9 1 i r i r f ij : ) i t; t) u 1 :i -5 i L s B. P. SOHWEIER. THE OONSTITDTION-THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. -.''rr.T :: j - - - - ' - f. Editor and Proprteto:' VOL. XLVI. MIFFLINTOWN. JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. MARCH 9. 1S9-2. 1 1 i - i I. 4i l' 3 -J 1' 1 ; '4 "TOO MANY OF WE." "Mamma. Is tlnri" too many of wsT" Th little eli 1 wlced with a Sinn. "Perhaps you wouldn't be tired, you , If a few of your clillils should die." Sn was only three years old. this one Who spoke In that stianse, sail way. As she saw her muther's impatient frown At the children's bolster on play. Ttiere were a half-dozen who round her stood. Anil the niot ier was sick and poor. Worn out with the rare of the noisy brood. And fight with the wolf at the door. For a smile or a kiss no time, no place; For the little one leact of all : And the shadow that darkened the mother's face O'er the your life seemed to fall. More thoughtful than anv she felt more care. And pomlereil in r-hlliiisli way How to lighten thts burden she could Dot share. Grow hi k heavier erery day. Only a week, anil the little CI lire. In her tiny, little, wh.te trundle-bert. ljiy with her blue eyes closed and the sunny hair Cut close from the itoldea head. "Don't cry," she said and the words were low. Feeling tears that she could not ee You won't have to work anil tie tired so. When there alut so many of we." And the dear little daughter who went away From the home that for once was stilled, Miuwed the mother's heart from that dreary day. What a place she had alwavs filled. It'oman'j World. THE mJTTKRFL. From the J'r frui of Geo rye IfJZa pnrft h. BY ISABRI. SMITHSOS. Once there lived in the city of Yeddo, a painter named Ayazima, His bam boo honse was reflected in a blue, rushing river, in which were carp ami flowering iris. lie thought of nothing but Lis art, his eyes saw nothing ex cept color, his fingers were of no use except to draw; he was the friend of flre-flies and Will-o'-the-wisps, the favorite child of the Solitary, Sikya monni, chief of the Bonzes, and the Joy of Nothingness. As he sat in his doorway the women passed along the street with silken foot steps.bowing their heads and greeting him with graceful movements of the fan. The road was crowded with porters and boatmen, and a bu.z of merriment arose from the tea-drinkers in the pavilions. "Folly, folly," murmured the artist, "the wind blows.tho water ripples,mea and women amuse themselves, death conies, and nothing remains. I niU9t paint, I must paint a butterfly, mix a soul for it in my saucers, and give it life with my brush, and after that I can sleep in peace." He went into the honse, spread out a paper fan, and prepared his colors. Then he covered his face with his hands and sat motionless, while he saw in spirit the joys of his childhood days; groves of orange-trees heavy with golden fruit, flagrant meadows decked out with blue lilies and azaleas, and flitting in and oat, flattering from tree to tree, from flower to flower, a swarm of tiny-winged creatures, fairy-like, satin-smooth forms of brilliant hue. "There arc niv butterflies!" he cried, and he stretched out bis arm to copy the glittering coif ' and the quiver ing emotions, hut in an instant they were gone. His memory's sun was obscured by fog. With a sigh he be gan to work, sitting on his cushions, with a box of tobacco on one side of him and a cup of aaci on the other. Days and years passed by. On the fan appeared a branch of apple blos soms, and just above one of the flowers hovered a butterfly. But alas, Ayaz ima'a hand was too clumsy, his brnsh too heavy; the insect was one of paper only, there was color and form, but no life. The artist pushed away his paint saucers ia despair. "How can I paint life when I do not ee any around me?" he said. "To paint motion, one mnst move; to paint love, one must love. That is the secret of cteation." Then in the meridian of life he mar ried. His bride, young and pure, clad in ber white silken robe, drooped gracefully beneath his embrace, and at that instant the artist bestowed on her the name that clang to her forever. "Oh, Iris-bad, Jris-bnd," he cried, "thou wilt love me as 1 do thee! Thy life will enter mine, and our two souls will be absorbed in each other and in my work." He resumed his brush, and found all chaDged around him. The quiet honse re echoed the music of a woman's voice and the rustling of her gown, from day break until dusk. Ayazima dropped tears cf joy into his colors, and worked in an ecstasy of hope, putting into the butterfly all his new found happiness, his wife's embraces, her voice, her grace, even the sound of her sandals on the floor. Time passed, and the insect in the fan had began to wear the semblance of reality, when a child was born to the artist "More life, more life!" he whispered. Day after day he worked, and gradual ly the butterfly seemed to spread its shimmering, transparent wings, as it hovered above the apple blossoms, on the bough, and at last the artist trem bled as he touched it with bis brnsh. Life is a mystery, should he dare to probe it? Years passed on, and i-tiil be sat be fore his easel. Ins-bad and her three children lingered near him, drinking fragrant tea from tiny cups and float ing like visions before his eyes. Often he hid himself behind a silver screen and listened to the children's shrill sweet voices as they recited the forlv eeven letters of the irnfa, or rolled the balls as they learned to count; and he gazed in admiration when they stood in a row before their mother to play 4pigeon," or danced the Chiri-fouri, waving their little arms in their long fall sleeves, and rattling their san dals. "Here is plenty of life!" he mnr mured, "soon 1 shall be equal to Sakya Mouni, the Solitary." Bat old age was coming upon him, and Death lurked in the bamboo walls j and among the folds of the curtains Ayazima s eyes gleamed with a fever ish light as he worked, giving all his strength and happiness to the bntterfly upon the fan. It was a beautiful, radi ant figure, and looked as if just ready to fly, yet it moved not. "Shall I have btrength to finish it?" said the old man, raising his trembling band once more. He hail just com . pleted his hnndreth year, and it was a calm, moonlight niht. As he touched the butterfly a sudden tremor passed through it! At the same instant he felt his own forces giving way, his whole being crumbling to nothing ness. "A minute, only a minnte more!" he cried entreatingly, nt retching out his thin hands and fixing his haggard eyes upon bis work. The moonlight pene trated his frail, transparent form, and his soul lecame visible, like a faintly burning lamp. "One second more!" he faltered, touching his creature lightly with the last remnant of his strength. j ".Now, leave me, Soul!" he gasped. and fell prostrate, lifeless t th aground. And the butterfly on receiving the sonl of the artist, stretched its gauzy wings and floated oat into tlio bright till night. THE STOKY OF ZERO. It is about this time of the year that we all bf gin to think of "Zero." The word is from the Spanish, and means empty, hence nothing. It was first nsed as a thermometer, in 1703, by a I'russian merchant named Fahren heit. From a boy be was a close observer of nature, and when only nineteen years old, in the remarkably cold winter ot 170;, he experimented by putting snow and salt together, and noticed that it produced degree of cold equal to the coldest day in the year. And that day being the coldest that the oldest inhabitant could remember, Fahrenheit was the more struck with the coincidence of his little scientific discovery, and hastily . concluded that he had found the lowest degree of tem perature known to the world, either natural or natural. He called the degree zero, and con structed a thermometer, or rode weather gloss, with a scale graduating np from zero to boiling point, which he nam 212, and the freezing point 32, because, as he thought, mercury contracted the the thirty-second of its volume on be ing cooled down from the temperature of freezing water to zero.and expanded the one hundred and eightieth on be ing heated from tu freezing to the boiling point. Time showed that this arrangement, instead of being truly scientific, was as arbitrary as the division of the Bible into verses and chaptersjaud that these two points no more represented the real extremes of temperature than "from Dan to Beersheba" expressed the exact extremes of Palestine. But Fahrenheit's thermometer bad been widely adopted, with its incon venient scale, and none thought of any better nntil his name became an author ity, for Fahrenheit finally abandoned trade and gave himself up to science. Then habit made people cling to the established scale, just as habit makes us cling to the old system of cumbrous fractional money. The three countries which use Fahren heit are Britain, Holland and America. Kassia and Oermany nee Keanmer's thermometer, in which the boiling point is counted 80 above the freezing point. France nses the centigrade thermometer, so called becanse it marks the boiling point 100 from the freezing poinc On many accounts the centigrade system is the best, and the triumph of convenience will be attained when zero is made the freezing point, and when the boiling point is put 100 or 1,000 from it, and the the sab-divisions are fixed decimally. If Fahrenheit had done this at first, or even if he had made it 'one of his many improvements after the public adopted his error, the lnck of oppor tunity, which was really his, would have secured to his invention the pat ronage of the world. THE FAMILY SCRAP BASKET. Some housekeepers who have been greatly troubled with the tenderness of pressed glass may be glad to learn of a practice which is well worth trying. Goblets, tumblers and jars are packed in a large boiler upon a false bottom or network of wooden slats to keep them from direct contact with the fire. The boiler is then filled with cold water and the c ntents boiled for several hours; they are then removed from the fire and the glass allowed to cool slowly in the boiler when it will be found to be greatly toughened. t'nt glass, the crevices of which secrete dust, needs to be washed with hot suds and the cuttings scrubbed with a moderately stiff brush. Then rinse in warm water and wipe dry with tissue paper. Where apertures are desired as to hang a goblet bowl the stem of whioh has been broken, in order to hold flowers or as a recepta cle for burnt matches, they can easily be made without the trouble of drilling. Cover the side with a lamp of putty or Bli" clay to the depth of more than an inch, through which drill a hole with a large wire till the surface of the glass is exposed at jnst the point it is desired to pierce. Into that poor melted lead and unless the crystal be of extraordin ary thickness it will also melt and drop out in a circle corresponding? in size and form with the uncovered portion. In this manner a pane of glass covered with a tracery or painting, may like wise be prepared for a hanging orna ment. This may be worth testing. Linen garments which have become yellow from time may be whitened by" being boiled in a lather made of milk and pure white soap, a pound of the latter to a gallon of the former. After the boiling process the linen should be twice rinsed, a little blue being added to the water last nsed. Carious toys may be made of cork. One of these is the well-known little tumbler, such as is generally construct ed of pith; but cork, especially if it be hollowed will answer the purpose. Make the puppet of three or four corks, shape and paint it as skilfully as you can, and glue to the feet or under them a hemisphere of lead. When thrown into any position, the figure of conrse rights itself, and, like a cat, always falls on its feet. It is quite possible to make a cat also, of pith or cork, which will, indeed, always I foil nnr.n J now TO SHARPEN A CARVTNO KXTFE. A carving knife needs to have a dif ferent kind of an edee from a razor. The steel which ordinarily sfecomnan- 12 a carving knife and fork is very well to give a finishing touch to the edge, but an ordinary wbetst ne, such as a reaper uses for his scythe or sickle, is the most useful implement a carver can keep at hand One or two rnbs on each f.ide of a knife whets it np might ily, and then two or three finishing touches from the steel and the knife is in order to do most excellent execu-r tion. TESTING A HOT OVESJ. A French authority on cook'ng gives the following rules for testing the heat of an oven: "Try it with a piece of wime paper, If too hot. the nsner will blacken or blaze up; if it becomes . 1 .' ! . 1 124 I - . . ' uuiumU ii. b ior pastry; 11 it tarns a dark yellow, it is fit for bread and the heavier kinds of cake; if light yellow, the oven is tit for sponge cake and the lighter kinds of desserts." A falsr report does not la&t long and the life one leads is always the best apology for that which on liaa led. SHARPJS'S WOOD OWL. Our illustration represen s a recent addition to the eollection of the Zoo logical Society at Regent's Park, Lon don, to wit, a specimen of Sharpe's Wood Owl, (Syrninmnuckale.) The bird, which is now located in the East ern Aviary, comes from the West Coast of Africa, and is the first exam pie of this species that has been in the Society's possession. Mr. Rowdier Sharpe, of the British Natural History Museum, from whom the Owl takes its English name, described it for the first time a few years ago; but nothing is as yet kaown with regard to its habits. . The original locality was on theOold Const, but specimens of this pretty little bird have since been found as far south as Liberia. The general color of the body is a warm dark brown, while the lighter cross-bauds on the breast-feathers are a rich yellowish brown, as are also the ipots on the head. The feet are yellow with blackish claws, and one it the uost striking points about the Mrd is ;he presence of the pi role rings, s ir- iHnsntt wooq ow rounding its large dark eyes. When excited, the subject of the picture as sumed a very different attitude from the one in which it is here depicted, patting out its head and wings, parting out its feathers, and rapidly drawing the bluish nictitating membranes of its eyes backwards and forwards across them by no means improving its gen eral appearance, evidently with the idea of frightening one away. SCORCH PAINTING. BV LILIAN tjTKRA. Pyrography or Scorch Painting as an amusement is as well suited to mas culine as to feminine ringers, and the effective results which fullow patient work are such as to induce all who see to wish to do likewise. Without jia tience and aecuracy.utter failure will in evitably follow, especially as no line or mark can be effaced when it ia once deeply put in. Scorch Painting in usually done on smooth (light colored wood and almost any article made of it may lie thus ornamented, provided thst designs are chosen to suit the require ments of the future surroundings. Tit v white wood easels, photo-frames, bel lows, bread-platters, lids of chests and boxes, table tops and legs, as well as scores of similar articles, may be em bellished with what seem, on a cursory examination to be sepia sketches. In addition to the wood itself, the worker will need a specially contrived machine, for which abont twelve shil lings will have to be paid. Skilled bands manage with amateurish tools adapted by themselves, but a beginner needs all the help possible, and should send to some artist's colorman, for one of the recently invented machines. If procurable, ( erman machines are said to be even better and more convenient than English ones. Described briefly the arrangements for pyrography con sist of a bottle not full of benzoline (which is highly inflammable and mast be used with the ntmost care), into which are put two tubes the other ends of which are held, one in each bund. The left hand of the worker grasps a ' bellows which isaflixed to the one tube, I no. 1. while the right hand guides a wooden handle on the other tube, to which is &ftu a.firne PlB,tinum point. The work 1 the benzoline through the tubes to keep the pencil point glow, this hav ing boen previously warmed to red beat in the flame of lamp or gss. In addition to these jioints, "pattern touches" as they are called, can now be obtained from the artist's. 1 can best describe these by liken ing them to the tiny and fantasti cally shaped moulds used for cutting p .stry; n.any designs can be had, rang id? from the siinolest shares to eluVmr. ate scroll-work, the touches beinar chiefly useful for ensuring the accuracy ! of a repeat pattern. It is never wise to work from mem- ' ory, or from a loose pattern; the de sign to be copied must be carefully traced on the wood, and perfected there, before the irons tonch it than the outlines should be put in. rather i i -M .1 . eiowiy n mey are coarse, next tne shad ing, stippling and lighter touches cau tiously, Dnx rather quickly. Poker Painting alone is iu better taste than when Judt-on's dyes and other coloring matters are introduced, although a dull gilt background is no bad setting to a well-worked spray of flewers or truit. Occasionally the smoke from the burning wood will tain the background, this mark may ; vimirtnaz: ; be scraped off or allowed to remain, if - L. a a a l . i t a - is to cover the entire ground w th a sncce8ion of minute dots liKhtlv, sliii- Pled in. as in Fig. 1. The workeV will fiq. 2. sron find that by heating the irons, o allowing them to tool down a little, by moving them slowlv or swift' y, she can produce almost an shadeof co'or f.om a mere brownish mark to a deep black line. Owing to the impossibility (which I believe 1 mentioned before) of si tcring any mark once well burnt in, any parts concerning which there is ai... i . .j i. i I i 1... ; 1 with the finest of points that the mark mv be wmo.t off with a nenknife. if unsuccvsslul, and redone with coarser, hotter iron, if iu the right plno. Of conrse the choice of patterns, as well as the method of developing them, must depend upon the article to be ornamented. Fine points only are available on small articles made of thin wood, such as the matchbox illustrated in the second sketch, while all fizes will be needed for a large and elabor ate piiceof work. Laud-and sen-scapes, rioml and geometrical designs, may all be utilized, and adepts can often work np faces very sn-cessfully. Face-an4 tinre-drawing, should never be at tompted, unless success is absolutely assured, for nothing is more grotesque than a failure in this particular style of design. Oar second and third sketches are also suggestions for Poker Painting. The book cover, on which a quill-pen and a peucil are crossed, represents one of the easiest designs which a nov ice oould have to begin upon. Should the size of the boards permit, the pen nd encil should 1 e of natural size. Upon the other half of the cover, the name of the liook might be wotked in fanciful but lKible letters, surrounded by as haudsome a border as the worker can advise. The sea-scape on the match-box de mands the use of finer points than are reqnired for the book-cover. If pre ferred, the desigh may be that picture of the Ark, with the procession of birds and beasts, which is nsed as a trade-mark or advertisement by a well known firm of match-maders. The most difficult subject is the photo frame, which we give as the first illus tration, and which has leen casually alluded to before. The Poker Painter must le sore that the borders are quite accurate, and the flowers as naturally done as the tools will permit, if nice ly done the soft shades of brown will be found to tone in charmingly with the tints of a photograph. lien roniple'e I, poker work may be varnished, brightness. this mnou enl an ;cs its and is in some ca-es a Tr, 'v V-i I 4i r.u;rscv-i FIO. 3. ' great Improvement, sometimes, how ever, the slight roughness and irregu ' larities are in better taste; circum stances or course alter cases. liut in every instince in this, agin every other branch of art, accuracy an 1 cure are even more necessary thn tulei t, and workers tdionld bear in mind th it it is far better to choose a simple pattern and work it up well than to aim at some exceedingly elaborate design and fail dismally. OUR NATIONAL BIRD. It has been proposed lately to or no. m nt the tip of the flagstaff nsed in the regular army of the United States with the representation in metal of the bald eagle, which is the emblem of our republic. The fctafTs of regimental Btaud'irds now terminate with pikes. The eagle has already done duty in this way upon the ttandards of other nations, and particularly upon those of 1'ome and France. The American eagle, however, is of a different variety from the eagle of France ami the Roman republic. It is an American variety the "bald," or white-headed, eagle. The ordinary mime of the bird is a misnomer. It is not bald, bnt simply white-headed, the feathers on the head and neck of adult specimens being snowy white. The honor of first naming this bird as the emblem of the United States be longs to Joha J. Ando son, the niit nral sf, whoe Lame will be for ever a Boeinted with our bird life. He called the bald eagle the "Washiuizton eaele." becanse be said, "Washington was as brave, as the engle K Like it, too, he ws the terror of his enemies, and' his lame exteiming irom ole to pole, re- ' semi'los the soarings ol r, in m i rr 1 1 ti& of t ie featiiered tn!ie. If America has reason to bo proud of her Wash i net on. so has she to be proud of her great eagle 1 he bald ea;le with wings ex. tendl,or "displayed proper " aa it is ?V . i Vt vv,,".i ue ,ue em I bbm of the Lmted Stu es in the year Beninmin Franklin did not iiu.rf.rn I the choice. The bald eagle, he declared, , 7 ,1 i --- -i-i ---- A f I W I K'.l 'I ll Ii 1 1 1'l I . I .1 . 1 I . ., .1....1..V...1 i was a very evil-disposed bird, who would not ea n an honest living, bat got his livelihood by violence, de eit, and rapine. He did not consider such a creature the worthy emblem of a peo ple who had gallantly driven out of their country, all kingly birds of prey. Franklin's critical judgment did not prevail. It is true, as lie declared, that the bald eagle lives i hietly by violence and theft, swooping down upon the osprey, end snatching from this indus trious bird the fish that it has just caught. Bnt the eagle, on occasion, ran take fish o t of the water with great skill. The eagle is, morever, a bird of dignity, as well as of bravery and beauty, and its strong attachment to its young and to its home certainly recommends it as an American emblem. Baltimore Sua mm I II w I n 1 i,. " llll 1 TLOWIB NOTES. I Here are a neap ot catalogues, every cyclopedia I , , r , M.ke'an'd fctS wanger and Barry, with others whose worth has long been tried by thou sands of customers all over the land, send us long lists of Feeds and plants, all so finely pictured and minutely described, that the newest amateur can scare ly make a mistake, if the plain directions are followed. I Keep the window plants from draughts this blustery weather and do not make the mistake of watering too much on cloudy days; remember that the earth does not dry out so much as when the sun shines nnon it- I . . . .. . . ' A Pr? "f rn t l,5be'8 to nam urumi ireum auu at (ne lop two wires strung across, a foot or less apart. When the vines reach the top, let them rest upon and bang over the wires. They will blossom more pro fusely than in the old, high -running 11 " , are TerJ Krftce,UK I Nothing is more satisfactory than a pot planted with a half-dozen lily of the v.illey bulbs, to keep on the library table. Their beauty and fragrance I will be a real inspiration. A new species of lily from the cen tral Himalayas was exhibited in Lon don before the Royal Horticultural i Society this season. It is known as i.i. . .1 ii. i j .. iue tepai my, ana grows some inree or four feet high. The flowers have a greenish ontside, and the inner parts are an intense crimson red with light -greeu base. It requires greenhouse culture and is said to be remarkably beautiful. A pretty custom the Swiss requires prevailing among h new-married conple to plant trees soon after their marriage. The pine and willow com memorate the wedding days, and the suggestive birch is selected for plant ing on a birthday. THE WINDOW -GARDEN MISSION. A branch of Flower Mission work which has done much toward brighten ing some of the dingiest neighborhoods of London and Liverixol, says Vick's Magazine, is accomplished by an as sociation for tne encouragement of window-gardening among the poor. One of their methods for interesting the inhabitants of the tenement house dis tricts, and inducing a friendly rivalry among them in cultivating their tiny g irden plots, is the annual flower show to which they send the fruits, or rather the flowers, of their labors, to compete for the prizes which are of fered for different classes of plants acd flowers. It is an attractive and lovely charity, and could be imitated almost anywhere. Although there is no lack of oppor tunity for the kindly offices of a window-gat den charity in any city or largd town, yet so many of onr poorer homes have little plo's of ground round about them which afford ampler spaco than a window-box for a bit of bright coloring and a breath of flower fragrance, that the encouragement of gardening among the masses need not bo limited to their window sills. One wishes that the example might be con tagious, so that little yards everywhere crowded with greenery and blossoms, instead of standing out in the general desolation like oases, might induce the whole desert to blossom like the rose. KSIPHOFIA NORTHI The accompanying illustration of this interesting memler of the Iris family, as given in the Gardener's Vlironicte, gives a good idea of the fiue appearance of its handsome foliage. It is, however, only valuable, from a horticultural point of view, for its foliage; ita flowers are unfortunately of no beauty whatever, having, when fLAMT OT KlIMOfU ITUTDBUI IniTlli produced under gloss as in the succulent-house at Kew, when more or less starved in a pot, a pale green tube with white tips; and when bloomed in the open air from a fully nourished plant, flowers of a dull orange color with lighter tips. IN 8PRIXO. Spring- comes. I hear her on the bills, to-day. Where Wild March wlndsamong bare branches P'ay Their eltln m iplc, and my heart Is liirht, It-cause I hear her feet in fuiry II in lit Trip o'er the fields. Where 'er ber foot.-teps fall Tbo white drifts fade aud vanish by the wall. Eben Rezfurd in Vick's Magazine. Long and dreary has been the win ter, and to-day looking from the win dow we see bare, leafless branches and brown fields with scattered patches of snow. But there is a warmth in the vagrant snnbeams, and even in the bleak March tempests we find an undertone of hope. Blow as they may, we know that capricions April will soon bo here when snowdrops and croons will bloom in the gardens and in tne shady nooks of the wil I wood, trailing arbutus will scent the air with its sweet pink blossoms. And while we watch her tears an. i smiles April gives place to sunnv Mav . . , - . v ami once more we shall be busy with onr plants and flowers planting and jlauniug for Bummer's luiurianre U hen roses will bloom again.and we may smell the lily' perfume and gather the f.agrant violr.s and smile once more ,n, tue 'aces of oltr iju,. fr(1s. the pansies. So take heart of cheer, ye i 1 1 i i , . ... iumuu.iwoBa.eueu yonr oouies, WDUe ., , v - iue ureaa messengers or sorrow, in fluenza and pneumonia and bronchitis have made many weary watchers mourn. Spring is coming! let us all be glad and give her a hearty welcome as she "comes slowly up this wav." Selp-will is so ardent and active that it will break a world to pieces to make a stool to sit on. Every day is a golden opportunity, which the Fntber of mercy has put into enr hands for moral and relig;oi.s purpose. We hear it said sometimes that this is an age of transition, as if that made matters clearer; but can any ore point us to an age that was not? "if he could he would show as an age of stagnation. VENETIAN GLASS. BY GKOKGB R. FOX. The broad waters ot the Adriatic extend for miles, glittering beneath tue intense light of an Italian sky, and here and there from their surface rise small islands, like ships at anchor. Each island is a settlement, the largest being, of course, Venice. One mile nortu of the ducal city lit s Mnrano un known to you perhaps by name, but famous all over the world for its glass works; and here is made the Venetian glass, which we have all seen and admired. At first the class was really made in Venice, bnt the inhabitants objected to ! the danger of fire from the works, and somewhere about the thirt enth cen tury they were transferred to Mnrano. Even before that time the beautiful product of these famous furnaces were carried far nal wide by the adventur ous Venetian mariners, and in the reign of Richard II they were intro duced into England. 1 hese beautiful wares grew rapidly into favor, and Henry VIII had four hundred vessels of glass, the greater number from the furnaces of Murano. So wide at last did the fame of the glass of Venice spread, that rulers of England, Spain and Flanders enticed workman from the Venetian state to introduce the manufacture Into their various countries. The government of Venice tried by every means In its power to retain iu its own keeping the secret of so profit able a trade, and not only ordered home all those workmen who had I eon temp'ed abroad, but kept their families in prison as hostages for their return. It is even said that emissaries were em ployed to assassinate the rebellious workmen, if they did not obey the ' snmmonH ot the State to quit the service of foreign princes. But, as usually happens in such cases, such tyrannical measures failed, and the crafty republic resorted to persuasion and bribes. Glass-makers were granted many privileges, among hem the much-prized patent of nobil ity, by which their daughters were considered equal matches for the sons of the highest patricians. s- These were the data of the glass mukers' glory, and on. nights of high festival the halls of Venetian paluces were lit by huge lanterns, the richly carved and gilded frame work of whi ion was filled with a very peculiar glazing. Instead of panes of plain or engraved gliiss, the spaces were filled with twist ed rods of glass placed closely side by side. To those who have not seen them, the wonderful brilliancy which this method of glazing gave to the light within can be imagined. Then, too, the mirrors, adorned with elaborate glass frames, and chandeliers of the same material, their branches covered with flowers of ever hne, must have made the ball-rooms a fairyland of light and color. Competition arose, however, in other countries, and Murano Gradually lost its trade, until, in the last cent.iry, the principal branch of glass manufiicturo in the little island was the making of beads of all kinds and colors. This bead-making has survived to this day, but lately Murano has again bagnn to produce beautiful vasi s in imitation of those of the sixteenth ceutury, and the modern copies yield in no respect to the old originals ia beauty of form and color. Even the strange forms of the old vas -8 have lieen successfully imitated, and both forms aud colors are very vaiied. We have, besides, clear white iJ-'sb, bine, purple, green, amber, ruby and semi-transparent ial white, tje most beautiful of all. There is also clear glass, covered with the most delicate network of gold or milk-white lines, and a lovely variety imi ating all kiu!s of precious stones, such as jaspar, chalcedouy and lapis luzuli, including the kind called "Mille Ji ' ri" (the thousand flowers). 'I bis is an opaque glass, sometimes with a ground of dark blue, speckled and dotted over with tiny flowery spo's ot all sorts of colors. This latter may be considered as a d rect descendent of the magnificent cups and vases which the ancient Romans pr'zed above silver and gold, and deemed worthy to be buritd in imperial tombs. Of coiiisj many of these modern vases can only be considered in the licht of ornaments, and very exquisite orna uents they are. Bat' there are nseful articles in Venetian glass wine glasses dotted with tiny col red beads ! like jewels, tumblers of the lovely milky opal hne, and flat dishes ot the sj-eckled gold kind. The tumblers and goblets of opal are perhsps the best of all, and it is of I these that the wondrous tab s are told I that they had the qnalit es of (hanging ' color and breaking if poison was poured into them an invaluable qnal- ny at mo banquets of princes in the treacherous times when the Venetian glass-workers made the great and deserved reputation, which has beep ' amply sustuim d by the shapes and im . sges their dtscendants have brought j again before ns within the last few years. 6'r lecteci. There I' a new sanitarium In the Riviera of Italy for the Inhalation of ozone for the cure of most weaknesses, p:trtlculary tubercu!o?iR. The best material for hardening and teniper'n? malleable iron and steel goods is said to be leather clnd rs, made by burning waste leather. Children are not numerous in Franca. Out or 1),000,0.)0 families in the he public oiie-lllih have no children at all an 1 auot Ii r fifth have one child et' h The star Siriut, which Is shown to bo about double the size of our ur, emits from forty to sixty fold more I g'lttt an the sun, owing to ita matter being much more dlffu-ed. D". Koch's lymph, according to th rosults of ihe experiments comtnui.icat ed to the last meeting of the Berlin (Oi-rmanj) Society for Internal Medi cine, seems to have proved untru-t-worth?, even as a mean of diaguosisfo; tuberculosis. The jeweler has drills 'o small that they cm bore a hol only one-thousandth of au inch in d lame tar through a precious stone. The globular t rass lantern, hitherto in use for military service p irposes, Is to be superco led by a fol ling lantern for use In tents. Ti e late Baron Martin, of England, never would engage a servant who had not come out ot a racing stable. lie attached the highest possli I Import area :o the moral quid ii a wh'ch be be lieved to be acquired under the strict discipline of these establish ments. For as a ship without a rudder is tossed to and fro with the waves, so the man that is negligent is many ways tempted. BROKEN HEART. X UOHACS WALKER. fp laid her In the eonln. Her hi omts m kite as snow. Anil round tier plafla ifatures We twlnrd the mistletoe; for she hail died o( lovin?, Hi-r heiirt was broke at l ist, 4ni mistletoe and rosea Upon ber form were east. In death she was no lovely. In death she was so line. Bhe wented a bit of Heaven Buried in eglantine. Burled In whitest rose. And flowers of palest hue, With lilies ot tl e vallev. And rival jasmines too. tier fnce was clear In outline. Her form proportioned rare. While filline o'er her shoulders Were braids of golden h.ilr: llow could he so deceive ber? Iliw i-onld he leave her thusf Tui nmi away so coldly. And leave her death to uaT i 1 1 - I USk OF THE HANDS. WHEN EMPLOTED IS WBITINO NEARLY EVERY MUSCLE IS THB BODY HELPS THEM. At the late International Congress ot Hygiene and Demography, in Section 4, which was concerned with the hygiene of infancy and school life, a resolution was passed in favor of the teaching of upright penmanship or i vertical writing, on the ground that spinal curvature and short sight are cansed by the faulty position of the youihfal student, which is necessitated by slope of the letters. We can all of us remember the trouble of learning to write and the mental and physical toil whio'h the making of our first pot ' hooks and hangers involved. 1 be num ber of muscles put in fiction wh' n a ' person is writing is prodigious, and it is probnble that in beginners every muscle of the body must yi Id its as sent nrii re iue grapnic symtxi s iricKie 1 from the len 1 ho fingers, wristolbow and shoulder mutt all be held steady. The spine must be rigid and fixed below as well above. The pelvis must be firm, and to this end the child often gets a sup port by its feet from the legs of the I chair. The thorax is more or less rigid, and its movements are determined , more by the work of the hand than the respiratory needs. Lastly, the knit i brows and protruding tongue are un conscious muscular acts which serve tc to mark the effort, both of body and mind, which the child undergoes when learn ing io write. It is notorious that in wnllug our individuality asserts itself in spite of the pedagogue. We are taught certain rules for sitting at the di sk and holding the pen, which we ultimately learn to neglect, and finally write in a fashion of our own. Tne true remedy for the evils pro duced by learning to write seems to us to be to teach the child to use both bands, and to practice alternately with either hand. Vertical writing lends it self more readily to ambidexterity than does sloping writing, and there can be no doubt that a clerk who could write with equal facility with either hand, aud oould rest one side of the body w hile the other was working, would be little liable to writer's cramp and simi lar troubles. Seeing how enormous is the mnseular effort involved in giving the hand sutliciont steadiness, and that the brain fag is scarcely less than the muscle fag, it goes without saying that wr.ting lessons should at first be of very short duration. Ten minutes with each onght to amply suffice. A LARGE WORLD CO LIVE IN. "How ran a girl so situated be so well-informed, so entertaining, so alert of mind, so fluent, so unconscious? She is one of the best talkers I have ever met, and one of the bett listeners. It is wonderful; a farmer's daughter, who has lived all her life in a little, old fashioned, half-owi k , New England village, remote fnm every centre of modern thought aud movement. How can she be what she is?' "Her village is little," was the an swer, "but the world is large, and she makes the most of living in it. I know no one who has a life more fall of in terests; it is that which makes her in teresting." The girl who was thus spoken of has an excellent chance of happiuess. She has secured no especial defence against the great griefs of life, but against the small vexations, the petty disap pointments and the narrow ambitions which, more than great troubles, make failures of so many lives, she has a ref uge. Her new dresa may prove a misfit, or her invitation to a wedding be accident ally delayed until it is too late for her to go. She will be annoyed, sharply disappointed, even, but she will not be overwhelmed with gloom nor her temper soured for a week by such mis fortunes. With a newspaper or a book in her hand, she will, as soon as she has mas tered her first surprise, take a mental stroll into the big, breezy, busy world where so much is daily going forward, which no delayed invitation, no rained dress, can keep her from enjoying. She may not actively share in those great movements whose progress she loves to watch, bnt she can sympathize with them, exult in their success, and keep faith in them with steadfast pride t the moments when they seem to fa I. She won ers, sometimes, how it a that there are people who find life dull dull! with the magnificent drama constantly enacted before their eyes of nations straggling toward freedom, of kings playing witn war and peace, of great men working for great ends, of brilliant men working np their own success, regardless of what founda tion they build upon, of good men who are toiling with heart and brain for piteously mistaken causes, of suffering humanity crying for relief, of the cour age, compassion and devotion that are given to still that cry. Dull I The in terest never flags, the end is never reached, and for those who choose to see there is something new and noble, i something touching, something hope ful, something merry every day. No village is large enough nor any city, nor any country for a healthy, active, unselfish mind to dwell in. Books, newspapers and the telegraph make the whole world ours if we choose. It is the privilege of the age. They are most wise and most fortunate who learn the most about their vast do main, care most deeply for ita varied life, and unite their earnest hopes with those of progressive nations, civilizing races, and great movements for moral ends; for these can never be finally de feated, and daily reward their sympa thizers by preserving them from pet tiness of spirit, and filling their lives with noble interests. Exchange. Thr Church of Notre Dame in Mon- : treal is lighted by 400 incandescent ! electric lamps, the power being gener ated on the premises. ot ii ;aEWS IN BRIEF,, If. Fish, It rs said; are fond of music; r-'; But one Englishman In 27 pays in come tax. . J- -f Shad Are used as fnoney iu- many or theorth Sea ltd ihds.' The value Of property in Lundoh, England, has treWeO; alhee 1651; ; : t i - London. England - a'tl. Brussels, Belgium, will talk by telpluue. , . , Railway, niilenrfp in thA TTnitoif j'SUres now amounts tc 171,000 m les. I ' Stltd riura pmin'r ljl " lioo rv. . .... l. J , U I ... , .lao UJV.1Q than half thep'race trtcs iu America.'! The average fanner does, not' woik, all told, more ihau six- months out of the year. London' fEnglaid) horse cars 'arid omnilins s ieiirtsent a capital of 000,000. , .. .. . ( , i , . , A Philadelphia ( Term. ) era nk wears his hair In a long plait down his back.' 3.5 -.ii . . - , .,j Tn California hogs that Weisjli tMO to 800 pounds are becoming -oommoa no wa lays. . !,'., i Of the prfs'rit population of Berlin, Germany, 042. 600 were born In the city, and 3b, 100 elsewhere,- . , j, California is preparing to, maka t a particularly full exhibit at. the World's Fair, Chicago, in the line of b. rax min ing. .,' .. i - :! A Pneak-theif was recently arrested In Vienna, Austria, in .whose posses sion there were found over Too- ladles' handkerchiefs.-. . , An island comprised of about fifty aciesotrice la.id broke Iod.sh iu river near Drpere, Wis., and floate l down the stream. - Tiger bones are some of the queer things ia the cjmmerce of China.. They are used as a medicine, being accounted a kind of tonic. The blossmir trf-the plant from which coffee U obtained "is white. It, grows to the height of ten feet, and the fruit is of a bright red color. . : .. The University of Chicago has a collection of 350 UOO books, whl.'h makes a lib ary larger than Y tle'a and but little smaller than Har vard's. -1 According to recently compiled railroad statistics Americaus make an average of twenty-nine trips a year, or ten more than the average Engl sli man takes. . i The St Lawrerce r ver is the only absolutely Uoodless river in the world. IU greatest vaiiution, caused by drought or rain, never exceeds a foot. Dr. Henry C. Bullock, who livu almost within sight of H in ford, Conn., trapped twenty foxes, six minks, aud several coons during the month of December. :. There is to be a new rrussian throne. Frederick I. htd one, bnt Jiapoleon took it off and me;tid it, and there are only now twosmall chairs of small value. The Esquimaux ai-e a docile aud bright people. They are extremely dirty, simply decause it is so' cold - in theircduntry thu washing Is. very ua-, comfortabla The banking bus nefs in London. Englanl, is much greater on ' the fourth of every month than on other d;.ys, as drafts and accaptane.es coin-) tuonly mature on the lst-4j.li. A wild goose recently flew against a big electric light post in Alameda Cal., with such force as nit only to; break the glass but to bend the bram rods that supported it. Steel caskets for the bodies of tbose' who die suddenly on shipto ird are ' be-j ing carried on luant of the transatlantic liners. The remains are placed iu them and hermetico'ly sealed. The three tallesttrees in the woil-fji so f.ir as known, are said to bo a e., qnola near S cciton, Cal., 325 feet iu height, and two eucalyptuses lu Vic toria, Australia, estimated to be 4.ia and 450 feet high respectively. -r The di nrin. one of the most fa-, mous of mo lern coins, orieinated in1 France. It was called "florin," how- ever, not from the name of the city' but from the fact that It had on it a flower-de-luce. Only one woman of the upper clas 1b Egypt is permitted to see men. sdie Is the widowed Princess Nazal, for whom the Sultan issued an o.der grant ing her privilege. Ofiici-il statistics show that tl;e ex ports of paper from Amoy, CMna, exceed in value the thl mcnts of tea of local growth. Th trade, which is In native hands, Is principally wilh Manilla and the Stra'.ts settlements, though some business, is done with Hong Kong. Misfortunes' did not come singly to William McIIeiiry, a traveling sales man of Limn, Ohio. When he arrived In Cleveland recently fojr tolegrams were handed him In close succession, each announcing the death of a brother. The four chilurea died wlihln an hour from diphtheria. A "razzle dazzle"' was one of the nuisances specified iu the complaint against a place ot amusement in ti e old Cross Hones Buri d Va-d. near London, England. Tbe "razz'e daz zle" was a contrivance intended to make the people expeiience the motion of the waves at sea, aud the screams of the razzle dazzlers were hejrd for blocks. There is a curving knife aud fork In .New York which is the largest set in the world. The knife 10 i-2 b-et long and t'.ie fcrk is 7 1-2 feet. The handles are mae'e out of e ephanl's tusks and are worth $80J. Together the lmp.tmeuts are Valued at $lXo and weigh 3'0 pounds. The Islands of Lake Nicaragua, Central America, are rich In idols and pottery, especially tne south weast sid a of the slopes of that most pio-tuere'que of volcanoes Omotejie. This island was evidently the cemetery for all the region arouud, who worshiped the flaming cone as the god of fire As near as thou can, guess at thv neighbor, and counsel with the wise. Bv communicating our experiences we may greatly strengthen one an other's faith. Liberality does not consist so much in giving a great deal, as in giving seasonably. Never trust thine enemy, for lik as iron rnsteth, so is his wickedness. No trub man can live a half life when he has genuinely learned that it is only a half life. The other half, the higher, mast haunt him. TRtrrH, by whomsoever spoken, comes from God. It is, in short, a divine essence. i'1 i 1 ArHPryir JJr
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers