THE OLD WATER-MILL. By Alonxo Rice. Neath shadows of yon vine-clad ledge. The old-time water-mill, aloof From dreary wastes of aand and sedge, Leans, with Its broken roof, Tfca barren rafters lift on high Their signals of distress and dark They loom against the summer sky, Lonely and weather-worn and stark. la rlrcllng flight, the pigeon's wing Cleaves with a Hash the tldeless air; The tots in nooks and crannies cling, Shunning the noonday glare. Above where worn and broken eaves Filter the sunshine and the rain, I tireless mood the spider weaves JUa radiating skein. earcelv the eye ran mark the flight Of lisnrds on the crumbling walls. So quick they vanish from the sight When alien footstep falls. The leaves of many autumns sleep, Huddled about the dusty floor; Winds of the wild November reap - And garner to the store. The race that lent the full supply Of water to the busy whoel Is but a pool whero rushes sigh And frogs their chorus peal. Tall trees their glossy banners flaunt Above the channel long run dry, And there the ruin-crows hide and haunt, Sounding their boding cry. The miller sleeps. His monument Is white as wus his rtilmunt when lie left the mill at night and went Homeward along the glen. His time In deeds that bless and cheer le made sweet service to employ; Oladly eac h day and month and year Gave him its toll of Joy. And while he watched the dropping meal, And souring swallows circling near, Ills flioprf til song and whirring wheel Made music sweet to hear. The happy voice at lust grew low: And where the softest zephyr sighs. Ws rest, by fulrest Dowers that blow, The summer sanctities. No more by river road or hill The creaking wasnns slowly come; Once busy echoes now are still To industry's luw hum. Ko more the whirring water-wheel's Insistent music greets the ear; TIo song nor laughter upward steals When early stats appear. But often comes to fancy's sight At twilight, by the open door, The miller In his vesture white, A moment and no more! Youth's Companion. The Apple -Broker. By A1IC3 Tamer Carlis. ' When the first cool days of Septem ber send city people home ready for Work, then begins a business among the orchard-owuers of New England f which the casual summer visitor has Bttle knowledge. The apple-broker's busy days have come, and expert apple-pickers, with long ladders, small baskets and bar Tele, appear In all the orchards, and pread over the trees with the persist ence and industry of an Invasion of browntall moths. Each band of these workers Is beaded by a responsible and capable nan, secured by the apple-broker be cause of his knowledge of the apple market, his reliability, and his gift of managing men. This "boss" is furn ished by his employer with numerous directions, among which are small lips of paper which read something like this: Before October 1st, gather Mrs. Brown's Orchard. Pound Sweetings , London. Ben Davis' Boston. Blake's Orchard. Early Baldwins New York. Tellow Stock San Francisco. The bos understands by this list that the pound sweetings are to be gathered with unusual care. No rough shakings of the branches on which this fruit grows. A careful man, with a small basket swung over bis shoulder, goes up the ladder. Every apple is clipped from the bough, placed la the basket, and when the basket is moderately full, the man descends. These apples are each wrapped In tissue-paper and put in boxes, much In the same way that California oranges are packed to send esst. Then a card Is tacked on the box, marked, "Mrs. Brown's Pound Sweetlngss. 100. Lon don," and the boss makes a similar entry. In the little account book, which, at the end of each week, he hands over to the apple broker. The real business of the apple brok er, however, begins in midsummer. If you are In an apple country, central Massachusetts, or near Mercer, Maine, and are an observing person, you will notice now and then a keen-faced, capable-looking man driving about the country reads, talking with the owners of orchards and carefully examining the half-grown fruit. The man Is generally a resident of an apple-growing district. He knows the history of every orchard, how old the trees are, the quality of the fruit grown, the owner of the orchard, and kow to Ceil with him.' ' '' It is in midsummer that the bargains ere made. The apple-broker buys the crop. Er so doing he assumes a con siderable risk. , There may be, even . after midsummer, too much raLn, too much heat, a visitation of the dread ed apple worm, in fact, any one of ' a dozen possibilities may ruin the pro duct of an orchard and spoil the brok er's profits; while the farmer, with a round sum deposited In the savings bank, thanks his stars that he sold his apples in July. The apple broker has no leisure on bis hands. Barrels and boxes are no mall thing to be considered when you are to harvest the orchards of six or even townships. Now and then the en terprising broker starts a cooper shop and box manufactory of his own near the town whero the most fruit is raised and here, during July and August, a 1 dozen or more men work, busily turn ing out barrels aad boxes which will be sent to the uttermost parts of tn earth filled with the pound sweetings or the firm, fragrant Baldwins of New England. . , But the cooper shop Is not the only dependence of the apple broker for barrels. Early In the spring he begins a canvass of the couutry. His team stops at a fanner's bouse. "Good morning, Mrs. Smith!" he calls to the pleasant-faced woman at the door. "I hear that you make such good bread that your husband has a lot of empty flour-barrels." "Now Mr. Perkins!" chuckles the pleased housewife. "The idea! 1 gt-oss It's Jim's appetite that keeps the flour-barrel empty." "Got a good many empty barrels, eh?" questions the broker. '"Land, no! There may be two or three out in the shed." "I'll give you fifty cents for the lot, Mrs. Smith, without counting 'em," declares the wily trader, hand somely. Mrs. Smith Is willing, nods her consent, receives her piece of Bllver, and sees three empty barrels loaded on the back of Mr. Perkins's wagon. He has made a good bargain. In September less careful buyers will pay thirty cents apiece for all man ner and kind of barrels. From house to house he goes, securing one bar rel here, three or four there, until his sheds are filled with barrels, and he can look forward to the harvest without apprehension. When the bosses bring In their little account-books for the final reckoning, the broker knows just where he stands. His bargains with distant buyers were made 'long ago. He marks his boxes and communi cates with his shipping-agents. But his day of leisure Is not yet. He goes from orchard to orchard, looking Into barrels, climbing a tree now and then, urging on his employ es, that an untimely frost may not find his fruit ungathered, and so ruin him. From town to town he hastens, sending a load of barrels here, start ing oft a promised order there. The orchards of northern Maine offer a more difficult problem to the apple-broker than do those of Massa chusetts. Often the matter of trans portation becomes serious because of the distance from railroad-stations. It Is not as easy to secure good help, many of the orchards are on steep hillsides, and even the trained mind of the apple expert Is often puzzled as to ways and means of securing good results. But that he meets this problem successfully is proved by the thousands of barrels of apples which Maine sends every year to distant markets. Youth's Companion. RECOVERING GOLD FROM 8AND. New Device to Discover Treasure In Sunken Ships. To the mouth of the River Colne, oft Brightllngsea, an extraordinary ma chine was towed and anchored yes terday. It Is to be used in a final at tempt to recover the 500,000 treas ure of gold,- in coins and bars, which is said to have gone down in H. M. S. Lutine in 1797 near the island of Terschelling, off the coast of Holland. A portion of the treasure has been recovered, but all ordinary dredging plants are now useless, as the vessel has sunk into the sand. The new de vice is a great steel tube nearly 100 feet in length and wide enough to al low a man to walk erect down Us cen tre. At one end is a metal chamber provided with windows and doors, and at the other a medley of giant hooks and other tackle. The apparatus has just been com pleted after years of work, by a firm of shipbuilders. "One end of the tube," explained a member of the firm yesterday, "will be clamped to the side of a steamship or barge. The other end, by means of water ballast tanks, will be sunk until It touches the bot tom. Then, by means of compressed air, all the water will be forced from the tube and also from the chamber at the bottom of It, flush upon the bed of the sea. "Divers will walk down a stairway In the centre of ihe tube until they reach the submerged chamber. Here they will don their diving costumes, and opening a series of watertight noors will step straight out Into the water. Engineers will be stationed in the chamber, and following the in structions of the dlversf who will com municate with them by means of portable telephones, they will operate the mechanism of two powerful suc tion pumps or dredgers which are fit ted to the sides of the tube. These dredges, It Is hoped, will suck away the sand around the sides of the heavy chamber until it gradually sinks by its own weight right down on to the deck of the wrecked ship. Then the divers, making their way from the chamber to the deck of tho ship and thence to the hold, will be able to transfer the treasure from the ship to the chamber by easy stages." London Daily Mall. ' White Deer and Black Fox. Something unusual in the animal kingdom has just been killed by Prince Edward hunters and brought home. It is a deer pure white In col or, save for two small black spots back of its ears. The animal Is a fine looking stag and weighs about 200 pounds. It has a magnificent pair of ntlers. The hunters were reticent as to which member of the camp cap lured this very unusual spicles, but It Ms understood that Grant Sprague of Big Island was the lucky shot. The animal was found in the northern part of Hastings or Lennox and Addlngton. Another unusual kill made by one of the hunters was a black fox, now a very rare animal, whose skin is very valuable. PIctou correspondence Tor onto Globe. KRbOYSfSW 8uccess. It does not come by wishing, H does not come by prayer; But In the doing of thy tusk Thy fute pursues thee fair. Luck grants no blindfold favor No dteumy drone he crowns; Hut slow and sure persistence He always greets and owns. Success is not a blunder A blessing by mistake Complain not If you miss It, It comes nut for your sake. Well, do your work and rest not, Ulve, asking not again; The universe will widen Unto your narrow ken. Give love and life and labor, And seek not but to bless. Defeat and loss will teach you Far more tliun mere success. Luella Clark In American Cultivator. The Same Kitten. Little Mary was playing with her pet kitten. The kitten scratched her, and she exclaimed, "You Is a darned old kitty." Her mother told her she must never utter such a naughty word again, and to be sure to Impress it on her mind, washed her mouth out with soap and water. The next day Mary was again play ing with the kitten, and again trouble arose, when she was heard to remark: "You Is just the kind of a kitten you was yesterday." Bee Hive. Bud and Billy. I should like to tell you about my little pets, Bud and Billy. They are two white rats. Quite funny pets, are they not? They are pretty small yet, for they aren't very old. They are the most Inquisitive ani mals I have seen. They will eat al most anything I give them. Here are a few of the things they eat: Oat meal, oats, carrots, greens, meat, but ter and bread, and they are very fond of sugar, flieese, meat and candy. They are very destructive when they escape from their cage. One day they got Into a box that held two blackbirds' wings and separated the feathers from the bone. When they got through they presented a very comical appearance, as the dye had come oft on their faces and front paws. They soon cleaned themselves, however. They sat upon their haunch es and wet their paws on their tongues, and then rubbed themselves all over with their paws. They do this many times during the day, and so keep themselves quite clean. They are very intelligent, and will come when I call. They are sure footed, for they can walk along the rung of a chair or walk a wire or a long stick about three-eighths of an inch in diameter. They climb up cur tains or the backs of chairs that have caned backs. I expect to train them to do tricks soon. Wesley Hallet, in the New York Tribune. An Honest Child. In the streets of New York city lived a little 'girl whose name was Louise. She was very poor and her mother had. died some time before, and as her father was very cruel to her, she was almost an orphan. She would roam the streets if she did not have anything to do. Some times she would go to the store for people, and get a few pennies to buy something to eat. One day she was looking In a toy shop window at a beautiful doll. Oh, how she wished she could have It. She was about to go away, when her eyes rested on something brown. She picked it up and saw It was a man's pocketbook. She opened it and saw a roll of bills, a lot of papers and a card with the man's address, reading Mr. Ballls of New York. She thought first of buying the doll. But Bome thing told her to take It to the owner. She brought it to the house and rang the bell. She did not have to wait long, when a servant opened the door. Louise told her why she came, and she was admitted to a beautiful parlor. Soon the man came down and asked her what she wished. She told him she had brought his pocketbook. The man said he did not want the money, but the papers were very valuable. He asked her all about her life and then he left the room to find his wife. He told her about Lo t e. "We have no children of our on," he said, "could we not adopt her?" Now she lives in tho house she once brought the pocketbook to, and she has the beautiful doll that she was so tempted to buyt and she says she is the happiest girl in the city. Doro thy Hanington, In the Brooklyn Eagle. Charlie's Photograph. "Father, Willie Morris has his pho tograph taken. I do want to have mine. Please let me. Wouldn't you and mother like to have one of me. father?" "But I have a lot of photographs of you, Charlie In fact, I take one with me every day to town. I take a dif ferent one every day sometimes they are very, ugly; but they are always very like my little boy." "O father! are you making fun? Why, I never had my photograth tak en," said Charlie, his eyes staring wide with surprise. "Ah, yes, you have; for I take one of you, though you don't know it, every morning when I go to town," said his father, as ho hung his hat on the peg In the hall, and, sitting down in a chair, drew the perplexed little boy toward him. "This morning, when I started from home to go to my office I took a photograph of you and put It in my pocket. I took it, not with a camera, but with ' my eyes, and the pocket I put it in was not my coat, but I put It in the pocket called mem ory, which I carry in my head, and I have kept it there all day. "Shall I tell you what the photo graph I have carried about with me all day was like the one I took this morning of my little boy?" asked his father, softly, as he drew him closer to bis knee. "Please, father," Charlie whispered low. "It was a dark,' ugly photograph. There was a frown on his brow, and an angry light in his eyes, and his mouth was Bhut up very tight Indeed, so tight that he could not possibly open it to say 'Good-bye' to father, and all because he wasn't allowed to go out to the garden to play ball before breakfast because it was raining. So j ne let ratner go away to town wun a very ugly photograph of Charlie to look at all day, instead of the bright, pleasant one he might have had." Charlie's head hung so low it seemed as if he never would look up again. "I don't know what kind of a pho tograph mother took of you when you were going to school. I hope It was nicer than mine; and I know she wants a nice one left with her every day whlla you are at school, just as badly as I want one to take to town. Will Charlie try not to'jive us ugly ones any, more?" Charlie looked up now and whisp ered, "I will try, father." From the Christian Register. Pets on Shipboard. The American sailors bad as queer things on board the battleships at Anioy, China, as would be seen on land. But perhaps little boys and girls would be just as much Interested on board the ships themselves, without going on shore at all. You would be al most sure to find some dear little ani mal pets on board any ship you might choose to visit. All sailors are fond of animals, cats or dogs, or goats or birds, or any kind of a living creature at all, and almost all ships have cer tain little animals which are the com rades of the sailor folk. They are mascots, loved and petted and scratched and fed by all their Bhipload of admirers. But the sailors on board the "round- the world fleet," or those ships which are making the trip to foreign coun tries at the present time, have really more than their share of pets, and the little creatures which call the sea their home are having, In their own way, just as good a time as their two legged friends, the sailors. On each one of the ships you would find at least one real live Teddy bear a little, soft-eyed, wise-faced little creature, which is being trained to be as gentle as a kitten. All the same, they are real bears, those dear little pets, and some day will be big Bruins to make small visitors to the ships afraid. But just now the sailors are enjoying themselves by training the baby bears, which were presented to them at Seattle. What the bears have to say of their ocean homes and their jolly comrades has not been heard yet, but perhaps when the fleet comes back to American waters again some body will make a book telling of the things those bears did and what they say and all the tricks they learned during their voyages. Cats are always liked on ships. Per haps that is because there are some times rats and mice on the big boats and the kittles help to keep them away. Dogs are just as much beloved on sea as they are on land and many a sailor has a faithful friend In the ship's dog. Parrots, especially on ships which Ball the southern seas, are seen quite often. These birds probably give the sailors more fun than any other kind of pet, for the talking parrots seem to have a gift for adopting the curious language of the sailors. Why It is that sailors are more given to using bad language than other folks, when they have the broad blue seas and the wide blue sides to keep their minds clean and fresh, It would be hard to say, but parrots which come to port after a long voyage with sailors for compan ions almost always have acquired the habit of swearing at all times and In all places. Monkeys are almost too delicate to stand the ocean life. Besides, they are subject to seasickness, which would naturally spoil their own pleas ure and that of their friends, who would certainly not like to see the poor creatures suffer. However, it is said that a seasick monkey is rath er a funny sight, and no matter how much you may sympathize with Its suf ferings you cannot help laughing at the spectacle which it presents. Goats are often taken as sailor pets, but these creatures have another value than merely that of providing pleas ure for the sailors during the long trips at sea. For goats' milk Is nourishing and wholesome, and some people think It Is very, very delicious. You know- in some countries it is used altogether, and goats are pastured just as cows are here. In Switzerland travelers often come upon herds of goats, and down In Italy little herds of goats are driven through the streets every day, supplying milk. So you see, when goats are taken as pets on shipboard they are also valuable for giving milk when the sailormen aro far away from the- milkman's route. Newark Call. Power of Publlcty. Great is publicity. It shows that we can elect a President for about a third of w.hat It used to cost. Boston Transcript WHIMS IN WILL8. Curious Desires Have Actuated Many Testators. The dryness of the law is some times alleviated by the freaks and whims that appear in wills. Some persons having used their wills as means of paying oft old scores. In 1770 Stephan Swain of the parish of St. Olaves, London, 'left "John Ab bott and Mary, his wife, 6 shillings each for a halter for fear the sheriff should not be provided." In 1793 Philip Thickness willed that his right hand be cut oft and sent to his son "In hopes that such a sight may remind him of his duty to God after having bo long, neglected the duty he owed to a father who once affec tionately loved him." Lieutenant Colonel Nash got even with his wife by giving the bell ring ers of Bath abbey 50 a year on con dition that they muffle the bells of said abbey on the anniversary of his marriage and ring them with "doleful accentuation from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m." And on the anniversary of his death to ring a merry peal for the same space "In memory of his happy re lease from 'domestic tyranny and wretchedness." Jasper Mayne, who died in 1G20, must have a person of humor. He left his servant an old valise, stating that it contained something that would enable him to drink. When the valise was opened it was found to contain only a red herring. Occasionally a testator exhibits an original Idea as to the disposition of his body. Sleur Benolt, whose will was probated in Paris in 1877, order ed that he be burled in his old trunk to save the expense of a coffin. He added that he was attached to the trunk, It having gone around tho world with him three times. New York Post. SMALLEST KING IN THE WORLD. Monarch of a Burmese State His Pal ace and Curious Body Guard. When travelling through the Shan States I had 'the honor of being pre sented to the smallest King in the world, the Sawbwa, or Myo'sa, of Chen tung. He stood, as nearly as I could judge, about 4 feet 9 Inches in his curly Burmese slippers and was the quintessence of regal courtesy. His "palace" was a thatched hut on stilts, close to the Sal ween river; he had several wives, who manifested great curiosity when they saw their lord in conversation with a white man, and his retinue consisted of some four-and-twenty men armed with the quaintest collection of old guns that ever came out of a curiosity shop. The little brown King held out a small, plump hand for me to shake. It was as soft as a woman's. He bade me welcome with a smile the most genial I ever saw and begged me to accept a cocoanut. I knew that It was court etiquette to offer a gift In return, and I was embarrassed to think that, travelling "light" as I was, I had nothing worthy of his accept ance. I suddenly bethought me of a corkscrew knife bearing the name of a well known brand of bottled beer which had been given me as an ad vertisement in Calcutta a few months earlier. This I presented to him with due ceremony, and be accepted It with un feigned delight All his army press ed round as I opened the blades, the corkscrew and the hoof pick, and the headman beat a gong vigorously at a signal from the King, apparently in token of the royal approval. London Standard. The Interview. A dapper young man with the re porter's proverbial smile entered the office of a large manufacturer, and proceeded to interview him regarding the financial outlook. "Of course, Mr. Blank, you consider the recent panic as being entirely over?" "Most assuredly I do,", answered the manufacturer. "And that the financial situation is encouraging?" "Encouraging? Why, it's simply uplifting. ' This great country of ours has never experienced greater pros perity. Fine crops, plenty of money, ample markets for our products, fac tories running full force " "That's Just what I wanted to ask you about, Mr. Blank, and I didn't know how else to get an interview ex cept to disguise as a newspaper man. I'm after a Job any kind of a Job. I'm an educated man been through college. I'm strong as a bear, and a trained mechanic. I'll work for any thing you pay, I've got a family that's starving, and I must have work." "What! In these hard times you want work? Don't you know that we found it necessary to lay off four-fifths of our old hands? James, show the man out." Puck. Peppermint Farms. The world's peppermint Is grown on peppermint farms in tbe neighborhood of Kalamazoo. Over 300,000 pounds of peppermint oil, worth $5 a pound. Is produced annually from the moist and ink black soil of southwestern Michigan. Peppermint farming is simple. The roots are planted in the spring; the bushes, which are about three feet high, are cut down In the late summer; the stilling goes on through August and September. An acre yields about twenty-five pounds of oil. The cost of this pro ductionplanting, weeding, and still ing Is about $15. The oil itself brings $125. Thus every acre of & pepper mint farm gives a profit of $110. Minneapolis Journal. HK KNEW THK SYMPTOM. L wondered when I saw them meet What made each woman's smile so sweat. It was so radiant and bright And so expressive of delight. I saw them hasten to embrace, With rapture written on each face. With arms outstretched they quickly raa And kissed as only women can. They broke away at last and then They smiled and hugged and kissed again. Each said, "You darling!" and "You pet!" Each did when each the other met. "How well you're looking, dear! It's strange To me you never seem to change." "And, precious one, how well you seem! That hat you have's a perfect dream." They looked each other up and down, . And, "What a simply lovely gown!" "I wnntod so to see you, dear! How long It's been! Almost a year!" "I've thought of you so often, too. But, oh, I've had so much to do! They gushed and gurgled In that way For twenty minutes, I should say. I thought, "Well, I should like to know What makes them hate each other so." Chicago News. (SWMM 'THE WbrLD' Clara "What a perfectly lovely gown of yours." Maud "Do you really like it?" "Immensely. It Is so hideously up-to-date." Life. Jack "So you think Blinkers Is a fool?" Bob "He certainly is. He waited until he was forty before get ting married, and then married for love." Life. Father "What is that noise In the parlor, Tommy?" Tommy "That's sis dropping a hint. She wants that young man to go home." Chicago Dally News. "De po' child died fum eatln' too much watahmillion" "Hon! Dar ain't no such-uh thing as too much watah million." "Well, den, dar wasn't enough boy." Puck. Nell "So she married that for eign nobleman, eh? She used to say she wouldn't marry him for love or money." Belle "She didn't. She married him for a title." Philadel phia Record. "I wonder why Bllgglns thinks he has the smartest children on earth?" "It's because 'most anybody who goes to his house would rather hear the children recite than listen to Bllgglns talk." Washington Star. "What would you do if you had a son like mine?" "I'd work hard to get to be a millionaire." "What so that you could indulge his tastes?" "No so that he'd feel it when I dis inherited him." Cleveland Leader. "My wife Is a sentimental woman. I found her weeping over a thick volume, and discovered it was the cook book." "Gee! What was there sad about that?" "She said none of the pieces in it came out right." Cleveland Leader. Lady "What do you want, my lit tle man?" Little Boy (carrying a cat) "I want that five dollars you offered as a reward for the return of your canary bird. Lady "That's not a ca nary; It's a cat." Little Boy "I know It; but the bird's inside." Judge. In the Next War General "What is the meaning of this disgraceful retreat? You -are not fit to command a body of men, sir!"' Fat Captain (gasping) "Oh, but I am. I quali fied by walking fifty miles in two days in the infantry endurance test" Puck. The Father "I learn with sorrow, my son, that you are getting to be what they term quite fast." The Son "You shouldn't believe all you hear, dad. I'll introduce you to a man who will tell you another sto ry." The Father "And who Is he?" The Son "My tailor. He says I'm the Blowest chap he's got on his books." Chicago Dally News. HORN DANCE REVIVED. Ancient Custom That Had Its Origin in Deer Stealers' Festivities. There was revived at Abbot's Brom ley, Staffordshire, recently, a quaint horn dance custom, the origin of which Is lost In the forest pageantry of the Middle Ages. A dozen sturdy villagers, with the vicar's permission, removed six huge pairs of reindeer antlers from the church tower, where they had rested since the time of Queen Elizabeth, and costumed to represent Maid Marion, a Jester, a hobby horse, bow and arrow and other characters the villagers vis ited the neighboring villages dancing after the mediaeval fashion. They met with generous hospitality every where. It is thought probable that the orig inal horn dance was a festivity of deer stealers after a maiden assize, the proceeds being divided among the poor., of Needwood Forest. From the Lon don Standard. Walking Backward. Not long ago a man of sixty-two walked backward from Macclesfield market-place to the Crescent at Bux ton. He covered the whole distance of twelve miles1 in three hours four teen minutes, forty-five seconds, or fifteen minutes fifteen seconds under the wagered time. In 1875 Alcock (that was the man's name) performed the same feat'in two hours forty-four minutes. Pall Mall Gazette. mm
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers