A SIT OF EXPERIENCE.
I have mot with a peed many people
In jogging o'er life's varied way ;
I've encountered the clover , the simple ,
The crabbed , the grave and the gay ,
I have traveled with beauty , with virtue ,
I have been with the ugly , the bad ,
I have laughed with the ones who wore merry
And wept with the ones who were sad.
t
One thing I have learned In my journey-
Ne'er to ludgo one by what ho appears ,
The eyes that seem sparkling with laughter
Oft battle to keep back the tears ,
And long , sanctimonious faces
Hide often the souls that are vile ,
TVhllo the heart that Is merry and cheerful ID
Is often the freest from guile.
And I've learned not to look for perfection
In one of our frail human kind.
In hearts the most gentle and loving
Some blemish or fau.t wo can find.
But yet I have ne'er found the creature ,
So low , so depraved or so mean ,
But had some good Impulse some virtue
That 'mong his bad traits might bo seen.
And , too , I have learned that most friendships
We make are as brittle as glass ,
Just let a reverse overtake us
Our "friends" on the "other side" pass ,
But , ah J I have found some few loyal
Some hearts over loving and true !
And the Joy and the peace they have brought
mo
Havechecred mo my whole Journey through.
MY FOREIGN ANTAGONIST.
"And you are going home ? "
"Yes , I am going home. "
The happiness within me that found
utterance in a laugh was rellected but
dismally from the brown-bearded face
opposite me. But , then , Gurney was
down on his luck , and that was hardly
to be wondered at , when a young ne'er-
do-well like me could realize in two
* brief years the wealth that he had toil
ed for patiently during half a score in
vain.
"And you'll settle down in the old
country and be a steady , practical man
for the future ? " he said , looking at me
wistfully.
"Yes , and I'll marry Janie , and
make her happy and proud of me , and
you'll visit us , Gurney , won't you , to
see how I have taken all your good
counsel and my own good luck at
heart ? "
"Maybe , maybe ; I don't promise , "
smiling thoughtfully and stroking his
silken beard as he spoke ; "but you liave
had rare fortune , young one , and you
do well to sit down now and consider
how to do the very best with yourself.
It is not every one who finds himself at
25 with a university education and a re
alized fortune , andja sweet , faithful girl
waiting for him at home. But that is
the way of things ; chance you that be
cause you were a bad boy to begin with ,
while I , who was as steady always as
Rhadamanthus and the remaining
Judges , have a handful of nuggets for
my whole capital and a grave under
the wattle trees to mark the end of
my love story. Hardly fair , is it , young
one ? "
"Horribly unfair , " I answered warm
ly , "but your turn will come ; it always
does to the deserving and patient. And
as to me , why my end is not seen yet.
'Call no man happy till he is dead , ' you
know. "
A faint smile broke over his face.
"Do you think I envy you or grudge
you anything ? Oh , no ; I am not such
a bad fellow as that. I would not take
from you one gleam of your content
ment if I could. I am satisfied both
for you and for myself. Prosperity
is the pabulum you will thrive on ,
while I should be the same under any
fortune. "
We were on our way together down
the main street of Tarrangower , he
coming from the store where he had
been disposing of some gold-dust to an
.agent who paid threepence an ounce
'more for it than the bank price , I from
the New South "Wales Bank , whence I
liad been drawing my fortune in the
form of a bulky roll of one hundred
pound British notes.
"It is scarcely s'afe to carry all that
around here , " an acquaintance ventur
ed warningly , as was buttoning the
money into the pocket of my moleskin
trousers.
"I shall take the number of the notes
"by-and-by , " I answered carelessly.
"You know I sail for England next
week. "
, "And why not have that money trans
ferred to the bank there for safety , and
your own comfort in traveling , and a
hundred reasons ? " the man asked in
surprise.
"Hike it this way ; I like the feel of it
about me , and convenience is altogether
a matter of opinion. "
Then I went out whistling , not
through dearth , but through abundance
of thought. That bulky roll represent
ed love and triumpn , and reconciliation
with the family at home , who had
feigned to despair of me once.
"Oh , Janie , Janie , how fond and
faithful have been'I !
you thought tu-
multuously. "Heaven helping me , my
future will be worthier of you than my
past has been. "
And then I had encountered Gurney ,
and , linking my arm in his , we had
walked down the street together , while
I dilated to him on my prospects.
"Yon go to Europe next week , and I
start up the country to-morrow , and it
may be we shall never meet again , " he
said , regretfully.
"Then let us drink a stirrup-cup at
parting , " I said , drawing him toward
the open door of the Kangaroo.
"A stirrup-cup of water , if you
"Preaching again ! " I said pettishly.
"No , not preaching ; only urging
you , by our friendship , to make me
happy. "
"What is it to you ? "
r "I like you ; I want to know you are
safe before you leave me. "
I twisted myself away from him im
patiently.
"No man has ever called me a drunk
ard , " I said. '
"No , certainly not , and I want to
make sure no man ever will. " '
I hesitated , looking at him doubt
fully.
"Surely it is in the hour of our great
est triumph that we should most really
bring our sacrifice to the altar. "
"All right , " I said , flushing. "I pro
mise. "
"Promise what ? " '
"To abstain from intoxicating drinks
as beverages forever , " laughing un
comfortably.
He stretched out his big hand and
grasped mine.
"I am satisfied about you now , young
one ; I never was before. Heaven bless
you ! "
And then we sauntered into the sa
loon together , and drank a glass of gin
ger beer , amicably chatting in a desul
tory way.
Groups of two and three were scat
tered hero and there about the bar ,
chatting noiseily for the most part ,
though a few drank in sullen silence ;
but , except the lounger by the door ,
who stood with his hands plunged deep-
Ig in his pockets , and his slouch-hat
drawn low over his restless eyes , each
man had some mate to reflect his hu
mor or contradict it.
"That is the Italian fellow , " I whis
pered , nodding toward him.
"Yes ; cleaned out or thereabouts , "
Gurney answered , in a low tone , and
then we turned to leave together.
As we passed- out some impulse
prompted me to turn towards the
stranger , and , extending a sovereign on
my open palm , I said , curtly :
"Have it , mate ? "
"I did not beg , " he answered , coldly ,
speaking with a distinct foreign ac
cent ,
"Of course not , but it will bring
you luck. Money from the pockets of a
successful digger always does , " I said
lightly-
"Thank you. "
He took the coin from me , but held it
doubtfully in his hand while he followed
me with his eye.
"That fellow is desperate. I should
have said nothing to him , on the princi
ple of letting sleeping dogs lie , " Gurney
remarked.
"It is always well to do a kind ac
tion when one has the chance , " I said
carelessly ; "that may stave off suicide
another week ; " and'then Gurney and I
shook hands and parted , with some
vague hope of meeting somewhere ,
some time , if we could.
It was a dark night , and when once I
had left the lights of Tarrangower be
hind me , the darkness seemed to close
around me with a sense of discomfort.
After all , had I been wise to carry all
that money on my person , and to take
my way , alone and unarmed for an
unloaded pistol was a mere toy
through a district so familiar in those
adventurous times with deeds of violence
lence ? Several men saw the money at
the bank , and others knew that I meant
to draw out my investments that day.
Why had I not told Gurney , and let
him come home with me ? Why had I
not ?
But pshaw ! What was the good of
shrinking like a child before a dark
night ? There was no danger none in
the world ; the men who had seen the
money were as honest as I was , and
once I had reached my hut I would load
my revolver and be ready for an at
tack.
To keep up my heart I fell to hum
ming one of Janie's old tunes , while I
strove to concentrate all my attention
on the path before me. I had proceed
ed thus half way home , and my first
terrors were fading away , when just
where the uncertain roadway dipped
into a thicket of Eucalyptus , a hand
was laid on my shoulder and a vibrant
voice said tremulously :
"Your money or your life ! " *
"Ha , it is you , scoundrel , whom I
helped ! " I said , wheeling around sud
denly on my unseen assailant. "Dog
of an Italian , would you dare ? "
It was furious indignation and scorn
of such a base return of my kindness
that animated me at this moment. Bat
tling for existence of my treasure had
not occurred to me yet.
"Yes , I would dare because I am
mad , " the man panted forth. You
must give me the gold ; you are young ,
you can gain more. You have hope , I
have nothing give it me. "
"Yes , I shall give it you that , " I
said striking in the direction of the
voice , and then , we closed with each
other.
After that neither of us spoke , but we
wrestled like giants , while each
clutched the other by the throat.
My money was safe still , secured by
a flap and button over the pocket , ac
cording to a fashion prevailing in the
colony at the time , and my chance of
life lay in the endurance of my thews
and sinews , for I knew I was con
fronted by a desperate man.
Round and round , backwards and
forwards , circling recklessly and grasp
ing each other furiously , we went ,
while the sense of strangulation , due to
his grip on my throat , increased as he
strove to throw me.
"Ten seconds more and I shall be
choked , " I thought ; and then I loosened
ened one hand from its hold of him ,
and struck out with my clenched fist
towards the region of his heart.
The blow told ; he fell like a log , be
ing apparently paralyzed for the mo
ment ; but in falling he dragged me
with him , and his grasp of my throat
never relaxed.
"I am dying , " I thought , striving
with all my remaining strength to
loosen his hold of me , and then my
thoughts wandered confusedly toward
my mother and Janie , and the home I
had meant to make for my darling ; and
then I remember no more , I had either
fainted or been suffocated into insensi
bility.
How long I remained thus I cannot
tell. When I recovered consciousness
the murderous pressure had fallen off ,
but my assailant still lay beneath me ,
breathing hearily.
Simultaneously we seemed to recov
er consciousness , and in unison we rose
to our feet. I was trembling in every
limb ; my aching eyeballs seemed start
ing from my head ; my parched throat
refused to utter a sound , and my as
sailant seemed in no better case.
For an instant we stood apart , glar
ing at each other through the darkness ;
then , as though at a given signal , we
closed with each other again , instinct
ively , neither knowing why. I believe
he had no more thought then of taking
the money than I had of defending it.
There seemed nothing awake in us but
mere animal fury ; brute force opposed
brute force , demanding' victory at any
cost :
Again we wrestled and strove , white
face close to white face in the gloom ,
and again the contest was so equal that
no spectator would have known on
which side to promise victory. For
many minutes we wrestled silently and
then we fell again , and this time I was
undermost. And then ensued a strug
gle such as I had no idea men were ca
pable of. We rolled over each other ,
we strained every nerve each to kill the
other , we dealt each other desperate
blows at random , and then , when ex
haustion forbade another movement ,
mechanically we desisted , and as me
chanically rose and drew a few labored ,
gasping breaths , and rushed to the con
test again.
Whether or not my opponent was
armed , I knew not ; at any rate he made
no attempt to draw any weapon. As
for me , I carried my useless pistol , but
even had it been loaded , I question if I
would have used it after the first five
minutes ; the contest was so terribly
close and equal that a thought of any
extraneous aid clid not occur to me.
Our action was wonderfully concert
ed ; as though governed by a double
mechanism we struggled , fell , rose and
resumed the fight , and that after each
had grown so weak that a child could
have vanquished either.
And through all my terrible craving
for his life there crept , by-and-by , a
slow consciousness of respect for him.
He was tough as leather , and he fought
well , taking his punishment with an
endurance that hitherto I had deemed
exclusively British.
When I look back on the incident
now I have no knowledge of time , no
knowledge of anything but pain , and ef
fort and blinding blows. I cannot tell
how long the struggle lasted , or how it
terminated ; I only know that at last the
end came somehow , and that , after a
period of oblivion , I returned to con
sciousness and found myself alone.
How I reached home I cannot tell. I
walked the distance , doubtless , as som
nambulists do , for next day when a
neighbor came to look me up , I was
tossing on my bed in a raging fever , and
the money which had so nearly been the
price of a life , was buttoned in my
pocket.
Of course the Great Britain.sailed
without me , and of course the friends
awaiting me at home grew sick of the
silence , which no explanation came to
break , for what message could anj'one
send who expected hourly to see me
die ?
But the turn in my long illness came
at last , and then I turned slowly and re
luctantly towards improvement. I had
fought a hard battle for life beneath the
shadow of the eucalyptus ; that which
disease waged against my youth later ,
was as deadl } ' and more prolonged.
But youth triumphed at last , and I rose
a shadow of my former self , likely to be
debarred from existence on the old ,
glad , free terms for many a year.
It was j-ears before the last memento
of my encounter with that desperate
ruffian had passed out of my system ,
but now , after half a lifetime , I can
look back from.my fair , happy , English
home on that incident of my career as
contentedly as on any other of my colonial
nial experiences.
As to my enemy , his body had been
found in the creek while I lay at the
point of death , but whether fallen there
by accident or flung in through despair
I never learned.
Gurney's affairs brightened after I
left him , and the last time I looked on
his honest face , as he sat beside my
Janie's sister , with my youngest boy on
his knee , I decided conclusively that
life was not so nearly over for him by a
long way as he had imagined when good
luck and he had stood on opposite
sides.
B
A HOWIiING HURRICANE.
A. Great Deal of Properly Destroyed and
Some X.08S oflAfe Incurred.
Evansvllle , Ind. , and surrounding country
was visited by a destructive hurricane on Fri
day last. A damage of not less than a quarter
of a million of dollars in Evansville and vicin
ity was Inflicted. Homes were blown down ,
roofs carried away , stores badly damaged
thousands of shade trees were torn up by the
roots and other injury done. The steamer
Belmont , which leaves Evansville every morn
ing , was wrecked by the storm about two
miles from Henderson , blowing her barge and
cars to the bank , taking" her chimneys off and
sinking her almostinstantly. Fourteen lives
were lost. The hurricane capsized the boat ,
turning her completely over. She was going
to Henderson with a cargo containing the
passengers of the Louisville and Nashville
railroad. The boat was separated from the
barge. All on the latter were saved , and all on
the boat , except four or five , lost. Among the
lost are Cantam John Smith , E. C. Roach and
son , a prominentmerchantof Evansville , Miss
Laura Xyon and sister , SalHo Bryant , teach
ers there and mother , also Mrs. Woodward , of
Henderson , and a lady and a babe with a
satchel , with a card in it marked Miss Hattie
Murray , Brookfleld , Ala. The bodies of the
three latter were found.
Private Henry's Remains.
After consulting with Coroner Lovey , of
New York , and the military authorities at
Governor's Island , Coroner Robinson has de
cided not to take any further steps at present
in the direction of exhuming the body of Pri
vate Charles B. Henry , a member of the Gree-
ly arctic expedition , shot for stealing pro
visions. The coroner has written a letter to
Miss Dora Buck , of Lincoln , Nebraska , sister
of Private Henry , informing her that he will
not move further in the matter until the con
sent of the war department had been obtained
for the examination of her brother's body ,
and that she herself must make the applica
tion , accompanied by proofs of her relation
ship to the dead man. The application and
proofs , the coroner says , he will present to
Colonel Berry at Governor's Island if Miss
Buck still desires an investigation and sends
them to him.
Cases of Yellow Fever.
The health commissioners of New York re
ceived information that two seamen were
lying ill , apparently suffering from yellow
fever. They were Martin Denes and John
Tederman , who arrived in the schooner "J. A.
Baker , " from Georgetown , S. C. , last week.
They were removed to the hospital , where the
doctors arc also of the opinion that the cases
were yellow fever. One of the men died and
the police requested the health authorities to
place the house from which the seamen were
removed under quarantine. The health inspector
specter is familiar with the malady and made
an investigation. He says he is convinced
that the men were not suffering from real
yellow fever , but asthenia , following a per
nicious intermittent fever. Another seaman
ill was removed to the Marine hospital on
Staten Island.
Ruling Out Infected Cattle.
President Landregan , of the Illinois State
Board of Agriculture , authorizes the follow
ing : In consideration of the alleged exist
ence of pleuro-pneumonia In numerous herds
of Jersey cattle throughout the west , and the
uncertain extent of the disease , the Illinois
State Board of Agriculture deem it a duty to
breeders of other cattle , as well as to the
breeders of Jerseys , to exclude all animals of
the last named breed from the state fair of
1884 , and to rigidly enforce the law empower
ing the board to rule out all cattle that have
been exposed to any infectious disease , with
in thirty days prior to the exhibition.
Savings banks vere established in
France as early as 1834 , but it was not
until 1845 that they had a very strong
hold on public confidence. In 1881 the
depositors numbered 4,321,000.
A MIDNIGHT HORROR.
Ten Xen Boasted to Death in a Circus Car on
a Colorado Railroad ,
Denver telegram : Lost night a train be
longing to the Anglo-American circus. Miles
Orton proprietor , left Fort Collins for Golden
via the Greoley , Salt Lake and Pacific road.
Forty minutes later , when near Greciy , a
looping car , in which seventy-five men cm-
ployed as roustabouts of the circus were
aaleep , caught flro and was wholly consumed.
Ten men perished and two were seriously and
five slightly burned. The flro was communl- .
oated from an open torch with which the car
was lighted to a quantity of gasoline which
was being carried In the same cor , causing an
explosion. The accident was attended with
Indescribable horrors. The burned car was
next to the engine in a train of seventeen
cars , containing Orion's Anglo-American cir
cus , which loft Fort Collins about midnight
for Golden over the Grocloy , Salt Lake and
Pacific road. The train was nearing Windsor ,
a small station near Greeley , running about
twenty-five miles an hour , when Engineer
Colloprifl'jt discovered that the car was on
fire. He reversed the engine and threw open
the whistle valve. There were sixty men on
the car arranged in three tiers of bunks on
either side. The forward door was closed and
the men were in bunks sleeping against it.
The rear side door was closed , and the men
who awoke discovered the lower unoccupid
berth next to it on flro , nlllngthe car with
Bmoke and cutting off escape in that
direction. The only means of egress
was through a small window between the car
and the engine. John Pine , of Edperton , Wis. ,
and Elmer Mlllctt " , of Iowa , crawled through
the opening and "tried to pass in water from
the engine tank , but owing to suffocating
gases it was difficult to arouse the sleepers.
Some were kicked and bruised in a shocking
manner and pitched out of the window. The
screams of those unable to got through the
blockade were torrirying. The wild glare of
the flames and light of the burning victims
outside , who wore writhing in agony on cac
tus beds , caused the wild beasts in the adjoin
ing cor to become frantic with terror , making
the scene appalling. The performers , who
occupied the rear cars gazed with whim faces
upon the awful spectacle. In the midst of the
confusion two or three heroic souls appeared
equal to the occasion , and bravely cut their
way to their companions to find them already
In the agony of death.
DAlbort Lake , in charge of the animals , and
his friend Keat walked over the cactus in
their bare feet , pouring oil on the blistered
unfortunates and wrapping them in blankets.
An old Pacific coast sailor named McDonald ,
formerly of Forcpaugh's show , was terribly
burned , his flesh hanging in shreds.
The heart-rending cries of the men on the
prairie smothered the appeals of the dying
within the cur. The roar of the flames and
the howling of the animals made the scene
terrible beyond description. The odor of
roasting flesh and the distant cry of coyotes
added to the general horror of the soone. The
voices of the dying grow fainter and soon
ceased.
Meantime the engine had gone to Grocly for
assistance , returning with Dr. Jesse Harris ,
president of the state medical association.
Many of the rescued , In being pulled through
the email window , hud limbs broken and
joints dislocated. Hands and feet wore found
burned off. Roasted trunks of , bed > es were
found in one place , legs in another and piles
of roasted shriveled carcasses were pulled out
of the ruins.
At daylight a flat car carried the charred
bodies into Grooley for interment. The coun
ty commissioner buried the remains In a huge
coffin , seven feet wide by ten feet long , in the
Greely cemetery. Rev. Mr. Reed , of the Pres
byterian church , conducted the funeral ser
vices. The coroner empanelled a jury , who
were unable to learn the cause of the flro or
any important facts , as the managers , with
the remainder of the company , loft immediate
ly for Golden to fill the afternoon engage
ment.
The names of the dead as far as known are
as follows :
Alex. MoLeod , Marinette , WIs.
Thos. McCartoy , Independence , la.
John Kelly , New York city , and others
" " " . * * " "
known as "Severthorn , "Andy. "Frenchy ,
"Frank , " "George" and "Smithte , " and one
unknown.
The following Is a list of the sufferers
E. E. Fairbanks , age 22 , arms , legs , faoo and
body burned.
Albert Borden , aged 17 , Logan , Kas arms ,
face and body badly burned.
Thomas Golden , aged 17 , Detroit , Mich. , very
badly burned on back and legs.
N. J. Zimmerman , aged 18 , St. Louia , Mich. ,
arms , legs , bock and face fearfully burned.
Frank King , of Michigan , was badly burned
about the hands and face.
Michael McGlmn. aged 28 , Hrtton , Mich. ,
face and hands badly burned.
Hugh O'Donnell , aged 50 , Jfow Orleans , La. ,
badly burned about the face , arms , bonds and
back , and will probably died
A number or the rescued agree that in the
car were two barrels of gasoline , which were
exploded either by sparks from the engine or
from a naked torch with which the men wore
accustomed to light themselves to bed.
SEPTEMBER CONTESTS.
Outcome of the Election Held in Vermont on
the 3d.
One hundred and five towns is. Vermont
give Pingree , ( rep. ) 22,628 , Redington , ( dem. )
10,440 , scattering 291. Same towns in 1880 gave
Farnham 25,954 , Phelps 11,455 , scattering 491.
So far as returns have been received In the
First congressional district , Stewart , ( rep. )
receives 3.633 , Simmons , ( dem. ) 471 , Kidder ,
( greenback ) 301 , scattering 147. In the Second
district Grout , ( rep. ) receives 7,847 , Goddard ,
( dem. ) 3,186 , Soule , ( greenback ) 86 , scatter"
ing 4.
Burlington gives Pingree 913 , and Redington
1,03. Redington's majority 111. This Is the
first time the city has ever gi en a majority
for the democratic state ticket , Hibbard
( democrat ) is elected representative by a ma
jority of 394.
Returns from 114 towns give Pingree ( repub
lican ) for governor 25,663 , Redington ( demo
crat ) 11,970. Soulo ( greenbacker ) 354 , Stone ( in
dependent ) and scattering 165. giving Fingee
a majority over all of 12,373. The same towns
in 1880 gave Farnham ( republican ) 27,405 ,
Phelps ( democrat ) 12,650 , giving Farnam a ma
jority of 14,577. This shows a falling off in
the republican vote from 1880 of 3,000 , and in
democratic vote of same year of 680.
For congress in the first district Stewart
( republican ) has 7,339 , Simmons ( democrat )
3,000 , Kidder ( greenbacker ) and scattering 113 ;
Stewart's majority , 4,698. In the second dis
trict Grant ( republican ) has 11,999 , Goddard
5.300 , Cummings ( greenbacker ) and scattering
113. Grant's majority 6.764.
The towns not heard from gave in 1880 for
Farnham 37,405 , for Phelps 13.650 ; making
Farnhnm's majority 14,755. At this rate the
republican majority for governor will bo about
30 , < 500.
The legislature stands 93 republicans , 14
democrats , 1 greenbacker and 1 independent.
Twenty of the largest towns , including Bur
lington , Rutland and St. Albans give Pingree ,
( rep. ) for governor 9,733 , Redington 5,454 , Soule
116. Pingree'8 majority 4.163. The same towns
in 1880 gaveFarnhamlO,830Phelps 5,430. Farn-
ham's majority 5,491 , showing a falling off of
1.333 in the republican vote and in the demo
cratic vote of 45.
.Report of Indian Outbreak Not Credited.
The commissioner of Indian affairs does not
credit the report of the threatened Indian
outbreak in northwestern Montana. He be
lieves that the stories are circulated by stock
men who wish to have the Indians removed.
An officer of the Indian bureau , referring to
the matter , said the stockmen had no just
cause for complaint , even if it were true that
the Indians had killed a few cattle , because
the land belonged to the United States , and
stockmen had no legal right to use it for their
own benefit , and fence it In , as they were now
doing.
Purity of the White House.
' Oath" In New York Trttmne.
The "White House has been a pure
homestead. The first president who
went there took the ablest woman who
probably ever was mistress of that build
ing into it , Abigail A'dams the mother
of another president. Then came Jeffer
son's matronly daughter , and Madison's
beaming wife , with Monroe's demure
family , and the second Adams with his
Maryland-bred wife , whose father had
been a foreign consul when they were
married. Andrew Jackson , freshly a
widower , sat there with the family of
his nephew and adopted son. Van Bu-
ren , wifeless , there brought up his boys
with such confidence and gentleness
years of account keeping. During the
first year of wedded life the kisses ex
changed reached the colossal figure of
SG,50p , or on an average of 100 a day ,
but in the following twelve months
there was a notable decrease , not more
than 16,000 being inscribed on his regis
ter ; whilst the third year shows a still
greater falling oil , the average number
pf kisses being but ten a day.
After the lapse of five years a further
reduction is recorded , and the account
keeper's task was simplified , for only
two kisses were exchanged during each
twenty-four hours one in the morning
on rising , and the other on retiring to
rest. Later on , during the last ten
years of his married life , they only kiss
ed each other on leaving for or return
ing from a journey , and he had hence
very little trouble in makingup his an
nual domestic statistics. Ifow , there
was possibly very little diminution of af
fection , notwithstanding this ominous
looking record ; it goes more to prove
that the disuse arose from a growth of
familiarity rather than from estrange
ment. Take the case of a man's chil
dren as an example ; ho fondles and
kisses an infant much more than he does
the same child as it increases ingrowth ;
but who can say that his affection is less
for a.daughter in the ripeness of woman
hood than it was for her when lying in
her cradle half or wholly unconscious of
his love.
HE COUNTED THE KISSES.
Curious Itecord of Matrimonial Salutes Kept
by a Frenchman.
Eastern ( Constantinople ) Express.
Perhaps of all nations in the worldthe
French are most given to the practice of
statistics , and in carrying it out they
take into consideration all manner of
subjects which would never enter the
minds of other , people. As a case in
point , it is narrated of a Frenchman ,
who recently died , that on his wedding
day , some twenty years ago , he took
the resolution of keeping a yearly record
of the number of kisses exchanged with
his wife until their union became sever
ed by death of one or the other. He was
destined to be the first to go , but when
on his sick bed , foreseeing that he would
not recover , he begged a friend to let
the world know the result of his twenty
that they were almost public men in
their teens. Tyler went over his dying
wife and received his pure bride in that
building which is coeval with Washing
ton himself. Mrs. Polk , without chil
dren , but with those gracious instincts
which are yet. preserved in her happy
age , ministered here. There Zachary
Taylor took the domestic honor of a sol
dier with none of the habits of the camp.
Mr. Fillmore demeaned himself there
almost as happily as Gen. Arthur later
kept in honorable sentiment with the
homes of the country by the universal
knowledge that he had loved his wife
and never replaced her. Buchanan ,
disappointed in early love , brought his
niece to give at once maiden and wo
manly respect to his table. Lincoln saw
his child die there , and shed the tears
which consecrate the spot to family del
icacy and household honor. Through
the laborious years of Grant his wife
never withdrew from him that protec
tion which is better than friendship , and
he married his daughter while in the
office. Mrs. Hayes made by her beauty
and Christian nature a quiet fame there
which those only sneer at who degrade
themselves. When that house loses its
sanctity as a representative of the Amer
ican home , let the lightning select it for
ravage and decay !
Taking a Bee Line.
From Our Little Ones.
Little Paul went out into the woods
one day , bird-nestiug ; he didn't mean
to rob the nests ; he only wanted to
know where they were. He liked to
find a prettily woven one with little blue
eggs in it , and watch till the tiny birds
burst the shell. They were such odd-
looking little things , with their big
mouths always open for worms. It
was pleasant to see them from day to
day , till their pin-feathers grew , and
they became stout and strong and be
gan to sing a few notes.
But he did not find one very quickly.
He bgan to feel hungry and want his
dinner. He could go home now and
visit the woods some other morning.
Then he looked about him. Which
path led to the farm ? He sat down
and thought about it. The more he
thought the more he was puzzled. How
should he ever get home again ? Should
he have to stay all night in the woods
with no candle but the stars ? without
any bed but the mossy cushions ? with
out any covering but the green
branches ?
He called aloud , hoping somebody
might be felling trees there. Only the
echoes answered him , and the little
brook seemed to laugh out at him.
He remembered that once old brindle
had strayed away into the wood-lot.
His father was gone in search of her for
hours. He wished he might hear the
tingle of her bell now , and see her
white horns pushing the bushes aside.
A little bird flew down and took a
drink from the brook. She knew her
way through the thick woods , but what
was a little boy to do.
He felt as if he should starve if he
didn't find his way soon. He wished
he had brought one of his mother's
doughnuts with him. While he was
wondering what to do he heard a famil
iar sound close by. It was a little low
song he had often heard at home. It
seemed to come from a bunch of flow
ers growing among the mosses. Were
flowers ever known to sing ?
Paul remembered that nobody in that
region kept bees but his father. The
bee knew the way home. When he
had filled his honey bags and flejv up
out of the flowers , almost brushing
Paul's cheek , it seemed as if he said ,
"It's time to be going to the hive ; fol
low me child. "
He watched the bee mount up into
the air a little way. He then made a
bee-line for homeland Paul followed.
The bee was just flying into the hive ,
all yellow with pollen , when Paul's
mother cried out , "Where have you
been , dear ? I was afraid you had run
away to the village to see the circus
come in. "
"I was lost in the wood lot , " said
Paul ; "I met one of our bees down
there making honey. When he got
ready to come home he showed me the
way. "
Military Berlin.
Binokwood' * Mwailne.
more soldiers m the
One certainly sees
those of London
streets of Berlin than in
don and Paris ; but ono does not see
many of them , and they form altogeth
er but a small minority of the people
about Berlin.
one meets when walking
And that is easy to explain , soldiers do
not play at soldiering here , as French
schoolboys have done latterly , light
ing is considered by the Germans a busi
ness , or a trade , or an art as you may
like to call it which is to be learned
very seriously , and which keeps the
volens devoted
young men , who are -nolens
voted to it , during almost the whole day
in their quarters or on the parade
ground. As to the officers , they are
nearly as much taken up by their work
official , mercantile
as the most hard-working
cantile clerk or artisan. The lieutenant
of the guards , who has nothing to debut
but to show his fine uniform on the
streets , exists only in the imagination of
people who have never seen him. That
aristocratic young gentleman generally
begins his work at 6 o'clock in the
morning in summer , at 8 in the winter ,
and is tired out when , at 5 or 6 o'clock
in the evening , he has at last got
through it. It is not he , certainly , who
crowds the streets of Berlin. He has
other tilings to do than to walk about ,
even when he happens to be on leave.
There is , however , something military
to be seen in the streets of Berlin at
nearly every hour of the day , which
may have struck the Parisian newspa
per writer , though it does not belong
exclusively to Berlin , but to all the lar
ger German towns where soldiers are
garrisoned. Every now and then , es * r
pecially about noon , you will meet
small detachments of soldiers four ,
six , perhaps ten or twenty men march
ing from the guard house to relieve the fl
sentries on duty at the palaces of mem
bers of the imperial family , the resi
dences of commanding offices and cer
tain public buildings , such as the minis n
try of war , the staff office , the arsenal ,
etc. These soldiers , preceded by a ser
geant , walk in the middle of the street
with long , regular , quiet steps , almost
leisurely. Suddenly a sharp word of
command is heard. An officer or an
imperial carriage is in sight. The men
all at once seem to have oeen struck by " *
a galvanic battery , and from that in
stant to move under some strange and
irresistible influence. With a kind of
spasmodic jerk they straighten them
selves up to their full height , their
shoulders are thrown back , their eyes
are fixed on one and the same point
the passing officer ; the rifle is held in a
powerful grasp by the firm hand , and
the feet , violently thrown forward as by
machinery , produce , as they tread the
hard pavement , at short , regular inter
vals , a loud and yet muffled sound , fa
miliar to the native of Berlin , and
which causes him to look round toward
those from whom it proceeds.
i
The Docile American Horse.
London Telegraph.
It has long been accepted as a theory
by our transatlantic kinsmen that vice
in animals is almost always the result of
unkindness and maltreatment received
by them from their human companions ,
and that the paucity of vicious horses
in the United States is to be explained
by the gentleness , and , so to speak , the
familiarity with which the noble animal
is treated in every part of the union.
There can be no doubt that in no coun
try is the intelligence of quadrupeds
more developed and cultivated than in
the United States , where it is well un
derstood that by kindness alone can 1
their characteristics , faults , dispositions
and qualities be fully drawn forth.
Nothing is more common , for instance ,
than to see an American horse har
nessed to a buggy and standing alone
in New York his master having en
tered a shop by the curbstone's edge ,
in the midst of the crush and turmoil of
Broadway , ono of the most crowded
and noisy thoroughfares upon the face
of the earth. Before descending from
his buggy the master says a word or
two to his horse and leaves him stand-
street without restraint. The
_ animal , whose eyes are not
shielded by blinkers , and who is not
tormented by a Procustean bearing-rein
understands perfectly that he is expect
ed to wait until his master has trans
acted his business , and wait , accord
ingly he does , sometimes for hours at a
time , and without regard to the sum
mer's heat or winter's cold. Again , in.
the widest parts of the western and
southern states there is not a fanner
who thinks anything of driving his
horses by night over a wooden bridge
full of holes , caused by many planks
having dropped into the stream be
neath. The careful beast , who may or
may not have crossed the bridge on
many previous occasions , feels his way
in the darkness , and his head havino-
been surrendered to him by the driver
steps as carefully and with as much pr ( >
cision as a dancing master. Whenever ,
indeed , a horse is found to be possessed
of a violent , or , to use an old York
shire word , a "mischancv" temper in
the United States , the odds are in favor
of his being imported from abroad.
These Died of laughter.
Troy Times.
Chalcas , the sooth-sayer , died of
laughter at the thought of his having
outlived the time predicted for his
death. A fellow in rags had told him
that he would never drink the wine of
the grapes growing in his vineyard-
and added : "If these words do not
come true , you may claim me for your
slave. " When the wine was made ,
Chalcas held a feast , and sent for the
fellow to see how his predictions had
fatted. When he appeared the sooth
sayer laughed so immoderately at the
would-be prohet that it killed him
Crassus died from laughter on seeing
an ass eat thistles. Margutte , thl
giant , m the Mor ante , Maggiore , died
of laughter on seeing a monkey pulling
on his boots. Zeuxis , the Grecian
painter , died at sight of a hag he had
just depicted. A peculiar death was
that of Placut , who dropped dead in
the act of paving a bill. There are
many men to-day , however , who would
probably die of surprise , if they found
themselves doing the same thino- .
-S CaHfornia when a man has
-
kicked his wife out of bed three times
he is entitled to a divorce.
