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OUR ANGELS.
Oh ! not with any sound they come, or sign,
Which fleshly ear or eye can recognise ;
No curiosity can < < mpass or surprise
The secret of that intercourse divine
Which G< d permits,ord< ins, across the line—
The changeless line whicu bars
Our earth irons other stars.
But they do come and go continually,
Our blessed angels, no less ours than His—
Theblesf-ed angels whom we think wemiss,
W hose empty graves we weep to name or see.
And vainly watch, as once in Galilee,
Ooe, weeping, watched in vain
Where her lost Christ had lain.
Whenever in some bitter grief we find,
Atl unawares, a deep, mysterious sense
Of hidden comfort come, we know not
whence;
When suddenly we see, where we were blind;
Where we had struggled, are content, re
signed ;
Are strong where we were weak—
And no more strive or seek—
Then we may know that from the far, glad
skies,
To note our need, the watchful Ged lias
bent,
And for our instant Help has called and
sent,
Ol all our loving angels, the most wise
And tender one, to point to us where lies
The path that will be best—
The path of peace and rest.
Haunted by a Horse.
It seems an odd thing to say—and
very likely you will not believe it —
but there was a time In my life when
I was haunted bv a horse, j us-t as truly
and irresistibly as ever a wretchrd
sinner was Haunted by remorse; and
that, to my mind, means a good deal
more than if I said “haunted by a
ghost;” for I dm’t believe in ghosts,
and I d > believe in remorse, for I have
felt it and been haunted by it myself,
and that, not lor any very great sins
either.
My father was a merchant in one of
our great western cities—a good, hon
orable man, but, withal, stern and
harsh to his children in his endeavors
to guide them aright.
The result of this unwise rule was
such as might have been anticipated ;
one of my brothers ran off to sea, and
was drowned on his fiiBt voyage ; an
other enlisted in the army; and I,
after a violent quarrel with my father,
turned my back on my home, as I be
lieved, forever.
I was the youngest son, and, after
our mother’s death, had met with
more indulgence than my brothers;
but there were rimes when the flint in
my father’s disposition and the steel
in mine came into violent contact.
And so it came aoout tiiat i—a hot
headed youth of twenty, just home
from college, the proud winner of
hard won prizes—went out into the
world to seek my fortune.
I chanced to have $50 in my pocket,
and this sum sufficed to carry me the
greater part of the way to the point I
had fixed upon as the scene of the
first act in the drama of my future
fortunes.
There ^ere no railroads in those
days across the great western prairies;
they had to be crossed on horseback or
in wagons, and to do either required
money—more money tban I possessed,
by far.
And so my march came to a sudden
halt on the verge of the great plains,
and I was forced to look on, while
caravan’after caravan of eager seekers
after gold rolled out of the little town,
where my last dollar had stranded
me.
Gold-seekers—for the ^California
fever was at its height, and hundreds
and thousands of men, reckless and
desperate as I was myself, were rush
ing to the gold-fields with all possible
speed.
Weary and heartsick, with aching
head and dragging limbs, I wandered
out beyond the town. It was a cloudy
day, with a cold wind, blustering
wind that told of snowflakes Dear at
hand; but I paid no heed to the
weather—the inner storm eclipsed the
outer.
“Hello!” I thought, “here comes
some one in a tearing hurry. Clear
the road, my boy, or look out for a
knock-down argument!”
I stepped to one side, as a horse at
full speed came dashing by. I had
only time for a brief glance at rider
atod steed, but that one glance was
enough.
Buch a horse and such a rider !
Coal black, with shining coat,
arched neck, flowing mane and tail
and slender limb*, with a long, gentle
spring, that would scarcely have
stirred a child in the saddle I had
always been fond of horses and had
prided myself on owning fine animals,
but never btfore had I seen a horse
that so took my heart by storm.
Aud its rider, too l—a beautiful girl
of not more than eighteen summers,
with flowing ringlets, rosy cheeks and
bright eyes that seemed to read me
through and through, as she turned
them on me in passing.
Involuntarily I removed my hat
and stood gazing after the well-
matched pair as the horse made a
sudden turn and halted with his rider
at the door of a large house close by.
The latter leaped to the ground and
entered the dwelling while the horse
walked quietly to a neat stable, open
ing on the road.
I stood motionless till both bad dis
appeared, then drew a long breath,
like one awakening from sleep, and
returned to the town where a few
quiet inquiries furnished me with the
information that the animal I so much
admired belonged to the chief magis
trate of the little town, its rider being
his only child.
All through the rest of the day the
figure of that beautiful horse haunted
me. I could not throw it of!'. I lay
down to sleep and I dreamed that I
was mouuted on its back, speeding
across Ihe wide plains, no longer
spread as an impassible barrier be
tween me aud every hope of fortune.
I awoke and the same idea clung to
me. AU day long a demon whispered
in my ear how easy it would be, in the
dead of night, to enter the stable I
had seen, lead out tne coveted horse,
mu.unt him and away, away !
Ur*ed by an irresistible impulse, I
left the towu once mere, aud inspected
the magisrrale's premises, entering
the stable, on pretext of inquiiing my
way of a hoy who was at work within.
The horse, the sjoiious black, was
there, and my heart heat high as a
closer inspection confirmed my first
opinion of his quality. H >w long I
might have lingered there, feasting
my eyes on that noble piece of horse
flesh , who can say ?
I was infatuated, and could, I verily
believe, have gazed on it for hours,
had not the sudden apparition of May
Morris, the magistrate’s daughter,
impelled me to a hasty flight.
And then—not till then—as l
glanced at the pure, proud face that
had so interested me the day before,
did I realize in all its blackness the
true import of the thought that had
taken possession of me.
A horse thief! I to become a horse
thief! I pressed my hand to my head,
bewildered. Had I indeed fallen so
low as this, that I should seriously
contemplate the stealing of another
man’s horse, and even take pleasure
in the idea ?
My brain reeled with horror at the
dark pit, yawning beneath my feet,
and yet still I felt the temptation
strong upon me to follow to the end
the plan I had almost unconsciously
mapped out for seizing the coveted
animal.
And so I went back to the town, at
one moment shrinking from the
thought of the deptti to which 1 had
fallen, at another filled with delight
at the eaBe with which I could seize
upon him, and speed on his back
across the plains.
I lay down to sleep, and sleep fled
from me. The beautiful girl and the
• eautiful horse she rode ; the horse
and the girl, the girl and the horse—
these two ideas, and the all paramount
one that sprang from them, kept surg
ing to and fro in my brain, until at
last I sprang up, resolved to go out
into the stormy night (for it was
snowing hard), and cool my feverish
blood.
I seemed to myself to be two per
sons—nay, three—in one body. One
was wicked, and urged the theft of
the horse ; another was honorable and
recoiled at the very idea; and these
two held hot argument together,
while the third looked quietly on, say
ing : “ Look here, what’s all this non
sense about? You are getting brain
fever, my boy, that’s what it means,
neither more nor less. Better go
home to your father while you can,
that’s my advice ”
Every one in the little tavern had
settled down for the night, but I
found no difficulty in letting myself
out, and then I set forth to walk as
rapidly as the deep snow would per
mit—whi her?
As I live, my sole ol ject and inten
tion was to walk in the cool air until
I felt tired enough to go back to my
bed aud gain the sleep I ho much
needed; yet, without my own voli
tion, my steps led me direct to the
stable where my coveted beauty was
tethered ; not only to the stable, but
into it, for the door was insecurely
fastened and access easy.
The result? Ah, you have already
divined it. I felt around in the dark
ness, found a bridle and a saddle, aud
in a moment more led the blaok out
into the road ; and there I paused, my
head whirling with exultation, re
gardless o the fact that a dog was
barking furiously at hand, and that a
light was rapidly approaching from
the neighboring dweliiug.
I waited quietly until beams of the
lantern almost flashed into my eyes,
and then, with one loud “Hurrah!”
I leaped into the saddle, and plunged
down the road at a wonderful speed,
considering that the» ground was al
ready deeply covered with the fast
falling snow, which, here a id there,
had drifted into huge heaps, almost
blockading the way.
It was not long before I heard
sounds behind me that proved I was
being followed, yet the knowledge
troubled me not, but only lent ad
ditional zest to the adventure on
which I had embarked.
The noble steed I rode needed nei
ther whip nor spur to urge him on;
the bracing air and blinding snow
seemed to have fired his blood, and I
laughed aloud at the idea of any other
animal being able to overtake him,
the speed he made through the soft
snow being perfectly wonderful.
On and on we went; once or twice
I drew rein and listened, only to be
assured that I was still followed, and
that, too, very closely.
Again I laughed, aud shook my list
at my invisible foe; and then, sud-.
denly surrounding me on every side, I
beheld a multitude of demons, each
mounted on a horse the counterpart of
the one I rode, and in their midst, ap
pealing to me for help, was the lovely
girl w hose favorite steed I had appro
priated.
Frenzied at the sight, I brought
down the switch I carried heavily on
the horse’s flank. He indignantly re
sponded with a fierce side leap that
landed him in the midst of a deep
snow-drift, and pitched me headfore
most into another.
But I was up again in a moment,
and waded out into the level track,
my blood on fire with the determina
tion to r< scue the beautiful maiden I
had seen from the legion of demons
who were carrying her into bondage.
But lo ! they had vanished, one aud
all—no demons were to he seen, no
horses, no maiden I Nothing was spr
ing on the great white pliiu except
myself and the proud beauty from
whose back I had so suddenly dis
mounted, and now he was some dis
tance off, having evidently concluded
that it was time to return to more
comfortable quarters in his stable,
toward which he was quickly making
his way.
So I stood still in the midst of the
fast deepening snow, half blinded by
the driving flakes, half frozen by the
cold that I now began to feel for the
first rfime, and wholly bewildered by
the disappearance of the maiden all.
forlorn, whose rescue I had resolved
to effect, or die in the attempt.
How my troubled brain solved the
problem of the sudden vanishing of
my foes I cannot say, for my recollec
tion halts abruptly at this point, and
recommences in a widely different
scene. jMjL*
A large, handsorg|HH}nished
apartment, myself lying in its midst
*>n a luxurious couch, my father bend
ing over me, his face haggard and care
worn, and, standing at his side, a
lovely young girl, whom I had no
sooner looked upon than she vanished
—these are my next recollections—
something of a leap you see from the
lonely, snow covered plains.
By and bv, as I came back slowly to
health and strength, the gap in my
memory was filled up.
“ Don’t worry about it, my lad,”
said the man whom I had sought to
rob of the horse. “It was not you
who stole my horse; it was brain
fever, and we all know he is an eccen
tric fellow, not responsible for his mis
deeds. jNo one blames you in the
least—in fact, no odo knows anything
about it but your father, May and you
and I. Naturally I supposed I was
pursuing a regular horse thief, until,
after meeting my horse returning
riderless, I rode on and found you
senseless in the snow.
“ The first glance at you puzzled
me. You were no common criminal,
that was certain ; both face and drtus
denied it. So I lifted you on my
horse and held on to you u;unehow
until I reached home. ,
“ I told them there that I . ..d found
you insensible in the snow, aud after
getting you to bed and sending lor a
the doctor I*set about examiuing your
pockets, to find your Identity, if possi
ble. Your letters furnished me with
your father’s name und address, and
when the physician pronounced yours
a case of brain fever, I sent a messen
ger to him. He oame at once, and tor
the last three weeks has helped to
nurse you baok to life.
“It was curious how that horse
kept on haunting you through all
your delirium— 1 the glorious black
and the lovely girl ’ were all you
could talk about. You were always
riding at her side aud fighting for
her.”
“‘That lovely girl’ haunts me
still,” said I: ‘‘and I hope I may rice
at her side aud fight for her through
life.”
“ Who knows ?’’ laughed her father.
“ Stranger things than that have hap
pened. Perhaps you may.”
And so I did.
Farm Statistics.
The sugar beet forms starch in its
leaves, but in the leaf stalk this is con
verted into grap § sugar, and into cane
sugar in the thick top root in which it
is stored up.
Dalrymple, the great wheat farmer
of Dakota, has sold $80,000 worth of
his h nd to George Howe, oi Bradford,
Pa. Dalrymple found it necessary to
decrease bis acreage in order to farm
it effectually.
Algerian wheat planted in Bohemia
and Austria is said to give very satis
factory results, yielding more largely
than other varieties. It is a hard va
riety, and yields almost twenty-five
bushels per acre.
According to the Government re
turn there was imported into Canada
»n 1881 $919 297 worth of flour and
$453,235 worth of corn-meal, compared
with 4534 688 worth of flour in 1880,
aud $418,803 worth of corn-meal.
Breeders of Herefords claim for
their favorites that they ate among
the most hardy of all breeds of cattle,
and thus are particularly adapted tor
countries where it is impossible to
take special care of cattle through the
winter.
In selecting paints for out-of-door
work, the lighter colors should be
preferred in point of durability, though
at present fashion dictates the darker
tints. The dark colors absorb the
sun’s rays and occasion earlier decay
of the material painted.
To make a cement for stoves take
iron filings and mix to about the con
sistency of putty for glazing with
white lead and linseed oil. Fill in the
joints as securely as possible when
the stove is cold, and let it stand a day
or two before using.
By growing deeplj-rcoted crops as
part of a rotation the subsoil is made
to contribute to the general fertility.
Shallow-rooted crops, on the other
hand, have generally a special faculty
for appropriating food accumulated at
the surface.
The blacksmith often injures the
woodwork of a carriage by fitting his
iroas when too hot. If the wood burns
ever so little it weakens it, and if a
joint is near the latter it is su r e to
open. A blacksmith who cannot fit an
iron without depending upon its burn
ing its way down should never be al
lowed to work at the forge.
The average ol German observations
show that the annual yield of milk
rises gradually from the birth of the
first calf till the fifth, reaches its max*
imurn after the sixth, sinks gradually
till after the tenth calf, when it is
about the same as at the first calving,
and after the thirteenth or fourteenth
calf is only one-fourth or one fifth of
14® maximum yield.
The secret of raising winter squashes
is to plant them late. When maggots
get into the vines the only way to save
the crop is to cover the vine about six
inches deep with earth. Burying the
worm kills it, and does not hurt the
vines. The Crescent strawberry is
the best variety for all purposes. The
way to get rich in farming is to keep
down vfeeds and use plenty of manure.
Farm manures contain all, while
commercial fertil'zers may contain
only a portion of the ingredients
which plants use for f» od. But if a
farmer were to find it profitable to
apply large quantities of phosphates to
his fields, as is often the case, he
would proba! ly secure th it material
more cheaply by purchasing a super
phosphate or bone meal, than by geo
ting horse manure from city stables at
large expense.
Probably there is no crop so profita
ble for soiling purposes as corn fodder.
It should be so\vn at different times to
keep up a su vision until cold
weather. Oats a*.d then barley may
be sown earlier tnan is proper for corn
to be sown. The larger growing va
rieties of sweet corn are best for this
purpose ; this crop affords a profitable
supply of ears for market or home use,
and an abundant growth of fodder for
the milch cows.
Garibaldi’s Kindness.
One day Menotti and Acliiiles Faz-
zari saw on the island of Maddalena
an unfortuuate youtl) of eighteen yi ars
almost naked, dirty, hungry and
trembling with cold. They had pity
on him and brought him to Caprera,
where the General gave him food,
warmed him and ottered him a home
in his house. Lucca, delighted, re
mained in the house and was set to
work to wash the plates and tend
the sheep and goats. Lucca became
very food of the goats, who stood on
their hind legs to him and licked his
hand*, and in winter lay around him
as if to keep him warm ; he was as it
were one with them. Guribalbi was
rather at a loss how to dress him, for
he had nothing hut trousers and a
cloak, and his children were not better
off thun himself in this respect. Gari
baldi, however, had kept his military
costume as a souvenir of the glori tus
campaign of 1859. He gave it to the
poor idiot, not because he did not care
for it, but because in his great kind
ness he preferred rather to dress a
poor outcast with what was of real
value to himself than to keep the
clothes as an an object of interest.
Thus Lucca washed plates and kept
the goats in the costume of a general
in the Italian army. Though Lucca
was a Cretin, or more properly a
coarse and obstinate idiot, Garibaldi
wit bed to educate him, feeling sure
that with patience and perseverance
he could accomplish what was sup»
posed to be impossible ; and indeed, it
became possible. At 11 o’clock Lucca
came to Garibaldi’s room, where the
General gave him a lesson. No day
passed without a lesson, but every les
son was torture to Lucca. When the
time to begin the lesson Lucca showed
bad temper, kissed his goats aud took
leave of them as if he were going to
the guillotine ; caressed the geese, and
pale and trembling, approached the
room of his teacher. Garibaldi taught
him reading and writing for half an
hour, and arithmetic for another half
hour, but poor Lucca understood noth
iug of the latter. “General,” said the
unfortunate fellow often, “if you do
not open my head and put that book
into it, I shall never understand these
figures.”
The war of 1866 was approaching
and the Gtneral was preparing to go
on board his ship, when suddenly his
eyes fell upon ihe weeping face of
Lucca. “What are you crying for,
Lucc^?” said the General. “I want
to go with you,” he answered. “Very
well, but if you are killed, what then?”
“All the better, Genera], for in Para
dise, at all events, 1 shall not have to
learn those blessed figures.” Garibaldi
smiled and said, “Very well, come
along.” Bo Lucca became a soldier.
Tney were now in the terrible moun
tains of the Tyrol, where a few men
might keep at bay a whole army.
Garibaldi was advancing thiough
the gorges ; it was the eve of the day
before the battle of Monte-Suelo, after
a bloody conflict, that Lucca Bpano
did not answer to the roll-call. The
next day Menotti and Achilles, trav
ersing the battle-field, saw two men
lying dead, a Garabaldean and Tyro
lean, who seemed to have attacked
each other and fallen in deadly combat.
The Gaiibaldeau was Lucca Bpano;
his face had retained the blissful smile
so well known to those who saw him
leave the General’s room, his lessons
being over. When Menotti related
these facts to the General, Giribaldi
hung his head aud remained silent for
a ftw moments, a* Napoleon I. did
when he saw Marshal Desaix lying
dead on the field of Marengo. When
the Government of the King asked
Garibaldi for the list of rewards to be
distributed to the army, he wrote at
the head of the list, without saying a
word, “Lucca Siano.” The medal
awarded to Lucca for bravery was eent
to his sister, a poor servant, aud she
has kept it till now. Bhe asks herself
now aud then, wouderingly, “Was it
my own brother, Lucca Bpano, who
died fighting s > bravely for his coun
try ?”
“Is there anything I can do to sat
isfy you that the affection I have con
fessed for you is real—any further
proof that I can give of my sincerity
and devotion ?” exclaimed the youth
passionately. The face of the marble-
hearted maiden lighted up with a Ma
chiavellian smile as she answeied :
“Yes, there is, Gilbert; join the next
Arctic expedition.”
In Cheshire, England, extraordi
nary remits have been attained in the
application of halMiitth bones to poor
upland pastures.
“The fours of habit,” said a gambler
>of ly, mb he dealt himself all the four
aces in the pack.