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The Recompense.
Sometimes I wonder it the man
Who wins renown on earth
Finds that the plaudits of the crowd
Are of exalted worth.
I wonder if, when in the tomb
His wasted clay is laid.
The labor and the loneliness
He knew have been repaid.
I wonder if the common man.
Who drifts along through life.
Content with love and, praises from
M His children and his wife,
Has not loss cause to murmur at
The firm decrees of fate
Than he that frets for future men
To find that he was great?
—Cleveland Leader.
A Scheme That Succeeded.
BY HARRY IRVING HORTON.
Yes, I’m engaged to Fred Warren.
When did I say “yes?” One night
last week.
How did that bashful fellow ever
get up course to propose? Sit down
and I’ll tell you the whole story.
You see, I had known for a long
time that Fred loved me. He had
never told me so iu words, but those
eloquent eyes of his had told me so
more than ouce. However, that
wasn’t enough. I couldn’t accept
him and name the day on the strength
of what his eyes said. So I decided
that in some way his lips must be un¬
sealed and his tongue made to coulirm
the language of his eyes. Do you
follow me?
How did I fix it! Well, I thought
and thought, and finally hit upon a
scheme. I loved Fred, uud, knowing
that he loved me, I felt that the end
justified the means.
Late one afternoon I received a note
from him saying that ho would call
that evening if I would be at home.
Hera was the opportunity that I had
been waiting for,and I assure you that
I improved it. I sent him word that
I would gladly see him. Then I rushed
over to May Barnard’s house. Find¬
ing her at home, I asked her to call
me up by telephone at half-past eight.
I told her ’that I wanted her to stick
to that old telephone uutil I had fin¬
ished talking. She wasn’t to say any¬
thing, but to just keep the line open
while I talked away. I said I would
explain later on, and back home I
went.
Evening came and with it, Fred —
the same old bashful Fred, yet loving,
lovable and loved. Promptly at eight-
thirty the telephone bell rang. You
know that our telephone is in the li¬
brary. I excused myself and an¬
swered the call, being careful to leave
open the door between the library and
the reception room, where I had left
Fred.
1 Shall I give yon the dialogue?
Well, it wasn’t a dialogue, for May
said nothing, but just held the
fort—I mean the ’phone—and
listened. Here is what I
said. Of oourse there were pauses at
frequent intervals, in order to give
the imaginary fellow at the other end
of the line a chance:
“Really, this is terribly sudden. I
have never dreamed that you had any¬
thing more than a friendly regard for
me.— But how can I marry you when
I don’t love you?—Learn to love you?
No, Ioouldn’t do that.—Do I care for
anybody else? You have no right to
ask that, and I refuse to answer.—No,
I will not marry you, and I don’t
mind telling you that I wouldn’t
marry any man that would propose to
a girl by telephone. Hie man who
wins me must have the courage to
looks me in the eye and tell me that he
loves mo and not get a half a mile
away and shout it through a tele¬
phone. It comes with a shock to hear
anybody say, ‘Hello! hello! Will
you marry me?’ Well, here is my
answer: ‘Hello! hello? ! No.’ Good
night, and better luck next time.”
Then, leaving the telephone, I re¬
turned to the reception-room, where I
found Fred with a look of determina¬
tion upon his faoe—a sort of do-or-die
expression,that I had never seen there
before. Of course, I assumed an air
of surprise at finding the door open.
I told Fred that May Barnard had
just called me up. That eased my
conscience a little,for it was true,but it
didn’t take half an eye to see that Fred
didu’t believe it, and that made me
happy for it told mo that he must
have heard the whole talk. I didn’t
have to wait long for further proof of
it, for Fred’s diffidence was all gone.
As I took a sent he seated himself be¬
side me, and in a manly way told me
that he loved me. I didn’t tell him,
as I told the telephone, that it was so
sudden. It wasn’t, yon know; I bad
been expecting it for years, I told
him that I would change my name to
Warren, so everything is at last set-
iled.
I haven’t told "May the good news yet,
for she has been out of town; but she
returned last night, and I shall thank
her this afternoon for her part iu the
programme. And that dear old tele¬
phone ought to be human, so that I
could kiss it.
Did I tell Fred that I had used
the telephone to bring him to terms?
No, I didn’t, but I shall after we are
married. I am not goiug to take any
more chances of losing him. I
rather surprised him the other day by
asking him if we couldn’t have a tele¬
phone in our new house. He
seemed puzzled at my request,
but said “yes.” How coukl he
say “no,” when it was the telephone
that gave him the needed courage?
And he has his own secret, or rather
he thinks he has, for he has never
told me what he heard or asked me
who the other fellow was, although I
know he is dying to know his name.
How will he take it when ho finds
out my trick? He will forgive me,
of course. You can’t get a divorce,
because you have no business to hear
—and, besides, Fred loves me.—
Godev’s Magazine.
In the Diamond Mines.
The first diamonds discovered in
Africa were found by a trader who
saw some children playing with what
they supposed were pebbles, one of
which, at least, proved to be a dia¬
mond worth $3,000. Even at that
early day the news of the discovery
was not long in spreading to different
countries, and not many years passed
before so many claims were taken up
that it was impossible to keep them
separate, and the result was one vast
mining district some 15,000 square
miles in area, controlled and worked
by various corporations and syndi¬
cates. Besides these there are a large
number of individual diggers.
The mining in the African fields is
done by thousands of wild-eyed,black-
skinned natives. The Kaffirs nre
large, powerful m m, cleanly in their
habits, and during the time for which
their labor is contracted, usually a
mouth, they are deprived of all free¬
dom. Communication with any one
outside the limits of the mine is for¬
bidden. They are compelled to live
within the walled iuclosure or com¬
pound owned by the company. While
iu their employ the Kaffirs are clothed
and fed by the company, and if sick
or injured they are cared for by and
at the expense of the corporation.
Every possible precaution is taken-
to prevent the native workmen from
stealing the gems. A wiie netting
covers the top of the compound,
making it impossible to throw a stone
over the walls, to be picked up by a
confederate or an illicit diamond buy¬
er. Every night at five o’clock,ns the
miners leave their work, each is
searched with great rigidity by the
company’s agent. So expert have the
natives become iu their robberies that,
every portion of tbeir body is care¬
fully examined with a “sounding ham¬
mer,” and by the light of a caudle the
sole of each foot is examined for the
tell-tale refraction of light which re¬
veals a diamond pushed under the
thick skin of the foot through an in
cision so deftly covered that it is eas¬
ily overlooked. But the searcher has*
become as great an adept in his work
as the robber in his robberies, until it
is almost impossible for the thief to
successfully secrete a stone, and the
prospects of severe punishment or of
several years’ imprisonment in a south
African dungeon has no doubt had its
influence in reducing the robberies to
a minimum.—The Cbautauquan.
Comfort Tor Her.
“Sometimes I think I shall never
marry,” said Miss Elder in a burst of
confidence.
“O, don’t despair,” replied Miss
Flip; “we read in the Bible that
Naomi was 580 yer~i old when she
married.”
It is claimed that during the Inst
twenty-five years but one person for
every 3,500,000 carried by the rail¬
roads of Denmark has been killed.
The Lovely Creek.
If the Grecian women were beauti¬
ful, it was not wonderful", considering
the care they gave themselves. The
fashionable Grecian woman was of
free customs, but she was not de¬
praved. She resembled a professional
beauty more than any other class of
modem women, but she was far su¬
perior in learning and accomplish¬
ments. She could be si politician stud
write eloquent speeches for the head
of the republic to deliver. She was
versed in sciences, and taught them iu
public, and she was also a poetess,
winning her,laurels over male compe¬
titors. Her toilet was not her only
and sole occupation, though it did
take a great part of the morning.
It begins by her slaves frictioning
her from head to foot, then placing
her in n bath of perfumed water, after
which she was ugain frictioned, this
time with ivory brushes, called
srigilles. This done, she is annotated
with perfumed oils and aromatic fu¬
migations, and then, being wrapped
iu n sheet, 6he is Inid on a couch,
where she partakes of refreshment be¬
fore the dressing process begins.
The htiir is first attended to. It is
brushed, combed and rubbed with
perfumes, then it is waved or curled
with hot irons previously to Vicing
dressed in the latest fashion. Gold
bands, jeweled pins, pearls and silken
nets are iu turn worn to complete the
headdress, which in itself is an artistic
study, as every statue of Venus tells
us. The hair being dressed, the eye¬
brows and eyelids nre touched with
incense, and the teeth are brushed
with perfumed powders. A perfumed
water is also kept for some time in the
mouth to perfume the breath.
The whole person is finally sponged
with nn astringent lotion to prevent
wrinkles; ami, finally, the face and
neck are gently touched with a white
wash. The hands and feet are also
scrupulously attended to. They are
rubbed with softening pastes, and the
hands are dyed pink, and polished un¬
til they shine like glass.—Philadel¬
phia Times.
The Useful Wasp.
By common agreement the wasp is
accepted as emblematical of irritabil¬
ity and petty malignity ; but even this
much-abused hymenopterous insect
plays a beneficial part iu the work of
nature.
A number of wasps wore seen by It.
M. * Barrington, Irish naturalist,
an
buzzing about his cows. Closer in¬
spection revealed that they were all
busy catching flies, and pouncing with
the rapidity of hawks after birds on
the flies as they tried to settle or rest
on some favorite part of the cow. One
white cow drew more wasps than any
of the others, because the moment a
fly alighted it was seen at ouce. against
the akin. When a wasp catches a fly
it immediately bites off both wings,
sometimes a log or two, uud occasion¬
ally the head.
Mr. Barrington saw some of the
wasps when laden with one fly catch
another, without letting go tho first,,
and then fly away with both. There
was a constant stream of wasps curry¬
ing away flies, probably to feed the
larvae in tbeir nests, returning agaiu
to the cows to catch more. In about
twenty minutes Mr. Barrington esti¬
mated that between 3 JO and 408 flies
were caught ou two caws lying close
to where he stood. Perlmpi this nar¬
rative of good deeds accomplished
will lead people to think more leni¬
ently of the vices of the wasp.—New
York JournuL
Infant Incubators.
The latest novelty in t.be Berlin Ex¬
hibition is the stall with Dr. Lion’s
baby incubators, which prove a greut
attraction not only t»tue medical pro¬
fession. but ulso to ladies. The babies
exhibited are between five and eight
months old. They would not be liv¬
ing if it were not for the invention.
They are fed on milk.—New York
Tribane.
The Poor Tramp’s Lament,
“This is a strange world,” said a
poor tramp, reluting his latest adven¬
ture. “I had not been able to get
anything to eat for two days. Finally,
in despair, I attempted to drown my¬
self in the Heine. A fisherman saved
me. He received twenty-five frnnes
reward for hia deed, and I—got noth¬
ing. ”— Paris Figaro.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
The earth derives ninety-nine per
Oent. of tts'energy from the sun.
Eves of nocturnal animals are larg¬
er and of much finer construction.
The sun’s surface is bo intensely
bright that an electric light held
against it would look black.
Tue differences b tween nocturnal
and diurnal animals are very interest¬
ing, especially us to coloring and the
eye.
Animals have—as concerns their re¬
lation to the light—been classed as
diurnal, nocturnal and crepuscttlaria
(hawkmotbs, living at twilight ).
The re-discovery of the companion
star to Sirius—the “dog star” is
reported from the observatory at
Flagstaff, Arizona. The star has boea
invisible since 1800.
Food is served in one of the London
restaurants on electrically heated
plates, so that the guests can eat leis¬
urely and still have the viands con¬
tinue warm uutil the close of the meal.
Paris policemen have been supplied
with electric dark lanterns, by means
of which they sec 150 feet away. They
were employed successfully in a re¬
cent raid in the Bois de Boulogne ou
tho homeless persons who slept there
at night.
Tho soldiers in the German array
are compelled to pay close attention
to hygienic principles. The effect is
seen in reduction of the death rate.
It used to l>e nine per thousand an¬
nually, now it is only five. That of
the English army is eight ; the French,
ten ; the Italian, eleven.
A late invention enables the motor-
man to turn a switch bysettiug a lover
on the cur, which places a hooked rod
in position to engage the end of a
lever attached to the switch, tho for¬
ward motion of tho car pulling the
lever forward and down so as to re¬
lease the hook at the proper place.
The Board of Health of New York
city issued a circular to physicians in¬
viting them to co-operate with the de¬
partment in conducting experiments
which will assist in diagnosing early
or obscure cases of typhoid fever un¬
der the new laboratory method of
mixing the blood of suspected patients
with active cultures of typhoid bac¬
illus.
The Child of a Viliagc.
All tho scenes and atmosphere of
one’s native village—if one is for¬
tunate enough to have been born in
such a locality—lie around the mem¬
ory like the horizon line,unreachable,
impassable. Even a so-called cosmo¬ |
politan child is above nil things to
be pitied. To l>e identified in early
memories with some limited uud there¬
fore characteristic region, that is hap¬
piness. No child is old enough to be
a citizen of the world. What deuu-
tiouulized Americans hasten to stamp
ns provincial is lor children,
at least, a saving grace. Yon
do not call a nest provincial.
All this is particularly true of those
marked out by teinperument for a
literary career. Literature needs for
its material only men, nature and
books; and of these, the first two are
everywhere and the last arc easily
transportable, since you can pile the
few supreme authors of the world in
a little corner of the smallest .og
cabin. The Cambridge of my boy¬
hood afforded me all that human heart
could ask for its cleimuitary training.
Those who doubt, it might, perchance
have been gainers if they had shared
it. “He despises me,” said Ben
Johnson, “becahse I live in an alley.
Tell him his soul lives iu an alley.”
—Atlantic Monthly.
Mahogany in Vogue.
Mahogany is un extremely popular
wood at present. Those who have an
heirloom in the way of furniture are
lueky. No matter how scratched and
scrubbed it may be, there is no diffi¬
culty about restoring it, and the glory
of possessing “solid mahogany” will,
thereafter, be that of the fortunate
OWU'X
A Prize,
Doctor—Just piece this thermom¬
eter under your tongue, Mrs. P. que,
and keep your lips closed tightly.
Mr. Henry Peque (after a few min¬
utes of speechless deljgh.)—What will
you take for that instrument, Doc? —
Puck.
• Life’s Answer. •
Birth ea:ne—I chose it not";
Heath comes—I wait its call
O Lite wluit hast thou got
To glorify thine all V
“Birth, Love and Death—
Ah me !—
And these are all!” Life saith.
From Birth to Death X fly —
From deep to darker deep;
O Life, hast naught that my
Vain soul may keep?
“Birth. Love an 1 Death—
r These three!—
And I am Love!” Life saith.
—Post Wheeler, in New York Press.
HUMOROUS.
Dorn—He kissed me twice before I
could stop him. Cora—Did you hear
some one coming?
Girls are more courageous than
men. They nre ready to make a
match with a fellow twice their size.
He—Is anything wanted to make
your happiness complete, my dear?
She—Yes; about fourteen yards of
silk at $(> a yard.
“Yon call this n round steak?”
asked Loatherby. “Yes, sir,” replied
tho waiter. “How many rounds does
it usually take to master it?”
“My friends wore right, about John,”
sighed tho young wife. “They said that
after 1 married him I should find him
out. So I do—out every night.”
Crawford—How is it that tho janitor
of a flat, is such an autocrat? Grim-
slmw—I suppose it’s because wherever
he go os ho generally gets in on the
ground floor.
Dobson—Did old Money Bags take
it good-naturedly when you asked him
for the hand of his daughter? Hol>-
sou—Good natnredly? Oh, yes; he
said Hu, h», ha!
Jubliu — Juggins called you a
monkey. How can you stand that?
Dilbey—What would yon advise me
to do about it? Jablin—Make him
prove it, of course.
Mrs. Crimsoubeak — That Miss
Striker, next door, makes no attempt
at concealing her dislike for us. Mr.
Critusonbeak—- What! has sbo been
playing tho piano again?
Mabel—Ho you’re going to towD to¬
morrow, and you’d like something to
remember me by? Whut would you
prefer? De Burry—That diamond
engagement ring I gave you six weeks
ago.
Playwriter— What do yon tbink
of my new work? Critique—Great
show, old follow. Funniest thing I
ever saw. Play writer—Good heavens,
man, it’s a tragedy! Critique—Yes;
I know it is.
Marie—I suppose that your friend,
the count, has become greatly attached
here in New York during his stay.
Niinmitis—No, he hasn’t been as yet,
although all In s trunks buvo, his land¬
lord tells me.”
Windsjdit Adolphus Wiery(nu ama¬
teur Thespian)—How did you like our
production of “Hamlet?” Young-
knocker (desiring to bo compliment*
ary)—Ha, ha, ha! Good! Immense!
Funniest tiling I ever saw !
Angry Wife— Seems to me we’ve
been married about a hundred years.
I can’t remember when or where we
first met. Husband (emphatically)—
1 cun. It whs ut a dinner party, and
there were thirteen at table.
“Why don’t you work for a living!”
a-ked the lady who answered the ring
ut the doorbell. “1 nsal to, but there
iu no business now,” answered the
trump. “What was your business?”
“ was a barber in football town.”
a
“Excuse nm, but it seems to me that
I must have met you before. Are you
not a brother or a near relative of
M jor Gibbs?” “No; I am Major
Gibbs himself.” “Aii, indeed; that
explains the remarkable resemblance.”
Young Mr. Fitts—What are you
smiling at, dear? Mrs. Fitts—I was
just thiukiug how you used to sit and
hold my hand for an hour at a time
before we were married. How silly
you were! Mr. Fitts—I wasn’t silly
atull. I held your hand to keep von
uwuy from the piano.
Deep Sea Fishing.
The uutnbcr of smacks employed in
deep sen fishing iu the North Sea is
over 5,000. They fan in fleets of 350
vessels. Over 20,000 men are em¬
ployed iu this fishery aloue, and they
remain at sea never leas than' two
months ut a time.