Nebraska Newspapers

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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7, 1883.
Iiierci st tie Pc:t::t, Cdsntu. He.
eli sitter.
a: icesi
ANNIE AND WILLIE'S PRATER.
"
Twai the eve before Christmas; "Good
night" had .been said.
Ana Annie and "Willie had crept into bed;
There were teats on their pillows, and tears la
thelryes.
And each little bosom was heavy with sighs
For to-night their stem father's command baa
, .been given
That ttfey should ;
rer should retire precisely at seven,
Instead ,of at eteht. for they troubled aim
more .
Wlta their questions unheard of than ever be-
-tfore. ...
He had toW them he thought this delusion a
-sin,,.
No aucb belnjr'as Santa Claus ever had been,
Andlie hoped afterthis he should never more
How he scrambled down chimneys with pre
r enta each .year;
And this was the reason that two Uttle heads
Bo restlessly tossed'on their soft, downy bed
!gfct, rdne,and the clock on the steeple tolled
Not a word'aad been spoken by either till
then,
WhVnwnile'a sa'd face from the blanket did
"peep
Ana whispered: "Dear Annie, Is you fast
asleep?"
"Why, no, brother Willie," a sweet voice re
plies, "I've tried it in vain, but I can't shut my
eyes,
or somehow it makes me sorry because
V.r papa has said there Is no Santa Claus.
flow we know that there Is, and it can't be de
nled. For ho came every year before mamma died.
But ihen I've been thinking that she used to
pray,
And God would hear everything; mamma
would say.
And perhaps she asked Him to send Banta
Claus here,
With the sacks full of presents he brought ev
ery year."
" Well, why tant we pay dest as mnsama did
then.
And ask him to send us some presents adenf '
" I've been thinking ao, too' and without a
word more
Four little feet bounded out on the floor,
And four little knees the soft carpet pressed.
Ana two tluy hands were clasped close to each
breast.
"Now, Willie, you know we must firmly be.
lievo
That tho presents we ask for we're sure to re-
oclvu;
You must wait just as still till I say the
Amen,
and by that yon will know that your turn has
come theu.
Dear Jesus look down on my brother and me
Anu grant us tho favor we're asking of Thee;
I want a war Dolly, a tea-set and ring,
And a beautiful work-box that shuts With a
spring.
Bless Papa, dear Jesus, and cause him to see
Thul Santa Claus loves us far better than he;
Don't let him get fretful and angry again
At dear brother Willio and Annie Amual"
" Please, Desus, 'et Santa Claus turn down to
- ulirtat
And bring us some presents before it is light;
1 want ho would tlivo me a nice 'utlo sled,
With bright shining yunuers and all painted
yed;
A box full of tandy, a book and a toy
Amen and den, Desus, I'll be a dood boy."
Tholr prayers being ended they raised up
their heads.
And with hearts light and cheerful again
sought their beds.
They were boon lost in slumber, both peaceful
and deep.
And with fairies In dream-land were roaming
In sleep.
Eight, nine, and the little French clock had
struck ten
Era the father had
train.
thought of bis children
He seems now to
Dreaded stehs.
hear Annie's half-sup-
And to see the big tears stand in Willie's
blue
eyes.
" I was harsh with my darlings," he mentally
said,
" And should not hare sent them so early to
bed.
But then I was troubled, my feelings found
" vent,
Forbauk stock to-day has gone down ten per
cent.
But, of course, they've forgotten their trou
bles ere this.
And that I denied them the thrico-asked-for
kiss:
But Just to make sure I'll steal up to the
dOOT,
Fori never spoko harsh to my darling! be
fore." .
Jo saying, he softly ascended the stairs.
And arrived ut the door, to hear both of their
prayers;
Hia Annie's "Bless papa" draws forth the
big tours,
And Willie's grave promise falls sweet on his
ears.
"Btrangel Strangol Td forgotten," he said,
with a sigh,
" How I longed when a child to have Christ
mas draw nigh.
' I'll atono for my harshness," he inwardly
said,
By answering their prayers ere I sleep in my
bed;
Then he turned to the stair and softly went
down.
Threw QtT velvet-slippers and silk dressing
gown. Donned hat, coat and boots, and was out in the
street,
A millionaire facing tho cold, driving sleet.
Nor stopped ha until ho had bought every-
thing.
From the box full o' candy to the tiny gold
ring.
Indeed, he kept adding so much to his store
That the various presents outnumbered a
score
Then homeward he turned, with his holiday
load,
.nd With Aunt Mary's help in the nursery
'twas stowed.
Jus Dolly waseuted beneath a pine tree.
By the side of a table spread out for her tea;
A work-box well filled in the center was laid.
And on it tho ring for which Annie had
- prayed;
A soldier in uniform stood by a sled
With bright, shining runners, and all painted
red.
There were balls, dogs and horse, all pleasing
. to sue.
And birds of all colors were perched In the
tret a,
While Sunta Claus.laughlng, stood up In the
top.
As if setting ready .more presents to drop.
And as tho good father the picture surveyed
HeHhonght for his trouble he had amply been
Eaid,
e said to himself, as be brushed off a
tear:
" Tm happier to-night than I've been for a
year.
Tve enjoyed more true pleasure than ever be
fore; What care I if bank stock falls ten per cent.
. more?
Horeatter Til mako it a rule, I believe,
To have Santa Claus visit us each Christmas
eve."
Bo thinking, he softly extinguished the light.
And tripped down-stairs to retire for tho
r night-
As soon as the
sun
beams of the bright morning
Put the darkness to flight,
and tho stars one
. oyone,
Your little blue eyes out
of sleep opened
wiae,
And at the same moment the presents espied.
Then out of their beds they sprang with a
bound.
And the very gifts prayed for were all of them
(found.
They laughed and they cried in their innocent
glee.
And snouted for papa to come quick and see
What presents old banta Claus brought in the
, ' nig ht
Just the things that they wanted and left be
fore light.
And now added Annie, In a voloe soft and
low:
" You'll bOleve. there's a Santa Claus, papa, I
know?
While dear little Willie climbed up on his
knee.
Determined no secret between them should
be.
And told in soft whispers how Annie had said
That their dear, blessed mamma, so long ago
dead,
Used to kneel down and pray by the side of
. her chair,
And that God up In Heaven had answered her
prayer.
44 Then we dot up and prayed dest as well as
Iffwetood,
And Dod answered our prayers now wasn't
. He dood?"
" Tshould say that He was if He sent you all
these,
Aad knewi just what presents my children
would please,
(Well, well, let him think so the dear Uttle
elf,
Twouid be cruel to tell him I did it myself."
BIIjb father, who caused your stem heart to
relent,
An4 the hasty words spoken so soon to re
peat? 'Twas the Being who bade you steal softly up-
, stairs.
And made you His agent to answer their
t prayers.
Jur. Sophia P. Snow.
BACHELOR BRINDLE'S CHRISTMAS.
"Be merry now, be merry 'now.
With Joy bring in the holly bough;
With'song,-and feast, and smiling bro w."
Bachelor Brindle gives the half
banaed log in the fire-place a kick that
Bonds the red sparks flying, and won
ders crustily where that bit of rhyme,
Btrnng-oaa half-forgotten Ir&gmtntpl
msBody, 'comes from, and how it hap
penTtochant itself to him' so persist-.'
ntly to-n:ght It is a dismal night
Outside, a high eastT wind shrieks and
qroali,-.skirmishes around corsers and j
cteeS'iAway. .dolelully m every stray
avernous retreat amd-'nook. Within
fcprsts of tawny and. .scarlet flame light
if .Bachelor Brindle' s favorite apart
sjtent.'big, low-ceiled and comfortable.
ret weanur in? air oi careies uisuruer
THE JOTJRNAC
w etwaf ,ara"fvif.
And Bachelor Brindle. listening to the
wind's Foisterow whistlings andplaint
ive5. minor chords, becomes" cross
grained, and even misanthropical.
44 Song and feast," he mutters,
grumbly, "holly eto! Humph. 'Gam
mon! Whore's any holly, and who'd
go draggling round in this slush and
sleet to bring it in? What's set me to
thinking .of ."
"Christmas, Eve," chants the tea
kettle, swinging briskly over the blaze.
"Cricky!" is Bachelor Brindle's rep
rehensible, exclamation, "so it is. I
like to hare forgot it."
As if sprinkleH with soma subtle,
magic powder, the fire-light, flickering,
quivering, dancing, suddenly lights a
path across the floor, through the cot
tage walls, beyond the murk and mist,
far into the past, where a cheery Christ
mas fire is burning; there are busy
hands and hurrying feet and merry
voices; there is an intoxicating flavor
of holiday cheer; there' is song and
gladness; there are bright-eyed cousins,
troops of relatives ana friends, and ra
diant among all, a romping, black-eyed
girl with a turned up nose, who wore
a scarlet jacket .
"And had temper enough for two."
grunts Bachelor Brindle. 'There Is a
dim spot in the path of light. "Half
your fault," sings tho tea-kettle, cheer
fully. "More than half,'Jl snorts the
wind, belligerently, coming in a puft
down the chimney to .back the tea-kettle.
"'Twas, 'twas, 'twas."
A momentary lulling of the aggres
sive wind, and a soft sputtering in the
red coals brings Bachelor Brindle's
mind back to his present lot
"Snow," he mutters, with a shudder.
"Time was when the idea brought only
foolishly bright visions of sleigh-rides
witk her, of frolics and fun, and oh.
what's the use? They're all gone, she
among the rest, and I'm a forlorn old
soul with no one to sa much as cook a
Christmas dinner for me unless I could
coax Aunt Nanoy over. Christmas Eve!
bless us. What an old wretch I was to
forget it."
Bachelor Brindle gives the fore-stick
a discontented poke, and turns to light
the tall lamp on the shelf, then brings
forth his old-fashioned brown Bible, and
once more follows the sweet story of
the beautiful Babe and the first Christ
mas morning, while without the wind
tosses and whirls its fleecy white burden
about at its own erratic wilL
"Ugh! what a depressingly un
Christmas evening, Christmas Lve!"
Mab Lacy caught her breath, and
clutched at her veil with both hands, as
the rampant gale charged with millions
of sleety needles swooped around a
corner and nearly blew her off the steps
of the grim, tall, narrow-chested house
with its gray-green shutters, the bit of
white paper tacked against its door bear
ing the faded notice " Furnished Rooms
for Rent" revealing its nature and
characteristics.
44 Shelter is shelter, such a night as
this, if it is the waste and desert gloom
of Malone's establishment, with its
mackeral-scented halls and roaehy
corners." she continued, plunging into
the shadows of the long, dim hall, and
feeling in the dark for her door-knob;
44 with all its faults it is a haven of
refuge from Mercy, Peggy! What are
you tumbling my furniture about and
slopping up my oil-cloth for? And
whose is this big barn of a trunk?"
The stout maid-of-all-work, on her
knees by the desolate little box-stove,
arose with a red flannel floor-cloth in
one hand, and a bar of yellow soap in
the other, eyed Mab doubtfully, tried
to scratch her eye with her elbow, and
failing, gave her broom-like head a
random rub with the soap, and an
swered: 44 New feller comin' to-morrow; and
Miss M alone saved as how you hadn't
paid yer rent this week, an' bein' gen
tlemen preferred 'cause they don't
muss things up acookin' in their rooms,
an" not wan tin' to lose a shure payin'
roomer, an' an' ."
44 But, Peggy, to-morrow's Christ
mas!" Mab sat down on the strange
trunk, clasping her damp, gloved hands
in helpless ocwilderment
"That's what I know," said Peggy,
rubbing her ear with the soap, "but
Miss Malone she says how the rent ain't
paid an' "
"But I was going to pay it next week,
and would have last week if I hadn't
been sick and not able to work, as 1
told her."
"That's so. But I reckon the1 ain't
no u'-e in rasin' a fuss," said Peggy,
philosophically, "he's done paid her a
month's rent and she's tuck it She
sayed, anyhow, she reckoned you was
more of a lady' n to want to staywher'
you weren't wanted. But he won't
como till mornin', you can stay to
night" "But what am I going to do then?"
"Room-rentin' agency down yander,"
said Peggy, indicating the direction by
a flirt of the floor-cloth.
Mab opened her flat little pooket book
and shook its contents into her lap.
"Peggy" said she. "how many rooms
could I rent for a dollar and a half?"
"Dunno," answered Peggy, with easy
vagueness as she picked up her bucket
of Buds and departed.
"Nor care," added Mab to herself,
leaning her head against the cold, white
wall of her little bed-room, 44neither
does any one else in the world. How
ditlerent from the old Christmas Eves in
the country, when royal fires roared on
every hearth, and everybody was kin to
everybody else, before so many of them
died, or left the dear, peaceful stupid
old Hollow and I among them.
And now there Is scarcely one left who
would know me only Aunt Nancy Daw
son who would have been my aunt really
now, if Ben and I could have kept our
tempers till the wedding day. Ah. well,
he has forgotten me, but Aunt Nancy
might be glad to see me, and yes, a
dollar and a half will take me to the
Hollow. I'll go. The room is mine to
night and sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof. I will trust in the Father
of the fatherless, who leads us on by
paths we know not of."
"Aunt Nancy Aunt Na-an-cy!"
"Dear sakesl don't shriek a body all
in pieces, you Ben Brindle; what you
after?"
The door of the little deep-sved kitch
en flew open, letting out a scent of
boiling coffee into the clear December
air; a blue linsy skirt cleared the open
passage-way, and Aunt Nancy Dawson
popped into the sitting-room, armed
with a broom which sh3 at once pro
ceeded to devote to the obliteration of
the string of powdery tracks left by her
nephew across the striped rag carpet
"Knowed there' d be tracks wherever
ther' was a man," observed the little
woman, whisking away briskly, "what
y' out so early fer?"
"We-el" said the old bachelor,
rather dolorously, 4 ' you see the long, and
short of it is, Pm lonesome. Aunt Nancy
awful lonesome."
44 Jest what you orto be," returned
AuntNancy.withbluntcandor, "y'own
fault Pve told you to get married
forty times, ain't I?"
"Butr-there ain't any one left to
saarry round-here as -know f.J
"Mddle! ain't titer' the wider Bar
ley?" "TT-es, there's the wider Barley,"
said Mr. Brindle, doubtfully, " but you
know she does weigh most three hun-
,dred, and is kind-of curious and cross-
grained lite."
"There's .Melissy Hicks; a lovely
housekeeper couldn't get a better '
"N-o; she s too good. A feller could i
never get abit of rest 'long as she could
find a straw or a raveling to fuss about
Wants everything in straight tows' and
mo crooks .nowhere. , She'd put strings
to all .the young'ones she, could .find .and
run 'em up on polos like batter beans if
sbe could. Anjnowv audi nancy,
inwmLjmmm'
off to-day, and itoould kind of.liko.soms
one tocook a Christmas dinner for me.
Not that a fellow can't pack the spirit
of Christmas round in his heart without
any dinner, but it would make it seem
like old Christmases, and I want you to
jump right into my sleigh and go home
. with me. Aunt Nancy, and stay all day.
IHev?"
"I sha'nt," said Aunt Nancy, with no
waste of empty apology: "I'm agoing
to Jim Dawson's folkses, across the
Branch promised 'em a month ago,
.an' it's saved me cookin' a lot of truck.
Old Pepper's hitched now, 'n Pm goin'
to start in just the time it takes me to
get my shawl an' green woosted sun-
Donnetoa. xou can go atong, too, u
you like."
"No I don't like." returned Bache-
lor Brindle. They'll fish out all. the lr
kin-folks from six counties and have
'em there, and I don't know half of 'em,
and don't seem to want anv crowd to-
! day only just them I know. I'll go
home and roast a sweet potato in the
ashes and cook a spare-rib before the
fire-place; that'll be goodenough, only
the gravy '11 be full of cinders."
Bachelor Brindle drove slowly home
ward, his spirits rather depressed ia
; spite of the beauty of the day, bright
wun a giau giesm oi aunaaine pouring
down goldenly over the flawless white
fleece of the night's bestowing, yet al
ready beginning to grow damp and
heavy under the warm glow, when
turning the corner of a fence, where ths
drifts were blown up like blocks of mar
ble, his horse gave a startled spring and
stopped at sight of a small, dark figure
trudging along on foot picture onus
ual enough to scare any horse in ths
country where not a farmer's daughter,
in however moderate ciroumstanoM.
will undertake a mile journey at any
season of the year unless provided with
some shape of form of a "nag." And
Mr. Brindle gazed down with a wonder
that grew deep and intense at sight of
r the fair little face with its dark eyes
and slightly upturned nose raised toward
him.
"Mab Lacy!" he cried; "is it Mab
Lacy, or a Christmas vision?"
"It is Mab Lacy," she answered,
with a little, fluttering laugh. "I've
come back to see Aunt Nancy."
44 Then you've come on as much of a
wild-goose chase as 1 have," he re
turned, ruefully. "She's gone gone
plum to the Branoh. Her Old Pepper
beats my Floss woefully, and I saw the
gable end of her sleigh shy around the
corner before I got to the end of ths
lane."
44 Oh, then what what shall I do?"
cried Mab, overcome with the sudden
desperate appearance of her position,
and sitting recklessly down upon a way
side stump, whose white cap of snow
was gradually shrinking away and ooi
ing in drops down its side.
"Don't do that!" cried Mr. Brindle,
with alarmed sharpness; "you mustn't
sit on a wet stump and catch a cold just
because Aunt Nancy took a notion to
go bumming around for a Christmas
lark. Jump in my sleigh, like a sen
sible girl, and we'll see.'
"What'stheuse?" wailed Mab. trying
to stop a little rill of tears that was
slipping down her cheek with a corner
of her gray vaiL " I can't go home
with you, and there's no where to go.
Oh, Mr. Brindle Ben, what shall 1
do?"
"Do just what I tell you," said Mr.
Brindle. " First give me your hand,
and you jump in here back of this robe.
Now we'll have a talk. So you' re alone,
Mab?1'
"All alone. Ben." sighed Mab.
4 -Well, look here. I'm the same old
Ben you always knew and hated."
44 1 didn't,' '"said Mab. "I I you
know, Ben "
"And you're ths same Mab Lacy 1
knew?"
44 Yes; I'm tempted to wish I was
some one else just now."
"Weil, ain't If you're alone we're
both alone, Mab. for lam; and it's rath
er rough. In my opinion. Now, why
oouldn t we drop overboard this big
slice of time that s separated us so long,
and go back to where we left off before
we flew out at each other?"
"How could we?"' asked Mab.
"Look through yonder," said Ben,
pointing to a little yellow cottage at the
end of a lane branching off the road.
44Our new minister lives there, Mab."
"Does he?" Mab's tone expressed
nothing whatever, but Bachelor Brin
dle's solemn gray eyes caught the flicker
of a blush in the cheek.
4 -Yes, he does," he answered. "Mab,
I've got ten dollars in my pocket I
expect the nvnister is needing about
ten dollars awful bad."
"Hadn't you better make him a pres
ent of it?" asked Mab, sweetly smiling
off at the lace-work of the snow-dappled
tree branches in the winter-blue dis
tance. Ben looked a little disconcert
ed, then rallied.
4 'But Mab," he said, "he's kind of
Eroud. I wouldn't dare to offer it to
im without giving him a chance tc
earn it Mab Mab, you haven't lot
your tormenting ways, but the bargain
we made back yonder at the stump was
that I would help you cut ofyo.:r trou
ble if you'd do as I said. There's no
one to find fault with what we do
nothing to keep us apart Now, Mab,
we're going straight to the minister's
cottage, and you Know what for."
4 'Then," said Mab, turning her
blooming face to him, "all I've got to)
say. Ben. is, if you're right sure you're
right, why go ahead."
"So Mr. Brind e had a wife to cook
his Christmas dinner, after all. There
was merry bustling, there was laughter
and gladness in the hitherto lonely bach
elor quarters. And there was, too, a
sweetly solemn hour in the tender gray
Christmas twilight, wherein Ben and
Mab, with the big Bible between them,
bent low their heads in grateful ac
knowledgment of the loving care of the
One who, through trial and sorrow,
everund always, leads us on. Demo
rtsPs Magazine.
A War ef Extermination.
Three or four years ago the waters
of Mono I ake were the stamping
ground of thousands of gulls, curlews,
and other water birds, who made it
their home in summer and winter.
i These birds laid their eggs and hatched
their young on the islands in the lake,
and save for the occasional Indian's
trip for plunder they were unmolested.
But it became known that upon ths
islands millions of gul eggs were pro
curable for a small outlay of trouble,
and some enterprising individuals be
gan an opposition to the outside egg
shippers. These cggB, although too
strong for the average egg-eater straight,
were found to possess advantages over
all others in the culinary department
and the hotel and private family's cook
alike took kindly to the young gulls in
their native state. Bo ie became a live
market for the produce, and prices were
S noted as high as two bits a dozen,
iut the bottom of the eg "plant' was
encountered one day. and the old gull
never attempted to replenish the de
pleted stock. As a result the slaughter
of the innocent young birds has de
prived Mono I ake of much life, and
now the number of gulls is preceptibly
diminishing, the old birds having no
place to deposit the'r eggs, and if they
are not allowed to breed upon the isl
ands again undisturbed, the gull tribe, in
a few years at the farthest will be-
como extinct Bodie (CoL)Free Prua.
A New York photographer keeps a
seal-skin sacque. He says: "A poor
girl will pay a dollar extra to be taken
in a seal-skin sacque. She likes to show
her friends that she can look like a lady
on dress occasions. I charge fl.60 for
that This Gainsborough hat 1 general
ly throw in for fifty cents- It's a great
eatch. I tell von. uiris always
:
M-arttaV sjnyi ygm
Card Stories.
On one occasion, when Washington
Irving, Bancroft and Everett were chat
ting over diplomatic reminiscences, the'
last-named told how, after he and the"
Neapolitan Ambassador had been pre
sented to her Majesty Queen Victoria,
.Lord Melbourne intimated that they
I bourne, "in fact, I scarcely imderstand
it; but the Duchess is verv fond of it"
"AndL." said the Neapolitan to Everett,
"am a very bad player, and should I
chance to be your Excellency's partner
I invoke your forbearance in advance;"
to which tho American Envov replied
thatheknew verv little of the cramehimr
self. As he put it three dignified per-
sonages, clad in gorgeous attire, were,
solemnly coin? to Dlav a erame thev im-
perfectly understood, and for which none
of them oared in the least Upon reach-
inv tne Duchess' apartment tne Ambas
sadors were formally presented, and
then, at her invitation, sat down to play..
As soon as the cards were dealt, a lr.dv-'
in-waiting placed herself at the Duchess'
back, and tne latter said: "Your excel
lencies will excuse me if I rely upon the
advice of my friend here, for I must
confess that I am a very poor player.
This was almost too much for Everett's
gravity; a gravity undisturbed for the
rest of the evening, since he found play
ing whist under such conditions inex
pressibly dull work.
Bold as he could be when ths gams
was worth the candle. Lord Beaconstiakl
would never have been tempted to risk
much on the cards; for, knowing the
weakness of his play, he carefully es
chewed anything like high stakes. One
evening, at the time when Parliament
was agitating itself about the Empress
ship of India, Lord Beaconsfield sat down
to whist with the Prince of Wales .and
asked the latter: "What points, sir?"
44Ot a sovereign, if you please," was the
Jmswer. Seeing the Premier's look of
annoyance, Mr. Bernal Osborne ob
served: "I think, sir, the Premier would
rather have crotcn points." The Prince,
taking the joke and the hint, altered 'the
stakes accordingly.
Marlborough was not above playing
for smaller stakes, though, perhaps, the
great Captain did not play high out of
fear for his loving Sarah, who had a
tongue and knew how to use it; like the
lady whose liege lord contrived that she
sho'uld not mofe than suspect the secret
of his bad hours, until, cominer home at
six in the morning tired out with "at
tending a sick friend," he dozed at the
the bread, said: "Cut!" . "That's you
sick friend, is it?" exclaimed the wife;
and what followed may be imagined.
A card-hating wife can upon occasion
set her scruples aside. Soon after the
close of the secession war. General For
rest and his wife stopped at a hotel in
Memphis, and upon examining their
purses found the sum total of their
wealth amounted to $7.30. The General,
being due that evening at a house where
poker was sure to be played, proposetl
that he should tempt Fortune to the full
extent of his means, and asked his wife
to pray for his success. She would not
Eromise; but he felt that she was for
im and knew how it would be. Let
him tell the rest himself:
"They had three tables one was a
quarter-dollar table, one a half, and
ene a dollar and a half. I wanted
to make my seven dollars last as
long as I could make it, so I sat down
to the quarter table. By dinner time I
had won enough to do better; and after
we had eaten, sat down to the dollar and
a half table. Sometimes I won, and then
again I'd lose, until nigh upon midnight,
when I had better luck. I knew Mary
was sitting up anxious and it made me
cool. I set my hat on the floor, and
every time I'd win I'd drop the money
in the hat I sat there until day broke
and then I took my hat up in both
hands, smashed it on my head and went
home. When I got to my room there
sat Mary in her gown. She seemed tired
and anxious, and though she looked,
mighty hard at me, she didn't say a
word. I walked right up to her, emptied
my hat right into the lap of her gown,
and then we sat down and counted it.
would be expected to join in a game at Porti,,5?lu!l neither Kye nor its neign
whist with the Duchess of Kent "I play M1 Wmchilsea, but were Sandwich,
hnt nmr nnnr minmvir " nM fnf. ' Dover. Hvthe. vRomnev and Hastings, to
Just $1,500 even, and that gave me a! was submerged, and there ensued a "piti
start" ' T ful waste of people, of cattell. and of
The wife of Bishop Beadon loved
whist so well that when the prelate told
one of his clery if she was able to sit up
half the night playing whist at the bath
rooms she must be well enough to do-
duty at home, the invalided once si
lenced him with: "My lord, Mrs. Bea
don would tell you that late whist acts
as a tonic or restorative to dyspeptic
people with weak nerves." The Bishop's
better half would have sympathized with
Goldsmith's old lady, who, lying sickH
unto death, played cards with the curate
to pass the time away, and, after winning
all his money, had just proposed to play
for her funeral charges when she ex
pired. There have been stranger stakes still.
In 1735 Henry and James Trotter sat
down at the Salmon inn, Chesterle
Street, to play a game of cards against
Robert Thorns and Thomas Ellison, the
latter pair staking five shillings and the
former a child, the son of a Mr. and Mrs.
Leesh, who gave up their boy to the
winners. A traveler in New Zealand,
spending a night in a squatter's hut, was
invited to cut in for a rubber of whist
As he took his seat he inquired: "What
points?" His partner responded in a
tone significant of surprise at such a
question: " Why, the usual game, of
course sheep points and a bullock on
the rubber."
Even the sharpest of sharpers may
meet more than his match. Robert
Houdin happening to saunter into a Con
tinental casino where a Greek was reap
ing a rare harvest at ecarte, looked on
quietly until a seat became vacant, and
then dropped into it The Greek, deal
ing dexterously, turned a king from the
bottom of the pack. When the deal came
to Houdin he observed: 4 When I turn
kings from the bottom of the pack I al
ways do it with one hand instead of two;
it is quite as easy and much more ele
gant See! here comes his majesty of
diamonds;" and up came the card. The
cheat stared at the conjurer for a mo
ment, and then rushed from the place
without waiting to possess himself of his
hat, coat orstakes.
Another of the fraternity, after win
ning ten games at ecarte in succession,
tried his fortune against a new op
ponent; and still his Tuck held. He had
made four point), and, dealing, turned
up a king and won, "My luck is won
derful," he said. "Yes.'l said bis ad
versary; "and all the more wonderful
since I have the four kings of the pack
in my pocket!" and the professor of leg
erdemain laid them on the table.
"I remember said the gentleman who
had traveled in Russia, "being at a ball
given by the Empress to the late Em
peror on his birthday. I was playing at
ecarte. when the Emperor, who was
wandering about, came behind me to
watch the' game. My adversary and I
were both at four, and it was my deal.
Now,' said the Emperor, 'let us see
whether you can .turn up the king.' 1
dealt and then held up the turn-up card,
observing: 4 Your orders, sir, have been
obeyed.' A dozen times afterward ths
Emperor asked me how I managed it
and he never would believe that it was
a mere hazard and that I had taken ths
ehaace of the card being a king."
The Czar was as much astonished at
the result of his remark as the young
gentleman who, looking over a pretty
girl's shoulder while she was playing
cards, observed: "What a lovely hand!
44 You may have it if you Want it"
murmured, she; and all the rest of tho
evening he was wondering-what her in
tentions were. Chamber Journal.
-
The ClaquePorts.
The Cinque Ports, on which the Kings J
ex rjigiana aepenaeo ior tneir navy uu
the' reign of the last Tudors extended
their rule, guaranteed by numerous
charters, so as to overleap the mouth of
the Thames and reach to Brightlingsea
on the Essex coast. The brieinal five
wfaich the two former were subsequently
a-ea, as wen as many "limns" on tne
''coast between Seaford and Fevereham
nc places not quite on the shore, but
lJinK inland towards the fringe of rising
. ground which bordered the sea when it
soiled over the broad expanse of pastuse
"bow known as Romney Marsh. For'
Dungeness, name of evil omen to
aailprs, is onjy the last result of those
tidal forces by which the vaea has itself
hrought'the massive material which inch
by inch has thrust it back until Lymne,
the ancient Portiu Lemanis, is miles in
land, and Hythe itself,, after following
the sea up, is again . left some .distance
from the ever-growing beach. " Old Rom
ney and new Romney have a similar tale
to tell, except that neither one nor the
other is at all near the sea at present
Sandwich is, it is true, still accessible by
water, but it is far from the actual coast
With Winchilsea and Rye the sea has
been capricious, for the island of Old
Winchilsea was overwhelmed in a storm
and disappeared forever, and New
Winchilsea has been abandoned by the
treacherous waves and left to shrivel
within its spacious walls and strong gates
like a kernel in a nut
Rye is almost without a rival in its
Eculiar picturesqueness. It is an ideal
unt for bold and not over-scrupulous
mariners, such as were the men do
the Cinque ports, unless history of
them foul wrong. It is literally
built upon a rock, only a few centuries
since washed by the channel waves, and
furnished with long flights of steps still
extant, albeit the sometime seagirt crags
now rise, not from the erav-ereen of the
b hoarse breakers, but from the brighter
verdure of meadows musical with the
lowing of kine. When William of Ypres
built the tower which bears his name
dwellers by the sea and voyagers upon it
seem to have had little choice between
shearing and being shorn, and there is
shrewd suspicion that the men of Win
chilsea and Rye preferred the former al
ternative; for they were the object of
fe itlZZf. ?"?' TS
made several descent -upon them and
saccea ana ournea ineir towns, ihea
French failed to extirpate the hardy
race, whose delight it was to lie snug un
til a bevy of fat merchantmen laden with
Gascon wine or rich stufls of Flanders
attempted the passage of the narrow seas
between Antwerp and Bordeaux. By
alternate defense and attack the valiant
sailors of the Cinaue Ports in the Pbm-
rtagenet and Tudor periods kept their
hand in against actual war, when they
made a gallant show with their ships and
their men, bearing the St. George's Cross
for England and the lion and ship as
their own cognizance. For this service
they were paid by extraordinary privi
leges. They had extensive rights of
trading and the towns were entirely self
governed, even theKing's writ requiring
the concurrence of the Lord Warden.
For ofleiies the freemen or "barou," as
they were called, could only be tried by
their peers before the Lord Warden, or
before the King in person. At corona
tions they claimed the right of carrying
canopies oyer the King and Queen, and
of sitting at the King's right hand at the
banquet. The affairs of the general
body were discussed at the Courts of
"Brotherhood" and "Guestliug," held
twice a year, once at Romney and once
at Shepwaycross, near Hythe. The lat
ter trysting-pluce is one instance among
the many of the passion of old times
.for carrying on business in the oieii
air. At the election of a bailiiT and
jurats at Seaford proceedings are com
menced by striking some blows with a
stick on a certain post, as at Romney a
trumpet is blown in the middle of the
night. Through good and evil times
these strange old custom have retained
the form they bore when on the eve of
St. Agatha, in the year 1287, the old
town of Winchilsea, with, it is recorded.
all the ground between it and Hythe,
nouses in every place, uroomnui was
utterly drowned, and the Rother. which
1 II -v-k
previously passed by Romney into the
es, turned aside and flowed past Rye.
Then the sea receded so steadily that on
the occasion of Queen Elizabeth's visit
she was petitioned by the inhabitants to
make Winchilsea once more a port; but
the wealthy citizens were fain to put up
with fair words in answer to their request
Rye was better off in having at least ac
cess by its river to the sea, and lived en
prosperously through the days of bucca
neering and piracy to those of slaving and
smuggling. All these changes affected
the town but little, and the customs of
the Cinque Ports still less.
In quite modern times the Cinque
Eorts have derived their chief lustre
from the celebrated men who have held
the post of Lord Warden. England had
certainly undergone many changes be
tween the time when Henry of Anjou
and Rosamond Clifford walked hand in
hand by the great dovecote at Westen
hanger, and William Pitt took up his
residence at w aimer as .Lord Warden
auu in v lieu uiuuuuuiupaujr wjiucut iauj
Hester Stanhope, who left a mark of her
energy in the grove of trees planted as
swiftly as Birnam Wood came to Dun
sinane. Pitt's immediate successor was
Lord Liverpool, and then came the Duke
of Wellington, who died at Walmer,
Lord Palmerston, and Lord Granville.
The Lord Warden still holds his court st
Dover for the licensing of pilots, and is
Constable of Dover Castle, but these are
the only remains of a post which must
have been of great trust when held by
the mailed warriors who have slept sound
ly in Winchilsea Church since the War
of a Hundred Years. The establishment
of a royal navy did away with the neces
sity for the Cinque Ports, and with their
necessity'died out gradually their privi
leges. London News.
Cat Shaking.
It seems that cats can be put to some
use besides catching mice and making a
noise in the backyard. There is a new
play introduced in which the cat plays a
conspicuous part, and we shall expect to
bear of a number of new quilts being
"put in." It is called "cat shaking,"
and the modus operandi: "All hands,
boys and girls, gather round a quilt that
has been fastened in the frame, place a
cat on it and shake vigorously. The cat
after many ludicrous attempts, will be
apt to jump on over some one s snouiaer:
Bhould it be a young lady, she is crowned
'Queen of the quilting party;' but should
it be a young man, a piece of wax is
Stuck on his nose, and he has to pass from
one to the other as they may need their
thread waxed. None of them mud this,
however, as the cat jumping over their
shoulder is regarded as an indication that
they will be the first one of the party to
get atarried. "Columbus (Qa.) Times.
A Diamond in the Coal.
1 A few days ago a well-known farmer
living in the south part of the town of
Volney, purchased bis winter supply of
coal in this village and drew it home. A
few days after, having occasion to go
into his cellar, a bright, glittering object
caught his eye among the ceaL It flashed
and sparkled so brilliantly that he went
to it and picked it out and carried it
into the sunlight Satisfied that it was
a gem of valae he preserved it carefully'
ssd it proved to be a valuable diamond.
Fulton (Oevctoo County) Timet.
Education begins the gentleman,
bat reading, food company and refection
lwa&Sait-
Rats sn Ssfar Estates Im Jamaica.
Rat-catching has been, and in, an im
portant item in all sugar estate expenses,
not only in Jamaica but in all the West
India Islands. From a .careful series of
returns received from planters in all parts
of the Island of Jamaica, the lues caused
by rats in rat-eaten canes, up to within a
recent date, is estimated at no less than
$220,000 per annum. Other crops also
suffer from depredations of rats. Exam
ples given of the distribution of rats and
the destruction caused by them in the
island are afforded in such reports as the
following: The proprietor of an estate
in Trelawny says: "The annual number
of Tats destroyed and paid for on one
estate was over 20,000 at the rate of one
penny per head; exclusive of what was
destroyed by poison and dogs." A large
proprietor in St James reports that he
paid, in a district not remarkable for the
depredations of rats, on an average $350
per annum for rat-catching, an the de
struction of canes by rats might be moder
ately estimated at $1,000 per annum.
Taking the number of sugar estates
and their returns, as given in "The Ja
maica Handbook" for 1881, it appears
that there are at present in the island
some 21G estates, containing in the aggre
gate 39,505 acres under canes and yield
ing about 31,400 hogsheads of sugar and
M,t 00 puncheons of rum. 1 along sugar
at $75 per hogshead and rum at 855 per
puncheon, this would represent an annual
value of $3,500,000. While some dry
districts, such as Yen in Clarendon, are
comparatively free from rata, others,
such as St Thomas in East Portland and
Westmoreland, have always suffered very
severely from their depredations. A rat
enemy therefore, is in urgent request
For many years, in spite of rat
catchers, dogs, traps, baits and poison, the
evil remained as great as ever. About
twenty years ago the capabilities of the
mungoose as a rat-catcher was questioned
and an attempt was made to introduce
it, with results not satisfactory. The
experiment was later repeated and these
animals firmly established in the neigh
borhood of Kingston and in every parish
on the island. Mr. D. Morris, in a letter
in the Field, tells what have been the
practical results of teu years' experience
with the mungoose in Jamaica. He
says: "In the first place there can be
no doubt that on sugar estates the mun
goose has fully realized the hopes held
out respecting its powers as a rat-catcher,
and sugar planters all over the island
speak in the most unqualified terms of
the cood it has done in destroying the
rapacious "cane-piece rat,' and reducing
the exiMise of rat-catching in all its
phases."
Un an estate where ths mungoose had
only been introduced in 1 878, the attorney
speaks of its useful uers as follows: "In
comparing the expenditure of an estate
where I lived for some years I find the
present yearly expenditure for rat-catching
shows $40 as compared with
1400 spent in catchingand poisoning rats,
and rebuilding walls pulled down to
catch rats. I take this from averages
for five years before the introduction of
the mungoose, as compared with last
year's expenditure. This amount does
not include the cost of poisons, baits
and traps, which would average fully
tlOO a year, making $500 as compared
with $40. In comparing the quality of
rat-eaten canes destroyed before the in
troduction of the mungoose, I take the
number of gallons of rum canes ground
during the crop preceding the introduc
tion of the mungoose, and compare it
with the quantity ground last year.
This shows 14,850 gallons rum cane
ground before 1878 to 7,425 gallons
ground in 1881, which, compared at the
rate of seven loads of canes to a siphon of
450 gallons, shows eleven and a half hogs
heads of sugar spoilt before 1878, com
pared with five and three-quarter hogs
heods spoiled in 1881 taking twenty
loads of good canes to the hogshead, or a
destruction of ten per cent, as compared
with five per cent under existing circum
stances." Again: "Some of the best
lands on the estate I have just men
tioned had to be thrown out of cultiva
tor years, owing to the impossibility to
save the canes from rats. This land is
now being taken up again and put into
cane cultivation."
Letters similar to the ones from which
these extracts were made, and represent
ing many estates in the island, give simi
lar results as regards the benefits which
Che mungoose appears to have conferred
upon the cultivation of sugar. Mr. Mor
ris thinks that the annual saving to
sugar estates by the introduction of the
nlungoose might very fairly be put down
at ninety per cent, of the rat-catching
expenses, and at seventy-five to eighty
per cent, of rat-eaten canes.
The introduction and complete nat
uralization of an animal possessing such
strong predatory habits and remarkable
powers of re-production as the mungoose
must have an importont influence on all
indigenous and introduced animals ca-
Sable of being affected by it As is well
nown, the mungoose, although shaped
like a weasel, belongs to the civet-cat
family ( Vtverrida) and its disposition is
as sanguinary as its habits are predatory.
fts natural food consists of birds, snakes,
lizards, rats, mice, and last but not least,
the eggs of both birds and reptiles. In
India the destruction which it often
pauses among poultry is well compen
sated by the incessant war which it
wages against snakes and vermin. Even
the lethal cobra falls a victim to tho
agility of the mungoose, which, according
ip .eastern iraauion, is saia to possess an
antidote, by means of which it can stand
the poison of the most deadly reptile.
2L Y. World.
Fatten Your Own Stock.
The meat production of the United
States could easily be absorbed to the ex
tent of feeding 100,000,000 of population.
It will never be done so long as the aver
age farmer is content to sell his grain,
paving the production of meat, beef es
pecially, in the hands of a comparatively
few, who make a specialty of fattening;
stdek. The same is true in the case of
sheep, though not to the same degree.
But for some reason the American farmer,
and, indeed, the American people, do
nOt take kindly to mutton. The taste
should be educated in this direction. In
all our hill country sheep should be the
most profitable of farm stock, and par
ticularly in the hill region of the South,
where early lambs may be turned off at
a low cost, to be eagerly bought in the
northern markets. So swine should be
carried to the full capacity of every farm,
Doth North and South.
There is a world's demaad for well
fattened, healthy pork, and always will
be. Where the climate is adapted to the
growth of Indian corn, the most profita
ble use it can be pat to is fattening steers
cultivating from eight acres upward,
would study these meat problems care
fully as to the profit in a series of years,
taking into consideration the increased
value of his farm over that where ths
coarse grains we sold, he would not be
lojg recognizing the fact that his true
interest lay in carrying as much live
stock as his land would feed.
Our most wealthy farmers are those
who have riven their. attention to the
.production of meat, butter and cheese.
They always wil be. Instead of produc
ing comparatively little more wheat than
is required for home consumption, our
export should be in this direction, rather
than in the export of grain. The first
course brings the more money, and con
ttnuousry enriches the soil. The latter
policy never made the farmer rich who
persisted in it year by year. In ths end
jp must lay out all his profits for fertil
isers, while the stock farmer gets his
profits as he goes along, and accumulates
assure enough year by year to keep his
sgllfullyup to Its original fertility,
txchangt.
3STOTIOE3!
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3T A powerful alter.itie and blood
purifier.
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D.W.&CVs Cough Syrup.
Concentrated Essence of Ja
maica Ginger.
S.ASSFH.A.SSO,.
J3The most wonderful remedy ever
discovered for chapped
hauds, lips, c.
OUR EQUINE POWDERS.
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is an Educator "
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