Z5 v.1 r B P. BOHWEIER. THE OONSTITUTION-THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. Editor and Proprtotor. VOL. XLVI. MIFFLINTOWIS. JUNIATA COUNTY. PENN A.. WEDNESDAY. MARCH 2. 1892. NO. 11. I U I r 7 THE NEW YEAR'S SHIPS. BT HELEN CHASK. Across the the chnntlnc . They have sulleil in the New Year' ships To ereet them, down mitotl.e sands. TMronnfrH ev with siiiile-rethiHl llos; For womtmus store these ships contain Gold fame the flowers of love: Jov nteloilv pihiJ cheer sweet hemes the ship flags float above. Across the rtark, ami moaning e, Thev have crept in, the New Year's ships To meet them. In. their owners iiii Wlih gloomy eyes anil treii'b'.iujr l'ps; Fir awesome thines Ihese ships rnnt.nu Wrongs shiime: the weeds of hate, Grhn p vi-ily anil soft 'i Ine le:ith These are the ships' dieud height Ye owners of yon ;r ifercvs ships, 1 hat have sailed in, m Joyous'.y, Go hush the laughter on your decks And steer e. whpher ye shall see The Aopff sh ps: lh' n i f lour wealth t succor Ih 'in. the owne si Jov Out of their kIih m. trine rortli. Thus well Mm 1 1 ye jolt New Year's shli s employ I THE CMIUniFN OF THE zoniAC. BY 1: t'DY A RD KirMXG. "Thmiiih tl on love her as tbystlf, Asa self of purer clay 'J boUKh her urilnfr dim the day, Kteahnir glare from all alive, Ileaitily know w'bin half Code go The Gods urrive." Emerst'tu Thousands of years ago, when men were ciealer than they tire to-day, the Children of tbe Zodiac lived in the world. Tut re were sis Children of the Zodiac the Ram, the Bull, the Lion, the Twins, and the Girl; and they were afraid of Six Houses which belonged to the Scorpion, the Balance, the Crab, the i'iBbeH, the Sea Coat, and the Waterman. Evt n when th y first stepped ('own upon the earth and knew thut they were immoital Gods,' they carried this fear with tlem; and the fear grew as they became better ac nuaintcd with mankind and beard Btonea of the Six Housis. Men treated the Children as Gods and came to them with prayers and long stories of wrong, while the Children of 'he Zodii c listened and could not under stand. A mother won'd fling herself before the feet of tl e Twins, or the Bull, cry ing: My husband was nt work in the fields and the Archer (-hot hiui and he died; and my son will also te killed by the Archer. Help me!" The J nil would lower his hngehead and answer: " bat is that to nie?" Or the Twins would t-niile and continue their play, for they could not understand why the water ran out of people's eyes'. At other times a man and a woman would come to Leo or the Girl crying: "We two are newly married and we are verv hapt v. 'lake tLese flowers." As they thre'w the flowers they wonld make mysterious sounds to show that that they were happy, and Leo and the dill wondered even more than tbe Twins why pe pie shouted "Hal ha! ha!" for no cause. This continued for thousands of years by hnman rtconiug till on a day, Lro met the Girl walking across the hills and saw that she had changed entirely since he had last si en her. Tbe Girl, looking at Leo, saw that he, too, hud changed altogether sii.ee their last meeting. Tben they decided that it wonld be well never to separate again, in case evin more startling changes should occur when the one was not at hand to help the oth r. Leo kissed tbe (ilrl and all Earth felt that kiss, aud the Girl sat down on a hill and the the water ran out of her eyes; and this had never happened before in tbe memory of tbe Children of the Zodiac. As they fiat together a man and a woman came by, and the man said to tbe woman: 'What is the use of wasting flowers on those dull gods. They will never un derstand, darling." The Girl jumped np and pnt her arms round the woman, crying, "I under stand, Give me the flowers and I will give you a kis." Leo said beneath bis breath to tbe man. "Wbat was tbe new name that 1 beard you give to your woman just now?" The man answered: "Darling, of course." "Why, of course," said Leo; "and if of conrse, what does it mean?" 'Jt means 'very dear,' and you have only to look at your wife to see why." "I Fee," said Leo; you are quite right;" and when tbe man and tbe woman had gone he called the Girl "darling wife," and the Girl wept acain from sheer happiness. "1 think " she said at last, wiping her eyes, ' I think that we two have neglected men and women tco ran h. What did yon do with the sacrifices they made to yon, Leo?" "I let them bnrn," raid Leo; "I could not at them. What did you do with t he flowers?" "I let tbem wither. I could not wear tbem, I had so many of my own," said the Girl, "and now I am sor ry." "There is nothing to grieve for," aid Leo; ' we belong to each oth er." As they were talking the years of men's life slipped by unnoticed, and presently the man and the woman came back, both white-haired.the man carry ing tbe woman. "We have come to theends ofthings," TTfthe man, quietly. "This that wns my wife " "As I am Leo's wire," said the girl, quickly, her eyes staring. was my wife, has been killed by one of yonr Houses." The man set down his burden, and laughed. "Which flonse?' said Le, angrily, for he hated all the Houses equally. You we gods, yon should know," said the man. 'We have liv.-d together and loved one another, and I have left good farm for my sou; what have I to complain of except that I still live?" As he was bending over his wife s bodr there came a whistling through . the air, and he started to rnu away, cry ing, "It is the arrow of the Archer. Let me live little longer only lit tle longer!'' Tbe arrow struck him and he died. Leo looked at the Girl and she looked at him, and both were puzzled. He wished to die," said Leo. "He said that be wished to die and when Death came he tried to run away. He is a coward " "No, he is not," said the Girl; "I think 1 feel wbat he felt. Leo, we must learn more about this for their sakes." For their sales," said Leo, very loudly. . "Because we are never going to die, aid the Girl and Leo together, still more loudly. ".Now sit yon till here, darling wife," said Leo, "while I go to the Houses whom we hate, and learn tow to make these mea and women live as as we do. "And love as we do," said the girl. "I do not think they need ' be taught that," said Lr o, and he strode away very angry, with his lion-akin swing ing freni his slu nlder, till he came to the house where the Scorpion lives in the darkness, brandishing bis (ail over his back. "Why do von trouble the children of men?" said Leo, with bis Heart between bis teeth. "Are you so sure that I trouble the children of men alone?" said the Scor pion. "Speak to your brother the Bull, and see what be says.' "1 come on betialf of the children of men," said Leo. "I have learned to love as they do, and 1 wish them to live as I as we do." Tour wish was granted long ago. Speak to the Bull. He is under my special care," said the Scorpion. Leo Dropped bucked to the earth again, and saw the great Aldeboran, that is set in the forehead of the Bull, blazing very near to tbe earth. When he came up to it he saw thut his brother the Bull, yoked to a countryman's pi ugh, was toiling through a wet rice field with his head I ent down, and the sweat streaming from h;s flauks. The countryman was urging him for ward with a goad. "Gore that insolent to death," cried Leo, and for the sake of our family honor come out of tbe mire." "1 cannot," said the Ball "the Scor pion has told me 'but some day, of w hich I cannot be sure, he will sting me where my neck is set n my shoul ders, and that 1 sha'l die bellowing." "Wbat lies tliat to do with this dis grr.cefnl exhibition?" said Loo, stand ing on the dyke that bounded the wet field. "Everythiug. This man could not plough without my help, lie thinks that I am a stray bullock." "But lie is a ruud-ornsted reptile with matted ha r," insisted Leo. "We ere not meant for Lis use." "Yon may not le; I m. I cannot tell when the Scorpion n av choose to sting me to death perhaps before I liave turned this furrow." Tbe bull flung his bulk into the yoke, and the plow tore through the wet ground be hind him, and the countryman goaded him till bis flunks were red. "Do yon like this?" Leo called down the dripping furrows. "No," snid the Bull over hit shoul der as he lifted his hind le s from the clinging mud and cleared bis nos trils. Leo loft him 6cornfuily and passed to another country where he found his brother the Bam in the centre of a crowd of country people who were hanging wreaths round his neck and frediug him on freshly-plucked green corn. "This is terrible," said Leo. "Break tip that crowd and come away, my brother. Their hands are spoiling your fleece." "1 cannot," said the Bam. "The Archer told me that on some day of which 1 had no knowledge, ho wonld send a dart through me, should die in great pain. and that I "What has that to do with this dis graceful exhibition?" said Leo, but be did not speak as confidently as bo fore. "Everything in the world," said the Bam. "These people never saw a perfect sheep before. They think that 1 am a stray, and they will carry me from pi ce to place as a model to all their flocks." 'But they are f. reisy shepherds, we are not inUnded to amuse them," said Leo. "You may not be, 1 am," said the Bam. "I cannot tell when the Archer may choose to send his arrow at me perhaps before the people a mile down the road have seen nie " The Bam lowered his head that a yokel newly arrived might throw a wreath of wild gnrlic-leaves over it, and waited patiently while tbe farmers tugged his flece "Do yon like this?" cried Leo over the shoulders of the crowd. 'No," said the Bam, as fie dust of the tramping feet made him sneeze. and he snuffed at the fodder piled be fore him. Leo turned back intending to retrace his steps to th Houses, but as he was passiug down a street he saw two small children, very dusty, rolling out.iide a cottage door, and playing with a cat. They were the Twins. "What are you doing here?" said Leo, indignant. "I'laying," said the Twins calmly. "Cannot yon plav on the banks of Milky Way?" said Leo. "We did," said they, 'till the Fishes swam down and told us that some day they wonld come for us and . not hurt us at all and carry ns away. So now we are playing at being babies down here. Tbe people like it." "Do you like it?" said Leo. "No,' said the Twins, "bnt there aro no cats in the Milky Way," and they pulled the cat's tail thoughtfully. A woman came out of the doorway and stood behind them, and Leo saw in her face a look that l e had sometimes seen in the Girl's. ".She thinks that we are foundlings," said tbe Twins, and they trotted in ocors to tbe evening meal Tben Leo hurried as swiftly as pos sible to all the Houses cne after an other; for he conld not understand the new tronble that had come to his brethren. He spoke to the Archer.and the Archer assured bins that so far as that Honse was rouCerned Leo had nothinir to fear. The Waterman, Vie I FialieH nnd the Sea Goat cave th ."ime answer. They knew nothine of Leo. and cared less. They were the Houses and thev were busied in killing men. At lost he came to that very dark fionse where Cancer the Crab lies so still that you might think be was asleep if you did not see tbe ceaseless play and winnowing motion of tbe feathery branches round h s mouth. That movement never ceases. It is like the eating of a smothered fire into rotten timber in that it is noiseless and with out haste. Leo stood in front of the Crab, and the half darkness f.llo-ed him a glimpse of that vast blue-black back, and the motionless eyes. Now and again he thought that be heard some one sobbing, but the noise was very faint. "W"hv do you tronble tbe children of men" said Leo. There was no an swer, and against his will Leo cried, "Why do you trouble ns? What have we done that you should trouble us?" This time Cancer replied, "What do I know or care? You wore liorn into my House, and at tbe appointed time I shall come for yon. "When is the appointed time?" said Leo, stepping back from the iedlew movement of the month. When the full moon fails to call the full tide," said the Crab, -'l shall come for the one. When the otner has taken the a th by the shoulders, I shall take that other by the throat." Leo lifted his hand to the apple of his throat, moistened his lips, and re covering himself, said: "Must I be afraid for two, then?" "For two," said the Crab "and as manv more as may come after." "My brother, the Bull, bad a better fate," said Leo, sullenly; "He is alone." A band covered his month before he could finish the sentence, and he found the Girl in his arms. Womanlike, she had not s'ayed where Leo had left her, but had hastened off at once tc know the worst, and passing all the other Houses, bad come straight to Cancer. "That is foolish," said the Girl, whis pering. "1 have been W; iting in tbe dark for long and long before yon came, 'lhm I was afiaid. But now She put her head down on his uh' nlder and sighed a sigh of content merit. "I am afraid now," said Leo. "That is on my account," said the Girl. "I know it is, because I am afraid for yonr soke. Let us go, hus band." '1 hey went out of the darkness to gether and came back to ti e Earth, Leo very silent, and the Girl striving to cheer him. 4 My brother's fate i tbe better one," Leo would repeat from t me to time, and at last he said: "Let us each go onr own way and live alone till we die. We were born into the House of Cancer, and he will come for us." "I know; I know. But where shall I go? And where will you sleep in the evening? But let us try. I will stay here. Do you go on?" Leo took six steps forward very slowly, and three long steps backward very quickly, and tbe third step set him again at the Girl's side. This time it was she who was begging him to go away and leave her, aud he was forced I , ... .... . :wt Ka. all lltmn That night decided them both nevi r to leave each other for an instant, and when they bad come to this decision they looked back at the darkiiess of the'House of Cancer high above their beads, a nl with their arms aroULil eai h other's necks laughed, "Ha! ha! ha!" exactly ta the children of mt n laughed. And that was the first time m their 'ives that they had ever lunghed. Next morning they returned to their proper home, and saw the flowers and the sacrifices that ha l been laid before their doors by the villagers of the hills. Leo stamped down the fire with his heel and the Uirl flung the flower wreaths out of sight, (-htidileriDg as she did so When tbe villagers le tnrned, as of custom, to see what had become of their offerings, they found neither roses nor burned flesh on the altars, but only a man aud a woman with frighteue.l white faces sitting hand in hand on the altar-steps. "Are you not Viro?" sa'd a woman to the Girl. "Iientyou flowers yes terday." "Little sister," mid the Girl, flush ing to her forehead, "do not send any more flowers, for 1 ntu only a woman like yourself." The man and the woman went away donbtful- "Now, what shall we do?" asked Leo. "We must try to be cheerful, 1 think," said the Girl. "We know the very worst that can happen to us, but we do not know the best that love can bring us. We have a great deal to be glad of." "The certainty of death?" said Leo. "All the children of men have that certainty also; yet they laughed long before we ever knew bow to laugh. We must learn to laugh, Leo. We have laughed once already." l'eoplo who consider themselves Gods, as the Children of the Zodiac did. find it hard to laugh, because the Immortals know nothing worth laugh ter or tears Leo rose np with a very heavy heart and he and the Girl to gether went to and fro among men; their new fear of death bebicd them. First they lanflied at a naked baby . attempting to thrust its own tA tes I into its foolish pink mouth; next they I langhed at a kitten chafing her own tail; and then they langhed at a boy trying to steal a kiss from a girl, and getting his ears boxed. Lastly, they laughed because the wind blew in their faces as they ran down a hill-side to gether, broke ftanting and breathless into a knot of villagers at tbe bottom. The villagers laughed, too, at their flying clothes and wind-redden9d faces; and in tbe evening gave tbem food and invited them to a dance on the grass, where everybody langhed through the mere joy of being able to dance. That night Leo jumped np from the Girl's side crying: "Every one of those people we met just now will die ' "So shall we," said the Girl sleepily. "Lie down again, dear." Leo could not see that her face was wet with tears. But Leo was ui. and far across the fields iriven forward by the fear of death for himself and for the Girl, who was dearer to him that himself. Pres ently he came across the Bull drows ing in the moonlight after a hard day's work, and lookinar through half shut eyes at the beautiful straight furrows that he had made. "Ho!" said the Bull, "so yon have been told tl ee things, too. Which of the Houses holds your death?" Le" pointed upwards to tbe dark house of tbe Crab and groaned. ."And he wUl come for the Girl, too," he said. "Well." said the Bull, "What will yon do?" Leo sat down on the dyke and said ' that he did not know. I "You cannot pull a plough," said the f Bull with a little touch of contempt. I ciiil. and that prevent- me from thinking of tile Scorpion." Leo was angry aud said nothing till tbe dawn broke, jnd the cultivator came to yoke the Bull to hitf-pork. Sing," said the Bnll, as the stiff, mnddy ox-bow creaked and straiLOO1. "My shoulder is galled. Sing one at the songs that we sang when we thought we were all Gods together." Loo stepped back into the cane-brake and lifted his voice in a song of the Children of Ihe Zodiac the war-whoop of the young Gods who are afraid of nothing. At first he dragged the song along unwillingly, and then the song dragged him, and his voica rolled across the fields, and the Bnll stepped to tbe tnne and the cnltiva'or banged his flanks ont of sheer light-henrted-ness, and the furrows rolled away be hind tbe plough more and more swiftly. Tin n the Girl came across the fields locking for Leo and found him singing in tbe cane. She joined ber voice to his, and tbe cultivator's wife brought ber spinniug into tbe open and listened with all her children round ber. When it was time for the nooning, Leo and the Girl had sung themselves both t;.ir-ty and hungry, bnt tbe cultivator and his wife gave them rye-bread and m lie, and many thauks. and tbe Bull found occasion to say: "Ion have helped me to do a full half field more than I should have done. Bat the hardest part of the day is to come, Brother." Leo wished to lie down and brood over the words of the Crab. Tbe Girl went away to tulk to tbe cultivator's wife i-ud t aby, and the afternoon ploncLing began. "Help us now," said the BulL "The tides of the day are running down. My legs are very stifl. Sing if you never sang before." "To a mud-spattered villager?" said Leo. "He is nnder the same doom as our selves. Are yon a coward?" said the Bull. Leo flushed and began again with a sore throat and a l a I temper. Little by liltlo he dropred away from the tongs of the Children and made up a song as he went along; and th s was a thing be could never havo done had he not met the Crab face to face. He re membered facts concerning oultivoto rs, and bullocks, and riccfieids, that he had not particularly noticed before the interview, and he strung tbem all to gether, growing more interested as he sang, and he told the cultivator much more about h mself and his work tha i the cultivator knew. Tbe Bull grunted approval as be t iled down the fur rows for tbe 1 st time that day, and the song ended, leaving the cultivator witti a very gcod opinion of himself in his aching boues. Tbe Girl came ont nf the hut where she bad been keeping the children quiet, and talking woman- ... . I talk to the wife, aud they all ate tbe evening meal together. "Now your's must be a very pleas ant life," said the cultivator, "sitting as you do on a dyke all day'and singing just what comes into your head. Have you been at it long, you two gip Mes.?" "Ah!" lowed the Bnll from bis byre. "That's all the thanks you will ever get from me, brother." "No. We have only juBt begun it," said the Girl; "bnt we are going to keep to it as long as we live. Are we not, Leo?" "Yes." said he, and they went away hand-in-baiul. "Yon can sing beautifully, Leo," said she, as a wife will to her husband. Wliat were you doing?" said he. "I was talking to the mother and the babies," she said. "You would not understand the little things that make ns women laugh." 'And and I am to go on with this this gipsy-Work?" said Leo. "Yes, dear, and I will help you." 7 here is no written record of the life of Leo and of the Girl, so we cannot tell how Leo took to bis new employ ment w hich be detested. We are only sure that tbe girl loved him when and wherever he sung; even when, after tbe song was done, she went round with the equivalent of a tambourine, and collected the pence for the daily bread. There were t'mes, too, when it was leo's very hard task to console the Girl for the indignity of horrible praise that people gave him and her for the silly, wagging peacock feathers that they stuck in his cap, and the buttons and pieces of cloth that they sewed on his coat. Woman-like, the conld ad vise and help to the end, bnt tbe meanness of the means revolted her. "What does it matter," Leo would say, "so long as the songs make them a iittie happier?" And they wonld go dowu the roint and begin again on the old, old refrain; that whatever came or did come the children of men nin-t not be afraid. It was heavy teaching at J first, but in process of years Leo dis- : covered that be could make men laugh i and hold them listening to him even when the ruin fell. Vet there were people wlio would sit down and cry softly, though the crowd was yelling with delight, and they were people who maintained that Leo made them do this; and tbe Girl would talk to them in the pauses of tbe performance and do her best to comf rt tbem. I'eople would die too, while Leo was talking, and singing, and laughing, for the Archer, and the Scorpion, and tbe Crab, and the other Houses were as busy as ever. Sometimes the crowd broke, and were frightened, and I eo strove to keep them steady by telling them that this was cowardly; and sometimes they mocked at tbe Houses that were killing them, and Leo ex plained that this even more cowardly tban running away. In their wanderings they came across tbe Bull, or the Bam, or tbe Twins, but all were too busy to do more than nod to each o her across the crowd, and go on with their work. As the years rolled on even that recognition ceased, for tbe Children of the Zodiao had forgotten that they had ever bsen Gods working for tbe sake of men. Tbe Stir Aldeboran was crusted with caked dirt on the Boll's forehead, the Barn's fleece was dusty ard torn, and tbe Twins were only babies fiehting over the cat on the doorstep. It was then that Leo said: "Let ns stop sing ing and making jok8." And it was then that the Girl said: "No " but she did not Know why she said "No," so energetically. Leo maintained that it was perversity till she herself, at the end of a dusty day made tbe same sug gestion to him, and he said "most cer- 1 tainly net," and they quarrelled miser ably between the hedgerows, forgetting the meaning of tbe stars above them. Other singers and other talkers sprang np in the course of the years, and Leo forcettina that there could never be too many of these, bated lhm for ' dividing the applause of the children j of men which be thought should be all his own. Tbe Girl would grow angry . too, ard then the songs wonld be ' broken, and the jests full flat for wteks 1 to come, and the chil Jren of men ' wonld tdiout: "Go home, you two ' gipsies. Go home and learn something ' worth singing. I After one of these sorrowinl, sbame- fnl davs, the f.irl walking by Leo s side throngh tbe fields, saw the full moon comma np over the trees, and sue clutched Leo's arm, crying: "The time has come now. Oh, Leo, forgive n.e!" V'Wbo.t is it?'' said Leo. ne was think. Cg of the other siDgers. Mr husband I she answered, and she luid his band upon her breast, and the breast that he knew so well was hard as stone. Leo grOaped, remem bering what the Crab had stt-id- ' 'Surely we were Gods oftce," be cried. "Surely we are Gods still," said the girl. "Do you not remember when von and I went to the house of the Crab and were not very much afraid? And since then .... we have forgotten what we were singing for we sang for the pence, and, oh, we fought for them! we who are the Children of the Zodiac" "It was my fault," said Lea How can" there be any fault of yours that is not mine too?" said the GirL 'My time has come, but you will live longer, and . . . ." The look in ber eyes said all she could not say. 'l'es, I will remember that we are Gods," said Leo. It is very bard, even for a child of the Zodiao, who has forgotten his God head, to see his wife dying slowly and to know that he cannot help her. The God told Leo in those last months of all that she had said and done among the wives and the babies at the br.ck of tha roadside performances, and Leo was astonished that be knew so littl of ber who had been so mnch to him. When she was dying she told him never to fight for pence or qnarrel with the other singers; and, above all, to go on with his singing immediately after she Wrfs dead. Then she died, and after be bad buried he went down the road to a vil lage that he knew,and the people hoped that he wonld begin quarrelling with a new singer that had sprung np while he had been away. But Leo culled him "my brother." The new tinger was newly married and Leo knew it and when he had finished singing Leo straightened himself, and sang the "Song of tbe Girl," which be had made coming down tbe rod. Every man who was married or hoped to be mar ried, whatever his rank or color, un derstood that song even the bri le learning on the new husband's arm un derstood it too and resently when the song ended, and Leo's heart was bursting in him. the men sobbed. "That was a sad tale," they said at last, "now make us laugh." Because Leo had known all tbe sorrow that a man conld know, including the fall knowl edge of Lis own fall who had once been --, , , i -i-i a urou ue, cuanging uis song quicmy, made tbe people laugh till they conld laugh no more. They went away feel ing ready for any tronble iu reason, and they gave Leo more peacock feathers and pence than he could count. Knowing that pence led to quarrels and that peacock's feathers were hateful to tue Girl be pnt tbem aside and went away to look for his brothers to re mind tbem that they too were Gods. He found the Bull, goring the under growth in a ditch, for the Scorpion had stung him, and he was dying, not slow ly, as the Girl, had died, but quickly. "I know all," the Bull groaned, as Leo came up. "I had forgotten too, but I remember now. Go and look at the fields 1 ploughed. Tbe furrows are straight. 1 forgot that 1 was a God, but I drew the plough perfectly straight, for all that. And you, brother?" "I am not at tbe end of tbe plough ing," said Leo. "Does Death hurt?" "No, but dying does," said the Bull, and be died. The cnltivator who then owned him was mnch annoyed, for there was a field still nnploughed. It was after this that Leo made the Song cf the Bull who had been a God and forgotten tbe fact, and I e saug it in such a manntr that half the young men in the world conceived that they tjo might be Gods without knowing it. A half of that half grew impossibly conceited, and died early. A half of the remainder strove to be Gods and failed, but the other half accompli -be 1 fonr times more work than they would have done under any other delusion. Later, years later, always wandering up and down, and making tbe children of men laugh, be found the Twins sit ting on tbe bank of a stream waiting for tbe Fishes to come and carry them away. They were not in - the 1 ast afraid, and they told Leo that the wo man of the House had a real baby of her own and that when that baby grew old enough to be mischievous he would find a well-educated cat waiting to have its tail pulled. Then the Fishes came for tbem, but all that the people saw was two children d row red in a brook; and though their foster-mother was very si.rry, she hugged her own real baby to her breast and was grate ful that it was only the foundlings. Tbeu Leo made Tbe Song of the Twins, who had forgotten that they were Gods, and had played in the dnst to amuse a foster-mother. That song was sung far and wide among the women. It caused them to laugh and cry and hng their babies closer to their hearts all in one breath; aud some of the wo men who remembered the Girl said: "Surely that is the voice of Virgo. Only she could know so much about ourselves." After those three songs were made, Leo sang them over and over again till he was in danger of looking upon them as so many mere words, and tbe peo ple who listened grew tired, and there came back to Leo the eld temptation to stop singing once for all. and never But he remem- bered the Girl's dying words and per- sisted. One of his listeners interrupted him as he was singing, "Leo," sat I he, "I have heard yon telling us not to be afraid for the past forty years, t an yon not sing something new now?" "No," said Leo, "It is the only song that I am allowed to sing. You must not be afraid of tbe Houses, even when tbey kill you." The man turned to go, wearily, but there came a whistling through the air, aDd the arrow of the Archer was seen skimming low above tbe earth, pointing to the man's heart. He drew himself np, and stood still waiting till the arrow struck home. "1 die," he said quietly. "It is well for me, Leo, that you sang for forty years. "A re you afraid?" said Leo bending over him. "I am a man, not a God," said the man. "I should have run away bnt for your Songs. My work is done, and I die without making a show of my fear." "I am very well paid," Baid Leo to himself. "Now that I see wbat my songs are doing, I will sing better ones." He went down the road, collected his little knot of listeners, and begau the Song of the GirL In the middle of his singing he felt the cold touch of tbe Crab's claw on tbe apple of his throat. He lifted his hand, choked, and stopped for an instant. Sing on Leo, "said tbe crowd. "The old song runs as well as ever it did." Leo went on steadily till the end with the cold fear at his heart. When tbe song was ended, he felt the grip on his throat tighten. He was old, he had 1 . U- k t.aw , S n ! Si a lainv more than half his power to sing, he conl I scarcely walk to the diminishing crowds that waited for him, and could not see their faces when they stood about him. None the less, he cried angrily to the Crab: "Wby have you come for me now." "You were born under my care. How can I help coming for you?" said the Oat wearily. Every human being whom the Crab killed had asked that samV question. "But I was just beginning to know wbat my songs wre doing," said Leo. "Perhaps that is why," said the Crab a d tbe grip tightened. "You said you would not come till I had taken tbe world by tbe shoulders," gasped A x, fallinr back. "I always keep my word. You have done that three times with t, rce songs. What mom d you deaira?" "Let m live to se the world know it," pleaded Leo. "Let me be sure that my songs ." "Make men 1 rave?" said the Crab. "Even tben there wonld be one man who was afraid. Tbe Oirl was braver tban yon are. Come." Leo was standing close to the restless insatiable month. 1 forgot," said he, simply. "The Girl was I 'raver. But I am a God too, aud 1 am not afraid." "What is that to me?" said tbe Crab. Then Leo's speech was taken from him and he lay still and dnmb, watching Death till he died. Leo was the hist of tbe Children of tbe Zodiao. Alter his death there sprang up a breed of little mean men, whimperii g aud flinch n? and 1 owling because the Houses killed tbem aad theirs, who w isbed to live for ever with ont any pain. They did not increase their lives bnt they increased their own torments miserably, and there w ere no children of the Zodiac to guide them; and the greater par. of Leo's soiigs were lost. Only be bail carved on tbe Girl's tombstone tbe last verse of the Song of the Girl, which stands at tbe head of this story. One of the children of men, coming thousands of y ars later, rubbed away the lichen, read the lines, snd applied them to a trouble other than the one Leo meant. Being a man, men believed that be had made the verse himself; but they belong to Leo, the Child of the Zodiac, and teach, as he taught, that what comes or does not come we must not be afraid. THE BSD. THE SONS OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT. When the great Theodosius, Laving overcome all his en ruies, died in A. i. 315, he left the vast Koman Empire to bis sous, Arcadius and Honorius. Ar cailius, who was about twelve years of age, was Emperor of the East, and Honorius, who was in his eleventh year, was Emperor of the West. Neither of the boys inherited their father's manly beauty or mental capac ity Arcadius being low of staturd and ill-shaped. His only accomplishment was bis excellent handwriting. He was governed at first by his ministers aud generals, and, when they were destroyed or supplanted, his wife, Eudoiia, became his ruler. He died iu a. d. 40S. To Arcadius had been assigned Con stantinople and the eastern provinces, whilst, as Emperor of the West, i Honorius became absolute master of Italy, Gaul, Spain, and Africa. Under the wise guardianship of Stilicho, w horn Theodosius had appointed Commander-in-Chief in the West, these im mense dominions were kept together, whilst the boy employed himself in childish amusements at Milan, where he held his court. He was of a humane and gentle disposition, bnt dnll and inert, and he grew np without any strength of character. When Alario, king of the Visigoths, burst into Italy with his fierce wan i ors. in A. p. 4U, Honorius fled to the secure fortress of Ravenna, whilst Stil icho kept them at bay; bnt after the death of that general, whose destruc tion, was accomplished by his rivals at court, the difficulties of the Empire in-J creased. Fresh hordes of barbarians poured down from Germany into Italy, I and, in a. p. 40.S, Alaric besieged Rome, but was bought off by a heavy ran- som. In the following year, however, j he returned, captured the city, and' gave it up to be plundered by his sol - diers. Whist the streets of tbe capital were streaming with blood, Honorius was calmly employing his time at Ravenna in his Usual occupation ol feedine poultry. He was very fond ol these fowls, and bad named his favor ite hen "Rome." One day a servant cam to him and said, "Rome is destroyed!" "And yet she just aU from my hand!'' exclaimed the alarmed Emperor. "I mean," said the servant, "that the City of Rome is destroyed by Alario!" "Oh," aid the Emperor, "I thought my hen, 'Rome,' was-dead!" Thus the feeble son of Theodosiue tbe Great amused himself while the Romam Empire tottered to its full. He lived to be thirty-nine years old, j reigned' moro iha"n twenty-eight dying of dropsy in A. o. 4JJ, alter bay years. But had it not been for the ability snd energy of his guardian, Stilicho, and afterwards of his general, Constautius, he wonld have lost both his dominions and bis life long before tb time. A. K. STAY IN BED. "Farly to bed. rarly to rise. Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." A very old proverb which when quitt young was often repeated to us as he incentive to good deeds. Bnt, person ally, we do no" believe it, in spite of its age, for even proverts do not always improve as they become more an tiquated. Bnt why? Simply because early rising as n oat good people un- derstand wears o t too fast. A wist last snmaer: "Eirly rising is very good indeed if you don't get up toe early. Now I notice that folks here abouts die early, too, and my doctor tells me that on an nvera .e every , any iengtu cf time if well covered; it farmer has two-and a -half wives. II ( s poisonous, and must be kept away this betr.-e, and we confess never tc from children. This answers well for have verified the statement any habil , ,jrJK woll-paper, while for broken which gives a man an oppor unity tc cijilla tue following is an easily mule lead two or three blushing brides o!cement: Dissolve an ounce of gum the altar ought to be abolished in spit ,n muCQ boiling water as it of proverbs or anything else. i will absorb, then beat it np with We know one woman at least whe pa9ter of Baris to form a thick cream, does not propose to et her hnsband App je(1 with a brush it is most effectual have any sucn cnance 01 nouoie 01 triple Miss as that. And we should cer care or yourselves, or at least suchc.irc as will enable you to last out as long as yonr better half, as to tbe undeniable advantages of early rising (and it ha; many), we have nothing to say, but nc woman has any right so to abuse het nhvsical be ng as to get up morning after morning as we know some to do at four or five o'clock. If there it anything in tbe world a woman nee.lt it is rest and plenty of it. Ordinari ly, a woman who gets up eo very early would as soon think of going to bed at dinner-lime as take a little nap in the afternoon, and so she drags her weary way through the day and tbe day foi- . J- i a. .i l. lOWlDR, UBT Blier UBT. uuma duo iuoci , i.flitt. and rod looks, and berrini that poor existence of no pleasure me siaine uas uwu 'j which effectually prepares her husband plished by the sense of touch. The for a change in his better half. Let a Soldiers' monument in the Sleepy woman take care of herself; if she feel Hollow cemetery is his work, tired and languid in the morning, and The rarest and costliest cameo in the hates to get up, be sure it is a sign she world hasbeen presented to the museum is overdoing her strength and wearing ej lne University of Pennsylvania by herself ot.t Do not, except undei jjr Maxwell Socmerville, the owner very excusable circumstances, get uj 0I tne largest collection of engraved before six o'clock in the morning, foi Eem9 jn existence. His gift is a seven it is as early as anyene ought to get .five inch cbrysoprase, and it is aad go to work. carved with s head of Jupiter. WOMEN'S KINGDOM- We used to be told that a woman'i kingdom was her home, bnt in th light of current events one is rathe inclined to doubt whether women it these days look upon their home as tin place where their chief duties lie There are so many outside attractioni and distractions that home, hnsband, and children go somewhat to the wall One thing may be granted that when a girl has been brought up in a vigor ously healthy way, has gone in foi cricket and tennis without making her self ludicrous at either, and has livec an active life generally, she is mori fitted for tbe exigencies of marriage, and generally more able to make tbingi run smoothly in tbe household, that her retiring and delicate sister. The exigencies of life often make it neces-ary for women to take a verj active shuns in tha support of them selves and families, and no knowledgi is too trivial to be of some account But recently we beard of a womar who had turned carpenter, and fonnc it a most Inciative business. Hers wai not merely the master-mind whict planned everything, bnt she planed, and sawed, aud glued, and dovetailed with ber own hands, tbe result being i comfortable income for herself ana children. Technical knowledge of tnii sort can always be tnrned to account, and we need Lot hie away to the colon ies to find a nee for it. Take a modern house, in whict things are constantly coming to pieces many of us know the misery of suet jerry-built affairs, and ar y ,t con strained to live in them. Everytuiug appears right when we take posst si on, but in a lew months door bandies shill from their moorings, locks and cutehei show a marvelous facility for snapping! j blinds come down, and the bracket, refuse to set all of which things, it they necessitate the presence of a car penter or locksmith mean a consider able sum in small bills, especially ic that item, "man's time," which ha such a facility for slipping away when it bas to be paid for. Armed with the tool-box, of which every house should fossess a good sample, and a pair ol chamois-leather gloves, not too thick, a mistress may easily mend a broken lock, or screw on a loose handle to dooi or cupboard. In removing a lock, jare sbonld b taken to note exactly how the screwi go, for help in replacing them; also il is well to note how the spring fitte i in'o the parts before removing the broken pieces. These latter should be sent to the ironmonger as a guide for the size, when he will supply another. A tool-box should be well supplied with screws, French nails, and tin tacks, all of assoit nl sizes, and sbonld have I nook for upholsterer's tacks, which arc often in request where there are chil dren for tacking on gimp to furniture, which little fingers find pleasure in picking off. If tacks are used for fast ening blinds to the rollers, they should be of tbe tinned kind, not black, ai these latter rust, and quickly eat holec in tbe material. A strong hem shoul.J first be s itctied along the top of the blind, very evenly, or when rolled nf it will run crookedly; this will prevent its tearing ont so qnickly. The old housekeeper s plan is, however, really tbe best, which is to tack on a strip ol good tape or wel b ngto the roller, ami stttch the blind to this; in this way il , can be eisily removed for washing.! Sometimes a roller-blind will be con-I stmtly fallmg down, giving a hard, km ck to any unlucky person near; 1 this is becauth the peg well into tbe bracket; it does not tit is either too short or the bracket too far away. There are two ways of remedying this: . one is to take oft the peg, and If it has a deep socket it will bear screwing on I nearur the end of tbe roller, the other. I is to put tbe bracket more forward. For the latter, rt move it from the win dow, and nail where it stood a strip ol wood the required thickness, then with longer screws firmly fix the bracket In place again. For the lower fasten ing a brass swivel is always to be pre-' feired to a china one, as the latter constantly breaks; and working tbe cord on it then is a waste of time and patience, t say nothing of fraying out the cord itself. I How often does the kitchen clock go I wrong, to the upsetting of all domestic arrangements; it is generally a mere matter of dust, which clogs the wheels and ret rds action, and can easily be remedied with a festber and some pure olive oil or paraffine. First plow tbe dust out very carefully, tben ease the , wheels with the feather dipped in the oil or pur alii ne, and keep it ont of the way of dirt until this bas th' ronghly incorporated itself in the works. Sometimes a sheet of gluss is wanteJ of a particular tize, and though the glass may be at hand there is not a diamond which will cut it. First rule and mark it to size, then make a notch at the edge with a file; make a still kitting-needle red-hot, and draw it slowly along the line from the notch, when a crack will follow in its wake. There are two things which the mis tress of a house should never be with out; these aro cement for glass and china, and strong paste, which can be made at home as follows: Make a pint of flour-paste in tbe ordinary way, and while hot stir in thirty grains of cor rosive sublimate which has been rol ed to a fine powder This will keep good , mnnn hmksn pieces of china - ' aB(j giasg. PERSONAL. Mrs. Vib&ima Thompson, who has served as Postmistress of Louisville nnder five Presidents, is a daughter of tuo Alexander Campbell . who founded that faith variously known as tiie "Christian" or "Campbellite" Church. Mrs. Thompson is a handsome woman, about fifty years of age. Jchs Mabchanx MofDY, the blind sculptor of larrytown. Has completed the model for a statue of W ashingtoa Irving. Mr. Mundy can hardly distin- nm'.h ltV,f from darkness without the . b & . , . . aid of an opera-glass, and his work on NEWS IS BRIEF. Artificial marble grows in use. London policemen nver carry pla- Trunks are now made of papei pulp. A locomotive's stiength equals thai of 90i) horst s. A mountain of sulphur has been Jiscjvered in California. Tumiptown, Ga has a gourd with a handle bve fe t long. American lnouis are being extens ively u-ed in England. A Xorfjlk (Va.) woman has given birth to nine sets of twins. Every year 1000 children are born tn the workliou es in Loudon. A recruiting sergeant says that few men have lees of equal Itcgth. There is a man seven ty-jeven yea'i old studviug at Harvard College. In Fiance and 0rminy horses art now vaccinated for the glanders. The temperature of man is ninety, eight degiets; that of fish seventy-seven degrees. Dried Gsh was formerly and la stU! to some extent a medium of exchange In Iceland. The London Gazette is the oldest English paper, it vad firtl published November 7, 1005. Sugar made from charcoal Is 30( iimes sweeter tban ordinary cane sugar, but it costs $10 a pound. Southern Missouri has an an anim al that combines the iecullaritiea of a dog, a lynx and a hyeua. It Is estimated by scientists thai Coloi ado's cliff dwellers exibted 10, (KX years ago. Owing to its extensive use in electric appliances the price of platinum has ad. vaBced fully luO percent. It Is proposed to unite all tbe island! of Japan by a system of submarine tele 'ran' cables. The estimated cost ll 12,000,000. One of the Farls (France) restaur ints has introduced colorel waiters, all of whore, according to a correspondent, "speak excellent Fiench." The frog, owing to iti peculiar con struction, cannot breathe with tb mouth open, and would din from suffo cation if it were open forcibly. Wild clover is said to be adelicac j among certain tribes of American In dians, who devour it with all tbe relish that a Frenchman does a slad. A woman and her two sons have fust matriculated in the Kentucky Un iversity, and expect to take the entlri college course iu tha same clasies. Jclin Allen, a c lored man, who ll lata to nave had me bugr-st feet ever M jn iow i, died re eutiy at Fort Dodge, lie wore Xo. 17 .-hoes. A smokeless fuel call "massnte" it hiu used on ilia stum rollers In ' Vienna, Austria. The fuel is compos ' ed of the liquid residuum of petroleum ! refineries. I Tbe Tasn'.anian caves, of which there are a large number, are lit in s singular ni.uinrr. Millions of glow worms haugmg to the walls and ceiling! furnish the lllumiuation. So:withstandln2 the s'ze, strength, and great vitality ol sharks, they art extiemely susceptible to cold weather, and will die at a lemerature thai wouid not Injure the smallest fish nortL of M.iry.and. Experiments made with oil and various oilier sub.stauces have shows that oil aloi.e will give the gieatest beat. It has been a lopted for the boilers ol Mieb.g puiiipiu eiiijiues at B.llllant, near l iitibuig. The remarkably beauiifid green color of some pieserved beans and otbei vegetables is said to be obtalued bj boiltcg the vegetables iu a copper vessel while au electric current is passed through it. I Sir Robert S, Ra'l, astronomer ro yal for Ireland, predicts that within few thousand years a sheet of ice 10JC feet thick will advance ever the fairest portion of our guide, p'owme u, a I1 vegetation aud leaving desolation foi ceuturus. The heat conducting qualities of the metals r.tnge as follows: Silver, 10O crp;er, 7S H; gold, 52.JO; annealed aluminum, 3187; unannealed alum inuni, 37.90; tin; 1150; iron, 11.50; steel, 11 CO; lend, b.&O; platinum. 8.40, bis niuih, 1 t;0. j The broken Idol that stands at tbt comer of tl e plaza at Granada, Spain, known as the 1'iedra (le la Boca, or tb stone i h t he mouth, always has iu mouth staffed with flowers whenever a I r vol u I i in is pending, and during earth quaksa people have been caught wor shiping it. i Professor Ai thur Au wers, the well known Berlin astronouiist, has now completed the calculations baaed on the observations in Ojim my of the transit of Venus in 1SS:. lie finds that thi etith is about 02.04-3,074, miles distance from the sun, und thai the pHrallai ot the sun is 8.8:0 ssconds, with an error of tbrte-huudredlhs of a second at most. i The 8u-face of any given quantity of gold, accoiding to the best authorities-, nay be extended by the hammei 310,814 times. The thickness of tbe metal H ub extended ape.tra to be no more than tie 006,0JO part of an tn3h. Eight ounces of tins wonderful metal I would gild a silver wire cf sufficient leiigin lo ex.euu entirely aruuuu iuc ' Rlobe. AUrt Edelman, of Sew Yoi Citv. has appiitd for a patent on what seems to be a wonderful discovery. It Is a chemical process whereby ligulle, which is coal or a later stage than the anthracite or bituminous article, may be transferred lnta servicable fuel. This can be sold, he says, at $1 a tou, aud w ill equal our present couL Miss Chaelotte M. Yonoe, the writer, recently subscribed $10,000 for bnil ling a missionary college at Auck land New Zealand. .Tri.Es Verne's wonderful tales 'ars " . , , . V. .' - written m a little observatory of his honse at Amiens. Miss Eieanor Obmefod is tbe most distinguished entomologist of England. Her first object in taking np tbe science was to save the farmers' grain from destruction, and in order to render herself familiar with the habits of insect li e, she often spends hours ttretched upon tbe ground studying them. Sbe has been appointed Con sulting Entomologist to the Royal British Agricultural Society. i 1 .
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers