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Wesley’s Tact.
The following anecdote of the
founder of Methodism has, we believe,
never been published. It reaches us
from a trustworthy source, and it illus
trates in a remarkable manner the
mingled tact and piety of that eminent
man.
Although Wesley, like the Apostles,
found that his preaching did not
greatly affect the mighty or the noble,
still he numbered some families of
good position among his followers. It
was at the house of one of these that
the incident here recorded took place.
Wesley had been preaching; and a
daughter of a neighboring gentleman,
a girl remarkable for her beauty, had
been profoundly impressed by hi* ex- j
hortations. After the sermon Wesley
was invited to this gentleman’s house
to luncheon, and with himself one of
his preachers was entertained This
preacher, like many of the class at that
time, was a man of plain manners, and
not conscious of the restraints of good
society. Tne fair young Methodist
sat beeids him at the table, and he
noticed that she wore a number of
rings. During a pause in the meal
the preacher took hold of the young
lady’s hand, an i raising it in the air,
called Wesley’s attention to the spark
ling jewels. “What do you think of
this, sir,” be said, “for a Methodist’s
Rare Thoughts.
8aturday Afternoon.
Through flickering leaves the sunlight sift
ing
Falls warmly across the tidy floor.
The distant voices of gleeful children
Come falutly In at.the open door.
The clock’s low rhythm d< fines the stillness;
1 he house Is resting from work well done
The weary bouRewlfo, w'lh patient 11 gern,
Knits ’mid the quiet so hardly won.
She ponders the day’s completed labors,
Finished betimes, ere tbe Sabbath rest;
The dainties stored In the well-filled pantry,
The mended garments, the welcomed gue^t.
The toil-worn lingers move slow and slower.
Her h<- id droops forward, her eyes full soou
Close In a quiet and childlike slumber,
And she dreams In the Saturday afternoon.
She wanders with tireless feet of childhood
Through meadows she knew so well of yore,
And laughs as she fills her tiny apron
With blossoms fragrant, iu boundless store.
Forms long vanished step In at the doorway ;
Sweet voices slug a forgotten tune;
Angels ascend and descend before her,
And she rests In the Saturday afternoon.
The fading sun sinks under the hill-lops,
1 he shadows lengthen across the floor;
The birds chirp softly their good-night carol,
The children pause ht the dnrk'nlng door;
The ti ed sleeper no more thsy waken,
Pale In tne rays of the harvest moon ;
She waits the dawn of an endl» ss Sabbath,
Gone home in the Saturday afternoon.
What is excellent, as God lives is
permanent.
Blessed are the home-sick, Tor they
shall come at last to their Father’s
house.
hand?”
Tne girl turned crimson. For Wes
ley, with his known and expressed
aversion to finery, the question was a
peculiarly awkward one. But the
aged evangelist showed a tact which
Chesterfield might have envied. Hq
looked up with a quiet, benevolent
smile, and simply said, “The hand is
very beautiful.”
The blushing beauty had expected
something far different from a reproof
wrapped up with such felicity in a
compliment. She had the good sense
to say nothing; but when, a few hours
later, she again appeared in Wesley’s
presence, the beautiful hand was
stripped of every ornament except
those which nature had given.
Statistical.
The Suez Canal is one of the most
valuable pieces of property in the
world. The net profits last year were
over 15,000,000. This was an increase
of over 28 per cent, over the profits of
the previous year. Each ship that
passes through the canal pays a little
over 20 cents a ton.
It is stated that for every ten hogs
heads of sugar extracted from the sugar
cane,eleven hogsheads are lost because
no adequate machinery has jet been
devised for crushing the cane and ex
tracting the rich j uice3 thereof. The
assertion comes from the very highest
authority on matters appertaining to
the sugar oulture that our planters
lose 200,000 hogsheads a year by this
waste, an amount representing $20,-
000,000 per annum.
The importation of potatoes from
Great Britain and Ireland to the
United States and Canada is increas
ing. For the first quarter of 1882 the
receipts at New York were 596,927
sacks, or 742,842 barrels. An average
of 70 cents a bushel was obtained in
New York. Deducting duty and
freight a profit of nearly $1,000,000 was
the rt suit. Potatoes are about $10 per
ton in Europe. This profit is encour
aging shippers, and the Canadians are
expecting to see a decrease in the cost
of native potatoes in consequence of
these importations.
St. Isaac’s, the great cathedral at St.
Petersburg, which was finished in 1859
and cost $26,000,000, is slowly sinking
Into the ground, and the authorities
<lo not know how to stop it. The Rus
sian capital is built upon a marsh,
and the site of St. Isaac’s is on one of
Its softest parts. Over $1,000,000 was
originally spent in driving piles, but
the building has never been firm, and
now threatens to topple over at one cor
ner, a recent examination showed that
on one side the columns had separated
from the architrave, leaving a space of
three inches between. The roof was
at once lightened by removing large
stones, but new fissures appeared as
the work went on, the workmen left
In fear and the engineers gave up the
job as a bad one. Since then nothing
has been done except to hold consulta
tions and rtject unpractical plans for
saving the building.
Experiments have shown that firing
with a nine-inch twelve-ton gun at
rmor plating three and four inches
ick, representing a deck of a vessel
lined between ten degrees «md flf-
degrees, in no instance caused
atlon, although full oharges
Give what you have ; to some one
it may be more than you dare to
think.
About Silvering.
Some Plain Directions for Working With
and Without a Battery.
For silvering without a battery the
object to be silvered, after b ing freed
from adherent dust, dirt, etc., is im
mersed for two or three minutes in a
saturated solution of gall.c acid in dis
tilled water. It is then dipped in a
solution of 20 grains of crystalized ni
trate of silver iu 1000 grains of distilled
water. This operation is to be repeat
ed two or three times, moving the ob
ject alternately from one bath to tbe
other until io has acquired a silvery
appearance. It is now rinsed in dis
tilled water and laid on clean bibulous
paper to dry. In the meantime have
prepared two solutions as follows:
Reducing Solution.—Grape sugar or
honey, 5 parts; quicklime (C*0), 2
parts; tartaric acid, 2 parts; distilled
water, 650 parts. Mix, dissolve and
filter.
S lvering Solution.—Dissolve 20parts
of crystalized silver nitrate in 650 parts
of distilled water. Add strongest wa
ter of ammonia, drop by drop, contin
uously stirring the solution with a
glass rod until the brown precipitate is
nearly but not quite redissolved. Filter
and put in a glass stoppered bottle.
If more of the reducing solution be
made up than is needed for immediate
use it should be kept in a closely-stop
pered vial, filled^ to the top, so as to
prevent atmospheric action.
Equal parts of these solutions are
mixed together in a gutta-percha or
japanned dish, and, after thorough
stirring, filtered. The object to be sil
vered is immersed in the mixture,
care being taken that the fluid shall
come in contact with every part. The
deposition of silver commences in from
twelve to fifteen minutes, and contin
ues for two or three hours, until the
fluid is exhausted or the object suffici
ently plated. The rapidity of deposi
tion depends on the temperature, in
tensity of light, etc. After the object
is plated it should be washed in a solu
tion of carbonate of lime, rinsed in dis
tilled water, and dried.
All sorts of organic matter may thus
be treated and hermetically inclosed
in pure metal. I have thus coated
leather, bone, wool, hair, horn, silk,
flowers, leaves, insects and anatomical
preparations. Glass, porcelain and
earthenware may be coated without
first using the preparatory bath. If
the latter (earthenware) be porous it
will be necessary to first coat it with
water-glass or varnish, otherwise there
is great waste of material.
I have before me a sprig of arbor-
vitre, on whioh a dragon fly is affixed,
silvered by this method more than six
years ago. The coating is without a
visible break, though it has been some
what roughly handled.
Frooeuei With a Battery.
The success with these processes de
pends upon making the surfaces of the
objects to be plated good conductors of
electricity. The principles and modus
operandi are nearly the same in all of
them. The object to be plated is im-
mersed in a solution of some easily re
ducible metullio salt, and kept there
until its surface absorbs more or less of
it. It is then so treated chemically
that the absorbed salts are reduced to
a metallic state, and so intimately at
tached to and connected with the sur
face of the material to be plated that
they will not peal off or separate under
any ordinary circumstances. The
subsequent treatment is the ordinary
electrotypic or galvanoplastic one of
plating with any desired metal. Ou
account of their easy reduclbility the
salts of silver are those easily chosen
for the pieparatory manipulation.
Cazeneuve’a Method.
Dissolve 49 parts of crystalized silver
nitrate in 1000 parts of wood spirit.
Macerate the object in this solution
until sufficient absorption has taken
place. Thelenytnof time needed for
this will vary according to the mate
rial, the horny shields of beetles, for
instance, requiring much longer time
than the softer parts, or than a piece
of leather. Removing the object from
this bath, it is partially dried by drain
ing off any surplus fluid attaching to
it, and immersed iu the strongest
water of ammonia, by which the easily
reducible, double nitrate of silver and
ammonia is formed. The object is now
dried and suspended iu mercurial
vapor. In a few moments the surface
is completely metallized, and can be
electroplated in the ordinary manner.
This method gives excellent results,
especially for hard, compact, organic
substances.
Ore’s Method.
This process is that which has re
cently been much used iu France for
plating anatomical preparations, and
when properly manipulated gives ex
quisite results. Tne preparatory bath,
like the foregoing, is Bilver nitrate
dissolved in alcohol or wood spirit, six
grammes of the salt to one liter of the
fluid. In this the object is immersed
for ten minutes, when it is taken out
and carefully drained. It is then
transferred to a close box, in which
sulphuretted hydrogen is liberated,
and left for fifteen to twenty minutes
When it is removed the surface will
be covered with a dark deposit of sil
ver sulphide. The object should be
exposed for a few minutes to the air be
fore transferring to the galvanopiastic
cell where the operation is completed.
A human brain prepared by this pro
cess over a year ago is still a beautiful
object, and bids fair to remain so for
an indefinite period.
In using this method for the preser
vation of brains and such material the
object should be kept in alcohol for at
least one month to give it the requisite
hardness and consistency. Pledgets
of cotton should be introduced into the
fissures so that the circumvolutions are
separated and the preserving fluid may
penetrate every part. The pledgets
must be removed before plating.
Professor Christiani’s method seems
to be a slight modification of Ore’s
(substituting phosphuretted hydrogen
for the sulphuretted in the reduction
of the silver nitrate).
To Keep Silver-Plated Artiolee Bright.
Articles of silver and silver-plated
ware rapidly tarnish when kept in
rooms where gas is used for illuminat
ing purposes, and everywhere in cities
like Bt. Louis, Pittsburg, Cincinnati,
eto., where the air is constantly filled
with sulphurous vapors. M> cabinet
of silver-plated specimens, instruments
and water piteheis uped to give no end
of trouble this way. This is all avoid
ed now by dipping the arti ;les occa
sionally in a solution of hyposulphite
of soda. Large articles, like pitchers
and salvers, should be wiped off with
a rag dipped in the suluiion, and dried
with a soft towel. A rub 'vith a bit of
chamois leather makes them as bril
liant as new.
Believe This Tale if You Can
Swallow a Whale.
A gentleman from Hartwell sent on
to the Great Western Gun Works and
purchased a small parlor rifle, with
1000 cartridges of the smallest size, the
bullet being about the size of a duck
shot. He went over to Benson’s mill
pond frog bunting, and found a very
large frog of the masculine gender sit
ting on a stump just above the water.
He shot twenty-seven times at him,
when his frogship lost his balance and
^dropped into the shallow water. Upon
caking the frog out it was found he
had swallowed twenty-six of the bul
lets, catching them in his mouth, sup
posing them to be flies. When he
went to move the weight of the lead
carried him overboard, and when
taken out was not dead but awful sul
len. Western gun works frogs very
slowly in this section. You needn’t
believe this tale if you can’t swaltow
a whale.
It is said that the barb-wire trade of
the United States amounts to $10,000,-
000 per annum.
Agricultural.
Bose and Currant Worms.
A lady offers, in the Rural New
Yorker, a remedy for currant and rose
worms : Take one pound of quassia ;
put it into twelve to fifteen gallons of
water over night, and next day sprin
kle the infested plants with the solu
tion. It s safest, however, to pin one’s
faith to white hellebore, which is a
sure and certain destruction.
Setting Strawberry Plants.
A correspondent of the Germantown
Telegraph says that the main failure
in raising strawberries is in setting
poor plants. Old plants are good for
nothing ; new plants from an old bed
are not worth setting. We should set
plants that are grown from those that
have never fruited. Wnen a plant
produces a crop of fruit that fruit ex
hausts the energies of the plant to a
certain extent, and its young plants
will not have the constitution and
vigor of those from plants that give all
their energies to the young plants.
Patting up Sweet Corn.
Mrs. D. C. Joscelyn, Minneapolis.
Kansas, recommends in The Fruit
Rtcorder the following way to put up
sweet corn for winter use as giving
very much better results than canning
or drying: “Take the corn when just
in the milk ; scald it just enough to set
the milk ; cut it off and pack it in a
stone jar with a layer of com and a
layer of salt; one pint of salt to a gal
lon of corn in layers alternately ; fill the
jirand weight it down, and cover to
keep out dirt, flies, etc., and when one
wants to use it, freshen it and season to
taste. I like butter and cream.”
Fall Seeding with Graia.
A New England farmer writes:
“Many old fields are of late years being
rescued by turning over after haying,
harrowing down and having some
fertilizer, either barn-yard, compost or
chemical, applied to their surface and
worked in, and a liberal seeding of
grass seed.” Another New England
farmer writes: “Many fields are re
seeded by merely harrowing the stub
ble immediately after the hay has been
taken off, doing the work very
thoroughly with a sharp-toothed har
row and then sowing the seed for grass,
harrowing lightly over the seed to
cover it and following with a roller to
make all smooth. A top dressing of
manure will be a wonderful help.”
Value of Tile.
N. Y. Tribune : There is a savings
bank for the surplus dollars of farmers
that will give a better interest than 8
per cent. It is investment in drain
tile. Tne Western people are finding
it out, and the yield of wheat in the
Ohio Valley is increasing in conse
quence. Agriculturists who have
tried it say that they can plant their
corn earlier; it is not so liable to rot in
the hill; drouth does much less injury;
the crop is so far advanced before
chinch bugs and other Insects appear
that it resists their destructive ravages.
The yield Is twenty, forty, sometimes
sixty per cent, greater. Secretary W.
J. Chamberlain, of the Ohio Board,
says he has seen land improved by
drainage to such an extent that the
fitst subsequent crop was so much
greater than the average that the sur
plus more than paid the whole cost of
tile and putting it down.
To Care a Kicking Cow.
A correspondent of the Rural New
Yorker having a kicking cow on
which moral suasion had been vainly
tried, cured her of the bad habit by
judicious use of the miid weapon which
Solomon held in much esteem : “I tied
the cow up by the head (not legs),
piocured a good switch (not club), and
proceeded to milk, and for every kick
I returned one good smart blow with
the switch on the offending leg. A
few kicks and blows sufficed for that
time. At the next milking only three
or four blows were required, and at
the third milking one kick and one
blow were sufficient, and ever after the
cow was as gentle as need be. Three
.important points are to be observed in
the above treatment: First, uniform
kindness and gentleness; second, never
stiike a cow for kicking when loose in
the yard, or she will learn to run from
you; third, only one blow for each
kick.”
Staoking Clover.
Rural World A correspondent in
Kentucky wi ites : “In stacking clover
the bottom of the stack should be
oovered with old hay or straw, about
a foot deep, to keep the clover from
gathering dampness from the ground.
The top should be of old hay also, as
clover does not turn rain, and the
stack will be very much damaged if
not well protected on the top. A stack
should be egg shaped, whether bottom
is of large or small size. The bulge in
the stack should be about six ft et from
the bottom and tapered regularly to
tbe top, and be about sixteeu feet high.
If thus made, the lower part and bulk
of the stack is protected by the bulge
or wide part. After finishing rake
down well; a stack, if properly put up,
will keep good for two or three years.
But it is best to have a barn to secure
all crops. A cone-shaped stack ia ex
posed from pit to dome to destruction,
and often is nearly or quite ruined if
long left to the elements;”
The Children’* Garden.
New York r lribune ••—Probabl y most
readers with boys aud girls of thirteen
or fourteen or less have allowed them
each a little plot of ground to be
farmed or gardened after their own
choice. They should be encouraged
with advice, but with no insisting upon
their taking it. They will make mis
takes, as older people do, in untried
paths, hut they gain even tn f,hese if
they see how to do better i . xt time
and have cheer enough to t,y again.
The first needful lesson is that of wait
ing for the results of labor. Patience
must be practiced by all who would
raise plants to sell their produce, or
would keep bees or poultry. Often
hard work must be done a full year
before its return comes in, and unless
that is faithfully, fully and rightfully
performed there will be little or noth
ing to show for it.
Burning th« Cobs.
Cor. Country Gentleman: It is our
custom to rake the cobs into neat win-
rows about a foot high, and after the
wind has swept through them an hour
or so set fire to them. When charred,
we rake them down and sprinkle
water on the mass, stir them again,
and sprinkle again to be sure they do
not go on burning and go to ashes. If
now a seasoning of salt be thrown over
the pile there will be a Jot of feed for
the pigs and hops that they will enjoy
hugely.
France on the Congo,
The French Geographical Society is
going to fete in a few days M. Sav
er gnan de Brazza, who has rendered
France the immense service of making
Congo virtually a’ French river.
Everybody has known the importance
of the Congo since Stanley made his
famous voyage. It is more than a
river in breadth; it is a vast flowing
lake, traversing the whole African
Continent, and but for one accident
would be the finest waterway in
nature. Just before it reaches the sea
it breaks into dangerous cataraots,
which render all direct approach from
the coast impossible. The Belgian
Association, which fitted out Stanley’s
expedition, was formed especially to
find a way of turning this di^oulty.
The river begins to be navigable only
at Stanley Pool. How to reach Stan
ley Pool? Stanley could think of no
better way than to cut a road from the
seaside by the cataract to the poo], and
$1,600,000 was subscribed for the pur
pose. Stanley set valiantly to work
and cut his road, transported his
steamer and at length came in sight of
the pool, only to find some fifty vessels
flying the French flag in quiet posses
sion. The truth is, M. Savergnan de
Brazza has found a shorter way to the
pool. To tt& north of the mouth of
the Congo lies the French possession
of Gaboon, and in this direction M.
Savergnan de Brazza began looking
after affluents of the great river which
might lead him all the way to the pool
by water. He went up the river Ogo-
vue, and found that this was separated
only by eighty kilometres from an
other entirely unknown river, the
Alima, which flows right into the
pool. The S'an ley roadway from the
coast was 240 kilometres long; the
roadway between Ogovue and the
Alima was but 80. M. Savergnan de
Brazza kept his own counsel, came
back to France, obtained a vote in aid
from Parliament, went out again, and
made suoh good use of his time that
long before Stanley arrived he had
seized the pool In the name of France,
ooncluded treaties with the natives
and bought large possessions on the
banks of the river. By this enterprise
France taps the Congo route and se
cures the outlet and inlet of what may
one day become one of the richest
trades in the world. It is part of a
plan which she has been steadily fol
lowing in war, in travel or in diplo
macy for nearly half a century. Africa
| is clearly her promised land of oolonl-
' zation and of empire.