The grip left some queer wrecks.
George Danner, a Western farmer, is
one of them. After partial recovery
lie was seized with sobbing fits which
quickly gave way to continuous laugh
ter. Ho is slowly recovering.
Oscar Wilde nakes no secret of the
fact that he draws his inspiration from
any source that happens to bo avail*
able. A friend was calling attention
to the statement made by a critic that
much of "Salome" was plagiarized.
"Of course it was." cried Oscar, with
great candor. "Plagiarism is tho
privilege of the appreciative man."
The royal palace in Madrid, which
the Jnfanta Eulalia still regards as her
home, though her mother is in exile,
is one of tho most magnificent cdfices
in Europe. It is of marble and gran
ite, occupies an area of 220,900 squaro
feet, and rises dazzingly white against
the sky to a height of 100 foot. The
scene from the palace gardens is splen
did. In the edifice there are a gallery
of paintings, a library, a museum, an
urinory, a chapel, and a theater.
The San Francisco Call soliloquises:
Electricity is in a transition stage. Wo
are on the threshold of marvelous ap
plications of the new pewer, due to re
cent scientific discoveries and inven
tions. New departures are certain to
come, but he would be a bob! specula
tor who could define the precise direc
tion or limit. Niagara aud many
other natural forces are at the com
mand of the engineer of to-day, and
the gigantic energies of modern steam
ships show what is possible in mechan
ics. What a century it is in wonders!
It is reported from Paris that $lO,-
000,000 has been raised to continue the
digging on the Panama Canal. Tho
estimated cost of the work to be done
is from $00,000,000 to $75,000,000.
Some futile attempts may still be made
to galvanize the dead project into life,
but, as shown in a recent letter to tho
Now York Mail and Express, from
Bishop Newman, nature is fust undo
ing what hus already been accom
plished, and the dribbling of $10,000,-
000 into the hole will not stop the tide
of failure which promises to engulf the
work engineered by the great but dis*-
honorcd De Lesseps.
The Cleveland (Ohio) Plaindealer
points out in reference to Cleveland's
rapid growth that its population in
1890 was 261,353, as compared with
160,146 ten years before, an increase
of 101,107, oi- sixty-three per cent,
pointing to an annual average increase
of 10,000. At that rate, it is estima
ted, Cleveland's present pooulation is
not less than 292,000, but is pointed
out that inasmuch as the bulk of the
increase during the decade was in tho
latter half thereof, and as it is a mat
ter of common observation that tho
increase has been at a faster rate than
from 1885 to 1890, therefore Cleve
land's present population must run
over 300,000.
The New York Herald thinks that tho
whole country will applaud the demand
made at the organization of the Sculp
ture Society for the emancipation of
sculptural art from trousers and frock
coats. There is little room for the
play of poetic feeling in the modern
male costume. Still, while we have
trousers and coats in our art they
should be well done. To some extent
a sculptor can indicate the grace of
the anatomy even through trousers.
It is evident that most of our artists
handle the conventional costume of to
day in a spirit of disdain, confining
their really serious work on portrait
statuary to the head. Make war on
trousers in sculpture, but in the mean
time remembar there are trousers
and trousers.
Ex-Secretary of the Interioi Nobk,
who has been takiug a trip through
Oklahoma, speaks with enthusiasm of
its progress. He has found it (and Mr.
Noble is ft good deal of a farmer him
self) one of the most prosperous parts
of the country. In wheat-growing it
promises to rival the famed Bed River
Valley, and it makes an excellent show
ing in every class of produce. The
farmers, most of whom came from tho
Northwestern States, are a hard-work
ing, thrifty, law-abiding set of people.
"The main towns in the Territory,"
Bayb Mr. Noble, "are highly prosper
ous and look twenty years old to tks
stranger, instead of four. They are
well laid out and the streets are being
rapidly filled with substantial build
ings. There is little or no speculation
among the settlers. There are no com
binations, but every man goes about
his business in the old-fashioned way.
I know of no nmn who has grown sud
denly rich since the opening of the
Territory, but at the same time nobody
who lias put his money into it has had
jrcason to regret his action,"
"WHERE HELEN SITS."*
Where ITelen sits, tho darkness is sn deep,
No golden sunbeam strikes athwart the
gloom ;
No mothers smile, no glance of loving eyes,
Lightens the shadow of that lonely room.
Vet the clear whiteness of her radiant soul
Becks tho dim walls, like angel vestments
shed.
The lovely light of holy Innooeneo
Kliinis like a halo round her bended bead,
Where Helen sits.
Where Helen sits, the stillness Is so deep,
No children's laughter comes, no song of
bird.
The great world sforms along its noisy way,
But in this placo no souu lis ever heard. 1
Tot do her gentle thoughts make molo ly ,
Sweeter than aught from harp or viol flung ;
And Lovo and Beauty, quiring each to each,
Sing as the stars of Eden's morning sung,
Where Helen sits.
—Laura E. Kiebards, in tho Century.
• Il.'len Keller, deaf, dumb and blink
BARBARA'S ESCAPE.
BY ITELZH FORREST GRAVES.
Ifg EALLY and ac
tually engaged! It
is a strange sort of
feeling, and yet it
isn't unpleasant.
Barbara Esmond
. rtood in the middle
Jfe of the room, one
w slender hand poised
by its forefinger on
the table, the other
k holding back the
\ jetty tresses from
J her pure, low brow,
a. She was very beauti
ful, in a dark, glit
tering style of beau
ty, nud in that elegant room she
might have reminded one of a peurl in
its satin casket. Black-eyed and j
haired, with a creamy skin, fine- '
grained as velvet, mid straight, deli- j
lately chiseled features, hers was an
uncommon beauty, yet strangely fas- :
cinating.
• Eighteen years old, and engaged to
be married! It was a new leaf in the j
book of life for Barbnra Esmond; a
sensation as novel as it was delightful. 1
"I wish I had a mother to go to, or ,
A loving, tender, elder sister," mused 1
Barbara, restlessly. "I scarcely tin- j
derstand my own feelings. I wonder
if I do love him as I should love the I
man I intend to make my husband. ,
Husband!" she added, with a little
tremulous sort of shudder. "The
word implies a great deal. And Har
ry Milbrook is to be my husband!"
Barbara was like a newly-caged
bird, restless, fluttering agaiust the |
invisiblo bars of her prisoned ex is- j
tence ; captured with her own toils,yet |
half disposed to break away into the
solitude and independence once more.
Mr. Henry Milbrook, however, was '
troubled with no snch vague ideas. He
had won the heart of Miss Esmond,
the heiress, and what was of rather
mdre consequence to him, ho had won
the right to sharo her wealth.
"I'm a fellow of talent," mused Mr.
Milbrook, "and fellows of talent never
could endure to work liko common
cart-horses. Therefore it follows that
I must havo money, and, possessing
none of my own, I must marry the art
icle. And although I object to red hair
and a crooked spine, I am quite willing
to accept tho incumbrance of a beauti
ful girl along with said cash!"
That was the decidedly practical and
unromautic manner in which Mr. Mil
brook contemplated his approaching
felicity. He kept his rhapsodies of
romance and soft poetic whisperings
for Barbara's ear alone, and she, liko
any enthusiastic girl of eighteen, be
lieved in him.
Who told no one of tho precious se
cret enshrined in her heart; it would
have seemed almost like' desecration ;
but her lover was by no means so deli
cate.
"So you'ro to be married, nal!"
said Mr. Joseph Pierey, at the club.
"Yes, I'm going to be married ; to a
cool hundred thousand, too," answered
Mr. Milbrook, rubbing his hands.
"Who is it?"
"Oh, the lady, you mean?"
"Yes, I mean the lady."
"It's.old Esmond's daughter."
"What, the star-eyed Barbara?"
"Exactly so."
"I congratulate you, old fellow."
"Much obliged," answered Mr. Mil
brook, indifferently pulling his mus
tache. "I flatter myself it's a pretty
good speculation for a fellow that
travels on his good looks alone."
"I wish she had a sister for me," ob
served Mr. Percy.
"I don't. I can't afford to go halves
in the cash."
There was a general laugh among
the youths of fashion in the club room
at this scintillation of wit, and Mr.
Milbrook sauntered leisurely out.
"I promised she should have my
picture," thought Mr. Harry, "and I
suppose the cheapest place I can have
it done is at the establishment of that
poor devil of an artist in Grove street.
I guess I'll go round there."
It was hard for so exquisitely gotten
up a youth as Mr. Milbrook to lie com
pelled to hide his light under the
bushel of so obscure a street as that
toward which he now bent his foot
steps, but economy was just at present
something of an object with this mod
ern Apollo of ours.
| Bignor Fernelli, the artist, was at
home, a dark, courteous littlo Italian,
with a wife aud seven small children,
and very glad ho was to receive Mr.
Milbrook's order.
"On ivory, I suppose, sir?"
"Yes, I suppose so. It's dreadfully
expensive," thought Harry, with a
grimace ; "but engaged girls must have
their own way, of course."
As ho sat waiting for Signor Fernelli
to bring out some specimens of his art,
to select the moat appropriate size ami
style, he saw through the open door a
dark silk dross brush by, and the pure,
clear profile of a face that ho well
knew, Barbara Esmomi'B face.
"Hello!" ejaculated oar hero.
"Fernelli, who the duse is that young
lady, and how came sho here?" <
"That young lady, signor, with ilie j
brown dress and the long throat, and i
the head liko the goddess Diana?" i
"Yes."
"It is the music mistress of Pauline ■
Delatour upstairs; she comes twice of j
a week, and sings, my word, liko a
nightingale."
"tVho is Pauline Delatour?"
"A poor girl, signor, who sews on
drosses; but one day sho will come
out on the stage —she will sing at the
opera."
Harry Milbrook stared at Signor
Fernelli liko one demented.
>"Which size did you say sir?"
"I—l don't think I'll make a selec
tion to-day. I will call to-morrow."
And Mr. Milbrook rushed headlong
down etaire, greatly to tho surprise of
Signor Fernelli.
"The duse!" ho ejaculated to him
self as ho strode along the narrow
street, with difficulty restraining him
self from tumbling at every other step
over the babies who swarmed on the
sidewalk, "A music-mistress! Giving
lessons in such a hole as that. Upon
my word I've come preciously near
being taken in and done for ! So it's
all show and empty pretense that
wealth of hers, and she was going to
entrap a husband on the strength of
it. My stars! it's enough to make the
hair staud right straight up on a fel
lOW'H head. What a lucky thing it
was I saw through the stratagem be
fore I was netted past escape."
Ho lifted his hat, and wiped the
chill beads of perspiration from his
forehead.
• No, you don't, Miss Barbara Es
mond," lie muttered to himself with a |
bitter, sarcastic smile wreathing his
| lips. "I am not quite such a fool us
; that, thank goodness."
j Barbara Esmond had fluttered lightly
up the narrow staircase, all uncon
scious of the eyes that were noting
| her, through Signor Fernelli's partially
J opened door, and entered a small room
|in the story above. A pale young
girl, with a sweet, spirituelle face, sat
at her sewing by the window. She
I brightened up as tho delicate figure
came in.
! "Miss Esmond, it is so kind of you
to remember me so punctually."
j "Not at all kind. lam a genius
i worshiper, Pauline, and I have dis
! covered the divine spark in you."
| "How shall I ever pay you, Miss
Esmond?"
"By cultivating tho afent heaven
has bestowed upon yon. Nay, nay,
I Pauline, I am but following out a pet
j whim."
I "And the piano, too, that you sent
here. Oh, Miss Esmond, one of heav
! en's angels could hardly bo more gen
erous!"
"Husli, hush, Pauline! Begin your
I lesson. I never thought, when first I
heard you singing at. your work and
paused to listen to the flute-like notes,
that you would bo half way through
tho exercise book in less than six
months. When you sing at the opera
I shall bo the first to throw bouquets
at your feet."
Pauline looked with a shy bright
ness at her beuefactress. Would that
time ever come?
The lesson was longer than usual
that day. Pauline aud Miss Esmond
wero both deeply interested, and it was
nearly twilight beforo Barbara
emerged from the lnnise, closely
veiled, and walked swiftly through tho
darkening streets,
i "There's a note for yon, Miss Bar
i bara," said her housekeeper, us she sat
down to rest a minute or two in the
reception-room of her own mansion
before she laid off her things.
"A note? Let me sec it. When did
it come?"
"About fifteen minutes ago, miss.
A little boy brought it."
"Light the gas, please. Mrs. Moore,
and take these wraps upstairs."
A soft rose tint flushed over Bar
bara's cheek as sho recognized Harry
Milbrook's handwriting. She broke
the seal and glanced eagerly at its con
tents ; but, as she read, the soft crim
son flush died away into pallor.
It was very, very brief, but cruel as
n blow.
"Miss ESMOND," it read, commenc
ing shortly and sternly, instead of the
"Dearest Barbara" she had expected,
"allow me to claim back the troth I
have plighted to you. I had supposed
when I engaged myself to you that I
! was about to ally myself fo a lady, not
to a music mistress in Grove street. It
! will scarcely be worth whilo for you to
i reply to this letter, as loan never, un
j dcr any circumstances, forgive the de
; : ceit that has been practiced on me.
Therefore, I shall take it for granted
j that all relations are ended between
! yourself ami
"Yours very respectfully,
"H. MILBROOK."
Barbara dropped the insulting letter
with a sparkle in her black eyes, a
curve to her lip, which were wondrous
ly eloquent, and as it lay on the carpet
she ground it down into the deep pur
ple pile with her contemptuous foot.
"The puppy," Bhe muttered between
her set teeth; "the miserable pol
troon ! How could I ever have fancied
for a single second that I loved him?
Reply to this letter? Of course I
shall not reply to it."
And Miss Esmond walked up stairs
' carrying her head high in the air, far,
far beyond tho reach of Harjy Mil
j brook's petty spite.
That young man was seated at his
! breakfast table next morning when
' ; Bufus Kenward lounged in.
H "Halo, Milbrook ! I've just heard a
■ j little item about your lady love, Mi6s
I Esmond, that is, to ray mind, better
i j than nil her bonds and mortgages,
j What do you think? She's giving sing
1, iog kesous to jny wife's little acain
! stress, one Pauline Delntour, because
the ehilil lias a glorious voice and can't
afford to have it cultivated. I wish
you could hear Pauline rave About her
benefactress. I think her enthusiasm
would satisfy even your true lover's
ear. Really, it isn't often that an
heiress like old Esmond's daughter
stoops to perforin co toilsome a benefit
as that."
Harry Milbrook had sat down his
chocolate cup, and was staring with
glassy eyes at Mr. Ken ward.
"Why, what's tho matter?" de
manded that gentleman, somewhat
shortly.
"X—nothing!"
| "Dyspepsia, eh?"
I "No. 1 tell you I'm well enough.'*
• Harry had made a mistake—a mistake
I that was likely to bo fatal to his bril
liant matrimonial aspirations.
"Why didn't I wait? What the mis
chief was I in such a hurry for?" ho
demanded of himself, without any very
satisfactory answer, as he hurried along
the street toward Barbara's residence.
| Tho boy might not have delivered
I the note—Barbara might not have read
I it—there were a thousand "might
; nots," and he resolved to try his luck,
even in a forlorn hope.
"Is Miss Esmond at home?" he asked
of the old housekeeper, who came to
tho door.
"Miss Esmond wished me to say
specially that she was never at homo
to Mr. Milrbook any more." was tho
cold reply.
And Harry went his way lamenting.
He had chosen his lot, and he must
abide by it. And thus Barbara escaped
the snares laid for her.—Xew York
Weekly.
A Thrilling Adventure.
Ezra Thomas, a prospector of Shasta
County (where he is known as the
"Mountain Boy"), had an exciting ad
venture on Sunday last in tho neigh
borhood of Taylor's Flat. While
leisurely walking along the trail with
his pick on his shoulder his attention
was suddenly called to the fact that
something was running along behind
hi in. On turning around he saw a
deer coming on the dead run and with
in a few feet of him. He stepped
aside, aud, as the deer reached him,
he struck it on tho head with his pick,
tho point of which was embedded deep
in tho deer's forehead. The deer
dropped dead. No sooner had he dis
patched the deer than his attention
was again directed to the trail over
which tho deer had coine, when, to hiR
utter astonishment and alarm, he saw
a huge California lion hounding along
after the deer. Tho "Mountain Boy"
had barely time to step aside to give
the animal the right of way and get
his pick in readiness for an attack
when the lion came leaping to where
he was. He made a lick at the ani
mal's head with the pick, but as tho
lion was going at such velocity he
missed his mark and struck one of the
lion's hind legs, breaking it. The lion
with a savage growl and snapping its
teeth in rage bounded away on throe
legs and disappeared. The dead deei
was brought to tho residence of J. D.
Hayward, where it served to satisfy
tho cravings of tho inner man.—
1 Weavervillc (Cal.) Journal.
Drlcil Flics From Mexico.
"Xo matter what it may be, if an
article l/ry>gs a fair price I deal in it,"
said % commission merchant to a
writer in the Waverly Magazine. "My
last venture consists of firied flies, just
common flies which come from Mexico.
People buy them for their singing
birds. I sell them retail to the dealers.
Flies are plentiful in the tropical val
leys and the time of tho Mexican In
dian is not particularly valuable.
Wheu ho can no longer sleep in hie
hut on account of tho swarms of flies
attracted by tho tilth which accumu
lates about his front door, he some
times is stung into a desire for revenge
on his enemies. Revenge is sweet,
and sweeter if there is any money in
it. He goes to tho woods and collects
a number of green twigs of a certain
tree. These ho lays in a pile on tho
floor of his hut, with some dry twigs
under them. Then from another tree
he gets a gum which ho boils into a
thin syrup and spreads on the walls of
his hut. The flies are attracted by its
1 fragrant and far-reaching odor. They
gather to feed on it. AVhen tho hut is
black with them the Indian sets fire to
1 the twigs on tho floor and CIOSCB tho
apertures from the outside. The twigs
emit an aromatic smoke which kills the
flies and they fall to the floor in thou
sands. Then the native's wife dries
' them while he goes to sleep again."
The First Posts.
The first posts are said to have
originated in tho regular couriers es
tablished by Cyrus about 550 B. C.,
who erected posthouses throughout the
Kingdom of Persia. Augustus was the
first to introduce this institution
among the Romans, 31 B. C., and he
was imitated by Charlemagne about
800 A. D. Louis XI. was the first
sovereign to establish posthouses in
France, owing to his eagerness for
news, and they were also the first in
stitution of this nature in Europe.
This was in 1170, or about 2000 years
after they were started in Persia.
In England in the reign of Edward
TV. (1481) riders on posthorses went
stages of the distance of twenty miles
from each other, in order to procure
the King the earliest intelligence of
tho events that passed in the course of
tho war that hail arisen with the Scots.
A proclamation was issued by Charles
I. in 1631, that "whereas to this time
there hath been no certain intercourse
between tho Kingdoms of England and
Scotland, the King now commands his
Postmaster of England for foreign
parts to settle a running post or two
between Edinburgh and London, to go
thither and come back again in six
daya."—Chamber b'b Journal,
ONLY ONE "WILD TKIBE."
THE SEMINOLES OF FLORIDA EN JOT
A PROUD DISTINCTION.
Tliey Have Never Been "Rounded
Up" in a Reservation—Bravo Oc
cupants of the Everglades.
PY "wild" Indians, says Kirk
Monroe in the New York Ad
vertiser, I mean those who
have never been subjected to
the taming processes of a reservation,
and of the quarter of a million aborig
ines still to be found in the United
States the Seminoles, of Florida, alone
can lay claim to that distinction. Al
though to those unacquainted with the
situation it may appear strange "that
the only Indians still roaming at will
over a large part of their original ter
ritoy, and lending to-day, in nnre
stramed liberty, the life of their
fathers, should bo found in that por
tion of tho Union first titled by white
men, the apparent anamoly is easy of
explanation. Florida is the largest,
and at the same time the most sparsely
settled State east of the Mississippi.
The 10,000 square miles of its territory,
of which some four hundred Seminoles
are almost the only occupants, com
prise the vast swamps of the Ever
glades and tho Big Cypress. These
are unsurveyed, almost unexplored,
and are well nigh inaccessible save in
canoes by those familiar with their in
tricacies. Most of these watery lands
coine under tho head of "swamp and
overflowed," and as such belong to the
State of Florida. Until recently they
have been considered so valueless that
no white man has coveted them. This
is, of course, the prime reason why the
Seminoles have been allowed to retain
unmolested possession of them for so
long. Then, too, these Indians are
the immediate descendants of Osceola
and those other desperate fighters who,
in defense of their homes waged
against the United States tho longest,
bloodiest and most costly of its many
Indian wars.
The Florida Seminolo has proved
himself worthy of respect and consid
eration by his bravery as a fighter, his
absolute independence, his freedom
from mony of the vices common to In
dians, his industry and his willingness
to adopt civilization if allowed to do
so gradually aud through imitation.
Physically he is one of the finest exist
ing specimens of tho North American
rod man—tall, straight and clean
limbed. Following the dictates of an
immutable custom, rather than those
of comfort, the Seminole wears on his
head an immense turban formed of gay
'kerchiefs covering a light frame of
rattan. With the exception of a
braided scalp lock, which is hidden be
neath this turban, all hair is closely
cut from his head and none appears on
his face. Tho remainder of his dress
consists of a gay red and yellow, beau
tifully-sewed calico shirt and a brcecli
cloth. Save on occasions, when they
are covered with buckskin leggings
and moccasins, his legs and feet
are bare. He is always armed with the
most improved pattern of a rifle, but
despises a shotgun and regards a revol
ver as a toy. He fashions commodious
and most excellent canoes from single
huge cypress logs, and sails or poles
them with dexterity, but neither pad
dles nor rows. He does not steal nor
lie, but, like all hiß race, he drinks
whisky whenever he can obtain it.
His principal occupation is hunting,
but in intervals of this ho builds his
huts of poles and palmetto thatch,
overhauls his weapons, nets, traps or
canoe, cares for his live stock, prin
cipally cattle and hogs, clears land for
a field, assists at starch (coontie) mak
ing, and does not Arholly disdain to
work in the' fields, or to amuse his
children; for these he exhibits a de
cided fondness, and ho is always qh in
dulgent to them as he is kind to his
women. ,He sleeps beneath a canopy
of eheeso cloth, which protocts him
from gnat and other insects, is well
fed, is rarely ill, and appears thor
oughly contented with his lot, though
oppressed with an ever-present anxiety
concerning the encroachments of his
white neighbors.
The Bemiuole dead are buried, to
gether with weapons, cooking utensils
and such other things as they may need
in tire Seminole hunting grounds to
which they have journeyed ; and above
their graves are built solid tombs of
logs.
The women of this interesting tribe
aro of modium height, plump, cheer
ful indisposition, and often good look
ing. Their jot black hair is banged
across the forehead, and twisted in
to a Psyche-knot behind. Their good
natured faces nlways suggest a sup
pressed mirth, nnd wheu they nre at
homo the forest encampments riug
with their laughter, They dress in a
long sleeved, calico jacket, and a full
skirt so long thnt it conceals thoir
bore feet. About their necks they
wenr heavy collars of blue, green and
white glasß heads nnd across their
bodies are strung many silver coins,
thus indicating the wealth of their
husbands. These women are very in
dustrious, rarely spend an idle
Dement aud nre consequently happy.
They are good cooks ami skilled iu the
use of the needle. Some of them
have even attained to tho luxury of
sewing machines, of which they ore
immensely proud, and the mysteries
of which thejr quickly comprehend.
They keep them iu order by the use
of alligator oil, which is unexcelled as
a lubricant for ttno machinery.
The Florida Seminolo lives well nnd
is never subject to those periods of
semi-starvation that aro of sucli fre
quent occurrence among his northern
brethren. For meats he has venison,
bear, coon, possum, pork, terrapin,
turtles, gophers and sometimes bee,'.'
His larder in well supplied with
chickens, wild turkeys, quail, ducks
nnd inauy other fowl. In their season
he procures quantities of turtle eggs
from the sea beaches, and nu jex
haustible supply ot nsU Is to be had
for the spearing. He raises sweet
potatoes, squaehes, melons, beans,
corn and sugar cane, and has scattered
groves of guavas, oranges, lemons,
cocoanuts, pawpaws and various other
fruits. He exchanges plums, alligator
hides, deer skins and starch for flour,
coffee, sugar, tobacco and many an
other thing of civilization, bnt limits
his intercourse with the white to the
necessities of trade, avoiding them as
much as possible on all other occa
sions.
SELECT'"SIFTIXGS.
Americans eat asparagus hot; the
French have it cold.
Yery few rubies and red sapphires
exceed five karats in weight.
A woman at Spring Hill, Mo., has
just baked a loaf of bread- from yeast
thirty years old.
It is said that policemen in citizens'
clothes are recognized by their shoes
by New York sharpers.
The finest existing ancient picture is
a mosaic, the "Rattle of Issue," found
in a pavement at Pompeii.
A porcupine fish, having thorns in
stead of scalep, was caught a few days
ago in St. Andrew's Bay, Florida.
New Ilium or Troy had a State bank
in the Second Century, B. O. that bor
rowed money for the State and paid
ten per cent.
A man of Granger, Mo., 103 years
old, has a skull patched in two places
with silver plates, as the result of a
runaway years ago.
A catfish that weighed twenty-five
pounds and satisfied tho appetites of
twenty-two hungry fishermen was
caught near North Elkton, Ky., re
cently.
The Stonelienge monument consisted
when entire of two circles and two
ovalp, the outer circle being composed
of sixty stones, each from thirteen to
twenty feet in height.
The common apple tree is a native
of Europe and almost naturalized here.
The Romans had twenty-two varieties
according to Pliny. Probably nearly
1000 varieties nro cultivated in the
United States.
The temple of Ypsambul in Nubia is
cut from a solid rock, and its entrance
is guarded by four statues, each sixty
five feet high, twenty-five feet across
the shoulders, the face seven feet long,
tho ears over three feet.
All over Europe it is tho custom to
give the waiter a gratuity amounting
to one-twentieth of the bill that he
presents. Ho gets a five-cent tip for a
ono dollar meal. A small but fixed
gratuity secures tho best of service.
The European waiter is not paid by
the landlord. lie often pays for his
place.
On the ninth day of tho first month
every Egyptian was obliged to eat a
fried fish before the door of bis house,
except the priests, who burned instead
of eating the fish. The revenues rising
from tho fisheries of Lake Moeris wore
giyen to tho Queen of Egypt for pin
money and are stated to liavo
amounted to something like $400,000
annually.
The Columbian stamps are "really
steel engravings and form tho third
special issue of stamps in the country.
The first of these was a fifteen-cent
stamp representing tho landing of
Columbus, which was issued in 1869,
and the second commemorated tho
1876 centennial by a souvenir envelope,
; with a shield-shaped tbree-cent stamp
in tho corner, Laving at tho top tho
figures 1776 aud at tho bottom 1876.
There IH a three-toed rhinoceros,
believed to be hundreds of thousands
of years old, in the American Museum
of Natural History, New York City.
The relic, according to palaeontologists
who have read its history, is tho only
ono of his herd who escaped mutila
tion by the crocodiles and alligators of
his time, when he was deposited after
death in a lake which existed in South
Dakota, near what is now tho Pine
Ridge Indian reservation.
China's Chain ol Forts.
Tho feeling which prompted the
Chinese Government twenty centuries
ago to build a wall across Northern
China 3000 miles in length seems to bo
not yet extinct. China just now deems
it necessary to have a chain of forts all
along her seacoasts and up the Yangtz,
and tho Proviuco of Shantung must
liavo her sharo of this protection.
Therefore, there is to be a naval station
at Chiao Chon, south of tho Shantung
promontory, another to the east and a
third nt Checfoo itself. During the
past year Krtipp guns—nino of thein,
according to Clement Allen's informa
tion—have been ordered for the two
forts which are in progress of construc
tion, one on the point commanding the
south entrauce of Chefoo Harbor, and
another on tho hill to the westward.
Brig. Sun Chin-piao, tho General in
command, is stated to have set his men
j to work to make roads round about
11 s forts and a trunk military road to
g to Wei Hai Wei.—New York Coin-
I ~jercial Advertiser.
An Heir of the Montezninas.
| Tho Iwo Republics says that a few
| da, a ago tliero was presented for regis
, t ration at the office of the civil regis
• trar of the City of Mexico on infant
, called Roberto Luis Cuauthemeo Hor-
I capites y Abadiano, who is a direct do
| scendent in the thirteenth generation
of tho Emperor Montezuma 11. Its
parents receive an annual pension from
the Government as tho heirs of Monte
zuma, according to tho contract undei
which the Spanish Government took
possession ot tho estates of tho Monte
zumas in 1521. At the death of the
parents the pension will descend to
this child. By tho paternal line, this
infant is descended alo from tho Hor- j
cesitns family, of Spain, which gave
Mexico ono of its mutt illustrioqi'
viceroys. —Picayune,
HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS.
PROPER WAT TO COOK POTATOES.
The Irish have a very particular way
of cooking potatoes. They never boil
them. A large pot is always on the
fire, a steady, slow fire, and on every
occasion when the contents come to the
very verge of boiling, cold water ii
dashed in and the operation is, in Irish
phraseology, '"backed." The procesi
is continually repeated till thepotatoei
are cooked. You get by this means an
admirable potato.—New York World.
TO BANISH DUST.
At least every fortnight walls and
cornices, the tops of windows and door#
should have their entiro surfaces goni
over with a clean broom encased in f
bag of cotton flannel. Pinning a cloth
about the broom is an unsatisfactory
makeshift, besides which the fuzzy nap
of the cloth catches and retains th#
dust better than old muslin, and doei
not force it to fly nbont the room only
to settle somewhere else, as is the cas
when the work is done with a feathej
duster.
Don't let your love of tho beautiful
tempt you to the use of colored flannel,
because you want to see when it is dirty
in order to send it to the wash. Thre#
of these bags will not bo too many, ai
a broom covered with one is the beef
means for removing tho dust each
morning from polished or stained
floors.
REMEMBER TO MAKE GOOD COFFEE!
That the same flavor will not suit
every taste.
That equal parts of Mocha, Java
and Rio will bo relished by a good
many people.
That every ono. can bo suited to 8
nicety by properly blending two 01
more kinds.
That tho enjoyment of a beverage
and slavish devotion thereto are quite
different things.
That a mild coffee can bo made
dangerously strong and still retain the
mildness of flavor.
That tho flavor is improved if the
liquid is tutned from the dregs as
soon as the proper strength has been
obtained.
That a good coffee will always com
maud a fair price, but that all high
priced coffees are not necessarily of
high quality.
That where tho percolation method
is used the coffee should be ground
very fine or tho strength will not b€
extracted.
That if the ground coffee is put into
tho water aud boiled it should be rather
coarse, otherwise it will invariably be
muddy.
Thttt in serving tho cups and cream
should be warm : the cream should be
put in the cup before the coffeo if
poured in, bnt it is immaterial when
the sugar is added. —New York Com
mercial Advertiser.
IIOW TO IRON DRESS SKIRTS.
To iron a skirt properly is in the na
tnro of high art—all the more if it ha*
tucks or ruffles. Whatever the trim
rning attend to it first, unless it is ruf
fles that are to go through tho fluting
machine.
For a ruflln spread as much of if
singly on your table as its depth allow*
and press very smooth with au iron
just below scorching heat. Go ovei
tho whole length it, then 'fliug if
back and iron in tho same piecemeal
fashion the strip of skirt it covers.
Now slip the skirt over your ironing
board, spread it smooth, take an iron
of tho same heat, and go over and ovei
it until it is dry.
When you come to tho gnthers hold
tho belt from you with tho left hand,
while tho right guides tho iron straight
up among tliem. Slip a fresh space on
top the board, iron it and keep on un
til all is smooth.
Where a skirt is untriramod iron if
on tho wrong side.
Never iron anything of shape, that ii
with tho threads pulled out of the.'i
proper augle. In the ironing of waist,
collars and so on this is an especially
golden rule, always hold tho Warp
threads straight with your free hand
while the iron passes over them.
In ironing tucks let tho iron corns
always first upon the line of sewing, aa
it is tho tendency of stitches to draw.
Press firmly downward to the free edge,
holding the stuff taut before tho iron.
Perfection in this branch comes only
of knack and practice, and is among
the very few things that are easier dons
than said.--Atlanta Constitution.
RECIPES.
Cinnamon Cookies—Ono egg, one
cupful of sugar, ono cupful of molasses,
one-half cupful lard, ono spooonful
each of soda, vinegar and cinnamon.
Roll thin and bake quickly.
Jenny Linds—One egg, one andene.
half teacupfuls of milk, one-half tea
cupful of sugar, one tablespoonful of
butter, two and one-half teacupfuls of
flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking pow
ier and a pinch of kilt. Mix quickly
together and pour in well greased gem
pans and bake.
To Cook Asparagus—Wash and cut
the tender stalks into pieces two inches
long and cover them with boiling salted
water. When tender, add a cup of
nich milk, a tablespoonful of butter, a
teaspoonful of sugar and a pinch of
white pepper; let it boil up Dnce.
Have slices of buttered toast in a deep
dish, pour the asparagus over aud
serve.
Fruit Pudding—A very nice way to
utilize oak© crumbs is in making fruit
pudding, OH follows: Sort an L chop
very flue a half-pound of nice figs and
mix thom with two tahlespoonfuls of
butter, two-thirds of a cup of granu
lated sugar and two well beaten eggs.
Add a cupful of sweet millc and one
quarter of a cupful of cake crumbs.
Mix all this thoroughly an I boil in a
pudding raoul I three hourd, Serve
with a lemon sauce,