AMELIE KIVEB. BY FJiANKLYN W. LKH. l a pen, and "f tabled fount of quailed a draught, iivaugiit wad (juntied, Felt a tlauie at heart and brain. Htae seized a brush, as a Raphael would, In a balf-inHpired way. The colors spread tilln Venus i utood Where a sleeping Cupid lay, fler rosy tints like they were that moru in tbe miptv ; ing a+,'", Whou Love's queeu t-prang from tho sea, new born For the human race's woe. Bbo clutched a star. but it slipped and fell j To the pool her pen bail mado, And quenched its fires in the impure well Where so many feet had Htrayed ; Bbe hold a bud, but its beauty fled From tho smile her Venus wore— Tho petals drooped till the rose was dead. And tho hand reached forth no inure. j HE WAS SOT IN HISW AYS A Southwestern Judge Who Could Not | Be Trifled With. HE most sensa- WWMHIR tioual legal com (T E jfrf - plication that ever ■ aroused the inter- ' . est of a law-abid ing neighlxuhood vA c * the outgrow tli of a trial held be- I f°re Jmlge If. W. Quirk, of the Hick ory Flat circuit in Arkansas, writes Opie P. Head, in the Chicago Times. The circumstances, told witli the neces sary dryness of detail, are as follows: One John Peters, a sober and indus trious man. failed to come home one night. This occurrence was so unusual that his wife, becoming alarmed, aroused the neighborhood, and men, women, and children turned out in a general search. The next day John Peters' coat was found near the liver bank. Marks of a struggle were also discovered. Immediately there arose a ory that the man had been murdered : and. about this time, there came along a reputable citizen who declared that "73 7 4L. -Wii t 9 W '■'■fi SEARCH FOR THE DEAD. he had, several days before, heard Sim White and A1 Miller swear that they would kill Peters. The two men were arrested and taken before a Justice of the Peace. They avowad their inno cence, and their lawyer declared that they could not be held for murder un til it was proved that a murder had beon committed. This proof was not long wanting, for a fisherman soon ar rived with the information that he had found the body of Peters. The body was identified, and the preliminary trial proceeded, resulting not only in establishing the fact that White and Miller swore that they would kill Pe ters but that they were overheard to declare that they would drown him. They were held over and were indicted by the Grand Jury. When the case came up before Judge Quirk of the Circuit Court some of tho ablest lawyers in the State were in at tendance. for White and Miller were not friendless, and moreover they were not without means. After more than a week of "skirmish ing" a jury was impaneled, and then the great trial was begun. The major- j ity of the people, including the press, 1 a fom-column folio set in small pica and printed in the back room of I*. B. Wbitson's cross-roads store, believed 1 that a verdict of guilty would be ren dered, and bets were made with persons © Kg r l I if i Hjji 7 ; "GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY." who believed that the piisoners were guilty, but who thought that the jury might be " Culvcred." The trial had not proceeded far w hen it could be clearly seen that the Judge was convinced that White and Miller wore guilty. This jurist was something more than a peculiar old fellow. He was a decided character, and so set were his opinions when once formed that no argument and no proof could change them. "Gentlemen of the jury," said the Judge, when all the testimony hail been heard. "1 don't think that it ii necessary to go into an argument con cerning this ca <• The guilt of thesi men is so char that it would be j criminal act to waste tho county's mon e,y in prolonging this trial. Now. pris oners, tlie best thing you can do is t< confess your guilt and throw your selves upon the mercy of this court Have you anv confession to make, Mr White?" "No, your Honor, except that I an innocent." "Jlnve vou anv confession, Mr. Mil J I or?" | "None, except to say that I hat ' nothing to do with the killing of ou I friend Peters." "All right," said the Judge. "I set that you do not desire any mercy, bu' | if you expect to escape punishment bi | making a prolonged fight, let me tef i you you will meet with nothing bu' i disappointment. I am here as tin fearless agent of justice. I have mad< up my mind. I have determined tha' you are guilty, and nothing on eartl can change me. Gentlemen of the jury you may retire and agree upon aver diet." The jury, without leaving the box rendered a verdict of guilty. "Gentlemen," said the Judge, "tc expedite matters, and thereby save ex pense to the county, I will sentence these men now. The law may be ii favor of delay, but justice is not. The law might permit the Sheriff to take these men to jail and feed them at the I county's expense until some distant | day of execution should arrive, but • justice, the one bright flower in oui j judiciary garden of weeds, looks uj and says: 'No, Mr. Sheriff, these | men must be hanged forthwith.' Sc | take them out w hen the death sentence 1 bus been passed and hang them to the I most convenient tree. Prisoners al j the bar, stand up and receive your sen | teuce." The prisoners stood up, and just a? the Judge had pronounced the lasl words of the sentence the wife of Mr Peters uttered a shout and bounding toward the door threw her arms arounc a man who had just entered the court room. A wild commotion followed. "What's the matter?" the Judge do manded. "Who is the man that the bereaved window is hugging?" "I an't no believed widow, jedgc/ the woman answered, "fur this is my husband, sale and well." I "Silence, woman," the Judge de manded. "You ought to have bettei sense than to interrupt this court." i "Your honor," said a lawyer, "I sup pose my clients can now go free?" "And why so, sir?" "Can your honor ask such a question when Mr. Peters stands here before you?" "Who is Mr. Peters?" "Your honor, I cannot understand you." "But you will pretty soon. Tho Mr. 1 Peters that this court has taken into j consideration is dead." "No, I'm not!" exclaimed Peters, i stepping forward. "You may think you are not, Air. j Peters, but you are. Never iu all my : professional career," the Judge con tinued, "have I ever seen facts that so ; clearly and strongly establish tlio guilt i of two men." "But, Judge," Peters pleaded, "that can not be, for no murder has been committed." "Air. Peters, you have not examined the evidence as closely as 1 have." "But here I stand in refutation of all evidence." "Mr. Peters, you have not road as many text-books on evidence as I have. THE JUDGE KNEW THE LAW. The ease against these prisoners is perfectly clear. They swore that they would drown you, and your coat was found near the river. Is not that | strong evidence?" "Yes, but " 1 "Hold on. The body of a man was taken from the river and identified as ! your remains." "But I am here to refute the identi fication." "Ah, you are here to throw an ob struction in the way of justice, are you ? I have heard on several occa sions that you are a man who has very little respect for the decision of a court. And you have come around i here to bully me, and that, too, in the face of the strongest evidence that was ' ever brought before a court of justice. Mr. Sheriff, issue a bench warrant of arrest for this man on the ground of I contempt of court, and then proceed vilh the hanging. This court, blind 1 as it is to everything but justice and the true form of law, is getting tired of being browbeaten." The Benign Witchery of Candle Light. There are so many women who have passed their first youth who appear at .the balls in New York and receive the ! devoted attention of men for whom they must entertain a most grandmoth erly interest, that the question of light has become a most important one, so these foxy caterers to the female com j plexion had taken a leaf out of French j books and lighted their rooms with can dles, the silver candelabra being set in tlie walls so that tlio light falls from \ the side, not above, while pretty little fluted petticoats of rose silk shade the colored candles. A side light, espe • cially if it is rose-tinted, takes ten years ' from a woman's age. No wonder wo I are in favor of abolishing the deadly electric lamps, and tlie flaming gas, if wax candles are such thieves of time.— 1 Hartford Cour ant. LETTERS FROM THE CORNERS. RECK OR NOTUIN' HALL, ) KILKENNY CORNI: its, LFLOO. F EDITUR: We WL Jthednt ben thare I "Y|\ M onl Y 4 days when \i/!■ os hua kim home; film sed the ('aiding se d hed let him go. j i iKyo 'A neeins bis folks hed : to see hi m. I tickl <T' f G '" ' V j W ' lB "N aw we kin go A flshin," ses he. And so the next day we packed up the childern and sum .•ole vittles an went to the crick. Joshuas wife an 1 want a goin fisliiti enny, so we tuck our croshay work along un set by the vittles an let Willam Henery an the widder an Jushua do the fishin. "I'll bet I ketch tho first fish," ses | the widder. "You'd orter, you've hed axperience enurf a ketchin men," ses ! William Henery. "Hey, I've got a ! nibble,'' ses he, but jest then the wid- I der hit him a whack with the fishin I pole. "Ouch!" ses he; "Jemima crickets! now you've skeered him off. Let up, kaint you," sea lie; but she hit 'ini agin, an this time the fish hook cot in his pants au scratched him a little, an he hollered sum more, an we hed to cut the hook out, coz the pants—not Wm. Henery, an it lef a purty good sized hole, an he tole her she'd got to mend it, an thay jawed aroun considable, an by thet time Joshua sed twau't no use to stay thare no longer, fur the feesh wus all skeered off. "An I hed a nibble when Sal swatted me," ses William Henery, about's or more mad. "Well, I'll lam you who youre a talkin to," ses she, an we picked up our plunder an went down the crick a considable ways furder threw the bush, an Willam Henery tore a hole in the back of his shirt, an the widder snagged her dress, an by thet time wo wus thare. Thay all kep tolable still at fust, an 1 Joshua's wife an me wus a havin a reel nice visit, when Willam Henery hol lered out, awful excited: "I've got a bite; kum an help me pull him in! Hester Ann, he's a reglar whale," an he just fairly danced fur joy. Joshua helped him an thay hailed in a ole ! boot, an the widder hollered an lafi'cd, and purty soon she cot a punkiu seed. "Hey, goody, good!" ses she, "I | knowcd I'd ketch the fust one," but j just then Willam Henery cot another, ' so thay wus even; an thay hed to go an hunt up sum more frogs, which thay w us a usiu fur bate. Willam Henery cot 2 frogs an the . widder didn't ketch enny, but ho woodn't giv her nun. Purty soon I seen her a sneekin up behind him, an tliinkses I to myself, "she's a goiu to j push him in to the crick," and I wus I jest a get tin reddy to warrant him when he give the awfullest yell I ever j heerd, it nere about friz the marrer ; in to my bones. "Ow! Yow! Ouch! Holp! I'm snaik bit," ses he. "He's a crawllin down my back. Ow! I'll levo you all my j propperty, Hester Ann," ses he, a j jumpin aroun; "the spotted lieffer is lien's, tho ouch! lie bit me agin—an j I you won't marry agin rite off. Yow!" an j afore any of us cood git to him lie j ! jumped in to the crick. Ithot then ho wus crazy fur sure, but he happened | i to jump into a spring of ice cold water | | an he jumpped out agin purty suddent j j an tuck tlirow the bresh, an the cows , rolled thare tales over thare backs an j bellerd an run, an then hekim a runnin I back an ses, "Ive kim back to dye by i i vure side, Hester Ann. I am a goiu fast. I dont feal no pain now," an ho j rolled his eyes awful! "Ishuddent I think you wood." ses the widder, "fur j j it wus only a frog!" an shelaffed lit to 1 kill. We went back to Jousha's purty ! quick. Yourn, HESTER ANN SCOOPER. A Question !' Relative Values. i "John! John! Wake up!" j "What is the matter, Maria?" j "I hear a noise in the kitchen. Go ; I down quick and see what it is. Maybe it's a burglar." I "Mrs Billus, what do you consider 1 I the actual cash value of the silver and plated ware and other stcalablc articles j ; in the kitchen V" j "There's $lO worth, at the very | least." | "And do you suppose madam, lam ! going to run the risk of meeting an j ! armed burglar for a pitiful, beggarly, j 1 dad-dinged $lO, madam?" (Angrily) "Why not, John Billua? ! Isn't your life insured for $5,000?" I Chicago Tribune. Why She Was Happy. | "Oh. I think it's lovely to bo mar- ! ; ried," said young Mrs. Tucker to the ; | lady on whom she was calling, "especi j ally when you have a husband who is I not afraid to compliment you." j "What does your husband say?" . "He said yesterday that I was get | ting to be a perfect Xantippe." "Xantippe! Do you know who she j was?" j "Oh, yes ;I asked Charley afterward. ; | and he told me she was the goddess of | youth and beauty."— Merchant Trav eler. The Closest Man oil Record. | j "Gregory is awful close," said a man j I to a friend. I "Yes, but he is not nearly so close as I his father was. The old man waspret- j I iy well off, and he did have a warm j affection for a dollar. He was taken ! ill once and his physician told him that j if he did not go off to the springs he | would die. The old man replied: 'Let ! j me see, I'd have to stay there about J j two months at an expense of at least j ■ two dollars and a half per day. 1 can't ! I stand the cost, Doctor. It would bo | I cheaper to die.' He didn't go, and I j after the funeral the leading people of ! j the neighborhood expressed satisfaction i ; at the result." IN Chicago it's depot, in Boston I daypo. in New York Depew. Good Reason to Change the Text. j A few Sundays ago an Atlanta preacher had selected as his text for ■ j liis morning discourse: "It is easier j j for a camel to go through the eye of a j needle than for a rich man to enter the j kingdom of heaven." He intended to j | "scotch 'em." When he entered the | pulpit he found a note from the richest ! member of the congregation, and it 1 read as follows: "When the collection i ! for foreign missions is taken up this I I morning put me down for $500." The j • sermon was preached on the text: | "Take heed that ye do not give your I alms before men to be seen of them."— j j Savannah News. AT a recent meeting of the Western Microscopical Club, of London, Prof. Stewart remarked that while we ex pect to find the ears upon the head in the larger animals, wo look in vain for the same arrangement in tho lower in vertebrate creatures. Alany of those, like tlio scallop, have no head; others, like crabs and lobsters, have their ears placed on their horns or antenmc; others, like the green grasshopper, have the ear on the foreleg;others, like the fresh-water shrimp, have it on the tail. In fact, it would seem that in these lower forms of life, whoso origin was long anterior to tho evolution of man, Nature was feeling her way and making experiments as to the future po sitions of tho sense organs. Wise by Experience. Mr. Case (who has married his type w l'lterj Well, my dear, I suppose I must bo looking around for somebody to take your place in tho office. Airs. Case—Yes; I have been think ing of that. Aly cousin is just out of school. Mr. Case—What's her name? Mrs. Case (sweetly) —John Henry Briggs. THE MODERN RIALTO. SIXTY MINUTES ON THE CHICAGO HOARD OF TRADE. A Description of the Manner in Which Its KiiNiness IN Conducted -The Lingo of the InHtitutlon —HuUn and Beara—Puts, t alis, Straddles, Margins, Etc., Etc. HE llialto, which I Shakflpe.ire's Shy lock designates as V merchants most do l at B°^ en tirae / w^ou th® daughters ta. \sWif en * ce "had their from spoils I'lvWm f nations, and the ikifly'exliaustle s s East poured in her lap all gems in sparkling showers"—the groatest trading mart of all the world. But in the days when Antonio the mer chant paced up and down the costly mosaic pavement, and looked in>ain for the white sails of his returning ships, the business thero transacted was but trifling in com parison with that to be dispatched at a far distant time in the exchanges of our then undiscovered America. While the palaces of Venice are "crum bling to the shore," and she is sinking back to the morass from which sho rose, Chicago, within the narrow span of one SKETCHES ON THE BOA short human life, has far surpassed the highest commercial glorv ever attained by tho mighty city of the Doges. | Chicago was founded on trade. It had its beginning as a post where goo's were bartered with Indians, at many times , their value, for the furs and pelts of ani mals. As the red man began to recede before the advance of civilization, it be j came a distributing point for the necessa ries of white settlers. The West, seem ingly as "exhaustions" as the East, from which Venice drew her splendor, contin ued her support. Thus trade increased, and with it came population, push, en ergy— and a great city was tho result. Of the institutions which have made J tho Chicago of tho past, and are prepar- j ing for the building of a still more glori ous Chicago for tho future, the Board of i Trade is entitled, perhaps, to the very j foremost mention This isa theme of which, though much has been written, very little is probably understood. This is not because tho ! subject is so intricate, but for the reasou, ■ probably, that so much is taken foi granted, and passed by without explana ; tion. To write the history of the Board of Trade would be to write the commercial history of tho tiardou City. Suffice it to sny that it had a beginning as small, in comparison, as tho "acorns" from which I the "tall oaks," in the old declamation, grew. A membership, which costs now : several thousand dollars, was issued to the charter members at tho very modest ! charge of $5. From insignificant quar- i ters it has risen by gradations until it oc- ! I cupies a veritable palace. 1 Tho Board of Trado building stands on Jackson street, and occupies half ablock. It is a majestio structure, rising to a vast height, its vane being i>J5 feet above tho ! pa\emont, making the ten and twelve story buildings in the neighborhood look | dwarfed in comparison. In connection I with the lower part of La Salle street, j which terminates at its granite front, this j building presents an appearance certain- j ly as fine as any similar structure in j ! America. I A stranger to the modus operandi, en tering one of the galleries, looks down upon what seems a second Babel, lie- . I poating his visit, 110 may come to distiu j guish words such ns "buy" and "sell,"but I what is boiug done, and how, remains as j groat a mystery as ever. But it is with tho businoss and not tho building that we have to do. On the floor of the|high-ceilinged hall, where the business of tho Board is truns j acted, are a number of circular depres ! sions furnialied with steps, upon which traders can stand without obstructing each other's viow. These are the "pits," and veritablo pit-falls they have proved I to thifcisands. This is tho open market, | whore produce aud provisions are bought j and sold. This is not done after the manner of an auction, with competing bids. One man is shouting, "Sell another, "Buy . r >-87;" which, in the phraseology of tho pit means, that the one offers for salp | 10,000 bushels of wheat, or corn, accord ing to which pit it is in, at cents per bushel, and that tho other offers one eighth of a cent less for 5,000 bushels of tho snrno staple commodity. As scores, somotimos hundreds, are I shouting at once, it is often impossible for the sharpest ears to distinguish the words of any ono in particular. To make offers intelligible, a sort of deaf and dumb alphabet has been adopted. Whou a hand is thrust up with the palm out ward it signifies sell; with the back ex posed it means buy. Each finger allowed to remain upright stands for 5,000 bush els. A trader new to the business has, of course, much to learn ana is orten con fused. In time, however, it becomes a second nature, and he knows almost in stantly what is being said. In this ho is largely aided by a study of the lips of bidders and comes to know the uttered IN THE WHEAT PIT. words without having heard an articulate sound. When an offer is accepted the parties make a note of the sale. At the same time a man wearing a gilt-laced cap and occupying an elevated box beside the pits make a memorandum of the transaction. These men, of whom there is one for each pit, are the official reporters of prices. One portion of the floor is railed off, and here may be seen more than 100 tele graph operators engaged in receiving and sending dispatches. One man, the of ficial telegrapher, occupies a commanding position and seuds out, for the benefit of the commercial world, actual transac tion the moment they are dosed. It is upon these reports that the market is said to rise or fall. At the south end of the great hall, in a conspicuous position, are huge dials upon which aro indicated the fluctuations of the leading commodities. This is done by hands, as on a clock, which jerk about so rapidly that 110 one but an expert can learn anything from them. Although produce to the value of many millions of dollars is sold upon the board for actual delivery, the great bulk of all the business dono is of a speculative na ture. A buys from B wheat, or other commodity, for future delivery. If the orice advances, and A sees fit to demand his goods, he makes a profit, which is set tled by paying the difference in money. If Ibe price declines the seller will be the gainer. Thus the transaction is only a wagerastotho fluctuations of the ar ticle within a given time. Margins are certain snms. so much per oushol of corn or tierce of lard, depos ited by the partios to cover losses by reason of possible advances or declines. When the original margin has been swept iway by fluctuations the fortunate party may call for an increase, which the other must put up if he wishes to maintain his jrodit. "The first day of each month, unless it chances to fall on Sunday or a holiday, is the day for settling the transactions of •no preceding month which have not been before closed up. The ruling prices at the close of the preceding session form the basis of adjustment. These set tlements are made on tho board. Young men and boys fly hither and thither, hnndiug slips of paper to others. Theso are in reality warehouse receipts, which show that the commodity is stored at a certain placo and subject to tho order of the owner. These receipts, being negotia ble, i re handed from 0110 to another and made to do service many times over, until they come at last to the hands of the men who are tho real owners or carriers of the goods. Thus, vouchers calling for 10 >,OOO bushels of corn may be made to settle dilferunces aggregating many millions. It is only recently that deliveries were made on the board. Not very long ago they were required to be made at tho different offices. Settling day thon pre sented a lively scene. Young men, gen erally destitute of coats, flew rathei than" ran through the streots, dodged vehicles, darted into buildings, vaulted up flights of stairs, and tumbled down again in a mad endeavor to deliver their receipts beforo the striking of tho omin ous hell upon the Board of Trade Build ing, which marked the close of the busi ness day. Many a broken arm or other serious injury has been thus received. ind many a suffering youth, unmindful )f pain, has hurried along to make his deliveiies and save his employer from loss. Like every other institution, the Board of Trade has a nomenclature peculiar to itself. Thoso who believe the market will advance, and play tho game on that theory, aro called "bulls," while "bears" are men who expect to see prices decline and accordingly sell that ihey may profit by the full. A strong or rising market is termed "bullish," and "bearish" when falling. Bulls and bears, in the just sense of the terms, are your true speculators. They adhere to thoir theory of an ad vance or fall, and don't turn aside from it until convinced of their error. Tho "scalper" may bo termed the bush whacker of speculation. He acts in the present. Ho is a bull or a hoar as he cun see a chance to nip a small profit, say a "split," or 1-10 of a cent. Ho watches the movements of other and gen erally larger operators, and takes advan tage of little advances and breaks whioh may continue but a few minutes, and which the genuine speculator, particu larly if ho lea "plunger" or heavy oper ator, contemptuously ignores. The scalper is of a cowardly nature, pos sessed of but a small amount of "gimp" or snap. The term "corner" is pretty generally understood, and is not confined to Board of Trade transactions. It means the controlling of tho visiblo supply in the m irket of the particular commodity. By this moans prices can bo forced up to almost any figure desired, since "shorts" —those who have sold—cannot obtuin the goods to deliver to the "longs"—those who have bought—without paying the price demanded. The trouble with oorners is that they very often—in fact, in a clear majority of cases—fail to corner, and in that event the lossos are commensurate with what the gains might have otherwise been. Not only are millionaires thus bankrupt ed but thousands of small fry, who have pinned their faith and invested their last dollar in the success or failure of the scheme, go down with them. "Puts" and "oalls" are terms of very general use. They are frequently called privileges. The buyer of •""put" pays a certain sum for the privilege of selling during a certain time, usually a day, a certain thing at a certain price. A "call" is the privilege of buying on the same terms. Tney are sold for small sums, and the purchaser generally "drops" the amount invested. In oases of un usual fluctuation, however, large profits are made on "puts" and 'calls." In the history of the Board, SIO,OOO has more than once been made from an investment Df SIOO. A "straddle" is a combined put and call, and is taking chances both ways. A large portion of the buying and sell ing is done by brokers. Many of these act for wealthy operators, who not in frequently have several bioktrs on the floor at the same time, operating, to all appearances, at cross-purposes. There are many tricks among speculators, and finessing is as useful ou the Board of Trade as in a game of whist. Many of Chicago's people speculate through a broker on the board. The real harvest of the latter comes, however, from tho countrymen, or more properly, the residents of small cities and towns. These, dazzled by the fortunes of which they continually read as having been made in a day, are constantly pouring money into that insatiate hopper of speculation, from whence it passes into a mill, the tolls of which are exceedingly heavy. Granting that the small outside oper ator is as likely to win as lose, and has capit .1 to carry on his speculations, he is, in tho long run, almost certain to quit a loser; for, by reason of continual i grinding, the entire grist is consumed by the broker in the form of commissions tolls. Board of Trade men are, for the most part, a rollicking set. At times they act like a lot of schoolboys, playing on each other all manner of pranks. If one had the valne of nil the huts that have been destroyed on tho Chicago Board of Trade, he would be a wealthy man. Sticking burning papers in hats, and emptying sam ples of flour over each other, are common amusements. Many of tho large fortunes of Chicago were amassed on tho board, and many of the heaviost operators were once poor mon, and that not many years ago, either. Many a man, prosperous for a time, has gone down under a run of ill-luck, j OFFICIALREPORTER AND TELEGIIARH OPERATORS and never again got on his feet. The I city abounds in men whom speculation i has ruined, without leaving them the en ergy to earn a respectable livelihood. - /height Baldwin in Chicago Ledger. A Proposition in Physics. The husband of a professor of phys- I ics at a "young ladies'" advanced j school was putting on his clothes the i other morning, and his wife was leefcur | iug on her favorite subject. "The whole is always greater than n j part," she remarked with confidence, j "Always?" he inquired, sticking hie ! foot into his sock. "Always," she answered with em j phasis. "I think not," he rejoined in a quietly I aggravating tone, j "But 1 say it is," she asseverated. "For example, my dear" -and he i held up his foot—"my foot is a part of I my body, but the hole in the sock is | not larger than tho part. You will ob ! serve that tho part cannot get quite thorough it at this moment. But, my love," and his voice softened, "by to night I think your proposition will bo i correct." Then he put on his shoes and com pleted his toilet iu the midst of a si ! lence that could be bent double before lit could be broken. Merchant Trav i eler. A DOG that can't bark is one of tho I curiosities at Edinboro, N. J. An Astonished Dog. A singular electric-wire accident was i seen the other day at Boston. The attention of the passers-by was at -1 tracted by the barking of a red Irish ' setter to an English sparrow which I was perched upon an elcetric-liglit wire high above the beast's head. The animal had evidently been amusing himself in the fruitless sport of chas ing the bird, and when it had taken refuge on high had endeavored to get r®f Jfiiiif f,!t MORK THAN HI? EXPECTED. some eonnolntion out of yelping lustily. The day was windy and the wire swayed to and fro, the sparrow ap parently enjoying its swing, until in a fatal moment the tail of tho hiid i ame in contact with another wire near by. Then, iu the twinkling of an eye, the unlucky sparrow came tumbling down stone dead at the feet of the noisy dog, who was so astonished at tliis sudden turn of affairs that he did not offer to pick the creature up, but simply stopped barking and stood staring at his prey in astonishment. Chicago Will be Safe. New-Yorker—Just think of Chicago's criminal record. How could people attend a World's Fair iu Chicago with out running tho risk of being robbed and murdered? Chicago Man (confidentially)—Oh, tliero won't be any danger at all then, not a particle. Just as quick as the fair opens all the robbers will stop burglarizing and go to keeping hotels. —ls'cw York Weekly. PROF. Mosso, of Turin, finds that the blood of eels is poisonous when injected into the veins of dogs and other ani muls, and that an eel weighing live pounds contains poison enough to kill ten men. Tho blood of tho eel is inert, however, when taken into the stomach, and the poisonous properties aro do' stroyed by heat. SlIttAK-G'OATED FALSEHOODS. Is Mendacity a Feminine Falling? IS difficult to co I oeive of a woman ■ whose means are I practically 1 i iu i t p. less beating down a trade Hmnn, nd yet I know of an instance whero one of the women in a certain family dis puted the price of a dress that a cos tumor was making for her to wear to a fancy cost ume (Itll'/fS ball. The point in lui / t dispute was a mat ll u 1 / l\ * er ** ve arß \\\\\ V\ relating to some ill'., IV detail of the cos \\\ (V vtume. The cos- V\ 1 li 4U um e 1 explained l\\l a \ \ waß tmpos l\ ll ft Bible for him to Ul 1 deduct this amount from the bill, and Ptf wou hl prefer not 1 making tho dress to doing so. "Bat in my case I should think you would be especially reasonable in your jharges," said the woman. The costumer looked at her in aston sbment. Of all women in New York he :onsidered that this one ini.ht artord to pay what she was asked for an article. "I don't think I quite understand you," IO responded to her remark. "Why should I make cheap terms for you, my Hear madam?" "Because," replied tho lady, "when it oecomes known that I am having my cos iume made hero many of my friends will sonic to you." The costumer could not see the ques tion in this light, and the discussion 3nded by tho lady deciding to take her work olsewbere. In the meantimo her two children were having a littlo trouble together in another part of the loom. "What's the matter, dear?" asked tho mother of one, who was crying bitterly. "She stole my five-cent piece," sobbed the little girl, indicating ker sister. The mother secured peace by restoring the money to its rightful owner, and promising the other a similar amount if she would be very good until they got home. As the family went out to its elegantly appointed carriage,the costumer aid: "Well, I guess that I'm glad I'm poor." Now that I have struck into a critical vein, let me moralize briefly on the mel ancholy fact that mendacity is a common I feminine failing. Men have a contempt for small lies. They may perjure theii souls to any extent for asu tably large stake, but they would cortainly feel ashamed to make tho untruthful asser tions that women will indulge in, not only on tho slightest provocation, but often without a shadow of necessity. It is but just to the feminine sex to say, however, that gain is not always the cause of their lack of veracity. It seems rathoi that tho habit of wandeiiug away from tho truth is a kind of constitutional de- I feet—a flaw in woman's nature. She lies ! not so much from mnlicc aforethought as bocauso it bocomcs more natural to hor than to make a plain, unvarnished I statement. Moreover, she is compelled |by her own sex to do so. Women resent the attempts of reformers in this respeot. There are certain lies, ihoy argue, that society demands shall be told. They aro recognized formula.-, and to offer the truth in thoir stead would not only be ex tremely unpalatable to tho majority, but would without question bring about a state of affairs which must inevitably wreck tho whole social system. It is often the anxiety to keep themselves up j to the standard "fixed by the unwritten lawg of their "set" that further leads women into the crooked paths of men dacity. But all the same, the knack comes readily enough to thorn. Their tongues utter "taradiddles" glibly enough, whatever be their cause; and then there are, besides, so many of these sugar-coat ed falsehoods told daily that need never be uttered at all, and which may be said to come under tho bead of feminine petty immoralities. There are no subterfuges that the gentler sex will not practice by means of the facile falsehood to secure "someth ug for noth ing," suoh as theater tickets, entrance to exclusive entertainments or similar shows. They will, for such coveted prizes, men daciously commit thomsolves to almost any extent, and with a wholesome disre gard of detection that positively appnlls the mule friend whose aid is sought at these times. I remember on tho occasion of a famous ball it was stated that society matrons had absolutely steeped them selves in untruths in ordor to get invita tions, and I can believe it. When such matteis are at stake, truth stands but a poor chance, and having been once sacri ficed, moreover, is not easily reinstated, for "ho who tells a lie will inevitably be forced to invent twenty more to maintain it," and thus it comes about that veracity, which at best is but lightly estoemed in feminine circles, gradually ceases to hold any important place in tho female code of morality.— Jennie Dean in Chicago Ledger. Fooling the Butcher. Butcher—Dot Mr. Wiseman is von vool. He gome to me and he give me lose handsome new steel yards, vor lose rusty old vons I use so many years. He says he collect bricky brack. Customer How long had you used the old steel yards ? "I sell meat mit dose steel yards .Iwcnty-flve years." "Mr. Wiseman is a customer of vours, L suppose ?" "Yah." "Don't you know that tho older steel yards get, the weaker tho springs be come ami the less meat they give to the pound." "Mein Gracious! Dot Mr. Wiseman is von scoundrel!"— New York Weekly. By Telephone, fiie Fremont street station was called up by a female voice the other day which inquired: "Can ray hired girl ho taken out of the house by an officer for striking me ?" "No, ma'am." "The officer must see her in tho act, mustn't he?" "Yes'm." "I thought so. iie wouhralso have to see mo, wouldn't he?" "He would." "All right! You needn't " And before the line was cut oft a child's voice was heard saying: "Now, ma, go in and make her tired in one round!"— Detroit Free Press. BILK INS—Why don't you hire a cashier V Jilkins—l'd rather have my cash here THE dinornis of New Zealand and the epyornis of Madagascar were among the existing birds until so recent a period that it has sometimes been doubted whether they are yet extinct. Joly states that tho height of the lat ter was about 16 feet, while its eggs were equal in capacity to 6 ostrich eggs, 148 hens' eggs, or to 50,000 hum ming birds' eggs. One of the eggs measured at Toulouse was 20 inches long and 9 inches wide, with a shell from 1 to 2 linos thick, and it could con tain nearly 2 gallons of water A still larger specimen has been described Haint-Hillaire. An egg of the diuornia ineasuing 10 and 7 inches is recorded*
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers