- 1 - - .' A - n filial V. BOHWEIEB, THE OON8TITUTION-THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE IAWB. id Props VOL. XLIX MIFFLINTOWN. JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 4. 1895. NO. 51. Sfepltotti I CHAPTER XV. Colonel Prinsep was paying one of hii usual visits round the regimental Institu. tions on the following morning whea looking in at the library, he saw a mus stretched on one of the benches fast asleep. Stepping forward, he saw, as he shook him somewhat roughly by the arm, tha triple chevron upon his sleeve; and as the man thus suddenly roused stumbled clumsily on to his feet, the Colonel identi fied him as Sergeant Lynn. His whole appearance showed without doubt that ha was recovering from a fit of-drunkenness, perhaps of some duration. The Colonel gazed at him sternly, as, having recognized his commanding offi cer, he saluted, and stood shamefacedly before him. "Sergeant Lynn, it seems that the re ports of your intemperance which reached me were not unfounded. Hnd you been wanted for duty Inst night you would have been found incapable." The Sergeant's head droped still lonr. "Yes. sir. I did take more tlinn I ought. I can't help it. Things have been against me lately, and I am driven to drink a. times." "What do you mean? Up to now I have promoted you as far as was in tny iiower.' "Promotion!" tvieiited Lynn, with no imlo.-ile laugh. "What gooil is promotion to me unless you could give me a com mission'? And even then 1 dare say shr Would not have me." "I should My not, if she saw you in jour present condition. You don't mean to say that a woman is the cause of youi drinking?" asked the Colonel, coiitemp ttiously. "Onise enough." he answered, dogged ly. " :i!y three days ago she repented her promise to marry me; and last night lit the sergeants' mess it was common talk that the Adjutant was always at hoi house, an. I was said to be engaged t her." "Yon talk like a fool. Sergeant Lynn. I would advise you to follow a steadier, more manly course, and not offer sueli childish reasons as a cause for ruining your hole career, and for the preseut Sergeant Lynn. I withhold my perinissior for you to marry." he added, shnrpl.v- "Ah. sir. 1 thought it would come tr that when you knew whom I was asking for!" said the Sergeant, with a rebellioul look. "I don't know whom yon want to marry nor do I care." And the Colonel, now seriously di pleased, turned to leave the library. "I beg your pardon, sir. It is the Quar termnster's daughter." "What Quartermaster' daughter? cried the Colonel, in a voice of thunder; "Jane Knox, dir." At this familiar mention of the nam borne by the girl he loved, Stephen Prin sep only refrained by an effort from re venging the insult with a blow. Th recollection that he was Colonel and thil braggart a sergeant in his regiment kep the impulse in subjection. He was close to his own gates now. and before he turned into the carriago drive he heard a noise behind him, and turning mechanically, he saw it was th Quartermaster riiii g after him. "1 wanted to slunk to you, sir," li announced a little breathlessly, as h( trotted up. The Colonel started. Conld it be tha' he was to hear the solution of this mys tery now? Not urgent not on a mill tary matter, or what should prevent iti being discussed In the orderly-room! Only one conclusion remained it must b on some private affair, and just then at private affairs seemed to the Colonel if point to Jane. "Come in and have a peg," he said, somewhat shortly, and cantered on to ward the bnngalow. 1 After a hasty draught of Iced water Colonel Prinsep had thrown himself back In an easy chair, and sat waiting for th Quartermaster to speak again. He want, ed to hear what he had to say, yet, afraid of appearing Inconsistent, hesitated tr" ask outright. "What la this affair of which yon wish ed to speak to me, Knox?" the Coloue asked abruptly. "It is nothing of actual Importance, air, yet I think yon ought to hear It first from ns. Jenny thought ao " "Miss Knox thought I ought to know?" "Yes; she said yon would have reason to bo offended if Sergeant Lynn spoki to you on the subject first." "Out with It, man. What is this mighty matter?" cried the Colonel, sharply, as h leaned forward In his chair as thougt to forestall the answer. This snspenst was horrible, let the denouement mlgl be worse. "You see she Is engaged to him." "Then it is true?" "Yes. It is true." "Good heavens. It Is sacrilege! ejao Olated Colonel Prinsep, fiercely. The Quartermaster passed his finger) through his hnir In some bewilderment. His eyes followed the Colonel as h Impatiently paced the room, and he wai atill pondering a reply when his com manding officer spoke agin. "You must stop it Knox; yon must sto It on any plea," he declared, earnestly. . A new discovery broke suddenly npor the Quartermaster. This agitation of th I Colonel, coupled with the indispositiof he had pleaded a short time before, coulc only point to the one conclusion, and hi would not have been human had he no felt gratified at the knowledge that hi daughter had won the love of such a mar as Stephen Prinsep, independent of bit rank and station. For n moment he evei regretted that she had already bound her self, and then felt a little shame at tin worldliness of his ideas, which gave I certain stiffness to his reply. "I have already given my consent, am honor my daughter for her faithful" tjesa." "And," continued the Colonel, "ia Ser gennt Lynn mind, I say nothing against him; you are probably a better judgo of his character than I but, I repeat, is ha the sort of husband yon would hav vaosen for your daughter? 1 have promised," m i stammered tha I Quartermaster, after a few moments ra Wn n . . . . . , ... i l he Colonel then shook hands witn ma Uitct iULhs sUrteU to go, We- companies nim to the door of the hangs low; but he heaved an audible sigh of re lief as he was lost to sight. He went back into his sitting-room, and laying hit arms upon the table, rested hia head upon them. All his plana for tha future were frustrated all his hopes quenched, and in such a manner that feeling no doubt aa to the issue a keener pang was added to hia sufferings. CHAPTER XVI. The Quartermaster went home at a smart trot, full of the discovery that ha uui made. Directly he entered the room when Mrs. Knox was seated, as nsual, before her sewing machine, she divined that ha had something to tell her, and attacked him at once with a question aa to whert he hnd been. He hesitated for a moment, feeling tha full Importance of the revelation he had to make. "I have been to see the Colonel,' ha answered, slowly. "Whut about?" "I went," continued her husband, in the same slow, impressive tones "I went to tell the Colonel of June's engagement to Jacob Lynn." " hat on earth possessed you, John, to take such a senseless step? she ex claimed, in her astonishment, forgetting to be angry. And then, us he remained silent, she went on: "Hesides. I am by no means certain that that engagement still holds good. June has never even mentioned hia name siuce her return irom .;awiiHre, aud 1 think there ia every reason to hope she repents her first thoughtless promise. "No, no, wife, yon are quite mistaken, he answered, kindly, feeling sorry for her iIisapiHiintmeiit, and understanding how it would vex her the more when she heard all the truth. "Jenny has seen the Ser geant again and renewed her promise; it was by her request I went aud told the Colonel." "Without consulting me?" she gasped out, when she had recovered herself suffi ciently to speak. But when the Quartermaster once as serted himself he was not easily put down, even by his wife. "I had made up my mind to do as the child wished me, wife, and so it would have been a useless discussion. Y'ou would have contested the point, of course but I had made up my mind." "And now the whole affair will become public," she complained, bitterly. "Not necessarily. The Colonel himselt advised that we should keep it quiet ns long as possible." "Was he against it?" she asked quick ly, in a Toice that agitation had mad more than unusually sharp. "Y'es, he was decidedly against it." "Why tell me why, John?" "I don't think you will believe me when I do tell you." "Why why?" she repeated. "Becaave he is himself in love with our Jane." Had a thunderbolt fallen at her feet she could not have been more surprised. "Does she know?" was her first ques tion. "I don't suppose she does," answered the simple-minded Quartermaster, "for I think, if he had anything to say to her, he would have told me when we were on the subject." "Y'ou ought to insist upon her being sen sible in so important a matter," aaid Mrs. Knox, eagerly. "If you can't manage her, Mary, how should I?" smiling. "Itesides. I think she is right to hold to her word, though I know she might do better." "Better! Why, it would be a brilliant match, John." "Y'ou go too fast, wife too fast. It is not to be supposed that, because the Col onel is in love with Jane, he is therefore prepared to ask her hand in marriage. No, no; he'll go away for a few months, and when he comes back will have for gotten all about it. Kven had she been free I don't suppose he would have con templated such an act. A man like our Colonel ia justified in looking high for bi wife." "He would never get a lovelier wife than Jane, nor one truer or sweeter." "How Inconsistent women are! Just now you were complaining of her truth, and now you praise her for it." "It ia possible to carry a thing to ex cess; then truth becomes obstinacy," re turned Mrs. Knox. When, a little after five o'clock, she saw Colonel Prinsep coming up the drive, sh iresolved to do her best to persuade him tc -range himself actively upon her side. "My husband was with you this morn ing. she began. "Y'es, he came to see me, and talked over some affairs." "And I wish to speak to you also. Col onel Prinsep." "I shall be very glad to hear what yor, have to say, and to help you if I can." "You can help If you will," meaningly. "I would rather you doubted my powei than my anxiety to oblige," he returned, smiling. "It is atiout my daughter. Colonel." "About Miss Knox?" he repeated, ni she hesitated. Then she went on, with emotion. "Y'ou know all I said to you the othei .lav about Sergeant Lynn. Well, I say it all still, but with greater warmth ami with more hope of a favorable reply, foi now 1 can confess what you alreadj know that 1 am pleading for my daugh ter." "I wonder I did not guess it then," h remarked, gravely. "But you know it now, and n will listen to a mother's prayer; yon will sav-f ber from this horrible fate?" "I save her I?" "Who else? It is only yon who hnva the power. In the regiment you are a king, and no one will question what you command. Y'ou have only to send hint to Kngland anywhere out of Jane'i way." . "Y'ou give me credit for a despotla sway, and that I do not hold. She would answer, with justice, that I had no right to interfere. However," he added, quick ly, as Mrs. Knox's countenance fell, "I will do what I can. Shall I go to her now?" She led the way to the honse and into the drawing-room, where, in the center of the room, Jane stood, aa though expect ing his arrival. Her head was erect; but) tne lime nanus were uguuy ucmura, and there was . expreMOII of defiance K bn who,e attltode ft augured badly for the succesa of hia misaion. ..j...- finnl PrinMO fcaa aDMta ,M -Ky- sneak to yon, at my express wish and with my permission. 1 hope yon will give every attention to what he has to say," said Mrs. Knox in her most didactic man ner, and left the two together. He looked at her sadly, gravely: and for awhile she returned his gaze with one of equal power then gradually an over whelming sense of shame caused her to turn away ber face, blushing. "What is it you wish me to do? she asked. "I wish you to break that unconsidered promise," he replied, firmly. She turned on him fiercely, her pretty figure drawn to its full height, and tha golden light in her hazel eyes, which al ways came there from excitement. "And that is your advice? I wonder women are ever honorable and true, for everything seems to combine to make them neither. A woman's promise la made to be broken. A man's honor ia in violable. ''Granted all granted, he returned, hia quietness contrasting strangely with the force of her indignation. "Yet I re peat my reqneat. It la easier to regret a broken, promise than a. ruined ma,". . "And if his Jacob Lynn's life should be ruined, hia trust in all things shaken by my unfaithfulness, is it nothing?" "We, your friends, naturally think first of you. "The greater reason that I should think of him, to whom I owe loyalty and truth," she said, with dignity. "And you will not think of ns of your father of your mother, who ia distressed ut your decision; of of me?" "Pardon me," she returned, proudly. "In this rase only two are concerned, myself and my betrothed. There is only one point under discussion: whether I keep my word or break It." He leaned forward eagerly, and would have taken her hands, only ahe held them stiffly beyond his reach. "And and?" he questioned, hia usually sweet tones sharpened by suspense. "I will keep it, she decided, firmly. Moving a little further away at once, he accepted her decision. (To be continued.) Me Got It. A graphic incident iu the life of a spoiled child is well told by a writer In an exchange: Among the passengers on the St Louis train recently was a woman ac companied by a nurse girl and a boy of alwiit 3 years. The boy aroused the indignation of the passengers by his continued shrieks pud kicks and screams and viciousuest toward the pntlent nurse. Whenever the nurse manifested any sharpness the mother chided ber sharp iy- Finally the mother composed herself 'or a nap, and about the time the boy dud shipped the nurse for the fiftieth time a wasp came sailing and flew on the window of the nurse's seat. The boy at once tried to catch It The nurse caught his hand and said, con singly, "narry musn't touch. Bug will bite Harry." Hurry screamed savagely, and began lo kick and pound the nurse. i The mother, without opening ber eyea or lifting her head, cned out sharply: "Why will you tease that child so, Mary? Let him have what he wants at once." "But. ma'am. It's a " "Let hlin have it, I say." Thus encouraged, Harry clutched at the wasp and caught It The yell that followed brought tears of Joy to tha passengers. Ttie mother awoke again. "Maryr she cried, "let him hare Itr Mary turned In her seat and said de murely, "He's got It ma'am T Accustomed to Snakes. "A curious thing about snake stories,'' said a gentleman who had just return ed from his vacation, "is that people .with whom the reptiles are a common sight take very little stock in them." "I have Just returned from Massa chusetts, where I put in a week on a jfarm situated near the Berkshire hills. The next farm to us was right on a mountain side, where there were doz ens of huge rattlesnakes that had a habit of sunning themselves In the roadway big fellows, too, they were. "The old fellow that owned that farm would read snake stories about mar velous reptiles In Georgia and- Penn sylvania, and say 'Gosh! them was hummers!" Then he would go out to niDW on the mountain side and kill two or three big rattlesnakes before he had gotten half way over the field. I saw him kill one on one occasion that had six rattles and a button, and be had a very narrow escape from lx-ing bitten. I congratulated him on bis es cape, and he answered: 'Mister, I have been killing rattlers ever since I was a boy, but this is a poor place for snakes. They never do the tricks here they do In Texas and out West' "He didn't mind the snakes, he said, but I did, and I cut my visit short on their account I prefer to see my snakes at the Zoo."FhlladeIphla Call. Has Exported the Guillotine. France has exported the guillotine. In the French settlement of Chander nagore In India an execution lias been; performed with a guillotine sent from Paris. The east has traditional horror of its own. but the guillotine is a for midable rival. The remains of Mr. Rudd, a Brooklyn artist, who was lost in the Italian Tyrol live years ago, have just been discovered. Mrs. W . K. Vanderbilt owns 126 diamond rings. An American photographer paid Mrs. Langtry 1500 for the privilege of taking her photograph. Mine. Pa Hi received $1000. Winderford, Klavirta and Vleckdora are the names of three children of George Frye, of Kansas. When asked wheie he got the names of the chil dren, Mr. Frye said his wife choose them from among those of various brands of collate. The oldest steam engine in the country went through a recent fire in Savannah, Ga., but was dug out of the ruins all right, and exhibited in At lanta. It was built by James Watt, Sailormen tell of a terrible plant called gagus," which grows in the Gauptia Island, Malaysia, out of which is distilled a liquor which rots the bones of those who drink it. A fabric made of pine and spruce wood pulp is made into overcoats in Leeds, England. It looks like frieze. A SONG IN PASSING. J V-? I";. o . .trrinn - I iti a a a-si mn a -fxuratm taraa vi rmt aa n 'been most trying. At his prac tice hour the piano was out of tune, the accompanist had played abominably, and be half suspected that he had him self made a raise note. Whereupon be had called the luckless Celestlno by some very hard Italian names, ana seizing his hat and coat had started ou for a walk in the avenue to relieve bis ruffled feelings. As he walked along briskly In the clear, cold, winter air, noting how peo pie paused to look at him, nudging one another as the famous singer passed, bis spirits slowly rose. He was very handsome, was II Tenore, and the la dles were always wont to eye him ad miringly, even when they did not know that his broad chest conld send forth one of the finest voices in the world. II Slgnore was forgetting all about the opera which was to come that night forgetting the unpleasantness of the afternoon, his hatred of the robustious basso and his Jealousy of the new sec ond tenor. He was forgetting Verdi and Meyerbeer and Gounod and con tenting himself with the beautiful weather and the comfortable feeling of being alive and strong and well and good to look upon. Now he need be no languishing troubadour, no ill-starred Huguenot, nor even a bereaved lover, but Just an ordinary man like all the others only handsomer. II Tenore was smiling softly to him self at the wide-eyed looks of admira tion In the faces of two pretty school girls who had Just passed him, when an unwelcome sound struck upon his sensitive ear. The smile faded from his lips and a frown wrinkled the com placent forehead as his eye caught sight of the obnoxious traveling piano and the quaint little figure which was "making the music go." 11 Slgnore strode angrily to the curb stone. "Bastar ho cried In fierce Italian to his humble little compatriot, "why do you shriek at me that horrible tune? Why do you sound it to me to me, II Tenore? Clelo! Do I not hear It often enough? Do I not work over it night and day, and must I always hear when I would forget for a moment? Ah must I not alng It to-night, that note which drives me crazy? Corpo -Jl Bao co! it U maddening!" The poor Italian maid had began to cry at the first angry tones of the grand gentleman who had spoken the only words that she had understood since1 morning. But such unkind wordsl "I did not know, slgnore," ahe be gan. "Bah! Ton did not knowl Well, take yourself off. I will give you this not to sound that tune to me again,, j and be thrust a round dollar toward the girl, who was drying her eyes on ber green silk apron. But the little maid did not reach for ward to take the money, as he had ex pected. "Oh, slgnorer she cried, eagerly, "1 played It this time as I always play It ofteuest, because I love It so. Oh, slg nore, do you really love the beautiful music?" and an expression of wonder came into her soft brown eyes as she raised fhem admiringly to the tenor's handsome face. "You love the music? My little aria!" he cried, half pleased, half scornfully. "Well, my child, and why do you love It so well that you play It always on your horrible instrument, so that 1 must hear it as I go by? Bab!" "Oh, slgnore. It is so beautiful, ao tender, so full of the great feeling. 1 love the master who wrote it so well, and I feel that I could love the one who sang It, too. If he sang It aa the great master meant Oh, I feel how he could do It!" and the little brown bands clasped themselves eagerly together on the blue silk handkerchief. "So you know how I should sing It, do yon ? Well, my child, you shall come and hear me, and I hope, little one, that my singing will please you as the great master's would have done," and Le grnnde Tenore hastily wrote a few words on a card and handed It to the till wonder-eyed girl. "Oh, slgnore, a thousand thanks, tha girl began to say fervently. But tha handsome gentleman had already gone, and Bettlna, looked after hia departing figure, then glanced down at the bit of cardboard In her hand and breathed a quick sigh of wondering delight Could It really be true, and was she going to hear the grand gentleman with Die dark, shining eyes and the lovely long mustache sing her song ber beautiful song? Bettlna crept between the shafts of the piano and dragged her heavy Instru ment to the next block. Her day's work was not ended yet and many weary hours must pass before that would come to pass for which her soul was longing. But all that afternoon the tired little feet trudged manfully over the cobble-stones and the round, weary arms turned the heavy crank with new zest and dragged the heavy machine vith a back aching less than usual. For. tucked Into her bodice, close over her eager little heart, she felt a magic taUnmaln against weariness end tin kindness and disappointment But she played her favorite tune no more that day. Betrlna's father was a paper flowet maker. He bad been lamed by a hore one day when be was dragging a p.anc iu ucr, tuu biul-v liieu ma tejc uu lever straightened out So Bettlna had x drag the piano and make the music ilone. And bard work It was for a girl f Id. But he had made the dingy oom where be worked to blossom with lowers of the most Intricate designs Known to botany flowers such as do tot grow In the cold America, nor los3om In any but the most tropic of dimes; flowers of such varied hue aa i Sen. of Its own bei:a patrla. He made little windmills, too, that ipun prettily and with kaleidoscopic tffect when there was Just breeze tnough to fill them, but not too much to tear the mimic sails. But as' this was I delightful combination of weather which Boston seldom vouchsafed to the at tie would-be buyers of windmills the ld man's trade was slender. For even la rosea were viewed askance by the ikeptlcal eyes accustomed to the frail, ale beauties of our leas florid men lows. These green, purple, yellow and blue blossoms were too Impressionistic for even the Boston taste. Bettlna had no mother to Insist upon fhe polite conventions of good society lor to act as chaperon when ber daugh ter attended the opera. So when, after fhelr scanty supper. Bettlna announced that she was going to the opera that light her father expressed only wonder it her good fortune and rejoiced there it with her. For he was fond of his pretty daughter, though he was some dmes a harsh master and made her work very hard. Bettlna had never been to the opera. Her acquaintance with the stage was limited to sundry visits to the dime museums and the galleries of the cheap er theaters. But this was to her a land of pure delight She watched the urging crowd, the beautiful ladies and their attendant cavaliers, the rows up n rows of happy, smiling faces, and ihe knew that she, too, was a part ot It all. Then came the overture the dear. Messed mus'.c that she loved and then, h, wonderful! another fairy world, tven more bewildering than the one Ibout her, was opened to her dazzling light Bettlna sat motionless, rigid, the (ears standing In her soft, brown eyes, her head bent forward, with parted dps, her hands clasped close about a treat bouquet More than one of that rast audience noticed the girL sitting there alone In her great, self-uncon-clous delight And their eyes mois tened, too, seeing her happiness, and they wished that It was all as new to them, as real and as beautiful, thai they, too, might enjoy It as a child, with all its glamour. Then he came forth oh, the beautiful rentleman! Her slgnore. In his plumed aat and velvet cloak. A prince he was, the glittering, jeweled hero of Bettlna'a 1 reams, of the fairy tales which the lark Italian mother used to tell long igo In that sunny land across the sea. Breathlessly she watched him, the folor flushing deeper In her olive rbeeka, the soft eyes growing bright and luminous with excitement as his clear voice rose high among the rafters f the great hall. Oh, how he sangl Bettlna had never 6 card or Imagined such music as this, tnd her little soul thrilled with the de light of sweet sound. The beautiful ladles in their satin gowns, the Jewels Bashing In the soft light the bright colors which the chorus wore, the tuu llc of the great opera Itself all these were to her but an Indistinguishable blur of color and of melody, it was all only a background to that central. glorious figure, which was the essence of It all; the divine spirit of music It elf; the good genius who had permit ted her this taste of bliss. So the opera went on, act by act, and Bettlna sat there like one entranced. drinking In deep draughts of ecstasy, At last t the very end, came the tenor's grand solo. A few soft flour. Isbes, a tremulous note of prelude and then her song; her own little song, which she ground out day after day, and a hundred times a day. In the rain tnd the snow; In the cold and the heat But It was her tune so glorified and made perfect that to Bettlna It seemed in air chanted by one of the very an gels of heaven, so flutelike was it and to clear, so round and full, ao tremu lously soft and tender. It was a farewell love song which he caroled to the beautiful lady with gold en hair, as she stood on the balcony ahnviL Tint a ha finished Ret tin a' s ' .T-f.. vm fnll of tMtm anil her heart waa lifted far above the dome of the great hall Into another world; for she felt that it had been sung to her. Tea, he sang as the master would have wished, but better; oh, better than tny one but the angels could I Then came the mighty storm of ap plause that wakened Bettlna from her trance, and through her tear-dimmed eyes she saw the whole house wildly waving handkerchiefs and cheering. She heard the cries of "Bravo, bravol" In her dear, native tongue, as the great bouquets fell at his feet at the feet of the grand gentleman who sang her little song. Then Bettlna rose, and as she leaned far over the balcony, she, too, shouted -Bravo! Bravo, slgnorer In her soft Italian tongue. And, with all the might of her little brown arms, she, too, flung her offering, the great gorgeous bony juet quite at the tenor's feet He picked it up, the huge bunch of paper roses. He picked it up, smiling ind bowing, and held It there befora (be great audience, a bewildered maa sf bright colors and vivid green. fhere was a bush, a moment's pauses tnd then, thinking It some huge joke, the great hall resounded again with clapping and cheering and shouts of laughter. But he turned and looked up at her) tnd singled ber out from among theni til for his sweetest smile and lowest, bow her, the little Bettlna, at whom the whole bouse was looking In laugh ing wonder. And aa the great curtain.' opened again tnd again at the demandatof the people for one last gUmpae at the great singer, Bettlna taw him jtaadln thara, radfc ant beautiful, holding ber flowers aloha to his breast but with all the others lying at his feet. Then the bright vision faded from Bettlna'a sight, and she wakened from her blissful dream of brief, unreal hap piness, of light and beauty and melody, wakened Into the dark night alone. Often, oh. often after that, whenever n Tenore sang the little aria, he would glance Instinctively up at the right hand balcony, close to the stage. But the two brown eyes were never there, brimmed full of tears, to tell him he was singing as the master would have wished. Still, fhe little song always brought before his eyes the vision of a quaint small figure in kerchief and apron and beflowered bonnet: of a sweet, olive face and glorious eyes beaming softly Into his; a vision which would grad ually fade and grow dim and vanish. leaving him, too, In the dark, alone.- Bbort Stories. the Plakat. So aggressive Is the plakat, a little fish from Slam, that the entertainment It affords has become a national pas time, but not a very creditable one, to lay the least The fishes are trained to go through regular battles, and are reared artificially for the purpose, while the license to exhibit them to the gener al public Is farmed out and brings a large amount of money Into the royal coffers. They are kept In aquariums built for the purpose and. fed upon the larvae of mosquitoes, and every possi ble care taken of them. When the fish Is In a quiet state, with the fins at rest, the dull colors are not at all remarkable. But if the two are brought together or within sight of each other, or even If one sees Its own image In a looking-glass, the little creature becomes suddenly excited. The fins are raised, and the whole body shines with metallic lustre and colors of dnz illng beauty, while the protruding gill membrane, waving like a black frill round the throat makes grotesque the general appearance. In this state of Irritation it makes rei posted darts at Its real or reflected an- tagonlst If now two are placed to gether In a tank they rush at each other with the utmost fury. The battle Is kept on until one Is kill ed or put to flight but not until they are entirely separated does the victoi ihut his gaudy fins, that, like flags ol war, are never lowered until peace ha been declared. THE CAST OF A BELU fntereetina- Procesa Which Few Foun ders Have Been Able to Master. The operation of casting a bell is a Host Interesting one. The flask where in and wherein the mold is made cou llsta of two parts, constructed of boiler Iron, of tt general bell form, and plenti fully perforated tfith holes for escap- ng gas while casting, one being so much less In size than its fellow as to rive space for the loam forming the xtold between the two. No "pattern," is the term Is generally used. Is pro rided. The two parts of the mold are swept" by "formers," accurately fin ished from thin Iron to the form Intend ed for the Inner and outer surfaces of ixe bell. These "formers" are mount ed and rotated over the applied loam. Five courses of loam and clay are suc- esslvely applied, "swept" and baked. to complete each mold. Before this work Is done, however, the Inner flask !s wound near the top with a rope made f hay. As the shrinkage Is very great is the castings cool, difficulty would be met with in getting the flask and loam out of the nearly parallel Inside op: this "pinch" Is obviated by using this destructible base, which permits the collapse of the loam after the heat it the metal has consumed the hay. The five courses laid on the flasks ire: Loam, a mixture of loam, fire clay and manure; two successive coatings f powdered Are clay, and, lastly, a thin mating of brick and fire clay combined with foundry facing. Each If these joatlngs Is baked In an oven before the succeeding one Is applied. The ;oatlngs are "swept" by the formers, is applied, both In the Inner and outer Basks, by careful adjustments as to thickness of materials, so that when the exterior mold Is placed over the In terior, a space corresponding to the Intended thickness and shape of the bell shall exist Inscriptions of em bellishments to be made upon the bell are provided for with the last coating by means of a "knurl" or wheel, having the desired motto raised upon Its peri phery, the wheel being carefully rolled around the soft surface and leaving Its Imprint In the clay. Other designs are Impressed from dies of the required or nament, and the usual "beading" Is ac complished by notches In the edge of the sweep. The two parts of the flask being plac ed together are firmly help In position by many clamps, the tendency of hot bell metal to squeeze through and force t separation of flasks being very great As the mold nears completion a fire Is started in a near-by reverberatory fur nace. In -which Is placed the desired charge of copper, and when the copper Is melted the tin Is added In Its propor tion. The melted metal being ready, the furnace Is tapped, the bright stream :aught In a huge ladle swung over the mold by a crane and poured into the ipen mouth of the mold until tt Is filled. After cooling and removal from the mold the bell is usually polished with and and water in special revolving grinding machines. The tongue and clapper, the yoke and wheel are now attached and the whole suspended in Its frame. In making a chime the bells are, after completion, temporarily set op and regularly tested by skilled bell ringers, from the permanent chiming stand of the foundry. A bell of such proportions as the large one proposed for Milwaukee's city hall has to be molded and cast In a ptt- Milwaukee Wisconsin. ' Paid tne rreaonetv teA novelty In advertising Is shown, tt iv Scotch church. The congregation rould not pay Its minister, when a soap firm offered to pay 000 a year for five rears on condition that Its advertise Beat be hung up In front of the gs iery In the church; offered accepted. By the time man Is ready to die, ns to ft to lira, 1 REV. DU. TADIAGEL SUNDAY'S niSCOUBSK BY THE KOTKD DIVIN& Subjcat: "David and Absalom. Txt: "Is th yonn? mau Absalom safe? II Samnsl xviil.. 29. Th hait of David, ths father, wal wraDned no in his bov Absalom. He was a splendid boy, ja.1gd by thn rules of worldlj criticism. From th erown ol nis nesa it the sole of his foot there w not n singU Memixh. The Bible says that he had such f luxuriant shock of hair that when once I year It was shorn, what was cnt oft weighe over three pounds. But notwithstanding all his brilllancv of mDnnaranee he wai a bad boy. and broke his father's heart. He wal plotting to get the throne of Israwl. He hoi marshaled an army to overthrow his father'l environment. The day of hattle had eom The conflict was bneun. David, the father, fat between the gates of the nalace wattins nr the tidings of the conflict. Oh, how ranldly his heart bent with emotion. The two grent question jror to be d"id. ed h safety of his hoy and the continu ance of the throne of Israel. After a whiles servant. 'standing on the top of the house. took off and seei some one running: He il eo-ning with great speed, and ths man on the top of the house announce the corning, of the messenger, and the father watnhej and waits, and as soon as the messenger from the field of battle eoTies within hailing distance the Tathnr cries out. Is it a ues. tion in regard to the establishment of hit tiiron-? Does he say: "Have the armies o' Jsral been victorious? Am I to continue il mv imperial authority? Have I overthrowl mr enemies?" Oh. no! There is one qnes. tion that springs from his heart to the Hp mil springs from the lip Into the ear of th lsweated and hedusted messenger flyim f-om the battlefield the question, "Is th vonng man Absalom safe?" When it wal told to David, the king. that, though his ap rnis had ben victorious, his son had bei slain, the father turned his back noon thi congratulations of the nation and went u the stairs of his pa'ane, his heart breaking ai he went, wringing his hands sometimes an then again Dressing them against his temnln as though he would press them In, crying O Absalom! mv son! my son! Would t Ood I had did for thee. O Absalom! m; eon! my son!" My frienilf . fife question which David, th( k'ntf. asked in reeard to his son is the que tion that resounds to-dny in the hearts o hundreds of parents. Yea, there are a grea multitude of young men who know that tlv nuestion of the text Is appropriate whei asked in regard to them. They know thi temptations by which they are surrounded They see so many who started life with a good resolutions as they have who havt fallen in the path, and they are readv t hear me ask the question of mv text. "Is thi younir man Absalom safe?" The fn.-t is tha this life is full of peril. He who undertake it without the graee of God and a proper un derstandlng of the confliet into whieh he i going must certainly be defeated. Just tool oft upon society to-dav. Look at the ship wreck of men for whom fair things wep promised and who started life with every ad vantage. Look at those who have droppei from high social position and from great for time, disgraced for time, disgraced for eter nity. All who sacrifice their integritv eomi to overthrow. Take a dishonest dollar an. hnry it in the center of the earth, nnd kee all the rocks of the mountain on ton of It then cover these rocks with all the diamond of Ooleonda, and all the silver of Nevada and all the gold of California and Australia and put on the top of these all banking ant moneved institution, and they cannot kee down that one dishonest dollar. That one ii honest dollar in th center of the earth wll begin to heaveand rock and upturn itself un til U comes to the resurrection of damnation "As the partridge sitteth on eggs am hatehetb them not. so he that eetteth rich and not by right shall leave them in thi mid't of his days, and at his end shall ba fool." Now. what are the safeguards of vonni men? The first safeguard of which I wan to speak is a love of homo. There are thot who have no idea of the pleasures that con centrate aronnd that word "home." Per haps your early abode was shadowed witl vice or poverty. Harsh words and petulanci nnd scowling may have destroyed all thi sanctitv of that spot. Love, kindness am self sacrifice, which have built their altars i) so many abodes, were strangers in you father's house. God pity you, young man vou never bad a home. But a multitude il this audience can look hack to a spot ths they can never forget. It mav have been I lowly roof, but you cannot think of it not without a dash ot emotion. You have seei nothing on earth that so stirred your soul A stranger passing along that place migh see nothing remarkable about it; but, oh! hoi much it means to you. Fresco on palan wall does not mean so much to yon as tlios. rough hewn rafters. Parks aud bowers an( trees on fashionable watering place or conn try seat do not mean so much to you as tha brook that ran in front of the plain farn house and singing under the weeping wil lows. Ths barred gateway swung open hi porter in full dress does not mean as mucl to you as that swing gate, your sister on ore side of it and you on the other, she gone IK teen years ago into glory; that scene cominj back to you to-day, as you swept backwan and forward on the gate, singing the songi of your childhood. But there are those hen who have their second dwelling place. It ii your adopted home. That is also sacret forever. There yon established the lira family altar. There your children wen born. In that room flapped the wing of thi death angel. Under that roof, whan vout work is done, you expect to lie down an die. There is only one word in all the Ian guage that can convey your idea of that place, and that word is "home," Now, let me say that I never knew a mat who was faithful to his early and adoptet home who was given over at the same timt to any gross form of wickedness. If yo( find more enjoyment in the club room, if the literary society, in the art salon, thai you do in these unpretending home pleas, ures, you are on the road to ruin. Thougl you may be cut off from yonr early asso elates, and though you may be separated from all your Kindred, young man, is then not a room somewhere that yon can cal your own? Though it be the fourth stor; of a third-class boarding house, Into tha room gather books, pictures and a harp Hang your mother's portrait over thi mantel, bid unholy mirth stand back Iron that threshold. Consecrate soma spot il that room with the knee of prayer. By thi memory of other days, a father's counsel, i mother's love and a sister's confidence, cal it home. Another safeguard for these young men t industrious habits. There are a grea many people trying to make their wa; through the world with their wits instead o by honest toil. There Is a young man wh comes from the country to the city. H fails twice before he is aa old as his fathe was when he first saw the spires of the grea town. He Is seated in his room at a tent o 2U0U a year, waiting for the banks to de clare their dividends and the stocks to rui up. After awhile he gets impatient. H tries to improve his penmanship by makini copy plates of other merchants' signatures Never mind all is right in business. Afte awhile he has his estate. Mow is the tiiw for him to retire to the country, amid thi flocks and the herds, to culture the domesti' virtues. Now the yonng men who were his school mates in boyhood will come, and with tbel ox teams draw him logs, and with their ban hands will help to heave up tbe castle. Tba is no fancy sketch; it is every -day life. ! should not wonder it there were a rottei beam in that palace. I should not wonde it God should suite him with dire sicknesse nnd pour into his cup a bitter draft that wil thrill him with unbearable agony. 1 sbouli not wonder if that man's children grew n to be to him a disgrace and to make his It .shame. I should not wonder If that mttt led a dishonorable death and were rambled nto a dishonorable grave and then went ato tha gnashing of teeth. The way of tha m godly shall perish. O young man. you must nave Industry of lead or hand or foot, or perish. Do not lave the idea that yon can got along in the rorld by genius. The corse of this coun ry to-day is geniuses men with large self oncelt and nothing else. The man who iroposes to make his living by his wits trobabiy has not any. I should rather be m ox, plain and plodding and nseful. than D be an eagle, high flying and good for Othiaabnt to Disk 0U tne ayes ni tver. In the Garden of Eden It wa not sain br Adam to be idle, so God' made him a lortlcnlturist. and if the married pair had lept busy drawing the vines i'ney .tiild not lave been sauntering under the trees, hank-n-ing after fruit that mined them and their losteritv! Proof positive of the fact that vhen people do not attend to their husiness hey get into mlschie'. "Go to the ant, thou Ingcrard; consider her way. and be wiser vhlch. having no overseer or gnide. provid Ith herfood in the summer and gathereth ler meat in the harvest." Sifan i a roaring ion. and vou can never destroy him by gun ir oistol or swor 1. The weapons with which rou are to beat him back are pen and tvps ind hammer and ad and saw an 1 pickax ind vardstiok and the weapon of honest toil. nork. work, or die. Another safeguard that I want to present n yonng men i. a nigh ideal of lif. Som Inies soldiers iroine into battle shoot into he irroiinr' Instead of into the hearts of their memies. They are ant to tnke aim too low. tnd it is very often that the cantain. going nto conflict with his men, will crv out, 'Vow, men. aim high!" The fart is that in ife a great manv men take no aim at all. The artist plans out his entire thought before e puts tt noon canvas, hfore ho takes np lie crayon or the chisel. An architect think nt the entire building before the workmen egin. Although everything may seem to be morganized. that architect has In his mind iverv Corinthian column, every Gothic arch, very Byzantine caoital. A poet thinks out :he entire plot of his poem before he begins o chime the cantos of tinkling rhythms. Ind yet there are a great manv men who Itart the important structure of life withouc knowing whether it i goin? to be a md Tartar's hut or a St. Mark's ca thedral, and begin to write out the in tricate poem of their life without know ing whether it is to w a Homer's "O Ivssev" lir a rhvmestor's botch. Out of li)0. 9M bave no life plot. Booted and spurred and faparisoned. thev hasten alon?. an1 I run tut and sav: "Hello, man! Whither away?" "Nowhere!" thev say. Oh. vonng man. make every day's duty a filling uo of the preat life plot. Alas, that there should bo un this sea of life so many ships that seem bound for no port! They are swapt every whither by wind and wave, up by the mountains" and down hv the valleys. They tail with m chart. They gaze on no star. They long for no harhDr. Oh. youi -man. have a hiuh ideal and press to it. an.l It will ho a mighty safeguard. There never were irrnnder opportunities openinu before young men than are opening now. Young men of the strong arm nnd of the stent heart and of the bounding step, I marshal you to-day for a great achievement. Another safeguard is a respect for th R ihha'h. Tell me how a vonng man spends his SnMiath. nnd I will tell yon what nre his prosieets in biisin-'sp. an.l I will tell you tt-hat are his prospect for the eternal world. God has thrust into our busy life nsacrel i'ay when we are to look after our souls. I It exorbitant, after givin-- six days to the f.eding and clothing of these perishable f.odies, that God should demand one day for the fee ling and clothing of the Immortal ion I? There is nnother safeguard that I wmt to present. I have saved it until the last be muse I want it to lie the morn emphatic. The grc.it safeguard for evrv young man is the f'hristinn religion. Nothing can take the place of it. You may have irracefulness pnough to put to blush Lord Chestertlel.I, yon may have foreign languages dropping from your tongue, you mav discuss laws an.l literature, you may have a pen of une nuali'd polish and power, you mnyhaveso tmi'-h business tact that you can get the largest salary in a banking house, you may lie as sharp as Herod and a strong a Kamson. and with a long locks as those which hung Absalom, and yet yon have no safety against temptation. Some of you look forward to life with great despondency. I know it. I S'e It in your faes from time to time. You say. "All the occupations an.l professions are full, and there's no chance for me." Oh, young man, cheer up! t will tell you how you can make your fortune. Seek first the kingdom of Bod and His righteousness, and all other things will be added. I know you do not want to be mean in this matter. You wilt ot drink the brimming cup of life and then pour tbe dregs on God s altar. To a gener lus Saviour you will not art like that: yon bave not the heart to act like that. That lot manly. That is not honorable. That is tot brave. Your great want is a new heart, ind in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I Mil you so to-day, and the blessed Hplril presses through the solemnities of this hour :o put the cup of life to vour thirsty lips. 3h, thrust it not hack. Mercy presents it Heeding mercy, long suffering mercy. l)o I iise all other friendships, prove recreant to ill other bargains, but despise God's love tor your dying soul do not do that. There lorries a crisisin a man'slife, an.l thetrouhle S he does not know it is the crisis. I got a iBtter in which a man says to me: "I start out now to preach the gospel of righteousness and temperance to the people. Do you remember moi I am the man who ippeare.l at the close of the service when you rere worshiping in the chael after you lame from Philadelphia. Do ynu remembei it the close of ttie Bervice a man coming up 0 you all a-tremhle with conviction, and irying out for mercy, and telling you he had 1 very had business, nnd he thought ha vould change it? That was the turning oint in my history. I gave up my bad bus jioss. I gave my heart to God, and the de lire to serve Hi n has grown upon me all ihese years, until now woe is unto mo if 1 jreauh not the gospel." That Sundny night wa the turning point if that young man's history. This very Sah ath hour will be the turning point in ths iistory of 100 young men ia this house, lod help us! 1 once etood on an anniver lary platform with a elergym-iu who told 'bis marvelous story. He said: "Thirty years ago two young men started ut to attenil Park Theatre, N.;w York, to lee a play which made religio i ridiculous mil hypocritical. They ha I been brought lp in Christian families. They started for :he theatre to see that vile piny, and their larly eonvictious came back upon them. They felt it was not . right to go, but still hey went. They came to the door of thfl :heatre. One of the young men stopiied and Halted for home, but returned ami came up ;o the door, but he had not the courage to to in. He again started for homo and went some. The other young man went in. H? irent from one degree of temptation to mother. Caught in the whirl ot frivolity ind sin, he sank lower and lower, lie loit ttis business position. Ho lost his morals. He lost his soul, lie died a dreadful death, not one star of mercy shining on it. I stand ttefore you to-day." said that minister, "to lhank God that for twenty years I have been permitted to pr.-a 'a the gospel. Ian the other young mu." Ob, you see that was the tnrnin? point the one went bock, the other went on. The great roaring world of business life will soou oreak in uimiii you, young meii: Will the wild wave dash out the impressions of this iny as an ocean billow dasncs letters out of the sand on the beach? You need something better than this world can give you. 1 beat Dn your h. art. and it pounds hollow. You want Homething irreat and grand and gtori 3us to fill it, and here is the religion thut can lo it. God save vou! I" hi1iil1hiit ftuer Telephone. Il is estimated that 14i,000 conversations, ilore or lss. take place daily over the f-.-l-.-ahones in Philadelphia. The man who ntterapta to play a practical joke on a vicious dog slioiil 1 engage a surgeon beforehand. Fools measnre actions alter they are one by thsevaat; wm m in bifore bD(l, by the rules of reason and right. Tbe former look to the end to judge of the act. If a man conld run ont of debt at as easily as be can run into it, times wonld not be po hard. Good breedicg is the remit of much good sense, some good nature ani a little self denial for tbe sake of others, and with a view to obtain tba bhiuj indnlgeDce from them. The home role question has wrecked . the happiness of many a family. Tbe prudent set s only the difficulties, the bold only tbe advantages of a great enterprise the hero seeks both, dimin ishes those, makes these predominated and conquers.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers