coaaxa nrxv POST.
I have weathered the turbulent cape of
storms , .
Where the winds of passion blow :
I have sheered by the reefs that gnash to
foam
The shallows that lurkbelow ;
I have Joycd-lntho surge of the whistling sea ,
And the wild , strong stress of the gale ,
As my bravo bark quivered and leaped , alive ,
To the strain of Its crowded sail.
Then the masterful spirit was on me ,
And with Nature I wrestled glad ;
And danger was like a passionate bride ,
And Love was Itself half mad.
Then Life was a storm that blow mo on ,
And flow us the wild winds fly ;
And Hope was a pennon streaming out
High up to play with the sky.
Oh the golden days , the glorious days
That so lavish of life wo spent ;
Oh the dreaming night with the silent stars
'Neath the sky s mysterious tent !
Oh the light , light heart and the strong desire
And the pulse's quickening thrill ,
When Joy lived with us , and Deauty smiled ,
And Youth had its free , full will !
The wholu wide world was before us then ,
And never our spirits failed.
And we never looked back , but ownward ,
onward
Into the Future wo sailed.
Ever before'UR the far horizon
Whoso dim and exquisite line
Alone divided our Earth from Heaven ,
Our Life from a Life divine.
Now my vovago is woll-nlgh over ,
And my stanchest spars are gone ;
And my sails are rent , and my barnacled bark
Drags slowly and heavily on.
The faint brcezo comes from the distant shore
With its odors dim and sweet
And soon in the silent harbor of peace
Long-parted friends I shall greet.
The voyage is well nigh over.
Though at times a capful of wind
Will rattle the ropes and fill the sails ,
And furrow a wake behind.
But tbo sea has become a weariness ,
And glad into port I shall come
With my sails all furled , and my anchor
dropped ,
And my cargo carried home.
[ Blackwood.
AGEIOULTUBAL.
Feeding Hay.
Breeders' Gazette.
Concerning the indefinite quantity of
the hay ration in the most reputed feed
ing experiments referred to in a recent
issue of the Gazette , it may be observed
that feeding hay is a matter that re
quires considerable judgment. Ani
mals , like men , when the opportunity
for exercising preferences is presented ,
are apt to consider that the best only i
good enough for them ; and if more hay
is given than they require will pick out
the tenderest and sweetest portions and
leave the remainder , which not only
wastes valuable feed , but encourages
the habit of daintiness in the animals
which is conducive to anything but
thrift. Animals that pick over their
'
'food , smelling and poking every blade
and stem in apparent hesitation as to
whether to eat or not , do not compare
in thriftiness with the good , square eat
ers , whose appetites give them a good
relish for a reasonable quantity of any
proper food. The general practice is to
"feed enough , " which is correct enough
when just sufficient is given , and very
incorrect when great quantities are
given to be trampled under foot or oth
erwise wasted. But , with hay in the
bulk , it is not easy to gauge the quan
tity given , and even if this were possi
ble , it would vary materially with the
quality of the product , although where
good grain rations are given , variations
in quality of hay are not so important.
"We remember once weighing some hay
that had been passed through a cut
ting machine , and that a great big pile
of it uncut , measured only a few bush
el basketfuls after the machine had
done with it , weighing seven pounds
and a half to the basket , or just half
the weight of course wheat bran weigh
ed at the same time. It is not possible
in the practical operation of the farm ,
to be strictly accurate in such matters ,
but whatever departure there may be
should be , so far as possible , controlled
by calculation , and not left altogether
to accident. The farmer cannot have a
chemical analysis made of his hay to as
certain its exact nutritive value , and he
cannot weigh out to each bullock so
many pounds and ounces , but he can ,
considering the quantity of grain he is
feeding and the average quantity of the
hay , make up his mind about how many
pounds he should feed. If he does this ,
and finds part of it wasted , he. can de
crease the quantity , and if the quantity
should be insufficent , his own practical
observation will soon disclose that fact
to him. Having made up his mind
about how many pounds to feed * he will
have to guess and weigh a few times
until he can approximate somewhat the
desired quantity , and will have a basis
or starting point from which to increase
or decrease the ration. Besides he is
pursuing a method , and there is noth
ing that contributes so much toward
sharpening one's powers of observation
and ripening.his experience as the habit
of doing everything to some fixed
method or plan.
Practical Stoc7t Breeding.
Correspondence Pennsylvania Farmer.
A scrub heifer bred to a thoroughbred
"bull for her first calf , and then re
peatedly bred to the same bull , will im
prove in her breedings so that each suc
ceeding calf will be better than the
preceding one , and this to a greater ex
tent than if she had been bred to differ
ent bulls , though all equally good , and
of the same blood. This rule holds good
with horses and sheep as well as cattle.
Stick a pin right here. If breeding :
cattle get a good bull and keep him. If
you conclude to breed Durhams , do so ;
if Holsteins , or any other breed , do so ;
/but don't breed to a Durham bull one
' year and Holstein the next. You must
stick to the one thing if you expect to
breed good grades of either. And more
than this , a cow that has once been
bred to a scrub bill , if bred promiscu
ously to different bulls , even of the same
breed , will never produce as good calves
as she would if bred several times in
succession to the same individual bull.
The man who has got heifers , high
grades of thoroughbred , and does not
want to raise their first calves , and who
uses a scrub bull because it is cheaper ,
is saving pennies to-day at the enpense
of dollars in the near future. Use noth-
ino- but thoroughbred males on all kinds
of ° stock , and , all things being equal ,
the longer you use the same animal the
better. I do no not mean by this that
it is advisable to use him on his own
progeny , but on the original animals it
may be continued indefinitely.
Tlie Best Batter.
A Berkshire county , ' Massachusetts ,
farmer writes to the Scientific American
can"My object has always been to
make the best batter not the most
profitable necessarily , but the best ,
Having this object in view , I have been
obliged to discard oil-meal and thus re
duce the' quantity of my butter and
value of the manure. I have been
forced to , instead of dropping the ma
nure into a convenient cellar below th
cows , to give up the cellar and whee
manure to a shed. I have been obliged
to discard deep setting and content my
self with the open shallow method
which is more expensive and requires
more attention , and returns less butter ,
I have been obliged to reject all feeds
except corn , wheat , hay , beets and car
rots. I have been obliged to give up
using the milk of cows that have calved
too recently or too remotely. I hav
for a dozen years carefully , faithfully
tried to make good butter , as good as if
could be made ; this has always been the
first consideration profitableness has
always been secondary. The result has
been for many years this butter has
brought a higher price than any butter
in Berkshire , where so much good but
ter is made , and it has taken the firs
prize over the country. Itlhas been in
such constant demand at 65 cents
(2s 84k ) per pound the year through
that when making 100 pounds a week
there have been unfilled orders for
twenty-five to thirty pounds more. "
Jlog Cholera and Corn.
American Agriculturist.
We often here it asserted that hog
cholera , so called , is due directly or re
motely to the too exclusive use of Indian
corn. There may be some truth in it ,
but there is no proof. Indian corn is
one of the best foods for fattening hogs.
It is particularly rich in starch and oil ,
and of course , this means a comparative
ly low proportion of nitrogenous or flesh-
forming ingredients. Wheat , barley ,
and oats , contain more nitrogen and
mineral matter. Peas are still richer in
nitrogen.
The nitrogen and mineral matter of
wheat exists largely in the bran , or in
the part of the grain immediately under
the bran. If corn is deficient in nitro
gen and mineral matter , the evil , it
would seem , could be corrected by feed
ing bran and fine middling in connec
tion with the corn. The practical difficult
cultis to get the pigs to eat bran.
They prefer the corn. The low price of
wheat gives a good chance to see if pigs
will be healthier with less corn. We do
not say that wheat is worth more
than corn to fatten hogs , but it is quite
probable that for young growing pigs ,
wheat is the healthier and better food ,
and if wheat is worth no more than
corn , wheat is probably the cheaper
food , especially for young animals. We
believe in corn. It is the grand Ameri-
cereal. We can raise it at less cost per
bushel than wheat , but when wheat
cannot be sold for more than corn we
can feed it to our animals with good
advantage.
Abuses at Fairs.
Hural New Yorker.
Most of the fairs have now been held ,
and the Rural has been represented at
a large number , and we are sorry to say
that , while none were entirely free from
objectional features , they have , with
three or four exceptions , been so con
ducted as to be a disgrace to the man
agers and a curse to the communities in
which they have been held. The great
central idea has seemed to be , to get all
the money possible. No matter how
fraudulent , demoralizing , degrading or
corrupting the thing seeking admission
has been , if the proprietors were only
willing to pay freely for the privilege ,
they have been permitted upon the
grounds , and been usually allowed to
locatein the choicest positions , and there
ply their nefarious trades entirely un
molested by the officers , managers or
police. The fairs , as now conducted ,
are the most pernicious of all influences
at work to ruin our people , and unless
changed and purified , or abandoned ,
svill result in exerting a most powerful
influence to corrupt the morals of our
sons , our daughters indeed , of the na
tion. We have not time or space at
present to enter into this matter as it
leserves ; but we cannot refrain from
jailing attention to it , and asking farm-
srs and decent people of other callings
to carefully consider and talk it over
kvith their neighbors , and resolve that
svhen the annual meetings come , they
svill see to it that men are put in con-
irol who will show some regard for the
honesty , morality and decency of the
jroung.
Character In , Gait.
&Jta Callfornian.
It is well to beware of the man who
jarries his left foot turned in toward his
right in walking , giving the impression
that his right foot turns out and his
left turns in. This man is a natural
petty larcenist. He may , perhaps ,
never have stolen in his life , but that
was because of fear or lack of oppor
tunity , but all the same he is liable at
any time to sequester unconsidered
trifles for pure wantonness. He is of a
kleptomaniac nature ; but he is not
nearly so dangerous as the man who de
liberately lifts his leg from the thigh as
though he was going up stairs. That
man is a natural and educated villian.
In England , where the tread-mills are
used iu prisons , many convicts acquire
that peculiar step , but it is the natural ,
careful , cat-like tread of the criminal.
The girl who walks with a flat foot
planted squarely on the ground , as
though she wanted it to grow there ,
may not be as attractive as the girl with
the arched instep , but she is a good deal
belter natured. She is sure to be a
good nurse , kind-hearted , sympathetic ,
anxious to bear the burdens of others ,
while the girl with the arched foot is
nearly sure to be selfish , and certain to
be a coquette if she walks on her toes.
The man of short , nervous steps is
always a business man of energy , but
if the stride is from the knee only he
is cold and selfish. The man whose
stride is long , and at the same time
energetic , is generally bright , always
erratic andill-balanced , often conceited ,
always careless , fond of admiration ,
generally willing to sacrifice much for
praise and eclat , and , while often a good
fellow , generally unreliable. The diplo
mat and financier have a smooth , glid
ing walk , hard to describe , but eosjr to
recognize. There is nothing sneaking
about it , but it betokens careful deliber
ation as though every step was carefully
considered before being made. Great
statesmen and great philanthropists
always have a loose-shambling gait ,
which comes from thinking of - others
more than themselves. The strut _ of
the 'vain ' man , the tee.tering trip of the
"dude , " the lounging gait of the unem
ployed club man , are all too familiar to
call for description. To say that a per
son walks like a lady or gentleman is
high praise. The gait can never bo
picked up in after life ; it must be born
in a man or a woman and cultivated in
early youth. It is lost to a man when
he falls into bad ways , for so surely as
he loses his consciousness of rectitude
and pride of honor , so surely will he
pick up the gait of the loafer. An hon
est .man , gentle or simple , .never walks
like a thief , and a thief can never coun
terfeit the gait of an honest man ; but ,
in attempting to apply these rules to
men one knows , it must be remembered
that all thieves are not caught , and all
suspected persons are not bad.
i i
BREWSTER'S HOUSE.
Hie Curious Mansion of the Attorney Gen
> eral of the United States.
Philadelphia Letter to the Chicago Tribune.
Attorney General Brewster , who re
cently arrived from Newport , is still in
town. He will leave for Washington , *
however , next week , and during the
season will entertain with his usual
antique elegance. Brewster's house
his home here is one of the queerest
and at the same time coziest old man
sions in the city. It was in the fashion
able part of the town forty years ago ,
but fashion has tucked up her skirts
and left it. It is now in the midst of the
section of the city that is devoted to
lawyers' offices , banks and beer saloons ,
Mr. Brewster has always used the
suite of rooms on the first floor as his
own offices. Queer looking old rooms
they are , too , like big square boxes ,
with high ceilings , quaint moldings ,
unlocked for recesses and heavy
wooden mantel pieces covered with
carvings or angels' heads and bunches
of grapes. His law library takes up
nearly three sides of the rear room. He
has been gathering it book by book for
years and years until it is one of the
best collections in the state. Over the
doorway hangs a rusty sword that the
attorney general's grandfather received
from the handa of the great Napoleon
when he followed the little corporal to
Moscow and back. His library.of gen
eral literature occupies another room.
It contains everything probably that
our grandfathers might , could , would ,
or should have read. The attorney
general's knowledge of the polite litera
ture of the days of knee breeches and
frills is extraordinary , and it is to that
fact that much of the reputation as a
literary man that he has with some people
ple is due. Before he was appointed
attorney general his own were the only
officers in his house. After he had gone
into the cabinet , however , and removed
to Washington , he rented out
nearly all of the rooms. It requires
a good deal of skill now for
him to stow away his household
with its retinue of servants whenever
he is in town. His valet used to sleep
on a bed nicely arranged over the tub
in the bath-room , so as to-be within' all
of his master. The valel came.hbme'
reprehensibly late one night , the Ued
tumbled down , and , striking the spigot ,
the befuddled servant was almost
drowned before he was pulled out of
the tub. Since that time the valet
sleeps over a barber shop round the
corner , and when the attorney general
desires his services he hangs a silk
union-jack out of the rear window of
his sleeping chamber as a signal. Mrs.
Brewster has very little love for the
musty antique , and has for years been
urging her husband to move to a more
fashionable part of the city. Her de
sires , apparently , are about to prevail ,
and when Mr. Brewster leaves the cabi
net he will , if he shall not have caught
on to some other office meanwhile , take
a residence near George W. Childs'
marble town house in the west end.
i
Tlie Evolution of American Manners.
S. Y. Herald.
In the matter of society , America , at
i first glance , seems worse off than
England. We have no native social
traditions and we are shy of adopting
ioreign ones. Every one wants good
manners , but how to get them is the
problem. At this late day of our na-
iional and social existence we are note
; o be ruled from Buckingham Palace ,
ind to go on our present basis is practi-
jally to stand still. But we are the
jorner stone of the future , not the cul
mination of the past. The geographical
limits of America are its narrowest
bounds. It is a new theater of the hu
man race. Our first impulse is to re
gret the ease and automatic smoothness
af the Old World. But those who stick
to that impulse and do not rise to the
new plane will be left behind and for
gotten. We have our evils. But the
American snob is not a feeble-minded
man. He is an unjustifiable monster.
Ihese snobs will go , for the people have
no sympathy with them. The young
American Hercules will strangle these
two old serpents hereditary power and
personal pretension. He is rough and
crude about it now. Until the millen
nium comes we must regard with suspi
cion any man who claims to be immac
ulate. _
"Nature's Serial Story" is concluded
by Rev. E. P. Roe in the coming Christ
mas issue of Harper's Magazine , with a
pleasant episode which readers will
have more than suspected. In this
story Gibson and Dielman have cooperated
rated to make it the most richly illus
trated work of fiction ever issued , and
the former has given a careful as well
as picturesque series of portraitures of
the varying seasons of the American
year. The story will also make a su
perb holiday volume from the press of
Harper & Brother , in which Mr. Gibson
will add few decorative illustrations
not given in the magaziue.
A Baltimore paper intended to be
complimentary when it said the Catho
lic clergyman attending the plenary
council in that city appeared "far above
the average of intelligence. "
To write for all time is the ambition
of every author. The man who origi
nated the series of negro minstrel jokes
is the only one up to to date who has
apparently succeeded in his endeavor.
Boston Globe.
XU8IC.
Husio , with Its prying fingers.
Breaks a passage to the soul ,
And In weird and magic numbers ,
Sweeps its harp beyond control.
In the cottage of tbo peasant ,
Or in gilded princely halls ,
Music weaves Its subtle influence
And its raptured soul enthralls.
Music stirs the soldier's bosom ,
Bearing the battle standard high.
Proudly on 'mid storms that whistle
Wildly along the leaden sky !
Music raves whore restless surges
Thundering strike the craggy shore ,
Or softly steals like a winged phantom
O'er the ocean's shell-paved floor.
Music , mystic and ethereal ,
Sweeter tones than earth can boast.
Breathes from harps of the immortal
Choir of Heaven's seraphic host.
Christ-strung.harp , lot angel fingers
Wake thy holy song , while seraphs near
Strike the chords that banish sorrow ,
Bringing peace for every tear.
_ _ [ Chicago Sun.
airo poLTOPiicoy PARTIES.
Xho Reason Why Jack Lee Gives Free Shows
Every Christina * Eve.
Little Mrs. Leo had constant evi
dences of the fact that smoke indicates
a fire somewhere , even if the smoke was
only a smell on her small boy's mis
chievous hands.
"You've been playing with fire again ,
Jack ? " , she inquiringly affirmed on one
particular day , just before election.
"Did you see me ? " asked Jack , with
out raising his honest blue eyes.
Mrs. Lee was a wise young mother ,
so she said reassuringly :
"Tell mamma all about it , Jack !
Did you have an awful nice time ? "
The effect of the invited confidence
was electrical. Jack's face grew abso
lutely brilliant with certain mirthful
recollections as he answered , boy-like :
"You bet ! We had a bully good
time ! You just ought to have seen us
making daisy fires in tin cans , and
when we saw the cops coming , we ran
down the back alley , and then I came
home. Oh , it was fun ! "
"I " he continued insinuatingly
say , rnarrn , ,
atingly , "won't you please give mo that
busted barrel out in the yard to make
a bonnie of on 'lection night , if the best
man is 'lected , 'cause I don't want to
have to steal a good one from other
people's back gate , like some of the
other boys do. "
Neither did Mrs. Lee care to have the
family name tarnished , so she said :
"Yes , Jack , you can have the barrel , "
with the mental determination to have
her small boy rather more carefully
guarded , for he was not yet six years
old , and he seemed just a little too pro
gressive for his age.
It was really wonderful how often
those tiny never-clean hands proved
traitors , and disclosed the workings of
their youthful master's busy brain ; and
in time Mrs. Lee learned , from the pe
culiar smell , to tell just what manner
of fire Jack had been tampering with.
Once , the combined odor of gas and
matches rather mystefied the little
mother , but the usual cheerful inquiry
revealed the nature of her darling's in
vestigations.
"I was only a getting my alligator to
going , " he said.
Mrs. Lee was perplexed ; what did
Jack mean ?
"Why , don't you know , mamma
don't you 'member when we were going
up in the alligator at the store the other
day , how it shook funny , and the man
told us about the gas , and he pulled a
cord , and we rode up and down ? So I
made one most like it ; come up stairs
and see ! "
No second invitation was needed , and
sure enough ! there was an impromptu
elevator ; a small bed drawn near the
window where the curtain cord was
within convenient reach , as the lighted
gas supplied imaginary steam.
The rather pleasant smell of burnt
sugar always told on the lighted candy
cigar , and one day the never-idle hands
were strongly impregnated with kero
sene.
"Jack , " said Mrs. Lee , who had one
of her happy thoughts , "what have you
been doing with your Polvdpticon ? "
'Just getting it ready for my party , "
Jack unhesitatmglv answered.
"Did you try to light the lamp ? "
asked the anxious mother.
" 'Course not ! Didn't you tell me
never to do that , and didn't I promise I
wouldn't ? No , marm ; I tell you I just
fixed Poly up for the party. "
Mrs. Lee breathed free again ; but the
party ! What could the boy mean ?
She found out soon after dark , when
dozens of boys and girls Jack's play
mate came trooping in a regular sur
prise party ; but Mrs. Lee was equal to
the occasion. Jack had arranged the
Polyopticon his amusing and instruc
tive wonder camera upon the table all
right. So Mrs. Lee secured the white
screens to the heavy curtains in the bay
window , lighted the lamp , and then the
show commenced. But just before Mrs.
Lee put out the gas , she was astonished
by having fifty cents in five-cent pieces
slipped into her hand by the small door
keeper , who had offered his services for
the occasion.
"What is that for , Robert ? " she
asked.
"Well , you see , Mrs. Lee. " Robert
bashfully answered , "Jack said this waste
to be a free show ; but he told us the
other day that his papa was not very
well , and" he 'sposed he was kinder tired
out ; so me and Will Jones made it up be
tween us to charge the rich boys five cents
a piece for coming in to this party , but
don't be uneasy , we let the girls and the
poor boys in * for nothing ; and if you
please , just use the money I gave you to
help Jack's papa out a little. "
And these were the two very boys
Mrs. Lee had often spoken of as "bad
boys , " but she took it all back , as she
stooped and kissed the brown forehead.
What a pleasant time the little folks
had !
It was real amusing to hear their orig
inal remarks as the odd shadow pictures
were thrown one after another upon the
white screen. Never had the Polyopti
con worked so delightfully , and it was
such a surprise when the baby brothers
and sisters of many of the children ap
peared in various attitudes before them.
That , too , was Robert's thoughtful
work ; he had secured the photographs
because Jack had told him that "his
magic-lantern did not have to have glass
pictures , but would show up any kind
of paper pictures , even to colored
ones. "
After the baby pictures , the great
men of the day were shown , but they
were not as enthusiastically greeted as
were the bright colored illustrations of
nursery rhymes and fairy stories , the
hues showing on the white background ,
and the pictures standing out quite as
clearly as those in black and white.
The comic lithographs and the chromo
cards were all well received , while the
pictured "story of Joseph , " was made
more entertaining by the word descrip
tion of Sunday school children.
"His coat was worse than a crazy
quilt , " remarked one of the enlight
ened.
"That was an awful mean trick of his
brothers' throwing Joseph down the
well , and staining his coat with blood
to scare his poor old father with , " re
marked another.
"Yes , it was , " said the third , "and
just to think ! lie didn't keep the money
when they played him such a trick !
Well , he could aflbrd to be good. "
Ten o'clock came all too soon , but a
few simple refreshments served as con
solation , and after a vote of thanks to
Jack and his mother , the young folks
said good-night , and went to their vari
ous homes.
Two days before Christmas , only a
few short weeks after Jack's first Poly
opticon surprise party , and he was dcs
tined to have another a very sad one
Every boy and girl on the street was in
a state of excitement , forlittle Jack Lee
was missing from his home , and his
poor mother was nearly wild with anxi
ety. Still , she had such faith in Jack's
promise , that she felt only an acciden
would have detained .him.
"Jack promised not to go far , and he
said he would be back before dark
something has happened to my baby ! '
she wailed , as she joined the searchers.
Every house where Jack was known
was visited , but the mother knew Jack
was in no house , so , through snow and
dark , on she went from one vacant lot
to another , halting a moment at the
foot of every slide. Oh it was so cold ,
and she was so weary !
But hark !
Surely , that was a moan , sounding
from the bottom of a freshly dug-out
cellar for a new house. How Mrs. Lee
got down she never knew , but in a mo
ment she was beside what seemed a
mass of earth and snow. She had found
her boy ; but was he dead ?
It was Jack's call for help that
brought the searchers to them a few
moments later , for in the agony of joy
and grief , or fear , his mother fainted.
Jack was not injured ; he had gone too
near the edge of the cellar and the snow
and earth had caved in , and the boy
was dazed by the fall ; indeed , he said
he could not get out , and so he went to
sleep. But as he had a large lump on
his head , the doctor rather doubted his
sleeping naturally.
"There is no hurt , " said the kindtloc-
tor : the suspense and shock has been
more than the little mother could bear.
We must do something to rouse her
from this stupor. "
" 'Spose we give another Polyoptition
party , " suggested Jack , thf innocent
cause of all the trouble.
"A splendid idea , " said the doctor ,
who was perfectly familiar with Jack's
peculiarities , and withal was something
of a wit , so no one was surprised when
he was heard to declare that -'if Jack's
hands were smoked a little it mig it
help to wake up the mother' ' which
caused Jack to almost burn his hands ,
holding them over the glass shade of
the lamp , which was soon ready ; the
guests were bidden and little mother
was placed upon a sofa before the
screen , and the performance commen
ced.
"Laugh and talk as loud as you
please , children , " directed the doctor ,
"and here , Jack , standby your mother ,
put one of your smoky hands on her
forehead , and give one of your un
earthly war-whoops. "
Jack tried to obey , but the "yell"
was by no means one of the health } '
sounds that so often terrified Mrs. Lee
and her friends , but perhaps the pain
in the cry reached her heart ; anyway ,
her eyelids quivered and at last opened ,
and the little mother saw about her
anxious , loving , youthful faces her boy
and his friends , and as she clasped
Jack in her feeble arms and wept tears
of gratitude , one after another little
form left the room , while the picture of
Tack when he was a baby smiled ' upon
them from the screen ; and th'is is the
reason why Jack Lee gives a joj'ous
Polyopticon partv eveiT Christmas eve.
M. E. L. , in Footers Health Monthly.
A SQUATTER FAMILY.
tlrJtaiisas Satires on Their Own Stamping
Ground.
Arkansas Traveler.
"I do not see any peculiarity about
your people , " said an eastern judge , ad
dressing his travelling companion , a
well known Arkansas lawyer , " 1 have
travelled quite extensively in that state ,
and I have not as yet found that eccen
tricity of action and prevarication of re
ply that has often amused me in the
newspapers. "
"You have done most of your travel
ing by rail , " the lawyer replied. "This
is your first trip awaj- from the main
road. I'll show you some of our genu
ine natives. Yonder is a house. Call
the landlord and hold a conversation
with him.
.Hello ! " called the judge.
"Comin ! ' the man replied , depositing
a child in the doorway and advancing.
"How's all the folks ? "
"Children's hearty ; wife not well.
Ain't what you can call bed sick , but
just sorry stretchy. "
"Got anything to eat in the house ? "
"Ef I had it anywhere I'd have it in
the house. "
"How long have you been living
here. "
"Too long. ' '
"How many years ? "
"Been here'ever since my oldest boy
was born. "
"What year was he born ? ' '
'The vear I come here. "
"How" old is your boy ? "
"Ef he had lived he would have been
the oldest until vit , but he died. Jim's
the oldest. "
"How old is Jim ? ' '
"He ain't as old as the one that
died. "
"Well , how old was the one that
died ? "
"He was older than Jim. "
"What do you do here for a living/
"low anything to oat ? "
do you get
The best way wo kin. *
?
How do you spend your Sundays
"Like the week days. "
"How do you spend them. '
"Like Sundays. "
"Is that your daughter , yonder ?
"No , sir/she ain't my daughter yon
der , nor nowhere else.1
'Is she a relative of yours ? '
"No , sir ; no kin. "
"Kin to your wife , I suppose ?
"No kin to my wife , but she's km to * r
my children. "
"How do you make that out ?
"She's my wife. ' !
"How far is it to the next house ? " . 'f-
"It is called three miles , but the man > Th
who calls it that is a liar. " ThV
"I've got enough , " said the judge , V
turning to the lawyer. "Drive on. 1
pity the man who depends on this man
for information. "
CURRENT XOTES.
An English surgeon says that shaving
is a deadly practice , and if steadily in
dulged in , shortens life by several years.
One reason why pure olive oil is diffi
cult to procure , is because of its large
consumption by silk manufacturers as
material for loading their fabrics.
Manchester , England , is threatened
with a water famine , and the mills , dye
works , and other industries 'will be *
stopped unless there be more rain.
John S. Prince , who rode a mile on a
bicycle in 239 , says that the wheels
catching the trotting horse is only a
matter of time , and thinks that the re
cord will be reduced to two minutes or
less in a year or two. .
In the old records of the town of Clin
ton , Mass. , a certain little thoroughfare
was called "Cat Alley. " In the present
book of tax registration , " and the name
is euphonized into "Pussy Avenue , "
and it is supposed that the next step
will be Feline Boulevard.
The growing crops and pastures of
all the Australian colonies have suffer
ed severely from drought. Recent rains
have saved the wheat crop from the al
most complete destruction at one time
feared ; but there appears to be very lit
tle hope of a prolific harvest.
The Arctic regions are not without
their pleasures. The Esquimaux girls
are very pretty , dance , sing and do not
care for ice cream. Hot drinks and
walrus blubber are their peculiar vanities -
ties and sealskin sacques are sold at two
iron hoops and.ti ten-penny nail.
The Hawaiian Gazette complains be
cause its hack-drivers occasionally be
come very impertinent and attempt to
make overcharges. It says : "One of
our citizens was abused the other day
because he would not pay twenty-five
cents for being driven from the bank to
the government buildings. " _
Englishmen eat at shorter intervals
than Americans are accustomed to. The
farm laborer eats four meals a day , and
in some of the baronial halls in England
the tables are spread for meals at inter
vals of four hours during the day and
evenng.
A gentleman in Ware , Mass. , recent
ly let go a tame deer in the woods near
the town. All the young bloods immediately -
'
diately started out 'with their firearms
in spite of the protestations of the deer's
former owner. They have as yet failed
to bring down the game.
The Tallien band is the newest sort of
girdle , and Felix is using it on many
costumes , among the rest on one which
Mrs. Langtry is to wear as Pauline.
This band is of velvet , and is wide un
der the arms , where it is fastened into
the seams , and then narrows to two
straight ends , which are crossed in front
under a buckle.
The best time to take down your fish
ing-rod and fowling-piece and go
abroad into the country , is when your
wife is up in arms in the midst of the
delights of fall house cleaning.
The true workmen are those who love
work and love to see it rightly done
those who finish their task , however ar
duous it may be , for its own sake.
"Hire a hall , " "give us a rest" and
all the others of the category of cant
expressions and slang phrases used to
intimate a bore that his conversation is
not essential to your happiness , have
gone out of date , and now you hear in
stead , "chalk your chin ! "
A turkey on your own table is worth
two in your neighbor's coop , unless it
is a dark night and there are no man
traps around. New York Morning
Journal.
There is a Little Rock down in Ar
kansas , that is covered o'er with moss-
backs. It is supposed to have been car
ried there by a glazier one who had
the rocks in the early history of the
state. The glacier was known as the
"Arkansaw Traveler. " Chicago Sun.
Curiosities of the Halls.
Only domestic letters are opened by
the Dead Letter Office , and of these ,
during the past year , 15,000 contained
money ; 18,000 contained drafts , checks
and money orders , and 16,000 contained
receipts. In these letters the actual
money received was 832,647 , and the
drafts , checks and money orders
amount to the enormous sum of more
than $1,300,000. In these letters there
n-ere 35,000 photographs and 66,000 of
them contained postage stamps. A
jjreat many of them contained articles
of merchandise and curiosities of vari
ous kinds , and there is now in the
Dead Letter Office museum enough
specimens of different things which
have been sent through the mails tq fill
the shelves lining the walls of a o-0od
sized parlor. These curiosities
are of
all kinds , from a dirty shirt cuft to a
polished dirk , from hand-made lace
to
[ ndian moccasins , from a cow's hoof to
a human skull , from an eagle's claw to
a live snake , from an Easter card to an
alligator , and from gold nuggets to fine
jewslry. Everything , in fact , that one
would think impossible to send through
the mails people attempt to mail. °
* a ballet