By a curious coincidence Captain Slarryat's "Sharley-yow," the only novel reviewed in the reprint of the London Court Journal for June 21, 1837, was also reviewed in the literary papers for Juno, 1897, a3 a new edition has just appeared. There are iwo piles of gold in New York City which aggregate 200 tons. One pile i 3 in the Sub-Trensury vaults, is valued at $77,910,00!), and weighs 150 tons. The other is in the cellars of the Clearing House, weighs 110 tons, and is valued at §35,180,000. The doctor who settled at Peak's Island, Maine, found before long that the people were so healthy that he gave up hope of making a living, and decided to quit. The islanders, how ever, concluded to contribute a certain amount yearly, sick and well alike, besides the amounts paid for services, to get him to stay, and he remained. Dr. Knndt, a German explorer, has started out to find the ultimate sources of the Nile. Having the promise of assistance from the Congo authorities when he reaches their territory, he hn3 set out out from German East Africa, intending to make his way to Urnndu, Uhba ami Buanda. There he will ascertain the size of Lake Akenjaru and measure the volume of water in the rivers Kagera, Euvuru, Nyakirongo and Akenjaru in the dry and wet sea sons. He will trace that having the greatest volume to its source. Part of the surplus revenue, which Groat Britain is happy in having this year, is to go towards improving the postn! and telegraph services. It seems that there arc about 10,000,009 of let ters annually which the Government does not attempt to deliver into the hands of the persons to whom they are directed. These letters are, directed to persons living in the sparsely popu lated districts and arc left by the ofii cials at some central point where the owners can call and get them. This is to be remedied, and direct delivery of letters to every house in the kingdom is to he made. Greater scope is to he given in the matter of parcels, and the charges 011 delivery of telegraphs out side the set limits arc to be materially reduced. Much good is done in Minnesota with an annual appropriation by the State of §IO,OOO to encourage the estab lishment of school libraries. Twenty dollars the first year and ten dollars 1 annually thereafter are given by the (State to any school district which raises au equal or a greater amount, j the stimulus of which proposition has resulted in an excess of private giving over the State appropriation. In the j ten years during which the appropria tion has been granted libraries have ] been established in over 1800 schools, the average number of volumes in each library being sixty-five. This number is not large, but the growth of each library is continuous. Moreover, tho rules governing tho choice of books 1 give these little libraries a value not represented in the number of volumes. The books are not chosen at random or promiscuously, but each season's purchases aro confined to some .one subject, the purpose being to create good reference libraries to supplement , the instruction by the teacher and tho text book. Says the Atlanta Journal: "Texas has furnished a large share of the lynehings in this country for ten years past. An attempt to institute n reform is seen in the anti-lynching law passed by the Texas legislature at its recent session. It makes all par ticipants iu a mob which for any rea. son whatsoever inflicts death upon any person guilty of murder in the first degree. Texas, like all other States, had a law against lynching be fore this act passed, and in tho eye ol the law all participants indynchings j aro guilty of murder. It was thought, however, that the enactment of a spe cific statute agaiust lynching would have a salutary effect. Governor Cul berson took this view, and in a special message to tho legislature urged the passage of just such a law as has been enacted. Tho press of the State has very generally commended the action of the legislature, but it remains to lie seen if the new law will , have ar.y effect. In nearly every instance where a lynching occurs the community has been shocked by some hideous crime and is in sympathy with the mob, Under such circumstances it is impos sible to convict anybody connected with the lynching. The Texas law is an official condemnation of mob vio lence, hut it will not change tho nature of men or make thorn less easily driven to frenzy liy the perpetration of those crimes which are so frequently visited with vengeance at tho hands of a •uob." . ; TRIFLES. , j What will it matter In a little while } ; That torn day We mot an t gave a wor.l, a touch, n smile i j Upon the way? * ! What will it matter whether hearts wore brave And lives were true; ' That you gave me the sympathy I crave, , | As I gave you? t | These trifles! Can it he they make or mar A human life? } ; Are souls as lightly s-.vaye t as rushes are j By love or strife? ■ | Yet, yea! a look the fainting heart may break. Or make it whole; And just one word, ii said for love's sweet Slay save a soul. —May Riley Smith. : AUNT SHEBA'S BEAUTIFIER. H O By CLARA ODELL LYON. IILDRED doesn't | | IJ change a bit," said J \ Patty, carefully c , polishing oil' tho - glass bowl she was >v *Pi n £ 4 'only she pets prettier every £> \ iJ/ day. Really, Aunt xAy Sheba, she is ?ove ly, and I'm not the only one who J thinks so. I'm so glad she is," the girl went on, "for I love to look at pretty things, and it would positivelyjweigh 011 my spirits to live with anyone who was downright homely. Not that I have any beauty myself," she added, with a glance at the little mirror over tho mantle. "Who would ever think we are sisters? Here's an inventory of my charms: Item one, pug nose; item two, green gray eyes; item three, what papa calls my 'peaihes-and-cream' complexion; it wouldu't bo bad if it were not for the freckles, and I suppose that I shall have more than ever now that I'm out in the country." "Never mind the freckles, child; tliey's real beooiniu* when you've only got a few—kinder like so many beauty 2)ots." Putty laughed gaily. "I'm so glad you think so, but talk ing of beauty, what a delicious place this is!" It was Aunt Sheba's turn to laugh. "What, this kitchen? I like it because it's home, I guess, but I never thought there was anything very edifyin' about it." "Oh, I don't mean tho kitchen par ticularly, though it's nice and homey, but just look out," and Patty put down her dish-towel and stepped to the door to feast her eyes ou what lay before. The hillside with its orchard of bloom, the rough stone wall, the well in the foreground, all appealed to the girl's innate love of the beautiful. "It's a perfect •picture," she ex claimed; "Alillv must come here 011 her wedding trip, but it won't look the same in the fall, will it, Auntie?" "Not exactly; I always thought my self them peach blows was a sight worth Beeiu'," admitted Aunt Sheba, not without a certain satisfaction that her surroundings should lind favor in the eyes of her city-bred niece 011 this her first visit to the farm. Patty had come to the country for a stay of several months preparatory to settling down as homemaker in Mil dred's place when the latter should be married. "Be just as much of a littlo girl as you can," her father hal said in parting, and Patty was glad to lay aside her dignity,and forget the weight of her eighteen years. There was a I freshness and freedom about tho coun try life that charmed the girl—a lack of conventionality in those whom she met most refreshing to the town-bred maiden. Patty had been at the homestead but a short time when a change seemed t<> come over the house. The sun loooked into the best room every day instead of once a week; the chairs had a more in viting look drawn away from the wall 1 and arranged with less military pre cision, while apple blossoms bloomed ' indoors as well as out. Nor was the I girl's influence confined to one room. Iu the kitchen, Aunt Sheba found disii- : washing a pleasure with Patty's nim- ' ble lingers to help, and Patty's tongue | making a lively accompaniment to the | rattle of plates and cups, while Undo Eph took a new pride in his posses- j Bions since a certain littlo figure, j crowned with a large straw hat, often j accompanied him on his rounds about [ the farm, and never failed to be inter- | estod in wlmt she saw. Uncle Eph was a jolly, good-natured j man, with a genial warmth of manner ' that won him many friends; some one ! had 011 *e said that "when Eph Hawley i wa'u't mikin' jokes himself, you could j depend 011't he was laughing at some- | body else's." No one knew better than I bis wife, however, that underneath this ! fun-loving exterior laypi substratum of 1 deep and tender feeling, and when he called her 'mother' she knew that he felt particularly tender toward her. I She knew ho was thinking of the time, • years before, when their homo had been brightened for a few short ! months by the presence of a baby girl, who had never learned to speuk the word so dear to a mother's heart. It was Uncle Eph's delicate way of show iug his sympathy for his wife after i they had ceased to openly mourn their loss; it was his loss as well, but he felt . that hftr sorrow was the greater. Yes, Aunt Sheba was lonely at times, and Patty's coming liad infused a new brightness into all her life. How heartily she echoed her husband's wish that tlicy might keep her! but she knew it was impossible; all she could hope for was to so win the girl's affection as to make a yearly visit possible. Was Patty fond of her? She longed inexpressibly to be attractive in the girl's eyes. And one thing stood in the way. How could the girl love an old woman like her? For Patty loved beautiful thiugs, and she could never be beautiful. Those words of her niece so thoughtlessly spoken often recurred to her mind. "It would weigh on my spirits to live with anyone downright homely." Was she "downright homely?" In her self-depreciation Aunt Sheba felt that she was. She was old and wrinkled and gray, and then her skin! She had never thought much of it be fore, but how very dark and brown it looked beside Patty's fresh complex ion! But there was one thing she could do—fix up a little like Uncle Eph. Ho never came to the table now with his shirt sleeves rolled up, and only once since Putty had been a mem ber of the family—the day that Si Jennings got the best of iiim tradin' off the cow and got him sorter worked up—only that ouce had he forgot to put on his necktie. This resolve once taken, Aunt Sheba determined to lose no time, rud the next day found her turning over the contents of n box, bits of finery, treasures of her young day 3, in search of something that might make her more pleasing to her niece. She smiled as she turned over the bits of ribbon and lace, for each had a story connected with it. This pink bow, for instance, how well she remembered the first time she had worn it! Ephraim had told lior he would rather look at her thnu at any other girl he knew, so the bit of pink ribbon had been cherished as marking the begin ning of their little romauce. "No, I can't put that on," said Aunt Sheba to herself. "Pink is a color for young folks, sorter bright and rosy like them. Jiut there must bo some thing in here that'll do." The next minute she laid a trembling hand 011 a crushed red rose, the sight of which called up a flood of tender memories. "How the baby did act, that day! If the minister hadn't come all the way from Five Corners just to baptize her, we wouldn't 'a' had it done. She wouldn't stay with her pa, so I had to hold her all the time, and Ephraim stood there lookiu' so awkward, and feeliu' awkward, too, ho told me after wards, with nothin' in his hands—and nothiu' would pacify her but the rose in my bonnet, and she kep' a-playiu' with it and pullin' it, till just at the most solemn moment, when the minis ter laid his hand 011 her head and be gan 'Elizabeth, I baptize thee;' she jerked away from him and gave a great pull at the rose, and when I looked at her she had the whole thing in her hand; it was a wonder I had a bit of a bonnet left on my head. How every body laughed, and Ephraim told me I had roses in my cheeks if I didn't have them on my head." And Aunt Sheba smiled a3 she wiped her eyes which had grown dim at sight of the torn rose, so vividly calling to mind the baby Elizabeth, whose early death had left a void in her life, which noth ing had ever seemed to fill. "Just think, she'd been almost as big as Patty. Well, there's no use in repinin'. I won't look at these things any longer. I've got Ephraim, and I'll be thankful for him, and for Patty, too, while she's here. If she'd only come every summer, I'd 'most feel as if I had a daughter of my own. I be lieve I'll put Oil this Inco collar of mother's—sho used to look nice in it —and this pin that Ephraim gave me so long ago. There, that does look better. If 1 can only please Putty, I'll he satisfied." Aunt Sheba replaced her treasures, and went out to prepare supper and see what the effect of her experiment would be. She was more than satisfied with Patty's, "How nice you look, Auntie!" and Uncle Eph's look of approval as ha took his seat at the table. After that many litil3 improvements were noticeable iu Aunt Sheba's dress, while she and her looking-glass were on terms of greater intimacy than tliey had been for years, as the needed its assistance daily in the ad justment of the various collars and bows that now formed a part of her afternoon toilet. But the mirror reflected not only the pretty and becoming neckwear, but also held up to view all her defects, chief of which was the complexion that was a source of 110 little anxiety to Aunt Sheba. it seemed to grow more muddy each day, and if she herself noticed it so much, how very disagree able it must appear to Patty. It was with a resolve to try to remedy this that Aunt Sheba one hot day in early July found herself in the one drug store of Brownville, a little village about two miles from the farm where Aunt Sheba did her shopping. "Good -raornin', Mis' Hawley," said the clerk affably as she entered. "What cau Ido for you to-day? Somethin' for the skin? Yes'm, certainly; was down to the city last week and brought up some new goods. This is Cream (>' Roses; sounds as if it ought to be good, and make any 0110 tine comple ted, but they told me the best thing in the world for tail an' freckles is this hero Beautifier. Just the thing for your niece, though, *pon my word, shouldn't think she needed anything o' the sort, but thorn city girls can't stand c. freckle or two like country folks. And the young man rattled ou volubly, while Aunt Sheba stood in great distress at this allusion to her liieee, for her holiest soul revolted at anything like deception. Seeing her confusion, he hastened to her assistance. "S'poso these things ain't quite in I your line, Mis' Ilawley, but if I were ! you IM take the Beautifler; you don't have to use so much of it, only two or three times a week, and 'one applica tion will last for several days,' " con cluding with a quotation from the wrapper. "Well, I guess this'll do; if it don't su it—" "She can try the other. Any time she comes down I'll be happy to show her anything I've got," and he deftly wrapped up the Beautifler, at the same time wondering what was the matter with Mrs. Hawley that she should be so unlike herself. She waited to give no explanation, however, but slipping the precious package into the depths of her capa cious pocket, Aunt Sheba hurried homeward. It was nearly twelve o'clock when she reached home, almost time for the midday meal which Patty had undertaken to prepare for the first time herself. The girl was not in the house when her nunt arrived, so Mrs. Hawley proceeded at once to her bed room. "What better time could she have to surprise them? Could any thing be more opportune? Their posi tions were reversed. Patty was play ing cook; she would play the lady. With eager fingers she drew from her pocket the package, unfastened the wrapper, disclosing a small round box, very insignificant looking, but of so much importance to the woman who turned it round and round, and read the directions curiously. They were very simple—"Apply evenly with a soft cloth." "I'm glad it ain't hard to fix—any one could do that. Guess I can see well enough without opening the blinds and lettiu' the flies in." And soon she was absorbed in her work of covering the objectionable skin with the preparation which, as it dried, formed a coating of white on the dark features. "What a difference it does make, to lie sure!" thought Aunt Sheba, con templating the unfamiliar face. "I wish it didn't look sostrikin', though; makes me appear sorter ghastly, but I guess I ain't used to it. that's all—my skin is so drea Iful dark. Patty's used to fair-complected people; it won't look that way to her." With hands that trembled like ex citement, she changed the dusty dress for a fresh one, fastened her luce col lar and stepped back to look at her self. In the semi-darkness of the room she saw a little woman in black, with softly-waving gray hair, and a pair of dark, bright eyes in strange contrast to the white face. Aunt Sheba began to feel queer. She hoped the change in her appearance would not be so noticeable to the others as it was to herself, but she brightened as she thought that the change was cer tainly in her favor, and, with this comforting thonght in mind, she went boldly out to fiud her niece. "Why, Auntie, when did yon get back? I didn't hear you come in. I must have been out at the well. But how pale you are!" exclaimed the girl, looking at her aunt through a veil of steam rising from the dish of potatoes in her hand. "Don't you feel well? That long walk must have been too much for you. Undo Eph says it is such a hot day!" and Patty put down the potatoes and anxiously approached her nunt. Aunt Sheba's faint protest that she was well, was lost in Uncle Epli's hearty voice exclaiming; "What have you been doin' to your self, Sheba? You're the color o'f the fence Job's been whitewashing and I declare, I believe that's just what you've been a-doin'—whitewashing" for his keen eyes had caught sight of the dividing line between the face nnd the neck still brown, which Aunt She ba, in her ignorance of cosmetics, had not thought to cover. "Well, well, Patty, we are gettin* gay since you've been here. I thought I was fixiu' up considerable, puttin'on a necktie every day, but your aunt beats me," and Uncle Eph went off in to peal after peal of laughter in which the girl could not but join, until a sound from Aunt Sheba checked them both—a sob which she vainly tried to repress. Her husband's fun, though well meant, was too much for the over wrought nerves of the poor woman. All the love and longing, hope and fear of the past few months found vent in tears, while sobs shook her from head to foot. Uncle Eph was not a little surprised and alarmed at this display of emo tion. "What is the matter, mother? I didn't mean to hurt your feelin's; 'twas only my jokin'; you never minded it before." Aunt Sheba struggled to speak, but her words came brokenly. "No daughter—wanted Patty to care for ma—so ugly," Uncle Eph comprehended in a min ute. "Poor little mother!" he thought. "And me standiu' hero makin' fun of her. I feel as mean as can be. I guess I won't say anything more now, but wait a spell till things clears up a little." "There, don't take on so, Sheba," he said aloud, "I'm goin' out to the barn a bit," and he added face tiously, "There's one good thing about that there powder, you only have to use it once in a lifetime," but the words were accompanied by a gentle pat on the shoulder, which went farther to comfort his wife than anything he could have said. "What do yon mean, Aunt Sheba?" exclaimed Patty anxiously as soon as Uncle Eph's stout figure had disap peared. "I'm sure I never thought you were 'ugly,' but the dearest and best auntie in the world." Aunt Sheba tried to explain, and in a moment Patty's arms were round her neck and Patty's voice, full of re morse, was exclaiming; "To think that I should have given you so much trouble by my foolish talk!" and the girl's tenrs mingled with those of the woman, at thought of the pain she had so unconsciously given. There is no telling how Jr.r.g they would have sat thus, had not Aunt Sheba, just at this touching moment, suddenly raised to view a face Jthat was too much for Patty even in her contrite mood. Tears had washed away the powder in little streaks from the cheeks, Patty's kisses had taken off another spot from the forehead, and poor Aunt Sheba's face presented a mottled and spotted appearance that was very comical. "Oh, Aunt Sheba, do come and wash that stuff off; it makes yon look so funny," said Patty, laughing in spite of herself. "Well, child, I may's well, nnd I don't know but what it's done its work well after all, since it helped me to find out what I wanted to know all the time, that your old aunt wasn't so ugly, but what you could learn to like her." Patty's answer must have pleased her aunt wonderfully, for she bright ened up at once, and was soon at work with soap and water trying to remove all trace of the cosmetic that had had such a different effect from what she had expected. "There, child, I guess it's off now, ain't it?" said Aunt Sheba nfter a few minutes' vigorous rubbing; and she turned to her niece a face that could never appear, homely, for love, the great beautifler, glorified the plain features, and the brown skin was for gotten in the light that shone in the dark eyes, telling of a kind heart and beautiful soul within.—The House wife. A MESSACE ON AN ECC. It Regulteil In un Oklahoma Farmer's Marrying; u Chicago Girl. "On n farm in the Cherokee strip I sit a sail and lonely bachelor, thinking sadly over my fate and would love to ! come off the nest and join my life with ; that of some comely young lady of not i too many Hummers' growth. Should i the message on this egg meet the eye of some fair one who is matrimonially j inclined on short acquaintance, and who thinks she would enjoy a prairie ; life with a student of nature's beauty, address Ross Williams, Enid, Ok." Such was the love-lorn message written by Ross Williams 011 an egg which he shipped to market. Iu due time this reply came: "Dear Mr. Williams: From the quiet precincts of my boudoir I write thee. lam lonely, too, and have efften longed to quit city life and go West, where the tall wild grass sways in the wind as if listening to the songs of chinch bugs. I was about to break an egg into a pan when your message met my gaze. It seemed like a dream of a lost, unknown love. Perhaps our fates would trot along together. lam comely, but not so fair. Age, twenty three, 110 money, but plenty of grit. Let us exchange photographs. It may all end in another American union, long to be preserved. Methinks I know you now. Bessie Carroll, Chi cago 111." They were married a few weeks ago. GeneHlft of the Match Industry In America. The first manufactory of friction matches was located in the centre of the Connecticut Valley, in the historio community known as Chicopee Street. The principle of this invention had been thought out in Europe, but bright Yankee minds were quick to catch the idea from across the water, and the manufacture progressed as rapidly here as there. The credit for this invention is probably due to John Walker, a chemist, who lived in Eng land iu Stockton-on-Tees. He was experimenting with chlorate of potash, and found that it could be instantly ignited by friction, when coated on a stick with phosphorus and drawn through folded sandpaper. This dis covery was made in 1829, and the at tention of Michael Faraday being called to the new idea, it soon became popular, and the manufacture was started nearly simultaneously in Eu rope and America. The first factory for the making of friction matches on a large scale is stated to have been es tablished in Vienna in 1833, but the factory on Chicopee street was run ning nearly as early as this, if not be fore.—Sjuiugfteld (Mass.) Kepublican. Sect! Blown Out of the Ground. A terrific storm swept over the Ar kansas valley in southwestern Kansas the other day. The wind blew at the rate of forty miles an hour. The great valley, which averages ten miles wide, is in a bed of sand, and passengers who arrived on the trains from that section to-night say people were driven to their homes for protection against a cloud of dust and sand which no hu man being could face. Many farmers will have to replant their corn. The storm was so violent that corn planted two inches under ground was blown with the dust nnd sand for miles, while the irrigation ditches are full. Engineers could not see ten feet ahead of them, and win dows and ventilators in the cars were closed to protect ihe passengers from being smothered.---St. Louis Repub lic. A I'urHce Practice Stopped. Announcement of deaths among the Parsees, according to immemorial cus tom, are made in Parsee streets by Parsee criers, who are specially en gaged for the purpose, preference be ing given to those who have powerful lungs. The number of Parsee deaths being unusually large at present, and it being deemed unwise to make these frequent announcements, which might alarm the nervous, the practice has been discontinued for the present by order of the trustees of the Parsee Punchayet Charitable Fund. To Make l'aper Fireproof. To make fireproof paper nothing more is necessary, says Hardware, than to saturate it in a strong solu tion of alum water, and when thor oughly dry it will resist the action of flames. AGRICULTURAL TOPICS. ummer-Maile Manure. Manure made in summer wastes much faster than it does in winter. The warm weather hastens its decom position. But it is easy to prevent serious loss by keeping the excrement piled and so covered with earth that 110 ammonia can escape. Where cows are allowed to lie in the barnyard dur ing the night, muoli of their liquid ex crement is wasted. All such wastes detract from profit of dairying, when as milk and butter prices now are, the most must be made of every thing to keep the balance on the side of profit. Poisoning Moles. For years we tried in vain to check the ravages of those pesky little fel lows by the use of various vegetable products, such as corn soaked in pois on and dropped in their burrows, writes H. E. Tweed. We met little success and now it develops that the mole is not a vegetarian but feeds nearly altogether on iusects, such as grubs, earthworms, etc. This conclu sion was reached by the examination of the stomachs of a number of speci mens. Hereafter we will procure in sects of various kinds and after soak ing them in a solution of water and arsenic will drop them in roads where it is hoped that our molesliip will find his death. Feeding Cows. The Wisconsin Experiment Station is authority for the following: 1. That it seems clear that the quantity of milk given by a cow is quite easily inlluenced by the amount and kinds of food used in the ration. 2. That although there are a few notable exceptions, the weight of the evidence seems to warrant the state- j merit that the individuality of the cow \ is the main factor in determining the ! coinjiosition of the milk, while the food j has very little, or at least, a very un certain effect upon it. 3. That the effect of the food on the churnability of the cream is uuimpor- ' taut. 4. That certain foods impart to the I milk and its products peculiar flavors, although it is uncertain how far skill in feeding may avoid these flavors. 5. That the hardness and color of the butter are varied by certain changes iii the food. Value of Coal Ashes. Some years ago, says a writer in the National Stockman, I spread a number of loads of coal ashes thickly on part of a low, wet piece of land. In the | winter this land was plowed for corn, j the ashes turned under, with the re- I suit of a marked difference in yield where the ashes were. Next year the same field was put in corn, an addi tional lot being covered with coal ashes, and the same marked difference was noted on the two plots. After the ! second crop the bottom was sown to j wheat and grass, and while it cannot ■ he said that any difference was noticed in the yield of these, after the land had been in grass three years it was J again plowed and put in corn, and the I ash-treated places could be noticed in | the yield. Before the ashes were ap plied the soil was heavy aud soggy; hut the following summer, in tending the crop, a marked difference was noticed in its condition. There is no doubt that iu this latitude—southern Ohio—coal ashes are beneficial on wet or clayey lands. There may not be much fertilizing property in them, but j they are an excellent neutralizer and ' loosener of heavy soil.—New York In dependent. Lime for Chicken*. The following letter explains itself and also gives the cause of the unfor- { tunate results. Whenever lime is rec ommended for the use of chickens, ot i for scattering over the floor of the hen house to destroy lice, or over the ground in the yard, where young chickens range in the spring, to de stroy the gape worm, slacked lime is always meant to be used. Unslacked lime, in contact with any moisture, easily slacks, aud in the operation ■ greatly increases in hulk and produces a largo amount of heat. If in contact with a small amount of water, heat enough is quickly produced to bum any animal's llesh, and this is what happened to the hens which ate the unslacked lime and the increase in bulk choked them. It is a wonder that more were not killed. Unslacked lime often produces heat enough in slacking to ignite any easily combusti ble material with which it is in con tact. Care should, therefore, be taken in storing it in a dry place wbere it is not in contact with anything easily burnt. It will slowly slack when for a time exposed to the air. This is air-slacked lime, and is now cool and harmless. Chickens can dust ! with this and eat it without harm. 3IISB Mitchell's Electric Footprint. A severe thunder storm occurred re- j cently at Melbourne, Fla. The light ning struck the gable on the west side of James H. Baker's house. Mr. Baker's sister, Miss Mitchell, was pumping water on the porch. The stocking and shoe on her right foot were torn to pieces, and the imprint of her foot was stamped an eighth ol an inch deep into the hard pine plank. Dr. Brown pronounces Miss Mitchell out of danger, but it will be a long time before she will be able to be ; around again.—Florida Times-Union. Caught Mink anil Tront Both. A few days ago Mr. and Mrs. Cun ningham, of Kineo, Me., went in a canoe fishing on tho Moose Biver, where Mr. Cunningham hooked a big trout. After considerable effort he got the fish to the side of the boat and Mrs. Cunningham slid a net under it, and just as she did so a mink leaped from the shore after the trout aud landed in the net, in which the trout and mink became badly entangled, re quiring over an hour to separate them. NICHT. How colorless the sky and dreary. Which wore by day a smile 50 bright! Tho clouds, as if of tears aweary, Like beggars muto sweep through the night. : Their little heads tho (lowers hang sleeping; Not e'en one loaf moves on the tree; Only tho waves, to my feet creeping, Exchange soft kisses dreamily. Thy forest stands in deepest silence, The birds have long since ceased to sing; Butfatoly, from the ghostly distance, Tho breeze a bell's low note doth bring. Upon the moss in worship blissful ' 1 kneel; my tears like dewilrops fall. On. lioiy nights, calm, starless, peaceful. How fervently I love yo alii —Johanna Ambrosius. HUMOR OF THE DAY. "I can't buy the bicycle. It's too heavy." "Well, I'll throw in a lamp. That'll make it lighter. "—Standard. Miss Wantokno—"What did yon think of Niagara Falls?" Miss In tense —"O, they are simply too quaint for anything."—Truth. "There's one consolation about in somnia," remarked tlie sufferer. "W hat is that?" "While I lie awake I don't have nightmare. "—Judge. *i."One gets a certain finish abroad, I fancy." "Yes, one goes over there, j and they tell her she can't sing, and [ that s the end of her."—Detroit Jour j nal. i It has a tendency to weaken one's faith in human nature when one sees the apothecary shaking hands effusively with one's physician.—Boston Tran script. "Too bad about Wellington getting killed by a live wire." "Wasn't it, though? Hereditary, however. His father was killed by lightning."—Cin cinnati Enquirer. May—"l wouldn't break my heart over the best man in tho world." Cha peron—"Certainly not, dear. It is over the worst man that girls break their hearts."—Truth. She—"Are you sure you will like married life as well as you do the club?" He—"Oh, yes!" She—"And are you so awfully fond of your club?" He—"Not very."—London Tid-Bits. "What is the matter with the ludia rubber man? He is using dreadful language," said the fat lady. "It's raining hard, and he can't find his goloshes," said the skeleton dude. — Harper's Bazar. Bakon—"Do yon think the race is degenerating?" Sliikspur "Well, when I look Ixick to my young days ' Bakon—"Oh, f didn't mean anything personal! I referred to the race generally." "Why are all the hoys dodging?" "Because the teacher is about to throw the ruler at bad Tommy." "Then why doesn't Tommy dodge?" "Be cause the teacher is going to throw at. Tommy."—Truth. "Hello! old man, how are yon?" "Wretched! wretched! I've had anat tack of the grippe, aud it's left me so weak I can hardly crawl." "What do you want to crawl for? Why don't you walk?"— Puck. Lawyer—"l am afraid I cafi't do much for yon. They seem to have conclusive evidence that you committed the burglary." Client—"Can't you object to the evidence as immaterial and irrelevant?"— London Tid-Bits. Mrs. Henpeek—"Young Mrs. Bag ley, who was married 011 last Thurs day, tells me her husband left almost immediately for the West on. a busi ness trip." Henpeek (viciously)— "Yes, he writes 1110 that he finds mar ried life a very happy existence."— Philadelphia North American. Patient—"lsn't it a little dangerous to administer anesthetics? Must be terrible to have one die in your chair after you have given him ether." Den tist—"Yes; it was for that reason that we adopted a rule thht where an anes thetic is administered the patient must pay in advance."—Boston Transcript. A poor Irishman 011 his death-bed was consoled by a friend by the com monplace reflection that "We must all die once." "Why, dear, now," cried the sick man, "aud isn't that what vexes me? If I could die half a dozen times, I would not mind it for this waust."—London Household Words. A judge, when on circuit in the West lately, in delivering the charge to the Grand Jury, said: "Gentlemen, you have heard the evidence. The indictment says the prisoner was ar rested for stealing pigs. Tho offense seems to be getting a common one. Tlie time is coming when this must be put a stop to; otherwise, gentlemen, we shall none of us be safe."—Stand ard. Flowers and I'EITUMCB. There is a century plant at the White House whioh is known to be seventy years old. It has recently taken a fresh start in growing, and the White House gardener says it will bloom in August. The central stalk is now shooting up at the rate of five feet in six weeks. Perfumes exercise a peculiar influ ence over one's nervous system. A faint, subtle odor is nearly always enervating, while a pungent, rich per fume often lins a bracing effect. Civet induces drowsiness, a faint breath of musk invigorates, and the perfume of the aloe and the citron is positively soothing and comforting. The delicate, spicy odors of pinks, carnations, apple blossoms and sweetbriar are thought to be beneficial. —New Y'ork Tribune. How 0110 Bank is lJn. It is a pretty tough story for a paper to tell on its own town, but this does not seem to have occurred to the Digh tou Herald, which says that a man went into the local bank to get a check cashed and bad to wait until the bank er and a friend finished a game of checkers. Every silver dollar in the institution was being used as a clieck erman.—Kansas City (Mo.) Journal.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers