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•'Rnnceoioiii Organ i:
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Let me relate an experience of mine
which redounds to the credit of that
much despised instrument, the street
band organ. There may be other in
stances in whicD this instrument has
figured as the cause of much happi
ness, but I do not myself know, nor
can I believe, that it ever produced any
such amount of happiness on any oth
er occasion.
About- five years ago I was taking
my summer vacation at a resort not
far from Newport. The fact was we
were engaged, Margaret and I, and
we had reached that stage in the court
ship that we criticised each other
somewhat freely. On a certain even
ing on which a dance was to be given
at the Casino I brought to her a bunch
of flowers, the very best obtainable at
that time. It was quite difficult to get
flowers at this resort, it being some
distance froyi the city, and the diffi
culty was heightened by the great de
mand for flowers on an occasion such
as the dance in question. Probably,
too, I was guilty of forgetfulness In
not putting in my order for the flow
ers several days beforehand.
At all events, the flowers that I did
obtain were not so very pretty, and
Margaret's face indicated to me, when
I presented them to her, that she was
not at all satisfied. In fact, there was
a distinct sniffling air about her which
irritated me greatly. I remarked some
thing to the effect that some girls were
like republics, in that they were un
grateful. She said something to the
effect that some men seemed to think
more of billiards and tenuis and mint
juleps than they did of their future
wives. Our remarks grew quite point
ed and sharp, and during the lull which
followed some of them the air played
by the hotel orchestra distinctly im
pressed itself on my memory.
Although this nil* was one which was
supposed to be expressive of but tem
porary parting, it really meant for
Mnrgafet and me a long and weary ab
sence from each other. I was unable
to dissociate the painful feelings which
this air brought up to me whenever I
afterward heard it, for at this meeting,
which had opened with a gift of flow
ers on my part, we gave back to each
other the promises we had made. I
received back the ring I had given
Margaret, and the various letters that
had passed between us we solemnly
agreed to destroy. The presents were
to be returned or retained as each
thought fit.
However, there was one gold ring of
unique design which I had given Mar
garet some time before and which was
never to be riffurned to me under any
condition except in case she was in
need of assistance. At the time it was
given to her she had agreed to ever
keep it, even if we quarreled and part
ed. The next day I returned to my
occupation in the city and did not see
Margaret again.
About five years elapsed between the
happening of the event above chron
icled and those that are now to be
narrated. I was passing down tlie
street in a quaint New England vil
lage which in the winter time seemed
to be entirely dead like the country
round it and which was only awaken
ed into life by the warm breath of
siniug and the gayeties of the summer
crowds who visited it. One of those
street piano organs which had grown
to be so common in the cities, but were
looked upon as a novelty in the coun
try towns, was playing some familiar
airs, to which 1 was paying no partic
ular attention until I heard the air,
which turned out to be the funeral
dirge of my only love affair. I stopped
011 the walk some distance away anil
listened.
The air censed, and the closed shutter
of a house directly in front of which
was the organ was opened and a hand
which 1 still had time to see was that
of a woman threw a coin 01* two to the
player. The coin fell fiat near the play
er, but another object bounded off
some distance toward me. I stooped to
pick it up and found it was a ring
which had evidently come off la
dy's hand who had thrown the coin. A
second glance at the ring, to my in
tense surprise, showed me that it was
the ring 1 had given Margaret five
years before. There wore the initials
inside of it and the curious quaint
carving on the outside. Full of strange
thoughts, hopes, contending emotions,
I involuntarily turned to the house to
return the ring to the person to whom
it belonged. Just as I reached the door
of the house it was opened by Marga
ret, who had come to get her ring
again. A frightened look and a hasty
pressure of her hand to her heart show
ed me how much she was surprised
and affected. I said nothing, for in
deed the emotions of both showed
plainly more than any words I could
use. I passed into the house, closed
the door, put the ring on her finger and
then asked, "Did you mean to send it?"
A faint "Yes" was all I could hear. In
a moment I pressed her to my breast
and, hungry with avidity, sought to
satisfy the affection of a heart which
had been for so many years yearning
for a return. Later on we were mar
ried and are willing to admit that we
are happy as happy can be.—Exchange.
FiiHtenliiK the Thread.
The best way to fasten the thread at
the end of a sewing machine seam is to
turn hack on the seam just sewn and
stitch for half an Inch or more. Then
you can cut the thread and not stop to
tie. which takes a great deal of time
and Is absolutely necessary If you
would not have your thread ripping out
all the time.
IRONCLAD FEVER.
A Peculiar DINCHKC That Wni Killed
by Ventilation,
111 the fight between the Monitor and
Merrimac it was found that there was
not sufficient'air in the turreted steam
er for the crew and that the suffocating
gases generated by the explosion of
gunpowder found their way below and
rendered it practically impossible for
the men to work. Necessity therefore
compelled the introduction of some ap
paratus for artificial ventilation.
The old methods in vogue for hun
dreds of years had been retained even
under the new conditions and but for
the striking exhibition of direct inter
ference with fighting capacity would
have remained for many years longer.
In the Monitor was placed a rotary
blower, worked by steam. Air was
thus drawn from one half of the steam
er through a system of pipes and
forced into the other. Various changes
were made In later ironclads of this
period. In some the air was drawn
down the turrets and forced through
out the vessel, thus rendering them
more than ever liable to suffocate the
men below in battle, while in others the
supply was obtained through armored
cylinders and forced out through the
turrets.
It was In the early ironclads that a
peculiar disease developed which, be
ing confined to those vessels, was soon
designated ironclad fever. In this af
fection the initial symptoms were
much like those of typhus, but in a
short time severe occipital pain was
followed by complete aphonia and this
by coma aud death. The introduction
of ventilating appliances caused the
disappearance of this singular disease,
aud in time these metal boxes, almost
entirely submerged, came to be regard
ed as probably the most salubrious ves
sels alloat.—Cassier's Magazine.
SHOOTING IN SCOTLAND,
An Immense Sum Expended Annual
ly In TIIIH Form of Sport.
As to the sums spent on shooting
in Scotland, so large is the total that
it is a difficult matter to arrive even
at an approximate estimate. In Perth
shire alone there are 4GT> shootings, of
which about four-fifths are let to ten
ants and bring in about £150,000 a
year, or an average of £4OO a year,
which seems about a fair estimate if
it be borne in mind that this is an ex
pensive country and that 50 of its best
shootings bring £35,000, or an average
of £7OO a year. In the whole of Scot
land there are about 4,000 shootings,
and as each of them must at least em
ploy one keeper and one gillie during
the shooting season some estimate
may be formed of the money expended
in wages and the number of people
employed.
In the deer forests and on the larger
shootings there will often be from four
to six men permanently engaged and
from six to eight others working for
the shooting season only. In a ,well
known forest where I once spent many
pleasant days there were three for
esters, three gillies and three pony men
out each day. On the grouse ground
there were three keepers, with three
underkeepers, a kennel man and two
carriers going to and from tlie nearest
railway station, a total of 18 men and
five horses, not to mention the ponies
kept for riding into tlie forest aud
those kept to carry grouse panniers.
On this property throe rifies could stalk
each day, while three other parties of
two each could shoot grouse, or the
six could combine for driving.—Cham
bers' Journal.
Dead Loiter Curlon.
In postofflce transactions the lack of
ingenuity and even of ordinary com
mon Ben.se is astonishing. The curios
of the dead letter office include envel
opes legibly cross marked "Return if
not delivered" or "If not called for in
five days, return to sender" without a
word of further specifications. Others
bear names without topographical
data: "Hermann Kemper, painter and
decorator, successor to Ititchie Bros. &
Co." Workinginen, foreigners especial
ly, often seem to credit mall clerks
with the gift of geographical clairvoy
ance: "Jan Jansen, at the miners'
boarding house, or, perhaps, stops at
Mrs. Haumgnrten's place"—llo town to
hint about the state or county of the
mining camp. "Please deliver as sdon
as possible" some such letters are
marked and seem often to have been
plastered with an extra stamp in the
hope of inducing the carrier to give the
mutter his earliest attention.—Cincin
nati Enquirer.
Appeal* to Pear,
Tlie appeals to tear have well nigh
ceased, and yet there Is no fact which
we ore so compelled to see as tlie fact
of retribution. The law of retribution
works In our present life. Wo become
aware of It in our earliest Infancy, and
we never become developed In charac
ter until we have learned to fear that
which Is evil and to sliun the conse
quences of sin. There Is a sense of
righteousness in all men, and all men
know that unrighteousness brings pun
ishment. It Is fair to assume that
what Is a part of man's very structure
here will continue hereafter. We may
give up entirely the notion of a mate
rial hell, but we cannot give up the
doctrine of retribution. Suffering must
follow Bin, and therefore to appeal to
four Is not only legitimate, but it is In
accordance with the structure of man's
nature.—North American Review.
Why WlmvnK Ilejolred,
Mr. Wigwag—Did the new carpet ar
rive all right?
Mrs. Wigwag—Yes; it came tntaet.
Mr. Wigwag—Hooray! Hip! Hip!
That lets me out!
Mrs. Wigwag—What In the world are
you talking about?
Mr. Wigwag—Why, didn't you say It
came in tacked?— Philadelphia Record.
GEMS IN VERSE.
OLD FAVORITES.
To Voaiig Men.
Be firm! One constant clement in luck
Is genuine, solid, old Teutonic pluck.
See yon tall shaft. It felt tile earthquake's thrill.
Clung to its base and greets the sunrise still.
Stick to your aim. Tlie mongrel's hold will slip,
but only crowbars loose the bulldog's grip.
Small as he looks, the jaw that never yields
Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields.
Yet in opinions look "not always hack.
The wake is nothing—mind the coming track.
Leave what you've done for what you have to do.
Uon't be "consistent," but be simply true.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes.
The faith that life on earth is being shaped
To glorious ends, that order, justice, love,
Mean man's completeness, mean effect as sure
As roundness in the dewdrop— that great faith
la hut tlie rushing and expanding stream
Of thought, of feeling, fed by all the past.
Our finest hope is finest memory.
As they who love in age think youth is blest
Because it has a life to fill with love. ,
Full souls are double mirrors, making still
An endless vista of fair things before
Repeating things behind. So faith is strong
Only when we arc atrong, shrinks when we
shrink.
It comes when music stirs us, and the chords,
Moving on some grund climax, shake our souls
With influx new that makes new energies.
It comes in swelling of the heart and tears
That rise at noble and at gentle deeds—
At labors of the master artist's hand.
Which, trembling, touches to a finer end.
Trembling before an image seen within.
It cornea In moments of heroic love, f
Unjcnlous joy in joy not madu for us— V
In conscious triumph of the good within.
Making us worship goodness that rebukes. j
Even our failures arc a prophecy,
Even our yearnings and our bitter tears V t >
After that fair and true we cannot grasp.
As patriots who seem to die in vain
Make liberty more sacred by their pangs.
—George Eliot.
Unbelief.
There Is no unbelief.
Wnoever plants a seed beneath the sod
And waits to see it push away the clod,
lie trusts in God.
Whoever sa.vs, when clouds are In the sky,
"Be patient, heart; light brenketh by and by,"
Trusts the Most High.
Whoever sees 'ncath winter's field of snow
The silent harvest of the future grow
God's power must know.
Whoever lies down on his couch to sleep,
Content to lock each sense in slumber deep.
Knows God will keep.
Whoever says "tomorrow," "the unknown,"
"The future," trusts that Power alone
He dares disown.
The heart that looks on when the eyelids close
And dares to live when life has only woes
There is no unbelief,
And day by day and night unconsciously
The heait lives by tlint faith the lips deny—
Qod knowcth why.
—Bulwer.
Art.
Att is the child of Nature—yes,
Her darling child, in whom we trace
The features of the mother's face,
Her aspect and her attitude,
All her majestic loveliness
Chastened und softened and subdued
Into a more attractive grace,
And with a human sense imbued.
He is the greatest artist, then,
Whether a pencil or a pen,
Who follows Nature. Never man.
As artist or as artisan,
Pursuing his own fantasies.
Can touch the human heart, or please
Or satisfy our noble needs,
As he who sets his willing feet
In Nature's footprints, light and fleet,
And follows fearless where she leads.
—Longfellow.
The A nglcr'N Wlnh.
I in these flowery meads would be.
These crystal streams should solace mo.
To whose harmonious bubbling noise
1, with my angle, would rejoice,
Sit here and see the turtledove
Court his chaste mute to acts of love.
Or, on thnt honk, frcl the west wind
Ureal lie health and plenty, please my mind
To see sweet dewdrops kiss these (lowers
And then washed off by April showers.
Hear, hear my kenna sing a song,
There see a blackbird teed her young.
Or see a laverock build her nest.
Ilcre give my weary spirit rest
And raise my low pitcliod thoughts above
Earth, or what poor mortals love.
Thus, free from lawsuits and the noise
Of princes' court, 1 would rejoice.
Or, with my Bryan and a book,
Loiter long days near Shawford brook.
There sit by him and eat my meat.
There see the sun both rise and 6et,
There bid good morning to next day,
There meditate my time away,
And angle on and beg to have
A quiet passage to a welcome grave.
Absence,
The shortest absence brings to every thought
Of those we love a solemn tenderness.
It is akin to death. Now we confess.
Seeing tlie lonclinoßa th.ir loss ha, brought,
That they were dearer tar than we had taught
Ourselves to think. We see that nothing less
Than hope ot their return could cheer or hlcaa
Our weary days. We wonder how, for aught
Or all of fault tn them, we could heed
Or anger with their loving presence near,
Or wound them by the smallest word or dead.
Pear absent love of minel It did not need
Thy absence to tell me thou wert dear,
And yet the absence tnakclh It more clear.
—Helen Hunt Jackson.
He was the first always. Fortune
Shone bright in his face.
I fought for years; with no effort
He conquered the place.
We ran; my feet were all bleeding,
Hut be won the race.
Spite of his many successes,
Men loved him the same;
My one pale ray of good fortune
Met scoffing and blame.
When we erred they gave him pity,
Hut me—only shame.
My home was still in the shadow;
Ills lay in the sun.
I longed in vain; what he asked (or
It straightway was done.
Once 1 Btaked all my heart's treasure.
We played—and he won.
Yes, and Just now I have seen lilin,
Cold, smiling and blest,
Laid in his coflin. God help met
While he is at rest,
1 ain cursed still to live—even
Death loved him the best.
—Adelaide A. Procter.
Pnwnated Days.
The longer on this earth we live
And weigh the various qualities of men,
Bceing how most are fugitive
Or fitful gifts at best, of now and then.
Wind wavered corpse lights, daughters of the fen,
The more we feci the high, stern featured beauty
Of plain devotedness to duty,
Steadfast and still, nor paid with mortal praise,
But finding amplest recompense
For life's ungarlanded expense
In work done squarely and unwasted days.
—LowelL
THE NATURAL BRIDGE.
The fact that the Natural bridge
tract Is soon to be sold bus opened the
way for some writers to romauce about
It Is stated tbut It was a part of the
Inheritance of Thouins Jefferson, but
that is not our information. We have
always thought that Mr. Jefferson pat
ented the land—l. p., bought it from the
crown at about a shilling an acre.
Mr. Jefferson and George Washing
ton both were farseelng men anil good
Judges of land and "took up" numbers
of valuable tracts. Washington partic
ularly, owing to his personal knowl
edge of our western (Virginia) lands,
was fortunate In ills selections.
Mr. Jefferson acquired the bridge
tract in 1774. Of the bridge itself he
wrote that it was worth a trip across
the ocean to see, but for a long time Its
inaccessibility caused it to be seldom
visited, even by our own people. The
construction of the old James River
and Kanawha canal put it near a high
way of travel. Later railroad lines
came within a few miles of it, and now
thousands visit It annually.
Since Jefferson's time the bridge hns
had many owners. At one period it be
longed to tlie Harman family. Colonel
Ilenry Clay I'arsons bought it .about
1881 and formed a stock company to
"run" it. Ills residence there led up to
his dentil at the hands of Conductor
Goodman at Clifton Forge on June 21),
1894. To what extent he or his family
held stock In the bridge company at
that time we are not Informed, but the
amount held is supposed to have been
considerable.—Richmond Dispatch.
Kilts Too Mncli For the Canaries,
An officer of a highland regiment ar
rayed in a kilt created a sensation In
Las Pal mas recently and narrowly es
caped arrest for being improperly at
tired. lie had landed from the trans
port Lake Erie, and 011 the promenade
and in the hotels the unusual sight of
a "man petticoat" caused a flutter
among the Indies.
"Girls turned their heads away 011
seeing him pass," says El Telc
grafo of Las Pal mas, "and screamed
as if they had seen a poisonous reptile.
We noticed that certain ones amused
themselves with an insane curiosity as
to his Scotcli stockings."
After describing the liighlander as
wearing a garment which "from the
waist downward was a kind of loin
cloth that exposed half his thigh"
El Telegrafo censures the town coun
cil for allowing any one to appear in
such guise.—London Mail.
A Core Fop tlie Morphine Ifnhlt,
Great Interest has been aroused in
medical circles In Germany by the dis
covery by Dr. Otto Emmerich of Ba
den-Baden of a spccllic against mor
phia poisoning and that peculiar form
of disorder known in Germany as
"morpbinlsmus,"
The Increasing use of morphia
nmong a considerable section of society
has been lately exciting much atten
tion, and medical men have been una
ble to prescribe any efficient remedy.
It is claimed for Dr. Emmerich's dis
covery that it has proved infallible in
the numerous cases in which it lias
been applied. It is n distilled vegetable
oil of intense acidity, two or three
drops of whieli are taken internally
dally. After a cure, extending from
three to six weeks, patients acquire all
intense loathing for the use of the
morphia needle.—Berlin Dispatch in
London Chronicle.
Liquor In Rann!a.
Tlio Russian government Is experi
encing great dlliiculty in its efforts to
restrict the almost universal use of
liquor among the laboring classes. The
minister of linauce says the govern
ment Is anxious "to save the popula
tion from the baneful influence of the
innkeepers, who, in order to make
large profits, adulterated their spirits
with noxious and deleterious sub
stances which were proving ruinous
to the lower classes. The average
peasant was not content with remain
ing In a public house until he had
spent his last farthing, but often
pawned ills clothes, furniture and fu
ture crops. The public houses were
acknowledged to be the most powerful
agents of ruin and disorganization in
the economic life of the Russian people
and threatened the impoverishment of
the whole agricultural population."
Great Peach Year.
Four millions of baskets of peaches
from little Delaware and the eastern
shore of Maryland! That is now the
estimnte made, nut by the growers nor
the commission men, but by the prac
tical, unsentimental and truthful spe
cial agent of the Pennsylvania Rail
road company, which expects to han
dle a large part of the crop. All
through the peach growing district in
that happy part of the country the
report Is the same. Not only will tlio
peaches he plentiful, hut they will he
large and luscious. The yellows, so
long the bane of the grower, has al
most entirely disappeared, and the
Binall, knotty fruit, which In years
past helped to ruin the price of the
good peaches, will not be seen this
season.—Baltimore American,
Aeenrnte Tunneling.
In a description of the recently open
ed Central London railway The Ruilder
says the loudest separate length of tun
nel driven was from the Westbourne
shaft to the Marble Arch shaft, the dis
tance being over 1,200 yards, and the
work resulted in nn error of only (lve
elgbths of an Inch at the point where
a junction was effected with the tunnel
driven by another flrtn of contractors.
In two of tho sections bore boles wcro
put down into the tunnel for the pur
pose of testing the lines, hut generally
the lengths were driven through so ac
curately that no recourse to bore holes
was found necessary.
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:* 11 FARMER. •:
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The record of area of standing tim
ber in the United States compared
with a decade ago will form one of the
most valuable items in the federal cen
sus Just taken, says The American Ag
riculturist. The serious depletion, par
ticularly in the northern and eastern
states, lias been a matter of much con
cern for a number of years. Between
the requirements for building puiqioKes
and tlie paper mills we will be happily
disappointed if the census figures do
not show so great a loss us to bear out
the earlier predictions of a positive
famine period a generation hence.
Fortunately the subject of reforesta
tion and the intelligent care of our
wooded area is receiving more atten
tion than ever before and should do
something to permanently check the
disappearance of tlie forests. In tills
connection it Is interesting to tiote that
tlie well wooded south, with its infinite
variety of trees, is receiving the atten
tion of paper makers, who will proba
bly enlarge tlietr operations in that di
rection. Tlie soutli seems to be pecul
iarly rich In the forms of vegetation
suitable for tlie manufacture of cheap
paper not only in her forest reserves,
but in other fibers, sorghum, cornstalk,
wheat and rye straw, etc. There Is
certainly opportunity in tlie southern
states to establish tills large nnd prof
itable industry which in recent years
has received so much attention in up
per New England, New York, Wiscon
sin and other northern states. Not only
should there be growth in the home
trade, but also In exports of paper,
which last year amounted to $5,480,000.
Country Fajrn,
It will be but a short time until the
fair season will be upon us again, says
The National Stockman. These annual
exhibitions should be of great benefit
to the farmers and breeders, and in
most cases they are. It is too true,
however, that in many sections our
annual fairs are not what they should
bo. Managers have made the mistake
of catering to the tastes of the greatest
available attendants, and where the
city population outnumbers that of the
country the attractions have been of a
kind that was not edifying or educat
ing for those who live in rural dis
tricts. The original idea of country
fairs has been lost sight of by some as
sociations. The blame for thfs is not
so much to be placed upon those who
run the fairs in many places as it is up
on those who allow them to be run for
other than their legitimate purpose.
The way to make good exhibitions of
this kind is to put good men in as man
agers and then stand by them with
your support and encouragement. This
country owes much of its progress and
advancement to the country fairs, and
they should be maintained and im
proved upon from year to year.
Pasturing: Grnln,
Many farmers who grow grain fol
low the practice of pasturing their
gralnflehls. The bencUt to the cows
or swine or other stock is decidedly
great; but If the pasturing be done
under certain conditions it may seri
ously Injure the grain plants. For In
stance, If the soil in the gralnflcld bo
very soft, the stock will trample the
roots so deeply Into the ground that
they will not be able to grow, or In
soft ground the roots will not keep
their hold when subject to a pull and
will come up with the blades. This is
quite as fatal to wheat and rye plants
as is the trampling of them too deeply.
If early sowing and an open autumn
have brought a dense mat of rye or
wheat, it may be necessary to graze It
off. In that case the farmer can, when
the frost hardens the ground, turn in
his stock and guide them over the
lleld, and no roots will be pulled out or
trampled to death. In nuy case the
stock should not be allowed to roam at
will over the field nor to pass more
than once over any one part of It. Re
peated tramping by heavy cows will
certainly injure the young grain roots.
lrrl*cntiiHff Gardens und Lawns.
There are some people who are sup
plied with city water and, having hose,
think it a duty to keep the water run
ning all the time, or Just as much of It
us tlie water companies' rules allow,
notes The American Cultivator. They
never allow the soil to get dry or warm
If they can help It. Then they wonder
why plants and shrubs do not grow
better and havo more blossoms, and
they get up earlier or sit up lutor to
run a little more water on the lawn
and garden. They do not know that
warmth and occasional dryness are as
necessary to plant growth as moisture.
Only a water lily would stand such
continual soaklngs. It Is to be hoped
that those who have made arrange
ments for the systematic Irrigation of
their fields are wiser and know that
their fields do not want water running
through them all of the time.
Judging Canned Good*.
In buying canned goods see that the
ends of the cans are concave or sunk
en. If they are convex, It is proof that
fermentation has taken place in the
contents, and the stuff is not only unfit
for food, but dangerous. When a can
is opened, all the contents should be
removed, as rapid fermentation in con
tact with cheap tin generates a danger
ous poison.—Texas Farm and Ranch.
Vnlne of Birds.
A French scientist has stated that
without birds to eat insects and weed
seeds the earth would In n few y,. n ™
become unluhabltable for mm LVlmn
It Is considered that almost the entire
food of the majority sf "birds consists
of seeds n f soma anil Inserts o£
worms, the stutdncut Is uot hup
tie.
The
Tribune
Is
The Leading
Newspaper
In
Freeland!
At the subscrip
tion price of $1.50 per
year the Tribune costs
its readers less than
one cent a copy.
Think of that!
Less than one
cent a copy ! And for
that you get all the
local news, truthfully
reported and carefully
written up.
Besides all the
local news, the Tri-
bune gives the news
of the world in a con-
densed form.
Thus the busy
workman can keep in
formed as to what is
going on in the world
without buying any
other paper.
The Tribune is
essentially a newspa
per for the home cir-
cle. You can read it
yourself and then turn
it over to your chil
dren without fear of
putting anything ob
jectionable into their
hands.
Order It
from
The Carriers
from
The Office.