GENTLE WOBUS.
Why not let our words be gentle ?
Harsh words rudely Jar
On the feelings of another , .
And to kindly greet each other - . *
Would be bettor far. \ j _
In the plainest words of converse
Music sweet is heard ;
If in tenderness they're spoken ;
But the melody is broken
By an angry word.
It would show a strength of spirit
' To let no hard word
Fall petulently from ourtongue ,
And strike the notes to music strung ,
Making rude discord.
Wo would find it just as easy , ,
In kind tones to speak ;
Hasty , cruel words are grievous ,
And too sadly , truly prove us
Pitifully weak.
Oft a little word , soft spoken,1
Palling on the ear ,
Throws a passing ray of gladness
O'er the heart darkened with sadness ,
And dispels the tear.
Gentle words they cost so little ,
And such power hold
To impart to others pleasure ,
"Why not greater make their measure
Many thousand fold ?
It will make our own hearts richer ,
If we will but give
.Lavishly to our fellow-man ,
Gentle words when'er we can ,
While on earth we live.
We are lowly , sinful creatures ,
Sadly prone to err ;
Yet , If we've blindly gone astray ,
And can make amends to-day ,
Let us not defer.
If one kindred heart we've wounded ,
By a word unkind ,
Oh , let us now forgiveness ask ,
And make it our most willing task
The sad wound to bind.
There may be less * sweet than bitter
In the.cup of life ;
There may bo more thorns than flowers ,
Tot , If unbroken love be ours ,
We can bear the strife.
[ Detroit Free Press.
i i i
A RAY OP
'Quiet , Bess ! steady , Fan ! " .
Jack Trevor gathered the reins more
tightly in his grasp , " and touched the
horses with the long circling lash of his
whip.
"Five minutes more will accomplish
the distance if we can maintain this
present rate of speed , " he remarked to
Ms companion who had taken out his
watch and was anxiously consulting its
crystal face.
"And will the place afford shelter
or our party ? "
"Shelter ? " Jack gave a low whistle ,
4'Why you could quarter an army in
* he old barracks and have room to
pare. "
"Five minutes seems but a short pe
riod , " said Laura Decker , glancing
ruefully at her crisp muslin gown with
its dainty garnishing of creamy lace
and blue ribbons ; "but the floods will
be upon us in earnest before the exnira-
tion of that time. "
"Farewell , my love , " murmured her
cousin Kettie , pathetically , furling her
sunshade under whose run of soft pink
silk her bright eyes were wont to peer"
out beseechingly. "You cost me a
pretty sum at Schaeffer's , but the ele
ments will have mercy'upon you , my
beauty. "
"And my mauve sateen , " wailed
stately Miss. Johnson , surveying the
said , miraculously fashioned garment
with actual tears , that she did not dare
let fall on her delicately tinted cheeks ,
for cogent reasons that she fondly im
agined was known only to herself.
-"Are you afraid , Miss Beckwith ? "
Xawyer Hunter leaned over and was
looking into the-girl's face , thinkng
what a strong one it was , with its de
cided mouth and darkly- fringed grey
eyes.
"Afraid ? No. Why should I be ? "
She spoke a little impatiently and let
her gaze wander back to the great
masses of black clouds that lay piled
above the horizon-like ebon mountains ,
the lurid lightning flashing fitfully
above their ragged peaks.
A sudden peal of thunder startled.the
horses into a mad gallop , and brought
an hysterical scream to the lips of Miss
Johnson.
"Oh ? " cried little Kettie Trevor , un
der her breath , her face growing very
stiil and white , and her sunshade slip
ping unheeded to the yellow straw that
had carpeted the bottom of the roomy
-old vehicle. '
"Don't shiver so , child. "
It was Margaret Beckwith who spoke" ,
and she turned to the little limp figure ,
she quickly divested herself of her long
wrap , and hid crisp muslin , dainty ribbons
bens , and all in its voluminous gray
folds.
"But you will take cold yourself , "
remonstrated Lawyer Hunter.
"I am not a tender plant , " she re.-
sponded , laughingly , touching with one
sum hand the dart blue of her cloth
dress. "I do not attend picnics clad in
o-ossamer attire when "
"Eureka ! at last ! "
It was Jack Trevor's big hearty voice
that rang out , and a moment after he
drew up the foaming horses with a tri
umphant flourish of whip and reins.
"Now , ladies ! "
Ned Johnson seized Rettie Trevor in
his arms , and sprung up the crumbling
steps of the porch. His stately sister
ascended with more haste than grace ,
and just as Lawyer Hunter handedMiss
Beckwith up and followed himself laden
with books and shawls , the patter of
great drops sounded on the roof , and in
a moment the outside world was a mist
of driving rain and .rushing wind , .be
fore which the preat tree's bent like sap-
plingsj and the flowers laid their broket
heads on the drenched earth , and looked
up with pitiful tear-wet faces to the an
gry sky that an hour before had been
Blue and smiling as an infant's eyes.
"Open , ye inhospitable doors , "
spouted the irrepressible Jack , striking
the panels with such force that the
crazy latch gave way and the entire
party surged into the wide , musty hall ,
from which opened a large , dark par
lor , sparsely furnished with dingy cur
tains and a few moth-eaten couches
and chairs.
"Ugh ! it's damp and musty , " cried
little Rettie Trevortip-tilting her dain
ty nose in disgust.
"And haunted , too , " concluded her
brother Jack , looking at her with sol
emn eyes.
"Haunted ! " Rettie would have
screamed , but her particular cavalier
was examining the dismal prospect from
of the ' windows
one many diamonu-pane'd
dews , and she wisely concluded that it
would be a waste of breath.
Tell us the story , Jack. "
A dozen voices chimed in the re
quest , and nothing loth , Jack seated
himself on the edge ofa faded chintz
sofa , and began in a deep , sepulchural
tone , that accorded well with the
shadows and general mustiness of the
place :
"You may not credit the facts , my
friends , but considerably less than hail
a century ago these rooms , now so' si
lent and deserted , were filled with a
gay company , and jest and dance made
the hours fly merrily enough. The
owner of the old mansion had brought
to its roof a bride , a bonny young
thing , according to tradition , and a
year after -an heir appeared to com
plete their felicity. Au went merry as
a marriage bell till the poor young
mother discovered that her liege lord
was given over to an insatiable love for
strong stimulants. Unfortunately , the
shock broke her heart , and one fine
day she died. "
"And what became of the otkers ? "
"That is as far as my information ,
derived piecemeal from the aged father
of our landlord , extends , " concluded
Jack. "I only know that the father
finished his days in disgrace , and died
alone and solitary in this old house ,
which is haunted , the superstitious
neighbors aver , by his restless ghost. "
Ned Johnso i had managed to entice
the fickle Rettie to a seat in the window
that overlooked the tangled , neglected
garden. The others were conversing
ia'pairs , and Mark Hunter stood alone
and unheeded in the doorway , a heavy
shadow on his face. Meg Beckwith" ,
looking up from the book whose con
tents she was carelessly scanning , saw
the shadows , and a sudden look of piti
ful intelligence crossed her own.
"Mr. Hunter Mark , " she whisper
ed , crossing the room unnoticed , and
laying one nand on his arm , "I see it
all now. Oh , why did you come
here ? "
"How could I foresee this visit ? " he
responded , his low tone penetrating no
farther than her attentive ear. "Re
member that when , we left our pretty
picnic ground in Herman's Glade we
Bxpected to return immediately to the
hotel , and not to this abode of dismal
memories , whither the storm has driven
us. "
' Ladies , " said Mark suddenly , in his
usual everyday voice , "there must be
some quaint old chambers above , to
svhich yon long dusky staircase leads.
Who feels in a mood for exploration ? " .
"Not" ! , " answered Rettie , happy in
the company of her cavalier.
"Nor I , " repeated Miss Johnson ,
bhinking of dust , spiders , and her
mauve sateen , all in one.
The others were engrossed in Jack
rrevor's nonsense , and Meg , gather
ing her blue skirts'closely about her ,
swept them a half-mocking , half-dis
dainful courtesy from the doorway.
"I am going to lay the ghost , " she
announced , and a moment after stood
jreathless on the broad landing above ,
ler arm closely clasped around Mark's
is she looked beyond , half affrighted'
at the gloom and dreary silence of the
jlace.
Hastening her footsteps a little , he
ed her into a large low-ceiled room ,
jarely furnished , like the parlor * below ,
and opening a wooden shutter , let in
.he cold grey of the afternoon's waning
igbt. Meg's face was in the shadow ,
jut the few rays that straggled through
; he dusty panes fell full upon his coun
tenance , and a faint flush colored her
cheeks as slie noted the eager expres
sion that rested on it.
Without speaking he drew a letter
from his pocket , and held it toward
aer. She glanced at the address , ejac
ulated the one word , "Phillip , " and
without opening it put the missive aside
with a firm hand.
"Nay , " he said , and his strong lip
quivered under its covering of dark
hair. "Now that you know all , be
merciful.
"Here in this house which his father
darkened with the dreary shadow of sin
and under which shadow he passed a
portion of his miserable childhood , let
tne plead for him.
"Was it so much his fault that he
gave way tothe miserable vice inherit-
3d from his wretched parent ? Remem
ber , he , had no mother to guard his
young footsteps and turn him from sin.
"Once he shocked your pure woman
hood , but God knows he repented the
deed in sackcloth , and as far as lies hi
ihe strength of weak man he has striven
to overcome his depraved habit. He is
a changed lad. Your influence , he
avers , co.uld wean him still farther from
destruction , and you love each other. "
i
It was well that he did not see the
blaze of indignation in Meg's eyes , or
he would never have finished his vehe
ment speech. { d
"Mark Hunter,1' she answered , calm
ly and coldly , for she would have diet
sooner than betray the tremor tha
shook her frame , "you cannot deceive
me. Have I not seen do I not know
how yon stood by your cousin , day
after day , warning , advising , counsel
ing , never impatient , very weary , till
you won him back to virtue ? Ho does
not live in his own strength , he exists in
yours. As far as thq world goes , you
nave achieved a noble action. If you
did for my sake I cannot thank you. '
Mark drew his hands across his brow
"Your words sound strangely , " he
said , with a dreary pathos in his voice
"I did not expect thanks , but" with a
second quiver of the moustache lip , that
manlike he strove desperately to hide
but "
Al the sight all the passion in Meg's
strong nature was aroused.
"Because a woman was kind to
weak lad , who unstable nature ap
pealed so irresistably to her strong one ,
was it necessary that the purest emo
tions of her heart must go out to him
also ? Why should he have all wealth ,
position , friends , and mercy ? "
Mark's rugged features grew sudden
ly stern.
"Stop ! " he commanded. "Tell me
one thing. Do you love Philip ? "
Meg gave a little gasp at the abrupt
ness of the question ; then her lips took
on the old decided'curve.
"I could love no one who proved
himself less than a man , " she respond
ed , and there was-honesty , at least , in
her voice.
"Margaret , " Mark Hunter leaned
forward in the gray light with a halJ
awed look on his face "my chilhood
was a hard , unlovely one , for I was not
born to wealth , as was my cousin Phil
ip. I have educated myself by my own
efforts , and have won a position in the
world ; but the battle I'waged has left
many a scar on heart and brain. An
swer me one question honestly , even if
the answer add to the burden my life
has already sustained. Could you
would you "
Shy Mark , he was stammering and
stuttering like a guilty schoolboy ; but
Meg , with a smile that sparkled in the
very depth of her eyes-put-her slim
hand hi his , and repeated simply :
"I both could and would. " |
A sudden ray of sunlight shone out
over the drenched earth , and in a trice
dripping boughs and rain-laden trasses
were sparkling diamond-like in its glo
rious radiance. "Mr. Hunter ! Meg ! "
It was Rettie who called from the
regions below , and the truants came
down the dusky old staircase much
more slowly than they had ascended.
A second raj from the tiny window fell
athwart them like a blessed omen of
approaching weal.
"Poor ! " Mark said
PLilip , strug
gling between a sense of his own hap
piness and compassion for his consul's
disappointment.
"But not poor Mark , " echoed Meg ,
softly , thinking how noble his plain
face looked in the golden glow.
"Where have you been ? " questioned
curious Jack , as he stood by the horses
heads , while the party surged out to
take their places with laugh and jest ;
"Whathave you two been doing all
this time ? "
"We have laid the ghost , " answered
Mark , gravely "the ghost of doubt
and misunderstanding that has cast its
shadow over so many lives. I pray
Heaven it may never walk again ! "
"Eh ? " said uncomprehending Jack ,
wondering at the strangeness of the
reply. But even after lie and Meg were
lappy man and wife Mark never ex
plained how his life , hitherto so dark ,
lad at last been illumined by a ray of
sunlight.
A Question in Arithmetic.
Detroit Free Press.
"What are you doing ? " asked one
of the spectators.
"Why I have drawed § 600 from the
jank and we are counting it over to
see if it's all right. "
"And isn't it ? "
"No. I counted fust and made. $610.
Then the old woman counted and made
5590. Then I counted and made $620 ,
and now she's handled the pile and
there's § 585. "
"And I am right , " said the woman.
"I dent believe it ! " he replied. "You
never went to skule a day in your life ,
and what do you know about counting ? "
"And when did you go to skule ? ' ,
she hotly demanded' , "if thar's § 600
in that pile I'll eat every dollar oJ it ! "
"I'll count it for you , " said one of
the spectators , and in about five min
utes he announced that the sum was an
even $600.
A second was asked to count it , and
ae made the total the same.
"That's all right , "said the old man
as he stuffed the 'Vsvad" into his over
coat pocket and rose up.
"I dent know about that ! " added the
wife. "S'spose we git home and find
we are $20 short ? "
'You come along ! " he commanded.
"Dont you see that we have both of us
made a show of pur ignorance ? I'm a
thinking of runnin' for the legislator' ,
and you are boss of two sewin' socie
ties , and here we've went and let on
that we don't know 'nuff to count up
a drove of Jiogs and make tails tally
with the heads. "
Whatever.yonr situation in life may
> e , lay down your plans of conduct for
the day. The half hours will glide
smoothly on without crossing or jesting -
ing one another.
A man's wisdom is his best friend ,
folly his worst enemy.
Man must become wise by his own
sxperience.
THE FATAL GLASS.
There's danger in the glass. Beware
lest it enslaves ; They who have
drained it find , alas ! Too often early
graves. It sparkles to allure , With
Its rich , ruby light. There is no an
tidote or cure , Only Its course
to fight. It changes men to
brutes ; Makes women bow
their heads , Fills homes
. with anguish , want , dis
putes' , And takes from
children bread. Then
' * dash the glass away
And from the
* serpent flee ,
Drink pure ,
cold water
day
by
day.
And *
, walk
God's footstool free.
ROSA BONHEUR'S CAREER.
How Energy and Devotion Have Made One
of the Greatest Painters.
From Paris letter in Uavannah News.
Rosa Bonheur is now in her sixty-
second year , and still continues , when
health permits , to give her services , as
she has done for years , gratuitously to
the school of design for girls , but it is
her sister that practically conducts that
school now. Mile. Rosalie Bonheur ,
that her schoolmates baptised "Rosa"
for shortness , is rich , as she could ever
name her own price for her paintings ,
and the .purchasers , almost wholly
English and American , bespeak them
years in advance , as they did Dela-
rocho's. Her life was a hard struggle
in its youth-time. A native of Bor
deaux , she came to Paris with her
father when nine years of age , but he
had to send her and her two brothers
and sister to a boarding school in order
to leave him free to gain a livelihood
as an-artist designer.
A fellow-student once told me that
Rosa was one of the "jolliest girls in
the schools ; " was unequalled in romps
and ready wit ; that she had a habit of
squatting in a corner and designing her
classmates with a rapidity and surety
of touch that Cham only could match.
It was this precocious talent for de
signing that decided her father to bring
her home and educate her himself.
She became not only his favorite pupil ,
but also his housekeeper. But what
energy she had in her teens. She went
alone , during several years , to cattle
markets and central slaughter houses ,
to study groups of animals. In order
to avoid tne curiosity of drovers , butch
ers and the peculiar frequenters of the
above places , she adopted masculine
toilets , and in later years forgot to re
appear in her old clothes. This motive
was comprehensible ; not a vagary or
eccentricity , as.in the case of George
Sand. '
Rosa was eighteen years of age when
she exhibited her first picture at the sa
lon of 1840. These are two small paint
ings rabbits nibbling carrots and tur
nips. Her sister , Mnie. Peyrol , is the
possessor of the pictures and treasures
them as an heirloom. Rosa's second
mef was the death of her teacher and
father in 1849.Love for him and for
art closed her heart for any third affec
tion , save that of her family. When
dying he begged Rosa to bring him the
last picture she had painted , Labourage
Livernais. She did so , sobbing , to his
bedside. He took her two bauds in his
and , endeavoring to smile , died.
In 1853 appeared her Celebrated
"Horse Fair , " and in 1855 , "Haymak
ing in Auvergne , " and in the Luxem-
3ourg museum. It-was the Empress
Eugenie that not only insisted on Rosa
being decorated Avith the Legion of
Elonor rarely conferred on the fair
sex but , having succeeded , pinned ;
; he red ribbon herself on the artist's
jreast.
*
Origin of the Postoffice. ;
SnglUh Illustrated Journal.
The postoffice is an example of the
mode in which things change while
names remain. It was originally the
office which arranged the posts or
ilaces at which , on the great roads ,
clays of horses and men could be ob
tained for the rapid forwarding of gov
ernment dispatches. There was a chief
joatmaster of England many years be-
: ore" any system of conveyance of pri
vate letters by the crown was estab-
ished. Such letters were conveyed
either by carriers , who used the same
lorses throughout their whole journey ,
or by relays of horses maintained by
private individuals , that is , by private
jost. The scheme of carrying the cor
respondence of the public by means of
crown messengers originate d in con- >
nection with foreign trade. A post-
office for lettsrs to foreign parts was es
tablished "for the benefit of the English
merchants " hi the reign of James I. ,
jut the extension of the system to in-
and letters was left to the.succeeding . ,
reign. Charles I.by proclamation issue' '
n 1636 , may be said to have founded
the present postoffice. By this procla
mation he commanded "his postmaster
of England for foreign parts to settle a
running post or two , to run night and
day between Edinburgh and London ,
to go thither and come back again in
six days , and to take with them all such
etters as shall be directed to any post-
own hi or near that road. " Neighbor-
ng towns , such as Lincoln and Hull ,
were to be linked on to this main route ,
and posts on similar principles were di
rected to be established on other great
lighways , such as those to Chester and
lolyhead , to Exeter and Plymouth. So
ar no monopoly was claimed , but two S (
ears later a second proclamation for-
> ade the carriage of letters by any
ft 1
messengers except those of the king's
postmaster-general , and thus the pres
ent system was inaugurated. The"
monopoly thus claimed , though no
doubt uevised by the king to enhance
the royal power and to bring money
into the exchequer , was adopted by
Cromwell and his parliament , one main
advantage in their eyes being that the
carriage of correspondence by the gov
ernment would afford "the best means
to discover and prevent any dangerous
and wicked designs against the com
monwealth. " The opportunity of an
extensive violation of letters , espec
ially if they proceeded from suspected
royalists , was no doubt an attractive
bait ; and it is rather amusing to see
how the tables were thus turned on the
monarchial party , by means of one of
the sovereign's own acts of aggression.
However , from one motive or another ,
royalists and parliamentarians agreed
in the establishment of a state post ,
and the institution has come down
without a break from the days of
Charles I. to our own.
The Champion Liar.
PouRhkecpsIo Eagle.
There was a panic in front of the
stove. The dog while fast asleep had
changed his position , rolling over on
the cat , and the latter having dabbed
him on the nose , the canine jumped in
his fright and upset a half-gallon can of
molasses , just as the store door opened
and in walked the champion liar of the '
town.
"Hello ! " said-the boy on the herring
box. "Jake , I'll bee yer he ain t in
here two minits before you'll hear tne
biggest lie as ever was told. "
Tne champiion liar stamped the snow
from his cowhide boots , removed his
tippet , ran his nose along his arm , and
setting his hat on the back of his head
saluted the group about the stove with
"Cussed cold out , hain't it ? " Then
there was silence for a moment , and he
continued "Been skatin' ' '
, ; 'tain'tvery
good , but the darndest thing happened
down by the Dan Skammer ye ever
heerd. "
Each "sitter" around the stove
hunched each other , and there was a
chorus of "What was it ? "
"B'gosh , it beats everything , " was
the newcomer's response. "Yer all
know Nubbins , the bark peeler , don't
yer ? "
There was a general nodding of heads
and " " and the
"hunching , newcomer
continued :
"Well , say , he's gone and gone and
done it , and don't you forgit it. I tell
you , say , that there feller was skatin'
right along as nice as could be when he
dropped into an air hole , b'gosh , right
off the Skammer. Well , say , the tide
was runnin' ebb strong , an' you know
what an ebb tide is off there , don't yer ?
Well , say , Nubbins went down with
the current under the ice , an' 'I know'd
he was gone , so did everybody. We
all gin nim up , but do yo'a know he's
down to the storehouse now dryin' his
close ? "
Grand chorus of "Oh , here get out ! "
"Come off ! " "Wat yer givin' us ! "
etc.
etc."Yes
"Yes , sir , b'gosh , he's there sure.
Why , that there feller went down with
the tide under the ice for a mile an' a
tialf till he come to 'nother air hole ,
svhere he riz , an' ketchin on the edge
of the ice , pulled himself up an' skated
back. Now , that there old Nubbins "
"You git out o' here , " put in the
store keeper. "Nubbins died a year
igo last April , an'you was one 01 the
jarriers. "
There was a snickering in the group
ibout the stove , and as some one said ,
'it's dinner time , " the store was quick-
y vacated.
< + ( . * ?
The Omaha Indian Lands.
WASHINGTON , D. C. , February 9 ,
L884. I am in receipt of numerous let- i
ers of inquiry regarding the sale of the
ands of the Omaha Indian reservation ,
is the matter is one of general interest
t transmit the following copy of a let-
er just received from the general land
jffiue. Respectfully yours ,
CAARLES F. MANDERSON.
DEPART3IENT OF THE INTERIOR , '
GENERAL LAND OFFICE , 1
WASHINGTON , D. C. , Feb. 2,1884. )
Ion. Charles F. Manderson , United
States Senate :
SIR I have the honor to acknowl-
idge the receipt by reference from the
lonorable commissioner of Indian af-
airs of your letter of the 20th ult. , rel-
itive to the Omaha Indian lands in Ne-
> raska. In reply I have to state th'at
he exact date when that portion of the
eservation which was authorized to be
old , under the provisions of the act of
August 7,1882 , will be opened to seltle-
nent , has not yet been fixed. Under
late of November 20,1883 , the honora-
le secretary of the interior directed
his office to prepare the form of proc-
amation provided for by the above-
uentioned act , and to submit the same
or department action , on or about the
Lrsl of April next.
These lands will be so'dto actual set-
lers only at the appraised valuation ,
ind on the following terms as to pay-
aents , viz : "One-third of the price of
aid land to become due and payable
me year from the date of entry , one-
bird in two years , and one-third in
hree years from said date , with inter-
st at the rate of five per centum per
nnum.
Settlement must be made on these
mds before a person is qualified , under
ae law , to make an entry of the same.
Very respectfully ,
L. HARRISON ,
Acting Commissioner.
Eccentricity is often used as high-
Dunding title for a fool.
Luck is first lieutenant in the corn-
any of Captain Success.
