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TIMES-RECORDER SUPPLEMENT. PRAYER, WOKK AN I) PLAY THE ARDUCUS DAILY ROUTINE IN CATHOLIC COLLEGES. A Count* of Study mikI Tr»in2it* That Weeds Out from the Priesthood Many Men Who Are Not Posses-ted of an L'n* flawing Zeal—Plain Food and I’rayers. What kind of a life is it in our col leges? Well, I suppose it is much the same as the life in colleges which are not ecclesiastical. Of course, church students have many more prayers to say, and are expected to observe the rules with more fidelity than other students. They rise early—-ill foreign colleges at 5 in winter and 6 in summer—in most English colleges at 6 all the year round. Half an hour is allowed for dressing, after which all go down in silence to the church, where morning prayers are said, and a meditation is held for half an hour on some spiritual subject. Meditation is followed immediately by the celebra tion of mass, and altogether about an hour is spent every morning in spiritual exercises. Then follows study till break fast time, at 8. Breakfast consists of a bowl of coffee or tea. with bread :.nd butter at discre tion in the home colleges, while abroad one has a choice between coffee, milk and chocolate, but the bread must lx* eaten dry. It is wonderfql what a sub stantial meal can l>e made of coffee and dry bread when there is nothing else to be had. A few minutes for recreation are allowed after breakfast, then work goes on till dinner time, broken only by half an hour's recreation at 11 o'clock. PLAIN FAKKj Dinner, which is eaten at 1, is al ways a good, substantial meal, and ample justice is done to it after the rather thin breakfast. No study is al lowed during the hour and a half fol lowing dinner. All who are well enough must join in the public games, which for the most part are played with great spirit and keenly enjoyed. At 3 o'clock the studies commence again, and class and lecture or prepara tion for them, with half an hour's rest at 5, go on until 7 or half past, when thirty minutes are given to prayer and the reading of the life of some saint. After the prayers all go to the refectory for supper, which, like dinner, is eaten in silence, broken only by the voice of the reader, who reads aloud some bio graphical or historical work. After supper there is recreation, and at foreign colleges this is always the favorite hour of the day. And very pleasant it is to hear the fresh young voices and merry hearted laughter echo ing along the college cloisters. At 0 the big bell rings out again for the last time that day, and at its first peal the talk and laugh are hushed, the groups break up, all-professors and church students alike—make their way to the church for night prayers. Prayers over the points for the next morning’s meditations are read out, and after the singing of a hymn nil retire to u well earned rest, which in most cases is only too soon disturbed by the noisy clanging of the great bell in the early morning. TIIE WORK IS HARD. Of course, every day is not a study day. Sunday is always, more or less, a day of rest, and at least one afternoon every week is devoted to outdoor recre ation. Yet, in spite of occasional play days, LIFE IN GULF WEED. All *»rt» Curjmi* AnimwU Jourimy with III* tiiiir stream** Current. II is surprising what curious creatures live in gulf weed. Not the lejist extraor dinary of-these inhabitants of the float ing algae which are borne on the current of the gulf stream is a little fish that make* its nest iu the weeds. For its own protection from enemies, it is made so like the weeds themselves, being or ange colored with white spots, that one cannot detect the scaly animal without actually taking a handful of the vege table stuff in which it seeks shelter and scrutinizing it. The fhdi builds its uest by binding together bunches of the gulf weed with long, sticky gelatinous strings. Its eggs are laid in a cavity. Its very tins are finger shaped, counterfeiting the form of the weed fronds. They are more like hands than fins, and are actually em ployed for walking through the seaweed, rather than for swimming. The fish utilizes them also in putting together its CHASED HY MAD DOGS. HAIRBREADTH MAN AND ESCAPE OF A CLUB HIS BEST GIRL. A Yarn Whirl* Go*** to I'rove That llark- I ii IS Dog* l>*» Hits Kutm*tlut««—Still So mu *MVtf|fi» Hriit** Don’t Wailo Much Tim*- in Harking Wliru Out for lilootl. No one had spoken at the club for about an hour when a raconteur rose to the occasion, haying aside his pipe with a look of regret be ltegau: “It's a popular saying that barking dogs don't bite. Like other popular say ings this is a fallacy and misleading. Barking dogs do not bite while they are barking, but there is only one species of canine that sneaks up to you and takes hold without saying a word. That is the Scotch collie, which inherits its lmbit of silent biting from a sheep nipping an cestry. ” ‘Story! story!” called out the prea- nests. The great gulf current, in its course 1 ident. northward along the Atlantic coast and “Story? ‘(iod bless you! I have none around the great circuit that forms with j to tell, sir,"’ quoted the raconteur, re- its eddy the famous Sargasso sea of marine grasses, carries aloug with it an •ndless stream of life in connection with the gulf weed which floats upon it in “windrows.” The. weeds, of varied kiuds, bring with them from the tropics creatures multifarious, conveyed by the mighty liver of warm water through the midst ol* the colder ocean. Most of them die when the cooler latitudes are reached, and thus it hap{»ens that the larvae of many forms are found on the shores of Nantucket and elsewhere in places to which the adult animals are unknown. They never live to grow up. The floating gulf weed is literally crowded with life. One cannot pick up a piece that does not carry many shrimps or prawns of different kinds as passen gers. There are crabs, too, small and bigger, which mostly imitate the grasses iu their coloring. Of smaller Crustacea there are numerous sjiecies. such as the so called “sea fleas” and barnacles. Barnacles are Crustacea which have un dergone a “retrograde metamorphosis,” is it is termed, having been free swim mers in the early stage of their existence. They, too, take passage on the seaweed rafts and voyage to the land of nowhere, seeking their fortune. In the gulf weed also is an influite number of inollusks, some with shells and others without any. Among the latter are the “sea slugs,” resembling the garde u slugs, devourers of plants, which are true niollusks also. Another tuollusk often picked up among the gulf weeds is the iM-autiful argonaut, a cephulopod, celebrated in mythic story. It is only the female argonaut that is interesting. The male has no shell, and is very small comparatively. There are lots of curious marine worms among the gulf weed, such as tlie “sea centipedes,” abundant in the West Indies, which have long detach able bristles that sting tlie hand like nettles when the animal is incautiously grasped. These worms hide in crevices of floating driftwood. The latter floats until dest royed by the boring of the ship worms that attack it, meanwhile afford ing a lodgment for barnacles aud little Crustacea. Small fishes follow the pieces of driftwood as they are carried along by the current, feediug ii|k>h both crnstace;* ami barnacles, while many seabirds skim about depending for their meals u|hhi the same small animals. as they are call.*!, and tlie holidays twice , T | wre j, „ of cra yflHli. too. f. mud a year, the life is hard enough. It must , j„ f; K . we,..! that makes a curious cliek- necessonly so on for some dozen years I a , lisH with itl) c | aWl)> before tliu student is called up for ordi nation. The life of H Catholic priest is indeed one to which many are called, hut few are chosen. A great uuiiilier of those who go to college, at tile age of fourteen or fifteen, with the intention of becoming priests, do not reach the goal of ordination. In some cases health breaks down, many grow weury of the routine and strict discipline of the life, others dis cover that they have no calling for the ecclesiastical state, and go out into tlie world to begin life nfresh. So, from one canse or another, tlie student finds that by tlie time he is ready for ordi nation he has lost the company of many who stood by liis side when lie entered college. Of six who went to college some seventeen years ago with tlie present writer, one is dead, one is practicing ns a doctor in the United .States, a third is manager of a bank in tlie north of Eng- land, another is serving as a mounted policeman in South Africa, and only two are priests.—A Catholic Priest in Lon don Tit-Bits. No Animal* III tl»* Dry 1’Mrti of Chvpi. No animals whatever are found iu tlie dry parts of caves. Dampness, or a cer tain degree of moisture, seems to be es sential to their existence. Under the stones one finds white, eyeless worms, and in the damp soil around nlwnt are to be discovered blind beetles in little holes which they excavate and bugs of tho thousand-leg sort. These thousand-leg bugs, which ; n the upper world devour fragments of dead leaves and other veg etable debris, sustain life in tin* caverns by feeding upon decayed wood, fungus growths and bats’ dung. Kneeling in a beaten path one can see numbers of them gathered about hardened drips of tallow from tourists' candles. There are plenty of crickets also.—Washington Star. Queer Religious Sect, in ltil..ls, M. Tsakni, a Russian writer, ha* pub lished tin interesting work upon the curi ous religions sects of Russia, from which it appatis that there are not less than 3.",COO,000 followers of insane and cranky notions in that empire. These com munities of devout and deluded Chris tians are constantly springing up in spite of all the efforts of Russian despots to keep th;m down.—St. Louis Republic. The Ur lent Side. Yourgbusband—You've made a fool of me. ' Mrs. Youngbushaitd—That will be handy for yon now, my dear. Yon can doaiJljr things to keep tlie baby amused. —New York Epoch. Wliat most people call the “fruit" or "seed pods" of the gulf weed are simply little air vessels designed for thepur]sise of keeping these interesting vegetables afloat. .Microscopic creatures called "brivzoa" weave around the air chum- liors a delicate lacework, which often remains in alm|ie after tlie vegetable matter lias decayed away ami disap peared, thus forming exquisite filamen tous capsules. However, these are only a few of tlie passengers that jonrney by the path of tlie gulf stream on rafts of drifting weeds.—New York 81111. Cleaning Cnr Wheels. Very efficient work is now ls-ing done in various departments by the use of the sand blast. One of tlie latest applica tions is to tlie cleaning of car wheels. The wheel, after being carefully soaked, is rolled into a small chamber, where it stands in a vertical position. The trend of tlie wheel stunds on rotlers, which are moved by gearings so tiiat tbe wheel is slowly revolved without changing its position. A flue into which cinders are fe<l by a chute leading from a bin aliove leads a blast of air against the face of tlie wheel, which is then reversed. The cinders used vary from the size of a grain of wheat to much larger aud are ao hard that they can he used several times. The time saved by this method can lie imagined when one mau can clean twenty wheels in three hours and a half, including the time consumed iu rolling them to and from the machine, und the saving in lalsir is proportionately great. —Chicago News. Ignorance Aim,it Ostriches. Americans in general must lie iu [k»- sessiou of avast fund of varied, accu rate and well authenticated ignorance about ostriches. This is tlie conclusion reached by a reporter after an hour’s conversation with a professional ostrich farmer. Tlie gentleman is Mr. H. G. Reid, wlio paid $12,000 and gave five years' hard work to acquire what lie knows. He is a Scotchman of education ami intelligence, and has a rare faculty of making people take an interest in wiiat interests him. He has sismt sev eral months in teaching Californians how to get a little profit out of ostrich fanning. —St. Louis Globe-Deinourat. Alum Water fur » Shiny Skin. Alum water in the proportion of half an ounce of alum to a pint of water is recommended as a cure ami prevention to “shiny” skin. It should Is* applied gently with a soft cloth, and after a mo ment the face should be wiped over with s dry, soft cloth.—New York Times. membering his classics; “this is only a memory of two dogs, accursed brutes, that lived witli an unfriendly man on a hill, over which tlie postroad was laid. This man, who was a Cain among his fellows, kept two savage mastiffs, who not only barked but bit whenever it was possible. I was courting my first wife up there in tlie Cumberland mountains in British Nortli America where this happened, and had to pass tlie iionse regularly. I drove a blooded mare that went like a bird, and tlie dogs were no match for her, but it was very annoying to have them follow me down the hill for a mile or more barking and yelping like demons. They would bark at the stage coaches and run long distances after them, but tbe passengers were safe inside and tlie driver and those oil the outside were too high for them to reach. But I heard frequent stories of their at tacking men, anil, being beaten off with sticks and stones. I asked why they were not killed and my answer was always tlie same, a shrug of tlie should ers and the remark: ‘You don't know the kind of man their owner is.' It seemed that lie lived alone with'his dogs, and (leople feared him so much they dare uot go to him to complain or call in the provincial laws to help them. A TEIIRIBLK CI1ASD "A crisis came, when one day 1 took my sweetheart out for a sleigh ride in a low pung belonging to her father, to which was harnessed my own sure and swift footed mare. It was a lovely day aud we expected to make a safe and rapid descent of tlie mountain, a dis tance of ten or twelve miles. Tlie air was crisp and cold, tlie sleighing fine, and we skimmed up tlie ascent and reached the landing before we knew we lmd started. There we were met by tlie dogs. I think it would have been less difficult to have gotten rid of a pair of wolves. 1 dare not. give my mare her head going down tiiat long, steep declivi ty on frozen snow, and tlie dogs, em boldened by the cold or maddened by rejieateil lashings from my whip, jumped at tny companion and tore her cloak and tier dress ill mouthfuls. I clubbed with my whip and heat them on the tiead, but they did not even seem to feel my blows. Their great black and yellow frames quivered with ferocity. Tlie hair on tle-ir hacks stood up like manes; their eyeballs gleamed red audnngry, and the noise they made was deafening and dis tracting. “ *011!' I exclaim id. 'why haveu't I a pistol?" " 'Look iu the box under tlie seat,' cried inv conqianion. whose face was blanched. “1 lisiked quickly, and found a rusty double barreled horse pistol of a make of forty years ago. •• -Is it loaded'?' I naked. “ * Yes, hut don't shoot. If you do that man will kill you!' TWO SHOTS FIXED THEM. “1 remember thinking how like a woman it was to tell me where to find the pistol and then ask me not to shoot. “I laid the reins loose on the mare's hack ami away she went like tlie wind, heyoml my control now, nnd 1 knew she would never stop till she was a mile lie- yond the level ground at the foot of the iiill. •'If tlie pung held together; if nothing made tlie nmre swerve from tlie direct line; if, in fact—if Providence kept an eye on us, and the breeching didn’t break, we might escape breaking our necks. (looked hack aud saw tlie dogs gaining on ns, even at that mad guit— then I took aim and fins). Bang! Bang! There were two dark objects lying prone on the snowy road, and as quick as she could gather tier feet under lier my mare stopp'd in her tracks. She was trained to tlie use of a gun. “But my companion urged me to hur ry on, and we were soon down the in cline and beyond the reach of recogni tion or pursuit, and strange to say 110 one but onr two selves ever knew who killed I hose dugs. We heard the must marvelous accounts of the slaughter, the weapon varying from a Queen Aline musket to a cannon, but dead they were ns door nails, and their reign of terror over. I imagine their owner did not care to venture out to avenge their death. 1 drove boldly past tlie house every day, but waa never molested or even suspect ed. But 1 ofteu heard their unknown slayer praised and applauded for the deed which rid the neighborhood of their hateful presence."—Detroit Free Press. LTeutiiitg Fish DMcrllwI. ■The first time my little .Marie, aged twenty-six mouths, saw the girl dressing the fish for dinner she cauie running to me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Mamina, mniumn!" site exclaimed, “Mary comb fishes' hair wid de knife and it all come off!”—Cor. Babyhood. Until Hern Tilers Before. “1 feel constrained to tell you, Fred, that 1 have lieen engaged liefure this," she whispered. “Don’t mention it," lie said gently; "I. too have been jilted."—Harper's Bazar. Ilnii' Nrinkes C'limli. How do snakes climb? is a question which iias been frequently asked. Many have thought that they accomplish the feat by wrapping themselves about the tree and following a spiral course up ward. Several years ago a story went the rounds of tlie papers to the effect that two wood choppers, having felled a large oak tree several feet ill diameter and very tail, found in its top two com mon blacksnakes. After [Hindering for some time tlie men arrived at tlie conclusion that one snake had taken hold of tlie other's tail, and thus by co-operation they had been enabled to clasp the trunk, and by cir cling alsint it had ascended to the top. Whatever probability may have at tached to this conclusion has been dis pelled by tlie observation of two young naturalists while hauling firewood from the forest. A black snake, measuring [lerhaps a trifle over six feet, was found clinging to the side of a small tree, around which it could have wrapped itself nearly twice bad it wished to do so. Instead of tills the snake passed right and left at short listances, catching the folds along its ander parts over and belliud the slightly projecting roughnesses of bark. As tlie snake rested only five or six feet off tlie ground one of the yonng men grasped its tail to test its climbing qualities, but so great was the force with which it pulled upward that it proved a liffienlt task to hold it. Finally, becom- ng annoyed at this ill treatment, the make reached down threateningly at the offending hands, and losing its hold fell to the ground. It was borne home in triumph but was afterward returned uninjured to the forest.—Youth's Coin- [Minion. The Lady Factotum. Tlie “lady factotum” is what our Eng lish neighbors call those engaged in tlie vocation of “visiting liousekee[ier." This is an employment which has been highly recommended, and which a number of ladies in this country as well ns in Eng land have adopted. Snell a person visits ladies who from ill health or some other reason are nimble to perform their do mestic duties. She oversees the servants, inspects the stores and possibly under takes shopping, marketing and the writ ing of notes, and she performs other offices which are of too confidential and responsible a nature for tho ordinary servant to undertake. If she is a woman of energy, tact and health she can accomplish a great deal by visiting a number of families for about an hour a day. She may go so far as to employ assistants in marketing and shopping, whose work she is able to oversee with intelligence. She is paid for this work on even a better scale than a visiting governness, and if she is an able, efficient woman in the items of in specting stores and furnishing food at down town prices, she can easily save a family half her liberal remuneration. The institution of such a vocation is a great relief to many overlmrdeneil or ill or incapable housewives, and presents an excellent and lucrative field to women of efficiency and refinement. It is a place such as an elder sister might take, and such indeed us many elder and un married sisters do take for no remunera tion beyond “love anil affection."—New York Tribune. THE LEAD MINES OF L0. TRADITIONS CONCERNING THEM IN PENNSYLVANIA. '‘Tower of tlie Tongur*." Our story of tlie Tower of lialiel is known in Chaldean nnd Armenian tra dition .as "Tlie Story of the Tower of Tongues." It isoneof theeurliest recol lections of tlie Tigro.Euphrates basin, and is related by Borosns in tlie follow ing manner: Tlie first inhabitants of tlie earth, glorying in their own strength aud aize, and despising tlie gods, unilertiHik to raise a tower whose top should reach the skies. This tower they erected in the p ace where Babylon's ruins now lay thickly strewn over the ground. In erecting this monster roadway to heaven they toiled incessantly. Bat when it hail approached near unto heaven the wind assisted tho gods anil overthrew tlie work upon ita contrivers; and its ruins are said to be still at Babylon. And at about tlie same time the gsds introduced a diversity of tongues among men, who till tlmt time had all spoken tlie one language. Tlie place in which they attempted to build tlie tower is now railed Babylon, on account of the con. fusion of tongues, for confusion is by the Hebrews called bable.”—St. Lonis Re public. Suicide* In English Aristocracy. Suicides nmong the aristocracy in Eng land ure rattier numerous. Lord Congle- ton. who was Mr. Parnell's great-uncle, hanged himself in 1*13. In the same year the Earl of Munster, one of the il legitimate sons of King William IV, shut himself iu tlie head. I11 1809 Lord Cloncarry, tlie hist of his house, jumped from a window and broke bis neck. In 1833 tins last Earl of De la Warr drowned himself, ami in 1870 Lord Lyttleton, tlie insane brother-in-law of Gladstone, escaped from his keepers, threw himself off tlie staircase of his own house and was killed. A story of suicide in which sentiment is mingled is tlmt of Prince Bauilouin, heir to the throne of Belgium. The youthful prince loved lien>»atli his sta tion, anil fiinliug that love could never lie realized sought ]ieaee in tlie eternal silence of tlie grave.—Cincinnati En quirer. Two Classes of Gypsies. Tlie gypsies of today are divided up into tlie full blooded or tent gypsies, ana the Knirengro’s or honse dwellers, who keep their gypsy blood a secret. This division of tlie race shows tiiat they are gradually yielding to the pressure of outside influences. nnd the complete ex-< tinction of their national Identity will simply he a matter of time.—George Ethelbert Walsh in New York Epoch. Caw Von Hay Till.? Try It. Hour much pleasanter it is to sit iu a cab and think how lunch pleasanter ft is to sit in a cab than it is to tie walking, than it is to In- w. ng and think how much pleasantci 1 . - to ait in a cab than it is to be walkir g. —Stoughton Sentinel. A lllackimiltli of Former Hay. Who Han Into lliillet. Ore Supplied by Indiana. Pointer. Tiiat I>o Hot Develop—Red Mell'a Pipe, and Weapon.. Where, if anywhere, ure tlie lead mines of northwestern Pennsylvania? In connection with attempts to answer this question tlie writer hereof, in boyhood, harvested many stone bruises by day and treasure dreams by night, together with nnmerous traditions of the days of practically unbroken forests, bears' grease arid primeval economy. This section, comprising parts of northern Venango and southern Craw ford counties, is about forty miles south of Corry, sixteen miles north of Oil City, ten miles west of Titusville and eight een miles east of Meadville. There is no doubt in the minds of plenty of entirely rational people that somewhere within, or contiguously Without, the region of country which these towns bound, there is a locality where an exceptionally good luality of lead ore may be obtained, or, at least, the locality where ore of such quality was obtained formerly by the Indians, both for their own use and to sell or trade to the white settlers. As the source of this supply was carefully kept a secret by the Indians—mainly of Chief Cornplan ter's tribe—and has never been discovered, it is regarded as rea sonable to infer that it may yet be a source of profit as to believe that it was exhausted. A PIONEER'S EXPERIENCE. At what is now Bradleytown, a vil lage three miles southwest of here, on one of the branches of Sugar Creek, a pioneer named Jacob Jennings lived 100 years ago and had near his pioneer house a small blacksmith shop. From Mrs. Samnel Matson, of Ciiapmanville, and John Jennings, of Sanville, some interesting reminiscences were obtained as related by their father, who was a son of Jacob Jennings. The latter, at his blacksmith shop, frequently smelted and run into bullets rich lead ore sup plied by the Indiana. They made peri odical trips to this place for that pur pose. Coming up from the Allegheny river they made it a point to reach his home in the evening, there being usually several iu tlie party. They would be allowed to stay and would sleep around the fireplaces in the house and simp. At daybreak they would strike northward up the creek nnd wonld return a few hours later with a stock of the lead product to be melted. No amount of persuasion, of barter or of purchase price would cause them to disclose the whereabouts of the lead deposits. Fifty years ago, according to a mem ber of the family, Mrs. Robert Gillespie nud a daughter, then a little girl, were lost in the woods, and during their wan derings fonnil along a ravine an out cropping of lead-filled rock, n piece of whicli they took with them. After find ing their way home they were unable to find their way back with older members of the family to the point where they bad found the lead. Various and con tinuous searches have been made since along the ravines in that section, one enthusiast devoting a considerable por tion of a year to the search; bnt aside from a fragment weighing abont four pounds, nnd fonnil in a field in Randolph township, Crawfoid county, where it iuul apparently been dropped, no lead ore has lieen discovered. MATERIAL FOR PROSPECTORS Tlie prospector able to develop [wint ers from Indian relics may find consid erable material in that line in this sec tion. At Wallaceville, three miles south east of here, lie may find a whole field of yet well defined mounds auil excava tions. A mile north of here, just across the line in Crawford connty, lie may find remnants of several large stone piles constructed of stones having nota ble uniformity in size und piled up by the Indians for some unknown purpose before the time of the earliest settlers. If he will follow tbe plow for a season in the southwestern part of this town ship— Plum township, Venango county —or the northerly adjoining township of Troy, in Crawford county, his labors will probably be rewarded with a fresh stock of pipes, weapons and other relics of the noble and ignoble Lo. If he will further follow the plow in a field along the Sugar Creek flats, about two miles north of the Jacob Jennings homestead, and will fail to lift tlie point of liis plow when lie readies a certain point in that field, his plow liauilles will smite him hip and thigh and put him to rout The cause thereof will be turn, the plow point will strike tlie edge of a circu lar bed of burned aud pounded stone It is about ten feet in diameter, projects to the top of the ground wiiere efforts have nut been made to get down to the bot tom of it. and is known to have been there fully 150 years—how much longer no man knows, as it was then, accord ing to pioneer tradition, as much a mat ter of mystery and antiquity as at pres Hilt. If the lead prospector chooses to con sider it or uo value to him, he may re gard it us one of the places where the Norsemen, poking out this way from Newport and tlie vicinity of Boston, paused to bake beans. Ir be i- inclined to be less skeptical In* may do as tradi tion says the early settlers did—regard it as tlie foundation of a sort of Indian crucible or furnace which served in part a smelter for lead previous to tbe in- trodnetion of firearms on this continent, and forpurpises unknown.—Plum (Pa.) Cor. Philadelphia Press THE ANGEL OF SORROW. A poet whose snugs were as sweet u could u Hill were light as the foam of tbe resti* Was stopped one day, on his joyous way. By an angel, w hu said: "I would speak win, thee. "Every true poet should aim to bring Peace to Soule heart by tbe songs hsn,, sing; 1 But how can he know wliat will comfort woe Until he has felt In his own heart ita sting- “Thy life has been free from sorrow or care Hast thou the courage to suffer, aud share Tbe grief and pain of others, to gain The power to cheer those who burdens hear." Tbe poet made answer, "I have no fear Of pain if it bring me the power to cheer Lay a cross upon me, and, though heavy it ... Close will I bold It as a treasure dear." Tbe angel said gravely: "Thou hast chosen aright, And a cross will be laid upon thee tonight There is one to thee dear, and her loss, I Will be hard 10 endure"-then vanished from sight. This was lung ago; the |met, grief worn. Has through the slow years his cross liravei, borne; 1 His songs are replete with sympathy tweet And are dear to the hearts that loved onei mourn. Els firmly trusts in a heavenly morrow, Hia verses their charm from suffering bor row. 3a her grand roll Fame haa written his aams- It was whispered to her by the angel Borrow —Charles W. Linnell la Good Housekeeping! To Toll Pare Silk. If you wish to purchase by sample and to test the quality of Bilk take ten fibers of the filling of any silk, anil if on break ing they show a feathery dry and lack luster condition, and discolor the fingers In handling, you may at once be sure of the presence of dye and of artificial weighting. Or take a small portion of the fibers between the thumb and forefinger and gently roll them over and over, and you will soon detect the gum, mineral, soap, etc., should their be any, or their ab sence. Another simple bnt effective way to test the parity of silk is to burn a small quantity of the fibers. Pure silk will instantly crisp, leaving only a pure char coal. Heavily dyed silk will smoulder, leaving a greasy yellow ash. If you cannot break the ten strands, and if they do not discolor tlie fingers st the point of contract, yon may be well assured that yon have pure silk, that Is honest in its make aud durable In the wear.—Detroit Free Press. Tlie Prayer Should Have Been Answered. A member of a certain Massachusetts parish, prominent for liis thrift and per sonal consequence, was also notorious for his overbearing assumptions ami pompons airs. Under the distreas and fright of a dangerous illness he "put up notes” on severul successive Sundays, and after his recovery, according to us age, lie offered a note, to be read by the minister, expressive of his thanks. The minister was somewhat “larga” in this part of his prayer, recalling the danger and tlie previous petitions of the "squire,” and returning hia grateful ac knowledgments with the prayer that the experience might be blessed to the spirit ual welfare of the restored man. He closed with these words: “And we pray, O Lord, tiiat thy serv ant may be cured of tiiat ungodly Btmt, so offensive in tlie sanctuary."—Atlantic Monthly. I'ocktttbooks In Letter Boses. From time to time pocketbooks are fonnil in the pillar boxes. Pickpockets have taken this way of returning to their owners whom they have robbed the valu able contents of pocketbooks, generally papers, which are of 110 use to any one but tlie owner. Tlie thieves in this way get rid of articles which might lead to their conviction, and at tlie same time assuage tlie losses of the pocketbooks in some measure. They of conrse have no time to do up a package, but drop the articles into the most convenient boxes.—London Tit-Bits. II* Hitt! Change. Trump—Have yuu change Tor half a dollar? Gentleman—Yes Where's the half dollar? Tramp—I haven't any, hut 1 thort if you bad ciutiige for a half dollar yon might have a dime er two fer a poor man wot’sieen letter days. All the genta I have asked Ter help said they hadn’t any change*—Good News., Ilullroud Humbling. “Can you loll me,” he asked, us he en tered an office on Broad street tlie other day, "why the railroad should discrimi nate so heavily against dressed meat over live stock?” “Certainly, sir. Dressed meat is deal, isn’t it?" “Of course." “Well, anything that can't kick is al ways bulldozed by a railroad company —Texas Siftings. A Tree That Produce. Mill*. A growing wonder is the cow tree of South America, which is credited with yielding u lacteal fluid which, in color, taste and nutritive property closely re sembles the offerings of yonr milkman. It forms large forests in some districts of Venezuela and is mncli prized for d* product.—Philadelphia Times. A process lias been discovered for mak ing flour of bunanas. Chemical expen ments show that this flour contains m°r* nutriment thnn rice, and that when eaten with beans, corn or sago it forms » very palatable and nourishing diet. Blood travels from tlie heart throng!' the arteries ordinarily at tlie rate about twelve inches lier second; “* speed through the capillaries is rate of three one-hundredths of an Inc per second. Reports from tlie Bahamas state tli.it the cultivation of sisal hemp is proving to lie a great success, and the r pHUI will »k»i amount to 60,000 ton? anno ally. The quality is said to l"> ver - flue. The Japanese lie upon matting with » stiff uncumfortablo wooden neck* 8 * The Chinese use low bedsteads, oft* elalairattly carved, and supporting ou " mats or coverlets. The largest animal known is the rer qual, which U 100 feet in length; smallest is the twilight monad, wbic only the twelve-thousandth of an in* Pepper waa known to the ancients* •“ the Middle Ages It wnsone of the®" costly of spices, a ponnd of it being royal presenL