ClueK.fiiicT " tl ' Mr. IMI a Mils mk 4 V-"-V w,7 y k - .w ji Vl' r ' " " " 1 " A'M) , " 'pi- -i THE -LEGEND '"I1 w op Ttftr THK woiulorful rnlibit Tvhloli lnyg tho red, white and blue Enstpr okrs In one of tlic old est of hlHtorle chnrnctcrn. In fact, wise men who hnve trlwl to trare the story to Its source hnve gone back far beyond the pni'llost beginning; of written hlf.ory only to find Its Mg, woolly jin sticking up through the mlma of tradition and superstition. But the strangest thing about the Enster rabbit Is that you will I! ml him In every ;iart of the world In Africa and Asia as well as In Kurope and America and If he Is not laying .Cast er eggs he Is doing something equally remarkable and noteworthy. People who think the rabbit only a timid, stupid and commonplace mem ber of society are entirely mistaken. They ought to read the volumes thnt have been written about him. And as for the children! Mother tioose may lie more familiar where KugllHh Is spo ken, but the Kaster rabbit Is known to the little one In every language. Not even the greatest students have ever been able to learn how tt happens that the rabbit lays Kaster eggs. All they knowis that little children, and particularly little children In Ger many, make, as their grandfathers did before them, warm nests of hay during Easter week. In which they find on Easter morning a lot of beautiful col ored eggs, laid there, of course, by the Easter rabbit. Sometimes tho Easter rabbit even leaves a little candy or china I in age of himself behind him In the midst of the eggs, by way of a card. But really no proof Is needed. Yenrs before the oldest man can re member It was always said that the rabbit laid the Easter eggs, and thero Is no more reason to doubt It now than there was then. In St. Louis tho shop windows are now crowded with Easter rabbits, and the Easter cards as often as not show the Easter rabbit's picture. Ask some body why It Is a rabbit Instead of a woodchuck or any other animal. You will find nobody that can tell yon. No body knows. All they can do Is to make shrewd guesses at It, Going back behind the first books men have found that the rabbit was regarded as a sacred animal by widely scattered peoplo all over tho world. Even the American Indians, who had never, so far as we know, heard of Easter, had their feast of tho Great Have, or rabbit, and in the altth cen tury after Christ, before the early In habitants of what Is now England had been Christianized, tho hare or rabbit Is said to have been sacred to Ostara, the goddess of dawn and of spring. Among the natives of South Africa there has been for centuries and still Is a story which connects the rabbit with Easter In a curious way. The spots on tho surface of the moon form, as these natives say, the perfect Imago of a rabbit. And as the moon sets or dies and rises again every thirty dnys. It sent the rabbit to take its message to the children of men. t "Go," said tho moon to the rabbit; "go and say to men that, even as I die and rise again, so shall they also die and rise again." But the rabbit was wicked, and did Dot carry the message straight. "The inoon says," the rabbit told the South African natives, "that even as I die and do not rise again so shall you also die and not rise again." When the rabbit came back and told whnt he bad done, the moon was nat urally angry, and struck at him with a hatchet. The blow struck tho rabbit and split its upper lip. People who doubt the story nra asked to notice that tho rabbit's Up Is split to this day. Aud besides having Its Up split the rabbit was much frightened at tho moon's anger, so that it ran away and bid in a hole in the ground, and has been timid ever since. Going over to Asia we find that the rabbit still holds its place as a sacred animal. In China and all the other countries where the religion of Buddha prevails, the story runs that the great Buddha himself was at one time terri bly hungry, and wandered up and down on the surface of the earth look ing for something to eat, but found nothing. Finally the rabbit saw the hungry god and felt sorry for him. Going up close, so that Buddha could not fall to see blui, the rabbit laid down at his feet. "Eat me," said the rabbit to Buddha. But the Chinese divinity was not to be outdoue.ln generosity. Instead of eating the rabbit he transported It up to the moon, aud there to this duy the llltiu f'MiitipiiM fthllrlrim nun iua ItA Against tue nrigut race or tne moon "liey can make out a tall cassia tree, a spreading top, Under this tree e rabbit on lta bauuebea, pound ettr"6iottiu, 1 4 imi .... ai . t,m i. -rfU ing continually In n morlar from which Is mado the water of life. Per haps If our children will look carefully at the moon they, too, may be able to make out the shape of the rabbit which lays the Easter eggs. And to-day In Chiua nt the time of the celebration of the great moon festi val, which corresponds In season to Enster In Christian lands, the figure of the rabbit Is stamped on the moon enkes, which relatives and friends ex change among each other in the place , of Easter cards. In certain parti of England, even at the present time, much more is made of the Easter bare than in this coun try. In Leicestershire, for Instance, there is a custom stilt in vogue called "the Easter bare pie scramble." So many years ago that everybody has forgotten it a certain plat of ground was given to the rector of the parish perpetually on the condition that each year on Easter Monday he and his successor shoul contribute two bares or rabbit pics and a quantity of ale to be scrambled for by the villagers. As late at 181)2 tho "hare pie scramble" was observed as a great festival, all the villagers turning out to march in procession behind the men carrying tho hare pies, cut up into fragments. When they reached a spot known traditionally as "Hare Tie Bank" tho sucks 'were emptied and all the crowd engaged In a fight or scramble for the pies, which are supposed to guarantee good luck to the possessor for the ensuing year. So the children who credit the Easter rabbit with lay ins the Easter eggs are simply following a tradition so old thut no man knows its beginning. And in every corner of the globe other little children, white, black, yellow or red are, in one way or another, paying al legiance to the same tradition. Street car conductors are never beautiful. In fact, they are not eves pawing tar. 1 An F.iwlcr 1M. Many and quaint are the devices for Easter that are got up to amuse chil dren. One of the newest designs Is pre pared In the following manner: A deep tin pie plnte Is lined with crape paper. Any color may be used, but pink or yellow is the most effec tive. Bet the plate on a piece of paper cut round, but much larger than the plnte. Fold the paper upright, pinching it In to make It set flatly against the sides of the tin. Tie a ribbon of same shade as pnper tightly around to hold paper In place. Allow enough ribbon to tie In two good sized bows on either side of plate. Then count as many little square or round boxes ns there arc children; till with bon nous or favors, nnd to the top of box fasten by glueing or sewing n small chicken or bird. These may be got at any Japanese store In various colors; yellow cotton chicks or black birds. Place these In bottom of pan at regular Intervals. Over these lay n piece of Chinese tis sue paper matching the crnpt paper. Wbero the chicks' heads come gently break the paper aud pull the heads through. Then fasten tho edges of the pnper to the pan with glue, allowing tbo crape pnper to come alove it and bide the join. With the thumb and finger gently press out the folds around the edge of crape paper, allowing It to flare In ruf fle fashion. Around the head of each chick tie a satin ribbon matching tuo paper In color, allowing an end a half yard In length to He over the side, to which end Is attached a bow knot. This pie is Intended to be served at Easter breakfast, and each child pulls a chick out by means f tho ribbon at tached. The pie is set In the center of the table. An Kasior Dinner. For an Easter dinner no color scheme can be more chaste nnd suitable than green aud white. The fragrant lilies and hyacinths with masses of green are beautiful if one may have them; if not, a most artistic table can be had with the use of ferns alone. These range iu price from five to ton ceuts per dozen, the best results being de tained with the long, slender varie ties. Arrange low, graceful centre piece, and then at each place with two extra long ferns outline a wreath large enough to show outside tho plate when placed. Curve the ferns symmetri cally, crosslug the stems at the bottopi in style slmllur to the conventional empire wreath, and pin them flat in visibly to the tablecloth. A simple white place-card may be put in the centre of the wreath. This decoration Is uovol and the effect Is very charm-lug. fr) mm KuMer Ornnu Bsc This pretty Easier gift Is made of shirred tissue paper, cut In fan shape. The pieces are bunched nt one end and tied tightly with narrow white ribbon. A dozen tnngaiines arc laid iu this; then the end are bunched and daintily tied with a golden cord. Knater In th Nrw Ci-nturr. In the century Just begun there will be 5217 Sundays. In that which wo have hardly yet learned to speak of a tho last Kaster Sunday has occurred once on Its earliest posslhlo date March 22, 1818-bnt this will not recur till the twenty-third century. The earliest Eoster In the new century will be March 23, 11)1.1. Kaster Sun day will fall once on Its latest day April 2., In KA.l. This also occurred onco In the century Just passed In 18(1(1. Ascension Day Is pratlcally al- ways in May, but on three occasion! In . the past century it occurred In June, and In the new century this will happen four times. Newcastle Chronicle, . - Hot Cross Buns. ''How many people are awaro that the hot cross bun of Good Friday dates back thousands of years to the very dawn of the human race?" writes 8. P. Butler In the Woman's Home Com panion, discussing "Tbo Antiquity of Sacred Cakes." "Like many another rite or symbolism which figured In the religious ceremonies of the heathen world. It was adopted aud Invested with a holier meaning by tbo followers of the new faith. Buns known by that self-same unine were used in the wor ship of tho queen of heaven, Ishtar. or Astarte, as early ns tho days of Ce crops, fouuder of Athens. 11)00 B. C." A Gormon Plan. If the wind Is iu tho east ou Enster Sunday it Is considered in Germany to bo a wise plan to draw water and wash in it, for then tho wind cannot do any harm to the bather duriug tbo remaluder of tho year. I'slntlug Kter Ksgi. , These clever artists ore busily en gaged In decorating eggs for their Ens. ler celebration. Tho plcluro was repro duced from a postal card recently re ceived by the Free 1'iees front Burltu. Isilfii KEYSTONE STATE U COim PENSIONS GRANTED to Establish Whole.i's Houo on Co-Opsrl. livs Bn Old Landmark! Dsstro.td. Anil-Saloon Usguo Bealtn In Blair Co. IVtiMlnns have been granted as fol low,: Jonathan H. I'ptnn, ltlrtgunv, sit; Ituilolph Sei hlcr, Mt. I'nloii. . ,(l; Philip Yost, Ingram, fd; James II. Nye. Dcwart, )Mt; Justus M. Himsmnn, Cllntonilnle, 9l; Patrick .Monnglinn, GlranlvHlc, SS; Willlani M. Mctjuls ton, Clover, $12; Clara II. Weaver, Ta n n til m. ?X; Kniiilluc Schuck, Greens bntg, 12; 11. Myers, Barneslioro, $10; William I. Miller, Heaver, :i(l; Sarah A. SteveliMon, New lteilforil, !f.S; Min i;:! ret 10. Markx, Mc.MInn, fs. The shart of Ocean mine No. 2 at Ilcrniliile, lias been completed, the tip ple Is nearly in readiness and If there Is no ncclileuts coal will be shipped by the middle of April. Ocean mine No. 1 was opened eight years. When both mines are running full fioo men will be employed ut each, and the output of both mines will be 1'ihi cars a day, all of which will go to New Jersey, and most of which will be shlpjer across the ocean for consumption iu Europe. The grocers and produce dealers of Washington are agitating the eMail ini'tit of a wholesale house or co-operative house near n local station, with switch facilities, nnd to get dealers throughout the city to join the en terprise, the concern to be capitalize nt about CIOO.OOO. Only stockholders will be supplied, and they on a basis of 5 per cent, above cost and carriage. Business houses, covering nearly one-half square, were destroyed by lire at Bedford. The loss Is about $iKUMhi. Several of the houses burned were old lauilninrks, having been built in ltevo lutionary times, and were a part of old Fort Bedford. One of the houses had been the headquarters of Gen. Washington and Col. Koquet. The poHtollioc department Is trying to unravel the illHappearnnee of a let ter containing checks and drafts to the amount of $110. which T. S. Powell, a merchant of Iladley. Mercer Coun ty, claims to have registered at the Iladley postollee. The letter was ad dressed to the Mercer County National Bank of Mercer. Samuel H. CoMcu. colored, who ad lii I im he Is M years of age. for over ."Ml years employed at the Monougahela house, PlttMhurg, and thrice n widow er, has taken a fourth wife In the per son of Mrs. Kminii A. Moray, n widow, 40 years old. Golden Is very black while his new wife Is nearly white, and Is a remarkably hiiiulHome woman. Noah Harrison, who lives near Sharon, has brought suit for divorce from his wife. Among other allega tions he says; "She has caused me Irretrievable losses. She boiled her false teeth until the rubber was dis solved nnd she got a $Ji)l) note mixed up with some trash and burned It." It Is definitely settled that all mer chant blast furnaces In the Mahoning and Shenango valleys and several iu the Cleveland and Pittsburg districts will be merged Into one corporation with n capital of between $l.",(HKl.oim aud $20,lHKi,lNH). The combined weekly output of the plants optioned is over no.iMK) tons. A party of 100 HunkardH from Ju niata, M 1 til 1 ii. Huntingdon, Bedford and Blair counties has migrated to North Dakota, where n large tract of farm laud has been mcurcd. They were joined by others at Chicago, and It In probable that about .'(Ml will settle In North Dakota, this year. John G. McComihy uud II. K. Greg ory, attorneys for the estate of John Hlcvins, the murdered New Castle city treasurer, have begun an attack on the audit of school funds made by Expert Accountant William MartheiiH. They claim the audit was Incomplete and In correct. A bitter legal contest Iu the lllnlr county court between the forces of the Anti-Saloon league and the Knights of the ltoynl Arch, t tic hotel men's organi zation, over the granting of liquor li censes, ended wheu the court granted Id licenses, held over -1, aud refused 12 applicants. Mrs. Eseiiat Amlet, alleged to be n shoplifter, who was arrested here on the charge or stealing $1,ikki worth of goods from Berryman & Sons, Chnrlc rol, escaped from jail and Is still nt large. She was traced for twenty miles with bloodhounds, but eluded all pursuit. Polsy Dnwson, the 12-year-old daughter of Norrls Dnwsou, of Con nelsvillo, died from fright. She was Just recovering from uu attack of ty phoid fever. The house ca tight tire, and was at once tilled with a shouting mob. One of the largest coul land sales ever mado In Washington county Is be ing closed up. The block comprises about 10,000 acres, aud Is located Iu Somerset, South Strubane, West Beth lehem and Amwell towushlps. The prices paid average $13 an acre. An explosion at the works of the Cambria Powder Coinpauy, near Nine veh, demolished four of tho 11) build ings constituting the plant, and entail ed a loss of $10,000. Four hundred kegs of powder went up aud caused tho damage. It la believed that Lewis Labile, whose mangled body was found ou the railroad tracks near Vnlontowu, wns robbed and murdered, his body being placed on tho tracks to couceal the crime, Tho family of Charles Burchtleld, of Sharon, was made violently ill by eat ing canned beef supposed to have con tained ptomaine poison. It Is now thought they will ull recover. Tho Cambria Steel Coinpauy has awarded tho contract for the construc tion at Its new furnaces ut Johnstown of a wuter softening plant with a cu paclty of 1,4o,ih)0 gullons dally. Mrs. Mario Hartman, of Klmlra. N. Y., who was visiting Mrs. T. B. Curtis, at Purdee, Mercer County, was fright eued by au iilnrm clock aud died of heart trouble iu live mluutcH. Judgo'Wallln'g, of Erie, has handed down a decision upholding the legality of the by law of tho Knights of Maeu bees which prouumiccs policies void III case of suicide. Tho Income tax of India Is levied on all Incomes of 23 and upward. L. M. SNYDER, Practical llorse-Shoer and, General Blacksmith, llorm-nlioelniritnnsin the nestent. nmntifr sail liy Iho lnli"t Improved nielliml H piilrlnK of nil kiwi currfiilly nnd promptly dene. Satisfaction Ocaramtkbii. HORSE CLIPPING llnvn jimt reri'lved a pomnleln set of mii rlilntt burn clippers of IkIpm iMyle 'UM pH!!ri. mill am prepmeil to ilo clipping In the bpit Mnlble milliner si reicmnnole mtepi. .Ini'liouti St. ueiir Kltili, Kt-ynoldirille, I'll. NOTICE To All Who Wnnt to Buy ot Have n CaqKt to be Woven, I am ready to do It in a very short time and my work of the past few years recommends itself. I have bought an Improvement for my loom, making It a. four-harness (instead of two), but prices will stay the same for weaving as be fore, that Is lOcents a square yard, and I will weave It from !I0 to 42 Inches in. width to fit your rooms at that price I koep 21 colors of chain on hand (cull or send for sample.) and when I furnish chain, all of which is of the best 5-ply, for carpet 1.1$ threads to the Inch I charge only SWuld-thread for 22o.; nnd 18 threads to the Inch 2.c. which in cludes weaving and chain. For out-of-town peoplo on 20 yards or over will, pay froight one way, I also weave Stair Carpet and Rugs of any kind. I have for sale soma riurv rag and split-warp carpot, which I will soil at a big reduction to get out of my way. Yours Respectfully, ' TEOFEEL DEMflY, Box 35S. Rcynoldsvillc, I'a. AT PLANING YOUNG'S MILL You will find SASH, DOORS. -FRAMES AND FINISH of all kinds, ROUGH - AND - DRESSED LUMBER, HIGH GRADE VARNISHES,. LEAD AND OIL COLORS In all ahadea, And also an over-stock of Nails which I will sell cheap. J. V. YOUNG, Prop. Want Your Clothing to Fit ? Then you ought to go to J. O. Froehlich,. MERCHANT TAILOR. My line of samples are well worth anyone's time to call and inspect. Remember i' All Work ia Guaranteed.' Cleaning, Repairing and Alter ing a Specialty. J. C. FROEIILICII. Near Centennial hall. First National Bank OF SEYXOLDSVILLE. Capital, Surplus, $50,000.. $15,000. C. Mitchell, Prcaldat coll MeClalland, Vlc Pres.; John II. Kaucher, Caabler.. Directors t 0. Mitchell, Scott McClelland, J.O.King John 11. Corbett, U. E. Brown, O. V. Fuller, J. H. Kaucfaer Does a nenerul bankingbuslneHa and toltclti. the uccounuof mercliunta, profOKHlonal men. fiii'mers, mechunU-ti, Diinei-s, hinibermmi and others, promUInx the iiiowt careful attentlon to the buttlneMt of all punton. Hate Deposit lioxea tor rent. First National Bank building, NoUn block Fire Proof Vault. Fire insurance SIXCE 187 8. Norwood G. Pinnev, Ag't., Brookville, Pa. John Trudgen, Solicitor, Reynoldsville, I'a. SOLID IXDEMXITr. Twelve first-class compan ies represented. The oldest establisheel Fire Insurance Agent in Jef- , ferson county'. All business will receive prompt attention.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers