WHKNJTHK SUNSET OATKS ABE A JAB
Only a little while longer ,
And I Hball bo tafe at rest-
Safe In the heavenly mansions ,
Close to the Savior's breast.
Dark is the shadowy valley ,
Swollen the waters and deep ,
But the Father who waits my coming ,
Gives ever the weary ones sleep.
When the sunset Rates are open ,
I catch , a glimpse of His Throne
Whose splendor no man can picture
With its sides of shining stone.
I
OhfWf Iriendsifll love you fondly ;
, : , * * Buffi yearn for the Heavenly'Home ,
"Where the loved of our broken household
Call everfor.'me to "Come. "
Sometimes 'tis a mother calling ,
And sometimes a sister most dear ,
And often the father , wtibse going ,
Made earth so desolate , drear.
Do ribt detain me by weeping
I go-where my loved ones are ;
I will watch for your coming each evening ,
When the Sunset Gates' are njarl
[ LHla N. Cushman , in Chicago Sun.
A BIT OF GRASS.
It was a very small lawn , indeed so
small as to make that title seem rather
absurd , but- cottages in the suburbs oi
cities must , or snould have "lawns. "
And , small as it was , the name and
the thing were dear to little Meta
Sayres , its mistress. Her brief wifehood
of three months has as yet brought no
relaxation to the first fine arder of mat-
ronhood , which courted housekeeping
as a joy and perfection the shining
mark for duty to aim at. Everything
inside the simple establishment was
daintily appointed and most beautifully
tended ; everything outside would
been the same could Mela's busy fingers
and energetic spirit have accomplished
it , but fate and climate were against
her.
her.For
For the sad thing about the "lawn"
was that no grass grew upon it. It
had been * Meta's chronic
despair. St.
Louis is a hot place , as all the world
knows , and that spring the heat had
come earlier than usual. Meta and her
husband had begun sowing grass seed
early in March , when the frost was
barely out of the ground. They had
sown it again the last of March , and
once more the last of April , and now ,
on the 10th of May , there was still no
sign of promise , and the little inclosure
lay as bare and naked as eves. The
vines on the piazza were dense with
unfolding leaves. The hedge was be
ginning to flower. The deutzias and
weigelias and the single bed of pansies
were full of blossoms , and only the
rake marks on. the smooth earth showed
that any care had been bestowed on , the
grass plot , which lay hopeless and un
lovely in the glare ot the sun.
"Marian Ashurst says its no use , "
Meta said , one day at dinner. "No
body can make grass seed grow here.
She says it's too hot. If burns up di
rectly it sprouts if it ever does sprout.
I told her ours had'nt sprouted at all ,
and she said that was just the way
theirs did when they tried the experi
ment the first year they were here. "
"Still people do h'ave grass in St.
Louis"remarked her husband. "Look
at the park. The grass is splendid.
And look at the private places. Many
of them have excellent turf. "
"Yes ; Marian says we must sod our
lawn that's the only way. "
"Isn't sodding rather expensive ? "
asked John , doubtfully.
"Yes , very expensive. I went to the
gardener's this atternoon to ask about
it , and he said it would cost $30 ! Just
think for one little yard ! But itlooks
dreadfully as it is , and will be worse
still in August , John. "
"That's very true. Grass is almost
a-necessity in a climate like this for
people who stay on here for the whole
summer , as we must do. If sodding is
the only way to secure it , why we will
just sod ; and , as for the money , we'll
economize in something else , hev ,
Meta ? "
"Yes , you always say that , but I have
observed that when it comes to the
'something else' your notions are ratter
vague , John dear ! " replied Meta with
a saucy smile. "However , all you say
is true. I'll invent a way of saving
money ; you needn't worry about it ,
dear. "
John looked very little likely to worry
about that or anything else , as he sat
comfortably in his armchair , eating his
strawberries and looking across the
pretty dinner table at his bonny wife.
She was one of those fair , little , wo
manly little women ,
' ' .Not too bright or good
For human nature's daily food , ' '
who captivate the imaginations of men
and hold their affections captive even
more than regular beauties do. Her
face and voice were full of sweetness ,
and they were the index of a sweet
nature. Full of sun and cheer and
bright fun , capable to her fingers' ends ,
only those who knew her best detected
the deep power of affection of which
she was.capable , and the high and loyal
dovotioa to what she believed to be
right , which was the main spring of her
char-cter. John Sayres had drawn a
prize in his wife , how great a prize he
only half comprehended as yet. It was
reserved to him as to many another
husband , gradually to realize and bless
his good fortune during the long years
of a long and happy life.
So at the dinner table that night it
was voted and earned nem con. , that
the little yard should be at once turfed
at an. outlay of § 30 , Meta , in a rapid
-characteristic way , had decided in her
own mind how the money could be
"
spared at the expense of a "little sacri
fice to herself and none at all to her hus
band. The bare yard had been no small
trial to her. Used to the verdure and
shade of the large country place in
which all the summers of her girlhood
had been passed , her eves hungered for
a green outlook , and had missed it every
day of the spring.
"How fortunate that those two big
maples grow just outside our fence , "
she thought. "They will shade the
grass all thetafternoon , and John will
water it with the hose every evening. I
am sure we can make it grow. I'll
order the sods early on Monday.
There's no time to be lost now that we
have-decided to have them. "
The next day was Sunday. As i
chanced if there be such a thing as i
chance a stranger officiated in the
church-to which our young couple had
allied themselves. He was chaplain ol
a great Mississippi penitentiary , and
had broken away from his work to bee
help , not for his prisoners only , though
their need was urgent , but for the freed
negroes among whom.he lived , and foi
whom he had established a school and
a hospital. He told some moving
stories , and he told them well , with' a
pathos of truth , and the force which a
deep porsoqal interest , so deep that it
has swallowed up all self-interest , car
ries with it. The congregation experi
enced an answering throb of sympathy.
With some it was a contagious , super
ficial emotion ; to others the appeal stir
red into life that-deeper pity whose best
relief is action. Among those were
John and Meta.
The most generous givers are among
those who have least to give. A look ,
a low toned word or two settled the
matter. "We can do without the sods ,
John , " whispered Meta , and he nodded
assent with a deep , affectionate glance
into her sweet , earnest eyes. A pen
was produced , a check hastily filled out ,
and a moment later the scrap of paper
took its place in the plate beside bank
notes and silver. Few people in the
church had given quite so much" yet
there were many who could better , have
afforded to give more. None beside
had given at the cost of a distinct'per-
sonal sacrifice ; so true it is that will and
wish.can make possible what seems im
possible where will and wish are lack
ing.
ing.The
The young husband and wife walked
homeward'rather ' soberlyi their minds
full of what they had heard.
"It seems almost wrong to'be ' so hap
py and well off , " thought Meta , as she
glanced about the tiny paradise which
represented so many things JtoJ her.
Her eyes strayed through the window
to the bare spot where now no grass
would be. bhe suppressed a sigh.
"I'm not sorry , " she said bravely to
herself ; "we have so much and those
poor "people have nothing. John's
away so much of the dav that he won't
notice it very much , and I'll keep the
white curtain down when I sit on this
side of the room , and'then I shall be
about as well off as if the yard were
green. Grass would have been very
nice , but this is nicer. " With a reso
lute smile she ran down to dress the
lettuce in the way which John pre
ferred , to take the blanc mange from
the ice and arrange a bowl of honey
suckle sprays for the middle of the
table. The house seemed particularly
attractive that day , dinner unusually
. Nothing enhances our own small
lessings like coming into contact with
the wants and needs of others , and put
of our abundance , sparing something
with which to make up their lack of all.
Still it was not possible quite to for
get or overlook the bareness of the
yard , and Meta must be forgiven one
little sigh when Wednesday brought
one plentiful rain and Saturday an
other. "How good this would have
been for our sod , " she thought , "they
would have been sure to grow. "
John was called to Cincinnati by
business early in the following week ,
and Meta spent the days of his absence
with her friend , Mrs. Ashurst , who
lived a little way in the country on the
opposite side of the city. She had
meant to get home some hours in ad
vance of John , to have all things in
order to greet him , but missing the
earlier tram brought her into town late ,
so that their meeting after all was in
the horse cars , and they alighted to
gether at the corner above their home.
Reaching the gate they paused in
amazement , with a sudden mutual ex
clamation. Behold , the yard was green !
The long since planted and despaired
of seed had germinated. A thick fuzz
of fine , slender points , each of which
was an infantine blade of grass , cover
ed the ground like a transparent man
tle. Already the bareness was closed
upon. No one could call the lawn'
uaked any longer. Scarcely able to be
lieve her eyes , Meta looked and looked.
Then , turning to her husband , she
cried : "It's a miracle , John. Such a
thing was never known in this city be
fore , I suppose. How did it happsn ? "
"it didn't happen , " replied John ,
with a mysterious twinkle in his eyes.
"But hojv can.you account for it ? "
"Angels" in a low , solemn whis
per. "They are so pleased with you
for giving up your wish so cheerfully
md never repenting it , and , in short ,
'or being such a darling generally , that
; o reward your virtue they just took
; he matter in hand themselves , and it
s they who have made the grass
jrow. "
Meta blushed , and laughed and pro-
ested , and reminded John that he had
; iven up the grass as well as she ; but
le adhered to his conclusion. People
vondered exceedingly at the-self-sown
awn , and it certainly flourished in a
vonderful manner perhaps because of
he frequent "cuttings by moonlight"
lestowed upon it by its owners , or the
light douches with the hose.'It is a
luty to co-operate with Heaven , " John
inswered , but all the same he held to
tis opinion , and when people said it
vas unaccountable , that grass never
lid so in St. Louis before , he always
Lssumed an air of distant importance ,
is if in the confidence of some super-
tal power and entirely cognizant of the
uethods by which miracles are
wrought. This diverted Meta exceed-
ngly. "
She would by no means give in to
husband's she de-
ler theory , though -
ighted in her "lawn" and was very
iroud of its success ; but he was firm
a his opinion to the end , and there
ras more earnestness than jest in his
ancy that heaven in some special way
ras intent on rewarding his wife's
; oodness. And , for all Meta's laugh
er , he was perhaps not so far amiss.
? he Lord , who loveth the cheerful
; iver , sometimes rewards such , and He
rho knows all our secret wishes and
ias sympathy for them may not disdain
o send His blessing even upon so small
, thing as a bit of grass.
A French chemist distils brandy from
watermelon , and a Swede manufactures
Icohol from reindeer moss. As Shaks-
leare says , there's "good in. every-
bing. " [ Boston Transcript.
THE I.ABK.
0 bird of light and fluttering wing ,
Now circling slow above the beeches ,
1 would I were so free a thing ,
Near space toward which my spirit reaches ,
I would not build my nest BO low ,
Or fly forever o'er these lodges ,
If I could rise like thee and know
The f urtherest mountain's purple'edges.
i
Within each human heart must beat
One'wish for freedom moreth'amnortal's ,
For wings to aid our lagging feet ,
To touch that shoje beyond the portals.
Not wait until death's Icy hand
Smites from the soul each chain and fetter ,
But Jiving , loving , reach that land
'Where all is brighter , Ireer better.
A
And shall we find across the stream ,
Which now divides our Joy and sorrow ,
All thai delusion's lurid dream
Tells us waits beyond the morrow ?
Thou art not troubled , happy lark ,
With sober thoughts or vague suggestions ,
Thou only knowest that evening's dark
Brings thee to meadow-home and resting.
[ St. Louis Republican.
THE MISD IX SLEEP.
State of the Brain During Slumber - Significance
nificance of Dreams.
As to the state of the mind during
sound sleep , we know nothing. As one
of the principal functions of the brain
is to think , it seems probable that in
profound slumber no thought arises
in other words , the mind , like the body ,
is at rest. In imperfect sleep we know
that the mind is not at rest , und that if
slumber is disturbed by dreams rest is
not so complete and refreshing as when
it is dreamless.
As the will appears to be theoutcome
or result of the combined action of all
the feelings , sensations and mental ac
tions , it is not surprising that it does
not operate in dreams. The dim or
clear consciousness of the utter powerlessness -
lessness of the will to control our imag
inary actions forms one of the most
prominent features in distressing
dreams.
In our waking moments it is often
difficult to subject the fancy and the
imagination to sober reasons. Dreams
are but the creations of our uncontrol-
able imaginations , hence , the mind act
ing only in part , the will cannot direct
them. In dreaming parts only of the
cerebral convolutions are acting with
sufficient energy to be represented in
consciousness. These are good , large
words,1 but they are as simple as any
that can be found to convey the mean
ing intended.
Books sufficient to fill a house have
been written on the subject of dreams
without making the subject any clearer.
The interpretation of dreams has oc
cupied the attention of thousands of
persons , but the subject does not seem
so vastly important , to most people ,
to-day as it did in the times of Joseph
and Daniel.
Sometimes dreams appear to have
real significance. Prophetic dreams
have occurred at times which fore
shadowed coming events with consider
able clearness. Thus , Galen relates
the case of a patient who dreamed'th'at
one of his legs had been turned into
stone. He was shortly afterwards'para-
lyzed in the same member. Macario
dreamed that he had a severe pain in
his throat. When he awoke he was
well , but during the day had an attack
of quinsy. Forbes Winslow relatves a
case in which , before an attack of
apoplexy , the patient thought in his
dreams that he was being scalped by
Indians. Hammond relates the case of
a lady who had an attack of epilepsy ,
preceded by the following singular
dreams :
"She had to bed
gone feeling some
what fatigued with the labors of the
day , which had consisted in attending
three or four morning receptions , wind
ing up with a dinner party. She had
scarcely fallen asleep when she
ireamed that an old man clothed in
black approached , holding „ an iron
rrown of great weight in his hands. As
lie came nearer she perceived that it
was her father , who had been dead
several years , but whose features she
iistinctly recollected. Holding the
zrown at arm's length he said : 'My
laughter , during my lifetime I was
forced to wear this crown ; death re-
ieved me of the burden , but it now de-
jcends to you. ' Saying which , he
placed the crown on her head and dis
appeared gradually from her sight ,
[ mmediately she felt a great weight
md an intense feeling of constriction
n her head. To add to her distress
ihe imagined that the rim of the crown
vas studded on the inside with sharp
) oints which wounded her forehead so
hat the blood streamed down her face.
3he awoke wilh agitation , excited , but
elt nothing. Looking at the clock on
he mantel-piece she found she had
> een to bed exactly thirty-five
uinutes. She returned to bed
md again fell asleep , but was
igain awakened by a similar dream.
( This time the app'arition reproached
ier for being willing to wear the crown ,
ihe had been in bed this last time over
hree hours befor awaking. Again she
ell asleep and again at broad daylight
he was awakened by a like dream ,
ihe now got up , took a bath and pro-
eeded to dress herself with her maid's
.ssistance. . Recalling the particulars
f her dream , she recollected that she
iad heard her father say one day that
a his youth while being in England ,
is native country , he had been subject
o epileptic convulsions consequent on
, fall from a tree , and that he had been
ured by having the operation of tre-
ihining performed by a distinguished
/ondon surgeon. Though by no means
upersticious , the dreams made a deep
mpression on her , and her sister enter-
ag the room at that time , she proceed-
d to detail them to her. While thus
ngaged she suddenly gave a loud
cream , became unconscious , and fell
.pon the floor in a true epileptic con-
ulsion. This paroxysm fwas not a se-
ere one. It was followed in about a
reek by another , and , strange to say ,
b was preceded , as the other , by the
Iream of her father placing an iron
rownon her head ana of pam being
hereby produced. Since then several
aonths nas elapsed , and she has had
10 other attack. "
Instances "might be multiplied almost
without limit of persons being thu
warned of impending illness by dream
of more or less significance. The ex
planation is not difficult. During sleej
obscure sensations caused by the per
verted action of some part of the body
then in the first stages of disease , an
felt and appreciated to some extent
while at the same time they are no
sufficiently well marked to arrest the
attention of the mind engrossed with
every day cares and occupations. The }
are not truly IpropTiotic , for thej
indicate that disease is already present ,
All other "warnings in dreams" ol
what is about to happen somewhere "be
yond tho'chanco of. the warned * one receiving -
( ceiving any'intimation of them except
by dreams are to be placed to the ac
count of coincidences. Dreams of ab-
sent. friends , of their doing and of what
is happening to them occur in countless
numbers in our nightly fancies. So
Ion" as they do not coincide with what
we learn to be actual events they do
not arrest the attention and are re
placed in our memories by more im
portant things. But let one of them
coincide with something that actually
occurs at the time or at some long
future period , and at once it becomes
a marvel worthv to be recorded in the
daily prints and"to be worked qp with
similar ones into "Footfall * on tbc
Boundaries of Another World" and the
like. If coincidences should never oc
cur it would be a far greater marve'
than if a dozen should be recorded
daily. _ _ _ _
Shakespeare's Epitaph.
The Rev. Mr. Macray , librarian , o
the famous Bodleian library in th <
University of Oxford , has discovered ai
old letter relating to Shakespean
which sheds explanatory light upon th <
lines which the great poet wrote anc
ordered to be cut upon his tombstone
Every visitor to the church of Stratford
Upon-Avon must , we presume , hav <
wondered that a poet of such immorta
power and inexhaustible magnificenci
of diction as Shakespeare could havi
written lines which are so much lik <
doggerel as his well known epitaph :
Good friend , for Jesus' sake forbear
To dig the dust Inclosed here ;
Blessed be the man who spares these stones
Cursed be he who moves my bones- .
If their authenticity depended oi
their internal evidence very few Shake
spearian scholars would , we believe ,
have accepted them as his.
But the letter which has been discov
ered in the Bodleian , written by Win ,
Hall , a Queen's college man in 1694 , tc
Edward Thwaites , a well-known Anglo-
Saxon scholar of that time , explain :
the reason of the epitaph and shows its
homeliness and simplicity to have been
intentional. After telling his friend ol
his visit to Stratford-upon-Avon , and
quoting the epitaph , the Oxford scholar
writes. "The little learning these
verses contain would be a very strong
argument of the want of it in the author
did not they carry something in them
which stands in need of a comment.
There is in this church a place which
they call the bone house , a repository
for all bones they dig up , which are so
many that they would load a great
number of wagons. The poet , being
willing to preserve his bones unmoved ,
lays a curse upon him that moves
them , and haveing to do with clarks
and sextons , for ihe most part a very
ignorant class of people , he descends
to the meanest of their capacitys , and
disrobes himself of that art which none
of his contemporaries wore in greater
perfection. Nor has the design mist of
its effect , for , lest they should not only
draw this curse upon themselves , but
also entail it upon their posterrity , they
have laid him "full seventeen foot deep
ieep enough to secure him. "
Survivors of Waterloo.
London Telegraph.
Londoners not deeply versed in sign
board lore may be at this time of day
somewhat puzzled to discover the pecu
liar significance and appropriateness
af such signs as the Marquis of Granby ,
the Admiral Keppel and the Cornwallis
rms ; but the smallest boy is aware of
the meaning of the "Hero of Waterloo , "
ind what manner of Englishman was
lie whose prowess is commemorated in
; he Waterloo road and the Waterloo
jmnibus. For the rest , among the up-
aer classes of English society , the
irowning triumph of Wellington over
Bonaparte may have become very
mcient history indeed. Lamentably
'ew are in the army list , the names to
vhich the black letter "W" is prefixed.
U the Senior United Service club there
san be scarcely any valiant old gentle-
nan left to prattle about their personal
Experiences of Hougoumont and Fa
Jelle Alliance , the hollow road of Ohain
ind the forest of Soignies , and there
emains but a solitary survivor of
he guests at the-once famous Water-
00 banquet , Hill and Hardinge , Angle-
ea and Fitzroy Somerset , and all but
me of the gallant veterans , who , year
iy year , used to gather on the I8th
ound the sumptuous table of the Duke ,
, nd drink , upstanding and in solemn
ilence , the toast to the memory of those
fho fell at Waterloo , are dead. The
ingle survivor of these heroes is Gen.
light Hon. Thomas Keppel , Earl of
Jbemarle , who , as he has told the
rorld in his delightful autobiography ,
'Fifty ' Years of My Life , " was in his
oyhood the playfellow of that sauciest ,
rarmest-hearted of romps , the Princess
Iharlotte of Wales , who earned his title
D sit annually at the Waterloo banquet
y the fact that he , too , had his share
1 the famous victory. Born in 1799 ,
tie distinguished scion in the house of
leppel , who is now Earle of Albemarle ,
ras gazetted when he was under six-
jen years of age to an ensigncy in the
4th Regiment of Foot , and a few
lonths later he passed unscathed
arough the eventful day of Waterloo ,
5 enter Paris at the beginning of July ,
815 , shoeless and in rags. It is pleas-
nt to learn that the recurrence of
'Waterloo ' Day" brought troops of
riends of sexes to offer their respects
nd their congratulations to the patri-
rchal nobleman who was a voung
abaltcrn-when there was fought the
; first and last of fields" the "King-
laMng victory" which Byron has cele-
rated in deathless numbers.
Young Dudey , hearing of a gala day
t Newport , said he would not summer
t a place where they were not more
"gals" " than that. [ Boston Gazette.
M. A. SPALDING ,
AGENT FOR THE
COC COo
C 70
70O
111 O
CO
iii
Sold Low for cash , or on easy payments or
rented until the rent-pays for the organ.
M. A. SPALDING , Agent ,
McCOOK , - NEBRASKA.
STOCK DIRECTORY
DENNIS M'KILLIP.
Ranch on Red "Willow , Thornburg , Hayes
branded { 'J. M. "
County , Neb. Cattle on
leftside. Young cattle branded same as
above , also "J. " on left jaw. Under-slope
right ear. Horses branded "E" on- left
shoulder.
FOR SALE. My range of 1,000 acres of
deeded land in One body , including the
Black and Byfield hay lands ; timber and
water with two good farm houses and other
improvements. Convenient to Xo. 1 school
privileges. Situated in the Republican val
ley west Red "Willow creek. Call on or
address JF. . BtACK.
Indianola , Neb.
W. J. WILSON.
Stock brand circle on left shoulder ; also
dewlap and a crop and under half crop on
left ear , and a crop and under bit in the
right. Ranch on the Republican. Post
office , Max , Dundy county , Nebraska.
HENRY T. CHURCH.
Osborn , Neb. Range : Red."Willow creek ,
in southwest corner of Frontier countv , cat-
: le branded "O L O * ' on right side. "Also ,
in over crop on right ear and under crop on
eft. Horses branded " 8" on right shoulder.
SPRING CREEK CATTLE CO.
Indianola. Neb. RangeRepublicanVal-
ey , east of Dry Creek , and near head of
ipring Creek , in Chase county ,
, . . , J. D. WKLBORN- ,
r. „
vice President and Superintendent.
W. N. PROCTOR.
McCook , Neb. , range ; Red "Willowcreek ,
n southwest cornerof Frontier county. Also
S. P. brand on right hip and side and swal-
ow-forkinrightear. Horses branded E. P.
m right hip. A few branded "A' ' on right
lip. .
J. B. MESERVE.
Ranch , Spring Canyon on the Frenchman
River , in Chase county , Neb. Stock branded
as above ; also " 717" on left side ; " 7" on
right hip and "L. " on right shoulder ;
"L."on left shoulder and X. " on left
jaw. Half undcr-crop left ear , and square-
crop right ear.
C. D. PHELPS.
Range : Republican Valley , four miles
west of Culbertson , south s.ide of Republi
can. Stock branded " 161" and " 7-L. "
P. 0. Address , Culbertson , Neb.
THE TURNIP BRAND.
Ranch 2 miles north of JlcCook. Stock
branded on left hip , and a few double cross
es on left side. C. D. ERCANBRACK.
STOKES & TROTH.
P. O. Address , Carrico , Hayes county ,
Nebraska. Range , Red Willow , above Car
rico. Stock branded a.a above. Also run the
lazy ci brand.
GEORGE J. FREDERICK.
Ranch4miIessouthwestofXcCook , on the
) riftwood. Stock branded "A.T" on the
eft hip. P. O. address. McCook , Neb.
JOHN HATFIELD & SON.
HcCook , Neb. , Ranch 4 miles southeast ,
in Republican river. Stock branded with
. ' bar and lazy g on left hip
JOSEPH ALLEN.
Ranch on Red Willow Creek , half mile
ibove Otbornpostoffice. Cattle branded ou
ight side ana hip above.