4.
Van Decfeenai's Bargain.
By M. ITO.'
It was through tuo children I first became
acquainted with 3Ir. Van Dockenuawn. They
were nrettv little tots then, the two of them,
and had such friendly ways with them that j
it would not have surprised any one, x
imagine, that they should attract where their
elders seemed rather to repel; but my wife
and I were nevertheless conscious of a cer
tain feeling of triumph when we firt saw
them in animated conversation with the
funny old gentleman, ulwut whom icopIe
knew so little and speculated so much.
We were living ut that time in a small
bouse in one of those old fashioned suburbs,
whence tho city is easiest of access, even the
omnibus fare to and fro leing a matter of
consideration to us, and we knew as little of
our nelghlwrsas most i people even in London.
Wo were very happy, all the same,
being fully occupied I on the city tread
mill which I am working still, with this dif
ference, that I am better paid for it Mary
looking after the house and children, and
keeping both after such a fashion that in our
poorest days it was a pride and a pleasure to
come home to them.
"You are the luckiest man I know," Mr.
Van Deckermann said to me once "or have
known," he said, correcting himself. "To
say whom I know would not be to say much,"
which, indeed, judging from our olserva
tion, was true enough.
Nobody seemed to know him to speak to,
but everybody in the neighborhood must
have known him by sight, for ho was to bo
seen daily, summer ami winter, taking the
same monotonous walk, and dressed in the
same odd fashion, in a brown coat cut in tho
style of at least fifty years before, with brass
buttons, and a wide brimmed hat, beneath
which he wore the most trausjiarent impost
ure, in the shape of a wig w ith which 1 have
ever come in contact. It was in great measure
the contrast betw een this, which was of a
somewhat lively brown, and the iron gray of
hi bushy eyebrows which conduced to the
oddity of his apjiearance. His eyes were the
only striking feature in his face, !eiug dark,
prominent and piercing, and the skin was a
network of wrinkles on parchment, but no
one who had seen his countenance light up as
I saw it that Sunday evening, at tho innocent
prattle of the children, would have received
other than a pleasant impression of tho little
old man.
We hail como upon the trio rather sud
denly, Mary and I, and had the reluctance
to speak upon either side lieen ever so strong,
it must in common courtesy have been over
come. We exchanged greetings accordingly,
and from that day forth the acquaint
ance thus inaugurated ri"iened steadily
into an intimacy, in the courso
of which I armed at theso primary facta
concerning Mr. Van Deckennaun. He was,
as his name indicated, of Dutch extraction,
he had no occiiiiatitm, and he lived, and had
lived for years, in a house which would have
contained three of mine, in the most expen
sive situation thereabouts. What he wanted,
or ever had wanted, being a bachelor, with
a residence of such dimensions it would not
have been easj to determine tho less so that
he saw no company, suid that the establish
ment was restricted to two old servants
like himself English by birth and breeding,
but of foreign origin with asort of "slavey,"
uiu whom doubtless devolved the giant's
share of such work as there was to do, under
fht.ni
.Jv-Ar?
tucvvt
fW5?y v. . c
".l-f V- -
Vk 3.
cLrfC- -r - rr
.--
"3 "ou are the luckiest man I know.'1
We rami) little by little, as I have already
intimated, to see a good deal of him; more
In the summer, however, than in tho winter,
when 1 was glad enough to stay at home in
the evenings, when I got there, and he felt
naturally, at his age, equally indisposed to
turn out. But in the long, light days ho was
fond of dropping in on us after dinner, and
if we should sometimes have preferred being
to ourselves we were careful never to show it.
We were flattered by the fancy ho seemed to
have taken to us, and sorry for his loneliness,
and I do not pretend but that we appreciated
the fact that ho might, if he would, bo a good
friend to us.
It was in the course of tho second summer
of our acquaintance that ono Sunday even
ing after church we came up with him lean
ing over the ialiugs of an old fashioned
bouse, at some distance from our own.
It stood back in its own grounds a
good distance from the road, and such
gliuitees of the building itself as were to bo
obtained through the screen interposed by
the trees und shruls in front of it, gave ono
the idea of a sufficiently gloomy exterior.
We hail remarked u(on its dismal and unoc
cupied appearance more than once, and won
dered, seeing how long it remained appar
ently untenanted, at the absence of any indi
cation that it was to bo cither sold or let, but
we were not prepared for Mr. Vim Decker
maun's first words.
41 You have brought me back to the pres
ent,' ne replied. "I had gone back further
than you could go, either of yon. That was
my father's house; the house in which I was
born and bred. It has remained as he left it,
with such patching up as has been positively
necessary, ever since he died."
"But not empty, as it is nowf Somebody
has lived in it since then, surely f' my wife
aid timidly.
"The old couple who take care of it, no
body else," he replied, as we walked away
from it "Everybody has a craze of some
sort, they say, Mrs. Thurnell, and that is
mine. You have heard of certain rooms in a
house being kept sacred to the memory of
certain people? Why should not I go a little
' further and keep the whole house so, when I
am about itr
The sharp tone and tho laugh that accom
panied it grated on the ears of us both, and
my wife's hand pressed my arm a little ner
vously as she answered:
"Certainly, you have a right to do what
you like with your own. If you did not care
to live in it yourself"
He turned round upon her before she had
thne to finish the sentence, striking the
ground with his stick as though he would
have driven it into it to emphasize his words,
and retreating them after her in a shrill fal
setto voice, which bore evidence to his ex
citement. "live in it myself I after all that had
happened in it ! I would rather have begged
my bread on tho roads rather Good
heavens! what would I not rather! But
there, I beg your pardon," he added, cooling
down. "I cant expect you to understand,
how should you If you had spent there the
most miserable lrayhood, barring one thing,
that ever man had to look back to, you
would hate it as I do."
"And yet you dont get rid of it alto
gether P I interposed at this juncture. "Why
aot poll it down and sell the land for build
fas; apon! You would make a good thing
of it"
"Why not! Because I am a fool, I sup
pose," he returned curtly. "Because, if there
are many memories for which I hate it, there
are a few for which I love it. What was it I
aaw ia your little maids, do yon suppose, but
a HImch to another little maid, dead and
baried long ago the only bit of sunshine
that ever strayed within those four walls, the
caly creature that loved me, or that I had to
love. 8ba was my cousin, and she was an
orphan. How she came to be left to my
father1 care I sever clearly understood, bat
sjja cbsjo to us before I could remember, and
ahe was more to him than ever I was. There
was too good a reason that he should not care
aach forme. He had not been fortunate in
Us marriage, and it had soured him, but be
aast have been hard and cruel to begin with,
or he could aever have doao by bis own flesh
aad blood as be did by me. I was sot good
a ay books, what cleverness I had lay in aa-
Zi' Mi-'0W'7. Ga
i.ra. "e.". jA't
Jffcfcs Jk
& r a . - OB . T.'1Tj V T '3
went to a day school, so that my father's eye
was never off me, and be took it upon him
self to see that I did the task that was set me.
There was no kind of punishment he did not
resort to. I was flogged, starved, imprisoned
by turns. It was as though he thought
he was wreaking his vengeance upon
my mother through me. The only
way in which Alice got into trouble was by
espousing my quarrels the only way, heaven
help her sweet soul! from first to last; J"
He paused for a moment, his voice husky
with emotion, and Mary laid her hand gently
on his arm.
"Another time, Mr. Van Deckermann, tell
us another time," slie said in her soft voice.
"I should like you to know," ho replied, un
steadily, "and I should never bring myself to
speak of it again. By the time I was 10 I had
come to the end of my patience. My father
was fast becoming as miserly as he was cruel,
and I could see plainly if I were to wait for
him to give me a start in life I might wait
forever. I knew that our name was well
known at the Cape, and I trusted to its be
ing a iassport there of which, in conjunction
with the business faculty I was conscious of
in nryself, I might make use to my advanU
age. I resolved to work my way out, and as
soon as I had made enough to keep a wife, to
come ltack for my cousin. It was at the gate
at which you f.ind me standing just now I
said good-by to her.
"I had been away nine years before I sa
my way to making a home for her. For It
greater tart of the time it had been such
hard work that but for the few pounds she
managed somehow I often feared by going
iu rags or something approaching to it her-i-elf
to send me now and then I must have
Starved outright. But at the end of the nine
years I was able to write to her and say I
would como for her. She wrote me in reply
that my father was very feeble, that she had
owed him a homo all her life, and that wt
should wait until I could como homo foi
good. It was a great blow to a man who
lfail already served for her so long, and was
thirsting for tho sight of her, but it was as if
I had no will of my own where she was con
cerned. I stayed on w here I was and set iny
shoulder to the wheel harder than ever for
another three years. The Cape owed me
nothing; then at last I turned my back on
her. I had gone out a beggar, I came home
with a handsome independence. And what
was it, think you, 1 came homo to! I bad
toiled and slaved and denied myself all these
years for what? Merciful heaVens! for
what.''
He stopped suddenly in the road, and
wrung his hands, with an expression upon
his face which haunt me to this day when I
am troubled and out of spirits. The same
thought occurred at the same moment to ray
wife and myself. For some reason possibly
with little, if any, blame attaching to her
selfhis old love had been false to him. So
completely, as we found when we came to
compare notes afterward, had this idea taken
jKKsession of loth our minds, that his next
words took us quite by surprise.
"You don't ask me how I found herf he
raid in a harsh voice. "You don't ask me
whether she was waiting to meet me where I
had left her where you found me just now.
You don't picture her as I had pictured her
to myself huudreds and hundreds of times,
with the sea rolling between us; with her
arms round my neck, and her lips pressed to
mine, and the welcome I had been waiting
for so long looking out of every feature of
her sweet face. But you can fancy what it
was to me to look for her like tliat, and think
of her like that, and then to find her, as I
found her dead and buried!'
His voice sank to a whisper in the utter
ance of those last words, and except for a
murmur of surprise and sympathy, which
seemed all to which we found ourselves
equal, we went our way for the next
few minutes iu silence. Whether he
would have told us more had we
questioned him, I cannot pretend to say,
butlhae often since regretted what was
possibly a lost opiortunity. He may never
have meant ns to le any wiser, but, on the
other hand, if he did mean that, and was
checked by a reticence, which sprang rather
from too much feeling than too little, how
much might have been spared loth him and
us! Tho inclination, supposing it ever to
have existed, liad ceased to animate him be
fore he spoke again.
"You can understand now," ho said, with
a resumption of hia ordinary manner, which
was so rapid as to be remarkable, "why the
very walls of that old house are at once
sacred and abhorrent, dear and hateful to
me. I can neither make up my mind to let
other people livo in it nor to Ut it jo to rack
and ruin, and I would not live in it myself if
there were not another roof in the wido
world for me to shelter under. But there, it
is all over and done with, and wo will find
something pleasanter to talk about."
It was about midsummer, to the liestof my
recollection, this littlo conversation took
place, and not long afterward our house, of
which we had only the half j'earty- tenancy,
was sold over our heads a circumstance
which would have concerned us very little,
liad not the new owner required it for his
own occupation. Conceive my astonish
ment when, under these circumstances, Mr.
Van Deckermann ofTered me the long unin
habited Cedars! I say advisedly offered mo,
for the proposition was only submitted to my
wife after it had been talked over at consid
erable length between us.
The fact was, Mr. Van Deckermann frankly
admitted, the house during its years of dis
use had acquired a bad name, and though he
lielieved ine to have no more belief in the su
pernatural than he had himself, he had no
wish to withhold from me thelcnowlcdgo of
what would, it must be confessed, from tho
vulgar point of view, constitute a drawback
to the very substantial kindness he talked of
conferring upon me.
"You are welcome to the house," he said,
"rent free, and I will have it done up for you
from top to bottom. It shall not cost you a
penny piece so long as I live, and when I am
dead and gouo you will be your own land
lord, but I am not going to saddle you with
it under any false pretenses. The people who
take care of it say it is haunted. It is to their
interest to keep others out of it, and they
have contrived to live there themselves a
good many years in spite of it; but you may
take what they say for whatever you think
it is worth. I am not afraid of you, but
w omen are weak upon these points, and there
is your wife to consider."
I was obliged to confess that my wife was
not in this respect superior to the rest of her
sex. She might face a burglar she would
certainly not wittingly run the risk of col
lision with a ghost.
"I suspected as much," he said equably,
"and that is why I thought it better to in
troduce the subject in her absence. I should
be sorry for her to stand in her own light and
in yours, if it can be helped, and tho chances
are she would. Now my own belief with re
gard to tho Cedars is that there has been
some sort of knavery carried on there for
years, and my object is to get at tho bottom
of it and to do you a good turn at the same
time. We can't offer Mrs. Thurnell the houso
with the ghost attached to it, with any rea
sonable hope of her acceptance of it so
much we may take for granted. The ques
tion is, is it worth your while to try and
clear the coast of it before anything is said
to her about itP
The proposition was an odd one, to say the
'least of it, but the game seemed worth
tho candle, and I felt, moreover, how
poor a figure I should cut in the
old man's eyes were I to decline it.
What it was be wished me to do precisely, ho
was either undecided himself or did not choose
to tell me, but I consoled myself with the re
flection that impostures of the sort he sus
pected were, as a rule, of the clumsiest, and,
to make a long story short, I accepted the
Cedars on his own conditions. My wife, who
was told nothing to disquiet her, and who
naturally, therefore, was overcome by the
generosity which was being shown ns, ac
companied Mr. Van Deckermann over the
house and was charmed with it, with the
style in which he proposed doing it up, even
with the old furniture stowed away in the
atties, and which was to supplement our
own, and it was finally arranged we were to
take possession at Lady day.
It was not, however, until close upon
Christmas week, which we were going to
spend, as usual, with my wife's father down
in Sussex, anything more was said of the
private understanding between my new land
lord and myself; I had been trying to over
come Mary's scruples about remaining be
hind with the children, after I was compelled
to return to the office, and as there was an
nually the same little discussion between us,
my unselfish little woman generally get
ting the better of it, I was not sur
prised to find that our shrewd old
friend had reckoned upon this, and was
prepared with a suggestion in his own inter
est Mrs. Thurnell might, he said, make bur
self quite happy about me .and do him a fa
vor at tne same time Dy allowing me to Be
come his guest for the few evenings I should
otherwise have to spend by myself. The
longer change could not but bo beneficial ,to
her and to the children, and why should she
not have it? Besides, it was necessary for the
carrying out of what he called our innocent
conspiracy against her that some sucn ar-
' rangement should be made. To Mary it
seemed only a further proof of his kindness
and consideration, and the invitation, the
curious circumstances of which wero known
only to him and to me, was accepted accord
ingly. It was not, however, until I had dined
for the first time, tete-a-tete, with Mr. Van
Deckermann, I was made aware of whatfras
expected of me, and shall I confess that the
knowledge did detract, somewhat from my
enjoyment of the best glass of Madeira I had
ever been privileged to taste?
Tho proposition my host had to make to
mo was simply this: In all respects but one I
was to bo, as my wife had been led to sup
pose, his guest in his own houso; that is to
say, I was to breakfast with him before
I went cityward in the morning, and
to return to Woodlands to dine and spend
the evening, but jny sleeping quarters were
to be at the Cedars! I should thus bo in a
position to satisfy myself as to the fitness of
the house for the accommodation of my fam
ily, and tho absurdity of the reports which
had been circulated respecting it We both
knew the folly and credulity in which such
stories originated, but we knew too tho ras
cality which not unfrequently took advan
tage of such weakness to answer its own pur
pose, and it would Iks well to ascertain that
there liad been no such agency at work iu
the present instance, or if there had, to dis
cover it
"I do not say that I have reason to distrust
either old Minchin or his wife," added Mr.
Van Deckermann, "but my loss lias been their
gain all these years, and human nature is
weak. The old woman was shaking in her
shoes the day I took your wife over the
house, and she would not have been behind
hand in putting a spoke in the wheel, bad
the opportunity been given her, on the bare
suspicion of the real facts of the case. If
there has been any roguery at work, it is for
you, iu your own interest as well as in mine,
to get to the bottom of it You are not to be
scared by the fear of the supernatural that
bugbear of the ignorant and the superstitious
for you do not believe in it, and I will see
that you have the means of turning, tho ta
bles upon any clumsy impostor who may try
his hand at frightening you."
The words were cheery and confident
enough, but there was a certain eagerness in
the utterance of them, and the old man's
keen eyes had a curious shiftiness of expres
sion I had never remarked in them before,
as ho thus addressed me. I could not help
thinking he was trying to convince himself,
as well as me, of the force of what hew as
saying. That the whole thing appeared to
him less commonplace than he wished to
make it out, I felt as certain as that I myself
was not, really and truly, going to the ni-,-cstisation
of it ia the proper daredevil
spirit I did not believe in ghosts or ghost
lore, that I maintain; but if I had ever had
much of the spirit of adventure in mo the
monotony of a business life had knocked it
out of me, and I had come to regard a good
night's rest 'as one of the best things in life.
Still the stake was well worth the playing
for, and I did my best to look pleasant over it
One thing I did ask my host What was
the story attached to the house, and what
form did the apparition take ?
He tapped his snuffbox and shook his
head.
"No, no," he said, "I am not going to put
things into your head. How can I answer
for the state of your digestion, or your prob
able immunity from nightmare, as it is?
You know too much that is too say, you
would know too much, supposing you were a
man of weak nerves or vivid imagination,
already. If I could have kept you iu utter
ignorance the test would have been a surer
one, but that I could not, and I havo to re
quire of you, on your honor, that you neither
seek nor accept at the hands of any one the
information I withhold from you. You will
not seek of that I am satisfied what I wish
you distinctly to promise mo is that you will
refuse to lend an ear to any one who may try
to enlighten you the woman Minchin, for
example."
I gave him my word that I would respect,
his wishes, and an hour or so later found mo
in possession of the room which had been
assigned me at the Cedars. Mr. Van Decker
mann had not himself faced the cutting cold
of the moonlit December night, but tho old
couple were on the lookout for my appear
ance, and things had been made more com
fortable than I expected. Some of the old
furniture, of which my host had spoken when
he first entered upon the subject of the house,
had been brought down from the garrets,
and disposed in what would appear to
have been its original quarters, whilo
a bright fire burned frostily in the
old fashioned grate. I observed, with a
certain remorseful appreciation of a thought
fulness for my comfort for which I should
not have given her credit, that Mrs. Minchin
had not limited her provision for my accom
modation to absolute necessaries. Of the
two windows, tho ono nearest to tho lied was
closely and carefully curtained for the
other, as she took occasion to explain, there
was no curtain forthcoming, and an arm
chair and footstool, with tho faded coverings
of which tho moth had long since made ac
quaintance, had been drawn up to tho fire.
The old woman seemed indeed to have re
membered everything, even to tho night
light in a saucer on the mantle piece, to ignite
which was her last care before leaving me
1 for the night For the rest, she was as taci
turn as her employer could have wished.
She received my thanks in silence, and,
having ascertained at what hour she was to
call me, left me to myself with all possible
celerity.
When she had turned her back I proceeded
to take a minute survey of the room.
That it was, or had been at some
time, the scene of whatever mystery
was connected with the house, I
could not reasonably doubt, seeing the object
with which I had been sent there. The first
thing for me to do then was to discover in
what way if any it was likely to lend itself
to the perpetration of a fraud.
Briefly, I could find nothing in it to reward
my inquiries. It was a large room, almost
square, with nothing remarkable about it
There wero, as I havo said, two windows,
and there was one of the closets my wife's
heart had delighted in. I opened the door of
this and looked in. It was empty, as it had
been, in common with the rest, on the occa
sion of my previous visit The bedstead,
which had been brought down from the
attics, was of mahogany, minus poles or hang
ings. Nowhere was there any ambush for
anything; one could see the room and all it
contained at a glance. I went to the cur
tained window and examined it carefully; it
fitted well and was fastened; so was tha
other, the blind of which I drew up, and saw
the garden lying below me, every shrub that
it contained clearly defined in the moonlight
I left tho blind up undressed with my
usual expedition, and went to bed and to
sleep.
It was between 3 and 4 in the morning
when I awoke, for I took note of the time
afterward, but what it was that caused mo
to awake I cannot say. All I know is that
the room was as light as day, and that I was
not alone in it
Creeping stealthily across the room, and
feeling his way with his hands as one might
who was blind, was the figure of Andrew van
Deckermann. He had his profile toward me,
lie had his profit toward me.
and bis head was even more shrunk within
his shoulders than usual, so that I could not
rightly distinguish his features; but his gait
and dress were as familiar as they were re
markable. About the cut of that brown
coat, as about the peculiar inclination of the
head and body, there could be no ""h
But how and with what object had become
Jjp
tnither: x naa lerc mm in nis own uousc
true, there was nothing to prevent him from
following me, but what could be his motive.'
Was it possible I was tho dupe after all of a
madman, and that tho traits I had regarded
as mere eccentricities ought, in reality, to
have given nio tho clew to the truth? Was
it to be accounted for in this way, or was it
that the sarcastic humor, of which I had seen
a good deal in my intercourse with him, had
prompted him to subject my boasted scepti
cism to an ordeal which, malicious though
it might be, was, perhaps, not unde
served? But this last hypothesis would not
hold water for a moment Granted that tin
old Dutchman had the will to conceive a
practical joke of this sort, ho would as
suredly, were ho in his right mind, have
chosen a more convenient season for carrying
it out in his own proper person. There was
but one elucidation of conduct so extraor
dinary iny first conjecture was tho right
one Mr. Van Deckvrinuua wns not account
able for his actions.
Definition of Male Reanty.
To call a man charming in face, or
lovely, or beautiful, or pretty, is to mini
mize almost to insult him. A man can
only bo called handsome, and very, very
few men can be called that.
A handsome man 41111st be manly in
figure, conveying the idea of strength and
energy under the most rejiosef ul exterior.
He must have the shapely hands, feet ami
ears that tell of good blood and cultivated
progenitors; he must have his head well
shaped, well set and well carried; lie
must have a deep, broad chest and 11
straight back, and long shapely limbs;
his features must be regular!) formed,
and yet full of expression, and the kingly
power tliat great sculptors try to give to
Jupiter.
Coloring does not much matter, so that
there be no red upon tho cheeks, and not
too much in the lips, and, perhaps, the
mezzo tints lend themselves most satis
factorily to manly beauty, but. above all,
the handsome man must never be stout.
The heavy throat which overflows the
shirt collar never carries with it an nil of
refinement, whatever it may do of
strength. A blonde man runs t,he risk of
weakness and insipidity, and n black
beard man is handsome, even though ho
be a trifle melodramatic, but still golden
haired and block haired men have been
very attractive the world over.
Of course below this grand climacteric
in the thoroughly haudsomo man there
are ranks after ranks of good looking,
attractive, pleasant faced men some
upon wiiom one loves to look and find
sweet content in contemplating faces and
forms far from faultless, and yet quite
satisfactory. And here we come upon
one of tho most strange and almost cruel
conditions of our being. A man may or
may not be handsome, he may or may
not have any physical attractiveness what
ever, but nobody likes him the less for the
deficiency, he never finds it a barrier in
his career, a source of failure in his life;
women love him and men approve of him
just as readily as if he is handsome: in
fact, the woman or women who love him
set him down as handsome in serene de
fiance of the rules of beauty or the opin
ion of the world. Mrs. Frank Leslie.
Newspapers by Photography.
Books are reproduced In this country
directly from photographic plates, and so
cheaply ns to sell for one half the price of
reprints by the usual type methods the
Encyclopedia Britannica, of which seven
teen volumes have "been issued, being the
most important work thus far photo
graph ically reproduced. By chance it was
discovered that the gelatine plate, from
which the electrotype is made in this pro
cess, could be printed from directly, giv
ing a larger number of good copies than
the hardest electrotype. The New York
Evening Post now says the most recent
development in this direction, and one
which lias scarcely been foreseen until
very recently, is the proposed use of the
gelatine process of printing for newspaper
work.
A western inventor has been engaged
for some time in an experiment, which
uims at nothing less than the entire elim
ination of the compositor for look work
and even newspaper work. The process
Is virtually that already followed by the
firms which reproduce English works by
photography, but instead of photographing
a printed page, it is now proposed to
photograph from type written pages, and
reducing the plate at the same time to the
size of ordinary print to place the result
ing gelatine plate upon a printing press
and use it Instead of the electrotype made
from tho metal types. The late Col.
Richard Howe, the veteran press inventor,
iu reviewing the development of the print
ing press during hia lifetime, said: "I
have some idea that the next jump will
be in the direction of, photographiug the
newspaper upon the sheet of paper as it
Hies through the press. I don't know
how such a thing can be done, but with
the instantaneous process of lightning
photographs some genius will use it for
the newspapers." He did not live to see
any experiment made in the direction of
actural photography of newspapers, but
there seems to have been something al
most prophetic in his suggestion of pho
tography for the newspaper of the future.
Chicago News.
The Coin Collectisg Craze.
"The coin collecting craze begins in
curious ways," said B. H. Collins, of the
treasury department. The foremost colj
lector of the United States, who died re
cently, became a collector through an
accidental desire to possess a big cent of
the year of his birth, 1799. His collection
was sold after his death at auction. It
brought $20,000, and it would today real
ize double that sum. The cost of rare
coins increases year by year, and the in
crease in values during the past five years
has been over 200 per cent. Coins must
not only be rare, but they must be in good
condition, and the best are hard to obtain.
A perfect coin of some dates are as rare
as a Maud S., a peachblow vase or a Koh
iiioor diamond."
"What are the leading specialties of the
United States collectors?"
"Three-fourths of the collectors of this
country collect United States and colonial
coins, and the others collect miscellaneous
coins, ancient and modern, foreign and
United States. Some collect only certain
fceries, some only gold coins, some silver
atid some only copper. My specialty is
copper cents. Its coins are the rarest to
be found in perfect condition, and the val
ues of copper coins are more certain. It
is very hard to find fine specimens. Tho
cents and half cents have circulated to
such an extent tliat they have become
worn, disfigured, black and smooth, and
rare cents in good condition are thus very
costly. Washington Cor. New York
World.
Choosing a Physician.
"Doctor," said a prominent scientist to
an equally prominent physician, "when
yon are sick, who attends you?"
"Why do you ask?" replied the doctor.
"Oli," was tho response, "I want to
find out whom the doctors select to at
tend thcni; that man shall be my physi
cian." But shun the man who habitually
speaks ill of his professional brethren; he
is not a generous man, probably not a
just one. Shun also the man who has a
snre cure for every ill, and is always ready
to promise that he can help you; who
boasts of his wonderful cures, and never
owns a failure; who is always talking
about his cures, and telling what a heavy
business he does. His stock in trade is
bluff and brag. And shun the positive
man, who has a ready answer to every
question, who can tell exactly what the
matter is, how it was caused, and whnt
the result will be. He knows too much
to be honest. Medicine is not a positive
science, and where there are so many ele
ments of uncertainty, it is not in human
nature to know the end from the begin
ning. Demorest's Monthly.
The Cuban Army.
There are three elements in the Cuban
army the active army, the militia and
the vol un teers. There are eight regiments
of infantry, eight battalions of chasseurs,
two drill companies, two regiments of
lancers, eight squadrons of mounted
tirailleurs, several battalions of guerrillas,
with enough of other branches of the ser
vice to make a total of 83, Got) men. The
militia, to which negroes are not admit
ted, has an effective force of volunteers
amounting to 40,000 men. Brussels Cor.
San Francisco Chronicle.
THEATRE AUDIENCES.
HOW THEY DIFFER IN CHARACTER
ON CERTAIN NIGHTS.
Boston's Six Distinct Clwaaes at Theatre
ratrona Some Observations of u Kx
perienretl Manager Saturday Night the
ltet of the Week.
Probably few theatre goers of this city
realize, an do the theatrical managers,
that there are in Boston six distinct
audiences of amusement seekers, and that
they have special nights upon which they
attend the theatres. So marked are the
audiences on different nights of the week
that one manager in this city has a name
for each night, which he has given to it
mainly on account of the character of the
audience which he expects on that day
to see in his house. For instance, Mon
day is lithograph night; Tuesday, de
ciding night, or assistant critics' night;
Wednesday, train night; Thursday,
"night out" night; Friday, society
night; Saturday, everybody's night.
Asked to give his reasons for thus naming
the nights, he said: "On Monday, unless
there has been a large advance sale or the
indications are that there will be a good
sired audience drawn by the special merit
of the performances, we give out what
are known as lithograph tickets. These
entitle the holder to admission to the the
atre in return for the privilege he lias
given us of hanging in his shop window
or in his store our lithographs aud small
bills, or, perhaps, ure for the use of a
bill board iu a good location.
ON MONDAY EVENING.
"It is on Monday evening, usually, that
the theatres change their bills, and so
the opposition ou that night is generally
felt more than ou any other, nnd'if there
is room it is desirable to pay off the lith
ograph or advertising debts on that night
iu preference to any other. There are more
of these tickets issued than managers
would care to acknowledge, and they are
generally well represented on Monday
night, and so I call that night 'lithograph
night.' Of course, on Monday we get the
regular critics and the first nighters, who
are always on hand to pass judgment on
every new actor or play, but the dead
head is plentiful-on that night, audi
recognize him in my nomenclature.
"On Tuesday night we can generally
tell from the receipts how the business is
going to be for the week. If the house is
larger in money than it was on Monday,
we assume that the performance has
pleased the public, and has been well
spoken of, and that the receipts will in
crease nightly for the rest of the week.
Therefore I call it 'deciding night,' as it
generally decides the business. On that
night, too, we get those who never attend
the theatre until they have lead their
favorite daily paper, and learned the opin
ion of the newspaper critic concerning the
play and players. These are the assist
ant critics, and they are influential as a
class. Wednesday night is 'train night,
because ou that night the late trains
especially designed for theatre parties
were run and brought into the city theatres
crowds of persons living in the surround
ing towns. This name is not so perti
nent as it used to be, as now on nearly
all the roads out of the city there are
trains run late enough to permit of out
of town people visiting the theatre, and
reaching home at a fairly reasonable
hour.
TIIF. "NICnT OUT" KIGHT.
"Why do I call Thursday night out
night? Well.I do not want to disparage
Thursday night, for we get a strangely
mixed audience 011 that night, but we are
always certain to have a large contingent
of servants ou that evening, as that, by
some unwritten law, seems to be the even
ing when the 'help' have their night out.
The upper tiers are always well filled ou
Thursday evening by stout, healthy look
ing young girls, accompanied by their
sweethearts, and I tell you they make a
spenriid audience for the ordinary attrac
tion, as the illusions of the stage are to
them realities. An actress who cannot
make them cry or a comedian who cannot
make them laugh should speedily retire
from the business. On Friday we expect
to see the more fashionable personages, as
on that day, for superstitious reasons or
for other reasons, there are are fewer wed
ding receptions, balls and social event
than oi(. any other night of the week. Ou
Friday night we also expect to see a great
many of our Hebrew patrons, more than
ou any other night of the week, although
they are great theatre goers, and are
found in goodly numbers on every night
"Saturday night is the best night of the
week for many reasons, and the audience
is more mixed ou that evening than on
any other of the week. The gallery is full
of working people who have been paid
their week's wages aud are seeking en
joyment; the clerks and shopkeepers are
there with their sweethearts and wives,
knowing tliat they can rest on Sunday,
and the front rows are full of Harvard
students, more especially if there are
heathen goddesses on the stage. The
nearer the representatives of the heathen
goddesses approach the originals in form
and raiment, the nearer the students get
to the stage. You mustn't ask me why
this is. I only state facts. An experi
enced theatrical man, acquainted with the
city, could tell you what night of the
week it was by just looking at the audi
ence, if he had no other means of know
ing." Boston Herald.
A rtatarat una p.
The light of the fireflies of tropical
America seems to be dependent upon the
will, as when feeding or asleep it is not
seen, attaining its greatest brilliancy dur
ing activity and flight. The color of the
light is rich green, but the eggs omit a
light of a bluish tint, according to Dubois.
This naturalist has made extremely inter
esting experiments with the pyrophorus.
The eggs which he dried retained their
luminosity for a week, the light reappear
ing when they were placed in water. He
ground the luminosity organs in a mortar,
after having dried them in a vacuum,
and then mixed them in boiled water, the
latter immediately becoming luminous.
Dr. Dubois concluded that the light of
the pyrophorus is intended as illumina
tion for itself alone. To prove this he
covered one of the upper lights with wax
and the animal moved in a curve; when
both spots were covered the beetle soon
stopped and then moved in an uncertain
manner, carefully feeling the ground with
his antenna. The spectrum of the light
was extremely beautiful, being continu
ous, without dark or brilliant rays.
Christian at Work.
Topics of Conversation.
More than six months ago an English
magazine offered a prize of three guineas
for the most original and suitable topics
of conversation on the four occasions of a
morning call, before dinner, in the draw
ing room, during dinner (in the dining
room) and in tho train. Either this three
guinea prize was no temptation to in
ventive conversationalists, or else the task
proves to be impossible, for I believe the
project has fallen through, and we must
go on without the discovery of a royal
road to brilliant talk. What a blessing a
few sparkling suggestions would be to
those of us who only can berate the
weather when the 6upply of gossip falls
short. In these days when money buys
everything, the demand for appropriate
topics of conversation really ought to be
furnished regardless of expense. The
trouble with the editor of this magazine
iu question was, not that he didn't mean
well, but that he didn't make his prize
worth the trying for. Three guineas!
Why, bless the man, he should offer a
undred times three, and become a bene
factor to mankind iu the noble results he
would attain. Boston Herald.
The Crow in India.
Crows are as gentle as are sparrows
with us. Indeed, much more so. I saw
one iu Calcutta taking its meal from a
quarter of beef which a butcher had on
his head, and several times I have seen
them steal -food from a man's dish when
he was eating before his door. They
come within five or six feet of natives at
every railway station, but eye very sus
piciously a foreigner, and can hardly le
tempted with crumbs nearer than ten feet
or so. There are vast uumbers of them
in every part of the laud. Iu Bu ninth
they are black; here they have a mouse
colored neck, and look as if they wore s
cape. A native harts nothing if he cai.
help it. Carter Harrison's Letter.
It is Absurd
For people to expect a cure for Indiges
tion, unless they refrain from eating
what is unwholesome ; but if anything
.will sharpen the appetite and give tone
to the digestive organs, it is AVer's Sar
aaparflla. Thousands all over the land
testify to the merits of this medicine.
Mrs. Sarah Burroughs, of 248 Eighth
street. South Boston, writes : "My hus
band has taken Ayer'a Sarsaparilla, for
Dyspepsia and torpid liver, and has
been greatly benefited."
A Confirmed Dyspeptic.
C. Canterbury, of Ul Franklin st.,
Boston, Mass., writes, that, suffering
for years from Indigestion, he wait at
last induced to try Ayer's Sarsaparilla
and, by its use, was entirely cured.
Mrs. Joseph Aubin, of High street,
Holyoke, Mass., suffered for over a year
from Dyspepsia, so that she could not
eat substantial food, became very weak,
and was unable to care for her family.
Neither the medicines prescrilied by
physicians, nor any of the remedies
advertised for the cure of Dyspepsia,
helped her, until site commenced the
use of Ayer's Sarsaparilla. "Three
bottles of this medicine," she writes,
cured me."
Ayer's Sarsaparilla,
rBKPARKD BT
Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mast,
Price $1 ; six bottles, $5. Wort h $5 a bottle.
The Best Window Dressers.
The other day one of these masters of
bis art was asked: "Who make the best
window dressers women or men?"
"Men. by long odds. Women are a
failure at it, in fact. Strange, too, isn't
It, with the average American women's
exquisite taste in combining colors she
caunot fit up a window with the resources
of a store at her command I'll tell you
why. She cannot execute a general de
sign, and, not to appear ungallant,
neither can she appreciate it. Stand with
a crowd of women in front of a window
which is worked into one grand design,
and you will find nine out of ten of them
have discovered each some particular
piece of stuff that she likes, and doesn't
see anything else in the window." Chi
cago Tribune.
Kzeretse for Heart Disease.
The mistake ia frequently made of ad
vising subjects of heart disease to keep
absolutely quiet This is all wrong.
Exercise iu moderation is beneficial, and
protracts the course of the disease. Tho
muscular substance of the heart, like all
other muscles, needs exercise, and must
hare it, otherwise it. cannot keep up its
nutrition to the highest point possible.
Indeed, Professor Oertel goes so fnr as to
recommend mountain climbing as the best
form of exercise for these cases. It may
be that tins is going a little too far, but
there can be no question as to the benefits
to be liad from moderate exercise in this
class of cases. Globe-Democrat.
Hucklrn'M Arnica Salve.
The Best Salve in the world for Cuts,
Braises, Sores, Ulcers, Suit Rheum,
Fever Sores, Tetter, Chapped Hands,
Chilblains, CornB, and all Skin Erup
tions, and positively enres Piles, or no
pay reqnired. It is guaranteed to give
perfect satisfaction, or money refunded.
Price 25 cents per box. For sale by
Dowty & Becher. july27
Spenk not of a dead man at the table.
The Commercial Travelers Protective
Association of the United States, has a
membership of over sixteen thousand
and is probably the strongest association
of the kind in the world. Mr. John R.
Stone, their national secretary und treas
urer, 79 Dearbone street, Chicago, in a
letter states that he has leen severely
troubled at times, for the past twenty
years, with cramp and bilious colic
which would compel him to tnko to his
bed from three to six days while in St.
Louis at their lust annual meeting ho
procured a bottle of Chamberlain's Colic,
Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy and has
since used it with the best results. It is
the only remedy ho ever found that ef
fected a rapid and complete cure. No
one can safely travel without it. Sold by
Dowty & Becher.
A hat is not made for one shower.
Worth Knowing.
Mr. W. H. Morgan, merchant, Lake
City, Fla., was taken with a severe cold,
attended with a distressing cough and
running into consumption in its first
stages. He tried many so-called popu-
lar cough remedies and steadily grew
worse. Was reduced in flesh, had diffi
culty in breathing and was unable to
lecp. Finally triod Dr. King's New
Discovery for consumption and found
immediate relief, and. after using about
a half dozen bottles found himself well
and has had no return of the disease.
No other remedy can show n grand a
record of cures, as Dr. King's New Dis
covery for consumption guaranteed to
do juet what is claimed for it, Trial
bottle free at Dowty & Becher's drug
store.
Everyone puts his fault on the times.
California, The Laiid of Discover!.
Why will you lay awake all night,
coughing, when that most effective and
agreeable California remedy, Santa Abie,
will give you immediate relief? SANTA
ABIE is the only guaranteed cure for
Consumption, Asthma and nil bronchial
complaints. Sold only in large bottles
at 81.00. Three for S2J50. Dowty &
Becher will be pleased to supply you,
and guarantee relief when used as di
rected. CALIFORNIA CAT-B-CURE
never fails to relieve Catarrh or Cold in
the head. Six months treatment, 31.00.
By mail, 31.10.
Forbear not sowing because of birds.
Kesews tier Yoath.
Mrs. Phoebe Chesley, Peterson, Clay
county, Iowa, tells the following remark
able story, the truth of which is vouch
ed for by the residents of the town: "I
am 73 years old, have been troubled
with kidney complaint and lameness for
many years; could not dress my
self without help. Now I am free
from all pain and soreneBS, and am able
to do all my own housework. I owe my
thanks to Electric Bitters for having
renewed my youth, and removed com
pletely all disease and pain." Try a.
bottle, 50 cents and $1 at Dowty &
Becher's drug store.
A holy habit clears not a foul soul.
On and after April 29th, the day
coaches on the Union Pacific's No. 3,
known as the "Overland Flyer," will be
taken off, to better enable it to make
time. This will add largely to the popu
larity that has already been gained by
this fast train. After that date it will
carry only passengers holding first-class
tickets, to points where the train makes
regular stops, between Council Bluffs
and Ogden. Such passengers must pur
chase tickets for seats or berths in Pull-'
man sleepers, before entering the cars.
.CjearHic
tfcVK for
WBSSSSSSBSSSKBLt1&!'i3BfHT":'J VCBVbV
0flssssKS' assssaTSt&jKi -iir fcasT
This is the Top of the Genuine
Pearl Top Lamp Chimney.
Allothers,similarare imitation.
This exact Label
is on each Pearl
Top Chimney.
1 A dealer may say
and think he has
others as pood,
rrra
BUT HE HAS NOT.
Insist upon the Exact Label and Top.
FOI SALE IYERYWKEIE. MADE UHLT BT
fiFO. A. MACBETH & CO., Pittsburgh, Pa.
PATENTS
Caveats and Trade Mark obtained, and nil Pat
ent businrm conducted for MOUEltATK KKKX.
OUB OFFICE 18 OPPOSITE U. 8. PATENT
OFFICE. We have no MiiMtKencie. all buxini'Mt
dirrct, henru we ran traniutct patent hiu-inerw iu
letut time and at LES8 COST than thow n-iuot.-from
Washington.
Send model, drawing, or plioto, witli ilexcriit
tion. We advise if patentable or not, frow of
charge. Our fee not due till patent it fcureil.
A book. "How to Obtain Patent." with refer
ence to actual clientM in )our ittate, county or
town, tent free. Adilnt-n
C. A- NOW 9c CO.
OppoHite Patent Othce. Warrington, D. C.
English Spavin Liniment removes all
hard, soft or calloused lumps and blem
ishes from horses; blood spavin, curbs,
splints, sweeney, rinjf-bone, BtiiloB,
sprains, all swolen tliroatn, coughs, etc.
Save 350 by use of ono lnittle. Warranted.
Sold by C. B. Stillman, druggist, Co
umbus. tMy
The covetous spend more than the
liberal.
Daily excursions have been arranged
for over the Union Pacific Railway, to
San Francisco, Snn Diego, Colton, Los
Angeles, San Bernardino and San Jose,
California, also to Portland, Oregon, at
880.00 for the round trip. Tickets are
good CO days for the going passage and
good for the rot urn trip for six months
from date of sale, with the usual stop
over privileges in both directions within
these limits. These tickets are also good
by way of Denver and Salt Lake City in
each direction. The Agent, Mr. J. R.
Meagher, tells us quite a number are
thinking of making the trip soon, and it
would be well for those intending to go
in select parties to see him aud arrange
for their accommodations. Mr. J. B.
Frawley, Traveling Agent, Union Pacific,
at Omaha, is arranging for theso select
parties, and will be glad to give any fur
ther information in regard to these ex
cursions. Parties who prefer can corres
pond with Mr. J. Tebbets, G. P. & T. A.,
Omaha, Neb.
More have repeated speech than
silence.
The Passenger Department
Of the Union Pacific, '"The Overland
Route," has gotten out a fly-bill design
ed to call attention to the summer re
sorts along the line of this railway. It
is a good bill and tourists, pleasure
seekers, sportsmen aud fishermen should
apply at once to J. S. Tebbets, Oeneral
Passenger agent, Omaha, Neb., for in
formation in regard to the points of in
tcrest along the line, before deciding
where they will spend the summer sea
son, or vacation holidays. 'Mt
Dry bread at home is lietter than roast
meat abroad.
An Absolute Care.
The ORIGINAL ABIETIXE OINT
MENT is only put up in large two-ounce
tin boxes, and is an absolute cure for
old Bores, burns, wounds, chapped hands
and all kinds of skin eruptions. Will
iiositively cure nil kinds of piles. Aak for
the ORIGINAL ABITINE OINTMENT
Sold by Dowty & Becher at 25 cents per
box by mail 30 cents. marly
A little wind kindles, much puts out
the fire. '
Indies
In delicate health needing a gentle yet
effective laxative will find the California
liquid fruit remedy, Syrup of Figs, ple;is
ing to the taste, acceptible to tho stom
ach, and perfectly safe in all cases. It is
the most easily taken and pleasantly ef
fective remedy known to cure and pre
vent costiveness, to impell headaches,
colds and fevers, and strengthen the
kidneys, liver and bowels and is there
fore a favorite remedy with the ladies.
For sale only by Dowty & Becher.
Tho escaped mouse ever feels the
taste of the bait.
Gsrfleld Branch,
On the Great Salt Lake near Salt Lake
City, ou the Union Pacific, "The Over
land Route," was formally opened to
tho public on Decoration day, May JiOtli.
Ample accommodations have Ikm-ii pro
vided, and th Pacific hotel company
will have charge of the hotel nccommo
dntions at this famous resort tinder the
snittrvisiou of tho Union Pacific railway.
No pains or exiwnse have been spared to
make this the slimmer resort of the west.
It is only eighteen miles from Salt Lake
City on the Utah & Nevada branch of the
Union Pacific. Trains will 1 run at
frequent intervals daily between Salt
Lake City and the Beach. Cheap trains,
good baths, and excellent meals are
among the attractions. 3tf
Columbus Lite Co.
ISTISBRASK.A.
FAMILY : JOURNAL.
A Weekly Newspaper issued every
Wednesday.
32 Columns of reading natter, con
sisting of .Nebraska State News
Items, Selected Stories and
Miscellany.
JSSaniple cit wnt free to any aJiIrnB(t."JC
Subscription price,
SI a year, in Mvanct.
Add reus:
M. K. Tuknkk A- Co.,
Columbus,
Platte Co., Nebr.
LOUIS SCHREIBEK.
All kinds of Repairing done on
Short Notice. Baggies, Wag
ons, etc., made to order,
aud all work Guar
anteed. Also sell the world-famous Walter A.
Wood Mowers, Beapers, Combin
ed Machines, Harvesters,
and Self-binders the
best made.
gSTSUop opposite the "Tatteraall," on
Olive St.. COLUMBUS. 'Jft-m
II I All I 11REWARPED are th
Kll III W who read thirt and then act,
nil III I I they will find honorable em
IIIWIIbWI ployment that will not take
I hem from their homr and familiex. The
I nht hiv large and tture for every induct nou
I ersou, iimiiy hae made and are now inn kin
reveral hundred dollar a mouth. It is e;uv for
r.nv oue to make $H and upwards per da, who 14
willing to work. Either nex, joung or old. capi
tal not needed; we Btart jou. Kverj thing new.
No Hpt'oial ahilit) required; you, reader, can do
it as wella any one. Write to um at once for
full particular, which we mail free. Aittlrett
Stinriou A Co.. Portland. .Me. clec'iiy
D5HEN0ERS0N
.09 W. Ninth St., KANSAS CITY. MO.
The only Specialist in the City irho is a BeguUf
Graduate in Medicine Over 20 years' Practice.
12 years in Chicago.
THE OLDEST IN NGE, AND LONGEST LOCATED.
K- Authorized by the State to tr-t
MA Clirouic.Nervousand "Special 1)1
,75 T uwi," Seminal Weak new (my if
BsF fRlos.v3)fifxual Debtllty ('"" "-""J'
SSBBSSSH jJipnwcr). Nervous Debility. I'oisoDed
BBBIBAl niMHl,UIcerHuntSwUlurofevery
B kind. Urinary Dbwanei. and iu fait.
Hllssr a" troubles or dlxease Iu ttithur
male or female. Cure guarantee!
or money rf united. Charges low. Thouiaudt u(
caaet cured. Kxperience Is Important. All medi
cines are guaranteed to be pure and f ftlcacloui.
being compounded In my perfectly nppulmed
laboratory, and are furnished ready for um?. .o
runniug to drug stores to have uncertain pit
Hcriptioni HUed. No mercury or Injurious mwll
cine used. Nudetention frombuslnem. I'atieuts
at a dWtance treated by lettwr and exprsn. medl
cines sent everywhere free from gaze or break
age. Slate your case and seud for term. Cou
sulfation free aud confidential, personally or by
letter.
A 01 page DAfilT For Both Hexem. Brut
llluttrated Wik .scaled Iu plain envelope
for be. In stamp. Kvery male, from the age of
15 to-t. .xhould read this book.
RHEUMATIS
THE BREAT TURKISH RHEUMATIC CURE.
A POSITIVE CURE Zar RHEUMATISM.
960 for any . ihU trrmtiwat fail to
careor hlp. (trcatt't lieoerT la aanaLs
ofiwrdkia. (Joe do glte rrilef; fw
nr rrmofr frrrr anil paia In joint ,
CurecompIcrtM tnSto 7 !;. 8rwt rt
nwnt or ea with stamp fur Circulars.
Call, or svldrrM
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