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TORS. WILLIE. BT MARQABZI- KTTXKCB. One summer of my fifty-five I And in Mera’ry’s pagea Ab bright ip though U had not been Kmdirined for many ages. It peiiaed (I was n aturdy chap, n hoe yean* acaroe numbered seven) At an o]l tariu-houae on a hill That seemed to me near heaven. And there a tittle maiden lived, Who had been christened Millie; But when w* mot and loved they called Her little Mre. Willie. Oh, wlrnta cunning tot she waa, A* sweet aa ripest borriea, With blue-gray eyosaiid dimpled chin, And check* aa red as cherries! Among liar tangled cnrla the gold Of aun was wont to linger, A ring of gold, a mite, she wore— My gift—on one small finger, And every morning early' I A rose, or pink, or lily, To fast/ n in her pinafore, Brought little Mra. Willie. And through the daisied fields and lane When it aa* pleasant weather, Ah gay at* birds, hand clasped in hand, We and wander olf together; Or by the sparkling brook we’d ait, And watch the shining fishes; Or play beneath the old oak-troea, With aoru cups and dbhea. And did a cloud obscure the sky, Aim make the air grow chilly. Off came my Jacket to In wrap Dear little Mrs. Willie. And when the paJe moon rose, and In Th" west tlio sun descended, The katydids song loud to tell The happy day waa ended. We UtiK'i iug kianed, and slowly said <i,H*d-nJglit in tones of sorrow: Then wht]>erod, with a sudden light In sleep* eyes, “To-morrow 1” And 1 could hear her pray, the nights Were then so calm and stilly, “ Bless Willie!” and in turn I prayed, “Bless little Mrs. Williel” BepU rober came. The maple leaves Were turning when we parted. Hhe wept, hut 1 kept back my tears, Though Just as broken-hearted. Of course we thought to meet again, But bu t again, ah, never! The good-by said that autumn morn Was good-by said forever. But many times in dreams I’ve heard The crickets chirping shrilly, Whl’e I have roamed up hilJ, down dalo, With little Mrs. WUlieu Yea. of my summers fifty-five The one that made mo seven, Spent in the farm-house on the hill That seemed so near to heaven. Was fnr the brightest. And the love Wo children gave each otlior, Bo true, oo pure, I’m vory auro We Dover gave another. And even now on rose-sweet nights (perchance it may be silly. For sho must be quite fifty-three), I b* my prayers add fervently, “ Bless little Mrs. Willie 1” —flarper’l Weekly. TWO WOMEN IN BUSINESS. liV HISI.EN WILMANB. Iu the spring of 187 G, finding myself in n position where it was necessary to make some exertion for my own living, being a “lone, lorn widder," nud l>eing also averse to the kind of work usually delegated to my sox, I formed a partner ship with another woman whose situa tion was similar to my own, and wo went into the poultry business together. My partner Hue, Susan, Hooky or Husannah was a spinster (punster, according to Mr. Weller) and just one of the nicest, sweetest, ‘ ‘ bestest and tip-topiest ” old maids that overlived. Hhe grew in my affections every hour I lived with her, until at last she stood before mo the perfect incarnation of all the primitive virtues. It was from her that 1 learned to distrust the worth ot those qualities in men and women that hail always held my imagination captive, and decided that education and genius and raro gifts could never briug down the seale against the pure goodness of a simple, trusting and loving soul, such as hers. After we biul ilooido.l ..lmt we wished to do, it required a vigorous “looking about" totind the place wo wanted. But we did tiuil it on the banks of Clear lake, well up toward its northern bound ary. A farmer who occupied a largo tract of land, and had built a tine house near the center of it, left his old ouo standing iu an isolated cornor, the pict ure of loneliness and despair as seen from the eyes of tho rich, but a very haven of rest for two tonqxmt-tossed and homeless women, such as we were. And then it was on tho banks of the lako a fact that made amends for many disad vantages. Oh, that lake, thirty miles long and ten milos wide, dotted with evergreen islands. It comes back to me now, like the memory of a lost paradise. My soul grew visibly and constantly be neath its influence. It taught tho lesson of repose. It sought to induce in its beholders the attitude of the angels. Behold us, then, settled, with 100 liens, liftcell ducks and a dozen turkeys. Mr. Worth sold us a ton of wheat “on tick,” and we were equipped. Thedneks took to the water, where they seemed to earn their own living, as they treated our store of provisions with contempt. They waddled home every night to be shut up, and we found their eggs in tho pen in the morning. We sold our liens’ eggs, and set the hens on duck eggs. As we kept an account of all our trans itions, I will now refer to my book. which I still keep, in remetnbranoe of some of the happiest days of my life. I find that on March 20 we had forty liens sitting on ten eggs each, 400 eggs ia all, with seventeen young ducks hatched out. On April 20 wo had thirty six liens sitting on ten eggs each, and 327 nice, healthy young ducks. A month later closed out tho duck factory, with 680 small fry on hand. Iu the meantime tho turkeys had not been idle, though I am freo to confess to this day my hopo- less Ignorance of tho turkey character and my inability’ to cope with the insti tution on its own grounds. The ways of a turkoy hen are mysterious and past finding out; she is either the most eon* eliminate idiot on the universe or else I myself am slightly touched. Her va garies are such that no mind in its nor mal condition can apprehend them. What tho hallucinations of delirium tremens would do to heln one out I do not know, but as a last resort I hang my -hopes on it nutil I stall see it tried. One turkey hen Jo whom we had given thirty-six y oung turkeys was in tho habit of wandering off wherever a vagrant fancy led her. At last it entered her simple m.ddle to sleep away from home. Jow, as tho country abounded in “ var 3’.lints,” we considered her conduct reck less. unworthy, and in the highest de cree reprehensible. We expostulated wvith her in vain. She would meander ; her whole soul was given to tho explora- ion of unknown places. Many a mile uid we tramp through the warm spring rain to save the lives of those little tur keys. The duty became burdensome. We heard of a sheep dog about ten miles nway that could be had by going for. Hue said it was just the thing wc need ed. She had no donbt Providence had Kent it to us. i had an idea that Provi dence had better liave sent it ten miles farther while it was in the business, but held my peace in perfect content, as Hue had proposed borrowing a horse and iroing for him herself. It was a beautiful day the dav she taade the trip. One of the many beau tiful days of the heavenly climate of California. I was alone, but not lone tome. -The spirit of growth transfused me. How could it be otherwise when buds wore bursting and grass growing, when nature’s sweet soul was climbing to expression in leaves and flow ers, and voicing itself melodiously in the hum of insects, the calling of the lambs and the splash of the lake waters on the low, rocky shore. It was on that day tlio first installment of blackbirds made their appearance. They covered the live oak by the door, and ground out their little unvaried tunes in the richest contralto. Nothing gives more pleasure than to see things grow, but living things most especially. Our little (tricks were apor potual study. Many of thorn were indi vidualized by special characteristics, so much so that we named them according ly. We had Grady, Tiny, Hand and po ny Express. A friend in San Francisco, hearing of our poultry venture, sent us two dozen l’ekin ducks’ eggs. Wo raised seventeen clucks out of these egg Hand sold them for $3 apiece. The little ducks of the brood were a curiosity. Their eyes were small and deep-set, giving to them a very shrewd appearance ; their cheeks bulged out and hung down, and all they lacked of making themselves fnc similes of bloated lager-beer vend ors’ signs, such as project from “Gam briuus’ halls,” was only a pipe apiece for them. But I must not forget our dog. It was dark when the sound of horse’s hoofs rang out on the hard, shelly lake-shore road. I had some venison, pork anil potatoes stewing together on the stove, and a lovely elderberry pio scalloped and ruffled to distraction was cooling it self on the table. I rushed out of the house and lifted " our treasure ” to the ground. But Hue had more treasures than one. Tied behind her saddle were several small roso bushes well rooted, and about a dozen grape vines. It is natural for women to long for flowers, and I. confess my hope of these roses projected itself so far into the future, and behold through the medium of im agination such a paradise of flowers, that I could hardly sleep that night for think ing about them. In the morning wo planted thorn. We were not troubled by tho selfish thought that the place was not ours: that wo were sowing for others to reap. Perhaps tho blossedncss of giving pervaded our souls at that time; at all events wo were just as happy as wo could l>e, and that was enough. The puppy watched our work with the deepest interest. Ho shifted his position as we moved from place to place, looking intently with round eyes and ears lopped forward into every hole we (lug. When wo had finished and were resting from onr labors became walking in at the door with ono of our finest, roso hushes in his mouth, which- ho laid at Hue’s feet, the expression of his face in dicating perfect confidence in the appro priateness of his action. Of course we did not permit such conduct to go un punished, and gave him a very small whipping, so small I fear lie did not un derstand it; for ho never rested a mo ment from his work until ho hud un earthed several times over everything wo planted. I was a little inclined to drown him, but had not the nerve to do it. It was not only the plants he destroyed; he carried my panned out ono day and re duced it to a skeleton; he destroyed a package containing a dollar’s worth of sugar, for which wo had paid in eggs; he fore a volume of poems to pieces, and wore out the trail of my morning gown riding around on it as 1 moved about tho house. Hue laughed in tho jolliest man uoi at all these mishaps, aun always took her pet’s part in every quarrel' 1 had with him. But Hue had a tin-top, level-best Sun day-go-to-meeting bonnet, tho most cu rious specimen of head architecture ever seen, and she valued it in proportion to its queernoss. But one day something happened. We had been in the burn for an hour, and, coming book, wo no ticed the strango appearance of tho front yard. There seemed to have been a sort of eiroumserilxHl snow-storm in it. Examination revealed the fact that every snow-flake was woven of fine white straw. A light began to dawn. Suo lushed to the spot where her bonnet had been. When I came in and saw her good, honest face stretched out longer than I hail ever seen it before, I felt so bad I laughed myself quite sick out of pure sympathy. However, tho day came when that dog took anew departure. Ho was very imitative; he soon saw how wo combust ed business, and, being energetic, intel ligent and loving, he began to take the work off of our hands. He herded tho turkeys amt lirouglit them homo every night. He took charge of the ducks and chickens, and if from weakness ouo fell liohiud lie brought it to us tenderly iu his mouth. He became the friend and protector of the “ two lorn widders iu their lonely old castle by the lonely old wood," and was deeply and tenderly appreciated. I am sure we brought little science to lie or on our poultry raising, but we made a very fair success of it. We lived comfortably amt happily and realized nearly S3OO when we sold off our surplus stock in tho fall. We thought it much better than taking positions in estab lishments not our own. We were freo, and we appreciated the situation. And then the occupation itself was full of in terest Never a day passed we did not find something to laugh at among our numerous family. Wo hod frequent visits from Mr. Worth’s two little rowdy oliildren, who were in full sympathy with every phase of chicken life, particu larly the absurd part of it Ono day after we had missed them from the room for about two hours, and supposed they were at home, Billy eaiuo came iu quite excited aud opened con versation with Sue. I was at the sew ing machine, but heard it all quite plainly. “ Sue,” he commenced, “Sue, Sue, O’u 1 Sue ! Mo aud Kute's been fightiu’ two chickens.” “Yes, honey,” said Sue, in her moth erly drawl, reaching up the words iu the middle like a cat's back. “ Mino was a dominie, and hern was a block one. Both of 'em were mighty little cluqis, von lHit; won’t much lnore’n weaned; ana the black ’uu was the spunkiest feller you ever saw. Both of 'em had the sand, but the black ’un was the grittiest chicken in Lake county. I’ll bet big on it. Sue.” “ Yes, honey.” “We fit ’em right out in the suu, where it was hot enough to bile ’em. We wanted to see how much they would stand. Sue.” "Yes, honey.” " Well, they fit aud fit and fit. Tho dominie was a little the biggest and got the bulge on blackcy in the start; but blackey, he just kep' a packin' for dear life, a whalin' away nt dominie till he oouhln t stand up, and then ho lay down and fit. After he fit awhile a lavin’ down he gin oat, and he lay there wateh in the doroinio chaw him up. Pretty soon, when the dominio thought he’d got him all used up, he started to leave, but, Sue-” “Yes, honey.” “ The dominie had got so weak kisself that he had just straddled off and reelod round like he was drunk ; and before he got furder enough— wot with bulgin’ forard and staggering backard—little blackey put out his bill and caught him by a wing futher, and held his hold till dominie got on his feet agin and turned round and licked him over. Now. Sue.” “Yes, honey.” “Every time the dominie whipped him and started off, little blackey would do the same thing. He was clean tuck ered out all but his eyes (and he could just barely turn them in his head) ani his bill. And you ought to a been there to a seen him stretch out his little, weak neck, with not a feather on it, and take dominie by the wing or the tail every time lie tried to leave. I never see such grit in my life, Sue ; cos, you see, Hue, he knowed he couldn’t move, and ho knowed that every time lie caught hold of dominie and held on he’d get licked agin ; but ho kept a doin’ it, Hue.” “ Yes, honey.” “ Till at last the dominie was clear wore out a whippiu’ of him and fainted dead away, and lay with his mouth open and his tongue a lollin’ out. Then when blackey saw that tongue a layin’ alongside a kind of piert look hopped into his eves, and ho stretched his little weak neck out and caught it in his bill. This kinder waked tho dominie up, Hue.” “Yes, honey.” “And he squacked murder, Sue.” “ Yes, honey.” “ And tho best was that whichever squacked first would he the one that was whipped ; and tho way I raked tho pilo of red beans was just sinful, Hue ; and Kate’s as mad as a March hare and gone home to tell ma.” " But you don’t mean to say that you took all your sister’s beans, do you ?*’ “Yes, honey.” (Words roaclied in imitation of Hue.) “And do you really moan to keep them ?” “ Tom, honey." “ Well, now /” said Sue, laughing. “ I don’t know what to do with such a hoy anyhow.” Wo carried our poultry business through another year anil with still greater success. Wo would probably have been engaged in it yet but for a male biped, who, perceiving how well sho could live without him, made tho discovery that he could not live without her. This dissolved our partnership, and terminated a never-to-be-forgot ten period of my life. Carelessness In Ordering Hoods. Mistakes frequently occur because of tho careless way many merchants have of ordering goods. Homo forget to state the number, quality, size, shape or color of the articles desired, and where price is a necessary element of description they omit to mention that. Such buyers, somehow, seem to have the impression that tho jobber knows nil about his wants, and will send the right goods, no matter how careless may bo his method of or dering. Tho blame for the uncertainty and mistakes which naturally grow out of tho careless ordering by the merchant belongs to him, yet, when the wrong goods come to hand he feels disposed to find fault with the jobber. If a man was to draw up an ordinary contract relative to a business matter, ho would think that great cure and circumspection w ire nec essary. What is an order hut a contract for so many goods? If the purchaser was iu fiauie an agreement f,r „ „uuciiot worth SIOO, he would use the strictest care to see that tho boundaries mentioned and that the correct price was inserted and nil tho conditions of the agreement set forth. A man ordinarily knows just what ho wishes to order. He usually knowns the number of the article, if it is numbered. He can tell whose make it is, and give such other intelligent de scription us will give the wholesale house, from whom he orders, the necessary in formation to enable them to send such goods and such only as ho desires. Mer chants often omit to take a copy of their orders, a thing they should bv all means do. This enables them to know what engagements they have out and prevents duplicating their orders. Besides, it is a cheek upon tho practice of shifting bills. The merchant orders a gross of knives l. hen the gcxxls arrive ho finds two gross, lie is uncertain whether lie or dered one or two gross and consequently is in no position to insist upon a return of the surplus goods. If it is worth while to send an order nt all, it certainly is worth one’swltilo tosee that it is properly made. Tho praetieo of careless ordering is much more preva lent than most persons suppose. No doubt a great deal of tho carelessness arises from the rush and confusion of trade, some of it from over confidence iu the in tegrity of the jobber, and not a little from pure laziness. It is easier to set down and run off an order, than to take tho pains of looking up catalogues for names and designations. But these gen tlemen find that their ease is purchased at the expense of paying freight- charges on the goods that have to bo roturned be cause of such carelessness. It certainly is better to uso the utmost care iu giving orders for goods and avoid the delays, in conveniences and mistakes which arise from the lax method so frequency em ployed.—Chicago Commercial Adver tiser. A Lively Adventuress. A young woman who was brought up at Bradford, Canada, without auy knowl edge of her father and mother was finally taken to an insane asylum, from which she escaped and became an ad venturess of the dime novel character. First she figured as an “escaped nun,” and found lecturing m that capacity vi ry profitable. Then she was a perse cuted missionary from China, where she had achieved immense success in build ing up tho Lord's kingdom. After this •he tried to elope with a fourteen-year old boy, the heir of considerable prop erty. Then she declined into a con sumptive, deceiving, by means of a red chemical hid in her cheek, the physicians themselves, who thought she was sub ject to hemorrhages. She has been a frequent guest at liidenu Hall, the resi dence of Lord Lome, and was detected just in time to prevent her marriage with s rich and brilliant lawyer of Ottawa.— l>etroit Free /Vest. In England, w hen a man is drunk, ho is “oila fool;” in Chicago, he is “ou a hoorah;” iu St. Louis, lie has a “dash too much up his nose;" in Kansas Citv, he is “ giunod up for all that’s outin St. Joe, “the benzine has the upper hold in Omaha, he is “on it bigger’u an Injun ;” in Denver, he “ slnug in a bowl too much;” in Cheyenne, “the duffer's got it iu the neck,” and iu Lead* ville, “ the galoot’s on a roarer ngin !” “Cane bottomed chairs," re ideated the countryman, studying the upholst erer's sign. “ Cain bottomed chairs, did he? I want to know ! Can't hardly be lieve it, but, then, these 'ere city chaps knows. Won’t our dominie be took back, though, when I tell ’em."—Yonk ers Oatette. BITS OF INFORMATION. Among the Greeks the death punish ment of certain criminals was aggravat ed by tho denial of funeral rites. In early days of printing books the paper was only printed on one side and the blank sides pasted together. Tile turkey got its name from the be lief that it originated in Turkey. But the big bird is, in fact,* a native of North America, In 1584 “cages and stocks,” for the punishment of oflenders, were ordered to be set up in every ward in the city of London. Hippocrates, bom at Cos, 4GO B. C., was the first person to apply himself to t-lie study ot physic as the sole business of his life. It was the Emperor Charles V. who invented the title of “your Majesty,” sovereigns having previously been ad dressed as “your Grace. ” Blind Tom has been an idiot from childhood. Ho played aa well when 7 years old as at present. He play snow something like 7,000 pieces. Easter eggs symbolize tho resurrec tion, and they are colored red in aHu* sion to the blood of redemption. The custom dates back to the ancient Hin doos, Jews, Persians and Egyptians, and it was symbolical of the maundane egg from which, according to an ancient tradition, the earth was hatched. It is said also to refer to the recreating pow ers of nature, which begin to bo dis play ed in the Easter season. Dr. Franklin invented a stove hi 1745. Previous to That time there were stoves in Holland and Germany. Frank lin’s stove, however, was a great im provement on all that had preceded it. In 1771 he invented several other stoves, one for burning bituminous coal, which would consume its own smoke and had a downward draught; and another, in tended for the same purpose, having a basket grate or cage, with movable bars at tho top and bottom, supported by pivots at the center, and which, after being filled and kindled at the top, could be inverted, and so burn from the base. The next inventor of stoves, ovens and heating and cooking appar atus was Count Rumford, who between 1785 and 1795^tlcvised several improve ments, (ill intended to economize fuel and heat. It may bo stated that the box stove now In the State House at Richmond, Va., bears date of 1770,1s one of the so-#allod Holland stoves, and was probably imported from England, as the castings, though rude, are super ior to the American castings of that clay. For cooking purposes Count Rumford’s cooking stoves or ranges, lined with fire brick or soapstone, and with a ventilat ing oven, which had been introduced into New York as early as 1798, and into Boston about 1800, were gradually com ing into use, aud between that tine and 1825 there was, considering the period and tho obstacles, considerable activity in this branch of manufactures, which havo beeu increasing annually over since. ITEMS OF INTEREST. Lake Superior, at its surface, is 600 feet above the Atlantic, and at its bottom 573 feet. It is estimated that over 10,000 per sons are employed in the laundries of New York. M K.vr to rice, Indian oorn is used by a larger number of people than any other grain. Old sails are made into tho paper used for bank notes, and old ropes reappear as brown paper. * Two thousand human beings and over 50,000 head of cattle aro annually killed by snake bites in India. The variations in the rainfall of India involves the food supply-, and is a ques tion of famine or plenty. Chinese dentists attribute toothache to tho guawing of worms, and profess to extract the same from decayed teoth. Cvclones usually occur toward tho end of spring and in the fall—the periods of change of direction in the monsoons. In IS7B over 400,000 eggs of California salmon were shipped to New Zealand, where they arrived in excelieut condi tion. The experiments In cotton raising in Kansas have been very successful. One planter shipped 100 bales of excellent quality. Florida lizards are said to possess, in a remarkablo degree, the powor of changing their color at will, the process occupying about a quarter of a minute. A red passion-flower, secreting honey in the glands of its young leaves, was found guarded by a species of ant, which consumed tho honey and drove away all other insects. 1\ RrssrAthe sunflower has a practical, if not an testhetical, value. It is culti vated for the oil it yields. The oil is used in cooking, as well ns in lamps, and for making soap and paint. Tiie paper makers of England import annually eighteen or twenty tons of rags. Some English ones requiro no bleach ing at all, while those of Italy bear away the palm for dirt. A Strawberry Patch in a Barrel. Persons who live in cities, and only have n small yard whore tho sun shines, eau have nice berries enough for family use without being troubled by weeds. Take a hogshead, or cask, and commence six inches from the bottom, and with a two-inch augur bore it full of holes six inches apart. Then fill up by degrees with rich dirt, nnd ns you fill up sot a strawberry root in the dirt, with the Town or loaves out of the augur hole, and when it is filled to the top you eau set a row around the top; but leave a hollow in the center, so that when you wish you can pour in soapsuds or liquid manure, so that you can force them to grow very large, and they will be nice and clean. It would be more durable to have two or three iron hoops ou the hogshead. Parsley can be raised the same way. The above is more useful than a rustic stump in the yard.—Fann ins; World. 1 lorGAT.—' ‘ Tidyou notiss, Anknss, how ta Toctor who iss come to take ta place of old 'footer Munro for a short time kept hiss head puried in his liants during ta long prayer in ta kink thiss morning?” Angus—“Oyes, efferybody was lookin’ at 'im, nut it was peoause—so I wass told —he is troubled with a locum latent in his heart, a tisease which means vou must ‘hold ta place’ affected.” Dongal— “Ohwat nonsense! It is hiss own self that is ta locum latent, which is a tegree he w ill have took at Colleteh, ant not a tisease at all, Anknss McKilvery; and it iss your iknorane* that iss ferry superior mirover. ” _ A man, or one of tiie lower animals. eomiH'lled to breathe for half an hour an atmosphere containing 1-779 of carbonic acid, alwvorbs that gas in such quantities that ODe-half the red blood corpuscles eombire with it, and become incapable of absorbing oxygen. CBOWISG OLD. At six—l well remember when— I fancied all folks old at ten. But, when I’d turned my first decade, Fifteen appeared more truly staid. But when the fifteenth round I’d run, I thought none old till twenty-one. Then, oddly, when I’d reached thatagf, I held that thirty made folki sage. But when my thirtieth year was t>ld, I aaid: “At two-score men grow old I” Yet two-score came and found me thrifty, And so I drew the line at fifty. But when I reached that age I swore None could be old until three-score 1 And here I am at sixty now, Aa young as when at six, I trow I 'Tis true, my hair Is somewhat £ray, And that luiea cane to-day; ’Tis true, these rogues about my kneo Say “Grandpa!” when they speak to moJ But, bless your soul, I’m young aj when, I thought all people old at ten 1 Perhaps a little wiser grown— Perhaps some old illusions flown; But wond’ring still, while years hare rolled, When ia it that a man grows old ? Vandyke Brown in the Clipper. Answers fo Correspondents. The Milwaukee A'un gets off an ex cellent travesty on tho “Answers to Cor respondent’s” column. Hays the Sun: Wo have long regarded, with consum ing jealousy, the department of answers to correspondents which appear in some of our contemporaries, and which regu larly make just an even column. People from all over seem to write to editors for information, and we have decided to wait no longer, but occasionally have such n column. Melbourne, Australia, (Sun office) — “Can you inform a large number of your readers here why the first day of Janu ary is called New Years day? E. G.” Yes. It is because it is tho first day of the now year, Manitoba, (Sun office). —“Can you in form an appreciative reader, through the medium of your valuable paper, who is the author of a poem called ‘Beautiful Snow?’ ,T. A.” We should say we could. We wrote it ourself, and we re collect that during its composition, while every emotion of our intense nature waa surging aud seething with the divine af flatus, a party named Wm. Patterson came into the room interrupting us, and we hit him in the eye with an ink stand. We understand that Patterson is looking for us, pretending that he doesn’t know who struck him. The son of a gun knows well enough who struck him. Key West (Sun office)-“tH. G.”-Not having Ayer’s almanac for 1882, and hav ing mislaid the one for 1881, we are un iride to give you the exact date of Martin Van Buren’s death/ It occurred, we un derstand, some yeaTs ago. itskata, Russia (Sun office) —“Mirza” —You are mistaken about “Grandfather’s Clock.” It is not a dirge. Here in America it is sung as a popular song, but if its translation into Russian has seemed to clothe it in an air of melan choly it is your language that is at fault, not the music. The author is an Ameri can, hut will be delivered up if proper application is made through the Stafe Department at Washington. Cape Horn (Sun office)— “Patigonian” —You are mistaken. Men have been sentenced to prison in this country for stealing ns small a sum as §IO,OOO, though of course such instances are rare. However, it is only when justice catches a man when running off with a ham or a loaf of bread that she throws her whole soul into the enormity, and fires him througli the moon.. Han Stucco, Mexico. (Sun office) “Gomez”—Jay Gould, whom you are pleased to denominate as “the invidious foreign devil” who is cutting up your country with railroads, is not ‘* an ana conda,” but is known hero as a success ful railroad magnate. You are right, however, in your surmises. When the tide of Northern civilization begins pour ing into Mexico you will he obliged to wash yourself; we do not see any other way. But why not change your methods in order to conform to the new order of things ? Why not give up cattle steal ing and highway robbery, and fit your self for a bank cashier ? Tho only dif ference will boa little extra outlay for soap. Correspondents should send in plenty of inquiries. What we can’t find in the almanac, we can generally strike in the encyclopedic; and if we can’t answer the question at all, we can easily chuck it in the waste-basket, and invent a question that we can answer. Abraham Lincoln’s Parent’s Marriage. Captain J. W. Wartman has been able to secure what Ward Lamon and other biographers were unable to secure, a re liable record of the wedding of Abraham Lincoln’s father aud mother. The fol lowing affidavit on the subject will ex plain itself: “I, Christopher 0. Graham, now of Louisville, Ky., aged ninety-eight years, on my oaih, say: That I was present at the marriage of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy' Hanks, in Washington County, uear the town of Springfield, Ky.; that one Jesse Head, a Methodist preacher, of Springfield, Ky., performed the cere mony. I knew the said Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hauks well, and knew the said Nancy Hauks to have been virtuous and respectable and of good parentage. I do not remember tho exact date of the marriage, but was present at the marriage aforesaid; and I make this affidavit freely, and at the request of Captain J. W.Wartman, to whom, for the first time, l have this day incidentally stated the fact of my presence at the said wedding of President Lincoln’s father and mother. I make this affidavit to vindicate tho character of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, and to put to rest forever the legitimacy of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. I was formerly proprietor of Harrods burg Springs. lam a retired physician, and am now a resident of Louisville, Ky. I think Felix Grundy was a'so present at the marriage of said Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, the father and mother :>f Abrnham Lincoln. The said Jesse Hoad, tho officiating minister at the mar riage aforesaid, afterwards moved to Hsrrodsbnrg, Ky., and edited a paper there, and died at that place. 1 ’ Chiustofuer Oolcmbus Graham. “Subscribed and sworn to before me, Ibis March 20, A. D. 1882. “N. 0. Butler. ‘Clerk United States Circuit Court, First District, Indiana. “By J. W. Wartman, Deputy Clerk.” —Evansville Journal Wanted Advice. A Hartford man went to a lawyer for advice. After receiving the retaining fee the lawyer said: “State your ease.” “Well, sir," replied the client, “a man told me to go to h—, aud I want your advice.” The attorney took down a volume of Connecticut statutes and, after turning over a few leaves, answered: “Don’t you do it. The law doesn't compel you to." — Hartford limes. THE FIRST VIOLIN Made of Antedllnxlan Wood, and Played In Richmond, lnd. [From the Bicbmond (lnd.) Palladium.] Harry P. Cain, the leader of the G. R. L. Serenading Club, and a violinist of some note, has recently come into possession of a rare treasure. It is noth ing less than a violin made of wood that grew before the flood. Some forty years ago workmen engaged in digging a email mill-race through the farm owned by Daniel Bulla, northeast of J. R. Pres ton’s residence, discovered, at a depth of six or eight feet beneath the surface, the trank of a tree in a good state of preser vation. It was lying across the line of the race, aud they had to cut out a piece of it several feet long before they could go on with their work. Geologists say that the country around Richmond was once covered with water in which huge icebergs floated, or that immense gla ciers like those of the Swiss Alps trav ersed it. The course of the ice from north to south cap still be traced by grooves on the bedrock. The gravel that underlies tho soil is supposed to be the debris that was carried down by the ice. Traces of orcanic matter, such as wood and grasses, lying on the hardpan below the gravel, indicate that there was a vegetation older than the gravel banks, and some profess to believe that the frozen water that covered the land at that timo was a part of the flood men tioned in the Bible. Whether it was or not, it certainly occurred many thou sand years ago, and the tree, which the stratification of the gravel shewed to have been deposited when it was, must have rested there ages ago. It was con iferous, but none of the woodchoppers to whom it was shown, and none of the persons who have seen it since, have been able to tell what variety it was. The nearest kinsman to it that now grows in our forests is the red cedar. The wood was carefully laid away, and was shown as a curiosity. One day Edward Parks, a collector who has sup plied .the cabinets and museums of Richmond with some of their finest specimens, heard of it, and went to see it. Before he came back he had induced its owners to part with it. Mr. Parks is an enthusiastic musician, as well as a collector and amateur geologist, and the idea occurred to him that the wood pos sessed all the requisites for making a fine violin. It was light and porous, the grain was coarse, and the cells were large. Putting it under his arm, he went around to A. B. Clark, who was engaged in repairing a Cremona that was captured in the siege of Mexico by Professor Barnes’ father. Clark was de lighted. It was the very thing. He hau models of the old Cremona, and in the course of three months he had given the finishing touches to the new violin, The belly was of the old antediluvian wood, and the batik and neck of wavy maple, cut in Pennsylvania fifty years ago, and rafted down the Ohio to Cincinnati, and carried on to Dayton for an old cabinet maker who was never able to use it. The figure of tho old instrument was followed exactly, and when the new one was finished it was an exact fac simile of those built by Stradivarius. When the how was drawn across it the two connoisseurs went into ecstades of de light, The glue was barely set, and the varnish was still green, but when they played the room was filled with the rich est, sweetest melody. There was an ab scence of the thick, raw quality that marks a now violin. The notes came out sharp and clear, and when the lower strings were set vibrating they gave out rich, mellow music, that reminded them of the violins of Aruati and Guarnerius- Sheep liaising. The sheep industry in the United States is vast and important, and in the consideration of which there are two partially distinct, and at the same time interlocldng interests. Sheep were in early times grown almost solely for their wool, and with the annual shearing came the year’s income ; but in later times, and never so prominently as now, the carcass is looked upon as an important item in sheep husbandry. Mutton as a cheap and acceptable pleat has of late grown greatly in popularity, and mutton now stands as one of the two important factors in the successful raising of sheep. In view of the fact that the merino is essentially a wool-producing breed, with a fleece of the finest and best quality, it is evident that the pure-blood merino, though it may supply our manufactories with the material for the finest of woolen goods, on the other hand cannot satisfy the butcher. The sheep having to both feed and clothe its keeper, it is an important question : What is the best breed of sheep to do this ? Evi dently not the pure-blooded merino. Though the growing of tho pure-blooded merinos has its place, and an impor tant one, and the demand for their wool indicates the prosperity of manufacture of the finest goods, it is by the crossing of them with other breeds in which the flesh-producing qualities predominate that a sheep best for both meat and wool is produced. A cross-breed is the one that in most localities is to pay. The merino is slow of growth and small of carcass when mature ; but when crossed with a rapid grower, one that matures early, is a high feeder, and lays on flesh rapidly, but not remarkable lor its wool either in quantity or quality, a sheep is obtained that pays for itself in its wool of prime quality, and fumisnes a good quantity of mutton as a profit. Of such character are the crosses of the merino with tho Cotsvvold and the South-down. But with the great mass of American sheep on the Western plains, wool is the important product, and here the cross must be with the merino upon the “native”—a race of sheep which has grown out of a variety of early impor tations to tliis country—an intercrossing of various breeds in which many of the good points have been lost. In this field the merino has a great work to do to raise the yield of wool one, two, or more pounds per head, and give it a higher value. Educated Women. Educated women have a wide sphere. There is, indeed, 6ome discussion as to its exact bounds. Some doubt, for in stance, whether they have a legitimate function in the pulpit. Our own view is that character and ability are God’s chart of duty. But, whatever may be decided in regard to the pulpit, there is one field where educated women are in demand. That is the home. The educated woman is the best wife, the best mother, the best housekeeper, tho best economist. The “coming men” could afford to pay all the expenses of a full training for their future wives merely for the greater good they would receive from them. In these days we pity tho ignorant mother. Six years of hard study aro well invested, if for nothing more than to be able to answer a thou sand questions which curious youngsters will be asking in a few years. Flourens, the French physiologist, fixing the complete development of man at twenty years, teaches that he should live five times as long as it takes him to become an adult. Ceramic Artfulness. There are a good many humbugs in the world, and art circles are as often deceived by them as are less aesthetic people. A London collector recently re fused to pay $5,000 for a pair of roseDii barry vases, which he had bought of a dealer for old Sevres, affirming that they were spurious, and that the seller had tempted him to buy by exaggerating the price he himself had paid for them. There were pretty strong grounds for suspecting that the seller’s figures were exaggerated, and good judges were equally divided as to the genuineness or apuriousness of the vases. The jury, however, held the buyer liable for the full amount. Sevres is not the only ware about which there is much uncertainty. Con noisseurs often go into ecstasy about “old Satsuma,” but Professor* Morse who has lived in Japan, declared in a re cent lecture before the Lowell Institute of Boston, that Satsuma is not held in any special estimation in Japan. There are four kinds of it—the gray paiuted the gray inlaid, the brown, and the light colored or yellow. The Japanese claim that the yellow clay was not discovered until the present century, and that there is no ancient Satsuma pottery ; all arti cles of real Satsuma are small, and have no stamp upon them ; and plates with heavy rims, cups with handles, and sau cers and pitchers, have absolutely no ex istence in genuine Japanese pottery. Two rare old articles of genuine Satsu ma ware which were obtained by the lec turer with great trouble and expense, were made seventy-five years ago. The larger articles sold as ancient Satsuma are from two to four years old, and are principally sold in Tokio, and are rubbed with charcoal dust to give them an ap pearance of age. The Professor also declared that he had himself stood beside an agent of an American firm which deals in “Satsuma” ware, and heard him give an order for a great quantity of this “ancient” pot tery, directing the designs, and telling the maker to put on plenty of decora tions, no matter what. These large pieces are regarded by the Japanese as abominable paraphrases, and a name is applied to them which signifies that they are made solely to be exported. They are, for the most part, not Satsuma at all, but Awat.n, and the decoration is per formed by children and cheap workmen of all kinds. There are a good many fine specimens of Satsuma, not a few of large size, to be found in all our American cities. The amount paid for some of these will ap penr much magnified in tho light of Pro fessor Morse’s revelations. If he is to be credited, there are other Japanese arts than the finishing of pottery, which collectors and all purchasers would do well to study. A Few Verbal Errors. The following examples of the more eommoii errors in the use of words are taken from “Tho Yarbalist,” by Mr. Alfred Ayres : Accord for give; as, ‘‘the information was accorded him." Aggravate for irritate; {o aggravate is to make worse. Allude to for refer to or mention. As for that; “not as I know,” for * ‘not that I know.” Avocation for vocation; a man’s voca tion is his business; avocations are things that occupy him incidentally. Balance for rest or remainder. Character for reputation; one may have a good reputation, but a bad char acter, and the two words should never be confounded. Dangerous for in danger; a sick man is sometimes most absurdly said to he dangerous, when it is only meant that the poor fellow is himself in danger —a very different thing. Demean, for debase, disgrace or hum ble. To demean one’s self is merely to behave one’s self, whether well or ill. Dirt, for earth or loam. Donate, for give. Execute, for hang, as applied to tho criminal. It is the sentence, not the man, that is executed. Healthy, for wholesome; an onion plant may be healthy, but when you pick an onion, there is no more healthi ness or unhealthiness to that, although it may or may not be wholesome as an article of food. Illy, for ill. Inaugurate, for begin. Kids; mjLkid gloves. Learn, tor teach. ; Liable, lot likely or apt. Loan, for lend. Pants, for pcfhtiMppns, or (better still) trousers. Partake, for cat. Plenty as an adjective, where plenti ful is meant. Heal, for very: as “real nice,’’ “ real pretty.” Reside, for live; residence, for house. Retire, for go to bed. Seldom or ever, for seldom if ever, or seldom or never. Some for somewhat; “ she is some bet ter to-day. ” Stop, for stay; “where are yon stop ping?” This is one of the vilest of Briticisms. Summons (the noun), for summons (the verb). Those kind of apples, for that kind. Transpire, for occur. Vulgar, for immodest or indecent. Without, for unless. Tlic Family Purse. The money question between husband and wife is one of the most serious draw backs to married happiness, and it is time it was adjusted on a more just and equal basis. The life of utter depend ence which some women lead is crushing and degrading. Men do not realize tho titter helplessness and vacuity to which the system condemns woman. Now, does anybody believe that it is necessary for the welfare of the family that she should go to him for 25 cents every time she needs it for car-fare or a spool of thread ? To ** ..gin. or just to taKe uei imtiecifity in money matters for granted before she has been tested? Is it not just such women, who are left by the failure of some speculative craze to their own resources, with the burden of a family upon their inexperienced shoul ders, who often display wonderful powers of energy and calculation, in addition to thrift and persevering in dustry, which ought to put all such men to shame? Women, as a general rule, can make one dollar go as f. a- two in the hands of men; and many conceited individuals, who now consider that the social system bounded by four walls of their dwelling would cease to revolve if they were taken out of it, would find great happiness and great pecuniary advantage in putting the control of all the interior details of their homes in the hands of their wives, with a division of the income equal to the re quirement.— Woman'B Journal. Musical notes were first printed in the year 1502. The first authentic use of a musical instrument constructed on the principle of the modern organ was in the year 755.