Newspaper Page Text
8
Altcrnard.
W* know not th«* MvectncM of rest
Until have shivered with pain,
•luor'a rotnex ftff m all the more fair
After Winter's cold dark no** and rain.
We know* not tbo jewel to prize
Until w e have counted the coat—
We know not how deeply we love
Until the lo\ed we have lo*t.
We know not how dear was that form,
Till stilled by the ravishing breath
We know not bow sweet wns that voDe
Until it 1* silent in death,
l.ife’a sunshine seems all the more bright,
When shadows it* splendor have crossed
We know riot how deeply we Io< e
Until the loved we have lost.
New York Advertiser.
A GENUINE HERO.
A sky of opal and gold, a deep trel
liscd veranda, a novel, ami a hammock
slung at tho most comfortable of
angles. With those conditions it was I
scarcely strange that Halcyon Hartford
swayed delightfully between dream¬
land ami Ibo real world that June
afternoon, with tho fleecy gold of her
1 air, all guiltless of pin or comb, and
the bell sleeves, falling cncbantingly
away front her round white arms,
while one triin slippered foot hung
from tho edge of (lie hammock.
“Halcyon! Halcyon! Where arc
you?”
It was otto of those exasperating
voices which, once having been sweet,
bad now a vibrant Jar to its tones,
painfully akin to shrillness.
Halcyon frowned a little and raised
herself ou otto elbow.
“Oh, Aunt Hal, don’t scream ho!
I was just iu such u drounof de¬
light.”
“Well, you should have answered,
then 1”
Aunt Hal enme out of the wide,
•hady hall with an ciIVnive swing of
her draperies, and sealed herself iu a
bamboo chair close to the hammock.
Site was comically like Iter niece—
at least, ns much as a woman of 38
could be like a maid of 18. Tho re
was 1 ho sumo yellow luxuriance of
hair, but harsher, drier and suggestive
of dye; tho smno pink and white com¬
plexion, nrtiilcally heightened; simi¬
lar features, cruelly sharpened by the
iuexorablo hand of titno, and teoth
just one dogreo too wliilo and regular
to ho reu'.
Tho white dress she wore wns pain¬
fully trying, and slio was compelled
to use gold-rimtnod eye-glasses as she
held up a loiter to the view of her
niece.
“What has hapicned?’ drowsily
demandod tho iatler, lifting a pair of
blue eyes, fringed with dark lashes.
“Tho strangest thing!”
“Another offer of marriage?” haz
i kr
licst tiling which could, in her opinion,
happen.
“How did you guess?” with a little
exultant cackle. “Exactly. Tlio
dear, fooll-h lad—and ho so much
younger than I! Why, ho couldn’t
have boon 21 when lie went to Bom¬
bay, and I was at least 30 then—”
“Thirty-live, Aunt Hal,” said Hal¬
cyon, tlio merciless.
“Was it as much ns that? Well, lie
seemed desperately in love, then;
though of courso I never took any
notice of tho child. But 1 suppose in
that country of blackamoors one can’t
help thinking about all the women one
has ever known at home; and he has
writton me two or three loiters—”
“Has lie?’
Halcyon sat straight up In the ham¬
mock now. Her blue eves glowed.
The heat had brought a flush to her
cheek which all Aunt Hal’s carmine
saucers could not rival.
“But 1 never told you,” said the
elder beauty, “because l lemembercd
that thero was a sort of boy and girl
affair between you and Charlie B es
son, when you were at boarding
school, and 1 thought you would bo
nettled. And hero’s the proposal a 1
last, deer—with his photograph en¬
closed.”
“Lei me sec it.”
What a brave, good face it was —
■lightly older and sterner than she
had looked upon when the Avancauian
■ailed away three years ago, but yet
■o strong aud manly !
She laughed hysterically.
“Shall you accept him?”
Aunt Hal nibbled coquettishly atthe
fdgo of the envelope; the now false
teeth gleamed in a smile.
“I—think—I—shall!”
“And you fourteen years older than
he is!”
“People don’t think about such
things as they used to,” reasoned Mis s
Hartford the eider, “Eros is immor
tal, you know.”
Halcyon sank back into the ham
mock and roopened her book.
“You must do as you please, of
couit.e, said she. “After that quota
non about Eros, I have not a sugges
tion to offer.”
“Jealous, poor darling!” thought
Aunt Hal, with a thrill of pity. Aud
she said:
“Well, of course one can’t help
those things happening to one, and
your lime will come soon, dear, never
fear.”
• , . ..
her'eIf tUiZ a “dK° l does' 5 J.Xc ' Fm.trnv' _ 10
about dear old °
•’
„„ lores ut i dime in . age, i
> °u
please, am l ie o • pot is so infatu
iitei a ion m . -i t o- man s darl
iiitr ot a \ oiu.i- m....s*..\c -winch?’
THE MONROE ADVERTISER, FORSYTH, GA.'. TUESDAY, AUGUST 16. 1892.-EIGHT PAGES.
Wliilo limey on thought on her
side:
“The silly goose! He has done it
now! lie has been making love to
Aunt Hal, thinking he was courting
me. Oh, 1 thought he knew her name ;
was the same as mine. Didn’t she
stand godmother to me at St. Chryso
line’s and give me a coral and bells
and an embroidered christening robe?
And now he has actually proposed to
her! Well, if he is the man I take
him to be, he’ll stand by his colors,
cost him what it may. A man who
conld walk up to the cannon’s mouth
at Bey-Idonna surely won’t shrink,
even from Aunt Hal. And I’d rather
know that he was a true hero th-tlian
have a poltroon for my husband!”
And Halcyon turned her face tow¬
ard tho pillow, and cried great spark¬
ling tears like dewdrops.
“So you’re back again, Lieutenant?
Beg pardon, I’d orier said Colonel, I
do suppose,” said the old cab driver
at tlie station, whom Charlie Blesson
had remembered ever since he was a
child. “Well, I declare, I shouldn’t
hardly have knowed ye! And come
home to be married, eh?”
Blesson bit his lips, but he laughed
carelessly. Jonas Hopper was a
privileged individual, like the court
jesters of old.
“How did you know, Hopper?”
“Oil, I dunno. Miss Hartford, she’s
been gettin’ ready to be married, this
long time,” said Jonas, hoisting the
Colonel’s luggage on the back of the
wagon. “And dressmakers and mil¬
liners they will talk, you know,
though I’m told Miss Hal took great
pains to hide it.”
“Did she?” (Aside; “The dar
ling.”)
“Ami a fine woman she is, Colonel,”
officiously added Jonas, as he pushed
in the last iron-ciampod trunk, “A
very line woman, considerin’ her age.
1 wonder she ain’t married long
ago.”
Col. Blesson opened his sleepy black
eyes wide.
“Why, man, who in the world arc
you talking about?”
“Why, Miss Hal Hartford, to be
sure.”
“Miss Halcyon or Miss Ilalliana?”
“There ain’t no Miss Ilalliana,”
said Jonas. “They’re both the same
name; but we call »ho aunt Miss Ha
and tho niece Miss Halcyon. My
daughter she’s lady’s maid there, and
Id’d ortor know, if any one does.”
“Ami which of them is it that is
going to get married?” breathlessly
queried Blesson.
“Why, the old ’un, in course! Beg
pardon!” hurriedly added Jonas, “I
mean Miss Hal. Folly she tells me
ordered, lot alone the jaeket9 and
parasols and ten-button kid gloves lit
to make your hair stand on end.”
“And Miss Halcyon—the young
lady,” cried the Colonel—“she is en¬
gaged, too?”
“Not as any one knows on. That
all, Colonel? Got your telescope bag?
Then we’d better bo movin.
Col. Blesson pondered seriously all
the way up to Hartford Cedars, ob¬
livious of Jonas’s incessant stream of
talk. Could it be possible? No, that
was utter nonsense! And yet—
He strained his eyes as he ap¬
proached the house. Surely golden
haired Halcyon would be there, smil¬
ing, to meet him!
But no. In her place stood a mid¬
dle-aged charmer, rouged and pow¬
dered, with hair gleaming meretri¬
ciously, and teeth just a size too large
for a thin-lipped mouth.
In one hand she held his love*
breathing letter, in the othor his pho¬
tograph. And during that second his
heart sank like lead.
lie did not know—ah, how much
more difficult would it have been to
bear had lie known!—that Halcyon
Hartford’s eyes were surreptitiously
watching him from the honeysuckle
garlanded casement beyond.
“Dear Charles,” the elderly damsel
said, “you are here at last.”
He set his teeth, drew one long
breath, and allowed her to slip a ca
ressing hand through his arm ami
lead him into the house, mattering
some hoarse acknowledgement of her
coquettish smiles.
“I’ve brought this upon myself,”
he thought, “and I must endure It.
Thc lady is not to blame—no, she is
not to blame.”
“Ho is a hero,” Halcyon thought—
••yes, a hero.”
And then she burst into a passion
of tears and ran upstairs to her own
room.
“But now I’ve got yon fairly here,”
lisped Aunt Hal, more determinedly
youthful than ever, “Put really
afraid, dearest Charles, that there’s a
great disappointment in 6tore for
you.”
“Eh?”
The young man had sat down in a
j rather listless manner. Aunt llal
held on to his hand, still all teeth and
smiles,
“And I may as well toll you at
once, said she, “that I’m engaged to
Judge Fiostroy of the Superior Court.
° tcou,se ’ ifI llatl known of
vour
^ UO say *
g
"On, pray don’t let mo interfere
v uh any existing arrangements,” said
csson, jumping up eagerly. “Per
ps, under the circumstances, you
will let nie have my photograph.
hack.”
Just then there came a ring at
the door below as the maid au
nounced: j
“Judge Flostroy, miss, if you !
please.”
Before the slow and ponderous
steps of the approaching visitor could
reach the room, Aunt Hal had thrust
the photograph into Blesson’s hand.
“A-hem-m-m!” sonorously coughed
tlio luminary of the Superior Court.
Aunt Hal tripped smiliugly for¬
ward.
“Glad to sec you, Judge,” she cooed.
•This is my old playmate. Col. Bles
son, just arrived from India. I dare
say, Colonel, you’ll liiul Halcyon
somewhere about the house.”
“Disposed of iu short order,” mut¬
tered Col. Blesson. “Great heavens!
what have I done to deserve such
luck?”
Two h«urs afterward the young
lovers 6at on the veranda,watching the
evening star rise over the hills, while
the Judge’s basso profuudo voice still
rolled in the sitting room like distant
thunder.
“But wasn’t it a narrow escape?”
gasped the young Colonel, holding the
girl’s slim hands in his.
“Would you really have married
her?” Halcyon asked.
“As a gentleman there was no
eecape for me under the circum¬
stances.”
“But would you really have married
her?”
“Y’os, I would!” with sternly set
teeth and knitted brows.
“Then I’ll marry you, Col. Blcs
son,” whispered Halcyon, “because
you are a genuine hero, and because,”
with an arch glance, “I really think
you need a wife to take charge of
you.”
“After the episode of today,” said
Col. Blesson, “I really think Ido.”
Needle and Thread Plant.
That there are more wonders on the
earth, in the sea, “beneath the earth,”
and in the 6ky above it than ever
Iloratio imagined is a well known
fact which that worthy’s must ardent
admirers will not attempt to deny.
Take, for instance, the famous needle
iind-thread tree. Imagine such a
luxury and the delights of going out
to your tree and plucking a needle
threaded all ready for use! Odd as it
may seem to us, there is, on the Mexi¬
can plains, just such a forest growth.
The “tree” may not exactly be a
tree in the true sense of the word,
partaking as it docs more of tho
nature and characteristics of a gigan¬
tic species of asparagus. It has large,
thick, fleshy leaves, such as would re
,mind one of the cactus, especially of
the one popularly known as the
“prickly pear.”
The “needles” of the needle-aml
tbread tree are set along the edges of
these thick, fleshy leaves. In order to
obtain one fully equipped for sewing
it is only necessary to push the needle
gently backward into the fleshy sheath
(tliis to loosen it from the tough out.
side covering of the leaf), anil then
pull it gently from the socket. If this
operation is properly carried out one
hundred or more fine fibres adhere to
tho thorn like so many spider webs.
By twisting the “needle” during the
drawing operation the thread can be
made of any length desired, The
action of the air on the fibres tough,
ens them amazingly, a thread from it
not larger than common No. 40 being
capable of sustaining a weight of five
pouuds, about three times the tensile
strength ot common “six-cord” spool
cotton.— [New York Journal.
Finest of Persian Carpets.
There is now to be seen in London
what is declared to be the finest Persian
carpet in the world. This is the Holy
Carpet of the Mosque of Ardebi in
Persia—a carpet which for size,
beauty, condition and authenticated
age is said to be unrivalled by any
known example. Its dimensions ate
34 feet 6 inches by 17 feet 6 inches,
The ground of the body of the fabric
; is of a rich blue, covered with a floral
tracery of exquisite delicacy. A centre
medallion of pale yellow terminates
on its outer edge in sixteen minaret¬
shaped poin s, from which spring
sixteen cartouches, four green, four
red and eight cream, an 1 from two of
these are suspended, in the direction
of the respective ends of the carpet,
' of die sacie.l lamps of the
mosque. But the most interesting
! detail is the pale cream cartouche
I placed within the border at the upper
1 ud of the carpet, faring an inter
woven inscription, which is thus
translated: “I have no refuge in the
world other than thy threshold. My
liead has no protection other than thy
porchway. The work of the slave of
this Holy Place, Maksoud of Kashan,
in the year 942.” Now, 942 of the
Higira is 1535 of our era; so that the
c trpet was actually inexistence, iu the
j Mosque of the sacred city of the Snf
| favivan Dynasty, when Queen Eliza
betli sent Anthony Jenkinson on an
j embassy to Shall Tuinasp. Carpets
,hus signed and dated are extremely
| rare and are historieallv important,
j but a carpet of not only dated and j
signed, but such size and beanty as i
this, is said to be something unheard
of before, — fNew York Post,
RUSSIAN WEDDINGS.
Curious Customs That Date From
Remotp Uie Antiquity. Antinnitv
A Woman Mediator Brings
About Marriages.
The choice of a bride in some parts
of Russia is still accompanied with
many difficulties. The customs which
are observed rigorously by the fami¬
lies of the lower classes would certaiu
ly embarrass an American swain, or
indirectly create a large number of
young “Lochinvars of the West.”
“Iu almost all Russia,” says a recent
jssue of “L’ltalie,” “marriages are
brought about by meat's of a woman
mediator, known as the ‘Svakha.’ As
soon as the choice is made the Svakha
puts ou her best *bib and tucker’ and
proceeds to the home of the future
bride. She makes her entrance
in as dignified a fashion as
possible, salutes the ikons and
begins to speuk of various things
which seemingly have little relation to
marriage. She says, for instance:
‘Where there is no snow, it is difficult
to follow tracks; but today enow has
fallen and it is easy to find the way to
a marriageable maiden.’ Or, she may •
say: ‘A white swan has escaped
from the house; is it possible that it
fled to you?’ It depends upon the
answers of the parents of the young
girl whether the mediator becomes
more specific and speaks to the point,
or withdraws from the place. If the
negotiations end desirably, the suitor
takes courage to visit the young girl,
to become better acquainted with her
and her surrouudings.
“In some provinces, for instance,
in the Government of Volagda, this
visit of examination on the part of
the suitor becomes an elaborate cere¬
mony. The family of the bridegroom,
under the leadership of the mediator,
proceed to the house of the bride.
The mediator, without much ado,
commands the bride to spin. If the
visitors are satisfied with the talent of
the girl for weaving, they ask her to
walk about the room to see whether
she limps. The prospective, or rather
possible, bride and groom, are then
placed side by side to 6ec whether
they are mated as to height If one
of the young persons happens to fall
short of the proper length of body
there is always great hilarity among
the members of the two families.
“In almost all the so-called ‘Great
Russia,’ the surrender of tho bride as
summes, iu a way, the character of a
sale. The money and objects of
various kinds which the groom intends
to present to the parents of the giri
are the subject of long discussion.
“ ‘We can consider the affair
closed?’ asks, for instance, the father
of the suitor.
“ ‘I am agreed,’ comes the answer.
• < t How much will you give me in
cash?”
“ ‘Fifteen roubles.’
a t That is no money at all. I re¬
ceived twenty roubles when my oldest
daughter was married, and then times
were hard.’
“ ‘I shall add a fur mantle,’ comes
the reply.
<< 4 Keep your mantle. My daughter
has one.’
“Thus the conversation proceeds
until the marriage terms are settled.
But the customs at the marriage are
equally queer. A few days before
the wedding the bride is taken to
bathe by her friends and companions.
The soap used at tho time is a present
from the bridegroom. The bathing
sponge, through which ribbons are
passed, is carried on a long pole in
front of the bride. The young woman
sings as the procession advances. Tho
platform of the bathing house is
sprinkled with beer. It depends upon
the odor from the beer whether the
groom is to be a henpecked husband or
not. As soon as the bridal procession
enters the church on the day of the
wedding, the bride and bridegroom
start down the aisle in a mad race.
There is a tradition that whichever
one places the foot first on the cloth
in front of the altar is to be master in
the house.
“Among other things, there are
queer customs at the wedding dinner.
When the wine is passed around, each
guest tastes the beverage and cries out
that it is bitter. That is the signal
for the newly married couple to em¬
brace one another. In some govern¬
ments, the young wife is obliged to
pull off ber husband’s boots in the
presence of the guests as proof that
he is master. A whip—placed there
purposely—falls from the boot and
the husband strikes the wife with it
three times. After this greeting lie
kisses her. The Russian peasant
values his wife for her economical
properties.”
Mercury Mining.
The mercury mines of Almaden, in
Spain, are at a short distance from the i
town of that name, following the val- j
ley in a northerly direction. The j
veins of the precious metal are dis
seminated a little haphazard, but those j
at present in working form altogether
a zone stretching for a length of from
160 to 170 metres, and which is only
Dorn 10 to 12 metres wide. The
depth of the bed is still unknown, for
the reason that when a vein is ex-
>»
creased in order to reach 11 new vein.
Between tlio different workable veins
Oiere arc beds of ores and rocks of
different kinds; the average thickness
of the unworkable beds varies between
10 and 37 metres.
A curious feature is that the fur¬
ther the distance gone, the quality ot
mercury improves and the quantity
increases. Iu the tenth and eleventh
gallery (the deepest) the mercury
runs, so to speak, from the rock as
resin exudes from the trees; it can be
gathered in small skin receptacles.
The rock varies in color, and passes
from black to brilliant red; the more
the color approaches red, the more the
quantity of mercury increases. Very
often mercury is present under the
form of cinnabar or sulphur. The
pits at present in working number
three. The other old wclis have been
abandoned, and only serve in excep¬
tional cases. On delivery from the
pits the ore is smelted in vast fur¬
naces, with enormous cupolas, beneath
which a tierce fire is constantly kept
burning.
Distillation is effected through a
long and complete series of tubes,
formed of thick jars, with a long,
narrow neck, fitting into each other.
In the lower portion of these jars there
exists a kind of small reservoir, where
the drops of mercury produced by the
evaporation of the metal in a state of
fusion are condensed. These drops
are then collected, and, with tlio aid
of small pipes, stored in large iron
barrels. A strong and penetrating
odor, which irritates the eyes and nos¬
trils, escapes from the jars and bar¬
rels.
The production of mercury reaches
about 55,000 to GO,000 fiascos per
annum, the frascos being enormous
bottles of cast iron, which contain four
arrobes of about 25 pounds each.
Each bottle, which measures twenty
two centimetres in height by six in
width, weighs, when filled, about 100
pounds. The workmen at present
employed number about 2000. There
are also a thousand workmen who arc
employed out of the mines with ma¬
chinery, furnaces, transports and
other works. — [Chamber of Commerce
Journal.
Olive Growing in California,
Olive growing is now all the rage
in California,and warnings are thrown
out that the business is likely to be
overdone. In the neighborhood of
Pomona, for instance, more than 300,
000 trees have already been planted.
It must be admitted that the Califor¬
nians are prone to excess in the mat¬
ter of fruit culture. During the last
thirty-five years there has been at dif¬
ferent times a craze to cultivate the
grape, apricot, Bartlett pear, and
other fruits, as if it overshadowed ev¬
erything else in importance. The last
fashionable horticultural fad is the
olive. A writer on the subject points
out that Pomona being the headquar¬
ters for the sale of olive cuttings the
conclusion that elsewhere in Califor¬
nia the olive is as largely cultivated
is unwarranted.
He thinks that the distribution of
cuttings may go on for years without
danger of overstocking the market.
Pure olive oil, he says, is hard to find
in the United States, and in supplying
it will consist the large profits of the
growers. The imported article is in
most cases adulterated, and the admis¬
sion is made that the Californian
product is sometimes not as pure as
it might be, the high price of the oil
tempting the dealer to fraud. Were
the State law against the adulteration
of olive oil strictly enforced, he says,
almost every grocer would be fined or
imprisoned. Of thirteen samples of
California oil recently examined by
the Board of Horticulture only two
were found to be pure. The oil of
sunflowers and cotton seed enters
largely into the adulteration. — [Chi
cago Tribune.
The World’s Steamships.
There are 1100 steamships travers
ing the four great ocean routes. The
first is that across the Atlantic, another
is by Suez to India, China and Aus
tralia. To go around the world that
way takes eighty or ninety days and
covers 23,000 miles. The passage
money is $1000, and the traveler who
wishes to go in comfort and ease
should take another $1000 with him.
Another eea route described is that
by which you start from San Francis
co and sail around the American con
tinent to New York. The journey is
16,500 miles long, it takes 100 day to
cover it, and the fare is about the
same as that around the world. To
go around the Cape of Good Hope to
Australia and back around Cape Horn
i= about 25,000 miles, aud can be cov
e ed in eighty-one days. The cost is
ouly $750. — [Seaboard.
Cheap Lodgings.
Old Geutlemau—Where do yon
lodge?
Tramp—I lodge where I get
board.
O.dGentleman—Ah! And where do
y OU g et board?
T ramp-Iu a lumber yard.—[New
York Weeklv
The American Sunday-school Union i
since its organization lias established
gc.OOO Sunday-schools.
THE SEA COW.
[t Pastures in the Rivei'S and
Inlets of Florida.
lie Structure, Habits, Means of
Subsistence and Enemies.
The manatee or sea cow is an am¬
phibious creature of the pachydermal
family that once was very numerous
along the shores of Florida, the West
Indies, tropical Brazil, and tlio Gulf
of Guinea, but which in our day is
almost extinct. It has the body of a
whale, the hide of a rhinoceros, and
its whole carcass, from muzzle to tail,
is sparsely covered with short, still
bristles like those on the back of a
hog. The animal in some ways is a
curious mixture of several other am¬
phibia, resembling many, and yet dis¬
tinctly none; but on the other hand it
is in a few respects totally dissimilar
to any other known creature of land
or water, although it grazes like
a cow, lives like a hippopotamus, and
swims like a fish.
It partakes, however, moro of the
nature and peculiarities of the hippo,
potamus than of any other living
creature, especially in tho disk-like
muzzle and thick hide, as well as in
the manner of its eating and style of
living; lut again, unlike the hippo¬
potamus, it is not a lighting beast,
and its feeding is done entirely at
night.
It being a timid and almost defence¬
less creature—perfectly harmless in
every way—and possessing a hide
that is valuable and flesh that is well
flavored, the natives of both conti¬
nents have hunted this animal until to¬
day, like the departed bison, the
species is almost extinct, The coast
of Florida is now about the only place
in the world where the manatee can
yet be found in considerable numbers.
They have never been heard of out¬
side of the limits of the Atlantic,
their places iu other oceans and other
climes being taken by tlicir first
cousin, the dugong, who is a native of
Ceylon and the East India islands.
In Florida the manatee, there popu¬
larly known as the sea cow, subsists
•almost entirely on a peculiar kind of
marsh herbage called manatee grass,
which grows in great abundance along
the swampy shores of Florida’s inlets
and rivers. Notwithstanding its thick
hide and stiff bristles, the creature is
said to form a favorite morsel of
food for tho hordes of savago blue
sharks which are numerous along the
coast of Florida. The North Ameri¬
can manatee attains a length of from
10 to 20 feet, and ■igh^sinyw
from 500 to 2500 pounds. The full
grown South American specimen
rarely exceeds a length of 10 feet or a
weight of 1000 pounds.
The youngsters rapidly accumulate
bulk, aud with increasing age and ex¬
perience acquire the marvellous speed
which enables them generally to elude
the swiftest swimming sharks and
other enemies. Notwithstanding its
great size and seeming unwieldiness,
the manatee is by far tho speediest of
all the large sea animals, and this ap¬
pears all the more remarkable from its
apparent lack of propelling power.
The insignificant fiat tail is small,
though thick, seemingly insuffi
cient for the amount of weight
which it must force through tho
water; and it seems scarcely possible
for the bulky creature to work his
caudal appendage rapidly enough to
give his body the wonderful impetus
which it certainly attains. Unlike
other natives of the deep, the mana¬
tee’s swimming apparatus is neither
sharp nor clean cut, as is the case with
the shark, bluefish or tarpon, nor is it
placed on edge—that is up and down
—but lies flat and horizontal, totally
dissimilar in every respect from the
conventional lines of a good propeller.
A general description of the incon¬
gruous brute would be about as fol¬
lows: Body round, bulky, and sparse
ly covered with short, stiff" bristles;
eyes small and bead-like; the muzzle
similar to that of a domestic cow;
oostril3 like a hippopotamus; a month
scarcely large enough to drink with;
small and inoffensive teeth; no neck;
no tusks; fins like those of a seal, a
flat tail, ami a hide fully an inch
thick. Its keen sense of hearing com¬
bined with speed renders the defcnci
le8S creature comparatively secure
fro,n 1,arm ,mless skilfully trapped or
caught afoul. The principal grazing
in = ff rou,,d * of the Nortl * American
“ sea cow ” is the St * Lucia Uiver neac
Jupiter inlet in southeastern Florida.
— [New York Sun.
An Axe to Grind.
“Is your father at home?” asked
Mr. Smith.
‘No, sir,” answered Dan; “bat
you will find the grindstone in the
shed.”
“I do not care for the grindstone,”
replied Mr. Smith. “What made yon
think that I did?”
“Because papa says you never come
here unless you have an axe to grind,”
answered Dar, innocently. — [Harper’s
Young People.
The extremes of temperature on the
Sahara Desert ate such that while the
day may be oppressively hot at night
it is freezing cold.
Humming-bird Song.
Humming-bird,
Not a word
Do you say;
Has your throat
No sweet note
To repay
Honey debts
It begets
When you go
On the wing
Pilfering
To amt fro?
May be you
Whisper to
Bloom and leaf
On the vine
Secrets line
In your brief
Calls ou them,
Winged gem.
Not a word
You reply!
Off you fly,
Humming-bird!
— [Frank D. Sherman, in Independent.
HUMOROUS.
There aro two places where it re¬
quires an effort to keep one’s balance
—on the ice and at the bank.
Mamma—And now, Eddie, can you
tell mo what velocity is? Eddie—
Yes. That’s what papa let go of the
hot plate with today.
He—Aro you happy now that you
arc married? She—Comparatively.
He—Compared with whom? She—
Compared with my husband.
Miss Goldbug—I wouldu’t marry
you, sir, if you were as rich as Croe¬
sus. Mr. Hardrow—Well, that’s just
tho difference; I wouldn’t maty you if
you weren’t.
Attorney—Sneaky sort of man?
What do you mean, sir? Witness—
Well, sorr, lie’s the sort of man that’ll
liover look ye straight in the face until
your back’s turned.
Wynch—So poor Staggers 1ms
shuffled off the mortal coil. Lynch—
No. As I understand it ho tried to,
but tho boys had tho rope too firmly
secured around his neck.
Mary had a little pug,
But not as you suppose—
Because it’s not of canine breed;
The pug is in her no^e.
Young Smith (telling the news to
his grandmother)—Wrinkle, the gro¬
cer, lias busted. Grandma—La me!
wlio’d a thought it? He was one o’
tlie skinniest, boniest men I ever laid
eyes on.
She (in affright)—Oh, Tom,why do
you make such awful faces at me?
He (contritely)—I can’t help it, dear.
My eye-glasses aro falling off and I
don’t want to let go of your hands.
“Browning, dear,” said Mrs. Emer¬
son of Boston to her husband, “what
is a cutaneous pastime? ” “A cutane¬
ous pastime, iove? 1 never heard of
such a tiling.” “Well, I heard two
men on the street, car talking and one
of them spoke of a skin game.”
“Literature certainly runs in the
Grecnsmith family. The two daughters
write poetry that nobody will print,
the son writes plays that nobody will
act, and the mother writes novels that
nobody will read.” “And what does
the father write? ” “Oh lie writes
checks that nobody will cash.”
Marriage in Japan.
A Japanese wedding iu high life is
a pretty ceremony. Though no vows
arc spoken, nor has the church nor re
ligiou any part in it, the rite is, never
theless, solemn aud impressive.
I here are ten bridesmaids gayly at¬
tired in costumes of the “Japs.” Two
at a time enter from opposite direc¬
tions, and salaam each to the other,
until the entire party has passed in,
each kneeling opposite her companion.
The parents of the bride and groom
now enter, those of the groom at the
left, and those of tho bride at the
right, and are seated near tho brides,
maids on either side.
The bride, attired in a snowy, filmy
dress and closely veiled, now appears
leaning on the arm of her affianced,
while tho bridesmaids salaam. The
go-between assists the bride to a seat
by her parents, anil the groom to one
near his. Tea is then served by the
go-between, three cups being given
the parents of the bride and groom
and to the happy couple, Each of
the bridesmaids receives one cup.
The go-between j dns the hands of
the bride and groom, and the latter
leads his bride to the front and whis¬
pers in her ear a promise of faitliful
ness. The bride whispers iu re’urn,
and they exchange seats to show the
union of the two families. A simple
repast is now served, and tho bridal
party disperses; the bride and groom
leaving first, then ttieir parents, aud
lastly the bridesmaids, salaaming aa
they go.
The go-between is generally a friend
of the grootn. In courtship she settles
the question and arranges and assists
in the marriage ceremony. —[New
York Recorder.
He Thanked Her Too Soon.
“Have you anything for me this
morning, madam?” asked the hungry
Higgins of Mrs. Glanders.
“Yes, I have a nice cake.” 3
“Oh, thank you very much.”
But the tramp fled when she handed
him a cake of soap. — IHarlem Life.
Bismarck's favorite dog is a bull
terrier that is said to possess far more
than the average canine intelligence.