K " PrafipN f s ' ST " * > SSfsSl Sl 9S f sSSMISm * - '
I *
_ „ . - . . -
f ® r BY " R0 T LOUIS STEVENSON.
Hr . INTERNATIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION.
H | ( jnArXil.lt VJU. CONTINUED. ;
Hf "Have you been to Franchard , Jean-
HB ifclarie ? " inquired the Doctor. "I fancy
# 'oot. "
J
Be J , "Never , " replied the boy.
Hip "It Is ruin in a gorge , " continued
Ms Desprez , adopting bis expository voice ;
Hii * * the ruin of a hermitage and chapel.
Hfc < 7- History tells us much of Franchard ;
l | "bow the recluse was often slain by rob-
Hjt * bers ; how he lived on a most insula
Mf bers ; how he lived on a most insufil-
A -dent diet ; how he was expected to pass
Hy bis days in prayer. A letter is preserved -
V -served , , , ad dressed to one of these solitaries -
H -taries by the superior of hsorder ! , full
B | * of admirable hygienic advice ; bidding
B % "C11 to go from his book to praying ,
Br , and back aBa , in' for variety's sake ,
H
lu" * and -when he was weary of both to stroll
fj \ 'about his garden and observe the honey
Hy 'bees. It is to this day my own system.
"
HtiL ° u must often have remarked me
Miff -leaving the 'Pharmacopoeia * often
C 'even in the middle of a phrase to come
* i/ * "forth into the sun and air. I admire
B& 'the writer of that letter from my heart ;
1/ / ' ' * e "was a man of thought on the most
J important subjects. But , indeed , had I
If "lived in the Middle Ages. ( I am heartily
I Clad that I did not ) I should have been
mh * xn eremite myself if I had not been
. professed buffoon , that is. These
'A , "were the only philosophical lives yet
14 -open ; laughter or prayer ; sneers , we
M rznight say , and tears. "Until the sun
Tyl of the Positive arose , the wise man
| E % ad to make his choice between these
PS ; "two. "
Eg "I have been a buffoon , of course , "
; yjp -observed Jean-Marie.
iW "I cannot imagine you to have excelled -
# f -celled in your profession , " said the
* , X > octor , admiring the boy's gravity.
J | * * * Do you ever laugh ? "
gjt "Oh , yes , " replied the other. "I
; fif * 2augh often. I am very fond yf jokes. "
jnftf "Singular being ! " said Desprez. "But
W\ * divagate ( I perceive in a thousand-
ft -ways that I grow old ) . Franchard was
Wl 'at length destroyed in the English
f ( "sraxs , the same that leveled Gretz. But |
not smumg ; caras , dice , opera singing ,
orchestra , castles , beautiful parks and
gardens , big ships with a tower of
sailcloth , all lying unborn in a coffin
and the stupid trees growing overhead
in the sunlight , year after year. The
thought drives one frantic. "
"It is only money , " replied Jean-
Marie. "It would do harm. "
" 0 come ! " cried Desprez , "that is
philosophy ; it is all very fine , but not
to the point just now. And besides , it
is not 'only money , ' as you call it ; there
are works of art in the question ; the
vessels were carved. You speak like a
vessels were carved. Yu speak like a
child. You weary me exceedingly ,
quoting my words out of all logical
connection , like a parroquet. "
"And at any rate , we have nothing
to do with it , " returned the boy , sub
'
missively.
CHAPTER IX.
! HEY struck the
( MM
3F5 | Route Ronde at
/4HSl2 * at moment > and
/fflfjjSl | the sudden change
lflisJlirUiil } t0 the rattlin5
fff causeway , com-
fv ' bined with the
-t
" " Vfp fftp Doctor's irritaition ,
df mf h& . to keep kJm silent
Ji - ll The noddy Jtesed
V /V along ; the trees
went by , looking
on silently , as if they had something
on their minds. The Quadrilateral was
passed ; then came Franchard. They
put up the horse at the little solitary
inn , and went forth strolling. The
gorge was dyed deeply with heather ;
the rocks and birches standing lumi
nous in the sun. A great humming of
bees about the flowers disposed Jean-
Marie to sleep , and he sat down against
a clump of heather , while the Doctor
went briskly to and fro , with quick
turns , culling his simples.
The boy's head had fallen a little
forward , his eyes were closed , his An
gers had fallen lax about his knees ,
when a sudden cry called him to his
l WHOOPED LIKE AN INDIAN.
HSf i :
Wm here is the point the hermits ( for
II "there were already more than one ) had
"foreseen the danger and carefully cent -
t art * L -cealed the sacrificial vessels. These
* jt * -vessels were of monstrous value , Jean-
pi "Marie monstrous -value priceless , we
| L -may say ; exquisitely worked , of exquisite -
* * -quisite material. And now , mark me ,
f they have never been found. In the
\ Teign of Liouis Quatorze some fellows
p -were digging hard by the ruins. Sud-
Kj -denly tock ! the spade hit upon an
K -obstacle. Imagine the men looking one
9 \ to another ; imagine how. their hearts
bounded , how their color came and
l -went It was a coffer , and in Fran-
\ chard the place of buried treasure !
"They tore it open like famished beasts ,
[ Alas ! it was not the treasure ; only
1 " i -some priestly robes , which , at the touch
F \ -of the eating air , fell upon themselves
| \ and instantly wasted into dust. The
l > -perspiration of these good fellows
\ -turned cold upon them , Jean-Marie. 1
i will pledge my reputation , if there was
! ? k -any thing like a cutting wind , one or
| $ -other had a pneumonia for his trou-
* ble. "
R "I should like to have seen them
1/ burning into dust , " said Jean-Marie.
d "Otherwise , I should not have cared
r\ "
-so greatly.
• w "You have no imagination , " cried
\ * "the Doctor. "Picture yourself the
I -scene. Dwell on the idea a great
{ treasure lying in the earth for centu-
1 Ties ; the material for a giddy , copious ,
• opulent existence not employed ; dresses
and exquisite pictures unseen ; the
swiftest galloping horses not stirring
• a. hoof , arrested by a spell ; women
• vrttii the beautiful faculty of smile3 ,
feet It was a strange sound , thin and
brief ; it fell dead , and silence returned
as though it had never been interrupt
ed. He had not recognized the Doc
tor's voice ; but , as there was no one
else in all the valley , it was plainly
the Doctor who had given utterance to
the sound. He looked right and left ,
and there was Desprez standing in a
niche between two bowlders , and look
ing round on his adopted son with a
countenance as white as paper.
"A viper ! " cried Jean-Marie , run
ning toward him. "A viper ! You are
bitten ! "
The Doctor came down heavily out
of the cleft , and advanced in silence
to meet the boy. whom he took rough
ly by the shoulder.
"I have found it , " he said , with a
gasp.
"A plant ? " asked Jean-Marie.
Desprez had a fit of unnatural gayety ,
which the rocks took up and mimicked.
"A plant ! " he repeated scornfully ,
"Well yes a plant. And here , " he
added suddenly , showing his right
hand , which he had hitherto concealed
behind his back "here is one of the
bulbs. "
Jean-Marie saw a dirty platter , coat
ed with earth.
"That ? " said he. "It is a plate ! "
"It is a coach and horses , " cried the
Doctor. "Boy , " he continued , growing
warmer , "I plucked away a great pad
of moss from between these bowlders ,
and disclosed a crevice ; and when I
looked in , what do you suppose I saw ?
I saw a house in Paris with a court
and garden , I saw my wife shining
with diamonds , I saw myself a deputy ,
>
aJ&r . t .
" •
ift - "fc -i a- > < < > u
I saw you well , I I saw year future , "
he concluded , rather feebl"I have
just discovered America , " ho added.
"But what is it ? " asked- the boy.
"The Treasure of Franchard , " cried
the Doctor ; and , throwing his brown
straw hat upon the ground , he whooped
like an Indian and sprung upon Jean-
Marie , whom he suffocated with em
braces and bedewed with tear3. Then
he flung himself down among the
heather and once more laughed until
the valley rang.
But the boy had now an interest of
his own boy's interest. No sooner
was he released from the Doctor's acco
lade than he ran to the bowlders ,
sprung into the niche , and , thrusting
his hand into the crevice , drew forth
one after another , incrusted with the
earth of ages , the flagons , candlesticks ,
and patens of the hermitage of Fran
chard. A casket came last , tightly
shut and very heavy.
"Oh , what fun ! " he cried.
But when he looked back at the Doc-
tr , who had followed close behind and
was silently observing , the words died
fromhis lips. Desprez was once more
the color of ashes ; his Jips worked and
trembled ; a sort of bestial greed pos
sessed him.
"This is childish , " he said. "We lose
precious time. Back to the inn , har
ness the trap , and bring it to yon bank.
Run. for your life , and remember not
one whisper. I stay here to watch. "
Jean-Marie did as he was bid , though
not "without surprise. The noddy was
brought round to the spot indicated ;
and the two gradually transported the
treasure from its place of concealment
to the boot below the driving seat.
Once it was all stored the Doctor re
covered has gayety.
"Ipaymy grateful duties to the ge-
n4us of this dell , " he said. "Oh , for a
live coal , a heifer , and a jar of coun
try wine ! I am in the vein for sacrifice ,
for a superb libation. Well , and why
not ? We are at Franchard. English
pale ale is to be had not classical , in
deed , but excellent. Boy , we shall
drink ale. "
"But I thought it was so unwhole
some , " said Jean-Marie , "and very dear
besides. "
"Fiddle-de-dee ! " exclaimed the Doc
tor gayly. "The inn ! "
And he stepped into the noddy , toss
ing his head , with an elastic , youthful
air. The horse was turned , and in a
few seconds they drew up beside the
paling of the inn garden.
"Here , " said Desprez "here , near
the stable , so that we may keep an
eye upon things. "
They tied the horse , and entered the
garden , the Doctor singing , now in fan
tastic high notes , now producing deep
reverbrations from his chest. He took a
seat , rapped loudly on the table , as
sailed the waiter with witticisms ; and
when the bottle of Bass was at length
produced , far more charged with gas
than the most delirious champagne ,
he filled out a long glassful of froth
and pushed it over to Jean-Marie.
"Drink , " he said ; "drink deep. "
"I would rather not , " faltered the
boy , true to his training.
"What ? " thundered Desprez.
"I am afraid of it , " said Jean-Marie ;
"my stomach "
"Take it or leave it ! " interrupted
Desprez fiercely ; "but understand it
once for all there is nothing so con
temptible as precision. "
Here was anew lesson ! The boy sat
bemused , looking at the glass but not
lasting it , while the Doctor emptied
and refilled his own.
"Once in a way , " he said at last , by
way of a concession to the boy's more
rigorous attitude , "once in a way , and
at so critical a moment , this ale is a
tiectar for the gods. The habit , indeed ,
is debasing ; wine , the juice of the
grape , is the true drink of the French
man , as I have often had occasion to
point out ; and I do not know that 1
can blame you for refusing this out
landish stimulant. You can have some
wine and cakes. Is the bottle empty ?
Well , we will not be proud ; we will
have pity on 3our glass. "
( TO BE COSfTINDED. )
The Precious Volume.
The highest price ever paid for a sin
gle volume was tendered by a numbei
of wealthy Jewish merchants of Ven
ice to Pope Julius II for a very ancient
Hebrew Bible. It was then believed to
be an original copy of the Septuagint
version made from the Hebrew into
Greek in 277 Bi C , careful copies of the
Hebrew text having been prepared at
that date for the use of seventy trans
lators. The offer to Julius was 20,000
pounds , which , considering the differ
ence between the value of money then
and now , would in our day represent
the princely sum of $680,000. Julius
was at that time greatly pressed for
money to maintain the Holy League
which the pope had organized against
France , but in spite of this lack'of
funds he declined the offer.
Hot Milk as a Tonic.
If any one doubts the nourishing
properties of milk , let a test be made
of the following preparation of it.
When very weary or weak from ex
haustion heat some milk to a scalding
point , until a thin skin begins to
wrinkle upon the surface , and then
drink it as hot as possible. It refreshes
almost instantly and restores the ex
hausted vitality to a surprising extent
as soon as it is taken. It is more nu
tritious than any of the best beef teas
made from meat extracts , or that made
from fresh beef which is carefully
strained , as many of the recipes direcl
that it shall be.
metallic Finished Cambric.
Metallic-finished cambric , which has
all the gioss of a real satin , is a iww
lining for thin dresses. It comes in all
the pretty colors , costs only 35 cents
a yard , and is fully a yard wide.
TALMAGE'S SEEJTON.
"the first woman" last
Sunday's subject.
"Ami When tlio Woman Saw that
the Tree Was Good for Food and
Designed to Make Ono Wise , b'ho l'ar-
toolc or the I'rult Tliereor Gen. 3:0. "
| the first Sat-
( % = : > | 3 urday afternoon in
-/bvjs sj I the world's exis-
j5sqfi tence. Ever since
S fefj JH sunrise Adam has
§ p3i cSp5j been watching the
fMji& brilliant pageantry
$ n iV' &c ° f winss au < i scaies
y tf and clouds , and in
< S&E7N5v his first lessons in
zoology and ornithology
elegy and ichthyol
ogy he has noticed that the robins fly
the air in twos , and that the fish swim
the water in twos , and that the lions
walk the fields in twos , and in the
warm redolence of that Saturday after
noon he falls off into slumber ; and as
if by allegory to teach all ages that
the greatest of earthly blessings is
sound sleep , this paradisaical somno
lence ends with the discovery on the
part of Adam of a corresponding intel
ligence just landed on a new planet
Of the mother of all the living I speak
Eve , the first , the fairest , and the
best
I make me a garden. I inlay the
paths with mountain moss , and I bor
der them with pearls from Ceylon and
diamonds from Golconda. Here and
there are fountains tossing in the sun
light and ponds that ripple under the
paddling of the swans. I gather me
lilies from the Amazon , and orange
groves from the tropics , and tamarinds
from Goyaz. There are woodbine and
honeysuckle climbing over the wall ,
and starred spaniels sprawling them
selves on the grass. I invite amid these
trees the larks , and the broTCn thrushes
and the robins , and all the brightest
birds of heaven , and they stir the air
with infinite chirp and carol. And yet
the place is a desert filled with dark
ness and death as compared with the
residence of the woman of my text , the
subject of my story. Never since have
such skies looked down through such
leaves into such waters ! Never has
river wave had such curve and sheen
and bank as adorned the Pison , the
Havilah , the Gihon , and the Hiddekel ,
even the pebbles being bdellium and
onyx stone ! What fruits , with no
curculio to sting the rind ! What flow
ers , with no slug to gnaw the root !
What atmosphere , with no frost to chill
and with no heat to consume ! Bright
colors tangled in the grass. Perfume
in the air. Music in the sky. Great
scene of gladness and love and joy.
Right there under a bower of leaf
and vine and shrub occurred the first
marriage. Adam took the hand of this
immaculate daughter of God and pro
nounced the ceremony when he said :
"Bone of my bone , and flesh of my
flesh. " A forbidden tree stood in the
midst of that exquisite park. Eve
sauntering out one day alone looks up
at the tree and sees the beautiful fruit ,
and wonders if it is sweet , and won
ders if it is sour , and standing there ,
says : "I think I will just put my hand
upon the fruit ; it will do no damage to
the tree ; I will not take the fruit to
eat , but I will just take it down to
examine it" She examined the fruit.
She said : "I do not think there can
be any harm in my just breaking the
rind of it. " She put the fruit to her
teeth , she tasted , she allowed Adam
also to taste the fruit , the door of the
world opened , and the monster Sin en
tered. Let the heavens gather black
ness , and the winds sigh on the bosom
of the hills , and cavern , and desert , and
earth , and sky join in one leng , deep ,
hell-rending howl "The world is
lost ! "
Beasts that before were harmless
and full of play put forth claw , and
sting , and tooth , and tusk. Birds whet
their beak for prey. Clouds troop in
the sky. Sharp thorns shoot up through
the soft grass. Blastings on the leaves.
All the chords of that great harmony
are snapped. Upon the brightest home
this world ever saw our first parents
turned their back and led forth on a
path of sorrow the broken-hearted my
riads of a ruined race.
Do you not see , in the first place ,
the danger of a poorly regulated inquisitiveness -
quisitiveness ? She wanted to know
how the fruit tasted. She found out ,
but six thousand years have deplored
that unhealthful curiosity. Healthful
curiosity has done a great deal for let
ters , for art , for science , and for reli
gion. It has gone down into the
depths of the earth with the geologist
and seen the first chapter of Genesis
written in the book of nature illus
trated with engraving on rock , and it
stood with the antiquarian while he
blew the trumpet of resurrection over
buried Herculaneum and Pompeii , un
til from their sepulchre there came up
shaft and terrace and amphitheater.
Healthful curiosity has enlarged the
telescopic vision of the astronomer un
til worlds hidden in the distant heavens
have trooped forth and have joined the
choir praising the Lord. Planet
weighed against planet and wildest
comet lassooed with resplendent law.
Healthful curiosity has gone down and
found the tracks of the eternal God in
the polypi and the starfish under the
sea and the majesty of the great Je
hovah encamped under the gorgeous
curtains of the dahlia. It has studied
the spots on the sun , and the larva in
a beach leaf , and the light under a fire
fly's wing , and the terrible eye-glance
of a condor pitching from Chimborazo.
It has studied the myriads of animal-
culae that make up the phosphores
cence in a ship's wake , and the mighty
maze of suns , and spheres , and con
stellations , and galaxies that blaze on
In the march of God. Healthful cu-
rlosity has stood by the inventor un
til forces that were hidden for ages
came to wheels , and levers , and shafts
and shuttles forces that fly the air , or
swim the sea , or cleave the mountain ,
until the earth jars , and roars , and
rings , and crackles , and booms with
strange mechanism , and ships with
nostrils of hot steam and yoke3 of fire ,
draw the continents together.
I say nothing against Healthful cu
riosity. May it have other Leydcn
jars , and other electric batteries , and
other voltaic piles , and other magnify-
ing-glasses , with which to storm the
barred castles of the natural world un
til it shall surrender its last secret.
We thank God for the geological cu
riosity of Professor Hitchcock , and the
mechanical curiosity of Liebig , and the
zoological curiosity of Cuvler , and the
inventive curiosity of Edison ; but we
must admit that unhealthful and irreg
ular inquisitiveness has rushed thou
sands and tens of thousands into ruin.
Eve just tasted the fruit. She was
curious to find out how it tasted , and
that ciiriosity blasted her and blasted
all nations. So there are clergymen in
this day inspired by unhealthful In
quisitiveness who have tried to look
through the keyhole of God's myste
ries mysteries that were barred and
bolted from all human inspection , and
they have wrenched their whole moral
nature out of joint by trying to pluck
fruit from branches beyond their reach
or have come out on limbs of the tree
from which they have tumbled into
ruin without remedy. A thudsand trees
of religious knowledge from which we
may eat and get advantage ; but from
certain trees of mystery how many
have plucked their ruin ! Election ,
free agency , trinity , resurrection in
the discussion of these subjects hun
dreds and thousands of people ruin the
soul. There are men who actually
have been kept out of the kingdom of
heaven because they could not under
stand who Melehisedec was not !
Oh , how many have been destroyed
by an unhealthful inquisitiveness ! It
is seen in all directions. There are
those who stand with the eye-stare and
mouth-gape of curiosity. They are the
first to hear a falsehood , build it an
other story high and two wings to it.
About other people's apparel , about
other people's business , about other
people's financial condition , about oth
er people's affairs , they are over
anxious. Every nice piece of gossip
stops at their door , and they fatten and
luxuriate in the endless round of the
great world of tittle-tattle. They in
vite and sumptuously entertain at their
house Colonel Twaddle and Esquire
Chitchat and Governor Smalltalk.
Whoever hath an innuendo , whoever
hath a scandal , whoever hath a valua
ble secret , let him come and sacrifice
it to this Goddess of Splutter. Thou
sands of Adams and Eves do nothing
but eat fruit that does not belong to
them. Men quite well known as math
ematicians failing in this computation
of moral algebra : good sense plus good
breeding , minus curiosity , equals mind
ing your own affairs !
* v -
Observe also in this subject how re
pelling sin is when appended to great
attractiveness. Since Eve's death there
has been no such perfection of woman
hood. You could not suggest an at
tractiveness to the body or suggest any
refinement to the manner. You could
add no gracefulness to the gait , no lus
tre to the eye , no sweetness to the
voice. A perfect God made her a per
fect woman , to be the companion of a
man in a perfect home , and her entire
nature vibrated in accord with the
beauty and song of Paradise. But she
rebelled against God's government ,
and with the same hand with which
she plucked the fruit she launched up
on the world the crimes , the wars , the
tumults that have set the universe a-
wailing.
A terrible offset to all her attractive
ness. We are not surprised when we
find men and women naturally vulgar
going into transgression. We expect
that people who live in the ditch shall
liave the manners of the ditch ; but
how shocking when we find * sin ap
pended to superior education and to the
refinements of social life ! The accom
plishments of Mary Queen of Scots
make her patronage of Darnley , the
profligate , the more appalling. The
genius of Catharine II. of Russia only
sets forth in more powerful contrast
her unappeasable ambition. The trans
lations from the Greek and che Latin
by Elizabeth , and her wonderful quali
fications for a queen , make the more
disgusting her capriciousness of af
fection and her hotness of temper.
The greatness of Byron's mind makes
the more alarming the Byron's sensual
ity.
ity.Let
Let no one think that reQnement of
manner or exquisiteness of taste or
superiority of education can in any
wise apologize for ill-temper , for an
oppressive spirit , for unkindness , for
any kind of sin. Disobedience God-
ward and transgression manward can
give no excuse. Accomplishment
heaven-high is no apology for vice hell-
deep.
deep.My
My subject also impresses me with
the regal influence of woman. When 1
see Eve with this powerful influence
over Adam and over the generations
that have followed , it suggests to me
the great power all women have for
good or for evil. I have no sympathy ,
nor have you , with the hollow flatter
ies showered upon woman from the
platform and the stage. They mean
nothing ; they are accepted as nothing.
Woman's nobility consists in the ex
ercise of a Christian influence ; and
when I see this powerful influence of
Eve upon her husband and upon the
whole human race , I make up my mind
that the frail arm of woman can strike
a blow which will resound through all
eternity down among the dungeons or
up among the thrones.
Of course , I am not speaking or representative - ;
resentative women of Eve , who ruined '
the race by one fruit-plcklnc ; of Jaol , m >
who drove a spike through the head fli
of Sisera the warrior ; of Esther , who |
overcame royalty ; of Abigail , who a ?
stopped a host by her own beautiful IE
prowess ; of Mary , who nursed the * §
world's savior ; of Grandmother Lois. | gj
immortalized In her grandson Tlmo- fl
thy ; of Charlotte Ccrday , who drove 'M
the dagger through the heart of the .4
assassin of her lover ; or of Marie An- I
toinettc , who by ono look from the bal
cony of her castle quieted a mob , her 1
own scaffold the throne of forgiveness
and womanly courage. I speak not of
these extraordinary persons , but of |
those who , unambitious for political I
power , as wives and mothers and sisters - | '
s
ters and daughters , attend to the thou-
*
sand sweet offices of home.
When at last we come to calculate * '
the forces that decided the destiny of ±
nations , it will be found that the mightiest - * j
iest and grandest lnfluenco came from 4 *
home , where the wife cheered up despondency - * ] |
*
spondency and fatigue and sorrow by jl
her own sympathy , and the mother ? | l
trained her child for heaven , starting - . 'm
the little feet on the path to the Ce- jrl
lestial City ; and the sisters by their # 1
gentleness refined the manners of the * , I
brother ; and the daughters were diligent - >
gent in their kindness to the aged. 'I
throwing wreaths of blessings on the I
road that leads father and re other I
down the steep of years. God bless I
our homes ! And may the home oa
earth be the vestibule of our home in I
heaven , in which place may we all
meet father , mother , son , daughter ,
brother , sister , grandfather and grandmother -
mother and grandchild , and the entire ;
group of precious ones , of whom wo ,1
must say in the words of transporting I
Charles Wesley : ; l
One family we dwell in him , I
One church above , beneath ;
Though now divided by the stream I
The narrow stream of death ; I
One army of the living God , ifl
To his command we bow ; U
Part of the host have crossed the flood ,
And part are crossing now.
LORD NELSON'S KINDNESS.
A Clmriulnc ; Anecdote Showing IIIn He- H
markuhle Human l- > IIi > ivHhlj > . H
Capt Mahan , in his "Life of Nelson. " H
just published , claims the following a3 H
an original story showing the inherent H
kindness of the great sailor. The Fleet H
letters had just been sent off , when , M
Nelson saw a midshipman come up and |
speak to Lieut. Pasco , the signal ofli- M
cer , who , upon hearing what was said , H
stamped his foot in evident vexation M
and uttered an exclaitfation. The admiral - M
miral , of whose nearness Pasco wa3 M
unaware , called him and asked what M
was the matter. H
"Nothing that need trouble your H
lordship , " was the reply. M
"You are not the man to lose your M
temper for nothing , " rejoined Nelson. H
"What was it ? " H
" "Well , if you must know , my lord , I M
will tell you. You see that coxswain ? " fl
pointing to one of the most exacting M
of the petty officers. "We have not a M
better man on board the Victoria , and M
the message which put me out was this. H
I was told that he was so busy receiving - H
ing and getting off the mailbags that |
he forgot to drop his own letter into |
one of them , and he has just discpv- |
ered it in his pocket ! " H
"Hoist the signal to bring her back , " H
was Nelson's instant command. "Who H
knows that he may not fall in action M
tomorrow ? His letter shall go with H
the rest" And the dispatch vessel wa3 M
brought back for that alone. M
The Strangest Dinner. H
Perhaps the most remarkable dinner M
on record was that given by an antiquary - H
quary named Goebel , in the city of |
Brussels. At the dinner were apple3 f M
that ripened more than 1,800 years ago , M
bread made from wheat grown before H
the children of Israel passed through M
the Red Sea , and spread with butter M
that was made when Elizabeth was M
Queen of England. The repast was |
washed down with wine that was old H
when Columbus was playing with ths M
boys of Genoa. The apples were from M
an earthen jar taken , from the ruins M
of Pompeii. The wheat was taken M
from a chamber in one of the pyramids , H
the butter from a stone shelf in an | |
old well in Scotland , where for several - M
al centuries it had lain in an earthen M
crock in icy water , and the wine was M
recovered from an old vault in the city M
of Corinth. There were six guests at |
the table , and each had a mouthful of |
the bread and a teaspoonful of the M
wine , and was permitted to help himself - M
self bountifully to the butter , there being - |
ing several pounds of it. The apple jar |
held about two-thirds of a gallon. The |
fruit was sweet and as finely flavored M
as if it had been preserved but a few |
months. H
In Street Simplicity. H
Truth in sweet simphcity expresses |
the thoughts that bind and the words |
that burn conviction in human understanding - |
standing , and steadily , with unfailing |
eye , detects and discloses to the brave |
spirit that stands by what it believes. |
One has said that "truth , like light. | H
travels in straight lines" that it is a |
divine essence. Philadelphia Methodist - M
dist M
Taken from Life. H
Manager I wish to congratulate you. M
You have managed to draw a picture of M
absolutely consummate repulsivenes3 M
for your villain. Author Thanks , awfully - |
'
fully ; but the compliment is due to my . |
better half. It is a description of me |
by my wife when I refused to buy her |
a new bonnet Tit-Bits. H
3IetaphoricaIly Speaking. i H
Skillet So j'ou traded your old horaa |
Cor this one , did you ? What did you H
get to boot ? Skittle MyselL New. M
Fork Tribune. H
