1 J
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher.
NIL. DESPERANDUM.
Two Dollars per Annum-
VOL. XII.
Through the Snow.
For what should I watch when the snow lies
white
On the top of the distant hill?
For what should I listen when all is hnsh'd
And when even the brook is still?
I wait for I know that my lore will coma,
Un some errand of mercy bent,
And my lady's face will be glad and bright
With the charm of a sweet content.
Bo I wait for the crackle of frozen snow,
For a step that setteth my heart aglow,
For a voice whose musio too well I know,
As my lady comes through the snow.
I know she will come, for the snow is hard
When it lies at the poor man's door,
And therefore my love with her gentle heart
Thinks the lich should befriend the poor)
Bo not vainly shall I for her coming wait,
And perchance it may even be
My lady shall learn from to-day to own
That her pity Bhould reach to me.
So I wait for the crackle of frozen snow,
For a step that setteth my heart aglow,
For a voice whose music too well I know,
As my lady comes through the snow.
And then when she comes through the crisp
white snow,
Will she meet me with clad surnrise ?
Ah I then, shall I read what my heart would
know
In the gleam of her sweet bine eyes ?
I know she will give me at least a smile,
And my heart in its light shall glow,
For love, in its warmth, can defy the cold,
And can laugh though the north wind blow.
So I wait for the crackle of frozen snow,
Fjr a step that setteth my heart aglow,
3;'or a voice whose music too well I know,
Asmv ladv comes thrnntrh iViA Rnnn.
The Major's Vindication.
"MissMnrble, I wish to speak with
. foil a moment before you go."
Katharine Marble or rather " Kit
ty," as every one had called her for
the last twenty years, the term of her
existence paused as she was in the
act of leaving the postollice, of which
she was the sole clerical force, and
turned toward her superior oflicer to
meet the smile which always made at
tractive the face of Major Wynne
when he spoke to any one, friend or
foe, though in truth the latter were
few.
The girl, a plump, pretty brunette,
had been "assistant postmaster" in
the village postollice for three years,
though the affable major had held his
position but a few months, since the
death of the former incumbent, a man
well burdened with ye;trs, who had
presided over the distribution of let
ters and papers for nearly two score
of years.
The noonuniu shadows had crept
closely up beside the buildings as if to
avoid the heat of the bright summer
day, as Kitty turned with a question
ing look. Major AVynne's smile was
as bland as ever, but his voice had an
uncertain sound as he continued a trille
deprecatingly :
"The tact is, Miss Marble, 1 feel
compelled to state that the increasing
duties of this oflice require that I
should employ, not more ellicient help,
for that" and his smile grew more
bland, if possible "would be impossi
ble to find, but some one who could
assume the responsibility of the office
to an extent hardly within the province
of a lady assistant."
Major Wynne's smile grew almost
imperceptible as he met the amazed
look which flashed from the black
eyes of the girl before him, though her
ripe, red lips uttered no sound.
"I know this comes rather unex
pectedly," he continued, finding that
she made no reply, "and places me in a
very disagreeable position. The oflice,
as you know, will admit of but one as
sistant, and there are various other
things you could do equally remunera
tive. You might teach school the
coming fall and winter in district No.
8, if you wished."
The girl fairly shivered, spite of the
warmth of the day, as she thought of
the dingy schoolhouse perched on the
bleak hill, of the rows of tow-headed
urchins and unmanageable girls, sharp
voiced, critical parents and the dull
life of country farmhouses comnared
... J f 1, 1. 1 - l . . 1
i. uui una, uicaauu iilo m liik
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D uuu ...... yi net
nnufrnro aa cua or i n i rr n c-......... i .
A . n . .
" Of PnilrflP Afr llrvnno T nnn (In1
' . uut. a V 1.1 1 IlUlt
iwinnvauLo iiiiau lumtr, auu lb IS quite
necessary for me to earn a living at
something I shall be thankful for any
laulafnnnA linn I w. " ,1 J . ' i .
less toward enabling irie to help
myself."
Her measured, even tones were
totally unlike her usually quick, alert
mode of speaking, and the color was
gone from her cheeks.
'"Who will succeed me?" she asked,
fter a1 moment's uncomfortable
rilence.
"Mr. Rawley's clerk, young Gray; he
is a smart, capable fellow, and will do
his best to please the public. I am
vary sorry that "
"Please say no more on this subject,"
she interrupted, hastily. " When does
my term of service expire?"
" Well, I thought a month's notice
would. De sufficient. Mr. Gray will
come Alto the olllce immediately, and
by tha time will have become familiar
with the details of the work."
She went out into the sunshine,
scarcely heeding its brightness, for
this dismissal was a severe blow to
her. She had taken pride in her work;
what would have been dull routine to
some, she performed with pleasure;
had the same kindly manners for
young or old, rich or poor, and had
come to seem part and parcel of the
otherwise somewhat dingy nnd unat
tractive postofllce.
She walked slowly over the uneven
plank sidewalk, her eyes cast down,
looking neither to the right nor left.
She took no notice of those she met,
till a young man raised his hat and
spoke pleasantly to her. Then she
looked up. A tall, fair young man.only
a year or so her senior, stood smilingly
.Firfl tin
"How do you do, Mr. Gray? she
returned, In answer to his salutation.
He noticed her look of discomposure.
"Why did you resign at the postofllce?"
he queried, with the familiarity of an
old acquaintance, as he walked up the
street beside her.
Her first thought was to give him
an evasive answer "I will tell you
the truth," she said, quietly, "Mr.
Wynne wishes more responsible help;
in fact, wishes a gentleman assistant."
The young man whistled softly. "I
was given to understand that you were
leaving of your own accord, though
not in the same words," he returned,
"or I should not have aceppted the
major's offer."
She laughed, a trille forced and un
natural. " You are not at all to blame;
I hope you will succeed, and 1 am con
fident you will give satisfaction."
With theso few words she left him,
tripped lightly up a path to a door and
vanished, while Allan Gray mused to
himself: "I don't understand this
matter. She is certainly more compe
tent than I am, fully understands the
work, and will work for f 100 a year
less than the salary he has offered
me."
For the next month Kitty Marble
and Allan Gray labored together sort
ing letters and papers, filling mail
bags and waiting upon the rough
crowd who came from out of town, for
Unionvillc had no rival po.stoflice for
miles. And Major Wynne took a
vacation during this month, return
ing with a smile even more affable
than usual.
And Kitty, failing to find anything
more promising, accepted the school in
district Xo. 8, and strove with com
commendahle zeal to instill some en
thusiasm into the thick heads of the
stolid crowd over which sho was in
stalled as ruler.
The schoolhouse was but four miles
from the village, and during the fall
term she visited home two or three
times a week, meeting always a warm
greeting from the business men and !
others who remembered her bright lace :
and cheerful ways so well. And the !
village gossips noticed and commented
upon the fact that Allan Gray was fre
quently seen driving Major "Wynne's
spirited colt, with Kitty Marbleseated
in the buggy beside him. for the maior
seemed well pleased with his new as
sistant, and was disposed to favor him
in all possible ways.
Hut when the bleak Xew England
winter came, and the snow lay piled
in deep dritts, poor Kitty had "a lone
some time indeed, for somehow the
major had changed slightly toward
Alien Gray and no longer tendered him
tho '.iso of Mo rolt nor gave hlia 30
many holidays as formerly, though the
young man, could not really say that
Major Wynne ill-treated him in the
slightest degree.
The winter term of school was two
thirds over and in another month
Kitty would be at homo again. The
committee had praised her, as she
thought, more than she deserved, and
ono of the village schools had been
offered her, and the thought of being
once more a daily resident of Union
ville, to say nothing of a largely in
creased salary, helped her to bear the
monotony of her present life. She sat
talking with the woman of the house
wneie sue uoarueu tne evening atter !
this welcome news had been imparted !
to her. Her heart was light and her
....
wnoie being thrilled with happiness.
"Well," said the mistress of the
house, whose husband was away in
the lumber woods, " I'm mighty glad
for your sake, though we'd like to have
y'hero ag'in. You've done more good
to these young ones of mine than all
the other teachers put together. Zach,
here, was al'ays called a dunce till you
took him in hand, an now he can Ag
ger an' writo an' read an' spell, an'
land only knows what he doesn't
know."
The rude, unlettered mother smiled
proudly upon her awkward, half-grown !
uoy as uiougn sno believed he would i
be at least a college professor before i ted. The detective returned to Wash
many years had elapsed, while Zach ! ington, and Major Wynne walked
grinned bashfully and turned away to i nbout the village streets, smiling
hide his confusion. The lad walked ! again, asserting that he had gained a
over to a window and looked out.
Then he started back quickly, all traces :
or cratineci vanitv crone from his i
freckled face.
"Oh, marm ! teacher! there's ater'
ble fire som'eres I" he gasped; "look
out an' see !"
Sure enough, when the startled
women and frightened children looked
from the windows the southern sky
was Ad with the light of a conflagra
tion not many miles away.
"It's Unionville," said "the mother of
Zach, when she had found her voice;
"the hull town's agoiu'," and she sank
back helplessly in her chair, while
Kitty trembled with a new-born terror.
If the town was burned up what
would become of her promised school
in me village with its attendant hap
piness? Xearly the whole night long they
watched the huge masses of liame
brightened smoke roll up and surge
away to the eastward, for a strong
west wind was blowing.
The next day they learned that over a
dozen buildings of more or less mag
nitude, including the postollice, had
been swept away, the fire raging till
nothing was left upon which to ex
pend its fury, though an easterly wind
wt nld have swept nearly the entire
town.
It was a couple of weeks before
Kitty walked the streets of dearly-beloved
Unionville and looked upon the
blackened ruins of what had once
been imposing walls of clapboards and
shingles, for the village was built
almost wholly of wood. Thepostoflice
had found other quarters, though the
lock-boxes, the boxes with glass fronts,
the pigeon-holes, delivery-window and
drawers, all so dear to Kitty from long
association, were sadly wanting as the
girl stepped into the unfamiliar place.
"Was all the property destroyed?"
she asked of Allan Gray, who was
RIDGrWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28. 1882.
Mone ia the impromptu office, his
usually fair face whiter than she had
ever seen it, and wearing a strangely
haggard and careworn look.
" Everything but what was in the
safe, and what is worst of all, a num
ber of hundred dollars and a lot of
stamps which I was positive I put in
the safe could not be found, and must
have burned with the building. Some
books also cannot be found containing
accounts and returns to the department
at Washington."
There was a strange, half-frightened
look on Allan Gray's face as he ceased
speaking that caused Kitty to ask
quietly :
" They didn't accuse you of taking
or "
"Xo, no," he interrupted, hastily,
his fair face tinged with color and his
sensitive Hp quivered for an instant ;
"Major Wynn could not have treated
me better if I hud been his own son.
He says the deficiency caused by the
fire will have to be allowed by special
act of Congress. But what 'troubles
me is the fact that I "remember bo dis
tinctly of seeing the money and other
valuables in the safe."
He turned wearily away to wait
upon an applicant, after which he re
sumed his story to Kitty who had
stood silently meantime : "I wanted to
resign my clerkship, but the major
wouldn't listen to it. He said it was
only a mistake, and that they would
occur if all possible precautions were
taken. I insisted upon leaving at first,
I was so positive that I had put the
things in the safe, but he said some
might cast suspicion of wrongdoing
upon me if I did, and so I staid."
Kitty made no comments. She learned
that Major Wynne had taken the safe
to his house as soon as it could be
cooled sufficiently, but, beyond the fact
that he had declared that no money or
stamps were found upon opening it,
she could learn nothing. She finished
her school in district Xo. 8. rested a
few weeks, and took up her duties
again in a village school-room to teach
the spring term.
A strangely sober, almost somber
mood had fallen upon Kitty. Her in
cipient flirtation or embryo courtship
with Allan Gray was to all appear
ances at a standstill. Though the
young couple did not avoid each other,
yet there was a certain reserve in their
conduct not calculated to ripen friend
ship into a warmer feeling. The post
office had not been consigned to
permanent quarters, nor would it be
till the late summer or early fall,
though appartments sufficiently com
modious had been secured for the sum
mer. The diys had scarcely reached their
greatest length when another stir of
excitement rippled through the current
of life in Unionville. A detective
from W ashington had appeared in the
village to investigate matters at the
postofllce. Strange rumors floated
upon the air, and Allah Gray and Major
Wynne became objects of much
curiosity to persons at all tainted with
gossipy propensities.
Nothing could be learned definitely ;
only tha$ a heavy deficiency was laid
at the door of the Unionville postollice,
which Major Wynne declared could be
accounted for by the fire of the previous
winter, though matters since that date
' o
did not appear satisfactory to the
government official sent to investigate
the affair. Letters containing small
sums of money were claimed to have
been lost, ind discrepancies in the
accounts were ferreted out, and now
both the major and young Gray wore
haggard faces and walked with un
certain step. But neither was arrested,
Major Wynne declaring that the matter
would be eventually cleared up and
that he believed Allan Gray was the
soul or honor.
So the major s bondsmen took the
office under their immediate charge,
ret aining young tiray, though sorely
against his will, telling him that it
would be better for him to remain till
me matter was tnoroughly mvesticra-
thread by which the whole matter
could be unraveled, though what this
new-iound clew was he could not di
vulge for the present:
But Allan Gray seemed failing in
health and spirits, and oftentimes
Kitty, whose school was not in session
ut that time, was called in to assist
or take the place of the dispirited
young clerk, and sometimes Major
AVynne was also called upon to render
assistance. And not a few people had
come to hint openly that the cause of
Allan Gray's disquietude and failing
health was due to a load of conscious
guilt.
The government detective had put
in another unexpected appearance and
was closeted in the evening with one
of Major Wynne's bondsmen the act
ing postmaster when some one rapped
sharply upon the door. Mr. Marsh,
the bondsman, opened the door and
stood face to face with Kitty Marble.
Her eyes wore a strange, intense look,
and a vivid color burned in her cheeks.
"I beg pardon for intruding upon
you," she said in a quiet, even tone.
" Mrs. Marsh told me you were en
gaged, but I made bold to call upon
you just the same. I want a favor."
The detective eyed her keenly, while
Mr. Marsh answered: "Certainly, Miss
Marble, I will grant with pleasure any
favcr that I can."
" Do not make any rash promises,"
she said with a half smile, and then
she continued, earnestly: "Mr. Marsh,
I want some decoy letters sent through
this office with money in them,
and then I want you and this
gentleman to watch Mr. Gray as
sort the mail to-morrow evening. It
can bo done easily from a flight of
stairs which run up at the rear of the
back office. The partition is merely of
boards, and I will arrange that loop
holes shall be made. Mr. Gray will be
absent until evening to-morrow, and J
will bo in the office alone. -Here ore
some letters with money in them," and
she produced some half-dozen letters,
addressed In various styles of writing
to parties out of the State, the fact that
they contained money being apparent
to an experienced eye and band.
Mr. Marsh gazed upon her in up. . h
less astonishment, while the eyes of the
oflicer twinkled as he said: "Do as the
young lady wishes; there is no harm in
it, and there may be much good. I
will take the stage for the north in the
morning, and will mail the letters. I
will return on the stage at night, and
getoff out of the village a ways."
" I've no objections to trying it, but,
really, Miss Marble, why are you so in
terested in this matter?" asked Mr.
Marsh.
The girl flushed and paled. "I have
had more or less conncf-n with the
business, and I know that letters have
been lost recently, and if Mr. Gray is
the guilty party I think he will be de
tected by this means and, if so, I be
lieve he will make a full confession,
which, under the circumstances, would
be due to Mr. Wynne, in justice to
himself and family."i
" AVhere is Mr. Gray going?" queried
Mr. Marsh.
" He is going out of town only a
dozen miles or so , on the southern
stage, and expects to bn back at 6 in
tho afternoon," answered the girl,
rising to take her leave.
A few minutes after 8 the next even
ing Mr. Marsh and the detective ad
mitted themselves into a back hall of
the postoffice building, a key having
been furnished the former by Kitty
early in the day. Part way up the
stairs, which led to vacant rooms in
tho second story, they found small
apertures in the board partition by
means of which they had a full view
of the back oflice. A lamp, turned
low, stcod upon the mailing table, but
the room was tenant!ss.
" I hardly like thh business," mut
tered Marsh, but the detective made
no answer.
A footstep fell softly upon the step
of the rear door, a key turned in the
lock, the door opened, and the men on
the stair saw a female figure glide into
the dark hall, the door closed, then a
match scratched on the wall, a weird,
blue light flashed and sputtered for a
moment.and then the features of Kitty
Marble became visible as she lighted a
small hand-lamp. She motioned them
to be silent as she stepped swiftly and
noiselessly up the stairs to the entry
above. Here she crouched down upon
tho floor, the lamp be: ide her, and fixed
her glittering eyes with almost cat
like intensity upon the two men below
her on the stairs. " ,,
Mr. Marsh could senroely withdraw
his gaze from her. Could this be the
bright, happy Kitty Marble whom he
had known since her infancy ? But a
noise in the oflice warned him that his
services as spy were needed. The de
tective seemed glued to the wall, and
he applied his own eye to the gimlet
hole before him. lie could hardly
suppress an exclamation of disappoint
ment. It was not Allan Gray who
stood at the mailing table sorting let
ters, but Major AVynne. All their
contriving had been in vain when
suddenly his heart leaped to his throat
and he seemed suffocating. Major
AVynne had actually taken up a letter
and deliberately opened the envelope,
putting it in one pocket and the con
tents in another. And this act was
quickly followed by a similar one.
Honest Enoch Marsh had never in
all his lifetime before witnessed a
transgression of the law of any mag
nitude, and to be thus brought into
such close proximity with so heinous a
crime as downright robbery deprived
him of nearly all his strength. A cold
perspiration broke out upon him as he
drew back and turned his ghastly face
toward the quiet, watchful girl only a
few feet away. His eyes glared back
at her bright orbs which had lost none
of their intensity, but she shook her
head and frowned, and once more he
peered in upon the -ulprit, while the
officer never moved a muscle.
Several times he saw the man whom
tho whole community would have
trusted with their lives abstract money
from letters, disposing of them as he
had the first, and then the detective
turned and whispered:
"Let's slip out and go around and
enter the office and arrest him with the
proofs of his guilt upon him."
Poor Major Wynne his bland smile
was sadly wanting as the two men
burst in upon him. He made no re
monstrance against being searched,
shaking his head and moaning, " My
poor babies, my poor babies."
It was the greatest shock Unionville
had ever received, and hundreds came
in the early morning to see the pitiful,
broken-down man in his narrow quar
ters in the jail. His wife sat with pal
lid face beside hiin, and his three little
children clung to his knees, scarcely
realizing their father's misfortune,
though with a vague, frightened look
in their little faces. A great deal of
sympathy was expressed for the major
and his children, though the mother
shared it in less measure, for to her
well known extravagance the major's'
dow nfall was attributed. Toward noon
the detective and a local oflicer, armed
with a search warrant, visited the ma
jor's house, holding a conference with
Kitty Marble shortly afterward.
That afternoon an out-of-town friend
brought Allan Gray home, still in igno
rance of the developments of the night
before. He looked so pale and feeble
that his mother feared to break the
news to him, and looked relieved when
Kitty Marble came lightly up tho stens
and greeted Allan warmly. Her eyes
sparkled and her cheeks glowed as sh6
said:
' Oh, Allan I the mystery is solved
and you are freed from all suspicion.
Major AVynne was the thief."
Ilia eyes brightened at once. Her
cheerlness was contagious. "But the
money and stamps," he faltered. "I
was sure I put them in the safe." His
suuden cheerfulness seemed fading
away.
. ''And so you did," she cried, im
pulsively, clasplig his thin hand, "and
that horrid Major AVynne stole them
out, and then lied about it. They
found the books and part of tho stamps
hidden In his house this forenoon,"
and she went on rather incoherently
to tell him of her part in the plot' to
capture the thief, Mrs. Gray leaving
the room.
AVhen Kitty had finished she was all
of a tremble, for a strange look had
come over the pinehed fce before her.
Allan Gray rose to Ids feet, gifted
yrith a suddea strength, and looked
manfully into th black eyes which
suddenly drooped.
"Kitty," he demanded, "why did
you take such an active part in this
matter?"
Their eyes met. The black eyes and
the blue eyes asked and answered
questions with lightning-like rapidity.
"I could rot see you die," whis
pered the owner of the black eyes, and
he of the blue answered, softly: "You
have saved my life and you must
watch over it," which subsequent
events proved that she was willing
to do.
Allan Gray received the postmaster
ship and declared that the reason the
major dismissed Kitty now Mrs.
Gray was to be rid of her sharp eyes
so that he might the better enjoy the
"spoils of oflice." Springfield Republican.
Door Knobs.
There is hardly any ebject that
everybody handles so frequently, finds
so necessary and yet thinks so little
about, as the door knob. A gentleman
who has all his life kept up an inti
mate business acquaintance with door
knobs said recently concerning them:
All the door knobs in England form
erly were made of wood or cast iron
big, solid, heavy things and for a
time the American ones were the
same. But that could not last in this
country, where taste and inventive art
are active in the combination of the
useful and the beautiful for every use
in life. AAre soon commenced to
make our own door knobs, upon the
old English plans at first, but ere long
with other materials, and with an eye to
improvement in form and color, begin
ning a progressive course of improve
ment that already puts us in this spe
cialty, as in many others, ahead of the
world in the production of goods that
are at once beautiful, durable and cheap
enough to be popular. It was about
1842 or 1843 that the manufacture of
door knobs from clay was commenced
in this country. Clays that would
change their colors in baking were se
lected and mixed together, after being
very finely ground, pressed into molds,
baked to what is technically known as
biscuit, then coated with a fusible com
pound called "glaze," and rebaked at
sufficient heat to melt the glaze and
give them a glassy surface. They had
a dark mottled appearance, were known
as "mineral door knobs," and sold as
high as $18 a dozen pairs, They still
have a place in the market, but they
are worth now only eighty cent3 a
dozen pairs the cheapest made.
The greatest stride in the progress
of door-knob manufacture was taken
in 1873 or 1874. The material em
ployed is bronze, mainly composed of
nine parts of copper and ono of tin.
Tho molds prepared for it are made
with such extreme nicety and fidelity
to their pattern that they reproduce
lines as delicate as the veinings of a
tiny leaflet, and the molten metal is
forced into them by screw pressure
while they are inclosed in a vacuum
box. The articles made in this way
are known as compression bronze
goods, and a variety of claims to supe
riority over other bronze goods are
made for them, the principal of which,
as far as the public is concerned, is
their beauty. Some of them are plated
with nickel and gold, nickel and silver,
or silver and gold in various combina
tions. The most expensive are those
with combined decorations of enamel
and gold, which mount up to $15 or
$16 a pair.
Xot a great while ago, a rich
banker in Portland, Oregon, sent all
the way here to Xew York for the
door knobs for a magnificent mansion
he was building. He wanted dozens
of knobs, but the highest num
ber of any one kindof the same
size w.as three. In each room,
however, the design selected for
it was carried through largo and small
sizes, wherever a knob was used. He
also had the taste to select the three
shades of bronze in which fine knobs
are made, so as to harmonize with the
prevailing hue of the woods or decora
tions of the apartments for which they
were severally designed.
In some old European castles and
palaces one sees door knobs of silver,
and silver fhlaid with gold, but euch
things are rarely if ever made now,
never in this country. New York Sun.
An Animated Calendar.
Orange Bennett, colored, is an ani
mated calendar, says the Elizabeth
town (Ky.) News. Ask him what
day of the month it is, or what day of
the week Christmas or Fourth of July
comes on, and, without a moment's
hesitation, he gives tho correct an
swer. Any date you desire within
two years he will give instantly. AVhat
makes it so remarkable is he doesn't
know one figure from another.
" You see, grandma, we perforate an
aperture in the apex and a correspond
ing aperture in tho base, and by apply
ing the egg to the lips and forcibly
inhaling the breath, the shell is en
tirely discharged of its contents."
"Dear me" exclaimed the old ladj,
"what wonderful improvements thej
do make. Now, in my younger days
they just made a hole in each end and
sucked,"
SCIENTIFIC NOTES.
Man, the goat and the wild carnl fora
are the only animals capable ot re
sisting the tiietse fly of Africa.
1 A Belgian scientist concludes that
the seat of the electricity of storms is
not, as generally admitted, in the moist
region of the atmosphere, but in the
cold and dry superstratum.
A German paper, speaking of bread
making, says : " Fungoid germs may
be introduced with bad flour into the
bread, which will not be destroyed by
the baking temperature of the inside
of the loaf (212 degrees F. ). In the year
1840 an orange-colored fungus was
often observed in France in the bread,
and indeed often in such quantities
tht red, evil-smelling dust particles
would issw when the bread was
broken."
Experiments'made by J. Aitken con
firm the usual notion that pure water
has a blue tint; but he finds that the
theory of selective reflection is insuffi
cient to account for all tho variations
as to tint met with in the case of nat
ural accumulations of water. Whitish
particles are suspended in the water of
the Mediterranean Rnd the tint varies
from deep blue to chalky blue-green,
according to the proportion in which
these particles may be present.
A very faulty lightning-conductor
may sometimes protect a building.
M. Him tells of such a case which
lately occurred at Colmar. A thin iron
rod, about twenty-six feet long, had a
conical brass point screwed on the
top, and was connected below by
means of a series of pieces of thin
wire, having terminal eyes, with a
block of iron about twenty inches
long in the ground. During a violent
thunder-storm lightning melted the
brass point, but the current seems to
have nowhere left the conductor.
M. Him insists that the mere fact
of a lightning discharge on the point
of a conductor is proof of very imper
fect construction, as, during more than
forty years of observation, he has never
aeen lightning strike one of the forty
or fifty lightning rods of the factories
of Loge-lbach, although he has found
that currents are almost constantly
passing through the rods in the pres
ence of thunder-stooms.
HEALTH HINTS.
To relieve toothache apply to the
troublesome tooth a tiny piece of cot
ton saturated with ammonia.
Live out of doors, well clothed, so as
to keep warm. Out-of-door life is es
sential to health, and particularly to its
recovery.
The laws of development demand
that in infancy and childhood the
bones be fed, in youth the muscles, and
in adult age the nerves, bones and
muscles all need feeding.
It is stated in Dr. Foote's Health
Monthly that tight lacing predisposes
to red noses by interfering with tho
free circulation of the blood and caus
ing congestion of the capillaries of the
skin.
In an article in the Australian
Medical Journal, it is observed that
the tomato is a most useful plant. It
has been found to be effectual in many
diseases, especially as a preventive of
typhoid fever.
There are times in the lives of chil
dren when colds are taken, no one
knows how, and when toothache is al
most unbearable, and yet it is not
advisable to have the tooth extracted.
One means of relief at such a time is
to cut a largo raisin open, roast it, or
heat it, and apply it around the tooth
while it is as hot as can be borne ; it
will operate like a little poultice, and
will draw out the inflammation. To
wet a flannel cloth with strong vinegar
and then put a hot iron under it, and
so to steam the face, will aid in reduc
ing inflammation.
Xilsson on Oscar AVilde.
Mme. Xilsson, the singer, was Inter
viewed in Chicago, and took occasion
to give a pretty plain opinion of Oscar
AVilde after this fashion :
He ought to have been taken by the
ear and taken to the boat and driven
out of this country. AVhat right has
he to come here and say that every
thing American is all wrong? I think
that your people are too good
natured or they never would stand it.
I know I shouldn't put up with his
nonsense. You know in Europe he
doesn't appear clad as he does here.
That wouldn't be tolerated there. The
ladies are taken by that lock of his on
his forehead. The idea of a sunflower
being pretty I It reminds me with its
yellow color of paleness and sick
ness. I like the lilies ; there
is nothing more perfect than
the lily-of-the-valley. But that sun
flower if that is a:stheticism I am not
sesthetic. That craze has been the
means of accumulating a mass of
worthless rubbish in lots of houses. I
met Oscar AVilde in London once,
where we were both guests, and he
was to take me down to dinner. He
commenced to talk his nonsense and
pose to me as we were going to the
dining-room. I said to him: "Look
here, Mr. AVilde, Mme. Christine Nils
son will put up with no such stuff.
This is all put on, and there is nothing
in it but nonsense." Mr. AVilde said :
" Thank you. You are the first sensi
ble woman and true friend that I've
met." After that he acted as a man
should, and talked sensibly. Some days
after he sent me a volume of his poems,
appropriately inscribed. But he is not
considered a poet in Europe.
Two years ago Aresson, Miss., was
only a pine forest. It has now a cot
ton mill employing 1,000 hands, and
nearly 3,000 inhabitants.
All nature is a vast symbolism.
Every material fact has sheathed with
in it at least one spiritual truth,
NO. 45.
John konnrd lMjne.
lho letnauis oUIie actor, journalist. play
wright and diplomat, John Hiward Payne,'
are interred at '!'um, North Africa. Arrange
ments me Loing perfected by W. W. Cor
coran, the wealthy Washington philan
thropist, to have those sacred relics of the
author of " Hmie, Bwent Home," eihumed
and transported to the United States for re
interment in Oak Hill cemetery, in Wash
ington City, where a suitable monument will
be erected.
O sacred Bhip, safe o'er the wandering foam,
Bear the dear relics, of the wandered
Payne,
Whose weary soul oft sighed for rest In
vain,
O'er life's wide desert forced afar to rwtin,
Arersed in affairs and men, no learned tome
He filled, the applause of the Intellect to
gain, - .
But, for the heart, he sang one deathless
strain .. .
Homeless himself, the song of "Homo, Sweet
Home."
Serving hie ountry on a foreign shore,
Death took him by the hand, and, whisper-'
ing, said
"Home I" and, rejoicing, forth with him he
went.
His dust give, Corcoran, to be moved no
more,
A home In yoer loved City of the Dead,
And oarve his Iyrio on his monument.
W. L. Shoemaker.
BUJIOR OF THE DAT.
A maritimo romance A wedding.
Successful books Those bound to
sell.
Protection for home industries A
lock and key on the pantry door.
Waterloo Observer.
The toothless man ought to be a
sweet talker, for all his words must of
necessity be gum drops.
Earth has nothing softer than a
woman's heart, unless, perhaps, it be
a tomato in the prime of life. Lowell
Citizen.
" It a two-wheeled wagon Is a bicy
cle and a three-wheeled wagon a tricy
cle, what would you call a five-wheeled
one?" A V-hicle, of course. Phila
delphia News.
The reason aesthetics so admire the
stork is that he can stand for hours on
one leg and look as though he didn't
know unything and didn't want to.
Somerville Journal.
It is some two hundred years since
punctuation came into use, but it will
probably be two hundred more before
the party who sends contributions to
the local paper adopts the system.
tioctiiana courier.
The Rome Sentinel thinks it was
not altogether inappropriate that a
bald-headed man, in making a will,
should devote his faculties to some
wise provision that would prevent the
heirs from falling out.
No more the wildwood cheers our eyes
With eglantiueand aster,
No more the kine do kick the flies
That tease them in the pastur',
No more are rural maids employed
In mashes with the "utter,"
But well they fill the aohing void
With buckwheat cakes and butter.
Home Sentinel.
A story is told of an Englishman
who was lately obliged to travel in Ire
land a duty he approached with fear '
and trembling. His affrighted senses
were startled on hearing a fellow pas
senger in the railway carriage remark
to another, " I'm just afther bein over
to Kilpatrick." "And I," replied the
other, "am afther bein' over to Kil
mary." "AVhat murderers they are,"
thought the Englishman. " And to
think that they talk of their assassina
tions so publicly." But the conversa
tion went on: "And fhare are you goin'
now?" asked assassin Xo. 1. "I'm goin'
homo aud then to Kilmore," was No.
2's reply. The Englishman's blood
curdled. "Kilmore, is it ?" added Xo.
1. "You'd better be comin' along wid
me 10 .ruiumauie. ii is reiateu that
the Englishman left the train at the
next station.
" Speaking of owing men and feel
ing unpleasant whenever you meet
them," said Colonel Mickle, "brings
up a rather unpleasant remembrance
of a man to whom I was indebted.
There were numerous men in Little
Bock who had financial claims on me, .
and whenever I met them I could not.
help but feel a sort of shiver creep
over me, but there was one man whom
I liked to meet." " Didn't bring up
any unpleasant memory, eh?" said
Paxton, who owes nearly every man
In town. "No, sir." "Didn't shud
der when you met him on the street?"
" No. I'd walk past him as though I
owned the street." "I suppose you
knew, then, that he did not need the
money?" "Xo, sir, for I was well
aware that he did need it." " AVell,
what was the cause?" "He was
blind." Arkansaw Traveler.
A AVonderful Cave.
A wonderful cave has been found
near Sawtotho, Idaho Territory. One
chamber which was explored is said to
contain tho image of a man made of
what had the appearance of silver. At
tho head was a helmet of a peculiar
pattern, in which were three imitation
feathers made of gold or copper. From
the mouth of the strange image pro
ceeded a flame. A theory Is that the
prehistoric race that erected it. had dis
covered a gas-jet and that there is
communication down through the
body to the solid rock, from which the
gas proceeds perpetually. On the walls
were hieroglyphics, which, of course,
could not be read. In one corner was
a very large human skeleton, at least
nine feet high, and by it a stone toma
hawk and a large cross-bow, which,
although it had the appearance of bfr
ing perfectly sound, fell into a thousand
pieces when an attempt was made to
lift It A cit i . . .
n .v. oiuiiD jiiunar coniaininir
some very rich gold specimens was
found, and also some large pieces of
ruby silver.
It is estimated that the liquor saloons
of Chicago sell $10,000,000 worth of
liquors per year. Of this amount
6.000,000 is uewfit, 1