THE WINTER FIRE. Adown the valley, through the fields, The twilight forces rise, Day sullenly and slowly yields; Not so th 3 sunset skies. A fan-like glow lights up the west, And twilight mists of gray In robes of red nnd gold are drest Before tin dying day. Beneath the old Dutch tiles the fire Glows like the setting sun; The flames, frail types of my desire, Beforo me leap and run. The shadows thnt in corners fall Fade in the ruddy light. A ray steals through the darkened hall And banishes the night. The thought! of summer days have fled, And in the embers' gleam The hopes and joys I counted de:.d Awake us from a dream. Yet they to me arc weird and strange, Like ghosts of days long past; The year has brought a wondrous change, The dreaui 1 hold will last, A dream of youth that will endure As days pass into years; To hold a purpose high and pure," To banish cares and fears; Though dreams of old shall rise once more, They are not now eo plain. For life is true: there lies before A higher goal to gain. - [FJavel 8. Mines in Harper's Bazar. THE MANGOLDS. BY CHARLES M. HARGER. "There's nothing against the Mangolds j as I know of," the jolly storekeeper at l the Rock Prairie settlement remarked, "but it's plain they don't amount to I much." "That's so,''spoke up cne of the set tlers who were warming themselves by the fire at the stove on an early February evening. "They make the two little | fellows do all the work. I've never seen the father anywhere." "Neither have I," said the storekeeper. "They come here in September; the first we see of 'em was noticing the white-1 topped camper's-wagon standing on the j section of Government laud near the i cabin that the Blaggboys loft when they | found the land wasn't first-class. The two boys have been here for a few things aud always paid for what little they got; but they wouldn't talk much. I guess they're pretty hard up, and I've thought I'd go over and see 'em, but I never got to it." The other men agreed with this history of the family, and remarked that they, too, had thought of going to sec the family, but they had never carried out their purpose. One had passed the cabin about a month before; he had seen a woman through the window, but nothing more was known of them. They were evi dently the one family of delinquents in a prosperous community of settlers. "Nice, open winter," remarked Squire Gillett, as they arose to go. "Yes," said t'ucstorekeeper. "PlowsTl be going next week, though the nights are kind of chilly yet." "If the Mangolds expect to hold gov-! ernment land, they must get some plow ing done right off." "Correct. Too bad the old man puts it all on those two boys." Buttoning up their heavy coats, the 6ettlcrs mounted their ponies, and rode homeward together. "There's the two boys now," remarked Bquire GiUett, when they had ridden two miles or more across the brown prairie. Looking ofT to the west, they saw two small boys mounted on large, r&wboned work-horses, their outlines distinct against the sunset sky. The two boys were jogging along j slowly and in silence. Their slender forms seemed oddly in contrast with the size of the horses they were riding. They shivered in the raw evening air. Heavy clouds were coming up in great black masses from the northeast. "We must hurry, Joe," said one of the boys, "or we'll get wet." "I suppose so, lor our coats aren't quite waterproof," said the other. "Say, Clive," Joe went on, after a moment's silence, "don't you think it's been a pretty lonesome winter?" Joe nodded three or four times, rather ruefully. "I shall be glad enough when spring comes," lie continued, "for then papa can get out of doors and sec folks." "lie's pretty sick, don't you think?" "Yes, Joe, but mamma says he's feel ing better, and if we're brave, strong boys, he'li get well again." "But the plowing? Can we do it all?' I "Do it? We've got to do it, and there arc only a few days left before the time will be up, and if we don't have it done we shall lose the claim. It's too bad the harness broke this afternoon, but if the storekeeper has some straps, we'll be all right." The horses had started into a gallop, and the boys bobbed awkwardly in their scats. Over the swells, down the grassy slopes they went, and then, with a still! faster pace, whirled down another de- | olivity. and crashed through the dead ! sunflower stalks and tumbleweeds that I covered the bottom of the slough. They had gone but a few yards here ' when the horses suddenly stopped, and sent the young riders sliding forward to 1 the animals shoulders and manes. The object which had stopped them i : was a large and dilapidated "prairie schooner," which stood at the side of the trail. The horses that had been attached ' to it browsed upon the dead weeds. A camp fire had been started beside the wagon, and near it, his hands holding his head and Iris elbows on his knees, was a llunnol-shirted and unkempt man. He did not look up until the boys called to him, and then he raised a worn, anxious, hopeless face. "Anything the matter?" Joe asked. "Yes. something's the matter. It's the little one." lie motioned toward the wagon. "Sick?" asked Joe. "Yes, and inaybe dying. I've come for days from the West, calculating to take the child home to the old folks in Missouri, but the little codger couldn't! stand the journey." Tlie boys slippi d to the ground, and by the light of tHe lire, approached the back part of the wagon. They drew aside the cover, and let the tirelig'ht into j the interior. A child, hardly more than a baby, was moaning on the bed of straw within. I "Can't we help you?" asked Joe,' anxiously. "I don't know. I've tried to find a doctor, but I don't seem to make out. Maybe the folks arc afraid of me. Any how, they don't seem to want me around, and now I've clean lost my way." "I'll tell you what we'li do," Raid Joe. "We'll take you home. Papa can doctor people." "But the harness, Joe?" said Clive. "That's so: I forgot it. Well, I'll tell you: You drive home with the man, and I'll go to the store. I ain't afraid." In a few minutes the emigrant was on the road toward the Mangold cabin with Olive, while .Too, his courage ju9t a little weakened by the appearance of the still darkening sky, was riding rapidly in the other direction. "My goodness, who's this!" exclaimed the storekeeper, as he was putting up the blinds of the lonely prairie store for the night. He could hardly believe his eyes when the young rider presented himself. "And you've come all this way alone?" he said, when he had heard Joe's story. "Well, my boy, you must be a good one. Look here! I'm going home with you." lie put on his overcoat, and wrapped a shawl about the slender boy's shoulders. "Come," he said, picking up a buudlc which Joe thought was certainly too large to contain nothing more than the piece of harness, "let's go." Together they mounted the horse, and through the falling rain the two rode on mile after mile, the steady swish of the horse's feet through the dead grasses be ing the only sound to break the stillness of the night. At last the faint light iu the cabin of the Mangolds shone across the plain, and a few moments afterward the store keeper and the boy had entered the house. "I tell you what," said the store keeper the next evening, when a group of settlers had again gathered about his lire, "it wasn't a pleasant sight. There was the baby inoaniug and sufferiug, while the little woman was trying to comfort it. Over iu the other corner was Mangold himself." "The old man, eh?" said the Squire. "He's sick, boys, pretty sick. He's been a kind of doctor in the East, but was ordered here for his health. He hasn't been able to go about any since he came, and his brave little wife and the two boys have looked after every thing." " That's it, eh?" "Yes. And besides that, out of all of us they were the ones to take care of the camper. The poor fellow was about dis couraged, and it was a godsend to him that the boys came across him, for the baby'd surely died right there in the ra vine. "Morc'n that, boys, I found out that the plowing that has to be done on the claim to hold it from the government ain't near finished. Those children have been trying to do it, and they've got only a few acres plowed. The time expires on the fifteenth of the month, —that's day i t after to morrow, —and the claim's likely ' to be jumped by some outsider." "I know two fellows who've got their eyes on it," said the Squire, "They've I been wanting it for sonic time, and arc going to make a break whenever they can. They're sharp, and I think they've got wind somehow that the railroad's going to strike through that quarter sec tion." 4 'lt'll be tougli on the Mangolds to ! lose their claim," slowly droned out a | lank herder, who was occupying the top j of a sugar barrel, "but then they don't j amount to much in the settlement, and J the Ilay beys being hustlers —" lie got no farther. The look that the i storekeeper gave him quite upset him, I and he relapsed into silence. Then a very important conference was j held between the storekeeper and the I other settlers; and after it the party sep- I aratcd with smiling faces and a satisfied I air. ' The rain had cleared the atmosphere, and next morning the sky gleamed in such blue splendor as only prairie skies can know. The air was full of the soft ness aud warmth of an early spring morn ing iii Southern Kansas. I At an early hour there were seen here and there wagons wending their way along the prairie. In each wagon there was a plow or a harrow, and in some of them were heaps of corn and other pro visions. Clive and Joe looked out of the Man -5 gold cabin, and noticed that the horses' heads were all facing them. "Let's hurry and hitch up," said Joe, and get to plowing. "All the folks are coming by here, and we ought to be at work." They ran out and began harnessing the horses to the plow, the stranger emigrant looking on dolefully. "Hold on there, boys! Unhitch those horses!" It was the storekeeper, with a grin on his face. * "All you have to do to-day," be went on, "is to boss. We'll do the work. Now, say, where do you want your forty acres plowed?" Joe, bewildered, looked aaound upon the gathering teams, and pointed to a tract around which the boys had made several straggling IUITOWS. "All right. Now, fellows, hurry up 1"' shouted the storekeeper. There was a great rattling of chains and much laughter, as team after team . went with its plow to the corner of the field, presently to send a long chocolate ribbon of sod rolling after as it took its way around the great square piece of prairie. "Twenty-four of them," said Mrs. Mangold, counting with extended finger, her worn face lighting up with pleasure. The strange visitation, and the pile of provisions brought by the settlers, had almost overwhelmed her. | Following the plows were harrows; | and the land rapidly took on the appear- | ante of a field long tilled. The sun was j half-way across the sky, when all stopped at a signal from the storekeeper. "Boys," he said, when the men had gathered around, "now let's eat dinner, and then we'll finish. But while we're I finishing how would it do for some one to I go to the village and bring out a certifi cate of entry on the claim? That'll make it all sure. By that time he will be able to prove that the required plowing is idone, you see." The proposition was received with a shoutof approval. 44 I'll go," said the lauk herder, who had been completely converted to the Mangolds' side. " i As he hud the fastest pony in the ! neighborhood, he was allowed to take the trip. Just before the sun reached the hori zon, the square of prairie sod had been blotted out. As the party gathered around the cabin in the twilight, the herder rode up, his I horse white with foam, lie held a large official envelope ill his hand. I "February the Fourteenth," read the! i storekeeper, aloud, beginning the certiti- i cate. "lloys," he said with a laugh, • looking up, "this is St. Valentine's 1 ■Jay." , , . "That's so," said several of the set tlers. . "Tell you what let's do," proposed Squire Gillett, "let's give the certiticate a to the woman for a valentine!" Gathering together, with the Squire - at their head, they knocked at the door , of the cabin. Mrs. Mangold opened it, and the pale face of her husband was I seen behind her shoulder, t Squire Gillett made a very handsome little speech, and presented her with the certiticate as a valentine, accompanying I his formal words with some hearty praise , of the bravo boys. "And the little fellow," he asked, "how is he?" "Much better," said Mrs. Mangold. "His father will leave him here and come back in the summer to get him. It will be safer for him to travel then." Then she faltered a little. "I—l— cannot thank you enough, gentlemen, for this—valentine," she said, "but you know how grateful we must feel." "Tut—tut—tut," called out the store keeper. "No thanking," We ought to be ashamed of ourselves that we didn't help you before, oughtn't we, boys?" "(If course, we had," they all said. "And before we go, let's give three cheers for the little woman." The cheers went up, heartily. "Now three for the beys," said the squire. "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" "And three for the baby," added the lank herder. The cheers went up again. As the wagons rattled away in the darkness, there was great happiness in the Mangold cabin. There was happi ness among the departing visitors, too: and the start they had given the stranded family enabled its members to become as prosperous and as hearty as the rest of the community.—[Youth's Companion. IN DEATH JUST AS IN LIFE. Bodies of Two Children, 'Long Buried, Wonderfully Preserved. In Hudson street, just opposite the point where Grove street joins it, stands old St. Luke's Church. It was erected in 1824, when that locality was yet the thriving village of Greenwich. Many of the most prominent people on Man hattan Island, at that time, attended services in it, and were buried in its churchyard. But, lately, many bodies have been removed from there to other cemeteries. In most cases nothing remains but the dust of those who were buried a half century ago. On the other hand women, who by the plates upon their caskets are known to have died fifty years ago, have been disinterred with their hair in a sufficient state of preservation to show how it was worn by them in life. One was discovered who wore her hair in coils and fastened with two tortoise shell pins, much as is the present style, and so far from the bang being a modern fashion one lady, who died two score years ago, was buried with her hair banged over her forehead. But by far more remarkable: The bodies of two children were recently taken up to be reburied in Greenwood Cemetery. The children belonged to a family prominent in society to-day, and whose name is therefore withheld. The children were buried in what are known as "old Egyptian" caskets, elliptical in : form, bulging at the middle and taper ing towards the ends, which were ! rounded. The caskets were hermetically | sealed. Beneath the metal disk at the 1 head of the coffin was a glass plate cov ; criug the face of the dead. When the 1 metal covering was removed the under taker, W. IT. Hawks, of Sixth avenue, ' started back in surprise. A little girl lay there as if in a trance. Her yellow hair fell in soft curls over her forehead : and lay clustering around her shoulders. ' She wore a simple white gown with a needlework yoke, such as children often wear now. Her hands were crossed peacefully over her bosom. A little roughness of the skin was discernible, heightening the life-like effect, and her clothing was as fresh and dainty as though it had just been put on. The undertaker looked at the plate. She had died in 1851, wheu she was ten years old. The body of her little brother was in a similar but smaller casket. lie (lied in 1850, when he was four years Hud six months old. lie also presented the same wonderfully life-like appearance. His hair was of the same sunny hue aud he wore it in a big roll on the top of his head, with small clustering curls fram ing his pretty face. He had on a little jacket of white, with a broad white sailor collar, and he looked as if he had but just fallen into a doze.—[New York World. A Rich Laplander. The island group which lies to th<j northward of Norway is called the "Ofoten," and here there is still found a fair sprinkling of Laplanders, the nom ad tribe of Norway, who live in tents with but one opening, the entrance, through which the smoke is also forced to make its escape. The richest among the tribe is Aa Joens, who owns over three thousand reinder, the value of which is estimated at 100,000 crowns (#25,000). Some years ago he came with his wife from the Kjoeleu Mountains, where he usually so journs, to the little city of Ostersuud in order to purchase a bridal outfit for his only daughter, Maja, who was married to one of the tribe. Upon that occasion they were photo graphed, and one of the sketches repre sents the young bride in her luxurious bridul garments. Like all Laplanders, every member of the family is small in stature and not at all good-looking. The funniest thing about "Million aire" Joens is his hat, which makes a desperate attempt to shape itself into the style of the plug hat of civilization. There is little difference between the dress of the men and women in Lapland. Both sexes wear short dresses and heavy, coarse shoes made largely of reindeer fur and hide. The men wear their hair long, quite as much so as the women, who conceal tlieir locks beneath bonuets of a night cap shape and simplicity. However, the women arc not altogether homely, though they have a heavy, fat-food look and air. Maja, the heiress of Mr. Joens, docs not look very imposing in her bridal robes. This is because she is simply loaded with trinkets, etc., without any arrangement as to fitness or harmony. She looks more like the display dummy in a Grand street retail store than the girl for whom all the young men of Lapland would bite the snow.—[New York Journal. Unpopular Coins. A mint official said to a "Washington j Star reporter: "The most unpopular silver coin ever issued was the 20-cent \ piece. Its coinage was stopped some years ago. As far back as 1873 two other silver pieces were decided to be a nuisance, so that Congress declared that they should not be minted any longer. Those were the silver 3-cent and 5-ccnt coins. At the same time the bronze 2-cent piece was abolished. Within a few months, as you remember, three more unpopular coins have been abolished by law—the 3-cent nickel, the one dollar gold piece aud the three-dollar gold piece. So you see that quite a number of coins have been discontinued 5 in this country because they really were * unpopular." ? 3 The reduction in the public debt during January amounted to $15,835,49 G. THE JOKER'S BUDGET. JESTS AND YARNS BY FUNNY MEN OF THE PRESS. A Question of Will—Too Hasty— Two Views of the Case—A Mer. cenary Beauty, Etc., Etc. A QUESTION OF WILL. lie—l think before Igo out I'll alter my will. His Wife (who believes in letting well enough alone) —Indeed you won't. You seem to forget that when I married you I absorbed all the will power of this concern. —[Frank Leslie's. TOO IIASTY. Coal Dealer (anxiously)— Hold on! That load hasn't been weighed. It looks to me rather large for a ton. Driver—'Tain't intended for a ton. It's two tons. Dealer—Beg pardon. Go ahead. TWO VIEWS OF TIIE CASE. Jake Jimpson—What agonies Juliet must have suffered when Borneo left her! Cora Bellows (yawning)—l would sup pose she must have felt relieved. A MERCENARY BEAUTY. He- -Do you like my brother better than you do me? She What salary does he get?—[Mun sey's Weekly. NOW FOR AN EXPLANATION. 1 'He was awfully flattering. lie said my cheek was the color of his favorite rose," said Maude. '•lie told ine he liked yellow roses best," returned the genial Estelle. THEItE MIGHT BE SOME THERE. Goslin—Do you see auy green in my eye? Dollcy—No, but then I am color blind. —[Epoch. MUST IIAVB A DULL AUDIENCE. Optim—Why do you talk to yourself about yourself ? Pessitn—Because thou I converse with tho only person Who thoroughly under stands and appreciates the subject.— [Philadelphia Item. ME SHOULD C.O TO THE ANT. "This is the greatest country in the world for progress; you'ie fast in every thing." " You must make one exception—tho messenger boy, you kuow." —[Philadel- phia Times. M YBirAL REFARTEE. Mrs. Brown—l don't half like that friend of yours—that fellow Smith. Mr. Brown—Do you think you are-a vc.y goal judge of men, my dear? Mrs. Bro .vn (with expression)—No, I do not. AN UNIiE VS INABTjE GIRL. "A penny for your thoughts," she said; And then he deemed it strange, After his inmost thought she'd read, That she should ask for change. THE FLY WAS TOO FLY. "Will you come into my parlor?" Said the spider to tho iiy. " 'T!s tho prettiest little parlor That ever you did spy." But the tly was tly in answer, For it said. "It cannot be. I am a little tly, 'tis true, But there are no tlios on me." —[ Philadelphia Times. VALUABLE ANCESTOKS. Mrs. Bilger (reading)— The body of a petrified man found near Fresno, Cali fornia, has been sold for §IO,OOO. Mr. Bilger—Ten thousand dollars! By tho way, my dear, your family used to live in California. Are any of them buried there?—[New York Weekly. A DOUBTFUL COMPLIMENT. Sig. Ham—Did you see how I para lyzed the audience in that death scene? By George, they were crying ull over the house 1 Stage Munager—Yes. They knew you weren't really dead. —[Chicago Tribune. HE PREFERRED THE EXPRESS. Morris Townc- I thought you said this watch had a train movement! Jeweler—So I did. Morris Towne—Well, it stops every five minutes! Jcwolor—Probably it is an accommo dation train!—[Puck. AN EXCELLENT SUBSTITUTE. Bloobcr—Mabel has refused 1110! lam desperate! Oh, for a war cloud, that I might become a soldier of fortune and hare my breast to pitiless lead! Van Leer (yawning)— You might get a job as electric light lineman. NOT LONG, BUT EFFECTIVE. Hicks—l wish I could make an after dinner speech. But it's no use. I'm not equal to it. Wicks—Why, it's easy enough when you set about it. I made one the other day which was quite effective, if I do say it. Hicks—What was it about? Wicks—Oh, it wasn't very long. I remember every word of it. "I say, waiter, you've given me tho wrong check."—[Boston Transcript. NOTHING VERY NEW. Mrs. Do Visito —Good afternoon, Miss Blank! Is your mother at home? Miss Blank—No. She has gone to Mrs. !)e Mugg's Progressive Conversa tion Party. By the way, what sort of a party is tl/.it, Mrs. Do Visitc? Mis. DO Visito—lt is one at which the conversation begins with art, science, and literature, and progresses very rap idly to fashions, gossip, and servants.— [Good News. A LITTLE CHERUB. Litt'n Boy—Mamma, may I give what's in my saving-bank to that begger-man ?' Mamma —You dear,little sweetcherub! Do you want to give away all of that money your uncle gave you ? There was over a dollar. "I spent some of it, mamma." "Did you ? How much is there loft?" "There's a twenty-five cent piece left, butth'candy man said it was bad."— [New York Weekly. NOT MUCH HOPE. Mr. Slimpurse (after a decided refusal) I know what the matter it. It 's be cause lam poor. You would marry me if I were rich. Miss Gailie (thoughtfully)— Perhaps so; but you would have to be very, very rich. THEY FELL OUT AGAIN. "Do you know Browne?" "No." "He told mo he fell in with you skat ing the other night." •'Yes, we fell iu together, but we didn't stay in any longer than we could help."—[Continent. HER HOME-MADE BREAD. Young Man —Doctor, you have been attending me for a week, and I am woise than I was at the start. Physician—l will be frank with you, sir. Being unable to discover what was the matter with you, and being unwil ling to risk interfering with the curative powers of nature, I have given you no medicine at all. In fact my treatment lias not commenced yet. "But you have given me pills right along." "They were only a sham. They were made of bread." "Where did you get that bread?" "Your youngaud charming wife made it." "No wonder I'm worse."—[New York Weekly. NO SHOW ON EARTH. "Give mo a room," said the tired looking citizen as he walked into the hotel corridor a few centuries after the present date. j "Front!" shouted the clerk, "take this gentleman out, put liim in the balloon I and give him nice apartments on Saturn." "I'd like to stay on the Earth, if it's just the same to you." "I'm very sorry, but everything on this earth is occupied."—[Washington Post. A DISTINCTION. Clerk—This cloth is very durable, madam, I assure you. Shopper—Yes, but take it away. It is not endurable. IIE HAD. They were waiting on the corner, and one gave the other a light from his cigar. "Let's sec?" said the first, after a bit, "haven't we met before?" "Yes, sir." "I thought so. Your face is familiar. Where have I seen you?" "I'm a Woodward-avenue car conduc tor, and every morning for the last three years you've got on at Cauficld and asked me if this is what I called rapid trau sit." "Uml" growled the other as he went up to the next corner to catch the car.— [Detroit Free Press. RESTORING HER TO GOOD HUMOR. Miss Mcrvilleux —What is the longest word in the English language, Mr. Pon tonby? PoQsonby (promptly)—Disproportion ableuess. Miss Mcrvilleux (pouting)—Do you know? Tell nic, then, which is the most difficult to pronounce? Pousonby—When with you, Gcod by.—[Bazar. TOO FRESH. "Where arc you going my pretty maid?" "To salt the cattle, sir," she said. "May I go with you, my pretty maid?" "You might absorb it, sir, " she said ! SOMEWHAT STRANGE, IF TRUE. '"Hooray!" cried Jimpson. "My fricud Blithers has won the sprinting match in the National Guard sports." "Is it considered an honor among militia men to be a fast runner?" asked Higgles. THE TOOR BRUTE. "Oil, madam, Jip has just bit a man in the street !" "What kind of a looking man was he?" "He was nearly in rags." "Poor Jip! Wash the darling's mouth out with a little eau de cologne." RATHER UNPLEASANT. "Are you out with Mr. Dreamy, the poet, Ethel?" "Yes, I am, the nasty thing. He wrote some lines about a girl at the sea shore and dedicated them to me. lie had the audacity to call me a sand witch. Made me feel ridiculous." —[New York Sun. A LUXURY. "Father, what is a luxury?" asked little Johnnie the other night as he wrapped himself round the parlor stove. "A luxury ? Why, it's something wo don't really need, you know—a thing we can do without." "Well, then," reply the logical youth, "what a luxury a mosquito net must be in winter!"—[Bostonian. A WAG'S SEVEN CHILDREN. "How many children have you?" a wag was ouce asked by a person whose intellect was not his strong point. "I have three sons," was the reply, "and each of them has four sisters." "Good gracious!" exclaimed the other in amazement, "why, that makes fif teen !"•—[Eulonspiegcl. LIKE BREEDS LIKE. "Jiinpson says he love 3 tho sough of the forest trees." "Well, Jiinpson is something of a hog himself." A POOR HOST. C'levcrton—Did you get my note ask ing you to dine with me? Dashaway—Yes. Cleverton —Then why didn't you conic? Dashaway—l was too hungry.—[Ba zaar. A PRACTICAL MAIDEN. He—Marry me and your life [shall he one long dream of blissful content. She—llow many hired girls does that mean?—[Munsey's Weekly. MISTAKEN KINDNESS. First Tramp —That lady's kindness nearly killed me once. Second Tramp—How was that? First Tramp—She gave me a pie and I ate it.—[lntcr-Oeean. Shot Full of Holes. " Jim Cannon was a plain son of Erin, who went to war with an Indiana regi ment. He accompanied our scouting party out one day. The hoys of the Seventieth Indiana told us to watch him, for he was a fool and liable to involve our little troop in a complication of troubles. "And the caution proved seasonable, though it was unheeded. Jim Cannon crept away from our party while we were searching the copse that skirted a nobrh boring hill, and in less than thirty iAh utes we heard a shot fired, followed after a short interval by thirty or forty in rapid succession. We hastened to the spot and picked up poor Jim. He was tattered. We actually counted eleven bullet holes in that fellow, and how dc) you suppose he explained it to us? He crept upon a party of ten or twelve bush whackers eating a lunch in the shelter of a ravine, and thought he could capture) the entire force. 80 he opened fire, at the same time yelliug out at the top of his voice, ' Surrender, ye spalpeens 1' " And he lived to tell you this story?" inquired a listener to the narrative. " Live! why, he actually got well, and' I learned recently thnt he now works in a northern Indiana town."—[Chicago News. AFTER MAIL THIEVES. HOW INSPECTORS FERRET OUT DEPREDATORS. A Few Interesting Cases—A Mail Thief is Almost Sura to be Caught —A Thieving Rodent. Around the walls of the government building, if one will look closely, he will observe what appears as registers, high up near the ceiling. They are innocent looking enough to distract the suspicions of the most wily thief. But every day, behind one of these iron greatings, there may be found a post-office inspector, in tently watching the actions of the clerks, either in the main distributing room or in the register or money orilcr depart ments. Should there happen to be any complaint of missing mail there is a scur rying in the inspection department and every man on the staff is put on to test his mettle with the case which confronts the department. And tho wonder is that, nine times out of ten, the case is worked to a successful conclusion and the guilty person convicted of the hein ous crime of tampering with Uncle Sam's mail. "We get some pretty tough cases," said an old inspector, yesterday, "but it has been my fortune to run down every case on which I was set to work." "What was the most difficult case you ever had?" asked the reporter. "It happened while I was stationed at Utica, N. V., about seven years ago, "re plied the inspector. "Many letters con taining valuables had been missed, and by dint of hard work we managed to trace the job down to one clerk, a shavcd-faced young fellow, of nbout 22 years. He was a clerk who distributed the letters into the boxes of the carriers. As I said, we managed to get this far on the case and then I set my trap. I had a decoy letter, containing a S2O gold piece, mailed from a country town in Connecticut to a prom inent stove dealer in Utica. The letter failed to reach the carrier promptly, and I felt we had our man solid at last. "I waited for him until the dinner hour, and as he was leaving the office ac costed him. He came with me, and look as closely as I might I failed to detect any signs of uneasiness iu his features; they were perfectly immobile. He walked with me into the office of the postmaster and submitted to a thorough search, but no trace of the letter or S2O gold piece was found on his person. To Say I was dumbfounded is drawing it mildly. He appenred to be very indig naut. But whether I was right or wrong at the time, the petty robberies came to a sudden stop. No more complaints were heard for a month. Then they began again. This time I was bound I would not fail, so I set a close watch on my man. One day when I was about to give up the case in despair, I noticed the fellow tearing up an envelope and drop ping it to the lloor. When he had gone I picked up tho scraps ol paper, and after a hard job managed to pieco it. I was disheartened when I saw that the en velope had been addressed to himself. I was about to walk away when a sudden idea st ruck me. "I came down the next morning before the young clerk came to work, and sta tioned myself behind a letter rack, free from observation, but in such a position that I could see the fellow's every action. I saw him take several stamped and ad- j dressed envelopes from his pocket and ■ walk over to the stamping table and can | eel the stamps. During the course of the morning I saw the fellow slip four j lettors inside of as many envelopes and seal the envelopes. Then I knew my suspicions were correct. I went to the carrier who carried the letters to the young man's home and secured the four letters addressed to the fellow himself. 4 4 4 llave you carried many letters like this?' I asked him. 4 4 4 Yes, sir,' the carrier said, 4 I carry four or live a day.' 44 1 then called the fellow into my office and told him that we had determined to have the mail of all clerks delivered at the office to lighten the duties of the carriers. I then told him I had four letters for him and handed him the mis sives I had received from the postman. The fellow turned pale and was on the verge of fuinting when I asked him to open and read the letters in my presence. With trembling hands he did so, and in side the envelopes, addressed to himself, I found four valuable letters addressed to a large wholesale house. He broke down and confessed that he had been stealing for about six months, and that during that period he had abstracted nearly $1,500 from business letters. lie had spent the money in gambling." 44 The hardest case I ever had to work on," brok<j in another inspector, "turned out to be no case at all. It was in a small town in Ohio a few months ago. From this town had oonic numerous complaints of missing mail, valuable and valueless pieces disappearing regularly. I was sent down to work the matter up. I worked as hard us I could aud failed to detect any guilty person among the several employed in the office. As a last resort I determined to spend one night in the office. It proved to be a very suc cessful night. Shortly befoie midnight I heard a scratching in the lower letter boxes and carefully began to investigate. I opened a drawer and out jumped a big rat. I watched him disappear through a hole and then went home. Next day the lloor was torn up, and in that rat's hole we lound scraps of paper, checks and cur rency, all used as a soft, downy bed for the family of rodents. It was a blessing for that town, as a new post-oflice was secured at once." 44 One time," said another inspector, 44 1 was fooled by a pair of high-topped boots. Many letters had been missing from the trains running between Cincin nati and New York. By means of de coy letters I traced the robberies dowu to a railway mail clerk, but was unable to catch him in a theft for a long time. After many letters had disappeared, I got mad one wet night, and just as the j clerk stopped from his car I placed him ! under arrest. The truth of the matter was that I really had no grounds on which to arrest him, so I took him to a hotel and rented one room for both of us. A nice grate tire was made in the room, and I took oil my shoes to dry my feet in the grateful warmth. My prison er remained quietly in his chair until I requested him to remove his big boots and feel more comfortable. <4 Then he began to fidget uneasily and I grew suspicious. With a rush and a jerk, I pulled off one of his boots, and out dropped three letters. The other boot yielded up half a dozen. Never until that moment had I had the least suspicion of those clumsy, big boots, and were it not for that lucky grate fire 1 should probably have never been able to convict my man."—[Cincinnati Times- Hints About Hiring Help. Mere muscular strcugth does not de note most usefulness on the farm. Note in a prospectic hired man the energy and sense used in expending it. Sometimes one man does easily at much work in two days as another in three. Skill in directing muscle and ability to turn off work without slighting it are valuable essentials. Better pay a good mun fair wages than get a cheap flue for his board and this is not saying anything about listless idle men; it merely considers the difference between industrious hands. A man's habits and demands should have weight when employing. Addicted to tobacco—especially smoking—ri3k from fire is increased, nnd time is lost in using the weed or in going to get it. However low wages a drunkard may ask, ho has no proper place on the farm, lor the owner cannot tell when lie will change from man to a maniac, to tho financial, if not greater, loss to his employer. The profane man, coarse and unclean, should be avoided like contagion. Against the losses he causes, there is no insurance. His damage is the contamination of employer, family and neighborhood.— [New York Tribune. Decay of the Boy Bootblacka. Some fifteen years ago boys nearly monopolized tho bootblacking business in New York, as they do in London and Paris to the present day. Gradually the advent of the well-cushioned chair out side the saloon door iu summer and in side, close to the stove, in winter, not to speak of the so-called "bootblacking parlors," has reduced the ranks of the boy bootblacks almost to the verge of extinction. You will find the American boy with his box still around the City Hall Park, which seems to be his last ditch, and around Washington Square the young Italian solicits your custom, but the boy bootblack is threatened with extinction by the advance of civiliza tion. The young Americans round City Hall Park charge you five cents for "ashine," just the same as though they could offer you a comfortable chair to sit in and the morning paper to read instead of making you hop round, with ouc foot on their box and the other wherever you get a chance to place it. "We ain't no scabs," as one of them remarked to the reporter, and ccrtaiuly they keep up prices. With good luck these boys will make $8 a week, but there are weeks when they make hardly anything. A succession of wet days is fatal to the business, and the fad of wearing russet shoes has almost destroyed the Summer trade. The little Italian boys who hang around Washington square are the "scabs" of the bootblack brigade. They charge only three cents for a shine, and seldom manngc to pick up over thirty cents a day. They nearly all work for padroncs, for the padroue system is not yet extinct in New York, though we do not hear as much about it as we did some years ago. The business of shining is almost en tirely iu the hands of Italians, and many of them are doing so well that they are able to hire a number of boys to assist them. These lads are uearly all com patriots, and strange as it may seem, are very well paid, getting as high as $4 a week, and never less than $2. —[New York News. Tarantulas, The tarantula is fouud iu the old world as well as in the new. It belongs to the hot, dry, sandy plains of Arizona, nnd to all similar lands in all parts of the world. A writer in Knowledge, who j has evidently made a specialty of spid ! ers, gossips pleasantly of this most re | pulsive species: The tarantula is one of the largest, but by no means the most enormous spider found in Europe. It belongs to the mining section of the family, termed wolf spiders. Its body is covered all over with down, chiefly of an olive dusky brown color. The upper border of the thorax and' the outline of the eyes are yellow, and the back of the abdomen is marked with a row of tri angular dark spots with whitish edges. Its eight eyes are arranged in three trav erse rows, the front row containing four small eyes, while behind these are two pairs of larger eyes. The tarantula is common iu Spain, Southern France and Italy, occurring in great numbers around the town of Taranto. It has been found in Asia and also Northern Africa, This spider is to be found in dry places, part ly overgrown with grass and fully ex posed to tho heat of the sun, living in an underground passage which it digs for itself, lining it with its web. These pnssages urc round in section, nnd sometimes quite an inch in diameter, often extending to the depth of a foot or even more below the surface. The creat ure is very quick in its movements, and eager in the pursuit of its prey. It waits only to kill one victim before upon another, and it has been known to allow itself to be carried into the air by a large fly that it has attacked rather i than relinquish its hold. Encounter With Albatrosses. During the passage of a Nova Scotian bark which is now ill Liverpool, a most extraordinary affair is said to havo oc curred, showing alike the ferocious and dangerous proclivities of the albatross. The bark had just got out of the latitude where rough weather is always encoun tered, and was sailing with a fair wind, when the cry of ".Man overboard!" sounded throughout the ship. The un fortunate fellow was a Dane, one of tho crew, and lie was seen at a short distance breasting the waves. The bark was brought round, unswering her helm in stantly, nnd the vessel was soon on her way to the struggling man. Suddenly two large albatrosses were soon to descend with an eagle-like swoop nnd attack tho poor fellow in a terrible mnnner. Both birds dashed at him, nnd to those on board the vessel it seemed as if they were endeavoring to out his eyes with their hooked bills, while with their wings they kept beating tho unfortunate man about the head. The sight was a terrible one, but it did uot last long, as the bark sailed over the course where the Dane had fallen overboard about seven minutes before, but he was nowhere to be seen. There was no doubt in the minds of those on board that tho poor fellow was killed by the albatrosses, as he was a powerful swimmer, and seemed to fight desperately for a few moments with the ferocious birds. The Thimble's Origin, The thimble was originally called a thumb bell by the English, because worn on the thumb, then a tliumble, and fi nally its present name. It was a Dutch invention, and was first brought to Eng land in 1005. Thimbles were formerly made only of iron and brass, but in com paratively late years they have been made of gold, steel, horn, ivory and even glass and pearl. In China, beautiful carved pearl thimbles arc seen, hound with gold, and with the end of gold. The first thimble introduced into Siara was a bridal gift from the king to tho queen. It is shaped Jike a lotus bud, ' made of gold, and thickly studded with diamonds arranged to speli tlie queen's i name.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers