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what i*d no.
Til i AMIEL IX>T*H.
* Whut will y® dft, love, wh*u I am going
With whit® fuUle flowing
The f*eai beyond;
Wh*t will >e do, lorn, though wave# divid* ut,
And friends will cb.de ua
For he.'ug fond ? ”
•* Though wtm divide u
And fnenda may chide u*.
In faith a billing. I’ll atiU he true;
I’ll pray for yon on the Htorxny ocean
With daep devotion,
That* what I’jl dol ’’
** What would >c do, love. If dlatent thing*
Tour fond confiding*
Should undermine;
And I abiding ’neath foreign ekiea
Should think other eyea
Were an br.ght a* thiue? "
•*Ob, name it not, lore, though guilt and than;*
Waie on your name
I\l at.ll lo tme;
but that heart of thin*—ahould another ahere It
1 o:'U!d not Imar i*—
That a *hat I’d do! ”
“ What- would jrou do, lore. If bom* returning
In he k -t* high burning,
And wealth for yon;
It my ba:k that bounded on foreign foam
Should be lo*-t near home—
V> hat would you do ? "
•• Bo thou apaw and I’d blest the morrow,
In want and sorrow,
That left me you:
And I’d welcome theo from tboatormy billow,
Thif heart thy pillow—
Tha. a what I’d do J "
"ed Paint.
Jr, the matter of tho c.liooolate-colred
circles about ray blue ey oh, tbo whiter
of which complete tho patriotic, trinity of
red, white and blue—thoso red ring-i, of
whose origin I have boon ho often vexed
with qn. stions—l will toll a story
which may save farther inquiry, I tun
enabled lo do bo by memory o* wl at my
father used to Bay, and by reference to
notes in a diary which lie kept for many
years.
Home time before I dawned upon this
world, and while my spirit was probably
walking with the angels with whom I
kept company, my dear mother, tired of
the monotony of her life at our family
seat in the country, repaired alone to
the eity to regale herself with a sight of
novelties for a month. Mv mother sup
posed that father would noon follow and
rejoin lier; but in this she was mis
taacn. Ho gave the housemaid u
month’s vacation, and wna now left en
tirely alone, sleeping at the house and
getting his meals for himself, rather
than going to the city or tho nearest
tavern, lie was an odd man, my father
was, oh i siinll presently show. Jlcing
lonesome, ho thought lie would fix up
things about the house to while away
time, and surprise my mother by the
improvements when slio returned ut the
expiration of the month.
“I think I will do a little painting up,
in Hie first place,” thought my father.
“ Paint is not only an ornament, but it
preserves things, Tho kitchen floor
needs painting, Tno old color, what
remains of it, is yellow ; but I am not
partial to yellow, and beside, L want a
new oolor, for novelty. What color
would probably most charm my wife ? I
bare not much taste myself, but I have
beard people praise rod very highly.
Sunrises, and sunsets, and coraot:i, are
often approved of by good judges, tor
being red. Hi dis said to bo tho most
ahowy and effective military and dramat
ic color. J have seen some very hand
some red lings at auction aud railroad
stations, lied lips and chocks are al
ways in the fashion. Then there in the
led, red lore ; and thou there is my red
handkerchief, the handsomest and larg
est 1 have got. T will paint the floor
red; and, now that I reflect upon the
supremo beauty of red, I will buy
enough, uil i.o k ahull thul good
us*, for il."
Bo my father went and bought a great
quantity t red paint, and lout it mixed
and tent with brushes to tho house,
“I will do all the paintingin,vwtf
tli at 1 care to have done,” thought ray
father, when the bloody fluid btUHhcd
beneath his winding eyes. ‘‘lt will bo
a light, pleasing exercise, and my wife
will lie more delighted when hue tlnds
•but 1 have done all the ornamentation
without help. Mow lovely Unit list
looks I It appears tome that nil tho
white paint on tho other woodwork in
the kitchen looks ns dingy now as tho
floor. What a capital idea it would he
to paint it all red, now that 1 happen
to have mo much of it t I will do so.
The kitchen, all of that color, will bo
the handsomest room in the house, lfut
tho main thing it. the flour.”
Bo my ardent father hastily began
and painted tho floor first, forgetting
that it would cause him to wait tint il it
w.ia dry, or make tracks over it, or iny
inconvenient plunks, if ho painted nil
the rest of tho kitchen. He saw tho
mistake ho lmd made when he began to
paint tho doors. The fresh paint on
the floor stuck to his soles, and the
marks of his flaming footsteps, like
those of sumo destroying angel, hot
Irani home, wore everywhere aud con
fused. They did seme little damage lo
tho carpets in other minis, and this
confused him some; but my father was
not s man to stand for trifles, and,
knowing that he could pa ut the floor
over again, lie went on witn the other
work. He luid the toots, material, in
dustry and ambition to please, aud
these were sonioUiing for an amateur.
So, sticking a li ■ wont. my father
covered nil the doors with ll lining emit,
inside ami out, his pleiwure increasing
■with the alteration he caused ; and tln-it
proceeded to nmko his mark on nil the
remaining woodwork including the win
dow Ira mo-', sills and sashes, shutters,
closet shrives, thresholds, the mantel
piece slid sink; innl then, tleigld he,
•• Why not the walla, to compieb the
thing and make it uniform ?” And so
the walla stood up and received their
share, anti then, as the heart li and looks
and bolts ami doors seemed liy their na
kedness to disturb the harmony, he paint
ed them.
“By glorv 1" thought my father,
greatly delighted with the marvelous
change he bad created, “it here, isn’t
a whole sunrise in a box. What a little
paint will do if well laid on, and of the
right color! I shall like to live
in this room. Kent, cheerful, uniform
and splendid wt the same time. 1 must
paint the door over again to hide my
track*; but let me see this time if 1 have
finished Uj> everything else tlrat. No. I
have not. Those kitchen chairs and ta
bles all wnnt [minting badly, l wonder
I hadn’t U. ught of them first But they
most certainly shan’t be neglected as
long as I have so much paint and of such
a color, too. \i hat a thing is the sim
ple article of paint! What a tailor ia to
a mau a painter is to a house; but peo
ple don’t seem to know it. liven I have
just found it out. 1 should think a man
tu’ght snake a fortune if he went about
with paint pot and finishes and adopted
snv iae* ana astonished talks with the
change it makes. Worse conceptions
than this have been patented, and tbs
accident of a baouvl thought enables
many to roll in riches ana mi aortal
clover. "
After due rest bet ween jobs as he pro
ceeded, my door father gave the tables
and chairs . *oaoh of his quality, and
tor a while he wo* in doubt whether the
last job was not on immense improve
ment on the preoediug otta*
He stood off and examined, and then
shut his eyes and imagined.
“No, ;f ho concluded, “neither can
claim precedence. Each is admirable
in itself, aud yet each is necessary to
tho other, to give it complete effect, I
wonder what kind of an artist I should
have made. It strikes me I have vastly
more taste than l thought, and I think
I should l>e distinguished for what thoy
call coloring. But am I done yet ?
There is more paint left. I wish this
kitchen was twice as big. I don’t fed
quite satisfied yet. Isn’t there some
thing more to make tho beauty still
more beautiful, nn*l the harmony more
harmonious ? There is ! I have it, I
see there is. Why, bless me 1 I havon’t
begun to he done yet. Why not paint
nil the wooden utensils which belong to
kitchen us • ? I’ll do it, if I have to
scud for more paint.. How thought ex
pands by exercise. At. first I thought
only of the floor ; and now, pooh ! it is
the last and least of my thoughts ; but
I thank the floor for leading to these
ideas. ”
In this happy mood my father re
sumed his decorative work on wood, nnd
engaged himself busily for several (lays,
during which lie was obliged to send for
even more paint than he had Insight ut
first, to enable his busy brush to adorn
baskets, knife-tray, bread-trough spice-
Tlio lions*;—and so forth; for having
got as far as I have state*], he sent for
sr.ill more paint, no letter having come
yet, and, like one determined to give a
fiery aspect to all ho owned, ho set to
work with unabated ardor, and painted
tho barn, sheds, coops, sty uml woll
liouse, all tho gates and fences, and then
tho trunks of ail the trees, as high as he
could reach, to keep the worms off, and
perfect the prevailing consistency of
color.
The month wus now up, and still my
mother did not come, nor yet a letter.
At this period, I think a slight oddity
did really begin to appear iu the conduct
of my father. Hummer was coming, arid,
reflecting that the whole of the inside of
the house had not yet lieen painted, his
diary says that h deliberated one whole
forenoon, and thou thought how cool it
would bo to do away with carpets, aud
have all tbo floors painted for naked use
during tlie warm se.'i n. Acting upon
this, lie took up all the ourpets, and
painted every floor in tbo house, and, iu
his haste to finish before my mother
should arrive, ho so daubed the walls
and some of the furniture thatlie painted
them too, embracing bedsteads, bu
reaus, toilet-tables, wash stands, cor
nices, with all tho wood-work, in all the
kitchen stylo of universal flame.
And still my mother did not appear.
I have heard my fattier say that dur
ing that particular period, while Im'r last
hatch of paint was drying, lie did not
feel anxious for her to come. I do not
doubt his intentional veracity upon any
point, but I think his memory failed him
tn cliftt instance ; mid that, in his sorrow
that (lit! paint spoiled some of her dresses
win n she * and come, he forgot how ho had
longed for her.
For my mother did come before the
Inst paint was dry.
My father was on his knees, in s suit
that ho hail spoiled, rod as a butcher,
lull innocent iih a lamb, engaged in
1 dating the flagstone walks in front of
tin house, aud proponing to paint the
ceilings ol the house, if time should vet
admit, when n carriage drove up, and
my mother, so long absent, alighted at
t!iu gate -the red front gate, set in that
long, red Trout fouoo, in front of that
fiery red house, with tho flaming I*, and
the burning frees, and walks not quite
kindled ml** n eouiptetm glow.
lam the only son of tbo couple who
then met, but I foul incapable of doing
justice to their omotions at that junct
ure, I believe I have tho idea iu my
If a*l, hut my pen is not equal to my
father's bru-h, and can but darkly
shadow forth wlmt (hat brush oc
casioned.
Forget ting his sanguinary appearance,
he rushed down the red walk, and
tbrourli l)i* ml gateway, and embraced
her, lirii.-L in hand, before sho had fairly
recognized him or the house. >She
shrieked, and gave him a push, dis
covering liia ideulitv at the same time
that she began to scold him for soiling
her dress.
“Never mind that; look at tin* house,
Eliza," said he.
Her name was Eliza.
“Look at tho house and tilings,
Eliza," said my father, expecting an
immensity of delight and praise, as he
saw her hold up her hands in dumb as
tonishment. “ 1 haven't been idle while
you were gone, believe me. But this is
nothing—mere nothing, that you see.
Only come inside. 1 sav nothing. That
will Bp* ik for itself.”
Ami so it duf.
I was told uiy mother did not say a
word till slot wont inside and knew the
"'unit And then my father know it.
Ho was appalled at her appnl Intent, and
stunned and stung liy her loud and pierc
ing expressions of horror, grief and dis
gust. She stud ho hud done those
crimes purposely, in revenge for her ab
sence and delay. He said ho had pur
posed it, hut thought such a combina
tion of novelty with beauty would en
rapture In r and thus reward lorn for n
month of slavery. Even the kitchen,
■ -.pen which he hod oliiefly prided him
si If, she declared looked like the kitchen
of some demon ; and, when the kitten,
once white, but, by falling into a paint
pot, had become ml, ran up to her,
my mother shrieked at the apparition
and ran behind a ml ohiur.
It was till awful day for my father,
and no loss ao for uiy dear mother ; for
aloe ! for her, for him and for me, when
by-and-by she traversed all the house,
and saw what he had ruined, she became
suddenly overcome, and doctors and
nurses were sent for with all possible
alacrity.
i have hut few words to say, but
tho-.o embrace a fact of considerable ini-
I K'rtam'O to ill®. Ou the following day
Sxv aa bom. Whether the hate of my
mother for tvd paint lit 1 anything to
do with my eyes others may judge. For
my own part, 1 am thankful for my
escape fixun being born Indian, or from
having eye* as red as-a white rabbit's,
mortar, rolling-pin, dough-stick, salt
box ; wash, ironing and knife-boards;
clothes-horse, sleeve-board, pails, buck
ets, barrels, kegs, tirkiue, tubs, lvouches,
brooms and brushes ; and after whatever
else could be painted without lieing
rendered nufit for use had heeu painted,
he concluded to finish off Ly reddening
the whole sloe -room, from which most
of them had been drawn.
• ‘ J have done enough already,” thought
try father, “to make my wife thankful;
but then I have a groat deal more paint
oti hand, and 1 can see plainly that much
remains to be done. Now, why not paint
the outside of the rear ol the L of the
house, v, here the kitchen is, as high up
a* the caves, to cwrrreepond ?”
Xilh he did, and then thought the job
would look like patchwork, unloas all
the outside of the L were given the j
same hue. Anil this, too, he did, and '
having included the L roof aud chim
ney, he then added the rear porch, its
roof and railing, and admitted that the
liberality was not to be repented, tint
would not be a complete, symmetrical
triumph unless assisted by the painting
of the house, embracing in a grand red
sum-total, roofs,chimueys, spouts, walls,
doors, poiticos, railings, pillars,, window
frumes aud trellises.
Aud all these, also, he did with liis
own hand, his red right hand, for it may
be readily imagined that his hand could
not have been very much of any other
color, immersed as he was in such a
wholesale work, and my father's diary
itself states that sometimes lie felt ho
tired, and the point stuck so, and there
was so much yet to be done, he did not
think it necessary to clean the paint from
his hands at the close of the day, but
slept iu them as they were, often dream
ing that lie was a white man with ma
hogany hands, the color seeming to have
impregnated the very essence of his
being.
Occasionally I am inclined to doubt
my own judgment, or I should not hesi
tate to declare that my father seems to
have been somewhat odd in this persis
tent fancy for red paint, but, in order to
remove tiic possibility of such an idea iu
others, r will simply state that his pro
ceedings were perfectly natural through
out.
He wus a very affectionate man, and
the absence of bis wife, iu search of nov
elty. led him ut tho outset to plan the
kitchen part of liis-surprise, to make up
for any shortcomings on his part, by
giving her an excess of pleasure when
she returned. This at once removes his
kitchen work from idl suspicion of singu
larity.
Ami now, os to the excess of rod
which followed. My father had daily
written lier a letter, hoping she was hav
ing a good time, but my mother never
replied, being vexed at liis not coming
himself, and her continued silence, nat
urally rendering him uneasy, led him.
as it were, to drown his sorrow by a still
more profuse indulgence in red paint.
Fortunately, he was not a drinking man
aud it was not 1 iraudy, or he might have
painted himself instead of the Louse.
Materials of Which Fish Are Composed.
Considered from the stand-point of
the food-value, fish, as we buy them in
the market, consist of (1) Flesh, or edi
ble portion, and (2) Refuse—bones, skin,
entrails, etc. The proportions of refuse
in different kinds of fish, and of different
samples of the same kind, in different
conditions, vary widely. Thus a sample
of flounder contained 08 per cent, of ref
uso and only 82 per cent, of flesh, while
one of halibut steak had only 18 per
cent, of refuse and 82 per cent, of edible
materials. Among those with the most
refuse and least edible flesh are the
flounder, porgy, bass, and perch. Among
those with the Joust refuse are fat sluid,
fat mackerel, salmon, and dried and salt
fish.
The ediblo portion consists of (11
Water, nnd (2) Solids, actual nutrients.
The proportion of water and solids in
the flesh of various kinds of fish are
much more variable than most people
would suppose. Thui the flesh of floun
der had 85 per cent, of water and only
15 per cent, of solids, while that of
salmon contained 36J per cent, solids
and 6*4 pel' cent, water, nnd Hie flesh of
dried, stack* and, and salt fish have still less
water, bean beef contains, on the aver
age, 25 percent, or one quarter its weight
of solids, tho other three-quarters being
water, while fat pork has one-lialf solids.
Ordinary fresh meats are from ouo
half to three-fourths water, white the
watv tn Irt-sh fiuh wwitM* from turf*!-
fifths toHU-BOveutliß of the whole.
To find the actual nutritive materials
of a sample of fish, we must first snb
straet the refuse, the outruns, lames, etc.,
which leaves the flesh. Then we
must allow for tho water in
tlie flesh. Wlmt remains will be
the total edible solids, the aotual
nutritive material. The pier centages of
edible solids in the different, samples of
fish were more varied than those of ref
use and water. Thus JOl) pounds of
flounder contained only five pounds of
actual nutrients ; 100 piounds of had
dock, nine pounds ; of bluefish, eleven
piounds; of cod, twelve pionnds; salt
mackerel, sixteen pounds ; shad, sixteen
pounds; salt cod, twenty piounds;
salmon, twenty-seven piounds, and
smoked herring, twenty-eight pouuds.—
A mcrican Agriculturist.
The Perils of (food Health.
As men advance in life they continu
ally note the survival of those among
their contemporaries who seemed in boy
hood and youth quite tlxo reverse of
“tlui fittest,” while so many of those
most envied then for vigor pass early
away. This is duo to several causes.
There are many persons who, while
lacking physical force, have constitu
tions flawless in print of organic dis
ease. If forced to labor lniifl, mentally
or physically, they would soon fail from
exhaustion, for they aro quick to feel
fatigue, hut by compulsorily husband
ing their resources they * oftentimes
reach On eighties and even uiueties, and
sometimes— as in the ease of the late
Euglish Premier, Earl Russell—accom
plish an amazing amount of work.
Their grand safeguard is inability to
abuse their powers. Nature hits in their
case irepined checks too stern to be dis
regarded. Such persons cannot extend
their hours of intellectual labor without
pains in the head which positively pro
hibit it. They cannot got drunk with
out intolerable sickness of stomach be
ing the penalty. .Writs volena they
have to be careful. On tiio other hand,
there is the man of piwerfu! physique.
Ho rides all day ami rends all night, tak
ing green tea or brandy jf he feels sleepy
oc “hipped.” In the morning lie de
clares himself as ** fit s> a Ilea,” ami re
ally does seem to be possessed with the
elasticity of limb and unceasing activity
of that exasperating bedfellow. It is
very difficult for such a man to compre
hend that ho is drawing lulls on health
to bo repaid at 00 per cent, after 00, or.
]>erhaps, oven sooner. It thus often
seems as though the tremendous strength
and health wo envy m men was a mis
fortune rather than a blessing.
A writer in an English review raises
the question why a mind previously
healthy, and still apparently intact,
breaks down sometimes thorougl ly
under a strain not exceptionally great,
and thinks it will probably be within
the eecqie of ooiumon sense to draw- some
practical conclusions as to prevention.
The break-down is nine times out of
ten really due to a long-practiced exud
ing of the natural powers. “Bain, j
hunger, anxiety and asf -e of mind
woariuees are the warning tokens of ex
haustion extending to the reserves o f
strength and energy). When these nidi ;
cations are disregarded or destroyed, a.
the y may be by st ui icfymgdrugs, an int>rd -
mate use of .stimulants, or :i strong effort ,
of the will, the consumption of energy
goes or all the same—but unobserved.” :
The penalty is merely deferred. Any
one who nss scanned our obituary
notices of late will hare observed the
number of business iua cut down ni
the prime uf lfo.
GOSSIP FOR THE LADIES.
Probably Better for Him.
Rtae lai;t arronß th Milo.
With fcur lucrry, golden smile,
And lier bonny brown eye* glancing
Throughtbe green Irate* *ll the while,
And he who loved her ho
Watched from the path talow;
Hut Miie tOffecd her head bo daintily.
And laughed und hade him go.
Mfcvh’. maybe: we cannot know,
Ms)be, maybe! ’two* better ao!
When tbi wind* of Mar oh were loud,
Ami the cities were dark with cloud,
lie had won her love forever,
And §he trusted *ll he vowed,
lint flie wept against hit* heart:
“ Oli, my darling, we roust part,
Foj* a harrier lie* between ur,
Forevermore, sweetheart! *’
Maybe, may lie! no cannot know,
Maybe, may lie! ’twas better *o;
And the year* have passed away.
And th**y bithar t old and gray ;
J:ut the hame sweet dream 1* iu their beuta
Forever mid for aye.
Oh, sweet and nail the pain
ff the love that will not wanel
W< sweet, f" Bweet, because ho true,
Ho sad because in vain !
Majbe, may he! we cannot know.
May lie, xnyl.*o! it shall better sol
'■ !* Hanof the Period*
I wonder Low much right men have
nowadays to rail at women for extrava
gance. * Let us figure upon the outfit of
this man, who comes this way with a
gay swing, softly whistling an air ho
caught at Boccaccio last night when
Geii-finger sung. He swings a cane cost
go, there is a silk hat worth 87, his col
lar 25 cents, scurf §2, scarf inn 880, fall
overcoat 800, shirt 84, undershirt 82,
coat and vest .*75, pantaloons sls, acces
sories $-1. shoes.*!*, seal ring S4O, watch
and chain seal $250 —how much have
we? About SSOO. He is only in his
business suil;*!i?id iie hasn't got his dia
mond studs iu his shirt, nnd wears u
cheap pair of sleeve buttons. The aver
age woman on Fifth avenue doesn’t rep
resei/t a greater investment, diamonds
excepted, and she has a faculty of hav
ing her dresses made over, whereas our
lord of creation, spurns a renovated coat.
—A 'ew York letter.
U lutl site San in Chiiri li,
He staid at home and she went to
church. After dinner lie asked her:
“ What was tie text, wife ? ”
“O, something, somewhere in Gener
ations ; I’ve forgotten tlie chapter and
verse. Mrs. High sat rigiit before me
with a Mother Hubbard bonnet on.
How could I hear anything when [ could
not even sec the minister ? I wouldn’t
have worn such a thing to church if I’d
had to have gone bareheaded.”
“How did ran Hire the new minis
ter?”
“O, he’s splendid ! and Kate Darlin
was there in ii Spanish lace cap that
didn’t cost less than SSO, and they can’t
pay the butcher's bill, and I’d wear cot
ton lace or gu without any first.”
“ Did he say Anything about the new
mission fund?”
“ No; and the Jones girls were all
rigged out in their yellow silks made
over ; you would have died laughing to
have seen Such taste as those
girls have ; afia the minister gave out
that tbo Dorcas Society would meet at
Sister Jones’ residence—that old pokv
place.”
“It seems that you didn’t hear much
of the sermon.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s better to go to
church, it you don’t hear the sermon,
than to stay at home and read the pa
pers ; and O, Harry, the nexv minister
lias a lovely voice ; it nearly put me to
sleep. And did I tell yon that the
Riches are home from Europe, and that
Mrs. Rich hod a real camel’s hair shawl
ou, and it didn’t look like anything on
her?”
A long silence, during which Harry
thought of Hover,il things, mm his wife
-e '•ooj-crarVBiilutihg the sky or view,
■srtien she r udS'TuV exclaimed :
“There 1 Ifniew I’d forget to tell you
some thing! ‘-Would you believe it,
Harry, the fringe on Mrs. Jones’ parasol
is an inch deeper than mine, and twice
ns heavy I Oh, dear! wh.it a world ol
trouble this is.”— Detroit /‘out nod
Tribune.
She Would Darn Her l iving.
The story is. told in good company,
with the assurance of its truthfulness,
says the Gazette, that a carefully nur
tured and educated miss, of one of
Boston's best familes on Commonwealth
avenue, disagreeing with her mother
about-a small article of dress, recently,
resolved to earn her own living, and a.
oneo put her resolve into practice.
Donning the plain garb of a domestic,
slio stole forth from the parental roof to
the house of an advertiser for help.
The place being already tilled, she. was
so informed ; but, a happening caller
being in went of a cook, the fugitive ac
cepted an offer, and accompanied the lady
home to Dartmouth street, descending
to the basement for immediate duty. It
was late in the veiling, and tea was
served to suit, with tlio aid of the
‘•second girl,” who knew the ways of
the house. What was the latter’s sur
prise when the dishes were washed to
tiud that the cook did not use soap to
cleanse them, an sho expressed it.
“Soap ! why, yon don’t use it ou plates
and cups that you eat and drink from!”
ejaculated the cbok, end the matter
ended.
Retiring together, the two girls vvew
naturally, or unnaturally, quite familiar,
but noting occurred worthy of remark
until the fresh cook doffed her outward
habiliments .-f servitude, revealing to
her astonished companion an array of
elegant underwear little dreamed of as
belonging to a hired girl. Rut the young
woman kept her counsel; the morning
dawned, and Iffea.kfast was got and
served pretty much as the last evening’s
tea was. The dishes were washed with
out soap, as before; and. when the lieu
tenant suggested that Mrs. expect
ed the hearth to he washed after every
service of the r.inje, the new-comer un
complainingly .-hoped and diil the re- ■
pulsive work. Bni there was a dinner
to be prepared, aid the preliminaries i
had begun under the mistress’ direc
tions, as was to be expected with a now
and untried .servant. The difficult de
tails had not pn grossed fir, however,
when the “cook" suddenly exclaimed
that she had her tniuk to got at tho
l*rovidenoe do (tot, and was excused to
obtain it. It is nee- ass to say that the
delicate girl did mt . turn, tin- respon
sibilities of un elaborate dinner upon
her shoulders liariag frighten-sl tier
away, and the cooking was finished with
out her. Later it the day a eavriuse
drove to the door and a distressed lady
alighted. It. was the “cook's” mother.
The lamb Intd returned home, and the
strange occurence was tearfully ex
plained.
A llialliiilit Di.s.lrr,
A morning p&pijtin New York pub
lished an interview-with a leading jew
eler on the diamond market. Among
other bits of information given in it w.is
the following :
“We are frequently' cal led noon to
got up original design# for mounting
precious stones. Only last week we
filled an order for Mr. \V., the raiVr-><d
man, and. I’ll venture to say there is not
such a unique design in New York. F< t
the earrings vo made a tiny haud of
Roman geld, hoidite a wreath of butter
cups, in which, the metal was delicately
wrought, and each flower had in its cen
ter a large and brilliant diamond, set in
such a manner that they constantly
trembled and quivered, refracting every
rav of light. The pin, which was also
made to lie worn as a locket, had two
hands clasped over a larger wreath,
matching the ear-rings, nnd in the cen
ter was a tiny bird-nest of rough gold,
containing three egg-shaped and exceed
ingly lustrous diamonds.”
Oil the morning that this was piub
fislied Mr. W. hapipenod to be in Phila
delphia, whore his business interests
frequently call him, aud did not see the
newspaper; but Mrs. W. did at the
breakfast tabic, aud very much aston
ished she was at such au account of her
husband’s extravagance, for lier birth
day was passed and the holidays yet in
the distance. Then she decided it was
all ft mistake; the jeweler had given the
wrong name. However, to settle tho
q lesti. ui which she could not quite dis
miss from her mind, she drove down
town and called at the establishment.
In answer to lier question the jeweler,
little suspecting what mischief he was
making, said that Mr. W. lmd ordered
them for nis wife, who was anxious to
have them on hand for the opera season.
To cut the story short, Mrs. W. held
lier own counsel and became a devotee
of tho opera. Every night, glass in
hand, she scanned tlie hoiise, especially
that quarter of it where certain notori
ous beauties are wont to bo found, but
ill vain; no butter-cup ear-rings were
to be seen. One evening, as she sat in
her box listening to “Lohengrin,” the
rustle of silk and the swish of satin was
heard, and immediately after there en
tered her intimate friend, Mrs. L., and
the w ife of one of the subscribers to tlie
season. The two ladies fell into an
animated chat, aud Mrs. W. compli
mented her visitor upon the exquisite
Worth toilet she, wore; but, as she
uttered tho words, she happened to see
in the shell-like ears lief ore her the
buttercup wreaths, and upon the plump
and snowy neck tlie locket, with its
bird-nest center.
“Where did you get your beautiful
diamonds from, my dear?” asked Mrs.
W., in an unsteady voice.
“ Oh, my dear husband sent them
over from Faria to console me for his
absence,” responded her chere, amie,
sweetly. “ Aren't they loves ?”
WJiat happened in the W. family no
one knows, but it is understood that
Mrs. W. spends the winter in Florida
for her health, and Mr. L. has received
a friendly hint to rush his Parisian busi
ness through.— C'hicaoo Inter Ocean.
Fijian Feitstings.
The taro is of a bluish-gray color, and
both iu appearance and consistency re
sembles mottled soap. As its name sug
gests (Arum escutentum), its leaves are
bke those of our own arum greatly
magnified, while those of the yam are
like a very rich convolvulus, as is, also, its
habit of growth, each plant being trained
along a tall reed; A great many varieties
are cultivated, iuchulmg one the root of
which is throughout of a vivid mauve.
The sweet potato is also in common use,
olid bread-fruit and bananas are abund
ant, The favorite method of preparing
the latter is to wrap them up in a large
leaf and burry them till they ferment
The stench when the leaf is dug up is
simply intolerable to the uneducated
nose of the foreigner, but the Fijian
inhales it with delight, therein scenting
the vunuiria ( bread) and puddings iu
which his soul delights. These puddings
j are sometimes made on a gigantic scale
; on the occasion of any great gathering
|of tim tribes. We were told of one that
: measured tw<*nty feet in circumference,
1 *i-t *->o ti.r- ana,,. .ii 11tcre Viiv u
dish of green leaves prepared ten feet
I king by five wide, wliertjon were piled
| turtles and jugs, roasted whole; also a
a ill of Cooked lisli five feet high and
twenty feet-long. Certainly the masses
of loot! accumulated on these great days
Isut every thing we have heard of
ancient Scottish funeral feasts. Mr.
Calvert describes one festival nt which
lie was present where there wore fifteen
tons of swe-t undoing, seventy turtles,
titty lons of cooked yams and taro (be
sides two hundred tons which were
I judiciously reserved,) and as much
ynugoim-root as would have filled five
carts. I'ho modo of laying the table on
these occasions is peculiar. All food is
arranged in heaps: a layer of eoona-mil
; •- foundation, then baked yams and
! ben; next llin gigantic puddings on
■reel) banana leaves, the whole snr
! rounded by pigs and turtles. These are
, rousted wiiole in huge ovens, or rather
I pits in the ground, perhaps ten feet deep
! obd twenty in diameter, which are first
i lined with five-wood, oil which is laid a
layer of .-touts. \\ lien these are heated
the annual; tube roasted M r laid ou
them, with several hot stones inside to
si cure cooking throughout: then comes
a covering of loaves and earth, and the
baking process completes itself. When
MI is ready certain men are told off, who
carefully apportion this muss of food
among the representatives of tho various
lubes present,, these sub-dividing among
themselves, and great is the need for
punctilious observance of all ceremonies
and points of etiquette, as the smallest
breach thereof would inevitably be
not and, and involve certain revenge—or
rather would have done so before the
people became Christians.— Guild Words.
A Komantie Town hi the Sierras.
The most romantic town ou the coast
is Meadow Lake. It is close np to the
summit of the Sierras, near a beautiful
lake. It grew up iu one summer to be a
great towu. Thousands of people put
thousands of dollars there. There was
plenty of gold, rich gold ore there, but
the gold had a terrible liking for the
rock and nobody could get it out. A
few stayed the first winter. The snmv
Toll twenty or thirty feet deep. The
people made tunnels from oue house to
tin' other, ami contrived to get through
the winter. The only way in and out
was on snow shoes." The next spring
everybody ran away and tin town col-’
anted andfell down. Adventurous par
ties have every year tried to work the
ore, with very little success. The last
news is that anew process has been tried
which bids fair to be a success. Trindtr
( .Ytr.) ft' /iuhlicnn.
A Two-Tent Fool.
A conceited snob was so fond of tins
clothes fl at he reveled in them by day
and dreamed of them by night. One
evening he visited a lady and removed
lus overcoat, etc., r. the ball, prepara
tory to entering the | arlor, when the
!adv iie.ud him utter the following:
ilaug tl" re. you tifty-dollar over
cost !” Fulling off bis glow sand lav
ieg them on the table, •• Lay there, you
five-dollar glow- Placing ids baton
the 'rack and his cane in the corner.
“Stand there, you rift ecu-dollar cane!”
Then, ent rin ; the > srlor, lie was about
to sit down, when the youug lady pulled
the oil nr from him, and as she left the
room, said, “Lav there, von twno-cent
fool!”
Dr. Hor.naMi’spoem, “Bitter Sweet,”
it is stated, had the largest sale of any
noea ever pnldished in this country—
-200,000 copies. 1
The Stopidity of Ghost Stories.
That the longing cry for some cer
tainty of another world has led thou
sands into hopeless quagmires ot credu
lity and superstition, all history illus
trates It is no wonder that it should
be so.' If a spirit could return to this
earth he would appeal to the deepest
and dearest instincts of human nature.
The awe and mystery that surround the
other world would attend his steps, and
he would awaken that inexpressible
tenderness that fills the heart of any one
who has lost a beloved relative or friend.
Reverence and love would, therefore,
prepare men to regard him as au evan
gelist. In all ages priests and magi
cians have availed themselves of this
opportunity, and connected with almost
every system claiming supernaturalism
we find deceivers and dupes. The re
vival of our own day has, of course, not
been exempt from this inevitable contin
gency, and the tricks of professional
mediums, as well as the pranks of serv
ant girls in so-called haunted houses,
have been constantly unveiled. Thou
sands of ghost stories also must be
traced to diseased nerves. Even
where we can not find out the ordi
nary causes of strange sounds or ap
pearances, we must always remember
that any appearance testified to only by
one pci. sou may simply prove nothing
beyond the fact that the brain of the
seer conjured up the vision. When sub
sequently the same apparition appears
to a second, third or fourth person we
may perhaps still regard it as “ subjecte
ive'”—that is, existing only in the mind’s
eye of each observer infected by the ac
counts he has heard. As to visions ap
pearing at dead of night to mothers,
wives, or sisters, that is certainly not an
unaccountable phenomenon. To dream
of those'who are in special peril or far
away is so common as to excite no re
mark: and when such nightly experi
ences are reckoned by the million, and
unexecuted deaths are counted by the
thousands, tlie fact that sometimes there
should be a coincidence of date is hardly
surprising. We must also note how
very nnliistorical are ninety-nine out of
a hundred such stories. A lady dreams
of her husband in India, or thinks she
is awake and sees bis ghost; a month
after she hears of his death at that very
hour. Now the spiritual telegraphy in
volved in this fact is quite capable of be
ing unmistakably recorded. If in the
dais before India was connected with
Eiigland by wire a wife in Devonshire
knew of the death of her husband in
Bengal at the hour when it occurred, say
on the Ist of January, 1850, document
ary proof of the coincidence could he
given. A letter dated and read aud reg
istered to the day would prove to all
lime that what could not lie known in
Fill rope liv natural means was super
naturally communicated, and the two
documents—one Indian, recording the
actual death, the other English, record
ing the vision, and both authenticated—
would place the instantaneous and su
pernatural telegraph beyond doubt. Is
there a single story capable of this kind
of proof I—London Telegraph.
Unwashed Italy.
The table linen is all homespun, and
good of its kind, but rather coarse. As
in the matter of chemises, it is thought
well to have an immense quantity. I
remember being struck on one occasion
with the fact that the table-cloth was
marked in four numbers. It was at the
wedding of the eldest daughter, aud a
cupboard full of linen the mother had
with her “corredo” bad been opened
for tlm first time.
Those hoards of logon make it possible
to go on without a (wash-up tor a very
long time. Washing is a yearly cere
mony. It takes place in the spring,
wlii'U a procession of carts convey the
contents of various cupboards down to
the river, if there is one in the vicinity;
if there is not, to tlie nearest mill
stream. This system of washing but
oinv. a year no doubt saves time and
trouble; but it has its disadvantages,
especially when exten*Jed to the ment
is is of the family themselves. In cold
weather much washing of the person is
considered to Ik* dangerous to health,
•old my barbarity in subjecting a young
i üby to u daily bath during the winter,
ex -ited almost as much virtuous indigna
tio i as my culpable neglect of the
■ i.seiti,’’ so necessary to ki ej> the leg
straight. Ou receiving n neighbor into
the born e for a week, I thought it in
cumbent on me, although it was the
dead of winter, to provide him with all
conveniences for washing, but these at
t ntions were lost upon him; and my
astonishment when the housemaid
thought fit to inform me, in lier dramatic
way, that neither soap, water nor towel
had been touched, was, perhaps, no
greater than his own at fiiulin g tm.se
useless things provided. “ The signora
ays to me,” begins Marietta, “have
mu put soap into the room of that
gentleman?” “Sissignora.” . “A bath?”
“Sissignora.” “Two towels?” “Sis
signora,' sissignora, ma, signora, non
toccati! ue I’nua, ne I’nltra!”
It is not only in the matter of washing
that Italian winter habits differ from
i in s. Fires are considered unwholesome,
but air is excluded as much as possible ;
the doors and windows kept tight shut
day and night; draughts sedulously
avoided. Cheat-coats, hats aud eorufi inters
are worn by the men in doors, while the
women swathe their heads iu wool, put
on several gowns one atop of another,
and sit with their hands in mull’s and
their feet on a “scaldino.” Although
no lady ever goes out without making an
elaborate toilet, indoors a dressing-gown,
often in the most dilapidated condition,
is all that is considered necessary. To
wear the same gown indoors ns out of
doors is a thing not thought of, and im
mediately' on returning to the house
after a walk the dressing-gown is re
sumed. Iu the outdoor costume great
efforts are made to keep up with the
fasilion-books, and engravings which re
late thereto are much studied, but seldom
with any great success.— Tin Corn hid.
The Mississippi ami Tributaries.
A pamphlet on the Mississippi river
and its tributaries gives the following
utcineut of the mileage of the naviga
ole portion of each of the following
named rivers above its mouth: Missouri,
3,139; Mississippi, 2,161; Ohio, 1,021;
lv.d, 986; Arkansas, 884 ; White, 779 ;
Tennessee. 789: Onmlierlainl, 900; Yel
lowstone, 474; Ouachita, 384; Wabash,
3(45; Allegheny, 325; Osage, 363 ; Min
nesota, 295; Sunflower, 271; Illinois,
270; Yazoo, 236: Black (Ark.), 112:
Green. *300: B*. Francis, 180: Talla
hatchie, 175; Wisconsin, 160; Deer
Creek, 116; Tensas, 112: Monougahela,
110; Kentucky, 105: Bartholomew, 1011;
Kanawha, 94; Muskiugiun, 94; Cliip
pe" a, 90 ; lowa, 80 ; Big Hatchie, 75 ;
St. Croix. i>s : Rock, 6-5; Black (La.)
61; Macs ai, (to; Bceuf, 53; Biz Horn,
50; Clinton. 50; Little Red, 49 : Big
C >pros and Lake, 44; Big Black, 35 ;
Pauchitte. Total number of rivers.
33: total number of miles of navigation
at pre-ent. 15,710.
Robert Bower pay# hi# horse-doctor
more than double that paid any oollcce
prnteaaor.
GEMS OF THOUGHT.
Men should bs tried before theT am
trusted.
The loafer is the idle of the people, -
Lampton.
The society of women is the element
of good manners.
We may be as good as we please, if
we please to be good.
Affection hides three times as many
virtues as charity does sing.
Flowers that come from a loved hanf
are more prized than diamonds.
The greatest trust between man and
man is the trust of giving counsel.
An old home is like an old violin; the
music of tlie past is wrought into it,
‘ How poor, how rich, how abject, how
august, how complicate, how wonderful
is man.
Life is full of bitter lessons, the
simplest of which is taat one man's fall
makes forty laugh.
To maintain au opinion because it is
thine, and not because it is true, is to
prefer thyself above the truth.
Like a beautiful flower, full of color
but without scent, are the tine but fruit
less words of him who does not act ac
cordingly. J
Thp. firmest friendships hape bees
formed in mutual adversity; ■* iron is
most strongly united by the! fiercest
flame.— Colton. A
So much of our time is preparation, so
much routine, so much retrospeiA, that
the pith of each man’s genius conMrack
itself to a very few hours.
Round dealing is the honor of ma n*
nature; and a mixture of falsehood is
like alloy iu gold and silver, but it cm
baseth it, —Lord Bacon. ,
It is only the vulgar who are always j
fancying themselves insulted. If a mmi |
treads on another's toe in good society,
do you think it is taken as au insult?
I feel no care of coin;
Well doing i* my weullli;
My mind to me a kingdom is. ,
While grace alfiirdeth health.
— Southwell.
Health, beauty, vigor, riches, and all
the other things called goods, operate
equally as evils to the vicious and inn
jnst, ns they do as benefits to tlie just,-
Plato.
If you want io be miserable and don't
knowhow, carry malice against human
ity in general. You'll find the load the
heaviest one you ever carried.— JCeohik
Gate City.
The difference between honor ami
honesty seems to bo ehiefly tho motive;
the mere honest man does that from duty
which the man of honor does for the
sake of character.
Let ns have done with reproaching;
for we may throw out so many reproach
ful words on one another that a ship of
a hundred oars would not be able to cany
the load.— Homer.
Sorrow is a kind of rust of the soul,
which every new idea contributes in its
passage to scour away. It is the putre
faction of stagnant life, and is remedied
by exercise and motion.
A swimmer becomes strong to stem
the tide only by frequently breasting
the big waves. If you practice always
in shallow water, your heart will as
suredly fail iu the hour of liigli flood.
Constant success shows us only one
side of the world ; for as it surrounds us
with friends, who will tell us only our
merits, so it silences those enemies from
whom alone, we can learn our defects.—
< V .(ton.
In peace patriotism really consists
only in this—that everyone sweeps be
fore his own door, miuds his own busi
ness, also learns his own lesson, that
it may be well with him in his own
house.
Men’s feelings are always purest and
most glowing in the hour of meeting and
farewell ; like the glaciers which are
transparent only at sunrise and sunset,
but throughout tho day cold and gray,
— Richter.
A Yenitiau Ballt.
One Saturday, when the ladies wem
taking then - ten at Hurliugliaiu, they
were startled by seeing a naked mail
dodging about from tree to tree on tire
opposite bank. Soon a policeman ap
proached him, and it was discovered
that lie had been bathing from a boat,
and, finding himself unable to get back
to it, owing to the stream, had preferred
outraging the proprieties of being
drowned.
The same thing occurred to me at
Venice. I had a room on the ground
floor in a hotel on the Grand Canal.
About I o’clock in the morning every
thing seemed quiet, and it occurred to
me that I should like to bathe ; so I
jumped into the water from my window.
Having swam about for some time, I
thought I would return to the hotel.
What was my horror to find that an Eng
lish fondly—papa, mamma, and five
daughters—had established themselves
on the steps of the hotel. There was no
help for it, so I calmly landed and, bow
ing respectfully to the ladies, regained
my room. The next day I gat opposite
the family at dinner. They told me
what had no nrred, and I deeply sympa
thized with them in their indignation
against those “horrid and digustiup”
Italians. —London Truth.
Concerning Cartridges.
The fact has just been made to appear
in France flint powder in cartridges de
composes, under cerium circumstances,
cau ing diminished velocity and loss of
precision as compared with fresh cart
ridges. It seems that, between the
different dates of charge, 187(1
and 1880, there was found a marked con
trast iu respect to efficiency. Thus, an
analysis of the matter contained in those
of 1876 proved them to be a mixture’ of
carliou, sulphur, saltpeter, sulphide cf
potassium, sulphate aud carbonate of
potash, and sesquicarbonate of ammonia
with tome metallic salts arising from a
combination of the brass of the case with
the constituents of the powder. The
showing in these and other cartridges
examined clearly demonstrated a pro
gressive decomposition of the powder in
the metallic cases ; and the quantity of
powder transformed in the giveu time is
proved to depend ou the character of tlie
atmospheric influences, and especially
that of moisture, acting at the time of
manufacture or during storage.
In 1880 the New York Central railroad
built 34 passenger aud 272 freight cars
in its owu shops, aud had .3,000 freight
cars built elsewhere. It also purchased
37 new locomotives, 345 first class and 03
second-class passenger cars, 102 bsgga*°,
mail and express cars, 2,292 four-wee!,
anl 17,103 eight-wheel freight cars —
total number of ears, 19,995. It has 61
machine and ear shops, aud 50 engine
houses, with stalls for 592 locomotive*.
Iu 1880 its 639 locomotives bank’d 3s
trains 22,222,775 mile# to each engine.
It carried B,279,B47passengers, who rede
330,802,222 miles, each passenger going
on an average 40 miles,