mOmi
liiitfi
iilfew
THE CONSTITUTION THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OP THE LAWS.
Kditer ud
B, P. SOHWEIER,
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 17. 1894.
NO. 44
VOL. XLVIII.
Ml DR. TALMAGM
BBOWKL.YN DIVINE'S 8U
DAY
Sibjwt : "The tjuick Feet."
TriT : "When Hro-Vs birthday ww Mi
tho.lirtU-'bterof Heroillns dnncei hpforotheni
an 1 pleased Heroi." Matthew xlv., 6.
It is tho anniversary of HtoI's birthday.
Tho pnlnce is lighted. The highways lead
az thereto are nil ablaze with the pompol
invitP'l ku.'Ms. T.oril. captains, merchant
pnn , the mihty men of the land, ar
coming So mine! in th festivities. The
ta'.ie is sr.rea.l with all the luxuries that
roval purveyors can jjiuber. The
;uesr. w;ii:e robed and anointed and
perfum-!. come in and sit at
the t.il'ie. Masie! The jest evoke
rran of l.niehtr. Riddles arepropoun.lo .
Bep'irte is indulged. Toasts nra drank.
Th l.r.iin is befo(rie.1. The wit rolls on
into nproar and blasphemy. They are not
satisfied yet. Turn on more light. Poor
out more wine. Mul. Hound all the
trumpet, near the floor for a dnnie!
Bring in Salome, the beatuiiul and
accomplished prineess. The door opens,
and in hounds the dancer. The lords art)
ench.mted.
ritnnd back and make room for the brill
iant gyrations I Tliese men never saw "ub
"poetry of motion." Their soul whirls in
the reel nnd lioun Is with the bounding feet.
Herod forirets crown and throne and every,
thine but the fascinations of Salome. AUthe
mnirniflcnce ot his realm is as nothing now
compared with the splendor that whirls on
tiptoe before him. His boly sways
from side to side, corresponding with
the motions ot the enchantress. Hit
sou! is thrilled with the pulsations of the
feet and bewitched with the taking postures
and attitudes more and more amazing. At
ter awhile he sits in enchanted silence look
ing at the fl.ishinir, leaping, bounding be'ia
ty, and as the dance c:os-s and the tinklin?
cymbals cease to clap and the thunders
of applause that shoo the palace begin
to abate the enchanted monarch swears to
the princely performer, "Whatsoever
thou shalt ask of me I will give it thee, to
the half of my kingdom." Now, there was
in prison at that time a minister of the gos
pel of the name of John the Iiaptist, and be
had been making a (Treat deal of trouble by
preaching some very plain and honest ser
mons. He bad denounced the sins of the
king and bronght down upon him the wrath
of the female, of the royal household. At
the instigation of her mother Salome take
a'iv:inta?e of the extravagant promise of the
kinir and says, "Brinir me the bead of John
the Baptist on a dinner plate."
Hark to the sound of feet outside the door
And the clatter of swords ! The execution
ers are returning from tneir awful errau i.
Open the door 1 They enter, and they pre
sent the platter to Salome. What is on thie
plotter? A new glass of wine to continue the
uproarious merriment? No. Somethine
redder and costlier the ghastly, bleedin
bead of John the Biptist, the death Clare
still In the eye, the locks dabbled with the
gore, the features still distressed with the
last agony.
This woman, who had whirled so trrace
fnlly In the daac", bends over the awful bur
den without a shudder. She floats overt ie
blood, and with as much indiff-rence as a
waiting maid mlgut take a tray of empty
jrlassware out of the room after an enter
tainment Salome cnrrles the dissevered head
of John the Bantlst, while all the banqueters
shout with laughter and think It a goo 1 joke
that in so easy and quick a way they hav.
cot rid of an earn est and outspoken minister
of the gospel.
l'on will all admit, whatever yon think of
that style of amusement and exercise, that
from rbqt circles it has crowded out all in
telligent conversation. You will also admit
that it has made the con lition of those who
do not dance, either because they do not
know how or because they have not the
health to endure it, or bee mse through con
scientious scruples they must decline the ex
ercise, very uncomfortable. You will also
ndmit, all of you, that It has passed in many
cases from an amusement to a dissipation,
and you are easily able to un ierstand the
bewilderment of the educated Chinaman,
who, standing In the bnl iant circle wher
there w;is dancing going on four or five hours
and the guests seeiue i exnrtusted, tnrne I to
the proprietor of the house ant sal 1, " uy
don't you allow your servants to do this for
yon?"
You are a!so willin? to admit, wnntever h
yonr idea in regard tothe amusement that I
am speaking of. and wnatever be your idea
of the old 'astnoned square dance, and o
many of the irocssioual romps in which I
can see no evil, the round dance is adminis
trative of evil and ought to be driven out o
all respectable circles. I am by natural tem
perament and religions theory oppose 1 to
the position taken by all those who are hor
rified at playfulness on the part of the
young, and who think that all questions are
decided questions of decency and morals
by the position of the feet, while, on tn.
other hand, I can see nothing but ruin, tem
poral and eternal, for those who go into the
dissipations of social life -'Sssipation" which
have already despoiled thousands of yonnc
men and voung women of all that Is no de
in character and useful in liie.
Dancing is the graceinl motion of the
boly adjusted by art to the sound and
measure of nius.cal instrument or of the
human voice. All nations have dance 1.
The ancieuts thought that Castor nn
Pollnx tau.'lit the art to the LaeeJffl.no
ninns. But whoever started it all clime
have adonted it. In .ncienr time.
bad the lea. at I'an-e, tiie military
dance, the mei.-rorl-il i am-c, the bac
chan lian dan. v. an I que -ns nn 1 h.rls
ewayei to an I ?ro in t :e g ir tens, and tiie
rough backwoo Is;n in wiiii this ex'-reis-awakened
the eerio of tee for-sr. There
is something in the soun I ot lively mus e
to evoke the movement of the hnn
Hnd foor, whether cultured or un
cultured. Passing down tue street w
unconsciously keep step to the 9uiin I of the
r-r.-.ss band, woile the Chris-inn in chure-i
w-lh his foot beats tinie wraile his soul rises
upon wim ereat barmony. W'aile this is so
m civilized lands, the red men of the forest
have their scalp dances, their green corn
dances, their war dances. In ancient times
tne exercise was so utterly and completely
deprave 1 that the oliurch anthematizsd it.
Tne old Christian fathers expressed them
ires most vehem-nily aguinst it. St.
Chrysostum says: The feet were not given
for dancing, but to walk mo lestly ; not t"
leap impudently, like camels." One of the
dogma's of the ancient church reads:
"A drnoe ig the devil's possession, and he
that entereth into a rtance enter th into bis
possession. As many pices as a man makes
in dancing, so many pases do -s he make to
ti.ii," E.sewherethe old dogmas declare i
thist "The woman that singeth in the
d ince in the princess of the devil, and those
tiiat answer are her clerks, and the beholders
lire bis friend, and the music is his bellows,
i.nd the fiddlers are the ministers of the
devii. For, as when hogs are strayed, if the
hogstierd call one, all assemble together, so
when the devil eulleth one woman losing
In the dance, or to play on some musical in
struments, presently all the dnneers gather
logaiuer." This indiscriminate and univur
) denunciation of the exercise came from
Ui 1,1 et that it was utterly and completely
depraviad.
Social dissipation is the abettor of pride.
It is the instigator of jealousy. It is the sac
rificial altar of health. It is tne defiler of the
froul. It is the avenue of lust, and it is the
i-urse of every town on both sides of the sea.
pooial dissipation ! It may be bard to draw
the line and gay that this is right on the one
tide and that is wrong on the other side. It
U not necessary that we do that, for God has
put a throne in every man's soul, and I ap
peal to that throne to-day. When a man does
wrong, he knows he does wrong, and when
be .:oes right be knows he does right, and to
that throne, which Almighty God lifted in
U.u heart of every man and woman. I anoeal
Astottie physical ruin wrought Ij the
dissipations of social life there can mm
doubt. What may we expect of pefP,e.,In.
work all day and dance all
awhile they will be thrown on socfeTT ner
vous, exhausted imbeciles. These people
who indulge In the suppers and the raV,1";;;"
revels and then go home In th cold 1 on
wrapped ot limbs will after awhile be lonM
to have been written down in God s orna'
records as iuioldes as much suicides as "
they nad taken their lila with iktl
kftUewatrjotalno. :
How many people have s'epned from the
ballroom into the graveyard? Consumptions
snd swift neuralgias are closjon theirtraefc.
Amid many of the glittering scenes of social
life diseases stand right and left and balance
nd chain. The breath of the sepulcher
Boats up through the perfume, and the iro:a
of DearVs Hps bnbblesjwp in the ehnaipagn.
I am told that In some of the cities there ara
parents who have actually given no house
keeping and gon" to hoarding that they may
glvetbelr time inimitably to social dissipa
tions. I have known such eases. I bavr
known family alter family blaste 1 in that
way in one of the other cities wiera I
preached. Father and mother turn ng their
Lacks upon all qn!et culture and all the
amenities of home, leading forth
tne!r entire fam'ly in the wron? direc
tion. Annihilated worse than annihilate 1,
for there are some thing's worse than anni
hilation. I give you tbe history of more
than one family when I say they went on in
the dissipations ot social life until the father
dropped into a lower styie of dissipation,
and after awhile the son was tossed out into
society a nonentity, and after awhile tU
daughter eloped with a French dammT ra "8
ter, and after awhile the mother, getting oa
further and further in years, trlts to Ml"
the wrinkles, hut falls in the attempt, trying
all the arts of tbn belle an old flirt, a poor,
miserable butterfly without anv wings.
If there Is anything on earth beantl'nl to
me, it is an aged wc man. her white loV-c
flowing back over the wrinklel brow locks
not white with Irost, as the po'ts,suy, but
white with the blossoms of the tree of life.
In her voice tbe tenderness of graelou
memorles, her face a benediction. As grand
mothor passes through the room the gran 1
ehiidren pull nt her dress, anJ she almost
falls in her weakness, bat she bis nothin;
but candy or cake or a kind wor I for th"
little darlings. When she gets out ot the
wagon in front of the house, tho whol
family rush out and ory, "Grandma's
somer And when aha goes aw.iv Iron n
aever to return, tnere is a sirslow on tne
table, and a shadow on the hearth, and a
shadow on tbe heart.
There is no mor. touching scene on earth
than when grandmother sleeps the last slum
ber and the litttle child is lilted up to tho
oasket to give the last kiss, and she says,
"Goodby, grandma !' Oh, ther3 is beauty
in old age. God says so. "The hoary hea t
is a crown of glory.' Why should people
(recline to get old? The best tiling, the
greatest things, I know of are aged of.
mountains, old seas,-old stars and old eterni
ty. But if there is anything distressful it is
to see an old woman ashamed of tbe fact
that she is old. What with all the artificial
appliances she is too mu:b for my gravity.
I laugh even in church when I see her com
ing. The worst looking bird on earth is a
peacock when it has lost its feathers. I
would not giveone lock of my old mother s
gray hair for 50,000 such caricatures of hu
mauiiy. Anl if the liie of a worldling, if
the life of a disciple giv.n to the warl l, 1s
ad thecloseotsuch a life is simply a tragedy.
Let metell you that the dissipationsof social
life are despoiling the usefulness of a vast
multitude of people. What do those people
care out the fact that ther are whole na
tions in sorrow and suffering and agony
when they have for consideration the more
important question about the size of a glovo
or the tie of a cravate? Which one of them
ever bound up the wounds of the hospital?
Which one of them ever went out to care for
the poor? Whiob of tnem do you fin 1 In the
baunts of sin distributing tracts? Tuey live
on themselves, and it is very poor pasture.
Syharis was a great city, and it once sent
out S00 horsemen in battle. They bad a
minstrel who had taught the horses ot the
army a great trick, and when the old min
strel played a certain tune the horses would
rear and with their front feet seemed to beat
time to tbe music. Well, the old minstrel
was offended with his country, and he went
over to the enemy, and be s aid to the enemy,
You give me the mastership of the army,
and I will destroy their troops wuen those
horsemen come from Sybaris.
So they gave the old ministrelthe manage,
menr, and be taught all the other uinstrels
a certain tune. Then when the cavalry
troop came up the old minstrel and all the
other minstrels played a certain tun-, and
at the most critical moment in the battle,
when the horsemen wanted to rush to the
conflict, the horses reared and beat time to
the music with their fore feet, nnl in dis
grace and rout the enemy fled. A'l, my
friends, I have seen it again and again the
nrnstrtls of pleasure, the minstrels of dissi
pation, the minstrels cf godless association
have defeated p-ople In the hard
est fight of life! Frivolity has
lost tbe battle for 10,000 folk.
Ob, wh it a belittling process to the human
miud this everlasting question a'lout dress,
this discussion of fas.iionablo innnitesima's,
this group, looking askance at the glas,
wondering with an Infinity of earnestness
bow that last geranium leaf doos look, this
shriveling of man's moral dignity until It is
not observable to tho naked oye, this Span
ish inquisition of a tight shoe, this binding
up of an immortal soul in a ruffle, this pitch
ing off of an immortal nature over the rocks
When God created it for great and everlast
ing uplifting!
With many life Is a masquerade ball, nnl
as at such entertainments gentlemen and
ladles put on the garb of kings and queens
or mountebanks or clowns, and at th'i close
put off the difiguis, so a great many p iss
their whole life in a mask, taking off the
mask at Heath. While tbe masquera le ball
of life gois on they trip merrily ovor tbs
floor, gemmel hand is stretched to the
gemmed hand, an I g!eaming brow ben Is to
gleaming brow. On with thedauco! Flush
and rustle anl laughter of immeasurable
merrymaking I
But after awhile the languor of death
comes on tbe limbs and blurs the eyesight.
Lights lower. Floor hollow with sepulcbral
echo. Musie s i idened into a wail. Lights
lower. Now the maskers are only seen In
the dim light. Now tie tragrance of th
flowers is like the sickening o lor that comes
from garlands that have la'n long in tne
vaults of cemeteries. Lights lower. SI sts
gather in the room. Glasses shake as thou -n
quaked by sullen thunder. Sigh caught in
tne curtain. Scarf drops from the shouid-ir
of beauty asuroud! Liguts lower. Over
the slippery boar.ls in dance of death glides
Jealousies, envies, revenges, lust, despair
and di nth. Stench the lamp wicks almost
extinguished Torn garments will not hall
cover the ulcerated feet. Choking damps.
Chilliness. Feet still. Hands closed. Voices
hushed. Eyes shut. Lights out.
Oh. how many olyou have floated far away
from God through social dissipations, and it
is time you turnel, tor I remembi r that
there weretwo vessels on the sea in a storm.
It was very, very dark, and the two vessels
were going strai rbt for each other, and the
captains knew it not. But after awhile tbe
man on tbe lookout saw the approaching
ship, and be shouted, "Hard a-lar joard !'
and irom theotiier ves-sel the cry went n p.
Hard a-larlio ird 1 ' and they turned just
enough to glance by and passed in safety to
their hartsors. Some of you are in the storm
of temptation, and you are driving on an i
coming toward feariul collisions unless you
change your course. Hard a-larbourd I Turn
ye, turn ye, for "way will ye die, O nous -ot
IsnelV"
News in
Brief.
Th. ftti o of touch is .Inliest on tbt?
!, ,'.
Fatitiin m ils were invented in
Cliitni.
Iu.Tiijim esflw3 tie ei lb point to
wuid the liu nilii.
- Jiive lvi' r.ton wit c.;n.se liigb
exil- fcives to go fff-
Tl e limit o. uniimls w'licli have
been M. ! to ti at li kee,. th h. st.
-j u,.re is c ti ta it'.v iu all Jiilnn an
average of to earthquake (shock
iluiry.
Wais rat,k next to tho Li,'!ier
class, s of ante in point of i" "1 iut
The lights'. ptV.c f th It v Moiin,
t, it s is Jl. nut Biowu, Hi tis.li America
l-V-WC' '-
The first book to bnye it- haves
uun.l.. r..l was "EsopV. Fuble-s pnn'ed
ly (Vs'iu iu 1481.
HoIIju t's soap dut ingsO,
000. TI e roHr of Niagara has beenpbon
otiapiied and may le beard iu any
part of America for a small fee.
CAMPHOR CULTURE IN JAPAN.
lbs Trees It Comes from and How It la
Manufactured.
Many of the seerfi of the smphor
iree have been sent to the Depart
ment of State from Japan in the hope
of affording to the United States a
chance to add this valuable substance
to its vegetable products. The tree
is a species of laurel, and it grows io
extensive forests in the mountainous
regions of the south of Japan far
from the sea. Large groves are
owned by the Japanese Government,
the wood being very desirable for
shipbuilding. Many of the trees at
tain an enormous size, often measur
ing twelve feet in diameter and some
times attaining twenty feet. The
seeds or berries grow in clusters, re
sembling black currants in size and
appearance. The fine grain of the
wood renders It particularly valuable
lor cabinet work.
The camphor is a resinous gum.
To get it the tree is necessarily de
stroyed, but by a stringent law of the
land, another is planted in IV stead.
Tbe simple method of "manufacture
employed by the natives is as follows:
The tree is felled to the earth and
cut into chips. A big metal pot is
partly filled with water and placed
over a slow Are. Then a wooden tub
is fitted to the top of the pot and the
chips of camphor wool are placed in
this. The bottom of the tub is per
forated, so as to permit the stcatn to
pass up'nmong the chips.
A steam-tight cover is fitted on the
tub, from this tub a bamboo pipe
leads to another tub, through which
the inclosed steam, the generated
camphor, and oil flow. The second
tub is connected in like manner with
the third. Tbe third tub is divided,
Into two compartments, one above
the other, the dividing floor being
perforated with small holes to allow
the water and oil to paf to the lower
compartment. The upper compart
ment is supplied with a laverof straw,
which catches and holds the camphor
in rystals. The Camphor is then sepa
rated from the straw, packed in
wooden tubs of 133 pounds each, and
is ready for market. J
After each boiling the water runs
oil through a faucet, leaving the oil,!
which is utilized by the natives for
illuminating and other purposes.'
Adulteration of camphor gum is,
practiced mostly by adding water just
as far as the buyer will tolerate it.'
Soirctimes the purchaser will find
that twenty pounds of water have run
out of a tub in twelve hours. The
unadulterated article, known as "old"
dry," can sometimes be bought, but
not often. In a letter on the subject
newly received by the Department of
State, Consul Smithers writes from
( saka, Japan, that it would be very
desirable to send a competent agent
from this country to Japan, who
should visit the camphor-producing
districts and study the processes of
manufacture, packing, etc. Wash
igton Star.
EMPRESS OF JAPAN.
aa Interesting1 Little Persons g-e the Only
Wife o th. Mikado.
An interesting little personage is
the Empress of Japan, who 1 the
unly wife of the Mikado, though
many imagine he has a dozen or more.
Tne Em press is 41
years of aje, one
year younger than
her husband. She Is
not so tall as Amer
ican women, is slen
der and vary
stra'gbt. For the
last sixteen years
she has worn .Euro
pean dress. She is
very fair, with rosy
cheeks, large eyes,
KMi-BEHs or jafax and a finely shaped
mouth. Kven without ber Imperial
rank she would be tbe universally
acknowledged belle of Japan. She is
Immensely interested In the educa
tion of the gentler sex and in char
itable works of all kinds, i-he Is a
tine scholar of both polite literature
and music, and plays the piano well.
Her poems have been set to music
and used as imperial songs. She is
tbe founder of the Bed Cross Socl.ty ;
In Japan, frequently visits the hos- '
pltals, and gives to each patient as
much consolatt n and care as if she
were a simple white capped nurse of !
be Bed Cross.
Girls as Help to Men.
Almost, fverv man has his TiriVtttt
ippnuntd which romiirA rnnctiint, re
cording, and which in many cases are
transferred to a cleric in nis on ce 10
attend to, writes Edward W. Fok in
an article showing "How a Girl May
Help fie rFather Financially" in the
Ladies' Home Journal. Here a
daughter could be of invaluable as-
sistance. A man's household bills
are often to him a matter of annoy-
unra in fhoir npi'P4!irv aiiriitinir. and
It would be a relief to the mother, as
well as to the father, to know inai ,
the accounting was in the bands of a '
daughter who would bring a persoual ,
interest to the work. The lawyer, I
also, has at times certain briefs an 1 j
aftiJavits which cannot always be.
written at the otlice, and be, too, j
would be glad to have bis daughter's
n.:ui..t;ini- in fact everr man has
certain things in life which be would
gladly turn into tne nanas 01 a
daughter if he felt that It would
please her to be able to relieve him.
Few daughters either realize this or
even imagine it I have often felt
that If girls could enter more jcto
tbe lives of their fathers, and take
from them seme or tne nine our
dens, they would be the tetter for It.
Not only would such help be a relief
to the father, but It would be an ed
ucative training for the girl which
would stand her in good stead in her
later years. Helping ner ratner 10
remember his daily engagements,sce
inrt tViQt. hia anrannt.! are nronerlv
balanced, following his personal mat-
.. .. . a 1 1 : . M
ters all these enter inn me me 01
9 irirl hAn shn becomes a wife. And
if she b.gins with her fathers inter
ests she will have a neiter iaea 01
the things which constitute a man's
life when she becomes a wife. Daugh
ters should come much closer to their
fathers than they da And It must
ha MniPm hereil that thev are not
lV iviuv."
aloof because of any unwillingness 00
Uie part ol l&e latner.
' LARGEST FLOWER IN THE WORLO
Over Tas4 la Diameter aad Holds Lots nt
' Water.
I Tbe wonderful flower abown In the
eat Is that of tbe raffiesla amoldl, a
plant discovered by Ir. Arnold In
tbe Island of Sumatra some e gbtj
years ago. Tbe various species now
known are all parasitic, n it, bow.
ever, to the branches of other plants,
but to tbe roots. Entirely destitute
of leaves and green in color, these
BlnKular vegetables are provided with
scales or bracts, which conceal and
envelop the flower previous to opening-.
UIGIIT rXOWXH IS TBI WrRLD.
A swelling bencatb the bark cf
some huge, surface appearing root ot
a large tree announces the coming of
a fower. Soon tbe bark splits, and
tbe bud, resembling the head of a
young cabbage, bursjs, showing five
great lobts, which open and roll back
slightly on the edges. Then a circu
lar ring appears, surrounding a deep
cup, In tbe center of which Is tbe
ovary. Below the edges Is a kind of,
gallery, wherein are numerous stam.
ens In which Is located the pollen.
The remarkable feature of the flower
M its colossal size, the largest species
being thirty-nine Inches In diameter.
Tbe central cup holds six quarts of
liquid, and tbe total weight of th
Rower Is over fifteen pounds.
Sowing; Flower seeds.
vhen the flower bed is made tn
soil should be dry, so that it will
crumble as turned from the spade. In
this condition it can be raked very
fine, as it should be to receive the
little seeds. A quarter of an inch
may be named as about the proper
depth for sowing most seeds, but
some, such as petunia, amaranthus,
nicotiaua, and others that are very
line need the lightest covering pos
sible. If the soil of the seed bed is
not as light as desirable it is a good
plan to cover the seeds after sowing
them in the drill with fine sand.
This will enable the little plants to
push their way easily to the light and
air. After sowing each row it should
be pressed down or firmed, which
may be done by laying a piece of lath
over the row and pressing it well
down, or by means of a small solid
block of wood the soil can be patted
or gently beaten; this operation
brings the soil in close contact with
the seeds and prevents It from drying
out quickly when exposed to sun and
wind. After sowing the seeds water
the bed amply with a flne-rosed pot.
Chickens are frequently trouble
some, if not one's own, then a neigh
bor's, and to prevent their scratching
in tho mellow soil, a practice they
greatly delight in, theseed bed should
be well protected with brush laid
over it.
If it should appear that there ii
danger of frost alter the plants are
up one should be ready to protect
them by covering them with cloths.
When the plants have attained some
strength and are an inch or two in
height, according to varieties, they
can be transplanted either into an
other rich bed, giving them more
room and growing them on to a larger
size preparatory to a final removal, or
thiy can be set where they are to re
main to bloom-
Collates for Ship Armor.
Not only in our own country, but
In France, Germany, Buss I a, and
others nations, the use of cellulose)
for ship armor has been introduced,
and, as an illustration of its effective
ness one of the Danish warships was'
equipped recently with a belt of the
material and a shot fired at it tore a
hole away through the whole vessel,
the action of water on the cellulose,
however, closing the hole up very
soon, letting in but a few gallons of
water. In ordinary manufacture tor
realizing this result the article is the
ground fiber of the cocoanut which
has been treated for the removal of
the glutinous associations. It has
the appearance of a brownish meal,
and its lacunar value is that, upon
contact with water, its tendency is to
swell quickly, rendering an orifice or
hole made by the pouring in of water
as tight as need be in a short time.
In an uncompressed state it burns
slowly, but when compressed it is al
most totally incombustible. Its'
specific gravity is very low, a cubic
foot of the ordinary article weighing1
but 7.5 pounds, while a briquette of
a cubic foot weighs a little more than
eight pounds. When packed in com
partments, it Is preserved from direct
contact with the metal of the ship by
a thick coating of paint applied to
the latter as if dampened from leaks
or otherwise the portion in contact
with the metal will deteriorate.
Drying Damp Shoes.
One of tbe most fertile resources ol
colds and serious incidental ailments
Is the wearing of damp shoes. Whep
shoes have been saturated with water
the attempt to dry them by exposing
rheni before a stove or fire is obviously
jlamaging to the leather, while it does
(lot insure the expulsion of moisture
from the inside. For accomplishing
this a new invention has been brought
out, consisting of a hollow stoneware
last, which can be filled with hot
water like a bottle and which is made
in a variety of shapes and sizes to cor
respond to the inside of ordiniir.v
shoes. The hole at the top of the lr
is corked as soon as the hot water lv
been poured in. The last is ke:t I .
position until the inside of the nh-:e
thoronghly dry, and the hot .water cf
be renewed if necessary. Chicago
BecorJ
HE LOST THE BET.
to Coventor Seward Yarlfled Doubts Ol
fits Own Veracity.
The other afternoon when the
lhadows were growing longer in the
itrcets and the day was taking on a
toinber hue, a group of politicians sat
In the City Hall regaling each other
with ye stories of ye olden tlme.
Among those reeled off was the fol
lowing regarding an experience of
William II. Seward, who was then
Governor of the Empire State. It
ieems that while traveling around
through tbe rural districts and mak
ing sure that his political fences had
do very bad breaks in them he came
we evening to the humble abode of a
'tanner. It was too far from the
6ivn where he was stopping to go
back that night, and so he asked per
' mission to stop there. This was
jheerf ully granted, and after partak
ing of an old-fashioned country sup
per the old farmer invited his un
known guest to take a ride across the
untry with him, he having an er
rand to do in a neighboring village.
With all the suavity for which Mr.
Seward was justly famed, he accepted
the invitation and as they drove
ilong in the gathering twilight he
'entertained the old farmer with all
'manner of campaign experiences and
itorics.
I The old farmer's native shrewdness
:auscd him to wonder why the
stranger should show him so much
ittentlon, and at last he blurted out:
"Say, be you a book agent?"
".Not thtt I know of," was the
Governor's smiling rejoinder.
"Perhaps you're a lightning-rod
ian. eh?"
."Xo, sir; you are wrong again."
"Then you're a sewing-machine
nan."
"No, sir."
"Well then, by gosh, you must be
politician."
Mr. Seward at once acknowledged
the soft impeachment and then in
formed the inquisitive old fellow that
he was the Governor of the State of
New York. This quieted the old
fellow for a while, but at last he
:tiuld hold in no longer, and be
luiet'.y informed Mr. Seward that
tie thought he was a liar. Mr. Seward,
however, insisted on the truth of his
jtory, and the dispute finally resulted
In a wager of $20. The money was
placed in an old lantern that was
juried in the wagon to lie used in
:ase of emergency, and it was agreed
that the first person they met should
lecide as to the ownership of the
money. Should he tail to recognize 1
Mr. Seward as Governor the former
was to win, and vice versa.
The test soon came. Driving by
the shop of a wayside blacksmith shop,
the proprietor himself stood In the
lonrway. The farmer stopped bis
tvagon and Mr. Seward said:
t "My friend, my veracitv has been
questioned by the gentleman with
me and 7. should be pleased to have
aim convinced as to who I am. Will
fou be kind enough to tell him?"
The man of brawn and muscle
peered at Mr. Seward long and earn
tstly. Then turning to the farmer
ae said in awe-struck tones:
"He's all right. Bill! I know him!
lie's Thurlow Weed, by goshl"
I The farmer took the $20 and Mr.
?cward was poorer by that amount
than when he started out Chicago
Mail.
At the Donna.
The 'Donna," railed familiarly by
fts patrons the "Sisters' pudden
'board," sells daily, throughout tbe
tvinter. hot nourishing food, at half
:ost, ti unemployed London laborers.
The men and women who seek its
trect-stand to buy a basin of soup or
i roll of pudding a'e as unfortunate
as cold and hunger can make them,
but they are never uncivil, and al-
wajs grateiui.
One lady who serves at the Donna
counter gives, in Longman's Maga-
eine, the following touching instance j
.f tniA i,nllliiH. An Ka ..t n '
Lr true gratitude on the part of a
man wbo, almost penniless, yet
wished to make some return for the
kindness of those who had enriched
bim by sympathetic speech and act:
"One cold, windy day, I saw among j
the men a poor fellow whose misera-!
b!e appearance made bim noticeable
evea among so many sad-looking
creatures. The way in which be ,
ihuffled up to the counter, laid down )
1 half-penny and asked for a slice of
judden' showed that be was utterly
jut of heart I gave him what he
lsked for, and an extra slice as well,
saying: 'I'm sure you could eat this,
too.'
"He looked up thoroughly surprised.
I fancy it must have been a long
time since any one bad spoken a kind
word to him. Then, with mumbled
thanks, he went away to eat bis din
ner. Presently, while still busy cut
ting up puddlDg, I saw my poor
friend hastily approaching. II jvat
f la need at me, and hurriedly laid a
pair of boot-lacings oa the counter at
my side.'
" 'That's for you, lady, he said, j
ind walked off without another word.
"I am by no means a sentimental
person, but I really think 1-must
Keep those shoe-lacings always, as
the most touching gift I ever re
ceived." Good Fences.
These are a necessity, not only for
the protection of crops, but to avoid
the effect upon animals. As the
Farmer's Home Weekly puts, it,
"have low fences if you want to
teach the stock to jump; weak fences
if you want to make them breachy." It
is very noticeable how quickly an an
imal that bas once found a weak
place in a fence, and, by rubbing or
otherwise, broken it down so as to
render the task of getting out easy,
will again seek that spot and try by
some means to effect a breach; a few
successful attempts in that line will
jU oo.u. .t, . -
erectly embolden to more exertion,
and unless fences are strong and re
sist all efforts, an animal will soon
become uncontrolable In that direc
tion. Tbe same rules applies to
jumping; if escape from one enclos
ure is effected by a small jump, a
greater one will be made next time,
and soon there can .hardly be any re
straint These are important rea
son's whv every farmer should have
ecure fences, and should never tempt
an unruly animal to lead others into
tbe bad practice of being unruly or
breachy, which is -one of tbe most
serious of farm annoyances.
a hukQno episode.
It Is not Always Wlso to Calculate oa
A ppearauces.
"Speaking of hunting." said a pun
ter, "reminds me of a little fun 1
bad some four or five years ago.
"Three of us, more or less sports
men and all jolly fellows, were stop
ping at a small place on the eastern
shore of Lake St. Clair. It was in
November and the ducks were pretty
thici We did some great shooting
that season, I can tell you.
"One day the landlord announced
that a nephew of his, a young man
lust over from England, was coming
up for a few weeks' sport, aud he
guessed we'd And bim pretty near 9
landy on the shoot.
"Well, pretty soon tho young fel
low arrived, and our first glimpse of
him decided everything. The boys'
said they didn't believe he had ever
seen a wild duck, much less shot
:me.
"no was one of your swell hunters,
ill togged out in corduroy jacket and
high top boots, with one of those
patent-reversible fore and aft caps
and a pair of eye-glasses astride his
nose. He showed us bis gun, a
double-barreled pistol grip thing, and
blowed a pile on its One qualities and
of the wonderful execution he could
do with it. 'It came from England,
ye know,
"Would he go after ducks with ut
In the morning? 0, yaas, he fahncied'
he would, though it wouldn't be much
sport; be was accustomed to shooting
woodcock, and ducks flew so beastly
slow.
"Well, we fixed up things among
ourselves that night. We picked out
some of our oldest decoys and anchor d
them out in a bayou a short distance
from shore, then turned in for the
night.
"Our friend was up bright anJ
early next morning and was anxious
to show his skill We made some
excuses about not being quite ready,
but told bim that if he would go over
to yonder bayou he might get a shot
before breakfast. He put off with
much splashing of paddles and great
show of caution and was soon out of
Bight in the reeds. Allowing him
time to reach our decoys, we followed
and soon beard the sharp bang! bang!
cf his gun. Before we could reach
him we heard another report. Ex
ploding with laughter at the success
of our scheme we hastened to the
spot "
"Did he till the decoys'with lead?"
"No! Say, he had bagged four as
pretty canvass-backs as you ever
saw."
The Sense or Hineii.
What a marvellously delicate ma
chinery is set in motion when we
smell the fragrance of a rose! Sim
' pie as that pleasurable sensation
I seems to us, it involves the activity
of agencies and forces that the Imag
ination can scarcely grasp. It has
been shown that the minute cells at
the ends of the olfactory nerves in
the nose t ear the most dcTicate little
hairs, and it is believed that these
hairs are the active agents in pro
ducing the sense of smell.
Yet when we come to inquire into
the manner of operation of these
eel's and hairs we find that it U
even more wonderful than the deli
cacy of the mechanism.itself.
It has been suggested that at least
one special cell and the nerve fibre
connecting it with the brain may be
affected by each different smell pro
ducing substance. But, as Professor
Butberford remarked at the meeting
- the nrjtiSh Association
last Au-
gust. "It would be a somewhat seri
iius stretch of imagination to suppose
that for each new smell of a sub
stance yet to emerge from the retort
of the chemist there is in waiting a
special nerve terminal in the nose."
He thinks It is more resonable to
sunnose that all the hairs of the ol-
fact0rv cells are affected bv every
smell-producing substance, and that
tne different qualities of smell result
-. . . .
from difference in the frequency and
form of tbe vibrations transmitted
through those cells to the brain.
According to this view there li
something in musk, something in tbe
rnsft enmethinu in th vin!et. and t.ha
liinf Enmethinir in pvapv cnhctun.-o
whic'b produces a smell either agrce-
aDle or offensive, that is able to so
affect the hair9 and cells ot the 0ifac.
niachiney of the nose as to set
tneir connecting nerves in vi oration,
and the rate of this vibration varies
for every different substance!
We are reminded that the differ,
ences of both sounds and colors also
result from variations in tbe rate of
vibration, although sounds are pro
duced by that mysterious medium
called the luminiferous ether. If
smells also result from varying vibra
tions, what a surprising glimpse of
tbe inner unity of nature that fact
Ttives us! Youth's companion.
first Praetletl V of the tiulllotlne.
Dr. Guillotine, when a member ol
th
-,
the French constituent assembly in
89, proposed that all executions
should be by machine. That system,
he said, would be swifter and more
painless than the old system of de
capitation by means of the sword or
ax. He was proceeding to describe a
contrivance of his own when he was,
interrupted by shouts of laughter.
In less than two years, however, his
ideas were adopted and incorporated
In the penal code. Dr. Antoino
Louis, Secretary to the Academy of
Surgeons, was requested to prepare a
memorandum on the subject of de-(
decapitation and in bis report he re
commended the adoption of an in
strument almost identical in design;
to that suggested by Dr. Guillotine.".
His report was accepted, and the con
tract for constructing one of these
machines for each of the French de
partments was given to a German
named Schmidt It was tested re
peaieaiy upon aeaa ooaies iu a noo-
pTtal and was found to work satisfac:
peatedly upon dead bodies in a hos
torily. On the 25th of April, 1792,
it was used upon a. criminal for tba
first time, Pellctier, a notorious, high
wayman, being the victim. At first
the machine was known as tba
"Loulsette" or "La Petite Louison,"
but it was not long before Guillotine
was given tbe unenviable honor of
having bis name applied to it Tb4
old story that be suffered death by
means of the instrument he himself
invented has been shown to be false.
He survived tbe Revolution and diel
a natural death in 1814.
LAST NIOHT.
0 OOttrades, let the song go round
And laughter be our guest,
01 all the blessings life has found
A woman's love is best.
X drink not ; when the cup is crowned
X wish you all that's bright i
My vintage Ilea
In beauty's eyes,
I kissed my love last night.
The jaamtte perfumes rose and strayed
Like elfhi waifs unseen ;
The summer moonbeams stole and played
Her lattice bars between ;
She shyly stood, all white arrayed,
With youth and grace bedighc ;
She was so fair,
TJow could I dare
I kissed my love last night.
A sudden glory filled the earth
It had not known before ;
A hnppy gleam too sweet for mirth
Tho quivering moonbeams were,
To think that 1 of little worth
Had won the pear' of licht
No song or speech
My bliss can reach
1 kissed my love hist night.
I sought my lonely couch to dream 5
S7JPt w lfturcs thronged my brain
Blue ryps and lily l.u.ls a-gleam,
An i roses wet with rain.
With morning's opalescent beam
The glamorie took flight.
Yet waking brought
A dearer thought
I kiss 'cl my .love ltst night.
0 Moon, '.au,'h down your silver rays,
S-nile up, O dimpling Sea,
O Fountain, toss your tinkling sprays,
0 st-irs rejoice with mo!
T. .th tw:n':lin shoon ye tricksy Fays
Co ne uide my 9-n$ aright,
And tip with dew
En?h measure true
1 k's?-: 1 my love iast night.
b. mail M. Teii, in Atlanti Constitutic.
THE TALE OF A COMET.
EI BOIIAN L ZIT.O?.
ft IT t
xx, j:ixuuiu : in'iiiiuia.
Coma out quirk; it't
on! look e.t it, papa;
isn't it beautiful?"
mi l in t'ie exuberance
of excitement Millv
Jfc&'?? l'nitrrsoti ei.fzed
gSSfr. John's i.nu tightly
Js?? bil t-ho leaned
n.'.aiiii-t him and
looked eagerly into tue sky.
Old man Patterson, who htoo.l near
the young people, nls. lind his fiiee
turned upward ; but th.-re was no in
dication of glee in his voice when, af
ter gazing for a few minutes, he re
marked :
"And to think that them things,
with such beautiful tails, could do us
any harm !"
There wes no respor.r.e to this re
mark, save a loud sigh from Mrs. Put
terson, who turned round abruptly and
walked into the house, where Jlr. Pat
terson soon followed her.
Milly and John were uttfl Rtanding
r.nd gazing at the henvens. They had
not said a word to each other; they
were happy in the consciousness of
their proximity.
"I dou't believe a word of it do
you?" asked Itfilly some minutes after
wards. "What?"
"Oh, what Schoolmaster Marten
cays about this er comet that's
going to break up the earth and kill
nil the people on it un.l annihilate
everything. I don't believe it do
yon?"
"Bosh!" remarked John emphatic
ally. "I think Marten is a slick fraud,
that's what he is!" he added, holding
his arm tightly round Milly 's waist.
"It's awful !" said Milly concernedly.
"He's been coming here every day for
the last couple of weeks talking about
that comet, and he's dinned into papa
and mamma's beads that the whole
world is comin' to an end, and that we
re nigh the day of judgment !"
".Rubbish !" commented John.
"And he's been talking at me, too,
the hypocrite, telling me to mend my
ways and not to be so giddy. As if I
am ever giddy, John !" she added in
an injured tone.
John did not reply for a second or
two. He seemed to be thinking.
"'Pears to me," he said, after a
while, "that your father ought to
know by this time what kind of a
customer he's got to deal with. Has
Marten paid him back the fifty dollars
be borrowed last Christmas?"
"Xo, not he."
"Why don't you tell your father not
to take any stock in Marten ?"
"It's no nse, John. He's wheedled
them round completely to his hide.
It's perfectly awful how he's talked
them into things about this comet.
They've been glnm and mopin', and
paokin' away things; and motner's
been buryin' a lot of silver in the
garden "
"What 1" interrupted John. "The
old folks haven't been hidin' things in
the ground and let Marten know of
it?"
"Yes. He's shown them the very
place where he says the comet won't
j strike, and mother's put a lot of silver
' spoons in it. "
"The fox! JHe's been Btealin'
them I" exclaimed John.
I Millie sprang to her feet and ran
into the garden, John following her.
She stopped near a slight mound of
fresh clay in which two sticks were,
firmly stuck and which she began to
probe gently.
, "Thank gooduess, it's not touched H
she said with a sigh of relief, evidently
satisfied with her examination. "Yon
nearly took my breath away with
fright, John. Mamma would go crazy
if she were so fooled."
"I tell you what I'll do, Milly, " he
said. "Yon keep a sharp watch on
this place, and if Marten turns np to
morrow keep him till 1 get throngn
, i- j
Zt&i
lOv.
' in truth if was terrible as Milly ex
pesmd it, if half the things were go-
tig to happen which Marten predicted.!
Cle whole village of Stookborough watt
terribly excited over the event. Every -j
tody recollected that wars, peatiJ
ence, famine, and other calamities i
tollowed the previous appearance
f a comet like thi with
ilmost tbe identical tail. ' Schoolmaster
klarten . talked about such " uncanny
"tiMtbJIsteUT cnrttfeLtiM
mi a . .
tcTsmTo Taw," and so 651 T)n tiie day
n which Milly and John had conspired
lo rout him. Marten was at the Patter
ion farm holding forth as usual. He
aad brought a newspaper with bim, and
read out from it impressively the an
nouncement that on the coming Thurs
day, precisely at 5:34 p, m., thera,
would be an entire eclipse of the sun,
and the inference he left to bo gathered
from it was that the general break-up
was to begin at that very second.
The old people sat listening and blink
foff solemnly. Milly was somewhat
twed herself, and she was mighty glad
when John came into the room looking
rady for action.
John contented himself at first rr,
s'mply denying the arguments. Bui
Marten's superior loquaciousness wai
rapidly getting the best of him and In
was gradually drawn into the meshes ol
reason. That was all the schoolmastet
wanted. He could reason a bull into a
frog any day, if the animal only fol
lowed the process of logical deductions
so by and by John found himBelf lis
tening with his hands folded, his rea
son silenced, and more than half con
vinced of the probability of the whol'
Ithing.
"And ye say it'll all take place on
Thursday nt 5:34 p. m. ?" asked the
old man. Marten had not eaiJ it, bul
he answered -.
"Precisely. The unerring calcula
tion of science."
"Maybe it'll only strike one cornel
of the earth and leave out Stockbor
ough and the farm?" he asked timidlv
again. .
"That is difficult to say," replied
Marten, thoughtfully. "Our whol
planet is sure to sustain a terrible
ihoek, and it w ill be felt all the worl.l
over. There is a chance a small
chance that we might escape with oui
lives here; but everything else ii
doomed."
That night John nnd Milly wert
locked in a long embrace before thiy
look leave of each other. They weru
both heavily oppressed, and though
John entertained a sneaking scepticism
of the whole thing, ho really believed
that before the end of tho week the
i-urth might be a broken waste, with
uobody and nothing alive on it.
"You will come over on Thursday,
John, won't you?" asked Milly in 11
trembling voice. "We can die to
gether, if we can't live together, can't
we, John?"
"I'll be here, Milly, by 4 o'clock,
and God may prove him yet a liar
ron see if Ho don't!" said John us ho
went oil'.
About a quarter past five on t'.ie fol
lowing Thursday they nil left the old
Patterson farmhouse. They were go-,
ing to give up their souls to heaven,;
and they walked on in solemn silence.
It was preternatural!- quiet all nroun.J
them. The gloaming was rapidly full-)
inp, and it see:ned to the old folks I
if it were the precursor of eternul dark-i
t
uess.
The group halted near a cluster
trees. Marten held out his watch j
there was ten minutes more left them.
The old people stood there glum an (
motionless. Johnand Milly had locked
hands nnd looked pale. Marten told
them to lie down flat on their stomachs
and hide their faces iu the ground till
the thing was over.
Tremblingly, fearfully, they obeyed,,
r.nd lay flat on the gronad, dreading
to stir, awaiting the sounds of the aw.
ful crash. Marten retired t. anothen
spot, whence ho said he would signal
them to rise if they were destined to
survive.
Ten minutes passed; a quarter of nt,
hour followed, and still they lay there.
It was growing darker ; they wero get
ting chilled to tho bones; their tt-oth
iiegan to chatter, nnd still jio signal
(rom the schoolmaster, no sound of
the crashing doom. Half nn hour
passed, and then fearfully, cautiously,
old man Patterson began to move hi
head. Gradually he raised it nnd
looked round. Everything was still,
deathly still. It was dark, but ho
! could see the farmhouse clearly. Then
ho suddenly thought that he alone had
survived the general destruction ho
Bed tho farmhouse. A terror crept
over him that he would have to end
bis days alone and in darkness.
"Wish I had died with 'em!" ha
groaned aloud.
But he looked round and saw his
wife's head rising, and suddenly her
terrified face looked at him. The next
moment he saw in her eye a glance of
recognition. So they were both alive!
"Milly ! Milly !" called tho old man
timidly.
"STes, father?" came a trembling re
ply-
"Are ye living?" ho asked again.
"lam", father. Is John alive?"
"Yes, Milly," came the emphatic re
ply from John, who sat up on tho
ground.
They were all sitting up now.
"The farmhouse is there, too," said
Mrs. Patterson in a wondering voice,
"and I hear the short-horn blowing ip
the yard."
'Guess we'd better get np," re
marked the old man, rising and assist
ing his wife.
Inside the house, when they got a
light, they uil burst out laughing, thej
felt ho foolish ; and the more thev
laughed the more foolish they felt.
Milly laughed until the tears streamed
down her cirvks, and John, im tryin j
to restrain h r, feit his sides fair),,
ctie. The ol I couple rocked them
lelves in the.'r chairs with laughter,
ind amid those peals the old man would
pisp out : "And I thought I's the only
ne alive ho ho ho!"
They found the silver where they
buried it. The old man disco rered
very thing h'i had sequestered but a
bundle and a couple of gold rings ; au
ld brooch, twenty-six dollars in
money, and the schoolmaster's own
note for fifty dollars were missing. So
was the schoolmaster himself. On the
following day John came in and an
Donnced that the schoolmaster had
kipped "Hung on to the tail of tho
romet, they say!" Jfew York
Storiettes. ' .
The Folnc.
Bronson Your calling n e an ass,
llr, doesn't make me one. Craik
Of course not It merely indicates
the accuracy of my observation.
Truth.
A Pretty Compliment.
She What colored eyes do you ad
mrre brown or blue? He I can't
jee well enough in this light Bur.
alo Express. - '
L!