THE FISH POND It was a couple of months or so be- fore the beginn ng of an exceedingly dull season th t Me. Julius B, Kornor made hisfirst wo pearancs in London, and he speedily becawe both an inter: esting and a popular member of society. He was universally supposed to be pos sessed of fabulous wealth,a fact all the Kornor He lived better established because Mr. never directly alluded to it. in a small but perfectly appointed house in Mayfair, gave admirable din rs, drove first rate horses, and did all that could be reasonably expected of an unostentatious millionaire. Mr. Kornor was a widower, with two very attractive daughters, Stella and Sophie and it was commonly reported that these ladies would receive very band- some marriage portions from their fa. ther. It was not, perhaps, surprising that 80 attractive a family should be much sought after, and within a very few weeks of their arrival the Kornors found tnemselves overwhelmed with invita.ioos, of their friends was a certain Lady Rubicon, bustling, lively matron with a somewhat intimate Among the most A | | ng impecunious husband and a large fami | ly. Lord and Lady Rubicon were in the habit of making frequent trips America, where his lordship owned a rancho and several drinking sa- to | | cat! { | loons; and it was on the return voyage from one of these excursions that they | had made the acquaintance of the Kor nors., un board an L [ Atlantic steamer, fri ship ripens quickly, and it was great measure owing to Lady Hnbic | good offices that the American family | i had been so well received in London, | Fhe Kornors wer al, and lad y gral disp possit ' wn was fully wed to take nd A { her 108t given up the If for det nor Liu but n 10 WAS rmined {hat ¢ son should marry one o jue Homphrey P eaving the Guards, i «3 impecuniosity, there was not ich time to be lost, 80 he danced at tendance upon Miss Stella with unre witting diligence, while his mother ait. lost no chance 10 aiding his s One iay Lady Rabicon came around t« of sreat importance, asked to see Mr. Kor- house in Mayfair, and, with an air nor alone, it soon, my dears,” she remarked to toe “You shall know all about pretty girls, “but your fsther and I must have a talk first.” Mr. Kornor knew that Lady Rabicon had s favorite weakness for making | beauty. I suppos: they take after their mysteries out of nothing, so he arose and courteously led the way to the li-| brary. “My dear Mr. Kornor,"” said the ma- tron, “we have such a delightful scheme ya hand, and you must help in it “] shall only be too pleased, answer. | to spend most of his time in a sort of | His | od the imperturbable Kornor. But may [ ask what is the scheme, and who are ‘we 1” “Oh, ‘we’ are everybody—everybody, that is who is anybody ; and we are go- ing to bave a fancy fair for the benefit of the Hospital for Diseases of the Eye- brows."’ M “A fancy fair 7” he repeated. tle m+ r. Kornor looked a lit “Oh, I forgot you had been so short a time in England ! There will be stalls, you know, and people dressed in fancy costumes will sell things, and we are going to have an old English and a Turkish bazaar, and all sorts of Mahdi's ook delightful the Mahdi, with s black beard blanket,” Mr. Kornor passed his hand medita tively across his chin, things including the » : 1 I am sure vou would | as and a “If I ever dress I should have to choose something a lit ed myself for a show am afraid | tle less attractive,” he said, You shall chsose your own costume; but you must really help us, you and the girls, will, won't you ?"' “By no means, You “l can deny you nothing,” said Mr. Kornor, with an air of old-fashioned courtesy he was rather fond of assuming. “And I have no doubt that my daugh- ters will be charmed.” Lady Rubicon expressed her thanks in very fervent terms, and so the mat- ter was settled. Stella and Sophie were delighted with the ides, and the Kornor family were duly enrolled upon the aristocratic staff of assistants at the fancy fair for the benefit of the hospital for diseases of the eyebrow. Mr. Kor nor himself consented to become a member of the managing committee. The Albert hall was, of course, engag- ed for the occassion; the patronage of royalty was asked for and graciously ae corded; the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, and other distinguished per- sonages promised to attend, and the Hon, Humphrey Pique, with great good mature, volunteered to become honorary secretary and look after the funds, The committee devoted long and anxious thought to the allotment { “I know what you mean, { fal 17 i dare say » the ! a stified, street | cainp. of the various duties of the assistants, male and female, There were all sorts of prejudices to soothe and jealousies to mollify. All the best looking women had to be selected to serve as refresh. ment stall. keepers and venders of but. ton-holes and cigars and the choice wis the cause of terrible bickerings and beart-burnings. The Duchess of Colpos, a fine woman but somewhat overbur- dened with superfluous flesh, insisted upon being allowed to perambulate the hall arrayed as a flower girl, while Lady Victoria Vespa threatened to withdraw her name unless she were permitted to devote her undeniably fine teeth to the congenial task of biting off the ends of cigars. But Lady Rubicon and her collegues triumphantly overcame every difficulty and the fair promised vo be a huge success. Of course, the Kornors were consulted at an early period as to the precise part they wished to take in the proceedings, Mr. Korner said he was profoundly indifferent; he left all these things in the hands of his daughters; Stella was a clever girl and was certain to suggest | She soon decided. for the she | something. next time Lady Rubicon called announced that they were agoing to | 1 put a! keep a fish pond. Lady Rubicon You lot of parcels in a eort of encl wed place “Charming!” cried and people have little fishing poles with | hooks, |! delight am sure that will be | | \ . \ ’ “Yes: that 1s exactly what [| mean, replied Stella. “I thik it really ought to be great fan,” “1 | we th to AM EB o you going dear?” “Oh awe tovs ats, Or something, But vou mt ive, Lady Rubicon inquisit to tak 3 Sure the to « fish-pond it mirive won | Mr. quiet smile anda HR | Dus a con,’ answered that, | Kornor, with his usua deprecatory wave of the han i. be to find ymething to amuse those who fish, of it, out | however, I shall able { have hardly thought myself yet.’ | “i [ am certain that is a wonderfully clever man, "' mused Lady Rubicon, as “He will make | a great noise in the world some day. distinguished, | His daughters are a different style of | she drove homewards, So handsome and 100. mother.” About a week before the opening of the fair, Mr. Kornor ran over to Parise, | It was noticed he had been very busy and pre-occupied of late; he had been | seen but little in the park, and seemed | studio at the back of hes house | daughters explained that he had a good | deal of business on band just then, and | that he was, moreover deeply absorbed | {in scheming some really surprising nov | elties for the fish pond. sO father to take has ly “It is so good of your other R he i] much trouble when } matters to attend to!” A hi | con to Stella, “Papa likes being busy,” wered He left | night where he has gone al nt | that young lady. wr Paris {things for the pond " “Really ! and when hifa back | “To-morrow lay after, think he will bring them wi'h him.’ | i “Do you know, dear, MT y perfectly dying of curiosity about that fish pond | Don’ | is going to be put init?” [ “My dear Lady Rubico | Stella, “to tell you the truth, | vou think you eould tell 4 { me what fh," laughed I don't even know myself," “What a mysterious man your father must be,” sighed her ladyship. Mr. Korner returned to London in a ¢ uple of days later and lost no time in scquainting ber ladyship with the fact, He told her that be had been eminent- ly successfal in his mission, that, after much anxious cogitation, he had arrang. ed something altogether marvelous and sensational 10 the fish pond ; and that, with the aid of an astute shopman of the Palais Royal, he had carried out lis idea in a very perfect manner indeed. In fact he authorized her to add a coup- le of lines to the latest edition of posters and circulars, anouncing that the fish pond would be the greatest attraction of the entire fair, and guaranteeing that no one who spent ten shillings for the temporary use of a rod would ever re gret his or her labor or money, Of course, Lady Rubicon would noy confess that she knew as little about Mr. Korner's real intentions ss the rest of the world. She informed all her acquaintances that she and the iion, Humphrey had been ipitiated into the mystery under inviolable vows of secre- sy snd hinted that Mr. Korner had carried out his designs in secordance | sence of all responsible individuals ex | said ns with a suggestion of her own, One condition ,yonM. g Korner in. sisted upon which Lady Rubicon and {he committee considered on reflection to be extremely reasonable and proper, and that was that each person who se- cured ons of the mysterions pare ls should solemnly promise not to open and examine bis or her before reaching home, “You will at once con,” said Mr. prize Lady Rubi- Korner, smiling “that If people are allowed to open the parcel in the hall all the Hoe, this is absolutely necessary, there will be an end at once fo mystery. Her ladyship of course saw the neces sity, and was toore than ever impressed with the astuteness of the millionaire. The evening before the fair was opened Mr. Kornor himself drove down to the Albert Hall, and was shortly followed by a very large van which contained the pond. Lady Rubico.. and he had fixed an | hour when everyone except a few work men bad left the building, and the op the parcels for miraculous fish | eration of arranging the packages in their “pond” was performed in the ab. | cept her ladyship and the Hon, Hum - ‘ phery. Mr. Korner was very eareful | ) - about his parcels. He explained that i many of them contained glass and re quired cautions handling, and he super intended the entire operations in per son, ‘You and the girls will be here early to-morrow morning, won't you ?”’ she bade good night LE Amer 44] af ence in 1'ars, is my pre rting by } BVO Won t beliave and | the night boat Wishing trust ths to which d will contribute, wit! me yours very B annoying !" but profound regr : KRORNER, sted 73. sincerely J “Hi ve Lady Rubicon , ii 1.4 ry ejacu the girls will , there, I really must make Humphrey come to the point with Stella. Misfortune never comes singly, as for when she Lady Rubicon discoverrd, | got up to the hall a ¢ ple of hours later she found a telegram from Miw Korner saying that she snd her sister had beenod summoned to Devonshire to the bedside of a dying aunt. “Was there anything quite so snnoy- exclaimed Rubicon. 1 ing Lady never even knew they had an Devenshire. It is reall ing.” However, there was no help for Hon. Humphrey appearance his mother ex that he must act as showman of the fish pond, described its manifold attractions to the crowd, and 1 . most provok [ hy and as made his plained to him soon nas the descant eloquently upon the treasures which the generous millionaire scattered broadcast among the paper | parcels, “Yo t it you know, 3 1 must talk as if you knew all at Humphrey. Every: ) body thinks we are 3 de « mother, in the secret, so that not {to confes ignorance,’ daded } jadi We 16ly ‘ B.4 4 a duatifal son Pique « snesant nd was soon bus in bis us dut 1 Hest Har £11 JL EA} ies. Am n, h APP ned te i She angl uel ' mall but substantial par m musn't 1) ithe open it Hon. here you | Humphrey “Dear me what ladyship. “Well and show it to Sir mysteries.” a pity het will take it home William ; he likes example | wan followed by huddreds of others : | in fact, as “had been expected, the fish pond was the great attraction, Four o'clock came and the fair was in full swing ; the stalls were doing a roar. ing trade ; the Duchess had wld innum. erable button holes ; Lady Victoria's teeth positively ached trom biting cigars all the prettiest women in London were perambulatiog the hall, dressed in more or less outrageous costumes, and flirt: fog impartially with peers and shop boys in the sacred causelof charity. The Hon. Humphrey, gorgeously arrayed in green plush and silk stockings, had shouted himself hoarse at the fish pond, half sovereigns were pouring in upon him, and a regular gueve of people were wait. ing for their turn to angle for one of the millionaire’s wonderful presents, Just when the fun was at its height a couple of footmen in livery elbowed their way unceremoniously through the crowd and sized the Hon, Humphrey by each arm “ Her ladyship's bat's the matter ejaculated that young gentleman, dropping his eyeglass and staring in astonishment at his as sailmants, hk { a miraculous effect in disarming all re | turned | tiers, | i { ordinary humanity in a the doors auntin had : One man leaned forward and whisper. ed a word in the Hon, Humphrey's ear, The effect upon the scion of nobility was electrical. His face turned ghastly | pale, his jaw fell, he casta terrible glance toward the fish pond, and then | made a violent plunge forward, Gently, sir, gently,” said the man. sternly. “Let me get out! ! { | Good heavens, let me got out I" screamed the Hon. Humphrey, “Not just yet," replied his tormentor, | “Tell ‘em the hall must once,” he added to his companion in a be cleared at | low voice, snd theo came to pass a most remarkable phenomenon. Policemen | seemed to spring up in every direction, In twominutes a line was formed around | notorious the fish pend, and the crowd were pol- itely but firmly told that they must at once disperee. At first there was a cer tain amount of angry remonstrance, | and even of forcible opposition ; but somehow or another a mysterious word began to be whispered about which had sistance, With one consent everybody | tail fled, peasants, Watlean shepherdesses, Span’ | and Flower girls | ish gypsies, eighteenth century cour sctors and aciressess, singers ! musicians performers of every deserip~ tion joined with the struggling mob of | mad rush for Even safe outside no one thought of st Entirely regard ostum es, directic less of their eccentric « they bolted wildly in every wn, and several stout old ladies and gouty gentile half their men ran at least a mile pausing to wer bolical ing to explode by who 1 me detect Ves, in attendapce H footmen at once proces jad Hall to investi on the tary disguised as rt gate occurrence while the infernal machine, which is " . i 1 a ssid to resemble a travelling clock, was | dispatched to Scotland 3 ard. On in quiry at Sir William's residence we learn ted that he is as well as can be expectes I'he suthorship of this fiendish out- rage is at present shrouded in mystery - Alexander Dumas, the Elder | m— Dumss was a great school boy, who hid under bis good humor and boisterter | ous gayely more 6Ommon sense and true wisdom than fell to the lol of nine ty nine out of every hundred. He wa the type of a free lance, who proved the | rules of conventionality to be stupid | of a pleasure seeker who might serve as | a model to all industrious workers : of a knight errant ever in quest of the ad | ventures of gallantry, polities and war, h more than three convents of Benedict pr thousands who bad studied, for # ire alone Ji ines He was the image of a gal who, havieg squandered t lef behind him, of liberalitic t 1 reckless 1 NOON ously, the heritage a K ng His who devoted Yis whole life to his mot h his ends, his : of a cot ant and was the radiant face of an egots : children, in couy or $ ] tom not rs ) father. who threw the rains on his son's had the y soe himael neck, and who, nevertheless, exceptional good fortune t f reproduced while living by one of the | best and most illustrious men whom France has never applauded. His book his | dramas shall have been withdrawn | from the stage. For an age and longer ! : : : his entrancing stories, wherein the ac- | will be read after comedies and tion never languishes, the style is lim- pid and brilliant as the crystal of a spring well and the dialogue crackles like green wood om s fire, will continue be the joy of the young, the distraction of the old, a re freshment for the wearied, a consolation for the ailing, a delight for all. I have known mature men passably occupled ~mysell, for instance—forget them. selves an entire nightin the company of the “Chevalier de Maison Rough" or the “Mohicans de Paris.” TI still hear my children quarreling in friendly guise because one has not yet finished the second volume of “Monte Cristo.” when the other, who is awaiting his turn, has arrived at the end of the first, From this I conclude that Dumas has lost nothing of his freshness since the days weptlns | far in the bygone now--when he nearly caused the death of one of my school companions, He was a lit tle Spaniard, an interns at the Pension Massing he was sleepless; ‘had lost his appetite, and was gradually wasting away as if stricken with home-sickness. to | back to Spain 7" | | | i sley Magazine | A Man who eats Mice and Flies | with suicidal intent, | stomach pump bis life wae saved, Sarcey, who was in the sams class and had conceived a friendship for him, nek. ed him one dav wish : “Iw it your mother you No,” the dead.” father, “Your to child, “she then?" see?" answered “Your “He used to beat me," I “Why then are you so anxious in brothers and sisters,” rone,' fo gel book | “What | “Los Tres Mousque. | The poor child had the nostal gin of the “Trois Mousquetnires,”’ —7in have “To finish a began reading in the vacation,” is the name of it 7 teros,' | | —— A — | J. A. Miller, for BOLE Yeurs a resident of Forest Hill, Cal.,, and a somewnat | in that locality, swallowed a large dose of strychnine Ld haracter It was nearly an | hour after the deadly drug hed been | i | taken before the doctor reached him, | but by mn vigorous application of the He- liable that he men of Forest Hill say | possesses what might be termed a gal vanized, elastic stomach, He could eat | anything without nauseating him, and | a8 for quantity it was never known ex his s‘omach would hold On one occasion, it small cans actly bow much is said, he ate eis} F443 of oveters, seyeral f Cans o : . peaches, besides crackers, cheese d bologna sausage In proportion and wash ed it down with e ght or ten lasses of beer, and then aft Lo sing a sor whether the SUPErior Ovary ening to 1 shaped, tough, one seeded berry, W Oouler covering i npon one 8 the frail fastened to « gathered by means of a hook n long stick [his wed th i Orns A mace Yer ing or pericarp, is rem ww) great care and dried This Wf commerce, The kernels are still in a shell , and are subjected toa moderate F., be ing frequently turned. When they rattle heat for two months, about 140 in the shell they are fit for market. The Earopean and American dealers, how ever, only purchase the kernal after this | outer shell has been by wooden mallet,*and then removed, This is accomplished cracking it with a the kernels | are carefully selected and packed in For many years the Dutch, jeal. 14 ai casks, ous lest other traders sh import these kernels and grow their trees from the seed, they at that time having a monopoly of the known growing trees, dipped these kernels in thick milk of lime, thinking thus to and limit their The up, although the special objec i, pr in o ie stroy the germs culture to their own 11 possessions, prac tice is still kept Was nev er attain the nt J 11 importat alle All ' of these { in beight and of oval kernels are Ibey yield A bot t upon pressure oil and 11 S00 KN) pou sumed the Unite Why Bottles Should be Labeled The kil IUCKHY © finding ol Oroner s 1Nres ard f more value, ar a general rule than their recommendations up child who had met with its death from lie It seems that ~onate infant, whose age was Recently f one of them the body of Yaat wn"! a | drinking carbs acid, { the wi | something over two years, was in the | habit of finishing of the dregs in the | ginger beer bottles opened for its moth. | er's customers. This in itself one would | have thought a sufficient cause of death; | but the little child appears to have on® | day got hold of a bottle containing not ginger beer, but earbolic acid, The jury | naturally brought in a verdict of acei- ! dental death, but added a rider to the | i effect that the bottles ought to have | been properly labeled. Our school boards have done a good deal, but we fear it will be some time before they get ns far as teaching two-year olds to resd- NEW GOODS, NEW GOODS $ 9 ARE DAILY ARRIVING OLD AND RELIABLE AT Tne STORE OF C. U. HOFFER & CO. COME AND SEE THE BARGAINS THEY ARE OFFER- ING IN DRY GOODS, SILKS, CASHMERES, CALICOES, Etc. Purchased at un- usually low pric- es and will be sold correspond - ingly low. PURE GROCERIES, PROVISIONS, QUEENSWARE, ETC. Country Produce! Constantly on band and Solicited. C. U. HOFFER & CO.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers