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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. , NIL DESIERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. VIII. RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, APRIL -18, 1878. NO
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Country Life.
Let tfao vain conrtier waste his days,
Lnred by the charms that wealth displays
The oonch of down, the board of costly fare;
Be his to kiss the U'lgrarefnl hand,
That wares the soepter of command,
And rear fall many a palaoe in the air,
Whilst I enjoy all naoon&ned,
The glowing san, the genial wind,
And tranquil hours, to rustic toil assigned;
And prize far more, in peace and health,
Contented indigence than Joyless wealth.
Not mine in Fortune's f aoe to bend,
At Grandeur's altar to attend,
Reflect in his smile and tremble at bis frown ;
Nor mine a fire-aspiring thought,
A wish, a sigh, a vision fraught
With Fame's bright phantom, Glory's death
less crown!
Hectareons draughts and viands pare
Luxuriant nature will Insure;
These the cWr fount and fertile field
Still to the wtiried shepherd yield.
And when repose and visions reign
Then we are equals all, the monarch and the
swain. Lope de Vega.
Redolette's Escape.
" It is farther than it looks," said
Bcdolette.
" Not too far for us to climb," answer
ed the sunny-faced boy who' held Bedo
lette's hand while he gazed resolutely
up at the mountain's greenwood height.
" We can be there by sundown, and
run back before it is dark."
" Well, then, I'll ask leave."
" Ask leave ? Are you not your own
mistress, Redelolte?"
"No; I must obey my huBbnnd,"
gravely the little moid replied.
" Tour husband I" cried Willie Locke.
" Yes, he is hero, in the house. I
always ask his leave when he is at home.
I do it in the beginning, because it will
be so all the rest of my life. I am learn
ing, he soys, to be his wife."
"What do you mean, Redolette?"
asked the boy, dropping her hand and
turning to her with great earnestness,
his eyes ablaze, his cheeks flushed.
" You do not you surely do not mean
Judge Hunt wLen you say my hus
band ?' Oh, you are not in earnest; you
are teasing, you are joking; you are not
in earnest, Bedolette ?"
" In earnest, Willie," the girl replied.
"Do not look so fierce. Are yon a
wolf ? Are you going to eat me up ?"
' No, he is the wolf," said Willie, in
dignantly. " I have always been his little wife,"
said Bedolette. I was born so. Ever
since Bedolette was a baby,' he says,
' she has been mine. ' He is my guar
dian. My dying father left me in bis
hands, and he takes rare of me, and
takes care of the money I am to have
when I am of age; but before that, at
least so Aunt Bhoda declares, although
I don't say so quite before that we shall
probably be married. There 1 Now,
Willie, I'll go and ask leave."
Without another word she ran up the
path at whose outer terminus, the gar
den gate, they had been standing while
they talked, and disappeared in the
house.
She returned all smiles. "Judge
Hunt has gone down to the village for
the evening letters, and auntie says we
may go to the Block Height,' if we will
hurry home." She offered to take his
hand again as they went through the
catt, but Willie drew proudly back.
She started inquiringly, but still smil
ing. " Now, Willie," she said, " don't
spoil our dear little time. Please don't
be cros?,''
" I am not cross," said Willie; "I was
never less so in my life. But I certainly
shall not take the hand of another man's
wife. Yon do not understand me, Bed
olette," said this man of eighteen to the
baby woman at his side, in a voioe
thrilling with emotion and stinging with
reproach.
" Oh, I do," said Bedolette, deeply
shocked at his vehemence. " Indeed I
do, Willie. I understand you with all
my heart." They had gone some paces
down the maple-arched road before she
spoke again, and during that ti I e Wil
lie had taken the hand he had rejected,
and not only that, but he had tr one; erred
it from his right hand to his left, that
lie might encircle witn bis firm ara- her
little waist. She turned to him fully
her innocent, sweet face was there ever
a face more sweet and more innocent ?
and said, " You are the only thing, Wil
lie, in all the world that I do under
stand." " Oh, Bedolette?" sighed Willie, and
he kissed her cheek.
Sho broke away from him then, and
they had a raco. They raced down the
road to the lane; raced up the lane to
the posture fence; leaped over the fence,
cud this without any appeal for assist
ance from Bedolette, for she was a
mountain maid, and free and agile as a
bird; raoed across the upland meadow.
and then Willie caught up. The ascent
began; it became steeper and more
steep; they went slowly and more slow.
Bugged the way that looked so smooth,
viewed from below. They climbed wea
rily the steep stones, stopping occasion
ally to take breath, and to look back
with delicious little lingerings at the
pictured field and wood stretched at
their feet, and the zigzag village cling
ing to the river's brink as for dear life.
Before sundown they reached the
height. They found a seat just wide
enough for two in the crevice of the great
square rock that gave to tins accessible
hill-summit, perched amid prouder
mountain heights, its familiar name,
" Block Height." Flushed an! excited,
and again cooled and calmed, they rested,
while behind them the sun went down,
its orb quite hidden by interlocking hills,
and known only in its final departure by
the uplifting from the valley of the skirt
of sumptuous light.
-" Now, Bedolette, we must have a
solemn talk."
" Generally," said Bedolette, th a
demure yet coquettish accent, " I do not
like solemn talks."
" Never mind, Willie insisted, author
itatively, "whether you like them or
sot. Bedolette" He paused; he wea
going to say, " Bedolette darling," but
he restrained, for the sake of solemnity,
bis boyish warmth. "Bedolette, how
old are you "
She folded her hands in her lap, and
looked own Uk child at school called
to the recitation bench. "I shall be
sixteen the fifth of next month."
" Sixteen I And what do you know ?"
Bedolette laughed. " I know that"
Willie knew that too. " Sweet sixteen
sweetest sixteen I" he said in his
heart.
He asked her, gravely, "Where have
you been at school ?"
" I went for some time to Dr. K -'s
class at Z , but I have not been the
lost three terms. Jndge Hunt does not
believe in schooling for girls. Just now
I am taking lessons in housekeeping of
my aunt. I stitch shirt bosoms every
day four threads of linen forward and
two threads back, the regular old-fashioned
way. I sew and cook and bake. "
" Bake I" repeated Willie, indignantly.
" Or sometimes I fry. It depends
upon whether 'tis doughnuts or bread. I
would rather fry than bake; it is more
exciting."
I should think so, indeed. Why,
Bedolette, these are the tortures of the
Inquisition for yon. Fry and bakel
They might as well roast you nt the
stake. Of course these things have to
be done. We must have shirt bosoms
and bread, and it is right that you should
learn how to do them, or how to have
them done; but spend your life at such
tasks ? The idea is absurd. We might
as well harness doves to drays, or burn
rose-buds in our grates. Every work
has its own workers. My dear child,
there ore two rules for practical life
first tho greater must not be sacrificed
to the less, and second " Here Willie
was going to quote Carlyle at length,
but he recollected that he was talking to
a girl, aud he modified the grand sen
tences of the philosopher ending in,
" Know what thou canst work at," into,
" And you should do, Bedolette, what
you can do best. Now if you can really
do nothing better than cook, then that is
your work. But in this age of the world
you are not forced; you can have choice;
nud you must remember that we are liv
ing in the time of sewing machines and
scientific cooks. There is no need of
immolation in those departments of la
bor. We are living in a time " Willie
hesitated in the midst of his eloquence,
flurried by a little thing, a very little
thing; just the touch -of his hand by
Bedolette's an action softly, shyly
one,, but causing him to descend from
his speech to look into her face. He
paused for a moment, enchanted by the
serious sweet goze of her dark eyes
fixed upon his. But he recovered him
self and went on : " Do you know what
age of the world you belong to, Bedo
lette? You have no right to go back to
an age that yon were not born in ; you
have no right to marry a man who be
longs exclusively to that age, and avail
yourself of nothing that has occurred
since in the great march of progress.
You can go back if you desire it. You
are free ; you live in a free land. But
if you do not desire it, if you feel that
there is something in you higher than a
life of drudgery, unhghted by liberty
that ' makes drudgery divine ' unlighted
by love and oh I Bedolette, you do not
know what you are relinquishing when
you relinquish the possibility of ljve
if you feel a stir in your pulse that beats
with what is highest and nearest true in
the time we live in, darling Bedolette "
(this time the emphasis was laid with
sufficient stress to compensate for the
former restraint), " then I would die a
thousand deaths rather than see you
met in these woods by a selfish soul,
like Bed Riding-hood by the wolf, and
lured into a thatched hut, and eaten
up,' with no ear to hear your poor inno
cent cry of Oh, what big eyes you've
got ! and, ' Oh, what sharp teeth you've
got!'"
Willie was excited now. He fright
ened Bedolette. She sprang up before
him with a low cry a genuine cry of
pain, like a hnrt child. A sudden pallor
swept her face; the paleness as of a
woman's pang swept her childish face.
Then Willie took her in his arms, and
called her his precious love, and soothed
her with his tenderness, as he had
aroused her with his wrath. And then
and there, in the mountain solitude,
witnessed only by lonely height and
lonely wood and lonely earth and sky,
he made her make one solemn promise.
Not the promise that his heart burned
to have her make. For what he wished
so ardently, that nothing " before 01
after " could compare In ardor with that
hour's wish, was to make her promise to
be his wife. He reminded himself that
he had no right to do this. He was a
young fellow not yet graduated from
college; and after his senior year, just
commenced, there lay before him a
course of professional study, and then
the establishing of his profession's prac
tice, for his patrimony was by no means
commensurate with his wante. He had
no right to ask her yet.
He only made her gTant a promiso
formed disinterestedly and exclusively
for her good.
By this timo the sun had set. Shadows
mingled with shadows. The air gathered
that strange pure cool which seems to
blend and at the same instant define the
precious woodland scents. The soft
rustle of leaves, the twitter of sleopy
birds, the faint crashing sough of " the
long rank bent" as they entered the
fields, the infinitesimal fine yet clear
sounds of tho summer night rasped not
unmusically by the tiny sharp cries and
beating hum of the insect world these
were the vocal accompaniments of the
homeward way, for Bedolette and Willie
norujy spoke. Clasping each other a
nanus they went down the rocky steeps,
and across the meadows home.
And at the garden gate he kissed her
" good-night ana kissed her " aaoA-
by," for on the morrow he was to leave
the mountain farm, and she would not
see mm again.
Bedolette lingered in tho porch some
time before she entered the house. She
watched Willie's figure ross down the
road, and disappear at the river turn;
then the thought and thought. And
when she went into the lighted room
where Jndge Huut sat in his arm-chair
reading the evening news. Aunt Bhoda.
looking up from her needle-work to greet
the child with some reproof for staying
so late, let reproach die on her una.
Such a strange new look was on Bedo
lette a face I
" She never was the same girl," her
aunt said, long afterward, when ' this
evening was remembered as part of the
story of a mo, " never the same gri
after that walk to Block Height. But
I never see her " (Aunt Bhoda's gram
mar had grown rusty with her drudging
life) " I never see her look so beautiful
and so proud-like as she did when the
judge got np frcm the chair and was
agoin to give her a kiss. She drew
back her head like a queen, and just put
ont her hand for his lips; and he stared
at her. astonished, a moment, and then
kissed her finger-tips. Bedolette,' said
he, 'you've been imprudent; you've got
chilled through; your hand is as cold as
ice.' That was just all he thought about
it, but women is more keen; and I says
to myself, that very minnit, ' Yes, she's
caught a chill, and she's caught a fever,
the fever may last or it may not; but
the chill she's caught '11 last her the rest
of her life.'"
There comes into almost every ex
perience a night that, for its very dis
tinction of darkness and gloom and
blinding fright, is counted ever after
ward as " the night"
Such a night came to Bedolette. It
was the hour that Willie had anticipated
when he made her make a solemn prom
ise "for her good."
A night of storm, of wild wind and
drenching rain. But wind and rain
seemed feeble elements in comparison
with the cruel anger, the passionate up
braiding, and pitiless threats that formed
the actual dark pre-eminence of the
eventful night.
One bright scene stood out m relief
against the stormy background the
opening of a door in answer to a faint,
despairing knock ; a beaming home
room, warm with fire-light and gay with
cheerful lamps ; kind faces, kind voices,
smypathy, encouragement, help. So
every dark night even the darkest
has its friend.
Before morning dawned Bedolette,
urged with all the gentle and firm aid of
which she had need, was speeded forth
on a journey that was to cast into a
higher plane her whole future life. By
the time night had glimmered into day
Bedolette had made her escape.
Examination week at the famous girls'
school of N had reached its closing
act. Compositions were to be read in
the afternoon ; prizes were to be award
ed ; and at evening a collation would be
spread at half-past ten in the not spa
cious but particularly attractive grounds
of the N seminary, to end in garden.
party style, with a band of music and a
merry dance, the arduous exercises of
the week.
Intense interest gathered about this
closing afternoon. Indeed, when
one considers how small a part of the
great world the female seminary of
N , with all its frame, actually was,
it was wonderful how intense this inter
est became. One would say, who hap
pened to peep into the greenroom of
the composition-readers, waiting with
cold fright or with hectic agitation, each
for her turn to be called upon the stage,
that the result of this evening would be
something momentous enough to cause
an aberration in the course of our planet,
or, at the very least, a trembling in its
onward step.
This impression would not have been
lessened by reading the titles of the
compositions: "Women of our Cen
tury ; " The Dead .Fast burying its
Dead;" "The Future of the American
Republic" a very fine thing, and
winner of the first prize ; "spiritual
Tendencies of Astronomical Besearch ;"
Darwin s Development Theory con
fronted with Argyle's Reign of Law;"
" Is Genius Hereditary, and if so, from
the Paternal or the Maternal Side ? with
Statistics from Qalton, carefully com
plied, ana so onana so lortu.
Very simply, after this array, came
the announcement given by the principal
of the seminary, "A Mountain Brook,"
by Miss R. Kane.
(Jlosing exercises naa been lengthened
bevond their fixed time, and davlicht
was departing as Miss Kane made her
appearance from the greenroom, com.
position in hand. A side window had to
be opened to give sufficient light, and
through this opening came a rosy glow
that almost atoned for the lack of floral
tributes such as had overwhelmed the
entrance of every other reader. Not a
single flower was thrown to welcome the
coming of Miss B. Kane. "A friend
less girl," many of the audience thought.
But no one in the world is a friendless
girl, so the suddenly opened window
said ; for the sunset glow poured in and
enshrined her feet, and illumined her
garments, and crowned her young head
wi th flowers of light.
And in a timid, but clear voice tho
composition was read. "A Mountain
Brook, not scientific or erudite, but a
theme of action, and taking as a simile
of a useful life the trite figure of a river
bearing from its rocky solitude, through
wood and through field of grain, aud
over mill-wheel and by the town, its
ever-augmenting stream of refreshing
and compelling force.
The trite comparison was treated with
a novel graoe. And one thing was quite
remarkable about the composition a
i . , . ii A. i i 1 1
aescnpiiua ui iuu oueuery 111 wuicn tne
Mountain Brook was supposed to receive
from high authority its mission through
the thirsting earth. This description
was so vividly accurate that any one
familiar with a certain mountain locality
would have recognized at once that the
" Brook " sprang to light under the fern,
fanned cavern of Block Height.
No one among the andience, however,
was familiar with that particular nook
of upland scenery. No one, excepting a
handsome young man who had drawn to
himself during the afternoon the shyly
admiring glances of very many of the girls.
He had been restless, like the watcher
who impatiently awaits the striking of the
hour. When Miss Kane entered he became
still and satisfied, like the watcher when
the hour has struck.
"Bedolette I She has fulfilled her
promise."
These two unspoken sentences ex-
nrrwRed the mental impression, com
plete. For to this young man, through
the five years, including his senior year
at college, his law study, his energetio
PHtaViliHVimfint of law practice. Redo
lette " had been the embodiment of all
that is sweetest in a girl. And " she
has fulfilled her promise," referred not
an mnnh fn t.hft fact that this Sweetest
girl had kept her word to him as that
she had kept her word to Time kept
the promise of the lovely child to be
the loveliest woman.
"ltedolet.to"8aidWilae,
Thevihad entered one of the arbors
that had been improvised of cedars to
adorn the garden fete. They had been
walking arm in arm through the grounds
for a long time; for One of . the earliest
guests of the evening had been 'Willie
Locke, and he bad rushed immediately
to Bedolette's side, and had kept her to
himself all the evening. They chose to
walk in the garden rather than join in
the dance, for they had so much to say.
And they hod talked . over their five
years' separation and its leading events
before they went into the arbor to rest.
The la;t thing Bedolette had said in
the walk was, "So now, Willie, thanks
to the inspiring leader of my choice, I
am reaay to tase some part in the
movement of my time. My schooling
here is ended. My little inheritance is
made secure. I am my own mistress
now. I should like, if possible, to do a
little good in the world : and the only
question with me now ie, How shall I
do it best?'"
And here it was that Willie with a
sudden movement drew her into the
arbor, and said, with such an electrio
vibration in his voice as made her heart
seem for an instant to stop to beat.
"Bedolette-I"
Something so far beyond tho simple
name was implied by his vital utterance
of it that she made no response.
"Since I was happy," he said, "to
guide you aright once, let me be your
guide again. Let me tell you, Bedol
ette, my angel, my queen, how you can
do the most good in the world how I
am sure you can do the most good "
He paused, and Bedolette, whoBeeyes
had been tremulously cast down, lifted
her glance to his. I
And before she had time to really look,
to see all he meant before she had time
to let the question, " How ?" pass her
beautiful red lips, he had seized her in
his strong arms, he had answered her
once and forever:
"As my wife." ,
Solid Rock ns a Conductor of Sound.
The Virginia City(Nev.) Enterprise
says: It now appears from an official
statement made by Mr. Sutro, that the
header of the Sutro tunnel was 1,193
feet distant from the point where it will
strike the Savage incline. The state
ment is undoubtedly correct, yet the
workmen in the Savage, at the 2,000
level, are able to hear the steam drills
used in the tunnel header so distinctly
that all have heretofore believed the face
of the tunnel to be no further away than
three hundred feet. It was thought im
possible that the drills could be heard
to a greater distance through solid rock.
At the combination shaft they now say
that they were able to hear blasts fired
in the header of the Sutro tunnel when
it was 1,200 feet distant.' t Afterward,
when the tunnel was opposite to the
shaft, they heard nothing of the blasts,
nor could the men at work in the tunnel
hear those fired in the shaft, and Sutro
finally sent to inquire if they had dis
continued work. It is supposed that the
stratification and hardness of the rock
have much to do with the facility with
which it is traversed by sound. Hard
rock no doubt conveys sound to a greater
distance than that which is decomposed
and mixed with clay. Sound would also
be likely to follow the stratification. Of
late the header of the Sutro tunnel has
been in much harder rock than that
through which it passed when in the
neighborhood of the combination shaft.
At that point, indeed, the ground found.
both in the shaft and tunnel, was of the
kind called " heavy," being wet, spongy
and much inclined to swell.
Words of Wisdom.
Those who never retract, love them
selves better than the truth.
Half the truth may be a lie. in the ab
sence of the other half.
It is doubtful if any man could by
possibility do his noblest, or think his
deepest, without a preparation of suffer
ing.
Advice which, like the snow, softly
falls, dwells the longer upon, and sinks
the deeper into the mind.
Satin's promises are like the meat that
fowlers set before birds, which 13 not
meant to feed them, but to take them.
If you begin by apologizing for what
cannot be defended, you will end by de
fending what cannot be apologized for.
The mere lapse of years is not life.
knowledge, truth, love, beanty. goodness
and faith alone can give vitality to the
mechanism of existence.
Few men know the force of habit. A
cobweb a thread a twine a rope a
cable. Venture not upon the first; the
last is nearly past human effort to sun
aer.
If you are a wise man you will treat
the world as the moon treats it. Show
it only one side of yourself, seldom show
yourself too much at a time, and let
what you show be- calm, cool and pol
ished. But look at every side of the
world.
Singular Wagers.
Whn Mr. Penn matohed himself
against Hon. Danvers Butler, to walk
from Hyde Park Corner to Hammer
smith for a wager of 100 guineas, some
body remarked to the Duchess of
Gordon that it was a pity a young fellow
like Penn should always be playing some
absurd prank. "Yes," the old lady
retorted, "it is a pity, but why don t
you advise him better? Penn seems to
be a pen that everybody cuts and no
body mends." What would the free
spoken damn huva said to a. tvirmle nf
clergymen running a race on Sunday for
a crown a side ? Such a thing has been
done. Soon after Swift received his
deanery, he dined on Sunday with Dr.
Baymond, of Trim, whose house was
about 200 yards from his church. The
bell had nearly done ringing for evening
service, when Bwilt exclaimed ; " Ray
mony, I'll lav von a crown I beam nrav.
ers before you." "Done I" said the
doctor, and off they ran. Baymond
reached the doors first, and, entering
the church, made for the reading desk
at as quick a warning pace as his sense
of propriety permitted. Swift did not
slacken speed in the least, but ran nn
ii - i . i . y
we aisie, passea ius opponent, and
without stopping to put on a surplice
or open the prayer book, began the
Liturgy and went on with the service
sufficiently long to win t&9 wager, All
th Van -J
HIO 4 CUT VWHtl
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
flow to Urow Flower.
Many persons think that a great deal
of skill is necessary to grow flowers suc
cessfully, but this is not the cose. All
that is reqnired is a reasonable amount
of care and patience, and choioe flowers
con be as easily grown as choioe vegeta
bles. In the first place, good seed
should be obtained, or failure and disap
pointment is almost certain. The prin
cipal causes of failure to make seed
germinate are covering too deep, allow
ing the surface to become too dry, or an
excess of moisture. To guard against
these, a cold-frame is very nseful; and
would recommend everybody who has
half a dozen varieties to sow to try one.
It is made by making a box-like frame
of boards without a bottom, which should
be twelve or fifteen inches high at the
back, sloping to about six inches in
front, so as to catch the direct rays, of
the sun as much as possible. It can be
made of any size desired and nailed at
the corner, if small enough to be easily
moved about, or if larger, fastened to
gether with hooks and staples.
Prepare a bed in a warm, sheltered
spot in the garden; rake ont all the lumps
aud stones and on this set the frame,
and cover with ordinary hot-bed sash,
or old window Bash, which will' do quite
as well. Make the soil in the frame
smooth and firm with a board, and sow
the seeds thinly and evenly on the sur
face in squares, and label each sort with
short, pine stick. Have a pile of light.
sandy soil, or leaf mold from the woods,
which has been sifted through a fine
sieve, near at hand, and if the seeds are
very small carefully sift it oyer them.
Probably more failure to make seeds
germinate result from covering too deep
than from any other cause. A good and
safe rule is to cover to the depth of
about twice the diameter of the seed.
This would give a covering of about one-
eighth of an inch to such seeds as aster,
phlox and pansy; one-sixteenth of an
inch to petunia, portulaca, and seeds
of like size, while very fine seeds, like
lobelia, should be scarcely covered at
all, but merely pressed slightly into the
soil. After the seeds are all covered
make the soil firm again with the hands,
and water with a pot having a fine rose,
0 as not to wash the soil from the seeds.
Now put on the sash and keep it tightly
closed nntil the plants begin to come
up, watering often enough to keep the
surface moist. Cover the frame with
straw mats or boards at night to keep
out the cold, and after the plants are np
give plenty of air during warm, sunny
day. Pull out the weeds as fast as they
appear and keep the plants well thinned
out, so as they will grow strong and
stocky. The thinnings can be saved
and transplated to another frame if de
sired. After the plants have grown an
inch or two and obtained their second
pair of leaves, transplant them to the
garden, first giving the seed-bed a good
soaking with water. Transplanting
should be done on a showery day, if
possible; but it is better to transplant
in a dry time than to wait too long for
rain. Make holes where the plants are
to be set, fill them with water, and then
set the plant; water again and cover
each plant with a piece of paper held
down with clods of earth.
Household Hints.
Restoring Tainted Meats. Tainted
meat or game may be restored bv wrap.
ping it np closely in a fine linen cloth,
then, after throwing a shovelful of livo
wood-coals into a pail of water, put the
meat or game in and let it remain under
water five or ten minutes. This will re.
move all offensive smell, but it should
be cooked at once.
To Clean Brass. If the brass is
very much tarnished, use a little oxalic
acid solution. If spots are imbedded.
rub them out with a little powdered
pumice-stone. Then wash with water
and dry. Mix rotten-stone with sweet
oil to a paste, and rub it over the whole
surface of the brass with a smooth cork
until it assumes a greenish-black color,
Then wipe off completely with an old
cloth. Next rub over with lampblack
until thoroughly polished, using a soft.
smooth cork. This gives an excellent
result, and repays the extra trouble it
causes.
To Cleanse Water. Tf a lump of
alum as large as the thumb-joint is
thrown into four or five gallons of boil
ing soap-suds, the scum runs over and
leaves the water clean and soft and nse
ful for washing. We have often, in an
cient times, "settled "a glass of Missis
sippi water, and made it look as " clear
as a bell " in a few seconds by tving a
bH of alum to a string and twirling it
aronnd under the surface of the water
in the glass. Jfalla Journal of Health,
Testing Salt. A Pennsylvania but
ter-maker tests his salt by dissolving a
little in a glass tumbler: if the brine
formed is clear and free from bitter
taste, he pronounces the salt good; if,
on the other hand, it presents a milky
appearance, leaves any sediment or
throws scum to the surface, he rejects it.
House Plants.
Attention should be given to airing
and watering, as the weather will admit,
and as the sun becomes warmer. Some
plants may require shading at noonday
Plants that are making new growth, and
the roots being crowded into pots, should
be repotted. Shrubs that have done
flowering, should be trimmed. Dormant
lemon verbenas, fuchsias, etc. may be
brought from the cellar and started into
growth by moderate watering and
warmth. Look out for insects. Do not
subject roses and other plants to strong
drafts. The earth in pots should be
kept mellow.
The case of Miss Margaret Thomson.
who had her pot horse shod with golden
shoes and distributed showers of gold
among the poor of various European
towns, is in the Royal Lunatio Asylum.
Oartnaval, near Glasgow, whither she
was taken on her arrival in Scotland
from Barcelona, Spain, having been
taken charge of there by the British
Consul. She is about forty years of
age. On the testimony of Dr. Tannahill
she was declared unable to manage her
affairs.
All kinds oi trimmings of the material
are fashionable this season side pleat-
ings, box pleatings. knife-blade pleaU
ings, auirrings, puna, ruffles, flouncta,
Queer People at the Gaming Table.
A correspondent gives a description of
the celebrated public gaming tables at
Monte-Carlo, in Monaco. After refer
ring to the surly manner in which the
men controlling these demoralizing es
tablishments carry on matters, and the
thievish propensities of many of the
players, the writer adds: There is a
queer old character who haunts tne
tables, and who, although homely to the
last degree, is undoubtedly a lady of
education and refinement. She has a
Eassion for roulette, and it has been to
er what gin is to some, and dress to
others absolute ruin. Her appearance
is marked, for she has an enormous fore
head, which bulges out in an almost
semicircular curve. Her nose is a bold
snub, aud her chin is large and project
ing. She is always olod in rusty block,
dress, bonnet and shawl, and this brings
out into stronger relief the sallow
ness of her complexion, which indeed is
the color of an old parchment. When
she is in luck she stands up in her chair
with a great roll of five-frano pieces
balanced adroitly in her left hand, and
with her right she proceeds with won
derful rapidity to cover some five or six
numbers with bets. Nobody touches
her ijets, for I believe she would brain
then with the rake with which she
gathers in her winnings. When she is
in bad luck, she desoends to subterfuges
which must give her friends much an
guish. She waits nntil some player
comes with a system like her own, in
which many pieces are staked over many
numbers, and when he has covered a
portion of the table with bets, she pokes
in two or three five-frano pieces among
his, and no matter what number wius,
she insists that one of the pieces win
ning is hers. What can be done by gal
lant men under such circumstances?
She has the money, and he can only
submit. If he is an Englishman, he
turns red in the face and says nothing.
If he is a Frenchman, he shrugs his
shoulders, extends his hands, palms up
ward, deprecatingly, and looks round
with a martyrical smile for sympathy.
This he is sure to receive from the hangers-on.
There is another strange prac
titioner who is on speaking terms with
this lady. I think they talk over combi
nations. He has a piece of paper and a
pencil, and he studies the numbers for
hours before playing. Then he com
mences to play single five-frano pieces
on six numbers, and it is extraordinary
how often at first he wins, ii a iriena
drags him away after ten bets he is gen
erally a heavy winner, comparatively
speaking, but if he remains longer he is
sure to lose all his original gains and his
original piece. He has an exceedingly
intelligent face, but people do not like
him for a neighbor, lor he is mgntiuuy
dirty, and perfumed with garlic to a de
gree whioh is almost unbearable. I was
told that he had been a professor of
mathematics in an Italian university,
and was living on a small annuity, five-
sixths of which was absorbed by the
tables.
Women as Speculators,
It would seem unnecessary to caution
women against speculation, says a writer
in Harper a isazar. ay speculating we
mean an investment in things of nncer-'
tain value on which large profits are
hoped for. But since the boldest opera
tors nt Baden-Baden are woman, and
since they do personally, but oftener by
proxy, rush into the arena or the Dims
and bears of Wall street, caution on this
subject will not bo ont of place. The
folly of those who dabble in lotteries,
who see the wheel of fortune revolving,
aud imagine that it is loaded with bene
fits for them, is not folly merely, but
guilt. The rashness of those who hover
around the voitex of stock speculation is
not rashness merely, but probable per-
ditiou. And if it is rashness for men, it
is for women insanity. Though women
may never seek speculation of any sort,
it will pretty certainly seek them, often
in very enticing forms. There are two
good rules Vthich apply to speculation :
1. Never borrow money to speculate
with. 2.' Never speculate so deeply but
that, if you loose it all, you won't feel it.
i if teen hundred dollars of manufac
turing stock was offered to me at par,
with an assurance that it would sell in a
month for $3,000. I believed it. I had
no surplus money at the moment, and I
had adopted the rule above, not to
borrow for speculation. In a month
that stock sold for $3,000. Was I wise
or foolish ! Had I bought it, I should
have kept it through the intervening
years until now. A few days ago that
stock was sold at auction lor ten cents a
share a total of one dollar.
The time when speculation is most
rife is when money is cheap and abund
ant. And then the most dangerous form
of speculation is in city and suburban
lots. No oue thing has occasioned
greater disaster to well-to-do families
than this. It is so respectable to own
land, it is so solid and sure, and it won't
run away. "Would to Heaven it
would," says one, " if it would only
leave behind what I paid for it 1" The
rule should be remembered: never
speculate deeper than, if the loss be
total, it will not be ieit. mil the better
way is to avoid speculation altogether.
Superstition South of the Equator,
There are three great divisions of the
Indian family residing in the parts of
South America which lie south of the
Equator; but though differing in lan
guage, customs, and manners, they all
belong to the Aryan branch, and most
probably csme across in numerous
migrations from Central Asia by the
8 traits of Bohring. With regard to
religion, they believe in two gods. The
first is called by some Fillau; by others,
Cuobauciatru. or " the great god." He
is supposed to bear the human form,
but can make himself invisible. He is
tho creator of the world and author of
all that is good. The Indians never
assemble to worship him; he is sup
posed to be content with the respect
given to him in the heart of every indi
vidual. The other god is " the spirit of
evil." known as Gualichu; to him every
n ue..: s 3 a : i .
Bacnuoe aim oueriug u ui&uo w yiupin-
ote hu wioked designs. Not only do the
Pampa Indians believe in the Immortal
ity of the soul, but also in the doctrine
of metempsychosis: hence when burying
their dead, thoy always sacrifice over the
grave the favorite horse of the dead man,
i nd place beneath the tumulaa the war
rjor'arms, -
Items of Interest,
A rolling mill a fight in the gutter.
A New York company makes gas from
water.
They who " pine" in their youth can
never look " spruce " in old age.
The man who confines himself to the
drink which is best for him is well'
supplied.
At a recent auction sale in Paris a
S&adiyarius violin, 169 years old, old
for $4,200.
An advertisement travels and works
while the merchant is asleep and his
store is closed.
One Bussian in every six was either
killed or wounded during the recent
war with Turkey.
" I came off with flying colors," as the
painter said when he foil from a laddi r
with a palette on his tnump.
A man in New York has a machine in
operation with which he proposes to light
streets and houses with electricity by
means of wires.
There was a clever boy who said that
he liked a " good rainy day too rainy .
to go to sohool, and just rainy enough
to go a-flshing."
.Tanan is starting national banks in
every city and town, and the staid old
Japs are struggling with such words as
" protest " ana " discount.
Beetles aud butterflies, and all sorts
of flies of silver, gold, and steel filagree,
and tipped with imitation jewels opals,
diamonds, pearls, rubies and emeralds
are seen nestled among the bonnet
trimmings.
The arms of the thirteen original
states of the Union are represented on
panels between windows on the front of
the building which is to give a specimen
of American architecture at the Pari
show.
" Oh ! tell tne, gentle seraph,
With those ruddy lips of thine,
Tell me fondly, tell me often,
That you're mine, forever m'ne."
Then sho gape a gape and nodded,
Then another gape was born,
And her very silence answered,
" I am yawn, forever yawn."
We find in Dr. E. B. Foole' Health
Monthly an account of a man who, in
oue year, reduced his weight from 304
pounds to 200 pounds. A regular diet,
plenty of exercise and profuse perspira
tion accomplished the diminution in
avoirdupois.
In the spring the husband yearneth
For his other suit of olothos,
And he searchetu through the garret,
And he swears and bnmps his nose.
In the spring the yonng wife's fancy
Turneth back in wild despair,
She remembers that she traded
His old clotheB for china-ware.
The mail carriers between Little Cur
rent and Sault Ste. Marie, Canada,
' broke through the ice when about ten
miles east of the Spanish river, in
March, and men and dogs had a sharp
struggle for life. The men, Joseph
Denomie and Frank Mezai, after getting
out of the water directed their attention
toward rescuing the dogs, which were
fastened by their harness to the tobog
gan on which the mail bags were tied,
and which was rapidly drowning them.
Their efforts to save either dogs or mail
would have been useless but for the
sagacity of one dog, which, instead of
wasting strength in trying to get upon
the broken ice, seized the thongs by
which they were bound to the toboggan
iu his teeth, and deliberately gnawed
them assuder. Both dogs, thus relieved,
swam toward the men, who helped them
out.
A Lively Race After n Prisoner.
While the Sheriff of Chicago was tak
ing som prisoners to the jail at Joliet,
the following exciting incident occurred :
Thomas Deddy, twenty years old, under
sentence of one year for burglary, sat
only two seats from Sheriff Kern, shack
led to another prisoner. Every one was
laughing, talking, and enjoying himself
or herself in the best possible fashion.
Suddenly there was a noise. Kern
looked up iu time to see a pair of lego
vanishing tnrougu tne wmuow. xua .
train was jogging along at the rate of
twenty miles an hour, liern puuea tne
bell rope. Currier aided him with such
zeal that he broke tne astomsuea cora.
Brakes were immediately applied, but
before the momentum of the train had
materially decreased. Mr. Kern hail
leaped from the platform and was in hot
pursuit of the flying criminal. Mr.
Mills, A. S. Trude and others joined
in the chase with a " hoop-ia, ana
there was rare sport for a few moments.
Deddy made for the canal and piungea
in. .Before tne swimmer nau reucneu
the middle of tho sluggish stream, Mr.
Kern stood upon the recently-quitted
bank. He whipped out his revolver.
Kern is a remarkably accurate shot, and
Deddy knew it " Stop 1" shouted Kern,
" or I'll let drive a bullet 1" Up went
Deddy's hand as he amused himself in
the fashion of treading water. " Don't
shoot, Mr. Kern, I think I'll come
back." He did. He turned him about
in the canal, and sheepishly struck out
for the repugnant shore. He stepped
out very wet and very depressed in pir
ite. The fugitive was conducted back
to the cor, securely manacled, snd was
lost sight of no more nntil he stepped
behiud the walls of JoU riBon.
. Fashion Notes.
Mitta, either block or white, are to be
the rage this summer.
"Oatmeal" is the latest grain in
linen ; it has superseded flax.
French lisle thread gloves are long,
and have the stocking finish upon the
arm,
' Strapped " shoes, with the Fn neb
heel, are the favorite summit c.uns
suro. The fashionable sacqir : us o I. ng
waistcoat, cut square in the Louis a i ,
style, and a reverse collar.
Fine Scotch ginghams, in r.ivUy
checks, are " the thing " for summer
washing dresses, and they are tnmmea
with torchon lace.
Hats and bonnets worn in city streets
set very close to the head, the large
hats a la Gainesborough are reserved
for country wear.
Lenten hats are of black straw
trimmed with satin ribbon and flowers
or folda of groa grain. iK and black
feathers, gpl4 tipped ,