A.. i ; i 5;l I B, F. SOHWEIEB, THE OON8TITDTION-THE UNION-AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. 1 VOL Mil MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA., WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 25.1899. NO. 7. ST 1 1)' IlLtLEM y- By Marion V.Holli' CHAPTER XIX. "Lady B' a trice Selwyn will visit the school." Those words rang in the ears of the sa.i. gentle lady, the mistress of the little girls who regarded Iady Bea trice with such awe. How was she to meet her? what was she to say? waa her disRuise complete? She went up to her own room before she entered the school next morning and took a keen, critical survey of her pale face. She was woman enough to feel pleased that such fair, tranquil beauty still lin gered there. One or two golden hairs had strayed from underneath the black front and the widow's cap; she hastily cat them off. No: it wfl- impossible, she thought, that anyone could recognize her. All that remained of the fair and lovely Lady Vio lante was the pathetic beauty of the large violet eyes; even those were disguised by I the darkened brows. "If Dr. Hearne did not know me, I need not fear Beatrice," she thought; "he liked and she hated me liking is quicker than hate:" She went Into the school room then. Great patches of golden sunshine lay rhu-nrr the white floor: the Ions' windows were open, and the perfumed air came in ireet and odorous gusts. The children were all assembled fair-faced girls, with youth, with eager eyes and clustering quick eyes and nimble fingers. A certain j hair, rides slowly along, looking some nameless restlessness went through them "m at the sky above him, and some ill; it was known that Lady Selwyn waa times at the blooming flowers. A gal comins to the school that day. 1 lant, princely boy, with the face of a cava- Then there was a stir among tne chil- dren, a murmur of excitement; and one girl older than the rest came up to her, dropping a courtesy. "If you please, ma'am," she said, "here is my Lady Selwyn." Then a tall, stately lady, clad in sweep ing robes of silk and velvet, stood before her a lady whose proud, regal beauty dazzled those who gazed upon her. The haughty tips wore a pleased smile; the dark, lustrous eyes a calm, satisfied ex pression. She swept, with the carriage of a queen, through the garden into the bright, sunshiny room. "I hope I have not interrupted you," said Lady Beatrice to Mrs. Rivers. "I am an early visitor this morning. I have been driving to the railway station, and have called on my return." There was no reply. Mrs. Rivers made a low bow, and Lady Beatrice continued: "I wiil just look round among the chil dren. Mrs. Kivers, and then, if yon please, I will see you in the cottage." Nay, not one word to have saved her whole life could she have uttered. She tried, but her ler parched lipa seemed glued ! ue niorfaevouur-eiievea mat it waa i the effect of her own august presence, a conviction that made her unusually gra cious and affable. My lady swept down the room, her costly silk and velvet trailing after her. Mrs. Kivers followed her, still with silent lips and tightly clinched hands. Through the garden, where the crimson leavea lay on the broad path, to the little cottage, where the woodbines hung in full flower. She entered first, and the white-faces woman behind her gathered all ' her strength together. My lady seated herself on the little touch, the gray silk and rich velvet fol lowing around her. "Be seated. Mrs. Rivers," ahe said. "You do not look strong. I hope you are well, and like your new home. You are a widow, I believe?" said Lady Beatrice, looking at the close cap. "I have lost my husband and my son," was the quiet reply; by this time the vio let eyes were raised calmly and search ing 7 to the lady's face. "Dear me," was the conventional reply; "how very tad. You are glad, perhaps, of a quiet life after a great sorrow?" said my lady, after a short pause. "My sorrow has been and Is a very heavy one," replied the quiet voice. "Are you a stranger in thia part of the wnntry?" asked Lady Beatrice. "I have been living for some few yeara at Sheptua," said Mrs. Rivera. "I hope you will make yourself happy. I shall send you fruit and flowers from the Hall; I have been in the habit of do lug so. Are you fond of reading?" "It is my only pleasure," said the gov erness; "I have no other." "We have so many books at the Hall," continued Lndy Beatrice; "you can have what you wiil from the library. I sent down a few; have you looked over them yetr "I have not had time," said Mrs. Rivera, going to the little bookcase. "These are very nice and useful. I thank your lady ship very much for the kind thought" The voire was gentle enough, the words " L'ruu? enougn, tne woras yet Lady Beatrice thought tere numbie, to herself: "How stiff and unmoved she Is." Suddenly Mrs. Rivers saw the volume of Wordsworth; in one instant she recog nized it. She remembered the very after noon when Lord Selwyn had given it to her. Whnt did it here? Lady Beatrice saw it in her hands. "Io y.,u like Wordsworth?" she asked, Condescendingly. Rut Mrs. Kivers did not appear to have heard the question. She had opened the . ,k.' aml VR looking at the title page. "To my dearest Violante; from her de voted husband, Vivian Selwyn." Heaven be merciful that the Bight of the handwriting and the words did cot lay ner. l.ndy Beatrice glanced at it "No," she replied, carelessly and un truthfully, -u.rj selwyn sent it with the others." Mrs. Rivers repressed the cry of an f'nsh that ruse to her lips. Did he love her memory so little that he gave to his dependents tlle sifts that had been hers? " 'onie for books when you want more," aid Lady Beatrice. "I have some notion of founding a library for the use of the nlagers; if so, Mrs. Rivers, 1 shall be Pleased to put it under your care. Re member, at any time and in any diffi culty, yon must apply to me." Sb and stood, so tall and stately, that f little room seemed too small for her. "I am very pleased to have seen yon. Mrs Rivers." she said, graciously. "Mas ter Rupert Selwyn will be riding past the school to-day, and he will bring you the ruies I wag speaking about I wish you good-morning"' "Good-morning, Lady Selwyn," mur mured the white lips, and a cry from the bleeding heart went up to Heaven bet- KKDy anKuisQ. any death, than thia! feae waa aoae. the beautiful, stately cvm lady; but the ncu penuu.e ot uer Rai ments still lingered in the room. With trembling hands Mrs. Rivera raised the Wordsworth" she opened It, and tore out the title page that bore her name. "No one else shall see how little Jbe rare for my memory," she said. "He might have oared for my books." Iespite her heroism and her self-sacrifice, she was but a woman that one little instance of his indifference hurt her more than bis marriage had done. She laid her tired head down upon the table and wept, hot, bitter tears. CHAPTER XV Picture a long, winding road, bordered n either side by tall trees, with over- uanging branches, the hedges brilliant with wild rose and woodbine, with climb ing foxglove and strawberry blossom, the thick, leafy branches meeting in some places, twining their giant arms so as to form a shady arch, the sunlight falling through and casting quaint, graceful shadows on the ground. Then through tne aunlit foliage, under houghs of the tall trees. the moving a handsome irana, grand smile or a crowned king, As he comes riding over the shadows under the trees, the watcher by the gate sees him at last, and heaven is merciful to her that the sight does not strike her dead. Then a great mist came before her eyes and dazzled her, a mighty sound as of rushing waters filled her ears, a torrent of love rushed through her heart, making her tremble like a leaf in the wind, for be had stopped at the gate, and was speaking to her. She looked at him helplessly; her lips fiarted, but were dumb; her eager, yearn ng eyes were fixed on his face; her white, nervous hands clutched at the bar of the gate. "I must steady myself," she thought. "I must remember by my own act I am dead." "Good morning, Mrs. Rivers," a cheery, rich voice was saying; "Lady Beatrice asked me to call and give you these." Her own son heaven help her! her only child! She longed with desperate 'onf in" herself under the horse's He flung the relna aside and ilsmouat ed. "I win fasten my pony to the gate," he said, "and come inside, if yon will allow me, Mrs. Rivers. It is very warm, and 1 have ridden fast." Ah! if ahe could but speak to him! If she might but cry out: "Rupert, I am your mother! I am Violante Selwyn !" But the white, parted lips were still dumb. He, looking at her, thought her strange, sad and quiet; but the widow's cap and the mourning dress accounted for that. "Too will not spoil me as Mrs. Browne did, I hope," said the laughing voice. "She used to make such grand lemonade fot these warm days." I I will give you anything I have," he said with trembling energy. He looked at her with little surprise. "Good and kind, but nervous," was hit mental comment. "Will you really come Into my house?" she asked faintly, seeing that he went to ward the door. That I will, with many thanks for the shelter," he said, leading the way Into the pretty little parlor, where Lady Beatrice bad sat so lately. "I am ao glad of a rest," said the boy, throwing himself on the couch. "It la awfully hot, Mrs. Rivers; how cool you look here. I should like a glass of water." "Nay," ahe said softly; "I have some thins nicer than that for you." a nH she ran to the basket, loaded with fruit, that Lady Beatrice had sent Her bands trembled as she took from it a bunch of purple grapes, and a sunny, blooming peach. She laid them on a plate, covered a small tray with a dainty white cloth and took it to him. "How kind you are." he said eagerly; "but I am robbing you." "No, no," she told his haatily. It waa a thousand times more pleasure to her that he should enjoy them. And enjoy them he did. She sat down near, where she could watch him eating ihe luscious grapes. How her heart r nrned to him. her fingers tingled to - - - - - h , with iu cngtering 'turned to touch hi. face once only just once, one noverea rouna him, she stood near him; she could not feast her eyes enough on that frank, hand some face; all her soul was In her eyes and on her !ip- . .ni. "These are nice," he said. "To tell the plain truth, Mrs. Rivera, I do not get many grapes at home. Lady Beatrice thinks boys shonid be brought up like young Spartans." "Lndy Beatrice?" she repeated. "Yes," he continued; "my father's wife. You know Lady Selwyn la not my moth er." he added eagerly. "Not your mother!" gasped the white ' "Oh no." he replied: "my own mother is dead. She was killed in a railway acci deut at Sedi. in Italy. My mother was a- beautiful as an angel, Mrs-Rivers. She murmured some reply; she nevei knew whnt. Vhi " he continued decisively; "she was just as beautitnl as an augel. 1 re Member her face quite well. I used to drerrr. of it for years: I dream of !t now S,.rh ovmir ey-o. " wt hl' "J she used to kisa me so. She used to Mid i-ie :n her arms, and kiss me as though her heart was breaking. I do miss my mother." , . The handsome face grew sad, and tne clear eyes filled with tears. "Xo one is quite like your own mother, he said; "and mine loved me. My father often tells me how she used to teach me, and fear for me; how she alwaya longed to see me a good and great man. M mean to be. My mother i ?mong the angels; but she shall aee how 1 wvea u. She can bear no more; she la fping wildly now. kneeling at the foot of the lit tle couch, her whole figure shaken witb deep-drawn bitter sob, and he is stano ing over her in deep amaae. "What ia the matter, Mrs. KlTersT what ia wrong?" killed her. she controlled h.i j I am ashamed," she said, "of givina way so; but I had a son, once, and I lost j "v ",Mue me tuimt of him." 'You have lost a son, and I a mother." of the two?" "Mine," she said softlr. "8hll , come to see me often. Mt Ttirxi" les, be-said. "1 always hked coming I lne course of the blood-vessels Id to see Mrs. Browne, and I shall be just ,ead "Imals or birds Is new exam na pleased to see you. Whenever my ! nd the X-rays. In order to make ratuer ia away, and Lady Beatrice la In one of her 'humor,' as the servants can rn m T 1 ; I . . , , - . 1 iiM- iu nue over nere. My lady used to think a sound box on the ears a remedy for every fault I had. My father, uow-ever, did not agree with her." "I should say not" she cried indignant ly. He laughed again. "A woman's hand could never hurt me " he said proudly. "Good morning, Mrs. Rivers. I will come again often, if you will let me." "Come when you will," she said; and then their eyes met The boy started. no e earth are you like. Mrs. Riv ers?" he cried. "I have seen you before, I am sure; or else some one like you." She drew back in aJa an. "Clance resemblances are common enough," she said quietly. "I can only hope my face reminds you of some one very pleasant "That lt does," he replied. "Now I must go." And the next minute he was on horse back, waving his cap in a farewell salute her. (To be continued.) IN A SULPHUR MINE. Terrible Hardship- of the Boys Em ployed Therein. "There are but few who admire the follectlon of beautiful sulphur crys tals In the National Museum," remark ed the gentleman who collected them from the famed sulphur mines In Sicily to a Washington Star reporter, "who have any idea In relation to the same except their beauty. I don't think," he said, "there Is another snot on earth where such abominable treatment, such fiendish cruelty. Is Inflicted on the la borer as In the sulphur mines of Sicily. They are paid barely enough to pro vide themselves with a scant supply of the coarest, cheapest food, and a good portion of the time they are in a state of chronic starvation. When I was last there, many of the mines were closed, and a Sicilian paper stated that 30,000 people were starring at the mines. The work Is of the hardest and most exhausting character. Very few of the mines have hoisting apparatus, and the sulphur ore (sulphur and lime stone combined) Is brought up from the depths below on the backs of men and boys. Long, sloping, narrow tunnels lead from the surface down to the sul phur beds 200 to 600 feet or more be low. Miners dig the stuff out, and it Is carried up In stoat sacks or flat bas- they wear piece of matting, or some thing of the sort, tel4 - string aronnd the neck. This Is to protect the flesh from being torn from their bodies by the Jagged corners of the ore they carry. No one can Imagine a more heartrending sight than to lee the wretched creatures toiling up the long, steep slopes In the mine with their enormous loads. Every step they take wrings a groan from their tortured frames. Most pitiful to me was the sight of the poor, bent, broken and emaciated old men, mere battered wrecks, and the young lads of 10 and 12 years, who have Just began this life of cruel toll. "Staggering along under loads full as heavy as a strong man ongbt to carry, the dreadful procession winds upward through the narrow drifts and tunnels to the surface, where the ore Is piled up In rectangular heaps and paid for by the cable meter. "An evidence of the awful severity of the labor is the fact that a very large percentage of these lads are so badly crippled by the time they reach the age for military service that the conscript officers are forced to reject them. And I assure you that the Ital ian Government Is not over-critical as to the physical condition of the men she sends by the ship load to Masso wah to be butchered by the Abys slnians. When the miserable creatures leave the Inferno underground and reach the surface they find themselves In a veritable corner of hades. The sul phur Is extracted at the mine by roast ing it in immense heaps slightly cov ered with earth, not unlike In form to a charcoal pit The air Is so filled with sulphurous vapors and dust as to al most suffocate one. Not a green thing In sight, for the poisonous vapors kill all vegetation. The fierce sun beats down upon one In those vendureless valleys with great fury. On every side there are the hot rocks, acres of Im palpable stifling dust, and the vapors from the calcining air can only be compared to blasts from the infernal region." Prof. Martin, the Swedish savant has discovered In the Kremlin at Moscow l.rim nnrtlon of the Swedish war booty captured by Gustavus Adolphus. It appears that the majority of the sil ver vessels and ornaments kept In the treasury at the Kremlin are presents at different times by various luauv i kings of Swedep to the czars of Russia. There has bsn discovered in India a strange plant which possesses as tonishing magnetic power. The hand touching it immediately ' receives i a strong magnetic shock, while st a. dis tance of twenty feet a magnet.o needle is affected by f. If the earth were not enveloped with atmosphere, the temperature on the surface would be about 330 degrees below zero ranrennnu . I?- ni astionttnt savs cater- a x ic..- - --- . r,, Dlllar cannot see more """- of an Inch ahead. The hairs on its body are said to be of as much use as lla eyes In letting it know what is go ing on around. There Is a fish found in Hudson bay which absolutely builds a nest This It does by picking up Pebbles in its mouth and placing them Jn a reg !., ,av nn a selected spot on the bot- ! torn of the bay, where the water is not I very dep. -Calvin tells of a friend of htaread . inTaloud to him while fast asleep, all , ficulties.being dormant except his hearing. ColeriOg bW I uhilosouher , while fast noems. "14-udiu -u puenis, asleep. he arteries, etc.. rive a DhotosmtDh. r "radiograph," they are first injected ivlth mercury. Very beautiful re mit have been thus attained. The Lancet says that the air of oorn can be charged with ozone by limply suspending moist linen sheets n a keen, dry wind, and then hanging :hem up In the house. It Is thought :he generation of the ozone may be lue to the rapid passage of atmos pheric oxygen over the broad, wet sur faces of the sheets. Ozone exercises i purifying effect on the air. W. E. Roth has recently published :he results of his studies among the aatlve Inhabitants of the northwestern part of central Queensland, In Aus :ralla. His most Interesting discovery s that of the existence of a sign lan guage, expressed by means of the lands, and capable of conveying com ilex as well as simple Ideas. Mr. Roth rives Illustrations of 213 of the man ia! signs employed in this language, which Is used throughout the region itudied by him. Cannibalism, he says. (till prevails among some of the Aus :rallan tribes. Statistics are presented In a recrnt number of Nature which tend to sup port the conclusions of Doctor Bruck ier that there Is a regular cycle, of ibout thirty-five years. In the course f which the earth experiences a hange of weather- from a cold and ivet period, through a hot and dry period, back to a cold and wet period igain. According to these- statistics we are now In one of the comparatlva- ly dry periods, but early In the twen- tieth century the condition ot things will be reversed, and the wet yean will outnumber the dry ones. Owing to the effects of shore-lines, ind other Influences which are more r less obscure. It Is very difficult to iccount for the peculiarities exhibited by tidal waves in various parts of the tvorld. Interfering waves cause once-i-day tides at Tahiti, and In some jther places, while on the other band, in the harbors back of the Isle of Wight, and In the Tay In Scotland, :here are three tides in a day. The latter have recently been ascribed to "overtldes," produced by the modifica tion of tidal waves running ashore, and resembling the "overtones" of musical sounds. Of the two liquid envelopes that en wrap the globe the atmosphere la the tnaJn one might suppose without giving - ' , . , nnt cne maner quo cuauenuuii. iv wij loes the wind carry vast clouds of dust and sand from place to place, but It bears Inland the vapor which rises from the ocean, and which comes back to us condensed Into rain. All the erosion of the soil that is accomplished by rivers, all the transportation of solid material that these streams and the jcean currents are responsible for. would be Impossible were there no air. rhe waves, too. are raised by this agency, and their havoc must also be charged in part to the account of the atmospheric sea. The " Wlll-o'-the-WIsp." The "wlU-o'-the-wlsp" usually ap pears In marsny piaces or iu yards. It Is believed to be due to the spontaneous combustion of pbosphuret- ed hydrogen from decomposing organic matter, and It issues from the soli as a long flame, while on water lt Inflames at the surface with the production of long wreaths of phosphoric anhydride. It can be reproduced artificially by throwing calcium phosphide into water or burying lt In moist sou. a aHentiflc Frenchman. Dr. A. Bleu- nard. reports some remarkable observa tions of the wlll-o'-the-wlsp at Croislc. a seaport of France, during last August and September, the lights having been visible every evening over a consider able area of water. The bubbles of gas were very large in August, during the season of thunderstorms, but became mailer and smaller as the temperature fell, until the phenomenon ceased about the 20th of September. The bubbles were mostly confined to two basins that contained no mud, but were receptacles of much fish refuse. As such organic matter as the brain of a sheep failed to produce phospnureted hydrogen when decaying under water, the conclusion Is reached that the waters of the port of Croislc must contain some rare fer ments, hitherto unknown and existing only under special conditions, which decompose organic substances rich in nhnmhonu In a manner to set free phosyhureted hydrogen. The Oat Fit, . The cat fit or conniption fit, as lt is jimetlmee called. Is a state of mind Into which one works himself when un duly agitated over some matter, usually of no Importance, in which he alone, or perhaps he and somebody else, may be concerned. Thus some nervous per son getting ready for a Journey might, as the time for departure approached, get flurried and flushed over tne prep arations and run from one tning to an other without making headway, be coming more and more agitated. Imag ining that everything was going wrong, and that It couldn't possibly be straightened out In time, and finally getting Into a regular conniption fit That form of the cat or conniption i fit that Is due to the actions of others springs usually from dwelling upon the shortcomings, real or fancied, of somebody upon whom we may have occasion to rely; somebody hasn't come when expected, or ne nas aone some thing poorly, or we fancy he has, or he hasn't done it at all, or he has misun derstood or ignored Instructions. Churning these Irritating things over and over In his mind the man gradu ally works himself Into a cat fit, a state of excitement disturbing to omen, ana to himself distracting. But whatever the immediate, cause may be, oat fits are doe prlmArtly to a disposition to magnify trifle and to. fret over things not worth worrying about A TRUE STORY. Strong; Attachment of Two Chlcasm Pandwtch Men. Those who held the theory that tha poor cannot afford to indulge In feel ings, and that to have enough to eat la for them to have all their longing satis fled, should read the story of two waifs, one of whom lately died In a Chicago bospltaL They belonged, says the Interior, strictly to the ranks of those who strug gle for the barest subsistence, earning a scanty living by acting as "sandwich men." or by cobbling a little for the poorest of the poor. They were In no way related, but they bad lived for years In the same room, and had learn ed to like each other and to be neces sary to each other. If their undivided earnings amounted to a dollar a week they were In comfort A little more meant affluence. There was one fear that pressed upon the hearts of these men they dreaded a pauper burial. Lest either should come to such disgrace they covenanted to protect each other from lt and to pay every week fifteen cents each to a burial society which guaranteed some thing like ninety dollars on the death of a depositor. Two years ago the strength of one of these men failed. He could do no work, and from that time the stronger of the two supported both, and kept up the payments of both policies. The end came at last. The double task fell from the shoulders of the sur vivor. He had yet to keep his promise to his fj-lend, however. He collected the money for the policy, purchased a decent casket and honored the lie.id man with a respectable f unreal. Then he mailed all that was left of the Insur ance to the blind brother of his friend, paid two weeks' premiums in advance upon his own burial expenses, and ob taining admittance to a city hospital died within ten days of a broken heart A Shrewd Collector. An odd way of gettirg into business was adopted by a Cincinnati ageut His shrewdness drew the line pretty closely between Inadvertency and petty larceny. He bad secured the position of collector for a mercantile bouse and In the line of his duties be made some forty or flf.y calls per day on delin quent customers. He made lt a point to borrow a lead pencil from each one with which to do his figuring. These he never returned unless asked to do so. Of course, no suspicion attached to him on so trivial a matter, for for- getfuloess In regard to lead pencils Is recognized as a human falling. Nearly every one he secured was long enough to pass muster as a new pencil, and fl'., collecting ,4JXKV,n this way (be the advantages of bis bid was that he offered to furnish pencils already sharpened. From this start his prog ress was rapid and a basis was thus furnished for a commodious stationery storeJrom which be derives a comfort able Income. Proved True. A lawyer whose office was on one of the upper floors of a tall building was about to enter the elevator one morn ing, but stepped back In order to let a lady who seemed to be In a hurry pre cede him. The "conductor," It appeared, had been waiting for Just one more passen ger to complete his load, and when the lady stepped inside he shut the door and the elevator shot upward. "Politeness." muttered the lawyer. "Is not always Iu own reward." A few minutes later, however, as cending by another "lift" he passed that load of passengers, stuck hair-way between floors where they remained half an hour by some accident to the machinery. "I take It back." be muttered, in the same tone as before. "Politeness Is Its own reward !" REFUSED TO KISS HOBSON How a Sensible Louisville Olrl Gained Unpleasant Notoriety. Any sensible and modest girl, with t grain of self -respect, would have done what Mies Douglass Quarrler, of Louis ville, did and yet that act has made her the subject of unpleasant notoriety. She refused to make a spectacle of her self by kiselng Hobson. The Incident which has given Miss Quarrler such indden prominence occurred at Mac Cauley's Theater during Hobeon's Louisville visit The young lady is the laughter of a high official of the Louis ville & Nashville railroad and Is very popular In the most exclusive society, not only of Louisville, but of New Tork and New Orleans as well. The hero, with a party of ladies and gen tlemen, occupied a box at the theater prior to a banquet to be given In his honor at the Louisville Hotel. Es appearance was greeted with a storm ot applause, and of coarse his presence extinguished the play. After a short addreae, made between acts, Hobson returned to the box, in which, among others, was seated Miss Quarrler. Someone suggested to Hobson to kisa her, but when he offered to do so that young lady frigidly drew away from him and left ttve box. The audience san the wbole scene and waa mtenselj amused, Foot-ball makes demons of tome men and angels of otters. There Is notSnng mot unsarlafnctor mas noTjatAss quABBma. THE TARTARIAN LAMB. - - A E trance Plant that Closely Bee; blea an Animal. Among the strange stories to be found hi the narratives of early travelers, few are strangt.r than that of the veg etable lamb of Tartar. This story, as believed by the reading public, and even by the naturalists of two cen turies ago. Is so marvelous, and so ob rloasly absurd that we wonder bow the most credulous could have believed It to be true. The story Is tbat In an elevated and cultivated salt plain of great extent, west of the river Volga, there may ba found a creature half-animal, half plant, to which the natives give the name of baremets. meaning "little lamb." To obtain It the Tartars sow In the ground a seed like tbat of a melon, from which. In due time, rises the strange plant having the figure of a lamb, with the feet, the hoofs, the ears, and the whole bead, except the horns, of that animal, distinctly formed. It grows en a stalk about three feet In height, being, according to one ver sion, rooted to the ground by Its four feet, while another account raises the whole lamb, feet and all, from the ground on a single stem, on which It Is able to turn, and also to bow Itself downwards to the herbs on which It feeds. It lives as long as there Is grass or herbage around it but when It has consumed all within Its reach. It die, and withers away. Its skin Is covered with a very white down, as One as silk, snd Is greatly prized by the Tartars, who pull It off. and wear It as a cover for the head. Inside, lt Is composed of flesh and bones, and when wounded It gives ont a liquid resembling blood. Wolves are said to be the only animals that will eat It, and they are very fond of It Specimens of this remarkable produc tion were looked upon as the rarest treasures In the collections of the cari ous In days gone by. Two different specimens have been described In the Philosophical Transactions," and a third has Its portrait given In an en graving in Darwin's "Flower Garden" and Its history told In the florid verse of that work. The "lamb" Is a natural prod action. greatly helped. In the development of the particulars In which It most resem bles tbat creature, by the Ingenuity of the natives The body Is a portion of the creeping stem of a species or fern which generally grows as erect as a tree. This stem is densely covered with beautiful. Jointed silky hairs, of a rich golden color. On the surface next to the ground a few roots are given off, while the leaves or fronds, as they are called in ferns spring from the upper surface. The fronds reach a height of twelve or four teen feet, and have a long bare stalk before the leaf Is spread out The Tar- roots, and of all the four, which are Intended to be the legs, two short ones for the ears, and a stump for the tall, and then, turning It upside down, trims the stem, and so produces this marvel of the early ex plorers. The fern, known to botanists as the clbotlum barometz. Is a native of Eastern Asia: It has been Introduced Into our conservatories, where It flour ishes, producing, after a few years' growth, good specimens of the "lamb." The silky hairs of this fern form a favorite remedy among the Chinese for checking the flow of blood by applying them to a wound. In the same way as felt or cobwebs are used by some peo ple in this country. The more fibrous snd elastic hairs of several species of the same group, natives of the Sand wich Islands, are largely exported from these Islands to California and Austra lia for stuffing cushions and for similar purposes. Philadelphia Times. Smart Boy. There's a youngster on Joy street who hears things, remembers them and util izes them In hie own way at borne. The other night there was company for dinner and JImmie startled every one when be thus tried to relieve a brief silence: "Papa, you smell like a Chinese laundryman!" I "What do you mean, you Impudent boy." blurted the father, both embar-! rassed and angry. "Through your nose, of course," and Jimmte could hear laughter after be had gone to bed under Imperative orders. J Several weeks ago there waa a meet 1 lug of charitably Inclined ladies at the house and JImmie entered In the midst of their deliberations. After listening long enougl to get the trend of the dis cussion he lxk a hand. I "Mamma." JImmie Interrupted In a sad voice. "I know a man not three j blocks from here that hasn't given his ! wife a thing to eat for more than a' week." j The good women went Into a perfect : spasm of Indignation, some of them ' going so far as to declare that the mon-1 ster should be lynched. But the mother I ,r,a ansnlMnna nf the demnre look on Jlmmle's face. "Who Is this cruel man. my son?" "Mr. Loner." "Mr. Loner!" gasped the excited la dles. "Why the dear old man has no wife and never had." When JImmie received the slipper treatment an hour later he remarked that It didn't seem safe to tell the truth. Detroit Free Press. No Explanation Bandy. A little girl rebuked her brother for laughing at a man with a crooked nose who passed the noise. "You musn't do that," she said.' "God made him that way." "Why, do you a'pose he did it?" asked the small boy with in terest "Oh, I don't know." responded the little sister. Indifferently. "Peo ple do funny things." The World's Wheat Klaa The wheat king of the world reside' ra Argentina, according to the Bostoi Traveler. He Is an Italian emigrant, named Guaaone, and bis broad acret are situated In the south of the prov ince ot Buenos Ayres. His crop occu pies an area of 66,270 acres. He num bers his workmen by tne thousand, cn& each one receives a certain share of the profits. When his season's crop Is har vested a IBs over SV000 railway truck f SERMONS OF THE DAY Preached by Rev, Dr. Talmage, abject: "Clin to the Crons" The Mat-, tlplleltv of OpportnniHea For 'Do'naj Cood Tnat Men or Talent Have Within Their Iteach Brave Stay-at-Hoines. Tsxt: "Thou art worth 10,000 of us." tl Samuel xvlil., 3. One ot the most wondrous characters of bis time was David. A red haired boy, he could shepherd a flock or carry "ten loaves and ten sllees of milk cheese to his brothers In the regiment," or with leathern thong, stone loaded, bring down a giant whose armor weighed two hundredweight of metal, or cause a lion which roared at hlra in rage to roar with pain as he flung it, dying, to the roadside, or conld marshal a host, or rule an empire, or tbnmb a harp so skillfully that it cured Sanl's dementia a barp from whose strings dripped pas torale, elegies, lyrics, triumphal marches, benedictions. Now, this roan, a combina tion of mnsic and heroics, of dithyrambs and battle fields, cf conntry quierndes and statesmanship, is to fit out a military ex pedition. Four thousand troops, accord ing to Jospphns, were sent into the field. The captains were pnt in command ot the companies, and the colonels In com mand of the rectment", which were dis posed Into right wing left wing and center. General Joab, General Ablshal and General Ittai are to lead these tbrec divisions. But who shall take tbe field as commander in chief? David off en his services and proposes to go to tb front. He will lead them in the awfu! charge, for be bas not a cowardly nerv in all bis body. He did not propose to bav bis troops go into perils which he himel' would not brave, and the battlefield re quired as much courage then as now, foi tbeopposing forces mat. In orderto do an execntion at all. come up to within posi tive reach of paher and spear. But then came up from tbe troops and from oivtllam a mighty protest against David's taklnf the field. His life was too important t tbe nation. If he went down, the emnin went down; whereas, if the whole 4000 o the ranks were slain another army mfgh be marshaled and the defeat turned inti victory. The army and the nation practi cally cried ont: "So! No! You ennno go to the front! We estimate von a 10,001 men! "Thou art worth 10,000 of us!' " That army and that nation then am there reminded David and now remind n: of tbe fact which we forget or never ap predate at all that some people are moral ly or spiritually worth far more thai others, and some worth far less. Thecen sus and statistics of neighborhoods, o churches, of nations, serve their purpose but tbey can never accurately express thi real state of things. The practical suljee tbat I want to present to-day is tbat thos. who have especial opportunity, espeeia graces, especial wealth, especial talent especial eloquence, onght to make np b; especial assiduity and consecration fo those who have less opportunities and lea gifts. Yon ought to do ten times more fo God and human npiifting than those whe have only a tenth of your equipment. Th rank and the file of the 4000 of the ten told the truth when tbey said, "Thou an worth 10,000 of us." In no city of its size are there so man men of talent as are gatbere J in the capita of tbe American nation. Some of the Statu are at times represented by men who bavi neither talents nor good morals. Theb political party compensates them for parti san services by sending them to Congreai or by securing fortuem position in the wai or navy or pension or printing depart meats. They were nobodies before tbej men and men of dtemplary lives aim lie purposes. Borne of them have the gifts and qualifications of ten men, of a hundred met yea, of a thousand men and their con stitnents could truthfully employ thf words of my text and say, "Thou art wort! 10,000 of us." With such opportunity, are they aug menting their usefulness in every possibU direction? Many of them are, some of then are not. It is a stupendous thing to bav power political power, social power, ot fioial power. It has often been printed an often quoted as one of the wise sayings o: the ancients. "Knowledge Is power." Yet It may as certainly be power for evil as foi good. The lightning express rail train hai power for good if it Is on the track, but horrible power for disaster if it leaves tb track and plunges down tbe embankment Tbe ocean steamer bas power for good sailing in right direction and In safe waten and under good helmsman and wide awaki watchman on tbe lookout, but indescrib able power for evil if under fall bead way It strikes the breakers. As stean power or electricity or water forces maj be stored in boilers, I J dynamos, in reser voirs, to be employed all over a town oi city, so God sometimes puts in one mat enough faith to supply thousands of met with courage. If a man happens to be tnui endowed, let btm realize his opportuottj and improve it. At tbis time millions ol men are a-tremble lest this nation make a mistake and enter upon some policy ol government for the islands of the sea that will founder tbe republic God will give to a few men on both sides of tbis question faith and courage for all the rest. Then are two false positions many are now tak ing, false as false can be. Tbe one is that If we decline to take under full ohargc Cnba and Porto Rico and tho Philippine we make a declination that wiil be disas trous to our nation, and other nations will take control of those archipelagoes and rule them, and perhaps to onr humiliation and destruction. Tbe other theory Is that If we take possession of those once Spanish colonies we Invite foreign interference and enter upon a career tbat will finally be the demolition of tbis government. Both posi tions are immeasurable mistakes. God has set apart tbis continent for free govern ments and tbe triumphs of Christianity, and we may take either the first or tbe second course without ruin. We ir:ay say to those islands, "We do not want you, but we have set you free. Now stay free, while we see tbat tbe Spauish panther never again puts its paw on your neck." Or we may invito the annexation of Cuba and Porto Bico and say to the Philippines, "Get ready by edu cation and good morals for free govern ment, and nt the right time you shall be one of onr Territories, on tbe way to be one of our States." And there is no power In Europe, Asia or Africa, or all combined, tbat conld harm this nation in its world-wide endeavor. God is on tbe side of tbe right, and by earnest Imploration for divine guidance on the part ot this nation we will be led todo the right. We are on the brink of notbiog. There is no frightful crisis. This train of Republi can and Democratic institutions is a throngb train, and all we want is to have the engineer and tbe bra kern en and tbe eonduotor attend to their business and the passengers keep their places. A vast majority of men have no surplus of confidence for others and bardlv enough confidence for themselves. They go through rite saying depressing things and doing depressing things. Tbey chill prayer meetings, discourage charitable in stitutions. Injure commerce and kill churches. They blow out lights when they ought to be kindling tnem. They hover around a dull lire on their own hearth and take np so much room tbat no one can catch the least caloric, instead of stirring the hearth into a blaze, the crackle of whose backlog wonld invite tbe whole neighborhood to come in to feel tbe abounding warmth and see the transfigur-' ation ot tbe. faces. As we all have to: guess a great deal abont tbe future, let ns guess something good, for it will be more encouraging, and tbe guess will be just as apt to come true. Wbat a lot of tngratei the Lord bas at His table! People who have bad three meals a day for fifty yeara inrt yet fear that they will soon have to. viiile their knife and fork on an emnty linner plate. How many have had win :er and spring and summer and fall ilotbing for sixty years, but expect an nnptv wardrobe shortly) How many have ived under free institutions all their days, rat fear tbat the United States may be telescoped In some foreign oolllslonl Ob, kut the taxes have gone upl Yes, bnt lbnk&odV -J iaU tutor witfc . monev lo pay the taxes now that they ire up than it was without money to pay the taxes when they were down. We want a few men wno have faith in God and that mighty future which holds several things, among them a millennium. Columbanus said to bis friend, "Deicolus, why are you al ways smiling?" The reply was, "Because no one can take my God from mel" We want more men to feel that they have a mission to cheer others and to draw up the corners of people's mouths which have a lon while been drawn down, more Davids who can shepherd whole flocks of bright hopes, and can play a harp of encouragement, and strike down a Goliath of despair, and of whom we can say, "Thou art worth 10. 000 of us." I admit that this thought of my text fully carried out wonld change many of tbe world's statistics. Huppose a village ts said to have 1000 inhabitants, and that one-half of them namely. 500 have for years been becoming less in body, and through niggardliness and grumbling lei in soul. Each one ot these is only one-half of what he once was or one-bait of what she once was. - That original 500 have been reduced one half in moral quality and are really only 250. Suppose that the other 500 have maintained their original statu and 'are neither better nor worse. Then the entire population of that village is 750. But suppose another village of 1000, and 500 of them, as the years go by, through mental and spiritual culture, augment themselves until they are really twice the men and women they originally were, and the other 500 remain unchanged and are neither better nor worse, then tbe pop ulation of tbat village is 1500. Meanness' is subtraction and nobility is addition. According as you rise in tbe scale of holi ness and generosity and consecration, you are worth Ave or ten or fifty or 100 or 1000 or 10,000 others. Notice, my friend, that this David, war rior, strategist, minstrel, master of blaak verse and stone siinger at the giant, whom tbe soldiers of tbe text estimated clear up into the thousandfold of usefulness on this particular occasion, staid at borne or in his place of temporary residence. General Joub, General Ablshal and General Ittai, who commanded the boys in the right wing and left wing and centre, did their work bravely and left 25,000 of the Lord's ene mies dead on tbe field, and many o' tbe survivors got entangled in the woods ot Ephraim and mixed up in the bushes and stumbled over the stumps of trees and foil Into bogs and were devoured of wild beasts which seized them in the tbi"ket.. But David did bis work at home. We all huzza for heroes who have been in battle and on their return what processors we form and what triumphal arches we spring and wbat banquets we s.iread and what garlands we wreathe and what ora tions wo deliver and what bells we ring and what cannonades we Ore! But do we da justice to the stay at homes? David, who was worth 10,000 of those who went out to meet the Lord's enemies in the woods ol Ephraim, that day did bis work in retire ment. BOb, the world needs a day of judgment, to give many of the stay at homes proper recognition. In the different wars the sons went to the front and on ship's deck ot battlefield exposed their lives and earned the admiration of the country, but bow about the mothers and fathers who through long years taught those sons the noble sen timents that inspired them to go and then gave them up when perhaps a fejr word of earnest protest would have kept them on the farm and in the homestead? The day of final reward will reveal the sell sacrifice and tte fidelity of thousands who never In all their lives received one word ot praise. Oh, ye unknown, ye faithful and Christian and all enduring stay at homoMi. I have no power now to do you lustjiee, bxt.l tell you of one who has the poyer and ortketlme when tbe thimble andHiejaleflMNi darnipg needle, and f.ov, wilrcometo3niJ."i.n appreciation as a seventy-four pounder, or the svtord, ' or the battering ram that pounded dow o tbe wall or the flag that was hoisted on th scaled parapets. s The warrior David of my text showed more self control and moral prowess it staving at home than be could have shown commanding in the field. He was a na tural warrior. Martial airs stirred him. The glitter of opposing shields fired him. He was one of those men who feel at horn) In the saddle, patting tbe neck of a paw ing cavalry horse. But he suppressed him-' self. He obeyed thecommand of tbe troopl whom he would like to have commanded. Some of the greatest Sedans and Aus terlitzes have been in backwoods kitch ens or in nursery, with three children down with scarlet fever, soon to join the two already In tbe cburcbyard, pi amid domestic wrongs and outrage! enough to transform angels into devils, ot in commercial life within their own count ing rooms in time of Black Friday panics, or in mechanical life In their own carpen ter shop or on the scaffolding of the wall! swept by cold or smitten by heat. No tele graphic wires reported the crisis of the conflict, no banner was ever waved to cele brate their victory, but God knows, and God will remember, and God will adjust, and by Him the falling of a tear is as cer tainly noticed as the burning of a world, and the flutter of a sparrow's wing as tbe flight of the apocalyptic archangel. Oh, what a God we have for small things as well as big things! David no mon helped at the front than helped at borne. The four regiments mobilized for the de fense of the throne of Israel were right in protesting against David's expose of bis life at the front. Had he been pierced of an arrow or oloven down with abattleaxoi fatally slung forsnorting war chnrger.what a disaster for the throne of Israeli Absalom, bis son, was a low fellow and uutlt to reign; his two chief characteristics were his handsome face and his long hair so long that when he had lt cut that which was scissored off weighed "200 shekels, after tbe king's weight," and when a man has nothing but a handsome face and an exuberance of bair there Is not much ot him. Tbe oapture or slaying of David would have been a calamity irreparable. Unnecessary exposure would have been a crime for David, as It Is a crime for you. Some people think it is a bright thing to put themselves in unnecessary peril. They like to walk up to tbe edge of a precipice and look off, defying vertigo, or go among contagions when they can be of no use but to demonstrate their own bravado, or with glee drive horses which are only harnessed whirlwinds, or see bow closi-'they can walk in front of a trolley car without being crushed, or spring on a rail train after it has started, or leap off a rail train before it has stopped. Their life is a series of narrow escapes, careless of what predica ment their family would suffer at their sudden taking off or of tbe misfortune that might come to their business partners or the complete failure of their life work. If a coroner's jury must be called In to de cide the style of their exit. They do not take Into consideration wbat their life Is worth to others. Taken oil through such recklessness they go crimluals. There was not one man among :hose four full regiments of four thousand Ismelites that would have s- xuch enjoyed being in the light as David, ut he saw tbat he could serve ills nation jest by not putting on helmet and shield ind sword, and so he took the advice of tbe irmed men and said, "What seemeth to Fou best I will do." I warrant that you vill die soon enough, without teasing and cantering casualty to see if it c-an launch rou into the next world. Some of the screws used in wntch es are so small that it takes 380,000 of them to weigh a pound. The world uses 3,000,000 steel pens a day. In the Black sea no animal life of any kind is found at a depth below 1,200 feet, owing to the large amount of hydro-sulphuric acid. The Tibetans have a week of five days, named after iron, wood, water, feathers and earth. A snake does not climb a tree by coiling round it, but by holding on with the points of its scales. A snake could not climb a glass pillar. A floral weather prophet la found in the marigold. When the day is to continue fine, the flower opens about three or four o'clock; but when wet weather is near, the marigold does not open at all. S r it i I A. ?-nn"J.SuisW - -'.ir.:i- - .V-v
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers