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Making Gold.
The odd tiling is that the alchemist*
were probably right in principle, even in
their wildest dream. Every fresh ad
vance of chemical science encourages
the belief that the metals, in their
various classes, are really identical as to
ultimate substance—indeed, possibly all
of them together, with, it may be,
the other elements, blend into such com
mon matter as the scarcely imaginary
hydrogcninm, of which hydrogen is the
vapor. Dr. Norman Lockyer’s re
searches with the sp’ ctroscope tend to
confirm this unity of material ; and if it
exists Paracelsus was right, and gold is
merely' an allotropic form of other sub
stances. In saying tins, however, we
hasten to reassure the Stock Exclumgo,
by adding that theory would bring
chemists none the nearer to practice in
regard to manufacturing gold by the ton.
Thu student of science can make palla
dium or platinum combine almost mirac
ulously with hydrogen, and melt gold
in selenic acid; but bo knows little of
that subtle and unapproachable chem
istry by' which the earth’s primeval beat
fused and formed, under pressures and
conditions inimitable by ns, her gold
and iron, bur salts and crystals. Mau
must dig for nuggets and dust still, or
work for the shining stuff with hand
or head. Tho worst that could happen
to shake tho great idol on his metallic
throne would be—what is certainly
geologically-possible -the sudden dis
covery of a mother-nugget of gold, a
monstrous central deposit in the cavern
ous base of some Australian or Cali
fornian reef, furnishing, sav, lmlf a mil
lion tons of specie. That would shako
tlic market and send silver up, but spec
ulators need not fear science, nor the
modern alchemists.
Meanwhile, If wo hare not inherited
from the ancient Arcbiinagus the uni
versal solvent or the elixir of life, at
least they gave us chemistry. It was in
('reaping along that dark fantastic rood
of wild desires that Hoger bacon discov
ered gunpowder, Ocbir nitric and hydro
chloric acid, Valentino tho precipitation
of iron, aud Paracelsus his grand doc
trine of the unity of visible mutter.
Thus does nature teach her children.
Withthe childish allurements of nlehetny
she led them toward chemical truths;
with the superstitious of astrology she
reduced them into the sublimities of
astronomy, fluid also the embodiment
of wealth—is inlike manner her go-cart,
as it were, <>r nursery-plaything, for hu
manity. While men traverse lands and
seas, and toil and strive aud eufl’er, to
board up bis yellow sinning dross, the
work of effort and evolution goes briskly
on; the race develops, and tho globe’s
surface is exploited. The loving mother
who, by the proffered orange, tempts
her child to walk, does much s nature
does to tho human race with this glitter
ing gold. London Tt byraph.
The Man Mho Boxctl.
There nro scoria of ivMpenlablo and
reputable heads of families in this city
wlin take regular lessons in the manly
ml of Kidi-tli leiise, anil who spend nn
hour every evening in swinging clubs
and otherwise developing and hardening
the muscle. One of tlio most enthusi
astic of the lot luil finished his boxing
lesson the other night, when the trainer
said :
“ 1 am sorry k lose your money and
vour company, hut I foi l it my duty to
say that 1 can learn you nothing further.
You have got the science mid the muscle
to clean out a crowd, and heaven help
the man who stands before you 1 ”
The citizen went home with a con
scum,sue .s that only cowards carry re
volver-.. ami lio wondered how a man
would look after he Imd given him a
soek dologer straight from the shoulder.
The next morning as lit* was leaving his
liou.-e along came a strawberry man who
was yelling his wares at the top of his
voice.
“Do you sell any more berries for
yelling ip that manner?" asked the
citizen ns the peddler drew rein.
‘M)h, take in your nuso?” was the
reply.
“Someone will take your whole body
in some day !
" Hut it won't be n man witli a wnrt
on his chin 1 ”
“ No impudence, sir 1 ’’
*' And none from you, either 1"
“You and serveu good thrashing 1”
“ And perhaps you can give it to
me ! "
Then* was tho golden opportunity.
The one hail science- the other impu
dence, The one had received thirty
eight lessons m lioiing- the other fairly
iiclicd to la* | voundod.
“Don’t talk that way to mo or I’ll
knock you down I" said the (hushed
pupil us lie gently threw himself into a
position to mash a brick wall.
“Oh, you will, eh? Then let's see
you doit 1 ”
Even the graduate couldn’t tell ex
nelly what took place. lie remembered
of being kicked on the shins, struck on
the cliiu and twisted over a horse-block
after lie fell, but when consciousness
returned his wife and children ware
crying over him and the peddler was
two blocks down tlio street shouting :
“ Straw -lui-rics—groat Dig ones—red
as blood perfect as daisies—only two
shillings for a he iping big quart without
any thumb in it 1 ’*- Detroit Free Press.
Commercial Courtesy.
Thera art' some merchants who regard
drummers as a nuisance, <uid refuse to
tilth to them, or if they sav anything at
idl, it is only n r'i|uest to hath at aeon
►pieiiousb posted picture of a man in a
eortln, with the legend underneath.
“ This man was talked to death ly a
drummer.” Hut old Twopercent, whoso
place of business is on Galveston avouno,
js not that kind of a merchant prince.
A New York drummer wivs passing his
place of husinoss, when ho called him
a.•ro's the street and asked to look at his
samples. The drummer could hardly
believe his senses. lie had never been
treated that way Indore in Texas, It
was hardly a minute before he had his
samples spread out in anticipation of u
ffi.t Hit) order. Old T\vo[>ereent got the
very bottom price of everything in his
line, hut when the New York drummer
asked him if he didn't want to order
some of the goods the reply was :
“ Not mooch. You do not shuppose
dot is vot 1 called you in for ?”
“ What did you’call me in for, then?”
the dnimmcr.
‘ • I only wanted to sec vot your riggers
vos, so ash to find out if I vas not sell
in g my own goods too low.” —Oalvctton
AVtt's. _
Hemiv \Vakx> BiacannA habit of
reading while traveling at railway si wed,
says the Hartford /W, favors both his
eyes and his brain. He does not jHiro
over a book constantly, but sntislks, him
self with leisurely references to it.
After reading not to exceed n page and
a half, he drops the hook into las lap,
and rests in re-flection and window-gw
in It for a few minutes before lie resumes
his reading. This process of Ixiok
study is gone over with uniform exact
ness. When he has enough “inwardly
digest'd,” he goes into a doze till re
frthiied, and bends to the book again.
The She Pope
Thore is n story, now generally re
garded as fabulous, that a female named
•loan (others say Gilberts or Agnes) of
English descent, but born in lngelheim,
or Mainz, Germany, fell in love with a
young Benedictine monk named Feldn,
and in order to be admitted into the
Monastery of Fulda, where be was clois
tered, assumed male attire. She after
ward went with him to Athens, where
lie died whilo they were pursuing their
-todies. Hoon after this she went to
Home, where her great learning brought
b- . into distinction, and from a success
ful career as a professor she was elected
by general consent of tho college of
(iardinals to be the successor of Pope
leu IV., who died A. 13. 885. Others
i ay she was the immediate successor of
Pope Adrian If., who died A. D. 872.
Her title was Pope John VIII; a title
which in the Roman Notizie, or official
calendar of the Roman pontiffs, is as
cribed to a different person. Jtisfurtlier
related of this " female Pope ” that she
administered the pontifical office with
great ability until her sex was discovered
by her giving birth to a male child dur
ing the excitement and fatigue of a pro
em aion to the Lateran Palace, which was
quickly followed by her death, some
say puerperal fever, while other narra
tives declare that she was stoned to
death. Hr. Dellinger lias written an
elaborate analysis of tho various stories
in regard to this personage, going to
show quite clearly that she was a medie
val fiction, yet it cannot be donied the
belief in the veritable existence of the
poti till cate of Joan was general through
out the Gatliolic Church from thirteenth
to the fifteenth century, and was not
discredited under the Reformation, when
it was made use of by the Protestants
to scuudajize the papacy. Dellinger
says she was first mentioned by Chron
icler Stephen de Bourbon, who took his
information, lie thinks, from the chron
icle of tho Dominican, Jean do Mailly,
no copy of which is now known to be in
existence. He attributes the origin of
this scandal upon tho infallibility of the
J’uupocy to a grudge nourished against
the popes on account of tho porscutions
inflicted particularly by I’ope Benedict
VIII. on the monks of the I tonneau and
Minorite, ordcis. Certain it is that good
Catholics nt one time lmd such faith in
the existence of Pope Joan, or John,
Unit they placed in the Cathedral of
Hi urn, along with those of the other
popes, n bust of the popess, with the in
siption, “John VIII., a woman from
England:” and this statue held its place
without serious objection on tho part of
priests or people, until the beginning of
seventeenth century. The “Holy Chair”
is the chair used in the enthronement of
the popes. The tradition that the form
of this chair is duo, in a certain particu
lar, to the fraud said to have been per
petrated by Joan, is now treated by his-'
torians as a vulgar fiction. —Chicago
Inter-Ocean,
Inch* Muse’s Testimony.
A colored man named Bob Tompkins
was on trial before a Justice for assault.
Old Uncle Mose was one of the leading
witnesses for the HI ato. The main point
was whether or not Tompkins lmd given
any provocation to bring on the row.
“Now, tell this jury all you know
about the nlTair,” said tlio Justice,
“ Kin I tell de jury all I knows in my
own way'?” asked old .Mono.
“ Yes, tell the jury what you know in
your own way.”
Old Aloso turned solemnly to the ex
pectant jurymen:
"Gemmens ob de jury, you am do
meanest lookin’ crowd eber I seed—”
“Stop!” bawled the attorney for the
State.
"Your Honor will incarcerate the wit
ness for contempt of court!” howled the
attorney for the prisoner.
The foreman of the jury got tip and
nsked tho court to protect the jury from
insult.
" Witness, if you insult the jury again
I shall certainly resort to extreme
measures. ”
“ I'm not gwino ter consult nobody ef
you don’t interfere wid mo,” said old
Mose sullenly.
“Proceed.’’
“Gem'mens ol> do jury, you am de
mcancst-lookin' crowd ober I seen out
sat ob a jail—”
The Prosecuting Attorney jumped up
and down, 'The foreman of the jury
once more howled ‘‘Your Honor!" The
constable laid his heavy hand on the col
lar of old Mose, when the latter calmly
repeated to the jury:
“You am ile moanest-lookin’ crowd
eber 1 seed outside ob a jail. Hem was
de berry words de prisoner dar used wlion
ho first come inter de bar-room, aud
which led to de row.”
The foreman sat down quick. The at
torneys doubled up like juekknives with
suppressed laughter. His Honor smiled.
Tho spectators roared: while old Mose,
with a surprised look of childish in
nocence, once more said emphatically to
the crowed jurymen:
“You am ne meauest-lookin’ crowd
eber I seed outside ob a jail.”— Terns
Sifting*,
Hon Nutmegs (Iron.
Nutmegs grow on little trees which
look like pear trees, aud are generally
not over twenty feet high. The (lowers
aro very much like the lily-of-the-volley.
They are pale and very fragrant. The
nutmeg is the seed of tho fruit, maoo is
the thin covering over the seed. The
fruit is about os large as a peach.
When ripe it breaks open and shows a
little nut inside. Tlte trees grow ou tho
islands of Asia ami tropical America.
They boar fruit for seventy or eiglitv
years, having rijio fruit upon them ail
the seasons. A fiuo tree in Jamaica has
over 4,000 nutmegs ou it every year.
Tho Dutch used to have all this nutmeg
trade, os they owned the Banda Islands
and conquered oil the other traders and
destroyed tho trees. To keep the price
ti j> they once burned three piles of nut
megs, each of which was as big ns a
church. Nature did not sympathise
with such meanness. The nutmegs
pigeon, found iu all the Indian Islands,
did for the world what the Hutch deter
mined should not be done-—carried those
nuts, which are their food, iuto all the
surrounding countries, and trees grew
again, and the world had the benefit.—
Leslie.
Huge Joke.
They were talking of the innumerabh
caravan of colored men, now passing tc
the tomb, who hud once been coaclunet
to the Father of his Country. Brown sate
they were one and all impostors. “Yoi
wrong them,” said Fogg. “ Why, I ear
show you a man, a friend of mine, whe
has seen Washington.” “Nonsense!’
exclaimed Brown. " I’ll bet you some
thing on that." “AVtiat shall it be?’
asked Fogg. “A dinner for throe.’ 1
“Done.” Fogg retired, returning s
moment later with a youngish-looking
fellow. "Here he is,” said Fogg.
“ What!" cried Brown, “do you mean
to say you have seen Washington?''
“ Oh, yes," was the quiet reply ; “lived
there tw;o winters.” Brown paid for th<
dinners without a whimper.— Boston
Transcript,
Some Bolling Stones.
Some rolling stones do gather moss.
James Harris tried his hand at many
things in various parts and one day took
it in his head to plant a few oraiwte trees
at Ocala, Florida. He now owns 75,000
of the trees and has an annual income
from them of 8130,000.
Henry Meyers worked hard for many
years at Bodio, California, but gathered
no moss to speak of. In 1880 he cut his
tether and began to roam around the
rookies. He tried farming in Idaho last
summer, but gave that business up in
disgust. On Wednesday, two weeks
ago, lie struck a quartz lodge of free
gold in Shasta County, California, aud
now is rich.
Charles NewaH’s mind always ran upon
farming, but neither on the Atlantic
coast nor in the Mississippi Valley could
lie do anything for himself. After rolling
around the country for several years he
struck out for the Pacific coast. His ad
ventures were numerous. In 1871 he
reached the Pleasant Valley, Washington
Territory, with fifteen horses and eight
dollars in money. His ranch of 7,000
fertile acres now brings him in the gold
by the handful.
“Sailor Jack” Flood started out in
his youth with the purpose of making
a great deal of money. In spite of the
adage often repeated by his mother, to
wit : “A rolling stone gathers no moss,”
Flood roamed over sea and land for
many years, now on this continent and
then on the other, or eating salt grub in
the forcastle of a ship. A month or so
ago Flood “ struck it rich ” near Colma,
California, aud now owns “The Sailor
Jack,” a quartz lode of alleged rich
ness.
Josiali T. Walls,colored, tried farming,
fishing and politics. His only success
was during tho reconstruction period,
when he secured a seat in Congress.
When the Democrats regained the as
cendancy in tho Month, Walls sought in
various ways to make a living. A few
years ago he struck the cucumber idea
and began to raise that vegetable in
Alachua County, Florida. Now ho is
well-to-do, shipping 400 crates of cucum
bers *nd tomatoes a day during the early
summer.
Only llie General Manager.
At a station on one of the railroads
leading out of Detroit the train had ar
rived and departed, the other day, when
the station agent, who had been in the
place about three weeks, and was looking
for a call every hour to come to Detroit
and take charge of the line, was ap
proached by a quick, well-dressed man,
smoking a cigar, who asked :
“ Keep you pretty busy here? ’
“Yum,” was tho jerky reply.
“Business on the increase?”
“Yum,” again.
“Do you run this station ?” asked the
quiet man, after a turn on tho platform.
“Nobody else runs it!’’ growled the
agent. “Have you got a patent car
coupler ?”
“Oh, no.”
“I was going to tell you to goto
thunder with it if you had. Want special
freight rates, I suppose ?”
“ No, sir.”
“1 don’t give any passes.”
“ I don’t want any.”
“ Waiting for the next train ?”
“ Not particularly.”
“ Want to charter a car ?”
"No.”
The agent left him on tho platform,
and entered his office and busied himself
for half an hour, when the quiet man
looked in on him and asked :
“What’s the salary of a position like
this ?”
“ That’s my business,” was the prompt
reply.
“What’s the income from this sta
tion ?”
“Ask the baggageman.”
“ Your name is , isn’t it?”
“Suppose it is ?”
“Oh, nothing much—only I’m the
General Manager of tho line, niul I’d
like to exchange cards with you!”—
Detroit Free Press.
How Light Affects the Blind.
An interesting account has been lately
furnished by M. Plateau, the emiuent
Belgian physicist (who has been blind
nearly forty years), of tho sensations he
experiences in his eyes. He has no
sense of objective light even when turn
ing his eyes to the sun. But liis visual
field is always divided into spaces, some
of which aro pretty bright and others
somber or nearly dark, and which merge
into each other. Their general tint al
ternates, iu time, between gray and red
dish. The relntivearrangementof those
different spaces is always the same, but
the intensity of their tints varies. The
central space seems now rather bright,
now very dark; above and below, and ou
the left to the limits of tho field, there is
sometimes brightness, sometimes dnrk
dess, but ou the right there is generally
a vertical band, nearly black, and beyond
this a space which is nearly always
bright and reddish. These appearances
follow all the movements of the eyes,
which probably do not participate in
the same way in the tints, but M, Pla
teau can not distinguish what belongs
to one from what belongs to tlio other.
No connection of general tint with the
work of digestion is observed. The
author states that lie became blind from
lookiug fixedly at the sun for some time,
witli a view to observing his after sen
sations. It was not till about fourtoeu
years after this that inflammation of tlio
choroid set in, destroying vision; but
duriug tlie interval, he often saw colored
and persistent halos, round flames, etc.,
and he advises those who have such
vision to consult an experienced oculist
Graves of Poets.
Emerson's grave is in the little rural,
hillside cemetery of Concord. It is hid
den from the village by an nuglc of the
road. Its pine-fringed hills hold their
own Btvret. In winter the snow covers
it over iu uudisturlH'd whiteness. From
the crest of tho hill you look down into
“ Sleepy Hollow," a wild, desolate aw
phitheator, surrounded by hilla, and
whose bottom is overgrown with high
bushes that summer covered tlie great
moss-growu logs that lie there. The
crest of these hills were favorite walks of
Emerson, of Hawthorne, of Margaret
Fuller. It was here that Hawthorne
fouud Margaret sitting one summer
afternoon, with a book, “with some
strange title,” in her hand, and Emerson
chanced to come by and they talked of
poetry and philosophy and religion.
All these memories and more cling to the
spot like mosses to the old manse. It is
here they real. Emerson, Hawthorne,
and Thorean. The grave of Hawthorne
is marked only a low, white stone with
the one word, “Hawthorne,” on it The
lot is surrounded by a low hedge of
arborvitsp.
The duty of being cheerfut, says a
coutoini>orary, is one which is at all
times binding upon us. We have no
right to be morose or suller, or accus
tom ourselves to look on the dark side
of things. No sense of the solemnity
and importance of life can excuse ns for
giving way to a sour and unhappy tem
per
Military Fpisodc.
This story is found in the memoirs of
a Prussian officer of distinction. He
was at the time on the staff of General
Winterfield, one of the most skillful and
competent captains of his day, aud Win
terfiuld was tha general in command at
the time spoken of.
Two soldiers had been condemned to
death. In a drunken condition at night
they had assaulted an officer of the line,
and one of them had drawn a knife upon
him, but ho could not positively say
which of the twain held it. And the
men themselves did not know. N '(her
of them remembered anything about it.
So both of them were condemned to be
shot.
They were both excellent soldiers, and
only one of them had been guilty of using
a weapon.
The officers of tho division, including
him who had been assaulted, asked tint
the men might be pardoned. At length
Winterfield said he would pardon one of
them. Only one had held a knife, and
only that one ought to die. He would
pardon one, an 1 the men must tlmm
soives decide which of them should be
shot.
How should the decision be made?
“Let us shake the dice,” said one of
the condemned.
And the other agreed to it. And anon
it was agreed to by all interested. The
two men took their places by the side of
a big drum aud were to throw the dice
upon its head. Two dice wore given
them and a proper box for shaking.
The first man threw two sixes. He
groaned in agony. He felt that lie had
consigned his comrade to death.
But when the second man came to
throw lie also threw two sixes. “Won
derful !” cried the lookers-on. They
were ordered to shake and throw again.
This time the second man threw first
—two aces. “Ho! flood! You will live,
Peter.” But when Peter came to throw,
the dice presented those same two aces.
Aud now the beholders were wonder
stricken, indeed.
Another throw was ordered, and Peter
threw a five and a deuce. The other
threw—five—douce. After the excite
ment had again subsided the men shook
once more. The first threw two fours.
“Oh ! now throw lives aud save your
self, Peter.” Pet:r threw—two fours.
At this point the colonel ordered them
to stop. He went and reported tho mar
velous result to Winterfield. He said:
“Clearly, General, Providence will have
those two men to lie saved."
And saved they were. The general
cured not to oppose the wonderful fate
of the dice, it did seem providential,
and so lie accepted it.
And the redeemed soldiers lived to
prove that the saving fate had given back
to Prussia two of tho very best and
bravest of her sons.
How lie Fought iiis Duel.
One Sunday, at Montgomery, we were
talking about duels, and wheu the names
of several parties who had gone out hi
jiast years to satisfy their honor were
mentioned, the Judge knocked the ashes
off his cigar and said :
“Gentlemen, it may be mentioned
right here that I have been there my
self.”
“ Were you challenged?”
“I was. It was over in South Caro
lina, ami I called a man a liar. He sent
mo a challenge, and I selected swords us
the weapons. We met at 7 o’clock the
next morning. It was just such a morn
ing us this—bright, beautiful, and full
of life.”
f ‘And how did you feel ?”
“Very queer. I shall never forget
my sensations as I saw my rival, and ho
seemed to be as visibly affected. Wo
couldn’t either one of us say a word.”
“Was it iu a grove ?”
“ Oh, no; it wns at the depot.”
“The depot! Why, you did not
fight at the depot did you ?”
“Well, no. The morning express
trains passed there at 7, and he took one
aud I the other.” —Detroit Free Press.
Affection in the Itoyai Household.
When the Princess Louisa returned to
Canada and her husband, after an ab
sence of a year or two, the meeting be
tween her and her husband was affecting.
She permitted Lome to kiss her hand.
Well, if ho is that kind of a fellow, who
can be separated from tlio one lie loves
for so long a time aud then be stood off
witli simply kissing her hand, that is all
we want to know of him. He can’t slide
on our cellar door. The idea of kissing
her baud 1 What kind of an ice cream
freezer can he be, anil what sort of a
refrigerator is the Princess, for heaven’s
sake. Ii he was one of our Wisconsin
fellows, and slie another, he would have
rushed up to her and put both arms
around her and squeezed her until there
would not have been a whole bone in
her corset, and he would have taken one
look at her blue eyes and seen them
twinkle a couple of twiuks, and then he
would have fouud where she kept her
mouth, without the aid of a grand
chamberlain, or anybody, and he would
have kissed her right before the whole
of Canada, n that steamboat, until she
would have forgotten whether she was
in Quebec or heaven, aud he would have
hung 'on until the Princess would swal
lowed her chewing gum and made up her
mind she would never leave him again
the longest day she lived. — Peck's Sun.
Doctors’ Fees in Europe,
Perhaps in the matter of doctors’ fees
it might lie as well to glance at France
and Germany. Iu both these countries
there is a regular tariff for the visits of
medical practitioners, often, nav, gen
erally, exceeded by rich patients, but
affording n guarantee against excessive
charge for the poorer. It is also a satis
faction t> the public mind generally
to know exactly what they will have to
pay when calling a doctor. Permit me
further tc draw attention to a point of
medical etiquette iu North Germany.
Except in cases of severe illness, when
daily nftendance is absolutely neces
sary, a doctor never repeats' a visit.
He must bo requested to do so. This
custom has its advantages, as it will
often hippeu in cases of slight illness
that a angle visit suffices. If medical
fees arc too high with ns, they are too
low in Germany aud France (two marks
and two francs a visit), excepting, of
course, in the fashionable watering
places, whither none but rich folks must
betake themselves.
Makes His Own Legs.
Hid you ever notice a man who comes
to Hartwell, Ga., with a one-ox wagon
laden with big yarn potatoes aud other
things to sell? :>id you ever notice liis
wo*den leg ? He plows that ox and
makes a good liriug on poor land. He
went to the war a jKior bov and did bis
duty faithfully. He was elected County
Treasurer at tlic last election aud made
a good officer. He is a quiet, modest
gentleman. This nan is called “ Rough ”
ltrowu, anil from the looks of liis leg he
don't care a eoutinentai for his rough
appearance. AA eu his leg wears out lie
goes to the wood-pile with his ax and
choj? out aqolktf,— MdrtwcU Sun.
Devices for the Deaf.
In a store window in Broadway, where
i dazzling collection of spectacles, a va
ri.-ty of ear trumpets and several dozen
ipera glasses are displayed, a number of
•rdiuarv-lookiug canes aud a common
place-looking umbrella stand in the cor
a r. A placard affixed to one of the
canes designates it as an acoustic cane.
Another placard on the umbrella conveys
the information that with the assistance
of the acoustic umbrella a deaf person
can hoar conversation, when the person
speaking is at a distance. A second in
spection of the canes, after reading the
placards, discloses the fact that they
consist of bamboo sticks with a varnished
black metal top aud a .very small hori
zontal piece for a handle.
A salesman in the store exhibited a
cane to a Tribune reporter, and, twisting
it in his hand, disclosed a row of holes
encircling the black metal. Placing the
small horizontal piece in his ear, in the
easy arid natural way that some men put
the handle of a cane in the mouth, he
assured the reporter that his voice was
so loud that he could scarcely endure
it. He then showed a small aperture
through the horizontal handle. This
connected with an ear-trumpet ingeni
ously arranged in the top piece of the
cane. The reporter then held the han
dle of the cane to his ear. It sounded
as a seasliell would. When the salesman
spoke his voice was increased several
times in volume. The chief value of the
invention lies in the fact that the cane
or umbrella may be used without be
traying the fact of the owner’s deafness.
“It is wonderful,” continued the
clerk, “ how much people dislike to ad
mit that tiieir hearing is defective. They
conn- in and ask to look at ear-trumpets
f< >.r friends. We know that they want
them for themselves. People who are
hard of hearing are just as numerous as
persons who are near-sighted. If the
wish to ignore deafness was not so pro
nounced, ear-trumpets would be as com
mon as spectacles.”
“We have sold thousands of these,”
continued the store-keeper, showing a
miniature silver ear-trumpet, calculated
to fit inside the ear. “They are pop
ular, because they can be used without
exciting remark.”
Another miniature ear-trumpet was
shown, made from two metals, the union
of which produced electricity, intended
to have a vivifying influence on dead or
dying nerves. These appliances for the
relief of deafness are all costly. The
canes are $25 apiece, and the miniature
car-trumpets §8 a pair.— N. Y. Tribune-
Going to Bed in Japan,
Going to bed in Japan is rather an in
definite expression for any one accus
tomed to slefrp between sheets and
blankets and on snowy pillows. In fact,
you do not “go ” to lied at all, but the
bed, such as it is, simply “comes” to
yon; and the style of preparing for the
night is about the same wherever you
go. Fust, a cotton stuffed mat is laid
anywhere upon the floor, and a block or
roll is placed at one end to rest (?) your
head upon. Then you lie down, and a
cotton stuffed quilt is thrown over yon.
This quilt is like a Jap dress on a big
scale, with large and heavily stuffed
sleeves, which flap over like wings,
But the difficulty is that these capacious
sleeves, with all the rest of the bedding,
contain unnumbered legions of voracious
fleas bid away in recesses known only to
themselves, but which only wait till you
get fairly nestled in sleep, when they
begin their onslaught on their dofouse
loss and helpless victims. Awakened by
the merciless havoc they are making
upon you, it is in vain that you roll and
toss and shake your clothes tiU you are
wearied out. That only increases the
vigor with which they renew the battle,
and you may spend hours in the fidnt
glare of the primitive oil lantern, which
is set in one comer of the room, and
strive to rid yourself of the tiny tigers
that are devouring you; it is all to no
purpose, and you sink down at last
asleep. But you are soon awakened
again, only to undergo the same tribula
tion, and the hours of the night pass
away as you pace up and down the nar
row limits of the room listening to the
snoring of the dozen or more of the
tough hided sleepers who surround you,
and peep through the sliding shutters of
the house to see if the day is breaking or
not. Y’ou cannot’ lie down again—for
the floor is crawling with the creatures
you dread—and you cannot sit down,
(for there is nothing to sit upon,) and
such a thing as a chair was never heard
of in that region.
A Horse that Chews Tobacco.
There is a gray horse, worked by the
St. Louis Transfer Company in one of
the large omnibus teams, which is a
habitual tobacco cliewer. The animal
is really passionately fond of the weed,
and seems delighted when offered a piece
of tobacco. The fact lias become known
.it nearly all of tlie hotels, and the equine
with such habits is the recipient of a
great deal of attention by human being
addicted to the same habit. The driver
of the ’bus says it costs him at least fifty
cents a month to keep the horse sup
plied, notwithstanding the fact that the
friends of the beast treat him so often.
Tho only drawback in the way of the
horse’s becoming an expert iu chewing
the weed is that he cannot learn to ex
pectorate. As soon ns that accomplish
ment is acquired the driver expects to
purchase a decorated cuspndor, which is
to be placed in the gray nag's stall.—
St. Louis liepublican.
l)r. Sehlieniaun’s Mansion at Athens.
Hr. Schliomann lives in princely style
in Athens, in an imposing marble palace,
which bears on its front, above the door,
the inscription in letters of gold, “ Hall
of Ilium.” Here, every other Thursday
evening during the winter, he entertains
a hundred or more professors, journal
ists and statesmen. The. spacious par
lors afford room for more tnan 300 guests.
All the decorations of the house com
memorate Hr. Sehliemann’s great re
searches. The floors are paved with
Italian Mosaics, the walla covered with
Pompeian frescoes and patterns of ob
jects found at Troy and Mveente, and
Homeric mottoes and inscriptions
abound. At the table classic Greek
alone is spoken, and even the servants
hnvo classic names ; the gardeuer is
Priam, the porter Bellerophou, aud the
'two nurses Hecuba and Polyxena,
How to Be Nobody.
It is easy to lie nobody, and we will
toll you how to do it. Go to the drink
ing saloon to spend your leisure time.
Yon need not drink much now— just a
little beer or some other drink. Iu the
moautime, play dominoes, or something
else to kill time, so that you will lie sure
not to read any useful books. If you
read anything, let it lie the cheap novels
of the day ; thus go on keeping your
stomach full, and vour head emptv, and
yourself playing tune-killing gomes, and
in a few years yon will be nobody, un
less you should turn out a drunkard, or
a professional gambler, either of which
is worse than noluxlv. There are any
number of young men hanging around
bar-parlors, just ready to graduate aud
be nobodies.
The Blue Sky.
Professor Brucke has constructed an
artificial blue sky by dropping a spiritu
ous solution of rosin into water until the
liquid becomes turbid and milky. When
a blackboard is placed behind the glass
containing this turbid solution, and the
light is allowed to fall upon the liquid
obliquely from above, it assumes the
aspect of a clear blue sky. Professor
Helmholtz very UDpoetically, and almost
irreverently, speaks of a blue sky as
simply an eye with turbid humors.
Professor Tyndall has followed up this
interesting branch of investigation by
showing that an artificial blue sky can
also be produced by throwing a strong
beam of electric light upon certain kinds
or gas contained in long glass tubes.
The effect he conceives to be in some
measure dependent upon decomposition
of the gas through the agency of the
light. One portion of the gas is sud
denly precipitated in the form of a deli
cate cloud, capable of catching aud
turning back the blue vibrations. In
some modifications of the experiments
the attenuated vapor makes its first ap
pearance in an exquisitely delicate form.
The light reflected from these artificially
constructed blue clouds is always polar
ized where it is thrown off at au angle of
90° from the course by which it has
fallen upon the reflecting particles. The
most perfect piolarization always occurs
in the direction that is perpendicular to
the path of the illuminating beam. The
effect gradually grows weaker, and ulti
mately fades away, as this perpendicu
larity is departed from. The polariza
tion of the sky is most distinctly devel
oped in one particular track of the vault,
aud fades gradually away as the neigh
boring regions are brought successfully
under examination.
Guileless Innocence and Jack Pots.
There was a party of Milwaukeeans
out in lowa shooting chickens, and they
made their headquarters at a little lowa
town, where their special oar was side
tracked, and where the visitors became
great favorites for their generosity and
good nature. Their evenings were
largely spent in the perusal of the re
vised edition of Hoyle, and they had
many a discussion over that chapter of
the book of Poker, which in the re
vision makes a straight flush an inspira
tion which knocks the everlasting spots
out of a full hand. There was a very
deserving, pious old lady living in the
town who was poor, and tc make up a
purse for her the boys decided that
every time they achieved a jack pot the
winner should chip in a quarter for the
old lady. During the week the jack-pot
fund acquired great proportions, and
when they came to leave a pious young
man of the party was detailed to deliver
the money to the good old lady, which
he did. He left her the money with no
explanation except a card, on winch
was written the legend, “ From Jack
Pot.” The good old soul took the money
with many thanks, and asked the young
man if his name was Mr. Pott; He said
that it was not his name, and on being
pressed to tell something Of the good
Mr. Pott, he said it was tne earnest
desire of the donor to remain incog.,
and, pressing the old lady’s wrinkled
hand, he went away with a tear in his
sunburnt eye and another coursing down
the side of his nose where the skin had
peeled off, and left the old lady shower
ing Heaven’s choicest blessings down
on the head of the good and pious Mr.
J. Pot. She insisted to the citizens
there that Mr. Pot must be a banker,
or a wheat dealer, or a railroad man,
and claims that if she does not meet her
benefactor on earth she is sure she shall
meet him in heaven. —Milwaukee Sun.
Meteoric Stones.
The meteorites in the British Museum
are arranged thus: 1, aerolites, which are
rocky masses composed principally of
silicates with isolated particles of nick
eliferous iron and troilite interspersed ;
2, aerosiderites or siderites, masses ol
native iron containing phosphides oi
nickel and iron, troilite and occasionally
carbon ; siderolites, which partake of the
character of both aerolites and siderites,
being porous or spongy masses of nick
eliferous iron with silicates in the cavi
ties. Of these three classes the
first is the commonest, the number of
specimens possessed by the museum be
ing 211, the largest of which weighs 134
pounds. Of siderites there are 114 spec
imens in the collection, the largest
weighing over three aud a half tons ; and
of siderolites there are twelve specimens,
the weight of the largest being nearly
sixteen pounds. In 1664, Paolo Maria
Terzago, an Italian physicist, surmised
that aerolites might be of selenic origin.
Olbers, in 1795, without any knowledge
of this conjecture, investigated the
amount of the initial tangential force
that would be requisite to bring to the
earth masses projected from the moon.
Laplace, Biot, Brandes and Poisson also
took up the problem. Olbers, Brandes
and Chladni decided against the view of
a selenic origin ; but Laplace seems to
have inclined somewhat to that hypoth
esis. It was then believed that active
volcanoes existed in the moon ; but that
idea has been abandoned and the lunar
aerolites with it. At the present time a
number of eminent men who have stud
ied the subject of meteorites, think that
they must have been ejected from volca
noes ou some celestial body, probaby
the earth at a remote period of its phys
ical history, This may be the true the
ory, but facts are wanted to confirm it,
and until those are discovered it is not
safe to pass judgment.— Tinsleys.
Spider nsnermen oi Maryland waters.
One of the most interesting sights we
saw on the whole trip was the seines and
the manner of catching fish on the Wi
comico. With us the fishermen always
procure a couple of poles anil tie one to
each end of their nets and stick them in
the desired place in the evening and let
them remain till the next morning. But
on the Wicomico they use no poles, but let
their nets drift with the current. Each
seine is watched by a man, who looks so
lnzy and careless that one would think it
makes him miserable to move, but all
the while he keeps his eyes on the seine
corks or floats, and when* the motion and
disturbance of these indicate the pres
ence of a shad he becomes all life and
activity in a moment and seldom misses
his fish. The whole method of these fish
ermen with their seines puts one to com
paring them to a large spider watching
iiis web, the actions of which they are
certainly not unlike. —Cambridge Neu's.
A Useful Invention.
A priest of Ravenna, named Ravag
ling, has constructed an electrical appa
ratus which can be set in operation by
simply pressing a button, aud by which
the doors of a large building can be in
stantaneously opened. The apparatus
was tried at the Alighieri Theater, in
Ravenna, with the most satisfactory
result. All the nine doors opened sim
ultaneously, as if through some spiritual
agency. The inventor hopes to improve
his apparatus, so that should a fire break
out on tho stage of a theatre, the rise in
temperature would itself set the machin
ery m motion.
Nineteen Reason.
A great many people cannot under
stand why the female portion of the
community prefer sober men. The mat
ter is simple enough : •
I. Wives like sober husbands because
they can reason with a sober man.
•2. The sober man is more companiona
ble.
3. Sober men have pride, and pride is
a woman’s main hold.
4. Sobriety means a comfortable
home.
5. Good clothes for mother and child
ren.
6. A house of your own,
7. Evenings at home instead of in a
bar-room.
8. Better health and the enjoyment of
life.
9. An elevated view of life and a sense
of your responsibility.
10. You are a credit to your wife and
children.
11. People who once despised you wifi
dow bless you.
12. Your word will be gauged as you
resist the tempter.
13. Young men will pattern after you.
14. You will be an ornament to so
ciety and the whole town in which you
live.
15. The _whole community will take
pride in you and wish they had more
like you.
16. Your family and friends will appro
date you.
17. Your enemies will admire your
path of sobriety.
18. Scoffers will be disarmed by your
works.
19. Your many qualities will grow
with your years.
The Australian Farmer’s Pest.
Although the farmers of America have
their troubles from drouth, rain, cut
worms, grasshoppers and chinch-bugs,
yet they are exempt from some of the
torments which harass the Australian
agriculturist. The rabbits devour much
of his crops and his grass ; but his worst
foe is the kangaroo, which multiplies
with wonderful fecundity and devours
every green thing. It costs the farmers
SSOO a mile in fencing to keep their sheep
and cattle runs from these animals. A
small run requires fifty miles of this
fencing and a large one three or four
times that amount. Even when the
fencing is up it is hard to keep the
beasts out. They run along by the side
of it until they find a weak spot and
push through. Once inside, they will
do an incalculable amount of damage,
cleaning whole acres of everything on
the land. The rapid increase of the ani
mal is attributed to the killing of the
dingo, or native dog, which the settlers
are obliged to poison because it kills
sheep as well as kangaroos. Kangaroo
hunting, therefore, is a business rather
than a sport, and the slaughter is terri
ble, often resulting in the destruction of
1,800 kangaroos per week. But still
another enemy is the parrot. The par
rot of Australia has quit a vegetable
diet and taken to meat. They are de
stroying the sheep in enormous quan
tities, and when the farmer is not shoot
ing kangaroos he is killing parrots.
Where he gets time to do any farming is
a mystery,
An Item for Young Girls.
There is a multitude of young girls
in the country and small towns who ara
anxious to enter what, they ‘think, tho
paiadice of New York life, aud suppose
they will be ull right if they can manage
to secure a place there as copyist or
book-keeper. To such, Shirley Hare ad
dresses these wise words: “Do they
know what copying and book-keeping
means in town? They fancy a book
keeper is a young person iu tasteful dress,
wearing lawn cuffs, and having early
hours with easy work on a salary of
perhaps S9OO or $1,500 a year. “The
average pay of good women book-keepers
in New York is $8 a week, aud not over
sl2 for the best, unless by favor, which
implies uo improvement to a girl’s repu
tation. A book-keeper can board for $4
a week, her washing cost 50 cents, anil
car fare from 50 to 70 cents more, and
she works in a dimly lighted office, with
gas burning half the time over her page,
till the bloom dies from her cheek anil
from her spirits. ”
Teaching Her Young to Sing.
A wren built her nest in a box on a
New Jersey farm. The occupants of the
farm-house saw the mother teach her
young to sing. She sat in front of them
and sang the whole song very distinctly.
One of the young attempted to imitate
her. After proceeding through a few
notes its voice broke and it lost the time.
The mother immediately recommenced
where the young one had failed, anil
went very distintly through the remain
der. The young bird made a second
attempt, commencing where it had
ceased before, and continuing the song
as long as it was able; and when the note
was again lost the mother began anew
where it stopped, and completed it.
Then the young one resumed the tune,
and finished it. This done, the mother
sang over the whole series of notes a
second time with great precision, anil a
second of the young attempted to follow
her. The wren pursued the same course
with this one as with the first; and so
with the third and fourth. This was
repeated (lay after day, until each of the
young birds became a perfeot songster.
Attention Young Men.
A Chicago paper sets out to show that
marriage is the best life insurance yet
organized. This on the authority of a
j physician who has employed his leisure
i hours compiling statistics and life tables
; bearing on celibacy and matrimony, and
the degree of longevity contingent
! thereupon. Striking an average, he
finds that the man who passes his life
from the age of twenty in the married
state is likely to live twice as long as if
he had lived in celibacy, and that while
married men reach an average of
sixty and seven-tenths years, bachelors
can safely count upon only forty and
kwo-tenths
A xoung man in a train was making
fun of a lady’s hat to an elderly gentle
man in the seat with him. “ Yes,” said
his seat-mate, “that’s my wife,'and I
told her if she wore that bonnet that
some fool would make fun of it.” The
young man slid out At the next station
the old man poured out his hot coffee
into the saucer to cool. “Look, ma.”
said a snickering girl, “at that oil
fashioned way of drinking.” “Yes,”
said the elderly gentleman, “and it was
old fashioned manners not to notice it.”
The elderly gentleman finished his jour
ney in
Sensible Decision at tbe Last Mo*
ment.
A clergyman, on asking the bride if
she would have this man, was startled at
her reply, “ No, sir. I was a little late
getting to the church; it wasn't mv
fault, but he said, ‘G—d d—n yon, if
this is the way yon begin, you’ll find it
to your cost when you’re my wife.’”
Under those circnstancea she concluded
she wouldn’t be his wife. Bhe repented
in haste, and will marry at leisure,