosiery. Cockades /if ribbon in two contrast ing colors, the ends of the loops cut into cocks' combs, trim many lionnets. A late fancy is to use many jet gold, silver, or jewel-beaded pins to decorate bows of lace or muslin for evening wear. Sot s Model Witness. "Do von know the prisoner well?" asked the attorney. "1 never knew him sick," replied the witness. "No levity," said the lawyer sternly. "Now, sir, did you ever seethe prison er at the bar?" "Took many a drink with him at the liar." "Answer my question, sir," yell.-d the lawyer. "How long have you known the prisoner?" "From two feet up to five feet ten Indies." "Will the court make the—" "I have, j/iige," said the witness,an. tidpating the lawyer; "I have answer ed the question. I knowed the prison, /•r when he was a boy two feat long and a man live f-• ten." "Your honor—" "It's fait, jedge, I'm under oath," persist/si the witness. Tii/- lawyer arose, placed Iwith hands /- bits were placed in the cage, or were throw n rather uisin the mass of snakes coiled up in one corner. There were a few momenta of uncertainty ; then with wonderful rapidity one of the snakes colled its folds around the ani mal an/1 crushed it to death. A few seconds later and the second animal shared the same fate. The ihonsters held their prey tightly in their folds ; then, turning their heads around and distending their Jaws, began to swal low their prey whole, inch by inrh. In less than a quarter of an hour the last trace of tho rabbits had disappcar/sl. (Inly two of the reptiles wore fed. A German at a hotel had some Llm burger cheese sent to him. A little boy who sat lioside htm turned to his mother and exclaimed: "Mamma how I wish I was (leaf and dumb in my nose.' CLIPPIK6M FOB THE CUBIOUft. Texas has a million acres of land fit for sugar culture. A large number of Naalirille boy and girh are going Into nilk culture. The national debt of France, < |4,G83,- mi, i i , three times as large as ours. Twenty-eight mining explosions oc curred la-t year, of which fifteen were fatal. The winner of acorn-raislng content near liome, Gn., raised thirty-seven bushel* on a half acre. The Romans began their day at mid night, the Athenians and Jews at sun set, and the northern nations at dawn. Figures were used by the Arabian Moors about 900, and were introduced into Spain in 1000, and Into England in 125.'!. The pension list of the United States is eight times as large as that of England and ten times greater than hat of France. The first systematic attempt to instruct the deaf arid dumb was made by l'edro de I'once, a Spanish Benedic tine monk, alout 1570. A chicken ventriloquist is one of th® curiosities of Concord, Ky. lie crowa with clarion no tea, and then makes echo-like repetitions of thern, gradually dying away as if at an Increasing dis tance. William Campbell, a young farmer of Mexico, Mo., won a wager of fIOO and received 2\ cents a bushel besides for his labor, at a corn-shucking bee. In eight days he threw over his should' r 512 1 ushcls of corn. Tin i- frequently mentioned in the Iliad, and it would seem that the Greeks were very familiar with it. It was used for the raised work on shields and for greaves, and it was also em ployed for domestic purposes. It has been said that a blind man named Benson, w ho has been an inmate of the Wetherslielil (Conn.) town liouso for more than fifty years, has such a remarkable memory that he can repeat almost every word of any sermon ho hears. The demise and obsequies of a Brunswick (Me.) cat gave a hint to the long-named society. The family physician nursed the animal in its ill ness, the. undertaker composed its re mains in a 112.50 casket, and its mis tress cabled her husband in Europe that the end had come. . Catechisms were compiler! in th® eighth r published 1520 and 1529. The cat. hi-ru of the Church of England at first < ordained < nly the baptismal vow. the creed, the ten commandments and the Lord's prayer with explanations, but an explication of the sacraments w as added by the bishops in olifldienc® to an order made by .Tames I. Trainwl horses have shown in Eng land that they are capable of jumping great distances. Chandler clear**! thirty-nine feet over a break at War wick; Calverthorpe, thirty-three feet over hurdles at Newport PagneU; King of the Valley, thirty-five Let over the Wissedine brook. Leicestershire; Lottery, thirty-four fet at Liverpool; Peter Simple, thirty-seven feet at Bos ton. A Honest Man. A gentleman stopped his horse at a tollgate, and not seeing the gate-keeper, went into the house. Finding no one, he began a general search and finally discovered the gate-keeper out in the field at work. Although the old man was quite a distance away, the gentle man went into the field, approached the old man and said: "You are the tollgate keeper, I be lieve." "Yes. sir," the old man replied, turn ing and leaning on his hoe handle. "Well, I want to go through th® gate." "Ain't the gate open?" "Yw." "Well, why don't you go through? It's my business to be there." "Because I wanted to pay you." "And you came all the way out her® to pay me five cents?" "Yes. sir." said the gentleman, proud ly looking the old man In the eye. "Couldn't you have left the money on the table?" "Yes. but I wanted you to know that 1 paid you." "You are an honest man." "Yes. air." replied the gentleman, while a pleased expression spread over his face. "You would have walked three times as far to have paid me that five cents, wouldn't you ?" , ••Yes. sir, I would." "Here, John," the old man called to a hoy that lay in the shade, "call th® d< and go along and watch this fellejr till he gets away. Bet a hundred dol lars he steals something 'fore he leaves the place."— Arkanmu Tratxllv.