Nebraska Newspapers

    In sprint ? when branches of woodbine
Hung leafless over the rocks ,
And iloccy snow in the hollows
Lay in unshophcrdod ilocks ,
By the road where dead leaves rustled ,
Or damply mnUed the'ground.
While over mo gurgled tao robin
His honoy'd passion of sound.
I saw the trn'l'ng ' ' arbutus
UloomJn ? Jn modes-y sweet ,
And gathered sto.-o of its riches
Offered and spread at my feet.
It grew under leaves , as if seeking
No hint of Itself to disclose ,
And out of its plnk-whlto petals
A delicate perfume arose.
As faint as the fond romcmbrnnco
Of Joy that was only drei < med ,
And like a divine suyjcebUon
The scent of the ilowcr seemed.
I had sought for love on the highway ,
I'oilove uDBcluah and pn : e ,
And had found it In good deeds blooming
Tho' often in bands obscure.
Often in leaves bv the wayside ,
But vouched w. 'i a heavenly glow ,
And with selE-sac.-Jflco fiterant ,
The llowers of great love grow.
O lovely and lowly arbutus I
As year unto year succeeds ,
Bo thou the luiK-cl and crab em
Of noble , unseltlsh deeds !
[ The Academy.
NEsLRER JIO3TE.
"One sweetly solemn thought , "
Sang the mriden so u and loir ;
While the tender 8.rains woi-o frai.ght
With a soulful pbb and Ilow.
"I am nearer home to-day ; "
- And thocnllsht gl'n. ' her bro : ? .
While the ihougjit .id : heart , doi'a sway-
Nevcr nearer homo than now.
Tears come on with steady tread ,
With their change of weal and woe
"I've nearly left tao cross-she sr'd ,
And the notes weio few and slow.
"Father , perfect my trusl "
And ihc eyes of lusous blue.
Soon tojsluinuer 'neath the dust ,
Lighted with a Iieavcn-form hue.
"O take me beneath thy care ! "
Now the voice grows fniii.er yet ,
And her lace more saintly fair
For life's golden sun had set.
She had laid her burdens down
On the world's slonn drifted lea ,
She had gained the gi cat white ciown
Just across the crystal sea.
Chicago Sun.
THE MAD
Translated from the French of Joseph Moniet.
I had just taken a turn , n company
with Doctor Nbirot , through the vast
gardens that surrounded his hospital ,
and was advancing with him towards
the stoop of his own special dwelling.
The celebrated physician , whose par
ticular $ eld was insanity , was explain
ing to me the case of one of his pa
tients , whom we had met in an alley ,
and who had saluted us with a patron-
jzmg air.
At that moment an explosion re-
sounded a few paces from us. I
grasped my host's arm.
"What's that ? " I asked. "Has one
of your patients shot himself ? "
Doctor Noirot smiled.
"No , " said he , "reassure yourself.
It's still another very curious case I
want you to see. "
And turning obliquely to the left he
drew me toward a small pavillion hids
den behind a grove of trees. He un
locked the door , led me across the nar
row vestibule , and we found ourselve-
in a sort of long court surrounded by
walls. A man was there , of lofty
staturexjlad 4n a hunting costume , re
calling by certain details the Mexican
fashion. " He had his back against the
wall of the pavilion and , at the mo
ment we entered , raised his right
hand , armed with a pistol. Our ar
rival did not dLturb him. He aimed
slowly , with a sure hand. I followed
the direction of the weapon and saw , '
about twenty paces distant , at the foot
of the opposite wall , a white face with
a dark hole in the center of 'the fore
head. It was , as well as I could judge
at that distance , the plaster mask of a
Greek head , in which I thought I
recognized the classic type of Diana ,
the huntress.
The pistol was discharged. The head
did not move and not even a fragment
flew from it.
"Look ! " said the doctor to me , in a
low voice. "It's very curious. He
jiever misses his mark. "
"He never misses ? "
"No. All the balls are lodged in the
same place , in that dark hole , smaller
than a piece of a hundred sous. "
The man had drawn another pistol
from his belt. He feed. As before the
mask remained intact. The weapon
being loaded with several balls , in the
American fashion , the marksman suc
cessively discharged five more balls.
Not one of them cut the forehead of the
white face.
The doctor laid his hand upon the
shoulder of the marksman , who wheeled
"about. His visage , though enframed
by a strong beard , had an expression
at once energetic and sad.
"Stop an instant , please , " said the
doctor to him.
The man made a sign of consent with
his head. Then the doctor led me to
the other end of the court , and , behind
the plaster mask , showed me a plate of
blackened iron that protected the wall.
In the center of the plate a round spot
glistened with reflections of lead .pro
duced by the flattening of the balls.
"You see , " said -showing me the
exact correspondence of the brilliant
spot with the hole that pierced the plas
ter mask , "you see that all the balls
pass through there. You will not find
one of them elsewhere. "
"It is marvelous , " I answered. "But
what strange history is associated with
this man ? ' ?
"Come , " said the doctor to me , "I
will tell you on the outside. "
We again crossed the court and the
vestibule of the pavillion. And this is
what Doctor Noirot told me , while be
hind us the detonations commenced
with regular intervals between them :
"This unfortunate man , " said my
host , "calls himself Guido Ventura. Is
he an Italian , a Spaniard or an Ameri
can ? That's what we don't exactly
kn6w. Probably he is an American ,
for it is the new world particularly that
sends us these virtuosos of the revolver
and rifle. It was fromUhere , at all
events , that this one came to France.
You may have seen him last year at
the Alcazar d'Automne , where he gave
four or five exhibitions and would have
had all Paris running to see him if a
terrible event had not suddenly inter
rupted the course of his vrep osenta-
tipns. But vro must begiii at. the be
ginning. There is an exciting stoiy in
volved , that I certainly am the only
person acquainted with , having with
out aid , during the six months this man
has been here , succeeded in recon
structing the details of it , thanks to
certain words an intermittent delirium
snatches from him. Hence , I will give
it to you as I see it , sure that my vision
does not deceive me.
"Guido Ventura , when , he came to
Paris , was accompanied by a young wo
man named Miss Arabella. She was a
superb creature , scarcely twenty years
of age , with the head of a goddess and
the figure of a statue. Admirers were
not lacking , and in less than a week it
become the fashion to go see the splen
did Miss Arabella aid in his exercises
the celebrated marksman , Guido Ven
tura. She stood proudly , her arms
iTolded , her visage impassable , fifteen
paces from Guido Ventura , who direct
ed upon her the vain menace of his
pistol , the infallible ball of which cut a
card between her fingers , broke the
bowl of a pipe two inches from her lips ,
and crushed the shell of a nut on her
head.
"A slight trembling of the marks
man's hand and all would have been
over with the superb Arabella. But
the hand of Guido Ventura never trem
bled.
"Evidently Guidoi Ventura loved
this creature like an idol. To be con
vinced of it , it sufficed to surprise one
of those glances that shot from his
eyes each time when in the foyer of
the theater , where he was awaiting his
turn to' go upon the stage , when some
gallant was unusually attentive to the
handsome girl. Was he jealous , also ?
Certainly ; and must have suffered
atrociously , for his companion , as co
quettish as beautiful , seemed to delight
in exasperating his jealousy.
' On one occasion the manager of
the Alcazar d'Automne stopped her in
the wings , as she was escaping with a
laugh from a circle of wine-excited
coxcombs.
" 'See here , my little one , " he whis
pered in her ear , 'you'd better take
care. Every evening that man holds
your life at his mercy. '
"Arabella burst out laughing.
" 'He kill me ? ' cried she , shrugging
her shoulders. 'Get along with you ;
he thinks too much of me to harm a
hair of my head. '
"And every night she stood before
the muzzle of the pistol with the same
tranquility , fascinating the rebellion
'
of her lover , as the eye'of a tamer fas
cinates that of a wild beast.
"One evening , when the name of
Guido Ventura and that of Arabella
had been shining scarcely a week upon
the bills of the Alcazar d'Automne , a
gentleman of fine appearance entered
the foyer , went straight to the woman ,
who uttered a slight ciy of surprise ,
and taking her hands-kissed the tips of
her fingers. Guido Ventura , who had
been talking to the manager , turned
and suddenly grew very pale. The
man who had just entered was a rich
Yankee whose attention to Miss Ara
bella h3 d made some noise . in New
York. It was becairse of him particu
larly that the marksman had made his
engagement in Paris , and hastened his
departure from America. But this man
now had taken , a notion to follow them ,
for it was on account of Arabella that
lie had come to Paris. As soon as he
had ascertained where she had gone ,
he had taken passage on the next
steamer. That night as she was re-
tinning to her diessing-room , Guido
Ventura made a terrible scene with his
companion.
"But the most terrible scene took
place some nights later. For a week
the American had hung about Arabel
la's footsteps. Guido Ventura had
striven to exact that the manager of
the Alcazar d'Automue should pro
hibit him from entering the coulisses.
But , having made his way into the man
agerial office with his hat in his hand ,
the American emerged putting his wal
let back into his pocket , and there was
no longer question of his exile.
"That night , when Arabella was pre
paring to assume her page's dress for
the performance , Guido Ventura saw a
paper fall from her corsage. He picked
it up and read it ; it was a love letter ,
proposing to the young girl an elope
ment and marriage the next day. When
he came down into the foyer , the
marksman had knitted brows and a
quivering lip. He took a pistol and
aimed at his own image in a mir
ror to try his hand. His hand did not
tremble.
"Five minutes afterwards he was on
the stage , commencing his exercises.
As he turned he saw behind him in the
coulisse the American leaning against
a flat. Just at that instant Miss Ara
bella planted herself in front of him ,
her arms folded , her nutshell placed
upon her head. She smiled ! Oa whom
was she smiling ? On the man who was
there behind him ! Guido Ventura saw
it clearly from the direction of her
glance ! Suddenly , her eyes having
moved , she ceased to smile and a shad
ow passed across her visage. Standing
before heB , Guido Ventura took aim
full at her forehead.
The report rang out and Miss Ara
bella fell dead upon the boards. When
they tore from his arms the corpse
that he had desperately clutched to his
bosom , Guido Ventura was a mad
man.
"Was it a crime ? was it an acci
dent ? They thought only of stifling
the affair. In Paris the dead are
speedily out of mind. The first ex
citement over , people forgot the two
heroes of this bloody drama.
"Since that time Guido Ventura has
been in my establishment , passing half
his days aiming at his plaster mask.
Once he chanced to break -it. For a
week afterward he was delirious. But
he is inoffensive , as you can see. "
We returned to the pavilion , and
found the marksman loading his weap
ons.
ons."Not a shot missed the mark , eh ? "
said the doctor to him in an affable
tone.
The man raised his head , and ,
pointing with his finger at the plaster
mask , answered in a hollow voice :
"Not one I Always in the center of
the forehead. "
DEATH'S
With sorrows over -Cre'shied ,
And divei by winds of care , ,
' 4 *
1 woboaiistbatlovohadinated
Wei e sundered ia despair. > - > -
Llko bnra aes at sea , * *
With almicss pror ,
Ben.'shtcd i > nd bela.ed . i\l
They seemed to me.
But now , rh. nowl
WJPI , change "i. 2(9 ( ? '
Q'jeh'oao best . easurebliss
Naug" i o"jo could nia < ja is gone ; _
A ch id wi-h B'lent opea eyes
Has wonc'o.-ed i'Oi . .h vo ieot the dawn
Of Pa ad'so.
Andiiow , rtJ now !
' ! , id sto in . > nd 'rind and eddy
Unmored tlioy ' 'o ,
QU.'OI , os n * t , r.ici rs I bo heaven steady ,
' a jchor colds i jem ?
Momo-y. that & * * " not die
T iouh tjo oved oe be dead.
O'ePCKonow r' pe.'ce enTo'ds them ,
Whal thonjbje / feel iho l ; " J ? .
Lon ? , sobue i-'O , "o' . ' of . je t'de ?
Ko inoio "o.- . .jem . .e boneless diiUng
Ca'm ' rs I o lce > ! u.8'jpd bead
AiidfceJo < 1h'm ciotd'ed.
They /est , ; ird w * eu tje sLraln
Of cor jt jc 'ns p
Thes'leiij clia'r.
L'ke 1L e baai s
Draws i torn lOSeJi
O. one joied lieu.- : , . 'ear not !
No.wicck nor ivci.tjer
Can inir coa lot.
Ceo. Ta-sons Lathrop in the Century.
A VANISHING EFFECT.
Two persons a man and a girl
wCiC walking slowly down a pictur
esque and precipilious path beside a
mountain ta.n , that was set like a
glistening purple gem deep in a ridge
of emerald wood , and among peaks , all
gold in the summer sunshine.
The girl was a trim , sedate and
pretty young creature , with the calm
features of a Madonna , large and med
itative dark eyes , ' aud dark hair that
was smoothly knotted beneath a grace
ful alpine hat. Her neat figure was
clothed in some serviceably grayfabric
and her small feel were strojgly shod.
She carried , to5 , a fanciful staff , and a
leathern strap crossed one pretty shoul
der , and supported a leathern bag at
her slim waist. Altogether there was
something about her tiiat suggestedthe
scrupulous and the independent , and
perhaps also the p.im and the opinion
ated.
ated.Her
Her companion , was tall and blonde ,
and muscular , with dreamy brown eyes
and a womanish chin. His luxurious
moustache was fastidiously waxed and
perfumed , and he wore exceedingly
modish garments , and he had the in
definably irreproachable presence of a
personage whom society delighted to
favor.
As the two slowly descended , chat
ting in a desultory and harmonious
fashion , the young man abruptly stop
ped , with an expression of sudden and
intense interest in those dreamy eyes ,
which were fixed toward a little hollow
beneath them.
"Who is she , Amie ? do you know ?
that lady on the bank below us ? " he
asked the girl beside him.
She glanced in the direction indicat
ed , but she perceived only an empty
green hollow , a blauk wall of rustling
leaves , and a solitary wild bird perch
ed in songless silence on a huge bare
boulder.
"Why , Al , I see nobody at all , " she
said.
said."You
"You did not see her because she has
gone. She vanished , " he murmured ,
with a regret that was almost gro
tesque , "like a vision , or a figure in a
mirage. I shall wonder presently do
beautiful genii inhabit these unsealed
peaks and unexplored forests , or if
there be some enchanting naiad of the
tarn to allure and elude the sight. "
Amie drew her madonna brows to
gether in a pretty frown of distaste at
his little rhapsody ; she was much too
prim and practical to encourage any
proclivities for exaggerated sentiment
or enthusiasm of f ancy.
"And I should wonder presently if
your wits have gone wandering , " she
said in her clear and placid tones. "I
am really inclined to doubt that you
saw anybody. "
"Ah ! but I did , indeed. And there
she is again , " he returned ; lifting his
large soft hand with an admonitory
gesture toward a sunny gap in the
shadowy firs , "Do you not see her
now ? She has come and again gone , "
he concluded , so disappointedly that
the girl frowned again , and with the
least perceptible scorn.
"I saw only an ordinary mortal
dressed rather elegantly in vanishing
effects of blue and yellow , " she said ,
in her quiet and uncompromising way.
"I fear you will be obliged to en
lighten me , " he remarked pleasantly.
"I do not conceive what you mean by
vanishing effects in the clothes one
wears. "
"I mean , " she instructed him , the
frown changing to a smile , "that the
fabric itself is shot and shaded with
different colors that brighten or fade
away in different lights. And , " she
said , playfully , "your mysterous ram
bler among the firs yonder seems not
unlike the colors she wears she ap
pears only to vanish and then appear
again. But I honestly believe , Al ,
that her vanishing effects have be
witched you. "
He checked her playful raillery with
another gesture of his soft and shapely
hand.
"There she is again , " Jie said , in a
sort of ecstatic whisper , "did you ever
behold any human thing so fair ? "
And she was fair indeed this
strange stroller with her perfect face ,
her eyes of dazzling blue , her stately
and slender shape. Her golden hair
glittered and gleamed beneath an im
mense white hat as she stood there ,
half in the shadow , half in the sun
shine ; and in the shadp and the light
her marvelous dress shimmered with
curiously fleeting tints of azure and
amber , of jasper red and peacock
green. As yet she was not aware of
their pfoqinquity , and as she paused ,
gazing down into the deep , glistening
lake , she slowly warbled :
"I would be a merma'd fair ;
I would sing to myself the whole of the day ;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair ;
And still as I combed I would sing and say ,
What is it loves me ? who loves not me ? "
As she sung , Alfred Luray regarded
her with a look so intent , so absorbed
and so admiring , that the girl beside
him sighed unconsciously.
"Come , Al , let us go , " she said
coldly. "I dare say we shall meet
her at the hotel , or somewhere about
Garnwold village. And I suppose I
shall bo compelled to recognize her as
an old acquaintance , " she admitted re
luctantly , as the frar vision again van
ished.
"Will you indeed ? " ho commented
in gratified surprise.
"I knew Colestia Ansley long ago , "
Amie responded , with a now gravity.
"I never liked , her , and I am sorry she
has come to Garnwold. "
"Why must every woman dislike an
other who happens to be beautiful erin
in any manner superior ? " the young'
gentleman , quemed , laughingly.
"I only dislike shams , " the girl an
swered in her blunt and direct way ,
"and the gilded sham more than all.
And I shall be sorry if Celestia de
lude you , as she has succeeded jn de
luding many another who perhana
were less " she hesitated , a delicate
pink flush wavering over her calm fea
tures.
"Less what ? " he inquired , smiling
still with a certain indelent equan
imity , that her bluntest aud most un
compromising candor could never pro
voke.
"Less weak , I am afraid , AKred , "
she said , with astonishing composure.
"You are more candid than flailei'-
ing , Amie , " he returned uneasily , but
with no vexation. "But alter all , I
love yot1 the more dearly for your utter
frankness always in everything. And
you never apprehend nothing that will
ever cause you one slightest regret for
me. "
And he meant what he averted.
But , nevertheless , as time went on he
became unmindful of his promise
mindful of nothing but the fascinations
of one fair woman , the beck of whose
small white hand Iiad a charm to lure
him wheresoever she might will. He
did not quite mean to abjure his allegi
ance to another ; he certainly had no
wish to grieve , nor to affront his prom
ised bride ; but he was , indeed , weak
so pitifully weak , and the temptress so
very fair.
DAnd beside , Amie seemed to have be
come so placidly indifferent to it all ;
she never seemed to feel distrustful nor
neglected , but was always her sedate
and amiable self , mainLaining only a
polite and mildly resolute reserve to
ward the captivating woman against
whom she ventured no more warnings.
"Amie is not capable of any great
passion of any kind , neither of any line
sentiment nor sweet enthusiasms , " he
would think , apologizing- his own
compunction. "I like fire and spirit ;
and I do not know that I should be
judged weak and blamable just because
I turn to another for what she can her
self never afford me. "
But perhaps in her quiet way , Amie
suffered ; perhaps in her opinionated
way she believed that her weak and re
creant wanderer would sometime sure
ly return to her affections ; certainly in
her indepentlent way she never seemed
to require the attentions that lie had
latterly denied her. She went about
her strolls alone sedate and piim and
self-sufficient an indefatigable ex
plorer of all the picturesque wonders
of Garnwold.
Late one afternoon she paused in the
tangled hollow beside the little lake
and reposed herself upon the cool dry"
grass , listening absently to the drowsy
rustle of the leaves , and the lazy lap
ping of the water upon the rocks be
low.
Presently the sound of familiar voices
came through the wall of firs before
her , and as half unwillingly she peered
into the glade beyond , she beheld her
betrothed husband , and the fair woman
who had charmed his heart from her.
They were standing on the utmost
-verge of the mossy bank , she contem
plating the purple waters that glistened
far below ; but the man seemed uncon
scious of everything but her presence
he watched only for the soft blushes of
the perfect face , and for the coquettish
smiles of the handsome crimson mouth.
Suddenly he bent toward her and
seized both her small , jeweled wrists.
"You shall speak ; I will be an
swered now , " he said , passion in his
dreamy eyes and sternness in his pol
ished voice. "I was warned agaiust
you ; I was warned that jxni are a
gilded sham a woman who" deludes
the hearts of men for the sport of a
summer day. But I have chosen to be
lieve you -true ; I have chosen to be
lieve that you can love as 1 would be
loved ; and for all my faith in you , Ce
lestia , I demand that you end a sus
pense I can endure no longer. "
She struggled from his gentle grasp
and made a little cry of coquetish pro
test , but at that moment another indi
vidual a gentleman of an unpleasant
ly plebeian aspect strode across the
glade and approached her.
"I have been searching for you
everywhere , " he said , irritably , as he
drew her submissive hand within his
arm , and with a grudging and boorish
sort of salute toward poor Al. "Little
Roily is dangerously sick again , and I
have come to take you home. I am
obliged to 3-011 , sir , for your attention
to my wife , " he added , with a peculiar
chuckle , and another grudging ac
knowledgment to the astounded Al
fred Luray.
The young gentleman could scarcely
as yet realize the significance of it all ;
but as the two moved away he lifted
his hands to his forehead and turned ,
as if to shut trom his sight the cruel
thing- which had wounded him.
His movement was incautious , and
his heedless feet slipped on the mossy
verge of the steep bank , and the next
instant he fell forward down , ever
down , toward the glistening depths
below.
And a moment later Mamie , from
her covert in the tangled hollow , be
held him lying like one dead among
the rocks , the lazy water lapping his
pallid face , upturned to the summer
sky.
Something more potent than senti
ment , and more efficient than enthusi
asm , served him now. A very practi
cal and deliberate young woman clam
bered down the perilous and difficult
declivity ; a strong young arm helped
him to a grassy couch beyond the
reach of those deadly waters : a cool
young brain soon ascertained that his
hurts were superficial ; and a steady ,
skilled hand then administered the
draught that aroused him to conscious
ness.
. "What a brave and clever girl you
are , " he at length said , holding herfast
and regarding her with , a look of gratitude -
tudo and contrition that he fancied she
could not wholly comprehend.
She understood sufficiently well , how
ever. But candid of 'soul and blunt of
speech as she was , she did not at this
crisis shrink from a little innocent dis
sembling ; and she did not allow him
to guess that she knew the entire truth.
Her poor , weak , punished recreant
had returned to her affections , and
she was not loth to believe that his
amends would be all that she could de
sire.
sire."I
"I have a notion , Amie , that I was
really somewhat infatuated with your
old acquaintance , " he once said , attempting
tempting- the penitential explanation
that he deemed indispensable ; "but , my
dearest , 1"
She interrupted him with a peculiar
expression that rather puzzled him.
"I shall not allow you to fib to me ,
Al , " she said witii a peculiar meaning ,
but with assuring sweetness. "I shall
rot credit your notions about what was ,
after all , ouly a vanishing effect , you
know. " [ Etta Rogers.
Pelted by Invisible Hands.
This city , says a Forsylh ( Ga. ) < Ms-
piuc'i , is much excited over mystcriors
developments m a house three mile >
oiu , occuoieit by Mrs. Sandifer and
M s. McA/ee , two widowed sisters.
T\JC house 's continually peKed with
stores , which eem ( o come iVom no.
w'jee. . M. . WilevBrtt has brought
into town ore of tje S'LOPCS which had
fallen , and which was rot of a * meteor
ic character. It was one fiat was ly
ing on the g'-ouud with the c'irt still
adhering to it. Tliis was one of the
largest that , had fallen. It weighed
two pounds , aod hail come into the
window just be"o"e M" . Brut left.
A visit _ o t'.ie house found tlie ladies
at home t > iu\ounded by a number of
friends , who were vainly endeavoring
to fathom the mystery. The trouble
started several days ago , when a stone
fell violently upon ( heloof of the house.
Mrs. McAfee tliou-rlit it was a negro
boy on the premises who had been
guilty of the deed , ard repro.ed him
for it , but he clearly showed his inno
cence. In a short time another fell ,
and then anotliei , and as stones kept
falling , some striking the roof , some
the side , ard others dropping in the
yard. They would fall t'uis at inter
vals , sometimes one * two and three.
This is kept up until midnight , when it
ceases until sunsel. A thorough search
was made of the premises without
reaching a solution o ? Ihemyslei/ . The
stones were evidently i aised from the
ground around the house. Some of
them early in the morning were wet on
one side , and one had clay on it , as if
it had come out of a branch about 100
yards distant. Some people lliink the
stones conic from the sky , but wher
ever they come uom they have set
many people to praying , and when
taken in connection with tlie number of
electrical girls who are coming to the
front some folks asserL that the end of
the world is at hand.
American Belies Abroad.
London Letter to Chicago TJibane.
Among the American women who
have attained a hi h position in Lon
don socially is Mrs. Pierre Lo'rillard
Ronalds , nee Mvs Fanny Ca-ler. New
York society people will well recollect
Miss Carter as one of the most beauti
ful girls of her dy.Ler several years
ot pronounced marltpl unhaopine&s ,
Mrs. Ronalds separaled from M. * . B. ,
quitting America w-Ji her three li tie
children. I suppose there are Tew lives
more full of incident and romance than
thai of this sjll bea.iuui.il and wonder
fully fasc'uatiog woman. During the
reign of Napoleon III. she was one of
the oelles of the F/ench courl. The em
peror is said to have thought her the
most beautiful American he had ever
seen , and frequently went purposely to
see her skate on the ice at tlie fashion
able "rink , " ' which she did , according
to my informant , "divinely. " AftcV
the fall of the empire Mrs. Ronald went
to Algeria , and foi : several years was
lost to the fashionable world. Humor
from time to time said she was living
on a sheep ranch. She was even cred
ited with the management of the vast
estate herself , and one story went so far
as to paint her superintending her farm
personally and dr'ving about over
countless'acres armed to the teeth , fear
less , though the only white woman
within miles.
Within the last few years Mrs. Ro
nalds has returned to London , and now
holds a position in society second to
none. Her only daughter was married
a short time since , making a brilliant
match , and , a friend tells me , the wed
ding gifts included one from the Prince
and Princess of Wales , the Duke and
Duchess of Edinburg. and several other
members of the royal faniily. Last Sun
day Mrs. Ronalds had the three Ameri
can beauties wita her during her recep
tion hours Miss Chamberlain , Miss
Winslow and Mrs. Beach-Grant's love
ly daughter. There were also several
artists present , among them Miss Gris-
weld , Mr. Bret Harle's niece , whose
successful debut at Covent Garden a
few weeks' since has so gratified her
Mends and admirers.
A Tooth. Betrays a Murderer.
Toronto ( Can. ) Mall ,
Guibal , the assassin , has just boon
convicted at Perpi < ; nan of the murder
of a girl named Marie Cerbere. The
evidence which proved him to be her
murderer was very curious. Guibal
had been suspected of having killed
the girl , as she had never been seen
since one day when she was known to
have been in his company. But he
strenuously denied all knowledge of
her , and the case was about to be aban
doned for want of proof , when a girl
came forward who had been Marie's in
timate friend. "Search among the pos
sessions of the accused , " she said , "and
see if you can find among them a gold
ring set with a woman's tooth instead
of a stone. The tooth is mine here is
the space from which it was taken
and I had it set and gave it to Marie
Cerbere as a token of friendship. " The
ring was found among the hoard of
trinkets belonging to Guibal , and on
hearing of its discovery he confessed.
* It is said that rubber belting has al
most entirely supplemented that made
of leather.
More Than TUvy Years at the C M.
New To k Po- . * * '
Western newspapers arc boasting
over a printer In the employ of the ban
Francidco Chronicle who has com
pleted half a century of a "sitf' at the
case. There is a printer in Erie , Pa. ,
named Michael J. Quinn , known
"Father" Quinn ,
among the pi-inters as
who has a longer string than the
Golden Gale man. Father Qumn was
apprenticed when a lad to a printer on
the city of Waterford , Ireland , in I860 ,
and , after serving his apprenticeship
London Times , and
o-ot a sit on the
Sad several "fat takes" of the account
of the queen's marriage notice. Com
ing to America , Mr. Quinn got cases
on the New York Evening Post , which
he held for seven years. During that
period he had the personal acquaint
ance and confidence of William Cullen
Bryant , Park Godwin , John Bigelow
and others. Turning his face west
ward , ho went to Erie and served
nearly twenty years on the Erie De
spatch. He now holds cases on the
Erie Daily Herald , and , although al
most seventy , uses his eyes without the
aid of glasses. Father Quinn's years
of toil present startling features in the
way of figures. For instance , assum
ing a fair average rate of speed , taken
from his best , at 10,000 ems , and his
rate of 5,000 cms at the present day ,
gives 9,500 ems for an average , tt will
be found that the enormous amount of
119,840,000 ems of matter has been set
up by this compositor during the past
half century or more. In setting this
it was necessary to handle ever 358-
020,000 pieces of metal twice over be
sides distribution. It will further in
terest the reader to know that the type
so set would weigh 188,000 pounds , or
ninety-four tons which the old man
has lifted piece by piece in the speci
fied time. In setting type the average
distance over which the hand travels
is a foot and a half or thereabouts.
Consequently his hand has traveled
over 16,000,000 feet , or a matter of
97,727 miles , or within a few hundred
feet of being four times the circumfer
ence of the earth , this does not include
the distribution , which would increase
the distance to about five and a half
times around the globe. Father Quinn's
'string' would fill about 10,015 columns
of space. If sti-etched out in a contin
uous line it would form a belt two
inches wide and over seven miles long
in solid reading matter. Put these
lines in one continuous line , and it
would extend 158 miles. Father Quinn
expects to spendten years more at the
case. He is quite spry and observes all
the fast days and St. Patrick's day
with great regularity.
A Slrange Case ol Blindness.
Th"ee mon.as ago , says an Oswego ,
( N. Y. ) dispitch , Amos B : > tden , of
Baitoinear"Waver ! } * fell sick with
feve. ' . A week aftehe became to
tally blind. He was blind six weeks.
Tuen he suddenly recovered his sght ;
bi'i ? 'though ' during his blindness his
gene al health improved and his mind i
was sound , with the return of his sight
he lost all power of recognizing the
( iifteient members of his family , his
su oiudiugs and his friends. His 11
wre ie ) seated as if she were some
- he had known and his
pe-scu once , ac
tions indicated that his home seemed
to be some place where he must have
lived at some future time. His con f !
duct was apparently go erned ) r sonie
imaginary surroundings entirely for
eign to tlie ac'.ual ores. He remained
in this condition just six weeks. Last
Tht'udar he became enraged at M/s.
Ba-ilei ? . who. appearing to him as the
unknown person referred to , did some
thing contrary toll's wishes. He left
the notice and was gone until Friday
morning. Ko one knew where he had
been. Shortly after his return he
r
went out in. the yard. He presently
returned , much amazed , and , ad
dressing his wife by name , exclaimed ,
"Why. I've got my sight back , but
how d'd I come Lo je in the garden ? "
he said he had felt something give way
in his head , and instantly what he sup
posed to be his sight returned. The
six weeks previous were an entire
blank to him , ? nd it was with diffi
culty that he could be convinced that
5 * ; was July instead of May. His physi
cians are unable to account for"his
stiange case.
Pr. "Graveyard" "Walker.
London TrJtb.
Dr. George Alfred Walker , known as
"Graveyard" Walker , who died last
week at his residence , Ynsyfaig , Bar-
mouth , North Wales , after a brief ill
ness , was born at Nottingham in 1807.
He became a licentiate of the Society
of Apothecaries in 1829 , and a member
of the Royal College of Surgeons in
1881. He studied for a lengthened pe
riod at the Aldersgate-street school ,
and at St. Bartholomew's hospital ,
completing his professional education
in Paris. Early in life he was deeply
engrossed by the terrible upturnings of
human remains in graveyards , which
he had seen in various , parts of the
country. For many years he resolute i
ly waged a crusade against intramural
interments , which ultimately brought
about the passing of the lavr forbid
ding burials in church vaults , and
which led to the construction of public
cemeteries. In 1847 he gained posses-
ion of the notorious Enon chapel , in
London , from which he exhumed sev
eral thousand bodies in various stages
of decay , and had them entombed in a
monster grave in Norwood cemetery.
He was the author of several works on
sanitary reform and the graveyard
question , and wrote a number of treat
ies on the skin , ulcers , gout , rheuma
tism , sciatica and indigestion , which
laid the foundation of a new era in the
treatment of disease.
Mr. Collins recommends a large and
deep well , at least four feet clear in di
ameter and with a depth ot four or
more feet of water , in an airtiht
house , with thick , non-conductn ° -
walls. This house , he says , will be
found a perfect treasure for preserving
plants and for manv other purposes'
The more water that"is taken from it
the more warmth it will give out to the
liouse.
A southern paper says that five fin
gers of a negro woman's right hand
are the best cotton pickers invented
yet.